Chapter 25: The Dagger's Release

Oh right… when I was in the Anistar hospital, I had a dream. Probably many dreams because they kept me asleep to help me heal, but this is the one I remember.

"Why do you keep fighting your fate?"

He was back in the strange dark landscape with ashy raindrops falling from the sky. While he'd been trying to get out of it again, he stopped on being spoken to by the eldest Asari. Even in the dream, he was unmistakable. The other Asari Calem had met all looked very similar: unfinished faces, clawing black marks across their skin, true appearance hidden by the ragged cloak. But this ancient patriarch was different. His hands were thin and long, with sharp dirty nails and a mix of dark and light skin that made it hard to tell what the base color was. More tellingly, his face actually looked like it had been ripped off his head, with raw red marks across it.

"I won't accept it as my fate," Calem told him.

"You don't get a choice in this, not with how far you've come with our powers," he said in disdain.

"You might believe that, but I don't."

"It's not a matter of belief." He reappeared on Calem's other side, but he was used to that from Heinrich. "Don't you get it? The thrill of moving like a shadow in the world, building your target's fear, then striking at the height of their fear? Once you know that, nothing else can compare."

"I'd rather not have that thrill," he said, turning his attention yo finding a way out of this place.

"You would never feel helpless again as one of us."

"I'd rather feel helpless than be your descendant," Calem said. And he meant it. "But since I can't change that, I just won't use our powers like you do."

Then the dream landscape changed, to the cave where Serena had died. The eldest Asari smiled, looking particular devilish now. "You could make those who would hurt you suffer greatly."

That did make him angry, but more at his ancestor. "You made me watch her die, didn't you?"

Laughing, he warped a short distance ahead. "Of course I did. Our power is death. You should see the death of any person you hold a bond with, no matter what. It makes it quicker to take vengeance on such fools."

He'd see the death of any he had a bond with; that was horrifying. And yet still not enough to convince Calem. "I am not killing anyone."

The eldest Asari frowned at him. "At the very least, you should kill that Lysandre. His intentions seem to include killing nearly everyone."

"And you have a problem with that?" Calem asked.

"Of course I do. If the entire world dies out, there won't be anyone left to hunt down and kill."

Calem shook his head. "I won't kill him. Yes I hate him and I want to stop him, but I'm not going to fall into your hands and kill him."

"What you wish to accomplish is impossible. You will never be able to do that successfully."

Calem had lost one of his fingers on his left hand to the frostbite, but had been lucky that the doctors could prevent him from losing any more. His arms, hands, and feet were bound in bandages to protect his healing skin. Despite that, he was allowed back to school as long as he didn't stay on his feet for long. His fingers felt stiff in the bandages, so hopefully the teachers would work with him on getting homework done in other ways. Still, the fact was that this had turned out a lot better than it could have.

Coming into his homeroom class, he noticed that everyone else was already there. Except Serena, of course. Was he late? He was pretty sure he had left his dorm with plenty of time. Then he noticed that they were finishing up decorating the room. "Welcome back, Calem!" Professor Sycamore said with a large smile. "Though you caught us finishing up the party for your return, we're happy to have you back."

A party for his return? Feeling embarrassed, he said, "What? You didn't have to do that."

"Aw, but we wanted to!" Shauna said, coming over and hugging him. His other classmates cheered and also welcomed him back warmly, so he smiled and accepted it.

But it felt strange to be back here. The classroom was familiar as always, with the people he'd seen nearly every day for the past five years around him. Except Serena… that just reminded him of seeing her murdered, running through the blazing nightmare, waking up to grief and being painfully cold, reading through his parents' letter full of heartache (it had made him cry the first time he read it). But this was the same old classroom with his friends and favorite teacher there, so different from what had happened. It hadn't changed, but he had. Still, he tried to smile for their effort at throwing together a party to welcome him back and not get too caught up in all those thoughts.

Eventually though, it came up that most of them didn't know how he'd gone from Lumiose to Couriway and eventually ended up in the Anistar hospital the next day. "I felt Yveltal awakened and was so alarmed at it that I ran out of my room with just my cowl and pajamas," he admitted.

"Yeah, some of us were like that but then we went back in our cabins for coats and boots," Tierno said.

Calem shrugged. "Well there was also that dream… oh, most of you don't know, but all these unusual powers I have are from my family being cursed to turn into monsters if we kill people."

"Isn't anyone who kills people a monster?"

He shook his head. "Maybe, but I mean a real monster, with no face and demonic markings. But Sycamore's been helping me find ways to beat it already, so I'm working on that."

"You've got a long road ahead of you, but I'm sure you can beat the curse," Sycamore said. He was confident.

Calem was trying to be, but he worried that this experience wouldn't be the last to test his restraint.

At this point, I had two major enemies: Lysandre and the eldest Asari. Their plans were not entirely clear to me, but they both affected me greatly. I had an idea of what might settle things, but I couldn't put it into motion until early spring of my fifth school year, when I and the rest of the school had settled down after Serena's murder.

The mega ring on Calem's wrist shone a bit brighter, then died off as Yorick returned back to his normal self as a Gengar. "I think that's enough for today," Calem said to the other members of Battle Club. "It does get to be a strain on both partners after long enough."

"That was like fighting a totally different Pokemon," his opponent said.

Korrina, who was visiting the academy today and had sparked this demonstration in club, nodded. "Yeah, some changes are subtle and some are incredible. And now that we get reports from all over the world of similar stones with sparks of life energy, the biggest limitation is how few rings we have as no one's been able to replicate them yet. But who knows? That might even change and then more people will need to learn how important it is to acknowledge your Pokemon and treat them as equals."

"So how do you get a bond strong enough to do this with?" one of the sixth year students asked Calem. Specifically him, which still surprised Calem with how they respected him now. Before, they just knew to be wary in certain conditions, but lately the club's student leader had been trying to talk him into taking over when she graduated in a few months. He didn't think of himself as a leader.

But being a good example, he would do that if it made them respect their Pokemon more. "I think you just treat them like you would any friend and it will naturally develop. Sure, it's not easy to understand them, but if you make the effort, you'll find ways to understand." He had a major help in this with Mortan. But now that the Floette was spending a lot more time with AZ instead, Calem had easily adjusted to figuring out his Pokemon without the translation assistance.

As club was brought to a close, Calem stayed in one of the battle rooms to talk with Korrina. "There's something that I've wanted to ask you about."

"Sure, what's on your mind?" she said, smiling.

"I was thinking of taking up the League's magic challenge again," he said. "See, I need to prove that I can use my inherited powers without killing. We don't know if the three goddesses are completely gone or if their spirits remain, but I think such proof would go a long ways to appeasing them. But then, the challenge will involve many battles in which I'm an active participant, instead of the ones here where I'm mostly guiding my Pokemon. It'll be a risk to any who battle me that way, so I've decided that before I even start, I want all of the League members to be informed of the danger and to agree to give me a chance. You and Sycamore are best suited to bring it up to them, so would you do it for me?"

"Oo, that sounds spectacular," Korrina said, excited rather than fearful. She made a playful punch in the air, then nodded. "Sure thing! There's a meeting coming up this weekend that should make it an appropriate discussion. I mean, I believe in you, but you're right, we don't want to spring a deadly surprise like that on anybody. I'll make sure that they understand the threat, but also that you're doing all you can to lessen it."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," he said with a nod.

Then she leaned towards him and wagged a finger. "But I better warn you that if we go in telling them that you've got this unusual power on top of being a mega ring user, then you're probably going to find some extra challenges put in your way. Keep in mind that you're working to impress these goddesses, so we have to make extra sure you deserve the honor."

He grinned; that prospect was exciting. "Sure thing, I'll look forward to that."

However, there was one last thing he wanted to do before starting preparations to face the Kalos Pokemon League: take claim of the Asari dagger and pass his teacher's test. Now that he had Korrina's word, he checked on what he had on hand. He took his school bag back to his dorm room and changed out of his school uniform; this wasn't a fight to be wearing mostly white to. Ever since he got back from the Anistar hospital, he'd taken to putting the miracle flower on his clothes somewhere, either in a button hole or carefully pinned in place. There was no control in what it would do, but he hoped it might give him an extra chance against his ancestors. That would stay, under the cowl where it was less likely to be hit. Then he made sure his Pokemon knew what was going on and recalled them to their Pokeballs. In that way, he could use swiftstep to reach the graveyard near Anistar in a few minutes.

He stopped near the entrance, walking the rest of the way in to the war memorial. It was evening now, cool although not as bad as the last time he'd been here. Due to the time and weather, the graveyard was quiet. A few Pokemon cries could be heard in the distance, but this place seemed still. When he activated his heightened senses, he sensed a woman, a Ninjask, and a Shedinja in the graveyard, currently by one of the trees where he couldn't really see them.

Calem stopped near the tree. "Excuse me, but you really should leave this place," he said, just loud enough that she could hear clearly.

"Thanks for worrying, but we're fine," she said, stepping around the tree in sight. Her Ninjask darted in front of her, peering at them; the Shedinja drifted after their Trainer. "Funny that you noticed us out here, stranger."

He shrugged. "I have my ways. But really, it's going to become dangerous here in a little while. We'd rather there not be bystanders."

"I'm prepared," she said, confident. "I'm Alexa, from the Lumiose Press. I'm here looking for an unusual spirit that a few people have reported. Not sure if we can find it, but..." a crackle interrupted her, preceding a dark shield going up around them. His Pokemon appeared around him, apparently forced out from the wary looks of some. Underneath the shield, it began to rain.

Not good. "Looks like you'll find a spirit at least, but a very unfriendly one," he said. "Do you have protective spells for you and your Pokemon? You should get them active."

"Sure, I said I was prepared," Alexa said, snapping her fingers and casting a glimmering shield around the three of them.

While it was bad luck that she was here, Calem figured she'd end up being part of the test. Hoping that she wouldn't end up dying, he approached the memorial. It was dedicated to the 388 who had fallen to Heinrich in the Great War. His great-grandfather's name was on there, so without a gravestone this would be the most logical place for his spirit to be. Taking a moment to remind himself that he didn't want this to end up as part of who he was, he took hold of the dagger (in a margin where it didn't interfere with the victims' names) and pulled it out. The point and edges were all sharp, with one edge jagged; it was a painful looking weapon. On the steel blade, there were clawing black marks much like those that ended up on the marked Asari.

Heinrich appeared close behind Alexa. Her Ninjask buzzed in alarm and darted at him; he swatted it away with his hand. As quickly as he could, Calem fired off Water Pulse at Heinrich, forcing him to warp away from her. "You need to kill someone here," Heinrich said when he reappeared, attacking him with the same spell.

Calem warped out of that and thought. Heinrich was already dead, so technically he should be able to 'kill' him and pass this test. That is, if he could connect with a constantly moving target. But he already had a plan for this, provided he could pick out something subtle. "Keep him moving," Calem called to his Pokemon.

Normally, he didn't use focus objects to cast. Even when his fellow students used wands or amulets to help them, he'd never had a problem with casting itself. This time, he focused his senses on the dagger before taking a deeper look at the situation. The dagger represented the awareness of the Asari. With it in hand, he shouldn't miss anything. The details of this location were numerous: the tiny power of a blade of grass, the feelings of grief and memory attached to the gravestones, the preparations of Alexa (who hadn't come to find Heinrich, and thus wasn't as prepared as she thought she was)... and the one thing he needed, the connection between Heinrich and the eldest Asari. Thin and flexible like a fishing line, but he'd seen it broken before.

Calem warped to a point on top of a taller tombstone, right in the way of that connection. Before it could flail away, he sliced through it with the dagger. It wasn't a physical thing, but between the magical forces of the dagger and the connection, he felt a strong resistance for a second. He focused all of his attention to that connection and the dagger. With that added effort, the connection snapped and Heinrich stumbled where he had most recently landed. Calem hopped off the gravestone and made sure he had his balance before using a swiftstep to face Heinrich.

"I killed the connection," he said.

Heinrich's face returned to him and he smirked. "I guess that interpretation counts. You wouldn't have accomplished it without knowing your powers." He straightened up and looked around. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be," Calem said, smiling. "I'm glad I could free you."

He shook his head. "There's a lot I am guilty of, not just in pushing the family ideas on you to stave off their suspicions of me. Although what concerns me the most now is you. You're taking an enormous risk in defying the eldest. As far as I know, no one's rebelled against him as much as you have. But now that I'm cut off from him, I don't know if I have the energy to sustain myself to watch over you anymore. I wish I could help."

Calem was going to tell him that his help so far had been more than enough and he shouldn't worry. But then he felt a pulse of power from the miracle flower in his shirt pocket. What did it want to do? He pulled it out and held it up between them; the petals had a glow like moonlight. "You've helped me a lot already. But, maybe this miracle can do something for you. It's just, it could do anything, good or bad."

"If it resonates with my wish, maybe it will answer it," Heinrich said, reaching out for the flower. Once he touched its petals, it exploded like the last one, causing the ghost to be surrounded by the white petals. They condensed, forming into a speckled Pokemon egg that floated in front of Calem. He'd been turned into a Pokemon? Well, it would allow him to stay and help. Calem took hold of the egg, but it immediately cracked.

"Wow, that's not what I thought we'd be finding at all," Alexa said, coming over.

The shield around the graveyard was broken, although Calem felt a distant anger at his victory. "Thank goodness it didn't last long," he said. "That was my great-grandfather, the rain assassin of the Great War."

"That could still make for a great story," she said, sounding eager at the prospect. She reminded him of someone, but he couldn't think of who right off. "Although it seems he won't be haunting this place anymore if you'll be looking after him reborn into a Pokemon."

"Right," Calem said, shortly before the egg completely cracked open. In his arms, there was now a small Pokemon, part mossy tree stump and part mournful ghost. "Hello again, Heinrich. That's a surprising form."

"He's a Phantump," Alexa said. "And not really surprising. Folklore says they come from spirits who come to inhabit old stumps." Then she grinned. "So, you want to go into Anistar and tell me the scoop? There's a great cafe nearby, I can take you there."

He dismissed the dagger and cowl so that he appeared normal to her. "Maybe a little bit, but would you please not reveal who I am? There's a few who know, but I don't want it to get widespread."

She agreed to that, so I told her some of our story. As for my great-grandfather, it was soon clear that he wasn't a normal Phantump. He retained the three abilities of the Asari, making him unusually quick and accurate while being able to hide or reveal his presence as he pleased. Also like us, he was not strong for a Phantump. Still, when I started bringing him to Battle Club for training, we won a few battles by making him nigh impossible to hit and stalling until the opponent Pokemon was too exhausted to continue.

It was a nice day, so Calem and his friends took their lunch outside to eat with their Pokemon. "What did Korrina have to tell you earlier?" Shauna asked after a little while.

"Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you about that," Calem said, opening his bag. Then Heinrich offered the letter that had been given him. "Hey, you sneaking looks at it?"

"Ke hehe" the Phantump replied, winking at him. Since he was reborn from a human, he retained a lot of knowledge, including how to read and write.

"You know, between you having a notorious prankster like Yorick and now a Pokemon who can write, I think your team is going to cause a lot of trouble in the future," Trevor said jokingly.

"Nah, Swift will keep them in line," Calem said, opening up the letter from the League. "I asked Korrina a few days about letting the League members know about my powers. I want to start challenging gyms again for the proofs, but I don't want to get into battles like that without them knowing."

Shauna laughed. "Normally you wouldn't go telling your opponent what exactly you can do, you know?"

"But in this case, it's nice to give them the warning," Tierno said. "Still, I'm sure you'll do great! What'd they say?"

Calem smiled. "They agreed to it. But with a few provisions. Firstly, if I cause any of them or their Pokemon a severe injury, the League has the right to take any proofs or badges I've earned previously away. That's fine."

"I think they can do that with anyone," Trevor said. "But the only cases of that are when a Gym Pokemon dies as a result of a challenger's actions."

He nodded. "Haven't heard of that myself, but it makes sense. Secondly, I must reserve my matches for the proofs at least a week in advance. But I know from working in the gyms that they really prefer advance warning on those already; at least two days notice is required for the highest two proofs anyhow. They'll probably give most of the gym trainers that time off too, just in case."

"The leaders probably need that time to be ready themselves, even if they are masters," Shauna said.

"Yeah, I'm not a normal challenger. And lastly, I had two requests on the order I take on the proofs. Olympia wants to be seventh, and Ramos wants me to face him last. Other than that, I can take on the gyms in whatever order I like."

"I've heard that Ramos can be really tough at higher levels," Trevor said. "Even if he runs a Grass gym with a number of weaknesses, he's that skilled."

"He'd be tough for me at any level," Calem said. "Humans are technically typeless as casters, but I'm an exception. I know it's hard to tell, but my aura aligns with Water and Dark auras, as does one of my Pokemon. Because of that, facing a caster who favors Grass spells could lead me to a quick defeat." He sat back and counted off on his fingers. "Or Electric, or Fighting, or Fairy, so half the gyms left are not favorable for me while only two are. For those, I have to figure on how to have my team help me out."

With the idea that I wanted to get what unfavorable aura match-ups out of the way that I could, I put my attention to defeating Clemont's gym first. Electric aura Pokemon don't have a lot of weaknesses, but they don't have many resistances either. More importantly, I had some idea of how I could counter Korrina and Valerie's Pokemon with my own, but not Clemont's. He was now the novice Gym Leader, as his gym had only opened up the previous fall, after he'd lost his position as the Trainer Champion. Thus, there wasn't much information available on what Pokemon he was using and what spells he was capable of. That and one other fact made things ideal to deal with him at an easier level now than later.

The school bell rang. "All right, now class is officially dismissed," Professor Sycamore said, having let them relax for the last portion of the school day. "Calem, stay here a moment."

"What is it?" he asked, picking up his school bag and going over to Sycamore's desk. "I have some plans this afternoon."

He smiled knowingly. "The gym, right? I trust you to keep in control, but even so, the League has decided on precautions for public safety. Prism Tower is in the middle of the largest city around, and it's an open-air structure that can't be locked down as quickly as others. They're closing down Centrico Plaza for the duration on the excuse of maintenance, since you're not far enough along for people to be paying attention."

"I feel better knowing they're doing that," he agreed. He had to wait for his classmates to leave and help Sycamore close down the classroom, but then they could head out for the gym.

The city workmen had even brought along some of their equipment to set up, making the reason more believable even if they weren't doing anything. There were a few policemen hanging around too, but they were the only others in the large plaza around Prism Tower. Being that it was the middle of the day, when this place would usually be bustling with tourists, locals, and couples, it was a little eerie to have it so empty.

At the base of the tower, Clemont greeted them. He was the blond haired boy Calem had seen here in the winter of his fourth year of school, now dressed in white work overalls and long heavy gloves suitable for working with live electricity. On his back, there was something that appeared to be a metal backpack; it looked too heavy to be practical. "Hello, professor, good to see you again," Clemont said, shaking Sycamore's hand.

He grinned. "Hey, Clemont! It's been a while. Looks like you're staying just as bright as you were in school. And of course, this is one of my homeroom students, Calem."

"Good to meet you, Clemont," Calem said, accepting a handshake too.

"The same," he said, nodding. "You're a lucky guy to get in Sycamore's homeroom; that has to be a fun class. But we're here to deal with your challenge, right? Well, first things first: take this and use a base rune to activate it. Any rune, as long as it's meaningful to you."

"All right," he said, taking the object. It looked like a glass orb, twice the size of his fist with a metal ring around the circumference. Inside, there seemed to be a light coming from nothing. A base rune, so just one letter... he chose one that meant 'awareness', a portion of the heightened awareness spell. The glass then dissolved into dust, causing the light and ring to lift up from his hand.

"That's a spirit orb," Clemont said. "Get used to its presence because from here on out, you'll be using one in all of your magic battles for the League, along with us. It's a standard precaution. What it does is absorb damage for you until it hits the point you would fall unconscious, or worse. It then breaks, signaling the end of the battle. Humans don't heal as easily as Pokemon, you know, and this should prevent more serious injuries."

Calem nodded. "I see. I'll still be careful."

"That's good. Now for your challenge, you remember your first proof? That one is simple, as you just need to demonstrate that you can use magic in battle. For the second proof, you need to straight out win a magic duel. No Pokemon to help either of us. I will be holding back to certain standards, but it still won't be easy. Got it?"

"Yes, I'm ready," Calem said. It might be foolish on some level to pick the gym he was weak to for this magic duel challenge. Then again, if he won it proved his skills without killing to his ancestors and the fallen gods.

"One more thing," Clemont said, pointing into the tower. "You still have to make it through my gym to the top in order to face me. Don't use the stairs or elevator, those are for tourists. Gym challengers of all sorts must pass through a teleporter maze rigged to quizzing stations. Answer right and you'll get there quickly. Answer wrong and you'll have to get through more questions to reach me. Usually the gym trainers too, but not today, it's just the quiz."

"Shouldn't be a problem for an LMA student, right?" Sycamore said, elbowing Calem.

"Right," he said nodding.

"Good, then I'll meet you up top," Clemont said, heading inside.

And the quiz questions really weren't a problem. Most of them were magic related; someone who was here for the proof was doing the wrong challenge if they couldn't answer these right. Although there was one that made him stop and think, as it gave him silhouettes of three similar butterfly Pokemon and asked him to identify the shadow of one. It could have been trouble as he didn't know one of them, but then it asked for the Vivillion's silhouette. That was a familiar Pokemon to him from working in Viola's Gym, so he didn't miss a single question and got to the top in five of them.

With a yellow tinted spirit orb, Clemont was waiting in the open square on the top level. Many electric lights were around; they made the structure glow brilliantly at night. As it was daytime, sunlight and breezy air spilled in the large openings. It was almost like being back outside again, even with the crisscrossing shadows from the uppermost structure. "Just as expected," he said, nodding. "So you've come for a magic duel? I don't know if you've heard, but I'm not a pure wizard. I am a wizard and a machinist." He flung his hand out, activating the backpack he wore. Rapidly, it transformed into body armor, complete with a helm, a visor, arm guards, and leg guards. Much of it was a sturdy black fabric, with bands of metal here and there. Mostly on the arms.

That was impressive. Although the battle hadn't yet started, Calem activated his senses and noted that the fabric was actually quite tough. Pokemon would have a hard time piercing it with claws or stingers. The spirit orb had been set to break at a lower level than Calem's, but getting through that armor could be a challenge. Meanwhile, Clemont brought his hand up to his chest in a dramatic motion and started to finish his speech. But he was interrupted by the voice of a pre-adolescent girl. "Yeah, and you won't find a better fighter with that combo than my brother!"

"Bonnie!" Clemont called angrily (although much of it was out of concern for her). "I told you not to come today!"

A short girl in blond pigtails appeared from the balcony where she'd been hiding behind some of the steel structures. If Calem hadn't been analyzing the armor, he would have noticed her right away. She wore nothing like the armor, just a black tank top and a white skirt. "But I always help you at the gym. That's what you promised, right?"

Clemont shook his head. "Not always, just when you can be here."

"And I can be here now, so I am," Bonnie said, as if that decided things.

"Just not today, please," Clemont said. "This battle is," he hesitated, trying to find the words to convince her but not insult Calem.

"I have special arrangements with the Pokemon League," Calem said. "One of those conditions is that no one is to be involved without knowing the reason behind the arrangements. Do you know why?"

"Um, because you're one of the academy students?" she guessed.

"No," Calem said. "So you have to leave."

"You can just tell me," Bonnie said, stamping her foot down.

"No we can't," Clemont said. "I'm really sorry, but that's how things are and you can't stay today." When she started another argument, he added, "I'll tell Mom if you don't."

"Oh, fiiine," she said, going to the elevator and taking it down.

Once the elevator was going down, Clemont sighed and shook his head. "Sorry about that. She's really eager and good for her age, but some days she seems to think that she runs the gym, not me."

"Sometimes I wish I had a sibling to annoy me," Calem said. Then he'd be a normal guy without magic dictating exactly how his family was.

"It's nice, sometimes," he said.

"She's staying on the ground floor," he said, since his senses told him that she had stopped by the elevator. Possibly intent on getting to the teleporter in a minute so she could get back up here.

Clemont nodded and waved a hand to call his handheld holocaster to him. Putting the signal to a unit on the ground floor, he said, "Bonnie, I know you're still down there. Go back home."

"You can't know that!" she protested, out of sight of the holocaster camera.

"I know for certain now," he said, causing her to give up and go home. Once they were sure of that, he sent the holocaster away. "All right, enough interruptions. Ready?"

He nodded. "Ready."

"Then we begin!" And right off the bat, Clemont cast a spell that caused the whole room to become electrically charged. The aura of nearly everything but Calem was shifted over to Electric type.

Okay, maybe this was a really bad idea. But he hadn't known Clemont was capable of that, so Calem had to deal with the situation he was in. It seemed the main purpose of the enchantment was to prevent sleep status, but it seemed to be interacting with Clemont's suit as well as making him have a higher awareness level too. Calem took a moment to use an evasion enchantment, since it was really important he not be hit here. Then he warped to the edge of Clemont's peripheral vision and cast Water Pulse at him. It was a surprisingly strong hit; maybe his mechanical unit wasn't entirely water proof. But then it became clear what the suit did with the electric terrain; it was slowly healing him as long as he was touching an electrified surface.

And then Clemont actually hit him with a spell; the Shock Wave had come at Calem fast, but even when he warped to the side, it pursued him. It stung; something he could feel through half his body even with the spirit orb's protection. But it didn't break, meaning he was still in the fight. Although, any attack that connected now would easily take him out.

He began to hear whispers to take Clemont out quickly, and powerfully so that he could kill him in spite of the spirit orb's help. He tried to ignore them as he used Water Pulse again, but then he sensed fear from Clemont. This was it, the kind of thrill that his ancestors had chased after for generations. Even better, the confusion effect stuck, leaving Clemont to start panicking. He might even miss with that homing spell. Someone's life was entirely at his mercy and the victim knew it. The intensity of this moment was something he could chase after his whole life, seeking to live it again and again, to win through ending lives.

No, he needed to end this quickly but non-lethally. Clement could take him out instantly if he shook off that confusion and used Shock Wave again. But his spirit orb was at low energy too in spite of the continual healing, so Calem used Water Pulse once more. Might have been quicker to use the dagger, but this was a magic duel.

Clemont's spirit orb broke, restoring damage to both him and his suit while clearing up the confusion. Immediately, a black lizard Pokemon appeared by the Leader and tugged at his sleeve in concern. They both needed to calm down, so Calem took a deep breath before saying, "Wow, that was really close."

"No kidding," Clemont said, putting a hand to his chest. "I'm okay, Lisk, really. Phew, excuse me for saying so, but I hope I don't have a fight like that again."

"I'd feel the same, don't worry," he said.

With a snap, Clemont caused Calem's orb to break and heal him as well. "I can see that now. A number of us were worried about having someone like you compete. But Korrina and Sycamore spoke highly of you, as well as the other League members you've spoken with. I think we were right to trust you. Normally we'd applaud those who obviously have great power and skill, but I think you've done well in your restraint as well. For a moment, I knew you really could kill me in one strike even with the spirit orb." His Pokemon (that was a Heliolisk, right?) bumped his head against Clemont's arm, so he petted him.

Calem nodded. "Thanks. My power is inherited, but restraint is what I've been learning."

"At any rate, you've done well and won, so you've earned my proof of magic." Clemont deactivated his battle suit so he could take the proof pin out of his pocket. Due to his status as a mage and machinist, it looked rather like a piece of machinery. "Now that you have two, most low level Pokemon should come to respect you quickly and bookstores will be more willing to sell you spell books as it's proof of your ability. Also, I can teach you one of the spells I used in battle if you want."

"Thanks. Actually, I think that homing spell will be useful to me." Especially since, as spirits, the Asari were more than slightly affected by aura types. He also wanted to make sure Clemont knew he didn't mean harm, so he added, "And hey, want to go to a café just to talk? I'm sure we could convince Sycamore to come."

He smiled and nodded. "Sure, that'd be fun."

As it turned out, Clemont and Shauna had been friends and neighbors when he had been in LMA, so sometimes the two of us would go by Prism Tower to talk with him. Bonnie was always something of a pain, but we became friends too after a while.

A/N: And we're back to the Gyms! I like Clemont and Bonnie, as their interactions are funny. And the Gym design of a quiz with a 'who's that Pokemon' theme is great, if rather easy for a long-time fan like me. Although in the game, Clemont's extra arm machine doesn't seem all that useful for a Pokémon match. It seems more for something like this.

I spent quite a while considering what to turn Heinrich into with the miracle flower. Mostly Water or Dark type Pokémon (very nearly went with a Sneasel), but in the end, the Pokedex folklore and a few other factors convinced me to make him a Phantump.