As a follow up to the previous chapter, levels and numerical values in regards to individual pokémon are a bit of an interesting topic to me. In the real world, official tournament battles are set to level 50 or so (with level 100 being reserved for online simulators). When you first fight a region's Elite 4, they're often set to the 40-50 range, with the Champion's team being in the 60's. On rematches they get bumped up to the 70's all around, and hidden trainers (Red, BW2 Cynthia, etc) can be in the upper 70's if not outright 80's. I mention it in an upcoming chapter, but I strongly believe that this is mostly a result of being tied down by politics and what I affectionately refer to as 'adulting' issues.
If you're not bound by social constraints and most of your free time can be dedicated to training, how much might your team get, relatively speaking?
As far as metropoles went, Goldenrod was rather up there. It was no Castelia, but it was top ten for sure. A massive explosion in growth mostly due to the completion of the Global Trading Center a few years back, before its completion, trades had to happen in person- at special machines that would change the information on the pokéballs. Now though, trades could be made online at any major pokécenter. There was an argument it was incredibly insensitive to treat pokémon as little more than goods or commodities, but the fact was certain pokémon couldn't be found in certain regions. In his opinion, the process was basically the same as purchasing a pokémon from a breeder, except at a much more mature stage.
By mid afternoon, after making sure all his immediate tasks for the day had been completed, Alex made his way to one of the major battle areas of the city. With tournaments and specialized training centers all over the city, the expansive park was modeled much in the same way. With one half of the fields being the standard box, the other half of the fields had various designs to allow training for different scenarios. Grasslands, a rocky trail, a large body of water; the city spared no expense in making sure trainers domestic or otherwise could get in extra practice. He was fully able to enjoy himself, too. Even with Caitlyn sitting beside him, all of the trainers that asked him for a battle only needed a single time to get the message.
Longing. Relaxation. Tranquility.
"By all means, go explore if you want. I'll just be sitting here." With a pleased hum, Caitlyn got up and glided away, disappearing behind a crowd of spectators.
Seconds turned to minutes. Despite the constant battle cries and commands, Alex found himself in a partially conscious state, words and mentally created scenes floating through his mind. Somewhere on the main path up the hill, right after a particularly loud Thunder cracked out, a running child led his friends past, proudly talking about the pidgeot that was doing tricks outside his plane window. A blur later, a roaring cheer of excitement broke through the haze. Somebody must have pulled an unexpected comeback. Eventually he felt a prodding in his mind. The sound of a pokéball activating and reclaiming its inhabitant roused him from his slumber.
Battles? Check. Crowds? Check. Caitlyn? Alex reviewed the past few sensations he had. Check. Apparently he'd been slumbering for just over an hour and a half. Long enough for the weather to change slightly. The heat certainly explained why Caitlyn had retreated to her ball. Shade wasn't exactly an easy thing to come by right now, so why try and fight over land when there was a perfect place to relax on his waist?
A sudden commotion in the nearby field- a standard one with painted borders, caught his attention. Apparently the two trainers getting ready for battle had already completed the gym circuit and were now waiting for the Silver Conference. Which honestly didn't mean much; with only eight badges from a single region, you were just as likely to have a trainer that knew what they were doing as you had one that could brute force things.
Type match ups could carry you quite far in the IPA format, and the true test of a trainer only started once they got their eighth badge. To claim another region's set after that meant going full throttle from the start- eight battles of a Gym Leader's proper battling team. While not quite on the level of the Elite Four, they were still a scary thing if they maintained their team. Which they normally didn't, but that was by no fault of their own. The life of a Gym Leader was as much paper pushing as it was battling, training, and instruction.
These kids seemed to know what they were doing in terms of move usage, at least. A sustained Ice Beam could create obstacles on the field, hiding whatever was behind it as well as generating launch points. Perfect for a weavile.
The other trainer's sandslash was quite adept at using Dig, and once Sandstorm activated (a bit poorly maintained, but still serviceable) the battle became a lot more tense. A trainer that wasn't used to poor visibility would have a hard time operating in those conditions, and the weavile's Trainer proved it. Ultimately the sandslash proved the victor, though a timely Giga Drain from the newly called out jumpluff quickly changed that mantle.
A weight settled next to him and Alex turned to see who it was. Dressed in vertically striped, monochrome red pants and a white buttoned up shirt with an unbuttoned gray blazer to complete the look, the rose-pink haired woman completely ignored his staring. Compared to his own simplistic black cargo pants, maroon red v-neck and unzipped black hoodie with yellow hemming, he felt very much out of place. Par for the course, really.
A low grade Hyper Beam that was angled just a bit too high made them both tense in response, but one of the trainers nearby made sure to stop it from hitting anything with a long range Light Screen. Before long the trainer who had first sent out the sandslash claimed the victory with two pokémon still conscious, applause and cheers greeting his grandiose bows. The noise was almost enough to make him miss the series of taps on the backrest. Without breaking the verbal silence, the woman stood up and strode around the crowd, making her way towards the victorious trainer.
By the time Alex made his way through, the woman was waiting for him in the center of the field. "We doing this the standard way?" He asked, mentally pushing away the lingering crowd.
"A change of pace would be nice," she answered. "Six on Six. Singles. No swap outs. Loser pays dinner?"
Nothing about move restrictions. He would've preferred a Doubles or even Triples, but this was probably pay back for the last time they battled under his normal ruleset. As Alex walked to his square, in his mind, a white, hollow sphere expanded from his body. When it reached the perfect length of his arms, it slowed to a crawl before snapping back, the image centering around his navel with a sharp exhale.
He took another, slow breath. The murmurs and cheers around him faded away. Nothing beyond this battlefield existed. Not the people. Not the battles going on around them. Even the irritatingly familiar presence hiding somewhere atop by a lamp post faded away.
On the other side of the field, his opponent stared at him with a cocky smirk on her face. His arm snapped cleanly through three motions- hand to his waist, arm cocked back, and release. "Morgan, we fight!" A similar sounding whap! of clothing echoed from across the field. Alex allowed himself a small bit of indulgence and glanced at the crowd. They were suitably shocked. To be able to enlarge and release the contents of a pokéball as quickly as they had took years of training. If people training in that specific skill were to really get going, battles would require high speed playback to figure out exactly what was going on.
"Hati!" His ears honed in on her voice. "There's an uppity trainer that needs reminding of the pecking order! Put him in his place!" The absol let out an echoing howl, proudly entering a battle stance.
"Riptide!/Apocalypse!"
In less than four seconds the field was littered by masses of various energies. Spurting from place to place by way of Aqua Jet, Morgan set up slowly moving undulating rings of water. Most of them were riddled with debilitating effects such as Confuse Rays, Toxic, Scald, and irritants kicked up by Sand Attack, but some of them contained the healing energies of Aqua Ring, just waiting to be used. In that same time, a cloud of Rain Dance was slowly being formed, only starting to spill its seemingly endless contents when Morgan returned back in front of him.
"He's stocked up on Swords Dance and Calm Mind," he whispered to his vaporeon. "Do whatever you need to not to get hit." Restrained clouds of psychic energy, Future Sights, were barely visible, mirages that blended in among the rippling rings of water. "Deluge!"
Morgan shot off towards the center of the field, the mass of water that propelled him forward wrapping around him and enlarging into a massive sphere of water. Almost hidden by the rainfall, Alex spotted something fly out of the orb, moments before a crack of lightning tore open the shell and flooded the arena.
Without prompting the spreading water reformed, now dark and dirty from the gathered dirt. Transformed into water, Morgan directed the Muddy Water into a giant wave, absorbing Aqua Rings and dissolving Future Sights as it swelled towards the absol.
A beam of white blue energy shot out from the dark type's mouth, arcing up and freezing the front of the wave. From behind, Alex had a perfect view of the wave continuing forward, crashing through the ice.
Rain turned to Hail. From within the collapsing wave, a small bundle of water shot out and exploded, the droplets turning into visible shards of ice. Before they all touched the ground, a howling wind from nowhere roared into a full fledged blizzard.
A glint of dark energy made him narrow his eyes. "Multiply!" He shouted into the wind. Four copies of Morgan suddenly appeared, two of them more corporeal than the others. The bounding mass of darkness slammed into one of the more real ones, only to receive a mouth full of water from the duplicate for its efforts.
Morgan slammed into the absol with another Aqua Jet, blue-purple energy building up in his mouth. A scythe coated in vibrant green energy, almost blindingly white in the center, suddenly swung down and up into Morgan, knocking the water type away, the energy build up exploding in his maw.
Orders for this needn't be given. Three rings of water expanded and contracted into Morgan's body as he leapt away, the infused Aqua Rings shimmering across his body. Between the move's inherent effects and his own ability of Hydration, recovering was only a matter of time.
A raging jet of flame tore through the air, breaking the core of the Hail and dispelling its effects. "Always did like your games, Alex." June, utterly unbothered by the mass display of manipulation, undid one of her buttons, adjusting her clothing to a more comfortable position. "Thankfully we know how to play."
"Doesn't mean you're any good at them!" He shouted back.
"Close quarters!"
"Running battle, let's go!"
Morgan ultimately fell under Hati's onslaught of Pursuit and other claw/horn based attacks, but the combination of lingering Burn from liberal use of Scald and a few lucky, disorienting Water Pulses meant Emerl had absolutely no problems cleaning up.
"Emerl seems a little slower than I remember. You do something to him?" June slowly moved a finger over each ball on her belt, weighing her options.
The beheeyem measuredly floated back to a standard starting position, his arms hanging by his sides. "Somebody has to take it slow and steady. Everybody else is a speed demon, so him taking his time means he can stop problems in their tracks." A breather was important. Let a true problem make them yell their voices raw. This was catching up- nothing more than an exercise.
Whap. "Ground him!"
"Long con!"
It was a toss up against Moia, June's greninja. On one hand, Emerl could enhance his body and mind so much a Stored Power was on the levels of a high level Explosion. At the same time, against June's specially trained covert ops member, even with a Miracle Eye landing hits would be difficult. The mess of caltrops both standard and poisonous scattered across the cratered field didn't help either. Because he could float (judicious use of Protect blocking all attempts of Knock Down- in all its forms) Emerl had no issues with the traps, but the two hardest hitters of his team would find much problem with it. It was taking a Night Slash to the face that allowed Emerl to land both a martyed Disable and Trick Room at the same time, Moia's movements slowing to a crawl.
Whap. "Full blast! Knock 'em down!" Deus blitzed forward, his body ablaze with psychic energy. Between the constant use of Calm Mind and hardening properties of Power Up Punch, when the space altering properties of Emerl's final move ended every missed strike of Deus' fists shattered the lingering pillars of ice and compacted dirt he connected with. At his command, Deus' limbs blurred, a flurry of blows firing out. The mixture of attacks used under the pattern of Dizzy Punch could've easily passed for a Close Combat, yet even with the assault Moia was able to keep up with thin blades of water.
At the last moment, the greninja stuttered mid-block. A stunning Thunder Punch slammed right into the Water-Dark's gut, the 'mon folding over Deus' fist. Another imbued punch sent Moia stumbling back only a single step, his entire body aglow with psychic power. A whirling top of a wrecking ball, Deus crashed into Moia, the Reuniclus' leading fist aglow with an overbearing white power. Giga Impact connected squarely, sending the greninja soaring through the air limply.
June recalled her pokémon before it landed, a pensive expression on her face as she whispered to Moia's ball. Another pokéball soared through the air, depositing its massive occupant on the ground.
"Slugfest it is," Alex muttered to himself. "Wonder Room! Don't let him snag you!"
The field was once again enveloped in an odd energy, the ethereal pattern disappearing once the box was completed. Against the behemoth of a golurk that was Cres, even through Deus' altered defenses a single blow would deal devastating damage.
Perhaps they were going a little too far right now, but their attacks were still carefully restrained. True, the ground was starting to resemble the surface of the moon, but it wasn't anything a few hours of effort from pokémon couldn't fix.
A precision Earthquake launched three boulders into the air, Cres launching all three with its hands and a burst of energy from the bottom of its torso. Rock turned to rubble against Deus' fists, the psychic type grunting when said fragments suddenly gravitated to his body, pinning him in place.
"Protect!" Failure. From within Deus' shadow, Cres rose out, right arm raised into the air. With the same air of someone flicking a speck of debris off themself, Cres fell down to a knee, dust exploding out from his fist. Measuredly standing up, the Kalosian ghost ambled to its starting position, hands resting by its sides.
"Hey, you ever picked up a way to manage mass status effects?" In a single breath Alex recalled Deus' unconscious form, his fingers moving along like a pianist's as he enlarged a pokéball and flicked it into the air, catching it on the way down.
"How about I just forfeit Cres then? I know how that match will go."
"By all means!" Alex waited a beat before letting Umbral out, his command once again coinciding with June's.
"Hunt her down!/Let the show begin!"
Orbs of lights shot out from Umbral's body, the ghost cackling as status inflicting moves of all kinds began orbiting around her body. A misdreavus' inherent nature to torment and terrify, Umbral had tempered that disposition to nothing more than pranks, but when a free battle arrived her original viciousness resurfaced.
A ledian shot through the air, weaving between the still gathering orbs. A chill Alex was well used to crawled up his spine at Umbral's low coo. Thirteen misdreavus were suddenly scattered across the field, each one behaving independent of one another. Of them, five had a ring of moves spinning around them, and each eyed their foe hungrily.
"Fiara, wind shield!" A gale started blowing from behind the bug type, powder flowing within it and causing the light to sparkle.
"Pizzaz!" With the single word, the quintuplet of misdreavus chased after Fiara, firing out status attacks and giggling all the while. With Tailwind, Agility, and Silver Wind working their magic, Fiara was able to keep ahead of his pursuers. Wandering Umbrals clones made that job hard though; when the Bug-Flying got too close to one, it would suddenly let out a piercing Screech and melt into a Shadow Ball, a fraction of a second passing before it fired.
When Umbral returned to him, floating around his body and giggling maniacally, Fiara had been downed from a nasty combination of Burn, Paralysis, Poison, and Confusion. The Hex that sealed his fate was just cruel and unusual, but it made for as great a visual as the start.
"Sköll! Cleanse the shadows!"
"Remember she can block your spells," he whispered, ignoring the slight chill as she siphoned away some of his excess energy, "If you find an opening, exploit it." Umbral cooed in understanding, flying around his body once more before shooting out with his thrusted finger. June's delphox was always a pain to deal with, even back when it was a braixen. While she normally stuck to long range attacks, over the years the Fire-Psychic had picked up a few close range moves. Flame Charge, Iron Tail, and Thunder Punch served as horrid deterrents; they were lacking in power, true, but it was an easy transition into Fire Spin or Mystical Fire.
Really, if Umbral was a scary harasser, Sköll was a terrifying support. A sense of positioning refined over a decade and a half, and power that had grown exponentially after her evolution, June's primary starter could have given a Legendary trouble. At least a few Shadow Balls had connected properly, the lingering energies obfuscating her mind for a couple moments.
Alex released his next pokémon right in front of him, taking a moment to sync up his breathing with them. "She's gotten stronger since we last met."
Understanding. Excitement. Nervousness.
"Umbral landed a few good hits, so your job should be easier. But there's no shame if you can't finish the job. Blaze should be kicking in at any moment, and even Light Screen can't deal with that."
Reassurance. Gratitude. Pride.
"Show her who's the better Psychic." Caitlyn teleported above the largest chunk of still remaining ice, daintily floating down and staring at Sköll. The two conversed with each other for a few moments before moving back to their respective trainers. "All protections, to the maximum!"
Reflect. Light Screen. Safeguard. Lucky Chant. Calm Mind. Each move was used in unison, Sköll and Caitlyn pushing themselves to out do the other.
"Engage!/Attack!"
Spheres of Psyshock shot out, exploding against repeated casts of Flame Burst. A copy of Caitlyn suddenly appeared several feet away, both original and clone charging up a Shadow Ball. A coil of fire lashed out from Sköll's wand, the flame failing to tag either one of Caitlyn's forms thanks to Teleport. Ghostly energy splashed against a green shield, the fiery fox pokémon responding with a Flame Charge. Even through mass Teleports, Sköll continued chasing after Caitlyn. Three rushes in, with the haze of heat covering her entire body, the delphox pulled in all the flames.
"Rain Dance and Protect!" Fire exploded outwards, the wave of heat expanding for only a moment before condensing to a single directed column. Hidden within the torrent of flame, flickers of Psychic power managed to shine through. A full second passed. Then two. At the end of the third, the storm overhead broke with a loud rumble, its sudden appearance snapping Sköll out of her attack. Both pokémon let out a heavy breath, Caitlyn hunching slightly from the effort of maintaining Protect for so long. "Take it from the top! Sea Storm!"
"Get rid of this rain, now!"
The clash of attacks turned to one of weather control. Spheres of radiant light and swirling clouds were destroyed as quickly as they were formed, but in the end, it was a Rain Dance that won out. A Double Team-Teleport right next to Sköll mid Sunny Day allowed Caitlyn the chance to let out a stunning Hyper Voice from behind. A thrust of both hands sealed away the clear weather move, and another Teleport brought the Fairy-Psychic to safety.
"Survive as long as you can, Sköll!"
Caitlyn began gliding around the battlefield, electricity crackling around her body. Every few seconds, lightning crashed into the ground and the few remaining icicles, turning everything into fine particles. The blasts of fire directed at her were ignored with localized panels of Protect, if not outright dodged or stopped by a direct- but inevitably missing- Thunder. Twenty seconds later, the Storm fully began.
Vertical columns of rending winds flew from behind Caitlyn every which way, further pulverizing the ground and spreading the miniscule fragments into the gales. The pseudo Sand Attacks and Icy Winds were directed at Sköll with abandon, spears of Thunder lancing through the occasional Protect and allowing the repeated Hurricanes the chance to deliver their payload.
Caitlyn let out a sudden pained cry, the mental attack bleeding through their connection and affecting Alex. Within the Future Sight neither of them noticed was a Confuse Ray, the migraine inducing properties strong enough to completely shut down her assault.
Double Tap.
Sköll, powering through the arcs of electricity dancing across her body, surged in with another Flame Charge, her wand glowing silver. Caitlyn dropped to a knee. From her forehead, a spark of electricity shot out. Landing at the same time as Caitlyn's purple tinged hands, Sköll grimaced as her Iron Tail whiffed completely, but continued through with the momentum and connected a Low Kick into Caitlyn, a point blank Blast Burn, able to overpower the dampening effects of the rain with the now activated Blaze, finishing off the rest of the gardevoir's stamina.
Regret and sorrow existed for only a moment before Alex's jacket whapped once again. "Press the advantage!" As Celèste landed, the ground around her shook violently. With raising jerk of her right paw, five moderately sized boulders shot out the ground, the lucario swiftly moving to launch them at Sköll. Her shocked and poisoned nerves gave up at that moment, and the delphox was quickly blocked in by the stones.
Celèste leapt up without confirming her attack landed, a violently pulsating orb of dark energy forming in her hands. With a subtle, two handed thrust, the beam of dark energy flared out. When the surrounding rocks exploded out and stopped mid air, Celèste dove down recklessly, expending the rest of the Dark Pulse in a surge of energy. The clattering of rocks finally ceased, and in the ensuing silence Celèste stood alone in a pitted clearing void of any debris. Beyond the edge of the clearing, Sköll lay flat on her face, her wand still clutched in her hands.
"Nice you know you can still abuse type advantage." June recalled Sköll with a small grin, tossing her final pokéball up and down. "You know that won't help against Gwydion though. You ever picked up a way to deal with mass illusions?" She taunted.
Alex frowned. "Calm Mind, to the max! Don't trust anything you see!"
A sleek looking lucario appeared from the ball, mouth set in a self-aggrandizing grin. With a single step, Gwydion disappeared. Celèste whirled around, aura infused fists blocking a fiery strike.
In their violent dance of attacks, Celèste managed to maintain leadership, but Gwydion was never less than a step behind, even taking point in their tango a few times. Ten seconds later, both were radiating energy off their bodies, a result of Agility, Bulk Up, and Calm Mind used to the highest point they could safely manage.
"Celèste is absolutely no fun at all!" June laughed and snapped her fingers. Gwydion's form morphed from that of a lucario to that of a zoroark, the toothy grin more imposing. "Let's help our friend practice her footwork."
No longer maintaining the illusion, Gwydion's abilities exploded exponentially. In between Fire Punches, Aerial Aces, and other claw based attacks, the zoroark let out spurts of flame from her maw, some of them exploding in the eponymous fashion of Flame Burst. Celèste could only respond with Protects or dashing away with Quick Attacks; even if the physical damage was reduced by her body, the lingering flames lapping at her fur sapped her strength and only added to her slowly rising internal heat.
Two minutes later, Alex could feel a familiar tugging on his essence. His answer was the same as ever. To grant his pokémon the power they needed to secure a win would have meant maintaining his pride and knowing he was able to beat June under her own rules, but the damnable crowd would have meant breaking a years long law.
"Gwydion, it's time to end this. Eclipse."
"Surge!" The word was said as much as it was spoken, his link with his childhood companion connecting only briefly.
Dark wisps poured out of Gwydion's body, the mass of malevolent energy rushing to encircle Celèste. Before she disappeared behind the veil, Aura flared to meet the energy in kind, keeping her visible for just a second longer before the cloud became too thick to see within.
June was the first among the two of them to develop the technique. The terrain moves officially originated from Kalos, and spending so much time in the home region with resources aplenty meant developing them with her pokémon was a breeze. Alex's pokémon soon followed, but it was rare that they needed to use the moves. Dark Terrain, a yet to be officially recognized move, kept pokémon within it from falling asleep, every movement plagued by terror and by its very nature, amplified Dark moves used within its field.
Celèste's aura suddenly spiked, a flash of clashing energy from within following soon after. Again and again only the clashing of energy could be seen through the dark, unnerving mist. Once more Alex felt a tug. He closed his eyes and let out a slow breath, giving only a measured amount of his essence over. For a moment, their Souls synced up perfectly. When he opened his eyes, Alex breathed deep, forcing himself not to stagger from the rebounding aches.
Celèste jumped out from the top of the energy dome with her limbs tucked in, aura violently radiating off her body and keeping her afloat. Suddenly, she threw her arms and legs out, her aura now blazing and curling in on itself like solar flares. In the deafening silence, Alex's heart pulsed a single time in his ears. The next instant, a massive, jagged flare of aura blinked towards the ground. Dirt exploded like a furious Eruption, the plume reaching Celèste's elevation.
Protect!
The warning came too late once again. Gwydion appeared behind Celèste, a spinning axe kick knocking her to the ground, gravity pulling the Dark type back down soon after. Jumping back up and out of the darkness with a charging move in her mouth, the zoroark let loose a red and black beam towards the ground, the howl of energy dispelling the dark mist.
Another tug, this one begging. Alex let himself drop to a knee, his non-bracing hand recalling Celèste. As brief as it was, the strike hit harder than either of them liked to admit, and they would be out of action for a few days at minimum.
Cheers broke out, louder than ever before. It was safe to say this specific field would be out of commission for at least the next week, if the caretakers didn't decide to outright turn it into a new terrain. The divots for lakes were already well made, needing only reinforcement to keep the water, and the boulders of Rock Tomb and Stone Edge served for excellent monuments that could be used for hills.
A hand appeared in his sight. Alex gratefully took it. June looked smug and proud of herself, and her eyes belied the utter joy she had in the victory. "I hope you have a clean suit. I'll text you the details later." She patted his shoulder twice. Under her breath, "And don't worry about the mess. I'll have my people take care of it. Paparazzi's all yours though. Welcome back, Alex. Oh, and, do me a favor? Wash up a little. I want to see you as you, not," she waggled her fingers towards his dyed brown hair.
/ - /
Michelle's was the fanciest place Alex had eaten since his time with June back in Kalos. Most of the etiquette he remembered, but on more than one occasion he found himself being gently reminded by his companion on what he should do.
Out of respect for the non-trainer customers (who often found trainer culture barbaric and uncivilized), they refrained from plain talk, referring to both their companions and work in code. But as the night progressed and people around them started leaving, they became more courageous in their terminology.
"How's your team?" June asked, swirling her drink around a little. A sweet wine imported from the vineyards in Kalos, Alex had learned to enjoy it as much as the liquor from Unova's breweries.
"The rush project we got assigned completely drained everyone. We managed to complete it on time, but I don't think anybody's satisfied with the result. I doubt the customer will complain, but I'm definitely planning on holding a luncheon or something to boost morale of my staff."
"Give them my regards," she offered quietly. "My own team's stressed out as well, you know. We're having to juggle multiple projects of our own all at once." She waved her hand around, gesturing. "A whole interdepartmental affair that has me in the office for hours at a time."
"Anything I can help with?" Alex sipped from his own cup. A strong whiskey that was as expensive as June's drink. Ordinarily he would have gotten something local, but as June said herself: nothing can beat home.
"I'm sure our companies will have another joint project one of these days. The way the market is looking, it's probably inevitable." At his concerned look, she quickly added, "Perhaps a year out, at worst. The foundation needs to be laid out, documents drafted and agreed upon. I'm sure you remember how it is."
"Last time I was working the floor, not the office," he answered gruffly. "Nobody really told me much, just where I was supposed to report to for my new work."
June chuckled in response. The two of them sat quietly for a few minutes after that, both requesting a refill on their drinks. "Do you still talk with that freelancer you met a while back?"
"We meet from time to time. Her work has her all over the place. If it wasn't for how much influence her position holds, I'd be envious of her."
"Make sure she's alright. She's held in high regard among my superiors, and as far as they can tell you're one of her main contacts. You should let her know what might happen down the line. Wouldn't be surprised if her services were requested again."
"I'll do what I can. You know how she can be." In unison, "'I'll contact you.'" Alex smiled back at June before turning to look out at the skyline of Goldenrod, the city bathed in light of the waxing moon. Since he'd first passed through in his teens, the skyline had changed dramatically. Compared to his memories of before the GTS, it was now worthy of being Johto's capital. "Should I try and inform any of my other contacts? They're still busy, but I'm sure they'd love the opportunity to add a few feathers into their caps."
"I'll pass a message to my superiors. They want me doing things by the book all the time these days." She gave a rueful smile. "Legalese that goes entirely over my head."
"So fortunate they found our partnership beneficial." He raised his glass half mockingly.
"A partnership they still give me grief over." June clinked her glass against his, taking a rather large swig. "Wouldn't change it for the world though."
"I'm glad you appreciate me so." Amidst the feelings of pleasure welling within him, Alex felt a curious prod at his mental shields. Childish yet oh so very mature, ignoring the 'call' would only mean more trouble later. Making a show of staring at something at his somewhat outdated phone (for times when his bulky X-gear would be too unpresentable), Alex quickly polished off the rest of his drink. "Sorry for cutting this short. Something needs my attention." The man reached into his coat pocket and took out one of his cards; a rather ornate thing, the lettering on the front listed it as a Unovan bank. "PIN's the same. I'll pick it up another time."
June gestured for him to come closer. "Gotta adjust something. Make sure you look presentable, you know?" When Alex stepped closer, June reached up and pulled him in by his tie. The sudden kiss was deep and longing, and when Alex pulled back she licked her lips in satisfaction. "You have an excellent choice in drinks, you know that?"
"Apparently not enough to order one of your own though." He adjusted his tie in partial annoyance, glad he'd chosen a proper one and not a clip on.
June simply laughed and raised her glass in parting. "May the light of the moon guide your night, Alexander Collens."
/ - /
When Alex had returned to the pokémon center, his X-gear stocked up on snacks of various kinds, almost his entire team had been given a clean bill of health. Celèste was still in a bit of a pinch, having taken the equivalent of a dark type Hyper Beam across the chest, but Caitlyn was making sure the damage was taken care of. At this point all they needed to do was wait for morning to arrive and see what permanent damage remained, if any. Every one else was placed safely on the slots on his belt, resting and ready to be called on should the need arise.
He felt bad for interrupting Emerl's rest for a simple Teleport, but he trusted the cerebral pokémon more than he did Deus, at least in terms of precision. Where they were in the National Park he wasn't sure, but it was clear of any other humans for at least a few hundred yards. As a precaution though, he sent out Umbral and Morgan to make sure nobody got too close, or that he didn't interrupt a 'mons rest.
Alex trekked through the woods for a couple minutes, eventually deciding upon a small clearing barely big enough to set up a tent in. It wasn't the best spot, but he was operating on a time table. Settling against one of the trees, Alex brought out a handful of the snacks he'd purchased and began the glorious task of waiting.
When he woke from his nap, it was to the realization that something was sitting in his lap, working their way through the plastic containers of the various potato chips. "Hello, Mew." The psychic type chittered happily, psychokinetically offering him one of the flavored chips. "How'd you get here so quickly? Alto Mare's a fair Teleport away, even for you."
Images quickly flashed through his mind. The brown lead wings of a Pidgeot in the corners of his eyes. A sea of blue and white, with patches of green and white dotting the region. This high up, few things are capable of travelling. The giant metal bird with stationary wings was one such thing though. It's precious cargo of squishy humans, incapable of travelling at their speeds without protection, stared at him in awe.
After travelling with the so called plane for a few minutes, Alex began performing various tricks, cawing with pride at the reactions of the child and adults watching through the window. After a few more minutes, he broke off a safe distance from the human construct before once again flying at top speeds.
"Showing off again?" He reproached, taking a moment to cement the memories as 'not his'. "You know one of these days somebody's going to connect the dots. I don't know how, but they will."
Mew chittered in what she undoubtedly felt was a placating manner. The words were lost to him though, and the small feline resorted to feeding more memories to him. A forest somewhere in the Alolan isles. The slowly spreading greenery of Orre. A herd of bouffalant being herded across Unovan plains. As Mew continued to share her adventures, Alex silently brought out a small hand brush.
Compared to that of his pokémon, her fur was extremely poor in comparison. It wasn't unkempt per se, but there was only so much care she could do for it on her own. To get it to its best, as it once was a few years ago, somebody had to provide the service. A service that was required on the regular. A service that could only be given by travelling together.
Alex put the brush away and quietly fingered the minimized pokéball resting around his neck. For reasons unbeknownst to him, Mew had allowed him to keep her registered. It was a secret that only a handful of people knew about, and an even smaller amount were aware that it was him specifically
'Owning' Legendaries wasn't a new thing. Not the real deals, anyway. Lugia and the Elemental Birds of the Shamouti Isles, Johto's Ho-oh, Unova's Tao- and Justice- Trio. Not every True Legend allowed themselves to 'submit to the will of humans', but it was a well known thing among the Legends that being registered by a Trainer was the strongest deterrent for poachers. Nothing said 'buzz off' quite like a pokéball that didn't even open on a catch attempt.
A driven hunter would have other methods of course, but it was rare that they would cause an actual issue. Such was the case when he met Mew back during his time as a Unovan Ranger. He'd found himself having to deal with reports of poachers in his assigned area, the largest attempt in history. Rangers and high level trainers had been pulled from all over the country to deal with the threat; one that had the potential to completely destroy the entire ecosystem of the forests north of Humilau City.
Stumbling across Mew had been a stroke of (mis)fortune that day, and the running battle had lasted well into the evening. The Legend was lucky he had Heal Balls on him; a few hours in the thing and she'd recovered enough to fight back again, even tampering with the memories of the hunters so that they'd forget she was in the area. Said battling and mental tampering continued until the poachers had been declared dealt with, at which point Mew had 'asked' something of him.
When a Legendary (a true and proper one) asked you to bring them to a certain place, it was something you did, no arguments had. Lake Versimilie wasn't a place people went to often on account of being so far out from civilization, but Alex was lucky it was still within his assigned sector. When they'd arrived at the lake, both Alex and his team took the appearance of Celebi in stride.
According to the two friends, they'd been spending the past few years travelling through time together. It was one of their centurial things; a chance to reminisce about the past and catch up with each other. Apparently they'd accidentally established a pattern and generations of hunters and poachers had concurrently worked together to try and capture them.
The duo were incredibly grateful for his help in protecting Mew, and had asked if there was anything he'd like as payment. Alex of course has said there was nothing that came to mind, but his pokémon had different ideas. From Mew, Celèste and Morgan received the ability to use a move they had no right to use. From Celebi, his three Psychics (and one Ghost) received a quick rundown on how to use moves just beyond their abilities, but with years of training would be achievable. It was perhaps one of the most surreal moments in his life, especially when said information had been transplanted into his mind so he could help them refine their potential abilities.
Mew began chittering tiredly, sending the image of a simple tent.
"It's illegal to camp out in the park," he whispered. Not that it would stop him from getting a few hours of shut eye. With a few quick taps, all the pieces for sleeping under the stars appeared by his side, the trash Mew had created disappearing within his X-gear's waste compartment. A moment later, Alex slipped underneath the covers, lifting his arm for Mew to slide in as well. "Wake me when you leave, alright?" The psychic type mewed out a tired response, her breathing quickly leveling out.
Once, and only once, he'd asked her why she slept with him. Being able to transform into any pokémon she wanted, Mew could've had whatever sleep experience she wanted, yet she chose her base form, curled up against him.
Her answer was as confusing as it was simple. Fighting, Psychic; peace, calm, warmth. She refused to go into detail, but as far as Alex could tell it meant one thing. She found him comforting. The favor of a Legendary wasn't a bad thing though. If getting some extra help in times of great crisis (such as in Orre) meant having to fearfully hope he didn't accidentally roll atop her in his sleep, so be it.