Oliver could hardly breathe. Moira was saying something next to him but he couldn't hear.
Breakthrough?! But- but how?!
"How the f*** is that even possible?!" Moira questioned loudly, making Spencer glad the Pokémon Center was mostly empty. "Oliver'd never do that!"
"I know that. You're no cheater. But the facts don't lie," Spencer said. "It was definitely in its bloodstream."
Oliver was shaking. How had this even happened? He'd never even touched any of the stuff, and he'd never taken his eyes off Karrablast as long as he'd been out of the Pokéball, so he would've known if someone else had given it. It did explain some things, though, like how impossibly strong it was. It was able to do a number on that Gigalith despite the latter being not only incredibly sturdy, but hopped up on Breakthrough itself.
And there was something else that didn't add up. "B-but Breakthrough's supposed to make Pokémon more subservient, right? Then why was Karrablast so confrontational and rebellious?"
"I have a theory about that," Spencer replied. "It makes a Pokémon more obedient to its trainer, sure. But what happens if that Pokémon changes hands? If its trainer trades it to someone else?"
"Or releases it…" Scarlet realized as she put the pieces together.
They all turned to her. "What do you mean?" Spencer asked.
"Karrablast was always violent, but it didn't go completely crazy until it laid eyes on those Team Vortex guys. What if Karrablast used to belong to them, but they released it?"
Spencer began to reply, but the gears were turning in his head. "I'll have to check on that. Let me see if it had any previous trainers.:
"Ye can do that?" Moira asked, curiously.
"Of course. Once it's been captured and generate a faint amount of harmless radiation that lingers even if it's released. I can check the radiation signatures to see if it was caught multiple times." He turned to leave. "This'll only take a couple minutes." With that, he returned to the desk and began talking with the nurse again, who nodded and let him behind the desk into a back room.
Oliver began to stare at the floor, deep in thought. Moira scooted a bit closer to him. "Are ye all right?"
"I guess… it's just… have I been cheating this whole time and I didn't even realize it?"
"No."
They both turned to Scarlet.
"You didn't use it in any official matches. You didn't use it to fight Ricky."
"But- but I did use it in battles before, like with Crosly."
"If I remember correctly, Karrablast ignored you and got knocked out immediately," Scarlet pointed out.
"...oh yeah."
"And even if Karrablast did listen to you then," she added, "It wouldn't be your fault. How could it, when you had no way of knowing?"
"Thanks," Oliver sighed as he sat back up. He chuckled. "You know, this might sound selfish, but I'm strangely relieved."
"What do ye mean?" Moira asked, an eyebrow raised.
"It's just, ever since I first caught him, I tried and failed to get through to him. I was worried that I had failed as a trainer somehow… but I guess this means I never really stood a chance with him."
Just then, they heard a door close. They looked up to see Spencer returning. "Your hunch was spot-on," he said. "Oliver wasn't Karrablast's first trainer."
"Really?"
He nodded. "So we know you caught Karrablast after it was released. We also know that it reacted really poorly to those Team Vortex Grunts, even moreso than usual. My theory is that Team Vortex caught it, tested Breakthrough on it, and released it after they no longer had a use for it. Karrablast would've had some resentment towards the team for whatever they did to it."
"But there's one problem with that," Moira interjected. "I thought Breakthrough was supposed to make it really loyal?"
"To its trainer, yes. But not to the entire organization. It would have undying loyalty specifically to whoever was its trainer at the time."
"That makes sense."
Scarlet turned to face Oliver again, who seemed to be in thought again.
"Something wrong?"
"Well, I've been thinking…" Oliver looked back up at Spencer. "What do I do with this information? I can't keep Karrablast on my team now that I know what I know. But I can't just release it and make another trainer deal with it."
Spence thought, rubbing his chin. After a moment of silence, he had an answer.
"I could take him."
"Really?" Scarlet asked, raising an eyebrow.
"If we're ever going to deal with the Breakthrough case, we need to know how to reverse its effects. Plus… it wouldn't hurt to have a team member strong enough to deal with any of Team Vortex's own illegal Pokémon."
"Does this mean you're leaving?" Oliver asked.
Spencer sighed. "Looks like it. I thought they might target you, but they seemed to only be interested in gathering fossils. Besides, I finally have a lead to follow. If Karrablast really was just a test subject, it stands to reason that Team Vortex would use whatever Pokémon was in the area for the sake of convenience. Therefore, their hideout would be close to an area Karrablast can be found in the wild."
"We caught it in Searrow Forest, if that helps," Scarlet pointed out.
"True. But it's not the only place. They also live around Route 22, west of Mt. Halberd. I need to go help investigate, and I'd hate to keep you from the Gym Challenge."
Oliver stood up. "So you need me to finalize his transfer to you?"
"Yeah, if it's not too much trouble."
The process only took a couple minutes as Karrablast's records were transferred. Oliver and Spencer shook hands as the trade was finalized.
"Good luck with your investigation," Oliver said.
"Good luck with your challenge," Spencer echoed back. "If Team Vortex ever decides to cause any more trouble, you might be seeing me again." He turned towards Scarlet and Cassandra. "You know, your Absol is no slouch in combat. You sure you don't want to get back into the battling scene?"
"I'm absolutely sure," the young black woman shook her head, not noticing as Cassandra seemed to pout.
"And Moira," Spencer said.
"Aye?"
"...Never mind," he said. "Good luck on your Gym Challenge. I'll be rooting for you."
"And Oliver, right?" Scarlet asked, smirking.
"Yeah, sure."
With that, Spencer pocketed the Pokéball containing Karrablast and turned away, stepping out the door, turning to wave goodbye one more time before it shut behind him.
At first glance, the Arryline Gym was pretty small, compared to other Pokémon gyms around Allanza. But that was because the building itself was more or less a facade, just a place for the administrative stuff to take place. The real stadium, the place the action actually took place, was an abandoned airstrip just behind it.
Arryline's Gym Leaders have historically been proficient with Flying-types, including its current Leader, Amelia, and because of this, they insisted on having a battleground that would complement the high-flying maneuvers their Pokémon could pull off. So the city's plans to raze the airstrip and build over it were cancelled, and it was instead decided to reserve some of the space for the open-air gym.
The gym was at the north end of town, at a higher elevation, providing a good look at the rest of town. The sky was much clearer than Neoshine, and though the skyline was lower overall and only a few buildings got above 5 stories, the designs of the buildings being much more consistent than that hodgepodge, all appearing light grey and blue.
Moira ran ahead to register for her next fight, while Scarlet groaned and ran after her. Oliver was walking slower as he took stock of his current team setup, Ralts and Joltik admiring the sights from their perch in his backpack.
All right, so I have Ralts, Joltik, Lyote, Hoodlet, and Sableye. Lyote's a Ground-type so he's right out. Joltik's Electric-type so that'll be helpful. Hoodlet's shown to be useful in the air, so she's in. Sableye needs a dark environment to work best, and an airstrip in broad daylight wouldn't be too great for him. That just leaves Ralts as my only option for my third…
"Oof!"
Oliver collided with something soft, falling over backwards and landing on his rear, his glasses falling off and landing nearby. He hissed in pain as he got onto his knees and began feeling around for his glasses.
"Sorry about that, I didn't see you there."
"Don't worry about it. Neither did I," the other person, a girl, said in a familiar voice, though Oliver could only see a vague blur of soft, light colors. "Gallade, could you grab his glasses please?"
Oliver's eyes widened as a white and green blur appeared and knelt down nearby, picking something up. "Lennoa? That you?"
"Oh yeah, I remember you! Oliver, right?"
Oliver put his glasses back on as he looked up. And indeed, there was the carefree smile of Lennoa, her eyes hidden under the shadow of her hat and hair. He also noticed that on her poncho were two badges, the Geode Badge along with the triangular Glide Badge, meaning she had just gotten out of a battle with the Gym Leader.
"It's been a while. How's Ralts been?"
Oliver stood up as Ralts withdrew back into the backpack, blushing up a storm at the sight of Gallade. "It's funny, actually, I was actually looking for you. When you bonded with your own Pokémon, did you have any other side effects?"
"What do you mean by that?" Lennoa asked, tilting her head.
Oliver took a breath. "During my gym battle against Ricky, I knew one of my Pokémon was going to evolve well before it happened. I instinctively had it use a move that it couldn't use until it evolved."
Lennoa's smile disappeared, her expression serious and attentive. "People who train lots of Psychic-types tend to develop some kind of psychic abilities. It's usually pretty minor. Brief flashes, like the ones you're having."
"Would it be possible for me to control them?" Oliver asked.
"Why not? Pokémon can learn new moves, so there's no reason you can't learn some tricks as well. In fact, why don't I teach you?"
"I'd like that," Oliver said. "You'd really do that?"
"I don't see why not," she replied before chuckling. "Hah. Don't see why not. I'll have to write that down."
"Oi, Oliver!"
The two turned to see Moira emerging from the building, though Lennoa had a strange look on her face that Oliver missed. "I already registered, ye'll have to act fast if ye want tae go today."
Oliver blushed, scratching his hair in embarrassment. "We'll talk more about this later."
"Don't worry, I'm in no rush."
With that, Oliver hurried back into the building. Moira watched in bemusement as he nearly tripped over himself in his rush, as did Lennoa, through Gallade's eyes. After a moment, the Galarian girl turned towards the blind psychic.
"So are ye going tae help him with his psychic stuff?"
Lennoa nodded. "Once he gets the time. Though I doubt I'll stick around for long."
"Why not?" Moira asked, genuinely curious.
"Because I can practically smell danger floating around you. I should know, I'm a psychic, I know these things."
"Is that right…" Moira responded. If she's right, then we haven't seen the last of Team Vortex after all. She shook her head. No. Spencer is hot on their trail. They won't bother us. Besides, I barely know this lass.
Lennoa's smile slowly changed into something more resembling a smirk. "Something else you oughta know about me. I'm good at telling how people are feeling, and I noticed something interesting about your friend with the glasses."
"And that is?" Moira asked skeptically.
"He's got a crush on you."
Lennoa couldn't help but chuckle as Moira just stood there, sputtering like a Magikarp on land. "I- bu- what?!"
"Do whatever you want with that. I just thought I'd let you know. If you'll excuse me, I need to hit the concession stand before the next battle. Gallade likes his nachos, don'tcha Gallade?"
Gallade didn't respond verbally, just looking a little embarrassed.
"See you 'round!" she said as she walked back into the building, Gallade following close behind.
Okay, that just proves she's wrong . Oliver crushing on me? Anyone crushing on me for that matter? Please. We're just friends.
She pushed the thought out of her mind as she walked back in to meet up with the rest of the group. By her own admission, she was loud, blunt, and not one to mince words. She wasn't going to act like she and Oliver weren't close friends, but that was all they were. Friends. He has no reason to see me as anything more than that...
...right?
This one's a bit shorter, but there's going to be plenty of action over the next couple of chapters, don't worry.
If it seems like I'm updating slowly, don't worry. My enthusiasm for this fic will probably be rekindled once the Isle of Armor expansion drops in a couple weeks. Don't worry, I never planned to abandon this fic, but I might pick up the pace once the DLC comes out.
