Chapter Sixteen
Some 'Light' Training

We're all in this together.
Once we know that we are,
We're all stars,
And we see that

We're all in this together
And it shows
When we stand,
Hand in hand,

Making dreams come true.

Zac Efron and Vanessa Hugson
 High School Musical

Sam's Point of View

I gave a start as I woke up, and stared at the ceiling before I realized that something was wrong. Where were the normal sounds that the others made? Nick's wheezes, Brendan's snores and Katrina's whimpers?
Memory kicked in when I rolled over and was met with an empty room and a blond hair in my eye. Muttering, I swept my hair out of my eyes and swung my feet out from under the covers, before jerking them back under. It was cold! Light flooded the room, but it was still cold. Fumbling for my PokèNav, I swore when I saw the time.

6:30 am.

It was definitely way too early for me to be up, let alone awake. I would have done anything for a sleep-in between here and Arw, but Katrina and Brendan always insisted on an early start. Raising my head from my pillow, I glared at the heater in the corner, willing it to turn on. I couldn't even open my eyes properly, let alone focus my mind to turn the heater on telekinetically. Not to mention, I didn't have that good a focus on my powers. I figured I had a 50 /50 chance of turning the heater on. The other chance was that the heater would blow up and I'd die in the explosion, but, hey, I'd die warm.
Groaning, I rolled over onto my belly and looked out the window. The bunk bed was at the perfect height for me to look out the window and still be lying down. Very few people were out right now. The occasional jogger went past, as well as some Pokémon. The largest crowd was three people chasing a Skitty which had what looked like meat in its mouth and an expression of humour on its face.

So, I was lying there, enjoying the calm, when someone knocks on the door. The look that followed the knock probably could have peeled paint, but it didn't discourage the knocker; they simply knocked again.
Muttering to myself, I got out from under the warm covers and made my way to the door, thinking of a way to punish the knocker for every step I took. Opening the door, I was met by Keira.

Blinking, I looked at her. "Keira."

"Hi Sam!" She said, way too perky for this hour of the morning. "Congratulations!"

I looked at her blankly, wondering what I should be congratulated for. The only thing that sprang to mind was me, Nick and Katrina busting up the Team Flora hideout, but that was ages ago. "What for?"

"You, and someone else, have been selected to represent all of Romanc City in its battle against Rorroh Town. When you logged in to the Pokémon Centre,your number was taken down and randomly pulled out of a barrel last night. Now, get dressed, you have a whole day of training to do! Meet me at the city Gym at 7:30!" And without waiting for a reply, she left, leaving me with a blank expression and bed-hair.

Going into the room, I shut the door quietly behind myself. "Mental note: In order to avoid being woken up in future, make sure the place you're staying at has no contests running." And with a sigh, I walked over to the door to the bathroom, turning on the heater as I passed it.
Half an hour later saw me walking out of my now warm room and into the corridor. Going to my right, I emerged into the lobby of the Centre, before walking into the Food Hall. Five or so other people were up, all of them looking more active than me. They were chatting rapidly with each other, and far too loud for the hour.

Shuffling over to the kitchen window, I examined the hot food choices before selecting the Scrambled Eggs with toast and spaghetti option. With my food in tow, I claimed an empty table and began to wonder if I should risk the wrath of my Pokémon by releasing them and telling them the 'Good' news.
Deciding not to, I began eating, stopping in the middle of a mouthful when I saw Katrina and Nick enter the hall. Calculations ran freely through my mind as I figured out what to do, before I shrugged. Food was more important than a fight. I didn't have anything against Nick, only Katrina, and that was slight. Ashlee on the other hand, she would look back on the day she turned my hair blond with a twitch in her eye. Once I had come up with a form of revenge anyway.

I was so absorbed in this line of thought that I didn't notice Kat and Nick bringing their food to the table until they were actually sitting. Katrina looked at me with a quizzical look on her face, plainly wondering why I was up, while Nick was more preoccupied with his food than trying to solve one of life's mysteries; why I was up before mid-day on a day when I could have slept in.
Through a mouthful of food, I explained to Katrina what I had 'won'. Confusion changed to exasperation in the first few sentences while I explained.

"Nick won the same thing. Looks like you two are gonna be battling together against the 'Champions of Darkness' the Rorroh will be supplying." Katrina paused a second while she let this information set in. "Oh great, Romanc is doomed."

I swatted half-heartedly at her, mostly at the slight against mine and Nick's battling skills. A sudden mental blank came to me, which prompted the question, 'Uh, Nick? You do have Pokémon other than Sparx and Healtia, don't you?" I didn't really count Chicken as a Pokémon. Not one that would be off use in battle anyway.

When Nick's response was to slam his head down on the table, I looked at Katrina. The look on her face suggested that she'd already had this discussion with him. "Don't ask. I've offered to lend him Electra or Dirden, but he refused."

I gave Nick a piercing look, one that was wasted due to his being face down on the table. Something told me that he was feeling slightly insignificant. He hadn't caught any Pokémon since Chicken. Casting my mind back, I realised that he had caught the Caterpie that had attacked me after I had stood on its tail, but that was ages ago, back in Comed Town. "Hey, what happened to that Caterpie you caught in Comed?"

Nick gave a shudder, one that was probably attached to a wince. Katrina frowned, before her own memory filled her in. "That's right, what did you do with it? You didn't put it in the computer with Chicken, did you?"

Nick looked up, a red mark on his forehead from where it had been resting on the table. "No, I've kept Insecticide with me."

"Insecticide?"

Nick winced, again. "Yeah, that's what I called it. At least, that's what I called it when it reached this stage." Grabbing a Pokéball from his belt, he clicked it open. Red energy zapped between me and Katrina and onto the bench behind us, before forming in a Butterfree. This Butterfree wasn't the normal colouring however. It was more black than white. I frowned at it, perplexed, before I snapped my fingers.

"Ah, when a Butterfree is black, it means that its Psychic powers are more dominant than its Bug and Flying ones!" I exclaimed. I'd read the information in a Breeder's Digest, when they had been doing a special feature on bug Pokémon. Then I frowned. How come I hadn't sensed its presence in the camp?

Nick however, caught on to what I was thinking and pointed down to the base of the Butterfree's foot A small, black device was there. Leaning in, I took a closer look. The Butterfree, or 'Insecticide', unused to my presence, took up and flapped over to Nick's shoulder, covering me in a fine white dust. My eyes watering, I sneezed before looking at Nick. "That's a Psy-Neut!"

Nick nodded. "Otherwise all the bug Pokémon nearby would attack her. They REALLY don't like having a psychic Butterfree around. I was training in Arw City, after you two left, when we were attacked by a Trainer's own Butterfree. We found out from Nurse Joy after that and Insecticide was issued with a Psy-Neut. Apparently the reason for Insecticide being strongly psychic is being in the presence of strong, uncontrolled psychic energies. That'd be you, when you were at the stage when you loved to use your powers on me and Kat."

I grimaced, and amazingly, blushed. With my face hot, I quickly muttered an apology.

"Yeah, well, it's all in the past." Nick said, more cheerfully. "Anyway, time for us to go anyway. Can't be late, or Keira would shoot us. Or love us to death, whatever their form of death is in this place."

"Good point"

"Ok, you two have fun. Play nice with the other kids, unless the other kids want to beat you, in which case, you kick those other kid's butts." Katrina said cheerfully, before finally starting on her now cold breakfast.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "I could have sworn I've heard that somewhere before."

"Yeah, well, those voices in your head tend to talk and sing a lot."

"Bite me."

"Name the place."

I gave up, began muttering and exited the hall. Nick walked by my side, humming to himself. Insecticide on his shoulder looked odd and completely mismatched with Nick. Walking out into the lobby, Insecticide drew attention to herself when she took off, to hover over the door. I smiled wryly. This was one Pokémon that wanted out, desperately. Curiously, I reached out with my powers, wanting to get to know the thoughts behind the form, but my powers suddenly encountered a void. A space in the world that rejected my powers. A shudder went through my body, and I retracted my powers.
Nick held out his arm and looked meaningfully up at the Butterfree. Swooping down, the Butterfree landed on his arm and proceeded to star at me with its multifaceted eyes.

I smiled again. "You remember me from when I accidentally stepped on your tail, don't you?" I asked the bug type. It gave a short nod of its head, before opening its mouth and giving me a short spray of a String Shot. I went cross-eyed as I looked at the small ball of white at the end of my nose, before turning my view back to Insecticide. "I'm so gonna get you back for that."

Nick gave a laugh, before putting an arm behind me and pushing me out of the Centre. The city was beginning to get more active, with people and Pokémon alike waking up. Pulling the white ball off of my nose, I looked at it thoughtfully, before turning my attention to a snoring noise coming from a nearby Chestnut Tree. A Skitty was up in the lower branches, looking slightly fat, but happy.
Looking back ahead, I saw that Nick had gotten ahead of me. Jogging a little to catch up, I continued to drink in the sights of the city. I hadn't gotten much of a chance to yesterday, being annoyed by several factors.
For such a small city, the Gym was probably as far as could be from the Pokémon Centre as you could get. It was in a part of the city that made you think someone just put it there to keep it out of the way, but not wanting to offend the League, hadn't actually put it outside of the city.
The gym itself was an interesting structure. Built to look like a rising sun, well, I assumed rising, it was a semi-circle coming form the ground with short, stubby pillars coming out of the top of it. Wondering how they had managed to build a Gym that defied physics, I shrugged. It promised a headache I didn't really want. The gym was also a yellow that reminded me of gold, but at the same time, something else that slipped my mind.
The Gym inside could have been more different. A small, wooden room served as the lobby, and the only other place leading to, or from, the lobby, was a long, black corridor that was full of mist.

Looking above the entrance to the passage, I read a sign.

"You are one who seeks the light,
You now find a foe you cannot fight.
For this battle, you will look within.
And if you cannot accept, you cannot win.

For only you can play the part,
And wage a battle with your heart.'

"Cheery." Nick mumbled beside me. "So, I'm gonna guess the trials of this gym are based around emotions and stuff." Stopping, Nick looked at me and grinned. "Guess you're stuffed then."

"Why?"

Nick sighed and rolled his eyes, his grin never leaving his face. "Over your head."

A small click alerted us to the presence of someone. A hidden door was being opened in the wall to our right. Keira looked out and caught sight of us. "Don't worry about the Trials, you two don't need to do them." Motioning us inside, she quickly shut the door behind us. Holding her hand up in the air, Keira's hand suddenly began to glow as a ball of light was summoned.
I rolled my eyes. Keira was psychic. Solarkinetic, or Umbrakinetic, if you wanted to be specific. She could control light or shadows with her mind.
Following her, I wondered where we were going. My question was answered as we entered into a large stadium. Looking to my left, I saw another corridor, this one also had mist coming from it, like it's twin at the other end. This one had a different inscription though, one that read,

"You have triumphed over your own soul,
And now you are here at your goal.
But will you still have strength to fight,
Now you know you aren't completely light?

It isn't a foe against whom you've won.
It's your heart, the part you've shunned."

I shivered. It didn't sound like a pleasant Trial to go through. Type-Trouncing at the Arw City Gym was easy, but this was on a completely different level.
Keira motioned for me and Nick to stop. Walking over to the wall, she paused and turned on the lights, allowing me and Nick to see the Stadium completely. It was less glorious than I had expected, quite blank really. It contained a simple, painted field, and some paintings on the wall. Looking up at the nearest one, I could see Ho oh waging war with a Dark Lugia. Team Cipher in Oore had recently started up again, and there were rumours going around that they had created a Dark Lugia, one that had had its heart closed in a laboratory. Pokémon like that were dangerous, as they didn't care who they hurt, humans, other Pokémon and even themselves.

Keira followed my eyes up to the painting. "This was painted five years ago, during the last Dark Pokémon crisis. The artist imagined a Ho oh, representing all the normal Pokémon, battling a Dark Lugia, representing all the Dark Pokémon. Unfortunately, his painting seems to have become a reality. But that isn't why we're here." Keira pointed up at a painting on the opposite wall, this one displaying Mew battling a strange Pokémon that looked like a cloud of black. Missingno. "That's why we're here."

The tale of Mew and Missingno was an ancient one. Ages ago, shortly after the creation of the world, darkness spread across the world, turning all life it met into shadows. Eventually, in the final hour of the world, Mew had shown up and faced Missingno. It had been a long and tiring battle, one that had lasted days, but finally Mew had vanquished Missingno with an attack called 'Heaven's Cry'. This attack was Mew's signature move, and Missingno was destroyed. All life Missingno had destroyed was restored to life by Mew. After setting the world back to balance, Mew went into hiding, and is still recovering its strength apparently. It will only show up in the world's darkest hour, when there is only the tiniest ray of hope.
Looking up at the painting, a sudden weight on my shoulders made me realise Nick and I were representing Mew and its power, while the two who had been chosen to go against us was Missingno's 'Reincarnation'.

"Now, training." Keira's voice suddenly broke through my thoughts. Shaking my head, I looked back at her and paid attention. "Today, one of your Pokémon will be learning a Light elemental move. Only two trainers, plus myself, have their Pokémon know this move, and only two Pokémon every year are given it. Not even my apprentices will learn this move unless they take over from me. Both of you release your Pokémon, and I will tell you which Pokémon can learn it."

Grabbing my Pokéballs from my belt, I released my Pokémon, while Nick released the two Pokémon not in their Pokéballs.. Soon, a Mudkip, Nymbis, Polienix, Mareep, Eevee, Pichu, Chicken and a Butterfree were assembled in front of us. Keira took one look at the entire assortment in one quick gaze, before pointing at Hera the Polienix and Insecticide the Butterfree. "Those two.

Raising a finger, Keira beckoned Hera and Insecticide to approach. Insecticide obeyed immediately, but Hera simply looked confused by the motion. Looking back at me, I sighed and stepped forward to pick her up. Taking her forward, and in answer to Keira's raised eyebrow, I said, 'She hatched only a few weeks ago. I can't even understand her yet."

Keira nodded, now enlightened. "That'll make the battle a bit harder, but that's why we're training today."

Reaching into her pocket, Keira drew out two small machines that looked like discs. Technical Machines, or TMs, were capable of teaching Pokémon moves they didn't learn normally, so it made sense that Keira had this machine on a TM. Looking down at the discs, Keira suddenly met my eyes, and then switched to look directly at Nick.

"Ok, you two. You have to make sure that these two are the Pokémon you want to learn this move. Once they know this move, they will develop a vulnerability to Dark Type moves, and some markings might appear on the Pokémon. The mark won't be able to be removed, but it shouldn't in be too hazardous a spot. So, are you sure you want them to learn this move? Or would you prefer using the PC to grab another Pokémon? Or even borrow a Pokémon from someone who is willing to let their Pokémon do this?"

I bit my lip. I'd have preferred to have discussed this with Hera herself, but she was too young to understand what was going on. The weakness to Dark-type moves was bad, but since she would know a Light Type attack, it should balance itself out. The markings shouldn't cause too much trouble, but it was more the fact that it was a powerful attack for a Pokémon her age to learn.
Sighing, I motioned for Keira to wait for a minute. I looked at my Pokémon, before pointing to Zeus, Diana and Helios to come over to me. Artemis was currently occupying himself by poking Chicken, and he probably wouldn't be much help with this kind of thing anyway. Walking over to a corner, I crouched down until I was on the level of the Pokémon.

"Ok, guys. I need your opinion on this one. You heard what Keira said right? Well, what do you think? Should Hera be learning this attack?"

Diana blinked in surprise; Helios looked unmoved while Zeus lowered himself closer to the ground. Each began their own thoughts on the matter, before Diana said tentatively, "I honestly think she shouldn't. It's far too powerful an attack for a Pokémon her age to be learning, and unless we keep a constant eye on her, she could end up flaunting it. I'd take it that this isn't an attack we should be just showing off to everyone and their Houndour."

I nodded, Diana did give sound reasons. Helios looked at me for a few seconds and then said his opinion. "I think you should. A Light Attack would balance out our team even more, and Hera can be taught to be sparing with her elemental attacks. Polienixes aren't normally known for showing off anyway. Not to mention, should she encounter trouble from more powerful Pokémon, this attack could put them in their places."

I turned to look at Zeus, before stopping. Zeus didn't even talk anyway. Not to me, or anyone, now that I thought of it. However, I thought I might as well try and get something out of he that wasn't a physically nod or shake. "Zeus?"

Not expecting an answer, my mind went onto other things. However, a deep, booming voice filled my ears. It reminded me of thunder on a calm day, the sort that you didn't expect and it made you jump from the abruptness of it.

"Let her learn the attack."

That was all, but it was more than I needed. I had witnessed the way the other Pokémon seemed to defer to Zeus. I didn't know how old he was, but I had the suspicion he was older than all the other Pokémon.

Glaring at Zeus, I made the remark, "You know, for a prankster, you do achieve a certain kind of power."

Zeus grinned in reply, before sending a wire-thin lightning bolt at my body. The muscle it hit spasmed wildly, but I knew it was only a love-tap from Zeus, more a sign of affection than anything. Changing my glare to a smile, I ventured back to the others and Keira. Artemis had finished poking Chicken, and had instead moved onto batting around a small white object that I suspected was an egg. Looking at Keira, I nodded. A half-smile appeared on her face, and she crouched down. Insecticide landed on the floor next to Hera, causing the tiny Blue bird Pokémon to hop away a few centimetres. Reached out with her hands, a TM in each, Keira put a TM on both Hera's and Insecticide's heads. The TMs began to glow, making me look away. The glow steadily got brighter and brighter, before it faded away, leaving the two Pokémon glowing white. My throat hitched as my brain clamoured. Hera wasn't evolving was she? Insecticide couldn't evolve, so what was going on?

As if it had never been there, the white light suddenly disappeared. I gave a blink, before scanning Hera all over for signs of damage. She was fine, and so was Insecticide. Insecticide, however, had changed in its appearance. Its long, curling antennas had gone a pearly white.
Looking back at Hera, I looked over her again for signs of white marks. Hera gave a soft chirp, before hopping around to face me. Spreading her wings, she took off from the ground and headed towards me. I caught her as she landed on my arms, before gently extending her right wing.
A white circle was on her side.
Putting the wing back down, I carefully extended her other wing, to find another, identical dot, on her side. Sighing, I let her wing drop. The dots were fairly hidden, so no questions should be asked, unless we met a particularly observant person.

"Another thing we discovered about learning this move is that Light Pokémon, and Pokémon that know this move can not be turned into Dark Pokémon. We found it out five years ago, when Cipher stole a Pokémon from a Trainer that had represented Romanc City. They couldn't change it, so they eventually let it go. The Pokémon was found out in the Oore Desert, passed out from the heat."

I winced. "I didn't really need to know the last part."

Keira gave a sad, half-smile. "We found it in time, and the Trainer was reunited, and decided to dedicate her life to studying Light Pokémon."

A suspicion flared up in my mind, and I gave Keira a scrutinising look. It met her back as she turned around and entered a door. A few seconds later, she appeared on a level above us, in what looked like a Control Room. She obviously did something there, because the field we were standing on suddenly shook. Six doors opened in the floor, and six targets appeared. Leaning over to put her mouth to a microphone, Keira said, "Ok, first test. Target practice. Insecticide, you go for the red targets. Hera will go for the blue ones.

I put Hera down, in front of the targets. A could almost see a question mark appear above her head as she gazed at the painted target. I sighed, and stepped forward a bit. "Ok, Hera, what I need for you to do is use that new attack you just got on that target there."

I stepped back behind Hera, and waited to see if she understand. When she opened her mouth, I took a few steps back. A ball of yellow light began building in the mouth of the bird Pokémon. When it reached the size of her head, Hera suddenly released it at the target. The only impression I got of the actual attack was the target exploding and a blur of yellow and blue going back between my legs. Hera was gone from her spot, so I took the logical choice and looked behind me to find Hera against the wall, panting and exhaling smoke.
I blinked, and then gave a snort of laughter. A titter of laughter followed my own as the other Pokémon watching saw what happened. Walking quickly over to Hera, I picked her up and patted her, waiting until she was a bit more rested. Looking up at Keira in the control room, I saw her give me a thumbs up. Leaning forward, she called through the mike,

"Great. She's got Long-Distance ability. She doesn't need to be so close then. Might want to work on her bracing herself though. And maybe how long she holds the attack should be worked on. If she had used it any longer, you'd have said goodbye to any kids you were planning on having."

I could have sworn my eye twitched as she said that. Forcing it out of my mind, I looked at the second target Hera needed to hit. "Try for that one now. I'll make sure you don't go anywhere." The distance was better. Since long distance elemental beams seemed to be her specialty, I decided to stay where I was.

Hera shut her eyes grimly, before opening her beak again. The beam charged up, and was let loose again, hitting the target on the side and causing it to spin. Bits of the Light Beam went everywhere, knocking down and destroying all of Insecticide's remaining targets and nearly rendering Sparx headless. Looking around at the now smoking gym, I shared a look with Nick, and then Keira. The look on Keira's face was interesting, until she burst out laughing. "Ok, enough training now I think."

I couldn't resist adding sarcastically, "You think?"

Keira rolled her eyes, and vanished from the Control Room. She came out of the door and over to Hera, frowning slightly. "Now we've gotta figure out why this tiny Polienix can be that powerful. What was it's mother?"

"Anticairon."

Keira's eyebrows went up and she looked impressed. "Well, that'd explain it then. Well, partially. Has Hera ever used any attacks before?"

"No."

"That'd explain the rest of it." To my enquiring look, Keira answered, "Baby Pokémon tend to build up a lot of excess power in their eggs. Their first ten battles or so and they'll be as powerful as a level 20 Pokémon, but after that they go back to a more natural power level. It's also a safety mechanism, giving the baby Pokémon enough time to grow more powerful to give them a greater chance of survival. If we have only three or so practice battles, Hera should still be energised enough to help us win at the battle."

"Uh huh. So, why wasn't our friend's Dratini more powerful than normal when it hatched?" Nick asked. He had come over when Keira began looking at Hera.

Keira graced Nick with a dazzling smile. "Dragon Pokémon are always powerful, no matter what level they're at. If you actually watched this Dratini in battle, you'd find it capable of feats unmatched by other Pokémon its level."

"Ah. Now I understand why Katrina likes Dragon Types so much." Nick muttered. I snorted. Power didn't seem to interest Katrina in the least, she already had hundreds of ways to hurt you without calling on her Pokémon.

"Well, let's knuckle down and get to it. By the time you leave here, you're gonna be knowing every single strategy used in The Battle since it was first run." Keira said perkily. At our groans, she smiled and her eyes twinkled merrily. "I knew you'd be happy."