This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.
Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.
Chapter 30: Progeny (10,753 words, length warning)
They followed a railroad east. Among trees barely clinging to their reddened leaves and evergreens standing proud as ever, they had carved a circular battlefield in the dirt of Route 42 with the tips of their shoes. On one side of the field, Gold and Crystal stood at each other's sides. Well, Gold couldn't sit still if he tried. He spent most of the time between orders hopping on two feet like an infant on too much sugar. His partner's stone expression could only hope to make up for the lost intimidation.
"Penelope, use Swo—"
"Use Magical Leaf, Marigold!" Gold's sudden shout drowned Crystal's order, leaving her Ariados confused and scrambling.
However, Marigold heard the order loud and clear. She spun her head to create momentum and then whipped her head leaf forward. Instead of a single projectile, dozens of smaller crescents snapped from its surface forward. Then, they stopped. Each surrounded by a purple aura, they lingered in the air for a tense few seconds, before snapping in the direction of the nearest Pokémon.
Arden's flame sacs burst to capacity as the magical objects raced towards him. Ciel had little time to act, but he put his whole body into it. He slid his boot into the dirt, put out his arm, fingers extended wide, and shouted, "Flamethrower!"
The torrent of flame cut through the air, incinerating the leaves and singing the tips of the trees it passed overhead. Whoops. Ciel had forgotten to order his Quilava to aim high. Despite the attack, numerous crescents escaped disintegration and Arden was left wide open. Mantis appeared before him in a flash and brandished both blades. As if time slowed, the Scyther tore endlessly through the air, one cut after another, kicking up dust, not letting a single molecule of air go undisturbed. The field of cuts he created proved the perfect defense and tore the Magical Leaf to pieces before it could make contact.
Strings of web flew across the clearing dust and adhered to Mantis's body. More of his plates were inadvertently stuck together as he struggled against it, including sticking his own shoulder and right limb to his torso. He flared his wings without command and flew skyward to stay out of harm's way.
Dang! Ciel couldn't order Arden to burn his Ally free without serious damage, and almost all of Mantis's moves were based on his high speed and maneuverability. Across the field, both opponent Pokémon were charging to attack.
"Penelope, Poison Sting!"
Arden had no way to dodge. He fired an Ember in desperation that was deftly dodged by Penelope pushing off her four right legs and flipping in the air as it passed under. The Ariados snapped her mandibles, shining purple and dripping with venom, and struck him in the side hard enough to send him skidding across the ground. She must have completed a Swords Dance while Ciel was defending, meaning her attack power was magnified. The venom worked fast—moments later, he collapsed.
With Arden incapacitated, both Crystal and Gold focused their efforts on Ciel's one remaining fighter. The former urged the latter to focus their fire. A few more Magical Leaves were impossible for the Scyther to dodge, and just one stray String Shot gummed up his wings and sent him plummeting. He crashed into the dirt.
Ciel raised his hand to call the match. Neither of his Pokémon were in good condition, so there was no reason to continue. The three convened as a group to treat their team members. Crystal used a pair of shears from her bag to trim away the webbing on Mantis, while he and Gold quickly treated the Quilava's poison wound by spraying an antidote and rubbing disinfectant on the puncture wounds.
He dropped cross-legged on the ground, lost in thought. A single finger tapped impatiently against his knee and he grimaced with each scenario replaying in his head. He sighed.
"Felt any better about that one?" Crystal asked as she settled in next to him.
He shook his head "It's my fault for not preparing for doubles earlier, but it's so difficult to manage against two opponents. You two can stay on top of things with one Pokémon each."
She blinked. "You think he's on top of things?"
Gold, surprising no one was attempting to coax his Doduo into stick her heads in the dirt. He caked his hands in soil to dig a shallow hole and mimicked the motion himself. Ciel was certain that was a cartoon myth. He said, "Not making me any more confident."
"Well, we still have some time before we get to Mahogany to practice. You good for one more today?"
He declined, eyeing his five capsules. They'd already done three sets, first with Raven and Hector, the second with a determined yet drained Raven and Clovis, and the third with Arden and Mantis. Potions could only take them so far and they'd need a few days of rest to return to peak condition. Pokémon regeneration was a miracle. They could usually make minor and moderate injuries disappear like they never existed at all, whereas humans would scar from most anything.
Next time, Ciel would have to take up the "Gym Leader" role, since he was also helping them practice for their Gym Battles. This was their routine as they approached his new home.
He dismissed his two combatants to join the gaggle of Pokémon from their shared parties, who quickly circled around Arden to ward off the cold. The rodent Pokémon was like a walking campfire and, as Ciel had come to realize, he enjoyed his contributions. He squea If anything, constantly burning helped improve his long-term output.
"It's strange to be heading back after so long," Ciel said. That chill in the air he felt the first, and only, night he stayed was instantly recognizable. It stuck in the back of his mind that day, and he knew they were getting closer by the day. If they kept following the railroad, they'd eventually arrive at Mahogany Village.
"I know it's a little early, but let's end the hike here. Today took a lot out of me and my legs feel like jelly," Lyra said. She confirmed their location on her Poké GEAR while they spoke.
"Fine by me." He walked over to the center of their foot-drawn circle and withdrew some camping supplies from his backpack. By virtue of having the largest bag, he carried the tents for all three of them, one inside and the other two strapped to the exterior. Ciel shouted over his shoulder, "Hey, Gold! Get the food ready for our Pokémon."
"Aye aye, captain! Leave it to me!" the other boy said.
From what Ciel knew, they were over the halfway point of Route 42, since they had crossed over Mount Mortar a day prior. It was about for days, give or take, until they arrived. They were starting to slope upwards again after dropping into the valleys, and it unfortunately let freezing winds blow through. Once they got further up the highlands, it would warm up again, if only slightly, and they'd be in the home stretch.
Ciel set about pitching the three tents. He could do it mechanically, with barely any effort at all. He stretched out the ground cloth, then swiftly assembled the poles and locked them together with a string. After draping the first fly and fastening everything together, he realized he hadn't grabbed the mallet to hammer the stakes in. The dirt was too hard from the cold to do it himself.
"Hector," he called back. "Want to stomp around for me?"
His Rhyhorn lumbered across the cold ground away from the group. He'd grown considerably over the last couple of months; whereas he used to come up to Ciel's knees, Hector now towered past his waist. It was pretty impressive for having been the runt of the litter. Too bad Clovis hadn't pulled the same biological miracle. As if sensing the judgement, the diminutive Pidgeotto turned his head—crown feathers at attention—and screeched at him.
Hector nearly pushed him over when he failed to slow down and Ciel laughed whilst toppling over. After sitting himself up, he pointed out the half-driven stakes around each of the tents. The Rhyhorn wound up, lifted himself on his back legs for a few moments, and slammed a foot down onto the first peg, spearing it deep. Ciel guided him around the campsite to secure each and every tent, and when the job was done, Gold tossed him a nutritious lump of luminescent Kantonian moss to give the Pokémon. A dry tongue massaged the muscles in his palm.
Ciel pulled open his tent flap and sat half-in, half-out with a blanket covering his lap. He dug around his backpack and pulled out a book: The Game Design of Pokémon Battles by some guy named Takahashi. He compared a lot of simple battle strategies to board and card games, and Ciel found his flow-charts an amazing way to recontextualize his decision making. If the opponent attacks, your branched choices are to evade, defend, or tank the hit. It's like having a single action point to spend on your next turn. If you evade or tank, you can order a counterattack. If you defend, you need to create space or strengthen your defenses to avoid a follow through. Alongside the book, he scratched some self-pointers in a new notebook he bought to replace the training notes lost at sea.
As night fell, the forest disappeared around him. He needed to squint to read the pages. A few moments of light were granted when a freight train flew by along the nearby tracks and then it fell to darkness again. Gold and Crystal herded the Pokémon closer to the tents and the latter lit a torch from Arden's ignition to create a static campfire for themselves. Ciel moved a little closer to the light.
"That should just about do it," said Crystal as she dumped logs onto the completed fire. She slapped wood dust from her hands. "If we freeze to death in our sleep, I'm not to blame."
She sat inside her own tent around the campfire. She opened the Poké GEAR on her wrist and, after some fiddling and strange interference, managed to tune in to a radio station coming out of Mahogany. She listened intently as the weather report dragged on. At least it gave them an idea of what they'd be up against in the final leg.
As he kept flipping through the pages, he saw her occasionally glance at him in his periphery, as if wanting to say something. After the sixth or seventh time, he pressed the book closed. "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing. I just… it's cool that your parents are the Gym Leaders." She was strangely unsure about her own statement. She turned the radio down a bit.
"It's par for the course, I guess. My parents have worked for the Pokémon League as long as I can remember, and this just seems like an extension of that. It's not much of a privilege to me," he said.
"What did they do before?"
"They were substitutes," he said. "Rather than closing Gyms, the League placed them where a regular Leader was gone for maternity leave, or injury, or whatever. After that they were battle consultants who trained new League staff, so they were pretty suitable successors."
"So your mum is Ice, just like Pryce. And your dad is?"
"Dark." Though Raven was his first Pokémon by complete chance, he wouldn't deny that his father specializing in the Dark Type helped him make sense of battling with his own partner. It wasn't usually direct coaching—that was his mother's area—but the secondhand experience helped.
"What's wrong between you and your dad?" she asked.
There's the question she actually wanted to ask. He knew it was coming, and he didn't want to answer it, yet he made no effort to avoid it. Maybe it was because of that afternoon in the park with Brent that had set him on track in the first place. He exhaled heavily.
"I'm what's wrong." He said it forcefully. She perked up immediately and he soaked in the humiliation of her stare. "At least, I think so. I don't know."
She seemed to regret starting the conversation, but Ciel recognized that he needed to talk to someone about it. He'd been bottling it up, muttering to himself, dreading the day he'd face his parents in battle because of all that loomed behind it. But he kept moving forward regardless.
"My dad did something bad. We both know that. We avoided talking about it for years and nothing ever changed, but I only realized recently that he's been doing everything to try to make up for it. But I haven't. I can't seem to accept that he's making progress all the while sitting here doing absolutely nothing."
She asked, "Do you want to accept it?"
"Y-yeah." He repeated himself. "Yes. I just don't know why I haven't done it yet."
"I think this is the part where I'm supposed to give you advice, but I really don't know. I've never been in this kind of situation before." She gazed into the campfire and let the conversation die down, but Ciel needed to keep talking. It would get his mind working in preparation of the upcoming day.
"What are your parents like?" he asked.
"Well, you've seen them before," she said, surprised that he spoke up again, "and they're about the same at home."
He tilted his head at the oddly solemn undertone. In their sparse interactions, Crystal's parents seemed nothing but supportive and a happier couple than he'd ever encountered in his life.
Crystal winced as she spoke. "My Nan is too much sometimes and travels a lot for Contest work in Hoenn and Sinnoh. That's basically the only reason my Mum set up her flower business. She wanted someone always at home to take care of me. I think it's made her too protective, and whenever Nan suggests changing things around the house, they get into a big shouting fight."
Reminded, she fetched an azure flower that stuck out her bag's side pocket. She turned it over in her fingers. She'd intercepted the delivery when they passed through Ecruteak.
"You ever get caught in the middle?" he asked.
"All the damn time." She groaned. Mum always drags me in to prove her point. I'd lock myself in my room and play with Maron—he was an Azurill then—until everything blew over. That, or steal Nan's old contest outfits and try to put a new one together from the pieces."
"What about him?" he asked, pointing his thumb to Gold. He was currently entertaining the gaggle of Pokémon by spinning himself upside-down on his own head, like a Hitmontop without the spike. Or the grace.
"His dad's divorced, so it's just them. His mom's not the best lady around, but he goes to visit every few months, more to make sure she doesn't go crying to a judge or anything," she said.
Ciel smiled to himself, though part of him felt awful about it. He wished neither of them had to go through that. But she looked happy enough about speaking her and his stories, and Ciel shared that feeling. He pulled his knees close to his chest.
He stared up at the sky. Sometimes, he forgot to look up and just soak in the majesty of the untamed world. His one day in Mahogany was the first time in his life he'd ever seen a sky so bright, but it followed him everywhere through the Johtoan wilderness. He was sure the infinite shining flames reflected in the domes of his eyes.
Crystal was tending to the fire with a branch in hand when he heard some familiar names on the radio. He said, "Hey, can you turn that back up?"
"Oh, sure," she said. She pumped up the volume on her radio again, where a news report had taken over the station.
"—the Indigo League to double its guard staff. It has also ordered a comprehensive reevaluation of its digital security after the attack exposed notable vulnerabilities in its system," spoke the caster. "The Viceroy and Council Chair are expected to give official statements early tomorrow. Rocket Syndicate, especially after Champion Lance Masuta's daughter was critically injured when she stumbled upon the operation. From an interview with Lance himself, insiders predict that the League will commit to dismantling the Rocket organization entirely."
Ciel's blood ran cold and he immediately grabbed for the front pocket of his bag. His hands slipped on the zippers, but he managed to open the pack and grab his own, broken Poké GEAR. After an agonizing wait through the damaged boot-up, he opened his contacts, scrolled to Kris's phone number, and pressed "call".
Ring. Ring. Ring. There was no answer. His eyes raced around, and he barely caught a glimpse of a confused Crystal.
Ciel tried a second time. Still nothing. Color was starting to drain from his face as he imagined his friend, helpless, clinging to life. When the phone finally connected, he didn't even know who he expected to pick up knowing she was in bad condition.
"Hello?" he asked desperately. "Is Kris there, is she okay? What happened to her? What's going on?"
"Calm down, man! No need to get so worked up," said an unmistakable, girly voice. His breath hitched.
"Kris? Is that you?"
She laughed, then said something offhanded in Sinnohan, he assumed. There was a minor cough interspersed. "You ever met anyone else like me? You ready for our rematch yet?"
Ciel's mind was empty. He blinked. "Are you, uhh, are you okay?"
"I'm just fine and dandy, but thanks for the concern. Why wouldn't I be?"
"B-but, the news said you got hurt," he sputtered.
"Just a scratch. A good long power nap and I was patched up fine, like a knee scrape. You ever get those as a kid? I tripped on stuff all the time as a kid when I was out running," she said.
Ciel was still processing, had no idea what was going on, and couldn't figure out what to say. He was coming down from a high he never signed up for and felt like his brain might melt and slosh around inside his skull. All he could do was breathe. Hard.
"Well, okay," he said, unsteady. "And I don't think I'm ready for a rematch."
"Come on, man! I've been waiting, like, half a year already. Just get your butt in gear so I can kick it a second time, okay?"
"Okay. Okay? Okay," he said. Each repetition was a different inflection.
"Can't talk long. I'm grounded and not supposed to have my Pokétch. Bye-bye!" Her cheery voice fizzed out when the line hung up.
He looked to Crystal, and then to Gold, who had come wandering over to inspect his commotion. They both looked utterly baffled. Crystal asked, "What was that about?"
Ciel leaned over backwards into his tent until his back dramatically contacted the ground. He stared up at nothing.
"I'm done for today," he said.
Ciel shouted back to his friends and continued his climb up the hill. One after another, he found a new handhold and foothold to help weather the thirty-degree grade. Rising mountains to his left, descending steppes to his right, he continued onward up the steep ascent.
His team each had their own ways of overcoming the verticality. Hector's low center of gravity allowed him to walk as normal. Arden was latched onto his spines, letting the bulldozing Pokémon do the work for him. Clovis, of course, was purposely flaunting his winged privilege by scattering feathers and chirping in delight. Mantis chose not to fly, and instead speared his blades like climbing picks into the hillside to drag himself upward.
Ciel spared a second glance at the last member of his party who held up their rear. Each step, Raven dug her claws deep into the frozen soil. It was a slow pace, however, and she trailed behind the rest of the Pokémon. He offered the Poké Ball. To no surprise, she ignored it and continued to climb, leaving Ciel no choice but to keep leading.
"Are we there yet?" shouted Gold further down the hill. His Doduo shot past Ciel up the hillside.
"I swear, if you ask that question again, I'm going to toss you into the Lake of Rage when we get there," replied Crystal. She held on tight to her sun hat.
"Don't worry! We're almost there!" Ciel shouted back. He didn't know it for a fact. All he had to go on was the alpine chill, vague distance estimates since the start of their trip, and the clearing radio signals on his Poké GEAR. He was right.
The home he had never known revealed itself as the incline flattened. The twenty-something buildings of Mahogany Village looked as timeless as when he left them. Crystal, Gold, and their collective Pokémon caught up behind him, and together they followed the road into the quiet town.
Ciel led them through a vague collection of paths that crisscrossed and circled around the town square. Some of the banners and torches from the welcoming party were still raised, having either been reused for another party or left untouched through the year. They passed the worn and faded Pokémon Center, its doors broken on their hinges but a warmth emanating from inside. The small schoolhouse was alive inside. It was too early for Laina to be out of classes. He noticed some snow piles hiding unmelted in the shadows of buildings.
The village ended at a rough circle of houses. Only about seven or eight, surrounding a decorative fountain that was long-since emptied of its flow. The path traced concentric to the fountain, and like spokes on a wheel, walkways extended to each of the houses. Ciel dug around in his pocket for a new copy of his house key that had been mailed in the care package.
"Kind of a dump, huh?" asked Gold. He was shivering in his coat. He slid his foot along the ground and kicked across the packed-dirt ground to prove his point. There was barely a blade of grass to be seen.
"Not much better than the dump you two come from," he shot back. "It has a nice feeling to it."
He walked the path up to his own house. The wooden building was unremarkable—it was constructed in a style that weathered time, with a square, paneled frame and a simple sloped roof. Using his key, he and his friends stepped inside. They removed their shoes.
The entrance hallway's tan panels were broken up by a dark wooden frame and lit by an open electric bulb. The other rooms were the same. It should have been an empty house. Today was a weekday and his parents were obligated to keep the doors open for would-be challengers passing through the mountains. They knew he was coming, however, and when he led Gold and Crystal into the matted family room, they sat on their knees around the table.
His mother, with her dark hair and darker eyes, wrapped in her fine white robes like a spirit of the tundra. His father, with his same green eyes and light hair, spartan and neutral in clothing. Had they really been waiting all morning for him to arrive? Confused as he was, a welcoming blanket enveloped him, or maybe it was the space heater.
He croaked out, "Hey."
"Hey," his mother repeated. She shot up to a stand. "Hey? Hey! You leave for the better part of a year and the best thing you've got when you finally get back is 'hey?'"
She threw herself on him and wrapped him in the tightest hug he'd ever felt. He could hardly believe his mother had that kind of strength, and all of it was being poured into him at once. At first he knew it was out of love, but then his ribs started to spear into his lungs. She said, "And then you went and nearly drowned yourself. What kind of gall do you have to be that irresponsible and then have nothing to say for yourself when you get back?"
"What did you say to grandma and grandpa when you got back?" he managed.
The pressure was suddenly released, and his mother stepped back, glowing. She twirled around in her socks. He bent over, gasping. Her minor wrinkles seemed to fade when her face rotated back to him. "I think I asked if they had anything to eat."
"Yeah, you got anything to eat?" shouted Gold from behind him.
"Don't be rude, you idiot," Crystal told him. Though, Ciel knew for a fact she complained about her stomach rumbling an hour ago.
"Oh, it's you two! You got earthy nicknames, right? Crystal and, uhh, Tungsten?" she asked. Gold went red in the face—whether out of anger or embarrassment—and Ciel's mother laughed aloud. "I'm kidding, Gold. I wouldn't be a Gym Leader if I was senile. Now, make yourself at home, my husband's a better cook than you'll see on TV."
Crystal took up the invitation and kneeled, removing her sun hat and resting it on the table. She slipped off her coat and rolled it under her knees. Gold threw himself into a slide to home plate and propped his head up on his elbow when he came to a stop. When his mother motioned him forward, he stayed.
She said, "Aren't you going to come sit?"
He ignored her question, as his attention was completely focused on the only person in the room who had yet to speak. Daku Fauder shared with his son an invisible conversation. The months they had to wonder about this moment came rushing back to them, silencing Ciel's mother and friends once they realized what was happening. Ciel's whole body grew hot. His legs threatened to collapse.
His father stood from his seat and stepped over to his son. Ciel realized that he really had gotten taller, just like Gold said. He could meet his father's gaze on a flat plane for the first time in his life and it summoned confidence in the same capacity as guilt. He shouldn't be standing equal to someone who had tried so much harder than him, who actively wanted to be a better person while Ciel drowned in his mistakes. He was still that ten-year-old who cried in a malevolent shadow, and who couldn't understand how much had changed in seven years.
"That jacket looks good on you." The man shifted balance onto his other leg, then back again, then straightened his stance for good measure.
"Dad," Ciel said, voice unsteady. "You wanted me to give you the greatest battle I could. So, I will."
He was taken aback and paused a few moments. "Right now? You haven't even had time to rest. Don't you want to wait a few days?"
"Do you?" he asked.
He wished he knew the parallel thoughts that gripped the man in front of him. His father smiled and said, "No, we've both waited long enough."
Beyond the man's shoulders, Gold threw up a quiet thumb and spoke loud with his attitude. Crystal raised a single finger to him and mouthed "you". His mother gave a firm nod. Daku held up his arm, elbow bent crooked up his chest, ending with a waiting open hand. Ciel clasped the hand with his own and they closed their fingers tight.
The referee explained the rules. The grumbling elder's eyes were half lidded and he almost nodded off on his feet. "The challenger will use two Pokémon simultaneously with another two in reserve. Each Gym Leader will present two of their own, one reserve for each. As per standard League Rules, Gym Leaders are disallowed from substituting Pokémon. Trainers, send out your leading Pokémon."
A double battle. Ciel knew that doubles was an uncommon format for professional competition, though some top battle scholars of the International Pokémon League considered it fairer and safer for both Trainers and Pokémon. Still, it paled in cultural relevance to the single battle, and as such Ciel was undoubtedly out of his element. Not to mention how cold it was. The frigid Mahogany Gym made it difficult to focus. A mist wrapped around his legs and cut off feeling below his knees, and the forming icicles around the ceiling audibly dripped and made him wince every time a droplet popped against the iced floor
His mother suggested to sit out—they could hold single matches at their discretion—but even if he and his father shouldered the battle's purpose, Ciel refused to handicap himself. He couldn't be afraid to push himself to his limit. But his Pokémon were top priority. He'd never forget that again.
Ciel held out two of his Poké Balls. Their red caps popped open and the materialization beams arced out to the floor. Raven and Arden appeared in a red flash. The neon red penetrated the ice and caused the floor shine all around him. His mother unleashed a Pokémon called Keokeo, a foreign-born Ice-Type closely related to Vulpix. His father's own foreign creature, Inkay, materialized from its capsule floating upside-down.
He'd regionalized his front row in advance. Though his parents would expect him to front his Quilava to gain as much of a lead as possible, he hadn't recalled ever mentioning his Scyther. Mantis had an overwhelming advantage against Inkay, dual-typed Psychic and Dark, so he'd present Arden as his Type advantage to fake them out. Plus, he needed utmost synergy to get him off the ground.
"Are all combatants ready?" prompted the referee. Both sides gave their consent, he got his flags in order, and the green was cast.
A cloud condensed overhead, and combined with the mist below, the visible area of the battlefield narrowed. Small chunks of ice plummeted from the cloud and smashed onto the ice. They grew larger, and larger, and larger with each passing moment until they roughly matched a storage-state Poké Ball. When he noticed the almost imperceptible mist rising off his mother's Keokeo, he understood that the creature's ability could cause a hailstorm.
"Honey, cover me," she said.
"Right!" His father's Inkay hovered in front of its companion. He ordered "Morgana, use Psybeam!"
The psionic pulse streaked across the ice towards Arden. Raven was already moving when he cast his command for her to block it. She dug her claws into the ice and took the Psybeam head on. An invisible force made her recoil, but she held tight and stood tall with no injury.
It was after the interception that Ciel realized he'd fallen right into their trap. On the other side of the battlefield, Inkay and Keokeo wore shimmering auras and faded into the deepening hailstorm. He'd seen his mother use this move before, Aurora Veil, and the obvious distraction allowed her to set it up. The glowing shield provided unbreakable protection from any attacks, meaning he could only apply pressure until it disappeared.
"Raven, charge forward and use Slash on Inkay!" Ciel shouted. She catapulted forward but she gained no momentum as her feet slid from front to back. She had no traction on the ice, and each attempt to adjust her balance overcorrected and slid the opposite direction.
"Repeat Psybeam!" ordered his father. It targeted the same place. This time, Raven couldn't have moved to block even if he wanted as she scrambled on the ice.
Ciel shouted in desperation, "Dodge it, Arden!"
The force slammed into him head on and launched him across the icy floor. His reaction was delayed by the bombardment of hail, and when he skidded to a stop at the edge of the battlefield, he already was swaying on his feet. The Psybeam messed with his head.
He scrambled for a plan. His eyes shifted rapidly between his own two combatants. Keokeo began to synthesize floating daggers of ice in response to his mother's Ice Shard command. Inkay didn't look like an all-out offensive Pokémon, but it was taking that role. Meanwhile, Keokeo stood near the edge of the battlefield to provide support. He needed to take it out first or else it would set up another barrier.
What advantage did he have? Raven couldn't move well on the ice, and remembering his battle with Chuck, Mantis couldn't either. They weren't built for traction. In a few moments, he decided.
"Arden, I need you up front," Ciel said. His mother's Ice Shard was almost ready. He needed to move fast.
Striding forward, the heat from his Quilava's footsteps pooled water in a trail behind him. Steam rose each time his paw met the ground. He began to pick up speed. Ciel smiled, knowing that his Pokémon understood his plan without so much as a word.
However, he stopped. A sudden movement by Raven placed her in Arden's path. She waited. The Pokémon turned her head back to him, just enough to reveal her right eye focused directly on him. Under the intense pressure of her judgement, he faltered in giving Arden's command, and they were bombarded by hundreds of daggers of ice when Keokeo launched the attack. Raven presented her body like a shield yet again and was peppered bloody.
Her attention never strayed from her Trainer. Her trust in him had been all but destroyed by what happened in Olivine all those months ago, and she didn't seem to soften no matter how much they trained together and how much he tried to make it up to her. She'd fiercely protect Arden from everyone, even him.
Ciel never meant to endanger him. He never wanted any of it to turn out this way! His purpose was to protect his Pokémon so they could grow stronger together and he hated himself for throwing that all away because of his own damn ego. He wished he could go back and tell Raven she was right and prevent any of this from happening.
The battlefield was eerily quiet. When he looked up, neither of his parents were in stance to command, and he witnessed his mother signal the referee to raise a yellow flag. The sudden change in atmosphere almost made him collapse as his adrenaline from battle was already wearing off. Though, Gym Leaders had wide control over calling recesses, Ciel felt sick—they were babying him when he should have been fighting strong.
His father called his name across the field. "Ciel?"
He clenched his teeth. The man's caring voice only made his heartbeat painful. He looked down to Raven, who held her stance, then back to his father.
"I learned something a while ago, Ciel. You can't revert the past," he said while witnessing the Absol viciously defend her ward. He glanced to his wife before he continued with a smile. "But, if you choose to accept that you've changed, it says more about you than if you try to forget."
Ciel, not realizing he'd started to slouch, pulled himself back up to pose. "You went to therapy to try to change, didn't you?"
He nodded. "I stopped drinking, too. I can't forget the person I was and the mistakes I made, but I'm here now as who I want to be."
Was Ciel who he wanted to be? Had he finally gotten to the point where he could move faster than his mind and be confident that he could protect the people and Pokémon he cared about, just like he said to Brent the day they parted ways? No, he couldn't. He'd never be able to completely eliminate his doubts and he was still years of practice away from standing atop the world and announcing that it was under his watch. But he was better than he was before. If his younger self were to look up at him, he'd see a Trainer to aspire to.
"I promise you, Raven. I want to protect him and let him grow stronger, just like you. That's why you're my partner," Ciel said. Her glare kept for a few seconds before her stance weakened, she stepped aside, and she angled her sickle towards their opponents. This let Arden ignite to full blast.
"Thank you," he said. She made no response to indicate that she heard, but she deepened her battle stance. He nodded to his father. The green was thrown again. He ordered, "Arden, Flame Wheel!"
Arden first curled his body tight while letting his flames burn high and bright. He kicked off with his back legs and launched forward across the ice, rotating faster and faster until he became a dangerous wheel of fire. The floor's ice coating liquified in a trail behind him as he launched at the opponent.
"Morgana, cover and use Psycho Cut!" said his father. His mother complemented, "Use another Ice Shard, Lago!"
Inkay floated above its ally to defend against the incoming wheel of fire. Its tentacles shined with Psychic energy and it whipped them forward to release consecutive sharp waves. Arden sped faster and faster towards the two Pokémon and the oncoming attack.
A materialization beam flew forward and dematerialized Arden. He disappeared without a trace and the attack never completed, but the ice trail melted behind him was all the mark he needed. The second Poké Ball he had ready built the body of Mantis in his place, and Ciel ordered, "Charge and use X-Scissor!"
Mantis launched as soon as his consciousness awoke from stasis. His powerful legs bounded him forward down the melted trail, his beating wings multiplied his speed. The Psycho Cut slammed into him head on and barely slowed him down, dissipating across his carapace. Inkay braced for the attack, but Ciel counted on his Pokémon to realize the true target.
Mantis threw his legs forward and slid underneath the floating Pokémon that stood in his way. The Scyther crossed his blades across his chest, sprinted forward, and struck Keokeo with all his might. The Pokémon positioned itself too close to the edge of the ring. It was thrown clear from the bounds of the battlefield. The referee flashed a yellow flag and declared that Keokeo was defeated by ringout. The hail began to lighten but Inkay was still protected by Aurora Veil.
His mother quickly dematerialized her active Pokémon and replaced it with one even more dangerous. Her partner, Froslass. The Pokémon's underbody was purple and humanoid, but what looked like a white robe draped over its limbs and torso. A ghastly chill permeated through the already-freezing air and Ciel pulled his jacket tighter.
"Onna, Frost Breath!" ordered his mother once the battle resumed.
The floating spirit waved one of her arms in a forward arc and sprayed a cloud towards them. It was too wide to dodge and it washed over them. Crystals flash-froze across Raven's fur and Mantis's wings. The former released an agonizing yelp. Ciel felt it pierce his skin when the dissipating cloud barely reached him and froze the perspiration on his right hand.
"Flamethrower!" His father gave a follow-up order. A stream of flame erupted from the motions of the Inkay's tentacles and broke through the lingering Frost Breath, instantly vaporizing it and overcoming the mist with a cloud of steam.
His Pokémon and the battlefield vanished. He couldn't even see where the attack was aiming. He shouted, "Dodge it, Mantis! Charge forward, Raven!"
Due to the temperature, the steam cloud dissipated quickly. Ciel's eyes went wide. Raven was the one sporting a burn on her right side, fur licking with flames. Mantis was already on the move after surveying the situation, taking advantage of the second path of melted ice connecting it and Inkay. It reared its left blade and brought down a lightning-fast Slash. Inkay spun through the air until it steadied itself and fired back a barrage of swipes from its tentacles that pushed the Scyther away across the ice.
Ciel ordered him to follow through with X-Scissor, regretting that Mantis himself probably didn't realize the Type advantage. Meanwhile, he retrieved his partner's Poké Ball. "Raven, you're hurt. Return!"
He fired her materialization beam and she disappeared. She was replaced a second later by Hector, who announced his presence on the battlefield with a screech. He could barely decide if he or Clovis was the better choice. His Rhyhorn couldn't use most of his attacks because both Inkay and Froslass could levitate, but once he announced his fourth Pokémon, it was locked in, and he might need Hector's unbreakable defense against the only opponent he had yet to see.
His mother's Froslass finally recovered from its initial attack. Given its damage output, he assumed Frost Breath was exhausting for the user and he could count on the Pokémon not repeating it for a while. As well, the glowing field protecting Inkay dimmed, and then dissipated. This was his chance.
"Hector, Mantis, go!" he ordered.
His parents mirrored the order and both parties clashed in the center of the battlefield. Ciel ordered his Scyther to go after Inkay with an X-Scissor, but the floating enemies easily swapped places to dodge and put them in a favorable position. Froslass discharged another icy mist that fused Mantis's wings to his back. He responded with a Slash that phased through the Ghost-type completely—he was caught off guard and rounded again with another X-Scissor, but not before a Shadow Ball slammed into his chest.
Hector, meanwhile, smashed a piece of ice underfoot, took it in his mouth, and flung it at Inkay. When the creature flipped over itself mid-air to dodge the projectile, Hector tore a plate from his armor and delivered a second hit that Inkay wasn't prepared to dodge.
Froslass outstretched an arm to catch its ally as it spiraled away. Ciel realized it had forced Mantis to a knee. Hector took a Shadow Ball to his side, courtesy of a now unoccupied Froslass, and then a Psybeam in quick succession. His physical defense couldn't spare him from the energy-based special attacks. He fell on his stomach, conscious but exhausted.
Ciel bit his tongue and failed to give his next order. He was being overwhelmed again. If he couldn't narrow the scope of battle, he couldn't survive.
"Hector, Bulldoze! Smash the battlefield!" Jasmine's battle ran through his mind. He threw out his arm to reinforce his command.
Hector struggled through the motions. His Pokémon, driven purely by his determination, reared up and slammed down into the ice. Cracks shot instantly across the entire floor and the entire sheet of ice was forced skyward in shards and pieces.
Ciel followed through immediately. His final battle with Chuck was the next image. "Beat your wings and use the shards, Mantis, then attack!"
The Bug-type dug a foot into the newly cleared ground and muscled his wings fast enough until Ciel could no longer see their beating. The intense airflow generated behind him covered the opposite team in a storm of ice. Inkay and Froslass were both buffeted by Ciel's own creative hail. Inkay could barely hold itself in the air after the barrage and the creature's rhythmic sways became erratic.
The Scyther didn't stop for a second. He rocketed forward and crossed his blades. They charged with Bug-type energy.
"Dodge, Morgana!" shouted his Dad, but it was too late. The crossed blades struck the vulnerable opponent hard and carved an x-shaped scar into its body. It bled. Inkay dropped to the floor, unable to battle. Before the referee could call the knockout, a continuous beam of ice lanced through one of its lower leg plates, and he too fell. He was unconscious.
Two yellow flags were raised by the referee. He shouted, "Double knockout! Combatants, send in your next Pokémon."
"You've got us down to two versus three, Ciel," said his mother. Her amusement was clear, and she stretched her arms and shoulders. How utterly relaxed the gesture was left him unnerved. The current disadvantage didn't slow her, or his father, down in the slightest.
"It's impressive how far you've come, Ciel." His father stared him down. "You and Raven barely landed a single hit on Pryce's Piloswine when we first arrived."
His instinct was to spit in the face of the compliment, as if there was some hidden insult behind it. But there wasn't. Was that what he thought on that day, as well? He nodded and released Raven back to the field while the man replaced Inkay with a far more dangerous Pokémon.
The creature faded from neon red to pure black. Only ash-gray, bone-like decorations and a few spots of red underbelly broke up the canine creature's dark hide. The Houndoom exhaled jets of smoke through its nose.
"Are you ready, partner?" he asked his returning party member.
She uttered a low growl of affirmation and readied herself for a fight despite her marred and blackened. He kept her Poké Ball tight in his right hand, just in case, when the battle picked up yet again.
"Houndoom, Flamethrower!" shouted his father.
"Raven, hit the deck!" he fired back. This time, he guessed correctly where the attack was aimed.
Another torrent of fire streaked over her. Fortunately, she dropped to the ground in time and rolled over to dodge, then she bounded forward. Hector charged at her rear in single file.
"Night Slash on Froslass! Drill Run on Houndoom!" Ciel ordered.
"Will-O-Wisp!" called his mother. Houndoom and his Trainer waited, stalwart unmoving.
A wave of Froslass's arm unleashed a purple, flickering flame that met his team in their advance. Raven kicked off her left legs and threw herself clear, but Hector had too much momentum to slow and dodge. It disappeared when it touched his hide, and though Ciel didn't see any effect, his Rhyhorn shifted uncomfortable as if itching and scratching. The ethereal move convinced him he was burning on his slow march forward.
Raven jumped high and tore her charged sickle through Froslass. The creature recoiled but recovered fast. His mom ordered her to use Ice Beam, and Raven's own burns, limiting her movement, led her to take the beam in a rear leg. Crawling up her leg and across the floor, the expanding ice tied her to the ground. She struggled to break free. However, her opponent didn't fare much better. After taking the super effective hit and expending more energy on the counterattack, Froslass slumped over. It couldn't take much more.
Hector and his father's Houndoom met head-on. The former drive his horn forward, but the latter twisted his head to catch the protrusion within one of his curled, wicked horns. The Houndoom cranked his head with all his might and tore Hector from the ground. In the half a second the heavy Pokémon was lifted airborne, his father shouted, "Inferno!"
The blaze overcame him at point blank. Intense heat turned Hector's plates into burning coals. The gushing fire never slowed as it discharged from Houndoom's maw, and it burned hotter and hotter and hotter until an eerie blue rose among the bending air. Ciel could barely make out what occurred, but the referee held out a yellow.
"The challenger's Rhyhorn is unable to battle! Cease fire immediately!" he called.
The clearing smoke revealed Hector, burning red and collapsed on his stomach before Houndoom. Blue flame licks littered the battlefield in place of the ice sheet, and Ciel could see it had spread far enough to scorch one of Raven's legs meters away. She yelped.
"Ref," Ciel said, eyes focused on the burns swirling across her hide, "I also want to declare my Absol knocked out."
His decision earned him a growl and a glare, but he felt confident when the referee confirmed with another yellow. Any more burns and she'd take some permanent scarring. One against two, and his advantage was gone.
The doors of the Gym's final chamber opened. In the lull between his switch, it rang clearly in Ciel's ears, and he turned heel on who entered. One, a man in a nice blue coat, tapped his cane on the floor to command attention.
"And here I thought the Gym was closed for today," said Pryce. He chuckled. "And what do I happen to stumble across but a fun family game night? Aren't you missing someone?"
Bushy red pigtails poked out behind him. Ciel's expressed curled upwards on his face and he was tackled into a hug. This time, he was prepared for it. His sister in his arms, he pivoted on one foot—then he hopped to another—on the slippery floor.
"Ciel! You didn't tell me when you were getting home, you jerk," she said once he settled her back on the floor.
"Calm down, I've only been home for about two hours. It was just home, then the Pokémon Center, then here. You haven't missed a bit and—wait, aren't you supposed to be in school?" He sputtered once he realized.
"Well, yeah. I'm supposed to be," she said. She flicked her eyes to Pryce.
"I hope the school doesn't check parental consent forms for forgeries," he mused, before raising his voice to shout, "or else they'll be coming for you, Kori!"
"Uh-huh. We're in the middle of a battle here, Pryce. And we'll talk later, young lady." Her mother crossed her arms and tried to appear unsympathetic, but she was in no hurry to continue. The only one getting antsy was the referee struggling against nodding off on the sidelines.
Cheers from Crystal and Gold filled his ears after he had all but forgotten about them since the battle began. He had been so consumed with the battle that he'd tuned out their constant cheering and support. His sister took her place alongside his friends and let out her own battle cry, Pryce standing taciturn beside her.
Everyone here had supported him in some way, urging him forward whether they were aware or not. His father didn't realize how much this stupid, dumb, insane feud between them fueled his Gym Challenge. Laina probably didn't know what burning anger she inspired in him. Pryce definitely understood that his one simple act changed Ciel's life forever. They were all with him now.
"Finish your fight, Ciel!" Crystal's voice echoed louder than anyone else. He was going to finish his battle, because the one he thought he was waging had long since concluded. He didn't hate his father. And he wanted more than anything to show the man how far he'd come.
"Are all combatants ready to resume?" asked the referee.
"It's two on one," said his father. His mother added, "Think you can take us?"
When his final Poké Ball launched its beam to the field, materializing the quadrupedal figure of his Quilava to the field, Ciel said, "We can take you."
Arden gained his bearing on the switch in. He had been recalled amidst a flame wheel and put forward his front paws to brake. Upon gaining his bearings, and realizing he'd been thrown through time, the rodent Pokémon ignited for battle. He and his trainer stared down their unlikely odds.
The final green flew.
Ciel took the first move. "Flamethrower, aim low!"
"Twelve, use Crunch!" his father ordered in return.
Arden released his flaming pillar and sprayed the ground to create a barrier of flame between the two parties. Air cycled around the battlefield and carried heat higher and higher. This trapped Froslass on the other side of the field as Houndoom leapt through the wall and brought down his fangs on where Arden used to be. He winced as he landed, and as small a detail as it was, it confirmed Ciel's suspicion. Houndoom didn't have Flash Fire.
"Tackle!" said Ciel. Arden twisted around from his dodge and shot forward, barreling his body weight into Houndoom's lunged snout.
The creature snapped back instantly with another Bite. It curled its teeth around Arden's right side. He powered his ignition and sent flames coursing through his attacker's mouth. it didn't stop the Houndoom from tossing him across the battlefield. He landed at Ciel's feet and stood decorated with teeth marks.
"Onna, Shadow Ball!" A round phantom projectile crossed the flame barrier and slammed into Arden's head.
"Arden, slide across the floor on your back." The command was met with slight hesitation. His confident stare reassured the Pokémon as he looked back, and he flung himself forward despite his injuries.
The Pokémon kicked his legs out from under himself, jammed his flame sacs, and skidded across the floor. His father sought to capitalize and ordered a Flamethrower.
"Max ignition, now!"
The Pokémon poured all his energy into his flame sacs in an explosive burst. The recoil sent him forward and upward, and the Quilava twirled in flight to avoid the oncoming flames and a Shadow Ball sent to intercept. He landed on Houndoom's head and used it as a steppingstone to jump even higher.
This was his chance. With both Pokémon caught off guard, he needed to even the odds. Ciel said, "Ember!"
The small spark was all he needed. It crossed the distance and engulfed Froslass. Like Inkay before it, it dropped low to the floor and ceded the fight, being recalled by his mother after the referee swung his flag. She bowed out—with a literal bow—and stood beside Pryce on the sidelines.
Ciel curled a fist before him to combat the shaking. Rapid temperature changes, exhaustion from commanding the battle, and the unbridled excitement he felt threatened to end the battle before his Pokémon could. Even with a bite wound and having exhausted most of his flame output, Arden stood stronger than his Trainer. He and Houndoom circled each other in a few moment of silent contemplation.
"Ciel." His father's call pacified his racing nerves. It was the most caring he'd ever heard in the man's voice, even more than when he spoke about Laina in his voicemails. "Whatever happens, this is it. This is our point to start over."
He agreed. More than anything, he was having some of the most fun of his life side-by-side with his partner Pokémon, and he was sure his father felt the same. They were fighting without any hidden animosity, without any unspoken problems, and without misused time. Ciel was fighting a true Pokémon battle.
"You said you needed to see I was ready to move on," the man said, then he paused. "Am I?"
"Are we?" he asked.
After a moment of hesitation, his father echoed, "We are."
A shining white engulfed the Gym's interior and Ciel gasped. He focused his vision on the ball of pure energy that engulfed the Gym. Ciel shielded his eyes from the all-consuming light. Somewhere within the glow, Arden's growling shout could be heard shifting pitch and transforming into something entirely new.
Ciel was ready to accept his loss. Once Arden's evolution was complete, he'd be completely spent of energy and wouldn't be able to continue. He'd be defeated by Houndoom. It didn't matter. He felt happier than he'd ever been.
The white slowly condensed on the new shape. It stood upright with a bulkier body, more powerful legs, and a longer neck. But it was unmistakably the same agile Pokémon as before. Arden had transformed.
Before the light even faded, Ciel signaled to the referee, who understood. When he raised his colors to end the battle, however, he was cut off by the penetrating growl from inside the light. Arden repeated it, making it clear it was aimed for his Trainer.
Ciel stood in shock. He wouldn't have the strength to even lif himself off the ground, and he expected to fight Houndoom to the end? The glowing mass turned back towards his opponent and let out an even louder call—a roar unlike anything he was capable of before.
He had no idea how long it was until Arden was spent completely, or what reserve of power made him this confident to continue. They had half a minute, maybe, but he'd make it count. Arden wanted to fight. He did too. With a quick sign to the referee, he gave his next order. "Flamethrower!"
Arden's released a shining white flame. It lashed across the arena at lightning speed, his firepower maximized.
His father's Houndoom couldn't avoid the attack and was consumed. Even resisting Fire-type attacks, it was struggling to withstand the onslaught.
"Fire Blast!" shouted his father.
Deep from its maw, Houndoom expelled a massive power of his own. Even more wild than his standard flame attacks, a burning crest shot forward. It suppressed the oncoming flames like a shield and forced Arden to drop his assault as it surged forward. He jumped out of the way. The wall behind him burst in flames when the Fire Blast crashed into it.
"Get in close, Arden. We don't have much time. Let's make this our last attack!" Ciel ordered. His brilliant Pokémon was already on the move before he spoke. Houndoom lunged forward to meet their assault.
The two powers clashed at the arena's center. Ciel decided to take a page from his father's rulebook as they got in close. An attack that burst with a Pokémon's full firepower. Even though they'd never used it before, Ciel trusted Arden to know what to do. His father matched his intention.
They shouted in unison. "Inferno!"
The battlefield exploded. The wind and smoke that barreled past him swept Ciel off his feet. He managed to steady himself before he landed on his face. He kept his gaze locked on the glimmering beacon within the black cloud.
He waited, and waited, and waited for the smoke to settle. When the combatants finally emerged, both were spent, hunched, and panting, As the smoke cleared further, his family and friends came into view, and all of them were silent. The referee clutched a blue flag at his side.
Arden swayed on his feet. He was still consumed by the light and had yet to fade back into color. Houndoom fared little better and even announced his defiance with a smokey exhale. Ciel held in a breath.
Houndoom dropped to the ground, motionless. In that instant, Arden's light snapped out to show his true colors, and the newly evolved Typhlosion once again announced himself with a roar. A blue flag signaled Ciel's victory.
"Hey, get those Clauncher off the burner!" shouted Daku.
"Uhh, right," Ciel said. He took the sizzling pan in hand and slid around the cooked shellfish with the force of his arm motion. They had been battered and fried, and now it was his job to add flourish as they cooled.
His father spoke up again, bashing two metal items together. He was fully decorated in a chef's apron and wore it proud. "Add the rice and sauces to the dashi base, quickly! We haven't got all day, people. Mix it, mix it!"
Gold, in charge of the soup, nearly spilled all the ingredients across the kitchen floor. It was crowded with so many people running around, including Crystal preparing five different tea blends and countless unique bowls of food for each Pokémon.
"There a way I can help, perhaps?" asked his mother with a dry tone. She hovered at the outside edge of the kitchen, marked by two types of floor tiles.
"You're forbidden from coming anywhere near this food," said Ciel's father. "That's an order."
"Whatever. Didn't want to touch your stupid kitchen alchemy anyway," she said before wandering off into the family room. Laina brushed past her with the news that said family room was in ship shape for a full-size dinner-for-twenty-one.
"Laina, how is Arden doing in there?" Ciel asked over his shoulder.
"He keeps falling asleep and then waking himself up when he smells food," his sister reported.
"Make sure you aren't wasting any of those Nomels, Lyra. He's gonna need them." Ciel smiled to himself and returned to dressing his potion of the meal.
A timer rung. Daku said, "That's a wrap. Dish everything out and let's move it!"
Add rice soup. Small beef cuts. Tempura shellfish. Radishes and beans. He repeated these self-instructions over in his head as he, Crystal, and Ethan dished out everyone's bowls from on the stove. They hurried into the other room with countless full dishes, drinks, and other necessary items balanced precariously among them. Together, they managed to decorate the table for a hearty dinner.
Around the edges of the family room, sixteen different Pokémon sat—or floated—patiently in wait for the meal. Ciel was glad they'd gotten full baths at the Pokémon Center, because he didn't want to imagine the musk. Once Laina distributed each Pokémon's species-tailored bowl, the five of them knelt at the room's center table.
"Thank you for the meal," they said together, before digging in. Ciel's taste buds melted. He forgot what true home cooking tasted like, and then he wondered how heaven could slip someone's mind. Tangy, but with an overlying salty goodness. Undertones of poultry, and garlic, and ginger, and soy, and even some spice. He was shoving his face rather rudely with everything on his place at once.
"I formally dedicate this meal the foremost pain in my ass," said his mother.
Normally, he'd be embarrassed, but with the Glacier Badge tucked in his pocket, he was soaring. Crystal, Gold, and his father all put down their utensils to clap. Gold's Togepi had climbed onto his lap with its own foot bowl and joined in.
"Thanks, everyone," he said. "Only one more badge until my Gym Challenge is complete."
"Thanks for having us over for dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Fauder. Now I've had a sit-down meal with Ciel's parents on both sides of the Region," said Gold. He was speaking with his mouth full. Crystal shot him a glare and dragged a chopstick in front of her throat in an exaggerated gesture. His parents looked between themselves and Ciel motion frantically to drop the subject.
His father said, "Glad you got here before the new year, Ciel. We get to spend the holidays together. I guess I got a little ahead of myself with the big end-of-the-year meal."
"I'll just have to help you put together another one," he said. He had already scarfed down half his sitting and was excited to see Arden on the opposite side of the room cleaning his bowl of pure nutrients. He dragged his tongue all over the bowl so as not to miss a single drop.
Once the meal was done, they all pitched in to clean up. Laina volunteered to inter all their Pokémon at the Center for the night and he wished his team a good rest, all of them. He witnessed Raven and Arden chatter back and forth down the front path, including some annoyed growls from his partner at her loss of vertical superiority. He couldn't contain his smile.
Those left in the house prepared sleeping arrangements for everyone. There were only three bedrooms, so Crystal and Gold decided to hole up together in the family room with the sleeping bags they brought. His mother tried to argue until she realized they didn't have easy alternatives.
They turned in early. When Ciel excused himself to his room for the night, he switched on the light to find Laina lounging on his bed. It was as pristine as he left it.
"Everyone at the Center okay?" he asked.
"Yup! They said they'd put your Typhlosion under special care to help him recover faster, too," she said.
"Thanks for freezing your butt off to get that done." He said. His entire team could use a good night's—or maybe a week's—rest. "But, why are you in my room? Don't you have school tomorrow?"
"So? I want to hear about your adventures."
"Mom and dad would get really mad if they found you staying up. More than they already are for you skipping," he shot back.
She puffed her face. Her eyes glossed over with a cunning sorcery. His self-control slipped at the sight of the pouting face. He shook his head and sat down next to her on the edge of his bed. "Alright, alright, alright, what do you want to hear about?"
She giggled. "Tell me everything."
The showdown. I was excited to finally get to this chapter, and the final result is… massive. It pushed me over the 200,000 word benchmark, that's for sure.
As you can see, my schedule delays usually aren't the result of me missing my 5,000 words per chapter standard. I almost always hit that within a two-week timeframe. The problem is when chapter contents go way beyond, and you get monsters like this. It's just more I need to rag on in my end-of-story postmortem.
Between this chapter and the last, I beat Pokémon Shield. As you can probably tell, I've been on the positive side of the games throughout its release. After playing them, I'm glad to say that I enjoyed them immensely, but like every Pokémon game, it has certain flaws (and unique ones that barely existed in games prior). I found myself really getting into the spectacle of Dynamaxing despite being a skeptic and it's hard to overstate how much energy it brings. The renewed focus on Gyms and worldbuilding about the Pokémon League makes the story pop in some places, but its delivery elsewhere can be lacking. I think the lack of voice acting and cutscenes hurts it, as a lot of important events happen offscreen and the player is only shown characters' reactions to them. People complained about constant cutscenes and dialogue in previous games, and I guess this game tried to limit how much it took the player away from the core gameplay loop, but it was a mixed bag. Still, it was a fun experience overall that I'd rank about in the middle compared to the other generations.
Otherwise, I've been reading the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and marathoning the Resident Evil series (one game series I missed out on for years). I'm into the final seven volumes of the former and I've beaten the first two games of the latter.
From here, we move onto the final five chapters. They're grouped together as an "arc" in my outline, but that may be flexible given how the story has been structured so far. Either way, it's not long before this journey comes to a close.
The debut of Chapter 31: Storming the Castle is January 17th at the earliest. Happy New Year, and I'll see you soon.