When Medicham was released the next day, she was immediately on alert. Marcus had kept his promise, taking the team to a glass-roofed building with multiple small dirt-filled arenas inside that Professor Sycamore had ready in case of rain and holding their practice inside, but even so, Medicham found herself glancing around all throughout the session, waiting for the horde of Skorupi and Drapion she knew was coming.
But it didn't come.
It didn't come the next day, either. Or the day after that. Before Medicham knew it, a week had gone by. Then two. Then a month, and then that became two as well. It was strange, really, how quickly time seemed to move when the team wasn't involved in any major crises.
Eventually Medicham began to untense, and soon she was fully engrossing herself in the continuing training, both by day with Marcus and by night with Darkrai. Darkrai's total control over the Dream World allowed Medicham to train throughout the night while still getting a good night's rest, enabling her to rise in the morning free of exhaustion. It was just one of the many useful applications the Legendary's powers could be used for.
The daytime training was fairly grueling, but the team persevered through it. All of them knew that growing stronger would be necessary for what lay ahead. The Swarmlord, of course, but not a day went by that Medicham didn't remember Necrozma's promise. Hopefully, she thought, the Alolans can handle it.
And yet she knew otherwise. She'd come face to face with both Necrozma and his strongest lieutenant - the Aberration - and had gotten away. Creatures like them didn't just forget that. Medicham had an awful feeling in her gut that they would come for her. And so she threw herself bodily into both the daytime and nighttime training.
The rest of the group was training too. Serena especially - Umbreon was coming along nicely, and Inkay had finally evolved into Malamar, so Serena was spending a lot of her time with them, getting them up to an appreciably strong level. She had not yet challenged Marcus to the battle that would hopefully make her an official Gym Trainer, something that clearly somewhat worried Marcus. Medicham understood; if Serena won, that would leave Marcus with only two Gym Trainers, and there were only a couple weeks until the three-month mark.
One person he had battled with was Calem. Medicham had been both surprised and not when their old rival had beaten them. On one hand, they'd won last time; on the other, this time Calem had been actually fighting with six Pokemon, and clearly he'd been training other Pokemon, because in addition to the usual suspects of Blastoise, Chesnaught, and Lucario, he'd come at them with the Alakazam he'd teleported them to Vaniville with, a male Meowstic that Medicham vaguely recalled seeing him with when they'd first met near Lumiose, and a Flareon, which Medicham assumed was the Eevee he'd gotten from his egg. Ultimately, the battle had been fairly close; Marcus had knocked out five of Calem's Pokemon, but by that point his last Pokemon - Trevenant - had been on their last legs, and when Calem had released his Flareon Marcus had conceded without a fight.
It stung slightly, but only the way a loss in battle normally did. Not like it had when Calem had beaten them the first time. He still liked to switch, and did so often, but no longer did he switch Pokemon out of attacks, nor did he use any of the other unfair strategies he'd used in the past. Medicham was quite gratified at that.
So life went on. Training continued, deadlines moved ever closer, and so it was that on a sunny day a little over two months after the adventure in the forest, the team found themselves squaring off in a series of one-on-one battles. Medicham was not participating with the rest of the team; instead, she was sparring with Calem's Lucario, whom she had struck up a bit of a rapport with. They'd decided on no Psychic abilities, as with them Medicham could overwhelm Lucario every time; rather, this was a test of Medicham's Aura capabilities, pure strength against pure strength.
"Pure Power: Aura Strike!"
"Aura Fist." Lucario and Medicham's punches clashed with an explosion of Aura; the force of the blast buffeted Medicham and she nearly staggered, but managed to keep her feet.
"Aura Sphere." Lucario brought his other hand to his side, palm open and facing Medicham. Medicham saw it coming. "Aura Avoidance!" she cried, twisting away as Lucario fired the Aura Sphere from his palm. The blast shot past her face and dissipated against the nearby wall.
"Pure Power: Aura Wave!" Medicham cried.
Over the past two months, she'd taken Darkrai's advice to heart, and the bulk of her time had been spent improving upon her usage of Pure Power. One of the additions to her arsenal of techniques was Aura Wave: instead of gathering Aura around her fist for a punch, she gathered it around her leg for a stomp, unleashing a wave of Aura either in a single direction or omnidirectionally. Marcus had told Medicham that many of her kind almost exclusively used their large, muscular legs for physical attacks. Medicham could see why, but so long of being a Meditite had given her an affinity for arm-based strikes. So she mainly used them, but it wasn't like she couldn't use her legs to attack.
This time, she sent the wave out in a hemispherical formation, centered on Lucario. "Aura Stone Strike." Lucario's response was a blade of Rock energy that shot into the midst of the Aura Wave, splitting it in two. The broken halves sailed to either side of Lucario, leaving the Fighting/Steel-type untouched.
"Aura Stave." Lucario manifested two miniature staves, one in each hand, and flung himself at Medicham.
Fine. We'll do it that way, then.
"Pure Power: Aura Shield!" Medicham raised her right forearm, manifesting an oval-shaped translucent blue barrier across it to take a strike from one of Lucario's staves. The technique was one of the more complicated she'd learned in the past couple months, though ironically it stemmed from one of the easiest. It had started when she'd begun summoning Aura to her fists, but instead of throwing it or dispersing it into an opponent with a punch, had endeavored to hold it there, allowing the Aura to play across her knuckles for minutes on end. Darkrai had told her that it would help with her control. Once she'd figured out how to do that, she'd begun to try to exert her will on her held Aura. She'd started small, forming it into a sphere, and from a sphere she'd begun trying to create a shield-esque circle. It was difficult work - the concentration required was immense - but at present she could consistently create a shield of Aura around her forearm, somewhat similar to Protect, but definitely not impenetrable.
Indeed, the Aura Shield held against Lucario's Aura-infused stave. Lucario twisted, swinging with the other stave. Medicham raised her other arm. "Pure Power: Aura Blade!"
This technique was imperfect, she knew, but she also knew practicing it was vital. After she'd figured out how to form a shield, she'd begun trying to form a sword, focusing on straightening out one of the curves on her Aura Shield into a corner, then elongating it into a blade. At present, it was difficult to hold, and failed far too often.
Sure enough, as Medicham's Aura Blade clashed with Lucario's Aura Stave, the point of the blade flickered and dissipated. Lucario's stave swept onwards, delivering a stinging blow to Medicham's cheek before she could duck it with Aura Avoidance.
"Pure Power: Aura Blast!" Medicham unleashed a swift sphere of Aura at Lucario's chest, but Lucario countered with his own Aura Avoidance, twisting to swing a backhand strike with an Aura Stave at Medicham's side. "Aura Avoidance!" Medicham cried, backpedaling to avoid the strike. She leaped into the air, raising both hands up in front of her, palms facing Lucario. "Pure Power: Aura Beam!" Medicham shouted, gathering Aura in her palms.
Aura Beam was by far the strongest of Medicham's new techniques. It wasn't complicated - just a concentrated beam of pure Aura, not unlike Kriesh's Beam Impact. But if it hit it had jaw-dropping power; the first time she'd properly used it, not even Drapion's Battle Armor had been enough to stop it from sending him flying across the arena, propelled by the sheer force of the Aura Beam.
Now she readied herself to launch it at Lucario, who was slightly off balance from his missed swing. Lucario's eyes widened and he raised his own palms to the sky. "Aura Sphere Barrage!"
Medicham fired her Aura Beam, and Lucario launched a flurry of Aura Spheres at it. They landed one after the other, a staccato-sounding thwoom-thwoom-thwoom resounding as each impact blunted the beam more and more. But still it came on as Medicham focused on the beam with her mind, propelling it forwards even through the barrage. Lucario clenched his fists. "Fine…have it your way. I call upon the power of Mega Evolution!"
In a flash of rainbow light, Lucario's body transformed, dark red spiked armor forming on his fists and feet, his head-tails fluttering out behind him, and his fur growing shaggier and larger. Mega Lucario crouched. "Adaptability! Defensive Style: Aura Protection!"
Mega Lucario crossed his arms in front of himself, his new red armor shifting to cover his upper arms as well as his forearms, and a layer of blue Aura forming over that as well. He gritted his teeth and took the Aura Beam head-on, trusting in his numerous defensive shields to hold back the sheer force of the attack.
Even with all that defense, Mega Lucario still was sent skidding back, his feet digging twin furrows in the ground nearly fifteen feet long before the beam finally dissipated against his defense. Medicham landed in a crouch. "Pure Power: Aura Blast!" she cried, hoping to surprise Mega Lucario before he could recover.
"Adaptability: Speed Style." Mega Lucario's armor shifted to a more aerodynamic form. "Aura Avoidance!" he snarled, lunging to the side to dodge the Aura Blast. His feet kicked up dirt as he lunged. "Aura Blitz!"
Medicham hurled herself at his oncoming body. Leaping off the ground, she twisted and launched a powerful flying roundhouse kick at Mega Lucario. "Pure Power: Aura Finisher!"
"Adaptability: Offensive Style."
Mega Lucario reached up with his left hand and caught Medicham's kick in midair. "Aura Swift Fist," Mega Lucario intoned, and with a movement so fast Medicham could barely see it he threw a vicious punch straight into Medicham's stomach.
Extreme Speed. Right…they can do that…
Mega Lucario released Medicham's leg as the punch landed, allowing his blow to launch Medicham across the entire room. The Aura he'd infused the punch with only made it hurt all the more; Medicham slammed hard into the wall and toppled to the ground, both her chest and back afire with pain. The force of her landing had been enough to send up a spray of dust, and she coughed, trying to rise and get the dust out of her lungs at the same time.
"A good fight."
Lucario's hand came into view, no longer covered in the red armor that signaled him being Mega Evolved. Medicham took it gratefully. "You grow stronger each day," said Lucario. "It is clear you have come a long way since our last battle - the fact that I had to access my Mega Evolution to defeat you should be evidence enough of that."
"Thank you," said Medicham.
"I must return to my Trainer," said Lucario. "I look forward to our next clash."
"So do I," said Medicham. With a smile Lucario turned and walked away, exiting the room with a casual demeanor that belied his recent victory.
Glancing around the room, Medicham could at once tell that the rest of Marcus's team, and Marcus herself, had paused to watch the fight, but as she looked around they swiftly went back to fighting. Medicham sat down on the floor. The pain had eased, but her chest and back still throbbed. Holding one hand to her chest, Medicham leaned back and watched the rest of the team spar.
Most of them had spent the past two months doing similar work to Medicham - rather than learning brand-new techniques, they were honing existing ones and finding new variants. Kriesh, for example, had continued to work on expanding the ways she could utilize Earth Impact, and with Marcus's help, had also figured out a way to release the Ground energy the technique called for in a sort of ranged attack. Kriesh also referred to that as Earth Impact, since she considered it less of a new move and more of an extension of an old one; Marcus, however, called it Mud-Slap.
Right now she was sparring with Cloyster, whose main advancement over the past two months had been learning Iron Defense. With the aid of the Steel-type technique, which had effectively phased out Withdraw, his shell was now hard enough that he was using melee attacks again, even if he still preferred to deal with his foes via a nigh-unavoidable barrage of Skill Link-enhanced ranged attacks.
Nearby, Trevenant and Kamado were fighting. The little Tyrunt had certainly come far in the past couple months. After the adventure with the Onix, Marcus was clearly determined to ensure Kamado could at least fight closer to the level of the rest of the team. In a short span of time, Kamado had learned quite a bit about how to manipulate Rock energy; in the space of a week he'd learned how to scatter Rock energy across the opposing side of a battlefield, a technique Marcus called Stealth Rock; Kamado decided to go along with that name for the technique, not seeing any reason to change it. He also was given a TM for Dragon Claw, courtesy of Professor Sycamore, which he called Dragon Attack, and similar names were given to the elemental fangs, which Drapion had begun to teach him. Finally, Marcus had taken it upon himself to teach Kamado Ancient Power. Medicham recognized the name of the base form of Rock energy; Ancient Power was, essentially, the ultimate technique for Rock energy manipulation, and it would increase the versatility of Kamado's Rock-type moves tenfold. At present, Kamado was struggling to move past the ingrained instincts to lift and throw Rock energy in the style of Rock Tomb, but Medicham knew he'd learn other uses of Ancient Power (which Kamado referred to as Rock Manipulation) with time.
After all, she'd been doing the same with her Aura.
Trevenant, for their part, had been experimenting with their Ability as well. Trevenant's initial impressions of his Ability had been confirmed through extensive testing; Harvest allowed the user to grow plants, but didn't give them control once they had grown. This didn't make much sense to Medicham; if that was the case, wasn't Harvest a strictly worse version of Grassy Surge or Overgrow, which allowed the user to directly control Grass energy or its base form however they saw fit? Despite that limitation, Trevenant had taken to improving their use of Harvest quite well, and was now sprouting a flurry of miniature snaggly trees from the earthen floor as Kamado danced through them, Rock energy swirling around him and a Fire Fang surging across his jaws.
Across from them, three of the four Dark-types on Marcus's team were hanging back and watching as well. They'd dueled earlier in the day, Pangoro against Houndoom and Drapion against Liepard. Pangoro hadn't exactly been gentle with his opponent, and Houndoom was still laid up in the Pokemon Center. It was a shame, because Medicham knew he, out of all the senior members of the team besides her, had probably improved the most. His control over Flash Fire had reached a point where he could easily manipulate his own attacks, creating staggering displays of Fire energy that could easily devastate an opponent from any direction. Furthermore, similar to Medicham, he had begun attempting to form the Fire energy into shields and weapons, and if anything he was further along than she was. Which made sense; she was trying to manipulate Aura, the base form of Fighting energy and therefore far more complicated, whereas he simply utilized basic Fire energy, much easier to control.
Pangoro, for his part, had eventually figured out how to toss Fighting energy, something Marcus called Focus Blast; Marcus had instantly attempted to teach Pangoro how to do the same with Dark energy, enlisting Houndoom's help to try and teach Pangoro Dark Pulse. By now he was capable of doing that as well, but aside from Dark Pulse and Focus Blast Pangoro had been content to simply enhance his existing raw strength with the training.
As for Liepard and Drapion, both had merely spent the two months enhancing their strength, speed, and durability. Marcus had tried to obtain a TM for Earthquake, but had been unsuccessful; even Professor Sycamore had come up empty. Apparently the move was highly prized. Drapion had been strangely not disappointed by that turn of events; it was almost like he disliked the move itself.
A cheer from the crowd banished that thought from Medicham's mind; she glanced over to see Kamado tumbling to the ground, vines wrapped around his ankles. "Harvest: Vine Growth!" Trevenant cried, raising a hand; several more vines surged out of the ground, binding Kamado to the earth. The Tyrunt struggled against Trevenant's grasp, but Medicham had seen Trevenant at work, and knew that Kamado was stuck fast.
"Enough," said Marcus, underscoring the point; Kamado ceased his struggles as Trevenant retracted his vines. The Trainer stepped forwards. "Excellent job, both of you. Kamado, I think it's time you went against another member of the team."
Kamado's face fell. "But-"
"Listen," said Marcus. "I know Trevenant is your friend. And I know you two like to spar against one another. It's not like I'm saying you have to stop sparring altogether. But…look at it this way. Do you think all your opponents are going to be Trevenants?"
"Uh…no," Kamado admitted. "Very well, Pack-Leader. I shall seek another foe at your command."
"All right," said Marcus. "Hmm…Cloyster, maybe-"
The sound of a door opening cut Marcus's words off. All eyes turned to the door of the room, and there in the doorway stood Serena, blonde hair blowing in the wind. One hand was on her belt, and she was staring at Marcus with a determined expression on her face.
"I'm ready," she said.
Marcus looked back at Pangoro, Liepard, and Drapion, then back to Serena. "All right."
"Farceur! Aider: Drapion!"
"Thgin Hsals!"
Malamar swept one of her tentacles, enhanced with Dark energy, at Liepard, but before the blow could land a surge of Bug energy lanced out from Liepard's body and sent Malamar flying backwards. Liepard pounced. "Tranche Vicieuse!" she hissed; even as Malamar rolled Liepard's paw slammed into the Dark/Psychic-type's face, sending her flying once again.
"Malamar, hold on!" Serena cried. Malamar skidded to a halt by Serena's feet; she managed to rise, raising herself with her tentacles, but the powerful Bug-type attack Liepard had used had clearly done a number on the Dark/Psychic-type.
Indeed, the fight had not gone at all well for Malamar. It wasn't that Malamar was weak - Medicham could tell as she watched from the sidelines that Serena's training had made Malamar into a force to be reckoned with - but she simply wasn't fast enough to catch Liepard, and if one couldn't catch Liepard, they weren't going to defeat her.
Malamar hadn't even unlocked her Ability yet, which might have evened the odds a little bit. As it was, there was no way Malamar was going to win this fight.
And Serena knew it, too.
"Malamar, come back," she said. "Seeker, take her place. Let's get back into this."
Medicham's eyes narrowed as the Absol emerged from his Pokeball. It was strange, really - out of all the Heralds, she liked Seeker-Of-Endings the best, but that was like saying she preferred a shallow cut over a deep one. No matter how many times he protected Marcus, Medicham could never forget how he'd arranged for her memory to be wiped in Lumiose.
Nor could she forget that he was only here because of Bringer-Of-Visions' orders.
She spotted Marcus fingering Liepard's Luxury Ball. One of the many things he'd taken care of in the past two months was finally getting Liepard and Pangoro Luxury Balls to go with the rest of the team. They were expensive - even more so now that Lysandre Labs, their primary maker, was in a state of legal limbo - but Marcus had earned more than enough money from battles to make the purchase.
"All right, Liepard, this one's dangerous," Marcus warned. "Be ready."
"Seeker, let's show them your new move," Serena urged.
Medicham frowned. New move? As if Seeker-Of-Endings wasn't strong enough already?
"Right." Seeker-Of-Endings crouched. In a flash he split into half a dozen illusionary copies; five of them sprang at Liepard, while one hung back next to Serena.
"Pursuit!" Marcus ordered.
But as Liepard let fly with five seeking rays of Dark energy, one aimed at each of the copies, all five opened their mouths and disgorged rays of their own. Marcus and Liepard's eyes widened as the dual Pursuits slammed into one another and dissipated. Liepard skidded to a halt. "Tranche Ventouse!" she cried, slamming a swift Dark energy-enhanced paw strike into one of the copies in a vain attempt to strike the real one. But she hit a copy, and the real Seeker-Of-Endings' horn flared with Dark energy as he drove it into Liepard's shoulder before she could evade.
The copies, including the one next to Serena, disappeared as Seeker-Of-Endings skidded to a halt. Liepard staggered as she turned to face him, her left shoulder dripping blood.
He can use that technique now? Firing Pursuit rays from his Double Team clones? Medicham remembered Betrayer-Of-Kin being able to do that. It must be a technique that only the stronger Heralds are capable of using.
"Tranche Furieuse!" Liepard was hurling a barrage of fast, powerful slashes at Seeker-Of-Endings, but the Absol's horn parried each strike. Now Seeker-Of-Endings lashed out with one paw; Liepard barely ducked the strike, but the sudden dodge left her slightly off-balance, and Seeker-Of-Endings took full advantage of the misstep. He ducked his own head and swept his horn sideways, cleaving it straight across Liepard's right cheek.
Even as Liepard recovered, Seeker-Of-Endings used Double Team again. Liepard glanced between the half-dozen clones, eyes glinting as she attempted to locate the real one. "Hone Claws!" Marcus cried. Liepard crouched, and as an aura of Dark energy flared to life around her Medicham recalled that Hone Claws increased the accuracy of the user's attacks. With the move, Liepard would be able to pick out the real Seeker-Of-Endings amongst his clones.
"Augmenter L'Attaque!" Liepard's eyes narrowed as she glared at the Seeker-Of-Endings second to the right. "Tranche Sournoise!" she snarled, lunging straight for the Absol with claws outstretched.
Seeker-Of-Endings' claws dug into the ground. His copies dissipated, no longer of use to him. Dark energy blazed along his horn as he lowered his head, gathering for a charge. The Absol leaped to meet Liepard, pounding across the ground with horn readied to meet Liepard's charge.
And then his body flared with Fighting energy.
"Liepard, stop!" Marcus cried, but Liepard was already in midair. Seeker-Of-Endings' Detect propelled him out of the way, and as Liepard soared past he twisted and scored his horn down Liepard's side from shoulder to hind leg. Liepard tumbled to the ground, blood spraying from the massive wound as she rolled to a stop in a cloud of dust.
Seeker-Of-Endings watched with a cold look in his eyes as the dust cleared, revealing Liepard lying on the ground, feebly stirring. Marcus recalled her into her Luxury Ball the instant he saw her. Medicham eyed Seeker-Of-Endings angrily as Marcus whispered comfort into Liepard's ball; she knew it was just how a battle worked, but the sheer lack of remorse for the brutal wound he'd dealt left Medicham furious.
It seemed to do the same to Marcus, too, for his next words were low and as cold as the look in Seeker-Of-Endings' eyes. "Drapion, you're up," he said.
Medicham could have sworn she heard Seeker-Of-Endings murmur "Finally…" as Drapion appeared on the grass, eyes narrowed with rage. The Poison/Dark-type bared his fangs at his adversary, clearly having seen what he'd done to Liepard.
Seeker-Of-Endings stood where he was, waiting for Drapion to make the first move.
"Pierce," Drapion snarled. He'd vastly improved on the technique; before Medicham's eyes fully a dozen Bug energy-tipped spikes were flung from various parts of Drapion's body at Seeker-Of-Endings. But Seeker-Of-Endings was swift to counter; a quick Detect was all it took for Seeker-Of-Endings to avoid the flurry of spines. He retaliated with a Pursuit. "Battle Armor!" Drapion snarled, but even as he raised his chitin to deflect the Pursuit Seeker-Of-Endings lunged, horn glowing black.
"Tail!" Drapion twisted, swinging his powerful tail at Seeker-Of-Endings. Horn and tail met in an explosion of Dark energy. "Battle Armor: Slam!" Drapion growled; twisting again, he lashed out with one of his massive arms, but Seeker-Of-Endings used Detect again, leaning out of the way of Drapion's swing and diving in with horn upraised.
"Block!" Seeker-Of-Endings' horn bounced off Drapion's Protect, and Drapion lunged with teeth bared. "Rend!" Seeker-Of-Endings wasn't quite fast enough to evade Drapion's snapping jaws; Bug energy flared across Drapion's teeth as he sunk them into Seeker-Of-Endings' shoulder.
Seeker-Of-Endings grunted in pain; with a swift movement he tore his shoulder out of Drapion's teeth, brought one of his paws up, and rammed it into Drapion's chin. As Drapion reared, staggering, Seeker-Of-Endings' horn flashed and he lunged for Drapion's exposed stomach.
"Protect, chest!" Marcus cried.
The Trainer's orders broke through Drapion's instinct; he swiftly manifested the barrier, deflecting Seeker-Of-Endings' horn-swipe. This time he was unable to take advantage of the deflection to land a hit, but he did manage to recover, landing on all fours as Seeker-Of-Endings did likewise.
Both had the exact same idea; Pursuit rays flew from both their mouths, slamming into one another with a cavalcade of miniature explosions. "Dig!" Marcus called; Drapion swiftly raised his arms and slammed them into the ground, sinking into the earth and disappearing from sight.
"Careful, Seeker," Serena warned.
"I know," Seeker-Of-Endings growled, scanning the ground warily. Medicham realized that ordinarily, this would be where a Herald used Future Sight; during a lull in the battle, they would examine probabilities, determine a course of action, and be ready for anything an opponent could throw at them. But with the current state of the timeline, that was impossible.
Effectively, Seeker-Of-Endings was fighting half-blind.
"Burrow!" Drapion roared, exploding out of the ground directly under Seeker-Of-Endings. Only a swift Detect saved Seeker-Of-Endings from Drapion's grasp, but even so Drapion's claws scored along Seeker-Of-Endings' side. Seeker-Of-Endings stumbled as Drapion landed back on all fours; even as they twisted to face each other once more, Medicham could see Seeker-Of-Endings' wound turning a shade of purple.
"Good work," said Marcus with a small smirk. "Now stall him out."
Serena clenched her fists. Seeker-Of-Endings had no obvious response to this tactic. Perish Song wouldn't work; Marcus still had Pangoro in the back, and while League regulations prohibited switching out of most attacks, there was an exception in the rulebook specifically for Perish Song, placed in to ensure someone couldn't just sweep through a League Tournament with a team full of Pokemon who knew Perish Song. The rest of a Herald's toolkit was made for evading attacks and striking back, something that did not mesh well with the current situation.
For a brief moment Medicham wondered what would happen if Drapion went up against Bringer-Of-Visions, but she shook her head. Any defense could be overpowered by someone sufficiently strong, and she had a feeling Bringer-Of-Visions would find breaking through Drapion's defense an easy task.
Seeker-Of-Endings scowled. He launched another flurry of Pursuit rays from his mouth, which were again deflected by Drapion's Battle Armor, and then lunged at Drapion once more with horn glinting. As Drapion mustered a Protect to deflect Seeker-Of-Endings' slash, Medicham sighed and looked away. She'd seen this battle many times before; either Seeker-Of-Endings would break through Drapion's guard before the poison could overcome him, or he wouldn't.
She eyed Kriesh next to her. Ever since the week of her capture by the Firebreather Swarm, she'd been somewhat more agitated. Medicham could understand why. The day after the encounter with the Firebreather Swarm, she'd let Marcus know (through Medicham) that Jaya, the daughter of the Trainer who'd raised her from childhood, was attempting to become the new Kalosian Gym Leader as well. It had clearly made Kriesh uneasy, knowing that they would be going against someone she knew so well; though she tried to put up a strong front, Medicham knew inside she was being ravaged by conflict. She wanted Marcus to become the new Kalosian Gym Leader, that was for sure…but Medicham had a feeling that Kriesh knew if Marcus did, Jaya wouldn't, and that was what was troubling the Fearow.
"Kriesh, you all right?" she asked.
"I'm fine," said Kriesh, eyes shining as she watched the battle. So far, it seemed, Seeker-Of-Endings hadn't managed to break through Drapion's defense.
"You sure?" Medicham asked.
"I'm fine," Kriesh snarled, rounding on her. A second later her eyes grew round. "I'm…I'm sorry, I didn't-"
"It's okay," said Medicham. "Kriesh…you're thinking about Jaya again, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Kriesh admitted. "I hate it. It's as if my old flock battled against you all. Who would you root for in that kind of situation?"
Medicham sighed, nodding her head slowly. "Marcus," she said. "Don't get me wrong, I love my old friends…but that was in the past. It's not like this is a life-or-death struggle, is it? Just a friendly competition. Sure, Jaya might lose, but that doesn't mean she has to forget you, does it?"
"I guess not," said Kriesh. "Yeah, you're right…that was in the past. This is the present, and we root for the Trainer we have in the present."
Medicham nodded again. A nasty crack caught her attention; she twisted to see Seeker-Of-Endings flying across the arena, propelled by Drapion's swinging arms. The Absol landed hard, gasping for breath.
It was clear that Drapion had the upper hand; Seeker-Of-Endings was simply not used to this kind of fight, especially weakened as he was by both the Ultra Beasts' influence on his Future Sight and Drapion's poison. The battle was practically over.
"Medicham?"
"Yes, Kriesh?"
"Are you all right?" She leaned closer. "Anything happening with…Seeker-Of-Endings' friends?"
"Nothing new," whispered Medicham. "He's still training me, they're still blind…it almost feels like they're holding their breath until Necrozma finally returns."
"When is he going to return?" Kriesh asked.
"I don't know," said Medicham. "And no, I don't know when the Swarmlord's going to come either. All I know is we have to remain ready."
"Right," said Kriesh. "I guess I-"
"I forfeit Seeker!"
Serena's cry brought Medicham and Kriesh's attention back to the battle as Serena recalled the exhausted, trembling Absol.
"Aside from that new move," said Kriesh, "I didn't see much difference."
"That's probably because Serena hasn't trained him much," said Medicham. "Remember, he's as powerful as a Team Flare Admin Pokemon. Easily the strongest member of Serena's team."
"So…" Kriesh smiled. "I guess we're on that same level now, huh?"
"I guess we are," said Medicham. "Crazy what two months of training can do."
"I'm not going to lie." Kriesh's expression grew ferocious. "Part of me is looking forward to when Ripper shows back up, so that I can finally give him what he deserves."
"Don't say that," said Medicham. "I'd rather he not, you know? I'd rather we just…spent the rest of our lives like this. I've had enough danger to last me a lifetime."
The sound of renewed fighting called their attention yet again. Marcus had evidently recalled Drapion and sent in Pangoro to face off against Serena's Umbreon. "Moon Dust!" The Dark-type Eeveelution fired a spurt of Poison energy - recognizably a use of Toxic - at Pangoro. Medicham recalled that Toxic was the name of the base form of Poison energy; like Ancient Power, the technique Toxic was named after that base form, and like Ancient Power, it was as weak or strong as the user's understanding of that particular type of energy.
In this case, it wasn't all that strong, and Pangoro had a countermeasure ready. "Iron Fist: Bullet Blow," he growled, sending a Steel energy-enhanced fist into the oncoming Toxic; the poison could not find purchase on the Steel energy, and the attack was dissipated. Pangoro had a somewhat bored expression on his face as he lunged at Umbreon, fist drawn back. "Iron Fist: Crushing Blow."
"Moon Shield!" Umbreon deflected the blow with a Protect. Pangoro swiftly adjusted his stance and flung a Bullet Punch straight into Umbreon's face. Umbreon staggered, but even as Pangoro closed in for another punch Umbreon cried out. "Moon Shock!" A burst of Dark energy flew from Umbreon's body and slammed into Pangoro, staggering him slightly.
"Moonlight!" Umbreon's body shone with light as the bruise made by Pangoro's fist disappeared. She followed up with another Moon Dust; again Pangoro deflected it with a Bullet Punch. "Crushing Blast," Pangoro snarled, unleashing a Focus Blast that bounced off yet another Protect from Umbreon.
"She makes Drapion look offensive," Medicham murmured.
"He is offensive," said Kriesh.
"Not recently," Medicham responded. "Have you seen him fight lately? Just three days ago he was asking if Cloyster could teach him Iron Defense."
"I guess," said Kriesh. "It's working, though. Doesn't look like Pangoro can break through that defense, at least not enough to prevent her from healing it all off. And sooner or later she's gonna land a Toxic."
Indeed, Pangoro was clearly growing more and more frustrated as he struggled to land a hit on Umbreon that wasn't immediately wiped away by Moonlight. Focus Blasts and melee strikes alike were frustrated, and though Umbreon hadn't managed to land a Toxic yet, her Moon Shocks, which were recognizably usages of Foul Play, weren't exactly leaving the Dark/Fighting-type unharmed.
But Marcus was eyeing the fight attentively, and as yet another of Pangoro's fists bounced off a Moon Shield, he called out an order. "Low Sweep!"
Pangoro at once shot out a Fighting energy-infused foot, curling it into an arc so that it dove under Umbreon's body and struck Umbreon right in the stomach. Umbreon was lifted a few inches off the ground, spit and a little bit of blood flying from her mouth. Pangoro hauled back. "Iron Fist: Shattering Blow."
Bone crunched under Pangoro's fist as he sank it deep into Umbreon's side. Umbreon screamed as she went flying, crumpling in a heap onto the ground. Medicham winced in sympathy; that would buy Umbreon a day in the Pokemon Center. Pangoro was certainly not gentle. She glanced at Kriesh. "So…I guess that's it?"
"Iron Fist: Piston Blow!"
Medicham's head snapped back to the battle just in time to see Pangoro practically pounce on the downed Umbreon. Umbreon couldn't even muster a defense; Pangoro's Fighting energy-infused, Iron Fist-enhanced fist drove into Umbreon's body.
And then it came again. Medicham gasped as she realized Pangoro wasn't stopping; cries of shock arose from the audience, mainly Serena's Pokemon and especially Jolteon and Sylveon. As Pangoro hauled back for yet another punch, Marcus's voice rose sharply. "Pangoro! That's enough!"
At the order Pangoro dropped his hand. With a grunt of disgust he turned his back on the fallen, completely unconscious Umbreon and stepped back to his side of the field. Serena quickly ran over to Umbreon, kneeling beside her fallen Pokemon as Marcus recalled Pangoro with a frown. "Serena," he said, "I'm-"
"She'll be okay," Serena said, her voice low. "She needs a Pokemon Center. I'll…talk to you later, okay?"
Marcus nodded mutely. Serena quickly recalled Umbreon, along with the rest of her team, and dashed away towards the Vaniville Pokemon Center. The rest of Marcus's team were mute; their victory against Serena, the second-to-last step towards qualifying for the Gym Leader test, should have been a jovial moment, but Pangoro's conduct had ruined it.
"Medicham, with me," said Marcus. "The rest of you…um…stay here. We'll be back in a bit."
Marcus's expression was stormy as he released Pangoro onto the room's floor. Any trace amounts of sympathy Medicham might have felt for the Dark/Fighting-type were washed away when she saw the expression on his face. Unremorseful, even slightly confused-looking.
"Pangoro," Marcus said icily. "Explain to me why you found it necessary to hurt Serena's Umbreon so badly."
Pangoro glanced from Medicham to Marcus. "She could heal," he growled. "I made sure she couldn't. And anyway, it's not like it matters. I didn't kill her, if that's what you're asking."
"Not for a lack of trying," Medicham snapped.
Pangoro glared at Medicham. Yanking her gaze away, Medicham telepathically translated Pangoro's words to Marcus.
Marcus shook his head. "It does matter, Pangoro!" he said, voice raised. "You'd beaten her. You can't…you can't just keep hitting someone who's already down. That's not battling, that's torture, and if a Gym Leader's Pokemon does something like that, the challenger is perfectly within their right to file an official complaint with the League! So why in Distortion does that not matter?"
"Because weak Pokemon like her need to learn their place!" Pangoro snarled.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Medicham asked furiously.
"Listen to me, Medicham!" Pangoro growled, rounding on her. "This is a matter of respect. I respect those who are equal to me. You, Drapion, that Scrafty, that Tyranitar…all of them have earned my respect. But everyone else…everyone who hasn't earned my respect…they're not my equals. They're lesser. And those who are lesser should be treated as such. They don't matter in the grand scheme of things. They're just obstacles in my way."
Medicham could barely contain her anger at the Dark/Fighting-type's flippant words. Two months. Two months I've been on the same team as him. How did I not see this before? Every fight he gets into that's not with me or Drapion, he's always so rough with them…
Is this my fault?
"You wouldn't even care if Umbreon died, would you?" Medicham asked.
"Of course I would!" Pangoro shot back. "I'm not enough of an idiot to kill a Trainer's Pokemon! And like I said, I didn't."
"That's not the point I'm trying to make!" Medicham shouted. "Tell me, Pangoro…knowing what you know now, would you do it again?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Pangoro asked.
Medicham fumed. "Marcus," she said coldly, turning to him. "Take Pangoro off the team."
"What?" Pangoro's shocked reaction was exactly what Medicham had been hoping for. She hadn't actually spoken telepathically to Marcus, merely said the words aloud, but Pangoro's shock prevented him from realizing that. The Dark/Fighting-type's eyes narrowed to slits. "I've worked for two months to be on this damn team!"
"And just now we saw what you spent those two months training for," said Medicham. "To beat anyone who doesn't earn your so-called 'respect' to a damn pulp! You heard what Marcus said. Do you really think he wants someone like that on his Gym Leader team?"
"What do you expect me to do?" Pangoro asked. "Treat everyone the same, even if they haven't earned my respect?"
"Yes!" Medicham cried exasperatedly. "That's what being a Trained Pokemon is all about! You're on a team! You treat all of your teammates the same, and you treat all of your opponents the same! You can respect them all you want, but if you're going to nearly kill any opponent who you don't respect, then nobody, least of all Marcus, wants you on this team!"
Pangoro stared at Medicham. Medicham stared levelly back. Pangoro took a deep breath, then let it out again. "I'm…" He took another breath. "Sorry."
Medicham honestly hadn't expected the apology; she continued to stare at Pangoro, unsure of how the Dark/Fighting-type would continue.
"I…do want to be on the team," Pangoro growled, sounding as if he was forcing the words out, but Medicham knew from his tone that his words were genuine. "I spent years thinking I was the strongest, and now that I know I'm not, I want to be. I…always thought those who weren't strong didn't deserve to be treated the same as those who were. But…it's different here. And I didn't…I wouldn't understand." The Dark/Fighting-type looked up at Medicham with a dejected expression on his face that was quite unlike his normal ferocity. "So I'm sorry."
"I think Umbreon's the one you're going to need to apologize to," said Medicham. She turned to Marcus. "Pangoro understands what he did wrong," she telepathically informed him. "He intends to apologize to Umbreon as soon as he can, and nothing like this will ever happen again."
Marcus looked mildly impressed. "All right," he said. "Thanks, Pangoro. Let's…put this behind us, okay? Look forward to a long journey together."
"Sure," said Pangoro; he made no resistance as Marcus recalled him back into his Luxury Ball.
They met Serena on the street outside; she looked tense but relieved as she saw Marcus. "So, how did it go?"
"Pangoro's gonna apologize," said Marcus. "Look, Serena, I'm so sorry about what happened to Umbreon."
"It's fine," said Serena.
"I'd understand if you didn't treat this as a legitimate victory," said Marcus. "I'm willing to-"
"Marcus, if we fight again, it'll go no different," said Serena. "Maybe if I was fighting you with my actual team…but in a Dark-type duel, there's no way I'm going to beat you. Not without months and months of training."
She smiled. "And besides, the deadline's approaching, isn't it?"
"Yeah," said Marcus. "Thanks, Serena. I'm glad to have you."
"I'm glad to be here." Serena looked slightly embarrassed. "You know, when I first left Vaniville, I didn't think this was where I'd end up."
"Oh?" Marcus asked. "Where did you think you'd end up?"
"I dunno," said Serena. "Pokemon contests, maybe...I always did like watching them...or just travelling. Seeing the world, you know?"
"Yeah," said Marcus.
"What about you?" Serena asked. "Where did you think you'd end up?"
"Champion," said Marcus. Serena giggled. "Yeah, I was pretty stupid when I was young...and even beyond that."
"I don't think it's stupid," said Serena. "You can be Champion. Anyone can be Champion if they put their mind to it. Sure, it'll take a lot of work, but ultimately anyone can get there."
Her smile grew wider. "But for now...let's focus on what you are going to be. A Gym Leader...are you excited?"
"Of course I am," said Marcus. "But that reminds me. There's something I need to talk to my team about."
The team was once more gathered around Marcus, watching their Trainer carefully and trying not to look at Pangoro. Marcus may have forgiven the Dark/Fighting-type, and to a lesser extent Medicham had as well, but the rest of the team had not. It would take time for Pangoro to become a proper member of the team, Medicham knew.
"Okay," said Marcus, drawing all their attention. "We've only got a couple weeks left until the Gym Leader test officially begins. Before that, we have one last job to do. We - by which I mean the four Dark-types and I - have to travel to Laverre City, find Valerie, and give her real team a good battle. As Kriesh has alerted me, we don't necessarily have to win. In fact, it's unlikely we will, considering we're facing a team that is built to take on Elite Four members, and we all remember what happened last time we went up against one of those. Yeah, we've grown a lot since then, but…don't feel pressured to push yourself too hard just for a win."
Marcus gazed around at the members of his team. "We leave tomorrow. There is no point in delaying. So…let's get this over with." He smiled.
"Tomorrow, we're gonna give Valerie the battle of her life."