Breathing in the fresh air, I gazed out at the base of the hill I stood on. Off to one side, the grass tapered off and down to the long river below. On the other side and behind me, the massive city of Mesagoza stood tall, a hustle and bustle of activity and noise I tuned out. And in front of me? Stretching past the sea of green, the Tandemaus, Igglybuffs, and other Pokemon frolicking amidst the field, the League Building stood tall.

  Nowhere near as tall or dramatic in its architecture as Uva Academy nearby, it was still impressive. Circular with spokes sticking out around the top edges, it was larger and far wider than the Gym Buildings, and like them had a Pokeball symbol made amongst the upper windows. At the top there was a diamond-shaped covering above a vast, open-air arena sitting atop the roof.

  This building was a symbol in its own right. The beating bureaucratic heart of Paldea and the final challenge for so many Trainers of the land. Most Trainers start their journey from Mesagoza as students on a Treasure Hunt, or just because of tradition. Whether they go to Cortondo or Artazon first, they eventually loop around to where they started to face the Elite Four. Like I’m going to now.

  Taking a deep breath, I marched forward, walking up the hill until I reached the door. The sliding glass doors opened up, but not for me. Instead, out walked Miguel. “Hey there, Champ in the making,” he grinned. He looked much like he did the last time I saw him, wearing the same blue jacket and red dress pants. His hair looked a little less messy than it did last time, but I wasn’t sure if that was the result of him taking a comb to that tangled mess or just a result of not being fresh off a flight on his Salamence.

  I grinned right back, shaking his gloved hand. “El Primero, thank you. I take it you got my request?”

  “Yup. An Elite Gauntlet, you sure like a challenge, don’t you?” He whistled lightly. “You sure you’re up for it?” I bristled a little, but before I could answer that, he laughed it off. “Of course you do; you’re not the kind of person to enter into something like this without being prepared for it. Thing is though, we’re a bit underprepared. Mind giving us a bit of time?”

  “What’s up?” I asked, frowning.

  “Well, don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’ve become rather famous online.” I blushed because, honestly, I hadn’t noticed. Not directly, anyways. I know some people talk about me online, but I also know myself well enough to know I would obsess over answering people and even what the obvious trolls said about me, so I leave all that stuff to be handled by Miles, with my parents uploading the videos and stuff.

  The Top Champion continued. “Paldea doesn’t have the big Conferences that the other regions have, so I was kind of hoping to make a bigger deal out of this. Televise the event and all that jazz. It’ll also just give us time to deal with everything going on in the Crater.”

  That worried me slightly. “What’s happening there? Is everyone okay?”

  He laughed easily before frowning. “Ah, right. You were caught up in that dustup, the Rangers reported. It shouldn’t be anything too serious, but we’ve been investigating and found some relative disturbances within the Great Crater.” He scratched the back of his head. “Hard to tell with how weird things are there usually, but we’re worried the research Professor Turo has been working on has disturbed the ecosystem there.”

  Leaping on the chance, I said, “You should be careful and tell the research team to stop until you can confirm that.”

  “Ehh, well, they won’t like being told to stop… But on the other hand, those reports from the Rangers said things could have been pretty hairy if you hadn’t been there.” Miguel sighed. “I’ll tell them to slow down and try to bunker up for the time being, see if the team can go over their notes, and do unobtrusive studies until things get settled down again.” I sighed in relief. Good, that should hopefully keep Turo from bringing in more Paradox Pokemon, at least until I can become a Champion-ranked Trainer and talk some sense into him. Hopefully.

  There was no guarantee he would listen to me, I knew, but if I had that rank, if I showed the kind of power needed to beat all the Elites and Champion in one go, then I could at least make the League listen to me. Given they were the ones who funded his experiments, hopefully they could make him listen. Or at least help me shut it down if he refuses to.

  “Thank you. How long do you think it’ll be till we’re ready for our match?”

  Smiling again, he said, “Shouldn’t be much longer than three weeks. Which should give you enough time for a quick trip to Alola.”

  “Alola?” I mean, I love the place and always planned on visiting someday, but how would Miguel know that- wait! “They approved it!?”

  “Yup! You’ll have to be escorted by some of their League staffers and Professor Kukui, but-”

  “I get to see Kukui too! This is awesome!” Miguel blinked, surprised by my enthusiasm. “Sorry, it’s just, he’s so cool! His studies on Moves have been fascinating; that battle with Ash, a Legendary joining him, and using Guardian of Alola versus Pikachu’s Ten-Million Volt Thunderbolt was just… Aaah!” I shrieked in joy.

  “Wow, didn’t realize you were such a fan.”

  I blushed. “Sorry for geeking out there; it’s just rare to find a Professor that’s such a skilled battler as well. Plus, he’s the Masked Royal too, which is pretty fun as well.”

  “Wait, what? Kukui is the famous mystery wrestler The Masked Royal? There’s no way.”

  I just looked at Miguel, feeling like an anime sweatdrop was forming on my face. “You’re joking, right? They look identical, and- it’s obvious.”

  He stared at me blankly before laughing for a moment. “Haha, almost got you! But yeah, it’s pretty apparent.” Miles suddenly rang, a call coming in. As they floated up, I saw the caller ID.

  “Professor Friede! Sorry, I gotta take this,” I told the bemused Champion, answering my phone. Friede’s face appeared on the screen, the man inside a cabin of sorts. The captain’s chair had its back to me in the video, but I just barely saw the tips of a Pikachu’s ears sticking up behind it. Guess Friede has expanded his team a bit.

  “Nemona! Good to see you.”

  “You too, Friede. What’s up?”

  “We are!” He chuckled. “But seriously, our airship is coming in. Let us know where you are and we’ll be there in a few hours; then we can discuss that, uh, thing you mentioned.” He could see Miguel behind me and was likely trying to keep the details private from him. Pretty sure he already knows about Iron Moth given the Ranger’s report and everything, but I appreciate the discretion.

  Things clicked into place in my head, and I nodded. “That sounds great. I’m over by the League Building. But then, would you mind taking us on a short trip to Alola? I’ve got something exciting to try there that I think you’ll want to see. Oh, and prepare to take on one more passenger; I hope we all fit.”

  The Professor blinked. “Sure, we can do that. The Brave Olivine has plenty of room, can’t wait to show it to you! See you soon.” He hung up and I turned to Miles.

  “I’ve already sent your sister a message, bzzt. She’s typing… She’ll be here as soon as she’s out of class.”

  “Perfect! Now I can just take the written exam while I wait. They’ll be able to handle that in advance of the Gauntlet, right?” I asked Miguel, and he nodded.

  “Looks like you’ve got things all sorted out. Yes, that shouldn’t be a problem; honestly, we appreciate people taking the exam first. It’s pretty rare that a challenger would fail that stage, but it’s a waste of the Elite’s time getting ready if they do.”

  I nodded, and Miguel started walking to the side, releasing his Salamence off to the side. “With that settled, I’ll be off to Area Zero - hey, don’t give me that look. I’ll be fine, I promise. Big names like Miguel Worthington don’t go down easy. We’ve still got our match to have. Just train hard, and good luck with your experiment.”

  Except I never heard of you in the games. Not Miguel Worthington, Martha Bitterleaf, ‘The Great and Mighty Turtle,’ or even Daisy Chase (though I have at least heard of her niece, Poppy). What happened to make the vast majority of the Elite Four drop off? Perhaps Geeta could dethrone Miguel later, and maybe Rika would naturally aim for a spot there in the future, but why would a child be there? What could force Larry to step up to that role?

  It was a question I didn’t want an answer to, and I feared they waited off in the Great Crater and that they might not be waiting patiently. Nothing for it now, though; I just gotta hope that everyone makes it through these next few weeks okay, and then I can put an end to it.

  Plastering on a big smile, I said, “I will, don’t worry. Just worry about yourself; I’m looking forward to a great fight.” Turning sharply, I marched into the League Building, attempting to push those intrusive worries out of my mind and focus on my test.

  ***

  My attempts proved fairly easy, as the test demanded enough of my focus that there wasn’t any room to worry. Damn, this is tough, way harder than in the games where they ask you, like, ‘What Gym did you first fight at?’ Or ‘What is your reason for becoming a Champion?’ (even if that last one did catch a lot of people off guard).

  No, the questions for this exam were more along the lines of ‘What Province of Paldea has the highest concentration of Oran Berry trees?’ And questions like ‘What are all the Abilities Clodsires are known to possess?’ Things that weren't too difficult to research but might not be known offhand.

  There were hypotheticals as well, questioning what kinds of Moves I would use with a specific Pokemon against another Pokemon or groups of other Pokemon. Those ones often needed clarification by the people administering the exam, especially about the Moves I had access to, as one time I assumed that the Blissey I was hypothetically using had access to the Flamethrower TM.

  One thing that was true to the games was that the test was administered orally, not written, in front of a desk in an otherwise incredibly bland room. But in this case it was by a panel of three League associates. The pressure of being stared down by three people for each question was frustrating, but I’d worked on keeping my cool better ever since the Iono interview. I also calmed myself by believing that explaining my answers in detail was helping with my overall marks, especially for the questions I was less sure of. In any case, this is a worthy trial for Trainers wanting to become a Champion at ‘the cradle of civilization and learning.’

  After an hour and a half, the door behind me opened up, and I turned to see Geeta. She had a suit on, but one less fancy (and shiny) than the one she had in the games, closer to a proper business suit like Larry’s. “Congratulations, Miss Glitterati.”

  “Geeta,” I got up and nodded to her, taking the opportunity to stretch my limbs as the other Leaguers all stood up as well, none of them objecting to her statement. “I mean, Vice Chairwoman. Does this mean I’ve passed?”

  “Almost,” she had a slight smile on her face. “There’s one last question to answer first, which is: Why do you want to be a Champion?” Ahh, looks like I don’t get to avoid that one. Just like in the games, I get the feeling that there are wrong answers, though my options aren’t quite as limited.

  “That’s a rather complicated question-” I coughed, my voice dry from talking for so long. “Sorry. I suppose the simplest, first reason has to do with Dun.”

  “Your starter?” She inquired.

  “That’s right. When I first met Dun, I told him he could be the greatest Dunsparce of all time. Now he’s evolved, but that sentiment still stands. I want to make Dun, and the rest of my team, the greatest in the world. I want everyone to see how incredible they are, the results of all the hard work they’ve put into this. To stand at the top.”

  “That’s why you want to become a Champion-ranked Trainer?”

  I nodded. “To be clear, it’s only one step toward the goal; our journey doesn’t end there. But nonetheless, it’s an important step.”

  Silence reigned for a minute as she eyed me, her blue and yellow eyes boring into me, as if they could find the depths of my soul. I highly doubt she can; there’s many more layers to my goals than that. Still, if she’s looking for deception, she won’t find it either. This really is the truth. My first reason still remains an incredibly important part of why I seek to become Champion, even if there are other goals, like stopping Turo or living up to the character whose body I reincarnated in, that coincide with that.

  Slowly, she smiled. “A splendid answer. I look forward to seeing how you fare in the Gauntlet, but if you can show such conviction and thoughtfulness there, I’m certain you’ll do great.”

  “Thank you, I plan on it.” Before I could say anything else, a man ran up to the doorway.

  “Vice Chair, we’ve got a large unidentified ship flying towards the building!”

  “That’s my ride!” Everyone in the room turned to look at me sharply. “Ah, sorry, I hope Friede’s arrival isn’t causing anyone any problems.”

  “So that’s where he’s been,” Geeta muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her long fingers. “No, that should be fine, though hopefully I can have a word with the errant Professor before you head off.”

  We headed back outside, and there I found my sister right outside, her back turned to us. She didn’t even acknowledge our approach, her head craned up to look at the sky. Following her gaze, I saw why. Oh wow, Friede very much undersold this.

  The airship was divided into two sections. One was a boat, looking fairly like a regular (if rather large) sailboat. It had a red hull and red on the modified prow, with the rest of the wood brown with gold trim. Many portholes were on the sides to let anyone inside view out, as well as some amusing life rings, which I wondered how much they ever got used. Sticking out the aft was a propeller, spinning through the air. On the prow was a section that stuck out, with several glass panels around, giving me the feeling that it was the captain’s chambers and from where Friede had called me before. But all that was less than half the structure.

  The majority of it was occupied by a vast beige blimp above the boat, connected by a large strip of metal around the center of the blimp and a second, larger propeller system that stuck out of the blimp (this one with a large rudder past the spinning blades as well as exhaust vents on the side), both of these attaching to the top deck of the boat. A pair of large propellers stuck out on small wings attached to the side of the blimp. Around the middle ring, in addition to connecting the blimp to the boat, it had capsules on the side that appeared to serve as an elevator connecting the bottom half to the top. On the side of the blimp were patterns, a light brown lightning bolt cutting across the entire blimp, with a stylized Pikachu ‘riding’ it on the back half of the bolt.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Above the blimp was a metal deck with an observation chamber sticking up in the middle. To the prow it sloped down and led to a thick ridge that stuck out in front of the blimp that I could only assume served as a battering ram (and could not even begin to fathom why it would need such a thing). The aft had a viewing deck below and a large flat deck above it, with a pair of many segmented sheets of metal like a bird’s wings connected to it.

  Brightly grinning, I stepped up, waving wildly to the ship. “FRIEDE! OVER HERE!” I wasn’t sure if any of them could hear me from that far away, even with my Aura-enhanced lungs, but the ship was nevertheless turning to approach us.

  The Vice Chairwoman sighed and directed me and my sister inside. “Let’s meet them on the roof; I feel that may be easier than having them land in front of the building. Would you mind requesting that they meet us on the other side and not block off the main entrance?” Despite being phrased as a request, I didn’t think it really was and quickly fired off a message to Friede, letting him know while we went up the elevator.

  The rooftop stadium would have been very impressive under most circumstances, and I might have spent some time admiring it, were it not for the giant airship floating beside it. Flying over from the top deck was Professor Friede, atop the back of his Charizard. Sitting on the Professor’s shoulder was the Pikachu I spotted before, this one wearing an airplane captain’s hat.

  “Nemona, Cyan!” He called out before Charizard landed. “Good to see you two again.” My sister just nodded, not as familiar with Friede as I was, while I ran up.

  “Friede! Good to see you too.” I gave him a high five before asking, “And who’s this little guy?”

  “This is Pikachu - Captain Pikachu, to be precise.”

  “Pika pi!”

  I shivered as a bit of electricity sparked off of the red cheeks Pikachu had. There’s a lot of power in this Pokemon, that’s for sure. Maybe not Ash’s Pikachu level, but still.

  Giving a short, respectful bow of my head to the electric rodent, I asked, “Permission to come aboard, Captain?”

  He inspected me for a moment before nodding in return. “Pika!”

  “Awesome! Let’s check this thing out!” I told Cyan, releasing Dun and hopping atop his back. “Oh yeah, Geeta wanted to talk to you for a sec. See ya in a moment, Friede.” Then to my sister I added, “Race you to there!”

  At my words, Dun took off, beating his six wings hard to propel us upwards. “Hey, no fair!” Cyan called out before releasing her Smeargle. “Quick, Fly!” Adopting a Superman pose (though it wasn’t called that here), the artistic Pokemon took to the air, soaring up while my sister hung on to one of his legs.

  Smeargle flew fast, but thanks to our hefty lead and Dun’s determination, we landed on the deck of the boat first. I congratulated my sister in the traditional manner of a gracious winner. “Nyah! Beat you!” I stuck my tongue back in my mouth before she pushed me.

  “Gah, you’re acting like a child! Actually, you kinda are, for once,” she said, concern in her voice as she looked me over. For her part, Cyan looked the same as she had when I’d seen her last, dressed up properly with her Uva Academy uniform on and her hair cut short. In contrast, I must look like a wild beast - well, maybe not that bad. I did get a shower after the Gym Battle against Larry before coming over here, but I’ve hardly taken the time to have a haircut or pretty myself up or anything.

  “Ehh, just feeling… light, I guess. My path is locked in now; whatever will happen, will happen. Besides, we’re on an airship! Isn’t this awesome?” I asked rhetorically, gesturing at the boat around us. Awesome for us, at least. I hear Friede getting a stern talking to from Geeta for ‘one of Paldea’s premier Pokemon Professors just up and vanishing,’ haha. I liked the Professor, but he was definitely forgetful about mentioning certain things to people.

  “It’s not bad. I had no idea the Professor had any setup like this! You forwarded a few of his videos, but they just focused on his studies on Pokemon within different regions. Though I guess it does explain how he travels around for those studies,” Cyan said, scratching her chin.

  “True, it must be convenient for that. And I had no idea about all of this until he messaged me a week or so back, and even then it didn’t cover it being this… this,” I said, gesturing to the entirety of the ship. This setup still feels a little much for his research, but if this is his very mobile home, then I suppose it makes sense. When he first sent me those videos, I just assumed he must have been taking plane rides between regions, but I suppose that wouldn’t be very sustainable. I have to try and think more like regular people, not just take my wealth for granted - or assume that everyone has the resources I and my sister have access to.

  Friede had ‘finished’ his talk with Geeta, hastily giving her his email and fleeing with Charizard back onto the ship. “Ah,” he sighed in relief while Captain Pikachu rolled his eyes. Straightening his jacket and shaking his head, he put a big smile on his face. “Now that we’ve sorted that out, I’ll show you girls around. Let’s start with the Captain’s quarters and get this show on the road while we’re at it.”

  Marching forward, we entered the large room attached to the prow of the boat. The inside of it had a very austere feel to it, and I wondered if that had to do with Pikachu’s preferences more than Friede’s. Aside from the plain varnished wood and several windows to look out of, there was a modern-looking control panel, split partially in half by the steering wheel in the middle. There was a large solitary chair placed in front of it.

  Friede sat down, pressing some of the buttons and pulling up a microphone attached to the panel by a cord. “We’re ready for takeoff; give us some juice, Orla!” As we began to move forward, Friede flipped a few more switches, the ship beginning to rise as well. That alone would have still left things pretty tight with the nearby rocky slopes sticking out from the Great Crater, but the Professor turned the wheel hard, turning us around until we were flying over a lower section of the craggy rocks.

  “Wow, you’re flying like a pro, Professor. How long have you been doing this?” Cyan asked.

  “Please, just call me Friede. Only a few months, but I’m a quick study. Of course, I couldn't get anything done without the Captain here.”

  “Piii.”

  “Or your engineer,” a woman’s voice came out from the microphone. It sounds like she’s exerting herself.

  “Oh, absolutely. I was just about to take the kids on a tour; we’ll see you soon. You’ve got the wheel, Pikachu.” The small Pokemon agreed, hopping off Friede’s shoulder and easily settling into the captain’s chair (which was too small for him, but he stood on his tail to stand up high enough to see above the control panel).

  “You coming, sis?” Cyan asked me, and I tore my gaze away from the billowing clouds we were traveling above - an unusual, ever-present weather phenomenon that constantly hovered over Area Zero, somehow blocking any satellite imagery from coming through, yet supposedly doing little to stop natural light from shining within.

  “Yeah, of course.” I took a few quick steps to catch up with them. The Pokemon Professor led us through the deck. There were plenty of spare rooms for us to drop off our bags and other utility and storage spaces, he noted. A couple of times we would see the occasional Pokemon, a Clefairy or a pair of Sentrets. They were pretty skittish for the most part and would quickly leave when they saw our unfamiliar faces.

  “Whose Pokemon are those?” I asked.

  “No one’s. Sometimes in our travels we come across strays: Pokemon who want to travel with us or need a hand. I do my best, but I’m no Pokemon Doctor,” he admitted. “Still, we keep all our guests well fed.” As he spoke, we entered a kennel with plenty of food dishes and various-sized beds for Pokemon to rest in.

  In the next room over, we met our first human occupant. A large, jovial, dark-skinned man in a floral shirt was working in a very utilitarian kitchen. Atop the counter, an Alcremie was in the middle of handing him spices for the meal he was frying. Turning brightly to us, he smiled. “These must be our guests! Welcome, I’m Murdock, the chef.”

  I offered him a firm handshake. “I’m Nemona, and this is my sister, Cyan. We really appreciate this; let us know if we can do anything to help.” Murdock just laughed.

  “I’ve got the kitchen under control, no worries, but I’m sure there's other things you can help with. Orla’s always busy fretting over a million different parts on the ship.”

  Friede nodded. “That’s true. Don’t stress about it too much; we have things in hand, and if there’s anything you girls can do, we’ll let you know. Though that does bring up a good point; we should go check on Orla.”

  From there we went up to where the top deck connected to the blimp fastenings. Through there, we traversed a wide room filled with pipes and wires running throughout the ship. Most noticeable, however, was the Metang who waved us over to a hatch. Opening it, Friede slipped down, my sister and I following.

  The first thing apparent about the small space was the heat; it was sweltering in here. This was in large part due to the large furnace set in the back, its hatch open and being filled by coal. The coal fell off the back of a Carkoal running in a wheel-based generator; the coal that tumbled loose off of her back as she exerted herself was then shoveled into the furnace.

  Doing the shoveling was a young, pretty woman. She was wearing a black t-shirt and orange, heavy-duty pants, with a jacket tied around her waist. Wiping the sweat off her brow drew my eyes to her hair, which was short and brown, with the tips turning orangey-red. I really have to study how exactly that works, as well as the oddities of the colorful locks my sister and I have. I hardly knew that much about the biological properties before being reborn in this world, but I was certain that scientifically it didn’t fit into the paradigms I knew.

  “Hello there,” the woman said to us. “I’m Orla, the ship’s engineer. You must be Nemona and…” She trailed off, looking at my sister.

  “I’m Cyan, her older sister. You help run this… machine.” I can tell my sister’s not fully sold on this yet, but I think it’s great. Completely insane, like all the random machines and inventions Team Rocket could somehow make every week while dirt poor, but great.

  “Designed it too, from the ground, err, boat up. So, whadya think of her? She’s great, isn’t she?” Orla asked, her green eyes shining brightly as she waved her arms out to show off the engine room (and more likely, gesture to the entirety of the ship).

  “I think she’s amazing. I love it; how much does she cost?”

  “Nemona,” my sister said, frowning before looking contemplative. “I mean, that being said, getting a smaller, private airship for the family might not be a bad idea…”

  “Ha!” Orla chuckled at me. “Sorry, but the Brave Olivine is the result of my sweat, tears, and blood-”

  “How hard did you work to make this?!” Friede muttered.

  “-She’s like a child to me; no way I’m giving her to some stranger, no matter how rich. She’ll be a treasure passed down through my family for generations!”

  Thinking about it for a second, I asked, “Marry me?” If I need to be part of the family…

  ““Nemona!!”” Two voices cried out, Friede’s aghast, Cyan’s mixed with giggling laughter. For her part, Orla was silent for a second before doubling over with laughter.

  “Hahaha, that’s a good one, kid, but I think you’re a bit young for me. Still, nice to see someone who appreciates a good ship.” She said, casting a glance over at Friede.

  “I appreciate it plenty,” Friede grumbled.

  “Oh yeah? When was the last time you offered to ma- I mean, I just don’t think you appreciate it enough.” The two young adults blushed heavily, backing off both physically and verbally as they realized how close they had gotten to an invisible line between them.

  I tossed a knowing look over at my sister, smiling at their antics before deciding to toss them a bone and break up the awkward air. “Well, if I can’t get this ship, can you at least teach me all about how you made her?” I asked the mechanic, and she quickly brightened up.

  “Ah, of course. Happy to help anyone interested in the finer points of mechanics. Friede, for all his smarts, just doesn’t get it.” She spoke as if he wasn’t in the cramped room with us.

  “I understand it, for the most part,” he added. “It’s just that Pokemon are my passion. Speaking of which, you wanted some help communicating with a rare one, right?” I nodded, and he said, “We best make sure you have time to cover that before we arrive in Alola. Do you think the island climate will help them adjust to your team?”

  It took me a moment to connect the pieces, but I shook my head. “Oh, no, I don’t think the island climates will do anything for Radiance. Any of them; each of the islands is pretty distinct, you know? Akala is hardly like Poni Island or vice versa. Oh, and we’re going to Melemele, by the way. This mission is to help a different friend out,” I said, patting Notch’s Pokeball.

  “I know that look on Friede’s face; he’s going to drag you down a Buneary hole of his own plans.” At my disappointed face, Orla added, “You can come back later, Nemona, after Friede’s run you through whatever he has planned. I’m sure you’ll have time to learn more about how the Brave Olivine works soon.”

  “Alright. Thank you, Orla,” I said before we went up, entering the elevator again. Looking through the glass, I marveled, taking in the sights as we flew. This really is incredible. Not just the size and complexity of the ship but also how smoothly it runs.

  Of course, the complexity of it wasn’t to be denied either. Once we reached the top, we got off and went into the observation deck. There were windows all around, with a bench to lounge on and a mounted telescope on a swivel. In the center of the room was an elevator tube running straight down, which felt weird at first given we’d come in from an external elevator, until I realized that one must lead to the internals of the blimp section.

  Sloped stairs with sturdy rails led down both sides on top of the blimp. We didn’t head out to the prow, but an old man with thick beige facial hair sat on the edge on that side and waved in greeting at us. He was wearing a teal tunic with puffy white pants and traditional wooden sandals, a fishing rod resting by his side. “That’s Mr. Ludlow; he gave us the original ship that Orla fixed up into what you see before you,” Friede informed us as he took us down toward the aft.

  There, I saw the magnificent wings I had seen earlier were stretched out, but looking at them clearly, it was easy to see the symbols and lines drawn on them and how they matched. Even easier to see when Friede pressed a button and the metal joints holding the ‘wings’ aloft pulled back together, the pieces assembling into a very large Pokemon Arena.

  “H-how did you assemble an arena as part of the ship? Also, why??” I boggled. The Professor just smirked.

  “Because I figured we’d encounter situations like yours out on the road,” Friede countered. Damn, guess he’s got me there. Reminds me of Batman and all the crazy contingency plans he’d have - hard to say they’re crazy when they’re exactly what you needed. Then the man continued, giving the actual reason. “Plus, Cap and Charizard needed a place to train too.”

  “Ah, that’s fair.” Looking around at all the open air around us, I felt an overall sense of peace but logically realized there might be an issue. “Mind activating the barrier around us? I don’t think Radiance is going to fly off, but it’s best not to risk them floating away.”

  “Sure,” he said, and activated another button on the control panel on the side, a glowing barrier snapping into place, forming a rectangular box with the arena floor before turning nearly invisible. “This will make it easy to enter but hard to leave - don’t worry though, it has a vocal override.”

  “Maybe hang back at first too,” I suggested as I stepped onto the arena. “They’re a little temperamental, like I mentioned, so I want to give them the chance to get used to where we are first.”

  Cyan pouted. “I’m really curious about your newest Pokemon though.” Easy to forget that she’s just a kid sometimes, but of course she’s eager to see a new Pokemon. She also didn’t trek through nearly as much wilderness as I did, despite getting experience as a battler. She hasn’t learned how dangerous wild Pokemon can be.

  “You’ll see from there, and hopefully you’ll be able to get close after they acclimate to where we are.” And to who you are. I’d love to keep Radiance on my team, but that won’t work if they violently attack anyone that gets near them. I released Notch first, then unleashed Radiance.

  The Iron Moth burst into existence above the arena, the subtle gravitic manipulations of the force field around the place keeping them from drifting away as they floated above it. Immediately, even before they could have gotten (or lost) their bearings, Radiance started sending out waves of heat, the air burning around them.

  “So… hot…” My sister gasped, even behind the field. Damn, even outside the barrier, it’s still uncomfortable to be around them. Though that’s in part because the force field is designed to be air permeable, and this level of heat is just within the tolerances for it.

  Said superheated air was uncomfortable for me too, but using that same exploit (and my Aura), I drew the cold air from outside in around myself, making a sheath to hold off the worst of it. “Hey, calm down,” I told them strictly.

  Radiance finally realized where they were (we had practiced once in a rented battle court at Alfornada - and I promptly lost the damage deposit on that one), a fact that made them narrow their crosshair eyes at me. And also not lower the heat one bit. Wonder if I should wave my eighth Gym Badge at them and say that ‘This means you have to obey me.’?

  I smirked at the funny thought, which Radiance mistook as me smirking at them, and they released a Heat Wave at me. Notch easily stepped in, deflecting it with a perfectly angled Light Screen before smashing Radiance to the ground with Psychic. They groaned but let up on the heat. “C’mon Radiance, we’ve been over this. You can’t just attack me, not even if I say something you don’t like.”

  Digital whining sounds emerged from the Psychically pinned Paradox Pokemon, but they didn’t try anything else, like unleashing a Sludge Wave out at their surroundings, so I counted it as at least a partial win.

  Craning my head back to face the others for a moment, I said, “So, you can see why I didn’t want you in here to start.” Cyan gulped and nodded silently, but Friede still looked amazed.

  “An Iron Moth… I never thought I’d see one! Or that they were even real!” That earned some furious beeping sounds from my resistant Pokemon.

  “He’s not saying that you aren’t real, just that it’s a bit of a shock, like how you’re shocked by being here.” Silence for a minute, then a quiet grinding sound. I think that’s a sigh for them? Or maybe the equivalent of saying ‘whatever.’ Good enough in any case. I motioned for Notch to let them go, and they floated up.

  Turning away from me, Radiance gazed out at the sky all around us. “All those clouds floating around, the horizon off so far away, pretty magical, right?” I said in a softer voice, stepping closer. Radiance turned their head, looking down at me as they made more mechanical sounds. Slowly, the heat died down, and they simply stared out with me, taking in the world around us.

  Discord. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.

  - Tera Type: Normal

  - Held Item: Expert Belt

  - Abilities: Run Away, Serene Grace

  - Moves known:

  - 'Miles' (Rotom, Genderless, Electric/Form dependent Type)

  - Tera Type: Electric

  - Held Item: Life Orb

  - Ability: Levitate

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Nightwing' (Gliscor, Female, Flying/Ground Type)

  - Tera Type: Water

  - Held Item: Toxic Orb

  - Ability: Hyper Cutter, Poison Heal

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Notch' (Carbink, Genderless, Rock/Fairy Type)

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Light Clay

  - Ability: Clear Body

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Phantasm' (Hisuian Zoroark, Female, Normal/Ghost)

  - Tera Type: Ghost

  - Held Item: Lax Incense

  - Ability: Illusion

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Athena' (Lucario, Mega-Evolveable, Female, Fighting/Steel)

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Clear Amulet

  - Ability: Steadfast

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Bahamut' (Haxorus, Male, Shiny, Dragon)

  - Tera Type: Dragon

  - Held Item: Dragon Fang

  - Ability: Mold Breaker

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Radiance' (Iron Moth, Genderless, Fire/Poison)

  - Tera Type: ???

  - Held Item: None

  - Ability: Quark Drive

  - Moves Known:

  *Custom Moves