The Eon Academy [S.S. Wishmaker Side-Story]

[Neo Emolga]

Oh boy.

Spoiler:

I gotta say, I feel bad for Latios. That poor dude just means well but keeps getting caught in crazy situations and tight places. Also, the way Season 3 Episode 4 ends is just flawless. xD

What I like most is this never gets boring. Everything from the drama and tension with Isabelle and now the situation with Latios being somewhat… blackmailed into lying, though don’t tell Victini I said that definitely keeps us interested to see what becomes of all this.

But yeah, poor Justin. He’s never going to live that down. As a guy who majored in marketing, trust me, I know of so many cases where a little bit of oversight can be disastrous in hilarious ways. Most recent one I came across was for a retirement center called “Sycamore Living.” Read that slowly and tell me what that also sounds like. In less than a few months, they changed the name to “Livia.” Gee, I wonder why! xD

[[Desolate Divine]]

@[Desolate Divine]

You're welcome--I'm glad it was able to help in this episode.

It really has come in handy wanting to write a season that is less high stakes (as last season had a lot of life and death stakes) whilst keeping the content fresh. I will definitely be back!

Oh boy.

Spoiler:

I gotta say, I feel bad for Latios. That poor dude just means well but keeps getting caught in crazy situations and tight places. Also, the way Season 3 Episode 4 ends is just flawless. xD

What I like most is this never gets boring. Everything from the drama and tension with Isabelle and now the situation with Latios being somewhat… blackmailed into lying, though don’t tell Victini I said that definitely keeps us interested to see what becomes of all this.

But yeah, poor Justin. He’s never going to live that down. As a guy who majored in marketing, trust me, I know of so many cases where a little bit of oversight can be disastrous in hilarious ways. Most recent one I came across was for a retirement center called “Sycamore Living.” Read that slowly and tell me what that also sounds like. In less than a few months, they changed the name to “Livia.” Gee, I wonder why! xD

Spoiler:

The Latios part was tricky to balance as the keg joke was definitely necessary for that to play out but at the same time I didn't want to make light of the fact that Latios is battling some personal demons, but also risk the keg part coming across as Latios drinking more given his demons. Separating the two has been tricky.

Gotta say, bouncing between Victini and Latios is a lot of fun to write with haha.

Oh of course, bad advertising is always amusing. The worst I have seen legitimately is a picture of a woman and a dog on a rug, that said Shag Rug $99. Granted not sure how Americans interpret the word Shag but still bad. Ran the COC gag by Xanthe when I wrote it and she found it to be priceless so I ran with it haha

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 3 Episode 5: Odds

Spoiler:

It was Wednesday of the fifth week of summer, July having just started, and the summer heat reaching its peak. Whilst the tension between Dylan and Chris visible to those around them had all but disappeared, the grudge between the pair still held strong, with neither willingly speaking to one-another. Justin, Abbee and Charlotte were all aware that the grudge was still there, however Justin and Charlotte ignored it, growing tired of the grudge that had held for nearly two weeks at this point. Abbee however seemed to struggle most with it, finding herself growing distant from both parties involved. Even though Chris had listened to her, and stopped openly antagonising Dylan, and even toned down sharing his opinion of the older boy when they were in private, which she did appreciate, she still felt awkward at how much of a friend she considered Dylan, somebody that Chris despised as much as he did. On the flip side, she had felt awkward being casual around Dylan, and acting as if nothing was wrong, when she knew that he equally disliked her boyfriend, and her boyfriend had been pestering him as much as he had, with her unable to do much to stop it. This led to her feeling less than comfortable around either of them, and spending most of her time with Charlotte and Justin, and very little time alone with either Chris or Dylan.

It had been a little over an hour since lunch had ended, as Dylan waited in the foyer to the stadium for the rest of his group to arrive for team training with Jon. He had the second session for the afternoon, with Justin’s group having the first. As it reached 1:55, the doors opened, as Justin’s team started wandering out from the stadium, filtering through and saying hello to friends in Dylan’s team, waiting for their session to start. Dylan kept an eye out for Justin to come through the doors, though figured he’d be chatting briefly to Jon before he left. As Dylan considered going in to say hello to the pair of them, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He withdrew it, noticing Alyssa’s name on the screen. This was his first hint that something was off. He could count the amount of times Alyssa had actually called him in one hand, knowing she much preferred to text. He quickly swiped across the screen to answer the phone.

“Hey,” Dylan said, slightly puzzled. “Is everything okay?”

“Do you think you could come to the house?” Alyssa said, sounding serious, and somewhat anxious. “You have a visitor…”

Dylan’s mind began to race as he wondered who it could be. At first he thought it could possibly be Isabelle, but quickly dismissed the notion. Alyssa’s tone didn’t align with that possibility, and he didn’t think Isabelle would show up out of nowhere. His next thought was possibly Bill, his abusive stepdad, however, given the intervention order in place, Alyssa would be calling Jon and the police if he had showed up.

“I’m just about to start a session,” Dylan explained. “Who is it?”

Dylan had not even considered the possibility until Alyssa answered him.

“She says she is your mum…”

Justin emerged from the door to the stadium itself, and waved at Dylan, before noticing he was on the phone, and by extension, the look of shock on Dylan’s face.

“Do you think you can come see her?” Alyssa asked cautiously. “If you can’t get out of your session, I’m happy to keep her company until you can, but I think she’d appreciate seeing you…”

Dylan forced himself to stop spiralling from the shock, and spoke back to Alyssa.

“I can’t come now,” he said bluntly. “I’ll come see her in an hour.”

Before she could reply, Dylan hung up the phone, and noticed Justin nearby, looking slightly worried.

“Is everything alright?” Justin asked, nodding towards the phone.

“Fine,” Dylan answered shortly. “Someone unexpected has just shown up wanting to see me…”

“Well if you want, I’m happy to help Jon with your group for training,” Justin offered. “It’s no secret they’re the easiest to manage. If you need to see this person, that way you aren’t keeping them waiting…”

“She’s kept me waiting for ten years. She can wait an hour…”

Justin was taken aback by the venom in Dylan’s tone, and how pointed the remark was.

“Really, are you alright?” Justin asked cautiously, remembering how Dylan blew up at Abbee weeks earlier, which was the catalyst for the dissonance between the interns since. “Because you seem troubled by all of this…”

Dylan considered his options, before sighing to himself.

“It’s my mum…” Dylan explained. “She walked out ten years ago, and left me with my a**hole stepdad. Now she has shown up with no warning and is at Jon and Alyssa’s house…”

“S**t…” Justin muttered, shocked at the sudden revelation. Dylan pocketed his phone, before walking towards the entrance of the stadium.

“But as I said. I waited ten years for her to show up. She can wait an hour…” Dylan muttered.

Hoping he wasn’t overstepping the boundary, Justin grabbed Dylan by the shoulder.

“I think you should go talk to her…” Justin said, as Dylan began to protest, before he cut him off. “Not for her sake…”

Dylan gave Justin a puzzled look, as he continued.

“Even if you won’t admit it, it’s obvious this is messing with you. Anyone can see it,” Justin continued. “If you have all this s**t on your mind, how will you be able to be a decent teacher for your students, with all this distracting you…”

Dylan had to admit that Justin raised a decent point. He would barely be able to focus on assisting Jon with training after what he had just heard, and the questions racing through his mind. Largely the question of why?

“I think you should let me cover you today, and go and figure out what she wants,” Justin concluded. “Give her a piece of your mind if that’s what you really want. Then you can just cover my group for training on Friday afternoon. Deal?”

Dylan thought over what Justin had said. One thing neither had considered was Jon, and whilst Dylan appreciated what Jon had done for him over the years, this was something Dylan wanted to handle alone. If he went in, and Jon could see how much all of this was affecting him, it was almost certain Jon would get involved.

“Thanks…” Dylan said quietly. “You’re a good friend.”

Justin couldn’t help but grin.

“Consider us even for you not making fun of me for the whole COC thing…”

A smile broke onto Dylan’s face at the reminder of the oversight Coronet Outdoor and Camping had made with their logo, as Justin turned to round up Dylan’s group, and usher them into the stadium, where he would then explain Dylan’s absence to Jon. Once he was gone, Dylan left the stadium, making his way towards Jon and Alyssa’s house.

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“I thought you weren’t coming for another hour?” Alyssa asked, as she saw Dylan enter the house through the back door.

“Justin forced me to let him cover my class…” Dylan said quietly, as Alyssa smiled weakly.

“He’s a good guy.”

Dylan nodded, before gesturing towards the closed door into the lounge.

“She in there?” Dylan asked quietly.

“Waiting for you…” Alyssa said, as he made his way towards the door, stopping just shy of it. Ten seconds passed, without Dylan making another movement forward, seemingly frozen.

“Would you like me to come with you?” Alyssa offered. “Lili is asleep, and I have all afternoon free from work, if you don’t want to do this alone…”

Dylan was quiet for a second, considering it. Even though she was barely fifteen years older than him, and he had only lived with her and Jon for the last two years, he already considered Alyssa more of a mother-figure to him than his own mother.

“I’d really appreciate that…” Dylan answered after a moment, his voice cracking a little. “Honestly, it’s all just… a lot…”

Alyssa nodded, as Dylan found the will to open the door, stepping into the room, as Alyssa followed him in. He saw sitting on the couch that faced the opposite wall, a woman in her early forties, with brown hair, the same shade as his own, straightened and cut just above her shoulders, with slight streaks of grey starting to become visible from age. He couldn’t see her face, until he walked past the couch she sat on, to the one opposite her, sitting down, and looking at his mother for the first time in a decade. Alyssa followed him, sitting on the armchair between the two couches.

For a moment, Dylan wasn’t able to speak, simply taking in the face of his mother. She had darker freckles than he did, though her eyes were a green similar to Abbee’s. She looked at him nervously, expecting him to speak, however when he didn’t, decided to open the conversation herself.

“Dylan…” Nicole said anxiously. “You look really well…”

“Yeah…” Dylan muttered, taking Nicole by surprise with the contempt in his voice. She tried to shake it off, knowing that she shouldn’t expect any more.

“I’m glad that Jon and Alyssa have been taking good care of you…” Nicole continued awkwardly, before directing her words more towards Alyssa. “I really appreciate the two of you taking him in…”

“It’s been a pleasure,” Alyssa reassured. “Dylan has been a blessing for us and our family…”

Before anything else could be said, Dylan finally addressed Nicole.

“Why are you here?” Dylan asked, intentionally refusing to call her Mum. There was an awkward silence before he continued. “I mean, you walked out ten years ago. Didn’t say goodbye or anything. I found out from Bill and thought it was some sick joke…”

Nicole began to speak, but Dylan, not having begun, didn’t want to stop.

“Ten years on, and I’m happy here. I’ve made a life without you and without Bill. And you think you can just show up out of nowhere like this?” Dylan asked, his voice starting to raise. “I was at the point where I would have happily not seen you again. So why are you here?!”

“Dylan!” Alyssa said in shock. Whilst she could never bring herself to walk out on her child the way Nicole did, she did empathise with Nicole as a mother herself, having her child say these things to her.

“It’s fine Alyssa…” Nicole said quietly, struggling to hold Dylan’s gaze. “He has every right…”

Angrily, Dylan grabbed the collar of his shirt, and tugged it violently aside, revealing the scar on his collarbone from the last time he had been to Bill’s house.

“This is what Bill gave me for my eighteenth birthday! He threw a can at me, because he was talking s**t about you, and for some stupid reason, I defended you! And that’s not the only time something like that happened!” Dylan shouted. “I get why you left him! He is a piece of s**t! But you left me there, and after that, he just got worse! So why show up now?!”

Dylan let go of his collar, letting the elastic pull it back into place, before collapsing into his seat, waiting to hear what Nicole had to say about all this.

“I knew you wouldn’t want to see me. I wouldn’t either…” Nicole explained. “That’s why I never contacted you after I left. Especially after I found out you were here. I knew you wouldn’t want to hear from me. But something has happened…”

With her left hand, Nicole pulled back the hair on the left side of her head, holding it against the back, revealing her ear. Or more so, revealing the red hearing aid that sat on her ear…

“You’re going deaf?” Dylan asked. Whilst it was unfortunate, he wondered how this justified her changing her mind to contact him.

“I have been for the last year,” Nicole explained. “Do you remember much of your grandmother? You were only five when she passed away…”

“Vaguely,” Dylan answered, his curiosity keeping his frustration at bay. “She lived in Mossdeep, near the pier. She’s in the cemetery on the island, and…”

Dylan’s eyes widened as he realised what Nicole was implying, leaving Alyssa confused at the revelation.

“She was deaf…” Dylan answered, remembering how difficult it was to communicate with his grandmother when he was younger. “She had been deaf since before I was born…”

Nicole nodded, as Alyssa pieced together what Dylan had just realised.

“My mother started going deaf when she was around my age,” Nicole explained. “By the time she was forty-five she had lost all her hearing. She had worked in a factory during her younger years, and because the research hadn’t been done, they assumed that her hearing was damaged from that environment…”

“But it wasn’t that?” Dylan said, causing Nicole to nod.

“When I started going deaf, I saw some specialists and they did some tests,” she explained. “I was diagnosed with a genetic disorder called Neurofibromatosis 2. NF2 for short. It creates tumours, largely along nerves. They’re benign, but the real effect is when they are on auditory nerves. They cause deafness, and issues with balance…”

“And if you have it…” Dylan asked, though unsure of whether he wanted to hear the answer.

“It doesn’t mean for certain you do…” Nicole answered. “But there is a chance that needs to be considered…”

Dylan sat back in shock at the revelation, as Nicole continued.

“The faulty genes that cause this disorder are recessive, which means that you need to inherit them from both parents in order for it to actually take effect,” Nicole explained. “My mother inherited it from both her parents, however my father only inherited the faulty gene from one, meaning he was just a carrier, but unfortunately, he passed that gene on to me…”

“Does Dylan’s father have the gene?” Alyssa asked. Whilst she did think it wasn’t her place, she could see Dylan struggling with the news, and knew that a shock like that may cause him to not ask the right questions.

“I don’t know…” Nicole answered, turning to Alyssa. “He and I weren’t ever really together, and weren’t in contact when I realised I was pregnant. He doesn’t even know that Dylan is his son…”

Dylan looked up in shock, this being the first time he heard anything substantial about his biological father.

“If he has this disorder, you will have it as well, Dylan,” Nicole explained. “If he doesn’t then depending on his own family tree, your odds of getting this illness are at 50% at most…”

“What do you mean, his family tree?” Dylan asked, trying to take all of this in.

“If there is any history of unexplained deafness in his family, by the time they are in their forties, but he isn’t, then there is a chance he may have inherited this gene from one of his parents, and by extension, a fifty-fifty chance he passed it on to you…” Nicole answered. “If you have his family tree in front of you, and know of any deafness, it isn’t difficult to find out the potential odds of him having the gene, and halving those, the odds of you having NF2…”

“Surely there is testing available for this?” Alyssa asked, trying to be the voice of reason, though shocked and worried by the thought. “If carriers are common enough that you felt the need to find Dylan just to tell him, surely there are tests that can be done? Genetic tests?”

“There are, however, even when there is public health care, the costs are high…” Nicole explained, before turning to Dylan. “If you’d like to get tested, that is one way of finding out whether or not you have it. But at the same time, you might be able to get enough peace of mind for free, if you knew your fathers history…”

Nicole opened her handbag that sat on the floor at her feet, and pulled out an envelope with Dylan’s name on it. She reached out, handing it to him, as he slowly reached forward to take it.

“At the same time, I know some people would rather not find out, figuring if they are certain to have it, they’d rather not spend the years leading up to it taking effect worrying about it…” Nicole explained. “If you would rather not know, you can throw that out, and worry about this when the time comes. But if you want to find out, you might find some answers in there…”

Before either could reply, Nicole rose to her feet.

“I knew it would be hard for you if I showed up here, and because of that, I only came because I thought you needed to know,” Nicole said briefly, quickly turning her back towards Dylan, trying to hide the fact her eyes were starting to tear up. “So I’ll leave you alone. I won’t contact you again. You’re doing better here without me…”

Quietly, Dylan stood, walking her to the front door in silence. As she stood out, she turned to say one last thing.

“I know it’s worth little, but I’m sorry for leaving, Dylan…” she said quietly. “I won’t contact you again, but if you ever want to talk, I left my contact details in that envelope as well.”

Dylan sighed painfully, before speaking.

“Thank you for telling me about this…” he said, though not sure at that moment he believed it himself. “We will just have to see…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

The digital clock on the DVD player in the Intern Lodge Lounge read 1:40 while Abbee sat alone in the lounge. She had become used to spending her free time by herself. Charlotte was beginning to round up her group, so they wouldn’t be late for their training at 2pm, whilst Justin was running a game for the other campers outside, and they were the only two she felt like nothing had changed with. Whilst she still spent a lot of her time with Chris, she didn’t enjoy it anymore, and whilst she didn’t think Dylan held a grudge against her, she had barely spoken to him since the incident at the Firehouse. Whilst she wanted things to be normal with both of them, the fact that they held a grudge between them, caused her to feel more isolated from either of them.

It was Thursday, so Chris was currently training his group with Jon, before Charlotte would. She sighed. She hated being alone. Whilst she could go and help Justin run the game for the campers, she was hardly in the mood, and that wasn’t part of her paid time, so was under no obligation to.

However, after forty minutes of browsing on her phone, she finally snapped, deciding to go see if Justin wanted some company. She got off the couch, and made her way to the doorway, as she heard the sound of the front door open. As she reached the doorway, she saw Dylan enter the lodge, and make his way towards the stairs. She knew he had seen her, and was shocked that he didn’t even look in her direction. Even with the awkwardness of the last two weeks, he normally still made the effort to say hello, or even just acknowledge her. This however was different.

Silently, Dylan walked up the stairs, as Abbee stood in shock at the complete disregard for her even being there. The sound of Dylan’s footsteps in the hallway above them echoed, as she heard his door open, and then shut.

“What the hell?” she muttered to herself. She stood silently for a few moments, wondering what had gotten into Dylan. The night before, he hadn’t been at dinner, and outside of what was required of him for his job, didn’t leave his room. At first she thought he was just tired, however when she considered the way he had just acted, she couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong. Her first thought was that Chris had done something, however she knew Dylan didn’t normally let anything Chris said or did upset him like this.

Determined, she turned towards the stairs, and made her way upstairs to the floor where all the interns slept.

“Dylan,” she called out as she knocked softly on his door. “Are you there?”

After a few moments, the door opened, as Dylan stood in front of her, his face blank. She noticed the room behind him was pitch black, with the lights off and curtains closed. Dylan said nothing, waiting for Abbee to speak.

“I just wanted to know if you were okay…” Abbee said gently. “I know things have been a bit awkward with everything that happened, but you haven’t been yourself the last few days…”

“I’m fine…” Dylan said, a hint of irritation in his voice.

“Really?” Abbee asked. “Because you’ve barely left your room for days…”

Abbee nodded towards the dark room behind Dylan.

“And it’s pitch black in there…” Abbee commented.

“I’ve been struggling to sleep,” Dylan said shortly. “I was trying to have a nap…”

Dylan went to close the door, before Abbee placed her hand against it, stopping it.

“Have I done something to upset you?” Abbee asked, the concern evident in her voice. “Because if I have, say the word, and I’ll make it right. I just want things to be normal again…”

Dylan was quiet, causing Abbee to worry.

“It’s not always about you Abbee… Can you just give me some space?”

The question was filled with a tone of exasperation, hitting Abbee hard.

“Seriously, just leave me alone…”

Dylan closed the door, this time, Abbee not interfering to stop him, and leaving her standing alone in the hallway. Tears began to form in her eyes, as she tried to be silent when they fell on the carpet at her feet. It wasn’t Dylan on his own that had pushed her to breaking point, but everything. Her worries about how her and Chris’ relationship would survive when they seemed to be going on two opposing paths. The tension that she now felt with both Chris and Dylan given their grudge. The thought of moving to a new region, where she knew nobody but her future workmates. And now, Dylan, giving her the cold shoulder.

It took a minute for her to bring herself to move away from the door to Dylan’s room, moving across to her own, next to his, and closing the door. Even after her dad died, she had never felt as alone as she did at that moment, and whilst her first instinct was to let Victini out of his Pokeball, she knew her loyal partner would not take Dylan’s standoffish attitude well, and would likely create a bigger rift between them than already was there if he knew what had just happened.

She leaned back against the door, sliding down to the ground, sobbing as she tried to figure out just how everything turned so badly, considering how great things were at the start of the summer…

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“Seriously?”

Charlotte looked at Chris, who had posed the question, as he and his Pokemon trained on the flat grassy area by the entrance to the Academy grounds. Whilst normally the stadium would be better suited for training Pokemon, Lugia was growing larger by the day, and it was becoming cramped in there. Additionally, doing it during the afternoon meant that there were less students around, given the amount doing their training with Jon, so there were less distractions. His focus had been pulled by Dylan’s car driving past, with Charlotte in the driver’s seat. He had asked her why she had Dylan’s car, and she had told him she was allowed to borrow it, provided she was careful, which had led to the aforementioned question.

“Why not?” Charlotte asked from the driver’s seat. “I got my license just before the trial. And Jon and Alyssa’s insurance doesn’t cover anyone under thirty driving their cars...”

Chris nodded in understanding.

“So why do you need it?”

“Jon wants to set up some more shelter at Southern Island,” Charlotte explained. “He asked me if I could go into town and buy a tarp and some ropes.”

“And didn’t want coc.com in his search history?” Chris retorted with a grin. Charlotte couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“I presume not, because I’m going to the Coronet Outdoor store,” Charlotte remarked. As she did, Chris’ expression shifted to one of realization.

“Wait, this might be good,” Chris explained, before calling Lugia back to his Pokeball. “Do you mind if I come with you? I need to get some gear myself…”

“If you’re out here, I take it Jon doesn’t need you keeping an eye on the students?” Charlotte asked. Chris shook his head.

“Abbee is keeping an eye on things in the main hall, and Justin is floating around the property. I saw him before.”

“Justin’s group doesn’t have training?” Charlotte asked, having not heard of anything different happening that week.

“He covered Dylan’s group on Wednesday, so Dylan is doing training with his group, as well as Justin’s today,” Chris answered. “He didn’t really want to talk about Dylan though, so I don’t know why…”

“The way you two have been acting, I don’t blame him,” Charlotte replied, as Chris rolled his eyes at the beginning of a lecture.

“Whatever,” Chris said, brushing Charlotte off before she could start getting stuck into him. “Can I tag along?”

“Don’t see why not,” Charlotte answered. “I don’t think Dylan’s petty enough to have a problem with me using his car to give you a ride…”

Chris jogged to the other side of the car, climbing into the passenger seat, before Charlotte put the car into gear, released the clutch, and took off down the driveway towards Arcadia Drive, the street the Eon Academy was on. There were no buildings relatively near the Academy, with the properties surrounding it being empty paddocks. However it was only a twenty minute drive before entering the city itself, by the island beach.

“So what do you need from Coronet?” Charlotte asked, not expecting Chris to jump at the opportunity when he heard she was going to the camping store.

“A swag,” Chris answered. “We only get a limited amount of free stays in Pokemon Centres with our League Registration, and if all goes to plan, I will be using all of them quite quickly if I rely on them…”

“So you’re going to rough it for nine months until you’re back here?” Charlotte asked. “Why not buy yourself a van or something? Kit it out to live in?”

“I considered that, but I want to travel between regions a fair bit, and shipping a van set up for me to live in it will cost too much,” Chris explained.

“So you’re going to rely on public transport?” Charlotte asked. “Surely that will cost just as much, as well as suck for carrying your camping gear?”

“Nope,” Chris said with a grin. “I’m getting a motorbike. Costs a fraction to transport between regions of a car, is cheaper to run, and I can get one brand new for what I’d pay for a decent second hand car…”

Charlotte couldn’t help but admire the thought Chris had put into this. It did seem like the best solution.

“So do you have a license yet?” Charlotte asked.

“Not yet,” Chris explained. “In Johto, you get your learner license by doing a two day course, and you can ride on that, provided that after a year, you do a proper test, and get a provisional license. I’ve got the course booked for two weeks after summer ends. I’ll be literally going home to prepare to leave and travel. That’s why I’m wanting to organize some of the gear now. While I have a bit of time and am not rushing to leave…”

For a second, Charlotte continued to be impressed, before having a feeling that something didn’t add up. She suddenly realized that the reason she was so impressed by Chris having this much forethought was because it was shocking to her.

She remembered the conversation she had with Abbee, the week before. It had been obvious that Abbee was struggling with the grudge between Chris and Dylan, with Abbee directly saying to Charlotte she felt like she was expected to choose one side or another, though Rose had knocked on the door, asking them for help with the bug infestation, and interrupting her before she could finish the thought. When the situation had been dealt with, Charlotte made a point of sticking by Abbee, who mentioned that half the reason things weren’t ideal between her and Chris at the moment, was his refusal to talk about how they’d make their relationship work long distance when she moved to Nimbasa City, and he travelled. According to Abbee, every time she’d try and figure out something with Chris, he’d simply say ”We’ll figure it out”, and dismiss the conversation.

It was jarring to Charlotte to see these two extremes. To hear from Abbee about Chris’ refusal to consider their future, but now hear him talk about all these plans he had to travel, with so much thought put into it all.

Chris continued the conversation, talking about the sort of motorbike he was planning on buying, and how much it would cost, whilst Charlotte nodded in agreement, though thinking about what she had just noticed. It continued as Charlotte parked the car, and the pair entered the store.

They split up briefly, Charlotte quickly finding the biggest tarp the store had in stock, as well as an abundance of ropes and straps to tie the corners of the tarp to nearby trees, providing her and Jon with shade from the sun as the summer heat ramped up. Once she found them, she made her way to the section of the store with tents and swags on display, finding Chris inspecting one thoroughly.

“Found one you like?” Charlotte asked, as Chris noticed her approaching.

“I think this one…” Chris explained, before grabbing the small bag off the shelf, containing one packed up. “It’s a good enough size, and apparently when it’s packed up, it’s this small, so I can carry it with me easily…”

“Apparently?”

“I have never seen a tent get folded as small as it was when it came out of the bag for the first time,” Chris explained. “This may be tiny as hell, but I don’t want it to only be this tiny until I pull it out, and never fold this small again. Or rip the bag when I’m trying to pack it. I’ve seen that happen before, and on a motorbike, it will be a nightmare…”

Chris spent the next fifteen minutes on his phone, looking at reviews for the swag he was looking at, before then spending the next ten pestering a sales rep who made the mistake of asking if he needed help with questions about the warranty, specifically if the bag breaks because the swag won’t roll up small enough to fit. Finally, he decided to buy the swag, before the pair found themselves back in Dylan’s car, Charlotte driving them back.

“So after you leave Blackthorn, when will you be able to see Abbee next?” Charlotte asked, wanting to hear from Chris himself, what Abbee had mentioned. She was disappointed, though not surprised when Chris sighed.

“At this rate, I won’t be able to get to Unova until her birthday...” Chris explained, as Charlotte’s eyes widened. “I preregistered for all of the tournaments I could once I leave. I’ll be travelling Johto during the second half of September, then Sinnoh during October. November I’ll be competing in Kanto, then Kalos during most of December, and Alola for the end of December and start of January…”

“So Abbee is going to be moving to another region, starting a job in a city she barely knows, and won’t see her boyfriend for three months…” Charlotte said in disbelief.

“Her and I have talked about this,” Chris interjected, slightly irritably. “It’s just these first few months that are like this. Between then and next summer, I’ll be in Unova twice for tournaments, and will visit her then, and will be making a couple of extra trips in that time to come see her specifically. Then it will be summer again, and we’ll both be here for three months…”

“And she’s okay with that?” Charlotte asked. Whilst she knew the responsibility wasn’t all Chris’ she knew that Chris plans between the end of this summer and the start of next were much more flexible than Abbee’s, having heard from Abbee how much overtime she’d be working to get enough paid leave and funds to be here for the next summer.

“She’s okay with that,” Chris agreed, before realizing the mistake he made with his tone.

“Really?” Charlotte asked. “Because it sounds like she isn’t okay with something else when you put it like that…”

Chris sighed, as Charlotte, between looking at the road, looked to him for elaboration.

“Right now, Abbee doesn’t want to be in Nimbasa permanently, and wants to eventually compete herself like we do…” Chris explained. “She wants to spend a few years there, get herself a house, and be able to compete for the enjoyment of it…”

“Understandable…” Charlotte said, having heard this from Abbee herself.

“But she says that she may change her mind, and want to stay in Nimbasa for ten years, maybe even longer…” Chris explained. “And at this point, short of winning big and having a private helicopter to fly me everywhere, I don’t know that I’m ever going to settle down in one place. So far, my only plans for the future are the ones I am working on now. Travel and compete…”

Charlotte nodded, having heard this before from Abbee, though wasn’t going to let Chris know this fact. She knew that he was stubborn, but also that he had a tendency to listen to her. But if Chris thought for a second Abbee had put Charlotte up to this, any chances of her getting him to actually think about all of this was dead in the water.

“Abbee thinks that our plans are pulling us in opposite directions, and as it stands, it looks like both of us are planning on going full steam ahead. And even though she plans to eventually travel, and that would make things easier for us, she knows that her plans could change, and is worried that we’re just setting ourselves up for things to go badly by staying together when right now, things working out long term seems impossible…”

Charlotte was silent, for a moment, letting Chris ponder his own words, knowing that it was likely he hadn’t let himself think about this, for the same reason he was not having the conversation with Abbee about it all.

“So what are you going to do?” Charlotte asked.

“I’ll figure it out when I have to…” Chris remarked. “It’s not worth weighing ourselves down with it now…”

“You idiot…” Charlotte muttered, causing Chris’ temper to flare.

“Hey!” Chris replied indignantly. “It’s not like it’s any of your business!”

“I don’t give a s**t if it isn’t my business,” Charlotte retorted bluntly. “It doesn’t need to be my business for me to tell you to get your s**t together…”

Chris sighed as Charlotte continued.

“Abbee wants to buy a house before she competes, and even then, may decide to stick with the gym and not compete at all, so what, she expects to be in Nimbasa a minimum of five years?” Charlotte asked, more wanting confirmation that her estimate on numbers is correct. Chris nodded cautiously.

“And you expect her to just not worry about all of this the next five years, because you’ll apparently figure it out when you have to?” Charlotte asked angrily. “What, you think it’s okay to string her along for five years on the hope that her plans don’t change, because you refuse to even consider changing yours?”

“It’s not that simple…” Chris muttered.

“Bulls**t it isn’t that simple!” Charlotte interrupted. “This could all be sorted if you were willing to compromise with her. Hell, she wants to buy a house before she competes, so what if you tried to buy one with her, and then live there between competitions?”

“Because I’m barely going to have time between competitions to have a home to go back to-”

“Oh my God, this is exactly what I am talking about!” Charlotte said in exasperation. “You’re not even willing to consider adjusting your plans to make things work with her long term. You just expect her to follow along, and hope it works out, against her better judgement!”

“So what do you think I should do?” Chris asked angrily as they entered the gates to the Academy.

“Give her an actual reason to believe that things can work between you long term. Even if it means compromising on what you want,” Charlotte said, before her tone turned bitter. “And if you can’t do that, then for her sake, end it. If you’re not willing to compromise for her sake, let her find someone that will…”

Charlotte parked the car by the house, turning it off, before speaking again, softening her tone this time.

“She wants this to work out, but wanting it isn’t enough to change the fact that if nothing changes, chances are this is just going to end badly,” Charlotte said. “You can’t keep telling her you’ll figure it out, and then do jack-s**t until the solution magically appears. Because it won’t…”

Charlotte got out of the car and tossed the keys to Chris, who still sat in the passenger seat, too frustrated to be around him until he got out of the car himself and got his swag out of the back, for her to lock it.

************************************************** ************************************************** *********

It was 2:30pm when Abbee found herself in the main hall of the Eon Academy. The hall itself was a large room in a T-shaped building used for multiple purposes. The closest section to the entrance was connected to a small kitchen, and used as the dining room, with the middle section being a recreation room, and the section closest to the classrooms that made up the horizontal line of the T, had lines of chairs facing a lectern and a screen, where half of the classes were ran, now that there were more students that could fit in a given classroom, but not enough teachers, classes, or space, to have smaller groups. Partitions existed between the three sections, allowing them to be closed off at a moment's notice.

In the middle section of the large building, a dozen students sat on couches, watching a movie that had been put on the large TV on the side of the room, whilst a few others sat at tables in the dining room, playing card games. Abbee sat by herself at another dining table, keeping an eye on those in the room, though it was largely unnecessary. Really, Abbee was there so that students knew she was around and if there were any issues they could find her.

She found herself staring into space as she thought about what happened with Dylan the day before. Outside of classes he was teaching, Dylan hadn’t left his room. She wasn’t the only one to notice, with Charlotte and Justin both noticing as well. She had mentioned it to Jon, who listened to her, though didn’t seem too surprised by the fact. She wasn’t sure if Chris knew as she had avoided talking about Dylan in his company.

“Anyone home?”

Abbee was pulled from her thoughts by Justin’s voice, as he pulled out the chair opposite her.

“Sorry?” Abbee asked, slightly confused.

“I called to you about three times,” Justin said, sitting down opposite her. “You seemed pretty intent on staring at that wall…”

Abbee chuckled mildly.

“Sorry, I’ve got a bit on my mind,” Abbee replied. Justin nodded, before pulling out his phone, as Abbee had a thought. “Doesn’t your group have training with Jon right now?”

“They do, but Dylan’s covering for me, so I have the afternoon off,” Justin said casually. Abbee however found herself more confused.

“Why’s he covering for you?” Abbee asked. “Yesterday I couldn’t even get him to talk to me, or leave his room, let alone cover one of my shifts…”

Justin went quiet, realizing he may have said a little much. He looked around and made sure none of the students were in earshot.

“I covered for him on Wednesday,” Justin explained. “I was on my way out of a session, and he was waiting to start, but got a phone call from Alyssa, and was pretty shaken up…”

Abbee’s eyes widened a little, as she started to worry. Between that and Dylan’s demeanour the night before, she figured there was a link.

“What was the call about?”

“Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but his mum showed up here on Wednesday,” Justin said quietly. “He hadn’t seen her in like ten years…”

“And it rattled him?” Abbee asked. Justin nodded.

“He didn’t say much, but was going to wait until after his session. Said ’I’ve waited ten years, so she can wait an hour,” Justin explained. “I told him that if he has this going on, he’s going to be too distracted to teach well, and to let me cover his session, and see what she wants…”

“That might be what’s got him so upset…” Abbee remarked. “Yesterday he came into the lodge, and walked past without even acknowledging I was there. Went straight to his room, with the lights off and blinds closed. When I asked him if everything was alright, he just blew me off. Told me to leave him alone…”

Justin sighed.

“It sucks he is doing that, but I think whatever happened with his mum is why…” Justin agreed.

“I thought it might be because of Chris, but…” Abbee began, before trailing off, as her thoughts moved elsewhere. Justin looked at her a little confused, before she changed direction. “Can I ask you something Justin?”

“Sure,” Justin replied, slightly confused and a little nervous. “What about?”

“You and Candice…” Abbee explained. “I get you two have only really been together for a little longer than Chris and I. But how did you make the distance work? You were both in Sinnoh, but it’s not like either of you could just drop what you’re doing, and go see each other?”

Justin thought it over, not having really considered it too much. The last year with Candice kind of just happened. Even with the distance between Jubilife and Snowpoint City, it hadn’t been a masterpiece of planning for the pair to see each other once every month or two.

“I don’t know honestly, it kind of just worked out,” Justin explained. “If I were still in Kalos it would be different, but I guess if I had to break it down…”

Justin quickly thought over what he was trying to say, choosing the words carefully.

“I guess it worked out so easily because we made the relationship and seeing each other a priority, and were both willing to compromise…” Justin answered. “I mean, I’d have classes three days a week, and work another two. I’d get to the weekend, and have assignments to write, and readings to catch up on. And when I’d finally have a free weekend, hell, I would have loved to have just stayed at home, worn some comfy pants and fallen asleep in front of the TV in my dorm room….”

“But more than anything, I wanted to see her and be with her, so as much as leaving classes Friday to spend all night on a bus to Snowpoint was a pain in the a**, it was worth it when I got to see Candice. And she was doing the same,” Justin continued.” There were a few weekends where she stayed in Jubilife, and missed things with her friends, or family dinners. But seeing me was a priority, and she was willing to give some of those things up to do that…”

Abbee’s first reaction was to think of how sweet it was that Justin and Candice were both that determined to make it work, that compromising like that to be with each other was just the standard. However, after taking it in fully, she began to feel a lump in her throat.

She knew that her relationship with Chris was different to this, not because he refused to compromise, but because he refused to see the need to compromise. And thinking about this in light of Justin’s answer to her question, she couldn’t help but feel that this refusal to see the need to compromise stemmed from one sad fact. Being with her wasn’t a priority…

For the second time in two days, Abbee felt tears forming in her eyes, as she looked down, trying to not let the students in the room see her. Justin jumped in alarm at the sight, and leaned forward towards her.

“Abbee, what’s going on?” he asked quietly, “What’s wrong?”

Abbee wiped the tears away quickly with her sleeve, trying to compose herself, before her students noticed. She remained silent though, staring at the tabletop in front of her.

“Abbee, talk to me,” Justin said. “Please…”

“I asked you how you and Candice make it work when you live far away, because I want things to work out between Chris and I, and I was worried that we wouldn’t last once I moved and he started travelling…” Abbee said quietly, still wiping stray tears from her eyes. “You talked about two things you guys have together. You make each other a priority, and you compromise….”

Justin nodded.

“And honestly, this summer has shown me that Chris isn’t doing either… And if that doesn’t change, I don’t know how things are going to work once summer ends…”

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 3 Episode 6: Descent

Spoiler:

“Mind passing me a beer?”

The small esky sat next to Charlotte, who sat herself in her camp-chair. It was something Jon had left on Southern Island when he first began training Rayquaza there a little over two and a half years prior. Her and Jon had been strategic with what they brought, knowing they had little capacity on their two flying Pokemon, so made a point of bringing things like food and drinks in bulk. Enough to last the pair a few visits there, when they came every fortnight. There were few Pokemon on the island, and they made sure to secure the food well enough that it wouldn’t be taken. It was during their second weekend when Jon realised they had a little space to bring supplies with them, that he brought a case of beers with him. This was their fifth weekend at Southern Island, with the temperature increasing as they reached summer’s peak, and Jon realised around the start of summer that after a long day of training a potentially deadly Pokemon, a beer was a refreshing vice to have around the campfire, which was largely there to be a source of light, to keep the bugs away, and to cook food over, compared to being used to provide any more warmth than already was there.

“I don’t know how you drink this stuff,” Charlotte said, handing Jon a glass bottle from the esky, which was filled with ice from Milotic’s Ice Beam, shaved and crushed by Blaziken, who had to be careful not to let his flames extend and melt the ice. Jon grinned.

“It definitely is an acquired taste…” Jon remarked as he took it. “The first time I tried one I thought it was disgusting. But once I got used to it, I loved it. That being said, Dylan and Latios didn’t take the time I took to get used to it…”

Jon’s words trailed off as he remembered that Latios was out. He turned to his left, where the Eon Pokemon floated next to him, looking at the beer in his hand. He sighed.

“You mind passing me another one for Wrecking-Ball?” Jon asked, as Charlotte grinned. Jon turned to Latios again. “If we run out because you keep drinking them, you have to carry the next case over, as well as whatever else has to come…”

Latios cried out indignantly, though didn’t rebuke Jon’s offer of the beer, taking it from his trainer once Jon had removed the cap.

“Latios really likes pale ales,” Jon remarked, as Charlotte couldn’t help but laugh at the pair.

“So if it’s an acquired taste, and it tastes like bin juice without that, why go to the effort of getting yourself to tolerate it?”

“Biggest reason is, relatively speaking, it’s weak,” Jon explained casually. “Dad drank a lot, and it brought out the worst in him. So I have a pretty strong aversion to being even a little tipsy. At the same time, our culture is a little too alcohol centric. If you’re in a social situation where everyone is having a drink, and people realise you aren’t touching alcohol, they make up their own minds about why, and seeing as I was a competitive battler, and had the potential to be in the spotlight, I didn’t want rumours spreading that I was a recovering alcoholic or something…”

Jon took a sip, sighing contentedly, before continuing.

“Beer is weak enough that I could have three between dinner and going to sleep, and if they’re evenly spaced, not even have a noticeable effect. Hell, I will feel full and sick from having too full of a stomach before I get drunk off these,” Jon continued. “And if I am out with friends or out for dinner, and I have one of these in my hand, I can easily turn down other drinks without everyone thinking I’m a recovering alcoholic or something.”

“Makes sense,” Charlotte said. “If I managed to get a decent following, I should probably keep that in mind…”

“You already have a bigger fanbase than I did before I took the High Seas Tournament,” Jon remarked. “You and the others are a hell of a lot closer to my level than you realise. Dylan beating me at the start of summer is proof of that…”

“So where would you say we’re at now?”

Jon placed his beer in the cupholder of his foldable camping chair, and leaned back, trying to think.

“I’d say that by the time you guys had finished your first summer, you could have beaten Ethan Caldwell without much of a hassle,” Jon remarked, remembering his semi final match on the S.S. Wishmaker. “By the start of this summer, I think you would have given Avery Miller a run for their money…”

“Avery lost to Cassandra though, and Cassandra had only just gone legit?” Charlotte remarked. “Wouldn’t Avery be on a similar level to Ethan?”

Jon scoffed at the analysis.

“I didn’t see the match live, because I was dealing with other stuff, but I watched replays after Alyssa and I got home. Cassandra did extremely well to beat Avery, but it was sheer luck that she beat them. Avery’s Shaymin was in a form it could only retain during the day, and to all watching, it looked like Victini was out of commission,” Jon explained. “Victini managed to make a final stand, at the exact moment that the sun went down, and Shaymin reverted to its slower form, and wasn’t able to dodge the hit.”

Taking another swig, Jon finished telling the story.

“You know as well as I do that competitive matches don’t ever start at the exact scheduled time. It may be delayed because crowds are taking too long to find their seats, or networks broadcasting may be delayed in being ready. Even the arena being quickly repaired when it is damaged by a ground type move or something,” Jon explained. “Had that match started five minutes earlier, Victini’s second wind would have meant nothing, and Avery would have taken it. And if it started five minutes later, Avery would have not relied as much on Shaymin’s Sky form. Additionally, Avery’s home-field is the contest circuit which means their style of battling will be more out of left field than the Ethan Caldwell’s of the world. Therefore harder to predict and counter. I have a lot of respect for Cass since she came clean, but she got incredibly lucky with the timing of that match with Avery…”

Charlotte thought over Jon’s analysis, as he added one more thing.

“And honestly, unless I were to start battling with Rayquaza, and even then I am not sure it would help, once Deoxys is championship trained, I will have to bust my a** to beat you…” Jon remarked. “Chris too, once Lugia is fully grown…”

“Abbee and Justin?” Charlotte asked. “They have Legendary Pokemon too…”

“Justin has probably been the fastest at learning how best to use his Legendary Pokemon,” Jon remarked. “The way he battles with Regieleki is an art form in and of itself. But he doesn’t have the same drive as you guys. He wants to be strong, and he wants to use his Pokemon in his work when he joins the police. But there is a clear difference between battling competitively with consistent rules and purpose, and battling for something higher stakes…”

Jon considered how best to word this.

“Once Justin joins the police, and is well established there, you and Chris would beat him senseless in a competitive match, no worries. But, as strong as you are, if you were a criminal that he had to apprehend, and Pokemon were brought into the mix, he would have no trouble taking you down in that setting…”

“And Abbee?”

“It’s hard to say,” Jon remarked. “She is definitely a cut above most competitive battlers, both in terms of natural talent and how much she puts in. But she relies a lot on Victini, even in terms of the decisions she makes in battle. Sure, she uses the rest of her team, but name one battle she has won since Victini joined her that he wasn’t involved in…”

“True…” Charlotte remarked.

“Honestly, I think this job she has will be really good for her,” Jon remarked. “She will be a Gym Trainer, using Pokemon she is less familiar with and battling without relying on Victini. If Elesa invests in her, and she is given the opportunity to have some challenging battles with her newer Pokemon, I think she will grow exponentially…”

“And as for Dylan,” Jon said with a grin, as he finished his beer. “He is a tough nut to crack. Offensively he is behind you guys, but he can drag a match on for as long as he needs to take the win, and is hard to get anything past. If he catches a Legendary Pokemon, he will be terrifying…”

Charlotte laughed, not used to hearing Jon refer to any trainer but her as terrifying.

“Do you think we’re making enough progress with Deoxys?” Charlotte asked, thinking about the day's session. Whilst Deoxys was closer to battling at full strength without becoming aggressive, Charlotte couldn’t help but feel there was a large hurdle in their way. As she tried to figure out how to articulate it, Jon managed to voice her concerns.

“We are, but we’re also at a tipping point,” Jon explained. “Deoxys is battling at near one hundred percent. But the Pokemon battling with it haven’t been battling to knock it out like they normally do. And Deoxys is never going to be able to compete like your other Pokemon if it isn’t at peace with the fact that it could take an attack and all of a sudden wake up next time you let it out of its Pokeball…”

Charlotte murmured in agreement as Jon continued.

“This is the dilemma we have really. If we push Deoxys harder with the hits it takes, and it feels threatened, it may lash out and it end badly for one of us or our Pokemon…” Jon remarked. “But if we let it get too used to us pulling punches when we battle it, it could make it all the harder to cross this line when we do eventually try…”

”Can you hear that?”

Latios’ telepathic message took both trainers by surprise, causing them to look towards the Eon Pokemon, who dropped his beer on the soft grass beneath them, before flying into the air, and turning invisible.

“What’s-” Charlotte began, before Jon held up a finger, his demeanour changing in a heartbeat.

Once Latios was in the air, he began sharing his vision with the two trainers below. Still not used to the sensation, Charlotte panicked for a moment when suddenly her vision showed her fifty metres above the ground, however she quickly adjusted to it, and noticed what Latios was staring at. On the edge of the island, visible by the moonlight, was a small, minimal, steel boat. It had an engine on the back of it, however there were also a pair of oars in rings on the side, being tossed by the waves. And walking from the boat were four people, only visible by the dim auras that Latios perceived of them.

”They must have killed the engine and rowed the last few hundred metres so we wouldn’t hear them coming…” Jon said with his thoughts, forwarded by Latios to Charlotte. ”If I didn’t think they were trouble before, I do now…”

”One’s familiar…” Latios said, before slowly and carefully flying closer to the group of four men, his vision continuing to be shared. Jon however, was the first to recognize the one Latios was talking about. Whilst he had heard his name mentioned, he didn’t remember it exactly, instead opting for the nickname Jon gave him, based on the weapon that he was pointing at Jon’s face when they first met.

”Shotgun,” Jon said. ”One of the poachers from the Whirl Islands. The one that escaped. And he has some new friends…”

”What do we do?” Charlotte asked.

”We stay here and fight,” Jon answered. ”Latios, stay invisible and support us from above. If they bring out any guns or unregistered Pokeballs, crush them…”

Latios flew back, finding a position in the air above Jon and Charlotte, where he could still see the four newcomers.

”Charlotte, let’s have some fun…” Jon remarked through Latios’ telepathic channel. ”With Latios preventing them from using weapons or unregistered Pokeballs, this is just a Pokemon battle, and I think we can handle them…”

Surprised by how confident Jon was in the situation, Charlotte nodded, as the pair waited for their unexpected guests to arrive. A few minutes later, when Jon could see from Latios’ perspective they were nearby, he called out.

“Might as well come out where we can see you,” Jon said with a hint of exasperation. “I’d rather get this over with quickly…”

The sound of agitated murmurs was just audible over the sounds of the ocean surrounding the island, and Jon couldn’t help but grin at how much he had shaken them. Finally, the sound of footsteps, with much less effort made in trying to conceal them, pierced the night, as Jon and Charlotte could see from where they sat, four figures emerged from the dark growth of trees that surrounded the clearing they camped in. Jon internally thanked his lucky stars that they had forgotten to bring one of the straps to hang the tarp, which would have now obstructed Latios’ aerial view of the altercation.

“Always the smarta**, aren’t you, Jon?” said a voice familiar to Jon. He couldn’t tell which of the four figures it was speaking, with his vision on the other side of the campfire at a detriment by the bright fireflight. “You never learn…”

“And what exactly do I need to learn?” Jon questioned, though the conviction notably absent in his question.

“When you’re in the losing position…”

Shotgun stepped out into the clearing, now illuminated by the firelight, before continuing.

“See, last time we were on an island together, you had the s**t kicked out of you, and were still running that damn mouth of yours. Even with a gun pointed at your head. It’s infuriating…”

Jon couldn’t help but grin.

“Last time was an isolated incident,” Jon remarked. “You and your little friends got the jump on me, and yeah, your captain got stuck into me. But remember what happened by the time you ran?”

“I heard…” Shotgun remarked, his expression souring at the thought of his captain killed and his old associates being arrested and imprisoned. “But do you really think all we need to get the upper hand over you is the element of surprise?”

“I’d say it’s almost certain,” Jon remarked, before standing from his chair, the empty beer bottle still in his hand.

“So this doesn’t make a difference?” Shotgun asked, before, much to Jon’s disappointment, producing a handgun from a holster on his belt. Before he even had it trained on Jon however, there was a cry of alarm as the gun was ripped from his grip by a seemingly invisible hand, and thrown towards Jon and Charlotte.

“Nowhere near as much as you think…”

Shocked by what they saw, his three associates began raising their own weapons, which they had held pointed towards the ground, ready to raise at a moment’s notice, and one by one, each was ripped from their grip, and tossed away from them, where they would need to get past Jon and Charlotte to get to them.

“You nearly did get the jump on me,” Jon admitted. “But Latios is pretty amazing, and saw you coming not long after you disembarked from that little boat of yours…”

As he said this, Jon had a thought.

“Speaking of which, Latios…” Jon said casually. “You mind dealing with the boat? A Draco Meteor ought to do it…”

Latios cried out from the air above the group, though it was near impossible to determine his location from the sound. A moment later, a draconic purple beam began to charge from a spot in the air, and launch in a downward arc towards the small boat on the edge of the island. The force of the impact created a bang, louder than the attack itself, reminiscent of a meteor striking.

There were cries of shock from Shotgun’s new friends, whom Jon presumed to be fellow poachers themselves, as Jon’s grin widened.

“I see you’ve brought friends along. I have a friend here too actually. You never formally met…” Jon remarked. “Charlotte, this is Shotgun. Shotgun, meet Charlotte, one of my students. She’s pretty terrifying-”

“Terrifying?” Shotgun said with a laugh, seeming to forget that his weapons and boat had all been disposed of. “She’s a kid…”

“It might do you good to not interrupt me…” Jon retorted, feigning indignance. “I was going to say she is terrifying, and has an even more terrifying Pokemon that we want to see battle in a more serious setting…”

Charlotte looked at Jon in shock.

“You want me to set Deoxys on these guys?” Charlotte asked, terrified at the thought of Deoxys potentially killing one of them.

“Not them, but their Pokemon,” Jon said, before turning to Shotgun. “I presume you have Pokemon? Seeing as you don’t have guns or a boat anymore…”

Shotgun looked at Jon, irritated at his arrogance in a situation where he felt Jon should have none.

“You want a battle?” Shotgun asked. “No rules here…”

Shotgun removed two black Pokeballs from his belt, letting the Pokemon out and revealing a Krookodile and Hitmontop. At his beckoning, the other three poachers did the same, letting out two Pokemon each. In addition to Shotgun’s two Pokemon, Charlotte and Jon found themselves face to face with a Magmortar, Nidoqueen, Haxorus, Samurott, Rampardos and Toxtricity.

“Don’t try any tricks with those illegal Pokeballs of yours,” Jon remarked. “Latios has been told to crush any that he sees, and if your hand is in contact with it, it will sting a little…”

Jon turned to Charlotte, who seemed to doubt the situation a little.

“Should I send out another Pokemon as well?” Charlotte asked, as she readied Deoxys Pokeball.

“No, this is the opportunity we need,” Jon remarked. “Let Deoxys know just how serious this battle is, and see how it goes on it’s own…”

Charlotte nodded, before sending out the Pokemon. Deoxys appeared in a flash of light between herself and the oncoming Pokemon that crowded the small clearing. Those on the other side looked at Deoxys, with a sense of unease spreading among them. The Pokemon had never seen anything like it, and Deoxys’ physical appearance was unnerving to say the least. Additionally, their trainers had all seen the footage of the destruction Deoxys had brought to Mossdeep Island on the news. Charlotte felt the now familiar, yet still alien presence in her mind. She couldn’t understand words, but instead, the feeling Deoxys was channelling through the telepathic connection it had created. A feeling of confusion. Asking what was going on.

”The humans mean us harm, and will use the Pokemon to do it…” Charlotte thought, intentionally trying to focus on emotions, and mental images to support the words she attempted to communicate. ”We will fight them, but don’t want to seriously hurt them…”

As soon as Charlotte felt the sense of understanding permeate between them, her thoughts changed from analysis and explanation of the situation Deoxys had found itself in, to tactics. They were outnumbered severely, and whilst they had other Pokemon, Charlotte wanted Deoxys to be the one to handle this. Their first priority was whittling down the number of Pokemon to a more manageable size. Krookodile was going to be the most difficult for Deoxys to deal with, being immune to Psychic attacks. However, Nidoqueen, Hitmontop and Toxtricity were all easy targets…

“Attack form!” Charlotte shouted, as Deoxys body shifted to the semi streamlined, and somewhat pointier offensive form. Charlotte focused on an image of what she wanted from Deoxys, as she gave the next command. “Throw Nidoqueen into Krookodile!”

Before anyone could respond, Nidoqueen was grabbed by an iron-like telekinetic grip, and pulled towards Jon and Charlotte, as Deoxys rose a few feet into the air. Just like Charlotte had visualised, Nidoqueen was whipped back towards them, before its trajectory curved back around above their heads, gaining momentum, before being launched at an unnatural speed at Krookodile, both Pokemon being knocked unconscious instantly by the attack.

Before Charlotte could grin however, she saw Magmortar lining up the cannon-like appendage that made up the bulk of its arm, training it on Deoxys. Whilst it was too late for Deoxys to knock it out like it had Nidoqueen and Krookodile, Deoxys attack form was only a fraction slower than its speed form, and there was still time to react. Before Charlotte could give the instruction, Deoxys raised a telekinetic barrier, which dispersed the Fire Blast attack Magmortar had just launched, blinding all of their opponents with a flaming wall. When it disappeared, one of the trainers cried out.

“It’s gone!”

Taking the opportunity of limited vision, Deoxys had teleported itself into the air, out of sight, causing the Pokemon and their trainers to begin looking around.

“Now!” Charlotte commanded, having given the instruction telepathically.

Inspired by how Latios had managed to capture Deoxys the summer prior, Deoxys, retaining its offensive form, surrounded itself in a telekinetic bubble, which illuminated it in the night sky, before it dove down, crashing heavily into Magmortar, knocking it out, before Deoxys transferred the telekinetic energy from being a tangible, physical barrier, into a concentrated blast, aimed directly at Hitmontop who was attempting to flank the Legendary Pokemon. Hitmontop was unable to dodge the point blank telekinetic blast, being launched backwards, hitting one of the poachers who stood behind it. There was an audible crack as the poachers ribs broke under the pressure, and both the Pokemon and the poacher were thrown to the ground, Hitmontop unconscious already from the sheer impact of the blast. A moment later, another poacher cried in pain, as the black Pokeball he was about to throw was compressed heavily by a telepathic grip, with his hand caught in the crossfire.

“Told you…” Jon said patronisingly, grinning at Deoxys quick work of decimating the opposing force.

Shotgun swore angrily, having both his Pokemon knocked out within the first twenty seconds of the battle, as well as one of his fellow poachers being incapacitated. He looked over to where Jon watched the battle taking place, with a smug grin on his face. He began running towards Jon, unarmed as he was.

”One’s coming for you…” Latios said to Jon, about to intervene.

”I’ve got this…”

Shotgun ran towards Jon from his left, swinging his right fist in a strong, yet predictable wide strike. Jon raised his left arm, taking the brunt of the strike, bruising it heavily, before responding in kind with his own right arm, the difference largely being the empty beer bottle he held. The bottle struck Shotgun above his left eye, shattering, leaving Jon holding the neck and the jagged stump of the body of it, which in the follow through, had cut a line down and across Shotgun’s cheek causing him to scream in pain. Taking the moment’s hesitation, Jon pivoted back a little, before launching a roundhouse kick, aiming low and sweeping across Shotgun’s legs, causing the already uneasy on his feet poacher to crash to the ground, landing in the small shards of broken glass. Jon looked over to where the other two trainers battled, noticing that both had seen what had happened, and instead opted to focus on the battle, one nursing a broken hand.

Deoxys had since knocked out Toxtricity, the part Poison Type Pokemon being extremely susceptible to Psychic attacks, before taking a Dragon Rush attack from Haxorus, Charlotte noting this attack was likely the hardest hit Deoxys had taken since it was captured.

Focusing purely on the instructions she wanted Deoxys to follow, Charlotte wasted no time in commanding Deoxys with a response.

“Teleport!” Charlotte instructed, whilst Deoxys disappeared, reappearing a moment later behind Samurott. “Now Zap Cannon!”

Whilst the attack itself was far too inaccurate to be relied upon in any serious battle, the sheer distance between Deoxys and Samurott, or rather, lack thereof, made it impossible for the attack to miss, as Samurott was shocked more than it had ever been shocked before, and thrown by the impact to the edge of the clearing, as Haxorus struck Deoxys with another Dragon Rush.

“You can take it!” Charlotte shouted, trying to keep Deoxys calm. She knew Jon had a point. If Deoxys could remain calm in a battle against eight Pokemon, none of whom holding back, they had passed the most difficult part of Deoxys training. And so far, everything seemed to be working… “Psycho Boost!”

Deoxys darted backwards, as it charged up the purple orb, which Charlotte had come to understand was an attack only it was capable of. The orb grew in size to be the size of an exercise ball, before Deoxys launched it. It struck Haxorus, who was the first Pokemon in the group to take more than a single attack before fainting.

“Watch out!” Charlotte shouted, as she saw Rampardos darting forward towards Deoxys, hoping to catch it unaware. It’s head was lowered, and Charlotte knew that Rampardos were known for their near indestructible, hard heads. “Zen Headbutt!”

Deoxys turned to face Rampardos, creating a telekinetic shield in front of it, before launching itself at the fastest speed it could manage in this form, head first at Rampardos. The Rock Type Pokemon collided head first against Deoxys telekinetic barrier, slowing to a halt, before being grabbed by an invisible grip, as Nidoqueen was earlier, and being lifted six feet into the air, before it was smashed into the ground beneath them.

“Guillotine!” the poacher commanding Haxorus shouted, knowing that was the only Pokemon left in any position to battle.

“Substitute!” Charlotte commanded. Deoxys disappeared, leaving what looked to be a badly made, bootleg stuffed toy in its place, which Haxorus struck, not having anything else to hit. As the toy disappeared, Deoxys was nowhere to be seen, with only Charlotte, privy to the information through the telepathic link, knowing what to expect.

“Now!”

From the sky above Haxorus, Deoxys charged up the same beam of light that it used to destroy the Space Centre, albeit this iteration being much less powerful, before launching it downwards, striking the Dragon Type, and knocking it out.

The two poachers who remained standing, now with no Pokemon, and their leader, a bloody, whimpering mess on the ground at Jon’s feet, looked anxiously between Jon and Charlotte.

“Surrender, and we’ll tie you up, and leave you here for the authorities to come pick up…” Jon remarked. “Try and use a flying Pokemon to fly away, and Deoxys will do what it did to Haxorus to shoot you out of the sky. And this far out, in the dark like this, you’re more likely to drown out there than find land…”

The two men looked at each other, before agreeing to surrender, as Latios descended, reappearing in front of them, and causing them to both jump in fright at the sight of the Eon Pokemon materialising from thin air.

“Make sure they don’t go anywhere…” Jon remarked, as he made his way to his backpack, which contained the tarp they had packed, but had been unable to hang, due to forgetting one of the straps.

Charlotte called Deoxys back to its Pokeball, though not after giving it all the praise she could to make sure it knew exactly how well it had done, and how happy she was with it, before assisting Jon in dragging Shotgun, and his broken-ribbed comrade to two larger trees, and using the straps to secure them tightly to them.

“What do we do about him?” Charlotte asked quietly, not wanting the pair Latios was minding to hear. She looked down at Shotgun, whose head was bleeding from the bottle-wound.

“I have a first aid kit here,” Jon remarked. “We’ll patch him up enough that he won’t bleed out and die on us…”

“Then what?”

“We head back tonight. I’ll call Steven as soon as we have phone service,” Jon answered. “We should be back in Mossdeep by tomorrow morning, and if Steven arranges a pickup from Slateport or Ever-Grande, these guys should only be here a few hours…”

“What about Southern Island?” Charlotte asked, looking around. “Is this place safe for us to keep doing this?”

Jon stood, and gestured for her to follow, moving out of earshot of those nearby.

“If we have Latios more focused on being a sentry, we would be safe here, and could potentially keep training Deoxys, even if we are followed, like I presume happened with these guys, or something like that…” Jon explained, though Charlotte could sense that wasn’t all.

“What’s the but?”

“Rayquaza…” Jon said, mouthing the word silently. “We can handle idiots like this showing up and send them packing, as you and Deoxys just displayed. But if one of them sees Rayquaza, then I am in a lot of trouble…”

Charlotte realised why Jon was hesitant about coming back. Whilst she had only ever come to Southern Island to train Deoxys, Jon had used it as a place to make sure Latios was safe away from people, as well as a place to train Rayquaza where they wouldn’t be seen by prying eyes.

“So what do we do?” Charlotte asked.

“We get these guys tied up. We get back to the Academy. We catch up on sleep. And we figure out the rest after all that…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

Dylan lay in his bed, looking at the ceiling of his room in the lodge as he waited. He had awoken an hour earlier, not knowing when exactly he could enact his plan, so overprepared.

The clock on his phone read 7am, and he figured it would be in the next fifteen minutes. He knew Abbee well enough at this point, and figured that regardless of circumstances, she was a creature of habit.

During that week, Dylan had been shocked to find out his mother had shown up at the Academy, after walking out on Dylan, and leaving him with Bill a decade earlier. However the real shock was the reason why she came. To inform Dylan of a genetic disorder she had been diagnosed with, and that there was a real possibility that he may have inherited, called Neurofibromatosis 2. The effect of this disorder was the deafness in Dylan’s maternal grandmother, and now his mother, and if his father had passed on the faulty gene like his mother had, Dylan knew he would lose his hearing by the time he was fifty.

The shock of it all had rattled Dylan, and the day after, when he had passed Abbee, he had wanted to be alone, to try and process his thoughts on this, giving her the cold shoulder, and lashing out at her when she tried to ask what was going on. He had felt guilty about how he handled it the moment he did, however was not in the headspace to be making amends. Instead, he waited, which led him to this moment.

Abbee would have likely woken up already. He could hear sounds coming from her room next to his, as she was likely getting ready for the day.

”To the slightly prejudiced, telepathic third party, you could almost say what you’re doing is kind of creepy…”

Whilst Dylan didn’t have as much experience with Victini making contact with him as Chris did, he recognized the telepathic voice near instantly and couldn’t help but grin.

”I’m doing this because I want to say sorry to her, so excuse my creepiness…” Dylan retorted. ”But what’s your excuse for poking around in my head?”

Dylan felt a wave of satisfaction flow from Victini through the telepathic channel. Half the reason he acted in this way was out of enjoyment of the friendly back and forth that ensued. Though when people reacted a little less friendly, it was still amusing, albeit slightly less.

”Didn’t realise I needed one,” Victini retorted. ”Arceus gave me the goods to be able to do this, I figured it would be a waste if I didn’t…”

”You don’t need one,” Dylan thought back. ”But having a good excuse may make you seem like less of a creep when people realise you’re poking around in their heads…”

Dylan knew he had won this exchange with Victini, before the Mythical Pokemon even responded.

”Touche…” Victini replied. ”She’s going to be walking out in five… four… three…”

Realising that he was distracted, Dylan, got out of bed, and walked towards the door. He opened it just as Victini finished the countdown, stepping out, and looking over to see Abbee exiting her room as well, Victini sitting on her shoulder. She flashed him an awkward smile, though barely held eye contact like she normally did.

“Hey,” Dylan said cautiously. “Can we talk?”

“Sure…” Abbee replied nervously, before nodding towards Victini on her shoulder. “Do you mind if Victini joins us?”

“He already knows what it’s about,” Dylan retorted, stifling a chuckle as Abbee rolled her eyes, well aware of Victini’s lack of courtesy when it came to using his telepathy. “We’ll go get breakfast, and talk on the way…”

Abbee nodded, thankful that Dylan finally seemed ready to make amends, though given this was the second time that summer he had snapped at her in some way, was a little cautious.

The ground floor of the lodge was empty, with Charlotte being away that weekend with Jon at Southern Island, and Justin and Chris both being more likely to sleep in until a few minutes before breakfast and rush to the dining hall with as little time to spare as possible. Even outside, there were few of the other campers awake, only one or two of the more diligent ones outside, practising with their Pokemon teams. It was Sunday, so there were no classes, and whilst most students did the bulk of their socializing on the weekend, be it on site, or for the older students, going into town for the day, it wasn’t uncommon for some to do some additional training, not wanting to grow complacent come Monday morning.

“About the other day…” Dylan explained. “I’m sorry for being such a d**k when you came upstairs to talk to me…”

Abbee nodded quietly, wanting to hear more, and not risk Dylan thinking he had said enough by accepting the apology.

“Truth is, last Wednesday, my mum showed up out of nowhere, and that in and of itself rattled me,” Dylan explained. “Then I found out why she came, and it tipped me over the edge a little…”

“Justin told me,” Abbee said. “At least, that your mum showed up, and he covered your class. I figured that might have upset you after he told me about it…”

“It wasn’t just that…” Dylan said, trying to figure out how to explain this.

“What was it then?”

The pair were halfway to the lodge, and Dylan stopped walking, focused too much on what he wanted to say, and also knowing that there was nobody within earshot, which ideally meant nobody listening in.

“She came because she is going deaf…” Dylan explained. “It started recently, and seemed out of nowhere. Except her mother went deaf at a similar age, and…”

Abbee’s eyes widened, as she put the pieces together.

“Is it genetic?” she asked, shocked at what Dylan had just told her.

“Yeah…” Dylan said with a sigh, before continuing to walk. Abbee remained still for a second, processing what she heard, before moving to catch up with him.

“Do you know if you will lose your hearing as well?” Abbee asked gently, Dylan shaking his head in response.

“It’s recessive, which means I need to get the faulty gene from both parents. Because she has the disorder, I definitely got it from her. But I never knew who my dad was, so I haven’t got a clue if there is any chance I got it from him,” Dylan answered. “Short of doing tests to find out for sure, if he is deaf, and there isn’t another reason why, it is almost certain I will as well…”

“What if he isn’t?”

“Then at most 50%, as there is always the chance he may be a carrier, and not have the disorder himself,” Dylan continued. “At that point, I’d be looking into his family tree. If he has relatives who have lost their hearing with little to no explanation, there is a better chance that he is a carrier. But if nobody in his family has those symptoms, I should be safe…”

The pair entered the dining room, where they quickly began getting out the food for breakfast. Given that breakfast was usually fruit, toast or cereal, kitchen staff didn’t start until they needed to prepare lunch, with the interns getting the room set up. In a little under half an hour, a group of students would arrive to set tables, however seeing as they were getting the bulk of the food out for their own breakfast, they figured they would get the rest out as well.

As they sat at a table in the empty dining room, breakfast in front of them, as well as a bowl of fruit for Victini, the conversation continued.

“So what do you do now?”

“I find my dad…” Dylan replied simply, as he took a bite from his toast. “Getting tested is expensive, and at this point, I may be able to get a reasonable answer by tracking him down without spending a small fortune…”

Dylan paused for a moment, never having admitted this to anyone.

“I’ve always wanted to know who he is. The furthest back I remember it was just Mum and I, and Bill came into the picture later. Mum refused to talk about him, and I learnt pretty quickly I was wasting my breath asking. So really, he could be anybody…”

“Do you know his name?” Abbee asked, before her tone shifted to a less serious one. “Charlotte and I guessed that Justin and Candice had something going on because he mentioned a Gym Leader while he was in the Crown Tundra. I think with a name, we could find out just about everything there is to know about him…”

Dylan couldn’t help but laugh.

“I don’t,” Dylan said. “Not yet at least…”

“How will you find him?”

“Mum gave me an envelope with his details in it…” Dylan answered. “Sealed it and didn’t say anything more, in case I didn’t want to find out. She figured I may not want to know if there is a near certain chance I will go deaf, and just live life as normal until the day might come that I do…”

“And you haven’t opened it yet?” Abbee asked. “Don’t you want to know?”

“I do, but, I don’t know…” Dylan said, leaning back a little, and stretching his arms behind his head. “I guess right now, my dad could be anyone. An ordinary guy, a celebrity, a famous battler like yours was…”

Abbee nodded in understanding.

“But at the same time, he could be an a**hole, or a criminal, or something worse…” Dylan said, with a weak grin. “It’s ironic. Mum was concerned I may not want to find out whether I have this disorder or not, which is why she sealed the envelope. And I want to find out. But right now, I am more unsure of whether I want to find out who my dad is, and risk finding out he isn’t who I want him to be…”

“So what now then?” Abbee asked, scooping up a spoonful of cereal.

“I guess I try and prepare myself for the worst,” Dylan remarked. “I’d rather be expecting him to be a serial killer, and find he is an accountant than the other way around…”

Abbee couldn’t help but grin at the sentiment.

“You’re a real ray of sunshine, you know that?”

“It’s one of my better qualities…”

“Jon, don’t worry, it’s unlocked!”

The familiar voice from the door took the pair by surprise when they heard it coming from the doorway. They looked over to see Charlotte entering the room, and noticing the pair of them sitting there.

“Hey,” Charlotte said casually as she grabbed a pear from the fruit bowl on her way to the table where Dylan and Abbee sat. “Jon was going to come back with a key to unlock this place, but I see you guys got to it first…”

“Wait, why are you here?” Dylan asked. “You aren’t due back until this evening?”

“Had an incident on Southern Island, so came back early…” Charlotte said casually, before remembering something. She quickly unclipped a Pokeball from her belt. “While I remember, here’s your Flygon.”

Dylan took the Pokeball, though Abbee was not satisfied with her answer.

“What sort of incident…” Abbee asked, sounding more serious than before.

“We were followed. Jon reckons they may have been tailing us a little bit each time. Following us for a little while from Mossdeep one week, then keeping an eye out from Sootopoolis the next time for when we pass over, and so fourth…” Charlotte answered, taking a bite from the fruit in her hand, though not waiting to keep speaking. “You remember the poacher from the Whirl Islands? The one that got away?”

Abbee nodded, the look of shock growing more intense with each passing second.

“He showed up, with three new friends. They brought a boat, killed the engine before we could hear it getting close, and rowed the rest of the way,” Charlotte said casually. “If Latios hadn’t have spotted them, things would have been ugly…”

“Then why are you in such a good mood?” Dylan asked, getting in before Abbee, who seemed like she was going to ask the question, but with more questions aimed towards Charlotte’s mental capacity.

“Because they sent out eight Pokemon to incapacitate us, and Deoxys dealt with them all single-handedly…” Charlotte answered, her grin widening. “We were at the point with Deoxys where it was battling all out, but it had never been against an opponent that wasn’t pulling punches, and we weren’t sure how Deoxys would go staying calm and following orders in a battle where the opponent is trying to knock it out, or worse…”

“And naturally, Jon turned that situation into an assessment of Deoxys training…” Dylan muttered, shocked that Jon was that relaxed about the whole situation. “Was anybody hurt?”

“All the Pokemon were knocked out, and a Hitmontop was thrown into one of the poachers and broke his ribs. Latios was invisible and under orders to crush any illegal Pokeballs they were going to try and throw. So when one of them tried, his hand was broken when Latios used his telekinesis to crush it and the Pokeball,” Charlotte explained as Abbee winced, though knew the worst to come. “And Jon had finished a beer right when they arrived, and since Latios had disarmed all of them, the one from the Whirl Islands, who had a grudge with Jon, swung at him, and Jon smashed the bottle against his head…”

Abbee went white, and even Dylan was surprised, though thinking about it, he knew he shouldn’t be. Whilst Jon, as willing to throw down as he needed to be, wasn’t the sort to unnecessarily brutalize and opponent, he also wasn’t the sort to take away an advantage if he happened to have it.

“We tied them all up on the island, and flew back overnight,” Charlotte remarked. “I’m so freaking tired, but also starving, so figured I’d get something to eat before I get some sleep…”

“So why were they there?” Abbee asked.

“I guess for Latios and Deoxys,” Charlotte remarked. “Both Pokemon are prime targets, and I guess the fact that we bruised their pride last time we saw them, made it a little more appealing to target us…”

“I still don’t get how you’re so cool with this…” Abbee muttered, shocked that less than twelve hours ago, her friends were in a life-or-death battle.

“Because honestly, I was terrified that Deoxys wouldn’t ever be safe to use like my other Pokemon are. We were at a wall and if we failed to cross it, the consequences were bad, but if we put off trying to cross it, it was more likely we’d fail,” Charlotte explained. “I know we’re still far off Deoxys being used in any League competitions, but it was able to face off against eight Pokemon from four trainers, that it knew meant it harm, and took some of the heaviest hits it had taken since we first caught it. But it followed instructions and remained calm the entire time. This is the biggest win we could have asked for…”

“So what now?” Dylan asked.

“Jon called Steven as soon as we had decent service, and he arranged during the night for the authorities to pick up the guys we tied up. They’re all looking at a stint in prison, but the problem is that we can’t prevent them from talking…” Charlotte explained. “Jon and I could still go there, but now the chances that someone will show up are much higher…”

Charlotte began looking around before she continued, making sure nobody else had entered the room.

“And whilst someone showing up likely won’t cause too many problems for Deoxys, Jon can’t be seen with Rayquaza…” Charlotte explained. “Steven is going to make sure that choke orders are placed on Southern Island’s existence in terms of media. But I don’t know if we can risk going back, because if someone finds out that they found where we were going because they followed us, they are more likely to try the same thing…”

Charlotte finished eating the pear, before turning the conversation back to Dylan and Abbee.

“So what are you guys doing up this early on a Sunday?” she asked casually. Abbee turned to Dylan, knowing that for the bulk of the conversation they had before Charlotte arrived, it was not her place to share.

“Nothing really,” Dylan remarked. “Just trying to beat the rush…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *********

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Justin asked, as he watched Lugia recover from taking another hit from Regieleki. Regieleki was intentionally not hitting with lightning anywhere near as strong as it normally did, or was capable of, instead hitting just hard enough to stun Lugia. He and Chris had been practising for the good part of the last hour in the stadium, and it mostly ended relatively the same. Lugia being mildly shocked. Granted, the Legendary Pokemon didn’t seem to mind the shocks, its competitive nature driving it to keep trying, much like its trainer.

“A few more tries, then we will call it a day,” Chris replied. “Let’s go again…”

At Justin’s command, Regieleki darted from one place to another, stopping briefly, before darting again, and after an amount of time known only to Regieleki, it would launch a mild Thundershock attack at Lugia. The purpose of the exercise was to train Lugia on two fronts. Firstly, Lugia’s speed and reaction time. Secondly, using its growing telepathic abilities to predict where Regieleki will attack from and either block the attack with Protect, or launch an attack itself. Regieleki had started at less than half its standard battling speed, and as Lugia managed to succeed in stopping attacks and fighting back, Justin ordered it to act faster and less predictably.

Justin was surprised at how quickly Lugia was improving, but at the same time, that had started to plateau, with Lugia now taking shocks more often than not, with Regieleki well and truly eclipsing it in terms of speed.

The two trainers and their Pokemon attempted the exercise three more times, before Chris conceded that they needed to stop for the afternoon, causing both trainers, after rewarding their Pokemon with attention and food, to call their Legendary Pokemon back to their Pokeballs, and collapsing onto a bench on the side of the battlefield, their muscles having grown stiff from the lack of movement in the last hour.

“Would you mind if we did this every two or three days?” Chris asked Justin as they sat on the bench. “We’re past the halfway point of summer now, and I’ll be competing pretty soon after summer ends. Legendary or not, Lugia is currently the weakest link in my team…”

Chris wasn’t exaggerating, however that was partially due to the sheer strength of the party of mostly dragons he commanded. Dragons themselves were difficult to find and train, but once they were, they were a difficult force to contend with. However, even his Ninetales, that had only hatched as a Vulpix during their first summer, was on a similar level to Lugia, who was simply young and inexperienced in formal battles.

“Sure, if Jon doesn’t mind us using the stadium between his last session for the day and dinner…” Justin replied. However, Chris’ mention of his plans to compete after summer triggered the recollection of Justin’s conversation with Abbee a few days earlier. Chris noticed his friend go silent, and looked at him directly.

“You think he won’t let us do extra training here?” Chris asked, though didn’t wait for an answer. “What, because of what happened with Charlotte, first year? Because that’s well and truly in the past…”

“No, it’s not that…” Justin said, not wanting Chris to think, and by extension, mention there being, any concern that there would be a repeat of what happened during Charlotte’s first summer at the Academy. “I’m just wondering, do you think it might be a better idea to tone down all the talk and planning about competing? It’s just that you and Abbee haven’t been seeing eye to eye on things recently, and…”

“Did Charlotte say something?” Chris asked, remembering the lecture she gave him in the car when they went into town during that week. “Because it’s none of her business, and-”

“It wasn’t Charlotte,” Justin interrupted, wanting to cut of Chris’ momentum before he got too ahead of himself and said or did something stupid. “You and I both know when she has an opinion involving you, she is more likely to tell you about it than someone else…”

“No s**t…” Chris retorted, still a little bitter about the exchange.

“Abbee did,” Justin said reluctantly, as Chris looked at him in shock. “She didn’t mean to! She’s just been struggling with everything, really. We were talking about something else the other day, and she broke down a little and was pretty upset…”

Chris remained silent, as Justin continued.

“Look, Abbee wants you and her to work out, and wants to make that a priority, and is willing to compromise to make that happen…” Justin said cautiously. “But she feels like you’re so focused on competing that you’re not willing to do the same…”

Chris’ temper flared, feeling humiliated that Justin was giving him what he viewed as an intervention.

“You know, I don’t recall asking for your f**king opinion…” Chris said bitterly, as he stood up, his words fuelled by his damaged pride. “Abbee and I’s relationship is none of your goddamn business!”

Justin was taken aback for a moment, however knew that if he didn’t nip this in the bud now, Chris would spiral, just as he had with Dylan.

“You asked for my goddamn opinion when you were interested in her, but didn’t have a clue what to do about it…” Justin retorted. “Don’t you remember, keeping me awake until some unholy hour because you wanted to talk about her?”

Angrily, Chris shoved Justin by the chest, though Justin, similar in height to Chris, and having spent a few sessions with Jon during the summer before and this summer in how to defend himself, kept his footing somewhat easily.

“You asked for my advice because it seemed like you actually gave a damn about my opinion, so I’m telling you now for your sake!” Justin continued, his own temper flaring. “If you’re only going to listen to advice when it’s what you want to hear, then don’t waste my time by asking.”

“Just mind your own goddamn business!” Chris shouted, knowing what Justin said was pretty accurate, but not wanting to give him the satisfaction of being right. “Seriously, you’re being a d**k!”

“You know what? I had your girlfriend talking to me in tears, because of issues in your relationship, so yeah, it is my f**king business,” Justin shouted back. “You have two options! You can keep blaming me, Charlotte, and everyone else for the issues in your relationship, and end up sad and alone! Or you can swallow your f**king pride, stop pushing people away who are going out of their way to help you out, and actually f**king do something about it!”

Chris was taken aback by the condemnation in Justin’s words, and how convicted he felt when Justin told him to swallow his pride specifically. Irritated, Justin shoved Chris in the chest, causing him to stumble back, and land sitting on the bench the pair had been sitting on earlier.

“What’s it going to be?” Justin asked, his voice quieter, but the anger still there. “Are you gonna keep pretending everything is fine, and get angry whenever people point out it isn’t, or are you going to listen to me and do something about it…”

Chris was silent, stunned at what had just been said to him. Humiliation swept through him, both from this, and what Charlotte had said to him a few days earlier. He lashed out, slamming his fist against the wall on his right, striking it with a loud thud, before taking a breath.

“I love Abbee, and I want to be with her…” Chris said quietly. “But I’ve wanted to spend my days travelling place to place, and competing, becoming the best there ever was, ever since I was a kid. I’ve wanted to be as good as Clair and Lance, and after I came here, Jon as well. Hell, I want to be better than all of them. And I know that I can’t take any half measures if I want to reach that goal. I can’t compromise on what I know it takes to be the best…”

Justin, having calmed down himself, sat on the bench, albeit giving Chris some more space than before, as he continued.

“Abbee thinks that eventually, things will break down between us if I don’t tone that down. That we’ll just be in two very different places, and things won’t work out,” Chris continued. “And she’s probably right. But probably right isn’t enough for me to be okay with potentially throwing in the towel on what I have dreamt about since I could barely walk…”


“And having the conversation with Abbee about how you will make things work long term and what you can change now to do that, is like throwing in the towel on finding a way to stay with her, while following your dreams…” Justin said, understanding him a little better. He was thankful that he nor Candice didn’t dream of anything as specific as Chris and Abbee did.

Chris nodded.

“I work best under pressure. In everything really. Even in battles,” Chris continued. “But Abbee is the opposite. She struggles under pressure and does whatever she can to make sure she isn’t put under pressure to begin with…”

Justin sighed, before standing. There was only one thing left to say to Chris. Anything else would just make this situation more unclear.

“There are three ways forward,” Justin said. “The first is that you choose to follow through with your goals, at the cost of whatever else may get in their way. The second is that you reassess how important they are to you in light of everything else…”

“And the third?”

“The third is what you’ve been hedging all your bets on. That you come up with a way to do both…” Justin said, but continued before Chris could take that as encouragement to keep doing what he was doing. “But that is going to be a hell of a lot harder, and you need to have Abbee on your side with that...”

Chris sighed, as Justin concluded, turning and leaving the stadium.

“Right now, you have a choice, and if you don’t man up and make one yourself, it will be made for you. Don’t waste that…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *********

“You really did a number on that guy…”

Steven, Jon and Latios sat in the lounge of Jon and Alyssa’s house, talking quietly as the TV on mute showed a news story of a Former Indigo League Elite Four member going missing. The clock was at midnight, and Alyssa and Amelia were both asleep. Given Jon’s overnight flight back to Mossdeep, he, like Charlotte, had spent the bulk of the day sleeping, and had only woken up in the mid afternoon, leaving him wide awake. Steven, having spent the bulk of the day working to make sure that the four poachers were detained, and pre-emptively sending out choke orders to all news outlets to prevent them from publishing the location of Jon Drake and Charlotte Jones during that weekend. It was after ten in the evening when he finally was able to relax, and talk to Jon in person about what had happened the evening before.

“He was coming for me, and I had a bottle,” Jon retorted. “He had a gun before and if Latios hadn’t have dealt with that, he would have done a bigger number on me…”

“I have no doubt about that…” Steven agreed, drinking his beer. “You know, I barely touched this stuff before I met you…”

“Is that a complaint?”

“Nope…” Steven said, eyeing the bottle. “Just an observation…”

The pair sat in relative silence, before Steven spoke.

“So what are you going to do now?” Steven asked. “Have Latios act as sentry on Southern Island while you train Deoxys?”

Jon took a sip, contemplating whether he was making the right decision. Finally, he spoke.

“With your permission, I won’t…” Jon answered. “Not yet at least…”

“When have you ever waited for my permission?” Steven joked, however Jon’s demeanour remained the same.

“There is a lot at stake here…”

Steven nodded, with a sigh of exasperated agreement, before Jon continued.

“We need the choke order on the media, so that if they find out about Southern Island, it is still somewhat safe. But the fact we have put a choke order on them means that people are going to be asking where we were, and I’d say we are even more likely to be followed if we go there again…”

Jon took another sip, swallowing the beer, before giving a contented sigh.

“However, Deoxys has just passed a major hurdle, and I worry if Deoxys is in its Pokeball for months while we wait for people to get bored of following us, and we don’t follow this win with Deoxys up well, we may lose the progress we made this weekend…”

Steven choked as he realized what Jon was implying.

“You want to train Deoxys on Mossdeep?” Steven asked in horror. “Not even a year after it nearly wiped out the entire island?”

Jon nodded solemnly, staring at the TV.

“I can’t risk people finding out about Southern Island, because I need it to be safe for me to work with Rayquaza. And the sooner I go back there, the more likely it is to be found…” Jon said. “At the same time, Deoxys needs our attention, and I can’t neglect that, now more than ever…”

“Is Deoxys safe?” Steven asked. “I know you’ve had some wins, but just remember that Mossdeep is the place where it was tortured. It may have some sort of flashback, and rampage again…”

“I don’t think Deoxys is safe, but I think it’s safe enough,” Jon remarked. “Remember, back then, Mossdeep’s two strongest trainers were off the island, leaving only the interns, as well as Tate and Liza. At the same time, we knew nothing of Deoxys capabilities. Now, any time Deoxys is let out of the Masterball, I am there, and here, you won’t be far behind. And the fact Deoxys has been captured means that we don’t need to touch it with the Masterball to put it back. Just activate the return mechanism in range, which Latios could do with his eyes closed…”

“Still… This is a huge ask. You know if anybody found out, you would be crucified by the media?”

“Oh I’m well aware. But frankly, I don’t see another choice. I need to think long term, and Rayquaza needs Southern Island to be as unknown as it is…” Jon said, before nodding towards Latios. “Check this out…”

Latios began sight sharing, though instead of showing his vision at the time, showed a memory, watching from the sky above as Deoxys, under Charlotte’s instruction, wiped out the eight Pokemon that they battled on Southern Island.

“You’re right about Charlotte,” Steven said in awe. “She is terrifying…”

Jon chuckled, before turning Steven’s attention elsewhere.

“Latios’ emotion-sense has grown as he has learnt to communicate with Deoxys. Deoxys' emotions used to be this weird mess of colors I wouldn’t even be able to describe,” Jon explained. “Remember when we first had it on the dining room table?”

Steven nodded, before remembering that Jon couldn’t see him.

“Yeah, I remember…”

“I was relatively calm during this situation, since I knew Latios had disarmed all of them and was keeping an eye on us,” Jon said, as Steven noticed Jon’s somewhat strong pale blue aura. “Now look at Deoxys…”

Steven looked at Deoxys, who had just rammed itself, encased in a telekinetic bubble, into Magmortar. Whilst there were other strange colors in Deoxys’ aura, the bulk of it was the same pale blue as Jon’s, albeit much stronger.

“Deoxys was more calm during this than you were…” Steven remarked.

“I mean, I’m not always the most calm anyway, as you’re well aware…” Jon explained. “But given the fact it was facing four trainers who wanted to capture it, and kill Charlotte and myself to not leave any witnesses, using eight powerful Pokemon that were trying harder to knock it out than any it had faced since that night last summer, if this doesn’t show Deoxys is safe enough to have on Mossdeep Island, nothing ever will…”

The battle ended, as Latios stopped sharing his vision, and both trainers found themselves back in Jon’s lounge.

“Look, I’ll take your word for it. That was pretty convincing…” Steven remarked. “But what if people find out you’re training Deoxys on the island? Or even worse, something goes wrong…”

“I’ll wear it,” Jon explained. “Though if you could arrange for the agreement I made in the trial to be adjusted to allow it, I’d appreciate that. That way it’s just the PR fallout I have to deal with, and not have to worry about the government kicking in my door and taking Deoxys…”

“I’ll do my best…” Steven said, before going to say something else, but hesitating.

“Spill it,” Jon said, noticing the pause. “What’s got you worried?”

“Other than the fact you want to train a Pokemon that nearly destroyed the island in your trainer school?” Steven asked, as Jon snorted at the comment. “Rayquaza, if I’m being honest…”

Jon sighed.

“Yeah, I get what you mean…”

“What is the plan for Rayquaza, long term?” Steven asked. “When I asked you to capture it, I wasn’t anticipating you not being able to get to Southern Island for nine months while the military were watching you, or not being able to go for a few more because of this s**t with the poachers…”

Steven took a long swig, before continuing.

“I guess when I asked you to catch it, I would have thought by the time three years had passed, we might be in a slightly different position…”

“You’re right about that,” Jon retorted, before thinking over his thought process.

“Originally the plan was to capture it, train it to not cause trouble, and then release it. Three years tops…” Jon explained. “But this s**t with the military really threw a spanner in the works.”

“Do you trust Rayquaza?” Steven asked.

“To follow orders, yes…” Jon explained. “But Rayquaza is a strong Pokemon and loves to put its strength to the test. And after spending the last two and a half years with me, battling only my Pokemon and occasionally one of the interns, I am worried that if I release it now, it will cause trouble again. Not because it’s p**sed, but because it’s restless after being cooped up for the last two and a half years…”

“I hadn’t considered that…” Steven remarked, as Jon nodded.

“Really, I think before I can release Rayquaza, I need to capture it legitimately, and battle with it enough to appease it’s appetite for battle. Maybe even return to competing, and compete with Rayquaza instead of Latios for a little while…” Jon explained. “Problem is that even if we plant more false sightings, bringing it back to Hoenn, and I capture it here, it could raise questions…”

“You need to get out of Hoenn…” Steven agreed. “While I plant more fake sightings that lead it to where you are going to be…”

“Exactly,” Jon answered. “And right now, I am not sure when I will be leaving Hoenn next…”

Steven murmured in agreement, as the two trainers, and Latios continued drinking their beers.

“I’m glad I asked you to help…” Steven said. “Honestly, I don’t know if anyone else could have handled Rayquaza the way you have…”

“I wish someone else could,” Jon laughed. “The stress of having an illegal Legendary Pokemon will make me bald by the time I’m thirty-five…”

[[Desolate Divine]]

First time in months I did two episodes in a week!

Another one I wasn't expecting to enjoy writing as much as I did but surprised myself with. Also, as of tomorrow, character art is due in two months. Hoping for it to be sooner as I am so keen!

[[Desolate Divine]]

@Alolan Muk @Kantonian Muk @Noblejanobii @Shruikan

Hey all, just a quick message I wanted to send.

You may or may not know that the Eon Academy is set during the summers, each season being a new year, and Season 1 being set a year after the S.S. Wishmaker. This means Season 4 will be set during Spiritwater. I mentioned this to Neo a while back, but for Season 4, I am going to retell Spiritwater, from a more narrative and less RP perspective. The contents of the RP itself will be a third roughly in the middle, with the start being the Diamond Ladies tipping off Jon and the league, and the end being the events Neo detailed in the prologue he wrote for Spiritwater.

Having kept up with Eon Academy, Neo has given informed consent to take creative liberty with his characters in Season 4. This isn't me asking the rest of you for the same. Currently my plan is to have the story be of limited perspective, from those of my characters and Neos. For example if there is a conversation between Avery and Jimmy with none of mine or Neo's characters around, I won't include it as without me taking creative liberty with your characters, it would be inconsistent with my style of writing. This does mean that things such as Luneth and Jimmy's role in dismantling the netherclysm (I think that is what it's called) spell will be largely brushed over, as mine and Neo's characters were all elsewhere. Additionally I will avoid having them do anything that they didn't explicitly do in the RP.

At the same time, it is looking like it will be another three or so months before I start writing, so if you wanted to give informed consent; feel free to give Eon Academy a read and if you trust me to take some creative liberty in the retelling of Spiritwater, I am happy to expand more with your characters in the non RP sections of the story. Feel free to hit me up on Discord (my inbox here is full 99% of the time) if you wanna talk or have any questions of my plans. Granted I'd only focus on Jimmy, Avery and Luneth as I know little of your other Spiritwater characters.

Cheers.

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 3 Episode 7: Unload

Spoiler:

“So there was a Nidoking-” Justin asked.

“Nidoqueen,” Charlotte corrected, as Justin rolled his eyes.

“They’re practically the same Pokemon…” Justin retorted.

“Technically they’re pretty different,” Dylan interjected. “They’re the same species, sure, but Nidoqueen is much bulkier and able to take a hit more, while Nidoking is able to hit harder but take less hits…”

“Which makes this all the more impressive…” Charlotte added.

“Whatever,” Justin said. “So a Nidoqueen, Hitmontop, Haxorus, Samurott, Krookodile, Magmortar, and what else?”

“A Toxtricity and Rampardos,” Charlotte explained. “And guess how long it took Deoxys to knock all of them out?”

“Five minutes?” Justin asked.

“Two…”

Both Dylan and Justin’s eyes widened.

“You mean to tell me that Deoxys was wiping out a Pokemon every fifteen seconds…” Dylan said in near disbelief.

“Don’t get me wrong, these idiots weren’t battling well at all. They’re probably more used to sending out Pokemon to intimidate people into complying, and if they send out a Pokemon, ganging up on them,” Charlotte answered. “And even when it’s using its Attack Form instead of its Speed form, it would not be much slower than Justin’s Ninjask…”

“Goddamn…” Justin muttered, remembering the night the five interns spent holding off the Pokemon. “I’m starting to wonder how it didn’t wipe us out…”

“It didn’t wipe us out, because it was attacking out of blind rage…” Dylan answered. “Think about it. Deoxys followed Charlotte’s every order on Southern Island. It was calm, and following Charlotte’s instructions…”

Charlotte nodded.

“And could you imagine if the military had won in the hearing and taken it?” Charlotte asked. “I know they would have struggled to get it to follow orders, but if they eventually did, Deoxys would be a weapon of mass destruction…”

The trio sat in the dining room, on Monday morning of the sixth week of summer, at 7:50am. Students were starting to filter in for breakfast, whilst the group of students, led by Chris and Abbee this morning, who were preparing the room, were getting the room set up for the morning meal.

“Well, it’s a good thing we won the hearing…” Dylan remarked. “Hell, now I’m the only one out of the five of us without a Legendary Pokemon.”

“At this rate, one of the students might get one before you…” Charlotte teased, as Dylan laughed.

“Really, I’m not that fussed.”

“It’s good to see you’re acting like yourself again,” Justin noted towards Dylan. “We practically didn’t see you for a few days towards the end of last week…”

Charlotte looked between Dylan and Justin, having noticed herself that Dylan had been keeping to himself a lot, though wasn’t sure if it was a coincidence or not.

“Yeah, I guess I just needed some time to come to terms with some stuff…” Dylan replied, before noticing Charlotte’s puzzled expression. “Last Wednesday, my mum, who I haven’t heard from in ten years since she walked out, showed up here unannounced, with some news that had me a little rattled…”

It was Justin’s turn to be confused, having known about Dylan’s mum, but not heard anything about any news.

“What news?”

“She was diagnosed with this disorder, with a long name I can’t pronounce off the top of my head,” Dylan explained, forcing himself to sound less worried about it all than he actually was. “The major effect of it is that she is going deaf, and will be completely deaf before she is forty-five. But the reason she was telling me was because the disorder was genetic…”

Charlotte and Justin both went silent hearing this, as Dylan continued, the room around them filling with campers.

“I always knew my grandmother was deaf, but Mum said that she had worked in a factory during her younger years, and they presumed her deafness was because of the loud machinery and the lack of hearing protection…” Dylan continued, before Charlotte finally managed to bring herself to ask the question both her and Justin were wondering.

“Does this mean you’ve got it too?” Charlotte asked. Dylan sighed, causing her and Justin to worry.

“It’s hard to say right now,” Dylan answered. “It could go either way at this point. I’m going to find out, but there’s something I would need to do first that I’ve been putting off, and I don’t know that I’m ready to do that yet…”

“Who else knows?” Justin asked, still shocked by the revelation.

“Alyssa was there when Mum told me, and she told Jon,” Dylan answered. “I told Abbee because the day after, I was pretty upset by all this and blew her off pretty badly, and felt like she deserved an explanation. And now, you guys…”

Neither of his friends referenced the fact that Chris didn’t know. Whilst there had been relative peace between Chris and Dylan since the day Justin filmed the commercial, which was now airing on all free-to-air TV channels, that was due to them not having to interact with one another. Even when all five interns were in the lodge together, they would not speak in any way that the other had any need or reason to respond. At this point, the other three interns had stopped walking on egg-shells around the pair, accepting this as the new norm.

Before Charlotte could ask what he was putting off, their attention was pulled to Jon, calling out for all eyes to be on him, as she realised that the dining room was now at capacity.

“If nearly everyone is here, I have an announcement to make!” Jon called out, getting the attention of all students present. Dylan looked up towards Jon, wondering what he was announcing, as there was little planned by Jon for the Eon Academy that Dylan wasn’t aware of first.

Once the group eating had quieted down enough that Jon didn’t have to yell to be heard, he grinned and continued.

“It’s come to my attention that most of the activities that involve all Eon Academy students together, are usually educational seminars. Last year, Chris and Charlotte did host a Capture The Flag tournament, however that was largely to do with settling a dispute between them, and there are too many of us here this year for that to be viable,” Jon explained. “So instead, I figured that with over a hundred of us here this summer, we could throw a hell of a party…”

Justin grinned at Charlotte and Dylan, as Jon continued.

“So, on the Friday night of the tenth week of summer, we will have a cheesy prom-style dance!” Jon announced, to mixed reactions, largely excitement from all those except the fourteen to sixteen year old boys who thought liking that would be too uncool.

“I know that you weren’t aware of any sort of formal event when you packed for the summer, and as such, I have made arrangements with a few clothing hire businesses on the island to rent out some outfits, at no cost to you,” Jon explained, as Charlotte noticed Alyssa walking into the dining room, waiting by the door, and watching Jon with a worried look. “Additionally, I am well aware of my accelerating age, and slight struggle to know what is hip to you young people, so am looking for volunteers to help with running the event. Things like choosing the menu, decorating the main hall, and choosing music. Have a think about it, and let me know if you’re interested. As you were…”

“This is new…” Dylan remarked, as Justin laughed.

“He is right though…” Justin said. “We do a lot of stuff in our teams, since they are smaller and easier to manage, and the only room that can handle everyone is here and the stadium. So doing a big, fun event with everyone would be good…”

Charlotte’s attention however was distracted by Jon speaking briefly to Alyssa, before heading outside, whilst Alyssa quickly walked towards the trio.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but Dylan, can I talk to you outside?”

The tone was that of someone who, having worked in media, was a master of faking a calm demeanour, but was trying to hide something.

“Sure,” Dylan said, standing, and walking towards the door. “Is everything alright?”

“We’ll talk outside…”

Dylan walked outside, where Jon waited for the pair of them, confused by his sudden summons from Alyssa.

“Liss, what’s wrong?” Jon asked, sounding confused more than anything. Alyssa gestured to them a few metres away from the door, and waited for a few students late for breakfast to pass. When she was sure that nobody could see or hear them, she spoke.

“Jon, I’m sorry,” Alyssa said. “It’s Jack…”

Jon’s eyes widened, realising what Alyssa was getting at.

“Wendy was out doing the shopping, and while she was out, he had a heart-attack…” Alyssa began, as Jon was forced to come to terms with what she was saying.

“But,” Jon stuttered. “His watch should have called for an ambulance when it detected a fall…”

The last time Jon, Alyssa, Amelia and Dylan had visited Jon’s grandparents, Jack had recently had a fall, and was not able to reach a phone to call for help. Jon had bought him a smart watch, which Jack struggled to use most of the controls on, for the sole purpose that if it detected Jack falling over, it would automatically call for help.

Dylan didn’t know what to say, as he saw Jon’s eyes begin to fill with tears, and Alyssa begin to sob, both at the shock of losing Jack, and seeing her husband break down.

“Wendy had left before Jack woke up, to try and get a parking space near the shops…” Alyssa said, choking on the words. “He was getting dressed when it happened, and hadn’t taken the watch off the charger yet…”

Jon moved forward, hugging Alyssa and holding her tight, as he sobbed quietly. Dylan, shocked at this news, felt a deep sense of sadness hearing it. He had only met Jack a small handful of times over the last two years, but already felt the loss. Even though Dylan wasn’t really part of Jon and Alyssa’s family, Jack had treated him from the beginning as if he were his own flesh and blood, not hesitating in voicing his amazement of Dylan’s natural talent in raising Pokemon. And just as much as the sadness was hearing of Jack’s death, it was also from seeing Jon and Alyssa so broken and pained at their loss. Something he hadn’t seen, or even imagined seeing, from the pair, who had been a solid rock for him in the last two years…

“I’ll call Steven…” Dylan said, quieter than he intended, getting Jon and Alyssa’s attention. “He and I can run the Academy for a week or two, while you two go to Kanto…”

“Thank you,” Alyssa said, as she let go of Jon and hugged Dylan tightly, something he wasn’t overly used to. However, amidst the shock and sadness of the morning’s events, she hadn’t noticed the same thing that Jon had.

“Us two?” Jon asked. “You’re not coming?”

“You guys are his family, and I,” Dylan said, not having thought through his choice of words. “I work for you. The best thing I could do for Jack is make sure you have no reason to worry about things back here...”

Jon was shocked into silence, at Dylan’s choice.

"Dylan, you have every right to be there, and don't think for a second that he considered you any less than family," Jon said. "He would have set his Flareon on you for saying that, and then me for good measure for letting you think that…"

"Dylan, what my somewhat blunt husband is trying to ask..." Alyssa said as Jon chuckled despite himself. "Do you want to come?"

"But what about the Academy?" Dylan asked. "We have a hundred students here…"

"Steven can handle it,” Jon retorted, surprising Dylan with a grin, contrary to his eyes, red from the tears. “If the Hoenn Champion can’t handle running this place for a week, I need to give us both a pay rise…”

Dylan couldn’t help but laugh at Jon’s assurance.

“I’ll come then…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *********

Considering it was the middle of summer, the backyard of Jack and Wendy’s small house in the Vermillion City Retirement Village was colder than expected. Jon and Dylan sat on chairs in the backyard, where a couple of years prior, Jon sat with Jack, the latter appraising his Pokemon, and being shocked at the secret that Jon had shared with him, of catching the Legendary Rayquaza, under the Hoenn government’s noses, and not getting caught. As Jon remembered that conversation, he found himself glad he took the chance, and shared that secret with Jack. Amelia sat on his lap, watching Jack’s Flareon who sat curled up in a small, round bed on the concrete, enjoying the sun’s rays. Whilst the Pokemon looked content, Jon could tell Flareon was mourning the loss of its partner, having been at home with Jack when he passed away. Whilst it was still somewhat nimble for a Pokemon of its age, being older than Jon himself, Jon noticed shortly after they arrived in Vermillion, and first came to see Wendy, that Flareon was noticeably less lively.

“You mind if I join you?”

Dylan turned to see Daniel, Jon’s father, standing by the sliding door from the house, though Jon’s chair was facing away from the door. Dylan briefly looked towards Jon, to see if there was any indication he didn’t want this, though saw nothing, and figured Jon would have happily told Daniel no if that’s how he felt.

“Go ahead,” Dylan said awkwardly, knowing that he and Jon had sat in relative silence for most of the time they sat out there, and Jon just not being in the mood to chat. Dylan nodded towards the empty chair that faced Jon, and Daniel made his way there. He sat down on the empty chair, before reaching his hand out to shake Dylan’s hand.

“It’s good to see you Dylan,” Daniel said, trying to cover up the awkwardness in his tone with a casual demeanour, as Dylan shook his hand. “How have you been?”

Dylan nodded, not wanting to come across as impolite. Truth was, he didn’t know how to act around Daniel. Jon had made it abundantly clear that whilst he was letting Daniel be in his life again, he hadn’t forgiven him. When the pair were in the same room, there was a clear tension in the air, and Dylan didn’t think that was unjustified. At the same time, Dylan only knew of Daniel what he had heard from Jon about his childhood, and the few times he had met him, and honestly, the two seemed to clash. Whilst he heard that Daniel had gotten clean from the drugs and alcohol during his time in prison, and come to regret his actions before his arrest, he honestly struggled to see how the person sitting in the backyard with him and Jon, who seemed likeable enough, was the same one that had abused Jon as a child. By extension, he couldn’t help but wonder if anybody would have that same internal conflict about his own stepdad, Bill.

“I’m glad you were all able to come,” Daniel began, however Jon didn’t give him a moment to continue.

“You think we’d miss it?” Jon asked, his tone remaining neutral, though far from friendly.

“I think,” Daniel said, choosing his words wisely, “that making the trek here from Mossdeep with no notice is no small task…”

“Steven’s handling things back home,” Dylan said, trying to ease some of the tension, and take the conversation somewhere a little more civil. “We weren’t able to get flights to Saffron at short notice, but managed to get them to Goldenrod, and take the train here. So it worked out.”

Daniel nodded, appreciating the effort Dylan was putting in. Jon took a deep breath, before lifting Amelia from his lap, who was watching Flareon with great curiosity, and handing her to Dylan.

“You mind taking Lili for me?” Jon asked Dylan, avoiding looking at Daniel. “I’m going to go check on Liss.”

“Sure,” Dylan remarked, used to keeping an eye on Jon and Alyssa’s daughter when both were busy. He was curious to see what their relationship would be like when she was a little older, and actually understood who Dylan was and why he lived with them.

Jon thanked Dylan, before heading inside the house, closing the sliding door a little harder than he intended to. Flareon stirred for a second at the sound, looking up towards the door, before deeming it as unimportant, and returning back to its snooze.

Daniel sighed, as Dylan sat awkwardly, with Amelia on his lap, who was looking at the Pokeballs attached to Dylan’s belt. He would remove them before the funeral that afternoon, them not fitting with the black formalwear that he wore, however knew he’d likely carry Metagross and Dusknoir’s Pokeballs in their small, shrunken forms in his pocket. Given the fact they were attacked last time they left Hoenn, and Jon and Charlotte had been attacked in one of the safest places in Hoenn a little only a week earlier, it seemed irresponsible not to, and he knew Jon, upset as he was at his grandfather’s sudden passing, would be doing the same.

“I wish I knew what I could do for him…” Daniel said quietly. “But there is a very real chance the best thing I could do for him is to just not have anything to do with him. And that scares me…”

Dylan was initially silent, having known that feeling well, not just with Bill, but his mum as well. She had said that if not for the genetic disorder, she would have left him alone and not come to see him, and honestly, at the time, he would have preferred that…

“I think he’s just juggling a lot right now…” Dylan offered. “I know Jon well enough to know that when he has a problem, he isn’t normally the sort to keep it to himself. Normally, he’ll happily tell anyone what’s on his mind…”

Daniel chuckled, seeming to enjoy hearing that about his son.

“I didn’t realise my son was the Jon Drake I saw on the news,” Daniel explained, as Dylan nodded in understanding, well aware of the pseudonym Jon lived under. “I remember seeing his interview after the High Seas Tournament, telling all the people that were abusing the Diamond Ladies after they came clean, that if they weren’t victims themselves, to go…”

Daniel realised Lili was watching him curiously and stopped himself from finishing the quote, with Dylan unable to help but chuckle at the near miss.

“Anyway, I remember seeing that and having a lot of respect for him being able to tell it how it is. Then when I heard my son had come to see me in prison, and I realised that he was the guy on TV, I was glad that he had made a life for himself, but also knew that he wouldn’t hesitate in telling me what he thought of me…” Daniel continued. “I was expecting to be given a verbal beating, but instead, he was just quiet. Has been since…”

He paused for a second, choosing his words carefully.

“I want to be there for my son, during times like this, but I guess I just don’t have the first idea how to do that…”

Daniel sighed again, before looking at Dylan.

“I know I have no right to ask, and he probably wouldn’t be okay with me involving you like this,” Daniel said. “But you seem to understand him pretty well. What do you think?”

Dylan was shocked that Daniel was asking him about this, and Daniel seemed to see it.

“If you’d rather not talk about this, it’s fine…” Daniel said, before looking back towards the house. “It’s just that I haven’t done a good thing for my son his entire life, and now, the time when he probably needs people around him most, and I feel like there is nothing I can do…”

“It’s fine…” Dylan replied quickly. “I guess I just feel like you’re giving me too much credit…”

“I mean, look who he’s asked to mind his daughter…” Daniel replied, nodding towards Amelia. “I think if he trusts you enough to ask that so casually, you must be in a pretty good spot…”

Dylan wondered if there was a hint of jealousy in Daniel’s statement, knowing that Jon trusted him more with his daughter than Daniel. However he figured there was no harm in telling Daniel this.

“Honestly, from what I’ve seen of Jon that time you came to Mossdeep, and now, I think he is just unsure. He isn’t the sort to run his mouth if he isn’t certain of something, so when he is this quiet, it’s usually because he is just not sure…” Dylan said. “Normally that isn’t common. Hell, one of the others from the Academy was with him on the weekend, training a dangerous Pokemon off site, and they were attacked. She told me he remained calm the entire time, even when they had four guys with guns coming for them…”

Daniel looked at Dylan, surprise across his face, having not heard this.

“Honestly, I think that losing his grandpa so suddenly has taken those things he is unsure of, and dialled it up to eleven. If it were anything else he wasn’t sure of, he’d be acting the same,” Dylan answered. “In this case, it’s you…”

Daniel nodded, understanding Dylan’s explanation of it.

“That makes me feel a little better. Unsure means there’s still a chance for things to change…” Daniel said, forcing a grin, before changing the subject. “Do you have much to do with your dad?”

Dylan was well aware that Daniel knew of his situation with Bill, and the fact that his mum had walked out, leaving Dylan with Bill, though Daniel had assumed Dylan’s parents had split up while he was young or something of the like.

“I actually haven’t met him,” Dylan admitted. “I don’t even know his name, and from what I heard, he wouldn’t even know I exist…”

“Do you want to meet him?” Daniel asked, well aware of the existence of sons who would rather not see their fathers.

“I do, but…” Dylan began, before changing track. “I have his name in a sealed envelope that my mum gave me. I just haven’t got around to opening yet…”

Daniel remained silent, knowing he had already asked some personal questions, and figured that Dylan would share if he wanted to.

“It’s just that once I find out who he is, that’s it. I can’t undo that…” Dylan explained. “And if he isn’t what I expect, I may find myself wishing I didn’t know…”

There was an awkward silence for a moment, which Dylan inadvertently rushed to fill.

“I mean, I will definitely open it soon,” Dylan added. “I just need a little more time…”

Daniel nodded, as Flareon stood up, and made his way slowly towards the door into the house. Daniel walked over, opening the door to let his late father’s Pokemon partner inside, before returning to his seat.

“By all means, do what you think is right,” Daniel said. “But take it from someone who lost fifteen years of time with his own dad because of his own mistakes, and lost him less than two years after. You never know just how much time you have left with him…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

Jon made his way to the bathroom, where Alyssa, having gotten dressed at the hotel, but opting to put on make-up at Jack and Wendy’s before the service, was getting ready. The bathroom was through the door at the end of the hall, with a doorway either side. The one on the left was Jack and Wendy’s bedroom, and the one on the right, was the spare room, which Jack had turned into a trophy room for his own battling career.

Whilst he had planned to see how Alyssa was doing, he felt himself drawn to the spare room, and instead of going towards the bathroom, turned right instead, opening the door slowly.

The door creaked, and as it opened, slowly let light into the dark room. Given the amount of old photos that were at risk of fading if exposed too often to sunlight, Jack kept the block-out blinds on the window closed practically all of the time, the room only lit when someone was in there and turned on the light. Jon slowly walked in, taking in the room around him. It had been many years since Jon had been in this room. Before his grandparents moved into the retirement village, Jack had this room set up largely the same in their previous house, where Jon had lived for a few years before he left home at sixteen to travel. Whilst he would return frequently between trips, it was usually short, with little time to spend with Jack, looking over his own achievements, especially when he had already seen most of it when he lived with his grandparents. When Jon and Alyssa became a couple, his visits became fewer, Jon now splitting his time between competitions between his grandparents, and his girlfriend, and once they married, it became even fewer, Jon having his own home to return to. Jon had only returned to Kanto once or twice a year since the S.S. Wishmaker incident, and the visits were usually short, spent catching up, as opposed to reminiscing.

Jon walked towards the other side of the room, where a large photo was framed and hung on the wall. The photo was coloured, though Jon guessed it was early days of colour film based on Jack’s age. In the photo was Jack, in his mid to late twenties, with his Pokemon team. Next to him sat Flareon, looking much younger than it did now, and on his other side, standing a few inches shorter than Jack himself was his Blastoise. Next to Blastoise was Raichu and Machamp, and next to Flareon was Steelix and Tyranitar. It took Jon a moment to recognise that the photo was taken in the back yard arena of Jack and Wendy’s old house, where Jack had taught Jon how to battle many years earlier.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the door creaking open, and turned to see Flareon, pushing the door open with his nose, and wandering in, sniffing the air and seeming to recognize the smell. Flareon walked to his side, rubbing his head against Jon’s leg, before Jon picked up the elderly Pokemon, and held it in front of the picture.

“Sad how things change, isn’t it…” Jon said quietly to the Pokemon, letting it take in the faces of the friends it had lost. Flareon sniffed at the photo, before crying out softly, as Jon walked it over to the empty chair in the corner, placing the Pokemon there. As he did however, he noticed a small, foldable table nearby, with something that seemed much newer than the rest of the contents of the room. A scrapbook, bound in leather, with no text on the front.

Cautiously, Jon opened it up, and found himself staring at a photo he didn’t even know existed. A picture of he and Jack in the backyard, many years earlier, with Jolteon and Flareon, training, and by the look of it, Jolteon looking a little worse for wear, with Jack lecturing Jon on some mistake he had just made. Despite himself, he chuckled at the photo, before turning the page, and finding more. The photos transitioned to being of Jack training Jon, to Jon competing at small events, where he remembered his grandparents watching in the crowd.

After a few more pages, the photos were less common, Jon realising this was when he left home to compete elsewhere, where instead, cut-outs of newspaper articles were placed, listing the winners of various tournaments that Jon had competed in.

As he expected, about a third of the way through the book, Jon found a folded newspaper clipping glued into the book, and upon opening it, had his suspicions confirmed when he saw a front page article about the first High Seas Tournament being taken by a relatively unknown trainer called Jon Drake. The next few pages contained various professional photos from Jon’s matches against Ethan Caldwell and Cassandra Silvers, as well as various articles discussing the battle, and finally, Jon found himself reading an article, which discussed the opening of The Eon Academy. From there, the articles were less about Jon, with more about his students. An excerpt of Lauren Mendez’s thesis detailing the confirmed existence of Regieleki, and the likely existence of Regidrago was there, in addition to more published results, this time, of tournaments that Chris and Charlotte had competed in. Towards the end were articles detailing Justin and Chris destroying the meteor that nearly hit Mossdeep City, and from there, numerous articles about the Deoxys incident, the Whirl Islands incident, and finally the hearing.

Jon was two thirds of the way through the book in front of him when he found the last addition that Jack had placed in it, only starting to realise how long he had been crying for.

”Jon Drake wins hearing to save Eon Academy. Minister Hill disgraced.”

Every page after that was empty, leaving Jon with a knot in his stomach, at the thought that his grandfather wouldn’t be there to see his next accomplishment, whatever it may be.

Jon’s attention was pulled from the scrapbook by the creak of the door opening. Whilst he wasn’t sure who it was, he didn’t turn, not wanting anyone to see him in this state. The door closed, and he heard the familiar quiet, yet purposeful steps he recognized as that of Alyssa, who walked beside him, and wrapped her arms around him tight. As much as he tried to hold it in, he found himself choking up again, causing Alyssa’s grip to tighten. She said nothing, both knowing there was little she could say that would make the situation better, and knowing that Jon probably didn’t want to be told everything was going to be okay. Finally he managed to find the words.

“I knew he wasn’t as young as he used to be, but I thought we’d have another few years…” Jon said quietly. “Some time when s**t isn’t going wrong, and keeping me from coming here to see him…”

“He knew why you couldn’t make it,” Alyssa consoled. “Honestly, when he came to visit last summer, and saw what you had built back home, he looked so proud…”

Jon went quiet, while Alyssa considered how to approach the question she was wanting to ask.

“Will you be okay during the service?”

Whilst Alyssa hadn’t mentioned any specific part, Jon knew what she was referring to. He and Daniel were both giving the eulogy at the funeral that afternoon. Daniel was speaking of the first half of Jack’s life, whilst Jon was speaking on the second half. And whilst Jon had volunteered, she now wondered how he would go delivering his part of the eulogy.

Jon nodded, wiping his sleeve against his eyes.

“I’ll do it,” Jon remarked. “I owe him that much…”

Alyssa nodded, though hoping beyond hope that this wouldn’t be too much for him.

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

The church in which the service was held was stuffy, making it all the more difficult for Jon to focus, as he sat in the front row seat of the hall, alongside his family, as well as Jack’s Flareon. Initially, Jon had been shocked to see how many people had attended to pay their respects to his grandfather, even recognizing a couple of former Johto and Kanto Gym leaders and Elite Four members. Whilst he had known his grandfather had a following during his competitive years, he didn’t realise how many people still remembered him after so many years out of the spotlight.

The room itself was a large room with mud-brick walls, held up by what someone had told Jon to be former wharf posts. Whilst the look was unique, and impressive, the mud bricks acted like a giant oven, and whilst the temperature outside wasn’t uncomfortably hot, the week leading up to the funeral had been one of the hottest on record, with the building retaining the bulk of that heat. Whilst there were ceiling fans circulating the hot air, they did little, with the room too large for conventional air-conditioning systems to have much of an effect. Latios floated in the air, invisible to all present, as to be there, and not distract others, though made a point of avoiding the rotating fans.

In front of him, on the stage, Daniel stood behind a lectern, speaking into a microphone, and sharing with those present about Jack’s life. However Jon was struggling to focus on what was being said, the sense of loss that permeated through him seeming to dull his senses and motivation.

“Now, I’m going to hand over to my son Ryan, who will speak more to the second half of Dad’s life…”

Jon heard the words, and for a moment, didn’t register them, until he felt Alyssa’s hand on his forearm. He looked up, and saw Daniel looking down at him, as he made his way down the steps that led to the platform where he had been speaking.

“You’ve got this,” Alyssa whispered, as she stood up, Jon standing a moment after, and the pair made their way towards the steps leading up to the platform, Jon to share about his grandfather, and Alyssa to be there as support for him.

He made his way to the lectern, pulling out a folded sheet of paper from the inner pocket of his jacket, and placed it on the lectern, taking a moment to find his place. He took a deep breath, looking for a moment into the microphone mounted in front of him, and from there into the somewhat crowded hall.

“As Daniel just said, I’m Ryan, Jack’s grandson, though you may also know me as Jon Drake…”

There was a light murmur from some of those present, some who had noticed Jon before, though not completely recognizing him dressed in a suit and not wearing the signature beanie that he normally wore. In the front row, he couldn’t help but notice Daniel’s shoulder’s slump slightly, being referred to by his first name. When there was silence again, Jon continued.

“In 1983, after competing for the good part of thirty years, Grandpa retired from competitive battling. After travelling around Johto, and later on, Kanto, pretty aggressively for such a long time, he wanted to make a priority of spending time with his family, choosing to remain in Vermillion City, taking on more casual work, helping out at the gym there, the Vermillion City Trainer School, and occasionally taking trainers under his wing at home, training them in the backyard of the house he had worked so hard to build,” Jon shared. “Once Daniel left home, and Grandma retired as well, he retired properly, spending a lot of time at home, hosting friends and family when they visited Vermillion City, and travelling when they could. Grandpa in particular wanted to see and learn more about new Pokemon that he hadn’t seen before. Even when I was catching Pokemon myself, every visit would begin with Grandpa wanting to see my new Pokemon, and make sure I was looking after all of them. And he’d be the first to tell me if I wasn’t…”

There was a moment of laughter, and despite himself, Jon couldn’t help but smile weakly.

“In 1988, I was born, and even though we lived in Goldenrod City, and didn’t get to see each other often, he took to being a grandpa like he had been doing it all his life. I always looked forward to when we’d see him and Grandma, and when I was eleven, they gave me my first Pokemon. An Eevee, bred from his own Flareon, that evolved into the Jolteon I battle alongside today,” Jon continued. “Then, in 2002, Grandpa and Grandma took me in when I needed somewhere to stay, without a second thought…”

Jon noticed Daniel shift uncomfortably at the reference, however tried to ignore it. He had considered not being as open as he was about this, however decided against it, viewing his grandparents willingness to take him in as a credit to them, and not wanting that swept under the rug for the sake of his dad’s pride.

“I was fourteen at the time, and even though he and Grandma should have been doing the things retired couples do, they took me in, going back to being there for school awards nights, helping me with homework, and teaching me how to be a functioning adult,” Jon explained. “And not once did they ever let me feel like I was being a burden to them by being there…”

As the speech became more personal, Jon felt himself tense up a little, as Alyssa’s arm around his shoulder tightened.

“You’ve got this…” Alyssa whispered, as Jon forced back the tears that were fighting to emerge. He took a breath before continuing.

“A month after I moved in with Grandma and Grandpa, I found a couple of old tapes of Grandpa’s battling, and didn’t realise until then how well renowned he was. I begged him to train me, and sure enough, he did,” Jon said. “Everything I know about battling that helped me get to where I am now, and everything I teach my students, I learnt from Grandpa…”

Jon considered his next words carefully, knowing that they were effectively the legacy of the man who he respected more than anyone else in the world.

“Not just battling though. Grandpa was there for me at a time when I could not have felt more alone in the world, and if not for him and Grandma, I honestly am scared to think of where I would be right now,” Jon said. “He didn’t just teach me how to be a good battler and Pokemon trainer. I lived with him for two years before I left home to compete myself, and in that time, and after, he taught me what it means to be a good man, a good husband and a good father. He taught me about personal responsibility, both to myself, and the world I live in. He taught me the importance of owning my own mistakes, and rising from them, and when other people stumble, to make sure that justice is served, but they are given the opportunity to rise from their mistakes themselves…”

Jon couldn’t help but remember the time he visited Jack and Wendy by himself after the first summer of the Eon Academy, having been asked by Daniel to vouch for his release on parole, and the words Jack spoke.

“He taught me to trust my own sense of what is right, even when all ways forward seem like bad ones, and to be at peace with the decisions I make…”

Realising how heavy the eulogy was becoming, even for a funeral, Jon changed direction slightly, opting to speak more of Jack’s qualities that were more obvious to those outside of his household.

“Grandpa had this uncanny ability to connect with people, regardless of who they are,” Jon continued. “When I introduced Alyssa to him and Grandma, you would have thought that he had known her for years. They got on like a house on fire. And when Dylan moved in with us, and met Grandpa for the first time, Grandpa didn’t hesitate in treating him like Dylan was his own grandson, no ifs, ands, or buts. Last summer, he visited the Eon Academy, wanting to see what we had built back home in Hoenn, and connected with all the interns there, sharing his wisdom and teaching them something new…”

As Jon read the next line of his notes, realising what he was going to be saying next, his eyes filled with tears, as he looked from there to the seats, where Amelia sat with Dylan, watching him, and somewhat confused by the occasion.

“And I’m so thankful that even if she is still young, he got to meet, and be a part of my daughter’s life. His great-granddaughter…” Jon said through a sob, as Alyssa rubbed his back. He quickly wiped his eyes dry with his sleeve, attempting to compose himself.

“Jack was one of the best battlers of his time, and anyone who disagrees with me about that can challenge me on the battlefield to prove it,” Jon said, making sure his tone came across as humorous, and was thankful when there was a light chuckle from those watching. “But he didn’t want the fame and fortune that came with that skill. He could have easily been a member of the Elite Four, and I think if I were to battle him in his prime, I would be humbled pretty seriously…”

Jon allowed space for another laugh, before continuing.

“But he didn’t want that. He wanted a simple life with his family, and I understand that, now more than ever…” Jon said. “But at the same time, I want everyone to know his name. Not for the skill he showed as a trainer, but for the type of man that he was. I know he wouldn’t like the attention, but considering the legacy he worked so hard to leave, I can’t think of a person who deserves to be known and remembered more than Jack Mason…”

There was a polite round of applause, as Jon thanked those for attending, before he and Alyssa made their way back to their seats, as the minister from the church hosting the funeral introduced the photo tribute that had been put together, and Jon found his concentration slipping once more, as it did before he was called up to speak.

The next few hours were a blur to Jon. Once the funeral came to a close, himself, Daniel, Dylan, and a few others carried Jack's casket to the hearse parked out the front of the building, before following it themselves to the Vermillion City Cemetery for the burial. Once that was over, the wake continued back at the church, where Jon was flooded with condolences, as well as the odd praise for his work in recent years, and though Jon responded politely, by the time the wake was over, he couldn’t remember who he had spoken to. It wasn’t until the end of the wake, when the last of the stragglers had gone, that he was pulled from this fog, by a voice he didn’t want to hear.

“You spoke well,” Daniel said to Jon, causing him to regain his focus. Jon’s expression remained fairly neutral, not having the energy or motivation to fake civility. “Dad would have been even more proud than he already was…”

Jon nodded, though didn’t reply, nor make eye contact. Daniel sighed internally, having it confirmed that Jon wasn’t going to make this easy for him, though didn’t blame him.

“Can you and I get a beer?” Daniel asked, knowing that Jon wouldn’t appreciate him dancing around the subject. Jon looked at him, shocked, and slightly irritated. “All of this, shows me just how quickly things can change, and I know I have no right to ask this, but I’d like to sit down, and talk with my son, not in a visitation room…”

Angry at Daniel springing this on him at such a time as this, Jon wanted to walk away, knowing that he had little he wanted to say to Daniel. However, he was reminded of his own words that he gave in Jack’s eulogy. That Jack taught him the importance of giving people the chance to rise from their own mistakes.

“One beer,” Jon said coldly, already wishing he could be anywhere else.

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

Given the fact it was five in the afternoon on a Monday, the bar the pair sat in was quiet, which they both appreciated. Jon had found a booth, whilst Daniel had made his way to the bar, returning with two full glasses of beer, handing one to Jon, and retaining the other for himself. As Jon drank his own, and saw Daniel drinking his, he asked the question that had been on his mind since Daniel asked about getting a beer.

“Should you be drinking?” Jon asked, not out of concern, but also making a point of not being accusatory with his question.

“It’s alcohol free,” Daniel replied. “I have a few friends in Vermillion who like to meet up here, so I have an agreement with the bartender. If I order a beer, he pours one of the zero-alcohol ones into a glass for me, and people are none-the-wiser.”

He took a sip, before speaking again.

“Doesn’t taste the same, but honestly, if it means I can do things like this, that is fine with me…” Daniel remarked, though Jon didn’t respond, instead having another swig of his own. Whilst he wanted to say it was probably stupid for Daniel, a recovered alcoholic to come to a bar, he also knew it had been nearly eighteen months since he was released, and chances are, this was not a new phenomenon. If Daniel had been here for at least a year for social gatherings, and coping with alcohol-free beer, then chances are, this was not going to cause him to relapse. At least, Jon hoped…

Finally, Jon asked the other question that had been on his mind since Daniel first asked if they could get a beer.

“Why are we here?” Jon asked. “Grandma is at home after her husband’s funeral, and we’re at some bar, having a drink…”

“Dylan and Alyssa are both there with her, and can help her for an hour,” Daniel answered. “We will be back before the sun goes down. Probably well and truly before…”

“That doesn’t answer my question…”

Daniel sighed, as deep down, a repressed part of him craved a real drink, though made sure to fight that want.

“Because we both lost someone important to us. And this won’t be the last time…”

Jon stared intently at Daniel, as he continued.

“Before we know it, you and your family will be the only family I have left. And I know it’s selfish of me to want this, and I don’t deserve it, but I want to be a part of your lives…” Daniel said, as Jon remained silent. “And here’s the thing…”

The lead up surprised Jon, leaving him unsure of where Daniel was going with this.

“You have more right than anyone to have an axe to grind with me. To tell me exactly what you think of me. But you never did,” Daniel explained. “When you first saw me in prison, I was prepared to be told just how much of a piece of s**t I am. How I ruined your life, and how it’s my fault that your mother was killed. But you didn’t say anything. I knew you were still rightfully angry with me, but you never told me exactly what you thought…”

Jon couldn’t help but groan, as he rolled his eyes.

“So what, you think that we have a beer together, and I tell you just how much I hate you, and we go home as happy families?” Jon asked sarcastically, putting his beer down. “F**k this, I’m going back…”

“Jon!” Daniel said, his tone louder and more forceful than it had been since Jon had met him as an adult. Jon couldn’t help but remember the numerous times he heard Daniel shout his name as a child, although it was Ryan instead back then, usually before he’d get hit. Jon turned to face Daniel, a bitter rage burning in his eyes.

“Are you honestly content with the way things are between us right now?” Daniel asked. “Because we both know there is no undoing what happened. So is rejecting any opportunity to even consider things being better between making you feel any better?”

Daniel stood up, and met Jon’s gaze.

“Honestly, if you’re honest-to-God, happy to write off anything being better between us, then I will walk out of here as well, and won’t expect any more from you…” Daniel said. “But I don’t think that’s the sort of person you are…”

Jon met Daniel’s gaze, forcing back the memories it brought to him from his childhood to maintain it. Finally, he spoke.

“F**k it,” he muttered, before he sat down, albeit aggressively in his seat in the booth they shared. “You want me to put it all out on the table?”

His tone was sarcastic, which Daniel didn’t expect much more than, as he sat down opposite Jon.

“Let’s have our little therapeutic unload,” Jon said sarcastically. “Firstly, I think you have absolutely no right to want anything between you and I, or you and my family. What you do have right now, you have from my good graces, and not a damn thing else, and you keep saying ’I have no right to ask this’, but mustn’t believe that too much, because you keep f**king trying!”

“But while I’m in the mood for sharing, let’s talk,” Jon continued, the sarcasm becoming even more abrasive. “It was fine for me as a kid, lying to the people at the hospital, because I was scared that if I told them the truth, I’d wind up there the next night, and that was if I was lucky. I loved waking up in the middle of the night to gunshots, and finding out from the police who showed up that Mum was dead, and you had run off…”

Jon put down his glass, and began rolling up his sleeves, revealing his tattooed forearms.

“I loved spending thousands getting some bikie-looking dude to spend hours poking a tiny needle into my skin, to hide the scars from you getting s**tfaced, or worse, and changing my name from the one I shared with and inherited from the man I respected most in this world, to hide from the man I should have respected most…” Jon continued, the sarcasm fading without him even realising as his voice began to rise. “It was so easy for me to spend years telling my wife that I don’t want to have kids yet, because I don’t want them to have to maintain my lies so you wouldn’t find us!”

“And now, the person I would do anything to be able to have a beer with right now, the one who picked up the slack for you, is gone, and you’re the one I’m here with…” Jon said, gaining a little more control of himself, but his tone remaining bitter. “And honestly, I wish…”

Jon stopped himself from finishing the sentence, however Daniel knew exactly what he was going to say.

“You wish it was your grandpa with you now, after my funeral…”

Jon looked at Daniel, forcing himself to hide the shock he felt that he had even thought that, let alone tried to say it.

“And honestly, if I could swap places with Dad right now, I would in a heartbeat…”

Jon looked down at his beer glass, which was now only a quarter full, as Daniel continued.

“I know I’ve caused nothing but problems for you, and if I could swap places with Dad to try and set things right, I would. I owe you that much,” Daniel continued. “But the fact is I can’t. No matter how hard we both wish I could…”

Jon took another swig, emptying his glass, as Daniel continued.

“But chances are, in ten or fifteen years, I will be the only extended family you have, and you will be all I have left…” Daniel said. “So I’m begging you, to give me the opportunity to do everything I possibly can to try and have some sort of healthy relationship with my son and his family…”

Daniel went silent, and looked down at his glass, taking a sip of his own drink, as an awkward silence filled the space between them. Jon, still bitter about being put in this position, and reeling from the loss of his grandfather, didn’t want to oblige his father.

However, as he looked at the broken man who sat in front of him, staring into a half empty glass of alcohol-free beer, he couldn’t help but ask the question of what his grandfather would want him to do, knowing the answer, albeit, not liking it. He sighed.

“You can start by getting us another round,” Jon said, pushing his empty glass towards Daniel. “And never trying to play therapist like that again…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

Three days after the funeral, Jon, Alyssa, Dylan and Amelia left Vermillion City, returning their rental car to the depot in Saffron City, before taking the Magnet Train back to Goldenrod City in Johto, where their flight would depart from to take them back home to Hoenn, after a week away. However, there was a long enough gap between their train arriving in Goldenrod and their flight leaving for Jon to make one last stop on the way home…

“Why are you here Jon?”

Jon was slightly surprised to hear that Lance had dropped the the hell as he sat opposite the former Indigo League Champion in the visitation room, which was ironically the same one he had visited his father in years earlier.

“I didn’t get a chance to properly thank you for what you did at the trial,” Jon answered, with little expression one way or the other. “Fact is that it wasn’t looking like we would be able to keep Deoxys out of the military’s hands, and now that we have trained it somewhat, it is becoming terrifyingly obvious how bad it would have been if they took possession of it…”

Lance scowled, before answering.

“I told you before,” Lance remarked. “I didn’t do it to help you. I did it to screw over Mark Hill, and it worked…”

Jon shrugged, having not expected more from Lance.

“But seriously, why are you here?” Lance asked again, confusing Jon slightly until he continued. “Don’t you have that summer program you’re supposed to be running back in Hoenn? Why are you here in Johto, trying to blow smoke up my a**?”

“Believe me, I got no smoke to blow up your a**, Lance,” Jon remarked. “I’m passing through here after a funeral in Kanto. Steven is keeping the Academy running, with the help of Chris, and the other interns. I actually saw a few of your associates from the Johto League at the funeral. Pryce namely, though I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself…”

This seemed to take Lance by surprise a little.

“Whose funeral would both you and Pryce be attending?” Lance asked, more with disbelief than curiosity. Jon expected nothing less from the disgraced Champion.

“My grandfather, Jack Mason,” Jon replied, though noticed a slight sense of recognition in Lance.

“Did he compete in Johto?” Lance asked, surprising Jon with the sincerity of the question, and the fact his tone lacked the chill that it had every time Jon saw Lance in this place. “The name is familiar…”

“He competed in the sixties and seventies, largely in Goldenrod, and retired in the early eighties to Vermillion,” Jon answered. Something seemed to click with Lance, as he let out a chuckle, despite himself.

“I saw a few of his battles when I was a kid,” Lance replied, taking Jon by surprise. “It must have been just before he retired. During school breaks, my parents used to take me into Goldenrod to watch the local tournaments. I only remembered because his style was so different to everyone else's. Makes sense where you get it…”

Jon remained silent, and was shocked when Lance kept the conversation going.

“Is that what you’re teaching Chris?”

“Not as much these days. He already has it pretty much mastered. Honestly, he is pretty close to beating me, so I think he’d beat you as well, no stress,” Jon remarked, earning an eye-roll from Lance. “Really, there is a tiny hole in his tactics that I am trying to teach him to work past. After that, he will be pretty unstoppable…”

“Especially with that Lugia of his…” Lance added, causing Jon to nod. Shocked at how civil the pair were being, and how agreeable Lance was at this point, though Jon knew they were far from being on good terms, Jon tried his luck, asking a question that had been on his mind in Lance’s case for a while, though more frequent having spoken to Daniel recently.

“If you were to get out of this place today, here and now…” Jon asked. “What would you do?”

Lance seemed taken by surprise at the question, and Jon was expecting to be told to go f**k himself. However, Lance spoke calmly.

“I’ll earn my reputation back, whatever it takes…”

Jon felt his skin crawl at how Lance finished his answer, however had to ask the question.

“How will you do that?”

Lance thought over this a moment, though looked suspiciously at Jon. Jon gave nothing away, waiting for Lance to answer the question.

“As Champion, I had things I stood for,” Lance explained. “And regardless of whether you think they are right or wrong, everything I did, I did because of what I stood for…”

Jon was surprised at how much he actually understood what Lance was saying. Whilst he hadn’t forgiven Lance for his attempted murder of Violet and Jarena, and the fact that he had destroyed the plan that could have prevented the existence of witchcraft being made public, he could see what Lance was saying.

“And when I get out, I am going to make people see that,” Lance answered. “Whether they want to or not…”

[[Desolate Divine]]

It isn't often I get to write an entire episode that focuses on Jon. Takes me back to S.S. Wishmaker days...

But Season 3 is reaching its final arc, which I am keen for, before the Epilogues, which I am also keen for, and then Spiritwater, which I am very keen for...

54 days until the commissions are due. Granted, the turnaround time is a week, so I am hoping that 54 days is when the last is due, and I will start to see them weekly in like two weeks. Whether I release them at that point or not is another story. I plan on releasing them in order based on which character shines most in a episode so if Charlotte is planned to release first, but I only have Jon's sent to me when I get to that episode, then I gotta reassess. But honestly, I am so keen for these pictures.

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 3: Episode 8: Challenge

Spoiler:

It was the Tuesday after Jon, Alyssa, Amelia and Dylan returned to Hoenn, during the eighth week of summer, when just like a fortnight before, Dylan, Justin and Charlotte found themselves sitting around a table in the dining room during the lunch hour between classes finishing in the morning, and two groups spending an hour each with Jon, doing practical and specialised training. Whilst Charlotte and Dylan’s teams had been rostered on for setting up the dining room for lunch, it was a small task, not taking more than ten minutes with the sheer amount of people they had between the two groups. Chris and Abbee however, had both gone to the lodge after their morning classes, skipping lunch with everyone else.

“How does it feel being back home?” Justin asked Dylan, before taking a bite from his sandwich. Dylan had been back for a few days at this point, however Justin, knowing how much Dylan liked his space when he had a lot going on, had not spoken to Dylan much until Dylan had approached him.

“Honestly, it barely feels like I left,” Dylan answered. “I’d wonder if I had dreamt it all if I wasn’t still catching up on figuring out what was taught while we were gone.”

“I think Jon’s in the same boat,” Charlotte remarked. “Yesterday afternoon, a bit of time during training was spent establishing what we did while he was gone.”

Dylan nodded before he asked the question he had kept forgetting to ask until then.

“So how did you cover us all while we were gone?” Dylan asked. When Alyssa had first told him and Jon of Jack’s passing, Dylan had volunteered to remain at the Academy to help keep things running smoothly, which Jon soon dismissed, making it abundantly clear that if Dylan wanted to come to the funeral in Kanto, he shouldn’t worry about the Academy.

“A bit of chopping and changing,” Justin remarked. “Steven took over your Raising Pokemon class, and while you were gone, I handled his Pokemon Knowledge classes. Then Abbee handled Trainer Career, deciding to move the section on Social Media forward to that week, since she knows very little about insurance companies like Alyssa had planned to teach on…”

“I handled Tactics and Strategy, and then they’d put what they learnt from me to practise against Chris when he did Practical Training,” Charlotte remarked. “In all honesty, as exhausting as it was running classes, and when we weren’t, being with our groups during their classes, we did okay. If Jon, Alyssa and Steven were out of action, us four and you could probably keep the place running for a few days…”

Dylan wasn’t surprised at how well his fellow interns had handled things while they were gone. Granted, from what Justin and Charlotte said, it didn’t seem like nobody was running a class they couldn’t handle well and truly.

“How did you go with Pokemon Knowledge?” Dylan asked Justin. “That seems like a bit of a tough one…”

“I thought the same too, and was wondering why Steven told me to handle it, since I wouldn’t have been able to tell you differences between a Nidoking and Nidoqueen outside of their appearances…” Justin explained. “But Steven told me instead of looking at individual Pokemon, to do what I do when I battle, and instead of looking at the Pokemon itself, look at the small things that give away what the Pokemon can do, and teach them how to do that…”

“That’s what Steven told your group about you when he and Jon trained them to wipe us out last summer,” Dylan remarked. “That your strength is being able to see a Pokemon in action and know more about it than its basic appearance and types. That’s why your opponent hinged their strategy on blocking your vision…”

Dylan nodded, though Charlotte couldn’t help but laugh.

“Why include yourself in that us? You were the only one who wasn’t beaten…” Charlotte commented with a grin.

“I mean, it wasn’t easy. They were trying hard, and my usual tricks didn’t work…” Dylan replied, before having a brief thought. “How’s Abbee doing?”

Honestly, Dylan had been worried about her, given how rocky things were between her and Chris this summer, and how much she wanted things to work with him. However, he was ashamed to admit that he had let that concern slip in the last few weeks, given what had happened.

“She’s doing alright,” Charlotte said. “Just been really busy, but honestly, I think that busyness is good for her.”

“More busy than the rest of you?” Dylan asked, slightly surprised. Justin nodded.

“Remember Jon announced that prom that we’re doing on week ten?” Justin asked. “He asked for volunteers to help make it happen, but before anything else could happen, you guys heard about his grandpa and had left for Kanto. So Abbee stepped up and took responsibility for that.”

Dylan was initially surprised, but realised he shouldn’t be. When it was his eighteenth birthday a few summers before, Abbee was one of the people who had taken charge to organise a party for him, and like himself to a degree, Abbee had a tendency to distract herself with work from things that may be troubling her.

“The only thing that Jon had arranged at that point were the businesses who would rent out outfits for people to wear for it, so Steven made some calls to businesses on the island, and figured out which ones Jon was talking about,” Charlotte continued. “Nothing else had been planned, so during dinner the next night, Abbee got a sign-up sheet out, got some people to volunteer, and has spent most of her free time since working with a few of them at a time to organise different parts of the night…”

“It should be a good party then,” Dylan mused, as Justin nodded in agreement.

“I could use a good night,” Justin remarked. “I was hoping the lack of TV in this place would stop the students here seeing my commercial, but a few found it online, and I’ve been getting jokes left, right and centre…”

Dylan groaned in empathy, as Charlotte couldn’t help but grin.

“I don’t know what you expected…” Charlotte remarked.

“I didn’t expect to be onscreen, telling people to go to coc.com,” Justin retorted, not bothering to change how he verbalised the website from it’s somewhat phallic pronunciation. “Honestly, don’t people spend thousands to go to college to not make that mistake?”

“So what do you do when you have people coming up to you making jokes?” Dylan asked, and was surprised when Justin grinned.

“I pull out my phone, and show them the twenty-five thousand dollar transfer on my bank statement…” Justin said, causing Charlotte to laugh. “That usually shuts them up…”

Before anything else could be said, a group of three students approached the table they sat at, Dylan recognizing them as students in Chris’ group, that he didn’t know the names of, which was fair given there were a hundred campers this summer.

“Can we help you?” Charlotte asked politely, unsure why the trio had come to their table, and what had them so excited. She noticed a tablet in the hands of one of them.

“We were just wondering, are you guys gonna do it?” one of the students said, earning a puzzled look from the three interns.

“Do what, exactly?” Justin asked, not following. The trio of students seemed shocked that none of the interns in front of them seemed to know what they were talking about.

“You guys haven’t seen the video?”

“What video?” Charlotte asked. As if on cue, the one with the tablet walked over, placing the tablet on the table, and hitting play on a video that had been preloaded. The three interns watched in shock, as the video played, before coming to a close.

“Can I borrow this?” Dylan asked. “To show Jon and the others…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *********

“So what did you want to talk about?”

Abbee sat at a couch in the lodge, her laptop in front of her with a few printed A4 sheets of paper, with different styles of decoration on them, which she was using as inspiration for the prom that would be held in a fortnight when she asked this of Chris, who sat on the couch opposite her. Truth was, she had a hunch of what it was, however, knowing that this conversation in particular probably would require more of her than what she had been in a position to give the last few weeks, covering Alyssa’s classes and organising the prom, had intentionally put it off until she had the energy for it. He had tried to speak to her about all this during breakfast, however given that Chris struggled to get out of bed any earlier than he explicitly had to, it was nearing ten minutes until classes started, and there wasn’t enough time, Abbee had told him she would be working in the lodge during lunch, and to talk to her then, resulting in the discussion the pair were having now.

Thinking carefully about how he worded this, he paused for a moment before speaking.

“I wanted to say that I’m sorry…”

“I’m going to need you to be a little more specific than that,” Abbee said, partially joking. The partial sincerity of it was that between Chris’ avoidance of discussing their future, and in some case, lied to get out of it, as well as his grudge with Dylan, which until recently had been putting a barrier between Abbee and her best friend, Chris had a number of things from that summer he would be right in apologising for.

“I’m sorry about how things have played out whenever we talk about what happens after summer,” Chris answered. “About how I booked tournaments that meant I couldn’t see you for Christmas or New Years, and signed up for one on your birthday. And how every time you’ve asked how we will make this work when it seems like we’re going in different directions, I’ve just avoided the question, and expected you to be cool with that…”

Abbee was slightly surprised to hear this, at this point having partially given up on her and Chris being able to have this discussion, and figuring if she wanted the relationship to work, she just had to accept that Chris wasn’t going to think that far ahead. She closed her laptop, and looked over at Chris, giving him her full attention.

“And if you are okay with it, I guess I wanted to talk to you about it all…” Chris said, almost sounding embarrassed at how direct, and in a way, vulnerable he was being. “If you still want to talk about this…”

Abbee breathed a sigh of relief, that Chris finally seemed to understand what was going through her head. Deciding not to make Chris do all the work with this conversation, she asked the question that had been plaguing her for weeks at this point.

“Our goals pull us in two different directions, and while we might be able to make it work for a little while, things working out between us long term seem unlikely if nothing changes…” Abbee explained. “It’s one thing if I only see my boyfriend a few times a year, and as much as I’d rather things be different, I can live with that. But what if we want to get married, or something like that? What can we both do to make that work?”

Abbee was thankful when Chris’ gaze didn’t waver at the challenging question, and he actually started speaking, not seeming like he was avoiding anything.

“I’ve been thinking about this, and the way I see it, I have three options,” Chris explained. “The first, is that I accept the fact that to make things work, I might have to compromise on my dreams. Accept the fact that the things I want at this exact moment to be doing in ten years, might not be realistic in the grand scheme of things. Things change, and I might need to accept that I can’t do everything I have dreamt of doing…”

Abbee nodded, understanding what Chris was saying.

“The second option is that I go all in on my goals, and accept the fact that if I truly want to do what I have my sights set on, I may need to give up other things…” Chris said, his voice getting quieter. “And that may be us agreeing that things just aren’t looking like they have a chance of working out, and trying to just be friends, and support each other in whatever we do in that way…”

Abbee felt her heart sink a little at those words, though was thankful when Chris followed that up with another statement.

“But I don’t want to do that…” Chris added, to Abbee’s relief, before continuing. “And that leaves option number three…”

Before he could continue, the door to the lodge burst open, as Dylan hurried into the building, and into the lounge, carrying a locked tablet, and followed by Charlotte and Justin, Charlotte with a menacing grin on her face.

“Do you mind?” Chris asked, his irritation at all three, but directing all of it towards Dylan. “We were having a private talk here!”

“We all live here, and this is a communal space,” Dylan replied irritably in response. “If you want to have a private talk in our lounge, don’t get s**ty when people come in…”

Chris’ temper flared, as he stood to his feet quickly.

“I preferred you when you weren’t a patronising d****ebag,” Chris remarked, as Abbee stood up as well.

“Chris, cut it out,” Charlotte groaned. “If you’d stop stroking your ego, you might actually wanna hear this…”

“We’ll talk later,” Abbee said quietly to Chris, annoyed at how he had handled the intrusion, though wanting to actually have this conversation later, and not have it derailed by them arguing about this. She turned to Dylan, Charlotte and Justin. “What’s going on?”

“We’ll show you the video with Jon in the stadium,” Dylan answered. “He will be training Justin’s group soon, and if we explain it to you here and now, we won’t be able to show him before the session starts…”

“Dylan’s right,” Justin added. “There’s too much to explain now, and not enough time to show Jon and talk this out if we gotta explain it all twice. Come with us…”

The trio left, and Abbee moved to follow them, noticing a bitter look on Chris’ face.

“You’ve been wanting to talk about this for weeks…” Chris said, somewhat disappointed.

“I doubt anything is going to change between now and tonight,” Abbee replied. “Dylan wouldn’t have been so pushy if it wasn’t important, so let’s hear him out, and continue this after…”

She waited for a moment, as Chris sighed, before following her out of the lodge, and catching up to the other three interns as they walked briskly towards the stadium.

************************************************** ************************************************** *********

"I am former Sinnoh Champion, and founder of the College of the North Wind, Camilla Blakely. And alongside the top five students of my college, I have this message for Jon Drake and his Eon Academy. I would like to invite you and your five original students, to come visit the College of the North Wind in Jubilife City, Sinnoh at the end of summer…”

The five interns and Jon stood around the borrowed tablet, where on screen, stood a woman in her early fifties, under a spotlight on what appeared to be a pitch black Pokemon battlefield. Suddenly, on the far left side of the screen, a few metres behind where Camilla stood, another spotlight switched on, revealing a girl in her early twenties, standing in front of what appeared to be a Legendary Pokemon that Justin had never seen before, that was bulky, and seemed to be made of liquid metal.

”I’m Sophie Williams, and I challenge Justin Collins to a battle…”

“Wait, this is happening?” Chris asked, before being promptly shushed by Charlotte. The next light came on, revealing the next trainer. Next to her was a Legendary Pokemon that Charlotte had seen before, though didn’t know much about at all. Zeraora.

”I’m Beth Thomas, and I challenge Charlotte Jones…”

The next trainer, this one standing in the middle of the line, was revealed, and Chris didn’t recognize the large equine Pokemon that stood next to her, seemingly made of ice.

”I’m Natasha King, and I challenge Christopher Kingswood…”

“That Ice Type will make you regret getting so many dragons,” Justin joked, as the next trainer was revealed, this one being a man in his mid twenties, and sitting atop his shoulder was a Shaymin.

”I’m Matt Campbell, and I challenge Abbee Strauss…”

“Victini will love having another crack at a Shaymin…” Jon remarked, as Abbee couldn’t help but grin, wishing she had Victini out of the Pokeball to see this. Finally the trainer on the far right was revealed, Dylan knowing this one was his opponent, and being slightly surprised at the Pokemon next to them. He had heard myths of Cresselia, though knew little fact of it.

”I’m Brad Jenkins, and I challenge Dylan Squier…”

Finally the camera focused on Camilla, who looked rather young for her age, though Jon had little doubt that given the amount of fame and fortune she had amassed, she had work done to cling to her youth.

”And I challenge Jon Drake…” Camilla said, before the loud roar of a Legendary Pokemon erupted in the stadium, and Suicune landed seemingly out of nowhere, behind Camilla and walking forward next to her. ”And to make this challenge interesting, I propose a fifteen-thousand dollar wager, payable to the winning school…”

Jon whistled hearing the amount as Camilla continued.

”We hope you will accept our challenge, and meet us in Jubilife in the last weekend of September…”

The video ended, leaving the group in stunned silence.

“She really likes the theatrics,” Justin commented, breaking the silence.

“Of course. You know this is all glorified advertising right?” Charlotte asked Justin. “We’ve been making news for the last year or two, and she’s trying to cash in on that…”

“And compared to the twenty-five thousand you were paid to be in that Coronet Outdoor and Camping commercial, fifteen thousand spent if her team loses is pretty cheap,” Dylan added.

“So what do we do?” Abbee asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Chris answered. “We accept the challenge…”

“Hold on a minute Chris,” Jon interjected. “She didn’t just challenge you, but everyone here…”

“And?”

“And you can’t speak for them,” Jon answered. “Abbee starts her new job after summer, and Justin probably has to prepare for his next year of university. Trainers don’t have to accept every challenge that comes their way, and they challenged all of us.”

Jon looked around at the five trainers who stood in front of him expectantly.

“We either do this together, or not at all,” Jon said. “Chris, I take it you’re in…”

“Hell yeah…”

Jon nodded, and turned to Charlotte.

“What about you?” he asked. Charlotte laughed at the very question.

“I live in Jubilife, so it’s a no brainer for me,” Charlotte answered. “I don’t think I could show my face back there if I didn’t accept the challenge.”

Jon grinned at Charlotte’s reasoning, though knew she was just as competitive as Chris, and wouldn’t let him accept the challenge while she rejected it. He looked towards Justin.

“Justin?”

Justin thought it over quickly.

“I think I can slot this in between finishing here, and classes starting in October…” Justin said. “I don’t wanna be the one to make us turn this down…”

“I’m in too…” Abbee remarked. “I’m going to be holding back in battles at the gym until next summer. I want one last one where I can go all out!”

“Damn right!” Chris shouted enthusiastically, leaving Jon looking towards Dylan. He didn’t have to say anything, Dylan knowing he was next.

“I don’t have a Legendary Pokemon, so I’m going to be at a disadvantage,” Dylan said, before looking to Jon. “You have a stake in this bigger than us. If we lose this challenge, the Academy’s reputation may suffer for it. So I’m leaving it up to you. Do you trust me to compete at a disadvantage?”

“With my life,” Jon replied instantly and earnestly, earning a shocked look from those around, even Chris. “You aren’t that same kid who lost his first battle here. You now battle best when the odds are stacked against you. So if you’re willing to try, I want you to give this your all…”

Dylan nodded, appreciating Jon’s praise. However he raised the question.

“My point remains. You have a bigger stake in this than us,” Dylan asked. “Do you want to accept Camilla’s challenge…”

“Dylan makes a good point…” Justin said, before speaking a little too quickly without thinking. “I mean, Camilla is a former champion, and trained at least a dozen Elite Four members. Charlotte said at the Firehouse even Jon would struggle against her…”

Justin realised what he had said, as Jon glanced over at Charlotte, who seemed a little stunned at Justin mentioning that in front of Jon.

“Ye of little faith?” Jon asked jokingly, as Charlotte rolled her eyes.

“Do you think you can take her?” Charlotte asked. “She was the Sinnoh Champion when your grandpa was giving you your first lessons. And since then, has trained the current champion and a fair few Elite Four…”

“I think I’m willing to give it a try,” Jon remarked. “And I think I may just surprise her…”

“How so?” Charlotte asked, though was surprised when Chris had the answer.

“How many people outside of this room have seen Jon actually battle at a hundred percent?” Chris asked, earning a nod from Jon. “Like, he was practically unknown before he beat Cassandra Silvers, and seeing as that was, like, her second match without cheating, I doubt Jon broke much of a sweat…”

Chris looked to Jon for confirmation, and Jon merely shrugged, a grin across his face, providing Chris with little evidence to back up his point.

“There’s barely anything online of Jon’s own battles before the S.S. Wishmaker. Really, the biggest indicator to the outside world of what he is capable of, is what people have seen and heard of us…” Chris continued. “And what was it he said to us when he gave us the Mega Stones?”

“Our best advantage is being underestimated…” Dylan answered, surprising everyone that he was willing to answer Chris’ question.

“Really, the only battle that shows what you can really do, that is online, is when you beat Steven in the live-stream…” Chris said to Jon. “I think Camilla might just be underestimating you. And that might be all you need to turn this around…”

Jon grinned, before turning to Charlotte, and gesturing at Chris.

“Why don’t you have this much faith in me?” Jon asked, patronisingly, as Charlotte groaned.

“So we’re all in?” Justin asked. Jon nodded.

“Everyone gather round,” Jon instructed. “If you haven’t done your hair properly this morning, that’s tough luck because we’re gonna be on camera…”

Jon tilted the tablet, so the front facing camera was pointing towards himself, and the five interns, before opening the camera app and pressing record.

“Hey Camilla,” Jon said enthusiastically to the camera. “I apologise for the lack of theatrics, but I figured you’d want to hear from us sooner rather than later…”

It took a lot of effort for the interns to not laugh at the subtle dig towards the video that Camilla had made to challenge them, as Jon continued.

“We accept your challenge on one condition,” Jon explained. “We don’t need your money, and are sure you don’t need ours. So let's say the loser donates that money instead to the charity of the winner's choice. That way, everyone wins…”

The tactic was smart. Even if the Eon Academy lost the challenge, they would not lose too much face, with Jon being the one to propose such a charitable idea.

“If this term is acceptable to you, we will begin training immediately, and see you at the College of the North Wind at the end of summer…”

Jon finished the recording, before sending it to his own phone, knowing the tablet didn’t belong to Dylan.

“I’ll get this uploaded, and start playing the media to get all the publicity we can out of this…” Jon remarked. “Training starts at 3pm today…”

“Training?” Chris asked.

“You heard what I told Camilla. Training starts immediately,” Jon explained, before turning to Abbee and Dylan. “The day before your group has training with me, you guys will train with me after group training is over. So Abbee and Dylan, since your groups are training with me tomorrow afternoon, you two will train with me at three and four this afternoon respectively. Tomorrow will be Chris and Charlotte, and so forth…”

“Just like old times,” Abbee remarked, remembering the individual training they did in their first year.

“What about the students?” Dylan asked, his mind struggling to not think about work. “Surely this will have some sort of side effect, having an entire group's leader taken away for an hour, twice a day?”

“Good point,” Jon remarked, taking a moment to think it over. “We will make your training sessions open to the students to watch. It’s not like you will be practising using Mega Evolution or anything that they can’t see…”

“But what if they film something and post it online?” Justin asked, well aware of how the internet could be a royal pain in the a**. “Give away what we have planned…”

“All phones will be placed in a box on entry, so there is no recording of anything,” Jon remarked. “Besides, this is optional, for those who are a little more studious and wanting to get everything they can out of this summer. So I think you will find they won’t be jeopardising the opportunity to sit in on and learn from this…”

Before any other questions or concerns could be raised, the sound of voices from the foyer outside the stadium began to filter through, showing they were out of time.

“Any other concerns can be addressed during extra training,” Jon remarked. “For now, get ready to train harder than ever…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

Whilst Justin’s group had their session with Jon before Chris’, leaving both him and Abbee free, as soon as Abbee left the stadium, she was approached by two very enthusiastic fourteen year old girls who had both signed up to help with decoration for the prom, and whilst Abbee did want to continue her conversation with Chris, she didn’t want to be worried about Chris needing to get to training in time, or discourage the two students who had put in a heap of extra time and effort to come up with ideas for the prom. She quickly and quietly told Chris they would talk after dinner, before following the two students to the hall, where they began describing what they wanted to do in terms of decoration.

Once Justin’s team finished their hour, it was time for Chris’ team, and once their hour was over, Abbee was scheduled to have her first individual training session with Jon in two years, though had a dozen spectators watching. During this session, Jon spent most of the time focusing on tactics that revolved around Abbee’s non-legendary Pokemon, given her slight dependence on Victini. Finally, when her hour had finished, Dylan had begun training with Jon, focusing on building up Dylan’s offensive capabilities, to bring them to the same level as his defensive skills. It was an hour after dinner, when Abbee and Chris found themselves walking along the fence line of the property, given the fair point Dylan had made about how the lodge was communal for all interns, and not the best place for a private conversation. Whilst the fence line of the property was technically more public, the property was large, and as it got darker, they were less likely to be interrupted.

There was an awkward silence, as neither really knew how to press resume on their conversation that had been interrupted that afternoon.

“You never told me the third option,” Abbee said, diving right into it. Chris nodded.

“The third option is the one I want to take…” Chris answered. “But I can’t take it if you’re not on board with it…”

Abbee remained silent, wanting to hear what he was thinking, and Chris continued.

“The third option is the one I was trying to take by avoiding this conversation,” Chris continued. “I don’t slow down on following my dreams, and any potential bumps in the road, we cross when we get there…”

Abbee couldn’t help but sigh as Chris continued, seeming not to notice.

“I’ve dreamt ever since I was a kid of travelling the world, competing and being the best I can be. Of becoming a legend in my own right. And I know what I need to do if I want to have a chance of making that a reality, which is why I’ve been so hell bent on competing…” Chris explained. “But I love you, and as much as I want to compete, and become a living legend, I want to be with you…”

Abbee stopped walking, focusing on what Chris was saying, and feeling more scared for their future with every word.

“And honestly, the reason I’ve been avoiding the conversation altogether, is because I feel like us talking about this, is just us throwing in the towel on having both, when we haven’t even reached the point of needing to consider that yet…” Chris continued. “So I guess what I am asking is that we try and make things work the way they are, and handle any speed bumps when we actually get to them…”

Chris looked towards Abbee, who was getting harder to see, being backlit by the setting sun behind her, and wasn’t speaking.

“Abbee?”

Abbee sighed, and looked at her feet, kicking the ground beneath them.

“Abbee…” Chris said again. “Can you speak to me?”

“Chris,” Abbee began, though wishing she could be anywhere but there. “I understand what you’re saying, really…”

Chris went silent, as he realised that Abbee wasn’t on board.

“I get that you want us to cross this bridge when we get there, but that doesn’t change the fact that if we go ahead the way we both individually plan to, without anything changing, the harder it will be to change things, and realistically, we won’t last…” Abbee said. “If I’m wanting to settle down and actually have a home, and you will settle for nothing less than to travel and compete all over the world, and both of us aren’t willing to give a little to make this work, then there is no way that we are going to last…”

“Abbee,” Chris said, though she didn’t let him finish.

“And honestly, if we are in this relationship, with one, or both of us reasonably expecting it to fail, chances are it will,” Abbee said, as she began to choke up, her eyes welling with tears. “And if we aren’t in this relationship for the point of it actually working out long term, hell, I’ll say it, getting married, and being together forever, then we are just together for the sake of breaking up, and the longer it takes to get there, the more it will hurt for both of us…”

“What are you saying, Abbee?” Chris asked, though deep down, he knew the answer.

“I don’t want to get in the way of your dreams. You’ve made it clear how important they are to you, and I’d hate myself if we were old and retired, and you felt like you settled for less than you wanted from life to be with me…” Abbee answered. “I want you to achieve everything you aspire to. But at the same time, I want to know that the person I am with, could be the person I spend the rest of my life with. And short of me getting in the way of what you want to feel that way, I don’t know how we can make this work…”

“Are you breaking up with me?” Chris asked, his own voice breaking a little having asked the question.

“This isn’t what I wanted, really…” Abbee tried to justify. “But I can’t let this go on, and pretend everything is okay, when really I believe it’s just going to blow up in our faces, even worse…”

“Are you breaking up with me?” Chris asked again, enunciating his words, however Abbee remained silent, answering simply with a nod.

“I’m sorry,” Abbee said. “Really…”

Before Chris could respond, Abbee turned away, and walked towards the lodge, leaving Chris in silence, to try and come to terms with what had just happened…

[[Desolate Divine]]

This episode was shorter than expected, and I had more free time this weekend than expected. At this rate, I may have Season 3 finished before the commissions arrive. RIP. But glad to be making progress.