Day 75

Although he looked at me like I was insane, Blue had agreed to team up with me to face against Surge. He'd mumbled something about it being better than cheating, but I didn't care for the specifics.

I swung the halberd horizontally, slamming it into the dummy and feeling the reverberations across my arm and shoulder. Then I used the recoil to slam the hook into another and pull sharply.

And the weapon slipped from my fingers.

Even with the agreement to work together in place, I still hadn't been ready to jump straight into the confrontation with Surge. I liked the Halberd Blue had given me, but I had no experience with polearms. Learning a new weapon from scratch was no easy feat, and unlike last time, I didn't have Red personally coaching me.

Over the past two days, Surge had been dutifully teaching me the basics when he was free, but he was a busy man, and as befitting a weapon with so many applications, even the basics were more complicated than they would be on another weapon.

Where with a spear you basically only had to worry about swinging and thrusting, the Halberd required you to keep the orientation of the weapon in mind for any attack you made. Thrust too far off? Well, if your weapon is rotated one way, you'll miss. Another and you slap them with the hook, another and the axehead will get caught, etc etc.

I was coming to grasps with it, but I still desperately lacked experience. I suspected these basics were something I'd be training in for a very long time to come.

Nearby, my partner Rattata was repeatedly slamming his head into a training dummy of his own. Each impact made a powerful crunch, but neither dummy nor Pokemon seemed to note that fact.

I sighed and retrieved my halberd, resting it over my shoulder. The sun was beginning to set outside, so I dutifully returned the practice weapons and left the Gym, returning to the PokeCenter to rest.

"You're still not ready?"

When I arrived at the Pokemon Centre, Blue was waiting for me on a couch in the foyer. He looked mildly annoyed, which I took to mean he was back to his normal state.

"I still have to clear the first phase before we can do the battle. I got everything I need for our strategy from the market last night."

Blue snorted dismissively. "We're still cheating then?"

I shook my head. "No, we're making strategic use of intel."

He looked at me skeptically.

"We won't hide, we won't cheat. That's what you wanted right?"

"Better not…"

He turned away grumpily, and we sat in silence for a few moments. Eventually, he stood up.

"If you have everything ready, let's do the challenge tomorrow."

"I'm not good enough with the Halberd to-"

"I'll buy you a book on how to use them. Just pass the test."

We locked eyes for a moment, and Blue raised an eyebrow at me, though I thought I caught a hint of a smile behind his eyes.

"Well, we can try."

Blue nodded with that faint cocky grin, then sauntered off upstairs to his room. I watched him leave, then turned to the nurse behind the counter.

"I'd like to use the call centre."

"Again?"

"Yeah. Same recipient please."

She looked as though she wanted to chastise me, but silently and dutifully led me to the call room.

Day 76

Yet again I stood in that warehouse of a Gym, staring at the squares of figures, wondering which one to challenge. Blue had made it more than apparent he was itching to try my strategy, and he'd followed me to the Gym today.

"I'm still not ready. I won't beat the test."

The boy just rolled his eyes at my warning.

"You've got everything you need, just do it."

"Like I said-"

Blue raised a finger to his lips, signalling me to be silent.

"I know, you won't get it unless I show you."

I frowned as the brown haired boy waltzed over to the wall of weapons, drawing a wooden buckler and a short sword from the armoury.

He waved to Surge, who was coaching another boy across the field. "Hey Captain, I'm going to redo my trial!"

"It's Lieutenant, but good luck!"

Blue wasted no time accompanying his partner onto one of the square arenas, this one filled with an even distribution of close and mid-range targets. With a jolt, the lot of them came to life, dodging and weaving around him.

His sapphire eyes darted left and right, taking in the scene, and he raised his shield, advancing forward.

"Squirt, water gun!"

With the tip of his sword, Blue gestured towards the row of dummies farthest away from him, and the Wartortle nodded in understanding.

Blue slashed away at one of the enemies in front of him, Wartortle firing a blast at one of the dummies in the back, knocking it out. The boy then raised his shield, enduring all the 'attacks' the dummies dished out in retaliation.

The display was nowhere near as flashy as Chee's had been, as the pair of them methodically made their way through the dummies in sequence. When their time was up they had each defeated ten dummies, for a total of twenty.

"Mm. Pass!" Surge gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Blue let out a breath and turned his eyes on me. "Alright. That's how I beat this trial."

I furrowed my brow, unsure what he was trying to say.

"You remember how Chee beat the trial?"

"Of course."

It rather stuck out to me how little she'd relied on her partner, the lions share of the knockouts in her trial were delivered by Chee herself.

"Great! So, if that's how Chee does this trial, and this was how I do this trial…"

Blue softly pointed the sword tip at my chin, a few beads of sweat dropping from his head.

"How would the dishonourable Cyan do this trial?"

Dishonourable?

It took me a few seconds of annoyed glaring at Blue, but eventually I felt my facial muscles relax as I clicked to what he was trying to say.

"There you go~" Blue's mouth contorted into a smirk so arrogant I almost wanted to punch him, but I disregarded that emotion and instead caught Surge's attention.

There was something I needed to ask him.

"Does the ratio matter?"

The man stared blankly at me for a few moments, so I clarified.

"What percentage of the dummies do I need to defeat myself, without Yeller's help?"

The gym leader rubbed the back of his head while looking down at me. He seemed almost confused?

"Who cares? Depending on your specialisation, the right answer could be anything."

So, it doesn't matter.

I glanced back across the glossy wooden floor at Blue, whose smirk only grew wider.

"Alright. I'm ready for my trial."

I took a deep breath, holding my Halberd in my left hand and resting my right on Yeller's head. His golden fur was still soft, despite his somewhat scruffy coat. I took stock of the bright yellow lights in the ceiling, trying to gauge what angles they could potentially blind us to.

We both sat before one of the padded stages used for the combat training. I had picked one where all the dummies were packed together in very close quarters, even though that would ordinarily be disadvantageous for a soldier.

Chee defeated twenty-five. Blue defeated twenty. But I only need to beat fifteen to pass. Don't get greedy.

"Ready!"

At my call, the dummies came to life. I would only have a few minutes to defeat enough and pass Surge's test.

I charged in with my halberd, my heart pounding against my ears. I weaved away from one attack, carefully lining up the tip of my weapon as the dummies dipped back and forth, and the world around me started to fade away.

The dummies were enemy units, I was a lone soldier left to protect this marshland from invaders. I knew it wasn't the truth, but framing it that way helped me to focus.

The invaders took a few swings at me, and I took a rapid step back on the soft ground, my feet sinking in a little deeper than I'd like and slowing our movements. Their formation was tight and well exercised, they had almost no openings.

I scanned them carefully, keeping my calm. Staying calm was important in battle, if you charged in recklessly you'd just be hydro cannon fodder-Not to mention I was still inexperienced with my weapon.

But then I saw it-One of the soldiers was a quarter-step out of line with the others. Not enough to be immediately noticeable, but enough to give me the opening I needed.

"By me!" I called to my partner, and we charged into the thick of the battle. The enemies swung down on us of course, but the attacks were predictable and with a subtle twist of my Halberd I was able to deflect the only attack likely to hit me. I gripped my weapon in both hands and pierced the chest of the unlucky soldier.

Through the heart, practically instant death

I wasted no time digging my heels into the dirt and twisting, pulling both him and myself to the marshy ground as the enemies all around us swung on the space I had just exited-But it was too late for them, their formation now had a solid opening.

"Quick Mode!" I couldn't suppress a grin at my partner as I opened my hands wide, locking eyes with him.

"Go wild."

My partner's reaction was immediate-A flash of white, a line from where Yeller had stood straight into the hole I'd opened, and an ornate star of white lines as my partner blitzed the enemy with every single quick attack he had. Two to start the attack, then two for each enemy remaining.

Thirty uses, fifteen knockouts. Just barely passing grade.

Wood chips flew everywhere as the battlefield faded from my minds eye, the dummies scattered in every direction as scraps of cloth wood and metal. My partner tumbled haphazardly across the padded floor, panting heavily.

"Good job Yeller."

I gently scooped up the tired rodent, petting his head softly.

"...Well damn! Yeah, pass!" Surge practically clapped.

I turned to glance at Blue and Chee, the latter of whom had stars in her eyes, whilst the former nodded as if this were to be expected.

"Barely within the rules, just like you." He quipped, flashing me an arrogant smirk.

I hopped down onto the creaky floorboards, setting Yeller up onto my shoulder.

"I'm ready."

"About damn time!"

My backpack made repeated muffled clanks and clangs with each jostled step I took. I raised my hand to my head, struggling to adjust my sight to the darkening sky. The sun had already dipped partly below the horizon, but there was still some light left before the night descended entirely.

"I think it was around here." Blue warned me, and we came to a stop a few meters away from the Gym Challenge battlefield.

I bent over and brushed away some dirt, and sure enough there was a faded white line on the ground just a few feet ahead of us.

I glanced up at the sky, which although a darkening pink, was distinctly clear. I'd asked Blue to stop us before the point where it started raining on his first attempt, and there was still no rain for us right now.

"…Alright. You remember the plan?"

I glanced at Blue, who rolled his eyes at me.

"It's not that complicated."

Despite his complaints, Blue's eyes almost seemed to hum with a deep blue light, gaze fixed firmly on the arena in front of us.

You're excited too.

I examined the field one more time, eyeing up the miniature cliff face Surge always rested atop. I couldn't see him, but Blue claimed that the Thunder would always come from there.

"We aren't hiding, so this is all going to be about speed."

I scratched between the ears of my partner Rattata, who stretched his limbs in preparation for the battle. Tail flexing back and forth, ears high.

"I know." Blue bent forward slightly, steadying himself in a running posture. "You gonna be alright with all your junk?"

"I'm set."

"Then GO!"

Both of us broke into a sprint, Yeller hopping along behind us. Throwing caution to the wind, the pair of us beat through the brush as quickly as we could manage, hopping over sticks and logs and swerving around particularly bothersome bushes.

With two of us, Surge said that he has to knock out two of either us or our Pokemon to count as a victory. We just need to land a hit on him or his partner.

There were three major paths through the bush, each leading to a different kind of challenging terrain. The test was clearly meant to rely on your ability to hide and get around without being spotted, but we ignored all three paths and pushed straight to the cliff immediately.

The biggest opening we get is right here

I couldn't tell why, but in every story both of Blue's and of the other townsfolk I'd consulted, it would always rain during Surge's gym challenge, and the rain would always start before the thunder. Today was no exception, as even with each passing step I could see the sky clouding over.

No time!

We burst through the brush, the wall of the cliff just a few feet in front of us. I reached into my bag, still ringing with metallic thuds and withdrew a pair of hooked metal rods. I tossed one to Blue and we lined up our shots.

And we threw.

It didn't fly exactly how I wanted, but the arc was still true enough, one of the metal spears digging into the rock of the wall with a crunch. The metal handle stuck out at an odd angle, maybe around 70 degrees perpendicular to the wall. But it would have to do, as the other one plinked harmlessly off the wall.

Good, we don't have to waste time with a second throw

"Squirt!" Blue was already fulfilling his part, bringing his slow Wartortle out of it's ball as close as we could get to the wall.

I slipped a palm down and under Yeller's hips, twisting my right shoulder back and tensing my elbow, the throwing him at the spear with all my might. "Land on it!"

Fortunately, Yeller didn't need to rely on my aim being true, using a Quick Attack to trail white energy from my hand, he course-corrected towards the spear handle, grappling onto it just as droplets of water started to land on my skin.

I almost slipped over in the loose dirt, the rain slowly converting the ground to mud, but it wasn't important for me to stay standing now.

"Aqua Jet!"

The Wartortle encased itself in water, then soared upwards towards the Rattata, who clung desperately onto the metal handle.

"Withdraw!" Blue called out again, and the Wartortle dispensed with it's case of water and sucked it's limbs into it's body, a soft shimmer indicating the increased defense.

But even in just these few moments, the rain was growing thicker. I knew we had seconds at best. I scrambled forwards as I gave my next command.

"Bite Catapult!"

The Rattata tensed up, his tail coiling around the bar for support, and a set of purple jaws made of nothing but raw energy formed near to Blue's partner, snapping down on it's shell. Yeller let out a squeaky grunt, but sharply pulled his head upwards, the jaws followed the motion, swinging the Wartortle with a great centrifugal force.

A flash of yellow rose from the cliff face, a bolt of thunder hitting the clouds in the sky. Time was shorter than ever.

"Quick Jet!"

-And that was the key command. As the purple jaws evaporated the wartortle was once again coated in blue water, soaring up and over the cliff edge out of sight as we had planned.

But we weren't out of the woods yet. Until Squirt could land the final blow, we had to endure any attacks. "Yeller! Back to-Crap! Blue, follow me!"

I cut myself off, cursing as I saw the rodent had unfortunately slipped off of the metal rod due to the catapult. I tore forwards, sliding across the muddy ground and scooping up my partner before he hit the ground in a bad way. Blue was hot on my heels, only a few feet away.

And then it came, thunder from above, arcing towards the brown-haired boy I was working with. Steam rose from the path of the attack as it seemed to wind towards me in slow motion, and I lifted Yeller in desperation.

Brace the head, the teeth, hold him against your belly, and…!

"Bite Shield!"

Just in the nick of time, the violet fangs formed a barrier between me and the bolt, causing it to fracture and rain down around us like hail. But the attack was too powerful, even bracing Yeller for the hit, I could feel the overwhelming force pressing down on both of us.

Holy-

The energy shattered before I could react, purple flakes scattering in all directions. Fortunately, Yeller was faster to react than I was, and a second pair formed immediately after, only to shatter, then reform, then shatter, all in the blink of an eye.

Five times, ten times, fifteen times, even more- In less than a second, Yeller burned through the entire energy of his Bite move, and the thunder, although severely weakened, bore down on us.

That single instant had been just enough for Blue to dive out of the way, but as the one supporting Yeller, I wasn't so lucky. I quickly bent forwards, the bolt of lightning striking me instead of my partner or my teammate.

"Aaaahgggh!"

The pain was incredible, even after breaking through the attacks, it still held such incredible power. Just as I was thinking it was unreasonable, a window opened in front of my eyes.

[Log:

Type Proficiency: Electric +5%!
Type Proficiency: Electric +5%!
Type Proficiency: Electric +5%!
Type Proficiency: Electric +5%!
Type Proficiency: Electric +5%!]

It just keeps going!? Wait-Status!

As the window opened, I saw it moving.

[HP: 19/34]
[HP: 16/34]
[HP: 13/34]
[HP: 10/34]

And at the same time, I saw it in the log.

[Log:

Type Proficiency: Electric +5%!
Type Proficiency: Electric +5%!
Type Proficiency: Electric +5%!
Type Proficiency: Electric +5%!]

Finally, the pain came to an end, and I found myself panting for breath. My HP reduced to 10 in nearly an instant, a lingering tingle from the electricity. But, I was still standing.

"We did it…!" I exclaimed, my vision blurring in and out. It was strangely hard to focus on my surroundings. The soft slush beneath my feet-Was it mud, or snow? Was I hot, or cold? I couldn't tell…

"Cyan!"

Red?

I turned back to my comrade, the man who always hid beneath his cap. Snow drifted between us and he scowled at me, blue eyes-

Wait. It's not Red. It's Blue. Red wouldn't call out to me…

I looked over to Blue with a pained grin, but he wasn't smiling, he was scowling. His eyes were glowing the brightest sapphire I'd seen from them, and the distress was evident in his expression.

"We have a problem!"

"Huh?"

I still struggled to focus on Blue or his words, my vision kept fading back and forth between two views, a world of mud and rain, a world of snow and hail. I had to keep reminding myself I was in the world with Blue, not back with Red.

"He's not up there! I can't see him!"

Blue gestured to the top of the cliff, glancing around fervently. He said it like he could see the top himself.

"How do you-"

My vision blurred to Red again, locking eyes with me determinedly, a message loud and clear.

Behind you!

My instincts as a soldier kicked in. The snowy bushes behind me rustled suspiciously, and I dove to my right, backpack rolling off my shoulders and across the ground as the air whistled past my ear, a blow missing my head by a hair.

I tumbled over and back onto my feet, locking eyes on the enemy baring down on us. Blonde hair, dark clothing.

Cynthia!

I dug my feet into the snow and gritted my teeth, my vision blurring further from the shock-But I forced myself back to reality again to see Surge, wielding his Raichu like a ball and chain. He clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

This is bad.

Yeller was exhausted from defending against the Thunder attack, and frankly, I seemed to be losing myself from shock. Squirt was still at the top of the cliff, out of range to help us, and Blue wouldn't be very useful without his partner. I couldn't afford to allow another strike.

I could use my bag as a decoy, reduce the damage of the hit

Surge pulled his Raichu back to his fist like he was pulling a rope to retrieve a boat, the fat rat giggling as it was placed soundly upon his wrist.

"Squirt! Get down here!"
"Yeller! The bag!"

My bag lay sprawled out on the field, still opened. The metal rods I'd prepared poking out haphazardly.

"Thunder!"

A blast of electricity pierced the heavens, a golden line straight into the clouds, but I didn't have time to care. My partner blitzed with white light to my bag, grabbing it in his teeth and using his force to throw it towards me.

He tried to return to my side, but Surge was too fast. As the thunder left his partner's cheeks, he swung the round Pokemon's fist firmly into Yeller's side, despite his speed.

A deep splash of crimson liquid splattering from my partner as the golden child of Sinnoh-No! I'm not there!

The blow sent my partner flying into the bushes and out of sight, taking my bag with him.

"Yeller!" I reached out to him desperately, my foot tapping against the discarded metal rod which had failed to pierce the wall of the cliff earlier.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a window open. It was Yeller's status window.

[Yeller

Rattata* (Level 14)

Hp: 0/34]

[Log:

Your partner has fainted.]

"That's one!" Surge grinned at us. "And here comes two~"

Yeller down, the sensation of my feet, pressing into the cold and mushy ground, overpowered by a stronger trainer, I felt as though I was back on the battlefield that killed me.

The thunder was done rumbling in the sky. I wasn't sure how, but I could tell. It was going to hit Blue, and that would be it. I wouldn't be able to convince him he could still win here.

No, more than that. I wasn't sure I could win if I had to do this challenge again.

My heart started pounding harder than ever, and I could feel the dangers and death of war lingering in the air. Surge was a soldier through and through, and everything that came with that. The mud and rain faded away in my vision, all I could see was snow and blood in it's place.

Stay armed. It's not over yet soldier.

Almost numbly, I kicked the rod from the ground into my hands. The metal was cold in my hands, and I gripped it so tightly my hand turned white.

There was no time for anything fancy, I only had time for a single step before the lightning hit, but I was close enough. I slipped between the Thunder and Blue, digging the spike straight into the ground.

The thunder struck the spike, and by extension, me.

"GAAAH!"

[HP: 8/34]
[HP: 6/34]
[HP: 4/34]
[HP: 2/34]

Desperately I tried to pull my hands off the spike, but it seared against my hands, growing superheated from the electricity pouring through it into the ground. The damage was less than taking the hit directly, but it still hurt like hell.

[Log:

Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!
Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!
Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!
Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!]

[HP: 0/34]

[Log:
Your HP has been reduced to 0.]

And that was it. My HP hit zero, and I would pass out. We would lose the challenge, I'd never be strong enough to stop the Tauros. To save my mother. To save Chee, to help Blue.

Red would die again. Because I wasn't strong enough.

We can't lose Red again!

Something about the situation cut into me, and as unconsciousness pressed down upon me, I kept my focus sharp. With the desperation of war, life and death, I dug into my soul, and I felt something... Familiar. I gritted my teeth, glaring forwards.

[Log:
Your HP has been reduced to 0.
You resisted unconsciousness with willpower.]

The log kept flashing something at me, but I couldn't spare the focus to read it, it took every ounce of my will to clutch onto the spike and withstand the growing pain.

[Log:
Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!
Your HP has been reduced to 0.
You resisted unconsciousness with willpower.
Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!
Your HP has been reduced to 0.
You resisted unconsciousness with willpower.
Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!
Your HP has been reduced to 0.
You resisted unconsciousness with willpower.]

No!

More and more system windows opened, at least one of them was the Guardian trying to tell me something, but I stared straight ahead with gritted teeth. I couldn't spare my attention for whatever the Guardian wanted.

[Log:
Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!
Your HP has been reduced to 0.
You resisted unconsciousness with willpower.
Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!
Your HP has been reduced to 0.
You resisted unconsciousness with willpower.
Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!
Your HP has been reduced to 0.
You resisted unconsciousness with willpower.
Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!
Your HP has been reduced to 0.
You resisted unconsciousness with willpower.]

My hands burned, my chest ached, my muscles tightened. It was overwhelming.

I said NO!

[Log:
Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!
Your HP has been reduced to 0.
You resisted unconsciousness with willpower.]

[Log:
Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!
Your HP has been reduced to 0.
You resisted unconsciousness with willpower.]

[Log:
Type Proficiency: Electric +1.67%!
Your HP has been reduced to 0.
You resisted unconsciousness with willpower.
You resisted unconsciousness with willpower.
You resisted unconsciousness with willpower.]

And it stopped. I stood frozen, my hands finally having released the spike, though I didn't feel as though I could move.

"Oh crap! Quick, call off the battle, we need to get-"

I shot Surge with a glare. It was about all the strength I had left.

"Woah! You're still conscious?!"

The soldier seemed almost taken aback, though in full honesty I couldn't blame him. I wasn't sure how I was still standing either. Though I had a faint feeling I'd done something like this before.

Still, I wasn't moving, and Surge could tell that. He stepped forward, reaching an arm for me-Only to stop and jump back.

With a splash, the Wartortle arrived. It came to a dead stop between me and Surge. I could barely focus, I wanted to pass out,

But not yet. The battle isn't over yet.

I had to stay conscious.

"Finally."

Blue stepped into my view. I wasn't sure, but I thought he was smiling.

"Finally I got close to you. You'll never get to use your Thunder again."

Surge smiled but didn't respond, wielding his partner as a weapon yet again.

"Jetstream."

I could barely focus on the battle, it took all my strength just to stay awake.

Blue's wartortle encased itself in a ball of water yet again, but just like Yeller's quick mode, it burst at Surge in an instant. The man was barely able to flail out of the way as the Wartortle bounced off trees, walls, blades of grass, and Blue himself to corner Surge.

Whenever it looked like Surge might adapt to the tempo, Squirt would reduce or increase his pace suddenly, keeping Surge on the back foot.

Like a ring of water, the attacks left Surge entirely constrained-And Blue kicked Surge straight in the stomach, knocking the soldier off his guard.

"Guh!"

And the Wartortle slammed directly into the Raichu as Surge was distracted.

"That means we win, right?"

Surge rubbed his stomach softly. "Yeah. Congrats on winning-"

"Later." Blue turned away from the badge he had been so excited to claim, walking over to me.

"Still with us?"

I didn't have the strength to answer, but I forced my eyes to focus on him.

"Great."

Wordlessly he hoisted my arms over his shoulders, and lifted me up.

"You did good, but never do something like that again. I'm supposed to be keeping you safe, not helping you kill yourself."

I could barely hear it, I was more worried about someone else.

"Yel…" I choked out.

"I'll handle it. Rest."

And so I did, the cold darkness of unconsciousness finally claiming me.

[Log:

The time limit is up, restoring HP to regular levels.]

Day 77

I groaned softly and turned to the side, only to be greeted by a pair of heavily concerned silver eyes.

Cyan! You're awake!

The black-haired girl quickly buried her face in my chest, pounding her fists on the side of the bed. An action which may have been cute, if it didn't make the whole bed frame shudder.

"Hey, hey. I'm alright, calm down."

I reached over to put a hand on her head, only to see that my arms were covered with bandages.

Ah, right. I must have burned myself pretty badly.

Although I had packed the rods thinking I might use them as lightning rods in a pinch, I'd intended to use them both with insulating gloves and in advance of the attack. I'd never expected Surge to confront us so directly.

Hiding behind them for cover, not holding them to channel a Thunder into the ground with my own body.

Plus, the gloves reduced my accuracy for the pivotal throw, so I gave up on that plan…

Instead, I had probably burnt my hands quite badly. Indeed, as I glanced around, I found I was once again in a hospital bed. Yeller was resting near Chee, although he seemed to be in better shape than I was.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

I turned my attention to the voice, to see Blue resting on one leg against the doorframe. It may have just been my imagination, but his glare seemed to lack it's usual bite.

"I feel pretty much fine."

My hands were tingling and-Sore might be a mild way to put it, but I'd experienced far worse pain in my last life.

Blue raised an eyebrow at me. "The doctors told me you weren't that badly injured either-For somebody who took two lightning strikes to the face, that is."

I glanced down at my hands again, clenching and opening my fists a few times. It was definitely odd, even if Surge had been holding back, I should have taken some bad electrical burns from clenching the spiked rod while it was electrified. My hands definitely hurt, but I seemed to be able to move them just fine, which meant the burns were surface-level, and would heal relatively quickly.

"The doctor says if you really got off that easy, you must already have some tolerance to heat and electricity. Maybe you have a good constitution for it."

This conversation feels familiar…

I shook my head. "Maybe, but I don't see how."

The brown-haired boy shrugged, but kept his eyes firmly on me. "Maybe you're just lucky."

It didn't sound like he believed that, but he let the subject drop there.

"Still, never do something stupid like that again."

I frowned at the boy, who shot me an annoyed glower in response.

"I'm serious! In the first place, I got sent back to you guys because you kept putting yourself in the hospital. If you keep acting like this, you're going to get sent back home!"

"…I'll try."

Blue rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. If you're fine, there's still one of us here who hasn't beaten the Challenge. Though truthfully, I think she'll have it easier than either of us."

Chee pulled back slightly, locking Silver eyes with me. I got this!

I nodded softly.

"I'm sure you do."

"And speaking of that." Blue shifted away from the frame and back to standing upright, glancing at the clock on the wall. "We'd better go make sure that happens."

I moved to get out of bed, but Blue placed a palm on my chest.

"No. Stay here and rest."

He turned away, walking towards the exit. "Come on 'Green'. Lets go win your badge so we can all get them together tomorrow."

Get well soon Cyan… Chee hesitated by my side, but sheepishly left to follow Blue's direction, leaving the room. She shot me a glance on the way out, slipping her white brimmed hat onto her head.

I'll crush him for you!

I blinked in surprise. That didn't quite seem right-Maybe I misinterpreted her thought since she slipped out so quickly. It must have been something more like 'I'll beat him for you'-Yes, that sounded more likely.

I'll beat him for you!

Blue also stepped into the doorframe to leave, then stopped, staring straight ahead for a moment. He raised his hand and rubbed the back of his neck for a moment.

"And, yeah. Well done." He awkwardly added, before stepping out of sight.

I watched them leave, then rested my head back against the bed. I let out a heavy breath, trying to organise my thoughts.

This whole situation feels so familiar… But how did I endure that attack?

My partner nuzzled against my hand softly, and I met the concerned eyes of the Yellow Rattata.

You're hurt.

"I'll be fine."

Hurt because of me. You protected me. I wasn't strong enough.

Great. So now my own partner was feeling guilty.

Next time, I will protect you.

It came again, the flash of red in my mind. It seemed my memories of the war were particularly vivid today.

I pushed the thought away as rapidly as I could, and shook my head.

"We're a team, Yeller. We cover each other."

The Rattata tilted his head at me for a moment, but there were no more clear thoughts. He curled up next to my waist quietly.

"Glad you're alright, bud."

I softly stroked his head.

[Guardian:

"Why did you use a skill like that for a Gym Battle!? Are you a fool?"]

The window assaulted my vision the second I looked up.

"Nice to see you too…" I muttered under my breath.

[Guardian:

"You could have died if that went poorly. A skill like that should be saved for life or death situations-Or preferably, as the system holder, never."]

What skill are you even talking about? I frowned.

I didn't receive a response, instead my status information opened with a skill highlighted.

[Cyan Hughs

Status:

HP: 12/34
Atk: 17
: 1
Def: 21
Sp. Def: 7/15
Spd: 20

Stat Points (0)

Skills:

Tenacity

Eye to Eye
Regression System
Pokemon Status Lv 2
Bonds System

S.T.A.B.
Noctowl Vision (Lv 2)
Photosynthesis

Type Proficiency 47% {Tap to Expand} ]

[Normal Proficiency: 349% {VIEW REWARDS}
Fighting Proficiency: 0%
Flying Proficiency: 5%
Poison Proficiency: 0%
Ground Proficiency: 0%
Rock Proficiency: 0%
Bug Proficiency: 0%
Ghost Proficiency: 0%
Steel Proficiency: 0%
Fire Proficiency: 0%
Water Proficiency: 3%
Grass Proficiency: 111% {VIEW REWARDS}
Electric Proficiency: 71%
Psychic Proficiency: 0%
Ice Proficiency: 0%
Dragon Proficiency: 0%
Dark Proficiency: 314% {VIEW REWARDS}
Fairy Proficiency: 0%]

My electric proficiency went up by a lot…

I glanced over the proficiency first, but it was pretty obvious what my Guardian wanted me to look at. I pressed the new word under the skills section, opening it's description.

[Tenacity

Among those with a strong purpose, some feel a determination so strong it overcomes their physical limits, soldiers who keep moving even when their body itself has given up on them.

Converts Willpower into Stamina temporarily, ends if focus is lost.

WARNING: Does not recover health. Does not recover strength.]

How did I gain this skill…?

[Guardian:

"And here I thought Eye to Eye was your only skill from your last life. Have you been keeping this secret just to mess with me?"]

What are you talking about? I gained Eye to Eye at the same time as the system.

There was a long pause, before the next message.

[Guardian:

"Ah. Of course, you're just an idiot. I don't know what I was expecting."]

I suppressed a wave of annoyance. Explain it to me then, you're the 'Guardian' who's supposed to teach me such things, no?

[Guardian:

"The System doesn't just create something from nothing. If you gained a skill out of nowhere, there's only one possibility: You already had it."]

But it wasn't in the system before.

[Guardian:

"It probably didn't know about that skill since you haven't used it until now, but if the skill was granted to you by the system, it would have said so in the Log-Or somewhere, at least."]

Yet only the effects were noted. When I opened the log and browsed it back, sure enough, although there were multiple warnings and notations of my increasing proficiency, it didn't acknowledge me gaining a skill.

But that still doesn't answer how I received it. Even if I had it this whole time-

I paused, scrolling past a certain line in the log.

[Log:

…been reduced to 0.
A portion of your mental strength has been restored. Sp. Def Penalty reduced by 5.
Type Profi…]

I frowned, this line was distinctly different from the other messages I received related to my stats. My Sp. Def had increased by 5, yet it didn't say '+5', but a penalty was reduced?

[Guardian:

"Skills are mysterious things. They can be gained through emotions, teaching, genetics, almost anything. Some skills are said to be blessings on important people. This 'Tenacity' looks to be a simple skill formed by a powerful emotion."]

I tapped the line in the log.

What about this?

The silent pause was almost deafening.

[Guardian:

"You don't have enough fate points for me to answer."]

Just when I thought you were being useful.

I let out a sigh, resting my palm on the head of my Rattata absentmindedly.

[Guardian:

"Do you think you have more skills? Try to think of any time something unusual happened, particularly in a moment of high emotion."]

I shook my head softly. Occasionally I would power through things I shouldn't, but that seems like it was this skill.

[Guardian:

"Unfortunate."]

I turned over what the Guardian told me about skills a few times.

Bronze. He used a scan skill on me. I'd assumed that skills like that were only granted by the system or innate from birth, but if that's not the case…

I glanced over at the Pokemon by my side.

Maybe I could get that skill too?

Day 78:

I turned the Pokeball in my hand back and forth, straining my eyes to examine every detail I could. There were fine scratches, scuffs, dents, some of which had been amateurishly polished away or buffed out. The ball was of an older design, and by my best guess was over a decade old.

I let out a breath and glanced at my status again, but there was no change.

I suppose getting a scan skill wouldn't be that easy.

An elbow softly jabbed into my chest, bringing my attention back to reality.

"Snap out of it." Blue hissed to me, and I tucked the ball back away into my bag without complaint.

All three of us Pallet town kids were lined up in a storeroom at the back of Surge's Gym, where he'd brought us after we met him by the entrance.

"Sorry, sorry!" Surge practically hummed as he rummaged through the drawers and compartments in the room. "I know they're here some-Aha!"

Triumphantly, Surge pulled out a drawer and slammed it down on a table. The contents were a pair of brown boxes, each marked [34]. He slid them over towards us.

"This is TM34, for the move Shock Wave. Consider it a bonus for your exemplary performance."

I softly picked up the box, examining it. Another one… How do they have the money for this?

"Only two?" Blue cocked an eyebrow at Surge.

"That's the downside of competing as a team. One per clear, those are the rules. These TMs are pretty expensive after all."

Blue rolled his eyes, and I just barely caught what he whispered under his breath afterwards. "And pathetic…"

"That said-" Surge continued, either he hadn't heard Blue's comment or he didn't care. "You still get your badges!"

The metal pins he handed us were made of an ornate orange circle with eight yellow spikes going all around the edges. It looked almost like a sunflower.

Chee and I each took the badge without much fanfare, but Blue seemed to hesitate.

The brown-haired boy gingerly lifted the badge, holding it up to the light. His expression was as lifeless as ever, but I thought I saw the corner of his lips twitch before he grasped the pin tightly in his hand.

"Ah, before you all go…" Surge squatted down towards us, expression serious. "Sit down, there's something important I need to tell you."

The three of us exchanged glances, but we did as we were told. I looked into Surge's eyes, they were resolute, not a hint of humour.

"I'm sure you've thought it was odd at least once. Why the Gym Challenge is so well funded, why we encourage so many young trainers to train and grow stronger."

Chee tilted her head to the side as if it had never crossed her mind, while Blue simply kept looking straight ahead. I myself had an inkling as to why.

"Frankly, it's for the worst case scenario. If another nation declares war on us, we wanted to have as many powerful trainers as possible to defend our home."

But I wasn't expecting them to say it outright.

"This challenge isn't some fun business. It's training for soldiers. And I don't like that kids like you three can get caught up in it. If you keep moving forwards, the challenges are only going to grow more and more dangerous."

He locked eyes with us.

"Are you sure you want to proceed? There's no shame in stopping here, you're just kids after all. I'm sure you want nothing to do with war."

I turned to look at the others. Chee seemed completely unbothered, and Blue appeared to be watching my reaction closely. Neither of them said anything.

I took a shallow breath, then answered.

"Well, that's more or less what I thought was happening."

Surge blinked a few times, bewildered, and Blue let out a hearty laugh, slapping his knees.

"Maybe you're not so stupid after all!" He laughed. "I heard all about this from Gramps ages ago, so it doesn't bother me."

"Chee?"

The silver-haired girl and I locked gazes, and she shrugged softly. I don't really get it, but if you're going, I'm going.

In the first place, if we gave up here, Oak wouldn't be likely to keep sponsoring us. If I'd come here without knowing what would happen, I might have been more hesitant, but compared to an actual battlefield the training here was safe and courteous.

Red's training was way harsher than this, anyway.

I turned my attention back to Surge.

"None of us are backing down, sir."

He glanced over each of us in turn, then sighed.

"Alright, so be it. In that case, I have a recommendation for you."

He pointed a finger at me.

"You hit upon the idea already when facing against me, but it's only going to become more necessary moving forwards."

Reaching from beneath the desk, he drew a few papers and placed them on the table, along with a pen.

"I think all three of you should become a team."

A team… Certainly Blue and Chee would be powerful together, but I wouldn't want to just be carried through the challenge by them.

"You'll need to join a team to proceed with the challenge anyway, and this way you won't have to work with a stranger."

I stifled the objection I was about to raise. I didn't want to be carried, but my own sponsorship hinged on helping Chee with hers. I couldn't leave her to a different group.

Blue snorted. "Yeah, put us down as a team."

Surge nodded, then started scribbling a few things on the paper.

"Alright. For future challenges, you'll be acting as a team. That's everything, so you're free to go now. Each of you feel free to take one of the practice weapons with you on your journey."

Both Blue and Chee got to their feet and left the room, I moved to do the same, but a thought was nagging at me.

"…Surge, your Gym is notoriously difficult."

He looked up from the papers with a frown.

"You don't want anyone else to be a soldier, do you?"

There was a moment of silence, before he set the pen down on the desk and folded his arms.

"The majority of trainers who come through here are kids. Kids shouldn't have to be soldiers. We should be protecting them, not using them to protect us."

"And if you're not around to protect them anymore, then who will?"

We locked eyes for a moment longer.

"That doesn't sound like a kid's opinion." He leaned forwards slightly. "Someone tell you to say that?"

"I respect what you're trying to do sir, but I think the war is coming whether we like it or not. The more people who can face the enemy when they come the better."

"Kids like you should be enjoying your youth. Don't worry about the adults problems until you are one yourself."

By then it will be too late.

But I didn't say that, instead I just turned away.

Back at the Pokemon Centre, I was checking my bag was fully packed when the knock came at the door. I unlocked the door and opened it, greeted by a brown-haired boy who strolled in without asking first.

"Hey, I'm sleeping here tonight."

Blue dragged his own bag lazily over his shoulder, tossing it on the carpet by the wall.

"What? Why would you sleep in my room?"

Blue placed his palms behind his head and jumped back first onto the bed, kicking his feet up.

"Well, apparently they don't have any spare rooms, and the room I was staying in is mysteriously missing a door."

"Ah…" I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, I'd practically forgotten that I'd broken his door down to get through to him. "They haven't fixed that yet?"

"I've been sleeping in the foyer the last three days and I'm sick of it."

"Well, we're probably going to leave tomorrow anyway."

"Oh-"

Blue jolted upright, fishing in his pocket.

"About that, I actually thought we might stay a little longer."

From his pocket, the boy retrieved a set of three fancy-looking tickets. I took the one closest to me and examined it.

"S.S. Anne?"

"It's a luxury cruise that comes by Vermillion once a month or so. I won these tickets in a competition a little while back, figured we might go to celebrate beating Surge."

I raised an eyebrow at him, and the boy smiled back at me.

"You seem… Uncharacteristically chipper."

His smile quickly distorted into a scowl.

"What, am I not allowed to be pleased with progress?"

I studied the ticket, which offered room and board for a two-day trip.

"I'm not big on the idea of skipping training. I want to get stronger fast."

"Idiot, this will be great training!"

Blue hopped out of the bed and walked over to me. "Most of the people on that boat will be accomplished trainers looking for a challenge, that's the kind of event it is."

He flipped the ticket in my hand, and the other side talked about the battle facilities on the ship. Nurses and Pokemon doctors on site, regularly maintained battlefields, and more.

"I see…"

I tucked the ticket into my pocket.

"If we wanna go, it's tomorrow afternoon. Seems like good timing to me." Blue gave me a pat on the back, then returned to lazing on the bed.

I have some time to think about it, then.

Blue mostly kept to himself after that, and I cautiously took some notes and kept my bag mostly packed for our upcoming journey-With one major exception. The box Surge had given me.

TM34, teaches shockwave.

I'd seen Surge's Raichu use shockwave, an Electric Type move. It had summoned a ball of blue electricity, then squeezed it's front paws together to fire it.

I glanced down at my partner, who conspicuously only had a single front paw. If it worked the same for him, he wouldn't be able to fire it…

Nonetheless, I peeked inside the box-

"Are you really planning to use that hunk of junk?"

I almost started, Blue had somehow snuck up to me and was peering over my shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

I'd actually never used a TM in my past life, they were rare and expensive, especially at this point in history. I was still somewhat astounded that the Gym Challenge was simply handing them out the way they did.

"If you and Yeller try to use that thing, I give you six months before you make any progress."

The boy rested his elbow against his knee, supporting his chin with his palm.

"Scams, the whole lot of em."

That made me frown-I'd never heard anyone say *that* about TMs before. Overpriced, sure, but a scam? They'd been growing more and more popular as far as I could recall from my past life. Even some of the soldiers I'd worked with had managed to get their hands on one or two during the war. They had been far from common, but they were increasing in popularity.

Part of me wanted to dismiss what he was saying, based on what I'd seen from the future, but then, as far as I knew Red had never used a TM either.

And Red definitely would have had access… Is there something I don't know?

"Why?"

"They aren't natural. A Rattata shouldn't be firing off lightning bolts, and forcing it to anyway is bad for it-Shocker."

"But extra moves just give us more options, no?"

The boy looked at me as if I were a grimer who'd dragged sludge across his carpet, then grabbed the box and tore it open. Among the various materials inside he withdrew a thin guidebook and rifled through the pages, stopping on one near the end.

"Look here."

He placed his thumb below a line of very fine print and held the booklet to me.

[The moves learned through this method may replace moves the Pokemon already knows.]

"That's lawyer speak for 'It erases something the Pokemon already knows'."

I grasped the leaflet and examined it closely. It was practically hidden near the bottom of the page, and the writing was incredibly small.

"It gets worse too, I don't think we even fully understand how badly it messes them up."

Blue pulled a knee to his chest, resting his chin on it softly.

"You're basically brainwashing them to learn a move and feeding them the stuff they need to be able to, like we're trying to play god. I reckon it could screw a 'mon up something nasty."

I dropped the innocent-looking document back into the box in horror.

"Why are they giving us these things then?! Isn't the Gym Challenge about fostering our potential as much as possible?"

"I agree." Blue growled lowly. "I think Gramps and the others are short-sighted here. But they seem to think it's the only way to expand their utility. Type coverage and all that."

Blue clicked his tongue.

"Taking shortcuts always has a cost."

I glanced down at the TM box apprehensively, then back at Blue. His eyes were shimmering with a faint blue aura again, a sight I'd come to associate with passion for him.

"…Shortcuts?"

Blue shrugged dismissively. "Well duh, pokemon learn moves naturally y'know. As they grow stronger, they gain access to more of their power with new moves."

The light in his eyes grew a little brighter. And I thought I saw a hint of a smile on his lips.

…He likes talking about this. I realised. He's passionate about this topic, like the Goldeen on the bridge.

"There's a natural order to the moves they'll learn, and if you mess that up with artificial moves, that could damage their abilities to learn moves naturally, if we wanted to teach them more moves, we should take advantage of their natural proclivity towards certain moves and-"

He glanced towards me and cut off suddenly, as if remembering who he was talking to all of a sudden. The boy's face reddened slightly and he turned away from me with a scowl.

"Anyway. If we're gonna be on a team, don't use TMs. Just trust me."

I felt as though I understood something all of a sudden. A piece of Blue that hadn't clicked until now. Despite how he acted all tough and cool-

Blue is a nerd!

Day 79:

Knives are good, dried and canned foods looking good, we'll be good to head for Celadon as soon as the cruise is over.

Ultimately once Chee had heard of the idea, it was all but decided we would be boarding the ship for the cruise. I still had my concerns, but if both of the geniuses wanted to take a break, I couldn't exactly stop them.

[Guardian:

"You're going on the ship then?"]

I am.

The guardian asked me a few times already, even though it wouldn't be wasting too much time.

I gave Yeller's chin a little scratch as he perched atop my shoulder, and made for the dock where both Blue and Chee were waiting for me.

"Finally! Thought you'd never arrive!"

Blue eagerly waved us over, and the three of us walked across the boarding plank and onto the boat.

The ship was truly a sight to behold, standing on the deck made it look almost as large as Pallet Town itself. The top deck had multiple swimming pools, deck chairs for lounging in, and the large corridors along either side of the cabin complex. A stairway disappeared down into the depths of the ship, where there would be even more festivities, and up on top of the cabin complex, connected by another set of stairs, were several Pokemon battlefields.

Chee wasted no time, dashing across the deck excitedly, examining every inch. For my part, I stomped a few times to check the solidity of the wooden boards we were standing on.

"Gee, no need to be so paranoid."

Blue waltzed past me with his hands on his head, eyes rolling exaggeratedly.

"It's a cruise ship for rich people and famously skilled trainers-And lucky kids like us. A rampaging snorlax wouldn't put a dent in that floor, so just relax. Nothing bad is gonna happen."

He spied something in the distance and grinned.

"Oh hell yeah! I'll catch up with you later Cyan!"

The boy also broke into a run, though for what purpose I wasn't certain.

I guess even Blue is still a kid. Well, technically so am I.

I glanced around the ship, and eventually decided Blue was right. This was essentially a vacation. A short break from all the work I'd been doing.

If I was going to be forced to take a break, I might as well enjoy it.

[Guardian:

"Be vigilant."]

And just as I'd decided to take it easy, there it was. A message from the Guardian.

Why?

I waited a good while, but there was no response. I shrugged it off and headed for the inside of the ship to see if I could find Chee.

Chee and I spent a few hours running around the ship wildly, I just barely kept her from stepping over the line and getting us thrown out, but she seemed to be having such fun that it was hard to bring myself to calm her down.

We were getting close to time for the ship to depart now, and the three of us had reunited briefly to organise finding our rooms and knowing where each person was.

"Alright, I'm gonna chill out for a bit." Blue dismissed us, opening the door to his room and stepping inside.

"Let's meet up again for dinner." I nodded at the boy.

Cyan! Cyan! Look!

Chee was still brimming with energy, and was gesturing to one of the sailors in uniform, who was busily hauling a chain up from over the edge of the walkway. He was a heavy-set man with large muscles bulging from his thick arms.

"Alright alright I'm coming!"

I took a step to follow my black-haired companion-And unfortunately collided with a taller man who turned the corner at just the wrong moment. We both reeled in surprise.

"Ah, sorry-"

I froze, as my gaze landed on the lanky man in a sailor's outfit in front of me. A man in a feigned slouch with bleached blonde hair and lifeless silver eyes-Eyes which immediately widened in recognition.

Bronze!

He quickly tore his head away and ducked past me, trying to obscure his face, but it was no good. I'd seen him already. He snuck past-Towards the burly sailor hauling the chain.

"Finally! Newbie, help me haul up the anchor, we're about to depart!"

"Yes sir!" Bronze mumbled in an obvious attempt to make his voice sound deeper, rushing to the anchor and helping to lift it over the side.

I felt my eyes tighten. What possible purpose could bronze have to be here?

I wanted to chase after him and confront the man-But no, that was a bad idea. He was pretending not to see me, and the last time we fought I was only barely able to escape. I had to pretend I hadn't noticed him.

Chee was tugging on my shoulder, trying to lead me elsewhere on the ship, and I begrudgingly allowed her to pull me away.

But any sense of relaxation on this trip was gone, now.

I stared out over the horizon, the sky starting to turn pink and reflecting off the waves in beautiful hues as Vermillion City slowly faded out of sight.

Chee sat on the railing I was leaning on, holding an ice cream cone as though it were the most valuable treasure in the world. It was a generic vanilla scoop, with chocolate sauce and a cherry.

"That was on your bucket list right? Give it a taste, it's good."

Her silver eyes shone with wonder, as she glanced back and forth between me and the ice cream. Is it really okay? I've never had it before…

Tentatively she tapped the ice cream with her tongue, and her face lit up even brighter. Without even a moment of hesitation she leaned forward and took a huge bite, only to shrivel back in shock.

"Heh-You're not supposed to bite into it, you're supposed to lick at it as it melts, or take little bites off the sides. Otherwise you're going to give yourself brain freeze."'

It's so cold! But so good! But so cold! But I can't spit it out-

As the girl flailed around in panic, stuck in a limbo of freezing her mouth or spitting out delicious ice cream, I handed her a hot chocolate.

"Take a sip of this to warm your mouth up."

I took the ice cream from her as she gratefully took the disposable cup in both hands and took a sip. Finally her expression mellowed to one of bliss.

I smiled softly. "Nice, right?"

I used to have hot chocolate and ice cream together when I was a kid, one of my favourite treat combos.

I glanced back over the ocean, Vermillion was now out of sight.

"Enjoy your ice cream, once you're done we'll go meet up with-"

My breath caught in my throat.

[Your guardian has issued you an optional mission.]

[Emergency Quest: SS. Anne

Prevent as many Casualties aboard the SS. Anne as possible: 0/?
Time Limit: Until the SS. Anne tour is complete.
Reward: Fate Points, Guardian Trust

{Accept} {Reject}]

Oi, what's the meaning of this!?

But there was no answer-No, judging by what the guardian told me already they couldn't answer. Even if they wanted to.

I felt my muscles tense instinctively, as I raised my finger and slammed the {Accept} button with frustration.

When I get these 'Fate Points', you'd better start explaining yourself!