Darkness.
All Seeker-Of-Endings saw was darkness. All he heard was darkness. All he felt was darkness.
Was this what death felt like? Or was he merely in a coma, a state between life and death, still somehow clinging to existence?
He didn't feel pain. He didn't feel fear. He felt nothing but cold, sucking darkness that tugged faintly at his body, propelling him into an abyss of sleep.
But was he already asleep? Was this nothing but a dream, a dream within a dream, or a dream within a dream within many other dreams, an unending cycle of dreams?
"Seeker?"
A voice, the first thing he remembered hearing since…since Siebold, come to think of it. Since he had first passed into this dream, however many dreams it truly was.
"Bringer?" He moved his mouth before even realizing he still had a mouth.
"Seeker, are you all right?"
"You…" Seeker-Of-Endings felt surprise come to his mind. "You called me by my given name…my name of honor…"
"From what Keeper-Of-Memories tells me, you deserve it," said Bringer-Of-Visions as she stepped into view. Seeker-Of-Endings looked around, now recognizing himself as being in the Perish Dimension.
He half expected chains to come flying at him from every direction, to hook into his skin, to-
"Seeker." Bringer-Of-Visions's voice came again, harder. "Do not become distracted by memories and illusions. You can not allow past dangers to consume you in the present."
Seeker-Of-Endings turned to face Bringer-Of-Visions once more. "I…"
"You have done well," said Bringer-Of-Visons, her tone softening once more. "To face Betrayer-Of-Kin alone and come out victorious deserves commendation."
"But I lost…" Seeker-Of-Endings protested confusedly.
"Of course you did," said Bringer-Of-Visions. "You were fighting Betrayer-Of-Kin. But very few can boast of successfully keeping her from her goal, and most of those few are Legendaries. I do not count such a feat as a failure on your part."
"Thank you, Bringer," Seeker-Of-Endings said, bowing his head in gratitude.
"Now," said Bringer-Of-Visions, authority coming to her voice once more, "on to more pressing matters. Betrayer-Of-Kin has Psychically shielded herself, which is usually a sign that she is on the hunt. She has made two attempts on Marcus's life and failed; she will not stop there. It would be beneficial for you to try and guide your Trainer towards Marcus. At this point in time, having you near him will be necessary considering Betrayer-Of-Kin's close proximity to him."
"That…might actually be easier than you think," Seeker-Of-Endings admitted. "You see…during my fight with Betrayer-Of-Kin, I had to reveal I could speak to prevent my Trainer from recalling me and disrupting my Perish Song."
Bringer-Of-Visions let out a quick sigh, closing her eyes momentarily. "Well…you're right in that it will make it easier. And…I suppose if you had not revealed it, Betrayer-Of-Kin would have gotten her prey. It is regrettable, but I will accept that over the alternative. Be careful with your speech, Seeker. Be careful what you say. Remember, your loose lips have already forced us into one intervention."
"I remember, Bringer," said Seeker-Of-Endings.
"Good," said Bringer-Of-Visions. "Now…I believe it is time for you to awaken. Farewell, Seeker, and may the Master guide you."
"And you," Seeker-Of-Endings responded as the Perish Dimension faded away before his eyes, replaced by a sudden bright light that caused him to instinctively hiss and flinch away.
"He's awake," a human voice stated from above him. Seeker-Of-Endings looked up, squinting in the light, to see the telltale white coat of a doctor.
He was lying on a cold metal table in an incredibly well-lit room, covered in sticky white bandages that he realized were being stripped off at this very moment. Seeker-Of-Endings looked around him, seeing three doctors swarming around him, peeling off the bandages to expose his fur and skin. Even as Seeker-Of-Endings scanned the room, a flash of light emanated from the wall to his right, and Seeker-Of-Endings twisted his head to behold Serena, having just been teleported in by the Wigglytuff right next to her.
Serena smiled as Seeker-Of-Endings locked eyes with her. There were no exclamations. Just a look of thankfulness, and pride, and lying under it all, curiosity. Seeker-Of-Endings sighed quietly. He knew he would have to explain his actions soon.
"All done!" one of the doctors said cheerfully. "You can recall him now."
Serena raised Seeker-Of-Endings's Pokeball and did exactly that. Another flash of light came through the cracks in the Pokeball as Wigglytuff teleported Serena back out of the room, and, from the suddenly-loud sounds of many human voices, into the thick of a crowd.
With a thank-you to the Wigglytuff, Serena began to walk, falling silent as she strode through the crowd. Seeker-Of-Endings maneuvered to a point where he could peer out of the Pokeball, and realized that they were back in Lumiose. Serena, interestingly, was heading towards one of Lumiose's grassy areas, a spot where Trainers could release their Pokemon to frolic in lush grass under shady trees.
So she wasn't going to delay her questioning. Understandable, but irritating. Seeker-Of-Endings began gathering his thoughts as Serena stepped onto the grass. With another flash of light, Seeker-Of-Endings was standing before Serena. Her face was curved in a slight frown as she sat down on a nearby bench, continuing to stare at him.
"You can speak now," Serena said. "We're alone."
For a moment, Seeker-Of-Endings considered not speaking, but from the look in Serena's eyes, that had been more of an order than an offer. So, after a few seconds, Seeker-Of-Endings sighed. "All right. I know you have questions, and you deserve answers."
Serena smiled grimly. "Yeah. So…let's start with you being able to speak."
"All of my kind are able to speak the human tongue," said Seeker-Of-Endings. "It is not a skill we prefer not to showcase, for if the world knew of our capability for human speech, my species would garner unwanted attention."
"So…you could speak the entire time we were together?" Serena asked.
"Yes, and for a long time before that," Seeker-Of-Endings answered.
"Okay, fine," said Serena. "Second question: who in Distortion was that other Absol?"
"She is a monster," said Seeker-Of-Endings. "A Pokemon who seeks to kill Trainers. We know her as Betrayer-Of-Kin, and she was the same Absol who attacked Marcus in Coumarine City and put him in the hospital."
"That was the same Absol?" Serena asked, her eyes widening at Seeker-Of-Endings's proclamation.
"Yes, and she was intent on finishing the job," said Seeker-Of-Endings. "I managed to use Perish Song to stall her for long enough that Marcus was able to get away, but…you know how that turned out for me. And if you had gotten in her way, I have no doubt that she would have sliced your throat open without a second thought."
"Did you intentionally track her down to prevent her from getting to Marcus?" Serena asked. "Is that why you ran off?"
"Yes," said Seeker-Of-Endings. He sighed again, seeing the next question coming to Serena's lips. He had dreaded this part of the conversation, dearly hoped it wouldn't come, but he had no choice.
"Why?" Serena asked.
"Because," said Seeker-Of-Endings, "that was my task. I was told by others of my kind to find you and join your team, as they knew that your path would intersect with Marcus, and therefore I could keep a close eye on him without actually having to join his team myself."
Serena shook her head. "So you…you used me?" she asked incredulously.
"Yes." Seeker-Of-Endings closed his eyes in sorrow. When he opened them again, he saw Serena's face twisted into sadness. "Serena, I know-"
"Just…stop," said Serena. "Absol…is that even your name?"
"My true name is Seeker-Of-Endings," Seeker-Of-Endings responded.
"Seeker-Of-Endings." Serena pondered the name for a few seconds before continuing. "I…I don't…all this time, when you've been fighting alongside the rest of the team, winning Gym Battles, all those memories we've shared…was it all a lie?"
Seeker-Of-Endings shook his head. "It was I who was chosen for this mission for a reason. And that reason was because I wanted to experience life as a Trained Pokemon. Yes, I used you, but every moment of that was genuine. Although…I will freely admit that I have been holding back my true strength. In truth, I am around the power level of a Team Flare Admin Pokemon. But that does not change the fact that I have enjoyed every moment of my experience on your team."
Serena stared deep into Seeker-Of-Endings's eyes. "I don't blame you for holding back," she said. "It…would have made things a little weird. And…you really need me to keep you around so that you can watch Marcus, don't you?"
"That is not the only reason I wish to stay, Serena," said Seeker-Of-Endings. "For the last several weeks, I have felt more alive than I ever have felt. Despite what I did to you, you are my Trainer, and I want it to stay that way. I want to finish this journey alongside you, and I want to find out what happens afterwards. And, yes, I do need you to keep me around so that I can watch Marcus. So, Serena, please accept my humble apology for deceiving you, and allow me to remain on your team."
It took a few seconds before Serena gave him a smile in response. "Consider it accepted. Just…let me know next time this 'Betrayer-Of-Kin' shows up. The rest of the team will be happy to-"
"No!" Seeker-Of-Endings snapped. At the sight of surprise on his Trainer's face he sighed. "Not yet. At the level the rest of the team is…they won't even slow her down. They'll just get themselves hurt or killed."
"And you'll fare any better?" Serena asked.
"No," said Seeker-Of-Endings, "but it's my job. If…if next time I'm not so lucky, I'd rather it just be me."
"I understand." Although hesitant, when Serena spoke her voice was steady.
"Thank you," said Seeker-Of-Endings.
Serena grinned. "So, and I promise I was planning this before you told me your job was to protect him, we're actually going to be traveling with Marcus for the rest of the trip. His parents are going to meet us in Snowbelle City, which I'm told is really close to where they live, and after the Gym Battle we're all going to head to the League. So maybe you could introduce yourself to Marcus? Let him know he's 'under your protection', so to speak?"
Seeker-Of-Ending's mouth suddenly felt dry. From the day of his birth, it had been drilled into him that he could not, under any circumstances, let those he was protecting know he was protecting them. For, his teachers had said, that would bring questions about what he was protecting them from, and if they knew that, it might change events unexpectedly. And an unexpected change in events was not what any Herald wanted.
But the thing was, Marcus already knew what Seeker-Of-Endings was protecting him from. Seeing as very few Trainers survived an encounter with Betrayer-Of-Kin, there was no protocol in place for approaching a Trainer who had done that. And Marcus had survived two such encounters.
Seeker-Of-Endings took a deep, hesitating breath. "All right," he said, hoping that Bringer-Of-Visions would understand.
Medicham would freely admit that she was not looking forward to this.
Marcus had released the entire team onto one of Lumiose City's many grassy spots and sat down on a bench to wait for Serena; apparently she would be along with her Absol any minute now. And Medicham had no idea what to think.
On one hand, she knew Seeker-Of-Endings was an enemy of Betrayer-Of-Kin and thus trying to protect Marcus from her. On the other hand, she knew Seeker-Of-Endings had likely arranged that mind-wipe the last time they'd been in Lumiose. So while the Absol was technically - probably - on their side, he was aligned with the Heralds and complicit in their actions.
No matter Seeker-Of-Endings's goals, she could never forgive him for what he'd done - even by proxy - to her.
"Serena!"
Marcus's greeting brought Medicham's attention, and her worst fears were immediately realized. There, by Serena's side, walked Seeker-Of-Endings, white fur nicely groomed and with a thoughtful and surprisingly nervous expression on his face. He caught Medicham's eye for a few moments; Medicham tried to hide her turmoil, though she wasn't sure if those thoughts had escaped his eyes.
Could he read minds? If the Heralds could wipe minds, did that mean they could see minds as well? Even now, was he casually peeking into her thoughts, realizing that her memories had returned?
She realized she had missed Serena's return greeting as Marcus bent downwards. "And hello, Absol. It's been some time, hasn't it?"
Oddly, Serena and Seeker-Of-Endings shared a glance. Serena nodded quickly. Seeker-Of-Endings gathered a breath, then turned back to Marcus. "It certainly has."
Marcus gave a surprised grunt. "Can all you Absols just speak human?"
"Ye-"
"Possibly." Serena interrupted Seeker-Of-Endings. "We're still looking into it. But Seeker-Of-Endings here can."
"That's his name?" Marcus asked.
"Yeah, so don't go calling him 'Absol' anymore." Serena giggled. "The rest of my team you can still call by their species name."
Marcus grunted again. "Well, Seeker-Of-Endings, glad you're out of the hospital," he said. "And…I should thank you. I heard you got injured fighting that…that Absol that tried to kill me."
Seeker-Of-Endings sighed. "That Absol's name is Betrayer-Of-Kin," he said. Medicham watched, surprise dancing in her mind, as Seeker-Of-Endings continued. "She desires your death. I know not why, but I was assigned by…others of my species…to aid in protecting you from her."
Had he seriously just out and told Marcus the same kind of thing that had gotten Medicham mind-wiped? No, Medicham realized; he'd left out all the compromising information, not named the Heralds, and had revealed none of his capability to read the future. He'd told Marcus, essentially, the bare minimum of the story, ensuring that he could tell Marcus a half-truth instead of the full truth.
Marcus looked surprised. "Well…all right, then," he said. "I'm certainly not going to say no. Have to ask, though…if your job was to protect me, why'd you go with Serena?"
Medicham paid close attention to the response. She was reluctantly impressed by how quickly Seeker-Of-Endings responded. "Your Skorupi has had…difficult experiences with Absols," he said. "I felt I could protect you adequately by the side of a Trainer associated with you and nearby to you, and I did not wish to cause too much mental trauma in the process of protecting you."
Skorupi isn't the only one, Medicham thought.
She could have sworn she saw Marcus's eyes flash to her for a second before he looked back at Serena. "So. Ready to head to Snowbelle?"
"I've been ready for days," Serena responded. "Come on, let's go."
The normal route to Snowbelle was from Anistar City; not many Trainers went through Santalune City to Snowbelle. As such, the few Trainers that challenged Marcus or Serena to a battle were effortless to beat down. One poor Trainer sent a Bunnelby out against Medicham; one swift Pure Power-enhanced Aura Blast was enough to send it flying back into its Pokeball, much to that Trainer's shock.
Marcus and Serena told them to keep their money, though. By now, both of them had plenty of Pokedollars from defeating Gym Leaders and assorted other Trainers; they did not need to take money from Trainers whose purpose was testing first-badge Trainers who had just come out of Santalune, not seven-badge Trainers heading to Snowbelle.
So it was that, only about half an hour after they left, Medicham watched from her Pokeball as Marcus and Serena strode into Santalune.
As they neared the fountain, Serena's head shifted to the side. Her eyes widened. "Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?"
Medicham swiftly peeked towards where Serena was looking to see a man and a woman walking over to them. The woman spread out her arms for a hug, one which Serena reciprocated.
"We're in town to stock up on Potions and other healing items," said Serena's mother. "Dart and Dash were fighting again, and we realized our potions were running low when we treated them."
"And who's this?" Serena's father asked.
"This is Marcus," said Serena, commencing a round of introductions. At some point Medicham was released to further introductions. It was all very polite.
"He's a friend that Calem and I met on our journey," Serena explained. "Our Pokemon were both hurt from Geosenge, and so Calem went on ahead to Snowbelle, but since my Absol had to be hospitalized in Lumiose, Marcus and I headed there, and then we decided it would be easier to just backtrack through Santalune."
Serena's mother sighed. "It still worries me…knowing you were stuck in Geosenge while all that stuff with Team Flare was going down…I'm glad you weren't in the thick of it."
"Thanks, Mom," said Serena. "I'm glad too. It…it was pretty terrifying."
Medicham saw surprise light up Marcus's eyes, but he said nothing as Serena's father checked his watch. "We really should go."
"All right," Serena's mom said sadly. "Goodbye, Serena! I'll see you at the Pokemon League!"
"Don't worry, I'll be there!" Serena called as her parents turned and walked away, waving goodbye as they did so.
"You lied?"
Serena and Medicham both turned to look at Marcus. "What was I supposed to tell them?" Serena hissed, signaling for Marcus to keep quiet. "That I'd been in the heart of their base? I read the article - it merely said we helped with the battle against Team Flare, didn't go into any particulars, so I told my parents that we'd just gotten stuck in Geosenge and a group of Team Flare goons had jumped us before we could get out. I'm sorry; I just didn't want them to worry."
Marcus hesitated. "I…kinda wish I'd thought of that…" he admitted.
Serena winced. "Right, your parents contacted you on the elevator…gotta admit, I don't envy the conversation you had to have."
Marcu swallowed at the memory. "Let's just…agree not to mention anything about Geosenge to my parents, okay?"
"Okay," said Serena. "Come on, let's go."
But even as Serena turned to walk away, another female Trainer suddenly teleported right in front of them, narrowly missing Serena as she jumped backwards. "Oh! Sorry, sorry!" the new arrival said quickly. "Are you all right?"
Medicham realized with a jolt that she recognized this Trainer - Emma, apprentice to Looker and one of the two International Police Officers who had aided in the attack on the Power Plant. Serena seemed to as well. "Oh, wait, I know you!" she said. "You're…Emma, right? The Fairy-type Trainer? What're you doing here?"
"Challenging the Gym," said Emma.
Marcus looked shocked. "Challenging the - this is the first Gym! The Tournament's only three weeks away - are you seriously trying to complete the Gym Challenge in three weeks?"
"Yeah," said Emma. "Something…kinda came up, and now I have to do this before the Tournament…but I've got a teleporter." She indicated the Wigglytuff standing next to her, who gave a cheery wave. "So I think I'll be all right."
"Maybe you'll even face one of us," said Serena.
"Maybe so." Emma grinned. "I'd challenge you to a battle right now, but…like you said, I've only got three weeks, so it'll have to wait until the Tournament. I'll see you then."
With hasty goodbyes, Marcus and Serena watched as Emma turned and hustled towards the Santalune Gym. Marcus recalled Medicham into her Luxury Ball, and the two Trainers resumed their walk across Santalune.
"Where do you know her from?" Marcus asked as they neared the gate.
"She was at the…she was fighting Team Flare," said Serena, switching her statement halfway through as she realized Marcus didn't know about the Power Plant. "I think she's actually with the International Police."
"Really?" Marcus asked. Serena nodded, and Marcus whistled. "Wow. That'll be a tough opponent to face."
"No kidding." Serena said. "I'll be honest, I really hope I don't have to fight her. My team's not built for fighting Fairy-types - I only beat Valerie on a technicality. Both our last Pokemon knocked each other out, but she gave me the badge for taking her to a draw without a single Pokemon with type advantage - though I bet it was also partially because she'd heard about my fights with Team Flare."
"Not bad," said Marcus. "I…well, I had Drapion, so it was easier for me."
"Yeah, I bet, considering her Mr. Mime's Psychic abilities don't work against a Poison/Dark-type," said Serena.
"It still gave me quite a fight," said Marcus. "How'd you get past his defense?"
"Absol," said Serena. "Or…I guess I need to get used to calling him Seeker-Of-Endings. Point is, he was fast enough that he could just blitz Mr. Mime down. And thank goodness I still had my own Sylveon in the back, because Valerie's Sylveon finished Seeker-Of-Endings off in an instant."
"You've got a Sylveon?" Marcus asked.
"Yeah. Eevee's her and Jolteon's daughter," said Serena. "She's currently at home, though. Came down with a fever before everything went down at Geosenge."
And with that, the duo stepped through the gate out of Santalune, continuing to talk to one another as they made their way up the road to Snowbelle.
The journey from Santalune to Snowbelle was no more eventful than the stretch from Lumiose to Santalune had been; if anything, despite it taking longer, it was even easier, as very few Trainers occupied this stretch of road. It took about an hour of walking to reach Snowbelle City, by which point the sun was lowering in the sky. As they answered Snowbelle, Medicham, still from inside her Luxury Ball, instantly spotted Sarah and James standing under a frosted tree.
Greetings and introductions were quickly made, and this time the entire team was released for Sarah and James to see. In response, they released the Delcatty and Furfrou, Scamper and Puffball, that Medicham remembered from her very first day as a Trained Pokemon. Puffball quickly and enthusiastically greeted the rest of the team, while Scamper, spying Medicham, strolled over to her.
"So you evolved," the Delcatty said. "How's life been?"
"Not bad," Medicham answered.
Scamper's eyes gleamed. "So. What do you think? Is life as a Trained Pokemon worth it?"
Medicham opened her mouth and nearly said yes. But as the word came up her throat, her mind could not help but fly back to Marcus, lying on the bloodstained grass; to her teammates, battered and unconscious under vicious Team Flare Pokemon; to the dangerous battles; to the blood that had been spilled; to the Absols that now seemed to be involved in so much she barely understood…
To the memory of watching her own body fade away and Distortion take its place.
But with those memories came others, too. The triumph of watching Viola's Vivillon fall to the ground, defeated. The surge of happiness whenever they won a difficult battle or caught a new teammate. The glorious feeling of evolution, and later of gaining her Ability. Meeting the Lifebringer himself and watching him challenge the Harbinger of Death and triumph. And all those small memories, those moments with individual team members, short conversations and sparring sessions that all felt so wholesome.
Being on a Trainer's team was fantastic. But…it was also dangerous.
And Medicham could not decide on an answer.
"I…I don't know." The words that did leave her mouth were not the words she wanted to say, but they were the only words she could think of that had some small modicum of truth to them.
Scamper frowned. "No problem," he said, words that did not match with the Delcatty's facial expression at all as he turned and stepped back to Sarah and James, who were watching with humor dancing in their eyes as the rest of Marcus's team tried to adapt to the rambunctious ball of energy that was Puffball.
Medicham did not watch. For that horrific realization still stuck with her. The happy memories were tempered by the memories of danger, of terror…memories that, thanks in part to Kriesh's words, she had temporarily managed to force back.
Now they had come surging forth again, and tears came to Medicham's eyes as she realized she genuinely didn't know whether her experiences with Marcus had been worth all of the pain and fear.
Night had fallen. The team were in their Luxury Balls on the floor of the hotel room next to Marcus's bed. Medicham leaned back on the gel, feeling it cool under the back of her head, enticing her to sleep.
Thankfully, sleep came quickly...or at least it was about to. For as Medicham was on the edge of slipping into sleep, she felt her Luxury Ball shift around her.
Medicham started, shaking her head and blinking the sleep from her eyes as she felt something lifting her Luxury Ball. Awful thoughts immediately slipped into her mind; was she being stolen? Was some thief taking her away from Marcus for some nefarious purpose?
It was with profound relief that she felt herself being released. Relief that lasted for all of a second as she beheld that she was now on Marcus's bed, and Marcus was staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Medicham," he said. "We need to talk. Because I'm pretty sure I heard your voice inside my head back at Lumiose...and I don't think it was the first time."
Medicham felt all of her breath leave her at once as her heart leaped into her throat. This...this was exactly what she'd been trying to avoid! She thought she was safe! And furthermore, she hadn't even spoken at Lumiose, had she? No, she hadn't...
But she'd thought.
She considered denying it. But from the way Marcus was staring at her, he would not take denial as a correct answer.
So she sighed, and, as she vaguely recalled doing with Elle, she forced her wildly gyrating thoughts into a single sentence, directed at Marcus. "Can you hear me?"
"Yes," said Marcus. "I can hear you."
Medicham sighed, the last vestige of hope fading from her heart. She knew this would not end well. Now that Marcus could ask questions of her, it would not take long before his questions led to something dangerous, likely involving the Heralds. And if her random thoughts could potentially be heard, he might even hear something compromising that would lead the Heralds straight to him.
She just knew it in her heart that this would not end well.
But she knew the jig was up. Marcus knew now. There was no avoiding that.
"Well, there's no point in denying it any longer."
"How long could you do that?" Marcus asked.
"Since Geosenge, I think," Medicham responded. "I'm sorry I didn't show you earlier. I genuinely didn't know how it worked. I was just...just...not sure if you could understand me, or if you did, what you could understand and what you couldn't."
"Hey, it's fine." Marcus raised his hands placatingly. "It's...really cool, actually. I've heard a lot of stories about Psychic Pokemon telepathically communicating with their Trainers...although usually it takes a couple months, and we've only been together for...what, a month?"
Medicham had no idea how to respond to that. What was she supposed to tell him, that she'd learned how to do it with her old Trainer who had been assaulted by a gang of Absols?
"I guess you're an especially strong Psychic," said Marcus with a grin.
"Yeah, seems that way." Medicham elected to just go with that and be done with it.
Marcus grinned. "So...I think this'll make things easier in both training and battling," he said. "Do you think this telepathic communication will work in combat?"
"Not yet," said Medicham. "It...takes some effort to hold this up. You'd be better off giving me orders as usual for now."
"All right," said Marcus. "We'll...talk later. After the battle, let's start practicing. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Good night, Medicham."
"Good night, Marcus."
Once more Seeker-Of-Endings stepped into the expanse of darkness that was the Perish Dimension to see Bringer-Of-Visions approaching him. This time, though, he was the one who had issued the summons, something that was evident by the surprise in Bringer-Of-Visions's expression.
"I will admit this was unexpected," said Bringer-Of-Visions. "What is the matter, Seeker?"
"Circumstances...turned difficult," Seeker-Of-Endings responded. "In order to maintain my position as a member of Serena's team, I was forced to alert Marcus about my intent to protect him." Bringer-Of-Visions's eyes narrowed, and Seeker-Of-Endings hastily added, "It's all right, he already knew about Betrayer-Of-Kin, we don't need to wipe his memories!"
"Did you alert him of anything else?" Bringer-Of-Visions asked. "Did you spill our name? Our abilities?"
"No, not this time," said Seeker-Of-Endings. "I merely advised him that others of my kind had assigned me to protect him from Betrayer-Of-Kin."
Bringer-Of-Visions sighed. "Any difficult questions?"
"He asked why I hadn't just joined his team," said Seeker-Of-Endings. "I alerted him of his Skorupi's Absol-related trauma and used it as an excuse."
"Good, that's exactly what you should have done," said Bringer-Of-Visions. "It is a shame, but at least you did not reveal anything potentially dangerous. I must admit, you took a risk alerting Marcus to your position. What did your Future Sight tell you of that decision?"
"It would result in only a 4.8% chance that Marcus found out too much information," said Seeker-Of-Endings. "While not telling him anything would have disappointed Serena, resulting in a 15.77% chance that she would have kicked me off the team."
"Then, sadly, it seems that it was the best option," said Bringer-Of-Visions. "Well done, Seeker-Of-Endings. I am glad that your appointment as protector of Marcus has not been a disappointment."
"Thank you, Bringer."
"May the Master guide you, Seeker."
"Pure Power: Aura Strike!"
Medicham threw a brutal Aura-boosted punch that slammed straight into the Weavile's stomach, sending it tumbling to the ground, clutching its body and moaning in agony. The Weavile's Trainer, one of three that they'd had to face so far, recalled his Weavile and in its place sent out a strong-looking Mamoswine.
Marcus and Serena had flipped a coin as to who would get to challenge Wulfric first, and Marcus had won the coin flip, meaning Serena would be in the stands with Marcus's parents upon the advent of his fight with Wulfric. Wulfric's Gym was clearly meant as preparation for the Tournament; before fighting Wulfric, Marcus had to go through a gauntlet of three Gym Trainers via a tournament-style bracket; eight Trainers, then four, and finally the top two, all in three-on-three battles with one another.
This was the third, and after Houndoom had taken out his Snover, his Weavile had unexpectedly managed to land some Fighting-type moves that had resulted in Marcus recalling Houndoom. Medicham had come out, and had just taken out the Weavile, meaning that this Mamoswine was the last Pokemon this Trainer had.
"Quaking Trample!" the Mamoswine bellowed, rushing Medicham with muscles rippling under its furry skin.
"Meet it!" Marcus called.
Medicham hurled herself forwards, leaping into the air with her muscular legs. "Pure Power: Aura Finisher!"
"Gotcha!" the Gym Trainer cried. "Mamoswine, Protect!"
Mamoswine transitioned from his charge to a defensive stance insanely quickly, raising a barrier of ice in Medicham's path. Clearly, this Gym Trainer had trained Mamoswine to be speedy. But as Medicham was learning, Feint, which she had overlooked for quite some time, was an absolutely fantastic move at this level, where several Pokemon had Protect and, to an extent, relied on it.
Hellhound had been tricky because, while he'd known Protect, he'd proven tanky enough that one Feint-boosted Fighting Finisher hadn't been enough to take him out, and then he'd been able to adapt. But this wasn't just a standard Fighting Finisher. This was a Pure Power-boosted Aura Finisher, and this was just a Gym Trainer's Mamoswine, not an Elite Four's Ace.
"Piercing Strike!" she cried.
The crack that ripped through the air of the Ice Gym was near-deafening. Mamoswine's Protect shattered and he took Medicham's foot straight to the forehead. Mamoswine let out a loud groan as he stumbled backwards, a dazed look in his eyes.
He was still conscious - he was a Pokemon from the eighth and final Gym - but he looked completely staggered. Medicham crouched, readying herself for a swift Pure Power-boosted punch to follow up.
But the Gym Trainer recalled his Mamoswine. "Wow…that was a strong hit," he admitted. "Mamoswine'll have quite the headache after that one."
"Sorry," said Marcus.
"Don't be sorry," said the Gym Trainer. "It shows you've trained your Pokemon well for them to have achieved that kind of power. But now you'll have to face Wulfric, and he's a lot tougher than I am! Good luck!"
"Thanks." With that, the Gym Trainer stepped aside, allowing Marcus to step through the doorway into the main arena. Marcus was quick to apply a Potion each to Houndoom and Medicham before entering.
The sounds of cheering from the stands were instantaneous. "Go, Marcus!" Sarah cried, as James and Serena backed her up with a chorus of "Woohoo!" It was a somewhat embarrassing display, but then again, they were his parents, and Serena seemed to have been roped into their cheering.
"Welcome!" The booming voice could only have come from the large white-haired bearded man dressed in a large blue jacket standing on the opposite end of the arena. "I am Wulfric, Ice-type Gym Leader and the second-to-last obstacle between you and the Kalos Pokemon League Tournament! Though, if you ask me, Robbie barely counts as an obstacle…"
He grinned. "Enough talk, though! We will engage in a five-on-five battle! And if you want to participate in that tournament, boy, you'll have to get through me and my tough Ice-types! Cryogonal! Get out there and show 'em what you're made of!"
"Kriesh," said Marcus, "you're up first. Remember, be careful in here, and don't let it freeze you."
Surprise glittered in Wulfric's eyes before his grin stretched even wider. "You've got some nerve using a Flying-type in here, boy! I'm game! Let's see what you're made of! Cryogonal, Ice Beam!"
Cryogonal glared up at Kriesh. "Frost Volley."
"Sky Impact!" Kriesh dove out of the way as Cryogonal fired off a jagged beam of Ice Energy at her, and Medicham's fists clenched as she watched the battle commence, knowing that soon Marcus would call upon her.
And, regardless of her feelings towards their journey together, she would not fail him here.