"Well, first off! Congratulations, contestants!" N starts, raising a toast to us, which we all laugh and clink our glasses to.
"So, this is mainly just a formal dinner, but we will be having a meeting to discuss the next steps in a few days, before we leave." Shelley says, sipping from her drink, and the leaders all nod.
"So... are we allowed to train in the next few days?" Rayna asks.
"Of course! These next couple days are yours for the choosing, but three days from tomorrow, we will be leaving." Archie says, downing his third glass.
We all nod, then turn to our neighbours.
Rayna is sat beside me on one side, Prim on the other.
"You guys want to train together?" Prim whispers, and we all nod, and both Nareen and Matthew nod from their position across the table as well.
Chefs bring out a few mixed platters of meat and veggies, and we pick as we discuss.
"So, what are the rules on pokemon? We can bring all of them?" Rayna asks, but Prim shakes her head.
"Last TeamRace, I went to the local gymnasium to watch on the school's projector, and the teams only had four pokemon each, two per team mate." She explains, and we nod.
"I'll be bringing Pikki for sure then, but it'll be hard to choose between Berri and Suave..." Rayna trails off, and I nod.
"I'll be bringing Effie for sure, but I have no idea who to bring for my second. Maybe Cleo? Are there obstacles?" I ask, and N nods from across from us.
"I can't go into detail, but there will be trainer pokemon running amok in the maze." He whispers, but Shelley shoots him a playful look, daring him to go on.
Her eyes dart to me, then to my chest, and her eyes widen.
My cheeks go rosy as I try to sink back into my chair again, but she gestures to my necklace, the one I received from Marlon earlier.
I turn it around, taking it off and showing it to her, but she shakes her head and laughs, poking the big sumo trainer I battled on the island, and he turns to see it, his eyes lighting up.
He quickly pulls a pen out of his shirt pocket, and scribbles a note on a napkin, pushing it over to me.
Rayna and Prim are so into their conversation about what outfits to bring that they dont see the whole exchange, even as I reach across, grabbing the note. It reads;
My name is Hala. Meet me and Shelley on the back beach after dinner. Bring your pokemon.
He looks at me expectantly, and I nod.
His grin stretches across his whole face, as him and Shelley get into a heated conversation, all the while looking back at me every few seconds.
After the dinner, I release Effie, and we head to the beach.
Hala and Shelley are already there, waiting on a picnic bench by the water.
"Ho! How are you, my boy?!" He booms, throwing me into a tight bear hug.
"Hey gorgeous." Shelley kisses my cheek.
"Hey guys... so... what is this about? Am I in trouble?" I ask, nervously fidgeting with my necklace, but they both laugh.
"Ho ho! No, son, we were wondering where you got that mega stone on your necklace!" Hala laughs, and I turn my head in confusion.
"What? Whats a... mega stone?" I ask, and their eyes go wide.
"So you don't have... a mega ring?" Shelley asks, and I shake my head.
"Guys, I am really confused..." I start, but Hala sits me down at the table, Shelley across from us.
"What you have on your necklace there, that's called a mega stone." He starts.
"A mega stone? Whats that?" I ask, and he laughs.
"Mega stones are a way for pokemon in their final evolution to... evolve again, for a short period of time." He explains.
"Again?" He nods.
"The one you have there is a Sharpedoite, Sharpedo's mega stone. But, in order to use it, you would need a mega ring."
"So... Effie can use this?" I look between her and the stone, the stone shimmering from the light bouncing off of the waves.
"Yes, barring the level of your friendship. Mega evolution requires both trainer and pokemon to be one hundred percent willing to lay their inner most feelings and desires down for one another. It is one of the few ways in this world for trainer and partner to become one." He finishes, and points to Shelley.
"Shelley will now demonstrate with her Sharpedo." Shelley stands, releasing her Sharpedo, who is a bit bigger than Effie, but has many scars.
"Watch closely to how they react to one another, once the stone is activated." He whispers, standing back.
"Go, Harmony!" She points to the water, and her Sharpedo jumps high into the air.
"Mega Evolution, GO!" She shouts, and she flings the stone into the air. I notice a small ring on her right hand, and the small stone set within lights up as the Sharpedoite flies towards Harmony.
Everything goes silent for a moment, as the stone taps Harmony's top fin, before a loud whooshing sound takes over the silence.
Sand and water shoot up from the ground below, making a sphere around the no longer visible Sharpedo, and I see Shelley tense up.
"Take note of her body language!" Hala shouts over the noise, and I nod, as Shelley tenses up, releasing a low scream as her body convulses slightly. Her eyes close, but when they open again, one isn't the same.
One is her usual, sky blue eye, while the other is a blood red, reminding me of...
Harmony bursts out of the sphere, and I gasp in awe.
She has doubled in size, maybe even tripled, and there are huge fangs sticking out of the top half of her mouth, three on either side of her face, reminding me almost of a chainsaw. The yellow star marking that was on her forehead is now elongated, stretching along her entire body in places, and I notice her teeth are massive as she grins.
Her eyes finally open, and I shout in shock. One is her blood red eye, the eye of a predator, and the other is...
Sky blue.
"As you can see, I was being very literal in the sense that both trainer and pokemon become one." Hala finishes again, and I sigh in amazement.
Shelley walks over, her gigantic shark pokemon following in tow.
"Mega Evolution takes a serious toll on both your and your pokemons body and mind, so it's best not to keep it going for to long." Shelley says, but her voice is low, gravelly almost, like shes just woken up.
She taps her ring, which is glowing brightly, and there is a bright flash as Harmony is surrounded by the bright white light of evolution, and returns to her normal form. As the light fades, I see Shelley has the Sharpedoite in her hand, and both of their eyes are back to normal.
"So... how do I attain one of these... rings?" I ask, and Shelley laughs, slipping hers off and handing it to me, along with a small pouch with a couple belt loops through it.
"Take mine." She hands it out, but I shake my head, stepping back.
"Shelley, no! I couldnt!" But she laughs again, shoving the items into my hands and stepping back.
"I have a mega bracelet at home, so I don't need this ring. Plus, the bracelet is blue, it goes with my outfits." She winks, and I sigh in defeat, putting the ring on.
I'm expecting it to be warm, since Shelley was wearing it, but it's cold to the touch. It also tightens gently around my finger, fitting snugly.
"It will never fall off, as it forms to your finger." Hala explains.
"And that pouch will always stay attached to your belt, holding as many mega tones as you can collect inside of it. It will only produce mega stones for the pokemon on your team that are capable of mega evolving. What pokemon do you have?" Shelley asks, and I count them off.
"Sharpedo, Liepard, Swinub, and Flaffy." They both nod.
"Your Flaffy, once evolved into Ampharos, will also be capable of mega evolution." Hala says, but before anyone can say anything else, there are footsteps behind me and I whip around to see my Mom.
"Oh! I'm sorry! Am I interuppting something? I can come back!" She goes to turn, but Shelley quickly hugs her.
"No ma'am! Just doing some... advanced training." She laughs.
"Hey mom! Whats up?" I ask, and Shelley's eyes go wide.
"Mom? This gorgeous young lady is your mother?! She doesn't look a day over twenty!" Shelley gushes, kissing moms hand before grabbing Hala and whisking him away, winking at me.
"Oh my! Thank you!" Mom shouts after them, before turning to me.
"What was that all about?" She asks, and I laugh, shaking my head.
"No idea."
"Whats up?" I ask as we walk back to our room, and Mom laughs.
"Kai trained hard all day, and wants to show you what they learned." She laughs.
"Good for him! Im so excited for him." She nods.
"This will be good for him. Delia is a total sweetheart, shes always leaving little presents for us everywhere."
"She... poops?" I ask, and Mom bursts into giggles.
"Oh, no! I meant, actually wrapped christmas gifts! It's one of her moves, Present. She drops little packages, and so far we have gotten food, a few clothing items, and Dad accidentally opened a trap one, singed his eye brows as a flamethrower came out." We both laugh.
We enter the room finally, and I see Kai sitting with Delia beside the bed, on the sofa.
They both look bone-tired, but perk up when they see me.
"Hey! Big bro!" I release my pokemon to rest, as I head over to Delia and Kai.
"How's it going dude? Heard you guys went hard on the training today?" Delia flexes her little wings, and I laugh, kissing her forehead.
"We sure did! Delia is learning how to master her Present move, but I have to get some artificial move disks to teach her anything else." He sighs, but I pat his head.
"Well, are you guys up for some more intense training tomorrow?" His eyes light up, and both him and Delia nod vigorously.
"Then we will stop in Humilau and grab you guys some new moves, then you can train with us contestants." They nod again, and I laugh.
"That would be amazing!" Kai says, his eyes wide in amazement.
"Sweet! Be up by six, and ready for breakfast by seven." He nods, lifting himself back into the chair, and wheeling off to bed.
"Thats really nice of you, honey." Mom kisses my forehead.
"You guy's coming?" I ask, but Dad shakes his head.
"Theres something me and your mom have been meaning to talk to you about..." He sits me down on the bed, and they sit on the sofa.
"Is everything okay?" I ask, but Mom shakes her head.
"Your grandma Tottie hasn't been doing to well. Shes in the hospital in Pewter, and the doctors don't think..." Dad trails off, tears in his eyes, and Mom continues.
"It's not looking good. Me and your dad fly out tomorrow to be with her, and hopefully everything will work out, but just in case, we are leaving Kai here with you." She finishes quietly, dad now crying softly.
"Okay. I will make sure everything goes smoothly on our end." I say, and Mom leans forward, hugging me tightly.
"Also, Kai doesn't know, so please try to keep it to yourself for now, at least until we can see the extent of the damage." Dad sniffles softly, and I nod.
"Of course." kiss his forehead, and he squeezes my hand.
"I also had one more thing to ask, and this is a hard one even for me." Mom asks, and I nod, turning to her.
"I was wondering... If you would gift me Aspen?" She asks, and my eyes go wide.
"What? Aspen?" I ask, and she nods.
"Me and him have bonded, and It would kill me to leave him here. My trainers instincts are kicking in whenever I am around him, and I think it would be-"
"Of course." Her eyes go wide.
"What? Really, you would?" Tears fill her eyes.
"I have my hands full with the other three as is, and I agree that with him being so young, its hard for me to train him around here. I also think he really loves you, mom. So, as long as we can convince Belle, you have my blessing." She hugs me, squeezing tightly.
"Thank you baby! I just, I haven't felt this way in years! The excitement of pokemon training, its a feeling I have dearly missed." She says, wiping tears out of her eyes.
"No problem! I think it would benefit both of you. Belle! Bring Aspen over here please!" Belle trots out, a dozing Aspen in her arms as she plops down on the sofa beside mom.
"I have a question for you, hun. This will be a hard one, but I want you to think it through, okay?" Belle nods, her eyes set in a hard determination.
"Mom here was wondering... if you would be willing... to let Aspen go with her." Aspens little eyes go wide as he squeals in excitement.
Belle looks at mom with hard eyes, and they just stare at each other for a moment, Belle's stare hard and steely, with mom's warm and soft...
Belle finally sighs, hugging Aspen close, before handing him over to Mom, who starts crying as she hugs the Flaffy, squishing poor Aspen in the middle.
"Thank you, Belle! I promise to take perfect care of him, and we will come visit whenever we can!" She sobs quietly, and Belle kisses her cheek, tears in her eyes as well.
I kiss both parents, before handing Aspen's pokeball to Mom, and heading to bed.