"I must say, I'm actually impressed at how far your pangoro has come along since the last time I saw him. You trained him well."
One of my lessons with Zades brought us close to Dewford when it ended, so I figured I sacrificed some of my naptime in order to meet Brawly. I needed some advice from the Fighting Specialist when it comes to raising Hulk, especially so when he's currently undergoing a rapid rate of growth. The Dewford Gym was where I first met Hulk and Brawly would know what would be the best arrangement for him going forward.
Brawly happened to have some free time on his hands when I visited him. He wanted to gauge Hulk's current skill level for himself and so he had arranged for Hulk to spar with his hariyama while the both of us observed from the side.
"What is your pangoro's opinion? Have you asked him?"
"He did not give me a confirmation but I did let him know that leaving me is an option, so I guess that he's open to the idea at the very least."
"I see," Brawly stroked his chin in thought. "As a rule of thumb, fighting types need constant exercise and challenges to keep themselves healthy and fit, both physically and mentally. There is actually a correlation between this and the higher percentages of Fighting Specialists enrolling in the more dangerous jobs like ACE as compared to other types of specialists. As a Fighting Specialist myself I'm not surprised at those findings, because it's only in places like ACE where fighting types can validate their self-worth and in a more philosophical sense, find meaning in life by knowing what to use their strength for."
The building shook a little when Hulk's fist smashed against hariyama's own, creating a mini tremor from the impact.
"I think you did the right thing by telling your pangoro about what you can and cannot provide him given your current circumstances. From a more rational standpoint, I would actually advise finding a better suited trainer for your pangoro because for one, he clearly desires to grow stronger and two, you can no longer provide what he needs to continue growing. Your battling style and training method are also not the best fit for a fighting type who is trying to grow beyond the Elite level. However, at the end of the day the most important deciding factor would still be your pangoro's opinion on the matter and what he truly values in his life. Assuming that your pangoro chooses to leave, do you have anyone in mind who you could give him away to?"
"I don't have any acquaintances who's a Fighting Specialist and also skilled enough to handle Hulk, so I tried asking a friend of mine who's a Dark Specialist. He said that my pangoro is not a good fit for his team," I confessed, recalling my short call with Jayce because he's the first person that came to my mind that I could also trust. Hulk has a partial dark typing too so I figured I might try my luck with Jayce, but Jayce had seen Hulk in action before during the lesson he gave me back at Lacunosa and he promptly refused my offer, saying that Hulk would not be a good fit for his team.
"Not even anyone from the interpol?"
"I don't think Hulk would fit on any of their teams," I shook my head as I recounted who the interpol consisted of. Looker, Nova, and Skye are an immediate pass. Hugh… I won't strike him out immediately, but he's nowhere skilled nor experienced enough to handle Hulk at his current level. I would have considered him as a possible option if he had another year of experience under his belt. I did remember Skye telling me in passing that the interpol are looking to recruit more members as of late, but I hadn't heard of any updates from her since.
Perhaps I should check with Skye once again if there's any new recruit in the interpol who could take care of Hulk for me.
"I could take him off your hands if you really need me to do so, but he could only be used for Elite level battles in my gym and it's not very common to come across such challenges. If you want I can help you keep a lookout for any Fighting Specialists who are looking to expand their team and also experienced enough to handle a trained pangoro."
I gave Brawly my thanks and waited for Hulk's spar to end. He obviously didn't win the spar and Brawly's hariyama didn't even look winded at the end of it, but I could tell that Hulk genuinely enjoyed the challenge and was in a very good mood despite his loss.
"Have you given some thought to what we spoke about that night?"
Hulk paused in his steps for a split second and gave me a grunt in reply, one that I had no idea how to interpret. I was about to inquire further if he had come to a decision but he didn't really give me the time to do so. He simply picked me up to carry me in his arms and promptly walked out of the gym without sparing a second glance nor displaying any hesitance, showing very clearly to me his answer and also his attitude in the matter.
"I guess that means that you no longer need my help, but feel free to drop by for a spar anytime!" I could hear Brawly hollering from behind as we made our leave. I don't think I managed to hide the smile on my face the entire time where Hulk carried me in his arms and we made our way back to the heart of Dewford Town.
He had chosen to stay with us regardless of the things that I now could and also could no longer provide him given my current circumstances.
"Will it be too sappy of me if I say thank you?" I asked and Hulk simply grunted again. I allowed him to carry me around but had to get him to let me down once we finally reached the more populated parts of the town. I was attracting quite a number of curious stares with how Hulk was carrying me around like a feeble princess.
We didn't head back home immediately because it's not everyday that I had the opportunity to come all the way to Dewford. We spent about another hour sightseeing until we chanced upon a small shop selling some of their local delicacies. Like how Mahogany is known for their Rage Candy Bar, Dewford is similarly known for their mochi. You cannot claim to have visited Dewford without trying out their mochi and I could still remember how delicious it tasted when I first touched down on this island in my journey to earn my second badge.
Back then, I only had two pokemon with me and it was on this island that I caught a wild pokemon for the very first time, Dolly. It's only been about three years but so much has changed since.
"You want some?" I asked the alakazam that I relied upon to teleport all over Hoenn for my lessons with Zades. Alakazam observed the treats curiously for a short moment but shook his head after some contemplation. I bought a few bags of mochi, planning to indulge myself and to bring some of these home for my family as well. I also bought some for the doctor in case he likes mochi too and if it turns out that he doesn't, then I will have a few more for myself. Of course, my pokemon get to have some too, for those who like mochi like I do anyway. There are some on my team who do not fancy anything sweet.
"Miss Velda?"
I turned to see who had called my name and spotted someone who looked vaguely familiar approaching me. It took me a few seconds to recall who he was because I had only met him once before for a very brief moment, on the very same day I returned to Hoenn after being away from home for so long.
"Lawrence? Did I get your name right?"
The man whom my brother told me is now his personal aide nodded in response to my words. He looked to be about the same age as my brother. I was told that his relationship with Vance will be similar to what Sebastian is to grandpa and dad. I remembered that my first question to Vance was if Lawrence can be trusted but Vance had very confidently answered that he had full faith in him. I hadn't seen Lawrence since that day and his existence had almost slipped my mind if we hadn't met here at Dewford today.
"Let me help you with the bags," Lawrence immediately offered his help and I did not refuse. I had bought a little too many and it was a little cumbersome to try carrying everything myself. It's nice to receive some help.
I took this opportunity to observe Lawrence a little better. Light blonde hair, grey eyes, just slightly above average height and build. He looks just like your average joe and nothing about him suggests that he's an extraordinary person, but I know that he had to be very capable for my brother to have picked him out of so many others that he could have chosen.
"What brings you here?" I cannot help but ask. Vance tends to be teleporting between cities on a daily or near weekly basis in order to better fulfil his duties as an heir and also his boyfriend's duties to Flannery. He doesn't stay at home for too long nowadays, and I had not seen him for a few days myself. He had more of a presence when I first returned because he was worried about me but he had started to be a busybee again ever since the problems that arise from my abilities had started to stabilise.
"Master Vance wanted me to assist him with something at Dewford," Lawrence replied and after a few minutes of conversation I started to think that Lawrence wasn't much of a talker. He had the tendency to end conversations without even trying and all of his answers were too succinct, allowing the awkward silence to return and I had to constantly try to think of ways to strike up a new conversation to dispel the awkward silence. I felt like I was questioning a prisoner when I was in fact, trying to strike up a friendly conversation.
"I'm teleporting back to Petalburg soon. Do you want to come along?" I asked and Lawrence hesitated for a short moment before making his reply.
"I'm actually waiting for somebody. Would alakazam be able to bring another passenger?"
I looked at alakazam in silent askance and alakazam gave us a confident nod. The awkward silence resumed. I'm really at my wits' end at this point and I made a mental note to ask Vance for more details about Lawrence. I'm not too sure if this was his normal behaviour.
"She's here."
The awkward silence was thankfully dispelled when Lawrence unexpectedly opened his mouth. A young lady who also looked to be about Lawrence's age was approaching us with brisk steps. Dark black straight hair that reached her shoulders, bright violet eyes, and a slim and slender hourglass figure, although the first thing I noticed about her was admittedly her well endowed chest. Her expression was a little stoic and she seemed unfazed at the number of heads she was turning simply by walking down the street, as if she had long since gotten used to receiving such attention. The first impression she gave me was that she reminded me of a corporate elite, something which I attributed to the way she carried herself with calm and collected confidence.
"Miss Velda," the unknown lady greeted me with a respectful bow of her head which I returned and I wondered who she must be for her to be able to immediately recognise me on sight. She gave Lawrence a questioning glance like she's silently asking him something. I don't think she's expecting to have run into me today.
"We met by chance," Lawrence spoke and when the lady's stare never went away, he added, "I saw her carrying these bags so I offered to carry them for her."
Lawrence even lifted up the bags that he was holding as if trying to emphasise his point. The lady's palm met her face with a soft defeated sigh and I am starting to think that I'm not the only one who had difficulties communicating with Lawrence. Glad to see that I am not alone in this matter.
"I'm sorry about Lawrence. He's… not a very good conversationalist, but he's a very good man and can be trusted," the lady turned to face me and started to speak in a very respectful tone. "My name is Mila Verinda, you can call me Mila."
"Verinda?" I clarified and she nodded. I recognise her family name because while I was embarrassingly ignorant about many things of my family and I only started to catch up during my lessons with Sebastian in Unova, there's no way I wouldn't know about the Verinda family due to their relationship with mine. I had known about their existence since I was young, I just never had the chance to meet any of them until today.
To put it very simply, the Verinda family was an offshoot of the Vera family from about approximately two to three hundred years ago. They came into being when one of the daughters of the Vera family back then split off from the main family and her descendants eventually became known as the Verinda family. It was a measure borne out of necessity as our family had grown to be too huge back then. If the Verinda family wasn't created and branched off from the Vera family, the overpopulation would eventually lead to a scarcity of resources and infighting among the main family, especially when it comes to the issue of inheritance. It's an approach similar to how other big and ancient families– like the Dandolos family, for example– adopted, like how Amelia did not openly adopt the Dandolos name but is still a Dandolos in every sense of the word. They are the "branch family" that exist to assist the "main family" in order to safeguard the overarching interests of the Dandolos family as a collective whole.
The close similarity between the Verinda and Vera name was a legacy of our shared roots because our families descended from the same ancestor. Today, the Verinda family are a very distant relative to my family, the Vera, and they work very closely with us to ensure both the continuity of the Vera family and also to fulfil our duties to the region. Most people would not be aware of the significance and the relationship between our families. To them, the Verinda family is simply one of many rich families residing in Hoenn and while they are rich and influential, it's not to the extent where they can be on par with the likes of the ancient noble families like mine.
However, people high up in Hoenn's social circle do know about our families' relationship with each other and they respect them just as much as they do for us. This is because our family allows the Verinda family to represent us in many matters so to others in the know, meeting a Verinda is no different from meeting a Vera. There is a very high level of trust between our families due to our shared history and this is also why the Verindas enjoy almost the same level of prestige and respect among the upper class in Hoenn, because we allow them to represent us in almost every capacity.
The relationship between our families is very unique. I don't think there are many families of similar history who have such a close relationship with their vassal or branch family like we do with the Verinda.
Sebastian had told me that the Verinda family's main duties are to ensure that the main operations of our family's business run smoothly and it was also through their assistance that my family could control our extensive network of businesses. In fact, they live at Petalburg too, just right at the very opposite end of where my own ancestral home was situated across the Vera Farm. It's just that our farm is so vast and I never reached the other end before. Vance had met them a long time ago and I'm sure that he kept in close contact with them because he is the heir, but that wasn't the case for me. I also had no opportunity nor reason for me to meet the Verinda family until the chance meeting today.
"You can just call me Vel," I told Mila but she shook her head, insisting that she refer to me with the proper honorifics and I decided to let her be. I believe I will be able to eventually convince her to drop the honorifics given time once we get to know each other better. Alakazam teleported us back to Petalburg once it was sure that we had no other business in Dewford and I found myself right at the front door of my home once more.
"Come in," I invited them in. Dad's not home and neither was Vance, but mum was doing yoga in the living room together with her gardevoir, Holly. Mum seemed a little surprised at the guests which I brought over.
"Lawrence? Mila?" Mum had definitely met them before judging from the way she spoke.
"Met them in Dewford by chance and we came home together," I answered mum's unsaid question and Lawrence put down the bags on the dining table that he was helping me to carry earlier. Mum invited them to stay for dinner which they immediately refused.
"Lady Hanna, we wouldn't want to impose," Mila answered on Lawrence and her behalf, but mum was insistent on it and she looked pleased that we would be having guests over for dinner tonight. I was a little too tired to really care since it was way past my usual nap time so I excused myself to go get some needed sleep. When I woke up hours later dinner was already about to be served and we had even more guests over. Vance was back for dinner too, which was unexpected, because I knew that he had initially planned to stay at Rustboro for a few more days to wrap up his work over there. The only reason why he's back earlier than planned had to be because of our guests.
"Ah, Vel, just in time," dad waved me over when he spotted me entering the living room. Even Sebastian was here and it's not just him too, I spotted Blades lying down comfortably on a nearby couch snoozing away instead of his favourite haunt out there on the farm. Our guests were all dressed very casually like we did, like we were two different families having a simple visit which probably wasn't too far off from the truth. I'm almost certain that our guests had to be the Verinda family.
"This is Felix, the current head of the Verinda family and Mila's father."
My guess was answered when dad introduced me to a middle aged man who looked just like your next door friendly farmer, but he couldn't be an ordinary man if he's the person leading the Verinda family. Unlike my family, the main family that directly descended from the main Vera line, the Verinda family is much greater in numbers, so much that they had their own system of main and branch families of their own. Felix and his family belong to the main family who leads and heads the Verinda family, who in turn is a branch family of the family that they originally descended from, the Vera family. The ancestry and familial connections of our families can get a little complicated, but that's to be expected when my family had been in existence even long before the Hoenn region was founded.
I greeted Felix and he returned the greeting just as warmly. He had a wife that passed away many years ago as I later learnt.
"You have already met my eldest, Mila," Felix introduced me to his children one by one. "This is my second daughter, Mika."
"I-It's very nice to meet you!"
A girl who looked to be of similar age to mine did a ninety degree bow in my direction. Appearance wise, she looked similar to Mila, you could tell that they had to be sisters at a glance. The main difference in appearances between them both was that Mika's hair was styled a little differently in a slanted bob cut and the length of her hair was considerably shorter than her elder sister. She also has a slightly more youthful face and according to Felix, they were only one year apart in age.
"That's Mivaan, my youngest," Felix introduced me to his only son who was around the age to start his own trainer journey anytime soon, if he chose to be a trainer like I did. The boy was a little shy but quickly warmed up to us. We had dinner together and the atmosphere wasn't as awkward as I initially believed it would be. In fact, dinner with them was pleasant and conversations seamlessly flowed from one topic to the next. The dishes weren't anything special, they were all home-cooked. Mum and Vance had a hand in some of those, some of the other dishes were prepared by Mila and Mika. Blades walked past the table on a few occasions and stole a few bites from a select few dishes. Fuzzy wanted to emulate Blades but his attempts were ruthlessly foiled by Rena on the grounds that it was "improper" for him to do so. Fuzzy gave up on his attempts after I promised him some of the mochi treats which I bought earlier this afternoon.
I was seated next to Mika, who had quickly warmed herself up to us. Unlike her quiet older sister she's a very talkative and bubbly girl. She could talk and gossip the whole day long if I let her be and I'm fine with it. I don't mind letting her do the talking and it's actually kind of entertaining listening to Mika going on and on about random stuff.
"I actually wanted to be a coordinator. My original goal was to just get my fourth badge so that I can convert my provisional trainer licence into a permanent licence and then try my hand at being a coordinator. I didn't even want to try for a fifth badge but Mila was like "the fifth gym is just right in our city, can you stop being lazy and go and attempt it at least once" and I'm like okay, why not, and accidentally earned my fifth badge. Then Mila was like "since you already earned your fifth badge go and try for the sixth" and then "since you got your sixth badge go and get your seventh" and then "it's only one more badge, hurry and go to Sootopolis" and then "since you have all eight badges now go and take part in the next conference" and somehow I just… became an Elite trainer."
"You must be very talented," I cannot help but comment after hearing Mika's story. Becoming an Elite trainer meant that you had competed in a conference at least once and that would already put you somewhere within the top ten percent of our community, at least in theory. There are so many trainers out there who worked towards becoming an Elite trainer for their entire lives and failed doing so. Nobody "accidentally" became an Elite trainer but Mika didn't strike me to be the lying type either. She wasn't recounting her experience to subtly brag about her achievements, she really was recounting her journey for the sake of striking up a conversation when I told her that I liked to travel.
That was why I concluded that Mika had to be a very talented trainer.
"Talented? I don't think so…" Mika scrunched up her pretty little face in thought. Unlike Mila, Mika is much more expressive and open with her thoughts. "Mila is a much much better trainer than I am. Word of advice, don't be on her bad side, the last time I made her mad– oh wait, you are her boss, you don't need to be scared of her. Urgh, seriously, Mila is always so serious. She should learn how to lighten up! All I did was sleep in for five hours and she looked at me as if I owed her a million pokedollars!"
I spotted Mila giving Mika a deathly flat stare. She must have overheard our conversation where Mika was badmouthing her older sister behind her back. Mivaan had covered his face with his palm and looked away in embarrassment.
"You usually wake up at around noon, sleeping in for five hours means that you woke up at five pm," Mila interjected and Mika's face quickly reddened in embarrassment and she gave a sheepish laugh.
"I remembered that day. She immediately went back to sleep after dinner and did not wake up until the next morning," Mivaan added and this time Mika visibly shrivelled up in embarrassment.
"To be able to fall into deep sleep like that is a blessing," I decided to save Mika from further embarrassment by her siblings. There was a hidden meaning to my words because of my current insomnia, forcing me to have segmented periods of rest instead of being able to sleep normally like I used to do before undergoing Devouring. I am a little envious of Mika's ability to sleep for more than twelve hours a day. To enjoy a restful sleep is something that many people would take for granted, but for me it is now a luxury that might be forever out of my reach.
"I agree! Did you hear that, Mila?" Mika crossed her arms below her chest and my attention was once again involuntarily drawn to how her chest had bounced a little from that motion. I'm sure it wasn't their intention to "brag", but the sisters were very well-endowed and it made it very hard for your eyes to not wander over there.
I also cannot help but think that all the extra weight must have been tough on their shoulders.
"Since we are all here tonight this would be as good a time as any to discuss this topic," dad caught our attention towards the end of our dinner where most of us had already eaten our fill. "This is something that I had discussed with Felix and also with Mila and Mika. Vel, what do you think about having them as your personal aide? Just like how Lawrence is to Vance?"
"Huh?" I reflexively blurted out in my confusion, a little caught unaware at how sudden the topic of conversation suddenly swerved in my direction. This topic just seemed to pop out from nowhere.
"It's actually a tradition between the two families, to have a member of the Verinda family to serve a member of the Vera family," Sebastian elaborated. "That tradition wasn't strictly enforced starting from a few generations back when the Vera family started to decline in numbers and by the time Master Azer took the reins, an outsider like me had to fill in the role of the family's butler due to certain unforeseen circumstances. Now that everything is starting to be back on track, Master Griff and Mr Felix agreed that now is a good time for the tradition to continue as a show of goodwill and support between the families. I am also getting on in my years and I do not know for how much longer I can continue to serve the family, which was why I had every intention to assist Young Master Vance to train his chosen aide to fill in my shoes before I am incapable of doing so."
My gaze briefly wandered over to where Lawrence was seated after hearing what Sebastian had to say. I knew from the very beginning that there's a whole lot that I wasn't let in on about my family for various reasons and I am only starting to slowly piece out the full picture when I had my lessons with Sebastian during my stay in Unova. However, it's now obvious that there's more that I hadn't known and probably even more that hadn't been revealed.
I knew that everyone was waiting for my response judging from the way the room went silent, so I quickly gave a reply.
"I can understand Vance needing an aide to assist him, but I'm not involved in anything important, at least not now and not in the foreseeable future. I hadn't known them for more than a day but I can already tell that they are very accomplished trainers so wouldn't letting them serve me be a waste of their talent when they could be put to better use elsewhere?"
"I beg to differ. Being your personal aide wouldn't be a waste of our talent," Mila replied with such smoothness and grace that made her look more like a member of high society than I am. "I agree that our families' shared history and shared interests was an important factor why our fathers came to this decision. The Verinda family could only flourish into what it is today because we had the backing of the Vera family and similarly, your family trusted us to do the necessary to protect and further our shared interests as a collective whole. There needs to be a show of trust for this relationship to extend for generations to come and this arrangement is one of those. Lady Velda, you are still young, but one day you will have to take up some responsibilities in your capacity as a Vera just like Master Vance is already doing. When that happens, you would need a trusted aide by your side. My family has been serving yours for many generations, we are the best partners for each other."
"She's right, you know," my brother added in half-jest. "While I won't mind even if you decide to take a hands-off approach, I also know you are not the type to just sit still and watch me do all the work, so if you are going to be involved in the family business in the future you would need someone capable to assist you when that time comes. The Verinda family is our trusted partner where our promise to each other has been put to the test through many trials and tribulations over many generations. One reason I picked Lawrence out of so many people I could have possibly picked in the entire region was because he is a Verinda. Out of the many Verindas in our current generation, dad and I only trusted Mila and Mika to assist and look after you where we can't when you resume your travels again."
"Okay…" I decided to relent and accept this explanation, although a part of me had a small suspicion that this was a convenient excuse for dad and Vance to insert someone into my life who could report each and everything I did to them at any time, anywhere. I know the things that happened to me during my stay at Unova had given my family a very big scare and they were still very reluctant to let me out of their sight completely.
I don't blame them because I knew that I had worried them too much when they sent me off as a normal girl and I returned afflicted with insomnia and the ability to suck the life out of people. They are sick of me getting sick and injured everytime I return from a journey. They want this to stop but they know that they cannot stop me from travelling, because to travel the world is the only dream I have and they know I won't let anything or anyone stop me from doing so. One day, eventually, I will resume my travels, so they decided on their next best plan.
They will put me under the care of somebody else who they could trust and follow me everywhere I go. Yes, I believe Vance was telling the truth in his explanation, because I do have the intention to assist him in his job in whatever ways that I can when I'm finally able to. It didn't seem fair for him to handle everything alone when I am also a Vera. When the time comes it would be nice for me to have somebody I can completely trust to help me with my work. I have no doubt that Mila and Mika would excel as a personal aide but I'm willing to bet that their real job is to be my "bodyguard". I tend to prefer to travel alone and I have very few people my age that I could refer to as my friends, something that my family is aware of as well as I do, so expecting me to go on my travels with friends is as unlikely as Petalburg experiencing the winter season. They think it would be safer if I had some company, which was where the Verinda family and Mila and Mika came in.
I already knew that something was amiss when Vance and Sebastian came over to Unova unannounced. I always suspected that Sebastian was there to supervise me on behalf of my parents and my guess wasn't too far off from the mark. I'm not displeased at their decision because I heavily relied on Sebastian during my stay at Unova and also during my return trip home, but I knew certain things were already starting to irreversibly change ever since then.
Dad had already chosen Mila and Mika to serve me like how Sebastian did for him and grandpa, like how Lawrence will do for Vance. This is an important family decision that I hold no sway over because this arrangement directly ties to the roots of both families and more importantly, our shared interests that bind us together under the name of the Vera family. Dad and Vance trusted the sisters to look after my well-being and to assist me in whatever future work that I will be taking up. They had everything planned out for me without first consulting my opinion on this matter.
It's much easier to come to a decision after coming to that realisation. Yes, I'm a little annoyed that they did this without giving me any say in this matter or even giving me a heads up before tonight. However, I trust that dad and Vance had my best interests in mind when they decided on this course of action, there's really no reason to push Mila and Mika away simply because of this perceived breach of freedom of choice. There's nothing I can nitpick about the sisters over the short period of time that I had gotten to know them. Mila's clearly a very capable person that excels in almost everything and Mika is a powerful trainer. People of their calibre are rare to come by on the job market and now they are chosen to serve me simply because I am a Vera.
"That said, Mika would be the main person responsible for taking care of your daily needs because Mila's main responsibility is to assist Vance and Lawrence in ensuring that the daily business operations run smoothly. Mila will stand in only if Mika is unable to assist you for whatever reasons or if you need an extra helping hand," dad elaborated. "They will also eventually be responsible for your personal safety. Also, remember what I told you that day? About getting a bodyguard for you?"
I nodded, remembering what dad told me that day when he sat me down and discussed what he and mum had planned for me for the foreseeable future.
"The current contract with the bodyguard we found for you stipulates that she would be working for us for at least one year. She might choose to extend that contract by another year if she's feeling up for it, so she would be with us for a maximum of two years if all goes well. Your mum and I, we were actually hoping that we could convince her to sign up as a perm staff to work for us in a lifelong commitment, much like how Sebastian and us had been doing, but in any case, that seems unlikely as of now. So, Mila and Mika will be taking bodyguarding lessons from her in their free time."
"Take lessons?"
"This is so that by the time your new bodyguard has been discharged from service, both of them are already appropriately trained and will be responsible for your personal safety for the rest of your lives. The bodyguard we chose for you is quite an accomplished trainer too so if there's anything you want to learn from her, feel free to do so. Coaching you and the sisters are all part of her job scope as per her contract."
"I will be in your care," I gave the sisters a small smile after accepting the arrangements my father had made for me. This is just my personal guess, but dad and Vance probably found this arrangement to be necessary. Our family had been keeping a very low profile for over two decades but I could tell that dad and Vance are taking a more proactive approach in recent years. I could even go so far as to say that some of their recent actions were on the aggressive side, putting our family closer and closer under the spotlight and reminding Hoenn once more that the ancient Vera family still exists. For what reasons they felt that they needed to remind Hoenn of our presence, I do not know, but I understand that certain arrangements would have to be made once we decided to attract the public's attention once more.
Having a bodyguard would be necessary for various reasons. While Hoenn is much safer as compared to the other regions it's not unheard of for rich heirs or heiresses to be targeted and kidnapped for ransom. I'm confident in my own strength as a trainer, but I understand that I'm not infallible too.
"What do both of you specialise in as trainers?" I asked the sisters out of curiosity after dinner was over. The sisters exchanged a look with each other and I could tell that Mika was brimming with excitement. In contrast, Mila simply stared at her younger sister with a flat look on her face before releasing a fond sigh of exasperation.
"Why don't we have a quick spar? We would all be able to get an accurate gauge of each other's abilities that way," Mila suggested and Wacky immediately poked his head out from my shadow the moment his ears caught wind that there's a battle that he might be able to participate in.
"A double battle. Mila and I against you?" Mika added and Wacky immediately jumped out from my shadow and informed me of his intentions with wild gestures. He wants to battle.
"Alright, alright, I get it, I get it," I placated Wacky and he whooped with joy after hearing my answer. Maybe it was because Wacky's mood had infected the other ghosts residing in my shadow, but the shadows beneath my feet bloomed and immediately transported all of us to a nearby training field without my prior consent.
"Was that Shadow Sneak? I don't think I had seen anybody using it with such proficiency before," Mila commented and ghostly cackles began to fill the air around us. Dolly materialised before our eyes and gave me a look of silent askance if she could take part in this battle as well. I was a little surprised because while Dolly would not shy away from battles, she's not the type to actively go around searching for one either. Maybe Wacky had convinced her to tag along?
"Oooh, ghost types. Master Vance told us that you had a unique way of handling ghost types but this is the first time I'm seeing it for myself," Mika said and primed a pokeball in her hand before throwing it. "Come on out, slowbro!"
"Cinder, to battle."
A slowbro and an arcanine were released for battle, standing on the opposite side of the training field where I was. This was not the first time I had seen a slowbro but it was the first time where I am able to observe one up close like that and also to face one in battle. Slowpokes and slowbros are a popular pick for civilians who preferred an easygoing companion pokemon that does not need much taking care of, but they are not highly favoured among trainers because it can be very difficult to train one due to their highly forgetful nature and very slow response time. I'm very curious to see how Mika and slowbro would fare in this battle.
The low growl from Mila's arcanine directed my attention back to it. Its posture was already slightly lowered in a crouch, showing that it was ready to leap into battle the moment the command was given. A small puff of heated air was released from its jaws and I observed that Mila's arcanine was slightly larger than the average size of its species. The shine of its fur coat also showed that it's very well taken care of.
"Watch out, Vel! Mila and I are pretty strong ourselves!" Mika cupped her hands around her mouth and raised her voice so that I would be able to hear what she was shouting from the other end. I wasn't planning to underestimate the sisters even without Mika's well intentioned warning. It was obvious at a glance that both arcanine and slowbro were very well trained.
"Let's get started. Cinder, close in, Crunch."
I heard Mila's arcanine release a low growl of acknowledgement before it vanished in an orange blur. It reappeared before Wacky in a split second, jaws opened with sinister dark type energy coating its fangs before closing its jaws together with a powerful Crunch. It was so fast that I didn't have the chance to react or give any orders to my pokemon, but Wacky was entirely capable of fighting on his own even without my assistance.
Arcanine's head was forcefully turned to a side before its jaws could fully close on Wacky, allowing him to escape with minimal injuries. That was Sucker Punch. Wacky must have anticipated that he might be targeted and he chose to react with Sucker Punch immediately.
"Shadow Ball!"
Dolly hurled a Shadow Ball at arcanine at my command but it was immediately intercepted by a Light Screen. We both turned to look at the slowbro who didn't move even a single finger since the start of the battle, standing very still at its position with a completely dazed look in its eyes. Yet, the strength of that Light Screen proved that it was not a pokemon to be underestimated.
The initial exchange of blows allowed me to understand a little how Mila and Mika worked when fighting together. Mila handles the offence while Mika is in charge of the defence. That Light Screen would be a hindrance to our plans and so it would be prudent to deny slowbro's main method of support as soon as we can.
"Dolly, Taunt!"
Dolly carried out my orders with a cackle. Arcanine opened its maws to unleash a fiery stream of flames and Wacky immediately put himself at the forefront and erected a protective shield via Protect. Wacky's eyes glowed with a faint psychic hue and I recognised that he's trying to coax arcanine to sleep using Hypnosis. Unfortunately, he did not manage to make proper eye contact with arcanine.
"Odour Sleuth!"
I frowned after hearing Mila giving her arcanine the order for it to use Odour Sleuth. Odour Sleuth is one of the few moves that is able to remove a ghost type's immunity to normal and fighting types moves and also forces them to become tangible against their will for a short period of time. Most ghost types do not possess strong defences because their ghost typing allows them to be invulnerable to many things, which is also why having this layer of protection forcibly removed from them through Odour Sleuth could prove to be fatal for them.
"Wacky, Role Play!" I quickly reacted and mentally directed him to use Role Play on arcanine, knowing that he could hear my thoughts thanks to my ability. Mila's arcanine does not possess the Intimidate ability because there were no signs of it being activated when it was first sent out for battle, which meant that it possessed the Flash Fire ability. Wacky is not very good at using Role Play as it is a new move that he had only managed to learn very recently, but he should be proficient enough to be able to apply it in battle. Having arcanine's Flash Fire ability would allow Wacky to be invulnerable to all of arcanine's fire type moves and further limit its options.
Dolly invoked Phantom Force upon my mental command and vanished from view. Arcanine charged at Wacky with Extreme Speed and opened its jaws once more. This time, electricity coursed through its fangs and I knew that it's planning to immobilise Wacky with Thunder Fang.
"Confuse Ray!"
Wacky's Confuse Ray forced arcanine to abort its attack in favour of avoiding it. Dolly reappeared with a deafening screech, fully intending to deal a heavy blow on arcanine through her sneak attack but another psychic barrier manifested from thin air and protected arcanine from harm. Dolly screeched in pain for crashing into a psychic barrier and I could tell that she's truly enraged now. That psychic barrier was a very skilled application of Reflect and it wasn't arcanine's doing. It had to be slowbro's interference but didn't Dolly use Taunt on it earlier? So how did it–
"Slowbro, Psychic!"
A powerful burst of psychic energy hit Wacky and sent him flying backwards. Arcanine immediately followed up with Extreme Speed and it might have taken Wacky out if Dolly didn't quickly pull him into the parallel world with her using Phantom Force. Arcanine warily looked around and turned its head from side to side, its ears and nose twitching in caution and trying its best to predict where Wacky and Dolly would reappear next.
Shadow Balls started to appear and began bombarding arcanine and slowbro from all angles. I could feel Wacky and Dolly's emotions sharply rising in the mental link that we share. The adrenaline from this battle had started to fuel their bloodlust and I am a little worried that this battle might spiral out of control. Nobody can fully control ghosts, that was the very first lesson that Agatha had hammered into me during our lessons. If Wacky and Dolly were too far gone in their rage and cannot be reasoned with, I will have to resort to extreme measures to put a stop to this battle.
A quick glance at my surroundings allowed me to spot Rena. Her presence reassured me a little and I felt a little better knowing that she's there and will be ready to step in the moment I requested it. Blades was also spectating this battle without me realising when he had arrived and I also spotted Archer and Kel not too far away. They will be enough to handle Wacky and Dolly at their worst.
In that case, I do not need to concern myself with holding Wacky and Dolly back any longer.
"Wacky, Double Team! Shadow Punch!" I ordered and numerous copies of Wacky immediately dotted the entire training field. What I didn't say out loud was that I had also telepathically instructed Wacky to hit arcanine with Pain Split instead of Shadow Punch. Me giving Wacky the verbal order to use Shadow Punch was just a feint to fool the sisters.
Wacky and his illusionary copies immediately swerved in and attempted to overwhelm arcanine through sheer numerical superiority. Slowbro immediately erected psychic shields to protect arcanine and it succeeded in keeping Wacky out. However, we had expected such a possibility as well.
Now, Phantom Force!
Dolly reemerged from the shadow underneath arcanine and finally managed to score a powerful blow on it, the force of her attack powerful enough to send it flying into the air before the fire type quickly righted itself in midair to land gracefully on its feet. Dolly immediately followed up with a bombardment of Shadow Balls and psychic shields were immediately erected once again. I don't know how Mika's slowbro managed to free itself from Dolly's Taunt almost immediately, but we have more than one trick up our sleeves.
"Wacky, Disable!"
The psychic shields quickly sputtered and flickered out once Dolly managed to wear them down with her relentless bombardment of Shadow Balls. To our relief, those psychic barriers did not make an immediate return after Wacky used Disable and it allowed us to fight with a greater amount of freedom.
"Water Pulse!"
A powerful burst of water clipped Wacky on his right side. He had tried to avoid the attack but he wasn't entirely successful. Wacky hissed in anger and threw another Shadow Ball at slowbro, knowing that his attack would finally deal the super effective damage that it should inflict on slowbro now that Light Screen and Reflect would no longer get in his way.
A big cloud of dust was kicked up from the explosion that resulted from Wacky's attack. Both Wacky and Dolly had practised Shadow Ball diligently and they could easily inflict a nasty blow on any Elite level pokemon with that attack alone unless we are talking about pokemon trained by a Pillar level trainer. We were not naive enough to think that one Shadow Ball would be enough to take slowbro out, but we were truly stupefied when the cloud of dust was forcefully cleared by a burst of psychic power and revealed slowbro safe and unharmed from Wacky's attack.
Furthermore, it was being protected by a thick wall of Light Screen. How? How on earth did slowbro bypass the effects of both Taunt and Disable and rendered them useless?
"Aerial Ace!"
Mila did not allow us the time to comprehend the impossible. Her arcanine came charging in almost immediately and this time I knew that we would have to bust out our more dangerous moves if we wanted to give ourselves a fighting chance. I didn't want to go this far initially because this battle was supposed to be a friendly spar for us to gauge each other's skill levels, but Mila and Mika had proved to be very competent trainers that could not be taken down unless we take them seriously.
"Meet it head on! Wacky, Sucker Punch!"
Wacky charged forward with a maniacal glee to meet arcanine in a contest of power. The collision between the two pokemon kicked up a powerful gust of wind that forced me to squint my eyes and when the cloud of dust finally settled, I was greeted by the sight of arcanine trying its best to shake off Wacky who had tightly clung onto its back. I saw how Wacky's claws jabbed into arcanine's side and started to inject it with a deadly dose of Toxic and no matter what arcanine did, Wacky just refused to be shaken off.
"Dolly, Shadow Sneak!"
Both arcanine and Wacky were engulfed by the shadow and reappeared above slowbro. Dolly had decided to drop them down from above and Wacky started to glow a startling bright white. Wacky has been obsessed with mastering Explosion lately so I don't see why I shouldn't indulge him in his fun from time to time.
I had already quickly retreated and ran to stand behind Rena the moment I spotted Wacky trying to use Explosion. It proved to be the right decision to make because the resulting explosion that followed produced a very strong gale that would have swept me off my feet if I had not hidden myself behind Rena's psychic barriers.
Wacky was nowhere to be seen after the explosion had died down and Dolly was unaffected by Explosion due to her ghost typing. Arcanine had also been taken out and was lying motionlessly on the ground and Mila had swiftly recalled it back to its pokeball thereafter. Our surprise attack had the intended effect we wanted and even slowbro was heavily injured. Just one more attack from Dolly would take it out.
Dolly did not need any prompting from me. She quickly fired another Shadow Ball but to our surprise, slowbro's wounds started to visibly heal at a rapid rate. Dolly's Shadow Ball connected, but slowbro managed to tough it out and its wounds were still being healed at a speed that could rival even Lily's own. A few seconds later, slowbro emerged looking as fresh as when it was first sent out of its pokeball for battle. It's like we had never even landed a single scratch on it before.
I had met many powerful trainers in my line of work but this is just absurd. The only way to take this slowbro down would be to possess enough firepower to take it down in one single hit like how Volkner does to his foes but Dolly does not possess such a capability yet. She's very powerful for a banette, but it's still not enough to outdo slowbro's ridiculous defensive and healing prowess.
I could hear Dolly hissing in frustration and my mind tried to think of ways to overcome this hurdle. We could try using Snatch if slowbro attempts to heal itself a second time, but the more pressing issue would be trying to bypass all the layers of psychic barriers that slowbro could easily cast at a whim. There's no way we could take it down if we do not first take those psychic barriers down but Taunt and Disable had proved to be next to useless when it comes to this particular slowbro.
I observed Dolly and decided to end this battle here when I saw that the bloodlust in her eyes had subsided. She's still raring to go, but she's now in a mental state where she could be reasoned with instead of her previously adrenaline-fueled state. I called for Dolly to return to my side and raised my hands up in the universal gesture of surrender to signal to the sisters that I had thrown in the towel. The powerful surge of psychic energy that slowbro had been building up within its body slowly subsided after it realised that the battle had come to an end.
I had no idea what attack slowbro was planning to unleash, but I'm not too sure if Dolly could weather through it if she was ever hit by that attack. Her only options would be to try evading it with Shadow Sneak or Phantom Force, or perhaps defending herself with Protect. Most ghost types are not built to withstand powerful attacks.
"Great battle. You really surprised us there with that Explosion Shadow Sneak combo," Mika started to chatter excitedly the moment she reached my side. "It's not easy to get the drop on Mila and Cinder like that, those two usually blitzed through their opposition and ended their match within three moves."
"Will your gengar be okay though?" Mila asked in concern and I lazily waved a hand to assuage her worry. Wacky would be fine. Previously, it would take him about a day or two to reform his body and to regain his full strength but nowadays, he's usually able to complete the process within hours. He might grumble about his loss but he's not the type to dwell on his losses for too long.
"How did your slowbro manage to still cast Light Screen and Reflect even with Taunt and Disable active?" I asked Mika. Arcanine was the main fighter that fought with both Wacky and Dolly earlier, but the few times which slowbro actively interfered had created many problems for me and my ghosts and we had no way of getting around it until Wacky managed to successfully get them with Explosion. I know that in the world of pokemon, the effect of pokemon moves and their abilities are not absolute when the disparity of power between the pokemon in question is huge enough or if they had mastered their moves to such a frightening degree of mastery that it started to defy common sense. Mika's slowbro would most likely fall under the latter category.
Mika's slowbro was slowly waddling in our direction and had only managed to finally catch up to its trainer now. Mika fondly patted her slowbro on the head and the slowbro released a pleased moan although it still had the dazed look in its eyes. You wouldn't have associated it with the undefeatable menace that Dolly and I were facing in battle earlier.
"Slowbro is very good at using Amnesia. It simply "forgets" that Taunt and Disable were being used on it, that's all."
"That's all?" I asked again to clarify and Mika nodded. Amnesia could be used to remove the effects of Taunt and Disable? I had no idea that such an application was possible.
"Mika is naturally talented at playing to a pokemon's natural strength. Her other talent as a trainer lies in defensive battles and most of her pokemon are experts at using either Light Screen or Reflect. If they are capable of learning both moves like slowbro does, then you can expect them to be equally proficient at it. Their specialisation was the main reason why your father chose Mika to be your bodyguard," Mila patiently explained and I observed the unassuming slowbro once again. It looked nothing like a powerful pokemon but yet it was this same pokemon that had proved to be the most credible threat to us earlier, not Mila's arcanine.
Even Dolly had a clear look of disbelief on her face after learning that the reason why her Taunt did not work on slowbro was because it simply "forgets" that it was being taunted. Dolly cautiously approached slowbro, waving her arms at it but she received no response from slowbro. It seemed to be in its own world and was not reacting to any external stimulus.
"Don't mind slowbro, this little guy is always like this outside of battles. He's forever lagging behind," Mika reassured us. Dolly even tried lightly hitting its head twice with her stubby arms to catch slowbro's attention but slowbro did not even spare her a single glance.
"It's a very peculiar pokemon. How did you even manage to train it into what it is today? I had heard that it's not an easy pokemon to train due to its…" I lamely gestured with my hands towards the end, unable to find a suitable word to describe the peculiarity of the slowbro species at a moment's notice.
"I'm actually not too sure about it myself. When I captured it as a slowpoke I was planning to raise it as a companion pokemon instead of a battler because it's just so cute but things ended up like this somehow. If you really want an explanation… Slowbro is just good at battling, I guess?"
I subtly glanced at Mila, who caught my gaze and shook her head in silence. It seemed that Mila was equally clueless at how Mika managed to train slowbro to be so good at battling but had given up trying to understand how Mika achieved the impossible a long time ago.
More and more pokemon had gathered around slowbro in their curiosity. Rena, Archer, Kel, and even Blades were trying to get its attention but it was of no use. Slowbro just did not react and continued to remain very still, the blank look in its eyes continuing to gaze ahead as if it's able to witness things that only it could see.
It makes me wonder what Zades had to say about Mika's slowbro as a Water Specialist if they ever met.
Character and pokemon list:
Velda Vera, Age: 14, Female, Pokemon Trainer
Pokemon on hand:
1) Rapidash (Flamel), male
2) Swampert (Bigblue), male
3) Banette (Dolly), female
4) Flygon (Snap), male
5) Absol (Kelsa), female
6) Charizard (Toothless), male
7) Cradily (Lily), female
8) Espeon (Rena), female
9) Pachirisu (Fuzzy), male
10) Tyranitar (Kratos), male
11) Clefairy (Joy), female
12) Nidoqueen (Ness), female
13) Pangoro (Hulk), male
14) Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless
15) Scizor (Archer), male
16) Lapras (Chill), female
17) Gengar (Wacky), male