Chapter two is up. Originally, I've intended for this update to cover the entire deadline that was set into this story's chapter, but I've decided to cut it in two as I felt it would be better to release two 7k chapters rather than one 14k update.

I'll probably have to repeat this in another chapters, but I'll be tagging characters one update before when they're set to appear. If you noted that I've added Skyla at the character's list, it means that she'll be making her debut in the next update.

This chapter is yet another with M rating as it makes features abuse and prostitution. Nothing too harsh, but still worth noting over.

Regarding lemons, I'll attempt to write them should a need arise; however, I'll first have to ensure they're at the quality I require for this story. Shortly, this means that, at this point, they aren't neither confirmed nor ruled out.

"We should forgive our enemies, but not before they are hanged" - Heinrich Heine

Chapter Two: Darkhearts

I glanced at the calendar atop the study's table: it marked Friday 13th of July. Thinking back, it was already way past midnight when I decided not to kill myself, so it can be said that I was reborn on this day. People had always considered this day to be ominous. For me, ominous worked just fine. But this was not time for numerology. School term would start on September 3rd, I had exactly 41 days to put myself in the best position possible to take down Bruce and exact my revenge.

Not only Bruce. Since I was going into this path, I've decided that I'd punish everyone who wronged me. Nessa, Hop, Leon, Sonia, Professor Magnolia, Chairman Rose, Bruce… they're all going to pay.

When plotting my downfall, Bruce played my weaknesses well. Even though I hate him I must admit he was brilliant. But rather than hiding those weaknesses I've decided that I'd make them my focal points. Let him know that he helped at the creation of the very thing that would take him down.

Bruce bribed the school newspaper to criticize my 'ruthless' methods? Then I'll become colder than ice and sharper than steel to bring down my enemies.

Bruce used my former dream of playing football to stir distrust? Then I'll become a football player in order to further my goals.

Bruce used a rumoured romantic relationship I had with Marnie to get Nessa to break up with me? Then I'll become the Chaddest of Chads. Fucking Casanova reborn. In fact, the only thing stopping me from adding fucking Bruce's mother at my to-do list is the fact that the woman is dead.

For my plan to work I'd have to become the epitome of success: a great pokémon trainer; with the right connections, fame and, probably the most important factor, money. Basically, I need to become Steven Stone.

Still, I have a long way to go before being able to fulfil my ambition, so I found myself, formulating a list of objectives, strategizing for my war.

Acquire a pokémon – In the end it'll be my battling skills that will matter the most. Bruce wasn't a weak trainer, and I'm sure he's only getting stronger. I need to have the best and most loyal pokémon at my hands. Besides, his dad might get involved, so I'll probably be fighting an uphill battle from there.

Acquire a trainer's license – Mine was revoked back in Galar. However, the ban doesn't apply to other regions as the court ruled Bruce's setup as a medium grievance, not a harsh one. I'm perfectly capable of passing the written exam, I only have to find money to pay for the licence.

Get into a boarding school - In order to become a better trainer, I must have quality education only an elite school can provide. Besides, there'll be plenty of opportunities for me there. Paying for tuition is out of question however. The only way to get in is through a scholarship. Obviously, it's easier said than done.

Hoard money – I'll need money to care and train my pokémon, buy my license and to cover my expenses as I doubt daddy dearest will do more than the bare minimum for me. I'll have to start looking for jobs.

Become notorious – Reputation might play a huge part when I face Bruce. Being famous could also open up some extra perks that could be useful. In a dream scenario this could go hand-in-hand with my footballing aspirations.

It's imperious that I accomplish the first three goals before the start of school deadline; goals four and five are long term ones and will take longer to accomplish, but progress in them was still required.

I set the pen down, glancing at the list. It was time to get my hands dirty.

39 days until the deadline

"That was good and honest work you did today, Peter." Mrs. Sanders, a middle-aged woman, praised, handing me bills that totalled 2.500 Pokémon Dollars.

"Thanks Mrs. Sanders." I replied respectfully, putting the currency at my wallet.

Since money was required for me to obtain my license, finding a job became paramount. Lucky, and weather, were by my side as I soon learned that a Casteliacone franchise was hiring part-timers as the high summer temperatures were increasing demand. To make things even better, they paid slightly above the market price as those were 'seasonal' job offers; meaning they would close the posts once the peak was over. It worked well for me, since I'd be leaving for school should things go as I planned. The exam fee for a license was 20.000 Pokémon Dollars, so, by the end of the next week, I'll already have enough money cover those costs.

As I made the mode street, I was somewhat relieved that this was only a part-time job. I left work at 4 pm, two hours before the rush hour, so I could make my way home in a relative calmness. In fact, as I left Mode Street, I've decided to pass through the Castelia Plaza instead of contouring it.

"I'm telling you man, the sewers are dope, all sorts of underground shit going on there." I heard a bald man dressed in a leather jacket. They were called Roughnecks here in Unova, in Galar we had people dressed similarly as them, but with different behaviour: Hooligans, who were notorious for acts of vandalism in footballing events.

"For real? How it is even accessible?" another asked

"There's a hidden entry at the Thumb Pier, go there past midnight, shit gets real."

Well, I might as well check it out.

36 days until the deadline

"Where you're going?" my father asked as I appeared with a backpack at the living room.

My relationship with my father was always a complicated one. He's pleasantly bearable for most of the times. However, he's an alcoholic, and in the moment the beer gets past his lips he would become an abusive, aggressive asshole. He never hit me or my mother, but would yell at us and proceed to do all sorts of shameful displays, even in the public. More than once I've had to find him passed out in a random pub. Two years ago, he divorced my mother and went to live on Unova. Still, there are lots of open wounds, figuratively, of course.

"To a party." I lied

The man glanced at me. Physically there were few things in common between us, in fact just the 170 centimetres of height and the green eyes, although even then they were of a different shade. His hair was mostly short, with several white tufts merging into the black ones. The most glaring difference came when we compared our physical builds. I had a lean but muscular build, with almost no fat and long limbs. He had small limbs that paired with his short legs made him look pudgy.

"Don't do anything wrong." He warned as I left the apartment.

"Sorry father." I thought as I put on a black hoodie above my t-shirt, covering my head. "But I'm not good at following rules."

I've decided to take a bus to the piers. It would be faster, and safer, than walking all the way from the northern avenue.

As I boarded the bus, I thought of my five objectives:

Regarding objective number one, I still haven't gotten a pokémon. There are three 'legitimate' ways to obtain pokémon in Unova: hatch an egg, receive one as a gift or catch one. Hatching an egg was out of question for me for four reasons: the time it took to hatch one egg; the lack of the certainty of what I'll be obtaining, the lack of the certainty of how long it would take to hatch the egg and mostly important the weakness of a newly-hatched pokémon. Obtaining a gift was as unlikely as blowing a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals. So, the only plausible option was catching one. However, I can't even buy pokéballs as it requires a Trainer's License. Even so, I'll need to thread carefully; the pokémon I need has to be strong enough to stand its ground against academy trainers; have a lot of untapped potential so I could turn him into a powerhouse later on; and with a similar mindset as mine, otherwise I'll be losing time trying to instil discipline. I've researched Unovan pokémon and the best fit in these terms will be a Whirlipede: it combines an average offensive moveset with good defensive measures and bulk; it has potential as it could still evolve into Scolipede and is unlikely to be over rebellious. Other options are Deino, who has tremendous potential but is unruly and slow to improve, and Druddigon, who would be the strongest option early on, but with very little potential and mostly likely to have discipline problems. The first pokémon I got will be the pillar of the team, and I have to be extremely careful, as a bad choice here would hinder the entire plan.

Despite not completing objective number two, I'm fairly relaxed about it. It is simply a matter of time until I get the money to cover the exam costs.

I've taken some steps towards objective number three. It's probably the most difficult, and vital of my objectives. I've sent several letters and e-mails to Academies and Boarding schools across the continent inquiring about any open spots and scholarships; but I've yet to hear from any of them. Unfortunately, my record is public, and should someone from their offices run an investigation they'll find that I was expelled from my last school and trialled. As an attempt to 'sweeten' the deal for those schools; and obviously to further my own interests, I've stated my availability to play football, or as Unovans say, 'soccer', for their institutes. Being realistic, right now it's highly unlikely that I'll be admitted into a first-tier school, but I won't know until I've received answers.

Objective four, was going reasonably well for this stage. I had a found a job, and by the end of summer I'll have made 100.000 Pokémon Dollars. I'll already be losing one fifth of this paying for the Trainer License. There'll be other expenditures, as the summer goes on, but hopefully I'll be able to keep most of it. From there the idea is to invest and diversify. Tournaments, training, business opportunities, I'll be looking at everything. One thing I don't plan to do is to get involved with any illegal stuff, not because it's wrong, I've gone way past that point already; but mainly because the risk will probably be higher than the gain. Still, I might reconsider depending on the circumstances.

Objective number five however was mostly kept untouched. Whilst it relies on the others, I do admit that this goal is the one which bothers me the most. Not due to the lack of progress, but due to the lack of alternatives. At this point I only have the football plan. I can't wage a war with only one plan. There's a real need to find plan B. And, as much as it pains me to admit, I'm clueless at this point.

I soon found myself getting off the bus at Thumb Pier, one quick glance at my smartphone clock confirmed that it is past midnight. I could see why this place became the entrance to the underground, the pier was poorly lit and maintained, didn't had any movement and mostly importantly, there was no sign of law enforcement there.

The entrance itself was through a broken sewer bar screen, hidden in a platform a level below street level. As soon as I entered my nose was filled with the most unpleasant smells imaginable, it sounded like a mix of rotten eggs, shit, piss and vomit. The place looked like any sewer would, channels of dirty water running through it, with a very few corridors staying above ground level. Still, the galleries were somewhat illuminated and I started to hear a beating of sorts. Following it through the narrow corridor, I walked carefully, the last thing I wanted was to slip into that water.

As the beating got louder, a sound also made itself distinct. The sound, no, music sounded as the kind that would be played in a rave; synthetized tones and fast beats. I personally had not too much of taste for music, but I found it enjoyable. For certain the beat was different from anything I've heard while in Galar.

Soon enough I came upon a set of stairs that led to an even lower floor.

"This has to be the entrance of the Underground". I thought as the beat got louder and the piss-shit-pee smell got replaced by a heavy mix of alcohol and weed.

The Underground itself was totally different from the sewers. It consisted of an enormous room, where I could spot all sorts of activities, ranging from a cage where fights took place, to a DJ booth with a packed dancefloor. There were bars, poker tables, stalls and even a motorcycle doing stunts. Hell, how did they even get the motorcycle down here?

"Hey, handsome. First time at the Underworld?" A feminine voice asked.

I turned around to see a slender, pretty woman with dyed red hair and dressed in extremely provocative clothes: scarlet high-heels, leather miniskirt, fishnets adorning her limbs and a white blouse that she kept tied in a knot around her ribs, leaving her belly bare.

"Is she a prostitute?" was my first thought, but that was soon put aside. "Yes, how do you know?"

"It's the look in your eyes." She explained. "You look both lost and amazed at the same time."

I nodded in understanding. "I see, I did feel those things for a few moments. Right now, I'm still wondering how the hell they got the motorcycle down there."

The woman laughed. "That's Charles, no one knows really how he does that. So, what bring you here?"

"I heard people talking about this place, came to check it by myself."

"I see, and what you're looking for?"

I chuckled. "I have no idea. What can I find here?"

"Pokémon for sale, weapons, retail items, drugs, information, pleasure."

I smirked. "All things a man needs to be happy."

The woman laughed. "Feel free to take a look." She said, before handing me a pink card as she left. "Name's Lilith by the way. Call me, I'll give you a nice discount."

I blinked for a few seconds. "So, she is a prostitute." I glanced at the card before pocketing it. "Better to be safe than sorry."

Still, the woman's words lingered on my mind. It seems that this place is the real deal. I had 12.000 Pokémon Dollars; it wouldn't hurt to take a look around.

I walked around leisurely, already used to the loud music and the smell of illicit substances. I also made an effort to note and stay away from the shadier places.

The first place that caught my attention was a set of pilled boxes that served as a makeshift stall, with items such as different kinds of pokéballs and medicines atop the table. The shopkeeper, a rough looking man, sat on a chair behind the boxes whilst smoking a cigarette.

"See anything you like, kid?" he asked, the corner of his mouth curling in a smirk.

"The pokéballs." I replied attempting to sound confident.

"Which type?"

"The regular ones."

"140 each, and if you buy more than 10, I'll add in an extra one."

"The price of those in stores is 200 PokéDollars."

"Mine fell off the truck."

Obviously, by fell off the truck, he meant stolen.

"I see…I'll be taking five."

The man smirked as I handled him the notes in exchange for the products. "Pleasure doing business with you.

"On a side note, what exactly I can obtain here?"

The man looked at me analytically. "You're too young to be a cop…so there's no harm in sharing what I know." He then pointed toward several stalls lined up. "Here you can get almost anything money can buy. As you saw, I sell pokéballs and medicine. In those other stalls you can get nutrients, held items and even some evolution items."

"Did all those items also fall off the truck?"

"Some did yes. Although the evolution items are hyperinflated."

That also made sense, since it took an extreme amount of time to properly train a pokémon; people valuing short term success would focus on pokémon whose evolutions could be triggered by items. Bruce himself had a Darmanitan which he evolved through an Ice Stone.

"Thanks for the info." I called out as I left, 900 PokéDollars shorter, but with six pokéballs in belt.

Instead of visiting the other stalls I've decided to go to the cages, which were somewhat similar to an MMA ring; although it took the form of a hexagon. The trainers stood in a platform above the cages, whereas the crowd surrounded it. The featured fight was an Minccino against a Eevee. Minccino is a chinchilla-like pokémon with almost completely grey fur, whit small paths of white in at the tip of his large ears and the end of its large, furry tail. Eevee is a brown rabbit-like pokémon with brown fur and eyes; he also has a cream coloured fur at the end of its bushy tail and at a collar of fur.

The two pokémon looked to be worse for wear. With bruises marking their furs.

"Minccino, end this, use Tail Slap." Its trainer called from atop one of the platforms.

The grey furred rodent quickly dashed forwards, before doing a leap spin move towards Eevee, its tail glowing white.

"Eevee, counter with Iron Tail." The other trainer called out.

The evolution pokémon's tail gained a steely glow, and moved towards the opponent's attack. The moves clashed for a moment, before Minccino got the worst of the dispute and was sent crashing backwards and into the ring's grid.

"HA! Take that, Mason." Eevee's trainer boasted.

"It seems that Eevee will take this one." A male voice besides me noted. "What do you think, newbie?"

I turned around and saw that the man was indeed talking to me. I identified him as the guy with the motorcycle from earlier. The guy is probably into his mid-twenties and donned a ridiculously flashy brown pompadour. The guy also has blue eyes, and looked somewhat attractive, although I don't swing that way.

"I don't think so." I replied, seeing the man's eyes trained at me, silently motioning me to elaborate further. "The pokémon may be good, but its trainer is shit."

"How so?"

"When he Minccino crashed into the grid, Eevee had an open attack that could as well have decided the match. Instead the trainer decided to brag about and lost the opportunity." I then looked from the man to the cage. "Even now they aren't assertive enough…calling the same attacks repeatedly…over extending attacks."

Eevee was repeatedly attempting to hit its opponent with an Iron Tail move, but was coming up short each time. "Now Eevee's tired and an easy target." I concluded.

As if I switch was turned, Minccino's trainer called out a Swift attack. The stars were sent hurling towards the brown furred pokémon, whose trainer panicked and ordered for him to run away from the move using a Quick Attack. Alas, the cage was a closed environment and the attack caught up to Eevee.

"Damn" the man whistled "are you a kind of battle whiz or something?"

I smirked just in time to see Minccino connect a Tail Slap attack, knocking Eevee out. "You could say so."

The man then patted me on the back. "Then come with me whiz kid, I'mma pay you a drink."

Due to how badly my relationship with my father, and my whole family dynamic, was damaged by alcohol, one would probably presume I'd not go anywhere near it. Whilst not a big fan of it by any means I did not loathe alcohol. What I did despise was the lack of restraint that most of the heavy drinkers, such as my father, displayed. Nothing wrong in drinking to get a buzz of to loosen up. But when you overstep your limits and get under influence…that's another story. I didn't drink, but that was mostly because I felt no need to do so; however, I do make exceptions.

"Another mojito coming up." The bartender said, handing me the drink. Mojitos, I decided, tasted minty and lemony at the same time, definitively not bad. This was my second, and whilst I felt slightly light-headed, I wasn't drunk.

That, however couldn't be said about the mand beside me. Charles "the heartbreaker" as he introduced himself was a truly misunderstood man. He did come out as a player, and definitively had his fair share of lovers, but from what I learned from him, it was a coping mechanism of sorts. He had this girl he liked so much he had to let go; and now his nights were either spend fucking some girl or passed out after a night of drinking.

Love is truly complicated. Even now when I'm already sworn to revenge, I couldn't bring myself to forget the few months when Nessa was my girlfriend. I took an exaggerated sip from the minty drink.

"Another one mister?" the bartender asked.

I almost said yes, but then remembered of father passed out in a sofa. "No, thanks. I'm going back home." Charles was adamant that all my drinks for the night were put in his tab, I was too broke to argue.

As I made my way back into the entrance of the Underworld, I couldn't help but feel that this was a productive outing. I gained several important pieces of knowledge, which would soon come in handy when it's time to exact my revenge. Most importantly I managed to obtain access to pokéballs without even having a license. Should all things go to shit I at least could act in the Underworld for some time.

A loud crashing sound interrupted my musings. Against the better of my judgement I followed the sound and found it coming from a secluded room down one of the sewer's alleyways. I peeked around and saw the same trainer that lost the battle earlier, accompanied by his Eevee.

"YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!" He yelled at the pokémon, clearly intoxicated. The pokémon looked terrified, and even hurt, as glass shards were littered around the ground.

"I feed you. I train you. AND YET YOU CAN'T WIN A SINGLE FUCKING MATCH!" He bellowed angrily. Moving towards the pokémon, which whimpered in a corner.

I don't know why I did it. Probably it was because I could relate with Eevee somehow; being yelled at by a drunkard. But I approached the man with a plan on my mind.

"I totally agree with you friend." I said with a loud, boisterous voice, sounding so different from myself.

The man turned away from Eevee, his attention now focused in me. "And who are you?" he demanded.

"A man who knows the craft well." I replied with silky tone. "And you my friend are a diamond in the rough."

The man smirked and puffed out his chest. "That I am."

"Yet you're being held back by that sorry excuse of a pokémon." I said, motioning towards Eevee, who still cowered in fear but still glared at me.

"He's totally worthless." The man agreed with me.

"A man of your talent shouldn't be concerned with a lowly Eevee. You are worthy of a dragon type, or better."

"You really think so?" he asked, a bright smile on his face; clearly pleased by the attention.

"I know so. In fact, as an admirer of pokémon battles I'd like to help you achieve greatness. I'm buying your Eevee, 10.000 PokéDollars, in cold cash, right here, right now."

The man eyed me suspiciously. "And what do you gain from it? Why would you even want it?"

I smirked deviously. "I've heard Eevee meat tastes sublime." Even only whimpered in fear.

The man laughed. "You're a serious psycho fucker. You know what? Let's do it."

As soon as he counted the bills, the man handed me Eevee's pokéball and went off in his merry way.

I glanced at the pokémon, who looked ready to get away. Eevee looked at me fearfully, before attempting to move. Key word being attempting, as I quickly recalled him back.

35 days until the deadline

"I'm off to work." Father called out as he left the apartment.

As soon as he did that, I got up from the kitchen table where I was having breakfast and went into the living room, where I left my backpack from last night. I took the pokéball and called forth the pokémon.

Eevee appeared and immediately moved away from me, attempting to escape, but failing to do so as he was in a completely foreign environment. He cried in frustration as he was met with a closed door

"I only want to talk." I said from the sofa as Eevee took refuge into the study, settling to get as much of distance from me as possible.

After a few minutes in which I lounged at the sofa and Eevee had yet to make a sound I sighed. "If I wanted to har you I would've done so already. And in other place than my apartment."

Eevee peeked out from the study's door, most of its body hidden, but his head inclined away, eyes trained into me.

"I meant what I've said though, you're a sorry excuse of a pokémon."

Boy, if glares could kill, I'd be dead already.

"But" I said as Eevee's twitched "that's not your fault. If you had a half decent trainer you could've won against Minccino. With ease."

"Vui?" the evolution exclaimed, probably in an attempt to say really?

"I'll be blunt with you, right now you're weak." The pokémon's eyes were downcast for a moment. "Judging by your reaction I see you value strength." With a smirk I completed. "I do so too."

Eevee now stood into the study's door, looking at me expectantly.

"I'm not a psychologist, but in my opinion people who value strength tend to do so because it is a mean to an end. You truly don't like strength itself, instead you appreciate the perks that come with it." I then looked at the pokémon from head to toe, prepared to push further. "You want recognition, acceptance… because in the end you 're lonely."

"Eevui." The pokémon cried in anguish.

I then got up and moved towards the pokémon, kneeling by it. I raised my hand to touch its cheek, but it recoiled, probably in fear.

"I too value strength. Although I've gave up on acceptance a long time ago." I felt my expression harden and my eyes steel. "Now I covet freedom, justice and revenge."

Looking solemnly at the rabbit I went on. "I won't lie, I've only rescued you because in a strange way you remind me of a younger self. Most of all, you aren't independent, having to rely on a trainer…pokémon in general could never be free…either they are property of a trainer or they live in constant fear of becoming one. I'm presenting you with two choices here. I can release you now and you'll be free to go, but this freedom is not definite as you're weak. Sooner or later you are bound to be captured, you could luck out and end up as a pampered pet; or you can end up with people who will make your former trainer look like a saint."

I then glanced straight into the pokémon's eyes, my green eyes piercing the brown of his. "Or you can cooperate with me. Let's make a contract of sorts, in exchange for your loyalty and devotion I promise to make you strong, and free."

Eevee's pokéball was held by me at his eye level. "So, what's your choice?"

26 days until the deadline

"So, did you get it?" My father asked as I stepped out of the examination office.

"Yep, now I'm a certified pokémon trainer." I replied, holding out my trainer card.

"Come, let's go celebrate." He said patting me in the back

My relationship with my father improved by a lot since I came to live with him here on Unova. We still disagreed, a lot, even more so when he got drunk. But now I've approached things differently, instead of arguing or yelling at him to stop, I'd simply go away or go to sleep. I could tell he missed me, as he has been treating me well ever since I was exiled here. I was ready to call bullshit on his attitude but he proved to be honest a few days ago when he busted me out with Eevee in the apartment. He simply looked at the pokémon and unceremoniously told that if it shat on something, I'd be the one cleaning up.

As we sat on the restaurant, a conventional family dinner kind of place, he turned to me.

"So, what's next for you?"

"I still need to find a good school to attend." I came clean upon some points of my plan to him, as he proved to be somewhat trustworthy and it would eventually come to light anyways.

"No luck in that department?"

"No, some said I they were considering, but it was most likely a courteous dismissal."

"Still, I can't believe that there's no school that would accept you. Your grades are excellent."

"They are private schools, accepting me would be bad for their image. Since they can refuse me, their contributors, and even the public opinion, expect them to do so."

We were interrupted by the waiter, who brought drinks: a soda for me and a bottle of beer to him.

I glanced at his bottle. "This shit is bound to kill you someday."

"Not today."

"Garrincha and George Best died because of that." We would always discuss football, so why not breach the subject using them as example?

As my father kept quiet, I decided to enquire further.

"I mean it does make you happy for a short period of time but then you get totally wrecked in a hangover."

"What do you even know about hangovers."

"I had one once." I mentioned, thinking about the day before my fall.

"You're sixteen."

"So?"

Father looked expectantly at me, motioning for me to elaborate further.

"The only thing you need to know is how pathetic I felt that day."

24 days until the deadline

The opponent had the terrain advantage; the forest's foliage and its surroundings were being used in its favour. It was only by chance that I heard a slight rustling sound coming from atop a tree.

"Eevee, incoming from your top right." I called out as the opponent let loose a stream of bullets. Thankfully, speed was something I focused on Eevee's training from the earlier days, for situations just like this.

Eevee quickly stepped sidewards, and then backwards, dodging yet another row of seeds. "Do not give up momentum!" I yelled "Use Shadow Ball in the direction the attack came from." The evolution pokémon then released

Clearly the opponent was surprised by a Special Attack coming its way, as it reacted slowly and got stuck mid leap.

As the opponent, now revealed to be a Pansage; a grass type pokémon which resembled a monkey with green and cream coloured fur; fell I knew the battle was going our way. In fact, it would be over soon enough.

"Close out the distance and intercept it with Quick Attack."

Already damaged by the earlier attack, Pansage attempted to use a Vine Whip to latch itself into a tree and stop his fall, but to no avail. Eevee came barrelling forward in a burst of speed; ramming into the grass type and sending it crashing into a nearby tree.

The simian pokémon attempted to get up, but as Eevee once again got into its face, staring menacingly, he fell down conceding defeat.

Making my way towards the pokémon with two Oran Berries, a blue spherical shaped berry, I nodded at the Pansage, handing an Oran Berry. The opponent took the berry and left without saying anything more.

"Your speed improved." I complimented my pokémon, handing him the other berry. "But your Shadow Ball release is still bad." Eevee deflated at that remark. "As I said, if you overdraw when building up the attack; it will lose speed and become unstable. Shadow Ball is a concentrated attack, not an area of effect one. But you did well today." I noted with a smile; an expression that was most certainly foreign at my face.

"In fact," I continued, while retrieving some cards I've had ordered to be printed from my bag. "your training progressed well enough that now it's time to advance onto the next stage."

I flicked the cards between my fingers; revealing them to amount to eight, each with a different colour.

"When you accepted my contract, I promised you freedom. It is time for you to reap what you've sown."

The first card was set onto the ground; in front of Eevee. It's a blue coloured one.

"Vaporeon, the Bubble Jet Pokémon. Vaporeon is made up of molecules similar to water, which allows it to melt and vanish. In this form you'll obtain the water typing alongside with fin and gills and will excel at endurance and special stats. Your ability will change to Water Absorb, which drains water type attacks and will restore your health."

The next card revealed, was put aside the first one, this one is yellow.

"Jolteon, the Lightning Pokémon. When angered or frightened, the hairs on Jolteon's body become like needles that are fired at its opponents. It absorbs charged atoms and can produce 10,000 volts of electricity. With this for you'll obtain electric typing, be able to generate electrical currents and will be prolific in special stats and speed. Jolteon's ability is Volt Absorb, which works similarly as Water Absorb, but with electric type attacks instead of water."

The next was the red card.

"Flareon, the Flame Pokémon. Flareon's internal flame ignites its breath, which is exhaled as fire. With this form you'll never feel cold anymore, as you obtain the fire type and the ability to generate heat. With this evolution you'll excel in attack and special defence, whilst also attaining a good potential in regards to special attacks. Its ability, Flash Fire has the same trigger condition as Water or Volt Absorb, but will work when targeted by fire moves and will power up your next fire type attack instead of restoring your health."

The fourth card was one of a deep pink colour.

"Espeon, the Sun Pokémon. Espeon are able to read air currents, allowing it to predict the future, as well as its opponents' next moves. With this evolution you'll obtain the psychic typing alongside with a gift for telepathy. Espeon excels in speed and special stats. It has Synchronize as an ability; which triggers when you're affected by a stat condition; it levels the playing field, passing down the same condition to the opponent."

The next card was a pitch black one.

"Umbreon, the Moonlight Pokémon. The rings of Umbreon's body glow faintly when exposed to the moon's aura, and it gains a mysterious power. I f you evolve into Umbreon you will obtain the dark typing; a bond with the moon and the ability to poison foes with your sweat. In this form you'll naturally excel at endurance and defensive abilities, both physical and special. It shares the Synchronize ability with Espeon."

The sixth card is as green as the leaves of this forest.

"Leafeon, the Verdant Pokémon. Leafeon is always surrounded by fresh clean air because it uses photosynthesis just like a plant. The grass typing and the ability to make your own oxygen can come in hand if you feel extra environmental. Leafeon will have great physical capabilities, both offensively and defensively; paired with good speed. His ability is a highly situational one, being only active during harsh sunlight; and protecting it from status conditions."

Like the first card, the seventh was also blue; but in a much lighter tone.

"Glaceon, the Fresh Snow Pokémon. Glaceon freezes the surrounding air by controlling its body temperature. As a Glaceon you will have the Ice typing, alongside with the ability to create ace of thin air by freezing the surrounding water molecules. Glaceon stats lean towards both great physical and special defences with an equally good special attack. The Snow Cloak ability it possesses is also dependant on the weather, this time hail, and provides an evasion boost."

The final card was also pink, but a tad lighter than Espeon's.

"Finally, we also have Sylveon, the Intertwining Pokémon. Sylveon affectionately wraps its ribbon-like feelers around its Trainer's arm as they walk together. Sylveon has the mysterious fairy typing and is able to read its trainers feelings by wrapping its feelers at their arms. As a warning do not ever wrap anything around me; my feelings are not pretty. Sylveon stands out due to its special stats and endurance. The Cute Charm ability can trigger when it is hit by a physical infatuating the opposing pokémon. It only works on the opposite gender, in your case female pokémon, though…I don't think it is possible for a pokémon to be homosexual."

As I took a breather of proffering all that information; Eevee looked away from the cards at me expectantly.

"We reached a point where it's not beneficial for us to continue all around training; we will be moving to a special training regime that will help you excel according to your pick. Be resolute, it's a choice of a lifetime."

The evolution pokémon still looked at me, with expectation marring his features.

"I will not state what I prefer. You. Are. Free." I said emphasizing each word I said. "You're free to pick one, take your time… but I won't let my beliefs cloud your choice." Not like mother did with me.

After a several tense minutes, Eevee finally moved, picking the pitch-black card with its mouth.

"Are you sure?"

Eevee must nodded.

"Well, Umbreon it is then." I paused to contemplate the rabbit's choice. "It seems that both of us have a vocation for darkness."

19 days until the deadline

The naked woman's embrace at my back was foreign. Not pleasant, not unpleasant; just foreign. The bedroom, hers, is definitively an upgrade from the sofa couch I slept in father's apartment living room; but still feel foreign.

"You did well. It's still a bit awkward… but you're improving."

I looked back at the redhead's woman nude form. Lilith was pretty: slender legs, feminine features, and luscious scarlet hair, not a natural one, but still attractive. Her mounds, which I felt pressed into my back earlier were perky and firm, last night she admitted she had silicone implanted. Her womanhood was neatly trimmed and…. well…womanly.

When I called her yesterday, I was extremely blunt. I needed to learn how to pleasure a woman, and I was willing to pay for that help. I needed to prepare against everything that would come onto my way, including sex. Shortly, I needed to seduce instead of being seduced. Most importantly this was the definite shattering of any connection I might still had with Nessa. Before the betrayal we promised we would be each other's firsts. Now I made sure that this wasn't going to happen.

She did come through on the promise of giving me a huge discount, our encounters would cost me 5.000 Pokémon Dollars, instead of the usual 20.000 she charged other clients.

"Why did you give me such a hefty discount?" I blurted out suddenly

The woman put a finger in her chin, contemplating.

"Well, you're good looking enough." She then cupped my face with her hands studying me. "You have defined features; your jaw and nose are defined enough to appear manly without crossing the line and becoming brutish."

My eyes met her brown ones. "Your green eyes are certainly not a common sight; I'd love to have eyes like yours."

Her hands then trailed to my chest. "You took care of your body, defined but not overly bulky." Then lower. "And your cock is definitively not small, most importantly you still have room for improvement." As I thought she would reach for my manhood her hands then went to my left bicep, into the mark left by the razor. "You even have the scar to complete the rugged look." She said, caressing my hair. "Although I think you should tie it."

She did have a point; the long locks often would fall into my right eye in a bothersome way.

"Yet the main reason is that you're different. I was often a prostitute, sometimes a whore, and sometimes a lover…but until you I was never a teacher."

"I see then." I said, my eyes still focused on the surroundings as I felt awkward simply by looking at the woman.

The woman then poked me at my ribs, drawing my attention back to her. "You regret it?" She asked.

"I regret the events that led me to this."

Lilith kept quiet for a minute. "It was worthy?"

"It will be when I achieve what I want the most."

"And what it that you want the most?" She asked, leaning her red int my shoulder, scarlet drapes covering my chest.

I felt my eyes become even more focused and my face glaring in a perfect combination of hate, rage and ambition. "Revenge."

Kindly leave a review if possible, they truly make writing more enjoyable.

Next chapter will conclude the 41 days period and will show some known faces.