Cynthia was, as most of the staff at the Pokemon League and her small group of friends could readily attest to, an early riser almost every day. It wasn’t uncommon for officials at League Headquarters to find the Champion in her office not long after the six-A.M. shift change, working diligently on one thing or another with one of her Pokemon keeping her company within. Long days of training and expeditions into the wilds of Sinnoh in search of long-lost relics and historical artifacts had given the granddaughter of the acclaimed Professor Carolina an appreciation for the dawn, and she often felt she did her best work just after waking.
Her morning routine was simple, as structured and focused as she herself was. Wake up, make sure that no crisis or other important matter needed to be attended to immediately, then breakfast and morning exercise for herself and her team before heading to her office. Most days, it wasn’t an issue; her Elite Four were wonderful in making sure that only the truly important issues were worth bothering her for before she properly began her day.
Other times, well...the day found her first.
Gardenia’s phone call the previous evening had been a welcome warning, as she was sure that she would have been filled with a feeling of dread right about now if she hadn’t already been aware of what she would see on the news. She’d barely turned on the television when she saw the first broadcast about the incident at Valley Windworks from the local news on Suzuran, heavy on speculation yet light on actual facts. Major networks region-wide were reporting on the event, and she’d wondered briefly what details they had been given before breathing a quiet sigh of relief. This story, at least, held no identifying details of the two trainers who had stopped the incursion, nothing concrete mentioned except that Galactic had been forced from the premises. A few quick phone calls to local authorities had yielded promises that nothing would get out which she didn’t want revealed yet, at least not to the viewing public at large.
Online, however, was a different story.
Cynthia knew all too well how fast word could spread online, and it hadn’t taken her long to do a few cursory searches following the news broadcast and discover that her precautions did little good against the prevalence of smartphones, word of mouth, and forum posts.
“Wonderful,” she muttered, staring at her phone as if she could glare the offending piece of information into non-existence. A lone thread on BattleNet’s regional news forum rested in front of her eyes, the large-print title ‘What’s happening at Valley Windworks?’ looming above a following string of hasty posts and numerous pages full of shoddy information, wild mass guessing, and just enough glimmers of truth and partially-unfocused cellphone footage to give the Champion what was sure to be a headache-inducing time in the near future. A finger scrolled the thread as she searched with a careful eye, wondering if she would find anything useful, but she didn’t have to go very far until she found something of value.
LittleLostDucklett11
Replied on Wednesday, April 21st
So, my dad works at Valley Windworks and caught some good footage on his phone from the second floor. Looks like two girls fighting with two of the people that he said have been there for a few days now. Heard something about them being Team Galactic members? Anyway, here it is:
Immediately after that was a link to a PokeTube video that Cynthia clicked on anxiously as she sat down on the small couch in her living room. She full-screened the video and turned her phone to its side to get a larger video size, but the small screen combined with the already distant, slightly-blurry footage through an elevated window didn’t really help her ability to see all that much. Still, she gathered enough to see that it was definitely genuine, if thankfully lacking in any important or distinguishing information. She could make out the small forms of Cassie and Kaitlyn directing their Pokemon in battle against a Mightyena and Purugly, but was only able to see the backs of the two alleged Galactic members they were fighting. She watched for a few minutes as the quartet of trainers fought, with Cassie’s Pidgey evolving and turning the tide against her opponent alongside the stalemate of Kaitlyn and her own foe before the duo of Galactic members finally teleported away.
Gardenia had shown up shortly after from the Leader’s own account, and from there Cynthia knew all the relevant details. Still, even if she didn’t like seeing trainers from her region getting mixed up in fights against criminals like Galactic, she couldn’t deny that the pair seemed skilled enough at first glance. The video had little audio, just the chatter of the people surrounding the man who was recording and the occasional sound of attacks from below, but even without it Cynthia was already making her own assessment. She knew from her research that Kaitlyn had been a previous contender in the circuit last year and was likely used to higher-intensity battles, but with everything she both knew and presently assumed about Cassie, the younger girl had no such experience. Despite that, she seemed just as unwilling to back down as her companion. That was as equally promising as it was a potential problem, especially given her presumed status.
‘Should I try to head that off, then? Give her some direction before that option is taken away from me?’
It was a thought worth considering, the Champion mused. If Cassie was going to find her path intertwined with the emerging gang despite all of Cynthia’s best attempts, which seemed almost a certainty now that she had already encountered the group and foiled their plans once, then perhaps it would be best to try and direct the young trainer’s subsequent involvement along a path of her own choosing. That way, she could keep a firm hand on things as well as try to make sure that they both had backup if needed before they found themselves in a situation that might be too much for them.
She slid her finger left on the phone screen, rewinding the video of the battle once again as her mind wandered, mulling over the course of action she should take. She wished Bertha was around, were she being honest. The grandmotherly Elite often helped Cynthia puzzle out particularly frustrating problems, using her wealth of life experience and knowledge to assist her Champion when she couldn’t find an angle of attack. With the potential risk at play here, a part of her wondered if her actions would cause more danger than they prevented.
A quick swipe of her finger neatly dismissed the window before she pulled up her messages, opening the conversation with Gardenia with a light press as she began to type. Sometimes, she thought absently, she needed to trust her instincts.
Can you please find out for me where Cassie will be Saturday?
For the fifth time in as many minutes, Cassie resisted the urge to swear as her usually-pristine handwriting was marred, her pen jerking along the page in an erratic swipe as the bus hit an uncomfortably large bump on the road. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips instead as she crossed out what she’d been attempting to write and started again, not noticing the sympathetic look Kaitlyn gave her from her own seat beside the younger trainer. She had been writing almost the entire trip, answering Kaitlyn’s questions as she went along in an unusual reversal of their typical dynamic. The page was an organized slew of snippets of information, showcasing lists of moves, groups of Pokemon names, and random thoughts with some relevance that Cassie’s mind had happened upon in the spur of the moment as she planned and plotted.
Competitive battling in the video games was an area that Cassie had only really dipped her toes in before, but she had long been fascinated by the theory and mindgames of it all. She’d made an attempt to learn it properly during generation six, with Pokemon X and Y giving her the first real hands-on competitive play she’d ever done outside of the occasional battle with friends who also played, using teams they’d taken through the story instead of a properly bred and prepared roster. Understanding the theory was one thing, reading and memorizing counters and leads and movesets until the underlying ideas started to meld together into something resembling a proper understanding, but it felt like everything she knew went out the window the moment she linked up with someone else for a match.
All of that felt like it was taken up to eleven now that she wasn’t just playing it, but living it, but that wasn’t to say that some of the same concepts couldn’t be applied.
Every team had a few core concepts no matter who the trainer was or what their Pokemon were. Defensively-focused versus offensively-focused, individual roles within a team, the necessity of certain moves or abilities for a given overall strategy. Those could still be considered and built on, even if many of the associated mechanics were irrelevant in a realistic context such as the idea of EVs and IVs or things like changing abilities or breeding for certain moves. There would be no Ability Capsule to magically switch an ability, no stat-boosting vitamins to instantly boost power levels; she was working with what she had. But that, in and of itself, was an opportunity.
Her team could be as strong as they could push themselves to be, learn moves that would never be possible in a game format, and have members fill roles that any competitive meta would sneer at seeing that Pokemon performing. The limitations of a game setting were stripped away here, rendered nonexistent and irrelevant by reality itself - no maximum of four moves, no turn-based action, just careful planning and quick adaptation in the heat of the moment. Ultimately, everything depended on how she trained them, how they pushed themselves, and how dedicated they truly were to being the best.
She’d started talking to Kaitlyn about what she remembered of her old competitive scene experiences almost from the moment they sat down on the bus, words veiled in the guise of hypothetical battle scenarios and the like. A lot of the language she used had been picked up from online, common verbiage used when discussing things like official competition matches, and she found herself needing to explain a lot of the shorthand and terms she used so that they made sense in context to Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn’s eyes had widened considerably at the mentions of Yveltal and Ho-Oh, two that had been among the six for her first competitive doubles team where the use of Legendaries and Mythicals had been allowed, and she couldn’t suppress a giggle at the idea of what her friend might be thinking at hearing her refer to such extraordinary Legendaries in the context of a mere game.
Kaitlyn, for her part, was surprised for an altogether different reason. The mention of Legendaries had caught her off guard, yes, but that was to be expected of a game. If it existed within the context of the game, it was more than likely usable in some way, and Legendaries were obviously no exception to that. The surprise had more to do with the way that Cassie described her style of battling in the limited time she’d played and just how similar it was to her own in some respects. Defensive moves like Reflect and Light Screen to blunt an opponent’s offense early on, then following up with debilitating moves like Toxic, Will-O-Wisp, or Thunder Wave to cripple them before going in for the kill with a powerhouse once her lead members were removed from the field. It was a strategy aimed at blunting or even eliminating counterattacks, an attempt at being risk-averse in the extreme...and it made perfect sense.
The younger trainer was still unsure of herself, still getting her bearings even after nearly two months in Sinnoh and - up until just recently - seemingly afraid to take charge, preferring to let Kaitlyn take the lead. There was a demon of a trainer in her friend somewhere though, Kaitlyn knew, and she just needed to figure out how to let it out. She hadn’t realized it at first, but she’d seen the same look that often graced Cassie’s face elsewhere. The kind of look that was sweet and innocent until it came time to be serious, then turned into something out of a nightmare without outwardly changing in appearance at all.
It was the kind of look she’d always seen in Kayley ever since she decided that Dragons were cute, cuddly, and the perfect thing to build a persona around.
“I wish I had a better way to make some money than just using the job board...” Cassie lamented quietly, scribbling down Flamethrower under a list of things for Orion and neatly underlining it twice for emphasis. “I feel like I’m just barely scraping by on funds right now, and I hate it.”
“That’s normal for new trainers. It’s a big part of the reason why training supplies get such big subsidies from the League - lots of trainers don’t have much money when they’re just starting out, and you don’t have a conference if ninety percent of the people participating can’t even get off the ground.” Kaitlyn shrugged from her seat. “There’s always ante matches, but that’s a little risky if you’re already on thin ice.”
“Arceus or whoever could’ve at least put a few gold nuggets with me when they dumped me in the forest,” she grumbled jokingly. Kaitlyn cocked an eyebrow, the apparent joke lost on her, and Cassie smiled. “I’m kidding. Mostly.”
“Well, there’s always the chance of a sponsorship if you keep doing well enough in the circuit,” Kaitlyn offered. “Lots of companies look for up-and-coming trainers to promote their new stuff. I had one or two last season after the first few gyms. Nothing big, but it made a difference for sure.”
“All the more reason for me to be more serious about this,” Cassie said, nearly fumbling her pen as the bus rolled over another bump. “Oh, I need to remember to scan Kirlia when we get to Sandgem. I didn’t get a chance to do it yet after she joined us, and I want to make sure the data gets uploaded to the Centers.”
“I think you’re worrying a little too much,” Kaitlyn suggested, grimacing as she tried to stretch a cramp out of her leg in the narrow bus aisle. “You’ve got a solid team already, even if Turtwig isn’t ready to start training yet.”
“That’s exactly the problem,” Cassie rebutted with a shrug. “Orion and Paulos are great at offense, and Kirlia’s probably going to be a capable healer and good on the attack too, but I don’t have any defense to go with it. Turtwig will be great at it, but he’s nowhere near ready for battles yet.”
“Spear Pillar wasn’t built in a day, Cassie. You’ve just got to relax - it’ll all come together, you’ll see.”
Cassie knew that, but she couldn’t help but let the worries invade her mind. The Galactic encounter was likely only the first of many, and she felt the pressure of wanting - no, needing to move faster and train harder so that she didn’t get caught off guard when they crossed paths again. She had no doubt she would be seeing the villainous team again, but she had no idea when or how that was going to happen. She felt like a Rattata trapped in a maze, scurrying around aimlessly with potential danger around every corner. Was she really worrying about things too much? Maybe she did just need to relax...
“How long until we make it to Sandgem?” she asked Kaitlyn, changing the subject in an attempt to keep her mind from dwelling on the negatives.
“Maybe...” She checked her phone with a quiet click. “Another half-hour, little more?” Cassie groaned as the bus rolled over another, gentler bump.
“I wonder if I can get to see the Professor’s lab while we’re here...”
“We can go and ask, if nothing else. Professor Rowan is pretty nice, even if he’s a little gruff and stern sometimes. Still after that internship?”
“Of course!” she said excitedly. “Can you imagine what it would be like to work for a regional professor? It must be incredible to study Pokemon in detail every day like that!”
Kaitlyn grinned, more of a brittle smile than actual warmth in the expression. “And don’t forget the long hours, lots of time sleeping outside for field work, and veritable mountains of paperwork and bureaucratic red tape from the League to fight through just to make sure you keep proper funding,” she said, ticking off points on her fingers as she went. “Kayley tried an internship once, and...let’s just say that it wasn’t everything she’d seen on TV.”
“Oh, come on...it can’t be that bad.” Cassie’s face still shifted a bit nervously despite her optimism.
“Ask her yourself sometime. It was a few years ago now, so I forget who she was working under, but she’ll be glad to tell you all about it.” Kaitlyn smiled. “Just be ready for her to rant about that ‘slave-driving old man’ at length. Once she gets wound up, she can really go for a while.”
With that kind of a description, it made Cassie wonder if it was any Professor she’d recognize. Rowan was the likeliest to fit the bill in her opinion, but it didn’t seem like Kaitlyn would’ve forgotten if that was the case. It couldn’t be Oak, and most of the rest she knew of were ruled out for one reason or another the more she thought about it. Someone from Paldea, maybe? She gave up thinking about it after a minute, electing instead to finally close her notebook and lean back into the mildly-uncomfortable bench seat of the bus as she tried to ignore the minute vibrations she could feel as the bus continued to hit rough patches.
“Would it kill the League to give a little more funding for this route...” she muttered, feeling like her teeth were rattling in her mouth.
Kaitlyn just chuckled quietly from beside her before reaching for her phone, browsing back to the article she was reading regarding Steel-type adaptation in cold climates. Hopefully, she’d have enough time to finish it before they arrived in town.
The air brakes of the bus let loose a puff of air as the heavy vehicle came to a stop in the small, paved lot at its destination, sending bits of loose dirt and grass on the hard surface flying around as the doors slid open with a faint creak. The few passengers quickly started to disembark as the bus driver announced the stop for Sandgem Town, and Cassie and Kaitlyn breathed in lungfuls of fresh air along with a faint ocean breeze as they stepped out and stretched. The ride hadn’t been particularly long, but Sandgem Town was one of the more rural communities in Sinnoh and had the gradually-deteriorating road quality to match. It didn’t seem like a lot of vehicle traffic passed this way, at least; neither girl remembered seeing a single other car the entire trip, though they did see a couple of trainers at the roadside making their way north towards Jubilife on foot.
A staccato series of popping noises erupted as both trainers let out their Pokemon for some freedom of their own, with the majority of both teams sans Onix joining the pair of girls as they started to walk away from the small bus stop and shelter and towards the main part of town. Orion seemed in good spirits, bounding ahead of Cassie excitedly before returning and running around her legs happily, while Paulos kept to the ground on her right instead of flying, tapping a lazy rhythm on the path with taloned feet. Kirlia joined her on her left, walking quietly just behind her so as to stay out of Orion’s way, while Turtwig had decided to try and hitch a ride on Paulos instead of walking and kept trying to jump up to the four-foot-tall bird’s back to no success. Cassie laughed as she finally noticed, then simply scooped up the newborn Pokemon in her arms instead.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
“It’s so...cozy,” she said as they walked, her head constantly moving and taking in the sights around her.
Unlike many of the other major cities in the region, Sandgem Town was quite rural and located away from most major hubs with the exception of Jubilife City. Gone were the towering buildings and vast stretches of commercial development and tourist attractions, replaced by a charming, homely environment full of single-family homes, small family-owned shops, and huge sprawls of farmland and rolling hills. A small Pokemon Center sat near the middle of town on the right side of the street, looking incredibly vivid and outstanding with its red roof and glass front compared to the muted tones of the buildings around it.
“And I think that’s what you’re looking for, right?” Kaitlyn asked, pointing off into the distance. Cassie’s eyes traced the finger’s direction, and she audibly gasped as she caught sight of what Kaitlyn was pointing out to her.
While Sandgem Town was one of the smallest cities in Sinnoh, it was also one of the most important due to the presence of Professor James Rowan’s laboratory. Much like other regional professors, Professor Rowan’s lab supplied a large number of starter Pokemon each year for aspiring trainers throughout the Sinnoh region, often aided by the League or contributions from individuals. Doing so required an enormous amount of support both in funding and manpower, all of which had to be sustained across the vast expanse of land belonging to the Sinnoh Regional Pokémon Laboratory.
That expanse was what Cassie was now staring at, far off into the distance.
It was like the Eterna City Gym all over again, only scaled up to a size that Cassie could hardly conceive of. The town simply seemed to end just before reaching the road that led up to the front of the sizable building Kaitlyn indicated was the lab proper, but the land beyond seemed to dwarf the entire town in its scope. Lush fields of green stretched off for what seemed like miles in one direction, while thick forest shrouded another angle in an impenetrable curtain of greenery. Far in the horizon, she could see the massive, fog-shrouded peaks of Coronet looming over everything like the backdrop of a painting. The fence that bordered it stretched off into the distance before vanishing from sight, extending far beyond what either of the two could see from their approach.
“Oh my god...” Cassie breathed, eyes sparkling and pace quickening inadvertently. “It’s amazing...”
“And just think about this,” Kaitlyn went on, voice holding a hint of teasing. “Professor Rowan’s lab is noticeably smaller than the ones in some of the other regions. You’d probably faint if you ever saw Kanto’s.”
This was considered small by regional lab standards? Cassie almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“You know who Professor Oak is, I’m sure,” Kaitlyn started, hazarding a guess that the acclaimed Professor and former Kanto Champion was as famous in the media of Cassie’s world as she herself knew him to be. “Would you believe that his lab and ranch span around...at least a couple thousand acres, if I remember right? Most of the forest surrounding Pallet Town and a chunk of the sea route just to the south belong to him, strictly for purposes of raising, breeding, and boarding.”
Cassie’s mouth fell open.
“A couple thousand acres?” she stammered. “That’s, like...the size of a small town!”
Kaitlyn laughed. “Yeah, it’s easily a few square miles, and that’s just the land portion. I don’t know exactly how big the portion of Route twenty-one that he owns is, but the buoys go out pretty far.”
“...How rich is Professor Oak, exactly?”
Kaitlyn shrugged. “He’s a former Champion, the most acclaimed Professor in the entire Kanto-Johto area, and one of the most well-known people worldwide to boot, not to mention the funding he gets from the Kanto League itself. People probably line up around the block to throw money at him for one thing or another.”
“Fair point,” Cassie conceded. It would likely have been more surprising if he didn’t have that kind of funding, honestly.
Her eyes traced up towards the large laboratory building as they approached, taking in the features of the structure with a curious gaze. A part of her wondered if it looked like it did in the anime, as the games’ simplistic depiction looked nothing like the building ahead of her now. The two-story structure was rather cylindrical in shape, the main part of the lab constructed from blue-gray metal and a few tall windows that seemed as if they might be reinforced somehow. Some kind of array of dishes and poles jutted from the top of the building, making Cassie wonder if they had some purpose to do with the weather. The most striking feature had nothing to do with the main laboratory, though.
A massive stone windmill loomed large beside the laboratory proper, the peak of the building stretching just a bit taller than the lab and the enormous trio of slowly-turning blades reaching further still. The windmill was connected to the lab itself by a segment of building that she guessed was some kind of large hallway, given that it was tall enough that she could only clearly see the front surface and the etched pattern that decorated it.
Unlike the Eterna Gym, no Pokemon were around to greet her or otherwise make their presence known as they walked down the winding cobblestone path that led to the front entrance. She could hear cries off in the distance, though, and figured that she was just too far away to see properly. Up close, the building and surrounding land looked even larger, dwarfing the pair of girls as they approached the glass doors leading inside. They both reached for their belts, realizing they should recall most of their teams again before entering, and a series of red flashes preceded all but Astrid, Orion, and Turtwig returning to their balls.
“This is so exciting...” Cassie whispered, a wide grin on her face as she reached for the door handle. A warm series of musical chimes played as they stepped inside the lab, and their skin prickled as it adjusted to the air conditioning. The interior didn’t resemble a lobby so much as a wide-open meeting area, with desks and bookshelves lining the perimeter of the room along with scattered machinery and tables. The center of the room held a rose red-colored sofa and metal coffee table in the same blue-gray tone as the building itself, and Cassie could see a set of stairs near the back of the room that led up to a railing-lined balcony which veered off to the left and onwards to more of the second floor.
“Welcome to the Sinnoh Regional Pokemon Laboratory!” a young-sounding feminine voice greeted warmly from somewhere out of sight. A woman with long green hair wearing a long lab coat emerged from behind a short segment of wall underneath the staircase and balcony, amber eyes dancing between the two trainers and Pokemon from behind red-framed glasses as she walked towards them with haste. “I was going to ask if you were here for starter Pokemon, but there’s clearly no need for that,” she said with a smile, looking between the Growlithe and Mawile at their feet and the Turtwig in Cassie’s arms. “I’m Roseanne - what can I help you with today?”
“Hi - my name is Cassie Blair, ma’am, and I was wondering if I could see the lab? I mean, take a tour of the lab. If that’s something you do, I mean,” Cassie stammered, excitement and jittery nerves causing her to fumble over her words as she tried to calm herself down. She couldn’t help it, though - she was standing in Professor Rowan’s laboratory. She’d been in Sinnoh over a month now, and seeing the sights like Pokemon Centers and gyms were all well and good, but this was the start of every trainer’s journey in the games - it just felt so much more special than anything else she’d seen so far.
Roseanne smiled warmly, adjusting her glasses. “Yes, we do tours of the lab, but I can’t give one at the moment, unfortunately. Professor Rowan likes to give most of the tours himself, you see, and he’s out with Yuzo and the rest on some field research on Route 219. I’m the only one left here at the moment, actually...”
“Oh...I see,” Cassie murmured, her good mood deflating somewhat at the news.
“Are you going to be in town long?” Roseanne asked. “I think he’s going to be back tomorrow, so if you’re able to stay for a while, I’m sure he’d be happy to show you around once he’s back.”
“We were planning on seeing Lake Verity while we were here, so we should be around for a day or two at least,” Kaitlyn stated.
“Great - do you mind if I get a phone number from you, then? I can send you a message when the Professor gets back and see when would be a good time to show you around.” The lab assistant walked over to one of the nearby counters and rummaged around for a second before returning with a pen and notepad, which Cassie eagerly wrote down her phone number on before handing it back.
“Thanks for keeping me in mind, miss Roseanne!”
“You’re very welcome,” Roseanne said, tucking the notepad and pen away in the pocket of her coat. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help, but I’m sure Professor Rowan will be happy to give you a tour of things soon.”
“No worries - I’m happy to wait!”
“We’ll let you get back to your work,” Kaitlyn said, nodding over towards Cassie. “Have a good day.”
“You too!” the lab assistant replied, waving as the two girls made their way back outside the lab and off towards town once more.
It was comforting in a way that she seemed to finally be getting used to the din of training and battle, Cassie thought as she kept her focus on Orion. She had never been one for large crowds and noisy spaces, and a part of her was glad that she seemed to be adapting well enough to the more hectic atmosphere of Pokemon training. They’d grabbed a room at a small, rustic-looking hotel in town before heading out towards the tree-lined route outside of the town limits for some evening training after having little chance to do so after the events of the previous day. The small clearing outside of town that they’d chosen for a training area for the evening was now filled with Pokemon, with all eight members of both teams out and about as they practiced, sparred, and exercised alongside their trainers.
Cassie was spending a bit of one-on-one time with Orion, still feeling guilty about neglecting her starter despite her best efforts to convince herself otherwise. The pup was currently sitting a short distance away from her, with Tera assisting in her latest endeavor and periodically firing off weak Thunder Shock attacks in the Growlithe’s direction. A thin shield of energy materialized around Orion to deflect the latest attack, his newly-learned Protect throwing up sparks in a dazzling burst as the Electric attack dispersed around him.
When Cassie had approached Kaitlyn on the bus ride over with the idea she’d come up with after the encounter at the Windworks, she’d expected it to take several days at least for Orion to learn Protect from Astrid and have it practiced enough to be useful as a stepping stone for the other half of her plan. She hadn’t expected Kaitlyn to quite literally hand her a shortcut in the form of a TM for the move.
TMs - Technical Machines - were oddities to her in the context of a real-world setting as opposed to a game, and rightfully so in her eyes. Learning a new move to add to a list in game with the use of an item was one thing, but there was no way it could possibly work like that in real life. It couldn’t possibly be that simple, right?
That had been her thought, at least, until Kaitlyn had handed her the TM disc and associated reader before showing her how it worked. She’d initially balked at the idea of being given something she viewed as expensive before learning that Protect was one of the more common and inexpensive TM discs, seeing as it was useful in a myriad number of situations to keep both Pokemon and trainer safe while out in the wilds. Plugging Orion’s Poke Ball into a part of the otherwise CD player-shaped device had been simple enough, as had figuring out the device’s functionality and setting the use of the disc in motion. One short wait later and Orion had emerged from his ball looking a bit dazed, as if coming to grips with something he hadn’t expected to know or hear all at once. Nevertheless, he’d set up a picture-perfect Protect shield without any real issues when Cassie had prompted him as if he’d done it a thousand times before.
Cassie’s brain itched to figure out how that worked, too. It had to have something to do with the whole ‘matter-to-energy’ conversion that Poke Ball technology revolved around, she reasoned. As much as it was frustratingly unexplainable to her right now, she couldn’t deny that it had simplified her plans immensely. Come to think of it, she’d forgotten all about the TM she got from Gardenia in the wake of receiving her Turtwig’s egg and the trek down Route 206, though she was reasonably sure that Grass Knot wasn’t a move she’d be able to make use of until Turtwig was able to begin battling himself. She’d have to make sure to get a TM reader like Kaitlyn’s before she wound up needing one again.
At any rate, now all she had to do was get Orion to figure out how to manipulate the Normal TE that he used for the move into something different. That was the reason why Tera was now sitting across from him and firing off weak attacks at all angles, small bolts of lightning that repeatedly laced and sparked across the shimmering, spherical shield. Cassie figured that the more familiar he was with using the normal version of the move, the easier it would be for him to try and infuse something a bit more...interesting into it. Though, Protect itself was already plenty interesting to her. How did such a common move allow Pokemon to block attacks that were much stronger than them in some cases? She had no idea, and just assumed it had something to do with the way that the Normal TE was shaped or focused into the barrier.
Clang!
The sound of metal colliding with metal somewhere above her caused her eyes to twitch upwards briefly, if only to make sure that her team’s unofficial second-in-command wasn’t hurting himself unnecessarily while trying to best Kaitlyn’s newest team member. The Pidgeotto’s boisterous laughter echoed from above as he clashed with Skarmory, the duo of avians darting in to strike at each other with Steel Wings before breaking apart and repeating over and over again.
“Yes, yes! Paulos’ blood sings with the fervor of battle!”
Cassie shook her head, giving a sidelong glance to Orion that confirmed that yes, he was having much the same reaction, while Tera seemed to be more amused than anything else if the bobbing and odd metallic warbling was any indication.
Kirlia’s addition to the team was nothing short of a blessing, the young girl had thought to herself late the previous night. She’d remembered to take Kirlia by the Pokemon Center in town like she’d wanted before they left to train, getting her properly scanned and registered with the Center’s database, and she’d confirmed some of her suspicions regarding Kirlia’s skillset. She had some of the expected Psychic-type moves like Psybeam and Confusion, but also had both Life Dew and Draining Kiss, which neatly explained how she’d healed some of her wounds before she’d shown up on their training ground in town. Still, the most important thing that Kirlia brought to the table had absolutely nothing to do with her abilities in battle.
Simply put, the ability to ease communication between a trainer and their team that Psychic-types provided was a boon whose usefulness went beyond words. Cassie had eagerly asked if Kirlia could help her properly speak with Orion and Paulos for the first time - Turtwig was still a bit too young, sadly - to which the small Psychic readily and happily agreed. She hadn’t been sure what to expect out of it, but Orion’s response had been unusually spirited, possibly the happiest she’d seen the pup since she’d first adopted him.
The actual psychic link itself came with some oddities that Cassie hadn’t expected. For one, there was an odd sense of duality to it all, as she could hear both her Pokemon’s native language just as she always had, but now could also hear the words and discern the intent behind them all at the same time thanks to Kirlia’s link allowing for a rough translation. She likened it to listening to two different conversations at the same time, forcing her to push the ‘Pokemon-speak’ to the background and try to focus on what the telepathic link allowed her to understand instead. Some things, she discovered, didn’t seem to have a proper one-to-one conversion to English, and were more a matter of context and intent rather than direct translation of words.
Even with all the initial confusion and adaptation, finally getting to properly talk with Orion had been a joy she couldn’t describe, and she had been able to banish some of her growing fears regarding how she was coming along as a trainer at last after hearing the opinions straight from her starter’s mouth. She’d done her best with what knowledge she had, and Orion had assured her that it had been enough. Likewise, she’d been able to assure Orion that she was proud of everything he’d done so far, uncaring of their loss at the gym in every respect but the impetus it gave her to try and improve. Kirlia had confirmed that Cassie was honest at her own urging, not wanting to make her starter think that she was lying simply for his sake, and Orion reacted as if a physical weight had been taken off the puppy Pokemon. Cassie wondered if he had convinced himself somewhere deep down that she had simply been sparing his feelings by acting nice, and that hurt more than anything she’d considered yet.
Then Paulos had opened his beak, and the laughter that Orion had shown back when she first caught the then-Pidgey returned in full force as the Growlithe got to witness his trainer finally learning what he had known for over a month now. It had taken Cassie a few moments to make sense of what she was hearing at first that had nothing to do with what the Flying-type said so much as how he had said it, all while her starter laughed himself senseless on the floor beside her. She didn’t blame him, really, as she was quite sure that nothing could have prepared her for what she’d been exposed to. Even now, she wasn’t sure if the headache she’d developed last night had been because of the effects from the psychic link itself or exposure to her oversized Pidgeotto’s personality.
She’d eventually settled on ‘both.’
“How are you feeling?” Cassie asked, waiting for a break in the attacks before signaling for Tera to stop and heading over to her starter. The Magnemite hovered around the both of them like a sentient satellite as she knelt down to Orion, magnets rotating around his body as if he was fidgeting with hands he didn’t have.
“I’m fine...I think,” Orion said, reaching up with a paw to scratch at the back of his head before Cassie obligingly took over for him. “It’s kinda like stretching a muscle I didn’t know I had...feels weird.”
“You mean using Protect?” she asked, earning a nod as she stopped scratching behind his ear. “I know TMs give some kind of knowledge of how to use moves, but I don’t really know exactly how it works.”
“It’s like...taking off a blindfold, I guess? Like I just couldn’t see how to make it work before, and now it’s just...clear.”
“Analysis: It is magic.”
“It’s not magic,” Cassie replied automatically, laughing. “I think. Fairy-types are magic. TMs are science...probably.”
She paused, considering something. Wasn’t there some kind of law or rule she’d seen on the internet once?
‘That’s right...what was it, again? “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic?” This probably counts, at least.’
Tera made an odd noise, magnets whirling like a pair of angry bees for a moment before he spoke again in his metallic, warbling voice. “Frustration: Fairy-type analysis is inconclusive. Abilities defy classification by normal means.”
“Which is a fancy way of saying it doesn’t understand them either,” Orion supplied helpfully, shooting a rare smirk up at the Electric and Steel-type. “Aren’t you on a team with one, though?”
“Explanatory: The Mawile species is represented primarily by their Steel-type attributes. Fairy-type classification was speculative until recently. Abilities are limited in scope.”
Another clash from above drew the attention of Cassie and the two Pokemon, Skarmory’s bladed wings beating furiously as he tried to defend against Paulos’ own shimmering silver appendages. The screech of contact was harsh and grating as they raked Steel TE-hardened limbs against each other for a few moments before finally breaking apart and heading back towards the ground. Paulos was breathing heavily, but it looked like Skarmory had been pushed just as hard from where Cassie was standing. At the very least, the clash looked much more even than it had back on the training grounds when Paulos was still learning his new move.
“Hmph...surprisingly acceptable, I’ll admit. You’ve taken to that move well.”
“It would not do for the mighty Paulos to give anything other than his all,” the Pidgeotto replied. “A shame that the winds do little against someone as hardy as you.”
“Looks like you’ve been getting a good workout,” Kaitlyn commented to Skarmory as she walked over, Astrid and Kirlia both walking alongside her on opposite sides. “Just don’t overdo it. How are you feeling?”
The unspoken question hung in the air alongside the spoken words. Do you like being a part of the team?
“Hm...satisfactory,” Skarmory replied, answering both questions with a single word. “Your Pidgeotto is...frustrating,” he added, his head turning towards Cassie. The younger girl felt her face flush a bit in embarrassment, hoping that he just meant frustrating in battle.
“Ah...sorry? I hope he’s not bothering you, Skarmory...”
“He’ll grow on you...eventually,” Orion chimed in, shooting a knowing look up at the taller bird.
“Humorous: Like a Parasect spore.”
Paulos shot the Magnemite a look, raising a wing that flashed again with Steel TE for an instant. His eyes were full of mirth despite the overtly threatening gesture. “Paulos is more than capable of swatting a Cutiefly with this new strength!”
“Yes, yes, you evolved and we’re all happy for you,” Orion snarked, leaning over to headbutt Paulos in the wing. “Don’t let it go to your head, you lunk.”
Skarmory’s head swiveled back to Kaitlyn, shooting his new trainer a look that clearly asked what he had gotten himself into by joining.
The Steel trainer just shrugged in response.