Korrina and Shin watched as Ezra and Alain battled.
The Shalour City gym leader shook her head. "Didn't think we'd run into him so soon after Lumiose, but given who we're traveling with, I guess I shouldn't be surprised."
"It's not like Ezra actively seeks out trouble everywhere he goes," Shin said with a grin. "Besides, it gives him something to do besides listen to us discuss Showcases."
Korrina's ears heated and she idly rubbed her head. "Can't believe I let you talk me into registering for one," she muttered, before brightening. "Looks like they're about to begin."
Shin looked at her for a moment before turning her attention to the boys.
"Agility!" Ezra commanded.
Absol dug its feet into the ground and blurred from view as it seemingly teleported around the field.
"Relax," Alain said, as Charizard tried and failed to keep up with its opponent's movements. "We'll let them come to us."
"Thief!"
Alain blinked in surprise, before his eyes widened. "Fly-!"
Before Charizard could open its wings, Absol had darted in and plucked the Mega Stone from the metal plate it wore, dodging back as Charizard swiped at it.
With a flick of its head, Absol tossed the stone to Ezra, who looked it over curiously. It lit up in his hand and he abruptly held it away from him, shielding his eyes with a hiss.
Alain stared in disbelief as Absol was engulfed in a sphere of light, and when it broke open, his jaw dropped.
A dark gray-furred absol, its horn wreathed in blue fire, stood across from him. Two feathery wings sprouted from the absol's back, dark feathers giving way to light blue.
"Uhm..." Ezra asked, raising his hand. "Is that normal?"
"I...have no idea," Alain said, scratching his head. "Usually pokémon have a corresponding Mega Stone, and there have never been records of trying them with other pokémon."
Absol reverted to normal, and it shook itself, shaking its head with a snort.
Ezra returned it to its ball and handed Alain the Mega Stone.
"Well, you've given me a lot to think about, so thanks for that," Alain said with a grin. The boys shook hands and parted ways.
"Having fun?"
Ezra glanced at where Arceus was sunbathing as he battled a wild sableye, which was using a massive red gem as a shield, before directing the absol Arceus had made for him to disengage and watch its opponent.
"It's more frustrating than fun," Ezra said. "I can't hit it because it's using the gem, and it's quick to use Prankster to keep me away."
"Then perhaps it's time for a new strategy. Have you noticed anything during your battle?"
"It doesn't take attacks head-on, and uses the gem to deflect most of the damage," Ezra noted.
"Anything in particular about the gem?" Arceus asked.
Ezra peered at it curiously, then noticed that it wasn't covering the entire pokémon like it had at the start of the battle.
"Interesting," Ezra murmured. "Absol, Fury Swipes; target the gem itself."
The Dark-type leaped forward, moving towards the gem, which the sableye shifted to keep between itself and the absol, and it braced itself as a flurry of claw strikes slammed directly into the gem.
Ezra blinked as he watched it visibly shrink, now only half the sableye's height. "Air Slash," Ezra ordered.
The consecutive strikes knocked the gem out of the sableye's claws, and it immediately dived after it, no longer paying attention to Ezra or the absol. Grabbing the small gem in its claws, the sableye brushed it off before popping it into its mouth.
A small red gem formed on the pokémon's chest, and it then leaped away into the shadows surrounding the sunny clearing.
"Weird," Ezra said, walking over to Absol and stroked its head. "You did well. Thank you for your help."
The absol cooed at him, and he returned it to its poké ball before joining Arceus, nestling against the pokémon's side.
"So is the whole "pokémon temporarily changes shape during battle" an intentional design choice, or was it something they evolved themselves over time?" Ezra asked.
"A bit of both, I believe," Arceus replied, folding its legs under itself. "Pokémon have a wellspring of energy inside themselves, which is how they generate power for their moves, evolve, and various other things they do."
"So instead of using the energy to permanently evolve, they use it to physically alter themselves for a battle, then let the energy dissipate," Ezra said. "Which is why they can only do it every so often and are tired at the end of it."
"That's as good an explanation as any," Arceus said with a shrug.
Ezra sighed, shaking his head as he lightly poked the Alpha Pokémon. "They're your kids, the least you could do is pretend to care."
"I don't see the need to," Arceus said. "What pokémon do with themselves is their choice, and it's not something that particularly concerns me."
"Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Primal Rayquaza," Ezra countered.
"More land, water to cool it, and weather manipulation to prevent any significant damage as a result of prolonged apocalyptic firestorm or torrential downpour."
"Fair enough," Ezra said. "I imagine shaping the earth is a little more involved than the day-to-day antics of your everyday pokémon."
"Quite so."
"A question for you," Ezra said as he rubbed over Arceus' belly.
The Alpha Pokémon hummed in contentment, opening one eye to peer at its ward.
"How bad do things have to get before you reset the universe?"
Arceus wiggled its legs thoughtfully, tail flicking from side to side.
"Depends on how long it's been around," Arceus replied. "If some form of humanity has yet to develop, I usually wipe it without a second thought. Once they start cropping up, there's times I'll swamp them with various natural disasters to get them to shape up, or send my children to pillage and burn a region or two. That's usually enough to get them back on track."
"Only pillage and burn?" Ezra asked. "Isn't there another step you're missing?"
"Not particularly," Arceus cooed as Ezra's fingers danced over its calves and thighs. "Most of my children aren't interested in that anyway. For the most part they'll pair off with each other."
"Out of morbid curiosity, who does Celebi pair off with?" Ezra asked.
"I'm sure you're hoping for "itself" as an answer, aren't you?" Arceus teased. Ezra grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "Usually they pair themselves off by size and then age. Except for the mew, who'll utilize their Transforming abilities and pair off with anything."
"Wait...anything?" Ezra asked, arching a brow.
"Once you reach a certain age, you'll take what you can get because you've already tried everything else," Arceus said dryly.
"I'm like...three hundred something, and I still haven't gotten bored of you," Ezra pointed out, stroking over Arceus' tail.
"It took a few mew a couple dozen eons before one decided to get frisky with various electrical appliances," Arceus said, purring as it gazed at Ezra. "One time, there was a rotom inhabiting said appliance. It was...quite the spectacle to behold."
"The mew don't have much shame, do they?" Ezra asked, nibbling the tip of Arceus' tail. The pokémon swatted at him lightly and the boy snickered as he released the appendage.
"No," Arceus said with a sigh. "They usually don't. They're not bad pokémon, but oftentimes they have an inflated ego, and arrogance to match. The mew that get out and socialize, such as Citlali and Aylen are usually better adjusted, but they're still not completely...functional."
Ezra's lips quirked in amusement, before he nestled against Arceus' side.
"When you do remake a universe, do you ever carry anyone over?" he asked.
"Never," Arceus said firmly. "Although," it then added, "more often than not, a few familiar personalities emerge and I get a terrible case of deja vu when talking with them, because while they share everything on a surface level, their experiences are vastly different."
"That sounds rough," Ezra murmured, patting Arceus lightly. He then perked up. "I don't suppose you've ever encountered me in another universe?"
"Only time off the top of my head someone similar to you popped up was some kid with a shiny overpowered eevee. Bit of a loser, from what I remember."
"I'd be horrified if I was anything else," Ezra said cheerfully.
Arceus nudged him and chuckled. "Well aren't you just the pinnacle of modesty."
Ezra giggled and snuggled closer.
"What are your thoughts on mortal life?"
Arceus turned its head to look at Ezra, who was asked the question from his usual position nestled by the wheel on Arceus' midriff.
"An interesting question. Why do you ask?"
Ezra idly polished one of the gems on the wheel for a moment before answering.
"Well," he said slowly, "aren't immortals usually somewhat detached from life? In a way?"
Arceus looked thoughtful, eyes glowing. "It is true that I do not place the same value on life as mortals do. That is to say... I do not value life, but I do cherish it. Does that make sense?"
Ezra tilted his head, face scrunched up in thought. "Sorta. Enjoy your life, but don't get used to it?"
Arceus snorted. "That is one way of looking at it, yes. Probably not something that can be put into words, or expressed properly."
"The drawbacks of emotions," Ezra noted. "Something that the Lake Guardians represent, right?"
"In a way, yes," Arceus replied. "They're said to be embodiments, but they're more like representatives. The former implies that they can be used to control the entire aspect, which is...absurd."
"They are able to influence people though," Ezra noted.
"The entire planet if need be, aye. But killing them isn't going to cause spirit to disappear," Arceus said dryly. "That'd require creating an entirely new reality from the ground up, which involves things no human could ever hope of possessing, even if they had my power."
"What about your knowledge?" Ezra asked.
"I'd be impressed they could comprehend it," Arceus said with an air of smugness. "And before you bring up the fact we've melded minds," Arceus said as Ezra opened his mouth, "I was holding most of my knowledge back, aside from things directly related to you."
Ezra's ears turned pink and he patted Arceus' side lightly. "Thanks for that. That's all I need to know."
"You're such a sap."
"I learned from the best."
Drake, the Head Leader of the Orange Crew, stared across the field of Pummelo Stadium at his latest opponent.
He'd heard from the other leaders about the kid going through the Orange League, and he had been startled to learn he'd done it all with a single pokémon. Not an impossible feat by any stretch of the imagination, and it had taken a few tries more than once, but they'd kept at it, and they now stood as a potential champion of the Orange League.
Drake fingered the poké ball around his neck, wondering how to challenge them.
A Full Battle was out of the cards, unless the challenger specifically requested it, and in all his time as Head Leader, that had never happened.
Drake grinned, before tugging the poké ball free. A one on one battle would be more than enough. Anyone who could take down a dragonite was someone worthy of respect.
"Alright, Ezra," Drake called. "You've come this far, let's see how much more you can handle!"
Throwing his ball, Dragonite burst forth with a roar that shook the stadium, before landing on the ground.
Ezra brushed his hair out of his eyes and tossed his own poké ball.
A shiny eevee coalesced on the field, and the entire stadium went silent in disbelief.
Drake blinked in surprise and thought back to what the leaders had told him about Ezra, and he chuckled as they'd never specified what pokémon the kid had been using.
"Well," Drake said, crossing his arms. "Guess I made the right choice in only using my dragonite. If an eevee can take it down, their trainer definitely earned a place in the Orange League Hall of Fame."
"Thanks," Ezra replied. "Most pokémon we've ever been able to defeat consecutively has been four, and none of them were ever as strong as a dragonite. Agility!"
"Going for speed, eh? We can match that," Drake said with grin. "Agility!"
The two pokémon vanished from view, occasionally reappearing as they raced around the field, jockeying for a better angle of attack.
"Slam!" Drake ordered.
Dragonite swung at the silver-furred eevee, who ducked under the blow and leaped backwards.
"Dig!" Ezra commanded.
"Thunder!" Drake called.
Ezra felt his hair stand on end as the air crackled, shortly before a massive bolt of lighting shot from Dragonite's antennae, shooting over the hole Eevee had dug for itself and crashing against the side of the stadium.
Dragonite wobbled briefly from the massive energy discharge, and Eevee popped out of the ground behind it.
"Iron Tail!" Ezra called.
"Slam!" Drake countered.
Dragonite grabbed Eevee's tail as it swung in, and crushed the smaller pokémon into the ground. When Dragonite removed its hand from the hole, it let out a grunt of surprise.
Eevee had vanished, and had left behind a Substitute.
Drake laughed, shaking his head. "Tricky! Stay sharp, Dragonite."
Dragonite snorted, flexing its fingers as it waited for its opponent to reappear.
It didn't have to wait long as Eevee then reappeared above its head and clocked it soundly with Iron Tail, causing the ground beneath the Dragon-type to buckle.
"You've raised it well," Drake noted, nodding appreciatively. "Dragons are known for their resilience, and Dragonite definitely felt that!"
"The gyms were good practice," Ezra said, watching the battle closely. "Plenty of opportunities to practice and hone strategy. Metronome!"
Eevee's tail clicked back and forth before it then glowed pale blue.
Drake's eyes went wide. "Dragonite, Agi-!"
The blue glow then shot outwards, catching Dragonite as it darted backwards, freezing it in place, unable to move.
"Dragonite is unable to battle!" the referee called. "Therefore, the winner of the match is Ezra of Michina Town!"
The stadium erupted in a cacophony of noise and Ezra scratched his head. "What was that last move though?"
Drake recalled his Dragonite and stepped towards the middle of the ring, which had dropped down and been replaced by a podium holding a trophy. Ezra joined him, and the two clasped hands.
"Can't say I've ever seen Metronome cast Sheer Cold before," Drake said, handing the trophy to Ezra, who took it and examined it. "Granted, not a lot of people use Metronome to begin with, due to how unreliable it is."
"I like using it once or twice a battle," Ezra said. "Usually helps make up for Eevee's lack of coverage, although I imagine it wasn't too pleased with pulling Explosion."
Drake winced, chuckling. "I heard about that incident," he said. "Luana wasn't too happy about that."
"No, she wasn't," Ezra said sheepishly. "But the next battle wasn't nearly as chaotic, and I got the badge eventually."
Drake nodded, before stepping back. "Welcome to the Orange League Hall of Fame, Ezra. Thanks for your challenge, and I hope you learned from your trials here."
"It was a lot of fun," Ezra said, as Eevee jumped onto his shoulder for the picture. Once taken, he stepped off the podium, waving to the crowd before entering one of the hallways that led out of the stadium.
An older man fell into step beside Ezra and took off his hat to reveal gold and silver hair.
"An interesting, albeit short, battle," Arceus said, glancing at Ezra, who was idly stroking over Eevee's ears. "What would you have done had it continued?"
"Agility and Hidden or Secret Power, most likely," Ezra said with a shrug. "Can't say I expected to win that fight."
"Your use of Metronome has certainly been...interesting," Arceus remarked, as the two emerged outside the stadium. "It's been both helpful and hindering in this league, although I imagine you like it that way."
"Where's the fun in being predictable?" Ezra said with a grin. "Sometimes it's simply more enjoyable to roll the die and see where they fall."
"Dear me, it seems I've raised a gambler," Arceus lamented.
Ezra snickered and the two teleported away in a flash of light.