Chapter 5: A stormy night
"This is nice... It feels good to take a break sometimes from the harsh battles and training." Said Raihan relaxing.
"Agreed. The nice heat really reliefs the stress. What about you..." Stopped Aurea shocked at what's in her sight.
Work is still work for me after all. I continued to research more about the various dragon type pokemon available. From my view, I can see Moon on the left side of the heating table happily embracing the warmth of the table as the same with Sunlight next to me playing around with a pink ball with her ribbons. On my right, is Illuminate and Winter happily chatting to each other. I just can't help it wants them to be out of their pokeballs.
"Hey, Moon are you feeling relaxed?" Asked Aurea as Moon nods.
Moon seemingly has gotten along with Aurea recently likely due to her usually being around me as my supervisor and has gotten use to her scent or emotions. Moon is often shy to those who's emotions or scent are aggressively strong. Moon does seemingly have a tendency to wanting to be pampered occasionally.
"Your party seems to get along with each other well. You must have worked hard for them to get along." Said Raihan petting his Noibat.
"They can get into trouble sometimes. Usually, rivalry based like Illuminate and Crescendo have." I respond as Illuminate grins.
Illuminate literally breaths fighting and getting into pokemon battles. He enjoys the thrill of besting stronger opponents and feels accomplished when winning. Despite his aggressive nature, he really tries and works hard to break the limits of his abilities. I wouldn't have gotten into the ultra cup qualifiers without him.
"I got an idea let's play a card game!" Suggested Raihan.
Oh no, I hope it's not the official card game. I suck a lot when it comes to very strategic games due to overthinking a lot of situations which can lead to my downfall in a match.
"I do have playing cards in my bag so it's possible." I said as I take the cards out of my bag.
The playing cards had the theme of grass and fire type pokemon with each number being represented by different pokemon. One of the few items the prison gave me back when I got released. As I place the box on the table a binder fell out of my bag and already I can feel the embarrassment.
"Hold it! Is that a card binder?" Said Aurea as she reached for the binder.
That binder is not for cards. It was actually where I kept my photo's that I've taken from when I started becoming a trainer to now. I felt embarrassed because only one other person has seen the photos and sadly haven't seen her since I got arrested.
"Hey let me see! I never knew you collected cards?" Asked Raihan as Aurea placed it on the table and opened up the binder.
Both of them seemed surprised by the contents in the binder. The first one they seemed to have noticed was the party I had started with when I reached Nimbasa city. Oh man, that trip was where I got my Azuril from an egg by a lovely couple. It was a hard time for the poor little fella since Solar thought she was gonna replace his spot as my Ace. I took the photo near the Ferris wheel. The next photo they took notice of was the one I took after reaching the Unova cup qualifiers. The team was so proud to have made it to the cup with all the hard work they accomplished up to that point.
"Oh, so you competed in the Unova cup? That team you have is pretty strong and covers each other not-" Raihan stopped as he felt a cold glare nearby.
Ah yes the sunny day team, the truth was I went with the team in that photo after a whole night of deciding how to go into the Unova cup. The team that consisted of Flareon, Leafeon, Ninetales, Altaria, Liligant, and Leavanny. Raihan's statement, however, did immediately grab the attention of both Moon and Illuminate who seemed genuinely upset.
"My team is fine the way it is. They worked hard to reach the Ultra cup despite the faults they have and lack of experience in battle. They give it their best shot and that's what matters to me the most." I said as Illuminate and Winter stand next to me.
Huh... that hasn't happened in a long time. I guess our bonds are starting to grow more throughout our time together.
"Ah... you really do remind me of someone back in my old days of taking the gym challenges. Time surely changed us when we reached the top. Leon use to smile every day with a confident grin just like you had in those two photos. Things changed too much and deep inside that flame is dying within him." Said Raihan reminiscing.
Looking into the photo's again was one that had my team with the Unova cup trophy in the center. That day I had to face my rival one last time to win the cup and boy it was a very tough battle but, with perseverance, Solar manages to defeat her ace Tyranitar with superpower. After losing so many times to my rival, I was shocked to have finally been able to best her at least once. Unlike her, I wasn't a talented trainer at all and had to work even harder with my team to overcome the difficult obstacles especially living under the shadow of my sister who was already talented enough to overcome multiple leagues.
"Is that your rival in this photo? She looks a lot like that dark type gym leader Luna. She's been popular lightly for being cool. Rumor even says that she's gonna attempt to become champion of the Owatta region after conquering this year's master cup." Asked Aurea as I look at the photo.
You haven't changed at all Luna. You were always the one who wanted to become a champion while I preferred to have become an explorer. If only I took your advice all those years back.
"Yeah, that's her. I guess she couldn't become champion while I was locked up and never lost the spirit of wanting to become champion." I responded looking back at the photo.
"Awww that must be Sunlight, Winter, and Illuminate when you first got them. They looked so cute!" Said Aurea as her Togetic hovers over her head.
That photo was taken when I got Winter and when Illuminate was still a Pikachu. Winter only manage to have the courage to join the photo when Illuminate made some silly faces to get her to laugh. Winter was still struggling to be comfy with my pokemon and quickly after the photo was always around Sunlight to keep her company while Illuminate was learning attacks.
"Alright, we should return this to you." Said Raihan as he returned my binder.
I return it to my bag as I give out a light smile bringing my other pokemon to smile as well. For about an hour and a half we played some common card games such as Crazy 8's, Old Froslass, Go Magikarp, and Battle! In the end, I didn't win a single game which is bitter and the stings of defeat did suck to feel but, I had fun never the less.
"Hey, you have an internet connection, right? We should be able to watch the Owatta and Galar Qualifiers today! There still 2 slots left for each and today's exhibition match is gonna be huge!" Asked Raihan as his he takes out his rotom dex.
"I do have an Internet connection. But, isn't the screen too small?" I asked.
Raihan smirks as his rotom dex expands to the size suitable for television. This must be the ever-evolving technology discovered in the Galar region which is honestly incredible.
"Damn... the matches starts in 1 hour and 10 minutes. I guess we can make something to eat to pass the time." Said Raihan.
"Sure let me get the burner and pot!" I said as I reached for a box next to Winter.
I set up the burner at the center of the table and a pot on top of the burner. I wonder what we should make for dinner today?
"We can do with bone curry! It's the best one clearly!" Said Raihan holding some meat in the middle of the bone that he got from his bag.
"Herb Melody is clearly better and healthier for pokemon and humans!" Said Aurea holding unique herbs.
Oh crap, here we go the fight about food. Let's be honest food is food and I'm not picky at all when it comes to it since for the longest time I ate a lot of cheap food to prioritize feeding my pokemon decent food. Is it reckless... hell yes it was and I would likely keep doing it if it weren't for earning a good amount from having a winning streak going at the Hammerlocke stadium and beating Bea earlier in the month with Moon.
"Bone goes well with anything! Herbs are mostly for veggie lovers!" Said Raihan.
"Herb melody is good for your body Raihan!" Responded Aurea as the arguing continues.
Oh my god... this is gonna go on forever. Someone make this stop.
"How about we let Liam decide?" Said Aurea as they both look at me.
"Good idea after all he invited us." Said Raihan.
I don't really mind either, to be honest. I don't really want to get involved in arguments again.
"Uh... I usually eat Instant noodles... unless I'm doing a treat night for my pokemon which would be sausage or potato curry." I responded as both of them look surprised.
Yeah... I'm not blessed with luck. This night cannot get any more embarrassing.
"Oh, so there are other people here than just Saki? Mind if I join you all?" Said a soft feminine voice.
That voice sounds absolutely familiar. I already have a feeling who it might be.
"We have room for one more if you don't mind sharing space with Liams Gardevoir?" Said Raihan ignoring the fact of my decision.
"Sure why not..." I said reluctantly.
"It's been a long time Liam. I'm surprised to see you having pokemon again after what was stated in Unova news." Said the girl as she entered the tent and sat next to Moon.
That young lady is The 8th gym leader of the Owatta region and my first rival Luna. She was always the one who tried extremely hard to become a very strong pokemon trainer to uphold the legacy of her small town. She was always the better trainer between the both of us with an impressive record of 8-1 with my only win being a fluke. Luna seems to have grown up well and here I am someone who lacks sympathy for others. Have I really changed at this point?
"I was allowed to keep them as long as I met the conditions set out by the Unova international force. It honestly feels good to have met the pokemon I have here." I said as I take one more deep breath.
If it wasn't for someone sticking up for me I would be back in prison again. Then again, I don know why a chairman for the pokemon league would want to stick up for an ex-terrorist member? I hope he knew what he was doing.
"I'm gonna ask how did you get here before Gabrielle? They were struggling to get her since the weather has been affected dramatically. We only got lucky because of Gigantamax Lapras safely getting us here." Said Raihan surprised.
"Simple really, I used Alakazam to teleport me here. It reliefs the stress of my pokemon a lot. Some trainers from the Owatta region are currently on their way to help Gabrielle and the other trainers out. Our head honcho Erickson told me to come here in case something wrong happens." Explained Luna.
Something wrong... it can't possibly be.
"I'm sure whatever the weather problem is can be resolved by Gabrielle. She's not gonna back down
from a situation like that." Said Raihan with confidence.
If the weather is still poor than that has to be the work of something else that's not related to the weather trio. Something feels off about the whole situation.
"The weather... what condition was it?" I asked as it caught the attention of all three of them.
"I believe it was an ice storm?" responded Raihan and Luna at the same time.
An ice storm? The only pokemon I can think of that can cause an instant ice storm would be Articuno and Kyurem. It makes no sense for an ice storm to occur unless of the interference of those two during the summertime. Maybe the weather here is different and that I'm overthinking this a little too much. I shouldn't let my guard down in case the worst occurs.
"They should be fine until then, the shelter here will protect us well. Based on the previous conversation I heard, you guys were struggling with what type of curry you guys want for dinner. How about something meaty like burger-steak with a side of salad and mashed potatoes?" Said Luna smiling.
"That sounds like a good idea. It would make all parties happy and not cause a mini-war in here." I responded.
Everyone agreed to the plan Luna gave out because she had the ingredients in her bag. I do have some burger-steak in my ice bag compartment so might as well use it today. I grab it as well as Aurea has brought out different types of fruit and vegetables with sauces to use for the salad while Raihan brought out some potatoes to mash and also spices usable for the curry sauce. I and Raihan were in charge of handling the cooking of the Burger-Steak curry while Aurea and Luna prepared the sides and drinks for tonight. Usually, my pokemon would assist me in cooking but, I'm gonna let them relax tonight to enjoy the company. Luna decided to let one of her pokemon out to join Raihan's Noibat, Aurea's Togetic, and my pokemon to enjoy the company. An hour later of prep and then cooking the food was done just as the broadcast of the qualifiers began.
"Alright Rotom phone Extend yourself!" Commanded Raihan as the Rotom phone extended to a size enough for everyone to have a decent view.
So that's how far the technology has gone since then? It's really impressive to witness. I can also see Illuminate watching carefully to the broadcast likely looking for ideas for what's to come in the ultra cup. I also see Moon watching carefully likely analyzing strategies she'll need to adapt to. I should've mentioned that I'm squished between Moon moving to my left due to being shy of Luna and to my right is my resting Sunlight happily watching the broadcast from my phone alongside Winter.
"Alright, everyone! Welcome to the PWC qualifiers! Today, we will be witnessing the match that will be absolutely exciting. Tonight we will be seeing a battle for the final qualifier slot for the Master's cup for the Playoffs! The remaining slot left after today for both Owatta and Galar cups are given to the official winner of the ultra cup! In the left corner representing the Owatta region is the woman with a heart of gold for both people and pokemon. The Gentle Lily: Ari!" Yelled the announcer as the crowd got pumped.
Out of the west entrance came a small girl with a casual attire that guys usually wear (Jeans, T-shirt, Sandles, light jacket, gloves) and has long orange hair up to her waist tied up in a ponytail. She seems a little young to be a trainer at first glance though.
"In the right corner representing the right corner, The iron fist-shaking up the Galar region with an unstoppable spirit! Give it up for the Iron Wall: Marcus!" Yelled the announcer as the crowd continues to cheer.
Out of the right entrance came an older gentleman with a Steel gym uniform from the Galar region and having short silver hair just like Aurea. Already I can see Aurea visibly upset which, can mean that man is her father.
"Marcus is totally gonna win this match! The man was considered an amazing replacement for Kabu when he got sent back to the minor league." Said Raihan excited for the match.
"I'm not sure about that one Raihan! Ari is a very strong trainer for her age especially with a powerful trump card in her ace." Said Luna as the match is about to begin.
I don't really care for the outcome and just enjoying the dinner right now. I shared 2 of my 5 burger steaks between my 4 pokemon out as a little snack for them to enjoy. Thankfully with the help of Raihan's skill, the meat came out very tasty and the sides were also pretty good. Sunlight is really savoring the flavor with her eyes lighting up while Moon is just taking her time to eat hers. Winter just takes big bites and Illuminate just munches on the steak happily.
"You even share your meals with your pokemon now? Adorable!" Said Luna grinning.
I guess the five of them just make me happy in general that I grew to go even more beyond the care I gave my original party to make sure they were very relaxed and happy. I hope that someday that the nightmares will end though. Despite the past is behind me, the flames of that day still haunt me so much to a point of the burns on my back acting up as a reminder of the loss that happened that day. Both of them send out there pokemon. Ari sent out an odd-looking Altaria while Marcus sent out a Corviknight.
"That Altaria looks significantly different than the ones here..." I stopped to get an understanding.
"Owattarian Altaria's is just a pure Dragon, however, it gained a lot of new benefits from adapting the conditions and hard weathers." Said Luna observing.
Pure dragon in another region completely? I should have Moon use Trace to be able to identify what ability that Altaria contains.
"Moon watch-care-" I stopped as Moon looks intensely at both pokemon.
The Corviknight already propels into the Altaria and slashes the Pokemon with Steel Wing. Altaria uses it's left-wing to push away the Corviknight while using its right wing to hold to the spot it got slashed. Altaria then opens it's mouth to let out a powerful blaze on the Corviknight only for it to be pushed away by its wings. Corviknight then started cladding its wings and forms them into a clad shield. Altaria lets out another powerful blast of fire from its mouth only for the Corviknight to push it away by breaking formation.
"Incredible..." I said paying attention to the match.
Corviknight ascends into the air and slams hard right into the Altaria letting out a violent scream of pain. In desperation to change the fight up, Altaria let out a blaze once more to push off Corviknight also letting out a screeching pain from getting set on fire. Altaria unleashes a powerful pulse of dragonic energy to put down the Corviknight as the steel bird struggles to get back up. With one last powerful blaze, the Corviknight was taken down.
"That's the power of Ari a trainer who specializes in environmental pokemon. The surprising part is her not using her trump card." Said Luna as she munches on her dinner.
Altaria's ability was a defensive one no doubt. It allowed it's self to be struck multiple times to gain the upper hand. This is the power and talent of pokemon trained by professionals... can it even be possible to win.
"You seem struck by the match... is something wrong?" Asked Aurea also munching on her dinner.
"Yes... the trainers of the Owatta region are extremely powerful..." I said shocked.
"It makes sense since Owatta region gym leaders and the Elite four are hands picked by the champion herself. Ari is the 3rd strongest gym leader of the Owatta region with the theme of her team centers around her powerful ace. She is really tough for a gym leader and considerably strong enough to be even a higher-up member of an elite four in any region." Explained Luna.
Elite four level? Galar trainers were already on that level as is including the upcoming trainers like Bea and Gordie. It's good to know this stuff early to study some trainer's tactics and skills in battles. This also gives Moon and Illuminate a good idea of how their pokemon battle.
"Ah... you payed attention carefully. Thinking that the match was one-sided and then seeing the difference between professional battles and the challenge battles you are used to. Pokemon with weakness can still deal some serious damage. Times have changed and you have a lot of catching up to do." Said Raihan.
"I have no intention of losing Raihan! I have faith in the pokemon who worked hard to make it this far already." I said proudly.
"Heh... you reminded me of a friend I had... it didn't go too well when the champ dominated them in the matches and quit becoming a professional trainer. I fell the same will come your way if you continue to go down the route of thinking only hard work can win any battle." Explained Raihan.
"We will have to see about that Raihan. We won't back down from anything that comes our way!" I said as my Pokemon cry proudly.
We went through so much to not let it end at the ultra cup or even the master's cup. All of them have been training to be able to reach the amount of experience that Illuminate and Moon have in battling even scoring a big win recently against Kabu. Winter is also starting to learn very powerful moves to protect my pokemon and herself as well. Crescendo already was experienced in battle but, has been able to push Moon and Illuminate to their limits.
"Heh... It's just like you to want to overcome odds. You don't know when to quit when you focused on something." Said Luna smiling.
"I'm sorry if I'm sounding like a buzzkill but, the way your rehabilitation and training has been going you won't succeed in accomplishing the task. I know you care about your pokemon but, you are delaying the inevitable of having to release your pokemon the minute you lose the masters cup. We of the Galar region gym leaders know you won't get far in the master's cup-based off you hiding behind your Raichu and Gardevoir in battles. I also know that you can't reach Lapras or even your partner pokemon Sylveon's potential with the moveset you gave them." Said Raihan as he got serious.
Did he know about my training and the rehabilitation? I've never seen Raihan in person until the last night... how was he able to have learned how I train my pokemon or how I'm approaching rehabilitation. Is what he's saying the possible truth? What can I do though as I don't want them to leave me nor do I want them to be lonely or suffer in the wild. What am I doing wrong with my approach... oh god I might actually fail and lose them. I feel like my brain is shutting down and can only imagine the scenarios ending in failing the rehabilitation. This truly can't be happening.
"Enough! He may be reckless, stupid, and shuns people around him sometimes but, I know for a fact that he tries his very best to help them overcome their flaws in battles and even took in pokemon that would be laughed at for being weak despite knowing that losing one battle in either cups will be the end. He can win the masters cup and it will be with that very team." Said Aurea with a firm tone.
Aurea...
"Oh? Is that so Aurea? Then I guess we will see at the ultra cup." Said Raihan as he continues to eat.
Is there still something I was missing while training? Moon and Illuminate have been dominating the Galar challenger group when I got them. Sunlight has been developing a strategy to set up defensive abilities or setting up power-ups through a calm mind and baton pass to allow Moon to overcome multiple opponents at once. Crescendo has formidable combat experience capable of being on par with both Illuminate and Moon. Is there really something I'm missing. I'm sure to figure it out while I'm here training.
12 midnight, everyone fell asleep except for me as I wanted to give Crescendo some care since fortunately, the rain didn't happen. Ah, hearing him sing really does take the tension of the fight earlier off my shoulders. It's incredible to see in the sea around the temple to be filled with beautiful water type pokemon swimming around. The scenery is quite beautiful to get lost in.
"Eh... the night is wonderful here isn't it Crescendo?" I asked as He looks back at me.
Suddenly, a large group of big orange dragon pokemon took flight from the sea and entered the temple. Incredible... the super rare Dragonite actually resides here and is considered incredible luck to even see one in the modern-day up close. Suddenly, I can hear the cry of Crescendo as he uses his nose to make me look at what he saw.
"What is it, buddy? Is something bothering you?" I asked.
Crescendo continued to look in the same direction. I look where Crescendo was too see a pair of eyes looking at me within the sea. Crescendo sings again to see the pair of eyes moving to his rhythm. Perhaps a chance to capture the pokemon? If that pokemon isn't a dragon though I would automatically fail Gabrielle's rehabilitation task. The pokemon looks so happy though to be on the beat of Crescendo's singing. As Crescendo stops singing, I start to whistle to the tune of a song my mother taught me when I was a kid. The pokemon continued to dance to the rhythm of my whistling as I briefly saw a slim blue body slightly surface for a brief moment. I'm going for it! As I continue to whistle I grab a luxury ball from my belt and throw it at the pokemon in the water as it entered the pokeball. 1...2...3...4... done. The pokemon was caught! Crescendo put the pokeball on his back and I picked it up from his shell.
"Time to figure out what pokemon was in the water," I said as I summoned the pokemon out of its pokeball.
A rather small serpent-like pokemon with a slim blue-white color scheme with an around snout, and white bump on it's forehead with fins on the sides of its head. I'm not mistaken but, I haven't seen a pokemon like this before but, it sure is cute. I can use my phone to identify what type of pokemon it is through a scanner.
"Dragon pokemon, Dratini! Considered by many to be a mythical pokemon, there have been few sightings of this pokemon in very small groups. This pokemon is considered to be a very endangered species!" stated the scanner scanning the confused Dratini.
Holy crap... this little cutie was actually a super rare pokemon this whole time? What name should I give this little one? It seems to enjoy music a lot and seems really joyful nature wise. I got an idea of what to name this Dratini.
"Welcome to the group, Canon." I said extending my hand out to Dratini.
Dratini looks up to me and nods before crawling up my extended arm and hanging on my left shoulder while Crescendo laughs lively. Dratini nuzzles on my shoulder as it really gets use to its comfy spot.
"Well aren't you the affectionate one?" I said lightly petting Canon.
I manage to get a dragon type pokemon now, I've got to learn more about raising such a rare species of pokemon and even a rare typing such as the dragon type. According to the scanner, this Dratini is super small compared to the average one being only 3'8 ft tall instead of the more average 5'11 that they are supposedly and on top of finding out that Canon is female two leaving only Crescendo and Illuminate as males on my party... poor dudes.
"Everyone will love meeting you Canon. I'm sure you will get along with them very well" I said smiling.
The next stage of rehabilitation begins now that I have my full team now confirmed. I should now focus on completing the training here in the temple of the ancients with Canon. I need to prove to the stronger trainers here that my pokemon and I can accomplish any task they throw at us.
"Heh... so you decided to fish your dragon pokemon out instead?" Said Raihan surprised.
"Not really... I saw her eyes in the water moving happily to the rhythm of my whistling and Crescendo's singing that I felt she would be happy to accompany us all with different ways of expressing song." I said with Canon comfortably resting on my shoulders.
Raihan took a good look for about 10 minutes and then began to laugh.
"Man Gabrielle's gonna have your head for this one. She was probably expecting you to catch something like Swablu or Axew due to the practices of the temple but, instead, you ended up with a Dratini that happened to enjoy music." Said Raihan laughing.
"I honestly didn't care about what the final pokemon I would carry was. I wanted to catch Canon because it looked like a pokemon that would be happy around my party. She seems very happy in the end though." I said.
"Hahaha! You sound like Leon back when he started training. I like ya dude and hey, no hard feelings about what was said at the tent earlier." Said Raihan extending his left hand out.
"Eh... It's not like you were being mean to me Raihan. I understand though that there's more to accomplish if I want my pokemon to achieve breaking the limits that hold them back. This party that chose to be with me is the best team I could ever ask for." I said giving out a weak smile.
The world I thought once was bleak and grey is behind me now. The world I see in front of me right now is filled with warm colors that cast away the shadows that blackened my vision. It's all thanks to the bond I found with my Pokemon.
END
