Whirlipede - Entoma

Dwebble - Gargantua

Wimpod - Cocytus

Heracross - Kyouhukou

Ribombee - Leinas

Larvesta - Demiurge


"Oh, welcome back!" the receptionist recognized us as we entered the Castelia Gym once again. "Burgh's finishing a six-badge match. Please wait in the lobby until we call you back."

Roxie and I walked over and sat in the waiting area. I knew there was a reason I hated big cities—waiting in line. At least the chairs are comfortable. What is this, spider silk?

Ding! "Alright! Roxie and Nico, Burgh is ready for your third badge challenge! Please, follow me."

The receptionist walked down a hallway and opened a door for us, opening to a room with the lights out. We stared at the pitch-black entrance, then back at the receptionist.

"Well, go on in!" She smiled at us.

We stepped into the dark room and lights clicked on above us, revealing our half of the arena. We continued to walk forward until we reached the trainer box, where the other set of lights clicked on.

Burgh reclined on a throne of chitin and string. The flamboyant man held his arms forward, dramatically announcing, "Welcome, to the Castelia City gym!" He rose from his seat, walked forward, and entered his trainer box. "First, Roxie! It's great to hear from you again. I look forward to our battle. It will be a 3v3 if you're up for it?"

I moved back, allowing Roxie to fill in the spot. Did she know Burgh?

"I've still only got two Pokemon," Roxie shrugged, "But I'll fight three of yours."

"Ooh, cocky!" Burgh grinned, "I love your spirit! Very well! Whirlipede, take the field!"

Roxie chuckled. "Go, Scolipede."

Burgh's vaguely impressive Whirlipede was immediately overshadowed by Scolipede's evolved form. Scolipede glared down and hissed at Whirlipede, who had no mouth and could not scream.

"Scolipede, Earthquake."

Scolipede reared back and slammed back down with its front legs. The arena shattered as concussive force shredded through it. Whirlipede was launched into the air as the ground punched up into the shelled bug.

"Whirlipede, use Rollout!

"Right back at him, Scolipede."

While Whirlipede tried to gather spin mid-air, Scolipede leaped forward and rolled itself up into a ball. I noticed Scolipede's acceleration wasn't as impressive as it was as a Whirlipede, but it was more than enough to reach Whirlipede before it hit the ground.

The Rollouts hit and Scolipede bashed Whirlipede away. The super-effective attack sent it into the wall and knocked it out cold.

"Incredible!" Burgh exclaimed. "Your Earthquake could use some practice, but you have an incredible Scolipede! How long did you keep him in a pre-evolutionary state? He's fully grown, but I can tell he's recently evolved."

So Scolipede is male? I wasn't sure.

"It's been a while, I can't remember exactly how long?" Roxie waffled. "Two-ish years? I haven't kept track."

"Really?" Burgh hummed. "You must have been keeping out of battles, but both Poison and Bug types are unusually drawn to fighting. Is he unusually docile?"

"Uh, not particularly? Calm for his typing, but he's relatively territorial."

"Interesting… You've been training him in techniques, then," Burgh decided. "That's the only thing that would keep one from fighting for that long. But I won't pry into your battle strategy. Get him, Ninjask!"

The flying ninja bug buzzed above the ground, darting from side to side in sudden bursts of speed, moving as erratically as a child on a highway. It moved so quickly it was impossible to see him move between positions.

"Rollout!"

"Double Team!"

Her Scolipede rolled up again, whirling at Ninjask. Ninjask began to vibrate, then split into rapidly dividing false copies. The actual Ninjask was impossible to distinguish. Scolipede plowed through a copy, moving through space. That's when I noticed the Ninjask getting faster, too. Nowhere near the rate Scolipede was, but they were still moving at incredible speeds.

"Swords Dance!" Burgh called.

All the illusory copies began to swish their arms around, performing a threatening dance. Ninjask's claws gleamed, a physical representation of their increasing power. Scolipede wasn't idle, though. He couldn't pick up speed off of attacking copies, but he naturally got faster as he continued to Rollout.

Illusory copies continued to appear, but Scolipede's speed at destroying copies continued to improve. Eventually, he'd be destroying copies faster than they appeared.

"Fury Cutter!" Burgh decided.

All the Ninjask began to carve into Scolipede. At first, it wasn't able to even scratch Scolipede's shell, but every subsequent hit got stronger. Only one of the copies could truly hit Scolipede, but the one able to do so seemed to switch every time. It was a battle of commitment now— who would win?

After a while, Scolipede began to ping around the psychic barriers, resembling a ball in a pinball machine. He was fast enough to cross the arena in a mere moment, tearing through lines of copies with each pass. Ninjask continued to dice, each slash now cutting a gash into Scolipede's thick armor.

Unfortunately for Ninjask, he rapidly lost clones. For every copy made, two were lost. He began to get slightly more tactical, clustering clones into separate groups that grew and split into more clusters. Whenever Scolipede tore through one, two other groups moved in to land a single hit.

Five groups remained. Then three. As the last two groups pounced after the destruction of the third, Roxie finally gave a new command.

"Poison Tail!"

Scolipede unfurled into a Poison Tail, his absurd rotational force spinning him. He was a venomous and spinning slab of spikes, carving through the last two groups. The large spike on his tail was the one to catch the true Ninjask, puncturing and seeping toxins into the bug. Scolipede continued to spin, forcing Ninjask off his spike and into the psychic barrier.

Burgh recalled his Ninjask, placing its Pokeball into stasis mode. Scolipede hit the ground and skipped, once, twice, and then crashed into the ground. The chipped and battered bug rose to his four limbs regardless, still in action despite his exhaustion and damage.

"And still raring to go!" Burgh exclaimed. "But how will you deal with this?"

Burgh released Joltik. It was the size of my hand, incredibly yellow and fuzzy, and had adorably blue buggy eyes.

Roxie and Scolipede made nearly identical baffled faces when the tiny Pokemon appeared. I masked my laugh with a cough.

"Joltik, Thunder Wave!"

"Protect." Scolipede absorbed the blow. "Poison Tail."

Burgh laughed sinisterly. "Double Team!"

"Fuck you," Roxie cursed. "Rollout, again."

"Thunder Wave!"

The field was flooded by dozens of tiny spiders, slowly growing to hundreds. Bound by the limitation of being on the ground, they took the option of covering the entire arena floor in Joltiks. Lacking Ninjask's speed, it was forced to hide by simply being covered by the rapidly dividing swarm of Joltik.

"Joltik can learn Double Team?" I wondered. "That's ridiculous."

"Correction! Joltik can be bred with Double Team. The Ninjask Roxie fought is this Joltik's father! While you could teach it or use a TM, it would be nowhere near as effective. Double Team is Ninjask's biological specialty, and that skill has been passed down to Joltik here.

"My position as the Bug-Type Gym Leader has provided many opportunities to breed powerful Bug-Type Pokemon! A shame it keeps me in the city, though. It helps that Bug-Types are unusually genetically compatible. I like to think of it as… art."

"Really?" I blinked. "Their specialty is Double Team?" I clarified. I'm not touching the other part.

"How'd you think they got the name Ninjask?" Burgh cheerfully replied. "They developed their incredible speed to make themselves virtually unhittable. Unless, as your friend has shown, you deny them space. Ninjask is unfortunately a very difficult Pokemon to train and rather violent, relegating Nincada to a controlled pest Pokemon.

"Not to mention the risk Shedinja pose. The effects of both Bug and Ghost-type energies make it reclusive and violent. And that's before the partial invulnerability and aura-sapping effect from looking into its shell. There are a few preserves and abandoned islands in Hoenn that let them form hives, though those areas are barred from the public for obvious reasons."

As he taught me fun-for-the–whole-family Bug-Type facts, Scolipede was picking up speed. Burgh wasn't paying as much attention to this fight, which implied he wasn't as worried about it. Why?

Burgh noticed me watching him curiously and smiled. "Joltik, String Shot!"

The hundreds of bugs began to launch String Shots all over the arena. Illusory Joltik swung around Scolipede, purposefully passing through and around the bug to disorient him and obscure his vision.

"Now, Electro Web!"

The Joltik began to pause between swings, throwing wide nets of electrical webbing down on Scolipede. Very rarely was the actual web able to land, leaving Scolipede relatively unharmed. Then a Thunder Wave spasm activated right before an active Electroweb struck, and Scolipede hit a wall and wasn't able to redirect himself. Scolipede slammed into the wall and was pinned by another Electroweb. The force of his weight was enough to completely discombobulate Scolipede, the subsequent electric netting continually shocking him.

"Thunderbolt!" Burgh declared.

The Joltic all stilled, beginning to draw energy into themselves. It confirmed something I thought: their small size limited the amount of Electricity they could produce. Electrowebs were extremely efficient in how they delivered Electricity: through physical contact. For something like a Thunderbolt, a powerful attack, plasma arcing through the air into the opponent? Joltik needs to sit and charge.

The Joltik's fur stuck up, arcs of electricity rising between its locks in tiny Jacob's Ladders. The arcs grew stronger as Joltik gathered more electricity, eventually spiking out onto nearby surfaces.

That's when Roxie noticed the one Joltic affecting their surroundings, marking the bit of psychic barrier it sat on in small black burn stains.

"Scolipede! Sludge Bomb, top left!"

Scolipede broke through the Electroweb, resisted the Thunderwave, and charged up a Sludge Bomb. As it swallowed before launching, it looked where Roxie directed it to, spotting the Joltik hanging from the wall.

Scolipede launched the Sludge Bomb a moment before the Thunderbolt erupted from Joltik, heading straight toward Scolipede. Scolipede ignited as unbearable electricity surged through his body. Sludge Bomb arced overhead, completely missing the Thunderbolt below as Scolipede fell into unconsciousness. The Sludge Bomb continued to fly, the toxic sludge hitting the immobile Joltik with a 'clap!'

Roxie recalled her Scolipede with a stunned expression, shocked the tiny spider could manage to knock out even a tired final evolution. Burgh recalled his flattened and poisoned Joltik with a cheerful smile.

"Amazing battle!" Burgh cheered, skipping over to Roxie with the badge in hand. "Since you still have a Pokemon, you win! I'd give you a badge even if you lost, though. You deserve it. I haven't seen a Scolipede that impressive in a while, outside of mine!"

"You have a Scolipede?" I asked curiously.

"Yep!" Burgh cheerfully replied. "My second Pokemon! My first is Leavanny."

"Neat," I responded, happy to meet a fellow Scolipede Stan. It was something we all had in common, even though I still had a Whirlipede. Am I a Whirlipede Wimp? "My first is my Whirlipede."

"That gives me an idea!" Burgh declared. "For your gym badge, I'd like a pair of 1v1 matches. The first match will be against your first Pokemon, as is only right!"

I moved to the trainer box as Roxie stepped back. "Hey, Nico," she caught my attention, "I'm going to go heal up Scolipede and pick up some Pokemon from the sewage people. I should be back by the time you get your badge."

"Have fun!" I let her go. I appreciate the assumption of victory.

Turning back to Burgh, I silently released Entoma. She'd grown wonderfully overnight. Before the Eviolite she was the tire of a lifted truck, now she was the tire of a monster truck: Massive and absurdly thickly armored.

"Holy Shit," Burgh's eyes gleamed. "She's beautiful."

"That she is," I smugly responded.

He stood still for a moment, admiring my amped Whirlilpede. Then, he coughed lightly, walked back to his trainer box, and spoke again.

"How do you feel about fighting an unconventional opponent?" He asked.

"What exactly do you mean?"

"Well, my choice to test you would technically violate league rules, but that's because the Pokemon naturally doesn't fight alone. It'll still be a fair fight, I assure you."

"I'm… willing," I hesitantly agree.

"Great!" He pressed an inconspicuous giant red button near his throne "Anne, could you bring in Vespiquen?"

The receptionist, evidently Anne, walked in through the door behind me, the queen bee Pokemon following her. Dozens of Combee buzzed around her, occasionally flying under Vepiquen and into the abdomen, which was evidently the Combee hive.

"Vespiquen here is a dear, don't mind her!" Burgh cheerfully introduced me as the bee flew up to me, inspecting me. A few Combee swarmed around me too, curiously looking and poking at me. After a moment she broke away, heading over to Burgh's side of the field.

"Now, are you ready? Vespiquen is unusual and I want to keep this fair, so I'll tell you your win condition: you need to destroy her abdomen." Burgh asked.

I nodded, focusing on the battlefield. Vespiquen was an interesting Pokemon. She'd presumably fight using Combee, but that didn't discount her from attacking on her own.

"Rollout."

Rollout was an incredible move on the Venipede line, as shown by today's fights. That didn't change with her massive size and the Rock-Type energy made it an incredible Anti-Bug measure. Her added weight unfortunately also reduced her speed, even more than Roxie's Scolipede's Rollout lost speed. It made sense: Entoma's defensive capacity increased disproportionately to her strength.

Burgh had plenty of time to formulate a plan as Entoma picked up speed, eyes narrowed as she charged at the living hive. "Attack Order: Gust!"

Vespiquen buzzed and the Combee acted, suddenly forming up into lines. She had to continually direct them with buzzes, ordering them to form up and launch Gust attacks. The Combee began to gather Flying-Type energy, flapping their wings and tiny blasts of air pressure. The Gusts started to mix as the Combee found a rhythm, forming a wall of wind protecting the group.

"Now, Air Slash!"

Entoma hit the wind, pushing through the pressure. I could tell it hurt like a bitch, the Rollout's Rock-Typing could only do so much to stop all the super-effective Flying-Type energy from hurting. Ultimately she made it through with only a little lost speed, but it was enough for Vespiquen to dodge around and launch a blade of wind at her.

The wind blade carved through three inches of armor, but it still wasn't enough to breach the skeleton. Entoma continued to pick up speed, uncaring of the normally debilitating attack. She wouldn't be out of the fight from that if she hadn't changed from yesterday, but she couldn't brush it off like that either.

"Take the next hit!" Burgh decided. "Tailwind and Heal Order!"

Entoma punched into Vespiquen's abdomen, sending cracks and chunks off the hive. Just before that, Vespiquen summoned a tailwind, an active enhancement for their speed. It would keep Entoma from being faster than them, but only for a time.

The speed-enhanced Combee swarmed around Vespiquen, desperately attempting to glue the cracked hive back into pristine condition. Either Vespiquen took the blow with astounding grace, or the abdomen isn't able to feel pain conventionally. Regardless, Entoma whirled right back around, coming in for another hit.

"Defend Order!" Burgh called. "And Confuse Ray! Break it from Rollout!"

The Combee swarmed between Vespiquen and Entoma, interlocking into a makeshift honeycomb shield. Entoma burst through like the Kool-Aid Man, knocking out about half of the Combee. That tiny delay was enough for Vespiquen to dodge to the side, eyes shining an indescribable ray of light into Entoma for a brief second.

Her vision clouded slightly, but she continued on. The haze over her mind flared up right after she turned back towards Vespiquen, but she was fortunate enough to have already straightened out. Burgh gambled, and he lost.

"Vespiquen, Defend Order!"

Too late. Some of the Combee linked up between the two, but that only spelled their doom. Entoma bashed the Combee into Vespiquen's abdomen, which shattered as Vespiquen skipped off of Entoma's body.

Entoma hit the ground and skidded to a halt, looking back at her trashed opponent with satisfaction. Vespiquen was unconscious, the destruction of her abdomen rendering her unconscious. The remaining Combee swarmed around her waist, slowly rebuilding their hive.

Burgh clapped. "Very good! I knew she could handle Vespiquen the moment I saw her. That defense is incredible! I thought Air Slash would do a bit more, but even I misinterpreted that. Such an unparalleled defensive phenotype! A shame it slows her down, though more momentum is a tool of its own."

I watched as the bees dragged their queen and combatants off the field, still repairing their hive outside the battlefield. The psychic barrier snapped down and back up for them, allowing the bugs to pass through.

"Where's your psychic?" I commented. The was no Reuniclus around like usual, yet the barriers snapped up and down regardless.

"Ah, come in and say hi, Orbeetle!"

What the hell is that? It teleported into the room, standing right in front of me. It had a massive, ladybug-like head and a tiny body. I've never seen this thing, not in either of my lives. Burgh spotted my confusion and decided to educate me, like usual.

"This is Orbeetle! He's here as part of an exchange with a region the league came in contact with recently. Actually, he was just curious about what another region would be like, but the league wanted to formalize it and sent him over to me. They're still relatively primitive societally, but we've been introducing them to modern technology and they've been adapting incredibly! Do keep that quiet, though. We like to keep things like this relatively under the radar to stop tourism before they're ready."

"How was he able to control the barrier from outside the room?"

"Orbeetle is a strange Psychic-Type in that they primarily use their psychic sense to observe the world around them. Things like walls are more of a… suggestion. Well, psychics normally can do that to some extent, but Orbeetle is specialized for it over everything else." He chuckled. "Let me tell you, Caitlyn was pissed he went to me. Orbeetle thought she was too boring and sleepy."

Huh. That's a little terrifying. Limited omniscience on a psychic.

"Have you taught him anything like making dust clouds?" I asked. "If he doesn't need vision, he could probably crush some earth into dust and make a makeshift sandstorm around him. The opponent won't be able to him, but he'll be fine."

Burgh and Orbeetle blinked at me. "Huh. No, I haven't. We'll have to give that a try." Burgh mused. "Orbeetle has some fine control and power issues, but something like that could be feasible. A good strategy." Orbeetle's eyes flashed. "Ah, Orbeetle says thank you for the idea."

"Moving on!" Burgh interrupted himself, "This brings me to my next challenge. Please bring out your weakest Pokemon."

Yeah, I'm not showing off Demiurge to Burgh. I'm sorry Cocytus, you unfortunately qualify for this position. I released my Wimpod, who turned to look at Orbeetle with wide, curious eyes.

"Congratulations, Wimpod!" Burgh announced, "That will be your opponent for today."

Cocytus's narrowed, looking at the small bug. Everything about his reaction screamed, 'Yeah, I can take him.' I'm sorry Cocytus, I don't think you can.

"Shit," I mumbled. Orbeetle teleported back over to Burgh's side. "Cocytus, you willing to try? He's a powerful psychic."

My small bug proudly nodded, confidently ready to stick his hand into the blender. I wonder how long that will last? No offense to Cocytus, it's just in his genetics to shit his pants and flee when things go wrong.

"Water Pulse," I started.

"Light Screen," Burgh smiled.

Wimpod reared up, A psychic barrier snapped up between us, intercepting the shot of water, then immediately dropping it.

"Struggle Bug?" I offered.

"Again."

Wimpod sent a small shockwave of Bug-Type energy, pupils dilating as another barrier casually intercepted it and disappeared.

I think he's starting to understand the gravity of the situation.

"Gravity!"

Shut up, Burgh.

Wimpod flattened slightly as Orbeetle increased the force of gravity around Wimpod, holding him in place. He tried to crawl out, but his weak little body couldn't push himself up enough to move.

I recalled him with a sigh. The game was rigged from the start.

"And that's proof you make good tactical decisions!" Burgh declared. "Congratulations! You won the Insect Badge! Even better, you've passed the requirements to become a Gym Trainer at the Castelia Gym!"

"Pass," I commented as he walked over, handing me the green-and-gold badge. "I'm not one to be tied down to a city."

"Of course you aren't," Burgh snorted. "You're a Bug-Type trainer. We hate not being in nature. The League just tries to corral us a bit. Unless you're a Gym Leader, they won't try and keep you down. Not that they succeed, I wander off into Pinwheel whenever I feel like it. Drives my bosses crazy. It's more like… paying tribute to the league. Promising you aren't going to go out and try and take over a forest."

I blinked. "What?"

"It happens every once in a while," Burgh shrugs. "Some Bug-Type trainer goes crazy and tries to claim some territory. Being around Bug-Types constantly exposes you to Bug-Type Aura, which has a few psychological effects. More territorial, more aggressive. A lot of people describe it as going feral, but that's inaccurate. It's usually someone who tries to raise a hive of Beedrill or something and starts developing megalomania from being treated as the King or Queen of the hive all the time."

"What would be involved in… paying tribute?"

"Not much. Might get called in during national emergencies if you're nearby, but they do that with regular trainers. Can't really refuse as a gym trainer, but if it's bad enough to get them to pester the Bug Catchers it's probably an all-hands-on-deck situation. Otherwise, you just get to introduce yourself as Nico of Castelia City," Burgh smiled at me.

"But that's not why I'm offering it to you. Well, it's my job to try and get as many powerful Bug-Type trainers in compliance with the league as possible, but I'm mainly offering because Roxie called and mentioned your home situation."

"What?" I tried to process that. Why did she do that?

"You'll get an apartment to call your own as part of compensation from the League. Even if you don't use it, being able to provide a permanent address opens a lot of doors. I've even managed to get them to shell out a solid food supply for us. Bug types are relatively cheap to feed, so it's very nutritious and specialized."

I considered the offer. For a moment. "Nah. I don't want any strings on me."

Burgh's smile grew wider. "Oh, no! You've pulled away! How terrible! Now I'm supposed to make a better pitch!" He wailed dramatically. "I'll throw in a Pokemon limit cap, two more. Up that maximum to eight. And yes, that does add to the plus two you get when you get your eight badges if you're wondering."

I wasn't wondering, but that was good to know. I could try and ignore the cap, but sticking within limits does give me deniability. Based on the way he implies Bug-Type users are seen, they might go out of their way to check if one's violating the rules.

"That's it?" I decided to respond.

"Hmm." Burgh mimed thinking intensely, blatantly pretending to accidentally be speaking his mind. "Now, normally, that's when I'd hit the limits of my authority. But you did just demonstrate having an abnormal Pokemon species. Rare Pokemon are considered valuable research opportunities, and more allowances are made as a result, even if they don't offer to have their Pokemon studied. This'll be my last chance to make an offer, so I've got to give it my all!"

"But what could get your favor?" Burgh scratched his chin. "I saw the way you were looking at my Joltik earlier. Believe it or not, she's one of a few siblings! Oh!" Burgh faked having an epiphany. "How about I give a rising trainer a rare, powerful Pokemon? One that will only get stronger with time, bred from a Ninjask and my favorite Galvantula?"

He's offering me a Joltik. One of a batch of Joltik, true, but an undeniably powerful and relatively unique Joltik. One that I could think of multiple ways to make far more effective already. Joltik kept missing, his own bodies blocked him from getting a good look at Scolipede. Give it Shock Wave and it doesn't have to aim anymore.

Wait. Double Team copies the visual effect a Pokemon move makes. Flash is an entirely visual effect. I could make Joltik into a battlefield-wide flashbang.

My expression must have shown. Burgh began to laugh.

"I've got you, haven't I?" Burgh chuckled.

"Yeah," I admitted. "Will you keep the rest of the offer up as well?"

"Of course. I'll get you registered as a gym trainer, transfer ownership of Joltik to you, and give you the key to your new apartment. We have it all on standby, nobody here wants to waste time on too much paperwork."

Roxie popped back in. "Hey, Nico! How'd it go?"

"I think I'm a homeowner now," my brow furrowed. "I got a new Pokemon now too, so that's nice."

"More of a renter," Burgh spoke. "Your friend won his badge. And yes, your friend did agree to become a gym trainer after some concessions."

"Nice!" Roxie cheered. "That'll be good on your record, trust me. Sorry for being quiet about it, but I figured he'd do a better job of convincing you."

I sighed. "Whatever. I'm just in it for the Pokemon."

"As you should be," Burgh agreed. "Now follow me."


"And the last step will be to register your team," Burgh informed me.

I did not think this through.

One by one I released my team. Entoma got a slightly more detailed look, Burgh measured and took a few pictures of her. Gar came out and refused to allow Burgh to come close. I'm pretty sure he flipped him off, but it's a little hard to interpret.

Kyou let Burgh look him over, taking Burgh's compliments with pride. Kyou got bored quickly as it wasn't eating, sleeping, or fighting. Cocytus and Leinas were happy to make a new friend.

I hesitantly palmed Demiurge's ball. Entoma may have only drawn a curious eye, but a Larvesta?

Ah, well. Fuck it.

Burgh froze as Demiurge appeared. For a single moment, Burgh's unflinching confidence faltered.

"Mind keeping this quiet?" I asked. "Not interested in getting pestered about him."

"Yeah. Yeah…" Burgh muttered, "Would you be alright if I called over someone else? Just one, and I can promise he won't go shouting about it. He's the only one who'd know what to do."

"Sure?" I hesitantly replied.

Burgh walked out of the room, leaving Roxie and me alone with Demiurge. The fire-bug didn't really pay attention, deeming the whole situation unworthy of his attention. He just plopped his little body down on the floor and wiggled until he was comfortable.

Burgh walked back in with a familiar face. Alder.

"Hmph." He grunted at me. "So you're the kid that dragged me from my vacation?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

The massive redhead threw his head back and laughed. "Hahaha! No wonder Claydol liked you! Now, let's see your Larvesta…" He turned to the Pokemon in question, crouching down and rubbing his chin in thought.

"You know…" I cut myself off.

His eyes flashed back to me. "Oho, yes. You're not the first to break into the Desert Ruins. I'm one of the others!"

I blinked. "Really?"

Alder reached down and gave Demiurge a few scratches near his horns, his thick callouses enduring the heat. Demiurge cooed, leaning into his hand. "Don't worry about it. If we didn't want people going down there, we'd have more protection. No, that Claydol is more than enough to keep most people away. We just keep information from getting out."

"Can you tell me more?" I asked.

Alder snorted. "You're a curious one, aren't you? Alright. You saw 'The Sun,' right?"

"I did," I recalled the unbearable heat, the sheer power the ancient Volcarona emitted without conscious effort. Though, knowing Demiurge's habits, there's a good chance it was just taking a nap and getting Claydol to work for it.

"That Volcarona is the only known fertile Volcarona, and presumably female as the only source of Larvesta eggs. We've got a few theories around that. If there's a Volcarona or Larvesta in the world, as far as we're aware, it traces back to the Desert Resort. The generally accepted theory is that due to the unnaturally long lifespan of Larvesta and Volcarona, they don't reach sexual maturity until a century or two has passed."

"And Claydol?"

"The Sun's… servant? Hard to say. Doesn't like to talk much. It mainly keeps unwanted people away and occasionally hands out an egg to someone. Team Plasma tried to break into the Desert Resort pretty recently and Claydol made the Head of Team Plasma completely unable to perceive it or The Sun, which has solidified our stance on letting it be the defense."

"So it hands out eggs? Is there anyone other than me with one?"

"Well, me, for one!" Alder rose. "I was the first to receive an egg, and the one to rediscover the Desert Resort Ruins. Burgh tried for an egg, but Claydol thought he wasn't worthy. I know of a Ranger with a Larvesta and a Veteran with a Volcarona, but nobody else has been gifted one, as far as I know. Except for you, of course! I knew you must've gotten one the moment I saw you speak to Lenora. Reminded me of myself, when I was younger."

"What does that have to do with getting a Larvesta egg?" I asked. "What makes someone worthy?"

Alder chuckled. "If you ask Claydol, it'd say it only grants eggs to 'those of kingly qualities.' Unfortunately for most people, kingly qualities meant something entirely different to an ancient civilization of warring city-states. Claydol looks for people who care little for other people's opinions, seek power, and form close bonds with their Pokemon."

Roxie, who spent the conversation gaping at the sudden appearance of the Champion of Unova, finally spoke up. "Uhm… One of those seems a little out of place. What do strong bonds with your Pokemon have to do with being a tribal warlord?"

"A couple of ideas popped up," Alder admitted. "Burgh here thought it's because having bodyguards who won't betray you is generally helpful. But he got passed up for a Larvesta because he was too worried about other people's opinions on this art, so I don't trust his tribal warlord instincts. I believe it is because it is the bond between people and Pokemon that grants true power."

Burgh's face twitched.

The bond between Pokemon and person? Corny, but this is the world of Pokemon. And I somehow fit that requirement? I do try to keep my Pokemon out and around me while I can, which is more than I can say for most people. Even Roxie stores her Pokemon in her balls most of the time.

It struck me: I never had any issues getting my Pokemon to obey. Not once.

As a whole, my team was composed of generally difficult individuals. I've never had a problem with Entoma, she came along for the ride as soon as I asked her to be my pal. Oh. I see it now.

Gar was aggressive as hell, but I never really minded that. After a while of ignoring it or just flipping him off, he gave up on antagonizing me, even though I got him on board through blackmail. He was much happier throwing around Earthquakes and Rock Slides than as a pest to some scientist. Now he was a pest to society. But not to me.

Cocytus was a coward, but a coward who still tried, because I asked him to. We even had a beach episode together!

Kyou didn't care much about making friends but I didn't try to change that. I just let him live his life and get stronger, and he didn't give me trouble. If he wanted to spend time alone? I let him. If he wanted to eat with the group? Come on in, man. He seemed to appreciate it, at least.

You didn't have to try and be friends with Leinas. She gets in your face and feeds you her magical Pokemon food and you've been bewitched into a contract with the fae for your eternal friendship.

And Demiurge? He was lazy, offloading whatever tasks he could. Cocytus didn't seem to mind, so I let it happen. He didn't tend to obey me himself, but he did take the time to offload any chores to others. The thing is: everything I asked him to do ends up being done, even without his input. The king doesn't dirty his own hands, but he does ensure everything I need done is done.

I've seen Roxie have some issues with Grimer, but not with Scolipede. That made sense, she'd been with Scolipede for years and Grimer was new. Of course she has some minor disagreements. But I didn't have that issue. I, with much more naturally disagreeable Pokemon.

Oh, God. Is this my power of friendship arc?

I zoned back into Alder's explanation. "—Juniper proposed that the eggs were handed out as part of a religious ceremony for choosing the heir to the throne. I believe that The Sun was once the Pokemon of a king and the search for kingly individuals is The Sun's attempt at continuing the legacy of his partner. We don't know, as unfortunately Claydol and The Sun don't care to talk about the past."

"And you met these requirements too?" I asked.

"Of course! It was my dream as a child to conquer Unova and create a unified nation! And here I am, forty years later, still the Champion." Alder sighed. "I know the place you are in now. How strong the need for powerful Pokemon is. I ask you this: what is your plan for after you grow strong?"

Alder's face lost his usual cheer for a moment, "There comes a time when the cheers cease to bring you joy, the titles feel like chains, and you have everything in the world but the one thing you wish you had the most."

His cheer returned. "But don't let that turn you away! The life of a trainer is one I wish for all. The open road, wind in your hair, and your best friends at your back. I just ask you to think: what will you become once after you become who you want to be?"

Alder turned to Burgh. "He's fine. His Larvesta is quite happy with him. If he turns out to be a warlord, he'll have to get past me. And if he beats me? Then I'm not the Champion, and its not my problem anymore. He cares for his Pokemon, that's enough for me."

"Hey! I'm making sure he's a vaguely well-adjusted guy!" Roxie exclaimed. "Don't go insinuating like that."

Alder guffawed. "Well, I'm off. Heading to Undella. I think I'll check out their underwater ruins, I've heard they're something special. I'm in an ancient ruins mood, now."

He walked out of the door, leaving the three of us to sit in silence (and Demiurge, still cozied up).

"Well, that wraps that up," Burgh broke the silence. "Your new Joltik has been transferred over. Welcome to the Castelia City Gym."


"Hey, little guy!" I leaned down. Joltik zapped my hand. "Little girl, sorry. Let's see… power of friendship… youth!... Hm…"

How should I go about this?

"I don't know you, or what you want," I decided. "But I'll do my best to make sure you enjoy your life. If you train with me you'll be strong, or so my track record shows. I don't bother with Pokeballs outside of the city or in uncomfortable environments. If you need anything I can provide, you have it."

Joltik looked up at me with her big buggy eyes, gleaming with interest.

"First thing I can do is a name. I think it's important. A name means you and Joltik just means what you are. Let's see… How would you like the name Yuri Alpha, or Yuri for short?"

The little fuzzy spider chirped happily. "Yuri it is, then. Well, we'll be eating dinner soon. The rest of the team will be there. Keep away from Gar, that's the rock-bug, he bites. Probably. Roxie, my traveling partner, has a few new Pokemon as well, so it'll be a little bit tense. Just go with the flow and I think you'll be fine."

I reached out my hand, allowing Yuri to crawl onto my open palm. She was tiny, at most a couple of pounds. No wonder she could duplicate so much, there was so little to replicate. Would she still be as effective after evolution?

On that note, I should check out Burgh's Joltik care package. I opened up the box, retrieving the note from the top. As I did so, Yuri began to crawl up my arm and around my back, curiously inspecting me all over.

Nico,

Enclosed is all you should need to take care of a Joltik. The first item is a cube of ionized crystal from Chargestone Cave. It collects electrical charge from Earth's magnetic fields and supercharges around more intense magnetism. Joltik don't take much energy, so the unaltered charge should be plenty. Don't forget to feed her actual food, though. Other items include a static-resistant fur brush, grounding rod, rubber gloves, and rubber boots. Take good care of her!

I thought I'd tell you a bit more about her. As you know, she's half Ninjask. Her other half is my favorite Galvantula. She was born when my original Galvantula found a Mothim she really liked. Much of that Galvantula's skill was passed down to her child, also who inherited Mothim's Camouflage technique.

Despite the name, Camouflage does not actually camouflage the Pokemon. It allows them to alter their typing to the energy types in their near vicinity. I was more curious about Double Team, so she doesn't have much training in it. Her mother wasn't as strong as my first Galvantula, but she should still have plenty of weaker inherited techniques. She was my favorite because she could dodge any super-effective attacks, inconspicuously absorb the leftover energy, and then resist many more attacks as a result. It goes without saying that this works best if you don't announce that she's changed types.

As far as I'm aware, she knows Thundershock, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Electroweb, String Shot, Signal Beam, Mega Drain, Camouflage, and Double Team. A few weaker moves as well, but I don't think those matter.

Burgh

As I finished the note, Yuri was making her way around my shoulders and head. At one point she crawled over my face, forcing me to close one of my eyes as she placed a leg on it and used it as a foothold to crawl up into my hair. As she snuggled in, my hair began to stick out from the occasional burst of static.

Camouflage was interesting. I understand Burgh wanted to focus on Double Team, for obvious reasons. It makes sense to ignore it as a Joltik, Yuri is getting knocked out by any real hit regardless. But as Galvantula? I think it's best to start them young.

"Hey, Yuri. I want you to try something. Can you Mega Drain that tree over there, Camouflage into a Grass-Type off of the tree, and then Mega Drain again?"

She bounced off of my head, landing on the ground without making a hint of an indent. She walked over to a tree and latched on, draining a tiny bit of energy from the plant. After doing so, she looked at me for a second, then closed her eyes to focus. After ten seconds, she finally broke from her trance and performed another Mega Drain, this time drawing out noticeably more energy.

Good to know. STAB applies. That charge time is awful, though. Double Team can cover a lot, but the copies can't fake performing moves unless their creator. If she needs to stop and charge, then all the copies stop and charge, and that's going to give something away.

"I want you to try and use Camoflauge more," I decided. "Once you meet the team, I'd like you to try and copy their types, or at least the types of their moves. The more you use it, the better you'll get at it. It really is that simple. Now, come, we'll head back to the camp."

Yuri jumped onto my chest, clinging to my shirt. There wasn't a preparation time for the jump, simply leaping reflexively and accurately. Oh, yeah. She got those jumping spider genes. One of the biggest things that stood out to me about Yuri was her speed. Must be that Ninjask bleeding through.

She continued to cling to my shirt as I walked back to our camp in Pinwheel Forest. I walked a few minutes away to give us some privacy as we conversed for the first time.

As we approached, Leinas darted and swirled around us. She found Yuri, who'd scurried somewhere on my back, and gave her a cheerful greeting. I don't know exactly what happened, on account of it happening literally behind my back.

Roxie was tending to her new two additions: a Golbat and Trubbish. I could smell Trubbish from here, which was probably why Roxie maintained her distance a few feet away. Golbat seemed pretty nice though. Trubbish was munching down on some food and Golbat hung upside-down from Roxie's outstretched arm. Pretty impressive that Roxie could hold it, considering it hung nearly down to her feet.

"Oh, hey Nico! Here's your Earthquake TM back, neither of them could learn it. Both got Sludge Bomb, though! Trubbish here is a 'he,' and Golbat is a 'she!'"

"Nice," I accepted my disc back from her unaccompanied arm. "And it's good to meet you two, as well. Oh, and meet Yuri," I reached behind my back and Yuri jumped to my palm. "She's friendly. Very curious, though."

Golbat clicked at us but continued to hang silently. Trubbish looked up from his food pile, gave us a small wave, and went back to eating. Ah. Another glutton. He's in good company. Yuri's head glanced around at everyone, very interested in seeing some new Pokemon.

We set about preparing food for our teams. Cocytus tried to slink away from the group, embarrassed that he lost in his battle, but Demiurge dragged him back. Before long they were happily munching away together.

The first bit of excitement occurred when Trubbish let out a loud belch. Visible fumes leaked from his mouth, mostly going upwards. The nasty smell permeated our campground regardless. That's what got Trubbish his first new friend, as Grimer sludged over and deeply inhaled some of the fumes, gurgling happily.

I looked back to my Pokemon and realized Yuri was gone from her charging rock. The rest of my team were in their usual places. Entoma sat next to me as I stuffed some food between her shell and eye-hole, the closest thing the mouthless Pokemon could do to eating. Yuri wasn't by Kyou, Demiurge, Cocytus, or Leinas, who gathered around the fire eating.

Gargantua sat outside the circle, watching the group alone, and—Oh, there she is. Yuri crawled on Gar's stone shell, completely unnoticed by the surly crustacean. She tilted her head as she looked down on the back of his head, curiously inspecting the one Pokemon I told her to not bother.

Should I intervene?

Yuri hopped onto Gar's head, looking down into his eyes, and Gar immediately screamed in shock. He slammed a limb into the ground, summoning a Stone Edge, trying to knock the spider off of his face.

Yuri hopped off of his head as Gar's spike of rock bashed into his face, knocking him off into the woods.

Nevermind. I think she can handle herself.


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