I think if I ever got around to making a draft/version 2, I would try to include journal entries among these chapters. As they currently are, I don't think they would quite fit, but part of me feels like I failed to properly convey the idea that Alex is fairly studious and meticulous about his record keeping. It is mentioned in several places, but they always felt more like one off lines to me rather than something continuously repeated.
As a side note, most members of Project GO are heavily (if not fully) based off the characters from [Surfacage]'s comic series 'And the World Will Turn to Ash'. While ULS is by no means meant to be a companion story of any sort, Surfacage has done a lot of backstory work on the cast (including a tiny spreadsheet listing each Leader's personal team) which made my life a lot easier.
#Mega Evolution. It is the culmination of the bonds between a trainer and their pokémon, one that brings forth the fullest potential of a pokémon. To allow such a change, a trainer must have trained their pokémon extremely well, as well as reaching a point where their orders are capable of superseding the pokémon's natural instincts. To have allowed a Mega Evo to occur without this condition in place is to invite mass destruction.#
"No, that's not right." Alex drew a quick X next to the paragraph. A handful of orders from the trainers using the field were shouted out before he started writing again
#Officially, Mega Evolution is the proof of the bond between humans and pokémon. Unofficially, it is the realization of a pokémon's highest potential. It is a state that would have resulted from a lifetime of combat, the likes of which would have only been seen in the time of the ancients.
In recent years, Mega Evolved Pokémon within the wild have been discovered. These pokémon are highly aggressive and for those that do not suffer lethal overheating, require many months of constant attention from high level trainers to control ('tame' being a loose status). Studies and research into the homes of the more amicable subjects have revealed that their lives are one of strife. Evidence of high level battles, on the level of a Gym Leader's full strength, can be found littered across their former territories.#
For a moment, Alex was tempted to include his hypothesis that an external force was acting upon the 'mon to cause a permanent state of Mega Evolution, but since there were cases of Mega Evo's being friendly (mostly from Sinnoh and Kalos itself), the idea didn't hold much weight.
#This is not the only instance of stoneless Mega Evolution, however. In the Ferrum Region, a naturally occuring energy referred to as 'Gaia' allows a similar state referred to as 'Burst Mode'. While in this state, if a pokémon does not have a Mega Evolution form, their abilities are increased on average by 10%. This state is only temporary, but so long as a pokémon is fighting near the region's 'Synergy Stones' (local phenomena capable of interacting with Gaia) it can be achieved multiple times, without the extensive drain Mega Evolution causes.#
A wayward flamethrower caused Alex to look up. Before it could get too close, Caitlyn erected a barrier to angle it harmlessly into the sky. "Thank you."
Pleasure. Pride. Peace.
Alex basked in the emotions of his gardevoir for a few moments before returning back to his work. Despite his protests and lack of official studies, the other professors of the world had come to acknowledge him as the premier expert in stoneless mega evolution. Professor Sycamore, the expert in traditional Mega Evolution, would often send long, bloated emails regarding his studies, with things he felt pertinent to Alex's 'field of research' highlighted.
It was a rather irritating position to be in, but considering that he had two pokémon capable of performing unaided Mega Evolutions (though one was definitely questionable) as well as being one of the few successful people to help tame a Mega Houndoom Wes had requested assistance for, he couldn't deny any of the claims.
Amusement. Joy. Comfort.
"You know it's not nice to pry into the minds of others," he remarked. "Keep that up and I'll have to break out the squirt bottle again."
False shock. Betrayal. Smugness.
Out on the field, Celèste casually stepped out of the way of another Flamethrower, one arm pointedly folded behind her back. It had taken a couple days for the other trainers to get used to the arrangement, but once they did many tried to take advantage of it.
One pokémon per challenger and only one challenge per day. There was no set time limit and the rules were dictated by the challenger. Celèste would match the stated rules herself. Many a trainer found themselves regretting the decision to use unconventional moves. Having been with Alex the longest (Emerl and Deus took the spots for oldest in terms of age) her creativity and ingenuity had been fine tuned, even if they hadn't come up with anything new in a couple weeks.
"How do you think today will go?" He asked, placing his pen down.
Images of the fight several days ago flashed through his mind. Aerial Ace, Agility, Tailwind; beedrill were already scarily strong creatures, add in an hour's worth of enhancements and a form previously thought more than folktale and the damn things required the usage of sensory sharing to keep track of it. It didn't help that the battle had caused enough noise- even through the howling rain and unending Thunders in the distance- that a congregation of scyther had come to inspect the situation.
Reluctance. Eagerness. Anxiety.
While the Psychic-Fairy knew she could handle putting the Beedrill in its place, it wouldn't be anywhere close to the definition of 'fun'. For Caitlyn, fun meant coming up with a new routine. Fun was playing games with psychic energy. Fun was playing tag with the others. Pain was battling. Pain was subjugating rampaging pokémon. Pain, was recognizing her feelings and knowing she would continue to stay with him.
Concern. Absolution. Assuagement.
The topic was a well travelled road. Even five years since he realized what the gardevoir truly enjoyed, he could never stop himself from mentally apologizing for forcing her to act against her nature. Every time, she would pick up on the surface thoughts and fail to convince him not to.
"Howdy. You know I thought I recognized you. Saw your video all over the 'net a couple days ago. What do you say to a battle, Old Timer?"
As one, trainer and 'mon turned to look at the person casting a shadow over them. Resignation. Irritation. Jealousy. His pokémon always told him there was something strange with the Fire type specialist before him, but they refused to say what.
Alex brought forth the image of a cliff overlooking a serene lake, hoping that Caitlyn would pick up on the emotions it carried with it. "Captain. Don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here? Goldenrod's a long flight from Opal City."
"Well, I just so happened to see one of my members got into a fight the other day. A high level fight." Candela plopped down on the free space to his left, her arms resting on the backrest lazily. "A funny story that, especially when he told everyone that he doesn't battle these days."
"Everybody was adhering to International League Rules that week. And as I'm sure you saw, nothing about our battle was IPA compliant." For a moment, Alex and Caitlyn achieved a perfect harmony in their irritation. It took a quick application of a Calm Mind for them to avoid the destructive feedback loop they would have created.
"Ah hah! I suppose that's our Wilderness Expert for you. Can't exactly do your job if you play by the rules."
Out on the field, Celèste shot back all the strength of a Mega Punch. Carefully aimed the slightest bit downward, the Charizard's body left a channel that spread all the way to the other end of the field, taking several seconds before standing up shakily.
"Forgive me for sounding so grandiose, but when I go out there and I actually have to fight, it's because nobody else around can handle it."
Celèste let out a long exhale. Even with as much use of Bulk Up as she had used that match, taking a high level attack like that straight on was painful. Her next fight would likely involve judicious use of Drain Punch, regardless of whether or not it would be wise.
The Hoenn native let out a loud, barking laugh. "Is that why every time you battle the gym leaders these days you ask if they'd be willing to use Wild rules?"
The irritation flared up once again, this time with a bit of hatred sprinkled in. It was an odd sensation, receiving it from the normally peaceful gardevoir. "Those battles have been meant to be private," he quietly uttered. "To have seen those means you personally requested access to the footage." Alex unzipped his jacket a little. A wind hadn't blown the past couple minutes, and the heat of the sun was starting to get to him.
Alarm. Frustration. Fear.
"I said it before, didn't I? One of my members lied to all of our faces. I just had to find the truth out for myself. What kind of leader would I be if I didn't fix internal issues?"
"My desire to not battle other trainers is not an issue," he retorted. It was starting to get a little hotter. Uncomfortably so. Caitlyn's senses were now starting to approach that of battle mode, and Celèste was constantly glancing their way.
"Then what was that dance with that dame?"
Alex finally looked Candela in the eye. Shock. Concern. Fear. Unbidden, his mind connected with both Caitlyn and Celèste, both of them flooding their binding with tranquility. "That was a reunion with an old friend." Were her eyes always red?
"So why don't you battle me?" She pressured.
The emotions coursing through his body were finally placed. He'd felt this a few times before, mostly as a kid. The fear and tension in his body was the result of being in sight of a predator, and knowing there was no escape other than combat. "Can your team operate on their own with only a few basic commands?" He asked, keeping his voice measured.
"No, but why don't you entertain me anyway?" Candela grinned toothily.
The heat was growing hotter. But if he made any attempt to loosen his jacket again, it'd be a show of submission. "I have a prior obligation that I need my team at full strength for."
"Then we'll only do a three on three," She breathed, inching closer. "That's how many are on my team, anyway."
"As the leader of Team Valor, don't you think you should have a party of six or more?"
"As the leader of Team Valor, I can do whatever I want. My team of three is more than enough to handle any team of six."
It was a bait. One he was tempted to take. Another pulse of peace came rushing through his mental connections. Gratitude was sent back. "Anything goes then? Aside from the obvious no killing or crippling blows?"
"Anything goes," she confirmed.
Anxiety. Regret. Dread.
Alex and Caitlyn made their way to Celèste's side of the field, the lucario launching a flurry of Drain Punches to end the match. "Sorry for the quick finish, kiddo. Just got a challenger. You can get a double next time," he shouted out.
A disarming smile from Candela sent Celèste's challenger running off happily, the woman taking a proud pose in the trainer's box across from him. "I hope you show me as good a battle as you did that girl, Old Timer."
Fire types. Develop the full potential of your pokémon. Confidence. Once upon a time, Alex would have tapped the balls of his chosen pokémon to cement his decision. After training Caitlyn however, such an exercise was easily done within his mind. "Caitlyn, Celèste, return." With no resistance, the two 'mon were recalled and placed back onto his belt.
A random bystander, one who hadn't brought out their device to record his second public battle in weeks, was designated as the match official. "3. 2. 1. Begin!"
"Subjugation training!" He called out. "KO only!" Deus, Umbral, and Morgan let out battle cries the moment they materialized, each focusing on their target. A proud and solitary arcanine drowned them out with a roar, immediately entering a battle stance. "Stance Beta Three, Dusk!"
"Take down that misdreavus! Fire Fang, let's go!"
Alex ran around the field for a better angle, shouting out a command for his reuniclus to engage. Fists flaring with both thunder and ice, the psychic type swapped places with the Ghost type at the last second, a lightning coated limb slamming into the arcanine's jaw. An Aqua Jet from Morgan rocked the arcanine back the other way, an ice fist from Deus once again impacting it squarely in the chin.
"Artemis, Flame Wheel!"
"Lock it down!" Deus and Umbral swapped places once again, this time the latter letting out a blinding Flash amplified by the powder coating her necklace. Safely on the other side of the emittance, Alex was able to see a thick bundle of roots rise up from the ground and tighten around the arcanine's limbs, only to burn up in the flames coating the fire type.
"Tag, Rejuvenation! Deus, Confusion!" Morgan leapt through the air, briefly turning into a floating, undulating ring of water. When he reformed from the separate bundle of water approaching the ground, the ring began pulsating with a white light. Another jet of water sent the vaporeon towards Candela's pokémon, Morgan's snarling as he rushed towards it.
"Thunder Fang!"
Another displacement of pokémon. Deus gave his lead fist freely, his other pounding away at the arcanine's head in a dizzying pattern. Morgan for his part ran to the group's current 7:30, Umbral receiving the gift of Aqua Ring at 4:30. Together with Deus at 12'o'clock, the group formed a perfect triangle.
"Quarantine!" Alex called out.
"Artemis, Sunny Day!" Candela's order was for naught. In place of an orb of light rising into the sky, the quadruped let out a strong but unfocused wave of heat into the air, struggling to maintain its balance.
Alex's order was carried out smoothly. From Deus, wave after wave of electric energy pulsed out, each one wrapping around the arcanine and arcing through its fur. From Morgan, a billowing jet of water slammed into it, the varying mass of liquid only making staying balanced more difficult. From Umbral, a noxious looking glob of energy was launched and absorbed by the arcanine, its knees buckling under the combination of status effects. Retreating a safe distance away, Umbral's eyes glowed malevolently. Ghostly energy shot out of the arcanine, a sudden flare of yellow and purple across its entire body feeding the energy into the equivalent of a roaring inferno.
The stream of a pokéball caused the spectacle to end. Still in her designated trainer box, Candela frowned. "It's been a long time since I was in the wilds, Old Man. Can't say I look forward to it much."
At the edge of the arena, opposite from where all the spectators had moved, Alex let out a sharp whistle, his three 'mon moving to wait in front of him. "Not many trainers prepare themselves for the unregulated fights that happen outside the League boundaries. It's a different world out there. The pokémon out there are scary smart; every tribe you'll find works in a group to hunt down their prey."
"Which just means we'll have to be strong enough to fight them off!" Candela pitched her pokéball across the field, a well cared for flareon appearing in the spot Alex should have been in. "Flame Charge, never stop!"
Alex's clothes whapped at his movement. In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Morgan and Umbral were recalled. "Nature's Wrath!"
Now all alone, Deus let out a garbled roar at the sky, his limbs directing the energy required for a Rain Dance to form.
"Quick Attack!"
"Ramp it!" His Reuniclus charged forward and blocked the attack with an open hand, flinging the flareon into the air. A mass of psychic energy, barely visible in the beginnings of the rainfall, collided with the fire type and kept it afloat.
Another whap. "Zap!" Far away from where Deus once was, Umbral materialized. Around the largest bead of her necklace, electricity began sparking. At once the energy was shot into the clouds above, a massive bolt of lightning shooting down and connecting with the eeveelution.
Whap. "Flash Flood!"
"Ares, Overheat!" With a massive burst of flame, the fire type broke through the residual energy keeping it midair and landed on the ground, panting at the exertion of energy. "Now Dig!"
The command came right in time. Riding atop a summoned wave of water amplified by the rainfall, Morgan let out an irritated cry when the flareon managed to evade the attack. "Snowstorm then lurk!" The winds in the area began whipping everything around. In less than three breaths the rain turned to ice, clinking roughly against everything. In the deluge of frozen water, both Morgan and the flareon were nowhere to be seen.
Candela's voice was barely audible in the storm. "You can't be safe from everywhere! Ares, Lava Plume! Blow this ice away!" The fire type shot out of the ground, its body glowing with red hot energy.
The moment it did, Morgan leapt out of his puddle of water, frigid blue light covering him. Barely thirty feet away from each other, fire and ice collided against each other, the former becoming more focused once a target was established.
Crack. "Ghost Feast!" Floating above the flareon, Umbral's eyes grinned. With a piercing, haunting cry, clouds of eldritch energy exploded out and covered the field. Every piece of ice that fell through it glowed a sickly purple, each one shattering into motes of light that lazily floated back up upon impacting the ground. In the cover of the dark mist, Alex almost became hidden. Only the yellow hemming of his jacket and pants let him stick out, and even those weren't always visible through the clouds of energy.
"Artemis! Keep up the Flame Charge. Stay alert!"
Behind him, a presence made itself known. Alex began whispering to the misdreavus. Her high pitched giggles gave him her answer. Soon, her laughter began sounding from everywhere within the mist.
The clouds shifted slightly.
"Flamethrower!"
From the beacon of flame in the center of the field, a torrent of fire tore through the darkness, parting the mist. The ghostly energies rushed in to fill the gap.
Giggles continued to echo.
"You know you can still change your pokémon out," he whispered to Candela, silently moving behind her. For a moment the sensation of being judged overcame him once again, only to disappear in less than a second. "We said it at the start, anything goes."
"What kind of Leader would I be if my pokémon couldn't tough things out on their own?" she responded, still staring forward.
Alex mentally shrugged. "Then enjoy the haunting."
Shining balls of supernatural power began forming within the mist. Most of them stayed stationary, but some began moving randomly. The giggles started up once again, this time significantly more sadistic.
"Artemis, Sunny Day!"
A shrieking howl. The flames protecting the flareon were snuffed out, a pained cry managing to be heard through the hail.
Childish laughter. The orbs suddenly lurched back, each of them shooting towards a singular point within the darkness. When every last sphere of paradoxically radiating light was gone, both ice and mist disappeared. At their proper starting positions, both Alex and Umbral awaited, a pleased grin on the misdreavus' face.
Just outside the central circle of the field, Candela's flareon rose back up, a pained look on its face. "You were holding back," Candela called out.
Alex nodded. "We should call it here. It's clear you're not suited for this type of battling."
"Oh? Then you're willing to fight under league sanctioned rules?" Candela called back her flareon, picking it up and petting it affectionately.
"Hard pass!" he shouted back. "It's too limiting and boring for us. Let's call this a draw."
Candela cackled, and gestured towards their slack jawed officiator. Her amusement only grew when the crowd started gathering around Alex, the man warding them off with claims of having things to take care of today.
"You lied," he said quietly, eyeing down a stubborn trainer. The battle was won when Candela turned around to stare at the eavesdropper, a toss of her head sending them grumbling away.
"Of course I did. This was just a house call, not a proper punishment."
"Could've fooled me," he muttered loud enough for her to hear. "I actually do have somewhere to be though, so if you don't mind walking with me we can keep talking."
The woman grinned and grabbed hold of his arm. "Taking your superior out on a date? My, how scandalous." The two walked in silence for several blocks, both of them idly returning greetings from the few people that recognized them. "Ares' more my companion than actual battler. My rapidash might've been able to do something against you, and it was too much pride and shock on my end that resulted in Artemis becoming so heavily inflicted."
"If we ever battle again, I'm sure things will be much different," Alex admitted. "Nobody can respond to our mass usage of teleport the first time they come up against it."
"You're lying." She chuckled. It wasn't an unpleasant sound, but he couldn't be sure how much of his attraction was the laughter itself or her leaning into him. "Teleport is single target. What you did was a location swap."
"Mm. Ally Swap, specifically. Most trainers use it defensively rather than offensively. My team's trained extensively in its usage. When we're out in the field, we need that unpredictability and rapid response to take down threats safely." Resting on his head, Umbral trilled in agreement. "You said you're here for a house call. I assume that means more than checking up on me?"
Candela grunted in affirmation. A second later she sighed and let go, straightening out her uniform and looking as if she hadn't been hanging on him the past few minutes. "Even if you're one of Juniper's kids- don't correct me on that; I know you never got a starter from her but you came to us through her recommendation, so in my mind that's the same thing. Even if you're one of Juniper's kids you're still currently sponsored by Professor Willow. That means when you catch a new pokémon, he's the one that gets the information. So when he gets a notification that you happen to catch a pokémon that shouldn't exist," Candela trailed off and stepped in front of him.
"Not to mention a notification that you're allowed to have more than six pokémon on you, even beyond the transport pokémon, of course he's going to have somebody investigate. Plus, I just so happened to hear that you're going to be working on the little bugger." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "This is the lab's first time to see something like this in person. Professor Sycamore's tight lipped on the subject with us, and none of our other members, any of them, are decorated enough to have the right to attempt the ceremony."
Alex was silent for several moments. "But you know about the process then? And how difficult it is?"
"A 60% rate of failure on the first attempt across the board, and that's with optimal candidates. Even with proper training and warning, the enhanced levels of aggression are still overwhelming."
Alex nodded and started walking again. "We'll talk more in a bit. Everything else is too sensitive to speak of in public. By the way, let me see your arcanine's pokéball. I can heal it up a little on the way there."
/ - /
"Ms. Milton will be with you shortly. Please wait here."
"We're alright to let our pokémon out, right?"
"Of course, Ms. Monsoon."
Alex waited for the woman to walk away before speaking up. "You're the leader of Team Valor, rumored to be on extremely close terms with a moltres, and your last name is Monsoon?"
"Hardee hardee har." Candela narrowed her eyes and stared at him unhappily. "In case you forgot, Spark was the last leader to be selected. There was nothing special about our last names and what team we were on until he came along."
Alex grunted in acknowledgment, watching Morgan lazily glide through the air in an extremely low powered aqua jet, Candela's flareon chasing after him. "How have the other two been, anyway?"
"Spark and some of the other Instinct members have been helping Professor Elm on a side project. Their involvement is supposed to end soon though, which means the peace and quiet of GO HQ is going to be gone. Shame, that." A look of wistfulness briefly appeared on Candela's face. "I'm going to miss waking up to peace and quiet instead of panicked shouting."
"Clumsiness?" He ventured.
She smirked. "Happy go lucky, though just about everyone else will tell you absent minded. He's lucky his second in command is as orderly as he is. Really, the man should have been part of Mystic with how dedicated he is to note taking."
Morgan let out a playful cry, flailing around and faux pretending to try and writhe out of Flareon's mouth. After a few seconds he gave a teasing trill and turned into a mass of water once more, reforming a ways away.
"And everybody wondered why I got so mad when you skipped out that day."
Alex glanced at her. "Yeah, I'm not following you."
"Once a trainer, whatever field they're in, hits a certain age, they stop travelling. That's a simple fact of life. Battling isn't a safe and steady income like a regular job is, and as much attention as adult competitions have they don't exactly bring in large amounts of pid, unlike the youth circuits." Candela made a sharp hissing sound, her flareon reducing the amount of flames of Flame Charge from circling its body to just its paws. "So when I heard that one of my members was in his late twenties and still travelled the world, beyond going to new locations for experiments, you can understand my excitement. I was looking forward to battling you and going all out. Spark and Blanche are a close match, but in the end my team has always been the better battlers."
Alex let out a long sigh. Fanatics like this were the reason he hated fighting in public. "Was it everything you hoped for?" he asked tiredly.
"And more." She grinned. "A shame I can't stay for longer. I would've milked you for all you're worth."
Her expression was enticing. The memories of the predatory sensation he got from her kept him from entertaining those thoughts however. "I'm sure my pokémon would've loved to go up against your proper team. They got mad at me a few weeks ago for letting one of them lose a battle they should have had to rights." He shook his head. "And I was getting so used to waking up late in a soft bed."
"I hope you don't mind if I send the bill for repairs to you guys, right?"
Alex laid a hand on Candela's shoulder before she could speak. "My superior would have no problems taking care of that. We're deeply sorry for the mess, by the way. Finding a daycare for pokémon of our level is incredibly difficult, especially when you're as busy as us."
Candela returned the gesture, embracing him in a half hug. He could feel her insufferable expression. "Go ahead and split the bill for us, could you? We're both at fault here."
Alex gave a smile of his own, hoping it wasn't as pained as he felt. Scorch marks were always a bit of a pain to deal with, but at least it was just tiling and not wood.
"I'll grab their information on the way out, Charla. You go ahead and head home now." Whitney smiled and waved her assistant on. "Lock up on the way out, alright? I'll take care of everything on the inside."
Alex subtly adjusted his weight as Morgan crawled up his back and settled across his shoulders. "Thanks again for helping out with this on such short notice, Whitney. I know the trainers in the area aren't exactly the happiest bunch when you have to close early."
"I've told you before, Alex, don't worry about it. This is a League issue after all."
"My, you certainly do get around." Candela smirked coyly. "I suppose it makes sense that you'd have more than one adventure on your travels."
He ignored Whitney's eye roll. "Are you an only child, Captain? I feel like all the teasing you give me is an attempt to make up for that."
The leader of Valor laughed.
"It was my understanding though that you'd be here alone though, Alex." Whitney gave him an unamused stare, shaking her head when he stared back stoically. "Hi, I'm Whitney Milton."
"Candela Monsoon." Candela reached in front of him to shake her hand. "I'm the leader of GO's team Valor, and technically the superior of this old man here." She jabbed a thumb into his left pec, stabbing more painfully than she should have managed.
Alex rubbed his chest gingerly. "This old man can speak for himself, you know."
"Hush now, the girls are talking." She pushed him out of the way with the same hand, Morgan breathing out in what passed for laughter. "So how'd you meet this old guy, anyway?"
"You know I'm older than him, right?"
"Really?" She looked at the both of them. "You sure?" Candela smiled, far more pleased than she had any right to. "You don't look a day older than twenty five. Trust me, I would know."
Alex gingerly touched his face. He wasn't gaining wrinkles or anything like that, right? Was it his perpetual state of disinterest and disappointment? Because that's just how he was when he wasn't out in the field.
Morgan triled in his ear softly, what he assumed questioning why he was staring in the mirror so hard.
"Thank you for the compliment, Ms. Monsoon. But yes, I'm three years his elder. I actually met him around sixteen years ago when he passed through for his gym challenge. I didn't see him again until recently. At his level of battling, it's only us experienced gym trainers that can give him any sort of challenge. It helps that he can reinforce the things we'd need to know in case we ever actually have to perform the more dangerous aspects of our jobs."
"Hey, Alex! Hurry up, would ya? You're not at your room, so you can't fix any imperfections you found on that caked face of yours. And is my arcanine healed up yet?!"
Alex rolled his eyes, checking his X-gear all the same. "Just about," he called out, jogging to catch up. "By the time we get started she should be all good."
Candela scoffed. "Seriously, can you believe how connected this guy is? Unova must be crying themselves to sleep every weekend at how much wasted potential their little goose has. Candela whirled around to point a finger irritatingly close to his face. "Why can't you be a little cooler, dammit! Do you know the kind of prestige we'd be getting if you did an interview for once!?"
The finger was still there, several steps later. To bite or not to bite? Nah, best not risk whatever entity Candela had favor with. "If I was in the public eye like that, I wouldn't be able to do half the things I can do now. No offense, but why do you think the Thirteen Pillars end up stagnating so hard? They've got so much PR to deal with their training time's limited to three times a day, at most. They can't search out and handle things beyond their level."
Candela scoffed. "Why you gotta be right like that? It's not fair," she mumbled audibly. "The other two have the backing of researchers the world over thanks to efforts, but my crew's only known for being battle junkies."
"Have you considered sending them to Ferrum?" He quickly asked. "I'm sure the people over there would love that."
When they reached the gym, Whitney turned around to face them. "You guys wait here. I need to set up everything."
"Too expensive," Candela answered. "Plus, apparently something's going on with their specialty at the moment and the circuit's on hiatus."
"Hm, shame. That place has a lot to offer trainers of all levels."
The woman leaned against the wall of the arena. "Is that how you developed your fighting style? Some of your commands are similar to higher level battles, but the way they were implemented are maneuvers that Ferrum trainers developed."
"Total happenstance," Alex answered. "Honestly it wasn't until my mid 20's that I even heard about the place." He glanced down at his wrist. "Your arcanine's ready." With a few quick taps, his X-gear opened up, neatly pushing out the shrunken container.
"Thanks. Your files never mentioned anything like that thing. How'd you come across it?"
"You ever hear about Passerby Analytics?" An affirming grunt. "I joined up with them around the time I signed on as a Subway Trainer. Because I'd be travelling all across Unova, they were more than happy to take me on. Volunteers weren't exactly common anymore because they'd been around for so long, but it was still a nice side gig. Apparently I ended up being their top volunteer and had a good track record with offering improvements, so when Juniper asked me to go to Hoenn because I would be a good fit for the Mentor program, Unova Consumer Tech came to me to test out some new stuff. The Mentor Program beta'd a lot of things, and PA was one of their best sources of information. In other words, I happened to be at the right place at the right time."
Alex grunted as Morgan leapt off him, a small jet of water informing him that the water type had gone to explore the stands. "Thanks to all my work, I'm able to do a lot of stress testing that the normal trainer doesn't experience, so they like to send me new models for the Trainer version of their products."
"Pssh. Anybody ever tell you you're a lucky SoB?"
"So I've been told," he answered dryly.
Whitney came back not long after, a cheerful expression on her face. "All the security's been set, and the Porygon Z's monitoring all communication flows to make sure nothing gets leaked."
"Guess that's my cue then. Cameras will follow my lead?" Alex asked.
"We've got four on you at all times to make sure angles are covered," she confirmed.
"Sounds good." Alex stepped towards the center of the arena, a finger swapping between Caitlyn's and Celèste's pokéballs. By the time he reached the center, he made a decision, methodically calling forth his lucario. "Ready, Celèste?" The Fighting-Steel growled in acknowledgement, already starting to enhance her capabilities. "You guys sure you don't want to stand behind the barrier? I get wanting to help out in a pinch, but this thing might try and go after you just because."
"What, the big strong man doesn't think he can protect us?" Candela teased.
Alex shook his head. Under his breath, "It's on your heads then." Inhale, exhale. Alex brought his hand in front of his head, only his middle and index fingers extended. In that moment of tranquility and emptiness, he felt Celèste latch on to his aura, their Souls intertwining. "Let's try this diplomatically first." Alex pitched the ultra ball, the device unleashing its occupant.
In a flash of light, the Mega Beedrill appeared. Immediately its wings started working to keep it afloat, its head twitching to take in its new surroundings.
Alex began speaking. At the same time, Celèste's aura replicated his intentions. The dual toned words were incredibly disorienting for the pokémon that could understand human speech, but for those that couldn't it was the best way to converse.
"My name is Alexander Collens. I am a Pokémon Trainer. I apologize for taking you from your home, but your existence as it is now is a danger to humans that would travel through your woods. The people that I answer to would never let me return you to your home without the evidence that you will not cause problems. It is my wish to achieve this goal as quickly as possible. Please, what can I do to assist you?"
The beedrill's wings began vibrating furiously. Through his link with Celèste, Alex learned that the beedrill desired to become stronger. Strong enough to protect its swarm from the people that dared to harm it once before.
Once, when it was only a weedle, a human had cared for it in the wild when it became injured. From this, it learned that not all humans were bad. But the ones that forcibly tried to catch it or its kin were to be struck down. It had seen what such people did to the pokémon they captured. It could never allow that to happen within its home.
The Mega Evolution entered a combat stance, its five limbs poised to strike.
From the beedrill that travelled to other woods, it had learned about the existence of Trainers. How they captured pokémon. Made them to fight. To become stronger. But this beedrill, 'Pinnacle of the Swarm', would never allow itself to be reared by one who was weak. The fight back in Ilex Forest was a long and protracted battle, one that had many of Alex's pokémon fighting without honor or respect. If he could beat him here, in a proper one on one without any interference or underhanded tactics meant for catching prey, only then would the beedrill respect him.
If he couldn't, then Pinnacle would try to escape at every opportunity.
Through their connection, Celèste asked if this meant going all out. It galled him to do so with cameras trained on them, but one day Celèste's secret ability would come to light. Better to let all the bombshells drop at once and deal with everything in one swoop instead of over time.
As one trainer and 'mon stepped back. "We accept your challenge, Pinnacle of the Swarm. May our experiences shine bright-" Energy crackled horrendously from the point of impact, wisps of blue flame flickering out from Celéste's paws as she continually reinforced the Protect. As if he had never been there, Pinnacle retreated back, stingers twitching in frustration.
Alex let out a long breath, urging Celéste to step forward. Glowing limbs once again in her face stabbed forward repeatedly. Blue, purple, green, white, green-brown-bluepurplebrownblue-
Two at a time./Strikes in tandem.
Aura exploded outward, the built up kinetic energy lingering in the air like noxious fumes. Celèste let out a deep breath, her paws returning to her sides. It would take time for her Aura to reach that critical point- that moment where they could join together beyond more than shared emotions.
"We go."
A construct of shining blue flame slammed against Pinnacle's left forelimb, the Mega struggling to fend off the attack. Within seconds the pace doubled, Pinnacle's wings beating furiously and whipping the air around him into a Tailwind.
All that meant nothing against Celéste. Frost, flame, lighting- the elements lanced through the air with every Steel coated strike, jagged pulses of barely controlled energy blocking off Pinnacle's movements until at last, they were in the center of the room once again.
Not yet. Not quite. They were close, but- lance of chitin met lance of morphed metal, a horrendous noise screeching out as their weapons of choice ground against each other.
Against three extra angles of attack, Celèste was forced to keep her movements sharp and quick, her blocks bouncing back and forth within an invisible box as she deflected each and every strike. Slowly his heart began quickening. Aches that never should have been began making themselves known in his arms. His breathing slowed.
Almost.
With a flare of Aura, Celèste ramped up the pace once more, dancing around the Poison-Bug and peppering him with strikes at his ever changing blind spots.
"History breathes again!" With that shout, the last piece fell into place. Everything in sight gained a faint blue outline- a sight that would never disappear, even behind closed eyes. Celèste and Pinnacle blazed like bonfires, their Souls enforcing their wills upon the world and proclaiming their strength.
Alex/Celéste flexed their hand. The foe before them had strength, certainly, but they were untrained. Only base instincts guided them, and lessons half remembered allowed them to progress to this point. But that's all they were. Fragmented memories that could never amount to anything useful. They snorted. "You believe you are powerful. Come, let me show you what strength truly is."
The world was engulfed in Flame. It washed over everything, a mental recreation of the area updating with every passing heartbeat. Five figures. Two in stunned silence. Two of mirroring flames. One of similar intensity.
Anger and curiosity weaved together in equal measures, Pinnacle's eyes staring at their new form. A minor boost in height, strengthened bones and muscles, metal protrusions that flattened down into ovoid or spherical protections, and white fur growing out from their hips and shoulders, like spaulders and faulds of antiquity. It was not the standard form that their kin achieved. It was a lesser, incomplete form, but so much more perfect. There was no risk of exhaustion, no internal melting or unchecked aggression.
This was Aura internalized, a product of a once debilitating weakness made strength.
This was Their Form. Their Evolution.
Chitin gave way to unyielding Steel, a jagged explosion of frozen mist sending the beedrill careening back. Fore left-rear right, fore right-rear left- a dome of electricity crackled outward, the nearest stands rubber banding back to their- her- paws. Each strike continued to send arcs flying off, the elemental energy whipping out and forcing Pinnacle into erratic maneuvers.
The wingbeats grew in intensity, the air around Pinnacle gaining a visible distortion from the speed.
Celèste- they!- simply directed Aura to their limbs, reflexively adjusting the focal points into what was needed. With each grazing clash of paw against stinger, the murmuring aches in their limbs caused by the furious vibrations disappeared, soothed by the siphoned essence of stolen life. It was not until their fifth exchange occurred that Pinnacle realized what was happening, his stingers gaining a light green glow in response.
They had seen enough. But they could still go so much more. They took a step forward. Pinnacle refused to retreat. One more, their Aura surging into the visible spectrum with enhancements, and the wingbeats increased in kind- a single, continuous note whose thrum was felt in their bones. A malefic strength that screamed itself unto the world versus an enticing bonfire whose danger only made itself known when it was too late.
A thin layer of ice across their entire body continually reformed the moment they entered Pinnacle's zone of corrosion, dulling the buzz from lacerating pulses to little more than a constant irritating pressure.
ForelimbrearlimbforelimbforelimbCenter-
A grasping nexus of Aura shot out as they crouched underneath the strike, encircling Pinnacle and pulling them into their paw as they leapt up. Keeping the Aberration close to their body as they whirled around horizontally- pushing past the panicked attempts to reorient himself- they flung Pinnacle into the ground, the compacted dirt floor cratering at the impact. Twin cones of ice shot from their paws, the same action providing a handpoint to swing over and land safely.
A single, echoing stomp. Angry yellow-brown cracked its way forth, disappearing underneath unforgiving blue. The ice ruptured. From the ruined cocoon, Pinnacle burst forth limply, propelled by a thick column of pointed earth.
As far as battles went, this was relatively tame. Pinnacle had strength, yes, but it was unrefined. A lord of a single forest could not hope to compare to an emperor of many. Given time though, perhaps this fledgling might prove useful. It would be a difficult road, but it would be taken; of that they held no doubts.
They let out a slow breath, letting the emissions of their aura flare in intensity, slowly fading with each wave until at last only a thin halo was projected around their skin. They could simply cast everything off of course, but to expel everything without moderation would mean significant damage in any given direction, let alone what kind of damage they might receive. To go from such a heightened state to their normal? Slowly they reduced the burning of their Soul more and more, only letting go of that vital piece when they were at his/my side.
Alex took deep breaths, focusing on soothing waves emanating from Celèste's paws rather than the full body aches that kept him to a knee. Mega Evolution- their Mega Evolution, was not quite ready for proper field use. If they were to take advantage of the emblazoned stones that made such transformation readily possible it would be a different story, but then- no, theirs, while incomplete and lacking in everything that made the original so much better, was much more suited to their cause.
Alex looked up and stared into Celèste's eyes.
It was Them, in a way the original could never hope to achieve.