Oliver was chilling in his hotel room. After Scarlet went off to get pizza and he finally got to take a shower, he let Pokémon loose and they were all chilling out watching Crobatman Returns on the hotel room's TV. Well, to be more specific, he let all his Pokémon loose except one.

"Hey Ralts," Oliver turned to his Pokémon during one of the more disgusting scenes with the movie's Empoleon-themed villain, "You think I should give Karrablast another chance to meet you guys?" Ralts simply nodded.

"I guess that's worth a shot," Oliver said. He had been reluctant to let Karrablast loose because of how powerful and unruly he was compared to the rest of the team. Letting him run around in a hotel room seemed like a recipe for disaster. But he couldn't just keep him couped up in a Pokéball the entire time. True, he had Karrablast out when they got moving that morning but during sparring he didn't hold back and Oliver was worried he'd injure Moira's Pokémon for real.

Now seemed as good a time as any to try to connect. Oliver took out the call and opened it, and out popped Karrablast.

"Hey Karrablast," he greeted, crouching down to get closer. "I, uh, feel like we should get to know each other more-"

SLASH

Oliver jumped back as Karrablast swiped at him. Oliver backed off. "Okay, okay, I get the message. You don't quite trust me yet," he said nervously, his hands held up defensively. "Good to know."

Joltik hopped down to where Karrablast was and began sparking in anger.

"Joltik, no, don't aggravate him-" but it was too late, as Karrablast reacted to the sparking by spraying acid from his mouth. It wasn't a lot, though, and Joltik jumped out of the way quickly, but the acid did melt some of the carpet.

"Hey, knock it off, you two!" But the two bugs had begun fighting in earnest. Ralts was waving her arms frantically trying to diffuse the situation, and Tryote was simply watching the fight unfold.

When a spray of acid hit the side of the bed and started eating away at the fabric, Oliver decided enough was enough. He pulled out two Pokéballs and withdrew the both of them. He groaned. "What am I going to do with Karrablast… Course, I can't have Joltik picking fights either." Oliver wondered if Joltik had always been confrontational like that, but never noticed because he only ever had the two Pokémon for the longest time.

Before he could pursue this train of thought any further, there was a knock at the door.

It was Scarlet. "I got the pizza," she said as Oliver opened the door. "Come on up to me and Moira's room, it's bigger… what happened to your room?"

Oliver turned around, seeing the various places where acid had melted the carpet. "I tried letting Karrablast out of his Pokéball outside of a battle. This mistake will not be repeated."

Scarlet cracked a smile. "Well, the important thing is that you learned."

Oliver eventually let Joltik out of his time out, but Joltik just drained from a power outlet instead of having pizza. He also let Karrablast out because depriving him of delicious pizza wasn't exactly a great way to build trust. Luckily, Karrablast mellowed out somewhat once he realized these humans were his new food providers, but still got snappy at any other Pokémon that got close. Can't have them stealing his pizza, after all.

Scarlet didn't tell Oliver or Moira about what she witnessed on the way back. How exactly would she say it in a way that didn't make them freak out? "This pizza's really good. By the way I think I may have witnessed a back-alley drug deal. So you ready for the opening ceremony tomorrow?" No, she kept quiet about it. For now she did the responsible thing, call the police and leave an anonymous tip and figured she'd forget about it come morning.


The show stage of Emperor's Palace was one of its main draws. A huge crowd gathered to see who this year's hopefuls. The opening ceremony wasn't necessarily required- Allanza's League was much more informal as Scarlet had said- but most of them showed up regardless. The competitors all got front row seats (or at least the first few rows), and Oliver and Moira were sitting next to each other on the 3rd row from the front. They were told they would get to walk up on stage at the end of the opening ceremonies.

"Hey, Oliver," Moira asked quietly, "you recognize anyone here?"

"Let's see… There's Lennoa and her Gallade. I can't see any of the Elite Four though… Oh! Wait, there are two of them on the first row!"

Moira craned her neck and looked where Oliver was pointing.

"That guy with the light blue hair wearing thick winter clothing indoors? That's Wendell, the Ice-type expert. And a couple seats down from him is Tanya, the Fairy-type user."

"She the one with the blonde bushy pigtails and frilly pink dress?"

"That's the one."

"Well where are the other two?"

"Oh, they very rarely show up to the ceremony. Verne doesn't like crowds and Crowley is probably training."

Just then the lights started to dim. It was starting.

A clean-shaven man with nearly-combed black hair and a pinstripe blue suit walked on stage. The man had a rather unremarkable face.

"Welcome, everyone! My name is Rondell, Chairman of the Allanza Pokémon League. Usually the champion would be handling these proceedings but seeing as how she gave up her title, she isn't here. And believe me, I'm as disappointed as you are."

A couple weak chuckles rang from the audience.

"It is my pleasure to announce that the Gym Challenge has officially begun! Each trainer must battle and defeat the eight Gym Leaders, and only those who have collected all eight Gym Badges will be able to compete in the League Championship!"

"Now allow me to introduce a few of those Gym Leaders now! Not all of them though. The Verdance Gym is between Leaders again and Braxton's in the hospital."

"That's hardly a surprise," Oliver whispered. "Braxton has glass bones and paper skin. The guy's like 90. Honestly I think he should've retired a long time ago." Moira nodded in understanding.

"Now then, here they are!"

Onto the stage walked six trainers.

"The Rock-hard boxing champ, Ricky!" Onto the stage walked a tall brown-haired man, built like a brick made out of smaller bricks wearing a loose grey hoodie over red sweatpants. He shadowboxed for a bit, then flexed.

"The high-Flying pilot with her head in the clouds, Amelia!" Next was a dark-haired and dark-skinned woman wearing a violet bomber jacket. Her hair was in two long pigtails. She simply waved to the crowd, smiling.

"The man who built his Gym out of a Water Park, Floyd!" A man with tan skin and loose blonde hair walked onstage, wearing a blue Alolan shirt and orange shorts, and sandals. He walked in with his hands resting behind his head.

"The Electrifying technology prodigy, Gavin!" Next was a tall, thin blonde man with sunglasses and black rubber gloves over a yellow and black jumpsuit. He waved to the crowd, though less enthusiastically than Amelia.

"The Ghost-type master and scholar of the unknown, Dumont!" This one was somewhat pale with nearly-combed dark purple hair and wore glasses, and had on a black tweed jacket. He didn't really show much emotion.

Oliver blinked. "This guy looks kinda familiar…" he whispered.

"And last but not least, the Fighter from the mountains, Mel!" Mel was wearing a white gi over a brown bodysuit, her long black hair tied into a massive ponytail. Like Dumont she had a much more serious demeanor.

"We hope to see some expert battling from all of you! And now… it's time to introduce all the trainers who'll be competing!"

This is it. Oliver steeled his nerves. He looked over at Moira, who somehow looked more nervous then he was. Oliver leaned over and touched her shoulder to reassure her, in a gesture that may have seemed romantic at first glance but most definitely wasn't.

Moira smiled at the comforting touch and nodded at him.

One by one the trainers in the first few rows stood up and made their way to the stage. Oliver took his place and stood tall, as did Moira, Amber, Lennoa, Crosly, Tanya, and Wendell.

This is it. This is where my story begins.


"Oh hey, Moira! I couldn't find you after the ceremony, where'd you go?"

Moira hurried to catch up with Oliver and Scarlet, who, as usual, had Cassandra beside her. They started walking towards Route 3 before realizing Moira was taking her time.

"I ran into a trainer who was having a hard time finding a Shroomish. Those things are rather hard to find, it seems. So he traded me for it."

"Oh, really? I don't think I've ever thought about Pokémon trading. What did he give you?"

Moira was about to answer when Crosly came by. "Hey, you guys!"

Crosly waved hello and Oliver responded in kind. Moira and Scarlet both greeted him as well, neither noticing Cassandra's glaring at him. "So how'd you guys like the opening ceremony?"

"Oh, my heart was racing the whole time. What about you, Moira?"

"Honestly, same. Though the Chairman seemed like he was trying too hard. Just dinnae have the same charm that Chairman Rose did back home." She sighed. "Shame he's in prison now… he seemed like a nice guy."

Oliver blinked, wondering what that story was about, though he was fairly certain it involved some 10-year-old catching a Legendary Pokémon.

"Yeah, kinda sucks Raleigh wasn't there this year. Anyway, Oliver." He pulled a Pokéball out of his hand and started tossing it up and down. "How about a little battle?"

Oliver's eyes widened. "Wha- really? Right here?"

"Don't worry, the crowd won't get in the way. They'll probably stand back and watch, actually."

Oliver grinned. "All right, you're on! ...quick question, how big is your team?"

"Oh. Um… It consists of three Pokémon right now."

"I have four, so I think I'll bench one to make it fair."

Moira cringed, remembering how his fight with Amber had gone. "Oliver, I don't think that-"

"Joltik?" Oliver said to the bug on his shoulder. "I think you can sit this one out." Joltik bristled a bit and crawled back into his backpack.

Crosly shrugged. "Suit yourself." The two stepped a few paces away from each other. "All right… let's battle!"

Oliver tossed a Pokéball out. "Let's see how you do in an actual battle! Go, Karrablast!"

Crosly then tossed out his own Pokéball. "Go, Sawbit!"


SAWBIT

Deep Crawler Pokémon

Water/Bug

Its shell is meant to withstand deep-sea pressure and is hard to penetrate. It needs to breathe water, but can survive on land without it for upwards of 24 hours.


It was an orange-reddish color, with a pair of pincers and six lobster-like legs at the front. Behind the head was a segmented bit of armor that looked like a shield that was the same orange-ish color and smaller legs hidden underneath it.

The passersby noticed what was going on and started to gather around to watch it. Scarlet had the Pokédex out and was excitedly typing away at it. Finally, I get to see one of these things in a battle!

"Oh cool, a Sawbit! I've never actually seen one of those before!" Oliver said. "All right Karrablast, let's try to get through that armor! Use Acid Spray!"

Karrablast didn't move.

Oliver blinked. "Um… Karrablast?"

The blue bug did nothing. It didn't seem to be paying attention.

"You're not gonna attack? All right then, Sawbit, use Razor Shell!"

With considerable speed, Sawbit crawled towards Karrablast and sliced at it with one of its front legs, which had a trail of water running by it. Karrablast was hit, getting thrown to the side. Karrablast charged back at it and used Bug Bite, which did very little.

"Karrablast, what are you doing?! Use Acid Spray!" But Karrablast was moving to the beat of his own drum and went at Sawbit with X-Scissor, which did a bit more damage but not a lot.

"Sawbit, use Poison Fang!" Sawbit once again crawled towards Karrablast and bit down on it with its pincers, this time drips of purple liquid trickling down from the injury.

"Come oooon, Karrablast…" Oliver was basically pleading by this point. But the bug simply went for another Bug Bite and did very little damage.

"All right, Sawbit, finish it off with as mother Razor Shell!" Once again Sawbit struck at Karrablast with a watery claw, sending Karrablast reeling before falling unconscious.

Some of the onlookers were starting to lose interest and started walking off.

Karrablast, come on… Oliver withdrew his disobedient (and now unconscious) Bug Pokémon. I need to work on that. "All right, Ralts, you're up. That shell may be tough, but let's see it block a psychic attack!"

Ralts jumped out of Oliver's backpack and landed in front of Sawbit.

"Use Confusion!" This time there was no hesitation from his Pokémon, Ralts's horn glowed bright as a mass of purplish energy gathered near her and shot directly at Sawbit's head, surrounding it. The creepy crawly staggered back, not able to tell its left from its right.

"All right Ralts, great work! Now let's try that new move we've been working on! Use Magical Leaf!"

Ralts's horn glowed again, the wind in the area picking up before a few leaves, pulsing with energy, flew in and circled around Ralts before launching at Sawbit. The leaves finally did the job of knocking out the Water-type, even if it wasn't necessarily supereffective.

Crosly withdrew Sawbit. "All right, now THAT was more like it! Let's see you try this one on for size. Go, Flintail!"

Moira, watching the battle, recognized this Pokémon from the one she saw in Pine's lab. It slithered on the ground before it coiled.

"Flintail, use Ember!" Flintail's rattle began sparking and a ball of fire shot out.

"Ralts, use Confusion again!" Ralts did so, the psychic energy and the fireball passing each other before hitting their targets. The fireball scorched Ralts, but Flintail managed to avoid getting confused despite being hit.

"You can take it, Ralts! Use Hypnosis!"

She began to project rings of light that began making Flintail drowsy.

"Use Spark!"

Flintail, though its movements were a bit sluggish, began sparking its rattle again before swinging it into Ralts, the sparks causing an electric shock. Ralts was knocked to the side and couldn't get up, but the hypnosis finally did its job and Flintail fell asleep.

Oliver withdrew the Psychic Pokémon into her Pokéball. "Good work, girl. It's all up to you now, Tryote!" He threw the Pokéball out and the Ground-type popped out.

"Tryote, use Bite!"

"Flintail, use Ember!"

Tryote rushed forward and managed to avoid the fireball by leaping over it, its jaws connecting with the snake before it jumped back, sending Flintail reeling.

"It flinched! Now's your chance to use your new move! Hit it with Sand Tomb!"

Tryote howled, a cloud of sand swirling around Flintail and scratching it up.

"Flintail, use Fire Fang!" But it didn't hear him, as the force of the localized sandstorm blocked him out, and shortly after, knocked it unconscious. Crosly withdrew his KO'd snake and pulled out his final Pokémon. "Guess it's all up to you now, Nidoran!"

Unlike Moira's Nidoran, this one was a baby blue, with softer, less sharp features- a female.

Oliver smiled. Like the last one, this would be weak to Tryote's Ground-type attacks. "Tryote, use Mud-Slap!"

Tryote swiped at the ground, causing a hunk of soft earth to get flung at Nidoran.

"Now hit her with Sand Tomb!"

"Nidoran, has Attract!"

Nidoran faced Tryote, then posed cutely and winked, a soft pink light emanating from her. But Tryote, as single-minded as he was, ignored it and once again caused an eruption of sand.

"Nidoran, use Bite!"

Nidoran, sand swirling around her, tried to launch at Tryote, but the storm held her back.

"Finish her off with another Mud-Slap!" Another hunk of soft earth pelted Nidoran and sure enough she was down for the count.

The onlookers applauded as Crosly withdrew Nidoran. He walked up to Oliver and the two shook hands.

Oliver wound up winning 476 Pokédollars as prize money and Scarlet got a chance to record some information on Sawbit, which were incredibly hard to find in the wild (due to their deep sea habitat) and rarely used by trainers.

"That was a good fight," Crosly said. Your Ralts and your Tryote were really strong. But why didn't you use your other Pokémon?"

"Joltik? Oh, because if I had 4 Pokémon and you had 3, that gave me an unfair advantage."

"That's true, but if you meet up with a trainer that has more than you , I doubt they'd have the same respect for fairness. I know I probably wouldn't." He began walking towards the Pokémon Center, but he stopped. "Oh, and another thing." He turned around. "You really need to get that Karrablast of yours under control."

"Yeah, I, uh, I noticed," Oliver said sheepishly.

Crosly waved goodbye and walked off, saying he was going to be much stronger the next time they fought. Oliver knew he'd have to heal his Pokémon too eventually, but for now he considered what Crosly said. Not all trainers will want to play fair… that's true. But if I had a team of 6 and my opponent only had 3 it would feel like a hollow victory, wouldn't it?


Unknown to him, from the shadows, a man with a surgical mask was watching the fight play out.

So Crosly's first opponent was him, of all people. That was certainly pretty intense.

But that Karrablast… that couldn't be… could it?

The Distributor's phone began vibrating. He picked up and answered quickly.

"Erwin! What a pleasant surprise! Did you complete the analysis?"

He listened to his colleague's reply.

"So it was an Absol. I guess I should find…" he paused as Scarlet and Cassandra went up and started talking to Oliver about the battle. The Distributor stared right at Cassandra. No way…

"I think things may have just gotten a bit more interesting. You said Cole was heading to Rokkraw with a couple Grunts to pick up some fossils? Have him keep an eye out for a black female with red hair accompanied by an Absol, and a younger trainer with black hair, glasses, and a Ralts he keeps out of her Pokéball. He also has a Karrablast."

He once again listened to the reply.

"I dunno. Too early to tell. They might be a threat, they might not. But things definitely just got more interesting for Team Vortex."


Hey, wouldn't it be hilarious if I made references to Moira not recognizing Nidoran and Magneton because they weren't in Galar, and then a week later they showed up in DLC in the equivalent of Scotland?

Anyway, Sawbit was inspired by the bobbit worm, an absolutely terrifying deep-sea predator that has been cited by atheists as evidence that God cannot exist.

I apologize if the opening ceremony was too similar to the one in Sword and Shield I also apologize that Tryote has bailed Oliver out in battle twice now. I swear I'm not trying to shill him. I'll do better next time.

Yeah, this isn't really one of my favorite chapters, but I needed to get it written.

In response to Twoerlethegreat's review: I'm glad you're enjoying it, and I understand my use of Fakemon might be a bit distracting, but if I'm using my own region, I may as well come up with Pokémon of my own. If you find them distracting, don't worry, there won't be that many of them, maybe 30 (if you count evolutions).

EDIT: Altered Sawbit's typing. Water/Bug makes more sense than pure Water.