“The Torchic species, native to grasslands within Hoenn, is one of the most recognizable Fire-type Pokemon in the region. Diminutive in stature and covered in downy orange feathers, this small chick is a far cry from the powerhouse that it will inevitably become upon evolution.”
Cassie sat on the small sofa within her room with Kaitlyn beside her, transfixed at the sight on the television as the narrator for the PokeDiscovery program spoke in calm, even tones. She had always loved Torchic as a starter Pokemon, and seeing the tiny chicks hopping around the grassy fields on screen with excited cries and chirps filled her with a giddy sense of wonder. Kaitlyn had been nice enough to point her in the direction of the TV show - played on a channel that was a clear analogue to the Discovery Channel itself, the Pokemon Science Network - and she’d been hooked from the instant she tuned in. Orion was laying just in front of the sofa beside the coffee table, curled up and relaxing but still keeping one eye on the room and another on the TV show, while her egg carrier rested neatly on the coffee table and out of the way of both trainers’ view of the television.
“So cute...” she breathed, grinning from ear to ear as she watched shots of the almost-newborn Pokemon interacting with their Combusken mother.
“I always liked Torchic,” Kaitlyn commented, leaning back into the sofa and being careful not to hit Astrid with her arm. The tiny Steel-type was nestled in-between the two trainers on the couch, being equally careful to not snag one of her rear jaw’s teeth on the couch cushions. “If I hadn’t caught Astrid and decided I wanted to train Steel-types, I might’ve tried to get one as a starter. Or maybe Cyndaquil...mom could’ve probably helped out with that.”
“Partial to Fire-types?” Cassie asked.
“A little,” Kaitlyn admitted with a small shrug. “There are a lot of really neat Fire-types in the world. Cyndaquil, Torchic, Vulpix, Fennekin, Litwick...”
“And Growlithe,” Cassie said with a grin, joined by a low bark from Orion at her feet.
“And Growlithe,” Kaitlyn amended, laughing and glancing down at Cassie’s partner. “You’re awesome too, of course.”
Cassie couldn’t help but smile as Kaitlyn leaned forward again and reached down to pet Orion almost apologetically, grinning as the dog chuffed in a way that seemed to say ‘of course I’m awesome.’ Kaitlyn finally seemed like she was relaxing more and enjoying herself, instead of simply driving on like she had a task to complete without any real emotion in it. She was an excellent teacher and a great trainer, Cassie knew, but ever since Cassie had met her she couldn’t help but feel like Kaitlyn pushed her emotions aside a bit too much for her own good. Maybe they all went to Kayley, she thought, giggling at the idea before she could stop herself.
“Huh?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Cassie said through a giggle, waving Kaitlyn off. “Just had a silly thought is all.”
“ -wilds have ample opportunity for peril. The young Torchic, taking their first forays into the open plains, must always be wary of the dangers that lurk within.”
The camera lingered from afar on a patch of black and gray within the tall, thick grass near a grove of trees, and Cassie could just make out what looked like the snout of a Mightyena poking through the mass of spindly plants. White teeth glinted in the light for an instant before the large canid Pokemon burst from the foliage, snarling as it raced towards the group of tiny birds and causing them to erupt into a series of frantic cries and hastily-spat Embers in an attempt at defense. It closed the distance in a matter of seconds, ignoring the pain from the tiny fireballs that burst in its face as it surged forward in hopes of a meal, only to be met with a flying kick from the mother Combusken as it leapt to its children’s defense. The Fighting-type attack bowled the Dark-type over in a heap, tumbling and kicking up dirt and small weeds as the larger fowl let out a battle cry. Clearly unwilling to continue the attack with its hopes of an easy meal dashed, the Mightyena turned tail and fled back into the brush from whence it came, leaving the family of Fire-types in relative peace.
“Ambush predators such as Mightyena are common within the grasslands, always on the hunt for their next meal. The mother Combusken keeps a close watch on her children, unwilling to let them risk an engagement with such Pokemon. One day, they too will defend themselves with vicious kicks, but it is under their mother’s watchful eye that they will grow and learn the skills they need to survive alone in the wilds.”
Orion perked up as he watched the television, seeing the failed ambush and the Mightyena slinking away into the wilderness again. He didn’t have many memories from the wild that he cared to remember, but the constant threat of ambushes just like that one was a memory that he would never forget. Growlithe were large enough that they could threaten Pokemon the size of a Mightyena when they were in groups, though it was unlikely that such a Pokemon would ever attack them in search of a meal unless they were truly desperate. Battles over territory were far more common, and he and his pack had certainly had more than a few scraps with Pokemon like Poochyena and Rockruff over hunting grounds in the past.
Cassie was engrossed in the program, her interest firmly piqued regardless of the slow dismantling of her beliefs in the Pokemon world as an idyllic paradise. Reality was quite different from fiction, but that didn’t make it bad in her eyes. It would probably have been stranger, she reasoned, for there not to be conflicts in nature or a food chain even among Pokemon. After all, sentience didn’t stop instincts. She watched silently as the narrator wrapped up the segment following the chick-like Fire-types before the picture shifted into a clearly different setting, yet one that shared some similarities to the previous one. Rolling hills and short grass covered the plains she could see on screen now, with a large, circular stone tower in the distance that flared out into a flat-topped portion high above the ground. A few rocky plateaus dotted the area in view, spread out widely among the grasslands and breaking up the greenery with lumps of brown and tan. The shot panned over the area from above for several seconds before cutting to the close-up sight of a Pokemon Cassie recognized quite well.
Large bull-like Pokemon covered in light brown fur grazed peacefully along one of the grassy stretches, the herd of Tauros seemingly unconcerned with anything except their feeding if their relaxed postures and temperament were any indications. She spotted some small Grass-types hovering about the herd, vine-like Bellsprout and bulbous, flower-esque Skiploom sharing the space with the imposing Normal-types without a care in the world, and she wondered if she was seeing the Kanto Safari Zone before the narrator began speaking once more.
“Within the grassy plains of the Paldea region, the Kantonian Pokemon known as Tauros is a rarity. These majestic bull Pokemon spend their days wandering and grazing along the fertile fields, their stature serving as a comfort and a warning in kind to smaller Pokemon who share the space. Their wild and unruly nature, known widely throughout many regions, is restrained in these environs among smaller Pokemon who pose little threat to their status. They stand at the apex of the food chain, unchallenged by all but a few brave creatures...distant relatives, vying for dominance of the plains.”
Cassie’s eyes widened as she watched the camera change to another group of Pokemon trotting towards the herd of Tauros, Pokemon that looked almost exactly like the bulls she knew but sharing none of the coloring. These Tauros were...stockier, it seemed, bulkier than the ones she was familiar with. The normally light brown skin of their heads and bodies was instead the color of ash, their hairy manes and solid hooves as black as coal. Even their horns looked slightly different, blunted and shorter but thicker, almost as if they were meant for bashing instead of goring.
“Paldean Tauros share their Kantonian counterparts’ love of fighting, perhaps even more so than their brethren,” the narrator spoke as the screen shifted once again to the herd of Kantonian Tauros, heads raising in alarm just before the onrushing Paldean bulls reached them with loud braying cries. Dust and dirt flew as horns locked in battle, the Paldean Pokemon crashing into the Kantonian ones with their bodies and slamming their skulls into their rivals’ bodies with furious bellows.
“These Tauros, the Combat Breed, are bundles of thick muscle and sturdy bone with one purpose - battle. They thrive on combat, no matter the opponent, with temperaments that are even fiercer than their Kantonian cousins. In the wilds of Paldea where they roam, they have no equals among the plains-dwellers...”
“That’s...a Paldean Tauros?” Cassie echoed, still not quite believing what she was seeing on screen. She knew about the idea of Pokemon having regional forms thanks to familiarity with the Alola and Galar region games, but she knew nothing of Paldea. The newest games had just been properly announced and teased shortly before she’d found herself here; now that she thought about it, she couldn’t even remember the names of the games, just that the region was called Paldea and vague recollections of what the new starter trio looked like. Her desire to research anything she could about the region returned in full force as she watched the groups of bulls clash on screen, and she found herself reaching for her Pokedex to get more information about the Pokemon as Kaitlyn looked over.
“Yeah - that’s the Combat Breed, pure Fighting-types. You’ve never seen them before?” she asked as Cassie brought up an entry for the Pokemon on screen.
“Paldean Tauros, the Wild Bull Pokemon. Fighting-type,” the machine spoke in its monotone voice, displaying a slowly rotating 3-D image of the Pokemon on screen. “This variant of Tauros, known as the Combat Breed, is distinguished by its powerful muscles and excels at close-quarters combat. Possessing a fierce disposition, it uses its short horns to strike mercilessly at the enemy’s weak points in battle.”
Cassie blinked as she noticed the Pokedex prompting her to switch pages near the bottom, and her eyes widened for a second time as she went to the next page to see yet another, different-looking form of Tauros that she didn’t recognize.
“There’s another one?” she asked aloud in disbelief as she started to read the entry, the television program momentarily forgotten as it droned on in the background.
“Two more, actually,” Kaitlyn supplied helpfully, leaning over slightly to see what was on Cassie’s Pokedex screen. “That’s the Blaze Breed, and there’s also the Aqua Breed.”
Cassie didn’t need any help figuring out what types those Tauros might’ve been, but the simple idea of there being three new forms of Tauros she didn’t know about stunned her. She’d seen barely any information on the new games that had just been revealed before she found herself here, and the reminder that there was an entire region and who-knows-how-many Pokemon that she didn’t know about out there was both intoxicating and terrifying. What if she happened to run across one of those Pokemon sometime soon, before she knew what she was up against? Her thoughts started to wander again even as she continued to read about the other forms Kaitlyn had mentioned, and she was so caught up in the information on screen that her focus was only broken by Kaitlyn finally calling her name.
“Cassie?”
“Huh?” she started, realizing that she’d lost herself in thought again as she looked back up at her friend.
“I said, do you know anything about Paldea?” Kaitlyn was looking at her with open curiosity now, their television program now forgotten and little more than background noise.
“Um...not really?” she said hesitantly, putting the Pokedex away with an effort of will. “I...never got to learn anything about that region.”
There was an odd hesitation in the statement, Kaitlyn noticed, even putting aside the fact that the statement itself was just a little...strange, for lack of any better word. She would have assumed that even ignoring the fact that she likely had never been to a trainer school, that Cassie would have known or been taught something about the region of Paldea. For her to know little more than the region’s name was a strikingly unusual bit of information, and something in Kaitlyn’s mind yearned to ask more about just what Cassie had or hadn’t been taught as a young girl about Pokemon training. She reached over to the coffee table in front of the sofa and grabbed the remote, turning the television down just a little before turning her full attention to Cassie.
“Do you want me to give you some of the basics?” she asked, reaching for her phone again and starting to pull up the Caterpedia page for Paldea. She was almost positive that Cassie would say yes, and she wanted to make sure she didn’t get anything too wrong. Sure enough, Cassie’s nod was almost immediate and clearly very excited, and even Orion perked his head up from beside the sofa to listen in. She got up from the couch a moment later, gesturing for Cassie to wait a moment as she walked to the fridge and retrieved a pair of drinks before returning, handing Cassie one of the cans of soda she’d grabbed with a quick ‘thanks’ from the younger girl.
What followed for nearly the next half hour was quite a bit more of a lecture than Kaitlyn had anticipated giving as she ran down a much abridged history of the Paldea region for her fellow trainer. Some of Paldea’s history was rather shrouded in secrecy, owing to the massive crater at the center of the region fittingly referred to as the Great Crater of Paldea. There were a few theories as to what exactly caused the crater itself, ranging from a massive prehistoric earthquake to a colossal meteor impact, but the true mystery of the crater lay in the depths within that were colloquially referred to as ‘Area Zero.’ No one truly knew what resided at the bottom - assuming anyone had ever found the bottom - and what little information there was about the area seemed to be kept tightly under wraps for some reason. Cassie’s eyes had lit up in wonder as Kaitlyn recounted what was publicly known about the site, but it was when she started talking about the Pokemon that called the Paldea region home that Cassie became much more animated.
She’d taken out her Pokedex again to get a better look at the Pokemon Kaitlyn was describing, and her eyes had taken on a gleeful fervor that almost reminded Kaitlyn a little of her sister as she looked at all of the Pokemon she was unfamiliar with. The only ones she seemed to have any familiarity with were the three Paldean starter Pokemon - Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly - as well as Fidough, given her time at Snowpoint Creamery, and Kaitlyn couldn’t help but grin as she watched Cassie’s eyes light up with every new Pokedex entry she skimmed. She was enamored at the sight of Dachsbun, Fidough’s evolved form, to the point where Orion started whining in mock jealousy until they switched to talking about other Pokemon. Not only that, the moment she saw the entry for Tinkatink in particular, she’d quickly declared just how badly she wanted to find one for her own team.
“You and me both,” Kaitlyn had said, also quite the fan of the dual-typed Fairy and Steel Pokemon herself. Their final evolution was well-known for brawling unprovoked with Corviknight in Paldea, and had almost singlehandedly put a stop to any hopes of expanding Galar’s popular Flying Taxi services into the region as a result until the company in charge had found a suitable replacement Pokemon to use instead.
She’d also seemed surprised by several Pokemon in particular, Kaitlyn noticed. Annihilape, Farigiraf, Dudunsparce, and Kingambit had all caused her to look at the entries with even more fascination than normal, as well as Clodsire to a somewhat lesser degree. Kaitlyn wasn’t really sure why, seeing nothing unusual about those specific Pokemon herself. Glimmet and Glimmora had also piqued her interest more than most, though Cassie herself couldn’t quite explain her attraction to the unusual Rock-types.
And then Kaitlyn had mentioned the Terastal phenomenon.
“Did I hear that right?” Cassie breathed, her eyebrows raised high enough to nearly touch her hair and face set in a look of shock. “Did you say they can change their type?”
That prompted a more in-depth explanation about everything that was known about the unique Paldean phenomenon of Terastallization. Much like Mega Evolution being first discovered in Kalos or Dynamaxing being a Galarian anomaly, Terastallization was first discovered in the Paldea region around a hundred and forty years ago within the mysterious crater at the center of the region and had been studied intensively for years after the discovery. Terastallization infused a Pokemon’s body with energy, morphing their outer appearance into a crystalline-esque look and creating a unique crown representative of their new type upon their head known as a Tera Jewel. The surge of power would boost the strength of moves that they used corresponding to both their normal type and their newly-bestowed type through a sort of resonance between the Pokemon’s normal Type Energy and the infusion of new energy. It was quickly found that Terastallization couldn’t occur outside of the Great Crater, however, with any Pokemon in a Terastallized state that tried to leave immediately losing the form entirely, and it remained that way until Professors Sada and Turo Olim created a device called the Tera Orb around ten years ago. The creation of the Tera Orb by both regional professors broke open the figurative doors for trainers far and wide within Paldea to make use of the unique power that Terastallization provided in everyday life, and now the crystalline phenomenon was ubiquitous across the region among trainers.
It took a minute for Cassie to fully absorb the information and everything that it meant. It was certainly an odd occurrence, but no more strange than Pokemon becoming giant through Dynamaxing, she thought. The type changing aspect, however...that was...
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Broken, her mind supplied helpfully. Cassie didn't refute the analysis. Her memories still seemed.to be a mess, fragmented and absent at best, but those to do with anything related to Pokemon seemed unusually and frustratingly whole and vivid. She knew that she had enjoyed the competitive battling scene, trying her hand at local tournaments and keeping up with information online that pertained to that side of the games, even watching streamed matches at larger competitions like the regional and national championships to see what was popular in the overall game’s meta.
For a Pokemon to simply be able to change its entire typing on a whim, even temporarily? That was almost unheard of, barring the temporary type shifts and additions of Mega Evolution which were static and known factors as well as a few unusual and rarely-used moves. This, however, was different. Having the power to change type to something completely different and turn weaknesses into strengths in an instant could shift the entire flow of battle on its head. Never mind the fact that a Pokemon’s ‘Tera type,’ as Kaitlyn had called it, was something that you couldn’t even tell until the Pokemon revealed it. If you had no idea whether that Charmander you were fighting was suddenly going to become a Grass-type instead and resist all your carefully prepared Ground-type moves, for example, then you suddenly had an entirely new layer of strategy that you needed to incorporate into your battle plan.
Paldea’s Pokemon League was notoriously difficult for that very reason, Kaitlyn had explained. The difficulty of the normal bracket-style tournament felt even more intense when Terastallization was brought into the mix, and trainers often spent weeks trying to craft possible counter strategies for the likeliest possibilities they might find in their matches. Fortunately - or unfortunately, for Paldean natives - the Terastallization phenomenon only seemed to work on their home soil because of the energy appearing to emanate from the Great Crater itself, with attempts at replicating the process elsewhere bearing no fruit as of yet.
‘I’m staying away from Paldea,’ Cassie thought to herself, head spinning with all the new information. ‘That just sounds...insane to deal with.’
“Okay, okay,” she finally said to Kaitlyn, holding her hands up as if admitting defeat. “I need a break from all this...that’s a lot to absorb.” Kaitlyn chuckled in understanding, shoving the phone back in her pocket and standing up to stretch.
“Want to grab something to eat, then? I’m starting to get a little hungry.”
“What’d you have in mind?” Cassie asked, fumbling around for her bag to put away her Pokedex as Orion stood up at her feet, looking over at Kaitlyn attentively at the mention of food.
“Well, with all the talk about Paldea, how do you feel about paella?” Kaitlyn asked as she grabbed for her shoes. “There’s a nice place a few blocks from here.” Cassie thought for a moment, trying to remember what that even was for a few seconds before she finally dredged it up from the depths of her scrambled memory. She was pretty sure it had been ages since she’d had that, and it did sound appealing right about now.
“Yeah, Spanish food sounds good - let’s go.”
Kaitlyn’s head swiveled over to Cassie with a confused look as she finished tying her shoelaces. “Spanish? What’s Spanish?”
Cassie’s heart leapt into her throat as she realized what she’d said without thinking in her distraction, and she waved a hand at Kaitlyn as she looked around the room to see where she’d left her purse. “N-Nothing - don’t worry about it!” she stammered, quickly making her way across the room to snag the purse from the bedside table only to knock it off the table by accident and send its contents spilling across the floor. Orion’s head perked up again at the noise, and he popped back to his feet to wander over towards his trainer as she started to gather up her things once again.
‘Something’s definitely up,’ Kaitlyn thought as she watched the flustered girl clean up the mess she’d accidentally made. She hadn’t seen Cassie react like that before...ever, come to think of it. Nervous, maybe, but not in this sort of way. Was it because of the odd word she’d said a moment ago? It didn’t mean anything to Kaitlyn, but maybe it reminded her of something troubling.
“Okay, I’m -”
Cassie trailed off as she turned back to Kaitlyn, the small purse slung over her shoulder now and her eyes seeming to stare at something past the Steel-type trainer. A momentary look of confusion passed over Kaitlyn’s face before she followed Cassie’s gaze, finally noticing what she was staring at - namely, the egg carrier sitting on the table.
An egg carrier whose contents were now shaking gently within the glass and plastic.
“Is it -”
“It’s hatching?”
Kaitlyn and Cassie’s voices overlapped as they both turned their attention to the egg, Cassie’s flustered demeanor disappearing in an instant to be replaced by a different kind of panic at the sight of the shaking Pokemon egg.
“Nononono -” Cassie squeaked out as she ran over to the table again and leaned over, pressing a button on the canister that retracted the durable plastic cover to give them access to the egg and space for the Pokemon to move after hatching. Just looking at the gentle shaking of the egg felt overwhelming to Cassie as she realized that she was about to have a new team member - a newborn, at that - to care for when this was over. “I can’t, this is - what do I do?” she asked, worry and a bit of fear filling her voice as she looked over at Kaitlyn helplessly.
“Let me grab a towel or something first,” Kaitlyn said, quickly making her way towards the small bathroom in search of something to put around the egg. Cassie reached out and put her hand on the egg, feeling the shaking under her fingers and the warmth from the smooth eggshell, and felt another spike of panic welling up in her mind. She wasn’t prepared for this at all, she had no idea how to take care of a baby Pokemon, her gym battle was tomorrow -
“Take a breath, Cassie,” Kaitlyn said as she returned, wrapping the towel she’d retrieved around the base of the carrier before putting a hand on her friend’s shoulder to steady her. “You don’t need to panic - it’s going to be fine.”
“It’s just...I don’t know what to do,” she said quietly. “Orion and Paulos are big enough to take care of themselves, but this...I don’t know how to take care of a baby Pokemon...”
“I raised my Staraptor from an egg,” Kaitlyn remarked, looking at the still-shaking egg on the table. “I know a bit about what to do. And don’t you have Gardenia’s number, too? I’m sure she’ll be happy to help you figure out the best way to care for whatever hatches.”
Cassie took a deep breath as she tried to calm down, the overwhelming feeling of the moment slowly tamping itself down into something more manageable. Kaitlyn was right, she knew as she started to think about it more logically. She wasn’t going to be doing this alone, and Gardenia had said to call her when it hatched and if she had any questions. Not to mention that she was literally in a Pokemon Center right now, which was the absolute best place to be with a newborn Pokemon.
She quickly pulled her phone back out and sent off a quick message to Gardenia to let her know the egg was about to hatch, setting it on the table away from the carrier before sitting back on the sofa again and watching the egg intently. Orion seemed mesmerized by it as well, only the slow wagging of his tail and occasional blinks giving any indication that he wasn’t a particularly life-like Growlithe statue beside the table. The egg continued to slowly shake on the table as four pairs of eyes watched it, eagerly awaiting the sight of the first cracks of the shell that would signal the Pokemon inside starting to emerge.
Until it abruptly stopped shaking.
“Is it...okay?” Cassie asked, hesitantly reaching out a hand to touch the egg’s surface. “Shouldn’t it have started to hatch by now?”
“That is a little strange...” Kaitlyn murmured, folding her arms as she looked down at the carrier and its contents. “I wonder if it’s not quite ready to come out just yet.”
Cassie wasn’t entirely sure whether she was disappointed or relieved, but finally settled on being both. The part of her that was nervous about the idea of taking care of a newborn Pokemon hadn’t completely been suppressed by the idea of meeting a new friend and teammate after all, no matter how much the logical part of her mind knew that it would all turn out okay. She sighed as she pulled out her phone again, resisting the urge to yawn as the momentary spike of adrenaline and excitement started to fade, and sent a second message to the Eterna Gym Leader to let her know that it was apparently a false alarm after all.
Gardenia [11:28 AM]: aww, i really wanted you to see what it is! if its shaking, it might hatch later today or tomorrow though. let me know if it does!
“Gardenia says it might still hatch sometime today if it’s shaking,” Cassie said to Kaitlyn, shooting off a quick message of thanks to the Gym Leader before putting the phone back in her pocket. The egg hadn’t moved again for a minute or two, and Cassie finally decided to press the button again that raised the protective case around it before unwrapping the towel and folding it up. She left it laying on the table as she carefully picked the egg carrier up and began to slip her arms through the straps before clipping the last part behind her to secure it to her front. “So, uh...food now, I guess?”
“Food,” Kaitlyn agreed with a nod, satisfied that the excitement seemed to be over for the time being. Her mind still wandered back to Cassie’s unusual reaction a few minutes ago, though, and she made a mental note to ask her about it again once they were done with lunch.
“Circle around with Ember!”
“Ivan, block with Rock Tomb!”
Cassie kept her eyes locked on the battle in front of her, taking in the sight of how Ivan moved as he defended against the swarm of small fireballs that Orion unleashed after bolting towards his flank. The rock snake shifted just enough to keep sight of his much smaller opponent before thrashing the ground with a tail, the Rock TE under his command causing small boulders to burst upwards from the earth and intercept the attack with ease.
“Agility, then go for a Flame Wheel!”
Orion didn’t waste any time as he funneled the Psychic TE into his body, boosting his speed by a large margin as he leapt upwards onto one of the summoned boulders. Ivan started to collapse them back into the earth, but the Growlithe was much faster than his larger Rock-type foe and leapt across them like stepping stones in a pond before launching upwards in a circle of flames. Ivan flinched back from the heat as Orion’s attack struck him just below the head, scorching a bit of the rock there black before the Fire-type landed back on the ground panting from exertion.
“You okay, Orion?” Cassie asked her starter, receiving a noticeable pause as the puppy caught his breath before barking loudly with the desire to continue. Kaitlyn, however, didn’t seem to want to go further without a break, and waved off Ivan in a smooth motion before stepping onto the field.
“You’re getting better with that Agility,” Kaitlyn commented, walking over to take a look at Orion as Ivan curled up into a more comfortable ‘sitting’ position on the battlefield. “It’s definitely easier for you to use than it was at Gardenia’s gym from what I can see. Ivan didn’t think you could use his attack against him like that,” she praised, kneeling to gently scratch the Growlithe under his chin.
“Not bad, little one,” the Onix rumbled, dipping his head in acknowledgment to the much smaller Pokemon. “My trainer speaks the truth. Your progress has been quite promising.” Orion barked happily at the praise, even knowing that he still had a long way to go before he could really overcome the problem that was Rock-types.
With their gym match on the calendar for tomorrow morning, Cassie and her two team members were trying their best to squeeze in every last bit of training that they could in the time frame. Kaitlyn had decided to take them to one of the battlegrounds in town instead of using the ones directly beside the Pokemon Center they were staying at, as those were mostly used for very low-level battles that wouldn’t damage the field too badly. The Pokemon Center didn’t keep any Pokemon on hand that were trained to fix any damage to the arenas, unlike most public battlegrounds which had proper grounds crews on hand. A Dugtrio watched them even now, Kaitlyn noticed, the multi-headed Ground-type patiently watching alongside the manager of the grounds far off to one side. They had been going at it for almost an hour now, focusing more on making sure that Orion and Paulos’ movement was as snappy and responsive as they could manage, while Kaitlyn was using the opportunity to train her Pokemon in their endurance by being on the receiving end of attacks from Cassie’s team. Battles were going on all around them on some of the other battlefields, but a variety of Psychic-types were keeping barriers around each of the fields to make sure that no stray attacks interfered with any of the combatants.
The Xatu off to the side of their field dropped the barrier around them as it became clear that they were stopping for now, the invisible Psychic-type energy fading away with the faint whisper of not-static that Cassie had come to associate with the action. It was an incredibly odd feeling, one that made her skin tingle whenever she was near it, almost like being near one of those static orb toys. The Psychic bird itself was also rather unnerving in person, Cassie thought as she looked over towards it. Its green feathers and white, patterned wings made it stand out amongst all of the other Pokemon around, but the most unnerving part was how it never seemed to blink. She spent minutes watching it at one point while Kaitlyn tended to her team, and in all that time it never once blinked, even while gazing upwards towards the sun high above. It sent a chill down Cassie’s spine with how simply unnatural the action was, and she’d made a point to try and keep her distance from the Pokemon as much as possible.
“Practicing for the gym?”
It took Cassie a moment to figure out that the unfamiliar voice she heard from nearby was addressing her and not someone else on the sidelines, and she finally tore her eyes away from the groundskeeping Pokemon to give her attention to the one who’d asked her the question. She didn’t recognize the young man - honestly, she would’ve been surprised if she had - but it was obvious that he was a trainer from the belt around his waist with two Poke Balls and the lone Pokemon hanging around his side. Short, wildly messy brown hair peeked out from under a blue and white baseball cap on his head, and he offered Cassie and Kaitlyn a quick wave that was mirrored by the Pokemon at his side. The tiny Pokemon was barely two feet tall, around the height of Kaitlyn’s Mawile, and resembled a small bipedal panda bear with black and gray fur that almost resembled a shirt and pants if one squinted. Its head and stubby tail were covered in cream-colored fur, and two black-furred ears poked out from the mass of lighter-colored fur. A tiny green leaf stuck out from its mouth, which was pulled into a strangely cute smirk that gave it a ‘tough guy’ appearance - or, at least, what it hoped was one.
Cassie nodded in response to the question as Kaitlyn made her way over as well, letting Ivan relax behind her as Astrid toddled along at her side. “Yeah - did you come to train too?”
“Was hoping to, yeah, but looks like most of the fields are in use right now,” the teen said, shrugging. “Sorry - I’m James, by the way. Nice to meet you two.”
“I’m Cassie, and this is Kaitlyn,” Cassie said, gesturing to Kaitlyn as she introduced them. “Nice to meet you, James.”
“That’s a Pancham, I believe?” Kaitlyn asked, letting the question hang in the air for a moment before the Pokemon itself answered with a vigorous nod and emphatic “Pan!” from James’ side. “You must be James Marien, then?”
“What, BattleNet talking about me or something?” he laughed, shrugging his shoulders in disbelief. “Yeah - Nuro here’s my first partner.” The last thing he’d expected was to be recognized, especially so early into a League circuit he’d never competed in before.
“A few people brought your name up in one of the gym leader threads after you took Gardenia out in a one-on-two,” Kaitlyn mentioned, letting a small smile creep across her face. “Nice job with that, by the way. Pretty gutsy to take a handicap like that.”
“Hey, this little guy is the one who wanted it, not me,” James said, chuckling as he looked down at the Pancham beside him. “Nuro bothered me for hours before the match about it until I finally told him he could.” His partner looked up at him with a cheeky grin only to be rewarded by James leaning down to ruffle the fur of his head, smirking as the Fighting-type jerked out from under the hand with the grin turning into an annoyed pout.
“He hates when I do that in front of people,” the teen explained, laughing again as the Pancham turned away and did its best to fold stubby arms across its chest.
“Are you still training for the gym, or have you challenged Roark already?” Cassie asked, breaking back into the conversation in curiosity as she knelt down to scratch her starter’s head. The puppy leaned into the scratches with a whine, enjoying the gentle motions as he flopped over to lay on the ground and relax.
“Nah, not yet - got a challenge lined up for Monday,” James replied with a shake of his head. “Thought I’d get a bit more training in before we relaxed for the weekend. What about you two?”
“We’re challenging tomorrow morning,” Cassie said eagerly, glancing down at Orion. “Still nervous, but I think we’re as ready as we’re going to get.”
“Makes sense,” James said, “if you’re bringing him into the fight.” His eyes turned down to Orion, not in dismissal, but almost in sympathy. “Might be an uphill battle for a Fire-type like him.”
Cassie gave a slow nod. She definitely felt the same way, but she was trying to stay positive given how she’d doubted herself before at Gardenia’s gym only to come out the victor. “He’s been practicing hard, so...we’ll just have to see how it goes.”
“If you’re looking for some last-minute training,” Kaitlyn began, putting a hand on her hip, “do you want to have a match? Might be good for my team to practice up against a weakness,” she added, nodding towards James’ companion Pokemon. James looked momentarily confused before the statement’s meaning seemed to click as his eyes drifted downward to look at the Mawile beside the blond girl, and he nodded quickly as Nuro immediately snapped to attention at the mention of a battle.
“Steel trainer, I assume?” he asked with a smile, causing Kaitlyn to nod. “Sure - don’t mind throwing down the gauntlet for a spar. Nuro, you in?”
“Pa-pan!”
“Looks like that settles it,” Kaitlyn said calmly, though her eyes were sparkling with the excitement of an impending battle. “You’ve got...how many badges, two?”
“Two, yeah,” James agreed. “You?”
“Only one so far this season,” Kaitlyn replied, “though Astrid helped me get six last season, so she might not be a good fit for this. I’ll let one of my other two have a go, if that’s okay?”
“Fine by me. One on one, or two on two?” James asked, following Kaitlyn as she and Cassie started to head back towards the arena where Ivan was still resting.
“Whatever you’re comfortable with is good with me.”
“Two on two, then,” the young man grinned, seeing Kaitlyn nod in agreement before they both started to move towards opposite sides of the arena, Kaitlyn calling for Ivan to get ready for a battle as she walked. Cassie and Orion, meanwhile, headed towards a spot just outside the arena’s lines so as to be out of the way yet still have a good vantage point. She hadn’t seen Kaitlyn battle much when it wasn’t against her team, so she was excited to see what her friend would do. She felt like Kaitlyn still held back against her, not necessarily out of malice or arrogance but simply to better help her learn instead of beating up on a relative novice, and she couldn’t help but be curious to see how Kaitlyn might battle in a real match.
“Cassie, want to start us off?” Kaitlyn called, looking over towards the sidelines at her fellow blond.
“S-Sure, I guess,” Cassie remarked. “I haven’t ever done this before, but I’ll try!”
“Just make sure we’re both ready, and call the start,” the older blond explained, motioning for Ivan to come over to lead off the match. “That’s about it for a casual match like this.”
Cassie nodded as the Onix slithered over and into the starting area in front of Kaitlyn, followed closely by the ‘snap’ of a Poke Ball opening on the opposite side and a mass of red light forming into a small figure that rested low to the ground. The tiny Pokemon that appeared in front of James was a squat, tan-colored creature that clearly resembled an alligator or crocodile, black lines striping its body and tail combined with a pair of wide eyes that almost looked like a pair of binoculars thanks to the protective black membrane that surrounded them.
‘That’s...a Sandile,’ Cassie thought, taking a moment to remember the name of the small reptilian Pokemon as it let out a sharp cry and toddled into place in the arena, moving considerably faster than she expected for something with such stubby legs. It looked like both Pokemon were ready to start, and Cassie looked between them for a moment as she tried to remember how her match with Gardenia had started. Orion barked something to the Xatu off to the side, and Cassie felt the familiar tingling of a psychic energy barrier materialize in front of her, cutting her safely off from the trainers and Pokemon inside as it snapped into place and faded into invisibility.
“Um...trainers ready!” she called, looking at Kaitlyn and James in turn to see if either looked like they needed more time. Neither one moved or looked towards her, both locked onto what was in front of them, and she took that as a good enough sign that they were set. She gave one more quick glance at both sides before raising an arm high, then slashing it down quickly as the signal to start.
“And...begin!”