Welcome back to another chapter of Diary! As always, I do not own Pokémon, and enjoy!

39. Frostbite

Day 38 (October 10, 2019): Sinnoh

And back to more Gracie time! Off to traverse one of the most interesting, distinct, and simultaneously hated parts of the game.

But before that, there's a bit more business within the game itself.

Gracie gets summoned to the library, to talk about protecting the three legendary Pokémon of the lakes from Team Galactic. Lucas and Barry are here too, so there's three people to protect three areas.

But before anything can happen, bombs go off. It seems so similar to what happened in the Great Marsh. Perhaps it's best for civilians and children to clear out…

But being the game's protagonist, I have to investigate.

Granted, Gracie is considered an adult, so makes more sense to go. But I think she will be skittish considering her last run-in with criminals. And considering her reputation, there's no way the others haven't heard, so they would be concerned for her.

So it's off to Lake Valor, a lake next to the café that was previously inaccessible.

When I get there, the lake is completely dry, with enemies everywhere. Magikarp are splashing around in puddles, weak and perhaps dying… People are uncaring as the area is under siege, with the lake's legendary guardian nowhere to be found…

It's supposed to be a tragic, horrifying, and shocking scene.

Yet the way it's done, I only find it funny.

The way the graphics are rendered, it makes the Pokémon splashing around look hilarious… They just the regular sprites standing in a puddle, occasionally flopping around… It's so downplayed while so out of place it destroys any seriousness of the scene… And then there's the enemies around, which is supposed to be a horrible thing, but nothing I haven't dealt with… I suppose if the graphics were better and what the scene conveyed was more direct, it would be terrifying like it's supposed to be… But then it might be too dark for a Pokémon game…

Regardless, I have to head to through the ruins of the lake.

Despite the scene, it's not too difficult. The enemies are easy as always, and the only noteworthy thing is Saturn.

Well, if one can call his Golbat and Bronzor going down to Thunderbolt and his Toxicroak being destroyed in one hit from Psychic noteworthy.

After that, it's up to check on Lake Verity.

There's a couple of double battles here, but there really nothing special.

The only thing noteworthy is Lucas losing to Mars. I guess he's not all that strong.

But then that means I have to battle her.

She's not too powerful either, going down to Psychic and Thunderbolt, like Saturn before her.

And the last destination is Lake Acuity.

But getting there will not be so easy.

Mainly because it also requires advancing the game itself.

To get there, I have to go into a separate part of Mount Coronet, surf on the water to get to an area I haven't been before, and then head outside. The whole thing is rather convoluted, and the game doesn't really give the player an indication of where they need to go. They are supposed to go to Hearthome and head west, using Surf and Strength (the latter gotten in Iron Island) to get to new areas. But there's no clue that what the player is supposed to do, only that there's a new city with a new Lake. The fact that there's two entrances to Mount Coronet makes it even more confusing. Cue lack of guides leading to many a lost player…

Of course, I get lost too, and have to use a guide… I find out the issue is that I do not have to go to Hearthome…

I have to go to Celestic…

At least it's a short flight away, and it doesn't take too long to reorient myself.

But, after walking around, using my resources, and a lot of repels, I finally make it to the other side.

And now it's time for one of the most beautiful, and most hated places in the series.

The atmosphere is fantastic, the music is some of the prettiest ever, and the Trainers skiing are hilarious.

It's also impossible to move any faster than walking, a long road with little healing places, items hidden everywhere (one of which is required to advance the story, but of course the game never tells the player that), almost all the scenery looking the same, hail pelting Pokémon in battle, and snow making it extremely difficult to see anything outside of it.

In game, it's a perfect opportunity to easily get lost.

In story, it's a perfect opportunity to do that in addition to getting injured, or even freezing to death.

And to top this off, the player is not adequately dressed. Almost every other Trainer in the area is, with custom sprites showing that they are dressed for the weather. The only other major Trainer the player encounters is Maylene. Maylene has barely any clothing on. She should die instantly from exposure. Yet somehow she doesn't, and it makes little sense.

Yet this is the way the route is set up for the player, and none of it makes any sense.

And of course, Traveler explores the dangers of the place in detail.

Which is why Gracie won't be going alone.

Instead, she will be traveling with three other people.

One of which is Hailey, the Trainer owning the ranch from before. Her friend Bebe often lives in the town ahead, and she wants to go see her. As for why Bebe lives there instead of where she does in the games, that's something I'll explain a little later on.

The second Trainer is Glacia, the Ice Type Elite Four trainer from Hoenn. The city past here is her homeland, and she is worried about it with all the issues going on. In the games, Glacia is heavily hinted to come from Sinnoh. It's never stated in the games where she's from, but due to the cold climate and reliance on Ice Type Pokémon, a lot of people speculate she's from the town coming up.

The third character is a woman called Anne.

Anne is a canon character, but may not be one people have heard of. Additionally, her character underwent many changes within the Traveler series itself.

She comes from the same game as Nia, called Pokkén Tournament. She originally goes unnamed, and appears to be traveling with a Mewtwo. However, this Mewtwo seems to be hell-bent on destroying others, causes a lot of damage, is far more vicious than any other Pokémon, and seems to want to fight for the sake of it. It looks nothing like a regular Mewtwo, giving off even more indications that something is wrong with it. At first, Anne appears to be behind everything. Later on, it's revealed that Anne is actually trying to stop Mewtwo, but realizes that she can't do it alone and seeks out the player for help. Anne then explains that when she was younger, she was at risk at being corrupted by an item called a Shadow Synergy Stone. Just when the corruption was about to take hold, Mewtwo rescued her, but became corrupted in her place. Unfortunately, the resulting trauma caused Anne not to remember the incident until the current time, where the corruption has done a lot of damage. Luckily, Anne and the player work together and are able to successfully get rid of the corruption. With that, Anne's story comes to a happy ending.

In Holly Rising's timeline, that is not the case.

In that timeline, Anne is unable to be saved, resulting in both her and Mewtwo becoming corrupted monsters. As a result, Anne becomes a truly villainous character, terrorizing all of the regions even if it's not under her own will. She and Nia are good friends, and the resulting chaos causes Nia to flee her home region of Orre. However, even while wandering around the other regions, she never stops thinking that Anne could be saved. At first, I intended the setting to be the same for Usurping's timeline.

But then my thoughts changed.

Anne is an interesting character in her own game, but unfortunately, she didn't get as much exposure and development as a lot of players wanted. Originally, Anne being corrupted seems like a logical way her backstory in her own game could have gone, and something that fit within the premise of Traveler being a darker story overall. However, I realized that even though I included Anne in her story to give her more exposure and development, she still wouldn't get it if she was corrupted. The reason being is that her role would be relegated to a mindless monster, with only glimpses of a character being shown in flashbacks from those who knew her, and possibly a companion prequel story. She also wouldn't be able to advance the story or help other characters in any way other than being a cliché villain, despite being a heavy influence beyond that in her own game.

So my plan to include and develop her story would end up doing the exact opposite, and could never have a good conclusion.

Hence why Usurping made the changes to her character.

Starting with her never being corrupted.

Now I only need to figure out how.

A huge theme in the Traveler series is how the protagonist decides to use her power and standing. A lot of conflicts and plot threads turn out differently based on whether she decides to intervene and use what she has responsibly. There's also the issue of honesty, and how to still preserve it with the situation she is in and the abilities she has. In Usurping, she tries to value honesty above all else, and succeeds. This also results in her intervening and changing the course of conflicts that she doesn't in Holly Rising. In the case of Anne, the protagonist's intervention prevents her from being corrupted and a few other characters from dying. However, neither know that is the cause until much later, the protagonist's intervention was not completely under her control, and his intervention causes a lot of mental scarring that persists into later books.

Regardless, without her corruption, Anne is a completely different character.

With the corruption avoided, Anne continues training to try and help with the overall conflict in Traveler. This training eventually allows her to gain immunity to corruption, ensuring what almost happened or will not happen again. Anne also a powerful psychic, among other supernatural powers. Due to her being older and more experienced, she may be the Vessel for Mewtwo instead of Amber. Anne is also trained as a psychologist, due to her powers giving her the natural ability to sense problems and people using auras and other things like that.

It's a hint at how she was able to understand corruption in her own game, without making her corrupted. Anne is also excellent at steeling her emotions and detaching herself from personal conflicts of need be, like she is in her home game. However, she still can show emotions and still cares for others, simply showing that she has excellent control over the former. Anne is also a Pokémon Master, and friend of Nia. However, she wants to help people and work to resolve the conflict in a different way, being less direct than Nia. Anne spends a lot of time traveling around, but due to her supernatural powers, she can also aid people and do her job as a psychologist remotely (such as with things like astral projection). Anne may also state that she might even be able to help people if she dies, provided the heavens allow it. Or she could gain immortality from her training, in which case she can only be killed under very specific circumstances, and resurrection wouldn't be too difficult for her anyway. Instead of people fleeing Orre, Anne and Nia leave on their own accord, maybe even when they are younger. However, they still try to help out the people from their home region when they can. It's not known what place Anne will settle down in, but a possible one may be Goldenrod in Johto. It would allow her to be more direct and personally involved in the conflicts in a lot of the series, and it would also allow her to help many people due to it being a giant city.

Regardless, Anne's role in Gracie's story has changed too. With the rebels attacking Silph back in Kanto (provided that scene is even used), Nia fights to stall the rebels until Anne can come and help destroy them. Additionally, Nia does not get injured and end up in the hospital. The reason being is because Nia is a powerful Trainer, would know better than to fight them by herself, and is aware of the rebels' tactics. In contrast, it might be Gracie that might end up injured, since she's weaker than them, and doesn't have much experience with the rebels by this point. When Gracie is in the hospital, Anne visits her and with Gracie's written permission, helps her emotionally come to terms with what happened. She may do so throughout the story as well, as more conflicts pop up.

Regardless, Gracie asks due to her standing and being in Goldenrod, if Anne has treated many famous people. Anne says she has, but out of respect for privacy, she can't say who those people are or what she treated them for. Gracie understands, and talks about the concept of therapy Pokémon. She asks Anne if she would make a good therapy Pokémon. Anne replies that she would, but she probably couldn't. Gracie is confused, asking what she means. Anne replies that at first, therapy Pokémon and animals in general couldn't do much. So while they did have a lot of freedom in public, no one really cared if anyone had one or was recommended for one. But eventually, therapy Pokémon start becoming more common and useful, and as a result became seen like any other medical treatment. In most cases, forcing a medical treatment on someone without their consent or otherwise not in cases of emergency can lead to legal troubles. And in the case of Trainers, that legal issue has extended to children.

Gracie gasps as she realizes where the conversation is headed, and Anne gravely continues. Usually, children's medical decisions are left to their parents, including the ability and reasoning to get a therapy Pokémon. However, as soon as children become Trainers, they have the ability to make everything involving medical decisions and many others on their own, as if they were adults. So when the mostly well-meaning parents tried to get their child therapy Pokémon for mental stress, or in an effort to avoid it down the road, the children retaliated. This led to a lot of trust issues and legal action against the parents, sometimes even by their own children. After all, if someone was an adult, that was seen as forcing a medical treatment on someone, even if it was for good reason. As a result, many Trainers are going untreated for mental issues that therapy Pokémon could help, and no way to stop this until it was too late. Therapy Pokémon themselves are a massive stigma, being seen as a sign of weakness among other things. So even if Gracie could become a therapy Pokémon, Anne doubts she would want to.

Gracie is angry at the injustice, but eventually the conversation turns to her visions. Anne believes that they are indeed connected to the Mold Breaker, but it's too vague to tell in what way. It's worth noting in the revised version of the story, the Mold Breaker is confirmed to be real, so people believe in her. However, as shown earlier on, her story gets distorted a lot, and often times in negative ways. As a result, even though the character herself is real, it's difficult to tell what things about her are fact from fiction. Anne mentions this, saying the Mold Breaker's story is rather sad. Gracie asks what she means, and Anne elaborates.

She states that due to seeing and envisioning the worst of the worst, the Mold Breaker has an intense fear of treatment. Many people want to force her into therapy, and despite being well-meaning, they only made her fear treatment even more and want to avoid it. Additionally, a person can only legally be forced into treatment if they have been proven to be a danger to the general public or themselves, neither of which the Mold Breaker has been. To make matters worse, many think that the Mold Breaker's decisions are not her own for one reason or another, even though the Mold Breaker is a legal adult in age and there is no official proof that she is not making decisions on her own. But all those horrible rumors caused the Mold Breaker to run away from treatment even more than she already was, to the point where she is likely to avoid anyone that brings up or even shows concern for her mental health. I knew she was in trouble from the moment I found out who she was, but due to what was going on, I didn't force the issue, nor would it help anyway. But if she asked, I wouldn't hesitate to help her. And I can't stop hoping that one day she will. Gracie asks about whether Anne believes what the Mold Breaker did in Goldenrod. Anne states she won't believe one way or the other until there is official proof, but either way wants justice to be served.

Going back to the present day, Gracie recognizes Anne from the encounter. She asks what Anne is doing here, and the former states that she has a bad feeling about something happening in the town up ahead, and decided to go there to check herself. She is also deciding to guide the others, as she is by far the strongest. On top of that, she is also the most appropriately dressed for the weather, wearing a long cloak most of the time. So she would be able to help Gracie find and teach her what's appropriate to wear for traversing the area. After that, the four of them set out.

In the story, these particular routes had their own bits and pieces. A lot of characters have difficulty traversing them, and Traveler wastes no time examining that. In earlier versions of Traveler, the protagonist had a medical condition that was exacerbated by cold and could not travel in snow. However, she was unable to alert others and didn't have many issues otherwise, and ended up almost dying from traversing the routes. In the current version, she still has a medical condition and trouble traveling in snow. However, she has discovered a way of using powers to float slightly above the snow and protect herself from any issues that would be caused by the cold. However, she still ends up using a lot of her power, and so gets lost. She ends up almost dying from being on the route, but is saved by a woman that is in the form of a Froslass. This is based off of a legend in the Pokémon world about women lost in the snow being reborn as the Pokémon Froslass, and it's implied there's a woman that is one in one of the houses on the route (or at least, a ghost). Even earlier than this, the protagonist originally had the ability to shapeshift into different Pokémon, and could take the form of an Ice Type in order to withstand the cold. However, that still took a lot of power, and she was locked to whatever moves her new form had. So she didn't have a lot of power in it as a result, or an easy way to replenish anything. The current version no longer has that power, but the idea of losing power and getting lost still stands.

Speaking of getting lost and losing power, I have to hope neither of these things happen to Gracie as I begin the agonizing trek.

Luckily, the skiers and warmly dressed Trainers are no match for me, although some of my Power Points have been lost. It doesn't take me long to make it to the Snowbound Lodge, a place where I can heal. It's also a place for travelers to rest, and in areas outside of the games, it's used as such.

Which means it's also time for more story content.

Gracie is still having trouble with the cold, not used to it. Therefore, she is finally relieved when the group comes to rest at the Snowbound Lodge. However, she's noticed several people skiing, and wants to try it. Glacia, despite being from cold areas, doesn't really ski, and points out that is difficult to do that in a dress. She also points out it doesn't suit her, because she's more of a prim and proper person. Hailey also doesn't know how to ski, because she isn't around cold areas much. Anne, because of her traveling around, does know how, and has proper equipment to do so. She also mentions that she can use her psychic power to help stop any accidents that Gracie might not see. Therefore, she agrees to teach Gracie how to ski. In her own game, Anne never removes her cloak or has any clothing changes. But she is shown to have a lighter purple set of clothing underneath that can be seen via boots and something that looks like tights. So she probably wears something else which is not using her cloak.

Gracie picks up skiing, and enjoys it. However, she sees a lump in the snow and is not sure how to swerve to avoid it. She does detect some sort of energy, and starts to focus to try and figure out what it is. She suddenly hears Anne's voice telling her to stop, and feels power pulling her away in teleportation. Alternatively, Anne tells Gracie stop or dodge, but Gracie doesn't know how. Therefore, Anne forces her to dodge the object via psychic power and they both make it to a place where they can stop.

Gracie is at the end of the hill, panting. The others ask is she is all right, and Anne signals that she is. Gracie tries to wonder what happened, and what she saw. Anne gestures to look closer, and Gracie realizes it seems to be a giant rock. Anne shakes her head, saying that it's actually another Pokémon. Gracie's eyes widen as she processes what could've happened. Anne goes on to explain that several Pokémon like to rest in the snow, but a lot of travelers don't know that. As a result, there can be a lot of injuries, and battles can also result. Some travelers are able to defend themselves with their Pokémon, but the injuries both can receive can still do a lot of damage and take lives. She ended by saying that if Gracie is skiing she should always be careful, and check with the natives if possible for any recent Pokémon activity.

This whole idea was inspired by a scene in Pokémon Special. In this, a character called Platinum is traversing the routes. She isn't as well-dressed as she could be, but decides to go skiing anyway. She gets injured when she bangs into a bunch of wild Pokémon at full speed, and her own Pokémon manages to chase off the opponents before the injuries can get worse. However, Platinum's Pokémon are also injured, which means she no longer has much in the way of defending herself or getting herself to safety. Luckily, the Gym Leader Candice and rescues her and finds out where she's staying. Candice also tries to get more information about what happened and who the person she rescued is, but by then Platinum has slipped into unconsciousness. Luckily, Platinum and her Pokémon fully recover, and the two formally meet each other later.

When I saw that scene, I wondered what would happen if there was some sort of alternative take on it. Not to mention what would happen if things like that would be more common, since the whole idea is that Platinum and a lot of other people aren't really aware of things like that. But if that was more common, more people might be aware, and situations like Gracie where someone doesn't get injured might happen more often.

Nevertheless, it's time to finish the rest of the route. There's really no problems, but Maylene does appear here. I'm not sure how I will write that in, if at all. She does mention being barefoot and lightly dressed as part of her training, but it's a great way to get herself killed… So there might be someone scolding her for that… In addition, it's implied she's in the early stages of a cold because of not addressing adequately, so I can see someone getting seriously sick. Judging by what's coming up next, it probably won't be someone in Gracie's party, though…

Speaking of what's coming up next, it's time to finish up the route and finally be in the next city!

Shortly before that though, I enter Lake Acuity. There's not much I can do here now, seeing as my only method of access is blocked by a rock wall. However, it appears Barry has already scaled it, and is off to protect the inhabitants living there. I will be able to do the same soon, but for now I must keep going.

Into a city called Snowpoint.

Snowpoint, unlike the routes leading up to it, does not feature heavy snow. It doesn't really feature any snow at other than what's on the ground. The music here is also very beautiful, and the general area, peaceful. This is also the area where the player can go to the Battle Frontier once the main game has been cleared. Furthermore, if the player sets the clock to a certain day, they can view a phenomenon called diamond dust. Diamond dust actually does feature snow falling, and is extremely pretty. Since it's not worth messing with the clock for a single visual effect, I won't be seeing it here. There's quite a bit of story surrounding Snowpoint, but I will get into it a little later.

Because now, there is business to take care of.

And that business is the worst Gym in the game.

While Maylene's Gym is difficult to do without a guide, this one is outright impossible.

And that's because of how the gym is set up.

The player is required to slide around on ice, as is expected of an Ice Type Gym. However, there are other aspects to make the Gym more complicated. One is patches of snow and stairs to climb. Both will stop the player from sliding as soon as they land on them, with the latter forcing the player back down if they approach them from the wrong direction. The other issue is that the player must break snowballs in order to progress. All of the snowballs must be broken to make it to the leader, similar to Maylene's Gym and her tires. However, the snowballs can only be broken by gaining enough speed and momentum and smashing into them.

Which requires sliding in a certain direction, and very precise controls.

In a Gym full of ice, where it's almost impossible to know where to go, and one misstep destroys any precision and planning the player may have done beforehand.

So it's no surprise that many players hate this Gym, and just as many have gotten almost hopelessly lost.

Unfortunately, I have to go through it anyway. At least Gracie has some skill with ice-skating…

Luckily, I have a guide with precise directions, so I am able to navigate through. The Trainers don't pose any problem, although I do get lost a couple times.

But I still make it to the Gym Leader, Candice.

At first glance, Candice appears to be worrisome. Two of her Pokémon, Sneasel and Froslass, can deal super-effective damage to Gracie. Her other two, Snover and Abomasnow, can also be heavy hitters.

But it seems Candice is nothing to worry about.

While her Sneasel and Abomasnow do a lot of damage with Faint Attack and Wood Hammer, all of Candice's Pokémon fall to Gracie's strongest attacks.

Which means that's time to talk about Candice herself.

Candice is presented as an energetic but also laid-back Gym Leader. She is also friendly and kind to people and Pokémon alike. Candice enjoys romance and fashion, alongside training to be focused in every situation. For some reason, she also enjoys speaking in third person. In the anime, Candice is revealed to have gone to the Pokémon Trainer's School in the area and now teaches there. She also met another character named Zoey, and the two became good friends. Candice doesn't take her Gym Leader duties too seriously, due to not getting a lot of challengers. Instead, she sometimes spends time outside of it watching other people's battles. Candice also enjoys surprising people, with everything from ambushes to parties. She's known for constantly being cheerful, no matter what happens.

Unfortunately, that cheeriness does not make her one of my favorite characters. In fact, she's one of my most disliked. I feel like her energetic demeanor resembles hyperactivity, and it just gets blown out of proportion. She shown to be very feminine as well, which also feels like it's over the top (mainly, the ideas of fashion and romance). And all this just seems cliché. There's also the issue of her being warm and friendly being the opposite of an ice Trainer, and there was already a serious example in Glacia. It's something that did not need to be done two generations in a row. There's finally the fact that Candice has some of the worst voice acting ever seen in the series, which lowers my opinion even more.

Candice's role in Traveler is mostly explained with Flannery's backstory, since the two are sisters and travel together. The difference is that Candice is mostly the instigator, due to her having more energy and being more driven to do things overall. One other difference from what was explained previously involves linking the scene mentioned in the previous chapter to be carried over directly to Traveler. Candice sees the protagonist battle, and decide she wants her to apply to the League to become an official competitive battler. She then forces the application on her, but the protagonist is isn't very sure. Her plan is to eventually become something other than a Pokémon Trainer if she can help it, and also considers herself a hobbyist despite her strength. Unfortunately, Candice leaves her little choice as the official request for the application has already been sent. This change has to do with the currently upcoming games Pokémon Sword and Shield, but I will get more into that later on. Some of it also has to do with something in real life, but will also be explained later. Nevertheless, this starts the protagonist's dislike of Candice, even though she realizes Candice didn't really do anything wrong at that point, the latter has no idea about the protagonist feelings or the issue with the whole thing, and Candice still likes her. It then leads to friction and what the protagonist eventually decides to do.

But there are still things to be worked out in Traveler.

Such as who replaces Candice in the Gym Leader position,

Unlike Flannery, Candice doesn't have any relations or Trainers were obvious choices canonically. So things become a lot more difficult. The first possible choice was Johanna, being a powerful trainer from Twinleaf and the mother of Dawn. I quickly realized that didn't work because Johanna would want to probably spent time with her family. Additionally, while she is shown to be strong, she mainly uses her power for Contests. Snowpoint doesn't really have much for that.

Another possible choice was a character called Misa. Misa, while in the lore of Traveler and hailing from a Pokémon game, is not part of the official canon at all (as of this writing). Misa instead comes from a set of hacks of the Johto remakes called Pokémon Sacred Gold and Pokémon Storm Silver. These hacks are much more difficult than the official games, but also give players the ability to capture all 493 Pokémon that existed at the time. Additionally, they added in several other things that were absent from the official games while expanding upon areas that needed it. One of the things that was added were two new Kimono Girls for the two new evolutions of Eevee that were created at the time of the remakes.

Misa used the ice evolution Glaceon, while another new character, her sister Izumi, used the Grass evolution, Leafeon. These characters did not meet the player during the time of the main story, but instead helped them with quests after it was cleared. Traveler already takes inspirations from Pokémon hacks, and since all evolutions are together, the two characters will act as though they have always been there. It's worth noting that the Fairy Type evolution Sylveon did not exist at the time of the hacks or the original games, so there is no Kimono Girl counterpart for it. However, the Kimono Girls canonically have a younger sister, who appears to be just an ordinary person. So she will serve as the Kimono Girl for Sylveon in Traveler. For any other evolutions that are introduced, it is likely wholly original characters will have to be created. It's not known when Gracie will meet any of these characters, however.

But I realized Misa probably wouldn't be the best idea either. The reason is that, official character or not, she still hails from Johto. Thus, she would still want to be with her family there, and do her duties as one of the Kimono Girls. As a result, she replaces Pryce in Mahogany. Originally, I wanted Pryce as a Gym Leader in Mahogany, like in canon. However, I quickly realized he is the age where other people in positions in the League retired. Even though he appeared healthy and otherwise able to fight, he would still be feeling his age, and probably missing those that had retired before him. So he trains up Misa and she takes over, seeing her family when she can.

The final choice, and the one ultimately went with, was Bebe. She didn't really have a preplanned role in Traveler, and I wanted to give her some more character. Bebe seemingly has experience with Pokémon canonically, knowing both Bill and Hailey, and also giving the player an Eevee. Later games also show PC inventors having the ability to battle if need be, and even holding high positions within the League. So it would be possible for Bebe to battle, even if it wasn't typical or common. So she does, and as such, it ties into the next part of the story.

Grace's group gets to Snowpoint, realizing Bebe is under attack by the rebels. The rebels say she is under arrest for illegal tracking, and is to be properly punished. Gracie's eyes go wide as she realizes some of the people at regular Trainers not affiliated with the rebels. Some of them are also young children at Trainer age, or even just regular civilians. Gracie rapidly realizes these people have all the ferocity of the rebels, and they seem to also have the will to commit crimes. Gracie's group disperses them, but everyone escapes, there is no punishment, and Gracie wonders why typically regular people would ally with those that are effectively considered terrorists. Glacia takes care of Bebe due to being a doctor in the Traveler, and Hailey stays to protect the two. Meanwhile, Anne goes off with Gracie to speak in private.

Anne gravely explains that though not everyone agrees with the rebels' methods, many people do agree with the cause of taking down what they see as an ineffective League, ineffective system, and other criminals running rampant. For some, they believe that the system has gone on for so long that force is the only option. So many people, even civilians, will aid the rebels as much as they can or otherwise turn a blind eye. The rebels also are not afraid of showing what happens to supporters of the League, or those who otherwise go against them, so some people think it's better to ally with them for survival. Others believe that they can uphold the law better than the League ever could, because they fight more directly. Regardless, these are just some of the many reasons why the rebels became so powerful. The worst problem is that even if they are defeated, no one is sure of another way to fix the system so that rebellions won't come back. At least, without resistance that will cause more deaths, violence, and pain or otherwise work in the long-term.

Gracie thinks that is horrible, and Anne goes on to explain that the rebels are not completely wrong. Gracie asks her what she means, and Anne clarifies that the rebels were not completely wrong about the monitoring. Some time ago, the League was unsure about what to do about countless young Trainers getting into trouble. Bebe and some of the others proposed a monitoring system that would allow the League to see when young Trainers were having issues, or even allow the Trainers' parents to see it. Members allied with the League could then get the Trainer help, and also alert their families, if applicable. In the case of a particularly troublesome Trainer, this could be installed without consent and discreetly. When Gracie's eyes continue to go wide, Anne continues. Anne explains that it is very similar to online monitoring that parents will sometimes use to try and protect their children and make sure they're using technology safely. However, both it and the system it inspired generated a lot of controversy.

When Gracie asks what the controversy was, Anne continues explaining. Many saw the monitoring as violating the right to privacy and the right on their own content or items, no matter how good the reason for installing the monitoring seem to be. Those monitored fought back, even if they were children, or otherwise did their best to make the monitors ineffective. It got to the point where it legal systems got involved. At first, there were laws to prevent children from siding against their parents, but considering many of the children were Trainers, the legal system start to agree with them when they were allowed to journey on their own and try to make adult decisions. This protection then extended to civilians, who started speaking up and getting support, with minors even using the legal system to attack their own parents and guardians. Even professionals sided with the tracking victims, because they believed that parents were damaging the children with the monitors in a lot of cases. Eventually the tracking devices were outlawed the majority of the time, with anyone disobeying the rules for any reason having a stiff punishment.

Gracie then asks if Bebe has been formally punished. Anne shakes her head, stating that in Bebe's case, she is an exception, but it's not known for how long. All people do is turn a blind eye to things like this, and any legal punishment she would've received. Bebe's playing with fire even if it's because she cares about others and is trying to keep them safe. The truly tragic part about all this is now hardly anyone can get a tracking device, even if it's something they want and for valid reasons. People are also afraid Trainers now have the ability to use tracking devices against their parents and guardians, and because of the Trainer laws, no one can speak up.

Gracie almost throws up her hands as she wonders why anyone would want a tracking device. And explains that before the controversy, there were parents that installed online tracking devices with both children's consent and knowledge, and used it to help facilitate discussions against possible risky behaviors or any other issues that children might have. There's also devices that help track the elderly and those who cannot take care of themselves. These devices are even used with actual criminals or those trying to be rehabilitated with the legal history of such. Anne has even heard of less advanced tracking devices helping parents to see what is happening to their very young children, who cannot alert them if something happens. Everything but the former is still allowed despite the controversy. Gracie wonders why this controversy exists if the laws seem to only be protecting children, but Anne says that is because people don't see it that way. Gracie looks like she's about to argue more win and says that there's one tracking device in an even worse situation than the others, and that is the psychic monitor.

Gracie puts aside her argument and cocks her head as she wonders what a psychic monitor is. Anne explains it is something used to track a person's supernatural powers, what they're currently doing, and their location, with different types of monitors tracking different things. It's usually applied via psychic powers, hence the name psychic monitor. It's also typically used if a person has already hurt themselves or others with supernatural abilities, but not to the point where they're not allowed to be out in society. It does serve as a warning, though, and if a person continues to act up, more severe measures are taken. Gracie shudders, remembering what she saw with Sabrina. She asks herself silently how many of those people started as people allowed their freedom with psychic monitors, only to go too far and be locked up.

Anne seems to sense Gracie's distress, and her face softens. She explains that psychic monitors allow officials keep watch over person that could be potentially dangerous, while allowing the person some freedom and remote help. It's a compromise, so to speak. But people didn't even want that. People would seek out others sympathetic to their plight to undo the psychic monitors. They would then fight back against those that placed them, seeing them as an invasion of their own privacy, invasive watching, and criminalizing people that in their minds had done nothing wrong. Then the paranoia spread that even regular people could find themselves a prisoner of one. So now anyone could be watched, for supposedly any reason, even though that wasn't the case at all. What happened was those were all but outlawed too, except in the most severe cases. And even when they were used when they were supposed to, people fought back against them. Those who put the monitors in place suffered just as badly, if not worse. So the League's reputation was ruined even further, even though they only tried to help those who were struggling. And of course, the result is that people who want and need these monitors can't get them, because of what's been happening.

Gracie wants to ask another question, but Anne seems to sense what she's thinking. Anne immediately responds. People can want a psychic monitor for several reasons. One of the reasons is that they think they may have an uncontrollable power, but they are unsure and otherwise haven't done anything to lose their freedom entirely. Another reason is that they want proof that they have power for whatever reason, and would like someone to know the truth. Yet another reason is that they want the power to be studied, so they use the monitor as a way to send information back. Still others use it as a training tool, getting remote help as soon as it looks like they need it so that they can use supernatural powers properly. But now, all those honest people are left needless, because of the misconceptions and misuse caused by those who are not. Gracie just hangs her head low, not really knowing what to say.

Debates about tracking monitors and how ethical they are comes into play during several parts of Traveler, so I thought I would bring it up here. Additionally, I am considering a scene where someone uses a tracking monitor on someone else, but the person is one that is unexpected. So that led to me doing a search on real-life use of tracking monitors, especially online ones. That in turn, led to a debate and what people do and say on the different sides, as well as the idea of what those being tracked would do if they had more power in the situation. I'm still not sure if I will use that particular situation that led to the real-life search, but the idea of tracking and using other means of monitoring a person closely if they may be dangerous to themselves or others remains a pivotal theme.

Regardless, Bebe recovers and the group parts ways. Anne will probably still keeping contact with Gracie remotely to help her however she can. So the group's business in this chapter is wrapped up, along with a large part of the story.

But there is still more to come, as I venture into places few have ever gone…