"Alright team, let's focus" I said, drawing people's attention to me with a clap of my hands.A.J. had been glaring at Yolanda, Greta, and Crystal. The girls of late had been thick as thieves with their training and jobs. I wasn't surprised they'd ganged up on A.J. to break his streak, but it seemed A.J. was still coming to terms with this being possible.Rachel was here with Alexa and the other gym employees. Dennis and Rocko were also present with a number of the other casually employed gym trainers.Jackson was very much the odd man out with how he'd taken his time off so as to head back to the Orange Islands. I'd granted him another day's leave if he ferried back my Crystal Onix. With a week and change off in the Orange Islands, I had little doubt that he was living it up right now."So, Arthur?" I said to start things off. "He's the current seventh-ranked trainer in the Ace circuit and he made it to the semifinals against the eventual winner in Bruce," I said.I brought up his image and also that of the current rankings list on the display.
BruceCarrKaedeJoshuaCoreyMireaArthurKarenBrockNeeshaFergusMasked Owl/WalkerScarlet
I flicked my eyes over the list, finding several names that I recognised, along with some that were considered regulars for the top ten. "As you can see, I'm now ranked ninth in the rankings thanks to the result of the Celadon tournament. Interestingly, it seems Scarlet made a good jump up the rankings as well thanks to her placing second, while Walker has slipped out of the top ten," I commented."Good, he was overhyped," said A.J. firmlyMissy shook her head. "He's still a skilled trainer and he has held out a long time in the top ten, but fourth has been the highest he's ever reached, without ever getting a win against anyone in the top three.""Hnnn," said A.J. as he crossed his arms.I waved a hand and decided to move the conversation along. "I'd have to say that Walker was well-ranked previously as he has a lot of skills, but we're talking about Arthur today!" I clicked a slide."For pokemon that he has used at the Ace level, the following have appeared: Hypno, Ninetails, Aggron, Slaking, Absol, Gyarados, Electrode, Ursaring, Snorlax, Weaville, Mismagius, Slowbro, Marowak, Steelix, Chansey, Tropius, Mightyena, Fearow, Pidgeot, Swellow, Dodrio, Arcanine, with a Machamp who happens to be his starter," I said rattling off the team list.Everyone stared at the list. "That's…" Yolanda started only to stop and lick her lips. "A really strong pokemon list," she said.I nodded and glanced around to find that several people looked worried. I had to give it to them. Arthur was a very strong pokemon trainer. Historically, it seemed he'd been hovering in the top twenty for the last two years, but this year he had exploded, with a lot more pokemon joining his Ace team. He had dropped any need for a 'regular' roster of pokemon, instead opting for a lot more variability.This usually led to him having the upper hand against many trainers. He was however slightly older than most on the Ace circuit, barring Walker.Crystal opened her mouth before shutting it, while Greta began toying with something on the display. "What would be an ideal team for him to bring against Brock?" she suggested.I nodded in approval, liking this rational line of thinking. People started throwing out suggestions and we debated them or included them.We quickly had a roster featuring Machamp, Slaking, Slowbro, Tropius, Mismagius, and Gyarados.I stared at the list and shook my head. "I don't think he will be bringing out Gyarados against me. He knows that I have too good a counter against it. Also, the flying type adds a weakness that's too easily exploited."Missy raised a hand. "You've also demonstrated a lot of skill against water-type pokemon with any of your rock or water-type pokemon.""Point," I said. Not that it should come as a surprise, I had made a point of covering that weakness in my pokemon as much as I could."I think Chansey is a likely enough pokemon as well myself, they are mean battlers when they get the chance and can be terrifyingly hard to counter if they get set up. They have several moves that keep themselves topped up while dishing out a lot of damage," I said.I searched the rest of the list. Tropius was another that I scratched off, as I'd again demonstrated that I could deal with such a pokemon from a specialised trainer. It would be rather bold of him to use that pokemon against me, despite the grass-type moves."We've got some time to go through everyone's notes on the recent matches," I said as I loaded up my notes from what observations I had from watching his matches over the last week during my downtime.Instead of my notes loading however, a picture of Suzie, Munchlax and I playing a game of Dragonslayer was put on display. Yolanda giggled and I frowned. "Sorry. that wasn't the file I wanted," I said as I selected another, only to show me baking cookies with Cindy while Munchlax, Gible, Nanny Grav and Sanchez tried to sneak cookies from a tray that was cooling.Again the girls started giggling. with a few more of the gym trainers joining in. I rolled my eyes and selected the last file, fully expecting it and therefore unsurprised when I found an image with me reading to Gible, Teddiursa, Anorith, and Zubat while Empress, Cindy, and Tommy watched on. Next to me, a large stack of books was on display."Awwww, you read to them?" said Missy. "I didn't know you did that!"I coughed. "That's something I do occasionally for the young pokemon. They rather like the stories and it's a good bonding activity," I said.I let people gush over the images before turning my focus on Yolanda. "Alright, where's the actual file?" I said.She stood and clicked through some folders to bring up where she'd hidden my actual notes. I huffed at her and ruffled her hair. "You're starting to get a bit uppity, young miss," I said faux-sternly.She grinned and skipped back to her friends while I rolled my eyes. "Alright, so I know about some of the tricks his Machamp knows, but there is also his Ursaring and Snorlax, so I think those two along with his starter are more than likely to make an appearance," I said, detailing my thoughts before asking for others' contributions.We debated back and forth for a while, before I sat down and compared my list of pokemon. It seemed almost inadequate after the number and different types of pokemon he had."I think I'm going with Titan, Shrek, Sanchez, Link, Selene and…." I trailed off on the last pokemon, unsure if I should go for Bertha or someone else."You're not going to take Jormungandr?" asked Dennis in surprise.I hummed, tossing the idea back and forth. Would Jorm offer me more than Bertha? Or should I go for a fighting-type pokemon here?Sanchez was the only other that I could potentially drop, but he offered more defensive options for different situations.Shrek was also something of a clutch fighter for me with how he could hold his own.Titan was my strongest pokemon. He was able to dish out and endure more than any other pokemon while offering up a lot of different options for tactics.Link… Perhaps Link needed to be dropped from the line up?I switched around his name and instead inserted Bertha for some power with her versatile fighting style.Then I went with Hypnotoad.Arthur had a lot of pokemon that were normal type and would be problems to deal with if I didn't have the right pokemon to counter them. Not unless I just wanted to power through.Which… was still an option with Bertha and Titan on the team. I nodded my head at the new lineup.Titan, Shrek, Bertha, Hypnotoad, Selene, and Sanchez."Hey Brock, what's this about him being a 'corporate trainer?'" asked Crystal, standing and tapping on one section of Arthur's trainer profile.Missy spoke up. "Ah, that means he has a locked-in contract to be sponsored and awarded pay from a set company. He is sponsored by Tough Steelworks, which is why most of his matches occur at Commerce City, as that's their homebase.""A construction company?" asked Crystal with surprise."They have a lot more money to throw around at the higher levels of companies. They're the ones that make stadiums, skyscrapers and other megabuildings. They've been very vocal about the Silph Co. Tower incident, as it was revealed to be one of their competitors who signed off on the additional top three floors that weren't up to code."Yolanda glanced at me. "Did they do our gym?""No," I said. "I went with a local firm. Steelix Industries to construct the building, after having another group design it to my specifications," I said.A.J. frowned. "So… that means he's like Steven Stone right? With having a big company backing him up? That's why he can roster so many pokemon, isn't it? He is paying other people to look after his pokemon rather than train them himself."I waved my hand back and forth in a so-so gesture. "I don't think he does it to the same extent that Steven Stone does, but then again, if we start doing deeper dives into other trainers you will probably find a good number in the top fifty that employ Steven's methods. Having a larger pokemon roster at a high level helps, but keeping so many pokemon strong is a tough task. I'm able to make use of my gym facilities, whereas others would need to fork out a lot for rental of spaces like these.""Hmpf, I still don't like it," grouched A.J.I shrugged. "It's something that you can hate, but make sure you don't dismiss it, it has been shown to be a method that works."Missy shifted. "Should more people try it?" she said tentatively.I hummed. "I think that Arthur, or indeed even Steven would only be able to Mega-evolve a small number of those pokemon. So there are drawbacks to it," I pointed out.Damn, I couldn't wait for tomorrow afternoon. If I got lucky I might have Aerodactylite, which… Well, I had no doubt that of all my pokemon, Don would be one of the toughest to bond with. His temperament was typically just so much more abrasive and aggressive than my personality.I'd probably spend at least as long with him as I did with Jorm should I find something. Still, it would be nice to have the option to Mega-evolve him.I talked through a few more tactics I'd look to employ before bidding most of the staff farewell. Some would stick around to feed the pokemon and set up the big screen for the rest of my pokemon to watch the match, but then they'd have the night off.I turned to my usual entourage with Rachel, Missy, and Alexa only for A.J., Yolanda, Greta, and Crystal to all stand up. Crystal fidgetted. "Any chance we can hitch a ride on your transport?" she asked hopefully.I typed out a quick message to Sabrina and shot the girls a smile. "I think Sabrina can handle a few late additions," I said.Sure enough, it was no issue for Sabrina to Teleport them and while she couldn't stick around, she gave me a kiss for luck before departing. I turned and found myself in front of a stadium that was equal to that of my own or Surge's… that is, Visquez's Gym.It was obviously more commercialised, with more room being made for seating as opposed to training pokemon or having administration or residential facilities. With this being Commerce City, that made a lot of sense."Stay close team," I called, while waving them towards a side entrance where a security detail checked us over before letting us in. I walked along the tunnel with a number of doors branching off to the side, before finding a room that was basically a large lounge, set up for myself and Arthur.As well as a number of other rather familiar faces that turned with my appearance. Names and faces of trainers that I'd made explicit note of all looked me up and down.On one side of the large lounge, Corey, Neesha, Fergus, and Mirea had claimed a number of couches, with a few of their pokemon and some of their human entourages lingering around them.On the other side of the room leaning against a wall and smirking was a young-looking boy with greyish hair.I knew him as Carr, the current second-ranked Ace trainer.My eyes paused as they locked with that of Arthur, a blond classically handsome young man who lounged upon his chair like a throne. Next to him was Bruce, the current number one on the Ace rankings.Both of them nodded their heads, with Arthur even going as far as to tip the drink in his hand towards me in acknowledgement. I nodded back before giving some thought to where my… much larger entourage would sit."You know," said a voice from off to the side. "It is considered poor form to bring so many assistants with you."I frowned, recognising the voice. I turned, only to find a woman with a veil hanging over her face looking in my direction, or rather, that of my entourage. The veil and the Furret resting atop the woman's shoulder announced who this was."Kaede," I said, nodding in her direction. "You were sorely missed at the Contest. How'd the movie shoot go?" I asked politely.Kaede sighed. "The director was exacting, but my Champion was rather pleased as they are peas in a pod. They're both perfectionists, you see?" she said lazily. The Furret on her shoulder nodded at this."I imagine that Furret would have to be, with you having reached third on the rankings," I said with a nod of respect. When I got the chance to fight her, I knew I'd have to have a lot of different options with her extremely diverse and tricky team."Hmmm, it will do for now," she said, her gaze turning towards Arthur and Bruce. "Look at them, lounging there like little kings. It's rather disgusting, wouldn't you say?"I turned my head to give the pair another look. To me, they just looked like two people who were friendly with each other and who shared professions, which made them close."I'm not sure I see what you mean," I said, before glancing between her and them. "Is it rude to ask if there is a history there?""It is, but you are not wrong that there is history between us," she said. "And that is all I will say on the matter. My feelings would not dissuade you. I shall depart for now, good luck with your match," she said as she moved off.I nodded, eying her with some thought. Alright, there was definitely some bad blood there between her and Bruce Blackthorn. I'd need to look into her details through the Guardians' file to see what they knew about her if I wanted more intel.I chewed my lip, it might even be worth doing it for the competitors. I'd done it by accident for Walker and that had certainly helped as I knew precisely what to expect from him, but some of these others? Well, their information was a bit more controlled on the pokenet.Was it too much of an advantage to look into their histories and the unrestricted list of their pokemon before facing them?Was such a thing possible?I'd need to think about it some more.Arthur and Bruce, who'd been watching me talk with Kaede, waved a hand towards me, beckoning me closer. I raised an eyebrow and waved for my entourage to claim some of the few remaining seats. "Hello there, this is rather different," I said, indicating the shared space for trainers."Ah, some places prefer it to having singular trainer rooms. It helps to keep everyone honest, especially when you have so many matches a day," said Bruce with an amused tilt of his head. His blue hair drifted across his eyes before he glanced back at me."I suppose no one mentioned limiting your group to three people? It looks like you're running a school with the kids you've brought along," he said with a chuckle."They're part of my gym and looking to learn how this all works. They might be sitting here one day soon, after all.""Hmmm, is that so? Be a while for some of them," he said dismissively.I raised an eyebrow. "They might surprise you," I said thinking of how hard they were all training and growing. Missy at least would be on the Ace scene by next year. Getting familiar with this sort of thing was very good practice for her.I glanced over to Arthur only to catch his eyes flicking about my pokebelt. "Can I help you?" I said tersely. And just like that, the call to talk suddenly took on a sinister turn.Arthur glanced up shamelessly. "You don't hide your pokebelt? You should fix that," he said with a smile, as though he hadn't just done something morally wrong.I flicked my own eyes down, only to find his pokebelt had dark receptacles around his pokeballs, hiding the type and any identifying markers on them from view. "Hmmm, thanks for the tip," I said sarcastically as I stood. "If that's all, I think I will be off," I said, marching off."Brock, don't hate the player! It's just part of the game!" Arthur called after me.I didn't look back at him. I was fuming. Of all the low-down tricks… I gave the room a quick sweep and frowned at what I found.Everyone in the room who was a trainer was wearing the hidden pokebelt. It seemed everyone was aware of this little 'trick'. I chewed my lip. "They have privacy protectors over their pokebelts," I said with a scowl.The kids all stiffened, their gazes flickering around. Missy blinked in surprise but nodded slowly. "That makes sense, it is something they could use to get an early potential read on an opponent and what pokemon he might be bringing to the field."I nodded along, watching as Arthur glanced at his transceiver. From this angle, I could see a list detailing pokeballs and pokemon that they corresponded to.Damn, another aspect of being an Ace trainer I hadn't considered, but which seemed obvious in retrospect. At this level, people would have more than good enough eyes to spot details like this. You either had to have the same pokeball or hide them in some way.I considered my team, running my hand over my pokebelt before pausing as I realised something. I didn't have a normal six pokemon carry limit.I had ten due to being a Gym Leader. Most of my pokeballs were just that as well, pokeballs.I had a number of my pokeballs hidden out of sight, as it wouldn't do to rub people's faces with the fact that certain people had the right to carry more pokeballs than others.I felt a small realisation come over me. Arthur might have just given himself a disadvantage, instead of getting one over me.I glanced down and noted which pokeballs were visible. Hmmmm, I could work with this. I glanced up and found Bruce talking with Arthur and gesturing in my direction. Hmmm, then again, perhaps I wouldn't be able to trip him up.'Cause if anyone could recall that Gym Leaders had higher carrying capacity, it would be Bruce, Lance's cousin.I shot him a baleful look that he ignored with far too much ease. Must have been his practice with dragon-type pokemon.Arthur nodded and muttered something that sounded like a thanks as he stopped flipping through his transceiver and instead wandered over to a transfer terminal where he started tapping away.Another feature of the room that I'd overlooked upon entry, as I was too caught up in the people within. With the transfer terminal, the possibility of changing out your team went from a minor annoyance to an extremely viable tactic.I glanced around and sighed. This shared waiting area was common enough to have sparked its own meta, it would seem. Other places wouldn't have allowed such last-minute changes. How many places operated like Commerce City?"I imagine it's a bit of a shake-up for rookie Ace trainers that make it to this stage or fight here to learn they're being sniped like that. If they don't work it out, they might even end up losing a lot more matches than they should," I said to Missy.Missy nodded, drawing out her journal to write down her observations and thoughts about this. I hummed and glanced at the others who were likewise burning this lesson into their minds. If nothing else, today had been worth bringing them along so they would know.I'd need to make a point of teaching this at my camp and to my sponsored trainers in the future though, as there had to be chances for this at the lower level in the circuit as well.I watched Arthur walk back to his lounge with a mild glare. He tried shooting me a smirk as though he knew something I didn't, but I just mirrored it right back, causing him to look away.So, he was trying for some mind games as well, eh? Damn, but it was tempting to go over to the transfer system and bring out Empress, Jorm, Don, and Tide, to spam out my most powerful pokemon at him."Brock and Arthur?" called a pair of attendants.We both stood, with our entourages being led off to their respective seating. I gave Arthur a look over and for the first time since I'd walked in he met my gaze properly.There was no hint of shame or reluctance, merely an unwavering spirit that met my gaze head-on. To him, he'd done everything he could to win, and that was commendable.We walked down the tunnel until we reached the end, where a branch led us away from each other, forcing us to look away from the other. I walked in silence, toying with the pokemon I had planned to use along with the moves they had.The attendant led me to a door where they turned and raised a small computer. "Alright sir, if I could get your team locked in please?"I rattled off my team, locking them in. The attendant nodded before frowning. "You're not bringing… I mean." He coughed. "I apologise, I overstepped my place," he said, formally bowing his head."Not allowed to talk about the decisions?" I asked.The man nodded. "Yes, I was hoping to watch a close encounter of your Steelix's Mega-evolution tonight." He shifted nervously. "I think I can settle for the rest of your team however," he said firmly.I chuckled at his admission. Overhead a small buzzer sounded out and the man coughed again. "That is your signal to walk through. You will be in an elevator shaft that will raise you up a level to the podium, where you will step off before it lowers back down. Good luck sir," he said, giving a more practised bow to me.I nodded my head and walked in. When the door shut behind me, the elevator began to rise and I soon appeared on a standard battlefield with a podium placed before me."—oooooock of Pewter City!" called an announcer.I smiled and waved, my eyes still adjusting to the glare of the sudden bright lights after being in the elevator shaft. I walked forward onto my podium and looked for Arthur."And now! The hometown defender and the representative of Tough Steelworks, the home for the sturdiest constructs around! Give it up for Arthur of Commerce City!"I made a face at the included advertising that had been worked into Arthur's introduction. Were all of the trainer matches held here like that? Damn, now I had to rethink why trainers hadn't wanted to come to face me.Commerce City trainers might not have been pressured to ignore me so much as just outright not want to.They'd have missed out on a major chance to shill their sponsors."Trainers, I remind you that this match is to operate under the standard Indigo rules for Ace Matches! Good conduct and competition are key components—" the referee came in with the usual spiel and I felt myself and most of the crowd switch off.I instead monitored Arthur, noting how he had a necklace on display with what must have been the ball for his starter pokemon Machamp, Crowner. In his hand, another pokeball was being toyed with, and when he noticed me looking he smiled in what I'm assuming others would call a charming manner.I saw through my peripherals the referee raise the flags. "Trainers, are you ready?" he called.Both of us nodded, drawing back our arms. "Release!"I sent forth Sanchez, hoping to play the odds.My research concluded that he liked to start off with a statement pokemon like Snorlax or Slaking, or one of his flying type pokemon when he could. I very much doubted he was going to try that against me. So Sanchez was a good opener for me."Rule them! Crowner!" called Arthur, and at his side of the field his Machamp took to the stage, sinking any chances I had of a good start to this match. Worse yet, Machamp appeared right in the middle of the field.Arthur met my gaze and grinned viciously like he'd just trapped me. Damn, he might have done just that. He'd done his research, knowing that his starter was his best option out of the gates.I felt a wave of premonition wash over me as I understood precisely what was about to happen."Begin!" "Mach Punch!" bellowed Arthur at the exact moment that the referee called for a start.His Machamp surged across the field, leaving me only one chance for saving this. "Protect!" I barked, and Sanchez curled up as a shield formed around himself, defending him from a quick one-two knock out, or at least some heavy damage in the opening exchange."Bulk Up in close!" Machamp flexed and shifted into a powerlifter pose while the hands at the top of Machamp clenched into fists just waiting to pulverise my pokemon."Dip," I said, causing the Protect to vanish and Sanchez to bury himself into the ground."Earthquake!" barked Arthur as he kept up the pressure. His pokemon raised a single foot before firing it into the ground and causing a tremor to rock the field. Sanchez got out in just time and I sighed in relief knowing I'd made the right call to go for a simple Dip rather than a proper Dig.I could try to call Sanchez back, but I knew it wasn't going to work out well for me as Arthur was already mid-order. "Mach Punch!" he yelled.Once again Machamp threw itself into an outright sprint, hurtling at Sanchez."Catch its fists and unleash Thunder," I said, surprising everyone in the crowd as I refused to run with Sanchez.Machamp slammed into Sanchez, only for my bombastic pokemon to catch the foremost fists in his arms and roll like I'd trained him to do against a fighting type coming at him.Sadly Hypnotoad wasn't a replacement for a fighting type with four arms and the top two arced down fast, slamming into Sanchez as he rolled onto his back.I knew enough about wrestling to know that getting put on the ground was a bad position. Not a terrible position, but still not great. That is, unless you can unleash lightning from your body.With Machamp locked into close quarters, Sanchez's Thunder unleashed from close proximity and fried the powerful fighting-type pokemon."Drain Punch now!" bellowed Arthur, not waiting for the Lightning to vanish."Explosion," I replied, and through the lightning a shadow of a form rose and lashed downward, only for a light to explode outwards with an odd ellipse shape.It wasn't anywhere near as powerful as it should have been.A niggling doubt entered my mind and I was sadly proven right as the dust cleared to reveal Sanchez knocked out. Standing atop him, a slightly scorched Machamp towered, with two of its four fists extended into Sanchez's face.Damn, the punches had been strong enough to affect the Explosion. That… was very worrying.Machamp raised its fists into the air and roared in triumph as the referee raised a flag."Sanchez the Golem is unable to battle, the score is now one-nil in favour of Arthur!"Damn, this had not started the way I wanted it to. I swallowed and eyed Machamp.I needed a fast response, thankfully I had just the pokemon for the job."Go Selene!" I called as my Lunatone took to the field.Selene would be the start, and from there? I'd lock in my goal of making the midseason tournament.Arthur was merely the next obstacle for me to get through.I settled in for a hard fight.
205
The crowd were stomping their feet and cheering to make themselves known after the explosion, but I only had eyes and ears for Arthur. He looked far too composed and pleased with himself.He'd anticipated whom I was going to send out and what I'd try to do.I'd certainly taken a toll on his Machamp for taking out Sanchez, but it was a hollow comfort to have in this moment.With Selene on the field, I would have a much better chance to level the playing field."Crowner return!" called Arthur as he returned his pokemon just as Selene started to build up some psychic energy around her to finish her first foe in one hit. I grimaced, that, sadly, had been the best call he could make if he didn't have access to dark-type moves."Future Sight," I said with a small smirk. I might not get the chance to throw down a field effect like Stealth Rock, but I could still set a trap."Go Dagger!" called Arthur as he sent out his next pokemon.When the red energy formed up into a Cacturne, I felt a certainty set in for me. Cacturne hadn't been a pokemon listed prior to today on his Ace team. It was a pokemon he'd prepared just for me. Arthur had planned for Selene, and Sanchez.This entire set up was playing into his favour and with him dictating the pace of the match, I wouldn't be able to fight back.A grass-dark type was perfect against her, as she couldn't learn Miracle Eye, which I needed.I would have to withdraw her.This was a terrible matchup for her and by all rights, I had better options available to me, such as Bertha, or…That, or I would be stuck being restricted to secondary effects or… fairy-type moves.I mentally stuttered to a halt.I had to fight to keep the grin from taking over my features.Selene knew a powerful fairy type move.And if there was one thing I'd encountered repeatedly this year, it was that people did not yet have a grasp on fairy type moves or pokemon.Fairy type were, at this stage, only academically considered to be strong against dragon pokemon."Selene! MB now!" I called, my hand shifting away from my pokebelt as I realised I had the answers to this situation already and I didn't need to withdraw her.Cacturne however wasn't idle, and instead of remaining in place like most grass types, Arthur had him sprinting at us with dark energy around Cacturne."Abort! " I called before Selene could put too much energy into the Moonblast.She flickered for a heartbeat but then glowed and vanished in a wave of psychic energy to reappear on Arthur's side of the field.Safe as Cacturne stabbed his fists into the space she'd just been."Don't let up go again! Keep them on the back foot!" called Arthur, urging his pokemon to go for the throat and take out Selene. His eyes flickered up to me and I knew in that moment I had to show a flicker of doubt. I shifted uneasily before hardening my stance, selling the idea that I was incredibly nervous.Cacturne charged towards Selene and I had to give Arthur credit, that was one fast pokemon.Sadly for them, Selene's Teleport had given us what we'd been lacking moments before. I had room enough to watch them come, so I merely levelled an imperious stare at his pokemon as I called out my order."MB again," I said.Arthur was aware of the shift in my posture within a heartbeat, but instead of calling Cacturne off, he gained a flicker of suspicion. Heh, he must think I was bluffing him with my confidence.I grinned as Selene channelled up her attack. In front of her tips, a large pink orb grew in power and size before being unleashed straight at the oncoming Cacturne.Cacturne crossed his arms over his body and continued headfirst into the attack, a dark glint in his eyes, and I knew that Cacturne was expecting to punch straight through the Moonblast without any ill effects.Arthur, who'd been watching my reaction, hissed when my expression if anything grew more hungry as he committed to attacking my pokemon. "Dagger! Pro—" he began to shout an order that might have saved his pokemon.It was too late, though.They'd thought it was a psychic attack and that I had made a mistake for long enough to make Arthur step into the trap I'd laid.Cacturne screamed in pain as it slammed face-first into a powerful fairy type move.When the light show died away Cacturne was revealed on its knees with its head listlessly staring up into the air. I grinned savagely and shot Arthur a victorious look. I'd just flipped the table on him by laying a trap.This trap stemmed from understanding his plan, or at least a snippet of it. He'd planned for me to send out Selene to smash his Machamp, which he'd counter with Cacturne.On paper a perfect move. I could see his intent.If I had faltered he'd have taken Selene out with a powerful dark type move.Something about Cacturne being a dark type caused my mind to perk up and my eyes to reinspect the kneeling Cacturne. Why wasn't it falling over?"Selene! MB aga—" I started to shout and to Selene's credit she began channelling up another Moonblast, only for Cacturne to twitch and launch itself at Selene with its arms spread out wide and a silky purple ribbon of energy lashing out between them.Selene shot backwards, floating as fast as she could, and Cacturne landed, trying to take another step to pursue, only for its legs to give out. It raised its arm and pushed the ribbon leading out of it as hard as it could, reaching out to connect itself with Selene with what had to be a Destiny Bond.It was a brilliant move and one I'd seen many times before from fighting with or against Karen in our Guardian training sessions. More than once had I seen her flip a seemingly disastrous situation into a victory with a well-executed Destiny Bond, or a Curse, or Fake Tears.Which meant I knew that Selene wasn't going to escape.Not conventionally, anyway."Psybeam that bond!" I roared.Selene went from backpedalling to launching a powerful psychic attack that destabilised the ghost energy of the as-yet unconnected Destiny Bond. The Psybeam continued on and pushed Cacturne back, but didn't otherwise harm it."Tch!" said Arthur as he realised his gambit hadn't paid off.I didn't let him lull me into a false sense of security, however. "MB!" I ordered, and Selene once again unleashed a powerful attack.This time Cacturne was sent flying and it skipped in a ragdoll fashion over and over itself before falling still on my side of the field.I punched the air as the referee raised a flag. "Dagger is unable to battle! The score is now one-to-one!"Instead of licking his wounds and reconsidering his plan, Arthur surprised me by recalling his pokemon instantly, barely waiting for the announcement confirming his pokemon was down and out.Instead, he locked eyes on Selene who was firmly on his side of the field and therefore fair game for a quick release on his side, where he could get a pokemon out on top of her."Selene! Get out of there!" I called.Selene started channelling another Teleport, but Arthur wasn't going to let us escape that easily.His arm whipped around and I could see him starting to bring his wrist into the throw in a manner that twigged another part of my brain."Go Shadow! Tear into them girl!" he shouted, throwing out his pokeball.Without even seeing the pokeball land I knew where it would go."Selene stop!" I barked fearfully, my mind working in overdrive to understand that once again he'd tried to preempt me.He had seen the chance to choke up my pokemon's position with a fast release.In normal terms, there would have been no way for my pokemon to get out, but he knew that Selene was specially trained to Teleport, therefore invalidating his attempt.Unless you planned for that, made Selene go for the Teleport, and then had a pokemon ready to pounce on her at the halfway line instead. His pokeball landed and disgorged a Mismagius that glowed with dark energy, in readiness for a move coming out straight away.A Mismagius, who obviously expected a pokemon to be in front of her, twitching only to falter when nothing presented itself before her. She looked slightly to the left, then quickly right, before tilting her head up, confirming for me how Arthur thought.She'd come out ready to throw out what had to be a Sucker Punch into Selene, who would have only just Teleported back to my side.Instead, Selene was behind her and in a perfect position for my next move.Selene, a rock-psychic type against a ghost type pokemon. Yet again, another terrible match-up for me, but one that if I was careful and played it smart, I knew I could win.I'd just have to dance on a knife's edge to make sure I didn't slip into failure."Behind you girl!" Arthur warned, making his pokemon spin around to find Selene there waiting for her."Psychic," I growled out. Selene glowed and a moment later Mismagius glowed as Selene grasped her with psychic might.Mismagius cried out in pain as Selene put the squeeze on the smaller ghost pokemon."PF!" said Arthur and his pokemon vanished in a flash of ghost energy, causing Selene's energy to collapse in on nothing.The average trainer would have no idea what had just happened and might have called foul, but I knew exactly what this move was. It was Phantom Force. The average trainer would have had no idea what to do in this instance, but once again the training I did with the Guardians came in clutch for me.Phantom Force was a move much like Fly or Dig in the gaming sense, or at least that's how I thought of it. To hear Agatha speak of it, the pokemon travelled into the spirit realm. Just to get her to talk about that had been tough, though, as she'd been very cagey, leading me to believe that this move, more than any other, was what Agatha knew that allowed her to walk through walls and floors like they weren't there.Oddly enough this move seemed to negate Protect, making it a very useful move for any pokemon that could learn it. The only way I'd thus far discovered to escape it was to Dig into the ground. Something about reforming enough to get off the follow up attack meant it couldn't be used.So I'd have to use something else instead."Future Sight!" I barked, I hadn't seen Selene's previous Future sSight come into effect in a notable way, but that might have had something to do with Cacturne being dark type.It'd probably evaded the Future Sight or ignored the attack.A second later Mismagius appeared from nowhere, lunging straight through Selene and causing her to shudder in pain as the super effective move landed."Psychi—""PF again!" said Arthur, keeping his orders shortened to give himself as much advantage as possible."Rest," I said, switching out the move I'd planned, and instead going for a recovery move to keep Selene in the fight.A moment later Mismagius once again launched herself through my pokemon causing Selene to shudder, but then Future Sight activated and slammed Mismagius into the ground.I pulsed some dark energy into the bond with Selene and she shook herself awake to find Mismagius struggling to rise. "MB," I said and once again, another pink orb of energy formed up and was launched into Mismagius, finally knocking her out.I was ready to shout another order just in case, but the referee gave Mismagius a serious look before raising his flag to indicate that she was out of the fight."Score Two-one in favour of Brock!" shouted the referee and I punched the air.That's more like it!I felt the chills from dancing on a knife's edge with this duel between Mismagius and Selene evaporate, leaving only euphoria for pulling it off.A grin stretched across my face as my heart thundered. Before Arthur could try and pull another attempt to choke up on my pokemon I used one of my trade outs, returning Selene.I gave the pokeball containing her a proud grin. "You did incredible out there girl," I said to her.I put her back on my pokebelt and reached for my next pokemon, as across from me, Arthur toyed with his own options. He only had four pokemon left now, one of which had to be Machamp.I had a rough idea on what I'd face, but I also knew, rather first-hand, that he might have pokemon up his sleeve I had not accounted for on his Elite Team. The idea of facing an obviously strong trainer had my heart thundering in my ears and a twitch in my fingers as I decided on my next pokemon.I hadn't felt like this for weeks, if not months now.Not since my last truly hard battle. For all that I was ahead, I knew without a doubt in the short space of time that I'd fought him, Arthur was a great pokemon trainer. If I slipped up even once, he'd wrench back control of the match.Arthur had come in with a plan that had me scrambling, but I was doing it. I was beating him back and taking control.I didn't mind the pressure though, if anything, that merely added to the moment and made me feel more alive.I stopped my hand on my next choice with a smirk.Time to stop reacting.Time to assert myself and take control."Yes!" shouted Yolanda as Selene got off a powerful Moonblast to blow away the ghost pokemon.Next to her Crystal, Greta, and all the others in Brock's entourage, as he liked to call it, were on their feet cheering as the score was announced."Brock's on fire!" shouted Rachel.A.J. grunted, his face locked in a frown, as he stared at the stage.Next to him, Missy had an equally confused expression. "So, can anyone explain to me what was going on with Brock calling off the Teleport? Like, it seemed to be a good move, but how'd he do that? How'd he read Arthur? I know he watches a lot of matches of the trainer he faces in the lead-up, but that…" Missy waved a limp hand, as if unsure what to say."Brock read the throw," said Yolanda.She earned herself a wall of blank expressions. She raised her hand and mimed a throwing action. "Like, he read Arthur's throwing action and realised what he had planned," she said."He read the throw? Just like that?" Missy said incredulously."That's it?" said A.J. with his frown lessening.Yolanda giggled, realising she'd lost Missy and A.J. He had been thinking the same thing as Missy, having not quite understood what Brock had done. The thing was that A.J. was too proud to ask questions like that."So seriously, what did he do? Some energy trick with Future Sight? He did use that with Selene earlier", Missy doubled down."Oh, that makes more sense," said Crystal.Yolanda pinched the bridge of her nose and held in a scream of annoyance. "No! I'm telling you, he read Arthur's throwing action."Yolanda now found herself facing the same wall of disbelief. Missy licked her lips and shifted about nervously. "I'm not so sure—"Yolanda held up a hand. "Missy, you might have forgotten this, but when the Gym Circuit is closed, Brock spends a lot of his time coaching Little League Baseball. He says that it helps kids with their throwing actions all the time, which directly translates to more accurate throws with pokeballs. What he doesn't mention is that he spends a lot of time in the batting cage coaching people in pitching and throwing. He spends a lot of time on the side watching opposing teams throw at his batters and gives feedback on things to look for."Yolanda made a final decisive chopping action to put the argument to bed. "He knows when and how to judge people's throwing actions and if they're changing it at the last moment. Which is what happened with Arthur. He read his body language, or in this case, his wrist language, and realised what was going to happen.""Huh," Missy said. "Baseball?" she asked a moment later with a whimsical tone."I might have to look into it," said A.J., earning himself a huff and roll of the eyes from Yolanda. She turned her attention back to the arena. Things had started poorly for Brock, and he'd been on the back foot, but if anything, he'd risen to the occasion, only further energized by it.Yolanda gave the blown-up display of Brock a thoughtful look.He looked vibrant, in a way she hadn't seen in quite a while.Was this what he looked like when he fought against the best trainers? Alive and free?Would he have reached this level earlier if he hadn't had to look after her and their siblings?Yolanda found herself curling in on herself a little as dark thoughts started to intrude, only for two small rays of sunshine to pop out of two pokeballs, as though detecting her mood taking a downward spike."Spot! Terra! You're not—" was as far as Yolanda got before they both leapt into her hands and in doing so knocked her back into her seat. Terra hugged her while Spot licked her face, causing her to splutter and break out of her funk. "Fine! But stay in my lap! No wandering off if you want to watch," she said firmly.Both pokemon turned to see what the spectacle was. They both wiggled happily when Brock threw out his next pokemon right after Arthur sent out an Arcanine.Yolanda's breath hitched as Hypnotoad appeared on the battlefield.Oh, damn, Brock was really seeking to run away with this fight after his initial stumble, wasn't he?Yolanda leaned forward, intent on not missing anything as for the first time in the match Brock got the advantage with type match up.Arthur took one look at the match-up only to catch the returning pokeball and trigger the return feature. "Return Arcanine, that's not a good match up for you!" he called."Bulk Up," I called, getting off a buff-up for Hypnotoad, who began doing push-ups like this was a regular training session with Trixie and not a ranked Ace match.Arthur with his Arcanine tucked away reached for another pokeball which he hurled out, revealing an Electrode of all things. Damn it.The temptation was there once again, I could have my pokemon fight through. It would be tough, but possible. I'd just need to play it perfectly.Or I could play it smart."Return Hypnotoad," I said, pulling my pokemon out.Arthur grinned. "Magnet Rise!" he ordered, making his pokemon spark up and begin to levitate above the ground, giving me pause. Huh, and he could do that. I shot Arthur an annoyed look. I'd been planning to send out Bertha to demolish him, but now I felt like that was a bit poor.Arthur, more than any other trainer I had faced before, had a skill at preempting my moves. It felt like I was riding along only for him to attempt to shove a stick in my spokes every so often.I could send out Shrek here, but that had the same issue.I needed someone else.My grin turned savage, and instantly Arthur was on guard, only for him to grimace as I tugged the greatball off my necklace and sent it out. "Titan! Go!" I shouted.Titan appeared with a huge roar, and the stadium fell silent for a moment before the crowd rose, screaming and hollering as loudly as they could.I locked eyes with Arthur, his arm slightly raised, as he had a moment of indecision. Heh, this time I tripped you up."Agility!" called Arthur, showing that the lapse was only momentary."Spin it up," I said cryptically.Titan grunted, only to sweep his tail around in a long arc, causing a huge plume of dirt to be blown out, only to then arc around as dust and sand began to rise, filling the arena with a Sandstorm."Go on the hunt," I said ominously, right before I lost sight of Arthur. His eyes bulged, and I knew I'd just tripped him up again. That phrase was most certainly not one of the typical phrases I used when commanding Titan.Everyone and their nanny knew about 'Go Titan' being a signal for Giga Impact, but I did have a few others tucked up my sleeve. Not that it was a phrase with any hidden meanings.'Go on the hunt' was merely letting Titan play to his natural hunting instincts. Tyranitar after all were ambush predators.I felt Titan's anticipation through the bond he and I had built over the years as he sank into the ground, hiding with Dig and worming his way in a slow arc towards where we'd last seen Electrode floating."—" shouted Arthur, his voice being lost over the howling winds, only for a huge plume of Thunder to blossom out, arcing through the Sandstorm and flash-frying sections of the field. The Thunder arced around, questing for something large, only to not find anything.The lack of trade out for a flying type that would have easily controlled this had me smiling, Arthur didn't have any pokemon capable of clearing the field. No pokemon with Defog or pokemon that could alter the terrain.Meaning that I now had true and full control of the battlefield with my rock and ground-type pokemon."—" Arthur continued to shout something, and more and more lightning rained down, only to find nothing, as Titan wasn't there.Perhaps he was trying to glass the field? I thought after a moment when another Thunder rocked the field, that or he was building up a charge and trying to change the terrain through another method. Arthur must have realised this method wasn't working for him, as a red light flashed out and a quick glance to the side revealed that he'd used another trade-out.I signalled in the bond for Titan to wait. To remain under the ground in readiness.I shifted so I could keep both the field and the screen in sight, so that I'd know what was coming while Titan would know where it was."—" shouted Arthur, his voice still lost in the howling winds of the sandstorm. I frowned as Arcanine's picture was displayed. That was a poor choice… unless he had some tricks up his sleeve.Whatever it was, Titan and I weren't going to let him play his game as I silently sent through the bond the urge to attack. Titan registered this and anticipation warped into hunger as he surged out of the ground and sank his fangs into Arcanine before it could get off any moves.With Titan locked on the mighty fire type, it was child's play to have him whip his head back and forth, slamming Arcanine into the ground and ending the fire type's attempt at fighting before it could get started.Titan roared, and this time the sound carried over the howl of the winds. I felt an odd flicker that momentarily distracted Titan and I as Arthur returned his third pokemon. It had felt like something shifted with the bond. For a moment, I'd felt the coarse sand sweeping over my scales.Titan sent me a feeling of slight confusion, but I shook it off and replied with focus and determination through the bond. He wanted to linger however on the shift, and I had to impart more of my will, reminding him now was very much not the time to experiment with the bond.We needed our heads on straight. Arthur was too good a trainer for anything otherwise.Titan must have been visible to Arthur as he quickly sent out another pokemon, and I was surprised when the screen depicted Machamp taking to the field.Titan's attention narrowed with laser-like intensity, and I knew he could see the other pokemon. Titan rumbled a warning at Machamp, but I knew we were on the back foot here.Once again, I decided to play it smart. The Sandstorm would start to weaken, but I knew it worked in my favour to trade, so I did, pulling Titan out instead of risking him and sending out Bertha.Bertha appeared in front of me with a thump that shook the arena. If Arthur wasn't paying attention to the big screen to work out who I'd sent I had no doubts that he would have had a very large clue just from Bertha's arrival."—!" shouted Arthur, and once again he traded out pokemon.I frowned as this time his Aggron took to the field."Bertha, Impact Driver but walk it right into that Aggron," I said. I had an inkling of what Arthur was trying to do here, but I wasn't going to let it happen.In front of me, Bertha began spinning up her drills as no doubt a huge grin claimed her face. Her body hunkered down as the forces required for this move began to go to work.A moment later Aggron shot out of the earth in front of Bertha and slammed his head right into her gut, trying to take her out with Dig, followed up by an Iron Tail that Bertha endured.With each hit Aggron unleashed her grin only grew.The sandstorm faded away just in time for Bertha to draw back her arm and throw it straight into Aggons chest.A shriek of metal tore through the arena, causing the crowd to scream in pain at the intensity of the noise.Aggron, who'd taken the hit from Bertha, was fired like a bullet out a gun into the other side of the field, where he slammed into the barrier before falling limply to the ground. Arthur sighed and returned his pokemon, his gaze travelling thoughtfully back to Bertha.Bertha stood, with her arm extended and her face etched with a gigantic smile. I had an epiphany and projected a feeling of fake weakness to Bertha. Bertha took a moment to register the feeling, sending back confusion for a moment before understanding swept through the bond.Without warning, she toppled to one knee, seemingly taking too much damage while charging up her attack.She shuddered theatrically, and I tried to get her to tone it down, but she shot me a wink, and I could only sigh. I made a show of reaching for my pokeball only for Bertha to valiantly hold out a hand and deny me as she struggled back onto her feet.Arthur's hand wavered on his pokebelt as he stared at me and Bertha, both of us staring him back down in challenge.He sighed and raised a hand. "I shall withdraw. I tried my hand at a few tactics, and some of them worked while others didn't. I think I will keep some secrets going into the tournament next weekend," he said.I blinked in surprise, suddenly finding myself in a bit of a lurch.Bertha straightened, losing her 'fatigue' and snapping her fingers in annoyance. "Rhyperior!" she said petulantly.Arthur blinked. "Wait? That was another bait?" he said incredulously. He grinned. "Heh! Turns out I have good instincts," he said aloud.I huffed, shooting Bertha an annoyed glance only for her to ignore it, all the while shooting Arthur less than pleased looks with her arms crossed.She'd obviously wanted a better showing with more fights, but instead had to settle for taking out only one of his pokemon.I shook my head. Ah well, I'd tried something new there but it hadn't worked out. If the match had continued, that might have been a different matter.I sighed, and as the podium lowered, I evaded the slow process, choosing instead to skip over the railing and land behind Bertha, who was still pouting. I patted her on the back. "Hey, you sold it pretty well, we were just in too strong a position, it seems," I said."Heh yeah, you were; Machamp was still a bit fried from that Explosion, and Electrode… well I don't think his Magnet Rise would have lasted much longer," Arthur said as he approached to shake my hand.He gave me what must be his signature charming smile. "So? How'd I do?" he asked in a friendly manner.I opened my mouth to give him his feedback, only to pause as my mind caught up with my mouth and strangled the words before they could come out. I shut my mouth and shot him a calculating look. "You're still going to be within the top ten after this match, aren't you?" I asked.Arthur shrugged far too easily, and I narrowed my eyes. "You want me to give you feedback, but we're going to be facing each other again.""Possibly, we might be in different brackets, but… well I wouldn't say no," he said cheekily.I shook my head, denying him as my brain won out. "I got warned a while back that giving feedback would bite me in the backside, and with how many tactics you have, I think I need to stay on my toes for you.""Heh," Arthur said. "That's funny." He waved a hand towards the crowd. "Look at the front row; most of them will be there as well," he said, indicating the front row, which had most of the top ten if not top twenty Ace trainers in Indigo watching with hungry looks.Huh, he was right. They'd been watching and, no doubt, taking notes.Arthur smiled easily. "Word of advice? Things are much tougher up here in the top ten. You'll fit in well if you can last, but don't think it'll be easy. Everyone's going to adapt to what they saw of you today, just like they will me. My withdrawal from the match? It wasn't shameful when I had a bigger prize in mind.""It was strategic," I murmured, understanding that he was thinking a little longer.Arthur nodded. "Good match, if we fight again? I will be stronger," he said with a smile that showed some teeth.I gave him my own savage grin with Bertha backing me up. "So will we," I said, shaking his hand in farewell.As we departed, I felt a sense of satisfaction run through me.This had been a much tougher match than most of the matches I'd had so far, and Arthur was only ranked seventh.What would Bruce, Carr, Kaede, Joshua or Corey be like to fight?Despite having just fought, I felt another wave of anticipation run through me. I returned to my group with that same smile on my lips.Yolanda nudged me. "Make a friend?" she asked, referencing my chat with Arthur at the end.I chuckled. "More like a rival," I said happily.206I shifted and bobbed from foot to foot as I waited for the Nurse Joy of Commerce City to heal up my pokemon team. Thankfully, the place was empty at the moment, barring my group."Ahahaha! Let's go! Damn, that was a fun match!" I said, as I bounced from foot to foot. Around me, my entourage snickered at my childish behaviour.Missy shot me a smirk. "Good fights really get you fired up, eh?" she said, eying my bouncing form.I shrugged. "Eh, it's the truth? Being challenged like that? I'm pretty sure they call it a battle high, but damn it feels good to push yourself. I was sweating and working overtime with switching up tactics. If this is what the top ten trainers are like, I am going to have to work for every win!" I could already see it, the fights growing tougher and tougher with each of the top ten being seasoned veterans. It sounded like the perfect conditions to grow stronger.Missy flicked her eyes over me once again. "That doesn't seem to be a problem for you."I laughed. "Guess I'm a battle junkie? But then again, who isn't?"A.J. shrugged. "Eh, it makes more sense for you to react this way than other people." When the others looked at him, he waved an arm at me. "Most of the time, you have to hold back."I waved a hand. "I wouldn't call what I do holding back. I have to find ways to test people and challenge them, it's—" I rubbed some fingers over my jawline in thought. "—Not really the same thing, it's still making me push myself, it's just that the stress is different."Yolanda giggled. "Wait until you see him after an Elite Challenge when he pulls a win. He's bouncing off the walls."Rachel snickered at the thought. "You are almost as cute as Trixie sometimes," said the small rainbow-haired girl.I paused and considered Trixie. Instead of conjuring an image of her in cute poses or outfits, my mind shunted my thought process to that of her doing a salmon ladder. She was slamming the machine with her huge frame, and I could just imagine sweat glistening on her abs and a fierce grin as she worked herself further into rippled perfection.Even in my imagination…As a group, we shook our heads and I thought I heard Alexa say something about, "While we daydreamed, Trixie was training." The others giggled and this disrupted Rachel, causing her to wipe at her mouth to get rid of some drool before coughing. "Anyway, the point is you showed off some serious skills and were able to lock yourself into the tournament next week. Now you can focus on running the gym and getting your pokemon up to par for it."I nodded, stretching out my arms. "Yup, gonna be a lot of review for this one, cause there were a ton of mistakes and moves that I think I'm going to have to expect going forward. Arthur has shown me that people are not sitting idly and letting me advance—" I got a number of blank faces at this, so I quickly tacked on a "—and getting results that force me onto the back foot," I said.This got a round of murmurs and nods. Before today, there had been a level of… well, power difference was perhaps the kindest way of describing it.The trainers had the right pokemon and the right moves, but they were too slow in their orders and tactics, and their pokemon were likewise lacking in power or speed to knock back my pokemon.I chewed my lip. "I also don't think I'll get as lucky again with people remaining ignorant of fairy typing and its effects.""What about it specifically?" asked Greta.I rubbed my head. "A lot of people have associated it with being super effective against dragon types, but there's more to it than that. It's also strong against dark type pokemon, which shores up Selene's weakness rather well. However, it's also super effective against fighting type pokemon."Everyone stared at me while I said this and it took a moment for me to realise that Greta had her pokedex out and was in fact recording me.I coughed. "Really?" I said, giving her a dubious look.Greta held up her pokedex like a shield, peering through it, so she didn't need to meet my eyes. "Uhm, it's just that a lot of the research that I've been able to read and what I've talked about with Professor Oak is its impact on dragon types, along with what moves and pokemons are and are not fairy types."Yolanda tilted her head. "Huh, Brock was always very aware of them, I remember him telling lots of stories about Dian—" I coughed harshly to cut her off.I did not need Yolanda 'helping out' by telling tales about Diancie. It didn't stop Greta from gaining a look and turning her attention to Yolanda who merely shrugged and whispered. "I'll tell you about her later," she said.I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I can hear you," I said, before deciding to ignore it. Instead, I exhaled in a long slow manner to get rid of the excess energy that I still had jittering through my body."Right, so that match fairly shook things up though," I said as I checked my watch. "Hmmm, we have another thirty minutes before our transport Teleport is booked in, so if everyone's alright with it, let's do a quiet debrief while things are fresh."I gestured to a lounge off to the side while reaching into my pouch and drawing out one of the work laptops.Alexa raised a hand. "You don't need me for this and I got a later Teleport lined up, as I've got a date."Crystal wolf-whistled at Alexa. "I knew you were more dolled up than usual!"Yolanda merely nodded. "Good luck on your date!"I waved a hand, more than happy to let her clock off now. "Have fun and I will see you… Monday?" I said as I opened up the roster on the laptop to see that she had tomorrow off. I shot her an amused look and resisted the urge to ask her how late her Teleport was booked for.I had a sneaking suspicion that if her date went well, she might just reschedule it for later. Alexa pointedly looked to the side, not meeting my knowing gaze as she waved and trotted off.I heard Nurse Joy calling for me and I moved to collect my pokemon from her with the customary. "We hope to see you again!" given with a bow.I turned back to find the younger girls nudging A.J., Crystal leading them. "Did you even notice that she had dressed up more than usual?"A.J. opened his mouth and without having to hear what he was about to say I instinctively knew that he was going to put his foot in it. So I spoke over him. "A.J., when a lady asks you that, the safest and most correct answer is that they always look amazing. Never tell a girl they look tired or frumpy," I said as I quickly typed up some notes.Missy, Yolanda, Greta, and Crystal's attentions all turned to me but I, like Alexa had earlier, avoided their gazes with a practised nonchalance. I finished what I was doing and clapped my hands. "Right! So, the match?" I said, nudging things along instead of letting them linger.I spotted A.J. writing something in a small notepad, only to glance up and mouth a 'thanks' to me."Right, so one of the biggest and first things I noticed was that due to just the waiting area for this stadium, the meta is different," I said, getting us underway and further dispelling the girls' critical gazes.I ran through my observations from earlier, noting how everyone had been prepared for it. "The situation is that of 'if you know, you know'. I can assure you that no emails or notifications were given to me regarding the shared space, but it could perhaps be implied depending on how many matches one has in the gym circuit," I said."How would that make you aware of it?" asked Greta with a raised hand.I held in a chuckle at her schoolroom antics and gestured to her like a teacher would. "A lot of matches can be quite spontaneous or seemingly spontaneous when you are in the gym circuit. You don't hear about it, but there are a lot of trainers that are known as rookie crushers, or people that will 'snipe battle' you." I raised a hand and glanced around for a whiteboard and was rather surprised when there was one.Huh, the Commerce City Pokecenter had a few nifty features I thought to myself as I pointed to the whiteboard and moved our group over to it. I grabbed a marker and began jotting down my thoughts."So! The rookie crushers are just that, bullies that like to come at young or inexperienced trainers. They will look for certain tells with their opponents and are typically way more active during the start of the circuit, as that's when you have the most young and inexperienced trainers moving about." I drew a free-hand drawing of a large brutish man laughing at a pair of young trainers, a little boy and a girl who looked like they were barking at the crusher."Now, they do this as there is the possibility of earning a decent amount of prize winnings from young trainers if you can get three or four a day." I made the pokedollar symbol and tripled it. "If they can get more than that? They're doing very well for themselves." I added another two pokedollar symbols to the board."Now these people are an example of this, as they can generally tell what young trainers will start with depending on the area they are in and what gym badges they have. Something that lots of young trainers are known for is flashing their badges, which can inadvertently signal themselves as weak and or inexperienced.""I've faced a few around Pewter on the patrols I go on," said A.J. with crossed arms. "They like to run around with Machop and Growlithe for any rock, bug, or grass types.""Oh?" said Greta, turning her head along with the other girls apart from Missy who was nodding along. This caused the younger girls to blink and shoot me some looks.I grinned. "It's not something that I advertise, but I do have gym trainers that break up fights like this by challenging and running off rookie crushers in my area when out on patrol. This limits them to the lower earnings bracket most of the time, but… well, during the Trainer surge I know numbers were way higher, while also being something we couldn't deal with as they were actually legitimate trainers.""You.. don't get me to do that?" said Greta with a tilted head.I grinned. "I hadn't so far, but I think you're overdue a 'promotion', so to speak," I said, giving her a nod. "You've handled yourself well against some tough fights."I dropped the smile to allow myself to grow serious. "That said, you and A.J. are going to be facing some of the crushers that will adapt to you, and indeed to our gym trainers."I wrote out the second name I'd mentioned earlier. Snipe Trainers."These are the sort that will sit back and examine your team, your favoured tactics, and create teams or tricks that deliberately counter you. These are the people that we see more often for Ace matches. Will was an extreme case of this, as while I can never prove it, I think the number of Ace trainers that happened to have a few psychic pokemon that went against me in the lead-up to Will's match was… highly irregular," I said.The group nodded and I paused as I noticed that a few kids that had wandered in had inched over to listen in. I smiled and showed that I was fine with others listening in."So, experience with this is something that if you're sticking around a specific city for any amount of time will result in trainers getting to learn some of your tricks. For Ace trainers, this happens with us watching each other's matches in the lead-up while also reviewing what pokemon they have publicly listed or displayed."Now, where there is some overlap is that people can see what pokeballs you have and extrapolate certain degrees of information. It's not listed on your public page, but if people watch enough matches they can start accumulating lists of which pokeballs are associated with which pokemon.""That would be rather tough to do when we're out in public though, no?" Crystal asked doubtfully.I locked my eyes with hers. "Depends on how much the person has to win from beating you, or if they just feel they don't like you. Sometimes people can be irrational. Rivalries that are on the extreme scale would use this.""Ohhhhh!" said Crystal as she understood. "So if I had my Eevee on display and A.J. wanted to snipe me, he could check my pokebelt or which pokemon I had out with me."I nodded and made a circling gesture. "Yes, you can also get people that will deliberately antagonise you in the hopes of making you use that very pokemon," I said.This caused the girls to nod while A.J. scoffed. "Sandshrew and I will just crush them right back!" he said.I nodded in amusement, knowing that he wouldn't be shying away from any fights and was going to probably run into a lot of walls where he didn't need to, but if he wanted to do things his way that was on him."The other option, which a lot of the local Aces seemed to have adapted, is something I hadn't thought of: hiding their pokebelts with coverings," I said.The group all nodded along at this, only for Yolanda to giggle, drawing people's attention."Something to add?" I said, interested in what had her reacting like that."Well, it's just that finding out which pokeballs are on your belt doesn't actually help," she said. "You hide some of your pokeballs from view or in the small of your back where people don't expect them from." She grinned and I chuckled as she casually revealed a trick of mine that I'd used since I was on my Journey..I coughed, pleased that she was observant enough to notice, but also not wanting to air the entirety of my trick, nor that I had the expanded limit of ten pokeballs to the public.I gave the now larger group another look over and was amused to find that a camera crew had snuck in while I'd been writing out the points about hidden pokeball carriers.I considered calling things to a close before deciding to shrug and run with it. I flicked Rachel a look and directed her to the camera crew to make sure they behaved."Right! So hiding some of my pokeballs, while working out for me partially today, is actually an old habit of mine that I adapted in response to rookie crushers," I said with a smirk. "When I sauntered into a new town or city I would invariably get in some battles to test out my team. Some of the crushers back then would challenge me to four versus four or more matches and fake apologise when they thought I couldn't match them."I raised a hand. "That is a bait tactic that plays on young trainers' pride in their pokemon, as the typical response for a young trainer is?"I pointed at A.J. for an answer and he scoffed. "My pokemon are worth a hundred of some nobody!" he said, giving the perfect example with his response.Yolanda giggled again and I nodded. "That is what they expect, and some of them will exploit it. Remember, these people make a lot of money off this, so they can field a very highly experienced team of pokemon," I said.A.J. frowned, growing if anything more reluctant to admit he was playing into the trope.I just moved on. "If you can field a full team though, you can switch things up and put them on the back foot," I said."So, that was prematch differences, what about during the match?" I said, opening the floor to my entourage."Sanchez starting for you was baited," Missy said and I nodded."Arthur has a lot of flying types and pokemon that in another situation can be powerful. I was playing the odds, or betting on possible arrogance as he does typically start with them. Instead, Arthur understood what he was doing and potentially risking and instead opened with his Starter, Machamp."I wrote up Sanchez and listed out his typing and moves. "Now, Sanchez is a great pokemon to open with as if he can get an opening he can set up the field. That field set-up also relies on pokemon that can typically use flying type moves or wide-scale attacks to clear away before other pokemon can safely enter," I said, highlighting Stealth Rock.I sighed. "Sadly, Arthur had prepared well and was able to negate a lot of Sanchez's strengths. He went on the attack straight away and kept us on the backfoot. Machamp… was a very strong pokemon, and the outcome didn't surprise me," I said with a sigh.I considered that for a moment. Was I becoming predictable with Sanchez? He was one of the better opening move pokemon and I did enjoy getting him out for the chance to set off either a Stealth Rock or an Explosion. Hmmm, maybe that was the issue? He was safe. I'd need to consider that more.A smile came over me as I considered what came next in the fight.Selene came out and Arthur revealed his second 'trump card' regarding Cacturne. A perfect pokemon that I sadly had the answer to with Selene's moveset. I didn't go into depth explaining fairy typing again and its strengths, and I could see more than a few people in the crowd that were listening in looking confused. My desire to teach them warred with my desire to keep Selene's ace in the hole up my sleeve for a moment before the latter won out. I moved on.I continued sketching out the fight play-by-play and when I reached the point where Mismagius had taken the field A.J. raised his hand. "Did you really read the throw to work out what was about to happen?"I blinked and recalled that moment.I grinned, remembering the spike of certainty I'd had come over me when I'd seen his wrist twitch."Yup!" I said smugly.A.J. blinked at me and for some reason Yolanda reached over to punch him. "See! I told you!" she said.I shot her a nod. She really was coming along as a trainer with a lot of skills and insights. "Do you know what gave it away?" I asked her.Yolanda licked her lips and made a face as she considered what she'd seen. "... something in his throwing action, or was it where he looked?" she said uncertainty. The crowd stirred at this and a round of murmurs took over the room. Yolanda blinked and glanced behind her only to twitch in surprise. Oh? She hadn't noticed the room filling up? When A.J., Missy and Yolanda likewise reacted I flicked my eyes at the whiteboard. The talk hadn't been that engrossing, had it?I pushed those thoughts to the side. "Yes to the first, and while you can track where people are going to throw through their eyes, that's not as doable with the pokemon stadium's fields. On smaller fields and sporting games it is possible but not what I used."I took a pokeball in hand and mimed throwing it directly. I then repeated the action, only changing the throw at the end. I then made a different throw, showing how position could be changed. "You can also read the body language that people give off, a good point of reference is to look where their hips or shoulders are lining up to get the best idea. This can change depending on sports or situations. Arthur hid a lot of his body language until after Mismagius went down," I said."After that, you can tell he doesn't rate his chances of winning," I tapped the board. "He didn't stop fighting though, why?""Pride?" called someone from the back of the room.I nodded and wrote it down. "What else?" I said prompting more involvement, amused with how my debrief had turned into a teaching session.I got a wide range of answers and I happily jotted them down. I didn't stop when people got the answer I'd been looking for regarding the competition and the chances of us facing off again.The other answers, such as fighting on, or looking for a mistake to flip the battle around were certainly acceptable. I laughed when someone proposed that he'd done it to impress a girl.I had still written it up."Good reasons," I said with a smirk and a laugh before progressing things along with what I'd need to consider for the next match and how I needed to improve.We came up with a few points such as not being as predictable, to catching more pokemon, which earned a nod from me. It was a solution."This one is one that a lot of people may fall back on, but you have to remember that for the majority of trainers there is going to be a limit, so you should be careful with the pokemon you bring onto your teams. Compatibility with you and your team, capabilities to raise said pokemon and comradeship are all important to consider," I said, writing down the points.I was about to expand on those when my Xtranssicver buzzed. I glanced at it. "Ah, and that is sadly all the time I have today! We have a Teleport to catch gang!" I said, hustling my entourage to pack up.Rachel jogged over with a smile on her lips and nodded when I glanced her way. "They were playing it straight. They're a news crew that heard you were here. Came to talk but they seemed very pleased to catch your lecture instead," she said, offering up what looked like a local news anchor's business card."Huh, neat," I said, turning the card over and inspecting it.Yolanda jogged up to me with a wide smile and I eyed her. "What's up?""Nothing! You're just smiling," she said, pointing at herself and I realised I was and that she was merely mirroring me."Eh," I shrugged, enjoying how loose my shoulders felt. "I feel pretty good about today. It was a good day," I said with a grin. "Tomorrow is looking good, what's not to like?""I think it's because you had a pretty good match and you got to lecture," she said as we jogged into the Teleporter hall where we were met with a receptionist. She quickly guided us to a trio of Hypno who nodded politely before we vanished in a flash of Teleport.We appeared in front of the Pewter Gym and I thanked the Hypnos before they vanished in another Teleport. I played with what Yolanda had said as I bid the others goodbye for the afternoon.I was feeling pretty good after the match with Arthur, more so than usual, and while getting the chance to educate a lot of trainers had been nice, I was already feeling good."I think," I said slowly, sounding the words out and drawing Yolanda's attention back to me as we walked towards the front entrance to our house. "That the fight was good, both in that we won, but also in that there was a… trainer difference, today.""What do you mean by that?" Yolanda said, pausing to turn and watch me with interest.I waved a hand, slowing to stand in the entryway of the garden. I could see Nanny Grav watering our garden of Lileep and Cradily "Arthur has pokemon that are on par with mine."I rubbed my chin and considered what I'd seen. "Or at least close enough that it is debatable. I'd faced this before with a few matches and I've spoken about the top ten or even top twenty trainers being better, but it was really on display and that excites me, but mostly I think I'm happy…because the difference was me as a trainer. I could have played things better, especially at the beginning, but we countered and rose to the occasion. I had the answers, I'd done the research with my entourage, I was able to pick up on his plays and counter plays and just negate them. Today, I felt like I was syncing up with my team."Yolanda nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think you're right, you had the options and plans going in, and while things didn't start off as you might have liked, you did make the difference in a lot of notable ways." She reached up, stretching onto her tiptoes to pat my head. "Good job," she said with a grin and I huffed at her."You're messing up my hair!" I fake whined at her, earning myself a giggle and a swat."Well it'll help keep boys away from you!" she said in a fake gruff-sounding voice."I never said that," I said with a raised eyebrow, knowing that it was one of the points of advice that I'd read in the parenting books that I'd implemented.Yolanda adopted a stern expression. "I never said that," she mimed back at me and I snorted, recalling fake meme images of Morgan Freeman quoting him as saying just that. With his iconic voice you could turn heads. I tried adopting it and rumbled. "I didn't say that," I said with as much smooth velvetiness as I could.Yolanda squinted at me and tried to make her voice gruffer, even going so far as to hunch in on herself. "I didn't say that," she almost grunted out.I chuckled and dragged her into a hug before making my way towards the house to enjoy some family time. I released my pokemon in the garden.They all appeared with a snort and shake of their heads. Sanchez perked up and glanced around, when he locked eyes with me I nodded. This got him to relax and a grin to break over his face."Go? Go lem?" he cried when he spied Nanny Grav in her apron. He snatched up a bunch of Lileep and held them out to her like he was wooing her, earning himself some giggles. Nanny Grav pretended to sniff them only to fall on her back and faint.Sanchez sniffed the Lileep and copied her a moment later, only for both of them to shoot to their feet and laugh.I chuckled and turned my attention to Titan, whose gaze I'd been able to feel as soon as he'd come out. I paid a little more attention to our bond and found it had changed from the fight.I sent Titan an impression of growth and he replied in kind before looking in another direction. I felt the bond shift as he fed me his point of view.My mind swam with the extra senses available to me. To Titan the world was sharper, with smells and some colours that stood out to him while others were muted.I sat down and shook my head. Then I looked in the other direction and sent my own view of the garden.Titan crooned in surprise, and I felt his body stiffen up through the bond.Huh, so we could share the other's senses if we wanted to? Interesting. I sent Titan a more complex idea, how he could move and shift. I'd done something vaguely the same with a bit of training against Pryce, but that had been nothing compared to this.Now I felt like we were practically of one mind.This… had some serious implications. Would I even need to give Titan verbal orders any more?Wait, there had been something like this in the anime, hadn't there?Between Ash and his Greninja.Shock ran through me and Titan stiffened, turning to check on me, only to get a feel of the excitement coursing through me. This was going to be so much more than just sharing senses and having a tactical improvement.This… this was a Bond Phenomenon.The implications were huge and I shared a huge grin with Titan.Damn if finding him a mega stone hadn't just grown even more important for us.I toyed with the Bond for a little while longer, enjoying the closeness it brought to my closest friend."Hey bro! Come play Hide and Seek with us! Titan and you can pair up!" shouted Salvadore.Titan and I shared a smirk.Titan and I used the bond to hunt for my family and the other pokemon. With our combined senses and awareness it became all too easy to track everyone down.Titan and I took a moment to relax after the game, enjoying the knowledge that we had grown closer.We watched another round of games between my siblings and pokemon. The noise drew in the younger pokemon to my Elite team with Zubat leading the charge into my face. When she slammed a hug into my face I was amused to find Titan reeling back as I forgot to stop feeding him my point of view.I dimmed the bond a little and allowed myself to return to normal. Titan nodded at me and then nodded his head to Bertha, causing me to sigh in relief. If he was going to get intimate I didn't want to feel that.Not that they were going to do anything in front of the kids. Dinner that evening was a shared event, with us setting up in the garden. Bertha happily took the head of the table with Cindy sitting next to her.When Sabrina came around, she congratulated me on my win with a kiss and levitating me a burger and drink while sitting next to me. I chuckled, amused at how she'd gotten me some food without having to lift a finger. Having a psychic girlfriend certainly had some perks.Later that night we relaxed with a movie and I went to bed with Sabrina.Plans for tomorrow swirled about in my mind, only to be rudely ripped from my slumbering mind as an alarm went off, causing Sabrina and I to stir at what must have been midnight.I dragged open my bedside drawers to find the Guardians' holopad raising a racket. I tapped it and Koga's visage appeared on the scene."Brock, we have a situation. Team Aqua just made landfall on New Island, we need to get there now!" he said and I felt my stomach drop out.A military group landing on an island with a possible volatile pokemon like Mewtwo?This… was the very definition of not good.