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

[[Desolate Divine]]

Season 2 Episode 1: Inductions

Spoiler:

Justin practically jogged from the bus stop to the gates of the Eon Academy. Last year he was the last one to show up, and this year was going to be different. They weren’t supposed to meet for another fifteen minutes, so he was well and truly early. He made his way up the driveway, noticing the two large buildings that had been built which he suspected to be the new lodges, as well as noticed the outdoor battlefield had been replaced with a building, similar size to a Pokemon Gym. Whilst part of Justin wanted to have a quick look over the new buildings, he figured it could wait, making his way towards the monastery.

“Goddamn it…” Justin said as he walked in to see Jon, Dylan, Abbee, Chris and Charlotte already there waiting. He understood Jon and Dylan being there early, maybe Charlotte as well. But Chris and Abbee were there before him as well…

“Hello to you too…” Charlotte said, slightly confused, as Jon laughed, realizing why Justin was so infuriated.

It was then that Justin decided to actually take in the building. Last year when he had been here it was still under renovations, with a large empty space, and one usable classroom at the far end.

The building itself was shaped like a T, now consisted of three classrooms at the end of the building, with one large room making up the vertical section. Two partitions separated the large room into three, with the south most one consisting of a kitchen and dining room, and the other two seeming to act as recreation rooms. The Eon Academy was starting to look less like a military-style boarding school, and more like a summer camp.

“Justin, come take a seat,” Jon said, as he gestured to one of the tables in the dining room they were all sitting around.

Justin greeted the others, though it felt like little time had passed, due to them being in contact via the group chat. They gave him strange looks, though he knew that was due to the questions he had been ignoring about what he did over Christmas and New Year break, and who was there with him. He hadn’t seen any of them since last summer, though knew that Chris and Charlotte had competed against each other, and occasionally Abbee, and Chris had mentioned to Justin that Abbee mentioned Dylan spending Christmas and New Years with her and her brother in Johto.

“It’s great to see you all again, and even better that you’ve all agreed to come here not only as students, but workers as well,” Jon explained. “There’ll be plenty of time to catch up, but while we are all here and focused, I want to go over what’s changed since you were last here.”

“Last year, the only staff member of the Eon Academy was myself, with Steven and Alyssa helping me out when they could off the books,” Jon explained. “The five core classes will remain the same. However, I will only be taking Tactics and Strategy, and Practical Training. Dylan will handle Raising Pokemon, amongst other responsibilities he has here, while Steven and Alyssa will be handling Pokemon Knowledge and Trainer Career respectively. Additionally, all the other campers will be divided up into five groups, with each of the five of you overseeing these groups. Abbee and Dylan’s group will do their classes together, and Charlotte, Chris and Justin’s group will do their classes together.

Justin couldn’t help but notice an awkward grimace on Abbee’s face that disappeared a moment later, which made him wonder if things were alright between her and Dylan.

“As group leaders your role will consist largely of two things. Firstly, making sure that your groups are present and accounted for during classes, meals and other such activities, and if any of the older campers decide to go off site, being aware of where they are. The second responsibility is to be intentional about being aware of their needs, both personal and educational,” Jon explained. “If someone feels sick, or needs help with something, they will go to you. If it’s something important, you’d go to Dylan or myself. And in terms of training, if you notice someone in your group is falling behind, or needs a little extra help, you will do that.”

Justin felt a pit in his stomach. Whilst he felt a lot more self assured as a trainer since the end of last summer, having seven other campers he was responsible for seemed daunting. Jon seemed to notice it before speaking up.

“You might be here and paid as employees, but I am well aware you’re here to learn and enjoy yourself as much as the other campers. So you will ideally find that it isn’t much additional work for the four of you,” Jon explained. “I have intentionally not allowed many campers this year over the age of fourteen, and most of those older will go into Dylan’s group. I’m not expecting you to be disciplining them, or anything like that, but more just to be aware. If you have a camper in your group that is being a pain and not getting up in time for classes, or keeping other campers awake at night, sure, try and deal with it yourself, but if they refuse to listen to you, don’t bend over backwards. Just get me, and I will handle it.”

Chris shuddered a little at the thought of Jon dealing with a stubborn thirteen year old who refuses to allow the other people in his room to sleep.

“In terms of who is in your group, I will hand pick them myself,” Jon explained. “I will attempt to have a mixture of boys and girls in each group, so you might find yourself approached by campers in someone else’s group that you share classes with. For example, Abbee, if a girl from Dylan’s group is keeping her roommates awake at night, they will probably ask you to come in and deal with it, instead of asking Dylan, so be aware, you have minor responsibilities outside of your group.”

Abbee nodded in understanding as Jon continued.

“I will also attempt to make sure all members of your group are at least a year or two younger than you, as I know most teenagers don’t like being under the authority of someone their own age. But ideally, I will try and group them based on which campers I think you will be able to have the best impact on, both personally and in terms of battling,” Jon concluded, before moving onto the next topic. “The Eon Academy has hired kitchen staff to prepare meals. In terms of sleeping arrangements, Abbee and Charlotte, you two will share a room, as will Chris and Justin, and Dylan will have his own room. And in terms of downtime, we have the rec-rooms here, in addition to battling facilities, and also the option to go into town, though if any campers under fifteen want to go into Mossdeep, they need to bring one of you, myself, or Alyssa with them.”

“Wait, if we’re sleeping in the new lodges, meals are prepared for us, and downtime is in here, then what’s happening with the lodge we were in last year?” Abbee asked. “Will the kitchen staff be staying there?”

“The kitchen staff are all local, and will be living in their homes on Mossdeep Island, so the lodge will mostly remain unused,” Jon explained. “I get it is a bit of a step down going from your own private rooms to camp-style cabins, however I want you all to be nearby the other campers in case they need something from you.”

“No, it’s not the sharing rooms, I really don’t mind that,” Abbee said. “I guess some of my fondest memories from this place were in the lodge, and it almost seems sad that it’s gonna probably be locked up this year…”

The others murmured slightly in agreement. They understood why it wasn’t being used, it made little sense to use it the same way they did last year. But it still felt like a loss.

“I understand, and because of that, I will be making a point of running some whole group activities during weekends that you are not obligated to attend,” Jon explained. “I will be keeping an eye on your campers, and if during those couple of hours, you guys wanted to have dinner together, or watch a movie in the old lodge, you are more than welcome.”

Abbee beamed hearing this, as Jon continued.

“The campers are due to arrive tomorrow. So spend the rest of the afternoon getting settled in, and becoming accustomed to the changes around here,” Jon explained. “Your guardians have all already signed off on this summer, and in terms of induction, that is it.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Charlotte asked, as Chris grinned.

“And that is?” Jon asked, though knowing what she was going to say.

“The first thing we did here last year was a few battles to see where we were at. Then halfway through summer, we repeated the same fixture to see where we were at then,” Charlotte explained. “We thought it would happen at the end of last summer, but you said you had seen enough, and would rather wait and see where we were at when we came back. Well we are back…”

“You don’t want to wait until all the other campers arrive tomorrow?” Jon asked with a grin.

“We already waited the last nine months.” Chris said to Jon.

“Besides…” Justin interjected. “I wouldn’t want to embarrass you in front of the other campers…”

The room went silent as Jon’s focus shifted to Justin, and he started laughing.

“Okay mystery man, I’ve been patient about this little surprise you’ve kept from me the last six months…” Jon chuckled. “But if you think that’s going to be enough to beat me, then I might just indulge you guys with this…”

“I didn’t say I’d beat you, but I’m sure as hell not gonna make it easy for you,” Justin retorted as Chris laughed at the entire exchange.

“He was sending us photos during his trip over Christmas, but we don’t even know what exactly he was doing there…” Abbee said to Jon. “So yeah, I’m curious. Let’s battle…”

“I’m game,” Jon retorted. “Let’s head to the stadium.”

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

The students, other than Dylan who had seen it all before, watched in awe as Jon turned on the lights in the stadium. The bare patch of earth with stadium markings was gone, replaced with this state of the art facility, with stands, a battleground, as well as locker-rooms with showers.

“Goddamn, this is nicer than the Mossdeep Gym…” Chris said as he wandered onto the battlefield. “How the hell did you afford this?”

“Chris…” Charlotte muttered, scolding him at how blunt the question was, though couldn’t help but wonder herself. She knew how much it cost, and even with thirty five campers paying in full, it wasn’t enough for this, as well as the two lodges that have been built during the summer.

“No it’s fine,” Jon said. “A lot of league funding and sponsorship. Mossdeep isn’t exactly much of a tourist hotspot, and there isn’t anything like what we offer on the eastern half of Hoenn, so the League are happy to fund it, and try to bring more people to Hoenn. Between them and other businesses who stand to gain from me inviting forty aspiring trainers to spend the summer in Mossdeep, people were willing to fund improvements.”

Jon looked between the group, before grinning.

“I’d ask who is up first…” Jon said, as he made his way to the opposite end of the battlefield. “But based on certain remarks made earlier, I think I know which battle everyone wants to see first…”

Taking the hint Justin made his way to the opposite end of the battlefield, and on Jon’s call, selected his first Pokeball, as Jon selected his.

“Begin!” Chris called out, refereeing the match.

Justin threw forward his first Pokeball, revealing Alakazam, as Jon revealed Jolteon. He raised his eyebrows seeing that Justin’s Kadabra had evolved.

“Shadow Ball!” Jon called out, as Jolteon cried out, letting out a spectral orb from its jaws that flew towards Alakazam. However, something wasn’t right. Whilst Alakazam tried to dodge, it seemed far slower than it did last year. Additionally, whilst it took the hit, it didn’t seem very phased by it.

“Speed Swap!” Justin called out, as time froze for a split second, and suddenly, Jolteon was as slow as Alakazam, whilst Alakazam had sped up to Jolteon’s level. Jon was shocked at what had just happened. It took him a moment to put it all together. Justin had reduced Alakazam’s base speed to both slow down his opponent and speed himself up. Most likely through mood elevating berries, and Galarian mints…

“Who taught you about the mints?” Jon asked, surprised.

“Steven…” Justin said with a grin. “He taught me a lot when I saw him over Christmas…”

Jon remembered Steven not being in Mossdeep last Christmas and realized that they were together. Justin had been busy…

“Calm Mind!” Justin called out, as Alakazam’s eyes glowed, whilst Jon made use of the moment of peace.

“Electric Terrain!”

Jolteon cried out, before electricity discharged indiscriminately around it, giving the battlefield an electric charge.

“Recover!” Justin called out, as Alakazam returned to full strength, and Jon gave his next command.

“Thunder!” Jon called out. Whilst an all out attack wasn’t usually his strategy, Alakazam had the upper hand here. The longer it was out, the less damage that Jolteon would do, and the stronger it would get. Meanwhile, if he switched Pokemon now, he would be giving Alakazam time to act, and locking himself in to using certain Pokemon, just like Cassandra did against him two years earlier in the High Seas Tournament Grand Final.

The attack hit, doing a great deal of damage to Alakazam, however not enough to knock it down.

“Calm Mind again!”

Alakazam’s power and resilience boosted again, whilst Jolteon let off another Thunder attack, this one doing even less damage. Whilst Alakazam was shaky on his feet, he still stood.

“Rest…”

Jon’s eyes widened, having never seen Justin use this strategy. Alakazam had Synchronize as an ability. If it went to sleep, so did it’s opponent.

Jolteon fell asleep, whilst Alakazam got all of its health back, before Justin gave his next command.

“Sleep Talk!”

This play was risky, however Justin had enough of an advantage for it to be worth taking. Sleep Talk would choose a random move, and if it didn’t pay off, then this lead he held could be gone.

Alakazam appeared to use Calm Mind again, whilst Jolteon remained asleep.

“Sleep talk again!”

This time, Jon’s luck had run out. Alakazam used Psychic, launching Jolteon into the air, and causing it to crash against the small wall between the battlefield and the seating. Jolteon remained unconscious.

Jon thought over which Pokemon to send out next. Whilst Blaziken tended to be a staple for his team, Alakazam would not have an issue disposing of it. He grabbed his next Pokeball, sending it onto the field.

“Go Absol!”

Absol looked at the sleeping Psychic type, before flashing Jon a puzzled look.

“Don’t underestimate it! Protect!” Jon called out, as Justin ordered another Sleep Talk. Alakazam used Focus Blast, which Absol protected in time, however Jon swore to himself when Alakazam woke up. He looked over at Justin who was grinning from ear to ear.

“Focus Blast!”

“Protect!”

Whilst Absol attempted to create another Protect barrier, it couldn’t guarantee multiple one after another, and this second one wasn’t strong enough. Alakazam’s attack shattered it, hitting Absol and knocking it unconscious.

Jon called back his Pokemon realizing he may lose, even without seeing what he thought Justin really wanted to show him.

“Latios!” Jon called out, as he threw his third Pokeball. He wanted to save Latios until Justin revealed his trump card, however this was his only opportunity.

“Shadow Claw!” Jon called out. Shadow Claw was more likely to do critical damage than other moves, and this was Jon’s only chance at taking down Alakazam.

Latios took a Psychic attack from Alakazam, however resisted it, before his claw became engulfed in a spectral light. He darted towards Alakazam, slashing at it. Alakazam took the attack, and Jon breathed a sigh of relief when the Pokemon fell.

Justin called back Alakazam, before sending out his next Pokemon, Greninja.

“Recover!” Jon called out, as Latios regained energy, preparing for the next attack. However what happened next, shocked Jon.

“Soak!”

Soak was a water type move that, whilst it didn’t deal damage, drenched the opponent, effectively making them a water type in terms of their weaknesses, and removing any resistances to grass and electric type moves.

“Oh s**t…” Jon thought to himself, as he realized the situation he was in. Greninja was faster, however Justin had let Latios go first, most likely to focus on landing the Soak attack. Between that and the electric terrain he had Jolteon create, Jon knew Justin had something big planned.

Justin called back Greninja, as Jon used the opportunity to have Latios use Calm Mind to try and buy a little time. As Justin grabbed the third Pokeball, he didn’t say a word, just grinning, as he let the Pokemon out.

The Pokeball opened and what Jon could only describe as a four foot tall orb of lightning emerged from it. It had a pattern of dots on its face, which after a moment, Jon knew was reminiscent of the Battle Frontier’s Brandon’s Legendary Titans, as well as long arms and short legs that seemed to be made of electricity themselves. The thing that worried Jon most, was that this Pokemon was faster in battle than any Pokemon he had ever seen. It zipped from one side of the battlefield to another, Latios barely able to keep track of it.

“Thunder Cage!” Justin called out.

The strange Pokemon darted forward, leaping into the air above Latios, and before Latios could get out of range, sent out a dozen bolts of lightning, surrounding Latios, and knocking it unconscious. Even if Latios had have remained conscious, Jon suspected it would have been unable to move, and continued to take damage.

“Justin wins the battle…” Chris said, though sounding like he didn’t believe it.

Jon shook off his own shock, before approaching Justin and the strange Pokemon, and shaking Justin’s hand.

“That was incredible…” Jon said, “Even without this Pokemon, Alakazam would have wasted my entire team if Latios didn’t get lucky with that critical hit…”

“I had to learn that trick to catch Regieleki here…” Justin said with a grin.

Jon’s suspicions were confirmed. This Electric Type Pokemon was an undiscovered Legendary Titan.

“So this was your challenge…” Jon said with a grin. “You will have to tell us the whole story later.”

Chris and Charlotte made their way to the battlefield next, both selecting a Pokemon, before letting them onto the battlefield. Jon however was hardly surprised when Luxray and Charizard were the first Pokemon sent out.

“Begin!”

“Earthquake!” Chris called out, as Charlotte responded, seeming to be expecting this.

“Magnet Rise” Charlotte called out, as Luxray let out a pulse of electricity, causing it to be lighter on its feet, and unaffected by the earthquake.

“Flamethrower!”

Charizard roared, opening its jaws and unleashing an unyielding torrent of flame on Luxray, who cried out in pain, however was quick to respond to it.

“Eerie Impulse!”

Luxray let out an electric shock, that whilst it didn’t seem to harm Charizard, left it slightly disoriented and dazed. Charizard attempted to respond with another Flamethrower, this one also hitting, however seeming far less intense than the one it let out prior.

“Agility!”

Luxray darted from one side of the battlefield to another, out speeding Charizard, before Charlotte gave another command.

“Now Thunder!”

Luxray roared, before generating a large bolt of lightning. Whilst this more powerful move was less accurate and easier to avoid, Charizard seemed to be unable to keep up with Luxray and stood less chance of dodging it, which came to pass. Charizard took the hit, before being knocked unconscious, which Chris quickly responded to by calling the Pokemon back and sending out his next. Garchomp.

“Scary Face!” Charlotte called out, knowing that Luxray wouldn’t be able to take both Flamethrowers and whatever Garcomp would hit it with. At least she could weaken it slightly.

“Dragon Rush!”

Garchomp became encased in a draconic aura, before darting towards Luxray, slashing at it with it’s bladed arm, and knocking Luxray unconscious. Charlotte called it back before sending out her next Pokemon, Roserade.

Thankfully, Luxray’s Scary Face had taken effect, and Grachomp was slowed, allowing Roserade to act first.

“Grassy Terrain!”

Roserade launched hundreds of miniscule seeds from its rose-shaped appendages, which upon making contact with the earth beneath them, bloomed into lush grass, strengthening the Grass Type Pokemon.

“Earthquake!”

Garchomp roared before striking the ground, as it started to shake, and whilst the attack was enough to definitely wear out Roserade, the Grassy Terrain supported it enough to remain standing.

“Petal Dance!” Charlotte called out. Roserade began to glow with a green aura, as hundreds of razor sharp petals discharged from its appendages and the grassy field around it, launching into Garchomp, and knocking it out.

Jon watched, slightly confused at what was going on. This battle was different to the way they battled a year ago. Charlotte was still using some more complicated tactics, however was focusing less on them and more on just dealing as much damage as she could, even using risky moves like Petal Dance that will cause her Pokemon to be confused after a few uses. Chris hadn’t even attempted anything that wasn’t an all out attack at this point in time.

Chris sent in his last Pokemon, and Jon was slightly surprised to see Dragonite enter the battlefield, remembering Chris’ Dragonair from last year. Roserade used Petal Dance again, as it now had to until it confused itself from sheer fatigue, which Dragonite took, resisting near completely, before using Dual Wingbeat, knocking Roserade out.

Charlotte sent out her final Pokemon. Milotic.

“Double Edge!” Chris called out.

“Ice-Beam!” Charlotte replied.

Dragonite descended towards Milotic at high speed, as Milotic struck Dragonite with an Ice-Beam. Dragonite crashed through the attack, near frozen, hitting Milotic with a reckless attack, causing it to take recoil damage, and both Pokemon lay unconscious. Both trainers called their Pokemon back, as Jon declared the match a draw, and the three spectators watched in disbelief at the match they had just seen. It made no sense. Whilst both trainer’s Pokemon had definitely gotten stronger, it seemed almost like they had taken steps backward since last year, focusing on dealing damage and having the type advantage and not much else. Abbee half expected Jon to not be happy about this backwards progress, however he seemed to understand something they didn’t.

“I know the first time you two battled against each other after leaving here, it was a tie…” Jon said. “Has it been like this every time?”

Chris nodded.

“Every time we have battled, it has come down to a tie…” Chris explained. “I know what you’re thinking. We were too focused on just dealing damage and not thinking outside the box.”

“We were both doing that the first few tournaments, but neither of us could get the upper hand. So we’d end up doing what we could, within reason to hit that little bit harder than the other…” Charlotte said. “Not to the point of doing what we did last year, but no matter what we did, neither of us could get the win…”

Jon nodded.

“I understand. I just wanted to make sure you haven’t forgotten everything I taught you…”

“No, definitely not,” Chris explained. “Charlotte and I made it to the finals every time because we were focusing on more advanced tactics like you taught us. They work well against everyone else except each other…”

“Maybe this summer then, you two shouldn’t battle…” Jon explained. “You know each other too well, and whilst your Pokemon are stronger than ever, you’re showing less skill as trainers.”

Charlotte nodded.

“Hopefully after three months of battling other people, and being able to come up with some new ideas, you two can have a more varied outcome during the next year…” Jon said.

“I hope…” Chris replied, “Do you have any idea how frustrating it gets knowing no matter what you do, you will only be able to get a tie at best? The fans love it, but honestly, it is painful…”

Chris and Charlotte made their way back to the stands, as Abbee and Dylan silently walked out to the battlefield, Victini sitting on Abbee’s shoulder. Before long, in front of them were Ariados and Flygon, ready for the battle to take place.

Dylan quickly thought through his next few moves. Whilst he had no objection to being the weakest battler there, knowing his passion and skill was elsewhere, he didn’t want the others there to think after a year living with Jon that he was in the same place he was when they last saw him.

Ariados was a trap-setter for Abbee, and whilst the traps wouldn’t affect Flygon, she could still cause problems for his other Pokemon. However the obvious move would be to hit it with something hard-hitting quickly, as Flygon had the advantage of speed. Except Abbee may be expecting that.

“Protect!” Abbee called out, confirming his suspicions.

“Dragon Dance!”

Flygon’s attack power and speed increased, and whilst Abbee attempted to have Ariados use Spikes before the barrier protecting Ariados disappeared, Flygon was now too quick, over twice as fast as the large bug type.

“Stone Edge!”

Flygon’s tail hardened into a sharpened stone point, before it launched towards Ariados, somersaulting in the air and slamming its tail on it. Ariados was launched back, unable to battle, whilst Abbee called it back. Whilst she knew that luck was against her, she had a Pokemon with a major type disadvantage, against a Pokemon that wouldn’t struggle to make the first hit, she was impressed that Dylan was able to turn that to his advantage, using every opportunity he had. Something he hadn’t been able to do a year ago.

Abbee sent out her next Pokemon, Poliwrath. Flygon darted forward, landing another hit on Poliwrath who was knocked back, but retained its footing.

“Mind Reader!”

Poliwrath’s eyes glowed for a moment as it locked onto its target. Whilst Flygon was fast, and landed a second hit on Poliwrath during this process, it did not interrupt it, and after a moment, Poliwrath was focused on Flygon, and would not miss it’s next strike.

Dylan knew that there was nothing he could do to prevent Flygon from taking this hit. Whilst Protect would buy him another move, Abbee could use the same tactic again, and she was the sort to switch things up if he relied too much on drawn out battle.

“Breaking Swipe!”

Flygon’s claw became engulfed in a draconic aura, before it lunged at Poliwrath, slashing at the Pokemon, dealing damage and reducing its attack power. However this was the last hit Flygon would land.

“Ice Punch!” Abbee called out, as Poliwrath lunged forward, the air around its fist freezing, and striking Flygon with precision accuracy. Whilst the attack was weakened by Breaking Swipe, it still had a double advantage over Flygon, knocking it down and out.

Dylan called back his Pokemon, before sending out Dusknoir.

“Wait, wasn’t that a Duskull last summer?” Chris asked Charlotte.

“Obviously he has been busy…” Charlotte replied, impressed herself at Dylan’s progress. Whilst she was certain Abbee would win this round, due to her sheer experience, and having a Legendary Pokemon herself, Dylan was not going to make it easy for her…

“Liquidation!”

Poliwrath became engulfed in a harsh jet of water, slamming full-force into Dusknoir, who seemed mostly unphased by the attack.

“Curse…”

Dusknoir cried out in pain, as it seemed to lose its own strength, however Poliwrath seized up, and began convulsing, as a curse was placed on it.

“Is that even allowed?” Justin asked, slightly disturbed at Poliwrath’s convulsions.

“It will stop when Poliwrath is knocked out…” Jon explained. Poliwrath stood back up, gaining its composure, and striking Dusknoir again, who responded with a Night Shade attack, however after taking the hit, Poliwrath began convulsing again, this time falling unconscious.

Abbee called back Poliwrath, and considered sending in Typhlosion, or Ampharos.

”Send me in…” Victini said to Abbee telepathically.

”What if it uses Curse again?” Abbee asked. “That looked painful.”

”Dosknoir used its own energy to power that curse. That pile of rags can’t do it again…”

Abbee nodded, as Victini jumped down, and rushed onto the battlefield, facing Dusknoir.

“Destiny Bond,” Dylan began to command. Victini heard before Abbee responded, knowing that if that attack landed, it was game over.

”Nice try…” Victini said telepathically so everyone could hear, causing Jon to laugh out loud, before being engulfed in a V-Shaped flame, and rocketing itself straight into Dusknoir, knocking it to the ground like a ragdoll. Whilst V-Create had its determinents, reducing Victini’s speed and resilience, it was the move most natural to the Pokemon, and the one it could let off most reliably in a pinch. In this case it paid off, knocking out Dusknoir before it could try and follow Dylan’s instruction. However now it was going to be weaker against whatever Dylan sent out next.

Abbee was slightly surprised when Dylan sent out Metagross and not Walrein. Granted they both were disadvantaged against Victini, Metagross was more so. Whilst her first reaction was to remember the first battle they had, where Dylan panicked upon falling behind and made bad decisions, Dylan seemed too calm for this.

”He has had Jon there to teach him since last summer…” Victini explained. “Whatever he has planned, it will be something tricky…

Abbee nodded, agreeing with Victini.

”He wants to confuse us, so let’s confuse him,” Abbee replied with her thoughts. “If he attacks, use Protect, and if he doesn’t, hit him with Incinerate. I will give a fake order…

“Use Double Edge!” Abbee called out.

“Cosmic Power!”

Instead of darting towards Metagross, Victini darted to the side, before unleashing Incinerate on Metagross, which was weakened by Metagross’ defence increasing.

“Now Flame Charge!”

Victini darted forward, encasing itself in flame, though nowhere near as intensely as V-Create, hitting Metagross.

“Cosmic Power!” Dylan called out again.

”What’s he doing?” Abbee wondered, knowing Victini was likely listening, ”He hasn’t used something like curse that is wearing you down…”

“V-Create!” Abbee called out, knowing that if Metagross kept boosting its defence, Victini wouldn’t be able to take it down.

“Abbee, I can’t!” Victini replied before launching another Flame Charge instead, which Dylan had Metagross use Protect against instead.

”Why?” Abbee asked, shocked at Victini’s unwillingness.

”One more V-Create, and I will be slower than Metagross, and liable to go down in a single hit…” Victini explained.

“Another Flame Charge!” Abbee called out, though slightly panicked, trying to juggle creating tactics with Victini whilst monitoring the battle.

“Something’s wrong.” Charlotte said to Chris and Justin, “He’s got her rattled…”

“Meanwhile, he’s calm as can be…” Chris said, gesturing towards Dylan.

“A lot’s changed…” Jon said quietly, watching the battle intensely.

Metagross took the Flame Charge attack, before using Cosmic Power a third time.

“Searing Shot!” Abbee called out. Victini had two signature moves. Searing Shot, which was a powerful-ranged Fire Type attack, and V-Create, one roughly 50% more powerful, but physical with downfalls to Victini if used. Neither of them could be used too many times in a single battle.

“Protect!” Dylan called out, as a Protect Barrier emerged in front of Metagross, taking the attack.

“Searing Shot again!”

Victini launched another powerful fire blast at Metagross, who took this one, knocking it back, and starting to show signs of weariness.

“Cosmic Power!”

Metagross’ defence increased again, as Abbee called out again in a panic.

“Searing Shot!”

Abbee knew she had to end this battle of attrition, and could see Victini’s exhaustion from the continuous ranged attacks. The third Searing Shot hit, and Metagross was launched back, and half collapsed.

“Cosmic Power…”

“End this Victini!” Abbee called out, “V-Create!”

“Protect!” Dylan called out, as V-Create was blocked, and Victini emerged from the attack more worn out.

“Rest…” Dylan said, as Metagross seemed to go to sleep, restoring its energy.

”I can’t do another Searing Shot, and even a Flamethrower might be too much for me…” Victini explained. “I think I can handle one more V-Create…”

Abbee was still, trying to process this, knowing she didn’t have long before Metagross awoke.

“Hit it with an Incinerate!” Abbee called out, as Victini lobbed a small fireball at Metagross, who remained asleep.

“Again!”

Metagross began to stir as the second one hit.

“One more time!”

The third Incinerate hit, and Metagross’ eyes began to open. Abbee knew if she couldn’t end this now, the battle was over.

“Now V-Create!”

Victini became engulfed in the crown of flames, before launching itself into Metagross.

”Just go down!” Victini projected telepathically to everyone, as the attack hit.

”No…” replied a low rumble of a voice, that everyone heard in their mind, though only Dylan didn’t seem shocked.

“Did Metagross just speak?” Charlotte asked.

“It’s a Psychic Type, so it’s not uncommon…” Jon explained, “But Pokemon do tend to take after their trainers.”

“Earthquake!” Dylan called out, as Metagross launched itself into the air, slamming all four of its large claws into the ground, causing it to erupt all over the battlefield, and Victini to be knocked unconscious.

“Victini is unable to battle!” Jon called out. “Dylan is the winner!”

Dylan and Abbee both approached Jon, who thought over what he saw.

“Truth be told, I thought the battle would go the other way…” Jon explained. “Abbee, I’m guessing that was the most stressful battle you have ever had?”

“Yeah…” Abbee admitted. “I was shaken up by the Curse attack, and too on edge. I was too focused on figuring out what Dylan was doing.”

Jon nodded, before turning to Dylan.

“Dylan, that was great battling. Using moves like Curse and Destiny Bond are a great way to get into your opponent’s head and cause them to trip up,” Jon said, as Abbee grimaced a little.

“However, don’t think that luck didn’t play a great role in this win,” Jon explained. “Had Victini used a less extreme move to dispatch Dusknoir, Abbee would have won this round, no doubt. That’s not to say you didn’t do well, or that you shouldn’t use this strategy, but make sure you have something else in case you battle someone whose focus you can’t break.”

Jon turned back to Abbee.

“It was a lot of luck that determined this battle,” Jon explained. “The fact Victini used V-Create put him at a disadvantage, and if he had have used Flamethrower instead, Victini probably would have been fast enough that Metagross couldn’t have rested to restore its health, and Victini would have been able to take more than one Earthquake. I’d recommend spending some time getting Victini equally comfortable with something a little less extreme, like Searing Shot, or even Flamethrower so if he has to act on instinct like he just did, he isn’t causing himself problems down the track.”

Abbee nodded, though still seemed solemn.

“Don’t think this means you didn’t battle well,” Jon explained. “You and Victini worked well together once you realized what Dylan was doing, and really, would have taken the match if you didn’t start with a slight disadvantage…”

Abbee sighed, before looking at Jon.

“Thanks,” Abbee replied. “I won’t make it that easy for him to shake me again…”

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

After the battles were over, Jon showed the four interns to their respective quarters, and allowed them some time to rest before dinner. However when they arrived at Jon and Alyssa’s cottage like they had been instructed, they instead found both Jon and Dylan’s cars loaded with food and firewood, though Jon refused to tell them where dinner would be. Charlotte and Abbee rode with Jon, Alyssa and Amelia, whilst Chris and Justin climbed into Dylan’s car, which Alyssa had explained Dylan had saved for himself over the last nine months.

As they drove, Chris and Justin pestered Dylan about where they were going, to which he remained, as per usual, silent, until they arrived at Mossdeep Beach. They parked the cars in the carpark, before bringing the firewood and dinner they had brought with them down to the beach.

“Is this even legal?” Chris asked, as he put down the firewood he had been carrying.

“Technically no, but I’m on good terms with the police in Mossdeep and got an exemption,” Jon explained. “And I’d like to stay on good terms with them, so try and not get arrested again…”

Charlotte laughed, as Chris grinned, whilst Justin just looked embarrassed.

As they sat on the beach around the large campfire, they shared what they had been up to since last summer. Jon explained in detail the different improvements he had made to the site, and what he was thinking of doing differently that year. Abbee didn’t have much to say, mentioning Dylan visited her and Tyler during New Years, and Dylan talked very briefly about the work he had been doing at the Eon Academy during their short term camps that they ran for schools in Hoenn to visit. Chris and Charlotte talked a lot about the tournaments they entered, and how they had tied for first every time, much to their annoyance. However the one that everyone really wanted to hear, was the story that Justin had to share.

“Come on, you’ve kept it hidden long enough,” Jon said to Justin.

“Yeah, spill it,” Chris added on.

Justin grinned a little.

“So last year, I was talking to Jon about wanting to challenge myself before I came back here. I already had an idea, but kept it to myself because I wanted to do this as much on my own as I could…” Justin explained. “I wanted to capture a Legendary Pokemon.”

“Starting small I see…” Chris retorted.

“That’s the thing, I wasn’t sure if this was too big or not. So I spent months researching it,” Justin explained. “When I’d battle Jon, I didn’t have options. I rely a lot on Ninjask, but if I don’t send it out first, Jon’s Blaziken will be faster by the time I do, and beat it. So the only way to not have it taken down with one hit is to send it out first, which is predictable. I wanted something that was even faster than Ninjask.”

“I mean, you were beating my a** before you brought that Pokemon out anyway…” Jon replied.

“Yeah, but I didn’t think of that trick before this,” Justin explained. “I figured if I wanted a fast Pokemon, my best bet was going to be an Electric or Flying type, but there were no known Legendary Pokemon that were faster, so I decided to change my approach, and look into something a bit tankier, that can take a few hits. I started looking into Registeel.”

Jon nodded in understanding, curious to see how all this worked out to Justin's victory that afternoon.

“From there, I met a PhD student at Jubilife University called Lauren Mendez, who had a theory that in addition to Regirock, Regice and Registeel, there may be other Legendary Titans, and believed they were in this desolate area in the south of the Galar Region, called the Crown Tundra,” Justin explained. “Her and her brother Andrew went there in November and spent weeks exploring the place, and found four sets of ruins. The first three contained Regirock, Regice, and Registeel, and the fourth they believed contained two Legendary Titans that were undiscovered.”

Justin noticed how enthralled by the story the others there were, and couldn’t help but grin.

“Lauren was willing to let me try and capture one of the Pokemon in those ruins, especially since I mentioned being at the Eon Academy the summer before, but there was a problem,” Justin continued. “The temple was locked and would only unlock if Regirock, Regice, and Registeel were presented at its door, and our hunch was that they had to be the ones captured from the other three temples.”

“So Lauren put together a team. Andrew would catch Regirock, Lauren’s friend Candice, who is the Gym Leader at Snowpoint City, would catch Regice, and as for Registeel…”

Before Chris could make a remark about Candice, Jon’s eyes widened and he interrupted.

“Are you telling me, Steven has had Registeel in his possession for the last six months?!” Jon asked, seeming even more shocked than when he saw Regieleki earlier…

“Yeah?” Justin replied, slightly surprised. “I asked him not to tell you he was meeting up with me, or that I caught Regieleki, but I didn’t expect him to keep Registeel a secret from you…”

“Oh he has…” Jon retorted. “He always seemed so smug when I’d beat him during our training, as if he knew something I didn’t…”

Chris burst out into laughter hearing this, as Charlotte contained a chuckle.

“So we all met up in the Crown Tundra, and spent a week and a half hiking through there. Steven caught Registeel, then Andrew caught Regirock and Candice caught Regice,” Justin explained.

“What were the battles like?” Charlotte asked, wanting details.

“Incredible.” Justin said, “I didn’t think I’d stand a chance at beating Regieleki seeing how the three of them won their battles.”

Justin tried to recall the specifics of the battles, knowing his classmates would appreciate them.

“Steven had his Aggron use Earth Power, but with extreme precision to pull the earth out from underneath the battlefield, leaving a cushion of air between the floor they were on and the earth beneath them, connected only on the surface,” Justin explained. “Then when Aggron used Earthquake, it broke that connection, causing the entire battlefield to drop, and knock Registeel over, but also to contain the Earthquake attack. Stop it from affecting outside of the battlefield, and concentrate the damage to the battle area itself.”

“That sounds like Steven…” Jon muttered, still seeming peeved that Steven kept this secret for over six months.

“Andrew had his Golem tear the ground up and make it dusty, before his Rhyperior used an attack on the ground and launched the dust into the air, blocking everyone’s vision. He then had his Machamp use a Thief attack to put the Float Stone his Steelix usually held onto Regirock, before having his Steelix Heavy Slam Regirock,” Justin explained. “Then Candice had her Sneasel attract Regice’s Ice Beam attacks. She’d have Sneasel wait in certain places so Regice would attack them, and leave giant mounds of this extremely clear and pure ice all over the place. It was genius really…”

“How’s that genius?” Abbee asked, more so curious than doubtful.

“Because she turned the entire battlefield into a hall of mirrors, as well as set five or so mounds of ice up one after another to be a series of magnifying lenses,” Justin explained. “Her Abomasnow used Solar Beam through them, which was concentrated massively by the lenses, and knocked Regice into the mound of ice behind it. The mound it crashed into was half melted by the Solar Beam, but Regice cools the air around it to well below freezing point, so before Regice could even get back up, it was frozen into the mound, and unable to defend itself from the real attacks…”

“Goddamn, that is smart…” Charlotte replied.

“And how did you capture Regieleki?” Jon asked.

“Similar to what I did against you,” Justin explained. “We had brought a bunch of mood enhancing berries, the ones that reduce stats, in case the Pokemon started struggling with the cold. That and Steven taught me about the Galarian Mints a few days earlier. I fed Alakazam enough berries to slow it down significantly, and gave it a mint that would decrease its speed and increase its resilience towards special attacks. Then during the battle, I opened with Ninjask so I could buy some time to see what I was up against, and build up speed, before Baton Passing to Alakazam, who used Speed Swap before Regieleki could attack.”

“Wouldn’t that make Regieleki faster?” Chris asked.

“No, Power Swap will swap the enhancements made to Pokemon’s attack power,” Jon explained. “But Speed Swap will swap their natural speed capabilities…”

“Then, I had Alakazam use Rest, which put Regieleki to sleep, and then used a Full Heal to wake up Alakazam and Baton Pass to Geninja to use Soak before Regieleki woke up,” Justin explained. “I Baton Passed again to Lucario, who used Role Play, because I realized that Regieleki’s attack power for special moves on its own wasn’t too impressive, but it had some sort of ability to power up electric attacks to stupid heights. So Lucario copied that, then stalled until Regieleki used Zap Cannon. Then Lucario used Copy-Cat, and blasted Regieleki across the room. That’s when I caught it…”

“Well, I think I speak for all of us when I say I’m impressed…” Jon replied. “Earning a Legendary Pokemon’s trust without battling is hard, and earning it with a battle is even harder. When the Pokemon is undiscovered and you can’t do much to prepare, that is quite the accomplishment. You should be proud…”

“Thanks!” Justin replied, glad he could finally tell the story.

“So how strong is Regieleki?” Abbee asked.

“Between us, there is no Pokemon discovered faster in battle than Regieleki. And it has an ability that increases its attack power by roughly fifty percent when it uses electric type attacks,” Justin explained. “And according to Lauren’s research, it is continuously generating and can continuously output enough electricity to power the Galar Region…”

“S**t…” Chris muttered, before he had a thought.

“Wait, you said there were two Pokemon that temple where you caught it…” Chris said. “What happened to the other one?”

“These Pokemon were inanimate until we activated them. Statues basically,” Justin explained. “The other one was called Regidrago, and at a guess was a Dragon Type. Stood at about seven feet tall. But we could only activate one there, so Regidrago will remain inanimate. The only way to catch one and research it would be to find another temple somewhere in the world…”

Chris was in awe imagining it. Whilst he didn’t know what its attributes would be like, if it had the equivalent ability, one that increased its attack power for Dragon Type moves, that would be game changing.

The sun was starting to set, and Jon checked his watch.

“You ready to head back?” Jon asked Alyssa.

“Some point soon, if you are,” Alyssa replied, as Jon nodded.

“It’s getting a bit late for us thirty-somethings to be hanging out with you young people,” Jon said jokingly. “So we’ll head back. Dylan will drive all of you back. Feel free to stay out late. Just be safe and remember everyone else arrives tomorrow at eleven, so get a reasonable amount of sleep.”

Jon and Alyssa said goodnight, before returning to Jon’s car as the five teenagers sat around the fire.

“Okay, now that Jon’s gone…” Chris began, turning to Justin. “What’s the deal with you and Candice?”

“You couldn’t even wait until they had backed out of the parking space?” Charlotte asked, as Jon’s car started to reverse.

“I’ve been waiting the last six months…” Chris explained. “Spill. You don’t get to send a message like that and leave us in the dark.”

“Nothing really noteworthy,” Justin said, thinking over his words to not give them anything else to interrogate him about. “Her and I spoke a bit in the lead-up to the trip and became good friends. She caught the train from Wedgehurst into the Crown Tundra with Steven and myself, then on the first night, we stayed up late talking. She remembered that the weather was clear that day, so we went outside to check out the stars without all the light pollution and talked a bit more. Then she decided to get some sleep, since she was battling Regice the next day, and before she left, kissed me on the cheek.”

“That’s all that happened?” Charlotte asked.

“That’s probably a good thing. Isn’t she like, in her twenties or something?” Abbee replied.

“That’s pretty much everything that happened. And she just turned twenty-one. Alyssa is that much older than Jon...” Justin explained, wishing Abbee hadn’t mentioned her age. “She invited me to come visit Snowpoint over Christmas, and said she will come visit Mossdeep during the summer and check out what we’re doing here…”

“So you do like her then…” Chris said with a grin, before he started laughing.

Justin definitely felt strongly about Candice, especially having only been able to talk via phone call at best, however knew that their ages, not necessarily the difference, but him still being a minor and her being in her early twenties, would cause people to think differently about it. More so negatively about her. And he was certain she thought the same, and that was why she invited him to come a year later, when they were both adults.

“Yeah…” Justin said quietly. “I mean, so what, you know?”

Abbee’s eyebrows raised at what Justin was saying.

“This whole thing of being secretive about being having feelings for someone is so f**king juvenile… Like, do people really think they will end up with someone if they keep how they feel a secret and that one day it will happen? It’s so f**king stupid…” Justin muttered. “Yeah, I like her, and I think she likes me as well. Nothing happened over Christmas, and it’s not like we got together while I’m still a minor or anything, so what’s the big deal?”

“You’ve grown a lot…” Abbee said quietly, almost surprised this same boy was the one who kept stealing her phone, and caused her to miss the last chance she had to speak with her dad…

“And you’re making it abundantly clear who the most immature person in the group is…” Charlotte said as she shoved Chris, who rolled over.

“He knows I’m only messing with him.” Chris said, as he sat back. “Good on him. Better than any of us did over the last nine months, right?”

There was an awkward silence as Charlotte groaned.

"Charlotte, you mind walking to the bathrooms with me?" Abbee asked, gesturing to the toilet block down the beach. "Kinda don't wanna go by myself at night..."

"Yeah of course," Charlotte said, as she stood, dusting the sand from her clothes, before glaring at Chris.

"Behave yourself…"

Chris rolled his eyes, before digging into the bag containing snacks that Jon had left them.

Charlotte and Abbee walked down the moonlit beach in relative silence, the quietness covered by the sound of the waves.

"Okay, what's going on with you?" Charlotte asked when she was sure the guys weren't listening. "You've been awkward whenever Dylan is around. A year ago you wouldn't stop pestering him, and now I haven't seen you even bring yourself to look at him…"

Abbee sighed as Charlotte pointed this out.

"Did he do something when he visited over Christmas?" Charlotte asked, starting to sound worried.

"God, no," Abbee replied. "I did something stupid, not him."

"So what did you do?" Charlotte asked, slightly surprised.

"I kissed him, or at least tried to…"

Charlotte's jaw dropped as Abbee explained.

"I shouldn't have invited him to stay," Abbee continued. "It was my first New Years Eve without both Mum and Dad, and I thought I would be in a better headspace than I was…"

As they walked Abbee continued.

"New Year's Eve, Tyler had some friends over, and everyone was enjoying themselves, but I went downhill," Abbee explained. "I went into another room and Dylan kept me company. Offered a shoulder to cry on. He was great, really…"

"And in that moment, I guess I realized how great he was, and how much I actually cared about him and…"

Charlotte sighed hearing this, though more out of pity. She had tried to keep in touch with Abbee as much as she could, imagining how hard it would have been for her going home again.

"How did he react?" Charlotte asked.

"He pulled away…" Abbee said. "He said now wasn't the time, and to make sure that is what I really want, and not a fleeting moment of high emotion…"

They reached the public bathrooms before stopping.

"Is that what you want?" Charlotte asked.

"I… I don't know…" Abbee replied. "I thought I did then, even before that. But now he has brought it up, I don't know if he is right or not…"

"When Dad died, both you and him were amazing friends to me. And now he has said what he said, I'm not sure if I actually feel that way, or think I do because he was being so nice to me…" Abbee explained quietly. "He went home the next day, and we have barely spoken since. You know he is rarely the first to speak, and I've just been too embarrassed and confused since to reach out…"

Charlotte looked up at the moon, wondering how things got so confusing on Day Zero. Or in this case, Day Negative One since campers hadn't even arrived yet.

"If you don't talk to him soon, things are just going to get harder. Now you are stuck with each other, he will think you're angry with him or something if a week goes by and you're still avoiding him…"

"I know…" Abbee groaned. "I just haven't got a clue what to say. Whether I meant what I did that night, or whether I was just emotional and he was just there and supportive…"

"Then don't say either. You don't owe him an explanation…" Charlotte said. "You're lucky it was Dylan and not someone else, because if anyone isn't going to expect an explanation, it's him."

"I don't know…"

"Hey Dylan, look, I'm really sorry about the awkward position I put you in. I really do want to forget about it and move past it if you're okay with that?" Charlotte said, rolling her eyes slightly. "It's only awkward if you let it be. And the more you let it be, the more awkward it will become."

Abbee groaned as Charlotte continued.

"I didn't think I'd be relying on his words of wisdom, but Justin hit the nail on the head. Who gives a s**t if you like him and he knows it? Congratulations, you're human. If you want something to happen with him, he has to know eventually anyway. Ripping the band-aid off and just talking to him can't be any more awkward than kissing him while you're a teary mess and him pulling away anyway…"

Abbee sighed.

"You're right. I will talk to him tomorrow…"

"And I will make sure you do…"

In the distance, Abbee could see the light flicker of the fire down the beach, where Dylan, Chris and Justin still sat.

"So what has life been like here this last year?" Chris asked Dylan, as he offered him some potato chips, which Dylan politely declined.

"Pretty good," Dylan admitted. "The work has been great. So was getting my license and my own car."

"Now you can drive us into the city instead of us waiting for the bus," Justin laughed, before his tone shifted a little. "Has that guy been giving you problems anymore?"

"Bill?" Dylan asked. "Once. I ran into him in town, and he got aggressive. I told him to leave, since he technically isn't allowed to make contact with me, and he refused to get out of my way. So I dropped his a**..."

Chris began to cheer, as Dylan grinned slightly.

"I just put him on the ground and walked away. Enough for me to leave without him being a pain, but not too much for there to be legal issues, or my intervention order to be in jeopardy," Dylan explained. "It sucks that it has to be this way, but he won't change…"

It wasn't too much longer before Charlotte and Abbee returned, and the group found themselves sitting around the fire again.

"I still can't believe the look on Jon's face when you beat him…" Charlotte said to Justin.

"Savour it because I doubt it will happen again," Justin laughed. "I caught him by surprise with Alakazam being slowed down so much, and by the time Regieleki came out, I already had the advantage. I think I'm gonna need something a bit better than that to beat him again."

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Dylan explained. "I've seen Jon battle nearly every week, and he is a great battler, a cut above most really. But that's because he focuses more on tactics and creativity than the majority of other trainers who just want to hit harder than the other person, and that gives him a massive edge. He is only human and if he is against someone who knows how he thinks, and has an equally eccentric way of battling, beating him isn't that unlikely. He is only human…"

"Sometimes it's easy to forget that," Justin laughed. "I showed Candice the footage of him battling Steven from last summer, and she called him a demon."

Chris burst into laughter, falling backwards into the sand, before noticing something.

"What's that?" Chris asked, pointing directly up into the sky.

The rest of the group looked up, and noticed a small light, shooting across the sky, and descending, slowly growing larger…

Dylan was the first to react, calling out Metagross.

"Justin, get your Alakazam out and have it use Calm Mind as much as it can… Get Regieleki out too..." Dylan said, concern apparent in his voice. "Now…"

"What's going on?" Abbee asked, slightly surprised to hear Dylan sound so rattled, whilst Justin followed Dylan's instructions.

"That's a meteorite…" Dylan said. "And whilst I can't guarantee it will hit from this distance, I can’t guarantee it won’t either…"

"Wait, what?" Chris said, scrambling to his feet. "Are you sure?"

"What else would it be…" Dylan replied, as Charlotte spoke.

"What do you want us to do?" Charlotte asked.

"Any Pokemon that know Protect…" Dylan explained, trying to remain calm to not worry the others., "I don't know how big this thing will be, and it doesn't seem to be changing course. We will try and break it into smaller pieces, but one of those hitting someone will still be enough to kill them. So cover us…"

"Ready when you are." Justin said. Dylan nodded.

"Metagross, use Psych Up on Alakazam," Dylan said, before turning to Justin. "Now have Alakazam use Power Swap on Regieleki."

Justin nodded, forwarding the command. In the distance they could hear other people starting to notice the light in the sky, pointing it out to those nearby.

"Does Regieleki have any moves that guarantee a hit?" Dylan asked. "We still have some time before it strikes, but if we wait until it is close enough to aim at properly, it will be too late…"

"Yeah, it knows Lock-On."

"Do you really think you two can take this thing out?" Chris asked, letting out some of his own Pokemon.

"Well we try, and we either succeed, or we fail and the city gets wiped out, or we don't try and the city gets wiped out…" Charlotte said as she let out some of her Pokemon. "I know which chances I'm taking."

"Point taken."

Dylan watched as the light in the sky grew, juggling the risk and reward in giving it more time. Alarms started to sound out from the Space Station, however they were too late noticing it.

"Let's do it," Dylan said. "Once Regieleki uses Lock-On, Metagross will link to it telepathically and follow Regieleki's aim."

"Regieleki, you heard him…" Justin said. "Lock On."

"It's still pretty far away isn't it?" Abbee asked.

"It is, but the higher up it is when we hit it, the less likely fragments will hit the island," Dylan replied. "If we can hit it from this distance, hopefully they will all spread and land in the ocean…"

Dylan looked over to Justin.

"How accurate is Regieleki after a Lock-On?" Dylan asked.

"I've never seen it miss."

"Then now is our best bet," Dylan said, before calling out to Metagross. "Steel Beam!"

"Zap Cannon!"

Both Pokemon charged up their most powerful attack, with a pair of extraordinarily bright silver and white lights launched into the air, one after another…

The Steel Beam hit first, causing the meteorite to shatter into hundreds of smaller pieces. However the gap between the two attacks was too small to differentiate. The Zap Cannon hit almost instantly after, the millions of watts of electricity hitting one of the fragments, and arcing outwards towards the remaining fragments, vaporizing the smaller ones, and launching the larger ones outwards.

There were cheers from others on the beach, and even those away from the shore who had seen it began cheering out.

“What do we do about them?” Justin asked, as Charlotte, Chris and Abbee’s Pokemon began using Protect to cover the group from any fragments raining down.

“Nothing we can do,” Dylan replied. “If we leave this area to try and protect them and a fragment hits us, we won’t be much help. They still have time to find cover, or do what we’re doing. We’ve done enough, and most of the smaller fragments should disintegrate before they even make impact…”

After a few more minutes, they saw the glowing barriers start to shimmer, as dust seemed to fall on them, and the occasional crash between waves of a bigger chunk landing in the water. There was a dull thud as a large fragment, crashed into the sand, which absorbed most of the impact, however they still felt the earth shake slightly from that. However they didn’t hear sounds of destruction, or people crying out in pain, and once a few minutes had passed, it seemed like all of the remaining fragments had hit the earth, and they were safe. They called back their Pokemon.

“How the hell did the Space Center not know that was coming before we did?” Chris asked, slightly irritated. “It seems like every few weeks there is some sort of news report about a meteor shower or something… If we did nothing, that could have taken out the city…”

“The ones you hear about are repetitive events. They happen once, and the big-brains do the maths to figure out how long until their trajectory crosses the Earth’s. At least I think…” Abbee replied. “It’s not like they have satellites scanning deep space for something on a collision course with Earth. Chances are that is something that came from outside our solar system, and happened to not get close enough to any bigger planets and get pulled into their gravitational pull. One in a million chance, probably even more.”

“Still…”

“So we have you to thank!” called out a familiar voice. On the dimly lit stone staircase leading from the carpark down to the beach, descended a familiar figure.

“Did we upstage you?” Justin called out, recognizing the voice.

“Definitely not,” said Steven Stone, who reached the bottom, being lit up by one of the large lights illuminating the area, “I wasn’t aware of it until the sirens started to ring, and was trying to figure out what to do before I saw the lights. I recognized the Zap Cannon…”

Justin laughed, before explaining.

“Chris noticed the light in the sky, and pointed it out, and Dylan figured out what was going on and coordinated the entire thing.”

“So when did the four of you arrive?” Steven asked, as a couple more people began descending the staircase, trying to get a glimpse of the people who had destroyed the meteorite.

“Today…” Charlotte replied. “Impeccable timing really…”

“Impeccable indeed,” Steven remarked. “Well as the Hoenn Champion, and a resident of Mossdeep, you have my thanks.”

Over the next few minutes, more and more people gathered around the campfire, thanking the group of trainers, and asking their names, and why they were on Mossdeep Island.

“Jon’s gonna love the free publicity…” Charlotte whispered to Abbee, who couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. She was right though. A lot of the locals had heard of the Eon Academy, but knew little of its focus, and the level of skill it produced in its students. If a group of returning students managed to stop the city from possibly being wiped out in some sort of apocalyptic fashion it can’t help but look good…

When the group around them was nearing thirty people, a familiar Pokemon cry filled the air, as a Pokemon descended with a trainer on it’s back.

“Are you guys alright?” Jon asked, as he climbed off Latios’ back. “None of you got hit?”

“We’re all fine,” Chris retorted, before moving on to tease his teacher. “Where were you when your students were busy saving the city?”

“I was… making other arrangements to deal with it…” Jon said quietly, giving Chris a knowing look. It took Chris a moment to understand what he meant.

“This is part of the reason why I tried to deal with this myself…” Dylan whispered to him. “Because if Jon had to deal with it, there was no going back…”

“You know about… his green friend?” Chris whispered back, realizing that Jon must have been considering having Rayquaza take it down. If he only found out about the meteorite when the sirens began, Rayquaza would have been his only option.

“He showed me not long after I moved in. Trained it to listen to me, in case of emergencies,” Dylan whispered, before moving away as to not draw too much attention to the conversation they were having.

The crowd left a large perimeter around Latios, who seemed slightly offended, though Jon knew this was partially because of the footage from the S.S. Wishmaker two years earlier. As the crowd harassed Jon, Steven, Dylan, Justin and even Abbee a little, though part of that was from her minor fame due to her Dad’s reputation as a battler, Charlotte nudged Chris.

“While they’re distracted, let’s go find it…” Charlotte said quietly.

“What?” Chris asked, equally quietly, slightly confused.

“You heard that one bit of the meteorite hit the beach, right?” Charlotte asked. “It didn’t seem too far from here… It’s one thing to be here for something like this, but to take part of it home…”

Chris’ eyes widened at the thought, as Charlotte sent a message to their group chat.

”Chris and I will be back soon. Don’t let the crowd realize we have gone if you can avoid it…”

Without another word, they waited for people to not be looking their way, before silently leaving, walking in the direction that they heard the meteor thud earlier.

“How big do you think this thing is?” Chris asked, as he scoured the beach in front of him.

“Wouldn’t have a clue…” Charlotte replied. “I doubt it’s small, but I hope it isn’t too big… Kinda don’t feel like carrying a five hundred pound boulder back to the Academy…”

Chris laughed, however realized something.

“Wait, the tide…”

“What about it?” Charlotte asked.

“We got to the beach as it had started to come in,” Chris replied. “It’s been what, half an hour since the meteor hit?”

“S**t…” Charlotte muttered, as took off her shoes, thankful it had been a warm night and she decided to wear shorts…

She walked knee deep into the water, and was even more thankful that Mossdeep’s beach was one of the cleanest in Hoenn, with there being little but sand. Somehow, she had never seen as much as a rock in the water there, and right now, it would make it easier to spot this thing.

As she walked, moving the light on her phone across the surface of the water, she noticed a reflection, different from the ocean water. A light purple colour flickering from the water and the light.

“I think I found it…” Charlotte called out, as Chris threw off his sandals, and made his way towards her in the water.

“Hold this,” she said, as she handed him her phone, before digging around the purple coloured object. After a few minutes, she lifted it out of the water.

It was purple, and roughly the size of a Pokemon Egg, though it seemed crystalline, and transparent.

“What the f**k is that…” Chris said, shocked. Charlotte didn’t blame him. She was expecting to find a glorified piece of rock, jagged, ugly and not overly special. But this…

“We can’t let any of the crowd see it,” Charlotte explained. “Give me your shirt…”

“Why?”

“Because I want to cover this thing, and I’m not taking mine off…”

Chris went red, before quickly removing his shirt.

“If anyone asks, we found an abandoned Pokemon Egg, that we think was a bit too cold…” Charlotte explained .“When everyone else boots off, we will show Jon and Steven.”

“Agreed...”