Author's note:

Hey guys! This is important, so read up. (If the story is already complete by the time you're reading this, you can ignore this note)

My College classes have begun! So... I may or may not be able to update this story weekly. I may be a little later than usual, but I WILL try to post once a week. I just may not be able to do it on time.

Lemme explain what I mean by "On time". How I do things is that I time my posts on the exact same day as the last week I posted. For example, if I post on Wednesday, I'll post the next chapter on next Wednesday, because that's when a full week has passed.

This notice means that I may not be as punctual. For example, if I post on a Wednesday, I may not post again until the next Saturday. But like I said before, I will TRY to post at least once a week. I'm pretty good at posting at least something, so don't expect that to change.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

-Neonugget

Chapter 53: How she Broke through it all Pt 1

Rika opened the front door to the Pokémon league, having just finishing her break, only to find the chair in front of her desk to be turned facing her. She furrowed her brow, wondering why it spun around when she left it facing the door. She walked toward the desk, and the person who spun it was none other than Nemona, who had a giant grin on her face.

"Welcome to the Pokémon league!" Nemona cried.

Rika chuckled lightly and smiled, placing her hands in her pockets.

"What're you doing here, champ?" Rika asked.

Nemona put her hand on the desk in front of her and started twirling the spinning chair around a little bit.

"Just got a little bored since there hasn't been any challengers for a while."

Rika took a seat on the chair where the challenger would be sitting.

"You might have scared them away." Rika said with a smile.

Nemona stopped spinning and frowned. "Oh-...well, uh… I hope not." She said. Her eyes looked downward.

Rika's eyebrows raised at Nemona's sudden change in mood. "What's wrong, kiddo?" She asked. "Was it something I said?"

"Oh- it's nothing," Nemona said, looking up.

"Are you sure?"

"I mean, yeah. It's just that I'm remembering something that happened a long time ago."

"What would that be?" Rika said. She took her hands off her pockets and assumed the position she would when she was the one interviewing trainers. Her hands were clasped together and put under her chin.

"I mean… It was when I was a little younger, when I recently became a champion ranked trainer. I was really good at Pokemon battles. And I mean, really, really good. I just loved it a lot, y'know? But, the more I asked people to fight me, the more I realized that I was pushing people away from me."

"Pushing people away?" Rika asked.

"Yeah. I guess I was a little too good. I think people got sick of me, because I kept asking them to fight me, and they'd always lose. I know that losing stinks for some people. But at the same time I was always so excited to fight that I wouldn't know how to hold back. People hung out with me less, and uh… things started getting lonely."

"I see." Rika said.

"Yeah. Whenever people came to fight me, I'd scare them away with how good I was, and then they'd never challenge me again. This happened for a while, and I got pretty sad. Though, I met Kai. He wasn't happy to see me at first, but he and I became good friends. Really good friends. He was starting out as a trainer, and when I had my first sparing match, I had to say to myself over and over again, that I wasn't going to scare him off. I had to hold back like my life depended on it. And I really did do it! I was able to hold back. But…"

Nemona sighed. "When I started losing on purpose, that was when I was able to talk to more people. I was able to have more rivalries. More friends. I liked that so much that… I just kept holding back. I did it for so long that I kinda just forgot how to..not hold back."

"I see. In other words, you're scared of going all out, because you think the person you're going to fight against will leave?"

"...Yeah, I guess so." Nemona said, sighing. "Although this time it bit me in the butt. La Diabla Azul is gone now, and it's because of me."

Rika shook her head.

"Geeta reacting as she did was something she decided." Rika said. "I assure you, her leaving her post has more to do with her, than with you."

"...I can't help but feel like I'm responsible."

"What if I just told you that it isn't- and that you shouldn't think about it?" Rika said. "From what I've learned of you in these past few days is that you can be remarkably simple-minded. That's like a superpower you have there, kiddo."

Nemona raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

Rika nodded and smiled. "Yes, really. Think of it this way. Geeta will return one day, and when she does, she'll be much stronger than she was before. That'll be a perfect time for you to go all out. And be honest, have you been going all out against the challengers you've had?"

"...No, not really." Nemona said. "Also, I kinda wanted Kai to be the first person I go all out against.."

Rika shrugged. "I understand. Well, when Geeta comes back, you may or may not have the choice. We'll see, right?"

"Yeah- we'll see. Going all out against Geeta sounds like a blast, too," A smile came to the tomboy's face. "Thanks, Rika. I really needed that."

"Of course, kiddo."

Suddenly, the sound of the front automatic doors opening caught both girls' attention.

"Oooh! A challenger!" Nemona cried, jumping off from her seat. Rika stood up, placing her hands in her pockets again. "Wait- why are they dressed like that?"

Rika turned her head and widened her eyes. the person who entered the room was a hooded figure in a brown leather cloak. Their face was masked by shadow. Slowly, they approached the front desk.

Rika and Nemona exchanged looks, and Nemona stood up quickly from Rika's seat. Rika walked over to her seat as Nemona stood back. She didn't leave the room even though she was supposed to, and Rika wasn't concerned about that.

She was more concerned with the person who was sitting in front of her.

"There isn't a dress code for people who want to become champion-ranked trainers...but... might I ask...who you are... and what brought you here?"

The moment they started to speak and explain themselves, Rika and Nemona's eyes widened in complete and utter shock, but said nothing as they started to explain.

-Flashback-

An unknown hooded figure in a brown leather cloak walked through the desert area of Paldea. In their hand was a single weapon, a long, thin katana in its sheath. The blade inside had the same shape and color of the blade atop a Kingambit's head. The only thing the person in the cloak could feel were the hot arid winds on their face, which was covered by the darkness of their hood's shadow.

Their arm, the only visible part of their body other than their legs, showed that this person was wearing invoker armor. The amount of sand that dirtied the otherwise sheen appearance of the armor implied that they have had it on for a long while.

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble periodically. It seemed as though some mighty foe had started to walk, and their footsteps sent the floor into a fright. The blazing sun was suddenly blotted out, and a gigantic, humanoid shadow loomed over the unknown person.

The gigantic being that towered over the figure was a Pokémon never seen before. It had a striking resemblance of a Gallade and/or Gardevoir, wielding a double-bladed pink spear. It looked to be completely made of metal, and its eyes looked digital.

The hooded vagabond stood still and unsheathed their weapon as the metal Gallade look-alike thrust its massive weapon their way. The hooded figure disappeared as though they teleported right before the weapon crashed into the ground and created a minor explosion of dust.

The Gallade look-alike widened its eyes once it saw the figure running up its weapon. The person was like a speck to the metal being, so it lifted its weapon and pulled it back, causing the person to start falling. The Metal Gallade swung its weapon at its enemy-

And was surprised to feel its attack get deflected.

The metal Pokémon's body stumbled back. The robed figure's hood flew off their head the moment they landed with a crouch.

The robed figure was Geeta. She looked up at her massive opponent, and widened her eyes as the power of Flow caused her eyes to glow blue before she leapt after the giant.

The metal Gallade swung its blade downward, attempting to attack Geeta only for its attack to be deflected again. The massive Pokémon stumbled back again as Geeta rose higher into the air.

"Kowtow..!" Geeta's sword had a dark, purple aura surrounding it as she rose high above the metal Gallade's body. The mecha Gallade recovered in time, looked up, and and raised its weapon in defense.

"Cleave!" Geeta roared as she darted toward the ground and delivered a single downward slash that was so powerful that it snapped the Pokémon's weapon in two. The metal being roared in pain as it fell to its knees.

Geeta landed on the ground gracefully, turned away from her opponent and sheathed her blade by the time the massive mecha Gallade fell on its face with a thud.

Anger was what made her cut down that opponent that brutally. Shame was what followed afterward. This feeling wasn't foreign to her. This anger she felt didn't go away. She could feel the weapon in her hand trembling from how hard she was clenching it. But she softened it, thinking her Kingambit would be suffering under her grip.

Suddenly, the loud sound of an aura exploding into existence made Geeta spin around. The sound was like a flame bursting into existence. The Mecha Gallade was climbing back to its feet and beginning to shine green.

Geeta knew that this was a Titan Pokemon, and she had read books about how they derive power from a herb called Herba Mystica. However, what confused her was that this…metal creature had started to shine green, as though the Herba mystica was enhancing it further. What made things even more confusing was that the Pokémon was even beginning to shrink.

It shrank, shrank, and shrank, until it became nearly as tall as Geeta. Its aura began to explode even further as it wielded its weapon which was cut in half. It was like dual daggers, now.

Geeta unsheathed her blade in preparation to defend herself. Then, suddenly, electricity started to spark about the metal Gallade. It fell to its knees.

"I see. You're much too weakened to fight," Geeta said. "And I can sense that even with that power up, you're still no match for me. But I can see that glimmer in your eye. You feel anger. Humiliation, shame, all sorts of feelings after that defeat. That emotion you carry in your heart is the same as mine. You and I are…practically the same. Tell me, machine, what is your name?"

"Vali-...Valient…" The metal Gallade spoke with a monotone, robotic voice. "Iron…Valient."

"I see." Geeta turned around and sheathed her weapon once more and turned around. "Iron Valient. Channel that rage and turn it into motivation to become stronger. After you've done so, find me again. You and I may learn something."

Geeta turned and walked away, and Iron Valiant glared furiously. It clenched its fists tightly, and slammed them onto the ground.

"I'll be waiting," Geeta murmured.

Author's note: This chapter and the next part is inspired by Sonic frontiers' song "Break through it all" hence the name. This is only part one of this so stay tuned!