The clacking of Rika's keyboard echoed through the large reception room of the Pokémon League, only broken up by the sounds of tabs opening/closing and various notifications on Rika's computer, or the sound of her green ink pen jotting down on papers.

These were the normal musings of an afternoon for the chief receptionist and member of the Elite Four. Hassel once mused that spending most of one's day inside such a cold, empty office doing the kind of monotonous work Rika does day in and day out would break many a man.

Rika just responded by lightly bonking her head and joking "You can't break something that's already been cracked more times than an egg!"

For some reason, Hassel didn't laugh at that.

Today wasn't much different. Rika's grind today was only minimally compounded by the stress brought on by Geeta's latest proposal successfully going through for officially sponsored school trips to Uva's sister school Blueberry Academy and the land of Kitakami, with Rika being given even more paperwork to complete in short deadlines and help ensure this spontaneous partnership would go through without a hitch.

Rika should've been focused on this new bevy of work. But rather than staying glued to the screen and documents in front of her, her eyes kept nervously looking up from her station, finding it extremely hard to keep focus.

She switched from closing a tab on her monitor to signing a form on her desk with the pen she'd been twirling in her fingers. After that, she put the pen down, and made a motion to return to her keyboard. But in her haste, her elbow hit the pen and knocked it off the desk.

"Oop!"

Rika looked under her desk to see it rolling on the floor and coming to a stop a little ways in front of it.

"Ah, crap."

"Oh! Would you like me to get that for you?" Katy asked politely.

"Uhh…"

Katy stood up and bent down to pick up the pen. "Here you go!" And then she cheerfully handed the pen back to her.

"T-thanks."

"You're welcome!" she smiled sweetly.

With that, Katy immediately sat back down. On the one lone chair in front of Rika's desk where she had been sitting this past half hour.

Rika tried to return to her flow, but knowing that Katy hadn't just shut herself off sitting there was… disconcerting to think about.

It was all very surreal. Katy had apparently stridden right up to the building, and Rika heard from outside as the guard asked for Katy's ID, then inquired if she was there for an appointment… and Katy just cheerfully said "Nope! I just need to speak with the boss today, that's all."

The doors opened, she was let into the entrance hall, Rika greeted her, contacted Geeta to let her know, was told that she would be busy for the indefinite next hour, and Katy, upon being told this… just plopped right down and helped herself, saying she could wait as long as she needed.

With a happy grin on her face the whole time.

Rika cleared her throat. "Y'know, Katy… It really might be a while until the boss can see you. I know I made it sound like it was just going to be a few minutes, but—sometimes it takes her up to an hour between appointments to see a walk-in. If you're really set on waiting that long, then just beyond that door, we have a little waiting room for Elite Four challengers. You're totally welcome to use it."

"Oh, thanks for the offer, Rika," Katy replied, smiling as big as a Wooper. "But… I'm perfectly content to wait here until Geeta's ready for me."

Rika smiled on the outside.

She clicked on her document editor to drag it away so she could pull up the chat application underneath it, where Rika had an open line with her boss.

Rika I'm so sorry to bug you on this but do you have an ETA on when you might be ready to see Katy?

It took almost a full minute for La Primera to respond.

Geeta I still have a lot of papers from Uva to look over.

Geeta Tell her it could be another half hour at least.

Geeta Maybe longer.

Rika's eye twitched. She took another look at Katy, who was gazing around the barely decorated room with the most nonchalant smile. That might be all well and good… if not for the fact that Rika could notice Katy's hands tightly clenching to the sides of her chair, and her foot occasionally making weird jittery motions.

Rika could only guess what was happening… based on what she had witnessed this morning. Larry had a strange air of perk and confidence to him when he walked into the building bright and early. He announced to her that he had a huge meeting with the boss today, something that was going to decide "his whole future", and that he might possibly even have some important news to share with Rika herself.

Then he walked out of that meeting, and looked completely deflated and miserable. He wordlessly returned to his station for the rest of the day, and as soon as the workday ended, he was the first out the door.

…And now Katy suddenly arrives. And needs to speak with the boss about something pressing.

Rika grasped at the implications, and had this dreading feeling like she was about to witness the premiere of Paldea's hottest new soap opera. Except, instead of watching it sleeplessly at 2AM… she would be caught in the middle of it. No escape.

Rika I have told her that but she's insistent on waiting here.

Geeta Should I take it she's sitting in front of your desk refusing to move to the waiting room?

Rika rolled her eyes. This wasn't her first rodeo dealing with an indignant client just stubbornly taking up space and making it impossible for her to feel isolated enough to work, and she knew she had bothered La Primera with these anxiety-ridden requests before.

She sighed. If she could read me like a book hard enough, doubtless she'd make me give up my position…

But there's something so… unsettling, almost uncanny about Katy here, that's driving up—I have to say something. I have to make her listen.

Rika Unfortunately yes. And I'm afraid it's distracting me from my own work.

The next two to three minutes were a deafening silence for Rika, until…

Geeta Send her up.

Rika let out the loudest sigh of relief.

"What happened?" asked Katy.

"Oh… nothing," Rika assured her. "But I just got word from the boss. She's ready to see you."

"Oh, wonderful!" Katy beamed as she eagerly gathered her stuff and stood up.

Rika kept her eyes closed as she waited for Katy to leave and the door to close behind her… which caught her off guard when what happened next instead.

"I'm sorry," came a quiet voice.

"Huh?"

Rika looked up at Katy, now standing right next to her. Her eyes were fixed on the door she was about to enter… and her cheerful demeanor was completely gone.

"About what?"

Katy was completely stone-faced. A little weary in her eyes, but… otherwise no emotion to speak of. And she spoke her next words in a tone that was almost… biting.

"I'm sorry I had to use you like that. I promise I'll find a way to make it up to you."

Rika felt a chill run down her spine.

Katy then silently walked through the doors.

Rika could feel her hands beginning to tremble. She wanted to forget that that had just happened, but then she realized her heartrate was going up… and she was struggling to breathe.

She grasped her pen in her hands and closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath.

"This is my pen. It is green. This is my pen. It is green."

She slowly opened her eyes again, and looked for things to focus on.

"That is my desk. That is my computer. I am here at work."

A sigh.

"And I am fine."


To say Geeta had a big office was an understatement.

The area with her desk, her bookshelves, and the large floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at a stark view over Paldea, only made up the very back of the spacious room. The other half was taken up by a large conference table with eight chairs all lined up and another facing down the middle, and three stair steps over a large red and royal gold rug to get to her desk.

Only Director Clavell of Uva Academy could stake a claim on having an office just as big as hers… and she probably still has him beat.

Katy walked in. Her steps echoed in the large room. She gazed a bit, not sure if she'd ever been in here since that one fateful meeting eons ago.

Geeta was at her desk.

She was busily reading and signing documents laid out in front of her. She didn't seem as if she was aware of Katy's presence, until she looked up and simply motioned for Katy to come closer.

Katy walked past the huge conference table and stood by one of the two chairs facing the boss's desk.

"Please, have a seat." Katy did as she asked. "Just give me one quick minute to finish signing off on these."

Katy said nothing. She just watched calmly as Geeta, without any sign of haste, neatly filled out forms, checked off boxes, and wrote her neat signature.

After five minutes that felt like an hour, she folded her most recently completed documents into a stack and slotted them into a manilla folder. Then, with her hands cupped and the most polite smile, she looked up at her visitor.

"Hello, Katy. It's… been a while since the last time we talked face to face, hasn't it?" She bowed her head gracefully. Katy didn't return the gesture, which Geeta picked up on. "I've been told you have something very pressing to meet with me about. … Something that couldn't wait. I'm very interested to hear what's on your mind, dear."

Katy gulped quietly. "I understand you had a meeting with Larry this morning."

"…Yes?" Geeta replied, wondering where this was going. "Yes, I did."

"Seems like there are some big changes coming his way."

Geeta blinked in bewilderment. Then a look dawned on her, as if she had only just realized why Katy would be privy to any of this.

"Yes… Yes indeed, he does." She cleared her throat. "You should consider yourself very honored that Larry has apparently trusted you with such… confidential information."

Katy noted the apparent air of condescension in Geeta's voice.

Does it wound you to know Larry has a confidant who's looking out for his interests now?

"And that was a… joint decision, huh?" Katy pried. "New office, new assistant?"

Geeta sighed in annoyance.

"Katy, I'm trying to be formal with you, but I really have an insane amount of work to do today. I'd really appreciate it if you got to the root of why you wanted to see me."

"I just want to ask some questions, is all," Katy replied, a little too casually.

Geeta leered at her suspiciously. Katy's dry smirk didn't crack.

"…Okay." Geeta sighed to herself. "Yes. He met with me today to confess to me the insurmountable burden he's been feeling regarding his work lately, and why it's been preventing him from completing things on time. He… went to very great lengths about how he feels his life has been affected." She pointed her pen at Katy. "He did mention you, if it helps. He seems to care for you a great deal, which is very heartening. I sympathized with his concerns, and I heard his proposals. I ultimately offered him one I thought would be more ideal. And… that was that."

"Really? It's just…" Katy kept her own cold gaze fixated. "He sure isn't acting like it's a decision he agrees wholeheartedly with."

Geeta frowned. She didn't appreciate this attitude that seemed to be coming forth. And she felt particularly annoyed that thus far, nothing seems to have justified Katy strolling in on her unprompted rather than being professional and making an appointment.

"Okay, I really don't have the time to be dealing with this in this fashion. So let me just say… yes. Yes, we talked in depth about this decision. I proposed training an assistant to lighten his workload, and Larry spoke his piece but when I, very honestly, explained it would be the most suitable way forward, he agreed, and this was of his own volition, I did not press him to say anything, and we shook hands on it."

She emitted a loud huff.

"Now, do you have any questions that are pertinent enough that I need to answer to them at this moment? Because I'm trying to not sound too mean, but I'm very much losing my patience with this."

"Well… I have one more question. Just one more, and then… yes. I guess I'll be satisfied."

Geeta worked to keep her face still, even as she began to felt a bit agitated.

"…Go on."

"So… where does somebody get off, hearing one of their subordinates pour their heart out about how their job is adversely affecting their mental health and stunting their ability to have a life outside of work, and after hearing all of that, decide to give the lightest most minute improvement to their workload possible, and just tell them to get over all their issues and that there will be 'no more excuses'?"

Katy's voice got more charged as she went on and she mimed that last sentence with air quotations.

Geeta was silent at first. Then, to Katy's surprise, she slammed her hand down on the table and stood up, clearly wound by this accusation.

"Where does he get o—" She started to seethe to herself. "The absolute gall of that man to exaggerate our conversation and twist my words so harshly."

She whipped back around to face Katy, a very cross look in her eyes, which Katy would admit made her feel unnerved.

"Let's get a few things straight here, Katy." Geeta said Katy's name in an icy tone. "I did not ever once utter the words 'no more excuses' to Larry. And furthermore, I would never tell someone they need to 'get over' anything going on in their lives! I listened to him discuss everything he was going through with genuine care and concern for him, especially because I had no idea up to then that his mental state had gotten so bad."

Katy's pained frown began to soften as she took this all in.

"The solution I offered him? That was 100% in my best interest to try to improve what he said he was going through. I thought he should have his own office, so he can have more space to breathe in comfort and not be rattled by the cacophony of office noise that, believe me, I know can cause headaches to even the most diligent of workers. As for an assistant? I didn't admit this much to him, but… as much as Rika was being insubordinate in ghostwriting his assignments, it actually did improve his work output for a short while, and he was mildly better at not missing his deadlines. It's what gave me the idea that passing on some of his extra work to someone qualified would help him stay on track the same way!"

Now Katy was starting to less furious and more… second-guessing her intentions.

"So I don't ever want to hear someone, especially you Katy or him of all people, accuse me of not looking out for my employees' health and well-being!"

Geeta threw her head down and sighed exhaustively. Her long mane of black hair and blue-yellow highlights draped over her desk like a mop, masking her weary and tempered face.

Katy broke from her face of fury as she found herself deeply contemplating everything, particularly the way Larry had been talking about Geeta this whole time.

It was as if Katy only just realized she was looking at an incomplete puzzle this whole time… and the last piece clicked in.

"…I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Geeta wordlessly lifted her head up.

"I was acting on emotions when Larry explained this whole situation to me, and… I guess I never factored in how… biased his view of it would be, Nor mine, as his girlfriend." She looked Geeta's way, whose face seemed to start calming again. "If there's anything I've learned about Larry after spending all this time with him, and what I should've remembered … is that he can be just as rash about things as me sometimes. Maybe even more so."

Katy then chuckled to herself. "What am I saying? He's a blunt instrument. He doesn't ever read between the lines on anything, because he gets so stuck even on what's being put in front of him," she snickered fondly.

She thought she heard Geeta emit a soft snort. Was she breaking through the mighty La Primera's rock hard exterior after all? With a resigned sigh, Geeta sat herself back down at her desk.

"Larry is a great man, Katy. I know I often have my concerns with him but… I genuinely mean that. He has his flaws the same as all of us, but I've always seen the potential of his greatness in him. It's why I encouraged him to take up the Elite Four position when his name was drawn."

However, she couldn't help but look off to the side dejectedly. "I just… wish he could allow himself to be more motivated, and… and really, all I would ask of him at this point is that he needs to actually communicate himself better so we can avoid such horrid misunderstandings."

She took a moment to compose herself, and then faced Katy head-on again.

"But, in order to be a leader, I need to take responsibility and admit I may have come off too harshly on Larry as well. And for that, I promise I'll make an effort to apologize to him."

"Thank you." Katy smiled graciously for a minute. But she also realized she needed to press on. "You're going to do that… and also meet with him again, right? To figure something else out?"

Geeta frowned again. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean… I know you think giving Larry this kind of change is the best solution. But it won't really fix anything for him in the long run. All it will do is put more on his plate and make him even more haggard and unable to perform to his best ability. He knows this. I know it. … And with all due respect, I think you need to be made to know that too."

Geeta was thrown back. She tried to keep her best composure as she kept her hands crossed on the table and closed her eyes in thought for a few seconds.

"I appreciate your concern very much, Katy. But… I'm afraid my hands are tied and I can't budge on what we already talked about. It was such a heavy compromise on my end already that I was afraid to even bring it up. As unideal as this whole situation may seem, the fact of the matter is, I need Larry for every role that he's currently performing for us and so I cannot in good faith accept his resignation from the Elite Four, nor approve on anything that would reduce his amount of tasks."

Katy raised an eyebrow. "But why?"

"Why?"

"Yeah. Why?" Katy indignantly repeated. "He's not even the only bean counter in his department. You have so many workers under your belt, so why does this all need to go to the man whose time is already being consumed by being a Gym Leader and an Elite Four member simultaneously? And why can't he just quit one of them if he wants to? That doesn't add up at all. You probably know deep down inside that saddling him with both roles and then pushing more on top of all that is highly unreasonable. Right?"

Geeta didn't answer. In fact, without saying a word, she got up from her chair, turned her back on Katy with a long swish of her hair, and walked to the window where she could look out upon the cloudy mountain, and the sprawling scenery of Paldea down below.

Katy just sat and waited for an answer.

Without turning around, Geeta began to deliver some truths to her subordinate.

"What you should probably know deep down, Katy, is that in our line of work, the line must often be drawn between our personal happiness, and that of what's good for the League. What's good for everybody in Paldea. I know that sounds harsh to you, but it's just reality. That's what you and Larry signed up for. It's what all of us signed up for. Being part of something like this. Larry knows this as well as I do. Maybe that's why he doesn't complain as much as he should. We've all had to give up something to be here."

Katy drew some deep breaths to keep herself reserved.

"I know that. I've had to give up things too…" she muttered. "But I just feel like you don't understand what Larry has sacrificed to pl—" She found her words stunted when Geeta sharply turned around all of a sudden, with a troubled look in her eyes.

"I… don't understand? Do you think I haven't given up a lot of things in my life, to get to where I am, Katy?" She started to walk back, with keen firm steps that echoed loudly. "I've lived a stressful life too. I studied rigorously in school, I spent so long training on Pokémon battling to be the best of my peers, and I fought tooth and nail through several tumultuous years of hard battles and harsh trials of bureaucracy to become the Top Champion of the region, win the seat of Uva Academy chairman, and make the Paldean Pokémon League everything it is now. If you think you know what it means to sacrifice happiness Katy, you've got another thing coming."

Katy felt more and more disconcerted and guilty as Geeta's words became more and more worked up. By the time she was back at her desk, Katy could see the stress lines on her boss's face becoming prominent, as her eyes exhibited a continuously greater sense of fury and affront.

"And now I'm up here, on the rock where I built this church, trying with every fiber in my being to keep this whole League together before everything, everything I've spent my entire life working towards threatens to all crumble up underneath my feet!" Geeta's hands closed into shaking fits on the table, as her expression started to look more manic and aggrieved. "You don't even know how bad things are here, do you? I am under more stress than you could ever imagine right now! So the least, the very least I could ask for from you right now, from everyone under my command, is your support and understanding!"

Katy was at a complete loss for words. She had never in her life seen the great La Primera as unwound as this. She remembered Larry had been mentioning something about the League's numbers not doing great, and how he felt that Geeta was projecting her insecurities onto everyone else because of it.

All at once, she felt like she was starting to see what he meant.

Has she blown up like this on Larry too?

Katy tried to gather her thoughts, feeling like she had lost her complete agenda of how this meeting was supposed to go. Geeta for her part was huffing heavily, still leering over Katy at her desk, strung out from her rant but showing no signs of letting her emotions go.

A thoughtful look came to Katy as she finally began to compile an appropriate response in her head.

She turned to Geeta again, this time with her assertive expression regathered.

"You always have our support, Geeta. Everyone in the Gym division supports you and sees you as a leader to fall behind."

Geeta apprehensively began to slink back into her chair.

"You all have a funny way of showing it…" she muttered.

Katy was taken aback again. She knew that a lot of the leaders like Tulip and Grusha had very complicated feelings about their boss, and sometimes aired these frustrations behind her back.

Has she always been aware of it?

Katy was convinced it was all in whispers between each other, but now she started wondering if she was even the first Gym Leader to have confronted her like this.

"Regardless of how… everyone feels, I think it's still very true," Katy responded. "We all look to you for leadership and guidance. But… I think… maybe the problem is that, that trust also needs to be a two-way street."

"What are you inferring?" Geeta asked sternly, sounding like she was trying to keep herself from exploding.

Katy's eyebrows drew up very highly for a second, as she tried to rattle with what she was about to say next… She couldn't believe she was about to say this in front of her boss.

"Maybe… and I'm only saying maybe, what I'm thinking is, and maybe what everyone else is thinking too, is that the way for all of us to build a more cooperative relationship together as a team is that… well, maybe you have to stop trying to take charge so much and trust people to do what's right. All of this, this micromanaging is ju—"

"MICROMANAGING?!"

Yup. I definitely said the wrong thing.

Geeta flew up from her chair. And this time, there was no ifs, and, or butts about it. She was furious.

Her eyes glared at Katy like daggers digging into her soul, and her entire body language screamed of the smoldering rage that was building within the normally strict woman.

"Who are you to talk to me in this way!? I am the Top Champion of the Pokémon League, and the chairwoman of Uva Academy! I represent some of the most important positions in all of the region! If it seems like I'm taking charge so much, it's because I am in charge! Because somebody around here needs to when everyone else isn't pulling their weight!"

Katy should be scared. But she wasn't anymore. In fact, to her own surprise, she stood up from her chair too and immediately fired back.

"But maybe that attitude is what's killing all of us from concentrating on the same goal!" she fiercely declared. "Maybe… maybe you're too stubborn to realize that you're being the problem more than you're being the solution!"

Geeta scoffed loudly in shock, her eyeballs looking like they were going to pop right out of her skull. Katy, stepped back, a little shocked at her own burst of unmitigated honesty, but kept her furious look locked and still, waiting for Geeta to blink first.

Geeta began to snarl. There were so many things she wanted to bark right now at the impossible scene happening in front of her. But what little was left of her unfettered desire for professionalism tugged at her burning soul, and she began to put out some of the flames raging within her heart to speak more succinctly, knowing she had to maintain authority.

"I would watch my tongue if I were you," she bitterly warned Katy. "You're a Gym Leader too. In case you've forgotten, that means I'm your boss too. Consider your position very carefully, Katy."

Katy looked down to the floor, maybe with a tinge of regret. But, as she closed her eyes, she thought back on a lot of things.

Her happy memories with Larry building a bond with each other. All the fun battles she used to have as a Gym Leader. The disappointment in her team's eyes. The emotional burdens she'd been carrying over the past few months.

Lizzy.

All of it reminded her of what she was fighting for. She went into her satchel, and she pulled out that photo again. The young, happy Katy who knew the heart of Pokémon battling, and how nothing could ever compare to that universal joy.

She faced Geeta, this time looking surer of herself than ever before.

"I am considering it. I've been considering it for an extremely long time. And you know what I've considered? I'm tired. I'm tired of everything. I'm tired of holding back. I'm tired of not feeling good enough, of being afraid of getting older and worrying that I'm not living my best life. And you know what else?

…I'm tired of you. You, telling me all the way back when that I couldn't use my full strength as a Gym Leader anymore, that I had to hold back for the sake of the Challengers. That I had to give up everything, and everyone I valued the most, in order to become a happy peon letting all the Trainers in the region stomp all over me like a welcome mat. So you know what? One way… or another… that's all going to end today."

Geeta's face cracked. She was in utter disbelief of what she was hearing.

"Holding back for—For decency's SAKE! Is that what this has been about this entire time!?" she shouted incredulously.

Then she did the most surprising thing of all. She forcefully kicked her office chair, causing it to roll down the side of the room until it hit a wall.

"WHY DOES NOBODY TALK TO ME?!" she screamed to the heavens. "You wonder why I can't trust any of you!? Why do ALL of you have these issues with me, and you just KEEP IT TO YOURSELVES instead of saying anything?! How can I trust any of you, when you just let your resentment of me build and boil until I'm fully cemented as the evil villain in your mind, this nasty serpent preventing you from taking charge of your own damn station!?"

Geeta crossed her arms and stood with her back to Katy, trying to put a lid on all the toxic emotions she knew she was letting out. After some shaking and seething, she calmly tuned back to face Katy again, still with a very displeased look upon her face.

"And once again, your memories and emotions betray you and distort the situation," she dressed down as she walked to her chair and pulled it back towards her desk. "What you must not be remembering about that meeting I had with you two years ago is that I was concerned strictly for the difficulty level of you and your team on the students who were only just starting out on their Treasure Hunt."

Katy's eyes darted as she tried to remember these events herself.

"As the chairwoman of the academy, a lot of the troubles students continuously face are fielded right back to me, especially when they deal with my other command here at the League. And since your Gym in Cortondo is the one highlighted as being the closest to Mesagoza where most of them start out from, I was being given a lot of notes about how students would march right up to it with their almost totally untrained teams only to be met by your, as I recall very strong and diverse team of Bug-type Pokémon, and want to give up on the Gym Challenge entirely.

What I suggested from you, at that time when we met, was to dial back on your team specifically when facing these impressionable students, in order to show them that battling Gyms in the region can be fun and exciting while still being an example and giving them the encouragement they needed to train up their weak Pokémon for the battles ahead of them. It was still your decision to take these concerns and decide to change up your entire strategy as a Gym Leader."

"Maybe that was what you meant all along," Katy admitted, "but the way you put it out was still very… imperious… and I think that's why I remembered your advice coming off so harshly."

Geeta just cocked an eyebrow in response.

"Then you probably also don't remember that I recognized your discomfort, and I even offered you an alternative solution that would allow you to keep your entire approach unchanged and free you of any worries about going too hard."

"I do remember," Katy glumly recalled. "You wanted me to pack up my whole Gym and move it to Zapapico if I didn't agree with scaling my team down. But… there was no way I would ever accept that. Cortondo is my home. It always has been. I've always fought not just for the Pokémon League, but for everyone in that town. To be the spectacle that brought life to it and excite everyone I love."

Katy sighed deeply, and looked to the photo frame once more as she made her next declaration.

"Maybe you're right that I should've done something about it a long, long time ago. But now, perhaps is finally the time." With a confident nod, she tossed the frame down over her bag. "One last test for myself. To prove whether I deserve my position or not."

Geeta seethed loudly through her teeth.

"I am not your emotional punching bag, Katy! Any further issues you have with all of us should… should be held off for a more proper meeting!" She glared down distressingly at the amount of paperwork still cluttered on her desk. "I don't have the time to be dealing with this nonsense right now!"

"Alright," Katy responded. "How about I make this easier on you, then? You give me this one thing… and I'll be out of your hair for good."

Geeta's hands stretched out on her desk. "What is it that you want?" she asked, bitter and exasperated.

Katy reached into her bag again. This time… she pulled out one of her Poké Balls and held it out in her hand.

"Let's have a battle."

Geeta's eyes blinked rapidly in disbelief. "I beg your pardon?"

"A battle. You and me. Right here. And right now. Because the thing is, I do know you, Geeta. If there's one thing that everyone in the Paldea region knows, it's that La Primera loves a good Pokémon battle. Can hardly resist a challenge when it's offered to her. You want me to settle our issues? Then what better way?"

"This is ridiculous—"

"And if that's not enough, then let's add a sweetener to it. If I win this battle, then you have to not only double back on all the changes you've enacted on Larry's position, but you have to agree to meet with him again and let him decide what he wants."

Her head resting on her fingers, Geeta sighed in exasperation. "And if I win…?"

Katy nodded. "Then you have my resignation as Gym Leader."

"Your what!?" Geeta exclaimed, shooting up from her desk again.

"I already filled out the forms for it and everything. If I lose this battle to you… then I promise it will all be on your desk by tomorrow morning."

Geeta had her hands held out in front of her like she wanted to bury her head in them and scream.

"So you're go—You mean, that was you who sent for—AGGGGGHHHHHH!" she yelled as she ran her fingers through her wild mess of hair.

With even louder footsteps than before, Geeta marched from her desk to her window again… and her forehead hit the glass with a thud.

Katy let down her arm, still grasping the Poké Ball, as she awaited a response.

It took more than a full minute.

"Damn you, Katy."

Geeta unglued her head from the pane, and walked slowly back to her desk again. Her face was to the floor the whole time, until she walked past her desk, and stood right in front of Katy to lock eyes with her.

"I make absolutely no promises at all about honoring those… uncouth terms of yours. But, as much as I'm loathe to admit, you've gotten me so worked up now that I don't think I'll ever be able to focus on my work in this state. So now I need the catharsis. And if you swear this is really what will make you satisfied enough to leave me alone for the rest of the day… then so be it."

Katy's eyes lit up. A part of her still hadn't expected her boss to actually agree to this.

"You mean…?"

"Be on the roof of the building in twenty minutes."


Rika had calmed herself down and was back to her grind at the reception desk, when suddenly there was a knock at the main doors. She stopped what she was doing and looked up.

Hassel slowly stepped in, an alarmed look on her face.

"Hey, Hass," Rika greeted her colleague. "Is… something the matter?"

"How busy are you right now?"

"Umm…" she looked at her computer monitor. "Why?" Hassel's expression was of grim concern. "Has something happened?" She put her hand over her mouth in realization. "Is it… something to do with Katy?"

"You should come up to the observation deck soon as you can."


The sun was peaking over the mountains, as the evening sky cast a light atmosphere over the roof of the Pokémon League.

Katy stepped out of the elevator and calmly walked out onto the rooftop, which she was only just realizing she had never seen in person before, not even on television.

Geeta had a rule about her Champion battles never being broadcast on any mediums so that Trainers who came to challenge her were more encouraged to formulate their strategies on the fly. This is why the Elite Four were often called to the observation deck one skylight above the arena to serve as official witnesses to a challenger's victory.

According to Larry, the tenacious La Primera also frequently shuffles out her team in order to throw off challengers who would try to formulate a plan based on hearing of others' battles against her. Clearly, Geeta was someone who took her role as the strongest Champion in the region very seriously.

This did make Katy feel an overwhelming sense of concern on her way up the elevator, as she knew there was no way to predict what Geeta was sending out against her. Her own team was mostly… Bug-types, and Geeta could've totally anticipated that for all she knows.

But surely, she would play fairer than that, right? It's not like most of the people who challenge her telegraph their favorite type as much as I do…

There was no way to be sure. Geeta would either treat this as a proper exhibition battle… or just go all out with nothing but Fire and Flying-types and call it a day.

I guess it really depends on how badly she wants to get back to work…

Geeta was already waiting for Katy when she walked up to the arena. Although she seemed aware of Katy's presence, her eyes were closed and she was taking a cool stance, holding a Poké Ball in one hand.

It wasn't until Katy took her spot that Geeta broke her silence.

"Before we get started with this, I think it'd only be fair if I gave you the same warning that I usually give to those who challenge me for the Champion title."

"What's that?"

"Whenever I'm up here…" Geeta put a single finger over her face. "It's like my sense of professionalism completely vanishes. And I am utterly incapable of holding back when it comes to Pokémon battles. I might even have to apologize in advance for some of the very un-boss-like things you may hear me say."

"Well… just imagine I'm a poor helpless student from Uva facing down the tough, mean Gym Leader and that might just motivate you." This sounded like a dig, but Katy actually smirked as she said it.

Geeta recognized this and gave a playful smile in return.

"Hmmm. But therein lies an idea. Surely you remember Champion Juliana? The student from Uva Academy who impressed me so deeply I requested her to inspect all your Gyms on my behalf a few months ago?"

"Of course," Katy nodded. "Such a sweet kid."

"She did speak very highly of you and your team when giving me her report. I think I'll use the same team I had on the day she challenged me, and we'll see how that goes."

"Fine by me," Katy agreed, clutching her first Poké Ball with eagerness.

"Very well then. This was… your last chance to concede. Go, Espathra!"

"Spidops! Let's do this!"

Katy sent out her trusty Spidops, who was in turn greeted with a giant purple and brown ostrich Pokémon.

Katy was immediately on guard.

What is that thing? It looks like a giant bird. I was right… she really is trying to send me sailing home with advantageous types.

Geeta developed a smirk of her own as she watched her opponent's facial expressions.

"If you're already starting to feel some regret, dear Katy, that feeling's only going to get a lot worse. You're about to learn what it means to be Top Champion."

"GAROOOOO!" her Espathra triumphantly cried, flittering as it did so.

Katy however, noticed the way its wings moved.

Now that I'm looking at it, that thing doesn't seem like it can fly at all. Maybe it's… not a Flying-type? Maybe she's counting on me to think that it is.

Wait a minute…

Espathra!

I thought I knew it from somewhere! Tulip uses one of those! And if Tulip has one on her team, then… it must be a Psychic-type!

Only one way to find out!

"I think you've had enough time to deliberate," Geeta decided. "Espathra, use Lumina Crash!"

"Garoooo!"

The huge bird started charging up an attack of mystical energy.

"Spidops, hurry! Set up a Silk Trap before that move makes contact!"

"SPIDOPS!"

Spidops quickly got to work, using its many appendages to instantly spin a crafty web shield in front of itself. Espathra launched its magical attack forward, sending several mystical stars shooting towards Spidops. But it blocked them all with its Silk Trap, dispelling it completely.

I think I was right! If that thing knew any Flying-type moves, Geeta would've had it open with one! Instead, it uses magical attacks just like a Psychic Pokémon!

"Spidops!" Katy commanded a lot more confidently. "Use Skitter Smack!"

Spidops shrouded itself in shadows before skittering lecherously towards Espathra and cutting into it with a powerful Bug attack.

Espathra took the blow very hard, just as Katy hoped, and was so wounded by the attack that after a few seconds of trying to stay upright, it fell to the ground and fainted.

"Espatha, return!" said Geeta. Drat. I knew she was going to lead with at least one Bug, but I thought I could bait her into thinking Espathra was a Flying type like so many do…

Katy found herself giggling out loud. Well that's one down. Maybe I've… actually got this?

"Don't get too giddy," Geeta boasted. "We're only just getting started. Veluza!"

Geeta's next Pokémon was a large gray fish Pokémon with vicious teeth and huge pink scaly fins.

Veluza, huh? Well it's undoubtedly a Water Pokémon at least…

"Spidops, use Throat Chop!"

Spidops made a move to strike, but then Geeta smiled deviously…

"Quick, Veluza! Aqua Jet!"

Before Spidops even had a chance to make a move, Veluza rushed it with a fast burst of water-propelled movement, stunning it.

"Spiii…"

"Now, hit it with a Psycho Cut!"

Veluza screeched as it pierced Spidops with a cut of psychic energy, hurting Spidops with such brutal force that it fainted despite the type disadvantage.

Is that thing Psychic too?

"Spidops, return! You did a great job, my little engineer." Katy deliberated on what to send next. After a few seconds, she declared "Go Loki!"

"Lokix!"

I don't want to use a Bug move like Lunge right away, since I don't for sure what its typing is… It's definitely a physical attacker, and my little Loki can take physical attacks pretty well. But that thing's also really fast…

Well, I know what to do about that.

"Alright, my little warrior! Open with Sucker Punch!"

Lokix leapt into the air while Veluza geared its next attack. Before it could make a move, Lokix swooped in and slugged it with a dark-powered punch, putting to use all the skills it had been training for to make the move hurt.

Veluza took a lot of damage. This didn't stop it from releasing its Aqua Jet, which impacted Lokix but didn't send it into the yellow.

Lokix gave a tenacious cry to its opponent, which stunned even Geeta.

"That Lokix takes hits very well," she admitted.

"That's the result of lots of rigorous training," Katy smiled. Lokix boastfully cried.

"Well, time to up the ante, then. Now Veluza, Psycho Cut!"

Veluza got ready to pierce with another Psycho Cut… but then, with the dark energy surrounding its body, Lokix completely no-sold the attack, not taking a single bit of damage.

Katy couldn't help but taunt. "What's the matter, La Primera? Didn't know Lokix is Bug AND Dark?"

I sure didn't…! I've never had a challenger face me with one of those before.

"Wrap this suckerfish up, Loki! Go for Lunge!"

"Looooo… KIX!" Lokix leapt into the air again, and came down hard on Veluza. Despite its small stature, the buggy nature of its attack crippled the Psychic fish, and sent it flopping to the ground, forcing its return.

"That's my little warrior!" Katy congratulated, holding out her hand. Lokix eagerly sprinted back and gave its owner a spirited high-five.

Geeta sent out her Gogoat next, a surprise to Katy since she knew from taming many of them around Cortondo that it was purely a Grass Pokémon. She figured Geeta was probably hiding some devious surprise in this choice when she sent it out, but she braved forward anyway.

"Loki, go for a Bounce!"

Lokix leapt in the air again, this time spreading its vestigial wings out to stay up a little longer. Geeta anticipated this, and by the time it came back down…

"Counter its attack by playing rough, Gogoat!"

At the same time Lokix swooped down, Gogoat charged up to it to use Play Rough and both of them were embroiled in a thick cloud of furious attacks.

Katy and Geeta tried to see their way through the chaos to know who would come out on top…

…only for the dust to clear, as both Pokémon laid on the ground defeated. Both recalled their Pokémon.

"I don't know what other tricks you have up your sleeve Katy, but I'd love to see if you have anything that can get through this!"

"GUUUUUGH!"

Avalugg.

Probably just Ice, right? Because it's… basically just a giant iceberg.

A lot of people think that their Ice-types will do a lot of damage against my winged Bugs… Katy mused. Unfortunately for her, that just means I know what does them in perfectly.

"Go, Forretress! Use Gyro Ball!"

Forretress rolled itself into an iron ball and slammed hard into Avalugg. Although Katy hoped for the attack to do a lot, it barely pierced the mighty titan's icy exterior.

Avalugg roared defiantly.

"My Avalugg is like a mighty glacier. An immovable force to be reckoned with. You'll never pierce through it with brute strength! Now crush that rolling ball with a Body Press, Avalugg!"

Avalugg used its entire body to press down on Forretress's hard shell. Forretress held strong however, exceeding Geeta's expectations as she gasped in shock that it didn't faint.

She might not know that strong Bug Pokémon like Forretress can tank Fighting moves extremely well, even when their other typing puts them at a disadvantage.

Maybe… maybe that's how I maintain control here. A lot of people underestimate Bug types, so Geeta might not be very used to knowing how to handle them! …That would sure explain why she sent out three Pokémon in a row that were weak to Bug moves!

She's been so overconfident up to now that she might've just given me a big clue back there. Can't hit Avalugg with "brute strength"… I wonder how a more Special move will take? I've only just taught Forretress this move though, so it's a huge risk.

"Forretress! Go for Flash Cannon and rock that boat!"

Forretress charged up energy and fired a huge metal beam at Avalugg.

Incredibly… this gamble worked. The huge ice giant's cold body practically crumbled apart at the raw power of such a move, taking it out of action completely!

Curses! Geeta winced as she recalled it. That's the first time Avalugg's crippling Special Defense has failed it…

Despite her anger, she couldn't help but compliment power as she was witnessing it.

"You're doing quite well," Geeta clapped. "Perhaps there was an even greater reason those students were so scared of you."

"Scared of me, huh?" Katy replied. She never told me that in our old meeting…

"But I think we might be approaching the end of this charade. I always save my hardest hitting members for last. Witness the terrifying might of Kingambit!"

Kingambit came out with a mighty roar. Not just a normal roar either, but it seemed to draw in some mysterious energy with it, as if it was powering itself up somehow.

Kingambit. I've seen a lot of Trainers use a Pokémon called Pawniard that looks a bit like that… Is that its final evolution?

"You may as well give up now. Kingambit has a powerful Ability that allows it to draw power from all its defeated allies… It is a true Supreme Overlord!"

What the heck?

"Show her you mean business, my liege! Give that Forretress an Earth-cutting Kowtow Cleave!"

With a gnarly growl, Kingambit reared its huge crest forward and charged into Forretress with a powerful shadowy cut.

Forretress was left spinning around… until it fell like a dreidel.

"Rest easy, my little tank," Katy said fondly to it as she recalled it.

"Have any last… gambits of your own?" Geeta asked. She smirked lightly at her own rare bout of humor.

Okay, that pun was deserved.

Let's see… I know Pawniard is a Steel Pokémon because Trainers who use it tend to favor Metal Claw. So if it truly evolves into that "Kingambit"…

Although. Hmm. That Kowtow Cleave move… it charged a lot of dark energy to use it. Could it… be both Steel AND Dark?

If it is then… I have the perfect soldier.

"Let's do this! Heracross!"

"HRA-CROSS!"

Geeta gasped. "Kingambit, quickly! Full power! Zen Headbutt!"

Kingambit launched a powerful psychic-powered headbutt into Heracross, which did a good chunk of super effective damage on the huge bug but not enough to keep it from standing.

"CROSS!" Heracross cried defiantly.

That sounded like a desperate move… And it was Psychic too. That means…

Katy gasped.

She knows that Heracross is part Fighting! And if that bit made her scared, then that also means…

"Ooooh," she found herself cooing out loud. "Alright, Heracross. No holding back, my little soldier. Dethrone that tyrant with a good ol' Close Combat!"

"ROSS!"

Heracross swiftly flew to Kingambit and started hitting it with a flurry of hard punches. Normally, such a hasty attack would leave it wide open to a good hit afterwards but…

This one didn't even get the chance.

"Raaahhh…"

"The king has fallen," Katy declared confidently. "And I think this whole kingdom is about to crumble with it!"

Geeta chuckled out loud. She had to give that cleverness to Katy.

"Don't think you've won yet, dear," Geeta smiled evilly. "A kingdom is still as strong as its standing Queen. And on that note… what kind of queen doesn't love fine jewelry?"

Her last Poké Ball. With an assured grin, Geeta chucked it out onto the field.

"GloooOOOoooOOOooo!"

Glimmora's reverberated cry echoed over the arena. The crystalline flower Pokémon floated in the air blissfully, its beady yellow eyes looking innocuous but seeming to hide a wealth of unknown power.

So that's Glimmora, her star Pokémon…

Katy knew to expect this one. Glimmora was considered one of La Primera's signature and toughest Pokémon. Katy had done her research into it on the way up, knowing that it was a Rock and Poison-type Pokémon, and that Geeta was said to love Terastallizing it into a pure Rock powerhouse.

Rock moves are pretty devastating on Bug Pokémon, this much Katy knew to be true. But she was two-for-one on this luminous creature, and if there was any time to make a final stand, it was now.

"We're not afraid of a delicate flower!" Katy boasted, psyching herself up more than anything. "Show her, Heracross! Spin up another Close Combat!"

This was a huge gamble. Katy knew that Close Combat wouldn't do as much damage thanks to Glimmora's Poison typing. She also knew that having Heracross use that move twice in a row was going to wear out its defenses very heavily.

But if I can just get it weakened enough to make a good dent, I could still take this home…

Heracross launched its blows against Glimmora. Glimmora took its beating, and as Katy expected, stuck out the whole rush of swings. But…

Then something unexpected happened.

For every punch Heracross landed, Glimmora would suddenly shoot out a bunch of purple barbs from its petals.

At the end of Heracross's attack… there were suddenly a whole lot of these bubbly spikes coating the whole arena around Katy and her blue beetle.

"Heh! Hahahaha!" Geeta laughed with a bite of malice in her voice. "And that… is how you set a wonderful trap, Katy. From now on… any other Pokémon you send out after Heracross will find itself instantly stricken with terrible poison. It's Glimmora's special ability. And… your final doom!" She finished off with a laugh befitting a supervillain!

Geez… She really does become a whole different person in battle. I've never gotten to see it up close before.

As scary as it is… I… kind of find it more admirable than her usual bossy no-nonsense attitude.

"Now Glimmora, I think it's about time to begin the final act. Hit Heracross with a Dazzling Gleam bright enough to make it see stars!"

Glimmora shrouded Heracross with a blinding flash of wonderous fairy energy. The Bug-Fighting Pokémon, already severely crippled from its overuse of Close Combat, could barely take the mystical barrage…

And sure enough, it was down for the count.

"Oh no…" Katy demurred, remembering what Geeta had just told her about switching in another Pokémon. "You did your best, my sweet angel. You did your best. But now we're left with no other option."

She bit her lip as she got ready to toss her final Ball.

"Ursaring… sweet mama bear… it's all up to you now."

Upon being called out, Ursaring tensed up, ready to give a mighty show-offy roar towards its glittery opponent, but then…

"URGG!"

Being sent out caused the poor bear to immediately step its feet right into the poison barbs on the floor. The sticky spikes latched onto its fur, and seeped a horrendous venom into Ursaring's skin. In an instant, it was afflicted with Poison.

"Urrgh…" Ursaring cried in distress.

"You can do this, you can do this, you can do this…" Katy desperately tried to assure it. "Don't let it get you down! You're still a strong fierce little mama!"

"Hrrrg!"

"That's the spirit! Now come on! Let's spread our wings and send Glimmora to the ground! Ursaring, use High Horsepower!"

"Heh," Geeta scoffed. "I had a feeling your Ursaring would know a move like that. It's time to get serious. Be the light that will put this silly nonsense to an end, Glimmora!"

With barely even a flinch on La Primera's side, her Tera Orb shimmered and sparkled as it surrounded Glimmora, encasing it in crystals before it burst with a large Tera Jewel in the shape of a rocky minecart upon its crystallized form.

Glimmora verbalized loudly and proudly, as if being covered in Tera crystals was a much more natural form for itself.

Once it had finished Terastallizing, Ursaring's High Horsepower landed. Katy was expecting it to do quadruple damage due to Glimmora's Rock and Poison typing, but post-Terastallizing, ir still left Glimmora alive and ready to finish the job.

"This has been a surprisingly well fought battle, Katy. Truly, I'm very impressed. But I'm afraid this is curtains for you. Glimmora… Tera Blast."

Glimmora's Tera Jewel glowed with wonderous energy as it supercharged the luminous Pokémon's next attack. Ursaring tried to take a defensive stance to absorb the blow, but was having trouble keeping itself in balance with the pain from the Poison coursing through its veins.

With a harmonizing cry, Glimmora harnessed the gathered Tera energy to fire down a shooting cascade of fiery rocks down onto Ursaring. The rockfall pulsed and pounded all around the bear unrelentingly.

By the time it finally stopped, Ursaring was struggling to stand.

"Urrr… urrrgh…"

"Come on…" Katy urged. "You can keep going… I believe in you."

With great effort, Ursaring managed to shake off the damage and remain standing upright.

"Yay!"

"-HURRG!"

…But then disaster struck. The Poison had built up too much inside of Ursaring, and sapped all its energy. Already severely weakened from the Tera Blast, Ursaring couldn't take any more punishment… and it fell to the ground. Fainted and defeated.

"Oh no." Katy gulped. "Ursaring… return."

With great reluctance, Katy recalled her fifth and final team member.

"Was that your last Pokémon, Katy?"

"I'm… I'm afraid, it—"

Katy closed her eyes as she tried to comprehend this. How hard she fought to make all of this happen… how determined she had been, to make it all right.

For her sake. But most especially for Larry's.

Only to fail in the end.

That newly rejuvenated confidence… misplaced after all.

"Wait a minute."

Katy had a sudden epiphany.

"No… that wasn't my last one."

She reached into her bag, and searched and searched and searched…

Then she felt it. And pulled it out.

The dusty little Premier Ball.

"Please…" she whispered to it. "Please, if there was any time to come out… This is was what you wanted all along, right? Please, please. I… I need your help to win this."

Katy grasped the Ball firmly and made a pose to throw.

"Lizzy… I CHOOSE YOU!"

Katy tossed Lizzy's Ball out onto the arena.

It hit the center of the stage with a thud… and then proceeded to lay there motionless.

Geeta and her Glimmora both looked down at it puzzled.

"Come on, come on, please, please, please."

Geeta sighed emphatically.

"I'm sorry dear, but… it looks like you don't have any more viable Pokémon to battle wi—"

"WAIT!"

Suddenly, the Ball began to shake and vibrate.

Little streaks of light started shining from between its cracks. And then…

*POP*

Katy and Geeta were instantly blinded as a huge burst of light exploded from inside the Ball.

The light shone and sparkled… until it finally parted, reflecting off a being's red, metallic armor. It drew its pincers inward, and then thrust them out to disperse all the light and reveal its shiny red insectoid body to the whole arena.

"SCIZORRRRRR!"

Katy was awestruck. Her eyes gleamed and glistened, and tears started streaming down her face.

"Lizzy… It's… it's really you…"

Scizor gently landed on the ground. It turned its head, looking at Katy from behind its shoulder. And with a proud nod, it cried out "Scizor!"

Geeta found herself stepping back a bit.

A Scizor…!? Since, when on earth did Katy own a Scizor?

Now wait a minute… Now that I'm recalling, back then, when I was looking through the letters from those students who said Cortondo's Gym was so hard…

A lot of them… specifically mentioned a Scizor, didn't they? They said it was very strong, and knew a lot of powerful moves.

Actually… yes. Didn't one of them go so far as to proclaim it the coolest Pokémon they'd ever seen?

She watched as Scizor made its first steady movements on the ground. Instantly, the Toxic Spikes still left over from Glimmora's debris tried to latch on to the new intruder. But, unlike with Ursaring, they couldn't penetrate through Scizor's steely legs.

Scizor looked down at the spikes. "Scizz!" With a huge air burst from its wings, it effortlessly scattered and dissipated all the vicious barbs from Katy's side of the field completely.

Katy, confident at this new display, balled her hand into a fist as she and her Scizor exchanged eager glances at each other.

"Let's do this."

Scizor nodded back. "SCIZOR!"

Geeta was even more spellbound.

Now I'm second guessing myself… Those letters, I might need to read back through them again. Were those students complaining about Katy's Scizor, or… complimenting it?

"Well, well, well…" she clapped. "So you're still full of surprises to the very end, Katy. It seems we're both down to our aces now, dear. There's nothing left but to draw and see who has the winning hand."

"Couldn't have said it better," Katy smiled. "Though perhaps… it's only fair I show off my last hat trick. Lizzy?"

"Scizz?"

"Let's Terastallize."

Katy held out her Tera Orb. It shook and sparkled in her hands, but she barely flinched, focused entirely on her mission. She tossed it in the air and Scizor became encased in crystals.

Geeta scoffed and turned to her Pokémon. "Well Glimmora, we know what's coming out of there. Time to charge up another Tera Blast to hit once it's fully Terastallized and lost its Steel typing."

Glimmora responded in kind and began to wind up another striking Tera Blast, this time against the Scizor, who burst out of the crystals, covered from head to toe in beautiful shining crystal skin…

…but rather than a giant pair of green but antennae, as one might expect, a giant steel axe sat ominously over Scizor's head. Scizor cried out in triumph.

Katy drew a very wicked smile. "My little executioner."

Once more, Geeta felt blindsided.

"Steel Tera!? We really aren't playing by Gym Battle conventions today, are we?"

Katy chuckled deviously. "Call it a hidden advantage to becoming involved with someone who happens to have a lot of pull in the Treasure Eatery."

"If only we all could be so tactical when finding love," Geeta mumbled, amused.

Glimmora released its terrifying series of Tera-charged blows on the newly-Terastallized Scizor. Scizor braved the onslaught, its now purely Steel typing giving it a wealth of advantage over the Rock-empowered avalanche.

"Now Lizzy… let's give that rock-headed bully a real taste of power. Go! Iron Head!"

Scizor stood up, having taken the full brunt of that Tera Blast with only a minute amount of damage, and charged forward. With the power of the Tera Crystals giving it strength, it slid into Glimmora with a vicious iron-plated headbutt, rocking the crystalline flower violently.

It made a motion like it was breathing heavily, a behavior Geeta had rarely observed from her star Pokémon in battle.

"Glimmora! Do you still have strength?" Glimmroa faced its Trainer, and rose again, still ready to fight. "Then let's not show weakness! Put that brute in its place, and deliver a calamitous Earth Power!"

Glimmora charged back into the field, and started channeling energy from below the ground itself.

Scizor began to feel violent rumbling from beneath its feet.

"Stay vigilant, Scizor…" Katy warned. "This might hurt… Watch out!"

"SCIZZZ!"

Suddenly it was like the ground opened up underneath Scizor, and it was blasted by an insane stream of earthy, volcanic power. The explosive blast rushed Scizor's body, putting it in great turmoil and even making some of the crystals over its body crack.

By the end of it, Scizor was having trouble standing up. Severely weakened by the awesome strength of Glimmora's Ground move, it felt itself staggering to its knees, struggling to keep its eyes open.

"Sciz… Scizor…" it breathed weakly.

"Lizzy…" Katy cried desperately. "Don't let this be the end… You've gotta get up!"

Geeta smirked. "I think this is finally it."

Katy ran by her ailing Scizor's side, kneeling to speak to her oldest companion at eye-level.

"Lizzy, please. If we can win this battle here, today, it will be… the most important, most meaningful victory to me since that day I've treasured. When we won our first Gym Battle together?"

She reached into her satchel and pulled out the photo frame to show her partner. She stared fondly at her young happy self, and her team… the vibrant Scyther in her party celebrating more than anyone else.

"You remember that day, right?"

"Scizzz…"

Katy sighed. "I believe in you! You have to pull through. Like you did in the Tagtree Thicket. Think of it just like that fateful day… This is just another poisonous bully to fight off."

Scizor began to cry.

"Please…" Katy whispered soothingly to it. "I need your help."


"Thank goodness we found that Pokémon Center in the nick of time. You're all healed up, Scyther!"

A young child-aged Katy, still reeling from her terrifying experience in Tagtree Thicket, stood at the dark forest's entrance once more.

The Scyther that saved her life from that wild pack of Grafaiai stood by, fully healed from its injuries. It rubbed its huge scythe-like pincer.

Katy looked between her savior and its brush-filled home. The screeches of more wild Pokémon inside reverberated through the trees.

She sighed. "So I guess… this is it. You're going back inside now, right? Back home to your own family?"

Scyther's eyes popped. It growled, a little sadly, and turned away from the young girl.

"You… you do have a family in that forest, right?"

Scyther turned its head slightly, and just gave a soft cry in return.

Katy was immediately saddened. "Wait! Don't—don't tell me that you're all alone! That you've been in that dark, scary forest in there all this time by yourself!"

Scyther silently nodded.

"Well, that's not fair!" Katy pleaded. "Nobody deserves to be all alone in the world, human or Pokémon!" The Scyther only murmured in response. "Maybe… maybe you should come home with me."

"Scy?" The huge green bug turned towards young Katy, surprised.

"Yeah… I mean, I might have to convince my parents, but… but if I tell them what happened back there, and how you saved my life…" She gulped apprehensively. "They'd probably ground me if I told them the whole truth, so I might have to… lie a little. But, I think they'll still let me keep you."

"Scy-aiii…"

"Oh!" Katy reached frantically in her pockets. "I had it right here… Oh no, please tell me I didn't drop it in the forest… Ah-ha! Found it!"

She pulled out a shiny Premier Ball.

"This is… this is a special Poké Ball that my dad got. We don't have a whole lot of money, but he saved up to buy a lot of Poké Balls just so he could get this special one and he gave it to me as a gift for when I catch my first Pokémon. I took it with me in the forest for good luck, but…"

She looked hopefully at the tall bug Pokémon. "Maybe, maybe there was another reason I brought it with me today."

"…Scy."

The Scyther looked apprehensively at Katy, and at the Ball in her hands.

"I want to start catching lots of Pokémon and take on all the Gyms someday. I want to be the best, most strongest trainer in the Paldea region! We can fight all sorts of fun battles together, and have picnics, and become best friends! So what do you say… Scyther?"

She held out the Premier Ball in her hands.

"Will you… will you be my first partner?"

Scyther stood there, contemplating, as the Ball opened up. After a few seconds of hesitation… Scyther touched the Ball with its pincer, and went inside.

The Ball shook and shook for a few seconds… before turning red to indicate a successful capture.

"I'm so glad!" Katy beamed. "We're going to have so much fun together!"

An affirmative cry sounded from inside.

"And you're a girl! I really wanted my first partner to be a girl! Now what to name you? Hmmm…"

She thought about the way Scyther effortlessly cut through the Grafaiai hoard and its attacks. Its twin pincers swung at them like a vicious pair of strong scizzors…

"Scissors? Nah, that's kinda lame. I think… I'll call you… LIZZY!"


"SCIZZ!"

With a sudden burst of renewal, Katy watched in awe as Lizzy shook off its weakness and stood up straight again.

"…Lizzy?"

Lizzy looked towards her now all grown up Katy. Remembering its promise, that it was always going to protect her from more danger just like it did when they first met… Lizzy nodded strongly at Katy, and then spread her wings.

And leapt up into the sky. Katy and Geeta both looked up awestruck.

Then, Lizzy focused her sights, and targeted Glimmora.

"…SCIZOR!"

With a sudden bout of great iron-plated fury, its Tera Jewel powered up, it swooped in towards Glimmora like a flying missile, its eyes gleamed with fierce determination, and then…

"SCIZORRRRRRR!"

*BOOOOOOOM*

"!"


Larry gasped, startled awake by a loud chime from his phone.

He looked around at Katy's empty living room, and the couch he was still sitting on.

Did I… did I fall asleep here? What time is it?

Katy's Venonat heard his gasp and cheerfully ran in to greet her friend. Larry wearily patted it on the head.

"I really do sleep well here, don't I?" he snickered.

He dug his phone out of his pocket and saw he had just received a new email from Geeta.

"Oh, joy…" he muttered.

He opened his phone to read it, and his eyes furrowed as he scanned the words.

There's been an update. Please ignore the changes I said were going to be happening after the meeting we had today. Instead, your job details will remain the same for now.

We can host an appointment at a later date to discuss these issues again in greater detail. I'll be keeping you posted.

Sincerely, Geeta

"…What?"

Larry rubbed his eyes to make sure he read the message right. His eyes continued to leer in utter confusion.

"She's… taking it all back? That doesn't make any sense. I've never known Geeta to go back on any of her decisions before. She treats her word as the final matter and never says anything about it again."

Venonat titled its head and purred inquisitively.

"I don't even understand what could've changed between then and now to make her…" he started to look around the sun-lit room. "…reconsider."

Larry stood up cautiously. He looked out at the huge beam of sunlight coming in from the window.

"Hmmm. I must've been asleep for more than an hour if the sun's going down. And… Katy still isn't back yet? I thought she was just getting stuff from the bakery."

Venonat hopped over, curious. Larry looked at it with a troubled expression.

"Something's not right."

He decided to get up and walk out of the house.

Cortondo was cast completely orange from the bright sunset. The last of the open businesses in town were wrapping up, and a few people littered the streets, heading home from their long day of work.

Larry ran across the street. Much to his concern, the Artisan Bakery was right where he thought he had seen it before… just a block or two down from Katy's house.

Out of breath, he got to the storefront and saw the shopkeeper flipping a sign on her door to say "CLOSED".

"Excuse me," he called out to her, panting. "Did… did Katy come to your shop at all this evening?"

Margaret just shook his head. "Mmm, no. No, she didn't. But if you're wondering where she went, I don't think you'll find her in town right now. I spotted her a couple of hours ago calling a cab and flying off somewhere that-a way."

She pointed up towards where the fields of the Grand Olive Orchard lay looking out over Cortondo… and the mountains above them, housing the Pokémon League building somewhere in the cliffs above.

Larry looked up, still gathering his breath, as Venonat strode up to him. It gave a questioning purr. Larry turned to face it, with a very grim look on his face.

"Something's rotten in the town of Dendemille, Venonat."