POKÉMON: INFINITE LEGACIES
THE CIPRYS REGION
CHAPTER 25
SPECIAL CIPRYS KEBABS (WITH PEPPERS AND ONIONS)

Declan held out a Dusk Ball sooner than he would have liked. He returned his Pokémon, thanking them for their effort, and walked towards his challenger. Sweat poured off his head despite the air-con blasting cool air across the battlefield. On the way, he drew a purple crescent-shaped badge with shadows extending from the main piece. The lights of the countless lanterns overhead gleamed against the reward for besting the Gym Leader of Whistltree—the Phantom Badge.

"I must admit, young man, I am impressed. That was quite the battle. Your strategies were ingenious, and your confidence reminds me of another trainer I battled recently."

A boy with platinum-white hair seemed to be staring back, his face and icy-blue eyes betraying nothing. He had returned his Mudkip and was pretending to pay attention to the gym leader. Any other trainer might have been more excited at winning their first gym badge, but this boy's name was Frost, and while one gym badge offered so much hope to others, it did not matter when compared to hisultimate goal.

Declan put the boy's silence down to politeness, shyness, or maybe a combination of both. He held out his badge. "Here you go," he said warmly, dropping the badge.

Frost's left hand clenched into a fist around the falling badge. He discarded it into his pocket without wasting anymore time and locked eyes with Declan. "I would say thanks, but I thought gym leaders were meant to be a challenge."

Declan couldn't believe it. Anger flashed in his eyes for a second. He realised he'd been wrong about this boy. His confidence had hardened until it had turned to arrogance. And he was far from shy, or polite.

But does he have a point? wondered Declan involuntarily.

The Ghost-type gym leader had been preparing to face his daughter's new friend ever since their battle a few days ago. As a result, he had decided not to use Tomeinx in any battles until then; he wanted to save his newly-evolved Pokémon for their rematch. Perhaps that had been complacent of him. Then again . . . he considered the battle that had just taken place. It had lacked the intensity of his battle against the orange-eyed boy, but there was no ignoring the fact that this challenger had been stronger than any he had faced for a long time. So emotionless in battle, the 12-year-old's decision-making was unblemished by attachment.

In the end, Declan just chuckled at the insult. There was no point overcomplicating it; after all, children—especially those nearly teenagers—could be volatile creatures. "Come back once you have earned all the other gym badges, my boy, and I'll show you the strength of my very best Pokémon."

By the time Declan had finished speaking Frost had already turned and was starting to walk away. "Whatever, old man. I only came to your gym because it was on the way."

Old man? He thinks I'm old! Declan bristled, surprised by the boy's hostility. His daughter, Selina, and his other adopted children would never talk to him like this, with such a lack of respect.

Declan stared at Frost's back as he walked away, a natural swagger in his movements that reminded him of . . . someone. He failed to remember who exactly.

Frost had nearly reached the exit. Indignation and parental instinct urged Declan to say something. He waited another moment. His feeling didn't waver; he felt compelled to speak out. "I'm sure your parents wouldn't like you speaking with such disdain for others."

Frost took another step, then stopped.

Silence stretched out.

The boy's shoulders rose and fell, rose and fell . . .

Declan started to think he shouldn't have said anything at all. He had fostered a number of children, some more troubled than others, but while he and his partner had encouraged discipline and respect, he had often learned that there were reasons for bitterness, for hatred. He was expecting this quiet boy to snap round and erupt.

But Declan was wrong. Frost started again towards the exit, and just before he disappeared through it, he said, "I have no parents," as if it made no difference to him.

Declan very much doubted it mattered so little to him, and as he lost sight of Frost, he was left wishing he'd done more.

Flame adjusted his headband and rubbed sweat away from his forehead as he and Selina entered the Pokémon Centre. The closeness of his battles against Declan had only given him greater determination to improve the strength of his Pokémon. He had spent most of the day training and battling trainers along Route 3, with Selina observing and advising how he could improve his technique after each battle.

The lobby was busier than usual. Flame recognised a few of the trainers ahead from their battles earlier in the day and guessed everyone had had similar ideas. Declan's words flashed in his mind: The Paradial Conference, and Flame wondered how many of these trainers would reach the League and how many would fail. As long as I focus on working with my Pokémon, I can't go wrong, he knew, knowing it would do him no good to worry about the Conference when it was ten months away.

His stomach gave a dissatisfied rumble. He had been preoccupied with training, so he hadn't given much thought to eating. Now, though, he almost drooled at the prospect of food and a shower and sleeping in a nice, cool air-conditioned room.

Until Selina nudged him and said, "How about we do something different tonight? We won't be in Whistltree Forest for much longer."

"Like what?"

"I saw some signs outside. You can rent camping gear here. I haven't camped out for a while, but don't you think it would be cool to try it out again?"

Flame considered the prospect: camping . . . If he was honest, hungry, sweaty, and tired, camping was the last thing he wanted to do. What his 12-year-old body craved was junk food, a cold shower, and an air-conditioned room. His aching muscles were already telling him to give into exhaustion and find the nearest bed to sleep in.

But he knew that would be selfish. Selina's voice had radiated excitement, and if he refused, he suspected he would feel bad about it the next day. And she had been trailing after him all day, giving him tips and helping train his Pokémon when he wasn't battling. Since she had helped him out, it would be rude to reject her proposal now. Besides, he remembered camping with his parents when he was younger. It had been fun then. Maybe it'd be fun with Selina too.

His indecision must have shown for Selina smiled and added, "Don't worry. Once we're out there, I know you'll enjoy it."

Her smile cemented his decision: "As long as we've got food, I'm in."

Frost shielded his face with one hand while he fought through the bushes. Few trainers ventured this way and so the path was overgrown. Had he not come prepared—blue jacket and black jeans—branches and stingy nettles would have stung his skin. But his long-sleeved clothing came at a cost. The leafy canopy may have blocked out the sun's rays, but it was still hot and sweat seeped from his body. Although Frost did not complain. He knew if he was to beat the Champion, he could not let such a basic issue slow him down. He pushed on.

He had healed his Pokémon at the Pokémon Centre in Whistltree, but hadn't stuck around. If he had stayed any longer, he knew Flame would come stumbling in, crying about how he, such a poor, weak trainer, had lost again to Declan. Besides, Frost had had no family to contact, no one to tell about his achievement. The badge didn't mean anything to him anyway; it was just a bit of metal, and he was more interested in reaching his destination:

Igneoustorch Town.

He felt a mixture of emotions hit him at the thought of what awaited him there. Before his thoughts could turn sour, he noticed that an overgrown thicket was blocking the path. He delved into his pocket, seeking the Pokémon he'd caught specifically for this occasion.

"Bidoof, Cut," he said flatly.

Grass, nettles, and all sorts flicked against Flame's exposed shins—some stinging like a Chespin's Pin Missile attack—as he and Selina wandered down a path, overgrown and shaded from the sun, cutting between tall slender trees.

On the way Flame tried to keep an eye out for as many wild Pokémon as he could. He spotted a yellow serpentine Pokémon with stripes on its back and tiny wings and a yellow drill-like tail, but when he stepped towards the Pokémon, they decided to round and within seconds had disappeared into the ground. He also saw a black squirrel-like Pokémon with a yellow streak running from their forehead to their big tail scurry up a tree, a berry in their mouth.

"It'll be nice to be out of the Pokémon Centre for a night," Selina commented cheerfully above the drilling of Pikipek in the distance and the chattering of other Flying-types, glancing up at the sky that was turning orange.

It was still too hot, though, for Flame's liking. With teeth gritted he said, "Well, as long as there's no Hypnoku at the end of this path like the last forest we went off track, we should be alright."

Frost stumbled forwards, lifting his feet tentatively off the forest floor. It hurt to keep on walking. Fighting through the forest had left the soles of his feet throbbing and his trainers tattered. When he'd first ventured away from Route 3, he'd followed what he thought was the right track, but the track had lost itself to nature. It'd been a battle ever since. There had been no point returning Bidoof, for his Pokémon had been needed every few minutes to cut through overgrown vegetation. He wondered whether he was even going in the right direction, but there was nothing to be gained from turning back now.

Frost raised his head. The sky was darkening, but he wanted to keep going for as long as possible. He'd waited long enough to face him already. Bidoof had just Cut through another obstacle, but was tiring and so was his trainer. However much Frost wanted to keep going, it was getting late and his eyes felt heavy. He knew he couldn't dodge his exhaustion much longer. They had entered into a small clearing and there would most likely be no better place to stop.

Even with the Pokémon Academy's rigorous fitness regime, he was out of breath when he stopped and panted to Bidoof, "Good work. You deserve a good rest," before returning his Pokémon. His aching muscles told him to crumble to the forest floor and rest there, but he knew if he did, he'd struggle to get back up. He unshouldered his backpack and rummaged inside for his tent as the sky completed its transformation to black overhead.

In another part of the forest, Flame sat with hands cupped together behind his head, leaning back and gazing up at the stars. Unlike the relentless heat of the day, a gentle breeze blew fresh, cool air against his skin, whistling through the trees. "I have to admit you were right. It is nice out here. A place you can really appreciate nature."

Selina's purple-pink eyes glowed from the light of the fire. "I did say you'd enjoy it."

Flame straightened up. "How come you know so much outdoorsy stuff?"

Selina had taken charge of putting the tents up. Flame had tried to help, attempting to decipher the instructions, but Selina had done it before and remembered the ins and outs. It was easier to leave her to it, and it hadn't taken her long to have both their tents pitched. She'd then set about gathering firewood while Flame prepared their food (something he did remember from cooking classes at the Academy). Selina had rubbed sticks together, trying to create enough friction to ignite a spark, when Flame had noticed and with a grin had suggested an alternative, pulling out a Poké Ball. Litten hadn't looked overly impressed, to say the least, when he'd been released. He'd been expecting another fierce battle and mrrowed in disgust at the prospect of having to light a measly fire instead with only a small portion of his power . . . a tiny fireball.

"I used to do this with my dads a lot when I was younger. When Declan had time off, we'd sometimes head out into the forest and do some camping. Whistltree Forest's so big that there's plenty of good spots and wild Pokémon to come across."

That was true. They'd been walking through Whistltree Forest for what seemed like days now. Despite the shade, the Ciprys heat still found a way to sap your energy and it was tough-going even for the fittest and most well-prepared of trainers. Various Pokémon Centres were dotted along the main path so that trainers always had somewhere close by to rest.

Flame's stomach growled. He took a look at the kebabs resting over the fire and sniffed hungrily. "How much longer do you think?" he said.

Selina looked herself. "A little longer," she said.

Nurse Joy had been more than happy to lend them camping equipment and had confirmed it was okay for them to take food from the canteen. Flame and Selina had agreed upon kebabs with peppers and onions. Flame had suggested bringing along sour cream and had also noticed a packet of marshmallows on his way out.

"Didn't they teach you any survival training?"

"Sort of." He laughed nervously. "We had a semester of lessons on it and five days doing it in the wild, but I was never that good at any of it. We were in small groups. Lyric was pretty good at it, so we probably relied on her a little too much."

Curiosity sparked in Selina's mind. She wondered who Lyric was and how many or little of Flame's classmates had been like Frost. "You've not said much about what it was like there."

Flame shrugged. "It was pretty fun, I guess, but very, very hard work. Gruelling actually. That's why I'm glad it's over." A faraway look emerged in his eyes. "I suppose I just like to focus on the future, not the past."

Selina smiled slightly. "I could have been in the year above you."

It was Flame's turn to be overcome with curiosity: "Really? Why didn't you go?"

"I didn't pass the entry exam. Just missed out. Not that I minded much, though. My parents were the ones who wanted me to go, but I was happy to stay in Whistltree."

"Huh, interesting . . ." murmured Flame, surprised that Selina had failed the entry exam while he had passed, though only just. He wondered how differently things might have turned out if she had attended. Would their paths have crossed? Maybe, he thought, but not in the same way as now. She probably would have chosen her starter and set off before we could have travelled together. He didn't say it aloud, but for that reason, he was glad that she hadn't attended.

Frost hadn't been able to match Selina and Flame's successful camp setup: After fiddling around with his tent for the best part of an hour in semi-darkness, he'd given up and unfolded his camping mat. He now sat cross-legged atop it and his sleeping bag in silence, eating the leftovers of a sandwich and doing his best to block out the cricketing of nearby Bug-type Pokémon. The glow of his phone's screen was his only companion.

The signal was poor, but the phone was Osivin Corp's latest model, so the connectivity was good enough. An email notification appeared. It was from earlier in the day, from Professor Aconite. Frost scanned over her email. It wished them all the best with their journeys and reminded them she was only a phone call or email away if any help or advice or both was needed.

His eyes had been threatening to close, but the email filled him with enough scorn to reinvigorate him. What rubbish,he dismissed. I graduated. I don't need your help anymore.

He browsed the internet, trying to find out how much longer until he broke free of Whistltree Forest and reached the formidable Ciprys Ridge. His gaze ran over the results of his search. He found a page he thought might have been useful to him until he clicked and waited a few seconds—a video flashed up and filled the screen so that it was unavoidable.

His grey eyes hardened at the sight:

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHAMPION SOLOMON, THE HERO OF CIPRYS!

Anger seized him. He felt like smashing his phone against the nearest tree. He imagined this was how a Fighting-type Pokémon felt more often than not. Why does everyone always go on about how great he is? Champion Solomon this, and Champion Solomon that. He isn't all that. When I face him, when I beat him, I swear they'll know better. They'll know he's a liar, a fraud . . .

He could look at his father's face no longer. In disgust, he pressed undo and left the page behind. He scrolled away from his father's presence and clicked a link towards the bottom of the first page of responses, trying to focus on his next day of journeying. The website's title was in bold:

A Guide to the Ciprys Ridge: The Deadliest Training Spot in ALL Ciprys

He was going to investigate the contents of the page further until he heard an ominous crack! He looked up, but couldn't locate the source of the noise. His hand slipped into his pocket and tightened around Mudkip's Poké Ball. He looked around himself. He saw nothing in the darkness. His gaze wandered higher. Somewhere in the trees, in spite of the darkness, he saw red eyes staring back at him.

Author's Notes:
25 is probably my favourite number for its symmetrical qualities, behind lucky number 7. Now you know that . . . I can share with you that in the next chapter, Flame and Selina continue camping whilst Frost deals with that red-eyed Pokémon. Any ideas on who's that Pokémon?

Also, I have decided to alter their ages. So, Frost and Flame are now 12 instead of 13 because, on reflection, I felt like 13 was a little too old, considering how the other regions operate, and in an ideal world, Flame may well be visiting other regions after this. Selina is one year older, 13.

Reviews (last chapter, Chapter 24):
KokoroEcho: 'The comment about Shuppet and how it could have collected Flame's negative thoughts from earlier was *chef's kiss*. I was secretly hoping that 1) Yamask would be the Galarian variant or 2) it'd be a new version from Ciprys. Galarian Yamask is so dang cool! I also LOVE Runerigus. That said, as soon as you described how Flame got creeped out by the mask that Yamask has, I was all for you going with the version that you did.'—Thank you! I can't remember whether I had Declan use Shuppet for that reason, I don't think so, but that's just one example of a Pokémon having really interesting characteristics to draw upon. Chapter 23 and 24, from memory, were written all the way back in December, so I would have been hard-pressed to get Galarian Yamask in, haha.

'The attention to Oriota's formerly injured wing is a nice small detail. I think you could potentially make it a long running thing where Oriota suffers from some slight trauma from the wing. Others could use it as a weakpoint. This was an absolute slobber knocker of a battle. I'm so looking forward to where Flame goes from here. I made myself laugh after I read "So, Hotshot, now that you've won your first gym badge, do you think you're ready for the next gym?" I was praying that the next line would simply be "Nope!"'—That's a good idea. I've made a note to do that. I should have done that, haha!

'Another congrats on one year! This win definitely feels earned for Flame, as you've taken your time getting to it. Because of that, you have easily one of the best fanfics on the site. I hope you keep posting (more frequently if possible). Looking forward to the stand alone story! Because I got Oriota art commissioned, I'll always be in its corner. Looking forward to what comes next!'—I definitely agree in terms of Flame. Thank you! You're too kind, haha! If anyone wants to check out that art, it's on my wiki (which has plenty of spoilers around as I use it for keeping track of lots of stuff) but if you type in 'Pokémon Infinite Legacies wiki Oriota' a direct link to Oriota's page should show up.

CrescentApple: 'I just realized, Flame is a very sensitive guy. Not that it's a bad thing! But he is very thoughtful and attentive to what others say. If Yamask wasn't paralysed . . . I think Oriota would have still won. That Pokémon is pretty tough. It's cool Selina is staying with Flame. As travelling buddies she can teach him so much more. I still think she is a little bit stronger than Flame. Will she try for badges or travel for fun?'—Flame is modelled after myself a lot. I'm a sensitive person and can let what people say get to me, even if I think it's incorrect or whatever. Flame is generally very positive and happy, but knows really he is not the strongest trainer and because of how tough Ciprys is, has let it affect his confidence more than he probably should. Yeah, Oriota is a tough little thing, although Yamask's Brutal Swing was particularly effective, so it's hard to say for sure! :P Selina isn't particularly keen on earning badges and she's mainly just travelling for the fun of it. She's been helping out in a gym for the last few years of her life, so isn't really that motivated to do a Gym Challenge. In the future that might change, but for now, there is something that she will be doing alongside travelling with Flame that will be revealed in several chapters' time . . .