The next day found a full group chattering away in Castelia's central plaza. Ryuko and Sohn had come to join them and now they were meeting the new girls.

"You're sure this is the same Growlithe?" Sohn laughed. "HEY!" Her tail flashed to flame so that she could yank it free of Kiana's grasp. "You trying to flirt with me or something, girlie?"

Kiana giggled but scampered away to start pestering Adalinda instead and left Sohn staring after her.

"She's the same one, I promise," Nicholas chuckled. "You'll recognize her a bit better when you see her fight."

"I think she's as bad as Sammy," Sohn groused. "Is she any good in battle or just, y'know. Wild."

"Well, she got close to taking one of Roxie's pokegirls when Ada forced us into the gym," Nicholas replied. "That was her fresh from being tamed for the very first time and she still nearly did it on instincts alone. I've been working with her since and I'd say she's got a solid grasp of tactics now. We ran into a bunch of Grass-type pokegirls in the desert on the way back and Kiana handled three all on her own." He shrugged. "I know, not the biggest accomplishment for a Fire-type girl, but they were some energetic ferals. It seemed like the desert came alive once the sand stopped blowing."

"Speaking of, do you think they're ready for the gym now?" Sabrina asked him. "That was the point of going training in the desert, right?"

"Hm." Nicholas turned to ponder Adalinda and Kiana as they rolled in the grass. "They're more than ready for most ferals. But a gym?" He slowly stroked his chin. "Maybe, but Roxie's got me feeling cautious. No offense to her but she's a relatively new Leader. If she's going to be that intense what's the rest of Unova gonna be like?"

"Don't tell me you're going to go find somewhere else to spend a few days at," Sabrina groaned.

Nicholas laughed and playfully shoved her. "You sound like Nikki! Am I boring you, darling?"

"I haven't seen a real gym battle yet!" Sabrina exclaimed. "I remember watching you pick Chuck apart and I want to see you do it again!"

"Well fine!" Nicholas exclaimed. "We'll challenge the gym TODAY. How about that."

"You spoil me."

"You bet your pretty ass I do," Nicholas snickered. "But I'd like to at the very least give these girls a test against something other than wild pokegirls." He looked over to where Jade was talking to Ryuko. "Also should run Jade through some paces to see how she does when not feral."

"Yeah, that Jade girl. Is she… dense?" Sohn asked. "I was joking around and she didn't seem to understand any of it."

"No, I think Jade's just a bit blunt," Nicholas replied. "She takes everything completely literally."

Sohn shook her head and glanced at Cathy. "She wouldn't be the first around here. Learn to have fun, would you?" She huffed. "I've got nobody to play tricks with and it's boring."

"Kiana seems interested enough in you, though."

Sohn sighed. "She doesn't even count. She's the same as Cathy, Ryuko, that Jade girl… I remember what I saw when she first showed up. Sure, she's all playful and fun right now but there's a mean, mean pokegirl in there."

Nicholas turned to find Kiana as he pondered Sohn's words. "You're right, but I'd been thinking of Kiana's protective streak as being something that just came out in battle. You're saying it's not?"

"I'm saying, give it a few months and that Growlithe is going to be competing with Cathy for a job," Sohn replied.

The Miltank grunted. "She can try."

"Uh huh. Zisela works us twice as hard without you around, you know," Sohn said to her. "You better be keeping up too or one of these days she's going to find an excuse to punish you for spending so much time with Nicholas."

Cathy blinked before cracking a grin. "Thank you for the warning, Beta."

"That's what I'm here for, you big muscly nuisance." Sohn smirked and threw a fake punch into Cathy's palm. "So. What are you thinking then, Nicholas? Anywhere around here to find some practice battles?"

"Why find strangers when two excellent pokegirls are here to test their new sisters?" Nicholas asked with a laugh. "You wanted to know how Kiana is in battle. Why not find out?"

"Nicholas, I'd slap her and send her through a wall," Sohn muttered so that none of the new pokegirls could hear her. "That's no test."

"Then it sounds like she needs more training. Eh, 'Beta'?" Nicholas teased. "Shouldn't you do something about that?"

"Oh for- I came here to hang out, this isn't my harem!" Sohn complained.

"I know Ryuko won't say that."

"Ryuko is a- oh for crying out loud." Sohn groaned and rubbed her face. "You're really going to make me do this."

"Sohn." Nicholas smiled at the petulant Infernape. "Zisela chose you as her Beta for a reason. I know this is what you love."

Sohn's hands fell. "Can't you at least let me pretend?" she asked. "You never go along with me anymore."

"That's because you were about to fake a tantrum, throw yourself at me, and shove that goop packet in my pants."

Sohn froze. "Goop packet?"

"You lost Vika as a target so you had to go back for ol' reliable, eh?" Nicholas chuckled. "Did you forget ol' reliable has seen everything you've ever tried?"

Sohn finally revealed the object she'd been palming and sighed. "Damn it. I thought I could get you with something simple."

"Nice try," Nicholas snickered and picked up his pokedex. "Let me check where in Castelia we can go to do some-"

The moment he flicked the lid clasp the pokedex cover snapped open and an explosion of confetti sprayed in his face.

"Pff." Nicholas could only sit there as Sohn erupted in a fit of giggles and began rolling on the grass. "Um."

"CAN'T GET OL' RELIABLE, CAN I?" Sohn shrieked. "AHAHAHAH! TOO EASY!"

Nicholas tried to shake himself to clear the confetti but it refused to budge until he brought a hand to his face and began gingerly clearing it from his skin. "Is the pokedex not sacred to you?" he complained once he'd managed to mostly clear his mouth. "Kalmiya! Why didn't you stop her? This is your home!"

"Because that was funny, Master," Kalmiya replied in amusement.

"Just a little spring and a- yeah, launchpad," Nicholas grumbled as he inspected the mechanism Sohn had rigged. "Damn it, confetti always gets everywhere." His eyes darted to where Sohn was still losing it and he dove on her, grappling the Infernape as he rubbed off as much confetti as he could manage. "EVERYWHERE INCLUDES YOU, YOU MENACE!"

Nicholas grunted when he felt a foot kick him in the gut and he released Sohn to see her scamper out of reach and give him a massive wink. "Oh no, confetti all over me, what will I do?" Her entire body flashed with flame before sizzling out to leave her nice and clean again. "Oh no, it's gone, oh no…"

"Menace," Nicholas griped. "But now you don't have any way to get out of this. You're going to show these new girls what a real training session looks like." He jumped to his feet. "RIGHT NOW!"

"Oh please, you said it yourself!" Sohn cried as she leapt up after him. "If that's the treat you want me to give I got away with this little trick for free!"

"The screen's got confetti all over it. Kalmiya?" Nicholas asked.

"Well Master, if you would turn about one hundred and twenty degrees to your left…"

Nicholas glanced over his shoulder. At first he didn't see what Kalmiya was referring to before letting out a defeated sigh when he saw the common area full of pokegirls. "I thought that was some kind of sports field."

"Oh Master, you should know better than that!" Kalmiya cried. "The Central Plaza Park is full of all sorts of things! Why waste precious building space on a battle center when there's all this open space here?"

"Why indeed," Nicholas groaned and made a limp motion for the others' benefit. "JADE! RYUKO! KIANA! ADA!" He shook his head with another sigh as the rest of the pokegirls turned to him. "We're heading over to the battling courts. Jade, Kiana, Ada, I want to make sure you three are ready for a real gym battle." He firmed up his stance again now that he was actually focusing in on the training session. "If you are, I want us facing Burgh today."

Jade drifted over to him as the group walked. "Keeper, if you wished to break up your profile, would it not be better to use less bright colors?"

"If I-?" Nicholas asked, glancing at the Golett and her quizzically cocked head before realizing what she was referring to. "Oh. No, I didn't do this intentionally." He wiped some more of the confetti off. "That Infernape over there covered me in this as a prank."

"A prank?"

"A joke." Nicholas gave up when Jade just remained in her confused look. "We have a competition where we try to surprise one another. This was her attempt."

"Ah!" Jade straightened back up. "What is the score of this competition, Keeper?"

"Score?" Nicholas blinked. "I'm not sure if I've ever tried to keep a score."

"Then she must be winning heavily for you to not wish to keep score," Jade replied before moving off to leave Nicholas in shock. Sohn was losing it again.

"I FREAKING LOVE THIS GIRL!"

Jade turned back to bob her head towards Sohn. "I am flattered, but you are not suitable to be my mate." She turned back to follow the others, oblivious to the choking mess she'd left Sohn in.

"I- I change my mind," Sohn gasped. "She's nothing like Cathy. She's so much worse."

Nicholas laughed. "She'll be interesting to have around, that's for sure." He shot Sohn a glare. "Also, I know I'm winning."

Sohn flashed a grin while she composed herself. "Dunno. Jade's logic checks out to me."

"Menace," Nicholas hissed quietly.

The group moved to an open area and Nicholas began directing pokegirls, setting up mock battles and generally guiding the training session as the Unovan harem got to know their other harem sisters the best way pokegirls knew how. Jade seemed to be just as straightforward in battle as out of it, since her strategies consisted mainly of the Golett charging straight for her opponent without any regard for her own safety. It worked, though. Even Sohn somehow wasn't agile enough to avoid Jade's attacks and as Nicholas watched Jade smash through one of the Infernape's fire clones he contemplated the pokedex in his hand. The confetti had been cleaned off by now and he was reading the Golett's in-depth entry. No inclination to dodge, seemingly unable to miss… It was a good thing that Jade appeared to be a juggernaut type of pokegirl with the bulk to match. She'd need it if her ability was what he thought it might be.

"Hello? Excuse me?" Nicholas turned to see a man in a white lab coat walking up and adjusting his blue half-rim glasses. "Would you happen to be the Champion Topolski I have heard so much about?"

"That's me."

"How wonderful." The man adjusted his glasses again. "If it's not an inconvenience, may I have a closer look at your pokegirls?"

"Erm…" Nicholas glanced over to see how the training was going. "I suppose that's fine. Who are you?"

"Oh, excuse me!" the main exclaimed. "I am Colress, a researcher looking to discover the secret in bringing out a pokegirl's maximum power." Colress stepped up to gaze at the arena. "I truly appreciate your cooperation!"

"Oh, a researcher?" Nicholas asked. "I'm actually one myself, when I'm not being a tamer. My specialty is in pokegirl evolution."

"Well that is certainly a perfect discipline for an active tamer to study!" Colress exclaimed and turned to address Nicholas fully. "Could that be the answer, then? Hm… No, it would not explain all instances…"

Nicholas frowned. "Sorry, what are you on about?"

"Oh, excuse me." Colress cleared his throat. "You see, I have been studying many tamers in my research, and observing your pokegirls has shown me they are far above others of the same breed. The self-confidence on display is astounding! You are certainly a tamer who can bring out the maximum power of your pokegirls, and so I considered whether it was your background that made the difference. Of course, that would not explain all elite tamers, so another hypothesis must be made."

"Oh." Nicholas chuckled. "I might be a poor data point for you, then. I'm more of an exception than the rule."

"Hm, truly?" Colress asked. "But, I have heard that you support a tamer bringing out their pokegirl's potential through the bond they share? Is that not true? Is there some other, different method you utilize?"

"Oh. No, that's correct," Nicholas replied. "I am all for humans and pokegirls bringing out each other's potential. We're stronger together, after all."

"Yes, I completely agree!" Colress exclaimed. "Plasma said we should recognize the potential in pokegirls and liberate them from humans, but it should be humans who bring out the hidden potential in pokegirls! I am glad that you are a tamer who thinks the same." Colress shook his head. "Ah, it's so frustrating. It is all we can do to try our best to bring out our pokegirl partners' power, but if only we could more directly connect with them, with more than just our words… If only there was a person who could truly understand a pokegirl's essence it would be so much easier to bring out their power. It is too bad such a person could never exist."

"Right… too bad," Nicholas said slowly. "You talk about Plasma. They believed in what they preached, I think. Their ideal wasn't hollow."

"Pah. As a researcher, I seek the truth, as well as the ideal way for things to be," Colress replied. "The latent power within every pokegirl… I may question what the best way to bring it out is, but if possible, I would want it to be the trust between a pokegirl and her tamer. Just as so many have proven it to be. Plasma held no regard for that bond that can exist between a human and a pokegirl."

"I suppose not," Nicholas replied.

"Well. I thank you for letting me speak to you for some time," Colress said, reaching out to shake Nicholas' hand. "I will leave you to things. I look forward to witnessing your furthered exploits and seeing that your method of drawing out a pokegirl's full strength is true!"

Nicholas watched Colress walk off. "Hm."

"What are you thinking?" Sabrina asked.

"Nothing, really. Just got an odd feeling from that guy." Nicholas shrugged and turned his attention back to the training pokegirls. "Whatever."

"Got you thinking about Plasma, didn't he."

Nicholas sighed at Sabrina's question. "Yeah. The way he was talking almost made it seem like he was talking about N." He fell silent for a few minutes before speaking again. "I wonder how he's doing."

"I'm sure he is well, Master," Kalmiya replied. "I have seen scattered reports of Zekrom appearing throughout the world over the past year."

"Traveling to find himself," Nicholas murmured. "What about here in Unova? How have things been going with your activites surrounding Plasma, Kalmiya?"

"Oh, quite well, Master!" Kalmiya exclaimed. "I have had such fun working alongside this other Porygon. She is a powerful upgrade, you know. Very capable."

"Uh huh. I was more asking about how well you're doing tracking down the remnants of Ghetsis' faction," Nicholas said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh, quite well there as well," Kalmiya replied without missing a beat. "Four of the seven sages have been taken into custody. It would be five, but one managed to evade capture at the last moment. He is actively being pursued."

"Let me guess," Nicholas muttered. "Ghetsis is still at large."

"Unfortunately so, Master."

Nicholas sighed. "Well, four of six is a decent percentage. The seventh is big enough to be counted separately, I feel."

"While the International Police do not officially agree with you, that is a fair evaluation of the situation," Kalmiya replied. "Unfortunately, Ghetsis' Plasma is not gone either. These days those who did not renounce their violence have cast off their appearance as knights of a king, choosing instead to operate openly as soldiers of Ghetsis. They are being referred to now as Neo Plasma."

Nicholas nodded slightly. He wondered how Anthea and Concordia were doing. The ones who renounced their violence… They were who the two women would be looking for.

He was still lost in thought when a small handful of figures darted across the street towards the milling tamers of the training area. As they got close pokeballs began to appear in their hands and then beams of red lanced into the crowd.

Nicholas was yanked from his reverie by a scream. As he turned towards the source he saw a vaguely familiar pokegirl raising her translucent arms. Then came the noise.

A piercing, deafening metallic shriek blasted from the girl. The humans closest to her collapsed instantly, clutching bleeding ears, and now Nicholas saw the follow-up, a trio of figures clad in all black falling on the disabled people. Ripping pokeballs from their victims as another pokegirl slammed her fists into the ground to erect a solid wall that cut off the pokegirls in the arena from their tamers.

"Sonic attack partially negated," he realized Kalmiya was saying in his ear. One of them, at least. The other was ringing too much. "I could only counter using your earpiece, Master. Are you still functional?"

"I- Fuck yes I am," Nicholas spat and shook himself into action. "RYUKO! SOHN!"

"Uniforms suggest a cell of Neo Plasma," Kalmiya began to rapidly report as the Scizor and Infernape leapt into action at Nicholas' call. "All members wearing that uniform have been classified as public enemies. We are free to engage. I am notifying nearby police forces."

"You heard her," Nicholas said as he began running towards the fray. Another pokegirl had joined the trio, this one a black and yellow-scaled naga with a red blade tipping her tail. She was actively fighting off the frontline of pokegirls that were attempting to breach the other's earthen defenses. "CATHY! No civilian casualties this time, hang back. Sohn, Ryuko! DROP THEM!"

Jade remained in the arena, the Golett monitoring the situation but unmoving without a direct order from her Keeper, and Kiana was pawing at her ear while working to recover, but Adalinda was right behind Sohn as the Infernape's limbs flashed with flame and she rocketed towards the enemy.

"Seviper."

Nicholas blinked. That had been Adalinda's voice through the radio. "Ada?"

"That's a Seviper." Sohn was about to fall on the naga pokegirl when Adalinda hissed. "BETA SOHN! DON'T LOOK IN HER EYES!"

Sohn immediately heeded Adalinda's warning and flipped to twist her face away, slamming her eyes shut as she somersaulted over the Seviper's head. Not a moment too soon. The Seviper's eyes snapped open wide, glowing red before the girl faltered when she realized her target was no longer in front of her. Without a sound she fell, Sohn's somersault ending with the Infernape in a perfect position to whip back around with a devastating backhanded strike that cracked into the Seviper's skull.

Ryuko meanwhile was targeting the Neo Plasma members themselves, but as she flew for one the translucent pokegirl got in her way. Before Ryuko's blade could do much more than penetrate the clinking automata's skin the girl was erupting with a corona of electricity and the Scizor found her momentum rapidly slowing and then reversing to send her rocketing back across the grass from the other Steel-type.

"Magnetism," Kalmiya analyzed as Ryuko caught herself and began fighting the force pushing against her. "Master?"

"This is what you were made for, Kalmiya," Nicholas replied as he ducked a spray of sand from the third pokegirl, which looked to be one of the crocodile girls from the desert. An evolved form. "I know you're only asking for forgiveness, not permission. Be my tactician!"

"Ryuko. You have become magnetically charged from an electric current. Ground yourself!" Kalmiya was, as Nicholas had assumed, already relaying to the struggling Scizor. "Sohn, removing the Klang will bring Ryuko into the fight!"

"Gladly," Sohn growled, turning from the fallen Seviper to find the translucent pokegirl. "Let's see how she likes my flames!"

Nicholas was dodging another spray of sand when a body got in front of him and his eyes widened. "Wait, Ada-?"

Adalinda howled angrily when the sand shot into her eyes. "BITCH! I've got you, Nicholas." She fought to clear her gaze as the enemy pokegirl recognized that her target had gone from an inconsequential human to an actual pokegirl opponent and her stance changed to match. "Damn this sand, I needed my eyes!"

"Ada, fall back," Nicholas urged while the Servine continued to scrub at her face. "Let Sohn and Ryuko handle this. You're tired from the training!"

"And these pokegirls are out of my league," Adalinda finished. "I know what you weren't going to say. But that's fine." She finally managed to blink enough of the debris clear to find the Krokorok. "Hey bitch! I know all about the trick your friend tried to pull on Beta Sohn. Ever been on the receiving end?" With tears streaming down her face from the irritation Adalinda's eyes widened as far as they possibly could. "Freeze, prey."

The hissing command seared across the space between the two as Adalinda's eyes flashed blue, not red like the Seviper's had. The Krokorok stiffened, her muscles tensing and refusing to move properly while the girl fought the paralyzing influence but she was unable to break through before Adalinda recoiled, twisting her body around to give her leaves an easy path as they sliced out and carved streaks across the other pokegirl's body.

"Ada, when did you…?" Nicholas asked in shock.

"It's… I read about it," the Servine replied, clutching her face as she continued trying to clear the Krokorok's sand. "The report, about Seviper… I've tried to do that before and failed, but somehow, I… I just knew this time it would work."

"They're running!" Nicholas heard Kalmiya urgently shout in his ear. Sure enough, the Neo Plasma members were breaking off in retreat while they shouted commands to their pokegirls. A recall beam found the Seviper and Sohn found herself rocketing straight through empty air when another plucked the Klang out from in front of her. Before a third found the Krokorok she fell to her knees, managing to resist Adalinda's influence long enough to drop the wall she had first erected.

"Okay, that's fine, the pokeballs they stole would have been empty-" Nicholas started before he realized the genius of the attack. "Oh no."

As the wall fell to reveal the crowd of angry pokegirls on the other side recall beams began to find them, too. Not from their tamers. From the fleeing Neo Plasma members. Stealing the pokegirls away without any hope of fighting back.

"…AFTER THEM!" Nicholas screamed. He felt cold. This… This attack was meticulously planned. This was Neo Plasma? Ghetsis' Plasma? He hadn't seen this level of tactics in a criminal element since… Not since Team Rocket. These weren't the fanatics left behind from a shattered cult. These were intelligent soldiers of a criminal syndicate. "They're going for the abandoned buildings!"

"Police forces cleaned out multiple safehouses on that side of the city over the past few months," Kalmiya replied as the group made to pursue. "There should be nowhere left for them to hide."

"Any abandoned building will do to shake a pursuer," Nicholas growled back. "THE AUTOMATA IS GONE! FIRST BLADE! SERVE YOUR LORD!"

Ryuko's eyes flashed at hearing Nicholas' demand. "Hai," she intoned, placing everything she had into her wings before streaking forwards with her gauntleted fist outstretched. One of the fleeing Neo Plasma members cried out when she found him, the bag he'd been carrying flying from his hand to scatter pokeballs all across the street. The other two yanked him away from the Scizor, one beginning to shout for assistance as they neared the area Nicholas remembered Kalmiya saying a Plasma kidnapper had fled to in much the same way a year before.

"They've got allies-" Nicholas began, cursing when he saw someone charging up the street towards them. He could see a total of four figures with one flying in the air to indicate at least one active pokegirl. Most likely another two and two with how these Neo Plasma had been operating. When the fleeing members saw them they started calling excitedly. "WE HAVE TO INTERCEPT BEFORE-!"

His words were cut off by a thick bolt of lightning that arced from one of the new group to catch one of the other Neo Plasma members and send them crashing to the ground. The remaining one scattered, leaving the injured man to stumble along on his own with both shouting in surprise as Nicholas finally managed to make out one of the approaching figures to be a younger man in a red jacket. Not the all black of Neo Plasma. "GOOD SHOT, KINO!" the new arrival yelled. "SANDRA! STOP THEM!"

The flying pokegirl dove for the last Neo Plasma member, leaving Sohn to finish what Ryuko started, but before she could intercept the woman whirled, grabbing her own bag of stolen pokeballs and slinging it out to release the contents in a cloud of chaff. Sandra faltered, shielding herself from the pokeballs smacking against her body, and that pause gave the Neo Plasma member the space she'd needed. When the flying girl lowered her hands it was to see her target about to reach cover.

Nicholas cursed when he saw a few of the scattered pokeballs bouncing towards the storm drains that dotted the sidewalk. Ryuko saw them too and immediately shifted her priority at his exclamation, diving for the bouncing pokeballs before any could be lost. Above her Sandra hesitated, wavering between the fleeing human and the dozens of pokeballs, before seeming to make up her mind and turning to continue chasing the human.

"Help us!" Sandra froze when she heard Nicholas' cry towards the new arrival. "Before any of these pokeballs are lost or crushed by a passing car!"

"Rrr… AUGH! Those dirty pokegirl thieves!" The young man waved to his pokegirl. "Sandra! Help them!"

"But, Master Hugh, Plasma-!"

"Damn it, the pokegirls are more important!" Hugh cried. "Annabeth, Kino, come on!"

With eight sets of hands they managed to save all of the pokeballs that were in danger, more hands arriving to gather the rest in the form of the other tamers and pokegirls that had been at the training arena and then the police, who immediately took custody of the two disabled Neo Plasma members. That left Nicholas to look for the young man that had helped and he found him already turning away from the scene. "Hey!"

Hugh turned back. "Huh?"

Nicholas jogged up and stuck out his hand. "Hugh, right? I think I heard your girl call you that."

Hugh shook. "Yeah. Hugh. And you're Nicholas."

"I feel like there's supposed to be a 'Champion' in there somewhere," Nicholas chuckled.

"I don't care."

Nicholas blinked. Hugh was already trying to pull away. "Hey, I wanted to praise you, man. You handled those terrorists well."

"Not well enough," Hugh growled. "One got away."

"But with no kidnapped pokegirls."

Hugh's face twisted. "This time."

"Hey, you alright?" Nicholas asked as Hugh yanked his hand free of his grip. "You should be proud, I don't know who you are but it took a lot of courage to-"

"You don't know so leave me alone," Hugh snapped back over his shoulder, his pokegirls orbiting their tamer in a nervous motion. "One got away. I couldn't find any skulking about the abandoned buildings so I'm going to hunt this one down."

Nicholas blinked, thinking just long enough for Hugh to have struck onto the street before he ran to catch up. "Hugh, please. Wait."

"Go away, mister ol' champ," Hugh retorted without slowing his pace. "Any time I waste talking to you is time that woman can be using to escape."

"That's fine. We can walk," Nicholas replied, his own group noticing that he was leaving and hurrying to catch up. "But I insist we talk."

"If I said no? Annabeth."

Nicholas didn't flinch when the blue-furred pokegirl drifted in between him and her tamer, two alabaster swords appearing in her hands as their edges began to bubble and froth with foaming water. "Did she join you when you graduated from the Aspertia Tamer's School?"

Hugh's step faltered slightly before he recovered. "What do you know about that."

"I visited it just a few weeks ago," Nicholas replied. "Gave a presentation for the current class. Met a Snivy."

"…Yes. Annabeth was the Oshawott I first partnered with during school," Hugh replied. "Aspertia City is home."

"You must know Professor Bianca, then."

Hugh's feet had slowed now. "I… well, I met her, when she introduced me to Annabeth."

"How did you do in Instructor Cheren's class?"

Hugh finally came to a halt. "What do you want from me?"

"To get you to slow down, I think," Nicholas replied, making to step around him but stopping when Annabeth lifted one of her swords to get in his way. "I recognize what's driving you. A friend of mine was once the same way. So… consumed by his hatred for the ones who had wronged him." Now, finally, Nicholas managed to get past the silent Samurott's blockade to step in front of Hugh. "Would you be willing to tell me why you hate Neo Plasma so much?"

Hugh didn't meet his eyes. "Why do you care."

"Because, despite my best efforts, I've come to care," Nicholas replied. "Care about the world. About the injustices that define it. I've gotten it in my head that I should be the one to change it. To that end, I'd like to make sure people like you stick around."

Hugh breathed out a quiet sigh. "What. Worried I'm going to run off and get myself killed?"

"In a manner of speaking," Nicholas replied. "The friend I mentioned, back in Indigo. He nearly lost himself because of his hatred of Team Rocket, the criminal syndicate that controlled the region. Nearly became just as bad as them."

Hugh turned to actually meet Nicholas' gaze. "A few years ago… I'd graduated, and was working on a badge challenge. I caught a wild Purrloin. She and I didn't get along, but my sister fell in love. So I left the Purrloin at home with her." He gritted his teeth. "Ghetsis came to speak in Aspertia. My sister was curious, so she went to listen. When they were… When they were leaving, someone attacked her. Stole Rena away. Kidnapped her." Hugh's fingernails dug into his palms. "I wasn't there. My 'courage' meant nothing. My 'pride' was useless. All that mattered, was by the time I found my sister, she was crying. Crying because her friend had been stolen away, never to be seen again." His eyes locked in on Nicholas'. "That's why I hate them. All of them. Anyone who calls themselves Plasma. I abandoned my badge challenge and have spent every day since hunting them down, searching for the one who attacked my sister. Searching for the one who kidnapped Rena."

"I see."

Hugh pushed past Nicholas none too gently. "Then leave me alone."

Nicholas didn't move to follow, letting Hugh move away while the others clustered around him. "What was that about, honey?" Sabrina asked. "Did you know that guy?"

"Not directly," Nicholas said softly. "But he reminded me of John." He closed his eyes and turned with a sad shake of his head. "Ghetsis' Plasma created so much pain. I hope that Hugh can figure out how to heal his."

"Is there not medicine to dull a pain?"

Nicholas couldn't help but snort and open his eyes with a wry grin when he heard Jade's brusque question. "There is, there is. This isn't a normal injury, though. Hugh will need to find a special medicine for it." His grin widened and he slapped the Golett's helmet affectionately. "I'm going to teach you what subtext is one of these days, and that will be your first step in understanding that not everything is literal, Jade."

"As you wish, Keeper."

"Yes, yes," Nicholas snickered. "Well, that was something. Should we head back to the training grounds?"

Sabrina glanced around them. "Isn't this the Gym street?"

Nicholas blinked. "Come to think of it, it is?" He looked to where Sohn and Ryuko were standing. "How'd they do, girls? Do you all need some more time together?"

Ryuko shook her head and Sohn piped up. "Nope! We were all just messing around by the end there anyways. By the way, thanks for the call against that Seviper, Adalinda. I liked that. You've got a good brain in that little head of yours."

Adalinda blinked as she tried to figure out if Sohn had been complimenting or insulting her. "Erm. Thanks? I think?"

"You're welcome!" Sohn replied brightly and went for a high five. "Can't wait to see how else you use it!"

Adalinda was turning and leaning into the motion when her hand swished straight through Sohn's and with a yelp she was tumbling off balance. The Infernape's smoky double puffed out when the Servine's body fell through it and Sohn seemed to almost step from thin air as she scampered back from her hiding spot to start cackling. "SHOULDA USED IT THERE! HA!"

"ENOUGH!" Silence fell, Sohn and Adalinda both stopping in their motions to turn and look at Nicholas. "If these pokegirls are going to be heading into a gym battle I need them focused, not distracted by your tricks," Nicholas scolded the guilty Infernape. "It was a good one, Sohn. But just barely not the time for it anymore."

"Oh, Sohn didn't mean anything by it! Don't be such a big meanie," Sabrina giggled. Sohn's tail curled in surprise when the woman grabbed her from behind in a big hug. "He's being a meanie, isn't he, Sohn? How about you forget about that dumb Master of yours and come hang out with your Mistress instead."

Nicholas' eyebrow rose. Sabrina's night with Kali hadn't been a spur of the moment decision. Oh no. Ever since he'd joined her here in Unova his fiancé had been growing more and more assertive, and now here she was not only acknowledging what his harem saw her as, but utilizing it to draw Sohn's attention away from the three pokegirls he was trying to help grow.

Sohn didn't know what to do. It was evident in her body language as the Infernape squirmed within Sabrina's grasp. "Erm… Um… Hang out… where, Mistress?" she finally managed to ask.

Sabrina giggled again before bending her head slightly to catch Sohn's eye. A soft glow had begun suffusing her gaze, a hint of the psychic power she held while her hair began to float ever so slightly free of gravity. "Let's all hang out together. Hang out and gossip about our glorious man." Her eyes flicked to Ryuko. "Will you join me, blade?"

Ryuko stiffened before slowly inclining her head in assent. "I must apologize, Mistress. My Master would not accept if you attempted to wield me again."

"Perhaps not. But you can still join me."

"As I will," Ryuko replied, stepping over to stand with Sabrina, Kali, and Sohn.

"Excellent." Sabrina turned back to Nicholas with a goofy smile. "Well, honey? We all came here for one reason. Do your thing."

"Sabrina?" Nicholas thought.

He felt her presence touch his mind. "All day, you've been interacting more with Sohn than the new girls. And that's fine," Sabrina said to him. "Sohn's a very present pokegirl and you reciprocate that. But she's not why we're in Castelia right now. I don't want any more distractions." Sabrina's smile firmed as she stared at him. "She was like these other pokegirls once, wasn't she? How did she become what she is today? That is what I came here to see, love. I want to watch you in action. So let me run interference, and you focus on turning those three into pokegirls worthy of the World Champion's harem."

Nicholas couldn't help but snicker to himself. "Interference from my fiancé. Interfiance."

Sabrina couldn't contain herself either at the joke and she let out a choking snort, fighting to remain upright as Nicholas turned away to look at the Unovan pokegirls. "Do my thing." The mood shifted when the three saw Nicholas giving them a firm smile. "You know, it's been a while since I last locked in and 'did my thing'." His smile grew. "I think it's been at least five years since I traveled with the express purpose of training a harem. Sinnoh, Hoenn, even Johto to an extent… All were harems I grew alongside ulterior agendas."

"And they still all turned out great," Sabrina called, ruffling Sohn's hair and getting a sullen complaint in return. "Champion pokegirls, all of them."

"Hm." Nicholas' smile slipped and he glanced to the Infernape one last time. "Champion pokegirls now, that's for sure. But in the moment…" He and Sohn stared at each other for a few seconds before Nicholas bowed his head. "In the moment, I failed them, didn't I. By my standards I let them down." Before Sohn could reply he was turning back to Adalinda, Kiana, and Jade. "You came here to witness your new sisters?" he called, raising his voice to send it towards where Sabrina and the others were standing. "Then witness this. I will not fail them like I failed each of you." His eyes snapped to Kiana. "KIANA!"

The Growlithe sprang to attention. "Master!"

"Burgh, the Castelia Leader, specializes in the Bug-type," Nicholas explained. "You are our ace today. You will lead your harem sisters into battle and you will be who the battle revolves around. I will need your ferocity, Kiana." He stepped forwards and dropped to one knee to place a hand on her shoulder. "I will need it from the start. Will I have it even before any of our pack is injured?"

He didn't miss the ember that sparked deep within Kiana's eyes, even if the words from her mouth didn't reflect it. "I'll do my best, Master," Kiana promised, her tail sticking straight up proudly. "I swear it!"

Nicholas took an extra moment to search Kiana's expression before he got back to his feet. Sohn had been absolutely correct. Just as there was a dragon lurking with Adalinda, yearning to come out, there was something within Kiana as well. She didn't realize it yet. But she was no simple 'denmother'.

He turned to the Servine in question next. "This will be another rough matchup for you, Ada. I'll be relying on you as a pivot. You'll probably be the first to fall. Are you willing to make that sacrifice for your sisters?"

It was a rhetorical question and everyone there knew it. "Hey. It's all I've been good for so far," Adalinda snorted. "You should know full well already that I'm not afraid to get beat up."

"No. You're not afraid," Nicholas replied. "Roxie recognized that in you, Ada. I can't remember if I got the chance to tell you. She praised you and your will when faced with an unwinnable battle." He gave the surprised Servine a grin. "But today, today will not be an unwinnable situation. I would not send you into one."

Adalinda barely nodded. "No. I did that to myself."

"And you learned," Nicholas replied, glancing at where Nikki was watching the exchange in rapt attention. "A loss just as valuable as any win." When he saw Nikki's ears drooping in embarrassment he grinned and turned to the final pokegirl. "As for you, Jade. You will act to get in the way of any of Burgh's pokegirls that might bother Kiana. You will clear the way for her to win this battle."

Jade blinked. "How many will be on the battlefield together, Keeper?"

"Huh? One, why would-" Nicholas began before realizing his mistake. "Oh damnit, right. No metaphor with you. Erm, I will be relying on you to hold – I mean, be on the battlefield when Kiana can't be."

Jade immediately bowed slightly. "Of course, Keeper."

"Okay." Nicholas took one last look around. "You're all ready for this. Let's go."

.

.

Sabrina was skillfully holding the attention of the others so that when they reached the gym it was really just Nicholas and the Unovan pokegirls out in front.

"I don't know what we're going to find in there," he said to them, keeping his voice low so to only let it reach the three. "Ready, girls?" When the affirmative responses came back he stepped for the door. "Our first real Unovan gym. Let's do this."

Every region was different. In Indigo gyms had consisted of a small entryway, a lobby, that branched into various battle arenas. Some were more stylized than others, such as Falkner's vertical gym for the Flying-type Leader, but all followed the same basic formula. Hoenn had been in your face from the beginning, though the stylization had still been forced to conform to a generalized structure of building. Sinnoh had been the most clinical of every region to date, with their receptionists and waiting rooms and large open interiors. He hadn't been able to get a feel for Unova yet. Cheren had taken up residence in a random lecture hall. Roxie operated her gym out of a nightclub. Burgh's Castelia gym at least had a regular looking building on the outside of it, though that idea went straight out the window once they stepped inside.

Nicholas stared at the claustrophobic environment in front of him. Trees, everywhere. Heavy with webs of silk while a low drone of insect wings filled the air around them. It was like they'd stepped into a deep section of forest infested by Bug-type pokegirls.

"So that's Unova," Nicholas murmured to himself as the others filed in and began chattering. "The other end of the scale from Sinnoh gyms. All out on the presentation." He was holding a slight grin. He'd usually only seen this level of customization from Elite Four arenas. Unova really knew how to party.

"So… where do we go?" Adalinda asked. She and the other two were constantly scanning the forest around them. "Where's the gym leader?"

"There's a sign over here!" Sabrina remarked brightly, pointing at a sign half hidden by the foliage. "Stands that way. Guess we'll head this direction, honey. Good luck!" She flashed him a massive wink. "Hope you're not as scared of bugs as Misty. She'd hate this place."

Nicholas snickered and turned back to the forest while the others vanished. "Says the Psychic-type tamer. This isn't my first Bug-type rodeo." He searched the trees for a bit before pointing. "I think I see a path. Over here."

It was indeed a path and it tried to disorient them, offshoots twisting and turning down clear avenues while the real path grew faint and choked with webs. Nicholas pushed through, slipping through the silken strands until he was faced with a massive white wall.

"There's no way we get through that," Adalinda muttered. "Guess we go around?"

Nicholas smirked. "No matter how far around we went I'd be willing to bet all we'd find is this wall of silk." He reached out to press his hand into the material, testing the give and making sure it wasn't sticky like some of the webs they'd accidentally stumbled into on the way. "I think we've found the Gym Leader."

"My turn, Master?" Kiana asked excitedly.

"Not quite yet, Kiana," Nicholas replied. "While I'm sure you could burn us in I don't think that's the answer." He grinned and pulled back with a stretchy length of web clutched in his hand. "This wall isn't as solid as it looks."

It didn't take long for a tight tunnel to begin taking shape through the webbing. Nicholas started to go first before changing his mind and sending Jade in first, the Golett's stone body acting as the perfect ram to continue shoving the webs away until they were stepping through into a room of all white.

A cocoon, Nicholas thought as he took in the interior they'd entered. Very nice.

It wasn't hard to pick out Burgh from the silk composing the walls and floor. The man was set up near the center of the cocoon with a large easel in front of him, various paints scattered about and some even tipped over to soak the white strands a brilliant hue.

Nicholas cleared his throat. "Leader Burgh!" He kept his eyes on the painting man even though he'd noticed the seating balcony hidden in among the upper section of the cocoon. Sabrina was here to see what she'd seen in Cianwood, against Chuck. He wanted to give it to her. "I've come to claim your badge."

Burgh turned with a slight smile. "First time challengers are supposed to get lost in the forest. Stumble, and be swarmed by the Bug-types that call it home. You dare break tradition?"

"I'm no first timer, Leader Burgh."

"Quite so!" Burgh lowered his brush and spread his arms. "Oh, I'm simply abuzz with anticipation, Champion Nicholas! When I'd heard you would be making your way to me I couldn't help but be inspired!" Nicholas' eyes widened when Burgh stepped aside to reveal the canvasses he'd been working on. One stood out in particular. A snarling, roaring dragon, locked in battle with a monstrous insect. "Ever since witnessing your deeds last year my pokegirls and I have been scurrying in excitement to battle you! So enough talk. Let's get straight into it!"

Nicholas stumbled back when light erupted from beneath the floor and Burgh swept away, the man's dancing movement reminiscent of what he'd seen at the pokegirl league when Burgh had fought alongside his Leavanny Alpha. The light was forming into a defined shape, an arena, and Nicholas glanced at his own pokegirls as Burgh began stowing his painting supplies in favor of a half-dozen pokeballs. "Our first real gym battle." His eyes lingered on each girl individually. "Your first opportunity to truly test yourselves against equal opponents." His gaze left them to turn back towards Burgh. "Your opportunity to show your Keeper whether you are worthy enough to serve him, Jade." His eyes flicked back. The Golett was as impassive as ever. "Kiana. You're leading us in, but I'm not expecting an easy sweep. Unova… Unova is different." He turned his attention back to the arena as he procured each of their pokeballs. "Be ready, girls. Burgh isn't here to go easy on you." His lips were drawing back in a wicked grin while his aura thrummed with energy. "I've finally made enough of a scene to be recognized by the world. They're taking me seriously now. Which means they're taking my pokegirls seriously, too. It doesn't matter how inexperienced you each may be." His eyes narrowed. "They will treat you, test you as the World Champion's harem."

He felt each of the three lock in at his words and his grin only widened as they vanished into the recall beams. Inexperienced, sure. Adalinda was a younger starter pokegirl. Jade and Kiana were ferals, likely feralborn, so no matter how old or experienced they might be they were only as good as their environment. But that meant nothing. Their environment had now changed. Pokegirls were not static creatures – they adapted, they grew, they evolved. He'd learned many years ago how the harder he pushed the harder his harems fought. Pokegirls, tame pokegirls, pokegirls who held the focus denied to them by the feral state… they refused to fall behind.

It didn't matter that these three were, as Sohn had so aptly pointed out, weak. They would grow. And quickly, if he had anything to say about it.

It was in their very nature.

The arena was fully formed now and Nicholas raised Kiana's pokeball. "Do we have a referee for this battle?" he called to Burgh. "What are the rules?"

"My Alpha will officiate," Burgh replied, triggering one of the pokeballs he held to materialize the Leavanny in the referee's box. "As for rules, I must give you a fair fight, Champion. This battle will be limited to four pokegirls on each side."

"Oh, how kind," Nicholas snickered. "I can use four whole pokegirls?" His smile vanished. "I'll only need three."

Burgh placed his Leavanny's pokeball back on his belt, along with another to leave just four in between his fingers. "Lights, please!" he cried. "It's time, Champion Nicholas! Time for me to show you what Bug-type pokegirls are made of!"

Nicholas released Kiana and immediately knew they were in for a rough battle. The pokegirl that materialized in front of Burgh came with a large stony shell attached to her back and as Kiana got her bearings the girl hunkered down, her orange body seeming to withdraw further into her protective covering.

"You don't need to tell me that's a Rock or Ground-type bug," Nicholas muttered as Kalmiya began to report on their opponent. A Dwebble. "She's here to cripple any Fire or Flying-types that could threaten her sisters. Kiana can't stay in."

Burgh's Alpha raised one dainty hand while both pokegirls prepared their opening attacks. "This battle will begin. Now!"

Kiana had taken a step before the recall beam found her and Nicholas quickly swapped to Adalinda's pokeball, releasing the Servine and barking commands. "This is your moment, Ada! Withstand the stones and shred her defenses!"

Except it wasn't stones that the Dwebble was charging. As Adalinda coiled up in preparation to take a blow the Dwebble sprang out of her shell, abandoning it to reveal a hooked tail before the Bug-type pokegirl began chattering and shaking her body to release a swarming cloud of energy that quickly raced across the battlefield towards Adalinda. The Servine squealed in pain as the cloud engulfed her, stinging tendrils sinking into her skin while Burgh's voice came across the battlefield. "There's such a thing as being too smart, Champion," the Gym Leader taunted. "I would never be able to predict a random tamer. But you? You I can confidently assume to make the right switch. Now your Servine is crippled." As the swarm dissipated Adalinda was revealed to be covered in horrible welts and panting heavily. "Let's see her try to send out her leaves when every one has been eaten away."

Except… Nicholas was grinning. A technique meant to weaken the target? A Bug-type technique, obviously, with how much damage Adalinda had taken. Burgh had absolutely gotten him. If it had been any other Servine that would have been it. But this was his Servine. His Adalinda. His dragon.

"Let's let Irian finish her off," Burgh called, recalling his Dwebble as she slipped back into her shell. "Blast her, Irian!"

"Ada."

The Servine was shaking and Irian laughed when she materialized to see it. "Poor little grass snake! Don't worry, girlie. You won't be hurting long." The Karrablast's lips slipped back to reveal a pair of wicked fangs. "I bite."

Nicholas was still grinning. Adalinda wasn't shaking in fear or pain. "Ada," he called again. This time he saw her head lift slightly. "Fuck. Her. Up."

It wasn't a roar. Not yet. But it certainly got the point across when Adalinda slammed her hands to the ground with a bellow and her entire spine began to glow.

"Wait, she should be-" Burgh began to say before the maelstrom of rainbow leaves whipped out to tear into Irian. The Karrablast screamed, the sound full of shock and pain before she managed to get an arm up and burst through the onslaught to charge for the Servine with an angry yell. She didn't even make it halfway before Adalinda fired again, a few leaves cutting straight through Irian's carapace to send blood spraying across the white silk before the Karrablast could close. Adalinda tried to dodge but her body was painful to move and she was too slow to avoid Irian's gleaming fangs from sinking into her neck. With an agonized groan Adalinda began to crumple, Irian's hand snapping out to slam over the Servine's face and mercilessly drive her to the ground.

"Tear her down?" Nicholas gloated back. "Ada spits in the face of all who try."

Irian ripped her fangs free with a massive spray of blood and straightened up. She hadn't gotten off easy. Despite the terrible matchup Adalinda had taken a massive chunk out of this pokegirl. "How the hell did she manage…?" the Karrablast started to ask before her eyes widened when she felt the body beneath her move. "SHIT!"

"Irian, get away from there!" Burgh roared, triggering the Karrablast's pokeball before Adalinda's tail could whip through the space she'd been a moment earlier. "Dangerous. What a dangerous Servine." He grinned across the arena at Nicholas. "I shouldn't have expected any less."

Nicholas watched Burgh trigger another pokeball and a second Leavanny materialize. "…I'm sorry, Ada," he said quietly to the struggling Servine. "I can't let Burgh take the momentum back. You've done so incredibly well." He watched the new Leavanny glance at Burgh's Alpha and drew the correct conclusion. "You've done so well you drew out Burgh's ace. Be proud of that, Ada. But I can't rescue you. You have to take one last hit." His eyes were hard as he reached to find Kiana's pokeball. "Sometimes, this is what it means to fight smart."

He knew he heard her hissing laughter before Adalinda surged back upright, her entire body swaying and showcasing her exhaustion as she loosed another barrage towards the Leavanny. The new arrival didn't even attempt to block. She just let the glowing leaves shatter across her body without doing any appreciable damage before she sprinted forwards and one arm shot out to sink a razor-sharp claw deep between Adalinda's ribs.

Immediately Nicholas was swapping the fainting Servine for the fresh Growlithe and Kiana howled her rage, her sensitive nose easily picking up the scent of Adalinda's blood. Without any command she was charging in, flames bursting from her fur and exploding from between her jaws.

Burgh grimaced and quickly recalled his Leavanny, sending out the Dwebble again to tank the enraged Fire-type. The girl appeared and attempted to retreat into her shell but Kiana was having none of it. A hand punched past the Dwebble's shoulder to foul her retreat as Kiana's burning fangs lunged for the Dwebble's body.

There was a reason the Dwebble relied on a shell to protect herself. Her carapace was soft. Kiana's bite tore into the material as if it wasn't even there and the Dwebble let out a keening scream when the Growlithe's flames followed up the bite by blasting across her body. When Kiana was forced away by a stinging stone flung by the Dwebble it was to leave her clutching her open wound while the newly exposed skin blistered in a horrible burn.

Nicholas didn't hear Burgh's quiet curse but he recognized the advantage. "Now THAT'S crippled! WELL DONE, KIANA!" he roared. "FINISH HER OFF! NOW!"

Kiana didn't laugh at her advantage. She was completely focused in on her opponent and only made a low whimper when she flinched away from a staccato blast of stones from the injured Dwebble. There was hardly any force behind them with how badly burnt the Rock-type pokegirl was and Kiana charged straight back in, spinning and flipping as she went to create a wheel of flame that smashed through the flagging Dwebble and sent her unmoving to the ground.

"Irian, I need you to take a chunk out of-!" Burgh began, releasing the Karrablast again before Kiana was in her face. Already injured from her time fighting Adalinda Irian couldn't withstand the flames that sought her and she succumbed without leaving a scratch on Kiana.

"Reset!" Nicholas called when Burgh reached for his final pokeball. "Kiana, get back here!" He frowned when he saw what materialized. A… timid-looking red and green-skinned pokegirl hiding within a metallic shell? He'd seen a Karrablast, so this must be… Kalmiya confirmed it. The other half of the symbiotic duo. A Shelmet. Kiana would easily take her.

Nicholas blinked as he processed why Burgh must have brought this pokegirl out instead of the Leavanny. Kiana could easily take the Shelmet, that was for sure. But Burgh must think the Shelmet could at least hit back. That's the same reason he'd sent out Irian, despite the inevitable defeat to Kiana's flames. He was doing whatever he could to give his Leavanny better odds of winning. Whatever he could to wear Kiana down before they fought.

Well he wasn't going to let Burgh do that. Kiana yelped in surprise when she vanished into her recall beam and Nicholas raised Jade's pokeball. It was a good play by Burgh. If he could somehow get rid of Kiana then Jade would likely fall to the Leavanny. He was taking the only door to victory left to him. Too bad that Jade would slam it shut.

Burgh laughed when he saw the Golett appear and easily soak the poison the Shelmet had tried to drench Kiana in. "Damn it. I've got a bad feeling about this. Am I in trouble?"

Nicholas snickered and raised his voice so that Jade would hear him without the radio. "Jade. Answer him with your fists."

For the first time Jade seemed to understand because the Golett waded forwards, approaching as the Shelmet clamped down her shell and braced against the coming blows. Jade just wrapped one hand around her. And brought the other slamming down in a burst of shadow.

Cracks splintered across the Shelmet's armor and a gagging cry could be heard from within as Jade brought her fist back again. She barely paused before slamming it down one more time, shattering the Shelmet's armor and sending the girl crumpling to the ground.

"You're not even going to give Mary the satisfaction, are you," Burgh asked, shaking his head ruefully when Nicholas recalled Jade in front of the materializing Leavanny. "No. I thought not."

Kiana reappeared and glanced back. "Master?"

"Sorry for all the strange swapping about, Kiana," Nicholas replied. "I'll be sure to incorporate more of it into our training, but for now, I promise. That's the last of it." He gestured at the Leavanny. "I hope you still have enough rage for one last opponent."

What he'd really been hoping was to see the spark he'd noticed within her come to the surface again. Unfortunately that didn't happen. Kiana had calmed from the many substitutions so she just called back happily. "I promised to do my best, Master!"

Nicholas chuckled as he watched Kiana spin back and power through a wicked slash from the Leavanny. "You did. You all certainly did." His eyebrow rose when an explosion rocked the arena and yet Mary burst from Kiana's flames to strike one last time before the Growlithe could take her down. "Now that is impressive. Leavanny is a Grass/Bug-type, Kalmiya?"

"Yes, Master."

"Burgh truly didn't hold back." Nicholas smiled and walked into the arena to start petting an ecstatic Kiana when the barriers fell. "Leader Burgh!"

"Champion Nicholas!" Burgh called back with a laugh, also walking towards them while his Alpha drifted over. "Damn it. Your Servine won that battle."

Nicholas blinked, but after a moment of thought his face split into a grin. "You're right. She really did. She single-handedly took back the tempo and I never let you regain it."

"A Grass-type. Being the key to victory in my gym." Burgh smiled and held out his badge. "If you'd been anyone else, I'd be disgraced. Thank you for your challenge."

Nicholas took the badge and the handshake with it. "Thank you, Leader Burgh," he replied. "Thank you for being an incredible introduction to the Unovan badge challenge. For me, and for my new harem."

Burgh squeezed Nicholas' hand before letting go. "It was my pleasure, Champion." He leaned back slightly with a smirk. "You're incredible. I can't say enough how happy I am to have faced you in battle. I think after that my muse will be inspiring me for many weeks to come."

With one last smile and nod Nicholas turned, pulling Kiana into a laughing embrace as they left the gym.

.

.

POKEDEX UPDATED

Tamer: Nicholas Topolski

Badges:

Basic Badge

Insect Badge

Harem:

Adalinda, Servine – Level 26

Kiana, Growlithe – Level 28

Jade, Golett – Level 25

Non-Com Harem:

Kalmiya, Porygon-Z – Level 35
Cathy, Miltank – Level 72