POKÉMON: INFINITE LEGACIES
THE CIPRYS REGION
CHAPTER 29
MEANING . . . MEANING WHAT EXACTLY . . . ?

"Ridgecho City—it can't be much further . . . can it?"

"A couple of hours," Selina answered. They were walking through woodland; the grassland from the previous day hadn't lasted long. Sunlight filtered through slim tree trunks, Flying-type Pokémon inspected them from branches above, and Bug-types peered through shrubbery at a much lower level.

"I hate that word: a 'couple'. Like, what does it even mean? Two, three, four?"

"On this occasion, I'd say four. We'll get there quicker if you don't complain so much."

Flame grinned back mischievously. "I just can't wait to get to that next gym, especially now that Oriota's evolved into Oriolt!"

"Well, there's still a long way to go until we reach the Ashidue Islands."

Flame's grin evaporated. "I know . . ."

"You do know that every time you beat a gym leader, the next one's tougher than the last, right?"

"Ha! I graduated from the best Pokémon academy in Ciprys, of course, I know that."

"Meaning . . ."

"Meaning what exactly?"

"Meaning Oriolt might have evolved, but you still need to make sure your other Pokémon are in battling shape."

"Training . . ." Flame pondered the word. "I guess that wouldn't be such a bad idea." He thought back to what he'd learned at the academy. Advanced training methodologies came to mind, even if he still wanted to fall asleep when thinking about them.

"Yeah, I've got some ideas," he told Selina. "Just need to find the right space to train in . . ."

Selina watched Flame curiously from atop a smooth stump. Her Eevee nestled on her lap. In a former life the stump must have lived a more fruitful life as a fully-fledged tree, for its trunk lay beside it. Stump was stubborn, though, and refused to acknowledge the pain of its mutilation, no expression on its dark brown bark. It seemed other trainers had had the same idea, to use the forest clearing to train as a range of forest debris—tree trunks and fallen branches—were scattered throughout the clearing. The earth was even blackened in places. Perhaps the stump knew it was fortunate to have survived such a scene.

Flame had released his three Pokémon and, after five or so minutes, had managed to line them up in the centre of the clearing. Sunlight sparkled down on them. Eevee bounced around excitedly while Litten sat back on his haunches and licked his forepaws, doing his best to look cool and calm. In between those two, Oriolt watched Flame keenly, awaiting instruction.

Flame paced back and forth in front of his Pokémon. "We don't have a clear advantage over the next gym," he explained, "so we'll have to make sure our moves are as strong as possible."

Eevee exclaimed her agreement. Litten mrrowed his, and Oriolt nodded seriously.

"Let's see your strongest moves! Eevee," Flame instructed, eyeing a target on the far side of the clearing, "use Shadow Ball on that tree."

"Eevee." Eevee stepped forwards. She lowered her head and concentrated. The air crackled, shifting and rippling—black and purple energy emerging from her sheer willpower and converging to form a sphere of dark energy.

"Eevee!" called Selina's Eevee, sounding impressed.

Eevee glanced back happily. But then the energy sparked and hissed, threatening to break apart. Surprise blossomed on Eevee's face.

"CONCENTRATE!" said Flame as calmly as he could. (It wasn't very calm.)

The sudden, volatile energy panicked Eevee. She lost her composure, the energy spiralling out of control. Eevee scrunched up her eyes and flinched; Flame turned away as the energy dissipated.

Flame rubbed his upper back. "I guess Shadow Ball still needs some work."

Eevee hung her head. "Eevee . . ."

"Nah, it's fine," soothed Flame, giving Litten a stern look when he noticed the Fire-type's mouth begin to move. Litten glared back, but didn't say anything. "Dark-type moves are harder for you to control. Since it's not your native type, it's not so easy to channel the energy."

At that, Eevee brightened up a little.

"Litten, you're up next. Same target—Flame Charge!" called Flame. Excitement filled his voice towards the end. I'll never get tired of seeing Litten use Flame Charge, he thought.

Flames danced into existence around Litten's glossy black fur. The markings on his forehead glowed bright red and then his whole body burst into flames, enveloping the fire cat Pokémon and granting him strength—and speed.

Before Flame knew it, Litten had bounded forwards and raced beyond the target. For a second, he thought Litten had missed. But then the tree burst into flames and fell apart, blackening until only ash remained. Litten came to a stop and, through his mask of fire, looked back smugly.

Flame smiled uneasily, watching the last of the flames burn out. "Hehe, sorry tree . . ."

Selina sighed. She produced a Poké Ball from her yellow drawstring bag. She said, "Really you should have a Water- or Grass-type ready if you're gonna do that," and clicked the release-return button. A beige-feathered Pokémon with a round body appeared from the released energy, floating in the air.

Litten arched his back and hissed his displeasure, flames still burning furiously around him.

"Synthesis on where that tree was please, Rowlet."

Rowlet cooed his agreement. He flew towards the pile of ash that marked the tree's prior existence. Sunlight seemed to gather on his feathers. His body radiated with a dazzling white glow.

Litten stepped forwards. He eyed Rowlet distrustfully, fangs bared and hackles raised. A growl was forming in his throat.

"Stop," Flame said, sensing trouble. "You're not battling Rowlet."

Litten growled rebelliously. But, however reluctant he was, he listened to his trainer and did not intervene, despite the itching in his paws and the flames rippling around him, which were slowly starting to simmer away.

Flame kept an eye on Litten as Rowlet settled over the ashes. The Grass- and Flying-type Pokémon closed his eyes. He looked peaceful. Anticipation seized Flame, but a minute passed and nothing happened. He was beginning to wonder if anything would when a shaft of sunlight so bright he could barely look at it poured over Rowlet's form.

Rowlet sparkled with the brightest form of energy Flame had ever seen. Rowlet touched a wing to the pile of ashes. The grass quill Pokémon's eyes snapped open and the ashes shifted, sharing the bright energy and growing, growing, growing until—

Flame drew in breath sharply, amazed. The tree had reappeared before him, no longer black and charred but looking in perfect health.

"It's best to leave things as you found them," Selina pointed out as Rowlet hovered back silently to his trainer, landing on her shoulder. Selina scratched her Pokémon gently under his chin.

"That was cool!" Flame said. "I didn't know your Rowlet knew Synthesis."

Selina shrugged as if it was nothing special. "Rowlet's a quick learner."

"Anyway," Flame said, "now it's your turn!"

Oriolt hopped towards Flame. Even though his wing had fully healed, the thundercloud Pokémon was as happy on the ground as he was in the air.

"Now that you've evolved, Oriolt, I want to see your strongest Electric attack!" Flame glanced at Selina. "I might need Rowlet's help again."

"No worries."

"Go Oriolt!" Flame called.

Oriolt focused on the target. Eyes narrowed, he raised his wings. Sparks started to flash across his body, growing more and more frantic. The sparks crackled. And then bolts of electricity rushed from Oriolt's body. Oriolt squawked in alarm, and everyone took a step back—or in Selina's case, fell—and ducked as electrical energy shot past overhead.

When Flame returned his gaze to his Pokémon, he saw Oriolt staring at himself, his wings, and then the target as if he was trying to figure out what had gone wrong. Surprise slowed Flame's mind. He wasn't sure what to say. Having evolved, Oriolt had the potential to be his strongest Pokémon now (not that he valued Litten or Eevee any less). But did that power come with a cost? When Oriolt was Oriota, there was no problem with him using Thunder Shock . . .

Selina was staring up at the sky (Eevee had been clever and had jumped off her lap just in time) while she'd fell backwards. Embarrassment reddened her face, and as she brushed herself down and stood up, she hoped Flame hadn't noticed, but she quickly realised he was too preoccupied with Oriolt. She walked closer. "Oriolt's just evolved," she said. "He probably hasn't got used to all that extra energy yet."

Lectures Flame thought he'd forgotten flashed in his mind. "It's my mistake," he murmured. "I should have realised. It's a similar problem to Eevee using Shadow Ball, but worse, flying and electrical energies don't mix well, especially since his base typing has changed. Now he's a Flying- and Electric-type, and he's not used to that. This won't be easy . . ."

Oriolt looked back over his shoulder at Flame. "Ori-olt," he said.

"But then again, I know Oriolt can do it," encouraged Flame, smiling.

"It is a common problem for newly evolved Pokémon, but you'll both be fine," agreed Selina. "Oriolt's strong."

Oriolt chirped happily at her praise.

"You just need to build up his Electric attacks. Not throw everything at the target at once, y'know?"

Flame wondered whether Oriolt's flock would have been better able to teach Oriolt how to harness his new-found powers than he was. But Selina was right: Oriolt had proven his strength and resiliency on many an occasion. With time and practice, the energies would be balanced and Oriolt would learn how to control them better. Yet, for now, they would have to start off small . . .

"Okay. We'll start off using a basic Thunder Shock. Once you're able to control that attack, we can learn some more advanced variations. For now, there's no need to push yourself."

Oriolt dipped his head. Flame's doubt faded at the sight of the determination in Oriolt's gaze. He remembered the promise he'd made when Oriolt had evolved: we're all going to get stronger together, and they would he knew.

"What are you planning to do next?" Selina asked.

Flame paused for thought, inspecting each of his Pokémon. All three gazed at their trainer eagerly.

"Well, Eevee here would like to apologise for breaking Eevee's concentration."

"Eevee," apologised Selina's Eevee from next to his trainer.

"Nah, it's fine. They need to be able to hit their moves under pressure. It was useful practice, and a reminder, to avoid distractions."

"I'm happy to help Eevee with Shadow Ball again, like in Whistltree, if you want?"

"It would be good to work on Oriolt's Electric attacks in particular . . ." Flame admitted. "But that leaves Litten."

"And Rowlet . . ."

Flame glanced sideways. Litten's gaze was still locked on his rival. "Well, you know Litten," said Flame, "he likes to bear a grudge . . ."

A smile curved onto Selina's face. "Just don't be disappointed when I beat you, okay?"

"Challenge accepted," Flame said, grinning back.

As both trainers called their Pokémon over and stood opposite one another, Flame pulsed with excitement. He was looking forward to facing Selina again, just as much as Litten wanted to get his claws on Rowlet. After his triumphs and defeats, after defeating Declan on his second try and earning his first gym badge, and after Oriota evolving into Oriolt, he was going to see how much he had improved. He had lost to Selina when they'd first met. So had Frost. It's not going to be easy, he knew. A former gym leader's assistant, Selina had much more experience as a trainer than he did, but it was Fire versus Grass. He had the type advantage—

Litten mrrowed.

—and, of course, Litten to propel them to victory.

"Watch closely," Flame told his remaining Pokémon, who were lined up beside Selina's along the sideline. All three—Oriolt and both Eevee, who stood close to one another—were silent, watching Litten and Rowlet, watching Flame and Selina with interest. Litten's desire to beat Rowlet was well-known.

Litten's eyes seared with impatience. He tugged at the grass with his forepaws, ripping blades of grass free. The battle was about to begin. Anticipation gripped him. He couldn't wait any longer.

Rowlet stared confidently back. He flapped his wings lightly when he needed to, floating in mid-air. Despite Grass' weakness to Fire, he knew Selina would use his Flying type effectively.

"You can go first," said Selina, "to give you a chance."

"Flame Charge!" Flame shouted. Flame knew, however easy-going Selina normally was, she was determined not to lose. He would have to put her under pressure as quickly as possible.

Litten sneered. Flames consumed his form and he blasted across the field towards Rowlet. Rowlet might have been airborne but that didn't stop Litten from leaping off the ground and shooting like a missile towards his rival.

"That was predictable. I've seen enough of your battles to know you'd try to get a quick hit in. Rowlet, dodge and use Leafage."

For half a second, Flame thought Selina's command had come too late. At the very last moment, though, Rowlet angled his body away from Litten's Flame Charge. The blazing fire cat Pokémon flew past and landed roughly, skidding to a stop. Litten snapped towards Rowlet, growling as the flames broke off, while the grass quill Pokémon gathered green energy around his body before expelling them at Litten in a spiralling flurry.

"Burn them to a crisp with Ember!" countered Flame.

Litten breathed in oxygen, and when he exhaled, fire streamed out. Leafage raced closer. Litten answered with Ember. In seconds, fireballs erased Rowlet's Leafage. Rowlet was once again on the defensive, fireballs hurtling towards him.

"Not to worry. Get in close, Rowlet! And use Peck!"

Flame hardly had time to register what Selina had said. With breathtaking speed, Rowlet dived at Litten.

"Scra—"

But Litten was one step ahead. He'd already raised a glowing white forepaw to block. Dust and dirt and other debris in the forest clearing was tossed into the air as the attacks collided. Rowlet's greater momentum worked in his favour. Litten's blocked saved him from the worst of the attack, but nevertheless, the impact overpowered him. He was flung him backwards.

"You really should be predicting your opponent's moves in advance," Selina commented, "so that you have a counter ready."

Flame gritted his teeth. I don't know Rowlet's moveset, but Selina's spent enough time with Litten to know his.

Rowlet took the centre of the impromptu battlefield, floating overhead, awaiting instruction. Sunlight crept around the edges of the oval-shaped Pokémon, for Rowlet had positioned himself between the sun and Litten. Rowlet's long shadow stretched towards his downed opponent.

As Litten battled back to his paws, growling and hissing, Flame considered Selina's strategy. What's she waiting for? he wondered. The battle's been so fierce so far. Why would she give Litten time to recover?

When Litten had gathered himself, Selina gave her answer: "Shadow Sneak."

No time to respond. The attack was that quick. Instantaneous. And now Flame realised why Rowlet had been blocking out the sun. His shadow increased in size, morphing into countless black leaves. A heartbeat passed. The shadowy leaves stormed Litten, who was quickly lost beneath the black mass.

Flame heard Litten cry out. Anger shook his Pokémon's voice. It's my fault, thought Flame. I should have realised that's what Selina's plan was. "C'mon, Litten!" he shouted. "Get out of there! Flame Charge!"

Selina shook her head gently. "This battle's over. Sorry, Flame, but I did say I would win."

But a smile dawned on Flame's face. An enraged growl reached his ears. Flames chased away shadows. Litten's eyes glowed red and a fiery aura of orange enveloped his form. Flame recognised the cause of Litten's new strength from his first battle: Blaze. It hadn't gotten them the win against Frost and Mudkip, but perhaps this time would be different?

Surprise raised Selina's eyebrows. After a moment of looking unsure what to say, a confident "Shadow Sneak" shot from her mouth.

The shadows tried to gain ground on Litten, but the Fire-type's flames were too big and too bright; the shadows were gone as quickly as they'd formed.

Rowlet flapped his wings restlessly, looking unsteadily towards Litten, as the fire cat Pokémon started to prowl forwards. About to strike.

"Leafage!"

Litten bounded forwards. One, two, three seconds, and he pounced, racing into the air. Green energy was forming around Rowlet, spiralling—but not quickly enough.

"Dodge!" realised Selina mid-move.

Rowlet hurried to cease his attack. He shifted his weight and veered sideways. Flames licked his wing as Litten blasted past. Rowlet frowned, like he was shocked that Litten had actually landed a hit. He tried to flex his wing, but pain exploded in his shoulder. He faltered in mid-air.

Litten sensed opportunity. Before Flame could tell him what to do, he rebounded off of the nearest tree and darted towards Rowlet.

Rowlet tried to dodge, but speed wasn't on his side. Litten smashed against him. Heat seared his feathers. The Grass- and Flying-type dropped groundwards, eyes closed.

"Rowlet . . ." murmured Selina, struggling to believe how quickly the battle had swung around. She blinked hard. She regained her senses and brought out her Poké Ball before Rowlet could hit the ground, the red light returning Rowlet before further damage could be inflicted.

Oriolt nodded approvingly at Litten's unlikely comeback. Flame's Eevee tried to look bored, but couldn't stop her eyes from sparkling with excitement. Selina's Eevee looked anxiously towards his trainer.

"We won . . ." breathed Flame. "We won!"

The flames subsided. Litten struggled, but in the end managed to puff out his chest and yowl in triumph. Flame swept up Litten in his arms and congratulated him.

Selina bit her lip. She clutched Rowlet's Poké Ball firmly before returning it to her bag. I can't believe I lost. And to Flame? I mean, I know he beat Dad but . . . I thought I was stronger than this. She thought back to when she'd first met Flame. If it wasn't for him, I might never have escaped from Hypnoku's curse. I should be better than—

"That was intense!" Flame's voice interrupted her thinking. "Rowlet's tough!"

"You were lucky with Blaze," acknowledged Selina. "I should have made sure you were fainted and buried before that."

"Yeah, guess so. Wow, I can't believe I won! I knew it'd be tough battling you even with Litten's type advantage."

Selina folded her arms. Despite herself, a smile slowly curved onto her face. "Don't get used to it. Next time you're losing, I'm winning." And I won't allow myself to underestimate you again.

Flame smiled. "I'm looking forward to the rematch already. Now, how about some training?"

Author's Notes:
Originally Flame was going to battle someone else this chapter. But things slotted into place and I thought it made more sense to do the Litten-Rowlet grudge match instead. His original opponent should be showing up sooner rather than later.

This really was a training chapter, so any thoughts on that would be interesting. I'm surprised I managed to write 3,000+ words. The stuff about Oriolt struggling with balancing his energy/energies was created on the spot, but I like the idea of it and will probably mention it more in the future. I hope it made sense! It seemed logical from my perspective!

I'm also supposed/trying to do NaNoWriMo this month, so you probably won't see another chapter released until December.

Reviews (Chapter 28):
KokoroEcho: 'Another solid chapter from you. It feels like each new chapter is a step up in storytelling. I did get a little bit emotional when reading this. I felt for Flame, because losing a friend, even when it's better for the friend, is tough to do. But we're seeing how mature Flame is, and I respect it'—Thanks! Probably is the biggest chapter on the emotional scale I've written for this story.

SceptileBlade: 'Ayy, it's like the Butterfree episode, except the Butterfree actually placed the bro before the ho, since, you know, there is no ho'—Definitely, haha. As (I think) I have mentioned previously, Chapters 27 and 28 were 100% inspired by the Bye-Bye Butterfree episode. The working title for those chapters was Bye-Bye Oriota, but I changed it because it didn't want to give away what would be happening in the chapter. ;P