Helios: If you go back to chapter 7, Reid jumped to conclusions early when he said Mirabelle didn't have Harvest. A few lines later, he notes that Oran berries were growing from her neck and got excited at the idea of having a Pokemon with Leech Seed, Curse, and Harvest. Hope this clears things up.

Kiri: It's nice to see that you enjoy the battle scenes. I'm a big fan of writing battles, so you will probably see a lot of those throughout this story. I much prefer writing fights than slow life, which I guess is a bit of a fault of mine.

Magical Fan: It's because Obstagoon is ugly as sin and Linoone is perfect and adorable. Galarian Zigzagoon and Linoone were so awesome and I loved them. Then my Linoone evolved into that hideous thing and was promptly boxed. I can never use Zigzagoon's Galarian line again because the knowledge that it has a stronger form is there, but that form ruins Linoone's aesthetic vibe. Linoone and Zigzagoon's appeal is that they look like cute forest critters. In general though, I dislike most humanoid and especially anthropomorphic Pokémon. For example, I hate Delphox and Incineroar nearly as much as Obstagoon. Why can't the Pokémon Company keep their four-legged Pokémon on four legs anymore?

All Commented Suggestions: Thanks again for the suggestions. I want to clarify a few things about how I'm building this team. Reid certainly can have Pokémon from any region. I'm not trying to restrict the team to any boundaries. I'm even open to doubling up on typing or using an already powerful Pokémon species in an interesting new way. My big thing with suggestions is that I just want an interesting way to use the Pokémon. Don't expect me to go adding a Riolu to the team just because people like it. If you really want me to truly consider your suggestion, I'd recommend adding an interesting strategy centered around using that Pokémon, or a way that a Pokémon who is lackluster in the games could become much more viable. Even non-battle related ideas for how a Pokémon could become awesome would be cool to see. For example, I enjoyed the Kecleon, Grumpig, Torkoal and Minun recommendations a lot.

Boom! Another one!

I hope you're ready for more battles and more madness, cause this one was a hoot to write!


Here I am: standing at the edge of a spray-painted battlefield on the same side as a flying banana tree dinosaur. Said creature has just spat a ball of fiery energy into the sky to make our surroundings searing hot.

Despite the hot weather, I stand shivering in my boots. I stare in horror at an orange crustation as it waves its claws rhythmically and hops from stubby leg to stubby leg. In another situation, this view might be comical. Unfortunately, right now this is about the scariest thing that it could have done.

My life isn't weird at all.

"Razor Leaf, Now!" I shout in desperation, knowing how quickly things might go south if this is allowed to continue. "You need to stop it!"

You see, Dragon Dance, or any of the dance-type buff moves for that matter, works a little bit differently here than they did in the games. Rather than the number of times that they use them, the length of time that they dance for is what builds up the energy that increases a Pokémon's stats. This means that a Pokémon can get the equivalent of a 6x stack in a single use if it isn't interrupted. Knowing this, I call for Mirabelle's quickest attack.

"Pius!" Belle's head whips sideways in a scythe motion and a series of bladed leaves are launched towards Corphish at high speeds.

"Counter with Bubble Beam!" My opponent gives up on continuing to buff and counters. Our use of Sunny Day gave him nearly 10 entire seconds of uninterrupted dancing anyways, so he's already sitting in a good position. Even now, Corphish radiates red energy of power that is barely contained in its body.

"Corphish!" A stream of bubbles is shot at high speeds and bursts into mist upon colliding with the leaves. "Phish!" But a cry of alarm tells me that my opponent made a bad call here.

As the move with type advantage, about half of the Razor Leaf blades still reached their target.

"Shake it off and close in!" The burly sailor doesn't appear bothered by the damage he received.

Corphish shoots across the field at a speed that it has no business reaching. Thankfully, its slow base speed means that we still have time to react, but there isn't time to do our usual buffing strategy.

"Intercept with Magical Leaf and stop it in its tracks!"

"Tro!" Mirabelle concentrates on Corphish's position and an onslaught of leaves materializes around her and shoots towards the Ruffian Pokémon with an inescapable trajectory. With the boost from Solar Power, there are even more leaves than usual

"Take the hit and keep advancing!" My opponent gives out an order that makes me question whether he might just be a simple-minded, brutish battler. That impression soon changes. Corphish silently grits through the pain of the super-effective moves and soon arrives near Mirabelle. The Water-Type is definitely feeling the damage of the two Grass-Type moves though, as it wobbles slightly. "Payback!"

"Protect!" My response is quick. Belle can't afford to get hit with this now. A green sphere encases my Pokémon just as Corphish raises its claw and covers it with a dark energy. I internally sigh in relief. "Now, fly up and gain some distance."

"Switch to Taunt, then finish with Payback!" My opponent isn't willing to let go of the chance he created though.

Corphish's second claw joins its first in being raised in the air, it then takes two steps forward until its face is pressed against the green sphere and its claws are held out in the universal 'Are you not entertained?' gesture.

"Corphish, Cor!" I don't know what it just said, but the ridicule in its tone is clear enough.

Mirabelle's face turns into a nasty scowl and her body begins to glow with a green energy. She's mad enough to use her strongest move and is trying to blast Corphish away with Leaf Storm.

"Belle, stop! You can't lose Protect now!" I yell out towards deaf ears. She isn't listening. My sweet girl is seeing red right now.

The green sphere which had been encasing her melts away.

"Do it!" My opponent takes advantage.

"Cor!" Corphish's claw is once again covered in Dark-Type energy. Belle is still stuck in place, building energy to release her most draining move. "PHISH!" The claw falls and strikes the center of Belle's chest.

"Tropius!" Mirabelle's massive body is launched back through the air. She hits the ground tumbling and continues to roll for several more feet. That attack was powerful!

"Get up, Belle!" She can't afford to take her time recovering. Corphish is already chasing her down. Luckily, two blue Oran berries have grown under her chin. "Eat your Oran berries."

"Tro." She struggles to her feet and begins charging up a Razor Leaf to remove her Oran berries, but the damage she has received has her groggy. Her movements are too slow.

"Keep pressuring them, Corphish," A gruff voice rings out from the opposite side of the field. Corphish has already arrived before Mirabelle. "Knock Off!"

"Quick, jump back and fly up!"

Belle responds well and is soon in the air, but Corphish jumps and manages to clip her chin with his claw, knocking off the Oran berries. Both of them fall to the ground and out of reach.

"Forget them and gain some height," I watch in regret as Corphish approaches the Oran berries, but an idea soon comes to me. "Use Whirlwind, then immediately follow with Magical Leaf!"

Whirlwind is a move that's easy enough for her to use quickly. The harsh sunlight disappears at this point, but even without the Solar Power boost, Whirlwind will still be large enough to easily sweep the Dragon Dance-boosted Corphish up with the berries too. Since Magical Leaf is unavoidable, they will need to focus on countering it, which will be difficult with Whirlwind running interference. As damaged as we both are, one good hit should take either of us out, but Belle can grab a berry before the next fight if she wins here.

"Tropius!" She can also taste the victory, as she lets out a battle cry alongside the powerful push of her wings to start up Whirlwind.

"Ice Beam your feet to hold your place!" The burly sailor's orders are a death sentence to me.

I can't help but wonder why he hasn't used the move early, but the answer is evident when Corphish goes into action. The steam of Ice-Type energy that freezes its feet into place is thin and feeble. It's obvious that they are just beginning to learn the move. However, weak and untrained or not, an Ice Beam will certainly take Mirabelle out in her current state. To make matters worse, she can't use Protect while flying yet. She hasn't been able to do that even once in training. I can only hope that the weak Ice Beam can't reach her through the Whirlwind.

Mirabelle follows up on Whirlwind by sending a flurry of leaves covered with pink energy out toward her enemy. The leaves are pulled into the swirling wind storm, but they don't dissipate. With Corphish being on the ground, instead of swirling in the wind with them, they have no way of reaching their target yet. When Whirlwind runs its course, they will all shoot toward Corphish.

"AS SOON AS WHIRLWIND ENDS, USE ICE BEAM!" The sailor bellows out his orders loud enough to be heard over the whipping winds.

It's going to come down to which is faster between Corphish's Ice Beam and the tracking of Magical Leaf. We're too high to reach the ground in time to Protect, so our only other choice is to go up. Whirlwind is already slowing down. It will end any second.

"Belle, fly up and make some distance!"

Mirabelle immediately begins flapping her four leafy wings and rising higher and higher into the sky. However, she doesn't get far when the wind currents fade away.

"Now!" Our opponent yells out.

"Cor!" Corphish shatters the ice encasing its legs with a quick shake. A blue energy forms at Corphish's mouth, but it isn't aimed toward Mirabelle. Instead, it is aimed at the leaves that are rapidly advancing on its position. "PHISH!"

A shaky and thin beam of ice strafes across all the leaves, causing them to plummet straight down and shatter on the tar. Corphish may still be weak with the move, but its accuracy has clearly been trained well.

"They can't keep doing that forever, Belle! Use Magical Leaf again!" I decide to spam from the air, out of range.

"Taunt! Bring her down here." My opponent calls for the one move that I have no response to. Overcoming Taunt is a matter of discipline and maturity, neither of which is my team old enough to have mastered. After all, I have a team of juvenile Pokémon.

"Phish, Corphish, Cor!" This time, Corphish makes a beckoning gesture with its claw. It does the classic 'get over here' motion.

As expected, Belle sees red once again and dives down towards Corphish, giving up her advantageous position. Both of her forelegs are aimed toward the crustation, ready to execute the hardest Stomp of her life.

I can already see what will happen next, and I could return her here and forfeit her to prevent her from taking the damage. However, I won't do that. I can't let myself forget that these Pokémon aren't pets. They are fighters and competitors. As a former athlete, I know that you learn far more from a painful loss than you do from a string of successive victories. Goly has already learned how to handle a loss, it's Belle's turn to learn the same thing.

"Ice Beam."

"Tropius!" I wince at Mirabelle's pained cry after taking the 4x-effective Ice-Type move. I do, however, manage to return her before she crashes into the ground.

I look at the Pokeball in my hand and slowly raise it up to my face.

"Take a rest now, Sweety," I whisper. "Goliath will take care of things."

"Hahahaha! Looks like it's my lead then," A booming voice comes from across the field. "Eat those Oran berries they left us, Corphish. They're giving us the tools to sweep them!" Corphish's exhaustion from the long use of Dragon Dance remains, but its injuries heal slightly after it scavenges the Oran berries from where the wind carried them.

I don't respond. Instead, I look down to my right, where my first partner had been watching the battle. Only, that spot is now empty. I turn back to the battlefield to see the lead member of my team standing at the ready on our side. He is silent.

"That was a good first round," I slowly admit, just loud enough to be heard across the field. "Let's hope you can make the next two rounds just as exciting."

"Hah, still cocky as ever. Good! Having your ace in front of you should make a proper Trainer at least that confident." He reaches down and grabs another stone. "Round two starts when the stone hits the ground."

I nod and he tosses the rock into the air. Once again, our opponents watch the stone intently as it falls. We, on the other hand, don't even look in its direction this time. My eyes are glued to Goliath, and Goliath's eyes are glued to Corphish. I'm certain that I know what he's thinking, and I don't want to miss it.

*Clack* *BOOM*

The sound of the stone hitting the tar hasn't even faded out before a loud crash covers it up. Goliath had slammed into Corphish with Extreme Speed as soon as he heard the rock touch the ground. The poor Crustation, buffed, healed, and everything, didn't even have the chance to react before it was launched out of the arena and into the stone seating area around the field. The only movement it displays is a slight twitching in its legs.

Our opponent is left staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at his fainted Pokémon. Robotically, his hand raises and he returns Corphish. Even the pink Ghost-Type, Jellicent's eyes are narrowed as she stares at the large Linoone who will be her opponent.

Strategically, it's not the best choice. There are much less energy-intensive ways to accomplish the same thing. However, I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with Goliath's decision. Strategy isn't everything. Sometimes sending a message and building momentum are far more important, and he certainly sent a message there.

Goliath still doesn't make a noise, instead opting to casually walk back to his place on my side of the field. He isn't even breathing heavily. Evolving has turned the move that was once a trump card too intensive for his body to handle into just another attack in his arsenal.

"Looks like you didn't sweep us," I jab at the burly sailor to snap him out of his stupor. "Your Jellicent is much stronger than Corphish, right? Let's start the last round."

"...Right, but before that," The intimidating man has a very somber expression on his face. He looks straight into my eyes from across the battlefield. "My name is Captain Franco Stern, captain of the Salty Sharpedo and the good-for-nothing cousin of the most famous man of the sea in Hoenn."

"Reid Redwood," I reply with a cheeky grin. "Orphan, one badge Trainer, cocky upstart, and future strongest Trainer of our time."

"Alright," He crosses his arms and nods to himself, looking satisfied with something. "Then let's finish this. Jellicent, get out there and win!"

"Goliath, end this."

Once again, a stone is thrown to start the battle. It really is a bit of a pain to battle without a ref. Anyways, when the stone lands, both Trainers and Pokémon spring into action.

"Water Pulse!"

"Double Team!"

Jellicent is quick to launch a ring of water across the field, but Goliath is far quicker to avoid it. Two dozen Linoones soon fill the battlefield. All of which are in constant motion, running in chaotic patterns around the field. Jellicent responds by sending Water Pulses into the crowd, one after another. None make contact with anything real.

"Start to close in." My order has the chaotic mass of Linoones beginning to run closer and closer to Jellicent, some even pass directly under her. Nobody but Goliath knows how close the real body has gotten to her.

"Stop attacking. Acid Armor!" Captain Franco seems to have been spooked by that uncertainty too. He is fully aware of how hard Goliath can hit, after all.

Jellicent's pink body begins to shine with a bit of a purplish hue. That shine remains, even after the move has been used. I decide to interrupt them before they can build any more acidic protection.

"Now's the time to show off your progress," I call out for Goliath's new move. "Shadow Claw!"

"Be ready Jellicent," Captain Franco warns. "Intercept every one of them that closes in on you with Water Pulse!"

Jellicent makes no noise in response, but it warily watches all of the Linoone clones around it. At the moment though, none of them are even close, so Jellicent only remains tense. Instead of approaching, all of the Linoones face Jellicent and constantly feint as if they will attack. They look like a pack of wolves on the hunt. Even a ghost's nerves will start to fray under this kind of pressure.

There are a few more seconds of tense silence, then everything springs into motion. Three of the Linoones spring forward all at once. Jellicent responds by rapidly firing off Water Pulses, one towards each figure.

"Linoone!" Before the attacks can even make contact, the ground beneath Jellicent explodes and Goliath swipes at her with a claw covered in purple energy.

In a mere couple of days, Goliath has mastered Shadow Claw enough that he can use it in tandem with his other moves. Though, I hope I don't have to pay for the ruined tar of the battlefield.

"CEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNTTTTTTTT!" Jellicent wails like a banshee after being hit. I don't know if it comes from the pain or the fright, but it has me plugging my ears nonetheless.

"Jellicent, use Confuse Ray! Then back up and take some distance!" The seasoned sailor looks thrown off by Goliath's unexpected attack.

"Protect when Confuse Ray gets close, then blend in with your clones again." The move that beat us before causes no panic

He already knows how to deal with Confuse Ray. We made sure to train this a lot after losing to Katie. This much isn't enough to make us stumble.

The swirling purple energy helplessly dissipates upon making contact with a smaller version of Protect. Instead of wasting energy to create a full sphere, this time Goliath made a small shield in front of himself, just large enough to block the move. The Confuse Ray wasn't useless though, as it did allow Jellicent to gain a good amount of distance from Goliath.

"Sweep them all away with Hydro Pump," Franco yells out. "Don't give him time to dig underground!"

"Just run in and finish it with another Shadow Claw," I don't even bother with elaborate strategies here. My partner has grown strong enough to handle this without them. "That isn't enough if they want to hit you."

"Lin!" A happy yip tells me that Goly liked that order.

Jellicent charges and fires off a large Hydro Pump with impressive speed. She starts the high-powered stream of water on the right side of the battlefield and begins to sweep it across all the clones. However, there is no need, as Goly decides to dismiss all of his Double Team clones and charge toward her alone. He quickly reaches halfway across the battlefield. After all, Linoones have incredible speed when running in a straight line.

Jellicent's eyes momentarily widen in surprise, but she quickly adjusts and swings the Hydro Pump over to Goliath's position. Just before it would have blasted the Linoone away, Goliath turns towards the stream of water and leaps over it. He lands on the opposite side and continues to run down Jellicent. There is only about a third of the field's distance between them now.

"Keep trying," Franco shouts! "You need to hit him! There's no time to change tactics now!"

Jellicent sweeps the pressurized water stream back towards Goliath again, but he turns and jumps it again at the last second. He waits until a literal instant before it would hit him this time so that Jellicent is left with no chance to adjust her aim. Goliath has now brought himself within ten feet of his opponent. She will only have one more chance to hit him.

I remain silent. Watching Goliath deftly dodge at the last second reminds me of our first official battle together. He first showed me his amazing reflexes and athletic abilities against Phanpy's Rollout. I have never doubted those reflexes since then.

Jellicent now looks desperate as she moves the Hydro Pump back towards Goliath for the last time. I can see that she is straining to keep the attack going for this long, but she appears determined to hit him. This time, right before the attack hits Goliath, she jerks up in an attempt to catch his jump.

Unfortunately for Jellicent, Goliath seems to have predicted that she would try this, as he doesn't even move to dodge the attack this time. Instead, he simply runs forward without flinching as the Hydro Pump now passes over his head.

"End it."

Goliath dives the last couple of feet and slashes a claw of purple energy deep into Jellicent's side. This time, there is no screaming or wailing in response to the hit. The pink ghost simply floats limply to the grown and lies there until she is returned.

"Well," Captain Franco pauses for a long time, staring down at the Great Ball in his hand. "The ship to Dewford leaves at 4 tomorrow morning. Meet me right here."

He walks up to me and reaches his hand out. I reach out to meet him, thinking he is going for a handshake. Instead, he drops a wad of cash in my hand and walks right past me. I'd have thought he was mad if not for the ruddy cheeks and wide grin on his face.

"Come on, Goly," I call out to my partner as I begin walking back to the Pokémon Center. "I think Mirabelle is going to want to see Nurse Joy right about now."

"Linoone!" Goly responds with a happy bark and trots up to my side.

"It felt that good to battle after so long, huh?" I ask with a smile.

"Lin!" There's nothing but joy in his response.

"Well, you've gotten pretty damned strong. That's for sure." I count the cash in my hands as I talk and can't help but whistle to myself. "Damn, 500 Poke for a two v two! Just how many badges did that gruff guy have?"

Knowing that the amount of badges a Trainer has gathered over their career determines the minimum pay out in official battles, I can guess that our burly Captain Franco has had quite the career.


4:30 A.M. finds me sitting in a ball with my arms wrapped around my knees. My back is leaning up against Mirabelle as she sulks about her first loss yesterday. Her head lays on the ground, extended as far away from me as her body will allow. The calm smile that usually remains plastered on her face is nowhere to be seen. In its place, her mouth rests in an icy frown. The only good news she's heard since the battle with Franco was when Nurse Joy told me that she would be back to tip top physical shape with only about a half a day of rest. Grass-Type Pokémon, especially the larger ones, are incredibly resilient.

"Talk to me, Belle," I speak up once I've had about enough of her sulking. "How are you feeling?"

For a long time, I receive no response from the Fruit Pokémon. Instead of giving me a proper answer, she eventually settles for huffing out a heavy breath of air.

"Well now, that's a sigh with the weight of a woman facing a midlife crisis, not a juvenile Pokémon at the start of her battling career." I quip at her melancholy. "So, which one are you?"

"Tropius." Mirabelle looks at me with annoyance for a moment, then grumbles and looks back away.

"Yep, You lost yesterday," I agree with what I believe she was trying to say. "Your first loss, no less."

"Pius!" Her head swings back and her voice has an angry bite to it.

"So what?" I bite back with some heat. I don't want to kick her when she's down, but this is a lesson she needs to learn sooner, rather than later. "Did you think you would never lose?"

"Tropius!" Belle stands up so quickly that I'm soon falling backward; my backrest having just disappeared on me.

"I'm serious, Belle," I push myself to my feet and turn to face her. "Life isn't so easy that you can just reach all your goals without any setbacks, especially in the world of Pokémon battling."

"Tro." Belle's head lowers a bit, seemingly reflecting on what was said.

"Linoone!" Goly's voice interrupts her as he runs across the deck.

Had I mentioned that we're currently out in the middle of the sea? Captain Franco made good on his word and set off for Dewford at exactly 4, bringing us along for an 8-hour long trip to the island town.

The Salty Sharpedo turned out to be quite the ship. I can't help but look around once again to inspect the rusty scrap ship I currently find myself aboard. Apparently, Captain Franco's livelihood is made by scavenging the ocean for anything of value that he can find. As such, the boat is so filled with salvaging materials that there isn't much of any room for us to stay. Mirabelle was only barely allowed to stay out of her ball after a lot of stubborn insistence on my part.

Instead of lounging space, the majority of the deck is taken up by a large metal cage meant to store whatever Franco finds on the seafloor. High above the boat hangs a metal claw that I can't help but question the practicality of. On the back, several large and heavy nets are stored and a diving suit is racked just before them.

The ship's exterior is all unpainted metal and rust: the only decal being the teeth of a Sharpedo along the front and the words "Salty Sharpedo" sloppily painted in red along the side. The crew is nonexistent, made up of only Franco himself and his Pokémon. His Machamp serves as his first mate and stands as a reminder that he didn't pick his strongest Pokémon to battle me.

All in all, it feels very much like something that would have come out of the Pokémon Colosseum and XD games in the Orre region.

"Tropius!" Mirabelle nudges me and points towards Goly as he stands on his hind quarters with his forelegs on the rails. "Pius!"

Her accusatory tone confuses me for a while before I realize what she's hinting at. It's so ridiculous that I actually huff out a brief laugh, which does nothing to better Mirabelle's mood.

"I'm sorry," I fight down my chuckles and apologize. "But if you think Goly has never lost, you're way off. He definitely wins a lot more than he loses, but since I have been partners with him, he has lost 7 times more than you have. Some of them weren't even close either. Let's watch some of his battles together sometime. Until then, ask Goly about how his battle with Hypno went. Though I doubt… Ah!"

I'm interrupted by a hundred pounds of brown and tan fur barreling into me. Apparently, my good buddy heard my conversation with Mirabelle and decided he needed to put a stop to it. That particular battle is a story he definitely doesn't want to spread.

"Anyways," I yell out to my sweet team baby while using both hands to hold Goly back from his attack. "Losing is something that was always going to happen at some point, what matters is what you take away from it. Will you just keep sulking, or...AH!" Goly cuts me off by sweeping my legs from under me with Iron Tail. "Damnit Goly! I'm saying something good here!" I peek my head out as he dogpiles on top of me. "Or will you stand back up and learn from this loss? You can learn a lot more from losing than winning, so what will you do with this experience?" I turn my attention back to wrestling Goly. "There, I said it! Now, you're done for punk!"

"Noone!" Goly mocks. "Linoone!"

Mirabelle looks out across the open sea with a thoughtful expression which I barely manage to peek at between all the fur and claws everywhere. I feel a satisfied smile cracking on my face, knowing that she will do just fine. At the moment though, I can now turn my attention to what really matters: putting this punk of a Pokémon in his place!

I rejoin the battle with Goly with renewed vigor.

Our battle has us tussling and rolling in a pile of fur, sweat, blood, and tears for a full five exhausting minutes. I have a finger fish hooking the corner of Goly's mouth, and Goly has a long-nailed claw up my right nostril when we are forced to put an end to our fight by the intrusion of a third party.

"Hahahahahaha!" Deep, gruff laughter rings out from above us, leading us to pause in our current precarious positions. "So taking out Corphish and Jellicent wasn't enough for the tough bastard, huh? He's coming for you too, now! Hahahah! I'll admit that he's definitely in a different class than those two. Maybe, I should have just went all out and gone with Poliwrath, or even Machamp here. I underestimated the little guy; big time! Hahahahahah!"

Goly and I look into each other's eyes for a full five seconds before we begin to separate. However, as soon as I let go of his mouth, Goly lunges at me for the finisher. I've long been ready for his cheating antics though, and his nose rams straight into his own Pokeball. His sneak attack only succeeding in returning himself.

"Mark it, Mirabelle," I yell over my shoulder. "That's another win for me!"

Mirabelle steadfastly ignores me.

"Haha!" Captain Franco barks out another laugh. "You really are one hell of a kid! First our battle, now this? You just never stop entertaining me!"

"Right…" I return to my feet and look up at the large sailor's face. "So, what's going on?"

"Nothing but what you see for a good while longer," He gestures out towards the open Ocean. "I just wanted to confirm something with you. Are those two the only Pokémon you have right now?"

"That's right," I admit without reservation. "I'm not trying to catch every other Pokémon I see."

"And I can respect that," He nods to himself, looking to have internally confirmed something. "Well, we're going to be out here for eight or nine hours, depending on the wind and continued good weather. In the Hoenn region, every Trainer trying to travel the region would benefit from having a strong and sturdy Water-Type on their team. While we're out here, you might want to check out the seas for anything that might fit your team. That is unless you want to catch one of them and get it over with." He points up at a few Wingull sitting high on the ship's salvaging claw.

"Hmmm," I can't say I hadn't thought of grabbing a Water-Type out here, but there was one thing holding me back. "I'd considered that, but are there even any Pokémon out here that can battle on land? I doubt I'll have many battles over open water, so most fish-like Pokémon won't have many chances to battle for me. I mean, unless a Gyarados shows up or something."

"If we see a Gyarados and you pick a fight with it, I'm tossing you in as my getaway bait." Franco deadpans. "I've heard that stupid tastes better, and if you fight a Gyarados on a boat like mine, you fit the bill."

"Fine, fine. I get the idea." I wave off his concern. "But my point still stands. I doubt there will be any amphibious Pokémon this far out."

"You're not exactly wrong, but you're not right either." He admits. "Sounds like Tentacruel or Sharpedo aren't for you, but it's not unheard of to find some more versatile Pokémon like Cloyster or Clauncher out here. You may as well look."

"Well, you're right there." I can't help but agree. "I suppose I don't have many other options out here anyways."

"Good choice!" A meaty palm slaps my shoulder. "I'll find it much easier to root for you in the League this year when you've got a dependable Water-Type fighting under your banner! Hahaha!" With his announcement of support, Captain Franco turns back to return to the small cabin with the steering wheel.

For my part, I waltz over to Mirabelle's side and join her in overlooking the endless waters.


"Really, Thanks for bringing me here Captain Franco." I give a firm handshake to the intimidating seaman who ferried me across the ocean.

"I wish I could stay to see your battle with Brawly," Franco laments with real regret on his face as he returns my handshake by attempting to crush my hand. "Unfortunately, a man's got to make a living here, and I've already put myself way off route getting you here. I was originally heading to Lilycove, so that's where I'm off to now."

"I see," It's a bit regretful that I will need to find a new boat off this island, but I plan to spend a few days here, so I can't expect him to just stick around. "Then I wish you the best of luck in your scrap hunting."

"IT'S TREASURE HUNTING!" He yells back. "Honestly, kids these days have no concept of the great romance of the seas. Haven't you ever heard of having big dreams?"

"Sure, sure. Good luck with that anyways."

"Haaah." He lets out a sigh and turns around to board his ship. "Don't lose, Reid. I'm going all in on your name in the fantasy Ever Grande brackets, so my future depends on your success."

"Well then," I smirk as I turn towards Dewford Town. "Get ready for the rich life."

With both Mirabelle and Goliath at my side, my first destination is the Pokémon Center to hook us up with a room for the duration of our stay here. Once that's all settled, we'll be off to the Dewford Knuckle Gym to register for a Gym Battle.

As we walk up the sandy beach, I see Krabby and Corphish scurrying along the coastline. In the air, Wingull and Pelipper are the only Flying-Types to be seen, and they are abundant. Besides Pokémon, the beach is filled with people too. Lounging around, swimming and surfing, even battling: the beach is a literal hub of activity. Though it does make sense, considering it's currently 2 on a Saturday afternoon at one of the core tourist islands in the region.

I do my best to refrain from joining in, and I preemptively return Goly before he can get out of control. Though, we'll definitely be out there later. After all, what's a journey with no fun?

Thankfully, Dewford is a small enough town to navigate with ease. The Pokémon Center's red roof is clearly visible from the beach shores, and even the Gym itself can be seen. It only takes a short trek across the sandy roads to reach my destination.

Checking in at the Pokémon Center and securing a room moves along smoothly enough. I do, however, take note of the fact that the Pokémon Center is pretty full. It's obvious that Brawly's gym is a popular one for people early in the Gym Challenge. Knowing that I will likely have a bit of a wait before my Gym battle, I had asked Nurse Joy if there were any good places to search for wild Pokémon here. Unsurprisingly, she directed me to Granite Cave, along with a stern warning not to venture too deep inside.

Such circumstances led to me now standing before a Pokémon Gym with the words 'Fight the Big Wave' written on a golden arch. Alongside those words is the depiction of a running Machamp and Machop.

Both my Pokémon are resting in their balls for now, so when I walk through the Gym's front doors, I do so alone.

The first thing I notice is that there is an actual human and Pokémon strength and conditioning gym behind a reception counter to the right. It seems fitting for a Fighting-Type Gym. The variety of people and Pokémon getting a good pump in brings an easy smile to my face.

"Hello," To my left, another receptionist calls out from where she waits behind another counter. A door titled 'Competitor's entrance' is visible behind her. She's a very tan brunette woman who appears to be around forty years of age. She smiles at me with kind-looking crow's feet appearing in the corners of her eyes. "How can I help you?"

"Hi," I head over her way. "I'm looking to register for a Gym battle here."

"Well, you're certainly speaking with the right person for that." She begins typing away at her computer. "My name is Pauline, and I'll get everything sorted for you. First, I'm going to need to know your name and how many badges you already have. Then we can talk about time slots."

"I'm Reid Redwood, and I currently have one Gym Badge. I will be challenging Brawly for my second, but I would like to request a special rules battle."

"I see, so you're Reid. Brawly had told us to be expecting you. Wattson warned him to expect you, and he's been practically bouncing with excitement waiting for your challenge." She shares some surprising information with me. "However, Brawly does his special rules battles a little bit differently than any of the other Gym Leaders. You see, he…" At that moment, a man with long, silver hair walks out of a door from the back of the Gym wearing only a pair of orange swim trunks and a belt of Pokeballs. "Oh, Brawly! That Trainer you were waiting for, Reid Redwood, is here!"

"What?" Brawly quickly turns towards us. "That crazy Zigzagoon dude's here?!" He jogs over until he's standing right in front of me. He stands about half a foot taller than me. "So, you're finally here to challenge me? I expected you almost a week ago. What's with the wait? Not cool, dude."

"I'm here now, so you can start polishing that badge for me. As for why it took so long, I had to train up the star for this battle."

"That's some confidence dude. Just don't get ahead of yourself and start riding high before you even hit the big wave." He turns back to look at Pauline. "Pauline, when can we get this party started?"

"If you still plan on taking Tuesday off for that surf party, the earliest slot that's open is on Wednesday at 9:30 in the morning."

"Hmm," He scratches the back of his head as he looks back at me. "Kind of a downer that we've gotta wait so long for the riptide, but if I get clucked at ankle slappers, then I'll turn into a paddle puss who gets raked over when the big party wave comes. You feel me?"

"I understood all of those words individually, but they made no sense when you put them together like that."

"Brawly means that he can't just push aside any of the Gym battles he already has scheduled to make room for you early, right?" Pauline helpfully supplies.

"Bingo!" Brawly snaps and points at the receptionist with a bright smile before turning back to me. "So, Zigzagoon dude! You down for Wednesday then?"

"That works fine," I agree easily enough. "I wanted to have some training time anyways. I wanted to talk about having a special rules battle though."

"Stop right there bro," Brawly holds up an open hand. "I take my battles a little differently than most. We'll decide the rules we use right before we have our battle. If we pick something that sounds cool now, it'll get stale if we know exactly what type of wave is coming this far ahead. Get it, broski?"

"I think so," I slowly nod to myself; the idea starting to sound genuinely interesting. "As long as it's not a basic two-badge battle, I'm fine with however you'd like to do this."

"No need to worry about that my friend." Brawly pats my shoulder as he walks past me towards the doors. "There's no way I'm wasting my chance to have a battle like Wattson just had with you. Now, I've got some waves to catch. I'll see you around, Zigzagoon dude."

After finalizing the registration process with Pauline, it's nearly 4 P.M. when I begin the trek to Granite Cave. As late as it is, having fun at the beach can wait until tomorrow. For the remainder of my first day on Dewford, I decide to take care of some training against the local wildlife, while also scouting for new teammates. Abra, Aron, Geodude, even Zubat: there are plenty of Pokémon in Granite Cave with great potential in their evolved forms. Depending on the game, you can even find Axew in this cave, though I doubt I'll venture deeply enough.


"Alright, Belle! Show me what you've learned," I motion for Mirabelle to step forward to take on the tiny white and blue being that was lured here by her Sweet Scent. "This battle is going to be left to you. I won't be giving any orders, so just do what you think is best."

"Tropius!" Belle steps forward and immediately uses Curse.

Her body lets out an eerie purple light and her muscles contract and harden. Since our goal in using Sweet Scent was to attempt to bring in some Fighting-Type Pokémon, this is a pretty smart move on the Young Pokémon's part.

Granite Cave is home to plenty of Pokémon who I would love to have on my team, but our current focus is on Fighting-Types. Mirabelle is going to be our lead fighter in this Gym Challenge, so she's my main training target too. Of course, as I've been giving most of my attention to training Belle for a while now, someone has some complaints. To placate Goly, I promised him that he would get to battle any Pokémon that shows up which isn't a Fighting-Type.

As of now, he's already taken two easy victories against a Zubat and a young Golbat. Unfortunately, neither of the two had the right mindset to fit in on our team. They were both far too timid, only battling due to being startled in the first place.

The third Pokémon to approach us is the Meditite standing before my buffed Tropius. Depending on what the little guy shows us, I'm not opposed to aiming to have a Medicham on our team. Most Fighting-Type Pokémon tend to have the right mentality to grow stronger, and a Psychic sub-typing allows for all kinds of interesting possibilities.

"Well, Goly," I sit down on a perfectly sized boulder and scratch my weird badger thing behind his ear. "Let's see how Belle takes care of this."

"Lin!"

While we get ourselves comfy, the battle between the massive dinosaur and the tiny person has begun.

Seeing Mirabelle use Curse, Meditite bursts into action. The little wild Pokémon takes off in a full sprint toward my Pokémon. Belle doesn't even react to the little Pokémon's approach, instead opting to stack another use of Curse.

It would seem that the answer she has arrived at after pondering her loss is to give up on mobility in favor of becoming an immovable tank. It's an answer that is very much in line with the vision I have for her future battle style. Before she gains access to the move Substitute and becomes a more powerful flier her best bet is going to be to turn each of her fights into a slugfest where she restores every bit of damage she takes.

Soon enough, Meditite slams an open palm into Mirabelle's chest, but the combination of her resistance to Fighting-Types and her double-stacked Curses means that the damage Belle receives is all but nonexistent. Instead, she rears up and counterattacks with Stomp. Meditite dodges the move with no unnecessary movement. It's impossible to know if it just dodged or used Detect. Regardless, Meditite disengages without trouble and leaps back away from the larger Pokémon.

Unwilling to let up, Mirabelle chases its retreating form with a Razor Leaf barrage. Meditite weaves skillfully between the first few leaves, but can't keep it up.

"Tite!" The tiny Pokémon is sent tumbling backward but rolls with the momentum until it's back on its feet. The level difference is clear though, as that one attack has it shaking like a leaf.

Meditite doesn't allow the damage to dampen its fighting spirit one bit, as it once again attempts to close in on Mirabelle. This time, its approach is much slower and more cautious. It appears to have learned from the previous attack though, as it builds up Psychic-Type energy between its hands this time. A small seed is spat into its midsection as it charges, but the wild Meditite doesn't slow down, even when the seed sprouts roots which dig into its body.

"Tough lil bugger, isn't it?" I lean forward with interest, rolling an empty Pokeball around in my hand. "What do you say, Goly? You think it'd make a good new teammate?"

"Lin. Linoone." Goly's response from where he is curled up in a ball on the floor is a yawn followed by disinterested agreement.

"Yeah," I wave off Goly's lackluster reply. "Get off your high horse buddy. I think it's got the grit to…" My words trail off as a shining blue glint catches the corner of my eye.

Closer inspection reveals that there are, in fact, three crystalline objects reflecting the light from the lanterns I had set up around our training site. The two largest crystals are both light blue in color, but a third gem forms a triangle with them. That third gem is red and slightly smaller than the other two. The poor lighting of the cave makes it very difficult to see, but I already have a good idea as to what those gems might be.

As the sounds of the battle rage on before me, my attention is somehow drawn toward this creature. With difficulty and a lot of squinting, I can somewhat make out the form of its body. I can barely make out small figure, even smaller than the Meditite battling my oversized partner, with a pair of spikes atop its wide head and long claws at the ends of its four limbs. It's difficult to see any more details due to the way it melds into the shadows of the cave. The figure is lying on its side with its legs crossed and its head resting on a hand.

It just lies there with a completely unbothered posture, watching the ongoing battle with an impossible face to read. There is something indescribably creepy about looking into those crystalline eyes, but at the same time, I can't seem to take my own eyes off of them.

In the background, Meditite's cries become more ragged and more desperate. Belle's relative silence tells me that she isn't facing any trouble at all in controlling this battle, but I can't bring myself to watch. The Ghost/Dark Dual-Type Pokémon has monopolized my attention.

The way it lies there looks far too expressive, far too human, for a ghost. I would even say that the Pokémon before me with the vilest, most dangerous, and volatile of Type combinations looks… Sassy. The way it lies there just screams sass: as if it's severely judging everything and everyone around it.

I must be staring too hard, as those pale blue, crystal eyes turn away from the battle and face me. Very quickly, a lump forms in my chest, and beads of cold sweat form on my brow. It truly feels as if those crystals can see directly into my soul. All of a sudden, I am very aware of every breath I take, each one now being a conscious decision. My heartbeat sounds excessively loud in my own ears and the sounds of Mirabelle's battle grow muted.

"Sableye!" A yelp of surprise escapes the Darkness Pokémon and I am released from the hypnotic paralysis that my brain had been forced into when a weak wave of Psychic energy hits the Sableye.

Turning back to the battle, I see that Meditite is panting heavily from exhaustion, still being drained by the Leech Seed. It has resorted to throwing off wave after wave of Confusion attacks, one of which seems to have missed and hit Sableye. Unfortunately, there was no damage done, only surprise.

Mirabelle, on the other hand, doesn't appear to have taken any damage at all. However, she looks quite frustrated, despite that. I had told her not to use Leaf Storm, Gust, or Whirlwind while we're in the cave, and it would seem that she has thus far been unable to put Meditite down for the count with her other moves. The little one just keeps getting up.

In the brief couple of seconds that it takes me to understand the current situation of the battle, a small purple figure jumps in between the two competitors and changes everything.

"Tropius?" Mirabelle tilts her head in confusion and questions the new arrival.

"Noone!" Goly barks and growls from my side, apparently having only now recognized the Ghost's presence. "Lin! Linoone!"

"Sable," Sableye ignores both of my Pokémon and struts toward Meditite with slow, even steps until they are inches away from each other. I do mean struts too. I don't know how else to put it, but Sableye's steps honestly remind me of a runway model's practiced walk. While I'm bewildered by the jarring contrast, Meditite is frozen in place, staring blankly into those large crystal eyes.

"Medi," Its voice comes out slowly; it almost looks to be in awe. "Tite."

Sableye's head lolls slightly to the side and it looks up at Meditite from its barely lower height. A single clawed hand brushes against Meditite's cheek and I can't help but wonder if I've just stumbled upon the start of an odd spark of Pokémon romance. Meditite's pale white cheeks turn pink and it averts its eyes to the side. As if it had been waiting for this moment, Sableye springs into action.

"Sableye!" Sableye's tone turns vicious without warning and a fist covered in Dark-Type energy slams into Meditite's cheek.

"Tite!" Meditite cries out in a mixture of pain and shock as it tumbles across the ground.

"Pius!" Mirabelle is quick to protest against the interference in her battle, but her complaints are easily ignored.

Meditite rises to its feet again, entirely unwilling to stay down, but that choice isn't Meditite's decision to make. Sableye forces the issue by sinking into the ground and appearing again to attack Meditite from its own shadow.

Meditite stays down this time.

"Linoone!" Goly, angry about being ignored, runs out to stand before me and fight.

Sableye turns back and stands with a hand on its hip and its head inclined. The way it looks at Goly somewhat reminds me of Boa Hancock from One Piece, though not quite so exaggerated.

"Ok, Goly. You can have this one. Belle, come over here and rest up a bit. Great work."

From a training standpoint, the better move here might be to give Mirabelle the fight, but something about this Sableye has me unsettled. I can't help but want to keep this under control with my ace.

For her part, Mirabelle has no complaint, as she begins to slowly walk to my side. The purple energy of Curse releases from her body as she does so.

I look back at Goly and am appalled to see that Sableye is already only a couple feet away from him. She had been approaching him steadily the entire time!

"Goly back off!" I shout with a bit of panic in my tone. I still can't shake the uneasy feeling that Sableye gives me. "Gain some separation and use Double Team."

Goly immediately hops back and turns to run sideways around Sableye and set up his Double Team clones. However, as soon as he turns, he skids to a stop before running directly into the little purple Pokémon.

Shadow Sneak. I think to myself. It had waited until the moment that Goly took his eyes off of it to use Shadow Sneak to appear directly in his face.

"Sable," Sableye's tone is soft and gentle, it lightly puts its hand on Goly's cheek. This time, I notice something new; something I couldn't see with Meditite since Sableye's back was to me. Pink heart shapes briefly flash in Sableye's crystal eyes when its, no, her hand touches Goly. "Sableye."

"Attack, Goly!" I shout out, all too aware of the dangers of the move Attract. "Shadow Claw!"

"Lin!" Unfortunately, it's not to be. Goly's face melts into a goofy smile and his cheeks flush. "Linoone!"

"Sab! Sableye!" Sableye steps back and clasps her hands behind her back, swaying from side to side and looking up at Goly. Her tone is filled with wonderment, but I can see some near-invisible waves of Dark-Type energy emitting from her mouth as she speaks, cluing me in that she's using a move. "Sable, Sab!"

"Stop listening to her! Attack! Shadow Claw!" I desperately try to snap Goly out of it, but he only seems to be falling deeper into Sableye's trap.

"Linoone!" Her words seem to have buttered him up, as Goly tucks his head away in embarrassment. He even begins to sway a bit, as if he's lost his balance.

Could her words have caused him to fall into confusion? Did she use Swagger then? No, she must have used Flatter.

At that same moment, as soon as his eyes are no longer on her, Sableye strikes. This time, her method of attack is the most annoying thing she could have possibly done.

Her hands spark with electricity that quickly shoots into Goly's side. In no time at all, his entire body begins to spasm as the electrical current of Thunder Wave runs through him.

Attracted, confused, and paralyzed. It sounds like one hell of a party, but there's nothing fun about it now. This wild Pokémon is controlling Goly like a puppet on strings!

"Sasasasasa!" To top it off, the little terror is even laughing in his face. She has one hand covering her wide mouth as soft laughter escapes her. On either side of her hand, her razor-sharp teeth are visible.

"NOONE!" Our only saving grace is that the electric move seems to have snapped Goly out of his little love fantasy. Goly is officially pissed off.

"Finally woke up? Now use Shadow Claw!"

Goly turns back and swings a purple claw at Sableye, who simply hops back out of reach with a mocking laugh. Sableye begins to sink into her own shadow, but it would appear that she doesn't know how fast Goly is. With his speed boosted by his Quick Feet ability, he can still reach her!

"Again! Before she disappears!" I yell out, though it was entirely unnecessary.

Goly has already arrived before Sableye with a second Shadow Claw charged and ready. Just before Sableye sinks into her shadow entirely, his claw rakes across her side and throws her back out of it. Her small figure rockets across the cave and hits the wall.

"Chase her down," I shout with an urgent desire to end the battle. "Again!"

"Lin!" Goly begins to run to where Sableye has fallen, but he loses his balance and trips over his own feet.

When he tries to get back up, a harsh muscle spasm racks his body and sends him back down to his face. While he is no longer attracted, he is very much still confused and paralyzed. What a pain.

"You can still make it," Sableye is back on her feet, she's clearly been hurt by that one though. Her body is trembling and she stumbles a bit on her feet, but her face is on on vicious determination and anger. Her defense isn't great, but the fact that she tanked a solid hit from Goly means that she must be at a fairly high level. "Keep trying, Goly! One more hit!"

"Linoone!" Goly screams with frustration as he struggles to get to his feet.

When he finally reaches Sableye, much more slowly than I would have liked, she is displaying a much different image than I had just seen earlier. When I just looked at her, her mouth was set in an angry frown and she had been standing on her feet: shaken, but ready to fight.

Now, on the other hand, Sableye lies on her side before Goly. She's even facing away from him with her upper boy propped up by her two hands. She looks over her shoulder to meet Goly's eyes with her own. The posture she lies in is a picture-perfect damsel-in-distress pose, straight out of the movies. Her breathing is labored and her big, pale blue eyes stare up at Goly.

Oh no!

"Don't look at her!" I scream out my warning a fraction of a second too late.

"Sable." Two pink heart shapes form in the big blue crystals, and Goly's aggressive stance melts in an instant. This time, Sableye doesn't beat around the bush with status moves or confusion-inducing flirting. Instead, her mouth curls into a pissed-off frown. "Sableye!" She screams with rage as she Sucker Punches Goly right across his face.

"Alright, you awake? Let's not fall for that again, okay?" I ask, expecting the impact to snap Goly out of his quest for love, much like Thunder Wave had. Unfortunately, reality isn't quite so convenient. When the dust from Goly's impact with a boulder clears, I take note of his dopey smile and promptly give up on that thought. I now lean my head towards Mirabelle and whisper, still keeping my eyes on the battle. "Be ready, sweetheart. I think we will need to rely on you for this one. I'll let this play out so he can learn something, but Goly's in Lalaland right now. She's got him wrapped around her little finger."

"Trop." Mirabelle quietly agrees with me.

"Goly! Snap out of it!" I yell out to no avail.

"Sableye!" Sableye leaps out of his shadow and begins scratching him over and over again in what can only be Fury Swipes.

By the sixth or seventh scratch, I honestly lost count, Goly's eyes clear up and he hops to his feet. This time though, Sableye is ready for it and wastes no time at all in hopping into her shadow and escaping. Goly glares at her when she emerges on the opposite side of the cave but says nothing. I can practically feel the embarrassment radiating from him.

All those unguarded attacks did a real number on him. His body is riddled with scratch marks and his cheek is swollen from where he took the Sucker Punch. He tries to hide it, but I can see that he's shaking from more than just the paralysis. He's nowhere near down, considering the amount of damage he withstood against Jolteon, but this is as far as I'm willing to push him a few days before a big Gym battle.

Goly shakes his head aggressively and steps forward, but the confusion messes with his balance and he tumbles to the ground.

"Sasasasasasasa!" Sableye tilts her head up, covers her mouth with her hand, and laughs at Goly's condition without restraint.

"I'm calling it, Goly," I let out a sigh and grab the Premier Ball from my belt. "It's time for Mirabelle to take over."

"Noone! Linoone!" His head snaps back towards me and shakes rapidly one way and another. He points a claw at the Sableye who continues to laugh across from him. "Linoone!"

"I know you can fight more," Goly begins to speak up at my admission, but I talk over him. "But these are Pokémon battles, not fights to the death!" Both Goly and, surprisingly, Sableye, go silent at my shout. "If you didn't want to lose the battle, you shouldn't have let her trick you so easily. Now take a rest and let your teammate take over. That's also a part of Pokémon battling."

"Lin," Goly's tail drops and he stares hard at Sableye for a few seconds before breaking eye contact and nodding. "Linoone."

"We'll learn from this, buddy," I return my embarrassed starter and place his Premier Ball back on my belt. "Take a rest now." Mirabelle is already standing between Sableye and me.

"Tropius!" She bellows in excitement for the battle to come.

"Leech Seed then Curse!" I immediately start giving out her orders. I start with offense because I don't want to give Sableye time to run away. It won't be easy to find another wild Pokémon capable of defeating Goly. The fact that her method of doing so wasn't a straightforward battle only serves to increase her desirability to me.

Sableye dives down into the shadows to allow the yellow seed to sail over her head, but I've gotten used to the way she operates already. When she uses Shadow Sneak, it's always to move either right in the enemy's face, or along the wall as far away as possible. Since Belle is a female and doesn't have an opening for her to exploit yet, it's easy to guess where Sableye will pop up.

"Wait on Curse, another Leech Seed, along the right wall!"

Just as I get my orders out, Sableye emerges exactly as predicted.

"Sableye!" She screams in fright when she's greeted with a yellow Leech Seed hitting the top of her head.

Sableye reaches up and attempts to pull the seed off of her, but the roots dig in and start draining away her energy. When she grabs the seed from her head, the roots dig into her hand. Without a Fire-Type move, there is no dislodging it. In the time that Sableye wastes trying to remove the seed, Mirabelle successfully buffs herself with Curse.

"Good, now use Magical Leaf!"

"Tropius!" Belle is quick on the draw. In no time at all, a dozen leaves are homing in on Sableye's location.

"Sable!" Sableye cuts through them one after another with Fury Swipes, but her hands can't keep up.

About half of the leaves score direct hits. Added on top of Goly's Shadow Claw, this single attack displays visible effects. Sableye's stance sags and her chest heaves. She doesn't give up or run though, instead, she uses Shadow Sneak to appear right under Mirabelle's nose.

With both of us expecting her to try and take some distance, she catches the much taller Pokémon looking right over her head and at the far wall. Her hands begin to spark and she scores a direct hit with Thunder Wave. This time, however, I'm not worried about the move.

"Pius!" Belle cries out as her body tenses up.

"Sableye!" The little Ghost follows up by raking a very familiar move across Mirabelle's chest. The Shadow Claw attack doesn't deal much damage to my Tropius's Curse-hardened skin.

"Blast her away with Gust!" I decide to take a small risk here, trusting the cave to hold up against the wide-range attack.

"Tro!" A quick but powerful flap of the wings sends Sableye flying head over heels across the cavern and into the wall.

"Eat a berry, Belle." I calmly tell my Pokémon to follow our previous plan. Before the battle, I had fed her a Cheri berry to prepare her Harvest ability. Paralysis was never a concern for her. "Now, use Razor Leaf!"

Belle cuts off a small red berry from the bundle of three on her neck and snaps it out of the air before sending more leaves toward her foe. Sableye dives to the side to dodge but still takes a single hit to her foot. The damage is beginning to affect her movement.

"Sab! Sableye!" Before we can press the attack, Sableye calls out to Mirabelle in a pleading tone. She clasps her hands together and adopts a posture of fawning over the Fruit Pokémon. "Sable, sab! Sableye!" However, I see that Dark-Type energy emanating from her mouth which signifies that she's using Flatter.

Sadly for her, that's the wrong move here. Belle will take that special attack buff with gratitude.

"Gust!" I call for the one attack that doesn't take any concentration to use and doesn't require precise aiming either. "Don't worry about accuracy, just make it as strong as you can!"

"Tropius!" Mirabelle totters on her feet for a bit and her long neck leans somewhat sideways, but she still manages to put all her strength into creating a large and powerful burst of wind, almost closer to Whirlwind than Gust.

Either way, Sableye realizes her mistake far too late, as the wind sends her slamming into the wall once again. This time, she falls to her face and stays there, unmoving.

"Great job, Belle!" I exclaim with pure excitement. This wild Sableye gave me a better rush than all but a handful of my Trainer battles! "She had nothing on you!"

"Tropius!" Mirabelle turns a bit too quickly in her excitement to return to me and falls on her side.

"Take a rest now, girl," I return her to her Pokeball. "You falling over is a genuine risk to my health." I chuckle to myself.

With my Pokémon sorted out, I take out a third Pokeball and look over at Sableye's still form. Part of me wonders if she's still playing tricks, but that notion is quickly dismissed. Sableye, as a species, doesn't have much health in the first place. She took more than enough hits to put her down for a while.

Without any more consideration, I toss out my Pokeball and accurately strike Sableye's fallen form. I can feel my heart fluttering with excitement, pounding against my chest, as the ball shakes once, twice, three times. This is really it! The true dream of millions upon millions of people's childhoods! Capturing a Pokémon!

After the fifth shake, the Pokeball flashes red one last time and a satisfying ding sounds out. I just caught my first Pokémon.

"A Sableye, huh?" I stare at the Pokeball in my hand. "You weren't even on my list for consideration, but I'd have to be crazy to pass up a star like you. Let's go far together, Sableye. I already know the perfect name for you."

As I begin the trek out of Granite Cave, having completely forgotten about the Meditite who had previously seemed promising, my mind is full of thoughts about how to use my newest team member.

Paralysis, confusion, and attraction, huh? I wonder if I can add flinching to the list. Would that even work in this world? It should, I think.

A certain thought strikes me and I can't help but smile even wider than I already am.

To think I've already caught an even dirtier fighter than Mirabelle's heal stalling strategy. A sweeper, then a staller, and now the mother of all status inflictors. At this rate, I'm not only going to become the strongest Trainer, but I'll be the most annoying battler in the world too. Well, annoying my enemies sounds like music to my ears, so it's all good!


And thus the team gains its new resident diva!

This addition was in the making ever since Lovrina from Pokémon XD hit my Umbreon with Attract, confusion from Water Pulse, paralysis from Thunder Punch and Leech seed, all in one fight. Many, many years later, and I can still distinctly remember how annoyed I was at my luck in that fight.

I wanted to make the most atrocious cluster of status inflictions possible, and there is nothing more annoying than having your Pokémon unable to do ANYTHING several turns in a row. Even the great and powerful Goly fell to a weaker opponent because of it! I also love Sableye's appearance, so be ready for a personality that's big enough to rival Goly's!

Let me know if you expected a Sableye to join the team! How do you feel about her?


Reid Redwood

Badges: 1

Pokémon: 3

Goliath (Goly)

Linoone

Abilities:

Gluttony, Pick Up, Quick Feet

Moves:

Slash, Shadow Claw, Headbutt, Take Down, Dig, Pin Missile, Iron Tail, Extreme Speed, Covet, Flail, Protect, Rest, Belly Drum, Double Team, Growl, Sand Attack, Tail Whip

Mirabelle (Belle)

Tropius

Abilities:

Harvest, Solar Power

Moves:

Magical Leaf, Sunny Day, Protect, Whirlwind, Razor Leaf, Gust, Leaf Storm, Leech Seed, Curse, Growth, Stomp, Sweet Scent

?

Sableye

Abilities:

Prankster, Keen Eye

Moves:

Attract, Thunder Wave, Flatter, Sucker Punch, Shadow Sneak, Shadow Claw, Fury Swipes, ?, ?, ?