“Iron Defense again!”
Kaitlyn’s Mawile glared angrily at the feline that had been harassing it before swinging its jaw again in a mighty sweep that forced it away. Astrid’s body shone silver briefly, thickening her skin and hardening her bones with an infusion of Steel TE, and the Purugly hissed before lighting up yellow as a bolt of lightning erupted from its fur and raced towards the metallically-infused Pokemon. Astrid yelled loudly as the Thunderbolt grounded through her and into the concrete underneath, causing Kaitlyn’s eyes to widen in alarm as she watched her starter get electrocuted. She hadn’t expected the Purugly to know any Electric moves, and Astrid’s physical defenses would mean little against an attack like that.
The battle had only just started, but Kaitlyn was already sweating despite how she tried to keep a stern facade. Unlike the grunt that Astrid had handily dismantled the team of, Mars was definitely a cut above the rest in terms of skill and power. Her Purugly was quickly proving that it was no slouch despite appearances, still capable of outpacing Astrid despite all of its bulk and almost immediately forcing her back on the defensive. That in itself wasn’t a problem, as Kaitlyn’s battling style centered around taking the back foot early on to try and eke out advantages in the long run, but the Purugly’s newly-revealed attack threatened to turn that on its head. Astrid, like most Pokemon who made it deep into a league challenge run, had tangled with her fair share of Electric-types over time, and every time had come with no small degree of challenge. Kaitlyn never liked dealing with the quick-striking bolts that those Pokemon could unleash, but she had ways of mitigating it.
“Grass Knot!”
Astrid’s hands shimmered green briefly as the concrete cracked beneath Purugly, thick vines snaking out from new fissures in the ground to wrap around the feline’s ankles just as it wound up for another Thunderbolt. The electrical discharge sparked once before grounding out through the tendrils extending into the ground, and it was Mars’ turn to be surprised as her Pokemon tried to pull itself free.
“Now Stockpile!”
With a lack of meaningful cover in the area to use besides buildings that were some distance away from the open central section, Kaitlyn knew that the battle was quickly going to become a war of attrition. If Astrid was going to pull through, she needed to be able to weather the storm for as long as possible.
“Purugly, cut the vines with Slash!”
A flash of claws freed Purugly from the grip of Astrid’s attack in mere moments, but the faint purple sheen of Stockpile’s defensive enhancements now glowed across Astrid’s body as Purugly wound up for another Thunderbolt.
“Again, and close in!”
The sheen grew stronger as Astrid advanced, wading directly into another bolt of lightning from Mars’ Purugly with much less effect this time as she ran towards the Normal-type. A game of cat and mouse started in the open area as Astrid tried to pin down the agile Pokemon, which continued to dart away from Astrid’s grasp while launching electrical discharges any time it saw an opening. The shield of Protect shimmered around Kaitlyn’s starter momentarily to intercept the latest attack, filling Astrid’s vision with sparkles from the flashes of Electric TE, and she noticed only briefly that Purugly was no longer in her line of sight before Kaitlyn called out to her.
“Beside you!”
Purugly’s Feint Attack cloak fell as it lashed out with razor-sharp claws, Dark TE bleeding off its body as Astrid’s jaw flipped around to block the brunt of the oncoming Shadow Claw with an echoing clang. The false mouth snapped open in an instant, glimmering white teeth reaching forward to clamp down on her foe, but the devilishly fast feline slipped away again as Astrid’s jaw closed around empty air. Kaitlyn frowned as Purugly appeared again in front of Mars, sizing the Mawile up from afar as both Pokemon took a moment to refocus. Astrid couldn’t seem to land a good hit on the Purugly thanks to the large speed difference between them, but the Stockpiles her starter had used were doing wonders to safeguard her against the multitude of Thunderbolts that the Normal-type was dishing out. Still, they seemed as if they weren’t truly fighting with everything they had, Kaitlyn thought as she watched. Purugly probably weighed three or four times what Astrid did, and Steel-type or not she expected Mars’ Pokemon to be using the size difference to its advantage. Instead, it was simply staying back and chipping away at her defenses, uncaring whether or not it was hurting Astrid much at all.
That begged the question - what were they stalling for?
‘Those cops need to hurry up...’
Cassie could feel her hands jittering, adrenaline and the slight tinge of fear putting her nerves on edge, but with Paulos in the thick of the battle she couldn’t afford to pay it any mind. Kaitlyn was still nearby, helping to ease her fears somewhat, but Astrid seemed to be having a rough time dealing with the agile Purugly that the Galactic admin had released.
“Snarl,” Europa called calmly, bringing Cassie’s mind back into sharp focus as she watched Mightyena bark out a series of black and red rings into the air at Paulos. The Pidgey dove to avoid them, gliding swiftly underneath the attack before starting to ascend again and charge up for another Gust. He had been sticking to hit and run attacks from just out of Mightyena’s reach, working on slowly wearing down the larger Dark-type, and so far the strategy had been a solid approach. Another swoop past the Mightyena was chased by another series of dark rings, and Paulos finally released the Gust as he curved around for another attack, the Flying-type energy cutting through the air where Mightyena had stood as it twisted aside from the slicing wind.
“Paulos, keep at it! Try a Whirlwind!”
“Roar, Mightyena.”
Paulos cut his speed in mid-air, flapping furiously as his wings shimmered with Flying TE to create a small tornado in front of him that whipped forward towards the Mightyena. With any luck, it would unbalance the canine, leave it open to attack -
Mightyena opened its mouth and roared.
It wasn’t the kind of loud, invigorating howl that Orion used in battle to get himself pumped and ready to fight. The howl that emitted from Mightyena’s mouth was primal and visceral in nature, the kind of bellow that sent shivers down spines and caused hair to stand on end. The attack’s thickly-bunched waves of sound punched through the Whirlwind, dissipating it and closing the distance between the Dark-type and Paulos with startling speed. Paulos didn’t move, barely keeping himself aloft as he stared with terror-stricken eyes before the sound waves slammed into him.
“Paulos!”
A dull boom sounded as the Pidgey plummeted from the air, a few stray feathers falling free as he hurtled towards the ground. The impact of the attack seemed to have shaken him from his terrified stupor, and he quickly righted himself to fly away again before he jerked to a stop. Pain lanced through his right leg as he looked back, seeing it caught in the jaws of the Mightyena, and he was snatched backwards by the canine like a chew toy as he tried to reorient himself.
Orion watched on in horror as the Dark-type started to bite and claw at Paulos now that the bird was within reach, feeling as if he was watching a more unfortunate ending to the program they’d watched on TV before as his teammate struggled to get enough space to take off again. The Mightyena’s teeth and claws shimmered in the sunlight, glittering with bits of Dark TE that clashed with Paulos’ wings and talons in a furious melee. Paulos cuffed his attacker across the face with a hasty Steel Wing, but the attack didn’t have enough power in it to force the much larger Pokemon back, and he tried to scramble away as the canine’s sharp teeth tore a group of feathers from his breast in the process.
“Quick Attack! Get out of there!”
The white aura of Normal TE burst around Paulos for a brief moment as he tried to break away, feeling the sharp claws of Europa’s Pokemon rake across the length of his wing as he fought to get some distance. More feathers fluttered into the air, torn from the skin by the sharp nails, and Paulos finally got a moment to collect himself a short distance away as thin trails of blood seeped into the cream-colored feathers of his chest and wing.
Paulos was bleeding, bruised, and slowly losing the fight against Europa’s Mightyena despite his best efforts at keeping the fight at a distance and the Dark-type at a disadvantage. He kept himself in the air as he sized up the canine, wondering how best he might be able to pick apart his much larger foe with the winds at his disposal.
It was invigorating.
He’d been one of the stronger members of his flock thanks to his large stature, and had rarely lost spars with his brethren outside of being outnumbered or overpowered by some of his evolved kin. The ease with which he found victory had emboldened him, bolstering his ego and making him overconfident up until the day he met Cassie and Orion. The encounter with the one who was now his trainer had reminded him that there was always someone stronger, always another mountain to climb in the distance and another goal to seek. He’d forgotten the thrill of battling someone that outclassed you, the instincts that sharpened in the midst of combat, the rush of adrenaline that accompanied the fear of defeat or worse.
A claw swipe, nimbly dodged beneath.
A Snarl, evaded with a Quick Attack above the pulsing rings.
A snap of teeth, forced away with a Gust.
But still, he was slowly losing. For every strike he dodged or deflected, another found purchase on his body, slowly opening gashes and gouges in his body that wept blood and throbbed with pain. The Mightyena was too large, too quick, too powerful.
But he wouldn’t yield. He couldn’t yield.
His trainer had put her trust in him, choosing his strength to lead her to victory. He wasn’t her first and best, but she cared for him as if he was, just as she now cared for the infant Turtwig who would one day join them on the field of battle. It warmed something in him, soothed the desire for revenge against the one that wronged him that burned somewhere in a corner of his soul no matter how much he wanted to bury it.
Despite that, the winds were not enough. He needed more.
“End this - Crunch.”
He heard the call from the Dark-type’s trainer, watching the teeth gleam shades of red and black as the Mightyena lunged for him, and he had enough time to coat his wings with the increasingly familiar feeling of Steel TE before the jaws opened wide like a vise. They snapped shut with the force of a bear trap, slamming into metallically-coated feathers with a squeal like metal tearing as he tried to repel the attack. His beak clenched painfully as he struggled, wings shivering and aching with the effort of holding back the enemy, and he could just faintly see an expression on the opposing trainer that could’ve passed for frustration.
He was just a Pidgey, after all. Nothing special, nothing worthy of notice to most. All except one.
“Paulos!”
He wasn’t just a Pidgey. He would be more. His trainer deserved nothing less.
Cassie’s scream tore through the air as she watched the Mightyena’s jaws close around Paulos’ wings, struggling to break through the Steel TE that coated them in his attempt to protect himself. Orion stood beside her, muscles tensed and fur spiked with anger as he watched the fight, and Cassie could tell he was just barely resisting the urge to go after the opposing canine to protect his teammate and friend. She’d made a mistake letting Paulos fight the Mightyena, and just like her mistake at the gym, it was going to wind up getting one of her team hurt unnecessarily. Her hand quickly reached for Paulos’ ball, and she was in the motion of raising it to recall the injured Pidgey when the shimmer of white light stayed her hand.
Paulos’ body slowly began to glow, the faint shimmer building into a brilliant radiance that forced the Mightyena away lest it be blinded by the explosion of light. Energy covered his body as Cassie gasped, and a transformation began within the shell of energy around the Pidgey’s form. Bones and muscles grew and stretched as his body expanded, growing several times larger than his already hefty size. Feathers lengthened and regrew, cuts and wounds where they were torn out healing over and making way for new skin and downy covering. His tailfeathers nearly doubled in length, alternating red and yellow plumage fluttering in the cocoon of evolution, and the short brown crest atop his head expanded into a brilliant red crown of long feathers fluttering in the breeze. The energy slowly dimmed as Paulos’ transformation ceased, and the shell of power around him faded into nothingness to leave a massive Pidgeotto in the place where the Pidgey’s much smaller form had been before.
“Wow...”
Cassie couldn’t think of anything else to say but the single word as she took in Paulos’ new appearance, standing proud now with a stature even taller than the Mightyena he was facing down. The canine Pokemon’s eyes seemed to grow wary as its fur bristled, tail stiffening as it tensed and slowly backed away from the now much-larger foe it was facing. Paulos glanced over his new body for a moment before beginning to laugh with his normal bombastic enthusiasm, and the look he shot the Mightyena as he took to the air again with a flap of powerful wings promised pain for the one opposing him.
Paulos felt incredible. That was the only word he could use to describe the sensation of his freshly-evolved form flying through the air, wounds closed and bleeding staunched by the transformation of his body. It felt like he could do incredible things with a flick of a wing or swing of a taloned foot, and he wondered briefly if all Pokemon felt like this just after evolving.
He’d have time to ruminate on his newfound ability later, though. There was still a foe he needed to dispatch.
“You have made a grave mistake this day, challenging Paulos!” he cried as he dove swiftly at the Mightyena with the white energy of Quick Attack flickering across his body. The Dark-type canine tried to dodge but was much too slow in reacting, and the Pidgeotto delivered a crushing tackle to its chest that sent it sprawling head over paws before soaring back into the sky.
“The winds whisper to Paulos of your defeat!”
He watched as the Mightyena struggled back to its feet again, growling and launching another Snarl at him that he dodged as effortlessly as breathing. It all seemed so clear now, his foe’s attacks flying as if they were moving through tar. There would be a reckoning for his enemies, and he would make this ‘Team Galactic’ rue the day they crossed him and his trainer. Energy built around him again as he prepared to attack, but this was something different than the Flying TE that he usually wielded. It was something wilder and chaotic in nature, something he’d seen his mother using when he was but a young chick that was not so much ‘controlled’ as ‘directed.’
“Face the storm!”
His wings worked furiously, whipping up the winds around him into something faster and more violent than his Whirlwind, and the gusts intensified into a tightly-swirling funnel crackling with sparks of purple energy within it. With a mighty flap, he sent the Twister at Mightyena and watched as the attack pulled at everything around it as it moved. He could see Cassie’s hair whipping wildly from the effects of the attack even at the distance she stood, and the Dark-type turned to run in an attempt to get out of the way of the moving cyclone. The pull was stronger than its muscles at such a short distance, though, and one paw lost its grip on the concrete just enough that the Dark-type found itself unable to keep ahead of the swirling winds. With a howl of surprise, the Mightyena was sucked into the vortex, and it swirled angrily in place for several seconds before falling apart and letting the Dark-type fall back towards the ground. Something snapped in one of the Dark-type’s legs like a dry twig as it impacted the hard concrete, and it yelped loudly from the pain as Paulos watched from the air.
Yes, that was the power he was looking for. He wouldn’t be ‘just a Pidgey’ - not now, not ever.
Mars could feel her anger threatening to boil over as she watched her Purugly disengage from its foe once more, sporting a fresh bite mark along its flank that it hadn’t been quite quick enough to dodge. The defensive abilities of the Mawile had turned Purugly’s Thunderbolt into something that was far less debilitating than she’d hoped, and prolonged close combat with a Pokemon that was obviously her superior in that respect was downright foolish. She’d resorted to hit and run tactics, weaving in and out of close range to strike from unexpected angles with Feint Attack and Play Rough, but the Steel-type’s hardy body meant that even those were finding little purchase.
The sudden evolution of her partner’s Pidgey and subsequent crippling of Europa’s Mightyena only served to make the situation worse, and she scowled as she looked between the pair of young trainers. How long had they been fighting - five minutes? Ten? The police would be here soon if the Mawile’s trainer was telling the truth, and that would bring more and stronger forces against them than she cared to try and deal with, even with her full team at her disposal. Whether or not the grunts got away safely wasn’t her concern now. She needed to make sure that they made good their own escape, or everything they had done here could be at risk. None of the grunts that had accompanied them knew anything of the larger scheme of their plans anyway, so even if they were arrested there wouldn’t be any major harm done.
“Hmph...you uppity brats,” she growled, watching as Europa recalled her wounded Pokemon and reached for another ball at her belt. “You might’ve gotten lucky here, but we already got what we wanted. You were too late from the start.”
Kaitlyn’s eyes narrowed. “And what might that be?”
“Like I would be stupid enough to tell you that,” Mars scoffed, shaking her head as Europa tossed out another ball to the field. It materialized into a Bronzor that let out a musical cry, but Europa didn’t call for an attack immediately as she glanced towards her apparent superior.
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“You’re ready, then?” she asked Mars, who simply smiled as she pointed the Ultra Ball towards Purugly and recalled it into the sphere with a beam of red light.
“We’re done here. Let’s get back to the base.”
“Very well,” Europa nodded. “Bronzor, Teleport.”
Pink light glimmered around both the Pokemon and the pair of Galactic members before Kaitlyn could try to stop them, and a flash of energy took them away in a blink much as Kirlia’s earlier Teleport had done. Kaitlyn’s fist clenched at her side as she watched the two women escape, and she gave a long sigh as Astrid finally relaxed with the threats apparently gone for now.
“Damn it...they got away,” she muttered, the words tasting bitter on her tongue. Whatever they had been doing here, they’d managed to get away more or less cleanly with it, and the failure stung Kaitlyn more than she cared for.
‘At least something good came out of it,’ she thought, watching Cassie’s beaming expression as she looked over Paulos’ newly-evolved form. The younger girl was over the moon at the Pidgeotto’s appearance, and Orion was trotting around the much larger bird now as well, barking something that caused the avian to throw back his head in laughter. “You okay, Astrid?”
The Mawile nodded back to her trainer as she walked back over, though her muscles were jittery and aching from both exertion and the Electric-type attacks she’d been repeatedly subjected to. Kaitlyn looked over her briefly to see how bad her injuries were before hefting the Pokemon into her arms, feeling the slight shaking of her partner’s limbs. She was a bit banged up and had a few cuts and scrapes, but overall wasn’t too badly injured. They’d been lucky this time around, it seemed, even if the gang members had gotten away with whatever it was they were up to.
“Cassie, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Kaitlyn,” she called back, still grinning as she gestured to Paulos. “I don’t think he can ride on my shoulder anymore, though.”
That got a laugh out of Kaitlyn - given that Paulos now came up to somewhere above Cassie’s waist, that was an understatement. “Maybe Orion can ride on him instead now.”
Orion and Paulos looked at each other and instantly started laughing, sending Cassie into a fit of giggles as well. Even Kirlia was laughing, the melodic sounds of the Psychic-type’s actual voice joining the rest and causing Kaitlyn to reach for the Poke Ball she’d taken from the Galactic member.
“Now that that’s taken care of...”
A flash of light heralded the reappearance of Drifloon to the Windworks, and this time it was greeted by an exuberant hug from Kirlia as the two finally reunited. Drifloon let out a series of squeaks and cries that reminded Kaitlyn of air escaping a balloon - rather fitting, she had to admit. She was pretty sure this was the first time she’d ever seen a Drifloon in-person, since Fantina hadn’t used one against her when she’d challenged the gym last season.
“I’m so glad you’re okay!” Cassie said, stepping over to get a better look at the diminutive Ghost Pokemon. “Those guys didn’t hurt you, did they?”
Drifloon bobbed from side to side for a moment, joined by Kirlia’s mental voice a moment later. “No, they didn’t. Thank you two for helping him...I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to him because of me.”
“None of this was your fault, Kirlia,” Cassie said firmly, kneeling down to the smaller Pokemon. “Those Galactic goons were here for something else...you just got caught up in it, that’s all.”
Cassie could see the relief on Kirlia’s face mixed with the happiness of having her friend back at long last, yet she was surprised to have the tiny Pokemon reach over to hug her a moment later, wrapping thin arms around her as far as she could manage. She gently reached around to return the hug, glad to see that everything seemed to be fixed now, even though everything that had just happened gave her no small amount of worry.
It had been years since she’d touched any of the generation four games, and while she remembered that Galactic’s ultimate aim had been to use the legendary Pokemon Dialga and Palkia to effectively destroy and remake the world to their liking, she remembered little of the events that led up to that inevitable confrontation atop Coronet’s peak. The incident at Valley Windworks was just the start, she knew, though...even if she did remember, who was to say that things would be the same as she was aware of? This was her reality now, not just some game storyline to be played through.
She definitely didn’t realize the Galactic member that she’d faced, come to think of it. She’d heard Mars call her ‘Europa,’ though, which made her think she wasn’t just another grunt under Mars’ command. Another Commander that wasn’t present in the game? Some kind of lieutenant? Cassie had no idea, and that worried her more than she cared to consider.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of a large shadow looming overhead and the sound of wingbeats from afar, and her breath caught for a moment at the thought of more Galactic members returning before she looked up and spotted the form of a large green Pokemon silhouetted against the sunlight. She could barely see for the bright light above, but the wings were a dead giveaway that the Pokemon above her was a Tropius as it started to come in for a landing. It looked like Gardenia had been able to make it after all, though it was a pity she hadn’t been able to help them capture the Galactic members. Though on second thought, she likely wouldn’t have been able to stop them from teleporting away anyway, Cassie mused.
“I came as fast as I could,” Gardenia said as she swung herself off of her mount, looking between the two girls and several Pokemon surrounding them. The joviality that the young woman usually carried herself with was absent, and in its place was the focused attention of a Gym Leader prepared to protect the region. “Was I too late?”
“Yeah,” Kaitlyn replied with a sad nod. “We fought them for a few minutes, but they got away with a teleport. Everyone’s okay here, but I don’t know what the situation is inside or if all of the workers are okay.”
“I’ll go check things out inside with Lucy,” the Gym Leader stated, turning to her Tropius. “Stay here with them for now, okay?”
Tropius gave a rumbling agreement, eyes looking around the area for any sign of more intruders even as another ball popped open from Gardenia’s belt to release a much smaller Pokemon. Barely a foot tall with green skin and flowers arranged to look like a hula dress and matching flower ‘hairpins,’ the Bellossom wasn’t a particularly intimidating sight yet still carried itself with clear authority befitting a Leader’s personal team member. The Gym Leader knelt briefly, letting her Pokemon hop up first to her hand and then to her shoulder before she stood again and strode off towards the administration building.
Cassie found herself finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. They’d managed to stop Galactic without anyone getting hurt as well as rescue Drifloon, and with Gardenia here now she was sure that the situation was under control. She hadn’t missed the way Kaitlyn had acted when confronting the gang, though. Had she had encounters with Galactic in the past? It certainly seemed that way, at least.
The distant sound of an approaching siren quickly put a stop to any thoughts about the matter as Cassie realized the police had finally arrived. She traded looks with Kaitlyn as they watched a pair of police cars pull into the fenced area and drive towards them, ready to put the whole affair behind them for the time being.
Somewhere around thirty minutes had passed when Cassie and Kaitlyn finally finished speaking with the three officers from the Jubilife City Police Department that had responded to the older blond’s call. Cassie had expected things to take much longer, hours of paperwork, statements, and a host of other things she’d conjured up in her mind, most of which were likely nothing but fantasy thoughts from television shows. Instead, she’d gotten a polite yet thorough questioning from one of the cops while another spoke with Kaitlyn, the third releasing a pair of Growlithe of his own to help sweep the grounds with and find any remaining intruders. Orion had gotten a look on his face that Cassie couldn’t quite interpret at the sight of more of his own species and the way they carried themselves in the handling of their duties. Pride, curiosity, even jealousy, maybe? She couldn’t figure it out from the non-verbal language alone, but she didn’t miss the way that her starter seemed to hold himself just a bit straighter in their presence.
Gardenia had emerged from the building several minutes into their questioning and spoken with the cop who was patrolling the grounds, though Cassie didn’t hear any of the conversation. Thankfully, both had confirmed that any Galactic members were indeed long gone from the area, and the plant manager for the Windworks had been notified of everything that had just transpired.
‘I’m sure that’s going to go over well...’ Cassie thought as the officers began to pack up to leave. She couldn’t imagine how Galactic had gotten away with so much in the first place, now that she thought about it. The games never elaborated on it, at any rate, and it didn’t seem like they had taken over the plant by force from the little she’d seen, but she couldn’t be sure about that. At any rate, it was in better hands than theirs to handle now.
“Cassie!”
Gardenia and her Bellossom made their way back over towards the small group, the Gym Leader’s attitude now much brighter with the confirmation that the situation was under control. Relief was plain across her face as she approached, and when she spoke it was again with the cheery attitude that she carried in public instead of the serious Gym Leader face she put on in battle. “I’m glad you’re both safe. When I got your text, I freaked out a little, honestly. I didn’t expect to see you diving headfirst into trouble like that,” she said with a laugh that was just a little too forced to be entirely genuine.
“I don’t think I did either,” Cassie admitted with the same nervous laugh, “but we had Kirlia here ask us for help, and I didn’t want to just stand by and do nothing.” She gestured to the small Psychic-type that Gardenia had noticed nearby, still speaking with the Drifloon that didn’t seem to have left her side since the Leader had arrived here. Gardenia gave a curious look towards the duo of Pokemon for a moment before putting a hand on her hip.
“What’s the story there? I was wondering why those two Pokemon were around - they’re not yours, are they?”
“No, no, they’re actually both wild,” Cassie said quickly, waving her hands to dismiss the idea. “We were out at one of the training grounds in Jubilife when Kirlia teleported in near us all banged up. She told us about how some teal-haired man had fought her and captured Drifloon, and she wanted our help freeing him.”
It was uncommon for wild Pokemon to seek out a trainer’s help so directly, Gardenia thought, but it certainly wasn’t something that had never happened before. Maybe the Kirlia had somehow realized the danger that Galactic posed, given their ability to sense emotions.
“Have you run into Galactic before, then?”
Cassie shook her head. “No, I just...realized it was probably them because I saw them on the news,” she lied, hoping it was convincing enough in the moment as she remembered she hadn’t told Gardenia anything yet about where she was really from. “I don’t get what’s with the weird haircut, either, but it made them easy to spot at least,” she added. That got a laugh out of the orange-haired Eterna native that she couldn’t suppress, and Bellossom steadied itself on her shoulder as she giggled.
“That’s the truth...I’ve seen a few of them around town lately causing trouble, but at least the police put a stop to it pretty fast.”
“They’ve been making trouble across the region, it looks like,” Kaitlyn said, finally speaking up for a moment. Gardenia nodded, letting a sigh escape her lips as she thought about the last meeting she’d been at with the other Gym Leaders.
“Tell me about it,” she muttered. “Cynthia’s about to tie herself in knots trying to figure out how to deal with it all, if what Candice told me is the truth, and I think Byron’s not far behind her.”
“Port trouble?” Kaitlyn was suddenly curious; she hadn’t heard of any problems in Canalave, but she also hadn’t been home in over a month or heard much from her dad lately. She made a mental note to call her parents whenever she got time to see what they might know.
“Something like that,” Gardenia said hesitantly, shrugging a little. “Cynthia’s helping, but there’s not much they can do about it right now. It might not be related, but they’re treating it like it is for the moment.”
That was news to Cassie too. She was still fuzzy on the details of the games, but she was almost certain that there hadn’t been any issues from Galactic in Canalave City. Near it, maybe, but not in the city itself. Either way, it was certainly another piece of evidence for her prior thoughts.
“Sorry for dragging you away from the gym like this,” Cassie apologized. “I know you were probably doing challenge matches today...”
“I was, but I got Annie to fix the schedule for me. It wasn’t a big deal. Besides, this is more important - can’t have a conference season with the region under attack, right?” She had a point, Cassie reasoned. She still felt bad for causing Gardenia to fly out for nothing, but at least it didn’t seem like there was any harm done.
“Oh - before I go back,” the Gym Leader added. “Can I talk to you for a sec, Cassie? In private?”
Cassie and Kaitlyn looked at each other with shared interest, the former slowly nodding. “Ah...sure. I’ll just be a minute, okay?”
“It’s fine,” Kaitlyn replied, watching as her friend wandered away towards the admin building with Gardenia.
“Is something wrong?” Cassie asked as they walked, looking over at the suddenly-pensive young woman.
Internally, Gardenia was having a bit of a mental fight with herself. She wanted badly to explain to Cassie what they thought they’d figured out, how they thought she might be a Faller, but Cynthia’s words halted her voice in its tracks. She didn’t want to go against the words of her Champion, someone she trusted and respected greatly even despite her short tenure so far as a Gym Leader, but the directive warred against the desire for her to take care of the citizens of Eterna City. Faller or not, she considered the girl as much an Eterna native as anyone else, and that part of her was yelling to explain everything so that she could be aware of the dangers.
“No, no, nothing like that,” she said, fixing her smile back in place with practiced ease from hundreds of matches in front of cameras. “I just wanted to see if you were doing okay, that’s all.” Her voice lowered a bit more, just in case. “Did your memories ever come back?”
So that was it, Cassie realized. She probably didn’t want to discuss that around Kaitlyn out of respect for her privacy. “Not really,” Cassie answered quietly with a sad shake of her head. “A few bits and pieces, but nothing much.”
‘Should I tell her about the dreams?’ she wondered. She didn’t want to burden the Eterna Gym Leader with more of her troubles, but she still didn’t have any real answers except for where the lake in her dream likely was.
“I see...” Gardenia nodded slowly. “I reached out to some people I know to see if they could help, but no luck on that yet. I’ll let you know if we figure anything out, though.”
“Thanks, Gardenia...I’m trying not to worry about it, at least. But...” Her mind drifted back to her conversation with Kaitlyn. No more secrets, she’d told herself.
“But?” Gardenia prompted, tilting her head.
“I’ve been having...weird dreams lately. I’m dreaming about lakes, places I’ve never been to, and it’s like I’m really there when I’m in the dream. I’m alone, and I can feel everything around me, and I don’t know what to do. Kaitlyn said one of them sounds like Lake Acuity when I told her about them, but I just don’t know what’s going on.”
‘That’s...concerning,’ Gardenia thought, a hand going to her chin as she considered the information. “Do you think it’s connected to the memory loss?”
“I don’t know what to think...it didn’t start until I left Eterna. Not that I think that caused it,” she said, quickly shaking her head in case Gardenia got the wrong impression.
“I’ll make some calls and see if anyone I know has any thoughts,” Gardenia replied after a couple moments’ consideration. Cynthia would definitely want to know about this, she knew. “By the way, how’s Orion doing?” Her gaze wandered over to where Cassie’s starter was sitting with Kaitlyn, seemingly having a conversation with an absolutely massive Pidgeotto that had to have been the girl’s Pidgey, now evolved, along with the Steel trainer’s Mawile and the two wild Pokemon.
“Better,” Cassie said, the smile finally returning to her face. “He seems like he’s opened up a lot since we left Eterna.”
“I’m glad you found him,” the Grass-type Leader said with a smile.
“Me too. I can’t imagine being without him now. I just hope I can make him the best he can be...he deserves it.”
“He sure looks like he’s gotten stronger,” Gardenia commented. “Whatever you’re doing, it seems to be working.”
“We still lost to Roark,” Cassie said with a frustrated sigh. “I was stupid, and it cost us the badge.”
“You weren’t stupid,” the Gym Leader said, her voice suddenly sharp and stern. “You made a mistake. There’s a difference. Don’t forget that.” Her voice softened again. “You’re going to make mistakes while training and learning. It’s part of what the gym challenge is for, why it exists. It’s meant to help trainers grow. You can always fix mistakes and come back better, as long as you’re willing to put in the effort.”
“I know, it’s just...hard to remember sometimes.”
Gardenia could see the annoyance and frustration written plain on the girl’s face. It was clear that she didn’t like to fail, but she hoped Cassie could just keep her words in mind for the future. Failure was part of being a trainer, a natural part of getting better. Even Cynthia failed from time to time, no matter how strong she tried to appear for the sake of the region.
“Just try to keep it in mind.” She gently placed a hand on Cassie’s shoulder with a smile. “I need to get back to the gym now. Keep in touch, okay?”
“I will - see you later!”
“Musa, we’re leaving!” Gardenia called, holding up Lucy’s Poke Ball and letting the tiny flower Pokemon touch the button to go back inside as she walked. The Tropius’ head craned upward as it started to get up from the resting position it had curled up in, thick limbs pushing itself back to its feet before Gardenia swung herself up onto its back and started working the straps of her harness again. A minute later, she waved to Kaitlyn and the rest before her Tropius’ wings flapped powerfully, lifting her back into the air as she soared off back in the direction of Eterna City.
“We should probably get back to town too,” Kaitlyn said, glancing at her phone to check the time. “Drifloon’s safe, Galactic’s out of here...I think that qualifies as a job well done, don’t you?”
“Sounds like it to me,” Cassie agreed brightly. She honestly felt like she’d had enough excitement for one day, really, even as the back of her mind whispered that this almost certainly wouldn’t be the last time that she crossed paths with Galactic.
“Wait, please.”
Two sets of eyes turned to Kirlia in turn as both humans gave her their attention. A soft whistling sound was coming from Drifloon beside her, almost as if the feather-light Ghost-type was chuckling to himself.
“What is it, Kirlia?”
The Psychic-type glanced over in her friend’s direction, only to receive a tiny nudge from one of the strings that dangled beneath the balloon Pokemon. “I...wanted to ask something before you leave, if I may.”
“Oh?” Kaitlyn asked, curious as to what the tiny Pokemon was going to say next. She watched as Kirlia’s attention turned towards Cassie, the next words clearly meant for her even if she was still ‘speaking’ where all could hear.
“If it would not be too much trouble, may I please come along with you? I would like to repay you for helping my friend - it means more to me than I can truly express.”
The day was proving to be full of surprises, Cassie thought as her eyes widened faintly. “I...I don’t think anyone here would mind, but are you sure? You’re not going to stay here with Drifloon?”
The odd laughing came from the Ghost-type again, and Cassie swore she could see the faint red tint of embarrassment spreading across Kirlia’s cheeks. “Drifloon always said that I was the more adventurous out of the two of us, ever since I was a Ralts,” she said, glancing over at the Ghost. “Though he still has a habit of babying me a bit too much for my liking.” Drifloon’s laughing only got louder, Kirlia’s blush deepening right along with the squeaking tones.
Cassie looked over at Kaitlyn, seemingly seeking her opinion on the matter, and received only a shrug in response. “I don’t have a problem with it. She seems like she wants to join your team, so it’s your call.” Cassie nodded, having expected that was roughly the answer she was going to receive even as she thought the decision over. She loved the idea of having a Kirlia on her team - Gardevoir was a powerful Pokemon in battle, and Psychic-types in general would be useful for a host of reasons here that had nothing to do with game mechanics.
She worried that she was biting off more than she could chew, though. First a newborn Pokemon in Turtwig, and now a fourth team member so soon, on top of Paulos’ new evolution? The biggest fear she had wasn’t that she wouldn’t be able to train Kirlia herself, but more the fear of being overwhelmed by too much too quickly, of spreading herself too thin and not being able to adequately give her team the attention and care they deserved. On the other hand, if she was going to wind up in open conflict with Team Galactic, could she afford to pass it up, knowing that she would eventually need all the power she and her team could muster?
Kirlia watched patiently as Cassie thought, her own considerations flitting around her mind. She was still relatively young for a Pokemon - indeed, Drifloon was older than she was by a not-insubstantial amount - but it was true that she longed for adventure just as she had said. Whether that was by the side of a trainer or not had seemed inconsequential to her at first...up until now.
Her words had been honest and heartfelt, but there was another reason she wished to come along which had little to do with the idea of travel and adventure across the region and made her feel uncomfortably selfish as she considered it. When she had touched the girl’s mind earlier, merely to communicate just as she had with others before, she had found something there which had sparked a curiosity in her that she did not expect. A presence, some kind of Psychic imprint, thick and heavy and suffusing her mind in a way Kirlia had never seen before. Whatever was there felt warm and inviting, a soothing yet alien touch on the senses that she was sure only another Psychic like herself could truly pick up on. Indeed, she suspected that Cassie herself likely had no idea it was even there, the more she thought about it. She had felt at ease around the girl upon first meeting her, and she had no doubt that whatever strange force residing within her mind had something to do with that.
What kind of being could do such a thing...that was the curiosity that dug its way into her mind like a worm into an apple, and she found herself intensely wanting to know more.
“Kirlia?”
She almost jumped at the sound of Cassie’s voice, so lost in thought was she, but she managed to keep her composure at the unexpected noise. Orion was sitting in front of Cassie with a small grin, looking up at his trainer with the same kind of soft smile that she herself was now wearing.
“If you really want to come...then welcome to the team.”