Jigglypuff stood next to the battered and broken Omastar as everyone stared in shock, trying to comprehend what had happened to one of the water maiden's most feared Pokémon. Even Misty and Kurishimi herself were staring in silence.

Suddenly clapping was heard from the remaining spectators and it built into a thunderous roar. Misty approached Kurishimi while clapping herself and proudly handed her the cascade badge.

"You've earned this badge ten times over with your incredible strategic solutions, challenger. Take it with pride." Kurishimi took the badge with a shaking hand still shocked at what she'd managed to pull off. "Please tell us your name. We will definitely add you to the list of trainers who've also won the cascade badge over the years."

"K-Kurishimi Akashi. Thank you very much for the match."

"I hope I can battle you again someday Kurishimi. I never knew I was so inexperienced. If your teacher is as good as you say he is I wouldn't be surprised if he was a Pokémon league champion from every region of the world."

"Well he's… probably the best I would say," Kurishimi smiled shyly. "I didn't know how good I was until just a moment ago even."

"What are your plans going to be now? Where are you headed next?"

"Well I'm going to meet up with my teacher and then we'll head south I think. I've heard that the Saffron gym is more than I can handle right now, so we might skip to the Vermilion City gym next."

"Well from what I've seen you've got the capability to battle in the Pokémon league right now. If it's not too much trouble could I meet your teacher before you leave Cerulean?"

"You can if you want to, but I wouldn't recommend it. He's not a very… um… social person if you get my meaning."

"Sure, but I'd like to see him to at least complement on what he's done for you."

"I suppose he'd be fine with that. I'm meeting up with him at the Pokémon Center in two hours. Do you want to wait with me there?"

"Sure, I've got to get my Pokémon healed too obviously," she said with a glance at her fallen Omastar which she then recalled. "It's not like I can take anymore challengers right now with my gym in this condition either. I'm glad gyms have special maintenance for occasions like this or I'd be in real trouble."

"That's a given. Are you good to go right now?"

"Sure, let's go. I want to hear about the training sessions you've done too."

Akuma had done what needed to be done at the house. He had found his objective and carried it out perfectly. Perhaps he might even stand to gain more than he thought from the outcome as well. He just needed to play his cards right and there would be no trouble. Of course there were always unexpected problems cropping up that he didn't plan for, so he would need to think things through before he got to the end. Since he'd finished everything he could do in this city he was ready to leave. Actually he was ready earlier then he had expected even, which meant he'd have to wait for Akashi at the Pokémon center for a while. The prospect wasn't very appealing so he went the store to restock some supplies first and kill time. When he was done he left for the center to wait for her.

"He seems like a rather ruthless person," Misty said after hearing Kurishimi's explanations of the training she'd done.

"He is sometimes, but only because they get the best and fastest results."

"I guess so, but it's tough on both the trainers and their Pokémon isn't it?"

"Very tough. It's brought good results though; you're a witness to that."

Misty laughed a little at that. "Well that's a fact. I don't think I'd want to try those training tactics though. I'm not up to them and I don't think my Pokémon are either."

"That's what I thought too. But I think he trained us all to be ready for the training because after a while it didn't seem so hard."

"What did he do?"

"To be honest I don't know. I know that he definitely did something, but your guess is as good as mine on what he did even though I was there for it. Hey, I think I see him coming!"

"Where from?" Misty asked looking down each street.

"Up there," Kurishimi said pointing at the sky.

Misty looked up and saw an orange flying dragon bearing down on them from above. The dragon was descending quickly, but spread its wings just before reaching the ground and landed smoothly a couple yards away. A figure got off the back of the Pokémon, which was a Charizard, and recalled it into a normal pokéball. He was a young male in his early 20s perhaps, wearing dark jeans, a t-shirt, and a vest with multiple pockets. Across his waist was also a dark blue pouch, a berry bag probably containing herbal medicine and the like too. His pokéballs were strapped to his chest like gun ammo and his black hair was unkempt, but not wholly a mess either. The pokéballs across his chest were of various colors and there were only a couple with the standard red and white colors. Other than the fact that his eyes had a cruel cold glare that seemed to cut into you, he looked like he might have been a good guy. Misty couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu when she saw him too.

"Are you ready now?" he asked Kurishimi, completely ignoring the other girl.

"Yes, I got it. Before we leave though, Misty wanted to meet you since I told her you were the one who trained me."

Akuma looked at Misty like he was inspecting a piece of rock for gold. "You are Misty: the gym leader of Cerulean City, correct?"

"Yes, I'm honored to meet you Akuma. From what I've been told you're one of the best trainers alive."

"That's right. Why did you want to meet me?"

"Direct aren't you? That's good."

"It gets things done. Get to the point please."

"Sorry. I wanted to tell you I was very impressed with Kurishimi's performance earlier. I've never in my entire life seen someone with skills even mildly comparable to hers."

"I've seen better, but she's still above the majority of trainers in existence."

Kurishimi blushed slightly at the praise, but neither of the two noticed as Misty continued. "I can't argue with that. From what I saw today she was battling with the skill level of champions from the Pokémon League. Actually I wanted to give you this too. It's a recording of the battle we had." Misty handed Akuma a CD disk with a picture of the cascade badge imprinted on it.

"Wait!" Kurishimi cut in. "You didn't tell me you were planning something like that!"

"Well of course not," Misty said with a wink. "Otherwise you wouldn't have let me come with you!"

"I'll look it over," Akuma said as he took the disc. "It'll show me how she fights when I'm not around and what she needs to work on. Was there anything else?"

"That's it. I just wanted to say you did a wonderful job teaching her."

"That's how I do everything," Akuma replied without ever changing his expression. "There's no point in doing anything unless you intend to do it perfectly. I never perform beneath my abilities, nor do I plan to do anything that I may fail at due to a negative probability of success. Akashi, we're going north."

"Akashi? What's Akashi?" Misty asked as Akuma walked away.

"It's my last name," Kurishimi said in an annoyed tone. "He calls me by my last name because he says my first name is too long."

"Well that's a little strange, but it makes partial sense. You'd better go now; I don't think he's going to wait on you."

"Yeah, bye Misty," Kurishimi said as she ran after Akuma.

"Remember, I want to have a rematch when I get better!" Misty called after her. Kurishimi yelled something back, but she was too far away now for Misty to hear. Misty remembered what Kurishimi had said about Akuma not being a sociable person and agreed with that statement. He was not going to be invited to a party anytime soon, but his skill in battle must be incomparable if he was as strong as Kurishimi had implied. Once again Misty felt that feeling of déjà vu as she remembered his face. She felt like she knew him from somewhere, but the thought escaped her. In any case, it was pointless to stand around thinking about things like this. She needed to go check on Omastar. It had taken an unhealthy amount of damage in that last battle.

"Why are we going north?" Kurishimi asked Akuma when she'd caught up to him. "There's not much north of here other than a nice picnic spot."

"I have business up there with someone that I need to take care of. You can either come with me while I do it, or you can go hunting for more Pokémon. Either way suits me just fine."

"I think I'll-"

"I didn't ask for details, you can do what you want. I don't care. Your reasons are your own."

"Fine," Kurishimi said, feeling annoyed yet again. While Akuma was worth traveling with due to his ability to get results from training, his attitude was not always easy to put up with. Times were rare, if they ever existed, that one could find a topic that Akuma would be interested in talking about, never mind discussing. Kurishimi was grateful that she could at least hold a decent conversation with Vaporeon. She was a good relief for all the stress Akuma gave her each day.

"Just be somewhere where I can find you afterwards or meet me on the road to the cape when you're done," he continued. "After I finish my meeting we'll head back down to Cerulean and take the southern road to Saffron City. When we get there we'll have figured out where to go next."

"You don't have anything planned yet?"

"Nothing concrete or I would've said more, wouldn't I?"

"Would you have?"

"Probably not, good point. Either way, we'll have more plans after we get to Saffron."

"Okay. How long do you think you'll take?"

"Not too long assuming that nothing goes wrong. Here's where we split up," he said as they approached a fork in the road. "Head left and you'll find the Pokémon hunting grounds fairly easy. If you aren't back at this signpost by sundown assuming we haven't met up yet I'm leaving for Saffron without you."

"As always of course, but I won't be late."

"We'll see when it's time."

Akuma walked off and left Kurishimi to walk down the left road. She watched him go for a few minutes then walked down her chosen route. Other than the usual basic Pokémon like Pidgeys, a little brown bird Pokémon, and Rattatas, small purple rats, she didn't see many Pokémon that she was interested in. She saw a few bug types, but she knew that they needed lots of training before they could be a good inclusion to her team and since she didn't have the time to do any extra training beyond Ekans at the moment she decided against the idea. She was just about to give up her search and go follow Akuma down the road he'd chosen when she heard a zap from her left. Sitting with its back to her was a yellow Pokémon with brown pads on its shoulders. From the way its head was tilted, it appeared to be asleep. She didn't recognize the creature, so she removed her pokédex to get some information on it. As soon as the ding sounded when the dex retrieved the appropriate information though, the yellow creature vanished into the air with the same zapping sound that alerted her in the first place. Baffled, she read the information and saw that its designation was Abra: the Psi Pokémon. Reading further, she discovered that all they seemed to do in the wild was sleep and teleport. Confused about why this Pokémon would want to be captured, she decided not to try it, but then remembered another Pokémon that she had always regarded to be weak and useless as well.

In many streams and rivers the most popular fish for anglers to catch was a Pokémon named Magikarp. The only technique it had was splashing, though if trained well it could use some basic attacks too. But the most shocking part of Magikarp was that when it grew older it evolved into a huge blue water serpent called Gyarados that was feared by both trainers and sailors alike. Within the body of what seemed the most useless Pokémon was an incredible power, so maybe she could find a use for a Pokémon like Abra who seemed to be just as useless.

Kurishimi smiled a little and read further through her pokédex to pull out more information on how to capture a creature that knew how to teleport away from danger.

Akuma continued down the road ignoring the common Pokémon that lined the roads around him. Still he kept a single pokéball in his hand in case he found one worth catching. For the most part the dirt path was straightforward and nothing other than Pokémon seemed to be around, but some trainers were also on the sides of the road too; having battles to entertain themselves. Akuma watched a few as he continued on, but didn't change his pace since there were none around that he saw to be worth watching. After a time his attention waned however, and he decided to watch for any Pokémon battles where one would be released and knocked out before he could pass them. Out of those he saw, there were only three that succeeded, but he didn't stop to acknowledge their timed success. He slowed however, when he saw that one trainer lost four Pokémon in a row without having one victory against another trainer.

"How is it you've become so strong?" the loser, a young boy, was asking.

"We just practice whenever we get the chance," the older male said. "Battles rely on the skill of the trainer just as much as their Pokémon and vice versa. You need to grow when your Pokémon do or you'll not win any battles."

"So my Pokémon are just weak?"

"No, it's both you and your Pokémon. You need to work together more often."

"So you're still saying that they are. I can't win unless I find stronger Pokémon is what you're saying," the loser said as he sat down in the grass dejectedly.

"Don't degrade yourself into thinking that you or your Pokémon are garbage or you'll bring yourself even lower." The loser looked up and saw Akuma standing over him. "Give me one of your Pokémon and I'll show you."

"Wait, my Pokémon aren't up to fighting this person anymore. He's on an entirely different level than we are," the young boy said.

"All Pokémon have potential that they can rely on in a pinch," Akuma said with a certain voice. "Give me one of your Pokémon and I'll show you."

"My last one left is a male Nidoran though," the boy replied. "He's not a fighter; he's lost every battle he's fought even."

"Then he's perfect for this match. Give me his pokéball and you'll see," Akuma repeated.

The boy was unsure, but did as the older male said. Akuma threw the ball to release a purple rodent looking creature with big ears. "This Nidoran has average sized horns," he noted. "The poison it secretes should be enough to endure a few battles. Males also have sharper hearing than females. Learn about your Pokémon and you can use their uniqueness to gain the advantage in any battle. Most male Nidoran are trained to be attackers, so expect to use him for hitting fast and doing notable damage quickly."

"How do you know-?"

"Experience." Akuma then called to the opponent, "Will your first attacker be the Pidgeotto that you've been using?"

Beside his opponent the larger bird hovered in the air next to its trainer. "Yes, I expect that the battle will end just as fast as the others did, if not faster, so I'll let you make the first move."

"Bad choice," Akuma said more quietly. Then he addressed his loaner again. "What skill level is your Pokémon at?"

"I think it's at level 13. I'm not sure though."

"That will suffice. Nidoran, begin by focusing energy to increase your power, then immediately follow up with the use of a leer!"

Nidoran stared intently at Pidgeotto as it focused its power to increase its attack strength. When it was done it glared threateningly at the bird and scared it enough that it lost the battle focus it once had.

"Don't worry, Manny," the trainer said to his bird. "It's weaker than the other ones you'd beaten. Its own trainer said so himself. Just use a quick attack and you'll take it down fast like his others."

The Pidgeotto was reassured by the words of its trainer and dashed toward the smaller Pokémon with the speed of a bullet. The boy panicked knowing what the attack would do to his Pokémon and Nidoran seemed worried as well, but when Akuma snapped, "Hold your ground!" the little one stopped shaking and watched the incoming attack closely. Right before the impact Akuma gave a two word command, "Double kick." The poison type hopped vertically into the air and kicked out one stubby foot to hit Pidgeotto with not only the focused attack force, but also the added speed at which Pidgeotto was attacking with. The bird came to an immediate halt in the air, and Nidoran gave it another swift kick to send it crashing back at the feet of its trainer unconscious.

Both trainers were shocked to see the current victor taken down by one hit and the boy stared at his Pokémon in disbelief. Nidoran was about to relax at its victory but Akuma commanded it to stay focused or it would lose the next round for sure. Pidgeotto was recalled and this time the trainer sent out a bug with two shitake mushrooms growing out of its back, a Paras. Now on the aggressive side, the trainer ordered a stun spore to slow down Nidoran so the slower bug could attack at its leisure. Yellow spores flew through the air toward the smaller Pokémon who was still awaiting a command from Akuma. "An easy attack to avoid. Just blow them away Nidoran." Nidoran blew out a small breath from its mouth and the spores flew back towards Paras and paralyzed the bug on the spot.

"Hey, that's cheating!" the other trainer called out. "That's not an official attack!"

"No it isn't," Akuma said coolly. "But running in circles to confuse a Psyduck is a good tactic to winning even though it isn't an attack either. Trainer ingenuity plays a part in winning too. But if you want to get technical we could call that move a gust or whirlwind attack just as a formality."

The other trainer got mad and recalled Paras, who couldn't fight anymore from paralysis, and this time sent out a more formidable combatant. The younger boy cringed as a brown monkey with a pig nose and long limbs appeared looking very angry. "Is that a Primeape?" he asked.

"No, it's a Mankey. Primeape evolves from Mankey though, so you were in the right category at least," Akuma said. His attacker was faster than even Pidgeotto had been, but it was a nasty Pokémon to fight against as well. Mankeys were infamous for their tempers, so he'd have to think quickly to win this match.

Not waiting for a command from its trainer, Mankey ran furiously toward Nidoran with its fists scratching the air in front of it in anticipation and anger. Akuma thought quickly, but since he was inexperienced with Nidoran of any kind he was hard pressed to think up an attack before Mankey got within range. At the last moment he came up with a reliable move Nidorans used frequently. In fact he thought it was pathetic that he hadn't thought of it before. "Nidoran! Use a horn attack!"

Nidoran lunged forward with the horn on its head fully extended to critically hurt Mankey as they both connected hard. Mankey fell back as did Nidoran, but both got back up as quickly as they fell. During the exchange Akuma had watched the Mankey closely for anything he could exploit, and he found only one thing for sure. "Nidoran, when Mankey attacks again, hop back a pace and run around to its right, then deliver a poison sting in conjunction with your horn attack."

Naturally the other trainer heard the plan and ordered Mankey to counter by anticipating the other Pokémon's moves. The younger trainer looked up at Akuma worried that he couldn't come up with a strategy that the other trainer couldn't hear, but saw Akuma focused on the battle without any more worry than he'd had before.

As Mankey charged again Nidoran apparently had the same thought its trainer had, but did as Akuma instructed. It hopped backward as Mankey clawed at the spot where Nidoran had been and lost its balance as the scratch attack passed through midair. Both trainers were surprised that Mankey didn't adjust its attack according to the instructions Akuma had given to Nidoran, but Akuma smiled confidently and watched as Nidoran continued the plan, circled around while its opponent was off balance, and rammed his horn with pinpoint accuracy into the center of Mankey's back. The pig monkey fainted instantly as poison escaped from Nidoran's horn upon impact and quickly flowed through its blood. Stupefied, the older trainer quickly recalled Mankey and prepared to grab another pokéball, but Akuma held up a hand to stop him.

"That's enough. Nidoran can't go on anymore." It was true; Nidoran who was panting from the continuous battling didn't look like it could fight at all any more. "While the standard prize for winning a battle is a portion of the other trainer's money in addition to bragging rights, I'd suggest that both of you consider the prize of this battle to be a learning experience. You," he addressed the younger trainer while handing back Nidoran's pokéball after recalling it, "have learned that all Pokémon, no matter their experience, have potential. You only need to learn how to draw it out. And you," he addressed the other trainer, "have learned that under any circumstances you must never at any risk underestimate your opponent's battling skills or act solely on impulse. A trainer may actually use weaker Pokémon to lower your guard in order to take you by surprise."

"But Mankey could have won if it had done what I asked it to," the second trainer protested.

"Yes, but you obviously haven't earned your Pokémon's respect and their acknowledgement as a capable trainer. If you don't have that you might as well be a novice. I saw that Mankey was focused too intently on its opponent to listen to orders from either of us the moment it was released. You also made the mistake of using a Pokémon that you couldn't control. You acted out of impulse, allowing your ego and frustration to decide your actions for you which any opponent will be quick to exploit. In an important battle this foolish decision making could ruin your reputation and respect from your peers as well as the battle. In some situations it may even cost you your life. Your Pokémon rely on you just as much as you rely on them. You can never ever act without thinking unless you decide to intentionally lose the battle."

The second trainer thought quietly to himself for a moment before walking away without another word. The first had been staring at Akuma the entire time. "Are you… a Pokémon Master?" he asked with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Not officially, no," Akuma replied with indifference. "I'm a master in regards to certain aspects involving Pokémon, but I am not a Pokémon League champion, nor do I want to be."

"Those were a lot of big words, sir. Could you simplify it a bit?"

"Basically I'm a master in certain areas, but I'm not a master where the public is concerned."

"So cool…. Could you teach me more about how to battle? Maybe about how I can raise my Pokémon or even myself to be stronger?"

Akuma winced at the thought. "I already have a tag-along. I don't want another one."

"Please sir? If you aren't a master trainer I can't defeat a real champion without beating you first."

"… defeating me?"

"Yes! I'm going to be a Pokémon League champion and I can't do that if I don't know how to survive against you or come up with strategies like you just did, much less if the trainers competing in the League are nearly masters themselves."

Akuma looked hard at the young boy and considered how capable he might be. Unlike Kurishimi who wanted to work hard and try her best for victory's sake, this one wanted to settle for nothing less than the very best. Of course there was the downside of having to endure another person's company, but the thought of someone like this kid training under him with the motivation to surpass him was something he hadn't thought of happening. Akuma wasn't on an adventure to conquer the Pokémon league so most trainers wouldn't pay him any mind. Gym badges were what got the attention of other trainers. If you hadn't beaten a gym, you were no better than a day old trainer in the public's eyes. Kurishimi recognized his talent, but she had no intention, if any, to measure up to him that he knew of. The thought of a 'nobody' trainer like himself having a rival, even a self claimed rival, was an interesting thought.

"Please?" The boy repeated, breaking him out of his thoughts. "There's no one else I know of that could begin to compare to your level."

Akuma saw a pleading desperation in his eyes now. Or was it raw desperation? Maybe it was….

"Alright, listen," he began, "starting tomorrow you have exactly three weeks to show me that you're worth my time to teach. I won't train you if you aren't showing any progress. At the end of those three weeks you will show me everything that you've learned and surprise me with things that you've discovered yourself. If you fail to impress me by any margin you're gone. No more requests or words. Am I clear on this fact?"

The boy was obviously ecstatic, and unsuccessfully tried to hide it with confidence. "I won't do anything less than the best for you, teacher!"

"Don't give me any titles kid. Just call me whatever you want."

"Well look at you giving me a title! If I was still a kid I wouldn't have any Pokémon with me, would I?"

"A child in terms of maturity at least it seems. Only a kid would be annoyed at such a comment. And if you think that someone's underestimating you then use that knowledge to your advantage by letting them think that you are weaker than you appear. That goes for your Pokémon too."

"Okay, I'll do that. Do you want to see my Pokémon? I think you should get acquainted." The boy reached down to pull a pokéball from his belt strap.

"That's something else you should know," Akuma grabbed his arm to stop him. "If you plan to successfully beat someone then you must never allow them to see your Pokémon in advance or they'll start thinking about what Pokémon they should plan to use. Catch your opponents off guard and you can attack before they have a chance to even think about countering."

"Oh, I get it. So Pokémon battles are kind of like judo? You have to use your opponent's knowledge and skills or lack of it against them."

"Not in every case, but you're getting the idea. I'm late for my appointment. I'll teach you more on the way." Akuma turned and walked off toward the cape not watching to see if the boy was following. Of course he knew that he wouldn't have to either.

Beams of ice, spraying water, and blasts of fire filled the plains of the northern route above Cerulean City as Kurishimi chased down every Abra she could find. Not long after one teleported away another Abra would appear not too far from where the other had vanished. Whether it was luck she didn't know, but Kurishimi found that she hadn't rested since she decided to start trying to catch one. Her Vaporeon and Vulpix stayed out of their pokéballs to help her, but so far she hadn't even scored a direct hit on one yet. Before an attack could hit, the Abra would teleport away somewhere else and leave her behind to catch her breath for a few seconds before another one appeared. Eventually she'd taken to riding on Skarmory to chase down the Abras faster. Even though she was able to move faster though, she wasn't getting any closer. After a few more unsuccessful attempts she called for a rest stop and let her Pokémon catch their breath as well.

"This is just a shot in the dark here Kurishimi," Vaporeon spoke up when she could breathe again, "but I think you need a new tactic. We're going to run our attacks dry at this rate."

"I've thought of that too," Kurishimi replied as she sat down with Skarmory. "I don't think we'd have more chances any other way though."

"Could Jigglypuff put it to sleep with its singing?"

"I thought of that a little after we started, but since Abra sleeps for most of the day I decided that it would stupid to try putting a sleeping Pokémon to sleep."

"I guess so, but we haven't tried much else either."

"Also Abras teleport away faster than either of you can attack. I don't see Jigglypuff having much success in that area either since its song needs time to take effect."

"It isn't an attack though so I don't think the Abra would sense any danger, but since it's already asleep there wouldn't be a point after all. So after all's been said and done, why are we still chasing the Abras like they can be caught?"

"Well I've been noticing a curious pattern in the way the Abras have been appearing."

"You mean how they reappear in places close to where we are?"

"Yeah, that too, but there has also been a barely noticeable way in how they reappear too."

"You mean like it's been coordinated?"

"Something like that, yes. For instance…" Kurishimi threw a pokéball straight forward and slightly to the left and an Abra reappeared less than a quarter inch from the pokeball's flight path. The red and white sphere hit home and the Abra was sucked inside instantly. The ball dropped to the ground and shook while the Abra fought the containment features of the device.

Vaporeon watched in surprise at what happened and looked back at her trainer for an explanation, but Kurishimi stopped her. "Get ready Vaporeon; you too Vulpix. I want a combined attack at the precise moment Abra escapes."

The ball started to shake harder and soon burst open to release the Abra back into the open. When it appeared, Vaporeon and Vulpix attacked with a water gun and ember attack that knocked the Abra down before it could begin to teleport. Before it hit the ground Kurishimi already had another pokéball in the air and the process was repeated, but this time the ball stopped its shaking and lay silent after one second indicating that the attempt was a successful capture. Kurishimi picked up the pokéball in victory and started to explain her observations to Vaporeon.

"After I started losing counts of how many failed attempts we'd had, I noticed that Abra reappeared every 48 seconds after disappearing. I would have disregarded it as a coincidence, but it happened too often to be one. This wasn't enough to catch it, so I looked to see if there were any other similarities between them. Every time Abra reappeared it was based off of a degrees thing like a circle. That is, it reappeared from a certain angle centered around something in particular."

"Wait a moment; are you about to tell me that the Abras were using us to decide where to teleport to next?"

"That's correct," Kurishimi smiled. "The Abra reappeared based off of angles relative to our position. It wasn't anything simple either, which is why I hadn't caught it until now. I've been trying to find out how it's been choosing where to come back from and I just found the formula out. It's incredibly difficult to explain in wording and if I drew out a picture it wouldn't help all that much either. I was riding on Skarmory so I could get a better sense of direction and think clearer. I didn't have any real proof yet though, so I took a guess and got it right."

"Okay, now just one more thing bothers me. Why have you been talking like there's only been one Abra we've been chasing after?"

"You haven't noticed? No more Abras have shown up after this one did," Kurishimi said with a smile. She was right too, Vaporeon noticed. After they'd made the capture no more Abras had teleported anywhere near them. "I figured that the Abra I'd originally found was playing with us. How else could a bunch of Abras coordinate mass teleports so precisely?"

"Excellent work, Kurishimi," Vaporeon congratulated. "I'm very impressed."

"Thanks, me too actually. But we've taken up a lot of time here already. We should head back to the crossroads and wait for Akuma. We came a long way out during our chase, and it'll take us a good deal of time to get back now."

"That's true. Let's get going then."