Forests, beach, the sea and now caves… I didn't have a single gym badge and yet I had already explored 4 different types of terrain.

Pretty impressive. Technically speaking, I could have fought 3 different Gym Leaders but I just chose not to for obvious reasons.

I yawned slightly and rubbed my eyes.

Despite being so layered by the pseudo Magma clothing, I was so used to the scalding Hoenn heat, that the shift in temperature caught me off guard.

Meteor Falls was massive to the point where I had to strain my neck to see the top of the ceiling.

I was once again stunned, by the scale of the cave in comparison to the game.

Not to scale should have been a disclaimer in every video game. This was what a real cave looked like… I didn't initially think Meteor Falls was as impressive as Mt. Coronet or Mt. Silver, but I might just be wrong because it seemed endless.

I heard flapping and leapt back right as Zorua jumped out of my coat to intercept the Zubat trying to sink its fangs into me.

My eyes narrowed at the small little flying type and I grunted, beckoning with my hand for Zorua to take the lead.

This is what we had been doing mostly. I wanted Zorua to be my most independent pokemon so that we could run circles around trainers. I even planned on giving him wrong orders sometimes, just to confuse my opponents even more. We would need a lot of synergy to get it working but once it did, we'd be terrifying to go up against.

Zubat launched towards Zorua with glowing wings, only to growl in annoyance as the dark type deftly dodged the attack.

My dark types eyes narrowed and he lunged forward, using the speed of pursuit to directly connect with the poison type and successfully tackling it out of the sky.

Before Zubat could think to retaliate, it let out a pitiful noise as Zorua mercifully scratched into him.

"Nice," I praised as Zorua leapt off it's prone body. "We haven't fought much trainers, but we're improving by leaps and bounds," I noted with interest.

Our training was paying off really well. Experience from battling was good, but training was doing us all wonders and I really could just let them fight each other.

I like to think I was training them all pretty damn well. Our battle against Sharpedo was proof of that.

Zorua and I continued our pace through the cave, battling a couple more Zubats and being completely avoided by some Lunatone and Solrock (they were all so strange to look at!) up until we made our way to a waterfall.

Next to the waterfall, was a hidden set of stairs that I did not hesitate to climb and I found myself for the umpteenth time, thanking this world for not having unnecessary game obstructions.

Meteor Falls wasn't a place some trainers should really enter until they were more experienced.

It wasn't a death sentence like say, Mt. Silver… but the home of the Draconids wasn't a walk in the park.

That was another thing. Far deeper in Meteor Falls, was a village that housed the Draconid Clan. They made their home in the confinement of this cave for whatever reason and were mostly independent from the ongoings of the Hoenn region.

The League seemed to mostly leave the Draconids alone too. I believe Elite Four Drake had relations with them and that seemed good enough for them.

I didn't do deeper research on their history so I wasn't sure about the story behind that but I did know they worshiped Rayquaza.

Wait, what was that one girls name? The one with the Mega Salamence?

...I don't remember. She had the really cool music and was trying to destroy the Meteo —

I balked. Wait, the meteor? The same meteor that was going to crash into the planet and kill us all if we didn't stop it?

The same meteor that had… Deoxys on it.

...I absolutely loved Deoxys. It was my favorite mythical Pokemon… but goddammit why was it on a meteor that was going to crash land on Earth?

I pursed my lips and stopped myself from moving any further, sighing as I inclined my head to a certain direction.

Hoenn had way too many issues. What was wrong with this region? Two living calamities, their parent able to calm them both, and a meteor with an alien on it who said parent happened to hate.

If my life was in no danger, I'd have just noped outta here… but unfortunately it was and I refused to put my life in the hands of someone else.

But for the meteor I just might have to… wasn't a worthy trainer supposed to wake up Rayquaza and stop all the madness?

No… that's not what I remembered. Zit tried and failed to Mega Evolve Rayquaza… but we as the player, were able to.

Because of that meteorite… the one that the person in Fallarbor Town discovered and got mugged from by either Aqua or Magma.

I halted my movement and narrowed my eyes.

That was the same meteorite… that the scientist found in here.

Yeah… I could do that. I could use my prior knowledge to give myself an advantage for sure. If I secured that Meteorite…

I nodded to myself and went back downstairs, reaching the first floor of Meteor Falls once more as I headed to a random destination.

"Zor?" Zorua muttered in confusion at my change of pace.

"Something important suddenly came up… I'm looking for something," I muttered back, heading closer to the exit that lead to Rustboro, over the one that led to Fallarbor.

If I could give myself a head start like this and secure such an important item, that'd be huge for setting back those two gigantic idiots.

Hell, if I were strong enough, I'd have gone after the Red and Blue Orbs too… but that was out of my reach for the moment. And I very much doubted it was out in the open of Mt. Pyre like in the video games, just free for the taking.

Did people even know those orbs were atop Mt. Pyre? Likely not... they were probably hidden well by the guardians... but if you knew it was there, it was only a matter of time before you got it.

I was realizing now, that I knew a lot of general knowledge about important stuff. I knew where both Magma and Aquas bases were, I knew where Groudon and Kyogre resided (I wasn't sure how I was gonna reach Kyogre)… hell I even know about the Meteor.

Mega Evolution existed in this world too... yeah securing this meteor would be important.

I do think I still had a good amount of time, considering Magma and Aqua weren't making much noise at all, besides shady recruitment on websites you wouldn't find unless you were actively looking for them like I had.

No, the most prominent criminal organization at the moment was Team Rocket. No signs of Aqua, Magma, Galactic or Plasma or whoever the hell the other regions had.

I hated Team Rocket but I was content to stay out of their business for now. Since I'd be traveling Kanto naturally I'd be wary of them but actively seeking them out in my path of getting stronger was dangerous and dumb…

If they were still going strong when I was confident enough, then I'd take them out too. My general knowledge didn't extend to just Hoenn, I knew enough to completely ruin Team Rocket right down to the very core.

After about 3 more Zubat attacks in the midst of my searching, I let out a grunt of annoyance.

"Damn I'm tired," I sighed. What time was it?

10:57 PM… I frowned at that. Alright, I'd wrap up this business, set up camp deeper in Meteor Falls and get some sleep.

Then we could begin the search for Bagon.

There weren't any other humans that I could see in here to question me for my weird searching habits but I wouldn't have let that deter me regardless.

I didn't know the specific location but it had to be somewhere around here.

How did I know? Well call it a hunch, but there was a suspicious pressure eerily reminiscent (but not at all as dominating) as when I ran into Registeel earlier and it was getting stronger the closer I got.

This feeling wasn't anywhere near similar to Registeel, who felt cold and metallic, and I might have even been able to ignore it before, but my exposure to one legendary, seemed to have opened the floodgates and now I could actively feel the strange sensation.

I couldn't even explain this one. It just felt like I was breathing in too much air. It really was very different from the Steel Golem.

I frowned at that. Could I really feel the pressure of things related to Legendaries just because I exposed myself to one? Why? Why was I even able to expose myself to them?

Was it because of who I was?

That couldn't be it. At the end of the day, I was only relevant in the Johto region and the legendaries associated with me, were Ho-Oh, Lugia and maybe the Legendary Beasts...

But I never once encountered said legendaries and I doubted any of them had to do with the fortress in my mind, or my sudden vulnerability to legends.

Was it even worth thinking about this right now?

As I glanced at the spot where the pressure felt the strongest, I realized it probably wasn't.

An unassuming group of rocks blocked my vision of the prize I was searching for and I glanced at it dispassionately.

Suddenly, I wasn't too thrilled to find the object. I even seriously contemplated just leaving it here and letting nature run its course.

But despite that, I couldn't and I really fucking hated that.

Despite the fact that I vowed to not involve myself in stupid shit or be a hero… I was realizing that I'd never be comfortable with the idea of my life being on a thread with someone else needing to save me.

The fate of the whole world? Why would I rely on some other kid to save it? What if this world didn't have anyone to save it? Do I just die without doing a damn thing?

I was in an alternate version of every media of Pokemon I was aware of. I couldn't expect things to go the way I expected it to so I'd have to lay a heavy hand and ensure my own safety.

Being a bystander could work out but if it didn't, I'd die and that payoff wasn't worth it at all.

With a sigh of resignation, I moved the pile of rocks about and laid my eyes on the strangest rock of the group.

Like I said before, if I had to save this world in order to make sure my livelihood wasn't at stake, then I'd do things my way. I don't know if it was Mew or Arceus or whatever the hell Pokemon it was, I wouldn't let any of them control me or my actions.

As I crouched down and grabbed the Meteorite, I grunted as a vision of a giant rock floating in an ever expanding darkness invaded my mind.

Then, the darkness faded away and all I saw was green.

I violently shook my head and placed the Meteorite in my bag, frowning as the pressure from the stone, never abated.

"So I guess this really is Rayquaza's... hopefully it doesn't hunt me down now," I mused.

Looks like I'd have to get used to the feeling. At least it wasn't all that annoying… just a slight buzzing really.

Maybe it'd even get me used to other legendaries. I knew for a fact I was gonna be meeting them and being in denial never helped anyone.

"Alright, let's go set up camp," I grunted, getting up from my crouched position and heading back to those hidden stairs.

I really needed to go to sleep.

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

"Chiko!"

"Fee!"

I grunted as I was brought to the floor of the tent before a smile replaced my features. I patted the wet scales of Feebas and the dry scales of Chikorita with a pleased feeling coursing through my body that I used to be foreign with, but was quickly getting accustomed to.

"Missed me?" I asked curiously, tiredly laughing as they nuzzled me excitedly.

They both nodded furiously and I sighed at how adorable they were.

"Zorua and I completed the mission," I informed them. "Flawlessly, no mistakes as far as I'm aware."

Chikorita's eyes widened and she glanced over at the dozing dark type, before trotting over to him.

"She's bigger than him now," I noted curiously. Chikorita and Zorua had been about the same size but over the weeks, I noticed that my second Pokemon had been growing quite a bit.

Not to mention, the green of her skin was getting a bit brighter.

Was she close to evolving? It was kind of awesome that you could see signs before it was complete. I wonder just how close she was?

Chikorita pulled out a vine and began nudging Zorua, who popped one eye open and gazed at her tiredly.

"Chik Chiko!" She exclaimed excitedly.

Zorua nodded and they exchanged a few more words before Chikorita turned towards me with expectant eyes.

I rolled my eyes and pulled out the Great Ball, presenting it to them all.

"We'll officially meet them tomorrow morning after I wake up. Be on your guard," I told them, idly stroking Feebas' scales.

They all chanted in their respect tongue and I smiled at them, before deciding to call it a night.

I had invested (yes I actually bought these) in some repels and currently, there was one outside my tent to ward off any curious pokemon.

Hopefully it worked out well. I didn't wanna die in my sleep.

Judging by the look of disgust Zorua had released the moment I put one down, it did its job well. Repels scent got weaker the more you traveled because the movement allowed more air in and diluted the scent of it.

Stay still and it would last a very long time.

"Alright, I'm going to sleep. You guys can do whatever but make sure you're not too loud," I muttered, letting my head hit the pillow and falling asleep near instantaneously.

I didn't realize I had been awake since 7 am and it was half past 12 am now.

Damn had I really been awake for 17 hours? Not bad… though I doubted my 12 year old body should be awake this long.

Let's fix that.

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

My eyes abruptly opened to an expanse of darkness and I blinked in confusion.

What... was this?

Despite the fact that my eyes were open, I couldn't see anything except for my own body. Not even the floor beneath me existed and I warily glanced around.

Where exactly was I?

What was happening? What was this endless darkness…?

Why was it… that I couldn't feel my heartbeat, my body, my senses… I couldn't feel anything…

Except for an overpowering presence all around me.

Paranoia began seeping into me and I began warily glancing around.

Considering I had a sensation worse than this earlier before, it wasn't as jarring as I expected it to be but it didn't change that this situation was incredibly bizarre.

"Who's there?" I tried to ask, but whether my voice reached here or not was unknown to me because I couldn't hear at all.

Frustration began to rise inside of me before even that was stamped away by the heavy pressure I was being subjected to.

This was... this was even heavier than Registeels. This pressure was almost completely stifling, smothering me completely and robbing me of all my natural senses.

Such heaviness... if this thing had an even more imposing presence than Registeel, that meant...

Suddenly, all my senses returned and I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding in.

That was nerve wracking, I didn't even want to think about what the hell was imposing its will onto me currently —

I whirled around on instinct, as the presence suddenly spiked and I could only gaze in horror, at the giant red eyes of something gazing directly at me.

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

I let out a strangled yell as I shot up and glanced around wildly, clutching my chest and letting out strained gasps.

My Pokemon slept blissfully unaware, though Zorua had popped a single eye open at the strained noise with a questioning gaze.

I let out a shaky smile and placed a palm on his head.

"Nothing buddy, go back to sleep," I whispered quietly, running my fingers through his soft fur.

Zorua glanced up at me, before nodding slowly and shutting his eye, falling back into slumber.

A rattled breath left my body as I thought about that dream I just had.

Maybe nightmare was more apt. That was bizarre.

Not to mention those eyes… just what was that? Even though it was a dream… I couldn't forget that pressure crushing me from all angles.

The pressure that even eclipsed Registeels own.

I resisted the urge to groan and lied back down.

No way was I getting my sleep ruined by these annoying ass legendaries. Getting my sleep interrupted, was a surefire way to piss me off for the rest of the day and my Pokemon didn't deserve that because this wasn't even on them.

Still, that dream didn't feel like a dream. Whoever wielded those big red eyes... I had a strange inkling they were the one that scared Absol off.

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

"Rita?"

I glanced down at the concerned Chikorita and flashed her a tired smile while idly messaging Joy that I was in fact alive today. "I'm fine girl. This hard ground kept me up for a bit."

She nodded sympathetically and climbed atop me to graciously offer her presence to me.

I chuckled at the fact that she thought just climbing me would help but accepted it all the same, just patting her on the leaf.

"Alright it's about time we meet our new member," I yawned, pulling out the Great Ball holding my most recent member.

Zorua and Feebas perked up and nodded in anticipation, while Chikorita opted to continue resting on me for my own sake.

I had walked rather deep in Meteor Falls and found an isolated part of the cave that had a body of water in it and no Pokemon at all.

This room might have been crafted actually, considering there was an entrance to it.

Also… this suspiciously reminded me of the room you catch Bagon in but there was no Pokemon in here at all that I could see.

Fine by me.

I held out the Great Ball and released Beldum from confinement with a cool expression.

The red light coalesced into the Steel/Psychic Pokemon and we all gazed at the Beldum with curious eyes.

A single red eye glanced back at the small group, before locking on me, prompting me to pull out a potion.

"Want me to heal you?" I asked curiously, gazing at the dominantly blue Pokemon with a relaxed expression.

Beldum contemplated the question for a moment, probably assessing its own injuries, before nodding.

I got up with Chikorita on my shoulder and approached my newest capture with a friendly expression…

Only for a white light to cover Beldum's head and crash right into me.

Beldum had a vicious gleam in its eye, that turned into a blink of confusion, as they flew through the body.

"I figured you'd do that," I sighed, still sitting in the same position with Chikorita as the body Beldum crashed into, faded out.

Beldum immediately seized up, as Zorua tackled him to the floor, shrouded in dark energy.

He let out a threatening growl as he held a paw to the Beldum's neck and I smiled.

Finally, I got up and moved over, spraying the Potion on its body with a calm expression.

Beldum looked at me in confusion and I kept my expression neutral.

"Nice to meet you Beldum, I'm Silver," I greeted coolly, placing the potion back into my bag. "I caught you, so you probably know what that means, right?" I asked.

Beldum gazed at me with a defiant expression that I wasn't really expecting from a Beldum but nodded its head all the same.

"Right. I'm your trainer now and I'd prefer it if we could get along so that this could go smoother."

Judging by the expression on its face, Beldum was not a fan of that idea and I frowned slightly.

"Bel," was all it said.

Considering Chikorita just snarled, I was gonna garner a guess that Beldum did not say something family friendly.

"Why?" I asked, nonplussed by its reaction.

No, there was simply curiosity in my stance so that I could get to the bottom line of gaining this one's loyalty.

"Is it because you were content with living in a hoard of Beldums?"

It nodded easily.

That got a scowl out of me. "But why? What's the point in just staying there and being a Beldum forever? Does that life satisfy you?"

Beldum hesitated slightly, before nodding its head.

"So you're content to stay confined in that cage all your life, while staying as a Beldum... Aren't you even slightly interested in being a Metagross? Do you have no ambition? Goals? Are you content to be subpar?"

As much as it tried to hide it, my words were causing Beldum to ponder a life outside its confined home and a gleam entered my eyes.

"I don't get it… Metagross are some of the most respected Pokemon on the planet but it would naturally take years for you to ever achieve it… in fact, it might never actually happen considering that's probably not the goal for you is it? Your goal for the colony isn't to become a Metagross, right? It's to provide for them isn't it?"

A pause... a shake of its head.

"That sounds no better than a prison to me. No free will, no choice to make your own decision... Is the inside of that cage all you ever want to know? Do you not want to see what the world has to offer you? Your only goal in life does not have to be providing for the hive as one piece of many. Don't you want to be more? Don't you want to be seen as a single individual?" I asked with a raised brow.

"...Bel," Beldum said hesitantly, nodding its head as my words captured its full attention.

It tried, it really did but I had it hooked.

"Then work with me," I proposed. "I will show you a life beyond that cage and I'll show you that this entire time, you've barely been breathing. I'll give you the freedom of choice and my goals for you, require you to be a Metagross, so you don't have to stay a Beldum for a majority of your life," I assured, smirking confidently.

I beckoned for Zorua to get off and he obeyed without hesitation, making Beldum look back at my dark type.

It must have remembered how easily Zorua dispatched of him and I did grin this time.

"You've been shackled your whole life with a will that's not your own, with a will that doesn't want the best for you and deep down you don't want that, so align your actual will with mine so that you can find what's best for you," I finished, silver eyes gazing resolutely into its red.

Beldum glanced back at me and I marveled at how a single eye could convey so much emotion.

I wasn't really sure but my mental image for the Metagross line must have given me the vibe that they were all emotionless machines that coldly got the job done.

But Beldum didn't really convey any of that. How young was he? There was a fire in his eyes, a conflicted expression, an anger at me for upending his life…

But he was interested. Interested in being something besides a Beldum that roamed the Stone Territory, providing solely for the hive. Interested in attaining power that it never would normally achieve.

Interested in becoming the behemoth known as Metagross, something it might have only thought of in passing. Perhaps it never even thought it would become a Metang because that's not what the hive desired of it.

But it could achieve all those hidden desires under me.

As Beldum reluctantly agreed to join me, I found myself thanking Steven for making my life so much easier.

Protecting the Beldum wasn't a bad job at all… but coddling them like this, confining them to only one area… forcing them to be apart of one hive because of their nature.

Well of course they'd be curious about the outside world. Maybe if the Metagross line truly was emotionless, they wouldn't be… but that wasn't true.

No, all intelligent things had an innate curiosity and the easiest type of curiosity to manipulate, was the curiosity of a person who was being confined, no matter how willingly.

A caged bird would always have the desire to fly and Beldum had been imprisoned its whole life without even realizing.

But I made it realize and that's how I won.

Beldum may not like me now… but I would show it exactly what it had been missing out on. As we traversed the world, it would realize that I hadn't been lying, it would realize that the hive was just a small fraction of what it could have achieved...

And it would realize I showed them this new way of living.

"Cool… now that that's settled…" I mused. "We haven't trained in a bit. Let's eat and I can think of something for Feebas and Beldum in the meantime. Zorua, Chikorita, keep doing what you were already practicing until you master them. Mix in physical training with it, sparring and honing your respective energies."

They both barked in confirmation and I smiled.

"We're in a pretty dangerous place guys. Stay on your toes until we complete our mission. We'll be here for at least a few days," I warned.

Beldum watched the three nod without any hesitation and gazed at me with a quizzical look.

I caught its gaze and simply smirked.

"Did I forget to mention I'm a high stakes kinda guy?" I asked with a maniacal glint. "We're here to catch another member of the team!"

"...Bel," Beldum said slowly.

"Chiko," Chikorita nodded sagely.

"Zor," Zorua agreed.

I scratched my head slightly. "You get used to it? He's always like this? When the hell did you guys get so rude to me?"

"Fee!" Feebas smiled.

"Not you girl. You're a sweetheart," I assured.

"...Dum," Beldum said.

Was this truly the trainer that snuck into their territory?

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

Beldum: N/A

Ability: Clear Body

Moves: Takedown

I hummed as I scanned Beldum and nodded my head.

"Not a lot to work with, but that's fine. I've already got plans," I said aloud.

Normally I'd keep such musings to myself, but I was realizing that the way to win Beldum over, was to verbalize how I intended on making it useful.

As they were now, I'm sure even Feebas could give it a run for its money and win.

"Alright, up until I evolve you, you'll be limited. But that doesn't mean you're useless. There's 3 moves I want you to learn and that's Iron Defense, Iron Head, Zen Headbutt."

Beldum normally only learned Take Down up until they evolved. It made them terribly useless, even more so than the first form of a lot of pseudo legendaries.

But later on, in later regions, they decided that Beldum was too useless and allowed it to learn three moves via tutor. Thankfully that seemed to apply here as well.

At the very least, Beldum's tended to evolve faster than their pseudo siblings. Achieving the Metang form wasn't very difficult at all.

"It won't be easy, so I need you to practice molding your psychic and steel energy to an effective degree. Just internalize it for now and don't even bother on shooting it out of your body. We'll focus on that when you become a Metang."

Beldum listened to my orders and watched the clips on all the moves with its single red eye.

Eventually, they nodded and went off by its lonesome to practice said move.

I wondered when he would be able to communicate with me. Would it be hard like with Bronzong? I hope not. Having my own psychic to communicate with seemed cool.

"Hey wait, Beldum! Do you want a nickname?" I suddenly asked.

The steel type froze at that and gazed at me, before shaking their head in refusal and continuing its course.

I shrugged. I expected that. Maybe it'd be more receptive in the future.

"What about you three?" I asked.

They looked stunned by my proposal, before Chikorita immediately began nodding, joy on her features at the idea of having her own name.

Feebas and Zorua followed suit and nodded happily.

I had been dwelling it for a bit because I was terrible with names. I hardly ever nicknamed my Pokemon but I figured to increase our bond, it'd be good to give them names.

Also to avoid confusion on the off chance we ever faced a mirror matchup.

I had a pretty good scheme planned too. After all, I had knowledge of another world that had its own folklore and myths.

There's no way this world knew about Greek or Norse mythology!

"Zorua, how do you feel about Loki? It signifies mischief and trickery," I asked curiously.

The Norse God of Mischief seemed like a perfect fit for my Zorua. My plan was to just name all of them after whoever's name I could properly associate with them and Loki was practically perfect for my Zorua.

Zorua thought about it before nodding in approval, accepting the name without complaint.

"Chik Ri!" Chikorita demanded next. She eagerly awaited and I rolled my eyes at her.

Chikorita's name wasn't one I could think of as easily as Zorua's… but there was one I liked.

"How do you feel about Gaia?" I asked Chikorita. "It signifies one who rules the Earth."

Gaia the Greek Goddess of Earth. Pretty self explanatory and I was immensely pleased to see Chikorita nod rapidly at it, because I had no other name for her besides like, Terra or Demeter.

Finally, I glanced at the eager Feebas with a name already on my mind.

"Feebas, how's Freyja?" I asked the fish. "That name represents love and beauty so I thought it was a perfect for you."

Aphrodite was my first option, but that name was gonna get tiring to say real fast so I settled for Freyja.

I watched with a swell of satisfaction, as Feebas' eyes widened in shock at what I said before she grinned in happiness and nodded.

"Fee!" She agreed adoringly.

I laughed at that and stood up. "Perfect. Loki, Gaia, Freyja. I'll be calling you guys that from now on, okay? Get used to it."

They chorused and I clapped once.

"Alright, I'm gonna focus a bit with Freyja and get her a good regimen. Loki and Gaia can keep training on what you need to learn, alright?"

They nodded and trotted off to train with each other and I brought my Feebas to the nice water source to help her refine her very lacking water stores.

Beldum watched from a distance as its trainer interacted with the older members of its new team.

A nickname? For what reason would Beldum need a nickname? It was simply a Beldum.

No, it would only be worthy of a nickname when it managed to find what was best for it while exploring the world beyond the hive.

Only when it was a Metagross, would Beldum agree to the idea of a nickname because only when it became Metagross, would it acknowledge its trainers words as truth.

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

"Alright Freyja, I'm gonna be honest. Battles are gonna be hard," I admitted truthfully, dipping my bare feet into the body of water she was swimming in.

Before she could get any negative ideas I decided to speak up again.

"That's not to say I'm giving up on you or anything like that. I just want you to know that if you're ever struggling, don't think I'm disappointed in you," I finished reassuringly.

Feebas looked at me, before a surprising look of determination crossed her features and she began nodding resolutely.

I smiled at her. "That's what I'm talking about."

I flipped open a Pokedex and beckoned her over. "First things first, we need to get you a water move and I'm thinking Water Pulse will be the best one for you to learn."

The good thing about Feebas, was that they could actually gain quite a bit of moves from egg or tutors unlike their fellow useless fish, Magikarp.

And it was a pretty large variety too!

"I don't want to overwhelm you with too many moves but I was thinking Icy Wind in the far future," I muttered.

I showed her the two moves and she watched with curious eyes as the Sealeo on the screen showcased both moves.

"Focus on Water Pulse first. You need to get your water stores up to something usable. Try not to neglect using Dragon Breath and Hypnosis either, those will be really useful for future moves."

Freyja wouldn't have the power right now, but I was hellbent on making her effective.

My Feebas nodded in determination and set to work immediately on controlling her water abilities.

I smirked in a pleased manner before turning serious and getting up.

While they did this, it was time for me to do a bit of reconnaissance.

After all, this room I was in was fairly close to the Draconid's base of operation. A 10 minute walk to be exact.

I probably shouldn't go alone… but my Pokemon looked pretty locked in…

Except for Beldum. It didn't look like they were making much progress…

"Beldum, come with me," I called as I headed to the exit of this room in the cave.

Beldum looked over before floating to me.

"Dum?" He questioned.

"You looked like you were struggling a bit so I figured I could personally help you out while I go scouting," I explained, flicking open my Pokegear.

"Hey Jas, got a few questions about steel types. Been thinking of catching one and I wanted your opinion on how to raise em."

I had already been doing some research on Beldum and honestly the most interesting thing I found out, was their diet and the fact that they didn't have any weird evolution shenanigans that some Pokedex made them out to have.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

No two Beldums to evolve into Metang. No two Metangs to evolve into Metagross.

Thank God. Going back and catching 3 more Beldums would have been hell for me.

Also Beldum had a mouth… at the opposite end of its head that it used to consume mostly metal and minerals, but also some meat.

Fascinating. Pokemon were so strange.

My gear immediately vibrated and I glanced down to see a message.

"A steel type? You want to catch a steel type?! Oh what would you like to know? Typical diets? Key moves? Which one I recommend catching? There's so much to discuss! One moment, I'm calling you right now."

I scratched my head in confusion and resisted the urge to groan as my phone began ringing as soon as I finished reading her message.

"Nevermind Beldum, scouting is for later," I suddenly said, turning on a dime and heading to my tent. "Hone your psychic abilities. I'll be back with steel tips. Remember, the key to honing psychic energy, is concentration and proper utilization of the mind. Try meditating."

Beldum looked at me like I were stupid but eventually nodded and went back to train, keeping my words in mind.

I picked up the call and was immediately bombarded by my… best(?) friend.

"Do you really want to catch a steel type?!" Jasmine asked excitedly.

Technically, I already caught one but yeah I wouldn't tell Jasmine that for a while.

"Hello to you too. Yeah, I wanna catch one eventually and figured you'd be the perfect person to help me figure things out."

I saw her eager grin and couldn't help but smile myself at how extroverted she suddenly was.

"I'm so glad you came to me! I can give you general tips on steel types and even some specific ones. I don't own all of them but I've done my research!"

I nodded my head at her, noting the excited expression on her face. "I was thinking of some general tips for now."

"Alright! You might want to get some paper. I'll tell you some of what I know," she beamed.

...Some paper? Just how much was she planning on telling me?

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

The answer to that question I asked before, was a lot.

Jasmine dumped so much info into me, that I was reminded of all the horrific studying I had been doing in this world since landing here.

Despite my clearly disgusted look that I know she saw, Jasmine completely ignored it and plowed through my distaste, with a level of willful ignorance that I was actually extremely proud of.

Because of the fact I was proud and the fact I asked in the first place, I actually did listen to everything she had to say and typed it on the nifty note section of my Pokedex.

I noticed her smiling even wider at the fact I was actually typing my notes.

By the time she finished, I felt exhausted just looking at what I was gonna be reviewing.

"How do you remember this off the top of your head?" I asked in concern.

Her knowledge was the real deal and the fact that she could recite this so easily made me realize how this girl managed to become a gym leader.

Jasmine was a fucking genius. She was only 16 years old and she was practically a college graduate with her level of knowledge.

No wonder she had no friends before, my best friend was not apart of the norm at all and probably had no one to actually fit in with.

"Oh I've reviewed my notes on Steel Types so many times that it's become second knowledge. I'm one of the leading experts on the type for a reason!" she explained easily.

I snorted with a small smirk. "Is that confidence I'm hearing? Good to know you're growing a spine," I teased.

She flushed slightly at that. "Well, it's kinda hard not to when you're my friend… Can you believe that a trainer I battled with 4 badges had the audacity to ask how I became a gym leader after winning with his plethora of fire types? I politely asked him for an exhibition match 1 on 3 and let Empy unleash havoc on his team."

"Oh?" I asked in clear interest. "Seriously? You did that?"

She nodded with an exasperated expression. "I felt far too much satisfaction wishing him luck in the Silver League after I crushed him… I think you've corrupted me a bit. The look of horror on his face made me feel a little bad, I think I might have deflated his confidence a bit."

I couldn't help the slight chuckle at that and clapped mockingly. "That's still a bit too nice for me but it's a step in the right direction. Nice job, Jas."

She actually rolled her eyes at me and I nearly shed a proud tear at the sassy action.

The 16 year old was someone I began to appreciate more as I stayed longer in this world. She was practically the only person I spoke regularly to and rather than annoyance, I was actually filled with fondness talking to her.

I doubted I'd have much friends so the fact that she was one of my only ones, wasn't lost on me.

Despite being older than me by 4 years, the constant teasing I submitted her to, gave me huge little sister vibes and believe it or not, I genuinely think I liked Jasmine as a person.

...I'm not telling her that… Maybe I'd tell her the little sister part though. She'd definitely get upset considering she was 4 years older than me —

Wait a goddamn second.

"You have notes on this and you made me write it all?!" I hissed in disbelief, silver eyes glaring a hole into her.

The smug little shit, actually had the audacity to smile at me!

"I knew you'd notice eventually! Consider this revenge for worrying me so much and then making fun of me Silver!"

This little…

"You're an annoying little sister," I said flatly.

Her eyes widened in disbelief and she began spluttering. "L-Little sister?! I'm 4 years older than you! In what way am I a little sister?!"

"Dunno, if you can't tell how you're a little sister, I see no point in explaining it to you," I said with a smug smirk. "Now if you don't mind, something came up and I conveniently have to end this conversation here."

"I asked a question, Silver. I know for a fact that nothing came up and this is just your way of —"

Hmph. I can't believe she actually got one up on me. She was so lucky that I wasn't in Johto.

"Alright, let's go give Beldum some pointers," I muttered to myself.

Annoying she may be, Jasmine did give me a whole new perspective and I was eager to put it into practice.

Some of the things she mentioned, I could even apply to my other members in some way.

Diets, training methods… I just needed to research the right ones for them all and look into getting it at Slateport.

Man… the research would never end.

I expertly ignored the messages coming in troves with the same level of willful ignorance Jasmine shot me earlier.

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

The Draconids didn't actually reside in Meteor Falls… technically? Well they didn't live in the... cave section? that I set up camp in.

No at one point, when you truly went deep into the cave, you'd find an entrance and through that entrance was a whole new area that had me whistling with an impressed expression.

While the rocky terrain of Meteor Falls remained, the area became far more expansive and a lot of more livable too. Huts littered the area that people must have resided in instead of. Said people were mingling about, with tan to darkish skin that seemed to dominate the Hoenn region and I looked at their sharp features with a curious eye.

So these were the Draconids huh? For a "dying" clan, they seemed to be doing fairly well for themselves and that did not bode well for me.

To my surprise, there was no ceiling, allowing me to see the afternoon sky and I wondered what Pokemon managed to accomplish that… it was so strange knowing I could just walk through the somewhat hidden entrance back into Meteor Falls and I'd be in a different world again.

But the most surprising thing, were the dragons.

Every pokemon I saw, was a dragon in some form.

It was an amazing sight… the Draconids didn't hoard just Bagons… I was seeing everything here!

Druddigon, Gabite, Zweilous, Flygon… Hell I even saw this little apple thing! I didn't even know what that was!

Damn… maybe getting these guys attention was not in my best interest.

With the Metagross colony, I had a dark type to shield me from their psychic perception… I had nothing to shield me against these Dragons and their heightened senses but my own skills and while I was cocky enough to sneak in, unless I could stealthily capture a Bagon with no resistance from it, I'd be in trouble.

I should look into fairies in the future. Oh wait, Togepi was a fairy huh? When was this egg going to hatch? I'd like to utilize a Fairy type to deal with everyone obsessed with Dragons.

Right now, Beldum and I were hidden as we gauged the area and, in a rare moment of unity so early in our relationship, decided it was in our best interest to leave.

Draconids weren't as hostile as they used to be, but that didn't mean they were friendly. They were isolated for a reason and though I wasn't one to stereotype... they weren't the smartest bunch around.

Hm… I'd have to figure out the Bagon dilemma later. It was suddenly much harder than I expected it to be.

Should I sneak in at night? They didn't seem to have dedicated scouts, as seen by how easily I was gathering information but things could change when night time hit...

I should get night vision goggles. I operated a lot at night.

Beldum and I slunk away from our hiding spot, never noticing the curious eyes on us, and began heading back to our base.

We had been in Meteor Falls for about 5 days now. Instead of being hasty, I decided to take it easy and slowly figure out the giant cave instead of rushing right into it.

Throughout those days, I studied the layout and even figured out a route that would lead me in and out the Draconid village the fastest in case I decided to do a hail mary play.

Since I got Beldum way quicker than my schedule planned for, I decided to focus more on training my Pokemon up to respectable levels, while I myself did some reconnaissance.

That's how I managed to find the hidden entrance to the Draconid Village.

Naivety once again struck this world because entering had been as easy as breathing once I found it… though I suppose much like the Stones, no one would be dumb enough to attack a tribe of dragon trainers.

For good reason too. I saw a Dragonite in there and the Kanto pseudo looked a lot less goofy than the games portrayed them as. It may have looked a little tubby, but that thing was full muscle.

I wonder how Garchomp or Hydreigon looked… I was a little excited to find out but not very excited to find out now in my journey.

"Catching a Bagon might be harder than I expected," I told Beldum with a contemplative expression.

Dragons had good sense of smell and great hearing too. Illusion wouldn't work out very well and they'd immediately hear the sound of battle if I got in one…

Maybe I could shoot for a oneshot on my target... but I really hadn't seen much wild Bagons. I did see a Shelgon at one point and one day I heard the roar of a Salamence... but the Bagons seemed to have their own trainers already.

Damn, did I have to give up? I didn't want to but it wasn't looking too hot for me.

Hm… I didn't really want to give up but there were easier dragons to catch that I also liked... but that might be far away in the future.

I could exit through the Fallarbor Entrance and maybe catch a Swablu I guess, or maybe even snag a Dratini if they're in the Safari Zone of Kanto.

But they weren't Bagon... my definitive second choice to replace Bagon would have been Deino but how the hell was I gonna get one of those? I didn't fancy a trip to Unova at the moment.

Maybe Bagon was in a different location besides just Meteor Falls. Surely they weren't all here... I could just be on the lookout for —

Without any hesitation in my bones, I leapt out of the way of whatever was charging at me and tumbled across the cold stone floor.

I grunted in shock and clutched my side at the sharp pain, wincing at the feeling of blood pooling on my fingers.

Not good. Even with the dodge I still got tagged and it wasn't a small cut either.

The large wound on my side evoked a lot of panic out of me and I watched the steady stream of blood pour through my fingers, gritting my teeth before gazing at the offender.

Gray tusks protruded from the side of a snarling mouth, tipped with red that matched the irises of the green and black pokemon. Upon closer inspection, I saw a red liquid dripping off the tusk and noted that I was probably seconds away from getting completely gored through.

A Fraxure. The most violent middle evolution dragon with a fiercely territorial streak and by the looks of its still greenish pigmentation, recently evolved too.

It was no secret that pokemon who recently evolved had to deal with raging hormones and Fraxure's were already infamously temperamental...

And this was glaring at me with all the fury in the world.

"This arrogance of yours isn't necessary, dumbass. Are you trying to prove that you're talented to someone? I get that you don't care enough about your life, but don't drag your team into it."

The words of Nurse Joy filled my head and I realized that I had been getting arrogant.

My biggest worries at this stage of my life, wasn't a formidable trainer finding me out… It wasn't committing crimes and potentially getting caught...

My biggest worry in life right now was pissing off the wrong Pokemon. That's what Joy had been trying to warn me about but I completely shrugged her off.

"Fraxure," the dragon type growled warningly, taking a single step forward.

Almost immediately, with reflexes I had no desire of admiring at the moment, I returned Beldum with my left hand and launched a Great Ball at the Fraxure with my right.

I didn't even wait to see the red light appear at my perfect aim, before I booked it to base.

"Shit shit shit," I repeated with panicked eyes, clutching my wound as tightly as I could while sprinting to my temporary base.

I heard the noise of what was probably a Great Ball breaking, before footsteps accompanied it and I picked up my pace.

It was truly a blessing that I chose to do reconnaissance before officially entering the Draconid village, because it was the only reason I knew the mental map to my base.

Blood dropped behind me as I rapidly took off towards where my other Pokemon were located and I didn't dare look behind me to see how much distance Fraxure was making.

I grit my teeth in pain, as I did a sharp turn and aggravated my wound but the sudden trick worked and Fraxure's stubby legs got a little further away.

If I didn't have this injury hindering me, I would have been able to sprint circles around this piece of shit. I didn't know much about them, but I imagine evolving from the quadrupedal Axew, must be awkward for movement and left them rather slow.

But goddamn this hurt. I needed to get outta here and wrap it up.

I lunged behind a small boulder, just in time to avoid vicious claws. I chanced a glance back and whitened at seeing the Dragon Claw completely gouge through the stone.

Fraxure took a few seconds too long to remove its limb from the stone it dug into and I took the chance to throw another Poke Ball at it.

Not wasting anymore time, I launched myself through the entrance to my base, much to my Pokemon's surprise.

Loki, Gaia and Freyja all gazed at me with wide eyes, caught up in their own training, before locking onto my wound.

"Help. Fraxure. Dragon type. Really angry and trying to kill me," I rasped.

Then Fraxure entered the room with a thunderous roar.

"FRAX!" The dragon announced its presence —

To a faceful of razor sharp leaves slamming into its coarse and rough skin.

Gaia glared furiously at the Fraxure, two vines snaking its way out of her as she repeatedly switched from worried glances for me, to hateful glances at the unfazed Fraxure.

The Razor Leaf seemed to only anger it but it finally took its attention off of me as Loki immediately threw out a Torment on the dragon.

"Zor," Loki growled with narrowed eyes.

I shakily pulled out Beldum's Great Ball and released it.

The steel type gazed at me with confusion in its single eye, before noticing the very same Fraxure he had seen before.

"Defeat it," I ordered.

I began digging in my bag and pulled out a gauze that Joy had given to me (Saying that I at least knew how to wrap myself so this would be useful), before wrapping it around my midsection as tightly as possible.

My side was on fire right now. Not only was the cut painful, I needed to make sure it didn't get infected because this was clearly a wild Pokemon and not a trained one.

I temporarily took my eyes off the battle, having faith in my Pokemon to handle this for now and wasted no time packing everything up and stuffing it into my bag, finally ending with the tent.

"Agh, being a criminal sucks," I thought, placing my skates on to make a speedy escape.

Finished with that, I turned around in time to see Beldum flying into the white claws of Fraxure with a metallic sheen over its body.

The Slash met the shoddy Iron Defense and Fraxure snarled in annoyance at barely denting the fierce Beldum.

"I dunno if anything else is coming but we need to wrap this up quick and go," I thought, placing my porcelain mask on to hide my features.

"Loki, Extrasensory! Hold it tight," I barked, eyes narrowed behind the mask.

My Zorua wasted no time following my order and with a grunt of exertion, he wrapped the Dragon in a psychic sheen.

Fraxure let out a surprised growl as the attack connected and immediately began struggling, making incredible progress.

"Gaia, Poison Powder! Freyja, Dragon Breath!" I continued, silver eyes burning like a predator.

Gaia followed my orders almost immediately. She released a purple dust cloud that made its way to the Fraxure, allowing the toxins to begin seeping into its skin.

The dragon roared in annoyance as it was forced to inhale the attacks, right before a weak breath of draconic energy crashed into it.

Despite being super effective, he shrugged Freyja's attack off completely and broke out the psychic hold, before charging Loki with an enraged howl.

It's claws took a green sheen and extended, before attempting to crash it into Loki's position, letting out a confused grunt as the Dragon Claw went through the spot where the dark type was.

Fraxure let out a roar of annoyance, as a Pursuit crashed directly onto its back, sending it tumbling from the increased power.

Before it could regain its composure, Beldum slammed into its sternum with a Iron Head.

Loki, powered by Hone Claws, continued to repeatedly hit the Fraxure on its back with the strengthened Pursuit,, diving in and out with admirable speeds.

Deciding that the Zorua was a bigger threat, Fraxure whirled around and attempted to catch Loki in its jaw…

Only to be prevented from doing so at the vines wrapping around its mouth and kept it open long enough for Loki to dash away.

The Dragon's eyes widened in blistering rage, before Gaia, Beldum, Loki and Frejya began bombarding it with their own attacks.

Despite the situation, I couldn't keep the pride out of my eyes as Fraxure was brought to a single knee from the onslaught.

Iron Head, Pursuit, Razor Leaf, Dragon Breaths… I almost felt bad at the severe jumping before remembering that this thing just tried to kill me.

My gaze darkened at that detail.

I suddenly wasn't interested anymore in catching this thing as a consolation prize.

Haxorus was a damn stupid pokemon anyways.

"Guys. Finish it," I ordered coldly.

Fraxure's eyes widened at that and it let out a desperate roar.

With a surge of renewed strength, I could only watch, my blood going cold, as the Fraxure let out a furious howl and shot back up.

Gripping Gaia's vines, the violent dragon type yanked the Chikorita over to its position, all while a destructive draconic energy began forming on its tail.

My eyes widened in horror at the last act of desperation. "GUYS GET OUTTA THERE!" I shouted.

I had no idea what move it was attempting, but I assumed it was Dragon Tail and I didn't need any of them getting hit by that…

But the turn of events happened too quickly to properly react to. None of us were expecting the last burst of energy from Fraxure.

The results were disastrous.

Fraxure violently swung its glowing tail in a complete circle that connected with Loki, Gaia and Beldum all at once in a move that did not look like Dragon Tail.

"What the fuck?!" I thought in horror as they let out respective noises and went limp.

My horror only grew at Beldum being the only one of the three to get up. Loki and Gaia lay there limply and I distantly realized that I had never seen them actually faint before.

"FRAAAAA!" Fraxure roared, glaring at Beldum and Freyja, who was unharmed from the attack due being in the safety of the water.

My poor Feebas watched with wide eyes, as Fraxure took out both the much stronger Chikorita and Zorua with whatever move that was.

Beldum, while still conscious, didn't look too hot either. It was only a matter of time before they fainted.

Not good. So not good. I didn't have the same synergy with these two that I had with Loki and Gaia.

Right now they weren't strong enough to wrap this up…

And Fraxure was blocking the exit.

I grit my teeth and returned Loki and Gaia to their balls, pocketing it securely.

Fraxure huffed, bruises all over its body. If the fight had gone on any longer, I'm sure it would have lost. The Dragon type looked like it was on its last legs and the poison was still taking effect. Even now, it looked like it was close to fainting...

"Beldum, Iron Head. Feebas, Dragon Breath," I grit out.

Beldum didn't hesitate to follow my order and slammed its metallic skull into Fraxure's sternum once more.

Fraxure let out a groan of pain but weathered it well, before lunging forward and clamping its fangs, coated in dark energy, around the Beldum.

"Bite," I frowned severely, returning Beldum and gazing at Freyja.

She looked terrified at the prospect of being the only one up against this Fraxure.

"Freyja," I called to her. "Don't be afraid, we'll get out of this," I reassured, despite not really feeling that confidence.

Fraxure was looking between me and the Feebas, before realizing getting into the water would be far more annoying than goring me through.

It began charging me to no one's surprise and I began skating around the room, hoping the poison would eventually tire it out enough to make an escape.

Though the poison was affecting it, it really wasn't as fast I expected it too. If only this was Toxic... It would have fainted a long time ago.

Not to mention this rocky ground was really hard to skate on when you were playing avoid the rampaging pokemon…

As if proving my point, I got caught on a rock and stumbled about, before crashing to the floor.

"Agh!" I gasped in agony as a sharp rock dug into my injury.

I could practically hear Fraxure let out a cheer of happiness and knew it would take way too much joy trying to tear me to shreds.

"Guess Joy was right. I am too arrogant," I thought, glancing into the red eyes of the furious dragon.

Red eyes… just like in my dream. Maybe dying in my sleep would have been preferable to this.

Right as Fraxure was about to end my life, a Dragon Breath crashed right on its back.

He ignored it completely, scoffing at the pitiful damage… right before another Dragon Breath, this one far bigger, crashed right into it.

That seemed to get a reaction out of it.

Fraxure let out a roar of agony and turned to face who he thought was Feebas…

Only to freeze completely.

I took the opportunity, to dash from the corner I was trapped in to make distance between the rampaging Fraxure and I.

What I saw, left me stunned.

Bipedal with blue scales on all parts of its body, barring the gray bone that looked like a helmet. It wasn't tall at all, being dwarfed by the Fraxure but despite that, it glared up at its fellow dragon without a hint of fear.

No, there was only excitement in that gaze.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I thought in horror, glancing at the actual Bagon in disbelief.

What a terrible time to run into one. Now I was stuck in what was probably a fight to see who gets to feast on me.

I inched away from the stunned Fraxure, wondering why it was so shocked to see the Bagon, before heading towards Freyja.

I froze as the baby dragon looked at me and I watched its predatory gaze light up of all things, before it looked at my Feebas and sneered.

The Bagon looked at me once more and made some strange gestures with its hands that seemed as if it wanted me to wait.

Then it rushed the Fraxure with a dangerous gleam.

...What the hell? Did this Bagon… want something from me?

I nodded in confusion, before turning my attention towards Freyja.

"Are you alright, Freyja?" I asked as calmly as I possibly could, looking at the distraught water type with concern in my eyes.

She looked at me and then at the fighting Bagon and Fraxure with a defeated gaze.

A sharp flare at my side caused me to wince but I ignore it. "Hey, look at me," I demanded suddenly.

I get it now. She was realizing the gap in strength between her and the rest of my team. Against Fraxure, there was nothing she could do.

"Didn't I tell you? This is a marathon, not a sprint. You don't have to worry… today wasn't on you, it was on me. I got too arrogant from my success and paid the price," I muttered in reassurance.

I ran a hand against her scales. "We're all too weak right now but it'll change eventually. I promise you Freyja, I'll make you strong just like everyone else."

She looked up at me with wide eyes, before nodding hesitantly and I smiled, glancing back at the battle at hand.

Despite the difference in freshness, Fraxure was still a more matured Pokemon and Bagon had no idea what dodging was, taking every hit and dishing it back with the fervor of a berserker.

But that wouldn't work. Fraxure was on its last legs but it still had that strange Dragon move that would possibly defeat Bagon in one hit.

"Freyja. Use Hypnosis on Fraxure. Let's help out the Bagon," I ordered.

She looked at me with wide eyes, before they narrowed in determination.

Her eyes began glowing a slight blue, that slowly but surely began to reflect in Fraxure's own eyes.

The middle stage evolution seized up, before slowly but surely nodding off.

Freyja's Hypnosis wasn't yet strong enough to put a Pokemon fully to sleep but it was still effective in leaving them dazed.

Deciding to chance it, I said, "Bagon, aim for its tusk."

The horror in Fraxure's tired gaze, reflected the cruelty in mine.

Much to its dismay, Bagon grinned at my order and followed without any hesitation. It lunged forward and opened its mouth, before clamping directly on the panicking Fraxure's tusk.

The resounding crack would have made me wince but I was way too pissed at the current ideals to give a damn.

Fraxure howled in pure agony and despair at losing its tusk, before all the damage finally caught up to it and it fell back.

Bagon let out a derisive growl at the Fraxure, before turning towards Freyja and I.

"Hope no one else falls victim to the remaining tusk. Enjoy becoming a Haxorus," I sneered to the freshly evolved dragon type.

I warily watched Bagon approach me. It looked at the Feebas once more and said something in its tongue.

My head tilted in confusion, as Freyja's expression turned into one of anger and she responded to whatever Bagon said.

I watched the two begin arguing with each other for some god forsaken reason and let out a pained sigh.

"Hey Bagon, thanks for the help but I gotta go," I said, really not in the mood anymore. "What was it you wanted?"

The argument between the two stopped (Why the hell did Bagon not like Freyja?) and Bagon gazed up at me.

"Bag Bagon!" The dragon suddenly said, gazing intently at me and gesturing with its short stubby arms.

I blinked in confusion as Freyja's face turned into one of disgust.

Ah. I think I could take a guess here.

"You wanna join me?" I asked curiously.

Bagon's eyes lit up at that and it nodded furiously.

…

It said something, that this incredible stroke of luck only hit me after I was deeply humbled by my own arrogance.

I nearly died here without even seeing a single Bagon… and now one approaches me to join me after saving my life.

The irony. I had to rob the most renowned family in Hoenn to get Beldum and now I was being approached by a Bagon.

"Welcome to the team," I said with a strained smile.

Bagon roared excitedly at that and eagerly bat its hard helmet against my injured midsection.

I tried very hard to bite back the howl of pain at Bagon's actions and instead tapped it with a Pokeball, watching it shake once before dinging successfully.

"Alright, I just want to get out of here," I complained. "Good job Freyja… I'm proud of you. I know you were scared but you still tried to save me and I appreciate that. Don't think I didn't notice you trying until the very end."

"Fe…," she mumbled and I smiled again, before returning her.

I glanced at the Fraxure's body and contemplated chucking it in the water so it could drown… but I completed my mission and was satisfied... Plus I wanted it to live with the misery of knowing it had only one tusk until evolution.

Now I was finally done with Hoenn. Get me outta this goddamn region. I just wanted to relax now and head to Kanto —

"SALLLLLLL!"

My blood went cold at that distant roar that sounded like it came from the Draconid village.

...Sal?

A primal terror went through my body.

I just caught a Bagon and not even a minute later a Salamence begins roaring?

What was the connection?

Yeah no. I was done being arrogant. That roar was for me and I refused to believe otherwise. I needed to get the fuck outta here.

A Fraxure nearly wiped me out. I didn't even want to imagine what a Salamence was going to do me.

Good thing I was already ready to go and I had my skates on.

It was high time I got the hell outta here.

As I skated out of my base and headed to the entrance of Meteor Falls, I briefly caught the gaze of a red eyed girl that I skated directly past.

It looked as if she just arrived to the scene and I skated past her with no hesitation, watching those intriguing red eyes make eye contact with my masked face.

She was a little taller than me with chin length black hair but that's all I really caught before my speed came into play again and I rushed past her.

Her eyes were wide but other than that, no words were exchanged as I continued my course.

Hm… she looked familiar.

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

"Lying here in defeat… Without a tusk, as a freshly evolved Fraxure. How unbefitting of a dragon."

Fraxure awoke with a start and snarled violently at the voice. It attempted to get up but the numerous wounds and burns on its body prevented it from doing so.

"You recently evolved and let your hubris get the better of you. You thought you had easy prey but look at you. Now until you evolve again, your lack of a tusk will be a reminder of how much you failed today."

"Frax!" It roared angrily.

That human hadn't beaten him! The daughter of the alpha dragon had! That human had lost! He had them all dead to rights!

"Don't agree with the results of what happened? Facts are facts. Your so called prey got away and spared you after taking away one of the most important parts of you. You're quite the disgrace."

Fraxure let loose a pitiful growl at that.

To be shown mercy by someone he had considered prey the entire time.

To lose to all those weak Pokemon…

To lose his tusk.

How shameful!

"Wanna get your tusks back?" The voice asked.

He perked up at that.

"You aren't strong on your own and you'll probably never see that trainer again. But if you join me, I guarantee we'll run into them again… I have some business with them too."

"Not to mention your tusk won't regenerate so long as your a Fraxure. With your prowess, it'll take years for you to become a Haxorus but underneath me, you'll be one in no time."

Fraxure mulled over the question and strained to push himself up.

Red eyes peered into red eyes, before the dragon glanced at the quadrupedal creature encased in a nearly full shell of bone.

"You're weak when you could be strong… So join my team and we can both find that person in due time. Mark my words, we'll run into them again… we're both special in our own way."

The figure held out their hand with a wild grin.

"I'm Zinnia and this is Gail, my Shelgon. Join me on my journey as Lorekeeper and eventually, our paths will cross the trainer who did this to you."

Fraxure looked at the hand, then at the hardened and serious Shelgon, before coming to a decision.

The tusked dragon grabbed the hand of Zinnia, who showed no fear at all at the fact that he could maim her through and accepted the offer.

Zinnia's unhinged grin grew wider and she glanced back at the position of the one who was dressed in all red.

"Let's get along!"

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

"What is the meaning of this?" One Draconid shouted in shock, recalling his Druddigon that had been instantly defeated.

"The High Elder's Salamence is on a rampage! Why?!" Another called, horror filling his body as his Vibrava got ragdolled by the furious dragon.

The village of the Draconids, had been calm and peaceful. The people mingled, conversated and went about their day.

It had been a normal day for the tribe of dragon trainers. People mingled about, dragons interacted, pleasantries were exchanged.

All that changed once the High Elder's Salamence began rampaging.

Dera, the aged Salamence, was a fierce creature who had seen a number of battles back in its day. Her fierce temper had dulled over the years but there were still signs of the proud warrior that would give Elite 4 Drakes equally unstoppable Salamence, a worthy battle.

And that same Salamence was currently on a complete rampage for reasons unknown to them.

They were understandably confused and even more afraid because despite all her age, Dera hadn't seemed to lose a step in power.

Fiery flames, draconic flames, heavy winds... the Salamence seemed to be focused on something with furious intent and was lashing out on all to reach it.

Naturally, the Draconids were trying to do damage control by stopping the raging Salamence.

If only they knew this was helping Silver make great distance out of the cave.

They had tried to guide it elsewhere, but the Salamence had been hellbent on flying straight through the village to continue its destruction.

The dominating power of Dera proved to be too much and just as it decided to begin razing down the area in order to reach its target, a red beam connected to it and returned her to the Pokeball.

"My oh my. What could have dear Dera in such a fuss?" An elderly woman mused, nursing the weathered Poke Ball with a curious expression.

She was a short woman, with long gray hair and a cloak covering much of her Draconid attire. The woman's naturally sharp features were set in a kind smile.

But the unassuming appearance did nothing to diminish her aura.

"High Elder Ambrosia!" Everyone shouted in relief.

Ambrosia inspected the Poke Ball with a searching gaze. "It's been quite a while since I've had to return Dera to her ball. I normally enjoy letting her fly free but she was causing quite a bit of damage to our homes…"

The elderly woman turned her gaze towards the closest immediate people.

"Is anyone aware as to why Dera could be so upset? I haven't the faintest clue myself. Why, I was just enjoying a cup of fine black tea gifted to me from Drake and now here we are," she asked curiously.

A wave of silence greeted her and the elder perked a curious brow.

"We thought… you would have known," someone admitted.

"...Most curious," Ambrosia muttered.

"I'm aware of the reason, Granny."

Everyone turned towards the voice and though no one said anything, a wave of discontent coursed through all but the Elder.

Ambrosia smiled. "Ah, my dearest granddaughter, Lorekeeper Zinnia! What did you find out?"

The appointed Lorekeeper ignored the gazes of everyone and focused on the High Elder.

"Dera's chosen Bagon seems to have chosen a trainer and left home of her own accord. Based on her reaction, I assume this was not discussed," she informed them with a pursed brow.

The old woman's eyes widened at that. "Truly? Bagon left Dera's care after all this time? You're certain of that?"

Zinnia nodded shortly and pondered the events that took place.

She had not seen much. By the time she arrived, the battle was over and the only thing she saw, was the stranger catching the willing Bagon, before turning towards a hidden pokemon and returning that too.

There was a fallen Fraxure to the side and Zinnia debated trying to interrogate this stranger forcefully, only to freeze at hearing Granny's Salamence let out a furious and bone chilling roar.

Any doubt on who the Bagon was, was wiped away and the Lorekeeper was left dwelling just why Bagon chose to do this.

Zinnia's slight distraction let the trainer skate right past her and away from the village of the Draconids.

She contemplated making chase, considering just what they caught… but she didn't have anything fast enough to catch up to those skates and if she ran into a trap, no one would be able to relay the info.

...So despite her eagerness to pursue, Zinnia held herself for once and turned towards the village.

Besides, Bagon had willingly chosen to go with that trainer…

"But why would Bagon choose to leave? Dera's chosen daughter has always been adventurous but this is too much even for her. Doesn't she understand why Dera chose to keep her in such close proximity?"

Zinnia mulled the question over and glanced down. "Even if she did understand, I doubt she cared. I think Gail right here must have triggered her."

All eyes were drawn to Zinnia's Shelgon, Dera's son who had just recently evolved into the second stage of the Bagon line.

Zinnia's Shelgon and the Bagon that had chosen the mysterious trainer, were laid and hatched in the same batch along with a handful of other Bagons.

While Shelgon and Zinnia had swiftly bonded and formed a pair, Dera had noticed something and had taken a personal interest in Bagon.

As a result, the aged Salamence staunchly refused to give her over to any trainer unlike her many other children.

Clearly Bagon did not agree with that decision and had escaped into the waiting arms of that trainer…

Was it because she wanted to get away at all costs? Or did she detect something special about that trainer… Perhaps a combination of both?

Zinnia wondered if Bagon felt what she felt.

Whatever the case, Dera was furious that Bagon was gone and the perpetrator was likely long gone now. They had unintentionally helped him too by expending their forces on Salamence, all while preventing her from reaching him.

"You mean to say Gail's evolution triggered Bagon's envy and she decided to escape on her own? Was her desire to find a trainer that strong?" Ambrosia asked in concern. If that was true and Bagon truly was gone, then Dera may need to stay in her ball for a bit longer.

Zinnia nodded. "Every Bagon's dream is to fly eventually and she must have felt like she couldn't achieve that here. A caged Taillow will always have the desire to fly so to achieve such a goal, she needed to escape what she perceived to be her cage. Maybe she has been spying on potential trainers this entire time and finally decided on one."

"How troubling…" Ambrosia muttered. "What of the trainer? Do you know of them?"

"Nah," Zinnia lied shamelessly. "I simply saw them for a brief moment, but I wasn't able to catch anything concrete."

The trainer in all red… Zinnia had already promised the Fraxure that she'd find him again… whenever that was.

The Lorekeeper never intended to catch a Fraxure, but a Haxorus would be a good addition and they were both invested in that strange trainer with the red outfit.

That trainer was her personal project now. Besides, she trusted none of the Draconids, as they did not trust her.

Zinnia would do everything alone like she always intended to.

Such was her role as Lorekeeper.

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

Bagon: Female

Ability: Sheer Force

Moves: Rage, Bite, Leer, Headbutt, Ember, Dragon Breath, Dragon Dance

"Holy shit," I muttered in disbelief.

Bagon was stacked. What the hell was this?! The Dragon type looked at me with proud eyes, pleased with my shock.

Honestly, I couldn't even pretend to hide it. Bagon was loaded with a good variety of moves that would give me quite a bit of coverage.

But that wasn't the prize. The prize was the fact that Bagon had Sheer Force.

It's hidden ability.

Did that mean… Bagon was going to get Moxie when it evolved?

...I smirked with a wild gleam in my eye that Bagon immediately reflected in her own.

We were currently hidden in the forests of Route 116 after I skated for an hour straight. After looking at my burning wound (and wincing at the gruesome injury), I decided to check Bagon out while allowing myself to recover a bit.

Said Bagon looked at my wound with appreciative eyes and I nearly snorted at the look on her face.

I bit my lip and glanced once more at the injury, before tentatively pulling out a bunch of revives I stole from Elm.

Bagon watched curiously as I released my unconscious team (and Freyja) and I winced at the bruises on their body.

Breaking Swipe. That's the move Fraxure hit them with. I don't know what the hell a Breaking Swipe was, but it was probably a thing in the new games and it was damn effective.

Shitty Fraxure. Hope I never saw that stupid designed dragon again and I especially hoped it never evolved into a Haxorus so it could have half a tusk for the rest of its days.

I lined up my three Pokemon and grabbed three revives, gazing at the little crystals with a curious eye before placing them next to each of them respectively.

It was never quite explained how a Revive actually worked in the games. No one really knew if it was consumable, or like a stone or hell, even just a capsule with a powder in it.

But here, they were like the Pokemon equivalent of smelling salts... sorta.

Revives were crystal like stones that emitted an energy, that when put close to a Pokemon, revitalized them.

No need to feed them. Force feeding an unconscious Pokemon sounded kind of… not smart. Not to mention the ones that had no mouths.

But I digress, you just needed to put the Revive close or on the Pokemon and their body would absorb the latent energy inside of it, shocking their system and waking them up.

So no reviving the dead.

Loki, Gaia and Beldum all woke with a start, glancing around wildly in confusion.

They seemed to remember that they were just in battle and the three shot up with fierce glares.

"The fight's over," I said gruffly, making them turn their gaze to me. "We won and got away… and we have a new teammate too."

That got their attention and they focused on the Bagon who was staring at them with searching eyes.

Unlike with Freyja, Bagon nodded at the three with some respect.

Loki and Gaia didn't miss the look of disgust Freyja and Bagon shot each other and glanced at me questioningly, to which I just shrugged in confusion.

I had no clue why they hated each other already but I had never seen so much determination in Freyja's eyes.

"Everyone, this is Bagon… our newest member. She helped us defeat Fraxure and wanted to join the team."

As I explained to them, I began spraying them each down with a potion and watched as their wounds slowly but surely disappeared, until they were gone.

"Zor?" Loki asked me with a tilted head.

"Yeah, she just asked to join. Her and Fraxure both followed me back from the village."

The Zorua didn't look satisfied by that statement and turned towards Bagon himself.

Ah, Loki wanted to know why she was interested in joining the team. Despite the pain I was in, I was proud of him.

I watched the two conversate, a little curious about what her reasons were too.

A vine tugged my outfit and I glanced down to see Gaia staring intently at me, exhaustion in her eyes but concern as well.

The Chikorita glanced intently at my midsection, before using her vines to expose it.

"She's getting good at controlling her vines."

Gaia gasped in horror at my wound and drew the attention of Loki and Beldum.

Beldum didn't outwardly react but Loki's eyes narrowed furiously at the gruesome injury.

I was sat down, rather rudely by the way, by the grass type and she began channeling a Heal Pulse that felt just incredible at the moment, considering it was getting rid of my pain.

"So why did Bagon want to join?" I asked Loki, grunting at the sensation of being healed.

It's a good thing she was doing this because I was not going to visit a Pokemon Center.

No, I wasn't going to let anyone know that I had a Bagon or Beldum yet so braving this injury was what I was going to do until it healed by itself.

Thankfully I had this awesome Chikorita right here.

Zorua thought best on how to explain it before he began weaving an illusion for me.

An aging Salamence (considering he had only seen it on Pokedex, Zorua's depiction of Salamence was really impressive) with a pack of Bagon's surrounding it that steadily dwindled until there was one.

The lone Bagon glanced at the others with envy as they went off with their own trainers, until it left just them.

That envy transformed into rage, at seeing one of her siblings evolve into the Shelgon, all while she remained a mere Bagon trapped under the watchful eye of her mother, who refused to let her get stronger.

Then, the Bagon chose to escape while mother Salamence was unaware everyday, until meeting a trainer in all red that they followed and stopped from being killed by Fraxure.

"Ah, I get it," I muttered, with an intrigued eye. "You were being stifled by your mom while your siblings were allowed to do whatever and they started leaving you behind?"

Bagon nodded with a fierce expression.

...That explains why Salamence was so furious. Being in such close proximity to Bagon… did it somehow sense my capture of its favored child?

Probably.

"I won't stifle you like that," I said. "My goal is to become strong and for that, I need all of you to be at your best."

Bagon looked at me proud expression a mirror of each other as we reached an understanding with one another.

"I'll make you the strongest Salamence. Stronger than your brother and you'll fly me around the world so that you can announce you're dominance to everyone alive. How does that sound?"

Bagon grinned ferally.

"BAG!" She roared happily.

"And that goes for you all as well," I said seriously, watching Gaia step back from my wound with a tired expression.

I glanced down and scowled.

The blood had dried up by now and the wound had sufficiently closed but Fraxure had left its mark.

The scar was a jagged thing, cutting halfway across my midsection in a jagged line that probably had no plans on disappearing.

"I failed you guys today," I said bluntly with a look of pure frustration and anger.

Now that the adrenaline wore off, all the fear and anger had crashed into me and I clenched my fist at the thought that I nearly died from something so damn stupid.

I could have died... I could have gotten my entire team fucking killed because I was too far up my own ass. My arrogance almost cost me big and the worst part was that I had been warned before by someone who had seen this all the time.

But I disregarded their words. I just thanked whatever that I was still alive to learn from my dumbass mistakes.

Loki, Gaia and Freyja immediately protested at my words, while Beldum and Bagon said nothing.

I put up a hand to silence them.

"No. If you guys mess up I'll hold you accountable so it's only right I hold myself accountable too and I messed up bad."

That Fraxure was really about to kill us all. I had been treating this whole thing too laxly because of how smoothly things had been going for me… but Joy was right.

"I was too arrogant and we almost died because of it… if not for Bagon…"

Just one Pokemon had done that to me. My hubris had reached levels that were too high and I nearly died before being humbled.

"This scar is a reminder of my failure. I brought us into a situation that we weren't ready for… and this isn't the first time I've done it."

Now that I think about it, in my pursuit of the three Hoenn pokemon, I had put myself in three dangerous situations that could have cost me everything if I slipped up.

…

This wasn't a game. I think I had been a little disconnected to reality, not taking the world here serious… but that mindset was a dangerous dangerous thing to have, when you could be killed at the whims of even the weakest Pokemon.

This jagged scar was proof of that.

My silver eyes burned with determination.

"You guys shouldn't be the only one shouldering expectations, I should too. As your trainer, it's my job to evaluate and make decisions based on what I know and I'll stop letting you guys down."

I took a deep breath.

"I may not always succeed. I may fail again… but it will never be to a degree this severe. That, I promise you," I swore.

Every one of my Pokemon looked into my blazing silver eyes, stunned silent by my resolve.

"Bel," Beldum nodded in approval at my words, being the first to break the silence.

Eventually, all my others followed suit and I let my heavy mood fall, smile replacing it instead.

"Alright. We're done with Hoenn. It's time to head to Kanto, then our real journey begins. I think a good basis of testing our strength, is the Gym Challenge so we'll do that," I muttered.

There were multiple Gyms in a region, barring the 8 gyms you fought in the games…

But those were lesser gyms. The reason the 8 gyms in each region were featured in the games… was because those were the best Gym Leaders of each region.

Plain and simple. Every single of the most prominent Gym Leaders, were the same 8 as in the video games.

Naturally, those were the ones I'd challenge. Couldn't be the best without beating the best.

"Before I return you all… Bagon, do you want a nickname?" I asked curiously.

The dragon looked up at me in clear curiosity, mulling the question over before eventually nodding.

I pursed my lips, as I idly wrapped another gauze around my waist just to be safe.

Athena was the name I deeply contemplated the most but just from what I knew… she wasn't really full of wisdom now was she?

Well, this name seemed gender neutral enough.

"How about Ares?" I asked curiously. "It represents power, war and brutality. Fitting for a Salamence don't you think?"

The Greek God of War. Unlike Athena, he was far more in line with what a Salamence signified. Brutality, bloodlust and violence.

Judging by the way Bagon's eyes lit up, she was all game for it and I nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, Ares it is… Now, let's get outta here. Who knows when your mom might find us," I muttered.

I needed to get far away from not just Meteor Falls, but Rustboros territory in general.

My mission was complete. Despite hiccups, I accomplished all three of my goals here and even did some bonuses.

Feebas, Beldum and Bagon… all mine. Now I was done with this region for the time being and I'd be done until it was time to stop that calamity from happening.

For now? I'd just try and enjoy a life in Kanto and get strong enough to be able to prevent said calamities.

I sighed.

At least I'd be able to mostly avoid trouble there.

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

"Alright, nice job Larvitaro!" Gold shouted with a cocky grin.

Larvitaro, the Larvitar, grunted, violent scowl falling off its face at no longer having anything to fight.

The fallen Onix was returned to the ball and the trainer gazed at the golden eyed boy with an appraising eye.

"Great job Gold!" Crystal praised with a bright smile, clapping at the display.

"No biggie!" Gold shrugged, rubbing his nose with a finger.

"Congratulations Gold, the way you commanded your pokemon along with their skills has earned you the Boulder Badge."

The Johto native grabbed the badge and gazed at it with appraising eyes, before tucking it into his empty badge case.

There should have been two in there but that Viridian Gym Leader was a coward and only wanted to fight trainers with 7 badges.

"Thanks old man," Gold nodded in respect, returning Larvitaro to his ball.

Flint gazed at the two trainers from Johto with kind eyes. "Another batch of talented kids. I won't be surprised if I see you all in the Indigo League."

The Crystal girl had already defeated him just before with her unrelenting Totodile. She balanced out its aggression with a cool and calculated head.

"You'll see me win it all!" Gold assured cockily.

"Have some humility, Gold," Crystal said, rolling her eyes and smiling at the gym leader. "You mentioned another batch of talented kids? Have you encountered more people our age?"

Flint nodded, recalling the trainers easily. "Four trainers all hailing from Pallet Town, though regrettably, the one with the Charmander has yet to defeat me but I respect his tenacity."

Gold perked a brow. Was that red haired asshole from Pallet Town?

Nah, no way. Oak and Elm were good friends and the old time Kanto champion would never leave a douche like that unchecked.

Flint perked up. "But the other 3 have bright futures! My son fought a lad by the name of Gary and his Squirtle packed a real punch. He had quite the sturdy Rhyhorn as well!"

Crystal pursed her lips.

Gary as in Gary Oak? Oak's grandson? That ruled him out completely.

"What about the other two?" She asked curiously.

Flint's eyes took on a fond glint. "There's Ash… he's actually the reason I took up my mantle as the Gym Leader again. He's traveling with my son. He managed to defeat an Onix and Geodude with a Pikachu of all things!"

"Seriously?!" Gold exclaimed with wide eyes. "How'd he manage that?"

Flint let out a barking laugh. "He abused the sparklers!"

"Really now? That's genius!" Gold exclaimed, a cunning look in his eye.

Crystal groaned at that look. Ash was likely not the culprit either. "And the final trainer?"

The Gym Leader glanced at their curiosity with a knowing gleam. "Scouting out future competition eh?"

Crystal offered a smile. "Something like that."

The man nodded approvingly. "I should have done that. Might have helped me as a trainer."

He quickly sobered up, making both Gold and Crystal tense.

"The last trainer was a real prodigy that one," He sighed. "The battle was over in just two moves! Why I nearly lost my confidence again at the defeat!"

"Two moves?!" Gold balked.

"I was shocked too! Two Razor Leafs and I was down for the count," Flint explained, still looking shocked by the ordeal.

"Razor Leaf?! A grass type?!" Crystal thought in shock.

Could it be?

Gold was thinking the same thing. "Who was it?!"

Flint answered without hesitation. "Her name was Green! A real spitfire that one is. But the moment the battle begins, it's like facing another person! Her Ivysaur is a force to be reckoned with and I bet she's going to make it real far in the Indigo League! Despite being the last one to show up, she defeated me the easiest and I heard she crushed Cerulean City's gym too!"

Crystal and Gold both deflated at that, disappointed at the revelation that it was not the red haired thief.

"Hopefully I get to battle them someday," Gold responded, furrowing his brows as he and Crystal departed from the gym.

"We didn't get much info about the thief," Crystal muttered as the duo headed to the Pokemon Center.

"We'll find him eventually. In the meantime, we may as well do the Gym Challenge and enjoy Kanto," the boy replied with a helpless.

She nodded, still not looking too sure. "What if I was wrong and he really didn't come to Kanto? I heard one of Elm's friends was attacked near Cherrygrove City and he lost something important. Could it have been him? Is he still in Johto?"

Gold frowned. "Your doubting yourself again Crys. We'll find him, don't worry."

Crystal nodded slowly. "Do you… think he's apart of Team Rocket?"

The criminal organization had been running rampant in Kanto. Crystal even heard around the vine that they had attacked a Pokemon Center in Viridian City and had done something in Mt. Moon as well...

Not to mention Professor Elm thought the thief was apart of them. He didn't go into detail but he did recount the story before he was knocked unconscious.

"That's what Professor thinks," Gold shrugged. "If he really is, even more reason to take him down… Team Rocket should have been dealt with ages ago."

Crystal agreed but… that thief looked the same age as them. If he really was apart of Team Rocket… how long had he been in there?

Was that why he was so violent? Professor Elm said he heard the boy let out a distressed scream...

...Did he even have a choice?

"Gold, I think it's the right move to just keep this between us until we find him… this whole situation just doesn't sit right with me for some reason," she whispered to her best friend.

Gold raised a brow at that and turned towards her.

Crystal had been the one against the idea of keeping it to themselves… now she was suddenly agreeing with it?

He wasn't planning on ever reporting that guy until he got his hands on him… what was Crystal's reason?

The two exchanged a glance, years of growing up together, helping them convey intent incredibly easy.

"Ah you're worried he was forced to do something he didn't have a choice with," Gold muttered.

He never thought about that. That asshole… might not have always been an asshole. Professor did say he heard him scream.

Crystal nodded. "I might be wrong but… we should at least talk to him before turning him in. I want to understand why he did what he did."

"You and me both. He's one of the only other trainers to beat me besides you too," Gold agreed, a thoughtful expression on his face.

The two sighed in unison at the complicated situation.

"Alright, let's finish up business here and head to Celadon. I heard the gym there is water type," Crystal informed him.

Gold tossed his head back and groaned in annoyance. "Seriously? First rock, now water? Gimme a break," he complained.

"Get over it, you'll be fine," Crystal said, rolling her eyes.

What a drama queen.

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

"Zit? Zip? Zippy?"

I furrowed my brows.

"What was her name…?"

Her of course, was the girl that I skated right past.

It wasn't a game anymore so I couldn't immediately identify her… but I'm fairly sure that was the Lorekeeper girl.

"Zem?"

...Whatever her name was.

I was gonna drive myself crazy dwelling on this but the only reason I was even thinking about it so hard, was because she saw me.

Granted, I had been fully disguised but still. Just how much did she see? Did she know the members of my team? She probably knew I caught Bagon but who else did she see?

Zem sounded pretty good. Maybe I'd just handshake that.

We'd probably be meeting in the future. My business with Hoenn would involve her no doubt about it so we'd cross paths and whether that was as enemies or not, remained to be seen.

But that future was far away. If we were enemies, by the time that future arrived, I'd be equipped to deal with her. For now, if she wanted to find me, she could fuck off and follow a nothing trail.

Unless she planned on following me to Kanto…

But what psychopath would do that? Chasing me to another region? Talk about obsessed.

"Zemya!" I slammed a fist against my palm.

That sounded right.

Yeah.

Yeah… I'd stick with that. I didn't care if it was wrong.