Chapter 11: Unova, Part 1


Basement Level of PNN's HQ - New Tork City, Unova Region


Alex thought long and hard about what he was about to say, ironically, more than he'd thought about what to say in an interview on live TV. He considered this next conversation one that was far more important.

He was on his way to his dressing room, where he'd left his bag, when he was suddenly tackled from behind. Feeling a familiar press against his back, he smirked, even as dainty hands covered his eyes.

"There you are…so…how did I do?" He felt Jess giggle against him.

"You're wasting time. Do you know how many Trainers he interviews weekly? You could be in Opeleucid by now." Her tone was teasing, but true. He'd been dragging his feet since coming back from the dragon mountain, and it became obvious why when he'd battled Connor.

Now he was dragging again, hoping to run into his friend and travel with him, the way they'd wanted to since they were ten, envious of Trainers in places like Kanto who started so early, without an education.


"I have one more thing do here. Wait for me at the Pokémon Center. I won't be long, and then we can get to Driftveil." He felt her nod, and then slide off of him.

"I'm going to fly to Nacrene, and get that badge, while you waste time." She bopped his nose, then walked away, swaying her hips on purpose. He shook his head, then continued on down the hallway, stopping when he heard a creepy noise from a dark hallway, leading down presumably to the basement, or sewers.

"Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuk." Alex blinked, watching as a literal herd of poison type sludge monsters came towards him. "Mmmmmmmuuuuuuuuuukkkkk!" They cried continuously.

Then he understood why, and brought out the bottle of Luxray Musk. They stared at it, their sludge-eyes forming into hearts as they saw it. Finally creeped out, he threw it down the hallway, and he was pretty sure the Muk it landed on was devoured by the others.


Alex was just about ready to leave the city, after that display. The scent of a Muk was what gave people cancerous tumors in their lungs. If you left it in a sewer, and not open air, at least. This wasn't the first time he'd seen strange places for Pokémon to live while in the city. It was definitely a unique place, with unique people. You couldn't walk down the street without seeing someone his rural townies back home would call 'abnormal'.

He stopped again, before descending to the lowest basement where the dressing rooms were. There was a…nagging sensation in his head, like a voice, but not, urging him to come towards it. Normally, his skeptical nature would make him ignore such a strange thing, but he could tell this one was tinged with worry, loneliness, fear, and many other negative emotions.

He followed the directions, and instead went to the penthouse of the building. Once he met the source of the nagging sensation, it guided him to another floor, where he surmised the employees of the PNN building lived. Living at work was illegal for many reasons, but only one group got away with it, claiming that their 'beliefs' would be infringed upon if it wasn't allowed.

He didn't have to guess which group was using freedom of belief to hide behind and abuse their workers. It was a play straight from the Acrean's own handbook, a titillating read that his Gruncle had a copy of, and had let him peruse once.


Fuming inwardly after what he'd discovered in the two upper floor rooms, he once more descended to the basement, and the dressing rooms, two Pokéballs heavier. Several of the gathered aides were female, and rather attractive, but there was one blonde in particular who, in his opinion, came rather close to Jess in looks. A 'perfect ten' as the numerous male influences in his life would 'rate her'. She was very obviously holding a can of some kind of spray he had a feeling was made specifically to repel creepy men. She was about to say something, as she saw his eyes, drawn by pure instinct to her generous attributes, when Joey appeared between them.

"Oh, Hi Alex. Welcome back. We're here, as you requested." They were all very obviously still on edge, and eyed him expectantly.

He was almost tempted to try to poke fun at them, just to see the reaction, but then he remembered the conditions he'd found upstairs. He sighed instead, saying "What have these assholes done to you people?"

The tension bled from the room, and the blonde lowered her can. Finally able to tear his eyes from her glorious cleavage, he closed his eyes, letting the pause grow as he calmed himself.

This took about half a second as he looked back up at all of them this time, saying "I called you all here because I saw the conditions you're forced to work in, and wanted to help...but then I discovered the conditions I can only assume you're forced to sleep in, as well." The group shared nervous looks. They'd been expecting some strange sexually oriented request, but his tone was veering towards rebellion against their employer. At a normal job, loyalty might have kept them from considering. At this one, fear, and terrible living conditions, usually kept them in line. The blonde girl, despite her looks, was no idiot. She knew a way out when she saw one, and this Redwood had sway with John Crimson himself.


The blonde was definitely gorgeous, easily on par with Jess, but his momentary distraction was based on instinct as old as the human race, and those instincts had been controlled years ago, by pure willpower. His eyes did not wander as he met the eyes of each person gathered. The blonde raised a brow at him. They all did, as if they didn't quite believe what he said.

Alex turned to Joey then when nobody spoke, "I found your... 'apartment'. I'm guessing they gave you that 'room' because you're in charge? Well the door was unlocked, and there were some shady people in there, stuffing your Pokéball into a bag, as there was nothing else of value in there except a sleeping mat." Alex held out the Pokéball. "You shouldn't leave home without it. It's dangerous to go alone." Joey took the ball, and it shook, opening, and revealing a Raticate in a flash of white.


Joey knelt down to his friend. "I'm sorry…" He looked up at Alex, "You're right…my Raticate is the best, in the top percentage of Raticate actually, and he should always be with me. But…" He looked back down at his Pokémon, "The higher ups don't allow us to let them out, or have them on us. This building is owned by the Arcean Church, you see…and they don't allow Pokémon they don't control on their property...and since we all essentially live here and work fourteen hour shifts…we have no choice but to leave them in their balls."

The blonde spoke up, then. "Even our bosses don't have Pokémon, but John Crimson doesn't work enough to miss his Ninetales these days. I know that during your interview, he didn't have his Ninetales on him though. Like Joey said, they're...strict."

Alex had a good guess as to what she meant by strict. He was familiar with the Church's not-so-subtle punishments, and knew what employees like these risked by asking for a raise, let alone bringing in their Pokémon. The disciplinary actions given out by Arceans were well documented. The Church, of course, denied any such actions were ever given out. They denied any negative allegation, loudly and publicly. Even when hard evidence to the contrary was readily accessible. It was a good bet that if they denied something, they were responsible for it. Often, one could accurately guess what they were guilty of, as their denials were unnervingly specific.

More than that, they accused the people who reported these incidents of being the worst kind of scum. Pedophilia, thievery, drug use, any seemingly negative, and usually baseless, accusation they made was a total fabrication. Little more than an attempt to slander people. And yet, many humans bought into it.

When a large group of people picketed your neighbor's house and told you they were a pedophile, most people were gullible enough to buy into the lie. It was an effect of being in crowds. He'd written a report on it, once, back in University.


Alex considered the blonde woman's words. "That means he doesn't have it with him now. Joey. Let's go pay your 'boss' a visit."

Joey nodded, and the two left the room, and headed back up into the shooting studio. Arthur appeared alongside Joey's Raticate, acting protective over all of them. He'd had trouble forming his arms into swords, hence his use of Psychic and not Psycho Cut, but it didn't seem to be an issue now that he needed them.

He was readying a Night Slash, and as their group reached the studio, a pinkish white energy appeared within the dark energy on his arms, swirling into a Taijitu symbol on each arm.

Neither Alex or Joey seemed to notice the swirl of energy, but their audience did. Most of the vacationing elite of Castelia were still there, partying in the now vacated studio, but John Crimson was in a corner, with an ominous older gentleman, clad in a large cloak that looked like it had been purchased from a movie involving one of those classic stereotypical villain types. Alex and Joey walked over to them, with both of their Pokémon out.


The older gentleman was wearing a badge upon his chest that very obviously insinuated that he was a 'holy man' of the Arcean Church as indicated by the golden symbol covering the front of it. What was strange, however, was the fact that he was wearing a hood, indoors. A flash of red gleamed from beneath the hood as the man raised his head to examine the two youths approaching him.

"Can we help you?" He asked, looking at Joey for an instant before moving his gaze to focus on Alex. Judging by the stoop in his back, and his voice, the man was older than he seemed. There was something familiar about him, in a manner Alex couldn't quite place. The cut of the robe's style, the gold and white mantle that surrounded his shoulders and almost looked like a castle parapet.


Alex was still smirking as he eyed the man, despite his growing feeling of unease, "No, not really. We have no need for any guidance in 'holy' matters. We're here to speak with Mr. Crimson." Alex pulled out another Pokéball that wasn't his own, an Old School type design that was as fiery as the Pokémon inside it.

Ninetales had led Alex into John Crimson's home, and Alex had figured out that the Pokémon had guided him there because 'Tailsy' as he was called, knew that his owner would soon need him. He'd guided him to Joey's Raticate as well. He knew better than to question a premonition of a Pokémon with latent psychic power. The ball opened on its own, and the Ninetales within appeared in a flash of fiery red light. He wrapped his tails protectively around John Crimson, and snarled at the strange old man.


The old man glared at the aging reporter. "Crimson...how dare you...you know the rules. Pokémon are not allowed at work, where they can be pushed around, and mistreated...you remember what happened the last time we allowed them. Leaving them at home is for their benefit."

John Crimson looked down at his Ninetales, who looked at him at the same time.

"Can you confidently say there is no truth in what I'm telling you?" The old man limped towards the reporter, and that was when Alex noticed he had a cane in his left hand, though he couldn't get a good look at it, the familiarity only increased, nagging at his brain to remember why this man looked so familiar.


"Pokémon contain unlimited potential..." He continued, in his smooth, charismatic tone made hoarse by age, "They do not belong in human buildings, confined to wandering small spaces for hours at a time, every day. You may think leaving them behind is cruel, but is it not more cruel to have them be bored? Or worse, abused by some stranger when you're distracted? At least their balls can be infinitely entertaining, and keep them safely in one place."

The old reporter kept his eyes on his fire fox. "I...I don't..." He was clearly struggling to argue against the relatively sound logic coming from the man.

That was when Alex realized who this old man was, as it all clicked in an instant. "Ghetsis…" He hissed quietly. He finally remembered. Long ago, when he'd been younger, he'd watched a video of the notorious villain, taken by way of camera phone, as he gave his first known public address, back when Team Plasma had appeared honorable, knightly, even kind.


He'd used almost exactly the same words, and Alex too had once thought that he'd had a point, even though he'd been young. It had taken his Gruncle to set him straight by reminding him of one simple truth that every Trainer shared, and as he remembered that lecture, he started to repeat parts of it.

"Some people have them as pets...others use them to battle...at times we play together...other times, we work together..." The cloaked Ghetsis, Joey, and John Crimson were now looking at him, and Joey was grinning ear to ear. Every kid heard this speech at one point or another. Professors the world over went to classrooms all the time, making sure the next generation understood the world they lived in.

Alex stepped next to the old reporter, and put a hand on his shoulder as he quoted his granduncle, "But the most important thing to remember about Pokémon, any Pokémon, is that they're our friends." He turned his glare to Ghetsis then, and Arthur joined him in standing between the man and John Crimson. "There are no bad Pokémon...just bad Trainers."


"Nonsense!" The shout from Ghetsis drew the small crowd's attention to their little corner once more, and murmurs filled the air as they noticed the Gallade with the shining arms, and the strange symbol. Gilroy Redwood, who'd been chatting up several older ladies who were gray, but still far too young for him, also noticed the symbol, and stared at it in awe.

Few remembered now what the sign of the Unovan Dragon had been, long, long ago in Unova's golden age, but the Professor was a learned man with a specialty in ancient and unique Pokémon, and the myths surrounding them. He eyed his relative with a new respect. Perhaps he would be the one to do it...that would make the effort of setting this stage for him worth it. He didn't quite know what Ghetsis had on his belt these days, but given the rumors coming from the Victory Plateau, he had a good idea. He'd maneuvered his idealistic grandnephew here knowing that seeing the Church's working conditions would set him off. He was bonded to a Gallade, after all. If this kind of thing didn't tweak his sense of justice, nothing would.

Ghetsis continued, devolving into a rant as he slammed his cane into the mahogany floor of the studio. "Pokémon are meant to be used not played with! They're incredible sources of energy! Friends...pagh!" He spat on the floor then, glaring at the arrogant Trainer from under his hood, oblivious to the looks he'd drawn.


Alex turned his hat backwards, but did not smirk. This was too serious. "I knew this 'No Pokémon' rule was tied to Plasma filth..." he said, glaring right back, "The rest of Unova has accepted that Team Plasma was wrong, hypocrite. Move on already."

Arthur's eyes glowed with Psychic energy then, and the robes on Ghetsis' ancient body flared up, revealing a full-size team of six Pokémon on his belt. He glared at Alex furiously as the rest of the room noticed this literal hypocrisy.

"I'll meet you outside, boy…I will not be humiliated by some child from who-knows-where..." He thumped out of the studio, and down the stairs, muttering, "Not again..."


The room went silent, and all eyes shifted to him. Alex understood then, nobody here was actually good enough to beat Ghetsis, a man known for abusing his Pokémon, and attacking civilians. They knew he was a criminal, but none of John Crimson's guests were willing to ruin their night by involving the police. He'd forced them all to follow his absurd rules through fear. Yet another Arcean tactic, straight from their 'Prophet' and his 'playbook'.

Alex hurried down to meet him outside, emerging to his Cofagrigus' Shadow Ball as soon as the building's doors opened. Luckily, Arthur was there with his Night Slash from his glowing, swirling arms. A second slash followed the first, slashing right through the tomb Pokémon's ghostly body. It fainted in a single hit, but Ghetsis already had his Bouffalant and Bisharp out. Blaze joined Arthur as Alex threw his ball, giving them the type advantage, as they'd practiced.


A pair of double Brick Breaks from Arthur into the charging Bouffalant and his partner damaged the Bisharp, but took down the bull Pokémon completely. Blaze finished off the Bisharp with a timely Flamethrower that was launched so fast mid-flight, it couldn't have been dodged.

Their training weights were off now, and they were benefiting from the long hours of wearing them in so many battles with Trainers on the road into Nimbasa, and then the Boulevard to Castelia.

As Ghetsis recalled his Pokémon, Alex did the same. This slippery bastard would claim the battle was unfair if he'd left them out during the next round. His notorious Hydreigon appeared, and Alex brought out Shruikan without hesitating.

Shruikan had been training solely for the Opeleucid gym, and the battle against the Gym Leader, Iris, and now his weights were off as well. His minor temper flare during the battle with Connor had been smoothed out, and now his sole wish was to evolve. Anything that would help him get experience, he did willingly, trusting his Trainer to lead him on the right path to attaining flight. All he could do now to honor his fallen father was prove that the strength he'd inherited was worthy of recognition.


It was clear Shruikan was unusual somehow, his granduncle had muttered something about 'Pokérus' when he'd examined his ball, but hadn't explained what that meant, exactly. Alex figured that only flames from a Legendary Pokémon like a Moltres would be strong enough to evolve his Shelgon, so he'd been listening carefully to the world news, waiting for a Tamer of such a Legendary Pokémon to appear within his reach. For now, a fight against this Hydreigon would be a good test of how much stronger he was after so many battles.

Dragon Trainers were common in Unova, and Shruikan had seen some serious battle time. They traded furious Dragon Pulses. Shruikan's was, by now, a ball of dense energy, similar to his teammate's moves like Energy Ball and Mud Shot or Water Pulse, but Ghetsis' Pokémon used a stream of that energy, wild and uncontrolled.

When Shruikan's attack blocked his so easily, it infuriated the barely tamed Hydreigon, and all three heads attacked at once. Shruikan used Protect, taking the hit, and then retaliated with another dense, swirling Dragon Pulse, scoring a direct hit on the other dragon. It went down slowly, but Shruikan followed up with a Dragonbreath, and ended the round.


Ghetsis' Drapion met a similar fate at the hands of Terra's Earthquake, and the old man laughed, then, in disbelief. "I didn't expect to need him for this. This was a routine security check for the building…it should've taken five minutes, and now I'm battling a boy in the middle of a street whose pushed me to this..."

It was a summer night, and the foot traffic on the Castelian street had stopped to gather around the two Trainers duking it out. The crowd had only swelled when it heard Ghetsis was involved, his hood now fallen, many people recognized him.

What nobody could believe was that another Trainer was beating him, and he wasn't even a Champion. Ghetsis had evaded capture for years because of his power, and now, he was being beaten in public by a nobody.

He hadn't intended this battle to last past that first surprise Shadow Ball, but he'd forgotten about the glowing Gallade. The crowd gasped then, as he called out his ace, and Alex stared in horror at the monstrosity they had all heard was long gone. A forced fusion of Reshiram and Kyurem by way of machines.


Alex knew what he had to do then as he recalled Terra, and brought out Shruikan. As hot as White Kyurem's Ice Burn was, Shruikan could handle hotter when he used Protect, and countered with a Dragon Pulse, hitting the abomination hard enough to stop it in its tracks.

Flames burned bright as the body of Kyurem connected to Reshiram's power, and it became apparent that Shruikan had merely stunned the Legendary Pokémon. As it readied another Ice Burn, it gave Shruikan time. The white half of the Pokémon seemed to be reluctant to listen, as if Reshiram was yet within, and aware of his chance at freedom. Kyurem had zero issues taking down a Shelgon, though. Even if it was at Ghetsis' order. The human was strong, and dragons respected strength.

The fused dragons had been slowed long enough for Shruikan to aim an attack at the DNA splicer forcing the two together, and break them apart. As soon as that happened, Reshiram was freed, and the monstrosity that was Kyurem roared, freezing the feet of every nearby human before it stomped off to the north, through the city, leaving a trail of icy terrain in a line straight to the Giant Chasm.


Life had just begun to return to the chasm, but now, it would surely vanish as the product of man's desire to war with each other, which had split the Unovan Dragon apart, returned with an icy vengeance.

Reshiram examined Alex for a long moment, and a noble, strong telepathic voice echoed in his skull, and his alone, "Come to the Plateau...the time has finally arrived...come..." It gave him a last look over, then blasted upwards in a fiery turboswirl, and headed north as well, but towards the Pokémon League, to his Tamer. The Champion.

Ghetsis stared at the shattered DNA machines. "You fool…what have you done? You've ruined any chance of uniting the Dragon!"

Alex just shook his head. "My truth is stronger than your skewed ideals. You only want the Dragon for power, but the more you take by force, the less you will truly have. Over and over you have been shown this lesson, by each of Unova's many Champions. It ends here. You will never have the chance to cause strife like this again."


Arthur held Ghetsis in place with Psychic as Alex freed most of his team from their balls. Cofagrigus and Hydreigon stayed, but the rest left. Not even prison was able to split up Trainer and Pokémon, which meant the guards of their prisons had to be serious Trainers, lest they be overwhelmed. The police arrived with their various partners, as Castelia was quite diverse, and Ghetsis was finally taken away in cuffs. Hopefully he'd stay there this time.

With the PNN crew now outright demanding the allowing of Pokémon teams in the building from their Arcean overlords, Alex decided to move on, assuming that their issue with the Arcean's rules was over.


Beating one of their enforcers made it clear that he was ready and willing to back them up against any threat they received from Church members, and with Pokémon of their own, he hoped the employees would be able to avoid feeling threatened. The Church backed down against public displays like Pokémon battles, which was the main reason they kept their 'foreign' employees from using them. Under no circumstance was it okay for an Arcean owned building to be visited by police. Their image could not be tarnished.

Alex met up with Jess at the Pokémon center, and the two began the long trek to Driftveil as he explained what she'd missed. They spent most of the journey battling, as always. When they finally crossed the bridge into Driftveil, they headed immediately for Clay's gym which each of them beat rather easily. The Boss of the Underground was old, but not quite ready to retire yet. A running theme with Unova's line-up of Gym Leaders.

It was on their way to the southern part of Driftveil that they got sidetracked again. A trio of men were battling in the old World Tournament building's main hall, as the stage was long since broken by the ferocity of the matches there. The new stadium was shaping up to be much more impressive. Still, this old building was used for battling, and today, the famous Triple Trouble Trio were offering a prize before they each finally retired.


Alex approached the men, and when he asked about the challenge, they revealed that they'd been battling all day, giving out their old elite versions of the Trio Badge, from their predecessor's era. The last ones had never all been given out, as the challenge had ended abruptly, and now these spares were offered by the League, until they ran out at least. They had one left, the pair discovered, and Jess sighed. Alex wanted it bad, she could tell, and his team was itching to battle strong opponents again.

She'd finally outpaced Alex in badges, but she saw the look in his eye, and knew he couldn't resist battling them. It was the perfect chance to train every part of his team. The trio accepted his challenge, offering him their final badge if he could beat them in three six on six gauntlets, one battle against each of them.


Alex agreed, and Cress was up first. He demanded a double battle, and so Terra and Leo teamed up to effectively wipe out his line up with a few Razor Leaves and Thunder Fangs. Leo covered for Terra's ice weakness by hitting those who might know ice moves first, and his Razor Leaf was strong enough to finish off most of them as well.

Cilan also wanted a double battle, which meant that Blaze and Shruikan were up. With a pair of Flamethrowers, Cilan's team didn't even have a chance. That left Chili, and his fire types, who wanted the glory that came with a one on one battle.

Such battles also came with humiliation, as Hydrus smashed down each of them with Water Pulses and Mud Shots. Blaze had been watching Chili's match, as he had wanted to battle other fire types, and he was instead astounded to see the little Mudkip he'd never seen as much of a threat, or ally, prove how strong he'd become.

Chili then questioned Hydrus' strength, saying that only Rare Candies could've gotten him to such heights so quickly. Alex denied his accusation, and flashed his recently acquired badges. Between road battles and his weight training, Hydrus had become a legitimate threat, and a key battler on his team. Eventually, the hotheaded brother withdrew his accusation, at insistence from the other two. Accusing a Trainer of using such things was serious, and incidents without proof were not taken lightly. One could end up in just as much trouble for falsely accusing a legitimate Trainer.

On the other hand, the police and the League had methods to test for such things. If a Pokémon received more than ten candies at once Trainers were issued a fine, and lost their ID, which effectively trapped them, for life, in their region. Trainer IDs were the only way to travel freely between countries connected by the League.


With Striaton's Elite Trio Badge in hand, he and Jess moved on to Mistralton, where Alex finished Skyla, and her team of aging flying types single handedly with Leo, giving him some much-needed experience.

Blaze had wanted to fight, of course, and hone his aerial skills, but Leo needed the experience more. Alex brought his fire lizard out against her Skarmory and Braviary, and Leo handled the others with rather impressive Thunder Fangs. Jess used her Flaaffy, who evolved into an Ampharos after beating Skyla as well.

After getting so far in one day, the pair decided to rest in Mistralton, and while they enjoyed sleep and a dinner, Connor spent the night catching up to them after detouring to Virbank City, for the Elite Toxic Badge, and some training for his Garchomp.

Gren had handled Clay, and now Tonitrus, his Elektross, had swept Skyla's gym as well. She remarked that she hadn't seen so many strong Trainers in one season since Team Plasma first formed, and when Connor asked her to elaborate, he learned that he had finally caught up to Alex and Jess.


They were away from the Pokémon Center, sparring against each other, alongside their Pokémon. They barely knew the basics of martial arts, but they had once taken such lessons simultaneously at their home town's dojo. Though they sparred hard, their movements were sloppy, compared to a professional, and lately sparring together rather than training specific team members had become more enjoyable, as it often led to other things.

Each of their Pokémon was having a battle south of the Mistralton Pokémon Center, atop the large hill. Their Trainers were fighting each other too, and Connor didn't know what to make of the strange sight. He'd never seen a Torterra and a Serperior coaching a Gallade and a Braixen as they battled each other.


It was fortunate that Alex and Jess noticed his presence, as the two had been eye-locked for the past minute, and the amateur karate sparring was devolving into something else. Any later, and her brother would've stumbled on something that would have probably started another grudge match between he and Alex.

"Connor…you finally caught up, hmm? Are you after your water crystal, then?" Connor smirked, and shook his head before responding to Alex.

"I have a new one. Keep yours. You'll need it more than I will." Alex felt slightly guilty at taking it now, as he had intended to return it. He hadn't even let Hydrus use it, though his Swampert clearly wanted to. Alex scratched his hat, and then turned it forward.


Connor continued, "Each Trainer only needs one crystal…usually…and they can Mega Evolve any Pokémon of a matching type. At least, that's how they do it in Gaulia. Kalos is catching on, but they still rely on Mega Stones. So really, keep it. I don't mind."

Alex listened, shrugged, and then smirked. "Good, you know, I'm glad you'll let me keep it. I learned about these crystals when my family vacationed in Alola for a few weeks, and since then, I've been trying out some new...techniques...with them."

He held up a crystal like Connor's then, but instead of blue, it was brown, had the ground symbol within it. "I was actually given this by one of the Island Kahunas…even though I didn't have a Pokémon, and made it clear I wanted a fire type. At the time. Or maybe even a grass type. She just shrugged, and gave me this. I didn't realize what it was until I came back from that mountain…but I convinced my Gruncle to send it to me when I passed through Undella."


Connor's face had regained the similar look he'd been wearing in their last battle, a persistent frown, as Alex had spoken. "Wait, so one of the Kahunas just gave you a crystal?"

Alex smirked, "No, I helped her hatch a Mudbray. In fact, I spent several days of my vacation helping her out, so that was my reward." He'd been too young to battle, and had accepted the crystal regardless of the fact that he was unable to use it. His Gruncle had liked it, so he'd let the old man hang on to it. Until now. Evidently it was not a 'Z-Crystal', or so the Professor had told him, which probably explained why the Kahuna had given it away relatively easily. His Gruncle had theorized that Z-Crystals might also be capable of triggering a mega evolution, but these Plate crystals were different. They came from a much stronger source than Necrozma.

Connor crossed his arms. "Well, go on then. Show me this 'new technique'." He was clearly skeptical that Alex had created anything truly new. Finding undiscovered Mega Forms was one thing, but new Pokémon moves were an entirely different trick.

Alex chuckled, and responded by summoning Terra over to them, and after mega evolving, the giant grass turtle used the crystal's power to combine grass and ground energy into a single, balanced ball, turning his Energy Ball into a dual-type attack.

Connor just stared. "That can't be legal…"

Alex shrugged. "Clay did something similar against Blaze when I brought him out to counter the steel type he was using." He smirked, lifting his hat slightly. "After that, I found out that anyone participating in the League's new challenge is allowed to use whatever moves they wish, in whatever manner they please. Technically speaking, what I just showed you is classified as a 'Z-Move'. It's something the Alolan Trainers do. Mine just don't seem to require interpretive dance to use."


Connor's frown deepened. "Those moves require motion to unlock them…so how are you bypassing that?"

Alex smirked. "You'll find out. My Gruncle gave me some insight about this tournament back when I was learning. He said that it was unlikely that it would ever start up again, but wanted me to know what his master had taught to him anyway. I combined that with the dense energy technique, the one you use too, and that's the move. I asked Clay about it, and he said anything goes in this League challenge. Only the strongest Trainers have a chance of beating it."

Connor recalled his Greninja, and left, still not accepting that in so short a time, his rival had gotten so far ahead. Then he recalled the plan, and rightly surmised that since getting his full team together, Alex had begun battling as many people as possible, and trained by himself constantly.

Since returning from the mountain, Jess had joined him in said training, and her team had gotten stronger as well. She left Alex atop the mountain to train, and went to prove it to her brother. They were long overdue for a match, and she needed to practice using these new dual typed moves as well.


The next morning, as they were leaving Mistralton, and getting ready for another day of hard Trainer battles, Connor joined them again. "I owe you two an apology. I've been acting strange since I got back."

He looked at Alex. "I forgot a long time ago, about our promise to travel together…but you're right, we're rivals second and friends first. Teach me what you know. Both of you. Help me catch up." Evidently, Jess had finally, and literally, beaten some sense into her brother.

Alex accepted his request for help immediately, as did his sister, and in the first battle they came across, Alex used Hydrus, and mega evolved him for the first time. Awed by how strong his combined water and ground type Water Pulse was, Connor asked again how legal this could be.

This time, Alex's opponent explained. She was in the new League challenge as well, it turned out, and ever since the battle against Lizardon had gone viral on the PokéNet, Trainers with such crystals had been using them as Alex had, with varying degrees of success, the world over. The trend was catching on, Professors were scrambling to record all the new Mega Forms being discovered, and as the crystals grew more popular, it seemed they would be even rarer.


As Connor continued to watch Hydrus, who stayed mega evolved for most of that morning, he noticed something about the dual type attacks. Other Trainers used them as well, but they looked different from Alex's. That was when Alex decided to stop for lunch, and explain what he and Jess had discovered about those kinds of attacks.

Only Pokémon of a dual typing could do them without a partner, and when in a double battle alongside another Pokémon of similar strength, a Pokémon with only one type, like Luxray, could combine attacks as well.

With these new attacks, Alex was usually unstoppable. That was largely because his Pokémon had each learned a move that formed their energy into a sphere. Each of them had learned how to condense it, with Terra's instruction.


In Terra his Energy Ball had gotten stronger with the ground type, and now in Hydrus, his Water Pulse had as well. Blaze had been practicing forming his Flamethrower into a condensed sphere as well, but without a flying type move that could form a sphere, it remained a single typed attack. As far as he knew, only a move like Aeroblast would suffice, but they didn't have a Lugia around to teach that to Blaze.

Leo also remained without a dual-type move, though with his strength and speed powering his Electro Ball, he didn't seem to need one. He'd considered combining Leo and Blaze as fire and lightning, but balancing two spherical moves from two Pokémon was beyond them. For now.

Arthur was a walking symbol of his typing balance, even if he didn't know Psycho Cut yet, and Shruikan wouldn't be one until he evolved. His Dragon Pulse remained as strong as ever though. Arthur had focused on trying to make his Shadow Ball a physical move by condensing it, but ghost energy was hard for him to control.

His orb was smaller than the others, but seemed to do more damage than an ordinary Shadow Ball, at least. It left him wide open for a counter attack though, as Delphi, Jess' Braixen, repeatedly showed him.


"You know," Alex said after pausing to eat lunch, "Nobody ever examined Greninja's new form for a change in type. Judging by those shuriken, I'd say he was part ice."

Connor raised a brow at him, "Oh, and your Torterra was examined?"

Alex nodded. "My Gruncle examined both him and Hydrus, and both remained part ground upon Mega Evolving."

Connor looked at his Pokémon, then shrugged. "I would think the dark typing would make more sense."

Alex smirked. "So try teaching him Dark Pulse, and find out."

Connor glanced at his starter. "Gren, Dark Pulse." The Greninja sighed, and then formed a ball of dark energy in his palm. He continued to eat with his free hand.

Alex chuckled. "Weak. Very weak. You need his full focus for combining the types, he's still mastering this move." Hearing him, Gren's eyes narrowed, and the ball of swirling energy tightened, forming into one similar to his Water Pulse.


"I think he's saying he knows how to do that." Connor said, mockingly.

Alex's smirk widened. "Alright, now combine Dark Pulse and Water Pulse in one single attack." Gren stared at him for a long moment, then looked away. "That's what I thought." Alex said, still smirking.

Connor sighed, "His ice shuriken are just…a trick he knows. They're not a dual-type move."


Alex nodded. "They're an ice type move. Meaning he used ice type energy to turn the water into ice. If he balanced that energy with water, then they'd be even stronger." Alex looked at his sleeping starter. "Terra. Show him how it's done."

The large turtle rose with a yawn, and then began stomping away beside Gren, to find a spot that could handle the destruction this training would cause. Connor was busy examining his Pokédex, and then made an 'aha' sound as he displayed the page on the only known Greninja capable of mega evolving.

Alex shrugged. "Maybe you're right. In either case, combining darkness and water should be quite strong...if you can manage to do it."

It was Connor's turn to smirk triumphantly now. "Watch me." He joined Terra and Gren, and had his Pokémon focus on Shadow Pulse instead of his Ice Shuriken.


They came to Icirrus later that day, around noon, exhausted from the constant battling on the previous route. They rested at the center then, and Alex left at dusk to challenge the local gym, not wanting to wait until the next morning.

He found Jess and Connor already there as well, and discovered what had held them up. The gym was opening for the first time since Brycen retired, and now his son was the new leader, an ice-type user, like his predecessor, his journey around the world's Leagues had just ended, and his team was young and strong. Arthur and Blaze bashed them down, winning the first Elite Freeze Badge.

It was in the old style, from Brycen's era, as nobody had ever won his final badge from the last League challenge, that had preceded this one by decades. Connor and Jess received the newer version, and they were assured that all of them would qualify for this challenge.

Alex tried to remember just when Brycen had retired, it had been long before his time, and it made him realize just how many Trainers had failed this challenge before. That didn't seem to be the case now, though. Everywhere they went, they met Trainers with crystals and elite badges from all over. Victory Road looked to be quite the ordeal.


Most people skipped through Icirrus on their journeys, but during University, Alex had learned that the old gym would be re-opening in late summer. He had expected to have eight badges before that, but the mountain escapade had slowed him down, and the timing was now perfect. They moved on to Opeleucid then, and Alex won handily against Iris with Shruikan, who was as enthusiastic and powerful as Blaze was after so many battles. He was ready to evolve, but he could be patient. He knew Alex was looking for the right flames to evolve him.

Jess had caught and evolved a Snorunt with her extra Dawn Stone outside Icirrus, and now her Frosslass and Empoleon swept the dragon type leader as well. Gren was used again, as he had been with Clay, and his Ice Shuriken along with the newly combined 'Dark Water Pulse' swept Iris' team as well. After three consecutive losses, she announced that she was retiring, and left the gym to find itself a new leader on its own.

Confused, the gym Trainers, of which there were many, explained that the Elite Four's Marshal had just retired as well, and Iris was probably off in the city with him somewhere. Still feeling kind of guilty for temporarily knocking out the last gym of the region, and the most popular, as it was right before the Victory Plateau, the three Trainers set out on Victory Road immediately with their new elite Legend Badges.


As they traveled, Alex instructed his friends on how to properly balance the energy of a dual-type attack. The key was to have your Pokémon summon two large forces of each type, and then combine them in a balanced swirling pattern called a 'Taijitu'. His granduncle had claimed it was the ultimate embodiment of balance, and as far as shapes went for their moves, it had done rather well in keeping the energies involved stable.

Thanks to the amount of energy drawn by these attacks, they could only be used as a finishing move, as they left Pokémon exhausted. It was as Alex was explaining this, his voice ringing throughout every cave in the mountain, that a figure appeared by their camp.


He was getting on in years, but his hair was still a red mahogany color, streaked with gray. He wore a lab coat, under which he had a blue shirt, and between the edges of the coat, a crest could be seen hanging from a thin rope around his neck. It was the very symbol Alex had been describing.

"So, you think you know about the Taijitu moves, hmm?" The man's voice was dripping with sarcastic wit. "What makes you think you kids are serious Trainers?" They held up their collection of badges, and the man scoffed.

"Right. Badges. There were eight to get in Kanto. I earned ten." He shook his head. "I know you, Alex Redwood, and I know your granduncle. He hasn't told you anything about this challenge, has he? Just enough to be dangerous. Of course."


Alex eyed the stranger, who'd invited himself to their fire, "And who are you then, if you're smarter than my granduncle?"

The man grinned. "I'm Professor Oak, one of the people who started the challenge you claim to know so much about." He looked around, and then lowered his voice. "I'm going to educate you, as I can't erase the knowledge you already have. So pay attention, because none of you are supposed to know this yet."