I’m once again standing in the Oreburgh Gym. This time, I’m not here for a fight. I’m waiting for Cynthia and the League Alakazam that’ll be teleporting us to Sandgem.
It’s early in the morning and the place is nearly empty. Many trainers will get up early when on the road but it seems half an hour past dawn is too much for them, especially out of season. I don’t even know why I’m here this early. Cynthia said to meet at 7:30 in the morning which is… I glance at the clock on the wall for the third time in two minutes. A little over 40 minutes still… Sigh…
At least I have Mes and Lili to cuddle. The two receptionists occasionally look over here with weird looks in their eyes. Right… the press conference. They might think I’m the trainer Volkner mentioned, especially since they saw me with Cynthia two days ago. They were both working then as well.
Mes is still sleepy and I try not to jostle her too much as I observe the TV showing even more League matches from the last season. Lili is quite interested in them. I might not have a choice but let her fight the first battle with Roark, simply because she’ll be too excited. She was always the most combat-focused in my team. How a dancing plant can be more driven than a dragon is something I still don’t quite understand. Especially since it’s just Lili. No other Grass Type I ever met enjoyed fighting as much as she does.
I hear steps coming up behind me and glance over. A teenage boy maybe a little older than me walks up. He looks very familiar.
“Rei?” I say quietly.
“Huh? No, Rei was my great-grandfather. I’m Lucas.”
“Oh. Sorry, you look a lot like him.”
He blinks.
“How would you know that?”
I wave him off.
“Don’t mind it. What’s up?”
“Okay… You’re Zoe, right? Cynthia told me about you.”
“She did?”
“Yep. I’m coming with you guys to Sandgem. I just spent some time on Mount Coronet training for the next Season. Gotta get some rest before it starts, though.”
“Huh. Nice to meet you. Aren’t you one of the Trainers that Rhyan guy mentioned yesterday?”
“Yep, that’s me!” he grins “And judging from the weird Liligant there, you’re the Trainer Volkner mentioned.”
I groan.
“Yes. I gotta stomp him for that.”
“And you even know Mesprit, I see. Did you catch her?”
The bundle on my lap digs deeper into my clothes making me giggle.
“She’s not my Pokémon, no. We’re just friends. How do you know her?”
“Ah… long story. I can’t tell just anyone…”
“The Red Night, then?”
“Wha… How?”
“Cynthia told me. It’s fine. So what do you do besides training your Pokémon?”
“I…,” Rei, no, Lucas sits down. He really looks just like him.
“I’m a Lab Trainer for Professor Rowan so I’m mostly just running around and doing field research.”
“Oh, nice. I’ve done a bunch of that as well.”
He blinks.
“Can’t say I’ve seen you around the Lab…”
I look down at Mes and carefully probe her mind. She’s paying more attention than her behaviour makes it look like.
“Can I trust him?” I ask her.
“Yes,” she sends back “He makes good Poffins.”
I laugh making R… Lucas look at me strangely.
“Sorry, yeah. I worked with Professor Laventon, mostly. And Akari and Rei. Can’t say I’ve been to Sandgem much after they started building in the area.”
He blinks. Then he blinks again. Slowly, he turns his head away to one of the TVs.
“Huh,” he says.
Lili is giggling now and Mesprit is twitching in my lap just barely holding on.
“What?” Lucas turns to us and we burst out laughing. Mesprit falls off my lap and rolls through the air, somehow managing to levitate. Lili and I barely manage to hold each other up.
“Sorry, sorry,” I managed to wheeze out “Your face was just… haah… Great!”
Lili chirps and holds up a leaf-arm before breaking out into giggles once more.
“I’m confused…” he says “You worked with the first Professor of Sinnoh?”
“Yes,” I manage between fits of giggling.
“And my great grandfather?”
“Yep.”
“And his wife?”
“Huh?” It’s my time to be stumped “They got married?”
“Yes. So you’re just trying to put me on?”
“No, tell me! When did those two get married? They were always fighting!”
Lili is chirping along demanding an explanation as well. She’s way too happy about this.
“What? Dad told me they were super close all the time. What’s going on?”
“Did… no. I’m sure they would’ve told me… What happened? Oh, no. Don’t tell me… How did I never notice?”
Lili chirps at me, trying not to giggle.
“You knew?”
She nods. I drag her into a chokehold and rub her head with my fist.
“You! Trying to hide important things from me again? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Lili chirps between giggles before Mes frees her with a short-ranged Teleport making me stumble.
“You’re blind, Zoe!” Mesprit giggles.
“Bah! Everyone’s against me. I see how it is!”
I put my hands on my hips with a vicious grin.
“I’ll have to put you through the wringer again, don’t I?”
“Um…” Lucas pipes up from behind me “What’s going on?”
Mesprit looks at him and speaks into our minds.
“Zoe is a kid!” she squeals.
I blow a raspberry in response before jumping to catch her. It takes three attempts before Mes doesn’t Teleport away and allows me to get my arms around her. I make sure to cuddle her as aggressively as I can so she knows how angry I am with her!
“I give up…,” Lucas sighs.
I give him a glance.
“The short story is I got thrown back in time to save Hisui. And then thrown back to the future again. It was… a bit of a mess.”
“Okay.”
“I’d tell you the whole thing but I’m sure Professor Rowan will want to hear it too. Don’t feel like talking about it too often.”
“That makes sense.”
“Does he have Laventon’s Pokédex?”
“I see. What?”
He turns to me when he realizes I asked a question. I just tilt my head.
“You alright?”
Lucas groans.
“Yes. I’ll be fine. Now that I think of it… Grandma sometimes talked about the stories her mother told her. Something about a mystery trainer that saved the region… Then again, she was always a bit crazy. What with her going on about those Clans or whatever.”
I narrow my eyes.
“What happened to the Clans?”
“We don’t know if they’re even real.”
“They are! Or were, it looks like.”
“Right. Grandma said something about a fight. She didn’t know the details since she grew up in Sandgem but she said something big went down near Celestic Town. But the villagers never knew anything so it’s been deemed unreliable information.”
I sigh.
“Well, I’ll figure out what happened. But the Diamond and Pearl Clans lived here before Jubilife was founded.”
“Okay. I’m not that interested in history, to be honest… What are you doing at the Lab today?”
“I’m getting some information checked. And Cynthia was talking about a fight. Maybe we’ll have time for that?”
He carefully looks Lili over. My muscle-brained friend flexes her leaves while chirping proudly.
“I see,” he says.
I smile and sit down again. We spend the remaining wait with mindless small talk, mostly just watching the TV.
Eventually, Cynthia joins us. She is followed by the Alakazam that made the barriers for our battle two days ago. I give him a greeting with my mind which he returns without looking at me. He’s quite the relaxed Pokémon.
“Good morning you two,” Cynthia says “All ready to get going?”
I look at Mes in my arms.
“Yup. We’re good.”
Lucas sighs but manages a nod.
“Alright, then. Alakazam, if you would?”
The Pokémon starts to gather some Psychic Type Energy into the beginnings of a Teleport which Mesprit immediately latches on. She only adds some of her own to ease the burden a little and before I can blink we’re no longer in the Gym.
“Wow, that was quick,” Lucas says.
“And very smooth,” Cynthia nods “You got better, Alakazam.”
He just shakes his head and points at us.
“Or Mesprit did your job. Did you at least pay attention?”
He looks slightly offended before waving her off and disappearing with a pop.
I look around. We’re standing in what looks like an empty room. A circular pad of sorts is in the centre which we’re standing on. One door leads out in front of us. I can feel a tiny bit of Psychic TE in the ground. Now that I know what to look for, there are more spots of Energy around us. They feel a little different and I quickly realize that this room is sending what amounts to an ‘occupied’ signal. Anyone Teleporting here would be warned that the landing area is full. All the other rooms currently have no more than targeting beacons.
“Here we are,” Cynthia says “Let’s get to it.”
We follow her out into a hallway and down past half a dozen doors before reaching a staircase leading up. At the end of it is another hallway that leads into the lobby of a Pokémon Centre, judging from the counter with a few Nurse Joys standing behind it and the occasional Chansey running around. Lili points at the fancy tech all around us as I drag her along.
Once we’re out of the Centre, I feel a little bit lost. The buildings look very out of place around the plaza. Which I recognize because I’ve been here a ton when researching some of the Water Types on the beach further south. Which is also in view down the wide main road right in front of us. The land is familiar but everything else is just… off.
Mes struggles in my arms for a bit, somehow managing to turn around to look at the town. It’s easy to see how much smaller it is with the largest buildings having two storeys. The only exception being the Pokémon Centre right behind us and a steel-and-glass complex a little down the road to our right almost at the end of town. I figure that’s the Lab when I spot Cynthia and Lucas already a few steps down that direction. With a shake of my head, I follow them.
As we enter the building we’re welcomed by a Lab Assistant in a white lab coat over jeans and a T-shirt. He introduces himself as Researcher Johan and leads us deeper into the Lab. After a few hallways and a staircase up, we enter a room that’s mostly white and silver with the tiled floor and a bunch of machines standing along the sides. A few young Pokémon, all of them Piplup, Chimchar, or Turtwig, are being looked over by Lab Assistants and two Chansey.
A man with a very familiar moustache turns at our arrival. I have the third flashback of the morning but at least I expected this one. After all, I immediately made the connection between the Pokémon Professor Rowan of Sinnoh and Commander Kamado of the Galaxy Exploration Team when I got thrown back in time. The two look exactly the same only that Professor Rowan’s hair and beard are stark white and Kamado’s are… were black. The Professor’s thick moustache is curved a little softer on his expression even if it’s still a stern look. Commander Kamado was more severe than stern. I very rarely saw a gentle expression on his face.
“Welcome, everyone. Lucas, Champion. And you must be the young Zoe? Is that Mesprit in your arms?”
The bundle wiggles with a squeak and frees a hand to give him a wave. Professor Rowan’s eyes fall onto Lili. In fact, almost everyone is staring at her, now that I look around.
“This is… A Liligant as Professor Laventon described it. I did not expect to ever see one. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
He bows slightly to which Lili chirps and twirls. Then he turns to me.
“Say, how did you evolve her? We have been looking into Laventon’s notes but couldn’t find anything that would let a Petilil evolve into this form.”
“Yes, Good morning to you too,” I smirk at his slight flinch “But honestly, I don’t know any special requirements. Back then Petilil just evolved into this with a Sunstone.”
“So there must be some other requirement, then.”
“It’s probably just a regional form. Aren’t there wild Petilil in Sinnoh, somewhere? How do they usually evolve?”
“We don’t have any native populations,” Researcher Johan says “At least as far as I’m aware of.”
Lili freezes. She turns to me with a chirp.
“Yes, we’ll take a look,” I reassure her before turning back to Professor Rowan “Maybe they’re just difficult to find? They lived mostly in the Mirelands, hidden in the reeds of the swamp or fields of wild wheat.”
The Professor sighs.
“There aren’t any in the explored areas. To be fair, we didn’t look too deeply. The area around Lake Valor is mostly off-limits for research. Even more so after what happened with Team Galaxy. Only the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and Champion are allowed to move there without permission. But enough of that. You’re here for a reason. Get back to work, everyone!”
I grin at the grumbling of the researchers. Lili has calmed down a little but I still give her a hug before following the Professor to a room two doors down the hallway.
“Didn’t Professor Laventon take a ton of photos for his Pokédex?” I ask.
“Not that I know of. He might have taken them with him when he left Sinnoh. Photographs were expensive back then.”
“I haven’t seen anything in the book,” Lucas adds “They’re not in the best condition, to be fair.”
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Cynthia nods.
“Would’ve been nice to have some better references than hearsay and partial text.”
We enter the room which is a small medical lab. Some equipment is laid out on a table and an adjustable chair with a freely movable lamp attached to it stands in the centre.
“Please take a seat, Zoe. I’ll take a blood sample and run some basic tests.”
“What’s going on?” Lucas asks.
The Professor looks between us and I shrug.
“We’re testing my DNA for Pokémon traces. Right?”
“… yes. Let’s go with that.”
“Huh?”
Lucas is confused again. I grin and shoot a singular Razor Leaf at Lili who catches it between her hands. That only manages to completely stop his thought process and I turn back to the Professor.
“That is very interesting. You have a lot of control. Now, let’s get to it.”
I nod and sit down. Cynthia takes Lucas to a corner of the room and starts quietly talking to him while Mes and Lili carefully watch the procedure. The Professor begins by taking a sample of my blood which he immediately puts into some kind of machine. Then he takes out a bunch of tools and puts the chair into a more horizontal position.
“I’ll be testing your resilience, now. Trainers get stronger the more powerful their Pokémon are. We believe it has something to do with training and battling together but the exact interactions are still a mystery. I want to see how tough you are.”
“That’s gonna be interesting,” I say “Since I’m a lot weaker after coming back.”
“Right. Hold out your arm. This might hurt a little.”
I nod and do as he asked. He takes a small knife and carefully puts it on my skin without putting any pressure on it. The steel is a little cold but other than that nothing happens. I’m a little confused when he puts it away only to pick up a hammer. He turns my arm so he can access the bone right next to my wrist where it’s directly underneath the skin. Then he starts tapping right on top of the bone.
“Tell me when it hurts.”
At first, I feel nothing. He’s way too careful. It takes half a dozen taps before I even register the pressure. Another five before it starts to sting a little. After a total of almost twenty, I stop him.
“That hurt a little.”
“A little? Like a soft stinging?”
“No, actual pain. Like when you punch rocks.”
“I see. That was much higher than average. Even top trainers will feel pain before the tenth hit, normally.”
“How is it scientific if you’re using your hand to swing the hammer?” I ask.
“A trainer’s resilience seems to respond to an intention to hurt. If we had a machine do this, you would be no different from someone that never met a Pokémon.”
“Huh. That’s stupid.”
The Professor’s moustache twitched.
“It’s empirically proven fact.”
“No, I believe you. But I don’t think you have the reason right. Everyone has stamina they can use to protect their body. Most people just can’t control it. Ever had someone survive a fall they shouldn’t?”
“Stamina?”
“You know… the energy in your soul? The stuff that Pokémon naturally turn into Type Energy so they can use moves”
“Are you talking about Aura?”
“Maybe. Is that what you call it? I know Lucario can teach humans how to utilize it, though they can’t teach you how to do Moves.”
“That’s Aura, yes. But I have never heard it connected to the high resilience of Pokémon trainers, let alone how Pokémon use moves. The Aura Guardians keep their secrets close to heart.”
“Huh. Well, I learned how to turn it into Type Energy and I always run it through my body. Constant cycling is the best way to practice.”
“Well, let’s continue,” Professor Rowan says with a shake of his head “I don’t think that’s something to discuss here and now even if it will probably turn most current research upside down.”
I shrug as he reaches for the next tool. This one is a ball of sorts. It’s grey and made from a strong material that still has a little give.
“Please try to compress this ball as far as you can.”
I nod and grip it with both hands. It sits firmly in my hands. I try to squeeze with just my fingers at first and find it getting a little harder as I put more force into it. I take a short moment to shake out my hands before using my full strength. This time, I press with my palms. The ball compresses about half the total distance before it gets too hard. I take a deep breath and give one final push. There’s a crack and everyone looks over as I open my hands only to find a pile of glittering grey dust.
Professor Rowan looks like he’s trying to find his words as Lili and Mes give me enthusiastic applause. I stand up and bow.
“Thank you, thank you! I’ll be here all day long!”
Lili steps closer to examine the dust. She chirps a question but I don’t know the answer.
“What’s this made of, anyway?” I forward it.
“How?” the Professor finally manages “I mean… This is a testing material for our Lab Starters. They need to be able to compress it by 25% before they are ready to be given to a Trainer. You’re stronger than them. By a lot.”
“Professor, I spar with my Pokémon. Not just with moves, also hand-to-hand. And Lili is a Fighting Type.”
He looks between us. Lili gives me a side hug and I grin at her. He turns around with a sigh.
“Well, that means all the other stuff doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s see what your blood test tells us.”
I end up dropping the dust into a bin while the Professor looks over his computer screen. Lucas seems to have rebooted and joins him while Cynthia stands next to Lili and me.
“I told him your story, mostly,” she says “I hope that’s okay?”
I nod.
“Mesprit trusts him. It’s fine.”
She smiles.
“So how about another battle?”
“You mean a fight, right?” I grin.
“What rules were you thinking?”
“3v3 until knockout. I’m gonna assist Lili and Lulu, you send out three of your Pokémon to fight us. No commands from outside the battle. If you want to talk strategy, do it before or replace one of your Pokémon.”
“Didn’t you say you got a lot weaker?”
“I did. Which is why we add a five-minute timer. That’s my limit right now.”
“I can agree to that. How much did… your Garchomp hold back when he hit you?”
“A lot. That was just playing around. He could’ve gotten me in a single hit and killed me with the second, if not the third.”
“Then I’ll tell my team to hold back when hitting you.”
“Thanks. I’ll give you some of my Potions and Revives in case I get knocked out.”
Mes chirps.
“I’ll fix you!” she says into our minds.
“Or that, I guess,” I roll my eyes.
Professor Rowan finally turns away from the screen.
“Nothing special, here,” he says “In fact, your DNA is still identical to what it was when you did your first journey.”
“How do you know that?” I ask.
“We have that data from an injury you sustained in Eterna Forest. They were looking for organ donors in case the treatment didn’t catch, I believe.”
“I helped!” Mes chirps into all of our minds this time.
“You did?”
She twirls in front of me.
“Needed you strong!”
“Thanks,” I grin and grab her in a hug before turning to Cynthia.
“Great. Let’s have that fight!”
She grins.
“I’ll talk to my team a little. Figure out what you need for the PSIL-ID with Rowan.”
She leaves and I get to go through some forms with the help of the Professor. Lucas also left to let his Pokémon meet Cynthia’s again. Apparently, their teams are good friends.
It turns out I don’t need to do much for the PSIL-ID. It’s going to be a simple card I can show any Ranger or Officer Jenny to let them know I’m authorized to use Moves in public. The only problem is that it’s not intended to be given to a human so when the time comes, I’ll get to be a Pokémon of the ‘human’ species with the Typing ‘yes’. Or that’s what I would’ve liked. There’s some Pokémon in Alola that has variable Typing and has an ID so we just take what they used and have the box filled in as ‘variable’.
After that, Professor Rowan leads me onto the Lab pastures behind the building which are… expansive. They are even larger than the ones in Jubilife Village had been. There are patches of forest and a few rivers here and there between grassy hills. A pond is close to the Lab and a little off to the side is the entrance to some kind of cave. Artificial, as the Professor tells me. Pokémon are everywhere, though a decently large group has found a nearby hill to watch what we’re up to.
Cynthia is standing a little ways off with three of her Pokémon out and about. Ryu, her Garchomp, the Togekiss she used in our last battle as well as a Lucario. The latter stiffens as he spots me before bowing respectfully with his paws clasped. I return the gesture with a smile on my face. Then he spots Lili and I laugh at his panicked expression.
Lucas is sitting off to the side on the back of a decently large Torterra. Not Alpha size but on the higher end for a normal one. A Clefable is resting against the tree on its back. As usual, it’s impossible to clearly tell the gender of those two Pokémon. Torterra is probably male and Clefable probably female but that’s just an assumption based on the common distribution. Lucas doesn’t have any of his other Pokémon out.
Mesprit immediately zips off to slam into Clefable with a hug. The two begin chirping at each other and I leave them to it. I let out Gligar and tell him to stick with Mes before pulling out Lulu’s Poké Ball. She roars with all her might as she pops out making everyone but me and Lili flinch. Even Mes ends up complaining at the noise.
I grin and step up next to her.
“We’ve got us another fight, Lulu. You up for it?”
She snorts and glares at Ryu. Getting taken out like that the last time must have made her Rivalry even worse. I scratch her behind the ear to calm her down a little.
“You guys ready?” I call over and Cynthia nods.
“Whenever you are.”
Ryu stands up front with Lucario a little behind and to the side. Togekiss is floating above them. On our side, Lulu is already growling at Ryu while Lili is casually stretching to my left. I meet both of my Pokémon’s eyes.
“Ball up,” I say before nodding at Cynthia.
“We’re ready.”
She then gives her Pokémon a look before joining Lucas and his Torterra. Professor Rowan made his way there as well and Mesprit and Clefable are working together to hold up a barrier.
“We’re here for a 3v3 knockout match between the combatants on the field,” Cynthia begins “No switching, no commands from outside the arena. When a combatant is knocked out, any hits against them are an immediate loss for the attacking team. Both sides are ready to begin?”
Everyone on the field nods. I glance between our three opponents and quickly run my TE into a mix of Psychic and Fairy. It’s great to finally have access to two types. Just have to avoid double weaknesses…
“Start!” Cynthia calls and everyone explodes into motion. Lulu rushes forward with a Discharge already building in front of her while Lili is channelling a Victory Dance. My Reflect covers all of us just in time for Ryu’s Earthquake. Lucario has jumped up on the dragon’s back to avoid getting hit while Togekiss is falling back and powering up with Electric TE. I already feel the Baby-Doll-Eyes affecting me.
Lulu dodges Ryu’s Earthquake with a Volt Switch towards the ground that makes her fly up. Togekiss panics and lets loose an ineffective Thunder Wave as he tries to distance himself from the suddenly flying lioness. I jump as well while Lili dances on the shifting ground to get more power running through her body. The little bit of damage won’t be an issue for her.
Lulu knows she won’t be able to reach Togekiss so she pulls off a Sunny Day as she drops behind their team. I make use of her distraction to get a Light Screen off as well before channelling some Ghost TE to replace the dissipating Psychic TE.
As Lulu lands, Lucario jumps off Ryu’s back with a Bullet Punch right to her face. Togekiss is sweeping around to try and get Lili with an Air Slash but she’s long gone letting it come right at me instead. I give the flying fairy a wink before sinking into my Shadow Sneak and appearing behind Lulu only to blast a quick Shadow Ball at Lucario. Ryu is too slow to react to Lili’s Drain Punch and smacks face-first into the grass. Before any of them can figure out what just happened, we’re back in formation facing a sole Lucario. He flinches as a Low Kick from Lili and a Thunderbolt from Lulu meet him head-on. First knockout confirmed.
Ryu jumps back up and barrels right towards us with what can only be an Outrage. I feel my stamina starting to run low but I still have my Fairy TE up and ready so I meet her head-on. The Move uselessly dissipates on my skin even though her strikes still push me back. I make sure to deflect and dodge as much as I can. Not for long, though, as Lili runs into her from the side with an Ice Spinner.
I leave them to it and take a look at Lulu who is trying to land one of her Electric attacks on a slightly panicking Togekiss. Another Shadow Sneak brings me into the air right in his blind spot and I smack his back. Sadly, it barely does anything and I’m blasted point-blank by a Hurricane. And a Thunder that’s using the Hurricane to try and get to Togekiss. I only barely keep my consciousness as I’m thrown into the air.
A bit of Electric TE gives me just enough time for a Magnet Rise to slow down my fall. When I look around, I see that the fight is already over. Ryu is on the ground, knocked out, and Lulu is pinning Togekiss with one of her paws, sparks flying whenever he tries to move. Eventually, he gives up with a cry. Maybe because Lili is now looking directly into his eyes.
I stretch my arms and feel my muscles pull. Turns out my shirt is only barely holding together and I’m bleeding in a few places. That Hurricane did a number on me. As I make to dig out a potion, Lucas calls out.
“What the fuck?”
I look over and give him a wave as he drops back on his Torterra.
“Looks like we won.”
Cynthia shakes her head before running up to her team. Lucario is already sitting up again but he looks a little dizzy. They start talking quietly as Professor Rowan follows a Chansey from the group of onlookers. The pink blob is immediately fussing over me by the time she closes the distance. I chuckle at her scolding tone and give her a Super Potion from my bag which she sniffs before happily spreading it all over my wounds. I make sure to keep some more TE active so it’s more effective.
“That was very impressive,” the Professor says “Your teamwork in particular. But even just seeing the quality of Moves you can use and take is… very intriguing. How does it work?”
I shake my head.
“That’s a little complicated. I mean, any human has some stamina, or aura, I guess. But you need a lot of practice to turn it into Type Energy and even then you’ll have terrible efficiency. I can only get this much out of it thanks to a gift from Arceus.”
Chansey freezes in her administrations. Then she starts speaking rapidly.
“Chansey, Chan! Chansey, sey sey! Chan!”
I roll my eyes.
“Yes, I know. Thank you for worrying. I’ll get a lot more out of it with some training. It’ll probably take a few years to get back to full strength, though.”
“Chan! Sey!”
“Yes, I will be careful. I have my team to help me out.”
My statement is punctuated by Gligar slamming into my side with a happy cry. That only earns him a round of scolding from Chansey. My little flying scorpion is trying to hide from her behind me but she’s not that easy to shake off.
“Well, I can safely say that you’re a special case, then,” the Professor says “At least that’ll keep the League officials off my back. You might get swamped with requests to meet, though, once things are in the open.”
“Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep to using it only when necessary. Mostly…”
He raises an eyebrow.
“Mostly?”
“Sometimes I use Moves instinctively. Just got used to it, I guess…”
He laughs.
“Then you will have to live with the Mandibuzz trying to get their claws into you.”
“I’ll deal with it when the time comes.”
Chansey is finally satisfied with my condition and gives me a wet towel from somewhere to wipe the blood off. Then she zips off to the other injured, namely Ryu and Lucario. Lili took a few hits but she already took care of herself with a Synthesis and Lulu and Togekiss aren’t really all that hurt. It’s mostly just scratches and the paralysis from Lulu’s Electric Moves.
Cynthia leaves her Pokémon in the pink blob’s care and joins us together with Lucas who finally got up.
“That was… enlightening,” she says “You ran us around so easily.”
I smile.
“Your Pokémon really rely on you to catch their opponent’s movement, don’t they?”
“Looks like it. I’ll have to let them be more self-sufficient.”
“You took a point-blank Hurricane,” Lucas shakes his head “How are you still standing?”
“It wasn’t too bad. I think Cynthia’s Pokémon were holding back a little too much. They were probably scared of hurting me too badly. Other than that Outrage from Ryu, at least.”
“That was an impressive defence. But even holding back, they never really got a good chance to work together. Your strategy was just too good.”
“It’s our standard ‘protect me’ plan. I’m in the centre using supportive moves and opening up opportunities. But we need to keep moving or Lili is a sitting duck. Her greatest strength is her speed, after all. Then again, I’ve never seen a Pokémon hold a move ready to be unleashed in case of surprises while using other moves. So compliments to your Togekiss. I didn’t expect that.”
Togekiss floats over with Lulu next to him. He apparently heard me and makes happy noises to thank me. I rub his head and give him some Potion for the scratches.
“So, wanna go again?” I ask.
Chansey hits me on the head.
“Ouch! Where did you come from?”
“Chansey!”
“Okay, okay! It was just an idea…”
Everyone laughs.