¤Game¤ Dragon Tamers Battle Range v.24

[Lady Vulpix]

*Omits reaction because we've already talked via IM.*

OK, here it is! Pulse's RBG and more. Credits to Jeff for his side of our conversation.

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<Pulse's POV>

I didn't know where I was when I woke up. It took me a few seconds to realize I was in what was supposed to be my new home. I was still uneasy about the whole thing. I missed my old life, with Pa and the computers... There was a computer here, but I'd been told not to go inside it. And the place was so noisy! There were Pokemon everywhere, all the time. The one named Caledor was nice when he was alone with me, but when he was with his friends they were all so annoying! And then there was the trainer... I'd been hoping she'd spend the day with me, teaching me knew things and helping me get stronger, but she had left the house a few minutes after I arrived, been out for most of the day and then come back to simply ask me how I was doing and if there was anything I wanted. She did bring me an Eviolite, but still, things were not what I had expected. But I couldn't go back to my old home: Giana was there now, and Pa was sure that she would hurt me if she saw me; not physically - she never hit anyone for personal reasons, Pa would say - but emotionally. She could say things to make you wish you'd never been born, Pa said. I wondered why Pa had decided to stay with her... It said that she needed it, that she'd go crazy without it, but why did it care if she was so mean? None of the things it said - that she'd never had a good parent, that she didn't know what it was like to feel loved, that she couldn't help seeing the worst in everyone, or that she had rescued Pa from an abandoned storage room - felt like a good reason for it to stay with her rather than leave with me. But that wasn't my choice. My old life was gone, so all I could do now was learn to accept the new one.

"Good morning!" Caledor greeted me with the biggest smile I'd ever seen. "Did you sleep well?"
"Uh... I think so," I replied.
"You don't sound so good... Is anything wrong?"
"I don't know... I'm just not used to being here, I guess."
"Oh... miss your old home? I know how that feels. I was stranded on the Moon for 2 years once. I really missed being here."
"On the Moon? Really?"
"Yes, in some kind of... base. Anyway, if there's anything any of us can do to help you feel better, just ask."
"OK... I mean thanks. I'm just worried about my parent."

The Espeon thought for a moment, and then asked. "Do you know where your parent is?"
"I don't know," I said. "I remember the IPs and MAC addresses of the computers we normally used, but I don't think I could get there without going through the Cloud."
"I'm going to assume that what you said makes perfect sense. We'll find a way to protect your parent from Giana and make sure you two can meet again."
"Really? How?"
"I don know yet. But we'll do it. As long as you don't give up, sooner or later you'll succeed."
"But what if it's too late? What if she's already done something horrible?"
"Terabyte has lived with Giana for years, I don't think she'll suddenly decide to kill her only companion."
"No, she wouldn't do that, but..."
"While there's life, there's hope. It's an old saying, but it's true. Giana won't be able to break your parent, not while it knows you're safe and sound."
"What do I have to do with anything?" I asked.
"Everything!" said Caledor. "Your parent sent you away so you'd be safe. You're its greatest hope. As long as you're OK, it can endure anything."
"You speak as if you knew it well."
"I know love. I know the strength it can give you. And I once saw Lagi confront a Dragon - a real Dragon - to protect her eldest daughter."
"A real Dragon? How did she survive?"
"With a lot of help, but that's beside the point. The point is... she didn't hesitate regardless of the danger because her daughter mattered to her that much."
"Oh... And where is her daughter now?"
"Australia, I think... Anyway, let's talk about happier things. I remember you said you liked video games, so I asked Gabi and Amber last night and they said you can play any of their games if you want."
"Oh, cool! What games do they have?"
"You'll have to ask them, I can't handle the controls so I don't even bother checking. Which makes me wonder, how do you play? Do you play games from inside the computer or console?"
"What? No! You have no idea what a computer looks like from the inside, do you?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Of course... You wouldn't ask that if you did. When I'm inside a computer, I feel the electric charges and can interpret them as bits or bytes. I've learnt to recognize many patterns, so I can, for example, read and write text files, decode TCP and UDP packages, or recognize different file formats. But I don't see the images, just the codes for the pixels (or even less than that if they're compressed). So no, playing from inside a computer would be a terrible idea."
"Then how do you play?"
"I send the right electric pulses to the machines. Every key pressed, every button clicked and everything else you do to send data to a computer or console translates into electric pulses, so I just send the pulses needed to make my moves."
"Wow, that's fascinating! I'd love to see that!"
"OK, you can watch me play if you want."

I was about to ask where Gabi and Amber were, but then I heard their calls from the kitchen saying breakfast was ready. We went to the kitchen and, as I was crossing the door, I was nearly run over by the Ninetales. I wasn't hurt, but I got scared for a moment. Then the Dragonite picked me up and put me on a chair. By then there were Pokemon all over the place.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," said the Dragonite.

I didn't know how to react, so I didn't say anything. I remembered what Pa had said about Giana: that he could see your greatest fears and regrets, and everything that made you suffer. Was that what the Dragonite did? And if so, how was being with her any safer than being with Giana?

"Earth to Pulse," said the Vaporeon, distracting me from my thoughts.
"Eh? What?" I asked.
"Gabi just asked you what you'd like to have for breakfast. We have toast, cheese, cereals, yoghurt, fruits, milk, mixed fruit juice, and lots of teas because both Gabi and Amber are tea addicts."
"Not as many teas as we had before, I'm afraid," said Gabi. "It'll be hard to recover from the damage the moths have caused."
"So you don't deny that you're addicted," the Vaporeon told her.
"I don't know... I can go for months without tea if I have to, but I don't enjoy it. If that makes me an addict, so be it, at least it's not an unhealthy addiction. Anyway, what would you like?"
"Umm... I don't know? I've never tried any of these things," I told her.
"Really?" she asked.
"Believe it or not, not everyone in Ulthuan has these things for breakfast," said Tsunami. "Breakfasts at Jenny's were very different. We had eggs both poached and scrambled, sausages, hash browns, beans... sometimes even fish."
"Just thinking about having that for breakfast makes me nauseous," Gabi told him. "But if that's what you want, I can make some scrambled eggs."
"Zack had some of those things for breakfast too, but we liked the cereals better," said the Pidgeot.
"He did?" asked Caledor. "Breakfast at Lord Growlithe's was mostly just fruits. All kinds of fruits."
"Sounds a lot like a Brazilian breakfast," Gabi commented.
"So different trainers make different things for breakfast?" I asked.
"Generally yes," said Gabi. "Some kinds of breakfast are typical of certain regions. This kind of breakfast is common in Argentina, which is where I come from. I like food from all over the world, but for breakfast I just can't eat anything savory other than cheese."
"Can't drink coffee either," said the Vaporeon.
"That's just a personal dislike, most people do drink coffee where I come from," Gabi replied. "Anyway, Pulse, what kind of breakfast do you like?"
"I... I haven't tried many kinds. We would sometimes eat instant noodles because pa found a pile of them somewhere and brought them home, and apples when they were in season because there was an apple tree nearby. But we once went to a farm and I tried a raspberry pie... It was strange, but I liked it! And I tried some rice and croquettes at the Adoption Center."
"Ah, so you were at the Adoption Center before?" asked Gabi. "Shonta said she'd seen a Porygon there, I wondered if that was you."
"Yes, my parent dropped me there one day saying I should find a good trainer to help me reach my full potential and learn about the world. The other Pokemon and the caretaker were nice, but on my second night there I was missing my parent so much that I found a computer and used it to return home. I was afraid my parent would be mad at me, but it said it was OK, that I was not ready yet and I could try again later when I was older."

I just hadn't expected it to happen the way it did.

"I'm sorry," said the Dragonite. "We'll do what we can to help you feel comfortable here."
"I don't think you can," I told her, perhaps too bluntly.
"Oh..." she replied. "I think I'm not hungry anymore. I'll go... do something else."
"No, Lagi, don't go," Gabi told her.
"Pulse, that was rude. Lagi was only trying to help you."
"I'm sorry," I said. "But she can't help me feel comfortable when she keeps reminding me of how uncomfortable I am. I do want to be a good Pokemon. I do want to learn and become stronger, but this was all so sudden! And everything's so different here!"

No one seemed to know what to say. It took a few seconds before Gabi spoke again.

"OK, let's tackle things one step at a time," she said. "You please let us know if there's anything we can do to help you feel better. I'll try to get to know you better and figure out what I can do to help. And we'll see how things go from there."

I nodded, still not knowing what to expect. I decided to try some toast, but the taste was not what I had imagined. Caledor suggested I tried it with butter and salt, but that didn't make it much better. Then Amber, the Charizard, suggested warming it up to melt the butter. I didn't think it would make a big change, but it did! I realized I liked it this way.

"Great!" Gabi cheered. "We've discovered one new thing you like."

Yes, we had. I finished my toast and waited for everyone else to finish eating before I asked Gabi if she was leaving again that day.

"I have to," she said. "I have work to do, and I have to talk to the MTU people so we can start arranging the party together. But you can come with me if you want."
"Can I?"
"Of course. There are many places for Pokemon to hang out at the Dragon's Guild headquarters. I'm sure you can have a good time there."
"Maybe you can even help Gabi with her research," Amber suggested.
"What?" asked Gabi. "How?"
"It's just an idea I had when we met Pulse," she said. "There's so much we don't know about Porygons! I thought Pulse could help you learn more about its kind, and then we can share that knowledge with the world."
"Oh, I hadn't thought about it..." Gabi said. "But are you sure no one else has done that before? Jeff probably has. He is Lord Porygon, after all. And besides... writing a Porygon report right now could be dangerous. If Constanzio's looking for Pulse, I don't want to give her any clues."

Was she talking about Pa's trainer? If so, she had pronounced her name wrong, but I didn't have the chance to tell her.

"Oh, good point," said Amber. "Sorry, I hadn't thought of that."
"That's OK... Anyway, we do need to learn more about Porygons, if only to make it easier for Pulse to live with us. I'm sure we'll figure some things out as we go along, but I think we should ask Jeff for some tips. Anyway, it's time to go. Who's coming with me?"

It turns out that everyone wanted to follow her this time, so we all went together. We came across so many humans and Pokemon along the way! I had once read that there were billions of humans in the world, and even more Pokemon, but reading about them was not the same as seeing them. I started to think that maybe Pa had been right about my need to learn more about the world.

We entered a large building and walked across a big hall and out into a big yard surrounded y different buildings. At that point the Vaporeon made a strange remark.

"Oh, look! The fountain's back!"
"What do you mean it's 'back'?" asked Amber.
"It hadn't been there ever since the magic outbreak. There was just a swimming pool there, the fountain was gone. I had almost forgotten what it looked like! It's nice to see it again."
"OK, that was weird..." said Amber. "One more item on the list, I guess."
"I really missed it all these years," said the Pidgeot. "It's the best place for bathing."
"I was here only two days ago," Gabi recalled. "I can't believe I didn't notice there was no fountain!"
"You had other things on your mind," Caledor told her. "Or, as I've been told before, maybe you were just distracted."
"A whole fountain disappeared and I didn't notice!" Gabi laughed at herself. "I can't believe it!"
"That's called change blindness," I informed her. "I read about it on a web-comic."
"You read web-comics?" Gabi asked me.
"I like all forms of entertainment," I replied.
"That's extremely broad," she said. "Do you even know what all forms of entertainment are?"
"Comics, TV shows, films (or movies, I've seen them called both ways), video games, books, forums, chat, battle simulators... Am I missing anything?"
"Are you kidding? You're missing almost everything!" Caledor told me.
"Only everything you can't do on a computer," Gabi said. "Don't worry, you'll soon find more ways to have fun. Maybe even today. Anyway, I need to go to the MTU building now. Who's coming and who's staying here or going somewhere else?"
"I'm going to the barracks," said the Ninetales, dashing away only a split-second later.

I noticed something strange about him, but then I was distracted by all the others who started speaking.

"I'll join Hero later," said the Vaporeon. "Right now, I'd like to go for a swim in the fountain."
"I'll stay here," said the Pidgeot. "I'm not missing my first chance to bathe in the fountain in over 3 years."
"You took baths in the swimming pool," Ventura told him.
"It’s not the same," he replied. "I love the way the falling water tickles my skin and ruffles my feathers. I guess you'd have to be a bird to understand. Or Lagi, maybe."
"Do other Pidgeots like that too?" asked Ventura.
"I don't know, I've never asked any. In any case, you should know by now that I don't care whether what I do is considered 'normal' or not."
"I can relate to that," Ventura said. Then she turned to me. "Maybe we should go to the barracks like Hero did."
"What are the barracks?" I asked her.
"It's a good place for training."
"Oh, training! Like a battle simulator?"
"Not exactly. You'll see when you get there."
"Oh... OK," I accepted.

I followed Ventura back into the building we'd just gone through, followed by Caledor. The others were still in or near the fountain when I looked back. Only Amber was following Gabi.

"Gabi and Amber do a lot of things together, don't they?" I asked as we moved along a series of corridors.
"Now that you mention it, I think they do," said Ventura. "They do research together, cook, play games and drink a lot of tea. And they maintain the computer together too. But Amber spends a lot of time with Sylvan too, and also flies on her own sometimes. And Gabi, well... She does all the human things. And she writes stories sometimes."
"Really? What kind of stories?"
"Fantasy stories. About magic and travel to other worlds... Which considering the events of the last few years sounds a lot more than real life than fantasy. But there used to be a time when those things were rare enough for people to write stories about them."
"I don't know," said Caledor. "Sometimes reality inspires even better stories. Something new comes up and writers start thinking of all the different ways in which it could go."
"Maybe," Ventura said. "I'm not a writer, so I wouldn't know."
"Caledor, can I ask you something?" I said.
"Sure," replied the Espeon.
"Why is your gem yellow?"
"Why not?" he said. "I like yellow. It's a nice, cheerful color. Some say it represents envy, but I think they're just envious because they can't have it."

He stuck out his tongue for some reason.

"I mean... I thought Espeon's gems were red," I explained. "The Espeon on the Pokedex had a red gem, and so did the ones whose photos I saw online."
"Oh, I can change my gem's color," he told me. "And I've seen other Espeons' gems glow, so I assume they can change theirs too. Red's just the default for most Espeons, I guess."
"I think red looks better on purple than yellow," said Ventura.
"Well, it's my body, so it's my choice," Caledor told her.
"Please don't fight," I urged them.
"We're not going to start a fight over something so trivial," Caledor said. "Anyway, you shouldn't trust a Pokedex to show you what Pokemon look like. They usually have just one or two photos. They can give you a general idea, but the details vary from one individual to another. And also between regions. You know... the Pokedex we use the most around here was made in Avelorn, so for example the entry for Stantler has a photo of a Stantler with a beige coat. The Stantlers from Caledor have darker coats... You've already meat Iael, you may have noticed his coat is much darker than the one on the Pokedex."
"Oh... I thought it was just a trick of the light," I said. "I've seen photos of Stantlers in different shades of brown, but I thought it was just because the lighting was different."
"No, there are really different shades of Stantlers. And other Pokemon too. Not counting the rare ones born with really unusual colors, Venomoths' wings can range from pink to purple, a Vulpix's coat can be light red, orange or brown, and I've heard of one who was bright red. Eye color varies even more."
"What about Ninetales?" I asked.
"I've seen them in white, cream and different shades of yellow."
"But do they always have 9 tails?"
"Oh... I think I see where you're going. Normally yes, but Hero's evolution was a bit unfortunate. There was something wrong with the Fire Stone he used to evolve, so he ended up with 7 tails instead of the usual 9."
"Oh... That sounds bad."
"He wasn't happy about it... At all. Even after all these years, he's still a bit touchy about that subject. But luckily that was the only negative effect the stone had. He's as strong as other Ninetales - those who have trained as much as he has, which aren't many - and faster than most. Oh, look, here we are! Hero's over there, so if there's anything else you'd like to know about him you can ask him. Just don't get in the way of his attacks."

I looked around... It was a really large room. I saw some things I recognized from TV shows, like targets, punching bags and fences; and also some metallic and wooden things I couldn't recognize. There were also stacks of hay piled up on different places... I remember seeing others like them at the farm. There were only a few Pokemon around, all busy doing different kinds of exercises. I could see the seven-tailed Ninetales... Hero... hitting a punching bag repeatedly at a high speed. I could hardly see his legs moving. I thought of getting closer and talking to him, but I didn't know what to say, so I just stayed where I was, watching.

"OK, why don't we get started with your training?" Ventura suggested after a while.
"Sure," I said. "What do we do?"
"First of all, I'd like to ask you a few questions," said the Venomoth.
"Oh... OK."
"Have you ever battled before?" she asked.
"Many times," I answered. "But mostly on the battle simulator. I've only had one battle against a real Pokemon. That was on the day we went to the farm."
"Oh. What kind of Pokemon was it?"
"A Sunflora."

A few seconds passed before Ventura spoke again.

"Sounds like a rather unfair battle," she concluded. "Unless it was a really weak Sunflora or you have a strong Ice-type move."
"It wasn't, and I don't," I told her. "I lost."
"I see. There's nothing wrong with losing a friendly battle, but you need to learn to assess your opponents and know your own abilities and limits before you decide to battle someone else. Otherwise you won't be able to present a decent challenge for your opponents."
"OK... How do I do that?"
"You will learn over time as you encounter more Pokemon. Watching others battle can help. In the meantime, Gabi and I will guide you. What moves can you use?"
"Huh? Er... Tackle, Conversion, Conversion 2, Agility, Sharpen, Psybeam, Psychic and Hidden Power."
"What type of Hidden Power?"
"Electric."
"Oh... Of course. OK, so you can use mostly special moves, which puts you at even more of a disadvantage against a Sunflora, who has a high Special Defense. What's your ability?"
"What do you mean?"
"Every Pokemon has a special ability they can use in battle. Mine, for example, is Shield Dust, which protects me from the possible side-effects of my opponents' moves."
"Oh... I think I know what you mean. I can scan my opponents when the battle starts and increase my Attack or Special Attack to exploit their vulnerabilities."
"Except you have no good physical attacks. We'll have to make sure you learn some. Oh, and by the way, that ability's called Download."
"Ah... OK. So... When do we get started with the training?"
"Right now. I want to see your Psychic in action."
"But... how? The only way you could see it in action would be if I used it on you."
"Then do it."
"But... You're a Poison type!"
"I know my type, Pulse. I also know I'm much stronger than you are. No offense meant. Trust me, I can take it."
"OK, then."

I still had doubts but I had to trust that Ventura knew what she was doing. Her Special Defense was higher than her Defense, so at least the force of the blow wouldn't be augmented. I tried to focus, pretending it was another simulated battle, and gave her my best shot. She seemed to barely notice it.

"OK, so you can use psychic attacks," she finally said. "But that was just an empty psychic blast. Have you ever tried putting some content into a Psybeam?"
"Content? What do you mean?"
"Like a message. Images, words, sensations. It can be a good means of communication if you manage to master it. It's not easy, but it's worth it. If you practise hard enough, you may even learn to send just the message, without causing any damage."
"Can you do that?" I asked. I'd never heard of the move Psybeam being used in that way.
"I can," she answered. "It took me many years, but I've finally learned to do it. Still, it can startle the receivers if they're not expecting it."
"How did you learn?"
"Practice. I kept sending psychic pulses to my friends. At first it caused them a headache and they yelled at me more than once, but they soon realized it was a useful way to communicate sometimes, so they put up with it. After a few years, I managed to reduce the headache to just a tickle. And for the last 2 years I've been able to do it without causing any pain."
"You mean... it takes ages to learn!"
"It must seem like that to someone your age, but once you've learnt how to do it you'll see that it was worth the effort."
"Can anyone else in the team do it?"
"None of them have practised as much as I have, but... Gabi can send simple pulses to attract someone's attention, and Caledor can send short messages. Just words, but at least it's something."
"Are you trying to trick me? How can you do it better than a Psychic Pokemon, and how can a human do it at all?"
"Most humans have some psychic potential. Some more than others. Whether they make any use of it or not depends on the individual humans. Most don't even bother exploring it. Gabi did... at least a little. The result isn't great, but not so bad for a human. As for Caledor... He's a very unusual Espeon. He has a much broader moveset than any other Pokemon I've seen, which is usually good for him, but makes it hard for him to specialize in any of his moves."
"How did he learn so many moves?"
"He was born with the potential for learning them. He was a prize Pokemon."

I thought for a moment, and couldn't make any sense of that answer.

"That doesn't answer the question," I told her.
"Hey, you're a smart one!" exclaimed Caledor, who had been playing with a ball and hadn't seemed to be paying much attention to us. "Almost everyone accepted that for an answer!"
"Really?" I asked.
"Believe it or not, yeah, really," he replied. "I don't know why. Maybe all they really wanted was to point out how weird I am and weren't really interested in knowing the reason."
"And what is the reason?"
"Genetic engineering," he said. "And radiation. I was... I was the result of a scientific experiment. And I was deemed good enough to be given out as the first prize of the first Griffon Games."
"Really? That's... that's..."
"Whatever the word you're looking for is," said Caledor, "remember you're also the result of a scientific experiment."
"Me?" I asked. "I was born from an egg!"
"So was I... I think. I mean, I'm almost sure I was, but I can't remember my own birth. Anyway, the first Porygons were a scientific experiment, and you descend from one of them, so you're one of the results of that experiment."
"By that logic, every Porygon is a result of that experiment," I pointed out.
"Exactly," he told me. "And there's nothing wrong with that. No one gets to choose how they're born or where they come from, so you can't judge others based on that."

I thought about that. He did seem to have a point, but it still felt strange.

"This is all so weird!" I said.
"Life is weird," Caledor replied. "That's part of what makes it interesting. And fun!"
"Before you cause Pulse to become even more confused," said Ventura, "shall we continue with the training? Pulse, I'd like you to learn to receive my psychic pulses. That'll make it easier whenever I have to give you directions."
"Umm... OK. What do I have to do?"
"Just wait for the signal and see if you can understand it."

I waited. I was a bit nervous, but Ventura had said her psychic pulses didn't hurt now, so that had to mean everything would be fine, right? Suddenly, an image flashed before my eyes... or behind them. I closed my eyes and saw Caledor sitting in front of me.

"I see Caledor," I told Ventura.
"That's right, but if you close your eyes during a battle, you'll leave yourself open to attacks," she replied. "Let's try again. This time, I'm going to suggest an action. Please keep your eyes open and do as I say."

What happened next is hard to explain. I heard a faint hum and I kind of saw myself fetching the blue ball Caledor had left behind and bringing it, but not really, since I didn't really see it. I just had the vague sensation of doing it... like when you plan to do something, before you actually do it. It was an idea, but I knew it wasn't mine. In any case, it wasn't hard to realize that was the signal, so I fetched the ball and slowly pushed it back to my starting point.

"Well done!" Ventura approved. "We can still work on your reaction time, but that was a very good start."
"I thought I was going to battle a Pokemon," I told her.
"There'll be plenty of time for that," Ventura replied. "These exercises are the base from which you can start building your battling techniques. Any Pokemon can throw one attack after another and hope to win. It's the little details that can give you an edge in battle."
"I think Pulse has plenty of edges already," said Caledor.
"Please don't joke when I'm explaining something important," Ventura protested. "It's hard enough to find the right words without interruptions."
"OK, let me see if I can explain it," said Caledor. "Brute force may win you a few battles, but the smarter or stronger your opponents are, the less effective it will be, and you'll end up losing more often than not. You need to hone your skills and find ways to do something your opponent won't be expecting. Like..."

Caledor suddenly stopped talking and a strange yellow glow surrounded him. After a couple of seconds, it turned blue and Caledor shot a stream of water out of his mouth. Then he stopped glowing and started talking again.

"OK, I still need to work on that," he said. "Didn't mean to switch to blue. I'll have to keep practising."
"How..." I began. "OK, you were right, I wasn't expecting that."
"Glad to have pleased the audience," Caledor smiled.
"What other strange things can you do?" I asked him.
"I can glow in different colors, use any moves naturally learned by Eevees, Espeons, Jolteons, Vaporeons, Flareons and Umbreons plus the ones I've learnt through TMs, boost the team's morale when things look down, and come up with the most delightfully delirious battle cries you'll ever hear."
"I think Pulse was asking about the first two," Ventura told him.
"Pulse asked about strange things, and my battle cries are as strange as they get," Caledor replied. "Have I mention I made a really scary Pokemon laugh with one of them? And everyone up there started calling me 'Ball of Light' for a while."
"You've mentioned that, yes," said Ventura.
"Not to me," I said. "How did that happen?"
"I was stranded in a place far from home because of the chaos magic," Caledor began.
"On the Moon?" I asked.
"How did you know that?!" he asked me.
"When we met, you said you'd worked at a nursery on the moon," I replied. "I wasn't sure of what you meant by that."
"Ah, yes. Well, I did work at a nursery there. But the thing is, the place was... is 'ruled' the word? He didn't seem to do much ruling, but everyone respected him and thought of him as their mentor and protector. Anyway, there was this big, scary Pokemon. And he didn't want me to come back to Earth because he didn't want anyone here to know about him."
"Why not?"
"He had his reasons. Do you want me to finish my story?"
"Oh... sure."
"So he threatened to erase my memories - someone later told me he thought he was doing me a favor, but there aren't many worse threats you can make in my book - so I got really mad and glowed red at him, and told him: 'I am the light that never stops shining. I am the ball that always bounces back. I am Caledor of Caledor. And you will not change who I am!'"
"You still remember it word by word?" Ventura asked him.
"Of course! That was far better than the one about feeling the wrath of the electric willow!"
"What's an electric willow?" I asked.
"It's like a twisted willow, but mistranslated from Spanish. Gabi said that by accident once and I turned it into a battle cry."
"And what's a twisted willow?"
"Oh... It's a tree. With all its branches twisted around each other. It's a funny-looking tree."
"I can't tell how much of what you say is serious," I admitted.
"Oh, most of what I say isn't serious," Caledor said. "But that doesn't make it any less true."
"I don't understand," I said.
"Many use the word 'serious' as a synonym of 'true', but you can tell the truth and be funny at the same time."
"Don't pay him too much attention," Ventura warned me. "You'll only get confused."
"Only at the beginning," said Caledor. "If you pay enough attention, you may end up reaching the other side of confusion and coming out as a wise Pokemon."
"In your dreams, Caledor," she told him.
"Have you ever tried?" he asked her.

I figured my training was over, so I decided to look around the place for something else to do, but Ventura stopped me.

"Please don't go just yet," she said. "Sorry about that, I didn't notice you were getting bored. Would you like to try the swing? It's good for balance practice. Or maybe the punching bags. Then we can go back to practising psychic communication and use the ball to train your reflexes."
"Not all on the same day, though," said Caledor. "Because that would be too much for a day's training."
"Of course," Ventura agreed. "We can start today and then come back tomorrow, and any other day we want to."
"OK," I accepted. "I've never done balance training before. I'd like to try that."

Balance training consisted in sitting on a small wooden plank held to a metallic structure by two chains and shifting my weight so that the plank would move back and forth, and trying not to slip out of it. I failed the first few times, but I kept trying and, once I got the hold of it, it was fun! I kept playing on the 'swing' - because it had turned into a game for me - until Caledor said he was hungry and Ventura decided we should go look for the others and get something to eat.

"Again?" I asked. "We ate less than 6 hours ago."
"We're not like you," said Ventura. "We need to eat several times a day. We usually get 3 or 4 meals in one day... sometimes more if you count light snacks. It's up to you whether or not you decide to join us."
"You can try another new dish if you want," Caledor suggested.
"My body's still processing what I ate this morning," I told them. "I don't think I can eat again today, but I'll go with you and... maybe we can talk while you eat?"
"Sure," Caledor accepted. "So one meal a day, eh? We'll have to make sure it's the best one. You can try different things each day and find out which ones you like the most."
"OK," I said.

I wondered how many different foods might exist. I tried to recall the ones I'd seen on TV shows... There had been times when the characters were clearly eating things I'd never seen before, but I couldn't tell what they were, let alone how many. How many new things would I experience with my new team? And how many of them would I like? I keep asking myself those questions, but I knew I wouldn't be able to find the answer. Only time would tell.


<Gabi's POV>

I was having some trouble getting back into the habit of doing Pokemon research. I tried to think of a subject for my next report, but I was drawing a blank. The facts that my Ponyta and Ditto reports had not achieved the success I had expected and the Deerling report had been interrupted and postponed indefinitely didn't help. Since I wasn't making any progress on that front, I headed towards the MTU building hoping to at least do something useful by helping with the preparations for the party. As I entered the building, I was met by an unexpected sight: a Charizard came dashing across the main hall and had to make a sudden turn to avoid bumping into me and Amber.

"Hey, watch out!" Amber warned him.
"Sorry," the Charizard said. "Had to get away from that cheating blob of fat."
"Who?" asked Amber.
"I heard that!" a voice came out from a corridor on the right. "I'll get you sooner or later! You'll have to pay! I won in good faith!"
"You don't know the meaning of the term 'good faith'!" the Charizard shot back.
"Don't be a cheater!" said the voice, now closer. "You were the one who attacked too soon, and you still lost, so now pay up!"
"I don't owe you anything! I never agreed to your terms!"
"Dealing the first blow constitutes an agreement!"
"No, it doesn't! Now, ladies, please move away, I have to... Have I seen you before?"

The Charizard fixed his eyes on Amber.

"Hmm... Maybe," Amber said. "Your face does look familiar. Perhaps we met at one of the Guild's events?"
"That voice... That way of speaking... Wait, I know who you are! You're Eliot's little softie friend, aren't you? The one who was with the Vaporeon at the Lava Room."
Amber sighed. "Of all the Pokemon I could find here!... I don't know who you're running from, but he's probably right."
"Of course I am!"

Now I could finally see the owner of the voice. A rather large Walrein showed himself, looking proud after having finished his chase across the long corridor. I thought he looked familiar.

"Maybe we can help solve the problem?" I suggested.
"I'm getting outta here," said the Charizard. "Be back when that idiot decides to shut his pie-hole."

With that, he flew past us and through the main door.

"He's the idiot!" the Walrein protested. "He didn't even let me finish setting the wager. Now it's only his fault that he has to do whatever I say because he couldn't wait. We could have negotiated!"
"Wait, how is he supposed to pay if you never set the wager?" asked Amber.
"Issuing the first blow means agreeing to the terms," claimed the Walrein. "He hit me while I was trying to set the terms, so that means he agrees to them, no matter what they are."
"Wait," I said, "hitting you before terms were set wasn't right, but what you're suggesting isn't fair either."
"You can understand me?" asked the Walrein.
"Clearly, I can. Had you ever battled that Charizard before?"
"Nope. It was the first time."
"Then how... I'd never heard of that rule about dealing the first blow constituting an agreement to the terms. Is it a traditional rule at the MTU?"
"It's traditional for me," the Walrein said.
"Then how was he supposed to know?" I asked.
"That's his problem, not mine. It's his fault if he couldn't wait."
"This all sounds too familiar," I realized. "What's your name?"
"Gamble," the Walrein replied.
"Ah, right! Of course!" I exclaimed. "Never mind, then. Amber, come on, let's see if we can find someone reasonable to talk to. We're not getting involved in a squabble between these two."
"Do you know him?" Amber asked me.
"He battled Spark and Water Angel once. He was really annoying."
"Wait! Don't leave me alone! You must help me defend my rights!"
"Find better opponents and try to play fair, and then maybe you won't need anyone to defend you anymore," I told him as I walked into the nearest corridor, followed by Amber.

"Was he really that bad?" Amber asked me as we walked.
"He was mean to Spark and Water Angel," I told her. "I don't remember all the details, but I do remember he didn't play fair, he tried to set the rules and them bend them, he insisted that they told him some personal things at which he laughed, and then he didn't pay in kind. What bothered me the most was that he laughed at Spark for something that was Team Rocket's fault."
"Really? That's awful! And I thought the Charizard was bad. You're right, then, neither of them deserves our help in solving some stupid argument."

I must be fair, when I talked to Spark about our encounter later that day he said Gamble hadn't exactly laughed at him, he'd only asked more questions in a rather rude manner, and Spark hadn't told him what Team Rocket had done to him, only that he couldn't remember his name at that time. But he'd been far from nice in any case.

At one point Amber asked me where we were going, but the truth is I didn't really know... I was just trying to look for someone. Anyone. Luckily, it didn't take long before someone showed up. I soon saw Ian and Ares, the Blaziken, carrying some boxes.

"Ian, hi!" I called out. "And Ares too!"

Ares put down the pile of boxes he was carrying to greet us. Ian was only carrying two smaller ones, so he didn't put them down.

"Hey! It's Gabi and... Amber, right?"

Amber nodded.

"It's good to see you again!" Ian said. "Eric told me you were back, but I feel better now that I can see you're OK. I'm really sorry I wasn't there."
"Where?" I asked.
"At the mountains," he replied. "I keep hearing about all the things that happened, and I can't help but think I should have been there. I'm mad at myself for letting my father coax me into staying at home."
"What do you think you could have done?" I asked him.
"I don't know... something! I know I wouldn't have been able to stop the magic from leaking out, but perhaps I could have sensed it in time and warn everyone. We could have evacuated before things got bad."
"I didn't know you could sense magic."
"I wouldn't be able to train in the mountains if I couldn't. It's a dangerous place, as you must have realized by now."
"OK..." I said. "But how far in advance could you have known what was going to happen? It would have taken some time to warn everyone and evacuate, especially since most of us were engaged in battles."
"I don't know... I might not have made a difference, but at least I'd have been there with the rest of you and not safe at home."
"Because being safe is a bad thing?"
"Being safe when your friends are in danger is. I told myself I needed to take care of Helios and Selene, but they didn't need me that much. They were recovering quite well. They could have waited at home for a few hours, or maybe at a Pokemon Center."
"How are they now?" I asked.
"Oh, they're fine," he replied.
"I'm sure they must have appreciated your staying with them. I doubt you could have made a difference in the mountains. You couldn't have stopped the Black Dragon from making a crack in the barrier, and there's no way we could have all left the area before the magic hit us, even if you'd somehow managed to warn us all."
"Maybe, but... It didn't feel right. Later that day I saw Aaron and Eliot in my room. Aaron tried to speak but I couldn't hear him and Eliot made no sounds either. Turns out they were both intangible. I wanted to help them, but I didn't know how. I had to ask my father for help, and he got some of the wizards to look at them. It took the wizards two days to undo just enough of the spell for Aaron and Eliot to be able to make themselves tangible for short periods of time, so they could hold things, eat and drink. And communicate, of course. The rest of the spell lasted for about 3 weeks."
"In that case, it's a good thing that you were there to help them," I told him. "They wouldn't have been so lucky otherwise."
"I didn't do anything," said Ian.
"Yes, you did. You knew who to ask for help."
"That's not much."
"It is. Would they have known who to ask or were to find them if you hadn't been there?"
"I don't know."
"I don't think so," I said. "I believe you saved their lives. It's a good thing they were still able to breathe, but they wouldn't have lasted long without water. At least not Aaron, but Eliot would have needed it eventually too."

I realized I didn't know how long a Charizard could survive without drinking. I hoped no one had put that to a test.

"I guess we'll never know," said Ian. "But thanks for your support."
"Just don't beat yourself over it," I told him. "You did a good thing."
"I'm sure Aaron and Eliot are glad that he stayed at home," Amber told me.

As I turned to look at her, my hair flew into Ian's face and got stuck there.

"Ow! Your hair!" he said.
"Oops! Sorry!" I apologized, pulling my hair back where it belonged. "I hadn't noticed you have a Velcro beard."
"Yeah, this is what I get after trying to grow a beard for the last 2 months," Ian explained. "I'm starting to see why my father never tried. Or his father and grandfather. But if I'm patient, I may have a proper beard in a couple of years."
"Er... Good luck with that," I told him.
"Thanks. Anyway, we have to take these boxes to the Commons wing."
"Can we help?" I offered.
"I'm only carrying these two, but I'm sure Ares wouldn't mind some help," Ian said.

Amber and I picked up 2 boxes each, leaving the last 2 for Ares. We kept talking as we walked together towards the Commons wing, which served as the sleeping quarters for MTU Pokemon who did not have trainers. I didn't get to hear the conversation between Amber and Ares, so I'll just retell the one I had with Ian.

"Speaking of the 'commons'," I began, "a Charizard left the building shortly after we entered, and Gamble the Walrein was chasing him around."
"Don't worry, they'll be back," Ian assured. "Many Pokemon leave the building every now and then, but they always come back. This is their home."
"OK," I said. "Change of subject, then. Do you know about the event Eric was trying to organize?"
"Do you mean the friendly battles? Yes, I'm one of the organizers too. We don't have much planned yet, so for now it's just an idea."
"I talked to Jeff and Shonta, and we thought we could make a party to celebrate the return of most missing trainers and Pokemon, and have the battles in the context of the party."
"Oh! Yes, that sounds like a good idea! Does that mean the Dragon Tamers are in?"
"Yes, we're in," I smiled. "I'll have to ask some of the people at the PRTD if they'd like to join us. And of course find out how many of the Dragon Tamers are available. And find a place to host the party."
"We can take care of the latter," Ian offered. "We've organized and attended events in all kinds of places. It shouldn't be hard to find the right space for a party. Just let me know how many will be attending and I'll start looking."
"Thanks! I'll let you know as soon as I find out. What about the cost?"
"That depends on where we host the party. Ballrooms are more expensive than clubs, and stadiums cost even more. Hotels are out of the question unless we're getting lots of visitors from abroad, which I doubt. We'll have to choose the site depending on the number of attendees. If enough trainers attend, a small admission fee should be enough to cover the cost. And we could add a raffle to spice things up, that tends to make people more eager to contribute."
"OK, I'll leave it in your hands then, since you clearly know what you're doing. I'll give you the number of DT and PRTD attendees as soon as I can."
"Thanks. And thanks for your help with the boxes too," said Ian as we reached our destination and left the boxes on a table.
"No problem. What's in them?"
"The latest batch of TMs for our Common Pokemon. They should be more than ready for the party, when the time comes. Which reminds me, we need to set a date. Prizes may vary depending on the season."
"I'll have to get back to you on that," I told him. "And I will, but right now I have to go back to the PRTD building. I have a lot of work to do, and also some questions to ask."
"OK. See you!"
"See you!"

Amber and I headed back to the PRTD building, and then split up. Amber went to my office to help put some things in order and sort out the tasks I still had to complete, while I headed for Jeff's office. There was something I really needed to ask him before I did anything I might regret.

I found Jeff sitting at his desk which, like mine, was covered by a large pile of paper.

"Hi!" I greeted him. "I hope I'm not interrupting you."
"Nah, it's fine," Jeff replied. "I could use a break."
"Same here," I said. "I'm still trying to figure out what to write for my next report and it hurts just to think about it. Anyway... There's something I'd like to ask you about. Do you remember I told you I'm taking care of a young Porygon?"
"Yeah, because of tebibytes."
I chuckled. "Yes. Well, you have far more experience in that area than I do, so I was hoping you could give me some tips. I mean... Porygons are a very special kind of Pokemon... I don't know much about their needs or what to expect from them. I've seen a few before... Some sounded almost like robots while others sounded almost like regular Pokemon. Pulse is one of the latter. And I'm still trying to figure out the cause of that difference. But above all, I'd like to know if there's anything special I need to do... or avoid doing."
"Sure, no problem. They're pretty easy to keep up with, so long as you have an electrical source and a computer nearby."
"Oh, I have those alright. And Pulse has told me it can subsist on electricity, but what do they need the computer for?"
"They like computers," Jeff answered.
"Ah... OK. I was afraid I'd done something wrong already when I told Pulse to sleep near the computer rather than inside it. I think it sounded rather disappointed."
"Huh. Never known 99 to do that, but everyone's different, I guess."

It sounded like a good time to put the theory I'd been formulating into words . Perhaps Jeff could help me figure out if I was on the right track.

"I can't be sure, but... I think it's possible that newer generations of Porygons behave more like organic Pokemon than older ones," I said. "I mean, the first ones were just code, but then they somehow started breeding with Dittos. Some of the Dittos' traits must have been passed on to their descendants."
Jeff nodded. "That makes sense to me. I mean, look at 99."
"What about him?" I asked.
"Ever since he got that bad patch and evolved, he's been swinging back and forth between sounding organic and sounding like a computer."
"He's still like that? That doesn't sound too good. I've seen that kind of variations among different Porygons and their evolutions, but not within the same individual Pokemon... Except the ones who had split-personalities, were possessed or had that strange quirk which many Nincadas have." That gave me an idea. "Hmm... Perhaps I could do some research on that quirk. You may have given me an idea for my next report. Thanks for that!"
"Hey, no problem."
"But anyway... I'd feel better if I knew 99 is OK."
"He doesn't seem to mind. From what I've been able to tell, I think it's just a tic at this point - he falls back into sounding like a computer when he's nervous or stressed."
"Oh... Has he told you how he feels when that happens?" I thought for a moment. "Feeling nervous or stressed is never nice, but at least if he can feel like that it means he's not at risk of turning into a machine."
"Yeah, that's what I figure. Granted, I haven't had the chance to talk to him much since I came back."
"Oh... When is your team getting reunited?"
"Oh! I thought I told you! Everyone's back at home now. Just yesterday, as a manner of fact. I just haven't been able to spend a whole lot of time at home because... well."

Jeff gestured to the heap of paperwork on his desk.

"Oh, great! That they're all back home, I mean. Not the paperwork. At this rate we'll have to wait a long time before we can actually have the party."
"Nah, it's not so bad. It's going quickly, at any rate. I've got Maza helping with filing."
"That's good to hear. Amber's helping me too. I wonder if they're counting on us getting unofficial help."
"I would not be surprised."
"It's not really fair, though. They do so much work and don't get any official recognition. They could at least list them as assistants."
"I think Lady Ninetales could use a night at the Pacing Ponyta."

That would help her realize the importance of Pokemon's work, and as a bonus she might approve of my old Ponyta report, I thought. If only I could take her there!

"Maybe get her to spend a night there, then ask her about our assistants," Jeff chuckled.
I smiled. "Yes, that's what I was thinking."
"Heck, if that works, maybe we can put her up there every time we need to ask her for something."
"I wish it were that easy," I laughed.
"Maybe we just need to find the right person to lean on her."
"Or at the very least find a way to get her out of her office. It's as if she lived there! I can't recall seeing her anywhere else, except for the few times she came looking for me at mine."
"I mean... are you sure she doesn't live there?" Jeff grinned.
I chuckled, trying to suppress a loud laugh. "For her sake, I hope she doesn't."
"I'm just saying, if you go in her office and see a bed, it might be a sign."
I chuckled yet again. "It's probably well hidden because I haven't seen it yet. Anyway, I talked to Ian about the party and he said the MTU can look for a place as soon as they have an estimate of how many will be attending. There'll probably be an entrance fee, but they'll try to make it as cheap as possible."
"Sounds good to me."

I should have said 'admission fee', I told myself, too late. But at least Jeff had understood me. I'd have to get used to speaking English again.

"Good," I said. "Then... I guess we can go back to doing the things we wish we didn't have to do. It was a nice break.
"All right. Thanks for dropping in."
"And thanks for your tips! See you around."
"See ya!"

As I walked to my office, more things I could have said came to my mind.

"I could have asked him about the fountain," I told myself. "I wonder if he noticed. And I should have told him about Mewtwo and his Lunar colony! I could go back, but I really need to start digging for information on Nincadas before the inspiration runs out. I'll tell him and Shonta next time I see them."

When I finally managed to sit down in my office and start searching for information on Nincadas, the rest of my team came together saying they were ready for lunch. I felt like the universe was conspiring against my report, but I reminded myself that lunch was not that big of an interruption, and I'd be able to work better on a full stomach. During our meal, I asked everyone how their morning had gone, and I was glad to hear that Pulse had enjoyed training at the barracks.

"I'd like to see how Pulse fares in a real battle," Ventura suggested.
"Isn't it a bit early?" I said. "We barely even know each other yet."
"Then come with us to the barracks and start getting to know Pulse better," she countered.
"I'd really love to," I said. "But I need to get started on that report. The bills won't pay themselves, and I'll have to show some results in order to keep this job. But you know what? I can join you at the barracks when I'm done for today, and then maybe on Saturday we can go to the MTU building and let Pulse have a battle. Would you like that, Pulse?"
"Uh... Me? Er... Sure, why not?"
"You don't sound too excited," I noted.
"Sorry... It's just I've never battled with you before. I used to do all the battling at the simulator, and then I challenged that Sunflora at the farm and lost... I don't know what this will be like."
"It's just for training. Whether you win or lose doesn't matter as long as you learn something from it. Did you learn anything from battling that Sunflora?"
"Yes. I learned that I wasn't ready to face that opponent."
"Oh... Well, that's something. I'll do my best so that next time you can learn something that can help you in the future."

Pulse nodded.

"Anyway, what was that about a simulator?" I asked.
"The battle simulator," said Pulse. "It's a virtual reality environment you can use to train. You can battle virtual Pokemon and become stronger if you defeat them. Don't you have those around here?"
"Wait... I remember something like that," I recalled. "Someone got some of those from a mysterious overseas sponsor. Was it Scott?"
"No, it was Charlie," said Tsunami. "I remember that too."
"Ah, yes, I remember!" Hero piled in. "It was weeeeird. What happened to those things?"
"I don't know, maybe Charlie returned them once we were done with them?" I ventured a guess. "I'd ask him if I could, but I haven't seen him in years and I have no idea where he is."
"I don't know, but I do know where to find an Ice-type Raichu," said Caledor.
I thought for a moment before saying "OK, no, that doesn't even deserve an answer."
"The one I used is in an old warehouse," said Pulse. "My parent fixed it so that it could be used without coins. I could go there, but it wouldn't be safe now that Giana's back."
"If you tell us where she is, we could tell the police so that they can arrest her," I said. "We may not be able to find enough proof of some of her crimes, but she's at least wanted for kidnapping an MTU member, who can testify against her, as can the geneticist she once threatened. There's also footage of her entering a couple of Dragon's Guild facilities without permission. Which is how the Guild found out who she was."
"I don't know where she is right now," Pulse told me. "I know a few places she may go to, but I don't know how to find them from the outside. I can only reach them through the net. And if I go there, she may find me."
"I won't ask you to put yourself at risk," I said. "I just hope we can find her before she hurts anyone again. But don't worry about that now, we should focus on your training."

I'm not sure if I was able to help Pulse feel any less worried, but at least it did go back to training. I was able to gather some sources for my report, but my attention was divided. I finally decided to try to spend more time with Pulse - and the rest of my team for that matter - while my mind kept working on my report on the background. We were bound to get news of Giana sooner or later, so all I could do was pray that she didn't get to do anything too bad before we could find her. Of course, she wasn't the only former Team Rocket member who hadn't been found. But she was the one who would try to hurt Pulse if given the chance, and she'd been partly responsible for the death of Iael's parents, so that made it personal.

The nest few days were largely uneventful. I could mention some of the things we did, but I don't want to risk writing a 'pizza report' (named after the time I asked the Dragon Tamers for mission reports and one of them gave me a long and detailed description of his team's dinner at a pizza place and all the kinds of pizzas they had ordered). Especially since we did have pizza on Friday.

Well, there was one event worthy of notice. I let Pulse download any video-games it wanted as long as we didn't have to pay any money, so the Porygon spent quite some time exercising patience with freemium games and experimenting with SD cards - of which, fortunately, I had a few. At one point, Tsunami saw the game Pulse was playing and seemed to recoil in shock.

"What's wrong?" asked Pulse after pausing the game.
"That place..." said Tsunami. "It looks almost like... Look, it's an island surrounded by an impossible ring of water floating in the air! And with those weird cogs on the sides, even! It looks almost like the place where the chaos magic took me! Except this one has an Empoleon and a lot of Prinplups rather than Omastars. But they look like they're made of plastic too!"
"Of course they're made of plastic, this is Plastic World," Pulse responded. "Every Pokemon in this game is made of plastic. But it'll be a while before I can reach the level with the Omastars. It's either time or money, and since I can't use money, I have to wait."
"So there is a level with Omastars?"
"Yes, it's level 16. I'm still on level 2. Funny that you mention it, I read there's a Vaporeon on level 16. It's one of the bosses of that level."
"Really? But... Wait, does that mean I was trapped inside a video-game for a year?! That sort of explains how such an impossible place could exist, but it still makes no sense. Those places aren't real, they're just bits of code! You said yourself that you can't play a game from the inside."
"I can't, but I can't use magic," Pulse told him. "Who knows what magic can do?"
"Maybe those places exist in some other universe," I suggested. "One where the laws of physics aren't the same as ours. Maybe the creator of this game saw them somehow and that inspired the video-game. Or maybe that strange island came to exist in the minds of the game's creators and players, and the magic took you there. I don't think we'll ever find out. But at least you're back, which is what really matters. And now we can see what it was like."
"You can take photos too!" Pulse added.
"You can see what it looks like, but not what it felt like," Tsunami told us. "Anyway, do take a photo if you make it to level 16. I want to see what I look like in a video-game."
"It won't be you," said Pulse. "It'll be a plastic Vaporeon."
"OK, then let's see how close they came to the real thing," Tsunami suggested.

Then Saturday came, and I got ready to fulfill my promise to Pulse. Shortly after I announced myself at the MTU building, Donna Tyler came to greet me. Funny, I'd been thinking of her lately, but I wouldn't tell her that because I didn't want to remind her of her experience with Giana.

"Lady Vulpix," she said. "It's nice to see you again."
"Same here, Lady Noctowl," I told her. "But you can call me Gabi. Lady Vulpix is too formal."
"OK, you call me Donna, then. I heard you were here the other day and witnessed a fight between Char and Gamble. Those two are quite a handful."
"I bet they are," I said. "But not in the way Gamble likes to bet."
Donna smiled. "Right. So... are you here to discuss party preparations, or would you like to battle? I've been looking forward to battling you... without Gamble."
"That depends, are you training any Pokemon around level 10?" I asked. "Because I'm here to help my team's new member get some training. Donna, meet Pulse. Pulse, this is Donna of the MTU."
"Oh... Nice to meet you, Pulse," Donna said. "Sorry, I don't have any low-level Pokemon in my team. We could get one of the commons, or... I think Ash is here today. Would you mind battling him? He sort of specializes in training low-level Pokemon."
"How can anyone specialize in training low-level Pokemon?" I asked. "If you train them well enough, their levels will rise."
"He trains them up to level 20 or so and then finds them new trainers and adopts new ones. Except for his Pikachu, whom he adores so much it's funny, but he won't let him evolve for some reason. He's a bit eccentric, but not as crazy as his brother Alan."
"Wait, Alan? You don't mean..."
"Alan Davenport, also known as Lord Magikarp," Donna confirmed.
"You do know that not being as crazy as Lord Magikarp doesn't really mean much, right?"
"OK, maybe he is a bit crazy, but in a harmless way," Donna conceded. "He does know how to battle, though, even if he shouts a bit too much. Should I call him, or shall I get one of the commons instead?"
"No, go ahead, call him," I said. "I'm intrigued now. And if he shouts to much, well... I have a pair of earplugs in my purse."

Donna laughed and used her cellphone to call Ash Davenport. He was, indeed, in the building, and didn't take long to reach us. When I saw him, I could immediately notice his eccentricity. The guy looked like hi was in his late 20s or early 30s - I've never been good at guessing people's ages - but dressed more like a teenager: torn jeans, a black T-shirt and a loose blue vest - it was warm inside the building-, sports shoes which I also wore so I couldn't complain, and his black hair was a complete mess. To complete the picture, a Pikachu was sitting on his right shoulder.

"You must be Lady Vulpix," he said, extending his hand. "I'm Ash, and this is Pikachu."
"Nice to meet you, Ash," I said, shaking his hand. "So... just Pikachu? He doesn't have a name?"
Pikachu shook his head.
"I don't name my Pokemon," said Ash, without even trying to explain why. "Which of your Pokemon is going to battle?"
"Pulse," I said, encouraging the Porygon to come forward.

Ash took out his Pokedex and scanned Pulse.

"Oh... level 10! Cool, I have a Pokemon at that exact level. Follow me, let's find a battle room so we can have our battle."
"They're all available right now," Donna told him. "You can choose."
"OK, then I choose... I choose room number 6!"
"What's room number 6 like?" I asked. I didn't know the MTU battle rooms very well.
"You'll see," said Ash. "Just a second... Here we are! TA-DA! Room number 6!"

He opened the door to a large garden-like room with a glass ceiling sky-blue walls, and layer of grass covering the floor.

"This reminds me of the farm," Pulse commented. "Except it's smaller... and empty."
"OK, are you ready to battle?" asked Ash as he took a red and white cap from his backpack and put it on. "Togepi, I choose you!"

Ash took a Pokeball which released a beam of red light, out of which a Togepi appeared. I slapped my head. A Togepi, really?! But then I'd had Alex battle a Togepi at a tournament before, so I thought it might be karma striking back through the years. Then I remembered something else.

"Ash..." I said. "Have I seen you before? You seem really familiar."
"Weren't you the judge of the Unicorn Games?" he asked. "I was one of the competitors. It was my first real tournament."
"Oh... Yes, I remember now! You were the one who made me realize Ashley was a boy's name. You were much younger then. But I see you haven't changed that 'I choose you' routine."
"If it works, why change it?" he smiled. "Anyway, it's been 11 years since then. I'm much stronger now!"
"Has it really been 11 years?!"

I couldn't believe it... 11 years since the Unicorn Games meant 11 years since we found the Unicorn Gate Lab... 11 years since DiAnnio died... 11 years since Giana had kidnapped Donna and threatened her uncle for information on the Singlehorn Project. 11 years since the Singlehorn Project himself had died at the claws of a bloodthirsty Charizard... who was probably still on the loose unless Tsuyoi had taken care of him somehow.

"No time to get nostalgic," said Ash. "You came here to battle, remember?"
"Of course," I said. "Are you ready, Pulse?"
"I'm ready," Pulse answered. "I've already scanned my opponent and raised my Special Attack."
"Oh, that was lucky for you! But don't announce everything you do or else your opponent will be prepared to defend against you."
"Aren't you going to tell me what to do?" asked Pulse. "Isn't that what trainers do?"
"I'll help, but if you have any ideas, don't say anything, just do what you feel is right."
"Uh... OK, I'll try."
"I'll be helping too," said Ventura, and then she turned to me. "If you don't mind."
"Sure," I said. "As long as Pulse doesn't get confused."
"I won't contradict you," Ventura promised. "And you, Pulse, remember what we practised."
Pulse nodded.
"I don't know what you're all talking about, but you'd better be ready because the battle begins now!" announced Ash.

Level 10 Porygon vs. Level 10 Togepi

"Go, Togepi! Use Rock Smash!" Ash called out.
"He knows Rock Smash?! Quick, Pulse! Convert to Psychic type!" I reacted.

Luckily, Pulse was faster than the Togepi. I didn't see any visible changes at first, but when I looked closer it seemed like Pulse's aura had become brighter. The attack hit, but Pulse barely seemed to notice. I saw a smile form in the Porygon's eyes.

"Don't just stay there!" Ventura told Pulse.

The Porygon turned to look at her, and I realized the Togepi could have used the chance to attack, but apparently he was just as inexperienced as Pulse was and instead turned to Ash to hear the next command. I'd forgotten what beginner battles were like. Not much of a surprise, since I hadn't adopted a new Pokemon since Iael and he had been a natural. Caledor was the last one who had struggled with his first few battles.

"Togepi, give that Porygon a Sweet Kiss!" Ash instructed his trainee.

I was about to tell Pulse to use Psychic, but it launched the attack before I could say anything. I saw the Togepi press his eyes shut and raise his arms trying to hold his head. I looked at Ventura and she nodded.

"Just like we practised," she said.
"Well done!" I commended them both. "Keep going, Pulse, just a little more!"

But the Togepi was able to endure the pain and recovered from the shock fast enough to throw himself at Pulse and kiss it. Pulse's eyes began to spin around, while the Pikachu cheered from Ash's shoulder.

"Can't help now," said Ventura. "It's not safe to send telepathic messages to a confused Pokemon."
"Don't worry, Pulse will come through," I assured. "You can do it, Pulse! Just one more attack!"
"Togepi, now's your chance!" Ash shouted out. "Use Metronome!"
"Metronome? Really?" I questioned him.
Ash shrugged. "Togepi only knows so many moves, and Rock Smash is all but useless now that your Porygon's a Psychic type. Besides, it can be fun!"

I was hoping that Pulse would get a hit in, but was also ready to encourage it if it ended up hurting itself. What I did not expect, however, was to see Pulse stay motionless and wait with its eyes closed. I reckoned Pulse would rather not take a risk if it couldn't trust its senses, but staying still while the Togepi readied an attack was risky too. Luckily, the move that came out of Togepi's Metronome was harmless.

"Safeguard?!" exclaimed Ash. "Well, at least now you won't become confused. We'll be luckier next time. Try Metronome again!"
"Pulse, please... try to attack," I said.

I wanted to explain that risks were needed in order to win, and that this was a friendly battle anyway, so nothing important was stake... But I couldn't find the right words in time before the Togepi started waving its arms again.

Then Caledor shouted out: "Pulse, zap out of it!"
"'Zap' out of it?" Tsunami questioned him. "Really?"
"Hey, it worked for me!" Caledor claimed.
"The worst thing is I remember," Tsunami said. "But that wasn't what I said, it was just what you heard because you were confused."
"Still worked, though," Caledor insisted. "And it'll work again. You show them, Pulse! Zap that Togepi!"

I couldn't tell how much of the conversation Pulse was following, but apparently Caledor's advice did work. Pulse released a round of electric sparks in all directions, and a couple of them hit the Togepi, who was already too battered from the Psychic attack to endure the blow. He wobbled a bit, trying to keep his balance, but soon fell on his back and closed his eyes.

Pulse won and grew to level 11!

Pulse opened its eyes and looked at me.

"Oh, good," it said. "The world's stopped spinning. Did I... win?"
"Yes, you did," I replied. "Congratulations!"
"Thanks," Pulse said, smiling with its eyes. "That was strange... but good. I felt like anything could happen."
"Well, your opponent was using Metronome, so you're not that far off," I said.
"Good battle," Ash said, extending his hand. I shook it right before he added "but we'll win next time!"
"We'll see," I replied. "Good battle, Ash."
"Now maybe you can tell me something. Why is it that Dragon Tamers Pokemon have their whole teams cheering for them?"
"I'm not sure it's a Dragon Tamers thing," I said. "But we do go through all kinds of things together and that brings us closer. It's not the case with Pulse yet, because we only met a few days ago, but... we all want the best for Pulse just like we do for the rest of us."
"My Pokemon and I want the best for each other too," Ash assured. "Do you think I should bring them all out to watch their teammates battles?... Nah!"
"Do as you wish," I shrugged. "But it won't hurt to ask them. Pikachu clearly likes cheering for his team."
"It's not the same. Pikachu was my first Pokemon. We've been together from day one. He cheers for me and I for him. I don't think I could have that kind of connection with any other Pokemon."
"I don't think there's much I can say," I replied. "How you train your team is up to you, but you can form different kinds of connections with different Pokemon."
"Er... I'll think about it," Ash said.
"OK, then... See you later, I guess."
"See ya!"

As we left, I congratulated Pulse again and thanked Ventura and Caledor for their help.

"I refuse to believe that using Electric attacks can cure confusion," Tsunami insisted. "There's no logic behind that."
"It's not a matter of logic, it's a matter of attitude," said Caledor. "You have to feel it!"
"I think you two were just lucky," Tsunami shook his head.
"Some cultures believe that luck can be trained," Ventura commented.
"Not you too, Ventura!" Tsunami complained. "You used to be the level-headed one."
"I was just providing a bit of information," Ventura said. "I'm not saying I believe it."
"Ah, good," said Tsunami. "Because it makes no sense. In fact, it makes as little sense as half the things Caledor says."
"Ooooh, I'm curious now!" said Caledor. "Does that mean half the things I say do make sense?"
"Only when you're distracted," Tsunami laughed. "Given enough time to think of what to say, I'm sure you could make anything sound ridiculous."
"Oh, this one knows me too well!" Caledor exclaimed. "I'll have to do something to become less predictable. Even if it means making sense more often... but not too often. Just at random, unexpected times. Yes, I think I can pull it off."
"Why do you want to not make sense?" Pulse asked him.
"I just want to have fun," Caledor replied. "I hate being too serious. Being funny's much better, and seeing the looks on everyone's faces as they try to figure out if what I said is supposed to make any sense is priceless. And if they laugh at how ridiculous it is, then that's a job well done."
"You'd be surprised at how much effort he puts into pretending he doesn't think before he speaks," said Tsunami. "And also pretending he's never worried or upset."
"Hey! Don't divulge my professional secrets!" Caledor scolded him.

Pulse made some electronic-sounding noises which I interpreted as laughter.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," it said. "So... using electric moves doesn't really cure confusion, does it?"
"Not as a rule," Spark told him, "but for you it may... if it helps you focus. It's your Hidden Power, so it can help you connect with your essence and ignore the noise. It's worked for me before. And for Water Angel too, even if hers is a different type. It doesn't always work, it depends on how well you can concentrate, but it's a good tool to keep in mind."
"I had no idea I would end up having so many trainers," Pulse commented.
"You can learn from everyone," I said. "You just have to pay attention. In fact, they say that's exactly what makes someone wise."
"Paying attention?" asked Pulse.
"Being able to learn from everyone," I clarified.
"Are you wise?" Pulse asked me.
"I try my best," I said. "Sometimes it works better than others. I try to learn as much as I can... Hopefully, I'll keep learning new things for as long as I live."
"But... are there so many important things to learn? I know the random trivia on the Internet grows faster than anyone can read it, but how many really important things can there be?"
"How many valuable experiences can you go through?" I wondered. "How many life-changing events? How many friends can you make? How many obstacles can you overcome? How many things can you discover about yourself? The possibilities are endless. As long as you have more days to live, you'll have more things to learn."
"Even if I reach level 100?"
"Even if you do," I said. "But don't be in a rush for that, not many Pokemon have actually achieved that."
"But isn't that like... being on a mission you can never complete?"
"It's not a mission," I explained. "At least not the kind you try to complete. Learning how to deal with life as it comes, and improving ourselves... that is the mission, if you can call it that. My goal is not to run out of goals. I look for answers, yes, but sometimes finding the right questions is more rewarding than finding an answer, and sometimes an answer brings up more questions. And I like it that way, because that means there will always be something to look forward to... something to search for. In fact, it was because I said something like this that Scott decided to promote me to Universal Scholar, so I can say the search for knowledge is rewarding by itself."
"I think I'm getting confused again," said Pulse. "But don't worry, you can try to explain it again some other time. For now I'll try to think about it."
"Sounds like a wise thing to do," I said with a smile.

[classy_cat18]

Eleven stamps plus twenty-one more as a late fee...32 in all. I'll edit in comments later.

[Lady Vulpix]

Thanks! Now my total ascends to 179 stamps. I look forward to reading your comments (and those of anyone else who may want to comment, and any stories anyone wants to post).

[The Blue Avenger]

So I realized Bow had an RBG that I never cashed in from ages ago, so here we are. Cheers!

---

Murder Death Horror Boat 3D

“Ugh. I can’t believe it.” Groviglio scowled and looked up and down the line they stood in. A light rain was falling, and the people around them were pulling hoods up over their heads. “There can’t be a movie out right now that you haven’t seen at least twice.”

“Ah, but that is the beauty of it, my dear Groviglio,” Lady Bow said with a serene smile.

“’My dear’…?”

“Just because I have seen this movie before does not mean that I can no longer appreciate the mastery of the cinematography. The beauty of the acting. The subtle interplay of darks and lights!”

Groviglio gave her a look. “And also because…?”

Bow laughed. “And also because they’ve just re-released it in 3D. How could I possibly pass up that opportunity?”

“Well, that explains one of the many, many questions I have right now.” Groviglio crossed his arms – an action that looked way more fluid for a Tangrowth than it would for most other species – and fixed his stare on a poster on a wall near them for “Stay Amazing 2: Even More Amazing Than Previously”.

The movie theater they stood in front of was weathered and beaten, but still remained strong despite the several crises it had seen come through town. The brick walls were faded in places where old posters had stayed up a little too long past their welcome, and the marquee that hung over the box office was missing most of its original letters, instead spelling out names of movies in a hodgepodge of fonts and colors. Nevertheless, it was easily the most beloved cinema for miles – common adjectives thrown around concerning it were “charming,” “cozy,” and “hey, you can’t beat those ticket prices” (the last guy, of course, not being aware what an adjective was).

“What I don’t get,” Groviglio continued, “is why you felt the need to drag me along to this.”

“Oh, come now, Groviglio, surely you know that I could not possess the power to make you do anything against your will.”

“Yeah, sure, you don’t possess the power. Like you don’t know Sludge Bomb. Or Fire Punch! How does that even work?”

Bow flashed him the same serene smile again. “Tut tut, Groviglio. How little you must think of me to assume that I would threaten you into partaking of a lovely bit of afternoon entertainment with me. Rest assured the only ‘ulterior motives’ I have here are a desire to get out of that stuffy house for a while and the thought that you would enjoy this movie.”

Groviglio squinted up at the marquee. “Well, I’m pretty sure we’re not here to see ‘Super Lawyer’ today…”

“Very astute, though I must admit I’m pleasantly intrigued by any movie with the tagline ‘The jury finds the defendant RIPPED.’”

“…Which means that the movie that we’re seeing today is…” Groviglio mouthed the words as he read them, not entirely certain that he had it right. “‘Murder Death Horror Boat’? Seriously?”

“‘Murder Death Horror Boat 3D’, actually.”

“Ah. Of course. Like you said.” Groviglio thought about that for a moment, then asked, “So what about this made you think I’d like it?”

“Well, in terms of movies made in the past, hm, 50 years, I believe, this movie boasts the highest murder-to-boat ratio. Ranking second is, of course, the terribly influential ‘Bloodgush River,’ which was famous for the lead actor’s memorable line ‘Whatsamatter? Don’t you see this yacht I’m standing on?’”

“Yes, that’s definitely what I look for in my entertainment. Wanna try that one again?”

Bow giggled. “Actually, one of the main characters reminds me very strongly of you.”

The answer obviously wasn’t what Groviglio expected, and it took him a second to respond. “Really?”

“Yes, quite. I hesitate to give further details out of fear of spoilers, but I suspect that you will enjoy it.”

“Well… okay. I’ll go along with this farce. This time.”

Bow beamed. “Glad to hear it.”

---

“My, my, Groviglio, I’m quite surprised. I’m pleased you enjoyed the film, but I must admit that I didn’t expect you to cry during the climax.”

“All right there, bullet point, tell anyone about that and you won’t like what happens next.”

“I would never. You can trust me, Groviglio.”

“It’s just… I can’t believe that Crumacker would do something like that! To his boat, no less! The same boat that’d been with him all those years! Yeah, I mean, sure, the boat was kind of a jerk to him, but it had a heart of gold! It meant well!”

“Ah, yes, the same boat that reminded me of you.”

“I figured as much.” Groviglio ducked through the door as they left the building. “I didn’t expect such good voice acting on that boat. Or such convincing CGI, for that matter.”

“A masterpiece, like I told you,” Bow said, grinning. “And would you believe it never once got nominated for any awards?”

“It what?! Now that’s a crime against humanity right there!”

“I quite agree. Perhaps with this remake, it will…”

Groviglio stopped in his tracks and turned around. Bow had trailed off and wasn’t following him down the street anymore – in fact, she was hovering in one place with her eyes shut, oblivious to the foot traffic flowing around her. The road was especially busy this time of day despite the rain, but that didn’t seem to concern her. “Hey, polka dot, you okay?” he asked.

“Shh…” she hissed. “Do you not hear that?”

Groviglio frowned, then closed his eyes too. There it was: he could hear the faint cry of someone yelling “Stop, thief!”

Bow and Groviglio opened their eyes simultaneously. “Kurtzwick.”

---

They ran up the street to the shopping district just in time to see a faintly visible silhouette burst out of an electronics shop with a large burlap sack in tow. “You know,” Groviglio said, “Kurtzwick never did figure out that carrying a huge bag with him kinda counters the whole being transparent thing.” With a few lazy steps, he maneuvered himself into the figure’s path, who promptly ran into him and fell over.

“What do you think you are doing, Kurtzwick?” Bow asked, a look of concern crossing her face. “I’d rather assumed that you’d given up the thieving business after all that happened.”

The figured growled as they pulled itself back up to their feet.

“Watch out, polka dot,” Groviglio said quietly. “I’m not sure this is Kurtzwick. Too small. Not mouthy enough.”

“Then who…?” Bow didn’t get to finish the question before the figure lunged at her, fangs (or what she assumed were fangs) snapping.

FIGHT! Bow versus someone!
Lady Bow – “You haven’t a ghost of a chance!”
??? – “Get out of my way!”

Bow floated up just out of reach, leaving the figure to tumble to the pavement. “Hey, listen,” Groviglio said, “keep this guy occupied. I’ll go into the store, let someone know what’s going on.”

“I understand,” Bow said. She turned her attention to the figure. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination or not, but she could make out more details about them now – quadruped, canine, prominent fangs… ah. A Poochyena, it seemed. “Well then, little Poochyena, it seems I will be your dance partner for now.”

“I don’t wanna do a dance out here! What are ya, an imbecile?” the Poochyena spat. “Get outta here! Look, ya didn’t see me, awright? Just step aside and lemme go, and I won’t be forced to chew ya to pieces!”

Bow smiled. “Hm hm hm… big words, little one. Let us see if you can back them up.” The area around them – which had cleared; apparently, enough bystanders knew not to get between two Pokémon battling – darkened. A brilliant cone of white light surrounded the Poochyena, and as it faded, he started stumbling, obviously confused.

“Where’d ya go, ya lousy ingrate…?” he slurred. “I’ll make ya wish for your mom!” He threw himself into the air and managed, by sheer luck, aim his Bite directly at Bow. He sunk his fangs in just long enough for it to hurt, then let go, dropping to the ground. “Yeah, see, how d’ya like that?”

“I think that that’s quite enough of that,” Bow replied. She opened her mouth wide and spat a stream of toxic sludge at the Poochyena, who recoiled and shook his head, disgusted. Bow smiled slightly upon seeing the Poochyena’s face turn slightly green as well.

The Poochyena growled. “Ugh… you’re just… just trash, ya know that? Garbage. Garbage! GARBAGE!” He jumped at her again but misjudged the angle, running headlong into a fire hydrant. He fell backwards, groaning as the poison coursed through his system.

“Well, if that’s how you see me, I see no reason why I should not live up to expectations.” Bow began spitting even more poison at her foe – this time a Venoshock, which seeped into the Poochyena’s skin and reacted with the poison already there, making him shudder in pain.

He managed to drag himself over to his discarded bag and began digging through it. “I won’t take this sitting down…!” He fumbled through the bag and grabbed an herb, but halfway through the process of pulling it out, he staggered sideways, the confusion not having worn off – and the herb fell from his hands into a small stream of water running alongside the sidewalk towards the gutter. The expression of betrayal evident in his eyes was almost enough for Bow to take pity on him; she instead opted to throw another Venoshock at him. The Poochyena growled weakly, then fell over.

Lady Bow grew to level 10! She learned Dazzling Gleam as her level 10 move!

“That seems to be that, then,” Bow said quietly. She hovered closer to the ground and peeked into the bag – it was filled with healing items and Pokéballs, as well as a few cheap electronics.

“I see he met with some trouble,” a voice said behind her. Bow jumped and faded invisible out of sheer instinct. “Too late, there,” they continued. “I’ve already seen you.”

Bow remained invisible as she eyed the stranger: a pale, lanky woman with bright red hair, wearing a light grey – almost white, but not quite – suit. She put Bow in mind of a matchstick. “Who are you?” Bow asked, throwing her voice to the stranger’s side.

It didn’t seem to fool her. She kept her eyes fixed on Bow’s location despite Bow’s invisibility. “My name’s Terra Ryder. I always find it’s best to introduce oneself when meeting someone new.” She knelt down and picked up the Poochyena, cradling it in one arm, then grabbed the bag. “I note you haven’t done the same.”

“Don’t attempt an escape!” Bow said. “I’ll stop you!”

Terra smiled in a way that struck Bow as just slightly unnerving. “Don’t worry, there. I’m sure we’ll meet again.” She threw a small orb to the ground, where it burst and released a billowing cloud of smoke. Amidst the confused cries of the throngs of people moving through the street, Bow heard Terra’s voice one more time before the smoke cleared: “Make sure you’re prepared… the ultimate show is coming.”

Groviglio threw the door open. “All right! There’s police coming!” He paused, looking, in turn, at Bow, the splattered sludge on the ground, and the dissipating smoke. “And they’re gone, aren’t they.”

“Yes.”

Groviglio cursed. “That figures! I was all set to come back out here and lay some punishment on that invisible brat!”

“I’m quite sure you would have been impressive, Groviglio. However, I was able to dispatch the Poochyena with ease.”

“Well… good, then.” Groviglio sat down on the curb, some of the wind taken out of his sails. “What happened?”

“From my best guess, the Poochyena was operating under orders from a mysterious, ominous villain-esque figure.”

“You attract all kinds of trouble, don’t you, polka dot?”

“Indeed. Let me give you the details while we wait for the police…”

[Lady Vulpix]

It was a nice surprise to see you post a story here! (Any chance of a comment on mine, maybe?)

Those are some interesting movies you came up with.
The encounter with the thief was interesting. Especially how they assumed it was Kurtzwick and it turned out not to be. Hmm... Maybe we should retire the transparent juices?
The battle itself was rather simple, but it made sense.
And so we have a new villain now! That looks promising.

Take 11 stamps! ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

We need to get the party started soon... I was hoping Will and Shonta would get to post their stories first, but months keep going by... they may have to use their extension after all. What do you think?

[The Blue Avenger]

I did enjoy yours - Pulse is an interesting character, and I like seeing things from his perspective. Also I didn't expect a battle against Ash; that was entertaining.

I wouldn't be opposed to setting up the next scenario. In the meantime, I'd like an RBG for Mona from the Jungle Deforestation Recovery Agency. *pays 7 stamps*

[Lady Vulpix]

Well, Ash Davenport did participate in the Unicorn Games. He was Soo's first opponent. Any similarity to a different Ash is purely... intentional because that's how he rolls. Anyway, considering who his brother is I suppose he didn't turn out so badly. Thanks for the comments!

Mona is going to battle a Gulpin.

[The Blue Avenger]

Another short thing. I'm enjoying these little snippets - they're good for writing interactions between characters who haven't often interacted.

---

Loungers and Idlers

“So I need you to track down any information you can find on this Ryder character,” Jeff said, poring over a stack of papers and books. “I’m doing what I can, but you’ve always been the ace at finding stuff out.”

“Sure thing.” Cam moved across the tabletop, picking up one sheet in a pseudopod and reading through it. “This is the report you wrote up based on what Bow told you?”

“That’s the one. Feel free to keep it; I’ve got copies.”

“Thanks.” Cam squirreled the report away somewhere after giving it a once-over. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. A city like this, she can’t hide her tracks forever. I’m sure someone’s seen her.” He hopped down from the table and made for the door.

Jeff rubbed his temples. “This is just what we need… another potential issue on our hands. Hopefully this one’s pretty benign. Maybe it’s just a simple case of theft.”

“I didn’t do it and you can’t prove anything!”

“I wasn’t talking about you, Kurtzwick.”

“Oh. Gotcha.”

---

Jeff never pried too much into Cam’s sleuthing skills. In fact, that described much of Jeff’s attitude towards his team’s talents: he didn’t worry about how they got the job done as long as the job itself did get done. This didn’t have what one could call a ‘100% success rate’; the training style produced Kurtzwick’s belief that so long as he could abscond with something, it belonged to him. Jeff was paying the price for that now, after pressure from his superiors finally motivated him to action. Granted, his action was a stiff warning to Kurtzwick that if he found any more evidence of Kurtzwick committing larceny, there would be words with a certain Dragonite with familial ties.

Kurtzwick’s moral compass may have been permanently fixed in the ‘amoral’ direction, but even he was loathe to suffer guilt trips.

There were other examples of this training strategy not being the most effective – Raini being perhaps the most obvious – but one Pokémon on whom it worked quite well was Cam. Even the other members of his team had to admit that Cam tended to fade into the background a bit. He didn’t exhibit Maza’s leadership, for example, or Kiva and Anzu’s propensity for teamwork. He wasn’t someone who kept everyone in the house in line like Bobbery or Previsiona, and his presence wasn’t as immediately obvious as that of Groviglio or Groove Guy. Cam was personable enough – nobody really could say they disliked him – but when pressed, most of the team would be forced to concede that he was a bit of a closed book. His ability to ferret out information was something that had come in handy more than once, but his teammates never knew how he did it.

Cam preferred it that way. He maintained a wide net of contacts through the city – and even stretching here and there into other cities and provinces – and he didn’t want it threatened. The blind eye that Jeff turned to his actions made it much easier to accomplish his goals. If he wanted to find someone, he just sent the word out – before long, he’d know who’d last seen them and where, as long as he could give his informant something in return.

It was for this reason that he was in an alleyway in the shipping district. Alleys weren’t his normal meeting places – he preferred parks, malls, well-lit places with enough ambient noise that he wouldn’t be overheard. Sometimes, though, his sources could be a bit skittish, especially if they had a Kurtzwick-esque relationship with law enforcement. Cam’s source today was one such example – she was persona non grata in the city due to her habit of stealing food.

“So you’ve seen this trainer, Parmesan?” Cam carefully held a straight face – Parmesan had an unfortunate name, yes, but it was a relic of a trainer who named a Gulpin Parmesan and then wondered why the Gulpin was resentful. Cam took great care to seem nonthreatening to his sources – even things like types had to be factored into account. A Poison-type seeing a Psychic coming after them could cause them to turn tail and run. As a result, Cam was currently disguising himself as a Castform. No particular type advantage on either party’s part, roughly the same size, with the added benefit of being able to float in case a quick getaway was necessary.

The Gulpin nodded, a full-body action for her. “Yeah, tall, right? Bright red hair? Looks like a matchstick?”

“That’s the one. Where’d you see her?” Cam didn’t have any sort of recording instrument at the ready – all he needed was his head. His photographic memory came in handy at times like these.

“It wasn’t me that saw her, you understand, but a buddy of mine says he saw a trainer like that going in and out of an abandoned warehouse just past the Eataine border – you know, between here and Selenia.”

Cam nodded, committing the information to memory. “Good. That’s good. Thanks, Parmesan.”

“Now, you said you knew something about that Electabuzz and Electrode who’ve been running around?”

“Yeah. In fact—”

“Cam! I finally found you! I was looking for you and then I lost you but here you are so I found you again!”

Cam sighed. He only knew one Pokémon with that kind of motor mouth.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?” Parmesan hissed. “You told me nobody was going to follow you!”

Cam glared at the Pokémon that had crept up behind him. It was a Smeargle wearing a ribbon around her neck; that plus her mouth was enough for Cam to identify her as Mona. “Nobody should have followed me, Parmesan. Mona, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, well, Jeff said that you were going to find out information, and I thought that that sounded like fun, so I decided to come help you out, only I didn’t tell Jeff first because he was busy, and then I just figured out where you went and followed you here!” Mona clapped her paws happily.

“You figured out where I went?!”

“Yeah! It was easy!”

“Cam! How could you play me like this?” Parmesan growled. “I don’t believe you!”

“Look, Parmesan, it’s nothing, it’s—”

Mona leapt in front of Cam. “If you want to hurt Cam, you’ll have to hurt me first! Only I don’t think you’ll be hurting me first because when we battle it’s going to go poorly for you, I think!”

Cam’s eyes flashed with alarm. “Nobody’s talking about battling anyone!”

“That so, huh? You’re done for!” the Gulpin spat.

FIGHT! Cam and Mona versus Parmesan!
Mona – “All RIIIGHT!”
Cam – “Mona, really?!”
Parmesan – “You’re gonna get creamed!”

Cam backed up. “Mona, what have you done?”

“It’s okay, Cam! I’ve got your back! See?” Mona grinned and stuck out her tongue.

“Oh no. Please tell me you’re not going to—she just licked the Gulpin.”

Mona spat on the ground. “Uggh… that was nasty! You taste horrible! But at least it paralyzed you!”

Parmesan shuddered and popped something in her mouth. “Miracle Berry. I’m not about to let someone just waltz in here and pin me down!” She opened her mouth as wide as it would go – a daunting task – and, to put it politely, threw up. Specifically, she threw up at Mona, who held her arm over her eyes to avoid getting sludge in them.

“Look, everyone, let’s just calm down, huh?” Cam said. He would have stood between them to try and foster a ceasefire, but he made a point to never stand between two Pokémon launching attacks at one another.

“It’s okay, Cam, really! I got this!” Mona pressed her paws to her head, glowing with a faint blue light, and let out a psychic pulse. It slammed into the Gulpin, throwing her back into a trash can and denting it in the process.

“It’s the cops! You’re working for the cops, aren’t you?” Parmesan opened her mouth again and spat out a row of large, pulsing seeds; she hurled them one by one at Mona. Each one exploded on impact, prompting a cry of pain as Mona tumbled backwards to the ground.

“Listen, Parmesan, it’s not that, she’s just—”

“That was a cheap shot!” Mona climbed back to her feet shakily. “Well, not cheap so much as it hurt! It was a painful shot!”

“Good!” Parmesan said with a scowl. “Maybe that’ll make the two of you think twice about trying to trap me!”

“And maybe this will make you think twice about trying to hurt my friend!” Mona said. She bared her fangs and hurled herself at Parmesan, sinking her teeth into the skin with a Hyper Fang. Parmesan squeaked in pain and melted on the spot, using Acid Armor to escape Mona’s hold. Mona backed up a few steps and watched the puddle; as soon as Parmesan reformed, Mona fired another psychic projectile at her.

“Ugh…” Parmesan groaned, toppling over. “Can’t believe this, Cam…”

Mona won! Mona grew to level 11 and learned Sketch!

“Well, you won, Mona. Are you happy now?” Cam fumed. He floated over to Parmesan and looked her over. “Her only crime was giving me useful information. And the stealing food, I suppose.”

“She was going to hurt you!” Mona crossed her arms. “I helped you! I kept her from hurting you and now you’re angry!”

“She wasn’t going to hurt me until you busted in on us. And even then, she didn’t even think about fighting until you brought it up.”

Mona thought about that for a second, then looked at the ground. “…I’m sorry. I just wanted to help you. And I thought if I followed you, I could help you find the information you were looking for.”

“Look, Mona…” Cam paused for a moment and sighed. “It’s not a bad thing that you wanted to help. But you should have asked first. It’s not always best to just jump in, guns blazing. Some things take finesse and careful thought.”

“…okay.”

“If you’re really serious about helping, I’ll figure out something that you can help with, okay?”

Mona’s face brightened immediately. “Really? You mean it?”

“Yeah. For now, though, let’s just get home. I don’t think we want to be around Parmesan when she wakes up. I’ll find a way to make it up to her later.” Cam shifted back to his normal form, then looked up into the sky. A few lonely clouds drifted across the otherwise-blue sky, and a pair of Pidgey were flying in the direction of the forest. Cam transformed into a similar Pidgey and jumped into the air. “Meet you at home, okay?”

To his surprise, when he turned to look at the ground, Mona was no longer there – instead, another Pidgey was in the air next to him. It took him a moment to put the pieces together. “Did… you Sketch my Transform?”

“Yep!”

“Huh. Well, good for you. I’m sure the rest of our team will be surprised to see a shapeshifting Smeargle.”

[Lady Vulpix]

Nice story, Jeff!

Even Kurtzwick himself assumed any mention of theft would be related to him! XD
It was interesting to learn more about Cam, as was your reflection on Jeff's training methods.
And I found the idea of a Gulpin nodding rather funny.

I didn't expect the negotiation for information to turn into a battle, but once Mona showed up it was inevitable... I guess the training method failed with Mona too.

And yes, I don't suppose licking a Gulpin would be a good idea.

And wow, a Transforming Smeargle is something you don't see everyday!

Take 13 stamps! ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

I've just noticed Mona and Pulse have the same level! Would you like to try a BT battle?

[The Blue Avenger]

Thanks! I'll use 7 of those stamps for an RBG for GG, from the Universal Adoption Center.

And sure, why not?

[Lady Vulpix]

OK, if you're getting another RBG, so am I. Universal Adoption Center too, for Pulse, who's at level 11 now and may be either 11 or 12 by then, but that won't make a difference for the randomizer since there are no Spewpa in that area.

*Hands over 7 stamps, keeping 27.

Aaaand Groove Guy will battle a Stunky.

[The Blue Avenger]

Pulse is gonna fight a Numel.

[Wolfsong]

I know i already have an rbg for Tierra, Darin, and Ziva becuase i found them while researching my team and trying to get caught up. I would like to get an RBG for Kiara though. From the Universal Adoption Center *hands over 7 stamps* Kiara is L.50

[The Blue Avenger]

Kiara will fight a Girafarig.

[Wolfsong]

One more rbg from the Universal Adoption Center for Rick my L.9 Glaceon please *hands over 7 stamps leaving me with 197*

[Lady Vulpix]

Rick will battle a Mime Jr.

[Lady Vulpix]

It took me way too long to write this story, but here it is!

Note: about 2 months after I started it, I read this comic strip and realized Pulse was not the only one to have that gender identity! I haven't used the phrase "non-commital shrug" in my stories, but that's basically what it is.

ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸, ø¤º°`°º¤ø ,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø

<Ventura's POV>

There are times in life when you know things will never go back to normal, and you need to find a new 'normal'. A new... status quo? I think that's it. How come I understand 3 different languages and I never seem to find the right words to express what I want to say? I know I've said this before. Anyway, it was one of those times. For me, at least. Not that it was a bad thing. If I'd settled for the first kind of life that was normal to me, I'd still be alone in the forest. Now I was helping train a young Pokemon so... great improvement there. And my friends and I were back together, which was also great. But about that... I wished I could pretend we'd never been separated in the first place, but I couldn't. We couldn't just slip back into our old routine, and it wasn't just because Pulse was with us now. There was something else. Life felt... strange somehow. Not nearly as strange as my life in that other world which may or may not have been real, but I felt different in some way I can't describe. It may have been because I now knew what it was like to be human - I wasn't quite sure whether I'd liked it or not, but that's beside the point - and the others had had different but equally unusual experiences, or because I'd spent the last year with a different trainer or because the nightmares had stopped haunting me, or maybe something else or a combination of all... but 'home' did not feel quite the way I'd remembered it. Not that there was another place I'd rather be (I'd have rather been? Or something).

Why am I saying all this? I'm not quite sure. I guess I've just acquired the habit of thinking about how I feel and trying to put it in words, and since it's helped me sometimes I just keep doing it.

Anyway, I focused most of my energy on training Pulse because I wanted to help the Porygon, but also - I must admit - because I wanted to prove myself. To Gabi? Maybe a little, but mostly to myself. I'd pushed Caledor too hard in the past, and there were (possibly?) other Pokemon in another world who might not remember me too fondly, but I'd been getting better in the end and I needed to convince myself that I could do it right. And I also needed to help Pulse feel better because being alone among strangers and knowing your parents aren't coming back for you is horrible. For a young Pokemon, that is.

At least Pulse seemed to enjoy training with me. We did most of our training together at the Barracks. Gabi helped Pulse review the theory when we were at home (type strengths and weaknesses, abilities and such), but I was in charge of most of the everyday physical practice. It was mostly fun, but our conversations did get awkward sometimes. Come to think of it, that's nothing new, is it? Turning awkward is what conversations normally do. Like the time when Pulse asked me how I'd started training.

"I found my way to an Adoption Center and Gabi picked me up," I replied.

Pulse thought for a moment before asking: "did you go to the Adoption Center by yourself?"
"It's a bit more complicated than that..." I began, buying some time to think of how to explain it. "I was... having some trouble in the forest. There were times when food was hard to get, and other Pokemon weren't very nice to me, and... I needed to get stronger. So I kept walking from one place to another until I reached the edge of the forest and saw humans for the first time. They were standing opposite each other and giving instructions to two Pokemon, who followed their commands and attacked each other, but they seemed to be enjoying it. And they were both much stronger than any Pokemon I'd ever met. When the Growlithe won, he turned round and looked at me. I thought of running away for a moment, but he didn't look menacing. He looked curious. He talked to me... I don't remember exactly how the conversation went, I spent most of the time struggling to find the right words. But he understood that I was impressed, and told me that all I needed to do in order to become strong was find a trainer. I asked him how, and he gave me the directions to the nearest Adoption Center. I did walk into the city by myself, and it was weird and a bit scary, but it held better promises than the forest did, so... I... braved it, I guess."
"Really? That's amazing! I don't think I would have dared to do something like that. But why were you alone in the forest? What happened to your parents?"
"They decided I was old enough to take care of myself, so they just flew away."
"They abandoned you?!"
"Basically, yes. They used to go away for hours at a time... They would often leave in the morning and come back for dinner. Then when I started finding food by myself they would sometimes spend the night outside and return the next day. But one day they gave me this big speech saying I had a lot of potential but I would never unveil it if I kept relying on them, and that I needed to become strong and... well, that I was ready to take care of myself, like I said. And they left and didn't look back. I waited for a while, but I knew they weren't coming. I kept returning to the place where I'd last seen them for a few days, but I knew it was in vain. So when that area ran out of fruits and grains I could eat, I moved away."
"Have you ever seen your parents again?"
"Never. Haven't even heard of them since then. Not sure I want to."
"I'm sorry."

There was a long pause. It may have been a minute or two before I found a way to break it.

"It was a long time ago," I finally said. "I have a good life now. One I would have never had if I had stayed in the forest."
"And you did become strong," Pulse noted. "I hope I can be that strong someday."
"I'm sure you will be," I assured, happy to not be talking about my parents anymore. "You're already stronger than I was when I started. My first battles weren't easy, but I learned from them and the results have been rewarding."
"Do you remember the first time you won a battle?"
"I'm not sure what the first time was... There was the time I was fighting a Weedle over a berry and I managed to push the Weedle aside and take it, but does that count as a battle? Then there was the time a far less friendly Growlithe than the one who helped me was chasing me, and I ran towards a rock and moved away just in time for the Growlithe to hit the rock instead of me. I disabled him and ran away, so it wasn't a real victory, but it felt like one. But that was all when I was still in the forest. The battle I remember most vividly was one of my first battles with Gabi. I was up against a Ditto and I managed to disable its only offensive move and prevent it from disabling mine. I have to give the Ditto some credit, it seemed to have the same idea, but I got my move in first. So I disabled the Ditto's Tackle and the Ditto disabled my Disable. Since at that point Tackle was my only offensive move, that moment decided the outcome of the battle. I remember it well because that was the battle that got me my first compliment. And from a Dragon's Guild general! I'm afraid I don't remember who it was because I had trouble telling them apart back then, but I do remember his words: 'Ventura is a very smart Venonat', he said."
"He was right," Pulse said. "You used your own lack of moves as an advantage... I've never seen anyone do that."
"That's because the situations in which that can be an advantage are very limited. I'm really glad I've learnt more moves since then. Once I learned Sleep Powder I was able to defeat some Fire-types. That felt great too."
"Fire types, really?"
I nodded.
"I guess type advantage isn't as important as I thought."
"It's a big factor, but not the only one," I explained. "You need to factor in all the statistics, and anything that may give you an edge, and keep in mind that both you and your opponent can use different types of moves."
"Should I use Sharpen, then?" Pulse asked.
"Huh?"
"To give me an edge."
"That... I was going to say I hoped that was a joke, but even so it was a really bad one."
"I'm sorry. Can you show me a good one?"
"Er... No, sorry, I can't make jokes. I'm not good with words. You may have noticed."
"You can't make them but you can judge them?"

I paused for a moment to think.

"Yes," I concluded. "That happens a lot. You don't have to be able to do something to know whether or not it's well done."
"Then why was my joke bad?"
"Because... Because for a moment I thought you'd misunderstood what I was saying... but then I realized you were smarter than that, so it had to be a pun. Others won't laugh at a joke unless they can tell you're joking. And even then, if you're going for a pun, it has to be very original to get any laughs. Easy puns tend to result in shifty eyes."
"It looks like you've given it a lot of thought."
"Not really... If I thought about it before, I didn't realize it. I mean, I've heard all kinds of jokes, but I hadn't taken the time to think of why some make others laugh and some don't until now. But maybe a part of me had been thinking about it... just in case I ever decide to try my luck at making a joke myself."
"Why not try now?"
"Sorry, I'm not inspired. You can't conjure up a joke out of nowhere. If I ever manage to come up with one, I'll let you know."
"So I suppose making jokes is not part of the training."
"Why would it be?"
"I don't know... Most battles in comics have jokes in them. I know comics are not like real life, but some said making jokes helps you distract your opponents."
"Trying to come up with a joke distracts you," I warned the Porygon. "The worst thing you can do in a battle is lose focus. Perhaps we should get back on track and do some concentration exercises."
"OK," Pulse accepted.

Fortunately, Pulse's concentration turned out to be better than I had expected. The Porygon could easily detect faint sounds, and hit a target in spite of the background noise, even if asking personal questions while it was aiming could throw it off-target.

"Focus on the target first," I warned Pulse. "Ignore everything else until you've hit it."
"Everything? But what if you or Gabi are warning me about something?"
"OK, good point. Pay just enough attention to notice if it's a warning... or if you can spot any threats or find anything you can use to your advantage. But let the background stay in the background. Don't get distracted from the battle until it's over. Some opponents will try to distract you."
"Has it happened to you?" Pulse asked.
"Yes."
"Did you manage to stay focused?"

I thought of lying, but that wouldn't have helped Pulse's trust in me.

"Not always," I admitted. "There was this one time when my opponent shouted something in a language I wasn't supposed to understand but I somehow did - there was magic involved -... and revealed that he knew something about me that made no sense even to myself."
"Your opponent used magic to distract you?"
"No, he didn't use magic, all he did was speak. I had some lingering effects from a spell that had recently affected me, and he showed me that he knew."
"How did he know?"
"I never asked him how he knew... I assumed he'd either been there and seen me, or been told about it by... OK, you know what? Let's not go there, it gets too complicated and we need to keep training. If you stick with us long enough, I'm sure you'll learn about all that stuff someday."

Pulse made a low-pitched electronic noise that somehow conveyed displeasure.

"I'm sorry," I said. "Our team... We've gone through lots of things and I can't explain them all at once. Some are very hard to explain because I don't quite understand them myself."
"OK... But you'll tell me when you can, right?"
"I will... or maybe Gabi can tell you. Or you may find out by yourself, you seem to have the right qualifications."
"Qualifications?"
"I may be wrong, but... Almost everyone who's been affected by that spell knows at least one Psychic-type attack. The exception being Lagi, but she's am empath, so that may be enough to make it work. Oh, and Eshree, but that may have been a different spell."
"I'm getting confused. Who's Eshree? And what was the spell?"
"Eshree's a human friend. You may meet him soon. He's known as Lord Growlithe and some people call him Ivan."
"OK, and the spell?"
"I don't know exactly what the spell does. I know it takes you to a different world, changes your shape and lets you understand the local language, but I have no idea how it does any of that. Nor why it seems to be connected to Psychic-type attacks."
"It does all that? You're kidding me, aren't you?"
"I'm not. I told you it was complicated."
"OK... But why do you think it's linked to Psychic type attacks if there are exceptions?"
"I'm almost sure Lagi's empathy makes her share the spell with whoever is being affected. She's never been there alone. And in Eshree's case the spell was cast by someone else, and its effects were far more permanent, so it may not be the same spell at all. Out of our team, the ones affected have been Gabi, Lagi, myself, Caledor, Hero... and Iael may have been there briefly, but it may have been a dream. In any case, all we have in common that the others don't is being able to use Psychic-type attacks."
"Gabi can use Psychic-type attacks?!"
"The psychic pulses I've told you about. They don't hurt, but they're still aimed at a target."
"You're just guessing, aren't you?"
"Of course I am! I've already told you I can't understand this. Fortunately, you don't have to understand any of that in order to win a battle. Just don't let your opponents distract you, and if you're confused, do your best to focus and do something, because staying still turns you into a sitting duck and is likely to cost you the battle."
"But what if I hurt myself?"
"That's a risk you must take. Your Defense is relatively strong with the Eviolite, so you won't hurt yourself much. And there's still a good chance that you'll get your hit in. But only if you take that chance."
"OK... I'll try," Pulse accepted, still not sounding too convinced.
"Shall we keep training now?"
"I'm tired... Mentally. Can we go see the MTU's computer?"

I can't say that was a typical training day because of the course the conversation took, but it wasn't far off. We'd usually alternate different kinds of exercises with awkward conversations until Pulse got tired. Knowing there was no immediate threat and remembering my past experiences, I'd decided not to push the Porygon too hard and let it decide when we were done with each training session.

Pulse did not forget that weird conversation, and used its first chance to ask Gabi about it. Gabi did her best to explain, but she didn't do much better than myself, which in a way was a relief because it meant I hadn't done so badly. I guess it's one of those things you have to experience. There was another interesting point to the conversation Pulse and Gabi had. Gabi said it felt wrong to call Pulse 'it' because that made her feel like she was talking about an inanimate object - even if it was frequently used for Pokemon -, but 'he' and 'she' didn't seem right either - other Porygons had gender identities, but Pulse did not -, so she had done some research while at the office and learned that the word 'they' could be used as singular and was the preferred pronoun for many non-binary humans, so she had decided to use that pronoun for Pulse, if Pulse didn't mind. Pulse had already said that any pronoun was fine, and that one was as good as any other, so 'they' stuck. For me and Gabi, at least.

"I'm still surprised that you're OK with all pronouns," Gabi pointed out. "The more I read about the subject, the more people I found who were particularly sensitive about the pronouns used for them."
"I don't know why they're so sensitive," said Pulse. "I've seen a few on-line, but... I don't know why."
"Maybe they had some traumatic experiences related to some pronouns?" Amber theorized. "When someone is overly sensitive about something it's usually because it reminds them of some bad experiences they had."
"Maybe..." Pulse considered. "I don't feel that way so I can't tell why others do... To me, pronouns are just words you need to use so that others know who you're talking about, so as long as I understand you, that's fine. If you're not trying to offend me, why should I be offended?"
"If only everyone were like that," Gabi smiled. "So many problems would be avoided if nobody took offense when none was meant!"
"Things would be much easier if we always understood what was meant," Hero remarked. "But that's not the world we live in."
"Nor is it any other world I know of," Gabi added.
"It doesn't help that some will take offense because you understand what they meant and they didn't want you to," said Lagi. "Communication is a really complex thing. It's amazing if you think about it."
"It's complex, that much is obvious," I agreed. "Sometimes I wish I knew how others really feel... But I've seen others evade you because you knew. There's no easy way, is there?"

Lagi shook her head.

"Well, at least we know we all want the best for each other," Gabi remarked. "As long as we keep that in mind, we should be able to work out all our issues within the team."
"Have there been fights within the team?" asked Pulse.
"Every family has fights," said Caledor. "Nothing serious, though."
"Right... nothing serious," said Hero, looking down. I wondered what he was remembering, but I knew better than to ask.
"Nothing time, friendship and... other stuff can't cure anyway," said Tsunami with a sheepish smile.

Hero looked at the Vaporeon and nodded.

"Other stuff?" asked Pulse.
"We promised not to talk about it," Hero and Tsunami said in unison.
"OK, that was creepy," Pulse commented.
"Yes," said Tsunami. "Let's change the subject."
"Yes, please," Hero agreed.
"What could be so bad you don't want to talk about it?" asked Pulse. "You two are obviously best friends."
"You shouldn't have brought it up if you didn't want to talk about it," Gabi told them.
"I didn't mean to bring it up," said Hero, turning to Tsunami. "Why did you have to open your mouth? You could have let it pass."
"I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't thinking properly," Tsunami apologized. "Really, guys, let's move on to a different subject. It was something personal that happened years ago and we don't want to bring it up again."

By then I had a vague idea of what they were talking about. It had had something to do with Kiva. They'd had a big fight about her in the past, one that had threatened their friendship. I never got to know how the conflict had been resolved. I'd figured out it had involved an awkward mystical experience, but neither Hero nor Tsunami had ever said a word about the details. It bothered me a bit, but I could live without knowing it. Whatever it was, it must have been very embarrassing for them. So I helped them change the subject.

"OK," I began. "You may want to know Pulse's training is going well. They'll be ready for another battle soon" - using that pronoun felt weird, but I had to try - "but first we need to make a stop at the Reward Center. Pulse needs a decent Physical attack. If you're OK with it," I added, turning to Gabi.
"Actually, I was thinking about that myself," Gabi replied. "I'd been looking for a certain TM, but it was not in stock and I couldn't order one from Selenia either. The few online stores that do have it aren't shipping to Ulthuan for some reason. But we can go to the Reward Center tomorrow and see what we can find. I'm sure there must be something Pulse can use."
"What reason could anyone have to not ship to Ulthuan?" Caledor wondered. "It's not like they're likely to be attacked by dragons or have their ships turned into spaghetti."
Gabi laughed. "Not likely, no. But I guess 'unlikely but possible' does work as a deterrent. And now I want to eat Spaghetti."
"You always want to eat pasta," Tsunami told her. "And drink tea. What else is new?"
"I can't do both things at the same time anymore because it stops my body from absorbing some vitamins I need," Gabi stated. "Unless I take a vitamin supplement with lunch, then I guess I can have tea with my dinner. It would be a shame to go to a Chinese restaurant and not order tea."
"Yeah... a shame," Tsunami chuckled. "So are you taking us to a Chinese restaurant for dinner?"
"Not now, dinner is almost ready and Pulse has already had their daily meal. Maybe on Friday? What do you think?"
"I'd like to know what Chinese food tastes like," Pulse said.
"I think Gabi likes Chinese food because they invented noodles," Tsunami teased her.
"And what a great invention that was!" Gabi did not contradict him. "But they also have some delicious vegetables you can't normally find elsewhere, like bok choy and water spinach. And some tasty spicy foods. And let's not forget the tea. It's not a real Chinese restaurant if it doesn't have good tea."
"I'm in," I said. "It's been over a year since I last had Chinese, and I... sort of became used to it while living with a Chinese family. I know it won't be the same as home-made food, but I'd like to have some anyway."

So the next day we went to the Reward Center to get Pulse a TM. Gabi went through the catalog carefully, and decided to get an Aerial Ace TM. It was physical, not too strong but much stronger than Tackle, good against Fighting types and had the added advantage of working even if something made it hard for Pulse to aim. Pulse seemed satisfied. In fact, it... they wanted to go to the Dragon's Guild barracks and try it right away. They had some fun playing with that move, and I must admit I also had fun watching.

It wasn't long before Gabi decided to try Pulse's new move in an actual battle. I mean, we did get to go to the Chinese restaurant before that happened, but it was just a couple of days before Gabi managed to arrange a battle with Jeff. Pulse would be battling Mona at the Battle Tower, which is a place where DT members can test their skills against each other in friendly battles. It is largely unused, since going to the MTU for a training session is generally much easier than arranging a battle with a fellow DT member, but, surprisingly, Pulse got to battle there before their second visit to the MTU battle rooms. And just as surprisingly, the Porygon managed to deal a Critical Hit on their first blow. I told them after the battle that they'd been really lucky and shouldn't rely on that kind of thing happening frequently, but I couldn't felt feeling a tinge of pride, even if it had been more a matter of luck than anything else. Caledor was more enthusiastic, but there's no surprise there. He suggested celebrating with pizza so that Gabi could write a pizza report, to which we both said 'no' immediately, but we ended up having pizza for dinner anyway.

<Caledor's POV>

The pizza we ate was... just kidding. Let's move forward to the important stuff. Because it is IMPORTANT! It all began when I pointed out that Pulse had spent a lot of time training with Ventura and needed some time to have fun. The poor Porygon had never done anything for fun that didn't involve electronics or training, and I wasn't sure the training had been for fun or just because they felt they needed to get strong. Although I was sure they'd taken a liking to the swing at the barracks. So I decided to take Pulse for a walk around the neighborhood and show them my favorite park. It was my favorite because it was close and had a lot of trees and a jungle gym which I enjoy climbing, even though Pulse didn't seem to see the point. I guess having two solid polyhedrons instead of legs and a rigid tail must take the fun out of it. What I couldn't get was Pulse's lack of appreciation for the trees. I tried to convey how impressive they were, but it was like we were speaking different languages. So in the end we went back home to play with Water Angel's Beach Ball. Yes, Water Angel's Beach Ball, we have a tacit agreement that I can use it whenever she's not in battle. I mean, she's never tried to take it away from me, so I assume she agrees.

It's amazing how something as simple as a ball can provide so much entertainment. Plus it's good for training too, which we had already proven on our first day at the barracks. But more importantly, it's fun! So we played with the ball, making passes, then making it bounce... Pulse seemed to be bored at first, but then they discovered it wasn't so easy to catch the ball when it was moving fast, let alone make it bounce in the intended direction, so we spent some time trying to improve our sphere manipulation skills. Then Pulse encouraged me to try to move the ball with my mind, so I gave it another shot, but I could swear that ball is telekinesis-proof. Either that or I was really that bad at it, so I chose to think it's the former. After all, I could bend spoons and move the little ball.

There's another story about my little blue ball I used to play and train. I don't know if anyone other than me would care, but the thing is... I had misplaced it for a while. I mean, I actually misplaced myself first, but after I came back from the Moon I moved in with Eshree & co., and then when Gabi came back and we moved back home I started thinking about the ball, but I couldn't find it. Of course, back then the house was a mess and everyone was busy trying to make the place inhabitable again, but it was quite frustrating. Long story short, I asked Ventura for help after a day of searching in vain, and a few minutes later she found it inside the pipe that was used to drain the swimming pool. I'm not even sure why I'm bringing this up, but I found it suspicious because Tsunami said I must have left it in the garden and it rolled into the water and then went down the pipe when the pool was emptied, but no one had seen it floating on the muck, so it's more likely that it was a prank. Anyway, the #1 suspect quickly agreed to retrieve it, so no harm done. Unless it was someone else? I guess I'll never know... because it's not worth involving Lagi over something so unimportant. Speaking of which... on to the important stuff!

So in another attempt to get Pulse to enjoy the real world, I suggested going to the Adoption Center. Pulse reminded me that they had already been there, but I told them we'd now be seeing it from the other side, ipso est from a worker's perspective. Yes, that was Latin. No, I don't speak Latin, just a few phrases that somehow became popular in the modern world. Who am I talking to anyway? Who cares? On our way to the AC, I asked Gabi whether she knew if Nincadas had that kind of inner dialogue. She said she was still researching, but that they probably did because that was something anyone could do... or anyone who likes to think anyway. She also told me she had found her unfinished report on Pokemon with more than one brain and was trying to find a connection between the two so that the old one didn't go to waste even though the Guild had already published something on that subject. I wished her good luck. But now... yes, now comes the really important part.

While we were busy handing out TMs from the Storage Box to the Pokemon at the AC, I heard steps behind us. My ears perked up, but more importantly, I felt something like electricity run up my spine. But a nice kind of electricity... the kind that means something really good is happening and makes you want to turn around but also makes you a bit afraid to look and find out you were wrong, but no, you can't be wrong because the feeling's so strong and... just look already! So I turned around, and... there she was!

"Kiara!" I called out, throwing myself on her.

I couldn't think of anything else at that moment but the fact that she was there... for real. Then I heard Gabi's voice reminded me that the rest of the world was also there.

"Huh? Oh... Amy! You're back! Are you OK? What happened to you? Is everyone else OK?"

Then Kiara grinned and started purring and nuzzling me. I nuzzled her back.

"I missed you so much! Where have you been?" I asked her, not letting go of her.

I kept an ear up just to learn where she had been and, yes, also if everyone was OK, but all I really wanted was to pretend that no time had passed and keep cuddling Kiara forever.

<Gabi's POV>

I was happy to see Amy again, and also glad that Caledor and Kiara had been reunited. Caledor didn't like to speak of the things that bothered him, but it had been clear that he had missed her a lot. Still, I was a bit worried, since she had only brought Kiara and Tierra with her and I couldn't tell by looking at her face whether the others were OK, or even if she had found Flame, who had gone missing before the rest of us did.

"Things are as well as they can be for now," Amy began. "My mom had a total knee replacement, then surgery on her other foot. My grandma then fell and broke her leg and had to go to the nursing home. Just as she was starting to get better from that, they sent her to the hospital where they thought she was having a stroke. The hospital said she didn't and sent her back where she ended up having one. Then she fell and broke her leg again."
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that!" I exclaimed. It sounded empty, but I didn't know what else to say.
"Yeah, me too," Caledor joined me, looking one way and the other at Amy and Kiara.
"Thanks," Amy said. "Now she has her good days and bad days."
"So... have you been with your family all this time?" I asked. "When did you leave?"
"Yeah, sorry about disappearing for so long again... It was shortly after Tierra joined the team and Blazer's last battle."
"I missed you too," Kiara said to Caledor, who grinned sheepishly while Tierra looked up at Amy.
"Sorry, I have no idea when Blazer's last battle was," I said, still confused. "I think I last saw when we were heading for the Forbidden Mountains. After that... everything went crazy. I don't know if you got to see any of what happened here. I missed most of it. I was... in some kind of alternate reality for about 3 years."
"And I was on the Moon for two of those years!" exclaimed Caledor, looking at Kiara. "Kept trying to come back and find you... Then I came back and couldn't find you!"
"I don't think I did," Amy replied to my implied question. "We only just got back a little while ago. Flame's still missing but the rest of the team is back at the house. Kiara: I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry I disappeared and didn't know where you were when I came back," Caledor apologized for something that was absolutely not his fault. "I would have contacted you if I'd known how. In times like those I wish I had better psychic powers... Speaking of which... You should probably know that Mewtwo is alive. And Scott helped him escape. But he didn't really kill anyone."
"That's a big bomb to drop like that," I pointed out. "And I think we should tell the others too. Not that there's anything we can do about it, since he's on the Moon, but they deserve to know."
"I think we missed a lot of things?" Amy noted while Kiara blinked.
"Lots of crazy things," I confirmed. "Some people and Pokemon are still missing, but Flame disappeared long before that. I hope he's OK. He's been missing for so long! Not even Tracker could find any clues."
"I know. I hope so too," Amy agreed.
"I know I shouldn't be saying this to you, you must be even more worried than I am," I realized. "Sorry, it's just... I've been doing everything I could and it's not working."
"I understand and appreciate it," said Amy.

At that point Pulse made a beeping sound. I couldn't believe I had forgotten about their presence.

"Oh, sorry!" I apologized again. "I guess this is not my day. This is Pulse, the latest addition to our team."
"Hi Pulse, I'm Amy. That's Kiara over with Caledor and this is Tierra."
"Nice to meet you too," Pulse greeted Amy and her friends.
"So... is the rest of your team with you?" I asked.
"They're back at the house, trying to get it back into shape..." Amy answered.
"Ah, at least that's some good news," I remarked. "So, did you make it to the mountains at all or did you get an emergency call on your way there or... what happened?"
"I was on my way when I got the call," Amy replied.

We kept talking and catching up for a while. It was hard to convince Caledor to let them go afterwards, but they did have a lot of work to do. Later that same day, I got an incomprehensible report from detective Kerel in an e-mail where he also asked if I had received any of his previous reports. I had to go through his old unopened e-mails, try to make out as much of them as I could and then apologize for the late reply, explaining that I had been caught in an alternate reality for 3 years - after reading his reports, I had the feeling he would understand.

The next day I came across Glenda, and she told me she had met Eric the Staryu trainer. Eric had told her that finding a place to host the party was proving harder than expected, since every place that wasn't closed for repairs was already booked for the next few months. He had mentioned there was that one cave in White Mountain where no events had been hosted since the Consolation Round of the Pegasus Games, but Glenda hadn't thought it would be a good idea, and my own answer was a definite "NO". After all, Yssera had been sealed in that cave, and we didn't want to do anything that had even the slightest chance of facilitating her escape. That, and it required traveling to another province, but it was really the former which made that place absolutely not an option.

Later that day I checked my e-mail and found a reply from detective Kerel. He said he understood because Bruce had been in an alternate reality before - it took me a few moments to realize he was talking about his Zangoose companion - and that, while he had still found no definite clues about Flame's whereabouts - and here he said something about a restaurant frequented by some mob turning out to be a false lead - he had some reports from people who had seen a Charizard flying over the sea before he went missing, and had the theory that some accident could have caused him to lose his memory, which would explain why he never reported back but wasn't found dead either. Of course, if he had died in the sea, it was possible that his body would never be found. But there was still hope. He might be living in the wild somewhere along the way.

I couldn't help but worry about Flame. He'd be gone for so long! Much longer than I had. And what if we never found out what had happened to him? But I couldn't think of anything I could do about it either, other than check the news for reports of a Charizard found somewhere unexpected. But if there hadn't been any in all these years... Unless he'd somehow ended up in Char Valley. That was highly unlikely, but it was a place where humans don't tread and no one would notice an extra Charizard in the area. No one other than the locals, of course, but no humans would have asked them. It was worth a shot. Of course, the only one I knew who would be welcome in Char Valley had no reason to share information with me, but I was confident that I could come up with a plan given enough time.

...And that brings us to our next visit to the MTU. I headed there one day for another practice battle with Pulse - despite Hero's complaints that, while he understood why Pulse needed training, he deserved some too - and, soon after I announced myself, a familiar red-head came to greet me.

"Hi, Gabi!" he said.
"Hey!" I greeted him back. "You've... made some progress, I see."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean I can definitely see some facial hair showing now... Sorry, that was awkward."
"Oh, that... Yeah, it's still a work in progress, but I'm slowly getting there. So you're here to train Pulse again?"
"Yes. I'm surprised you came for me knowing that. Unless..."
"Unless I've started training a young Pokemon too?"
"Have you?"
Ian smiled. "Yes, I figured that, since I'm training Pokemon professionally, I might as well do it right and train more than just four of them. I'm sticking to the fire theme for now, though. Maybe someday I'll train some non-fire type, but for now I'm more comfortable this way, if that makes any sense."
"I guess..." I replied. "If you've been training fire-types your whole life, it makes sense that you'd feel comfortable training them. Anyway, what matters is that it makes sense to you. I mean... you should do what feels right to you."
"You sounded a bit like a fortune cookie there, but yeah... that's what I'm trying to do. It's not easy when you grew up being told what to do all the time. I'm in my mid 30's and still learning to make my own choices."
"I suppose it won't help if I tell you that you look younger?"
"It... doesn't help, but I guess it doesn't hurt either."
"Anyway, life-changing choices are always hard to make," I said. "Sometimes I wish I could see all the possible outcomes in advance so I can be sure to make the right choice."
"I don't think anyone can do that," Ian replied. "Even if chance were not a factor, there are still others who can make their own choices, so the outcomes wouldn't depend on your actions alone."
"Good point," I conceded. "I guess that's why we haven't heard of anyone seeing more than small bits of the future. There's so much that can't be predicted! But in a way I'm glad that's the case. Otherwise there would be no point in making choices. We might as well be replaced by robots."
"So... Did you come here to battle or to discuss philosophy? Because we could keep at this for a while."
"Maybe you should apply for a scholar title," I suggested. "Do they have those at the MTU?"
"There's something like that, but I'd rather keep philosophy as a hobby."
"OK, then... I guess this is the part where you introduce me to your team's newest member?"
"Sure. Hephaestus is waiting in the red room, so let's go there and meet him."
"He... feast us?" I tried to repeat the name.
"Is it a mouthful? Sorry. Hephaestus is the name of a Greek God."
"I think I've heard it before. Sorry, I think those 3 years in that alternate reality have hurt my English skills. I got the first I wrong, didn't I?"
"It was an E, but yes, it should sound like a short I. Anyway, your English is still good, your accent may have got a little bit thicker, but there's nothing wrong with that. And that's not even English, so don't worry about it."

I still felt a bit frustrated with myself. I might be too much of a perfectionist, but I didn't like the idea of my accent getting thicker. Ian may have noticed the discomfort in my face while we walked, or perhaps he didn't and he simply ran out of things to add, but the thing is he quickly changed the subject.

"I remembered you didn't like hot places," he told me, "so I chose a room that will be perfect for you. Now you can get an idea of what the Lava Room looks like without feeling the heat. This room is much smaller, of course, but I trust you can use your imagination."
"I can," I said with a smile. "Thanks for remembering."
"Hey, I wouldn't forget someone who's been to the Training Grounds for every single tournament and each and every time visited all but that one room."
"I did visit the Lava Room once," I told him. "But I had to leave because I felt like I was about to faint from the heat. I don't know how others can take it."
"Different Pokemon have different weaknesses. I guess that applies to humans as well," Ian theorized.
"So I'm what? An Ice-type human?"
"I don't think it works exactly the same way as with Pokemon. Don't you ever feel cold?"
"Sometimes," I admitted. "Maybe a Steel type, then?" I joked. "But cold is easier to deal with, just put on warmer clothes and that's it. The heat, on the other hand... there's no way to beat it."
"If that were true, my team would win every single battle," Ian smiled. "By the way, here we are. Welcome to the Red Room."

He opened a door and revealed a sight that looked much like the interior of a volcano, at least from the photos and videos I had seen. It was all paint on the floor and a really impressive wallpaper, but with enough imagination you could feel like you were really in there... except for the room temperature being the same as it was in the corridors. Also, the ceiling was dark red and had a lamp in the middle. After looking for a few seconds, I realized the 'stone bridge' in the center of the room stood a few centimeters higher than the surrounding 'lava', and a few rocks - or something very similar - protruded from the walls. Of course, I also noticed the Numel who stared at me from the other side of the room.

"Hephaestus, meet Gabi, also known as Lady Vulpix," Ian introduced me to the Numel.
"Nice to meet you," I said, refraining from trying to pronounce his name again (I'd make sure to learn the right pronunciation before trying to say it in public).

The Numel nodded.

"Nice work with the room too!" I remarked.
"Thanks," Ian smiled. "It was a joint effort, of course."
"Good job to everyone who worked on it," I clarified.

I noticed the Numel was giving Ian a puzzled look, and I asked what was wrong.

"He's been waiting in this room for a while," Ian said. "He's probably eager to get the battle going."
"Oh... of course," I replied before turning to Pulse. "Pulse, are you ready?"
"I think so," Pulse replied.
"Neither of them seems very determined," I pointed out.
"Just wait until they get going," Ian told me. "They just need to warm up a bit."

The Numel shook his head, but assumed a battle stance anyway.

Pulse (level 12 Porygon) vs. Hephaestus (level 12 Numel)

"Pulse," I said, "your Hidden Power won't work on him. Start with a strong move."
"Uh... OK," Pulse replied.
"Hey, Hephaestus," Ian addressed the Numel. "Let's shake things up a little."

The Numel nodded and began to shake, making the floor below him shake with him. The vibrations were strong enough to make Pulse lose balance, causing them to land on one side.

"Nice!" Ian exclaimed. "How strong was that one? I think it was an 8."

I did not reply. I had better things to think about than how to measure the power of a move I had rarely seen in real life; things like how much of a threat that move posed for Pulse. Luckily, Pulse recovered quickly enough to hit the Numel with a Psychic blast, but they still didn't look quite sure of what they were doing.

"Come on, Hephaestus," Ian encouraged him. "You're doing well, keep going."

While the Numel tried to regain his composure, I noticed he had a little box tied to a string wrapped around his neck. Matches, I realized. That explained how he'd got to hit first. Pulse's attacks seemed to do more damage, but with Magnitude you can never tell.

"This won't do," I concluded. "Pulse, use Agility and remember the Type Chart."

I wondered if Pulse would understand what I meant, but I had to trust the Porygon. They were smart and had a good memory, that much was clear to me.

The next Magnitude was weaker than the previous one, but Pulse still felt it. It didn't matter, I'd been counting on that, just as I was counting on Pulse knowing what to do next.

Pulse focused and began to move faster. As they circled around their opponent, Pulse's body became lighter and began to float higher... high enough for the next Magnitude to miss. I sighed with relief.

"Oh... Flying type," Ian realized. "Was that Conversion or Conversion 2?"
"Does it matter?" I asked.
"Barely. Not to a Numel anyway. It doesn't matter if Pulse knows a Flying-type move, but please understand that you forced us to do this."
"To do what?" I asked.
"Apologies in advance, it's nothing personal, it's our only chance left to win this battle. Hephaestus, make this place feel a little more like the real Lava Room."
"Pulse, Aerial Ace!" I called out before the Numel did what I feared he would do.

I felt a tinge of guilt, for at that moment I was more worried about myself than I was about Pulse. I was hoping Ian had meant Sunny Day, but doubted it: that would hardly make the place feel like the Lava Room or give Hephaestus a chance to win the battle. Soon, my fears were confirmed: right after Pulse managed to hit their opponent, I saw the air ahead of me bend from the heat, and felt my own knees bend as the Heat Wave reached me.

I did my best to focus on the battle, but it was getting hard to think clearly. Pulse looked a bit weary, but their eyes revealed that they could still keep going for a bit longer. As for the Numel... it was hard to tell: they don't usually show any signs of pain; but he was standing up from the floor, so that meant he had lost balance during that brief moment my attention had been drawn away from the battle.

"Good, Pulse..." I said. Speaking was an effort.

Then, suddenly, I felt something grab my head and the air around me became much colder. The perspective changed too. I could now see the Numel in front of me, with Pulse facing us both and Ian standing on the opposite end of the room. I was dizzy for a moment, and looking up only made it worse, but it also explained the situation as I saw Ventura's eyes staring at me.

"Uh... thanks," I told her. "But next time please warn me first."
"And next time you please tell me when you're bringing Pulse here for a battle. I spent like an hour looking for you!"
"Oh... You're right, sorry. I looked for you before we left, but I couldn't find you."
"You could have waited five minutes. I would have been back by then."
"OK, I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Please let me focus on the battle now."
"The battle is going well," said Ventura. "Pulse is winning."

As the Venomoth spoke, the Numel collapsed at the impact of Pulse's next Aerial Ace.

Pulse won and grew to level 13!

I let out a long sigh.

"You know you could have stood here from the beginning, don't you?" Ventura asked me.
"I didn't know he was going to release a Heat Wave in my direction," I defended myself. Although, in hindsight, I realized I could have moved out of the way when Ian instructed him to use it.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," Ian apologized. "I've been caught in a Heat Wave so many times I barely feel it anymore."
"It's not your fault, you did warn me," I told him. "I should have taken the hint and moved away. Anyway, nice job, Pulse!"
"Thanks," Pulse said, hovering my way. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," I replied.
"What was that all about before I used Conversion?" Pulse asked me.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"The psychic pulses you were sending me."
"I was...? Sorry, I was just hoping you'd do the right thing. Which you did, so everything's fine."
"What was that?" Ian asked me.
"Nothing, I need to get used to hands-on training again," I replied. "Pulse has been training to detect psychic pulses and I seem to have been sending them by accident."
"I didn't know you could do that by accident," said Ian.
"I guess you can when you think too hard while hoping someone else will know what you're thinking."
"I didn't know what you were thinking," Pulse told me. "I just understood what you had said. Your psychic pulses have no discernible content."
"Well, excuse me if I'm not a master of telepathy like Ventura," I said. "I just do what I can. And it works most of the time."
"Ventura is your Venomoth, right?" Ian asked, looking at her.
"That's her," I confirmed, ignoring the questionable possesive.
"So a Venomoth is the master telepath in your team? What about your Espeon?"
"He's a master of silliness and mood-lifting. He's working on improving his telepathy, but for now it's only marginally better than mine."
"So what my father said was right after all," Ian commented.
"What did he say?" I asked.
"He said that the PRTD's attempts at creating genetically-enhanced Super-Pokemon were a fool's errand. That greatness is something you must achieve through hard work, not something you're born with."
"Did your father really say that?"
"Yes," he told me. "Why are you surprised?"
"It's just... That's not something I'd expect to hear from someone of noble blood."
"Oh, he's very proud of his noble blood," Ian clarified. "He just doesn't expect it to win his battles for him. He says people like us must fight hard to live up to our names and the names of our ancestors. Which is why he's so mad at me for joining the MTU. But this is the path I chose, and I believe I can achieve greatness my own way. My name probably won't be written on history books, but I can help many Pokemon realize their potential and live better lives, and I can make a living doing what I enjoy. That's something I wouldn't have been able to do had I joined the military."
"That's true. And I agree with you," I said.

Then I changed the subject and asked him if he could try and find out whether a mysterious Charizard had shown up in Char Valley, to which he said he'd see if he could get Char to check but he doubted the Charizard would cooperate. We talked for a bit longer until Hephaestus got back up - I wondered why Ian had given him that name, but it only took a web search later that day to figure it out. Then the situation became a bit awkward when he said he needed to train harder because he hadn't expected a Porygon to beat him.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "A Porygon can be as good in battle as a Numel."
"My stats are slightly better, in fact," Pulse noted.
The Numel raised an eyebrow. "I just thought I'd have no trouble defeating a machine."
"I'm not a machine!" Pulse protested, something inside them producing a whistle like a boiling kettle. "I'm just a different kind of Pokemon. I have feelings too, you know?"
"Sorry, I didn't know," the Numel apologized.
"Pulse, please calm down, he made a mistake," I said. "He didn't mean to offend you."

I wasn't sure of what to do... I'd never seen Pulse like that before. Now I knew what could make them angry... I needed to figure out how to calm them down.

"You'd be offended too if someone called you a machine," Pulse insisted.
"Believe it or not, some people have," I revealed. "Some did it because I liked computers, some because I was a good student and my own mother because I used logic too much, according to her. It bothered me, but..."
"But what?" Pulse questioned me.
"But I know they didn't really mean it!" I finally said. "Just like he didn't mean it."
"It sounded like he did."
"It was a mistake," I explained. "He obviously doesn't know much about the Porygon line."
"I'd never battled a Porygon before," the Numel said. "I only heard rumors and saw one Porygon-Z from a distance. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Pulse made a beeping sound and descended to ground-level.

"OK," said the Porygon. "Apology accepted. And that was a sigh, by the way, it does not contradict anything I said!"
I chuckled. "We know, Pulse, you're something else entirely."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means... I'm not sure I can tell exactly what you are - I mean, you're obviously a Porygon, but I'm not completely sure what that means - but if one thing is clear is that you're more than a machine. A machine would have never thrown a temper tantrum like you just did. That said, please try not to do that again."
"I'll try," Pulse accepted, beeping again.
"OK, that was... interesting," said Ian. "But I'm afraid I have to go now, or I'll be late for an appointment."
"Oh!" I said, looking at my watch. "Yes, it's late! I need to go back home and do some more work on my computer. I had to upgrade my OS because the old one wouldn't let me install any new programs - had to skip a version, even. And now I have to finish setting everything up before I can do everything I usually do with it. Catching up with the last 3 years is no fun at all."
"Will you be ready for the party?" asked Ian.
"I'll arrange my schedule," I replied. "Will the party itself ever be ready?"
"We're doing our best. Every ballroom, club and hotel is either booked for the next few months or under maintenance. And this place isn't really suitable for a party. I could ask about the old Training Grounds, maybe we could use the Jungle Room, but it would take some time to set it up for the event."
"Not the Jungle Room!" Ventura protested. "We don't want anyone accidentally stumbling into that one bush. Why was it even planted in the first place?"
"I didn't get that," said Ian. "What did she say?"
"I think she was talking about the paralyzing bush," I replied. "It might ruin the party."
"Oh... I don't think any of the other rooms would be comfortable enough to hold the party," Ian considered. "Well, if you have any ideas, please let me know. I really have to go now."
"OK, see you!" I said.

We headed back home and I did some more work on my computer. I got it set up to the point in which it was usable but I couldn't type in Spanish on my browser - I could, however, type elsewhere and paste the text on my browser. Pulse offered to help, and I agreed to let them try, but they couldn't exactly fix the problem: I was only able to type accented letters on my browser while Pulse was inside the computer, which wasn't a real solution at all. Anyway, I was tired so I decided it was good enough for the time being.

As for the party... that's another story and shall be told another time.

[Lady Vulpix]

It took long... Much longer than we wanted. But now we're finally ready for the party!

Today, we gather to celebrate the undoing of (at least most of) the chaos magic which plagued us ever since the defeat of the Black Dragon, as well as the return of a vast number of missing people and Pokemon and the reconstruction of a large part of Sector Alpha.

We will also use this party as a chance to get back into the habit of having Pokemon battles. For that purpose, the MTU has booked a large hall in the new Seven Dragons Culture Center, located at the back of Caledor Park.

The park itself is also available for battles, and also to enjoy a day out. There will be food, non-alcoholic beverages (it's an all-ages party after all) and assorted collectibles you may buy to help complete the restoration of the city's buildings and monuments.

Here are some of the opponents you can find (since the MTU as a whole is participating, you may have a free RBG in addition to two of these):

(up to level 15)
Helioptile LV8 +1 level
Chikorita LV8 +1 level
Chatot LV15 +2 levels
Onix LV15 +2 levels

(level 15.5-25)
Nidorino LV19 +1 level
Staryu LV19 +1 level
Sandslash LV25 +2 levels
Rhyhorn LV25 +2 levels

(level 25.5-35)
Dewott LV28 +1 level
Swinub LV28 +1 level
Milotic LV35 +2 levels
Sudowoodo LV35 +2 levels

(level 35.5-45)
Vanillish LV38 +1 level
Wormadam LV38 +1 level
Medicham LV45 +2 levels
Lapras LV45 +2 levels

(level 45.5-55)
Klang LV49 +1 level
Castform LV49 +1 level
Rapidash LV55 +2 levels
Starmie LV55 +2 levels

(level 55.5-70)
Golbat LV62 +1 level
Walrein LV62 +1 level
Beheeyem LV70 +2 levels
Charizard LV70 +2 levels

(level 70.5-85)
Unfezant LV76 +1 level
Gardevoir LV76 +1 level
Krookodile LV85 +2 levels
Blaziken LV85 +2 levels

Note: thanks to Random.org for the first and third Pokemon from each bracket. The others were taken from previous MTU-related scenarios.

[classy_cat18]

Sorry for the delay. Take thirty-five stamps. Pulse seems to be fitting in well.

[Lady Vulpix]

Thanks!

Now for the RBG that comes with this scenario... Could I have one for Hero, please? From Universal Adoption Center. He's level 77.

Thanks in advance.

[classy_cat18]

Sorry, I haven't been on TPM for a while so I missed this post.

Hero will battle a L77 Cofagrigus (triple checks for spelling). Ooooh.

[Lady Vulpix]

Thanks! This should be interesting.

[Lady Vulpix]

<Hero's POV>

Believe it or not, we somehow settled into some sort of routine after a while. I mean, after all that happened I thought our lives could never go back to normal, but they were never completely normal to begin with, were they? And so we somehow ended up finding a new version of 'normal' which became our everyday routine. Some parts of it were almost like the 'old days', like the day of the documentary.

That morning I had paid Tracker a visit before she headed to work, and she told me she'd heard they were going to show a certain documentary which could interest me. So when I got back home I went for the TV, only to find it was being hogged by Tsunami and Caledor... as usual. I tried to be polite.

"Hey, guys, what are you watching?" I asked, then took a look at the screen. "No, really, what is that?!"
"It's the Lego Movie," said Tsunami. "I thought Caledor would like it."
"It's awesome!" Caledor grinned. "But then again, so is everything, right?"
Tsunami chuckled while I cringed. "Why did you have to show him that?"
"It is my duty to illustrate Caledor in the ways of cinematography," said Tsunami, probably imitating Water Angel.
"No, it's not!" I told him. "You show him movies because you want to, and you've been doing that for over 10 years! By now he knows as much about movies as you do."
"That's not true," Tsunami contradicted me. "First of all, I started watching movies two years before he did. And even assuming he's seen all the good ones from back then, he spent another two years on the Moon, so he needs to catch up."

I remembered Tsunami had missed a year himself, but I did not want to bring that up in case that gave him an excuse to watch even more movies. Instead, I asked: "Why are movies so important to you anyway?"

"You have your hobbies, I have mine," Tsunami replied.
"Could you guys please argue more quietly?" asked Caledor. "I can't hear what they're saying!"
I sighed. "It's just The Lego Movie. What they're saying doesn't matter."
"It does!" Caledor insisted. "Have you even watched it? It has a great plot!"
I shook my head. "Can you at least use the TV for a while and continue watching later? There's something I want to watch on air TV and it starts in about 5 minutes."
"You want to watch TV?" Tsunami questioned me.
"I do watch it sometimes. Might watch a bit more if you two weren't hogging it all the time."
"Shh!" said Caledor.
"Just pause it!" I shouted.

Caledor sighed and paused the reproduction. "You'd better have a good reason for this."
"Yes," Tsunami agreed. "What is it you want to watch?"
"A documentary on Pokemon Tournaments in Ulthuan," I revealed.
"Ah! Figures!" exclaimed Tsunami.
"What do you 'figure'?" I asked.
"It had to be something like that to catch your interest," Tsunami said. "I bet you want to see if you're in it."
"Just shut up and let me watch," I told him.
"You won't get me to cooperate by talking to me like that," Tsunami warned me.
"Come on, I know you like tournaments too. You even got the second place in one. Who knows? Maybe you're in it too."
"Maybe I'm in it!" Caledor beamed.
"You?" I questioned him.
"Yes, me! I don't believe you've forgotten how I joined this team, right?"
"Of course not, I won you."
"I... don't like the way you phrased it," said Caledor. "But I had it coming, what else did I expect? Anyway, I was a tournament prize, so I may be in there too."
"OK, so all three of us may be in it," I concluded. "Shall we watch it together?"
"OK," my friends accepted.

The documentary was interesting, but also disappointing. I mean, I enjoyed learning about the Games in ancient times and how the tradition started, but there was very little coverage on the modern tournaments - and even then it was mostly a comparison with the old ones and with tournaments on other parts of the world. I may have been in it, but I'm not completely sure, because what I saw was a small blurry image of a Ninetales in mid-jump within a collage of many photos which was shown for about 2 seconds. And that was the disappointing part.

"Well, that was that," said Tsunami once the show was over. "It was fun to watch. I guess we weren't in it after all."
"I don't know," I said. "That creamy yellow blur in the middle of the top row of the collage was probably me."
"It might have been a banana," Tsunami laughed.
"I'm not that yellow," I protested.
"Perhaps it was peeled," Tsunami suggested. "or overexposed. The picture was blurry, so it may have been overexposed too."
"Which picture was that?" asked Caledor. "There were so many I didn't catch the one you're talking about."
I sighed. "It doesn't matter. It was clearly all about the tournaments themselves and not the contestants."
"Come to think of it, I believe we would have known if they had used our images for something like this," Tsunami realized. "They would have had to ask for Gabi's permission and paid for our image sharing rights."
"Really? But we've been on TV before!" I pointed out.
"During the tournaments, yes," Tsunami replied. "But all participating trainers signed a consent form allowing TV networks to show that footage. Don't you remember?"
"I wasn't looking," I admitted. "I don't bother reading everything Gabi signs. I trust that she knows what she's doing."
"So do I," said Tsunami, "but I like knowing."
"And I like The Lego Movie!" exclaimed Caledor. "Can we please keep watching it?"
"Meh, do whatever you want," I said. "I'll go find something else to do."

Then some moments were a bit different from before. For example, it was now common to walk into the living room and find Pulse playing with the 3DS. Sometimes the Porygon would say something to acknowledge my presence. And sometimes that something would be completely unexpected, like:

"Hey, look! This Pokemon I just recruited reminds me of you."
"Which one?" I lowered my head to look.
"The Zorua," Pulse told me.
"A Zorua? Well, I guess we do have some common features, but not that many."
"You don't get it. It's a Heroic Zorua! It says so in the description."
"Oh... OK. Heroic. What can it do?"
"Not much for now. It can only use Foul Play, but I may teach it another move if I earn enough coins."
"Foul Play? Doesn't sound heroic to me," I commented.
"'Heroic' in this game means it has higher stats overall. I know, that's not what makes a hero, but I didn't make this game, I'm just playing it. OK, maybe you'll like this one more?"

Pulse scrolled down to show me a Vulpix.

"OK, Vulpix," I said. "Same evolution line, you're getting a bit closer."
"It's not just any Vulpix. Look, it's a Speedy Vulpix!"
"Wha?!"
"Speedy is another attribute, like Heroic. It means it has high speed. Just like you!"
"Who programmed this game? Scorch?!" I complained.
"What's wrong?" Pulse asked.
"Nothing. Let's just drop it. I guess someone will tell you about it sooner or later, and I think I know who it will be but for now... just don't call me Speedy. It's a stupid name."
"Should I ask Tsunami for the details, then?"
"What are you, Psychic?"
"I can be, if I use Conversion. But no, I just know he's the one who tells most of the stuff. Especially about you."
"What else has he told you about me?" I wanted to know.
"He hasn't told me anything," Pulse said. "I just listen when others talk. Why, is there anything you don't want me to know?"
"What kind of question is that? Would I tell you if there was?"
"Er... I guess not," Pulse concluded. "But why are you so secretive anyway?"
"I'm not secretive! You can ask me anything you want. In fact, if there's anything you want to know about me, it's best if you ask me directly."
"OK, then... why do you hate the word 'Speedy' so much?"
"It's a long story, but... Back when I was not much older than you... I joined a pack led by Scorch and his mate Flame. Scorch is my brother... sort of. He's not my biological brother, but he was raised by my parents and we grew up together. Back in my old pack, young Vulpixes weren't given names until we earned them, and that sucked. So when we started the new pack, the first thing Scorch and Flame did was give each of us a name... including themselves. The thing is... they were really bad at picking names. I think the only lucky one was Tracker. Then there were some 'meh' names like Lake, Ruby and Strawberry... and stupid names like Speedy, which was the one they gave me. I think Kid was just as bad and maybe Solitude was even worse, but Speedy was bad enough for me to feel betrayed back then. Although, looking back, I realize that Scorch and Flame were pretty stupid names too. I guess they just sucked at giving names."
"OK, so you don't like it because it was a stupid name your brother gave you... I guess that makes sense. But I'm surprised you were not the leader of the pack."
"Starting the pack was their idea, so they had the right to lead it. We did compete all the time, and even though I was second in command along with Tracker, I was always trying to prove myself and earn everyone's respect and admiration. Which eventually backfired because I did a couple of really stupid things, but if I hadn't, I wouldn't have become a champion and helped saved the world more than once."

Pulse lowered one eyelid and raised the other, which looked like the Porygon equivalent of raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, it's true!" I insisted. "Ask anyone."
"That's OK... Caledor's already told me some of the things you all did in the past. And..."
"And what?"
"And about your evolution too."
"He did, didn't he? I guess Tsunami's not the only one with a big mouth."
"It's not his fault, I asked him."
"Right... It's not like I can hide it anyway. But the one good thing about it is that my opponents tend to underestimate me because of that. Not always, of course, but it has made some battles easier. One thing you must know if you want to succeed at battling is to never underestimate your opponent."
"I'll remember that. Maybe you can give me a lesson someday?"
"Sure! And you'll be able to watch me in action if I can finally convince Gabi to let me battle someone."
"I would like to see that."
"Then you can let her know next time she takes you out for a battle."
"OK, I will," Pulse accepted, much to my delight.
"So... is there anything else you'd like to know?" I asked.
"Just one thing... What was the big fight between you and Tsunami?"
"What big fight? Tsunami and I argue all the time, it's like a sport. They're not real fights."
"No, I mean... There was one night when one of you mentioned a fight you once had, and then there was an awkward silence and you both agreed not to talk about it."
"Oh... That," I grumbled. "Yes, we had a fight once. It's in the past now, and that's where it should stay. That's not being secretive, it's personal. There's something called 'privacy', you know?"
"Oh, yes, I know. There's a big fight about it on the Internet because some companies want to ban encryption and share everyone's data. I signed a petition to protect privacy, but I had to use a fake name to sound human, so my signature may not count if they find out."
"Stop. Whatever it is you're talking about, that's not what I mean."
"Then what do you mean?"
"I mean we all have things we'd like to keep to ourselves. Personal things. I know you're very young, but even you must have some things you don't want to share. Maybe something you're not proud of? Or some feelings you've had but you don't think you should have? Or even a passing thought you wouldn't want others to hear about?"
"Umm... Maybe."
"OK, this is that," I explained. "We're all allowed some privacy. Which is exactly why that's the one thing Tsunami won't talk about. And I won't talk about it either. So please, next time we talk, let the subject be something else."

I really hoped that would be the last time that particular subject was brought up. Ever. Because yes, we're all allowed some privacy, and when it is violated, it hurts more than a thousand fangs piercing your skin. Luckily, Tsunami had managed to keep his word, proving he was actually capable of keeping quiet when it really mattered. If someone had to have seen me at my worst, if someone had to know more about me than anyone other than myself ever should, then at least I was glad it was such a good friend.

So, there were the normal moments, the less normal moments, and then there were the moments when it seemed our lives had changed completely. For instance, Gabi would now write e-mails to her family every single day, and had started planning a trip to visit them. Not only that, but she would often talk about people and Pokemon we'd never met and who - in this reality - hadn't even met her. And Ventura seemed to have become Pulse's main trainer. She wasn't the first Pokemon known to have trained others, but watching her suddenly assume that job after 15 years of simply being a member of our team was strange. Tsunami and Lagi said she was doing what she'd always wanted, so maybe it was just me who had never noticed it before, but in any case her routine had certainly changed.

"Wow, this Facebook group really exists!" Gabi exclaimed once as I passed by her side.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I told her.
"I was in this group in the other reality... I met many of its members in real life. I wonder if I should join... It would be awkward, since they don't know me, and I do know them... Then again these aren't exactly the same people I knew... and I won't be able to meet them in person now, but it would still be nice to talk to them... What should I do?"
"You're asking me? It's your hobby, not mine."
"Thank you for your interest," Gabi said in a serious tone.
"What interest?" I asked.
Gabi sighed. "I was being ironic. OK, I'll join. It's not like I have anything to lose by joining. I just hope they accept me soon... Umm... I'll send the admins a message so they know I'm not a spambot or something. Now, what do I say to them?..."
"I don't know, ask Amber," I told her. "That stuff is really not my thing. And speaking of my things, when will I finally get to battle? I haven't had a real battle since before Pulse was born!"
"You mean you didn't battle while you were with Jenny?"
"Not really," I said. "She was always busy. I did help her catch a few suspects, but all I did was run after them until I had them cornered. I wasn't allowed to intervene in the arrest itself because I wasn't a real police Pokemon."
"Oh... I'm sorry."
"Don't mention it. Jenny did offer me to join the force once, but I... uh... didn't accept."
"Oh..." Gabi said, probably guessing the reason. "Well, I'm glad we're all together now. And don't worry, you're next in line for a battle."
"Any idea when that will be?" I asked. "I can go to the MTU building on my own if you're too busy."
"You know only trainers are allowed to request battles," I said. "I doubt there's anything left for me to teach you about battling... you could probably teach me. But that's how the system works."
"The system sucks," I remarked.
"In many respects," Gabi agreed. "But I'll do my best to get you a battle soon. If only I could finish this article..."
"I'm not an expert, but maybe you'd finish it faster if you didn't keep checking that Facebook thing?"
"I only check it when I'm stuck. I can't believe there's so little information on Nincadas! Just a lot of speculation and no verifiable facts. I wish I could see one in person, but the only one I knew is now in... Belgium? I think it was Belgium. And I never got the chance to talk to him."
"OK, I get it. I'll keep waiting."
"We used to meet at different parks..." Gabi said, out of nowhere. "Oh, look, they just opened a culture center at Caledor park!"
"Okay...?" I said. "How is that relevant? You don't have time to visit."
"You don't get it, Hero... Then again, you were never in that group. I have an idea. Let me check if I have the e-mail of any MTU members... Trey? No, I haven't heard of him since I returned, he may not be there anymore. Wait, Donna! I have Donna's e-mail! I'll contact her."
"You're intentionally trying to confuse me, aren't you?" I questioned her.
"Maybe a little," she confessed. "Mostly I'm just running after a train of thoughts."
"OK, I'll take that as a challenge. You were talking about a Facebook group, and then we started talking about battles, and then you read about the culture center and decided to contact the MTU. If I had to guess, I'd say you want to battle at the culture center because you did something like that with your old group?"
Gabi froze for a moment. "When did you become so perceptive?" she then asked.
"Hey! I worked with the police for 3 years, and spent some time helping them before and after that time. When I said Tracker and I would investigate together, I meant it!"
"OK, OK. I'll give you credit for that."
"What I don't get is what makes a culture center a good place for battles."
"Pokemon battles are a part of our culture, and those places usually have some areas available for special events. Maybe the MTU can book a hall there. And since it's on a park, we can also spend some time outside if the weather is nice."
"Isn't that the same park where a crazy Gyarados tried to eat Spark and Water Angel?"
"That Gyarados was taken into custody ages ago. The place has been safe for the last 15 years."
"OK, thanks for making me feel old," I said.
"I didn't do anything. We've all been around for a while. Well, not Pulse, but the rest of us have."
"Caledor still acts like a baby sometimes," I pointed out.
"Caledor has his own approach to the passing of time," Gabi smiled. "He mostly just ignores it. But he has matured over the years. He's better at dealing with his own emotions and handling tough situations."
"Don't let him hear you say that, I think he believes 'mature' is a swear word or something."
Gabi laughed. "Well, one thing that hasn't changed about him is that he hates being serious and doesn't want others to know when he is. I guess that's OK as long as he's not bottling up anymore."
"I guess Lagi will know if he is. Anyway... please do send that e-mail. The sooner I get to battle the better."
"Duly noted," Gabi laughed, and then suddenly changed the subject. "Wait, did Ian say it was our branch of the Guild that created Caledor?"
"Again, I don't know what you're talking about... It looks like an extremely late reaction... But it doesn't matter anyway. Who cares who created him? He's one of us now, and has been for the last... I don't even want to think of how long."
"That's true, it's just... How deep do the Guild's secrets go? It's scary to think of it."
"Then don't think of it and start typing that e-mail," I stuck my tongue out at her.

Gabi burst into laughter, but I could hear her typing when I left.

<Gabi's POV>

I did send my suggestion to Donna. I also sent a message to one of the admins of the Facebook group as soon as I was able to think of what to say. I told him I was an Argentinean living in Ulthuan, that I liked the show and would like the chance to talk to people from my country who had similar interests. After thinking about it for a while, I also told him that my brother was a friend of his - which he was - and that I may have met a version of him in an alternate reality. He probably wouldn't take the latter seriously, but I thought it could be a good way to start a friendship with someone who was into Fantasy and Sci-Fi shows.

The following day I got an IM from Donna while I was in my office. The following is a transcript of our conversation, which I found quite interesting.

Lady Noctowl: Hello, Gabi. Thanks for your suggestion yesterday. I have some good news. The Seven Dragons Culture Center is willing to host charity events for free! Now all we need is a charity that will agree to back us in exchange for a donation, but that shouldn't be too hard to find considering the Sector Alpha's current situation. I think the city itself is taking donations now.
Me: That's great news! Thanks for letting me know!
Lady Noctowl: It was a pleasure. Hopefully we can get things going and be ready to host the party next month. Could you please help promote it?
Me: Of course. I'll broadcast the invitation as soon as we have a date.
Lady Noctowl: Thanks.
Me: I wonder if we can call it even with Tor Syle now.
Lady Noctowl: Tor Syle?
Me: Yes, remember how they were mad at us because we didn't help them when they were under attack? Well, now we had a crisis and they didn't lift a finger to help, so I think that makes us even.
Lady Noctowl: I wouldn't recommend trying to open negotiations with Tor Syle unless you're an expert in politics.
Me: Not my area... fortunately. But maybe someone else could. I don't know. Anyway, how are you doing?
Lady Noctowl: I'm good. Still dealing with the after-effects of the chaos magic, but I'll figure things out.
Me: What happened?
Lady Noctowl: I found a wounded Fletching outside the city borders after the incident. I took him in and nursed him to health, and then I started training him... which was really hard because he had no idea how to fly and even had trouble walking. Turns out he wasn't really a Fletching. He did evolve into a Fletchinder after some serious training, but once the wizards were able to restore his true form, things got... complicated.
Me: What is he?
Lady Noctowl: An Onix.
Me: O_O
Lady Noctowl: I know. I wish the worst problem were all that training going to waste, but no... He can't even fit in my apartment now. He has to sleep in a Pokeball and spend the day outside. And feeding him is another issue. I have no idea how other Onix trainers manage. Where did all the extra mass go when he was a little bird anyway?
Me: I have no idea.
Lady Noctowl: I'm thinking of taking him to the MTU building. We'd still get to be together during work hours, and he'd get to spend more time with other Pokemon.
Me: That may be a good idea. Why don't you ask him?
Lady Noctowl: I will.
Me: Can I ask you something else?
Lady Noctowl: Sure.
Me: What section of the Guild does your uncle work at?
Lady Noctowl: You mean Uncle Gene? He's retired now. Why, what do you need?
Me: Nothing, I was just curious.
Lady Noctowl: He used to work at the PRTD, first under the direction of the Dragon Master, then the next Dragon Master and then under Lady Ninetales.
Me: I've just realized I probably don't know most of the people who work in the same area of the Guild as I do.
Lady Noctowl: I understand that's one of the main problems with the PRTD. But on the bright side, you get to go to congresses and conferences all over the world.
Me: Yeah... Not that many in my case. When I became a Universal Scholar I was impressed by the resounding title. I had no idea it was just a glorified name for a tenured researcher. But hey, at least it's a stable job. I know a lot of researchers who have to struggle every year just to keep their positions.
Lady Noctowl: That must be awful.
Me: Yeah... By the way, speaking of research... Do you have any idea where I can find some live Nincadas?
Lady Noctowl: No, sorry. I heard there was a cave somewhere, but I don't know where it is, and I also heard they weren't welcoming of humans in there.
Me: Well, it was worth a try.
Lady Noctowl: Didn't you have some up for adoption once?
Me: Yes, but I don't know where they are now. Some merchants gave them to us years ago after they found them on a ship which carried foods from South Korea. No one had any idea how they got in there.
Lady Noctowl: Perhaps they *are* ninjas after all.
Me: XD Maybe. That would also explain why they're so hard to find around here.

Then the IM session fell silent for a while, during which time I kept looking for information on Nincadas while I assume Donna did something else. Once I realized half an hour had passed, I thanked her again for the good news and we said goodbye.

I keep trying to focus on my work, but I had trouble doing so. My mind kept going back to my family. I re-read the last e-mail I had received from my mom. It was mostly assorted bits of my relatives' everyday lives, but it hurt to read them. Actually, I realized, it was being so far away that hurt me. I could tell I hadn't fully recovered from the missing years... I wondered if I ever would. I had spent those years with my family - or rather, a version of my family that was so similar it felt like my own - and now I missed them, but that wasn't the worst part... not by far. I felt guilty. I knew it wasn't really my fault. I'd had no way to know what would happen, and what I had done, I had done to protect the people in Ulthuan... perhaps even the whole world. But I still remembered how much I had suffered during those 3 years when my brother had been struggling for his life on a hospital bed. I couldn't even imagine how much my parents had suffered. And then, once he had finally recovered, they lost me for another 3 years. They were clearly trying not to show how much my absence had hurt them, but I was getting new e-mails everyday with random slices of life. Before the incident, my mom would write about once a month, and my dad would only send me photos of his trips and birthdays, and occasional political news from Argentina. I wanted to be with them. I wanted to hug them and tell them I was sorry. I wanted to hug my brother too, and tell him I'd never wanted him to miss me and worry about me the way I had for him. I knew I'd promised Tsunami a trip to Glacier Peak... There was a holiday coming soon, maybe we could go then, and then I could start making arrangements for the big trip. I needed to see my family. And finish that stupid report. And maybe re-make some on-line friends and meet them at some park when I visited. I really needed to focus!

<Sylvan's POV>

And the long weekend arrived. Glacier Peak isn't my favorite place to visit, but it was nice to take a break from our daily routine and travel for a bit. And I must admit I enjoyed the hot springs, if not the chill I felt when I got out. Tsunami was certainly in his element. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen him so happy. Caledor, Spark and Water Angel seemed to be having a great time too, and Hero would take the chance to argue with every Pokemon he could find and try to show them how great he was. He would have battled any Pokemon near his level had he found any. Meanwhile, the rest of us just did our best to relax. I caught Amber standing on a balcony at one point, staring into the distance. I asked her what was on her mind. She turned around to face me.
"We're back to our old lives... for the most part," she said. "Why is it that nothing feels normal?"
"Are you worried we might be in some other alternate reality?"
Amber shook her head. "No... I don't think so. This place matches all the memories I have which do feel right. But everyone is so... strange. Especially Gabi and Ventura, but Lagi's unusually quiet, Hero's spending more time outside than he used to and Iael's going out on his own a lot too. And Caledor's either with Pulse or with Kiara most of the time... which might explain why the place has been so quiet lately. But I thought things would get better if we all took a vacation together, and they haven't. Where's everyone else right now? We're only getting together for meals and to sleep at night. You're the only one who's always close to me."
I nodded, not knowing what to say.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to take it out on you," said Amber. "It's hard to complain about those who aren't here because they're not around to hear me."
"You haven't done anything wrong," I told her. "Our team spent so much time apart... Maybe they got used to it. It may take some time before we all get used to being together again. But you know what? I'd much rather have this than have to fight some evil megalomaniac again."
"Yeah, me too," Amber smiled.
"If it helps, I'm sorry that you're stuck being alone with me."
"What?! No, that's not what I meant! You know it's not, don't you?"
"Don't worry, I know what you meant," I said. "I hope things go back to normal soon. But right now let's look at the bright side, like a certain Fire-type taught me. We're safe, we're having some time off and we can enjoy a fantastic view from this balcony... which seems to be strong enough not to bend under my weight, that's good news. I only wish it weren't so cold out here. Isn't it almost summer now? It shouldn't be this cold!"
"We're very high above sea level," Amber explained. "And on a glacier. Cold is to be expected. But I think I can help with that."

The flame on Amber's tail grew bigger and warmer. I stepped closer to it and felt my whole body relax in the comfortable warmth.

"Thanks," I said.

If there were more words to be said, I couldn't think of any.

I don't know why I keep thinking of that moment. It's not like anything important happened. But it feels like it did. Is it that I was able to comfort Amber after she did the same thing for me so many times? I'm not sure. Anyway... I think the party was better for lifting her spirit than my words were. Yes, the time finally came.

Caledor Park looked more beautiful than ever before. The grass, trees and bushes all looked so full of life, and joy was in the air. I could see it in the faces of everyone we passed by, and even my own team. Lagi was practically glowing, and Caledor was doing so literally. The hall at the Culture Center was beautifully decorated, mostly with images of Pokemon, but also some flowers and abstract art, and someone had stuck a poster of a spaceship to a wall for no apparent reason. We came across some old friends and spent some time talking to them... Well, Gabi did most of the talking, but it was still nice to see them. We took a look at the souvenir stalls, but we didn't buy anything; Gabi took a few pictures of the merchandise and that was it. Then the battles got started and Hero dashed away, presumably to find an opponent for himself. Then Amber found an old friend of hers among the Pokemon still looking for opponents, and went to greet him, so I followed.

"Eliot!" Amber exclaimed. "It's been so long! Sorry, I realize that's what we say every time we meet. How are you?"
"Amber! It's good to see you again!" he greeted her.

The two Charizards ran to meet each other in a hug. I let them catch up for a minute or so before I raised a vine and waved. Then Eliot greeted me too.

"Hey, Sylvan!" he said. "I think it's been even longer since I last saw you!"
"Yes, we haven't really seen each other much, have we?" I replied, lacking anything better to say.

I hesitated about whether or not to tell him that Amber always spoke of her encounters with him, but I decided I'd rather not. It could be taken the wrong way. By either of them.

"So... you're not here to battle, are you?" Eliot asked Amber.
Amber shook her head. "Just here to have fun. Some of my friends are looking for battles, though. Maybe you can challenge one of them."

Eliot glanced around, stopping to look at me for a moment.

"Not me, sorry," I said. "I don't think I'm ready to battle such a strong and experienced Charizard."

At that moment Ventura caught up with us.

"Did I hear a Charizard is looking for a battle?" she asked. "Oh, it's you, Eliot! Hi! I hadn't seen you since the Dragon Games."
"We met during the Dragon Games? Sorry, I can't remember."
"Oh, we didn't exactly meet," Ventura explained. "I saw you during the games, but you were focused on the battles. I can't blame you, though, you must have had a great view from your seat!"
"Oh... Yes, Randy saved up for a long time to get two of the best seats at the stadium for the whole season. He couldn't get seats for the rest of the team, but they weren't as interested as we were. So... would you like to battle? I seem to recall you liked battling fire types."
"Wow, you have a good memory! I was thinking about it, but I think you're a bit above my league at this time. Or is it 'out of my league'? Anyway, you seem to have trained far more than I have."
"Oh... That's a pity, but yes, I'd hate to have an unfair battle. Unless..."
"Unless?" asked Ventura.
"Unless I get one of my teammates and you get one of yours, and then we can have a two-on-two battle. Would you like that?"
"Sure. As long as you don't wipe me out on your first move."
"It sounds like you're up to something, but I'll bite. After all, it would still be unfair if I did. I promise my first move won't bring you down."
"OK, that's all I need. So... who else is battling with us?"
"I was thinking... Bel? She still has an advantage over you, but she's the only one of my teammates I can see from here."
"Who's Bel?" Ventura asked.
"Oh, right, you wouldn't know her. She came from Selenia almost 4 years ago, but that was after the Dragon Games. She's originally from America. She's been traveling around, going from one training institution to another until she found us and decided to train with us. I'm not quite sure about who adopted whom."
"Interesting. OK, you can go get her. And I'll get... Where's Caledor?" Ventura closed her eyes for a few seconds. "Oh, never mind. He's not coming."
"Where is he?" I asked.
"He's found Kiara," Ventura replied. "OK, on to Plan B. I believe you're strong enough for Group B... which is... gathered at the fountain! I should have guessed. OK, let's meet at the fountain, shall we?"
"It's a deal," Eliot agreed.

We headed over to the fountain and found Water Angel, Spark, Tsunami and some other Pokemon playing in the water. Most of them were Water types, but there were a few Normal and Grass types too. Pulse was standing nearby - or sitting? It's hard to tell with a Porygon -, quietly watching the Pokemon in the fountain. I walked towards the Porygon and asked:

"Would you like to watch Ventura battle?"
"Of course!" Pulse replied. "Who is she battling?"
"A Charizard named Eliot and someone else named Bell... No, wait, I think it's Bel. I don't know what kind of Pokemon she is. Can't be a Victreebel, because then she wouldn't have an advantage against Ventura, and Eliot said she did."
"Maybe her name has nothing to do with her species," Pulse suggested. "What does the name Hero have to do with a Ninetales? Or Spark with a Pidgeot? Or Lagi with... what does Lagi mean anyway?"
"It's a reference to an old video-game," I explained. "I haven't seen the game myself, but Gabi said it was the name of a mutant dragon, so that one is related."
"OK... What about Amber and Caledor?"
"The name Amber is a play on a mistranslation of the word Ember. That and Gabi thought it was a nice name. And I think so to. The name Caledor has nothing to do with his species, of course. And before you ask, I heard 'Iael' means mountain goat, so definitely no connection there. OK, you do have a point."

While we discussed our teammates' names, Eliot came over with his friend, who turned out to be a Pokemon I'd never seen before. She was brown, with tiny legs, thin arms and wide, robotic-looking forearms, each of which culminated in three button-like fingers of different colors. The skin on her torso was shaped like a coat of some sort, with four buttons aligned in two lines on the front. Her head was large... so large that it seemed like she might have trouble holding it. It was roughly bell-shaped, but looked more like a helmet, with strange black markings on the front, and a green visor near the bottom, behind which her pupils could be seen.

"Oh, a Beheeyem!" exclaimed Pulse. "It looks so cool! Much better than the photos I saw on-line."

I didn't say anything, but I felt a little embarrassed that a two-year-old knew more about Pokemon species than I did. I recalled hearing the word at some point before everything went crazy, but only now was I able to associate it with an image. Thinking back, I also remembered hearing that they had come from another world. It was probably just another rumor, but even if it were true, that didn't mean much these days; not only did I know some Pokemon who had really come from another world, but now that I had been to an alternate reality myself, simple space travel seemed like one step closer to normal. I realized how crazy my thoughts sounded and decided not to mention any of them.

<Water Angel's POV>

It took us a minute to determine the specifics, but it soon became evident that I was the most adequate choice for Ventura's partner. I was delighted. Not only had several years elapsed since my previous battle - or at least my previous battle in my real form - but this was also my first chance to battle with Ventura as my partner. I just hoped I was not too rusty.

"Oh, one more thing before we start," said Eliot. "Why don't we make it a no-SE-moves battle? That should make it more interesting. Otherwise, one of us will easily bring Ventura down, and then you'll bring me down and it'll just be a battle between you and Bel, while Ventura and I will miss most of the fun."
"I should be offended," said Ventura. "But I'm not stupid, it's true that I can't defend against both of you at the same time. But if you really want to enjoy the battle, then I... OK, let's do it. I think I know what to do."
"Come up with a strategy already?" Eliot asked with a smile.
"More like a vague outline," Ventura responded. "This should be interesting."
"I wonder what you're planning," I told my friend, "but I'm not going to ask, for obvious reasons. Shall I follow your lead, then?"
"You follow my lead?..." Ventura pondered. "No, that would be just... wrong. You're the most experienced one, especially in double battles. Just do what you think is best and I'll adjust."
"Alright," I accepted. "Battling alongside you will be an interesting experience. I'm not sure how well we'll be able to synchronize our attacks, but I trust we'll at least be able to avoid interfering with each other."
"Yes, don't worry, I've watched you battle enough times to know when to dodge," Ventura assured. "And if I need you to make a move, well... you know."
"I think I do," I told her. "But don't forget Bel is a Psychic type."
"I'm not reading your thoughts," Bel defended herself, turning to look at me. "Eliot and I are making our own plans. You can finish making yours and let us know when you're ready."
"No, that's not what I meant..." I said. "I wasn't accusing you. I apologize if I made it sound like I was. I was only warning Ventura to keep your type in mind during the battle."
"Oh... I'm sure she already knows I have the type advantage," said Bel. "But as per the rules, I cannot use any Psychic attacks against her."
"Don't worry," Ventura told me. "I know what you meant. This battle should be quite interesting... Unless we mess up, but I hope we won't."
"Are you ready yet?" Bel inquired.

I looked at Ventura and she nodded.

"We're ready," I said.
"Then let's start," Eliot decided.

Level 58 Venomoth and level 66 Kingdra vs. Level 70 Charizard & Beheeyem

Eliot was mercurial: he hit me with an Air Slash before I could even move. I recovered quickly, however, and shot some ink straight into his eyes. It sounds more painful than it is, really. I'd been on the receiving end of that move before and I knew it didn't hurt... it was just annoying.

"He may have some trouble enjoying the battle now," said Ventura as she sprinkled some powder over Bel, who couldn't help but close her eyes.
"I can still tell where you are," Eliot informed her, while slashing her underside with gleaming claws.

Ventura winced. I hurried to my friend's aid, hitting the Charizard with a Dragon Pulse. He emitted a sharp cry, and then turned to face me.

"What?!... What's that thing you're carrying?" he asked, squinting to look at my bag.
"Beach Ball," I revealed. "The special kind."
"Ah, that explains it," he responded. "Now I don't feel guilty about my Nail File. I can't use Dragon Claw against you, but I still have plenty of other moves I can try on you."

I believe his words must have unsettled Spark, for he left his perch at the edge of the fountain and started hovering close to me.

Bel was still asleep, and Ventura used her chance to take in some sunlight and heal herself. When I looked at her, a vague sensation of powerlessness came to me. I wondered whether she had put Bel to sleep so she could talk to me telepathically without interference, or because there was nothing she could do against her without resorting to her Bug-type moves. Perhaps it was both.

I heard Eliot land behind me. I turned to look and noticed he was relaxing his muscles. I realized he could heal too.

"Oh!" exclaimed Tusnami, who was watching from a safe distance. "Now this is getting interesting! This is the kind of battle I like!"
"Figures," I chuckled, shaking my head. "OK, then, let's switch targets."
"I didn't think we had any assigned targets," Eliot stated. "I'm fine with battling either of you at any time."
"This is as different from my last battle as a battle can get," Ventura commented. "It feels more like a conversation."
"Well... we are having a party," I pointed out. "But I get what you mean, we should get things moving again."
"May the most patient Pokemon win!" Tsunami joked. At least I hoped he was joking.

I summoned all the water I could muster and shot it towards Bel in a powerful Hydro Pump. It hit her hard and pushed her back slightly, but it also woke her up. Ventura had already moved away from her, however, so before Bel could catch up, she was already hitting Eliot with a Psychic attack. Alas, her attack only caused him to frown for a brief moment. Unlike the attack Bel used on me next which, while similar, made my head feel like it was about to explode.

When I was able to look around again, I saw that Spark had drawn even closer to me. Which became a problem when Eliot tried to slash me with his claws and hit him instead.

"Sorry!" Eliot apologized, shaking feathers away from his claws. "Still got some ink in my eyes."
"Spark, what are you doing?!" I turned to face my mate.
"Just checking to make sure you were OK," he answered sheepishly.
"This is a friendly battle," I reminded him. "Of course I'm OK! Even if I lose, I will still be OK. There's no need for you to intervene."
"I didn't mean to get involved," said Spark. "I was just checking. Sorry I got too close. I accept the punishment. I'm backing off now."
"Accept... the punishment?" asked Eliot.
"I think he means your Slash attack," I explained, then sighed. "This battle isn't going well, is it?"
"Aside from this small incident, I think we're doing fine," Eliot replied. "Please go on. I believe it's your turn."
"My turn?" I asked. "Are we taking turns now?"
"Not exactly, but I've seen the pattern of our attacks and noticed you always hit shortly after I do. You would have hit either me or Bel by now if... we hadn't been interrupted."
"Amber was right," I told him. "Battling you really is a unique experience."
"So she still remembers?" asked Eliot.
"Of course I do!" replied Amber, who was standing a few steps away from the fountain. "That was my last friendly battle ever."
"I knew I had an effect on other Pokemon, but I never meant to have that effect!" Eliot exclaimed.
"It's not you. It's me," Amber laughed.
"OK, this is the opposite of the last battle we had here in this fountain," Spark remarked. "Not that I'm complaining, I hope that crazy Gyarados doesn't cause any harm ever again."
"What crazy Gyarados?" asked Bel.
"One that somehow found himself in this fountain and starting attacking everyone many, many years ago," I explained. "Spark and I fought him and then the authorities were able to capture him and send him away. I remember Spark took a hit for me back then, too."
"And then you returned the kindness," Spark reminded me.
"Sounds... romantic?" Eliot ventured.
"You have no idea how sappy they got after that," Tsunami commented.
"Hey, you promised not to make fun of us!" I reminded him.
"Sorry, you two just make it really hard sometimes. Besides... promises like that one should come with an expiry date."
"They don't, so shut your mouth," Spark told him.
"OK, you didn't have to get mad like that!" said Tsunami. "I wasn't trying to hurt you or anything. You should know by know that I only laugh at you like I laugh at all my friends. You can laugh at me anytime you want."
Spark sighed. "I don't laugh at my friends. But I guess it's a lost cause. Trying to change you is as hopeless as trying to become a Pidgey again."
"Would you rather be a Pidgey again?" Tsunami asked Spark.
"Not now, no," Spark should his head, then though for a moment and sighed. "I guess I'm fine now. Maybe I overreacted."
"Does that mean I can..." Tsunami began, but before he could end his phrase Spark interrupted him.
"I'd rather you didn't."
"But we're still friends, right?" asked the Vaporeon.
Spark chuckled. "Of course we are! I wouldn't end a friendship over something so stupid! Just try to have some tact... If that's even possible for you."
"It has been known to happen on rare occasions," Tsunami grinned. "See? I can laugh at myself too!"

Spark shook his head and laughed.

"Are we going to end this battle or what?" Ventura questioned us. "At this rate the party will end before we're done."
"Of course," I said. "Let's continue."
"You go first," Eliot offered.

His logic still didn't make much sense to me, especially since his last move had found the wrong target, but I prepared my move nonetheless because I wanted the battle to be over by sunset.

I summoned a Blizzard, knowing I had a good chance to hit at least one of my opponents. It turned out even better than I had expected, as Bel collapsed and Eliot was frozen solid!

"OK, I think you could have fought this battle on your own," Spark commented. He was now flying outside the range of our attacks.
"I don't think I could have taken a third blow," I said. "The battle isn't over yet, though. He may still thaw."
"Let's not wait for that to happen," said Ventura, hitting Eliot with Psychic again.

Eliot was able to endure the attack, since Ventura was still far below his level. I was about to end the battle, but then the ice suddenly began to melt and, before I knew it, Eliot's body was colliding against my own, enveloped in flames. It barely stung at first, but then the burning sensation became stronger. I quickly shook Eliot away with an Ice Beam and watched him fall, but then I grew weaker and the pain grew stronger.

Ventura and I won. Ventura grew to level 60. She learned Bug Buzz, and Venoshock as her free TM. I grew to level 67, and so did Spark, even if it was by accident!

"No, I definitely couldn't have won this one on my own," I said before everything went black.

<Spark's POV>

I saw Water Angel drop into the water and dived to take her head out. It took me a second to realize how stupid that was, but by then I'd already done it.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine," said Tsunami. "Kingdra don't drown in the water."
"I know," I said, a little embarrassed. "I just... wanted to make sure she was OK... Again. I'm being such an idiot today!"
"Can't blame yourself for caring about her," said Tsunami, much to my surprise. "And I'm serious this time. But really... relax. It was just a friendly battle. No one was seriously hurt. They'll all come to pretty soon, you'll see."
"I know..." I told him. "I've been battling even longer than you have. It's just... sometimes I get too nervous for some reason. It's like... for a split-second things feel a lot more serious than they really are. Perhaps I'm so used to things being serious that I can't fully relax when they're not."
"Then you should do something about it," said Tsunami.
"I'm an old bird," I said. "It may be too late for me to change."
"You're not that old, I've met your father," replied Tsunami. "I believe Hero's older than you, and he's still learning new things. If he can do it, so can you."
"I'm not sure about which one of us is older," I admitted. "I should ask my dad how old I am someday... But that would be awkward. Anyway, considering all the stories Hero's told us about his life in the forest... he's probably older than me."

"I leave for a few minutes and you're already talking about me?" Hero's voice came from the other side of the fountain as he trotted towards us. "I understand that you missed me, but there's no need for you to discuss my age."
"Would you rather we discussed your tails?" Tsunami quickly retorted.
"What? No... I'd rather you discussed how great I am!" Hero grinned, showing his sharp teeth.
"OK, then..." Tsunami said after a few seconds. "You're great at getting lost, great at getting in trouble..."
"Great at dealing with trouble," said Hero.
"Which you got yourself into more often than not," Tsunami stuck out his tongue.
"Watch that tongue or it could start hurting soon," Hero warned him. "I wonder if a Slash would be precise enough."
"You wouldn't do it," said Tsunami. "For the same reason I wouldn't dump all the water in the fountain on you. Where were you anyway?"
"I was battling, of course. And then looking for you. I went back to where I left you, but you weren't there anymore. I see you've found a battle yourselves. Is that... That's Eliot!"
"Yes, we battled Eliot and his friend Bel," Ventura told him.
"You battled them?" Hero looked at Eliot and Bel, then back at Ventura. "You don't have a scratch on you! Even if you... Wait, let me guess. Morning Sun and... you must have set some rule to stop them from dealing a 1HKO."

No one said anything.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Hero complained. "You know I'm right!"
"Yes," Tsunami conceded, "we know you know as much about battles as you ignore about everything else."
"Now you're just being mean and you know it," Hero told him. "So... a Beheeyem, huh? That's the second unusual Pokemon I've met today. How come they all end up with the MTU? We need to do something to get more Pokemon to join us."
"By 'us' do you mean the Dragon Tamers or the PRTD?" asked Amber.
"Either, I guess," Hero shrugged. "I'm more partial to the Tamers because we get the best action there, but seeing some of them at the Barracks would be nice too."

At that moment, Water Angel began to shake her head and opened her eyes.

"Oh... Hero!" she said. "I thought I'd heard your voice. Welcome back. How was your battle?"
"I'm glad someone had the sense to know where I was going," Hero replied.
"I knew you were looking for a battle," Tsunami protested. "I just hadn't expected you to take so long. It must have been at least 2 hours since I last saw you."
"Were you really expecting me to come to the fountain?" Hero questioned the Vaporeon.
"Yes, because I told you we'd be coming here," Tsunami replied.
"I was going to come for you eventually, but I was really looking for Gabi and the C-Girls."
"Sea girls?" asked Tsunami. "What sea girls?"
"The girls from Group C! Sylvan, Amber and Ventura. I was with them right before the battles started. I haven't found Gabi yet."
"It's hard to find someone in a place like this, so large and crowded," said Amber. "But don't worry, she won't leave without us."
"She's inside the Culture Center," Ventura revealed. "I can't pinpoint her exact location from here, but it won't be hard to find her if we get closer."
"OK, that's one problem solved, then," said Hero. "It's time to tell you all about my awesome battle."
"Do we really have to listen?" asked Tsunami, even though his body language showed he did want to hear about it, as he made himself comfortable and his ears perked slightly.
"Water Angel asked, so you either listen or go away... I thought so. OK, here we go."

<Hero's POV>

As soon as the battles began, I started looking all over the place to see if I could find someone around my level who wanted to battle. It took me a while because most of the Pokemon who were looking for battles had low levels, and by the time I thought to look for an MTU trainer they were all busy... and I would have had to grab Gabi if I'd wanted a battle with trainers anyway. So yeah... that took some time. But I finally found a large tree under which some of the MTU commons were hanging out... and among them was one of the weirdest Pokemon I'd ever seen. I mean... Ghost-types are usually weird, and I'm pretty weird myself, but this one looked like a sarcophagus, only with 4 wobbly shadow arms!

"A Cofagrigus!" Pulse interrupted my narration.

I know my Pokedex, thank you. It's one thing to read about a Pokemon or even watch videos, and it's a completely different thing to see them face to face. In this case his face was a very unusual thing. His mouth appeared to be painted on his surface, and his red eyes were like a distant glow coming from somewhere inside his body. And he had a small mask on his forehead which looked like a human face. I know what they say about them being humans who died and turned into Pokemon, but that's even more ridiculous than the rumor about Ninetales living for 2000 years and being able to curse anyone who pulls our tails. We did talk about that before we battled, in fact. But he told me his ancestors used to guard tombs and temples in Egypt, so maybe that's how the rumors got started.

Anyway, this guy... his name was Chisisi, which sounded funny to me but he probably didn't choose it, so I didn't say anything... He said he'd been in Ulthuan for about 4 years and he hadn't battled a Dragon Tamer yet, so he was as eager to battle me as I was to battle him. So we moved to the nearest clear space and assumed our positions and battled while the other Pokemon watched us from under the tree.

Level 77 Ninetales vs. Level 77 Cofagrigus

I decided to start with a Double Team because I wanted to see what Chisisi was capable of. My clones and I had already run 3 laps around him by the time he threw the first Shadow Ball, but he was able to follow me with his eyes and his attack hit hard on my back. Well, not hard hard, it was actually pretty soft, but it made the hairs on my back perk up and it did... something. I don't know how to describe it, I just felt something weird in my skin. I obviously knew about the possible side-effect of a Shadow Ball and if that had been it, I wasn't going to give my opponent the chance to hit me harder before doing something myself. So I went for the exploding clone trick. I don't get many chances to pull that one because it's only really effective against Ghost types, so now that I was battling one I didn't want to miss my chance.

Now, I know Tsunami already knows how this trick works, and most of you must have heard of it by now, but for the benefit of the less experienced audience, it's basically a combination of Double Team and Hidden Power. After I have used Double Team, I summon Spooky within one of my clones and send it towards my opponent. This was the best-case scenario, because not only was my opponent a Ghost-type, but he had already seen through my Double Team and knew the image that was going after him was a clone, so he didn't even try to dodge. The clone exploded into a shower of Ghost energy upon contact... which would have been spectacular if Chisisi didn't have such good defensive stats. When the next Shadow Ball hit me much harder than the previous one, I realized I had to try something stronger, so I went with a Dark Pulse for my next move.

I was lucky in that my Dark Pulse caught Chisisi off-guard and he took a few seconds to react, so I took my chance to fire another shot. Chisisi looked like he was ready to attack again, but he couldn't muster the strength to do it... Which was kind of disappointing, because I was planning to end the battle with a Shadow Sneak - the closest think to Quick Attack you can use on a Ghost-type - but then again he might have brought me down with his next attack, so it was just as well that he fainted then and there.

I won and grew to level 78!

So... that was it. Then I started looking for everyone, and after a while the strange sensation in my skin disappeared. At one point I saw something fly towards me and I caught it in mid-air. Turns out it was bread, so I ate it after smelling it to make sure it was safe. I wondered who would throw away some perfectly good bread, so I walked in the direction it had come from and saw some kids having a food fight. That's really not what you're supposed to do with food, so I yelled at them, but they all went "oh, look! A Ninetales! How cute!" so I decided they weren't worth my time and left. I walked around some more, until I decided to come to the fountain since at least Group B would be here... even if the thought of standing by a fountain with Tsunami wasn't all that tempting... so there.

<Tsunami's POV>

I knew he was kidding, of course. He had no reason to avoid me, fountain or no fountain. We'd never intentionally hurt each other, and I don't see why he'd mind watching me have fun in the water. And, above all, I knew he had come because he couldn't wait to tell me about his battle. And I enjoyed listening to it, even if it was a bit too quick for my tastes.

"If you were going to end it so fast, you might as well have used Dark Pulse from the beginning," I told him.
"I said I wanted to see what he was capable of!" Hero reminded me. "And pull the exploding clone trick. But I think I may have to retire that one, or save it for really special occasions. It's fun, but it's not very useful in battle."
"I believe your Hidden Power is not very useful in battle," I pointed out.
"True," he conceded, "but it does have other uses."
"Too bad I didn't get to watch you battle after all," said Pulse.
"Yeah... sorry about that," Hero apologized. "Maybe next time. In the meantime, you can watch me train at the barracks. Or argue with Tsunami and Caledor. By the way, where are Caledor and the others?"

Ventura took a few seconds to respond.

"Caledor is still with Kiara. Iael is galloping around the park with another Stantler and a Ponyta. Lagi's inside the building, I think she's with Gabi."
"Why don't we go and get them, so we can all spend a moment here together?" I suggested.
"Good idea!" said Eliot, sitting up. "I'd like to see them too."
"Huh? How long have you been listening?" asked Hero.
"For a while," the Charizard answered. "I just didn't want to interrupt your story, so I stayed down until you finished."
"Oh... It's always good to have a captive audience," Hero said. "What about your friend?"
"I think she's taking a nap," said Eliot.
"I'm sunbathing," said Bel in a sleepy tone.
"It is a good day for that," Sylvan agreed.
"OK, I'll go get the others," Hero decided. "Ventura, you can show me where they are. The rest of you slowpokes stay here, you'd just slow me down. No offense to real Slowpokes."
"OK," I accepted, glad for the chance to spend more time in the water while Hero did the work.

It was a good day. We got to talk to Iceberg the Walrein, who had also come for a dip in the fountain. He was glad to see Spark and Water Angel again, and even more glad to hear that Spark had found his name and his father... which felt weird, since it had been about 5 years since that had happened. But yes, it was a good day to see old friends. Some of our other friends were probably there too, hidden among the multitude of humans and Pokemon. Others, we knew, were too far away to make it. And others were probably gone for good. But it was nice to pretend, as I looked at the cheerful crowds, that all of our old friends were out there somewhere, having a good time and celebrating our reunion.

[The Blue Avenger]

Notes:
- I think Tsunami's right. There was definitely a peeled banana in midleap in one of those tournaments.
- I like Pulse. The poor guy is pretty naive.
- Hero seems unusually... crabby? in this one.
- That poor Onix. I agree - I don't know how they make do.
- I like the relationship between Amber and Sylvan.
- Wow, don't see many Beheeyem.
- A unique experience is right for that battle.
- Overall, I enjoyed it. Call it 25 stamps plus whatever the late fee is.

[Lady Vulpix]

Wow, you did it! You read my story, commented and rated it! Thank you!!!!

I was wondering what you'd have to say about the banana (since it came up in a FB conversation almost a year ago).

Pulse had a sheltered childhood, spending most of their short life in an abandoned lab with Terabyte and computers as their only company. But they can learn quickly. I suppose if I were to write about what pulse's life is like now, some things would have changed.

Hero gets cranky when he doesn't get enough attention... Or when he gets the kind of attention he doesn't like. But he was happy once he finally got to battle. What he does with Tsunami (and Caledor) is just a game, as usual.

Yes, Onix must be really hard to keep. I heard of two men who adopted a pig and they had to move to the country when she started growing too much... and a pig's size is nothing compared to the size of an Onix. They must require a LOT of space.

I like the relationship between Amber and Sylvan too. It's rather complex, and not quite symmetrical, sometimes even a bit hazy... but they do both care for each other a lot. If I were to write about them now... it would probably still be the same.

And yes, I'm pretty sure that was the only Beheeyem who ever showed up at the Battle Range. Rare indeed.

I'm really glad you enjoyed reading it. Now let's see how long it's been...

From the 7th of August, it was exactly 30 weeks until it was rated, so 1 stamp for the first week, plus 7 for each of the following ones... That would make 204 stamps for the delay, for a total of 229 stamps. Which means I currently have 229 stamps, for whatever that may be worth.

Anyway, it was gread to see you here again, and I suppose that all things do come to an end, and if this had to end, at least it did so on a happy note. I mean, friends are back together and celebrating, and life goes on. I would be willing to continue if others were interested, but if not (and it doesn't look like they will)... I think the Dragon Tamers got the happy ending we deserved.