Darkness surrounded me. Unknown wisps of movement darted about, hidden from view. A single voice spoke up not too far away, acting as my only source of sensation outside the hotel room chair I sat on and the itchy suit I now wore.

"Let's discuss what you did on the taxi ride over,” Phoebe said.

"Didn't it go well?" I asked.

"Kind of," she replied. "Before you arrived, I told the driver to ask probing questions, and you did well to try to not give too much away. But, you failed to not reveal more than necessary, and you didn't learn anything meaningful about the driver.”

A pair of red eyes became faintly visible in the darkness of the Night Shade, but I did my best to not show any fear. Ghost Types still made me uncomfortable, but I needed this training to practice keeping an unreadable face.

This was a test. I was being placed in a high stress environment, and Phoebe was judging how easy I was to read.

"Next time that you're in a suspicious circumstance, like, say, an unknown taxi driver is waiting for you without an explanation, get them talking. Ask your target questions. Acknowledge their words. Be friendly and you won't believe what people will share."

I nodded, bracing myself for when a pair of eyes rushed at me before suddenly disappearing. I heard the chuckling of a Ghost Type, but I couldn’t make out what species it had been.

This was awful. I could already feel myself tensing with every slight movement, and my heart was hammering so loudly in my chest that I bet anyone around would have been able to hear it. But, my expression still managed to be kept level, though it was a difficult task to achieve.

"Was I supposed to learn that he had the room card earlier?" I asked with a level voice.

"Yeah! Glad you caught that. He was supposed to say someone left it in the car earlier and was willing to give it up if you asked for it. Since the conversation didn't lead anywhere, he gave it to you when you left as a failsafe. You still needed to actually arrive, after all."

"Oh," I said. "I guess that makes sense. The man in the airport with a sign would have probably led me to the taxi, too, right?"

"Nailed it in one. Good job. Now—"

Phoebe suddenly appeared out of a shadow only a few feet away. The darkness faded somewhat, and I forced myself not to sigh in relief. Part of controlling an expression was about suppressing the positive too, after all, any emotion could give something away.

"For your infiltration, you won't be able to bring any of your Pokémon with you,” Phoebe said.

Unfortunately, that got a reaction out of me.

"What? Why?"

The second I unconsciously raised my voice, I knew I messed up. Phoebe clicked her tongue and pulled out a notepad. I didn't like the way she smirked as she wrote.

"We'll work on reacting to surprising news later. You might find it easier to keep your expression level when falling into a role rather than being yourself. Might work better for a Fairy Type specialist like you."

With that, the Night Shade ended, and a Dusclops on the hotel bed came into view. As a Ghost Type, it looked much creepier than most Pokémon. Its body was wrapped with aged, crumbling grey bandages, and a red eye lazily drifted around in its head.

Phoebe didn't even need to hold out a hand to have it return to a Pokéball. It sunk into shadow and squirmed into her pocket all on its own.

"So, why can't I bring my Pokémon with me?" I asked, managing to keep my trepidation out of my voice. "They're the whole reason I can even do as I do. I won't even be able to explain my mental protection without them."

"Don’t worry about that for this mission, I’ll set something up. For future things like this, you should figure something out on your own,” Phoebe said. "But really, the problem is that your team is just too recognizable. They’re too strong for the position you're applying for, too. We want to hide your identity, not make it obvious who you are.”

I slumped in my chair.

"So I'm going in alone?"

Phoebe shook her head.

"Togepi might be fine. Same with your newest Pokémon."

"Tinkatink," I said.

Phoebe nodded, and it seemed that this test had finally reached its end.

My legs shook as I stood up, and there was an uncomfortable chill in my spine. Stumbling more than walking, I made my way to the bathroom as Phoebe followed.

The face in the mirror was alien and unfamiliar. The cheeks were higher, and the chin was a lot narrower than I was used to. Pulling at my jaws, strips of sticky skin-colored plastic were removed, and I dislodged a fake nose. It left a residue behind that I'd have to wash out, and Phoebe pointed out a few pads to wipe off the rest of the makeup.

A splash of water helped get rid of the rest. The towel I used looked like a mess.

"I'm going to have to do this again in the future, huh?" I asked.

"Again and again until you get it done right. We only have five days 'til, too."

I sighed and splashed my face again. The concept of an infiltration might have sounded exciting on paper, but the sheer amount of prep work ahead of me meant it was more planning and practice than anything else. At least the prep meant I'd picked up useful skills. I never thought something like this would be on my journey.

"And now we have to go to Rustboro, too," I mumbled.

"Actually, we're already there."

My head snapped to Phoebe, whose casual words felt like a betrayal. She shrugged and gestured out the bathroom door, where I rushed out to reach the window.

When the hotel curtains were thrown back, I was not met with the sights of Ever Grande. Instead, the sights of Rustboro City were laid out in front of me.

I could hear Phoebe's choking laughter from behind.

"Oh, you should see the look on your face! I had to call in a favor with the twins for this, but man did they pull through. Come on, Alex. Mission starts next week. This should be a good spot to take a break for a few days to adjust, right?"

Her smile was genuine, but I could feel schadenfreude behind her eyes. There was no doubt she was on my side, but the methods she would go through to train me scared me.

I couldn't help but to lament the League's choice of a tutor.

Oh, why did I have to be matched up with a Ghost Type specialist?

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

Gardevoir got the feel for Rustboro to let us Teleport back later, and I got on a bus that would take us to Verdanturf.

The actual trip between cities wasn't a direct path. There were a series of curving roads that led up and over this low, rocky mountain. Overall, the experience of the drivers meant the trip would take a full day.

I supposed I could have asked Altaria to carry me over, but doing so felt unfair. After everything in Sinnoh, he deserved a rest. If it wasn't for the sheer convenience of Teleport, Gardevoir likely would have been sitting back to relax, too.

The bus was a new experience for me since the chairs leaned back into beds to let people sleep as the vehicle traveled. Bars were built onto the roof of it to allow an escort of Skarmory and Swellow to perch when needed. Most people would have taken a bus that stopped at lodges or villages set up along the path, but most people weren't on as tight a schedule as I.

It was exhausting. Not only because of the uncomfortableness of the vehicle, but because of what Phoebe decided to subject me to, too. Small things kept disappearing only to reappear hours later. Someone I thought was one passenger turned out to be a different person entirely. Three different times, something grabbed my leg. Three different times, I jumped in my seat.

Phoebe had got on the bus with me. I'd have called this cruel if she didn't warn me she would test my perception ahead of time. I doubted her words—it felt like she was acting more like a Fairy Type than anything else. Honestly, I swear she was just doing it for fun.

By the time the vehicle pulled into Verdanturf, I was glad it was over. Asking Altaria for help would have been so much easier. Rustboro and Verdanturf weren't too far apart. The trip wouldn't have taken more than a few hours.

Walking through, I managed to catch Phoebe's ghost before they snuck up on me. The shining daylight and open paths of the town exposed the shadows before they could strike. I supposed that was a slight victory, but seeing something only because it couldn't hide didn't feel like an achievement to brag about.

When I arrived at my destination, my knock on the door was heavy and loud. Exhausted, I heard a shout on the inside before several hurried footsteps marked an arrival. The door opened up, and I smiled. The person in front of me smiled just as wide.

"Alex!"

"Hey, Wally."

He motioned for me to enter, and I gladly obliged. Phoebe said she wouldn't bother me while I was visiting a friend, which I only half believed.

Wally had known about the visit since I shot him a message on the flight here. He was so excited by the meeting he didn't even notice the bags under my eyes.

"Marty's in the other room. He's been doing well. But recently, um, I think he's been stressed? He's been looking through his laptop more and more. I'm kind of worried with how much he's been mumbling."

"I'll make sure to ask him," I said. "Thanks for the heads up, Wally. But how have you been? It's been a while since we last talked."

"I've been great!" Wally practically bounced as we started to walk to the next room. "Johto was so cool. Their culture is so different yet so much like our own. I mean, I even got lucky enough to see their legendary bird! Ho-oh, I think it's called?"

Wally tapped his chin in thought, completely unaware of the emotions he was sending me through.

He saw Ho-oh? Doesn't that bird grant eternal happiness to whoever sees it?

We chatted a bit as Wally led me through his house. I already knew how his League challenge had gone: he had reached the top four of the Silver Conference. That was impressive enough on its own, but I did get the vibe he was kind of upset he didn't win like I had.

Though, he seemed to be more focused on my fight against Tobias than anything else. He practically refused to talk about anything else once that topic was brought up.

His animated way of speaking continued all the way to the living room. I could see a familiar man sitting in a chair through the doorway, and I raised up a hand to prepare to greet him.

That was when something large suddenly lunged towards me. I had noticed it, but my exhaustion meant I was too slow to move out of the way. Two uneven arms wrapped around my body, and my face was pressed into something moist and crunchy at the same time.

"GAARBOO!"

The lumpy mass jiggled when it called out its name. Wally grabbed my arm to pull me back.

"Come on, Garbador. Let Alex free," Wally laughed.

The limbs of pure garbage unwrapped from my back, and I stumbled out of the facefull of plastic. A pair of eyes and rigid, sharpened teeth smiled at me. A fully evolved Garbodor stood in my way.

"Huh. Congratulations, Trubbish—I mean, Garbodor," I said, "Marty never told me you evolved."

I'd never seen a trash bag blush until now. He rubbed his head as I subtly sniffed the air.

There was no stink. Even more, despite being grabbed, I somehow felt even cleaner than before.

Did... did Garbador take what filth was on me to add to himself?

I quickly pushed that thought out of my head.

Wally's living room was almost exactly as I remembered it, except it now had more chairs set up. A large television sat on the wall while a familiar man sat on a chair.

He wasn't wearing his Pokémart uniform, but he was wearing clothes as if he had just got off of work. Khakis, a pair of dress shoes, and a button up shirt dressed Marty as he ran a hand through his dark hair, looking at his laptop.

"Marty," I said as a greeting.

Marty looked up from the screen, and he immediately smiled.

"Alex! It's been a while!"

Marty put his computer to the side and stood up to embrace me in a hug. I hugged back. I honestly hadn't seen him in over a year.

"I'm kind of surprised you're still here. I mean, Wally told me, but do you plan on going with him to Sinnoh, next?" I asked.

"Maybe," Marty said. His expression grew dim. "I've been having problems with my business. Either I go, or I'll have to find a different solution for what I have in mind."

I moved over to the couch as Marty continued to speak. Wally sat down with us, but he seemed a little disinterested with what Marty had to say. Marty hesitated after he sat, as if he was considering resuming his work on his computer, but, for now, he seemed to be willing to leave it off to the side.

"Last year was a complete success, going by the books," Marty said. "Merchandise sold like crazy, I managed to cut a few deals with manufacturers, and I laid out groundwork for connections in the future. But..."

Marty leaned back and rubbed his head.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Logistics are complicated. One person traveling a region and selling merchandise isn't enough to fund a brand. I want to expand. I want to make a company that everyone knows and recognizes. It's always been a dream of mine to do that, especially since everything else I've set out to do has basically been complete. But a businessman?" He chuckled. "Currently I just feel like a 'man' without the 'business.'"

"Couldn't you hire someone else?"

"Not in good conscience. Part of the reason selling merchandise of Wally's team worked is because I was traveling with him. Without that immediate recognition, I might as well be selling stuff based on random Pokémon."

He sighed again, and I hummed and rubbed my chin. I didn't think he realized just how much he was offering himself up on a silver platter. Not only that, but I genuinely had the perfect solution for him.

It felt obvious. I wasn't sure why he didn't see it.

"You're kidding, right?"

Marty's expression furrowed, and he stared at me, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"To get this straight, you want to make some kind of sponsorship-slash-branding-slash-merchandise company, correct?" I asked.

"Pretty much," Marty said.

"And you and Wally are going to Sinnoh next, right?"

"Yeah! I want to keep getting stronger, and Marty said he wants to keep expanding his business," Wally chipped in.

I paused briefly to recognize Wally didn't have Comfey around his neck. He looked healthy and was as active as ever. It was good to see him improving, even though it took me a moment to recognize his leaps and bounds.

I then quickly turned back to the subject on hand.

"And, even though you want to expand, you don't have a way to deal with having people recognize your product?" I asked.

Finally, Marty seemed to realize where I was going with this. He brought up a hand to rub his temple, and he let out a clearly stressed sigh at my leading question.

"Alex, no," Marty said. "I know what you're thinking. I can't ask you to do that. You've already done so much for me that I—"

"I was hired by the League. Sycamore isn't technically sponsoring me, I have a salary. I'm still using his ranch and am in contact with him, but that means there's little attached to my name. You can use me for this, Marty. I won the Sinnoh Grand Conference. I don't have any objections to helping out someone who helped me out so much."

Marty almost looked embarrassed. What happened to the Marty I was used to? The sheer amount of Fairy Type themed products he sold in Olivine was insane. He should have been jumping at the chance to use my name and team in his products.

But, he didn't immediately accept. Instead, he glanced over to his laptop. Wally leaned in.

"Marty feels like he would be taking advantage of you," Wally whispered.

"He's not," I replied. "You're not," I said to Marty.

"No, that's not—Ugh," Marty groaned. "No, both of you are missing the point. League trainers don't get sponsors unless they're already in the public eye. A Gym Leader or Elite Four member might have the connections for a few, but Ace Trainers and officials are only supposed to accept a sponsorship if they're tied up in a big project of sorts. I wish I could accept, Alex, but I can't use your name."

Wally asked why, and Marty seemed to pause. His jaw moved back and forth in his mouth as he struggled to come up with an answer.

"It's like..." he said, "The League is already paying you. Having someone hired by the League being sponsored by an outside entity is usually frowned upon. Sponsors are supposed to go to trainers who need the support to build their team up."

"But it can happen," I replied.

"It can happen," he acquiesced.

The room was plunged into silence, as now I was caught up in Marty's troubles. He made the purposeful show of closing his laptop as if to lock away the topic from this conversation, but my mind kept going through options.

I wanted to help him. I owed him a lot. Without him, I wouldn't have been able to get on my feet, and his legally-tenuous sponsorship of me during my Hoenn tenure had let me feed my team.

If only I could just give him the money he needed. If only I could—

"I'm an idiot."

Marty and Wally both looked at me as I smacked my head.

"I can just give you the money you need for your company."

Marty blinked at my words, and his mouth hung open. Wally's eyes went wide at the implications of what I was saying.

"I don't know what to do with my money,” I said. “I make enough to support my team, and I’ve put a huge amount away with everything that's happened in the past few months. My bank account is stuffed to the brim from the times I'd been paid by Cynthia, the money the League pays me, the leftovers from my old sponsorship, and now my winnings from the Conference. My financial skills are awful—all I care about is training. If I give some of it to you, you can actually put it to use instead of having it just sit around.”

"No. No way. I can't take money from a friend—"

"Then, let's say we're starting up a business together instead of me just handing it over. That's fair, right?"

Marty paused and looked away from me for a few moments.

"Fifty percent," he said. "You'll own fifty percent of the company."

As he said that, I kept my face perfectly level. I wanted to smile, but Phoebe's training was already coming into play.

By presenting me this offer, Marty had all but accepted my proposal.

"Ten percent," I countered. "All I'm doing is providing the initial investment. It's not as much as you think."

"Forty five. It is as much as I think. Having startup funds would save me a lot of trouble."

"I'll only go as high as twenty percent. You're the one putting in all the work. You deserve the results from your effort."

"No, no. You'll get forty, since you're the one that let me make enough to leave my job in the first place."

"Twenty-five and I pay you monthly to make up the difference."

"Thirty-five and you don't do that."

"Twenty—"

"Really?" Marty and I turned to Wally's exasperated voice. "I’m pretty sure this isn’t how it's supposed to work. This isn't how any of this is supposed to work! Alex, you're not supposed to minimize your share in the company, and Marty, you're not supposed to be giving so much away. I don't know anything about business, but I can tell you two don't, either."

Wally huffed and crossed his arms.

"Just do thirty and call it there. You were reaching that point anyway."

Marty and I stopped our negotiation and we locked eyes.

"Thirty and I—"

"Thirty and you—"

"Thirty it is!" Wally interrupted. He clapped his hands together to finalize the agreement. "Great! Now that that stuff is taken care of, there's something super important I want to do."

He stood up, put one hand on his hip, and pointed right at me.

"Alex, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle! It's been too long since we fought, and this time, I'm finally going to give you back your Dawn Stone! You have no choice but to accept!"

I glanced over to Marty, who sent me an amused glance. We still needed to work out the specifics of our "deal," if it could even be called that, but Wally had a point.

I wasn't here to talk about money, I was here to visit with friends. After so long being apart, what better way to learn how Wally has been doing than a Pokémon battle?

His challenge made me grin, and I stood up as well.

"You're on," I said. "But, you have to give it everything you've got. You'll be facing a team of Conference winners, after all."

Wally smiled, and with a determined glare shared between us, we marched outside. If Wally thought he was finally going to give me back his Dawn Stone, he had another thing coming.

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

Wally's cousin and uncle weren't home, but they'd banned battling in the backyard after the mess that happened last time. Instead, we headed out to the route east of town to find an open space to fight in.

The match would only be a three-on-three match, even though we wanted a six-on-six, simply because neither of us had our full team with us. A combination of poor planning and a wish to not wait led to this agreement.

On a hill that overlooked Verdanturf's flower fields, Wally and I stood off to the side to face one another. Our audience was Marty, Garbador, Florges, and Comfey, with Wally and I having our healers out in case of an emergency. Togepi and Tinkatink also stood on the sideline, the pair too weak to properly compete in the match.

We had no referees other than Marty, but he wasn't League-approved. Instead, we had nothing other than our own judgements to call the match.

"Switch rules?" Wally called out to me to ask.

"Since it's a three on three, no more than two each. Sound good?"

"Sounds great! Ready when you are, Alex!"

"Then, let's start. Come on out, Ninetales!"

"Magnezone!"

The field became awash with ice and cold as Ninetales came out of her Premier Ball in a flurry of snow. Magnezone appeared in the air across from her, a hovering metal UFO that floated with its magnets.

“Thunder Wave!”

“Confuse Ray!”

We didn't wait to begin. Both Pokémon’s moves hit at the same time.

Ninetales was unable to dodge the leaping spark that struck her body, and Magnezone was unable to move out of the way of the sickly-looking ray that struck it in its eye. Where Ninetales’s body suddenly locked up, Magnezone started to wobble in place. Both Pokémon might have been subjected to a status, but the paralysis on Ninetales would last longer than Magnezone’s confusion.

“Aurora Veil and move back,” I commanded.

Wally kept a close eye on Ninetales while considering his next order, but she didn’t attack. Magnezone crackled and popped with its own electricity, harming itself slightly as a result of its confusion. But, without any orders, it didn't use any moves, either.

As I commanded, an iridescent shield formed from the falling snow around Ninetales. It quickly came into place, and rather than following it up, I immediately returned her.

“What? Already?” Wally asked.

“You’ll see,” I replied. I had a plan, but Ninetales was already hampered by her paralysis, too. It made sense to switch her out here.

Rapidash emerged next, and he dashed forward right at Magnezone. A combination of his telekinesis and the move’s innate structure let the Aurora Veil shift positions to protect him. From within the blizzard, flames formed and his hooves thundered along the ground.

Wally realized my game. His eyes went wide.

“Magnet Rise!” he called out desperately.

Magnezone sparked again, but its electricity failed under the haze of its confusion. Rapidash leapt into the air with his hooves enhanced by Ground Type energy, and they were easily planted right onto Magnezone’s face.

It was an unfortunate attack for Magnezone, as the Ground Type move was four times effective against its dual Steel and Electric Type. It proved itself Sturdy enough to survive it, letting Wally call out an attack while Rapidash was still close by.

“Discharge!”

Eye clearing up, Magnezone exploded. Where before, it only sparked and crackled here and there, it now released every stored bit of electricity that was within it. My team was extremely familiar with the move thanks to Dedenne’s constant practice with it, but Rapidash still took a direct blast to the face. Thankfully, the Aurora Veil let him withstand the attack, and the Mystical Fire he had been building up around him finally sailed forth, searing Magnezone and dealing super effective damage.

That was only two moves, yet Magnezone fainted. It fell to the ground, unconscious, and Rapidash gracefully landed on his hooves next to it.

Wally stared at his fainted Pokémon with his mouth wide open.

“Wow, Alex. You’ve really improved in the last league, huh?”

“We spent almost the entire time training to go against Legendary Pokémon. Outside of Contests, that is.”

Rather than feeling aghast at his defensive Pokémon’s easy faint, Wally gained a wide grin on his face and returned Magnezone. Next, he pulled out a blue and red Lure Ball, and he gripped it tightly in his hand.

“You might have taken out Magnezone, but take this! Octillery, show Alex we’re not to be underestimated!”

A red octopus appeared on the field, and I felt my eyebrows raise at the sight of Wally’s new Pokémon. It seemed he had expanded his team in Johto. He hadn’t told me about this catch.

“Flash Cannon!”

Octillery’s legs curled up and started to rapidly slap onto the ground, pushing it forward. Its head stayed perfectly level and tracked Rapidash as he ran around, firing off a burst of light his way with ease.

Rapidash was only barely fast enough to deflect a Flash Cannon with his telekinesis. The move didn’t hit him dead on, but it hit the Aurora Veil and threatened to break it.

“Again!” Wally shouted.

Octillery paused, then it started to fire much more quickly. Its tentacles pushed it forward against the ground like a mobile turret with a speed it wasn’t reaching moments before.

I had no explanation for why it had that sudden increase until a faint memory suddenly settled into my mind.

I recognized what Octillery was doing. It had the ability, Moody, which let it slowly increase its own stats on a whim. That combined with its Sniper ability meant it was a slow, accurate tank that became more powerful over time. If it landed a shot in just the right place, I wasn’t sure Rapidash would stay up.

“Wild Charge, quickly!” I shouted.

Rapidash’s hooves sparked with electricity this time, and he rushed forward right at Octillery. The rate at which the Flash Cannons were being sent out was slowly increasing, but there were at least times where it seemed to slow out in favor of shifting to a defensive.

Unfortunately, now was one of those times. Rapidash was able to approach Octillery while only taking glancing blows, but Octillery was able to raise up its tentacles as a defense right when Rapidash stomped down. It was struck by the move and shook from the super effective damage, but it was able to wrap its tentacles around Rapidash.

Now subject to a Bind, Rapidash couldn’t escape, and the next move Wally called for wasn’t good news.

“Hydro Pump!”

“Psychic!”

I hoped that Rapidash would be able to make Octillery’s snout turn in a different direction so he could avoid the attack, but Rapidash’s Psychic wasn’t able to move it. Psychic Type energy glowed around Octillery’s head for damage but nothing else. The octopus Pokémon was able to keep its aim true and caused a Hydro Pump to strike Rapidash in the chest.

Its Sniper ability let it find a weak point. The Aurora Veil shattered, and Rapidash was consumed by a forceful blast of water. I hoped the sight of Octillery releasing its Bind meant it was backing off, but when Rapidash fell to the floor, it was obvious that wasn’t the case.

“Return, Rapidash,” I said.

My fainted Pokémon was recalled to his Dream Ball. Togepi let out a pained cry on the side.

“Your Octillery is stronger than I would have thought,” I said.

“Yeah! He puts in so much to make sure he’s as strong as everyone else. I’m super proud of him.”

Octillery’s eyes curled up into a smile, and it rubbed the back of its head, happily. I clutched a new Pokéball, and I stared Wally in the eye.

“You aren’t the only one who caught a Pokémon dedicated to training. Let’s see how you handle this. Gardevoir! Take it out with Psychic!”

Gardevoir didn’t seem to immediately appear on the field when the light burst from the Pokéball. Wally and Octillery both looked confused until they understood what had happened: Gardevoir had used Teleport right off the bat.

Appearing behind Octillery, Gardevoir let out an amused huff as the Pokémon tried its best to turn around, shocked. The Water Type let out a squeak and tried to fire off a Bubblebeam, but it had already been lifted up into the air and smashed into the ground.

“Bind!”

Tentacles shot forward. Gardevoir let them hit. As they wrapped around his feet, Gardevoir became unable to move. This time, though, when Octillery aimed its snout at Gardevoir’s chest, my Pokémon was already prepared.

“Moonblast!”

Let me say, the sound the Octillery made when it received a Moonblast directly to the face was decidedly not pleasant.

The force from the Moonblast caused Octillery to skip along the floor before coming to a stop only a few feet away from Wally. The falling snow ceased its descent as Gardevoir gave his opponents a confident twirl, acting as if that win was nothing much. He had a confident smirk on his face while Wally returned Octillery. Though, even with that, Wally looked more excited than ever.

His hands were shaking when he clutched his third Pokéball. Wally pulled something out of the neck of his shirt.

“I’ve been waiting for this, Alex,” he said as I stared at his exposed necklace. “Ever since I saw Gardevoir take out Darkrai, I’ve wanted to have this match. Both of our Pokémon from the same evolutionary line going at one another, no holds barred. Go! Gallade! Let’s take them out and Mega Evolve!”

Gallade had a bracer on its upper arm. It appeared from a flash as if it were leaping through the air, and both Gallade and Wally glowed. No, Wally wasn’t glowing, but the light from his key stone was almost as brilliant as the light coming off of Gallade’s Galladite. Gallade’s form began to change.

Gallade was normally a green and white humanoid Pokémon that had blades coming off its elbows. It still looked like that, but it gained a long cape, and its blades grew to even longer lengths. Not only that, but the blades turned red and almost seemed serrated. It was as if a set of swords had become greatswords. When it landed, it almost seemed heroic.

So he managed to get a Galladite, huh?

“See, Alex? We’ve been growing strong, too! This is the power that brought us to the top four of the Silver Conference! Gallade, use—”

“Wait, a moment, Wally,” I interrupted. “You’re missing something.”

Gallade had been tensing to attack, but it paused when I spoke up. Wally cocked his head to the side.

“What?” he asked.

“We have a Mega Stone, too,” I said.

Gardevoir didn’t have it on him, so I had to retrieve it from my pack for this battle. Wally didn’t object, instead, he clenched his hands and pumped them up and down in excitement. He wanted this level of battle.

Gardevoir caught his necklace and quickly tied it around his neck. I held up my own bracer-covered hand, and this time, it was our set of stones that glowed. Gardevoir’s central red horn split, and his dress puffed out around him. Soon enough, we had a Mega versus Mega battlefield properly set up on this grassy (now snowy) hillside.

Someone nervously spoke up.

“Um. Is this allowed?” Marty asked.

“Mega Evolutions need to be limited to League approved spaces or be witnessed by a League approved official,” I said. Wally seemed to slump slightly. I coughed into my hand. “I’m a League approved official.”

That made Wally’s grin snap back onto his face. Florges signaled for the audience to move a few steps back, and, getting the hint, Marty stepped a bit further back as well.

There was a palpable sense of power in front of Wally and I right now. Gardevoir and Gallade were immeasurably stronger in their Mega Forms. Not only that, but both of them were the final evolution of the same species.

This was a match for the ages.

“Misty Terrain."

“Night Slash!”

“Reflect!”

“Brick Break!”

Rapidfire moves were performed one after the other. The field became covered in mist right before Gallade suddenly teleported behind Gardevoir and slashed straight down. Gardevoir brought up an arm and used Reflect as if he were wielding a shield, but Gallade changed attacks to smash through the defense and land a punch right on Gardevoir’s chest.

“Psychic!” Wally and I both called out.

Both Pokémon glowed with Psychic Type energy. This time, both of them were using the same move. Gardevoir winced from the pain, uncomfortable from Gallade’s telekinetic assault, but Gallade was actually picked up and thrown back.

Gallade suffered greatly from the Psychic. He was grabbed telekinetically and sent flying into the air, but a flex of his will broke the ranged grip. He flipped around to properly reorient himself before landing on the ground. Then, he disappeared.

Gallade didn't use Teleport—he used Agility to move faster than my eyes could track. He appeared inches away from Gardevoir, and his elbow swung low.

A Slash swept Gardevoir’s feet out from under him. He suddenly started to fall back, but he formed a Moonblast between his hands as he did. As for Gallade, he leapt back to dodge, but Gardevoir quickly switched into using Psychic to curve the Moonblast in the air and strike Gallade from behind.

Gallade let out a cry of pain, arched his back, and slashed down with both arms. They were surrounded with darkness.

The dual Shadow Claw struck Gardevoir in the stomach. The attacks slammed super effective damage into him twice over, and from the look in his eyes, it was clear Gardevoir was on the verge of fainting.

He hit the ground hard, in pain. For all the added power his Mega Evolution gave him, he just didn’t have the same level of experience as Wally’s starter. He might have taken out a Darkrai, but that wasn’t in a direct battle like this.

Gardevoir looked me in the eyes. I gave him a slight nod.

It was time to end this. Losing this matchup could still win us the battle overall.

“When you're ready, use Misty Explosion,” I ordered.

Wally smiled as if he expected this.

“Protect!” he yelled excitedly.

The field went still. Gallade brought up his arms to brace himself for this attack. His entire body was tensed as Gardevoir laid on the ground.

The Protect meant Gardevoir had all the time in the world to push back to his feet.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Wally asked.

“Oh, Misty Explosion is a sacrificial move. It's strong but it only really works when people aren’t expecting it,” I said.

Gardevoir winced slightly, then crossed his arms. He looked like he could faint at any moment.

“So you aren’t using Misty Explosion?” Wally asked.

Gallade suddenly let out a strained breath. His body slackened, and his arms fell down to his sides.

“We are. We were just waiting for Protect to end. Now, Gardevoir!”

It was like a spray can exploded. A cloud of pink mist burst out in all directions before slowly drifting towards the ground. The mist was so dense I couldn’t see, and the force of the wind caused my hair to be pushed back.

It took a little bit for the move to fade away, helped in part by both Florges and Comfey using Petal Dance to create a breeze to send it away. By the time the pink was gone, both Gardevoir and Gallade were visible in the ground.

The pair was unconscious on the battlefield floor.

“Dang it! I thought we really were going to win," Wally groaned. "But, if they're both down, I guess it's a tie."

I blinked.

Did he forget about Ninetales?

Marty spoke up.

“Actually, Alex still has—”

“A tie it is,” I interrupted. “That was a great fight.”

Wally looked up from the pair of fainted Pokémon, both of them no longer in their Mega form, and he smiled at me from across the field.

“Yeah! That was fun! We should do this again.”

Florges and Comfey rushed forward to heal the fainted Pokémon, and Wally and I sent out the rest of our teams to benefit from the same. Gardevoir and Gallade were quick to recover, though both of them were weakened after that battle.

Our teams chatted as Wally and I told stories about our journeys. Wally talked about his new team members, his trial in the Whirl Islands, as well as his meeting with a troupe of actors in Ecruteak City.

I spoke about the Contests I competed in, my encounters with Ash and Hunter J, as well as all of the Legendaries my team fought in preparation for Tobias.

It was nice, just catching up with friends. Marty seemed a lot happier now that he didn't need to worry about his business as much, too. Our Pokémon animatedly spoke, though Gallade and Gardevoir seemed to be pointedly ignoring one another.

I supposed that was bound to happen with their completely opposite mindsets when it came to battling. I doubted Gardevoir could ever come to terms with the fact that someone gave up improved telekinesis in exchange for physical power.

As the day came to a close, I parted ways and promised to visit more in the following days. The sky was a smear of orange and red as I stepped out onto the street, retiring from my time in Wally's home.

The shadows from the sunset were long and ominous. Hard to describe shapes flicked about within.

I could see Phoebe standing under a lamp post a few buildings away. She nodded approvingly at my successful perception.

I had enjoyed this visit, but now, it had ended. Right off the bat, I was already shifting back into personal training. Soon enough, I would have to infiltrate Devon, and the real test would start.