Operation GEAR: The Angel of Reckoning

by The Great Butler

A girl and her friends set out on a search for truth in a land torn apart by political and religious strife. However, they are unaware of what they are stepping into: the grasp of a terrifying, inescapable enemy that aims to bring down mankind's greatest achievement, the Pokemon League. Soon, the truth becomes clouded, and a desperate struggle for survival begins.

33. Ride Like the Wind

Nothing exceptional to warn for in this chapter, it's going to be a pretty typical one.

-:-

CHAPTER 31: Ride Like the Wind

-:-

Anabel and Renzo's battle would have been the talk of the town by the next morning if it had been in front of a camera. But it wasn't, and since Victory Station had no opportunity to broadcast it, only those who had been in the Dragon's Den to witness it knew what had happened. Nekou and Olivia, sitting together on a bench near the hotel, thus existed in their own little bubble, disconnected from the people coming and going around them. Only Marie, Nekou's Sneasel, shared the space with them, though she was too preoccupied snacking on the Rage Candy Bar Nekou had given her to pay the two humans much mind.

"So this last one is the one everyone says you gotta worry about," Nekou said to Olivia, showing the girl her phone's screen. The device displayed footage of a Kingdra fighting a Hitmontop on a battlefield split down the middle by a pool of water. The two Pokémon were facing off in the midst of a powerful rainfall. "This is her ace, the one she uses in every single battle without fail. Kingdra uses Rain Dance to turn the environment in its favor, you see? Then it follows up with moves like Scald and Hurricane. Clair has a rep for systematically dismantling her opponents like that. Can't let your guard down 'round her for even a second."

After taking a sip from the cup of juice she held, Olivia replied, "I'll have to worry about whatever other three Clair ends up using, but I think I've got an idea for Kingdra." Olivia moved to take another sip of her juice, but ended up squeezing the cup in her hand instead. Scowling down at it, she mumbled, "That might be the only good thing that came out of yesterday. How can he talk to us like that… who does he think he is?"

"Renzo, huh?" As Olivia nodded to confirm her suspicion, Nekou availed herself of her own beverage, a thermos of the Sonata Coffee Matt had bought for her back in Olivine. The flavor she so loved filled her mouth, bringing her a sense of comfort that helped keep her usual confidence up. "I tell ya, you can't let guys like him get under your skin, y'know? If he doesn't have the chops to just say why he hates you and Anabel so much, then you can't do anything for him. He has to handle his own shit."

Olivia took a moment to let Nekou's advice sink in, then turned and smiled at her. "Thanks, I needed that. I just have to clear my head and focus today."

"That's right," Nekou agreed, clasping the younger girl's shoulder. "Don't worry, I've got your back. We all do."

-:-

Despite Nekou's assurances to Olivia, Renzo was not, in fact, handling his own shit.

His loss to Anabel had shattered him far more than any of them realized, driving him straight into Polaris's waiting arms. Finansielle brought him to the cult's headquarters from the Ice Path, but even as he followed her down the corridors deep in the bowels of the temple, he remained unsure of what exactly he was going to do. To a degree, what he was experiencing felt unreal. He knew only one thing to definitively be true in that moment - that the hallway, no matter how long it went on, would lead to the man at the core of his entire obsession. Finansielle had promised him that. They were on their way to meet with Father, and Renzo was not entirely sure how he'd react once they finally saw each other face-to-face.

"Well, we're here, Lorenzo," Finansielle said to him as she stopped at the door to Father's office, earning an irritated glare in return. She had a feeling her teasing had provoked him even though his hat hid his eyes, but at the same time, that was exactly what she wanted. Such mind games would keep Renzo off balance, and thus vulnerable. "Beyond this door lies your fate, the destiny you've waited your entire life for."

"You aren't allowed to use my real name," he so badly wanted to say, though he chose to remain silent. In just the day or so they'd spent together, he'd already developed a dislike of Finansielle thanks to her smug, carefree demeanor. It drove him up the wall, yet she was a necessary resource in his pursuit of revenge against Anabel and Olivia, so he forced himself to tolerate it. "Let's go," was all he ended up telling her.

"Someone's eager…"

Ignoring Renzo audibly scoffing at her continued teasing, Finansielle pressed the button to open the doorway, allowing herself and her recruit passage into their leader's den. As he entered, Renzo couldn't help but lose his focus and marvel at the grandeur of Father's office. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before, from its cavernous size to the glowing sculptures. The gigantic aquarium in the back was by far what stunned him the most, giving him the sensation of standing on the ocean floor as he watched its residents contentedly swim within.

He found himself fixated on one of the Milotic in the aquarium, and watching it guided his gaze downward, where he finally spotted Father. The cult's leader was seated calmly behind his desk, patiently waiting with his hands folded. In that moment, as he took in the man's appearance for the first time in person, Renzo was struck by just how small he seemed. How weak.

After a lifetime of building him up into an almost mythological figure, the sight disgusted Renzo more than anything he could imagine.

"Come in," Father urged him, sitting perfectly calm and still. "I have waited to meet you for a long time, my child."

"Don't you dare," Renzo sneered back, although he continued to approach. "You don't have the right to talk to me like that. Not after what you did to my mother and I."

"I understand."

"Do you?!" His years of anger boiling over, Renzo slammed his hands down on the desk. "Do you have any idea what we went through? Did you think those people you worked for would just let us keep everything they gave you after you took off? You're an idiot! A complete idiot! They took it away from us, they took it all away! We ended up back on the streets in Pyrite, and do you think she could get her old job back? I had to watch her slowly poison herself to death while you moved on and lived in luxury! How can you say you understand when you've never had to live like I have?! And what do you dare to think you can do to make up for all of that now?"

Father sighed, the sound muffled by his helmet. "Lorenzo… no, I will not disrespect you in such a way. Not anymore. Renzo is the name you have chosen for yourself, so… Renzo. It may be hard for you to believe, but I know everything you've experienced. Everything you've fought through. The Oracle told me everything."

Finansielle snickered to herself, but Renzo failed to notice and Father chose not to acknowledge it.

"Everything," Father repeated for emphasis. "You are a survivor, Renzo. You fought the odds for years, against everything this world threw at you. For what it's worth, I'm deeply sorry you had to go through it all. Now is the time when that changes. Polaris can lead you to salvation."

"There is nothing you can do to undo what you caused." Renzo huffed and pivoted away from Father. "This has just been a waste of my time. I don't even know why I came here. Did I really think it was possible to talk sense into you? Even Clair gave me more of a chance than you."

"You will never accomplish your dreams if you go back to her," the cult leader gravely informed him. "This, too, was a fact the Oracle revealed to me. Your dream is to obtain a Dragonite because it was your mother's favorite Pokémon and use it to prove your worth by crushing those who wronged you, is it not?"

Renzo froze where he stood. Of course Father knew Dragonite was his mother's favorite Pokémon, but to be aware of what his specific dream actually was? For that to be possible, the Oracle that Father kept citing would have to be legitimate. And if that was true, what else of what he claimed also had merit?

"What are you saying?" Renzo asked, his defenses beginning to break.

"I'm saying that together, we can make your dreams come true. That is the salvation Polaris can offer you. Allow me to show you what that means."

Father pressed a button on his desk, activating the hologram projectors hidden in some of his office's helix sculptures. Together, the devices conjured the image of Colress in his laboratory.

"Oh!" the mad scientist exclaimed, noticing the transmission. "Father! Finansielle! To what do I owe this most wonderful honor?"

"Colress, this is the trainer I've told you I planned to recruit," Father explained. "Renzo, I would like you to meet Doctor Colress Antimony, Polaris's head scientist."

Renzo grimaced behind his scarf as Colress delivered an absolute monologue of a greeting, going on at length about himself, his work, and how lucky Renzo was to get to play a part in it. Behind him, Father and Finansielle glanced at each other, both having expected exactly the sort of display they were seeing. Neither thought it worthwhile to intervene, choosing instead to just let Colress ramble on.

For his part, Renzo cursed his luck. Finansielle had been bad enough with her deliberate teasing and provoking, but he could tell within seconds of meeting Colress that the researcher was simply unhinged. What had he gotten himself into? Sure, he had willingly followed Finansielle into the headquarters of a cult threatening the very foundations of society, yet being subject to Colress's abject lunacy was what truly got under his skin.

"Forgive me for asking," Renzo finally said, although he felt immediate disgust for making such a request of Father, "but why do I need to know him?"

"Doctor Colress is overseeing a research program designed to draw out the true strength of Pokémon," Father replied, "and Polaris is assisting his work. You are, obviously, someone who has a vested interest in possessing powerful Pokémon… so your dream can come true."

Renzo was so caught off guard by Father's implicit offer that he couldn't speak. Ironically enough, it was Colress that came to his rescue. Their conversation had caught the scientist's attention by that time, prompting him to interrupt his vain diatribe and listen in.

"Yes, yes, that is true," he said, smugly adjusting his visor. "Once upon a time, my research was funded by Team Plasma, but that Ghetsis… he was too small-minded to help pave the way to my goals. Polaris, on the other hand… they appreciate the magnitude of what I'm trying to accomplish."

Running out of patience, Renzo snarled, "Would you please get to the point already?!"

"Aha. Lady Finansielle, I like this one's spirit." Colress tucked his hands into his pockets, shut his eyes, and smiled. "I cannot divulge all my methods, not yet. But what I will tell you is this. The Pokémon I will create… they will be augmented to have strength their peers would be lucky just to envy!"

"Show him what one of your first end-stage test subjects is," Finansielle interjected, her tone as playful as always.

"Oh, right, right. I almost forgot!" Dashing out of view, Colress could be heard punching commands into a computer just off camera. A large tank several feet behind where he had been standing became visible, its soft blue light illuminating a silhouette within. "Finansielle really does know everything, I'll tell you that now. That's how I knew to prepare this for you."

Renzo could no longer hold back any of his emotions once he saw the creature floating in the tank, and his mouth fell open. There was no mistaking the shape. Its bulky body, round snout, small wings and long tail all made it perfectly clear.

Sleeping inside the tank was a Dragonite.

"This Dragonite we will give to you as a gesture of our good faith," Father informed Renzo, who was too stunned to even turn around. "Together, we will make your dreams come true."

-:-

A single light lit up the darkness of Blackthorn Gym, illuminating Fran as she stood on a platform just off to the side of the darkened battlefield. Matt, Nekou, Anabel and Amanda observed from the bleachers behind her.

"Ahem." Fran cleared her throat and fidgeted on the platform. Clair had called on her to officiate battles before, but it was a job she had yet to settle in to. Still, though, she was determined to learn. She announced to those present, "We'll… we'll be getting started with this official Blackthorn City Gym battle! Introducing the challenger, Olivia of Sootopolis City!"

Another spotlight lit up on one end of the battlefield, beckoning Olivia to the position she'd been assigned. It felt like a lifetime ago that she faced Helena in Olivine City, and with every step she took toward the light, another memory of what happened since then resurfaced. Finding out that Nekou, her close friend, had been a Team Rocket spy from the beginning, for one. Her misunderstanding with her mother, which had sent her on such a downward spiral that she could feel herself turning into a different person inside and out was another. And over it all loomed the specter of her father, the one man driving both her own determination and the cult seemingly set on destroying everything she was working for.

But on the other hand, were things really as bad as they seemed? She'd patched things up with Anabel once they were able to sit down and actually talk, and now they were both on the same page, so she felt like she had the support she so thirsted for. Nekou, meanwhile, was still there in the stands, holding the same thermos of coffee from earlier and flashing her a bright, encouraging smile. That much hadn't changed at all. Even before Nekou had outed herself, she always was on Olivia's side, and clearly there was some reason she was still around with the truth out there. Not only that, she reminded herself, but Nekou had blown her cover specifically to get Olivia help for her seizures. That much proved she was genuine, as far as Olivia cared. As for her father, well, between herself, Nekou, Anabel, Matt and Amanda, she was sure they'd figure something out.

"And the Gym Leader of Blackthorn Gym…" Fran declared once Olivia was in position, "Clair!"

Unlike her challenger, Clair was already in place when the rest of the room illuminated. She harbored no doubt about where she belonged. There had been plenty of trials along the way, that much was true, and she certainly had quite a ways to go when it came to proving herself to Lance. Oh, how she hungered to be out of her cousin's shadow and hear him admit her talent. But he wasn't the Blackthorn Gym Leader, she was. She was the Gym Leader and she was proud of it.

"It's about time, Olivia," Clair said, placing her hands firmly on her hips. "I've wanted to see what you're made of for a long time."

Olivia understood that the 'long time' Clair spoke of was the time she spent tutoring Renzo and hearing about his hatred of her, but chose not to raise the issue. "Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" she quipped instead.

"Ha! No matter!" Just one way Clair had grown over time was the way she was able to laugh, instead of remaining deadly serious before a battle. Despite that, too much fire still coursed through her veins, and her next words were ones she'd spoken many times before. "As a Gym Leader, I will use my full power against any opponent!"

Fran took a deep breath to center herself. Even though she wasn't a competitor in the battle itself, she still felt like she had something to prove, too. Her test was to officiate the match, and even though she was nervous, she felt equal determination to show she could do it.

"Alright, the rules," she announced to Olivia, Clair and the spectators. "As the challenger currently possesses four Gym Badges, this shall be a Single Battle with four Pokémon used by each side. The Gym Leader will not be allowed to exchange Pokémon, and the battle will be over when all four of one side's Pokémon cannot continue. Now, we'll… we'll get started. And… go!"

Olivia's need to live up to expectations as both a rival and a daughter. Clair's wish to escape from Lance's shadow. Fran's goal of being the best student she could be. All that tension finally erupted when Fran gave her hand signal, setting in motion the events that would eventually lead to some sort of resolution.

"Dragonair, let's go!"

"Stoutland, I need you!"

Both Clair and Olivia pitched their respective Poké Ball at the same time. Stoutland emerged from the burst of light on Olivia's side, thumping heavily against the floor as Clair's Dragonair gracefully floated down opposite him. He turned and slowly stalked to Olivia's left, warily eyeing Dragonair. Even with the pool of water that bisected the battlefield separating them, and in spite of Dragonair's gentle aura, Stoutland sensed she had plenty up her proverbial sleeve.

"Weather manipulation and graceful movements," Olivia recalled, thinking back to her studying with Nekou earlier that day. "Dragonair uses its serpentine body to evade and attack at the same time…"

"Has she got a grip on this?" Matt wondered, watching Olivia shift her weight back and forth.

"Have some confidence, would you?" Nekou teasingly said, clapping him on the back with her free hand. "Take it from me. She's got this."

Matt smiled, albeit weakly. "Yeah, you're right."

Clair, meanwhile, could sense Olivia's intense focus. "A Stoutland, huh?" she probed, putting her right hand against her hip. "An interesting choice, if you're aiming for the top. We'll see what you've got."

"Ready?" Fran raised her arm into the air, then brought it sharply downward. "Go!"

"Stoutland…" There were two things Olivia was certain of in that moment. She knew that Clair's Pokémon were not to be trifled with, and accordingly, she knew she couldn't waste any time going on the offensive. "Play Rough!"

Olivia and her Pokémon had more than worked hard to prepare for the next Gym Leader they'd face, and now that Stoutland found himself face-to-face with Clair, he wasn't about to fall short. With a howl that resonated through the room, he bound across the pool, landing on one of the circular platforms in it before pouncing directly in Dragonair's direction.

"Making use of those Fairy-type moves? Clever, but not enough alone. Dragonair, Rain Dance!"

Olivia's studying had indicated Dragonair was known for her ability to attack and dodge at the same time, and with her very first action, the Dragon-type made clear how she earned that reputation. She stretched and twisted her lithe form around Stoutland, leaving the canine to jump at empty air. That same action set off a blue shimmer around her, and by the time Stoutland landed, dark clouds had gathered overhead.

"You were smart to try turning what Polaris did to your advantage," Clair said as rain started to fall, turning the arena's atmosphere humid and harsh. "But in the end," she asserted, not flinching at all under the downpour, "they're just a type of move like any other. I wouldn't be doing my job as Gym Leader if I didn't prepare for them."

The showers weren't the only product of Dragonair's Rain Dance. A strong, sustained wind whipped up around the battlefield, and by spreading out the wings on her head, Dragonair caught it and let it carry her up into the air. She circled above the field, and even though her chanting was soft and her movements elegant, both Olivia and Stoutland understood it to be a display of power.

"So," Clair inquired, giving Olivia a sharp look, "what will you do now?"

"That's a good question…" A bead of sweat rolled down Olivia's face as she watched Dragonair fly overheard, blending in with the rain pelting her. "How do I get Stoutland up there… come on, think. If I can't get through this, what chance is there for later on?"

Finally, an idea popped into Olivia's head, exciting her so much that she reflexively stomped her foot. A tiny splash of rain water kicked up on the floor around her shoe.

"Stoutland, use Strength on the floor beneath you and get up there! Give it everything you've got!"

It took a second, but once Stoutland understood what Olivia wanted him to do, he eagerly barked in agreement. His muscles swelled as he tensed his body up, and once Dragonair circled back into view, he leaped with all the force he could muster, leaving tiny cracks in the ground.

"That's it!" Olivia cheered him on. "Now catch Dragonair with Crunch!"

"It won't be that easy!" Clair countered, pushing forward with her right arm. "Scale Shot!"

For all of the enthusiasm Olivia and Stoutland shared, Clair and Dragonair still outpaced them with sheer practice. The Normal-type canine had barely reached eye level with his opponent before she surrounded herself in a coat of green, glowing scales, which she then launched like missiles into him. Their impact overwhelmed what momentum he had, sending him crashing back down to the floor without ever getting within reach of his target. Dragonair wasn't done with him yet, either. He'd barely hit the ground before she had another coat of the shimmering scales ready to launch, and howled when she hit his flank with them.

Matt, Nekou and Anabel watched from the sidelines as Dragonair resumed her circling, while Amanda stayed attuned to what was happening through careful listening.

"Wait a minute," Matt quietly said, squinting to make sure his perception was correct. "Is it just me or is Dragonair flying even faster now?"

"Scale Shot is a move that increases the user's speed at the cost of its physical defense," Anabel replied, tenting her fingers. "That means Olivia would have a better chance to do some damage… if she could land a hit."

If she could land a hit. That exact same sentiment occupied the minds of both mother and daughter, even if only Anabel was consciously aware of it. Olivia, too, had caught notice of Dragonair's faster pace, and she was deeply torn on how to handle it. Midair was Dragonair's domain, that much was undisputed. But if Stoutland couldn't meet her on her own turf, what options were available?

Olivia's hand wandered toward Stoutland's Poké Ball, but before she could take it up, Clair cut her off. Her indecision had gotten under the hotheaded Gym Leader's skin, and even though Clair was no longer as quick to anger as she once was, some of that still ran through her.

"Olivia…" she scolded with arms crossed, "there's no room for such hesitation in a battle like this! You must choose a course of action and commit to it! Dragonair, just use Bubble Beam!"

The next words out of Olivia's mouth came purely by reflex. "It's behind you, Stoutland! Dodge it!"

That warning bought Olivia some precious time. As Stoutland leaped forward, avoiding the stream of bubbles Dragonair spat at him, an idea finally clicked in her head.

"That's right," she thought, going back to the video clips of Clair's team Nekou had shown her. "Scale Shot, Rain Dance, Bubble Beam, and one more… the only one where Dragonair will come to me!" Stepping forward and clenching her fists, Olivia called out, "Just pay attention to where Dragonair is, Stoutland!"

"Just knowing where Dragonair is won't get you anywhere, Olivia!" Even though she'd grown as a trainer and a Gym Leader, Clair's hot-blooded nature still made her susceptible to getting carried away in the heat of battle, and seeing Olivia's seemingly passive tactic led her right into it. "Show her, Dragonair! Use Bubble Beam again!"

This time, Dragonair twisted to a stop over Fran's head before unleashing her foamy torrent at Stoutland's right flank. Despite the serpentine dragon's agility, however, Olivia and Stoutland were ready.

"Jump to the left!" Olivia called out, a direction Stoutland promptly followed.

"Hmph! You can't keep dodging forever." Clair turned her right hand upward and dismissively flicked it open. "Dragonair, show her. Dragon Rush!"

"That's it! Stoutland, grab it with Crunch!"

By the time Clair realized she had been led into a trap, it was too late. Dragonair had already moved to dive-bomb Stoutland, her body cloaked in a blue aura that took on a draconic shape. She couldn't pull out of the move, and Stoutland easily sidestepped it, having anticipated the angle of her attack. As Dragonair sailed harmlessly past him, he sank her fangs into her tail, making her cry out.

"Dragonair!" Clair shouted, her cocky attitude immediately turned on its head. "Come on, pull out of that! Scale Shot!"

Another coat of scales formed around Dragonair, but before she could launch them, Olivia gave Stoutland his next command. "Throw Dragonair down and use Play Rough!"

The canine Normal-type jumped up with a snarl, dragging his nemesis along with him. She tried to pull herself from his fangs by beating her wings, but she failed to free herself before Stoutland somersaulted in midair, flinging her down against the floor. He landed on top of her with crushing force mere seconds later, and when he backed off, Dragonair remained still.

"D-Dragonair is unable to continue!" Fran announced, initially stunned by the defeat of Clair's first Pokémon.

"That's one…" Olivia said with a sigh of relief, wiping the rain from her face. "Great work, Stoutland!"

Stoutland met his trainer's praise with a cheerful yet tired bark, indicating to Olivia that he wanted to take a rest. She obliged, holding up his Poké Ball to recall him at the same time Clair carried out an identical act for her fallen Dragonair.

The rain came to an end, the clouds breaking up as they squeezed out their last drops of precipitation. Clair, however, paid the clearing weather no mind. Her heart and soul were burning hot enough to repel the sensation of the dying rainfall, her attention instead squarely focused upon the sphere in her hand.

At one time, she would have let her emotions get the better of her. She was the mighty Gym Leader of Blackthorn Gym, after all. Who was Olivia to dare come out victorious over her prized Dragonair? Yet, the more she stared at the ball, the more her hot-blooded nature cooled. She was the mighty Blackthorn Gym Leader, indeed - but the years of training she'd undertaken over the course of career hadn't just made her Pokémon stronger. Her control over her temper had grown, too. No longer was she the easily provoked Gym Leader who would bitterly send trainers that defeated her on wild goose chases. Now she was dead set on the goal of surpassing Lance, and if she encountered losses along the way, she finally was able to see them as the important stepping stones they were.

"I'm impressed, Olivia," she finally said, admitting how she truly felt deep down. "You got under my skin and made it pay off. But let me warn you… it's still early."

Clair had fetched a new Poké Ball from under her cape in the time she had been addressing Olivia, and upon finishing her warning, threw it. What emerged from it was similar to Dragonair, at least in the sense that her long, serpentine body was mostly blue in color.

The difference lie in their sizes. Clair's second Pokémon was much bigger than her first, standing tall over the field as she shook the room with a mighty roar. Almost as soon as the Gyarados appeared, though, one of Olivia's own Poké Balls opened by itself, and Flaaffy materialized in front of her.

Olivia shouted out to Flaaffy, but whatever it was she said, the Electric-type sheep did not hear. There was only one voice sounding in Flaaffy's head, blocking out all else - that of her old trainer, the boy who released her in the National Park as a Mareep. It felt like that had been a lifetime ago, and yet, some of his promises remained in her mind, as clear as crystal. She still remembered being in Violet City's Pokémon Center the night he caught her, as if it had just happened the day before.

"When we get to Blackthorn City, you're gonna be the one who battles Clair's Gyarados," he had sworn to her. "I bet by then you'll have evolved into Flaaffy! Maybe you'll even be an Ampharos? No matter what, it's gonna be you, and I know you'll win, Mareep!"

Sure, they may not have ended up getting along. But there was one thing Flaaffy still held on to, as she faced up at Gyarados towering over her without an ounce of fear in her eyes.

She would be the one to defeat Gyarados. It didn't matter for whom, nor did it matter that she'd never met Gyarados before that moment. This was going to be a personal fight, and Flaaffy was determined to be the one to walk away victorious.

"-der Wave!" Olivia's voice finally broke through to Flaaffy, and even though she only partially heard the command, it was enough for her to understand what Olivia wanted her to do.

"Counter it with Thunder!" Clair immediately responded.

Flaaffy and Gyarados both launched electricity at each other, but the blast unleashed by Clair's Pokémon easily won out, breaking straight through Flaaffy's golden rings and directly striking her. She was able to shrug off the worst of its effects, though, shaking her head back and forth to keep her senses honed. Gritting her teeth, she realized Gyarados would be a tougher opponent than she had calculated at first - and then she grinned.

"This is going to be something," Nekou remarked to the others with her in the stands, taking note of Flaaffy's expression. "Flaaffy was a real hellion even back before she evolved… remember how bloodthirsty she was? She was spoiling for a real fight and now she's got it."

Clair, too, sensed the intensity of Flaaffy's determination. Between that and the obvious type disadvantage Gyarados had, she knew they couldn't toy around. "Incinerate!" cried the Gym Leader, thrusting her arm forth.

Gyarados turned toward the ceiling, a ball of fire welling up in her mouth. She spit it at Flaaffy while lashing her head back down to put additional force behind it, but Flaaffy didn't flinch, facing it head-on.

Olivia caught Flaaffy's clear gesture of trust in her and responded to it in kind. "If you want to fight, go for it!" she shouted in encouragement.

That was all Flaaffy needed to hear. Instead of fleeing from the oncoming fireball, she ran straight toward it, only weaving out of its way at nearly the last possible minute. Her wool got slightly singed by the heat, but the sensation was so minor that Flaaffy easily ignored it, and she made use of the fireball's explosion behind her to propel her ever closer to Gyarados. Clair's Pokémon, surprised by her much smaller rival's daring, spat several more fireballs, only for Flaaffy to evade those, too. She was upon Gyarados almost before the Water-and-Flying-type fully realized it.

"There you go, Flaaffy! Thunderbolt!"

With a snarl fueled half by cocky confidence and half by her compulsion toward fighting, Flaaffy jumped up and released an electric blast that rivaled Gyarados's in intensity. The charge tore up and down through Gyarados's serpentine body, making her thrash and roar in a fruitless attempt to shake it off.

"There, that's a clean hit!" Anabel exclaimed. Next to her, Amanda covered her own ears to protect them from Gyarados's pained shriek. "If Olivia can keep that up, she might be able to get through this without too much trouble."

Thinking back to her review with Olivia from that morning, Nekou gently teased, "So you're the one getting excited this time, huh? We shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves here, but she is doing a pretty good job."

"Tch…" Clair scowled, recognizing she'd put too much faith in Incinerate by itself. That was yet another of Lance's lessons that she'd learned the hard way, never to put all of one's expectations into a single move. And since she had to learn that lesson, Clair decided that Olivia had to as well. "Cut it down with Power Whip!"

Leaping into the air had given Flaaffy an excellent vantage point for shocking Gyarados, but neither she nor Olivia had calculated for how vulnerable to counterattack it left her. Even in the midst of being electrocuted, Gyarados was able to focus energy into her barbels and make them take on a shimmering green hue, then lash Flaaffy with them. The sheep bleated in surprise, her Thunderbolt ceasing almost instantly.

"Flaaffy!" Olivia flinched, having felt the blow inflicted upon Flaaffy in her bones as if she herself had been hammered by Gyarados's Power Whip. Her daze, however, proved to be short-lived. Something moved into her line of sight that caught her attention, and when she squinted at it, she couldn't help but gasp at what she was seeing.

Flaaffy, despite having been hit with great force, was holding on to Gyarados's barbel for dear life. Even as the great sea serpent thrashed back and forth, Flaaffy refused to yield, her toothy, vicious grin conveying her unhinged enjoyment of the clash.

"You're just crazy, Flaaffy," Olivia chuckled, shaking her head in bemused resignation. Up in the stands, Matt and Nekou exchanged similar glances with each other. "If you want to fight up close," she continued, "this is your chance! Thunderbolt!"

Sensing that the tide was quickly starting to turn against her, Clair rushed to counter Olivia's move. "Gyarados, protect yourself with Thunder!"

Like they had in their initial exchange, both Flaaffy and Gyarados expelled electricity from their bodies. There was one marked difference - Flaaffy was no longer holding back. She'd been aiming only to paralyze Gyarados when she used Thunder Wave. Now? She was shooting to kill and wished to damage her foe as much as she possibly could. Gyarados's Thunder did grant her some protection by insulating her from Flaaffy's Thunderbolt, but since Flaaffy was an actual Electric-type, she was able to overpower it once she really tried to. The clash between the opposing electrical forces soon set off an explosion, showering sparks across the the Gym. Gyarados reeled back, roaring as she fell into the pool of water. Flaaffy didn't let go or stop attacking, so she ended up getting dragged under, too.

"No!" Olivia cried out as the two Pokémon disappeared below the surface.

Going underwater was about the only thing that could have put an end to Flaaffy's attack. She instinctively held her breath and put everything she had into not letting go of Gyarados's barbel instead.

Anabel clasped her gloved hands together and leaned into them, partially muffling her voice. "This does worry me," she admitted. "Gyarados can stay underwater as long as it wants. Flaaffy, on the other hand…"

True to Anabel's speculation, Gyarados only benefited from the shift to an aquatic environment. Returning to her natural element helped her recover some strength, and when Clair beckoned her to rise again she did so, erupting from the pool cloaked from head to tail in water. All present had to acknowledge that her display of the move Waterfall was magnificent, not least of all Flaaffy, who Gyarados smashed into the ground before backing off and roaring to assert her dominance.

"That did not sound good," Amanda pointed out, clutching her cane.

Olivia couldn't hear what was said in the stands, but she had no need to. She certainly didn't have to be told the reality in front of her twice. Seeing Flaaffy lying there, her wool drenched to the bone, said everything.

Or it said everything to Olivia, at least. Flaaffy, on the other hand, was another story.

"When we get to Blackthorn City, you're gonna be the one who battles Clair's Gyarados." The words of her former trainer echoed endlessly in her head. "I bet by then you'll have evolved into Flaaffy! Maybe you'll even be an Ampharos? No matter what, it's gonna be you, and I know you'll win, Mareep!"

The more she listened to the memory, the angrier she got.

"...you're gonna be the one who battles Clair's Gyarados."

Pushing herself up on one knee, Flaaffy clenched her teeth anew. This wouldn't be the end. She wouldn't let it be.

"Maybe you'll even be an Ampharos?"

So Gyarados was much bigger than her, and had a body lined head-to-tail in powerful muscle. So what? What difference did it make?

"I know you'll win, Mareep!"

"I know you'll win, Flaaffy!"

If there was anything that snapped Flaaffy back into the moment, it was the way her former trainer's words from the past aligned with what Olivia was saying to encourage her in the present. That's right, she was going to win. No question about it. She just had to push herself a little bit further, fight a little bit harder, tap into some untapped well of strength she'd never known herself to have.

An absolute maelstrom of electricity tore from Flaaffy's form as she rose to her feet, her growling drowned out by the sound of the lightning raking across the Gym. The storm's intensity was such that to Olivia, Clair, Fran and Gyarados, not to mention those in the stands, it was like they were in the center of an active thunderhead themselves. It just kept getting brighter and more overwhelming, to the point where even the veteran Gym Leader had to shield herself from the blinding light.

And then, with little warning, the voice screeching out from the center of the storm changed, transforming from Flaaffy's snarl to a sharp trill. The tempest of lightning began weakening soon after, and once the humans and Gyarados could look, they found an Ampharos standing tall where Flaaffy had once been. Having finally achieved her long-sought final evolution, she faced up to Gyarados with even less fear than ever before, excess electricity coursing across her yellow skin.

"Ampharos!" Olivia joyously called out, her excitement glittering in her eyes just as much as the sparks her Pokémon gave off did. On the sidelines, her supporters all leaned in closer, the turn of events capturing their fascination more than ever. "This is what you were after when you followed along with me, wasn't it?"

Ampharos bleated in acknowledgement at the same time a chime sounded from Olivia's pocket, prompting her to fetch her Pokédex from it.

"And you got a couple of new moves on top of that…" she noted before tucking the device back away. "I think we'll save those for later, Ampharos. You know what you've got to do here, so let it rip!"

Clair took a single step back, a bead of sweat forming on her brow. Ampharos roaring back into the fight had placed her between a rock and a hard place, and she knew it. Of Gyarados's moves, only two - Incinerate and Thunder - had any potential to work. Waterfall, by covering Gyarados in water, would only leave her even more vulnerable to Ampharos's Thunderbolt, and if she got in close with Power Whip, Ampharos would just grab onto her barbel again, allowing her to attack freely at point-blank range. The only option they had was to keep Ampharos at a proverbial arm's length and hope to hold her moves in check.

"Gyarados, Thunder!" the Gym Leader commanded, a strained sound unwittingly slipping into her voice.

Olivia didn't even have to give Ampharos an instruction to counter, instead, the Electric-type Pokémon simply launched her own volley of energy straight into Gyarados's. Between her innate ability thanks to her typing and the surge of strength she gained from evolving, she easily overpowered her Water-and-Flying-type nemesis, hitting her cleanly in the face with a highly effective strike.

"I was worried for a minute, but Olivia's definitely taking the lead here," Anabel observed.

Amanda nodded in agreement. "This is the kind of thing that makes being a teacher so rewarding. Having your students pull it off makes everything worth it."

"There you go." Though Amanda couldn't see it, Nekou smiled warmly at her, recalling their conversation from the previous morning.

Down on the battlefield, Clair saw her chances for the round dwindling. "Incinerate!" she called out in desperation.

"Come on, Ampharos, let's win this!" Olivia replied as Gyarados reared back. "Thunderbolt!"

Ampharos's next bolt of lightning pierced the fireball that Gyarados was forming in her mouth, setting off a powerful explosion that cast smoke and glittering sparks around itself in equal measure. Gyarados's muscles could take no more of the electrical punishment they'd been subjected to and gave out, leaving the sea serpent to collapse backward with one final, pained roar. She landed with her head submerged in the pool behind her, and she did not rise back up, leaving her tail and midsection trailing off the platform.

"Gyarados is… unable to continue!" Fran announced, albeit haltingly.

Without a word, Clair held up the Poké Ball necessary for recalling Gyarados. "Dragonair was a fluke," she thought, "but Gyarados too? Clearly I have to get my head in the game."

Olivia matched Clair's action, sending Ampharos back to the safety of her ball for the time being. For her part, she was being mindful of the two new moves Ampharos had gained access to upon evolution. That was information only she was yet aware of, so she saw an advantage in holding onto it for as long as possible, especially once the Pokémon she knew to be Clair's ace made its appearance.

"You're halfway through this challenge, Olivia," Clair warned her, brandishing her third Poké Ball, "but that means you're still only halfway through. Do you think you can do what you've already done a second time? I'm not going to make it easy on you!"

As fate would have it, Clair's ace was not the next Pokémon Olivia would face. Instead of Kingdra, an Aerodactyl arose from the sphere once Clair pitched it. The ancient Pokémon took to the air even before he had fully formed, his ear-splitting shriek of a cry filling the room as he ascended on his powerful wings.

"Not just Dragon-types, but draconic Pokémon in general," Olivia reminded herself, recalling Nekou's advice. Her hand brushed the Poké Ball housing Samurott, but she stopped herself before selecting him. "Not yet. I'm sure you want to get out there… but I need you for last."

Moving to another of the spheres, Olivia took it in hand and threw it. "Alright, Kingler, it's your turn!"

The crab Pokémon materialized in front of his trainer, clicking his pincers open and shut three times to stretch them. It took a second for him to look up and spot his opponent, but when he locked eyes with Aerodactyl, he gurgled, spitting up a coat of foam around his mouth. Aerodactyl responded with another shriek, trying to intimidate him through a show of force.

"So you bring out a Water-type… you surely think that's going to make this match easier for you. Go ahead, think that… I will show you how wrong you are!" Clair's blood was really boiling by that point, burning with the competitive spirit that pushed her ever further on her path as a Gym Leader. Tossing her cape with a sweeping gesture of her arm, she ordered, "Aerodactyl, start off with Dragon Claw!"

"Dodge and use Liquidation!"

Aerodactyl dove at Kingler, baring his talon-like feet as shimmering green light formed the shape of sharp claws around them. Even though he had complete command of the sky above the battlefield, Kingler's sidestepping movements proved erratic enough that the crab Pokémon was able to slip out of danger, leaving Aerodactyl to crash into the floor feet-first.

Once his foe was on an even level with him, Kingler pivoted to go on the attack. He jumped at Aerodactyl with his pincers fully wrapped in layers of water, ready to land a critical opening blow.

Clair and Aerodactyl were both ready for such a move, however. "The ground won't stop us! Aerodactyl, Aerial Ace!"

Propelling himself with his strong legs, Aerodactyl broke into a lunge, gliding mere inches above the floor. He collided with Kingler in an impact that shattered the water cocoons around the latter's pincers and threw both combatants back; while Aerodactyl was able to bring himself to a stop by scraping his claws against the ground, Kingler ended up getting flung straight into the pool.

Not that he or Olivia minded it at all. "Oh, now I've got you. Let's see you figure out where Kingler comes up," she challenged Aerodactyl, albeit only in her mind.

Aerodactyl lumbered over to the edge of the pool and looked into it. At first, nothing was there for him to see. Wherever Kingler had gone, he'd disappeared so far under the surface that he couldn't be found. It wasn't long, however, before the crab's shadow appeared in the drink, right before the eyes of his prehistoric opponent.

"There it is, Aerodactyl!" Clair yelled, sweeping her arm again. "Send a Rock Tomb down there!"

A ring of four large stones materialized around Aerodactyl, and he reared his head back, storing up breath for yet another shrieking cry. By the time he swung forward again and sent the boulders into the pool, Kingler had already disappeared again. All Aerodactyl managed to get out of it was a faceful of water kicked up by the stones splashing.

On the sidelines, Nekou couldn't help but laugh at what she'd seen. "Oh man, is that ever a sight for sore eyes. That's not how I imagined this going, not one bit."

"You can say that again," Matt agreed.

"That's not how I imagined this going," Nekou teased him, grinning as she elbowed Amanda, who gave a similar expression.

Matt just sighed. "What did I actually expect her to say?"

By then, Kingler had started to surface again, which once more lured Aerodactyl into uselessly casting Rock Tomb down into the water at him. Both Aerodactyl and his trainer felt their patience rapidly running thin, something Olivia could sense.

"This could be exactly the kind of opportunity we need," she surmised, wordlessly. "Here we go, Kingler! Come up and use Liquidation now!"

Little did they expect that Clair had a trick up her sleeve for that. "Aha! I've got you!" Vertically clapping her hands together as if they were a set of jaws, Clair said, "Thunder Fang!"

Kingler had burst from the water behind Aerodactyl and was closing in on him, but being grounded didn't hold Aerodactyl back, nor did the threat of Kingler's move. The Rock-and-Flying-type Pokémon jumped straight into Liquidation's path and bit into Kingler's right claw, his needle-sharp teeth sparking with electricity. Even though he couldn't quite break all the way through the Liquidation, the voltage picked up the slack, ripping the rest of the way through the water veil to shock Kingler directly.

"Kingler!" Olivia called out in dismay as she watched her Pokémon fall prone to the floor. She bit her finger, then said to Clair, "You really did get me with that one. I didn't see that coming for a second."

"That's the job of a Gym Leader." Even though she wasn't trying to brag, Clair allowed herself just the slightest indulgence. "If you're going to beat me, you're going to have to think. I'm not just another wall you can smash down with brute force. But keep one thing in mind… nothing's stopping me from using a little brute force on you! Dragon Claw!"

Olivia wasn't willing to wait for Aerodactyl to ascend fully before ordering, "Get out of its way, Kingler!"

Kingler righted himself and started to skitter away from the path of Aerodactyl's descent, much as he had before. But this time, Clair was onto his and Olivia's tactic, and had already more than accounted for it.

"Cut Kingler off with Rock Tomb!"

Pulling out of his dive and dissipating the energy of his Dragon Claw, Aerodactyl instead swooped over Kingler's head, dropping several boulders around him. The stones blocked off Kingler's escape route, leaving him cornered.

"Tch…" Olivia hissed through clenched teeth. "Fine, just go the other way!"

"Oh no you don't!" Clair fully intended to press the advantage she'd gained. "Keep using Rock Tomb!"

Aerodactyl maneuvered himself to circle over the platform at the middle of the pool, dropping stones around its perimeter one by one. A potential window of escape closed with every single one that fell, rendering Kinger's movement options increasingly limited.

"Of course, it's just circling like Dragonair did…" Olivia bitterly noted to herself. Seeing Kingler entirely closed in, she had no choice but to resign herself to the fact that her preferred strategy wasn't going to work out. In an attempt to salvage some good from the situation, she called out, "Kingler, just use Liquidation on it!"

Clair smirked. "Checkmate. Aerodactyl, get in close and use Thunder Fang!"

Breaking from his circular flight pattern, Aerodactyl swept right into Kingler's path and willingly absorbed a direct strike from his Liquidation-charged pincers. Such a blow was a fair price to pay, both he and Clair thought, in exchange for a clear opening to bite Kingler with Thunder Fang. Unlike previously, the crab had no protection of any sort left to shield himself, and his body took the full strength of Aerodactyl's attack. He swung his free left claw into Aerodactyl's head to little effect before his strength gave out and he went limp.

"Kingler is unable to continue!" Unlike the calls she had to make in Olivia's favor, this one aligned with Fran's usual expectations and was much easier for her to deliver.

"We had to figure it wouldn't be a clean sweep, right?" Anabel said to the others. "If you ask me, this is still within expectations."

"Clair's on her third out of four, Olivia's only lost one," Amanda recalled, nodding. "She's got to be careful, but that's still a lead."

There were no thoughts regarding scorekeeping of any sort in Olivia's head. No, there was nothing but a cold, focused calculation, all centering around a single question: which of her Pokémon would be ideal for taking Aerodactyl down?

A seemingly obvious answer presented itself right away. Ampharos wouldn't be vulnerable to Aerial Ace or Thunder Fang, diminishing the effectiveness of two of Aerodactyl's most potent weapons. Rock Tomb and Dragon Claw could still present a problem, but at the same time, Ampharos's capacity for ranged combat offered a counterbalance to those risks. All in all, it felt like an easy choice for Olivia to make.

Which, of course, was why fate had other plans in store for her. The moment her fingers brushed Ampharos's ball - the exact second she touched it - another one shook in her pocket. Its occupant's sheer force of will made it move and burst open on its own. The light from it shot out of Olivia's pocket and solidified in front of her, leaving her to stare, dumbfounded, as Samurott entered the battle.

"What happened?!" Amanda exclaimed, leaning forward in an attempt to make sense of the cacophony of vocalizations she was hearing. "Is that Samurott?"

"It is…" Matt confirmed for her, covering his mouth mid-sentence to ponder the sight. "I think she might have wanted to send out Ampharos, and Samurott wasn't having any of it…"

"Yeah, that tracks," Nekou agreed. "No way was Samurott letting Ampharos steal any more glory today, not with the rivalry between them."

Olivia had come to a similar conclusion. "Man, you just really wanted to fight, didn't you, Samurott?" When he answered by turning back and giving her a sharp nod, she grinned. Would there be challenges using him that Ampharos wouldn't have faced? Of course. But she also had ideas for how he could fight the fossil Pokémon, ideas that she sensed he shared.

Clair also sensed something was amiss, but what it was she wasn't quite sure. The doubt she felt motivated her to promptly deal with it. "Aerodactyl, move in with Dragon Claw!"

"Jump into the water, Samurott!"

Samurott ended up only barely avoiding getting raked by Aerodactyl's claws, somersaulting backward into the pool just in time to escape. Aerodactyl, again, only got water splashed in his face for his trouble.

"Huh, that's a thing that keeps happening," Olivia said to herself, barely suppressing a mischievous giggle. "Hey, if it works, it works…"

"Using my own Gym against me…" Clair wasn't nearly as amused by Olivia's tactics, though she did have to give them some begrudging respect. "I'm not falling for that same trick again. Aerodactyl, pull back!"

Unbeknownst to the Gym Leader, that was exactly what her challenger was banking on. "That's nothing for you, Samurott! Go after it with Liquidation!"

Driven in equal parts by physical momentum and his own furious determination, Samurott pivoted underwater and darted toward the surface. He burst from the pool like a rocket, ascending with his sights set squarely on Aerodactyl. There was no way he was going to let the fossil Pokémon escape his wrath, not with him dead set on showing Ampharos up. Yet, despite the Water-type's focus, Aerodactyl only managed to move out of the way by the thinnest of margins. Samurott sailed past him, just barely missing.

"Aerial Ace!"

With both Pokémon in close proximity to each other in the air, Aerodactyl only had to swing himself a short distance further up to headbutt his foe. Samurott responded in kind, stabbing his horn into Aerodactyl's cheek, albeit to little effect.

"You've got this, Samurott!" Olivia called up to him in encouragement. "Now, use Revenge!"

The balance of power changed in an instant as Samurott flipped forward, striking Aerodactyl on the head with a double kick using both of his hind legs. Clair's Pokémon issued a low, pained screech as he spiraled down toward the platform in the pool, Samurott's assault only made stronger by the glancing blow Aerodactyl had just landed.

"No you don't!" Clair hissed, jabbing her open right hand in the direction of the two descending Pokémon. "Aerodactyl, pull out of it and use Thunder Fang!"

Recovering with his trainer's guidance, Aerodactyl righted himself, landed on his feet and opened his strong jaws, setting a razor-sharp, electrified trap for Samurott to plunge into. Yet, for all the inescapable danger he seemed to be facing, he and Olivia were of one mind about it - and neither was scared.

"This is your moment, Samurott! Finish this off with Razor Shell!"

As he fell, Samurott pulled the seamitar from his left leg and pointed it straight down at Aerodactyl, the weapon turning into a spear of water when he wielded it. It was only then that Clair realized where he had the blade aimed.

Straight at Aerodactyl's mouth.

"Get out of there!" she shouted, but it was already too late.

Samurott jammed the sword into Aerodactyl's mouth, triggering an explosive chain reaction with the water surrounding it and the electricity sparking from Aerodactyl's fangs. Samurott himself got pushed back up by the backlash from it, but was able to make a clean landing. Aerodactyl wasn't so lucky - he got smashed further into the floor by the blast, and having been on the receiving end of such a severe blow, did not rise back up.

Fran hesitated to call the knockout, as she had with the previous two against Clair, but any proclamation would have been hard to hear over Samurott's resonant, thundering cries of victory.

"I daresay that I know who won that one," Amanda wryly remarked. "I'm sure Ampharos knows it, too."

"Yeah, but…" Nekou had grown uncharacteristically nervous, her emotions seeping into her shaky voice. Her thoughts fixated on her review of Clair's tactics that morning with Olivia, specifically what she'd identified as Clair's ace. "I know which one's going to be last… the one she uses in every single battle without fail."

That was a lesson Olivia remembered, too. "Samurott, I'm proud of you," she told him as she held up his Poké Ball and recalled him. "You did a great job, but I want you to take a break for now. I think I'm going to need you later."

"You think you're going to need that Samurott later…" Clair repeated. She'd recalled Aerodactyl with her eyes closed and nary a word, but when she finally did speak, she reopened them. If there had been a fire reflecting her spirit in them before, they were an absolute inferno now, and yet also somehow a coldness that threatened to freeze whatever she looked at on the spot. The contradiction literally sent a chill down Olivia's spine. "Don't think you've won this yet, and don't you dare underestimate me. You may have taken down three of my Pokémon… but you've also shown me all of yours. I think it's about time you bore witness to the legacy of my ancestors since time immemorial… that which will one day see my name recognized as the world's greatest Dragon-type master!"

Clair had taken another Poké Ball from beneath her cape in the time she'd spent speaking, and she waited no longer to pull back and throw it. It burst open over the water, freeing Kingdra to splash down into the pool.

"I knew it…" Olivia muttered to herself. With how stridently Nekou had drilled Kingdra's reputation into her head that morning, she knew a confrontation with the Water-and-Dragon-type was inevitable, no matter how much she wished it wasn't. Those warnings led her to try and make a plan for when the time came, though, and she harbored some confidence that she was in a good position to enact it. Retrieving one of her own Poké Balls and tossing it with a backhanded motion, she summoned Stoutland back into the battle. "This is for everything, Stoutland," she told him, prompting him to lower his head and growl at Kingdra. "Be careful and stay away from the water."

"Daring me to fight on your terms instead of my own?" Clair scoffed. "Very well, we accept your challenge. I'll show you that it doesn't matter!"

Matching her trainer's immense confidence, Kingdra jumped out of the tank with not a care in the world, standing up on dry land using her tail like it was second nature. After all the practice she'd had, it basically was. Olivia had an idea that Kingdra was capable of such a feat based on her research, but seeing it in front of her still unnerved her enough to make her eyebrow twitch involuntarily. Still, she resolved to see her strategy through.

"Stoutland, rush in and use Play Rough!"

"Oh, is that all?" Clair coldly dismissed her challengers as Stoutland began running at Kingdra. "No matter. Kingdra, Rain Dance!"

Olivia and the others all weren't sure if Kingdra was ignoring the attack coming her away or not, but when the dragon looked up and cried out toward the ceiling without moving an inch, they grew collectively more nervous than they had already been.

Dark clouds gathered overhead, just as they had when Dragonair had performed the same action earlier. It wasn't long before another downpour started, and even less time before it was pelting all present with rain and wind that put those conjured by Dragonair to shame. Stoutland, his fur already matting against his body, managed to navigate the storm and tackle Kingdra, though she largely absorbed the blow, using her tail to brace herself from being pushed back more than a few feet.

"There are a lot of tales sailors tell about Kingdra," Clair boasted. The rain and wind were striking her just as much as anyone else, but she acted like she didn't feel it at all, disregarding the way her hair was weighed down by the rain and the way her cape violently lashed around behind her. "Depending on who you ask, they say that Kingdra causes whirlpools when it awakens, or that it appears when there's a storm on the surface. Which of them is true? Is it one or the other, or is it maybe both? I might live far from the sailors' haven in Olivine, but don't think I won't show you the answer all the same!"

Taken aback by Clair's menacing words, Olivia found herself putting on her own show of bravado before she even had time to process what she wanted to say. "Yeah, well, we're far from done here! I'll show you my own answer! Stoutland, use Play Rough again!"

"Dodge and use Scald!"

The two Pokémon weren't far apart after their last collision, so Stoutland was able to jump at Kingdra with little effort. What neither he nor Olivia took into account, however, was that the rain would benefit the dragon in more ways than one. She vanished into the storm right before their eyes, emerging behind her opponent before neither Pokémon nor trainer fully realized it, and sprayed Stoutland in the back with a jet of burning-hot water from her mouth. He howled in pain from it, and even in the middle of the tempest, Olivia could see a clear burn mark on him.

"That's right, Swift Swim…" Olivia grumbled, scowling. She'd seen Kingdra's ability in the footage Nekou reviewed with her, but in the heat of the battle, it had slipped her mind.

"So you knew." Clair didn't need any sort of confirmation of this fact, but her personality drove her to say it anyway, as a way of impressing it upon Olivia. "Now witness my storm in its full glory! Kingdra, Hurricane!"

Stoutland had barely managed to get back on his feet when he was lifted from the ground by a whirlwind Kingdra whipped up around him. The sudden lack of footing left him to flail helplessly as he was sucked up higher and higher into the tornado. Eventually, he disappeared above the clouds and the vortex dissipated, leaving him to fall all the way back down. And fall he did, the last of his strength sapped by his tumble back to solid ground.

"Stoutland is unable to continue!" Fran announced, putting a definitive end to his stand.

"Seeing Kingdra in the flesh is another level of terrifying," Nekou quietly said, sipping from her thermos of coffee as she watched Olivia recall Stoutland. "You don't get the full 4D experience from a tiny little phone screen, y'know?"

"That sure is one way of putting it," Matt agreed, punctuating his dire concurrence with a bitter laugh.

On the battlefield, Clair challenged Olivia, "So who is it going to be next? Ampharos or the Samurott you were saving?"

"It's true I wanted to save Samurott for this, but taking Kingdra down is going to be a team effort. I can't use him yet…" To answer the Gym Leader's question, Olivia took out and threw Ampharos's Poké Ball without a word, calling her newly-evolved Electric-type back in.

"So that's what you're going with… Kingdra, take it out! Scald!"

"Ampharos, use Thunderbolt!"

Putting her Swift Swim and the cover of the storm to full use, Kingdra swerved through the swarm of lightning Ampharos unleashed on her. She appeared and disappeared in the downpour like a ghost, emerging only briefly each time to spit some boiling water at her foe. Ampharos refused to relent, however, treating each hit she suffered like a dare to push her electrical assault even further, no matter how much each stung. The exchange went on until Kingdra unwittingly moved into the path of one of the bolts, suffering a shock that brought her to a stop.

"Got you!" Olivia exclaimed, balling her right hand into a fist. "Let's follow that up with one of your new moves, Ampharos. Dragon Pulse!"

"So that's what she was holding back!" Amanda said, jumping slightly out of her seat in her excitement. "Kingdra's vulnerable to that!"

Clair knew more than anyone just how true Amanda's point was. "Don't let that hit you! Protect yourself with Hurricane!"

Kingdra braced herself, kicking up a wind tunnel around her position that sucked some of the storm clouds down to obscure her. When the radiant, purple energy Ampharos launched from her mouth hit this makeshift shield, it got caught up in the vortex and swept into the sky, away from its target.

Olivia and Ampharos remained undeterred. In fact, Kingdra's blocking the Dragon Pulse only made them even more determined to break through her defenses. "Just break that right down, Ampharos!" Olivia ordered, pumping her fist in the Electric-type Pokémon's direction. "See if Power Gem will work!"

Compared to Dragon Pulse, the gleaming ray that Ampharos fired out of the gem on her forehead was less powerful, and Kingdra wasn't as inherently vulnerable. But it was much more focused, what energy it did have concentrated on a single point. That let it pierce through the cyclone and strike Kingdra in the stomach, pushing a wheeze out of her. Her loss of concentration led, in turn, to the Hurricane protecting her dissipating.

"Don't let up!" Olivia called to Ampharos. Both trainer and Pokémon alike saw their opening and fully meant to take advantage of it. "Thunderbolt!"

"Scald!"

The twin attacks met halfway between their respective sides, but neither stopped its counterpart. Kingdra's Scald provided a path leading straight back to her for the electricity to follow, even while it continued on to burn Ampharos's torso. The two Pokémon were left catching their breath once the exchange broke off.

"I've got to do something to mix this up…" Olivia thought, her mind as tense as any of her muscles by that point. She glanced around the battlefield, then up at the roiling clouds blocking her view of the ceiling. It was then that an idea hit her, and she practically lit up with excitement over it. "Ampharos, I think it's about time we show off your other new move. Rush in and use Fire Punch!"

Clair narrowed her eyes at Ampharos as she started to run in Kingdra's direction with her right arm enveloped in flames. Surely Olivia knew that such a move was about the worst choice possible against a Water-and-Dragon-type Pokémon like Kingdra, let alone with the rain weakening it further? Had she forgotten in the heat of battle, or was something else entirely afoot? Clair couldn't rule out either possibility, and that left her suspicious.

Ultimately, she decided that it was still an offense that had to be cut down. "Kingdra, Scald!"

"Ampharos, you have to get around that!"

Ampharos ended up stretching the definition of 'getting around' Scald, bending back and letting the steaming spray pass over her instead of shifting to either side. Even though this move forced her to stop running for a moment, she was able to maintain her momentum by sliding on the damp floor.

That tactic convinced Clair that Olivia was up to something, but she still wasn't sure what. "Fine, if that's the way you want to do it… Kingdra, use Hurricane!"

The clouds above Kingdra again spiraled downward to protect her, pulled by the cyclonic winds she whipped up. Clair was confident that the shield would hold, given that it had blocked Dragon Pulse, and when Ampharos disappeared into the vortex, she breathed a sigh of relief. It actually had worried her a little bit that she couldn't determine Olivia's strategy, so putting some distance between Ampharos and Kingdra was a relief.

Or, it was a relief until she looked at Olivia and saw the girl standing with her face contorted into such a wide grin it pushed her eyes half closed. That was when Clair realized the truth - she'd walked right into the trap. Olivia wanted her to throw Ampharos into the sky, because above Kingdra, there wasn't any protection at all. The sea dragon was nothing but a sitting duck, pinned in the eye of the storm. She'd cornered herself.

"Now, Ampharos, Dragon Pulse!"

"Draco Meteor!" Clair instantly, reflexively countered. There wasn't any time to calculate a response. She needed all the raw power she could muster, and she needed it immediately.

An orb of red light formed in Kingdra's snout, which she shot upward at her foe. It split into a swarm of crimson meteors as it ascended, filling the open space at the center of the whirlwind from end to end. Ampharos's Dragon Pulse, meanwhile, barreled strong and true straight down at Kingdra, blasting aside the only meteor it encountered along the way. Both Pokémon suffered explosive blows near-simultaneously, the Hurricane collapsing from the force at both its top and bottom.

Ampharos plummeted back to solid ground not long after. She, like Kingdra, was visibly battered and exhausted. Yet, she still sought to fight onward, her violent streak pushing her not to give in. There was only so far she could go, however, and with one last defiant cry, Ampharos fell.

"Ampharos is unable to continue!" Fran couldn't help but punctuate her declaration with a bit of commentary, "Both sides are now down to their last Pokémon!"

"I must acknowledge you and your Ampharos's skill," Clair said, bowing her head in a gesture of respect that Kingdra duplicated. "To willingly leap into a Hurricane like that tells me you just may be a trainer worthy of my Gym Badge."

"You hear that?" Olivia asked of Ampharos as she recalled the Electric-type back to her ball. "You earned Clair's praise. That's pretty great!" Turning to Clair, Olivia added, "I gotta give my mom credit for the idea to use the wind like that. Seeing her fighting Renzo yesterday made me think of it."

"Hear that? She's takin' after you after all!" Nekou boisterously clapped Anabel on the back, eliciting a surprised gasp from her.

"You're right," Anabel replied with a smile after regaining her composure, though she soon grew serious again. "I do wish this was over already, but on the other hand, Olivia needs to keep working her way out of situations like this. Although…"

"Although?" Matt repeated.

"Wait, I think I get it," Nekou said, clapping her hands together. "Think back to when we were all fighting Ho-oh. Nando's Dragonite used Draco Meteor and then…"

"...the rest of its moves got weaker," Matt realized. "That's right, I remember. So Clair is going to have to work harder to bring this over the finish line, too…"

Olivia by then had sent Samurott back out, and the two Water-type Pokémon were staring each other down. Both were more than aware that the weight of the battle's outcome rested on their shoulders, and neither was willing to risk making a mistake. Any error, no matter how small, could prove to be their undoing, another fact they knew well. At first neither made a move, but as the rain tapered off, Clair decided to take the lead.

"Rain Dance!" she called out.

"Megahorn!" Olivia responded.

Kingdra had to pause to restart the storm, and that act left her wide open for Samurott to jam his horn straight into her stomach. It took all the strength she had, every ounce of her well-honed resolve to hold firm and not go flying back from the blow, but her eyes did tremble from having to absorb its force.

Clair didn't miss that brief moment where Kingdra's strength buckled, either. It made plain that she needed some way to slow Samurott down. "Kingdra, try to burn it with Scald!"

Since the two Pokémon were still in close quarters to each other, Kingdra was able to spit the steaming water right into Samurott's face. He snarled and shut his eyes, but still didn't retreat. His proximity to Kingdra was an advantage he wasn't willing to give up without gaining something in exchange. Proving himself to not only Olivia but Ampharos as well required it.

"You've got this, Samurott!" Olivia shouted to encourage him. "Use Revenge!"

And that was exactly the sort of gain Samurott wanted. With a deft backflip, he kicked Kingdra in the chin, pushing her to the pool's edge while harnessing the force to move himself back as well. The new distance between them afforded him a greater time to react to whatever Kingdra's next move would be, and at that point in the battle, all involved knew every second counted.

"Hurricane!"

Olivia thought that would be the next attack Clair called for, so she already had a reaction ready. "Dive into the water, Samurott!" she shouted, snapping her fingers in a fashion similar to her mother.

Kingdra's shrieking cry called a whirlwind down toward Samurott, but he refused to just sit still, sliding off the slick floor into the pool and disappearing beneath its surface. The tornado couldn't follow him and was left to rage with little effect beyond sucking some of the pool's water into its vortex.

"What's Olivia's next move?" Matt wondered out loud. "As soon as Samurott comes back up, he's a sitting duck. Kingdra will be ready, in no small part thanks to Swift Swim."

"Have faith in her." Anabel leaned into her clasped hands more than ever, significantly muffling her voice. Her words were as much an attempt at reassurance to herself as they were to her companions.. A small, nagging part of her was beginning to say, "This feels like it's going too well. What's going to go wrong?"

Clair, too, was scanning both the solid and liquid surfaces of the field, searching intently for any sign of how Olivia and Samurott would attack. She hadn't even waited for the failed Hurricane to dissipate. Why should she take her time when Olivia surely wouldn't? Clair had certainly seen by then that she wasn't a challenger to be trifled with.

Little did she suspect she was about to learn just how true that lesson was. With little warning, Olivia spread her arms out to her sides and yelled, "Now, Samurott, Megahorn!"

The attack ended up coming from the last place Clair ever expected. Samurott burst out of the waterspout itself, having used its spiraling currents to rise from the pool without notice and build up a great deal of momentum. Kingdra, caught so off guard that she couldn't even put her rain-powered agility to use, suffered another direct, stabbing blow to her body, and her steely strength finally gave out, allowing Samurott to take her with him when he submerged himself again.

Their struggle only intensified under the waves, away from their trainers. Having so thoroughly stunned Kingdra, Samurott pressed his advantage, jabbing over and over at her with his horn. She barely had time between each strike to recover, but as she regained her strength, a singular goal entered her mind.

Ironically enough, she had to get back out of the water. Fighting Stoutland or Ampharos there wouldn't have been much of a problem, even if Ampharos might have presented some challenge just by letting Thunderbolt loose. Samurott was a whole other story. As he was a Water-type like her, he was capable of staying on even terms with her even in her native environment, and her options against him there were somewhat slim. He already had resistance against Scald, and Draco Meteor would be much harder to aim than it would be topside. Bracing herself against the repeated Megahorn strikes, she built up the strength she needed to make one desperate run for the surface.

Finally, Samurott happened to miss with one of his swings, affording her the opening she sought. She released all the tension in her body, shooting herself into a rapid ascent. Yet, just before she could reach the surface, something went wrong. She could feel something stopping her, holding her back in her escape.

When she looked behind herself, the problem made itself overwhelmingly plain. Samurott had taken one of his seamitars and jammed it in the curl of her tail. They locked eyes for a brief moment, and he pulled the shell sword back, yanking Kingdra back into the depths.

She had to get away. She had to. Samurott's berserker-like rage, fueled in equal parts by his desires to emerge victorious, show up Ampharos and earn Olivia's favor, had her pinned down where they were. Only one option remained, and it was the most reckless of all of them.

Focusing her power, Kingdra started to use Hurricane. The usual whirlwind instead manifested as a whirlpool that engulfed both her and Samurott, and just like how he'd used the previous one to bring himself out of the water, the tides pulled them both upward. When they broke the surface, the force from Hurricane kicked up a great splash as it threw them onto the ground and away from each other.

Off on the sidelines, Nekou sat back in wide-eyed surprise and took a long sip of her coffee. "It sure looks like whatever went on down there was intense. Look at them."

Nekou's point was clear, both to her other spectators and the two trainers themselves. As Kingdra and Samurott picked themselves up, both could be seen bearing the marks of their struggle. Samurott was covered with nicks and cuts from Hurricane, while Kingdra's form was riddled with bruises from where she'd gotten stabbed by Megahorn. It became clear that, regardless of who the victor would be, the clashes not only of Kingdra against Samurott but of Olivia against Clair would soon reach their end.

"I have to put a stop to this or I'll lose," Clair thought, correctly assessing the situation. "Kingdra, we need to go all out! High risk, high reward! There's no glory for those unwilling to fight for it! Draco Meteor!"

Kingdra again pointed her snout skyward and launched the cluster of meteors, but as soon as she did, both Anabel and Olivia narrowed their eyes. Neither of them needed to stare at it for long for it to become very apparent that there were less meteors than before. That realization spurred Olivia to action, pushing her with the feeling that victory was within her grasp.

"Samurott, you can handle that, no problem. Block it with Razor Shell!"

Pulling one of his seamitars from its sheath on his left front leg, Samurott held it up over his face, shielding himself from the first of the meteors to fall. He then advanced on Kingdra, varying between wielding it as a weapon and an instrument of protection by slashing away some meteors and blocking others. By the time the last of the projectiles fell, Kingdra was visibly exhausted and gasping for air.

Clair could see that performing the move had taken a lot out of her, but with Samurott bearing down on her, there wasn't much leeway for them to do anything but keep attacking. "Hurricane!" the Gym Leader cried out.

Once again, Olivia grinned. "Just ride it out, Samurott."

Trusting in her instruction, Samurott relaxed his muscles and allowed himself to be swept up into the Hurricane. Kingdra's power had been so sapped by the multiple uses of Draco Meteor that the winds barely scratched him at all. He and Olivia simply waited until he had reached the top of the cyclone, at which point she gave him another order.

"Take your sword and use Liquidation with it!"

Matching Olivia's grin, Samurott focused his strength on the seamitar he still held, causing the water that ordinarily would have enveloped his body to wrap around it instead. With that task done, he pulled back and flung the blade straight down into Kingdra, causing a watery burst that destroyed the Hurricane in the process.

Now that Samurott was falling, Olivia made a fist and pumped it into the air, calling out, "We've got this, Samurott! Use Revenge!"

Samurott somersaulted forward, using gravity's influence on him to put more force into the kick he delivered to Kingdra's head using his hind legs. One last, pained cry slipped from deep in Kingdra's throat, and then, in front of all in the chamber, she crumpled. The mighty sea dragon, Clair's ace that she used in every single battle without fail, had gone down in defeat. Samurott reclaimed his seamitar and held it aloft over his felled opponent, crying out in triumph.

Fran, unable to fully believe what she was seeing, hesitated to make the call. Even the sound of Nekou's excited cheering didn't spur her into doing so.

"Fran…" Once upon a time, Clair would have gotten angry in that sort of situation. It wasn't even all that long ago that she would have called the outcome some kind of mistake, refused to surrender her Badge, and sent her challenger on a wild goose chase just to avoid facing her defeat. But things had become different. As she turned her head to face Fran, Clair showed her apprentice the last expression she would have ever expected - a genuine smile. Clair had actually had fun. "Fran, it's okay. Just call it."

"O-okay…" Clair's words reassured Fran enough that she was able to regain her composure. "Kingdra is unable to continue battling! As all of Clair's Pokémon have fainted, Olivia is the winner!"

Her victory made official, Olivia dashed out to join Samurott. When she called out to him, he sheathed his seamitar and turned to her just in time for her to throw her arms around his neck.

"You were amazing, Samurott! You did such a great job!"

If Olivia had been able to speak Samurott's language, she would have understood the vocalizations he replied with to mean something along the lines of "I did, didn't I?" Still, though, enough clicked that she got the basic gist of it, and she tightened her embrace of him.

Clair, meanwhile, recalled her fallen Kingdra as she approached the triumphant duo. Her amused smile hadn't faded. If anything, it had only grown broader. "You're a real spitfire, you know that?" she said, deliberately leaving it vague as to whether she was referring to Olivia or Samurott with that comment. "Olivia, I see now that you live up to the image Renzo had of you. In the time he spent training here, he spoke often of how he dreamed of facing you at the Pokémon League someday. I hope he will return here one day, because that is a battle I now want to see."

Olivia briefly pondered what that would mean in the context of her vision, the one that had showed her confronting Father at the Pokémon League. She didn't let on about what was on her mind, though, and instead simply said, "Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself? I think you're forgetting something."

To that, Clair laughed heartily. "Nothing gets past you! That's the sort of mind that'll go far in the Pokémon League. But yes, you're right." Clair reached under her cape and retrieved a black, red-accented pin shaped in the image of a dragon's head, which she handed over to Olivia. "There you go, the Rising Badge."

"There we go, that's right," Olivia said, holding the Rising Badge toward the lights on the ceiling. No, not 'the' Rising Badge, her Rising Badge. "That's number five."

"And that means there's only three left!" Nekou exclaimed, bounding up and grabbing Olivia's hands. Behind her, Matt, Amanda and Anabel followed, all equal parts proud of Olivia's accomplishment and bemused by Nekou's antics. "You'll have Renzo creamed in no time!"

Olivia wasn't so thrilled at the mention of his name. "Is that so," she replied, shooting a bitter look over to her mother.

Luckily, Anabel was able to quickly adapt and react. "He will need to gain control over himself if he's not ultimately to spiral out of control and self-destruct. That's out of your hands, Olivia. Focus on your goals. Today is your day to celebrate."

"Celebrate, huh? I've got an idea in that case." Anabel, Olivia and Nekou all turned their eyes to Matt to hear his suggestion, but Amanda only gave a wry smile, already suspecting what he would say. "How about I put some of my skills to good use, and we really celebrate?"

-:-

"So everything that happened is in the report."

Mercury, having returned from the Ice Path in disgrace, was walking at Finansielle's side through the floating garden in Polaris's temple. She'd transmitted all the details of her encounter with Matt and eventual failure ahead of her arrival, so when Finansielle summoned her for a talk, she feared how she'd be walking away from that conversation. If she'd be walking away from it. As such, the fact that so far it had just been a casual chat had her on guard.

"I know, I know," Finansielle replied, crossing her arms behind her head. The complete lack of seriousness in her demeanor only left Mercury more nervous. "I want to hear it from you, though. How'd that new toy I gave you work out?"

"Oh, the armband?" Mercury exhaled in relief, even though she realized it could be premature. Her superior's asking about the device offered her a potential way to get out of trouble. "All in all, it worked like it was supposed to. It did make my Bisharp stronger and more focused when I used it, but…"

"But?"

"Its effect could have been better." Pin everything on that scientist, Mercury thought. That's how I get out of this. "I think the technology needs some tweaking to reach its full potential."

"I see." Outside of Mercury's sight, Finansielle smirked. She already knew what her subordinate was trying to do, much to her amusement. Little did Mercury know that Finansielle just wanted to toy with her. "I'll pass your notes along to Colress, then. I've recently given him a stockpile of old data from Cipher's Shadow Pokémon experiments. He should be able to upgrade them based on that… as for you, chill out until there's another mission for you to go on. I'll have something soon enough."

-:-

Matt's surprise for the others, the one that he said he'd put his skills to use for, exceeded even Amanda's expectations.

His trip to a foreign foods market in Blackthorn should have been the first clue, especially after he insisted that he go alone. Amanda knew that to be a sign he had something up his sleeve, but he still told her to stay behind. It wasn't long into their shared wait that Nekou figured out what was going to happen and started salivating over it, so Amanda had her hands full just keeping a lid on her friend's excited anticipation.

All that waiting definitely paid off, however. What Matt delivered at the end of his marathon of cooking was a luscious seafood stew in a vegetable sauce that could only be described as exotic. By the time they sat down to eat outside HR-E, on the outskirts of Blackthorn, not even the usually-reserved Anabel could wait anymore.

"How did… how did you do this?" Anabel asked him after savoring and swallowing the first rich bite of the stew. "Matt, I knew you cook, but I had no idea you were this good!"

"When it comes to cooking, there's not too many out there who are better than Siebold from Kalos," he explained in response. "I cracked open one of his cookbooks for this… some imported seafood from the Muraille Coast, Ginema and Niniku Berries for the sauce, toss in some Galarian carrots and Tamato Berries… put it all together and voilà."

"Hey, that's my line!" Nekou playfully snarked at him. Between the huge bites she was taking, she was practically downing entire glasses of the wine Matt bought, leaving him to laugh in appreciation of his forethought to purchase plenty of it. He had a feeling she, Amanda and Anabel would enjoy it and that had more than proven to be true. "Whatever. If this is the kind of shit I can expect in Kalos, I can't wait until we go!"

"Well, you guys better bring me!" Olivia interjected, her voracious consumption of the meal rivaled only by Nekou's. "You ain't leaving me behind!"

Anabel laughed at her daughter's over-the-top enthusiasm, not stopping to think much about what she had been reacting to. Nekou's realization that she had let slip her plans with Matt came too late, but after sharing a quick glance with each other, they both decided it wasn't worth calling attention to and joined Anabel in her laughter. While they had decided to downplay what had developed between them for the time being, neither felt particularly motivated to deny anything in that moment. The mood just felt too upbeat, and they didn't want to ruin it.

Only Amanda perceived the implications beneath Nekou's remark, but she too opted to remain silent. As she took a slow, dignified sip from her glass, she thought to herself, "Heh… I should've figured. Good for you guys, I ship it."

"You know," Anabel said, coming down from her laughter, "it's true that I haven't been traveling with you all for very long, but… to sit down, eat and just relax like this, it feels good. I haven't felt this good in a long time, actually. Thanks for convincing me to stop being Rapunzel in my tower and actually come out in the world again."

Nekou threw her arm around Anabel's shoulder and told her, "We all just love ya, y'know. You gotta live your life, Anabel! Prends moi au serieux!"

"Ah… I do appreciate the sentiment, Nekou, don't get me wrong…" As she stared down at the wine in her glass, Anabel's mood grew serious again. "I don't know if I'm cut out to really live as freely as you do."

"Mom," Olivia suddenly piped up, "listen to her, she's right. I've been doing a lot of thinking since we talked the other day… you've gone through just as much as I have since Dad… well…" Pausing, Olivia drew a long sip from the Soda Pop in her hand. Taking that drink bought her time to gather her thoughts. "I was really angry for a long time. I thought you were hiding out because it would somehow make what happened go away, but now I understand… you were staying away because you didn't want me to see you like that. You wanted me to see you as being strong no matter what it cost… but you don't have to do that anymore. Be who you are, Mom. Don't close yourself off anymore."

Anabel was stunned by what she was hearing. When had Olivia grown so wise, clearly beyond her years? And not only was her advice wise, it was correct, almost frighteningly so. Sealed off in her penthouse at the top of the Battle Tower, Anabel had been able to use that physical height to create an imaginary barrier that placed her above all the problems in the world below. It didn't always work, but it was still a successful enough measure. But thanks to both her daughter and Nekou's input, her eyes had been opened to an undeniable truth that she'd only just begun to understand on her own - not only had she placed herself above all the pain outside her windows, she'd separated herself from all the good, too. All the proof she needed was sitting right there in front of her. Sure, she shared meals with Amanda at the Battle Tower on a fairly regular basis, but they were always cold and distant, the pair's interaction more like that of two coworkers than the years-long friendship they shared. Certainly not a single one of those meals had been as warm and inviting as the one she was at right then and there.

She just could not deny the truth in what Olivia had told her, so she threw back the rest of her drink and embraced her daughter. The emotions between them were crystal clear, and no words were needed.

Matt, not wanting to interrupt such a moment, smiled warmly at them and turned away, looking off to where the group's Pokémon had gathered for their own meal. He'd bought extra ingredients and dipped into knowledge imparted from his grandfather to make Galarian curry for them, specifically opting to prepare a pot of Sausage Curry. It wouldn't have earned the Charizard-class rating true masters of cooking it could easily achieve, but as he watched the Pokémon eat, he felt confident he'd done well enough.

"Would you look at that," Nekou commented, having begun to watch them as well.

Over in the gathering, Tanya, Agnetha and Sally - the veterans of Matt's team - were bringing plates of curry to their juniors, Genesect, Victor the Cryogonal, and Jeremiah the Bisharp. Jeremiah, ever the dutiful guardian, assumed a protector role to his new clan, tasting the curry before he allowed it through to them.

"They'll fit in well, given time," Matt said. "And look, yours are, too."

It was an accurate observation. Marie, along with Edgar the Duskull, Lenore the Murkrow and Dalian the Gothorita, was sitting at a plate they'd all dumped their respective shares into. The resulting mountain of curry wasn't just for them but for Amanda's Scizor and Anabel's Espeon, Gardevoir and Slowking as well. Nearby, Nekou's Zorua nestled comfortably in Amanda's Zoroark's fur, while her Pumpkaboo sat in the elder Pokémon's arm. Zoroark was caring for them, carefully feeding the two young Pokémon while taking bites of curry here and there for herself.

"Camille and Madeline really took to Zoroark, huh?"

Matt blinked and turned his head. "Camille and Madeline? You finally nicknamed them?"

"Yeah," Nekou replied, subtly moving her head closer to Matt's ear. "I figure if we're gonna be a family, we all gotta have names, right?"

"A family…" Turning back to the Pokémon, Matt thought not only of them but of the people he was sharing the table with. "It might be a really weird one, but if that's what this is… I'm happy with it."

-:-

Meanwhile, far from the group's moment of peace and quiet, the mood in Dr. Zager's isolated laboratory couldn't have been more different. A vicious snowstorm was raging outside, but the scientist cared little about it, in fact, he was only peripherally aware of it at all. He was far too focused on the work presented to him by the drive stolen from the Adenosine Base by James's Klefki and the data extracted by Ada's hacking.

Or, more accurately, his focus was on the product of the work he'd done on the drive using Ada's stolen files.

"Pierce…" he said to the spy, who was standing rigidly at attention behind him. Even as he addressed Pierce, he did not turn away from his computer bank. "I need you to contact Giovanni and send him an urgent message. I know this isn't the best time, since he just got back and all, but like I said, it's urgent."

"Of course, Doctor. What is the message?"

"Tell him that you're bringing me to see him in person, because I've discovered something that we must discuss face-to-face. It's that serious. We may need to make some calls regarding this."

"Very well." Moving to collect his trench coat from a nearby rack, Pierce continued, "I'll send the transmission and prepare our vehicle to transport you. Come join me as soon as you can."

With that, Pierce donned his coat and left the laboratory, heading for the subterranean garage beneath them. Left alone with his thoughts, Zager stared at the data displayed on the central monitor in his system.

"'According to the Oracle's visions, the fulfillment of the Laphicet prophecy is soon to occur…'" he quietly mused to himself, a drop of sweat rolling down his face. "We haven't been slowing them down at all. They've been finishing every one of their plans all this time…"

END of CHAPTER 31