Serena sighs deeply as the light of the cave’s exit comes into view. She didn’t expect her journey to be so exhausting. Climbing through a cave after two days of crossing through fields of grass and passing by humid lakes was much more exhausting than those little day-trips through Oreburgh Tunnel. She almost wishes her husband was here with his Machop. Or her daughter Zoe with her strong Pokémon. The roars coming from deeper inside the cave gave her a fright whenever she heard them.
Nadya chirping on her shoulder rips her out of her thoughts.
“Hey, girl. We’re almost through. Looks like it’s getting close to evening.”
Her Zubat squees happily, the thought of not having to go into sunlight calming her down instantly. Serena isn’t quite sure what to do about that. Shifting her sleeping schedule doesn’t work out that well in the wild when the first rays of the sun wake her up without fail. Maybe she needs to catch a Pokémon that’s happy to be out in daylight?
A rumble in the hallway in front of her takes her out of her thoughts. The stone shifts, then a Geodude floats up and flexes its arms.
“Duude!” it calls out in challenge. Nadya answers with her own cry.
“Nadya, are you sure?” Serena asks her partner.
She feels her hands shaking. They avoided all battles since they entered the Ravaged Path but now that they were close to the exit, she doesn’t have a real argument to not fight. And she knows Nadya wants to prove herself. It’s just…
“This matchup is really bad for us.”
Somehow, she manages to keep her voice steady. Years of experience working in a busy office and suppressing emotions to keep the company running were paying off in the most unexpected circumstances.
Nadya nods and takes to the air. Geodude throws a one-two punch and grins. At least this is a Pokémon Serena is familiar with. They had one at home for the past five years. She isn’t that scared, honestly.
“Let’s do this,” she mutters to herself.
“Alright, Nadya, Supersonic!”
Her partner complies immediately, following their planning and the training they did in the two weeks before setting out. The shrill noise makes her ears ring a little but it’s not that bad. Nadya is getting pretty good with targeting her Move. It’s the core of their strategy after all.
The Geodude tries to dodge but gets caught in the vapour-like rings that are released with the sound. He shakes himself, then spins around and rams his hand into the ground to stabilize.
“Now, Poison Fang, just like we practised! Don’t bite too hard!”
Nadya squees in agreement and dives in rapidly, catching herself just in front of the Rock Type. Her fangs dig into the rocky exterior, only a tiny bit, and some of the Poison Type Energy latches onto the Geodude. Then Nadya pushes off and shoots away again. Serena frowns. The poison didn’t take and Geodude is turning around with a rock in his hand.
“Dodge!” she shouts, unsure what Move is coming but happy to have called it out when it ends up being a Rock Throw that just barely misses Nadya.
Geodude shakes himself and roars, probably to clear his head. Serena hesitates for a moment, then remembers that Nadya has a good move against a Ground Type.
“Nadya, keep your distance and use Absorb!” she calls out, “Mix in Supersonic as well!”
Geodude makes an annoyed face, then grabs another rock from the ground.
“Dodge!” Serena shouts and Nadya rolls out of the way just in time, letting out a partially charged Absorb that makes their opponent flinch.
They exchange blows for what feels like an eternity but can’t be more than a few minutes until Nadya gets clipped by a Rock Throw and cries out in pain.
“NO!” Serena cries but her partner catches herself and lands a full-face Absorb on the laughing Geodude. The energy rushing into her fixes up most of the wound, immediately stopping the blood flow. Geodude sits still, a little dazed from the attack.
“Again!” Serena shouts and the Rock Type suddenly looks panicked.
“Dude!” he cries as another Absorb lands.
Serena growls and takes a step forward, then realizes what she’s doing and freezes. Still, it was enough. The Geodude cries out in panic and flees into a crevice in the wall as Nadya cackles in satisfaction.
Serena realizes she isn’t shaking anymore when her Pokémon lands in her arms. A weak smile sneaks onto her lips then blossoms into a full-blown grin.
“We did it, Nadya!” she laughs, “Our first battle against a Type disadvantage. And we won!”
Nadya squees happily and wiggles in her arms. A quick look lets Serena see the wound is completely healed, only a small scar remaining.
Then someone claps behind them and she shrinks in on herself.
“Great battle!” a voice calls out.
She turns to see a young man in travelling gear standing there, a big smile on his face. He has three Poké Balls on his belt and looks a little unkempt.
“Not often I see someone your age just starting out,” he says and Serena bristles.
“Excuse me, young man! What is that supposed to mean?”
He laughs it off.
“No, no. I didn’t mean to call you old. Just relative to most other beginners, you’re… I’m just digging myself deeper, aren’t I?”
Serena stands tall and stares him down. He’s only a few centimetres taller than her and his frizzy hair reminds her a bit of her brother. She smiles darkly.
“Oh, no, do go ahead and finish what you were saying.”
“Nope. I’m fine. Anyway, I’m Simon Berret, Field Researcher of the Pokémon Lab. I’m on my way to Eterna Forest and the Rangers asked me to take a look at the Path. Now I’m glad I did, seeing a beautiful woman taking her first steps with a new Pokémon.”
Serena drops her smile and meets his eyes.
“Serena Crones. I’m married. And I’m almost old enough to be your mother.”
“Now who is calling who old?” Simon smirks, then bows his head with a more serious expression, “But I apologize. I didn’t see the ring.”
“You’re fine. I will still take the compliment.”
“Certainly, Ma’am. Let’s keep going?”
She nods.
“Sure. I want to set up camp before nightfall.”
“Good idea.”
They start moving towards the exit. It’s only a few minutes away and there’s a campsite just outside, a few kids on their journey already settled in with their tents or sleeping bags.
“Mind if I set up next to you?” Simon asks, “I’m interested to hear your story.”
Serena waves him off, “Go ahead. I’m not that interesting, though.”
“I beg to differ. What made you start another journey?”
She smiles.
“This is my first time. Never got around to it as a kid.”
“Oh. Oh, wow. How come?”
“I’d rather not talk about it,” she shakes her head. It’s not that bad after all those years but the memory of her brother lying in a hospital bed never really left her. Only once she got to know Derrik and meet his Machop did she start to get used to Pokémon.
“That’s fine. What made you reconsider, then? Trouble at work?”
“Not really, no. I like my job. It’s more that I had this opportunity all of a sudden. Mostly it’s thanks to my daughter, though.”
“Is she a Trainer?”
Serena chuckles.
“Yes, but that’s not the reason. It’s a bit of a story.”
“We have time. I’d be happy to listen.”
She shakes her head.
“Alright, then. Let’s see… My daughter, Zoe, went missing some time ago. Don’t worry, she was found,” she reassures Simon, “but she came back with an incredible tale. I won’t get into the details, it’s not my story to tell, but she had new Pokémon all of a sudden, and powerful ones. I would say I’ve gotten used to being around the ones in my family, and the Porygon that sometimes help at work, but that… It was like I was little again. I, well, I was scared. And then I saw how she interacted with them and I wondered if that’s what it takes to, you know, overcome my fear.”
Nadya chirps on Serena’s shoulder, rubbing her cheeks into the nook of her neck.
“Thanks, Nadya. And this little one here was the reason. Zoe found her, in Oreburg Tunnel where we were hiking, and gave her to me. And Nadya wanted to go on a journey, so here we are. I’m not sure how far we’ll go but there’s no need to rush.”
“That’s a good approach,” he nods, “Have you made plans for a larger team or will you stick with just the one partner?”
“Hmm… I have some ideas. It’s not something I’ll get into before I have some more experience with Nadya, though. I don’t want to make it too complicated so either a Flying or Poison Type would be required for my second Pokémon.”
“Oh, nice. I have a Haunter myself. She’s my starter and got me all the way to six badges. I can heavily recommend the Ghastly line. Though I seem to be stuck with Water Types since.”
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“Really? Well, I don’t think I’ll get any of those if I can help it. I’m more of a land person.”
Once their tents are set up, Serena takes out a bowl and Nadya’s Poké Chow. Her Pokémon digs in immediately. She pays close attention to Nadya’s wing but it seems to be fully healed already. She knows Pokémon are incredibly quick to regenerate but seeing it first-hand is a little different.
Simon lets his team out of their Poké Balls as well and the Haunter immediately catches her eye. The floating head made of purple gas is cackling as she starts to dig into her Trainer’s bag. A Prinplup stands next to her and fills the water bowls with what might be a Move. It’s very careful not to spill any water, though. His last Pokémon is a Bibarel who is lazily lying around a few steps away from the others, eyes half-closed.
Compared to all the powerful Trainers running the professional circuit, Simon’s team isn’t anything special, but for most people having three Pokémon, none of them in their base forms, is a strong team. Some Trainers make it to six badges with just one or two fully evolved Pokémon, or ones that are already strong in their base form while others spend more time broadening their skill set and building strategies for multiple situations. Being a generalist is difficult but also popular, thanks to the Champion.
Soon, everyone is settled in for dinner, Serena and Simon sitting on the ground surrounded by their Pokémon. They keep chatting for a while about Pokémon and Simon gives her some feedback on the strategies she is planning to use. Most of what she knows comes from watching the Conference every year so having a professional, even if it’s a researcher and not a Trainer, lets her refine her ideas a lot more rapidly.
She finishes the day by calling Derrik from inside her tent and telling each other all about their days. He’s excited that she won a battle and has their son join in so she can retell the story. He hasn’t heard what Zoe is doing right now but it’s only the third day after the start of the season. Serena isn’t worried for her daughter, yet.
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“Go on, beat him up, Lili!” I shout happily.
My friend twirls to dodge an Ice Beam and jumps alongside the Move over the platforms as the Ludicolo swerves it into her. The rain pattering the pool’s surface obscures visibility and, in combination with her increased speed from Victory Dance, our opponent is too slow to react in time. When Wake calls out the Protect, Lili’s Low Kick has already toppled the Ludicolo and she swiftly follows up with a Leaf Blade sending him flying into the barrier.
“Ludicolo is down, please choose your next Pokémon, Gym Leader!” the referee calls.
I grin and whoop, my fist raised.
I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with the level of Pokémon battling in Sinnoh after the last few days of matches. After Cynthia, I had expected to have a bit more trouble but she really is the outlier everyone calls her. Well, I haven’t faced the Elite Four, yet. Or Volkner, who is said to match them in strength. But from how everything is playing out, Giratina is going to play with him.
Today, for my fourth badge, we have a bit of a break. I’d apologize to Crasher Wake but we talked before the match and he was already expecting to lose. He said he’d give it his best shot and that I shouldn’t hold back, but really that would just be mean. I don’t want to kill or injure his Pokémon.
He’s long sent out the next one, a Gyarados. With the ongoing rainstorm, his Thunders and Hurricanes are turning the arena into a really hazardous environment but Lili has fought enough of his species that I likely won’t have to switch out for Lulu. She’s already charging her Solar Blade, I can see the glow cutting through the rain.
His energy-based Moves are easy to spot and she dances around them, only getting buffered by the edges of the sharp winds and lightning bolts. Then light erupts from her arm-leaf and pierces the violent darkness, clearing out water and wind alike. Lili stands tall and faces the Gyarados who roars in defiance, loosing a massive Hurricane towards her.
She swings her arm twice in rapid succession, first up, with only a little energy to cut a gap into the wind, then releasing the massive attack in a downwards swing that reaches all the way to Gyarados. The not-currently-flying storm snake gets rammed into the ground as the water from the pool is pushed aside. I hear him groan in pain and there is a violent crack. I sigh in relief when I spot the shattered floor tiles.
Gyarados is fine, as proven by him angrily shooting at Lili, the promise of a violent death in his eyes. Now he’s flying. Lili chirps once and twirls, then swoops to his side just as he arrives and cuts along his scales with a Leaf Blade. Wake recalls him before he can hit the barrier.
Lili stands tall and proud in the receding storm. The platform flails in the waves but she is completely unbothered by it. We’ve done a good bit of training on top of water back in Hisui. It wasn’t my favourite place to explore but much better than going into caves. Still, I can see her leaves twitching slightly. She’s gotten paralysed and might have some involuntary spasms during the rest of the battle.
Wake’s next Pokémon is a Poliwrath. A close quarters specialist. I raise the Poké Ball in my hand and Lili jumps back, barely avoiding a testing Bubble Beam and just before I recall her, another Rain Dance goes up and the storm picks back up again.
Then Lulu hits the field and her roar drowns out the wind for a moment. Poliwrath suddenly looks incredibly terrified and Lulu smirks, showing her gorgeous fangs. Static electricity flares across her flanks and into the water.
“Rush in!” Wake calls out and Poliwrath almost melts into the water, zooming at my partner. Lulu scoffs and releases a Shockwave, then dives into the pool to follow it up with a point-blank Thunder at the dizzy Poliwrath.
She chomps on the unconscious floating body and throws him out of the pool right in front of Wake before starting to tread water happily. She absolutely loves how powerful she is in water with most Pokémon living there weak to her main attacks.
Wake grimaces, then sighs. He recalls Poliwrath and I can see a shimmer of hope in his eyes as a Gastrodon hits the field. Good choice, but sadly one we have a lot of practice with as well. And with the pool, Lulu has a good bit of distance to the ground which makes it more difficult for the really dangerous Moves to hit her.
My electric cat Snarls, the Move a wonderful opening against energy-based battlers like Gastrodon. It’s an East Sea Gastrodon, obvious by its green and blue body. Instead of the expected Ground Move, it starts to create a huge wave. I would think it was Surf it it wasn’t for the telltale murky brown of Muddy Water. But again, the environment typically so conducive to Water Types plays against them here. Lulu simply dives, dodging the worst of the wave.
She manages a Confuse Ray while submerged just before an Earth Power slams spikes of Ground Type Energy into her belly. I wince, then sigh in relief when she pushes off the newly created ground to leap out of the water. A Volt Switch backwards propels her towards the Gastrodon and moments later her fangs close around the Pokémon in a Crunch and the sea slug is thrown into the barrier. A quick close-in followed by a Giga Impact gives Gastrodon the rest and Wake’s Pokémon is knocked out.
“Good job, girl!” I call out. Lulu yips happily and jumps back to my side of the arena with another Volt Switch. She’s taken a bit of a beating and I want her to be ready to switch out, for which she needs to be close to the barrier right in front of me. All our practise pays off when Wake sends out a Quagsire right after the Gastrodon. Two counters to Lulu, not entirely unexpected, but with how weak they are to Lili I’m still a little surprised.
“You’ve shown you can beat a counter, I’ll let you have the last match,” I say and Lulu nods.
I switch out again and Wake grimaces. I half expect him to do the same, which would be the smart idea, but then Lili overwrites the rain with a twirl and a Sunny Day. She’s halfway across the field, already cycling more Fire TE when Quagsire manages his Rain Dance only to be overwritten immediately. Lili smacks into him, landing a Leaf Blade but twitches as she moves in for the follow-up strike, the electricity running through her body coming back to hurt her just as the rain picks up again. Leaf Guard only really shakes off a status that’s applied to her in the sun. If it’s already on, even she has a tough time with it.
I nod in respect at the second Rain Dance. Quagsire managed to use the Move while getting blasted by a doubly super effective Move. The Lili hits a second Leaf Blade and the weird frog-fish Pokémon goes down and Wake recalls him to let out his last battler. It’s a Floatzel.
Normally, I would be completely uncaring of a Floatzel. Even in my weakened state just after returning to the present, I’d have been able to match most Floatzel with ease. This one is not one of them. This one is powerful. Even Lili stands up with respect and bows.
Floatzel is absolutely ripped and not in the ‘trained-a-ton’ kind of way. He’s ripped because of how much he fights. A muscle brain almost as bad as Lili. I half expect her to disregard the plan of letting both of my partners battle three of Wake’s Pokémon but Lili chirps calmly and Floatzel nods. She isn’t in her best condition and the weather favours him. While she could get another Sunny Day off, he’d get a big hit in. They’ve decided to battle some other day on even ground, muscle brain to muscle brain. Looks like I’ll be spending some more time in Pastoria City the next time we visit.
Lili calmly walks around the pool and I can hear the crowd whispering but Wake understands what his Pokémon wants and doesn’t order an attack. I signal to the referee when recalling Lili and he calls out.
“Liligant can no longer battle, Challenger, choose your next Pokémon!”
Obviously, I send Lulu into the arena.
Her beautiful roar invigorates me and I can see Floatzel perking up as well, rather than being intimidated. Even Wake stands tall, a last spark of hope in his eyes.
For a few precious moments, the only sound in the arena is the rain pouring into the pool. Floatzel and Lulu, Wake and I, are perfectly still, our minds only on each other. Then Lulu bares her fangs and all hell breaks loose.
Floatzel pushes off and disappears into the pool as Lulu sends a massive Thunderbolt into the spot he just left. She wastes no time and jumps, barely avoiding the wave of water shot forwards by his Surf. It splashes onto the barrier and obscures my vision for a seconds but a part of the move is that it carries its user with it and Floatzel is right next to me on the barrier.
“PUMP!” I shout as I see his throat bulge.
I don’t know if Lulu heard me or felt his TE building up but the Hydro Pump goes wide, only cracking the barrier on the other end of the field. Lulu answers with a roaring Thunder snaking through the storm and battering Floatzel. He drops to the ground as his wave recedes but stands tall, unbothered by the lightning and already gathering more Water TE around him.
“Charging!” I call out. Lulu is still hidden in the field, probably diving in the pool somewhere. She might see him, or she might hear me. I have to hold myself back from using our usual tells. I’m not allowed to use any Moves while commanding the battle. Normally, I’d be channelling Psychic TE to show her directly what’s happening and even distract the Move but I don’t want to be disqualified here. That would be unfair to Lulu.
Without warning, Floatzel suddenly shoots into the pool, the water accepting him as if he didn’t impact it at near super-sonic velocity. His Liquidation sends Lulu flying into the air where she cries out but the sparks across the surface are clear. She got her own Move off as well. And I can feel her energy still rising.
She spends just a little bit to Volt Switch to my side of the field and dodge a Waterfall follow-up, then lands in front of me just as Floatzel drops back into the pool. That won’t help him much against her infra-red vision but he isn’t hiding. He immediately comes shooting back out with an Aqua Jet putting himself right next to Lulu and starts hammering at her with a series of Fighting and Normal Type Moves.
Low Kick, Brick Break, Body Slam, Double Hit, and even a Double Edge push my partner back. Luckily, Lulu is used to facing a fighter like him and Lili is much faster than Floatzel. She manages to dodge most of his moves and puts less vulnerable parts of her body in the way of those she can’t avoid. All the while, she is charging up more and more Electric TE.
Then, she’s ready.
Lulu stops Floatzel’s next Brick Break by biting into it with a Thunder Fang, the energies exploding and sending them apart. She is more prepared than him and steadies herself quicker, then lets out her Charge Up series of Thunders. Half a dozen balls of Electric TE explode out of her, blowing the last remains of the receding Rain Dance into fine mist. Floatzel’s eyes widen as all six orbs violently release their energy. He isn’t ready. He can’t dodge.
All six Thunders blast into the ground around him, most of the Electric TE disappearing into the ground. Still, I can easily see the electricity forking into Floatzel and shaking him violently. The attack has too much power for him to even scream in pain. It’s over in just over a second and he collapses.
My ears pop, partially clearing after the horrendous noise that Lulu’s full-power blast creates. It’s good I’m used to it so I can recover quickly. I can see Crasher Wake shaking, his eyes wide. Then his partner groans and turns, trying to stand up. Floatzel is down but not completely out. Good. Lulu held back properly. I nod with a smile and look at the referee. The poor woman is staring open-mouthed, no wait, she’s making chewing motions. She probably can’t hear anything right now.
I hear Wake laughing loudly, probably the only one in the room that can hear him right now, then he lifts his Poké Ball and recalls his still-struggling Floatzel. He gives me a thumbs-up across the field and starts making chewing motions himself. I grin and giggle as the referee calls the match.
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“Welcome to Floaroma Town!” Simon says grandly spreading his arms.
Serena chuckles and smiles as she takes in the view. The famous ‘capital of flowers’ is one of the most beautiful places in all of Sinnoh, well known for its florists and the endless meadows of colourful blossoms all around it.
“Why, thank you,” she bows, half-mockingly, “It really is gorgeous…”
Simon lets his arms drop and nods.
“That it is. We still have an hour to go, though, so lets push on.”
It’s already getting late so Serena agrees and they keep going, silently enjoying the view from the hills around the town. Finally, they reach it and find the nearest Pokémon centre. It still has room for Trainers, though Simon has to pay for his as he’s not on his journey. They agree to meet up in the lobby again after freshening up.
Half an hour later, Serena has Nadya out with Simon’s Pokémon while the two humans sit at a table with a simple traveller’s dinner. Some hearty rice with a bit of meat and vegetables in a delicious honey sauce complimented by delicious fresh juice. It’s made from some kind of sour berry and gives a wonderful contrast to the sweet meat.
Simon is on his phone reading something on the internet when he suddenly chokes on the food. He coughs heavily and Serena quickly gets up to hit his back and help him get the food out of his airways. Once he’s able to breathe again, she rubs his back.
“That’s not where food is supposed to go, Simon,” she says, “Feeling better?”
He nods, still a bit distracted.
“What happened?” she asks.
He just points at his phone. She sees a video playing on loop, just a short fifteen second clip. It looks like a Pokémon battle only that she very easily recognizes the silver hair of her daughter standing in the arena and using Moves against a Mismagius and winning.
She runs a hand down her face.
“Oh, Zoe. What have you gotten yourself into?” she mutters.
Simon stares at her.
“You know her? You know Zoe Crones?”
Serena pats his head.
“That’s my daughter,” she says, “Did you not pay attention when I introduced myself?”
“I… but… I thought…”
She laughs and sits back down.
“I’ll have to call her later, see what she’s been up to.”
Simon gulps and shakes his head.
“Well, she just got her fifth black badge in as many days.”
Serena’s eyes narrow.
“I really have to call her, it seems.”