Pokémon: Across the Paldean Skies

Episode 6 – Bright Shining Crystals


After passing through Los Platos and now trekking through the South Province area, Sean had battled a fair few Trainers and wild Pokemon, while finding many items all over the area. Right now, the young boy was battling another Trainer and his Rookidee, using his newly caught Psyduck.

"Finish this! Water Gun!" Sean commanded.

Psyduck nods as he releases a spiral of water from his bill, hitting the Tiny Bird Pokemon and finally taking it out of the fight. The trainer, who is dressed up as a courier, returned his defeated Pokemon before giving a friendly nod to the victor.

Sean nods back in response, then returned his Psyduck before walking over to the nearby Pokemon Center that was stationed near a huge door surrounded by a stone archway that is a wonderous sight to behold. After healing up his Pokemon, Sean walked towards the doors when a familiar voice calls out from behind him.

"Oyeee! Sean!" The said Trainer turned around to see Nemona jogging forward, stopping in front of him "Didja battle some Trainers on the hill? Bet your Pokémon are getting stronger!"

"They most certainly are." Sean replied with a nod.

"How about you show me how much you all have learned...in a battle?" Nemona suggested, sporting a challenging smirk.

Sean chuckled at that as he finally spoke "Sure thing."

"All right! Nothing like having a friend around!" Nemona exclaimed happily "Come on, Sean! Let's have us a fruitful battle!" She rushed to the side, and Sean stood further away "Let's go, Sprigatito!" She throws the Poke Ball, bringing out Sprigatito, who meowed loudly "You seem like you're getting better at this, so I'm comin' at you with two Pokémon this time!"

"As am I, Nemona." Sean said, holding out a Poke Ball before tossing it "Psyduck, let's show them!" He sends out Psyduck, who kept his arms crossed.

"Ah, you caught the Psyduck." Nemona noted as she smiled "It's got quite the fiercesome look."

"And you're about to see how well Psyduck battles!" Sean declared "Use Scratch!" Psyduck dashed forward, with his claws glowing yellow as it struck Sprigatito, making the Grass Cat skid back.

"Sprigatito, Leafage!" Nemona called out next. The leaves around Sprigatito's neck glow light green, and it releases multiple green glowing leaves, speeding towards Psyduck.

Sean smirked as he readied himself for that "Confusion!" Psyduck's eyes glowed purple, to which the leaves all stopped at their tracks "Now send them back!" As instructed, Psyduck used its power send the Leafage back to Sprigatito.

"Dodge it with Quick Attack!" Nemona shouted out.

Sprigatito's body becomes outlined in a light blue aura and disappears in a flash to avoid the Confusion-powered Leafage and slam into Psyduck's head. The Duck Pokemon stumbled back from the hit before regaining his footing. However, Sprigatito slams into Psyduck's back and knocked him down once more.

"Psyduck!" Sean exclaimed.

"Finish it with Leafage!" Nemona said. Sprigatito leaps up and unleashes the wave of leaves that hit Psyduck once more. Sean grimaced at that, knowing that Leafage is super-effective against a Water Type. Surprisingly, Psyduck slowly got back up and glared at Sprigatito, refusing to lose at that point "Wow, Psyduck is resilient. I can respect that!"

Sean chuckled softly "Heh. Which is why we're not planning on losing easily! Psyduck, Water Gun!"

Psyduck took in a deep breath, then unleashed a powerful stream of water from his bill, which Sprigatito jumped over to avoid. But Psyduck changed direction while firing off the attack, and manages to make contact with the Grass Cat Pokemon, sending it sprialing near Nemona as it shook away the water.

"Keep up the pressure! Use Confusion!" Sean continued.

Psyduck's eyes glowed purple once more, and this time Sprigatito was now caught in the power, and unable to get free. Psyduck then threw Sprigatito up in the air before sending it crashing onto the nearby grass. Sprigatito manages to recover from the attack, panting heavily in exhaustion as well as Psyduck.

"Use Scratch!" Sean and Nemona both shouted out.

Sprigatito and Psyduck rush forward, leaping into the air with their claws now glowing as they both struck simultaneously and landed with their backs turned. Silence hung in the air as Sean and Nemona waited for the end result, which soon came as both Sprigatito and Psyduck both collapsed onto the ground, fainting at the same time.

"A double knock out." Sean said in slight surprise, returning his Psyduck back to his Poke Ball.

Nemona smiled as she returned Sprigatito "Wow, doing even better than I expected! You're legit, Sean! But the battle is just getting started! Let's go, Pawmi!" She throws the next Poke Ball, bringing out a Pawmi, one that Sean is familiar with.

"Fuecoco, you're up!" Sean brings out his Fuecoco, who breathes out flames before facing his opponent.

"Battling you is a blast! Think I better pull out my ace in the hole!" Nemona declared, which got Sean's attention.

Before he could speak, Nemona took out an orb that looked similar to a Poke Ball, but was colored black and transparent. She held it out, then swirling energy of light entered the orb and shined brightly. Nemona then threw the strange orb forward, causing Pawmi to become shrouded in crystals before shattering a moment later. What surprised Sean even more was a crystaline Pawmi with a yellow lightbulb on its head, with a transparent white bulb enclosing a yellow filament shaped like a thunderbolt, and a yellow base. On the front of the base, there is a yellow hexagonal crystal.

"Whoa..." Sean had no words as Fuecoco's jaw dropped in stunned silence "That's so cool!" He exclaimed in excitement.

Nemona grinned as she spoke "Terastalizing is always a solid strategy! It gives moves of a Pokémon's Tera Type more power. Pawmi, Thundershock!"

As Pawmi prepared to attack, a burst of electricity formed around the bulb as the small rodent releases a small burst of yellow electricity from its body. Fuecoco barely had time to react as it took the powerful hit, knocking him backwards with a pained cry with smoke rising over his small body. Sean looked wide-eyed from the power, as he saw his Fire-type partner get back up with one eye open.

"This Terastalizing... it's on a whole another level..." Sean muttered to himself "Fuecoco, fire off an Ember!" Fuecoco fired a ball of flames at Pawmi, scoring a clean hit. The Mouse Pokemon shook off the damage it took.

"Fire another Thundershock, Pawmi!" Nemona commanded. Another burst of electricity formed around the bulb once more and Pawmi fired another blast of electricity, which Fuecoco barely manages to avoid and Sean winced, knowing that would be problematic if the attack hit.

"Tackle!" Sean called out. Fuecoco continued his charge and slammed into Pawmi, knocking it back once more "Quick, use Bite!" Fuecoco lunged forward, ready to bite down on his opponent.

"Dodge and use Thundershock!" Nemona said.

Pawmi avoids the Dark Type move, and fired a boosted blast of electricity that struck Fuecoco once more, knocking him back once more. The Fire Croc Pokemon began looking tired, on the verge of fainting. Sean grits his teeth as Fuecoco stared at Pawmi, breathing heavily.

"We need to finish this..." Sean realised, as Fuecoco glanced back at him and gave a thumbs up. That made the Trainer laugh softly "Heh, I feel the same way. We're not backing down here! Let's settle this!" Fuecoco crawed in agreement, fire in his eyes.

Nemona grinned at the determination between the two "Now that's what I like to see! But we're not holding back either! End this with one last Thundershock!"

"Fuecoco, use Ember at full power!" Sean shouted.

Once more, Pawmi fired the boosted Electric Type move, which Fuecoco jumped upwards to avoid it and inhaled deeply, and launched a fireball that was slightly bigger than before, exploding upon impact and creating a layer of smoke. After it finally cleared away, the crystaline around Pawmi and the bulb both shattered as the Mouse Pokemon collapses and faints.

Nemona returned her Pawmi and smiled "Man, I can't believe how fast you're improving!"

"Yeah..." Sean exhaled in relief, picking up his Fuecoco, who sighed tiredly "But it was a close call, to say the least." He sprayed a Potion on Fuecoco, healing him up.

"Amazing! Look at you, taking on a Terastallized opponent and winning, no problem!" Nemona complimented before looking in realisation "Come to think of it, you can't Terastallize your Pokémon yet, huh?"

"Heh, no." Sean replied "Must say, you really surprised me with that."

Nemona smiled sheepishly before giving him a pat on the shoulder "Don't worry—I'll get you taken care of! You're so good with Pokémon battles, I forget how new you are to this stuff sometimes! Anyway, it was fun to battle you! Here, have some Revives as thanks!" She reached into her backpack, holding out some yellow diamond-shaped stones for Sean to take.

"Thanks. I'll put them to good use." Sean replied, putting the Revives away in his own bag as he and Nemona both looked towards the large wooden door.

"Now, Mesagoza's waiting just past this gate! At last, the city where our school is!" Nemona declared estatically, putting a hand on her hip "There's a ton of hills and stairs and stuff in the city, so I'm gonna take a quick breather and then catch up with you soon!"

"Fine with me." Sean shrugged like he didn't mind, then looked to Fuecoco "Time to move onto the next step of our journey." Fuecoco crawed happily in agreement as Sean moved towards the large doors that lead to Mesagoza.


End of Episode 6

A/N: The first upload of my story in 2025, with Sean witnessing Terastalizing during his second battle against Nemona, and managing to secure another win. What will he expect in Mesagoza? Stay tuned for the next episode!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the story image, just the OC