April 25th

Solaceon Town Outskirts - Sinnoh Region

Gloomy gray clouds stretched across the sky, and thunder rumbled in the distance, heralding the storm's approach. Light droplets of rain sprinkled upon the earth, the beginning rinse of what promised to be a cleansing shower. Humans and Pokemon alike began to retreat to the comfort of their homes and shelters, intent on beating the storm to their destinations, but a triad of quadrupeds remained in the open, observing one another closely.

Shadow's tail twitched, his sensitive fur detecting even the smallest shifts in the air, and his mind deciphering that abstract information into something of practical value. It would be another half hour before the storm was fully upon them, with the light rains being the worst of it until then. In part thanks to A/C's guidance over the past few days, he had become increasingly more attuned to how his body sensed changes in his surroundings, with premonitions of the weather being just one subset of that ability.

The awareness of an approaching rainstorm had alerted the Espeon's conscious mind the moment he woke up that morning. That said, Shadow was mentally kicking himself for voicing his prediction aloud, because Astrid had enthusiastically suggested they test its accuracy, and for whatever reason, this required them to go outside and train as they normally would.

Leaf had been equally displeased by the suggestion, and only relented because Astrid pointed out that if Shadow's prediction was inaccurate, they risked wasting the time they could have spent training, but if he was correct, then they would have got as much mileage as they could out of that time.

In the wake of Frost's decision to return to the mountains with Blizzard and Glacia, Astrid had taken it upon herself to assist the two brothers with their battle training. Much like with Renard, her assistance had been most welcome, but unlike the Ninetales, she preferred to be more actively involved, as opposed to sitting on the sidelines and offering advice.

More recently, she had suggested they try their paws at fighting her two-against-one, explaining that individual strength was one thing, but the ability to fight together as a team was far more valuable, especially against tougher foes. Leaf had been delighted by the idea, noting that this would allow him and Shadow to join forces in battle, rather than one of them always guarding the other.

Having seen Astrid in battle once or twice before, Shadow had expected that she would be a challenging opponent, at least every bit as strong as Frost was, but the reality was so much more humbling than he could have imagined. She was incredibly strong, defeating both of them with absurd ease, before insisting that they try again, and putting them through sequential losses in this manner for several minutes. These spars could easily have become the most unenjoyable and demotivating experience imaginable, but Astrid was surprisingly encouraging about the whole thing. She gently pointed out what they were doing wrong, beginning with how they were trying to fight her as two separate individuals, rather than as a cohesive unit.

They had been making gradual improvement each day, and in spite of the falling rain, no one was about to withdraw from the ongoing match. Water dripped from Leaf's nose, prompting him to shoot a resentful glare at the sky, only for Shadow to gently remind him to stay focused.

Astrid nonchalantly shook water from her mane, her green eyes glittering as she observed them, her mouth curled into an enthusiastic smile. She never really took it 'easy' on them during these spars, but she liked to give them a fighting chance by not defeating them as swiftly as she could. Like a predator toying with its prey, she gave them the illusion of hope, only to snatch it away, but in doing so, they learned something from the experience. As soon as they made a mistake, she would capitalize on it, and then cite that mistake as an example of how they could further improve their teamwork skills.

"Attacking head-on isn't going to work," Shadow reminded his brother via telepathy, making sure to keep his eyes on Astrid. Ironically, the idea to employ telepathic communication had been Leaf's idea, after he noticed the other day that A/C and Shadow almost never talked out loud during their lessons, leading him to wonder how the Espeon was learning anything. After Shadow had briefly explained how he and the Kadabra would link their minds and communicate in that fashion, Leaf wanted to try it. While Shadow had previously learned how to use telepathy even when his mind was not directly linked to the recipient's, making it a two-way channel had required some practice, and A/C had offered some pointers to ease the process.

"I know," Leaf retorted mentally, and Shadow resisted the urge to smile at how clearly the Leafeon's irritation with the rain carried into his mental tone. "Should I shoot leaves to distract her, or make her dodge so that you can hit her with something?"

Shadow considered for a moment, the hint of a frown tugging at his mouth. "No, that won't work. The area's too open, so I won't be able to predict where she'll move."

"I'm getting cold, Shadow, can we do something?!" Leaf complained, and his body shivered as more rain water soaked into his tan fur.

"Got it. I'll move closer, but attack at a distance. You try and extend one of your vines to trip her up, okay?" Shadow thought back. There was no response, but he was fairly sure Leaf had understood. From the corner of his eye, he saw a pale green light glowing from one of the Leafeon's hind legs, all but hidden from Astrid's view by the rest of the Leafeon's body.

Shadow split away from his brother, circling around the Absol and inching nearer, not quite getting close enough to be in range of her attacks, but presenting enough of a threat to ensure she kept some of her attention on him. His forehead gem shimmered with energy, and colorful bolts of light erupted from the gem, like a beam of sunlight passing through a prism. The rainbow spears fired towards the Absol, and she swiftly pivoted towards him, her horn already glowing with purple light. Once she completed the motion, the purple light launched away from her at great speeds, its form bent into a crescent-shaped blade of energy.

The blade sliced through Shadow's Dazzling Gleam barrage, fracturing each spear-like bolt into tiny shards of colorful light that scattered in all directions, like the aftermath of a cannonball crashing through a stained glass window. Shadow grit his teeth and hurled himself to the left to evade the glowing blade of energy, his fur bristling as the energy passed him. He rose, breathing a little heavier, but celebrating in his head. In order for Astrid to continue tracking his movements, she would need to pivot further away from Leaf, and if she turned to keep an eye on Leaf, then Shadow would have an opening to attack from behind.

His gemstone glowed again as he gathered more of his body's energy within the locus of his mind. Psychic attacks were literally useless against the Absol, so he was delighted to have Dazzling Gleam as another offensive option, even if it was unfortunately fragile in its current state. Renard had assured him that its strength and durability would grow with further practice, just as his psychic abilities themselves had.

"Nuh-uh, is that the best you've got?" Astrid taunted, smacking the grass with one of her paws, the sudden shift in her demeanor startling Shadow for a moment. The Absol's green eyes glowed with an ominous red light, and her tail wagged. "If it didn't work the first time, why would it work this time? Wuss," she scoffed, turning away and wagging her tail mockingly at him.

Inexplicable anger rose up within Shadow's chest, and all thought of firing another Dazzling Gleam vanished from his brain. Psychic attacks were useless, so that left him with attacking directly. Her taunts stung more than even a Beedrill's lance, and without a single thought of self-preservation, or his and Leaf's strategy, he lunged at Astrid, intent on sinking his teeth into her leg.

The Dark-type spun around so swiftly she was a blur of white, and just as he pounced, she slammed her head forcefully into his face. Stars erupted before the Espeon's vision, and he felt himself tumbling across the slick grass, pain searing through his nerves like hot knives. The world seemed to be spinning all around him, and he groaned, clutching his head with one paw in the hopes of steadying his vision.

"Hey!" Leaf burst out angrily, and a flurry of razor-edged leaves launched towards the Absol, but she ducked her body underneath them. In the same motion, she shifted into a crouching stance, like a predator preparing to pounce. Leaf growled, but remained where he was. Astrid creeped forward, her tail wagging in anticipation, although she briefly tilted her head inquisitively, bemused by his lack of retreat. She creeped forward another inch, almost in range of him, only for Leaf to retreat an equal distance backwards.

She inched forward, he inched back. Forward again, he went back. The Absol was visibly amused, but seemingly had decided not to play around any further. She darted closer, only to let out a yelp as a strong vine hidden amongst the grass abruptly came to life and latched around one of her legs. Astrid stumbled, looking down at her paws to see what had snagged her, and Leaf pounced, sinking his teeth stubbornly into the thick mane of fur around the Absol's neck.

And that was it. He didn't attempt to bite her further, nor did he claw at her. He just held this position, using his forepaws to cling to her neck so as not to become dislodged by the pull of gravity. Astrid blinked several times, visibly confused by the turn of events, yet wary of making sudden movements that might cause him to get injured by her scythe horn.

"What the-?" a vaguely familiar voice marveled, and Leaf showed impressive resolve in not relinquishing his grip on the Absol's mane. Shadow groaned and staggered to his feet, before cautiously making his way back over to them. The world had stopped spinning, but his skull and limbs still throbbed painfully.

Standing just a short distance away was a bipedal mammalian Pokemon with bright orange fur that stood out in sharp contrast to the green of their surroundings. A blue fin protruded from each of its arms, and a yellow flotation ring encircled its neck. The rain running down its body presented a sleeker, more streamlined appearance, and two tails flicked cheerfully behind him.

"Am I interrupting something?" the Buizel asked with growing amusement, still observing the bizarre embrace going on, and as Shadow drew level with the other two quadrupeds, the water weasel's expression brightened. "Good to see you again, Shadow!"

"Hey, Raze," Shadow said, unable to keep the surprise from his voice. He had almost forgotten all about the Buizel, as they had parted ways with him soon after leaving Solaceon Town last time, and hadn't seen him again since, to say nothing of how little he had interacted with the Buizel even when he had been around. "What are you doing here?" he wondered.

"Your jaw's going to get tired eventually," Astrid commented to the Leafeon still clinging to her. Leaf's response was muffled, but Shadow suspected it was a denial. Raze chuckled quietly.

"I've got some free time, thanks to this fantastic weather. Isn't it just the best?" he asked, shooting a meaningful look in the Leafeon's direction. Leaf sputtered indignantly in response, his grasp of Astrid's mane slipping enough for the Absol to gently shake him off, and he dropped to the ground.

"I hate the rain," Leaf grumbled, glaring up at the sky.

"Yeah, I know, little guy," Raze chuckled, and then tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Although now that I think of it, this could be an opportunity to show you how rain benefits me in battle, assuming you're still interested in seeing that."

"A little bit," Leaf muttered.

"Splendid, then all I need is an opponent," Raze said, clasping his paws together and looking towards Shadow expectantly. The Espeon shook his head, wincing when the motion caused his skull to throb painfully. "Oh, that reminds me!" Raze said, his eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. "Is it true that Frost ran afoul of Blaze and Aureia?"

Shadow blinked. "Wait, I'm sorry, who?"

Raze chuckled good-naturedly. "Blaze and Aureia. Physical fight with Blaze, verbal beatdown from Aureia, both losses."

"Oh...the Sylveon and Vaporeon," Shadow muttered. He hadn't been sure of their names, since he had only caught the end of Frost's spar with the former Eevee, and they had stormed off soon afterwards. "Yeah, I guess that happened. How did you know about it?"

Raze hesitated for a moment, and then flashed them a sheepish grin. "Now, don't get alarmed, but those two are registered to my trainer's older brother."

Shadow stiffened, but took a deep breath to calm himself. "You have a trainer?" he asked, his eyes flicking past Raze towards Solaceon Town, half expecting a human to be hovering nearby.

"Yeah, I'm the most recent addition to his team," Raze answered casually, folding his arms behind his head. "Been with him for...hmm, I'd say about two weeks now."

"How are you adjusting?" Astrid wondered, her eyes wide with interest.

"Swimmingly," the Buizel replied with a cheeky grin. "In all honesty, I think it's a great arrangement. It gives me the opportunity to constantly strive for improvement and grow stronger, and see more of what this great region has to offer. It's not for everyone, but it suits me well."

"I'm getting cold," Leaf complained, fidgeting restlessly.

"Oh, that's right, my bad," Raze said, wincing apologetically. "We could find a tree for shelter, if we're still game for seeing my Swift Swim, otherwise we can just go back to A/C's den. Is she there, by the way? I was thinking of dropping by to say 'hi', but she's probably working, huh?"

"You know A/C?" Astrid wondered blankly.

Raze chuckled. "Yeah, we've got a history going back a couple years," he answered casually. "By the way, it occurs to me that we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Raze," he said, offering his paw to the Absol.

"Astrid," she answered, sniffing his paw curiously, earning a puzzled look. "You do have the scent of a trainer," she noted, her tail wagging.

"I assume you do as well," Raze replied, this time earning a confused look from her. "That bracer you're wearing looks man-made," he explained, pointing to the circlet of black metal equipped to her foreleg, his gaze lingering briefly on the white, semi-transparent crystal affixed to its center.

"Oh, the team I was on retired several years ago," Astrid explained, lifting her leg up to provide a better view of the bracer and stone. "This is a keepsake from those times, although I had to get the clasp repaired recently, which is why it looks brand-new or whatever."

"It's beautiful, and nicely complements its wearer," Raze said, flashing Astrid a playful wink. He was about to say something else, but Shadow interrupted by clearing his throat.

"We're going to get out of the rain," he said bluntly, nodding towards Leaf, who was shivering and really starting to look grouchy. Shadow himself was feeling the icy chill of rain soaking into his thin fur, and there was no telling how long Raze and Astrid were going to get repeatedly sidetracked.

The two Eeveelutions hastily made their way back towards the Kadabra's den, arriving at the entrance just as a fork of lightning flashed across the sky. Leaf immediately made a beeline to the rear of the den, rummaging around until he located and extracted a large towel, which he promptly swaddled himself in. Shadow shook some of the water from his body, taking care not to get any of A/C's books wet, and made his way over to where his brother was.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Much better," Leaf purred, and he yawned. "Wake me when the rain's over," he mumbled, closing his eyes. Shadow chuckled quietly, looking over as Astrid came into the den, followed closely by Raze.

"Okay, your weather prediction was almost spot-on," Astrid informed Shadow brightly. "So any idea when it'll clear up?"

"Not really," Shadow sighed. "It's a lot easier to tell when the weather is going from good to bad, rather than the other way around."

"Guess I can relate to that," Astrid mused, and she glanced back at Raze, her green eyes sparkling with curiosity. "So what's up with your trainer? Does he just let you roam around or whatever?"

"Not normally, no," Raze chuckled, sitting down and reclining against the cave wall, arms behind his head. "His brother's visiting from Johto, and out there, Pokemon are let out of their Pokeballs more often than here in Sinnoh. Says it's great for bonding with his Pokemon, so we're giving it a shot today. Since I like the rain, but humans don't, it gives me a little more freedom."

Shadow smirked. "So you're bonding by being nowhere near one another," he noted.

"Sure seems like it," Raze laughed. "I just wanted to drop by and see A/C for a bit before heading back. We were going to have a training session up by the Solaceon Ruins, but the storm threw a wrench into that plan, and they're taking shelter there."

"The Solaceon Ruins?" Astrid repeated, looking over at Shadow. "Isn't that where the Sigilyph came from?"

The Espeon nodded grimly. Those ruins had been the site of many concerning events. The guardian that barred their path, only to return and attack them in the forest. The match between Frost and his Weavile mentor. The second encounter with Diablos. The first awakening of his own primal desire to inflict pain to his enemies. A shiver ran down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

"Where IS Frost, for that matter?" Raze wondered, looking around the den as if expecting to find the Ice-type lurking in the corner. Shadow winced, and was somewhat grateful when Astrid jumped in to explain the circumstances behind Frost's absence, although he immediately regretted this when she proceeded to casually mention the existence of Frost's daughter. While he supposed it wasn't much of a secret at this point, Shadow was still inclined to think that the news of being a father should have been Frost's responsibility to share.

Raze accepted the explanation with a thoughtful expression, and after a long silence, he smiled and nodded.

"Good for him. Send him my regards, since I dunno if I'll run into him much now that I have a trainer," he said, grinning. "Shame I missed him, because I'd have loved to tease him over those losses."

"I'm still not sure how you heard about that," Shadow said, frowning. "Like, how did it come up?"

Raze laughed softly. "Well, the thing is, Shadow, when someone has evolved within the last hour since you've last seen them, there's going to be questions about how it happened. It's not like Blaze went around boasting, though it wasn't hard to figure out why Frost lost that fight."

"Why's that?" Shadow asked skeptically.

Raze grinned widely. "Sylveon give off soothing auras that calm hostility. Unless Frost was familiar with that ability, it'd probably work like a charm and pacify him long enough to be taken off-guard."

"How do you know they can do that?" Shadow demanded, bewildered.

"Pokedex data," Astrid replied promptly, and Raze nodded, pointing to the Absol. "A Pokedex is a device that can scan and document information about a Pokemon and its abilities," she explained, in response to Shadow's blank expression.

"They also have Cute Charm, which functions as a low-power Attract," Raze added, smirking with a hint of irony. "These abilities couldn't be at the disposal of a more appropriate Pokemon, either. Blaze gets hyper-defensive if there's even the slightest competition. I called Aureia pretty just ONCE and he looked like he wanted to disembowel me. So great, he can be a sucky flirt and still come out ahead, and he can prevent people from fighting back."

"I think my fur functions as a low-power Attract," Shadow sighed. Astrid giggled, and Raze stifled a guffaw, mindful of Leaf napping.

"Which reminds me...are you and uh...Cecilia, still a thing?" Raze asked. Shadow's cheeks flushed, and Astrid's ears perked up, alerted to the potential gossip.

"N-no, not r-really," he stammered, cursing himself for his failure to speak without stuttering like a fool. "Why?" he asked, perhaps a little too forcefully.

"Because I think I saw her when I was leaving the Ruins," Raze answered with a shrug. Shadow looked at him blankly. "At least, it was a pretty female Quilava with blue eyes."

"With that level of detail, I think you know damn well whether it was actually her or not," Shadow said waspishly. Raze grinned sheepishly.

"Hey now, it's not my fault I'm a sucker for a girl with pretty eyes. Yours are divine, by the way," the Buizel remarked to Astrid, who frowned slightly. "Too strong?" he wondered.

"No, it's just that lately, when people use 'divine' as a compliment, my mind makes a different connection and it weirds me out a little," Astrid admitted.

"Why would Cece even be at the Ruins?" Shadow wondered, scowling. "She has no more love of the place than I do."

"I dunno, she was with someone, for whatever that's worth," Raze said, again offering a shrug. "I suppose it doesn't really matter."

"No, that's the problem," Shadow growled to himself. "It has to matter somehow. She wouldn't just go back there for fun. Something else has to be there. Something connected to..." he trailed off, unwilling to voice his fear aloud.

Astrid purred abruptly, and Shadow looked up at her in alarm. A predatory smirk was slowly spreading across her muzzle.

"Predator Game, resume."