Leo scratched his chin as he looked at his game plan, typed into his pokedex and scribbled in the dirt at his feet. Santiago and Link peered over his shoulder – or looked down from his shoulder, in Link's case – and examined the ideas and training directions Leo had mapped out.
"Right, so, let's start with training for you all," Leo began, and pointed a stick at Zuko, who was chasing after a Yungoos and popping in and out of the scrubby brush that surrounded them. He had left the area of the giant tree for the moment, wanting to explore a little, and had discovered this place. Now that his team was mostly recovered from their fight against the Kommo-o they had come here for training.
"Zuko first. He needs to intensify his fires. Turning ember into flamethrower is the main goal here; once he does that he'll be ready for evolution. I can't imagine it'll take him long, he's already got heat wave down and that is, arguably, harder to learn than flamethrower. After that we'll introduce him to a few electric techniques, but that's for later," Leo said, waving his hand. Zuko truly had to be close to evolution; he was incredibly strong for a Quilava and only getting stronger. How close he was exactly to evolution Leo wasn't sure; he'd need to be able to measure the temperature of his fires to know that. Quilava evolved into Typhlosion once they could produce hot enough fire, after all, though Leo forgot the specific threshold.
"Diana, on the other hand, needs to work on her terrakinesis and motor control. Right now she's a juggernaut in a straight line; but as we saw, that can be countered with sufficient strength. Adding agility, more flexible attacks, or both to her abilities would be good," Leo said, pointing to Diana, who was lying flat on her back looking at the sky. He was counting down the seconds until she took off, but so far she had surprised him and remained stationary.
"Spiritomb I just need to help the spirits combine and then it'll be able to focus more. The power is there, but not the concentration. Link, there's a few things we can do for you, bud," he jostled the Bellossom on his shoulder, who slapped the side of his head in retaliation. "First, we can try to teach you solar blade. With how you use solarbeam it's not that far-fetched that you could learn it. Second, further incorporate petal dance, petal blizzard, and those sort of attacks into your current fighting style. Sword fighting is cool, but imagine if each and every leaf from those attacks is a sword that you command with your mind. That would be even cooler. Third is, and you're not going to like this one, we teach you things like moonblast, moonlight, and stun spore,"
"Bell!" Link cried in indignation, glaring at Leo.
"I know, I know, you're already awesome. But those moves would give you a bit more versatility in other areas. Synthesis might be better than moonlight though, but just think about it; there are other ways to get stronger than learning new moves. I'm just laying out your options," Leo said. Mentally he also added a fourth thing; figure out what that half z-move was they did during the Kommo-o fight was, and how to replicate it. Because that was awesome.
"Slow," Santiago said, gesturing to himself.
"Psychic control, and water attacks. You have brute force but still need fine control of your psychic abilities. If your psychic attacks had been more focused they would have done far more damage to Kommo-o. Plus, being able to levitate yourself would be a great asset in battle," Leo said bluntly. "And we have neglected your water abilities. Water pulse is great, but we can do better. Right?" Santiago pondered that, then nodded and gestured for Leo to continue.
"Ok, and next order of business is that we need more teammates. I've kind of written down a few things to think on. Obviously there's type coverage and things like that, but this isn't a game where fire beats grass and psychic beats fighting all the time. Yes, there's type advantages, but it's not a static adventure. Any pokémon can be powerful; but to a degree. I don't see a Caterpie beating a Dragonite anytime soon," Leo said. Santiago nodded along and pointed to one of the words Leo had scribbled in the sand.
"Support," Santiago said, and Leo nodded.
"Yes, support members. I can apply to have my carry limit expanded to add support members to the team, which is easier than unlocking my carry limit to have more than six battle members. Support members would be teammates not meant for battling, specifically," he said. "And what we need is healing and transport. You, Santi, can learn heal pulse, which would take care of healing needs, but you're also a main battler. I think a dedicated healer would be nice; something like an Audino, Blissey, heck even a Comfey could fill that position. That's probably going to be the hardest thing to find,"
"Bell," Link said, and Leo nodded.
"We absolutely can make do without them. But it'd sure be nice," he reasoned. "It would turn the two day rest period we had after the Kommo-o into one day, or half a day," at that Link nodded in understanding, crossing his arms and furrowing his brows as he looked down at the scribbles in the dirt.
"Bellossom," he said seriously, gesturing to the next topic.
"Right, transport. While catching a team member who can fly would be great, they're likely to be a battler to and will take time to grow unless we get lucky. We'll get to that later. There's also water transport because, while you're great Santiago, you're no ocean-crossing pokémon. If I want to do that, it's something I need to consider. However, what I really want to focus on is a team member who can carry things into and out of areas like this," Leo said, gesturing around. "My immediate thought is Mudsdale. Strong, sturdy, and can carry a literal ton of supplies. As the team expands it's likely we'll need more stuff. Hence where this would come in; a rideable pokémon or pack pokémon that makes long distance foot travel easier. Mudsdale is commonly used for this, but Stoutland is another that I've seen used here in Alola,"
"What about battle?" Santiago asked slowly, tasting each word as he said them.
"Battling teammates? Well we've got two slots left to fill before I'm full up on my carry limit – as I haven't officially caught Spiritomb, it doesn't technically count towards that number. I'm not so much worried about that though; what I am worried about is what will fit in our roster," he said, and Santiago frowned. "Think about it. What will mesh well with the team dynamic? You don't all have to like one another, but you still have to live and work together. If two or more teammates are constantly butting heads then it's bad for everyone in the long run," Leo explained.
"Bell," Link said, shaking his head.
"Yes, it can be overcome, but…well, let's use Diana as an example. Tyranitar and Dragonite have been, for ages, rivals in the Silver Mountains. It's the old dispute of 'who's the strongest?' The two species, at least the Kanto versions of them, as they're more aggressive in Kanto than in other regions, don't mesh together well on a team. It's also why dragon tamers are so rare, and why they typically only have one pseudo legendary on their team – one apex battler. Because that one pokémon tends to keep the others in line. Salamence, Garchomp, Hydreigon, even Goodra all have this problem, and it makes people like Lance, who can train multiple pseudo legendaries even more amazing. We could probably make it work somehow, and I think Kommo-o isn't out of the question for our team, but it is something to consider," Leo explained.
"I think Metagross and Salamence are another Tyranitar and Dragonite example – it's hard to get those two to work together on the same team, because they're apex species who have had thousands of years to foster a rivalry," Leo said and, upon noticing the blank look on Santiago's face, realized that he had no idea what those species of pokémon were. Link was nodding along like he understood, but not Santiago. "Sometimes people don't mesh well together, Santiago. I've dealt with teams of humans who end up causing more trouble than its worth because they can't play nice. I would like to avoid that with you all, because, as the trainer, I will be forced to mediate,"
At this Santiago nodded in understanding, and Leo pointed out his list of potential teammates, or at least those types he thought would suit him and his team, asking Santiago and Link for advice on who and what they thought would make a good teammate.
For a while Leo just shot ideas at them, asking what types and what pokémon might be a good idea to look into – and having to explain what some of the more exotic pokémon were. Link liked the idea of a Heracross, a Scizor, or a Bisharp, probably so he could practice his sword fighting with the Bisharp, though Santiago mostly remained quiet.
"Fight," Santiago said, pointing to the word "Kommo-o." Leo nodded.
"I'd love a Kommo-o too and, like I said, of all the pseudo-legendries Kommo-o is the most likely to work, but if I'm forced to choose between either a Kommo-o or Diana, I'm choosing Diana," Leo reasoned. "Remember what I said about pseudo-legendaries. They typically don't play well together," Santiago shook his head and placed a hand on Leo's shoulder. He furrowed his brows and worked his tongue, trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to say.
"You…I, fight," he said, then pointed at Link. "Fight," then pointed at Diana, and Zuko, and said the same thing. Then he tapped Leo in the chest, nodded and said it once again. "Fight. We fight," he said.
Leo didn't respond immediately, absorbing what he said. "You're saying we're all fighters?" he asked. Santiago nodded, then shook his head, patting his chest. "We have the heart of fighters," he amended, and Santiago nodded. Link hummed and nodded respectfully to Santiago.
It made sense, actually, Leo realized. His team was composed exclusively of fighters – warriors, perhaps would be a better term. Santiago was a King, yes, but he loved battle. He had the will to keep going and going; Zuko was a little soldier. He didn't enjoy the fight as much as the others, but Leo had yet to find a battle that he wouldn't give his all in. Diana practiced martial arts and seemed to enjoy it, but was still growing, and Spiritomb had the spirits of many human warriors within. Link was self-explanatory.
"So, we need to focus on finding teammates that fit that theme," Leo muttered. It seemed like simple theme to make work. For a battling team, that was kind of the whole point, wasn't it? For them to be fighters? There might be more to it than that or he might be overthinking it but, like anything, it would probably be a case of trial and error.
"Bell," Link said, patting Leo's head. Leo turned to look at the little Bellossom, who gestured to Santiago, said a few words, then looked expectantly to Leo.
"Link say…come," Santiago said, then frowned. "Fighter…will come. Do not worry. You will know," Leo smiled and poked Link in the stomach with his free hand.
"What, who will fit and who won't? Thanks, bud. I appreciate that. I am tired of sitting around waiting for things to come to us, though," he said, shaking his head. Link just shrugged and leapt off his shoulder.
"Bellossom," he said, and Leo sighed. Santiago opened his mouth, and Leo help up a hand to stop him.
"I don't need that translated, I know. Patience, right?" Leo asked, and Link nodded. He grumbled a bit but stood and clapped his hands together anyway, intent on getting things going. Discussion time was over. It was time to train.
Leo lay flat on his belly, not daring to breathe as the Bewear and its cubs, three Stufful that wandered along behind it, lumbered through the clearing. The deceptively cute-looking bear paused and sniffed the air as it reached the edge of the jungle, beady black eyes scanning the grasses of the meadow.
I am a bush. Think bush thoughts. Leo chanted in his head, remaining perfectly still. Zuko and Link had fought a fully grown Bewear earlier in the week – the stupid thing had taken far too much to finally knock out. He'd also learned the absolute terror of the beasts when said Bewear wandered into his camp; it had split a decent-sized tree in two with a single strike. That kind of strength wasn't to be meddled with, and Leo really didn't want to get into a fight with an angry mama Bewear.
Finally though the pokémon vanished into the trees, branches snapping as the fluffy pink bipedal bear lumbered further into the jungle. Leo didn't let himself breathe until a few minutes had passed, a sigh escaping his lips as he sat up. Grasses stuck up all over the place on his body, having been woven into a crude mockery of a ghillie suit and a grassy hat. Zuko popped his head up as well, pushing out of the bush he'd been hiding in, the Quilava sniffing the air and sneezing violently.
"That was awesome," Leo said with a grin, scratching at his mud-covered face. "Terrifying, but awesome. C'mon, let's get going," he said, and pushed deeper into the jungle. He was swiftly coming to realize that Poni was a lot more plains than jungle – a sharp contrast to Melemele, which was all jungle – save for a few specific locations. One such area was the Poni Meadow, an area of plateaus, crevasses, mesas, and bluffs that were absolutely covered in dense green jungle. It was also right by that giant tree Leo had woken up under – which was truly massive, an awe-inspiring sight to behold – and was home to a large number of caves.
"Quil," Zuko said, watching a Toucannon as it sat upon a branch. The toucan-like pokémon stared at Leo and Zuko, clacking its beak once before flying off.
"Right, I'm glad we weren't spotted either. C'mon, we've still got a lot of ground to cover," he said, readjusting his backpack and picking up his grass-covered guitar case. He really wished that the matter-condensing technology of pokeballs – if that was even how they worked; he actually had no idea, and last time he asked Professor Oak the terminology had gone right over his head – would apply to items and stuff too. Lugging the guitar around was a hassle, but now Santiago refused to go anywhere without it.
Leo had suggested leaving it at a pokémon center or sending it to the Aether Paradise for safekeeping while they trained and travelled, but Santiago had shot that idea down right quick. Maybe he should just leave Santiago out of his ball all the time, and make him carry it. He sighed. They really needed a pack pokémon, and Mudsdale was looking to be the superior choice.
With a shake of his head Leo refocused on his surroundings, Zuko running ahead sniffing everything and generally just having a grand old time, without straying too far away. All sorts of pokémon moved through the jungle – from bug types like Ribombee and Butterfree, to the odd Foamantis that watched him from the dense undergrowth. They once even passed by a troupe of Mankeys squabbling with each other in the trees, though Leo was quick to hurry through there. He didn't want to annoy the notoriously short-tempered primates.
It wasn't until around mid-afternoon, two or so hours before sunset, that they stumbled across something really interesting. By this time Leo had let Link out to travel with them as well – something he avoided when there was a lot of ground to cover. Link had this tendency to challenge strong pokémon to duels that made travel difficult. Thankfully that was not the case today though, and as Leo pushed through a particularly dense clump of undergrowth after having climbed up onto the top of a plateau, he came across something…interesting.
It was an old, cylinder-like building and what looked to be a solar-powered radio tower, though the tower had been mostly demolished. Vines and mosses covered the structures, the door to the building swung open wide and windows broken, vines crawling in through the windows. Leo sighed and dropped the guitar and his pack, rubbing his shoulders. He still wasn't used to the extra weight.
"We've only got an hour or two left of sunlight and this looks like an interesting place to camp. Let's explore," he said cheerily, thumbing the release for Santiago and Diana while he was at it. The two blinked and looked around the moment they were released; Santiago wandering over to Leo's pack and started digging through it, while Diana moved over to the edge of the plateau, admiring the view of the jungle from above. The view was fantastic, complete with the ocean glittering in the distance to the East, the volcano rising to the West, and the jungle covered mesas all around. Either that, or she was contemplating flying off the edge and seeing how far she could go.
Either or.
"What are you, then?" Leo muttered, stepping into the cylindrical building with Zuko on his heels. The Quilava sniffed at a bench covered in moss and fungus, blinking when a multicolored patch of mushrooms opened its eyes and stared at him. Leo pulled his pokedex out of his back pocket and flicked it open, the 'dex being something he'd been neglecting recently, and scanned the pokémon, reading the entry with a hum. "Morelull," he said, turning on the flashlight function and shining it around the relatively dark building.
It was maybe forty feet long, with broken cabinets and abandoned tech lining the walls – the far end housing two closed doors that had to have been the bathroom and bedroom.
A hole in the roof let sunlight in, moss and ferns hanging over the edges of the hole down into the building itself. There was no doubt this place had been abandoned, but the question was for how long. The jungle grew fast; it could have been a few years, it could be a few dozen. Still, Leo searched through everything regardless, opening broken cabinets to see what was inside and pulling out anything that might have been intact or useful – which wasn't much. The only thing he'd found was a waterproof map of the area, rolled up in a hard, sealed case. He'd look at it later, after camp was set up.
Other than that, though, the place looked pretty picked clean. There was a computer with a smashed screen, though it wouldn't have worked without power anyway, and a few forks and such but nothing of interest. The bedroom was filthy and covered in yuck, and the bathroom wasn't much better. Overall – nothing to indicate what the building was for or why it had been abandoned.
"C'mon, Zuko, leave the mushroom alone," he said, exiting the building and turning to the radio tower. Long vines curled up the still-shiny metal, having not rusted somehow, painting the lower half green. Zuko yipped as he bounded out of the building chased by a sharp cry from the Morelull, who took the opportunity to uproot itself and fly out of the building and into the jungle. Leo watched it go, shook his head, and headed to the radio tower.
He wasn't expecting to find anything, really, just giving things a cursory glance. So when he opened the breaker box on the radio tower – or whatever it was called, all he knew was that the wires from the still-intact solar panels connected to this box and there was a big yellow lightning bolt on it – and was met with a pokémon, he was admittedly surprised. Though not as surprised as when said pokémon opened its eye, beeped at him, sparks flying from the screw on top of its head into the wires dangling down from above, and floated out of the open back of the box.
"HOLY – gods above, what in the world?!" Leo yelped, jumping a few feet back and placing a hand over his heart from the jumpscare. Zuko growled as the metallic pokémon floated up the inside of the radio tower, through a gap in the metal, and floated back down, the magnets on its sides flashing red and blue light.
It droned at him, sparks arcing between the two ends of the magnets, and Leo could hear the sounds of his team gearing up for battle behind him. The Magnemite's beeped and fired a weak bolt of electricity from its magnets into the ground right in front of him, the droning noise it emitted intensifying. He got the feeling that it wasn't an actual threat, but more of a warning shot. It had looked more like a thunder wave than anything.
"Zuko, guard. If it tries to shock again, hit it with embers until it drops," Leo said, holding up a hand to stop his team from rushing the site. Zuko growled again and flared up. Leo tensed for a moment, watching the Magemite. His eyes widened and, just before it flashed its lights menacingly and sparked once more he threw his hand down. "Hit it!" he ordered, and Zuko blasted it with embers.
A low groan resounded out from the metal pokémon but it didn't hesitate, a sharp jolt of electricity lancing out and zapping Zuko, who squealed in surprise and pain. It droned and flashed its lights, an ear-splitting shriek – like metal grinding on metal – pierced through the air. Leo grit his teeth and covered his ears, shouting an order to Zuko that was lost in the noise – though apparently he had the same idea, as he immediately fired a heat wave that scorched the greenery and sent the Magnemite spinning backwards. It didn't even flinch despite the damage it took, a ball of silvery light forming between the two screws on its front.
"Dodge, distract, defeat!" Leo ordered, leaping to the side and out of the way of battle as the Magnemite fired, the beam digging into the ground as Magnemite tracked it after Zuko. The moment the beam ended the steel-type changed tactics, a short jolt of electricity lancing out and striking Zuko in the side.
He winced and retaliated with an ember, scorching the Magnemite's sides and setting the lights on the ends of its magnets to flickering, but the pokémon didn't care. It just wobbled a little, righted itself, then built up a ball of electricity above its head. Zuko struggled to rise, paralysis still wracking his muscles – and Leo wasn't about to let him be hit by the large electro ball the Magnemite was preparing.
So he threw a pokeball at it.
The red and white orb bounced off the Magnemite's shell, sucked it into the ball, and fell to the ground where it shook a few times. Leo sighed and motioned to Link, who approached the ball with a leaf blade drawn, stared at it for a moment, then nodded to Leo. It was safe to approach.
"You ok there, Zuko?" Leo asked, looking at Santiago and nodding. His starter nodded back and walked over to the bag, undoubtedly searching for either a paralyze heal or a cheri berry; they had found a few bushes of those yesterday, and Leo had kept a few in case of an immediate emergency. They didn't keep well, but it would be better to use those than their non-perishable paralyze heals.
"Quiiil," Zuko groaned, working his limbs and wincing. Leo nodded and knelt next to him, laying a comforting hand on his head.
"Yeah, we haven't fought many electric types. That thunder wave caught us both off guard. Still, what was a Magnemite doing all the way out here? They usually stick to cities, where electricity is more readily available," Leo muttered, accepting the cheri berry from Santiago and feeding it to Zuko. The effect wasn't immediate, but the paralysis should begin to wear off in the next five minutes or so. He just had to endure the discomfort for a little bit.
"Bell," Link said, grabbing the fallen pokeball with both hands and handing it to Leo. He nodded and took it, scanning it and the pokémon inside with his pokedex. Magnemite hadn't been on his list of potential partners to catch, but it seemed strong. And besides, they weren't native to Poni anyway. Leaving it here would have been irresponsible; if Leo didn't like Magnemite, he could always release it in its natural habitat or sell it on the global trade system. Probably the latter, as Magnemite could be considered pests. Professor Oak had trouble with a swarm a few years ago that nearly knocked out the entire lab's electrical system.
Unfortunately the pokedex didn't instantly load the information, like in the anime. It took a few minutes for the 'dex to analyze the pokémon inside the ball, so Leo decided to be productive in the meantime.
"Now that that's out of the way, let's set up camp," he said, whistling to signal Diana. She turned to look at him as he stood and stepped into the middle of the clearing, away from the ruined building, and stamped down the outline of a small, five-foot circle in the thick grass. Then he stamped down another, smaller circle in the middle.
"Diana, would you clear the grass here? Stay in the big circle; and the small circle is going to be the fire pit, so put some big rocks there, ok?" he asked. Diana rumbled and moved herself away from the edge of the plateau and inspected the circle. Then she closed her eyes, and the ground rumbled a bit, loose earth churning and grasses being uprooted as she overturned the dirt and make a small divot in the ground with her earth-based abilities. Small rocks jutted out around the divot, forming a true fire-pit. Leo smiled and patted her on the side, earning a pleased rumble and wiggle from the Pupitar.
"Good girl," he cooed. The first time they'd tried this it had been a disaster – but in the span of a few short days she'd gotten the hang of it. They'd need to step up to bigger projects soon. From there it was easy to set up camp; he went out and gathered firewood while Link and Santiago went foraging for food, and Zuko started the fire when the paralysis finally wore off. After that Leo dug a second, larger firepit with Zuko's help, building a second, larger fire for Zuko to lay in. The Quilava was all to happy to jump into the flames, wiggling about over the burning logs and sending sparks hurtling skywards.
Leo chuckled at him as he lay in the flames, sighing contentedly and letting smoke curl from his nostrils. They didn't always do it this way, but Zuko had been working hard lately and deserved a little something extra to help him relax. Especially with the paralysis incident.
Speaking of…Leo glanced at the returning Link, who wandered out of the jungle and dumped a pile of berries, pokebeans, and tubers next to the pile, dragging a makeshift basket of leaves behind him filled with similar edibles and decided it had probably been enough time to let the Magnemite out. It had probably calmed down, and the pokedex was done analyzing it – though it hadn't given anything convenient like a list of moves it knew.
"Diana, Link, I'm going to let out the Magnemite, give it a lookover," he said, to little effect. Neither of them even looked his way, though Zuko did raise his head from the fire and stare at Leo. He sighed and flipped open the 'dex, skimming the entry on Magnemite behavior once more before thumbing the release.
The ball of steel floated in the air in front of him, a low hum filling the air as it blinked and spun its screws and magnets. Leo waited for it to do something, anything, but it just sat there staring at him.
"Uh, hi?" he tried. It remained silent, not even sparking to acknowledge it was feeling…anything. Leo blinked and looked down at his pokedex, searching the behavior page for any hints as to what the robot-like pokémon might be thinking. This caused a reaction in the Magnemite, the hum intensifying as it narrowed in on the pokedex. Leo paused, watching it closely as it floated closer and just stared at the small machine.
"You finding this interesting?" he murmured, holding the 'dex a little closer. It stared a moment longer, then looked up at Leo with its lone, unblinking eye. Leo raised an eyebrow then glanced at his pokedex, cursing at the message he saw on it. Battery low. Activate the solar charging system under "SETTINGS" or plug in the pokedex in the nearest outlet. "I did have it charged! It was at eighty percent battery just…a…" Leo trailed off as he spoke, checking the battery level at the same time and seeing that it was just as high as it had been before. He frowned, then looked at Magnemite. Then at the pokedex. Then at the Magnemite.
Wait, it had been in the breaker box, right? Had it been absorbing the electrical charge from the solar panel? The panel itself was still intact, right, so was it still generating electricity?
"Uh, ok? Go charge?" Leo tried. Magnemite beeped at him and floated back to the radio tower, settling in the now-open face of the breaker box and appearing to power down. Leo frowned at it and glanced at his pokedex, the message having disappeared, and started reading the entry on Magnemite once again. He read the basic description thoroughly this time, learning that yes, the Magnemite was most likely charging its electrical power reserves in that little station (which Leo didn't think was the most efficient place to be, but he was no electrician), as well as learning that they mostly communicated with the lights on the ends of its magnets. But there was nothing about what it did to the pokedex.
"Right, so, starting to take notes now," Leo muttered, pulling up a new document on the 'dex note's system and typing in a few questions about Magnemite. Come to think of it, he'd also been taking notes on Spiritomb for a while now, recording his observations and such in the pokedex. He had yet to let Professor Oak read it, but figured he should probably do so. He'd kind of fallen behind on things like that.
Leo spent the next little while reading the pokedex entry on Magnemites as he leaned up against Diana. They were…an interesting species. He wasn't sure what to make of it, really, it was entirely different than any of his other teammates. There was just no expression in a Magnemite, no body language to read – they were just different. Powerful once trained, but different. Oh and, until they evolved a lone Magnemite typically couldn't generate enough of its own internal electricity to be as powerful as they could, which was another thing and explained why the Magnemite was feeding off the solar panel.
It wasn't for another hour when Santiago returned, speaking lowly to an Oranguru as they approached camp. Leo looked up and raised an eyebrow at the psychic monkey, who nodded to Leo then continued his conversation with Santiago.
"Well, this has been a productive evening," Leo remarked, petting Diana's shell and setting the pokedex to the side. She rumbled at him in agreement and he sighed, glancing back over to Magnemite. It just seemed so…foreign to him. Spiritomb chose that exact moment to make its presence known, hissing and flaring up as if in a delayed reaction to Magnemite's attack towards him. "Easy bud, easy. Calm down, you're fine," he muttered, almost absently running his hand through the tendrils of shadow that snaked out of his pocket. He could feel Spiritomb's sudden agitation, the ghost shaking off whatever dream had disturbed it…
He frowned, just feeling that emotion from Spiritomb and sending soothing feelings in return. Sofu said that aura was the connection between human and pokémon, right? Then wasn't this connection he had with Spiritomb aura? If so, what about his connection with his other pokémon or, say, Magnemite? Could he, theoretically, use aura to understand more about Magnemite? Leo closed his eyes and relaxed, listening to the sounds of the camp and falling into the same meditative mindset that he used to help combine Spiritomb's spirits. The crackling of the fire, the low conversation between Oranguru and Santiago, the low rush of air as it entered and exited Diana's air vents, her form of breathing…
He let his mind go free – the harder he searched for the connection, the harder it was to actually find. That was a lesson he had learned from Spiritomb and –
Suddenly it was like he could see. No, that wasn't quite right. As Leo felt the emotions of the pokémon he was connected to; Santiago, curiosity as he spoke; Diana, contentment as she lay; Zuko, a comfortable silence as he relaxed; and Link, a quiet as he watched; he realized that it wasn't that he could suddenly see when he couldn't before. It was that he finally realized he could see all along, but was, for the first time, acknowledging it. How else could he tell how Diana was feeling, when she was a literal cocoon of rock?
He was sensing the way her aura reacted to her emotion, that's how he could tell. Most people probably just saw her wiggling and narrowing her eyes, not the tiny little squints she did when she was happy, or her excited vibrations. And this connection extended to all his pokémon; he could feel their emotions, their intentions…it was hard to describe accurately because it was just there.
Leo turned his curiosity to Magnemite, who still sat in the radio tower despite the sun having set. There was no real connection between them to speak of, not that he could inherently feel, but it wasn't like he couldn't "see" the steel type with his newly realized sight. If he were to describe what he did feel when he looked at the Magnemite, it would be smooth surfaces and straight lines. There was a certain…streamlined process to it that he couldn't quite describe.
"Bell," Link said, moving over from his spot by the smaller fire to settle next to Leo.
"Oh not much. Just realizing that I'm an idiot for not noticing this sooner," Leo said, holding onto his meditative state of mind even as he spoke. What else could he feel like this? Was this aura reading? It sure seemed like it, but was he even doing it right?
"Ossom," Link said, shaking his head. Leo snorted in amusement.
"Hey now, I at least know I'm foolish. The first step is acknowledging it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. Link laughed, a small, squeaky sound, and patted Leo's leg. For a moment longer the two were silent, watching as the Oranguru Santiago had been conversing with stood, bowed to him, and wandered back out of the camp while waving its leafy fan at itself.
Santiago stood and walked back to the fire, stopping to pick up the guitar as he went, and sat across from Leo while staring at the guitar strings contemplatively.
Leo hummed to himself. He was starting to understand what Professor Oak and Sofu had meant by aura being "so much more than that." In the stories of this world – and especially in stories of his old world – aura was shown primarily in use of…well, fighting. Aura Guardians; people using pokémon moves; the list went on. But that was only the surface. Aura wasn't just about "becoming powerful," it was seeing the world for what it was; what lay beneath the surface level.
And Leo was only scratching the surface of the surface.
"Sing," Santiago rumbled, breaking Leo out of the thoughts that swirled in his head.
"Sing?" Leo parroted back as Santiago plucked at the strings, his psychic power creating a small burst of noise. He was getting the hang of it, but it was still crude. Leo was proud of his progress, even if he was frustrated by how slow said progress was. "You want me to sing?"
Santiago nodded, and Leo scratched his chin, nestling further back into the crook in Diana's spines he had settled himself in, and pondered what song would be good. Briefly he considered searching for a song with his senses, in the aura of the land or whatever – was that even possible? He recalled Celebi said she experienced the world through music – but eventually scrapped that idea. He just wanted to enjoy the night, so he chose a song he though fight best.
"Ever since the days of old,
Men would search for wealth untold.
They'd dig for silver and for gold,
And leave the empty holes." He sang. Santiago picked up the tune, strumming a simple beat along with it, slowly getting the hang of things.
"And way down South in the everglades,
Where the black water flows and the saw grass sways,
The Fearow fly and the Chansey play,
In the land of the Seminole," Tropius groaned from the jungle behind them, arcing their necks and looking over the treetops, though Leo paid them little heed. They were harmless.
"So blow, blow Seminole wind,
Blow like you're never gonna blow again,
I'm calling to you like a long lost friend
But I know who you are,"
He sang, twisting the lyrics he did remember into ones that fit the creatures of this world, and improvising the lyrics he didn't remember.
And that was how the night went. Santiago played the guitar as well as he could, Leo sang, Link, Zuko, and Diana listened, and Spiritomb at one point joined in by adding a haunting wail or two. It was a peaceful night, a pleasant night, and Leo never noticed the pokémon who were listening in.