Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
Kieran wandered around the Terrarium, his hands in his pockets as he strolled around deep in thought, near the outskirts of the Savanna Biome. Something about Kokoro's words struck him, but yet… at the same time, he wanted to stay true to himself, get stronger and show Ren that he can be as strong as him, if not better.
He can have his stinkin' ogre. Once he finds a way to get Terapagos, he'll make damn sure that it'll be better than Ogerpon.
Kieran froze, feeling that someone was behind him.
"Show yourself."
He turned around to see nobody behind him, not even Ren.
"Mmmph…" Kieran shrugged it off as he started to walk off, only to bump into someone. "Ooof! Watch where you're-" He turned around, his eyes widening. "-Going?!"
"I've heard a great deal about you." Mewtwo said calmly.
"Yagh!" Kieran took a few steps back. "Wh-what the he-heck is a muh-muh-Mewtwo doing here?!" He wondered.
"That is none of your concern. I've heard tales about you." Mewtwo folded his arms. "I have to say, I'm disappointed."
"About what, exactly?"
"You have much potential, yet you're squandering it over a petty one sided rivalry. I can sense that you're vilifying Ren."
Kieran's demeanor changed. "He took everything from me… so now I'm going to do to him what he did to me."
"And that will prove that you're better than him? I've seen mere infants pull off better plans…"
"Mere infants?" Kieran laughed. "You have got to be joking."
Mewtwo said nothing.
"...You're actually serious." Kieran deadpanned. "Tch, like an insignificant insult will get to me. I'm the top trainer around here!"
"Ah, I see. You traded your humility with ego. That's how you're going to get Terapagos, by sheer stupidity."
"How'd you know I was going to get Terapagos?!"
"I have my ways."
"Well, regardless, I am going to get Terapagos… and I'm going to prove to Ren that I'm stronger than him!"
"Your obsession with Ren is absurd. Do you not learn from your failures as to why you couldn't beat Ren back at Kitakami, or are you that obsessed with beating Ren that you don't care about learning?"
"What do you mean? I've learned a lot!"
"I'd say different."
"Who asked you!"
"Hmph. Do you really think you're capable of defeating Ren? Do you really think you're capable of harnessing Terapagos' power? Do you really expect Terapagos will choose an overconfident, egotistical boy?"
"Terapagos WILL choose me! I know it will… it just has to. I'll prove that I'm strong enough for Terapagos to choose me over Ren!"
"I can sense dark thoughts from you. You plan on humiliating Ren with Terapagos. Pokemon who usually hang around those who have ill intentions are the most miserable. Do you plan on-"
"I'll prove it. I'll prove you wrong that I'm more than capable of handling Terapagos' power!"
"Hmph."
BGM: Battle! Kanto Legendaries (Pokemon X/Y)
Mewtwo teleported a few feet away from him, psychic power swirling around his wrists.
"Then prove your worth. Show me you have what it takes. Bring your entire team out."
Kieran clenched his fists. "Only because you asked." He pulled out his Pokeballs and called out his entire team.
"Overwhelm him!" Kieran ordered.
Way In Over His Head - Kieran
"Your team is impressive. But you still have much to learn!" Shadow Balls formed in his hands, daring the six Pokemon to come forward.
"Politoooooeeeed!" Politoed cried, extending his arms out as it started raining. Mewtwo narrowed his eyes as Incineroar and Grimmsnarl got between him.
"Snarl Snar!" Grimmsnarl laughed as he ran toward him while Incineroar used Darkest Lariat on him.
Mewtwo fired a few Shadow Balls at the other Pokemon before he quickly whipped around and tripped up Grimmsnarl with his tail, teleporting away right as Grimmsnarl faceplanted into Incineroar's Darkest Lariat.
"Roar?!" Incineroar said before getting pelted by a Shadow Ball. He then snapped his fingers right as Dragonite unleashed Hurricane on him. Mewtwo was caught in the twister but he used a force field to counter as Hydrapple used Gyro Ball on him, charging toward him at high speed, only for Mewtwo to redirect Hydrapple right for Grimmsnarl who was just recovering from Incineroar accidentally hitting him.
"SNAAARL!" Grimmsnarl cried as the Gyro Ball slammed into him while Porygon-Z unleashed Hyper Beam on him, but Mewtwo casually redirected it right toward Politoed right as he was going to use Ice Beam.
"TOED?!" Politoed cried as Incineroar got in the way to try and block it again, but Mewtwo teleported over to him and whacked his legs with his tail, making him fall over as the Hyper Beam went underneath him and slammed into Politoed, sending him crashing into a tree to knock him out.
"Roar…!" Incineroar growled, glaring at Mewtwo.
"You are not the first Incineroar I've dealt with." Mewtwo said, raising his hand up and firing a Psystrike at Dragonite that came barreling toward him with Extreme Speed, causing him to cry out in pain… and then a Future Sight slammed into him to knock him down.
"Rrrgh…!" Kieran growled, seeing that Grimmsnarl was barely holding on from that redirection. "Come on, you guys! It's just one stinkin' Lab Baby!" He said in frustration.
Mewtwo narrowed his eyes as Porygon-Z fired a Shadow Ball, but Mewtwo caught it with his hand and threw it toward Grimmsnarl to finish him off. Hydrapple let out a cry and threw down a Tera Blast at him, only he redirected it and sent it toward Incineroar before he used Psystrike on Hydrapple.
"Hydraaaaa!" Hydrapple cried as Porygon-Z used a Thunderbolt, but Mewtwo teleported away and telekinetically grabbed him and threw him toward Hydrapple, knocking them both down as Mewtwo then charged up a Shadow Ball, making it giant and fired it, finishing off the both of them.
"R-R-Roar…!" Incineroar grunted as he tried to bring himself up to try and fight back, but Mewtwo planted his foot on his head and shoved him to the ground.
End BGM
Kieran's eyes widened in disbelief. "Th-there's no way that…!"
Mewtwo aimed his hand directly at Kieran, psychic energy wrapping around him that made Kieran shut up.
"You would do well to hold your tongue in the heat of the moment. Out of respect for your sister, I will not do harm to you, but pay heed to your words next time. Saying something insensitive may cost you dearly one day." Mewtwo said coldly.
A deep growl escaped Kieran's throat. "I can't believe you, of all people, would be the one to best me-"
"This battle was unofficial, was it not? As far as I'm concerned, you did not officially lose to me, as no one was around to see that embarrassment. Your pathetic perfect track record is untainted as well."
Mewtwo lowered his hand.
"You're not ready to handle Terapagos' power. As far as I'm concerned, your instability and imbalance will not co-exist with Terapagos."
"How do you know that! I'm perfectly capable of-"
"Please. I was also observing you during that battle. Your body language, your thoughts, your emotions… you're an absolute train wreck of a Pokemon Trainer to the point that a small toddler would run laps around you with nothing but a Sunkern."
"You lie! I'll prove to you that I'm strong! I'm stronger than Ren! I'm stronger than EVERYONE here!"
"Everyone, hmm? Would you like a repeat of that clown show you call a battle?"
Kieran stiffened.
"I thought not. You claim that you're strong, but all I see is hot air. You will fight Ren and everyone will see you for the fraud that you truly are."
"I'm not a fraud! I'll prove to you that I'm capable of handling Ren!"
"That will be a sight to behold." Mewtwo said as he teleported away, leaving Kieran by himself.
"...Asshole."
"He's right." Ren appeared in front of him. "You're weak. Pathetic. You'll never defeat me if you can't even handle Mewtwo."
"SHUT THE HELL UP! I'll destroy you… I know I will!" Kieran growled, desperation set in his eyes as Ren disappeared from him as he pulled out Full Restores and healed everyone up. "...It's time for some serious training. I know just the spot."
Meanwhile…
BGM: Coastal Biome (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk)
"Oooh, they have Galarian Slowpoke here?" Sonia wondered in awe as she knelt down to study a few of them lounging around without a care in the world.
"Moh Peh Peh!" Marnie's Morpeko cried as it ran along the sand while Marnie dipped her feet in the water and sat along the sand.
"Too bad these are shallow waters. I'd be killin' it on Mantine Surfin'."
Clang clang clang!
"Hmm?" Marnie turned her head out of curiosity. She walked over to the source of the sound, climbing up a cliff wall while some Oricorio danced around as she pulled herself up and noticed a peculiar sight that caused her to raise an eyebrow.
Nora was in the middle of some metalsmithing, picking up a shard of it. "Hmmm…" She narrowed her eyes before she put it down and proceeded to pound away.
"Since when were you into blacksmithing?"
"Huh?" Nora turned her head. "Oh hey, Marnie. Yeah, I decided to take a crack at it."
"Since when?"
"Well, when we got back from Hisui, I watched some videos online regarding blacksmithing and I've seen how Luminary does it, and I've seen how Seryu does her own line of work with her semblance… so I thought "Why not"?"
Marnie peeked over to see what she was doing.
"Makin' a hammer?"
"Tinka Tink!" Magnhild said, pulling out her hammer and showing that it was a bit banged up.
"Ah… refurbishin' it."
"Pretty much. I've also been secretly making something for Ren. Kinda hard to keep it a secret from him."
"How so?"
"Well, let's see. One, I'm his girlfriend so he likes to surprise me sometimes. Two, I'm the loudest member of team JNPR. Three, I'm hyperactive as heck… what else do you wanna know?"
Marnie chuckled. "Fair enough. I'm sure whatever you'll make for him will be sweet."
"Right." Nora nodded. "I wonder how he's doing?"
Nearby…
"...You feel like someone's following you?" Ren asked as he walked alongside Jaune and Pyrrha.
"Not particularly." Pyrrha said as Ogerpon turned around, tilting her head
"Ponya Pon?"
"Hmm?" Ren turned his head as they all turned to see Nincada approaching them.
"Nincad…?"
"Oh, I think I've heard of these guys…" Pyrrha said, pulling out her scroll to scan the Pokemon.
"Nincada, the Trainee Pokemon. Because it lived almost entirely underground, it is nearly blind. It uses its antennae instead. It can sometimes live underground for more than ten years. It absorbs nutrients from the roots of trees."
Ren knelt down in front of the Nincada. "Seems like you've taken a liking to us."
"Inkay Ink!" Another Pokemon cried as a curious Inkay floated over to them, proceeding to turn upside down to perform a trick.
"Oh my gosh, that's cute!" Pyrrha gushed as Jaune decided to scan it.
"Inkay, the Revolving Pokemon. It protects itself from tough foes by flashing its luminescent spots to discourage them. Being upside-down improves its blood flow and clears its mind, causing the power of its psychic moves to increase dramatically."
"Heh, yeah, it is." Jaune nodded as the Inkay floated around Ogerpon, the latter giggling and proceeding to play with the Inkay while Nincada approached Ren. He knelt down and extended his hand out. The Nincada checked him out with his antennae before crawling up Ren's arm in approval.
"I think we just got two more Pokemon." Jaune said.
""We"?" Ren chuckled, gently poking the Nincada on the head while Inkay sat on top of Ogerpon.
Meanwhile, at the southern beach…
Penny sighed, sitting alongside Nagisa while in the water, Bede was chilling on an inflatable bed floating in the water while some Horsea swam by while Kotoko sat on an island, chatting with Futaba while on a different island, Ruby and Gloria were playing volleyball against Sun and Neptune with Pit and Claude cheering them all on.
"So let me get this straight. You have glasses that have… AI in them? And it's named DANIEL?"
"Pretty much." Nagisa nodded, pulling them out. "Though I call him Dan for short." He said and then put them on. "See? These are the glasses in question."
"...You look like a dork."
"Says the dork wearing glasses herself."
"Touche…" Penny snickered. "So, when did you get 'em?"
"Well-"
Pause BGM
BGM: Professor E. Gadd (Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time)
Nagisa walked into his room, putting on clothes after taking a shower. "Hmm?" He turned his head to see a glasses case lying on his bed. He opened the case to find a pair of black half-rim glasses with blue accents on the inside of the temples and a rectangular lens shape, while also seeing a note.
Here's something that would help guide you on your vision towards a clear and bright future ahead of you. Use it wisely, my boy.
– Dr. Pietro Polendina
Nagisa smiled lightly in appreciation as he picked up the glasses, but then noticed there was a second part to the note.
P.S. After putting on the glasses, say-
"Daniel…?" Nagisa read the part aloud in confusion.
Suddenly the glasses activated. "Please standby for facial recognition and retinal scan."
"GAH!" Nagisa yelped in surprise. "Wh-what the…?!"
"Scan complete. Facial recognition and retinal scan accepted."
"Hello…?" Nagisa asked once he recomposed himself. "Who is this…?"
"Greetings, young master Nagisa Polendina. I am D.A.N.I.E.L., a digital companion and youth caregiver created by Dr. Pietro Polendina. My name stands for "Digital Advisor Notable in Expository Learning", but you may call me "Dan"."
"Whoa…"
End BGM
Back in the present…
Resume Coastal Biome BGM
"Aaaand that's pretty much how it went. …Come to think of it, I think I oughta wear this more often." Nagisa said. "Oh, by the way… Dan, could you reveal yourself?"
"Certainly."
A blue light turned on in the middle of his glasses and shot a beam of light into the sand, where a hologram of D.A.N.I.E.L. appeared. The avatar resembled a blue diamond with a hexagonal geometric frame and a glowing minimalistic face with a pair of expressive oval-shaped white eyes.
"Hello there."
"Whoa… he's cute." Penny said before something suddenly dawned on her. She immediately sported a teasing smirk.
"What's up?"
"Expository Learning…" She started snickering.
"What's so funny!"
"Pffft… you… you have a teacher in your glasses!" She cackled, falling on her back and continued to laugh.
Nagisa, meanwhile, had a deadpanned expression. "You're not the first person to say that." He said, glancing over at Futaba and Kotoko who were watching the whole thing.
"You know it's true!" Kotoko called out to them.
"He basically has his own version of Tony Stark's J.A.R.V.I.S. and F.R.I.D.A.Y.!" Futaba added.
"Oh gosh, I didn't even think of that!" Kotoko laughed.
Nagisa shook his head in amusement. "I'm surrounded by tormentors."
"Teacher glasses…" Bede mumbled as he was relaxing in the sunlight. "No thank you."
Back with Ren…
"Hmm…" Ren had his arms folded as he was walking along the path while some Minior floated around. "I think i'll call you Tekka." He said to the Nincada, then turned to the Inkay that was still sitting on Ogerpon's head. "And Gyro."
"Inkay Kay!"
"Ninca!"
The group made their way over to Lacey's area, who was chatting with Kokoro and Mabel while Silver was checking out a few Whimsicott with Dipper and Masaru.
"Hmm?" Lacey turned her head to see Ren approaching. "Oh, hey Re-" She gasped. "Oh my gosh, Ogerpon is wearing an Inkay as a hat! That's too cute!" She gushed, pulling out her phone and taking a few pictures of her.
"Pona Pon~!" Ogerpon giggled.
"Oh, is that a Nincada?" Lacey wondered as she noticed him resting on Ren's shoulder. "That's interesting… we don't usually have Nincada here in the terrarium…"
"Maybe it got lost?" Jaune guessed.
"Either that or the headmaster wanted to introduce some new Pokemon in the terrarium… or it got mixed up in some shipping as it might have been caught in a shipping container." Lacey shrugged. "Either way, we definitely have a new cutie~!" She said, rubbing the Nincada's head.
"Ninca!"
"Wooow, it really is adorable!" Mabel said.
"Goodness, that Inkay's cute~" Kokoro giggled.
"So, Ren… you ready for this?" Lacey asked.
"Yeah." Ren nodded.
"Alriiiiiight~! Let's go to the grass over here because we are going to do a little quiz regarding adorable Pokemon~!"
"Adorable…?" Ren blinked as he glanced over at Pyrrha. "If this is going where I think it's going, I might need a woman's touch for this…"
"Oh, Ren… is your cute radar a little rusty~?" Pyrrha teased.
"Um… well…"
Pyrrha giggled. "You can count on me."
"And us!" Mabel chimed in with Kokoro nodding.
Once they got to the grass, Lacey smiled. "Alright, Ren! First things first… let's start things off with something simple." She said as a Pikachu walked over.
"Pika Pika!"
"Here we have the most adorable little mouse Pokemon of all time. Cute enough to be a mascot in certain places and cute enough to be in some tournament I've heard about in passing AND cute enough to be so huggable! But I'm getting sidetracked… Pikachu are known to store electricity in their bodies. So my question is: Where do they store their electricity?"
"That's easy. Their cheeks."
"Right! Those squishy little cheeks is where they store their electricity!" She said as she knelt down and started to pinch them and squeeze them. "So soft, so adorable, so squishy and malleable-"
"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu cried in annoyance, using Thunderbolt on Lacey.
"So… over the top and worth a shock…!" Lacey coughed out soot before shaking it off, patting Pikachu on the head as it ran off. "Anyway, question two!"
"Wait, she just shrugged it off like it's nothing!" Mabel exclaimed.
"...How often does she do it?" Kokoro wondered.
"Mela Mel…" Meloetta hummed in concern.
A Venonat approached them.
"Venonat! Venonat!"
"Now take a gander at this fuzzy and squeezably adorable Venonat~ Question two! Venonat uses a certain part of its body like radar even in the darkest of nights, allowing it to detect certain objects. So which part of Venonat's body acts like radar?"
"Hmmm…" Ren studied the Venonat intently.
"Is it the antennae? It's probably the antennae." Mabel said.
"Oink!" Waddles agreed.
"Hmm… is it?" Kokoro tilted her head while pondering.
"It's the eyes." Ren said. "It's a trick question. Naturally, anyone would go for the antennae, but in reality, it's the Compound Eyes that Venonat has."
"Wow! You're correct! I was thinking that would trip you up." Lacey said. "But just think… a whole world that Venonat can see that we can't… oh, it's just so cute to think about~!"
I wouldn't be surprised if she has an absurd amount of Pokemon plushies on her bed… Jaune thought.
Venonat wandered off as three Sinistea approached. "Now, these Sinistea live in these adorable antique cups-"
Antique cups are… cute…? Pyrrha thought with a raised eyebrow.
How broad is her definition of adorable? Jaune thought, scratching his head in confusion.
"However, there are a lot of phonies out there… so it's your job to figure out which one is the real deal!"
"Inkay… Kay…" Gyro flipped upside down to get a better look, then spotted one that had a mark. "Kay! Ink Inkay Kay!" He said, relaying it to Ogerpon.
"Pono! Poni Poni Pon Pon, Pen!"
Ren nodded. "The middle one."
"Hey, nice teamwork~! You are correct, it's the middle one! Antique or phony, they're all so cute~" Lacey smiled as the three Sinistea floated away. "I was honestly a bit worried I'd have to redo my quiz… apparently a green haired individual caught what I thought was the only Antique Sinistea that we had. Luckily I found another one!"
"Jade has a Sinistea now?" Jaune whispered.
"I can't say I'm surprised." Pyrrha responded back.
"Now, question four! Here we have this cute little pink MInior." Lacey said as a pink Minior approached. "Now, I want you to try and find this Minior with its friends." She then pulled out a Pokeball and pulled it in, and then released it with a new armored shell.
"Mini!" The Minior cried as it was joined by its brethren. Ren focused on the one that came out of the ball as they flew around in a circle and quickly zoomed past each other before coming to a stop.
"The one on the bottom middle." Ren said as Lacey gently tapped on the shell, causing it to break apart to reveal the pink core.
"Min Minior Min!"
"Nice job~!" Lacey smiled, putting the Minior back in the ball and then releasing it with an all new shell.
"Why do you keep doing that?" Mabel wondered.
"Oh, that's because if the core is exposed long enough… they fade away and die."
"WHAT?!" Mabel yelled in shock. "Oh, so much for wishing upon a star…" She pouted.
"There there…" Kokoro patted her on the back with Meloetta.
"Gran Graaan!" A Granbull approached.
"Oh, it seems like my darling Granbull came over to say hi~!" Lacey smiled. "Now question five! Whenever I feel like taking a nap with Granbull, where do I place my head on her body?"
"The belly?" Ren chuckled in amusement.
"You're right! Her tummy is so, so soft and squishy. It's the perfect pillow~! Aaah, the desire to take a nap on her soft belly is irresistable~" Lacey giggled. "Alright, you passed… now let's get this battle going!"
"Right." Ren nodded as they walked over to the arena, where nearby, a Galarian Slowpoke that was near Sonia turned around and spotted Ren and Lacey, causing it to curiously walk off, while at the same time, an Alolan Geodude spotted the group as it wandered around.
"Dude?" The Geodude wondered as it floated toward them as well.
End BGM
Lacey turned toward Ren. "As the daughter of a famous gym leader of Unova, I will make him proud! You ready?"
Ren nodded, pulling out two Pokeballs. "Ready."
"Then let's go!" Lacey said, sending out two Pokeballs in the air and calling out Whimsicott and Granbull.
BGM: Battle! BB League Elite Four (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk)
Dangerously Cute - Lacey
Ren sent out two Pokemon of his own, sending out Racer and Weber.
"Eeeek~! Oh my gosh, I've never seen a Spidops in person. It's adorable~!" Lacey gushed.
"I… think we need to tone down the definition a bit…" Jaune sweatdropped.
"Accel Cel?" Racer looked toward Weber with a raised eyebrow.
"Spi Spidops." Weber shrugged as they got ready to fight.
"Whimsi Whiiim!" Whimsicott cried, using Tailwind and then using Light Screen as Granbull's fist burst into flames and launched herself over to Weber, proceeding to Fire Punch him but Weber used Silk Trap and jumped away as Granbull got webbing all over her face, then he jumped in to grab Granbull and proceeded to Circle Throw her toward Whimsicott who just threw a Moonblast at Racer.
"Whimsi?!" Whimsicott exclaimed as Granbull slammed into her. Granbull got back up and growled, launching toward Spidops and using Fire Punch again, but Weber weaved his head and used Throat Chop on Granbull, who quickly used Fire Punch point blank in retaliation, knocking Weber back.
"Bullll!" Granbull cried, stomping on the ground to create shockwaves but Weber jumped over them as Granbull went in with Play Rough but Weber grabbed her arm and Circle Threw her into the ground.
As for Racer, despite the Tailwind, he was still all over Whimsicott as she struggled to get a hit on him with a few Energy Balls and Moonblasts, and while one Energy Ball struck him, it wasn't enough to deter him as he used Bug Buzz a few times on her.
"Wh-Whimsiiii…!" Whimsicott tried another Energy Ball right as Racer used Water Shuriken, both moves connecting but the Water Shuriken cut through the Energy Ball and slammed into her to knock her out right as Granbull struggled to get up, only for Weber to seal the deal with a Throat Chop to knock her out.
"Oh, you poor babies… rest up!" Lacey called them back as Weber swiftly shot out a Sticky Web right as Lacey called out her next two Pokemon, which was a Primarina and a Galarian Slowbro.
"Rinaaaaa!"
"Sloooooow!"
I've seen Weiss's Primarina in action long enough to know that it might be packing an Ice Beam. Ren thought, deciding against to have Ogerpon come in and bonk Primarina on the head.
"Nincay! Nincada!" Tekka cried on his shoulder.
"Hmm? You want to fight?"
"Ninca!"
"Alright." Ren nodded, recalling both of his Pokemon as Tekka jumped in while Ren sent out Sandy Shocks.
"Oh my! I've never seen that Magneton before!" Lacey said as her eyes turned into hearts. "So cute~!"
"Magne…?" Sandy Shocks blinked before getting ready for action right as the Tailwind died down.
Slowbro aimed directly at Nincada and used Shell Side Arm, but Tekka swiftly dug underground.
Lacey smirked, pulling out a bracelet and strapping it on. "Let's make sure that Nincada doesn't come up for air!" She said, immediately dancing as Primarina started to power up. "Go! Oceanic Operatta!"
"Rinnnaaaaa~!" Primarina sang as she started to create a large water bubble… but was immediately shot down when Sandy Shocks used Zap Cannon, hitting Primarina dead center. "RINNAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Primarina cried as the large bubble went the opposite way and exploded all over Slowbro.
"Oh no!" Lacey gasped.
"Slooooow!" Slowbro grunted, being pelted by powerful rain drops right when Tekka came up and struck Slowbro with Dig, knocking it up as Sandy Shocks used Discharge, striking the two together.
"PRIMAAAAA/SLOOOOOW!"
"Ooooh no!" Lacey exclaimed as Slowbro and Primarina fell. Luckily for Lacey, the Slowbro slowly got up with a groan, but Primarina was down for the count. To make matters worse, Slowbro was paralyzed from the Discharge, which gave Tekka enough time to wander over and finish her off with a Mud Slap.
"Magne Mag!" Sandy Shocks praised.
"Ninca!" Tekka cheered.
"Awww…" Lacey pouted as she pulled them away. "Not bad though~! Now let's crank it up!" She said, calling out her last two Pokemon.
"Alcream!"
"Excaaaa!"
Ren called his two Pokemon back and turned to Ogerpon and Gyro, who quickly jumped into the battle.
"Ponya!"
"Inkay Kay!"
"Let's get even cuter~!" Lacey aimed her Tera Orb at Excadrill as Ren did the same with Ogerpon switching masks around before deciding on the Hearthflame Mask, proceeding to Terastalize.
"POOOONYAAAA!/EXCAAAAA!"
The Excadrill's Tera Crown was the Fairy Tera Jewel.
"Alcrem…" The Alcremie shuddered at the sight of the mask before turning to Excadrill and using Decorate on him.
"Inkay… Iiiinkaaaaay!" Gyro cried, immediately using Switcheroo.
"Exca?!" Excadrill cried as his Assault Vest was traded over for a simple Oran Berry.
"Inkay Ink!" Gyro smiled before using Topsy-Turvy to change Decorate's power up to power him down, which gave Ogerpon an opportunity to run in and smack Excadrill with Ivy Cudgel.
"Excaaaa…!" Excadrill grunted as he used Rock Tomb on Ogerpon, but she jumped out of the way as Alcremie used Alluring Voice on Inkay, who simply turned around and used Hypnosis on Alcremie.
"Alcreeem…" Alcremie fell asleep. "Alcrea-zzzz…"
"Oh no!"
Excadrill turned around and ran toward Alcremie, shaking her awake and doing a gentle smack, but it was no use. Excadrill turned around only to get a Wood Hammer to the face to knock him back and then pelted by Foul Play.
Lacey quickly pulled out a Full Restore and aimed it directly toward Alcremie, but Gyro got in the way and got sprayed instead. "Ack, no!"
"Inkay Ink~" Gyro smiled before turning around and using Foul Play to finish off Alcremie while Ogerpon tanked a Fairy Tera Blast and smacked him with a fiery Ivy Cudgel to finish him off.
"Pona!" Ogerpon said as Excadrill fell on his back in defeat.
End BGM
"Awww…" Lacey frowned after they fell. She then smiled a few seconds later. "Congrats, Ren. You beat me!" She smiled. "So… that makes…?"
"Three. I have Drayton left."
"Oh wow! You beat Crispin and Amarys already? You're almost ready to take on Kieran… I wish you luck!"
Ren nodded. "We're almost there, Kieran…"
"Geo! Geodude Dude!"
"Sloooowpooooke!"
"Poni? Pon Poni Ponya Pon!" Ogerpon ran over toward the two onlookers with a friendly smile.
"Guess we could relax before taking on Drayton." Jaune said.
"Yeah." Ren nodded as he walked over to them.
Meanwhile…
"Hmm?" Carmine turned her head to see Jade in the Canyon biome. She walked over to her in curiosity.
"Hmm?" Jade turned her head to see her. "Oh, hey."
"Hey…? Uh, that is some… really green hair you have there."
"Oh, thanks. It's my natural green look."
"Naturally… green?" Carmine blinked. "Okay the-... oh my gosh, is that a Basculegion?!" She said, noticing Calypso in the water. "I've always been curious about them."
"Yup." Jade smiled. "A boy named Kieran helped me evolve him."
"Kieran?!" Carmine said in surprise. "Was he… harsh to you any capacity?"
"Not really…? He did seem a bit pre-occupied by something, but I didn't want to press." Jade said. "He seemed genuinely happy that we evolved Calypso. Pretty friendly too, in my opinion."
Carmine stared at Jade in shock before clutching her chest, closing her eyes. "There's still good in him… thank Arceus."
"Hmm? Is there… something wrong?"
Carmine sighed. "He's my brother."
"Oh! You're his sister? Nice to meet you."
"Right, nice to meet you-... what's your name?"
"Jade Gadd."
"Carmine." Weird, I feel like I've heard the name "Gadd" before…
"So, I guess you two had an argument?"
"That's… one way of looking at it." Carmine said. "Hope you don't mind a story."
Jade laughed. "I've listened to long ghost stories that lasted an hour and eagerly absorbed all of it. I can handle whatever story you throw at me."
"An hour long ghost stor-...? Never mind. Anyway, the story goes-"
One story later…
Jade's eyes widened as they were sitting down and had their feet dipped in the water. "Oh… yeah, that would explain why he seemed a little beside himself. Mind if I see the bruise…?"
"I can tell you're the type of girl who's seen a lot of horrific things." Carmine said as she pulled her shirt up.
"Ooooh." Jade winced. "I've seen worse… and felt worse. Let's just say I had a nerve injury involving an explosion."
"Oh gosh! That sounds awful…" Carmine put her shirt back on.
"Yeah, but I ended up okay. Having a sling over your arm for a while after surgery kinda sucked though." Jade shook her head. "Still… you're… not the only one who's made mistakes."
"Yeah, that's pretty much everyone."
"But have you ever learned something about the past that made you explode and… push away a certain individual?"
Carmine blinked. "Can't say I've heard that one before… that's a new one for me. You uh… want to talk about it? If you want… sorry about-"
"No no, it's okay. I've… learned to open up about it and kinda… move on from it."
"Tell me everything… what happened?"
Another story later…
Carmine folded her arms, letting all the information sink in. "So this ghost by the name of King Boo turned your parents into stone and destroyed them right in front of you years later… you've pushed your feelings to the side and never properly grieved, and in turn, causing it to slip out and cry yourself to sleep at night at times… and then you find out a girl who is about four hundred and twenty-ish years old coming into your life and explaining how she accidentally turned King Boo into a savage monster, which causes you to snap and explode on her and wanting nothing to do with her and… did I get all that right?"
"Yeah."
"Mmm… normally, I'd dismiss this as some crazy folk tale, but one of your friends literally has a split personality who turned into their own person and we also have a vampire among us, so honestly… from where you come from, that sounds like a normal occurence."
She shuddered at the thought. "Poor Myra… girl was stripped from her life and she gets a cold welcome from you."
"I've had some help…" Jade mumbled. "But… how do I go about this and apologize to Myra? I can't… look her in the eye after I treated her so harshly? Yeah, I've… warmed up to her but I haven't exactly… talked with her about it. Nyx had encouraged me to go ahead and rip the bandaid off, but it's… hard."
"Girl, I can relate. It took me a long time to open up to Kiki and, well…" Carmine sighed before putting her hands on her shoulders. "Jade, look… I don't know a thing about Myra, let alone know what she looks like, but compared to what I said to Kiki, you got a chance to make things right. You just gotta work up the courage to make up with her. Me, I don't think it's even possible to talk with my bro anymore… given… how he's acting. I know it was an accident, but still… you can't let this slip by you. And from what you told me, Myra hasn't even lashed out at you, right?"
"No…"
"Then let it go… yes, what Myra did was horrible, but it was more out of her control. From what it sounded like, it sounded like that not even her grandmother knew what was in that jewel and just cautioned her to be careful, and well, it corrupted a ghostly king… that spiraled into a killing involving your parents."
Carmine chuckled a bit. "Sorry, maybe saying "let it go" in this context was… not the best way to go about it-"
"I know what you mean though. If only it was that easy for me…"
Carmine pulled Jade into a hug. "It wasn't easy for me either… but you got better odds against you compared to me. You got this…"
"Right…" Jade nodded, returning the hug as they broke the hug and looked at Calypso swimming around. "One day…"
Carmine nodded. "Soooo… you like ghost stories, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well… I got a good one involving this cutie right here." She sent out her Sinistcha. "Allow me to share a folktale that's been passed on as legend from Kitakami."
Meanwhile…
Alessandra wandered around the Polar Biome. "Have to say, it's not as cold as I thought it'd be."
"Yeah, Routes nine and ten are a lot colder than this." Hop agreed.
"Right? It's cold, but it's not too bad out here." Alessandra nodded.
"Hey, um, there's… something I've been meaning to say." Hop said, softly blushing.
"What is it?"
"Well, the thing is-"
"-Catch Terapagos."
The duo turned their head to see Kieran training his Pokemon in the snow, causing then to approach him.
"We gotta work ourselves hard so Terapagos can accept me as it's trainer! Not Ren! Ren doesn't even deserve it…"
"Did you say Terapagos?"
"Ack!" Kieran yelped as he turned to see Alessandra and Hop.
"Yo."
"Oh, it's you two. Come to challenge me?"
"Well, we couldn't help but overhear your desire for Terapagos." Alessandra explained.
"Yeah, well, I want to capture Terapagos so I can gloat in Ren's face and challenge him to a battle. Make him pay for what he's done to me… I want to destroy him."
"Oh, cool! I also want to capture Terapagos… for less malicious reasons."
Kieran's eyes widened. "You want Terapagos…"
"Yeah, I'm worried that Terapagos is all by his lonesome, so I figured he could use more frie-"
A Pokeball was aimed right at her face.
"Oh!"
BGM: Face It! (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories)
"I'm not going to allow ANYONE to capture Terapagos! It will only be me!" Kieran said in desperation. "If you get in my way-"
"Hey!" Hop shoved him back while putting an arm out in front of her. "Back off, why don't ya!"
Kieran growled. "You'll regret-"
"Hey hey hey! It's okay!" Alessandra got between the two. "Let's all take a deep breath. It seems we both share the same goal for capturing Terapagos. Why don't we have a battle to see who comes out on top?"
Kieran growled. "I'll flatten you… I don't care if you're the champion of Paldea."
Alessandra smiled. "You're on."
Hop immediately looked toward Alessandra in concern. "You sure that's-" Alessandra gave him a wink as she backed up. Huh? What's she up to?
End BGM
Alessandra pulled out two Pokeballs. "As one of my besties would say… let's have a fruitful battle!"
"Tch… that sounded dumb." Kieran said as he backed up as well.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this…" Hop grimaced as he backed away and sat down on a rock.
Behind them from upside a cliff, a Sneasler watched on with intrigued. "Sneas…?"
"Alright, Kiki. Let's see what you're made of!" Alessandra smirked.
"Don't call me "Kiki"." Kieran said coldly.
This dude's hella toxic… let's see where his battle spirit lies. Alessandra thought.
BGM: Toxic (Britney Spears)
Toxic Mindset - Kieran
Kieran sent out Dragonite and Politoed while Alessandra sent out Orville and Athena.
She has a Dragonite too?!
My my, he's got good taste~
Politoed's ability immediately activated. "Oh good, I don't have to do anything." Alessandra giggled right before both Dragonite used Hurricane on each other.
"Kilo!" Orville cried, using Electro Ball on Politoed, but he jumped out of the way and used Psychic, quickly sending him between the Dragonite right as Athena came in with Iron Head, striking Orville instead.
"KILOOOOO!"
"Drago?!" Athena cried in surprise, giving the other Dragonite the opportunity to use Breaking Swipe on her. "NIIIIITE!"
"Bloody hell, he's fightin' dirty!" Hop exclaimed as a pit formed in Alessandra's stomach, watching Dragonite use Thunder on Athena, all the while Orville snapped out of it and immediately used Discharge, striking them all as both Dragonite stood firm while Politoed went down.
Kieran growled, switching out Politoed for Incineroar, immediately Faking Out Athena to get her to flinch, then Dragonite used Breaking Swipe again to finish her off… and then Incineroar grabbed Athena's KO'd body and suplexed her into Orville before Alessandra could even bring her Pokeball out.
To Hop's surprise, Alessandra remained calm on the outside… yet on the inside, she was fuming at what Kieran was doing.
This is Terapagos' future if I don't capture it first!
She switched out both of her Pokemon and sent out both Charlotte and Raffia.
"Snom!"
"Umbre!"
"A Snom?" Kieran scoffed. "How weak."
Dragonite unleashed Thunder directed at Charlotte, but Umbreon jumped over Snom and used Iron Tail to act like a lightning rod.
"Umbre…!" Raffia winced, electricity wrapping around his body in paralysis, giving Incineroar all the reason to grab Raffia by the tail and throw him into a pile of snow.
"Roar Roar!" Incineroar cracked his knuckles and approached the snow pile, leaving Dragonite to deal with Charlotte.
"Dragooooo!" Dragonite cried, unleashing Thunder right as the rain ended, causing the Thunder to miss and struck an unsuspecting Snubbul instead.
"Snom Snooooom!" Charlotte cried, unleashing Icy Wind.
"Dragoooo!" Dragonite cried before collapsing in defeat.
Kieran rolled his eyes, recalling Dragonite and then sent out Grimmsnarl. "Snarl." Grimmsnarl scoffed as Charlotte got ready to fight… only for Raffia to be thrown into her. "Snom!"
Incineroar dusted his hands and nodded at Grimmsnarl, grabbing his arm as he used Darkest Lariat before throwing Grimmsnarl into the two.
Suddenly, Grimmsnarl was kicked in the face as Rio had come out to defend the duo alongside Balto, standing above Raffia and Snom with a harsh glare.
"More intrusions…" Kieran growled as Grimmsnarl rubbed his face while Incineroar got in a fighting stance against Rio.
Alessandra closed her eyes. "I've seen enough. I'm withdrawing."
End BGM
"You're what?" Kieran asked in surprise as Alessandra recalled her Pokemon, save for Balto.
"I only meant to observe as we fought. I wasn't in it to win it. "Thank you for the data. See you later… "Kiki"." She said with a hint of venom as she turned around and walked off with Hop following her.
"I… I won…? Wait, no, she forfeited… does that mean… aaargh!"
"Dude, you gotta lighten up." A voice said as he turned to see Nyx with Myra, Coco and Velvet accompanying her.
"Who are-"
"Let's talk a moment." Nyx interrupted.
Back with Alessandra…
"You feeling okay?" Hop asked.
"Never better."
"...Aless, I know you. You're clearly upset."
Alessandra turned to face him, looking a bit livid. "Oh, I dunno… just watched my darling Pokemon get beaten up by a kid who clearly hasn't addressed his issues, not to mention I was expecting a fun fight. Instead, I get a fucking slaughterhouse! Like, what the hell is up with that kid?"
"You're worried, aren't you?"
"Yes, I'm worried! If I don't get to Terapagos first… there's no telling what he'll do to Terapagos. It broke my heart seeing a cutie like Ogerpon upset last time… I don't want her to go through it again, watching her friend become something it isn't."
She let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose while wiping some frustrated angry tears. "Carm really messed up with Kiki… they really gotta make up for everyone's sake."
"That might be easier said than done. I'm afraid Ren might be the only one to knock some sense into him."
"I'm worried he'll just unwittingly make things-"
Alessandra turned her head. "Who's there?" She asked as Hop turned his head to see Sneasler approaching.
"Sneasler Sneas."
"Whoa! Is this a lost Sneasel's evolution?" Hop wondered.
"This one looks sassy as hell…"
Alessandra smirked.
"I want it."
Ibuki: Kieran's getting worse...
Deadpool: Yikes, it's really getting bad!
Yeeeeah... he needs help.