Harry was loose, limber and languid the next morning stretched out across the bed clad only in a pair of Barry's gray sweats on the bed, the aforementioned man curled up and clutching Harry's leg like a demented Slakoth. Gently extricating himself, Harry completed his morning ablutions before using Helix to order breakfast up to Barry's rooms. He left the door to the room propped open while he went to his own room and packed up his things. They'd gotten a little distracted yesterday and had not done this then but there was no point in paying for two suites if they were just going to be in a single bed. He used the online check out to get most of the money back for his rooms, having to pay a small fee for the cancellation without twenty-four hour notice. Barry still wasn't awake by the time Harry made it back but a small cart was being pushed down the hall by a young woman so he popped back out after setting his things down keeping the door open with his body.
"Breakfast for room 823?" Harry asked as she drew near.
"Yes," she answered and Harry was quick to take the trays while the young woman set the tea service on the small kitchenette counter. Harry had gone for a healthier protein based breakfast this morning and hoped that Barry didn't mind. Grilled chicken and avocado toasted sandwiches with a side of citrus fruits and a green chai tea. Barry groaned from the bed and turned over spreading out his limbs like a starfish as though searching for the body he'd been cuddled to only a half hour before. Seeing the blush on the young girls face as she all but fled the room Harry turned to the bed and realized that sheets just barely preserved Barry's modesty and the other man had not even bothered to put on underwear before falling asleep following their after dinner romp.
Picking up a throw pillow from the small chaise beside the tv stand he tossed at the sleeping exihibitionist .
"Wakey wakey Barry boy," Harry said cheerfully. Barry simply grabbed the pillow that had smacked him in the head and turned over curling around it with a scornful,
"Morning people." Unfortunately for him the sheets no longer covered his bare ass and Harry couldn't resist. The slap Harry gave resounded through the room and Barry shot up like Harry had just lit him on fire.
"You'll pay for that," Barry hissed rubbing at the reddened skin. A perfect handprint, matching several marks on Harry's own ass was blazoned across Barry's skin.
"Breakfast is here," Harry said grinning at the older man. "And your nudist ways have scarred the poor girl who brought it up for us." Harry sat on one of the three stools that turned the kitchenette counter into a breakfast bar, and poured himself a small cup of tea before digging into breakfast.
"I have to get some training done today, plus the paperwork that was delivered last night, and I have to get that interview I approved scheduled and probably a few other PR things for the League. I'm gonna see if I can get any more information on what happened at that camp. Dad'll try but he sometimes forgets that I am an adult and might try to shield us, plus while he's got some decent connections I've got just as many and a few favors I'm owed and can call due," Harry said before spiking a cube of Pecha berry and taking the sweet fruit into his mouth.
"Got room in that schedule of yours for an after breakfast shower?" Barry asked with a grin as he got out of the bed, uncaring of his nakedness and stole the chunk of sweet Liechi berry that Harry had just speared. Harry grinned back and used his fingers to eat a slice of Custap berry, licking the soft orange pink juices from his fingers teasingly. When he was with Giovanni, as short as the relationship had been, and despite the fact that this was really only friends, and barely that fucking, he'd always felt the need to keep something of himself back, and that had been his virginity. It just showed him even more how unbalanced the relationship had been along with how unhealthy. Whatever this became with Barry it made Harry feel a sense of freedom.
Nearly an hour later found Harry working with his pokemon, Dorothy and Goldfyre shooting precision shots of Water Gun and Flamethrower respectively at Castor and Pollux as they deflected, dodged and disabled each attack, working both independently and in tandem with one another. His pretty Lady was working on trying to combine the move Sandtomb and Sunny Day both of which she had already mastered. Harry hoped that if she could use the fire type power in Sunny Day to heat the sand used to bury pokemon with the move Sandtomb they could create a very effective trap move that worked similar to Overheat but could be used by ground type pokemon. He himself was doing some physical training, mostly stretches and gentle taekwondo moves, despite his leg brace and his physical therapy, he was nowhere near where he'd been before the incident that had landed him in a coma but he was slowly regaining the full range of mobility with the help of the brace and training.
Barry had left Harry to his training, promising to meet the other after lunch and heading to the Sunnytown Employment center to get a decent idea of job availability and what extra education he may want to look into getting. Due to the fact that he and his mother were in the League's Witness Protection program Barry was exempt from serving in the Rangers until such time as the threat against him and his family was lowered, so he didn't even have that to fall back on.
Pokemon dropped off at the Joy desk at the Pokecenter for some minor healing after training Harry fired off a text from Helix letting Barry know he was going to eat lunch at a local cafe while he completed the last of the paperwork required by the League concerning his security clearance, if the other wanted to join.
"Do you think I'd make a good nutritionist?" Barry asked as he sat down at the table Harry already occupied. Harry looked at the monstrosity of chocolate the slice of cake Barry had ordered for himself alongside the large salted caramel and vanilla milkshake and just raised an eyebrow in answer. "Judgy judgy," Barry said before taking a large slurp.
"Where does all that go?" Harry asked, voice colored with a bit of jealous curiosity. Barry wasn't excessively skinny but he certainly wasn't fat either, the man was quite toned with just a small protective fat layer over his stomach and the other male hadn't done any physical training beyond walking the entire time Harry had traveled with him. Barry just grinned knowingly and shoved a heaping spoonful of cake into his mouth. Harry just shook his head amused as he used a paperclip to attach the last of the forms together before tucking them away in his shoulder bag.
"One new message, sender; Laura Headley League Public Relations, status: Important," Helix piped up from where the pokedex sat on the table.
"Thank you Helix," Harry said automatically as he picked up the pokedex. It would seem Harry had an official interview scheduled with Cameron and Simon for their lifestyle and fashion blog, Clefairy Chatter at nine am tomorrow morning along with a photoshoot that would be published both in the blog with a few photos that would also be on the League's official promotional website.
"Is, Helix you called it, truly an AI? Like actual personhood or is it just a really sophisticated program?" Barry asked as he sucked back a full mouthful of his milkshake.
"Helix," Harry said. "Describe your program for Barry please."
"I am programmed to learn and spot data sets, using algorithms and models to perform traditionally human tasks including but not limited to recognizing speech and images, and making decisions. I recognize patterns and can analyze data. My code allows me to perform machine learning and deep learning, I also have the basics of natural language processing. My programming is constantly evolving, though I do not have what you would call sentience or completely independent thought, my processes allow for some independent decision making," Helix answered.
"So both," Barry said after a moment.
"For the most part," Harry answered. "Helix is currently the most sophisticated piece of AI technology. Because of it his main servers are actually kept under League provided security in Oblivia alongside his sister, Synthia's servers. She is currently being used by the Faction of Knowledge's Archive."
"Wait, you made two AI's?" Barry asked, surprised.
"I've made a few more but only two who are currently online. Of them all, Helix is the oldest, I coded him nearly three months before I wrote Synthia's code, plus he's been online longer as well, almost two years longer than Synthia," Harry answered.
"Still," Barry said. "You know you are every parent's dream child right? Revolutionizing pokemon nutrition and co-authoring research papers before you're even an adult, creating technologies that weren't even dreamed of ten years ago. Gaining several degrees and even a Phd. before you're even twenty! Plus now you're trying to develop a new program that will revolutionize safety procedures concerning search and rescue operations and help keep minors on their trainer journey's safe."
"I'm not trying to compete with anyone," Harry said, ducking his head as his cheeks pinked at the praise. "I just have the will and ambition to go after what I'm interested in."
"You are amazing," Barry said. Harry didn't answer, opting to take a bite of his cucumber and dill hummus sandwich. Barry wrinkled his nose at the sight even as he ate another piece of his chocolate cake.
"That cake isn't all you're going to eat for lunch is it?" Harry asked after swallowing his mouthful down with his glass of honey sweetened garden tea.
"I had two hot dogs from a food truck before I got your text and came here," Barry answered.
"How are you not fat," Harry grumbled and Barry just smirked.
The rest of their day for the most part was spent together. After picking up his pokemon Harry just wanted to putter around Sunnytown, and Barry seemed not to care much either way. They went in and out of several shops, Harry preferring to stick to the non-franchise places, knowing that his patronage of the mom and pop type businesses would be far more appreciated than the megacorporation places like the big Pokemart and the Grocery Mart. Besides, walking through a farmers market for fresh produce with the scent of berries in the air was far more enjoyable than the filtered and artificially cooled and perfectly shaped produce provided in the Grocery Mart.
Harry stocked up on several berries, knowing that his berry case would keep them fresh for several weeks should he not want to mix and dry them like pemmican to make pokeblocks that would keep for months if not years. Pokeblocks were a good food supplement but beyond a few grass and bug type pokemon very few pokemon could subsist on berries entirely. He did plan to make some pokeblocks, particularly ones from Kelpsy berries, which was the twins favorite, the berry far too bitter for Harry and his other pokemon to enjoy, as well as Tamato berries which while Harry did like, were quite spicy. Goldfyre was a fan of the spicy berry even if it wasn't his absolute favorite berry but Razz berries were not currently in season and Harry couldn't logically pay the price being asked for the greenhouse produced vine berry when there was a perfectly suitable alternative. He also stocked up on Dorothy's, Lady Light's and his shared favorite, the sour Iapapa berry. Oftentimes Iapapa blocks, crushed into powder and mixed with sugar were coated onto candies to give it that mouthwatering sour flavoring. Eating half a pokeblock made purely from the berry like his two pokemon did however was nearly humanly impossible and Harry's mouth puckered just thinking about it, but much like his pokemon he had an addiction to the citrusy sour fruit.
"Are you gonna have time to make pokeblocks with that interview and photoshoot tomorrow?" Barry asked as Harry gave the female berry farmer his name so she could deliver the pallets of berries Harry had purchased. "It sounded like that's something that will take all day."
"I'll do most of them tonight with the center's industrial berry blender, and their dehydrating ovens I'll just be required to part with a few of my pokeblocks, and I'll probably use the trainer provided blenders and ovens for the berries I didn't buy full pallets of," Harry answered.
"Is all your space folded?" Barry asked, incredulously. "You're going to be carrying a minimum, twenty pounds of pokeblocks otherwise."
"You know I've worked with Steven Stone and the Devon company right?" Harry asked Barry rhetorically. The entirety of the Eastern Republic was aware, at least peripherally, of Pokemon Professor Harry Oak's association with the Dual Champion of Hoenn and Kanto and Heir of the Devon Company Steven Stone. Barry nodded. "I was given nearly every pokemon journey product that Devon has produced as a sort of promotional thing before I even decided I would be going on my own pokemon journey. Steven and his father believe that me simply using their product would be a huge boost as a sort of product placement thing."
"They aren't wrong, even back home people often pick products that are recognizable as being used by well known trainers even if there might be a cheaper and just as good alternative simply because the product is used by someone well known," Barry said.
"Well nonetheless, most of my bags are space folded except my field satchel," Harry answered. "All packed up nice and proper and my gear weighs about fifty pounds, and my crossbow is nearly ten of them. Anyways let's see if any of the market stalls are selling edible oils, I'm gonna need plenty to make pokeblocks."
After another hour or so of walking around the market, Harry had ordered for delivery to the Pokecenter under his name, two liters each, coconut oil, olive oil and grapeseed oil along with some natural made powdered Calcium, Horseradish, and Iron to mix in various quantities of the pokeblocks to enhance them. He'd also picked up a small clay pot about the size of his palm of Combee Honey that was all for him.
While Harry made Pokeblocks, Barry went to work typing up his resume, trying to describe his skills professionally in a way that would appeal to employers. By the time Barry called it quits and Harry had showered away the last of the berry juices from his skin, though his hands still had a slightly orange tinge from the Tamato juices, that would eventually fade away, both of them were exhausted and quite happily fell into the bed beside each other and promptly fell asleep.
Helix blared out his alarm at six thirty the next morning and even Harry, morning person though he was, nearly gave into the urge to smash the 'Dex into silence.
"Turn it off," Barry groaned as he flopped over pulling one of the pillows over his ear. Harry did so sitting on the edge of the bed for a moment before stretching and pulling the nano-sleeve brace over his leg before standing and stretching. Clad in only dark green boxer briefs Harry set about gathering his things up and repacking his bags knowing that he would be too exhausted to do after the events of today to do so tonight and they were planning on leaving early the next morning as the sun rose. Although Harry looked over at Barry who was softly snoring once more, Harry suspected that they'd be leaving later than they would if he was alone.
Fully packed but for the decent looking outfit, that he could both battle and journey in that Harry dressed himself knowing that he'd likely be dressed in something different for at least part of the photoshoot but what he was wearing now was comfortable and something he commonly wore; tan cargo shorts and a tight dark blue long sleeve dress shirt left open and unbuttoned over a t-shirt. His t-shirt was a soft violet color with the image of Cleffa and the words I'm the total package, adorable and Cleffa written in navy comic sans. With a final look at Barry still happily ensconced in the bed, Harry slipped his shoulder bag on and gently touched the shrunken pokeballs of his companions on his hip, noting that the golden paint on Goldfyre's needed to be touched up soon, and left the room.
The make-up artist was not entirely happy with Harry's decision to work with Tamato barehanded and practically lathered on the color correcting make-up across his hands and arms to return it to the lightly tanned color rather than the orangy dyed coloring the vibrant berry's juices had left behind. Hair and makeup took nearly two hours before he was dressed up in an outfit that he'd never wear outside of perhaps an important political event. A tailored olive green and baby blue paisley suit with a white vest and slightly lighter shade of olive green dress shirt with a pastel pink tie and matching handkerchief. His hair, growing swiftly despite having been cut short during his hospital stay in order to treat his wounds, had started the day, nearly chin length with messy facial uncontrollable waves attempting to pretend to be curls but just a little too heavy and thick to hold the required shape. The hairstylist had convinced Harry to cut his hair shorter than he usually found controllable or styleable. The sides to the tops of his ear were buzzed short while the rest was clipped to just over three or four inches of length. The wonderworker of a lady then bullied the strands with oils and mousse into soft looking curls that almost seemed to float from his head. It brought attention to his eyes, and to the much faded but still present lighting arched scar that bisected his forehead and his left eyebrow.
Dark mascara and white guyliner made what Harry felt was his best physical feature, his eyes, seem even more luminous, like the shiny hard reflective shell of a Metapod in bright sunlight. His lips were lined with a shade just barely darker than his natural coloring and filled in with a clear gloss that felt exceptionally soft. A light layer of of makeup coated his face and although Harry had absolutely put his foot down on the idea of eyeshadow, despite the very convincing artist, highlighting and contouring via powders and creams brought more depth to the regal features of his face, with blush layered softly on his cheekbones to soften him just a little. All in all, although he could recognize himself showing through the pomp and pageantry in the provided mirror Harry certainly felt like someone else.
The interview was nothing exciting, boring questions about his favorite meals, activities and other such fluff interspersed with the rare few questions that actually made him think and gave him the opportunity to feel as though his intelligence was shining, not just his looks or celebrity.
He however would not be agreeing to a professional photoshoot again anytime soon. He had assumed it would be easy, a few poses, a smile or two and all would be done. It was extraordinarily exhausting. The photographer and the coordinators calling out different poses, giving him props and manipulating him just so to take hundreds, if not thousands of photos with only minute differences between them only to use perhaps a total of ten to fifteen at the end of the day.
Barry wasn't in the hotel room when Harry returned, so after changing out of the almost over the top pretentious suit into something a lot more casual, he wrote a quick note and headed back out to pick up some take out that was both filling and satisfying for dinner. He found a hole-in-the-wall Oblivian place that proclaimed that their beef Souvlaki were the best off the islands, and after a bit of a taste test courtesy of the sweet Vavoula doing the cooking, Harry believed it. With enough souvlaki for several gyros, pitas to wrap the savory meat in, container of roasted veggies and another of fresh cut veggies, fresh made tzatziki, and two pieces of warm spinach spanakopita, along with a tasty sounding dessert of pastry baked feta and honey, Harry made his way back to the Pokecenter and his and Barry's shared room.
Both boys were up early the next morning, much to Barry's grumbles. Morning ablutions and easy breakfasts of yogurt and fruit aside, the two were swiftly on the road heading out of Sunnytown towards Matcha City. They would hopefully arrive shortly after lunch and have a bit of time in the small city before traveling by boat across the Sunny Strait that served as the mouth of the Gulf of Vermillion. Harry's leg had been overly sore and slightly swollen when he awoke that morning and rather than walking he rode atop Goldfyre while Barry rode beside, unsaddled on Basalt his Lairon.
Matcha City didn't have its own training gym, it didn't even have a true pokemart, just a little kiosk stall within the Pokecenter. In truth calling it a city was a misnomer, it was barely a town. The majority of the 'city' was made up of greenhouses, nearly sixty of them, each nearly a hundred feet long and full of plants from which the so called 'city' sourced its main export. Tea plants, dried and ground to form the powdered matcha tea that gave the settlement its name. The two spent two hours in a tea shop taste testing various strains of matcha and a few that had been mixed with flavoring. There were also desserts made with tea powder that were quite divine. Haedryn purchased several different flavors of mochi all made with matcha powder, packing them away for later.
The ship that Harry and Barry were riding on was not a passenger ship, rather a cargo one willing to take a few passengers for a cheap fee the short distance across the Sunny Strait either way. Harry and Barry loaded on with little problem settling down on the two bunks they were directed to in one of the crew lodgings. They were given a cautionary but unnecessary warning about going through things that weren't theirs despite the nearly empty lodgings. It was shortly after the boats departure from Matcha City's dock when Helix gave warning.
"Incoming Call, number recognized, caller Samuel Oak," Helix's mechanical voice called out.
"Answer," Harry was quick to say.
"Harry, where are you?" his dad was quick to say, his tone made both boys quickly sit up from their lounging position.
"A cargo ship, the Singing Seel. We just left Matcha City heading towards Safari City," Harry answered. "Dad, what's wrong?" Harry asked not liking the look on his father's face.
"Unova and Galar signed peace accords a week ago," Samuel said.
"Pardon my intrusion," Barry said, "But is that not a good thing?"
"That was the common sentiment around the League," the Professor answered. "But it was just confirmed that both Regions signed a mutual alliance treaty, not just with one another but also with Kalos. Four Sinnoh Military ships have been attacked and there are sixty two confirmed human deaths and forty one pokemon. Barry, you'll be receiving notice shortly. You're being recalled to Hoenn by way of Oblivia. You're to attend training immediately to begin your year of service. As of now the Republic is preparing for war."
"And me?" Harry asked knowing there was a reason that his father was calling him rather than Barry directly.
"How fast can you make it to Fuschia City?" his father asked, his face twisted in a mixture of distaste and resignation.
"If I go directly from Safari on the bullet train instead of by luxury train, by late tonight. At least as long as the ship docks on schedule. Why?" Harry answered.
"Gym Leaders Koga, Erika, Giovanni, Brock, and Sabrina will be there; all other Gym Leaders have been ordered immediately to Head Command. You'll be getting the official orders soon enough, but all of the of age Registered League trainers in Kanto who are above tier three status but below six are about to be ordered to Fuschia City to be tested. All gym challenge requirements are as of now suspended. Those trainers who become tier six will attend an accelerated training regime in Oblivia. Registered League Trainers who do not achieve tier six status after this challenge and minors are to report to their hometowns for defense assignment," his father said with a sigh. Harry's heart stuttered.
"We aren't just preparing for war are we?" Harry asked, his voice wavering slightly.
"No," his father answered. "Sinnoh has already declared war and in five days, all the remaining Regions of the Eastern Republic will officially be declaring war; everything else is just squaring things away."
"Dad, me and Dawson won't be the only ones on the battlefield will we?" Harry asked.
"No," his father answered. "I have been ordered to report to Command Central in Oblivia within twenty-four hours. It is unlikely that I'll be able to continue regular contact with you for some time."
"Then this," Harry cut himself off.
"Goodbye," his father said. "At least for now." Harry swallowed harshly, blinking back tears. "Harry," his father said. "I love you." One final nod and then the screen went dark. Both boys sat in silence, a silence that likely would have lasted the entirety of the trip if both of their pokedexes hadn't beeped alerts within seconds of each other. Just as his father had told them, Barry's Pokedex had orders for him to report to the nearest gym where a psychic pokemon could port him to Oblivia for immediate Ranger Training and Service. Harry's ordered him to Fuschia for immediate testing.
"I can't stay in this room. I need air," Harry said.
"That's a good idea," Barry said. "I could use the fresh air too. Plus I should explain this to my team." The deck of the ship held almost the same solemness. Likely the Captain had received orders to immediately dock in Safari and await orders. The ship wasn't large, repurposing it for war was unlikely, it would most likely become a supply runner for the much larger warships that would be on the front lines. Harry released his own team briefly on the ship deck to explain the situation. It would seem that just the idea of going to war, the idea of their trainer going to war and being in danger was enough for his twins. Already having been so close to evolution his dragon pokemon's determination to prove themselves enough to protect their trainer pushed them over the edge. Seconds later where two Dratini had once sat were two Dragonair. The evolution had not changed their coloring, Castor was still entirely blue with no white to be seen, and Pollux was still white with the exception of the focusing gems which had come in their regular dark blue.
Both of his dragons had grown nearly two feet in length and both were now too large to easily carry for any length of time. There was one other problem. Though that was likely to change within the next forty-eight hours, Harry was technically only a tier three trainer, and both Castor and Pollux fell into tier five category. Their respective pokeballs transmitted that information near instantaneously and within a minute Harry was receiving another call.
"Hello," Harry said, answering it.
"Trainer Harry Oak?" the man on the other end asked.
"Yes sir," Harry answered.
"I just received information concerning the evolution of not one but two of your pokemon to a tier level beyond your current level, is this information correct, understanding that someone will be sent to confirm should you deny this," the man asked.
"It's correct," Harry answered honestly.
"Thank-you, for your honesty," the man said and Harry could hear typing in the background. "You are an of age League Registered Trainer Correct?"
"Yes sir," Harry answered.
"Very well," the man said. "You are temporarily given leave to carry and battle using the pokemon with the understanding that should you at any time before receiving Tier Five Battler status display a lack of control concerning them they will be remanded from your party until your status changes. If after the required testing you have been ordered too you do not achieve Tier Five or higher status they will be remanded from your party until your status changes. If you do not report for the required testing the entirety of your party will be remanded until further notice. Do you understand everything I have said?"
"Yes sir," Harry answered.
"Have a good evening," the man said.
"You as well," Harry answered with relief that his pokemon would not be taken from him.
"Oh and Harry," the man added just before Harry hung up. "Good luck."
Harry and Barry arrived in Fuschia shortly after midnight. Barry headed immediately for the gym to register for the next teleport to Oblivia while Harry's path was towards the tent city that was just beginning to be set up by the Pokecenter. Evidently the center itself was now overbooked. A small shared kiss, not a promise of anything but a goodbye and a hopeful 'see you again' was shared between them before they parted. Setting his shoulders back Harry approached what seemed to be the registration tent of the encampment, Rangers sitting at tables as currently small lines of trainers registered themselves for the coming testing. He wasn't sure if it was the cold air from the sea or just nervousness but a chill ran through the green eyed man as he looked over the people who were lined up. He was seventeen, at least physically and here that's all that mattered. He was seventeen and preparing to go to war.
Another deep breath and he stepped into line behind a man who couldn't be much older than himself who was clutching at his belt tightly, likely due to nerves. Behind him a familiar pastel purple, silver and white Altaria gently came to the ground, an equally familiar mountain man hopping off her back. Given the size difference it didn't look like it had been the most comfortable of rides for Henry but Venus didn't seem to have cared at all that a full grown man had ridden on her back.
"Henry!" Harry called to the man as he returned Venus to her pokeball.
"Harry!" the gruff man called back hurrying over and getting in line behind him.
"I'd say glad to see you out here but I think I'd prefer you back home where you'd be safe," Henry said, pulling Harry into a fierce hug.
"Well unless I manage to hop three tiers in the next few days that's where I'm heading," Harry answered. "You're tier five then?"
"Yeah, I didn't want to risk getting tier six when I was still sending home money to my family and risking dying in a mission and by the time my last sibling was out of the house I wasn't actually challenging anymore," Henry said. "Needed to get to at least tier five so that Venus could evolve all the way though."
"I need to get to tier five minimum," Harry said. "Castor and Pollux evolved when I told them that I was going to be involved in war."
"But if you don't get tier six you won't be involved in the war, you'd be on home defense but it's unlikely that anything would get far enough through the front lines to here," Henry said.
"If I don't get tier six I might not serve as a member of the troops but I guarantee you that the League will have me on some kind of technological project for the war effort and no matter where that ends up being centralized it would be a target," Harry answered. "I'm in this war no matter what."
"You aren't afraid we're gonna lose are you?" Henry asked.
"If it was Kalos or any of the other Independent Regions alone?" Harry asked rhetorically, "No."
"But together?" Henry asked.
"Kalos was strong enough to not just hold back the entirety of the Kantosian Army on its own, but was actually pushing us back out of Hoenn before the rest of the Republic was able to join us. It took the entirety of the Eastern Republic bar Kanto to defeat Kalos troops on Pasio. Now they have the technology of Galar and financial backing of Unova? This isn't a war that's going to be done in a day or two. Think about it. When we went to war for Hoenn and Pasio there was no testing for additional troops. You think only Kantos is doing this? No, I guarantee you every member of the Republic is doing it," Harry answered keeping his voice quiet so as to not draw too much attention. "I think we'll win, yeah, but the cost? That's a price that I don't know how many of us are going to be willing to pay."
His hands sweat as he grips Lady's ball. He hadn't had nearly as much time to train with her as he'd like but since Dorothy was not combat-able and was required to be transferred home before testing, Lady was his best defense against Koga's poison. At least they had improved most of her already learned moves and come up with natural commands to obscure the moves he'd call in battle. She'd learned a few more moves since her capture but Harry hadn't developed any personal moves beyond some combinations. He had certainly thought he'd have more training time with her before he was challenging more gyms.
"Trainers ready?" The Ranger serving as ref as well as providing the psychic pokemon that was holding the temporary battle barrier asked. Harry gave the thumbs up just as Koga did and with that the Ranger gave the hand signal and both of them pressed their release. It was a two on two battle with no substitutions. His Lady was quick to take in her battlefield and her opponent. Koga had sent out a Venomoth.
"Venomoth, final evolution the Poison Moth pokemon line, with dual bug and poison type. It seems to have the Shield Dust ability due to the particulate floating around it's being. The powder on its wings is dark in color meaning poisonous. Venomoth are a nocturnal species and prefer to be active at night," Helix said through his earpiece as he took in the images from the battle glasses Harry was wearing.
"Lady, play keep away and be careful of any dust it scatters, and make it sunny," Harry ordered as Koga ordered Venomoth to dance with her poison. Venomoth began a quivering sort of motion that seemed to loosen some of her wing scales and Helix was quick to let Harry know that the move Quiver Dance strengthened special type attacks and from here on out all poison and bug attacks would be stronger. As Venomoth began to quiver, Lady began to soak in the midday sun. It was bright and hot outside alright so there was no need for Sunny Day to help his Lady charge up her most devastating attack. Koga wasn't weak but the one downfall of a completely poison focused team was that poison needed time, and Harry wasn't about to let the man have that. Just as Venomoth shifted out of her dance to whip her wings and spread Poison Powder, Lady Light released her fully charged Solar Beam. It was a one hit KO. When the brightness cleared Venomoth lay on the ground, wings twitching lightly in unconsciousness.
"Round One to Challenger!" the Ranger called. Harry could hear cheers but as there were currently five makeshift battlegrounds in the flatlands around Fuschia the cheers could be for anyone. "Challenger, would you like to change pokemon?" Harry nodded no. His Lady needed only a little recovery time and her ground typing was still his team's best defense against poison. Then Koga sent out his second pokemon.
"Gengar, the final evolution of the Shadow Pokemon line with dual ghost and poison type," Helix said, and Harry just about cursed aloud. While ground type attacks still affect ghost pokemon most of the effectiveness against poison was negated with the dual typing. "Gengar, like all pokemon of the Shadow Pokemon line, likes to hide in the shadows and attack from extremely advantageous positions." The noon sun certainly helped with the problem of shadows but Lady had only the single dark move that would be super effective against their opponent.
"Lady make a storm!" Harry ordered and immediately the wind picked up as his darling began creating a Sandstorm. It would make it even more difficult for Gengar to hide and unlike Lady the ghostly pokemon was not made to maneuver flying sand. Unfortunately it also made visibility for Harry difficult. He shifted to stand fully in his trainer mound. The psychic barrier holding and keeping him from being buffeted by the sand himself. The sandstorm didn't last long. Gengar had obviously been taught Rain Dance by a technical machine as a counter to ground type pokemon. Unfortunately It was super effective against his Lady and Harry made a quick choice. Though his pokemon was all but grounded, the mud did not mean they were out by any means.
"Sand Tomb into Earthquake!" Harry shouted.
"Dodge it Gengar," Harry heard Koga order "And return fire with a Sucker Punch into Shadow Ball." Harry grinned.
"Bite him Lady, entomb yourself and shake the earth!" Harry ordered.
"Abort Shadow Ball Gengar!" Koga shouted, "Venoshock instead!" Both of their pokemon did exactly as ordered and it was just a matter of who would last longer. In the end it was Lady, if only barely. The Earthquake and Sandtomb had done its damage to her too despite her usual immunity ground typing due to her levitation ability, not to mention the bad poisoning that Gengar had given her. But in the end with the extreme effectiveness of the Dark Type move Bite in addition to the ground type moves brought Gengar down.
"Battle to Challenger!" The Ranger called and after recalling their pokemon they both walked to the center of the makeshift battleground to shake hands.
"You did well," Koga said to Harry, "Report to the field tent for the badge and status update, let them know that you need an antidote from Gengar; they'll have some on hand." The interaction was brief and succinct. A trainee joy rushed onto the field and took the two pokemon balls from Koga before the man turned to return to his battle position. Harry could see the rack of pokeballs within the man's battlefield station and didn't mind the briefness. Koga had been battling nearly nonstop since shortly after dawn with only a brief break for lunch, a battle before the one with Harry. Nearly all of the Gym Leaders had.
The soul badge was pretty but hardly mattered in the grand scheme of things. An antidote and a check in with the field medicenter and Lady Light was as good as new, or at least as good as she was going to get. Harry didn't have another battle until later tonight, at twenty-two hundred exactly with Gym Leader Erika and it was only a one on one battle and Lady wasn't needed and could rest. She'd be good to battle by tomorrow when Harry had to face Giovanni, Sabrina and Brock in quick succession, with only two hours between his battle with his ex and the Psychic type master and an hour between Sabrina and Brock. If he was unable to battle one of them for whatever reason he was forced to forfeit and moved to the back of the line to rechallenge. Considering there was only five days in which to battle before the leaders and whomever achieved status would be off to war it was something he didn't have the time to afford.
Sleep that night came easily. Goldfyre had easily plowed through Erika's Venusaur. The Gym leader had tried to lean into her pokemon's ground abilities but Harry had wasted no time and ordered Goldfyre into an immediate Pyromaniac, Goldfyre's stamina and firepower having grown significantly since his evolution. Goldfyre wasn't even ruffled after the move, a deep contrast to the unconsciousness the attack drove him into the last time he used it in battle.
Bright and early at oh six hundred hours Harry stood across from Giovanni, prepared for a three on three battle.
"Trainers ready?" This Ranger was an older grizzled woman who Harry could already tell would take absolutely no nonsense. Harry put his thumbs up and after a moment Giovanni followed. Castor was up first and Harry wasted no time calling him the moment the Ranger gave the signal.
"Sandslash, second and final evolution of the Mouse Pokemon line, solo ground type," Helix said.
"Airborne to Dance to Tail," Harry ordered his pretty blue boy into a combo. Giovanni didn't speak but instead made hand gestures. His Sandslash immediately cooked up a Sandstorm into a Twister making it difficult for Castor to control his Bounce into the air. Thankfully the Rain Dance that his snake performed quickly wet down the sand and his intelligent little beast went with the wind's power to boost his Aqua Tail even further. The attack was devastating against the Sandslash but not enough, the spiky mouse retaliating with a powerful Bulldoze partnered with a half dozen Fury Swipes.
"Wrap it up and show him what you learned from Dorothy," Harry ordered Castor, and his snake immediately struck the armored mouse with Ice Fang, latching on and pumping in ice and cold water into the wound even as he wrapped himself around the other pokemon and began to constrict. Another hand motion from Giovanni and Sandslash attempted a rollout to get Castor off, but Castor was used to entwining himself around the much more slippery form of his brother and didn't let go, forcing the other pokemon to submit.
"Round One to Challenger!" Castor swiftly moved to just in front of Harry's battle station as he awaited his next orders. "Challenger, would you like to switch pokemon?" the Ranger asked. Harry nodded a negative and waited.
"Marowak, second and final evolution of the Bone Keeper Pokemon line, solo ground type. Seems to be wearing an Ability Patch changing its ability to its Hidden Ability. Hidden Ability unknown," Helix informed Harry.
"Straight for it, Castor, pulse, ice and bash, repeat as needed," Harry ordered. Castor only got in the Water Pulse before Marowak's Ice Beam blasted into Castor to devastating effect. Before Harry could even give another order the Marowak easily transferred the beam into an all out Blizzard and Castor was done. Recalling him, Harry was left with a dilemma. The Ranger called the second round in favor of the defender and Harry tried to think of a strategy. The Marowak's ability to use ice moves in addition to ground moves was devastating to Harry's team. With Lady's dragon typing the same thing that had happened to Castor would happen to her and Pollux if he put her out there. Likewise ground and rock would prove extremely effective against Goldfyre as powerful as he was.
"I forfeit this match," Harry called out, crossing his hands to each shoulder palms towards himself in the formally recognized sign of surrender.
"Challenger Forfeit, Defender takes the Battle," the Ranger called out. Harry kept his face neutral as he crossed the field to shake Giovanni's hand as decorum dictated.
"There's no harm in knowing your weakness, love," Giovanni said as he took Harry's hand for a shake, holding it longer than necessary.
"I am not your love," Harry hissed back, yanking his hand away.
"I did warn you once that I wouldn't let you go," Giovanni said, quietly as Harry took two steps back before turning to walk off the field. The statement felt more like a threat than anything that had ever been said to him before.
Castor was unfortunately not available for his one on one battle with Sabrina but Pollux was just as effective as his brother would have been. Taking only a single hit of Confusion from the gym leader's Hypno before fielding off a flurry of Dragon Tails that caused Sabrina to recall her pokemon before it faced a complete curbstomp, Pollux worked off the rage at knowing his brother was so injured.
Pollux was equally as effective in Harry's fight against Brock. The battle, like with Giovanni was a three on three battle and with two Aqua Tails Pollux single hit KO'd Brock's first two pokemon, a Gravellor and an Onix respectively. Harry swapped him out for his Lady who was much recovered from her battle the day before and Brock called out his final pokemon.
"Rhydon, second evolution of the Drill Pokemon line, dual ground and rock type. Rhydon have extremely thick hides and have been known to bathe in magma unfeeling of its heat," Helix stated.
"Lady, aim for the eyes, the ears and if you can inside his mouth. His armor is going to be too thick to pierce. For now stay out of his way and charge up," Harry ordered. Those orders proved difficult to follow as Lady had to perform some serious aerial acrobatics to dodge the Rock Tomb Rhydon used to start throwing rocks at her. She blasted a nearly ineffective Dragon Breath at Rhydon since it missed, that deeply surprised Harry who was unaware she even knew the move. Brock retaliated by ordering Rock Smash and suddenly the rocks that were falling all around his Light were being burst apart and shrapnel was striking Lady's form. With a roar and bright flash Lady drew herself up and released a Solarbeam that made the psychic barriers flicker as the super effective grass move did its work. Her form flickered brightly and then with another more muted flash in comparison to her Solarbeam, Lady was evolving. His Vibrava was now a Flygon, the final and much larger form of the Mystic Pokemon line. She was large enough to carry on her back in flight and less bug-like in body. Less a dragonfly and more a dragon. She roared her pleasure and Harry couldn't help but grin. A handshake later and Harry made his way over to the field tent. His tier status was changed for the final time that day and Harry was officially given orders. He had two hours to pack up his things and report to the Fuschia City gym for the group teleport leaving at sixteen hundred hours. Harry was officially going to war.