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Cody: Bastion (Wartortle), Colossal (Pupitar), Elesa (Zebstrika), Antonia (Skarmory), Cortez (Lampent), Mars (Diglett)

Heather: Somnos (Poliwhirl), Feathers (Pidgeotto), Nadine (Nidorina), Sasha (Eevee), Smaug (Vibrava), Crescent (Lunatone)

Jared: Charmeleon, Servine, Feraligatr, Haunter, Jolteon, Onix

Chapter 47: Out of the Frying Pan

"Hey Izzy, it's Cody."

It had been several hours since he had arrived in Ashlin, and after a few hours of sleep and an unwanted nightmare, Cody was up and high on caffeine. He had already scheduled his pre-battle with the gym and his pokémon were being healed up. The first one he got back was his Venipede, whose check-up revealed his gender, but nothing unusual. Still, the pokémon was cold towards him. Every time Cody touched him, the centipede would either start clicking at him in agitation, or he would run away. He didn't expect the pokémon to like him yet or anything, but this coldness was unusual to him. Every other pokémon he owned, aside from Antonia, had begun to warm up to him even a little bit by then.

"Hey dude, long time no see. What's up?"

"Nothing. Just arrived in Ashlin. Gonna challenge for the Inferno Badge."

"Oh yeah, THAT one. Still not looking forward to it," the bug catcher admitted, and with good reason. "I did end up buying a Wooper from a breeder, so that might help me out. Problem is, I can't use it in pre-battles or gym battles here when I'm defending the badge. Kinda sucks, considering everybody brings fire-types here."

"I bet. Do you have time?"

"I have a pre-battle in thirty minutes," Izzy said. "I can talk for about ten."

"I won't take that long," Cody assured. "I just have a few questions. But first of all, I want you to know that I finally caught a bug-type."

A 'hoot' was heard over the phone before Izzy started again. "Dude, awesome! You won't regret it. Bug pokémon are fast growers and you'll need it when you go for the Paranormal Badge. Dark and Psychic types hate bugs. What did you catch?"

"A Venipede, and it's-"

"Nice! Venipede are great. My Whirlipede is one of my best pokémon, and it will get even better when it evol-"

"I wasn't finished. It's shiny."

A beat of silence. For a moment, Cody thought Izzy had hung up on him, but then, he said, "Dude... what can I trade you for it? I will-"

"Not a chance! You wouldn't believe what I went through to catch this thing."

"You're killing me, Storm! So is that why you called? To gloat?"

"Yes and no," Cody laughed. "Look, I'm a bit concerned." He looked over at his Venipede, who was digging around in the dirt for roots. "This thing is kinda cold towards me. I mean, not violent or anything, but he won't let me get close. It won't even take food from me. Even my Skarmory would do that when I first caught her. What gives?"

"Oh Cody... welcome to raising bug pokémon."

"Wait, what do you-"

"Take it from me: a bug trainer. It's common for freshly caught bug-types to be cold. You have to remember that bugs in the wild usually display a limited range of emotions. They're more about instinct than anything else. Being with trainers goes beyond their comprehension for the most part."

"Okay, so what do I do about that?"

"Not much you can do. As long as you treat it well, it will come around eventually. It might take weeks... or even months. But it'll come around. What you really have to worry about is battling."

"What, why's that?"

"Pokémon depend on their relationship with a trainer to improve. It's not going to listen to you or battle when you want it to. Not out of malice or disobedience, but because it just won't care or recognize you in any position of authority. At first, it's going to take awhile for it to recognize your commands too, both with moves and general instruction. It probably won't fight unless it's hit first, so you're already at a disadvantage, and even then, it will fight like a wild pokémon."

"Damn, what did I get myself into?" He was suddenly thankful that he hadn't caught any bugs in his first year. How did bug catchers do this?

"Look, do what I did with my difficult bugs: periodically throw treats to them when they do what you want. If you do it all the time, they become too expectant. They may not take them at first, but slowly, it'll listen to you. And if it doesn't listen to you even a little bit, send it my way. I'll get him to listen."

"And then you'll never give him back," Cody chuckled.

"Welp, there goes that plan." Izzy sighed. "All things in good time, Storm. It'll be worth it. Trust me."

"Okay, thanks dude. I'll keep you posted. Good luck in your pre-battle. I got one today too."

"Same to you. Take it easy!"

When the call ended, Cody looked back at his shiny pokémon. The brown-colored Venipede was looking at him now with that emotionless stare. When Cody reached out to touch it, the bug started clicking again, so he withdrew.

"My next project," he mused. He was already struggling with getting Mars two compatible Diglett and get Eevee conditioned for higher level battles. Now this. On top of that, he'd have to train this new pokémon even longer to get him to the same level as his others. "Let's hope it's worth it."

The state of Ashlin's gym was a little chaotic, to say the least. The previous leader, Harry Collins, had died five months previously, after a storied career as a former elite four member and gym leader. Though his family was a legacy family with many well-known trainers, few of them were willing to take over the gym, and even fewer were willing to specialize in fire-types. The Skitrexian-league was looking for a new trainer or trainers to fill the void, but until then, three fire-specialists were picked to run the gym: Jacob "Charcoal" Meridan, Ellen Collins (the only descendant of the previous gym leader who signed on), and Aagni Bhatia. They were all talented, but only Jacob had twelve badges, and he had performed poorly at the last two Diamond Beach tournaments. The other two leaders weren't even being supervised like the provisional gym leaders at Greywood were. Essentially, the situation was a mess, but the gym couldn't close down. The inexperience of the trainers had led the community to labeling this gym as "free". And with two ground and one water pokémon on his team, Cody was feeling confident. He'd feel even better if this gym was Skarmory-friendly, but he was still happy about his odds.

The location of the gym made the situation even more unique. Mt. Dagger was dormant, but it still produced a significant amount of heat. Part of that might have had to do with the Heatran that lived at the bottom of the hole, but he mostly kept to himself. There were multiple battle plots installed within and on the mountain, but the most eye catching one was suspended by multiple iron chains within the hole itself. The plot itself was made of soil, but it was all contained in an iron box that swayed with the momentum of the battle. It looked dangerous, but multiple precautions were taken to ensure the safety of the battlers.

"See? Right there." Looking over the guardrails on the suspended walkways, Cody and Brooke could see a red, glowing mass deep within the pit. It wasn't a pocket of lava though, but the Heatran.

"Wow... I wish we could see him up close," Brooke said in awe. "How come the last gym leader never caught him? Heatran are fire-types, right?"

"They are," Cody affirmed, "but he couldn't. Heatran are a protected species in Skitrex, and you can't get a permit to catch one unless it's for research." He looked back at the page in the handbook that he opened, which had a lot of detailed information. "Heatran are pretty rare. They live under the surface of the earth within underground tunnels among the magma. When they surface, it's usually in a volcano. This volcano has been dormant for awhile though, so I guess this Heatran just likes it here. Supposedly, there are a few trainers in other regions that use them, but they've never been able to breed them in captivity. It's a bit weird."

"So, who are you going to use?" Heather asked as she came over to the balcony where they were. Her pre-battle was going to be in one of the other battle plots. He had already learned that if he won, he would be trying to earn the badge on one of the other battle plots. His pre-battle would be on the main stage due to a scheduling error, as that plot was usually for the upper six tiers. Besides, it was only twelve o'clock, so it wasn't as if the match was going to have a lot of viewers.

"Does it matter?" He was feeling a bit cocky. "Pre-battles are easy. Never came close to losing one ever."

"Until today," she forewarned. "I mean, you have it easy: two ground pokémon and one water. Colossal or Bastion could probably sweep a pre-battle on their own."

"Oh, I know. Which is why I won't use either of them. I will be using Antonia though. I doubt I'll use her in the main battle for obvious reasons, but she needs a bit of practice against fire-types."

She just shook her head. "I'm going to laugh when you lose. I know this gym is supposed to be easy, but you're getting cocky again, and that always kicks you in the ass."

"Hey, this time, I've done my prep work. I'm not going in blind." Just then, one of the gym trainers, a girl about his age with dirty-blonde hair came in with a clipboard.

"I'm looking for a Cody Sto-"

"That's me! Let's do this." He quickly gave both of his friends hugs before entering the suspended battle chamber. The chamber's rocking felt foreign to him, but it built his excitement. How he wished he could have had his main battle on this plot, but even getting a chance to battle in the structure was awesome.

"So," his opponent began, "three each, no switches, standard rules apply. Ready?"

He nodded.

"Good. Let's go." And without any further ado, their first battlers were on the field.

Cody opened up with Mars for two reasons: one, he felt a bit bad that he hadn't been using the mole as much lately. Without any Diglett colonies nearby, he was at a loss for what to do about the evolution. But this was also a litmus test: even if he was reaching his peak, could he hold his own in the fifth tier against pokémon he was strong against?

The first opposing pokémon was one he had battled several times before: a Simisear. The elemental monkeys, while rare in the wild, were popular with breeders, so for many trainers, they were a relatively inexpensive elemental pokémon to add to one's team. This one looked no different from the rest of the ones he fought though: same red and yellow-colored fur, same curly hair atop his head, same blank expression that could only be described as "derpy". Still, even feeling confident, Cody knew not to let his guard down.

"Okay, you know the drill! Bulldoze!"

"Acrobatics!"

Mars was faster, but there was a enough room between him and the Simisear that the monkey was able to flip out of the way. Mars tried to get his momentum back by throwing a Mud Bomb at the foe, but the fire-type disintegrated the attack with a Flame Burst.

"Hurack, hurack!" The Simisear was working himself into a frenzy. The gym trainer must have known her pokémon would have to power up to beat a ground type in a one on one fight.

"Knock him off his game! Astonish!"

"Tickle!"

The Simisear seemed to have an answer for everything. Before Mars popped out of the ground again, the monkey had already took a step back and the Diglett missed. But rather than a conventional attack, the monkey reached forward with his lengthy arms and tickled the mole's sides. For a brief moment, Mars dropped his aggression and let loose a shrill stream of squeaks that almost sounded like giggles. The moment the tickling stopped though, Mars looked enraged. He tried to hit a Slash, but the monkey cartwheeled out of the way, extended a surprisingly long tongue when he stopped, and licked the mole right on the side.

What the- "Mars, you okay?" Though Cody couldn't see the mole from where he was standing, he could tell by the way he swayed that the Lick disoriented him. He wasn't sure what about the attack did caused that effect, but then again, if somebody just randomly licked him on the cheek, he'd probably freaked out too. Meanwhile, the Simisear wasn't attacking, but working himself into another frenzy.

"Fire Blast!"

And that was why. At point-blank range, the monkey began charging a fire attack. If it hit, Mars would go down for sure. He was too disoriented to run away, but Cody had an ace up his sleeve. Had the Simisear taken a few steps back, he would have won the match-up, but he got greedy.

"Sucker Punch!"

Right before the Fire Blast erupted, Mars socked him with an uppercut to the chin with his tiny, clawed hands. The attack itself didn't do much, but it did send the monkey off balance, and that was where Mars shined. Having regained his bearings, he had a combination of moves ready for this situation. He went underground and instantaneously, he forcefully reemerged under the monkey, knocked him upwards, reemerged a few feet away to throw a Mud-Slap in his face as he landed, hit him straight on with a Bulldoze, and then shifted into a Magnitude. It was a great combination when he could pull it off, as now the Simisear was slowed, blinded, unbalanced on the shaking earth, and heavily damaged. The tables had turned. The suspended cage they were battling in began to shake and sway, making things even better for the Diglett.

"Acrobatics! Keep in the air!"

"Hureeek!" The monkey kept bouncing around in the air, but he was only delaying the inevitable. Mars stopped shaking the ground, went underground, reemerged right where the Simisear was landing, and used Earth Power. The ground exploded under where the Similear landed and that was that.

"Sick stuff, Mars!" It was looking bad there for a moment, but his Diglett had pulled off a good comeback. All he needed was an opportunity to strike.

"Go! Torkoal!"

The tortoise that arrived in the cage was of a species Cody had encountered before. The Torkoal's long, red neck extended from a rock-colored shell with openings to crimson-colored lava pockets. Emitting a sound that resembled a cross between the scream of a teapot and a train whistle, the Torkoal released smoke onto the plot that wafted about. This immediate smokescreen was nothing that Mars had to worry about, as being a digging pokémon, he had enough tremor sense to feel where the tortoise was at all times, so long as it stood on the ground. The problem was that Cody's vision was impaired by the smoke and he had a hard time seeing where Mars was. He could hardly see the tortoise either, as it was barely two feet tall. But Mars had defeated several Torkoal before. He was confident this one would be no different.

"You can out speed it! Dig!"

"Flamethrower!"

Mars was too fast. Before the fire even got close, he was already underground. The Diglett instantly reappeared under the Torkoal's back leg. He wasn't strong enough to send the heavy tortoise flying like it could with the monkey, but he did tip him over on his back. As the tortoise tried to flip himself back up, Mars threw a clot of mud into the tortoise's eyes... but it didn't seem to do much, since his eyes were closed. Torkoal were weird like that; having poor eyesight, they seemed to have a "smoke sense". By filling the area with smoke, they were able to "see" via the movement of said smoke. It was like a weird echolocation.

"Slash!"

"Rapid Spin!"

Mars tried to scratch away at the tortoise's face, but he spun around on his back and knocked the mole backwards before flipping back onto his feet. The Torkoal shot more flames, but again, Mars was too quick, dodging via dig again before throwing a Mud Ball at his face. The mole may not have been making much of a dent, but this Torkoal couldn't hit him, smoke or not. He just had to be patient.

"Shell Smash!"

Oh snap.

With a grunting roar, the tortoise engulfed itself in a towering inferno. The roar of the flames did not completely drown out the sound of the Torkoal's shell cracking. When the flames died down, Cody could see the red glow of pokémon. He still had his shell, but the rocky-looking dome seemed to have broken off around the pokémon's legs, giving it more mobility. The bulk of its shell seemed to have disintegrated, leaving a thinner, exterior left. The shell would grow back quickly and it would be far less durable, but it's speed and attacks would be significantly greater.

"Okay, slow it down! Bulldoze!" Both trainer and pokémon underestimated how fast that Torkoal would be. Mars was still faster, but just barely. The Torkoal easily sidestepped before smacking the mole with a Tackle. Just that one attack took a huge chunk out of Mars. One more hit like that would end the battle.

"Get underground and use Magnitude!" Staying underground was Mars's greatest advantage. From there, he could avoid the speedy tortoise, but no such luck.

"Lava Plume!"

"Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Sounding off like a teapot, the Tortoise began dashing back and forth across the field, spraying lava from the holes on top and from the sides of his shell. The lava didn't hit Mars, but it didn't need to. Instead, it began melting away at the dirt in the plot.

"Mars , get up and use Mud Bomb!" Cody knew that with the lava now covering the field, his Diglett would not be able to attack from under without getting hurt. He'd have to work above ground. Mars popped out onto a small mound of dirt that hadn't been melted and hurled a Mud Bomb at his foe. The mud landed right in the Torkoal's top hole. For a brief time, it would block the lava. "Now Slash!"

The next minute of the battle was a tense back and forth. Mars jumped between dirt patches in the lava-filled field and would slash at the tortoise's face. However, he got few hits in, as the reptile kept moving through the lava at top speeds. While the Torkoal wasn't hitting his mark, he was conserving energy while the Diglett kept using his for petty attacks. And that's when the battle ended.

"Now, Flame Wheel!"

This time, Mars was unable to get out of the way in time.

"Good effort!" Cody called his Diglett back and pondered. This wasn't a pretty situation. The battlefield was covered in lava and the Torkoal was still fast. He wanted to use Antonia that day because he didn't want to use a steel type against the actual fire-type gym leader. But this Torkoal might have been too much, even for her. It was already filling up the field with smoke, ready for the next match-up. Then again...

"Antonia, you got this!"

"Skreeeeeeeeee!" Antonia burst from the ball and into the air, looking down at the smoke below. There was a murmuring from the audience at this new pokémon. Why would a challenger use a steel type in this battle if he had other options?

"Lava Plume!"

"Air Cutter!"

The Torkoal began his Rapid Spin, bouncing all around the surface of the battlefield, shooting out bursts of lava into the air. Antonia easily flew between each burst before letting loose two blasts of air into the smoke below, scattering the smokescreen. That was the trick: Torkoal had an unofficial weakness against anything that could blow the smoke away. Without any smoke to "see" with, it was forced to open its eyes.

"Keep putting out smoke! And use Flamethrower!"

"Evade and use Body Slam!"

The Torkoal missed his mark by a long shot, probably due to the lack of smoke. That gave Antonia easy access to body check her blinded foe, blowing away a bit more of the smoke in the process. When reaching the sky again, she showered the field with metal spikes. Those that landed on the surface that wasn't covered in lava posed an immediate hazard, so the Torkoal took the time to Rapid Spin them away. This gave Antonia a moment to sharpen the blades of her wings between flaps. If she was going to fight fire-types, she'd need all the power of a Swords Dance if she wanted to pull out an early win.

"Body Slam!" Both trainers ordered simultaneously. Antonia flew down, the tortoise shot itself up, and the two collided, blasting each other backwards. Shaking the blows off, the chase began. Antonia chased the tortoise, taking slashes at him with his steely wings. Meanwhile, the Torkoal juked every slash as he ran, randomly blasting lava from his top. The Skarmory dodged each attack between slashes. Whoever got the next hit would be the one to change the tides of battle.

"Reverse Flame Wheel!"

The Torkoal did a front flip before shooting himself like a fiery cannonball at the armored bird... and missed. Again, the lack of smoke was hurting his accuracy.

"Fury Attack!" Cody ordered. His pokémon immediately reversed her direction and began a rapid fire of quick strikes with her appendages. Before the tortoise could fight back, Antonia grabbed him with her claws, through him upwards, and landed a precise Steel Wing across the chest. Only one more to go.

The gym trainer wasted no time in calling back her Torkoal and sending out her final pokémon: a Magmar. It was such an odd looking pokémon: flames covering her body, studded arms with clawed hands, multiple spikes on her back, a long, burning tail, charcoal colored rings on her neck and ankles, and mouth that looked like a duck's bill. By now, the lava on the field was beginning to cool, but it didn't make the situation much better. Antonia would have to push herself to the limit on this one.

"Body Slam!"

"Confuse Ray!"

Hungry for battle, Antonia flew straight through the Confuse Ray. She managed to stave off the effects for just a moment as she slammed her body into the Magmar's. It was a direct hit, but she let out a shrill screech upon contact. Backing away in flight, she continued squawking, trying to put the flames that had ignited on her armor out. Just touching the fiery chimera was enough to set her ablaze. The Skarmory was good at shrugging off pain like that, but it would add up fast. Plus, she was having trouble flying straight and keeping herself in balance, following the Confuse Ray.

"Flamethrower!" the gym trainer ordered. Her Magmar shot a stream of flames at Antonia, who just barely dodged the first stream. At her trainer's command, she struck the Margmar with an Air Cutter before flying in with a Wing Attack. The bursts of wind managed to cool the Magmar's body just long enough to lower the flames, making physical contact safe. But as she flew in, the foe sprayed another stream of fire. This time, it hit her chest, as she failed to dodge properly, following the Confuse Ray. The hit was strong, but Antonia looked weary. Another hit like that wouldn't fare well for her. Tough as she was, fire was not something the armored-bird stood well against.

"Baby, you gotta shake off the confusion!" But she didn't hear him, as Antonia tried to shake off the flames. Just then, the Magmar raised its arms, intensifying the heat in the room. The Sunny Day would just make things worse; not only would it make the Magmar's attacks stronger, but it would possibly overheat the armored bird. She wasn't used to that level of heat. If she was a desert Skarmory, her resistance to heat would be better, but as a Skarmory from a colder region, it would only weigh her down.

"Fire Spin!"

The foe let loose a spiral of flames that encircled Antonia, but right then, she snapped out of the confusion, managed to slip out between the spirals, and let loose an ear-piercing screech while simultaneously clanging her armored wings together. The combination of the Screech and Metal Sound made the Magmar, her trainer, and the audience members groan in reaction to the painful noise. Not waiting to blow the target out with another Air Cutter, the Skarmory flew in and struck again with her entire frame, suffering more burns as a result. When she returned to the air, it was clear that she couldn't do that again. The heat was really getting to her then.

"Fire Punch!"

"Go all out! Steel Wing!"

In a typical situation, Antonia would have lost in that moment. Strong as the bird was, the Magmar's super-effective hits were just too much. But she got lucky. As both pokémon charged each other, she hit the target in the chest while only taking the Fire Punch to the wing. Had it been her chest or face, she would have been done, but a shot to the wing would only cripple her. In the end, she stood tall. She was in great pain, and she could no longer fly, but she was still the winner. The heat died down and there was a light clap from the audience.

"Okay," said opposing trainer as she returned her pokémon. "I'll let them know you won. Go by the front desk to schedule your match."

"Thanks!" He stepped down from his spot and reached over to Antonia, who approached him for his approval. He touched her beak, feeling the warmth fire on her steel. Her wings, neck, and torso were covered in burn marks. He'd have to polish her later that night, but damn, she earned it.

"So... that went better than I expected it would," Heather said, laughing some as she approached where Cody and his bird stood.

"You've known me for a year and you still have no faith?"

"I had faith," Brooke said, hugging him.

"See, she gets it!" When he was released, he went back to petting Antonia. "You did good girl, but you'll be getting the week off." Strong as she was, he questioned how well she'd do in the actual fire gym battle.

"But why use her here if not in the real battle?" Heather questioned. "I know you wanted to give her practice, but-"

"Why not?" He shrugged. "This battle... all of it was a litmus test for both Mars and Antonia. They both met expectations, but really, I'm not worried." He hadn't felt this confident about a gym battle since before the Terra badge, but unlike that battle, he wouldn't make the same mistakes. Despite all the craziness in his life, winning this battle was the one thing he was sure about.

"$50 says I win the badge with two pokémon to spare, just like today," he boasted.

"Like I said earlier, you kick yourself in the ass when you get cocky," Heather reiterated, returning his cocky grin with one of your own. "You're on."

"Awesome." He didn't care if he won that bet or not. In the grand scheme of things, it was chump change in comparison to a fifth badge.

"How about this one?"

"Um... I like it, but I really can't bring something white. It's a travel thing." The white sundress was cute, but Heather knew better. She already had limited space to carry extra clothes, especially ones she couldn't travel in. And something like that that would probably get stained somewhere or another? No thanks.

"Yeah, you're right," Brooke admitted with a sigh, placing the dress back on the rack. "We'll find you something."

Like Brooke had promised a few weeks before, the two of them went shopping right after Heather won her pre-battle. It was an easy fight, but her Lunatone suffered some nasty burns. Still, for its first meaningful fight, it did well. Somnos cleaned up the rest of the enemies with ease. Unlike Cody, Heather wanted to guarantee she'd win. Outside the doorway, she could hear her first pokémon splashing in the mall's fountain. She didn't think he'd be allowed to swim there, but according to Brooke, everybody let their water pokémon in there, so she figured it would be okay.

"Girl time" had actually been better than she expected. The two of them got coffee and had a long conversation that mostly centered around her. Brooke seemed legitimately interested in getting to know her, which was a surprise. In turn, Brooke told her a bit more about herself: bits and pieces about her past, her likes and dislikes, and randomly enough, her love for Edgar Allan Poe. Apparently, the little book she had seen Brooke carrying around and reading during dull moments had some of his work. She never would have guessed. But other than that, the conversations felt like a formality; as if they were only having them because they had to.

Now, they were shopping for clothes, something that she missed a lot since traveling. Most of her outfits were limited by practicality. She only had one nice outfit and she almost never wore it, but due to Brooke's insistence, she'd find room for one more.

"How about this?" Brooke picked out a green number, but shook her head the moment she saw the look on Heather's face. "No, we'll get you something else." Immediately after putting it back, she found another and Heather saw her eyes line up. Brooke's next pick was a sapphire-blue piece, which she held up to compare the color to Heather's dark-brown hair.

"This. This is perfect. Get this."

Heather looked the dress over. It was very nice, and for some reason, it was on sale for an almost too reasonable price. But it was very short and very low-cut. Not that it was slutty or anything, but she knew her dad would have a fit if she ever saw her wearing it.

"It's hot, but it's a bit much, compared to what I usually wear. I don't know if I could pull it off," she answered sheepishly.

Brooke gave her an amused grin and a raised eyebrow, as if to say "Really?" "Don't sell yourself short. All the traveling you do, carrying all that gear, eating only what you need to eat; you're in amazing shape, girl! This will show off your legs and will make your boobs pop. Trust me."

She didn't know how to respond to that. She knew that hiking everywhere did help her get in shape, but it was more that she wasn't used to wearing stuff like that. But she did like the dress and she needed something cute.

"You know what... sure, I'll buy it."

"Great! Trust me, Jared won't be able to keep his hands to himself. One date in that and he'll want you back in the room within an hour." She handed the dress to her. "Keep looking. I need to find something new. Preferably in black."

How does she afford this? But she wouldn't ask, especially after getting complimented like that. But she did say something else.

"I doubt this will make a difference with Jared though," she commented as the two of them continued to browse.

"What do you mean?" Brooke asked, not taking her eyes of the products.

"Jared is... he doesn't do that." She felt her cheeks redden as she said that.

"Wait, you two haven't slept together?" Brooke's expression was one of disbelief. "Cody said he figured as much, but I didn't believe him."

Cody said that? Admittedly, she wasn't surprised. If anything like that had gone on between Jared and herself, Cody probably would have figured out someway or another. "It's because of his beliefs, you know? I mean, I thought maybe after one year, he'd come around to it, but-"

"So you want to sleep with him?"

"I... I respect his beliefs," she answered, unsure if that was even true.

"But it's obviously not what you want." Brooke didn't even phrase that as a question, but as a fact. Heather didn't say anything in return, so Brooke continued to look through the dresses. "One year... I don't think I could go longer than one month without having sex."

Heather raised her eyebrow at that, as it had almost been a month since they met this girl. "So, you and Cody... I mean, it's none of my business, but-"

"I'll be honest, we haven't done anything but kiss, and that only happened twice," Brooke responded, giving her a wink. "I'm not looking for anything serious right now and I'm not looking for a fuck buddy either. Cody's a great guy, but... I just can't right now. It's hard to explain."

She had to know. "Does Cody know you feel this way? He's my friend, you know. I-"

"He knows where we stand; that it's nothing serious. Trust me, if I was hurting him, I'd feel awful about it." She pulled up another dress, this one black, short, and far more revealing than the one she picked for Heather. "I like this one. I need to go on a diet though so I can get into something smaller. I just can't give up cake."

Heather scowled at that comment. She couldn't stand it when attractive people said shit like that. Brooke definitely didn't need to lose any weight. She was significantly shorter than her, but she was very curvy and a little bit thick. Heather couldn't help but feel a pinch of jealousy for the girl's assets, but at the end of the day, she was glad that she was thinner, stronger, and not as short.

"You look fine." That was such a vanilla answer. "I'm going with this one, but I need to try it on first."

"Yeah, me too." The two of them headed over to the changing rooms, but before Heather touched the handle of the door, Brooke touched her arm.

"Yes?"

"Look..." Brooke began, looking downward. "I wanted to thank you. I could tell when I first asked if I could join the group for a few weeks that you weren't exactly comfortable with me, but you were okay with me coming in the end. I really appreciate it, and I wanted to give you a token of my gratitude before we part ways next week." She pressed a pokeball into Heather's hands.

"What's this?" She held the pokeball up to the light. She knew what it was, but she didn't understand the gesture.

"It's the Venipede I caught," the blonde answered, smiling. "I figured you could do a better job raising him than I could. I haven't filled out any of the capture paperwork or named him yet, so we don't have to do any ownership transfer or anything like that. You can just take him to the center and say you captured him. He's no shiny, but..."

"Wow..." This was a nice gesture, but she didn't know how to respond. "Brooke, I don't know. Are you sure you don't want it? They get really strong when they evolve. Plus, you need a fourth pokémon if you want to try for the second ba-"

"I'm not winning a second badge anytime soon, if ever," the older girl admitted, smiling sadly. "I need to actually figure out how to use my current pokémon before taking on a new one. Besides, I don't like bugs. I'd rather have a pokémon that doesn't freak me out, you know?"

"Well... If you don't want him, I'll take care of him then." She didn't have anywhere else to put the ball, so she just held onto it. "I'll take good care of him. I just... you didn't need to do this. I wish I could make it up to you."

"You can by raising him," Brooke said, pointing at the centipede's pokeball.

"Okay then..." She smiled. "I'm going to see if this fits." She entered the changing room and looked at the pokeball, then at herself in the mirror. She had a lot to think about, far exceeding the bug himself.

Heather stared at her newest pokémon, the non-shiny Venipede, as he ate grubs out of a dish right outside of the pokémon center. Somnos starred at an even closer distance, gently prodding at the bug with his gloved fist. The bug didn't seem to care. It was somehow even more apathetic than the shiny one. Bug pokémon were weird. She never had any interest in catching or using one until she saw the shiny the day before, but now she had this one that didn't seem interested in socializing at all with either her or her pokémon. But she couldn't complain. Scolipede were strong and it have been rude not to take it. She considered trading it, but she decided against it in order to keep good faith with Brooke; not that she wanted to, but she felt as if she had to for Cody's sake. She had to name the Venipede too and she had nothing good in mind yet.

"Brooke..." she sighed. This girl not only had one of her best friends wrapped around her finger, but in a brief conversation, she made her question the legitimacy of her own relationship and take on a pokémon that was going to be a handful to train. She missed the old days, back when it was just her and the two guys. Sure, there was melodrama and other bullshit, but she felt like she understood what the hell was going on. This girl who she didn't trust was a completely new element... but while the situation filled her with an unexplained dread, she couldn't help but feel excited by it. It was new, fresh… puzzling. Whether the whole Brooke situation was a puzzle or not, she wanted to solve it. For the benefit of her friend, she felt as if she was obligated to do so.

But the dread was still present.

If both Jared and I win the badge, we'll be out in a week. And I won't have to worry about this anymore. But now she was wondering if that's what she wanted: to leave the excitement that she had come to enjoy to go traveling in a relationship that seemed to be going nowhere. Plus, it probably wouldn't be as fun without her friend. Her best friend...

[A troubled mind makes for poor decisions.]

"Wha-?" Heather stood up suddenly, startling both her Poliwhirl and Venipede. "Crescent, I told you not to leave the center until I pick you up! I don't want the nurses yelling at us again!"

[They are not my mistress! I shall not heed the words of those who are unworthy!]

"Fine, don't listen to them. But you said you'll listen to me. So listen to me: listen to them!" She knew this was a lost cause. At the end of the day, her Lunatone would do what it wanted, regardless of what she told it. By now, her other two pokémon had lost interest. None of her pokémon liked the floating moon that much, even if they couldn't understand what it was talking about. They seemed to think it was weird.

[What troubles you, Heather? You know that your secrets will be kept safe within me.] The Lunatone began to levitate in circles around her, like a moon orbiting a planet.

"Oh, you know. The usual." By now, Crescent knew everything.

[Well, I came to you to to alert you about what was spoken between your friend and the girl you do not trust when they spoke atop the tortoise's back.]

"Wait, you're waiting until now? This couldn't have happened earlier?"

[There was no time. You needed your rest and we went into battle at that mountain, and afterwards, you went to spy on that girl while I was treated for burns, and-]

"It wasn't spying, it was lunch!" Heather felt a bit self-conscious saying that out loud, as it had elicited a few stares from some passersby. It was probably even weirder, coming from out of context, as Crescent was only broadcasting his thoughts to her, so it looked as if she was talking to herself. Still, she'd have to speak quietly. If Cody or somebody else she knew heard what she was saying, she'd have to do some fast talking. "Okay, so what did you find out?"

[At first, nothing important. They were discussing music, film, pokémon, etc.; nothing that you would care about. Beyond that, there was a gap in which the girl slept. But when she woke again, they talked about that Venipede,] it said, nodding towards the hungry centipede on the ground, [before discussing money and how she makes it. She says she does it with cards and odd jobs, as her skills as a trainer are lackluster.]

"Cards? Like gambling?" That answered the question about money, she supposed. She wanted to investigate that herself. Brooke never mentioned anything about gambling, so maybe she kept that a secret. "What else?"

[She discussed what would happen if she does not make amends with her family. Something about taking shelter with Haven. But your friend offered that she come with him, should she fail.]

That confirmed one of her concerns. Not the Brotherhood one, as she had let that theory slide... mostly. But it definitely looked like the two would be traveling together. She didn't like that, but there was nothing that she could do about that. She really had nothing on this girl, save what her gut told her anyway.

[And then they did that thing humans do when they push their lips together and-]

"Yes, thank you, Crescent," she interrupted grimly. Not that she wasn't surprised, but hearing that detail still bothered her.

[Oh, there is one more thing: the girl mentioned the word "Regice" twice.]

Heather felt a cold chill run through her, as if winter had come early. What did I just hear?

[I will shamefully admit, it is difficult, reading the nature of her words, but the way she used it... secretive.]

"A Regice? Like the the elemental golem? You sure they weren't speaking metaphorically, or-?"

[I do not know what you mean. I have never heard of such a creature.]

Heather gaped. "You don't know what a Regice is? Even I-"

[Do you know the name of every human you've never met? I only know the names of the pokémon I've met, either at the lake where I had lived or those who I have met with you.]

"Okay, never mind. You're right." She had assumed that being an intelligent psychic pokémon, it would have known, but that didn't make any sense. However, she had brought out her pokémon handbook earlier so she could look up info on her new Venipede, so looking at the book again, she flipped to the index and then to the Regice page.

Despite being an incredibly rare pokémon, Regice did have some pages in the book, due to the confirmation of their existence, alongside the fact that several trainers had captured them and used them in battle. Skipping past what little battling information there was on the pokémon, she went straight to the biology.

The body of Regice is made of pure ice. Attempts have been made to examine the inside of captured specimen, but all attempts have been met with failure, as nothing can penetrate the pokémon's body. While ice has been scraped off its body in research and battles, it always regenerates immediately. While it is susceptible to fire and magma, the pokémon is immune to melting, even when unconscious. Regice has also never been observed eating. Researchers believe that these pokémon may be similar to the likes of Bronzong, having hollow or solid bodies without the presence of a complex system of organs. How pokémon such as these are able to function as living beings is still being studied. Wendell Douglas, the researcher at the forefront of studying legendary pokémon, has said that this phenomena is unique in comparison to legendary pokémon who do not reproduce, but contain complex organs. He has also posed the question of whether pokémon such as these can even be considered to be alive at all.

Interestingly enough, the ice samples obtained from every identified Regice have the same composition as ice found in the sheets of Antarctica. This suggests that these pokémon originated from this location. Legend has it that these pokémon were formed by the legendary pokémon Regigigas, but such information has yet to be confirmed. Whether or not a Regigigas itself truly exists is unknown, as while the pokémon has appeared in folklore worldwide under different names, a physical specimen has yet to be obtained or studied. Regice has also appeared in folklore across the world, but at this point in time, the only one that has been confirmed to exist lives in Hoenn. There is currently mounting evidence that suggests that there may be specimens living in Unova, Antarctica, Nepal, and Russia. Other locations may be possible. It is unknown if there used to be more of these pokémon in existence at one point, although there is no record of what happened to them. Additionally-

She stopped there, deciding that she could look up more of the lore later. Instead, she skipped to a later section that detailed the pokémon's usage by trainers.

Two trainers in recorded history have used Regice. The first was used by Adolf Olsen, the Pokémon Champion of Denmark from the years 1880 to 1892. During an expedition in 1887 to capture the north pole variant of Beartic, Olsen encountered the pokémon and captured it in steel chains. Because he had been separated from his group when this occurred, the nature of where and how the capture occurred is unclear, but Olsen claimed that it burst from the ice to attack him and that his Snorlax defeated it in one on one combat. After training this Regice, Olsen used it in battle and was undefeated for the remainder of his run as champion. Both Olsen and the Regice disappeared on a voyage to the Americas, following an invitation to compete in an international tournament. What happened to both him and his Regice remains unknown.

Below the paragraph, a very old photograph of a bearded man dressed as a captain, standing next to a Regice that must have been about seven feet tall. She read on.

Hoenn Frontier Brain and Archeologist Brandon Galloway was the second trainer recorded to have captured and used a Regice. Between the years of 1992 and 1999, Galloway managed to locate and capture Regice, Regirock, and Registeel in the Hoenn region. While using these pokémon, he remained undefeated as a Frontier Brain until 2003, which was the year International Legendary Pokémon Treaty was passed. Hoenn agreed to this treaty, and although Galloway was not required to release his pokémon, due to capturing them before the signing date, he did so anyway, stating that he ought to set a good example for trainers worldwide. He released each of them to their respective ruins, which are now national parks within the region.

Below was a photo of two, smiling men, standing in frontof a Regice, Regirock, and Registeel. In the caption, the photo was dated 2001 and the men were credited as Brandon Galloway and Wendell Douglas. The latter name... that was Father Ezekiel's real name. Heather shuddered upon seeing his picture again. He was actually mentioned in the book several times, and that made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

[So, what have you unearthed?]

"If they were speaking in a literal sense, Cody and Brooke must have found a Regice..." That was unbelievable. How could they have found a pokémon so rare? According to the book, researchers didn't even believe one was possibly living in Skitrex. Where would they have found it? There were many times when Cody and Brooke went off on their own, but where and how would they have just happened to have stumbled upon a Regice that nobody knew existed? Even stranger, why would Cody not have told her? She saw how excited he was to see a Heatran living under the gym, and that was a pokémon that everybody knew was there. Why would he have kept a pokémon like that a secret?

"None of this makes sense."

[So, how do we proceed?]

"I don't know..." Obviously, she couldn't bring this up with Cody, at least not yet. He would know that she had been snooping. She could talk about it with Jared, but what good would that do? He didn't want to be involved with Cody and he probably wouldn't believe that Cody had found such a monster. Plus, on top of not believing the information, he would probably chastise her for not minding her own business. But really, what was there to say? She had nothing to go on but what her pokémon said, which didn't really prove anything. Still, the whole thing was out of character for Cody. There had to be a reason why he didn't say anything.

"None of this makes sense," she repeated. "Maybe I should stop listening to my gut, but something is wrong here." She pet her Lunatone on the nose. "You did good. For now, we keep listening, but-"

[If we prove victorious against the fire masters this week, you will be heading east and he will be heading north,] Crescent reminded her. [How do you know that you will acquire the knowledge you seek?]

"I don't know." But she was already looking ahead. At the end of the week, if she couldn't find anything, she would make some decisions. But while she knew these decisions could lead to questionable results, she felt a mix of excitement within the concern and confusion.

I know what I'm naming Heather's Venipede, thanks to one of the suggestions. I still don't know about Cody's though. Still taking suggestions. Also, hoping my dialogue between the girls was not painful or forced or anything. I honestly have a hard enough time writing for girls, so this is gonna be an experience.

Gym battle next chapter. It's gonna be awhile though, because six vs. six fights take forever to write. Until then, happy training!