Darken observed the Elekid, pumping herself up by shadow boxing. Her trainer, on the other hand, was scared to say the least. She was visibly shivering and when she ordered Elekid to attack with Quick Attack she stuttered. Darken replied with Pound, and the two attacks impacted at almost the same time, though Quick Attack was just a moment faster, throwing Jigglypuff back.

"Alright Tuffball, Disable!" He shouted, and the Jigglypuff glared at the Elekid. Her eyes shone bright for a second, and Darken could see a faint energy surround the Electric-type for a moment.

"Th-Thuderpunch!" Shouted Parie. Elekid shook his head and darted forward, his electric punches crackling as they swung, but Jigglypuff bent down dodging the blow and then bouncing up with an uppercut Pound. Elekid fell back, barely holding on his feet. Parie shouted a new command for Thundershock, but Tuffball tanked it and pursued with one more Pound. The following Thundershock could not even fire, as a new Pound hit Elekid square in the face throwing him out of the arena.

Parie ran to recover him. Darken tried to say something, but she just bowed and left, disappearing in the crowd as other trainers moved on their battle station. "What was that?" He wondered. She looked way too worried about something like this.

He scratched his head and moved away, waiting for his following turn. The second and third battle were less eventful. The first one saw Jigglypuff fighting a Rattata, and while the speed of the opponent was a problem, a well-timed Sing stopped him. The final fight with a Growlithe was more heated, but disabling Ember forced it in a melee where Tuffball made full use of her bulk.

The Vulpix was a different story. The Pokémon dragged the fight after burning Tuffball, and in the end the Normal-type collapsed just after lending the finishing blow. Darken sighed in relief while giving her a couple Potions before the final fight. With three wins and a draw, he was still in the run for the Eevee.

The last fight had him challenge a trainer with a Poliwhirl. That one was the hardest of all. As all the enemy's moves were ranged, Disabling one did not help to bring the fight into a melee. Singing seemed equally ineffective, with the opponent launching a Bubble or Water Gun every time to stop her before she got too far into the song and he fell asleep. In the end, all Tuffball could do was rush in. She took a few Bubbles, but managed to lend enough Pounds to switch the flow of the fight in her favor, thanks to the lack of melee skill of her opponent. It was a hard-fought fight, but he came out victorious.

Darken smiled, waiting for the announcement. Four victories and a draw should have been enough to land in top ten. He could see some people walk off, probably trainers with two or three defeats that didn't want to stay. He noticed the blue haired girl in the crowd. She was trembling, but still looking up.

"Well, let's see." The elder man said "I will now call the ten names. Please come up here if I call you." Darken was called as number eight. He walked on the battleground, and was handed a Poké Ball. He smiled as the old man shook his hand. "Congratulations, kid. If you don't mind a question, which Evolution will you pick?"

Darken nodded "I was thinking to go with Jolteon."

"Ah, a good choice, speed over power but still packing a good punch. I am sure you will be successful."

Darken thanked him, and walked away returning to the crowd. Another trainer was called, a young man that thanked the elder with a deep bow and moved on. The last one was the girl. She walked up to him, clearly distressed, and thanked him profusely, with many quick bows. A few people in the crowd were chuckling.

"Well, that was it." The old man said with a smile "Thank you all for taking part in the Eevee challenge. I am sure you will all become fine trainers. Good luck to you all, I will keep an eye out for my Eevee at the League. Remember you can still buy one, if so you wish. Otherwise, farewell!"

Most people, including Darken, moved on to the lower floors, though a few stayed behind. The young man pondered the idea of buying two more Eevee and be done right there with the idea, but he just didn't feel like it. It seemed wrong to cheat his way with money. "There are already some Pokémon that won't give me a choice, I can do without more."

Eevee was a rare Pokémon in Kanto, but not unfindable. He was just going to wait for a lucky encounter. He left the building, moving to the Pokémon Center. And that was when he heard the voice. "Uhm, excuse me." Said a voice in his head. He jumped back, surprised, and bumped into Parie. The blue girl fell to the ground, only to stand up immediately. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Sorry, sorry!"

"You… did that?"

"Y-yes. I…" "I am a psychic." A voice said in Darken's head. Now that he could compare them, the voice in his head and the one he heard from the girl were almost the same, though the former was more mature, without the stuttering and uncertainty of the latter. "I-I am not…" "I am not good with words since I was young, but I wanted to ask something."

Darken was a bit surprised. Psychic powers were not unheard of, with a few big names in Pokémon Battling like Sabrina or Cosmo having them, but the idea of meeting one just like this was… Surprising, to say the least.

"Y-yeah." "Yeah, I know, it's surprising to meet one. But I just wanted to ask if you could give me a few tips. You were pretty good and I was hoping that…"

Darken didn't know what to say. "Well, I'm sorry, but I have been a trainer for two weeks, and I still have one medal. I don't know how I can teach you anything."

"Oh. Oh, o-of course." She said, still mumbling. Darken could not feel her thoughts anymore, meaning she had probably decided to stop using her powers. "S-Still, can I at least get some comments on our fights? I-I need tips."

Darken thought about it, trying to figure out what to say "Well… The Elekid is strong. Is just that you should try to be faster at giving your orders. Either that, or you need to work with Elekid to make sure he reacts to each move while you are still saying it. Can't you use telepathy?"

"N-no, I'm not that good. I was born with this ability because of my uncle, but it only works on humans. I can't even hear full sentences back, just…" She bit her lower lip, probably unsure on how to continue, if at all.

"Well, then I guess you will have to try with something else. Sorry, I really don't have much advice to give. Maybe you should ask a Gym Leader? The Saffron Gym one is a good choice."

Parie nodded "Y-yeah, of course, thank you. Good luck." And with that and a few deep bows she left, disappearing off a corner.

Darken scratched his head "Well, this isn't what I expected. A meeting with a Psychic, and one that hasn't specialized in Psychic-type at that…" He wondered if there was anything else he could do, but in the end figured it wasn't the case. He wasn't lying when he said he didn't have a lot of advice to give. With a sigh, he returned to walk to the gym.

Parie brought her hands to her face, after stopping in another corner, and cried.

"Why am I like this?" She asked, sobbing. Not even able to hold a simple conversation without resorting to telepathy, stuttering and then having to leave.

She felt a light touch to her side, and watched Elekid gently tap her leg. She smiled, though still crying. At least she had Elekid.

"Hello, missy." A voice behind her said. She turned, thinking maybe it was the other trainer, that Darken, but instead he noticed a man in his fourties, with dark hair and a stern look. "I didn't want to overhear, but you said you need some help, right? I can give some tips if you wish."

Parie didn't know what to say. She could feel no negative emotion from the other trainer, neither towards her nor towards Elekid. He seemed to think he could actually help her. "W-well… If you can…"

"Excellent!" He said, with a smile "Follow me. I'll present you my companions. Don't worry about the Elekid, I understand following random strangers is unsettling. If you want him ready to punch me, I will not begrudge you."

"W-why…" "Why do you want to help me?" She asked, reflexively resorting to telepathy. The man surprisingly wasn't startled in the slightest.

"Well, you remind me of one of my best subordinates. That's it really. You need some help, and we can give it to you."

"Who is, 'we'?"

He shook his head "Everything when the time is right. For now, let it be enough to know I am a person with enough wealth and knowledge to help you. I can tell you have potential, more than the other kid. You will be an excellent addition to my companions."

"Th-Thank you, mister…"

The man smiled, a genuine smile as she could tell from his thoughts "Please, call me Giovanni."

Gastly dodged a Wing Attack and hit with a Lick. The Zubat fell, his wing paralyzed, and a moment later was thrown back by a Night Shade.

"Good job Gastly! You are getting a lot faster at firing the Night Shade." Raziel said, and Gastly smiled at the praise.

"Yeah, good job Gasball." The Zubat said from the ground "Don't mind me, I'm just gonna lie here, please, keep smiling at the praise."

"Oh now don't be that melodramatic, you challenged us." The Gastly said, but he shaped some of his gas like an arrow and pointed at the Zubat. Raziel jumped in, handing him a Cheri Berry. "Better?"

The Zubat took flight immediately, and nodded "Yeah, sure, thanks."

"No problem. Make sure to challenge someone more on your level next time, though."

The Zubat scoffed, but Gastly could tell the wild Pokémon was not angry. If anything, Gastly figured he was disappointed. When he had challenged them, he was probably hoping to find a trainer, but Raziel had not even tried to catch him.

In that moment, he noticed four figures coming closer. One was Draconix, followed by Charmeleon and Spearow. With them was another trainer of their age, a tall, blonde haired man with an aviator hat and matching goggles. "Oh good, one of those types." He had seen a bunch of weird trainers in that trip, and he could tell that most people with a gimmick going on in their clothing were weird. He glanced back at Raziel, with his almost full black. "Yeah, that's a good assessment." He figured.

"So, how is it going, Gasball?" Spearow asked, landing near him.

"I… why does everyone call me Gasball today?"

"Because you are?"

"I am a ball of gas possessed by a naturally occurring wild soul, thank you very much."

Spearow chuckled "Sure, but still, the ball of gas is there. So, my question?"

"Going well. I am getting better at firing Night Shade, I don't need to hold eye contact anymore at least. It's still a bit on the slow side."

"Good, good." The Pokémon said "Nothing else?"

"Alright, you have been weird since you landed near me. What's going on here?"

Spearow smiled, without answering, but Charmeleon moved closer and answered for him "The aviator trainer says he is about to evolve."

Gastly had to take a double take at the new information "You what? Wait, how does he know?"

"Apparently he is a specialist in Flying-type. You should see his Fearow, its amazing. He says that if I was a wild one and have been training since, I should evolve tomorrow or the day after."

Gastly felt a slight jealousy. Charmander had already passed him, evolving, and now Spearow was too? Then he shook his head. 'Arceus' sake, I'm a Gastly not a Mimikyu, I'm not supposed to be envious.' He thought. He looked up at the trainer with blonde hair. Raziel now had moved closer.

"Hi." The Ghost trainer said "I'm Raziel."

"Pleasure to meet you." The Flying-type trainer replied with a smile "I'm Orville, but call me Orv. I'm traveling back to Pewter and met Draconix here with two potential Flying-types."

"Potential?"

"Well, Charmeleon isn't yet." Draconix said.

"No, but he will be. Unless you go for the X-megaevolution eventually, which I don't suggest. A bit too heavy. Though I only saw it in a few fights online, so I'm not speaking from experience. Still, the Y looks a lot better." He said, passionately. Raziel could tell Orville was a lot like him, a trainer extremely interested in a single type and completely focused on it.

"Well, I won't really have a Flying-type I fear. I'm a Ghost specialist, or at least I aim to become that."

Orville studied Gastly from where he was. Clearly, he wasn't that interested, that Raziel could tell easily, but he still replied politely "Yeah, sounds like you won't have a Flying one any time soon. There's one called Oricorio from Alola, and I guess Drifblim counts too? I prefer winged Flying-types personally, though Drifblim has its charm."

Raziel nodded "Yeah, it's a good one. I really hope I run into a Drifloon sooner or later."

Draconix looked surprised "Well, I have never seen one, but I know it's one of those balloon shaped things? Children kidnappers…"

"No, that's an urban legend." Orville replied "It can't drag away a kid unless the kid lets him do it, or if it's a group. They got that sad rumor from the fact they look like balloons so sometime kids play with them by mistake, and from a few cases where they were sighted near dead children, but after all they absorb souls, so…"

Raziel nodded. "He really knows his stuff."

"I swear, Ghost-types are creepy. No offense, Raziel."

"Well, they are, but that's what's fascinating." Raziel replied with a smile "Strong and fascinating, what more to ask."

Orville nodded "Yeah, though I still prefer Flying types. They are the strongest ones, in my opinion."

"Well, at least I can say I like my Pokémon." Draconix said "They are both very good. Charmeleon is getting the hand on his new reach really well." He smiled to them, both Pokémon busy talking with Gastly.

"Well, so is Gastly."

Orville scratched his chin "I wonder, which of them is stronger? I'd bet on the Charmeleon, no offense."

Raziel and Draconix looked at each other, and smiled. "You know." Raziel said "We are pretty deep in the cave."

"Yeah there isn't much of a point in going further today, we should set up camp."

"And once we do that…" They both smiled even more, and Raziel continued "One versus one, Charmeleon and Gastly."

"Sure. Want to add a bet?" Draconix asked. Raziel thought about it for a second then nodded. "Good, if I win… You have to catch one more Pokémon before the League."

Raziel gasped "You wouldn't…"

"I will. Come on Raziel, throw me your bet."

"Fine, if I win… You catch a Gastly in Lavender Town and train it. And take back the thing about Ghosts being creepy." He said, extending his hand.

Draconix nodded and shook the hand "You have a deal!"

Orville smiled. Young trainers, so young and naïve…