I pulled out my Rotom phone and called my Mother on the taxi ride back, who was in fact ready to give me an earful. She didn't seem angry as much as concerned for the choices I'm making in my life. If she only knew that I lived in what is essentially a cabin under a tree, and not the apartment in Motostoke she thinks I stay in.

"Mom, you can't talk me out of the League Challenge. I chose to do this, and I want to see it through," I push.

She sighs. "Katherine, you never finish what you set out to do."

I tense. Not that I didn't already know that. I take a deep breath.

"Mother, I'm going to prove you wrong. This is something I wanted to do as a kid, and never got the chance to," I say a little bitterly, to make a point. Maybe I'm being petty, since it's not entirely true. Though my "Royal duties" and "thinking of the image of the House" were the reasons I had to compete under a fake name anyway.

"I'm sorry you never got the normal childhood you always wanted," she countered. I could almost hear the guilt in her voice, and it stops me. My upbringing was something I didn't think she had ever had any regrets about. It's not like I hated my childhood, but I had always felt like it didn't fit who I was.

"Mom-" I started, then remembered what Sonia and I had talked about earlier. Better to just change the subject, instead of debate around in our old circles. "What ever happened to the Hero of Galar after he rescued the world?"

Silence. My Mother paused before asking, "why the sudden interest in that Myth?"

"Well, I was talking about it earlier with a friend and-"

"Some things are better left unknown, Kat," my Mom answered, and I hear someone speaking to her in the background. Sounds like the banquet is still going strong.

"Look, this is a conversation for later, I need to go. Despite your rash decision, I love you."

Geez, I would hope so. "I love you too, Mom." I hang up.

Well I certainly didn't expect that reaction from her. Why the abruptness?

That was definitely odd, Oracle adds. I usually let her overhear my phone conversations through our bond, especially if they're important.

Definitely. I'm so ready to just be able to relax at home. Enough with today's stress.

Michael lands us down in the village nearby, leaving us with a sympathetic wave and a look of concern. We pay him extra so he doesn't pry into our business, which I appreciate. He's a good man.

I reach for my belt and release the others from their poke balls.

So I guess a Pokémon battle was off the table for today, Brutus groans. Bit flies on ahead.

Please, you would need a warm up after how long it's been since you've battled, Valen jests.

I could take down both of you if I wanted, Oracle jumps in, taking the rest of us off guard.

We erupt in laughter and within the blink of an eye, my life feels back to normal.

As we make our way back to the hovel, Missy and Flick are outside awaiting our arrival.

We missed you guys! Missy says excitedly, with a twirl.

We missed you guys too, Missy, Oracle replies.

We go inside and change, and the seven of us get ready to have an outdoor dinner for the Autumn Equinox today, also known as Mabon. We bring out the food we've foraged and place it out on the picnic table we built a few years back for occasions such as this.

Oracle brings out the cauldron floating beside her, and situates it atop our fire pit.

Is everyone hungry? Oracle asks, and Bit lets out an excited roar. He understands some speech, particularly if it involves food.

I'm starved, Brutus complains, followed by agreements from the others.

We celebrate the milestone day as our Ancestors did, with a feast in honor of the Goddess and her Pokémon who work tirelessly to bring us a bountiful harvest.


Are you ready? Oracle asks.

"As ready as I can be," I reply.

The group of us are stuffed from our leek risotto and stir fry dinner, and the after dinner conversations came to a lull.

I begin with lighting the bundle of herbs and Rawst stems we prepared to cleanse the space. I blow out the flame and walk around the area we intend to use. I then cleanse everyone who insisted on watching us perform the ritual tonight. Valen and Brutus are as still as statues as I waft the smoke around them, unlike Missy who dances through it. Oracle gives her a look.

What? It still works the same, she sends and motions for Flick to follow her through. I sigh, but hold the bundle still for him. To my surprise, and Missy's delight, Flick copies her dancing through the smoke, and then giggles again. He's so cute, he's like my mini-me, she squeals. I see the ever serious Oracle take in a breath for patience.

I swear ghost Pokémon are the least scary type out there. They have the silliest personalities.

I walk over to Bit, perched on a stone and let him know through our bond what the smoke is for. He accepts and opens his wings. He also remains as still as a statue, and I imagine he's trying to take this as seriously as Valen and Brutus did. My heart warms at the sight of him. When I'm done, I scratch his belly as a thank you.

I meet up with Oracle, and I waft the smoke around the both of us.

We then got to work setting up the ritual space. Oracle sets out the candles, and I lay down the salt circle around them. We place our black mirror in the center.

Oracle hands me her staff that she almost always keeps by the altar. My turn now. I recite the ceremonial invoking of the elements, with Oracle lighting the candles as I trace around the circle clockwise with her staff. As Oracle and I light the final center candle, the salt around us begins to glow, and I know that the circle is set.

This is my favorite part, I hear Missy thought whisper to the others.

Oh believe me, we know, Brutus pointed out.

I smile to myself and prepare to ask the mirror to show me it's wisdom.

"Black mirror, show what is meant for me this twilight hour," I chant in tandem with Oracle.

The mirror becomes foggy once again, and is showing me the vision of the large purple bony Pokémon emanating it's power, but this time it cuts away from the scene before it destroys Galar.

Interesting. I wonder what's altered in the past day to change that. Oracle says to me.

It's gotta be the League Challenge. Or since Leon was in the first string of visions, and we had our chance meeting with him, I ponder.

Speaking of. Long shaggy purple hair comes into view, and I hear Leon speaking with the Chairman in his office. The calendar on his desk is marked out til…

Today? I check with Oracle.

Yes, looks like.

That's odd. The mirror usually doesn't get so specific.

The office has a large window overlooking Wyndon at what I'm assuming is Rose Tower. The vision lingers, and I can almost make out their conversation. The more I focus on the words, the more muffled they are.

The mirror is never of TOO much help, is it? I say to Oracle.

She gives me a look. It would defeat the purpose.

The vision lingers still, as if it wants me to gain something more from it. "When does this conversation occur?" I inquire of the mirror, and my breath stills as the vision drifts to the clock on the wall. 8:47 PM tonight, in roughly three and a half hours.

I have only a second to absorb the time, when it shows me the doomsday Pokémon again atop the castle. It lets out a bone rattling roar, then emanates a surge of power that pushes through the mirror itself, causing a cloud of smoke to knock us off our feet, Bit shrieks and I barely catch Missy's gasp. The mirror goes black.

Flick giggles again. Rude.

In between coughs I ask, Is everyone alright? I check over Oracle, sitting up next to me.

I am. Oracle looks a little shaken and we understand between us that this wasn't supposed to happen in the circle. We need to strengthen our wards immediately. I nod.

I look to the others, unaffected by smoke. Missy is calming Bit down, and Brutus is hiding behind Valen.

Scaredy cat, Valen teases.

I don't like loud noises, he cries.

We're okay as well. The smoke blast was contained within the ritual circle, Valen observes.

I look around to what remains of the circle. The candles have gone out, the salt has been nearly all blown away. I guess the mirror wanted to impress upon us the severity of the situation. Message received.

I stand and offer a hand to Oracle.

Looks like you have an interesting night ahead of you, Oracle smirks.

I sigh. I just wanted a peaceful night at home.

"I guess we're going to Wyndon."


Atop Rose Tower, I have the entire view of Wyndon at night. Truly a sight to behold. I fidget with my pendant that makes me light enough to fly with Bit. I take in a deep breath. If I wasn't about to break into one of the most influential businesses in Galar, I'd take longer to enjoy the view.

"Good boy, Bit," I say to him, and he purrs as I scratch his belly. I let him know I'm bringing him back into his poke ball. I swapped out poke belts tonight, my usual brown leather one for my all black one I have. It pairs well with my "incognito" suit (as I like to call it), an all black suit with a hood and half face mask, so I can fly around with Bit and no one is able to recognize me. Though the reason I bought this outfit was for the freedom of being anonymous, not for crime.

A quick search though the online Wyndon City archives brought me a blueprint of Rose Tower, and from there, Oracle and Valen helped me formulate a plan. Enter the maintenance shaft from the rooftop, access the hatch above the Chairman's Office, investigate, and head back the way I came. In and out.

"Reserare via meam," I recite, hoping the same incantation that I use to unlock doors will unscrew the maintenance vent. Turns out, spells for breaking and entering don't care what kind of door they're opening for you. The screws fall to the floor, and I set the vent aside to step in.

The access is big enough for me to crouch down inside. My biggest obstacle was sliding down the one vertical portion, relieved that my pendant also kept my footsteps silent. I awkwardly make my way over to the vent that feeds air into the Chairman's office.

I look around the office, which is immaculate but rather minimalistic. Other than the large office desk and chairs, there are a few filing cabinets, some bookshelves, and a smaller desk off to the side that looks like it may belong to an Assistant of his.

I check my watch, and it's 8:39. Neither Leon nor Chairman Rose are in the office just yet. If only I could be this punctual to everything else in my life.

I've had such an eventful day that I start to doze off, until I hear the door handle. I snap awake and I quiet my breathing.

"The matter of media presence as well, is a top priority," I hear the Chairman say from the sound of the door opening and closing behind them.

"Well, the purpose of the league itself should be the highest priority, the Trainers and their Pokémon," Leon insists. "I have an idea on how to encourage more Trainers to-"

"Yes, yes. Of course the Trainers and Pokémon are the backbone of the whole event, but they aren't what makes the League money and bring in an audience," Rose adds. "I can't continue to make the League what it is for Trainers if I can't get the Board to back me up on it."

I hear Leon sigh as he steps into view. He walks over to the window and Rose follows him.

"I understand, but we could really make an impact on the Trainers of Galar if we set up a more streamlined system to gain access to the Challenge itself. Trainers from all walks of life could enter. We could set up a system to give out a number of league sponsorships like how the University does with scholarships-"

"And who would be funding these so called league scholarships?"

Leon lets out a frustrated breath, and I feel frustrated along with him. I think he has a wonderful idea.

"I'm not trying to crush your dreams here, Leon. I have to think of what the Board will support, and what will make us enough money to do the whole process again next year. Baby steps." Rose snaps his fingers and lights up, "What about the Lady we met earlier? The one who announced joining the challenge?"

"Lady Kat," Leon interjects. I shouldn't be, but I'm flattered he remembered my name.

"Yes! Can you imagine the publicity she can help us gain? The more viewers we have invested in the League, the more money we can raise and awareness of the League we can spread."

As expected. For a second I thought he might suggest me footing the bill for the scholarships, not that I would be opposed.

"I agree it might show more Trainers that anyone can join, including Royalty," Leon speculated, not sounding very convinced. "I'm worried we may be overdoing it though. She's not a celebrity, and we should make sure she gets a fair chance in the challenge, no favoritism either."

I'm taken aback. I'm also surprised at my appreciation for his words. It's not often people are able to look past my social status and just see me as a normal person.

"Of course, of course, we wouldn't want favoritism," Rose replies, and he changes the subject.

They sit down at his desk as they go over smaller details about logistics and Board related topics, and again I'm nearly dozing off until I hear Rose clear his throat.

"The reason I asked you to meet me tonight."

"I figured it wasn't for late night drinks, Chairman." Leon chuckles.

"I have big, big plans for Galar," the Chairman starts. "I need to know you'll be on board whenever the time comes."

Big plans? The way the Chairman says it, makes me feel uneasy. They sound like big as in ambitious plans.

"You know that I have the best interests of Galar as my highest priority." Leon replies.

Does Leon know more about the Chairman's aspirations than he leads on?

After all that Leon has said, he seems like he has good intentions. Nothing like the arrogant person I once thought he was. I feel like I might have misjudged him.

"I hope so, once the time comes."

"You and the people of Galar can count on me, Chairman."

"Well, that settles it then. Tomorrow I'll get the affairs in order and go before the Board first thing Monday morning. I apologize again for the last second decision making. But as always, I appreciate you Leon," Rose extends his hand.

"It's a pleasure, Chairman," Leon shakes his hand. "I do need to be back in Postwick tonight before my Grandmother worries," he says sheepishly.

They get up to leave. "Of course, you'll have to ask her about her famous razzberry pie for me," Rose says as he closes the door behind them. I wait until I can no longer hear their voices before I murmur the incantation on the vent to access his office and drop down.

I reach down to my belt and let Missy and Flick out of their poke balls.

Alright, we're in Rose's office, and we just need to look for clues on anything he may be planning behind the scenes with the League Board, I inform them.

Easy peasy, Missy says.

Flick just looks down to his new necklace, in awe.

You need to leave that on, Flicky, she encourages.

Oracle and I made an everstone necklace for Flick, to prevent him from evolving. It was the only way she would agree to let him come with me tonight. With Flick's flame however, it'll help us look around the office. And I thought it would be good for him to get out of the Hovel anyway.

The three of us look around for any sort of clue or record as to what the Chairman could have been referencing when he said he had "big plans". I fill Missy in on everything I overheard.

I'm looking through his desk, but come up with nothing except for a bottle of whiskey and a few cigars. I look through the cabinets, and it's just business records with the usual league sponsors advertised on television.

This seems out of place, Missy says.

I look up to see her holding the leather bound book that Oracle and I witnessed in the mirror vision the night prior.

Good job, Missy. This is definitely something, I say to her. I meet her at the bookshelf she was going through, and the secret compartment she opened behind it.

I open the book, and see that it's filled with different covert experiments that are based in Kanto, from Viridian City. Another chapter is full of notes on energy producing Pokemon from Unova, and how to harness it. The theme throughout the notebook is focused on energy producing experiments. I use my phone and take photos of the pages, and take note of the many references to a man named Giovanni. As I'm flipping through, there's a note that falls out, addressed to Rose.

"Consider this to be proof of our newfound friendship. Best of luck, Sal TR," I read aloud.

What kind of last name is TR? I pocket the note for later.

Satisfied with the evidence I've gathered, I put the book back and call Missy and Flick back into their poke balls. Making my way back out to the roof, I replace the vent accesses and make sure no trace of us is left behind.

On the roof, I release Bit from his poke ball, and with a scratch of his belly I send him thoughts of home as he purrs.

"Stop right there."

I turn and lock my own eyes with a set of fierce golden ones, with a fully grown Charizard standing behind him. My heart rate picks up.

"I'm taking you into custody immediately. We have you on camera. Any resistance will be met with a battle," he exclaims. His Charizard puffs up behind him.

I can't help but laugh under my breath. It's endearing, honestly.

"I'm sure I can take you on, Champion," lowering my voice enough where it should be unrecognizable.

"So a battle then?" He smirks at the challenge. "Since I'm not letting you leave this rooftop."

"That's what you may think."

I tell Bit to fly like the wind.

Bit launches off, and I dive off the roof after him.

We go for a steep dive, and weave in and out of skyscrapers with Leon and his Charizard not missing a single turn. They stay hot on our tail. We're close enough to the street that I say a small prayer to the Goddess to ensure the small amount of people that are awake, aren't looking up.

I send Bit an idea on how to lose them, a maneuver we've done before. He sends me back his acknowledgment. Our timing has to be perfect for this to work.

I sense Bit about to go for the sharp turn we need and I say, "Abscondom essentia mea."

We bank a hard left and perch on the side of the building, completely invisible, with Bit digging into the carved stone facade. I glance back to the corner we turned at, and watch Leon come into view with Charizard. They hover to the beat of Charizard's wings and look around with an intense focus, searching for a delinquent and their Noivern. I take in the sight, the moonlight shining onto Leon's face and accentuating his jawline. It's almost like the moonlight was made for him in this moment, his eyes are illuminated with it.

I mentally smack myself. When did I start noticing his eyes?

Charizard sniffs us out, but is unable to pinpoint where we are. Thankfully, the spell I recited covers your entire essence, your visibility and even your scent. It does require a considerable amount of energy, however, so I try not to use it. Though in this case, I'm hoping this will throw them off so we can get a long night's rest.

"Let's backtrack and try to pick up the trail again," Leon reassures as he pats Charizard on the side of his neck. Charizard huffs, and I sense he's just as eager to find the culprits as Leon is. We watch them leave, and wait a minute to know there's enough distance between us so we can make our escape.

"Let's go home, Bit," I say as I send him images of the hovel. He purrs with satisfaction and we take off into the night.