RWBY: The Paldean Treasure

by Nan the Keyblade Master

After everything Weiss had been through, surely a vacation in Paldea would be a splendid idea! Old friends reunite, sandwiches, Team Star, giant Pokemon, oh my! What excitement! (Story #46)

16. Make Some Noise!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.

Friendly Heads Up: LONG.

---

BGM: Medali/Porto Marinada (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)

Alessandra woke up, letting out a yawn and stretched as Raffia woke up and yawned before walking over and nuzzled against Alessandra. "Morning, cutie…" Alessandra smiled, kissing him on the forehead and walked off to take a shower.

Once she finished, she looked in the mirror before looking to see who her next gym battle is.

"Ryme… known for her rap battles and Ghost Type Pokemon in Montenevera… in the middle of Glaseado Mountain." She closed her eyes. "So, rap, Ghost, and somewhere in a cold mountain. I can work with that."

She pulled out her bag. "Let's make some magic happen~"

"Umbre!"

---

Meanwhile, outside…

Cian walked outside as he looked at his phone. "Huh, I got out of there faster than I had thought… I don't even have to go to Nuranuva for another twenty minutes."

He folded his arms. "I already ate breakfast… got changed, showered… yeah, I got time to kill before I head over to the academy."

He sat on a bench and pulled out his journal. I can at least put in some research notes on the two Ruinous Pokemon. He thought as he began to write.

However, he was poked on the shoulder as he looked over to see Neo behind him. "Oh, hey Neo."

["Yo."] She greeted. ["What ya doing?"]

"Oh, I was about to write down some notes on the two Ruinous Pokemon I caught recently before I head to the academy."

["I see."] Neo then smiled. ["I think I know how we can kill some time."]

"Oh? What is it?"

Neo pulled out a Pokeball. ["You wanna battle?"]

"Hmm… eh, sure. Why not." Cian shrugged as he got up, both of them walking toward the street as they both faced each other.

End BGM

["Show me what you got~!"] Neo smirked.

"I plan to."

BGM: Battle! Gym Leader (Pokemon X and Y)

Cute but Ice Cold - Neo

Neo threw her first Pokeball, calling out a Dewgong.

"Dewwwgong gong gong!"

"A Dewgong, eh?" Cian called out Aaron.

"Lucar!" His Lucario cried.

With a sharp whistle, Dewgong immediately started the fight with Snowscape. Aaron immediately ran through the snow and threw an Aura Sphere at Dewgong, but he jumped into a snow pile and used Ice Beam, hitting the Lucario dead center as he was pushed back.

Aaron growled and ran toward the Dewgong, immediately using Bone Rush and hitting him, to which he used a point blank Aurora Beam to knock him back. He then dove back into the snow and "swam" around in the snow as Aaron closed his eyes.

Once he found his aura, he turned around and used Aura Sphere, striking Dewgong dead center.

"Dewgoooooong!" Dewgong cried as he was knocked on his back, but he flipped over as Aaron then threw another Aura Sphere, but Dewgong flopped toward another snow pile and with a sharp whistle from Neo, he immediately used Sheer Cold, hitting the Lucario dead center.

"L-L-Lu… ca-cachoo!" Aaron sneezed before falling on his butt and hugging himself to try to warm himself up before fainting.

Sheer Cold? That's gonna put a damper on things… Cian thought, recalling his KO'd Lucario and called out Houdini.

"Meowsca-... ra…?!" Houdini shuddered from the snowstorm but was ready to go anyway.

Dewgong immediately used Aurora Beam, but Houdini dodged and tossed a bouquet of flowers toward Dewgong. "Dew…?" Dewgong wondered as he examined it as it landed on the ground… and said flower bouquet exploded. "GOOOOOONG!" Dewgong cried as he fell limp, KO'd from the attack.

Neo recalled Dewgong and then called out her next Pokemon, Vanilluxe.

"Vanilll!"

Cian recalled Houdini and then called out Mo'o.

"Salazz!"

"Luuuuxe!" Vanilluxe cried, unleashed a hail storm.

"Ack!" Cian yelped, covering his head as Neo pulled out her umbrella to cover herself with a casual smile as Vaniliuxe then proceeded to liquefy itself with Acid Armor, right when Mo'o came in with Fire Lash, striking the Pokemon but it shook it off.

"Vanillllll!" Vanilluxe immediately unleashed Sheer Cold, but Mo'o immediately dove into a snow pile to avoid the attack, and then came out with Incinerate to finish off the Vanilluxe. "Vaniiii…"

"Salaaaz!" Mo'o cried before getting pelted by a few big hail stones. "Lazzle…!"

"Sorry, nothing I can do about this…" Cian said.

Neo recalled Vanilluxe and then called out Beartic.

"Beaaaaar!" Beartic cried.

"Lazzle Laz." Mo'o smirked.

Beartic immediately started off with Snowscape for fresher snow to fall while boosting his defense, then immediately went for Blizzard. Mo'o quickly got out of the way while still being pelted by hail stones as she quickly Fire Lashed Beartic.

"BEEEAAAAAR!" Beartic immediately lashed out with Superpower, but Mo'o got out of the way as Beartic then used Sheer Cold, but Mo'o hid in another snow pile.

How many Pokemon does she have that uses Sheer Cold?! Cian grimaced as Beartic reached into the snow pile and try to punch Mo'o out, but she was nowhere to be seen as Mo'o emerged from behind Beartic and used Incinerate to finish off the polar bear.

Neo chuckled, recalling Beartic and then called out Abomasnow.

"Bomaaaa!"

Instantly, Abomasnow used Aurora Veil as Mo'o looked on in awe over the aurora before he immediately came in with an Ice Punch that knocked Salazzle back a bit before she immediately used Venoshock, knocking Abomasnow back a bit as he immediately planted his feet in the ground with Ingrain.

"Boma… BOMAAAA!" Abomasnow cried, unleashing Sheer Cold that made Cian groan in dismay while Mo'o dodged it, not that Neo seemed to mind.

"What's with you and Sheer Cold?" Cian wondered.

["Oh, I just want to see people squirm in fear when they see it~"]

Cian sweatdropped. Sounds about right…

Mo'o immediately burst out of the snow pile and immediately used Fire Lash to knock Abomasnow on his back to knock him down.

Neo recalled Abomasnow and then called out Glalie, where she immediately pulled her umbrella down and pressed a button with a giggle, as Cian's eyes started to widen when Glalie Mega Evolved.

"GLAAAAAAAAIIIILEEEE!"

"Hoo boy… let's rock this, Mo'o!"

"Lazz!"

Glalie floated over toward Mo'o and Crunched down as best as it could, but Mo'o used Fire Lash to push it back. Glalie shook it off and used Blizzard, striking Mo'o and causing her to be blinded by the white out.

"Lazzle Laz.." Mo'o mumbled as she looked around as Glalie had disappeared in the blizzard… only to sneak up behind her.

"Behind you!" Cian called out, but it was too late when Glalie used Sheer Cold to put a stop to Mo'o's firey rampage.

"Laaaaazzz…" Mo'o cried before collapsing, causing Cian to recall her and then called out Hercules.

"Pala!" The Palafin cried, who immediately used Flip Turn on Glalie before returning to his Pokeball and then came out in his Hero form.

Glalie blinked in surprise, wondering how it was able to do that so quickly before immediately going for a Frost Breath, but Hercules jumped out of the way and used Jet Punch to push the Mega Evolved Pokemon back.

"Liiiiie!" Glalie cried, immediately using Freeze-Dry on Palafin.

"Pala…!" Hercules grunted as Glalie crunched down, but Hercules immediately went for a Jet Punch inside Glalie's mouth, knocking him back as Hercules then went for Aqua Tail, then jumped out of the way to avoid a Sheer Cold, then used another Jet Punch to knock Glalie down to the ground to finish him off.

Neo recalled Glalie and then playfully smirked, pulling out a Luxury Ball and threw it up into the air, calling out her Galarian Articuno.

"Whoa!" Cian exclaimed in surprise as Articuno let out a cry. "I've heard about a Galarian Articuno, but to see it in person…" He grinned at the sight of it before looking toward his Palafin. "Let's make the most of it!"

"Pala!" Hercules agreed.

Articuno let out a screech, his eyes twinkling as it set up a Trick Room, then psychic energy wrapped around him temporarily. Hercules proceeded to use Jet Punch, but Articuno proceeded to make illusions of itself.

"Pala…?" Hercules wondered as it looked around.

"Double Team?" Cian wondered.

["Who said anything about Double Team~?"] Neo smiled as Hercules turned toward an illusion and used Jet Punch, but it went through it as the real Articuno's eyes glistened before using Freezing Glare, striking Hercules dead center and freezing it on the spot.

"Hercules!" Cian exclaimed, and then a massive bolt of psychic energy struck down on top of the frozen dolphin, shattering the ice prison as Hercules let out a loud cry before succumbing to the Future Sight and collapsing.

Cian sighed, recalling Hercules and then proceeded to call out Houdini.

"Meow…?" The Meowscarada wondered in intrigue by his opponent before getting in a stance. Articuno proceeded to do its illusory trick once more as Houdini shifted his eyes… and then the real Articuno proceeded to use Hurricane, launching Houdini high into the air… but a bouquet of flowers dropped down in front of Articuno and exploded, causing the Articuno to cry out in surprise as Houdini dropped down, flipping himself over and used Night Slash on his way down, critically striking the Articuno as it nearly went down to the ground while Houdini gracefully landed on a snow pile.

Articuno shook it off and used Hurricane again, but Houdini jumped toward another snow pile and leapt forward with his claws coming out and swiped at Articuno, but it disappeared as Houdini landed on the ground and turned around as Articuno let out a cry right as the Trick Room disappeared.

With a smirk, Houdini conjured up a few flower bouquets and tossed them into the air, making them explode and sent flower petals everywhere to disorient Articuno as Houdini used an uppercutting Night Slash to knock Articuno to the ground in defeat.

"Meow!" Houdini folded his arms with a smirk.

End BGM

Neo chuckled, recalling Articuno and smiled at Cian. ["Not bad. Not bad at all~"] She said as Cian rubbed his head.

"You really had me worried for a second there… but I'm glad I pulled through at the end." Cian said as he and Neo walked off to go heal up their Pokemon, and then they went back toward the snow that they created as Cian called out Chien-Pao and Neo called out Articuno, the former looking at the other Legendary, who immediately used Snowscape to add fresh snow, then Chien-Pao would playfully pounce on Articuno who simply avoided it, much to the two's amusement.

"Oh, this is just adorable." Zinnia said as she walked over. "Never would I ever had seen an Articuno play with Chien-Pao."

Cian smiled. "Yeah, it's really cute."

"Ponnna Poooon!" Ogerpon suddenly ran toward the snow pile and jumped in, and to their surprise, the Loyal Three decided to jump in as Okidogi proceeded to have a snowball fight with all of them.

["Oh my gosh, I love it!"] Neo gushed as she pulled out her scroll and took a picture.

"Sooo, before you head back to the academy, I gotta ask something." Zinnia said.

"What is it?"

"What kind of research notes are you making over there?"

"Oh those? I'm planning on making and publishing a few books based on my research. One for Ghouldengo, one for the Treasures of Ruin, one for Ogerpon and the Loyal Three and one regarding the Paradox Pokemon. I want to preserve and share history to the entire world."

Zinnia whistled. "Man, you're really set on being stuck in the past, aren't ya?" She snickered. "Kidding~"

Cian chuckled. "Nice one. Helps that I got a great History teacher that's… a little too hell bent on ancient history but what can ya do?"

"Right?" Zinnia giggled.

"By the way… once I find the last two Treasures of Ruin, I'd like a rematch."

Zinnia smirked. "Good, I was hoping you'd want a runback~" She chuckled. "And hey, if you want, I could help out with your books if you're willin' to have a history buddy."

"I wouldn't mind that." Cian said.

"Cool, because I was gonna help out anyway~!" Zinnia grinned, causing Cian to chuckle as both of them had a slight blush on their faces.

"I still want to find him." Cian said.

"Hmm?"

"Balto. I still want to find him no matter what. Hearing my sister confide that she severely misses him… it… sparked a newfound hope inside of me. I had thought she just gave up and didn't want anything to do with him, but… it turns out that was just a coping mechanism that was wearing thin when we reunited with our childhood friends."

"Maybe… we need a bird's eye view in Galar. Look from a different angle, ya know?"

"Here's hoping." Cian agreed. "The thing is, I sometimes looked when I was in a Corviknight Taxi… and I would see a Growlithe or Arcanine, but… I could tell they weren't Balto."

"Well… I'm sure we'll find that lil' rascal soon." Zinnia said. "Or… big rascal if he stumbled upon a Fire Stone."

"Yeah." Cian nodded.

"Squawka!"

They turned to see a Squawkabilly Taxi coming in for a landing.

"There's my ride." Cian said, collecting his books and research notes before whistling to get Chien-Pao's attention as he pranced over to him and nuzzled against Cian and Zinnia before going back into his ball. "See ya."

"We'll see ya when you get back. Maybe we'll run into you at Glaseado!"

"Probably!" Cian nodded as he hopped into the Squawkabilly Taxi and took off.

Zinnia watched him fly off as she let out a sigh, clutching her chest for a moment. "Huh… haven't felt a twinge in my heart for a long time…"

Neo overheard this and giggled. ["Someone's got a crush~"]

---

Meanwhile, with Carmine…

Carmine hummed, applying lip gloss to her lips. She smacked her lips a few times. "Looking gorgeous there, Carmine~"

"Hey Carmine, you ready to go?" Ren asked from outside the door.

"I'll be out in a sec!" Carmine called out as she touched up her hair and grinned. "Oh yeah… who's a cute gal? You are!"

Carmine walked out of the door right at the same time as Alessandra walked out of her room. "Oh, morning Aless-... whoa."

Alessandra was wearing a crossboned cap that was tilted to the side as she sported ghostly purple eyeshadow and purple lipstick with her ears wearing Duskull shaped earrings. In fact, she also wore custom made eerie red eye contacts that looked similar to Duskull's eye.

She also wore a choker chain necklace with "Team Skull" as the center as she also wore a black scarf. Her shirt was a long sleeved black skirt with a shiny Mismagius in the middle with a prohibition sign behind the Mismagius with "Who Ya Gonna Call?" written beneath it. She also donned purple nail polish with ghostly figures drawn on them with spike bracelets

She also sported purple leggings and brown snowboots.

"You like it? I'm facing against a Ghost Rapper in Glaseado Mountain."

"Ooooh, is that what you're going with?"

"Yes." Alessandra then flashed a rapper pose. "I'm goin' with what is down with the flow, y'know? Ya never know what'll happen in the streets, ya dig, my homie?"

Carmine sweatdropped. "Uuuuhhhh…"

"Come on, let's go get some grub so I can do my school work before hangin' with y'alls in the streets and freeze our asses off in the mountains!"

Carmine blinked. "On behalf of all rappers everywhere… what the actual hell was that?"

Alessandra giggled as she walked off.

"No, seriously! If this is your idea of being "gangsta', you're going about it all wrong! Seriously, you're making gangsters feel a disturbance and having fourth hand embarrassment!" She said as she chased after her.

---

Once in the cafeteria…

"What is up, my homies! We ready to crash this hizzhouse with the shiz nizzle~?" Alessandra asked.

"...The shiz what now?" Ruby wondered as Kotoko, Yang, Gloria and Nemona snickered before they burst out laughing.

"Ya heard me, we gon' have a good time and get all down with the flow and-"

"Stop! Please!" Carmine begged. "You're embarrassing yourself!"

"Oh man, she's making Team Skull look like five star rappers…" Marnie said.

"Aless, no offense, but you sound like you're trying to be hip with today's youth." Nora said.

Alessandra sighed. "Yeah… that was… admittedly my first time actually rapping."

"AND IT SHOWS!" Carmine said in dismay.

Coco giggled. "Well, at least it was… a good attempt at least?"

Velvet shook her head. "I… don't think it was."

"By the way, ye guys might wannae get comfortable… she does her schoolwork in the mornings." Gloria whispered to JNPR's crew.

"Really?" Jaune asked. "Huh, so I guess we'll just chill until she's done?"

"Aye."

"Well, good enough for me." Perrin said. "Gives me plenty of time to take a lot of photo ops."

"Is "Rapping 101" one of her classes? Because I think she's failing…" Carmine deadpanned.

"Come on, I wasn't that bad!" Alessandra sighed.

"Ro-to-to-to!"

"Hmm?" Ruby pulled out her Rotom Scroll. "Oh! Cassiopeia's calling us. See ya later!" She took off running with her group running out while Alessandra went off to do her classes while grabbing something to eat.

"I wonder what we should do while we wait." Kotoko wondered as she looked through her social media before a notification went off. "Hmm?" She looked at said notification.

"Emergency PSA! Don't miss out Iono's latest video!"

At that moment, Iono texted her.

"I got that PSA all ready to go. You about done with yours?" - Iono

"Oh shit! Thanks for the reminder!"

"You're welcome~!"

---

Meanwhile, with Ruby and Co…

BGM: Cassiopeia's Theme (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)

"I have to say, it's about time we got our next objective. We were kinda in the dark on where to go next." Yang said.

"Right, my apologies. There was something that needed my undivided attention and I lost track of time."

Pause BGM

---

Earlier…

Penny blew into a cup of ramen and started eating it while watching anime.

"So you're still alive, pretty girl! I compliment you on your audaciousness. The name I proudly carried since birth is Fritz Stanford. I am the acting captain of the glorious Aryan Socialist Union and you, the nefarious grave robber, this is the most fated of confrontations! For the sake of those who died for the union, you shall atone with your blood! BEHOLD!"

Click!

"Witness this mighty gun I wield! I call it the Eissen Reich Luger Special! The barrel is the Luger artillery and the frame is hardened carbon, featuring a thick grip and a tube loaded chamber that is truly one of a kind! This weapon is far too destructive to simply be referred to as specialized in man stopping! I am the only man on earth capable of taming this terrible gun! Hahahaha! Are you afraid?! There's no way you're not! Witness the awesome power of-"

BANG!

"Shut the fuck up. Don't you see I wasn't even listening? I mean, were you trying to sell me the damn gun or what?"

"Rrrgh, you fucking coward-"

"Now it's my turn to talk. Here's some advice, if you can hit your target, pretty much any gun will do the trick. Now that's one to grow on~ Say hi to the Fuhrer for me, would ya?"

BANG!

"Heh." Penny chuckled. "Serves him right."

---

Back in the present…

Resume BGM

"What was so important?" Nagisa wondered.

"Irrelevant."

"Oh… okay."

"Anyway, your next target is past Glaseado Mountain. Hope you're wearing something warm because it's going to get cold. Once you descend the mountain, you'll find the next Team Star base. I'll keep in touch when you get closer to your target. Cassiopeia out."

End BGM

"So, we're gonna have to climb a snow mountain, huh?" Blake mused as they looked at Glaseado.

"Soooo, is there a way around it?" Silver wondered.

"I… don't think so." Dipper said.

"Hey, Lady Palutena? You have my wing warmers, right?"

"Well… yes, but… there's a slight… problem."

"Oh, I'm sure it's not that bad." Pit said as a heavenly light descended upon them as winged shaped cloth descended as well, but there was a small problem.

"Uh… are they for your wings or for your fingers?" Neptune wondered.

"THEY SHRUNK?!" Pit yelled.

"Yeeeah, apparently they're dry clean only…"

Pit slumped. "Ah great, i'm gonna be a Pit-sicle…"

"Looks like I'm gonna have to warm you up~!" Ruby smiled.

Meryl's hand burst into flames. "I can warm you up too, ya know."

"Leo can warm you up too!" Sun said, offering his Pokeball.

"Uh, guys? I think his wings are the least of his worries. His legs are going to freeze." Yang said.

"He's wearing a toga. It's not exactly suited for cold climates." Dipper said.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine. It's not like he's next to a Regice or anything… although I've seen some Froslass and Abomasnow in the mountains…"

Pit groaned. "I'm gonna need hot chocolate after this…"

---

Meanwhile…

BGM: The Iono Zone (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)

"'Ello, ello, hola! Ciao and bonjour! Your eyeballs are MINE - caught in my Electroweb! Whosawasit? Iono! We're here for a quick, yet awesome PSA, so listen up and take notes! As you remember from my recent stream, global fashionistic sensation, Alessandra, was a guest celebrity in my last stream, together with Kotoko and Raihan. However! After the stream was over, she confided something important that made me gasp louder than when I got spooked by a surprise Shuppet! She lost her pet Growlithe at a young age! A freak thunderstorm in Galar made the lil' pup run away after a tree fell on their house! Talk about sad!"

Iono smiled.

"That's when you come in! I want everyone in the Iono Zone community to search everywhere for the lost puppy and make Alessandra happy again! This Growlithe has a blue bandana around his neck. Go on and search for the pup! Spread the word to those who aren't following the Iono Zone! Make the whole world search for him! Oh, and bee tee dubs, his name is Balto. Go out and find the puppy to make a lady's life happier along with her twin brother!"

Iono giggled.

"Ciao~!"

—-

"Kon'nichiwa, fellow fairy-folk and dream weavers~! And welcome back to the enchanting realm of… Yosei Days~! Where every hello casts a spell of stardust and every whisper spins tales from the wings of dragons~! I am Kotoko Strauss, your ever-faithful companion on yet another fantastic journey!"

She giggled.

"So, in case if you missed it, I had an awesome stream collab with my good friend, Iono. As I am traveling through Paldea, something… caught my attention. You remember seeing Alessandra, right? Miss global sensation with her fashion trends?"

She frowned. "She told us a sad tale recently… something that she kept secret until she couldn't hold it in any longer. She… lost her pet Growlithe at a young age. There was this freak storm that happened in Galar that made a tree fall on their house and caused their dog to run away."

Kotoko then smiled. "That's when you guys come in. Her Growlithe means the world to her and her brother. He is wearing a blue bandana and goes by the name of Balto. Maybe he's still around in Galar, or maybe he's somewhere else in the Pokemon world? Or perhaps… he discovered a portal and made his way into Remnant by accident? Regardless, I want you guys to help find her Growlithe. Share this on your favorite social media platforms and spread the word! Every ear heard increases the chances of her Growlithe being found! I'm counting on you all!"

She then winked. "Anywho, that's all from me. Take care, my fellow fairy-folk and dream weavers and I'll see you in the next episode of Yosei Days~!"

Kotoko stopped the recording and proceeded to publish it, where she immediately got tons of views, likes and comments.

"Between you and Iono, we will find that dog!"

"Team Pupper all the way! We'll find Balto!"

"Hey hey hey! We had the same wavelength. Awesome~!" - Iono

Kotoko smiled. "Balto, we'll find you eventually… for Aless' sake."

End BGM

---

Later…

Alessandra stretched as she got up from her bed, putting her notes away. "Alright, classes are done… now we can go to Montenevera"

"Umbre!"

Alessandra walked out of her room and texted her friends that she was ready to go, then walked out of the hotel where everyone walked up to her.

"You guys ready?"

"Yeah, we're ready to go!" Hop smiled.

"I would say we should probably bundle up… buuuuut we should be fine." Sonia said. "I mean, some of us went through the Crown Tundra, so this shouldn't be too bad."'

"You never know." Alessandra shrugged. "But anyway, let's head out!"

BGM: West Province - Riding (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)

The group walked out of the town as Carmine looked behind to see Nemona waving goodbye before she turned around to go train as Carmine softly smiled and waved back, then she turned around and resumed walking at a normal pace with the others.

They would see Electrode and Voltorb rolling around as a Jolteon eyed them warily as an Eevee was next to it while some autumn Sawsbuck butted heads together while some Deerling watched with some Shroomish and Breloom.

They crossed the bridge as Magikarp and Basculin swam underneath and some Tadbulb hanging around the edge with some Flamigo, all the while a Vigoroth reached down and snagged a Basculin… only for it to smack his face with its tail and hopped back into the water.

Alessandra and Hop turned right, both of them chatting with smiles on their faces as the Galarians noticed how close they were together. They all grinned as Gloria pulled up her Rotom Phone and snapped a picture while some Persian loafed around while some Tropius basked in the sun while providing bananas for some Floatzel while Gogoat grazed the area while some other headbutted each other.

"Ooookay, it's getting a little chilly…" Coco said.

"We're definitely close." Jaune responded as they soon started walking on the snow.

End BGM

BGM: North Province (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)

"Brrr…" Carmine shivered. "Colder than I expected."

"Honestly, Mount Coronet is a little chillier than this." Perrin said.

"So, quick question… where exactly is Montenevera?" Mabel asked.

"I'll take a look." Flandre flew up into the air.

Alessandra walked over toward a Pokecenter nearby with everyone following her as a few Cubchoo and Avalugg curiously looked at her, even a Cetoddle looked at her curiously.

"Excuse me, Nurse Joy!" Alessandra called out to her.

"Hmm? Oh, hello! Welcome to Glaseado Mountain's Pokecenter~!"

"Do you know where we can find Montenevera from here?"

"Oh, just go around those hills until you find an opening, then you should be able to find the town that you are looking for."

"Thank you~!" Alessandra turned around and walked away.

"Anything?" Kotoko asked.

"Vague as hell. Apparently we gotta go around the snowy hills until we can find an opening."

"Okay that… narrows it down." Bede said. "But what opening is she referring to?"

"No idea. Guess we're just gonna have to wing it. Luckily it's not too cold out here."

"O-O-Oiiink…"

"Tell that to Waddles." Mabel said, putting a snow hat on his head and a scarf. "There we go."

"We got our heater right here!" Nora said as Pyrrha had ignited herself.

"Toasty." Erza said.

Wouldn't that burn her clothing? Mewtwo wondered as Flandre landed on the ground.

"Okay, I can see it from a bird's eye view, but you got a lot of snow hills to go through, and chances are, they're slippery."

"Welp… let's not-"

Suddenly, Miraidon got out of his Pokeball. "Agia!"

"Hmm? What is it, boy?" Alessandra asked.

"Agias Agi Gia!"

"He's saying hop on him." Gloria translated.

"Okay…?" Alessandra climbed on top of him as Miraidon moved over to the snow hills, then he turned around and backed up. "What are you…?"

Miraidon smirked and started to jump backwards, and then kept up the momentum.

"Wh-whoa! Whoa! Whoa! How the hell are you doing that?!" Alessandra asked in surprise as Miraidon continued to leap backwards until he got over the hill and proceeded to slide down, startling a few surprised Snorunt, Snover and Cubchoo. Even a wild Glaceon watched on in bewilderment and rubbed its head with her paw.

"...What the hell just happened?" Coco asked as they all were left in shock over what they just witnessed.

"Backwards jumping can make the Paradox Miraidon climb up steep slopes… fascinating!" Sonia wrote it down.

"We can assume Koraidon can do it too." Victor jotted down.

"Guys, don't just stand there and take notes! We gottae get after 'em!" Gloria said.

---

On the other side…

"Okay. How did you do that?" Alessandra asked.

"Gia." Miraidon said proudly as he "drove" off.

End BGM

---

Later…

BGM: Montenevera (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)

"Well, I suppose we made record time." Alessandra said, hopping off of Miraidon. "Thanks for the ride, hon."

"Gia!"

Alessandra looked around the town. "Wow, I have to say… it's very peaceful."

"Oh, you must be Alessandra~!" A voice spoke up as she turned to see Acerola approaching together with Alister.

"That would be me." Alessandra said and looked at Alister. "Wait, I know you. You're that Gym Leader at Stow-on Side who fills in for Bea, right?"

"That… would be me, yes…" Alister shyly responded.

Alessandra turned to Acerola. "Oh, and you must be on a date with this cute girl~"

Acerola giggled. "Oh no, we're not dating. I'm several years older than him! I just… stopped growing at this height. People keep thinking I'm still a kid when I'm actually an adult."

Alessandra sweatdropped. "Ooookay? So who are you?"

"Acerola, one of the Elite Four in Alola! I visited Galar one day, bumped into Allister and we both hit it off due to our shared interest in Ghost types~!"

Alessandra smiled. "Well, that's cute!"

"Heeeey!" Gloria called out to them as Alessandra turned to see everyone else approaching.

"Hey!" Alessandra waved them over.

"Ace?!" Hop exclaimed in surprise. "What the heck is one of Alola's Elite Four doing here?"

"Oh, I wanted to hang out with Allister and his family." Acerola smiled.

"Well, Bea and Korrina are looking for you two." Marnie said.

"Well… we were chasing after Korrina when-"

Pause BGM

---

Earlier…

"Korrina! Where are you going?" Allister asked as he and Acerola chased after her.

"Kyu?"

"Hmm?" Acerola turned her head to see a Mimikyu curiously looking at them. "Oh. My. Undead. Stars!" Her eyes sparkled. "Alola cutie~!"

"Kyu Kyu!" Mimikyu scurried away.

"Come back here! I just wanna say hi!"

"Huh?" Allister turned his head. "Ace, noooo…!" He whimpered as he turned to see Korrina sleep skating away and turned toward Acerola running away. "Ooooh… Ace, wait up!" Allister ran off.

Unbeknownst to them, a Drowzee peeked up from behind the bush.

"Drow how how~"

---

Back in the present…

"Lil' guy disappeared on me and we wound up in Montenevera! Worst part is, cell reception up here is terrible." Acerola said. "But it's no big deal, the chilly atmosphere is pleasant~"

"It… honestly is…" Allister agreed.

"So a Mimikyu distracted you?" Bede asked.

"Honestly, ye could be good friends with Jade with how distracted she gets with ghosts…" Gloria deadpanned.

"I just can't help it. Mimikyu are sooooo adorable~! The cloth, their cute little dot eyes, the Pikachu disguise, the shadowy figure underneath the cloth who is just absolutely the cutest thing ever!"

"Wait wait wait, you looked underneath Mimikyu's cloth… and lived?" Alessandra asked.

"Mhm!"

Marnie pulled out a notepad. "Okay, so let's see here… as far as I know…"

People Who Looked Underneath Mimikyu's Cloth (And lived)

Jade

Acerola

"There could be someone else that I'm not aware of but… you ghost folk are really hardcore." Marnie said.

Acerola giggled. "Yup~!"

"I don't think I'm brave enough to try it…" Allister mumbled quietly.

Alessandra scratched her head. "I'm tempted to look at one now, but… I'd rather not risk it." She said as she walked over to the gym, where it was dark purple and ghost decals all around it, then they walked in.

"Ah, you must be Alessandra." The man spoke.

"Yup, that's me."

"I see you are wishing to fight Ryme."

"What do I have to do?"

"The crowd loves a good opener and Ryme's audience is always pumped up, so your gym challenge is to hype the crowd up for the main event."

"Really? Heh, I hype the crowd in my fashion shows, I got this in the bag." Alessandra said.

"Hyping the crowd, huh?" Marnie muttered to herself before flashing a smirk, then whispered in Neo's ear.

Neo grinned, nodding in approval as the two of them walked outside.

"Hmm? Now what are they up to?" Acerola wondered.

Alessandra turned to the others. "So, Glori. What was your gym challenge?"

"Well, I had to go through a minefield of pitfalls using two rods to guide my way through the area… and at one point, I was blinded by a fockin' sandstorm on top of that. Ye wouldntae believe how fockin' pissed I was."

---

Earlier…

"So, did you enjoy those pitfalls? Just be glad there were sandbags underneath or-" Gloria angrily grabbed Gordie's collar. "Yipe!"

"SHUT. THE FOCK. UP. YE. BLEEDIN'. COCKSUCKIN. DICKWADDED. ARSEHOLE."

"Not the face!"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Melony got between the two. "Easy… let's take a deep breath. Gordie, why don't you run along now. I'll calm the savage beast here."

"Saved by my mother… that's embarrassing…" Gordie grumbled as he walked off in a huff.

"You have to forgive him, he tends to be… unorthodox with his gym tests. Now then, let's have a pleasant battle, shall we~?"

"Mmmph, sure…"

---

Back in the present…

"I can't believe it… she calmed the savage beast within you?" Alessandra asked in surprise.

"That Lapras was somethin' else…" Gloria shrugged.

"Just gonna jot somethin' down here…" Hop pulled out a notepad.

People Brave Enough To Calm an Angry Gloria

Gloria's Mother (Obviously)

Ruby

Marnie

Melony

"Melony just always had that touch. Heck, Leon believes she's not even human with how she's able to diffuse intense situations just like that." Sonia said.

"Right… so let's go!" Alessandra walked out.

"Over here!" A man waved them over toward the stage. "Name's MC Sledge. Heard you wanted to battle Ryme!"

"Psst." Hop whispered in Bede's ear. "He reminds me of some guy from PikaTube. Doesn't he look familiar?"

"Not really…"

"Hmm, maybe I'm just goin' nuts."

"Of course I do." Alessandra smiled.

"Well, first, we gotta hype the crowd up. Can't have a good gym battle while the crowd is dull, no?"

"Right."

"Alright, so first things first, we typically do double battles around here, but we can make some exceptions." He explained. "For you see, we already have some volunteers to help out, and they prefer singles."

"Really? Who are they?" Alessandra asked.

"You're looking at 'em~!" Acerola smiled as Allister nodded.

"You two? Oh, this oughta be fun!" Kotoko said.

"So, who do ya want to fight first?" Acerola asked.

"Hmmm… I'll… go with you first." Alessandra looked at Acerola.

"Sweet~! I'll be on stage!" Acerola skipped off as Alessandra walked toward the other side.

End BGM

"Alriiiiiight! Is everyone ready to have a good time!" MC Sledge called out to the audience as they cheered. "Weeee have a new challenger ready to face Ryme, but… she has to face a few opponents before she faces Ryme! Can she face the ghostly princess of Alola's Elite Four?"

"Wait, princess? You're actually royalty?" Alessandra asked.

"Yup yup~! I don't look like much, but I'm the last living member of an Alolan royal family!"

"Oh… uh… sorry to hear that."

"Awww… it's no big deal." Acerola waved it off. "Now then, let's have some fun~!"

Alessandra pulled out a Pokeball. "Way ahead of ya, Ace!"

BGM: Battle! Acerola (Pokemon Masters EX)

Ghostly Royalty - Acerola

"Let's go, Wisp!"

"Let's spook her, Banette!"

"Ceru!"

"Bane!"

Both Pokemon were ready to rumble as Alessandra noticed Acerola started to sway back and forth. She let out an amused chuckle and nodded at Wisp.

Wisp sharpened his blades as he ran straight toward Banette as he immediately jumped over and used Shadow Claw, but Wisp swiftly crossed his blades to block the attack and then countered with Lava Plume, knocking Banette back.

Banette chuckled mischievously and disappeared into the shadows while Wisp boosted himself up with Swords Dance, then shifted his eyes as he turned around and jumped back to avoid Banette, where Wisp's blades turned shadowy as he used Shadow Claw as Banette did the same thing, both of them connecting as they tried to push each other way, but Wisp used his free bladed hand and swiped at him, knocking Banette away.

"Ceruuuu!" Wisp immediately used Night Shade, striking Banette and knocking him on his back in defeat.

Acerola recalled Banette. "Give 'er a good scare, Drifblim!"

"Bliiiim!" Drifblim cried as she was called out.

Wisp immediately used another Swords Dance as Drifblim immediately fired a Shadow Ball, where Wisp's blades caught on fire as he swung his blades and struck the Shadow Ball, deflecting it back and striking Drifblim as he immediately jumped in and slashed at Drifblim, stabbing the ground and using Incinerate on her.

"Bliiim!" Drifblim cried as she immediately used a point blank Thunderbolt to knock Wisp back, then proceeded to hold Wisp in the air with Psychic before throwing him to the ground as Drifblim used Shadow Ball.

However, Wisp immediately recovered and somersaulted backwards to avoid the Shadow Ball as he jumped in and used Shadow Claw, knocking down Drifblim… but there was a small explosion afterwards that knocked Wisp back a bit.

"Don't you just love Aftermath~?" Acerola giggled.

"Sure, I guess…" Alessandra sweatdropped as Acerola recalled Drifblim and then called out Dhelmise.

"Dheeeelll!"

"I don't think I've ever seen this one before." Alessandra said, scanning Dhelmise.

"Dhelmise, the Sea Creeper Pokemon. After a piece of seaweed merged with debris from a sunken ship, it was reborn as this ghost Pokémon. After lowering its anchor, it waits for its prey. It catches large Wailord and drains their life-force."

So it's seaweed that merged with an anchor? That would explain why this is part Grass type. Those poor Wailord though…

Wisp immediately readied himself, using Swords Dance once more right as Dhelmise slammed into the ground, unleashing Earthquake, striking Wisp as he was knocked down. "Ceru…!" Ceruledge grunted as he staggered up as Alessandra quickly used a Hyper Potion to heal him up.

Wisp launched himself toward Dhelmise as it used Heavy Slam on him, but Wisp countered with Incinerate, knocking Dhelmise away as he used Shadow Claw right as Dhelmise used Phantom Force, both of them connecting as Dhelmise was knocked to the ground while Wisp staggered again, but shook it off.

"This is fun~!" Acerola smiled, recalling Dhelmise and then called out Froslass.

"Ceru…" Ceruledge readied himself, his blades catching ablaze as Froslass immediately used Shadow Ball, but Wisp deflected it while running and slashed through Froslass, where some of her life force came out and was absorbed into Wisp, perking him back up

"What in…?" Alessandra wondered.

"Oooh, I've heard of this move! That's Bitter Blade." Acerola said. "Ceruledge can slice through opponents and steal their life energy for his own!"

"Oh, I see!" Alessandra nodded as Froslass let out a groan and then immediately attacked with Blizzard, only for Wisp to strike her with Shadow Claw to knock her down.

"Wonderful~!" Acerola giggled, recalling Froslass away as Wisp jumped away right as Acerola called her last Pokemon, Palossand.

Alessandra scanned the Pokemon.

"Palossand, the Sand Castle Pokemon and the evolved form of Sandygast. The terrifying Palossand drags smaller Pokémon into its sandy body. Once its victims are trapped, it drains them of their vitality whenever it pleases. From the hollows in its arms, it fires the bones of its victims, which are all dried up after being drained of their vitality."

"Oh, that's absolutely cool~!" Acerola smiled, overhearing the Pokedex entry.

"You have a really were perception of "cool"..." Alessandra sweatdropped as she recalled Wisp and called out Sherry.

"Tsareee!"

"Hit it with a Trop Kick!"

Sherry quickly charged toward Palossand, right when Acerola activated her Z-Bracelet.

"Let's get spooky~!" Acerola exclaimed as she did a haunting dance. "Never Ending Nightmare!"

"Palooooooo!" Palossand cried as Sherry found herself in a dark void, then suddenly darkness grew underneath her as shadow hands came out and wrapped all around her.

"Tsaree?! REEENAAAAA!" Sherry cried as a shadowy explosion happened soon after.

"Ooooh!" Alessandra winced as Sherry staggered to her feet… only for Palossand to finish her off with a Sludge Bomb.

"Reeena…"

"Sorry, sweetie…" Alessandra recalled Sherry and then called out Rio.

"Quaquav!"

"Oh cute~!" Acerola smiled as Palossand unleashed Earth Power on Rio, but he jumped out of the way and immediately used Aqua Cutter, striking Palossand head on.

"Sand…!" Palossand cried before shaking it off and used Shadow Ball point blank, which Rio shrugged it off and used Aqua Step, critically hitting Palossand dead center as the Pokemon started to "sink" in defeat.

End BGM

"Awww man." Acerola pouted before smiling. "Well, that was enjoyable~!"

"Yeah, it sure was." Alessandra agreed as Acerola hopped off stage.

"Give it up for Alessandra!" Sledge exclaimed as the crowd cheered. "Now next up is Galar's shy ghost whisperer… Allister!"

"I'm… not much of a ghost whisper, to be honest…" Allister said as he walked up stage.

"Don't worry about it, Alli. Let's just have some fun!" Alessandra smiled.

"Alli…?" Allister wondered before nodding. "Okay!"

BGM: Battle! Gym Leader (Pokemon Sword and Shield)

Galar's Shy Boy - Allister

"Dusknoir, let's go!" Allister said, his shy disposition changing to serious.

Atta boy! Alessandra thought as she called out Raffia.

"Umbre!" The Umbreon cried.

Dusknoir floated over to Raffia and Fire Punched him, but he quickly jumped to the side as Dusknoir tried to Shadow Punch him, but Raffia retaliated with Iron Tail, pushing him back as Dusknoir tried to Shadow Punch again, but Raffia responded with Shadow Ball, pushing Dusknoir away.

"Nooir…" Dusknoir growled, quickly using Disable on him by snapping his fingers but Raffia jumped to the side to avoid it, then he jumped over and used Assurance, smacking Dusknoir away.

"Dusknoooir!" Dusknoir used Ice Punch, to where Umbreon immediately used Shadow Ball, hitting Dusknoir square in the face to knock the Pokemon down, then unleashed a ball of dark energy and sent it flying, hitting Dusknoir with Foul Play to finish it off.

"Not bad…" Allister recalled Dusknoir and then sent out Chandelure.

"Luuuure!"

Raffia's ears flicked as he got ready to pounce on him as both of them unleashed Shadow Ball, both of them hitting and canceling it out as Chandelure used Will O Wisp as Raffia got out of the way, but noticed it started to chase after him. He immediately ran toward Chandelure and used Shadow Ball again, tanking a Heat Wave head on and used Shadow Ball.

"Chande…!" Chandelure cried as Will O Wisp struck Raffia.

"Umbre…" Raffia grunted while wincing as his rings started to glow as energy shot out and went straight for Chandelure, but nothing happened.

"I suppose I should be thankful that Synchronize wouldn't work on Chandelure…" Allister said as Chandelure shot an Energy Ball at him while Raffia used Assurance, the former hitting Raffia's back paw right when Raffia was about to hit it with Assurance, knocking Chandelure to the ground. "Aww…"

"You hanging in there?" Alessandra asked, using a Burn Heal on him.

"Umbre!" Raffia nodded as Allister recalled Chandelure and then called out Cursola next.

"Cuuuursolaaaaaa…"

"Oh, I've heard about this sad one…" Alessandra frowned before nodding at her Umbreon.

"Umbre!"

Raffia immediately ran toward Cursola who immediately used Ancient Power on him. His tail glowed as he quickly used Iron Tail to deflect the rocks before he immediately used Shadow Ball right when Cursola used Hex, both moves connecting as they were knocked back.

"Cursoooo!" Cursola went for Strength Sap, only to be interrupted by a Shadow Ball. "Sola…!" Cursola grunted before using Ancient Power, where Raffia swiftly used Iron Tail to strike back a few, but got pelted by the other boulders.

"Umbre…!" Raffia grunted as he was hit by Strength Sap, to where Raffia used Foul Play, striking Cursola with a large shadowy energy ball and struck Cursola.

"Currrssss!" Cursola cried as it fell over in defeat.

"Rest well, Cursola." Allister called him back and then called out Runerigus next.

"Runeeeer!"

"Ah geez, I've heard of these things…" Alessandra shuddered before steeling herself. "Let's go, Raffia!"

"Umbre!"

Runerigus immediately swung his arms down, unleashing an earthquake that made Umbreon stumble but quickly recovered as he jumped over and used Iron Tail right as Runerigus used Shadow Claw, both of them clashing against one another as they both moved back as Runerigus used Rock Tomb, but Raffia jumped out of the way and used Iron Tail to smack the rocks into Runerigus.

"Runer…! Rig!" Runergius growled as Raffia used Shadow Ball, where Runerigus caught it with his hands, only for Umbreon to sneak in and used Iron Tail to make him let go of the Shadow Ball and dropped it, where Raffia smacked the Shadow Ball with Iron Tail, hitting Runerigus dead center.

"Ruuuuune!" Runerigus cried as he used Shadow Claw in retaliation as Raffia jumped to the side and used Foul Play immediately after, hitting Runerigus as he fell to the ground.

"Down to my last Pokemon…" Allister said as he noticed his Dynamax Band glowing. "Oh, how long has it been active?" He wondered as he glanced over at Gloria. "Ah, I see. She brought Eternatus with her."

"Umbre…" Raffia panted, feeling the effects of the burn.

"Okay, you can take a break, hon." She said, using a Burn Heal on him before recalling him as she called out Wisp.

"Ceru!" Wisp cried as Allister called out Gengar.

"Geeengaaaar!"

End BGM

BGM: Battle! Gym Leader - Phase 3 (Pokemon Sword and Shield)

"Feel the shadowy terror of Gigantamax!" Allister exclaimed, proceeding to pull Gengar in as his Pokeball got bigger and pink as he immediately turned around and threw the Pokeball, where Gengar Gigantamaxed in front of them.

"GEEEENGAAAAAAAAAAAR!" Gengar cried as the crowd went wild… except for Carmine who looked absolutely terrified over it.

"G-Goodness…!" Carmine whimpered, paling at the sight of the G-Maxed Gengar.

"Wow, I didn't think Gengar could get even more terrifying. Sweet!" Perrin said as she and Mahiru took pictures.

Alessandra smirked, slapping the Dynamax band on her wrist. "Two can play that game!" She said, calling Wisp back in his ball as his Pokeball turned big and pink as she turned around and threw it as the Ceruledge Dynamaxed.

"CEEERUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Wisp cried.

"G-MAX TERROR!"/"MAX PHANTASM!" Both yelled.

Both Pokemon unleashed their Ghost Dyna/G-Max moves as ghostly debris were thrown out at the both of them, causing dark explosions that engulfed the both of them while Gengar's face appeared underneath Wisp's feet temporarily.

"Max Darkness!"

"Max Flare!"

Wisp crossed his blade arms, both of them turning white hot as he immediately swung them to create a white hot firery X toward Gengar as the Max Darkness was pushed back and struck Gengar.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" Gengar cried as there was an explosion as Gengar shrunk back down to size as did Wisp, who fell on one knee.

"Ceru…"

End BGM

"I guess that's that…" Allister sighed.

"Hey." Alessandra walked up to him, wrapping him into a hug. "You were awesome!"

"Oh… uh…" Allister blushed behind his mask. "Thanks…"

"Great job! Give it up for the Galarian Fashionista!" Sledge exclaimed as the crowd went wild. "Now there's one more final opponent you will have to face." He said as he smirked. "And that is none other than yours tru-"

Suddenly an Abomasnow walked onto the stage.

"-...Ly? Hey big guy, where did you come from?" Sledge wondered as the Abomasnow put down a firework and then lit it up, taking a step back as the firework launched up into the sky and exploded, then Abomasnow sent out a flurry.

"LET'S MAKE SOME NOOOIIIIIISE!" A man called out from a microphone.

"Wait… is that Piers?" Sonia wondered.

"Wait, does anyone hear helicopters coming in?" Carmine asked.

BGM: Attack of the Airships - OST Version (Super Mario Galaxy)

Alessandra immediately looked up and saw an airship flying through the blizzard. "What the hell?!" She wondered in surprise as even Carmine and Perrin were taken aback by it.

A few more airships flew overhead and circled around Montenevera, with the crowd looking on in bewilderment as the cannons came out and started firing confetti everywhere.

Once the blizzard subsided, they would see the airships having Team Yell flags on the sterns of the airships.

Piers walked up to the bow of an airship. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU! LET'S MAKE SOME NOOOIIIISE!" He yelled as the crowd went wild as the airships circled around the stadium before stopping.

"What in the hell is going on…?" Alessandra wondered.

"You know her! You love her! She's the biggest baddest gym leader of all of Spikemuth AND a commander of the Koopa Troop! She's the biggest punk of all time!" Piers exclaimed. "Give it up for the one!"

Team Yell dragged out some spotlights as one airship hovered over the gym as Neo hopped off as her Articuno and Glalie pushed a spotlight on the roof.

"The only!"

They turned on the spotlights.

"MAAAAARNIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!"

The spotlights all aimed up as Alessandra looked up to see a Koopa Shell Platform lowering itself as Marnie stood on top of it, sporting her gym leader attire while folding her arms.

Alessandra could only look on in bewilderment as Marnie backflipped off the platform and gracefully landed on the opposite side of Alessandra.

"Sup."

End BGM

"...Sup? You disappear for a little while and you come back with… THIS… and all you can say is "sup"?" Alessandra could only say.

"Yeah. You got a problem?"

"No, but I'm curious why these ships are flying."

"Oh, we'll show you around once you become champion." Marnie said.

"Ah, I see… keeping me in suspense. Very well then, Marn. By the way… aren't you freezing in that outfit?"

"Not really. I'm used to it."

"Oh… okay."

Marnie pulled out a Dusk Ball. "Now then… prepare yourself, Aless. Because I'm ready to kick some ass!"

"I'm with ya!" Alessandra smirked.

"Well… okay then." Sledge shrugged as Neo aimed her Pokeball and recalled her Abomasnow. "Let's give it up for Alessandra and Marnie!" He exclaimed as the crowd started to cheer loudly.

"MARNIE! MARNIE! MARNIE! MARNIE!" Team Yell yelled.

"They sure know how to make an entrance…" Mewtwo said.

BGM: Battle! Marnie - Final (Pokemon Sword and Shield)

Punk Rock Commander - Marnie

"Liepard, let's rock!"

"Rio, let's do this!"

"Liepar!"

"Quaquav!"

Both Pokemon were ready to go as Liepard immediately started to pounce, immediately using Fake Out, causing Rio to flinch. She then Snarled at him right after as Rio shook it off and immediately used Aqua Cutter, smacking the Liepard back a few feet.

Liepard shook it off and with a smirk, she let out a mischievous giggle with Nasty Plot before unleashing Snarl again, causing Quaquaval to growl as Liepard then flicked her tail in a tauntingly Torment-ed way.

"Quaquav…!"

Rio immediately jumped over toward the Liepard and did a Low Sweep, but before he could, Liepard Faked him Out, causing him to flinch as Liepard immediately used Snarl again, to which Rio swiftly used Low Sweep to knock Liepard down, then used Aqua Step to finish her off.

"Not bad." Marnie recalled as she recalled the Liepard and then called out her next Pokemon.

"Overqwil!" The Pokemon cried.

"What in the world…?" Alessandra wondered and scanned the Pokemon.

"Overqwil, the Pin Cluster Pokemon and the evolved form of Hisuian Qwilfish-"

"Huh?!"

"Overqwil's poisonous spikes will reflexively react even while Overqwil sleeps, stabbing any moving thing that approaches. It's ferocious and has a short temper. The ends of its spikes are barbed, and they can't be easily removed once they've punctured something."

"Hisui…?" Alessandra tilted her head. "Agh, I'll ask later." She nodded at Rio while taking a look at Overqwil's typing. Poison/Dark… okay.

"Qwiiil!" Overqwil immediately shot out some Toxic Spikes to cover the area and then used Barb Barrage, shooting Rio with poisonous barbs as he quickly danced around to avoid the attack before running through and using Aqua Cutter, knocking the Overqwil back.

"Quav!" Rio smirked before he immediately felt poisoned. "Quava…"

Shit, this thing's got Poison Point. Alessandra thought. "Just hang in there, Rio!"

"Qwil…" One of Overqwil's barbs pushed into him, proceeding to buff up his attack as he immediately went for a Barb Barrage as Rio danced around, but Overqwil read his movements and hit him dead center.

"QUAVAAAA!" Rio cried as he took a step back and fell on one knee before he staggered up and with a smirk, he immediately swung down with Aqua Cutter, as an energy spark shined right as it connected, striking Overqwil critically.

"Qwill….!" Overqwil grunted before collapsing.

"You did well, sweetie." Marnie said, recalling her Overqwil as Alessandra pulled out a Pecha Berry, thankful that she did some shopping after returning from Casseroya Lake, and threw it at Rio while also healing him up with a Hyper Potion.

"Quav!" Rio perked up and squared up again right as Marnie called out Scrafty.

"Scraft!"

Rio immediately ran toward Scrafty as her hand burst with electricity as she immediately ran over to Thunder Punch him, but Rio quickly did a few flips and flipped over Scrafty before heel kicking him in the head with Acrobatics, knocking Scrafty to the ground.

"Scraaaaft…" Scrafty groaned as he got back up and glared at Rio, immediately going for a Thunder Punch again but Rio swiftly danced to dodge and then used Aqua Cutter to knock her down for the count.

Marnie winced. "That'll hurt…" She said as she recalled Scrafty, then called out Morpeko.

"Moh Peh!"

"Awww, she's got a Morpeko like I do~!" Carmine gushed.

Morpeko immediately conjured up an Aura Wheel and charged directly at Rio, but he immediately got out of the way, only for Morpeko to turn around swiftly and slammed into him, making Rio back up while wincing as Morpeko immediately changed to its Hangry mode and used Aura Wheel again, but Rio smirked and dodged while using Low Sweep, knocking Morpeko off of the aura wheel and faceplanted to the ground.

Morpeko painfully pulled out a little snack and ate it up, immediately getting back up and proceeding to use Seed Bomb on the Quaquaval, where he jumped to the side and used Aqua Cutter to finish off the Pokemon.

"Mooooh peeeeh…"

Marnie recalled Morpeko and then immediately called out Hydreigon.

"Ah, I see she's got custody of Hydreigon for a bit this time?" Hop asked Zinnia.

"I gave her Hydreigon last night."

"Cool!"

Alessandra recalled Rio and then pulled out the Dive Ball. "Time to let you shine, Athena!" She called out.

"Dratiiii!"

"Heh, a Dratini against a Hydreigon? I almost feel bad for it." Marnie said.

"Drati…" Athena winced, feeling the pains of the Toxic Spikes as Alessandra immediately pulled out an Antidote and sprayed her with it right when Hydreigon used Dragon Dance.

Dratini and Hydreigon both launched themselves toward each other, both unleashing Dragon Rush as they both slammed into each other and pushed each other away as Hydreigon brushed it off while Athena already looked a bit beat up, but she used Dragon Dance as well, and then swiftly avoiding a Dragon Pulse.

Hydreigon proceeded to unleash a Hyper Beam at Athena, but she immediately slithered out of the way and struck Hydreigon with Aqua Tail, batting it away by just a little bit as they both glowed with draconic energy as they both tackled each other with Dragon Rush once more, knocking each other back as Hydreigon simply let out a grunt while Athena had bruises on her.

"Come on, Athena… you got this!" Alessandra called out to her.

"One more should do it." Marnie said as they both Dragon Rushed again, slamming into each other as they both started to push each other away.

"Hydreeeeiiii!"

"Dratiiiii!"

"ATHENA, HANG IN THERE!" Alessandra called out.

"Dratini! Dratiiii! DRATIIIII!"

"HYDREEEIIIII!"

"It's checkmate for the little gu-"

Suddenly, Athena's Dragon Rush started to glow a little more intensely.

"Hmm?" Marnie wondered.

End BGM

"Dreei… gon!" Hydreigon shoved Athena away, knocking her into the air, but as it was still in Dragon Rush, Athena slammed into the ground as she stopped glowing. Once the dust settled, they would see a Dragonair before them.

BGM: Battle! Vs Neo Galar Champion (Pokemon Masters EX)

"Naaair!"

"You were so close to evolving this whole time?!" Alessandra said in surprise.

"Like an evolution would change anything." Marnie said as Athena waggled her tail as Hydreigon let out a roar, then both lunged with another Dragon Rush while Alessandra scanned the Dragonair.

"Dragonair, the Dragon Pokemon and the evolved form of Dratini. They say that if it emits an aura from its whole body, the weather will begin to change instantly. It is called the divine Pokémon. When its entire body brightens slightly, the weather changes."

"Drago… NAIR!" Athena swung her tail into Hydreigon, unleashing Dragon Tail into the Hydreigon to smack it out of the arena and into a tree, KO'ing the Pokemon.

"Hmph, not bad." Marnie recalled Hydreigon and then called out Grimmsnarl.

"Snaaaarl!"

I'm at a huge disadvantage here because Grimmsnarl's part Fairy, but… dammit, I'm having fun here! Alessandra thought.

"Let's see if your luck can keep up with this!" Marnie said, aiming her Dusk Ball at Grimmsnarl and pulling him in, as his Dusk Ball got big and pink as she turned around and threw it in the air, proceeding to Gigantamax Grimmsnarl.

"SNAAAAAAAAAAAARL!"

"I could Dynamax here, but I'm feeling a little frisky!" Alessandra said, pulling out her Tera Orb and charged it up before throwing it at the Dragonair, proceeding to Terastallize her.

"DRAGOOOOOO!"

Steel Tera, huh? Looks like the tables have turned. Might as well go out swingin'. Marnie thought to herself. "G-MAX SNOOZE!"

"GRIIIIIIIIIMMMM!"

Athena swiftly slithered away, attempting to dodge the move… but the dark explosion was enough to engulf Athena. "Drago!" Athena cried, before immediately using Steel Head on Grimmsnarl's toe.

"SNAR!" Grimmsnarl cried, taking a step back as Athena felt a bit drowsy from the G-Max move as Athena went for a Dragon Rush, but it did absolutely nothing due to Grimmsnarl's typing.

"Crap! I forgot Dragon Type moves don't affect Fairy Pokemon!" Alessandra winced at the fluke. It also didn't help that Athena started to fall asleep.

"Dragozzz…"

"Looks like it's a success." Marnie said as Alessandra frowned as she was ready to call Athena, but Athena started to wiggle her tail until her old skin started to peel off until the Dragonair successfully shed its own skin off while waking up, then proceeding to use Dragon Dance.

"Drago!"

"Oh, that's right!" Sonia pounded her fist into her palm. "Dragonair's got Shed Skin."

Grimmsnarl let out a roar and unleashed G-Max Snooze again, but Athena proceeded to use Steel Head and slammed into Grimmsnarl's toe.

"SNAAAARRRR!" Grimmsnarl cried as an explosion wrapped around the G-Maxed Grimmsnarl as he shrunk down to normal size and fell in defeat.

End BGM

Marnie sighed, letting out a chuckle as she pulled Grimmsnarl away as Athena hugged her Dragonair. "You were amazing, Athena!"

"Drago…" Athena nuzzled against her.

"Hey." Marnie approached her. "Hell of a fight."

"Yeah." Alessandra nodded, both of them fist bumping each other while Team Yell fell on their knees in despair while Piers and Neo shrugged it off.

"There we have it folks! Alessandra is the winner!" Sledge called out.

"Hey, yo yo yo! What is all the commotion out here?" A voice called out as they saw Ryme approaching.

"Yo, give it up for the MC of RIP, RYYYMMMEEE!" Sledge yelled out as the crowd went wild.

Ryme walked over. "Thanks for that killer opening, baby. I'll take it from here… though I don't think I can top that amazing Dynamax performance and that epic entrance from Team Yell."

"We like to go all out." Piers said.

"Clearly." Ryme nodded.

"I'll go heal my team real quick." Alessandra hopped off stage.

"Hell of a fight there, lass."

Marnie chuckled. "She's getting stronger. Aside from that blunder, she's definitely getting up there."

"Aye."

"Let's just hope Rubes is ready for her."

Gloria smirked. "I've a feelin' Rubes will rock her world."

---

Later…

"Alright, let's get this show on the road." Alessandra said as she walked out of the Pokecenter and walked toward the stage. "What's going on?"

"Ah, yer just in time. There was a rap battle goin' on." Gloria said.

"Oh? Did I miss anything fun?"

"The lad bailed before it got good."

"Yeesh… alright, let's do this." Alessandra walked up on stage.

"Please tell me she meant a Pokemon battle and not a rap battle…" Carmine hoped.

"Sigh, kids don't know how to wrap these days…" Ryme mumbled as she noticed Alessandra. "Ah, you came back. Come to think of it, I didn't realize you were dressed up as a rapper."

"Well, I wanted to look the part as we threw down." Alessandra said. "Unfortunately, my rapping skills suck."

"Oh, I'm sure they're not that bad. Give me your best shot!"

"Oh no…" Carmine whimpered.

"This will… be interesting…" Pyrrha said.

"Piers, give me a beat!" Alessandra requested as Piers started to play the guitar.

BGM: Battle! Guzma (Pokemon Sun and Moon)

Ryme tossed Alessandra the microphone as she caught it and cleared her throat. "Yo, yo, yo! What is up! I'm gonna drop it like it's hot and see if I can't cook this granny up like she's steamin' in the pot!"

End BGM

"What… the hell was that?" Piers wondered. Guzma could've done better.

"...Is it too late to throw a tomato at her?" Carmine scratched her head.

"Hmm… first time rapping?"

Alessandra groaned, shamefully handing her the microphone back. "Yes…"

"Well, it wasn't too horrible… you got the rhyming down, but it wasn't all there. It showes you need some major improvement. Unfortunately, the academy doesn't do rap lessons, otherwise you'd more than likely be a pro at it. Maybe." Ryme said. "I've been doing rapping for years, hon."

"Ahehehe… yeah…" Alessandra sheepishly rubbed her head.

Ryme smiled. "Well, how about we just leave the rapping to me and we have ourselves a Pokemon battle? I'm all for Doubles, how about you? Tell you what, I'll let you have someone fight with you."

"Two against one? Are you sure about that?" Alessandra asked.

Ryme smirked. "I'm sure I can handle myself just fine."

"In that case…" Alessandra turned to her friends. "You wanna rumble with me, Kokoron?"

"Sure~!" Kokoro nodded as she hopped on stage with her.

"Well, I'll be!" Ryme said in surprise. "I didn't realize a member of Sea5ons was here. It's an honor to meet you!"

Kokoro smiled. "Thank you."

"Now let's get ready to drop some beats!" Ryme declared. "Piers, you got anything fancy to play with your rock band?"

Piers smirked. "As a matter of fact, we got one that will pump y'all up! Hit it, boys!"

BGM: Thunderstruck (AC/DC)

The MC of RIP - Ryme

Ryme smirked. "I can work with this." She said, pulling out two Pokeballs and called out Banette and Mimikyu while Alessandra called out Wisp and Kokoro called out Beat.

"Plus Plus!" The Plusle squared up.

"Eeeek! Mimikyuuuu!" Acerola gushed as she was quickly held back by Kotoko and Allister, until Mewtwo stepped in and telekinetically held her in place.

"Mimiiiii!" Mimikyu used Light Screen right as Banette ran in and used Shadow Sneak, but Wisp countered with Shadow Claw, pushing the Banette back right as Beat pumped his arms toward Wisp, using Helping Hand as Wisp also used Swords Dance, then nodded toward Plusle in thanks and ran toward the two Pokemon.

"PLUS… LEEEEEEEEE!" Plusle cried, unleashing Thunder and striking Mimikyu, which knocked off its Disguise.

"Mimik…!" Mimikyu cried in dismay as he scurried over to Plusle and proceeded to Play Rough with him and smacked him back as Beat shook it off and used Copycat, then proceeded to do the same thing against Mimikyu.

"Ceruuu!" Wisp slashed through Banette with Bitter Blade, causing the Pokemon to stagger as he immediately responded with using Phantom Force. Wisp looked down and jumped back to avoid the attack as Banette immediately Sucker Punched Wisp, but he weaved his body and used Shadow Claw to finish off Banette.

Ryme recalled Banette and then called out Spiritomb.

"Tooooommmb!"

Both Beat and Mimikyu were both beat up from using Play Rough against each other as Mimikyu immediately went for Shadow Sneak, but Beat jumped away from it and used Electro Ball to hit Mimikyu.

"Kyuuuuu!" Mimikyu cried as he fell over in defeat as Ryme recalled Mimikyu and then called out Houndstone.

"Wooof!" Houndstone barked.

"Cute!" Alessandra smiled, deciding to scan Houndstone while Wisp and Beat charged at Spiritomb and Houndstone.

"Houndstone, the Ghost Dog Pokemon and the evolved form of Greavard. Houndstone spends most of its time sleeping in graveyards. Among all the dog Pokémon, this one is most loyal to its master. A lovingly mourned Pokémon was reborn as Houndstone. It doesn't like anyone touching the protuberance atop its head."

"Awww…" Kokoro frowned. "That's sad…"

"He seems pretty happy, though." Alessandra said as Houndstone used Phantom Force on Wisp while Spiritomb used Curse on him.

"Ceru…" Wisp grunted.

"Hey, no need to gang up on that Ceruledge!" Kokoro said as Beat threw an Electro Ball at Spiritomb to get its attention.

"Tomb…" Spiritomb glared at the Plusle. "Toooomb!" It used Will O Wisp on him.

"PLUSSSS LLLLLEEEEEEE!" Beat cried, unleashing Thunder but Spiritomb used Protect. "Plus?!" Beat said in surprise as he got hit by the Will O Wisp. "Plus…!" He winced as he threw an Electro Ball, but Spiritomb came in and Sucker Punched the Plusle, knocking him down for the count.

Kokoro recalled her Plusle and then called out Lyra.

"Minun!" Lyra cried, immediately using Helping Hand on Wisp before quickly using Electro Ball on Spiritomb, who used Protect. Spiritomb would then use Curse, but Minun would use Copycat and was surrounded by a green shield, protecting her from Curse.

"Tomb?!"

"Minah!" Lyra smirked as she charged up Thunder as Spiritomb tried to use Protect, only she switched courses and used Thunder on Houndstone, and once Protect faded, Wisp immediately used Bitter Blade on Spiritomb.

"Toooooomb!" Spiritomb cried as it fell KO'd.

"Wooof…" Houndstone shook it off as Ryme recalled Spiritomb and then called out Toxtricity.

"Oh?" Kokoro looked at Toxtricity in curiosity before realizing what was about to happen. She proceeded to switch out Lyra for Meloetta.

"Mela Mel!"

"Get a hit on that Toxtricity before it Terastalizes!" Kokoro requested.

"Mela!" Meloetta nodded as she started to sing Relic Song. "Mela Mellll Mela Mela Meeeelll~" She sang, and while it didn't affect Houndstone, it affected the Toxtricity, causing it to fall asleep.

"Tooozzzz…" Toxtricity slept.

"Ooooh, smart move!" Ryme said as Meloetta changed into her Pirouette Form. "But I'm afraid that will only get you so far!" She declared as suddenly, Houndstones rose up from the ground near the audience as they let out howls. "Give me a beat, DJ G-Rave! Let's wake up Toxtricity!"

"Arooooo!" A Greavard howled as it was dancing on a speaker.

"Oh my goodness, that is adorable!" Alessandra gushed as she pulled out her Rotom Phone and took a picture of it.

"Tooox… Toxa?!" Toxtricity snapped out of his sleep. "Toxatree!"

"Now let's get funky!" Ryme said as she pulled out her Tera Orb.

"Want me to do the honors, Aless?" Kokoro asked.

"Go for it!"

With a nod, Kokoro pulled out her Tera Orb and started to charge it up together with Ryme as they both Terastallized their Pokemon. Toxtricity with his Ghost Tera Jewel and Meloetta with the Fighting Tera Jewel.

"Mela?" Meloetta looked up to see her Jewel Crown. With a smirk, she immediately threw a few air punches and squared up right after. "Mela Mel!"

Kokoro sweatdropped. "I think you've been hanging around Kotoko too much…"

"You say that like it's a bad thing!" Kotoko giggled.

"Toxaaaa!" Toxtricity conjured up an electrical electric guitar and started swinging it at Meloetta, who quickly weaved while pulling up her fists to protect her face as she immediately fought back with Psychic, pushing Toxtricity away.

Houndstone quickly used Phantom Force on Wisp, who immediately rolled out of the way as Houndstone jumped in and used Crunch on his arm. Wisp winced before using Shadow Claw from his other bladed arm to make it release, then he quickly used Bitter Blade on it.

"Wooooof!" Houndstone tried to pounce with Play Rough, but Wisp swiftly used Night Shade, finishing it off.

"Oh dear, I have one left…" Ryme said as Wisp turned toward Toxtricity, who successfully used Hex on Meloetta and then used Boomburst.

"Mela…" Meloetta winced before using Psychic again, pushing Toxtricty further as he immediately used Overdrive and lunged at her but Wisp blocked his advance and countered, swiping up with Bitter Blade as he managed to knock the Tera Jewel off of Toxtricity's head.

"Toxa?!" Toxtricity cried in surprise as he was back to normal, and then noticed Meloetta "cracking" her "knuckles" as Wisp got behind Toxtricity and nodded at Meloetta who flew over to him, pulling back her fist as Wisp jumped back and watched as she used Close Combat on Toxtricity, swiftly roundhouse kicking him away to finish off the combo, and then Wisp finished him off with Bitter Blade, knocking the Pokemon down.

End BGM

"Ack!" Ryme cried before looking away and giving them both a thumbs up. "Givin' up the ghost's not my style… I'll let y'all both have this one."

"Woo! We did it!" Kokoro cheered, high fiving Alessandra while Meloetta high fived Wisp's blunt side of his sword arm.

"Man… that's a horrible way for a Toxtricity to go out…" Piers grumbled.

"You were mighty awesome in that fight. You earned this." Ryme said, handing Alessandra her gym badge.

"Sweet!"

"So, who's next?" Mahiru asked.

"Well…" Sonia looked it up. "It seems like Aless's next gym battle is against Tulip, who is… on the other side of the region. That's gonna be a long trek."

"Oooooor!" Acerola spoke up. "You guys head next door and battle Grusha. He's just a few hills away from here. Allister and I tend to visit him. He's quite nice, but a little quiet."

"Grusha? Well, I guess we can take a little detour first before heading to the other side." Hop said. "Right Gloria? …Gloria? Hey, where'd you go?"

"Wasn't she just with us? I saw her jamming out while Aless had her fight with Ryme." Bede said.

"You know…" Ryme said with a smile as she was chatting with Kokoro. "I wouldn't mind collaborating with you and your fellow Sea5ons friends one day if we have the chance."

Kokoro smiled back. "That would be really something, Ms. Ryme." She giggled. "Knowing Whitley, I'm pretty sure that he would take the opportunity without hesitation~" She winked and then looked at Meloetta. "Isn't that right, Meloetta?"

"Mela!"

Ryme chuckled, then patted Kokoro's head.

---

Meanwhile, with Gloria…

Gloria teleported down the mountain. "There we go, cell service!" She said and then chuckled. "With the small crowd Aless had with her fight with Hop and then the massive crowd she had with Marn, I think I know what to do~" She hummed as she called someone up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Leon."

"Hey Scotty, what's up?"

Gloria giggled. "So, does the name Aless ring any bells?"

"Aless? Oh man, that takes me back… how is she doing?"

"Great. We ran into her in Paldea a few days ago and we're havin' a great time catchin' up!"

"Aw man, and you didn't invite me?"

"Sorry, didn'tae know we'd run into a childhood friend. Didntae think about it, honestly… you'd probably also get lost on the way."

"Aye…"

"Listen, I have a favor for ye."

"Oh?"

---

Meanwhile, at Casseroya Lake…

BGM: Casseroya Lake (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet)

Umber let out a sigh, looking out toward the lake.

"I have to say, it's a beautiful lake out here." Strange said.

"I'll say! It's so purty." Dedede agreed, watching several water Pokemon go about their day while Lucky sat in his fishbowl, swimming around contently.

"Yeah, it sure is…"

"Don't you think your girls would think this would be the ideal date? It's calming, it's peaceful…" Strange said.

"Right, they'd… probably love it."

"Okay, what's eatin' ya?" Dedede asked. "You've been really distant whenever the psychic gals are mentioned. Something on your mind? You can spill it out it ya want."

End BGM

"...Promise you won't get upset?"

"Depends on how bad it is." Strange said.

"Well…" Umber closed his eyes. "Something… has been bugging me for a while, and I don't know what to do."

"Hmm? So… does this involve the girls?" Dedede asked, where several yards behind them, Xena teleported behind them with Hapi nearby.

"Of course it involves those two." Umber said, unaware of Xena and Hapi hiding behind some trees, with a few curious Foretress looking down at them.

"What is it?" Strange asked, shifting his eyes as he had felt their presence but said nothing.

BGM: Missing You (Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix)

"It… it's..." Umber closed his eyes "It's about how I acted in the New World… tricking them and everyone else into thinking I was under Fecto's influence. I should've told them, but I was stupid and decided to have a bit of fun with the charade Fecto forced us into before waiting for a moment to join everyone. I thought it'd be fun to rub that in Fecto's face before we reunited, maybe at least take him a few pegs down and…" Umber looked at Dedede. "Also free you… but I should have thought about Xena and Yagami, the pain I put them through after it was said and done wasn't worth it... it broke my heart, it's STILL breaking my heart when I think about it..."

Umber clutched his head. "Because of that, it's… just been heavily on my mind for a while now. I can't stop playing the scene in my head where… I've made them cry. It's… it's tearing me apart, honestly. I feel like a horrible boyfriend because of it!"

"Umber…" Xena quietly whispered with a frown.

Umber looked at his reflection in the water. "I just… I can't go on hurting them anymore. It's… why I'm torn on this… It's… why I'm considering breaking up with them."

Xena's eyes widened in horror, turning her back against the tree as tears began to swell and covered her mouth.

"Oh gosh…" Hapi whispered, looking at Xena in sadness.

Suddenly, magical circles wrapped around Xena's body and held her there, preventing her from teleporting away crying.

"Hmm…" Dedede folded his arms. "You think that's the only way out?"

"Yes…"

"Personally, I'd say it'd hurt them more if you left them. True, what you did was cruel, but think about the implications of what would happen if you broke up with them over that. Considering you've been leaving 'em high and dry for a while and then suddenly reunitin' just to break up seems even cruller."

Umber teared up. "Yeah… but-"

"If I were you, I'd patch things up with them. Plus, think about it for a moment, have they hated you for it or have they forgiven you?"

"They were under the influence of Fecto. He was controlling them this whole time until he let it slip and Mewtwo and Chiaki snuffed him out."

"But what about after all was said and done?"

Umber closed his eyes. "I know they were still a bit upset, but we did talk it out and made up after we destroyed Fecto for good."

"That's great! So let's not worry about this one thing buggin' ya."

"If I may…" Strange spoke up. "This ordeal reminds me of the time I broke up with Christine. I had loved her dearly, but a fateful crash had caused excessive nerve damage on my hands, and as a surgeon, that was not good. I felt useless and… I had felt useless to Christine. I was not in the right mindset so I had let her go and find a man who had more useful hands. Long story short, I became someone new entirely and became a master of the mystic arts."

"So… are you and Christine…?"

"No. I had watched her get married off to a man. However, there is not a day that goes by where I regret letting her go."

"I love you… in every universe." Strange's words echoed in his head.

"Do me a favor, kid… and don't let them be a Christine. If you break up with them now over a bad moment in your relationship, they would more than likely find someone else by the time you are willing to patch things up. Don't do that to yourself."

Umber let out a sigh. "Stupid… ugh!" He facepalmed. "What am I doing? You're right… I… I shouldn't let this hang over my head. I need to be a better boyfriend and just… talk to them when I'm good and ready. Embrace them, comfort them… it's the right thing to do."

Dedede smiled. "Right. It's better to pull them close and not push them away."

Umber nodded. "Right." He sighed again. "When I get back to the Mushroom Kingdom, I'm going to give them the biggest bouquet ever, maybe put a Mega Mushroom on a box of chocolates."

"Why wait to go to the Mushroom Kingdom? They could be closer than you think." Strange said.

"What are you implying?"

"Hmhmhm." Strange chuckled. "I think they would want to have a word with you… isn't that right, girls?"

"Huh?!" Umber looked behind him as the magic circles disappeared as Xena emerged from the tree, wiping her eyes. "Oooooh shit…" He grimaced. "H-how much have you heard?"

"Everything." Xena said, her voice breaking.

Umber winced. "Dammit…" He whispered to himself.

Xena walked over to Umber, glaring at him with her tear stained eyes.

"Okay, okay, I've nothing to defend myself here. I'll take the L on this one." Umber said. "Just know that-"

Xena telekinetically pulled Umber toward her.

"Ack!" Umber yelped.

"You want to know… how much we were so worried about you?" Xena asked. "You were so incredibly distant that we felt like it was something we did!"

"No, no, it's what I did to you both. I wanted to have some fun while laying low, but… I realized far too late that it hurt you more than I thought it would."

"Well, what did you think would happen? That we'd laugh it off when we realized what was going on?"

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't think things through, especially when I was so distant toward you earlier. I'm sorry that I wasn't so straight forward with you. I should've just… I don't know…" Umber looked away. "You… honestly don't deserve someone like me."

"You're right. We don't… but honestly? Where would we find a guy who would put up with our antics? Aside from our teammates, you were among the first people who saw us both as human beings. It meant so much to the both of us… and honestly, we don't think anyone would want to be in a relationship with us. You date me, you date my other self… we're a two in one package."

"I know…"

"And honestly, you're like the only person we know who can handle the both of us in a relationship. There's no one else who we would rather be with… and to think you'd break up with us over something that's, admittedly, understandable? It… stings."

"I know! I know!" Umber sighed. "If you're gonna slap me and be done with me… just do it already. I deserve it."

"You honestly do… but we're not like most girls." Xena pulled him in and wrapped her arms around him. "You dummy… you can't get rid of us that easily…"

Umber teared up and pressed his head against Xena. "Right…" He smiled. "...Also, ow, Yagami, you can stop squeezing my head."

"It was either that or pantsing you, you bonehead."

Umber looked into her eyes. "I love you… both of you."

"We love you too, Umber." Xena softly said as they both kissed, then Yagami took over.

"Atta boy." Dedede smiled.

"There you go, kid." Strange also smiled as two Luvdisc swam toward each other and gave each other a kiss.

End BGM

Hapi smiled as well. "Oh, I'm so happy for you three that you made up~!" She said and let out a happy sigh. "Eeep!" She covered her mouth.

"SEVIIIIII!"

"ZAAAAAAAN!"

Everyone looked over to see a clan of Seviper and Zangoose running toward each other.

"Way to ruin the moment!" Umber scolded Hapi.

"Sorry! It just slipped out!" Hapi apologized.

Strange opened up a portal. "I think there's a better spot in Paldea anyway." He said as they walked in, Umber scooping up Lucky as they went into the portal, finding themselves at a beach near the Fairy Star Base.

"So, what's with the shiny Magikarp?" Yagami asked.

"Long story."

---

Meanwhile…

"Excuse me!" Weiss walked over to a Pokecenter.

"Oh, welcome to the Pokemon Center. How may I help you?" Nurse Joy asked.

Weiss pointed her thumb over to a shivering Pit on her Mamoswine, his wings covered in icicles. "You got any hot chocolate and a massive thermal blanket?"

---

Darn life getting in the way... but what the heck is up with the gaming world lately? Sonic x DC Comics collab, Overwatch collabing with My Hero Academia (As if Transformers wasn't wild enough...), MONSTER HUNTER COLLABBING WITH TRANSFORMERS?! None of this was in my 2024 bingo card! What's next, Star Wars collabbing with Halo?

Ibuki: Careful! You might just make it happen!

Deadpool: Aaaand knowing your track record...

Yeeeeah, good point. Still, hope y'all are enjoying Echoes of Wisdom. I would be but unfortunately, my package is stuck in Denver where all packaging goes to die. Ugh...