I'm probably gonna need some time before I update again. I hope everybody is having a happy holiday, despite the chaos our world is in right now. Stay safe out there! Also, I don't think this website alerts people for PMs anymore (it doesn't for me, at least.) So check your inbox if you ask any questions in your reviews or PMs.

Chapter 66: Pantheon

Brooke had to be okay with Cody wanting to be alone in his search for a new Diglett. She would have been bored to tears just waiting with him in the wilderness for that right pair of Diglett to show up. But she didn't like how much alone time she was getting. The Brotherhood definitely had a presence in Knife Water, made obvious by the Haven House they had set-up on the south side, so the chance that they'd come to collect was always present. So, she had to resort to hanging out with Heather.

Thankfully, Heather seemed to grin and bear it. But hanging out with Heather often meant being outside. Nothing wrong with that aside from the fact that she was exposing her presence more than she'd like. And while the weather was pretty mild for February, it was cold enough that she had released Goro from his pokeball to hold him close for warmth, but the feisty Pancham was too caught up in the commotion, preferring to dart around by her feet instead. He still had a lot of energy after his battle earlier. Yes, battle. Brooke needed money, so when Heather went out to the battle plots to train, she tagged along and convinced another one-badge trainer to have a one-on-one battle with her. Most trainers wouldn't go for that, but she was persuasive. And when it was just Goro, he was smart enough to handle another low-leveled pokémon on his own. But money aside, it was fun to fight again, kinda like when she first started. If she could keep pulling in wins like that, money wouldn't be as much of an issue as she feared it would be.

"I didn't think the outdoor market would be this busy in the winter," Brooke commented as the two of them strolled through the bustle of vendors, the lot of them selling pretty much anything imaginable.

"A lot of these salesmen can't afford to buy or rent their own buildings, so setting up outside in the marketplace is their best bet," Heather explained, glancing around at different shops. "Unless it's super cold, you can find a good marketplace in any bigger city."

"But what are you looking for that you can't find at the mart?" Brooke asked.

"Good deals, mostly," Heather answered. "I need to find some non-perishable snack food, some canned food for the road, and healing supplies for my team. If you search hard enough, you can get a better deal out here and you support local entrepreneurs."

"That… that makes sense." Truth be told, Brooke would have rather taken the easy way out when shopping, but maybe that mentality was why Cody and Heather were more successful as trainers than her.

Huh? Where's Goro? She looked over to see the Pancham standing next to a fruit stand, intently eyeing the apples. Without a second thought, she went to the stand and bought one for him. She probably paid more than what the apple was worth, but Goro was such a good bear that she couldn't resist spoiling him.

Damn, now where'd Heather go? She had a brief moment of terror as she looked around, not only for Heather, but also for any potential stalkers, but sighed a breath of relief when she saw the other trainer up ahead looking at a stand where the vendor was selling healing herbs. She was about to catch up with her when she heard somebody calling to her.

"Child, come here. Look at my wares."

Really, whoever it was could have been calling for anybody, but for some reason, Brooke felt as though the call was meant for her. She turned to see where the voice had come from and saw an old woman sitting cross-legged on a vendor's mat, surrounded by trinkets and knick-knacks. She would have ignored the old woman as she did with most of the vendors shouting out to her to buy from them, but she felt compelled to visit. So, she cautiously approached.

Upon closer inspection, the trinkets on the mat looked very old, as if they had been dug up from some sort of underground crypt. But what really caught Brooke's attention was the old woman's appearance. She was draped with a ragged shawl with a hood that almost covered her face in a shadow. Brooke couldn't tell how old the woman was, but she looked ancient and very unattractive. It wasn't her age that made her ugly, but her rotting teeth, her unwashed, grey hair, and her missing left eye… And that smell. Part of it smelled like mold, but it was also the smoke of the long pipe she smoked. Even though she would have never stopped at the woman's mat, Brooke was surprised that she didn't notice the woman when she passed her. Her look and smell were incredibly difficult to ignore.

I know I've never met this woman before. I definitely would have remembered her if I did. But something about her is familiar. She looked down at her feet when she felt something tugging at her leg. It was Goro. The little panda was usually rowdy and curious, but he was trembling as he clutched onto Brooke with his free paw, not looking away from the woman on the mat. He was too scared to even eat his apple.

"Do you see anything here that you like?" the old woman asked, her voice strained by age and the damage of smoking. "I know that you have an eye for jewelry."

Presumptuous as that was, Brooke had to admit that the vendor had pegged her correctly. One corner of the mat was devoted to old jewelry and she crouched to inspect the goods closer. It looked nothing like what she normally wore, but she was intrigued. The right pieces would definitely make her look classier, which would be nice for when she and Cody went to go see Heather's Knife Water battle later in the week, but she knew better than to buy. As much as she liked jewelry, without her stipend, she needed to be more careful with her money.

"These are really pretty, but I can't afford them right now," she said glumly, ready to stand back up and leave, but the old woman wasn't about to let her off the hook.

"I can make you a special deal, young one. I am in no dire need for money."

Could have fooled me. The way this woman dressed, she definitely needed money? "Look, I really don't need-"

"If money were of no concern, which piece do you like the most?"

That hypothetically opened the doors for her. She knew that she wasn't going to be given jewelry for free, but the possible offer did pique her interest. She looked closer at the jewelry and pondered. A lot of it was gold, which was pretty, but it didn't appeal to her, as she had plenty of gold jewelry already. Rather, she looked more toward the simpler pieces. Something pretty, but more subtle and that might be within her price range. And that's when she saw it: a ring made of grey stone. The outer side of the stone ring wasn't cut smoothly, showing many bumps and ridges, but it still shined and looked smooth otherwise on the inside. And on top were three white jewels cut into perfect half-spheres, the center stone being the biggest. That center jewel gave off an interesting light as it reflected what little sun shone through the clouds that day. In fact, it almost looked as though it was its own light source. It was hardly the prettiest jewel on the mat, but it stood out to her the most and she couldn't really explain why.

"You like this one?" the old woman asked, having followed her gaze to the ring. "This is an Arcean ring, dating back to almost four thousand years ago. They're very rare. Only one other like it has ever been found and it shattered many years ago. The shards are in a museum somewhere, but this one is intact. Such a ring cannot be found anywhere else."

"Right…" Brooke could tell that the woman wasn't lying, though it was possible that if she had bought the ring from somebody else, they could have fed her lies about it. "That ring sounds like it's a bit out of my price range, so-"

"You can have it for ten dollars."

"Ten dollars!?" What the hell is this? Something had to be up. Why would this woman whom she didn't know sell her a supposedly priceless artifact for ten dollars? Even if the ring was fake, it looked like it must have cost more than that. "What's the catch?"

"There is no catch," the woman answered, her raspy tone fully serious. "You may have the ring for ten dollars."

This had to be a trick. What, was the ring cursed or something? No, that didn't make sense. Why would this woman sell her a cursed ring? What could she possibly gain from that? Still, something felt wrong about the whole thing. Regardless, she picked the ring up off the mat and slipped it onto her left ring finger. It fit well. So well, she wouldn't have to have it resized.

"It looks beautiful on you. I promise you, that ring will tie you to a greater destiny… ten dollars."

It only costs ten dollars for a pretty ring and a "greater destiny"? She had no idea what this scary woman was talking about, but she was sold. "Okay, here you are." She dug a ten-dollar bill out of her purse and placed it on the mat.

"Good," the woman rasped, nodding her head and blowing pipe smoke from her nostrils. "I promise you, that ring will bear an important purpose. It may even save somebody you love one day."

What? What the hell does that mean? It didn't matter. As good as the deal was, Brooke wanted to get away from the woman. The longer she was there, the more anxious she felt, and Goro was faring far worse, hiding behind her. If her pokémon was so afraid of a stranger, there must have been a good reason.

"Right, thanks!" And she dashed away, Goro at her heels. She caught up with Heather, who was looking at packages of dry snacks that a vendor was selling. "Hey, I thought I lost you!"

"Same," Heather said, though she didn't sound like she cared, her gaze focused on the food.

"Look, look what I got," Brooke exclaimed, holding her hand out so Heather could see the ring. When the brunette looked up, she was dazzled by the ring for a moment, but her face immediately returned to being disinterested.

"It's a pretty ring, but I hope you didn't pay too much for it. None of the jewelry sold at places like this is real."

"I know, but this was only ten dollars," Brooke said, turning it to her so she could gaze at the pretty stones that almost looked as though they were glowing. "But it was the weirdest thing. The woman who sold it to me… she was spooky. Like, she was old and ugly and she smelled bad, but that wasn't it. It's like I knew her somehow… or like she knew me."

"Huh, weird…" It was clear that Heather didn't care, but she feigned interest. "And who is this woman? There are a lot of weirdos at these places, but she must have really stuck out to make that kind of impression on you.

"Oh, she's right over… there…" Brooke had turned and pointed to where she just was, but the space where the old woman had set up shop was vacant. That… that was impossible. Brooke had only left the stand not even a minute ago and that woman was gone. How could she have packed up all her things and left that quickly? Even if she had, Brooke should have been able to see her down the road. It wasn't as if the marketplace was flooded with people. "I swear, she was right there. I just left!"

"Are you high or something?" Heather asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ugh… I wish." At least then maybe this would have made sense. But she had never done drugs that were strong enough to make her hallucinate something that real. And if she had, it wouldn't have explained the ring.

What is going on? But she'd never learn the answer.

It's now or never.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. Even if Cody failed to find two similar, male Diglett, that didn't mean he couldn't try again in the future. But he really needed to evolve Mars for his next gym battle. A Dugtrio would be very nice as his sixth member of the team, especially while Elesa and Colossal were out of the picture. If worse came to worse, he would bring Mars as he was, but he knew that would be an uphill battle. While Mars had raw power and guts, he wasn't raw enough to make up for his lack of bulk. Dugtrio weren't known for their bulk either, but they could take more punishment and dish out far more damage than a Diglett could.

But as usual, it seemed hopeless. It had been a while since Cody had tracked a Diglett colony and the one he found seemed to have the same problem as the others: none of the Diglett were like Mars. Diglett tended to be skittish, only attacking when they felt threatened, unlike Mars, who was always agitated and aggressive. It was the metaphorical needle in the haystack situation.

Meanwhile, he was flanked on either side by his Wartortle and Grookey. Bastion and the little grass monkey were enjoying their time off from training, but even though it was slightly warmer out that day, they were cold enough that they had to huddle up next to their trainer for warmth as they sunned themselves. Cody wished he could have brought Cortez for the heat alone, but he knew that the Lampent would probably misbehave and cause problems with his hunt, so he left him back at the pokémon center. That was the same reason why he left Antonia as well. He had seen her eat wild Diglett before and considering how much she disliked Mars, Cody imagined that his Skarmory would eat any Diglett who was just like him, given the opportunity.

"Well, can't say we didn't try." He wasn't calling it quits just yet, but he wasn't feeling very confident anymore about finding two compatible Diglett.

"Weik, weik!"

"Mars?" Had his Diglett returned? He looked to his right to see a Diglett glaring at him and it took him a second to realize that it was not his Diglett. The newcomer had a grey coat of fur and he was slightly smaller. "Where did you come from?"

"Weik!" the Diglett squeaked angrily.

Immediately, Bastion moved into a defensive position, growling at the mole, but his tenacity proved to be unnecessary as Mars showed up at his trainer's side, poking out of the ground as if he had been there the whole time. The two Diglett glared at each other, and even though they were only squeaking, they did their best to sound menacing.

"Weik, weik!"

"Weik, weik!"

Damn, this is it! It was like he was seeing double, even if they had different-colored fur. Without making any sudden movements, Cody reached for his pack for a pokéball, but before he was even close, the wild Diglett attacked. He threw a Mud-Slap right at the trainer's face,

"Agh, son of a- Mars, get him!" But Cody wasn't even mad as he cleared the grime from his face, laughing at his sudden reversal of fortunes. One Diglett down, one to go. When he could see again, he saw Mars burrowing after the smaller Diglett, chasing him into the cluster below. All he had to do was chase him, tire him out, and force him back to Cody for the capture. And even if he wasn't lucky enough to find a third Diglett, two was a step in the right direction.

"Excuse me!"

What? Cody turned to see who had greeted him. It was a girl, no more than eleven years old by the looks of it. She wore a green winter jacket, a yellow, wool-knit hat that pressed down on her red, frizzy hair, and glasses with thick, circular rims. At her feet was a Diglett who looked very similar to Mars, albeit slightly smaller and younger. Had Cody not known any better, he probably would have assumed it was Mars at first glance.

"Hey," he replied, looking back into the colony where Mars had chased the grey Diglett into. "If you want to battle, I'm kinda busy right now."

"No, I'm not here to battle," the girl replied, sounding a little annoyed with his presumption. "I'm looking for a Diglett."

"Well, you've come to the right place," Cody said, opening his hand and motioning to the colony of moles down the hill.

"No, I'm looking for a specific Diglett," she clarified, her annoyance growing deeper.

"Huh, is that him?" he asked, looking down at the Diglett at her feet.

"No, you ignoramus, that's Nep- ugh, forget it." Turning away from him, the girl took out a tiny pair of binoculars and peered into the swarm of moles in the valley. Meanwhile, the Grookey scurried over to greet the girl's Diglett, only to be chased away by the mole's furious squeaks, running back to her trainer and climbing up onto his shoulder. Meanwhile, Bastion didn't seem to be threatened by the angry mole. He had put up with Mars long enough that he couldn't be intimidated by some other pipsqueak.

"Crap, I can't find him…" the girl muttered to herself as she peered about the horde of moles, but she didn't give up looking.

"Aren't you a little young to be out here on your own?" Cody asked, gently patting his Grookey on the head to settle her.

"I can take care of myself," she irritably replied.

"Famous last words." Cody remembered what Izzy told him about Justin, the first trainer Cody ever battled who apparently got gutted by a Scyther. The little girl next to him didn't look all that much older.

"My parents are out by the waterfall," she responded to Cody's snarkiness. "Even if they weren't, I have a badge. I know what I'm doing."

"Whatever you say, kid," Cody answered, rolling his eyes. He wasn't going to interfere with what she was doing, and he had made a guess about what that was. "So, let me guess: you're looking for two more Diglett to help your Diglett evolve. Am I right?"

"Obviously," she answered. "It's more difficult than it sounds."

"Because your Diglett is an aggressive oddball among his species," Cody stated, based on what he had just witnessed with the girl's Diglett. "Diglett typically only perform a merged evolution with others of the same sex who are similar to them, personality-wise."

The red-head turned to Cody, showing genuine surprise with his observation. "How did you know that?"

"Because you and I are in the same boat," Cody chuckled. "Why do you think I told you that I was busy when I was only staring at the colony down there?"

The girl's cheeks pinkened and her brow furrowed. Did she feel that she was being insulted by him? Because that wasn't Cody's intention.

"Anyway, that's why I'm here," he continued, looking back down and scanning for any sighting of Mars or the grey Diglett. "I have my seventh-tier badge battle coming up and Mars hasn't evolved, so-"

"That's what you named your Diglett?"

Cody looked back up at the girl, seeing her giving him a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I named him Mars," Cody replied, gritting his teeth slightly behind his lips. The girl was getting on his nerves, but he wouldn't show that and give her the satisfaction if that's what she was seeking. "You know, after the Roman god of-"

"I know who you named him after," the frizzy-haired girl interrupted. "I just don't think it's all that clever. What, you named him Mars because he was aggressive? That's not even a trait specific to Mars among the Roman gods. You should have done what I did and named him Neptune."

"Neptune?" Cody looked down at the Diglett at the girl's feet. Neptune was not the name he would have guessed. "Neptune is the god of the sea. Why on earth would I name him that?"

"Jeeze, I have to keep explaining this to people…" the girl groaned, placing her hand against her forehead. "Neptune is the god of the sea, but he's also the god of earthquakes. Did you even read any Greek or Roman mythology?"

"Hey now, don't be like that." But Cody couldn't help himself from shooting back, even if it meant he'd lower himself to arguing with a child. "At least I don't have to explain to most people why my Diglett is named Mars. They just get it."

"Whatever…" She turned back to eyeing the swarm with her binoculars, grumbling under her breath.

"What's your name, kid?" Cody asked. Not that he cared, but he figured that if he was going to be sharing space with the girl, he may as well try and make conversation with her, irritating as she was.

"Chrissy," she answered, not bothering to return the question.

"Well, my name is Cody," he answered as if she had asked. "You seem like a smart kid. I'm surprised you're doing the badge challenge instead of school."

"I am in school," she answered, her tone softening somewhat at the compliment regarding her intelligence. "I could totally skip two grades if I wanted to. But I use my extra time to train. My parents took me down to Ashlin and I won against their first-tier trainer easily. Seriously, that gym was a joke. I started with a Bulbasaur and she carried the team. Against a fire-type gym of all things."

"Yeah, that gym was definitely my easiest badge too," Cody recalled, thinking back to his battle at Ashlin from a few months ago. "Who are you going up against for your second badge?"

"Wherever my parents take me next, I guess," she sighed. "Knife Water isn't too far from here, but I need a fourth pokémon to challenge the second-tier, so that's not happening right now. I figured if I found one Diglett, I could train two Diglett on my team until I found a third, but even then, I'd still have to train that second Diglett, so it's not happening right now. Too bad. That gym is supposed to be a good one. Maybe the next time we vacation up here..."

"It is supposed to be a good gym," Cody agreed. "Like I said, I have a battle there in a few days, so having a Dugtrio would be nice. Kinda necessary, actually." It occurred to him that Chrissy reminded him a lot of Vila. They were both about the same age and they were both far more intelligent than average children their age, but while Vila was polite and sophisticated, Chrissy seemed like a brat to him. For that, he did not voice the comparison that would have been too complimentary.

"Necessary?" Chrissy asked with a snort. "You said this was your seventh badge. Isn't that a little late to be hinging your hopes on one pokémon? Don't you have more than six?"

"Of course I have more than six. It's complicated…" Yeah, he wasn't going to explain all of that. "Lucky for me, Mars already found an aggressive Diglett just before you arrived. If I can just find one more, maybe-"

"Wait, you found an aggressive one?" she said, cutting him off as she looked back at him, eyes widened. "Was it a grey-furred one?"

"Yeah, he-" Cody stopped himself when he realized what was going on. They were after the same Diglett.

Right on cue, the grey-furred Diglett popped out of the ground right by Cody again, Mars popping in right afterward to take a slash at his fellow mole.

"Alright, get him!" Chrissy shouted, pointing at the wild Diglett and Neptune burrow-charged toward his target.

"Seriously? Buzz off, kid!" Cody shouted over the sounds of squeaks and slashes. "My Diglett has been battling this one!"

"I found him first! We- Mud-Slap! We chased him from the waterfall!" Chrissy protested.

"Apparently, you lost him! Finders keepers!" Cody shouted, readying a pokeball, and waiting for a shot. If he could capture the grey Diglett, legally, there was nothing Chrissy could say or do about it, regardless of whoever found it first. But he'd have to be quick, as she was thinking the same thing, having pulled out a pokeball of her own. It was like the shiny Venipede situation with his friends all over again.

"Dig!" both trainers shouted simultaneously.

The grey-furred Diglett was in a state of confusion when both Mars and Neptune dug up from under him, launching him into the air. The moment that the Diglett hit the ground, Cody threw his pokeball, but he noticed that Chrissy had thrown one at the same time. Both balls hit the Diglett, opened with an explosion of light, and landed at the same time after closing.

Wait, which one of us caught it? Before a determination could be made, both pokeballs began rolling down the hill into the valley where the Diglett colony had congregated. The moment the balls hit the cluster of moles, they began bouncing around and getting shuffled among the vast number of moving moles.

"Damn it!" Cody shouted as he rushed down the hill, Bastion running by his side. As they reached the bottom of the valley, the many Diglett that were there squeaked in terror, disappearing into the earth. A few wild Dugtrio were ready to attack, but Bastion shot one of them with a Bubble Beam, forcing it to retreat. His Grookey even joined in, shrieking wildly as she used Branch Poke on one. It didn't do much, but Bastion backed her up with a Water Pulse. The other Dugtrio fled as well, realizing that they were no match.

"There!" Chrissy shouted, pointing to where the two pokeballs ended up, only a few feet apart from each other. Both of them rushed over and picked up a ball, not knowing which one was thrown by which trainer. Both of them pressed the buttons on the pokeballs, but the one Cody was holding burst with light as the grey-furred Diglett reemerged on the ground, dazed and confused. Gingerly, as not to hurt him any further, Cody picked the Diglett up by the scruff of his neck and checked his underside to confirm that the Diglett was, in fact, a male.

"Huh… I guess he's mine then?" Cody said out loud, but he should have known better than to assume that the younger trainer would take that sitting down.

"You can't be serious," Chrissy growled, clenching the empty pokeball she was holding so hard that Cody was surprised she didn't crack it. "You can't just take that Diglett! Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for a Diglett that matches mine this well?"

"Probably not as long as I have," Cody answered, taking a guess at how he had probably been searching longer than she had been a trainer as a whole.

"Well, you can't prove that you caught him and I didn't!" she shouted, not letting up. "Unless you marked your pokeball before you threw it or something."

"No, did you?" He already knew the answer. Both balls looked identical and a pokeball wouldn't be registered until after it was taken to a pokémon center containing a newly captured or recently transferred pokémon. The only other way to tell who through which ball would be to look at the serial number on the back, but obviously, neither one of them would have thought to memorize a number on a pokeball that could have easily been broken by the pokémon they had been trying to catch in the first place. But it did give Cody an idea.

"Look, I don't know which pokeball I threw, but I bought mine in Knife Water a few days ago. If we take these balls back to the mart, maybe they could look up the numbers and determine which one came with their shipments. If this Diglett was in the one I bought-"

"I don't have time to do that," Chrissy protested. "I have to leave with my parents in an hour and we're not going to Knife Water."

"Okay, so I'll take the balls myself," Cody offered, shaking his head. She really wasn't making this easy. "If they can determine which one it is and you give me your trainer ID number, I could use GTS to send him to you if he's-"

"Like I trust you to give that Diglett to me if he's in my ball," she answered snidely. "Besides, what if they can't determine which ball is yours? That doesn't solve our problem!"

I don't see you suggesting anything. Then again, he wouldn't trust her to follow through on a task like that either. She was kind of a brat from where he was standing. Recalling the tired Diglett back into his pokeball, he tried to think of another option. They could always just rock-paper-scissors for him, but he couldn't imagine that Chrissy would like to leave that sort of thing up to chance. In fact, neither would he.

"We can't determine who caught this Diglett… and we can't come to a solution that works for either of us…" Then it came to him. "How about we battle for him? A quick-and-dirty fix for a problem like this, right?"

"Yeah, like that's fair," Chrissy scoffed. "You have six badges and I have one."

"Obviously, I'll handicap myself to make it fair." The question was how he planned to do that. He looked down at Bastion and his Grookey, both of whom stood by his feet. The Wartortle could easily defeat three first-tier pokémon on his own, so that wasn't fair. Meanwhile, his Grookey was far too green, still learning commands, and Cody couldn't determine how good she was at that point. The only answer was Mars. Of his trained pokémon, Mars was the frailest. He was definitely strong enough to defeat three first-tiers on his own, but he was also fragile enough that he could conceivably lose if he wasn't careful. It was good practice and the fairest scenario he could consider. "My Diglett versus your three pokémon. You can even let them fight all at once if you want. Fair enough?"

Chrissy sighed, looking down at her feet. She didn't seem too happy with her odds, but out of all the scenarios either of them could think of, it was the only one she could trust. But then, she looked back up at Cody, a flame burning in the little redhead's eyes. It was a challenge, and like the older trainer, she couldn't turn that down.

"I'm not backing down. Handicap or not, that Diglett is coming home with me."

Cody nodded, smirking. That's what he wanted to hear. Considering all the work he had to do to catch Ferrari, having to run some sort of gauntlet just felt natural when it came to capturing a new partner. After placing the newly captured Diglett's pokeball on a flat stone to the side of where they'd battle, sort of like a trophy, the two trainers walked to opposite sides of the little valley where the Diglett colony had fled from. Cody recalled Bastion and the Grookey so that they wouldn't be confused, but left Mars in the field to face off against Neptune. Chrissy already had her other two pokeballs in hand, ready to battle.

"All you gotta do is beat Mars!" Cody shouted out to the younger trainer. "You do that and the grey Diglett is yours!"

"I could do the same thing against your Wartortle!" Chrissy shouted back, letting her pride show. "Stop stalling so we can get this over with!"

Damn, kid's got fire. I like that. "Ready when you are!" he said, smiling smugly.

"Onion! Ronnie! You're up!"

The battle started as soon as Chrissy's pokémon entered the fray, joining Neptune, so Cody only had milliseconds to assess the field. Ronnie was a Mime Jr. and Onion was a Bulbasaur. The latter of the two was easily his biggest concern. Even if Mars was five tiers higher, taking a critical Razor Leaf would be devastating. Thankfully, Mars also had another advantage against them aside from power: they couldn't follow him underground.

"Go under!" Cody shouted.

It was all he needed at that moment. The mole shot underground and Neptune followed him, leaving the Bulbasaur and Mime Jr. high and dry. The two non-Diglett began looking around frantically, but they didn't wait long, as the earth burst open as Neptune was thrown skyward from the hole. Mars shot out behind him like a bottle-rocket, flying faster than his foe, and with a fast swipe of his paw, he smote the enemy Diglett, sending him flying into the ground. Even if he was weak compared to his fellow teammates, he was still miles ahead of Neptune in terms of strength, speed, and skill.

"Okay, great start! Now, underground and use Magnitude!"

"Counter it, but stay above ground! Ronnie, you're on defense! Onion, back Neptune!"

Huh, specific calls. Let's see what she's got.

The ground between the two trainers began to violently shake while big pieces of earth began jutting out. However, there was a circle of calmness surrounding Chrissy's three pokémon. Neptune was holding the quakes at bay by countering them with his own Magnitude. However, his actions were clearly defensive. He was never gonna land a hit on Mars that way and trying to hold the quakes of a more powerful Diglett was draining. He couldn't keep it up forever.

"Mars, get a Slash in there!" Mars could keep up the attacks far longer, but Cody didn't want him draining too fast either. He needed to get in some actual hits or a tired Diglett would struggle in a three-on-one battle, no matter how much stronger he was.

Between Magnitudes, he shot out from the earth, ready to strike Neptune again, only to be blocked by a psychic barrier erected by Ronnie. The Mime Jr. wasn't strong enough to mount a full Barrier around his ally, but it was strong enough and lasted long enough to save him for the moment. In response, Mars shot out from the earth again, trying to hit the psychic-type instead, only to be forced to redirect and dodge Onion's Razor Leaf by an inch. And so, he directed his attention to the Bulbasaur, only to be smacked in the back of the head by Neptune's Mud Slap as he came up. That sent him off balance long enough for Onion to wrap him up with vines before he could return to the earth. Ronnie could have used that moment to land a Confusion for minimal damage, but he used that opening for something else. He touched the Diglett and a brief, blue flash burst between the two of them.

Crap, please tell me that wasn't-

Mars slashed his way out of the vines and when he was in the ground again, he tensed up as if he was using Magnitude… only the earth didn't shake.

"You got disabled! Gotta go in more direct!" Cody shouted, though he still wasn't worried.

"Weik, weik!" Mars shrieked, going for a Bulldoze instead, powering through the other Diglett's Magnitudes. But before he could hit the younger mole, he was blocked by another barrier. From the other side, Onion shot off another Razor Leaf, but Mars popped underground just in time. When he reemerged, he launched Neptune out of the ground with a Dig, ready to Bulldoze through Onion next, only to get caught inside a Barrier bubble. The Mime Jr. cast his technique around the mole and the Bulbasaur released a cloud of poisonous dust from the opening of her bulb, surrounding the bubble. The moment the mime released Mars, the poison would hit him.

Damn, this kid is clever. Cody had to admit that he couldn't disregard Chrissy entirely. Her three pokémon were all functioning amazingly as individuals and as a unit. Looking back, there was no way that his team was battling this in sync in doubles when he was between his first and second badge. Chrissy clearly had them running drills with each other and Cody respected her skill, but he saw that she and her team had made a critical error.

The Barrier bubble couldn't stop Mars like it could other pokémon. Given that Mime Jr. were far more limited in power than their evolutions, Ronnie probably couldn't extend his bubble through the ground yet. In fact, Cody remembered that battle he had with Frank back when he first started, Frank's Mr. Mime couldn't create force fields underground either. So the bubble wouldn't trap any pokémon that could dig like Diglett.

Mars recognized this before Cody called out to him. Instead of continuing his current attempt to break through the Barrier, Mars burrowed downward just as the bubble popped and the poison spores descended. When Mars remerged, it was under the Mime Jr., knocking him upward. Onion was ready for that, this time hitting Mars with a point-blank Razor Leaf. That definitely hurt Mars a lot, but he had plenty of fight left to strike the Bulbasaur with a head-on Bulldoze followed by a Slash, knocking her out. And just before Ronnie hit the ground again, Mars dodged Neptune's Mud-Slaps to hit the Mime Jr. with a Slash right before he hit the ground, taking him down too.

Chrissy recalled her other two pokémon and her expression quickly faded from optimism to hopelessness. "Neptune run! Regroup!"

The way Chrissy had battled, she had a shot in a handicap scenario, but one-on-one, she had next to no chance, not when it was her Diglett versus a much stronger Diglett. Plus, her Diglett had already tanked a Slash and was tired from the Magnitude. Running was Neptune's best option, even against Mars, who endured a critical Razor Leaf seconds earlier. However, Mar was faster, popping up in front of Neptune wherever he emerged to throw a Mud Ball at him. Ultimately, running was not the answer. The younger Diglett tried throwing Mars off with Magnitudes, but Cody's Diglett was too crafty and experienced to get caught up in that, dodging the shaking and erupting earth.

"Give it everything you got, Neptune! We can't lose today!" Chrissy shouted out in desperation.

"No more games, Mars! End this!"

Mars was no longer disabled from using Magnitude and from alternate sides of the battlefield, both Diglett caused a rumble so fierce that even their trainers were knocked over. While Neptune wasn't hit by the opposing quake, he was definitely worn out from it and that was Mars's chance to win. Using Bulldoze, he rushed forward, ready to KO his foe, but that was when a flash of light burst from the center of the field. It took Cody a moment to realize what had just happened, but then he saw the grey Diglett sitting in the ground next to Mars and a discarded pokeball sitting nearby. The Magnitudes must have caused the ball to roll off the stone Cody placed it on and it rolled onto the field. Mars must have hit the button, releasing the grey Diglett.

"Mars, ignore him! Finish this!"

"Neptune, quick, while he's distracted!"

But neither mole responded to their trainer. Neptune did burrow forward, but his aggression seemed to dissipate as he looked at Mars and then at the grey Diglett. Mars did the same, looking at the other two Diglett, and the grey Diglett followed their lead. Then, they all started squeaking happily, burrowing together, creating a circle.

Oh no, they can't- "Mars, get back! Back away now!" Cody shouted frantically, but again, his words were not received. Chrissy had picked up on what was happening and she fumbled for Neptune's pokeball. Cody grabbed Mars's pokeball, ready to recall him, but it was too late. The three Diglett began to glow with light and the three bodies moved closer together, forming one, shining shape. And when the shining light faded, both trainers looked on at what stood there. Three separate mole bodies, each different in size, but one Dugtrio in total, looking proud of themselves in their new form.

For about ten seconds, Cody stared dumbly at the Dugtrio that stood between him and Chrissy. Everything happened so fast and it took a few seconds for his brain to reboot and process what he had seen. The Dugtrio looked healthy and he would be easy to identify, as the grey-furred Diglett was the shortest head in the front. Neptune was the second-highest head, and Mars had become the tallest head in the back. They all squeaked happily in unison, seemingly unaware of the conundrum they had just caused.

You wanted a Dugtrio. Now you got one. But what kind of Mankey's paw shit is this?

"Oh no, this can't be happening!" Chrissy said, breaking the silence between them as she ran forward to the Dugtrio's side. She tried to tug on the head that was Neptune, as if that would separate him from the other two, but her effort was futile. "They evolved, but-"

"But one-third of the Dugtrio is mine…" Cody breathed, trying to remain calm, even if his brain was screaming. "The other third is yours, and the third-"

"So, what now? What are we supposed to do?" Chrissy asked, fear and panic in her eyes as she kept looking back and forth between the Dugtrio and Cody.

"Hmm… try returning it to Neptune's pokeball," Cody suggested. "Maybe-"

He didn't have time to finish his thought as Chrissy whipped out Neptune's pokeball and tried to return the Dugtrio, only for the light to bounce off of it like a cracking whip. Cody tried the same with Mars's ball, only for the light to do the same thing. Then, he tried it with the grey-furred Diglett's pokeball. Same result. Then, he tried something else: he took a new pokeball, pressed the button, and tried to capture the Dugtrio in a new pokeball, only for the light to bounce off the mole trio for the fourth time.

"What are you doing? What's going on?" Chrissy asked, still panicked and confused.

"Testing something," Cody began to explain. "We can't capture this Dugtrio or return him to any of his pokeballs because of claim. Mars's pokeball still has claim on him. Neptune's ball has claim on him. And the grey-furred Diglett's ball still… you get the idea. So, technically, until the claim wears off in about a week, not only can we not store this Dugtrio in a pokeball, he technically belongs to both of us."

"Both of us?" Chrissy shook her head. "No, trainer ownership doesn't work like that. Neither of our Diglett are registered as pets, so it has to belong to one of us."

"Yeah, but who?" But he knew Chrissy was right. Battling pokémon had to belong to a single person or entity. There was no "shared parenting" among trainers. In theory, if the two of them trusted each other enough, they could share the Dugtrio via trading, but that had its issues. For one, every time a pokémon was traded and changed in ownership, it had to go through a non-compete period in league battles as a means of preventing inexperienced trainers from using stronger pokémon that they hadn't trained to win events. Besides, it wouldn't be healthy for the Dugtrio to be shuffled around like that. They needed to make a decision and fast, especially since both of them would have to part ways soon.

"There's no information about this in my book," Cody said, skimming through the Dugtrio handbook for any sort of precedent. "I'm sure this sort of thing has happened before, but…" He shook his head, looking up at Chrissy. "I guess this is a court thing?"

"My parents can't afford that," Chrissy replied, getting angry at the suggestion. "Besides, I love Neptune and you love Mars. Can you really say that you'd be satisfied with a court's decision, even if you won, knowing that you took somebody else's pokémon?"

She's right. That didn't feel right, regardless of the outcome. It wouldn't be fair unless they could determine who captured the grey Diglett, and even then, winning the case by "two thirds" didn't feel right either, even if it made sense in a King Solomon-esque sort of way. Making a decision that they both could agree on made the most sense. But then a dark thought entered his mind: the only other option would be to just take the Dugtrio himself. Chrissy couldn't stop him. He had stronger pokémon with him and all of hers were knocked out. And technically, he was about to win that battle between them, so that grey Diglett should have been his for all intents and purposes unless Chrissy could prove that she Diglett was captured in her pokeball. But Cody purged the thought from his mind. The Dugtrio was made up of at least one of her Diglett, so that would be like stealing a pokémon from a child. That wasn't right.

Think, think! What is the answer here? How do we- Wait. He had an idea.

"Why don't we let them choose?" Cody suggested.

"Let them choose?" Chrissy parroted as if she didn't understand what that meant.

"You know in the movies, how two people stand a certain distance apart and let the pokémon choose who it wants to be with? Let's do that. Whoever the Dugtrio chooses gets to keep them."

"I mean… I guess that's fair…" But her eyes widened with realization as if she had been tricked. "But wait, how do we even know that's fair? What if Mars somehow has more control over-"

"I don't think it works like that," Cody interrupted. Given how smart Chrissy appeared to be, he was surprised that she didn't know or remember how Dugtrio worked. "When three Diglett evolve into a Dugtrio, they create a telekinetic and telepathic link. Even though their bodies are still separated, they can't be torn apart. And upon evolution, even though they have three separate brains, their minds kinda fuse, if that makes sense. Basically, this Dugtrio has memories of all three Diglett, including memories of us. As far as they're concerned, we're both their trainers. You and I can fight all day, but maybe this decision should fall into the hands of who we're fighting over. Let's let them decide."

"Oh… okay," Chrissy agreed, although she looked so uncertain. "But we can only call for them. No tricks. No pokésnacks of any kind. Just pure, unbiased choice."

"That's perfectly fair," Cody agreed. "Let's do this."

Leaving the Dugtrio in the center, both trainers crossed to opposite sides of the clearing, knelt down, and began calling for the three moles to come to them in their kindest voices.

"Mars, come here! Here Mars!"

"Neptune, please! Please come here!"

For about thirty seconds, the Dugtrio looked frantically between both trainers, debating on who they ought to go to. Did they even understand the stakes of which trainer they chose? It wasn't possible to know, but hopefully, they would at least go to the trainer that they loved and trusted the most. And after those thirty seconds, the Dugtrio turned to face that trainer: Cody.

"No, no, look back over here!" Chrissy shouted desperately, but the Dugtrio didn't seem to hear her as they slowly plowed through the dirt toward the older trainer.

Thank Arceus, they chose me. But despite the wave of relief that ran over him, it was then that Cody realized that what he had suggested wasn't actually all that fair after all. He loved Mars. Chrissy loved Neptune. And both pokémon loved their trainers back. But the fact was that Cody had an advantage in terms of time. He had been with Mars far longer than Chrissy had been with Neptune, and thus, combined with the love he had given his pokénib, their connection was stronger. Strong as the bond was between Chrissy and Neptune, they hadn't been together long enough.

Crap… This isn't fair.

Or was it? The Dugtrio was choosing who they loved most, after all. But as Cody saw the Dugtrio approaching him, he suddenly felt guilt crashing on his conscience like waves on the beach, and seeing Chrissy, who had fallen to her knees, crying, didn't help. Even if she was a little brat, here was a young trainer with so much potential to be something great and he was taking one of her first pokémon from her. She would have to find and train two more for her second badge in order to reach the quantity requirement. While that was very possible, did he want to put her through that? After everything he had suffered through during his first year of training, it made him feel empathetic for anybody who was starting out. It seemed wrong to clip somebody else's wings like that, especially before they got a chance to soar.

"Woik, woik, woik!" the moles squeaked in unison as they arrived by Cody's side, nuzzling him with each of their noses.

"Hey, buddy…" He reached out and patted the Dugtrio on top of the head that was Mars. But then he pointed beyond the Dugtrio, who instinctively turned around to see Chrissy, still kneeling in the dirt, still crying. "See that girl over there?" The Dugtrio turned back to face Cody as if to acknowledge what he had said. "She may be annoying, but she's intelligent, strong, and she loves you. I got this gut feeling that she has all the makings of a fantastic trainer. If you choose me, I will gladly take you with me. But she… I think she needs you more than I do right now. If you go with her, I promise you that you'll do great things. You have so much to offer her as a pokémon, not only with your strength but also with your experience. You'll be a teacher to her and her other pokémon…" He smiled sadly at the Dugtrio, but mostly at the head that was Mars. "And you'll be a teacher to your new brothers as well."

"Woik," the Dugtrio squeaked calmly, almost as if they were pondering what Cody had told them.

"Look, I don't know if you can understand what I'm even saying here," Cody chuckled, feeling tears well up in his eyes. "But it's your adventure. You get to choose. Both Chrissy and I love you very much, so regardless of who you pick, you'll do great. But I know that you would do great things with her, should you take the road of a new adventure."

After receiving another pat on the tallest head, the Dugtrio turned around to look at Chrissy. Then back at Cody. Then back at Chrissy again. Without warning, he burrowed at her at top speed, practically knocking her over as their bodies collided.

"What the- What?" The young trainer seemed so confused as the Dugtrio began to playfully nudge her. "I thought you chose-"

"They did," Cody agreed as he reached where the Dugtrio and their trainer stood. "But I talked them out of it."

"You..." She really didn't understand. "But why? You love Mars, right?" the little trainer asked, looking up at him, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I do," Cody answered, nodding. "But you also love Neptune. And while I'd love to take them with me, something tells me that they'll do great with you, guiding you and their teammates. And so, they changed their mind."

"So, you want me to take them?" she asked, looking far more confused than upset. "This isn't a pity thing, right? Because-"

"You're probably the best first-tier trainer I've ever thought," Cody admitted, nodding. "Had I battled you at the same level of experience, I probably would have lost pretty hard. But you could go far and I'd hate to get in your way. I'll miss Mars, but I know he'll be in good hands."

"But… what about your badge battle?" Chrissy asked, standing up to face him. "Didn't you say you needed them for it?"

"I'll… I'll figure something out," Cody replied, smirking. Being the underdog was always more fun anyway. "I just want you to promise me three things: one, don't stop battling, because you're gonna do great. Two, send me updates about them. I want to see how they do. And three… when you reach my level, battle me someday for real; no handicaps and no interruptions. Deal?"

Chrissy looked down at her Dugtrio and back up at Cody, who had extended his hand. It was as if she were assessing whether or not it was some sort of trick. But she must have seen the honesty in Cody's smile… or she decided to agree before he changed his mind and wanted the Dugtrio back. So smiling back, she shook his hand.

"Deal. Just don't slack off. If I lap you, a rematch won't be fun," she answered with all the snark she could muster.

"Good to hear." After releasing the handshake, Cody pulled out his cellphone and handed it to her to add her number. Eventually, he'd look up her trainer ID too. He definitely wanted to track Chrissy's progress to see how she was doing. "So what are you going to call them now? Neptune? Mars?"

"No, that doesn't seem right," Chrissy admitted, handing his phone back. "They're more than just individual Diglett now. Calling them by those names is ignoring who they are, now that they've come together to form a…" She trailed off as her eyes lit up, practically lighting up the lenses of her glasses as well. "Pantheon."

"Hmm… I like it. Very fitting," Cody answered. But as he heard the new name, it really began to hit him what had happened. That moment could be the last time he'd ever see Mars for a while. Kneeling next to the Dugtrio, he patted the heads of the grey Diglett and Neptune before embracing all three of them. He could feel the moles reach out of the ground and hug him back with their stubby arms.

"Woik," the Mars head squeaked softly as if he was saying "goodbye."

"Take care of your teammates. Teach them, guide them, make them stronger as I did for you and as you've done for me." He held his forehead against the tallest mole's, closed his eyes, and felt their noses touching. A tear slid down his cheek. "You'll always have a special place in my heart. We'll meet again someday. And when we do, you'd better be the strongest Dugtrio in all of Skitrex."

"Woik." The tallest mole licked the tear from his former trainer's face. It was odd, as he was never much of a licker, but he must have recognized that the affection was needed.

After one final squeeze, Cody forced himself to stand up and he smiled, trying to hide the pain he was feeling inside. "Take good care of them. Mars… he always loved dried carrots, so make sure they get them every once in a while. And if they ever start bursting out of their pokeball in battle before they're called, you know who to blame.

"Alright," Chrissy giggled, wiping another tear that formed before it fell past her glasses. "Good luck to you with your badge battle. And… thank you. Thank you for everything." Slowly, she backed up before turning around and walking away, shaken after everything that had happened. A few seconds later, Pantheon followed her a few feet behind.

Cody knew that eventually, every trainer would part ways with their pokémon. It was the bitter part of being a trainer and the price that they had to pay for loving their pokémon. Cody knew that if he lived long enough, he would see all of his pokémon die, except for the ones like Bastion, Cortez, and maybe Colossal who would likely outlive him. However, he didn't expect to lose one so soon, even if it wasn't by death. But in his grief, he remembered what he had told both Pantheon and Chrissy: they would do great things together. And Chrissy would care for the Dugtrio, no doubt. So the moment was bitter-sweet. Better than being bitter, but it was still difficult to endure.

At the top of the hill, the Mars head of Pantheon looked back one last time. Cody could have sworn that the mole nodded at him, wishing him one final "good luck" before turning around and disappearing from view.

Good luck. I'm gonna need it. He needed a stronger pokémon for his badge battle in a few days and now he was leaving with one less. Even if he liked the challenge, he had just lost another pokémon when he was already down two. Losing a pokémon that he had trained for about a year and a half when he already didn't even have the ten required for Diamond Beach… That was not good at all.

Heather's gonna give me so much shit about this...