TRAINER ID
Name: Daniel Ingram
Age: 16
Badges: 1
Account: 6,644 credits

POKÉMON
Ralts (Apollo) - Male
Corphish (Duran) - Male
Eevee (Orion) - Male

When I left the tent the next morning, something felt… off. Not quite in the sense that anything was wrong, but something was surely different.

For starters, Samantha was already awake and appeared to be fully alert. Although she was sipping on a cup of coffee, I was almost sure that it wasn't her first.

I hadn't woken up particularly early, but I hadn't slept in by any means either. That alone might not have been too strange; although I knew she wasn't much of a morning person and I was used to waking up before Samantha, I didn't have too many days worth of data to work from. It could have just been a fluke, or possibly she had somehow messed up her sleep schedule with her recent performance.

No, what really stood out as strange was the fact that she was not only having a hushed group conversation with her team, but the side glances they all were casting at us. It wasn't particularly overt and I could tell they were trying to be subtle about it, but something was definitely up.

I decided to ignore it for the time being and went about my morning, feeding my team breakfast before finding that Samantha already had some hashbrowns cooked for me, covered in a pan sitting above the smoldering remains of a fire being kept warm.

She'd already eaten, and clearly so had her team. I cast her a glance as she sat in her camping chair, her huddle now called off as her team mingled and relaxed around camp.

She gave me a slight smile and gestured for me to help myself, and I warily took my serving and sat by my team to join them for breakfast, trying my best to rack my brain for what was happening.

This was weird. It wasn't anything like hostility that I was picking up on, it felt like they were waiting on me. Did Samantha want to get moving that badly? If so, she could have simply woken me up. We still had to do our morning training and pack up, so it wasn't like we'd

"Do you know what's going on here?" I sent Apollo as I ate my breakfast, acutely aware of multiple sets of eyes on us from across the camp.

"Watching us. Mixed feelings, but much anticipation. Stella too busy talk."

As if on cue, Stella walked out of Samantha's tent, using her telekinesis to carry a cup of coffee. To my surprise she walked over to me, clearly offering me the cup.

I gave a forced smile but accepted it, setting my empty plate aside as I took a sip of the coffee, surprised to find that it wasn't overly sweet like I was expecting. I had no doubt that Samantha's was loaded with sugar, but thankfully Stella had spared me from that. I still wasn't the biggest fan of the bitterness of it, but the hot drink instantly made me a bit more alert, and I could finally see how some people got hooked on the stuff.

"Looks like I'll make you into a coffee drinker yet," Samantha said with a grin, breaking the silence.

"It's a bit bitter, but far better without all the sugar and sweetness of the last one. Thanks for remembering."

"If I had any half-and-half, a splash of that would fix the bitterness. But it doesn't travel well, and I'd rather just go without than use powdered creamer."

I shrugged, not having any response to that as I took another sip. Each drink was a bit less bitter, and I found myself increasingly enjoying it.

"It's better the more you drink. I wouldn't mind a cup of this every morning, if it's not too much trouble."

"Yessss," Samantha said with a fist pump, "Just you wait, you'll be begging me to go to café soon enough."

I took another sip before being reminded of the weirdness in the air. It felt like Samantha and her team were watching me expectantly, and even though I was now feeling awake enough to really think about what might be going on, I still couldn't come up with anything."

"Alright, what gives," I said as I set the cup aside and leveled Samantha with a critical look.

She decided to play dumb by giving an innocent look, "What do you mean? I just thought it might be nice if my travel buddy was a fellow coffee enthusiast."

I rolled my eyes, "Don't bullshit me, something is up. You woke up before me, had breakfast ready, suddenly offered me coffee, and I feel like you and your entire team are waiting on me. Are you in a rush to go or something? You could have just woken me up, you know. I can skip morning training if that's the case, although I'd rather not."

Samantha grinned, "That obvious, huh? Sometimes you can be pretty dense Danny, but other times you're surprisingly aware."

"So I'm right? You're trying to get going?"

"Not exactly… Although I would like you to skip morning training, if that's alright."

"But why?" I asked confusedly, my brain working overtime as I tried to piece things together.

"Because…" Samantha said before quickly downing the rest of her coffee and setting it aside. She then stood up and pointed at me with narrowed eyes, a look of determination on her face.

"I challenge you to a battle, Daniel Ingram. Three on three, a thousand credit bet."

I blinked, completely taken aback by her challenge. She'd never shown any interest in battling and had always refused whenever I'd asked, why was she so set on this now? Was that really what she had been talking to her team about; preparing them for a battle against me?

"But… why?" I repeated, dumbfounded.

"Why not? Scared you'll lose?" she said with a grin.

"No, but you've never accepted any of my offers to spar. Why the change of heart?"

"First of all this isn't a spar, it's a real battle. I assume you know the difference. As for why… Well, you and my parents have made it perfectly clear that I can't afford to completely neglect being a competent battler. Not to mention, even though I might not be big on battling, that doesn't mean my team doesn't enjoy it."

I nodded, "Fair enough, but is this really the place to battle? It seems kind of… wrong, fighting on this route."

"I know what you mean, but it's a battle between friends. Plus we're on the outskirts of the route, since someone likes camping at the treeline. It's fine, we won't bother anyone."

"Alright fine, let's do it. Although I think we should keep our teams out so they can all watch, instead of having them in their balls like normal. If we ever have to work together for a Geodude-type situation, it'd be good for them to know how each other battles for better teamwork. Also, who's sitting out on your side?"

"Sounds good to me, we can even spray a quick potion on anyone who goes down after we remove them from the field so they can recover and watch while we continue. Oddish is sitting this one out; she's actually never battled before, turns out she's pretty young. She should see how one goes and get the chance to train before he gets thrown into the deep end."

"Alright. Since we aren't keeping them in their balls, should we just pre-determine the matches? Best of three, rather than last one standing? "

"Hmmm…" Samantha hummed, clearly mulling it over in her head. "That works I guess. That's not a standard format, but since we want our teams to watch I can see how it would be awkward to choose our first fighters and switch. No switching then, just three back-to-back single battles with a quick intermission to heal in between. Best of three, but we run all three even if somebody wins their two."

"Works for me," I nodded in agreement, excitement beginning to build up in me. This was hands down going to be the biggest battle I'd ever taken part in, and I was eager to see how the daughter of a champion battled.

Worry. "Fight Stella?"

That was a very good question. I thought about what matchups I didn't want. Orion would struggle against Masquerain and likely lose, having no way of attacking a flying target other than Swift, which he was still a novice at. Even more importantly, he wouldn't stand a chance against Stella. He had struggled against a wild Zigzagoon, whereas Stella was more experienced, evolved, and had soloed a gym.

"I think Orion would only have a fair chance against Chase," I thought out loud, which Samantha thankfully nodded in agreement to.

"Sounds reasonable. I think starter versus starter is only fitting, so I guess we have our matchups then?"

I grimaced, casting a glance at Apollo as I noticed he was fidgeting and appeared genuinely nervous, something I rarely saw from him. I wasn't sure if he looked up to Stella and saw himself as somehow inferior, or if he didn't want to hurt somebody he considered a friend, but he clearly wasn't very keen on the idea.

Reluctance. "Stella friend and mentor. No want hurt."

As I contemplated what to say to help put Apollo's mind at ease, Stella surprised me by stepping forward, her gem glowing as she conversed with Apollo telepathically.

I let them talk, assuming she was probably the best hope of talking him into it. After about a minute of me petting Orion and ensuring them that no matter the outcome I'd be proud of them, Apollo seemed much less tense, and although he was still a bit hesitant he informed me that he was willing to battle Stella.

Everybody went a little ways away from the campsite to an open grassy area, and as Samantha and I took our positions across from each other our teams formed one group viewing party to the side, roughly in a line.

I was quite surprised that they decided to do that and took it as a sign that our teams were not only getting along, but actually befriending each other.

"I hope you're ready Daniel. We don't plan on losing this," Samantha taunted with a grin.

"Neither do we. Who's up first?"

Before Samantha could even respond, Duran scuttled out into the field with a look of determination and excitement, clearly eager for a fight. Samantha gave me a flat look, and I simply shrugged in response.

"Guess that settles it then. Masquerain, you're up."

Masquerain fluttered into the field, flaring its antenna to look like a set of angry eyes in an act of intimidation.

I grinned as Duran stood strong, completely indifferent to the threatening display. It never ceased to amaze me just how many Pokémon attempted to intimidate their foes, and just how useful Duran's immunity was.

I was pretty confident that we had this one in the bag. I had no idea how a Masquerain battled, but Duran had proven multiple times that he had no issues grounding aerial opponents.

However, I had no idea just how easy that battle would be. It was extremely anticlimactic, although I was immensely impressed with the speed at which Masquerain was able to buzz around, especially after using Agility.

I got a bit nervous after it landed a Stun Spore, but its Gust wasn't enough to do any meaningful damage to Duran. It might have been able to poke him down with Air Cutter given enough time, but once Duran landed a Bubblebeam as it attempted to take a swipe with Quick Attack, it was game over.

Apparently, Masquerain was unable to fly once its wings got wet. With its mobility completely crippled, it was left vulnerable as it was grounded. Duran was able to close the distance and finish things off with a Vice Grip with ease, despite paralysis slowing him down.

"You did great Masquerain; it's my fault you lost. I'm surprised the Pokédex entry didn't mention that, but I should have done more research on your species," Samantha apologized as she applied a potion and soothed her new team member, who thankfully wasn't taking the loss particularly hard from what I could tell.

As she tended to her Masquerain, I carried Duran over to the side-lines and praised him. He didn't seem especially pleased that the battle had been so quick, but after telling him it was great practice for quick aerial opponents and working through paralysis he seemed more content. We decided to leave him paralyzed, letting him get more used to the sensation and wear off naturally. Samantha wasn't the biggest fan of that and offered to cure him, but I assured her that Duran didn't want that and he agreed wholeheartedly.

We took our positions for round two, which we decided would be Orion and Chase. I knew that this was going to be a difficult battle, something emphasized by the fact that Chase looked more attentive and focused than I'd ever seen him. His eyes were alert and his body poised to pounce as Orion took his place in front of me, looking slightly anxious but not at all the outright nervous wreck I had half-expected, likely thanks to Duran's stellar showing.

"Hope you're ready, because we're winning this one," Samantha taunted with a smirk.

"You probably shouldn't be so cocky after that last battle. That's the kind of mistake I could see myself making, but I thought the whole point of trainer school was so you didn't make mistakes like that?"

She huffed, clearly annoyed. "Do you have any idea how much information there is in the world? With how many Pokémon, moves, abilities, matchups, strategies, and so on there are, it's impossible to learn everything."

"I'm just saying, I would have thought the daughter of a Champion and Gym Leader with a formal education would be more of a force to reckon with," I said with a shrug, knowing exactly what I was doing.

It worked beautifully. Her eyes narrowed, and even Chase looked offended on her behalf as his tail flicked back and forth in annoyance.

"I'll show you we aren't pushovers, then. Chase, start with Charm!"

I blinked in disbelief as her Skitty's scowl softened and he gave a coy look at Orion, his tail swaying rhythmically as he winked.

The difference between that Charm and the one Marelle's Marill had tried on Duran was immediately evident. Orion shuttered, and even though he wasn't particularly eager to fight before he now looked downright hesitant. The interesting thing was that the look on his face wasn't one of being afraid of the strength of his opponent, but rather like he was afraid of hurting Chase.

"Not a very honorable start," I remarked, "Orion use Sand Attack."

Orion kicked at the ground, peppering Chase with dirt as I heard Samantha snort in amusement at my remark.

"There's no referee here, Daniel. Once everybody is in their positions and the fighters have made eye contact, it's on. We may have tossed a stone in our first round, but if you talk shit you can't be surprised when your opponent strikes first. Use Swift, Chase."

"Protect!"

Chase began to yowl, shooting Swifts at Orion one by one as he erected a Protect and soaked the hits. As the projectiles drilled into the barrier, the impacts pushed Orion back a bit with each hit and I could see Protect begin to wane, flickering and cracking as the barrage continued. I knew he wouldn't be able to hold it for long, so I decided we needed to go on the offensive.

"Quick Attack!"

Just as another projectile hit and the shield shattered, Orion bolted toward Chase. The distance being so short and him being so fast, he was quickly able to close the distance before Chase could send another Swift at him.

"Feint Attack." I heard Samantha command confidently.

My eyes widened as Chase vanished in a faint cloud of miasma just as Orion reached him, only to reappear right to his side and slam into him and send him tumbling. Although Chase wasn't very big, he was still nearly twice Orion's size, and I could tell the attack did quite a bit of damage to my little hunter.

Orion shakily got to his feet, and I silently cursed as I realized our chances of winning this were very slim. Even with Chase being half blind from the dirt I could clearly see him trying to blink out of his eyes, he was still able to land every move Samantha called out without issue. We didn't have many options either, in fact our only two attacking moves were Tackle, Quick Attack, and Swift. If we were going to have any hope of winning this, we'd have to try to keep our distance and make our physical strikes count.

"Keep your distance and use Swift. Use Quick Attack and Protect sparingly. You've got this buddy, let your instincts guide you!"

Orion lept back and began using Swift, landing a couple of projectiles and finally dealing some damage. I could tell it wasn't much, but at least we were finally landing some hits.

"Double Slap! Close the distance!"

Chase began to bound toward Orion, using his tail to slap at the projectiles and intercept them. I could tell that it still hurt, but it was better than taking them to the body or head. As he approached Orion, my Eevee took off with a Quick Attack to create some distance. Chase was surprisingly fast, but he couldn't keep up with Orion. He was a little faster when both were running at full speed but all it would take was a short burst of Quick Attack for Orion to stay ahead.

The main problem was that I could tell that Orion didn't have the stamina to keep this up for long. But as it turned out, he didn't need to.

"That's how you want to play it, huh? Show Orion who's Swift is better," Samantha commanded.

I knew we wouldn't have a chance at winning if it came to a battle of attrition, so I gave the only call I could think might work.

"Quick Attack and Protect! Finish it fast!"

As Chase began sending Swifts at Orion, he erected a Protect and made a mad dash towards Chase, huffing and panting in exhaustion. The projectiles crashed into the barrier, and although it was holding for the moment the impacts were enough to halt any momentum he tried to create.

He didn't make it. The barrier shattered from the onslaught, and his attempts at leaping and dashing out of the way were unsuccessful as they homed in on Orion. It dawned on me that Samantha had played this extremely smart by using moves that didn't require precision, completely negating the Sand Attack we had used to start the battle.

"Swift him back! Match it!" I shouted frantically.

As he was being struck with projectiles, Orion attempted to send a barrage of his own back. I could see the projectiles begin to form, but as he continued to take hits he lost his concentration and dropped them. He kept trying and did manage to send a couple back at Chase, but it quickly became apparent that he simply wasn't as proficient at the move as Chase, as his Swifts were stronger and being sent in quicker succession. Not only that, but he simply didn't have the stamina or focus needed to give him a chance at overpowering the assault.

Although he fought valiantly to his last bit of strength, he eventually crumpled to the ground completely unconscious after one particularly brutal hit. Chase took notice and quit using Swift, and although he was panting I couldn't help but think we hadn't been particularly close to winning that. It was still an invaluable experience for Orion though, and I had no doubt that he'd be more than formidable after he learned a couple more moves and built up his stamina.

Most importantly, I felt like he'd given that battle his all. Despite his nerves and Charm making him doubt himself even further, he had done everything he could to the best of his capabilities with no hesitation, at least not any that was obvious. I couldn't have asked for more, and felt extremely proud of his progress.

I jogged onto the field and quickly sprayed a potion on him as Chase proudly pranced over to the sidelines to lay down and groom himself, near the rest of the Pokémon but slightly separated. Duran appeared to be considering Chase in a new light and no longer seemed downright dismissive, Stella looked pleased, and Oddish danced around Chase in celebratory glee. Everybody else just looked impressed; I don't think they expected Chase to have that kind of skill

"You did fantastic Chase. Your Swift is coming along nicely, and that Feint Attack is really something" I heard Samantha praise cheerfully as Orion began to regain consciousness, a mixture of tiredness and confusion on his face.

"Hey buddy, feeling alright?" I asked gently as I scooped him up in my arms. He let loose a soft whine, and I scratched behind his ear reassuringly as I saw his ears fold back and the reality of his loss set in.

"You did great. With a little more training and a couple more moves at your disposal, you would have had that in the bag," I reassured him.

"That was a pretty good battle," Samantha chimed in as Orion began to deflate, clearly a bit disappointed that he'd lost. "Chase is no stranger to battling; he did it quite a bit in the wild before I caught him from what I can tell. You put up a good fight Orion."

I nodded to Samantha in thanks as Orion tucked his ears back and attempted to withdraw into my pouch, but I nudged his head back out.

"None of that. I know you're probably tired and disappointed, but sleep can wait and pouting is silly. Losing is even more important than winning; it shows where improvements are needed and gives you motivation to get better. I learned a lot from that battle, did you?"

Orion nodded sheepishly, and I pet his head affectionately. "You'll be on a winning streak in no time, but the only way that will happen is if we keep practicing and learning. The best way to learn is by doing, but the second best way is by seeing. So don't take a nap quite yet alright? Watch this last battle, then you can take a well-deserved rest. Pay close attention to Stella, I bet there's plenty you can learn from her as a fellow Eevee."

That seemed to snap him out of his funk, as his ears perked up and he nodded enthusiastically. I decided to let him watch from my hoodie; if anybody deserved a front-row seat to this battle it was Orion.

"Alright Apollo, you're up," I waved my starter over as I took my position again. Stella trotted onto the field as Apollo Teleported over, and no sooner did I have the thought that he shouldn't be using his stamina before a battle, I dismissed it.

Apollo had much more stamina than he used to, and his Teleport was now nearly as second-nature as his telepathy. There wasn't even the slightest hint of exertion, and I had no doubt that it would be completely inconsequential to the outcome.

"How you feeling, partner? Ready to give it your all?" I sent Apollo over our link, noticing that he'd been particularly quiet since the battles had begun. I wanted to get a feel for where his head was at, because although he had agreed to battle I was worried he might still hold back or treat this differently just because it was Stella.

Determination. "Will try best. Trust."

I nodded in approval. If there was one thing I'd learned, it was to trust Apollo when he asked for it. He'd proven that during our gym battle, and although I had no idea what Stella had told him to cause this change of heart, I was all for it.

"Ready for the tie breaker? Don't go thinking you can cheese your way to a victory by reading Stella's mind like you did at the gym," Samantha warned with a grin.

"Wasn't planning on it, although you might deserve it after how you started last round," I countered.

"What I mean is it won't work, but you're welcome to try. And I already told you the start last round was fair, but an argument could be made that it was a bit dishonorable. You can have the first move, if it makes you feel any better."

"Fine, have it your way. Double Team then Calm Mind."

Apollo made two clones, admirably spaced out as all three closed their eyes and focused, causing their horns to glow. He was getting a good grasp on the move; I had no idea which one was the real one, but I decided against asking him as to not interrupt his concentration.

"Swift," Samantha commanded.

Unlike Orion and Chase, Stella was extremely practiced with the move. She summoned roughly ten of the projectiles and sent them flying forward, but to my surprise they all seemed to go for only one of the three Apollos. I had no idea if it was a limitation of Swift that it could only home in on one target, if setting multiple targets was just beyond Stella's skills, or if Apollo's clones were simply far enough apart to make it impossible, but even Samantha looked taken aback.

I was reminded of when I had first seen Stella use the move. She had done a fountain, causing them to fall all around her on different sides. To me that indicated that she was able to control them individually, but perhaps that was only possible because they weren't tracking a target. I didn't know enough about Swift to come up with a definitive answer, and my list of questions only grew as the Swift barrage tore through one of the clones.

Someday, I'd need to do some testing with Swift to understand how it worked. Part of me would have expected Swift to be able to detect the real Apollo even if Stella herself didn't know. As a telepath, wouldn't she be able to tell which Apollo actually had a working mind?

So many questions, but they'd have to wait for later. As Stella used another Swift and sent them flying towards one of the remaining two Apollos, he opened his eyes as he finished using Calm Mind.

"Disarming Voice!" I commanded, wondering if it would be enough to stop the barrage.

One of the clones vanished as the real Apollo opened his mouth and let loose a bellowing cry, and the Swifts slightly adjusted course to fly toward their new target. As the pink waves rippled through the Swifts and toward Stella, they quickly dissolved and lost their form, and I grinned in satisfaction as my theory was confirmed.

The sound waves washed over Stella, and I saw her flinch in discomfort as she took damage. Even with Calm Mind boosting Apollo's power, it didn't seem to do too much damage. That worried me, because I was hoping to rely on Disarming Voice as our primary damage dealer for this battle. I had no doubt that using psychic-type moves against Stella would be an uphill battle, as she could naturally resist them.

"Shadow ball!" Samantha shouted.

My heart dropped as Stella yowled, creating an orb of swirling darkness that grew in size before launching it at Apollo. I had no idea how or why Stella would know Shadow Ball, perhaps Samantha had taught it with the use of a TM at some point, but I knew that it was a ghost-type move that would be devastating if it hit Apollo.

"Protect!" I sent over our link, not having the time to spare giving a verbal command.

Apollo quickly erected a barrier, and I sighed in relief as it managed to withstand the orb as it slammed against it. It pulsed under the effort and I could see cracks, but at least I knew Apollo was practiced enough with the move that it was usable in combat.

This match just got a lot more dangerous, and we needed to step up our game. I decided that verbal commands were out of the question and that we needed to leverage every advantage we had.

"Harass with Disarming Voice, minimal Teleporting," I sent, not wanting him to wear himself out by going too overboard with the Teleport aspect of the technique. Disarming Voice was our best chance of winning this battle, but I knew it was going to take quite a few of them to bring Stella down.

Apollo took a deep breath and unleashed a powerful Disarming Voice, the pink reverberations much more visible than usual. I grinned in satisfaction, confident that it would more noticeably damage Stella and that we had a solid chance of winning this.

Samantha had clearly caught on to the fact that we were no longer doing verbal commands and had begun doing the same, because Stella's gem was faintly glowing even without attacking, a telltale sign they were telepathically communicating. What she did next surprised me though; her gem shone brightly and I saw a barrier of sorts appear in front of her just as the pink pulsing waves reached her.

My eyes widened as I processed what I was witnessing. This wasn't a barrier like Protect, and it didn't stop the move. Instead, it was like multiple layers of condensed energy in rows that served to lessen the intensity of the attack, and it was startlingly effective. I could visibly see the sound waves lose their pink hue as they traveled through the psychic energy, and by the time they washed over Stella they were hardly visible at all.

In fact, I was sure that had done far less damage than even Apollo's first one, which wasn't anywhere near as powerful. I had no idea what that move was, but it had completely neutered the power Apollo had put into that strike.

The barriers faded and Stella instantly shot off another Shadow Ball, and I instructed Apollo to Teleport to sidestep with Teleport and let loose another Disarming Voice.

He Teleported to the side and sucked in a deep breath, but my eyes bulged as the Shadow Ball curved to correct its trajectory at the last moment and slammed into Apollo, knocking the wind out of him and sending him tumbling back. The only explanation I could think of was that Stella was using her telekinesis to do that, which I found both incredibly impressive and frustrating.

Fear. Horror. Nausea. "Cold, death."

I shivered and felt the hairs on my arm rise as Apollo rose to his feet, a deeply unsettled expression on his face. I could tell that was a hit that not only hurt him a good amount, but also affected his mental state. He looked vulnerable, uncertain, and overall disturbed but whatever he had just experienced. It was times like this that I worried about how it would feel if Apollo ever reached the final stage of telepathy, where he could share all of his senses and thoughts. I knew whatever he'd just experienced had been extremely unpleasant, and I had no intention of having him get hit with another.

"It's not real, just ghost energy. Focus Apollo, full offense. Harass; overwhelm her and keep away."

Apollo was more than willing, seemingly determined not to take another Shadow Ball. He took a deep breath; deeper than I could ever remember seeing him do, and Teleported right behind Stella before releasing a Disarming Voice point blank.

Stella quickly let loose another Shadow Ball, but missed as Apollo disappeared in an instant and began using our harass strategy. He Teleported all around her and attacked in quick succession, so fast that I had trouble keeping a bead on him. I counted five in about a second and grinned in satisfaction at how far the idea I'd had so long ago of using Disarming Voice multiple times with one breath had come. They may not have been the most powerful attacks, but power wasn't Apollo's strong suit anyway. Duran could hold that position on the team; Apollo did best overwhelming his opponent with speed and ranged attacks.

"Arceus…" I heard Samantha mutter as Apollo's barrage ended and he Teleported away, lightly panting as he caught his breath. Stella looked rattled, and I could tell even from where I stood that the assault was finally starting to wear her down. She looked sore, and I could hear a soft whine coming from her as she breathed heavily.

I knew we had a chance, it was really just a matter of wearing Stella down before Apollo ran out of stamina. I had a momentary revelation that most of the battles I had fought in came down to who could last the longest, and vowed to focus more on building my team's stamina going forward. I'd been focusing too much on building up their move pools and mastery of what they knew, and although we still had a lot of work to do on that front stamina was something I needed to focus on more.

Stella's gem shone, and as I saw various leaves on the ground begin to levitate I cursed. I had no idea what attack this was, but could tell it utilized Stella's telekinesis. Not being able to hear what moves our opponent was calling out was crippling, and although I enjoyed the benefits Apollo and I got from it, it felt detrimental when fighting another telepath.

The leaves shot forward at Apollo, and I mentally instructed him to use Protect as another idea came to mind. Apollo managed to erect the barrier just in time, although the tail end of the attack ended up breaking it and Apollo had to Teleport out of the way of the last few leaves. He was quickly wearing out, and his Protect wasn't as practiced as I'd have liked.

I felt acknowledgment and determination over our link as I sent Apollo my idea, and took that as a sign that he thought he'd be able to pull it off. We'd never tried anything like this, but in my mind it made perfect sense.

Although Stella was likely the more powerful psychic due to her age and the fact she'd evolved, I knew for certain that Apollo was the more skilled telepath. He might not be able to beat her in a battle of psychic power, and he may not have developed any telekinesis, but his telepathy was much more advanced. He was a natural born telepath and could hold multiple links, whereas Stella had to learn and could only hold one.

The idea was simple; remove Stella's telepathic link with Samantha by hijacking it. I knew that Samantha was no telepath, so that meant Stella had to do all the work to maintain the link they shared. If Apollo was a more skilled telepath, perhaps he could force her to be linked to him and make them communicate verbally. We needed every advantage we could get, and if Apollo and I could use telepathy while blocking them from doing the same, that could quickly change the tides.

The results were immediately evident. Samantha's eyes widened in surprise, likely taken aback by the fact she'd just lost her link with Stella. For her part, Stella looked decidedly annoyed and began shooting Shadow Balls at Apollo in quick succession.

He evaded them by Teleporting to her other side, forcing her to turn to face him each time she shot another. I quickly realized that Stella was exerting far more effort shooting Shadow Balls than Apollo was Teleporting, as evidenced by her quickly losing steam and becoming more sluggish.

I didn't want to distract Apollo too much, but I sent a question that was burning in my mind over our link; if he had hijacked their telepathic link, did that mean he could read Stella's mind right now?

"Only intercept out. Not want intrude in, very bad."

I nodded in acceptance, not wanting to ask him to try forcing his way into Stella's mind. He was already hesitant to fight her in the first place, and I had no doubt that doing so was some sort of taboo among psychics that wouldn't be easily forgiven by Stella. Even though Samantha had taunted us into trying, it not only felt unnecessary but risky. I had no doubt that if she wanted us to try it, chances were Stella had some sort of answer prepared.

"Magical Leaf! All directions!" Samantha shouted as Stella missed yet another Shadow Ball, clearly realizing she needed to change tactics.

I grinned in satisfaction, not only at the confirmation that their link had been severed, but because I now knew the unknown move.

"Another harass," I sent Apollo, hoping he would be able to Teleport around the leaves.

Apollo sucked in another breath as Stella raised more leaves around her, and sure enough she did manage to shoot them in all directions. Apollo did his best to pick his Teleport locations, but he was slowing down drastically and Stella was smart enough not to send them out in one big pulse but randomly, and I saw multiple leaves graze him as he peppered Stella with another batch of Disarming Voices.

When the exchange ended, both of our starters looked to be on their last legs. They were panting heavily, Apollo was littered with cuts and slightly hunched over yet looked determined to prove something, and Stella was shaking from exhaustion.

"She's tired, maybe try to put her to sleep with Hypnosis," I suggested, thinking it might be the best way to finish this.

Apollo's horn glowed, albeit faintly, and I looked up to see Samantha biting her lip as she seemingly contemplated her next move. Although it didn't take her long to decide, her choice did surprise me.

"Confusion!"

Although I didn't want it to come down to a battle of psychic power, I also didn't want Apollo taking a psychic assault unanswered, and thought we might actually have a chance at winning the exchange. Perhaps I was being a bit optimistic, but I felt like Stella was slightly more exhausted than Apollo after all the attacks she'd thrown out, although I didn't doubt Apollo was more roughed up. I instructed him to match the Confusion with his own over our link, and watched with bated breath as both began their psychic warfare. Stella's gem and Apollo's horn were both faint, yet I noticed a subtle flickering with both that I'd never seen before as a battle of the minds took place.

As I watched both starters engage in mental warfare, each in deep concentration, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd made the right call. Psybeam could have been an option, however I doubted that Apollo would have been able to produce one of any significant strength given his current condition and how new he was at the move. I suspected that Stella likely knew a more powerful psychic-type move as well, but Samantha probably hadn't wanted to push her luck in much the same way.

Both Pokémon wavered, trying their best to stay on their feet and persevere through whatever they were experiencing, but I could tell that this was the last exchange of the battle. I spared Samantha a look, and our eyes met in a moment of shared uncertainty. She gave a subtle shake of the head, and somehow I knew exactly what she meant and nodded in agreement without a moment's hesitation.

It wasn't worth continuing. I'd never considered myself somebody who would be content with a draw, but it felt right in the moment. This wasn't a battle worth fighting to the last breath; Samantha was my best friend, and Apollo and Stella were very close in their own right. A thousand credits and bragging rights weren't worth what could potentially result from continuing. Things were beginning to teeter to the edge of being dangerous, and I didn't want there to be any harsh feelings after our first battle otherwise we may feel comfortable doing it again.

"That's enough you two. Match over," Samantha announced as I told Apollo to stop over our link. Both instantly stopped and collapsed, not unconscious but simply too tired to stand as they heaved and tried to catch their breath.

As Samantha and I ran onto the field to tend to our starters, I couldn't help but notice that the rest of our teams were oddly quiet as they sat on the sidelines, As I knelt to spray Apollo's cuts with a potion and offer him my praise, I glanced over to see a few of the Pokémon having hushed conversations, making me wonder if perhaps they weren't satisfied that it had ended in a draw.

That thought was shattered as Apollo and Stella both stood up a moment later and offered each other respectful bows. The sidelines began cheering, and although it was a wide variety of sounds and actions I could easily tell that's what it was. Duran snipped his claws, Oddish danced, Masquerain took to the sky and did some acrobatics, and Orion lept out of my pocket and gave a happy trill as he pranced around Apollo in celebration, his earlier tiredness now completely forgotten. Even Chase gave an approving flick of the tail and spoke up as he rested, calling out to Stella who gave a slight nod in response to whatever was said.

"You did great. You've come a long way since we first met, haven't you?" I said while setting him on my shoulder for a well-deserved rest.

Pride. "Did best. Stella strong," he sent as he leaned against me and held onto my neck, clearly exhausted. Although the potion had done wonders for his visible wounds, I knew he'd need some time until he was back to normal.

That only cemented in my mind that we needed to do more battling. Training was good practice, but it didn't come close to the experience and all-around workout that came with a good battle.

"That was intense, way harder than our gym battle," Samantha complimented as she came over with a decidedly tired-looking Stella cradled in her arms. I couldn't help but smile at the sight; Steven had implied during our private chat that Samantha wasn't that close to her team, but from what I'd observed that didn't appear to be the case. Chase could perhaps appear distant, but that was more just a personality trait than anything. There was a chance that they had simply all become closer since leaving home, but my guess was that she simply didn't display much affection when around her parents.

"I can see how Stella soloed the gym, she's really strong," I said truthfully. "She didn't even use attacks of her natural typing until that last Confusion, so I bet against non-psychics she is very formidable."

"Speak for yourself, Apollo's Teleport is nasty business to fight against. Even though I expected it after seeing you do something like that against Leader Georgia, being on the receiving end of that was scary and he's only getting better. I also can't believe you weaponized telepathy like that, I hadn't expected that."

"What on earth was that barrier you used against Disarming Voice?"

"Light Screen; it weakens the concentration of special attacks. It's like Protect but more specialized, and it's much less burdensome to do. It's like Reflect but for special attacks, if you know that one. Pretty nifty, huh?"

"Very," I nodded in agreement. "What about Swift? I thought they homed in on the opponent, how did a simple illusion trick it?"

"Based on my experience with Swift, it does have homing capabilities but it's directed by the user. Stella can direct the projectiles, both with the help of her telekinesis but also just by focusing. What stumps me is why she didn't just Swift all of the clones, or how she couldn't tell which one was the real one from sensing his mind. What's up with that Stella?"

As it turned out, Stella did pick up on Apollo's mind, in a way. Apollo revealed that when he used Calm Mind, it made him much more aware of things and able to focus. He was able to make his mind 'quiet' and pitched his mental signature to a clone when he felt Stella sensing him, similar to how a ventriloquist would a voice. I was utterly gobsmacked to learn this, but Apollo seemed to think it was a cheap trick despite how amazed both Stella and Samantha were.

It occurred to me that what he'd done was a prime example of the difference between a natural and learned telepath. From the momentary look of envy I saw in Stella's eyes, I got the feeling that she would have difficulties achieving that even with practice, whereas it was something Apollo had come up with on the fly and hadn't put much effort into.

That, or Apollo was simply far more intelligent and capable of multitasking than I had ever thought. He'd held a telepathic link with me, held Double Team, used Calm Mind, and projected his mental signature all at once. I'd always assumed that Calm Mind would require intense focus to bolster his mind and not allow him to do much else, but realized I likely had a fundamental misunderstanding of the move.

Realizing that I was getting lost in my thoughts, I pushed the topic aside for later consideration and turned to Samantha, who was giving Stella some much-deserved attention.

"We should do that again sometime," I suggested hopefully. "I learned a lot, and it was a great break from training."

Samantha hummed, casting a glance at her team as they excitedly chatted on the sidelines before shrugging. "I may not be a battle junkie, but I know my team thoroughly enjoyed it. I shouldn't deprive my team of doing something they like, so I may take you up on that. I might even accept a couple of trainer battles, but I still don't think I'll be battling many gym leaders, if any."

I nodded in acceptance and felt Orion pawing at my leg, clearly wanting back in my pocket. I nodded and gestured for him to come up, and he jumped into my arms and quickly tucked himself back in his favorite place.

I noticed Stella's gem glowing faintly as Samantha held her, and looked over to see Apollo looking rather embarrassed. I could only assume that things were good between them, and that Apollo was currently receiving praise. Feeling relieved that our telepathic stunt hadn't caused any friction, I turned back to Samantha.

"Well that was an eventful morning, thanks for that. I'm feeling wide awake after that battle and the coffee. Ready to get going? We've got a lot of ground to cover."

She nodded in agreement, and we quickly packed up camp as our teams rested and chatted. Orion slept in my pouch, but Apollo and Duran were both unusually talkative and were welcomed with open arms by Samantha's team. Even Chase didn't seem to feel the need to distance himself today, and although he didn't seem to join in the conversation much he was still in the vicinity and seemed to be listening with no hint of annoyance.

Overall it was probably our most productive morning yet, and I couldn't help but marvel how much a little bit of battling had brought us all closer together. Whereas before there was a bit of a clear divide between our groups, it now felt like we were one big, cohesive unit, and it was a great feeling.

"Hey Danny, we forgot to register the battle," Samantha said while pulling out her Pokédex and punching in a few keys as I approached with my things packed and my team all riding on me.

"Does it matter? There's no money for a draw, right?" I asked curiously as I pulled mine out and tapped it against hers.

"Yes it matters. It was an official battle with a bet, even if we agreed to an alternative ruleset. Plus, now I can boast about being your first draw if you ever make it big," she said with a grin while pocketing her Pokédex.

"Fair enough. Lead the way?" I asked while gesturing in the direction of the route's path. She picked up Oddish and idly played with his leaves as we started walking, leaving behind our campsite with a lot of Pokémon. Not a single one was returned; my team was in their usual spots on my person, and Samantha was apparently planning on carrying Oddish while the rest of her team followed on their own, perfectly capable of keeping up.

Although we might have looked a bit intimidating to any trainers we came across, I simply didn't care. We were all basking in each other's company at the end of a perfect morning, and there were no rules against having your whole team out on a route. I knew it wouldn't last forever; eventually Samantha and I would have to part ways, and I doubted that Duran would be able to travel with us once he finally evolved.

Days like this were in short supply and would eventually come to an end, so I was more than happy to enjoy it while it lasted. It had been a while since I'd felt so content and fulfilled, and even the usually chatty or distracted Samantha seemed perfectly content to walk in silence only further emphasizing just how perfect this moment in time was.

I knew that time was a cruel mistress and that it wouldn't last, but at that moment everything felt perfect. Even if we somehow made terrible progress to Mauville, there was no denying that today was a great day, and I didn't see how anything could possibly ruin it.

A/N: Not much to say other than I hope you enjoyed, I'm getting more comfortable with writing battles thankfully. 8.5k words btw, RIP.

Shoutout to Trix for beta-reading this chapter.

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