July 2nd, two days before the Fourth of July; after leaving Roy's island and sending the Explorers running with their tails between their legs on Amethio, Onia, and Zirc's latest attempt to capture Sarah, Race, Liko, the latter's pendant, and the Terapagos Three, the Brave Olivine and the Dragon Craft were continuing on their way to Paldea. With Roy as the newest member of the Rising Volt Tacklers, things were starting to get lively for the team in question but, with Sarah and her family, they unfortunately got stowaways of their own in the form of Lazuli and her Partner Pokémon: Galaxagus and Pantherra.
Despite risking their lives to save everyone against Amethio and his Ceruledge, they were still under house arrest but with the new addition of heavy escort wherever they went so there would be no trouble between them (with Ghost and Blitz suggesting that she had a new outfit on her to replace her old uniform). The former Explorers and her partners held no objections to the arrangement as they were comfortable with their current position (while also feeling eager for payback against their old syndicate for their supposed betrayal towards them, especially in Lazuli's case).
Still, though, unless something drastic happens, the royal family decided not to tell the Rising Volt Tacklers, Liko, and Roy about Lazuli and her partners and keep them out of the crossfire they were in.
With the crew in question, the crew of eight were doing their own thing on the Brave Olivine; Cap and Friede were manning the bridge until the latter left his partner to watch the controls, Ludlow was fishing from the starboard bow with Quaxly for company, Murdock was cooking in the kitchen with Rockruff and Alcremie watching him, and Orla was manning the engine room with Elekid, Carkol, and Smugma's help.
With Liko, she and Sprigatito were enjoying the breeze on the deck joined by Bella, Race, Robbie, Miraidon, Koraidon, Blitz, Wooloo, the Terapagos Three, and Sarah who came to see them.
As for the royal couple's family back on the Dragon Craft, they were either keeping themselves occupied in its training room, the craft's playroom, or anywhere else in it or keeping a watchful eye on Lazuli and the Terapagos Three whenever the three Tera Pokémon were sent back to it for their own safety.
But, in another bedroom, there was also a ninth member of the Rising Volt Tacklers, a young girl around Liko and Roy's age as she was working on a video presentation on her computer. Amazingly, she seemed to be a natural in video making as she made some edits to some videos she finished filming and was set to make another one, already wearing a Nidorina cosplay she had on her before slipping into the suit after checking the microphone on her equipment and beginning to make the next video she had in mind (with Quaxly joining her as he popped his head in front of the camera for the beginning of his part in the video before he met up with Ludlow).
Little did Roy, Sarah, Race, and Liko know that the girl making the video alongside the Duckling Pokémon was the genius behind the Nidothing videos they were watching. But, it would take a while before any of them would get to know her, and in the process, eventually meet her face to face.
As Liko, Sarah, Race, and the Pokémon with them got lost in the cool breeze they were enjoying on the Brave Olivine's deck (the young girl continuing to take notes on her partner and her behaviors), the peace and tranquility of their surroundings were shattered by the excited cries of a certain new trainer and his partner.
"Liko! Race, Sarah!"
"WAH!"
The three of them and their Pokémon jumped with fright, having just been greeted by Roy and Fuecoco as they stepped out from the door behind them.
"There you are!" he grinned.
"Roy, you idiot! Don't do that!"
"You scared us!"
"Yeah, Roy, you're full of energy..." the royal couple and Liko griped or commented.
"Too much," Sprigaitito moaned as the other Pokémon agreed with her.
"Liko, let's do this!"
"O-Okay... Do what, exactly?"
"We're official Pokémon Trainers, now, remember? And, because we have our Partner Pokémon and we're just starting out as trainers, you know what that means!"
Liko smiled, now knowing what Roy meant, "You're on!"
Sarah and Race just exchanged smiles, wondering how Liko and Roy would fare starting as official Pokémon Trainers through the only way they knew how: a 1-on-1 training battle.
(Theme Song - Anywhere My Pokémon Go)
I love watching how my Pokémon grow
I'm sharing everything my Pokémon know
(We open with Sarah and her family with the Viking Teens as they find themselves in Paldea as part of Sarah's vacation plan before the little princess and Race are shown finding Miraidon and Koraidon on the beach before meeting Nemona, Penny, and Arven from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet)
Nighttime, daytime, there are shining more so
I'll go anywhere my Pokémon go
(We see Sarah and Hootie joining forces with Liko and her partner, Sprigatito, as they all perform Leafage before we meet a boy named Roy and his Pokémon, Fuecoco, battling Sarah as she summoned her Primarina, Aqua, and they begin to have a battle. Then, we cut to one of the villains belonging to a new team of foes named Amethio using a Ceruledge to square off against Sarah as she fights with Kaji and Keldeo before a new Pokémon Professor, Friede, and his crew: the Rising Volt Tacklers are shown with their Pokémon)
Anything you wanna see, (Ooh!) anything you wanna do
Promise you can be with me, be with me, (Yeah!) I can be with you
(We soon find our heroes joined by Edgar, Henna, Stoick, Gobber, their Pokémon and dragons, Nemona, Penny, and Arven as they find themselves in Area Zero where Sarah's Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, Link and Zelda, are facing an army of Paradox Pokémon in front of them. Then, Sarah and Race's necklaces glow with the former accessing the power of Terastallization for her Pokemon as she Terastallizes and Mega Evolves them before the royal couple, the Viking Teens, Miraidon, Koraidon, Liko, Roy, Nemona, Arven, and Penny are shown together as they stare out into the heavens)
I wanna go around and around and around the world with you
I'll go anywhere my Pokémon go
Trials of Sarah: Pokémon Horizons
(End Theme Song)
A few moments later, Liko and Roy were facing each other on the Wing Deck with Sprigatito and Fuecoco ready for their first training battle under the watchful eyes of Mollie, Sarah, and Race with Chansey and Blissey alongside them to provide medical attention should things get too rowdy for the quartet and either of their Pokémon hurt themselves. As for Miraidon, Koraidon, Blitz, Curly, Robbie, Bella, Wooloo, and the Terapagos Three, they were on the sidelines watching opposite of the quintet, also watching how Sprigatito and Fuecoco would fare in their training battle.
"Fuecoco, use Ember!"
"Sprigatito, use Leafage!" the two young trainers shouted, allowing their partners to fire their only attacks at each other.
Of course, because they and their human partners were starting out, their attacks ended up rather weak and combined to form a flurry of pretty fireworks. Sarah, Race, and the Pokémon with them on the sidelines (save for Blissy and the Terapagos Three as they watched on happily) could only deadpan and stare at each other awkwardly; from what they were seeing, this was not a training battle but rather a display one would see from the performance round of a Pokémon Contest. And, yet, they expected it since Roy and Liko were only greenhorn trainers and didn't have much experience in battle, the only exception being with Amethio's Ceruledge.
Not seeing the results they wanted out of their first training, all Liko and Roy could do was scream like crazy, "Ember! Ember! Ember!"
"Leafage, Leafage, Leafage!"
The training battle became even more awkward for everyone watching to stomach despite Blissey and the Terapagos Three's excitement and amusement as Fuecoco and Sprigatito fired their attacks in random directions according to their trainers' calls. It was clear that neither Roy nor Liko thought out their training battle through as they continued in their unorthodox and kooky fashion, leaving Sarah to cringe and Race mentally facepalm himself as he rolled his eyes.
None of them, not even their baffled and awkwardly-looking Pokémon, could deny the truth about Liko and Roy's battling styles that Lazuli mentioned because, apart from how the quartet handled themselves against Amethio and Ceruledge when they finally got a hit on the latter after using Blaze and Overgrow, the greenhorn trainers didn't know the first thing about actual Pokémon battles with the danger over for now. The royal couple didn't want to dampen their spirits but given their current state and how pathetic they looked, none of them could land a scratch on a Caterpie.
This, of course, could be boiled down to the realization that the royal couple had a lot of training under their belts while Liko and Roy had none in the current state, making them realize that they have a long way to go before they would become the trainers they wanted to be AND meet up with the Terastal Shiny Rayquaza again.
Mollie felt the same way as she slowly frowned and eyed Sarah and Race before giving them a nod. Giving her a nod back, they looked at Koraidon and Miraidon, the Paradox Pokémon pair looking briefly at their caretakers before they were given approving nods. Knowing what they had to do, they jumped in and roared, spooking Sprigatito and Fuecoco and stopping them dead in their tracks.
"Huh?! Miraidon, Koraidon!?" Liko spluttered in bewilderment.
"Hey! Race, Sarah, what was that for?! We were just getting started with our training battle!" Roy pouted at their royal friends, not happy with them ending the battle.
"The battle's over. I guess, by the looks of it, we can call this a tie," Mollie informed, stunning Roy and Liko as they gasped before the little princess spoke up.
"Sorry, guys, but honesty... This was getting a little too awkward for us, are you even trying to battle or are you just rolling with the punches? You're not using your heads in battle nor taking the necessary steps every trainer must learn to make this training battle a real battle," Sarah chastised, crossing her arms and looking at the pair and their Partner Pokémon in disappointment.
Roy blinked in surprise before he peeped, "Huh?"
"Hate to burst your bubbles but Island Girl's right; all you two are doing is screaming out your partners' attacks at random and they were firing all over the place. Where is the strategy, where is the plan of action? Where is the thinking behind it all? What are you trying to do? You barely managed to get a hit on Amethio's Ceruledge before he pwned Fuecoco and Sprigatito after that one hit days ago, and if we, Koraidon, and Miraidon hadn't acted that day, all of you would've been killed!" Race added, being as serious as he could be and remembering the near miss they all had.
Liko gulped as she replied, "Isn't that a little harsh for our liking? We did manage to hold off as long as we could against him, didn't we?"
"...No."
That unanimous response from the little princess and her husband wasn't what Liko, Roy, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco wanted to hear and they winced and deflated in response by how serious they were. Mollie could only nod in agreement as she watched Sarah and Race sigh; she had a feeling that the royal couple now had their hands full with the job of teaching Liko, Roy, and their partners how to battle from the ground up and that's before they would stand a chance against the Explorers should they show up again later.
There wasn't any more time to think about it, however, because the traveling doctor's phone rang, signaling to her a call from Friede.
"It's Friede," she noted as she answered the call, making Liko and Roy perk up before they (after taking their partners into their hands), Race, and Sarah joined her.
"Everyone, come to the meeting room," Friede announced.
Moments after meeting up with the others in the meeting room, Friede presented Sarah, Race, Roy, and Liko with their Rotom Phones and Rotoscope, having managed to complete a software update for them during the time skip between the heroes' departure from the young boy's island abode and where they are now on the way to Paldea.
"Your software has been updated," the unconventional professor announced as he returned Rotoscope and the Rotom Phones as they floated over to their respective owners.
"How are you feeling with the new update, Rotoscope?" Sarah asked, smiling at her Rotom Phone.
"Girl, I'm not just okay! I'm on FIRE, I'm lovin' this new software gig! Can't wait to try it out when we get back to good ol' Paldea, maybe catch up with our old groupies there while we can!" Rotoscope grinned, getting a knowing laugh out of his owner.
"Wow, mine has a Pokedex now! Hmm, and what's this?" Roy gushed excitedly as he looked at the Pokedex on his Rotom Phone before he noticed an icon that he and his new friends hadn't seen before.
"A new icon?" Liko puzzled.
The quartet pressed the new app and the insignia of the Rising Volt Tacklers appeared on their Rotom Phones and Rotoscope's screens, prompting Friede to explain, "I've installed the Rising Volt Tacklers' app. Having this app makes you one of us; you four are now officially Rising Volt Tacklers."
Liko and Roy gasped with glee at this as Murdock added, "You can use that to try and contact the rest of us at any time no matter where any of you four are. So, if you're ever in trouble, you know just what to do."
"Yes, Murdock/Right," Sarah and Race nodded as they and Roy performed the RVT's secret handshake.
"Official members of the crew? This is so exciting!" Liko thought excitedly.
"I like to express my gratitude, Sir!" Roy smiled thankfully, bowing to Friede.
The unconventional professor chuckled modestly as he replied, "Hey, now, don't be so formal. Just 'Friede' is fine, really."
"Okay, thanks, Friede!"
Mollie was impressed at Roy's enthusiasm and quick learning as she commented (despite her current demeanor), "The kid adapts quickly, much quicker than I expected."
Friede then told Roy and Liko, "We're all a team which also means we're friends. You too, Liko. And, I don't need to explain that to Race and Sarah since we all know how they bounced off of us since we met them days ago."
"Oh! Um, uh... Thanks... Buddy, heh," Liko thanked but much more shyly compared to Roy as Sarah and Race nodded with thankful smiles on their faces.
"Hey, ''buddy", huh? I like that, you two and our royal friends and their family are already starting to fit right in," Friede grinned, looking impressed before he noticed Roy and Liko ignoring him as the former fiddled with his Pokedex, still in awe of the tool he was given for his Pokémon journey. "And, ignoring me..."
"My very own Pokedex, this is so awesome! I can hardly wait to try it out! And, now, I'm going to try and register that Rayquaza!"
"Yeah! Rayquaza, here we come!" Fuecoco cheered, sharing Roy's enthusiasm.
"Whoa! Hold your Rapidashes, Roy! Don't go jumping the gun like that, don't you remember what happened earlier?" Sarah warned expectantly, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at Roy. "You and Fuecoco need a lot more training if you're to combat that powerful Rayquaza. It's not a Legendary Pokémon nor the Pokémon that it is for nothing, you know."
"Also, we don't even know where it flew off to after leaving us at your island home when it chased Amethio and his cohorts off," Race put in.
Roy was now worried as he realized the truth in the royal couple's words but he was still determined to find the Terastal Shiny Rayquaza somehow, "Yeah, but if only we had some kind of clue..."
"Well, we might have one. There's still another crew member of ours you haven't met yet; her name is Dot and she happens to be our intelligence specialist," Friede suggested, leaving the quartet confused.
"The thing is, though, she tends to keep to herself quite a lot."
"A Dot sighting is indeed rare," Orla and Mollie brought up, the latter smirking.
"Pretty impressive kid, she is. Speaking of which, she was the one who programmed the app for all of us."
"Wait, when you said 'kid', you mean...?" Liko began, surprised.
Murdock nodded as he explained to her and Roy, "Dot's actually my niece, she's just about the same age as you and Roy."
"You mean she was only eleven when she made your team app and found out about Race and I before or after the Explorers caught wind of us?" Sarah puzzled, looking surprised as the cook nodded in confirmation.
Race whistled, impressed as he remarked, "Damn, for a kid like her, we got ourselves a real tech wiz."
Friede nodded in agreement as he then told the new members, "And, she may have already gathered intel on Rayquaza and what happens to us on the way to Paldea. Feel free to go and talk to her if you want."
"You say that, but..." Liko began again, feeling unsure about the thought only for Blitz, Bella, and Curly's ears to prick up as they noticed something from down the hallway outside the meeting room and jumped off Sarah and Race's shoulders.
"Guys?"
"Bella, what is it?" the royal couple questioned as they and Robbie followed the three Pikachu out of the room with Roy and Liko curiously trailing from behind.
As they went along the airship and turned into another corridor, they could've sworn they heard what sounded like music being played from afar.
"What's going on in here?"
"Sounds like somebody's busting out music from one of these rooms."
"Wait, that song... It's Nidothings!" gasped Liko, recognizing the music being played and ran to a door that had the music in Nidothing's videos playing until it stopped.
The Indigo Academy student was surprised as she puzzled (just as the others caught up with her), "Hmm, that's funny... Why'd it stop?"
"Maybe she was watching a video of some sort," Roy suggested, prompting Liko to knock on the door only to get no answer as she mused, "Hmm, no answer."
"You guys, I don't think we should distract her if she's busy right now. Maybe she's working on another video and we need to leave her in peace for the time being," Sarah suggested, concerned for Nidothing's well-being.
Her words were lost on Roy as he then spoke out, "Excuse me! My name is Roy and...!"
"Roy, wait!"
"What are you doing, you muppet?!" Liko and Race hissed quietly at the young boy.
"...I'm a new member of the Rising Volt Tacklers! Do you happen to know anything about a Shiny Rayquaza? I really want to see it again!"
"Roy, honestly! You've got to be kidding me! Do you even know the meaning of the word 'manners'? What's Dot, or more appropriately, Nidothing, going to say about that?" Sarah grumbled, looking unimpressed at Roy before Sprigatito, Blitz, Curly, and Bella's ears perked up once more (while they checked out the door) and Quaxly appeared from a doggie door built into the main door with two folded slips of paper stuck to his chest.
"Surprise!" he greeted before he looked before the group, feeling intrigued and honored to meet the royal couple and Liko again as he smiled at them and Roy.
"Quaxly!" Sarah gasped.
"Quaxly! Oh, my god, you surprised us!" Race blinked in surprise. "What were you doing in there, anyway?"
"What, can't a pretty duckling like me have a little internet fun with my partner now and then whenever I'm not waddling about?" chuckled the Duckling Pokémon in response.
"Sweet! A chance to use my brand new Pokedex!" Roy grinned as he scanned Quaxly with his Rotom Phone's Pokedex.
"Quaxly, the Duckling Pokémon. A Water Type, Quaxly is an excellent swimmer even in strong waters and it's very particular to holds strong opinions."
"Right," Quaxly smirked as he fixed up his hair tuff which he was extremely proud of given his elegant appearance.
"Is he particular about his appearance just like Sprigatito?" Liko questioned, smiling in amusement at him.
"Hey, you're pretty cute," Roy began as he tried to touch the Duckling Pokémon only for Quaxly to slap his hand away before he could do so. "What was that for?"
"No touchie! Or, to put it simply, watch the hair," Quaxly snapped, glaring at Roy for nearly messing up his hair tuff.
"Uh, Roy, maybe this is where you step out and let him do the rest. I don't think Quaxly would appreciate anybody touching his hair like that and I'd start running now if I were you and ruined it, really; the first thing you have to know about certain Pokémon like him is that you don't do anything, and I mean, ANYTHING, that would insult a Pokémon's pride or make them mad," Sarah warned, pulling Roy out of Quaxly's way and getting an approving nod and a thankful smile from the Paldea Water Starter.
"You should count your lucky stars he left you with a warning and you pulled your hand back when he did. Otherwise, if you give him an actual bad hair day, he might've given you a hundred pecks to the head nonstop and ruined your looks including your hair in return. Isn't that right, Quaxly?" Race added warningly, getting another thankful smile and a confirming nod from Quaxly as he pointed approvingly between him and his wife.
"Sorry about that, Quaxly," Roy apologized sheepishly, now realizing his mistake.
"Hmph," Quaxly huffed as he turned his head away from Roy, showing the quartet and their Partner Pokémon the paper slips he had stuck to his chest tuft.
"Hey, Quaxly, what have you got there?" Sarah asked, getting Quaxly's attention as he smiled at her and showed her the slips.
"Courtesy of my human partner inside the room I was in just now, have a look," the Duckling Pokémon offered, allowing her to take the slips and hand one of them to Roy.
Curious about what the slip involving him could be, he unfolded it and the slip showed a drawing of him and Fuecoco with his face marked as an "X" and Fuecoco having swirls over his eyes, showing what they looked like after a battle.
"Is that supposed to be you and Fuecoco?" Liko asked, pondering over the picture.
Roy felt a little offended by this as he remarked, "It shows how we got beaten in battle. I don't know about you but this Dot seems pretty rude."
"Well, we are the new kids here so it makes sense that she has high expectations of us on something. What does the paper from Quaxly show for you, Sarah?"
Sarah looked at the slip of paper in her hands, noticing that it was much bigger compared to the drawing of the defeated Fuecoco and Roy. She looked at Quaxly who gave her an encouraging nod to look at it, allowing her to unfold it and see it show a drawing of her and Race with Miraidon and Koraidon together. They weren't the only ones on it, however, as they also noticed a drawing of Amethio's Ceruledge but looking defeated as he had an "X" over his face as well.
"Hey, this one's showing us how Race and I managed to beat Ceruledge using Koraidon and Miraidon that day. And, that was moments before our 'special guest' from the Dragon Craft came in and stole the show before the Terastal Shiny Rayquaza entered the fray," Sarah blinked in surprise at the drawing.
"Well, that's true... And, our battle with him and his partner before you guys jumped in and saved us didn't go all that well," Roy admitted, knowing how badly he and Liko and their partners fared against Amethio and his ace fighter.
"Biggest understatement of this journey by far."
"A real burn of an understatement, really," Blitz and Curly remarked dryly, getting a nod and a smirk from Quaxly that was full of knowing amusement at Roy's expense.
Liko thought for a moment until she then turned to the royal couple, "Race, Sarah, can I ask you guys something?"
"What?" Sarah asked curiously.
"Well, do you mind if we talk about this with Friede as well?"
"Hmm... Sure thing, Liko, he might be in the bridge with Cap right now. What do you have in mind?" Race obliged as the group left with Blitz, Curly, and Bella waving goodbye to Quaxly who returned the gesture and watched them all off until they were gone, returning to his and Nidothing's room.
"What, Island Girl and I? Train you two, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco?"
"...You want someone to train with you and you chose Sarah and Race?" Friede mused once he was told everything.
"Train them?" Cap echoed with intrigue and suspicion, looking back at Roy and Liko talking with Sarah, Race, and Friede about putting them through training in Pokémon battles.
"Yeah, we wanna get stronger!"
"Uh, if you two don't mind, that is..."
Friede just smirked kindly as he told the group about Dot's mentality, "Uh, well, Dot didn't give you the time of day, didn't she? Well, she is temperamental and can be pretty exacting when it comes to other trainers. But, it sounds as though she and Quaxly gelled well with our royal guests when she found out about Koraidon and Miraidon and how they fared against Amethio's Ceruledge."
"That's part of it but Liko and I were talking with Sarah and Race earlier; we both agreed to become the kind of trainers they and the Rising Volt Tacklers can be proud of!" Roy clarified.
"Are you sure, Roy?" Race questioned, intrigued.
Roy nodded as he replied, "Besides, if I want to catch that Rayquaza, Fuecoco and I really need to up our game!"
Liko concurred as she said to the royal couple, "And, I, uh... I mean, we couldn't beat Amethio like you two. I was really, really frustrated looking back at it; everyone was in danger because of me, even you two. If you two, Miraidon, and Koraidon hadn't intervened, I'm sure the Explorers would've taken my pendant and your Pokémon. And, it's our fault that you have a bigger target on your backs now because you were forced to reveal yourselves to save us."
Sarah frowned sympathetically at Liko and Roy, seeing them feel guilty about what they unintentionally did to her and her husband as she soothed them, "Come on, you two, don't put yourselves down like that. We were mad before about that but we had no choice, we had to protect you and your partners before Amethio and his Ceruledge could kill you. They forced our hands at that moment and it's only natural since we're also not allowed to escalate a fight unless somebody forces us to."
"But, that's not all on your mind, is there? You know also have a reason that's just as important, right?" Race inquired, getting a knowing nod from Liko as she went on.
"...But, after everything that happened on that day and seeing how hard you and your family fought to save us and keep your three Pokémon safe in addition to my pendant, I want to be able to keep it, them, and you all safe, with my own power... I want to protect everyone! And, in the future, if anyone else comes after my pendant, I just... I just want to be strong enough to stand up to them! So, I want Sprigatito and I to become stronger!"
Sarah and Race glared with intent between them and their partners, and after a mental debate with each other, they smiled and nodded before they turned back to the greenhorn trainers as Race spoke, "Alright, then, if that's what you want... Starting today, given how much you have in common with us in terms of hard knocks and how you would come back strong in one way or another, we'll take you as our pupils, and Friede will fill in for us whenever we can't help you with your training regime."
Liko, Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Roy blinked and gasped in surprise before the former BF champion continued, "Given how you fared in your first training battle earlier today, we would've refused. But, since the Explorers got us all in on the deep end with their knowledge of our ranger powers, our Terapagos Three, your pendant, and Rayquaza, we can't let any of them have their way now, can we?"
Friede smirked as he nodded at the young trainers (much to their, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco's delight), offering his support to help them whenever he could in Sarah and Race's place.
Sure enough, Liko and Roy were on the Wing Deck again with Murdock, Mollie, Friede, Ludlow, Orla, and their gathered Pokémon (Quaxly included) all standing on the sidelines along with some of Sarah's family and Race's team (who heard the news of Race and Sarah taking the two in as their students) from the sidelines. Race was with Mollie again while she acted as the referee once more but this time, they were joined by the Swords of Justice, Zeraora, Calculator, Falcon, Nitro, and Zorua who would be observing the battle and offer their own opinions on how the two of them and their partners are fighting.
For their first day of training, they were pitted against Sarah in a Double Battle, the little princess having brought out Snivy and Oshawott for the job in what is called a "Battle of the Starters" featuring two of Paldea's Starter Pokémon and two of Unova's Starter Pokémon in a match-up of Fire and Grass vs. Grass and Water.
After watching a video Quaxly made with Nidothing (or her cosplayer's true alias, Dot) about Pokémon battles, Ludlow turned his attention to the new training battle with intrigue as he mused, "There is nothing that sparkles and shines on its own rock star; it's when rock hits another rock that both rocks are polished. And, in the end... "
"Power up the barrier!" Mollie shouted, the Brave Olivine's barrier around the Wing Deck activating via voice command so that nobody would be at risk of falling off in the middle of the training round.
"To kick off your training, let's see if you can repeat that hit you made on Ceruledge. It's simple, all you guys have to do to win is to hit either Snivy, Oshawott, or both," Sarah proposed.
"Yeah!" Oshawott grinned eagerly, readying his scalchop.
"Come at us, broskis," Snivy smirked slyly at her opponents with a wink.
"Wow, I can't believe we'll be fighting two members of Sarah's family let alone two of the Starter Pokémon from the Unova Region," Liko breathed in awe.
"Well, we just need to hit them once so this will be easy! Right, Fuecoco?" Roy asked his partner, feeling a little too overconfident about their victory.
"Easy!" smirked Fuecoco in agreement.
"Don't let your guard down! That means you too, Sprigatito!" Liko warned Roy and Sprigatito, the latter nodding as she got into a battle stance and the young girl saw the daring smile and sly smirk on Oshawott and Snivy's faces. "Our opponents look really tough, especially since they've been trained hard by royalty!"
"You ready? Begin battle!" Mollie signaled, beginning the Double Battle as she raised her right arm.
Sarah nodded as she told her and Race's trainees, "Roy, Liko, you may have the first attack!"
"Go, Fuecoco, use Ember!"
"Sprigatito, use Leafage!"
The two Paldea Starters began the battle by firing off their only attacks together but as the two moves drew closer and closer to the Grass Snake and Sea Otter Pokemon, they ended up converging with and canceling each other out in a small explosion. Immediately, Liko and Roy were once again getting off on the wrong foot in Pokémon battles just as they did previously.
"Ah!"
"W-We didn't mean to do that!"
"Well, that was sad," Orla grimaced while sitting atop Metagross, facepalming herself.
"I don't think these kids even have a chance. If the princess decides to let her Oshawott and Snivy attack, it's game, set, and match for them here," Murdock concurred, looking unimpressed by Roy, Liko, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco's first effort.
Regardless, Liko and Roy knew they shouldn't pack it in just yet as they and their partners decided to continue going on the offensive (effectively repeating one of the mistakes they made in their first training battle together), "We have to attack! Ember, Ember, Ember...!"
"Sprigatito, Leafage, Leafage, Leafage...!"
True to form, Sprigatito and Fuecoco ended up firing their basic attacks in random directions and at a rapid pace but doing so without any discipline or precision in their shots. What made it more awkward and cringeworthy to watch compared to the training round between themselves was that they were not honing their attacks on Snivy and Oshawott since they, Liko, and Roy had no idea how Double Battles were supposed to work.
With the Unova Starters in question, Snivy smirked in amusement at the expense of Roy and Liko's partners as she crossed her arms, snorted smugly, and her species' trademark smirk broadened while Oshawott yawned and looked at his scalchop as he waved it in front of him a bit. The Leafage and Ember attacks being thrown at them still didn't connect and they continued to wait patiently for a challenge from Sprigatito and Fuecoco given what they were doing.
"Come on, you two, haven't you learned from your mistakes last time? Eyes forward, both on your opponent and around you at all times! At this rate, how can you possibly hope to beat let alone stand a chance against Amethio and his Ceruledge?" Sarah demanded, starting to become disappointed.
"She's right, we can't win like this, we need to try a different approach," Liko gasped as she realized what Sarah was talking about, turning to Roy as she suggested, "Roy, new plan! We have to work together to hit them!"
"Huh? You're right, let's try and hit Oshawott and Snivy with a combo move!" Roy replied, smiling in agreement.
"Sprigatito, use Leafage!"
"Fuecoco, use Tackle!"
Deciding to go for a different tactic, Sprigatito fired Leafage again and struck Snivy and Oshawott, seemingly leaving them blind and allowing Fuecoco to charge at them and use his Tackle attack.
Sarah just smiled in amusement at this as she then pulled a fast one on her and Race's trainees, "Not bad, but... Snivy, use Twister on Fuecoco and toss him up! Oshawott, use your Razor Shell to make your cut on Sprigatito!"
When Fuecoco became close enough for her to attack, Snivy unleashed her Twister attack, causing both the Leafage attack stuck on her and the Fire Croc Pokémon to get caught up in the Flying Type attack and swirled around (shocking Roy as his jaw dropped and he heard his partner yelping in panic as he wanted the unexpected ride he was on to stop). Sprigatito was also not expecting a surprise assault from Oshawott as the Unova Water Starter brushed the Leafage off of him and lunged forward, his scalchop's sword blade drawn as he slashed at her, making her meow in pain as she was flung back.
"Sprigatito!"
"Fuecoco!"
The Rising Volt Tacklers were amazed by this and even Friede was in awe as he told Cap and Charizard (who were equally impressed), "Incredible! She used Sprigatito's Leafage against Fuecoco when combining it with Snivy's Twister and Oshawott took her by surprise with that powerful Razor Shell!"
"Major combo surprise, dude!"
"Smart moves," the cool-dude Pikachu and Flame Pokémon agreed.
"That's our grandbaby's sister; always thinking ahead and improvising solutions to turn the tide against her foes in every way," chuckled Johnathan.
"My, what an act that was."
"Now, if that's not creative, I don't know what is," Murdock and Orla blinked in surprise.
Still smirking and feeling like Fuecoco had enough, Snivy canceled her Twister and allowed him to fall onto the ground, feeling dizzy as he tried to regain himself.
"Fuecoco, can you go on?" Roy asked worriedly.
"Yeah! Ready, pal!" Fucoco replied with a determined nod, not wanting to give up.
Sprigatito shook herself off from the Razor Shell attack as she got up but now she was annoyed at Oshawott having one-upped her as he did, raring to go at him once more until Sarah issued another command to her pair team.
"Double Team," she told them simply, allowing Oshawott and Snivy to create clones of themselves until they surrounded the two Paldea Starters, taking them by surprise once again.
"What?!"
"What is that?" Roy and Liko gawked, flabbergasted.
Sarah then smirked at the young trainers as she told them, "Welcome to the world of Double Team, you two. It's a very versatile move for defense and deception if you're looking to get the drop on your adversaries or escape. If you want to find the real deals, remember the golden rule, 'Blink and you miss it'."
The clones of Oshawott and Snivy then proceeded to taunt Fuecoco and Sprigatito, daring them to attack and try their luck against any of them. This was the final straw for Sprigatito as she meowed aggressively at the clones and poised herself to attack without mercy, her fur raised in response to her aggression and the playful mockery she was forced to take in.
"They're getting Sprigatito all worked up on purpose! If I can't get her to control herself, then...!" Liko realized before she called out the partner. "Sprigatito, no! Calm down!"
Her pleas, however, fell on deaf ears; now seething rage and letting her anger control her, Sprigatito ignored her partner and lunged at one of the clones, hoping to hit the real Snivy or the real Oshawott (mainly the latter). But, to her shock, the four clones of the Sea Otter and Grass Snake Pokémon she touched disappeared and she phased through them, making her realize that she wasn't even close to them.
"WHAT?!" she squeaked in bewilderment, seeing more clones of Snivy and Oshawott appearing before her and Fuecoco and smirking at them as they continued to taunt the pair.
Friede smirked in amusement at this as he then advised Liko and Roy, "Liko, Roy, try to keep your eyes on Snivy and Oshawott."
Sarah nodded in agreement to this idea but Liko wasn't so sure as she commented, "Easy for him to say..."
"Keep our eyes on which ones? They're popping up all over the place," Roy added worriedly as the two of them and their partners watched helplessly, trying to wonder what Friede meant the more they stared at the taunting Snivy and Oshawott clones.
Eyeing the clones and figuring out where she and Sprigatito were going wrong, Liko thought again, "The real Snivy and Oshawott both have to be around here somewhere but where are we supposed to look and which clones are they?"
Deciding to take a chance for herself and her team, Sprigatito charged at the clones again and used Scratch on them, hitting the clones at random to find and pinpoint the real Snivy and Oshawott.
"Hey, wait-!" Liko began but stopped as she saw what her partner was doing and that's when an idea came to her, "Of course, I get it! If we hit the clones and dwindle their numbers, we'll find the real ones, eventually... But, maybe... That's not really what Sarah wanted."
She wracked her brain again and began to think back to the moment when she and Roy first fought against Amethio's Ceruledge; they were only able to get a hit on him from the power boost Fuecoco and Sprigatito got from Overgrow and Blaze and they previously tried to gang up on him from both sides beforehand. Then, she thought about the battle between him and Silvally, recalling how the little princess and the Synthetic Pokémon were able to use combo moves that could affect a larger area or the environment around them to her advantage.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized what she could do to turn the training match around in her team's favor, "Maybe... That's it!"
Her mind made up and knowing what she must do, Liko called out to her partner, "Sprigatito, let's try something different! Use Leafage, all around!"
Roy blinked in surprise at her but Sarah gave an approving smile as she watched Sprigatito realize what her partner was up to and nodded before she unleashed a more powerful Leafage attack that struck all of the clones, eventually revealing the real Snivy and Oshawott standing in their original places (having not moved an inch since they first used Double Team in the match).
"Ah! Hey! You did it, they're right there!" Roy gasped before he grinned.
"Come on, Roy! We got this, let's hit them with everything we got!" Liko smirked at her new friend.
"You got it! Fuecoco, you're up!"
Grinning excitedly, Liko and Roy watched as Snivy and Oshawott readied themselves for another fight. But, to their and the group's surprise, they saw Fuecoco and Sprigatito staring at them for a moment before they eventually called off the match by either falling asleep or turning away and curling up for a nap. This left Oshawott and Sarah falling over comedically and Snivy facepalming herself in disappointment and exasperation with Liko and Roy shocked by the abrupt end to their first training match.
"W-Wha, what happened?!" they gawked.
Mollie was also disappointed by this as she half-heartedly declared, "The battle is over, the winner is the Princess."
"Oh, brother."
"Come on, is that all those newbies got?" sighed Snivy and Oshawott, unimpressed by how quickly Sprigatito and Oshawott gave up.
"Boy, talk about anti-climatic," snorted Keldeo.
"Unfortunately. Sprigatito and Fuecoco, by the looks of it, continued to lack the discipline needed to complete their first match," Cobalion mused, greatly disappointed in Liko and Roy's partners.
"Those kids, Liko, and Roy couldn't hold a candle to Amethio's Ceruledge so what hope do they have of coming out on top should their lives be in danger if the Explorers catch up to us?" Terrakion remarked.
"I fear if the results of this battle are not taken into account and they act upon their weaknesses, they could end up in a lot of trouble," Virizion sighed, feeling worried for Liko, Roy, and their partners.
"To think, we didn't even hit any of them the whole time," Roy groaned in dismay as he and Liko slumped on the ground.
"I knew it, Snivy and Oshawott were amazing just like Silvally, Koraidon, and Miraidon," Liko sighed in defeat before an amused Murdock and Orla came over to cheer them up.
"Your partners just do their own thing, don't they?" Orla asked kindly.
"The good news is that it's time for lunch," Murdock informed, getting Fuecoco and Sprigatito's interest as they woke up and looked at him.
A few minutes later, Murdock had laid out a giant spread of food he had cooked up with Alcremie's help that consisted of fresh homemade pizza, Spicy Paldea Pasta, cups of a cream soup he made himself, fresh berries, and an array of deserts the pair whipped up for themselves and the Pokémon gathered with bottles of orange juice and jugs of coffee to complement their banquet. Liko and Roy were awestruck by what they saw, and unable to resist, they and their partners immediately helped themselves to a few dishes.
"So good!" Liko gushed as she helped herself to a plate of Spicy Paldea Pasta.
"Alcremie and I also whipped up some deserts, hope you saved room."
"Enjoy, my friends!" Murdock and Alcremie grinned, enjoying the compliments they were getting from their new friends and hoping they enjoyed their feast.
"Seconds, please!"
"YEAH! Me, too!" Roy and Fuecoco cheered, offering up their empty plates while Sprigatito enjoyed a green tart.
Liko, seeing what her partner was eating, was curious about how it tasted as she asked her, "Sprigatito seemed to love that. Would you mind if I have a taste?"
"Go ahead," Sprigatito smiled, allowing Liko to taste her tart only for her to wince as she realized it was a matcha-flavored tart and it was too bitter for her taste.
"Mm-UGH! It's bitter!"
Murdock just laughed, "Okay! Looks like Sprigatito likes the bitter stuff, huh?"
Liko gasped in surprise at him as she realized that Sprigatito's interests go further than she realized, her thoughts turning to the rest of the Brave Olivine's Pokémon enjoying the food they each picked out for themselves as she mused, "I guess... Everyone has their own different tastes that they like."
Roy chucked as he confessed, "Fuecoco and I like spicy foods!"
"Ditto!" Fuecoco agreed happily as they were sweating and their cheeks were red.
Sarah couldn't help but chuckle as she, Race, and their Pokémon helped themselves to Murdock's dishes as well (with the little princess immediately going for his Spicy Paldea Pasta), "Sounds like you two have one thing in common with my Fire Types, they loved spicy foods and they can't get enough of them."
"Oh, right! Sarah, Race, what about your other Pokémon? It's lunchtime but how exactly do you feed all of them? I mean, you did mention you have nearly 300 or so on you right now, right?" Liko asked the royal couple.
"Well, I'm guilty on that front; I have 270 on me so I'm the one nearly 300. But, I've taken care of that; I've built a device to help me with their meals so it becomes much easier and less of a chore for me to feed them," the princess replied and Race nodded in agreement, knowing what she meant.
Liko nodded as she looked back at Sprigatito enjoying her matcha-flavored tart, now knowing what kind of food she loved to eat as she wrote the tippet down on her Rotom Phone in Tablet Mode to go along with her other notes about her partner.
As lunch continued, once they were full, Liko and Roy went over their first training battle with Sarah, Snivy, and Oshawott; they were disappointed that they and their partners were outclassed by one of their royal teachers and two of her Pokémon and they didn't know what to do.
"That last battle wasn't really much of a battle, was it?" Liko mused to Roy in disappointment.
"We were just too outmatched," Roy suggested only for the Swords of Justice to join them as they gave their thoughts on the matter.
"That's not what you two should be worried about; you children and your Pokémon fought well but you lack the patience you need to work on your battle strategies. Shouting out attacks at random is not entirely smart and your Pokémon only know two moves each. You must make Sprigatito and Fuecoco take their training more seriously and adjust their current mindsets if you're to become a better team," Virizion began.
"Your Pokémon got bored at the eleventh hour and threw in the towel which was not a bright move on their and your part. If you end up having to come across one of the Explorers again, especially Amethio, you can kiss each other goodbye and be done with it," Terrakion put in.
He then eyed Sprigatito with disappointment as he remarked, "And, I don't know about your partner, Liko, but Sprigatito has got some issues she needs to untangle before she can grow as a Pokémon in her own right. And, by 'issues', I mean a serious case of 'Intermittent Explosive Disorder', otherwise known as uncontrollable anger with how Snivy and Oshawott got under her skin."
"Excuse me?!" Sprigatito hissed an indignant yowl, her back hairs raised at the Cavern Pokémon.
Roy and Liko sighed, knowing that the two of them were right as the former thought, "You're right. But, I also wonder if there is another thing missing in the way we attacked."
"That's part of it. But, Snivy and Oshawott... I don't think they and Sarah were just battling us, it was more like, somehow, they were trying to teach us something," Liko admitted thoughtfully.
"That's the problem; what's more, none of you paid any attention to Snivy and Oshawott's movements. You had a Type advantage in your Partner Pokémon but you didn't realize it the whole time," Keldeo commented as he watched Fuecoco and Sprigatito sleep. "If you had Fuecoco fighting Snivy and Sprigatito battling Oshawott and come up with a plan to make the most of your favorable Type match-up, you would've won. The whole point of that exercise was to give you an idea of how Double Battles work."
"As you can tell, the princess was testing you to see what she and Race could teach you. You seemed to have learned a bit, Liko, since you had Sprigatito use her Leafage attack to wipe out Snivy and Oshawott's clones as you did but you still have a long way to go before you're ready. The princess learned this as well two years ago," Cobalion informed.
Now, the two young trainees were surprised, "Two years ago?"
The Swords of Justice nodded as Keldeo informed, "*It's, uh... A very, well, sensitive topic for her. If you want to find out more, you'll have to ask her yourself.*"
Liko was confused, she was never told about what happened to one of her best friends two years ago and Sarah never bothered to tell her since she never brought it up. She was also curious as to how she even became the person she is now, wondering what went down throughout her journey before she and Race first met her and Sprigatito at Indigo Academy. Right now, despite fully trusting her, there was something about Sarah that she didn't feel like prying into given how Keldeo reacted and what he and Terrakion were saying which included becoming such a powerful and extremely calculating trainer in such a short time.
"Two years ago? What could've happened to her during that time? What did she go through before she and Race met me and Sprigatito?"
However, she decided not to dwell on it further as Friede joined them and offered a solution to their little dilemma, "So, since we agreed to another training session, why not have Fuecoco vs Sprigatito this time?"
The young trainers were surprised but they and their partners soon found themselves facing each other as they decided to go through everything they learned from their previous training match with Snivy and Oshawott.
"Okay, now remember what you've learned from your fight with Oshawott and Snivy. Since you two were outclassed by them earlier, we agreed that it'd be best if you two, Fuecoco, and Sprigatito face each other instead," Sarah explained as Race took Mollie's place as the referee.
Liko gulped as she thought, "Easy for her to say, I still feel like I don't really know how to battle compared to her."
"Face your opponents and begin!" Race shouted, signaling Roy and Liko to battle.
"Right. First, I'll need to figure out how my opponent moves," Liko mused, eyeing Fuecoco.
Liko and Roy continued to stare at each other and their partners, wondering who would be the one to make the first move in the training battle.
"How will Fuecoco move? Will he make the first move...?" She kept her eye on Fuecoco but all she could see from him was a tired yawn after a brief moment, surprising her and Roy which made her determined to take the initiative to attack. "Okay, so Fuecoco didn't move, I guess we'll have to make the first move. Sprigatito, go!"
This got Roy and Fuecoco moving as they took action as well, "Fuecoco, Tackle!"
The Paldea Starters charged at each other as they traded Tackle attacks with one another, and this time, instead of firing their attacks at random and charging at each other willy-nilly, they were much more patient and organized in their battling. This interested everyone watching as they carefully watched them battling with greater precision, timing, and patience compared to what they went through last time (especially since they were now facing each other and pitted as equals for better results).
"Hmm..."
"It looks like they've stopped attacking all willy-nilly now," Orla and Murdock noted, seeing a change in Liko, Roy, and their partners with Fuecoco and Sprigatito being more coordinated with their attacks.
Sprigatito and Fuecoco stopped their Tackle attacks as they forced each other back which gave Liko the next incentive for her and her partner to attack first again, "Okay, Sprigatito, go at Fuecoco again with another Tackle!"
"Here it comes again, buddy!" Roy called, allowing Fuecoco to meet his Grass Type friend once more until she jumped back to dodge his own Tackle.
This change in their battling styles finally caught the pair's attention as they gasped in surprise and breathed, "Whoa, something's different from before!"
"Yeah, which means I'll have to watch and time my opponent's movements!"
Friede noticed the change and he smirked in approval with Race and Sarah, "I think something just clicked."
Liko's eyes widened as she recalled how she and Roy went about the last training battle and she finally understood their most fatal flaw in battle, "I get it; I wasn't paying any attention to my opponent's movements, I was just calling out attacks just as Sarah said. I was going mainly on impulse and a bad instinct, that's how we lost against Snivy and Oshawott. But, thanks to the training they and Sarah had given us, that's not the case anymore. We're becoming a little sharper, better prepared, and more alert in our moves!"
Race and Sarah nodded in approval as they told them, "That's right; a battle like this is no longer about you, it now involves both you and your partner. You've got to remember to pay close attention to your opponents and be ready to defend yourselves against them."
"There is no right or wrong answer as to how you fight your opponents but no matter what happens, you have to think about your attacks and strategies and how to apply them to various situations, you understand now?"
"Right!" Liko and Roy smiled, now with a greater understanding of what she, Snivy, and Oshawott were trying to teach them as they returned to the battle and watched Fuecoco and Sprigatito continue fighting and becoming more in sync with each other in their attacks.
Orla and Murdock's smiles broadened as they saw what was becoming of them thanks to Sarah and their training match with them.
"Sprigatito's moving much faster compared to before."
"And, look at Fuecoco; he's holding his own out there now," they commented.
Ludlow (while he was enjoying a cup of tea) and Quaxly were also impressed as they watched on in silent fascination and it wasn't long before Liko and Roy began to enjoy themselves as the battle carried on, having shown a little progress in what they learned from their previous battle and the mistakes they made.
"Wow! Pokémon battles are a lot of fun!"
"I know!"
Roy then looked at his partner, "Fuecoco, let's finish this with a song!"
Then, the young boy and the Fire Croc Pokémon sang before the latter unleashed an Ember for their final move, "Go, Go, Fuecoco~! Go Go, Fuecoco~!"
"Oh, brother," groaned Sprigatito as she rolled her eyes at the pair.
"Slip past it, Sprigatito!" Liko then shouted, her partner running towards Fuecoco and then glowing white as she left a trail of white energy behind her.
This shocked Liko as she took in what looked to be Sprigatito's new attack but Sarah smiled proudly as she stated, "Looks like somebody on track to Graduation Central with her very own Quick Attack."
"Quick Attack?!" Liko echoed in shocked surprise as she saw her partner avoid Ember and continued darting towards the startled Fuecoco before she crashed into him, knocking her fellow Paldea Starter out cold.
Roy let out a shocked gasp as he saw Fuecoco groaning with swirls over his eyes, leaving Race to declare, "Fuecoco is unable to battle, the winning team of Training Round Number 2 is Liko and Sprigatito!"
Sprigatito and Liko were stunned by the announcement but they eventually cheered excitedly, the Grass Cat Pokémon meowing victoriously as found herself in the caring touch of her partner who sang her praises, "You did it! That was great, Sprigatito, you were amazing! And, you learned a new move! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"
Friede smiled at the pair as he remarked, "Looks like your training with the princess ultimately paid off."
Liko held Sprigatito in her arms and turned towards Sarah before she thanked her teacher, "Thank you so much, Sarah! How can we ever repay you?"
"Yeah, I now know Quick Attack thanks to you!" grinned Sprigatito.
Sarah just shook her head as she told the pair, "I'm just happy you two, Fuecoco, and Roy are on the right track with Pokémon battles. You may have learned Quick Attack and you're getting the hang of battling now but there's still much more for you kids to learn. Until you're finally ready, you'll still be training under my and Race's wings."X
Race nodded in agreement, leaving Liko to her thoughts as she happily thought, "Wow, I can't believe it; our first day of training with them and Sprigatito learned Quick Attack because of it! Sarah and her Pokémon were amazing and I can imagine Race and his Pokémon being just as fantastic once we train with him! Of course, being saved by them a couple of times proves that. We'll have to keep doing our best for them, Sprigatito!"
Roy was feeling the same way as he and his recovered Fuecoco in his arms approached the little princess and grinned, "Hey, Sarah! Thanks a lot, battling with Liko today has gotten me so pumped up thanks to you! I am a little mad that I lost but I know I'll do better next time."
"And, that's your greatest lesson; losing can be just as important as winning in every Pokémon battle along your journey. Just like what happened today, if you battled hard and did your best despite coming off as second-rate to your opponents, defeat can end up being quite the wise teacher. You now know where you two went wrong beforehand and you should work twice as hard to become a better trainer because of it so you'll never make the same mistakes again."
Roy nodded as he turned to Liko, the two of them sharing knowing grins as they bantered, "Right! The next time we train and battle, it'll be my win, Liko. Right, Fuecoco?"
"Groovy!" Fuecoco grinned.
"You're on!"
Just then, Roy's Rotom Phone rang as he got a text message, and when the young boy saw the text, to his surprise, "Hey, it looks like a text. And, it's... Huh?! It's from Dot!"
Surprised by this, Roy, Liko, Sarah, and Race darted quickly back to the door leading to Dot's room where they found Quaxly coming out the doggie door but with a third slip of folded paper on him. Curious as he looked towards her, Sarah took the paper and unfolded it, the paper showing a drawing of the Shiny Rayquaza and a map of some sort detailing a certain region Liko and the royal couple were all too familiar with.
"Hey, look at that!"
"That looks like Paldea!" Race and Liko recognized.
"Cool! That means Rayquaza must be somewhere in the Paldea Region! I gotta tell the others about this! Thanks, Dot!" cheered Roy as he thanked Dot and hollered happily with an equally excited Fuecoco following after him.
Race laughed as he went after Roy to help him tell the news and calm him down with Liko joining them as she thought, "You know, Dot was exact as Friede said; what she drew for us showed the truth. But, maybe she's starting to warm up to us because of it. I don't think she's that cold of a person, it must be more than that. Either way, I hope we can get to know her better someday..."
Sarah sighed blissfully as she understood that they and the others finally had a lead on the Terastal Shiny Rayquaza before she smiled at Quaxly and said, "Thanks for the heads-up, Quaxly."
The Duckling Pokémon smiled and saluted to the little princess proudly before he went back inside Dot's room, leaving Sarah to try and meet up with the others but not before she let out a soft, "Hey, Dot? For showing that we have to train Roy and Liko from your drawing of him and Fuecoco and for having faith in us against the Explorers with your drawing of Koraidon and Miraidon beating Ceruledge, well... Thanks."
As she left to reunite with her husband and her new friends, Sarah didn't think of but she could've sworn she heard a quiet but audible, "…You're welcome.", coming from Dot herself. Sarah turned back to the door to Dot's room in surprise but eventually, she smiled softly before she went on her way. She didn't know it and neither did the others but she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like for them to get to know her better should the opportunity present itself.
That night, in her bedroom inside the Dragon Craft, Lazuli was sleeping peacefully but she soon started to squirm and whimper, turning from side to side on her bed in distress before she witnessed something of a nightmare.
"AHHHH! Hey! What are you doing?! What's the big idea, let go of me! Ungh! Ngh! MOMMY!"
"Now, now, dearie. It'll all be over soon, be a good little girl and come with us, he-he-he-he..."
"SEIYA! MARY, NO!"
(BOOM!)
Suddenly, Lazuli let out a shocked and terrified gasp as she breathed heavily, feeling herself sweat as she looked around her makeshift bedroom while Galaxagus and Pantherra were jolted awake. They seemed to have felt their partner's inner turmoil and distress as they worriedly turned to her before the former Explorer, wondering what she had gone through just now.
"D-Don't worry, I'm, I-I'm fine..." she gulped in reassurance to them.
But, Pantherra and Galaxagus' worries didn't fade as they reluctantly went back to sleep while Lazuli could only watch her hands trembling, thinking to herself, "What, was that...? What did I just...? …UNGH! What is wrong with me? Why, why?!"
Holding her face in her hands, she sounded like she was starting to cry as if what she had witnessed was something locked away deep within her and she felt herself triggered by it as if it were some sort of memory from her past. What Sarah and Race, their family and team, and the Rising Volt Tacklers (should they ever find out or be told about her) didn't know was that the mystery regarding the defective Explorer was about to take a stunning and unexpected turn into uncharted territory along the way.
To Be Continued...