Gardenia rewatched Roark's most recent gym battle. It was multiple weeks old, of course, as the gym was still being repaired.
A Ground-type, huh?
Interesting trainer too.
She could work with that.
A Mid-Sinnoh Night's Dream - V - Green Blur, Speeds By.
The group waved at the families they'd stayed with, promising they'd visit again sometimes.
Eterna Forest was foggy, covered in moss, and seemed like the kind of place you would meet an unfortunate end by a Ghost-type.
It was the weirdest thing, after they walked forward a few meters, a circle of fog would clear around them, like it was being pushed away.
Hilbert chalked it up to render distance as a joke, before moving on.
They ran into a girl named Cheryl, who looked lost, and was traveling with a Chansey.
"Oh, hello!" She quickly walked up to them. "I'm trying to get through the forest, but I don't have any Pokemon that know Defog… And I read it's safer to travel in groups. Would you all mind if I traveled with you? I can keep your Pokemon topped up!" She said nervously.
Hilbert said it alright, seeing no one else had a problem with it, and their party grew further.
All of their Pokemon were traveling in their capsules, because getting split up would be a nightmare in those conditions. Especially Garchomp and Tyranitar, though less because they would get lost, and more because they would terrify anyone they came across.
Cheryl seemed like a nice girl, if a bit timid. Her and Dawn got to talking. She apparently liked using Pokemon with a lot of health, using defensive stalling tactics for battles. She only had a Chansey though, and while Egg Bomb could do a lot, she was scared of losing to Team Galactic if they caught her in an ambush.
Hilbert chose not to ask where exactly Chansey got the eggs, as they just seemed to reappear when he wasn't looking.
"To tell you the truth, I'm actually doing some treasure hunting. I heard there's a massive hive of Combee around, but finding it would probably be impossible in this weather…"
"Huh." He pulled Abra out of his Pokeball for a moment. "Any chance you can use Psychic Echolocation or something?"
"An interesting idea, but no. I can, however, make any of the Pokemon we run into have a mental breakdown. Would you like me to demonstrate?"
"Uh… Thanks for the offer, but please don't."
Cheryl leaned over to Dawn. "...Is he talking to his Pokemon?"
"Abra's a Psychic-type."
"Ah… Yes, I forgot."
"Well, I don't know anyway to help you, unless Golett suddenly knows how to use Defog…"
A clank echoed out of his ball, signaling he didn't.
"Guess not."
"Excuse me, did you say Golett?" The green-haired girl seemed surprised.
"...Yeah?"
"If you don't mind me asking… You wouldn't happen to be the trainer that destroyed Oreburgh gym, would you?"
"Oh. Yeah, that was me." He shrugged. Hilbert figured that would have died down, it was just a bunch of rocks- Well, he turned it into that, but still.
"Wow… Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to presume, I wasn't trying to do anything, I just needed some help, I didn't recognize you-"
"What? Why are you apologizing?" He stepped over a particularly large root that was sticking out onto the trail. "I'm just some guy." He accidentally kicked the next root, making a shudder pass up the entire tree. Pulling himself off the ground, and wiping off the mud, he looked at the tree.
"Okay, I'm pretty sure that root moved."
That put them all on alert, and they silently watched the tree.
It moved again, shifting one of the smaller roots away from the trail.
"That's just freaky," Barry said, letting Starly out of its Pokeball. A smart move, if it turned out to be some sort of Grass-type.
Two more of the roots tented themselves on the ground.
"Hey, Lucas… Trevanant wouldn't happen to be… Native, in Sinnoh, would they?" Hilbert watched the tree start cracking halfway up and a little further.
"They're not common, not recently, but… Oh, Arceus, you just kicked one, didn't you?" Lucas picked Monferno, and the Fire-type appeared in a flash of light beside him.
"I… I don't think that's the only one!" Cried Cheryl, as five other trees' roots started moving.
"Son of a- Everyone, group up. Abra, use Reflect!"
"Don't they have to be Kadabras to learn that?"
"Not the time for semantics, Lucas!"
Golett appeared outside of his ball, squaring up the defensive formation. The trainers stood in a circle at the middle of the Reflect screen, while their Pokemon stood right behind the barrier.
A root whipped out and cracked against the wall of light, but was quickly scared off by a fast Ember shot by Monferno.
The trees ripped themselves out of the ground, fulling surrounding them. Six fully grown Trevanant looked at them, slowly moving around on their crab-like wooden legs.
"These are Ghost-type, right?"
"And grass, yes." Lucas said, nodding along.
"Golett is at a disadvantage then. If they manage to get him with a ton of Grass Knots, he's done for."
"So? Use one of your pseudo-legendaries." Another root cracked against the barrier, but was driven off by Starly using Peck.
"They're Rock and Ground-type, they're at as much of a disadvantage. These guys are probably half as strong, sure, but all at once? I don't think either could pull it off."
All of the Ghost-types suddenly reared back, raising Wood Hammers out of the earth.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me-"
Hilbert was cut off by a peaceful cry.
A white hedgehog approached from the underbrush, leaves covering its back. The Trevenants froze.
Lucas just about fell over in shock, Cheryl not long after, Dawn following soon behind, and Barry just shrugging and figuring that he should get used to it.
"...Guys?" Hilbert turned away from the Pokemon, looking back at them with a confused look on his face.
"...Dude, that's a Shaymin."
"...A what?"
"I forget you didn't grow up here sometimes," Barry said, shaking his head.
Turtwig was on the ground, bowing towards the strange Pokemon, as well as the Trevanants.
A sweet smell wafted around them, easing their nerves. Abra's constant headache even cleared up slightly, though he refused to wake up.
"Uh… Thanks?"
"I wish not for my charges to hurt one another, young man." The voice was androgenous, neither male nor female, not high nor low pitched. It sounded like the voice in your head, but stronger.
Hilbert looked around for the source of the voice, as Shaymin looked up at him.
"It's me, you child."
"Oh. Well, nothing to be done about it then. How are you doing that?"
"Nature is my domain. As long as I am within it, all it holds is at my command."
"Neat. Well, thanks."
"I have been following you, human. You seem honorable. I am curious, what is this 'Unova' place you speak of?"
"Unova? I haven't talked about it since- Wait, were you spying on me and Dawn during the festival?"
He ignored Lucas's strangled cough of surprise and Barry laughing as always.
"I am quite fond of that tree, it was a matter of coincidence."
"Well, whatever." He shrugged it off. It's not like they were kissing or anything, it wasn't too weird. "You wanted to know about Unova?"
Everyone relaxed, barely even noticing the Reflect screen falling, and the Trevanants peacefully observed.
"I see. It's a far off place, filled with pollution?" Shaymin echoed, speaking to them all telepathically.
"Yep. On the opposite side of the world, nearly."
"I'd like very much to do something about this. It's my duty to protect nature across the world. Though, I haven't left this land called Sinnoh very often."
"So you don't know where it is?"
"That isn't the issue, see-"
"Excuse me, Mister or miss Shaymin?" Cheryl interrupted, meekly. Hilbert and the hedgehog-like Pokemon turned towards her. "I'm a treasure hunter, see, and I was wondering if you would mind letting me take some photos?"
"I… See no problem with this. But allow me to continue."
Cheryl moved around in the background, snapping a few pictures with an old fashioned camera.
"My kind… We are not a common creature, however, many who know of our existence are also aware of the Gracidea flower."
"Gracidea flower? What about it?"
"It allows Shaymin such as myself to transform into a more mobile form, and take to the skies."
Lucas was dutifully taking notes, while Dawn still seemed shocked. Barry was chilling out and sharing some berries with a Phantump that floated up, like it was a picnic.
"So?"
"It is a very rare flower, I myself cannot recall where it can be found. I cannot become airborne for long periods without the use of my Sky Forme."
"...Okay, I think I get it. Do you have any clues for where I can find it?"
"You are offering your assistance?"
"Well, as the badass leader of Team Black, it's my duty to aid those in need, to help the helpless, to-"
"Respect the Mythical Pokemon, Hilby."
"Yeah, yeah, sorry, Dawn. Anyway, you sought me out to help you, right? I can't just turn you away. That's not what a real man does." Hilbert shook his head, a look of determination on his face. "You're going to help Unova, so I'm going to help you. That's simple, right? I don't need a reason besides that."
"...I see. You are as noble as I believed. I can understand why your allies have chosen you." Shaymin nodded.
"So, what do I need to do?"
"First of all…" Shaymin poked its head in his bag and ruffled around.
It pulled out a Premier Ball from back in Jubilife and pushed it towards Hilbert's legs.
Lucas looked like he was about to pass out.
"I believe you can aid me in my journey. You are a traveler. The more places I visit, the more likely it is I may find the Gracidea. And once I find it, I can do my duties to the world."
"Are you asking me-"
"Yes, young man. I ask you to allow me to travel alongside you. I believe I can entrust you with my 'capture'?"
"...Of course, but… Do you really want to be tied down?"
Shaymin shook its head. "I believe you are noble enough to release me, should I require it. Just as well, I believe this will protect me from others attempting to catch me?"
"I think that's how Pokeballs work, yeah… But… One more time, are you sure?"
"Yes."
Hilbert nodded, pushing himself off the ground and grasping the Pokeball.
Barry was already recording it with his cross-transceiver, though at an odd angle. It's not every day you watch someone capture a creature of myths.
"Well then, to quote a trainer we all know and love-" Hilbert turned his hat behind his head, eliciting a groan from Lucas, because of course that's how Hilby would do it.
"Pokeball!" He wound up. "Go!" He lightly threw the white ball at Shaymin's forehead, dissolving the mythical Pokemon in a blast of light.
Wobble.
Wobble.
Wobble.
Click.
Professor Rowan was drinking his afternoon tea and checking the latest Pokedex updates. Whenever one of the four children captured a new Pokemon, it sent him the data automatically.
It was completely fair, then, when he fell out of his chair after receiving a picture of an honest-to-Arceus Shaymin in his inbox.
"Sir, are you alright?" One of the assistants burst through the door, hearing the loud crash.
Rowan was fine, but just pointed at the screen before doubling over again.
His assistant adjusted his glasses, took one look, and fell over as well.
As soon as the data registered, Hilbert let Shaymin back out of the ball.
"Well, that's that. Welcome to the team." He gestured for Golett to walk up to the hedgehog.
The golem held out a hand, eliciting Shaymin to stand on his hind legs and offer his front paw.
That was going to be a picture for the history books, Cheryl thought, only with a little grandiosity.
They managed to make their way out of Eterna Forest, the Trevanants leaving them alone, and the Phantump Barry was talking to actually wanted to go with them as well, letting Barry catch it.
There was an incident with a large nest of Combee (Not the one Cheryl was looking for), but Shaymin calmed them quickly. Dawn caught a female, who seemed to use Honey as a sort of perfume, weirdly enough.
Whatever worked in the contests, he guessed.
Cheryl decided she wanted to stick around for a bit longer, figuring that if Hilbert could catch a Shaymin without so much as a Razor Leaf, she was probably bound to see even more rare Pokemon.
Hilbert chose not to mention the idea of being one-in-a-million, but the girl got along well with Dawn, and he didn't want to get in the way of that.
He spotted a large mansion northward into the forest, but the foliage was too thick for them to get through. Lucas made a note of it and went on their way.
They quickly stopped by the Pokemon center, but smartly decided to hold back on giving them Shaymin, because of the attention it would attract. Plus, the Grass-type hadn't taken any damage in the first place, so he didn't need to. He kept Tyranitar and Garchomp on his reserve belt. See, according to League rules, which he actually bothered to check, without a certain number of gym badges, you weren't supposed to use super-powerful Pokemon that had been traded to you, unless you received them before they became that powerful.
Given that they were able to mega-evolve, it was fair to say they would be benched for the next few gyms.
His smartwatch started ringing. It was ID'd as the professor, so he picked up the call.
"Ah, Hilbert… I hope my data isn't incorrect? Because my PC is telling me you caught a-"
"In a crowded place, professor."
"I see. Stop by when your Abra feels up to it, I'd like to see your… Latest capture, shall we say."
"Yeah, no problem. We're in Eterna now, so I'll get back to you in a while."
"Alright then. Goodbye for now, young man."
"Do you want me to start calling you old-" The professor ended the call on his end, beating Hilbert at his own game.
The professor was sharper than he made himself out to be.
Gardenia's gym was a massive greenhouse, though the back sections were cordoned off, so he suspected they were living quarters.
Of course, there was a challenge before the actual battle, so Dawn and Cheryl went ahead. Cheryl wasn't averse to battle, but she had an aversion to attention, like stage fright. Strange, but at least that kept her from spreading those pictures of Shaymin. For now, at least.
"Alright, welcome to the Eterna gym." She looked at the three boys standing before her. Her eyes zeroed in on Hilbert.
"You're the guy Roark told me about, aren't you?" She looked down at Golett, eyes narrowed.
"You know him?"
"We go out for dinner sometimes." She waved off the topic, before returning to serious mode. "Please try not to destroy the gym. You're going last."
"What, again?" He sulked.
"It wouldn't be fair for the other two if you broke everything before they got their turn."
"I…. Can't exactly fault that logic."
"Good. Now, you and the blond, go sit down with your friends."
As such, Lucas was first up. The challenge involved finding your way through a fogged-up miniature jungle, as it tested the trainer's ability to deal with grass and its related elements. Luckily, the forest gave them more than enough practice, and he emerged out the other side in a blaze. It was controlled of course, but the sprinklers kicked in after him and Monferno got all the way out. The battlefield stayed dry, but spontaneously grew lush grass from the dirt.
"Alright. This will be a series of three one-on-one battles." Gardenia posed at the leader's podium. It seemed to be the only consistency among gyms, with everything else being different. Gardenia's even doubled as an actual greenhouse, growing most of the city's food. Those plants were usually protected though, separate from the challenger's area.
Because Eterna was a crossing point of the forest, Cycling Road, and an entrance to Mt. Coronet (That thing was seriously massive), it was more populated than Oreburgh, and a lot more people hung around for leisure and recreation. Hence, there were nearly a hundred people in the stands that day, even a couple of League battle recorders. Or just talent scouts. Who could really tell, they were fellas with Magnezones and cameras.
Most of them had shown up after somehow being told that 'the guy with the Golett' was challenging the gym.
He was unfortunately well-known. It certainly put on the pressure, he was sure.
The gym leader sent out a Lotad, likely a preemptive way to counter people who brought Fire-types and nothing else.
Lucas finally responded to Gardenia's plea, sending out his first pokemon, Luxio.
"Nice one," Hilbert murmured, his hand automatically making a thumbs up.
"Begin!"
Lotad used Rain Dance, and a machine of some sort whirred, turning the glass windows that were over the battlefield sideways, and letting the rainfall in, while still keeping it off the audience.
Luxio was a fast Electric-type, and used Thunder Fang immediately, not even giving it a chance to dodge.
"Grass Knot!"
The lion-like Pokemon fell over, tumbling instead of biting, though it still nicked the Water-type with the electricity in its mouth.
"Get back and Charge!"
Luxio jumped back, shaking its black mane, and started gathering lightning around its body.
"Bullet Seed!"
"Thundershock!"
Both Pokemon took hits, but Lotad succumbed first, and was recalled by Gardenia.
Next, she sent out an Oddish. Lucas replied with a Wingull. Even after attempting Poison Powder, it was quickly KO'ed by Gusts of wind.
"You're good, kid. Roselia!"
"Monferno. Flame Wheel!"
It went much the same way, with the Fire-type taking little damage while dealing a ton to the opposing Pokemon.
"Good job. I dislike people who use monotype simply to counter the gym's theme, but I can respect your win. Next challenger!"
Barry sent out his Piplup, likely to get the loss out of the way, and Gardenia chose the same order as well.
It was a Water-type against a Water-type with extra resistances.
But also more weaknesses.
"Peck!"
Again, as Lotad is very small, and not very fast, it tried to use Grass Knot again, but Piplup jumped into the air and fired itself at Lotad like a Javelin.
When the first hit didn't knock it out, Piplup reared his head back and repeatedly jammed his beak into the frog-like Pokemon's face.
"I didn't know Piplup could use Drill Peck…" Lucas commented absentmindedly.
Next up was Oddish. Barry sent out Phantump.
"Will-o-Wisp!" The Ghost-type sped around the arena, quickly lighting the Oddish on fire with a Gastly- Er, ghastly- Energy beam.
"Tackle!" The Oddish hopped into the air, but Phantump quickly floated out of range.
"Confuse Ray!"
The second beam hit, making the Grass-type hit itself in confusion as well as feel a constant burn. The dull fire flared up when it tried to jump, and it was knocked out seconds after landing back on the floor.
"Alright, let's do this! Roselia!"
"Starly!"
The gym leader's ace fired off a cloud of Poison Powder, cloaking the arena.
Starly flew into the air, where another cloud was sprayed. Before long, the fumes started to become unavoidable.
"Star-LYYYY!" In a fit of rage, the Flying-type flapped its wings so incredibly fast, it produced a tornado. Luckily, the audience was protected by the glass that had slid down from the ceiling, so they didn't get any fumes in their face.
When the winds subsided, the flapping of wings from Barry's new Staravia greeted them, the poison in the air blown skyward.
"Nice one! Now, use Wing Attack!"
In a flash, the middle-stage Flying-type had swooped down and wing-checked the Roselia, knocking it out in one blow.
"Congratulations. You win as well. Collect your badge when you leave." She waved him off, then sighed. "Now, Hilbert, Black, kid with the Golett, whatever. It's your turn. The glass may be bulletproof, but I don't know if it's 'Giga-Drill-Burekaaaaaa' proof, so try not to do that."
He sent out Golett first, surprising Gardenia.
"You're not using your ace for the last round?"
"..." He didn't answer, because he was hoping to not have to deal with 'a last round'. Remember who his third caught Pokemon was?
"Well, whatever. Lotad, Water Gun."
"Do whatever, Golett! Just kick some ass!"
Lightning started sparking around the body of the golem, and it barely noticed the fierce splash of water, barely budging an inch. The electricity gathered around its fist, and it started walking forwards.
Jolts shot off of the mass, randomly striking at the ground.
Lotad meekly looked up at Golett, right before being Thunder Punched into the opposite wall.
Hilbert couldn't help but wince. "...I think that was a bit overkill, Golett!"
The golem made a clunk of regret, before walking off the field.
Abra and Oddish faced against each other in the arena.
"...If I'm not mistaken, Abra doesn't naturally learn any moves besides Teleport, do they?"
Hilbert tapped his temple, smirking. "Yes, but he can learn using Technical Machines. Abra-"
"Oddish, Light Screen!"
"Fire Punch."
"Wait, wha-" Abra teleported behind Oddish, making the Grass-type freeze up.
"Heh, nothing personal, kid." Abra psychically projected to everyone in the room, before igniting his fist in flames and punching it into the opposite wall.
And then it teleported Oddish again, right in front of its fist.
And then it did it again.
Hilbert quickly withdrew his Abra. "Sorry about him. Do I win that round on account of mercy?"
"Oddish fainted, but I would have given that to you. Did you train that Abra yourself?"
"Mostly, but you know how Psychic-types are."
"My Oddish would know better than anyone…" She sighed, reaching for her belt.
"Hey, wait!"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Since I won two rounds, and this is best-two-out-of-three, can we just end it here?"
"...?"
"My last Pokemon… I'd rather not use them."
"Sorry, but the League requires we record every round of a fight, and makes sure it takes place. Countermeasure to leaders just giving badges away."
"Are you sure?"
"You're strangely hesitant. Is it one you just caught?" She tilted her head, cocking a hand on her hip.
"You could… Say that."
"Well, then I can make it quick and painless. Roselia knows Sleep Powder."
"That's not the… They aren't weak, but…"
Barry was cracking up in the stands, Hilbert could just see it. Everyone was starting to zone out without anything interesting happening.
"It's completely alright to wield me how you choose. I understand the customs of battling, and am willing to participate. I may even find it fun."
"That's not the-" He looked towards the Premier Ball on his belt.
"Is it talking to you right now? Another Psychic-type, then? Maybe an Abra you haven't taught moves to?" Gardenia was thankfully just curious, instead of becoming frustrated.
"It's not a Psychic-type, but it can talk to me, yeah." He felt like that was a safe bit of information.
"Well, the only Pokemon I know like that are Riolu and Lucario. And supposedly Shaymin as well, if they actually exist."
"..."
"So what, you've got a Riolu or something?"
Hilbert sighed, placing a palm on his forehead. He reached for the ball on his belt.
Silence rang out in the gym, as a flowery hedgehog appeared on the field in a blast of light.
Back home, Johanna was watching the footage from the gym challenge in Eterna. The League had coordinators between multiple channels to air live footage from specific gyms, and then normal news for the rest of the time.
She thought Hilbert and his friends were doing very well, and was impressed by his performance so far. She was confused when the audio cut out for a moment, and the two trainers talked in the field for a moment.
Just as she took a sip of her drink, she spit it out, as her son sent out a Shaymin of all things, which wasn't supposed to exist.
"Where- WHERE DID YOU GET THAT!" Gardenia stumbled backwards, pointing a finger at him and Shaymin while shouting.
The people in the stands were going absolutely wild. Lucas was shaking his head, watching everyone's insane reactions, while Barry broke down into a coughing fit from laughing too hard. Cheryl felt an odd sense of pride for being the first person to photograph the myth. It had only been drawn in journals before, and dismissed as fantasy, like Pikablu and Doomsay. Dawn started wondering how Shaymin would look with a crown of flowers instead of just the one.
Hilbert stretched out his arms. "See, it's a very long story."
"Indeed it is, miss Gardenia."
"Your Shaymin just talked in my head!"
"Heh, yeah, they do that."
"Why do you- Where- What-" Her brain seemed broken, and her face was either red because of shock, anger, jealousy, or any combination of the three.
"Shaymin wanted to come with me after saving my ass in Eterna Forest, and I'm just taking the gym challenge, nothing too crazy."
"Nothing too crazy- You have a Shaymin! Those aren't supposed to exist! What do you mean, 'Nothing too crazy.'?"
"It was my choice, if that helps." Shaymin projected, somehow shrugging with its front two legs.
"What- ALRIGHT, FINE! We can talk about this later!" She yelled, reaching to the other side of her belt, that had a lot more Pokeballs. "ROSERADE! Sunny Day!"
The Grass-Poison-type appeared on the field, and used the move, bringing an intense light down from the sky, refracting across the field through the greenhouse glass.
Gardenia ripped off her black headband, revealing a silver circlet, with a strange glowing marble in the middle.
Roserade had a similar stone, only encrusted on a metal blade adorning its mask-like eyes.
"Oh." Hilbert then said something that couldn't be aired on television.
Roserade exploded in a blast of orange light as Gardenia pressed her fingers to the circlet.
Mega-Roserade stood before them. Flowers hung on its ears like piercings, and its mask had grown into a decorated crown of thorns and roses. Each of its hands looked like full multicolor bouquets, with a small venus fly trap at the end, occasionally folding and unfolding to reveal the roses. A cape of leaves was blowing in the lessening wind like a cloak.
Shaymin didn't flinch, even as a glow began charging in one of its arms, aimed straight at them.
"Halt."
Roserade blinked, the Weather Ball pausing its growth.
Shaymin turned to their trainer. "May I have a Cheri berry? It has positive effects in this sort of situation."
He didn't bother thinking of it as a weird request, and reached into his bag. Luckily, that plant species was common enough that he had picked up plenty of it back in Floaroma for the road, and still had some left. He flicked it over to Shaymin, who jumped up and caught it in their mouth.
"Natural Gift." Suddenly, the Pokemon burst into flames.
The Grass-type, unaffected by the fire cloaking it, charged into Roserade, driving it back. It flew away as the flames flickered out, and narrowly avoided being bitten by the fly trap on Roserade's arm.
Across Sinnoh, people watched, on live television, the Mythical Pokemon Shaymin take on Gardenia's ace, which turned out to be capable of Mega-evolving. Those who remembered her rounds at the conference shuddered at the thought of her turning out to be stronger, but that feeling paled in comparison to the total shock of seeing a region-wide myth turn out to be true.
Roark was grateful that it at least wasn't him who had to deal with the Grass-type.
The leader of Team Galactic watched the news on his private projector, as the recommendation of a grunt who ran in yelling about how screwed they were.
Rowan sipped his tea while his assistants were yelling at the TV, in total shock. He'd gotten over it, but was still smirking at the uproar.
The battle continued, back in the greenhouse.
"Roserade! Protect, Rest, Snore!"
The Mega-evolved Pokemon managed to get the shield up in time, but the Worry Seeds shot by Shaymin managed to slip through just before.
The shield was soon shattered, as Shaymin jumped into the air, forming a massive blade made of shining green light, which was then doubled in size by the glaring sunlight, and spun forward like a buzzsaw.
"That's an… Interesting way to use Leaf Blade." Lucas couldn't help but comment.
"Hey, if Shaymin was blue, do you think-"
"We're not going to think in that direction, or we might catch Hilbert."
"Roserade, Pin Missile!"
The Grass-type held out its arm like a… Well, like a firearm, and needles fell beside it in a belt. The fly trap disappeared, quickly replaced by what looked like a miniature Victreebel.
He must have been imagining things.
Needles shot out with a 'rat-tat-tat' sound, burying themselves in the ground as they missed. Shaymin could move fast. It dodged and weaved over the projectiles, running in a spiral towards the center, where its target lay.
Roserade's eyes widened in surprise, and reflexively jumped high into the air.
This was the wrong move, as it turned out.
"I believe that Golett had the right idea. If I may?"
"Do what you gotta do, Shaymin!" He held his fist out in excitement, clenching every muscle he had. "Finish this!"
Shaymin sat back on its hind legs, and formed two, smaller Leaf Blades next to its paws. It threw them forward, and after growing in size, they pushed Roserade into the air further, pinning their legs and arms like a starfish.
Lucas groaned, already knowing what was coming. Barry was too excited to think, as he'd been whooping for the past few minutes, his throat long since gone raw.
Cheryl was taking pictures of Shaymin using its finishing attack, which wasn't even known before Hilbert showed it off. Dawn was cheering as well.
Opera music, nearly inaudible to a normal human, began echoing in the city, sourced from a pulsating Golett, in a stance identical to its trainer's.
A massive Leaf Blade formed, pointing straight up above Shaymin.
And then it started spinning. The bottom widened out, and the top became narrow to a point. A spiral of blossoming flowers worked its way up the cone.
"Come on, Shaymin, let's do this!"
Do The Impossible.
See The Invisible.
The Roserade started its slow descent, a few dozen meters into the sky, able to see all of Eterna city from a single spot.
"WE EMBARK ON THE WINDING SPIRAL ROUTE! THE ROUTES OF MAN AND POKEMON INTERSECT! JOIN WITH YESTERDAY'S STRANGER TO SMASH FATE, AND GRAB TOMORROW'S ROUTE WITH OUR OWN HANDS!
DESTINY COMBINING-"
Row, Row.
Fight The Power.
"Giga…"
Touch The Untouchable.
Break The Unbreakable.
The cone spun on, faux-Gracidea's blooming in a twin-tailed swirl.
"Drill…"
Row, Row.
Fight The Power.
"BREAAAAAAAAAAAK!"
A burning viridian spear of light pierced the heavens of Sinnoh. In the upper Stratosphere, it flew by a startled Rayquza, and further into space.
Falling from the sky was a Roserade, reverting from her Mega form. An Abra appeared, falling on top of her, still sitting, and in a flash of light, they disappeared from the first layer of earth's atmosphere.
The two Pokemon reappeared at the center of the battlefield. Abra put himself back into his Pokeball.
Shaymin smiled at the unconscious Pokemon before them, and fell into their own fatigued sleep.
Utter silence reigned within Eterna city's gym.
"So, uh… Do I get the gym badge now?" Hilbert asked, scratching the back of his head, awkwardly laughing.
Gardenia couldn't even respond, she just nodded weakly, reached into her pocket and threw him the badge like a robot.
"Hey, Dawn, everyone! You guys wanna go get dinner?" He asked, after turning towards their spot in the stands.
Barry was the first one to respond, and did so incredibly out of character by shaking himself out of his daze, and nodding nonchalantly.
"Great. Let's meet up at the Pokemon Center, Shaymin needs some help." He walked over and picked up the snoring leafy hedgehog, holding it to his chest. Abra teleported on top of Golett, who was following him out.
With that, Hilbert left the gym. You could hear a pin drop in a haystack crossing a bridge- Wait, the hell does that even mean? Regardless, the silence, though long-lasting, was still deafening.
"Right, we'll treat your Pokemon right away," said Nurse Joy, taking the tray he'd handed over and placing it on the analysis rack. She looked back at the Pokemon on the counter, confused. "I don't think I've seen anything like this before. It looks familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it…" She shrugged, and took Shaymin in her arms to a table that Chansey could reach for treatment.
A 'ding' rang from the Pokeball machine and she quickly rushed over.
"Alright, Golett, indigenous to Unova, Abra, common across Japan-" The nurse cut herself off, turning to him with a questioning expression while stammering, "Excuse me, this says Shaymin, and- I'm not quite sure if that's- That's correct-"
"It is." He said, simply. "It is."
Hilbert dialed a number in the cross-transceiver, deciding to get it out of the way. He was sitting in a secluded corner of the Pokemon center, waiting for his teammates to arrive.
"Hey, mom, guess what?"
"..."
"Mom?"
"...I don't even know what to say, Hilby, I- Where on earth did you find an honest-to-Arceus Shaymin? I haven't heard stories about those since I was a little girl, how did you even-" She stopped, like she couldn't think of anything else to say.
"It's not incredibly complicated, but they're sticking around with me for a while."
"...I'm shocked. Speechless, even."
"I can tell."
"I think I'm going to go lay down…"
"You do that. Talk to you later, mom, love you."
Click.
Abra appeared out of his Pokeball, meditating (sleeping) as always, balanced with its tail precariously on the tiny Shaymin who was napping next to Hilbert on the couch. He could see the Psychic energy in the air that was holding Abra up and keeping him from crushing Shaymin. From that, it was clear he was just showing off.
"So, when do I get my own, type-appropriate, drill-based finisher?"
"When I find a TM that can make you do that, or you learn an actual psychic attack." Hilbert said, dismissing the question and sinking into the couch.
Ow.
A plastic disc fell out of the air and smacked him on the forehead. Picking up the dilapidated junk, he looked around it for a label.
(Tm29 - PsyChIc)
The packaging was covered in dirt, and the label had worn away around the corners, making the letters barely readable.
"You didn't steal this, did you?" He held up the disk, waving it around in Abra's face.
"I found it when I was still wild. It's very old, as you can tell. They threw it out when the company stopped making them."
"When was that?"
"2009 or so, I wouldn't worry about that."
"...Alright." He pressed the floppy disk to Abra's forehead, and watched it dissolve into his skin, much like the Fire Punch TM had done. He was lucky to have found one that powerful in time for the gym battle.
"Fantastic. Now I can twist people externally as well as I can internally!"
"...I forgot you were a sociopath." Hilbert groaned, laying back on the couch.
"I prefer the term Psychopath. It fits the aesthetic much more."
People seemed a lot more wary of him, it seemed. Not scared, just hesitant to approach. Little kids constantly ran up and asked to pet Shaymin, because really, it was a soft, tiny, really cute Mythical Pokemon, who wouldn't want to?
AN:
Yes, there are multiple Shaymin in the Pokemon world, it's explicitly canon. But, it's stil a Mythical Pokemon, implying that very few people think it actually exists. Hence the treatment.
Gratitude, Willpower… They're basically interchangeable, right?
I always felt like Cheryl was a missed opportunity in the games. Sure, she shows up at the Battle Frontier, but like… That doesn't count. She could have at least cameoed in some other parts of Sinnoh besides the forest.
Yeah, Mega Roserade is a thing now. Deal with it, I guess. I think it fits the general idea relatively well, by amping up the flowers and making it more combative.
Shaymin got a Giga Drill Break, and I got a Sonic joke out of it.
Oh my god, I just thought of Sonichu again, excuse me while I throw up in the corner.
But yeah, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it.