Pokegirl Origins - Sinnoh Chapter 24 - Beyond the Peak, a pokémon fanfic

"Look at how responsible you are!"

Nicholas ignored the voice. It was just Kumu again, crunching through the snow behind him. Still, he couldn't ignore when the manifestation of Arceus twirled past him, stepping directly in his path and catching Nicholas by the chin before he could move out of her way. "Is that how you believe you will usher in the new age? By becoming its guardian? An aura guardian?"

"I don't think even Riley knows what that's supposed to mean," Nicholas replied, pulling himself free and stepping past. "From the beginning I have been told bits and pieces of information. I think the answer lies in them. I just came here to make sure another relic of the past wasn't about to cause trouble."

"Mm. Like your 'ancestor'? The EMPRESS OF THE SKY!" Kumu had thrown out her hands as she pronounced Rayquaza's title with an extravagant flourish. "She was a relic of that age as well, wasn't she?" Kumu slowly lowered her arms with a mischievous smile. "There are many more of that generation, you know. Will you be checking on them all?"

Nicholas remained silent for a few minutes before replying. "Ho-oh was not of Rayquaza's generation. She came after. She, the two on that island in the bay, they would have been part of the first real pokegirl generation. There are… One, two, three… either four or five distinct generations of eternal ones." He frowned. "Zinnia has said how she was the last of her generation. Four, then, not including you."

"Not including Arceus," Kumu corrected.

"For all intents and purposes, Kumu, you are her. No, you are not omnipotent, but you may as well be. I believe I once was told something like how 'absolute power is no different from overwhelming power' and you are the embodiment of that." Nicholas sighed quietly. "The third generation would be quite large if I defined it as four total, but I have no idea where a line could be drawn. It would begin with the balance of life and end with the balance of nature."

"Quite large, yes," Kumu agreed. "Well?"

Nicholas shook his head. "I would have no idea where to look for any of them. I don't really think I need to, anyways. If my way to the ushering of a new age is what I suspect it is, my work will not be through old powers, but through the lowly humans and pokegirls who were once something far greater, together." He glanced back. "If I am correct, the new age will dawn when your- when Arceus' creation remembers what it used to be."

Kumu's eyes glinted. "Your species, and theirs, was flawed by design, Nicholas Topolski. For a pokegirl to reclaim what she used to be would be to tread in the realm of the eternal. For humanity to reclaim what it used to be would entail far more. She fragmented you before. Why would she want to see that undone?"

Nicholas turned. "Because she loves to witness change," he growled quietly. "I do not intend to fight what She wrought. I intend to take the pieces she left and use them to create something new." He smiled. "If that means the creatures of this new age are able to turn their eyes beyond, to seek out the eternal, to seek out Her, then I suppose She should be ready to witness the true power of her creation."

Kumu slowly began to grin. Though the form she took was the one Arceus had used for him, and thus was as completely human as a pokegirl could be, in this moment the laughing figure before him was clearly much more than that. "To quote your human legends, you have witnessed the infinite, and now seek to share the gift of fire with the world. Yes, what you describe would certainly be a new age for humanity and pokegirl kind alike. But I believe the one who brought the gods' power to the mortal realm was punished for it, Nicholas. Is that something you are willing to risk?"

Nicholas stepped back towards Kumu until he was close enough to reach out and touch her. "Arceus is not like the human gods of that story," he said with a slight smile. "I am her direct creation. She knows well what I may do, and she takes great joy in my actions. I am already a creature who should not exist but by her interference. So yes, Kumu, I am willing to take that risk. No matter what I may do I know I will be forgiven if it entertains the creator."

"Oh yes?" Kumu purred and stepped slightly closer. "I like that."

"As I know She does as well," Nicholas snickered. "The difference being that you are a pokegirl in Her image, a gift, and I am your tamer." He leaned forwards as Kumu tilted her head slightly. "So I know when you say you like it, what you really are saying is that it excites you."

Kumu giggled and stopped Nicholas' advance with a single finger on his nose. "Didn't you tell that human you had somewhere to be?"

"You only show yourself to me when it pleases you," Nicholas replied softly. "Am I really to blame when I wish to have you pleasing me?"

Kumu's eyes danced and she leaned forwards slightly to give him a kiss before pulling away. "And here I thought you liked me better when I was not interfering."

"What I like, as you well know, is control," Nicholas replied as Kumu withdrew her hand and began smoothing her outfit. "I can never hope to control you but that does not mean I won't try."

"What will that turn into?" Kumu asked. "I mask my presence from all but those I am speaking to on your request. Right now, the ones you carry with you are not even aware of our conversation. They will not remember the time lost, for to the world this has taken less than the blink of an eye. If I become part of this world what then? How will it have to change to accommodate my presence? Have you thought about that?"

Nicholas eyed her. "For a gift you're really quite annoying to deal with."

"Deflection because you know I speak true." Kumu gazed into his eyes for a few moments before a smile cracked her lips and she giggled softly. "I suppose I already knew how you were a greedy human. How this form was made for you, after all." She winked. "I will have to find moments for you to enjoy your gift, Nicholas Topolski. But now is not one of them, so I will leave you with an apology instead."

Nicholas blinked. She was gone, and he turned back towards Snowpoint with a sigh. He'd been a fool to let his lust overcome him back then. It ate at him even now. The memories of Kumu's body, the energy beneath her skin, the echo of the creator Herself, the agonizing similarities to Arceus' daughters, Palkia, Dialga, Giratina, in a form he could not only comprehend, but experience, all for him to be denied her now. Because she was not under his control. She would never be. Maybe it was better for her not to be. If she was he wasn't sure if he would ever let go.

He took a few moments before his face set and he stepped forwards with renewed determination. This must be what Sohn felt when she looked at him. When she thought of the aura control she would never have. She had tasted that power, and now it dangled in front of her constantly, tantalizingly, forever out of her reach. If she could rise beyond it then so could he.

The gym was quiet, even the spectators seeming to hold their breath as the two humans took their places.

"Welcome, challenger. To Snowpoint." A young woman stood at the far end of the frozen arena from Nicholas. "I'd heard you've been making quite the stir."

"Been trying to, yes," Nicholas replied.

The woman giggled. "That's great! I've been waiting a long time for you. Waiting for someone tough. Knowing you're out there – it's given me and my harem the focus to get even stronger!" She settled into a battle stance, raising one arm over her head with a challenging grin. "You want to challenge Candice? Sure thing! Get ready to lose!"

Nicholas smiled and tapped his belt. "Sohn!" When the Infernape materialized he chuckled. "This gym leader speaks of her focus. Why don't you show her your own."

Sohn was cackling, slapping her hands together to create spurts of flame, when Candice released her own pokegirl. Nicholas frowned. This girl looked very similar to Volkner's Electivire, but her fur was snow-white, with green ice spikes jutting from its back. So, still Ice-type. There was a reason he'd led with Sohn. This should be a breeze, despite Candice's boast.

Sohn had taken only a single step when her opponent raised her arms, lifting them over her head as she let out a savage bellow and the spikes on her back began to glow.

The Infernape was immediately blown off her feet by the eruption of ice and snow that filled the arena. Cursing, Sohn ignited, trying to burn away the storm only for the snow to refreeze and whip back around as cutting shards of ice that drew bloody lines across her skin. She didn't need to hear Nicholas' command. As soon as she'd felt the cuts Sohn had leapt forwards with an angry yell.

Nicholas' jaw dropped when Sohn impacted, an explosion of fire engulfing Candice's pokegirl. There was no way she could have withstood that. Kalmiya had identified the girl by now and was rapidly feeding him information, her breed, Abomasnow, her ability to create the frozen storm that choked the arena, but also her typing. Ice and Grass-type. And yet when the explosion was blown away by the storm she was still standing. Her beautiful white fur charred and blackened, but very clearly still standing and Sohn screamed in surprise when the Abomasnow grabbed the Infernape's arm and spun, smashing Sohn face first into the arena barrier.

"How in the hell-!" Nicholas cried.

"The storm bolsters her defenses, Master!" Kalmiya cried. "But even still, she shouldn't have been able to withstand Sohn…"

"With enough focus we can DO ANYTHING!" Candice screamed. "YES SASHA!"

"Kalmiya I want to know HOW that girl just withstood Sohn's flames," Nicholas snapped as within the arena the Infernape flipped, finding purchase and surging back into Sasha's chest. This time when the impact blazed to life the Abomasnow dropped, seemingly unable to take it as well after being damaged by the first. "If we can't figure out how then this battle is going to go from a formality to a problem!"

"I, I'm trying, Master, I am!" Kalmiya cried.

Nicholas returned his attention to the arena with a grimace. Sohn was dancing back though she seemed to be unsteady and dazed. Damage from her unexpected trip into the barrier, he assumed. It was okay. Sohn was still extremely strong against this gym leader's harem. Fire and Fighting-type attacks from the Infernape should be able to break through any ice that Candice tried to put in their way.

His eyes narrowed at Candice's next choice. Immediately he noticed that the purple-skinned pokegirl that appeared wasn't standing, but was rather floating slightly above the floor, her long ornate kimono drifting side to side without anything connecting it to the ground.

He glanced at the pokegirl's face, or at least what little of it he could see. Her entire face was covered in a white ice mask with crystalline blue shards of ice jutting out to form horns. Something about her was familiar. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He realized right as the girl smiled, strips of frozen hair sprinkled with crystals of ice dancing out as she ducked back and the storm suddenly hid her from view. In Hoenn. He'd witnessed a pokegirl extremely similar to this one, though that Glalie had been much less dainty and far more solid in her body shape. But the mask, the crystals, the way this girl was at home within the blizzard, it had to be. "Kalmiya, is she related to the Glalie breed?"

Kalmiya was surprised when she replied. "I'm sorry, Master, I didn't think to get a full scan, but… This newest pokegirl, yes, she appears to be a divergent evolution of the Glalie, known as Froslass."

"That's fine. Did you figure out what that Abomasnow did?"

"I believe I did, Master," Kalmiya replied grimly. "Leader Candice is well known to use natural medicine, touting its effectiveness over artificial healing potions. She has even reported how there are special plants which bolster a pokegirl's natural resistances, and can even grant them resistances they normally would lack."

"…Like say, an Ice-type resisting a Fire-type attack," Nicholas breathed. "That's powerful. So just like against Volkner we can't rely on our natural advantages to win."

Sohn was firing wildly into the snow as she grew more frustrated. "GET OUT HERE AND FIGHT!" she screamed at the blowing wind. Every moment in the storm was cutting new lines across her body and Sohn could feel the slow but constant blood loss beginning to take its toll. "COWARD!"

Nicholas' mouth thinned when Kalmiya fed him the rest of her information on the Froslass. A Ghost-type. Sohn's fists would be ineffective, and her flames might be just as impotent. A ghost typing also explained how the Froslass had slipped into the storm so easily. Sohn might be in trouble.

I am no coward.

Sohn whirled, eyes straining as they tried to find the source of the sibilant hiss. "YOU ARE! FIGHT ME!"

You would have me be a lamb, sacrificed to your pyre? The storm seemed to increase in power and Sohn had to brace herself against the howling winds. As you wish.

"Yeah, you'll be a sacrifice. A sacrifice to my tamer!" Sohn screeched back at the storm.

Nicholas' brow was furrowed. "What is Sohn shouting about? Is she talking to someone?"

Sohn turned when she saw a darker shape nearby. "There you are." With a howl she charged, astonished to see that with every step the shadow loomed larger, approaching her just as quickly as she approached it. With one final scream her fist was wreathed in flames and she swung at the figure in front of her.

ENTER MY EMBRACE!

Sohn's eyes widened. The figure. It was the Froslass, but then it wasn't. The Ghost-type pokegirl's eyes seared into her mind, her appearance hanging in front of her for just a moment before the ice crystals surrounding the opposing pokegirl shimmered, creating a million tiny mirrors that reflected Sohn's own visage back at her. As her flames blew them apart her fist did not only impact the Froslass. She felt her strike pushing into her own cheek just as it smashed her opponent.

The Froslass was thrown across the arena, her kimono deflating where her legs should have been when she came to a rest in front of Candice, but she was not the only one on the ground. Sohn staggered, her flames sputtering, as she felt her own strikes reverberating through her mind. She couldn't withstand it. The Infernape sank to her knees, eyes rolling back as she dropped onto her face and lay unmoving.

Nicholas was in shock. Sohn… had gone down? How? He hadn't seen the Froslass make any sort of attack and even if she had Sohn was this gym leader's worst nightmare. How had she fallen!

"Everything according to plan." He looked up when Candice called out mockingly. "I've heard your Rotom creates powerful, self-destructive flames. Will you send her to fall next?"

Nicholas scowled to himself. Here it was again. This region's elite was nothing to be dismissed like his loud act had claimed. By far he had had the most trouble here, in Sinnoh, with the gym leaders. Not to mention what he had witnessed in Flint and Cynthia herself, which promised a grueling final challenge.

No. Candice wanted him to release Sammy next. With Sohn lying unconscious on the arena floor he needed time, time to confer with Kalmiya and figure out just what the fuck was going on in this gym. He released Quinn.

The Gallade appeared as Sohn was returned to her pokeball and she immediately drew her arms tighter to her body with a shiver. "What-? Nicholas, what am I doing out here? I thought Sohn was going to take care of everything?"

Nicholas grunted. "You probably weren't paying any attention or couldn't see with all the snow, but Sohn is down, Quinn. She went two for one but I still have no idea how she only took two."

"She's-?" Quinn quickly focused and got into a battle stance. "Oh dear."

"It's fine. You showed me in Sunyshore that you can handle yourself."

Quinn slowly straightened a bit, her hands falling slightly as her voice grew distant. "Did I show you? What did I show you? How I'm not just some sex toy?" Nicholas blinked when Quinn exhaled, her hands continuing to fall until she held her fists just above her waist. "No, I showed you my anger, Nicholas. I showed you… the same thing I gave to you when you first saved me. But that's not what I should be giving you, my Master, my savior. I should be showing you, giving you, the incredible results of your kindness." Quinn raised her eyes to the storm. Somewhere inside it she had seen a flash of red. Her opponent was here. "No, it's not perfect. But you've let me be a pokegirl, kind of like that Lopunny who managed to stick around." She giggled. "And, Nicholas… That includes a lot more than showcasing my angry strength or new techniques. It means the desperate waitress you first met is nothing but a bad memory. Let me show you – truly show you – the pokegirl you've helped her become."

Nicholas' eyebrows had been climbing higher and higher as he listened to Quinn's speech. He'd witnessed Sohn's moment too, come to think of it. The moment she'd reached for him in Sunyshore. He hadn't gotten the same feeling from Quinn. Not yet. "Zisela spoke to you."

"My Alpha says a lot of things," Quinn agreed. "Well, my Master? Any commands for your pokegirl before she finishes what her sister started?"

Nicholas chuckled and gestured into the storm. "Just one. The same one as I have given Zisela, and Sammy, and Sohn, and every single one of my pokegirls." His fingers curled into a fist. "Show me what you are."

Quinn's eyes focused on the shape stalking her through the driving snow. It was familiar and a smile blossomed when she recognized the outline. She'd met this kind of pokegirl before. She'd fought her, one who was no doubt far stronger than this one could ever be. This would be an excellent chance for her to prove her words.

No more anger, or at least far less of it. She was beyond that now. She accepted who she was, even the giant bags of flesh hanging from her chest. They didn't slow her down, and they were not some separate thing – they were a part of her, and she needed to treat them as such. As Quinn took a half step forwards, arms flicking out to place her blades at the ready, her eyes began to glow.

The pokegirl hunting her changed her approach when she saw Quinn moving to meet her and for a moment she juked and dodged, testing whether the Gallade actually was tracking her or was just getting lucky, but when Quinn continued walking straight for her even as the shadow vanished into the storm she realized she couldn't hide from the Gallade. In accepting what had defined her as a Kirlia Quinn had accepted her psychic powers. She could see the Glaceon in the blizzard as if the snow wasn't even there.

Quinn quickly raised an arm when a spray of sleet blasted from the storm and a glimmering shielding construct sprang into view to block the attack. She let the torrent slow before leaping to the side, landing and surging forwards alongside the Glaceon's ice before raising her other arm to deflect the stream with her blade as the Glaceon tried to follow her target. The girl was forced to break it off when Quinn got close, screeching and dodging as she tried over and over to bring a true beam of ice to bear. Quinn never let her form one. And when the Glaceon tried to plant her feet, to summon something that would force her pursuer to give her some space, Quinn was already there. Bladed arm glowing. The Glaceon squealed when she saw the Gallade appear in front of her, far, far closer than she'd expected, and was in the process of throwing her hands up when Quinn swung. The brilliant blade of light sliced into the Glaceon's body, drawing a line from her clit to her chin and bisecting the battle uniform she'd been wearing. The two pieces fell to the side, hanging loose from the Glaceon's body while she stood, frozen, her muscles seized. Until she suddenly went limp, crumpling to the ground as blood spurted from the gash Quinn had made.

Nicholas couldn't stand it anymore. He looked, reached for Quinn as the Gallade stepped back when her opponent was returned to her pokeball and slashed her blades ritualistically before returning her arms to her sides. He found her amusement. Her confidence. The Kirlia was truly a forgotten memory at this point. Somewhere deep within that scared pokegirl had been this one and now she had come out to play.

Nicholas was smiling when Quinn moved back towards him, her arms coming up again when a new figure materialized across from her. The storm seemed to be slowing a bit after this long but it was still flaying Quinn's skin while she stood in the arena. Still, she showed no signs of fatigue. She could do this. Just one more for her to finish what Sohn started.

Quinn was readying herself when she saw what had appeared in front of her. She froze. Time stretched. Memories of a darkened room, of screams, her screams, her harem sisters' screams, the claws cutting into her flesh. As the memory hit she whimpered, feeling how the storm cut her skin now. No. Not again.

Nicholas winced when he felt the sudden blast of negative energy radiating from Quinn. Morgana may have been a powerful empath because she was a Gardevoir but Quinn was the same kind of pokegirl, just a differently evolved one. Much like the Froslass from before. Despite the fact that she was untrained, with relatively weaker ability, those abilities she shared were turning her fear into a palpable force.

Nicholas' mouth thinned as he felt Quinn's panic begin to rise. He could see what had triggered her. Candice had released a Weavile. Cyrus had had one too, and that battle had not gone well for the newly evolved Gallade.

She needed to be subbed out. He reached for her ball.

No… Not again.

Nicholas' fingers were wrapped around the pokeball when he felt the stifling negativity pouring from the figure in the arena overwritten by something else. His eyes snapped up in time to see the Gallade's head rising, her chin lifting up in defiance of the slouched pokegirl stalking towards her. "No," Quinn called, her voice ringing out loud and clear. "I will not cower from you. Not again."

The Weavile was fast. Her claws sought Quinn's vitals almost before the Gallade could react. But she did. Glowing blades clashed, Quinn's blocking the Weavile's claws just inches from her stomach. With a roar she ripped her arms apart, throwing the Weavile and immediately pursuing her opponent while she was still staggered. The Weavile howled when Quinn made two quick slashes, not having enough time to go for a finishing blow, and opening a deep cut on the weasel girl's face that began to ooze blood down her cheek. Instantly Quinn was back on the defensive, doggedly blocking and dodging the flashing claws her opponent wielded. She hissed in pain as the Weavile got in multiple sneaky attacks whenever her strikes were blocked. An open palm turned aside became a focus for a spray of ice shards, slashing claws that seemingly missed becoming stabbing implements once they had maneuvered to their true target. The subterfuge meant none of the Weavile's strikes were particular lethal, but just like how she'd suffered against Cyrus' pokegirl Quinn was slowly being whittled down.

NOT. AGAIN!

The Weavile swung and blinked when her claws sailed through empty air. Quinn was… gone?

A scream echoed through the arena as the Weavile flung herself forwards and off of the blood red blade protruding from her chest in a deadly mockery of the pokegirl that had stabbed her. Quinn turned, having teleported behind the Weavile and reversed her strike so the long protruding part of her arm could skewer her opponent. Seeing her opponent retreating she pursued without a sound. The Weavile's blood was freezing to her arm, flaking off as the humming structures cracked it apart. For a moment, the blade had glowed the same as he'd seen Gwendolyn's in her mega form, and Nicholas knew someday Quinn's would again. He didn't need to mega evolve this Gallade to see her soul. It was on full display already.

The reversal had decided the battle. The Weavile tried, managing a few more bloody cuts along Quinn's arms, but she stood no chance anymore. Quinn pressed her, whittling the Weavile down just as she had been attempting to do to her, opening cut after cut to add the Weavile's frozen blood to the storm that still raged around them, while teleporting sporadically to keep the girl completely off balance and unable to mount an effective defense. Until Quinn teleported, causing the Weavile to spin in an attempt to locate her, and a glowing fist crushed her spine. The Gallade had only teleported backwards to give her arm enough space to move and the Weavile had obligingly turned around to grant Quinn an easy target.

The weakening storm was scattered when Quinn flung her hand through the air, the energy she had focused into her strike searing out as the Weavile slowly fell to the floor. Leaving her standing alone, body covered in wounds, but none causing her any trouble whatsoever.

Nicholas was preparing to meet her in the arena when he noticed something odd as Quinn turned towards him. Her breasts. They were free, the wrap once again not surviving the battle – they were marketed as disposable, anyways – but now, as she moved, her breasts remained perfectly still. There was no bounce, no sway, it was as if despite their size they were as firm as someone like Miyuki's tiny mounds.

Quinn laughed out loud when he reached her and the first thing he did was fondle her. They weren't firm at all. His fingers sank into the Gallade's flesh and he could maneuver her chest as easily as he always had. He glanced up when he felt a wave of amusement roll from Quinn and she caught his chin, kissing him firmly as her other hand removed his from her breasts. "Is now really the time, Nicholas?" she asked teasingly. "In front of all these people?"

"Sorry, I just- How did you manage this?"

"The same way she does," Quinn replied. "I just need to treat them as a part of me. Hold them steady." Her smile grew wistful. "The way she moves. The elegance…"

A smile slowly grew across Nicholas' face. "Eager to return to Indigo, Quinn?"

The Gallade blinked and quickly composed herself. "Ah- No, we still have something to do here. Right?"

"I don't know," Nicholas murmured to her. "I feel like my harem has found themselves already. We don't need a title anymore."

Quinn slowly moved her hand up his face until she was cupping his cheek with a soft smile. "Maybe not. But we want one. Will you give us one?"

Nicholas gripped her other hand tightly. "I will."

POKEDEX UPDATED

Tamer: Nicholas Topolski

Badges:

Mine Badge

Forest Badge

Coal Badge

Relic Badge

Cobble Badge

Fen Badge

Beacon Badge

Icicle Badge

Harem:

Zisela, Garchomp (Alpha) – Level 50

Sohn, Infernape – Level 52

Sammy, Rotom – Level 50

Quinn, Gallade – Level 51

Miruko, Lopunny – Level 65

Non-Com Harem:

Kalmiya, Porygon-Z – Level 30

The snow crunched underfoot as Nicholas paced the edge of a clearing. He'd been jumped by Jason once again as soon as the reporter caught up in the Snowpoint pokecenter and the question after question after question… he was over it. Too much attention for one day. So he'd escaped into the woods.

With a long sigh Nicholas found a tree and slowly slid to the ground. If he kept doing this the attention would only get worse. Every new title he claimed would only serve to intensify the world's attention on him. He'd have to figure out a way to deal with it.

Every new title, huh. He gazed at the trunks around him while his thoughts wandered. Cynthia was here. Was she going to be next?

His Sinnoh harem wanted that. For some it was all they'd wanted, for others it was what they'd come to need. Even Miruko, despite dragging him back here under false pretenses, wanted to see them face the Champion. She wouldn't be a real part of her new harem until they could fight to her level. To Cynthia's level.

He frowned slightly and blinked to draw his attention back to the world around him. Levels. He needed to talk to them. They weren't at Cynthia's. Not yet.

Five flashes of red turned into the five pokegirls and Nicholas raised a hand in greeting when they materialized. "Yo. Sohn, Quinn, good job today."

"But I-" Sohn hesitated before shaking her head and pushing through. "I was supposed to win. I fucked up somehow."

Nicholas sighed and lowered his hand. "Kalmiya figured it out. I've seen a Ghost-type pokegirl link her essence to her opponent before, but that one started tearing herself apart to damage the linked target. This one didn't have to, Sohn. She bound her fate to yours and you destroyed her. It meant you were doomed to fall the moment she entered the arena. Either with her, or at her hands."

Sohn slowly blinked as she processed his words. "That's… right. I remember feeling as if I'd just punched myself." She blinked again and focused on him. "How do we fight that kind of technique?"

"Honestly? You really can't," Nicholas replied. "It's extremely powerful. A guaranteed trade. There must be some kind of weakness to exploit but I haven't discovered it yet."

"Sohn just wanted to let me clean up her mess," Quinn snickered. She playfully jabbed Sohn with the end of her blade when the Infernape shot her a dirty look. "That makes eight, right? Where do we go now?"

Nicholas shook his head. "It makes eight, but we're not going anywhere right now. We're staying right here and training." He stood. "We went even against Volkner. Even with a massive advantage we only went two for one against Candice. Each of those pokegirls matched you four in strength and I've seen Flint's. His harem is strong enough to fight Miruko. We can't just be an average eight-badge harem."

"Ha."

Nicholas turned with an eyebrow raised. "Miruko?"

"An average harem." Miruko shook her head. "Average tamers barely make it past three badges, Nicholas. To have eight? To have earned the last two by fighting true battles with gym leaders? You and these four are what people call 'elite'."

"Mm-hmm. That's why we weren't much better than them. We're 'elite' and they weren't," Nicholas rolled his eyes.

"I'm trying to widen your scale, moron," Miruko growled. "Haven't you ever looked at those pretty numbers on your pokegirls' profiles?"

"Not… Really?" Nicholas replied sheepishly.

"Of course you haven't. Why would you bother." Miruko sighed. "Hey, Kalmiya. I'm what, sixty something?"

"Sixty-five!"

"And the others?"

"Around fifty!"

"Yeah. That makes perfect sense." Miruko jabbed a thumb at her own chest. "You're an evolutionary researcher, aren't you? What happens when a pokegirl evolves?"

"Well… She's been growing in strength and her body can't grow anymore, so she evolves," Nicholas replied. "Or at least that's how it is with most pokegirls, with you nobody's really quite sure."

"A pokegirl's body grows?" Miruko pressed. "Our physical bodies barely change outside of evolution. Humans are completely different between birth and maturity but a pokegirl can go years without changing at all." She tapped herself with a raised eyebrow. "Easily fifty years or more, hm?"

Nicholas scratched his chin. "Well, true, but something has to be changing. Growing."

"You're supposed to be the expert here," Miruko griped. "I don't know any of the science. All I know is a few weeks ago I was in a body that hadn't changed in fifty years. I sure had, though. Every day was a fight between the overwhelming pressure inside of me and the unyielding container, the form, that held it. My balloon wanted to pop."

Nicholas looked up at the sky as he thought. "Balloon. You know, that's probably a perfect analogy. If you were to take a newly hatched pokegirl's energy and stick it in the form of a fully evolved one she'd hardly be able to stand because she'd be too weak. Her own energy wouldn't be enough to stretch her balloon. That's why pokegirls evolve, every pokegirl has a final form they're working towards but they have to make their way there in steps. Tying off sections of their balloon until they're strong enough to break into the next one." He rubbed one of their pokeballs. "I think I see where this is going. Is the level referring to how 'full' a pokegirl's balloon is?"

"From what I understand it's more that the pokeball is reading the amount of stress on the balloon," Miruko replied. "Zero would mean, well obviously no energy so no stress, a hundred means the pokegirl's essence, or energy, whatever, is pushed completely to its maximum and there's no bigger balloon to relieve that, but right in the middle is the important number, because that's the point where the energy inside a pokegirl is balanced against the stress her body is feeling from it. Fifty would be when a pokegirl is 'full'. It's also the level the world league defines as the 'competitive level' because a pokegirl at that level is fully mature."

Sohn poked her arm with a light frown. "I… understand what you two are saying. I kind of feel like my flames are wanting to escape which would relieve that pressure, wouldn't it? But if I let them go I wouldn't have that energy to fight with."

Miruko's finger snapped up in Sohn's direction and she grinned. "There. That's exactly what I was trying to get at. They're starting to feel that stress on themselves but they don't let it win. That's what makes you elite, Nicholas. You know what number range is most common? What level? Between thirty and forty. That's when it actually starts to get hard, when pokegirls are fully evolved and now to get stronger they actually have to work for it. Most tamers don't bother. Most pokegirls won't push themselves. But you, you don't accept anything less than constant improvement and so it doesn't matter that it's hard, that your pokegirls begin to feel the stress on their bodies, you and they both know that they can be better so there's no excuse to not be."

Nicholas pulled up his pokedex and navigated to the global database Kalmiya maintained for him. After a few moments his eyebrows climbed into his hair. "I'm seeing seventies on the rest of my harem."

Miruko's mouth popped open but she rallied quickly. "That's… interesting. And terrifying."

"Is it? You're a sixty-five."

"It took me fifty years of constant training to get this far," Miruko replied grimly. "Sure, I was doing it in that old body, so it was harder, but I still feel the pressure in this one. Every little bit past the equilibrium point is exponentially harder than the last."

"Well, I think each of them were only around the fifties, maybe low sixties at first?" Nicholas mused. "Wonder what made them all so strong after our journeys."

"Master, if I may?" Kalmiya's head popped out of the pokedex and she smiled up at him. "Your… 'other' harem has pokeballs as well. Would you like to see their data?"

"Other…?"

"Celine. Kali. Zinnia."

"Oh." Nicholas nodded. "Sure."

"I guarantee they're all above seventy," Miruko murmured.

Nicholas looked up. "Oh?"

"That's your secret." The Lopunny focused on him. "Yeah, you're a demanding tamer. But there have been tamers like you before. Cynthia is one of them. The number of their pokegirls, of any pokegirls, who have reached the seventy mark can be counted on my fingers. It just doesn't happen, Nicholas. But the eternal ones aren't normal pokegirls. And you… you treat them as if they are. What would that do to your 'regular' pokegirls? To be told the beings walking among them, so unbelievably powerful in comparison to them, are nothing special?" She shivered. "I already feel the pressure fading. A few seconds ago I wasn't sure if I could keep getting stronger and now because of you I'm annoyed that I haven't yet."

"Master," Kalmiya called gently.

Nicholas glanced down. Took a few moments to process what he was seeing. "Is that really what Celine reads as?"

"To be honest, Master, looking at the data Celine has never made any sense," Kalmiya apologized. "But a ninety seems about right."

"Kali eighty, Zinnia seventy…" Nicholas trailed off. "Why are they at those round numbers? That doesn't seem right."

"These are estimations," Kalmiya explained. "Those three only ever go into their pokeballs maybe… once a year, if at all."

"You are a tamer who walks alongside the eternal ones." Nicholas looked up to see Miruko staring straight through him. "No… No, you're correct. Correct to be annoyed. You are not even meant to be 'elite'. You are something else."

Nicholas sighed. "I'm always something more than human, aren't I. Look, all this conversation has accomplished is to make me even more sure that we can do better." He turned to the others. "Kali, Celine, Zinnia, none of them are here, but you met them. You should understand what Miruko is realizing. I don't accept that whole 'equilibrium' argument. If you're all at that point, it's time to find a new peak." His eyes grew distant as he looked at Zisela and thought back to the similar revelation he'd made when first meeting the then-Gible.

Zisela spoke for each of them when she stepped forwards and growled out a response. "It would seem my harem still has things to learn, Weyrleader. Until we do we will not have our place among the others."

Nicholas' eyes glinted when he returned to the present. "No. I suppose you won't. Let's go find Cynthia."

Two weeks later Nicholas stood in front of the Sinnoh Pokegirl League.

The feeling in the air today was far different from his last two League challenges. In Hoenn he had still been confused, coming for Steven more out of an obligation than anything. Though he had met Wally along the way, so that had been good. The second time he'd challenged the Indigo League he once again had been there primarily out of obligation. He'd been playing his part in taking down Koga, and the only battle that had actually mattered had been the fight against Lance, when he'd finally taken the plunge to announce his presence to the world. But today… Today felt the closest to that first time. With Dahlia, Ashley, Elizabeth, Victoria, Cassidy, and Kary. The difference was the man back then still hadn't known who he was. He'd thought he was just lucky. The man standing in Sinnoh today knew better, but the feeling was the same. He was here to win. There was no ulterior goal, nothing to distract him. Them. This building was their new peak.

The lobby was silent when Nicholas stepped inside. His harem was in their pokeballs to conserve every last iota of energy and so he walked towards the registration desk alone.

The figure there bowed her head slightly when he got close. "Challenger Nicholas Topolski. I do hope your journey to us today was a pleasant one."

Nicholas smiled. Sinnoh's Victory Road. Every region had that one final test and Sinnoh had been no different. Even after the days it had taken Zisela to ferry him across the ocean the sheer cliffs of this island had forced them through the dark caves. Full of dangerous ferals and other challenging hopefuls. Many of them had even been, as Miruko put it, 'elite'. None of them had slowed them down. "Unfortunately I couldn't find a vehicle to ferry me here," Nicholas joked. "Just another excuse for Champion Cynthia to avoid me with."

The receptionist didn't laugh. She hardly even smiled at his joke. "It has come to the Sinnoh League's attention that you have a pokegirl within your harem who is not native to the region. While the Champion has the final say, the League rules state that your Lopunny is barred from competition here today."

Nicholas shifted his feet and settled back. "Well then I will wait to see what the Champion says. I didn't expect her to be necessary in the first place."

Now the receptionist smiled. "Very good, sir. In that case, please proceed – there is a special welcome waiting for you. Per Champion Cynthia's request."

Nicholas raised an eyebrow as he turned to the doors deeper into the building. A special welcome? He didn't think that was just a taunt, so how was this going to be different from Indigo?

The halls were wide, but plain, keeping Nicholas in the dark until he stepped into the first room and a hint of what awaited him was revealed. He'd stepped into what seemed to be a massive forest clearing. Walls of trees hid the actual room's walls and as he took a few more steps he saw the other side of the clearing, beyond the extra-large battle arena that dominated the space, hanging heavy with glistening yellow structures. He recognized what he was seeing almost immediately. The hive in Floaroma Meadow. This entire room was a Combee hive. Which meant…

When his foot crossed the tree line a low buzz began. Nicholas immediately stopped, eyes darting around the empty trees before returning to the arena to look at the two figures that he'd only now realized were waiting there.

One was a young man around his age with short green hair, but the other… Nicholas watched as the man continued murmuring to his pokegirl, cupping her cheek and using his other hand to stroke her. Despite the attention the pokegirl was doing nothing besides staring down at her tamer. Like a Combee this pokegirl was insectoid with segmented arms and what was undoubtedly an exoskeleton instead of skin, but unlike the Combee he'd seen in Floaroma this one had much more going on. She was a statuesque pokegirl, deep black arms hanging at her sides while most of her body was covered in a material with shimmering yellows and golds that seemed to sway in the air like a very wide dress – especially where it lay behind her. And her face. There was no hair, only a pair of thick cylindrical horns forming the crown of a helmet of sorts with a large red gem set right on the girl's forehead and a pair of jagged mandibles extending down the outside of her skull. While this pokegirl's face seemed to be made of skin, instead of her exoskeleton, when the man lowered the hand cupping her cheek and glanced in Nicholas' direction he saw a screen of translucent orange keratin snap into place to protect the vulnerable area. It did nothing to soften the glittering red eyes he saw now turn towards the thing that had interrupted her time with her tamer.

"Challenger Topolski," the man called softly. "We've been expecting you."

Nicholas nodded at his pokegirl. "Vespiquen, right? Making you the Bug-type specialist, Aaron."

Aaron nodded. "I hear you and I are not so different, Topolski. When I was young, I had a Wurmple that I thought weak. I abandoned her. In doing so I came to realize that no pokegirl is weak. It is only their tamers who are to blame for their failings." He glanced at his Vespiquen with a slight smile. "The strongest pokegirls are those with whom we humans share the strongest bonds."

Nicholas nodded back.

"Bug-type pokegirls are special in that way. They rely on their bonds to be strong." He turned to Nicholas again. "While I could call upon my harem here today, I want to do something special. Something my Alpha rarely gets to do. I want to give her a chance to display the strength of her bonds." He raised his hands to the trees. "Vespiquen like Catherine are not often seen in a competitive battle, because they do not fight alone. Oh no." Aaron's smile grew as the buzzing picked up in pace to some unseen signal from the Vespiquen standing silently next to him. "A Vespiquen's strength is in her hive."

Nicholas slowly looked around as bodies began poking out of the hives all throughout the room. "So this is what I was warned about. I'll have to thank Champion Cynthia for this special welcome."

"Even if you defeat Catherine it won't be over," Aaron replied. "Our Champion's excitement is our own, and Champion Cynthia has been waiting for your arrival for a long, long time."

Nicholas flicked over the swarm that had gathered in the arena. Dozens of Combee. "So how's this going to work then."

"Simple." Aaron stepped into his protective box while Catherine floated into the arena. "Defeat Catherine. By any means necessary."

Nicholas grabbed his pokeballs and triggered all four simultaneously. The barriers were already coming up and the swarm was moving, taking flanking positions as they moved like one organism through whatever method Catherine used to command them. No time to waste. "QUINN ZISELA INTERFERENCE! SAMMY SOHN BURN THE SWARM TO ASH!"

Quinn leapt towards the closest Combee she saw and immediately three others swarmed in, threatening to overwhelm the Gallade before a barked command from Zisela found Quinn teleporting back to safety with a gasp. There was no time to recover. The Combee continued forwards, bearing down on the four as Sammy began the process of lighting her electrical fires and Sohn's flames sprang to life, spitting from her mouth as she took deep breathes in preparation to begin blowing fire at the enemy force.

Catherine still stood at the rear, unmoving even as Quinn's blade flashed, catching a Combee in the side of her head, or Zisela roared, energy spearing through a Combee's stomach. Two more just took their place and Quinn screamed when she swung at one Combee only for another to press into the space her extended arm created and jab her in the side. Another swing and another Combee was on top of her, prompting Quinn to teleport again but the instant she did she was engulfed by a number of bodies that had somehow already been on their way to where she appeared before she'd even vanished.

Zisela hissed when the screaming Gallade was swallowed up by the swarm and carefully moved back, her eyes flicking past the wall of Combee to their queen. Alpha? So was she. Ignoring the writhing pile that was Quinn Zisela bulled forwards and began charging directly for Catherine.

Instantly the swarm shifted, leaving Quinn behind with the Gallade barely able to twitch due to the sheer number of bites and welts covering her body. Zisela stumbled when two Combee flung themselves in her path just to slow the Garchomp and suddenly they were on her, latching on to Zisela's back and attempting to drag the Garchomp to the ground, but she kept going. Every step harder than the last until she was reaching out, Catherine nearly within grasp.

For the very first time an emotion crossed the Vespiquen's face. Amusement. As Zisela strained, reaching past the bodies smothering her, the 'dress' covering the Vespiquen unwrapped and the pokegirl pumped her shimmering wings to shoot into the air.

Nicholas smiled when he saw Catherine fly into view above the buzzing masses and nodded. "There she is, girls."

Catherine was looking down at where Zisela was slowly succumbing to the numbers when she screamed. One gossamer wing blasted away, flames licking down the remaining length as the Vespiquen struggled to remain airborne and Nicholas was beginning to praise Sammy's aim when he heard something in the swarm's tone change.

The buzzing was growing louder. In one motion the Combee took to the sky with their queen, some supporting her, all clustering tightly around her until there was nothing but a ball of bodies, the ones that Zisela and Quinn had managed to down laying strewn across the arena. Somewhere in the middle yellow light shone and when the ball unfolded Nicholas caught a glimpse of Catherine, her wing fully restored.

"…Well," he said as the swarm began surging towards the two Fire-types, "I think you pissed them off."

Sohn and Sammy just laughed, sharing a look before both turned to the approaching swarm and beginning to fire.

Jets of flame couldn't help but find their targets with how thick the bodies were clustered. Explosions scattered the Combee, just for them to press back together in an impenetrable shield in front of their queen. For each foot of air they covered Sohn and Sammy made them pay in bodies, but Catherine had enough to spend. There were still a half dozen Combee in between her and the two when the depleted swarm fell on top of them. Instantly two grabbed Sohn's arms, intending on yanking the Infernape into the air and likely dropping her on her head, but a combination of Sohn's burning tail and a quick wave of low-intensity fire from Sammy forced them to let go. Sohn fell hard, somewhat damaged from the indiscriminate attack Sammy had had to use, but managed to roll onto her back and throw flames at the figures still bearing down at her. Finally Catherine could be seen. Still behind her Combee, but with so many taken down, the queen no longer was content sitting back. She was coming, and if the look in her eyes was anything to go by, she was pissed.

However, with Sohn on the ground, Sammy had a clear line of fire and she took full advantage. Jets of flame spun through the arena, seeking Catherine over and over but a Combee sacrificed herself each time and Sammy gasped when the Vespiquen appeared in front of her. Before she could attack the gem on Catherine's forehead burst to life, light spraying from it until it wasn't light that sliced into Sammy's body and tore gaping holes through the screaming Rotom's plasma. It was a thousand glittering gems, constructs that replicated the stone on Catherine's head and duplicated it into a barrage of rock.

Sammy managed to withstand the barrage for long enough that Sohn was forcing herself back to her feet, but Catherine was not her Combee. Every jet of flame that the Rotom threw found nothing but empty air now that the Vespiquen was actually focusing on her opponents. Pretty soon Sammy was collapsing to the ground, trying to resist the gems of power tearing through her but still being forced inch by inch until her battle form gave out and an explosion rocked the room.

Nicholas recalled the nebulous shadows that were left after Sammy fell unconscious but left Quinn and Zisela where they were. Zisela was probably unconscious but Quinn was definitely still feebly moving. If either of them could get back up Sohn was going to need their help.

Sohn had just gotten back to her feet when Catherine swooped in front of her and flapped her wings, causing a tornado to bowl the Infernape right back on her ass again. Sohn screamed her displeasure and swung wildly, flinging burning chaff into the air in an attempt at grounding the Vespiquen, but Catherine just fell back and used more wind to scatter the embers. In a matter of just minutes the battle was over. They'd managed to break Catherine's swarm but not the queen. Now she was just toying with Sohn.

…If she was toying with her Sohn had a chance and Nicholas reached out to her mind. His lips thinned at what he found. Sohn was livid. In a way he hadn't seen from the Infernape since well before she'd evolved.

"Sohn. Stop wasting your energy."

Sohn stiffened at the whisper in her mind before her eyes narrowed and her lips drew back in a snarl. "SHUT UP!"

"I will not, Monkey Queen," Nicholas snapped back. "Look at her. She mocks you. Treats you as less than her. Do not prove her right."

Sohn flipped out of the way of a small shower of energy Catherine had fired and opened her mouth to howl at the flying bug but the presence in her mind refused to be ignored. Her noises never passed her lips and, slowly, Sohn's jaw tightened back closed. Still angry, but willing to listen. "What."

"In your own right, you are a queen," Nicholas whispered to her. "This rival insect recognizes that, which is why she has not simply fought you. To do so would be to recognize you. To concede how you threaten her." His eyes were hard as he held out his hand to the motionless Infernape. "You are a queen of tricks and of flame. She does not respect that. So make her respect you, Sohn."

Sohn's eyes closed. What had she been doing? After everything she'd gone through. Here she'd been, acting like Susan again. She opened her eyes and when she did there was a cunning glint behind the smoldering flames. Susan was long gone. She was Sohn. Nicholas' queen of trickery and flame. And Sohn had an idea how to punish a disrespectful bitch.

Another tornado blew through the arena and this time Sohn made no effort to dodge. Yet when the biting winds sliced through her she didn't even budge. All she did, was smile, and laugh.

Catherine winged a few feet further into the air and stared down as Sohn grabbed her face and began making rude gestures at the Vespiquen. "You fucking tickle!" she yelled, working her faces for a bit before beginning to jump back and forth and make mocking poses. "Come on, bitch! You missed me with that last one! Couldn't hit the broad side of a Snorlax!"

Catherine's wings buzzed faster but that was all the reaction Sohn got when the Vespiquen swooped down for another pass. Sohn was still mouthing off and hopping around with her flames dancing around her as Catherine banked, turning at a comfortably safe distance while she loosed another barrage of attacks.

Which sliced through Sohn, tearing her apart in a puff of smoke.

Even Nicholas was shocked to see what he had thought was the Infernape disintegrate. As far as his senses were concerned that HAD been Sohn, not a decoy made of her flames. Catherine was similarly shocked, wings faltering and composure wavering while she tried to take in what she was seeing. Aaron shouted a warning, but it was too late. One of the motionless Combee Catherine was flying over shifted and Sohn emerged from her hiding place in perfect position to blast Catherine point blank with a barrage of fire.

Nicholas watched Catherine plummet to the ground with his mouth hanging open. "Kalmiya? Please tell me you got a good recording of what the hell just happened."

"I did, Master!" Kalmiya replied excitedly. "Oh that is something I hadn't seen Sohn do yet either!"

"I'm more interested in how the hell she sneaked out to the hiding place without me noticing," Nicholas replied. "I'll want to take a look later. For now- SOHN! FINISH HER! NOW!"

Sohn wasn't listening. She slowly walked up to the gasping Vespiquen and stared down dispassionately. "Should have finished me when you had the chance, bitch," she snarled. "You fucked with the wrong queen."

Catherine's eyes flashed and Sohn stiffened when she heard the sibilant hiss roll over her. If I can not rule, then neither shall you. Catherine slowly grinned and her mask slid back so she could more easily taunt the Infernape. "Strike me down, then. See who falls." Catherine blinked when Sohn began to laugh and slapped her forehead in her mirth. "What are you laughing about. Do it! See what happens to you, fool."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh." Sohn slowly lowered her eyes back towards Catherine as she ran her hand down her face. When it passed her expression had become completely unfeeling. Just as Miru had once done to her, and it had the desired effect on Catherine, sending a chill through her. "You're not the first conceited bitch to try that on me. I'm also not the first decoy you've believed was real."

Catherine's eyes widened when Sohn's entire body turned to flame, watching in horror as the Infernape blew apart and choking when she felt a hand reach from behind her to cover her face. Her mask tried to snap back into place but it wasn't nearly strong enough to do any damage to Sohn's arm and the Infernape lifted the struggling Vespiquen off the ground, turning her so they were technically face to face before speaking again. "That martyrdom bullshit only works on whatever you're focusing on. With your ego, it was so easy to make you focus on empty words. I doubt you'd have even been able to properly form the bond if I'd let you try, but why give you a chance?" Her fingers began to squeeze and Catherine began flailing, beating at Sohn's wrist desperately. "I'm not as stupid as you."

Blood spurted out as Sohn's nails dug into Catherine's skin but the Infernape wasn't trying to kill her opponent, just make her suffer for the disrespect she'd given her, so when she felt the Vespiquen's skull crack she relented. Waiting just long enough for Catherine's desperate blows to begin to slow before slamming her to the ground and unleashing a blast of fire from her palm that engulfed Catherine's head. When it cleared the Vespiquen was completely still.

Sohn released her and slowly stepped back while Aaron recalled his pokegirl. Her emotions were roiling. Was she supposed to celebrate? She felt almost nothing. She'd lost this fight. It was only her opponent's ego that had given her an opening. It was her own that had made her lose in the first place.

Sohn blinked and turned to look back at Nicholas. At the man, smiling, eyes steady as they looked at her. After a few seconds she smiled back.

This was why they were here. With him. There was still so much to learn.