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Pino Pokémon Lab, Florencia City - Italia Region
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Cassius Proditor had once more disguised himself as a child after finally reaching Italia, mostly because of a rumor he'd heard about one of the starters Professor Pino gave out. Unlike other regions, there were multiple of each type, and each could easily be found in the wild at some point in a Trainer's journey, if they looked hard enough. Clauncher and Squirtle and sometimes Feebas were one such selection, Numel, Magby, and a fire typed regional variant of Rockruff were another, and the grass options were Smoliv, Budew, and sometimes Snowver. Proditor only had one goal here: find out where the Snowver were raised, as with his Future Sight, he had seen himself somehow reuniting with Optimus, and doing so required him to come here. Getting their location would be as simple as prying open the old Italia Professor's mind; the only problem was the child in front of him, and his inability to choose a starter. He knew it was a momentous occasion, but it had been ten minutes by this point, and he'd looked through his options three times.
More than that, there was something…off, about this child in particular. He had dark hair that had way too much gel in it, and his face looked stuck in a downcast expression. Adding to his weird vibe were the four very muscular men, each in black suits and wearing sunglasses despite being inside, who flanked the kid at all times. From their thoughts, they were just as irritated with the 'young master' and his inability to choose. Professor Pino looked like he wanted to help, but he was clearly afraid of the men in black, and it all clicked together, as Proditor heard the word the aged Professor called them inside his aging brain: Mafioso. The child belonged to one of the ruling classes in Italia, and while Proditor sensed psychic potential, he also wished he'd make up his Mukking mind already.
Seeing his chance to get acquainted with the powers that be, Proditor finally decided to stroll up to the kid. The guards shifted, but then, to all appearances he was just another brat waiting for a Pokémon, and apparently the 'young master' didn't have many friends. Proditor suspected most families in Italia kept their little ones from associating with the spawn of a mob boss. For good reason. Friends of heirs to the family very often ended up getting drawn into the 'family business' when they got older.
"Sup, fam." Proditor said, trying to emulate the patterns of speech he'd heard in his time at Naranuva Academy. "Having some trouble?"
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The boy had dark hair, somewhere between brown and black, that curled over his narrow brown eyes and shined with the slick gel product that someone had put on his head. He was dressed like a typical rich kid, but had no hat, which was odd for a beginning Trainer, but probably wouldn't have gone well with that much gel. He looked at Proditor, and radiated guilt. "Sorry…you can go first if you know your pick…I just…can't decide."
Proditor nodded, tempted to just do that, ask the Professor for the information he wanted, and leave, but he did feel slightly bad for the kid. He also needed an in to the famously tight knit crime clans of Italia. Only Team Rocket openly recruited, but Proditor had no intention of tying himself to a sinking ship. Their newest Boss had apparently been rolled in battle by a ten-year-old multiple times, in Kanto. Or was it multiple ten-year-olds? He didn't remember, he just figured out from his research that Team Rocket was a joke, as was the Rossi Family, in Italia lately. Apparently, they'd botched some job in Paldea and had lost most of their skilled Pokémon Hunters to the International Rangers.
"I'd feel bad if I didn't help." Proditor lied. "What kind of Pokémon did you want for your starter?" The boy shrugged, and Proditor nodded, sagely. Helpful, this one. "Well surely you must like one Type over the others?"
"Fire…I guess." The boy said, frowning.
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Proditor nodded, and then gave his two Pokécents. "You should go with Magby. Magmortar are very powerful, but only well-off people like you can afford their evolution item. That's probably why nobody has picked one, right Professor?"
Professor Pino was seemingly middle aged, with black hair and a goatee that was more salt than pepper. His head also had a few noticeable grays within it. He had standard physiognogamous traits commonly associated with Italia, which made him handsome, by Proditor's standards. He wore a lab coat over a collared burgundy shirt, and around his neck was a neatly wrapped scarf bearing patterns associated with ancient Italia, the Professor's primary field of study. A master of archaeology and anthropological research, he was the undisputed authority on ancient history in Europa. The Professor nodded sagely in response to Proditor's words. "It is a sad truth, but an accurate one. Magmar are hard to evolve, even with the item. Numel and Rockruff might only have one evolution, but they're much easier to train, and easily as versatile as a Magmortar."
"Yea, but that Move pool on Magmortar…" Proditor said, smirking. "Electric, Fire, and Ground Moves, limited but useful Psychic abilities. Very few things can stand up to a fully trained Magmortar."
The rich boy nodded, and cautiously approached one of the larger Magby in the area that contained the starters. Most were lounging peacefully in their corner of the lab. The grass types had almost all positioned themselves for some sun, the water types were splashing about in the small pool for them, and the fire types were as far from the pool as possible, and most were Magby. The kid walked up to the largest Magby. "Do you want to come with me?"
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The Magby eyed the child, and then shot flames, small flames, into the air before him. The guards reacted, two of them drawing Pokéballs, but Proditor was quicker. "He's just testing you." Proditor said. "Magby like strength. You need to show him you're not weak."
"But I am weak…" The kid muttered, and Proditor chuckled.
"But with a Magby, you'd be strong. Go on. Order him to come with you." Proditor urged.
The child nodded. Professor Pino handed him Magby's ball, and the kid held it out to the fire type, who watched the humans converse with intelligent eyes. "I can make you into a Magmortar, Magby. Together we will be strong. Get in the ball."
The Magby glanced between Proditor and the rich child, and Proditor could tell it would've preferred him as a Trainer. His aura was stronger, and even baby Pokémon could tell that much. But he went into the ball regardless. Judging by his thoughts, he was very eager to become a Magmortar, though he wasn't exactly loyal, he'd have to be, if he wanted to become a Magmar.
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The quiet kid's eyes widened, as he felt the weight of the ball, the heat that warmed his hand, and he looked at Proditor then. His tiny disguise's face smirked, as he sensed what came next. "Pick yours, then meet me outside. We should start out with a Battle. Like Red and Leaf did."
"Sure. I'll meet you outside." Proditor answered, and the child left, with his four bodyguards surrounding him at all times as he did. He could tell they were wary of Proditor for some reason, though he had no idea why such obviously accomplished and dedicated men, judging by their bodies, would be wary of a child as innocent as he thought he looked. His disguise had pale skin tones, purple eyes, and raven black hair. Not to mention the underlying darkness apparent whenever he smirked or showed enough emotion. He looked back, finally, at the Professor and said, "I need you to tell me where the Snowver around here live. Please."
Professor Pino raised a scraggly gray eyebrow. "Is that who you're picking? Going to let it visit its home one last time before setting off? Reminds me of the Champion, though she was rather unlucky when she came for a Pokémon. She just missed our last Squirtle, and all I had was a Minccino."
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Proditor endured the man's rambling and took the opportunity to look around the lab properly. The sun cast a warm glow over the Renaissance villa nestled amidst Florencia's bustling streets. Ivy-clad walls embraced the centuries-old structure's exterior. The lab was thousands of years old, but many buildings in Florencia were just as old, if not older. Through the window, he could see a garden bursting with life, aromatic herbs, vibrant flowers, and ancient Arboliva that seemed to have stood in their spots for ages.
Inside the lab, frescoes adorned the walls, depicting scenes of mythological Pokémon battles intertwined with Italia's rich cultural heritage. Proditor smirked, at how wrong they'd gotten things, but he did recognize a familiar figure with an iconic bronze helmet trimmed with crimson dyed hair, clad in bronze armor, and wielding a long spear and shield. His iconic Rhydon was behind him. Proditor resisted the urge to break the ancient depiction. The lab itself had high ceilings supported by sturdy wooden beams weathered with age. The large windows were framed in heavy velvet curtains and rows of wooden workstations lined the perimeter of the room's walls.
Each workstation was a proper mess. Microscopes being used by Pino's aides had their lenses focused on delicate Pokémon fossils meticulously unearthed from ancient ruins around the region. Nearby, computer terminals hummed with the rhythmic pulse of data analysis, displaying the intricate genetic sequences of Pokémon species long thought extinct, that seemed to be appearing in Italia once again, over the last several years. Much like Orre and other regions, the Professors of the world had no solid theory as to why the Pokémon were returning to these areas, but they all agreed it was a good thing. Pokémon very obviously benefitted any environment they were left in, most of the time.
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Glass display cases stood throughout the laboratory, showcasing a treasure trove of artifacts meticulously curated by Professor Pino and his team. Ancient pottery shards bore intricate patterns that spoke of a bygone era, while coins from ancient Italia made up the majority of his finds. Nestled among them were fossils of Pokémon surrounded by strange seven colored crystals, shimmering with the promise of untapped power. Weathered scrolls inscribed with runes took up the rest of the space, though their text was ancient, and written with Unown script, making them quite hard to read, given how much was eroded by time.
A large, pine desk stood at the heart of the laboratory, its surface strewn with maps, field journals, and an array of archaeological tools, a testament to Professor Pino's unwavering dedication to unraveling the mysteries of Italia's past. Behind the desk, ancient wooden shelves sagged under the weight of leather-bound tomes and rare manuscripts that had been gathered across the ages.
As Professor Pino turned around with a Pokéball, Proditor said, in his best child voice, "Actually Professor, I think I've decided I want a Budew instead." He pointed at a rather large one, that all the other Pokémon frolicking about in their corner of the lab were avoiding. It was massive by comparison, had a seemingly permanent angry scowl, and thoughts that Proditor found promising. Plus, in this age of shared Exp and pocket dimensions in one's pocket, there was absolutely no reason not to train up more useful pawns.
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"Are you sure…?" The Professor asked, frowning. "That one is…rather hard to control. I was just going to release him back to the wild at this point, since he'll have a better chance of evolving there. He certainly hasn't wanted to…bond…" The Professor trailed off, as Proditor gestured to the small poisonous plant bud and it waddled over. It shrieked at him, but Proditor managed to pet it in a spot it liked. Its expression shifted to a happy one, before the scowl returned. The Professor shrugged and retrieved its ball. "Good luck…oh, and here's a map of where the Snowver live." He said, as his Rotom Phone, whose case made it look like he too was wearing a lab coat and a shirt with Italia's colors of green, white, and red, sent the information to Proditor's purple-cased Rotom Phone in under a second. Technology continued to astound him with how far they had come. In many ways, modern humanity had moved well past their crystal-wielding ancestors from the earliest days of resurgent human kingdoms and their new Pokémon allies. They had forgotten the power of aura, but they made up for it with ridiculous technology.
"I'll catch a wild one there. Thanks, Professor." Proditor said as he left the old building, and headed outside, only stopping as one of the Professor's aides handed him fifteen Pokéballs, free of charge. The child from earlier was waiting on a small Pokémon battlefield the Professor had adjacent to his garden, albeit with a wall of ancient stone and mortar separating the two. Seeing Magby was already out, Proditor released his Budew. His angry keening made Magby wince, and the young fire type glanced at his Trainer, worried that his weak nature would make him lose. Even the lab's fire types had avoided this particular Budew.
While there might have been an issue with a Budew this toxic for a normal child, Proditor had already spoken to the Budew in his mind, and promised to make him a beautiful, deadly Roserade. One whose poison would be capable of near instant death, or a state akin to it, once he embraced the Shadow. At the promise of real power, the Budew had agreed to become his. Sitting around in the sun had stopped making him strong, anyway. He needed a push, a human, to bring out his potential.
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An awkward silence formed, as neither child said anything, and their Pokémon stared each other down. Finally, and somewhat impatiently, Proditor spoke. "You can go first. This guy is much higher level." His Budew looked at him with a look of pure betrayal, but the 'child' didn't even glance at the sentient sprout.
"Ember, Magby!" The boy shouted, "Then blind it! Smokescreen."
The Budew dodged the small ember on his own initiative, and Proditor stayed perfectly calm. "Growth." Budew began to get even bigger, at least until the Smokescreen blocked out the bright sun above them. "Wait for the next Ember, and then hammer it with Bullet Seed."
He heard the Magby fire off another Ember, but it seemed his smoke was also hampering his own aim. He heard Budew dodge, land, and then the rapid-fire sound of seeds hammering the general direction the Ember had come from fired off five times. The boy called for another Ember, but Magby just groaned in response. "It's weak." Proditor said, "Bullet Seed again." Budew stopped after two bursts of seeds and screeched in victory. The Smokescreen began to dissipate, revealing a fainted Magby.
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Proditor smirked, "Well done…Rosator (Rose-ah-tor). Not bad at all for your first Battle." He recalled the violent Budew, and then looked at his 'rival'. His eyes were downcast, as he recalled his Magby. "I have things to do, kid, so uh…bye. See ya' around the Gyms."
Proditor walked off, and by the time the kid shouted for him to wait, realizing he'd just walked away without so much as naming himself, Proditor was already hopping through shadows, away from the area at a rapid speed. He'd run into the kid again, he was sure. Those who had battles like that at the start of their journey always ended up meeting again. It was part of his predecessor's wish. One language, to promote understanding. An unbreakable bond, cemented by a capture process, between sentients and Pokémon. And the energy from lives interacting with other lives, to create something new, and alive. The bond between rivals that pushed each other, and their Pokémon, to ever greater heights that were, in essence, infinite.
This was what the Holder of Arceus had wished for with his ultimate power, and these tropes had come to be cemented in this world, and many others, in the years since he'd made the wish. Proditor still saw it as a complete waste, but for once, his predecessor's bleeding heart would prove useful. He could stake out, and defeat, the first gym of the Italia region and if he hung around, he was sure to run into his rival. Hopefully he put up more of a fight, but Proditor wasn't worried. Both he and the Magby were weak, but now they had a drive to get stronger. Right now, all he wanted was to find his real starter Pokémon, and he had a feeling the Snowver would be able to lead him to Optimus.
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Some time later, as the sun began to set, Proditor arrived in his adult base form at the place indicated on his Rotom Phone's map. He wasn't far from the Arche Valley, a place where denizens of the Sahara region had settled ages ago, bound together by their rather potent faith in the Alpha Pokémon. The valley had been created when the Imperator of Mankind had decided he wanted the seat of his Imperium, Olympia, to be closer to Germania, and Varangia. After the Judgement War concluded and those who felt Arceus's wrath were scattered to the wind, he had moved the largest mountain in the Mediterra range, and to this day it still stood where it had been placed. The resulting crater had, with time, become Arche Valley.
There were various small towns this far south in the Italia region, but Proditor had passed through them with his method of rapid shadow hopping. He hadn't even really looked at them, as he had a feeling he'd see them the slow way, if his 'rival' decided they should travel together. His thoughts had been so obvious Proditor hadn't even needed to violate his headspace to read them. He desperately wanted out from his family's shadow, to enjoy being a normal kid on a journey, and having someone to travel with would legitimize his desire. Or so the boy believed. Proditor doubted his father would just allow that, but then, from what he could tell, every crime family operated with different rules. Maybe his had a tradition of sending future crime bosses on journeys, like every other region did.
Thoughts of the boy faded, as Proditor walked into a grove hidden deep in the verdant forests of southern Italia. He was close to one of the truly massive Mediterra mountains, but before the slope up to the titanic peak rose too far, he came upon the Snowver's home. Just cold enough for snow to reach them, but low enough in altitude to grow enough berries, the ice and grass types had found a perfect balance, as they often did in the wild, in which to survive and thrive. As he entered their domain, two large male Snowver approached him, warning him away. Proditor simply waved a hand, having long since mastered controlling the minds of this species.
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He'd used his fledgling powers on Optimus back in the day, and he had, without a doubt, mentally scarred the young Snowver in a way that had never healed right in the years that followed. Optimus had become a receptacle for his darkest emotions, and had by far the deepest Shadow infusion of any of his party members. In the end, he'd barely been conscious, mentally, as Proditor recalled those final days with a frown. A slavering beast, always in his Mega Form, and unstoppable in his rage.
He had the Snowver guide him to their patriarch and matriarch, as Snowver colonies typically had two leaders, who did not always end up being a mated pair. Some Abomasnow stuck to their partner, some were more casual and reproduced with whoever had seeds ready to grow, and that inevitably caused fights, but it seemed the two leaders he was brought to had consorts of their own, a male and female harem respectively, of other Abomasnow. Indeed, he'd never seen so many adults of the species living together in such harmony. They regarded him with suspicion as he was brought in by their guards, but they did not outright attack him.
With a subtle hand wave, he sent the Snowver back to their posts, and the matriarch watched them, concerned, and then looked at him, with distrust. She no doubt had some sense that trickery was being used, but the human had approached them with ease and peace. Something humans never usually did. Proditor spoke gently into their minds, though the simple grass and ice types still winced at the contact. "I seek an ancient Abomasnow. My first partner. He would be…thousands of years old, by now."
"The elders are sleeping." The male answered in his mind. Not with words, but emotions and images Proditor translated to speech within his own head. "Leave them be, Human. They are angry when disturbed." He saw images of humans trying to harvest them for lumber, and getting speared with icy roots for their trouble. Their lifeblood had only made the sleeping Abomasnow stronger.
"I only seek my partner." He answered honestly. "I will not wake the others. I may not even be able to wake him, but I need to try. I miss him. I owe him."
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Finally, the matriarch spoke. "Your mind…is dark. But as long as you do not wake the others…you may search for your partner. In peace. Do not interact with our little ones!" She added forcefully, and Proditor nodded, giving her a smile as he spoke verbally.
"I will leave your young ones alone, find my partner, and then leave. Peacefully." The two Abomasnow slowly nodded at him, accepting his tone more than grokking his words, and he made his way out of their large, broken, ancient tree stump home, and further into the forest. As he ascended the massive mountain the slope got steeper quickly, but he also found the shapes of 'dead' Abomasnow, elders who had become so old or strong that it was easier to just sit in place year after year absorbing nutrients than walking about, slowly, eating berries and leaves. In fact, that was the fate of most grass types that outlived their humans. Eventually, after being in this 'tree form' long enough, their spark of life would fade, but Proditor knew Optimus wouldn't just go quietly into the night. He'd wait for his Trainer, like a good boy.
Some of the 'sleeping' Abomasnow in the grove looked like their Mega Form, albeit frozen and discolored. This high up on one of the Mediterra mountains, only ice types thrived. He noted a number of things growing from the Abomasnow corpse grove. Berries, old Earth fruits, and occasionally large green pine cones that would, when they fell to the ground, eventually grow into a Snowver. Their species didn't actually need partners for procreation, but having one greatly sped up the process of reproduction. They never actually stopped producing Snowver cones though, and this method of reproducing had ensured that their species survived and thrived for millennia. They were probably the most dominant species in the Mediterra mountains, at least at the lower elevations, and thankfully they were also the most friendly. Many an Abomasnow had saved humans caught in a blizzard from freezing to death, and as long as they weren't angered, they were generally wary or helpful to humans. Some, in resorts for snow sports, were exceptionally friendly, and well fed as a result.
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Eventually, after a regular human would have long since succumbed to the cold, Proditor came upon a truly ancient and twisted tree, that nothing was growing upon. This part of the grove had the actual dead Abomasnow, those who had been without a spark of life or motility for thousands of years. It was here that he finally found his starter. In the vision, he'd seen himself kneeling before what he'd sensed was Optimus. Seeing the reality, however, Proditor fell to his knees because his starter was well and truly gone. His head had been chopped with something sharp, and there were signs of burn marks on his branches. Humans had done this, he had no doubt, but it had clearly happened so long ago that asking the Abomasnow about it would be useless. They were worse at recounting ancient events than humanity was. Murder filled his heart, but he knew the culprits were likely already dead by now, and killing their descendants would accomplish nothing. If he had to guess, his starter had waited for him, and while he had, the cones, and Snowver he'd produced, had inherited his top tier stats, and his Shadow infusion. Eventually, someone had figured out their source, and destroyed it.
He put a hand on the thoroughly charred bark of his oldest friend, and grimaced. Someone had been very thorough in scouring his partner. He blinked, as he felt one of his Pokéballs open, and he raised a brow at the Budew. Rosator. His new 'starter'. A partnership of convenience, at most. Proditor ignored him, forcing himself to take in every detail of his partner, and desperately look for a pine cone. But he knew better than that. There was nothing. Optimus was gone, and he couldn't even acquire one of his offspring.
For his part, the Budew saw the ancient dead grass type, and his new Trainer's reaction, and put one and two together. He also understood that made him number three, a third wheel, a second starter gathered for convenience. He'd known almost immediately that the small child was a disguise for the human beneath, but that had only made Rosator more interested in being his partner. The small humans irritated him, but some of the older ones could easily make him strong. He didn't know much about the world, but he hadn't just sat in the sunlight with his eyes closed. He'd watched the humans closely, and he knew with age came competence. His human's age had felt…incomprehensibly old, and thus Rosator assumed he would know how to make him into a deadly Roserade.
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As he examined the dead Abomasnow, who seemed to be very important to his human, Rosator squinted at his mouth, screeched, and then hopped into it. Proditor frowned, but watched the sprout. He heard the cracking of bark, and fury overtook him. There was a lot of emotion that came with this revelation, and his new Budew made himself a lightning rod for it. "How dare you touch him! Get out of there you-" He paused in his tirade as he saw the mouth of his starter glow with green light.
The sound of rapidly fired seeds filled his ears, and then the Budew hopped back out of Optimus's mouth. He hopped over to Proditor and handed him a Snowver cone. After examining it, Proditor frowned. It was slightly green, but very much dead and frozen. It likely had been for centuries. He dropped it to the ground. "I don't need keepsakes…" He snarled at the Budew, but the sentient sprout could tell he was hurting.
"Budew!" He shrieked, before hopping towards the stunted Snowver cone. Proditor raised an eyebrow, but didn't stop him. He almost said something as the violent Budew took the seed in his mouth, as guessing by where he'd pulled it from that was gross, but then the Budew used Absorb on it. He felt anger as the last green his starter would ever produce was turned to black, but then, he hadn't wanted the keepsake.
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The seed faded in a shadowy puff as Budew inhaled whatever dormant power was within through his grass typing. Proditor raised an eyebrow, as the Budew's color became lighter green, and the seeds that would become bouquets once he evolved turned black and light purple. Dark colored sparkles radiated from him, as he shrieked his dominance, and suffered from the pain of so many memories filling his tiny brain. Right now, they were a seemingly endless jumble that ended in pain, fire, and loss.
Proditor knelt down beside Rosator, and psychically calmed his mind. "That…was foolish. But you wanted his memories, eh?" The sentient sprout nodded. "Once you grow, you'll probably be able to see more. For now…Optimus lives on, in you. Rest, and return." Of Optimus's ball, there was no sign, and he sighed as yet another of his superior capture spheres was lost to him.
With a sigh he resigned himself to raising a new starter, and began heading for Aurelia, the region's capital, which was home to three of the region's gyms, though the Italia circuit had Trainers hit them for their first, third, and eighth badges. He wasn't super familiar with their types, but he wondered if he could solo the region with just his 'shiny' Budew. Either way his travels would bring him into contact with plenty of psychics. The potential he'd sensed in Florencia alone had practically made him drool in anticipation.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
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Cascaraffa City - Paldea Region
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Alex smirked as Kofu made his appearance and asked his question. He shrugged at Aria. "Sorry cuz, priority goes to the Victor."
Aria just sighed, nodded, and took her spot by Isamu, who seemed to try to cheer her up. Kofu rode the escalator down to the arena level, not nearly flamboyant enough to jump, like some of his contemporaries might have. He cracked his knuckles and rolled his burly neck as he spoke. Alex recalled Khan, as he listened.
"Four on four. No substitutions. World Tournament rules." Alex nodded, though he had a bad feeling about how this one would go. Kofu seemed to be in some kind of groove, probably thanks to his recent accolades. "Go! Pelipper!"
Alex contemplated picking Leo, but he remembered Temere also was strong enough now, and could use a workout. "Temere. It's time to Rock!" As the poisonous rock lizard appeared, he started belting out the opening chords to Rivers in the Desert. As Pelipper's Drizzle started to make it rain, electricity arced through the air as Temere just kept progressing through the song.
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Seeing that Alex was more into head bopping at the moment, Kofu seized the initiative. "Blow this beat back to the past, where it belongs! Hurricane!" The powerful Pelipper let off a massive Hurricane, but Temere didn't let that stop him. In fact, as the winds lifted into the air he looked like a proper Rock God, and the spinning ineffective damage only served to turn his rock anthem into an electric hurricane with the rain's help.
Alex smirked, shouting out over the jamming crowd, "Send it back! Rock'em with your Hurricane!" Catching what his Trainer was putting down, Temere shifted songs, and the electric cyclone began spinning towards Pelipper. Kofu tried to shout for a Blizzard, but it was too little too late. Electricity surged through the Pelipper, and Temere rode the dying winds to the ground right as he hit the guitar solo for the song, Rock You Like a Hurricane. Kofu's eyes narrowed at how nonchalant his opponent was being, and brought out his next pick. Veluza.
Alex straightened up, as this was Kofu's ace, or one of them anyway, and it had type advantage. "Discharge!" Alex blinked, as the Toxtricity changed his strumming to a low, rapid beat, as he prepared his next tribute to the only deities he paid homage to; the Gods of Rock'n'Roll. Kofu and his Veluza shared a look, as its notoriously fast speed went into play, and a pair of Psychic Fangs manifested around its actual fangs. "Any day, Tem…" Alex said, as the rapid, but low beat continued.
In his head he heard Temere's far too casual voice, "I'm thinking…Eye of the Incineroar. Astrum? Leo?" There was approval from the majority of the team, though a few holdouts like Canis and their Trainer preferred Tem to take things just a bit more seriously. Thus far, Temere had been strumming out his beat with one hand causing his body to spark with building electric power, and then, in the same instant that Veluza neared him with Psychic Fangs, he hit the first notable note of Eye of the Incineroar, and a wave of high-powered electric Discharge smashed through the attack and sent its user reeling with an absurdly lucky critical hit. Temere wasn't done though, as the beat kept going, and then he hit his rubbery but oh-so-musical chest organ once, twice, three times more, another trio of strums, followed, and then another. By this point, his Discharge was still going, had formed a spherical electric barrier that Veluza kept getting hit by, as it just kept expanding, and Temere was just there, rocking out in the middle of the electric chaos solely because he could. The crowd ate it up. Kofu had trained his team to a solid eighty in terms of level, if not higher, but the higher a Pokémon went, the harder it was to gain Exp and the longer it took to reach the final plateau, that was by no means the end.
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Temere had learned that the more he played, the faster songs and chords he found, the harder it was for his opponents to stop what he put down. Between his own wins and the Exp gain from the rest of the team, he'd reached the same plateau as Canis, Nox, Arbor, and Cinder had. A strength to rival the first string battlers. His power didn't keep Kofu from attacking though, as the Water Type Master could recognize the hubris that came with strength, when he saw it. What irritated him most was his Trainer letting his Toxtricity rock so hard he filled the entire arena with dangerous levels of electricity. The shields weren't really meant for sustained blocking, and soon they'd start to draw on the city's power instead of their own battery network.
"Night Slash, and Psycho Cut, Veluza!" The fumbling fish rolled in the air, getting its bearing before Night Slashing into the Discharge. Temere, who by now was almost through Eye of the Incineroar, just glanced at the psychic blades, and bolts of intense plasma from the top of the electric dome reduced them to smoke.
"Finish it, Tem." Alex said quietly, yet somehow, Kofu heard him perfectly. He grimaced. He was nowhere near done yet.
"Again! Psychic Fangs this time! Use Aqua Jet too!" The Veluza jettisoned its spare flesh, as it felt its Trainer's resolve.
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Temere's luck from earlier turned as his shift to a Thunderbolt mid song made his chest screech, in a bad way, as his attack completely whiffed. Then, Veluza was there, and the damage from the rapid, multiple chomps of Psychic Fangs took the rock lizard down hard. Alex frowned and recalled him. "Leo."
The thunder cat appeared with a roar, and Alex didn't waste time, they couldn't, against a Veluza. "Discharge, full spread!"
"Think I can't deal with Electric Pokémon? Drill Run!" Now that Veluza wasn't being overpowered by a type weakness and an overwhelming attack fueled by pure Rock'n'roll, it could focus enough to form the ground typed energy it had learned to wield. It barreled towards Leo, through his Discharge, and hammered him hard, but the thunder cat had countered on his own, with Ice Fang. The pair of Pokémon exploded from the move collision.
"Crunch, Leo!" Alex shouted, but he couldn't really see past the explosion, and there was an ungodly shrieking sound coming from within the dust cloud, as the ferocious fish filet faced off against the thunder cat. Finally, Alex heard Crunch land, and a fainted Veluza was spat from the fading cloud towards Kofu, as a very injured Leo snarled at him.
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Alex frowned, as Kofu sent out his third, a Wugtrio, and probably the only other team member he had capable of ground moves. Leo had a counter for his weakness too, though. Trailblaze had been a very popular move with a surprising amount of his team, and there had been a solid few days where those who could, had blazed it up and had a blast doing so. Their frolicking had helped them learn the move, which was fine by their Trainer, so long as they learned it. Sure enough, the Earthquake came from the powerful Wugtrio as all three heads, heedless of pain apparently, smashed into the ground and produced a fair-sized Earthquake, for a water type that wasn't a mudfish or a mud frog.
Leo Trailblazed his way into a masterful Thunder Claw, or at least, he thought he did. "Sucker Punch." Kofu said. The exposed crimson heads suddenly jerked upwards at Leo, and he lost his focus as their shape disturbed him on a level he couldn't articulate. Then, they hammered him with dark energy. He went skipping across the field, tried to rise, and then fainted, and Alex started to sweat as he became tied with Kofu again. "Arbor. You're up." His Sceptile popped out of his ball at his Trainer's command and got ready. "Mega Evolve! We're done holding back."
Kofu raised and clenched a fist. "You fool! I just won…Wugtrio, Blizzard!"
Alex smirked. "Block with Rock Tomb!" With a smooth movement worthy of an earthbender, Arbor raised a rocky shield around himself, though some of the ice managed to get through. "Now, Sunny Day! And draw in all of Temere and Leo's electricity!" A seed from Arbor's tail shot out of his stone fortress, burning high in the sky with the light of the sun, even though night was swiftly covering the desert. Then, the residual energy from Temere's attack that had been electrifying the terrain, zipped towards the Mega Sceptile's tail, as his attack power rose again.
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"Charge Blizzard, and unload on it when it attacks." Kofu said, calmly.
"Get close! Agility, and then Detect!" The Blizzard went off as Arbor poked his head out after using Agility, and then with Detect, he managed to dodge his way far up above the Blizzard. "Solar Beam!" Alex shouted. Arbor rocked in the air as the powerful grass beam fired immediately from his mouth, and Wugtrio didn't have a chance to dodge, not that it could have with how slow it was compared to a Mega Sceptile.
Kofu recalled his Wugtrio, and then glared at the Mega Sceptile, and his Trainer. At least he was being more serious now. He grabbed a rather old Luxury Ball then, one he'd upgraded his starter to, after he got too strong to really ever be used in a Gym Battle. Someone in the sizable crowd shouted, "Holy Muk! He's bringing it out!"
Alex blinked and looked around as the crowd started cheering. Evidently, they knew something he didn't. He had Arbor refresh the Sunny Day as Kofu dithered, and the seed he launched regrew rapidly. Alex tried to make out the crowd's words but couldn't as it all sounded like a jumble. At least until Kofu shouted, "Go! Crocpot!"
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A Feraligator at the peak of its power appeared from the Luxury Ball it called home, and stretched its massive, muscled body, as it eyed Arbor, and smirked confidently. "Oh my Arceus! He brought out the Crooocpooot!" One fan yelled, foaming at the mouth, before he fainted from overexcitement. Alex just blinked. Apparently, Crocpot was a big deal. Alex just kept trying not to laugh at the name. "Crocpot. Ice Punch…and don't let up." Kofu ordered, and the Feraligator grinned, before it fell onto all fours and scurried towards Arbor.
"Seed Bomb! Tangle it up!" Arbor fired a bombard of seeds at the speedy water gator, but the seeds sprouted where they landed, damaging Crocpot and slowing him with large vines that he had to waste time and energy punching through. "Perfect." Alex said, smirking. "Triple Solar Beam, go!" Though it burned up his Sunny Day faster, Arbor summoned the ferocious grass move's power in both hands, and his mouth, and then fired on the entangled gator.
Silence reigned, as the crowd waited for the smoke to clear, and only Arbor's panting filled the air. Then, Alex noticed it. "Arbor! It can Dig!" Given Feraligator's potential for other ground moves, and its claws, learning to Dig probably hadn't been too hard to do in a desert biome. Arbor didn't wait, he jumped, but it was already too late. Crocpot burst from the ground with Dig, fists covered in ice, and began pummeling the Mega Sceptile in the air with three combinations of double Ice Punches. Arbor fell, his Mega Form fading, and Alex grimaced. This thing was going to be hard to beat, especially without his anti-water team.
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"Send out yer own starter!" Kofu shouted confidently; arms crossed. "Unless yer scared of another quadruple Ice weakness!" Crocpot laughed at him and smashed his icy fists together.
Alex ignored their jibes and closed his eyes. A brief Future Sight never hurt. What he saw did, however, hurt quite a lot. Terra would lose. Hard. Nine times of ten, and even with Thick Fat, it was an all but guaranteed loss because of a lack of speed and a way to keep distance between him and Crocpot. Even if Alex got clever and used Saur instead, he saw the Feraligator chomping through his vines with Ice Fang, and then pummeling him with Ice Punch as well. Thanks to Sheer Force, those moves were even more brutal. His partners wouldn't be frozen but taking more damage with a quad weakness was a guaranteed loss. If only there was a way to…
Alex smirked confidently, as his shift in his plan for the battle changed his future to one that had far, far better odds. More confident now, he opened his eyes. "Terra!" His Torterra appeared as he heard his name, and glanced at his Trainer, somewhat surprised given what was on the line and what Future Sight had shown. There was just one problem with Future Sight; he'd assumed he'd use Mega Evolution, like he usually did, but a Tera type would only have one weakness, and that would be enough to match Crocpot. Besides, Terra also had a move he wanted to employ after basking in the sun all day and being inspired by their anime, like Alex had been. He raised his Tera Orb, and Kofu smirked, nodding in approval. The best way to nullify a quadruple weakness was to remove the weakness entirely, or at least lessen it. "It's time, Terra…" Alex sent Espeo's ball subtly into the crowd, just in case the energy barriers failed, and the subtle psychic cat idly licked a paw, waiting to act if necessary.
"Verdant Cataclysm!"
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As Alex chucked the Tera Orb and his starter became covered in a green tinted crystalline shield that caused flora to spring up around his titanic feet, Terra roared at Crocpot, and then began one of his ultimate moves. First, he used Curse, which for him manifested as an ominously glowing Taijitu sphere on the trunk of his tree. Seeing that, Crocpot launched forward, also becoming covered in crystalline aura as Kofu tossed his own Tera Orb, though his was ice. Now he'd be even stronger.
Seeing the change, Terra switched tactics, as the entire lower city began to rumble. Huge vines sprouted all around the battlefield at his command, and he rose atop one far above Crocpot's immediate reach. The field's box-shaped energy barrier became akin to a forest made of massive, twisted tree trunks, and Alex had to admit, there were definitely some strong Senju Clan vibes from this attack. Especially as Terra adapted to his opponent's change of type weakness, and used the vines to grab large rocks. He proceeded to brutally hammer Crocpot with them. The first struck hard, but the nimble alligator dodged the second and third, only to then crumple as a surprise fourth hammered him from his blindspot. A fifth rock-vine struck. Then a sixth. Then a seventh. Frenzy Plant could probably have kept going, but Terra paused, as he saw the Terastal Shield shatter amidst the dust of his strikes.
Then, suddenly, Kofu shouted, "Ice Fang!"
"Grassy Glide and Wood Hammer!"
Lacking his shield, but still conscious, a very damaged Crocpot leapt with ease now that the vines had settled, up towards Terra, fangs encased in ice. Terra didn't run though. He waited by the edge of his perch, and when the Feraligator leapt for his head, he glided back. Crocpot landed and kept attacking, but Terra was already gliding forward again, shifting his momentum into the powerful grass attack. The two collided, suffering damage as they entered a contest of strength. Slowly, thanks mostly to the Tera boost, the ice around Crocpot's fangs cracked, and shattered, and with a roar Terra sent him flying through one of the large, raised branches. With less momentum, he hit another and fell, very unconscious by that point, to the ground.
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Terra roared his dominance loud enough to be heard across the desert, and then slowly started trying to retract the massive roots that had sprouted into trees. Kofu started moving towards Crocpot and found his path opened by Terra. He gave the mighty but very wounded grass tortoise a nod, and then tended to his starter.
Alex did the same, bamfing up beside him, and frowning at just how hurt he was. "That was…way too close…I need to remember Terastallizing is an option, now."
Terra snorted. "My Mega Form could have handled it."
Alex shook his head. "Thick Fat does help, but not against a beast like that. If you hadn't gone all out with that Move, that might've ended badly."
"Speaking of…" Terra rumbled, as Alex realized he was embarrassed, "These roots…or trees now I suppose…they are much harder to remove…they seem, umm, permanent."
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"Of course they are…that's alright, bud. Take a rest." Alex chuckled and recalled his partner. He floated down to Kofu, who offered a burly arm. Alex shook it, with a nod, noting with amusement that his first battle with a powerful water type master in a new region had also been rather close. History continued to repeat, which meant if he wasn't careful next would be…a massive black tail flashed through his mind, as well as the sickening crunch of bones. His bones.
He suppressed the image, and focused on Kofu, blinking away his trauma. "That was a great Battle, Leader Kofu." Alex started, as the handshake ended.
Kofu's face shifted to a slight frown. "I 'dunno 'bout that start…yer Toxtricity seemed more interested in his music."
Alex chuckled, "That's just how their species Battles…I think. I'm impressed your Veluza managed to slash through it."
Kofu nodded, as a proper smile took over now. "If ya say so." He handed Alex the Water Badge then, and Alex eyed the small metal circle. "Now, about these trees…" He said, gesturing to the remnants of Terra's move.
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"Yeeaa…" Alex said awkwardly, "Apparently Terra can't-" At that moment, his Gallade decided to pop out, and he smirked at humans, before vanishing with nothing but his speed. Kofu stroked his blue and white beard as he watched the Gallade, clearly impressed.
Within five minutes the spiral slashing Gallade had reduced the massive limbs to lumber, and he'd even neatly stacked them, as he slashed them into place. "Uhh…" Alex said, as his Gallade landed and bowed before the now once more visible crowd. "Free lumber…?"
Kofu let out a belly laugh and slapped his shoulder companionably. "I'm sure we can put it to use! And he even stacked it off of the field! That Gallade o' yours is impressive, Dragon Emperor. You gonna stay fer your cousin's match?" Alex nodded, and he let Arthur stay out for the crowd's adulation. Apparently fresh lumber was pretty hard to come by in a desert town that was unwilling to tarnish their local flora in the name of practicality.
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Aria seemed nervous as she looked at her cousin and saw him recording for posterity. Kofu gave her the usual spiel, and then the battle began. Given how suited she was for facing water types, the battle was over quickly. Even when Kofu Terastallized his Crabominable to a water type, Aria kept her cool and Terastallized her Floragato, whose Seed Bomb one shot the Crabominable, like it had everything else. As the Crabominable fainted, her Floragato started shining, and she lost her cool as her eyes went wide, and she recorded the evolution from a closer perspective. The two hugged as they celebrated and claimed their victory. Kofu gave them their winnings, their TM, and their badge, and then he made a joke about getting rolled by both Redwoods, after calling them out.
He didn't seem in bad spirits though, as he sauntered off confidently to the Pokémon Center. Isamu congratulated her as she came back, and she looked shyly up at her cousin, which amused him. "So, how did I do, cuz?"
Alex pretended to think seriously for a moment, and then the smirk broke through. "You rolled him, Aria. Flattened, rolled up, and tossed aside I believe is the terminology. And you were at his team's level, too. I only have one note…that maybe I should've followed as well. Terastallize early." She and Isamu just looked at him, as though he was strange. "What? Why not? Every Gym in this Region is mono typed. You face a Psychic? Terastallize early with Dark or Bug. You face an Ice user? Terastallize early with Fire or Rock or Fighting. Honestly I don't know why Trainers here don't do that more."
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Isamu chuckled. "It's a uh…cultural thing. Apparently, it's bad manners to Terastallize early. It's usually saved for the end part of a Battle, and for a finishing move."
Alex just smirked at him. "I know you know how El Primero conducts his Battles. I saw his Gym circuit. He Terastallized early all the time. Still does."
"Florian senpai is more the Exception, than the rule…though you do have a point…he made the Gyms look easy, and part of that was because of the Titan Pokémon he and his group brought down, but the other part was strategy and Terastallizing early." He blinked at Aria. "Your cousin may be onto something."
She just giggled at Isamu. "Well he is the Victory League Champion. That wouldn't work all the time, though. Chairwoman Geeta and El Primero are both multi-Type users. In that case…we'd want to Terastallize when they do…?" She trailed off, looking to Alex for wisdom.
He nodded. "Ideally, you'd know the Tera Types of her team beforehand, but that seems a bit…cheap to me. I would rather guess what their Tera Type is. I'm not usually wrong. But yes, you'd want to switch after they Terastallize, if you can't counter the Type they become. It doesn't seem to increase their health or defense too much, so as long as you have something that usually faints whatever Type they become, you should be fine."
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After a moment, Isamu asked, "What about Stellar Tera Types?"
Alex blinked at him. "Stellar whatnow?"
He seemed disappointed, but then, it was common knowledge that he'd only just gotten a Tera Orb. "Stellar Types. They retain the weaknesses of their original Type, and for every Type of Move a Pokémon can use, they get a STAB boost to the first attack with that Type. But it only works once, outside of Tera Dens."
Alex frowned and called up Lux to view his boxes. "I don't think I even have a…hahaha…of course he is." A quick check revealed that the rest of his team did not have Stellar Tera Typing, but there was one exception to that rule, and that exception was Arthur.
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Sensing Alex wanted to leave, and was talking about him, Arthur bid their fans farewell, and bamfed over. "Talking about my flawless sword strokes, are we?" He asked the trio.
"No." Alex said, with a taunting tone. "We're discussing the fact that you're a very special boi."
Arthur crossed his arms and snorted. "I think we've all figured that out by this point. But…hold on, how am I even More special now?" He said, hearing the thoughts of the rest of his brothers, who'd started chanting 'very special Sword Boi' in their heads.
Alex repeated what a Stellar Type was, and how it worked, and Arthur pondered the information that he had, apparently, been one his entire life. "Huh." Was all he contributed, as he processed the information. With how many types of physical slashing attacks, even ghost ones, he could perform, he started to understand why. Ghost energy was a weakness, but he'd learned to manipulate it. Enough to punch things, anyway.
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"Alright guys," Alex said with a tone of finality. "I have some Polteageist to harvest for shards, and then I'm off to…train before the Battles for the Superior Sixteen slots."
Isamu grinned at him. "Number nine in the world, after beating Kofu. Are you sure that's the spot you want?"
Alex shrugged. "As long as I'm in the top thirty-two, my spot won't matter. Not until the Battles for the right to hold one of those slots are held. I'm not going completely off the grid. If I fall too far behind and the number of points to catch up becomes unsurpassable, I'll have to come back and…I dunno, Battle my way through Galar. Their Gym Leaders are always highly ranked, and eager to Battle."
Aria spoke up, then. "Would you…travel with us to Alfornada Town? Your Polteageists will be out there, in large numbers."
Alex shook his head. "It's best if you and Isamu go on your own. I don't want to interfere with your journey, and I need to take care of a few things once I leave Paldea."
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Isamu typed some numbers into his Rotom Phone, and then showed Alex the calculator. "Actually, judging by the base speed of Salamence, traveling with us would only slow you by, at most, half a day, and uhh…I would like it if you traveled with us for a bit too. The cave we need to traverse is…a lot. Multiple steep slopes. Home to multiple Dragon Types. It's a Garchomp breeding ground, but it's also the best place to catch one."
After pondering for a while, Alex nodded. "Alright. I'll go with you two, for a bit." He turned then, as he heard a familiar voice calling out his name. "Seems Adrien and Marinette have caught up. Good." He waved them over, gave introductions, and could already tell Aria was a big fan of Marinette's. "The Leaning Tower is also near Alfornada Town, so you two can join us. The route there is a large cave with a high population of Dragon Types, and probably anything strong enough to survive with them. The larger our group, the better chance we don't get attacked by a wandering Garchomp."
"We'd be happy to travel with you guys." Adrien said, "Connor told me I was ready to become a Scale in full. He left the final decision to you, though Alex."
Alex looked between the two teens, and then paused, as he looked a bit closer. Body language told quite a tale, and judging by theirs, they'd solidly cemented their romance. If they were old enough for that they were old enough to function as Scales. He'd still need to test them, of course. "If I'm promoting one of you, I'll promote the other, too. Marinette is probably as ready as you are by now, Adrien. I'll test the two of you when we camp on the road tonight. If you pass, you'll be free to uhh…return to Kalos, once you've seen Paldea's sights."
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Quietly, Marinette looked up at him and said, "You really think I'm ready?"
Alex smirked at her. "Tikki does. She has for a while now. I trust her judgment, but it's always good to be sure. I'll face you two in a Double Battle, with a team comparable to what you might find in the Elite Four of any Region. If you can beat me, you'll be able to handle pretty much any threat Kalos throws at you. And you'll also have Connor around to back you up, as needed."
With their course set, the group of Trainers healed their teams, and then set off on the path adjacent to the desert that would lead them towards distant Alfornada. Western Paldea's Area One was actually quite beautiful at night and Alex had them keep one partner out, just in case. They were all riding on Terra, who had learned to glide through the earth and grass at a standard walking pace, without it being too tiring. Tikki was sitting in his tree's branches, while Plagg was draped on one of the monolithic pointed stone spikes that grew out of the massive earth tortoise, watching their rear. Leif was snuggled up between his favorite Redwoods, and he was happy, judging by the scent he gave off.
Isamu had opted not for Zyx, which was what he called his main Zygarde Core, but rather Kanchi, his Riolu, who was chatting with Canis near the middle of Terra's shell, under his tree. The local camping Trainers watched them pass in awe, and it was in this manner that they managed to cross the vast space of Area One, all the way to the border with Area Six, and the entrance to Alfornada Cavern.
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Alex let Kalagon out as their guard by the cave entrance, while everyone else set up dinner, and their usual preparations for binging some anime. Then, finally, once they'd all eaten, Alex took Adrien and Marinette out to a space suited for battling, and as their Pokémon came out, they cleared the roaming, wild, but friendly Pokémon out of their way. A few stayed to watch once Alex heard Tikki explaining what they were about to do.
For his part, Alex was picking his own partners. "One round, two on two, for practice, using World Tournament rules." He finally settled on Invictus and Astrum, while the pair of aspiring superheroes went with their two strongest partners. Astrum had been sleeping until recently, as the events in Koria and then with Alduin had left him quite drained. When he did finally awaken, he claimed that the world felt a little brighter, and now that Alex thought about it, that'd been right after he and his allies had essentially ended world hunger.
The teenagers had a brief strategy meeting as they saw his choices, and how strong they were. Astrum was a bit lower level than the others, but Invictus made up for that with his higher level and absurd defense. Canis acted as their referee, and as he began the battle, Alex seized the initiative. "Invictus, tank their attacks, Astrum, Moonblast the Liepard!"
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Plagg had moved in front of Tikki to be her damage sponge, but his eyes widened, as he saw the golden feathered Togekiss taking aim at him with an almost disturbing look of serenity as he engaged in battle. A super effective sphere of Moon doom formed above Astrum as Invictus readied his arms to block. Panicking as their plan immediately went to Muk, Marinette shouted, "Tikki, Bullet Punch!"
Alex just smirked. "That won't be enough, Padawan." Astrum rocked in the air as he fired off his ridiculously powerful attack. Tikki raised her fists, confident she could at least deflect the beam of fairy power, but as she quickly required her other set of arms to block too, she grunted from the effort, and was then swallowed by the width of the attack. She managed to weather the attack, and keep it from Plagg, but the brightness from the move momentarily kept the Liepard from attacking.
"Again, Astrum! Invictus, Pin Missile!" As Astrum charged his attack, Invictus's pins went up and through the Moonblast, and became wreathed in fairy energy, as the now quadruple effective move hurtled towards Plagg.
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"Faint Attack!" "Bug Buzz!" Plagg disappeared, while Tikki launched her attack at the tank-like war hedgehog. Invictus was smirking though, just like his Trainer.
"Spiky Shield. You know what to do, Astrum." Alex said confidently as he crossed his arms. Astrum had continued charging his Moonblast, and now the darkness seeking Fairy Missiles were tracking Plagg as he tried to approach for his attack.
The Spiky Shield fired rather large but still somehow not very effective spikes into Tikki while Invictus tanked the Bug Buzz. As Adrien saw what was coming, he shouted, "Forget the attack Plagg! Get out of there!" Still hiding for his attack, the barely visible Liepard danced around the Fairy Missiles with impressive dodges. Adrien clenched a fist as their momentum began to shift. "Good, now Iron Tail!"
"You may fire when ready, Astrum." Alex said, chuckling as the fairy type cried with pure, undiluted joy as it fired its potent fairy death beam at the mostly invisible shiny Liepard. His Iron Tail became defensive, as the sheer size and power of the Moonblast threatened to overpower even his mighty tail, which when turned to steel became a rather wicked looking scythe. "Invictus, Close Combat, and counter her Moves as you see fit. Watch out for Air Slash." Tikki had just finished pulling out his massive spines from her comparatively small frame when the mighty Chesnaught began stomping towards her, fists alight with fighting energy.
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As the Moonblast finally ran out of steam, Plagg shouted, "Now, Adrien!"
The blonde teen sighed heavily, and then with as much fake enthusiasm as he could muster shouted, "Iron Reaper…!"
"SOUL STEALER!" Plagg shrieked, as his scythe tail became a steel gray blur. Astrum cried out as the special Liepard hit him critically with three deep steel-colored slashes across his chest and got his team a much-needed faint. The Liepard's dark eyes shifted to Invictus, and he melted into the shadows.
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Alex manually pumped a Heal Pulse into Astrum's ball, which the technology magnified, making it akin to a trip to a Pokémon Center. Plagg's attack had been rather brutal, but he had a feeling the dark type hadn't meant to hit quite so hard. He'd likely just been caught up in another of his special attacks, probably from some anime. After learning the truth behind Plagg's power, as well as its dark source, that Adrien had shared with himself and Connor, Alex could forgive the wounds that had been inflicted. It remained to be seen if Astrum would. Alex frowned, as he suspected his Togekiss would now probably stay in his ball until the fierce Liepard wasn't around, and Alex couldn't blame him. He felt guilt from Adamanteus and addressed his entire team as he and Invictus locked eyes and nodded. "This is the price of power. You have to have perfect control of your element, or you Will hurt someone without meaning to. Like Yveltal does."
Alex's body flared with blue aura, radiating from his Key Stone as he activated it. Invictus's Infinity Energy met Alex's Spiral Power in the space between them and catapulted him to the next stage of his species evolution. His shell grew to encase his lower body, like a turtle, and almost reminiscent of a Blastoise, the four large spines on the back of his shell became cannon-like, and the much smaller pair on his 'shoulders' were also similarly changed, but had smaller spines loaded in them. Invictus flexed the grassy buckler shields he could form at will on his forearms, and then the upper two spike-cannons lightly shot their payload into the air. Two more spines immediately replaced them from within the shell, and Invictus grinned wickedly as he caught the massive, blade-sharp quills by their shafts, and fell into a battle crouch.
He seemed to have retained his typing, but Alex didn't have time to check his ability. They hadn't had him fight in this form too often, as his base one still needed work, but he was comfortable enough to battle. By crouching, Invictus quickly became ingrained in the ground as Tikki and Plagg came in towards him. While holding his quills, he was essentially a spiny fortress of pain for anything that tried attacking him physically. Plagg found out first, as he tried to land his Faint Attack, and then went wide eyed as the attack power of a Mega Chesnaught sent him a solid thirty feet in the air with a super effective Power Up Punch channeled of course, through the painfully sharp and probably poisonous quill-sword he used.
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Plagg slowly stood up by his Trainer, a testament to just how strong he was, and Adrien gave him a Full Restore. His wounds healed and his poisoning faded, as he whirled on Invictus. Seeing how badly Plagg fared, Tikki had kept her distance. The Liepard nodded at Tikki, and then Alex heard him shout to his Trainer, unnecessarily as they were close now, "It's time Adrien! To go beyond my limits! Beyond Evolution!"
Adrien just shook his head, but he was still smirking. "Plagg. Mega Evolve." To someone who had seen Sombrador, Alex recognized the lineage Liepard clearly shared with it. Long saber fangs grew downward from its canine teeth, another tail sprouted, and both became black, with a sheen like metal and a shape like a scythe. Plagg's eyes were glowing red, as were his spots, and to confirm Alex's theory, he'd also become part dragon type. A dark dragon with strong feline features.
Tikki joined him a moment later in her own humanoid Mega Form, and the two shared another nod, before they vanished. "Now, Invictus." The smirking Chesnaught grinned with a look that seemed…evil? Sinister? A ghostly light flared around him, not for the first time, as he took a page from Terra, and utilized Curse with the only move that might be able to get him a win. Frenzy Plant. With blurring speed, Invictus fired off his quill cannons, and slammed the two quills in his fists, both now glowing with a ghostly Taijitu symbol, into the ground.
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Once again, Plag and Tikki were forced on their back foot to defend themselves, or faint. Tikki was brutally smashed multiple times by massive surging vines that sprouted from each quill in the field, which while powerful, Invictus had purposely made to dematerialize, once the battle had ended. He was also well aware that he could not conjure anything near the size of the forest Terra had created, not yet anyway, but his vines were more than enough. Even with two scythe tails and ninja-like speed, Plagg also took a pummeling, but it was Tikki who saved them, as her brutalized body suddenly flashed with a surge of bug typed energy.
"Bug Buzz!" Marinette shouted, and Tikki immediately fired the waves of empowered green sound at Invictus. "Aerial Ace!" Adrien added, and though Invictus's vines blocked the first of the damaging bug sound waves, they'd also burned through a lot of Frenzy Plant's power as the vines caught in their path simply broke apart against the waves of empowered bug energy. Tikki followed her attack with a brutal Air Slash that hammered Invictus and made even the mighty Mega Chesnaught shudder from his quadruple weakness. Then there was Plagg, and his ridiculous speed, following up with a double Aerial Ace worthy of the Japanese Samurai who'd created the technique that Pokémon, and later the Silph Corporation, had turned into a TM. That masterful strike fainted Invictus, who was still exhausted from the Frenzy Plant, and didn't have the energy to even curl up and defend. Flying type moves were simply the bane of his power, especially Air Slash, which was a special attack move. He may have been an unstoppable burly tank, but his specialty was blocking physical attacks. Bullets, energy weapons, even most other moves, including fire, could be blocked by his Mega Form's nearly impenetrable body. Flying types were the exception to that rule.
Alex walked over, and fed a Max Revive to Invictus, who sat up with a groan, and let out a deep sigh. Alex patted the spiky boi, smirking. "You did great, bud. We're just going to have to work on resisting attacks with empowered air. Like Terra had to learn to deal with ice. It still faints him, but it doesn't make him lose focus anymore, which is useful in countering it." Mentally, he spoke to his grass starters, as Arbor also had a quadruple weakness. "We're going to try to nullify, or at the very least lessen the sheer amount of damage a quadruple weakness brings. Gelauros is going to be working with many of you, since Ice is very much the gap in our armor." He felt those with a quadruple ice weakness, namely also Kalagon, groan. "None of that. I share that weakness…and I wouldn't put you guys through anything I wouldn't do myself. Within reason, of course." He added, as he sensed his Charizard envisioning dunking his Trainer in lava to see how resistant his dragon typing really made him. Not empowered and transmuted World Forge lava either, real, genuine, molten rock. "There are limits to what even I can heal. Like severe burns. Anyways. I will endure Gelauros's training as well." Gel would, of course, be training by making his surrounding area, in an infamously sweltering and humid biome, as cold as a tundra.
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They'd have to find an empty part of the jungle where the output of so much cold for presumably several weeks wouldn't irreparably damage the forest. Terra and his grass types could regrow whatever they froze, after his fire types thawed it, and the flora would probably be stronger and more abundant by the time they left. It wouldn't be the same flora, though. He disliked hurting plants, especially since befriending and speaking with several trees, but at a certain level, this was the price of training to reach even higher levels of power. If they kept increasing at their current pace, one day, finding such a spot to properly unleash their power, enough to grow from the exercise, would be a genuine problem.
As Tikki and Plagg finished powering down and celebrating with their Trainers, turning as Alex and Invictus stomped over with their stupidly large feet. Plagg stepped forward and spoke first. "Is the golden one alright?"
Alex frowned slightly but nodded. Before he could speak though, Astrum popped free of his ball, and spoke for himself. "I am whole, dark one."
Plagg nodded, and then nudged his Trainer with his tail. He brought out a sack made of fur, though it was purple, like a common Liepard. Plagg reached his paw in, and dragged a Wiki berry out on his claws, offering it to Astrum. "I apologize. I got caught up in the moment and went a bit too far. Forgive me?"
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With a regal nod, Astrum levitated the berry up to his mouth, for some dignified noms. His bites were tiny, but efficient, and Alex felt him shudder in delight on his shoulder. "You are forgiven, dark one. Be sure you perfect your control, before we next meet in Battle."
Plagg gave him a dark smirk. "When next we are in Battle, we will be allies, golden one." His eyes shifted to Alex, then. "I expect your team to be properly cultured when that time comes."
Having a feeling he was once again referring to anime, Alex just nodded, and had to suppress a chuckle. He addressed both of them, then. "We three are going to Teleport, now. There is a…relatively new process for elevating Scales to what the Empire considers war readiness. A ceremony, of sorts." He held out his hands then, and the two teens noticed that, at some point beneath the Dragon Emperor's cloak, his armor had appeared again. They shared a look, but then nodded, and took Alex's hands, before vanishing with a soft bamf.
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