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

[Neo Emolga]

All caught up again!

And…

Spoiler:

Dang, you keep these episodes ending on very spicy notes!

Without a doubt, Shotgun and his band of poacher hooligans are idiots. I mean I could slightly understand taking a swing at Jon and trying to nab his legendaries and those of the interns the first time they tried it, but trying yet again even after the captain’s head got turned into a brainy jigsaw puzzle was just asking for it. And to interrupt a nice beer gathering no less! Clearly unacceptable!

Jack’s funeral was a pretty somber moment. Again, these events are definitely powerful and unexpected, much like the way they hit in real life when everything seems fine and in this case, things were looking up with the announcement of the prom party. I can see why Jon is prone to punching jaws and walls in. The amount of stress this guy soaks in is definitely peaking constantly.

The challenge from the College of the North Wind is definitely interesting. You’ve got an academy rivalry going now and I’m curious to see what becomes of it. Camillia definitely seems really haughty about the whole proposition, and I’m hoping it nips her in the butt. Justin was right, that definitely was overdoing it in the theatrics! xD

Also, I’m not surprised to see Abbee break up with Chris. Chris, I think, wanted to have his cake and eat it too even though it just wasn’t possible. Given, being stuck in a situation like that is very hard to choose, but you’ve got to choose or the decision will be made for you, and usually not in the way you’re expecting. I definitely can’t blame Abbee for making the call to break up with him, though.

Glad to have caught up again, and I’m definitely looking forward to the events of Spiritwater being captured in this great story! I mentioned a lot of positive points earlier, but one I didn’t quite touch base on and it definitely comes out in full swing here is how human these characters are. I’ve read many stories and fan fictions and they don’t compare to the amount of emotions, tension, and critical life decisions these characters deal with and need to reflect upon when it comes to the present and the future. You can sense their happiness, their anger, their frustration, and their sadness. And you do an awesome job capturing those fine details and really making each of these characters feel like real people and remind us of people we know in real life that behave the same way and have had to deal with similar issues.

Great work on another nice new batch of episodes!

[[Desolate Divine]]

Spoiler:

Dang, you keep these episodes ending on very spicy notes!

Without a doubt, Shotgun and his band of poacher hooligans are idiots. I mean I could slightly understand taking a swing at Jon and trying to nab his legendaries and those of the interns the first time they tried it, but trying yet again even after the captain’s head got turned into a brainy jigsaw puzzle was just asking for it. And to interrupt a nice beer gathering no less! Clearly unacceptable!

Yeah, Shotgun is far from the brightest. He relies very heavily on his namesake and without it, he is pretty useless. Even with it, the element of surprise was what gave him an edge during their last encounter. Honestly, Shotgun being a bumbling idiot who doesn't understand how much of an idiot he is, is largely to do two things. Firstly, to show just how much of a fluke it was they got the better of Jon as easily as they did last time, and secondly, to put what is coming and the danger that will be present in season 4 and 5 into perspective. I will give the hint now, I don't plan on there being any more firearms used by antagonists. They will be using other assets and will be much more terrifying.

Jack’s funeral was a pretty somber moment. Again, these events are definitely powerful and unexpected, much like the way they hit in real life when everything seems fine and in this case, things were looking up with the announcement of the prom party. I can see why Jon is prone to punching jaws and walls in. The amount of stress this guy soaks in is definitely peaking constantly.

Funnily enough, a lot of my freelance work as an audio engineer is working at funerals. As such I have been to more funerals in my life than birthday parties. So I'm curious to know whether that played heavily into how I wrote them. The church where the service was set was basically the church I work out of, even down to the stuffiness from previous hot days and bad cooling. But one day Jon will get a break. When I'm done with him XD

The challenge from the College of the North Wind is definitely interesting. You’ve got an academy rivalry going now and I’m curious to see what becomes of it. Camillia definitely seems really haughty about the whole proposition, and I’m hoping it nips her in the butt. Justin was right, that definitely was overdoing it in the theatrics! xD

Very haughty indeed, however, she has every right to be. In terms of competitive battles, this will be the hardest Jon and his interns have ever faced. Honestly, I reckon that by the time these battles are over, the interns will be at Jon's level when he was on the S.S. Wishmaker, and Jon will be at a new height, and still struggling. It's a difficult balance having a character who is exceptional enough that it can drive the story and shift dynamics in the world, but not too strong that they are never challenged. There has been lots of change in the world the last few years stemming from Jon and his skill. Now it's time for him to be pushed to his limit and either rise or fall.

Also, I’m not surprised to see Abbee break up with Chris. Chris, I think, wanted to have his cake and eat it too even though it just wasn’t possible. Given, being stuck in a situation like that is very hard to choose, but you’ve got to choose or the decision will be made for you, and usually not in the way you’re expecting. I definitely can’t blame Abbee for making the call to break up with him, though.

As you may have guessed, this is going to be the start of a bit of a fall for Chris, and will hopefully create some interesting dynamics and parallels, as well as room for growth in just about all characters, which should ripple across through Seasons 4 and 5 as well. It has been tricky writing Chris recently, giving him enough less favourable moments to show he is slipping down a darker path, but not too much, that the reader can't empathize with him. This breakup with Abbee is actually a blessing because it gives me a little more wriggle room to send him down a darker path while keeping him empathizable.

Glad to have caught up again, and I’m definitely looking forward to the events of Spiritwater being captured in this great story! I mentioned a lot of positive points earlier, but one I didn’t quite touch base on and it definitely comes out in full swing here is how human these characters are. I’ve read many stories and fan fictions and they don’t compare to the amount of emotions, tension, and critical life decisions these characters deal with and need to reflect upon when it comes to the present and the future. You can sense their happiness, their anger, their frustration, and their sadness. And you do an awesome job capturing those fine details and really making each of these characters feel like real people and remind us of people we know in real life that behave the same way and have had to deal with similar issues.

Great work on another nice new batch of episodes!

I am so pumped to write Spiritwater. Have a bunch of little flavoursome additions that will take the events that happened in the RP and tie them together a little nicer, as well as set up some good action and resolution that we didn't get to see in completion. I'm so keen.

It's funny, I was talking to Xanthe about the characters a few weeks ago. I sent her the scene when Chris invites Isabelle to come to the beach with them after, and one of the things she praised was how well the characters react to and bounce off one another. I hadn't even considered it. This far in, it is just natural for me to understand how they think and react to things around them, and by extension eachother. So I'm glad to see that is shining through.

Glad you're enjoying it! Uni had started back so my writing time has dropped significantly but I have most of Season 3 prepared in detail and ready to just write.

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 3 Episode 9: Timing

Spoiler:

“Aeroblast, Lugia!”

“Protect!”

Blaziken raised a Protect barrier, blocking the powerful Flying Type attack that was the signature move of the Legendary Pokemon it faced, preventing all damage, as Chris scowled. Despite his Blaziken having easily blocked a potentially match ending attack, Jon was less than impressed.

It was Wednesday afternoon, Jon having finished his group training with the two groups scheduled for that afternoon, and now training individually with Chris, in the lead-up to the challenge issued by the College of the North Wind, and accepted by the Eon Academy. Jon and his five interns had been challenged by Camilla Blakely, the founder of the College of the North Wind, and her top five students. The difference however was that whilst the Eon Academy ran a summer program, with most of the students aged thirteen to eighteen, the College of the North Wind ran during the school year, roughly three times as long, and taught university aged students. Straight off the mark, the Eon Academy representatives were disadvantaged, with the exception of Jon in that respect, however Camilla herself was the former Sinnoh Champion and had been competing since before Jon was born, disadvantaging Jon just as much, if not more, than his students.

In response to accepting the challenge, the agreement was made that they would do extra training, to be up to the task of beating this new opponent. And whilst this worked well in theory, this plan hadn’t accounted for Abbee breaking up with Chris that evening, something Jon had heard through the Academy grapevine, and the emotional effect that was having on them, Chris in particular. Jon was thankful that even though these training sessions were open invite, even the most studious of the students grew bored of watching, and none had shown up to spectate, because Chris was battling far from his best, and Jon needed to pull him up on that.

“Hold it,” Jon called out, raising a hand in case Chris didn’t hear him over the battle. Blaziken relaxed near instantly, whilst Chris took a moment to calm Lugia, the young and still growing Legendary Pokemon a little overexcited.

“Why?” Chris asked. “What’s wrong?”

“In this matchup between Lugia and Blaziken, you’ve used Aeroblast four times, and not one of them has hit,” Jon remarked, his tone slightly disappointed. “I haven’t seen your Pokemon use any move in these sessions that isn’t a direct attack. I’ve trained you to be better than that…”

“Well every time I come up with some sort of strategy, you see through it, and it fails,” Chris answered, trying to hide the embarrassment. “It was the same when I was battling Charlotte last summer, remember? Her and I couldn’t get the upper hand on the other, so we’d focus on hitting harder and faster-”

“That’s not true,” Jon interjected. “Back then, there was still a degree of strategy to your attacks. Now your attacks are impulsive and too aggressive. Don’t you remember how your student beat you last summer?”

Chris remained silent, not having been lectured like this since his first summer at the Academy.

“You also told them that when I battle like this, it lures my opponent to do the same-”

“Chris, don’t bulls**t me. A lesser trainer sure, but I know you’re smart enough to not hedge your bets on these guys doing the same,” Jon replied, his tone firm, but not unfriendly. “I’m trying to help you here. I’d rather you just say you hadn’t noticed, and that you’ll be a bit less impulsive and more tactical, so we could get back to training, than try and bluff your way out…”

Chris sighed, knowing Jon was right, however couldn’t bring himself to admit that. He was a third year Eon Academy student. One of the interns, that Jon had said numerous times was near his own level, and the trainer of a Legendary Pokemon. To be scolded for such a beginner mistake hurt his pride.

“Jon, I’m up against a Legendary Ice Type Pokemon with half my team being dragons!” Chris argued. “Not only that, but Garchomp and Dragonite, two of my heaviest hitters, have secondary weaknesses to it as well. Lugia is disadvantaged against Glastrier as well!”

“And?” Jon asked, noting Chris had done his research on the Legendary Pokemon, learning its name.

“And if I waste half my opportunities to hit it hard building up to some big play that may not even work, then I’m screwed,” Chris pleaded. “Glastrier is the biggest threat, and I’m better off doing whatever I can to put it out of action early.”

“Chris, I know you're smart enough to not really believe that,” Jon answered, his patience starting to wear thin. “You’ve had Lugia, hammering away against my Blaziken, and unable to knock it out. If that tactic isn’t working against my Blaziken with one type disadvantaged and the other double disadvantaged, why will it work when the odds are stacked against you?”

Jon raised a valid point, Chris knew. However…

“Blaziken still hasn’t landed a hit on Lugia either…”

Jon rolled his eyes, before looking towards Blaziken.

“Demonstrate for us…”

With a nod, Blaziken darted to the side, faster than Chris, Lugia or Jon could comprehend, before launching a Shadow Claw attack on Lugia’s flank, stopping it a matter of inches from striking Lugia. Lugia spun around, though before it could respond, Blaziken was gone, having moved to Lugia’s blindspot again to land a second theoretical hit. By the time Jon called Blaziken to stop, the Pokemon had landed five theoretical hits, well and truly enough to take down the powerful Legendary Pokemon.

“Blaziken had been building speed the entire time. If I weren’t giving you the opportunity to see on your own that this hit first, ask questions later tactic isn’t working, Lugia would be knocked out,” Jon explained. “Lugia is strong, sure, but it’s bulkier than it is strong. You’d have beat Blaziken early by using Future Sight, even if it means taking a hit, then stalling with Protect and Recover until Future Sight hit Blaziken…”

Chris’ stomach sank hearing this tactic. It was so simple, and would have beaten Blaziken, who knew next to no moves that would reduce Lugia’s chances of landing an attack. The only way to spare Blaziken, which would have fallen to a single hit, would have been for Jon to switch out another Pokemon, which would ruin Blaziken’s momentum, which Jon relied on, and if Blaziken were his final Pokemon, sparing it would not have been possible.

“Look, as soon as these battles in Sinnoh are over, I start competing professionally, which means that this challenge is effectively the prequel to my own competitive career,” Chris said. “If I lose this battle, I will have to work twice as hard afterwards to get anywhere, and I’m going into this battle with a pretty big disadvantage…”

“Look, Chris, I think you might be overthinking this a bit,” Jon tried to offer. “This match isn’t anything important. It’s a spectacle. Free advertising for the College of the North Wind, that we decided to cash in on. Don’t let it get you throwing out all the progress you’ve made the last three years. Besides, Dylan is at a worse disadvantage than you are and isn’t letting it get to him this way-”

“Well unlike him, maybe I actually give a s**t about battling!” Chris snapped. He hadn’t intended to, however being put in the same category as Dylan, but with Dylan being on top, had stung. “All this tricky s**t tactics might work for you and him! But it isn’t for me!”

There was an awkward silence in the stadium, as Jon’s brow furrowed at Chris’ outburst. Jon could handle Chris needing a bit of extra convincing of what Jon was trying to teach him. But disrespecting Dylan like that, and belittling the style of battling that Jon taught, that he was taught himself by Jack, was more than Jon was willing to take lying down. He called Blaziken back to his Pokeball.

“Let your Pokemon rest, and be here tonight at nine, ready to battle. Bring your keystone,” Jon said, his tone darkening and making it abundantly clear to Chris that it was in his best interest not to argue with him. “Have I made myself clear?”

Chris, having acted mostly on his perpetually damaged pride, knew this wasn’t the time to argue with Jon.

“Have I made myself clear?” Jon asked again, enunciating the words.

“Clear,” Chris muttered. “I’ll see you at nine…”

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

“I still can’t believe you did that…” Justin said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Did you not think it might end badly?”

“I was worried about it the entire time…” Charlotte replied. “But we had no choice. We couldn’t keep using Southern Island…”

The pair stood outside the main hall, in a very intentional position, where they could see and hear through the open windows of the main building, whilst also being able to keep an eye on the property in general. Generally speaking, Jon liked having a few interns roaming the property at any given time when students had free reign. Given the fact that Chris was training with Jon at the moment, and Abbee and Dylan were in the lodge, working on stuff for the prom, the pair had volunteered to keep an eye out. They’d spend a few more minutes here, before walking elsewhere to make sure everything was running smoothly. As they walked, they talked quietly about the fact that the weekend before, Jon and Charlotte had trained Deoxys in the Eon Academy stadium, instead of taking the potentially deadly Pokemon off site to Southern Island.

“Surely Latios could have just patrolled?” Justin asked, as Charlotte kicked herself. She had found out of Rayquaza being illegally in Jon’s possession most recently, and struggled not to take for granted the fact that Justin still wasn’t aware, not due to any untrustworthiness, but simply no need for him to know.

“It’s more the fact that Southern Island is Latios’ original home, and if there are any Latias in Hoenn, them too,” Charlotte bluffed. “Jon doesn’t want to risk us being followed by someone who can’t mind their own business, now that word got out we were followed somewhere and attacked. He figures if we go there again before people forget about the attack, someone else may find Southern Island, and it may not be safe for any Latios or Latias to live there…”

“Yeah, that makes sense…” Justin replied. “Kind of sad people are that obtrusive that we actually have to worry about this…”

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief Justin had bought her improvised explanation, and made a mental note to tell Jon and the other interns, so that they didn’t contradict her if Justin mentioned it later. Deep down, she wished Jon would just tell Justin, feeling a little guilty that Justin was the only one not aware, however, if the secret was found out by the wrong people, Jon would be declared an enemy of the state, and having nearly given it away herself, Charlotte understood the responsibility of having that knowledge, and the risk of accidentally saying the wrong thing…

“It’s exhausting though,” Charlotte continued, attempting to draw the conversation away from Southern Island. “Because we don’t want the students to know we’re training Deoxys here, I’ve been sleeping from nine ‘til midnight, waking up, and training with Jon and Deoxys until four in the morning, and then getting back to sleep until seven…”

“Goddamn, how are you still standing?” Justin asked, knowing that Charlotte likely did this Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

“Caffeine…” Charlotte retorted with a grin. “Ungodly amounts of caffeine…”

“Do you think you’ll be able to use Deoxys against the College of the North Wind?” Justin asked. Charlotte’s brow furrowed as she considered it, having had this thought herself since the challenge was issued, and it was made clear how tough their opponent would be. Whilst Dylan had made comments about being disadvantaged not having his own Legendary Pokemon, it had slipped his mind that Charlotte was in the same position, having a Legendary Pokemon herself, that was potentially too dangerous to battle, and not worth hedging bets on.

“It’s hard to say…” Charlotte replied. “Deoxys was completely fine during the battle on Southern Island against those f**kwit poachers…”

Justin couldn’t help but laugh at Charlotte’s damning take on the assailants, that she and Jon had both described as equally likely to blow their own heads off with the guns they carried, given how stupid they had acted…

“But at the same time, even though Deoxys took on eight Pokemon trying to do more than just knock it out, I was battling better than them when I was twelve…” Charlotte explained. “Deoxys handled the pressure of sheer numbers, no sweat. But against a well trained Pokemon, being instructed by someone with more than three brain cells…”

“It’s hard to say…” Justin agreed. Charlotte nodded, however had more to add.

“At the same time, there will always be a hypothetical or potential situation that we aren’t yet familiar with,” Charlotte explained. “I think at some point, I need to take a chance on Deoxys, and against a trainer with their own Legendary Pokemon, in a room with ten other Legendary Pokemon to intervene if things go bad, it may be the best bet to really see where Deoxys is at…”

“Ten other legendary Pokemon?” Justin asked, slightly confused. “You mean nine? Dylan doesn’t have one?”

Charlotte swore internally, having counted Rayquaza in her statement, after nearly blowing the secret nearly five minutes earlier. She began wondering if she should track down a Psychic Pokemon strong enough to wipe part of her memory…

“Sorry, it’s the lack of sleep,” Charlotte said, faking a yawn. “I think I need to have an early night…”

“Nobody would hold it against you,” Justin agreed, before considering another thought. “How do you think we’ll go? Against the College? You’ve lived in Jubilife since you were born, and I’ve spent the last year there, so we’ve both seen a bit of the College…”

“And know just how tough they are?” Charlotte asked, though her tone wasn’t enthusiastic. Justin nodded.

“Between us, I actually went to one of their open days, and saw some of the students battling,” Justin remared. “And it was shocking…”

“Yeah, I’ve seen a bit,” Charlotte remarked. “Even without Legendary Pokemon, they’re tough. So it’s not going to be easy.”

“No s**t,” Justin retorted. “But how do you think we will do?”

“I honestly think you’ve got the best bet,” Charlotte answered, earning a dumbfounded look from Justin. “I’m not kidding…”

“But you and Chris have always been better battlers than me…”

“As much as we shouldn’t be too focused on it, Legendary Pokemon could decide the battles,” Charlotte said. “And of all of us with Legendary Pokemon, with the exception of Jon, you have the best bet on what Regieleki is capable of, and how best to use it in battle.”

“Really?”

“Abbee relies a little too much on Victini’s initiative during battle, and Victini spent a few years being carried with the cheating, so is only really starting to reach his stride and push himself harder,” Charlotte explained. “Lugia is still young, and Chris is great with Dragon Types, but is a little too focused on them, and is still figuring out what Lugia is capable of, and how best to use it in battle. And I can’t even use Deoxys without worrying it will level a building on us if the battle becomes too much…”

“I’m not convinced Regieleki and I have the best odds, but will take your word for it,” Justin joked. “But what about everyone else?”

“I can’t speak for myself, since you guys probably see more than I do, but I think that Dylan is the hardest to predict. He is disadvantaged regardless, but he is also the most likely to come up with some completely out of left field play to take the win from under his opponents nose,” Charlotte replied. “Abbee and Chris are harder to read. Neither of them are themselves at the moment…”

Justin sighed. Given Chris’ reluctance to take definitive action, he sadly wasn’t overly surprised when Abbee broke up with him.

“Chris has been hyper-focused on this challenge since, and has spent most of his free time training,” Justin remarked. “I’ve tried to get him to take a break and do something fun, but his mind is made up…”

“Abbee isn’t much better,” Charlotte retorted. “She’s been spending all her free time with Dylan, working on the prom…”

Justin grimaced hearing this, not out of any ill will towards Dylan, but more so the potential for more conflict. Charlotte gave him a look, having noticed the change.

“I just hope that Dylan spending so much time with her doesn’t cause Chris to start acting out again like he was,” Justin explained, answering Charlotte’s unasked question. “I actually thought that this challenge might get them talking again, since they actually acknowledged each other when we were deciding whether or not to accept it. But now…”

“Dylan won’t cause Chris to do anything,” Charlotte said sternly. “If Chris wants to act out, that is his decision…”

“You know I didn’t mean it that way,” Justin berated. “But you know what I mean?”

Charlotte sighed.

“Yeah, I do,” Charlotte answered. “But they’ve both got their own s**t going on, and if they’re helping each other deal with it, that’s a win in my book, and Chris hasn’t got a leg to stand on if he has a problem with it…”

The pair stopped walking, Charlotte realising that they were near the stadium. Checking her watch, and seeing her session was due to start in twenty minutes, she spoke.

“I might catch the end of Chris’ session,” Charlotte remarked. “Seems pretty quiet, so I think you can manage without me.”

Justin nodded, before turning back towards the main hall.

“I’ll see you at dinner.”

Charlotte made her way towards the stadium, and as she walked through the sliding glass doors into the foyer, was surprised to see Chris walking towards her, heading for the door.

“Don’t you have until four?” Charlotte asked, double checking the time on her phone, noting it was the same as her watch before.

“Tell that to ’My Way Or The Highway’ in there,” Chris answered, angrily, before swearing under his breath. Before Charlotte could answer, he walked out the door, leaving her wondering what had just happened. She turned towards the entrance to the stadium, quickening her pace, where she found Jon, looking over his Pokeballs and putting three aside.

“What’s going on?” Charlotte asked, her tone a little more confrontational than she had intended. Jon looked over at her, and seeing that her expression was more one of concern than the irritation her tone insinuated, gave her the benefit of the doubt.

“Chris refused to take on board what I was saying, and kept arguing with me. Ended up having a go at me, and disrespecting the way I battle,” Jon answered. “I told him to let his Pokemon rest, and meet me here to battle tonight at nine…”

Charlotte groaned. Whilst she wouldn’t have put it past Chris to do this before spending a reasonable amount of time with him at the Academy, she thought he had grown past that. She corrected herself. He had… Unfortunately, his feelings about how things ended with Abbee were causing him to regress.

“He was battling impulsively,” Jon continued. “Next to no strategy, and just hitting with whatever type had an advantage. When I pointed it out, he refused to listen. So I’ll make it clear to him tonight just how far that is going to get him against the College of the North Wind…”

“I agree, he needs to understand that, and he is acting like an idiot,” Charlotte began. “But is beating him senseless a good idea?”

Jon smirked slightly, as Charlotte felt herself flushing red with a slight sense of embarrassment.

“Justin and I are just worried about him,” Charlotte answered. “Abbee and Dylan are keeping each other company, and Abbee seems to be doing okay. But Chris is only really focused on this challenge, and seems to be taking backwards steps…”

“Honestly, it’s hard to say,” Jon explained. “You all need different things to help you guys move forward and grow. That’s something I had to learn pretty quickly during the first summer. What Chris needs is tough love…”

Charlotte understood what Jon was saying, remembering all of their rises and falls during the first summer at the Eon Academy, her own included. She knew that if Jon had responded to her Luxray being injured, or Justin’s seeming lack of concern for his and everyone else’s time, in the same way Jon was handling Chris’ rebellion now, it would have been detrimental for both of them. Additionally, if he had handled Chris’ attitude in the first summer the same way he approached her after Luxray’s injury, he would have had very limited success.

“The tricky thing is that even though this is the best way to handle Chris, it could go either way,” Jon lamented. “I want what’s best for Chris, but he’s an angry, embarrassed seventeen year old who just got dumped by his first girlfriend, and chances are, he just needs time, which we don’t have an excess of at this point…”

Charlotte was reluctant to agree with Jon, but his assessment was accurate, surprising her a little at how well he seemed to know how each of them ticked.

“Enough of that,” Jon answered. “I’ve set aside three Pokemon for my battle with Chris tonight, and I have three Pokemon left to train with you. Let’s make the most of the extra fifteen minutes.”

Charlotte nodded, bringing Luxray’s Pokeball to hand.

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

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to…”

Abbee sat with her laptop in front of her, plans for the prom on her screen, though not being the recipient of her attention since Dylan sat opposite her in the lounge of the intern’s lodge, a white envelope that looked a little worse for wear, in his hands. Dylan had mentioned he was going to open it, however, when a few minutes has passed, and he seemed no closer, Abbee had spoken up. Victini sat on the coffee table, with a bowl of ice-cream in front of him that seemed comically large given his small stature, watching with interest.

“I do want to open it, really,” Dylan said. “This is my dad in here, and if he is the sort of person I actually want to spend time with, every day I put it off is another I might not get to spend with him…”

Abbee nodded, sombrely, having understood just how quickly things can change, and how important it was to make the most of time with family more than anyone else there.

“And if nothing else, I want to know if I’m safe from this disorder or not…” Dylan answered. “And I know I could just get tested, and be done with it but…”

“But deep down, you want to know who your dad is, and this allows you to not come across as invested if he lets you down…”

“Exactly,” Dylan answered, both thankful that Abbee understood him as well as she did, and a little terrified at how spot on she was with her assessment. He looked over at Victini, who had consumed a concerning amount of ice-cream since last time he had looked over. “You aren’t poking around in my head and telling her are you?”

”And risk missing out on savouring this ice-cream?” Victini replied. ”You humans aren’t as interesting as you let yourselves believe…”

“Well I know that’s bulls**t, considering how often I need to tell you to respect their privacy,” Abbee joked, as Victini grinned, not having an argument for that, and resumed eating his ice-cream. Dylan however, having brought the Mythical Pokemon into the conversation, was curious.

“What do you think of all this?” Dylan asked Victini, taking the Pokemon by surprise. Dylan didn’t talk to Victini too much normally, however Dylan didn’t talk too much in general normally. At first, it was only Abbee he really felt comfortable around, eventually growing the same with Jon, Alyssa and Steven after the first summer at the Academy, and given the hell the they went through since last summer, eventually he felt the same way with Justin, Charlotte and Chris, though the latter eventually burning that bridge.

Victini looked at Dylan slightly puzzled for a moment, before putting the spoon in the bowl, making sure the blade of it dug into the pile of ice cream so it wouldn’t slip and dirty the handle.

”It’s hard for me to say, because I grew up largely alone,” Victini answered. ”You remember what I said about Legendary Pokemon, and how Lugia’s mother died back at the Whirl Islands?”

Dylan nodded. Victini had told them, after swearing them to secrecy, that for Legendary Pokemon, reproduction took a physical, often fatal toll on both parents. Whilst the only logical reason was to keep balance in the ecosystem, preventing too many of a given species of powerful Pokemon from existing in one place at the same time, it was largely the reason that Legendary Pokemon were so incredibly rare.

”I presume my parents died before I was born. I hatched in Unova, and was alone. I spent my early years with other wild Pokemon, but usually it was not for long, since being a Mythical Pokemon, I was targeted by humans, and other Pokemon didn’t want to risk being captured by sticking with me,” Victini explained. ”I eventually met other Legendary Pokemon, and learnt more of who I was, and why I was alone…”

Dylan was surprised the usually chipper and mischievous Pokemon was sharing this much of his own past. Abbee didn’t seem shocked, having heard Victini’s story before.

”Eventually, I didn’t get away. I got caught by some poachers. Think the guys from Whirl Islands but more organized and much less stupid…” Victini continued. ”I found out later, I had been spotted by a human, and rumours were spreading about me in Unova. And some rich guy wanted to add me to his collection, and put a bounty on my head…”

Dylan was surprised to hear this. He knew that Jon had earned Latios’ respect after intervening when another trainer attempted to capture him and wouldn’t let him flee. And he always knew that Legendary Pokemon were targeted. But to hear of bounties being put on an individual Pokemon, for poachers to capture them for a client came as a bit of a shock.

”And I was hours away from being taken by this rich guy to likely live in a cage the rest of my life. Then Cassandra showed up,” Victini explained. ”Violet was wanting to capture a Moltres, and wanted to buy information from the poachers who caught me, so she could find it herself, and brought Cassandra with her as backup in case things got ugly…”

Victini couldn’t help but smile to himself, remembering how he met his former partner.

”I was in this cage, watching these two girls who looked like they’d just walked out of a TV interview, talking to these poachers like they were children, and taking no crap from them. I wanted to hear what was being said, so moved closer to the edge of my cage, and the bottom panel creaked,” Victini recounted. ”Cass saw me, and after a moment, something in her eyes changed. In that moment, she was the person she turned out to be after the S.S. Wishmaker, and at that time, I couldn’t have asked for a better person in my corner…”

“She got you out?” Dylan asked, slightly surprised. He hadn’t met Cassandra personally. None of the interns had, and other than Jon, Alyssa, and even Steven’s descriptions of her, all they heard was what the media had to say about her, Violet and Jarena. Victini grinned.

”She asked how much it would cost for her to take me, and when they told her I had been caught specifically for someone else, she offered double…” Victini said. ”They told her to drop it, and that the buyer they had lined up wouldn’t take kindly to losing me as part of his collection. Then she says ‘well I won’t take too kindly to being denied what I want. The difference is, I’m the one that’s here to let you know just how kindly I’m going to take it…’”

Victini laughed to himself, recalling the meeting.

”He caved, and sold me to Cassandra. She took me home, and let me straight out of the cage, letting me wander around her house, doing whatever I want really. All that she said was that we were in the middle of a city, and there are people everywhere. If I left, I’d likely get caught. Or I could stay with her, and battle with her, granted that was with Violet and Jarena’s help. I’d be comfortable, and have everything I’d ever want,” Victini said. ”And I stuck with her. Right until after the S.S. Wishmaker…”

Realising how much he was missing his former trainer, and how much he wanted to know she was doing okay, Victini looked up.

”I got sidetracked, sorry. I digress…” Victini explained, focusing on Dylan. ”What I was getting at is I grew up not knowing where I came from, and even though standard Pokemon don’t have the difficult that Legendary Pokemon do, it wasn’t uncommon that the Pokemon I met didn’t know where they came from either…”

Considering his words, Victini continued.

”I never thought much about where I came from, because it wasn’t normal for me to know. Or rather, it wasn’t unusual for me not to know. Most of the Pokemon I met didn’t know, so I didn’t have the constant reminder around me that I didn’t…” Victini explained. ”Abbee’s right. It’s your decision. But obviously, it is important to you to know, even if you’re scared that you may wish you didn’t know. And really, I think you’d regret it more if you lost out on time you potentially wanted to spend with your dad, than you would if your dad turned out to not be who you hoped he would be…”

Dylan hadn’t considered Victini’s first point, wondering if the relationship he knew existed between Abbee and her father, and seeing how close Jon was with Jack, were influencing his wanting to know. However, Victini had confirmed what he had been thinking…

Looking down at the envelope, Dylan lifted the far side of the tab, placing his index finger in the gap, and attempting to neatly lift it, without damaging the envelope, for no other reason as that was his attitude whenever any mail arrived for him. However, given the envelope had been sealed weeks earlier, and obviously sealed well, the bond wouldn’t break, as Dylan gave up an pretence of care, and ripped the top of the envelope off.

In front of him was a name. A name he couldn’t have guessed, but honestly, one that caused him to feel a slight sense of comfort, which he quickly dismissed, not wanting to get ahead of himself.

“I am pretty good at finding people online,” Abbee remarked, remembering her and Charlotte discovering Justin had been kissed by Candice. “Do you mind?”

It took Dylan a second to look away from the two words written in his mothers handwriting on the piece of paper.

”Brent Ashton…”

Abbee nodded, before typing on her computer, as Dylan pondered the fact that had his parents been together, he may have been Dylan Ashton. The name seemed odd.

“There are a few Brent Ashtons…” Abbee began, as she opened a half dozen profiles in different tabs. “This one is only thirty, so we can write him off. And this one is old enough to be my grandfather, so I think we can put him as an unlikely maybe-”

Abbee stopped, looking at one profile, her eyes widening.

“What?” Dylan asked, as he stood, moving to sit on the couch next to her.

“If this isn’t him, I will eat my shoe…” Abbee remarked, clicking on the profile picture, enlarging it, and turning the laptop to face Dylan.

Looking closer, Dylan saw the picture was a selfie, taken by a man in front of a medium sized boat. The name for the boat was in the form of upside down text. ’Uh-oh.’

It took Dylan longer than Abbee to see why she thought this was the one. His hair was the same shade of brown as Dylan's, and though cut shorter, just as thick. His eyes, though a different shape, were the same shade of brown as his own, and he wore the same somewhat awkwardly pained smile that Dylan had seen in himself in plenty of photos, much to his dismay during those times.

“I could be wrong,” Abbee said, seeing how engrossed in this Dylan was, and realising she may have been a little too certain. “But you have to admit, he looks a bit like you…”

“I’ll confirm that it’s him before I find him…” Dylan said absently, before closing the profile picture and opening up the about section of the profile.

“He’s a doctor…” Abbee said, somewhat surprised.

“I’m just glad he isn’t a meth dealer…” Dylan joked, noticing the city listed. “He lives in Canalave City…”

“Explains the boat,” Abbee joked, however was cut off by the sound of the door to the lodge opening, and slamming shut behind whoever had entered. The sound was enough for those present to know exactly who had entered, and their guesses were confirmed when Chris, looking the angriest either of them had seen him since Abbee broke up with him the week before, passed by the doorway into the lounge, glancing at Abbee and Dylan, as they sat on the couch, with Abbee’s laptop in front of them. Not wanting confrontation, Abbee had kept her focus on the page open on her laptop, only planning on acknowledging Chris if he acknowledged them. She figured if he didn’t want to talk to her, chance are, he didn’t want her talking to him. Dylan, whilst not going out of his way to stare Chris down, wasn’t as intentional in averting his gaze, and noticed a glare in the brief moment he held eye contact with Chris as he passed.

They heard his loud footsteps climbing up the stairway, before he went to his room, slamming the door behind him. Abbee sighed, before looking at her computer again.

Dylan wanted to ask something along the lines of ’what crawled up his a**’ but decided against it. Though Abbee broke up with Chris, and he had been acting in a less than pleasant manner since, Abbee had told Dylan enough over the last week to know that her decision to break up with Chris wasn’t based on anything he had done in particular, though she was less than thrilled with Chris’ attitude towards Dylan since the incident at the Firehouse. As such, he knew that, whilst not enough to make her angry at him, snide remarks about her now ex would probably leave her feeling uncomfortable.

“Is there anything you wanted me to look for in particular?” Abbee asked, nodding towards her laptop and wanting to change the subject. “Otherwise, you can help me put together the playlist for the prom…”

“I thought you had students volunteering to organise that?” Dylan asked, not realising that Abbee had one more job than he had been aware of.

“I did, but realised pretty quickly that I should probably be responsible for it…” Abbee remarked. “Two out of five songs that were on the playlist they put together weren’t really appropriate for a teenage summer camp, and those are only the ones I know of. I didn’t really feel like going through it with a fine tooth comb, so I’m going to put together the bulk of the playlist myself, and add the more kosher of the suggestions…”

Dylan looked at his watch, realising he had lost track of time.

“I gotta meet up with the group preparing the dining room for dinner,” Dylan explained, before gesturing to Abbee’s laptop, asking for permission. She pivoted it on the table towards him, as he quickly opened Spotify, and created a new playlist before opening the settings. “I just set this to collaborative, so we can both add songs to it. Once the students on duty tonight are set, and I’m just supervising, I’ll add some music to it, but don’t be surprised if it’s mostly punk stuff from before most of these kids were born…”

“Gotta keep it interesting,” Abbee joked. “Thanks for that. It takes the stress off…”

Dylan nodded, before grabbing his phone from the coffee table, and standing to his feet.

“I guess I’ll see you at dinner then?”

“I’ll try and take a break for dinner,” Abbee replied, however Dylan didn’t have a bar of it.

“So I’ll see you at dinner,” Dylan confirmed, as Abbee rolled her eyes, feigning exasperation.

“Dinner then…”

Dylan left, pocketing the letter, and leaving Abbee and Victini, whose bowl of ice cream was now empty, having been licked clean, sitting alone in the lounge. Whilst for a brief moment, Abbee considered going upstairs and trying to talk things out with Chris, she knew she stood little to no chance of curbing this mood he had been in, and her reaching out to him would probably just make it worse. She sighed, before leaning back in her chair. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Victini staring at her.

“You don’t have to hide it,” Abbee said. “I’ve known you long enough to know that my thoughts are never my own when you’re around…”

”I was just thinking I might want to go pay Cass a visit at some point…”

Abbee was slightly surprised to hear Victini mention wanting to see his previous partner, knowing that Victini was largely at peace with their paths having taken them in very different directions. However his next comment made her realise he was joking more than anything.

”I figure she could teach me a few of her tricks,” Victini explained. ”And Chris wouldn’t be able to slam doors as easily if he were a Dunsparce…”

Despite not normally letting herself encourage Victini in teasing her now ex-boyfriend, in giving him the reaction he wanted with these sorts of remarks, she found a smile creeping across her face.

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

“Are you ready?” Jon asked, his voice lacking the friendly tone that usually was present during the training sessions. This was different. He was here to teach Chris a different type of lesson, and Chris was here to prove to Jon he didn’t always know best, granted, very deep down, Chris didn’t really believe that. However he was past the point of admitting he was wrong that afternoon.

“Are you?” Chris replied. Jon’s expression didn’t shift from the neutrality he wore on his face.

“Pick a Pokemon,” Jon replied, not dignifying Chris’ question with a response. Jon had already selected a Pokeball from his belt. Chris obliged, choosing a Pokemon, before Jon called for the start of the match.

”Begin!”

Both trainers sent out their Pokemon, and whilst Jon was hardly surprised to see Lugia, Chris was a little surprised to see Scizor. Jon rarely opened with the Bug and Steel type Pokemon, given its major weakness to fire, granted, Jon’s most famous win was for when Scizor beat Victini in a single blow.

Remembering Jon’s build up for Scizor to wipe the floor with Victini back on the S.S. Wishmaker, Chris decided not to give Jon the chance to do the same. If Jon was preparing for one big attack, Chris would disrupt that by going on the offensive.

“Dragon Rush!” Chris shouted. Lugia became encased in a draconic aura, roaring intimidatingly, and launching itself towards Scizor, who didn’t attempt to block the hit.

“Scizor, Double Team!” Jon shouted, as he did something Chris hadn’t expected. He pressed the keystone he wore on the ring on his right hand. This was the first Chris had heard of Jon purchasing a Mega Stone for Scizor, expecting to see it used on Blaziken.

Scizor erupted into a chromatic light, emerging a little taller, and whilst slightly more armoured, considerably more armed, with its two claws both changing shape to look like a pair of vicious jaws. As soon as the light dissipated, Scizor split into multiple copies, all but the original being spectral and non tangible. Chris grinned to himself. Though he didn’t have the Key Stone back then, this was the same tactic Jon pulled on Cassandra, and he wasn’t going to fall for it.

“Dragon Rush!” Chris shouted. “The three on the right!”

The perk of Lugia being one of the largest Pokemon Chris had seen, was the fact that physical attacks that relied on a full body charge had a larger area of impact, and whilst Scizor was now one of a dozen identical copies, Lugia was big enough to knock down multiple with a single blow if Chris timed the attack right that the copies were nearby.

“Now!”

Lugia, having charged up the attack, lunged forward, striking three of the Scizors revealing the one on the right to be the original, taking a small amount of damage, before Double Team took effect again.

“That’s better than what you were doing today, but I know you can do better than that!” Jon called out to Chris, who flushed with anger. “Ominous Wind!”

A spectral breeze blew through the arena, causing the hair on the back of Chris’ neck to stand on end, and causing pain to Lugia, however it was relatively minor compared to what Chris was expecting. This wasn’t what he foresaw. Ominous Wind, whilst a Ghost Type move, and by extension advantageous against Lugia, was relatively weak. Sure, it was affected by Scizor’s Tactician ability, however even then, the fact Scizor wasn’t a Ghost Type meant it was far from the best option.

Chris began to wonder if this tactic Jon was using was simply to spook him. He was already on edge, due to the effect of the attack unnerving him, and Jon was making little sense with his decisions, however seemed to composed for this to be a mistake.

Realising he was overthinking, Chris opted to do what he could to beat Scizor early.

“Aeroblast!”

Lugia launched a beam of white-gold light from its jaws, which shot across four of the Scizors on the field, revealing all of them to be copies, causing him to swear under his breath.

“Ominous Wind again!”

Chris again felt the uneasy sensation of the spectral wind passing through the battlefield, and again, Lugia taking a small amount of damage. Considering Jon had berated him this afternoon for using the same, relatively unsuccessful attack in succession, he wondered what his teacher was playing at. It wasn’t until he noticed Scizor speed up that he remembered Ominous Wind’s secondary effect. The one in ten chance it may boost all of the users attributes. Offensive, Defensive, and Speed…

“One more time!” Jon called out. “And this time, hold it until Lugia drops!”

Lugia, being not much better of an attacker than Scizor, with no Fire Type moves at its disposal, now proved to be little threat to Scizor with its improved defensive capabilities, and Chris now knew exactly what Jon was doing. Scizor could effectively keep the attack damaging Lugia, and potentially empowering Scizor, as Lugia tried and failed to knock Scizor down. He knew his best bet was to withdraw Lugia. However, if there was a chance he could prove to Jon he was right in his attitude towards the upcoming challenge, he wanted to take it.

“Aeroblast!” Chris commanded, to Jon’s dismay. The powerful, signature move of Lugia, struck Scizor, who was now making no attempt to dodge it, instead focusing on its continuous attack, directly. However, Scizor barely flinched, as Lugia’s strength was sapped by the phantom wind, before it fell, Scizor’s attributes increasing further.

“S**t…” Chris muttered, though Jon wasn’t in the mood.

“Return Lugia, and send out another Pokemon,” Jon commanded, not wanting to be spending his evening doing this, but knowing Chris needed to be humbled.

“Yeah, yeah…” Chris retorted bitterly, before sending out his next Pokemon. “Charizard, your turn!”

Jon was hardly shocked when Charizard appeared, making the most of Scizor’s glaring weakness to fire. However, he had a plan.

“Flamethrower!” Chris said, as he pressed his keystone, just as Jon expected. Charizard erupted into a colourful light, emerging in the familiar blue and black form that Chris had battled against Abbee with after their arrival that summer. Charizard roared, launching a jet of blue flame at Scizor.

“Swagger!” Jon commanded. Shocking Chris, Scizor didn’t attempt to dodge, instead letting out a taunt, which aggravated Charizard, confusing it, whilst improving its attack power. Chris then realised that given the boosts to its speed, Scizor should have acted first. However, Jon had intentionally hesitated, giving Chris the opening move, though he didn’t know why.

“Flame Charge!” Chris commanded, making the most of Charizard’s Tough Claws ability, and the boost to its attack power from Scizor’s last move. Despite the confusion, Charizard exhald blue flames, covering itself before it launched at full speed towards Scizor.

“Protect!”

Scizor managed to raise a barrier to block the attack just in time, as Charizard stepped back, readying its next move. Now it was at the ideal distance for the same attack again, close enough to strike Scizor at full speed, before the velocity of the attack itself would drop over distance.

“Flame Charge again!”

Charizard readied another attack, however was unable to focus on a target through the confusion, missing Scizor completely and crashing into the ground. This was what Jon was waiting for.

“Assurance!”

Scizor launched itself at Charizard, swiping brutally with one of its heavy claws, and striking Charizard on the back of the head while it tried to recover from the crash it just suffered. Charizard collapsed, all signs of consciousness gone.

Chris yelled out something indistinguishable in his anger, before returning Charizard to its Pokeball, and sending out his final Pokemon. Garchomp. The Ground and Dragon Type roared aggressively towards Scizor, who remained calm, much like his trainer.

“Agility!” Jon commanded, causing Scizor’s already concerning speed to double. Knowing he couldn’t keep doing the same thing anymore, Chris opted for a different tactic.

“Dual Chop!” Chris commanded. Though the attack was weaker, it was a multi-strike move, and if Garchomp couldn’t last the first, there was always the chance he could land the second.

The fins on Garchomp’s arms glowed, as it launched towards Scizor, swiping with its left then right, however, Scizor was too quick, dodging both attacks with ease.

“Mimic!”

Chris watched in horror as Scizor replicated the last attack it saw Garchomp use, its own blades glowing the same way Garchomp’s fins did, before, with deadly speed, launching itself at Garchomp, striking the Pokemon twice, though Garchomp was unconscious before the second strike hit.

Chris remained silent as he called back Garchomp, knowing the match was over, before Jon approached him. Whilst Chris had expected him to gloat, and he was pleasantly surprised when he didn’t, that wasn’t enough to affect his soured mood.

“When did you get a Mega Stone for Scizor?” Chris asked, his tone more accusing than curious.

“Does it matter?” Jon asked, answering before Chris could. “Me deciding to Mega Evolve Scizor instead of Blaziken is less of a surprise than your opponent’s other Pokemon will be. You only know of her Glastrier, and before they issued the challenge, the College of the North Wind removed any public information posted online of our opponents teams. Besides, the only difference between my Scizor and Mega Scizor, are a few of the numbers in terms of stats. The ability, typing and move pool are all the same…”

“What could I have even done to beat you?” Chris asked angrily. “I started off disadvantaged with Lugia against Scizor, and by the time I got Charizard out, Scizor was already wiping the floor with me!”

“And you think that won’t happen during your battle?” Jon asked. “You said yourself that your Dragonite and Garchomp will have a tough time against Glastrier…”

Chris seethed as Jon continued, answering the question.

“You could have used Protect to buy Charizard time to finish Mega Evolving before it attacked,” Jon remarked. “Remember what Dylan picked up last time? That there is a delay between the light disappearing, and their power being where it should be?”

Chris took a deep, pained breath, hearing Dylan being mentioned in this lecture.

“I used Swagger when I did because I knew that the attack Charizard used right after it Mega Evolved would be no stronger than normal, and that Scizor could survive it. And I used Swagger because I knew you would try and take down Scizor as soon as you could, and wouldn’t defend against it…” Jon lectured. “You started thinking more when you had Garchomp use Dual Chop, but at that point it was too late…”

Chris remained silent, as Jon called Scizor back.

“Take a break from our one-on-one practise until you’re willing to actually listen to me,” Jon said evenly. “Otherwise, we’re both wasting our time here…”

Chris’ eyes widened, as he met Jon’s gaze, boring down on him.

“How am I supposed to train for the challenge then?” he asked, his voice and tone rising in anger.

“You can use the stadium when it’s free,” Jon answered simply. “You could even ask Justin or Charlotte to train with you. But I’m not going to waste my time teaching someone who doesn’t want to be told they are wrong…”

Chris muttered a string of insults under his breath, before turning and making his way to the door. Jon sighed to himself as he watched his furious student leave. He didn’t enjoy doing this to Chris. However, he knew that Chris had been rattled to his core over the last few weeks, and was now facing the wrong way. The only thing that would set him straight would be to rattle him again, though Jon wouldn’t know the result of that until it may be too late.

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

Abbee groaned from fatigue when she finally walked back into the lodge. It was half past nine that evening, having left for dinner shortly before six, however after dinner, she had a half dozen students, all involved in some way or another with the prom, wanting a few minutes of her time to go over what they had organised.

She walked into the lounge, where Dylan sat in front of his laptop, staring at the screen, as she dropped onto the couch opposite him, and sighed. To her slight surprise, Dylan didn’t speak. Instead, kept looking at whatever was on the screen in front of him. It was then she noticed how pale he was, and the cold fear that clouded his eyes.

“Dylan, what’s wrong?” Abbee asked, causing him to look up, however he seemed unable to find the words. She got up, and moved to sit next to him, and see what he was looking at. On Dylan’s screen was his biological father’s Facebook profile, the one she had found earlier that day. However, he had a photo opened, showing Brent, however looking a couple of years younger, and two other men. One much older, that Abbee had a hunch may have been his father, Dylan’s grandfather, the other who looked a little older. The trio were dressed in Alolan shirts, holding beers, and smiling happily at the camera. The caption read ’Surprise 40th Birthday Party’.

“Is that your grandfather?” Abbee asked, and Dylan nodded. Whilst there was still the chance that this Brent happened to look a lot like Dylan, and not be his father, they both believed that chance to be extremely slim, and spoke as such.

“My uncle too…” he said quietly. However his voice didn’t come across as happy with this information. Far from it…

“What’s the problem?” Abbee asked. Dylan nodded to the photo.

“Look at his ear…”

Unsure what could have shaken Dylan so much, Abbee looked closer, first at Brent’s ear, then his fathers. It wasn’t until she looked at that of Dylan’s uncle that she saw it. Barely visible, due to being the same colour as his skin, was a hearing aid, sitting over his ear.

“Does this mean…”

“It means that right now, my odds of going deaf are higher…” Dylan muttered, not taking his eyes off the photo, looking for some reason to think he may be mistaken.

“He could have lost his hearing another way?” Abbee offered. “Maybe he works around loud machinery, or something like that?”

“He barely looks to be forty-five in this photo,” Dylan said, shooting down Abbee’s idea. “He’d probably have tinnitus, where he constantly hears a ringing noise, sure. But to have hearing loss to the point of needing a hearing aid…”

Dylan wasn’t wrong. Whilst there was a chance Abbee was right, they both knew that the chance of this man’s deafness being caused by environmental factors was low.

“So say that his deafness is caused by the same thing your mums is…” Abbee asked. “What are the odds?”

Somewhat thankful Abbee wasn’t trying to convince him otherwise, Dylan spoke, albeit, a little more calmly and certainly.

“If he has NF2, he needed to inherit the gene from both parents. But seeing as his dad doesn’t seem to have any signs of hearing loss, it means he is a carrier…” Dylan said, not having done too much thinking of this since. He clicked out of the image, and began looking through old photos, thanking whatever God was up there that Brent’s generation weren’t too good at securing their profile from strangers. Finally he found another photo with Brent and his father, as well as with a woman who they presumed to be Brent’s mother. Dylan looked closely at her ears, trying to spot some indication of a hearing aid, and was thankful when he realised there wasn’t one.

“If this is their mum, she is likely a carrier too. And Brent’s brother got really unlucky and got both faulty genes,” Dylan explained, before trying to do the numbers. “My mum has to pass on one of the two faulty genes I’d need to get this disorder. And I can safely guess that both Brent’s parents are carriers, which means…”

Dylan pulled a loose sheet of paper and a pen that had been left there by Abbee when she worked that afternoon, and began scribbling furiously trying to figure out the numbers.

“Brent has a one in four chance of having it himself, a one in four chance of not getting any of the faulty genes, and a one in two chance of being a carrier. Granted I see no indicator that he is deaf, so can safely eliminate the possibility he has it…” Dylan explained. “So that is a two in three chance he is a carrier of the fault gene, and a fifty/fifty chance he passed it on to me. So based on what we know now…”

“One in three…” Abbee muttered, having studied probability in her maths classes that year. Dylan nodded.

“That’s too high for me to be okay with all of this…” Dylan muttered, as he closed his laptop, albeit, a little too forcefully. Whilst the chances of having this disorder were lower than his chances of not, a one in three chance forced him to consider not being able to hear the voices of his future wife and children, potentially for the majority of his adult life. He leaned back in the couch, as his voice trailed off, and Abbee saw the warning signs of Dylan just shutting down, in the same way he did after he first found out about all of this, and how he did when he returned from his stepdads house the last time he went there.

“Dylan,” Abbee said, her tone being more forceful than she normally was. “You’ve got to do something. You can’t just accept this…”

“What do I do then?” Dylan asked bitterly. “What do I do when there is a thirty-three percent chance my own DNA is working against me…”

“You go to Canalave, and you meet Brent…” Abbee said. Dylan remained silent, dwelling on his own thoughts, so she continued. “Think about it. How much of the calculations you have done are based on assumptions?”

She grabbed Dylan’s laptop, opening it, and taking him by surprise when she unlocked it.

“How did you do that?” Dylan asked, being pulled from his funk by the shock.

“You left it here when you went to Kanto, and Steven needed your notes to find out where your class was at,” Abbee remarked. “The hint was SpiritNumber, and after a lot of trial and error, I realised it was Dusknoir477…”

This was the first that Dylan knew Abbee could get into his laptop, and she clicked back onto the photo of Brent and his parents.

“This is the only photo of Brent’s mother you found? It’s a safe guess she is his mother, but I also thought that Bill was your dad originally…” Abbee remarked, as Dylan couldn’t help but scowl, but took the point. “She likely is his mother, but may be his stepmother, or not even related at all…”

Dylan hadn’t considered that, and Abbee continued.

“You’ve assumed that because she isn’t wearing a hearing aid in this picture, she has no hearing loss. She could be deaf, and just isn’t wearing it for the photo. Or maybe it is past the point of a hearing aid helping…”

“Well in that case, my odds are even worse…” Dylan pouted.

“You’ve also assumed that if your uncle is deaf, it’s because he has NF2,” Abbee remarked. “Your whole assessment of the family’s genetics is based on the assumption that this is the only explanation for his deafness…”

Abbee opened a new tab in the web browser, before searching ’Causes of Deafness’.

“Genetics. Loud noises. Illness. Medication side-effects. Infection…” Abbee read out from the first article.

“You expect me to just hope that one of them is the reason he is deaf?”

“Dylan, I think you’re great, but by God, you can be dense…” Abbee groaned, earning a raised eyebrow from Dylan. “I’m saying I think you should go find Brent, and find out, instead of assuming things and damning yourself based on that! You don’t even know for sure that he is your dad!”

Abbee quickly opened Google Maps, and punched in a route from The College of the North Wind, to Canalave City.

“You could be there within six hours of us finishing this challenge in Jubilife…” Abbee remarked.

Dylan remained silent, considering what Abbee had said.

“Go talk to Jon, now,” Abbee ordered, knowing that Dylan needed a shove forward for his own sake, and that if she didn’t, he would not help himself. “I saw him heading towards the stadium. Organise with him to spend another few days in Sinnoh, and go to Canalave…”

Dylan sighed. He knew Abbee was right. His biggest hesitation was the same one that caused him to take nearly a month to open the envelope. Once he found out, he couldn’t unlearn it…

He stood, making his way to the door, and walking out silently, leaving Abbee hoping he had listened to her. When he was outside, he paused for a second, and put his hands in his pockets, making sure he hadn’t forgotten his phone, figuring if he’d be asking Jon if he could stay a few more days in Sinnoh, he should be showing him the pictures that were informing his decision. His phone was in his right, however in his left, he found something unfamiliar. Pulling it out, it took him a second to recognise the crumpled form of the letter, which had Brent’s name on it. However, as he saw it, he remembered what Nicole had said before she left.

“I won’t contact you again, but if you ever want to talk, I left my contact details in that envelope as well.”

Dylan flipped the piece of paper over, and found a phone number. Stepping away from the building, so Abbee wouldn’t overhear him, Dylan opened his phone, and quickly screenshotted the profile picture from Brent’s Facebook, before attaching it to a message addressed to the number on the page, then calling it.

”Hello, Nicole speaking,” said a now familiar voice on the other side of the line, though Dylan was still unused to hearing it.

“It’s me,” Dylan said. “Dylan…”

There was a pause, as Nicole seemed to work through the shock.

”Dylan, how are you?”

“I’m fine,” Dylan said shortly, not calling for small talk, though lying through his teeth. “I just sent you a photo, because I want to be sure…”

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and Dylan could hear the sounds of the grip on the phone being adjusted, and the call being set to hands-free.

“Is this him?” Dylan asked. He knew Abbee was right. The whole thought process, which led Dylan to where he was right now, hinged on the fact that this Brent Ashton was the Brent Ashton Nicole was referring to.

After a brief pause, Nicole answered.

“This is him…”

Dylan groaned internally, knowing that the first assumption he had made was correct, and therefore his worries being one step closer to coming to pass.

“I’ve got to go,” Dylan said, not in the mood for Nicole to think he is ready to make amends with her, and try to chat. “Thanks…”

Before she could reply, Dylan hung up, feeling a knot in his stomach as he walked towards the stadium.


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

“Grassy Terrain!” Charlotte called out to her Roserade, who cried out, before launching hundreds of small seeds into the battlefield between her and Justin’s Greninja.

“You think I’m going to fall for that trick?” Justin laughed. “Maybe the first time, but it’s no secret now that’s got a bit of Leech Seed hidden in there…”

Charlotte couldn’t help but grin, as Justin commanded Greninja to use Extrasensory, however, not at Roserade, but instead, the lush, glowing grass that separated them. As expected, the light telekinetic pressure that Greninja exuded was enough to trigger the traps, causing explosions of thorny vines into thin air in multiple sections of the grass to appear.

The pair had been practising together, both unsure they were ready to take on the College of the North Wind in three weeks, and opting to practise against one another. Whilst Charlotte generally speaking was a better battler, Justin had Regieleki, and after eighteen months with the Legendary Pokemon, was using it to its full potential. Charlotte knew the stadium was being used by Jon and Chris, and when Justin suggested they train that evening, she mentioned this, though didn’t tell Justin why, so that he’d agree to train outside. She had noticed a few minutes earlier the sounds of battle had stopped coming from the stadium, and having tried to listen carefully, had heard the sounds of Garchomp, Charizard and Lugia, though not any of Jon’s louder Pokemon. She had a hunch she knew why.

As they battled, Dylan passed them, and whilst Justin didn’t see Dylan, his back turned, Charlotte waved a greeting to him, causing Justin to turn. However, Dylan didn’t seem to notice, intent on his path towards the stadium.

Dylan passed the pair, not noticing that they were even there, being that deep in his own thoughts. The stadium was in sight, and he could see the lights were on, and figured Jon hadn’t left yet. He walked towards the sliding doors, and was taken by surprise when he bumped into Chris, accidentally nudging the smaller trainer with his shoulder as he rounded the corner to walk through the door. Both trainers stopped for a moment, and from her vantage point, Charlotte had stopped focusing on the battle to see what happened between Chris and Dylan, Justin noticing this and turning to watch as well.

“Are you right?” Chris asked antagonistically, his voice raised. He had told Dylan weeks earlier that they weren’t cool, and for everyone else's sake, he just wouldn’t have anything to do with him. However, his bruised ego and damaged pride were interfering with that intention.

Normally Dylan would have apologised, however given the headspace he was in, as well as how little he wanted to talk to Chris at the best of times these days, he instead sidestepped and walked past him through the doors. Angry at being ignored, and feeling looked down on by Dylan, after having Jon unintentionally praise Dylan whilst criticising him after his loss, Chris called out.

“Hey, a**hole! I asked you a question!” Chris called out angrily. “You deaf or something?”

“Oh f**k…” Charlotte muttered, having heard that remark from where she and Justin battled. Whilst Chris had no way of knowing this, he had made the worst possible remark to Dylan at that time. She started walking towards Chris, though knew she’d probably be too late.

Dylan, who was only a metre and a half past Chris at this point, stopped, and turned to face Chris, with a cold fire burning in his eyes.

Having heard the exchange himself, Jon had walked out of the arena, and entered the foyer in time to see Dylan grab Chris by the collar with his left hand, and slam his right fist into Chris’ eye socket.

“Dylan!” Charlotte shouted, starting to run towards him, as she saw him pulling his fist back for another hit, while Chris tore at Dylan’s hand on his shirt with his left hand, to no avail, and punching Dylan in the torso with his right hand, who in this blind rage, didn’t seem to notice it.

Charlotte reached the pair in the doorway, grabbing Dylan’s hand, attempting to free Chris, whilst Justin, who arrived a second later, grabbed Chris’ right hand. Jon joined them as soon as he could, grabbing Dylan’s raised right arm, and though shocked at how much he struggled to hold it in place.

“Dylan!” Jon shouted angrily. “Let go of him!”

Seeming to return to his senses, Jon felt the tension in Dylan’s arm disappear, as he lowered it, before letting go of Chris’ shirt.

“What the f**k is your problem?!” Chris screamed at Dylan, before attempting to rush him, and being held back by Justin.

“Chris, go get some ice on your face,” Jon said. When Chris tried to object, Jon flashed him a glare. “Walk away now, or I’ll hold you just as responsible for this…”

“Come on, let’s go,” Charlotte said, grabbing Chris’ sleeve and pulling him towards the dining hall, where she knew ice packs were kept in the freezer. Whilst she knew Chris had been less than pleasant to Dylan, and his comment just then was antagonistic in itself, it had far from warranted Dylan’s reaction. Chris wasn’t without fault, however this fight escalated so drastically by Dylan’s hand.

“This isn’t over,” Chris muttered as he started to walk away.

“It is,” Jon replied. “Go.”

Charlotte and Chris left, leaving Justin, Jon and Dylan.

“Justin, can you go make sure that nobody was around to see this?” Jon asked, thinking of the younger students, who were supposed to follow their team leader’s example. “If they have, can you ask them to keep it to themselves until I can talk to them about it?”

Justin nodded, before leaving Dylan, who remained silent, and Jon standing in the foyer. Jon turned his angry gaze onto Dylan.

“Stadium. Now…”

Dylan sighed, entering the stadium, as Jon followed, closing the door behind him. Dylan sat on one of the benches on the side of the battlefield, waiting for Jon to rip into him.

“What the f**k was that?” Jon asked, his tone indicative he was not in the mood to be lied to.

“I don’t even know…” Dylan said, his voice breaking up a little. “Everything, I guess. All at once, tipping over…”

Jon, whilst still furious at what Dylan had just done, found himself starting to worry.

“Has something happened?” Jon asked, his voice concerned, though not losing the edge that it had held most of that evening…

“I opened the envelope,” Dylan answered, as Jon started to picture why Dylan had exploded the way he did. “And I found him on Facebook…”

“You know it’s him?” Jon asked. Dylan nodded.

“I sent Mum a photo, and she confirmed it…” Dylan answered.

“He’s not what you expected?” Jon asked, well aware of how it felt being bitterly disappointed in his father.

“It’s not that,” Dylan answered. “I found a photo with him and his brother, and his brother has a hearing aid…”

Suddenly, it clicked for Jon what was going through Dylan’s mind. Why Dylan exploded after Chris asked him if he was deaf…

Jon sighed, and spoke again, his voice now what Dylan was used to.

“And you’re worried your dad’s family might have the same condition?” Jon asked, more sympathetic this time. Dylan nodded.

“Abbee thinks he might have gone deaf because of something else. But if it’s something like loud noise, a hearing aid is pretty extreme…” Dylan answered quietly. “If he is deaf because he has NF2, then I have a one in three chance of having it myself…”

Jon sighed, hearing this revelation. Alyssa had told Jon weeks ago of the news Dylan’s mum brought with her, and whilst Jon and Dylan had spoken of it in passing, it was largely in reference to the fact that Dylan may have it, but never anything deeper, such as how Dylan felt about all of this. Jon figured he had people his own age around who he probably felt more comfortable confiding in.

“Do you want to get tested?” Jon asked. “I know it’s not cheap, but we can find a way to make it happen…”

“Not yet,” Dylan answered. “That’s why I came here…”

Jon wasn’t sure where Dylan was going, so Dylan continued.

“My dad lives in Canalave City, in Sinnoh,” Dylan explained. “After the challenge in Jubilife, I was wanting to spend a few more days in Sinnoh and meet him…”

“Of course,” Jon answered. “I’ll be taking a few weeks off from Academy work once summer is over, and I wanted you to do the same thing. You’re an adult, so if you want to spend some of that time in Canalave, you don’t need my permission…”

Dylan nodded, as Jon sighed again.

“But, I can’t just let what happened slide,” Jon continued, hardly happy about this himself. “I know Chris has been less than pleasant towards you this summer, and before Abbee broke up with him, I thought he’d have grown out of it by now. And I know that you’ve got a lot going on, with barely any time alone to figure stuff out. But fact is that you assaulted another intern. He’s going to have a black eye, and everyone is going to know he was in a fight. And it’s not fair on Chris for us to keep this whole thing private when really, you were the one who started the fight…”

Dylan nodded, understanding Jon’s reasoning. If Chris didn’t have any physical marks to show he had been in the fight, Jon could swear both trainers to secrecy and have a little more flexibility in how he responded to it. However, if Jon attempted to keep the whole thing on the downlow, people would still know Chris was involved, and he was more likely to be viewed as the instigator.

“For the rest of the summer, you’ll be responsible for all of Chris’ supervisory tasks. Things like keeping an eye on things while students have free time, supervising duty groups, weekend activities and seminars, you’ll be taking all of Chris’ shifts,” Jon explained. “And this is your first and only warning. If this happens again, I have to let you go…”

The thought of losing his job at the Academy terrified Dylan, though he knew Jon was right. This was a camp where teenagers as they were, children, attended, and one violent incident could potentially be explained as an isolated incident under extenuating circumstances. Any more however, couldn’t.

“In terms of Chris, I think between the punch to the head you gave him, and the new one Charlotte is going to tear him, that anything more from me will be excessive. I already taught him a lesson tonight, which is why he was in such a bad mood,” Jon explained. “Give him space, and don’t let this happen again…”

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

“I’m going to kick his f**king teeth in…” Chris muttered as he sat in the kitchen next to the dining room, Charlotte holding an ice-pack wrapped in a dish towel on his already bruised face. “Honestly, where does he get off doing that…”

“Drop it,” Charlotte said sternly. “Jon’s dealing with him. If you go and pick a fight with him, you’ll be the one in trouble for it, and honestly, my money would be on him…”

Chris swore under his breath, before wincing at another wave of pain from his eye. By the time he and Charlotte arrived at the dining hall, it was swollen, making it difficult for Chris to see.

“Stop playing the victim Chris, really,” Charlotte lectured, tired herself of how Chris had been acting.

“I’m the one with a f**king black eye!”

“And you honestly think you don’t deserve it, just a little?” Charlotte asked. Chris’ expression didn’t change, so she continued. “You’ve been a d**k to him since the s**t at the Firehouse, and going on about it because he upset your girlfriend. Well guess what? She was over it within a few hours, and isn’t your girlfriend anymore, so that excuse for your grudge is now obviously bulls**t!”

“Watch it,” Chris said angrily, not wanting to have this conversation about Abbee.

“And given what you said to him, I don’t blame him for trying to knock you out-” Charlotte began, though realising she said too much. Chris noticed her stop speaking, and looked at her confused.

“I barely said anything?” Chris asked irritably. “Nothing worth going full f**king psycho on me for!”

“His mum showed up here after walking out ten years ago, a month ago,” Charlotte hissed angrily, regretting already telling Chris Dylan’s personal business, but sick of Chris’ reasoning and excuses. “She came to tell him she had been diagnosed with some genetic disorder that was making her go deaf, and chances are, Dylan may have it. If he does, he will be deaf by the time he is forty-five, and he’s tried to hide it, but it scares the s**t out of him…”

Chris took a moment to see the link between what Charlotte had said, and his fight with Chris, until he remembered what he had said to Dylan.

“You deaf or something?”

Chris groaned, and Charlotte knew he realised what was going on.

“He told you about this?” Chris asked.

“He told all of us,” Charlotte replied. “He probably would have told you as well if you weren’t being such an a** all summer…”

Chris couldn’t hide the shame he felt.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Chris said, ashamed that he pushed the one button that probably would have hurt Dylan the most right about now.

“No, I’m not,” Charlotte answered, handing Chris the ice pack. “Get your s**t together, because none of us want to be picking sides…”

Charlotte stood from her seat, and left the room, closing the door behind her. On the other side, she heard an angry yell from Chris, and the crash of the ice-pack he was holding, being thrown across the room in frustration. She sighed as she walked back to the lodge. A year earlier, she had feelings for him, which she had lied to herself about until it was too late. Chris was interested in Abbee, and before long, they were together. Since then, she had repressed them, in the interest of her friendship with both. Now he and Abbee weren’t together anymore, but Chris was hardly the same person she had feelings for a year ago.

“Nothing I can do…” Charlotte muttered, unaware she said the exact same thing when she overheard Chris talking to Justin about Abbee, in the Safari Zone a year earlier…

[[Desolate Divine]]

Two more episodes and the Epilogues left and Season 3 is done! Episode 9 was an interesting one to write though!

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 3 Episode 10: Forevermore

Spoiler:

“Honestly, I think you’ve got what it takes to get us off to a good start,” Jon said to Justin, as he called back Nidoking, and Justin returned his Lucario to its Pokeball. “And honestly, that may be exactly what we need…”

It was Monday of the tenth week of summer, and in a little over a week, the summer program would end. The students would return to their homes, with school starting a week or two later. Normally, the interns would leave too, with Justin preparing for his second year of university, Chris and Charlotte competing in the professional circuits, Dylan remaining at the Academy to help Jon with running the programs that happened during the year, and Abbee preparing for her move to Unova, where she had a job lined up as a trainer in the Nimbasa City Gym. However, one change to this plan had come in the previous few weeks, in the form of a challenge from the legendary former Sinnoh Champion, and founder of the College of the North Wind, Camilla Blakely. Instead, once the last of the Eon Academy students went home, Jon and the interns would be taking a flight to Jubilife City Sinnoh, Charlotte’s home, where each of the interns would take on the top five students from the College of the North Wind, before Jon would take on Camilla herself.

The challenge was less than two weeks away, and as such, the six of them were all working hard to brush up on their skills, and put up a hell of a fight, considering how tough they knew their opponents were.

“I’m glad you think so,” Justin replied. “I didn’t ask to be the first one challenged…”

Whilst it wasn’t set in stone that the battles would be conducted in the order they were challenged, Jon had a hunch that would be the way it played out, leaving Justin in a somewhat stressful position. The result of his match would determine morale for the rest of the team, which could play into how far they are willing to go to win their own respective matches.

Jon noticed the door to the stadium open, and Chris quietly enter, remaining near the door while Jon finished his session with Justin.

“Don’t let Melmetal worry you too much,” Jon said, referring to the Legendary Pokemon present in the video where the challenge was issued. Justin hadn’t seen the Pokemon before, and knew little of it. “I think that Legendary or not, you can beat it with your normal style of battling. If you focus too much on Melmetal, you risk letting opportunities from her other Pokemon slip through…”

Justin nodded, before thanking Jon, and making his way out of the arena, greeting Chris on his way out. Though he wasn’t fond of the way Chris had been acting recently, especially towards Dylan, Justin made a point of not letting the way he interacted with Chris change. For the last two years, Chris had been his best friend, and he knew that Chris was acting out because of his breakup with Abbee. The last thing he wanted was for Chris to think that they’d all turned their backs on him, even if he potentially deserved it, and to just get worse instead of better.

Chris nodded at Justin as he left, before awkwardly making his way towards Jon. The last time he had been alone with Jon, it was after Jon challenged Chris to a match to prove a point, and proceeded to wipe the floor with him. Jon had then told Chris not to come to one on one training, until he was ready to listen to Jon’s advice. Otherwise it was a waste of time. Jon made eye-contact with Chris, keeping his tone level.

“You ready to listen to me?”

Whilst Chris hated that he’d argued with Jon as much as he did the week before, on a point he didn’t even believe just to avoid admitting he hadn’t been battling at his best, he still found it difficult to give Jon the answer he knew he needed to give.

“Yes,” Chris said, though his tone was a little less remorseful and sincere than Jon would have hoped for. “I’ll do as you say, and change things up.”

“Good. Send out a Pokemon, and we’ll start,” Jon answered, not pushing the point further. He knew it was a big step for Chris to be able to say that, even if he didn’t believe it one hundred percent. He had seen in Chris in recent weeks, especially since Abbee broke up with him, his actions being dictated by his pride, and whilst Chris had always been somewhat of a proud trainer, it usually wasn’t the driving factor in his decision making. Recently however, with his pride damaged, that had changed…

Chris nodded, sending out his first Pokemon. As he did the week before, he opened with Lugia, knowing that the Legendary Pokemon was still young and relatively inexperienced, only having been caught a matter of months earlier. Jon had selected a Pokeball at the same time, sending out Scizor again. Jon had a hunch that Chris would send out Lugia and had been intentional about recreating the same opening matchup to Chris’ loss against him the week before.

”Begin!”

“Future Sight!” Chris commanded, as Lugia cried out, its eyes flashing briefly for a moment, as nothing seemed to happen.

“Double Team!”

Like the last battle, Scizor split into a group of copies, only one being able to take damage, with the rest disappearing.

“Dragon Rush! Try and hit as many as you can!” Chris commanded, remembering how using Lugia’s large stature in that way helped in the previous battle. Lugia became shrouded in the same draconic aura, before launching forward, and knocking four copies out of existence, though not hitting the original. Chris was fine with this though.

“Iron Head!” Jon commanded. Scizor leapt forward, carried by its rapidly beating winds, and slamming head first into Lugia, stunning it for a moment and causing it to flinch. “Brutal Swing!”

Lugia only just regained its senses from the heavy hitting Iron Head attack, before it took Scizor’s Brutal Swing, managing to hold onto its focus. Suddenly, there was a loud boom, as from behind Scizor, a telekinetic attack struck, slamming into the back of the Pokemon, which resisted the bulk of it. However, Chris hadn’t ordered that attack to knock it out, but simply break its rhythm.

“Grab it!” Chris shouted. Lugia let out a cry, as Scizor found itself grappled by a strong telekinetic grip holding it in place. “Now hit it with a Dragon Tail, then launch it!”

Lugia pivoted into a spin, and used the momentum to slam its large and heavy tail into Scizor, who was still held in place by Lugia’s telekinesis. Due to the telekinesis holding it in place, none of the power of the Dragon Tail attack was wasted knocking Scizor back, albeit, also damaging Lugia with recoil, hitting an immovable object. Once the attack had landed, there was a boom, as Scizor was thrown across the battlefield, hitting the wall on the other end and falling unconscious.

Jon had watched this match curiously. Chris had definitely been less impulsive, and strategized more. Between using Future Sight to distract Scizor enough for Lugia to land some heavy hits, and combining Lugia’s telekinetic prowess with the benefits of its bulky size, Chris had disposed of the Pokemon that had wiped out his three Pokemon in their last match. However, his battling was still very aggressive, and somewhat inconsiderate of the recoil it left Lugia with. Even then though, it was a drastic improvement.

“Better. Much, much better…” Jon said, before getting his next Pokemon ready.

The pair continued training, using the full hour, with all of Chris’ Pokemon getting some time to train against half of Jon’s team, the other half still tired from the session with Justin. It was nearing five when the session ended, though Jon addressed Chris before he went.

“Can we talk?” Jon asked, as Chris, who had turned to leave, turned back around to face him. He didn’t reply, but Jon took this as an affirmative.

“Look, I know that things didn’t work out the way you hoped with you and Abbee, and I know that you and Dylan were far from on good terms before he punched you…” Jon said gently, as he noticed Chris’ eyes narrow at the mention. “I see the way things have been playing out, and I don’t want you doing things you will regret. It’s a slippery slope. It can start with your attitude, and move to your words, then your actions…”

“Is there something you want to say?” Chris asked, his tone almost snappy.

“I just want you to ask yourself exactly why you make the decisions you do. Good or bad…” Jon said, trying to keep his demeanour approachable and genuine. “It’s a lot easier to make good decisions when you have a rough idea of why you’re making them…”

“Did you ask yourself why you were doing it when you hospitalised Lance?”

The question took Jon by surprise, and for a moment his temper flared. However, it was a valid question. Jon was subtly lecturing Chris about self control, when his history showed a lack of it.

“If I had, I wouldn’t have done that,” Jon answered, remaining calm. “I did because I wasn’t past some things in my life that had hurt me, as much as I thought I was, and in the moment when I intervened, the wires crossed. I took out my other issues on Lance, and I regret it. Before I met with you in Johto back in April, I actually visited Lance in prison to apologise for that…”

The last statement took Chris by surprise, and he was unable to hide that from Jon in that moment. He knew that Lance had saved the Academy as a method of fulfilling his own grudge with Mark Hill, however wasn’t aware Jon had any contact with his older, disgraced cousin.

However the shock of that triggered his mind into considering what Jon had said before. He knew that his lashing out at those around him, particularly Dylan, was the same as Jon’s reason for hospitalising Lance. There were things that had hurt him, that he wasn’t past, and the wires were being crossed…

However, he couldn’t admit that.

Jon noticed Chris’ expression shift back to the same bitter one he seemed to hold most days, as he turned and left. When Chris was out of earshot, he sighed to himself.

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

“So you’re training with Jon again?” Charlotte asked Chris as they ate lunch, Justin sitting at the table with them. It was Tuesday, less than a day since his training session with Jon, and a day before he had another.

Chris nodded at the question, though not particularly wanting to talk about the fact that Jon had suspended their sessions.

“Good,” Charlotte answered. “I know I gotta do some extra training for the challenge, but I have enough sessions as is without helping you with yours…”

“Thanks for being willing to do it,” Chris said, surprising Charlotte and Justin a little. Even though he had no direct grudge with the pair of them, his grudge with Dylan, Abbee and Jon had made him less than pleasant to be around, with both trainers trying to be the bridge between Chris and those he was pushing away.

The dining hall was full with students. Those who weren’t eating were helping to get stuff set up for the prom that Friday evening, directed by Abbee, who was assisted herself by Dylan. Charlotte looked around at the room, which was looking less like a dining room with each passing hour. The partitions to the recreation room and the hall were open, making it a large space, and whilst Jon had told Abbee specifically all three spaces needed to be usable for their intended purpose until the prom itself, Abbee had planned in great detail exactly how much work they could spread out over the week leading up, so that all they would be doing the afternoon of the prom would be removing things like the dining room furniture.

“They’re really going all out with this prom,” Charlotte remarked, before looking at Justin. “You figured out what you’re wearing yet?”

“Dylan, Abbee and I went into town on the weekend to the hire place to get our outfits,” Justin answered. “I asked him if I should have told you, but he said you’d already arranged to borrow his car today to go yourself…”

Charlotte nodded. She hadn’t arranged anything to wear for herself yet, and going to the hire shop on Tuesday afternoon suited her plans better, so she had asked Dylan the week before about borrowing his car. She turned to Chris.

“What about you?”

Chris shrugged, poking at the bowl of pasta that was his lunch.

“Not sure,” Chris answered. “Might not even go.”

“Come on,” Charlotte said. “I even managed to convince the fifteen year old boys in my group that going to the prom isn’t going to make them less cool. Don’t tell me I gotta convince you too…”

Chris didn’t reply, causing Justin to intervene.

“Seriously, don’t be a buzzkill,” Justin said exasperatedly. “You’ll be the only one not there! And when was the last time we did anything for the fun of it?”

Chris couldn’t answer, so Justin spoke for him.

“Honestly, it was probably when everyone sat down together in the lodge, to watch and laugh at my commercial,” Justin answered, intentionally going for the self-deprecating answer to try and lighten the mood. Charlotte couldn’t help but laugh. “That was like six weeks ago!”

Now that he thought about it, Chris realised that was probably true.

“Justin’s right,” Charlotte agreed. “We’ve been working here and training our a**es off for weeks. Next week will be our last opportunity, so will probably be taking up most of our time, and then we go to Sinnoh for this challenge. After that, we go our separate ways until next summer. This is the last fun for the sake of fun thing we will be able to do…”

“Fine,” Chris sighed, partially to stop the tag-teamed lecture from his two friends. Charlotte grinned, before having a think of how she could improve her own plans.

“Then this afternoon, you’re coming with me into town to pick something out to wear,” Charlotte said, not giving him any reason to think he had a choice in the matter. She turned to Justin. “You’re coming too.”

“Why?” Justin asked. “I picked up my suit the other day?”

“I don’t know where this place is,” Charlotte said, conveniently forgetting the fact her phone could direct her. “And I figure you can help Ray of Sunshine over here choose something to wear…”

“And I don’t have a choice?” Justin asked.

“Nope…”

Justin sighed, before looking at his phone, and seeing he needed to start getting ready for his team’s training with Jon that afternoon. He looked over at Chris.

“If you bail on the prom after I come out to help you choose something decent, I’ll kick your a**,” Justin joked. Chris snorted in response.

“Good luck with that,” Chris answered. “It’s not like I’m telling you to come. Take it up with her.”

“I don’t care,” Justin said, as he turned to leave. “You’re locked in…”

Charlotte couldn’t help but grin, and for the first time in a while, thought Chris might be acting more like himself.

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

Charlotte’s good feeling about Chris being more like himself was short lived. Justin had his group’s session with Jon, before Chris had his, and the trio then left the Academy. He had been quiet, and scientifically speaking, a bit of a buzzkill since.

She drove Dylan’s car, with Chris sitting in the passenger seat next to her, and Justin in the back seat. He directed them into the carpark, which was looking emptier, due to it being an hour until closing time, where she parked the car. When she did, she looked over at the shop, before looking at Justin in the rear view mirror.

“You mind running ahead and organising for the cost to go on the Eon Academy’s tab?” Charlotte asked. “You were here the other day, so know how it all works…”

Justin knew that Charlotte was well and truly capable of doing that herself, even if she hadn’t been there, but was switched on enough to know she wanted some time alone to talk to Chris. Whilst Justin was making sure to not let the bridge between himself and Chris burn, by being there for him even when he was less than pleasant, he knew that when it came to laying down the law, Charlotte was better suited, and had the right sort of friendship with him to actually have results.

“Sure,” Justin answered. “I’ll see you in there…”

Justin climbed out of the car, as Chris undid his seatbelt.

“Wait a minute,” Charlotte said, before pressing the button in the driver’s door armrest to lock the doors of the car. Chris looked at her, not amused. “I want to talk for a minute…”

Chris remained silent, not making it any easier for Charlotte, figuring that this was probably going to be a lecture of some sort.

“I just wanted to say that I know you’re upset. You’re disappointed, and angry,” Charlotte began. “And embarrassed…”

She noticed Chris tense up a little at the last description, as she continued.

“Anyone would be given what’s happened this summer. And it’s okay to feel that way…” Charlotte said. “But feelings can change, and if you act out purely because of something as fickle as how you feel in a given moment, you’re going to do stuff you regret. Like Dylan did last week…”

Charlotte knew that Chris’ mood soured when he was being compared to Dylan, in that he wasn’t meeting a standard Dylan set. So she hoped that going the other way, and comparing him to Dylan in respect to a mistake Dylan had made, would have the opposite effect.

“I’m not saying you should go become best friends with Abbee and Dylan as soon as we get back. That isn’t healthy,” Charlotte said. “But don’t burn the bridge with them that you’ve spent this long building, because of how you feel now. You’ll find that you aren’t as angry about all of this one day, but have lost two good friends anyway…”

Chris sighed a little. Charlotte made sense. And whilst he was bitter and hurting, he did miss the good times he shared with Abbee, and even Dylan.

“Jon said something similar to me yesterday…” Chris said quietly. “He said to think why I make the decisions I make. Good or bad. I made a smart a** remark about him beating up Lance back on the S.S. Wishmaker, and he told me he regrets that, and has since reached out and apologised to Lance…”

This was news to Charlotte, with the only intern who knew of Jon’s contact with Lance being Dylan. However, Chris mentioning this stood to benefit her point.

“Maybe you should do that,” Charlotte said softly. “Apologise to Dylan and Abbee about the last few weeks, then just give them some space. It might be awkward, but maybe next summer, things could be better…”

Chris couldn’t help but remember the summer before, when he was worried Dylan was annoyed at him and his lack of preparation for the trip Dylan had organised to capture Pokemon for the Academy. Without there being any issues in the open, he had pre-emptively apologised to Dylan, and the pair had actually ended up on good terms, right up until the argument at the Firehouse. He then felt the now sadly familiar sense of shame at how things had changed, and how he had been acting. But to take action to fix things, would be to admit to everyone that he had screwed up.

Chris sighed, before pulling the tab in the door handle to unlock it, and climbing out of the car. Charlotte rolled her eyes, knowing that Chris was done with this conversation, before getting out of the car herself and following him into the hire shop. Chris entered a few metres ahead of her, causing a bell above the door to ring as he entered, ringing again when she followed behind him.

She noticed Justin waiting for them by the men’s section, looking over a potential suit for Chris.

“Everything sorted?” Charlotte asked. Justin nodded.

“Just find something you like, make sure it fits, and let them know at the counter,” Justin explained. “Jon will get billed for it.”

“Brilliant,” Charlotte remarked. “I don’t recall him giving us a limit, so this should be fun…”

Justin laughed, though knew that there wasn’t a huge variance in rental costs in the store, before following Chris back into the men’s section, leaving Charlotte to make her way to the women’s section and find a dress.

She spent the next little while looking through dresses, trying to find one she liked. Whilst she wasn’t the sort of girl who hated wearing dresses, choosing to wear suits instead to formal events, unlike Abbee, who was often seen wearing a casual dress of some variety, Charlotte’s day to day attire tended to be loose fitting tops over jeans or leggings, sometimes with a knit jacket or jumper during colder months. As such, she didn’t wear dresses often.

However, the struggle to find a dress wasn’t caused purely by that, but also the distracting thoughts of other things. Particularly the reason why she had decided to come to the hire shop that day in particular, and why she had coerced Justin into coming to help Chris. As she thought about these things, she noticed a dress on the rack a little to her left. She pulled it out to get a better look, before deciding that was it, and looking around for Justin.

“What about this?” Justin asked, holding a black jacket out to Chris, who looked at it for a moment, before shaking his head.


“No,” Chris said bluntly, though obviously distracted, and being difficult by default.

“That’s the sixth one you’ve rejected,” Justin remarked. “What’s wrong with it?”

“I don’t know…” Chris replied. “I just don’t like it…”

Justin put it back, before having an idea, conveniently timed with the sound of the bell by the door. He looked around the rack of jackets in front of him, as Charlotte approached them, holding a dress on a coat hanger.

“What about this one?” Justin asked, trying to sound genuine. He held in front of him a bright blue jacket, and a white vest. It looked atrocious, and Justin knew it. Chris glanced at it, as he did the six before, though this time his eyes widened.

“Dude, you think I’d be seen in that?” Chris asked, shocked that Justin had even suggested it. “I wouldn’t even let myself be buried in it!”

“I don’t think you’ll have a lot of say at that point…” Charlotte noted, causing Justin to laugh.

“Fine, if you don’t like that, why don’t you try this on…”

Justin grabbed the jacket he was actually going to suggest before intentionally showing Chris one he knew he would reject spectacularly. A dark maroon jacket, that seemed to be made of a soft material, much nicer than the polyester ones that were also on offer.

“Fine,” Chris remarked. “I’ll try this one…”

Chris grabbed the jacket, as well as the matching pants that Justin had grabbed from the rack, taking them with the white button up shirt Justin had already picked out, and making his way to the changing rooms. With Chris now gone, Charlotte spoke.

“You mind helping me pick out some shoes?” Charlotte asked.

“You know that I’m the last person you should be asking to help with that…” Justin answered.

“Well you’re all I’ve got right now, so you’re the last person I can ask,” Charlotte pointed out. Justin kicked himself a little for leaving that window for her, before reluctantly agreeing. The pair made their way to the women’s shoe section of the store, with Charlotte looking in one rack, and Justin looking in another.

“Anything in particular?” Justin asked, figuring the best he could do is suggest some that may work, and cut the time Charlotte would have spent looking by herself in half.

“Something that goes well with the dress. Size nine,” she answered. “But no stupid heels. I don’t particularly feel like breaking an ankle…”

Justin knelt on the ground, looking through the racks that stood a foot off the floor that contained different pairs of formal shoes. He noted one pair, pulling them out, and turning towards where Charlotte was to get her opinion. Behind him, he heard footsteps and a familiar voice he was not expecting to hear here of all places.

“They look nice, but I don’t think you could pull them off.”

Justin turned in shock, nearly giving himself whiplash, to see Candice standing over him, a wide smile on her face. Dropping the shoes, Justin stood, and near tackled her with the hug he gave, before kissing her.

“What’re you doing here?” Justin asked, before Charlotte rounded the corner behind Candice, a knowing grin on her face. He directed his question towards Charlotte. “Is this why you were so hell bent on me coming?”

Charlotte couldn’t help but laugh.

“Abbee sent Candice the invite when the prom got announced. Figured she’d surprise you if she could get some time off,” Charlotte explained. “I was originally going to bring her back to the Academy with me and surprise her then, but figured if Chris was needing to come here, I could get you here too…”

Justin looked at Candice, ecstatic to see her so unexpectedly. Her grin widened.

“I got Abbee’s message, and figured it’d be fun surprising you,” she explained. “Nobody has beaten Volkner that hasn’t beaten me since, so I put in for a week's leave.”

Justin hugged her again, still unable to believe she was here.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Chris walked over, holding the suit he had just tried on.

“Nice to see you Candice,” Chris said, forcing a grin, even though he didn’t feel like it. He liked Candice, enjoying her sense of humour and carefree nature. However, seeing his best friend surprised by a visit from his girlfriend, whilst Chris was still reeling from being dumped a few weeks earlier, stung a little. Candice grinned a greeting at Chris, as Justin looked at the suit.

“How is that one?” Justin asked, nodding towards the suit.

“I like the colour and the material,” Chris explained. “It’s just a little small.”

Justin nodded.

“We’ll find one a bit better then…”

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

“Okay, try now…”

Dylan’s voice was muffled, as he lay on the ground on his side, the top half of his body obscured by a cabinet which contained the audio desk for the hall section of the main building. Dinner had finished an hour earlier, and people in the building had started to disperse, meaning that they could make sure things were working without disturbing those who were having conversations over a meal.

Abbee pressed the play button on her phone, causing music to play through the speakers at the front of the hall. However…

“It’s only coming through the front,” Abbee said, raising her voice for Dylan to hear.

“That’s right,” Dylan called back, not wanting to get up, only to potentially have to crawl back in. “There are only two channels for the main fader. I have the others set to auxiliary.”

“You know I don’t have a clue what that means?”

The exercise was to have music playing through speakers in multiple rooms. Whilst the recreation room partition was opened for large events that couldn’t seat everyone in the hall, and whilst any voices through microphones could reach those sitting at the back of the double room without being obnoxiously loud for those sitting closest to the speakers, music would not have that same benefit. To have the main speakers loud enough to play for the entire triple room being used for the prom, those standing closest to the speakers would be deafened.

As such, with Jon’s permission, Dylan had attached some small, discrete hooks to the walls of all three rooms, allowing him to route cables along the walls from the sound desk itself, to additional speakers in those rooms. They had rented some speakers and necessary cables, setting them up, and now was the moment of truth.

“Look at the desk for the only black fader that is turned up,” Dylan called out. Abbee looked at the desk and saw that in line with the cable from her phone, inserted into the desk, was a black knob, sitting in a groove to slide up and down. The others were all pulled to the very bottom, implying there was no volume going through.

“I found it.”

“Look above it for four twist knobs labelled auxiliary one, two, three and four…” Dylan answered. “Pick one, and slowly turn it…”

Abbee looked up, finding the four knobs, before grabbing the first and turning it slowly. Gradually, she began to hear the music coming from the recreation room behind her, as well as the speakers in front of her.

“If it’s working, test the others!” Dylan called out, hardly comfortable where he lay, cables digging into his side. Abbee quickly tested them, and sure enough the four speakers they had rented and set up in the dining room and recreation room all worked, controlled independently.

“It works,” Abbee said. “You can come out!”

Dylan grunted and groaned, as he wriggled himself out of the gap behind the sound desk, while Abbee continued.

“It’s great they can be controlled independently,” Abbee began. “But is it too complicated? Like, let’s just say Charlotte needs to come over and turn off the music quickly to make an announcement? She has four dials and a fader…”

“Nope,” Dylan answered, before pressing a button near some dials labelled Auxiliary Master. The button itself was labelled Post Fader. “Pull the fader down now…”

Abbee obliged, pulling the fader down, and to her slight surprise, all the speakers went quiet.

“That button uses the fader as a master for all the channels it goes through. Main or auxiliary,” Dylan explained. “As long as nobody touches that button, that fader will control volume for all speakers.”

“I still don’t get how you know all this?” Abbee remarked, finding herself impressed by Dylan’s technical skills in whatever field he seemed to put his mind to.

“The first school camp we had here after the first summer, one of the kids had seen this and played with buttons,” Dylan explained. “Jon tried to use the microphone and it fed back like crazy, and neither of us knew how to fix it. So I did an online course to learn the basics. It’s actually pretty simple…”

“Still, I’d never have gotten this set up myself,” Abbee remarked.

“And I’d have never got the room looking as great as you have,” Dylan retorted. He was right. The rooms were all practically done in terms of decoration. Black cloth had been ironed out, and hung across the walls, blacking them out, and providing a neutral backdrop for white and blue fabric draped in downward arcs repeating across each of the walls. On one wall was a large banner with the Eon Academy logo, a large silhouette of Latios, with some plain text inscribing the name. Additionally, fairy lights had been hung from the ceiling, and whilst they weren’t overly bright, when the house lights were turned off, and they were turned on and synchronised, they provided a nice, white ambient mood lighting. Additionally, the outskirts of all three rooms contained foldable tables, decorated with table cloths and various ornaments, all waiting to be put into their proper positions when lunch finished on Friday, and the three rooms weren’t being used for any official purposes.

Abbee grinned at the compliment, before holding up her hand, Dylan responding with a high-five.

“Let’s make sure the levels are okay, so we can just turn the main fader up, then we’ll call it a night,” Dylan suggested, causing Abbee to nod. Firstly, they played the music again, with all the auxiliary speakers muted, getting the right amount of volume from the front speakers, before Abbee moved towards the first of the auxiliary speakers, as Dylan slowly increased the volume, Abbee gesturing up and down to help him fine tune it. After that, she moved to the next one, and repeated the process, until they had the music coming through all three rooms evenly.

“I’m going to strangle Victini…” Abbee remarked, as she and Dylan ate ice cream from their respective bowls. By this point the hall was empty, students opting to spend their time outdoors, given how nice of a night it was. Victini’s hunger for ice-cream was more legendary than the Pokemon himself, and made Latios’ thirst for beer look tame, and when Abbee looked in the kitchen freezer for the tub of ice cream she had bought herself at the same time as the one she bought for Victini, she found both were gone. Thankfully, Dylan knew Jon and Alyssa had some in their house, and whilst he couldn’t be sure that Victini wasn’t that desperate for a fix, he had a hunch Victini wouldn’t risk getting caught stealing by Jon, especially when Latios could be anywhere…

“You’ve had Victini for two years now, right?” Dylan asked. Abbee grinned.

“Two years, and honestly, I think he has me trained more than I have him…”

Dylan chuckled to himself, somewhat surprised that they were nearing the end of their third summer at the Academy. This Friday was the prom, and less than a week later, the property would be practically empty, only Alyssa and Amelia remaining until Jon, and then Dylan returned. He figured that Charlotte would spend a bit more time at the Academy between competitions, seeing as Deoxys still needed training, but given the fact that she came to the Academy a month earlier than normal, and in the month before that, had spent time with her classmates in both Johto and Hoenn, she had made a point of deciding to spend a month or two in Sinnoh with her family, seeing as the challenge was going to be bringing her home.

“You’re drifting off,” Abbee remarked, unable to hide the small smile. “What’s on your mind?”

“Just wondering how this is the third summer, practically over…” Dylan answered. “Like, I’ve been living here nearly two years now, and it doesn’t seem like it’s been more than six months…”

“I know what you mean,” Abbee answered back.

As they sat in the dining hall, they weren’t overly aware of the goings on outside, and neither of them had heard the sound through the open door of footsteps crunching on the gravel outside the main hall.

Chris had been coming to the main hall to try and find his wallet, having noticed the weight of it absent from his pocket, when he recognized Abbee and Dylan’s voices through the open door. He stopped shy of the doorframe, hearing them speak.

“I mean, two years ago, was when Dad died, and it still surprises me he has been gone for that long…” Abbee continued. “And a year ago was when Chris and I…”

Her voice quietened, before ceasing into silence, unable to find the words.

“I guess that I figured if we’d be able to get through to this summer, after living in different cities for the nine months between, we’d be fine,” Abbee said. “And that time just flew by like it was nothing. And now, when I was willing to consider the fact that this wasn’t just a glorified crush, and planned ahead with that in mind, is when it all just went pear shaped…”

Chris’ hands clenched into fists hearing this, bitter that Abbee was complaining about their relationship falling apart when she was the one who ended it.

“Do you regret what you did?” Dylan asked. Though he doubted that was the case, it seemed odd for Abbee to bring this up in the way she was.

“No, I don’t,” Abbee said, her resolve a little more obvious in this. “But I do regret the fact it didn’t work out, and that Chris now hates the pair of us…”

From outside, Chris felt his heart sink hearing that. Whilst he was angry that Abbee had broken up with him, and had his serious misgivings about Dylan, he didn’t hate her. He wasn’t even sure he hated Dylan at this point. So it shook Chris to hear that that was how Abbee thought he felt about her for breaking up with him.

“Don’t get me wrong, I think he has been out of line with how he has been acting…” Abbee added, causing Chris’ temper to flare slightly. “Look, I get he is hurting, and is acting out because of that…”

“But at the same time, he isn’t the only one hurting…”

Abbee’s words had taken Chris by surprise. Since their breakup, Abbee had been working non-stop on the prom, and from Chris’ perspective, hadn’t seemed upset at all by the fact they broke up.

“I might have been the one to end it, but I did that because I felt like I had no better option. That if I didn’t now, I would have to in a year or two, when it would just be harder for both of us,” Abbee lamented. “I still lost something when I ended things. I still loved him, had my heart break in my chest when I told him that it wasn’t working, and seeing how quickly things just fell apart between us since…”

Chris felt a pang of guilt at Abbee’s words about him, and how she felt given the circumstances. He knew that a month or two ago, had Abbee been made that upset by someone else, he would have not taken it well. That was the reason why his friendship with Dylan initially fell apart. And now, he heard from her just how she felt given their breakup.

“Honestly, I just wish that things could be the way they were last summer when Candice visited,” Abbee said quietly. “But the longer things go like this, the less I believe that’s possible…”

Unable to hear anymore, Chris left. He walked back to the lodge, thinking over what he had heard, on top of what had been said to him by Jon and Charlotte over the previous few days. By the time he reached his room in the lodge, he had made up his mind. He could apologize to Abbee, but chances are, she would struggle to believe it. He knew it would come across more as him trying to make things right with her, and working things out so they could get back together, than simply apologising for how he had been acting, and being okay with potentially gaining nothing from it. Being his own worst critic, Chris knew that he was too proud to apologise if he didn’t expect to get something from it, and in his line of thinking, the others saw it the same way, Abbee especially.

To make things right, Chris knew he had to apologise to Dylan first. He stood nothing to gain from apologising to Dylan, only to put his own pride on the line, and accept fault for letting things get so bad between them. If he couldn’t do that, why should Abbee think his apology to her is genuine, and not just to recover what had been lost?

Chris made the decision. Before summer ended, he’d apologise to Dylan…

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

Chris’ decision to apologise to Dylan proved to be a lot harder to follow through with than he originally thought. Dylan and Abbee’s groups shared classes, which eliminated the large portion of instances when Chris knew exactly where Dylan would be. And whilst Dylan did teach the Raising Pokemon class for all groups, he wouldn’t be teaching Chris’ group until Thursday, and Chris didn’t think it would be a good idea to apologise whilst Dylan was running a class.

Chris had tried to talk to Dylan during their mutual free time in the afternoon, however realised it was also hard to nail down Dylan to talk to him, given the fact that much like the last six or so weeks, and especially since the fight between them the week before, Dylan was going out of his way to avoid Chris.

As such, it got to ten o’clock, Wednesday evening, when Jon had called all the interns to meet with himself and Candice in the lodge lounge room. Dylan sat with Abbee on one couch, Chris with Charlotte on another, and Justin on his own. Jon stood at the front of the room, Candice standing with him, as those present wondered why he had summoned them.

“You’re probably wondering why I have you all here…” Jon began, looking across at each of their faces, and was pleasantly surprised to see Chris looking more like himself at the start of summer.

“Something to do with the challenge?” Charlotte asked, and Jon nodded.

“Candice here, being a Sinnoh Gym Leader, knows a few people in the Sinnoh Elite Four, both past and present, a couple of which, being former College of the North Wind students…” Jon explained, as those present realised why Jon had gathered them. “As such, she was able to get a little bit more information about the trainers we are battling than we originally had.”

“Such as their teams?” Chris asked, earning a chorus of agreement from Charlotte, Justin and quietly, Abbee as well.

“Unfortunately, no,” Candice explained. “Weeks before they uploaded that overdramatic video challenging you, Camilla had all records of her top five students Pokemon removed from the internet. The only way now to find out would be to use the League Database, which would be considered cheating…”

“Nothing that game breaking,” Jon agreed. “However, Candice was able to find out about the sort of training they undertake, so we have a better idea of what we might be up against…”

Jon handed over to Candice, taking a seat on the couch next to Justin, as she began to speak.

“So I’ve learnt two key facts about the training regime of the College of the North Wind,” Candice explained to the group, before raising a finger. “The first is that the College of the North Wind hire researchers from Jubilife University to analyse individual Pokemon of their trainers…”

Dylan’s eyes widened hearing this.

“What this means is that when a student at the College of the North Wind battles with a Pokemon, they know exactly what their individual strengths and weaknesses are. For example, I have a Sneasel, and based on decades of research, Sneasel as a species are known to be quick, and better physical attackers,” Candice explained, those present nodding in agreement. “However, generally speaking, their attack power in special moves is on par with a Zubat. Rubbish to say the least…”

Jon and Dylan both understood the implication of this, with Justin on his way to putting the pieces together when Candice explained it.

“Jon has trained you all to know roughly speaking what attributes are relatively strong and weak in common Pokemon in competitive circuit. You could see he has a Blaziken, and know it is more suited to being a physical attacker,” Candice explained. “But that assessment is based purely on averages, and is glorified guesswork at best. It’s the best you can do at a moment's notice, and most of the time, it works. But what if Jon knew that his Blaziken was in the top percentile for special attackers, and you went up against him?”

“I’d try and avoid having my Pokemon get in close quarters, but then get picked off from a distance,” Charlotte answered, earning a grin from Candice.

“Exactly,” Candice confirmed. “Now I’m not saying all of their Pokemon are within the top percentile on random attributes that go against the average. Camilla isn’t the sort to encourage them to only battle with genetically perfect Pokemon. If that were her attitude, she wouldn’t have been made Champion of Sinnoh. What I am saying is to keep your assumptions in check going in. Just because a species of Pokemon is generally slower than your own, don’t assume that it is until you know for sure…”

There was consensus from those present, understanding what this information meant. Unlike the Eon Academy, which didn’t have the resources available to know an individual Pokemon’s exact strengths and weaknesses, and by extension, had to rely on species averages, the College of the North Wind could train a Pokemon to maximise and utilise their natural strengths, whilst also covering their natural weaknesses. And if a Pokemon’s strengths were uncharacteristic to their species’ average attributes, that allowed for tactics that are harder to predict.

“The second bit of information, is less secretive, and more something you guys could figure out on your own,” Candice explained, before following with a question. “Where do you hear of the most College of the North Wind graduates?”

“The Elite Four,” Abbee answered. “Justin said that Cynthia was Camilla’s protégé, and that at least a dozen current Elite Four members worldwide are graduates of hers…”

“Exactly,” Candice confirmed. “So let’s say I set my sights on becoming an Elite Four member, or even the champion, and for the sake of making this quick, I don’t want to spend years as a Gym Trainer or Gym Leader…”

Chris was the one to answer, recalling the first time he and most of his classmates met Steven Stone in their first summer. Steven had been questioned about his role as champion by the students, and explained how a new Champion is found should the current one step down.

“When the Champion steps down, the first people the League will consider will probably be Elite Four members, Gym Leaders, and those who have beaten the Champion in recent years,” Chris answered. “Steven told us during our first summer.”

Jon felt himself breathe a slight sigh of relief that his hunch about Chris working past his issues was seeming more and more realistic. Chris was focused, thinking more, and acting less. A large step up from his actions over the last few weeks. Candice nodded in approval.

“It’s rare that a non-Elite Four member takes the Champion spot when a Champion retires, however if the current Champion recommends them enough and they have beaten the Elite Four, it happens. That’s how Cynthia got offered the title. Normally it goes to an Elite Four member, such as when Lance became the Indigo Champion,” Candice explained. “And becoming an Elite Four member is similar. They look at Gym Leaders, and people who have beaten the Champion in recent years-”

“So if you don’t want to spend years as a Gym Leader to get into the Elite Four, or become the Champion, it is a prerequisite to have beaten the current Elite Four and Champion?” Chris asked. Candice nodded.

“This is the attitude Camilla trains her students with,” Candice explained. “Unlike Jon, who teaches you to battle with the intent of you taking on tournaments against other trainers with similar goals, like the High Seas Tournament, Camilla trains her students specifically to be able to take on the Elite Four and Champion. Effectively have their team of six Pokemon, be able to withstand and win against twenty-six Pokemon over five battles…”

“Goddamn,” Charlotte muttered. Jon nodded in agreement.

“It’s a different beast,” Jon explained. “To beat the Elite Four, you practically need to have one Pokemon trained to wipe out an entire team of powerful Pokemon. The saving grace of this is that the Elite Four tend to have a common type, some champions as well, but at the same time, most of them have a dual-typed Pokemon that will cover one of their weaknesses, or even a Pokemon or two that are a different type altogether.”

Thinking over his battles with Steven, he came up with an example.

“Steven is a Steel Type specialist, and whilst Blaziken, thinking purely in terms of type advantages would be able to handle his Registeel, Aggron and Armaldo, Steven’s Skarmory would prove a threat with it’s Flying Type to Blaziken’s Fighting, so whilst Blaziken could hit hard, it also would be getting hit just as hard back,” Jon continued. “Then Steven has his Claydol, which is Ground and Psychic type, which would make it difficult for me to rely purely on Blaziken to take down his entire team…”

Candice nodded, appreciating Jon filling the gaps in her explanation.

“As such, Camilla trains her students to handle long winded battles, taking on multiple subsequent Pokemon with only one or two at most. Additionally, trainers need to rely on moves outside of their Pokemon’s type to be able to take down hypothetical walls like Steven’s Claydol to Jon’s Blaziken,” Candice asked, before curiosity got the better of her. She turned to Jon. “How would you handle Claydol with just your Blaziken?”

Jon took a brief moment to think over the question.

“My tactic with Blaziken relies on it staying out and building momentum,” Jon explained. “I would likely send out Blaziken straight up, since it has the advantage and I am trying to end Steven’s team with one Pokemon. So it comes down to whether Steven started with Claydol or not…”

Jon began counting on his fingers, seeming to be simulating a battle in his mind.

“If Steven sent out Claydol first, I’d let Blaziken take a hit, and have it use Swagger to confuse Claydol, then go on the defensive with Protect, until Claydol hurts itself, and follow it up with Assurance,” Jon explained, Chris having a flashback to Jon using that same tactic to have his heavily disadvantaged Scizor beat his Charizard. “If Steven opens with another Pokemon, I will probably stall a turn or two with Protect, so Blaziken’s Speed Boost makes it quicker. If Steven opens with Skarmory, I’d have Blaziken use Bulk Up a few times once it is fast enough to use that move and safely dodge Skarmory’s attack at the same time, then use a Blaze Kick or Flare Blitz to finish Skarmory. Anything else, I’d be doing the same thing but with Power-Up Punch, and by the time Claydol makes an appearance, using Shadow Claw…”

“All of that in a minute?” Charlotte asked, finding herself shocked at her mentor’s skill.

“Just remember I battle Steven on a weekly basis,” Jon replied. “And the best-laid plans of Minccino and men often go awry…”

“So you’re telling us we are up against trainers who are trained specifically to be able to take on twenty-Pokemon, with their six?” Abbee asked, sounding a little crestfallen.

“I am, but you’re not seeing the positive,” Candice explained. “Anyone know?”

“With the exception of Chris, none of us rely too heavily on a single type of Pokemon,” Justin answered. “And the conditions of the battle haven’t been set in stone. Camilla has given us an advantage…”

“How so?” Chris asked.

“She issued the challenge, with no parameters on the way the battles are conducted, and we accepted before she could set them,” Charlotte explained. “Her students are used to full six on six battles, like in the Elite Four. We battle three on three, which is the tournament standard, only being different if both trainers agree to it before the battle.”

“So we are well within our rights to request a three on three battle, which means that theoretically, you can battle your challenger, without doubling up heaps on Dragons,” Justin said to Chris.

“Couldn’t she just deny the request?” Chris asked.

“It wouldn’t be a good move for her,” Jon explained. “She issued the challenge without specifying the format and we accepted. Whether that was intentional or an oversight, it doesn’t matter. And if we request a tournament legal format and she rejects it, it wouldn’t be a good look for her school. It’s common courtesy that if the challenger doesn’t specify a format, the challenged has the right to choose, presuming the format is legal.”

Abbee looked over at Dylan, who was deep in thought, the gears in his head turning as he put together pieces of information he had heard that evening.

“We’ve gotten a little side-tracked, but Justin answered the question before,” Candice continued. “Their tactics focusing on taking on the entire Elite Four and Champion will be useless against you, because your teams are varied. Additionally, you will be able to request blind selection for the first Pokemon, like you train with here, since Camilla hasn’t specified anything, simply challenged you. So out of the gate, three things could happen…”

Candice held up her index finger.

“The first is that your opening Pokemon is advantaged against your opponents. You are more likely to win the first match-up, but they can choose their next Pokemon to be advantaged against yours. However, you will have the lead, and be able to do the same thing if their second Pokemon beats your first, and if it is knockout for knockout, you will win,” Candice explained. “The second is that the ground is level with the first two Pokemon, in which case your skill level will play more of a role, and I know that you’ve been trained to not rely on type advantages as much…”

“But they haven’t,” Abbee said, the thought only then coming to her mind. She took a moment to articulate it. “Think about it, they’re trained really, to be able to have a single Pokemon take down an entire team. Like Jon’s Blaziken against Steven’s team. But how will they decide what that single Pokemon is?”

“They’ll use type advantages,” Jon answered, not having even considered the point Abbee was making.

Abbee turned to Candice.

“You said yourself that they focus on using moves outside of their Pokemon’s type to provide better coverage, like Jon’s Blaziken using Assurance against Steven’s Claydol,” Abbee continued, sounding more and more confident. “It sounds like they rely heavily on type advantages, and probably focus on getting them for themselves…”

Candice nodded.

“Exactly. If the opening matchup was neutral, neither side having a real type advantage, we aren’t being unreasonable to believe that you guys are better trained to be able to handle that. In which case, if you can take down their first Pokemon, we wind up with the same potential play out. If it’s knock out for knock out, you will knock out their last Pokemon before they knock out yours,” Candice explained, before raising a third finger. “The third scenario is you guys begin with a disadvantage…”

Little more needed to be said about that scenario. They all knew how much more difficult the battle would be if they started with a type disadvantage. Jon stood to his feet, joining Candice at the front of the room.

“So any ideas?” Jon asked. “You’re all just as good at this as I am, so let’s hear it…”

There was an awkward pause as the trainers present considered their options.

“We need to not lose our heads during the battle, and forget what we know, and we know something pretty huge…” Charlotte explained, Jon inclining his head, the gesture telling her to continue. “We know each of them has a Legendary Pokemon, and will use it at some point. They had them present for the challenge video, and to have them there and not use them would be pretty embarrassing…”

“How does that help us?”

“Think about it. Let’s say that you’re up against your opponent, you open with Ampharos and they open with Sandslash,” Charlotte began, before focusing her gaze on Abbee, increasing the volume of her voice, and the urgency in her tone. “Sandslash beats Ampharos, and you have three seconds to choose a new Pokemon!”

“Poliwrath!” Abbee replied, feeling the pressure that Charlotte put her under.

“Wrong,” Charlotte answered. “So wrong. You know why?”

Jon grinned, having understood Charlotte’s logic.

“Because you know they have two Pokemon left, and one will be Shaymin. You send out Glaceon instead. It will be just as strong against Sandslash as Poliwrath will be, but will also be a threat to Shaymin, which leaves your opponent with two options,” Charlotte explained. “They can either send out another Pokemon to dispose of Glaceon, or send Shaymin out disadvantaged and still have their final Pokemon in the battle be a surprise. If they send Shaymin out, they risk Glaceon doing some serious damage to Shaymin before you even send out Victini. If they don’t, you know it is a ninety-nine percent chance that Shaymin will be the final Pokemon, and can choose your final Pokemon to allow for that…”

“It’s a slightly more psychological version of Chris’ Roar tactic from last summer,” Justin noted. “The one where he had Ninetales use Toxic on Dylan’s first Pokemon, then Roar to force that Pokemon to retreat and Dylan to have to lock in his second Pokemon…”

“You really are terrifying,” Jon said to Charlotte, earning a grin. “But that is important. We need to not let the pressure cause us to miss opportunities like that hypothetical that Charlotte raised…”

The group spent another half hour discussing potential tactics to run, albeit with Jon, Candice, Justin and Charlotte being the middle of the discussion, with Abbee and Dylan not talking to Chris and vice-versa.

As they discussed, Chris waited for the conversation to die down, and the others to leave, hoping to find himself and Dylan as the last ones there, though wouldn’t have cared one way or another if Abbee were present, giving him the opportunity to apologise. However, when the meeting did end, he realised that he would have been better off being the first to leave, waiting out for Jon, Justin, Charlotte and Candice to leave as well, given Dylan and Abbee’s gravitation towards the communal areas of the lounge, and coming back to try and apologise. This realisation spurred by the fact that he didn’t leave, and given the grudge that existed, Dylan being the first to retire for the night. When Dylan said goodnight to the others there, Chris kicked himself internally, wishing that he could just find the right time to say sorry.

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

It was shortly after seven Friday evening when Abbee found the first of the students wandering into the main building, which she had spent most of her free time that week decorating. Music played just loud enough that conversation required raised voices, but not too loud that it was impossible to hear anyone more than two feet away.

She wore a simple, sleeveless, lilac coloured dress, which rested just below her knees. Opting to keep her style for the evening on the simple side, she had straightened her jet black hair, leaving it down and holding it out of her face with a plain silver headband. On the other side of the room, chatting to Jon, who was equally dressed up, was Dylan, wearing a pair of black slacks, over a white button up shirt with a black tie. He wore a black suit jacket over the top, with a pair of black dress shoes, that he seemed to have only polished a few hours earlier.

“You’ve done really well pulling this together,” said Alyssa’s voice from behind Abbee, causing her to spin around, and the hem of her dress to flourish a little with the movement. “Especially seeing as you only took charge because Jon and I had to go to Kanto…”

Not expecting Abbee’s sudden movement, a group of boys who sat on chairs at the edge of the hall, behind Alyssa, quickly looked away, trying to hide the fact they had been gawking at her for the last few minutes since she had entered the hall. Abbee didn’t blame them. Alyssa, who usually opted for a mix of comfortable yet professional attire when she did Academy work, and generally speaking, wasn’t working from home, in which she opted for whatever was comfortable, had chosen a forest green dress, which only served to flatter her already appealing figure. The neckline was round and modest, and whilst the dress itself was sleeveless like Abbee’s, the straps were wider, covering most of her shoulders. Her light brown hair was pulled back into a loose bun that didn’t seem to have taken her too long to fashion, yet added to the overall effect significantly.

“You look stunning!” Abbee exclaimed, taking in the sight in front of her. Alyssa couldn’t help but redden a little.

“It’s always nice to be a trophy wife once in a blue moon,” Alyssa retorted. “Honestly, I can’t remember the last time Jon and I dressed up like this, so I might have gone overboard…”

“Go overboard any time. You can pull it off,” Abbee answered. Alyssa grinned.

“Stop dodging the subject. I was saying you did well pulling this together,” Alyssa repeated. “Seriously, everyone here is going to remember tonight for years, and they have you to thank…”

“Not just me,” Abbee answered. “Dylan helped out so much. It wouldn’t be half as good if not for him.”

“Dylan did what you told him to do,” Alyssa answered. “He’s great at being given a task and doing it exceptionally, but being the creative mastermind is hardly his forte. So I think you deserve the credit here…”

Knowing this was a losing battle Abbee shrugged.

“I do what I can…”

On the other end of the hall, Dylan and Jon spoke, as quietly as they could, not wanting to be overheard, but knowing the volume of the music would make quiet and subtle conversations possible.

“So you’re still wanting to go to Canalave after we finish in Jubilife?” Jon asked Dylan. He nodded, prompting Jon’s next question. “So what are you going to do? Find his address in a phonebook and just show up?”

“Hell no,” Dylan answered. “He may have a wife and kids that I’m not aware of. How do you think Alyssa would take it if you had a guy arrive at your door claiming to be your son with another woman?”

“He’d want to hope I have my will on hand to add him to it then and there…” Jon joked, earning a grin from Dylan.

“Exactly…”

“So you’re going to contact him before you go?” Jon asked.

“I already have…”

This took Jon by surprise.

“What did he say?”

“Nothing yet,” Dylan answered. “I sent an email. I told him I was Nicole Squier’s son, and that she has told me that he is my father. I told him I live in Mossdeep, Hoenn, but will be visiting Sinnoh in the next few weeks, and if he is okay with it, I would like to meet him. But if he would rather not, part of the reason I have sought him out now is due to a diagnosis that his family’s history may be able to help in, so if he would rather not meet, I’d appreciate it if he could answer some questions for me via email, and I’ll leave him alone…”

Jon felt himself grow in sympathy for Dylan. It was one thing to be willing to contact his father that likely doesn’t even know Dylan is his son. But having to prepare a contingency plan in case his father doesn’t want to see him, is a lot to ask.

“I sent it this morning,” Dylan explained. “I figure we will be on a plane to Jubilife in a week, and likely done with the challenge in a week and a half from today. If he needs time to get accustomed to the fact that I am his son, I need to give him as much as possible…”

“I really hope he is willing to see you…” Jon remarked. “I get that you have plans to find out whether you are likely to have inherited those genes from him, even if he doesn’t want to meet, but it would be good for you to have family that you’re on good terms with…”

Dylan nodded. Whilst he would play it off as not caring if it did happen, he didn’t know how he would take the rejection if Brent didn’t want to meet him.

It was a little over half an hour later when Justin entered the hall, having taken a little too long to fix his blonde hair so that it looked nicely messy, without looking like he tried to make it look nicely messy. After that, it was a simple matter of getting into his pressed slacks, shirt and jacket. His slacks and jacket were an ultramarine blue, as were the high-top Converses he wore, clean as they were, in contrast to the formal look of the rest of his outfit. Whilst he wore a matching tie over his white shirt, it was loose, with the top button of his shirt unbuttoned, and simply sitting in place under the knot of the tie.

Justin looked around the room, spotting Abbee by one of the drinks tables, and making his way over to her.

“You scrub up well,” Abbee remarked, somewhat loudly to be heard over the loud music playing. Justin grinned.

“I’ll have to get myself a proper suit when I get back to Jubilife,” Justin remarked. “I still wear the one my parents bought me for my cousin's wedding when I was like fourteen…”

Abbee couldn’t help but laugh at the sentiment. She had a hunch that most guys his age fit that category.

“If you keep starring in commercials, you should be able to afford the best of the best,” Abbee laughed, Justin groaning at the recollection. She was right though. He earned more for that stint than he had earned the six months before.

Realising he was getting side-tracked by the conversation, he remembered why he came over to Abbee.

“Is Candice around?” Justin asked, looking vaguely around the room, though not knowing what to expect to see Candice wearing, and with the room being as full as it was, figured his chances of spotting her were slim.

“Not yet,” Abbee answered. “She didn’t come with you?”

“No, she said she wanted to surprise me…”

Almost as if on cue, Justin felt a tap on the shoulder, causing him to turn around to where Candice stood behind him.

Her black hair, normally parted and braided to either side, was instead tied back and styled into a messy ponytail. She wore a pale blue, satin dress, of a similar length to the one Abbee wore, however with a large, single strap going over the right shoulder, the neckline asymmetric, going down under her left arm, leaving her left shoulder bare. Justin couldn’t help but gape, causing Candice’s already wide grin to somehow widen even further.

“Tell me again how I wound up with you as my girlfriend?” Justin asked. “Because something really doesn’t add up…”

“I think what he is trying to say is that he likes what he sees…” Abbee interjected cheekily, intentionally making her translation of the comment to sound a little creepier than Justin had intended. Justin went red a little as Candice burst into laughter. She hugged Justin, before kissing him on the cheek.

“Well, that’s mutual,” Candice said. “Towards Justin I mean. Though you look really nice too Abbee…”

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

“Come on, we’re going to be the last ones there…” Charlotte said to Chris, as the pair walked out of the lodge, making their way towards the main hall.

“Don’t blame me, I was ready half an hour ago!” Chris argued. He was right. He wore a maroon wool blend jacket with matching slacks, and a black button up shirt, opting to not wear a tie for the event, with a pair of dark brown, pointed, leather shoes with thin laces. Justin had ironed the clothing for him, knowing Chris didn’t care enough to do it himself, but being too invested, having helped him choose something to wear, to let him discredit it with his own lack of caring.

“Well I didn’t ask you to wait for me,” Charlotte retorted, conveniently leaving out the fact that she had spent the last half hour in front of the mirror, trying to figure out if she was happy with how her hair was. Her blonde hair was cut a little above the shoulder, as any longer, like Abbee’s or Alyssa’s, got in the way too much. It was fine for day to day life, but the lack of length made it difficult for her to style it any differently than she normally did. In a moment of desperation, she ended up finding an older top in her suitcase, that whilst patterned, had a base colour the same as the dress she wore, cutting a long strip out of that, and folding it into itself to create an improvised hairband, using it to style and hold her fringe exactly where she wanted it, whilst keeping the rest of her hair in place, and tying it off into a bow.

“You suggesting I should have shown up by myself?” Chris asked.

“Why not go with Justin?”

“So now you’re suggesting that I, the guy who got dumped two weeks ago, show up with his friend and his friend's girlfriend?” Chris asked. “I don’t know what’s worse…”

Whilst Chris was referencing he and Abbee’s breakup so flippantly, Charlotte was actually happy. Chris seemed to be acting more like himself tonight, before he and Abbee broke up, using himself as the butt for jokes, and responding to criticism with humour instead of lashing out. Then as the pair walked, he said something that was definitely out of character.

“You look really nice,” Chris commented casually as the pair walked, nodding towards the dark red woollen dress she wore, taking Charlotte by surprise. “It suits you.”

“Thanks,” Charlotte replied awkwardly, not knowing how to feel about it all. Not even a week earlier, she had been forcing herself to not think about how she felt about Chris, given the way he had been acting, not being in line with the person she thought she had feelings for. Now, he was being himself again, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up too high, especially since Chris and Abbee had broken up not even three weeks ago.

The dress itself was a soft woollen material, dark red, with sleeves down to the wrists. It was a little shorter than Charlotte would normally wear, however she had liked the colour and feel of it, as well as the floral patterns subtly stitched around the hem and waistline, enough to be willing to wear it.

The pair walked towards the hall, Chris continuing to wonder how he could apologise to Dylan. Dylan had, as he had been doing for most of the summer, avoided him the last two days. Not always directly, as Dylan had spent a lot of time helping Abbee with preparations for the prom, and been surrounded by people, all working to make it happen, and on the odd chance that he was alone, Chris never found out quick enough to talk to him before he had gone somewhere else.

The pair arrived at the main hall, where the music could be heard well and truly from outside, walking through the main door, and finding themselves in a dark room, illuminated only by the soft glow of the fairy lights that were draped across the ceiling space, absolutely full of people. With the exception of Dylan, who stood at over six feet tall, Chris and Charlotte struggled to spot any of their friends in the crowd, unsure of what they were wearing and by extension, what to look out for.

By Dylan, stood Jon and Alyssa, both of who waved at Chris and Charlotte when they saw them gesturing to the pair to join them, whilst Dylan quickly but subtly slipped away into the crowd of people.

“I almost thought you guys weren’t coming,” Jon remarked.

“We aren’t that late are we?” Charlotte asked, though before Jon could answer, Chris interjected.

“I was waiting for Charlotte. Didn’t want her arriving by herself,” Chris answered, earning a glare from Charlotte. Jon grinned.

“Well aren’t you such a gentleman?” Alyssa asked, albeit a little patronisingly. Chris grinned, much to Jon’s relief.

“Are the others around?” Charlotte asked. “I can’t make out anyone in here…”

“Abbee is frantically trying to make sure the food comes out on time,” Jon explained. “Dylan just went to help her.

“What about Justin and Candice?” Chris asked, wanting to know where at least one other friendly face was. Alyssa grinned.

“Candice is quite the dancer,” Alyssa explained. “And as her boyfriend, Justin has an obligation to join her out there…”

Alyssa nodded towards the cluster of people dancing around towards the middle of the room closest to the front of house speakers.

“In there somewhere,” Alyssa asked. “You might need to wait for Candice to want a drink…”

“Not Justin?”

“As long as Candice wants to be in there, I think Justin is kind of stuck…” Alyssa remarked. Charlotte looked over at Jon.

“What are the chances of seeing you in there?” she asked, trying to remain serious, but struggling to hide a grin.

“I’ve tried,” Alyssa answered for Jon. “He danced at our wedding, but really hates it.”

“Boring…” Chris said loudly, earning a look from Jon.

“So I’ll see you out there?” Jon answered. Chris looked over towards the group of dancers.

“Oh, I think I see Justin,” Chris said loudly. “I’ll talk to you later!”

Chris quickly left, leaving Charlotte with Jon and Alyssa, who seemed unable to hide a smile from her face. She noticed Jon watching her, before reverting her expression to her standard one.

“What?” Charlotte asked Jon, who simply shrugged back at her.

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

“I think it will take Victini a while to forgive me…” Abbee said to Dylan, as the pair both sat on chairs on the outskirts of the room. They each held a paper plate with various bits of finger-food, that had been taken from the large trays that sat on the tables around the room. Whilst there were dining tables actually set up throughout the room, Abbee had opted not to sit at them, due to the conversation they invited. Given the fact that her reason for overseeing the prom was to avoid thinking about what happened with Chris, and the fact that for the last week, she had been interacting with heaps of different people each day, trying to pull this together, she was only halfway through the night, and feeling socially burnt out. If she sat at a table, she’d be forced to make small-talk with the others present. But on chairs off to the side of the room, she and Dylan could talk amongst themselves, something that didn’t drain her anywhere near as much.

“I’m sure nobody would notice if you let him out of the Pokeball,” Dylan answered. “I mean, if he likes to party…”

Abbee sighed. She did feel bad Victini was missing out, and whilst she had considered leaving him in the lodge with his weight in ice-cream and YouTube queued full of his favourite videos on the TV, she knew that given Victini’s history of prying in people's minds when he knows he shouldn’t, and stealing ice-cream, she couldn’t say for certain that if she did do that, he wouldn’t make an appearance at the prom of his own volition.

“He does, but we have a hundred people here, and if I let Victini join the party, they will want to let their Pokemon join in…” Abbee remarked. “Even if I set the rule that only Pokemon less than two feet tall could attend, that is still a hell of a lot of small Pokemon filling the place. And if I’m seen breaking the rule, other people will too…”

Dylan nodded, appreciating her reasoning. However, as she considered this, she had a thought…

“You don’t think Latios is floating around, invisible, do you?” Abbee asked, somewhat concerned, and looking up.

“Doubt it,” Dylan answered. “He is too big to not bump into things, and this is a prom, not a keg party…”

Abbee choked on the drink she was sipping from when Dylan said it, struggling to keep it down, causing Dylan to stifle a laugh.

“Sorry,” Dylan said apologetically. Abbee brushed it aside with a hand gesture.

“If making me laugh is the worst thing you do, I think I’m pretty lucky…”

Dylan grimaced a little hearing this. This summer, he did more than make her laugh.

“What about making you cry?” Dylan asked quietly, struggling to make eye contact. “I totally blew up on you, in front of a bunch of strangers. I’d say that’s worse…”

Abbee sighed as she recalled the memory.

“Yeah, it hurt…” Abbee answered. “But I deserved some of it. You told me to leave it be and I ignored you…”

From the other side of the room, Chris sat with Charlotte, Justin and Candice at a table, Justin recovering from the hour long dance session that Candice had roped him into, herself somehow completely unaffected by the strenuous exercise. Whilst the four were eating, and chatting, Chris’ attention was on Abbee and Dylan, who sat at the opposite end of the room. He had been debating with himself whether he should go over and apologise to Dylan. Whilst it wasn’t ideal, if he had to apologise to Dylan with Abbee there, he planned on doing it. However, every time he worked up the nerve to attempt to go over, another reason would come to mind.

”There’s still heaps of people, and if he takes it badly, everyone will see…”

”The music’s too loud, and I’ll have to yell for him to hear me…”

“He might just want to have a good night without me…”

He watched the pair from where he sat, torn…

“And the fact is, that we worked past it,” Abbee continued, surprising Dylan a little when she reached out and took his hand. “Everyone has a fight every now and then, or says something they regret. But it’s how they act after that, that really says it all…”

Whilst Abbee was saying this about the rough patches in her and Dylan’s friendship that summer, her mind was on her and Chris’ relationship, as well as Chris’ grudge with Dylan. She would have been okay with there being an issue, if after the fact Chris had been willing to resolve it and work past it, but so far, he hadn’t, and she didn’t think he would…

“And honestly, between when Dad died during our first summer, and now Chris and I breaking up, you’ve been such an amazing friend,” Abbee finished. “I’d have to be pretty self-centred to hold that incident against you, in light of how much you’ve had my back…”

From his table, Chris saw Abbee take Dylan’s hand, and couldn’t help but remember their near-death experience in Meteor Falls, the summer before. When they were trying to find a way out of the cave, and Chris told Abbee how he felt about her. And how she held his hand the same way.

After what felt like hours of looking towards Dylan with remorse, he felt a bitter feeling of jealousy rising up in him, and any desire he had to apologise to Dylan, fizzling out of existence.

“I’ve had to stop using Regice in the Gym,” Candice explained to those at her table. “Even though it’s a pure Ice Type and most trainers have Pokemon strong enough to beat it, I am winning too much-”

“I gotta get some air,” Chris said quickly, and without waiting for a reply, stood from his seat, and made his way towards the front door of the main building. The music seemed to grow unbearably loud, and the room claustrophobic, all the while, his anger, at Dylan, and at himself rising rapidly.

He got outside, and quickly turned a corner, before leaning back against the old brick building, breathing heavily. In his chest, he felt an ache, and a sick feeling in his stomach, as his hands clenched into fists.

“Why…” he muttered to himself, his voice breaking a little, though he knew the answer to that question. He stood outside, trying to find a reason to go back inside. Some way to convince himself to be okay with what he was seeing. However the more he tried, the more difficult it became.

“Chris…” called a familiar voice from the doorway to the building. Charlotte walked out, not seeing Chris anywhere in sight, before walking around the corner of the building, and seeing him standing alone.

Dylan and Abbee spoke quietly, though the conversation nowhere near as deep as it was. However, Abbee still held his hand, and Dylan wasn’t going to do anything to cause her to let it go. As they spoke, the song playing through the building ended, before the next one started to play, this one much slower and much more mellow. Unlike the dance music that had been playing before, this was a different type of dance music. After a few moments, Dylan recognized the song as one by a band called April Sunsets, remembering the conversation he had with Isabelle when he drove her home after Abbee had attempted to set him up with her.

“Let’s just say that if Forevermore isn’t the song played for the first dance at my wedding, the wedding isn’t happening,” Isabelle had said, when Dylan was surprised at her recognizing the band.

Dylan looked over at Abbee, and was surprised to see the music had captured her attention as well. At first he wondered if she knew the song too, however realised that wasn’t the case when she spoke.

“Come on, come dance with me…”

Dylan was surprised to hear Abbee say this. He wasn’t confident at all dancing, and tried to object.

“I’m about as uncoordinated as half a Spinda…” Dylan answered, earning a chuckle from Abbee, though she kept her gaze on him.

“Well lucky for you, it’s a slow song, and I think half a Spinda could pick it up,” Abbee replied, trying to reassure Dylan.

Dylan wanted to say yes. More than anything. Except…

“What about Chris?” Dylan asked. “I know you guys aren’t together, and he’s been acting like an a**hole lately. But I think him seeing this would just hurt him, and I’m not sure I want to do that…”

Abbee sighed for a moment, looking away from Dylan.

“You really are a great guy, thinking about Chris even after everything that’s happened…” Abbee said quietly, thinking over what Dylan had said, before seeming to come to a decision. She looked at Dylan. “But the fact is that it could have been Chris I was wanting to dance with tonight. And it’s because of him that he isn’t anymore. Heck, even though we’ve broken up, if he had been a bit more civil about it, and with you, and not acted out as much, I’d have happily still danced with him tonight…”

Dylan felt her grip on his hands tighten, as she continued.

“I’ve put so much time into making this a night to remember for everyone, and I’d like nothing more than to be able to look back on tonight, and remember that I got to dance with my best friend…” Abbee concluded. “It sounds like the first verse is already over. Are you going to deprive me of that?”

Whilst this was what Dylan wanted, more than anything, he had a bad feeling about it. However, seeing Abbee, and how beautiful she looked, he broke. Despite himself, he nodded, as Abbee stood, holding onto his hand, and leading him out onto the now somewhat emptier dancefloor.

Awkwardly finding a space, Dylan was surprised when Abbee let go of his hand, and draped both her arms over and around his shoulders, before gesturing for him to put his hands around her waist.

“Just follow my lead,” Abbee said, looking up at Dylan with a smile.

From where they sat, Justin wasn’t able to see Dylan and Abbee on the dancefloor, until he noticed Candice’s attention drawn to something behind him, a wistful smile gracing her face. He turned to see the pair of them, before looking back at Candice. Despite his muscles, and his shirt being uncomfortably damp with sweat from the work out Candice put him through, Justin spoke.

“You want to join them?” Justin asked. Candice looked at him slightly surprised.

“I thought you were dying after last time?” Candice asked. “Something about passing out?”

“Well if this is the last thing I do, I think I can go being content,” Justin said with a grin. Candice couldn’t hide the laugh.

“So smooth…”

Justin held out a hand to her, which she eagerly took, before joining Abbee and Dylan on the dancefloor.

Outside, Chris hadn’t been able to bring himself to make eye-contact with Charlotte, scared of what she would see. Nothing had been said so far, Charlotte knowing Chris well enough to know that he wouldn’t say what was on his mind until he wanted to.

“I know that I brought this on myself…” Chris said quietly. “Abbee breaking up with me, and going straight towards Dylan. I tried to tell her to ignore the things that worried her, because I wasn’t willing to budge. And I was a d**k to her best friend…”

Charlotte said nothing. It was big of Chris to admit this, to her of all people, and whilst she didn’t like seeing her friend and rival in such a broken, and self-pitying state, she didn’t want to risk him forgetting this by consoling him, and telling him it wasn’t true, when she knew that it was.

“I know that I brought this on myself…” Chris said again, his voice breaking under the strain of holding it all in. “So why does it hurt so much? Seeing her happy with another guy…”

Charlotte sighed, before moving over and standing against the wall Chris was leaning against, standing next to him.

“It hurts because you love her. You wouldn’t care otherwise…” Charlotte answered, Chris unaware she was speaking from her own experience. “And for longer than you’d like, it will still suck…”

Chris remained silent, though thankful for Charlotte’s honesty.

“But, if you’re willing to try, you’ll eventually find yourself okay with it. Happy for her, even,” Charlotte continued. “It’s just a matter of surviving until then…”

The only sound Charlotte could hear from Chris was the strained breathing, as he refused to let her see just how much he was hurting from what he saw.

“And I’ll have your back until then,” Charlotte said, surprising Chris a little. “If you want to call it a night, and watch a movie in the lodge or something, I’ll keep you company. Or if you want to go back in there, and try and have a good night, I will stick by you…”

“Really?” Chris asked, struggling even more to contain his emotions.

“Really…”

Chris cleared his throat, before taking deep breaths trying to compose himself.

“Let’s go back,” Chris said. “Honestly, I don’t want other people seeing them, and noticing me disappearing.”

“You don’t need to give two s**ts about what other people see or think,” Charlotte warned. “Do you actually want to go back in there?”

“I do…”

From the sidelines of the main hall, Jon and Alyssa sat on chairs off to the side, both watching those on the dancefloor, particularly the two pairs of dancers they were most invested in.

“I think they’re good for each other,” Alyssa said quietly to Jon, nodding towards Dylan and Abbee. “The sooner they both admit it, the better off they will be for it…”

“You’re right,” Jon said, though his tone betrayed his worries. Alyssa looked at him, prompting him to continue. “Their timing couldn’t have been much worse…”

Jon looked between the dancefloor, and the door outside, where a few minutes earlier, he had seen Chris leave in somewhat of a hurry, and Charlotte not far behind him. From where he sat, he saw Chris and Charlotte enter the room, side-by-side, Chris with a newfound determination, which Jon saw die in a moment, when Chris saw Dylan and Abbee slow dancing on the dancefloor. He saw Chris’ hands turn to fists, as Charlotte saw what he saw, a look of resignation crossing her face. Chris glared at the dancefloor, unbeknownst to those there, as Charlotte grabbed him by the wrist and took him outside.

“Should you go out there?” Alyssa asked, having seen the same thing, and realised what was going on.

“Not right now,” Jon answered. “He needs a minute…”

As they danced slowly, Dylan couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at the irony of the song that played. Abbee, who had been resting her head against his shoulder felt the movement and looked up, a questioning look.

“It’s ironic…” Dylan explained. “When I was giving Isabelle a lift home that night, she was telling me how she wants this song as the first dance when she gets married…”

“I still can’t believe she turned you down,” Abbee remarked. “Maybe she was pretty with a good sense of humour, at the expense of her brain…”

Dylan hesitated, before thinking ’screw it’ and telling Abbee.

“She didn’t turn me down,” Dylan said quietly. “I turned her down…”

Abbee looked up at Dylan in shock.

“You turned her down?!” she exclaimed, losing her timing for a moment, and stumbling. Dylan caught her, helping her regain her footing, before she continued the question. “Why?”

Before Dylan could answer, he felt the phone in his inner jacket pocket buzz, and whilst it was on silent, the length of the buzz was the one he recognized to be an email. He went silent, realising what this could mean. Abbee, who felt the buzzing through the physical contact she maintained with Dylan, having known he had contacted Brent, understood. As the song concluded, she released her grip on Dylan, as he reluctantly released his own.

“Go read it,” Abbee said, content to not know the answer to her question while Dylan was working through this situation. “Good luck…”

Dylan nodded, before leaving the dancefloor, and making his way towards the door outside. Jon, who had been looking at something on his phone, looked up a minute later to see Abbee by herself, talking to Candice and Justin, and Dylan nowhere to be seen.

“F**k…” Jon muttered, earning a look from Alyssa, as he stood from his seat.

Outside, Chris’ breaths were deep from rage, as Charlotte tried to reason with him.

“He’s probably been interfering however he can…” Chris ranted. “S**t, I remember last summer, I apologised to him because he seemed to have a problem with me, and I figured I did something wrong, but I’d bet anything he was angry that Abbee and I were close…”

“Chris, stop it,” Charlotte said. “Dylan wasn’t trying to get between you and Abbee!”

“How do you know that?!” Chris shouted at Charlotte, who felt her own temper rise.

“He turned her down the New Year’s Eve before,” Charlotte hissed, not wanting to make the same mistake Chris was making by letting everyone around hear this. “He turned her down, even though he liked her, because he was worried she might not have been in the best headspace for a relationship. He turned her down for her sake. So do you really think if he did that, he would hurt her by trying to break you two up, just to get with her himself?”

It wasn’t until the words left her mouth that Charlotte realised her own mistake. The kiss that Abbee and Dylan had shared the New Year’s Eve after their first summer was not her business to share, nor was the aftermath of that. Additionally, this had the reverse effect on Chris than she intended.

Chris and Abbee hadn’t been discreet about their relationship that summer, with practically all students knowing the two interns were dating. The reason he took it so badly when Abbee broke up with him was the thought that everyone at the Academy knew he had been dumped. And now, everyone seeing the girl who broke up with him, slow dancing with another guy, stung his pride even further. And to know that Abbee dated him, after being turned down by Dylan, who she now seemed closer to than anyone, shattered his pride, leaving him feeling like the second option, that was tossed aside when the first preference was viable…

Both trainers' attention was drawn to the door opening, and Dylan stepping out, phone in hand, furiously reading an email on his screen.

”Dylan,
Thank you for reaching out to me. If I am being honest, I saw you and your name on the news during the incident at the Whirl Islands, and wondered if you were related to Nicole. You seemed to be the right age, that if you were her son, I had a feeling you may have been mine. I’m sorry for not reaching out to you. I figured you were content with how things were, and a hunch wasn’t enough for me to justify uprooting that, or potentially being wrong and causing problems.

If you’re going to be in Sinnoh for this challenge, I would love to meet you and get to know you better, as well as introduce you to my family, if you’re comfortable with that. Please find my phone number and address enclosed, and call when you have a moment to talk further.

Looking forward to meeting you.

Brent Asht-”

Dylan had walked towards Chris and Charlotte, seeing in his peripheral vision that people were there, but not noticing who they were, and as he passed, felt something hit his hand, causing his phone to go flying out of it, into the grass on the side of the path he walked on.

“Chris!” Charlotte shouted angrily. “Stop it!”

Dylan looked at Chris, for a moment, feeling a rage burning, however quickly curbed it at Jon’s threat.

”This is your first and only warning. If this happens again, I have to let you go…”

Taking a deep breath, and not letting himself lose his cool, he looked at Chris, bearing down on him with his gaze.

“What?” Dylan asked, his tone telling Chris he was willing to talk, but not happy about it.

“Chris, drop it!” Charlotte repeated, walking over to Chris and grabbing his arm.

“You’ve always liked her, haven’t you? I bet it p**sed you off so much when her and I were together…” Chris said bitterly, not averting his gaze for a moment. “Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re half the reason she broke up with me…”

“What do you honestly think I did?” Dylan asked, his tone patronising. Chris glared at Dylan, knowing he had no answer, but refusing to back down. “Ask her yourself when you get your s**t together and she actually wants to talk to you. I didn’t say a bad f**king thing about you…”

His rage and shattered pride not curbed, Chris continued to glare at Dylan, as he added one more thing.

“Everything that went wrong between you and her, heck between you and everyone who you burnt bridges with here-”

“Dylan, stop, you’re not helping,” Charlotte pleaded, looking between the two of them.

“You brought it all on yourself…” Dylan condemned. “Swallow your f**king pride and move on…”

Chris was shaking in rage, as Dylan sidestepped past him, intentional to not bump him, as he picked up his phone to walk towards the lodge.

“Chris, leave it,” Charlotte said, walking to stand in his line of sight, and getting in his personal space. “Fighting with Dylan will just make things worse…”

Ignoring her, Chris turned on his feet, and started walking towards Dylan, rolling up his sleeves, and curling his hands into fists.

“Chris!”

It wasn’t Charlotte who called out his name, though where she had placed herself stopped Chris from seeing him walk out of the hall. Jon. Chris slowed to a stop, before looking over his shoulder to see Jon making his way over from the doorway. Ahead of them, Dylan had blended into the dark of the night. Jon reached Charlotte, before putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Go wait inside,” Jon said. “Try and have a good night.”

“But-” Charlotte tried to protest looking between Jon and Chris.

“Go…”

Charlotte knew that Jon wasn’t going to relent, before giving Chris a meaningful look, telling him to let it go, before making her way back into the hall. Jon made his way to Chris, putting his hand on Chris’ shoulder, which Chris quickly shrugged off.

“We need to talk.”

“I’m sick of talking,” Chris snapped angrily, however Jon pounced on him.

“No, you don’t get a say in this,” Jon returned, raising his voice. “Dylan gave you a black eye last week, and you were about to go and pick a fight with him again.”

“He sucker-punched me like a f**king coward!” Chris shouted.

“And he was reprimanded for it,” Jon answered. “He not only had to cover half your work as punishment, but is now effectively on probation. I told him if it happens again, he’s gone. And now I’m giving you the same warning-”

“I didn’t even touch him!” Chris shouted.

“No, but you’ve gone out of your way to pick fights with him. He might have hit you first last week, but you picked the fight. Twice in two weeks, and if I hadn’t have come out, I know you would have gone and hit him,” Jon said. Chris attempted to argue, but Jon didn’t give him the opportunity. “Don’t bulls**t me! You weren’t going there to apologise to him just then. You were going to hit him! And if nothing changes, it will just happen again!”

Chris couldn’t make eye-contact with Jon hearing that, knowing it was true.

“Chris, you can’t control what other people do, that’s just a sad fact of life, believe me…” Jon said, his voice quieter, but still stern. “You can control how you react to it, and that can make a hell of a difference to the way things play out…”

Chris felt the familiar feeling of knowing Jon was right, but not being able to bring himself to admit that. To admit he was such a mess…

“Of course you side with him…” Chris muttered, causing Jon to raise an eyebrow.

“What?” Jon asked, visibly confused.

“Of course you side with him!” Chris shouted. “You don’t have to be a f**king genius to see he is your favourite!”

“I don’t have favourites, Chris,” Jon replied irritably. “I’d be tearing into him just as hard if the roles were reversed. F**k, last week, you picked a fight with him, and he hit you. Who did I punish out of the pair of you?”

Chris didn’t reply, as Jon continued.

“The fact is that all of you, Charlotte, Abbee and Justin included, all need different things from me. Dylan had spent most of his life living with someone who wasn’t even his family, that would get drunk and hit him. So I let him live here, and tried to give him the healthy family dynamic he missed out on, because that’s what he needs from me…” Jon continued. “You on the other hand, need to be told this, and need it to be made unmistakably clear, so there is no misunderstanding. Swallow your damn pride, and stop blaming everyone else for your problems. Otherwise, they’ll just grow, and grow, and you’ll find yourself dealing with them alone…”

Jon was shocked when Chris snorted in derision at his words. He felt his own temper flaring, as Chris answered him, a bitter venom in his words.

“I don’t need a f**king thing from you! You’re a battler who was lucky enough to win a big final against a reformed cheater who didn’t know what she was doing, and spend the prize money on his own school! You’re not a life coach! You’re just as f**ked up as the rest of us!” Chris said angrily. “And after this challenge in Jubilife, I’m done. Find some other idiot to help run this place…”

Jon was shocked into silence by the ferocity of Chris’ words, feeling as if he were face to face with Lance, back on the S.S. Wishmaker. Chris turned to go back towards the lodge, and once Jon found himself able to think clearly, he sent Dylan a message.

”Keep clear of Chris. He isn’t in a good way…”

[[Desolate Divine]]

This episode is one I had planned from near the beginning and is a tipping point for a plot point I have been building towards practically all season!

It was genuinely hard to write some parts at the end after this long. But in terms of character interaction, it was one of my favourites.

I also used incognito mode that much because with all the research I had to do to be able to write the prom well, if someone saw my search history, they would assume I like to go out in dresses on the weekend...

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 3 Episode 11: Pride

Spoiler:

“I can’t believe it,” Charlotte said, as she looked at the Master Ball in her hand, before yawning deeply. Through the high windows of the stadium, she could start to see colour rising in the sky from the east, marking the start of a new day. Opposite her stood Jon and his Mega Scizor, who had just knocked Deoxys out with a well placed attack. “Twice now…”

Jon nodded, though he was a little more sceptical than he let on. The evening before, or more accurately, the morning before, Scizor had beaten Deoxys, knocking it out. And whilst Deoxys followed instructions and didn’t rampage like it had the summer before, the more surprising part was when it had been let out of its Pokeball during this session, having rested, and not gone on the offensive like Jon and Charlotte were partially expecting. Like Jon and Charlotte’s other Pokemon, it seemed to be battling without perceiving the battle itself as a threat, and retaliating. Even when Jon got to sending out Scizor again that morning, Deoxys fought it the same way it did his other Pokemon, albeit a little more determined to win.

It was shortly before five, Sunday morning, only two days since the prom. Charlotte had left the prom at half past nine, going to bed, as did Jon, and waking up a little before midnight to use the stadium to train Deoxys in secret, without students, or more importantly, their parents, realising Jon was training the Pokemon that nearly wiped out the island, on the same property where their kids were sleeping. They had trained until four, before going back to sleep, Charlotte until nine. The evening before, they had done similar, Charlotte getting to sleep at approximately nine, waking up at midnight, and training all during the early morning until five, knowing this would be their last chance to train Deoxys before the challenge, and if they couldn’t be comfortable with Deoxys now, or rather, the control Charlotte had over Deoxys as it’s trainer, it would not be used in the battle against Beth Thomas of the College of the North Wind, giving Charlotte somewhat of a disadvantage.

“So what do you think?” Charlotte asked Jon, eying the Master Ball. “Deoxys hasn’t lashed out since we started training it, and now, your Pokemon are throwing everything they’ve got at it, and it isn’t even blinking…”

“I don’t think I have ever seen Deoxys blink to begin with,” Jon joked, earning an eye roll from Charlotte.

“Point remains,” Charlotte replied. “At some point, we have to stop treating Deoxys like a ticking time bomb, and treat it like a Pokemon. Do you think that time could be now?”

Jon’s brow furrowed, as he considered Charlotte’s question. She was right. The appeal Jon made to keep possession of Deoxys, and then allow it to stay with Charlotte, was that he wanted to train it, rehabilitate it, and live a normal life. And whilst Deoxys had exceeded both their expectations during the four months of training that Jon and Charlotte had subjected it to, not lashing out, beyond self defence when Latios had a minor panic attack and attacked it, Deoxys had still proven itself to be an exceptionally dangerous Pokemon, it taking the combined efforts of Chris, Charlotte, Dylan and Abbee to keep it occupied, only really being able to contain it when Justin returned with Regieleki, and only able to be captured when Jon returned with Latios.

“I don’t know,” Jon answered, as Charlotte’s shoulders slumped. “But honestly, I can’t say that my answer will ever change…”

“In that case, what’s the point?” Charlotte asked, but Jon gestured at her to let him finish.

“I’m not the person who needs to make that decision,” Jon answered. “The result of the hearing was that Deoxys would remain in my possession until a time when it was safe enough for you to take responsibility for. Well, Deoxys is safe enough for it to be in your possession. You are it’s trainer, the one it is bonded with, and given its telepathic capabilities, that is an important bond…”

Charlotte realised where Jon was going with this, feeling both a sense of pride, and also a fear growing inside her.

“You’re the person best equipped to make the decision on when the right time to use Deoxys in a real battle is,” Jon answered. “Better than I can…”

“Well if it were Rayquaza at this point, and you wouldn’t be thrown into an underground prison, would you battle with Rayquaza?” Charlotte answered. Jon frowned.

“The two Pokemon have very distinct personalities. It’s like asking if I’d lend you my car because I lend it to Dylan…”

“Would you?” Charlotte asked, now curious.

“No, because my insurance won’t cover you, and s**t happens,” Jon answered. “Granted, if Dylan didn’t have his car, I’d change the insurance…”

Charlotte grinned at the somewhat diplomatic answer, before persisting.

“Different personalities aside, if Rayquaza had rampaged, and you had it to the point where it wasn’t showing any violent tendencies in training battles, would you consider it safe?”

Jon thought over the question, before relenting.

“Safe to battle with, yes,” Jon answered. “But I didn’t capture Rayquaza planning to battle it. And I don’t think I can release it yet. I think it will be too restless after being with me, battling on an island for the last two and a half years, and it may cause trouble…”

Charlotte groaned, having hoped for a simple yes or no answer from Jon. She would have been fine with Jon making the call and saying Deoxys wasn’t ready. Or saying Deoxys was. But deferring it to her, meant that she had to live with whatever consequences came of it.

“I’ll bring it with me to Jubilife anyway, given how useful it proved when we were attacked,” Charlotte answered. “And will think it over a little more.”

Jon nodded in agreement.

“Always wise to sleep on it…”

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

It was nearing eleven that morning when the waiter dropped off the two plates at the table in the cafe where Dylan and Abbee sat, albeit awkwardly. Part of the fact that all the Eon Academy students had rented outfits from a few local hire shops for the prom, had meant that there were over a hundred outfits needing to be returned to three or four different shops, a detail Abbee had skimmed over until she was back in her room in the lodge, getting ready for bed after the prom. The next day had frantically been spent making sure everyone knew to get their outfits ready to return by that evening, and recruiting Dylan to drive his car, now comically full with bags containing suits and dresses, into town with her to return them.

They had returned them first thing Sunday morning, taking over an hour to get to the different stores after they opened at nine, and making sure the right rentals went to the right places. When the car was finally empty, Abbee suggested getting brunch, figuring it might be the last opportunity they could do that this summer. Internally however, Abbee was worried about this being the last opportunity to talk about the other night. She had intentionally waited until their food had arrived, as to not be interrupted by wait staff at the cafe, before bringing it up.

Looking up from the pancakes that sat in a neat pile on the plate in front of her, she looked at Dylan, who was cutting a section off the large omelette that sat in front of him.

“I can’t believe it’s over,” Abbee said with a sigh. “For weeks, all I was doing was planning and preparing for the prom. Now it’s over, I don’t know what I’ll do with my time…”

“Eat pancakes?” Dylan asked, nodding towards the plate in front of her. Abbee grinned.

“All the pancakes I can,” Abbee remarked. “Maybe train for this battle between servings…”

Considering Dylan was the most disadvantaged on paper, he was surprisingly relaxed about his battle, more so because the anxiety he would normally have allocated to the battle was around what happened after, making the battle seem insignificant.

“So you’re meeting Brent?” Abbee asked, concerning Dylan with her timing. He nodded.

“He’s offered for me to stay a few days in Canalave. I called yesterday to confirm, and it’s all in place,” Dylan answered between bites of his omelette. “We arrive in Jubilife next Saturday, battle on Sunday, and I’ll be meeting Brent Sunday night…”

“I don’t know how I’d be sleeping until then,” Abbee remarked. “I’m worried enough about this battle alone…”

She said the words, though realised they weren’t entirely true. The battle worried her, however once the battle was over, she’d be returning to Johto to gather her belongings, before moving less than a fortnight later to Unova, starting a job at the Gym there, and whilst she was excited for the job, and what could come from it, she was terrified of moving to a new city, alone.

Realising that they’d never talk about it if she didn’t work up the nerve to bring it up, Abbee spoke, asking the question that was on her mind.

“On Friday night, when you got that email before leaving…” Abbee started. “You never answered the question…”

“What question?” Dylan asked, though knowing full well what it was.

“Why did you turn her down?”

Dylan stopped eating, as he considered whether or not he should just say it.

“I turned her down because there was someone else that I was thinking a lot about,” Dylan answered, forcing himself to not look away. “She already knew that was the case, and took it really well…”

Honestly, Abbee had expected as much. What she hadn’t expected was how much she liked hearing that. However, she had to be sure…

“Is this someone else from the Academy?” Abbee asked. Dylan nodded, which prompted her to continue. “An intern?”

“We intentionally don’t have many students seventeen or older,” Dylan answered. “So you’d wanna hope so…”

“Is it Charlotte?”

The question was posed as a joke. Deep down, Abbee knew the answer, and when Dylan gave her a look of utter confusion, she couldn’t help but give a wide smile. Dylan after a moment, resumed eating, not wanting to make a big deal out of this, on the chance that Abbee didn’t feel the same way.

“About the other night…” Abbee said apprehensively. “I wasn’t completely honest.”

“How so?” Dylan asked casually, taking another bite of his breakfast.

“I told you I wanted to be able to look back on that night, and remember being with my best friend,” Abbee answered. “Really, I want to look back on that night, and remember being with you…”

Dylan felt his heart skip a beat hearing this. However, given Abbee’s affinity for making light of these sorts of serious moments, he felt it only right to do the same.

“I didn’t realise there was a difference,” Dylan said casually, taking a sip of the apple juice in the glass in front of him.

“A big difference…”

The pair sat in relative silence, hearing the chatter of those also having meals at the tables around them, oblivious to the conversation that was going on between the pair.

“Look, I’ll be real with you,” Abbee said, growing slightly tired of dancing around the subject. “I’m glad I had you with me for the prom. I’m glad we got to dance together, even if it was for just one song. And I guess what I’m trying to say is that before I was with Chris, and since he and I broke up, I’ve wanted more from you than just being friends…”

“Best friends?” Dylan asked, forcing himself to remain aloof. Abbee looked at him blankly for a moment, before giving up and laughing.

“More…” Abbee said, before continuing. “But at the same time, I don’t think what happened Friday night was the wisest thing I could have done…”

Abbee sighed. She had seen Charlotte come into the hall, seeming anxious about something, and the pair had listened to Jon’s attempt to reason with Chris, who she had realised was taking the sight of her and Dylan being so close badly, and was lashing out.

“Charlotte made that abundantly clear,” Dylan explained. Whilst he held no grudge towards Charlotte, and vice versa, the next day Charlotte had told Dylan that Chris was on the brink of apologising to him, and trying to make things right between them, and between him and Abbee. “Jon also told me that Chris has said he is done with the Academy…”

Abbee nodded, having heard that from Charlotte, and remorseful that things had gotten that way. She wanted to be friends with Chris, and was open to it. And it seemed like her not thinking about how her slow dancing with Dylan would affect Chris, seemed to have shattered any chance of that.

“What I’m trying to say is that I like you, as more than just a friend, and unless you’re a lot more dense than I realise, I think I’m pretty safe in assuming you feel the same way…” Abbee explained. “But I think anything happening between us right now, is a recipe for disaster…”

“Because of Chris?” Dylan asked.

“Because of everything,” Abbee sighed. “Chris is a small part of it. I don’t want to risk acting on how I feel about you, and realising I’m rebounding when it’s too late. Or risk this being me struggling with moving to Nimbasa and being alone there. And I know you have a lot on your plate right now, with Brent, and the potential bad news that might come from meeting him…”

Dylan nodded. He wished this wasn’t the case, but Abbee was right.

“So what then?”

“Let’s just be friends… For now…” Abbee said. “Friends without having to worry about crossing lines by setting each other up, or grudges with less than pleasant partners. Let’s be friends, and work past what we have going on in our own lives, and see where we are at after that…”

“You know even if I agree to this, I’ll still be coming to see you in Nimbasa, once you’re settled in?” Dylan asked.

“I’d be pretty disappointed if you didn’t,” Abbee retorted. “But let’s do that. And come next summer, see where we are at, and go from there…”


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

“Regieleki, dodge it!” Justin called out.

Dragonite darted forward with the Dragon Rush attack that Chris had instructed, striking the space that Regieleki had inhabited almost a moment earlier. Dragonite wasn’t a particularly slow Pokemon by any means, however, compared to Regieleki, it may as well have been a Shuckle. Regieleki had been able to dodge the attack effortlessly, as Chris swore under his breath, though not meaning anything hostile by it. Justin couldn’t help but grin, especially knowing that Regieleki had enough time to follow up with its own attack.

“Now, Thunder Cage!”

Regieleki cried out happily, launching its own attack, trapping Dragonite in a snare of lightning. However before Justin could follow up, his attention was drawn to something in his vision, that took him a moment to realise wasn’t there. The shimmers of light, that looked like flickering stars, appearing and disappearing, obstructing his view.

“Oh s**t,” Justin said quietly, realising what was happening. He quickly shut his eyes, covering them with his hands for good measure, as Dragonite broke out of Thunder Cage, and launched its counterattack.

Chris watched as Dragonite managed to hit Regieleki with a Dragon Tail attack, looking over towards Justin to see the look on his training partner’s face when his extraordinarily quick Pokemon took an attack from his average speed Pokemon. It took him a moment to see something was wrong.

“Dragonite, hold back!” Chris called out, as Dragonite relaxed, while Chris walked towards Justin, cautious of Regieleki, given the lack of facial features that Chris relied on to help him distinguish a Pokemon’s disposition. Only Justin really understood the Regieleki. He approached Justin, who held his palms tight over his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Migraine,” Justin answered. “Not here yet, but it’s coming…”

Chris’ eyes widened. He had shared a room with Justin the summer before and a small handful of times, this had happened. Justin was lucky, in that his migraines tended to not last very long, an hour at most, however there were the occasional ones that put him out of commission for half the day.

“I’ll get the lights…” Chris said, remembering what Justin had asked of him during his attacks the year before.

Chris, after returning Dragonite, quickly made his way towards the remote that was mounted on the wall, pressing the button on it which caused the motorised blinds on the windows to lower, blocking out nearly all of the natural light, while Chris found the light switch. By the time Chris had returned, a bottle of water from the fridge on the edge of the arena in hand, the only source of light in the room was Regieleki, who slowly hopped from one foot to another in nervousness.

“Sorry buddy,” Justin said weakly to the Pokemon, the visual warning signs already gone, and the pain arriving, and the light emanating from the Legendary Pokemon only managing to worsen it. He fumbled for Regieleki’s Pokeball, making sure to look away so he didn’t see the bright light of Regieleki being returned to the Pokeball, before he fumbled in the near pitch black room towards the bench on the sideline, where he could lay down. He spent a moment draining the bottle of its contents, knowing that keeping hydrated would shorten the length of the migraine, and given the pain in the side of his head, it was an easy thing he could do.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Chris asked, his tone showing more concern than Justin had ever really heard in it.

“Another bottle of water?” Justin asked quietly. “Maybe two. And don’t make any loud sudden noises…”

Chris didn’t respond, knowing the sound would worsen the pain, before opening the fridge quietly, and getting another two bottles. After handing them to Justin, who placed one under the back of his neck, and drank from the other, Chris took a risk by asking a question.

“Would painkillers help?” Chris asked softly.

“Not for me. They never have,” Justin replied, before wincing. “I caught it before it set right in, so it should be fine before too long. Don’t feel like you need to stick around…”

“I got nowhere better to be,” Chris replied, not exaggerating. There was nothing left between him and Dylan after Friday night, and by extension, Abbee had been avoiding him more than ever, granted he was okay with this. He knew that if he were to run into Jon, he’d be lectured, and if he ran into Charlotte, it’d likely be worse. With Candice now on her way back to Snowpoint, Justin wasn’t otherwise occupied. “I’ll just sit quietly, and be on hand if you need anything…”

Justin groaned, not in the mood to argue with Chris if he wanted to spend his Sunday morning keeping him company as he suffered in the dark. He simply kept his eyes closed, as natural light filtered in through cracks in the doorway, and attempted to keep his breathing calm and controlled.

The pair sat in relative silence for a little over an hour, the only breaks to the silence being the odd groan of pain, or Justin asking for another bottle of water, half the time acting as a cold-pack against the back of his neck. Chris, who sat on the ground with his back against the wall, had partially dozed off, when the pain began to subside, and Justin slowly sat upright, continuing to drink, and control his breathing. When the pain had all but disappeared, Justin stood slowly to his feet, stretching his cramped limbs, and sighing half-contentedly. He wasn’t himself, and knew he wouldn’t be likely for the rest of the day. He still felt a little light headed, and somewhat weak, though it was very slowly but gradually disappearing.

The sigh was enough to stir Chris’ attention, who had dozed off a few minutes earlier.

“Feeling better?” Chris asked. Justin nodded.

“I’ve had migraines since I was little, but mine tend to be pretty short compared to the average,” Justin said, somewhat weakly. “It’s on its way out. And my breakfast didn’t make a reappearance, which is always good…”

Chris nodded, remembering having to quickly find a bucket for Justin the year before during one of his attacks.

“Well, I’ve had less this summer than last, so if I’m lucky, I might have less next summer,” Justin tried to joke. “I won’t need you to find me a bucket…”

“I won’t be here next summer…”

Justin sighed. He had known that Chris had flipped out at Jon during the prom, disrespecting him and the Academy, and telling Jon he was done, and not coming back after this summer. He had made his own comment, hoping Chris had just been upset and acting out in the moment, and if given the opportunity to pretend the incident didn’t happen, he might have taken it. Chris heard the sigh, and felt the need to explain himself.

“I’ve always had to work twice as hard as other people for Jon’s approval. Dylan especially. Honestly, I’d bet he only punished Dylan for hitting me because he couldn’t hide the fact it had happened,” Chris muttered. Justin tensed a little, hearing this, though Chris didn’t notice and continued. “And now, he is treating me like I’m some problem child that he needs to straighten out. He talks to me like he has it all together, when he hospitalised a dude the night before he won all the cash that he used to buy this damn place…”

Justin had tried being sympathetic to Chris. Whilst he hadn’t thought about it too much when it happened, he knew if Candice broke up with him, and he saw her with another guy, he would have been upset. However, Chris had been directing the pain he felt at anyone who mildly aggrieved him, and was finding himself more isolated, and by extension angrier, for it. His hands turned to fists as Chris continued.

“He thinks he is some life mentor to the lot of us, when none of us asked him for that, and he’s just as f**ked up as the rest of us…”

“Chris, can you just shut up?”

Chris was shocked to hear Justin speak to him so bluntly, and that shock was what kept him quiet, as Justin continued, instead of retaliating angrily like he normally would.

“You know why I f**ked around so much for most of our first summer?” Justin asked. The room was still dark, and Justin only just perceived Chris shaking his head. “I f**ked around so much because I didn’t think I’d be able to amount to much regardless. I figured if I didn’t take anything seriously, you guys would all think I was going nowhere because I just didn’t care enough to try, not because I just couldn’t keep up…”

Chris remained in his stunned, silent state as Justin continued.

“Jon was the first person to hold me to the standard of who he thought I could be…” Justin continued. “He didn’t take any s**t from me, but didn’t write me off like I wanted everyone to do. He actually wanted to know who I was, not who I tried to tell everyone I was. And when I finally wanted to try and challenge myself, he had my back. Without even knowing what I was wanting to do, he told me the sky is the limit, and to go for it, even though I’d spent most of the summer wasting his time…”

Justin, not for the first time, thought over where he could have been.

“If I hadn’t come here, I think right now, I’d be bouncing between dead end jobs, and getting nowhere quickly. But I did. I left here, and three months later, trekked across a frozen wasteland, where I discovered and captured a new Legendary Pokemon, made up for the time I wasted during summer and got stronger, as well as met the girl of my dreams. All of this before getting into one of the hardest law degrees in the world based on merit more than anything. If someone told me that I’d do all of this three years ago, I’d have laughed in their face,” Justin said passionately. “Then, when the rubber hit the road, and Mossdeep and the Academy were in danger, Dylan, who knocked in my door the year before because I had been acting stupid, actually trusted me to get help, and when that was done, I was able to actually help keep the people of this island safe from Deoxys. And even now, when we’re about to face the College of the North Wind, and I am the one to set the starting score, Jon has faith that I can get us off to a good start, and for the first time, I actually believe him…”

“Justin, I didn’t mean it like that-”

“What did you mean then?” Justin asked, though Chris couldn’t answer. “Look, if you think there’s nothing left for you here next summer, then that’s your decision, and I wish you all the best. But don’t s**t on Jon and s**t on this place like that. Because you’re just s**tting on the rest of us who still need something from this place…”

“You’re right,” Chris said, feeling a sense of shame that Justin had to bare his soul, and all his insecurities like that to get him to listen to reason. “I’m sorry…”

Justin nodded, though didn’t feel like his work here was done.

“Get the lights. We still have training to do…”

“What about your migraine?” Chris asked.

“Do I look like I have a migraine?” Justin asked, though hoped Chris didn’t notice how uneasy on his feet he was. “If you honestly think you’re done with this place, you’re going to have to prove it…”

Chris sighed, before making his way towards the light switch, and curtain remote, pretending not to notice when Justin winced a little at the light filling the room. Justin sent out Regieleki, as Chris sent out Dragonite again, planning on resuming the match from before. The pair battled, and whilst Chris would argue he was holding back against Justin, he’d been lying. Justin beat him effortlessly, only managing to further prove the point he was making about his own growth at the Academy.

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

The next week was a blur for Jon and the interns, as the summer program came to a close. The week was spent trying to nail some final lessons for the students before they left, with every other spare moment spent in training. Chris, avoiding Jon, Dylan and Abbee, spent his time training with Justin and Charlotte, the latter he knew would lecture him about his behaviour at the prom, but thankfully didn’t do it more than once. She knew that being repeatedly lectured would be counterproductive with Chris, but a verbal beating was usually enough to get him thinking a little more critically of his actions.

On Friday afternoon, the students were picked up by family, all of whom having grown somewhat during that summer, and given the fact that the summer wasn’t interrupted by a rampaging Legendary Pokemon, there was a lot of ”I’ll see you next summer” being said by students, leaving Jon wondering whether the facilities will be large enough for the majority of students who seemed to want to return, as well as the potential influx of new students if they made the most of the publicity the challenge from the College of the North Wind could bring.

After the students had left, and Abbee, Charlotte, Chris and Justin had quickly finished packing the last of their belongings, Alyssa and Steven drove Jon and the five interns to the ferry depot on Mossdeep Island, where they caught a ferry across to Lilycove City, and from the Lilycove depot, a shuttle bus to the Lilycove City Airport. It was ten in the evening when they found themselves on a plane, taking off for Jubilife City.

“So where are we heading?” Justin asked Jon, as the group walked through Jubilife City Airport in the late hours of Sunday morning. “The bus terminal?”

“Camilla has organised a driver to meet us,” Jon explained. “We’ll be staying in the College’s accommodation. It’s all organised. We just had to get ourselves here, and be ready for a battle…”

As he spoke, the group had arrived at a small escalator, walking onto it one after another, before descending towards the main entrance to Jubilife City Airport. As they reached the bottom, Justin replied.

“So where is this driver?”

Jon didn’t answer, instead looking around at the various people holding cardboard cards with various names.

’Blackburn.’

‘Steele.’

‘Reed.’

“Over there,” Dylan said, pointing towards a driver well dressed on to their right. His card didn’t have a name written, instead a drawn silhouette, familiar to all from the Eon Academy. The silhouette of Latios, that made up the logo for the Eon Academy. Jon chuckled seeing it.

“Always with the theatrics…” Jon muttered to himself, earning a grin from Justin.

As the group made their way towards the man holding the card, he noticed them in his peripheral vision, and before Jon could confirm whether he was after them, he had recognized the group, and began greeting them, before guiding them to the car.

“I wasn’t expecting this…” Jon muttered, as he and his students took in the sight of the limousine that stood parked in front of them.

“There’s six of us…” Abbee offered. “Maybe it was cheaper to rent a limo than two cars and drivers?”

“Even if it was, do you really think that would be the case, given what we have seen of these North Wind guys?” Charlotte asked, as Abbee sighed.

“Not a chance…” Abbee replied.

“Exactly,” Charlotte answered, before following Chris to the open boot of the limousine, where their enthusiastic driver was placing his luggage.

Once all six trainers were in the limousine, Chris remained largely silent, as the others, though largely Jon, Abbee and Dylan, took in the sights.

“Goldenrod City is about the same size,” Abbee mentioned to Jon as she stared out the window at the buildings, knowing he grew up there. “But this is just… different. You know?”

Jon had the same feeling about the place, having never been to Sinnoh before.

“It seems like a more relaxed place than Goldenrod,” Jon noted. “People here seem… happier?”

“I wouldn’t say happier,” Abbee remarked. “But not as stressed…”

“Drive past the university and tell me that,” Justin remarked, earning a chuckle from everyone in the stretched car, even earning a grin from Chris, who had remained silent and kept to himself, being unable to avoid being with Jon, Abbee and Dylan.

“So you’re from here, right?” Dylan asked Charlotte, who seemed the most content to relax in during the drive and not take in the sights.

“Since I was born, but on the edge of the city,” Charlotte answered. “Far enough away that we don’t get the convenience of living in a big city, and close enough that we still get all the noise and traffic…”

“You’re a real ray of sunshine, aren’t you?” Dylan asked patronisingly, earning a raised eyebrow from Charlotte.

“Because you think Mossdeep is so amazing?” Charlotte retorted, as Jon grinned, now tuning into this exchange.

“Wouldn’t want to live anywhere else…”

It was a half hour drive due to the traffic of driving into the centre of the city, before they arrived at a large property that housed a series of well maintained, heritage buildings, all looking to be centuries old. The stark difference in the style and spaciousness of the property compared to its neighbours was shocking.

“Is this it?” Chris asked Charlotte quietly, trusting that being a local she would know the place.

“This is it…”

“They could probably house five times as many students here as we do…” Dylan muttered, Jon murmuring in agreement.

A small paved road turned off of the main road that they drove along, that the driver turned onto, before stopping before a boom gate. However, without need for the driver to put down their window to speak through an intercom, or scan an ID card, the boom gate opened, letting them enter, as the limousine continued along, before turning to the left, and entering a large cobblestone car park, opposite a flat area covered in lush grass, between them and the main building of the College. Standing on the path that led towards the building was a lone figure, who was recognized by all in the car.

“That’s Camilla,” Jon confirmed, whilst the driver slowed to a stop. “Let’s see if the theatrics continue without the cameras around…”

The limousine stopped, before the driver got out of the driver’s seat, and made his way to the rear door, opening it. Jon allowed the students to climb out first, and stretch their legs, before Jon climbed out himself, noting Camilla walking towards them with an air of authority and purpose.

Camilla was in her early fifties, though looked to be ten years younger, given the availability of surgery to temporarily hide the ageing process to someone of her standing. Her hair was ash blonde, complimenting her piercing blue eyes. She was shorter than she appeared on screen, being only as tall as Abbee, the smallest of the group from the Eon Academy. She wore dark grey pants, with a dark blue blouse, and somehow, given the summer heat, a black coat over the top.

“Jon Drake,” Camilla said, sounding as if she had been rehearsing the name for the last hour. “Let me be the first to welcome you and your students to the College of the North Wind…”

“It’s our pleasure,” Jon remarked. “Your challenge provided us with solid motivation to kick things up a gear. I think we’ll all be better off for this…”

Camilla nodded, before looking around the group in front of her, counting quickly, then continuing.

“Let’s speak more inside. My students are waiting for us there,” Camilla said, before nodding towards the driver who stood by the car. “Mr. Davison will take your belongings to your accommodations.”

Jon nodded, causing Camilla to turn towards the large building before them, and lead the way. Justin followed, as did Dylan and Abbee, before being followed by Charlotte. Jon looked at Chris, who seemed to be waiting for something.

“After you,” Jon said casually. Chris however didn’t respond, simply following Charlotte, as Jon sighed quietly, following behind his somewhat estranged student.

Justin couldn’t help but be in awe as he entered the hall behind Camilla. Despite attending one of the most prestigious universities in the world, Camilla had managed to find a more impressive building for her college in the same city. Despite the clear age of the building, it was in immaculate condition, with nothing out of place. The ceilings were high, and ornately decorated. He was pulled from his awe by the sound of voices ahead of them. At the other end of the hall were five people, the youngest close in age to Dylan, with the oldest a couple of years older than her.

Sitting on a chair off to the side, not bothering to hide her boredom at having to wait in the hall in the name of Camilla’s theatrics, was a girl with shoulder length black hair, dressed in torn black jeans and a thick black jacket, wearing makeup that added to the black motif. Natasha King, the trainer of Glastrier, who would battle Chris. A few metres from Natasha were a guy and girl, both a little shorter than Chris, talking, having not noticed their guests arriving. Beth Thomas, and Matt Campbell, trainers of Zeraora and Shaymin, and opponents of Charlotte and Abbee respectively. Beth had perfectly straightened red hair, which sat just below shoulder length, with dark brown eyes, only now fixing on Justin and those behind him. She wore a floral sundress, which seemed to clash with her harsh red hair. Seeming to notice them after Beth turned away, Matt looked over, curiosity painted across his face. He had blonde hair, however recently it seemed to have been shorn off to a short fuzz. He wore a plain white tee, under a black button down shirt, with a pair of black skinny jeans.

On their right stood a girl intent on her phone. Sophie Williams, the youngest of the group, had blonde hair that hung somewhat messily below her shoulders, wearing a simple sleeveless blouse and a pair of blue jeans. Her green eyes were friendly, and she flashed Justin a smile, taking him by surprise. Sophie, the trainer of Melmetal, would be his opponent, and until now he had thought of her, for better or worse, as the enemy. She quickly pocketed her phone, before standing up a little straighter, waiting for Camilla to move proceedings along.

Finally, on the far right, stood Brad Jenkins, almost as tall as Dylan, with brown hair, similar in length and style, or lack thereof, to Justin’s own. He wore a black singlet, over a pair of khaki shorts, and stood with his arms crossed, looking towards the crowd of trainers that entered. Considering the perception people had of Cresselia, it seemed odd to Justin that this guy was her trainer.

Once all were gathered, Camilla joined her students, Natasha reluctantly standing from her chair and joining her teacher.

“Let me welcome you again to the College of the North Wind, the most prestigious battling school in the world…”

Charlotte’s first instinct was to ask for Camilla’s source, however knew that Jon wasn’t the sort to take comments like that to heart, and would rather let actions on the battlefield speak louder than their words of protest now. She hid a grin.

“My name is Camilla Blakely, and I am the former Sinnoh Champion, and now principal of the College of the North Wind. Among my previous students is the current Sinnoh League Champion, Cynthia, as well as many Elite Four members from all over the world,” Camilla continued. “In order to allow our students to excel, we only allow those with untapped potential to enrol, and dedicate all resources at our disposal to allow them to exceed all expectations, and take the world by storm…”

“I’d happily forfeit now if it ends this any sooner,” Chris whispered to Justin, earning a nudge to the ribs from his elbow.

“Of course, in a mere three years, your Eon Academy has become a household name, especially given all the media attention from other matters…” Camilla continued. Jon understood the message. The Eon Academy is known for Legendary Pokemon attacks, their staff being targeted by poachers, and the Hoenn Military trying to take their property, more than for their battling prowess.

“And given that, we’d love to put on a show for the world to see, pitting prestige against rising fame,” Camilla concluded. “We are so glad you accepted our challenge…”

As she spoke, Dylan couldn’t help but notice a pair of eyes on him. Brad Jenkins, his opponent for the challenge, hadn’t looked away from Dylan since noticing him enter. Dylan, who had been seeing this in his peripheral vision, looked over, making eye contact with Brad, who noticed, flashing a smug grin Dylan’s way.

“I figure you’re all tired from your trip, and want nothing more than to relax?” Camilla asked. Jon nodded in response.

“Our program ended less than twenty-four hours ago, and we’re starting to feel it…” Jon replied. Camilla smiled in response, and whilst it seemed genuine, it still made him uncomfortable.

“Well, I’ll escort you to your rooms, and you can take the rest of the day to unwind and relax,” Camilla explained. “Dinner will be at seven, and we can become more acquainted with one another then. After that, the battles will commence at ten tomorrow morning…”

Jon nodded, as Camilla, leaving her students, moved towards them again, leading them out of the hall. Charlotte hung back, grabbing Abbee and Justin’s sleeves, getting them to do the same thing.

“Can you guys help me with something this afternoon?”

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

The day passed slowly for Chris, as Charlotte had left the property, with Abbee and Justin in tow and not a word of explanation, leaving Chris, Dylan and Jon behind. The group had been escorted to their accommodation, which was a large suite of rooms, situated around a communal area between them. Each trainer had their own room, larger than those at the Academy, sharing the communal lounge, as well as bathroom facilities.

After settling into his room, Chris had made his way into the lounge, waiting for Justin and Charlotte to emerge from their rooms, and when they didn’t, proceeded to call them. Neither answered their phones, and Jon, having emerged from his own room, figured out what was going on, and told him the three interns had all left for a few hours.

Chris spent the afternoon on his phone in relative silence. While he considered training one last time before the battles that were scheduled for the next day, he didn’t want to train with Jon, and really didn’t want to train with Dylan. And given they were less than twenty-four hours from the battle, after weeks of intense training, he figured that the difference would be negligible. If he couldn’t beat his opponent, Natasha, now, training that afternoon wouldn’t change that.

Abbee, Charlotte and Justin returned shortly before six in the evening, and when Chris asked the two he was on speaking terms with where they were, Charlotte simply said she had something she needed to sort out, and the pair were helping her, though avoided the question when Chris asked what, causing him to give up, especially seeing as they had dinner with their opponents scheduled to start in a little over an hour.

The six Eon Academy representatives found themselves sitting at a large table that took up most of the room it was in, Jon on one end, and the five on one side. Opposite Jon on the other end of the table sat Camilla, and opposite the five interns, were Camilla’s five representatives.

“This is delicious,” Jon said, trying to break the awkward silence over the table. “We really appreciate your hospitality.”

He wasn’t lying for the sake of conversation. The food was incredible. The College of the North Wind kitchens had prepared a curry that evening, which Jon could not fault if he tried, only wishing it were a little spicier, however knowing his affinity for spice may not be shared by those present. The flavours of the curry blended together excellently, and the meat was cooked to absolute perfection, absorbing the flavours of the sauce, and simply falling apart. Camilla smiled, and again, whilst Jon didn’t believe it to be insincere, he still felt uncomfortable.

“Our chefs are some of the best,” Camilla explained. “Given the generous cost of attending, and the fact that our students will spend most of their year living on site, we figure it's a worthwhile investment for student morale. I’m just thankful that I could convince a small team to return to work early in order to cater for everyone.”

Jon nodded, taking another bite, before he continued.

“So your program will start in the next few weeks?”

“Two weeks from Monday,” Camilla explained. “Myself and my students here have been staying on site the last month, so we could issue the challenge, and also prepare for it. So it was worth getting a few chefs back here early…”

“That’s quite the risk,” Jon commented. “Having your students return, when I could have simply ignored the challenge?”

Camilla smiled again, Jon relying on sheer willpower to not look away given the discomfort he felt. He wasn’t completely sure why, but had a hunch. Whilst Camilla was sincere with her comments, they seemed to all be laced with a hint of superiority. Not that Camilla thought less of them, but merely in comparison to her and her school, they weren’t worth considering. Jon was near certain that the only reason she issued the challenge was to attempt to utilise the Eon Academy’s rising fame.

“See, I didn’t think you would. You’ve never been the sort to back down, Jon,” Camilla answered, acting as if she had known him for years. “You didn’t during the High Sea’s Tournament, or when Hoenn’s military were trying to take your school. Why would you turn me down after fighting through all of that?”

Tired of the conversation being dominated by herself and Jon, Camilla looked across the five students Jon had brought, choosing one at random. She chose the girl with shoulder length blonde hair, that sat in the centre of her side of the table.

“Miss Jones, is it?” Camilla asked, surprising Charlotte by asking her directly. She nodded politely as Camilla spoke. “I recall the broadcast that the Eon Academy produced during the summer of 2018, where you all battled, and you took the win. How are you feeling about tomorrow?”

Charlotte considered the question. She had been noticing less than friendly glances from some on the opposite side of the table, some more obvious than others. And whilst she didn’t want to make a bold statement she would regret if she lost the next day's match, she also didn’t want to let their opponents think they were going to be walked over.

“I’m feeling reasonably confident,” Charlotte answered, though her tone seemed to imply more confidence than she spoke of. “We’ve had plenty of time to train, and all of us have learnt some new tricks this summer. Of course, I can’t speak for certain, but I have a good feeling…”

“Any particular reason for that?” Camilla asked, as she looked down at the bowl of food in front of her.

“None that I’d be caught sharing the night before our battle,” Charlotte answered, her tone sickly sweet, causing her fellow interns to wonder whether she had hit her head. “Loose lips sink ships, Camilla…”

Whilst there realistically was no hard and fast social rule that the young trainers should refer to her as Miss Blakely, Camilla carried an air of superiority that made the concept of a teenager referring to her on a first name basis seem so foreign. Charlotte noticed Sophie, Justin’s opponent, and the only one who seemed like she genuinely wanted to befriend her opponents, look nervously between Charlotte and Camilla.

Camilla looked to Jon, nodding in Charlotte’s direction.

“I like this one,” Camilla said with a short laughter.

“She can honestly be quite terrifying,” Jon replied, which Camilla found to be hilarious. Before anything else could be said however, Jon felt his phone buzz. He removed it from his pocket, glancing at it.

“I’m sorry, I’d better take this,” Jon explained to those present. “The last time I left Hoenn without my wife, I got attacked at gunpoint by poachers, and because of that, if I don’t answer her calls, I worry she may send the regional guard…”

“Take all the time you need,” Camilla answered, before standing herself. “I may take this as a good opportunity to see whether dessert is on schedule. Why don’t the ten of you take this as an opportunity to get to know each other a little better before tomorrow…”

Jon left the room, followed by Camilla, shutting the door behind her, leaving the ten trainers sitting in awkward silence.

“I’m really looking forward to tomorrow,” Abbee said, trying to invite more conversation. “It will be good to battle some new trainers that won’t hold back…”

Sophie nodded in agreement, though there was an awkward silence before anyone responded. Whilst they had considered introductions, there was little point. With the exception of Dylan, who was hard to learn much of online, all students were well aware of who sat opposite them at the dinner table.

“Well I hope the battles last long enough to be worth the trip,” Brad said, Charlotte knowing instantly that she didn’t like him. “We’d hate to have you come all this way, only to send you packing by noon…”

“You don’t think you might be setting your sights a little high there buddy?” Chris asked, his words being friendly, but his tone anything but. Brad set his sights on him.

“Well considering half your team would be wiped out by a cold breeze, I think my sights are set just about right…”

Chris felt his anger rise, though Charlotte retorted before he could say something to drastically escalate the situation.

“What’s the rush Brad?” Charlotte asked casually. “It’s not like you got a date to rush off to or something? Why can’t we take our time and enjoy ourselves…”

Brad was taken aback by Charlotte’s very pointed backhanded comment, and when the sound of Sophie choking back a laugh reached him, he looked towards her, glaring for a moment.

“Is something funny?” Brad asked, his tone indicating there was only one correct answer. Sophie stammered trying to come up with an excuse on the fly, though was interrupted by Natasha, who seemed like she wanted to be anywhere but in that room.

“The thought of you having a date Brad,” Natasha said, sounding bored. “It’s like imagining a bright pink Rayquaza. Hilarious because of how unrealistic it is…”

Chris couldn’t hide the grin at what he just heard, now glad he didn’t get the chance to speak. Seeing Brad embarrassed like this was more satisfying than punching him. Brad looked towards Natasha in distaste, it being obvious to those there that Brad and Natasha tended to clash frequently.

Wanting to take the attention off of him, he looked towards Dylan, who sat quietly at the far end of the Eon Academy’s side of the table, his expression stoic, and giving nothing away.

“I say we’ll be done by lunch, seeing as I’m up against the one trainer without a Legendary Pokemon,” Brad said, before his tone turned to complaining. “I don’t know what they were thinking. It’s going to be over before it begins…”

Dylan looked at Brad, not saying a word, however knowing exactly how to put him in his place. He let a smug grin cross his face, however Brad’s attention was taken a moment before by Abbee speaking up.

“Legendary Pokemon or not, Dylan beat Jon who battled with Latios, at the start of summer…” Abbee said, irritated that Brad was making such stupid comments about Dylan, and partially wishing he’d stand up for himself.

Brad’s eyes widened.

“So Camilla should have no trouble beating Jon then?” he asked, though before anyone could answer, Sophie chimed in.

“Brad, cut it out,” she said, though her tone seemed to lack the confidence that her words tried to imply. “Do you see any of us trash talking? Can’t we just enjoy a meal together?”

“They might not be saying it, but I know I’m not the only one who thinks it…” Brad remarked, before looking towards Beth. “Beth, you’re smart. You should see that this can only go one way…”

Beth, who hadn’t been paying a great deal of attention, looked at Brad, before rolling her eyes.

“If you must know, yeah, I agree…” Beth said, her tone exasperated, her attention turning towards their guests. “It’s nothing personal. We’ve seen videos online of you guys and know you’re the real deal. But we spend nine months a year at this place, and have been battling longer than you guys. I’m not the sort to go out of my way to say this, but Brad hasn’t given me much of a choice…”

Charlotte found herself more irritated with Beth than Brad, and was now very thankful she’d be facing her the next day. She could handle Brad and his comments, because his loud mouth and meathead attitude made it impossible to take him seriously. Beth however, was diplomatic, and whilst she looked down on them, her demeanour of superiority that she shared with Camilla made her opinions that little bit more believable.

“She’s right,” Matt said, his tone even more arrogant than Beth’s. “We’re just on a different level…”

“And what makes you say that?” Charlotte asked, sarcasm obvious in her tone.

“It took six of you, three with Legendary Pokemon, to take down Deoxys last summer,” Matt answered, Charlotte’s temper flaring further at the use of her Pokemon as a tool to belittle them. “We’re trained specifically to take on the Elite Four. Our six Pokemon against their twenty-six-”

Before he could continue, Beth nudged him with a shoulder. Whilst she’d happily say that the College of the North Wind had the competition in the bag, she didn’t want to risk their victory being diminished by Matt running his mouth and giving their opponents ideas.

His ego still bruised from earlier, Brad spoke up again, having carefully selected his next target. Justin, who had remained silent during the exchange, not wanting to try and make peace with them like Abbee would, not wanting to retaliate and provoke further fighting like Chris, or more subtly put them in their place, Charlotte would.

“I feel sorry for you most of all,” Brad said to Justin. “Being the first up…”

“Why’s that?” Justin asked.

“Because when you lose, you’re setting the standard for the rest of your school…” Brad sneered. “You’ll go down, and everyone else will go down after you, Jon included…”

Justin didn’t reply, and Chris felt his heart break a little when Justin’s shoulders slumped. The well earned confidence that Justin had shown during their training session the weekend before, feeling like he had a good chance to get the Academy off to a good start, was leaving him. Especially having had Justin bare all his insecurities that he had worked his a** off to work past, now visibly eating away at his confidence. The heart-break however, turned to righteous anger.

“Listen here, you bootleg teen-movie antagonist, personality of a mouldy potato, pretends to like beer in front of his friends, when really he thinks its tastes yucky, stuck-up motherfuc-”

“Chris,” Jon said, not raising his voice, but letting his tone speak volumes. “Sit down…”

Chris looked at Jon, who had just entered the room, having finished his call, and had been listening by the door, unnoticed by all in the room, bar Dylan.

“You heard him Chris,” Brad said smugly. “Sit down…”

Jon turned on Brad, looking at the young trainer, who was starting to realise the folly of getting on Jon’s bad side.

“Hey, Tank Top, the adults are talking,” Jon said, nodding towards Chris, who ironically was a month off of turning eighteen. “And I’d be learning when to keep your thoughts to yourself. Bad sportsmanship will kill your career faster than you can afford to spare…”

Chris sat down as his fellow interns, and even a few of those sitting on the other side of the table struggled to hide grins at Jon’s verbal lashing of Brad. When there was silence, Jon looked over all present, before speaking.

“I’m glad you’re all fired up and wanting to put on a good show tomorrow, but save all of this for the battlefield,” Jon said, “Talk is cheap, and anyone can say they’re going to win. The difference between those who make it, and those who don’t is nothing to do with who can talk the most s**t. It’s who can actually deliver results when the rubber hits the road…”

“I couldn’t agree more…”

Camilla, having returned shortly after Jon, entered the room, glaring largely at Brad, though saved some of it for her other students.

“Jon, I’m sorry that some of my students left their manners in their dorm rooms,” Camilla said.

“And I’m sorry some of mine weren’t being the bigger people like they should…”

Jon’s tone was even, and gave no indication of any ill will, however, after being looked down on by Camilla all evening, and hearing her students attitudes towards him and his own, something that whilst may not have necessarily been taught, was likely not discouraged either, he had to have one jab himself. He was only human.

Camilla looked at Jon, her expression remaining the same, though her eyes hardening.

“I guess we will have to see how all of this translates to tomorrow’s challenge…”

“I guess we will…”

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

“I can’t wait to put these guys in their place tomorrow…” Charlotte said as she sat, surprisingly with all the other interns in their lounge. Whilst Dylan and Abbee were on one side of the room, and Chris on another, with nothing being said between the two groups, Charlotte was still surprised they were even in the same room, however she knew Chris would be far too bored to stay in his room whenever Dylan and Abbee, who weren’t putting themselves out to avoid seeing him, were present.

“Some of them are less than pleasant,” Abbee remarked, looking between Charlotte and Dylan. “The three of us drew the short straw in our opponents. Sophie seems friendly, and Natasha seems like she’d be nice once you got to know her…”

“Brad has about as much personality as a door handle…” Dylan muttered, earning a chuckle from Chris, surprising everyone, none more so than Chris.

“Brad’s a d****ebag, sure, but Beth gets on my nerves more…” Charlotte said. “I can live with high and mighty, but obviously stupid, because people realize pretty quickly their not worth listening to. But she’s actually got half a brain in her skull, and is just as arrogant, if not worse than Brad. People are actually likely to listen to her…”

“Matt’s hardly any better,” Abbee muttered.

Chris looked over towards Justin, who had barely spoken since dinner. After Jon and Camilla’s return, the two teachers both made a point of carrying the conversation, addressing students on each side, as to get through the rest of the meal without another altercation. Even when addressed directly by Camilla, Justin hadn’t been himself. The fighting spirit he had when he put Chris in his place the week before seemed all but gone.

“I swear, if they keep this s**t up tomorrow morning…” Chris muttered.

“You’ll do nothing, and let them make idiots of themselves and their school…”

Jon had emerged again, this time from his room. His call with Alyssa earlier that evening had been cut short because he could hear voices raised, and the tone of the conversation, leading him to tell Alyssa he’d call her later, because he had to deal with something. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Chris that objected to Jon.

“Jon, they’ve been disrespecting us all night,” Charlotte protested. “I am all for making them pay on the battlefield, but everyone has their limit of how much s**t like this they can take…”

“Charlotte’s right,” Chris answered. “Beating them would be great, but at the cost of everyone thinking we lack the backbone to stand up for ourselves, without getting Pokemon involved? These a**holes have been looking down their noses at us since we got here!”

“Sophie has been friendly,” Abbee interjected. “And I get the feeling Natasha is standoffish to most people, her teammates included.”

“Fine, one is nice, and the other is neutral,” Chris said, surprising Abbee by replying to her directly. “I’m not talking about tearing into them…”

“The stupid one stopped talking to Dylan when he gave him nothing…” Jon noted, having heard about what was said. “Honestly, they want a reaction. The stupid one in particular, and it seemed like he started it all off.”

“Justin didn’t give him a reaction, and he copped the worst of it!” Chris argued. Justin glanced up nervously, wishing that Chris didn’t bring him into this. He was worried about the battle tomorrow, and whilst he agreed that the College of the North Wind needed to be put in their place, he didn’t want to deal with this as well. Jon looked at Justin, considering him carefully. He had noticed Justin hadn’t been himself, and now started to understand why.

“Justin, do you think I’m a better battler than the guys you’re up against? Forget Camilla. If I were to go up against Tank Top, who do you think would win?”

Justin looked at Jon, a little puzzled by the question.

“You, definitely,” Justin answered, wondering why Jon was bothering to ask.

“And of all you guys, you were the first to beat me in a serious battle,” Jon replied. Justin grimaced.

“I’d shown up with a Legendary Pokemon you’d never even heard of, with tactics you had no reason to expect,” Justin muttered. “This is different…”

“How is it different?” Jon asked, continuing before Justin could answer. “The only battle of yours posted online is from before you caught Regieleki, and when you hadn’t really shown a heap of improvement. Sure, everyone knows now you have Regieleki, but you wiped out most of my team with Alakazam before Regieleki even made an appearance. That, and these guys have no idea what your Pokemon themselves are capable of…”

Justin remained silent, though couldn’t make eye-contact with Jon.

“If you think I could beat any of these guys, then you’re just as capable of beating them,” Jon said, before widening his statement. “That goes for all of you…”

“You’ve beaten me every other time?” Justin asked. “You trained a fourteen year old to beat me last summer…”

“Because I know how you battle, and have seen you battle so many times I’ve lost count. Dylan could probably train a student to do the same thing to me,” Jon answered. “These people haven’t seen what your strengths and weaknesses are, and are going to be improvising, just like you. But I know you improvise better than most people…”

“At least Camilla seems nice enough,” Chris muttered. “Wish that’d rub off on her students…”

Jon snorted.

“Camilla spent years in the public eye as the Sinnoh Champion. She knows how to keep in people's good graces. She thinks we’re below her, not because we are necessarily lesser, but that she thinks that highly of herself…” Jon muttered.

“How can you tell?” Charlotte asked.

“I’m used to being looked down on. Granted it’s by people who think I’m less than them, not strictly that they are more than me,” Jon answered, before shrugging. “Same s**t, different smell…”

“So why take it?” Chris asked, his tone less passionate, and more curious. “Why be okay with this?”

Jon looked at Chris, surprised a little that Chris was wanting more to understand him than argue with him.

“Pride comes before the fall,” Jon answered. “And tomorrow, we’re bringing that fall to them…”

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

The matches were due to start in half an hour when the Eon Academy representatives found themselves in the giant stadium where their battles would take place. Whilst they were used to battling on a battlefield the size of a tennis court, this battlefield was the size of a football field.

“This works in our favour,” Jon said quietly to his students. “We tend to be a little more controlled with our Pokemon, so we don’t damage the stadium. But here, we have room to go to town…”

Around the stadium were multiple expensive cameras, in addition to drones flown by expert pilots wearing first person view goggles, watching from the drone’s perspective, something Jon was well and truly accustomed to, given Latios’ sight sharing ability.

“The battles will be broadcasted worldwide, on television and online,” Camilla explained. “I figure, these battles will be some of the biggest since the first High Seas Tournament, so it’s worth making sure everyone can see exactly what’s going on…”

“This is some high end equipment here…” Jon said, looking around.

“We even hired some high speed cameras, that should be able to do slow-motion replays of the big moments…” Camilla explained.

“We’ll have to make sure our Pokemon look photogenic when they land those attacks then,” Chris noted, his voice calm and friendly. Camilla seemed taken aback a little, and seeing the opportunity, Jon spoke up.

“Actually Camilla, now that you’re here I think we should discuss the format of the battles…” Jon said, as a look of slight confusion came across Camilla’s face.

“What’s there to discuss?” Camilla asked. “Both trainers battle with six Pokemon until one trainer either forfeits or has no Pokemon left to battle…”

“League Standard, I’m aware,” Jon explained. “However, we use Tournament Standard, which is each trainer chooses three Pokemon, in addition to a blind selection rule, in which both trainers choose their first Pokemon without knowing what Pokemon their opponent will choose.”

Hearing the commotion, Beth and Matt quietly made their way over to hear this.

“Well that is fine, but we’re battling here at the College,” Camilla replied, trying to remain composed. “Surely you didn’t think that we’d use a different format?”

“Well considering you challenged us without specifying a format, and challenge etiquette clearly states that if a challenge is made without a format being specified by the challenger, the party being challenged has the right to decide the format, I expected that the former Sinnoh Champion would respect our right to choose,” Jon said, as Camilla’s eyes widened, realising that she hadn’t considered this, being too preoccupied with the theatrics of her challenge. “Three Pokemon with blind selection will make for a better battle anyway. Waiting for the other person to select their Pokemon and choosing something advantageous is a cheap tactic I have trained my students not to rely on. And only having three Pokemon gives decisions higher stakes, and means that the later end of the match is more unpredictable. You may beat my Latios and Blaziken, but I could still send out one of four Pokemon as my final one…”

“Miss Blakely,” Beth said quietly, a hint of concern in her voice. “We don’t have to oblige.”

“Tournament standard?” Matt asked, his tone derisive. “This is a challenge, not a tournament…”

“A tournament is a series of contests between multiple participants for an overall prize,” Charlotte interrupted. “We are donating the prizes to charity, but that was only because Jon requested it. Your initial challenge included a prize for the winning school. So what part of this isn’t a tournament?”

Camilla was quiet, looking for any way out of this. Whilst few formal challenges were made of this nature, there were unwritten rules, and whilst there was no punishment for going against these rules, their reputation would suffer. Jon was right. She hadn’t specified a format, which means that Jon has every right to choose. Whilst she could argue, and get Jon to go along with League Standard format, any wins they accrued would be hollow, and would serve to damage her institution's reputation more than bolster it, like was the intention.

“Three Pokemon each, blind selection?” Camilla asked. “Nothing else you want to bring up?”

“That will be the standard,” Jon explained. “However if both trainers want to do something different, as long as it’s a legal format, then we won’t prevent them…”

Camilla nodded, unhappy at being cornered in her own school, but figuring the difference this change made would be negligible at best.

“So be it.”

Camilla turned to leave, leaving Matt and Beth nearby, from where they listened in.

“This is a load of s**t…” Matt muttered. “We have six Pokemon for a reason…”

“Surely this just means you’ll beat us quicker?” Charlotte asked patronisingly. Matt glared at her, before looking past her to Justin, who had remained silent.

“Just means that it will be sooner that the bar is set,” Matt said, earning a glare from Jon. “Good luck…”

Matt left, as Jon turned to face Justin.

“Justin, forget everything they have said…” Jon said quietly but firmly. “Battle exactly how you normally would, and you’ll wipe that smug grin off their faces…”

Justin nodded, trying to put on a brave face. He was thankful that his opponent was the most pleasant of the bunch. He wouldn’t have to worry about her trying to play mind games like the others were.

“You have twenty minutes before your match starts,” Jon said, nodding towards the side of the battlefield reserved for the Eon Academy. “There are rooms just through that door, big enough for whichever Pokemon you want to send out. I recommend you brief your team, and make sure they’re prepared to hit the ground running when the fight begins…”

Quietly, Justin made his way towards the doorway Jon was referring to, forcing himself not to spiral into self doubt. Jon had faith in him, but somehow, that was just stalling the inevitable collapse he felt.

“Justin, wait!”

Justin turned to see Chris jogging from the rest of the group to meet him.

“What’s up?” Justin asked, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

“I’m glad that you’re the one kicking this off,” Chris said firmly. “Because I know you will set the standard high for the rest of us, and make us want to try harder than we thought possible just to meet that…”

Chris looked over towards the group of North Wind students, where Matt and Beth were now telling Brad about the format change.

“When you beat Sophie, Brad is going to have to watch his own classmates, one by one, get beaten, until it’s just him and Dylan, and he won’t stand a f**king chance…”

Justin was slightly surprised that Chris was indirectly praising Dylan. The shock of that was enough to have Justin take Chris’ words a little more seriously.

“You got this,” Chris repeated. “Kick a** and take names…”

Justin nodded, feeling a renewed sense of confidence.

“I’ll see you on the other side…” Justin said. “The side where we’re winning…”

“That’s the spirit…”

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

Fifteen minutes later, Justin emerged onto the battlefield, finding his place on the edge, seeing on the other side, Sophie waiting as well. The remaining students from each team were at a corner on the outskirts of the battlefield, with a large screen nearby allowing them to see the close-up action from the large arena, as captured by the camera crew. Latios, wanting to watch the battles, hovered by the Eon Academy students, watching intently. On a table in the centre of the outside edge sat Jon and Camilla, with a screen on the ground in front of them, and a camera pointing at them directly, whose operator was counting them in.

“Welcome to the College of the North Wind,” Camilla said to the audience. “I’m former Sinnoh Champion and college principal Camilla Blakely, and joining me is first High Seas Champion, and founder of the Eon Academy, Mr. Jon Drake…”

“Thank you for inviting us here Camilla,” Jon answered, before addressing the viewers. “On Friday evening, our summer program students went home, and myself and five interns, all boarded a plane for Jubilife, in order to take up the challenge of the College of the North Wind. And now we are here, with our first battle ready to start…”

Camilla nodded.

“Our viewers haven’t tuned in to see the pair of us chatting away, so without further ado, we will begin the battles, starting with Sophie Williams of the College of the North Wind, versus Justin Collins, of the Eon Academy…”

Camilla gestured towards the referee that she had hired to moderate the day's battles. He looked between the two trainers before calling out.

“Both trainers select a Pokemon, though do not send it out until I start the battle!”

Justin didn’t need to look at his belt. He knew exactly which Pokemon he was sending out first. Sophie took a moment to choose, before the referee called out again.

“Begin!”

[Neo Emolga]

Intensity intensifies!

Spoiler:

Love the way you do the buildup for some of these events and then always make those unexpected events happen. And here I thought the prom was mostly going to go easy and be casual relaxation. Surprise! It nearly ended with a nasty brawl again!

Definitely a lot of the tension circulated around Chris, though it definitely brushed off on a lot of the other interns and of course Jon for sure. Gotta say, it must have been tough trying to prepare for the prom, prepare for the College of the North Wind challenge, all while dealing with these relationships. I can honestly say even my most eventful summers didn’t compare to everything that goes on at Eon Academy!

But yet, despite all the anger, frustration, and emotional anguish Chris is going through, I liked the way he supports Justin just before his battle with Sophie and shows maybe he’s ready to turn things around. It gives a good aura of optimism, which they’re going to need for what is definitely building up to be a crazy series of battles!

Great work at always, this is definitely a great read to cook up a bowl of popcorn to munch through while reading just how all of this is going to go down.

Wishing Justin the best of luck, here!

[[Desolate Divine]]

Glad you continue to enjoy it! I am thinking this episode I am about to post will through it into overdrive...

Chris is going to be interesting. Albeit difficult. It's a fine line between keeping the tension between Chris and Jon, Abbee and Dylan to allow the disconnect I am going to be relying on without going too far that the relationship can't be one day salvaged. It's a tight rope walk.

Also, I decided to split the last episode into two. The five interns battles, and then Jon's battle and the goodbyes. So the interns battles are being posted earlier than expected...

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 3 Episode 12: Miscalculation

Spoiler:

“Go, Lucario!”

Justin sent out the Pokemon contained in the Pokeball very intentionally selected, and couldn’t help but notice one of the giant screens mounted in the stands, where a camera had already framed the shot of Lucario, which Justin presumed was being broadcasted already.

“Go, Rotom!”

Sophie sent out her first Pokemon, and at first, Justin thought he may be in trouble, battling a Ghost Type. However, after a moment, it became clear that Sophie’s Rotom had possessed a washing machine, and whilst that did give it a little more power, and Water typing and attacks, it did remove Rotom’s Ghost typing, making its own Ghost Type attacks just as weak as if Lucario were to try and use them.

Not wasting any opportunities, and Lucario briefed prior on what to expect, Justin gave his first command.

“Laser Focus!”

“Laser Focus?” Chris asked Charlotte. “Why would he use that? Lucario doesn’t have any hugely powerful but inaccurate moves, does it?”

“Wouldn’t have a clue…”

Lucario roared, using its move, while Sophie gave Rotom her first instructions.

“Thunder Wave!”

Rotom cried out gleefully, before launching a small, targeted blast of electricity at Lucario, which whilst didn’t harm it, caused Lucario’s muscles to seize and cramp, restricting its movement and slowing it down.

“It appears that Sophie has anticipated a brutal attack from Justin’s Lucario, and opted to try and interrupt it,” Camilla commented, before turning to Jon. “Though Lucario doesn’t learn any moves that make the best use of Laser Focus, does it Jon?”

“None of the traditional combinations, like Fissure or Sheer Cold,” Jon answered. “But at the same time, Iron Tail and Focus Blast would both hit hard from Justin’s Lucario, and whilst they are more likely to hit than not, I think Justin has figured Lucario could stand to take a hit if it meant guaranteeing a hit itself after.”

“Well, it seems Sophie may have thrown a spanner in the works,” Camilla answered. “I wonder if he will go ahead with this brutal attack, now that Lucario has been compromised…”

“Hex!” Sophie shouted, causing all watching from the Eon Academy to cringe. This tactic was nothing new, being used multiple times, as Hex would deal much more damage if the target was under a condition such as a burn, poisoning, or in this case, the paralysis caused by Thunder Wave.

Rotom launched a spectral orb of ghostly energy at Lucario, striking it which caused Lucario to screech in pain, and struggle to keep its footing.

“Agility!”

Lucario, despite the cramping of its muscles, darted forward, getting itself moving towards Rotom, before darting from side to side erratically, building up momentum, and giving itself enough speed to not be slowed down by the paralysis.

“I guess he has had to postpone going on the offensive,” Camilla noted. “Lucario’s strength is partially in its speed, and being slowed down dashes that.”

“Sophie definitely made the right call in how she responded,” Jon added. “By paralyzing Lucario, not only did she interrupt her strategy but bought herself time for a follow up attack

“Now Drain Punch!” Justin commanded. Lucario’s fist became engulfed in a red aura, as it leapt out of the stride it had taken, towards Rotom, and striking it with its palm. Lucario was a strong physical attacker, and had landed a solid hit, Justin thankful that some of the damage that Rotom took was returned to Lucario as pure energy, keeping the Pokemon moving. However, the amount was small, and Lucario was clearly losing this match-up, now in close range of Rotom.

“Hydro Pump!”

The hose of the Rotom possessed washing machine shook for a moment, before gushing a thick and heavy torrent of water out of it, striking Lucario, who was knocked back, struggling to remain standing. However, Justin knew Lucario had one attack left to make this opening match worth it…

“Focus Blast!”

Lucario placed its palms outwards towards Rotom, letting out a loud and determined roar. Starting as a pinprick of light, the attack appeared between Lucario’s palms, as a pale blue flicker, before exploding into a powerful beam of light, striking Rotom an instant later, and knocking the Pokemon out…

“It’s hard to tell at this point whether Justin’s win in this matchup is due to luck or skill,” Camilla noted, irritating Jon. “Using Agility to make up for the loss of speed from Thunder Wave, and immediately following with Drain Punch to recover lost ground was definitely the right move. However, Focus Blast, while strong, is relatively inaccurate and could have easily missed.”

“I don’t think it’s as simple as skill or luck,” Jon said, keeping his tone professional. Camilla would get her shock soon enough, and he didn’t want to sour that moment by giving too much away. “A skilled trainer will account for luck as much as they can, and be prepared for it to not be in their favour. And Justin is an exceptionally skilled trainer…”

Lucario, stood shakily on his feet, and Justin knew that Lucario only needed time to take one action for his plans to succeed. However, it could go either way at this point, and whilst he had contingencies for Lucario not being able to do what Justin had instructed it prior, none were as effective as Justin’s primary tactic.

Rotom was called back, as Sophie selected her next Pokemon, Justin sighing internally when he saw it. Infernape stood opposite Lucario, and Justin knew that Lucario was extremely disadvantaged in whether it would be able to carry out his instructions.

“Flame Charge!” Sophie instructed, Justin admiring the intelligence behind that decision. Lucario could barely take one more hit, and Flame Charge, whilst weak, would increase Infernape’s speed if the attack landed. And Infernape was naturally a faster Pokemon than Lucario…

Justin watched in horror, as Infernape bounded across the space between itself and Lucario, covering itself in flames, whilst Lucario, muscles spasming from the Thunderwave, seemed to struggle to move.

“Come on Lucario!” Justin shouted, hoping for a miracle, though not expecting one.

Justin couldn’t tell if Lucario simply pushed past its own limits of pain, or managed to break free of the cramps caused by Thunderwave. Either way, when Lucario in a desperate bid to buy time, roared in pain, and darted aside from the seemingly inevitable attack by a matter of millimetres, Justin didn’t waste time wondering how, and took the opportunity.

“Copy Cat!”

Jon couldn’t help but beam at that split second decision. Justin had gotten lucky, something that no good trainer relies on, or plans for. And in that moment, he made the perfect call.

Lucario roared, before being encased in flames like that of Infernape, the initial flare being more intense than Infernapes, before being dialled back a moment. Jon looked over at Camilla, who whilst watching the match intently, didn’t react, Jon figuring she hadn’t noticed.

Infernape, having stumbled by bracing for an impact that didn’t happen, turned to face Lucario, only to be slammed by Lucario’s flaming form. The attack barely affected Infernape, however it had its intended purpose.

“Justin was relying on Lucario having superior speed, and whilst that was the case against Rotom, Infernape being faster caused problems,” Jon explained. “However, Flame Charge increases the user's speed on a successful hit, and Justin, having not expected a lucky break, responded perfectly to the opportunity…”

Lucario, now faster than Infernape, had a split second to make one more move. However there was shock from all watching, followed by understanding from Jon after the initial confusion, when Justin gave his next command.

“Lucario, return!”

Lucario cried out, before Justin returned Lucario to it’s Pokeball.

“I don’t quite see the point of that,” Camilla noted. “I understand that if Lucario attempted another attack, Infernape would have the opportunity to retaliate and Lucario isn’t in a position to sustain another hit. However, Lucario’s speed is increased beyond its normal, when you balance the increases by Agility and Flame Charge, and the decrease from Thunder Wave, the former now disappearing with Lucario returning to its Pokeball. If Justin needs to send Lucario back out, it will be even more disadvantaged, when Lucario could have landed a good hit now, and still gone out ahead?”

Camilla was visibly confused, and whilst Jon had a hunch on what Justin was attempting, he wasn’t going to say Justin had a reason. Camilla being confused whilst Jon was calm spoke volumes enough to those watching, and it would make Justin pulling the pin on his tactic that much more entertaining…

“Go, Regieleki!”

“Flame Wheel!”

Infernape leapt forward, diving into a continuous somersault, encased in flames, before slamming into the Titan of Electricity. Regieleki cried out in pain, before darting to the side, showing off its uncanny speed. However, Jon wasn’t the only one to notice something was different.

“Regieleki seems a little slower than normal?” Chris said to Charlotte. She hadn’t noticed it, however Chris, having pitted his Pokemon against Justin many times in the last week, had grown to know just how fast Regieleki was, and could see that whilst it still was quick, it seemed slower than during training.

“You don’t think he may have intentionally reduced its speed?” Charlotte asked. “Like he did with Alakazam?”

In order to capture Regieleki, Justin had used mood enhancing berries, and Galarian mints, in order to change his Alakazam’s attributes, making it much more resilient to attacks, and much slower, using it as a trap for Speed Swap. Justin doing something similar would explain it, however Chris could think of no good reason for it.

“I think you might be overthinking it a little,” Dylan said, hearing the conversation. “I get the feeling it is something much simpler…”

“Regieleki, Thunderbolt!” Justin called out. Regieleki stopped its strafing, before crying out and unleashing a medium sized, strong and accurate bolt of lightning, launching it at Infernape.

Knowing that Thunderbolt was far from Regieleki’s most powerful attack, Sophie didn’t order Infernape to dodge, instead giving a command.

“Earthquake!” she instructed, knowing that the devastating Ground Type attack would hit Regieleki hard. However, Infernape, having braced to take the attack before responding in kind, didn’t get the opportunity, after being hit by the Thunderbolt. The attack struck with much more impact than either trainer or Pokemon expected, throwing Infernape backwards, into the wall of the arena, where it fell to the ground unconscious…

“Regieleki is famous for its second to none natural speed, however it appears its attack power is nothing to sneeze at either,” Camilla said, trying to remain calm, even though Jon could see she was desperately trying to figure out what wasn’t adding up. She knew that Legendary Pokemon or not, the power of that Thunderbolt was not normal, and something was going on. She racked her brain trying to figure out what tactic Justin could be using.

“I suppose this means that we will be seeing Sophie’s Legendary Pokemon, Melmetal now, unless Sophie really wants to keep us guessing,” Jon added. “I’m curious to see this Pokemon in person. I know little of it…”

Even though he had seen photos of the Pokemon, as well as the video, the size of Melmetal took him by surprise. It stood at roughly two and a half metres tall when Sophie sent it out, over double the height of Regieleki, and whilst Jon didn’t know the species natural attributes like he did most Pokemon he saw, it didn’t take a PhD holder to see that while definitely slow, Melmetal was incredibly resilient, and could hit extremely hard when it wanted to.

“This matchup could go either way,” Jon commented. “Whilst Regieleki is definitely more suited to being a distance attacker, and will be avoiding getting in close quarters, electrical attacks tend to suffer in accuracy over large distances, compared to a Rock or Grass Type attack. Regieleki will need to get in close to land some guaranteed heavy hits, and Melmetal isn’t the sort of Pokemon I’d be lining up to go hug…”

Having heard Sophie’s instruction for an Earthquake prior, Justin decided to use his opening move to buy himself a little peace of mind.

“Magnet Rise!”

Regieleki cried out, before shifting the polarity of its body, causing it to float in the air, repelled from the ground like two magnets of identical polarity. Taking this opportunity, while Melmetal was close to Regieleki due to where it exited the Pokeball, Sophie called out.

“Double Iron Bash!”

Justin hadn’t heard of this move, figuring it to be a signature move of the giant Steel Type Pokemon, though didn’t need a great portion of creativity to guess where this was going. Whilst Regieleki was using Magnet Rise, Melmetal used its ungodly strength to leap into melee range of Regieleki, using its two large arms as clubs, hitting Regieleki with each.

Regieleki took the attack hard, being thrown back, as Melmetal advanced towards it. And as unsteady as Regieleki was, and not in the position to sustain another hit from the huge Legendary Pokemon, this was the opportunity Justin was waiting for.

“I think Justin may have made a mistake sending in Regieleki when he did,” Camilla said. “That and using Magnet Rise, instead of putting distance between itself and Melmetal, seems like it may leave him without Regieleki to finish off Melmetal…”

Jon had been watching carefully and figuring out Justin’s plan, piece by piece. He didn’t know for sure, but had a rough idea, and knew that Justin’s big move was coming. It was now or never.

“No Camilla, Sophie made the mistake. So did you…” Jon said, his tone not holding back. Camilla turned to him, shocked that he had criticised her so openly in such a highly watched broadcast.

“And what mistake was that?” Camilla asked, irritation becoming obvious in her voice.

“Underestimating the Eon Academy…”

“Stop pretending Regieleki!” Justin shouted, making sure that Regieleki would definitely hear. “Show them what you can really do!”

Regieleki cried out gleefully, before darting well and truly clear of Melmetal and blinding speed. When Regieleki finally stopped, behind Melmetal, when a second earlier it was on the other side of the battlefield, it cried out gleefully, before letting out a Discharge attack.

Those watching watched in awe and horror as Regieleki glowed brighter, the cameras displaying it on screen dimming in order to compensate, as large, powerful arcs of lightning shot from Regieleki. Melmetal, acting purely on instinct, managed to raise a Protect barrier in time to block the attack, whilst Latios darted in front of Jon and Camilla at breakneck speeds, erecting his own Protect to block a stray bolt of lightning that was heading for them. Jon nodded his thanks to his Legendary partner.

The ground underneath Regieleki shattered from the force of the attack, and once it dissipated, Melmetal ended the Protect, only to see Regieleki was gone…

”Lucario, you have the most important role,” Justin had said to Lucario before the match. Next to Lucario was Regieleki and Ninjask. “I am going to give you orders, and I want you not to follow them…”

Lucario looked at Justin, confused, having never had Justin give these types of instructions.

“I’m going to order you to use Laser Focus, but instead, use Nasty Plot,” Justin continued. “Then, when the time is right, I’ll call out for you to come back. But instead of waiting for me to put you back in the Pokeball, use Baton Pass…”

Justin looked over at Ninjask next.

“I’m going to order Lucario to use Agility, and a few other buffs, since Regieleki’s best weapon is its speed,” Justin explained. “But if Lucario is beaten before it can use Baton Pass, I will send you out instead. I will stall for time, while your Speed Boost kicks in, and we’ll Baton Pass to Regieleki, and settle for it only being quicker. But if all goes to plan, it should pack a hell of a punch…”

Finally, Justin turned to Regieleki.

“When you come out, you should feel like you can break the sound barrier. I know you’ll be excited, but I need you to control yourself,” Justin explained. “Melmetal is going to be hard to pick off at a distance, and you approaching it will just give opportunities for it to attack…”

Justin, quickly thinking over how he wanted Regieleki to handle Melmetal, paused for a moment, before continuing.

“We need Melmetal to come to you, and if you’re even more insanely quick, and much stronger from the Baton Pass, I don’t think Sophie will risk sending Melmetal in to attack you. We need her to do that,” Justin continued. “So until I give the order, keep yourself at your normal speed. Don’t let them catch on that you’re actually quicker and stronger, until I give the signal, when Melmetal is in range for us to take it down…”

“Do you know what’s going on Jon?” Camilla asked, all hint of irritation gone, overridden by the confusion. “Is this something you taught him?”

“Not something I taught him specifically. This is something he came up with himself…”

“What is it?” Camilla asked, hating the fact she had no idea what was happening.

“That Laser Focus Lucario used wasn’t a Laser Focus. Ironically, it was a Nasty Plot,” Jon explained, the pride not hidden in his voice. “So Lucario’s attack power in special moves was doubled from the beginning. Then it used Agility to double its speed, after it was halved by Thunder Wave, and copied Infernape’s Flame Charge, adding to its speed again.”

“Lucario was withdrawn, so all of those effects would have worn off…” Camilla began, as she realised it. Not wanting to give her the opportunity to make that realisation public, Jon asked a question.

“Did Justin just withdraw Lucario?”

Camilla looked in horror, as Regieleki, whose speed was now fifteen fold of Melmetals, darted around the large Pokemon, remaining close enough to attack, but near impossible to place a hit on.

“Electric Terrain!” Justin commanded. As Regieleki circled Melmetal, electricity seemed to drip from it, crackling around the ground surrounding Melmetal, who seemed lost, desperate for instruction from Sophie.

“Double Iron Bash!” Sophie instructed, knowing that it was her best bet. Whilst neither attack was likely to hit, if one of the attacks missed, the other still stood a chance of striking. However Regieleki dodged them with ease.

“Thunderbolt!” Justin commanded. “Then Rising Voltage!”

The arc of lightning struck, causing Melmetal to step back, while Sophie desperately tried to buy time.

“Protect!”

Justin saw the opening, as Melmetal fumbled to raise another barrier. Whilst Protect barriers were raised quickly enough that practically all normal opposing attacks were blocked, Regieleki was far from the speed of a normal Pokemon.

“Get in close!” Justin shouted at the top of his lungs, knowing this was the breaking point.

Seeming to see everything in slow motion, Regieleki saw the translucent barrier coming into existence from the ground in front of Melmetal, and rise. With all the speed the Legendary Pokemon could muster, it launched itself forward, leaping over the fast forming barrier, trapping itself between the Protect barrier and Melmetal. With a target that it could not miss, Regieleki followed Justin’s instruction from before. Rising Voltage.

With a cry of glee, Regieleki began absorbing the dispersed electricity from the electric terrain, before unleashing it as a powerful pulse of lightning in all directions. The Protect barrier which existed to be a near unbreakable wall between Regieleki and Melmetal, instead prevented the arcs of electricity from discharging behind Regieleki, rebounding them past their source, and doubling the power of the attack that was hitting Melmetal. When the light disappeared, Melmetal collapsed, as Regieleki strafed from side to side quick enough that it almost created a solid image, given the fact that nothing but the slow motion cameras could keep up with it.

“Melmetal is unable to battle, and Sophie Williams has three Pokemon unable to battle,” the referee called out. “The match goes to Justin Collins of the Eon Academy!”

Justin called back Regieleki, before making his way towards Sophie who seemed stunned at what had played out. When he reached her, she composed herself, returning Melmetal, and turning to face him.

“Good match,” Justin said. “I thought for sure Infernape would have had my plan dead in the water. Hell, Rotom nearly ended it before it really began…”

“Good match is an understatement…” Sophie said in disbelief. “I’ve never even considered a Pokemon being fast enough to get between Melmetal and the barrier…”

“That was a spur of the moment thing,” Justin laughed. “I’m shocked it even worked. Excuse the pun…”

She shook Justin’s hand, before Justin spoke.

“And thanks for being cool with us,” Justin added, nodding towards the section of the outer battlefield where Sophie’s classmates waited. “It was good to battle against someone who just wanted to have a good match…”

Sophie grinned.

“Brad’s gonna be eating his words,” Sophie remarked. “Makes losing to you first up worth it…”

“Well Camilla, if nothing else, I can say for sure that Justin has just set the standard for the rest of the Eon Academy, myself included, and I think it will be hard to meet,” Jon said, knowing full well that this would drive her up the wall. “But I have full faith in my other students, that they will rise to the occasion, and set it even higher by the time we meet on the battlefield…”

“Yes, that was a very skillful display,” Camilla replied, hiding the fact that it pained her to have to say it. “But the College of the North Wind has four more representatives to take to the field, before you and I meet out there, and as we have just seen, anything can happen…”

Justin made his way back to the Eon Academy section, where Dylan, Chris and Abbee sat, albeit awkwardly, as Charlotte had just left to speak with her team before their battle.

“Told you,” Chris remarked with a grin, slapping Justin on the shoulder. “I think they’re already regretting their s**t talking…”

Justin couldn’t help but match Chris’ smile.

“Charlotte told me to tell you that you were incredible,” Abbee mentioned. “And honestly, you deserve every bit of that. You should have seen the look on Camilla’s face when Regieleki let loose…”

“I’ll have to make sure to check out the recording of it later…” Justin laughed as he sat down.

“You’re definitely Jon’s student,” Dylan commented. “Those fake moves are very much his style of thinking…”

“What can I say? I learnt from the best…”

Charlotte emerged a few minutes later, as the commercials that had played since Jon and Camilla finished commentating Justin and Sophie’s battle came to a close.

“Making their way to the battlefield now, are Beth Thomas of the College of the North Wind, and Charlotte Jones, representing the Eon Academy,” Camilla introduced. “Beth is one of the best battlers the College of the North Wind has to offer, so will definitely be providing a challenge for Charlotte. What can you offer about her, Jon?”

“The feeling is mutual,” Jon answered. “Since day one of the Eon Academy, Charlotte has gunned for the top spot, and grown to be a force to be reckoned with. When Pokemon are on a battlefield, she is honestly terrifying…”

Charlotte sighed contentedly hearing this. It was the start of their second summer when Jon began using terrifying as a description of her battling prowess, and she never ceased to enjoy it. She stared down at Beth, still bitter about the snide remarks made by her, and the holier than thou attitude she had.

“Both trainers select a Pokemon, though do not send it out until I start the battle!”

Charlotte readied a Pokeball, as Beth did the same, waiting for that one word.

“Begin!”

Charlotte sent out Roserade, ready for anything that Beth had lined up. Even the fact that Beth opened with Zeraora, her Legendary Pokemon.

Whilst Charlotte didn’t have a tactic as specific and calculated as Justin, she had rough ideas of how she would approach this. Whilst Justin’s tactic worked well, hinging on something like that could be dangerous if it doesn't go to plan. Charlotte preferred keeping her tactics fluid, and coming up with a plan based on the facts as they presented themselves. Whilst she had originally planned to put Roserade on the offensive, Zeraora being sent out first changed that. Instead, she decided to play defensively, and try and get an idea of what Zeraora was capable of.

“Agility!” Beth commanded, and Charlotte was thankful for that, and the opportunity to use a non-damaging move herself.

“Grassy Terrain!” Charlotte commanded, though those watching from the Eon Academy side of the field grinned. They had all fallen victim to the hybrid move that had replaced Grassy Terrain in Roserade’s repertoire, that Charlotte had worked tirelessly with Roserade over the last year to perfect. Roserade cried out, raising its arms and launching hundreds of seeds in the space surrounding it. Charlotte could tell from its build that Zeraora was a physical attacker, and would be making its way to Roserade before too long.

“The battle has begun with what looks like both trainers building to something big,” Jon commented. “Zeraora seems to be similar to Regieleki, in that it will be relying on its exceptional speed, however seems to be a bit more attack oriented than Regieleki.”

“Meanwhile, it appears that Charlotte is preparing for a potentially longer battle, whilst also giving Roserade an edge with any Grass moves that it may use…” Camilla added.

“Plasma Fists!” Beth instructed, Charlotte presuming this was a signature move of the Legendary Pokemon. Zeraora leapt into the air, crossing the distance between where it originally stood, and where Roserade stood amidst the glowing, lush grass, both of its paws encased in crackling lightning, and striking Roserade before it even touched the ground.

Roserade took the opening hit, stepping back, as Zeraora landed into a crouch. However, in a flash, the ground beneath it exploded, as thorny vines erupted with a life of their own, tangling their way around Zeraora’s nimble and muscled limbs.

“Bullet Seed!” Charlotte called out. Zeraora darted back, breaking the vines that held it in place, however not removing the vines that were tangled around it. Roserade launched the seeds, which grazed its opponent, doing minimal damage, however, Charlotte was now set for the long run. Between Grassy Terrain and Leech Seed, Roserade would be getting a continuous stream of energy, as long as both remained in effect. Whilst Grassy Terrain would likely be the first to end, she would cross that bridge when she got there. Zeraora had some of its energy drained, which was transferred to Roserade, in addition to a little extra that came from Grassy Terrain.

“Was that Leech Seed?” Camilla asked, whilst Jon grinned.

“Charlotte spent all of last summer and the month or two afterwards, training Roserade to smuggle a few Leech Seeds in with its Grassy Terrain attacks, without giving away it was doing anything more,” Jon said with a note of pride. “It always ends up being a nasty surprise…”

“Drain Punch!” Beth ordered, seeing Charlotte was wanting this to be a drawn out battle, and knowing that she needed Zeraora to recover energy as well if she wanted to win this battle of attrition. Roserade took the hit, having its energy drained somewhat by Zeraora, however, had one trick up her sleeve that unless she was mistaken, Zeraora couldn’t match.

“Synthesis!”

Roserade cried out, as its health was restored, whilst Zeraora had more of its energy drained. However, Charlotte couldn’t help but notice a detail during the Drain Punch. Something so minor, she may have imagined it.

“Plasma Fists again!”

Quickly veering to the left, in order to come at Roserade from the side, Zeraora rushed towards Roserade, striking it with its lightning enhanced paws, darting back before Roserade could launch a counter attack.

”There!”

Charlotte noticed the same thing. Zeraora was pulling its punches. They were barely making contact before Zeraora would retreat, and whilst they were still hitting hard, given the Legendary Pokemon’s natural strength, they were far from hitting their hardest.

“Synthesis again!” Charlotte shouted, before readying a Pokeball. “Now return!”

Roserade, having been healed again by Synthesis, returned to the Pokeball, being replaced with Charlotte’s Magmortar, who took the brunt of the prepared Plasma Fists attack.

“Charlotte has switched Roserade out for Magmortar, and unlike the previous match, has no buffs that would transfer to Magmortar by doing a sneaky Baton Pass,” Camilla explained. “Additionally all moves that Roserade has used have had visible effects…”

“Charlotte wouldn’t be mimicking Justin’s strategy so soon after,” Jon confirmed. “She isn’t normally one to pull a Pokemon anyway, however she must have seen good reason for it…”

Charlotte was thinking completely in the moment, with a vague overall idea, but nothing in mind for more than an attack or two ahead to get there. She could see Zeraora had been pulling its punches, and had figured out why. Beth, like Justin, was relying on Zeraora’s speed. Get in close, attack, get out before they could respond. However, Zeraora was that focused on getting out of range to dodge a potentially match ending counter attack that it was not hitting as hard as it could. It was keeping its weight on its back legs, instead of transferring it forward to its paws. Additionally, it was pulling its paws back before they stopped from the full resistance of their target. The complete opposite of Chris, who had his Lugia telekinetically hold Jon’s Scizor in place to prevent any of the impact of Lugia’s Dragon Tail being wasted on throwing Scizor back.

Magmortar had taken the first of the Plasma Fists, and didn’t have time to retaliate before Zeraora lined up another Drain Punch. The attack struck, putting Zeraora near the state it was at when it left the Pokeball, before more of its energy was drained, now being passed on to Magmortar. Beneath them, the lush green grass was losing its glow, and Charlotte knew that it didn’t have long left before wearing off.

“Sunny Day!” Charlotte instructed, as Magmortar launched an orb of fire into the air, which floated above the battlefield, projecting light and head down into the arena below like a miniature sun.

“I don’t know why she’s using Sunny Day,” Justin said to Chris. “Magmortar only has one or two hits left before it will go down, and Sunny Day doesn’t make that big of a difference for Fire moves…”

“It isn’t for Magmortar,” Chris answered. He hadn’t come to the same conclusion about Zeraora pulling its punches, however knew why Charlotte had sent out Magmortar. “Charlotte is using Magmortar for the same reason she used it against you at the start of summer. Roserade will beat Zeraora. Mark my words…”

The glowing green grass disappeared from the battlefield, as Zeraora hit Magmortar with a subsequent Drain Punch, knocking the Pokemon out, and restoring its energy levels to full. However, that final punch was enough for Magmortar to fulfil its purpose in the battle.

Zeraora winced at a burn that it had sustained on both fists, having struck Magmortar’s flaming body as much as it had, struggling with the pain of it, whilst it continued to have its energy sapped by Leech Seed. However, the real benefit for Charlotte was the fact that Zeraora would be forced to pull its punches even further, making them little more than bumps for Roserade, who emerged from the Pokeball.

“Plasma Fists!” Beth shouted, as Zeraora launched itself forward.

“Take the hit!” Charlotte said. “But grapple it!”

Zeraora hit Roserade directly, however the hit was weaker than before, Roserade barely feeling the impact. As Zeraora made contact, thick vines launched from the flowers on the end of Roserades arms, twisting around Zeraora’s wrists, and holding it secure. Beth looked in shock, as she saw what had happened.

“Plasma Fists!”

Despite being bound, Zeraora managed to strike Roserade again, however it made no difference. The vines weren’t to prevent Zeraora from attacking. Just to prevent it from getting away…

“Grassy Terrain!” Charlotte commanded. Whilst it may be excessive, Charlotte figured Roserade had the time to pull off the attack, and she had to consider her opponent once Zeraora fell. This was the same logic behind her having Magmortar use Sunny Day. It would increase the effect of Synthesis, meaning that Roserade could restore its own health when it battled the next Pokemon.

“Blaze Kick!”

Zeraora’s lower paw became engulfed in flames, as it stood onto its other, and thrusted it out, slamming the flaming paw into Roserade, who was struck harder, being joined by the vines to Zeraora, and not thrown back, escaping some of the impact. Roserade cried out in pain, and Charlotte knew one more of those right now would be the end of this matchup. However, it went both ways.

“Giga Drain!”

Just like Roserade being unable to avoid the Blaze Kick, and taking more damage due to being attached to Zeraora, Roserade’s Giga Drain attack hit Zeraora much harder, especially when used in conjunction with the freshly renewed Grassy Terrain.

Zeraora cried out in pain as all of its energy was ripped from it, and transferred to Roserade. Zeraora fell with a thud to the ground, whilst Roserade remained standing, refreshed and looking as if it were yet to take a hit.

“Go Charlotte!” Abbee shouted from the stands. Justin had set the bar high with his battle, however, Charlotte had done something just as incredible. Beaten Beth’s Legendary Pokemon without using her own. Whilst Magmortar was down and out, Roserade was as good as unused, and had the advantage of Sunny Day and Grassy Terrain on its side for whatever Beth sent out next.

“I refer to my previous statement,” Jon noted from his commentators table. “Terrifying…”

Camilla watched bitterly as one of her star pupils returned her Legendary Pokemon, having been beaten by a standard Pokemon. Meanwhile Charlotte caught Beth’s eye, and saw a hateful rage burning in it. She sent out her next Pokemon, and the confidence Charlotte held for the following matchup was dashed in an instant.

“Go Talonflame!”

The Fire-Flying type, native to Kalos, emerged, and screeched loudly, as it took in the sight of its opponent. Charlotte was backed into a corner with this development. Roserade had been set up for Grass Type moves to hit very hard, however they would be beyond ineffective against the Fire-Flying Type. And whilst Roserade had its Poison type moves it could use, Talonflame would no doubt be quicker, and only need one good hit to wipe Roserade out.

She considered withdrawing Roserade, however the Pokemon she sent in to replace it would be locked in, and she didn’t want to do that if she could avoid it just yet. And while Roserade did have a significant disadvantage, the matchup wasn’t over yet. She had one trick up her sleeve which may give her an opportunity to create more.

“Grassy Glide!” Charlotte commanded, knowing the move became quicker than nearly all others when used in Grassy Terrain. A platform of grass erupted from the terrain beneath Roserade, lifting it towards Talonflame at an eye-watering speed.

“Acrobatics!” Beth instructed. To Charlotte’s shock, Talonflame dove on Roserade even faster, striking it and knocking it off the growing platform, onto the battlefield below. Roserade hit the ground with a thud, unconscious, and putting Charlotte down to her last Pokemon.

“And with that, Beth has retaken the lead,” Camilla said, Jon nodding in agreement.

“But the match is far from over…” Jon assured.

Charlotte realised what had happened as soon as she saw Talonflame move. Gale Wings. The signature ability of the Fletchling evolution line, which allowed any Flying Type move it used to be quicker than normal. And whilst Grassy Glide did the same thing, the increased speed of both cancelled eachother out, causing Talonflame’s superior natural speed to give it the edge.

She considered which Pokemon to send out. Luxray, whilst able to handle a flying type like Talonflame with relative ease, had a single weakness, that most trainers would be able to capitalise on. Even if Beth didn’t have a single Ground Type Pokemon, plenty of Pokemon that weren’t Ground Type knew Earthquake which would devastate it, and Charlotte didn’t want to have to rely on getting the opportunity to be able to get Luxray to use Magnet Rise, which may never arise. Milotic was a little better, being a Water Type and able to handle Talonflame, though only having two weaknesses, Electric and Grass types, and whilst Beth had already used her Electric Type, she may still have a Grass Type. And whilst she had full faith her Pokemon could still win in a one-on-one battle, her Pokemon would likely be weakened by the time Beth sent out her third. Gengar was not in the position to be battling them, being with her only a matter of months at this point, and not at the same level as her other Pokemon. This only left one Pokemon.

Charlotte returned Roserade, clipping the Pokeball from her belt, before unclipping the purple Master Ball that hung from it. Jon’s eyes widened as he saw this.

“I hope you know what you’re doing…” Jon said quietly, Camilla looking at him for a moment, struggling to understand.

From the stands, Charlotte’s classmates recognized the Master Ball and realised what was happening.

“Have Lugia, Victini and Regieleki ready in case this goes to s**t…” Dylan said quietly, Chris not arguing with him, remembering the horror of battling Deoxys the summer before.

”Can you guys help me with something this afternoon?”

Abbee and Justin turned, making sure Charlotte was talking to them. Camilla had just introduced them briefly to her students and was now escorting the visiting group to their accommodation.

“What’s up?” Abbee asked quietly, seeing as Charlotte had used the same tone to ask the question.

“I want to be able to use Deoxys in the battle tomorrow,” Charlotte said quietly. Abbee’s eyes widened.

“Is that safe?”

“I think so,” Charlotte explained. “We are at the point where there is nothing more we can do if we keep treating it like a time bomb. I need to take a chance on it, and put it in some real battles, and so far it hasn’t given me a reason to believe it isn’t safe to use…”

“Other than last summer,” Justin said, still himself scared of the Legendary Pokemon.

“So what do you need from us?” Abbee asked, diverting Charlotte’s attention from Justin’s slightly underhanded remark.

“I want to battle with it, but I’m not stupid enough to battle without it being insured for damages…” Charlotte explained. “If it damages this place, I’ll be in debt for the rest of my life…”

Abbee nodded, following so far.

“I spent every day on the phone this last week to my insurance company, trying to convince them to cover it. It took a lot of arguing, and is costing more than all my other Pokemon combined, but they’re willing to cover it,” Charlotte continued. “On one condition. It passes a temperament and obedience assessment.”

“Have you done that yet?” Justin asked. Charlotte shook her head.

“My insurer is based in Jubilife, and if I complete the assessment using their facility, the paperwork can be processed instantly,” Charlotte explained. “I could demonstrate with it battling against my other Pokemon, but I figure if Deoxys is battling against other Legendary Pokemon and there are no issues, then it is more likely to pass…”

Abbee felt a tinge of discomfort at the request. Victini battled for his life and those around him against Deoxys, and hadn’t seen the Pokemon since. Now Charlotte wanted Victini to battle Deoxys, for the sake of proving it was safe to an insurance company…

“Are you sure that Deoxys won’t be triggered seeing Victini and Regieleki?” Abbee asked. “I mean, it got ganged up on and beaten up pretty hard by them…”

“It also got ripped from its body by Latios hitting it at mach two…” Charlotte answered. “Since then it has battled Latios, all of Jon’s Pokemon and all of mine. And not once has it given any indication it will turn violent…”

Abbee remained silent.

“I’m in,” Justin answered. “You know this stuff better than I do. If you think it’s the right thing to do, I’ll help.”

Charlotte grinned at Justin before looking at Abbee.

“Please, Abbee…” Charlotte explained. “Deoxys needs a chance taken on it. If we can’t bring ourselves to do that, it will live a half life, and I don’t want that for it, especially given what it went through…”

Abbee was quiet, before sighing.

“I’ll help, but I don’t want to see Victini hurt…” Abbee said, her tone not sounding overly convinced. “The moment Deoxys goes too far, I will be having Victini put it down, or pulling him out if that isn’t looking possible…”

“Go Deoxys!”

A silence permeated the room as the Pokemon infamous for nearly wiping out Mossdeep emerged from the Master Ball, floating menacingly a few inches above the ground. It looked around at the new environment that it hadn’t seen before, surrounded by new people.

“No, I won’t allow this,” Camilla called out, seeming to forget the cameras were broadcasting. “That Pokemon nearly wiped out Mossdeep!”

“Deoxys is trained and safe to battle with,” Charlotte called out, forcing all the conviction in her tone that she could muster. “It passed a temperament and obedience assessment yesterday afternoon, and is covered under my policy with Pillar Pokemon Insurance!”

“But-”

“I could challenge the Elite Four today with Deoxys and not be looked at twice, Camilla,” Charlotte interjected. “Do you mean to tell me that your school is more important to Sinnoh than the very League you championed?”

Camilla seethed at the rebellion, and Jon spoke to her in a quieter tone, albeit not quite enough that attentive enough viewers couldn’t understand him.

“Camilla, I have put Deoxys through more stress than Beth will be able to without her Zeraora, and it has been nothing but calm and obedient,” Jon said in a quiet tone. “Remember how many people are watching as we speak. Charlotte won’t back down, and arguing the point she just made will only look bad…”

Jon was making a point of hiding any pride he felt at Charlotte’s backbone, as well as the worry that this could be a mistake. However he stood by his original advice to Charlotte. She was Deoxys' trainer, and knew where Deoxys was at better than he did. It was her decision.

“So be it!” Camilla called back to Charlotte, knowing that she had cornered her. “But I accept no responsibility for any damages or injuries Deoxys causes.”

“Nobody asked you to, Camilla,” Charlotte responded evenly, causing Camilla to flush with anger. Jon was surprised it was Charlotte of all his students being the one to irritate Camilla as much as she was.

“If that is sorted, can we continue?” the referee asked. Both trainers nodded their consent. “Begin!”

“Defence form!” Charlotte commanded, while Beth ordered another Acrobatics attack. Deoxys shifted into its bulkier, defence oriented form, taking the strike from Talonflame. “Now Cosmic Power!”

Deoxys eyes flashed, as it created a weak telepathic barrier around it. Talonflame wouldn’t struggle to break through, however it would lessen the blow, and buy Charlotte time. She had noticed something during the battle, though would admit she’d have to be blind, deaf and stupid to not notice it.

“Acrobatics!” Beth commanded, as Talonflame dove in for another attack, this one doing less damage to Deoxys than the first.

“Psychic!” Charlotte ordered in response. As Talonflame made contact, Deoxys blasted it back with a telekinetic boom, dealing a minor amount of damage, given most of its psychic abilities were focused into protecting it in this form.

“Swords Dance!” Beth shouted, growing frustrated that the attack that managed to wipe out Charlotte’s Roserade in a single hit was doing so little.

“Psychic again!”

Talonflame, from where it glided in the air, was hit with another telekinetic blast, this one knocking it off course, as Beth gave her next instruction.

“Acrobatics!”

Talonflame dove down on a jagged course, strafing from side to side, before homing in on Deoxys at the last moment. Even with Deoxys defensive prowess in this form, the Swords Dance boosted attack still hit hard.

“Is that the fourth Acrobatics attack that Beth has ordered?” Jon asked. Camilla nodded.

“It is twice as strong when Talonflame isn’t holding an item, which makes it as strong as Talonflame’s harder hitting moves, without the recoil damage,” Camilla answered shortly. “It’s the best option right now, and if it works…”

“Then Beth is going to be in for a rude surprise…”

Camilla turned to face Jon, growing weary of him and his students' attitudes.

“How so?” Camilla asked, her tone challenging him.

“Because it makes her predictable,” Jon answered firmly. “And the last thing you want to be when you’re up against Charlotte Jones, is predictable…”

Camilla scowled before looking at the battlefield again.

“Recover, Deoxys!” Charlotte commanded. Whilst Deoxys could quite easily handle multiple of these high powered Acrobatics attacks, Charlotte was using one of the lessons Jon taught early on in their training. To use advantageous circumstances to set yourself up for those you don’t know about just yet.

Deoxys' energy was restored, leaving it as strong as it was when it emerged from the Pokeball. Deoxys in its Attack Form, was well and truly capable of handling Talonflame if it could land a single hit. However, Talonflame was near guaranteed to hit first, forcing Charlotte to keep Deoxys on the defensive, where she couldn’t do much damage. She needed an opportunity to get Deoxys into its Attack Form, and strike before Talonflame could. She had felt the alien presence of Deoxys in her mind since it entered the battlefield, following her verbal cues for general orders, and her own mental image for finesse in executing these orders. However, these orders were going to be different.

”Next time it hits you with Acrobatics, use Counter,” Charlotte instructed, focusing her thoughts on the words, until she felt a sense of confirmation permeate from Deoxys. ”That should buy you a second to change forms, and light this f**ker up…”

Charlotte was so determined to put Beth in her place, that in that moment, she didn’t care how much like Chris she was sounding. Beth had looked down on them since they arrived, and continued to. She was going to put her in her place…

“Acrobatics!”

Again, Talonflame dove, keeping its path unpredictable, before homing in at the last second, and striking Deoxys. Deoxys however, who was anticipating the attack, pivoted aside, causing Talonflame to miss by centimetres, before blasting it with a focused telekinetic blast, launching it into the ground behind it with the momentum of its own missed attack.

“Zap Cannon!” Charlotte called out. Deoxys shifted into its Attack Form, levitating quickly into the air, and charging up a terrifying bolt of lightning. Stunned by the vicious counterattack, Talonflame only just regained its composure and attempted to take off when the bolt struck, knocking it down again, where it remained…

Beth was furious as she recalled Talonflame, grabbing her last Pokeball with little thought and sending the Pokemon out.

“Go Hydreigon!” Beth said, the venom dripping from her voice.

“You objected to Deoxys being used, but let Beth battle with a Hydreigon?” Jon asked in an undertone, far from impressed with Camilla’s double standard. All who followed the story enough to know of the danger Deoxys posed knew that it had been tortured, and lashed out because of that. Hydreigon on the other hand were naturally violent, brutal and volatile Pokemon. Camilla remained silent, focused on the battle, praying that Beth could salvage it.

“Taunt,” Charlotte instructed. Whilst she had other ideas of more efficient ways to put down Hydreigon, that wasn’t what she wanted. For her, Matt and Brad’s disgusting attitudes towards them and their school, Charlotte wanted to humiliate Beth, and was hoping that Abbee and Dylan would do the same.

Deoxys remained silent, opting for a telepathic taunt instead. It was unseen by all watching, until Hydreigon roared in a rage. Whilst Taunt triggered a Pokemon into only using damaging moves, Hydreigon were naturally volatile, and in a Pokemon with that nature, Taunt was usually enough to send them into a disobedient frenzy.

“Dark Pulse!” Beth shouted, however was shocked when Hydreigon leapt forward, taking to the air and flying towards Deoxys, intent on ripping the Pokemon apart with its teeth.

“Speed Form!” Charlotte shouted. “Keep it on your tail!”

Deoxys shifted into its more streamlined and aerodynamic build, before telekinetically launching itself from where it hovered, taking to the air, where Hydreigon pursued it doggedly.

“Hydreigon!” Beth screeched. “Use Dark Pulse!”

”Don’t get too far ahead of it,” Charlotte instructed, an idea forming, which Deoxys was able to see. ”We don’t want it to give up chasing you…”

Deoxys slowed a little, as Hydreigon gained on it, diving forward with a Crunch attack ready, snapping at Deoxys who increased its speed just enough to avoid the attack, and infuriate its opponent further.

“Go higher!” Charlotte shouted, as Deoxys adjusted its trajectory, moving upwards towards the high ceiling. Charlotte called out again when they were near the ceiling. “Now dive!”

When Hydreigon reached the highest point in the room, Deoxys dodged another Crunch, before diving straight down, before Hydreigon continued to tail it, diving towards the ground beneath them. Knowing she had to time it perfectly, Charlotte was thankful for Deoxys’ telepathic connection, knowing exactly what she wanted.

As Deoxys got closer to the floor, Hydreigon on its six, Charlotte timed her command, before giving the order.

“Teleport!”

She didn’t have to say where. Deoxys knew. It flashed out of existence, as Hydreigon crashed into the ground. Instantly Deoxys reappeared in the air above Hydreigon, still with all the momentum and velocity it held before the teleport, crashing on top of Hydreigon and pinning it down.

“Focus Blast!”

Whilst the Fighting Type move was hardly certain to hit, given the point blank distance, and Hydreigon being held in place by Deoxys on top of it, there was no escape. Deoxys charged up the attack, which started as a flickering purple light, before exploding into a powerful purple beam. When the light disappeared, Deoxys floated a few feet above Hydreigon, who lay unconscious. After a few seconds of shocked silence at how brutally the match ended, the referee called out, albeit nervously.

“Hydreigon is unable to battle, and Beth Thomas has three Pokemon unable to battle,” the referee called out. “The match goes to Charlotte Jones of the Eon Academy!”

Charlotte walked towards the centre of the field, to meet Beth, who took a few seconds to bring herself to start moving. As the pair met, Deoxys floating above Hydreigon on the side, Charlotte extended her hand. Whilst she immensely disliked her opponent, she didn’t want the Eon Academy to have a reputation of bad sportsmanship. Beth however, was past the point of that consideration.

“Good match,” Charlotte said, trying to keep her tone civil. Beth however refused to shake it.

“That was a filthy trick,” Beth sneered. “Using Taunt to set off Hydreigon. But it looks like you Eon Academy types rely on cheap tricks like that…”

“If your Pokemon loses sensibility after being affected by a basic move like Taunt, that is your problem, and a big one at that…” Charlotte said quietly. “Now shake my hand, unless you want to embarrass your school further than you already have…”

The shot was a low blow, however Charlotte didn’t care. Camilla’s commentary had been less than impartial, with the odd snide comment hidden by a friendly tone, and being put in her place when Justin and Charlotte had subverted the expectations of themselves, with a little help from Jon with his well timed remarks. Between the high and mighty attitude Camilla had done little to hide during the broadcast, and the humiliating losses her students had suffered, Charlotte knew that any slander from Camilla, Beth, or anyone else from this institution, would simply be taken as bad sportsmanship and graceless losing.

Beth shook Charlotte’s hand, however glared at her, before looking towards Deoxys. The Legendary Pokemon had been silently looking around the room, taking in the environment and people, before seeming to notice it was being watched. It flicked its head to stare at Beth directly, who shrunk back at the sight of the cold eyes that bore into her. She quickly called back Hydreigon as Charlotte, followed by Deoxys, made their way towards where Dylan, Abbee and Justin sat, Chris having just left at the end of Charlotte’s match to prepare for his battle.

“I can’t believe in four months, you were able to get Deoxys to that level…” Dylan remarked, looking at the Pokemon in awe and wonder. “Honestly, you two were as in sync as Jon and Latios…”

“We have to be,” Charlotte noted, looking over at Deoxys, who seemed to look between all of the humans, fascinated by the exchange. “I couldn’t expect it to trust me if I wasn’t letting it poke around in my head…”

“That match was brutal…” Justin said in disbelief. “I thought I may have been too hard in how I had Regieleki finish my match with Sophie, but that’s on a whole other level…”

“Yeah, I don’t think we’ll be walking out of this place with too many new friends…” Charlotte agreed, having regained some more of her common sense since the battle ended, and thinking and acting less like Chris.

“Well Dylan and I both have opponents we’d like to see humbled just a bit,” Abbee remarked. “So I’m okay with not making too many new friends by winning this…”

At the commentators table, the light on the camera broadcasting the pair of commentators was off, meaning that the livestream was on a break, with commercials being played.

“Here I thought we’d have a fair competition…” Camilla said to Jon with a scowl. “Not you manipulating us into giving you the advantage…”

Jon couldn’t help but snort.

“Keep telling yourself that, and you’re only going to lose when the time comes for you to face me,” Jon answered, any pretence of civility in private now gone. Camilla glared at him, as he continued. “This whole challenge was for you to stroke your own ego. You were the one who focused more on theatrics than thinking through this challenge, and handed over your right to choose how we do battle. And so far, your students have done nothing but underestimate us, some even belittle us, since we got here, and honestly, from one teacher to another, attitudes like that are taught, whether intentionally or not…”

“You’re that confident you can beat me? That your other three students, one with no Legendary Pokemon, will win?” Camilla asked, snorting with derision. “How arrogant can you be?”

Jon couldn’t help but grin.

“Maybe a little arrogant,” Jon answered. “But if you and your students keep blaming us for your mistakes, and making excuses, you’ll just keep underestimating us, and losing. Mark my words…”

Jon noticed in his peripheral vision the cameraman counting down with his fingers.

“Smile for the camera Camilla,” Jon said, grinning to the camera in front of them. “I’m sure you don’t want the world seeing this…”

Chris made his way towards his place on the battlefield, while Natasha waited on the opposite end. His mouth was set in a firm line, as he thought over how he would handle this battle. Whilst he had no grudge with Natasha, actually thinking somewhat highly of her, given the way she embarrassed Brad the night before, he was going to look past that. She was a part of the College of the North Wind, and with the exception of her and Sophie, all of their representatives have created a grudge between the two schools, and just as Justin and Charlotte had done so far, Chris wanted to make it abundantly clear that they were not to be underestimated.

“Entering the field for the third match, is Christopher Kingswood, representing the Eon Academy, and Natasha King, representing the College of the North Wind!” Jon introduced, finding it much easier to be friendly on camera than Camilla was at this point.

“Both trainers select a Pokemon, though do not send it out until I start the battle!”

Chris was used to the instruction, and selected a Pokemon. Garchomp was his most versatile, and whilst Glastrier would have little problem wiping it out, he was willing to gamble on the fact that Natasha wouldn’t open with Glastrier, given the fact that Charlotte had wiped out Zeraora early, leaving Deoxys to finish off Beth’s other Pokemon the round before.

He forced himself to remain calm. Whilst he stood by his decision, that he was leaving the Academy, he knew Jon was right in the training they had been undertaking. Chris needed to think his attacks through, and be less impulsive. He wasn’t going to do anything like Justin or Charlotte did. He still planned on being more direct in his attacks. However, there was a way to do that without necessarily being impulsive about it, and given that a win in this match would guarantee the Eon Academy a draw at minimum, he wasn’t going to let this slip through his fingers.

“Begin!”

Chris sent out Garchomp, and watched as Natasha sent out her first Pokemon. He swore to himself when the seven foot tall, frozen equine Pokemon emerged, and he knew he was off to a terrible start. He however had a single nagging question in his mind.

”Why open with Glastrier, given what just happened?”

“Garchomp, use Body Slam!”

Garchomp ran towards Glastrier, closing the distance between them, as Glastrier moved forward as well. Chris was thankful the bulky Pokemon seemed to be far slower than Garchomp.

Garchomp roared as it leapt into the air, before crashing into Glastrier with all its body weight behind it. Glastrier tumbled aside, while Garchomp rose to his feet, and Chris was thankful when Glastrier seemed slower and more uneasy as it stood than before.

“It appears that Chris, seeing the significant disadvantage Garchomp faced, has chosen a weaker attack, for the sole purpose of the chance to cramp Glastrier’s muscles,” Jon explained. “This is a solid strategy to buy time in a majorly disadvantaged situation, which seems to have paid off.”

Glastrier was slow to stand, as Chris gave the next order.

“Dragon Rush! Now!” Chris shouted. Jon had been correct. Chris was simply trying to buy time. The muscle paralysis that Glastrier suffered bought him another chance to make an attack on the Pokemon, and Chris had chosen Dragon Rush specifically, due to its chance to cause the opponent to flinch. If luck were in Chris’ favour, Glastrier would still be unmoving, allowing Garchomp to land a follow-up attack.

Garchomp struck, and whilst the attack knocked Glastrier back, it found its way to its feet, as Natasha gave her first instruction.

“Avalanche!” Natasha ordered, as Chris swore to himself. Avalanche itself wasn’t an overly powerful move, however when timed right, it could be deadly, gaining in power if used right after the user has taken damage.

Glastrier rushed forward towards Garchomp, as thick snow shedded from it, getting caught up in the momentum and turning the Ice Type Pokemon into a living avalanche. Glastrier struck Garchomp, surrounded by snow, trampling it and knocking it out.

“F**k…” Chris muttered to himself, before calling Garchomp back. He watched as Glastrier let out an unnerving neigh, the Pokemon yet to make a noise at the point, whilst he decided which Pokemon to send next, though figured he had little choice. Dragonite would be just as disadvantaged against Glastrier, and whilst Charizard would have a little more possibility, Glastrier was a Legendary Pokemon, and Garchomp hadn’t done enough to allow Charizard to finish off Glastrier. Besides, that was Charlotte’s style. Not his.

“Lugia, you’re up!” Chris commanded, as he threw the Pokeball revealing Lugia. The Pokemon, while still young, had grown another two feet during the summer, making it a little over ten feet from nose to tail. It flapped its large wings, and its heavy form began to float in place. Whilst Chris knew that Lugia may not have as clear offensive capabilities against Glastrier, he knew in particular that going all out offensively wasn’t going to help. Lugia was built to take a hit, not necessarily dish out a big attack. Additionally, Lugia had one other advantage that had been prevalent in the two battles prior. It knew Recover, whilst generally speaking, Ice Types had very little in the way of energy recovery. If Chris could whittle down Glastrier’s energy, he could get himself back onto even footing.

“Reflect!” Chris called out. Lugia cried out as it telekinetically created a barrier around itself. Similar to Deoxys it was not one that would block an attack completely, but physical attacks in particular, it would reduce the damage from.

“Icicle Crash, Glastrier!” Natasha ordered. Glastrier neighed, as a white light appeared in front of it, forming into the shape of a large icicle, before Glastrier darted behind this icicle, pushing it towards Lugia.

Chris didn’t bother trying to get Lugia to dodge the attack, figuring it would be near ineffective. Between Lugia’s bulk, Reflect, and the Multiscale ability that halved the damage of attacks when it was at full strength, Icicle Crash stood to do little. Or so he thought.

The attack struck Lugia, and whilst it was far from match ending, it was harder than Chris expected. Lugia roared in pain, whilst Chris put the pieces together of what he had seen. Natasha had opened with Glastrier, despite her classmate losing spectacularly after doing the same thing, and which Chris thought meant she had a good reason for it. Then the fact that it happened now, and not against Garchomp, where the amount of force behind the attack seemed to be relatively less.

He knew that Jon made a point of opening with Blaziken, as it had an ability that would increase its speed as the match went on, as well as lots of moves that increased its attack, meaning Blaziken was better suited to opening a match than closing. Chris considered what ability Glastrier might have, figuring it was something that potentially may cause it to deal more damage against opponents at full strength, but dismissed the idea. It didn’t seem to have an effect against Garchomp, who was also at full strength when it took the hit.

Suddenly, Chris remembered it. The unnerving neigh after Garchomp was beaten.

”It’s power increases when it defeats a Pokemon…” he thought to himself, realising even more how much he needed to beat Glastrier now. If Glastrier won this matchup, it would only grow stronger and harder to beat.

“Skill Swap!” Chris shouted, taking a leaf from Justin’s book. Glastrier had taken two hits from Garchomp, making Lugia’s Multiscale ability worthless to it, whilst this ability Glastrier had would be beneficial in the long run.

“Icicle Crash again!” Natasha called out, obviously angry at Chris’ most recent move, however Glastrier’s front legs buckled for a moment, still affected by the cramping muscles caused by Garchomps Body Slam.

“Calm Mind!” Chris shouted to Lugia, who began to glow in a pale blue light, its own offensive and defensive capabilities in special moves increasing.

Natasha seemed to realise that she couldn’t rely on Glastrier being able to move, instead, changing tactics.

“Swords Dance!” she commanded, figuring if Glastrier couldn’t move, at least it could be stronger so when it could, it could end this fight.

“Iron Head, Lugia!” Chris shouted, reverting to his earlier tactics. Iron Head had a chance of causing the target to flinch, being stunned by the hard hit, and whilst that hadn’t worked out for him before with Garchomp, he needed to take the risk. Paralysis wouldn’t keep Glastrier down forever, and if he didn’t try, Glastrier would likely beat Lugia with its heavily improved strength.

“The first damaging move Lugia makes, and it’s a steel type…” Camilla noted.

“He’s trying to do what Garchomp couldn’t,” Jon explained. “Buy time by making Glastrier flinch…”

Lugia darted forward, placing a telekinetic barrier in front of its head, and headbutting Glastrier violently, knocking the Pokemon back, and causing it to stagger, stunned by the violent strike to the head.

“Now Charge Beam!” Chris shouted, knowing the attack itself was weak, especially from Lugia who was not an Electric Type, but had a likely chance to increase Lugia’s attack power for special moves, stacking with Calm Mind.

Jon watched Chris, somewhat surprised that this was the trainer he had banned from training for refusing to stop battling impulsively. Chris was still going largely on the offensive, and Jon had a hunch the rest of this battle would be a steamroll, however he was thinking things through, something he hadn’t been doing during training.

Charge Beam struck Glastrier, and whilst it was far from Lugia’s heaviest hitting attack, it was enough to cause the already weakened Glastrier to stumble, before collapsing to the ground, unable to battle. Lugia roared in triumph, as its attack, both physically and in terms of special moves, increased from Charge Beam and Lugia’s borrowed ability. Lugia, who had taken a hit from Glastrier early on, still stood with most of its energy, and Chris knew from here, all the odds were in his favour…

Natasha called back Glastrier before sending in her second Pokemon, Gallade. Whilst Gallade was slightly disadvantaged, Chris knew it had a versatile movepool, allowing it to strike hard against most Pokemon. However, Gallade was against a Legendary Pokemon with increases to most of its attributes. Chris didn’t foresee this lasting long…

“Hydro Pump!” Chris commanded, having a hunch he knew where this was going. From what he could see Gallade was just as fast as Lugia, and Natasha gave a command that would play into that.

“Protect!” Natasha commanded. “Then Night Slash!”

Gallade blocked Lugia’s torrent of violent water, dispersing it to either side with the barrier that appeared to protect it, before darting towards Lugia, the blades on its arms extending and turning black, as it slashed at the Legendary Pokemon. Lugia cried out in pain, however was far from falling. Now however, Gallade had put itself in range, and would not be able to block Lugia’s next move. Chris had intended Hydro Pump to be a decoy, taking Gallade’s attention, and causing it to use Protect. And he had also known that Gallade couldn’t use Protect forever, and for any chance of winning this battle, needed to land a hit on Lugia. That was when Chris planned on making his actual move.

“Aeroblast!”

Lugia flew up a few metres higher into the air, charging a beam of golden light in its jaws, before unleashing the devastating attack. It roared to the ground, striking Gallade directly, and empowered by Calm Mind and Charge Beam, threw the Pokemon backwards like a ragdoll, knocking it out cold.

Lugia roared again, as its attack power increased from another knockout, as Natasha called back Gallade, and seemed to struggle to choose a Pokemon. Eventually, she chose a Pokeball, and sent it out, however seemed to lack the conviction in her decision.

“Go, Chandelure!”

The two Pokemon faced each other, with Lugia being the quicker of the two, as Chris gave his instruction.

“Lugia, Recover!”

Natasha’s shoulders slumped, as Lugia returned to full strength, leaving her last Pokemon to face it. She looked between Lugia, hugely empowered by her own Legendary Pokemon’s ability, and now at full strength, and Chandelure. Remembering the brutal end to the previous battle, when Deoxys had lured Hydreigon into crashing into the ground at high speed, before slamming into it and finishing it off with a Focus Blast, her mind was made up.

“I concede…” Natasha called out, shocking all who watched. Those from the Eon Academy, as well as Sophie, understood her decision. She was facing a Legendary Pokemon with one left of her own, that had wiped out her previous Pokemon in a single hit, and equally likely to do the same to Chandelure.

“Natasha King has conceded the match, making Christopher Kingswood the winner!”

Even though the referee had confirmed it, it seemed unreal. The match felt like it had only just begun, given how quickly Glastrier had dispatched Garchomp, and how equally quickly Lugia had taken down Gallade. The bulk of the match until that point had simply been Lugia versus Glastrier.

Camilla watched silently, as the third of her five students had lost, this one losing the will to even finish the battle, leaving Jon to commentate on his own, to keep the flow of the broadcast going.

“Whilst it was an impressive victory by Chris, Natasha should be commended for her willingness to put her Pokemon’s wellbeing before the prospect of winning, and any excess pride,” Jon explained. “She was faced with an opponent that posed a significant danger to her own Pokemon, and was willing to pull the plug, and not risk her Pokemon being injured. As such, she has earnt my respect, and I believe that my Eon Academy students would agree…”

Chris made his way towards Natasha, who quietly approached him.

“Good match,” Chris said, somewhat awkwardly. Natasha conceding was the last thing he expected, especially given his affinity for Dragon Types and their major weakness to ice. “Believe it or not, this helped me improve as a trainer. I’d been arguing with Jon about some things, thinking I needed to just go all out and attack to stand a chance against you. But I think this battle helped me find my style, just a little…”

Natasha nodded, her expression somewhat blank, however given what Chris had seen of her, she seemed rather stoic most of the time anyway.

“It was a good match,” Natasha replied, before something came to mind. “How did you know about Glastrier’s ability?”

“It was a fluke really. A few little things I noticed,” Chris explained. “I thought it was odd for you to open with Glastrier, given what happened last round, and figured Glastrier may have an ability where it suits being an opening Pokemon better, like Jon’s Blaziken. Then when it hit Lugia the first time, Lugia seemed to be hit far harder than it should have been…”

“How can you know?”

“I’ve trained with Lugia so much since I caught it back in April,” Chris explained. “I guess in that time, I started to see just how much it should be dishing out and taking in. And when it took that hit, something didn’t add up. Then I remembered that weird neigh that Glastrier did, and it all came together…”

Natasha nodded, thinking it over.

“That sort of analysis isn’t really talked about much here…” Natasha noted. “We tend to focus more on making our Pokemon stronger, but I guess there’s more to it than that…”

Natasha thanked Chris again for the match, before making his way towards his classmates, as he saw Abbee leave the arena to prepare her team for battle.

“So if Charlotte has the most brutal finish, and you have the quickest win,” Justin asked. “Does that mean the two of you are tied for best on ground?”

“Oh for f**k’s sake…” Charlotte muttered, surprising Chris a little with her outburst, though he had to agree. He did get bored of being on the exact same level as Charlotte.

“Now that Deoxys is trained, and Lugia is more used to battling with me, maybe we need to have a tie breaker…” Chris offered, as Charlotte rolled her eyes.

Abbee made her way to her place on the battlefield, to the sound of loud cheers from Charlotte and Justin. On her shoulder sat Victini who stared intently at Matt, who stood smugly at the other end of the battlefield waiting for Abbee.

”Remember, Shaymin is mine…” Victini said, his tone lacking the usual carefree humour he was known for. Abbee was well aware. They had discussed it during the briefing, though hoped Victini wasn’t going to let his feelings get in the way of his battling.

“Entering the battlefield is Matt Campbell, representing the College of the North Wind, and Abbee Strauss, representing the Eon Academy,” Jon introduced, as the two trainers prepared to begin their battle.

“You’re going to have to go in the Pokeball now,” Abbee said to Victini. “Otherwise they might try and accuse you of interfering…”

“I’m very familiar…”

Abbee placed the Pokeball gently against Victini, before clipping it to her belt.

“Both trainers select a Pokemon, though do not send it out until I start the battle!”

It was the exact same line used for the previous three battles. Whilst Abbee knew that it was impossible for the Eon Academy to lose at this point, having three wins to the College’s none, and only three matches left, she still felt a similar pressure Chris did the match earlier. If she won this match, they were guaranteed a win. And from there, she figured Dylan and Jon would feel the similar yet different pressure to win, to give them a perfect score.

Abbee selected her first Pokemon. Whilst she had promised Victini that Shaymin could be his opponent, she had no way of knowing when Matt would send out Shaymin, and as such, had chosen the three Pokemon she used on the prospect that they may be against it for a moment until Abbee could get Victini onto the field. In addition to Victini, she had chosen Pokemon of different types that had an advantage over Grass Pokemon. The variance between them gave them coverage of two thirds of all Pokemon types, however they all shared the same resistance to Shaymin’s powerful Grass Type moves.

“Begin!”

“Go Ariados!” Abbee called out, throwing the Pokeball, as the giant arachnid Pokemon materialized, looking from her towards their opponent.

“Go Mismagius!” Matt called out, as the referee started the match.

“Begin!”

As soon as the word pierced the air, Matt was giving his first command.

“Shadow Sneak!”

Before Abbee could even respond, Mismagius sunk into the ground, manifesting as an ominous shadow, before darting towards Ariados at breakneck speeds. When the shadow was near Ariados, Mismagius leapt out of the ground, slamming into Ariados.

“Agility!” Abbee shouted, before giving another command, knowing that the boost in speed should be enough for Ariados to land a follow-up move. “Then Leech Life!”

Ariados’ speed increased, before it lunged forward, sinking its fangs into Mismagius, draining some of its energy before it managed to squirm itself loose.

“Do all you Academy types rely on dragging these things out?” Matt called out derisively. “Mismagius, Spite!”

Mismagius cried out, as Ariados felt a severe chill run through it, Abbee knowing that Ariados now wouldn’t be able to use Leech Life again until it returned to its Pokeball. Whilst Matt had been less than pleasant with his comment, he had made the right call. Abbee knew Mismagius was, generally speaking, able to do more damage than Ariados, and now Ariados couldn’t restore its energy. However, Ariados had other talents that she could make use of.

“Cross Poison, Ariados!” Abbee commanded. Cross Poison was more likely to land a critical hit, and whilst there was still every chance it wouldn’t hit, she had time to potentially try again.

Ariados lunged forward, as a toxic liquid encased its pointed front legs. It leapt into the air where Mismagius floated, slashing with both of them. Mismagius cried out in pain, and Abbee knew Ariados had been lucky, slashing at a weak spot on the Pokemon. Tied with its Sniper ability, which made its critical hits even more dangerous, Ariados had done a number on Mismagius, it barely remaining afloat.

“Mystical Fire!” Matt shouted. He had been avoiding using the move, as whilst it had a type advantage over Ariados, it was not the same type as Mismagius, and therefore less familiar, and powerful than a Ghost Type equivalent.

A spectral orb of flame rushed Ariados, striking it and exploding, causing Ariados to let out a shrill cry of pain. Abbee was blinded by the light, and whilst she didn’t know how Ariados was after that attack, she had to take a chance in faith in her Pokemon enduring the hit.

“Fell Stinger!” Abbee shouted, unsure if Ariados was even conscious to hear it. She watched, anxious, waiting for a sign. A moment later, Ariados leapt out of the flames, still burning, before striking Mismagius with its sharp front legs. Mismagius fell, hitting the ground unconscious, as Ariados let out a shrill cry, its attack power increasing drastically as a side effect of the Fell Stinger attack knocking out Mismagius.

Matt swore a curse under his breath, before calling back Mismagius, and sending out his next Pokemon.

“Toxicroak, finish this!”

Abbee only had moments to consider her options. Neither Pokemon had a significant type advantage, and whilst Ariados did have increased attack power and speed, Abbee had made those decisions both to benefit Ariados, and also her other Pokemon, should she have Ariados Baton Pass. Meanwhile, Ariados was struggling to battle, having taken a lot of damage from the Mystical Fire attack.

“Low Sweep!” Matt called out, making Abbee’s mind up for her. Even if Ariados managed to survive the attack, it would reduce its speed, and make it slower than Toxicroak, removing any further opportunity to switch out.

“Baton Pass!” Abbee shouted. Ariados cried out, as Abbee returned it, sending out near instantaneously, Victini, now faster and stronger than normal. Toxicroak’s Low Sweep struck Victini, causing him to tumble back, and lose some of the extra agility that Ariados had passed onto it, however Victini was ready to take action, and he was far from happy…

”You’re not Shaymin!” Victini shouted telepathically, Jon noticing Camilla jumping in shock at the unexpected voice, as did her students. Victini telekinetically launched himself towards Toxicroak, using a telekinetic barrier to use a Zen Headbutt attack, which struck Toxicroak directly, stunning it for a moment, and buying him the time to use a follow up attack.

“Flame Charge!” Abbee called out, knowing Victini would follow up with or without her instructions, and if she gave him a specific move to use, he would use it.

Victini became encased in a relatively small flame, rocketing himself into Toxicroak, who after the much harder hitting, Baton Pass empowered Zen Headbutt, was already light on his feet. Knowing how Victini tended to go overboard, using V-Create instinctively, Abbee had ordered this attack instead, knowing it was sufficient to finish off Toxicroak, whilst improving on Victini’s speed.

Jon grinned at Abbee’s growth, remembering how the summer before Victini’s own instincts had cost her a battle.

Toxicroak was thrown back, and knocked unconscious as Victini looked towards Matt, crying out angrily.

”Bring me Shaymin!” Victini shouted telepathically for all present to hear…

Jon noticed Camilla looking at him with a question in her eyes, hearing Victini’s demands to battle Shaymin.

“The Victini that battles against Abbee’s side, is the Victini who battled me, alongside Cassandra Silvers, back on the S.S. Wishmaker,” Jon explained, both to Camilla and the audience watching the broadcast. “Before battling me, Victini very nearly lost to Avery Miller’s Shaymin, and obviously still remembers that…”

“Careful what you wish for, pint size…” Matt sneered at Victini, earning an angry glare from Abbee. He selected a Pokeball, and threw it in front of him, letting Shaymin onto the battlefield. Shaymin looked at Victini, before crying out, only Jon, Latios and Victini understanding what was said.

“I know you…” Shaymin said audibly. “You fluked a win against one of my kind! I saw the video!”

“Yeah, I did…” Victini replied in their common tongue. “But there will be no flukes this time…”

“Begin!” the referee called, realizing if he didn’t the two mythical Pokemon would simply trash talk, he presumed, and stare each other down.

“Victini, Sunny Day!” Abbee commanded, hoping she wasn’t making a mistake…

”You want to use Sunny Day?” Abbee had asked in shock before the battle. “Against a Shaymin?”

Victini nodded. The pair stood alone in the briefing room, preparing for the battle that was coming.

“Victini, if you do that, Shaymin will be faster, stronger and harder to hit…” Abbee explained. Shaymin were one of the most common Legendary Pokemon, so their characteristics were somewhat well known.

“It will also not be able to take as many hits…” Victini objected, however Abbee wasn’t sold.

“Still, I can’t guarantee that you won’t have to beat another Pokemon before Shaymin,” Abbee said. “Why do you want to give it an edge? You’ve already beaten a Shaymin! You have nothing to prove!”

“I have everything to prove!” Victini retorted angrily. “I beat Shaymin by a fluke! If the sun didn’t set when it did, I would have lost! Against a Grass Type! And the next night, I got beaten in one hit by Scizor!”

“It was your first time battling without Violet and Jarena interfering,” Abbee offered, however Victini had none of it.

“I want to beat Shaymin, to show the world just how far I’ve come,” Victini said. “And I want to give them absolutely no reason to argue my win. And if that means giving Shaymin an edge so I can put it down myself, so be it…”

Abbee sighed, looking at her determined little partner.

“I don’t want anyone to see me win and chalk it up to just another fluke!” Victini continued. “I want to win, and I want to earn every bit of it…”

“I hope you know what you’re doing…”

Victini cried out, creating an orb of light like a miniature sun, which floated into the air above the battlefield. Shaymin looked at Victini in shock.

“Are you dense?” Shaymin asked Victini, who grinned menacingly.


“I told you…” Victini answered. “No flukes. I’m beating you…”

Shaymin grinned, before being encased in light and transforming into its far more nimble Sky Form.

“Double Team!” Matt commanded. Shaymin cried out before splitting into multiple copies of itself, all of whom took off, filling the air space above with flying Shaymin.

“Did Abbee not know what Sunny Day would do?” Camilla asked, all sense of superiority gone, and replaced with sheer disbelief.

“She knew,” Jon answered. “I’m willing to bet it was Victini’s idea…”

“Why would Victini make it harder for itself to beat Shaymin?”

“Because Victini wants there to be no question about it if he wins,” Jon answered. “He is proud, and determined, and wants to show just how strong he has gotten since the S.S. Wishmaker…”

“V-Create!” Abbee commanded. Whilst she didn’t want to rely on the overly powerful move too often, she had heard about Chris using heavy attacks from Lugia for the purpose of clearing away the fake copies caused by Double Team.

Victini leapt into the air, before being encased in an intense crown of flames, propelling it forward and into a large clump of copies, before exploding, causing them to disappear. The attack hadn’t hit the original, however it had significantly reduced the number of copies. However, Victini felt his speed start to slip, although still being faster than Shaymin, as well as his defense…

“Seed Flare!” Matt commanded, as the real Shaymin’s red flower began to glow.

“Found you!” Victini cried out, although Abbee not understanding due to Victini forgoing telepathy to focus on the battle.

There was an explosion of green light from the real Shaymin, hitting Victini, and knocking it back, however not enough to knock it out. Without Abbee giving the command, Victini readied another V-Create launching itself into the real Shaymin.

“Protect!” Matt shouted, causing Shaymin to raise a Protect barrier, taking the force of Victini’s empowered attack. However, Victini’s defense and speed had dropped again from the failed attack, giving Shaymin the opportunity to counterattack. “Now Seed Flare!”

“Protect!” Abbee shouted, as Victini managed to raise his own Protect barrier just in time to block the match ending attack.

“Shaymin is following every one of Matt’s orders, while Victini is making his own decisions half the time…” Camilla commented.

“And?” Jon asked, looking to Camilla.

“You saw what happened before with Hydreigon when it stopped following orders…”

“This could not be any more different. Victini isn’t acting on his own because he is disregarding orders. He is acting on his own because Abbee trusts him to make the snap decisions at a moment's notice. And Victini trusts Abbee to plan ahead and give him a winning path. Which is better teamwork than Victini just following Abbee’s instructions,” Jon said sternly. “And I get the feeling this is what Victini wants. If he could land a hit on Shaymin, he is strong enough to knock it out with just the one. But if he gets hit by Shaymin, he is weakened enough to be knocked out as well. This is a match where there is no room for mistakes, and skill will be the only thing that can determine the winner…”

Victini, having blocked the Seed Flare, dropped to the ground, while Shaymin remained airborne.

“Seed Flare!” Matt called out, knowing Victini couldn’t rely on Protect to block the hit again. He grinned, as Shaymin’s flower glowed, charging up the attack.

“Guard Swap!” Abbee ordered. Victini grinned at Shaymin, as his eyes flickered, and he felt the weakness in his body, from the consecutive V-Creates, flow out, knowing that would be transferred to Shaymin, before there was a flash of light and he was hit by Seed Flare.

“Victini!” Abbee called out to where Victini lay on the ground a few meters away. All watched in suspended silence for those key seconds, where they tried to determine whether Victini was awake. Jon felt a flashback to the S.S. Wishmaker, when Victini had been in this same position.

And like on the S.S. Wishmaker, Victini stood, looking up at Shaymin with a disconcerting smile.

“Sun doesn’t stay out forever, big guy…” Victini said telepathically, as all watching, who had forgotten about the fact that Sunny Day was only temporary, looked up, and saw the orb that Victini had created earlier shrink out of existence. ”I might have done you a favour by bringing the sun out, but it’s not my job to keep it here…”

There was a flash of light, as Shaymin, just like Avery’s on the S.S. Wishmaker, Shaymin reverted to its Land form, incapable of flight, and falling from where it had flown only a matter of seconds before.

“V-Compress Victini!” Abbee shouted. “Finish this!

Victini propelled himself into the air with a telekinetic blast, before encasing himself in a telekinetic bubble, and outputting as much flame as he could muster, containing it in the bubble, which compressed the fire with just a little more pressure than it put out.

“I am Victini! The Victory Star Pokemon!” Victini shouted telepathically. ”And my victory is right now!”

The flames grew hotter, turning into a bright blue, unlike anything that those watching had seen from Victini before, as Victini collided with the falling Shaymin, releasing the telekinetic bubble that contained and compressed his flames, causing them to explode violently outwards, launching Shaymin into the ceiling above. It collided with a crash, before falling unconscious to the ground, as Matt readied his Pokeball to return it before it hit the ground.

Abbee felt sorry for Shaymin, being on the receiving end of Victini’s desire to prove his strength, however knew Victini wouldn’t do anything that would require more than a Pokemon Center healing machine, and was thankful when the referee made the call.

“Shaymin is unable to battle, and Matt Campbell has three Pokemon unable to battle,” the referee called out. “The match goes to Abbee Strauss of the Eon Academy!”

Abbee made her way to Victini, who stood uneasily, shifting his weight weakly between his legs. When she was nearby, she picked him up, noting how warm he still was.

“That was something else…” Abbee said to Victini. “I didn’t know you could create blue flames…”

”That makes two of us…” Victini answered weakly, now the adrenaline had worn off.

Abbee made her way towards the center of the battle, however Matt turned from where he stood and stormed off. She waited for a moment, before turning herself, and making her way, Victini in her arms, back towards her classmates.

“You don’t think you overdid it a little?” Charlotte asked, nodding towards Victini.

“He didn’t want anyone to chalk this up to a fluke…” Abbee remarked, grinning. “But yeah, he overdid it…”

Victini smiled weakly at Charlotte, Justin and even Chris. Chris, surprised at Victini’s performance, gave a quick, impersonal nod.

”Don’t you think I deserve more than that?” Victini asked Chris telepathically. ”Even if you’re not talking to Abbee at the moment?”

Chris had to force himself to hide the chuckle.

”Good job,” Chris said simply, as Victini nodded back.

Five minutes later, Dylan emerged from his briefing room, making his way towards the arena, where Brad stood, waiting on the other side. However instead of stopping at his place on the battlefield, he walked past it, making his way towards the referee, however stopping a little shy, making sure to remain in front of the cameras, and in listening range of the microphones attached to them. He nodded towards Brad, who began walking towards him, his smug grin ever present, despite the fact he was his classmate's last chance outside of Camilla to get them a win. Though Dylan figured he was probably thankful for it.

Dylan had an idea on how he would be able to beat Brad, Legendary Pokemon or none. An idea stemmed from one of the first things Jon taught them in their first summer at the Eon Academy.

Brad reached Dylan at the same time as the referee, and Dylan looked towards the ref.

“The ruling was tournament standard format, unless both trainers agreed to a different format, correct?” Dylan asked, directing the question towards the referee.

“That is correct,” the referee answered. “Unless the pair of you agree on something different, the match by default will be three Pokemon, blind first selection.”

Dylan nodded before looking to Brad.

“Want to make this a little more interesting?” Dylan asked, his expression remaining neutral. “I figure it could be fun to change things up a little…”

“What are you thinking?” Brad asked, his tone seeming to imply he thought he was doing Dylan a favour by even listening to him.

“Double battle. Two Pokemon on each side of the field, with no replacements. The Pokemon I open with are the Pokemon you need to beat to win, and vice versa,” Dylan explained. “Blind selection still…”

Brad was silent, considering the thought for a moment. He didn’t have a great deal of experience with double battles, he had to admit to himself. However, he already knew how he could coordinate one of his other Pokemon with his Cresselia to work well together. He also knew double battles were a rare treat for viewers, and if he agreed to this, his match would probably be the highlight of the challenge, with the possible exception of Camilla’s.

“You don’t think you can beat me using just one Pokemon at a time?” Brad asked, whilst Dylan grinned.

“I just think our viewers might be sick of seeing us wipe the floor with you guys in the same way every time, and a double battle would be a nice change of pace…”

Dylan had noticed Brad considering it, and had a good feeling. Whilst he thought he stood a chance against Brad without the double battle, the double battle would make it easier to humiliate him. And by bruising his ego just a little, Dylan figured he could push Brad in the right direction.

Brad looked to the referee.

“Double battle, two Pokemon on each side, blind selection. That sound right?”

The referee nodded, as did Dylan.

“You’re going to regret this…” Brad remarked, though Dylan waved it off.

Jon hid a grin, hearing this conversation play out, and knowing exactly what gave Dylan the idea.

”Why double battles?” Chris had asked. “All tournament battles are three Pokemon, single battles by default?”

“By default, yes, that doesn’t mean they have to be,” Jon explained. It was early in their first summer at the Academy, before the bet between Chris and Justin, and Charlotte and Abbee. Dylan had been listening quietly from the table where he sat by himself. “If both trainers agree to a different format that is legal, the tournament will allow them to use it, if it doesn’t interfere with scoring…”

“Still, hardly anyone does…” Chris commented. Jon nodded.

“Exactly, which is why I’m teaching you, among other reasons…” Jon explained with a sly grin. Dylan, curious to hear what Jon was getting at, sat up straighter, wanting to know what got Jon this excited about double battles.

“Think about it, they are that rare in high level competition that they are a treat for the audience, and double battles tend to get much more publicity than single battles, because they are so rare,” Jon explained. “So let’s say, in front of as many people as you can, you suggest a double battle to your opponent…”

“They’ll feel pressured into accepting,” Charlotte answered. “Or they might see it as a good publicity stunt for their career.”

“Exactly,” Jon explained. “I wouldn’t do this often, but if you are just as good at handling two Pokemon at a time, as you are one, and you put the pressure on your opponent to do a double battle when they aren’t as accustomed to them, you will have an edge…”

“Isn’t that a little dishonest?” Abbee asked, Jon grinned.

“How? Jon asked.

“Because it can affect the outcome of the battle,” Chris explained. “If you want to win, you should use your Pokemon…”

Jon grinned.

“Answer me this,” Jon said. “Who is the High Seas Champion? Myself? Or Latios?”

“You…” was the general agreement from the students there.

“Exactly. It’s a Pokemon battle sure, but really, it is a battle between two trainers,” Jon explained. “We may battle with Pokemon primarily, but we battle with our instincts, knowledge and judgement as well. Otherwise we’d be sending in our Pokemon and letting them make the decisions. And if your opponent is disregarding one of those three things, and it leads to you winning, that is hardly dishonest…”

“Both trainers, select two Pokemon, and keep them in their Pokeballs,” the referee called out, changing his normal script. “You may only use the two Pokemon you select now in the coming battle. Pokemon withdrawn are considered forfeit and cannot be replaced.”

Dylan selected two Pokeballs, knowing for sure one of the Pokemon Brad would choose. The other, he had no clue, so chose one Pokemon that would be advantaged against Cresselia, and one he trusted to handle whatever Brad could throw at him.

“Did you know Dylan was going to ask for a double battle?” Camilla asked Jon in an undertone, while the camera wasn’t on them. “You seemed to react when he asked Brad…”

Jon was thankful that now Camilla and the College of the North Wind stood no chance of securing a win, even if they were to perform flawlessly from this point on, she had shown a little more humility. Even though she questioned Abbee and Victini during the last match, her tone was different. Instead of questioning it to imply they weren’t battling well enough, she had asked wanting to understand Jon’s students, who had exceeded her expectations, much to her disappointment.

“I didn’t know he’d do this exactly. But I’m not surprised,” Jon explained. “Dylan’s unique among my students…”

“Because he doesn’t have a Legendary Pokemon?”

“Not that. Dylan isn’t as good offensively as the other four. Everyone is aware of that, but he is probably the one I struggle most to beat,” Jon explained. “Defensively he is rock solid and hard to rattle. He can’t hit as hard as the others, but he doesn’t have a clear weakness that can be exploited for an easy win, which means you have to work to beat him. And the amount of time you waste trying to get an edge over him, is all the time he can use to wear you down.”

“What does that have to do with the double battle?” Camilla asked. Jon couldn’t help but grin.

“Dylan when put under pressure will either sink or swim. And I think he is swimming,” Jon answered. “The first thing I taught my students was how to do double battles well. Three reasons. The first was that battling with two Pokemon that bounce off each other whilst on the battlefield at the same time was a stepping stone to having their Pokemon work together even when on the field individually, like how Charlotte beat Zeraora, having Roserade set up Magmortar to take as many hits as it could so Zeraora got burnt, and wasn’t hitting as hard, for Roserade to wipe it out…”

Camilla nodded, understanding, and shocked at the fact she was finding herself impressed by Jon’s teaching.

“The second, is that they may find themselves one day battling for their lives, potentially outnumbered, and should know how to handle multiple Pokemon at once,” Jon explained. “And that has happened since…”

“And the third?”

“Most other trainers will neglect practise in double battles because they are so uncommon, but they are allowed to request one,” Jon explained. “Given the rarity, crowds love them, and it usually isn’t hard to convince your opponent to agree to it. So if you’re well practised in double battles and they aren’t, you’re giving yourself an edge…”

Camilla’s eyes widened, as she looked at Brad, and swore under her breath, realising that her final student had been played. Jon couldn’t help but chuckle, having never heard Camilla swear in her television appearances before.

Dylan waited for the referee to call for the match to start. Finally the commercials were over, and Jon introduced the match.

“In our final student battle, we have Dylan Squier representing the Eon Academy, and Brad Jenkins, representing the College of the North Wind,” Jon explained. “And as a special treat to our viewers, the pair have decided to raise the stakes by competing in a double battle, with only two Pokemon each. Whatever Pokemon are on the field when the match begins are the only Pokemon they get to use…”

Jon finished, before nodding to the referee.

“Begin!”

Dylan sent out Dusknoir and Metagross, and couldn’t help but grin when Brad sent out Cresselia and Garchomp. This was typical of somebody who was not well practised in double battles. Garchomp would use Earthquake, hitting both Metagross and Dusknoir, whilst Cresselia, which levitated above the ground, Dylan presumed from one of the most common Pokemon Abilities in existence. Additionally Garchomp was definitely faster than Dusknoir and Metagross, and he was confident Cresselia was also, which suited his brewing plan just fine.

“This is going to be too easy…” Dylan muttered to himself, as Brad gave the first order.

“Cresselia, Double Team!” Brad called out. “Garchomp, Earthquake!”

“Metagross, Protect!” Dylan commanded, As Garchomp roared, striking the earth and causing it to shake, knowing a single Earthquake would devastate Metagross. “Dusknoir, Skill Swap!”

Metagross raised a Protect barrier, blocking the impact of Earthquake, whilst Dusknoir took the brunt of the hit, however managing to launch a spectral orb, which struck the real Cresselia, not being fooled by the Double Team copies, causing it to drop to the ground, and returned to Dusknoir, causing it to float.

“Go Dylan!” Abbee shouted, seeing how effortlessly Dylan had disarmed Brad’s tactics.

Brad looked angrily at Cresselia, realising what Dylan had done. Metagross was closer to Garchomp than Cresselia, and couldn’t use Protect again reliably.

“Bulldoze!” Brad shouted to Garchomp, as it darted towards Metagross, rupturing the earth in front of it as it moved. “Moonblast Cresselia!”

“Darkest Lariat Dusknoir!” Dylan commanded, and Dusknoir, after taking the Moon Blast, instantly followed the order, spinning towards Cresselia, knowing the real one from the attack before, fists extended and smacking it multiple times. Waiting for the right moment between Dusknoir landing the attack, and Garchomp hitting Metagross, he gave Metagross its command. “Ally Switch!”

Metagross cried out, and in the moment before Garchomp’s Bulldoze would have struck, it disappeared, being replaced by Dusknoir who was immune to the attack thanks to the stolen Levitate, as Metagross appeared where Dusknoir originally floated in front of Cresselia…

Brad looked between the four Pokemon in shock. Dusknoir was getting between Garchomp and Metagross, and was now immune to Ground Type attacks. Meanwhile Cresselia stood little chance of causing damage to Metagross who stood in front of her.

“Garchomp, Outrage!” Brad ordered. “Cresselia, Moonblast on Dusknoir!”

Cresselia was more suited to ranged attacks, and whilst Cresselia could do little against Metagross, Dusknoir couldn’t take much more damage.

“Dusknoir, Protect!” Dylan shouted, as his classmates, with the exception of Chris, cheered. “Metagross, Meteor Mash!”

Dusknoir raised the barrier, which protected it from both attacks, which Dylan had no doubt would have ended Dusknoir’s time in battle. Meanwhile, distracted by attacking Dusknoir, Metagross slammed one of its large legs into Cresselia, throwing it back, and raising Metagross’ own attack power.

“See what I mean about Dylan being rock solid defensively?” Jon asked Camilla. “Brad has been going all out trying to hit him, but he has managed to interfere with nearly every major punch Brad has thrown, and is whittling his team away…”

“You said yourself that predictability is bad,” Camilla noted. “So far it seems like he is relying on using Protect and Ally Switch to keep his Pokemon safe…”

“Predictability needs time to be predictable,” Jon answered with a grin. “And honestly, I don’t think Dylan will need much more…”

“Cresselia, Double Team!” Brad commanded, knowing Garchomp would continue to rampage, figuring this would allow him to focus on Cresselia, who seemed to be struggling more.

“Dusknoir, Ally Switch!” Dylan commanded, as Dusknoir and Metagross teleported to switch places. “Metagross, Protect!”

Metagross raised the barrier just in time to block Garchomp’s Outrage attack, as Cresselia split into more copies, now making it difficult to distinguish among them.

“Cresselia, Moonblast against Dusknoir!” Brad called out, however his attention was pulled by the pained cry of Garchomp, who had attacked doggedly into exhausted confusion, struggling to make sense of what it saw. Dylan saw the opportunity, as Cresselia launched its Moonblast attack into Dusknoir, who was showing signs of exhaustion. Dylan knew he had to end this now.

“Metagross, Ice Punch!” Dylan ordered. “Dusknoir, Shadow Punch!”

In sync, the two Pokemon attacked their opponents, Metagross’ claw being encased in ice, and Dusknoir releasing a spectral hand, curled into a fist, which homed in on the real Cresselia. Both Pokemon cried out in pain, before falling unconscious, leaving Dusknoir and Metagross, and by extension Dylan, as the victor…

“Garchomp and Cresselia are unable to battle…” the referee said, in shock at what he had seen. He knew Dylan didn’t have a Legendary Pokemon himself, and had pegged this as the one match the College of the North Wind could win, outside of Camilla’s. “Dylan Squier is the winner!”

Dylan approached Brad, half expecting a fight, given the fighting words exchanged between him and Chris the evening before, however was shocked when Brad approached him keenly, a wide grin across his face.

“Goddamn that was good!” Brad said, struggling not to laugh. “All of the battles, sure, but damn, you made it look too easy…”

“It was a good match,” Dylan said awkwardly, not sure whether Brad was being genuine. His grin widened.

“Look, sorry I’ve been a bit of an a** to you guys,” Brad said casually. “We’ve been here all month, training night and day, all leading up to this, and Miss Blakely told us it should be a cakewalk-”

Brad’s eyes widened, realising he shouldn’t have said anything.

“I won’t tell her,” Dylan said, as Brad smiled again.

“You’re alright,” Brad said. “Anyway, she told us this would be easy, and I got a little carried away. You guys really put us in our place…”

“You made us work for it,” Dylan answered, figuring Brad was being surprisingly gracious, and he owed it to his opponent to do the same. “We’ve also been training heaps, and even then, I know these are some of the hardest battles we have fought…”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Brad said, shaking Dylan’s hand, before turning away. “I’m keen to see what sort of show the old folks put on for us…”

Dylan couldn’t help but grin, as he turned around to make his way back to his team. When he arrived, he was surprised that Chris was the first to speak.

“What did he have to say?” Chris asked, albeit his tone not as enthusiastic as the others.

“He was actually pretty cool,” Dylan said, to everyone’s shock. “Apologised for last night. He was pretty impressed with you guys as well…”

“Goddamn,” Charlotte muttered. “I thought for sure he’d be taking it badly…”

“I mean, I’m not surprised Beth and Matt did,” Abbee noted, as Charlotted groaned in agreement.

At the commentators table, Jon addressed the camera.

“This will be the last time the audience will see us on camera,” Jon explained. “There will be a brief intermission, before Camilla and I take to the battlefield, to finish this challenge off, hopefully with a bang…”

Camilla spoke briefly, thanking those watching for tuning in, before the light above the camera turned off, and the pair left the table. Jon approached his interns for the first time since the battles started, a wide grin across his face.

“I’m speechless,” Jon said with a laugh. “Not even exaggerating. You guys blew away all of my expectations.”

He looked towards Chris making sure Chris was paying attention.

“All of you. You should be proud of what you accomplished here today…”

“You told us to save it for the battlefield…” Charlotte noted. “I don’t think I’d have humiliated Beth as much as I did if it weren’t for last night…”

“I’m more glad that Deoxys behaved, than anything else,” Jon retorted, earning a weak smile from Charlotte. “You had some nerve standing up to Camilla…”

“Half of these high-and-mighty boomers don’t expect someone like me to call them out,” Charlotte answered. “Hill was the same. Makes it pretty easy…”

Justin laughed at Charlotte, as Jon muttered something under his breath, which Charlotte understood to be terrifying, before looking towards Justin.

“I caught on to what you were doing with Regieleki,” Jon said with a grin. “That was ballsy of you, letting Lucario get that close to fainting, and waiting that long for Regieleki to delimit.”

Justin couldn’t help but grin.

“It was my best bet, and you told me I could beat them,” Justin said simply. “So despite myself, I trusted my instincts…”

“It paid off,” Jon remarked. “That Copycat was poetry. I don’t think I’d have thought of doing that. Speaking of poetry…”

Jon looked towards Dylan who couldn’t hide the grin on his face.

“That battle of yours was flawless,” Jon said. “From asking for a double battle, to how perfectly Dusknoir and Metagross battled together…”

“That double battle thing was what you taught us in our first week,” Dylan replied. “Remember?”

“I remembered the moment you asked him,” Jon answered, before grinning again. “And the moment he accepted, I knew you’d win…”

Jon looked over to Abbee who stood next to Dylan, unable to hide the excitement from her face. All of them had beaten the odds, and won, some in spectacular fashions.

“Honestly, I was beginning to worry you were relying on Victini a little too much in battles,” Jon said to Abbee, albeit quietly. “But you proved me wrong. You and Victini make a better team than even Latios and I, and part of that is you trusting him to make the decisions he does, and back him for when they might not work out.”

Abbee beamed.


“Do you really think he’d let me take the lead in a battle against a Shaymin?” Abbee asked. “And you know that Scizor is on his list…”

“I do, and that terrifies me…” Jon said, as Abbee laughed. He looked over to Chris, who stood a little further away from the group. He made his way over to Chris, who struggled to make eye-contact, something Jon was familiar with after the prom.

“I know it probably isn’t worth much from me given the last few weeks, but you did really well,” Jon said. “You took what I was trying to teach you, and made it work for how you battle, and got to the point where your opponent conceded. Not many people can do that…”

Chris remained silent, as Jon continued.

“I’m not going to try and convince you to stay. If you think you’re better off out in the world, then you should go…” Jon said quietly. “But there’s always a place for you at the Academy if you change your mind…”

Jon looked around, noting that Camilla was waiting on the battlefield for him. He stood back from Chris, taking in the whole group.

“Now, I gotta go face a former Champion, who may just undo all your hard work by emasculating me in front of the entire world…” Jon said with a grin. “Wish me luck…”

“Bring it home Jon,” Dylan said, earning a chorus of approval from Justin, Abbee and Charlotte. Jon nodded at him, and Chris watched as he turned to make his way towards Camilla.

“It’s our time to shine Camilla! I can't remember the last time I battled competitively with nothing to lose,” Jon called out, a note of determination in his voice. “One last hurrah! Bring it on!”