Prompt 1: Bug Hunt

"Emmet? Where are you? I thought we both agreed to couple near Nimbasa Stadium. Elesa and I have been waiting on you for some time now."

"I am sorrry, Ingo. This can't wait." Emmet flipped around the screen to his Xtransceiver as he sped down to the nearest pokémon center, Eelektross floating leisurely behind him. This day would be a very special day both for Emmet and potentially for his challengers on both the doubles and super doubles line on the Battle Subway.

It had taken Emmet months to set up and secure a trade with a trainer from the Hoenn region; more specifically, Emmet had spent a lot of time and money securing the necessary items and vacation time needed to train a Shedinja to add to his competitive team. They weren't common pokémon to breed from what research Emmet had already done on them, and they weren't often utilized in Battle Facilities, giving Emmet the opportunity to both feed his adoration of bug-type pokémon and potentially give him the opportunity terrorize younger, unsuspecting trainers with it.

While Emmet loved bug-type pokémon- falling short only to Gym Leader Burgh of Castleia City who owned an art gallery dedicated to them-Emmet had doted on the strange bug the moment he had learned of its sole ability: Wonder Guard. Wonder Guard was an ability that negated any damage done in battle unless the move was super-effective against Shedinja or if entry hazards like Poison Spikes or condition moves were already set up. Emmet had practically been pestering Ingo to teach his Hisuian Gliscor Defog for months in an attempt to set up a stall that would keep his brand-new bug from being pulverized due to its low defensive stats.

So far, Emmet had planned on asking his specific trading partner across the world to ensure that the traded Shedinja had either a Lonely or a Naïve nature to set up the proper stat boosts and debuffs. Emmet already had plenty of Focus Sashes hanging around the station- the perks of being a Subway Boss and a Battle Facility Head- but in order to offset any potential damage, Emmet had also been planning on possibly using a pokémon with the move Follow Me to absorb all possible damage intended for his brand new Shedinja. A Clefable maybe.

"I can still see from your screen, Emmet," Ingo broke through. Loud cheering echoed from his side of the call. "You're at the pokémon center, aren't you?"

"Yyyup."

Ingo coughed. "Are you… meeting with somebody? No. Press the brakes… Is this about that Wonder Guard pokémon you've been conducting studies over for the past month and a half?"

"It is. You will see. But not on the Multi Line. Where you constantly destroy Eelektross with Mold Breaker." Emmet immediately frowned the second he heard Ingo's boisterous laughter echoing from the other side of the line. "It is not funny, Ingo. You are intentionally terrorizing my pokémon for your own selfish gain."

"It is a good strategy!" Ingo argued, laughing.

"I would strangle you over the phone if I could," Emmet grunted. "I should think of a similar strategy for Chandelure. You won't think it's funny then."

"Then equipt Eelektross with an Air Balloon. He will float, negating any damage done by Haxorus's Earthquake."

"Eelektross is already carrying a Magnet, Ingo. Do not try to make me the aggressor. You are the one who chose to teach Haxorus that move."

"Earthquake is a valid move! It is powerful and almost guaranteed to hit every opponent on the battlefield- "

"Including my own."

"Eelektross doesn't need to hold the Magnet, Emmet! He's strong enough already to not need any boosting to his electric-type moves."

"Says the person... who gave his Excadrill… a Life Orb," Emmet emphasized, irritation stinging at his throat. "'He's strong enough already to not need any boosting,'" Emmet retorted in a mocking tone, smiling a bit when Ingo's laughter pealed back from his Xtransceiver.

"Life Orbs increase the power of all attacks! You know this!"

"Excuses."

"Is this really because of Haxorus knowing Earthquake?"

"This is to prevent Eelektross fainting due to Haxorus knowing Earthquake," Emmet enunciated carefully. "You will see. I will have my revenge." It was a silent promise. A laughable attempt at a dignified double battle strategy that Elesa had once encouraged Emmet to try out after a particularly badly timed Earthquake from Haxorus had cost both him and Emmet a battle on the Super Multi. Emmet hadn't spoken to Ingo for an entire weekend while mulling over the downright evil strategy.

"… Emmet," Ingo spoke slowly, his usual loud tone so quiet with lethal intent that Emmet had to strain to hear him. "You will keep your Perish Song Arena Trap duo out of the Battle Subway," Ingo iterated carefully. "I will not be filling out any paperwork for any complaints regarding that particular strategy."

"You're no fun."

"I'm supposed to be the responsible one here. You made several children cry that day!"

"Then they should have strategized better. Then they wouldn't have lost so easily."

"You are terrible and awful and evil. I will see you later, Emmet. Do not eat the leftover pizza in the fridge- it's mine." And before Emmet could respond with a less-than-appropriate word, Ingo said, "And do not take my words lightly! Only I know which daycare our beloved shiny, Sturdy Aron is at. Pick your battles wisely, brother." Ingo then promptly hung up.

Sturdy Aron with a Focus Sash. Really Ingo? That's the best you can come up with? Emmet turned off his Xtransceiver completely, the dregs of anxiety and excitement starting back up once he caught sight of the telltale red roof in the distance. I will come up with a better strategy. A great strategy! Emmet then smirked. And then I will use this strategy only on you next Friday before the winner picks the weekend activities for game night. A whole weekend of playing Uno and Monopoly... I should really hide the get-out-of-jail-free cards.

Once passing the healing station by the front doors, Emmet walked over to the escalators to the second floor, tapping his feet on the linoleum as he waited for a center attendant to call him forward.

"Hello there, and welcome! This is the second floor where local and regional trades take place." The attendant smiled at Emmet, gesturing him forward as a similar dressed Herdier sniffed curiously at Emmet's shoes. "Welcome back, Mr. Emmet. Doing some more trading today?"

"I am."

"More breeding planned? Haven't you exhausted your Galvantula enough?"

"I already have a shiny Joltik," Emmet bragged nonchalantly. "This time, it's for work."

"…Oh, dragons above. I don't even want to know what you're planning." The center attendant carefully collected all of the necessary paperwork in order for Emmet to enter the trading room: Emmet's ID, his current team registrations and statuses, and a clock in signature. After collecting everything and scanning them into the GTS's database system, the clerk nodded and gestured for Emmet to follow. "Right this way, please. Watch your step. I'll show you into the trading room."

Emmet tipped his hat in response. "Thank you verrry much. Right behind you."

The GTS room was awash in a cyan hue that made Emmet's eyes hurt. He had been in the room plenty of times before assembling pokémon teams. For many different reasons. Secret reasons. He found a spare stall in a quiet section of the regional-trading room and when certain that he had all of his Joltiks in a row, Emmet inserted his trainer ID into the main connection terminal. From there, he swiped over to the region he planned on connecting with his fellow trading partner with: Hoenn. There is at least a twelve-hour time difference between our regions. This has already been calculated for.

Weeks before, Emmet had prearranged a meeting with his anonymous trading partner via the messaging system on the GTS's trainer hub where he and his trading partner had exchanged anonymous tags to better find each other on the set date. Emmet would make the trade at six in the evening his time and his partner would make their trade at seven in the morning their time. Emmet's partner had wanted a very particular pokémon for their end of the trade- a Larvesta. Networking with Champion Alder had been easy enough and Emmet had also attached a letter to the pokémon as a sign of goodwill.

The monitor before him suddenly came alive in a flash of light. He saw the simple pokéball containing Larvesta be floated up into the holding receptacle of the transfer tube, sighting its small chubby body dance around excitedly in its capsule. It turned itself around in happy circles, eager to move.

Emmet configured the trade settings and typed in the anonymous tag of his trading partner, finally receiving the invitation to carry out the deal. Emmet signed near his name, entered the trading pin for his specific ID, and in no time flat, entered the digital trading room. He saw Larvesta's information flit across the screen, his own excitement becoming tangible as his desired Shedinja's informatics flashed on the lower section of the screen.

"Naïve nature. Equipped with mail as well? Perfect!" Emmet immediately accepted the trade offer. His grin widened as the trading tube began to start back up again. "Bye-bye, Larvesta! Have fun with your new trainer!"

Larvesta did another turnaround and waved back with its tiny feet before the trading tube pushed them out of the device and into the trading tube where… well, Emmet didn't actually know how pokémon centers managed to send pokémon across regions in the blink of an eye. Pokémon weren't made of digital code like Porygons. He would save that question for another time.

Another pokéball, one that was intricately designed but definitely aged, slipped out of the trading tube and into the holding receptacle where Emmet could see it fully. Two hollow eyes peered back up at the him, the telltale endoskeleton of the bug and ghost-type pokémon shivering as it was unceremoniously deposited into the GTS system and into the awaiting pc box.

Emmet tapped his fingers against his arms to give his hands something to do, quickly leaving the trading room to pick up his traded pokémon from the pc on the first floor. He handed it first to one of the pokémon center nurses who took the Shedinja to the back. Minutes passed by.

"Excuse me. This is your Shedinja, isn't it?"

"It is," Emmet nodded. "Is something the matter?"

"Well, nothing is wrong, really," the center attendant began. "It's just that- well- I'm sure you're aware that your trading partner sent along a letter. It appears they also attached a gifting code as well. You can access that using the pc box. You probably already know this."

More gifts, Emmet wondered. How fun! I wonder what they sent-

"Oh, and we thought we should also tell you… It would appear as if your Shedinja is infected with Pokérus."

Emmet nearly exploded with excitement. Oh, Ingo was definitely in for a battle of the season. "That's great news." He carefully took his newest addition to the team before immediately going to the pc and swapping out a few of his lesser used pokémon. He then checked the gift attached to the Shedinja. "Oh. An apricot-ball? Interesting."

Emmet immediately skipped past the archaic pokéball and instead went to withdraw a brand new pokémon from his pc. Namely, a Clefable.