Chapter 16

~A Tale of Two Trainers~
-A Children's Story, Part: 6

He forgot the taste of Aspear Berries, which he had oh so loved to eat.

And the names of Eric's parents, who they still went to visit every Sunday night.

The faces of those he knew in passing, common witnesses to Eric and Ashley's battles, were hard to distinguish and really all just looked the same.

It would be another night before it dawned on him that something seemed missing. That incredible move he'd invented, the one that would surely see him be crowned 'the best', was suddenly out of his grasp.

So many years and moments, so many memories...were mostly just a vague feeling now.

He thought about waking Eric to talk about it.

But that concern too, simply slipped,

Out of his head.

Route 43, Between Lake of Rage and Mahogany

"Yeah, I mean no, it would've been cool to win but I'm not upset about it or anything." A wild Flaaffy pokes its head out of the grass as I walk by and I wave to it with a little smile. "No. I don't think so." I continue, pressing the phone into my ear. "It might be better this way. Less people bothering me since I was only the runner-up. More to the point, what's going on on your end? Still drowning in work?"

Lori sighs tiredly from the other end. "Some imbecile collapsed a portion of Rock Tunnel right outside Lavender Town Wednesday night. Lord only knows what divine inspiration bade them to have a Golem use Self-Destruct while in a confined space. The League's clearing rubble as best we can but the path is going to be down for a few weeks at the least."

I frown minutely into the phone. "Any deaths?"

A dry huff comes from the other side. "You mean besides the once-in-a-lifetime genius who caused the situation?" she asks blankly. "Thankfully no, which is a small miracle in and of itself. That isn't to say a few weren't trapped though." I can hear the squeak of a desk chair leaning backward. "God. Why did I ever want this job..."

I mentally picture her hands running down her face. A slight slumping in exhaustion as she vents and I offer a grin of commiseration in support. Not that she can actually see it. "Is Lance not taking charge of the situation?"

Lorelei audibly groans. "Champion Lance puts on a good public face. He handles the media, says all the right things to the press, but he doesn't actually do anything about problems like this. He leaves all that delegation type work to us. Getting emergency services out there, organizing rescue operations, informing the families of those who are still trapped-"

"What about the other Elite Four?" I interject. "I can't imagine Bruno's much help for organizing stuff, but the other two carry their weight yeah?"

"Koga does," she responds. "When you can actually find him. He's always disappearing...somewhere. And while Agatha's more than capable, she's completely apathetic for anything that doesn't involve the security of the region as a whole. Though honestly that suits me fine these days. Let her handle the negotiations with Elite Siebold and that cunt Malva. This thing with Kalos makes me want to tear my hair out."

I'm not quite sure where the tipping point was exactly. Conversation with Lori was still very much stilted when I called her up after defeating Whitney. Very formal uptight office-lady type of vibes. That got lessened a little bit after the fourth Gym Badge. Lessened a little bit more when I briefly called to let her know I was back in Mahogany and was participating in a tournament.

But this is the first time since I reestablished contact that she's metaphorically let her hair down. Done away with all that stuffy formality and begun talking like the Lorelei of Bradley's memories. That snarky lively redhead that's hidden beneath the cold veneer.

Goddamn am I looking forward to that dinner after the Conference.

"Well if you're tired of being the one who keeps getting stuck handling the admin, why not make a bid for the Championship yourself?" I playfully tease. "Ice beats Dragon doesn't it? More importantly it beats Flying, which is what Lance's team actually is."

"Oh sure. I'll just shoot off a few Ice Beams, go 6-0, and then prop my feet up on the big desk. Easy-peasy." she responds, her tone drenched in sarcasm.

"See! Now you're getting it!" I smile into the phone. "You could even get a Mamoswine first to catch him off guard. Did your grandpappy tell you? Surprise! The secret was Ancient Power the whole time."

"What?!" There's sounds of a chair flying back as someone jumps to their feet. "No he didn't tell me! Evolving from a specific move?! Bradley, do you even understand how rare that is?"

I do actually. Across all generations and all regions there's only 15 Pokémon who do it.

Though Poipole is an Ultra Beast from another dimension, so he probably shouldn't be counted in the list.

Nor should Eevee since really it's any Fairy-type move that leads to Sylveon and not one in specific.

Aaaaand I'm pretty sure Hisuian Qwilfish went extinct centuries ago so that's out too.

'So that leaves an even dozen huh? Actually, it even goes down to ten if we discount Mime Jr. and Bonsly as well. I don't think people really realize it's the move Mimic that lets them reach their adult forms. Their habit of imitating their parents or those around them is seen as natural behavior for any young child. Once they reach a certain mimicking proficiency, they simply evolve. It's viewed as a life cycle type of thing.'

"I know right?" I grin knowingly at her question. "Next time we meet in person, remind me to tell you how I figured it out. In the meantime, I'm considering making a big post about the evolution on the Net. Maybe see if some other trainers can explore with the Ancient Power move. Who knows what else it can evolve?"

'Well 'technically' I do. Tangela and Yanma. But truth bombing that knowledge online myself might raise too many flags. Let some other people get their fifteen minutes of fame. I ain't got time for that.' Besides, while it may be an uphill battle to fight against one, Tangrowth's always been a favorite. I'd like to see them around at some point. And though I've never personally used one,Yanmega's design is sick. 'Plus the first-stage dragonfly rather needs the help if we're being honest. As is, its Base Stats don't even reach 400.'

If those two can find their way into the Pokédex then all that should leave undiscovered for Indigo is Lickitung evolving into Lickilicky with Rollout, the Girafarig/Stantler duo that I believe I've mentioned in the past, oddly enough not Aipom/Ambipom -someone seems to have cracked the code on that one long before I got here-, and then the eternally disappointing...Dunsparce evolving into Dudunsparce via Hyper Drill.

'Big F in the chat when I saw that one revealed. RIP to Dunseraph, the coolest Fakemon out there.'

Besides our lord and savior Regitube of course.

"Anyways Lori, I've been meaning to ask-" A stirring along my psyche pauses me in my words. A distant feeling of grogginess paired with an incredibly subtle vibration from the Moon Ball at my hip.

Grundy's awake again.

"Actually..." My voice trails slightly. " I'm gonna have to call you back Lori." I spoke instead. "My problem child's finally up."

There's a mild protest from the other side and I'll probably lose points with her for hanging up halfway through a sentence, but I just don't have the time. This needs to be addressed now. While Grundy's still in those first few moments of waking. It's my best opportunity to make the lesson stick.

The white mountain of light coalesces into a Nidoking that's seemingly just gotten out of bed. One hand rubs at his face -as he's no doubt still sore- and with half open eyes he glances around at the route we're on in mild confusion.

"You lost."

The first words out of my mouth are filled with as much steel as I can put in them. A fact that seems to rouse the Alpha Pokémon from his half-awake state into focusing entirely on me.

When the words themselves -not just the tone- finally register I can see his expression begin to morph. The bafflement. The knee-jerk denial. The doubt that such a thing could be possible. And yet it must be. Because from his perspective, he was just in the ring not a half minute ago.

"And you know why right?" I continue now that I have his attention. "Because you didn't listen."

"King!" The living dinosaur snaps in objection, bending down low to put his face directly into mine. Close enough to where I can feel the heat of his breath. The exhale of his nostrils. "Nid! Nidoking! Nid!"

It's a staredown. One where if I relent even a little I'll lose so much more than just this one argument. "Yes, you did use every move I said." I addressed his point, even as my pupils never leave his own. "Even the Roar I know you hated. Every attack order you followed. You get that much credit at least." I admitted. "But then you decided to go off on your own plan didn't you? Did that unordered Hyper Beam feel good? To charge it up knowing you were going to obliterate whatever 'mon they dared to have challenge you next?"

There's a low growl in his throat. A warning not to 'push it'.

But I have to push it. That's the whole point.

"Big king of the mountain. Gonna put the opponent in their place. And now your first real debut is forever stained." My words are mocking, but their delivered tone is anything but. "As much as people will remember your strength, they will remember more how you were beaten. How one Wobbuffet and a Mirror Coat was all it took for the great Nidoking to fall."

"Nid! Nido Nid! King Nidoking Nid!"

"A rematch?" I almost upturn a smile. "We can't. They're gone, Grundy. Everyones dispersed. Tournament's over. Next time we're likely to see them is in six months. And that's assuming I even send you out. Given what you did this time, I'm not so sure I should."

"Nidoking! King Ni King?"

"You're goddamn right I could have you miss it." I push my face into his while one hand grabs at his chin. "What's the point of our partnership if you don't listen? What's the point of trying to show your strength to the world if all you do with it is get angry at the first setback and then stomp around like an animal? Like an oversized simple brained beast? Is that what you want people to view you as? You're a King aren't you? It's in your fucking name isn't it!" I roared at the 'mon, toeing the very line of our relationship.

Grundy's eyes narrow dangerously. "King...Nido Ni." he responds lowly. Like the deep rumbling of a dragon.

"Then show me you can act like it." My voice eases off the harshness as I let go of his chin. "You're my Ace for a reason. We're partners for a reason. We can both make it to the top...but we can't get there without the other."

The Alpha 'mon stares into me as I seemingly reach a stopping point. His breath is still close enough for me to feel. Hot clouds exhaling from his nostrils. One claw reaches up slowly -incredibly slowly-, and without ever breaking eye contact, not even so much as to blink…he taps the Moon Ball at my belt and returns himself.

Along the connection of our Bond, I can feel him mostly close off his own end. Shrinking it down to a little pin-point. The aura equivalent of someone hanging up a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on their bedroom door.

I release a long breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding. 'Well I'm not quite sure how to take that.' One hand rests atop the blue and yellow Ball almost subconsciously. 'Though I think it could have gone way worse.'

Mahogany Town, underneath the "Souvenir Shop"

The expansion project was in full swing now. Four days into the work and I can already say with certainty we're going to be stuck here at least another nine or ten. Might be able to cut that down some if I had more than two of my Pokémon working on it at a time, but I refuse to give up the few hours I've allotted for team training every day. We've created a workable rotation that, while it does leave us tired, is at least sustainable in the short term. We can survive this schedule for two weeks.

As a bonus, Petrel's assigned two Rocket Grunts under me to help with the manpower of this project so there's that as well. The one with the clumsy Rhyhorn and overly excitable Slugma isn't very useful, though each 'mon does fulfill a certain niche at my dig site. His partner in crime however, a younger Grunt who somehow possesses a Tyrogue of all things, is rather helpful though. The unevolved Fighting-type seems to have made it a competition in its mind to match Golett pound for pound in how much stone gets hauled away.

Though to be honest I'm not sure Simon even noticed.

He just seems happy to have made a new friend.

Vlad's on a break right now. Or at least a break from one job. His other is to start putting Junior through the paces. Converting all that 'zoomies' energy the baby piglet has into some productive work. There's not a ton of room to run through exercises down here, but thankfully not a ton is needed. A baby Pokémon practicing Powder Snow and Mud-Slap in the corner isn't going to hurt much.

The other one currently on break, set to relieve K. Rool in about 20 minutes, is Ma Ma. She's currently sitting on her haunches trying to run Fairy-energy through her claws to improve on her rather middling performance with Play Rough from back in the Semi-finals. I'm not sure she's made a ton of progress so far but...small steps, y'know?

I'm sure she'd rather be working on Earthquake, she's better with Ground-energy than Fairy, but that'll have to wait until we're out of here for the day and doing some real training in the evening.

"Krok!" A sharp curse has me looking leftward where an irritated K. Rool is rubbing at his jawline in mild discomfort. Considering this is about the seventh time it's happened in the last three days, I know it already to mean he's just cycled his energy in a way that caused him some pain.

"Hey!" I shout, getting him to jolt as he knows he's been caught. "You know the rules K. Rool. When we're working, we're working. You can train moves in half an hour. Focus up."

The Dark-type grumbles a little at the reprimand, gentle as it was, and moves back into digging at the earth, choosing instead to massage his jaw by 'chewing' at nothing a few times. Once I know he's not looking though I do allow a little smile to creep at my lips.

'The gaps between when he accidentally clips himself are getting longer. He's definitely figuring 'something' out. The cheeky little bugger.'

I'd outlined it pretty clear to him. Not in a mean way, I just didn't want him to get his hopes up high and then be disappointed if it doesn't work out. Both Fire Fang and Thunder Fang were Egg Moves for his species. So unless he's somehow got a Hippowdon or something in his family line, 'which I don't thiiiiink is true, but I guess who knows right?' then he shouldn't be able to learn them. The rules say it won't work.

You know what my boy then said to me after that?

He pointed to Simon and made a motion for 'Ice Hammer.' Followed by pointing to Vlad who'd been in the corner at the time working on 'Power Whip'.

Both moves that they "shouldn't" be able to learn and yet they did/were doing it anyway. Because they didn't care about any so called "rules".

He had Vlad demonstrate for him each of the Elemental Fangs, even the ones beyond Fire and Thunder, and then he was off to the races as they say.

I won't let him see it yet but...the truth is I've never been more proud.

Turning my head back to the rest of my workers I see Simon and Tyrogue standing before a massive boulder they've unearthed, an edifice that's separate from the rest of the rock wall. The ditzy Rhyhorn meanders up, crooning a question if they'd like him to smash into it but the Tyrogue waves him off with a determined look on his face.

A tiny grin sneaks up on me as the baby grappler Pokémon slides one foot back and adopts some sort of power stance. One that wouldn't be out of place in a kung-fu or martial arts anime. Aww, he's even doing that thing where he holds his non-striking hand in front of him, presenting his flat palm to his opponent, the 'great rock'.

"Ty-!" White and orange energy begins to build in the little guy's fist and I crack a smile. I'd say it's 'Rock Smash', there's definitely a joke or two there, but to be honest I think the move he's actually charging up is 'Mach Punch'. He's just holding it in for a moment to give it a little more 'oomph'. "-rogue!"

The baby Pokémon thrusts his punch forward and my eyebrows raise as a spiderweb of cracks zigzag all around the stone's front. Not enough to break the thing, it's many many times larger than he is -all of two feet tall and 45 pounds- but still that's pretty dang good for 'mon who's not even Lv. 20 yet. A very nice showing from the little guy!

Simon meanwhile looks at his new buddy, at the move he just used, and seems to puzzle over something in his head.

He gently shoos a huffing Tyrogue back a few steps and takes up the same battle pose his new buddy did. Or rather…he attempts to. Now, I adore my boy Simon as much as any parent, I really do, but the lad looks ridiculous. The knobby legs, the blocky arms, Golett as a species was not meant for anime fight poses. They just aren't limber enough for it.

"Gol-!" he starts his name just as Tyrogue did and his fist erupts with Fighting-energy. A dozen contained explosions all trying to burst free at once from within his hand and my eyes shoot open at the Dynamic Punch I swear he's even seen before. "-lett!"

The rock is not broken. The word 'broken' implies something is fixable. That there is something 'left' to fix. There is only pebbles, dust, and a Tyrogue's jaw hitting the floor.

Vlad angrily swoops in at Simon, viciously berating him for using such a volatile move at a worksite. Especially a worksite where we're purposely moving slowly so as to not cause accidents. And honestly, all of Gligar's points are correct. Simon should not have done that.

But I just can't stop laughing.

'Hahahahahaha,' A hand runs over my face. 'He figured out Dynamic Punch without even being told it exists in the first place.'

Fuckin' prodigies man, I swear to god.

Eleven Days Later, Same Location

Ma Ma sniffs at the sixth container and then shakes her head with a frown before moving on to the next. Number seven out of eighteen.

I meanwhile am still arms deep in number three, trying to at least maintain the facade that I care about -and am exceedingly pleased by- the worthless chalky dirt within.

'How?' I asked myself. 'How does he know?'

Did he hear something? Am I being spied on? Are Psychics involved? Did Rocket discover an Ursaluna overseas? Maybe just a reference to one? A fucking piece of cave art? What was it?

I've as many theories as my paranoid mind can conjure up but no direction to say which one had the odds of being most likely.

At my first request for soil samples all those moons ago, I sold some cock and bull story about 'Geology and Pedology being hobbies I sometimes dabbled in.' Honestly I think I did a pretty good job of it. Admin Petrel listened and then accepted my reasons for wanting foreign soil with all the feigned politeness and fake interest of a person conducting a business deal. In the whole talk, I hadn't even mentioned my team once.

A job was discussed, hands were shook, and only a few weeks later I was the proud owner of a few worthless pounds of dirt from Sinnoh. Some sandy, some silty, a little bit loamy, none of it useful for my purposes in trying to evolve Ma Ma.

Though I did let her sniff at the loam one just to be sure.

There should have been no clues to my intentions. No hints. I'd been careful goddamnit!

And yet somehow...somehow Petrel knows something. He's become privy to some piece of the puzzle.

It's not a few pounds of dirt this time, it's hundreds. Eighteen of those large plastic tubs one would use when moving house. All presented under the excuse that the job I completed was 'bigger' this time around and thus deserving of 'more'. He says I'm free to riffle through and take as much with me as I would like to.

If it was only that which was different this time, then I'd welcome it. In fact, I might even allow my hopes up and get ecstatic about it.

My worry comes in at that the variety this time has been sharply reduced. There's no silty or sandy specimens. Nothing like them. No, most everything here is dark, rich, and wet. Much much closer to the conditions I'm actually looking for in regards to Peat.

Could that be a coincidence? Possible. Though I doubt it. Especially when combined with the most damning fact of them all.

When I was escorted to this room and presented these tubs for my perusal, for me to 'inspect' and 'collect' whatever I'd like, Petrel openly invited me to release my Ursaring to have a better look.

So they -Team Rocket that is- could have a 'better understanding' of how to continue fostering our 'mutually beneficial' working relationship. Just to make sure they 'properly paid' for the services I have often provided.

All his words, not mine.

And so I ask myself again. How did he make the connection? What is it exactly that Team Rocket's learned?

An excited -and most unsubtle- Ma Ma nearly crashes into me to show off what she's found in tub #11. Her paw unfurls to reveal a grey shard of not-quite-stone, not-quite-dirt that's roughly half the size of a human finger. Far too little material to actually work with, but if it's got her instincts all up in a tizzy…

"Find something you like Ma Ma?" I asked with the best innocence I could. Still playing the part of the dirt hobbyist. I pick up the tiny chunk of material and run my fingers over it, getting a feel of its texture. "Huh. That is something unusual. I wonder what it's made of?" I inject some real curiosity in my voice, even going so far as to tilt my head before handing it back to her. "Put it to the side and see if you can find any more."

I'm pretty sure the jig is up but I'm trying here man!

You try acting dumb when a Rocket Admin is standing there watching you!

"You know Bradley," The man in question begins politely from the corner, that same fond yet ominous tone he always uses. "If there's any pieces in particular that are of interest to you, all you'd need do is speak up. It's never trouble for our contacts to go and get more." He approaches and gently places one gloved hand on my shoulder.

"We're always happy to accommodate our friends."

Training results: Two Week Timeskip

Junior (Swinub): Lv. 8 - Lv. 13
-Learned Mud-Slap
-Learned Powder Snow.
-Learned TM Dig

K. Rool (Krokorok): Lv. 32 -Lv. 34
-Made Progress on Thunder Fang
-Made Progress on Fire Fang

Simon (Golett): Lv. 34 - Lv.36
-Learned Dynamic Punch

Vlad (Gligar): Lv. 53 - Lv.54
-Learned TM Sunny Day
-Made Progress on Power Whip

Ma Ma (Ursaring): Lv. 58 - (No Change)
-Learned TM Trailblaze
-Made Progress on Earthquake
-Made Progress on Play Rough

Grundy (Nidoking): Lv. 70 - (No Change)
-No Move Changes

Quagsire: Lv. ? - (No Change)
-He sleeps, yet he does not dream.