"Both trainers are only allowed to use three pokemon! I can't let this get too heated!" Lorelei said from where she stood between us.
Pryce sniffed and opened his coat, ignoring the freezing temperature and displaying his pokemon belt. I reached straight for the greatball on my necklace. I knew how this had to go. I not only had to win, but also in such a way that it taught him a lesson. My choice gave Pryce pause, and he switched his hand to a pokemon further back along his belt."Titan! GO!" I brought forth my starter and he emerged onto the frozen clearing with a snort. He flexed his claws slightly and tested his footing. His eyes swept the area, looking for his opponent."Go Dewgong!" ordered Pryce, his pokemon appearing and barking as only a seal could at my pokemon. Titan snorted, and the Dewgong glowered.Water-Ice versus Darkness-Rock. I clicked my tongue, and Titan shifted to keep Dewgong in his sight while giving me some attention. I tapped my chest and then pointed at him. Titan nodded, repositioning himself so he was fully facing forward and blocking me from Pryce's vision.He wanted to deny the importance of a bond? I'd grind it into his face.I called up my energy, and instead of there being just a freezing plain with chilling winds, there was now a dark mountain. A mountain that loomed over the landscape.Shadows crept around Titan's eyes and he rolled his shoulders.Lorelei stiffened at the feel of the energy that was pulsating out of us. It had taken a lot of work to get the balance right, and the empowerment was in truth, only a five percent boost.Oddly enough, the work that I had been doing with Jormungandr had made it easier of late to call up my energy and link it to Titan's to boost him. It also made us far more in tune with each other.It'd probably be nothing compared to the power that would come from mega evolutions, Gigantimax, or Z moves that would be found in the future, but five percent at Titan's level of strength wasn't something to be dismissed lightly."Begin!" Lorelei called."Ice Beam!" barked Pryce.Without saying a word, I knew what Titan wanted to do, and I agreed with his assessment. Titan dove into the frozen earth, and I walked to the side, allowing the attack to harmlessly pass me by. I felt the chill, but what was a chill to a mountain?It was merely part of it. All mountains grow cold.Cracks formed underneath Dewgong, announcing that Titan had already gotten underneath his foe. "Aqua Tail up into the air!" ordered Pryce, making his pokemon leap into the air.Titan broke through the ground a moment later in pursuit, and his jaws snapped shut just behind the tail that Dewgong had tucked into itself.As gravity asserted itself I grunted out, "DP."Titan exploded with dark energy that slammed into Dewgong and sent it soaring up again as the hit connected.Titan landed and caused a shockwave. He stood next to the broken earth of his tunnel he'd dug out of and flexed his claws into the ground. His eyes tracked his opponent as it fell, slightly out of sync with himself.Dewgong plummeted to the ground, only for Pryce to click his tongue. "Aqua tail again; control yourself!" Dewgong's tail began to glow blue, and it swung itself around as though to slam into Titan."Protect," I said carefully, making a shell of hexagonal energy build up around my pokemon and stopping the hit.Dewgong's Aqua Tail slammed into it but it didn't break through. This forced Dewgong's landing to be slightly off and it sprawled when it hit the ground instead of using its attack to bleed off momentum."Titan, grapple and throw it up again!" I said, causing my pokemon to break the defensive shell and grab the other pokemon before spinning and throwing the pokemon up into the air. Dewgong hurtled away. "Gooooong!" It cried before slamming into a tree."Perish Song!" Pryce ordered as his pokemon struggled to continue to rise and fight ."Stone Edge!" I ordered, making my pokemon launch stone pillars. Dewgong opened its mouth only to take a barrage of boulders that saw him crumpling."Dewgong is unable to battle!" Lorelei announced it neutrally, but most of her attention was turned to her grandfather, observing how he would react. He merely sniffed and returned his pokemon."Go Lapras!" he said for his second pokemon. I smiled. A Lapras was a good choice, it was also something that Titan had a lot of experience fighting against."Hail!" ordered the older man as his pokemon whipped up a torrent of ice. I hummed in thought. A field effect, eh? Something that was much more effective in this environment. Titan's usual impact on a field was already much slower, but by cracking the frozen field, we had a much easier time of calling up rock, as well as getting through the earth with moves like Dig."Stone Edge," I ordered, causing boulders to once again be ripped up from the ground and be hurled at his foe. Lapras took it much more stoically, only turning himself so his shell took most of the hit while growling in annoyance."Blizzard!" ordered Pryce, his pokemon then exhaled even more frozen air from its maw. I knew the frozen air wasn't the real threat, however, and instead flicked a glance up to see where the true threat would come from."Incoming!" I called to Titan.Titan understood what I meant without having to look and threw himself into the ground burrowing down and out of danger by digging."Surf," Pryce said sternly as his pokemon's Blizzard slammed into the ground ineffectively. "Follow up with Ice Beam," he said, causing a solidified wave to form.I huffed at the classic one-two of moves that even I preferred with my pokemon.Titan emerged from his earthen voyage to a greatly changed battlefield. There were great spikes of ice embedded into the ground, and hail fell, causing Titan to bristle in annoyance. The frozen wave also changed the field, with elevation and an icy barrier now in play."Return Lapras," Pryce said, surprising me with his choice to return his pokemon instead of keeping it out. "Go Sneasel," he said.I tilted my head as a much smaller pokemon took to the field. Pryce chuckled at my look of confusion. "I'm aware of how you like to control the battlefield Brock, I have my own methods of control. Sneasel use Quick Attack!"His pokemon blurred forward and slashed across Titan's flank faster than either of us could react. The pokemon then darted away and back into the spikes of ice that now looked like mirrors. Shapes flickered across a number of them, and I now understood just how Pryce had set the field up to favour himself."Hmmm impressive," I said, happy to compliment him for his set up."Hone Claws, into Fury Swipes. Make him feel the bite of winter!" Pryce said firmly."Heh," I said, knowing the next attack would be coming a bit slower. "Stone Edge Encirclement," I ordered Titan, making him stop glancing about and instead drop and throw a punch into the ground that caused the earth to break around him and for spears of stone to erupt like a star fortress.Sneasel just so happened to be mid-leap when the spears caught him in the chest and blew him backwards."On your feet, Sneasel! You're better than this!" barked Pryce. Sneasel kipped up to his feet and readied his claws."You've got speed, but you don't have everything sorted out Pryce. Titan, go under the frozen wave and use DP hard again!" I ordered, making my pokemon throw himself backwards and into the earth."Hone Claws again Sneasel. We'll get our chance in a moment." Pryce said haughtily."No, you won't," I said firmly as Titan launched himself into the base of the wave before exploding it with a Dark Pulse. The ice wave blew out, and ice rained down across the field. Titan stoically endured it with a snort, while Sneasel wasn't so lucky, the icy blocks beating down on him."Fury Claw!" barked Pryce, making the pokemon slash his way through the threat. Sneasel's claws flashed and slabs of ice became small ice cubes as it swept its claws back and forth. It was an impressive display of control, power, and speed."Stone Edge," I said not willing to ignore an opportunity despite the impressive showing."Quick Attack!" demanded Pryce.Instead of throwing itself into action, Sneasel flinched and turned towards the oncoming boulder. The moment of hesitation caused it to be clipped by a falling ice block before being slammed into by Titan's attack.The Stone Edge was more than strong enough to flatten it."Sneasel is unable to battle!" Lorelei said.Pryce grimaced as he withdrew his pokemon. He scowled across at my pokemon as Titan snorted while hail continuously tinkled down onto him."You don't trust your pokemon," I called out to him as he reached for his Lapras' pokeball."You merely have a stronger pokemon where mine didn't follow orders.""Is that what you think it is? Seems like Sneasel didn't trust you. Being a pokemon trainer is a two way street after all," I said as his Lapras emerged. Lapras locked eyes with Titan and my pokemon shook his head then snarled as Lapras snapped its beak in a threat display."Titan! Advance! Trust me!""Tyran! Tar!" Titan barked as he moved forward."How quaint!" Pryce snorted. "Hydro Pump!" His pokemon spat a huge ball of water straight at titan"Left step!" I shouted straight away. Titan stepped to the side without even a hint of hesitation. He did so fast enough that the Hyro Pump whiffed past him and slammed into the landscape."Hydro Pump again!" snarled Pryce as he leaned forward."Jump right!" I barked as I strained my eyes to watch Lapras. Titan wasn't the only one that was familiar with fighting a Lapras. I was more than familiar with a Lapras' tells. The smallest of movements with the Lapras' neck would announce where it was going to aim with each blast."Jump back!" "Hop left!" "Hold!" I said as Lapras tried to lead the shot, holding its Hydro Pump to nail Titan after he moved, only for Titan to not move and the attack to continue to be held.Titan locked eyes with Lapras. In Lapras' maw a large ball of water hovered, holding the threat, ready to be fired off.A cold wind blew through the field, with Titan now only ten metres away from Lapras. In pokemon terms, it was a paltry distance. I shouldn't have been able to advance my pokemon this close and he should have been nailed by a super-effective move, but that hadn't happened once."Kneel down," I said. Titan knelt.Lapras was startled and nearly lost control of its attack, only to regroup and lock on to the Titan, who was now in a seemingly disadvantaged position."Now Lapras! Finish it!" ordered Pryce.A large pokemon kneeling, after all, should have been a terrible position for it. It all came down to how Titan had knelt. This was not the kneeling of a defeated warrior to another. This was a sprinter's kneel. He had his claws dug into the ground and his muscles clenched in readiness. He knew what would come next and was ready for me to give the order."Titan! GO!" I shouted.Titan accelerated forward, the Hydro Pump once more missing as it sailed over his head as he stayed low, pumping his arms and building up power with his headlong sprint. Lapras had just long enough to realise it had missed before Titan slammed into it with a Giga Impact that ended the match.Lapras was thrown back and landed on the ground out cold. Pryce stared at his downed pokemon before looking at Titan and I. I walked up and began spraying potion onto my champion with a handy towel to spread the medicine into faint scratches he had across his body."You did great buddy! I knew you could do it!" I said."Ty!" he roared happily, ignoring the sting as I rubbed his body over. "Tar!"Pryce approached after returning his pokemon. "You have a strong pokemon.""A strong pokemon, that I believe in," I said happily. Titan crooned and then leaned down and nuzzled me. "And he believes in me."I glanced towards Pryce. "There's no way I could pull off those moves otherwise. I think you've forgotten that, with how hurt you are at Piloswine's loss."Pryce face began to harden and turn frigid only for me to step into his personal space and put a hand on his shoulder. I locked eyes with him and stared right into him. "It hurts, and now you try to stop the hurt by blocking off those that would get close but your lost pokemon might not be dead. Keep looking. Find out what happened," I urged."It's not like other losses," he said, the words coming out with a painful rasp.I squeezed his shoulder firmly. "Allow yourself to have a little hope."Pryce stepped back and stared at me, visibly confused at how this had turned out. I'd beaten him but instead of looking down on him, I was trying to help him. I smiled trying to convey that it wasn't him I was looking down on, but his attitude. He looked away and stared into the forest, his jaw working.When he spoke, the words had to be dragged out of him. "It's not that easy.""No, it's not. But it's not like you have to scour every mountain and crevice alone." I gestured to Lorelei. "Did you do it with others or just by yourself? Some of the best things pokemon can teach us is to be able to lean on other people. We're better if we can lean into our bonds. Not weaker."Pryce worked his jaw and took a shuddering breath. I considered saying something else, only to discard the idea. Instead, we stood there, Pryce, Lorelei, Titan and I, waiting for Pryce to react.Pryce breathed in before exhaling loudly. "Feh!" he snorted in annoyance and stormed off.I slumped. I'd beaten him but I hadn't been able to reach him with the message he needed. I might have even— Pryce paused at the edge of the clearing and looked back at me in consideration.His look lingered for a long moment, and I stared back at him trying to convey that he needed to believe. That it would all work out for him. His mouth twitched and his head spasmed into a nod, then he marched away.I exhaled and felt all the tension bleed away. Titan leaned down and nudged me while crooning softly. "Great job buddy, you did great." I rubbed him a bit and he leaned into the scratches.When I was done, I realsied I'd inadvertently been ignoring Lorelei. "Sorry about that Lorel—"Lorelei was pinching the bridge of her nose. She took a long breath before exhaling it. She held up a hand to stop me talking and then looked after where her grandfather had been. Then she growled and clenched her fingers into hooks. She raked them through the air in his general direction. "Of all the stupid methods of making him see my point! I just needed to fight him?!""Well," I said as delicately as I could. "I wouldn't say, just fight him."Lorelei leveled a murderous look at me. "Do you have any idea how many methods I have used to try and help him?""...no?" I said sharing a look with Titan who took a step back and behind me,"Urgh!" she said put her hands to her face and screamed in annoyance. Titan and I shared a look. This… this was awkward.She straightened up and adjusted her clothes. "I apologise for that Brock but this was just…" She shook her head again. "I just can't believe that worked." She rubbed her forehead. "Thank you for headbutting him in that display of male pride, or whatever you call that. It seemed to get through to him."I raised a finger to correct her. That hadn't been about pride… I rethought it after a second and decided to just take the win for what it was. "Sure, no problem." I rubbed the back of my head. "If you wanted to help I think it's best to look around for herbs and such. Were there any herbs or such that might have helped Pryce with his injury?"Lorelei chewed her lip. "There's an old tale about them. The golden dew leaf herb is… well, its rare beyond belief, but it has wonderful regenerative properties." Lorelei looked away from me. "Grandfather used to read me a story about it all the time when I was small… Piloswine might have gotten it into his head to look for it." She chewed her thumb. "It's a place to start looking certainly."She considered me. "Why do you think Ancient Power would work for a Piloswine to evolve further?"I tilted my head. "Ancient Power is an interesting move as it sort of creates a link for pokemon to use with their genetic heritage. For some pokemon this opens up their evolutionary pathways. I've noticed that quite a number of my Ancient pokemon have this move which is where I got the hint. So far, it has only been proven to work with Tangela and Yanma.""Yanma?""It evolves into a pokemon known as Yanmega, bug-flying still, but it gains a lot from the evolution."Lorelei assessed me. "Interesting, I will have to test it with a Piloswine myself." She glanced toward where her grandfather had marched off. "I will need to go after him though." She pointed to the cave. "We'll have the fossils extracted and escorted to your laboratory in Pewter. From there we will have a fifty-fifty spilt of any pokemon that are created. Is that acceptable?""I can accept that," I said while eying the sinking sun. "I made a reservation in a lodge for tonight."Lorelei nodded. "Sorry, I hadn't considered how grandfather was going to be… In hindsight I should have made those arrangements. We've kept you longer than we meant to."I shrugged. "It is a nice change of scenery." I gestured back to town. "Shall we?"Lorelei led the way back into town. The walk was relaxing, with a few more experienced trainers staring at Titan as he walked along at my side. Then they noticed myself and Lorelei. Only one trainer dared to step forward and offer a challenge, which Titan and I ignored. Lorelei, though, handed him a business card. "Tomorrow at eight o'clock I have a space in my schedule. If this doesn't suit you I have no other times to offer you."The young man blushed and shook his head. "No! No, this is great! I even have your number! I'll see you there!" He then ran off to his friends.I hummed and watched him start bragging to a group of friends. "So you don't mind trainers like that calling you?""I have a secretary that screens my calls, actually."I snorted as the man crowed about getting Lorelei's number. "Obviously, that's not something well known?""Men have to be told," she said.I nodded before stopping to consider that. Men have to be told? What does that… I considered that before tilting my head and inspecting her. "So women—" she merely raised a brow as if to say, obviously.I nodded. Completely understanding now. So women would instantly understand that she'd have a secretary for such things? Made sense.I rubbed my chin. Was this a Girl code thing?I ended up leaving Lorelei for my lodgings which was a large cabin that allowed for pokemon to be out in the room. Specifically pokemon that were of the large variety.I released the other seven pokemon I'd brought with me, and they emerged happily. Bertha dragged Titan over to the fireplace, where they sat and enjoyed themselves. Don took to the rafters, where he wrapped his wings around himself. Jormungandr stretched out, allowing Gawain and my Clefairy to start playing a game that saw them hopping back and forth over him with Clefairy furiously trying to keep up. Sanchez moved to a window seat to take in the mountain landscape, and Zephyr landed on the back of the chair to relax.I glanced over at the bookcases and found them full of time wasters such as Capitalism Rage, Lapras Spotter, a deck of cards, and Ekans and Ladders. Considering how Bertha had reacted at losing the last game of go fish, I decided to avoid the entire issue and instead selected my Guardian holopad for some reading.I was curious if pokemon such as Yveltal or Xerneas had ever been sighted in Kanto or Johto. They must have been if Flint had found an Alakazite near Cerulean like that. Or perhaps I was misremembering how they formed. There obviously had to be a certain density of pokemon around to trigger the formation of a specific type of Mega stone. So perhaps that could be a starting point?I flicked to a map and started marking off points of interest. It was little surprise to me that such areas included Charific valley for Charizard, the island somewhere near Cinnabar that had all the Squirtle. Mt Silver, for Tyranitar and Onix. Lavender Town for Gengar. Viridian forest for Beedrill, and then I became stuck as I considered other locations. Perhaps the Slowpoke caves?What about a location that had lots of Gyrados? Lake Rage perhaps? I considered my map and noticed that there were a lot of potential sites close to, or around, Pewter City. Was that a coincidence or due to the movements of a Legendary through the area? I tapped the point that marked my diamond cave. If things played out like I hoped… that number might grow… but finding Diancite would be a tall ask.I turned my attention to looking through historical records and old folk's tales for any scrap of information, but I didn't find anything there.I finished the night with a lot of questions and a map of potential sites to check out. My pokemon had dinner with me and were very upbeat when I regaled them with the tale of how Titan had soloed three of Pryce's pokemon."GO! GO! LEM!" Sanchez cheered when I finished narrating how Titan had Giga Impacted straight into Lapras."Fairy! Cle!" cheered my smallest pokemon from close to Titan's foot. Bertha nudged him, and he laughed happily.In the morning, I had them up and exercising in a different environment. Don and Zephyr struggled, with the colder air not allowing them to ride thermals while downdrafts swept in from the mountains. Sanchez, cheerful as ever, had a blast rolling around in the snow.When we wrapped things up and I had returned my pokemon a timid little girl approached with a quivering Snowrunt at her side. The little pokemon must have had a clue how strong the pokemon I'd had out throwing snowballs at each other were. "Hey you! Wanna fight?" she said while jutting out her chin.I inspected her. She was young, too young to be an official trainer and her clothes were a little patched in places, indicating she wasn't well off.I pointed at her. "This is not a Gym challenge you realise?"She blinked. "Gym Challenge? You're too young to be Pryce though?" she squinted at me.I tilted my head. "Huh, you didn't watch my match against Lance?""We don't… have a television. I heard about a match against Lance where he fought Gym Leader…" She stared at me as she made the connection. "Oh my gosh! I had no idea! I'm sorry!"I waved it off. "It's fine. I'm not in Pewter right now, obviously, so I shouldn't expect people to recognise me. Your Snowrunt against my Clefairy?""I saw that! Why do you have a Clefairy!? You're a boy!" she fiercely demanded."Clefairy are pokemon that can fill a specific niche in my team. He's going to be a powerful addition." I released my pokemon. "First match Clefairy!""Cle!" he said fiercely."... really? But he's pink? That's a girl's colour!?" she said, still hung up on that one point."I don't mind," I said honestly as Clefairy bristled. Snowrunt strutted out feeling much more confident."Snowrunt use Double Team!""Evade the attacks coming in Clefairy, use your ears and keep your eyes on the ground not the after images!" I said clearly."Headbutt!" said the girl and her pokemon responded well, shooting forward and trying to smash itself into mine, only for Clefairy to catch sight of the attack and dodge."Hold for now Clefairy, we're playing a waiting game!" I said, to keep him calm. I also didn't want to just smack her down. Clefairy might be my weakest pokemon, but he still trained with me and my Elite team."Ice Shard!" the girl cried out."Drop down and skate to your left!" I ordered, my pokemon pausing for a half second before following through. He barely evaded the attacks and I hummed. Not bad, but we'd have to work on that."Now Sing," I ordered, happy to wrap this up. Clefairy opened his mouth and sang his song causing Snowrunt to fall asleep."Now Pound," I said causing Clefiary to shoot forward and punch out the other pokemon. Snowrunt got up groggily and stumbled around."Snowrunt!" the girl cried out before putting herself in front of her pokemon. "No more! I forfeit!"I nodded. "Good call, and well fought. You're a good trainer.""I still lost though…" she said as she hugged her slightly bruised and depressed pokemon to her chest."Eh, did you learn anything from our match? That's sometimes worth more than any money you lose." I then held up a hand to stop her reaching into her pouch. "Not that I want payment. Clefairy is my weakest personal pokemon but he's still strong.""Cle!" said my little puffball proudly. The girl giggled."Consider how accurate your moves are, and see if you can tighten them up some. You have a good bond with your pokemon but it can get better. Building that trust can take a while but it pays out big when you make it work." I knelt down and rubbed Clefairy's head. "Isn't that right buddy?"He shot the girl a thumbs up and she giggled."See? Keep it up though. I think you have some real promise!"The girl opened her mouth only for a much sterner voice to cut her off. "Indeed you do young lady." I looked up and found Pryce walking towards us. He nodded to me and then looked back at the girl. "Come around the gym later, I'd be interested in what you and your pokemon have been doing… I might have some pointers for you, but Gym Leader Brock's advice is sound."I shot him an unimpressed look. Sound was certainly damning me with faint praise, not that Pryce cared as the girl vowed that she would, before darting away. Pryce then turned to me."I came to… ask you to forgive my rather poor showing with manners and pokemon battle yesterday. It was unbecoming.""Hmmm, that so?" I said, amused that he hadn't actually said he was sorry, merely that I should forgive him. Him and Agatha were certainly cut from the same cloth. Or at least the same period of cloth."Yes… and thank you for showing me what I've been missing. You were right that I didn't bring my best against Lance. I couldn't at the time, and that shows. I am no longer Champion for good reason."I merely shrugged. "Well, yeah. At our level not having good bonds with your pokemon is a terrible drawback; it's only obvious that it played out like it did.""Indeed. I look forward to what our partnership brings… and while it is not something I truly put faith in… I will continue to look for my starter. Perhaps you're right and he is merely lost and not… something else." He didn't meet my gaze and instead looked into the distance where the girl and her Snowrunt were skipping down the pathway."I know he's not. No way a pokemon that spent that long with you just gave up on you. Not with the bond you two must have had.""Indeed," he said before nodding his head. "I… won't keep you… and thank you," he said before turning and marching away quickly.I snorted. "Oh yeah, him and Agatha are a real pair," I said to myself. I double-checked my bags and sent a message to Lorelei announcing my departure.I withdrew Zephyr's pokeball and released him. "Let's go Zephyr! To Mt Silver!" He leapt upwards and soon we were heading east.Don once more came out when we got close so he could ward off any aggressors. We made for a specific mountain but as we came in I caught sight of a number of Fearow flying about. "Hmmm… seems like a migration?" I said to Zephyr.He eyed the pokemon and hooted in annoyance while Don snarled in challenge. "Easy there Don. You can take them but there's enough there to give you some trouble. Ten of them I'd back you, twenty or more? That makes it a bit dicier."He screeched in rage but stayed close as we landed. I then quickly returned him and released Titan. He emerged, inspected the clearing we were in, and roared to announce himself. Zephyr hooted and hopped around a little as various other pokemon called back only for an equally loud roar to announce that the Empress had heard us.It only took five minutes for her to emerge from the trees. She locked eyes with Titan and once more they tentatively inspected each other. Then Titan stood taller and barked something happily. Empress reared back in surprise before turning to me. I reached out with Yolanda's gift. Within the frame Yolanda and Terra smiled back happily from a collage of different pictures and situations.The empress inspected it for a bit before taking it in her claws only for the glass to start to crack. She handed it back to me and growled at… herself? Ah, she was annoyed; she was too strong with her claws.She considered me and then the photo for a moment before tossing her head and indicating the way she'd come from. "Tar!" Tyranitar!" she barked before moving away.Titan stiffened only to then turn and indicate that we should follow her. I returned Zephyr and quickly jogged along as we moved through the trees to another part of the mountain. We came down the side a few hundred metres before we reached a slope that cut back into itself to reveal a hidden cave that Empress leaned down to enter. Titan followed her and I brought up the rear after giving the area a look over.No pokemon were present. The only pokemon I could see where the flock of Fearow heading north. I turned back and found the cave itself to be oddly smooth along the edges. In fact, the entire structure struck me as odd with how soft?glossy?polished? it was. Perhaps the constant usage by Empress had seen the cave walls worn down?I moved after the pokemon, moving down a slight slope and having to channel darkness to my eyes as we moved further into the mountain. When it leveled out I came upon a fairly large cavern that had a depression where Empress had formed a nest of sorts. Soft earth had been piled around a number of eggs, with a large groove around them.Empress lay in the recess and wrapped herself around her eggs in a manner that struck me as being extremely careful. I noticed a few of the eggs had cracks in them…something that struck me as very, very odd. Most eggs were stronger than that. I stared at the scene.She had to be slow and careful lest she hurt her own children. Perhaps she hadn't simply gifted Titan and Terra off. What if she was gifting them to us because she had difficulty raising her own brood of eggs? I had never thought to ask the Rangers how many hatchlings she had. I'd never thought… Empress inspected her eggs and hesitantly laid the tip of a claw on one. When she grimaced, it was clear to me, she must have trouble keeping them warm.I reached into my bag and pulled a stone that Flint had idly given me a while back. It radiated warmth but wasn't actually a fire stone. It was merely a rock that held and radiated heat. I presented it to Empress and she sniffed it, before her eyes widened in surprise. I gestured to the nest and she considered me, scrutinising me for a long while before looking to Titan who nodded.She inclined her head and I nodded back.Slowly, oh so slowly I reached over her tail and laid the heat stone in the middle of the clutch where it could keep the sand warm. I withdrew my hand and she leaned in. She sniffed her eggs. Long deep sniffs of interest before she dug a claw into the sand. She smiled at me then, and I chuckled in relief.I put the picture of Yolanda against the wall where she could see it and stepped away. The nest and picture made the place look a little homey. Especially with the lines and shapes that ran across the walls.I blinked. "Hang on, what's on the walls?" I said as I looked at them properly. Dark vision was allowing me to see them, but the colours weren't as clear, so I raised up my pokenav and turned on the torch.A tapestry of cave art unfolded before me.It depicted a scene of people and pokemon cowering at the base of a mountain. People with Ursaring, Mightyena, and even Tyranitar amongst their numbers.All cowered in the face of the pokemon atop the mountain.At the peak of the mountain, in faded golds and reds, a bird of fire loomed huge over the artwork. It glared down at all it looked upon. And from the skies fire rained down with many a man and pokemon burning in the face of true power.This was a mural of Moltres ruling the Mt Silver region.
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The Moltres dominated half the wall. With a torch light on it, you couldn't miss it. In the dark, it hadn't been at all visible, and it wasn't the only wall art that I'd missed. There were recesses in the wall that held small items like broken pottery, statues, masks, and what appeared to be a flute.Empress shifted and glared at me from her perch around the nest, but she didn't do anything else. It seemed my gift of the Heat stone had bought me some wiggle room. She hadn't started growling, which I knew to be an early warning most Tyranitar started with. Instead, she seemed interested in the wall art. Perhaps she'd never seen them before due to never having light in here and instead relying on smell, touch, and memory to navigate her cavern.I shone the torch on other walls and spotted more murals. On the mural to the east, plains and jagged cliffs leading into the ocean depicted a storm with the same tribe huddling away from the devastation that another bird pokemon was releasing onto them. The jagged wings and long drill beak meant that this could only be a Zapdos.It glared just as hatefully down at the tribe as the Moltres had. I noted that a number of boulders appeared to be in the act of being thrown by Ursaring in this depiction. There was no Tyranitar on display.I flicked back to the first picture I'd seen and noted the pokemon. Tyranitar, Ursaring, and Mightyena.I then swept the torch around until I was facing the south wall.On this, a third and, from what I could see, final artwork was on display. Here, a much smaller image of man and pokemon, in this case, only Mightyena, were huddled together as they dealt with a snowstorm. A blue bird with a long tail stood over the top.I flicked between the three images. If there was a link between the pokemon joining the tribe, then the Articuno image was first, then came the Zapdos, and finally the Moltres.The Moltres mural was also larger and given much more detail. The peak of the mountain was very clearly cut, and the lines of fire descending from the pokemon made it clear how outclassed the tribe had been. For all intents and purposes, it was a warning.I started taking pictures of the various cave drawings along with the assorted shards of broken pottery. Some of them were shaped to look like the Ursaring, Mightyena, and Tyranitar. Under each artwork, there was writing in a script I couldn't make heads or tails of. I snapped up pictures of everything before scooping up some broken artifacts into plastic lunch bags. I suspected that I might know someone who would be interested in these. That or they'd know of someone interested.A low rumble made me pause after I took a mostly still-intact flute. The Empress eyed me as I packed away the bag. I nodded, acknowledging that she didn't want me to take anything else. I checked my photos to make sure that her nest wasn't visible in any of the photos."Thanks for this girl," I said aloud before smiling at her nest and the photo sitting at her side. "I'll tell my little sister that you got the picture and that you liked it, if that's alright?"She sniffed and shifted so her back was to me, but not the image. She ran a claw over it and grunted her name. Titan barked happily before nodding at me and gesturing for us to leave.I did so, but this time I walked with the torch on. I noted how the tunnel was sloped but specifically cut to form a loose spiral. It had obviously been worked. I took some more images of the tunnel itself and got closer to draw attention to the markings that were all too clear in the light of my torch now.Titan huffed a laugh at me, and I shot him a look. "What?"He merely shook his head, and I had to settle for him ignoring me to stalk further up to the entrance of the cave.When I reached him, he was staring towards the tallest peak of the Mt Silver range. A peak that looked extremely familiar to me. I'd seen something very similar with the cave drawing specifically. I raised my transceiver and snapped a picture of the mountain. From this angle, the artwork had to be deliberate. The skyline matched, and if the artist had witnessed the devastation that a Moltres had unleashed, then perhaps this had been a shelter for them as Moltres devastated the mountain range.A low growl broke me out of my thoughts. At my side, Titan eyed the mountain. No, that wasn't right. He was eyeing the birds that had been flying towards it. The flock of Fearow had all veered well around the mountain instead of passing over it. Something that I wouldn't have thought much of before, perhaps passing it off as a quirk of their hunting instincts.Now it stood out that they were all avoiding getting within a certain distance of the mountain despite the size of their flock.I snapped a video of that as well and forwarded what I'd collected to Oak and Elm. Elm responded straight away, my transceiver buzzing to life."Brock! These images! Wherever did you find them!? They are extremely fascinating, and in conjunction with the images of Mt Silver itself being so like the drawing, there is a direct linkage to ancient tribal societies! Fascinating! Utterly fascinating! I wonder if I could bother to ask you—"Before he could say anything else both of our transceivers pinged with another incoming call. The call was listed as Samuel Oak."Oh! Shall we include him on the call?" Elm said merrily. I toggled accept and merge on my transceiver, and a second later, Oak's stern face loomed on the projected screen."Brock, I want to be extremely clear with you. Do not approach that mountain! Do not agitate the pokemon that claims that peak as its territory. In fact, I want you on your Noctowl and getting out of there now!"Elm squawked in surprise. "Oak! Surely you're being overly—""Get! OUT!" snapped Oak and despite not being before him, I could feel the command ring true through the line. I felt myself stiffen and my head nodding before I was consciously aware of what I was doing."Alright, I'll leave for now. I wasn't going up there. I just came across the cave art and noticed the way it linked to Mt Silver proper and that the Fearow flock I'd seen earlier were really going out of their way to avoid it.""I apologise," Oak said reasonably. "I am overreacting, I know, but I cannot overstate the danger that facing a Moltres would bring. Their species are known as Legendary pokemon for a reason. Where they go, they change entire weather patterns and are usually at the top of the food chains.""Usually?" Elm said, catching the qualifier that Oak had included while I mounted Zephyr, returned Titan, and took flight.Oak sighed. "There are certain sites that suggest that certain other pokemon are able to fight them off. The Legendary dogs, for example, or even the Mighty Ho-oh have records where they have fought off or made the Legendary birds withdraw entirely."Elm rubbed his chin. "I haven't done much reading on the 'Legendaries', as people like to label them, when I was studying. I instead focused on my area of interest. Breeding!"Elm rubbed his chin. "I might need to open a few more books on them! Oh my, but this is an interesting oversight on my part. Very well, I won't ask you to investigate this find Brock!" He nodded over the line. "Brock, Samuel, goodbye for now!" He then vanished from the call.Oak and I stared at each other. I cracked first. "Does… does he have any idea what it sounds like he spent all his time at College doing?"Samuel snorted. "No, he really doesn't. Honestly, I'd be surprised if he had any…" He trailed off and coughed sheepishly. "Not that it's any of our business! He's happy enough studying it, that's for certain!"I chuckled and nodded. "Fair enough. Think there will be any issues if I show those images to Crowley? There might be an archeologist that would be interested in the artworks."Oak pursed his lips. He turned his attention to something to the side. "Stress to them that they are not to go to Mt Silver." I heard a computer keyboard clacking away as he focused on what was being shown on another screen. "The mountain itself is practically unreachable with how far flying pokemon balk away from it. Climbing it is another issue, with it being too steep to do on foot. Rideable pokemon also seem to balk from going there." His eyes flicked back and forth and he nodded. "It would take a true idiot to disturb a pokemon like that."I sighed. "Well, you said it."Oak blinked at me for a moment before he groaned, slumping into his chair. "Ah, yes I see what you mean… Hmmm well, we will just continue to restrict who can go there.""And that will stop people?" I said aloud as I passed over the Indigo Plateau,. I gave it another half an hour and I'd be home."... it will give us more of a shot at stopping them," Oak said tiredly."Hmmm alright then. Well, I'll be talking to Crowley later, so I will see who he suggests."Oak rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Archeology is a rather dying profession. I—" I snorted at his joke before realising he hadn't intended it."Sorry! Go ahead."He played what he'd said back over in his mind before laughing. "Heh, good catch. Well, I suspect he will talk to a young lady I have only read about in some scientific journals. See if Eve rings a bell for Crowley, won't you?" I felt a memory stir at that name but couldn't put a finger on why precisely."Will do Professor Oak." I nodded as he signed off. Now the question became, how did I know an archeologist by the name of Eve? I shrugged, that would be future Brock's problem. I doubted it would be a big problem. For now, I had to get home and deliver presents from my trip away to my family.When I came in for a landing, I did so to find most of my family merrily out and digging a small trench in the garden. The Lileep were very happily bouncing around in anticipation as Yolanda worked with Terra to cart away wheelbarrows full of the earth while my younger siblings had smaller trowels to create their own dirt piles.With one look, I knew it was the sort of chaos that can only result from unleashing lots of small children into the garden with a 'goal' in mind.Suzie wasn't even digging anymore, she was just laying out the hose and getting various watering cans lined up in size and order. Munchlax was assisting, but apparently messing up her arrangement with how she kept having to chase him around.Salvadore had a tape measure out and was working with Flint to plan where the water pipes were going to go along with any paths we wanted. And then Tommy threw a clod of dirt, and Cindy and a few other siblings got drawn into a fight."Noct!" cried Zephyr, causing the impromptu dirt fight to stop just as it started. Everyone swung their eyes around and spotted me."Brock!" "Brock!" "Big Brother!" cried out the youngest. I had a moment to swing myself off Zephyr before I was swarmed by grubby hands and bodies. I chuckled, feeling like everything was right in the world. Eevee ran through my legs, and her fluffy tail tickled at the twins who'd claimed my shins as their own. Munchlax helped Suzie climb over them and onto my shoulders. Yolanda approached and waved while holding Terra up to wave in greeting.I shot Flint and Salvadore a nod. "Looks good, you're trying to set up Erika's suggestion?" I asked."Mhm!" said Salvadore happily.I hummed and rubbed a few heads, ignoring the giggles and annoyed shrieks at messing up their hair. "Might be best to make it a small water feature." I patted the little ones on the head. "Don't want any adventurers getting in trouble do we?""Indeed!" Flint nodded seriously and indicated he'd accounted for that already.I turned to the rest of my family who were clinging to me. "Have you all been good for Flint?""Yes!" they cheered."Hmmmmm, well, I might have gotten you some souvenirs, I suppose!" I announced while rubbing my chin. "But first! We need to clean up!" I said, happy to be home."Alright Crowley, what've you got for me?" I asked as I settled down into a chair.The Laboratory, as it was known, was the upgrade that we'd been able to work out for Crowley.The man would have been happy to keep working out of the back of the museum if we'd let him. Sadly for him, the curator, the League, and myself had not been happy to have him resurrecting extremely valuable pokemon there.Lawrence and Alexa had sat down with Crowley's assistant and found a state-of-the art facility that was, in fact, closer to the Gym than the museum had been. Alongside that, a security group of trainers had been hired on with a larger holding area for the various pokemon.Crowley now had a number of assistants sourced from the universities and colleges that had all been forced to undergo deep scans by the League before being allowed to even intern in the Laboratory.Despite the new facilities, the state-of-the-art computers, diagnostic imagers and more, the place was still a mess. Papers and books were scattered around, and Lileep featured in various positions around the room like misplaced house plants.Crowley buzzed about excitedly. "Brock! I was able to resurrect the other sample of the Root fossil! This is good as a different sample shows greater reliability in our machine!""So more Lileep?" I said in exasperation."More Lileep from a different source of fossil!" he corrected. He then fidgeted. "We were also able to have some other initial successes."He gestured to a table that was covered in paperwork. His assistant shoved a tower of paperwork out of the way that was covered in Crowley's scribblings to reveal three rather unassuming pokeballs.Crowley coughed into his fist. "Ahem!" He gestured again to the pokeballs as the assistant gave the blandest jazz hands I have ever witnessed while staring straight ahead, her expression dead to the world. She looked like the sort of person who only functioned thanks to copious amounts of coffee and inertia dragging her onward."Introducing the latest successes of Crowley Laboratory!" The first pokeball was popped, and from within, a pokemon with a round head and small beak was revealed."Cranidos!" it trilled before charging at the assistant, only to fall off the table and thunk into the ground. I stood to see if it was alright. The Cranidos warbled a little with watery eyes only for the assistant to mechanically pick it up. It headbutted her as fiercely as it could manage while she was comforting it. It looked like a small angry child that couldn't decide if it wanted a hug or to rage at the world.So in typically childish fashion, it settled on both."—a rock-type pokemon with a very hard head! I have witnessed it charging a number of times! My shins can attest to its current strength!" Crowley announced. I blinked, realising I'd tuned out to watch the assistant deal with the angry little pokemon."I see," I said with a nod. Crowley barely registered what I said before turning to the next pokeball."Anorith!" shouted the next pokemon as it emerged and leapt straight at the assistant's face, who was now wearing a face shield. The Anorith slapped on the face shield and hugged it. A sigh of relief escaped the assistant."A bug-rock type pokemon from ancient times, it has interesting claws and small legs that allow it to grip onto surfaces or to propel itself through water! It was quick to enter the small pond we have in the pokemon habitat and has a rather graceful swimming style.""I see," I repeated.The final pokeball was released, and this time I watched the assistant to see if they had any more special countermeasures prepared. When they did nothing but prod the Anorith trying to hug their face, I turned to the last pokemon and was surprised to find a blue turtle sleepily blinking at me.Crowley handed me some berries. "This pokemon is the most sedentary of the group but is a deceptively fast swimmer! It has a number of powerful water attacks and its shell is impressively strong. Comparable to a Shellder about to evolve into Cloyster strength, in fact!""That's… actually quite impressive," I said as I considered the sort of strength that Cloyster shells had to undergo. Cloyster were said to go into extremely deep trenches of water and were also known to get caught in Sharpedo jaws without breaking."Tirtouga," said the blue turtle lazily. I reached out and rubbed its head, which Tirtouga happily accepted.Crowley shifted back and forth. "Sadly that is all we were able to resurrect from the Skull, Cover, and Claw fossils. The genetic material was all used up in the process. It… still isn't the most efficient but I can so far only think of a way to edge out another ten percent… it will depend on the size of the sample that we can get. Root fossils are allowing us to continue to hone this, of course.""More Lileep are always nice. I'll talk to Bianca, our breeding specialist, and see what we can manage. Do we know the genders of any of these pokemon?"Crowley tilted his head. "I'm not sure?"The assistant pointed at the angry Cranidos that had been swaddled during the last few minutes to stop it from headbutting her anymore, something it protested greatly. "Boy," she said before pointing at the Anorith that was now on the side of her head. "Girl," she said tonelessly."Good to know," I said rubbing Tirtouga on the head. It yawned sleepily as it munched on the berries Crowley had given me. "And that's still a really good result, Crowley. I have spoken with Pryce and Lorelei. They're going to send us some more genetic samples. The difference is that these will be frozen samples, so hopefully there will be more genetic material for us to use from them.""Hmmm will I need to calibrate the machine…" Crowley rubbed his chin. "I don't think it will affect the extraction process at all, and the resynthesis process for genetic material shouldn't be a problem." He marched over to the whiteboard and considered it and the equations on it. "I… don't believe I need to change anything?" he said after a long moment."That's good news!" I tapped Tirtouga on the nose before withdrawing my hand. "In other news, I wanted to know if you knew any archeologists that might be interested in a cave mural I discovered during my trip to Mahogany Town recently.""Is it Pre-war, war period, Ancient, Pokelithic, Pokecasic or another period?" Crowley replied with some interest.I blinked at him. "I have no idea?" I opened up my transceiver and projected the images I'd captured. Crowley inspected it thoughtfully with his assistant also leaning in."Hmmmm Jennifer, can you contact Professor Eve for me?""Doctor Eve, actually, Professor," said Jennifer, the assistant. "She recently was able to defend her PhD and she has been accepted by Celadon University.""Really?" Crowley said with interest. "She has done well for herself. What was the PhD about?""Pokemopolis, the ancient civilisation that had to defend itself against raiding tribes. These images actually link up rather well with her contributions to the Pewter Museum currently on display."I hummed. "Huh, fancy that, I thought they were similar."Jennifer opened her transceiver and dialled a number. "Hello Eve it's Jennifer from Crowley's laboratory in Pewter. Hello, and congratulations on your doctorate. I hope you got the flowers we sent."Crowley tilted his head. "We sent flowers?" he muttered to himself.I couldn't hear Eve's response, but Jennifer nodded her head. "Yes well, Gym Leader Brock found something you might be interested in. If you'd like we can forward it to…" From there, the rest of the information was passed back and forth, and I was given an email address to forward the pictures to.I did so, and from there, I collected the new additions to my Gym for Bianca to look over. I was told to be sure to warn her about the Cranidos and Anorith's behaviour. When I returned I said as much but she didn't even bat an eye as she donned a face shield from her satchel and readied a blanket to wrangle the newest pokemon.When I made it back home, I found my family getting ready for dinner, with the boys on one side and the girls on the other. I paused in the doorway. That was never a good sign.Yolanda swivelled her head around toward me. "Brock! Tell them that Karen has a chance against Steven! She's done amazingly against the other Johto Gym Leaders with her Ace challenges! She can win!"I scratched my cheek. "Was that tonight? I'd lost track of things." Whoops… I'd been planning on having an early night of it."Broooooock!" whined Cindy. "Can she win?"I shrugged, "Anything's possible she—""Ha!" shouted Tommy, "That means she doesn't have a chance!"I frowned. "Well first of all—""That's not what he meant at all!" snapped Cindy, getting in her twin's face. I sighed and put a hand on both of their faces to separate them."Alright, you two cool it." I raised two fingers. "Let me finish. Karen can win. She's a strong trainer with some really powerful strategies and the knowledge of how and when to use them. I doubt I've even seen all of them, and I've seen lots of breakdowns of her matches." I lowered one finger and waggled the other."On the other hand, Steven Stone is strong. There is no doubt about that. He has yet to face a challenger who can really force his hand." I knew this for a fact, as it wasn't widespread that he could mega-evolve his pokemon. Interesting that he was trading stones around but he had yet to use one publicly himself… I started to consider the reasons why that might be, before one of my little brothers coughed.I stiffened and coughed. "Right! So, in summary, the odds are stacked against Karen but that doesn't mean she can't take the W if she makes opportunities for herself. When's the match?"Flint coughed and inserted himself into the conversation. "After dinner and homework for an hour!" he said, in a tone that brooked no excuses.Billy and Tilly tilted their heads and checked how Cindy and Tommy both slumped before copying them. I tapped the younger two on the shoulder. "You don't have homework." That made them perk up."Yeah! We don't even have homework!" said Timmy and Suzie together as they remembered they too weren't given anything from kindergarten.Cindy turned to Yolanda, who merely shook her head. "I finished it earlier today." She grabbed Terra's hands and waggled them about, causing Terra to giggle. "Then I could enjoy my time with Terra. She did a drawing while I finished!" she indicated a drawing on the wall where my siblings put all their art on display. A very passionate set of scribbles adorned a torn up page."That was very mature and well-reasoned of you, Yolanda," complimented Flint. I nodded along happily before turning to the last member of the household with homework. Salvadore coughed and gave a helpless look."I might have some to still do…" He rubbed the back of his head. "I got distracted working with Dad this afternoon!"Flint chuckled. "And that's alright as well!"I laughed and patted Salvadore on the head. "Don't worry, little bro, I will have some emails to work on as well, so I'll be next to you if you have any questions."We set ourselves up at the dining table and got to work. Before the hour was up, we were all done which let us spend some time preparing snacks. Munchlax had wanted all of the snacks made up but accepted being argued down to merely a kilogram of vegetables and the megabag of popcorn while we watched some Furret Samurai.Then it was time to switch channels; we were right on time to miss all the pre-match talks before getting to the good stuff."And from this corner! We have Karen of Lavender Town, the Ace so hot she's blazing a path up the rankings and is sure to be laying down a challenge this year!" shouted the announcer as Karen marched out onto the League battlefield. She grinned hugely as the announcer continued to heap praise on her. "She's just gotten in a little early on a Champion challenge! I hope all you Elite Four out there are paying attention, cause she's coming your way soon!""Go Karen!" cheered the girls.Karen flicked her hair and cocked her hip before winking at the camera. In the stadium, a number of people shouted and whistled in approval. I chuckled, knowing she'd be feeding off this sort of behaviour."And now! From the shores of Hoenn! Having accepted this challenge, we have the Champion of the Hoenn League! Give a warm, Indigo welcome, to Steven Stone!"Boos, cheers, and flashes of light heralded the arrival of Steven. He marched out with a well-fit suit and his hair perfectly styled. When he walked past the cameras, he gave an affable nod before taking his place atop his own podium."For today's Exhibition match acting as the referee will be Charles Goodshow! Give it up for our referee!" The camera zoomed to the middle of the field where a bushy-bearded gentleman was revealed. He waved happily before adopting a stern expression."As this is an Exhibition match no withdrawals will be allowed and only six pokemon will be utilised for today's match! I want a clean, fun match for everyone to enjoy! Let's show the world what we've got!" he said as he thrust a fist into the air.The crowd roared their approval as Steven chuckled and nodded while Karen smirked. Charles waggled a playful finger in her direction only to roll his shoulders and raise two flags, one on either side."Trainers! Are you ready!?" he said."Yes!" "Let's do this!" Steven and Karen said."Release your pokemon and begin!" he said dropping the flags."Go Gengar!" "Go Claydol!"Both pokemon formed up, and I leaned forward in surprise."She's going with Gengar first? That's a good match-up for her," I said interested. I could see Steven grimace and around me, all the girls pumped their fists."Claydol! Use Psychic!" barked Steven."SB~" said Karen slyly. Her Gengar formed and fired a ball of dark energy that howled as it accelerated across the field to slam into Claydol as it tried to use Psyhic to put up barriers of earth against the attack. The Shadow Ball dodged and dipped however, more like a vengeful spirit itself than an attack that had been thrown. It slammed home into Claydol and the heavy pokemon staggered before righting itself."Oh! That's gonna sting!" Karen sing-songed."Claydol, Sandstorm," Steven said in response."Icy Wind," Karen replied. Her pokemon swept its arms, and a gale of white wind surged forth against the rising sands to buffet and block the Sandstorm from forming. Claydol once more took some damage, and Steven clicked his tongue."Claydol Trick Room," he said, forcing things to flip as a box of psychic energy formed up before encompassing the field."What's that move do?" Salvadore asked."Makes it so that slower pokemon move faster and faster pokemon move slower. It's a weird reversal that allows slower pokemon more room to work. Gengar's one of the faster pokemon around which makes this a good move to use on it ," I said quickly."SB again!" Another Shadow Ball was formed and fired off, only this time Claydol could lazily drift to the side and avoid it. The girls all grimaced in worry."EP!" shouted Steven. His pokemon stopped levitating and dropped into the ground causing the field to shake. At first it seemed Gengar would be fine with how it was levitating off the ground, only for spikes to shoot up out of the ground and smash into it."What was that!" shouted Cindy. "That wasn't an Earthquake!""Earth Power," I said after considering it for a moment. The girls groaned only to sigh in relief when Gengar returned to floating slowly with its eyes glowing fiercely."Go scary pokemon!" shouted Suzie."SP," growled Karen causing her pokemon to blur forward and seemingly evade the psychic effects of the Tick Room."Stop it with EP again!" shouted Steven. The earth once more surged up and slammed into Gengar, but this time Gengar propelled itself forward and used the hit's momentum to throw itself into the punch to make sure it slammed a dark empowered fist into it only to fall short. Gengar crashed into the ground below the Claydol and lay still.The girls slumped as one. Karen looked stunned."Noooo!" whined Cindy, unhappy that one of Karen's pokemon appeared to be down for the count.Charles squinted at the Gengar. A flag twitched upwards, only for Karen drop her stunned look and to smirk."SB~!" she said, and from close range, a Shadow Ball was formed and fired off. It was slower once more due to Trick Room but Gengar was now more than close enough to make sure the hit landed.This time Claydol fell to the ground and stayed down.The girls shot to their feet. "That's the way! Yes yes yes!" they cheered.Charles huffed and raised a flag towards Steven. "Claydol is unable to fight Gengar wins the first match!"Steven withdrew his pokemon and selected another. "Go Skarmory!"He flicked out the pokeball and his pokemon appeared in a bright flash, only for me to notice Karen hadn't called her pokemon back to her side of the field and instead elected to keep Gengar over on Steven's side.Karen's grin practically split her face as she winked. "DB!"An ethereal cord shot out of Gengar and connected with Skarmory. Steven Stone frowned at Karen before sighing. "If that's how you want to play it. Dont think I'll play your games. Spikes Skarmory, let's make the most of your sacrifice."From his pokemon earthen spikes emerged, and Karen pointed at the Skarmory and released more Shadow Balls that slammed into the Steel-Flying type. Steven chose to ignore them and prepare the field. There was some audible confusion from the crowd, as they didn't understand why he was doing it.More than a few little faces turned to me to explain what was going on.I merely gestured at the screen. "Watch, it's about to play out."Another Shadow Ball connected, and the already weakened Skarmory fainted only for Gengar to also fall. Steven returned his pokemon and shook his head at Karen, who merely grinned viciously."What? It's a valid strategy in this situation. That's me one to your two, by the way!"Steven shot a look at Charles Goodshow, who merely nodded. "It is legal, if rather frowned upon. Karen is well within her rights to use those moves."Suzie nudged me. "What is going on?""Karen used Destiny Bond to link the two pokemon together. Steven realised this. The normal way to escape this is to return your pokemon but with an exhibition match, he can't do that. Skarmory must not have had a method of getting out of there either or avoiding it. So instead of merely knocking out both pokemon as quickly as he could, he spiked the field. He made the most of a bad situation," I said approvingly."He's still two pokemon down!" cheered Cindy.Flint leaned over towards me. "I'm not sure I like having Karen as a role model for the girls."I sighed. "Oh… I think you're going to have to get used to seeing Karen around," I said knowingly. If she made Elite Four, she'd be the heroine to many a young girl.I sat back and prepared myself to watch the rest of the match.