I wake up in pain. Something in my left side is stinging and my right shoulder feels like it spent a week sunbathing.
“Chan!” a cheerful voice speaks next to me. I pry open my eyes and smile at the Chansey looking down on my lying form. She pats my cheek and continues to administer what is probably some burn heal to my bare shoulder.
“Ouch,” I say, “I should’ve expected that from a Mismagius.”
“Chan, chansey!” my nurse nods seriously. She pats my wound and I can already feel my skin knitting itself back together.
“Thanks, Chansey.”
She pokes my cheek and giggles before patting the bed.
“Chansey chan. Chansey sey.”
“I know. I’ll get some rest. I got the next match tomorrow morning, though.”
She nods, then waves as she leaves the room.
I think back to the fight earlier. Fantina was a lot more difficult to deal with than the other battles until now. She had her Ghost Types prepared to dance around Lili’s close quarters style and my muscle brain got taken out by her third Pokémon. Lulu fared a bit better but got defeated by Fantina’s last Pokémon, her ace Mismagius. I could’ve sent out Giratina to finish the battle but I was itching to get into it myself and Lulu had landed a Thunder Wave and a Snarl before going down.
It was a risk since I had no other Pokémon to take my place in the commanding position which meant if I lost, I’d be unable to send in Giratina. But I wanted to battle. I’d gotten more and more restless watching my partners in the arena and my energy had grown rapidly with all the high-level Moves thrown around. I wanted to know how far I’d come. And so I stepped up.
I took a page from the Hisui Zoroark and channelled Normal and Ghost Type Energy, giving me good offence and defence against Mismagius. Maybe should’ve gone with Psychic or Electric for offence since I’m more used to those but that was hindsight.
Mismagius could tell my typing but it took Fantina a few seconds to understand what was happening when I stepped into the arena. That let me use a combination of Shadow Sneak and Shadow Ball to land a good opener. Mismagius pushed back, not needing Fantina’s commands to respond to me. She landed a point-blank Thunderwave followed up by Magical Leaf which I only partially dodged.
My second Shadow Ball was avoided but I was already next to her with Quick Attack and lashed out with a Shadow Punch. She just barely protected in time and her Mystical Fire burnt my shoulder, ruining my shirt in the process. Good thing I have enough spares.
While she had managed to land some hits, mine were much more impactful and before Fantina could even say anything, I finished the battle with a Phantom Force and Hex combo, downing my opponent. The referee called the match and I almost collapsed then and there.
Well, I just barely managed to limp over to my pack and eat a rawst berry to cure the burn and then I collapsed.
The door opens again before I can take stock of the room and in come a Nurse Joy followed by none other than Fantina herself. I grin and wave, slowly at first to not strain my injuries. Surprisingly, they don’t hurt at all.
“Good battle,” I say, “You were well prepared.”
Fantina glares at me but I can see the relief hidden by her mien.
“Miss Crones, how are you feeling?” Nurse Joy asks getting in between us.
“Oh, I’m fine. Just a few bruises but that’ll buff right out. I got some more potions in my bag.”
I look around and find it lying on the side table to my other side together with my Poké Balls.
“Okay…” Joy doesn’t look convinced, “No, not okay. What gave you the idea that jumping into a battle like that is in any way an acceptable risk? Do you know how badly you could have been hurt? Be glad Leader Fantina’s Mismagius held back properly. You might be dead, otherwise. You should be dead by all rights.”
“Um…” said leader tries to interrupt but Joy goes right on.
“I will require you to undergo Pokémon safety training, especially proper battle conduct and wild Pokémon encounters. What do you think would happen if you run into a wild Pokémon and try that stunt? Do you think it would knock you out and bring you to the nearest city? You’d be food for its young!”
She takes a breath and I clap my hands twice.
“Okay, stop!” I say as I meet her eyes. She freezes like so many others when I put on my serious face. Over the years I learned to make even most wild Pokémon pay attention to me with just a glare. I’ve faced enough power to be confident in myself and others can tell if I let them.
“Nurse, did you look up any information on me other than my name and the source of my injuries?”
She blinks and opens her mouth only to look away and shake her head.
“No, but…”
“I know what you think. I’ve faced this often enough. But I do have a PSIL-ID for a reason. The referee let me join the battle. Even Leader Fantina was made aware of it before the battle if protocol was followed.”
I glance at her and hold myself for a moment.
“It was. I forgot in the heat of battle but I was informed before.”
“Right,” I smile, “Now, Nurse Joy, thank you for worrying about me. I know you only have my best health in mind. But if I really was just a stupid kid, your approach would have only made me try it again out of spite. You should take a calm approach and try to see the patient’s reason for their action before scolding them. At least to their face. Feel free to mouth off to your colleagues about my stupidity. You wouldn’t be the first.”
She looks as chagrined as she probably wanted me to feel and I pat her hand.
“Oh, and if your patient is not healed within a few hours from the kind of attacks that I took that’s a good sign they didn’t know what they were doing.”
“How do you know it ’as only been a few hours?” Fantina asks and I finally notice her beautiful Kalos accent. Hisui and early Sinnoh didn’t have many people from there but I have heard it a few times.
“It’s not the first time I got hit like that,” I smirk.
“Those were some strong moves. Are you…”
“I’m not a Pokémon. I’m also not fully human anymore. I’m somewhere in between, I’ve been told. You can ask Cynthia about it, she’ll confirm.”
“She ’as mentioned something of the kind,” she nods.
Nurse Joy clears her throat and we turn to her.
“No matter if you knew what you were doing, I’ll still need to do a proper check up. Gym Leader, please finish your business. You two can chat more after I am done with Miss Crones.”
“Of course,” Fantina smiles and reaches for her shiny violet handbag. She digs out a small case and presents me with the Relic Badge. The three violet stones and the triangular silver block in their middle look gorgeous on the black metal plate.
“Challenger Zoe, for defeating my most powerful team you have earned the Black Relic Badge. Congratulations for overcoming this challenge. Wear it with pride and show the world your strength. You are one of the pillars of Sinnoh.”
I smile awkwardly and accept it.
“Thank you, Gym Leader. I’m going to try my best to keep up with your expectations. As long as you aren’t rooting for me to replace Cynthia.”
Fantina laughs.
“Oh, you’ll need a little more power than you’ve shown to even have a chance at that.”
“That depends on if its a battle or a fight,” I smirk.
“You truly represent the values of this region I have come to love so much. I’ll leave you in Nurse Joy’s capable hands for now but we will talk more.”
“If not today, some other time,” I nod.
As soon as she leaves, Nurse Joy goes into full professional mode and fusses over me. My side is still a little bruised but I just drink some of my hand-made potion and show her in real time how well it works on me. After I received the Legend Plate from Arceus I was more excited about the effectiveness of Pokémon healing items and berries than the ability to use Moves. Especially once Lili started putting me through my paces. Speaking of…
I grab my Poké Balls and let out Lili and Lulu, looking them over quickly. They’ve already been treated by the Chansey and Nurses and they’re fine. Lili is a bit grumbly but honestly, she knows Driftblim can explode after they get knocked out as an emergency defence mechanism. Neither of us expected it to be something a Pokémon could be trained for and the follow-up Hypnosis from Fantina’s Gengar was enough to put her on her last legs.
All in all, the battle went worse than expected but it didn’t go horrible so I’m happy with it. And my fingers are already itching for more. I meet Lili’s eyes and she sees what I’m thinking. Lulu just yawns and lies back down but my muscle brain nods and chirps. There’s a little bit of relief on her face. I guess even someone like her gets exhausted from so many high-level battles in a row.
----------------------------------------
Maylene looks at me and Lili standing in the challenger’s position across from the arena and glares. She’s definitely seen some of our previous battles and is prepared for a hard match. I am too. I’m well rested and feeling even stronger than yesterday. Stepping into the arena brought me much closer to my old strength. I’ll soon be where I was when I battled Arceus to get sent back to the future. Today, I’m hoping to reach all the way.
“First Challenger of the day,” the referee says, “Zoe Crones from Oreburgh City.”
The stands are crowded, not a single seat free despite the early hour. With just three badges left it’s a thirty-three percent chance to find me if you’re early.
“This battle will be six on six, Elite Rules,” the referee continues, “One carried item per Pokémon, no duplicates. The Challenger is the first to release their Pokémon. One switch per two minutes. Are the contestants ready?”
Both sides nod. I told him what was going to happen before the battle so he isn’t surprised to get the answer from Lili instead of me. My muscle brain has had a good few battles and deserves a day of rest. And then Lili chirps and waves me forward. I grin and start channelling my Type Energy. I’m starting with Psychic and Fighting. The former for defence and utility in case I overestimated my speed though I hope I’ll be able to keep up. The latter because I’m itching to get in close and test myself.
When Lili stays back in the challenger field and I step into the arena, the crowd goes silent. I crack my knuckles and my neck as I send a vicious grin to my opponent, then take a stance. It’s one I learned from thousands of personal training sessions with Lili and other Fighting Types.
Maylene narrows her eyes and frowns. She must’ve been prepared for my Pokémon but me jumping into the arena was a new thing yesterday so she won’t be ready. Well, she couldn’t be with me having the Legend Plate and all. But she only takes a moment before going through with the Poké Ball she had been holding already.
With a pop-and-hiss sound, a somewhat unfamiliar form materializes. The Pokémon has a slim grey body with dexterous arms and a slightly oversized head. It’s legs are covered in thick pink-ish bulbs that look like muscle tissue covered in hardened skin to me. There are yellow spots on its knees. A Medicham. Something I looked up but am not very experienced with. It’s a Fighting and Psychic Type and mostly used to prep the field with barriers. Not incredibly strong but great at battlefield control.
It settles into a stance and the referee calls to begin. Lili chirps a command that isn’t entirely apparent, but she’s really just playing Trainer. We’ve never battled like this but she liked the idea of calling the shots even if I have no chance of understanding her in the middle of the battle.
As expected, Medicham starts off with a Light Screen as I charge forwards. Fighting TE covers my hands and when the Reflect goes up, two rapid Brick Breaks smash the screens apart. I hear Maylene call out an attacking Move and swerve to the side to avoid the Psybeam sent my way. She probably thinks I’m Ghost Type from what I showed yesterday so I’m keeping my Psychic Moves back. The longer she doesn’t suspect, the longer she won’t let her Fighting Types use their most comfortable Moves.
Medicham dodges backwards to avoid my third Brick Break and I use the space to throw in a quick Victory Dance. Obviously, I know Lili’s signature Move even if it looks a bit awkward on me when I spin like a ballerina. I turn the momentum into a Low Sweep that Medicham dodges by levitating and have to drop all pretence and Teleport out of the way of its Thunder Punch.
I end up right behind it and backflip, landing a brutal Axe Kick into Medicham’s back sending it to the ground. Lili’s chirp reaches my ear and urges me to finish it so I jump away from the retaliatory Low Sweep and blast Medicham with a Psychic. The mental connection established by the Move tells me exactly how painful it is and I let off just as my opponent is knocked out.
Dropping my Fighting TE fully with another Victory Dance, I twirl back towards Lili. I have a few seconds to think as Maylene tries to figure out what to do next. I’m still running Psychic and have one type free to counter any secondary ones. Lili’s call actually helped me, against my expectation. It’s kinda obvious in hindsight that a battler could never listen to the detailed instructions. I give my Pokémon simple signs of noise and body language so obviously they’d be enough for me as well. We’ll have to practise a few more of them. Maybe Lili can be the actual Trainer of our team?
I shake my head when Maylene takes another Poké Ball from her belt.
“What Typing are you even?” she asks.
“Whatever I want!” I throw back, though since I don’t have a mic it’s not loud enough for the audience to hear. Still, she shakes her head and sends out her next Pokémon. This is one I know. A Heracross. The Fighting Bug is a good choice to face my Psychic Type. My best bet here is Ghost or Flying. The latter is a bit mean but I still got five Pokémon to go through. I don’t think I can hold anything back. I’ll need to make the first hit count, though.
Maylene starts giving commands, warning Heracross of what she’s seen me do and I rush in again. My TE is cycling in a thick layer of Psychic to hide the Flying TE underneath. Heracross braces herself, a hint of hesitation in her face. I show my teeth and lash out, most of my Psychic TE forming a purple-pink blade as I swing my arm. She dodges my Psycho Cut nimbly with a Detect and retaliates with a Megahorn but my Teleport brings me right behind her. By that point, my Wing Attack is in full swing, literally, as ethereal wings of energy form around my arms and strike my opponent’s back.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Heracross cries out while I use the moment to replace my used-up Psychic TE with Fighting TE and start into a rapid series of Fighting Moves. Brick Break, Drain Punch, Low Sweep, Axe Kick, and another Victory Dance for good measure. By this point, I’m far too fast for Heracross to do anything but avoid the worst of my attacks. She takes chip damage with every exchange, desperately trying to disengage.
Then I notice the Rock TE surging up behind me and push off the ground. When the Stone Edge only impales where I just stood as I leisurely stand a step above it, Heracross’s eyes widen. She pushes off desperately and I let the Fly drive me right into her path. The Flying TE smashes her into the barrier in front of Maylene where she drops, unconscious.
I get up with a roll and steady my breathing. My Flying TE is used up and I decide to wait for Maylene’s next Pokémon before picking a new Typing. Lili chirps happily behind me and I give her a smile. I notice the crowd is murmuring quietly and quite a few people are looking rather scared for some reason but I ignore them when the tell tale pop-hiss of a Pokémon being released draws my attention back to the battlefield.
My next opponent is a huge muscular humanoid with grey skin and four arms. His eyes narrow as Maylene pumps him up with a few words. I don’t listen but Lili’s calming chirp stops me from rushing in again. Right. Four arms against two is a heavy disadvantage. I have to take it slow and methodical, using and abusing every opening he presents.
For a few moments, we carefully eye each other. This Machamp is pretty strong for a non-Alpha. I’m not surprised, after all Maylene is a highly rated Gym Leader and some people challenge her for their sixth or seventh badge to get more experience in. He is standing steady, feet and all four hands ready to explode into action. The worst thing he could do to me is sandbag to build up a powerful Payback so I avoid using Psychic Type. I don’t want to paralyse him and increase his strength either so no Electric Type. That only really leaves Grass. Sure, I used Flying against Heracross, but Machamp is pure Fighting Type. Without the double advantage, something I’m well used to is a better option.
Machamp shifts his left ankle and I rush towards it. My feet are filled with Grass TE and small sprouts of plants, mostly clovers and, well, grass, appear around them. He lifts both of his upper fists holding the lower arms ready for a grapple and shifts his torso to face my sideways approach. That’s when I slam my heels into the ground and my Grassy Slide activates. Instead of slowing down, I shoot forwards. A Detect lets me avoid his grapple as my foot meets his heel with a burst of Grass TE. I spin underneath the follow-up punches and turn into a Low Sweep. He jumps, just a tiny bit, and clears my other foot.
His lower hands slap together and slam down as I roll again. The wooden floor splinters with a huge cracking noise but I’m already slashing his side with a Leaf Blade as the back of his upper-right hand slaps my spine. I tumble and roll with the momentum, then close the distance with another Grassy Slide.
We keep exchanging strikes for a few endless seconds, both of us slowly taking damage. I’m faster and able to land more hits, thanks to my Victory Dances. Bit by bit, Machamp’s stamina is worn down. When I feel my Grass TE almost running out, I finally use Detect again to avoid a Cross Chop. That’s when he suddenly bursts with Dark TE. I grin, another Grassy Slide shooting me to the other side of the arena as the Payback goes wide, shattering wood behind me.
I stop my self horizontally on the arena’s barrier and charge up on Psychic TE. Machamp roars in anger at his miss and charges at me. He knows he’s losing, and he’s lacking control. My Telekinesis lets me comfortably walk up the barrier, out of range of his fists unless he jumps. Which he does. A single overcharged Psybeam is enough to slam him back into the ground and I sit down on the vertical surface with a slight helping of Gravity to save on energy.
The dust clears quickly and the referee declares the unconscious Machamp unable to fight. Maylene has stopped glaring and seems much more respectful as she recalls her partner. She takes a moment to consider her options then throws another Poké Ball. This is one I know, as well. A monkey. A monkey with burning hair.
The Infernape glares as Maylene mutters a few quiet words. I simply enjoy my moment of rest even as Lily chirps some unintelligible instructions to me. I smile at my friend and trainer and she rubs her head in exasperation, then points at the ground with an angry chirp. I don’t see the point. Gravity is active and it’ll stay for another few minutes on my half of the arena.
I yelp as I’m suddenly flung out of the arena. Normal gravity reasserts itself and I tumble on the ground, somehow ending up on my feet. I turn to Lili with a complaint on my lips but she is already throwing Lulu’s Ultra Ball into the arena and the barrier is formed again. I pout but walk over and sit down next to her to catch my breath. Only then do I realize how winded I am. I’d have been knocked out by this Infernape or the next opponent. Lili’s just looking out for me.
She turns to me and pats my head after giving Lulu some instructions. I smile and nuzzle into her side as we watch the Infernape attempting to take on an angry Alpha Luxray in an arena with messed up gravity.
Our half still has it going towards us while the other half is normal. Lulu is dancing on the edge of the field, manoeuvring her opponent into the weird gravity. She doesn’t have much of an issue with it, relying on her size to pull back into the normal field. She even makes use of it to dodge a few punches. It doesn’t take long for Infernape to go down to a Thunder Fang.
A glance at Maylene tells me she’s somehow upset again but she manages to collect herself and throws out the next fighter, a Toxicroak. This will be easy for Lulu so I let my eyes wander while I continue to rest.
The stands are full of confused faces slowly returning to normalcy. Maybe showing off in such a public environment was a bit much but it was fun. I smile and wave at a few kids sitting in the front rows and they start to excitedly chatter with each other. The adults seem much more concerned for some reason. Not that that’s anything new to me. In the last years I’d been regarded with fear from quite a few people that didn’t know me well. Sinnoh was still very dangerous back then and I had three alphas on my team, two of them Dragons.
There isn’t much I can do about that right now so I ignore their looks. The battle between Lulu and Maylene’s Toxicroak seems to have caught most of the spectators’ attention anyway. By this point, gravity has returned to normal and they’re dancing around each other, Lulu openly mocking her opponent. The Toxicroak is getting increasingly frustrated and when my Pokémon makes a mistake, a vicious Shadow Slash rips into her side.
“Ohh, that must’ve hurt!” the announcer shouts as the crowd gasps. Lulu snarls angrily, a wide gash bleeding profusely on her side. Before the referee can call her out of the fight, she roars and a swarm of Thundershocks shoots out of her fur, covering the whole arena. I sigh and grab for my bag, handing Lili two Revives and Max Potions.
When the dust clears both Pokémon in the arena are downed and badly injured, at least for a modern competition. We’ve dealt with much worse in the field but the spectators are obviously scared, Maylene as well even if she hides it.
Lili chirps to the referee and holds up the healing items. He takes only a moment to think before blowing his whistle and shouting into his mic.
“The match is interrupted due to injury. Healers on the field. Trainers are free to use healing items.”
Lili chirps and jumps in and I quickly follow her. I see Maylene running towards Toxicroak. I take a Revive and a Max Potion from my partner and join her. Lulu’s bleeding looks bad but it’s a surface wound, Toxicroak might have heart-rhythm issues after such a massive Electric attack.
I’m just a step faster than the Gym Leader and quickly assess the situation. Toxicroak is breathing and has a pulse so that’s good. I run a gentle trickle of Normal TE through her body following her own TE. There are quite a few interruptions but they’re just a lack of TE rather than injury. I press the Revive to Toxicroak’s chest and activate it as I look up.
“She’s fine, just bottomed out,” I say to Maylene, “Don’t worry, she’ll make it.”
The Gym Leader is looking nervous but I can see she has at least some trust in my words and calms down a little. A team of Chansey arrives in the meantime and I turn to the two that step up next to us.
“Pulse and breathing normal,” I report, “TE flow interrupted due to lack of Energy. Stabilizing with Normal until the Revive does it’s work.”
The Chansey nod and start chatting while pulling out some instruments. One of them puts her fins on Toxicroak and helps me with the stabilizing. And probably double-checking my work. I’m fine with it. While I’m a decent emergency medic, I’m no professional healer. I’m definitely worse than a Nurse Joy even with my ability to use Moves and Type Energy to aid healing.
I glance at Maylene again and she’s smiling softly now. She meets my eyes and nods in thanks.
A few minutes later, the Revive has taken its course and Toxicroak is awake again, if weak. One of the Chansey spent the time testing my hand-made Max Potion and is now happily administering it to the patient. Maylene is holding her Pokémon’s hand. I look back at Lulu who is already fit again. The wound is still visible but healed and they didn’t even need the Revive. Lili chirps happily at me.
“You can really do everything, huh?” Maylene asks and I turn back to her. Her microphone has luckily been turned off already.
“I’ve lived in the wilderness more than in cities. I had to learn this or watch my friends die.”
She frowns heavily.
“It’s not that bad out there. I’ve trained on the slopes of Coronet.”
“The slopes are where the prey hides from the Dragons.”
“Garchomp aren’t that common. Especially away from Wayward Cave.”
“That place has a small population, yeah. The real ones live near the mountain top. And there are other species hiding in the depths of the mountains, usually higher up. Ever been out at night?”
“In the wild? A few times.”
“Ever faced a swarm of angry Crobat?”
“Crobat don’t evolve in the wilderness.”
“Not often. But the caves are massive. Even I don’t go in there too deep. Shit’s scary.”
“Right…”
She doesn’t seem convinced but is distracted by Toxicroak sitting up. The Chansey check him over again before letting Maylene know that he’s fine but still needs more rest. I feel a spark as someone nuzzles my hair and step to the side. Lulu gives me a thankful nod and then meets Toxicroak’s eyes. The two Pokémon watch each other for a moment before my partner lowers herself to the ground in an apology. Toxicroak follows suit by bowing deeply and they exchange some quiet words as the Chansey lead them away. I hand one of them a few Sitrus Berries and she thanks me happily.
I turn to Maylene and pat her shoulder.
“Ready to finish this match?”
She looks sheepish.
“Sorry for having my Pokémon go out of control.”
“She was desperate for the win and hit a little harder than expected. Nothing to worry about, we’ve dealt with way worse. I should apologize for Lulu going too far in retaliation. She isn’t used to modern battling.”
“I… yeah,” she smiles, “Apology accepted.”
“Same,” I grin back.
“Trainers, please return to your positions,” the referee calls out and we move. After getting back to our sides he speaks up again, “After consulting with my co-referee and the nurses, we’ve decided to issue no punishments this time. Both Gym Leader Maylene Lillis and Challenger Zoe Crones receive one warning for excessive aggression. Does anyone object to that outcome?”
I shake my head, so does Maylene. The referee nods with a smile.
“Good. Injuries can happen. Don’t let them get in the way of healthy competition and properly train your Pokémon. Are both sides willing to continue the match?”
We nod again, Lili joining in this time. When Maylene sees my Pokémon still standing in the Trainer position she groans.
“After this you’re still going to fight yourself?” she asks through her reactivated mic.
Instead of an answer I simply Teleport into the arena and raise myself with a Telekinesis. I make sure to put on a show and make my hair and clothes flutter in non-existent wind.
“Come at me!” I say and make the appropriate motion with my hand.
Maylene steels her eyes and snarls a “Fine!” into her mic before letting out her last Pokémon. It’s an absolutely beautiful and monstrously muscular Lucario. Before the referee can even call for the battle to resume, I’m already on Fighting TE. I could’ve tried to keep my distance with Fire or Ground easily enough but I got mobility and ranged attacks with Psychic so I’m going to be fine. Hopefully. If not, Lili can always let Giratina out to play.
“The match will resume in three… two… one… GO!”
At the referee’s shout, I immediately Teleport behind Lucario and swing with a Brick Break. It goes wide as he already stands where I just was. I can only see the shockwave of him moving and use Detect the moment he turns around. Sure enough, I just barely manage to avoid the second Extreme Speed.
I use a quick one-two punch to push him back which he guides away from his torso and then land a Psychic that makes him cringe in pain. He still manages to hit back with a Crunch. His teeth clamp down around my shoulder and he swings his neck, throwing me into the air. I use Telekinesis to rise further and sweep the area with a Psybeam. He spins around it and jumps, just coming short with his Meteor Mash. As he starts to fall, I speed up my drop with Telekinesis and slam an Axe Kick on his back and he impacts the ground painfully.
Lucario turns around on the ground before I can land on him and shoots an Aura Sphere at me that grazes my side even after I push myself out of the way with Telekinesis. I blast out one final Psychic just as the follow-up Dark Pulse connects but my Psychic TE is used up so the Dark Move is no longer effective.
As I land, Lucario is already standing. I rush in again and we start another exchange of melee attacks. I see the smile on his snout and feel myself mirroring it. He dodges my Drain Punch while I jump over his Low Sweep. Then we both descend into Close Combat. We lose all inhibitions and spend every strike we can to do as much damage as possible. For a few seconds fists impacting bodies is all that’s on our minds.
I draw on the Legend Plate and start channelling as much Fire TE as possible. Lucario realizes but he can’t pull away from me. Just as the mutual Close Combat ends, I let out the most powerful Fire Type Move I know. The Blast Burn explodes with infernal fury, heat razing the remaining wood left in the arena. I make sure to shoot the fire as far as possible and grin when I feel it bounce off the barriers. In the roaring flames, I can barely hear anything else. The heat singes my clothes but thanks to it being my Move, it won’t burn me.
When the Move ends, I’m glad that I judged my power well. Spreading it out over such a wide area was not only to guarantee the hit but also to weaken the attack. Lucario is down on one knee on the other side of the arena. He’s breathing heavily and his fur is singed. His arms are crossed defensively and the steel spikes on the backs of his hands are glowing a deep red colour. He looks up at me and snarls. I channel the last of my Fighting TE for a Detect but no Move comes out. Then Lucario buckles and his eyes close.
The referee calls the match just as I’m about to collapse. Lili jumps into the arena and hands me my bag. I dig out a Sitrus Berry and start to dig in, feeling some of my energy return. Slowly, my brain starts to register the crowd’s noise. There is roaring applause as Lili raises my hand and I feel a smile creeping onto my face.
I did it. I’m back in form. Well, mostly. I’m still not on the level where I could keep up with Arceus but I’m back to where I feel safe exploring remote areas of wilderness. Time to find Goopy. Then I see Maylene walking up to me. Okay. I’ll find Goopy after the badges. It’s just two more days and tomorrow Lili is going to have fun against Byron’s Steel Types.
Maylene hands me the badge under the crowd’s cheering and pats my uninjured shoulder.
“You’re way too strong,” she shakes her head “But that’s fine. You’re also a good person.”
I look over the people. There are a lot more smiles than earlier when Lulu was fighting. It seems getting accepted by the healers did a lot of good for my reputation.
“Thanks,” I say “For the battle, and the kind words.”
Maylene gives me a quick hug, then her face turns serious.
“Thanks for helping Tox. Here’s your badge and your TM. Join me in the Centre?”
I nod and we’re off. Maylene leads me through the backrooms of the Gym which I’m grateful for after seeing the crowd of reporters in front of the main entrance. Mes joins us moments before we get to the Centre and settles on my head. The Heal Pulse she uses starts working on the bruises and gashes. The worst of it is probably Lucario’s Crunch. The puncture wounds from his teeth are just starting to scab over.
“Say, Zoe. Where did you learn to fight like that?” Maylene asks.
“Well, I may have the Trainer license but I’m more of a researcher. Lili is the primary trainer of my team. She taught me to fight as well, mostly using all the Pokémon I caught for research that she was training.”
“Huh. Wait, you’re a researcher?”
“Official Lab-Trainer, now that I’ve got six badges.”
“Neat. Well, how about you join us for a sparring session sometimes? I’m sure my team would be happy to have you and Lili around.”
I smile.
“Sure. I got two more badges to get and I’ll be joining my friends on their journey after that. But with Mes I can just come by whenever I want.”
“You can Teleport yourself,” she grumbles into my mind. She never liked me getting hurt. I laugh.
“Mes, you want me to get stronger. Training with Maylene’s team will help with that.”
She just turns away and returns focus to healing me.
A nurse steps up with a Chansey next to her and guides us into the back. They start fussing over me and Maylene’s Pokémon. Lulu and Toxicroak are in the room as well, resting under the watchful eyes of another Chansey. When the nurses are finally done with me and Maylene is satisfied with the state of her team, she looks at me awkwardly. I smile to encourage her.
“Um,” she tries then looks away. After a moment, she gathers her wits and turns back to me “So, I heard some things about you,” she says.
“Oh?” I muse “What things? And who might have told you?”
“We had a meeting shortly before the season start. With the Gym Leaders and Elite Four.”
I smirk.
“I assume Cynthia was there as well?”
She nods.
“What did she tell you?”
“That you’re much older than you look. And that you’re stronger than her. I think I get what she means, now.”
“Didn’t believe her before?”
“Not really. But if you can match Luca like that and Lili is the one who taught you? Yeah. I believe it.”
“I travelled a long time,” I say, suppressing a smirk at the double meaning “It was an exhausting trip. I’m still not up to where I was before but I’m getting close. I was able to match Lili. Mes wants me to get back to that. All the energy thrown around in the battles these last few days let me catch up most of the way.”
“Huh. So the part about time travel was also true?”
I laugh. I didn’t expect Cynthia to keep it a secret from the leaders. But that Maylene just wrote it off as false was kinda funny. Some of the others probably paid it more attention.
“Yes, it is. You’ll see my friend that helped me make the trip soon. They want to battle at least once. Volkner’s gonna be the one to have the honour, most likely.”
Maylene shudders.
“Can you at least tell me what Pokémon it is?”
“Nope. Go find out for yourself.”
“And here I thought we were friends,” she pouts.
I’m the first to break out into giggles and soon we’re a mess of happy tears and weird noises. It’s nice to meet new people.