"I can't believe you evolved before me!" Grookey cried; Hop had been quick to bring him and Wooloo to visit Raboot and Bunnelby in the Pokemon Center as soon as they could after the battle. "Did it feel weird?"

"Yeah," Raboot murmured, still a little breathless from the fight. "Though I didn't register it at first - thought it was more Dynamax stuff."

Grookey nodded. "I asked Rookidee how it felt - she didn't really bother to tell me. How was it?"

"Really weird," said Raboot. "But really cool. Like…I was huge! And I was looking down at the stands, and you were all so tiny…"

Grookey grinned. "I'd better get to do that against Nessa."

"Dynamax or evolution?"

"Both!" Grookey chuckled. "I mean, look at you! You got both in one battle, why shouldn't I?"

Wooloo chose this moment to chime in from where he was sitting against the nearby wall. "In all likelihood, you'll be evolving sooner than that. If that was all it took for Scorbunny to evolve, then more likely than not you'll be evolving in only one or two more battles."

Bunnelby, who was sitting by Wooloo, spoke up as well. "Where's Rookidee? I know most of the more common Flying-types evolve pretty early - she should be evolving soon."

"She left pretty much as soon as Hop was out of sight," Grookey muttered. "Said this was a waste of time that would be better spent training."

"Okay, screw this."

Bunnelby's statement drew the gazes of Raboot, Grookey, and Wooloo, as well as everyone else in the Pokemon Center's back room. "Whatever's going on with Rookidee needs to stop. It's unhealthy for her, it's unhealthy for your team, and quite frankly, it's horrible to watch. And if neither of you are willing to accept that, then…" Bunnelby shook her head. "Why even bother?"

Grookey and Wooloo both glanced at each other. "She's right," Wooloo murmured. "We've been putting this off for far too long, hoping she might acclimate on her own."

Grookey nodded. "I'm gonna go talk to her."

Wooloo blinked. "Are you sure? I've been Hop's Pokemon for longer-"

"And I'm the one who got her captured in the first place," Grookey pointed out. "It's my job to make things right. Also…" He glanced around at the rest of the room. "I think I've got a bit of a plan."

Gloria and Hop were planning on spending the night in Turffield, so Marcus stayed to watch the remainder of the matches alongside Sonia. Trevenant had to admit that it had gotten a little boring after the first few, what with Applin and Eldegoss always using the same four moves and the same exact tactics. Even the Dynamaxing was getting a little old, though that was probably down to the fact that it was clear Eldegoss was very much meant as an introduction to Dynamax. When it came down to it, Eldegoss wasn't actually very good Dynamaxed - he could only use Max Strike and Max Overgrow, and lost access to the versatility that Rapid Spin and Sing provided, making him little more than a big target. After the first five battles, it was clear the Gym Challengers' ability to win the fights pretty much depended on whether they could deal with Applin's Rollout and Milo's two main trump cards - Attract and Sing.

Some could - a tall girl with a Combusken absolutely blasted her way through Milo's pair with Double Kick and Flame Charge like a stronger version of Scorbunny, another girl with blonde hair brought a Snom that blocked the Rollout with Protect and used its own Attract to leave both Applin and Eldegoss open to a flurry of Powder Snows and Struggle Bugs, and a dark-haired boy with an Arrokuda of all things used a powerful combination of Agility and Aqua Jet to block the momentum of Applin's Rollout, then pulled out Peck to not only finish the Grass/Dragon-type off, but deal major damage to Eldegoss before going down, leaving him easy prey for the boy's Bounsweet.

Others couldn't - the overly cocky boy with a Dottler who was completely unprepared to counter Attract and Rollout was a highlight. That one isn't going to be making it far, Trevenant thought as the boy stormed out.

Hop and Gloria watched as well; the boy had apparently badgered her into leaving their teams at the Pokemon Center in favor of 'sizing up the competition'. Trevenant honestly couldn't understand how neither of them were getting bored - every Dynamax brought the same cheering from Hop, and it was seemingly infectious, for Gloria quickly ended up cheering as well. Finally, though, 4:00 came; the battles ended, the stadium emptied out, and the last of the Gym Challengers left with their first badge in hand.

As Milo stood in the lobby, waving off the challenger who had just beaten him, Marcus stepped up to him, with Hop, Gloria and Sonia close behind. "Milo."

"Marcus!" Milo shook his hand firmly. "You put on quite a show at Motostoke - pretty much all the Gym Leaders are talking about you!"

"Really?" Marcus asked. "Didn't realize I was that popular."

Milo chuckled. "Anyway, Leon sent around word that you were intending to train up the rest of your team a little bit, so I have a feeling you're hoping for a battle."

"If it's not too much trouble," Marcus replied.

"Of course not!" said Milo. "Eldegoss would love a chance to cut loose after a day of holding back, and quite frankly, so would I! Follow me!"

As Milo turned and began to step towards the stadium doors, Marcus fell in beside him. Trevenant saw the other three exchange excited glances and a few swift whispers before following along. "So," said Marcus, "when you say 'all the Gym Leaders', what about Piers? What's he saying?"

Trevenant stiffened.

Truth be told, the Grass/Ghost-type half-expected Milo's demeanor to change in an instant at the question. Instead, the Grass-type Gym Leader grinned broadly. "Ah, yes, I get it! Interested in pleasing your fellow type specialist! Well, I can't say I know - he's a little hard to contact at present - but I'm sure he'd be saying nothing but nice things about you!"

A little hard to contact…Trevenant frowned. So he's broken off contact with even his fellow Galarian Gym Leaders? I guess that means we're not going to be getting any clues from any of them.

"Of course, I doubt you're gonna be using any of your Dark-types in this one," said Milo.

Marcus shook his head. "No, I'm using Trevenant."

"Figured as much," said Milo cheerily. "I have a feeling this is going to be a great battle!"

Thankfully, when Rookidee had left the Pokemon Center, Grookey had taken the time to watch her through the window, and had seen her head uphill along the Trainer path. So Grookey now followed that same path, head swinging from side to side as he searched for any trace of where Rookidee might have gone.

It took only a few minutes, thankfully, before he heard it. To passersby, the shrieks and hisses coming from the nearby field of tall grass wouldn't have been notable. Just another scrap between some wild Pokemon. But Grookey recognized Rookidee's voice in an instant, and so he raced off towards the grass without a second thought.

It was only as he reached the grass, and realized Rookidee might not take kindly to Grookey startling her, that he ceased his rapid movement and instead began to carefully push his way through the grass, listening as the sounds of battle grew louder and louder. At last, Grookey pushed aside a fairly sizable cluster of grass and found himself standing at the edge of a small clearing, a pit of earth in the midst of the field that Grookey instantly realized was intentionally placed so that Trainers could head off the path and have a battle without disturbing other passing Trainers.

No Trainers occupied the pit at this moment, though. Instead, Rookidee was battling a wild Galarian Meowth, and doing quite a good job of it, easily evading the Steel-type's wild swipes. "Power Beak," she growled, lashing out with a rapid Peck that sent the Galarian Meowth staggering. The Galarian Meowth hissed and came in again, lashing out with a Metal Claw.

Rookidee twisted to meet the strike, flinging out one foot. "Power Talons." Her Rock Smash collided with the Metal Claw; the Galarian Meowth screeched in pain as its hand was bent backwards from the force of the blow. As he stumbled, clutching the clearly broken limb, Rookidee hurled herself upwards, arcing through the air like a thrown ball and coming back down on top of the Galarian Meowth. "Power Talons!"

Grookey winced at the horrible metallic crunch as Rookidee slammed herself down, claws-first, on top of the Galarian Meowth. Both fell, Rookidee on top; the Galarian Mewoth tried to throw her off, but despite her small size, Rookidee held firm. She raised one claw. "Power Talons!"

As her claws struck the Galarian Meowth's face hard enough to leave a deep scratch, Grookey stepped out of the undergrowth. "Rookidee!"

Rookidee started; the Galarian Meowth took full advantage of the distraction to finally throw her off. Twisting, the Steel-type sprinted into the nearby grass and was lost from sight. Rookidee snorted as she turned towards Grookey. "What does our Trainer want now?"

"Nothing," said Grookey. "I came by-"

"Let me know when it's something." Rookidee whirled and began to stalk off, heading towards the grasses herself.

"Rookidee, wait!"

Rookidee let out a loud huff as she turned again. "Have I not made it clear," she growled, "that I'm not interested in making friends? Not with you, not with Wooloo, and not with whoever else our Trainer picks up!"

"You weren't having fun during the battle," Grookey pointed out. "Even I could see it."

"So what if I wasn't?" Rookidee asked. "I won, didn't I? Isn't that the whole point?"

"No," said Grookey. "Sure, winning's good, but the whole point of this is to compete with other people, and have fun doing it."

"Fine!" Rookidee growled. "Let me lay it out for you. I'm not having fun. I'm not enjoying myself, and I don't even want to be here. I am only serving our Trainer because I have no other choice. And if I'm going to win battles for him, I'm going to have to be as strong as possible. That means I don't have time for these stupid, pointless conversations. So-"

"I've seen you fight," Grookey interrupted. "Back in the Slumbering Weald. If you were willing to fight that hard for the sake of a monster like Corviknight, what's stopping you from fighting that hard for Hop?"

"I wanted to prove myself to Corviknight," Rookidee growled. "I wanted to be Corviknight. A wild Pokemon who wasn't afraid of Trainers…that's the kind of Pokemon I've wanted to be like my whole life! You have no idea how much I looked up to him! He was the closest thing I had to-"

Abruptly, Rookidee stopped speaking; she turned away, staring at the dirt beneath her talons. Her voice came again, slower, quieter, shaky. "He wasn't family," she said. "But he was the closest thing I had left, after…"

She trailed off again. It took a few seconds before Grookey found the courage to speak. "After you lost your mother?"

When Rookidee spoke, her voice sounded as small and defeated as it had the first time she'd been released from her Pokeball, all the way back in Postwick. "She raised me from birth," she murmured. "My father - my real father - left before I was hatched. My mother told me he didn't want a wife who could only muster a single egg. It was hard, but we always at least had enough food to eat, a warm place to sleep, and shelter from storms - more than many Pokemon in the Weald could claim to have."

"It sounds like she was a good mother," said Grookey.

"She was." Rookidee hesitated for a long while before continuing. "I still remember it as if it were yesterday. I was in our house, she was out on a branch. It had just rained, and she was getting a rain-soaked leaf from one of the tree's branches so that we could get a drink of water without leaving the house. The next thing I knew, a Trainer had emerged from behind a tree. Watching her. Pokeball in hand. He'd decided that she was going to be his next catch. She'd told me before that whenever that kind of thing happened, I would hide and she would handle it. So I hid…and I never saw her again."

Grookey opened his mouth, but there was nothing that he felt made sense to say.

"And I know that's just how it works," said Rookidee. "Trainers catch Pokemon. Pokemon battle for Trainers. That's life. But…" Rookidee shook her head, abandoning the thought, and instead continued with her story. "I was familiar enough with the Weald that I was able to survive on my own, but it hurt. Every day, every night…I felt so alone…"

She looked down, taking several deep and harsh breaths. "When Corviknight came, promising an end to the rule of Trainers and a free wild Pokemon society, it was everything I'd ever dreamed of. A lot of the others joined him out of fear of his strength, but not me. I believed in him - I trusted him. To me, he was like the father I never had. And I know he was a monster, but…in my eyes, Trainers were greater monsters than he could ever be."

"Hop's not a monster!" Grookey slammed his mouth shut - the words had come out practically on instinct.

"I know that!" Rookidee spat. "But he's still a Trainer. And he still threw that Pokeball."

"He saved your life!"

"Did he know that?" Rookidee asked. "Or did he just want a new Pokemon?"

Grookey fell silent, knowing that Rookidee was right. Rookidee looked down at the ground again. "So that's my story," she murmured. "That's why I hate Trainers. Are you satisfied now?"

"No!" Grookey shook his head. "I'm not a Trainer! I'm not trying to hurt you - all I want is to be your friend! So why don't you want to be friends?"

"Don't you get it?" Rookidee's eyes narrowed as she spun to face him yet again. "I don't care about being your friend! I don't care about anything! I have nothing left! My only remaining purpose in this world is to please my Trainer with my strength, and so that's what I'm going to do, and I don't give a damn about anything else!"

"But I do!" Grookey yelled.

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend!"

"No, I'm not!" Rookidee snarled. "I'm not your friend, Grookey, and I'll never be your friend! I know you're not stupid, so tell me! Why is it that you are so damn intent on being my friend when I've made it clear I don't want friends?"

"Because I don't want you to have to suffer by yourself!" Grookey cried.

Rookidee stopped short, beak open, her exhortations dying in her throat. She drew in a breath, then another, but said nothing more. After a moment Rookidee looked away from Grookey once more, out towards the tall grass and the trees beyond. "I've been doing that ever since my mother was taken."

"Well," said Grookey, "now you don't have to anymore."

Rookidee's body began to shake as she continued to look away. She began to let out tiny, rapid sobs as a tear fell from her face and plopped onto the ground, shortly followed by another. Grookey slowly stepped over and gently lay a hand upon her shuddering shoulder. He half expected her to round on him, but instead she remained where she was as all the sadness she'd been bottling up throughout the conversation was finally released in one long torrent of tears.

At length, when the shaking had slowed and the tears had finally stopped, Grookey spoke again, his voice soft. "Do you want to battle?"

That brought Rookidee's attention back to Grookey. "Why?" she choked out.

"Because friends battle all the time!" said Grookey. "And…well…because I have a bit of a hunch."

Rookidee stared at Grookey for a moment, her face still wet with the remnants of countless tears, then slowly nodded. "All right."

The stadium field was not quite as big as the one in Motostoke, but it was still far, far larger than Marcus's traditional battle arena back in Kalos, and Trevenant found themselves gazing around as they were released onto one side of it. So many places to sprout plants from…I'll be able to move practically anywhere!

Across the field, Milo released his Eldegoss. Trevenant eyed the fluffy Grass-type warily - they'd watched him fall fairly easily to Hop's Rookidee, Gloria's Scorbunny, and the Pokemon of a dozen other Gym Challengers, but at the same time, they knew that wasn't the full extent of Eldegoss's strength. And they would freely admit that they were excited to see Eldegoss go all out.

So too were the rest of Milo's team. Flapple, Appletun, Shiftry, Cherrim, and Ludicolo were sitting alongside Hop, Gloria and Sonia in the stands; the Pokemon were cheering on their teammate, while the humans did the same for Trevenant. Trevenant also spotted Queen; the Venusaur was standing behind Sonia, watching Trevenant with an interested air.

"No Dynamax, right?" Milo called.

"No, thank you," Marcus replied.

"All right, then," said Milo. "Eldegoss, let's show Marcus what we can really do!"

Eldegoss grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me."

Milo gestured towards Marcus, nonverbally inviting him to make the first move. Marcus obliged. "Trevenant, start off with a Wood Hammer!"

Trevenant met Eldegoss's grin with their own. "Harvest: Wood Hammer!" they cried, casting their will on a section of grass just in front of Eldegoss. From that grass patch, a massive cluster of wooden branches erupted, coalescing into a vaguely hammer-esque shape that at once swung down towards Eldegoss.

Eldegoss twisted in response. "Cotton Guard!"

The Grass-type's fluffy white body abruptly expanded outwards, forming a massive spherical barrier of cotton around his entire form. Trevenant's Wood Hammer slammed into the newly-formed shield, and though it sunk a good few inches in, the blockade was strong enough to nullify the blow. Eldegoss's grin widened. "My turn. Cotton Down: Fiber Flail!"

The Grass-type whirled, his speed enhanced by what was clearly Rapid Spin, twisting away from the now-useless construct of branches. As he turned, the left side of his body erupted outwards, cottony strands twining together to form a whiplike shape. Eldegoss continued to spin, and as he did so the newly-formed Fiber Flail cracked out towards Trevenant.

Cotton Down…looks like that allows him to manipulate his fluff, sort of like Multiscale or Overcoat. Okay. Trevenant nodded. I can deal with that.

"Harvest: Shadow Claw!" Trevenant lashed out with their left arm, growing the appendage outwards at the same time as they poured Distortion into it. The strength of the Harvest-enhanced arm was sufficient to deflect Eldegoss's Fiber Flail, but the force of the opposing Grass-type's swing was enough to send Trevenant staggering to the side.

"Again!" Milo called.

Eldegoss was already twisting back around. "Cotton Down: Fiber Flail!" Another fluff-formed whip was forming on Eldegoss's other side even as he spun, once more sending his newly-created appendage towards Trevenant.

But Marcus was quick to call out an order of his own. "Get in close!"

Trevenant smirked, eyeing the Wood Hammer construct that had served as their opening salvo. Now it would find another use. "Forest's Curse!" they cackled, transferring their spirit into the construct and avoiding the second Fiber Flail in the process. In the next moment Trevenant stepped out of the cluster of branches, reaching out towards Eldegoss with their branchlike fingers. "Curse!"

But Eldegoss was quick on the uptake. "Cotton Down: Pollen Puff!"

Before Trevenant's fingers could make contact, Eldegoss's entire left side exploded outwards in a cloud of mingled cotton and Bug energy. Trevenant took the blast straight to their face; a shriek left their throat as they staggered backwards. Before they could recover, Eldegoss spun again, and this time his Fiber Flail drove straight into Trevenant's side, knocking them clear off their roots.

Trevenant landed hard on the ground, dimly aware of Marcus calling out their name in alarm. "Woohoo!" Milo cried. "Good hit, Eldegoss - keep up the pressure!"

Right, the Grass/Ghost-type thought, grimacing as they rose back to their full height. I can't treat Eldegoss lightly, no matter how weak he seemed against all those Gym Challengers. This is him at full power - the kind of power that Gym Leaders use to battle members of the Elite Four.

No more messing around.

Eldegoss was surging forwards, cotton-formed barrier still fully intact. "Shadow Ball!" Trevenant cried, reaching out to fire a barrage of Distortional spheres at the Grass-type. But Eldegoss spun again. "Cotton Guard!" Again his fluff expanded outwards, and again it was able to deflect Trevenant's attacks with ease.

But that was all right. The Shadow Balls had never been intended to hit. They'd just been to ensure Eldegoss would slow down.

"Harvest!" Trevenant snarled, this time aiming for directly under Eldegoss. "Grass Knot!"

Eldegoss cried out in alarm as a torrent of vines burst upwards from the grass around him, twining around his cottony barrier. "Cotton Down: Pollen Puff!" he yelped; another explosion of Bug energy blasted away the Grass Knot, freeing him from Trevenant's trap.

But Trevenant was already charging, fingers outstretched. "Will-O-Wisp!"

Eldegoss couldn't spin away in time; Trevenant's ghostly flame struck him even as he twisted, and he grunted in clear discomfort, though he still managed to dodge Trevenant's follow-up Shadow Claw. "Press, and get ready!" Marcus called; Trevenant whirled obediently, lunging for Eldegoss with another Shadow Claw.

"Cotton Down: Pollen Puff!" Eldegoss called.

"Eldegoss, wait!" Milo cried. "Use-"

But Marcus's voice rose over the Grass-type Gym Leader's. "Rock Slide!"

Eldegoss's eyes went comically wide as a blast of Rock energy burst from Trevenant's fingers, blunting his Pollen Puff before it could strike the Grass/Ghost-type. Trevenant grinned. Medicham wasn't the only one who got their hands on that TM. "No defense this time!" they cackled. "Curse!"

The attack hit home, and Eldegoss howled in pain.

"Full fluff!" Milo ordered, the tone of his voice suddenly a lot more urgent. In spite of the agony wracking his body, as Trevenant reared back for another Shadow Claw, Eldegoss's head rose upwards, eyes narrowed in anger. "Cotton Down: Cotton Comber!"

"Get out of there!" Marcus cried as a veritable tidal wave of fluff surged out of Eldegoss's body. Trevenant glanced backwards, towards where their Wood Hammer construct still stood tall. "Forest's Curse!" they cried, transporting himself to the construct once more; they emerged in time to see the cottony wave crash down upon the spot they'd just been standing in.

Though Trevenant had evaded the attack, it had brought Eldegoss enough breathing room to recover from the Grass/Ghost-type's assault. "Aromatherapy and Synthesis," Milo murmured, eliciting a frown from both Marcus and Trevenant. They both knew the techniques well - Aromatherapy utilized Grass energy suffused throughout the body to wipe away status conditions, while Synthesis did the same with pain. Indeed, as Trevenant stepped out of their Wood Hammer construct, Eldegoss's fluffy body glowed green with Overgrow, countering the full brunt of Trevenant's Curse and wiping away the Burn Trevenant's Will-O-Wisp had inflicted.

Nevertheless, the successful barrage of attacks had not done wonders for Eldegoss's constitution. The pure Grass-type looked haggard as he rose, his fluff a lot less tidy than it had previously been. "It's okay, Eldegoss," Milo urged. "Sunny Day - that'll get your strength right back up!"

Sunny Day? Trevenant grinned. Oh, sure, he had a feeling Eldegoss had plenty of ways to take advantage of the sun…but so did Trevenant.

This was going to be interesting.

As Eldegoss's newly-created sphere of sunlight rose into the sky, both Marcus and Milo called out the same order. "Growth!"

Trevenant was fairly certain they heard Gloria gasp in shock as the two battling Grass-types began to swell in size. Trevenant felt their branches and roots lengthen and thicken as they rose, forming an entire tree's worth of new growth around them, while Eldegoss's fluffy body puffed outwards, expanding to three, even four times its original size, almost as if it were Dynamaxing without actually doing so.

"Cotton Down!" Eldegoss cried. "Fluff Forest!"

"Harvest!" Trevenant retorted. "Ingrain!"

Eldegoss's fluff erupted like a cottony volcano, coming down upon Trevenant in whips and waves and various spheres that Trevenant at once realized Eldegoss could detonate remotely with Pollen Puff. Trevenant's roots surged into the ground, and all around him arose a forest of snaggly branches and vines and tree trunks that seemed to cackle all at once as they rose to meet Eldegoss's barrage.

It was bedlam. Fluffy tendrils were caught and tossed aside by a multitude of branches. Waves crashed against trunklike shields, the wood buckling but holding firm. Fibrous spheres slammed into Trevenant's forest, meeting the wooden constructs with surprising sturdiness. And every single round of cotton was quick to detonate with Pollen Puffs that blasted apart entire sections of wood, constantly opening holes that other waves of fluff sought to exploit.

But they were always met by more branches and vines, growing to fill the gaps just as quickly as the previous ones had withered and shattered under Eldegoss's barrage. Eldegoss's Growth-boosted offense was strong, but Trevenant's Growth-boosted defense was stronger.

And Trevenant had no intention of staying on the defensive forever. As another round of Bug energy-swathed spheres blasted a hole in their defenses, the Grass/Ghost-type cast their influence down into the earth, sending their roots deep underground in all directions. "Harvest: Horn Leech!"

All across the battlefield, branches burst from the earth, a hundred gnarled tree trunks sprouting in an instant. A hundred wooden hands reached out, arcing towards Eldegoss, each one seeking to grasp the Grass-type and drain his vitality. Milo raised his voice. "Counter with Leaf Tornado!"

Eldegoss's eyes narrowed as his massive reserves of fluff began to glow with Overgrow. "Cotton Down: Tuft Tornado!"

A whirlwind of mingled Overgrow and fluff blasted upwards from Eldegoss's body. Razor-sharp leaves and exploding fluff clusters ripped through Trevenant's onslaught of appendages like knives, tearing newly-grown trees into chunks of bark that were themselves caught up in and added to the tornado. Trevenant felt the wind from the tornado buffeting them, though Ingrain kept them steady. Okay, overwhelming Eldegoss with an onslaught of small attacks isn't going to work against that. Let's try…

"Harvest: Wood Hammer!" Trevenant cried. This time, the branches sprouted all around him; at his bidding they twined together, forming into a single massive cluster of tangled branches. Trevenant pointed forwards, and the cluster lashed outwards like a spear towards Eldegoss, the tip piercing through the edge of the whirling tornado in spite of the fluff, Overgrow, and chipped-off pieces of bark that tore massive chunks out of it.

"Cotton Guard!" Eldegoss cried; as he had at the beginning of the fight, the Grass-type twisted and allowed his cotton to intercept the blow.

Trevenant narrowed their eye. "Forest's Curse!"

In the next moment, Trevenant was leaping out of the tip of their own Wood Hammer, reaching out for Eldegoss once more. "Shadow Ball!" A flickering sphere of Distortion flew from Trevenant's outstretched hand, too fast for Eldegoss to counter with Pollen Puff-

"Weather Ball!" Milo yelled.

"Solar Shot!" Eldegoss's fluff sprouted a sphere of Fire energy, formed in an instant and flung outwards. The blast was close enough that it clearly singed Eldegoss slightly, but otherwise the Grass-type was left unscathed. Even as the two spheres exploded against one another, Trevenant knew what was coming next. Swiftly, he pointed; his body was still connected by the cluster of branches to his primary Ingrained construct, and so he still held control over the morass of roots that now permeated the arena. He willed one of them to grow. "Forest's Curse!"

"Cotton Down: Pollen Puff!"

Trevenant only just evaded the massive explosion that blasted the entirety of the Wood Hammer he'd just been occupying into tiny bits. They emerged from the just-growing sapling, breathing slightly heavily but certainly not out of the fight. Eldegoss glared at Trevenant from the center of his still-ongoing Leaf Tornado. "What's it going to take to get you to stand still?!"

Trevenant cackled. "More than you've got!"

"Eldegoss!" Milo called. "He's got roots all over the arena - that's how he's making new constructs to teleport into! Burn the field down with a barrage of Weather Balls!"

Uh-oh. Trevenant gulped as Eldegoss's entire fluffy body lit up with light. "Solar Storm!" An entire cascade of fiery Weather Balls flew out from the top of the tornado and began to arc down to points all across the arena. Marcus raised his voice. "Block what you can with Rock Slide!"

Trevenant thought he heard Milo call out "Grassy Glide!", but no more sound came to their ears before the first of the Weather Balls fell.

"Rock Slide!" Trevenant cried, pointing upwards; a barrage of Rock energy burst out of their fingers, intercepting five or six Weather Balls, but that was only a small fraction of the spheres Eldegoss had flung. The entire arena erupted in a spectacular fiery explosion; Trevenant felt agony pierce through them as all of the roots they were connected to were ripped to pieces, and they let out a piercing scream of pain. Dimly, they heard a cry from Marcus-

And then Eldegoss soared straight through the flames, body coursing with Overgrow. "Pollen Puff!"

Trevenant had no time to react; Eldegoss slammed bodily into Trevenant with frightening speed, and even as he did so his fluffy body exploded outwards into Trevenant's face. Trevenant was thrown bodily onto their back, their entire front erupting in pain; through the haze of agony they saw Eldegoss rolling to his feet right next to the Grass/Ghost-type. "This battle's over," Eldegoss growled, silhouetted by the dying flames of his Weather Ball barrage. "Cotton Down: Fiber Flail!"

As if in slow motion, Trevenant saw one final fluff-formed whip extending upwards from Eldegoss's body, readying to slam down upon their prone form. Trevenant knew it would finish them, especially with Pollen Puff added to it. There were no roots, no constructs to escape into; all had been decimated by Eldegoss's Solar Storm.

But just as Trevenant began to accept the defeat, they heard a loud shout from Marcus's throat. "Confuse Ray!"

Trevenant grinned, echoing Marcus's call. A spurt of Distortion flew from their fingertips just as Eldegoss's whip fully formed. In the throes of the fighting, they'd forgotten one very important thing.

They'd assumed that since Eldegoss had Aromatherapy, all of their status moves had been rendered useless. And they'd been mostly right. Poison, Burn, Paralysis, even Sleep, all could be purged from a Pokemon's system by the healing power of Aromatherapy. But Confusion didn't affect the body; it affected the mind. And, as Marcus had remembered while Trevenant had not, no amount of Aromatherapy could heal that.

Which meant Eldegoss had no defense against that particular status.

The Grass-type's Fiber Flail slammed into the ground near Trevenant as Eldegoss swung at a sudden imaginary foe. Trevenant wasted no time in rolling away and to their feet, watching as the now furiously bellowing Eldegoss fired blasts of Overgrow and spheres of fluff every which way, his fogged-up mind failing to comprehend reality. Milo was quick to raise his voice. "Leaf Storm, all directions!" he called.

Eldegoss roared, shook his head, and unleashed a spray of Overgrow on all sides. But Trevenant didn't care; they knew that they had to take down Eldegoss before he snapped out of Confusion and healed back up with Synthesis. "Harvest!" they snarled, reaching out with both hands. "Phantom Force!"

A thicket of thorny branches arose all around Eldegoss; some were struck and shredded by the Leaf Storm, but even as they buckled they protected the ones arising behind them. Every single branch blazed smoky gray with Distortion as they came down upon the Confused Eldegoss like an omnidirectional wave. "Pollen Puff, around you!" Milo cried.

"Forest's Curse!" Marcus and Trevenant both yelled as one.

Eldegoss exploded. There was no other word for it; the entirety of Trevenant's newest construct was blasted away as Eldegoss's entire fluffy body blazed with Bug energy. Branches were torn straight out of the ground and hurled away like twigs in a hurricane, and the wood collapsed as the Distortion reinforcing it faded away, unable to stand against the mighty blast.

And yet, even as the Bug energy faded, from the still-standing roots of that cluster of branches arose Trevenant, red eye flaring and a cackle emanating from their jaws as they reached out with a hand that was growing rapidly in both size and number of fingers.

"Eldegoss, Weather Ball!" Milo ordered.

But it was far too late. Trevenant's hand reached Eldegoss's body. "Harvest: Ingrain."

The inspiration for the technique had come about a year ago - during the offseason, a wandering Alolan Trainer had happened upon Marcus while both were shopping in Laverre. Apparently, he'd been a friend of Elio's, for he'd recognized Marcus and asked if he could battle. In the resulting fight, Trevenant had ended up facing a powerful Palossand who had used its Water Compaction Ability to form its sandy body into all manner of incredibly hard-to-break constructs.

They'd been on the back foot until a sudden realization. If Ingrain can let me plant roots in the dirt beneath my feet, can it also let me plant roots in a Pokemon made of rather dry dirt?

It turned out that yes, that did work, and Palossand had thoroughly not enjoyed the remainder of the fight. Since then, Trevenant had worked to hone the technique, even though they refrained from using it on Pokemon that were flesh and blood - that kind of thing was too nasty even for them.

But a body made almost entirely of cottony fluff was a perfect target.

Eldegoss cried out in surprise and pain as a dozen branches tore into his fluff, ripping through it like…well, like roots through dirt, Trevenant really didn't have time to come up with a better metaphor. Trevenant felt Eldegoss's actual body, a spindly thing concealed by all this cotton, and quickly twined the branches around it, making sure not to pierce the skin. "Curse!" Trevenant cried; they knew the only way to defeat Eldegoss was to overwhelm him with shock and agony. If Eldegoss got his wits about him for long enough to use Pollen Puff, Trevenant was finished.

This was an all-or-nothing attack. And thankfully, it seemed like the coin had come up 'all'.

Eldegoss screamed, writhing in pain, deaf to Milo's commands. Trevenant let loose with a fearsome cackle as they lifted the flailing Eldegoss bodily off the ground, encasing him within yet more branches. Out of the corner of their eye they could see Hop and Gloria watching the display with wide eyes. "Finish it, Trevenant!" Marcus cried.

Trevenant hauled back, still clutching the struggling Eldegoss as tightly as they could manage. "Wood Hammer!" they bellowed, slamming Eldegoss down into the dirt in a burst of Overgrow. The turf exploded as Eldegoss's body struck the ground hard enough to sink a few inches into it. Trevenant raised Eldegoss up again, ready to slam him down once more.

"All right, that's enough!"

As soon as Milo's call reached Trevenant's ears, they released their hold on Eldegoss and stepped back, allowing the Grass-type Gym Leader to recall his Pokemon. Marcus grinned. "Nice work, Trevenant!" he called.

Trevenant grinned back, shooting a glance at the rather horrified-looking Hop and Gloria.

"Don't worry," said Marcus. "They were only Ingraining into the fluff - they're trained enough that they won't pierce skin if they don't want to."

Milo smiled. "Good to know." He sighed and let out a chuckle. "Still a nasty technique, though - Eldegoss is definitely going to be sore for some time."

He stepped across the field, reaching out a hand. "Good match."

"Good match," Marcus echoed, taking it.

"Power Talons!"

"Branch Stroke!"

Grookey's stick slammed into Rookidee's claws; the two attacks bounced off one another, sending both combatants stumbling backwards. Grookey swiftly slashed his stick through the air. "Drum Roll Shot!" A Razor Leaf flew out at Rookidee, who wasn't quite fast enough to evade; the sharp projectiles of Grass energy scored across her body as she soared to the side, leaving scratches behind.

Rookidee landed on the ground and pushed off, propelling herself with both legs and wings to lunge at a rapid speed. "Power Beak!"

"Branch Poke!" Grookey met Rookidee's beak with the tip of his stick. This time, the force of the supereffective technique was enough to allow Rookidee to continue onwards, the strength of her charge pushing Grookey backwards.

"Power Grip!"

Unexpectedly, Rookidee twisted, bringing her talons up; they glistened with Flying energy as she clamped them around Grookey's stick. Before Grookey could properly adjust his grip, Rookidee pulled, tearing the stick right out of the Grass-type's grasp.

Grookey stumbled forwards right into a follow-up Peck from Rookidee. The attack knocked him to the ground; he managed to maneuver into a roll and come back to his feet, but as he skidded to a halt he was painfully aware that he was now sans his primary weapon.

"That one's new," he remarked.

"I have been practicing," Rookidee replied; the tone of her voice was so challenging, so lively, that even she seemed surprised. Snorting, she dropped the stick on the ground. "So, have you had enough of this yet?"

Grookey smirked. "I'm just getting started."

He called upon Taunt; his eyes flashed with Dark energy, and to his relief Rookidee fell for the move. She immediately sprang forwards. "Power Talons!" she cried as she twisted, swinging her claws at Grookey's face.

Grookey dove forwards; Rookidee's charge carried her over his head, and as she slammed into the ground, her talons carving furrows in the dirt, Grookey rolled back to his feet, stick in hand. Rookidee shook her head, clearing the Taunt from her mind, and let out a low growl. "I can't believe I fell for that again."

Grookey twirled his stick. "Trust me, it won't be the last time."

Rookidee lunged again; to Grookey's surprise, Normal energy was glowing around her entire body. As she charged her beak opened, letting out a rageful cry. "Power Rush!"

In the next moment she was on him; Grookey was forced to backpedal, deflecting blow after blow from Rookidee's wings and beak and talons with rapid movements of his stick. Another new attack - she really has been practicing! But Grookey wasn't out of tricks of his own, and soon enough Rookidee's wild barrage of attacks gave him the perfect opening.

As he dodged a swing of Rookidee's right wing, Grookey's other hand came up and Scratched Rookidee across the cheek. Rookidee snarled in surprise and pain; her retaliatory Peck flew wide, and Grookey took full advantage of that opportunity. "Branch Stroke!"

HIs stick cracked against Rookidee's other cheek. The Flying-type reeled, only stopping herself from toppling over by digging her claws into the ground. But she was back in the fight in an instant, springing forwards with beak at the ready once more. "Power Beak!"

"Branch Poke!" Grookey cried, knowing it was what Rookidee was expecting, and knowing how she'd respond. Indeed, Rookidee's eyes shone with triumph. "Power Grasp!"

Instantly, Grookey pulled back; Rookidee's claws whiffed and she overextended, stumbling from the effort of the missed attack. "Drum Roll Shot!" Grookey cried, pointing his stick at Rookidee.

But even as the Razor Leaf came out, Rookidee twisted; her talons, still enhanced with Flying energy, slashed across Grookey's chin. Grookey fell to the ground, landing flat on his back. He heard the sound of Rookidee crying out in pain, and so felt somewhat safe in taking a bit of time to rise.

Indeed, Rookidee was only just recovering from the Razor Leaf as Grookey stood back up. The Flying-type's legs were trembling with effort, but she glared at Grookey nonetheless. "One more hit and you're done."

"Same goes for you," Grookey replied. "One last clash, then - winner takes all."

"So be it." Rookidee landed back on the ground, preparing to push herself off again to achieve a faster charge.

Grookey crouched, readying himself for the same. Both combatants kicked off at the exact same time, strongly enough that dirt went flying behind both of them. As Grookey summoned Grass energy to his stick, he felt a sudden surge of triumph as he saw himself glowing. Rookidee was glowing as well, and not just with the Flying energy she was bringing to bear.

"Power Beak!"

"Branch Stroke!"

The two swung their weapons-

-and Thwackey and Corvisquire came together in a massive explosion of energy.

The surge of power was strong enough to thrust both of them backwards; Thwackey didn't stop until his back hit grass hard enough to knock the wind out of him. He lay where he was for what felt like an entire minute, trying to take in breath; only when he finally did manage to resume breathing steadily did Thwackey finally sit up.

Corvisquire was standing before him, feathers badly ruffled and clearly exhausted, but very much still up, and from the sight of it she had been standing for several seconds. As Thwackey rose to a standing position, he heard a strange voice coming from the newly-evolved Corvisquire's beak. It took him a moment to realize she was laughing, not a full-throated chuckle but still clearly laughter as she exulted in the dual evolution.

She saw him staring and instantly quieted, her eyes narrowing as she swung her head up to face him. "That means nothing."

"Sure it doesn't," Thwackey retorted.

"Was that your hunch?" Corvisquire demanded. "That we'd both end up evolving?"

"Um…yeah," Thwackey admitted. "I wasn't sure if it would work, but when Bunnelby mentioned that you'd likely only need one or two more fights to evolve, I…figured I'd try it."

Corvisquire let out a hmm noise that sounded suspiciously like she was trying not to chuckle.

"So." Thwackey held out one of his sticks towards Corvisquire. "Friends?"

Corvisquire stared at the stick for several seconds before she finally extended one wing out to meet it. "We'll see."

Grookey smiled. "How about we get back to Hop?" he asked. "I can't wait to see how he reacts to the sight of us."

It was only as the last word left his mouth that he realized that, once more, he'd said the complete wrong thing. I just had to remind her about Trainers, didn't I?

Corvisquire stood still for a moment, and then nodded, her voice once more subdued. "Yeah, we should go back."

She strode off back towards the main path. Thwackey fell in step behind her, his shoulders slumped. I really had her opening up for a moment, and then I screwed it up…so much for-

"And thank you."

She said it so fast Thwackey thought he might have imagined it, and when he looked up Corvisquire was continuing to walk, not giving any indication that she'd turned around. But he knew that had been her voice, her words, aimed at him. And as he continued to walk, he felt himself smiling once more.

"Man, Eldegoss is certainly tough," Trevenant admitted to Queen. "Those exploding Pollen Puffs had me on the ropes."

The Venusaur nodded, eyes straying to where Sonia, Marcus, Milo, and Gloria were chatting (likely about the Gym Challenge in general) - Hop had run off to fetch his team from the Pokemon Center. "That was nothing. You should see what he can do when he's not fighting Grass-types."

"Oh?" Trevenant cocked their head. "Do tell."

"Let's just say he knows all the Powder moves," Queen murmured. "And that he can mix them into that fluff of his the same way he did those Pollen Puffs."

Trevenant winced, imagining Eldegoss paralyzing or poisoning opponents or even putting them to sleep with just one swing of those fibrous whips. "Ouch."

Queen nodded. "Of course, he's not that good against Fire-types, because those can just burn away the fluff and he doesn't have any real counters for those moves…but that's where Ludicolo and the dragons come in." She gestured with one vine to Milo's Ludicolo, Flapple, and Appletun; the three of them, alongside his Shiftry and Cherrim, were talking to the Eldegoss Trevenant had just battled. "Not to mention that Shiftry and Cherrim can take advantage of sun…anyway. Enough talk about Eldegoss. I seem to recall you mentioning something about your Ability?"

"…and that's the best place to catch Grass-types," said Milo. "At least the best place that's near Hulbury. That said, of course, don't just grab a Grass-type and immediately head for Nessa's Gym - that kind of tactic is only gonna end in tears."

Marcus winced slightly; so too, in her Pokeball, did Kriesh. "Yeah, I'm with Milo on that one. At least spend a day training your new catch once you've gotten it."

"All right," said Gloria. "Well, I'd better follow Hop and go pick up my team - they're definitely done in the Pokemon Center by now."

"And I'll come with you," Sonia added as Gloria walked away. "Don't worry, I'll come back for Queen, but I just remembered that I saw some interesting geoglyphs on a nearby hillside and wanted to show them to you."

Twisting, Sonia dashed off after Gloria. Marcus chuckled. "She's definitely taking that Darkest Day research seriously."

"Can't begrudge a professor her research," said Milo. "Anyway - about your Trevenant. There's something I've been meaning to ask you about his Ability."

"My Ability?" Trevenant scratched their head. "Oh, right. Yeah, Harvest."

"Plant growth, right?" Queen asked. "At least that's how you described it."

"Yeah," said Trevenant. "You saw it in action - it's really cool with Forest's Curse!"

"That it is," Queen admitted. "However, I feel as if - and I am not trying to demean you in any way here - you are slightly misunderstanding your Ability."

"Misunderstanding?" Marcus asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, let me tell you about my Flapple's Ability," said Milo. "It's called Ripen. It's very versatile - see, Flapple can use it to grow pretty much any type of fruit to full size in an instant. It's actually one of the primary reasons that Hillbury is a major produce exporter. He's also got some other, more…esoteric…uses for the Ability, but I won't get into those."

Marcus leaned closer, listening attentively.

"What I will get into," said Milo, "is how he uses the Ability in battle. I give him a berry - one that most directly counters my opponent - and have him take it into the battle. Whenever he uses it, I then order him to use Recycle, which allows him to funnel energy into generating a copy of the berry. That normally takes quite a bit of time, but then Flapple can use Ripen to grow that new berry to full size in an instant, effectively allowing him to have an infinite supply of that berry."

"That's pretty strong," said Marcus.

Milo nodded. "You should've seen Melony's face the first time I pulled that on her with a Yache Berry. But anyway, what I'm getting at is…"

"If your Ability can grow plants," said Queen, "then why can't it grow berries, too?"

Trevenant blinked. "Um…"

Queen gave him a smile. "Berries are plants, aren't they?"

From across the stadium, Trevenant heard Marcus's voice suddenly grow a lot louder. "Trevenant can grow berries?"

Queen chuckled. "Seems your Trainer figured it out around the same time you did. Guess you've got a new technique to work on, huh?"

Trevenant's single eye widened with excitement. "Oh, this region is going to be awesome."

"Right," said Marcus as he stepped back into the Turffield Stadium's lobby. "Trevenant, we're going to get to work on that immediately. If you can get that under control, you might just end up as one of the strongest Pokemon on the team."

Trevenant pretended he didn't hear unamused grunts from some of the Pokeballs on Marcus's waist - Drapion and Pangoro's in particular.

"Hey, Gloria, Sonia!" Marcus waved. "Did you see your geoglyphs?"

Gloria nodded. "They were really interesting! Sonia said they depicted Dynamax, and she thought they might have some connection to-"

"Marcus! Check it out!"

Whatever Gloria had been going to say was drowned out by Hop's shout. Trevenant turned to see the boy sprinting into the lobby, grinning from ear to ear. The reason for Hop's glee became immediately clear as he tapped two Pokeballs. Out of them emerged a Thwackey and a Corvisquire; Trevenant at once realized the implications of this, and allowed a grin of their own at the sight. Especially Corvisquire; her face was slightly wet, but Trevenant saw her beak turned upwards in a slight smile and knew at once that there would be no more lethargic, lifeless performances like the one she'd given against Milo.

"So, Gloria," said Hop. "How about that post-Gym 1 battle?"

Gloria heaved a sigh, letting out a chuckle as she pressed a hand to her face. "All right, you're on. But don't assume those new evolutions mean you'll win."

"Of course not!" said Hop. "But just so you know, I'm definitely gonna win. Now let's do this!"

So I have a feeling at least some of you know about FFN's new formatting issues, where italics and bold text don't carry over to the actual site. For my rather italics-heavy writing style, this is incredibly inconvenient.

However, it has given me a few opportunities. Specifically, now that I'm having to painstakingly go through every chapter to reset all the stuff that should be in italics back to italics, I decided to change up the formatting with my line breaks a little bit. Hopefully that makes everything cleaner and easier to read.

In other news, we get some new evolutions, new character development, and a new power-up for Trevenant! I'll be honest - this is one I've been looking forward to since I figured out how Trevenant's Ability worked. And yes, it is going to be exactly as broken as you think it is.