"There," Gloria whispered as she sprayed the last of the Potion on Scorbunny's injured cheek. Scorbunny sighed with relief as he felt the pain ebb. He'd fought Grookey before, but it had always been simple spars, designed to test out attacks rather than actually knock one another out.
He hadn't expected Grookey's branch to hurt that much.
Two months. Scorbunny bowed his head, dejection still filling him despite Gloria's kind words and praise for his performance. Two months since the three of us were created in Magnolia's lab. Two months I've been waiting for a Trainer, and in the first battle I didn't even get a single knockout.
At least they'd won. But that somehow made Scorbunny feel even worse. Bunnelby had been so exhausted after the battle that, even with healing, she was still resting up in her Pokeball.
Maybe she wouldn't have had to exert herself so much if I wasn't so weak. I'm a Fire-type! How did I lose to a Grass-type?
"Hey, cheer up, Scorbunny." Scorbunny looked up at Gloria's smiling face. "Look, I get that you probably don't feel too good. But it was really my fault. I just told you to keep firing Embers. Hop adapted, and I didn't. You have nothing to blame yourself for. And besides, you did enough damage that Bunnelby didn't even need to expend any effort to finish Grookey. All that damage and exhaustion she took came from Hop's Wooloo."
"Really?" Scorbunny's eyes widened.
Gloria seemed to get the gist of Scorbunny's query, for she nodded. "Yeah," she said. "So don't feel too bad. Sure, we've got stuff to work on, but that's what training is for, right?"
"Right." Scorbunny nodded.
"So how about you eat something," said Gloria, passing over a small plate piled with food, "and then we can start thinking about how to improve your moveset."
Scorbunny reached out and began to work his way through the plate of food, his good mood somewhat restored. He couldn't deny that he'd been pretty confident - perhaps a little too confident - that he would beat Grookey. They'd trained together for so long. But all that time Grookey had shied away from Scorbunny's Embers, and so Scorbunny had usually been able to win their practice bouts.
But as Gloria had said, Hop had adapted. Scorbunny had never seen Grookey charge straight into his Embers before, and it had thrown him off. Next time he'd be ready.
Next time would be different.
"I don't get it."
Kamado looked up from his meal at the sound of Cloyster's voice. It had taken a whole fifteen minutes for Marcus to excuse himself from the patio, allowing him to slip into a side room so that he could release the rest of the team to eat. Now he was just outside the door, keeping watch for anyone who might be coming by. Time was of the essence, Kamado knew, and so he, along with most of the rest of the team, had quickly scarfed his portion down. But as he glanced at Cloyster, Kamado noticed that the Water/Ice-type had barely touched his food, and his face was filled with an uncharacteristic sadness.
"Leon knows about us," said Cloyster, gesturing to the rest of the group. "And it's not like we need to hide our existence from Hop and Gloria, right? They're not reporters. What are they going to expose that Leon isn't? And…for that matter, why are we even hiding our existence from anyone? Isn't part of our cover story that Marcus is going around to the local Gyms to train us up?"
His speech faltered as he noticed the team were all looking at him. "I'm sorry," he said. "Look, don't get me wrong…I trust Marcus. But at the same time, I can't help but feel like he's overwhelmed. Sure, he's been to other regions - I don't think any of us can ever forget Alola - but not like this. Not on an official mission designed around subterfuge. I think it's something he doesn't really understand, and I think he's psyching himself into making…poor decisions. And while I hate to say it…I can tell you're all thinking something along those lines, too."
Still no one else spoke. Cloyster slumped. "I'm sorry."
"Cloyster." Pangoro's rough voice brought Kamado's attention to the burly Dark/Fighting-type; he and the other Dark-types were sitting off to the side, seeing as they'd already eaten. "Don't apologize. You're absolutely right. He's not even talking to us - he sent us Dark-types out without even asking any of his Pokemon about that. He didn't even ask Kriesh, and he had her out for pretty much the entire journey to Gloria's house."
"Yeah," Kriesh murmured. "I figured he was kind of hoping to keep us hidden from any reporters in the crowd, but then he still didn't send us out even when that crowd was long gone."
"It feels like," said Trevenant, "he's trying to be 'subtle', except he only really has a general idea of 'subtlety', without any real understanding of how he has to be 'subtle'."
"If I may," Liepard interjected, "all these points are being made, but it's not like Marcus is hearing them. Only one of us can actively communicate with Marcus." She glanced pointedly at Medicham, who was sitting next to a wall and had clearly been eating quietly throughout the conversation.
Liepard sighed. "Medicham, are you even listening?"
Medicham's head twisted as though someone had punched her in the cheek. "I'm sorry?"
"We need you to talk to Marcus," said Houndoom. "About…y'know…his 'subterfuge'. Surely you've seen that he's acting oddly, too?"
Medicham frowned; the expression disappeared almost as fast as it had arrived. "I…I guess I haven't been paying much attention," she said, her voice thick with guilt.
"Are you…all right, Medicham?" Kriesh asked.
"I'm fine." The Fighting/Psychic-type rose from where she was sitting. "I'll talk to Marcus. Tell him…what do you want me to tell him?"
Kamado spoke up. "Just that we can all tell he is overwhelmed," he said. "And that we are willing to help him out, if he will let us. We are his Pokemon. Our role is not only to follow his instructions."
Medicham nodded a little too quickly for Kamado's liking. "All right, I'll see what I can do."
She could tell they could see it. The guilt that filled her eyes, thickened her voice, made her every step slower than she wanted it to be. But she also knew they couldn't understand the reason why.
Likely they thought it was simple guilt over not paying attention. For how could they know Medicham's thoughts?
How could they know that Medicham was feeling guilty because she knew Marcus's erratic focus on 'subtlety' was her own fault?
How could they know that Marcus was trying to hide his true strength from the Heralds he knew, from Medicham's words, would be watching?
Medicham sighed as she ambled towards Marcus. The rest of the team was right. This pointless fixation on stealth needed to stop. It wasn't like it would help, anyway, not against the Heralds. They knew who Marcus was. They knew his team composition. And even if they didn't, their Future Sight meant that they could easily find out.
Her foot touched something solid; she looked up and realized she'd reached the cracked-open door to the room. Through the opening she could see Marcus standing guard, eyes scanning every direction someone might approach from.
He's too paranoid. Medicham cleared her throat - a meaningless gesture due to her telepathy, but it felt right anyway - and spoke. "Marcus."
Marcus glanced down, instantly spotting Medicham peeking through the crack in the door. "You done?" he asked. "That was fast. All right, let's-"
"Marcus, we need to talk."
Marcus sighed. "Is this about the Absols?" he asked.
"Sort of." Medicham looked over her shoulder at the rest of the team, all of whom were watching her. "Marcus, I know you're nervous. You have every right to be. But you're only making things more difficult for yourself, and for us."
"I just don't want them to find out-"
"Marcus, they already know everything about you," said Medicham. "They know about all of us. They know our fighting styles, our personalities, when and where we were born."
Marcus looked slightly ill.
"But that's not the point," Medicham continued. "The point is, you need to stop playing this by ear. We can tell you're not confident about anything, we can tell you seem content to just follow Hop and Gloria around and hope it turns out well, we can tell you're making decisions based on some vague and frankly incorrect idea of 'subtlety', and it's painfully obvious that you don't really have an actual plan."
"And I suppose you have a better plan?" Judging by Marcus's rapid gasp after the last word left his mind, he had not intended for his tone to be as harsh as it had been.
Medicham sighed. "I'm not saying this to be mean, Marcus. I'm saying this because I'm worried about you. The whole team's worried about you. So listen to me, Marcus - right now, as fast as you can, tell me what your plan is for learning Piers's whereabouts and tracking him down."
"I'm going to accompany Gloria on her Gym Challenge," Marcus responded impatiently, "and wait for her to get to Spikemuth."
"And what happens then?" Medicham asked. "What if Piers isn't at Spikemuth? What then? Or, even worse, what if the Gym Challengers get detoured to a minor league Gym of some sort? What if Gloria never gets to Spikemuth in the first place? I will say it again - you aren't going to be able to accomplish this mission by just 'being subtle' and making things up as you go along. You need a plan. And you're right - I don't have a better one, at least not yet. So why don't we come up with one, together, and stop all this needless hiding?"
"Marcus?"
Both Marcus and Medicham jumped at the sudden sound of Gloria's voice. Marcus swiftly opened his mouth; just as swiftly, Medicham spoke telepathically again. "Think twice about what you're going to say."
Marcus closed his mouth, then opened it again. "I'm here, Gloria. What do you need?"
Gloria stepped around the corner. "Sorry. Hop's mom brought out a pudding, and I thought maybe you or your Pokemon might want some…are you still busy?"
Marcus hesitated for long enough that Medicham began to worry before speaking again. "My team's still eating," he said. "I think…if they're okay with it, would you like to meet them?"
Medicham sighed with relief; she glanced back to notice pleased expressions on most of the rest of the team's faces. "Um…sure?" Gloria's voice sounded uncertain, but the sound of echoing footsteps indicated she was coming closer regardless, and Medicham took a step back as the door swung open.
Gloria's eyes swiftly took in the group of non-Dark-type Pokemon, all of whom were looking up at her, before descending towards Medicham. Medicham was annoyed, though not entirely surprised, when they swiveled near-instantly to the half-length stump protruding from her right shoulder. "Oh, I…is she-"
"Missing an arm, yes."
Gloria's eyes widened as she realized Medicham had just spoken to her. Medicham's voice had come out a little more sharply than she'd hoped, for Gloria sighed, looking down at the floor. "I'm so sorry," she said. "Is…is this why you didn't want them to eat out with the rest of us?"
Marcus's eyes betrayed his feeling of sure, let's go with that. "That's one of the reasons, yes," he said.
"I'm so sorry," Gloria said again.
"Don't be," said Medicham. "It's an innocent mistake - and besides, I'm used to it."
Marcus seemed to decide that it would be best to change the subject. "Shall I introduce you to the rest of the team?"
"That…that would be great." Gloria was clearly still feeling guilty, but she stepped fully into the room regardless, Marcus following one step behind.
"You've already met Kriesh, my Fearow," said Marcus. "So let's start with Cloyster. He was my fourth catch - after Medicham, Drapion, and Kriesh - and he actually just walked up to me on a beach and asked to be caught!"
"Really?" Gloria asked.
Cloyster nodded in affirmation.
"Sometimes it's like that," said Marcus. "Some wild Pokemon want you to prove your strength, while others just ask to join up. I was lucky enough to have quite a few of the latter. Trevenant, for example…"
The meal was done, the plates cleaned, and the Pokemon back in their balls. As Casey handed a stack of plates to Hop's mother for carrying inside, Leon cleared his throat. "All right, everybody!" he said. "If you're going to participate in the Gym Challenge, the first thing you have to do is visit Professor Magnolia over by Wedgehurst and get - guess what - your Dynamax Bands!"
"Awesome!" Hop's reaction was, naturally, enthusiastic. "Oh, Gloria! What Pokemon are you going to Dynamax? Do you think you're gonna get Gigantamax? I certainly hope I will!"
"Yeah, so do I," Gloria murmured. Medicham narrowed her eyes from inside her Luxury Ball; Gloria seemed surprisingly distracted.
Clearly, Leon noticed it as well. "Something the matter, young Gloria?"
"I, um…" Gloria looked down. "I kind of…just realized I forgot my…camping supplies at home."
Casey sighed. "Well, it's not like it's too far back to the house. Go back and get them while you're still thinking of it."
"I'll come with you!" said Hop. "I've seen your gear - you'll probably need some help carrying it all, even with that big bag of yours!"
"All right, then," said Leon with a chuckle. "Go on, you two. We'll head to Magnolia's place, and you can meet us there!"
"Sure thing, Lee!" Hop cried. "Just don't take all the Dynamax bands before we get there! C'mon, Gloria, I'll race you back to your house!"
"Hey!" Gloria protested as Hop took off. "I don't have anyone to carry my bag this time!" She hurled herself after Hop as fast as she could, her heavy bag swinging from her shoulder. Casey let out a long-suffering sigh and moved after them at a much slower pace.
As she departed the front yard, Leon turned to Marcus. "You're welcome to come to Magnolia's place too, if you'd like. A young Gym Leader like you might learn a thing or two over there."
"I wouldn't mind," said Marcus.
"Great!" Leon looked over his shoulder at Hop's mother. "Bye, Mum!"
"See you on the telly soon, Leon!" Medicham had forgotten that Hop's mother was Leon's as well; she waved to Leon with one arm as with the other she picked up another small pile of dishes. Turning on his heel, Leon began to trot towards the path to Wedgehurst. Marcus scrambled after him, slowing to a normal walk only when he reached a point right beside Leon.
From what Medicham remembered, Wedgehurst was barely ten minutes away - not so long as to be frustrating, but long enough that a conversation could be easily held. And so she was not at all surprised when Leon began to speak practically the instant they'd turned onto the path to Wedgehurst. "So, any particular reason the rest of the team couldn't join us?"
Medicham sighed. Of course he'd notice something like that. Thankfully, Marcus was ready with a swift lie. "My Medicham…doesn't exactly like to be around strangers," he said. "And the rest of the team likes to support her. My Dark-types are a lot better at interacting with others than my other team members."
Leon nodded. "It's good that you keep track of your Pokemon's feelings like that," he said. "I hope you can impart those same values onto young Gloria."
"From what I can tell, she's already pretty good at it," Marcus pointed out.
"True that," said Leon. "To be honest, I'm glad Hop's finally got a true rival. He always wrote to me whenever he got into a battle with his Wooloo, but I sensed he eventually got bored of beating random Trainers. Did you know he'd never lost a battle before today?"
"No, I didn't," said Marcus.
"Yeah." Leon smiled wistfully. "You know, people call me the 'unbeatable Champion', but everyone forgets my battle with Cynthia back in the most recent International League."
"I've watched that battle more than a few times," Marcus admitted.
"You're far from the only one," said Leon. "I still think I might have won if she hadn't lured my Mr. Rime in with her Garchomp…once he and Charizard were down, her Roserade absolutely tore through my team. I should've used Dragapult instead…I thought I was being clever by saving it for Lucario, but Seismitoad could've taken Lucario down easy."
He smiled. "But hey, nobody's perfect. Y'know, I was really hoping she'd get to keep her title, so that I could challenge her again in this year's International League. But now I get to fight her successor - I don't really know how strong Dawn is, but anyone who could beat Cynthia with a Pachirisu is okay in my book."
Leon trailed off, chuckling to himself as he reminisced about past battles. Medicham seized the opportunity. "All right, Marcus. Now's as good a time as any to come up with a plan."
It took a few moments for Marcus to respond. "Hold on," he said. Out loud, he said, "So you were talking about the opening ceremony before we got to your mother's house. What exactly does that entail?"
Leon grinned, clearly pleased to advertise. "Well, it takes place in Motostoke Stadium, which can seat an audience of two thousand. Chairman Rose opens the ceremony with a speech, the Gym Leaders walk onto the field to be introduced, then the Gym Challengers get the same treatment. After that, they all head to the stands - we've got front-row seats reserved for all of them every year - and then the exhibition battle takes place. Speaking of which, have you given that any more thought?"
Marcus smiled. "I have," he said. "And…you've got yourself a participant."
"Ha!" Leon slapped Marcus on the back. "I knew you'd come around! Get ready - we're going to have an absolute Champion time, I just know it!"
Marcus chuckled. "I'm going to make sure to put on a show the audience won't forget."
"That's what I like to hear!" Leon's grin abruptly dipped as his Pokedex suddenly rang. "Oh, sorry, Marcus - I need to take this."
As Leon brought his Pokedex to his ear, Medicham spoke again. "So that's your plan?"
"Part of it, yeah," said Marcus. "Simply put, we need to be at that opening ceremony. Leon said the Gym Leaders would all be attending, so if Piers shows up, great, we talk to him. And if Piers doesn't show up, then we've got a reason to ask what's going on without drawing any suspicion. Once we find out more, we can figure out what our next move is, but at this point all I know is that if Leon's offering a surefire way to get into the opening ceremony, then I'm taking it. And besides, since we're already sticking with Gloria…well, she's going to be at the opening ceremony too."
"Now that's a plan." Medicham smiled. "I trust I'll be participating?"
"Of course," said Marcus. "You are my Ace - if I'm going to be taking on a Champion, I'm not using anyone but my strongest. Be ready to take on his Charizard."
"You got it." Medicham began running through the techniques in her head, racking her brain for the best way to fight a Charizard. A thought came to her. "Hey, what about that one TM you taught me last year?"
Marcus grinned. "Oh, yes. That'll throw a scare into him."
"Now what's got you so happy?"
Leon had apparently finished his call. Marcus coughed. "Um…plotting strategy with my Medicham?"
Leon burst into uproarious laughter. "Of course, telepathic communication! I should introduce your Medicham to Mr. Rime - he might be able to teach her a thing or two on the Psychic front."
"Once our battle is over?" Marcus asked.
"Why wait?" Leon chuckled again. "The more prepared you are for our battle, the more Champion of a time we'll have! Let's introduce them to each other once we get to the lab!"
"Sounds good," said Marcus. Medicham's reaction was a good deal less subdued - she hadn't known that Leon had a Psychic of his own, and a thrill shot through her at the possibility of learning from a Champion-level Psychic.
Marcus cleared his throat. "So, do you mind me asking what that call was about?"
"Oh, just a report from Rose." Leon's face soured. "Team Yell's been causing trouble in Motostoke again."
Medicham's fists clenched involuntarily as Marcus nearly tripped over his own feet. Team Yell? A sinking pit began to grow in Medicham's stomach. On top of the renegade Heralds and whatever's going on with Piers, we've also got to deal with another evil team?
Leon sighed. "You don't need to be alarmed, Marcus," he said. "They're just a bunch of hooligans. It's not like they steal Pokemon or anything. The worst they've done is block a few roads and made a lot of noise."
"Yeah, well," said Marcus, "Team Skull were 'just a bunch of hooligans', too."
Leon frowned. "Didn't they turn over a new leaf after the Battle of Alola?"
"Before, actually," Marcus corrected. "But I was there before they did that. They seemed like a group of thugs just out to cause trouble, and then they turned out to be working with Lusamine and using artificial Legendaries."
"Maybe I'll call Rose and tell him to send out a group of his Macro Cosmos people to disperse Team Yell," Leon murmured. "From what I've heard, Team Yell aren't proficient battlers - their Pokemon look intimidating, but in a fight they fold like paper to any halfway decent Trainer."
"That'll be a relief," said Marcus. "But it's not like they're just Grunts. Do you know anything about their boss?"
"No," said Leon, "but to be honest, I haven't really been keeping up with the situation. Rose handles things like this most of the time…I'll look into it."
Most of the remainder of the walk was spent in a fairly uncomfortable silence. The pit in Medicham's stomach wasn't getting any smaller. On one hand, Team Yell didn't seem all that threatening. On the other hand, as Marcus had said, neither had Team Skull. And uncomfortable memories of Alola, and the horrors that had spawned from that catastrophe, were beginning to shift in Medicham's mind.
She was thankful when Leon called out, "Looks like we're here!"
Peering out of her Luxury Ball, Medicham instantly beheld two female humans standing in front of the door to a lovely-looking purple-roofed house. One was an older, white-haired woman dressed in a white lab coat - clearly the local Professor - while the other was much younger, with peach-colored hair with small white hearts dotted throughout, and was far more casually dressed.
"Magnolia! Sonia!" Leon waved hello.
As the two women returned Leon's greeting, Medicham found herself staring at the younger woman. Leon had said the professor was Magnolia, so the younger woman must then be Sonia. Could it be that this was the same Sonia Leon had mentioned, the one who had been his childhood rival?
"Good to see you again, Leon," said Magnolia. "And where are Hop and Gloria? I was told they'd be arriving."
"They had to pick some stuff up," Leon answered. "They'll be here soon."
"Hi, Leon!" Sonia stepped forwards to shake Leon's hand.
"Hello, Sonia!" Leon responded in kind. "I'd like you to meet Marcus - he's a visiting Gym Leader from Kalos!"
"Oh, really?" Sonia turned to Marcus. "I'm Sonia, the professor's assistant! Nice to meet you!"
As Marcus shook Sonia's hand, Magnolia gestured. "Well, let's not stand around outside for no reason! Come in, come in!"
Leon turned to Marcus. "They have a yard around the side. If you could let Medicham out over there…"
Suddenly remembering Leon's promise, Medicham felt a small measure of excitement restore itself in her mind as Marcus, with a nod of his head, moved over to a nearby fence and released Medicham onto the grass on the other side.
Medicham wasted no time in looking around. The yard was quite large and full of grass; it was also occupied by a few other Pokemon; one of the herds of Wooloo that seemed to be everywhere around this stretch of land stood by the back fence of the yard, while closer to Magnolia's house, Medicham could see a large Venusaur plodding around the yard, saying something Medicham couldn't hear to an Orbeetle floating above its head.
The sound of another Pokeball opening drew Medicham's attention as Leon's Mr. Rime materialized next to her. Medicham had never seen a Mr. Rime before; she'd expected something similar to a Mr. Mime, but what she beheld was an oddly portly humanoid Pokemon with large feet that were already moving in some sort of tap dance and a cane that looked like it was formed from a giant icicle. With a last encouraging smile, Marcus stepped into Magnolia's lab after Leon, leaving Medicham behind with Mr. Rime.
To his credit, Mr. Rime's eyes didn't even stray to Medicham's missing arm. Instead he said, "So I hear you might be facing my comrade Charizard?"
"It's beginning to seem that way," Medicam responded.
"Well, then!" said Mr. Rime joyfully, his feet continuing to dance as he spoke. "Let us get started swiftly, in that case. How about you show me the extent of your Psychic on…say…that slightly yellowed blade of grass over there."
Mr. Rime pointed with his cane; following said cane-point, Medicham indeed beheld a blade of grass that was a little more yellow than the others. Eyes narrowing at that spot, she gathered a simple Mind Blast. In the past, she would have called the attack; now it was simple enough to draw on, like a basic punch or kick, that Medicham didn't bother.
Instead she tossed it wordlessly, unleashing a bolt of Mind that slammed into the indicated blade of grass in a split second, strong and fast enough to send up a spray of dirt and displaced grasses and form a small divot in the ground.
Mr. Rime grunted. "You have decent control over Mind for someone as young as you are," the dancing Pokemon observed. "Quite impressive, quite impressive indeed."
Yeah, well, that's what training with a Legendary every night gets you. Medicham shoved that thought aside - no reason to appear arrogant - and said, "Thank you."
"Ah, but see?" Mr. Rime pointed with his icicle-cane to the spot Medicham had hit with her Psychic blast. "5.83 inches in diameter - powerful but unrefined. Your Psychic is a spear - mine is a needle. Observe."
Mr. Rime's cane glowed purple as he spun it with a flourish. From the tip shot a bolt of Mind so concentrated Medicham had to squint to see it as it lew towards a cluster of three blades of grass swaying in the wind. The concentrated Psychic slammed into the blades; the central blade was effectively disintegrated, blown out of existence, but the blades to either side were completely untouched.
"0.66 millimeters." Mr. Rime sighed. "I'm afraid I'm a little out of practice, but that should give you a general idea of what to aim for. What else can you do with your Psychic abilities?"
"I can…telepathically communicate," said Medicham. "I can use it to augment my attacks, though-"
"-you normally prefer Aura for that," Mr. Rime finished. "I understand, I understand. There's nothing to be ashamed of on that front - Medichams with Pure Power always do seem to lean more towards their Fighting-type sides. Though Zen Headbutt is a predominantly Psychic-type technique - I assume you know that one?"
"Yes," said Medicham.
"Good, let us focus on that." Mr. Rime spun his cane again. "Just like with Psychic, Zen Headbutt can be focused to a pinpoint. Most use it to enshroud their head - simple augmentation. But if one focused it, then unleashed it just as their forehead made contact, well…let's just say it's effectively two Zen Headbutts for the price of one. I use a similar technique with my cane - observe." Again Mr. Rime spun his cane in a circle. "Tap-Dance Style: Cane Tap," he stated simply, bringing the tip of his cane down onto the ground.
The explosive blast of Mind that emanated from where Mr. RIme's cane touched the earth nearly sent Medicham staggering backwards even though she wasn't really anywhere near it. As the cloud of Mind cleared, it revealed Mr. Rime standing over a terrifyingly large crater in the ground. "Explosive force applied after the initial strike," Mr. Rime explained. "Strong naturally, but for the especially experienced there is another layer to it. You see, a spear of Mind is merely an impact on the body. But a needle can pierce the skin and muscle and flesh and penetrate inside. Imagine that explosion - a blast that strikes directly at your inner organs or your brain, scrambling your body. Even an experienced battler might be knocked out instantly, or at the very least staggered enough to leave themselves open for a finishing blow. That kind of power can be yours if you become capable of focusing your Zen Headbutt enough."
"Is Tap-Dance Style your Ability or something?" Medicham asked.
"No, it is simply my preferred method of fighting." Mr. Rime raised his cane off the ground, twirling the tip upwards. "My Ability is Screen Cleaner. It allows me to create and manipulate barriers. Observe. Screen Cleaner: Barrier Riffle."
A Protect barrier materialized as if stemming from the tip of Mr. Rime's cane. Just as quickly, it curled up into a ball and, at a swish from Mr. Mime's cane, rammed into the ground twice in quick succession, striking first in one spot then in a spot just behind it, leaving two tiny craters in the earth in the blink of an eye. Swirling, it then flew backwards, carving a neat curve into the ground straight through the two craters before dematerializing. Medicham winced, imagining an attack like that striking an enemy Pokemon. The first strike to the forehead, the second straight to the tip of the nose, probably breaking it, and then a hammer to the top of the head as the opponent reels, slamming them to the ground and leaving them easy prey for that Cane Tap or something similar. All in a split second, all with a Protect barrier completely unbreakable under normal circumstances.
If this is how strong his Mr. Rime is…how in Distortion am I going to be able to stand up to his Ace Charizard?
"But enough about my Ability," said Mr. Rime. "Let us return to Zen Headbutt. Obviously, honing your Mind into a needle-sized cluster of energy will take far more work than can be achieved in one day. But unleashing an explosion of Mind from an already-delivered Zen Headbutt is far easier to master, and so I believe that is what we shall focus on with our limited time. Unleash a Zen Headbutt into my Protect barrier, then try and detonate the energy after the attack is dealt."
A twirl of Mr. Rime's cane yielded another barrier; thankfully, this one didn't curl into a ball. Medicham stepped forwards, suddenly nervous - she didn't want to crack her skull or give herself a concussion on Mr. Rime's Protect. Normally she would avoid this by cushioning the blow with Aura, but if she was going to master this new form of Zen Headbutt she would have to only use Mind.
Mr. Rime watched, tapping his foot on the ground, as Medicham crouched. Leaning back, she gathered Mind across her forehead. She took a moment to brace herself for pain, and then, with a cry of "Psychic Strike!", unleashed her Zen Headbutt straight into the Protect.
"Psychic Blast!" she snarled through gritted teeth even as the blow connected. In the next moment she was flying backwards through the air; weightlessness filled her body for a solid few seconds before gravity took hold and she fell to the ground, landing with a thump on her back.
Mr. Rime chuckled. "Not bad, not bad at all! I daresay you'll have a good handle on this technique with just a couple days of practice."
"That…didn't seem all that good," Medicham grunted, picking herself up off the ground.
"Nonsense!" said Mr. Rime. "The fact that you were able to unleash the energy at all on your very first try is astounding - that would have done quite a bit of damage! All you need to do is focus the blast so it doesn't strike you as well!"
He materialized another Protect barrier. "Now, practice makes perfect! Let's see if we can't get a few more repetitions in before Hop and Gloria arrive!"
Medicham's head was pounding with pain, but she stepped forwards to try again anyway. After all, Mr. Rime was right. Practice makes perfect.
"Psychic Strike!"
"So, what brings you to Galar?" Sonia asked.
Kriesh tuned out Marcus's response, preferring to glance around the laboratory as best she could through the crack in her Luxury Ball. Leon and Magnolia were chatting up on a raised balcony overlooking the main room of the lab; Marcus and Sonia were sitting at a table near a large side window, through which Kriesh could see Medicham practicing Psychic-type attacks with Leon's Mr. Rime. The only Pokemon she could see in the lab was a small Yamper who was running around the first floor with surprising speed for such a small, fat-looking Pokemon, a Sinistea floating next to a bookshelf and looking serene, and a Polteageist floating next to the Sinistea and looking equally serene.
"Are they yours?" Kriesh heard Marcus ask.
"Yamper is," said Sonia fondly. "The other two are Gran's. C'mere, Yamper!"
"Okay!" Yamper hopped over excitedly, leaping up on the table. "Do you need anything? Or is it time for cuddles? Oh, boy, cuddles!"
Yamper rolled over, paws in the air, as Sonia reached out to rub his now-exposed tummy. "Is he part of your team?" Marcus asked.
Sonia looked down at her Yamper. "Sorta. Yamper's the son of my Boltund. And then the rest of my team's Venusaur, Corviknight, Kingler, and Orbeetle, so Yamper's sorta became my sixth after he was born."
"You only had five?" Marcus asked. "Weren't you Leon's rival or something?"
"Oh, did he tell you that?" Sonia looked up at Leon. "Yeah, I was his rival. And not a bad one, either, if I do say so myself. I'm surprised he told you - these days it feels like he remembers that a lot less than I do. Nowadays he only comes by to ask for info on never-before-seen, super-strong Pokemon. I keep having to dissuade him from going after Legendaries - just two months ago he came by wanting to know how to find Zarude." Sonia scoffed. "I had to tell him that Zarude is the only Legendary that isn't completely unique. I also had to tell him that packs of Zarude are notoriously aggressive and will beat the snot out of anyone not part of their pack." She shook her head. "But yeah, I was his rival, at least until I dropped out of the Gym Challenge five Gyms in."
"You can do that?" Marcus's mouth snapped shut as soon as the last word left his mouth - clearly, he knew the question had been insensitive.
"Of course," Sonia murmured. "It's not all that common, but…" She sighed. "Anyway! What's your team?"
Marcus swiftly listed off all the members of his team. Sonia smiled. "Sounds like a big, strong team," she said. "I have to ask - doesn't nine Pokemon get a little difficult to deal with? Even Leon only has seven - eight, now, counting Sobble."
"Well, most of the time I only have the Dark-types with me," said Marcus. "Being a Gym Leader takes a lot of time out of my day. The other five stay at my parents' house and train. But once the Gym season is over, I'm free for three months, which gives me time to pay attention to the rest of my team."
"Your Gym operates for nine months?" Sonia's eyes widened. "That must be exhausting!"
"Right, Gyms here only really operate for one month," Marcus recalled.
"Technically it's two months," Sonia corrected. "They have to get ready for the Gym Challenge, iron out changes they want to make and kinks that need to be corrected."
"Still," said Marcus, "what do they do for the other ten months?"
"Same as you're doing now," said Sonia. "Visit other regions, train up Pokemon that aren't part of their main teams - Raihan, I think, is trying to experiment with creating teams based around other weathers. Or they just do other work - Nessa's a model, Milo's a farmer, and Opal's been running auditions for a replacement Gym Leader for almost two decades now-"
She cut herself off as Yamper rolled over. "Okay, my tummy's been cuddled to my satisfaction! Now do the top of my head, and scratch my chin while you're at it, please!"
Oh, Arceus, it's Scamper all over again. Kriesh rolled her eyes as Sonia resumed her petting of Yamper. "So, Marcus," said the Professor's assistant. "How'd you become a Gym Leader?"
"Well, first I was lucky enough to get the opportunity," said Marcus. "But after that, it was mostly a lot of work. There was some more luck at the end, though."
"Heh." Sonia cocked her head to the side. "Wish I got an opportunity like that."
"Well, you are a Professor's assistant," said Marcus.
Sonia shook her head ruefully. "Not really. It's not like it's official. Magnolia's just my Gran, and…uh…I help her out sometimes. So I call myself her assistant."
"I have a friend who does something similar with Professor Sycamore," Marcus pointed out.
"And do you ever get the feeling that your friend wants…more?" Sonia asked.
"Not really," Marcus admitted.
"Well," said Sonia, "I do want more. Let me tell you something - dropping out of the Gym Challenge was the biggest mistake I ever made in my life, even if I'll never admit it to Leon."
"So why did you drop out?" Marcus asked.
"Because Leon was so much stronger than I was." Sonia bowed her head. "I tried to ignore it, but…when we reached Opal's Gym, he absolutely steamrolled her, without a single offensive type advantage against Fairy since he only caught his Honedge after I dropped out. Meanwhile, I came in having just evolved both my Venusaur and Corviknight, and she took me down to a one-on-one. If Venusaur wasn't capable of Gigantamax, I'm…not sure if I even would have won."
"Hey, I've been through a lot of close Gym Battles," said Marcus.
"Yes," Sonia murmured, "but do you know how disheartening it is to put all that work into your team just for them to struggle so hard? And Leon…he wasn't mean, but when he talked and talked about how easy it had been for him, it…hurt. I just couldn't shake the feeling that, even if I somehow beat the next three Gyms, I'd just get knocked out in the first round of the final tournament. That I'd be a total waste of a slot in there. And so…I dropped out. And every day after that, I've kicked myself for doing it. I disappointed Gran, I disappointed my team…you know something, Marcus? Every day, Gran asks me, "Sonia, what are you doing with your life?" And I say-"
"Marcus?"
Kriesh was almost relieved to hear Leon's voice; it wasn't that she disliked Sonia, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that the so-called Professor's assistant had decided to just vent all her problems out, with Marcus little more than a mouthpiece for such venting. But that relief died as she peered out of her Luxury Ball once more and saw Leon, Pokedex clutched in one hand and a worried expression on his face.
"Have you heard anything from Gloria?" Leon asked.
"No," said Marcus.
"I just got a call from Casey," said Leon. "She said that she didn't see them when she got home, so she assumed they'd already gotten their camping gear and left and she'd somehow missed them. But if that's the case, they should've been here five minutes ago."
"Do you think they've gotten lost?" Marcus asked.
Leon frowned. "Hop's always had a much better sense of direction than me. I doubt he'd get lost, especially when he's walked this route plenty of times before to pick me up when I arrive in Wedgehurst."
"Well, I'll send out Kriesh to look for them," said Marcus. "She's good at spotting things from afar."
"And I'll do the same with Charizard." Leon swiftly began to move towards the door out of the lab, fingering Charizard's Ultra Ball as he did so. Marcus followed him, readying to release Kriesh.
"Hopefully they're just being slow or something," said Marcus as they stepped through the door.
"Hopefully." Leon released his Charizard onto the ground, eliciting a few cheers from some nearby civilians. "But I can't help but worry they might have gotten hurt in a wild Pokemon attack or something."
Wincing at the thought, Marcus sent out Kriesh. "All right, you know what to do," he said.
Nodding, Kriesh swiftly lifted off. The sound of wingbeats behind her indicated that Charizard had done the same. As the two Flying-types began to fly in the direction of Postwick, Kriesh's heartbeat grew louder and louder until it seemed to fill her ears.
Is Leon right? Are they hurt? How badly?
Arceus, I hope that nothing bad's happened to them…
Scorbunny was, to put it bluntly, terrified.
Why are we even here?
He knew why. To find that Wooloo.
But why does it need to be us?
It had all started when they'd reached a gate. A gate that, apparently, Hop and Gloria had encountered before Scorbunny and Grookey had joined them. Hop had said there had been a Wooloo using Tackle to try and get it open. But when they'd reached the gate on their way back to Gloria's house, the gate had been open and no Wooloo had been in sight.
It had all happened so quickly after that. Scorbunny had no idea why Hop had gotten it into his head that the best thing to do was to go trekking into the Slumbering Weald after the Wooloo. Nor did he have any idea why Gloria had decided to go along with Hop's plan. Even though he'd been grown in a lab, Scorbunny had still heard stories from the other Pokemon around the lab. Warnings to never go into the Slumbering Weald, for the Pokemon there were vicious and dangerous, and it was all too easy to get lost.
Yet now here he was, less than an hour after meeting his Trainer for the first time, watching from his Pokeball as she carried him deeper and deeper into that very forest.
Thankfully, Hop had quickly found a set of Wooloo tracks and was following them closely, so at least there was a sort of path through the dense trees and bushes. That didn't change the fact that the Slumbering Weald was absolutely terrifying to look at, the dense mist and crooked trees combining to make it feel like something was going to jump out at them any second.
So it was that it was almost a relief when something did.
A flap of wings came from above, and both Hop and Gloria stopped short as a large Mandibuzz landed in front of them. The Mandibuzz peered at the two Trainers for a few moments, its beady eyes scanning their bodies. Then it turned and gestured with a wing. "Follow me."
The Mandibuzz lifted back off the ground and began to flap lazily down the same direction as the Wooloo's trail of tracks. Hop and Gloria exchanged glances. "Should we follow it?" Gloria asked.
"It's going where we're going," said Hop. "Maybe it's leading us to the Wooloo? I mean, if we don't follow it, we aren't following the Wooloo's tracks anymore, so I say we follow it."
"All right," said Gloria reluctantly.
The two Trainers set off once again, following the Mandibuzz down the Wooloo's trail. As they continued to move, traveling deeper and deeper into the Slumbering Weald, Scorbunny began to register forms flying through the branches to either side. The forms were shrouded in shadow, but Scorbunny could tell they were Flying-types of some sort, and he could also tell that there were a lot of them.
Then Hop and Gloria stepped through a section of bushes, and all at once a wave of sound seemed to hit them full force.
Cries of many, many Flying-types came from above, so many wingbeats sounding that it seemed like an echoing roll of thunder. Near-instinctively, Hop and Gloria both released their Pokemon; Scorbunny materialized on the forest floor alongside Bunnelby, Grookey, and Hop's Wooloo, all of whom were already looking around, taking in the sheer amount of Rookidees and Corvisquires surrounding them.
For that was, indeed, the makeup of the Flying-types that Scorbunny had heard and seen the shadow-shrouded outlines of. He could also see the Mandibuzz, now seated at the opposite end of the small clearing they were all standing in. The Mandibuzz was looking upwards; before Scorbunny could do more than ponder why, a booming voice sounded. "SILENCE!"
All four of Hop and Gloria's Pokemon looked up with widening eyes; Scorbunny nearly staggered backwards at the sight he beheld. He knew what a Corviknight looked like - he'd grown up in Magnolia's lab, and every so often Sonia would send out her Corviknight for a short flight - but the Corviknight he saw now was both even larger than Sonia's and looked far more fierce. It slowly descended from the tangle of branches above, its eyes flitting around, looking between the two Trainers and their four Pokemon with scorn in its expression. It landed with a thump on the forest floor; it had barely settled before it spoke, its voice echoing from its mouth as it addressed the entire horde of Rookidees and Corvisquires.
"My Great Flock!" The Corviknight was clearly male from the tone of its voice. "You see, standing before you, the very same Trainers whom you have feared and hid from for generations! The Trainers who have exploited Pokemon like us for so long! Too long! And now, my Great Flock, you will see just how weak they truly are! You will see why we deserve to rule over them! Why, thanks to our combined strength, they will be forced to acknowledge our superiority!"
The Rookidees and Corvisquires cheered, their screeches echoing even louder than Corviknight's voice. Scorbunny gulped as Corviknight spread his steely wings. "For I will show you," he said, "that even four against one, my power is greater than that of the feeble Pokemon the Trainers command! I will show you that you need not fear Trainers any longer! And when I am done, these Trainers will be left defenseless, so that you, my Great Flock, can descend on them and slaughter them where they stand! They will serve as a warning! A message to all other Trainers across this region that we Wild Pokemon will no longer be subservient to them!"
Scorbunny felt like vomiting. He'd been fervently hoping that this Corviknight would stop at beating Hop and Gloria in battle. But now Scorbunny knew that if he and his three friends weren't able to win this battle, then their Trainers' lives would be in grave danger.
And against a fully-evolved Pokemon like Corviknight, let alone Mandibuzz and the rest of Corviknight's army, when all four of Hop and Gloria's Pokemon were still weakened from their earlier battle…Scorbunny wasn't sure there was even a chance.
Is this where it ends? So soon after beginning? Are we all really going to die here?
Corviknight glared at Hop and Gloria's four Pokemon, all of them standing in a line. "You will all die alongside your Trainers," he snarled. "But take comfort in that your deaths will be the start of something much greater! An empire of Wild Pokemon born in blood! I give you this one mercy - do not resist, and your deaths will be swift."
Screw that. Despite his fear, Scorbunny lowered himself into a fighting stance, aware of Bunnelby, Grookey, and Wooloo doing the same. Even if there was no way they could win, none of them were going to give up.
None of them would let their Trainers die.
Corviknight scoffed. "Very well," he said, flaring Steel energy across his titanic wings. "Witness the true power of a Wild Pokemon!"