11- When Faced With Overwhelming Force

Guided by the Metang's knowledge of the area, Brasidas and Metang succeeded in teleporting all four of them, plus pokemon, to the top level of the cave. Steven didn't seem disturbed at all by the shifting and folding of space, arriving still with his hands in his pockets. Haruka woke almost instantly in reaction to the unfamiliar feeling, twisting to land catlike on hands and feet; Quentin fell only a few inches to the ground, Brasidas supporting his head as it lolled to one side; and Jacqueline lost her balance and stumbled, having to take a heavy step forward to prevent herself from falling over.

Turning, Jacqueline saw the impossibly bright arch of light marking the entrance to the cave, and gently shook the brown-haired boy awake. "Quentin, we're almost at the entrance of the cave. You should see this."

Blinking slowly, he looked up at a rocky ceiling. Which he could see with natural light. Did that mean they were nearly out of the cave? Propping himself up on his elbows, he reflexively turned away from the brightness, back towards the comforting cool dark. "We almost out?" Quentin rasped, still not looking towards the bright arch announcing the upper world.

Sighing at his recalcitrance, Haruka stepped in and yanked Quentin to his feet, even as he was still blinking away the sleep from his eyes.

"We're going to get to Dewford now, you can rest in the Pokemon Center." she said, not unkindly.

Nodding, he allowed himself to be pulled along towards the opening of the cave.

Right before the entrance stood a Ranger with his back to them, who turned at the sound of footsteps. "Hey! If you want to go deeper into the cave, you'll need this HM05..." he trailed off as he realized that the people before him were exiting the cave, not entering it.

"H-what?" queried an utterly confused Quentin, before the path of his footsteps took him and his bemusement away from the nonplussed Ranger.

And then, they stepped back into the sunlight. Despite how short a time they had been without it, they reveled in the warmth on their faces and the vibrancy of the world above ground. Color washed back into the world, the ocean a brilliant blue and the leaves of palm trees richly green; no comparison could be made to the scales of browns and greys that composed the tunnels under the island. And once more, the world contained people; trainers, civilians, fishermen, surfers all reveled in the fading autumn day, taking no notice of the three grimy teenagers and immaculate adult with them.

-Idealism-

"Need a shower," grumbled Jacqueline, flinging her bag onto a bunk. It was the cheapest room in the Pokemon Center; Quentin was flat broke, Jacqueline not much better, and Steven had vanished once more, claiming he had someone to visit; and Haruka's meager funds could only stretch so far. The point where they stopped was quite literally the smallest, least expensive room in the Center. Government sponsored healthcare they may provide, but Pokemon Centers do not give out their rooms for free. Quentin leant against the doorway, one hand pressed to the side of his head, as his headache had returned in full force.

Haruka had dumped her backpack on the other bunk, flopping backwards onto the soft mattress with a sigh of relief and relaxation. She didn't really feel like moving further, staring at the underside of the top bunk with dark-rimmed eyes, letting her muscles loosen in the peace of safety of a Pokemon Center, with a deliciously comfortable bed supporting her. To someone used to city life, it would be rather average as far as mattresses go; but for someone who had been camping out in the wilds for weeks or months, it was a gift from Arceus. Haruka was content to stay there, hair fanned out behind her, legs dangling off of the bunk, arms outstretched; she had flopped, and she didn't need to get up until the one bathroom opened up.

Quentin waited until his headache died down a little to reappraise the room. It wasn't much; a simple desk with a PC terminal and minifridge below the window, and a bunk bed against the wall. Just across the small room was the door to the bathroom, and he could see from here that it was almost as cramped as the rest of the facilities.

Wait... bunk bed?

"Where am I sleeping?" he mumbled, noting Jacqueline's reclaimed messenger bag / backpack / thing occupying the top bunk and a Haruka sprawled across the bottom bunk.

"Floor, probably," answered Haruka offhandedly, not budging from her sprawl. "I have a sleeping bag in my bag. It's over in that direction." Despite what one would expect to accompany that statement, she didn't point in any specific direction; in fact, she still didn't move, eyes fixed upwards.

"Too much effort to even point me at it, huh?"

Jacqueline was now the one leaning against a doorframe, having used the bathroom, she returned to see this conversation. She was honestly rather interested in how this would turn out; they still did not know Haruka very well, and Quentin was doing a pretty good job of trying to push her buttons.

"Go get it if you don't want to sleep directly on the floor," answered Haruka from her prone position, unfazed by the jab.

Quentin used Taunt! But it failed! Jacqueline's thoughts took a turn for the sarcastic as she continued observing.

The boy just grumbled and began to pad his way over to her bag, even as Haruka's lips twitched upwards.

Letting the shuffling of Quentin attempting to unfold a rather simply fastened bedroll fade into the background, Jacqueline strolled across the short room (a matter of steps) and sat down besides Haruka. "I have to thank you for helping us get this room, but I have to know how long these traveling arrangements are gonna last for."

The shorter girl blinked, eyes sliding towards Jacqueline. "I'd think that'd be up to you guys. I'm going to hit the gym circuit, see if I can enter the Championships in a year or two. I figured you guys as beginning trainers would wanna do the same. Everyone runs the gym circuit at least for a while. The second gym is here in town, and I have an appointment in a few days."

"We've barely begun training, and we don't have a single badge between Quentin and I," returned Jacqueline, incensed. "We fled our hometown during a wild Pokemon attack the day we got our starters, and only shortly afterwards made the trip down here because your father asked us to make the trip."

Flinching somewhat at the mention of her father, Haruka sat up slightly, propping herself on her elbows. "You guys have only been trainers for about a week and a half? Speaking of which, I know next to nothing about you two."

Temporarily forgotten, Quentin moved to the PC terminal, slotting in his Trainer ID to log onto his account and PC system. Making his way to his mailbox, his heart sank as it showed no new mail in response to the message he had sent from Petalburg.

Outbox

Compose Message

To: charlesrussell , elainerussell

Hey Mom, hey Dad. A classmate of mine and I have made our way down to Dewford as a favor for the Petalburg Gym Leader. Luckily, we encountered an experienced trainer and we're staying with her for a bit. Since we can't get back to the north on our own, I think we're going to stick with her for a bit, maybe try a bit of training. I have a Mudkip and a Ralts with me, and they are very nice. I know Dad will want to see them at some point, but I'm afraid that'll have to wait until I can see you guys again. I know he would have preferred to have me start training some of his old Pokemon from Oreburgh, but I wouldn't give up these two for anything.

I hope you guys are alright, just reassuring you that I'm fine and in good hands. What happened in Rustboro?

Please respond soon.

Love,

Quentin

Send Message

Logging out once more, Quentin stared blankly at the PC screen, lost in thought.

The sounds from his two roommates slowly filtered through into his thoughts.

"Why would we want to join in the gym challenge? We're just here until..." Jacqueline's indignant response trailed off as she realized, what was she here to do?

Norman hadn't given them any instructions, her hometown had been under attack by Salamence, and she was kinda stuck on a decently sized southern island. She had also killed someone on the mainland- It was an accident. Shuddering, Jacqueline reminded herself that she would have to tread carefully around Petalburg in the near future.

Then she heard the creaking of Quentin's chair turning, and turned to see him looking down at his lap morosely. She surmised him to be saddened by whatever introspective activity he had been doing, and decided to jolt him out of it. "Hey Quentin, what are your plans? Haruka is offering us a chance to travel with her, and I don't know how we could get back to Rustboro."

And contrary to expectations, he lifted his head and smiled softly, "I don't know where I'm going, but I don't think I'm coming home. I don't know where you're going either, Haruka, but do you have room for one more?"

Haruka nodded, arranging a neutral smile on her features, noting the tightness around Quentin's eyes. Something was certainly not alright with him, but she did just gain another travel partner.

Jacqueline shrugged, punching Quentin in the shoulder playfully. "Can't leave you alone to get knocked out every day. Looks like I'll come with on your little adventure for a while." She mock saluted Haruka. "Orders, sir?"

Haruka took a look at the calendar on the wall, mentally counting off days to try and estimate the current date. "My challenge against Brawly is in two days. Since you guys are going to be coming," her stare brooked no disagreement, "we'll train tomorrow and a few days later should be out of here with a gym badge."

"Now let me sleep."

With that, Haruka tossed a pokeball at the wall, bouncing it off the light switch and plunging the room into early evening darkness. Catching it again, she replaced it in her bag and rolled towards the wall, pulling the covers over her in a messy bundle.

Quentin blinked. It was maybe seven o'clock in the evening, and she was already going to bed. He hadn't gone to bed that early since he was seven.

Shrugging, he headed to the bathroom, he was looking forward to his shower. Somehow, to his surprise, Jacqueline managed to slide around him and close the door in his face before he could take a half-dozen steps. Rather exasperated, he sighed before pulling out his Pokedex and attempting to see if its database had anything on gym battles. His mind conjured up an image of what his first gym battle would entail. The building would probably be a large, open building, with several gym trainers along the side who he would battle in ritualistic succession while the gym leader watched from the end of the path. The Gym Leader would probably be a middle-aged man or woman, weathered by heavy training and the sea, standing forbiddingly at the end of the Gym. However many tries it took Quentin to reach him or her (because this was his imagination, he was obviously going to reach the end of the Gym) and Quentin wouldn't need to say a thing, they could simply nod at each other and begin.

Lost in his little daydream about challenging the faceless gym leader in a vast pale circle denoted for battling, he barely noticed Jacqueline emerging from the bathroom clothed once more. He couldn't help but notice when she tossed her damp towel over his face to inform him the bathroom was open.

God, he had missed hot water.

-Idealism-

An unreasonable amount of time later, Quentin emerged from the bathroom in a towel.

Jacqueline glared disapprovingly down from her bunk, over the back of a sleeping vulpix.

"... I like water."

-Idealism-

Haruka wasn't used to sleeping full nights, for various reasons; she was accustomed to grabbing snatches of shut-eye belowground in the tunnels of the Granite Cave, where she could often not tell night from day and she would sleep when she could rather than at a certain time. Even before that, her internal clock kept strange hours due to her lifestyle. Haruka had turned towards the wall and attempted to hold her eyes closed, hoping that going to bed early would allow her to fall asleep normally. However, her mind continued running at normal capacity, not allowing her to rest. She simply couldn't relax; despite the amount of trust she had placed in her new traveling partners, sleep was something that never came easy to her. Haruka couldn't quite call out Rono and practice with him, or call out Toro for a spar; Rono would flatten the boy who would be sleeping on the floor, and she didn't know when Toro's pokeball would be openable again. Instead, she closed her eyes and listened.

Boy, that was a lot of running water. She resolved to take a shower when she woke up in the morning, as that seemed very inviting. There was some bickering in low undertones between the other two, before they, too, settled down, and the bathroom light clicked off.

Then, she waited, and heard their breathing even out. Jacqueline she could barely hear, light breaths on the other side of a framework of foam and steel; Quentin had no so much mercy; his deep breathing from the floor was rather clearly audible to her sharp ears. However, there was something slightly comforting about hearing a normal human being sleeping a respectful distance away. It reminded her that she was no longer a prisoner deep within the land, or a prisoner trapped within their own town, catching sleep at odd hours. She was out here in the world, but she was finally safe of all things. Her body took this as a cue to finally relax somewhat, and a lot of pent-up exhaustion finally overcome Haruka as she allowed the simple rhythm of his breathing to lull her to sleep.

And so Haruka Kanata, dubbed May by her father, slept peacefully through the night for one of only a handful of times in the last four years.

-Idealism-

Quentin sat forlornly on the Pokemon Center floor, staring at the infernal machine that cleaned his clothes. He really needed to pack better if he was going to go on a Pokemon journey; and that would mean having more than one set of clothes.

"Nice legs," commented Haruka as she walked up, mouth full of waffle. Like him, it seemed she needed to wash some clothes, as she was dressed in her biker shorts and a tank top, her usual sleeveless dress thing and bandana wadded up in her hands. Quentin cursed his lack of forethought in having spare clothes, as if he had done so he wouldn't be sitting on the floor of a Pokemon Center in his boxer briefs.

"Brought you a waffle," she said around that same mouthful of waffle.

Looking up, he was surprised to see her balancing two plates on her free hand. Quickly taking one and apologizing for not noticing her offering it to him earlier, Quentin then turned his attention to his waffle.

"These were the Pokemon Center waffles where all the work is done by the waffle maker, right?" questioned Quentin. Surely it wasn't possible...

Haruka nodded, tearing off another hunk of waffle with her teeth.

"Then how did you manage to burn it of all things?"

Gulping down what waffle remained in her mouth, Haruka shrugged. "It's a talent of mine."

Shrugging, as she had still brought him a waffle when he couldn't really go to the cafeteria yet, he starting munching on it. At least she had the foresight to slather it in maple syrup. Even if it was a cheap knockoff kind of syrup, it was sugar with vague maple flavoring and it improved the waffle. Besides, what was a waffle without something on top? Absentmindedly munching on the excuse for a waffle, he removed his damp clothes from the washer and transferred them to the dryer, Haruka moving to the now open washing machine.

After getting their clothes cleaned, the three met back up in the Pokemon Center cafeteria over a new batch of waffles (not burnt; Quentin had refused to let Haruka make them).

Jacqueline opened the conversation. "So, if we plan to face this... Brawly tomorrow, what are our plans for our one day of prep? Train? Scout his team? Strategize?"

The shorter of the two girls shrugged. "I just planned on training with my team, see if Toro was ready to battle again. You guys can train differently if you want. What do you guys think?"

Quentin quickly voiced his desire to train, to try and perfect Brasidas' Confusion and Turnus' Water Gun, maybe win some funds from passerby Trainers. Why wouldn't he? He knew he and his team could improve further, and he had no money to actually lose.

Jacqueline wore a more introspective look, and remained silent. "I'm going to scout out the Gym, see if I can find out what style he specializes in, as well as strategies." she gave out after a while.

Haruka nodded at their choices, her mouth full of the strange not-burnt imitation waffle.

Standing up suddenly, she spoke "Well then, what are we waiting for? We have a gym tomorrow."

Jacqueline winced as Haruka flung her disposable plate across the room to rebound into the trash can, spraying half the room with crumbs in the process. As she attempted to sink the plastic utensils into the bin from the same distance, Jacqueline and Quentin nervously edged out the door.

-Idealism-

Jacqueline arrived before the Gym itself quietly and a little out of breath, slowing to a stop before the vast, imposing building. Now, the question was, how to enter the gym and observe?

Heart beating unreasonably quickly (in her opinion), she moved to the doors themselves and peered in, seeing only a wall of darkness. As her eyes adjusted, she noticed the woman in a karate gi standing menacingly directly facing the door, only a few feet away. Making a small noise of shock and embarrassment, she jerked backwards, the trainer (for it had to be a gym trainer) chuckling.

"Um..." That just wouldn't do. Steeling herself a little, she asked politely, "May I observe the matches?"

"Nope. No reaching the gym leader without beating the gym trainers first." The woman smiled, but there was no humor in it.

Jacqueline exhaled once. Well, what was she here to do in the first place? No time for hesitation. "I'll challenge the gym trainers then."

The woman nodded at this, a little less caustic, as she slotted Jacqueline's trainer card into a device on the wall. "You've been cleared to enter the floor."

The beginnings of a smile appeared on her face as she called back to Jacqueline, "Good luck."

She was once more immersed into darkness, calling out Terry quickly to light her path with his faint luminescence. Jacqueline strained her eyes to make out shapes in the darkness, catching sight of only walls. It was eerily quiet, barring the occasional snippets of battles that drifted to her ears. The corridor she was on seemed deserted, and her heart couldn't help but beat a little faster as tension began to build.

It was another few minutes of draining suspense before a human turned onto the path she was following. It was a girl in her late teens, dressed sensibly in a hoodie and jeans. No fighting type trainer, then.

"You a gym trainer?" called the newcomer.

Jacqueline shook her head no. "Just got here, in fact."

"This place gives me the creeps. Fighting trainers jumping out when you least expect it. Good luck with your challenge!" The unnamed trainer darted down a different side passage.

A little weirded out, Jacqueline continued, and it was not long before she came across a man in a karate gi. "Hello, trainer. As an honorable member of the Fighting Gym of Dewford, I am obligated to challenge you!" he greeted her, unreasonably enthusiastic about the whole thing.

With a flash of light, a small humanoid pokemon materialized, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Meditite, Bide and wait your time! Let them come!"

The creature seemed to huddle down into itself, hunkering down as if to weather blows better.

So it was called a Meditite, and it could do something called Bide... Yeah, she wished she had Quentin's encyclopedia thing.

"Terry, quick Ember, test its defenses." Jacqueline commanded her pokemon almost absentmindedly, all her attention focused on Terry's opponent and its oddly shaped head. Bide had to be some kind of charging attack, right? Given that this was evidently a gym of fighting specialists, a defensive strategy seemed out of place. As the weak flame washed over the little humanoid, Jacqueline caught a tiny fanged grin. The trainer himself gave little indication as to what a Bide was, but the pokemon itself left some tells. It wanted to be attacked in its current state, didn't it? Or was at least satisfied with being attacked and not returning fire? And that was something she could work with. She didn't really have any indication that this would interrupt the charging sequence, but it was the best shot she had, and take it she must.

"Roar him away, Terry," she commanded tersely, a small smile twisting her lips. She relished in the martial artist's shock as Terry roared, as intimidatingly as it could, sending the Meditate thing scurrying back to its Pokeball in terror.

The martial artist scoffed, slightly impressed despite himself. "So you could interrupt Bide, girlie. You may yet be a worthy opponent,!"

Another small humanoid pokemon, this time standing upright and flexing its muscles. Jacqueline, riding the wave of confidence from seeing through his moves, smirked. "Terry, tackle it!" She'd interrupt any counterattacking strategy it wanted to set up.

"Sweep low, Machop!" barked the martial artist, still strangely excited. "Jump!" Jacqueline commanded at the last second, her voice betraying her adrenaline.

Terry jumped straight up as soon as he heard the command, (the little fox needs to be credited, he listens very well to instructions) his momentum carrying him forward over the Machop's low strike and in towards its torso. "Chop it back down with your full power, Machop!"

Jacqueline had no last-second counter to this, and the edge of the muscular pokemon's hand cracked into Terry's snout, driving him down from the air. To the girl's surprise, despite the fox's forward momentum, the machop stayed completely stable on its feet, and Terry was the one knocked backwards to skid on the ground.

Terry lay on his side, panting, before rolling back to his feet, slowly and carefully. His leg buckled for a second before he straightened out, standing battered but looking up to his trainer for guidance.

Jacqueline's mind went immediately to the state of her Pokemon, gasping a little at the unexpected severity of the blow. The small, analytic part of her mind that never stopped watching informed her that to reverse Terry's momentum with that amount of speed, that pokemon was extremely physically strong.

"A critical hit;" grumbled the man, picking out how Terry favored one foreleg over the other.

"Terry, are you okay?!" Jacqueline rushed over to her pokemon, immediately discarding all notions of an easy win as doubt began to creep back. The ever-cheerful fox nudged her hand away, barking. He wanted to continue.

How could he say that when he had just been hit that hard in the face?

Face set in a worried, pensive look, she commanded "Stay out of close range, go for Ember again." The fox hunkered low, before lashing out with a searing fireball.

"Focus your energy, Machop! Show them your indomitable spirit!" The fighting trainer was getting a lot more into it, shaking a fist at his pokemon, who responded in kind. Its eyes closed, the machop weathered the flame, standing in some sort of stance Jacqueline vaguely associated with bad martial arts movies.

"Terry, do it again! Try to burn its hands!" called out Jacqueline, watching the exchange with wide and worried eyes.

"Go, machop, and unleash your strength! Straight punch! Supaaahh-" By Arceus, he really was treating it like a martial arts movie.

Terry's lashing fire couldn't be ignored, searing the Machop's skin an angry reddish color even as it ran straight through the flames to strike out with a closed fist, exhaling smoothly as its strike hit the fox in the injured shoulder, sending him tumbling and rolling with squeals of pain until he impacted a wall and squealed no more.

But somehow, the little fox stood back up, teetering from side to side, coughing wetly. The machop was clearly injured as well, swaying, singed, and coughing from smoke. "Return, glorious machop! You have done your best!"

"Come back on out, Meditite!"

Ignoring the team shuffling going on behind her, Jacqueline crouched in front of Terry, lifting up his chin with one finger. "Are you done, little buddy? Or do you think you have a shot against this Meditate?"

The fox licked her finger, barking despite the strain on its ribs. Why? Why was it so devoted as to risk life and limb and fight through grievous injury for her? Damn, she wished she had potions with her. She hadn't intended to battle today, and now her pokemon was grievously injured.

"Okay, Terry." Jacqueline mumbled, subdued. Stepping back, she allowed him to limp towards the Meditite. "Ember."

"Meditite, fake out." Weaving from side to side, the little humanoid, now on its feet, feinted left and right before landing a flat palm strike on Terry's nose, the force doing in the beaten and exhausted fox before it could summon its fire.

"Excellent battle, miss," congratulated the smiling trainer, stepping past the girl frozen in shock and fear to cradle the unconscious fox and deliver it to her arms. "You should try challenging us again, perhaps with a more full team! That little guy was very strong!"

Raising her head from the fainted pokemon in her arms, Jacqueline asked the man quietly, "Why do you treat your machop differently from your meditate?"

The wide, happy smile fell from his face, to be replaced by a sad, straight line. "This machop... was my brother's." Ignoring Jacqueline's recoil in horror towards what she knew must follow, he continued. "He was always a happy, enthusiastic kid, and he and his machop were inseparable. He ended up training deep in the caverns below the island, and no one really knows what did him in,"

the fighter brushed the back of his hand across his eyes, "but Machop made it back to the surface with my brother's body. So whenever I train with machop, I try to act out as much as possible, to remind us both of my brother."

"I'm sorry to burden you with that. Here, I won't ask for prize money." Pushing on the wall, it gave way, revealing a lit hallway with bright EXIT signs. "Thank you for the battle and listening to me," the martial artist said before closing the doorway behind her.

-Idealism-

"So how did you plan on training your Lairon? Do you know what type the gym is? What can I do to help?" Quentin's barrage of questions continued all the way from the Pokemon Center until they reached the nearby beach.

"Smashing things, fighting, hell if I know," she answered tersely.

Quentin finally, thankfully, quieted as they reached the beach, waiting to see what she would do.

Haruka called out Rono, and spent some time dragging around a set of rocks, miming something to the metallic creature at her beck and call. Quentin attempted to figure out the purpose of these obstacles, but came up with nothing sensible. Some sort of speed course? They were too sturdy obstacles to do much else with.

Curiously enough, Haruka apparently was attempting to train a Lairon in speed. Rono shuffled around the rocks with speed belying his size, and continued to do so, weaving in more and more complicated patterns around the set of boulders a foot taller than him.

Haruka had turned to her pack, and was now methodically wrapping tape around her fingers. Quentin's curiosity couldn't contain itself for long, and he eventually asked the purpose of wrapping her hands. Haruka merely asked why he wasn't training his own pokemon, which shut him up quickly enough.

Moving back to his own two team members, the boy called them out, hugging each in greeting. "Hey guys, today is a training day, because tomorrow we are going to be facing a Pokemon Gym, which means we'll be facing tougher trainers than we ever have before." He didn't have any idea whether his meaning was getting through, but he felt the sound of his voice probably did something to help. "Brasidas, we're going to try and perfect your Confusion attack today. Turnus, we'll be working on your Water Gun. Let's see if we can perfect those before working on anything else."

He brought the two over to a pile of smooth, wave-rounded rocks at the base of the sea cliffs. "Okay, Brasidas, I want you to start lifting rocks and throwing them into the air, starting with the small ones. Try not to hit anyone." Realizing that his somewhat complicated instructions weren't getting through properly, he sighed and tapped the side of his head, making eye contact with Brasidas.

Having a psychic in his head wasn't nearly as painful this time, but Quentin still fell to his knees, eyes squeezed shut, conveying to Brasidas the images and ideas he had devised for training. A rock, lifted in the air by Confusion, and thrown away in an upwards arc. A blast of water knocking the stone out of the air. The two pokemon using the same limited space and materials to train their strength and speed of their strongest techniques. Asking via another set of thoughts for Brasidas to convey this to Turnus, he exhaled softly as the presence left his mind. By the time he felt up to opening his eyes again, he found rocks being levitated and thrown away shakily, with streams of water lacing the air around the falling rock.

It was at this point that he turned back to Haruka to find her rhythmically punching a padded post, light on her feet and striking with speed that looked amazing to his untrained eye.

It would be another fifteen minutes before he worked up the courage to ask her to teach him.

"Teach you some basics? Well, I guess we are going to be traveling together, and having someone who knows how to throw a punch can't hurt," she acquiesced, slowly and gently wrapping tape around his knuckles. Quentin didn't try to pretend that wasn't a nice feeling.

"Throw a practice punch." Quentin threw a half-hearted punch at the air, feeling chagrin at not knowing the first thing about what to do. Whenever topics relating to Pokemon training came up in Rustboro, he never felt out of his depth. He had had a good enough grounding in most areas of Pokemon training to understand the basics of conversation. But here? Quentin had never fought back in his life. Useless and powerless.

"That was the sloppiest punch I've ever seen. Completely loose, used just your arm muscles, no intention behind it; you're more likely to hurt yourself than your opponent if you punch like that."

Her tone softened a little as she watched hurt, humiliation, anger, and sadness pass across his features in quick succession. Too much negativity might keep him away from this in the future. Never mind the fact that she didn't have a sparring partner while Toro was busy, she would like the boy to be able to survive out there.

"Here, do it more like this;" she said under her breath, taking his hands and repositioning them, before slowly pulling his hands through the motion.

-Idealism-

"There, that should cover tonight's room fare," muttered Haruka to herself, thumbing through the bills the frightened trainer had thrown at her before running off in panic. You'd think people who trained in Dewford of all places would have a good tolerance for the Aron evolutionary line. Rono wasn't even intimidating, he was like an armored teddy bear.

Quentin walked over, unwrapping the bandages from his aching hands. "Is it my turn yet? You've been beating trainers all day," he complained lightheartedly.

"Oh, shut up. You know you like taking out your repressed issues on that poor post."

Not even bothering to rise to her pointless accusation, he sidestepped the issue by pointing out "My Pokemon, on the other hand, after getting healed, really want to battle. You'd deny them that?"

"Easily." Rolling her eyes, Haruka stashed the wad of cash into her belt-pack-device-object. Quentin wasn't sure what it was really called. Their conversation was cut short as a loud bugling filled the air. "What was that?"

Quentin was no help, as he was staring over her shoulder, one eyebrow cocked in disbelief.

Then Haruka turned, and immediately noted the source of the foghorn-like noise. Some idiotic Trainer had called out their Wailord only a hundred feet out from the beach, and the wave of its landing now towered up, building into a massive surge that threatened to engulf beachgoers and Pokemon alike.

"We have to help those people! A Wailord? That's going to be more of a shockwave than a swell," Haruka hastened towards the waterline, having already recalled her Lairon. Quentin followed only a second behind. People scattered, the late summer day marred by screams of abject, overstated terror.

Wailord, the Float Whale Pokemon. It can sometimes knock out opponents with the shock created by breaching and crashing its big body onto the water.

The trainer herself seemed to be actively encouraging the Wailord to flood the beach, ordering it to unleash its surf. Each surge followed soon after the other, whipping up the previously calm breakers into a tidal frenzy, which Haruka heedlessly charged into. There were people still stuck wading towards shore, after all.

There were still a few community-minded adults attempting to herd younger beachgoers away from the water, but their ineffectual efforts were surpassed by the trainer girl bodily heaving people towards the shore with some insane amount of strength.

"You can't all escape! Brawly dared to cross me, and his town shall pay for him!" ranted the trainer from atop her Wailord. "Water Spout!" And as the immense mountain of water began its terrible descent towards the beach, Quentin and Haruka were faced with a choice.

What do you do when faced with overwhelming force?

Do you run?

The balding older man assisting Haruka turned to flee, high-stepping through the water remarkably well for someone who probably had a few joint replacements. When the tidal wave caught him in the back he pitched and fell under the foaming water.

Do you stand your ground?

Quentin elected to try and weather the mighty waterspout, setting his legs and holding his arms in front of his face. Oh, he withstood the initial contact alright; but the sand beneath his feet did not; losing his footing, he found himself battered to his bruised knees under the hammer blow.

Do you fight back?

Haruka charged into the wave, crashing into the mass of water just before it crested and breaking through into the wave itself; but as her feet left the ground, the forward momentum of the mass overcame hers as just another pebble swept along by the massive force. She was left soaked and spluttering on her rear ten meters up the beach.

Or do you... go with the motion, and not try to stand straight up to superior power?

This seemed to be the choice of a lone surfer, who jinked along the top of the massive wave. Keeping his body steady, he acted as the anchor for both a kid he had plucked out of the ocean and his little pokemon, a Makuhita. After the wave sank down to a manageable size, he turned his board to exit the wave, jumping into the water and consoling the frightened child he had carried to safety on his surfboard.

But the trainer and her whale firing platform were still there, commanding additional attacks. But these were mere surf moves, with Wailord not wishing to summon another waterspout. Quentin had moved the least from his initial position, and he kept wading further out, summoning Turnus to increase his speed.

Once he passed a certain point of distance from the shore, the water was deep enough to prevent the wailord's water attacks from making much of an immediate impact, and he could ride the swell and continue his approach. The whale did not protest as Quentin used Turnus' Water Gun boost to clamber onto its broad back. This... trainer on a revenge kick was yelling incoherently (or maybe that was the water in his ears?) and approached him waving her arms threateningly. Not really understanding what she was getting at (all he could hear was water sloshing around in his ears) he merely waited until she attempted to shove him off. Reactions and immediate muscle memory taking over, he lashed out with a textbook left cross, catching the trainer on the point of the jaw and knocking her off her feet on the slick smooth whaleskin.

The wailord, now quiescent, allowed Haruka and the surfer to join Quentin on its back. Quentin was paying zero attention to the world around him, attempting to shake the water out of his ears.

The surfer stared closely at the sobbing trainer for a few seconds, before speaking.

"I think I remember her. This here girl came here for a gym challenge a few days ago and lost, yelling something about unfair movesets and her mother hearing of the match. Didn't think she'd get this riled up about it." Hoisting the unresponsive trainer onto his shoulder, he stepped off the Wailord. "I'll take her to the police station."

Quentin and Haruka merely blinked, twice, before Quentin shrugged and turned back towards the shore. "Your footing was no good on that punch," admonished Haruka. "If she blocked, she easily could have pushed ya off the whale."

Since she was referencing being pushed off of a whale, he saw it as only fit to push her off as well. But, damn her inhuman speed, she managed to pull him off after her.

-Idealism-

Haruka didn't see Jacqueline until they returned to the Pokemon Center that night. Jacqueline was clinging tightly to a sleepy fox pokemon, face buried in its coat.

"See anything good at the gym?" called the shorter girl. Quentin headed straight for the bathroom, he had just washed these clothes this morning, and now seawater had gone right back in. Sand and salt equal itchiness galore.

Jacqueline composed herself, before speaking in a manner that suggested she was trying to detach herself from the events that occurred in the darkness of the Gym. "I could not gain entry without going in as a challenger. The entire gym is a dark set of corridors, with gym trainers scattered at intersections. Terry and I lost to the first trainer. Terry kept getting beaten by the man's Machop, but... he kept getting back up. He was in the medicinal wing for hours! Why did he keep fighting?"

Haruka stared at the vulpix sleeping contentedly in her arms. She paused, seeming to consider something; before answering in a subdued tone of voice. "That was... his first trainer battle, was it not?" At Jacqueline's bemused nod, Haruka continued, a little stronger now, "I think he just wanted to impress you." Reaching out to scratch the pokemon behind his ears, she overrode Jacqueline's beginning protest. "That vulpix is one from that... Trainer School you spoke of. I don't know how long he was there, but I doubt he had been traveling with a trainer before. In his eyes, you... rescued him from the monotony of being a school pokemon. Some pokemon, more docile or gentle ones, do well there. This guy's a little too hasty for that."

"He wants to impress his new trainer so that he won't have to be shut in again."

"That's deep and all, Haruka, but aren't you extrapolating all of this from maybe two things you know?" Quentin entered the conversation, fresh from the shower, with a mood-killer.

"Shut up, you're ruining my speech thing;" groused the veteran trainer.

Jacqueline smiled, eyes damp, and decided that she wouldn't go back to the gym tomorrow. She'd try to catch something, and not let this foolhardy little fox try and support her on his own.

Night soon fell, and newly able to continue renting due to prize money, the three took to their bunks, ready for the next morning. Haruka fell asleep quickly, lulled to sleep by the rhythm of her friends' breathing.

-Idealism-

Morning dawned bright and early, and after the depressing ritual of eating Pokemon Center waffles in their underwear in front of the washer, the three prepared for the day of the gym challenge.

Jacqueline expressed her intent to go try and catch another Pokemon rather than rechallenge the gym, and Haruka pulled a collapsible fishing rod out of her utility belt/fanny pack/object thing. Quentin pondered the existence of hammerspace within fanny packs as the two girls discussed fishing, of all things.

He only broke from his thoughts when Haruka jabbed him to make him wave to a departing Jacqueline.

The gym was, as Jacqueline reported, entirely dark. "Let's take different paths through this place. I didn't let you battle at all yesterday, and I'm the one with an appointment with the gym leader." Haruka said, eyes constantly scanning the darkness.

Quentin acquiesced, and he only realized her departure when he couldn't hear her breathing.

Soon, he came across a man in a karate gi. "Hello, trainer. As an honorable member of the Fighting Gym of Dewford, I am obligated to challenge you..." the man trailed off under the force of his glare.

"Go, Turnus!"

"Come on out, Meditite!"

Meditite, the Meditation Pokemon. It never skips its daily yoga training. It heightens its inner strength through meditation.

"A Pokedex user..." mumbled the man under his breath before calling, "Meditite, fake him out!"

Quentin's command was lost as Turnus attempted to keep track of the little fighter's movements, and flinched backwards when the creature surprised him with a palm strike to the nose.

Gritting his teeth, Quentin barked out "Water gun! At the hands!"

"Meditite! Detect!"

The fighter's eyes flashed as it utilized its small psychic ability to dodge the attacks, reading all of them perfectly. Turnus growled at the Meditite invalidating the results of its training. He needed to prove to his Trainer that his Water Gun was powerful and that he was strong; but this little humanoid with the funny shaped head was evading his attacks like it was simple.

"Again!" came the order from the boy, and Turnus was more than happy to oblige. The Meditite attempted to lift him into the air with a weak Confusion, but Turnus had been practicing with a Ralts for ten hours the day before. Maintaining his balance and his aim, he broke apart the Meditite's clasped hands with a thin and accurate stream of water, causing it to lose its focus and release its Confusion. Landing squarely on his feet, Turnus spat another bullet of water, catching the psychic's shoulder and spinning it around hard with a squeal of pain.

The trainer in the karate gi commanded Meditite to Detect again, it catching a few breaths while evading the small water bullets.

"Its movement is its strong suit! Go for the legs!"

Responding at high speed, the mudkip swiftly angled its head in accordance with its master's wishes, and ignoring the Confusion attempting to lift him, blasted another stream of pressurized liquid at the creature, and this time directly hit its spindly legs, which gave way under the assault, sending the Meditite crashing to the ground, where its grim-faced trainer recalled it.

We got lucky there; Turnus had to face an opponent which couldn't withstand high force, and whose main move was one Turnus was very experienced with. Quentin lowered his face, considering his options. Deciding that Turnus was doing well, he made no move to recall him as a Machop came out, flexing its muscles.

"Come on, Machop! Show them our power!"

Machop, the Superpower Pokemon. Machop exercises by hefting around a Graveler as if it were a barbell. There are some Machop that travel the world in a quest to master all kinds of martial arts.

"Turnus, mud-slap!" called the younger trainer, keeping a calculating gray eye on the muscular little humanoid. This pokemon lacked the faults that betrayed its partner.

Blinking, (wasn't his water gun good enough?) Turnus dug his tail into the sandy floor, and flung it into his opponent's face, who coughed and spluttered, trying to restore its eyesight.

"Machop! You know you can do this! Fight!"

"Turnus... water gun." spoke the boy, utterly focused on the battle at hand, barely reacting when a water bullet knocked the machop sprawling, incidentally clearing its eyes. He tracked the pokemon as under its trainer's exaggerated command, went to sweep Turnus' legs; as he expected, his little mudkip blasted water at the Superpower Pokemon. But as it turned, the water's impact was lessened as it glanced off of its chest, kicking his own pokemon's legs and knocking it over. The Machop began to beat down an assortment of wrestling moves upon the downed mudkip, trading blows of similar power to the blasts of water that threatened to blow it away.

Turnus writhed around, attempting to remove the Machop clinging to his back. His master wasn't giving him any instructions, so he went with his natural reactions, trying to utilize his slippery body and accuracy to drive off the fighter. Machop tried its best to stay on the slippery mudfish and bludgeon it into submission. There was no exaggerated glory in this fight; it was a brawl between a small amphibian and a miniature humanoid.

All seemed somewhat even, with the machop unable to keep a strong hold and the mudkip unable to entirely escape; however, luck is as much a component in battling as a skill. And luck made an emphatic entrance, as Machop's strike glanced off of Turnus' head fin and slammed into the base of his skull. And with a pained groan, the little mudkip fell still. In a frenzy of anger, machop continued to punch the immobile body, its trainer too slow in reacting.

Quentin's vision contracted to the machop unleashing its anger upon his starter, and the heat of anger built inside his chest at the sight. What was this mockery of Pokemon battling? Wasn't this a world of respectful opponents and fair fights, here in the midst of civilization? It seemed all bets were off regarding fair play, with a machop pummeling a fainted opponent. His fingers flickered to his Pokeballs, and nearly without processing his actions, he recalled Turnus and sent out Brasidas.

"Brasidas." he gritted out to his psychic, which shivered at the rage rolling off of his trainer.

"Crush the machop."

-Idealism-

Jacqueline was idly sitting on a large seaside rock, fishing pole extended. Tugs came on the line fairly often, as the seaweed pellet lure worked surprisingly well. Feeling the telltale bend of the pole, Jacqueline motioned to Terry, who limped over, ready to help. As she cranked up the line, the tension built and built before the pole launched its catch upwards out of the water, leaving it bubbling softly up on the rock.

"Another Tentacool," she sighed. Something slightly more useful would come up soon; one of the other fishers nearby, muscles straining, had pulled up a young Wailmer his own size. Another one had brought in a small Marill, which he had swiftly caught and pocketed; the woman to her left had somehow managed to fish up a Magikarp, which weren't even native to the region.

Sighing, she motioned to Terry to push the Tentacool back into the water in a different direction, resetting her line. Tentacool had grown increasingly common in the last few decades, and outnumbered nearly all other sea life.

Half an hour and eight tentacool later, she was starting to wonder if this was a good idea.

An hour, fourteen tentacool, and a low-flying wingull later, she was starting to regret this whole 'fishing' thing.

Two hours later, she caught a magikarp. She was not sure whether to feel proud or disappointed.

Three hours later, a marill escaped.

Four hours and a vast, vast number of tentacool later; something occurred which confused Jacqueline completely. She dragged another fish onto her rock with a practiced toss, but this one was different. It was the singularly most ugly fish she had ever had the misfortune of setting eyes upon.

The small beast was an irregular splotchy tan color, with gigantic sunken eyes and tattered blue fins. It flopped around weakly on the rock, making croaking noises. "The fuck is that?" pondered Jacqueline, as every other fisherman's eyes lit up at the sight.

"Terry, jump on it." she commanded in a bored tone, ignorant of the others hurriedly anchoring their poles to form a loose circle around her fishing spot.

But as the mottled fish passed out, quickly and easily, she motioned to Terry to push it off. "Worthless fish, Terry, let's keep fishing-"

"Stop!" came the collective roar from the fishermen, causing Jacqueline to freeze and spin around at the loud noise. She took in the half-circle of fishermen surrounding her rock. "What?" she questioned irritably.

"Don't throw it away-"

"Keep the fish-"

"Save it-"

"Not supposed to be in this area-"

"Riot-"

"Feebas-" shouted the unruly gaggle of panicked voices. Sensing she had power over them through this strange fish, Jacqueline's cold smile twisted its way back onto her features.

"Why should I keep this trash fish?" she questioned, a little too innocently.

The voices once more answered in a disorganized roar, indistinguishable from the roar of the waves. Completely and utterly incomprehensible. Then one fisherman, a little better dressed and slicker than the rest, stepped forward, a smarmy grin firmly in place. "Well, you see, miss," he began in that unctuous voice, that just oozed friendliness and honesty, "Its evolutionary line are very highly valued by collectors for their rarity, and some of them could make it... worth your while." Jacqueline decided she didn't like the man.

"Do you have a pokemon to trade for it?" she asked, figuring the guy would try to con her by lowballing this trash fish's market worth.

This was something the man did not expect. The oil dropped out of his voice as he reacted in shock, sounding much less like a used car salesman, listing off pokemon she was confident were rare and "collectible." Jacqueline only knew the Staryu line. Water types and powerful psychics once fully evolved, and would be a very good partner for her vulpix, helping him with water types and opposing fire types.

"I'll take the staryu," she finally relented, as the conman (she had already started referring to him mentally as such) tripped over himself to rush towards her, a pokeball in hand. Even as the shocked fisherman clamored to make themselves heard, she tested the Pokeball, looking in through its clear top to see the small sea star spinning idly inside. Finding it sufficient, she threw the trash fish into the man's face, before turning back to the ocean. That had been easier than expected.

-Idealism-

Haruka had made her way through the dark corridors, the faintly glowing pokeball in her hands her only illumination. She may not have let it show, but she was apprehensive of the upcoming match. Despite Rono's extensive training, his stiff armor and cumbersome body layout made him severely disadvantaged against the lighter, more agile Pokemon with the capability to break his armor.

She hadn't lost yet, but she frequently dug into her supply of potion salves to mend her partner's body. Haruka frowned down at her light source. Her other pokemon should have finished evolving by now, given the light emanating from her pokeball. Was Toro just being stubborn, or was something wrong with her official starter? No matter. She would have to come through; there was no other way.

Coming across another set of double doors, Haruka pointed her Pokemon at them. She was going to make an entrance that the gym leader would remember. And as the armored dinosaur she called ally burst through the doors of the Gym Leader's arena, she steeled herself and walked blindly forward into the light.

And when her eyes cleared from the fuzzy blindness, she nodded to the man with unruly blue-dyed hair and his surfboard leaned across the wall. Brawly was waiting; Haruka would bring her challenge. That was the order of things.

She warily stared at her future opponent as they made their way to the large, mostly ornamental circle where Brawly staged his battles. Brawly did not care for the large, ornamental stadiums favored by the more ostentatious gym leader (her father included); his arena was a vast, open, circular room, with a smaller battling circle marked into the hard-packed dirt. There were only three rows of seats built in the room, on a balcony halfway up the wall. There sat the camera and the League psychic, ready to record and protect, respectively. All these observations were made quickly; she had no time to prepare. The oppressive silence was maintained until the faint whooshing noise signaled a Pokemon being decompressed from their ball. A machop landed in a three point crouch within the ring, as Rono lumbered over, snorting.

Brawly finally spoke, more for the benefit of the cameras than for Haruka. This match had been arranged weeks in advance. "This will be a two-on-two match for Pokemon Trainer May's second badge. Standard rules apply. Begin." Ignoring the girl's nervous flinch at her "trainer name," Brawly skipped backwards two steps to give his machop room. The trainer name wasn't the only thing bothering Haruka, though. It was the fact that it was a two-on-two battle and one of her pokemon was still locked inside its pokeball.

"Muscles, leer." "Rono, shore up your defenses!" came two calls in short succession. Brawly gave the girl an intrigued glance, before returning his full attention to Muscles the machop. She reacted damn quickly for a new trainer.

Even as the humanoid glared at the armored beast, making it loosen its stance, it shook itself once, a pale sheen passing over its armor as Rono focused on supporting his armor plates, tightening his defenses.

"Take him down with your head!" called Haruka, her hands twitching with nerves.

The Lairon bounded forward with deceptive alacrity, lowering its head in a maneuver Brawly knew to be Iron Head. "Remember our training, Muscles. Absorb the force, and redirect it. Toss him."

And as the Lairon thrust its armored, wedge-shaped head into the Machop's torso, the machop, wincing, held on and dug its fingers under Rono's jaw, lifting with all of its powerful strength.

"Seismic toss," Brawly said with some satisfaction. He was too intent to notice Haruka gnawing her lip in a mix of nerves and anticipation; Machop flung his arms upwards with a full-body motion, cracking the armor around Rono's neck from the shearing force. "Don't flip over! Stand! And then fall into Take Down!" called Haruka, mind working leagues ahead of her mouth.

Brawly cursed under his breath. It had been extremely difficult for something as strong as Machop to toss the iron pokemon upwards, and now that weight would be falling downwards. Back onto machop. As Rono took control over his motion, rearing onto his back legs, a faint click issued from Haruka's belt.

"Take it before it can generate force! Karate chop its stomach, Muscles!" commanded Brawly.

"Don't let him get t'ya! Fall!" snapped Haruka, eyes alight with adrenaline and worry.

The machop struck into the weaker underside of Rono even as Rono began gathering momentum; Rono's armor shattered, knocking him unconscious with blunt trauma even as the jangling body fell onto the machop, three hundred pounds of armored dinosaur. Rono was still young, after all. An exhausted machop struggled his way out from under the armor as Haruka recalled him, the significance of the knockout weighing large in her mind as her battle rush cooled.

Realizing now that Toro must be ready to battle once more, Haruka's disposition lightened. "Let's go, Toro!" she shouted with a smile. "Quick attack!" The machop was clearly exhausted from just battling the tank that was Rono; only a little bit of chip damage would be needed! And still half-hidden within the light of the pokeball, the bipedal bird charged forward, landing a swift kick to machop's midsection that sent it tumbling backwards, unable to battle. Having stopped in place when launching the kick, one leg extended, the Combusken slowly returned to a normal stance, giving a slow caw of satisfaction.

"Yama! It's up to you!" called Brawly, frowning.

A bulky Hariyama materialized, massive palms clapping together as it took its stance.

"Go, Toro! Ember!"

The bird paused, before breathing out a thin stream of flame, which the Hariyama batted away, the thick skin of its palms preventing it from taking any serious damage. However, the Hariyama refused to attack directly; it merely waited, palms outstretched.

"Toro, time to fight in close! Get within its guard!" called Haruka, realizing that the thick fat of her opponent prevented Toro's fire attacks from doing much damage. Its palms were too large and unwieldy for use in true close quarters combat, right? They had evolved as a simultaneously offensive and defensive weapon, offering a stellar advantage over slower foes. Few frail, fast creatures lived in the mountains which Hariyama called home.

"Counter, Yama." spoke Brawly calmly.

And to Haruka's shock and surprise, it let Toro's flying kick completely through its guard to impact into its thick belly, wrapping its massive hands around Toro's leg. As the combusken struggled to deal with captured leg, hopping on his free leg, the Hariyama solved her problem for her by throwing her into a wall.

Haruka winced. That was a nasty technique... It's just like how he dealt with the water spout at the beach. Not trying to counter force with force, but moving out of the way or weathering it.

Her mind skimmed through countless possibilities as the Hariyama lumbered towards Toro. At last, something entered her mind. "Kick!" she called, unsure of what she could do, and her pokemon hesitantly followed, also worrying how well it would work against this foe. The Hariyama swiftly caught the offending foot, wrapping both massive palms around her ankle.

Choice after choice flashing through her thoughts, Haruka saw a chance of escape and yelled out, "Kick again! Other foot! Double kick!" And Toro understood perfectly. Utilizing the long limbs granted by evolution, she spun and kicked Yama in the face with her other foot, driving him backwards and forcing him to interrupt his counter-move. As she landed, Toro shrieked her piercing battle cry, before dashing towards the confused Hariyama and leaping up to perform the same maneuver.

And even as Hariyama would skillfully block the first attack, the combusken's second leg would strike from another angle, as Toro placed all her confidence into moving forward, striking regardless of whether her footing was assured. This form of aerial acrobatics was something Hariyama had never seen before; he, too, had recently evolved, used to challenging other Makuhita and perhaps Tentacool brought by aspiring trainers. Fighting a powerful, innovative combusken personally taught by its trainer was beyond its experience in the Dewford Gym. As it realized this, it began to slow its blocks, stop searching for an opportunity to throw its opponents, and smile as the combusken high on battle pushed itself to greater feats.

It was not long at this point before Toro's screech of victory echoed in the chamber, Hariyama lying motionless on the ground in defeat.

Brawly smiled without malice as his second pokemon fell, and recalled him, speaking softly to his pokeball, "You fought well, Yama. There is no shame in this defeat."

"Congratulations on your second badge, May! This is the official League Boulder Badge. You're one step closer to being able to compete in Ever Grande."

"...Thanks, Brawly." replied Haruka, smiling slowly as she accepted the small emblem, placing it into the slot on her Trainer ID.

Then, of course, the touching moment had to be interrupted as another challenger pushed his way through the heavy double doors. And boy, was he glaring.

Author's Note: Sorry for the long, long, wait, so here's a double-length chapter to almost finish the Dewford Town arc!

And by the way, new CoroCoro scans reveal Mega Salamence, Mega Altaria, and Mega Lopunny! Lopunny strikes me as a little weird, but I am very excited for the other two! Mega Mence is going to bring back birdspam with its own Aerilate and most likely an insanely high Attack. And the coveted dual type of Dragon/Fairy now exists in the form of the exceedingly fluffy Mega Altaria, who also carries Pixilate! The -ate abilities are very popular for megas, as is Magic Bounce.

Mega Gardevoir: Pixilate

Mega Altaria: Pixilate

Mega Salamence: Aerilate

Mega Pinsir: Aerilate

Mega Absol: Magic Bounce

Mega Sableye: Magic Bounce

Mega Diancie: Magic Bounce

Mega Lopunny, thanks to Scrappy, now gets perfect STAB coverage with normal/fighting, and HJK no longer misses against Ghosts! That's going to be interesting.

It may be a while before another chapter gets finished. I'm visiting some colleges, trying to finish up an online Java course, and want to start prepping college apps. This is all in the next two and a half weeks or so, mind you. Then school starts again.

Even with these really long breaks between chapters, I'd appreciate a beta reader if anyone is interested. I've never been very good at critiquing my own writing, and I'd like someone to help me look over the plot I have planned and help me refine it. PM me or leave it in a review if you are interested!

CHARACTER STATUS

Quentin

Badges: 0

Pokemon:

Turnus (Mudkip). Known moves: Water Gun, Growl, Mud-Slap.

Brasidas (Ralts). Known moves: Confusion, Teleport.

Jacqueline

Badges: 0

Pokemon:

Terry (Vulpix). Known moves: Ember, Tackle, Tail Whip.

Staryu.

Haruka

Badges: 2

Pokemon:

Rono (Lairon). Known moves: Roar, Metal Claw.

Toro (Combusken). Known moves: Peck, Flamethrower, Ember, Double Kick.

Steven Stone

Badges: 8

Known Pokemon:

Skarmory. Known moves: Fly.

Metang. Known moves: Flash, Magnet Rise.

Aggron.

MINOR CHARACTERS

Sam: Hospital boy is just starting to recover now, and talks the ears off of the nurses.

Ranger Norris: Arceus damnit that's another student corpse. These woods used to be clean.

Norman: He's having a gym battle in that giant fancy arena he financed himself. Overkill.

Mr. Briney: Yup, still dead.

Yuki: Surfing towards an abandoned ship on the back of his Seadra, on the trail of Team Magma.

Brawly: This next challenger is glaring at him. A lot. He has no idea why.