After talking it over with Mr. Wailani, I agreed to hold off on immediately publishing my method, at least until the League could place some protections over Carbink colonies. Carbinks are already rare enough that they’re usually limited in how many can be caught by Trainers, but they’re hardly the most sought after in the world. But when people find out they can become Diancies, Legendary? Poachers will be crawling out of the woodwork to get at them.

  That was no reason to put off getting the paperwork ready, something Friede helped a ton with on the ride back, giving me pointers, showing me sites to help in citing all the relevant articles I had reviewed in our many attempts before and including this, and commiserating with my frustration at how arduous a process it all was.

  Perhaps it just feels that way in comparison to enjoying the fruits of our labors, I mused, watching Notch float around excitedly, spinning around in the air. While not really any more or less maneuverable than they had been as a Carbink, the change was still something to get used to, and something we had spent the rest of our time on the trip practicing with.

  Stretching, I got up from the desk I’d been hunched over in my cabin. Think this is about as much as I’ll get done today; I’m too excited about getting back home to sit still either. “Want to get ready for our landing?” I asked Notch.

  [‘Yes! I’m quite eager for our upcoming challenge,’] they declared, pounding their fists together with a delighted gleam in their eyes.

  “Haha, me too, but we’ve gotta stop by home first.” Both for a few last-minute preparations as well as to let Miguel and the others finish up their end of things. I didn’t know any specifics, but the League had said they’d be ready within a few days, and I hoped that meant nothing tragic had occurred on their end in the time we’d been away.

  Stepping out onto the deck, I took in the fresh air, distantly smelling the salty breeze from the sea down below. Glancing around, I saw that all of the Rising Volt Tacklers were gathered on the deck, along with my sister.

  “Sorry I haven’t been able to go over the Brave Olivine with you any more,” I said to Orla, approaching her first. “We’ve just been so busy-” she waved me off.

  “Don’t worry about it; I get it, it’s exciting! That’s why I joined Friede in this madness after all, to get to experience all this crazy stuff he’s researching.”

  Suddenly, a thought came to me. “Wait, if you’re up here, who’s looking after the engines?” Every time I’ve seen her before except for mealtimes, she’s been down there.

  “While I love looking after her, the Brave Olivine doesn’t need constant attention. Plus, if anything goes wrong, I can trust Metang to keep an eye on things, not that anything’s likely to go awry while we’re docked.”

  “You’re docking here?”

  “Yup,” Friede brightly cut into the conversation, Captain Pikachu perched proudly on his shoulder. “We’ve got some repairs to handle, so we thought we’d stop here for a bit.”

  “Ah, ok. Do you want to stay at our house while you wait then?” I offered. Sure, they live on their airship, but it would be impolite not to offer. My sister gave me an odd smile but quickly nodded.

  “Yeah, you should stay here before you have to go.”

  ***

  Even just being back for a few days has been so relaxing. As many adventures as we’ve had and await us on the road, nothing beats being home. I stretched, getting out of my comfortable bed. I couldn’t lay there forever after all, and even if it was rather early in the morning.

  The message had come in a few days prior that all of the Elite Four and the Top Champion would be ready on this day. This will be the day we’ve been waiting for. Clapping my hands together, I woke up my team, the majority of whom were out, sleeping on my bed or around my room. “You guys ready?”

  A chorus of happy cries greeted me from, like, half the team. The other half gave groggy growls, but I (with a good deal of help from Dun and Miles) got them fully awake and ready for breakfast. Usually I’d be fine with just ambling down to the dining room however we looked, but we had planned to head out straight after the meal, and since this was a big event.

  Bigger than I had anticipated, at least. Going from what little had filtered back to me from online discussions and even commercials advertising it as the ‘challenge of the century,’ it felt like all of Paldea would have their eyes on us. Which is good. If I can prove we’re strong to everyone, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that will give me more leverage to pressure Turo to stop… or for the League to stop him, if need be.

  With such expectations riding on us, we needed to look good. “Come on, the brush won’t kill you; can’t you tank blows from Bahamut’s axe blades?” I teased Nightwing as I applied the polish to her exoskeleton. “If I suffered through my sister forcing me into a fashion trip the day before last, you’ll survive this too.” My prickly Gligar bristled but calmed down, allowing me to finish making her look presentable.

  Luckily we don’t actually have to do too much for her; no fur to brush or the like, just washing the mud off and then the polish. Each of my team had different reactions to being pampered; Dun would sit stoically during the scale shiner and appreciate the end result, admiring himself in the mirror. Haxorus enjoyed the idea, but had trouble holding still and started fidgeting halfway through. Athena liked it if her tail was any indication but tried to act aloof while getting brushed, as opposed to Phantasm, who would eagerly lean into each brushstroke, obviously enjoying the (lengthy) effort of untangling her wild mane.

  Notch was just kind of unsure what to do with their new body, wildly trying out a number of accessories before deciding to go for something simple for their debut, just using some gem polish. “You’ll be fine; this is going to be flashy enough,” I said, pointing at the one article they were wearing.

  [‘That is true. It was providence that we were able to get it fitted in such a quick time,’] my lovable little religious fanatic declared.

  “That, or a bunch of my parent’s money,” I said. Still feel a little guilty about using it, but I am wearing logos for both of my parents’ businesses, and this is supposed to be a well-watched event, so maybe that helps make up for it? I hope so; Cyan is better at figuring out the probability of how much of an impact advertising makes for a business.

  “Thank you for helping make that for me,” I said, gesturing at the last, extravagant piece of my outfit, draped casually over the back of my desk chair for the moment. Notch smiled and nodded, adjusting their vest, and I turned to the last members of my team.

  For Miles, their appearance was covered by the appliances they could possess, and as part of our preparations, we’d fixed up and ordered upgrades from the R&D team. They were set and instead helped me in corralling the others. Radiance… did not come out for this, still sulking after last night. And it had been going so well.

  ***

  “How are you doing?” I asked my Paradox Pokemon. We sat out on the beach, with Notch hovering beside me.

  [‘Fine. This world is… odd.’] Iron Moth’s words as transmitted to me by Notch were slightly distorted, like a radio out of tune. Not sure if that is a result of Notch’s translation or just how they telepathically ‘sound.’

  The dramatic transformation Notch had gone through had given them more gifts than just hands - they could now speak perfectly clearly into anyone’s mind nearby. Reading or interpreting thoughts back was harder, but even that hurdle was solved with a few days of trial and error, letting them link me and Radiance so we could communicate more clearly.

  It wasn’t something the future Pokemon was too happy with, but however it worked, they were more willing to trust it than a Psychic attempting to do the same. Even if we only use it a little bit, that will still be huge for us communicating better, I thought, taking in every motion and gesture that accompanied Radiance’s words. Learning how to understand a Pokemon is a process that takes time, keying their body language to the words and emotional state they want to convey, so a conversation like this is practically a Rosetta Stone for understanding them.

  “Odd how?” I inquired, and Radiance didn’t speak for a few seconds, shifting back and forth, the six wings on their back slowly spinning around.

  [‘I can’t say, exactly. Memories of before I was brought here are… hard. But the impressions left to me are all wrong. These buildings, too short, too noisy, too… full of life. The Pokeballs are weird as well. Cramped yet comfortable, I’m aware inside, but everything is muted.’] There were things Radiance wasn’t saying here, I realized. Those ‘hard memories’ could be a sign of them truly being conjured by that machine, something I know they detest the idea of. Though if they are true, does that mean that everyone will be gone by the time Radiance would be born?

  It was a sobering thought, but one I wasn’t going to get bogged down in right now. “Do you not want to stay in a Pokeball all the time? We can totally do that-”

  [‘No, I won’t let it beat me.’]

  “It’s not really a case of the Pokeball ‘beating’ you…” I began, but their wings ‘buzzed’ with electricity, likely indicating irritation.

  [‘I said it’s fine. I’m not weak; I’m the strongest.’] They deliberately averted their gaze away from me and the rest of my team as they said that. The last word also felt off in my mind, as if I wasn’t getting quite the right translation of it.

  “Why do you think you need to be the strongest? You have potential, a ton of it, but you don’t have to be the very strongest - heck, you don’t need to fight at all if you don’t want to.”

  They gave an affronted ticking sound, like gears moving quickly. [‘I thought you said you wanted me on your team.’]

  “Of course, but that doesn’t mean you have to fight. So far everyone who’s joined me has - I’ll admit, we do spend a lot of our day training, but that doesn’t mean you have to. You can hang out, practice art, anything really.” Having a hobby even if they do want to battle wouldn’t be a bad idea - even I can’t train every second of every day.

  [‘Anything?’]

  “Anything that doesn’t involve hurting other people,” I clarified. Can’t really backtrack the fact that I have set out certain restrictions for them, but they all basically revolve around that point.

  To Radiance’s credit, they didn’t immediately respond, thinking it over. [‘My first clear memories are of violence. Escape from that ‘lab’ you’ve spoken of was a blur. The place was filled with ‘Pokemon’ but none of them were like me. They were aggressive and attacked. I fought back, instincts taking over as I burned them.’]

  [‘The land was beautiful there, but wrong. On occasion, location and duration felt twisted. Not right. I flew higher and higher to escape and found myself still attacked. Some tried to stop me, but they could not overcome my determination to leave, and I made it out of {that large pit}. Above, I found the world to be so much different than the pit. Still wrong, but in a way I understood.’]

  [‘The strange Pokemon of the land outside would assault me too, but less aggressively. After demonstrating my might-’] Yikes, really don’t want to touch that issue. [‘They gave up attacking me. Many bowed, calling me a {god}. The desert was the home of my ancient ancestors, or so I heard; I made a home there. There were some who would challenge me, but I easily bested them… until you came along.’]

  “And you lost,” I finished for them, mulling over everything Radiance had said. And all the things they didn’t, too. Wild Pokemon look up to Alphas and Natural Tera Pokemon, something they’d perceive as a Legendary? Yeah, that would get a lot of god worship. And in a whole heaping of confusion and a sprinkle of despair as they found themself lost in a land that was nothing like what they knew, you have all the ingredients to explain Radiance’s mood swings and lashing out.

  There wasn’t a lot I could do to fix that now, however, or at least, not more than I was already doing. Amelia’s words urging patience came back to me, and I knew they were right. Radiance just needs time to adjust. We’ve set boundaries and otherwise been helpful and kind, and hopefully they’ll learn to relax. In any case, I should be happy at how far we’ve come, not upset at how far we have to go.

  [‘I want to battle, like you do,’] they said suddenly, drifting over to the battle arena installed nearby. [‘You do not fight like they did- like I do. Yet you are strong. Stronger than I am.’] Not as much dissatisfaction from them there as I thought they would have, though I guess they’ve had a few weeks to get over being beaten. Or maybe, that’s the crux of it all. The reason why they don’t want to go back.

  Were they seen as weak from what little they can remember pre-Time Machine? Or maybe just average in that world. It would explain some of how they’d been feeling - the brutal environment of Area Zero taught them to use violence easily, and then Radiance was worshipped by those outside the Crater… until I beat them and proved that even in this time, there were those stronger than them. It certainly answered a number of questions about their odd behavior, but I decided not to press on their past. It was clearly something they wanted to avoid talking about right now.

  “Sounds like you’ve got a goal in mind, awesome. I think with a bit of polish you’ll be an incredible battler.”

  [‘Truly?’] Notch carried across a faint hint of hope in the translated voice, matching what little I could read off of how their body raised a few centimeters in the air.

  “Oh yeah. Radiance, you’re probably the strongest Pokemon I’ve caught at the time of catching. With the right focus, you’ll grow a ton and be able to take down anyone! Honestly, most of it will just be giving you the right orders in battle; you’re strong and have a good mix of Moves you’ve honed; it’s just a question of using them right.”

  Technical Machines will help for sure, but much like Phantasm, I’m going in blind as to what Radiance can learn. Worse than that, honestly - Phantasm is a regional variant and not one that strays too far Move-wise, so I was still able to use Unovan Zoroarks as a base. With Iron Moth, while I know they’re similar to Volcarona in many ways, they’re also very different.

  [‘If I was the strongest to begin with, then I could be the strongest overall?’] It was clear how important this question was to them, and Radinance’s eyes narrowed on me as I hesitated. I don’t want my team’s goals to come into conflict.

  “I’ll do everything in my power to take you there, but the rest is up to you.” A slight grinding sound had me frowning. “It’s true. Becoming the very, very strongest is a tough road to climb, no matter how hard you work at it. Dun seeks that goal as well, and even within this team, you’ll face impressive challengers to those heights, let alone everyone else in the world. If you work with me, I will make you strong though, I promise tha-”

  [‘Good, direct me to defeat {them},’] Radiance declared, all six wings floating out and turning to point at Notch. The Diancie blinked for a moment, pointing at themself, getting distracted by their own finger for a second, and then back to Radiance. The surprise caused a slight ‘disconnect’ in our telepathic link, and I missed the next few words Radiance had to say, but they looked aggressive towards Notch. At least they only have an aggressive posture and aren’t actually attacking outright.

  “Okay, we can give it a shot. Remember that this is just training, though; neither side is looking to hurt each other seriously - especially not the night before the big day! I’ll give you orders.” I told Radiance. “Notch, you know what to do.” Here goes nothing, I thought as I put up the barrier around the arena and took my place just outside it.

  Radiance fought hard, and listened to me well. Despite everything we tried however, they were soon defeated, the Paradox Pokemon lying on the diamond-sprinkled ground of the arena, defeated. Notch isn’t just a Legendary, but also a terrible match-up for Radiance. Too tough to easily hurt, no good ways to take advantage of Notch’s weaknesses yet, an Ability that stops things like Acid Spray from hurting them, and Radiance is weak to their Rock attacks on top of it.

  As I saw Radiance struggling to rise, amidst the field of spiky rocks and fae mists, I waved for them to stand down. “Enough, this was a fine first showing. Besides, I don’t want to tire Notch out too much before the big day, this was just to get a baseline.”

  My words had the opposite effect I intended, the Iron Moth shot up, narrowing their eyes at me. Sighing, I added, “Radiance, I was never going to be sending you into this Gauntlet, it’s not an indictment of how well you did against Notch.” Especially since if it was I’d only be fighting with one Pokemon.

  That triggered a wild wave of fire and heat, poison seeping out their body and helping melt the ground further as they raged. Used to these sorts of outburst, I quickly called on my Aura to float above the toxic ground and shield myself with cold air. Even that was only enough to deal with the spillover, a Psychic reinforced diamond shield conjured in front of me by Notch in an instant.

  “Enough of that!” I shouted and slowly, they stopped their tantrum, in favor of giving me a confused and slightly hurt beep. Radiance is wondering if they’re strong enough, but that was never the question.

  “I’ll use you plenty in later matches, I promise! But we need to get you integrated into the team and used to my battling style. Plus, more importantly,” I quickly added before they could raise a complaint about that. “We need to deal with Turo first. Hopefully, if all goes well, we can convince him to stop what he’s doing. But if I can’t then we’ll need to stop him, and I don’t want anyone getting the bright idea to go down into the Great Crater because they saw you in this match.”

  It’s on the League’s record, and the Violet Book is common enough that someone will spill the info online, even if I lied. There’s still a risk that it might happen when using Radiance afterwards, but hopefully we can control it, maybe put some more rangers on guarding its boundaries. At the very least, once Turo’s equipment is removed there’s no chance anyone will find out about his time/paradox machine.

  They knew this - we had talked about this - but clearly my Paradox Pokemon wasn’t happy. Slumping, Radiance nodded their head in defeat. I tried to give them a comforting pat on their head afterwards, but they ducked under it and delicately pressed the button of their Pokeball, recalling themself. You don’t need to be so grumpy about it if you agree with me.

  ***

  Shaking aside that one dour spot on an otherwise exciting day, I gave everyone a once over. Seeing everyone was presentable, I latched on the last article of clothing I’d be wearing for the day: a cape.

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  At my sister’s insistence, I’d added it when we’d gone out. We did some little things, like manicures and getting my haircut to make me look a bit less like a feral child (back to rocking the classic Nemona ponytail), as well as changing my hoodie into a shirt. The shirt followed the same design scheme of the hoodie with a Pokeball pattern on it, but instead of being red and white, it was gold and white, matching the dress pants I was wearing too. Each of them had logos of the Rotom Phone Company and Paldean Realty Incorporated on that, but the cape made my parents even happier.

  They claimed that was due to me ‘showing off my dazzling Glitterati potential,’ and it did indeed dazzle. The cape was a glittery, diamond-encrusted piece that felt insanely over-the-top… but it had made Mom and Dad happy. Even Cyan told me to ‘own it’ when I felt like it was trying too hard. If it works for Lance, then it can work for me too, right? Though he didn’t have a Diancie to make something this sparkly. At least it will look dramatic when I conjure a dramatic gust of wind.

  Projecting a boldness I didn’t quite feel, I led my team down to the dining room. Leah greeted me at the entrance. “Young Miss, your meal is ready.” She waved an arm out at my place at the raucous table. It says something about how insanely large our dining room is that it can fit mine and Cyan’s whole teams, our parents plus the Rising Volt Tacklers, and some of their Pokemon, even if just barely.

  “Thank you, majordomo,” I said, still feeling out the word in my mouth, trying to get used to it when addressing her. Then I paused and added, “Really, for everything, thank you, Leah.”

  She blushed and responded, “It’s no- It’s been a pleasure, watching you grow every step of the way. And now to see you on the cusp of becoming a Champion…” She shook her head, half fondly, half in wonder. “But why do you speak like this will be the last time we’ll talk?”

  “Ah, just feels like it’ll be the start of a new era, or maybe a new chapter of my life after this challenge, win or lose.” She chuckled at my response.

  “You sound so grown-up already.” Someone who didn’t know me as well might ask me to ‘stop trying so hard,’ but she just smiled. “Whatever happens, I’ll see you tomorrow, and if I’m not overstepping, I’ll say that I’ll be proud of you. I might have to look after the house, but,” she paused, leaning in to whisper to me. “All of the staff will be watching and cheering you on from here.”

  I gave her a quick hug before joining the others at the table. Orla and my father were eagerly chatting about various engineering, Mother fussing over Cyan, and Arven with Murdoch complimenting the chef and carefully tasting each dish. Friede was the first to catch sight of me, followed quickly by Captain Pikachu, who was small enough to sit at the table instead of having a dish off to the side like some of the larger Pokemon, waved at me, causing the others to notice my arrival.

  ““Nemona!/Dear!”” Billy and O’Nare called out, rushing around the table before I sat down, glomping me in a hug.

  “Mom, Dad, I’m glad to see you too.” Despite me having been home for a while, they had been busy with work, so we hadn’t really had the chance to catch up before now. Part of me does feel a bit, I don’t know, irked? By how much time they spend on their jobs (more for Cyan’s sake than my own). But I know they worked extra hard to clear everything in their schedules for today, my big day. And honestly, I’m not much better; so much to do, so many plans to advance, so little time.

  “Sorry about the damage outside; Notch’s new strength was a bit more than expected, and with Radiance going on a wee rampage… well, the arena is going to need some repairs.” More than what it could fix on its own at least.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Billy waved my concerns away. “We’re just happy to see how much you’ve grown.” They let me go to get a better look at me, looking on in awe as if it had been years instead of a few days since I’d talked with them (on video chat admittedly).

  “Indeed! You must have sprouted up a foot, just like a Glitterati to rise up to their full potential.” O’Nare said, and I laughed. They’re so silly… but they really do care.

  “Can’t have been more than six inches since I started, and less since I saw you last.” I have been growing, though, getting cramps in my legs at night. Doubt it’ll stop any time soon, given Nemona was one of the taller characters in the game. I didn’t want to talk just about myself, however, and quickly asked, “Did Cyan tell you she was thinking about getting another team member? Alola had a bunch of Water Types she was interested - which shouldn’t be a surprise, what with Primarina as her starter.”

  Cyan scoffed. “You’re the Alola-obsessed one.” Barely a second passed before she added, “The islands and all the Pokemon there do sound pretty cool, though. But I still want a trip to Kalos first!”

  I shrugged, clearing my throat from the food I had wolfed down. “Sure,” I had controlled the last family vacation with our trip to Kitakami. My sister simply gave me a look and I added, “It’s fine! Really, just, you know, don’t see the great appeal.”

  “Don’t see the- Kalos is one of the most beautiful regions in the world! Lumiose, the city of light, the city of love! Did you know they did a huge urban redevelopment not too long ago? It made the city even better…” She rambled on about it until the topics shifted, all of us talking about all sorts of things until the meal was finished. Miles discreetly floated by and displayed the time. Almost 9 AM; we’d best get a move on.

  Standing up from the table, I announced, “Thank you, Friede, Orla, Ludlow, and Murdoch. I appreciate all the help you’ve given me. I hope whatever you’re planning next goes well, but for now we have to head off for my Gauntlet.”

  Arven had finished the meal and was already standing by my side. As if we’ll leave without him. He’s been pretty clingy since I got back, but I can’t blame him. The young boy had been staying with us ever since I returned, and Leah had mentioned he’d been by a few times even when I’d been on my journey.

  “We can come along with you; we actually have plans to watch something amazing near Mesagoza.” Friede said, and something about his words had me pause, glancing up from my food around the table. While perfectly innocent, there was just a hint of mirth shared by Friede, Orla, and Murdoch that keyed me to what was going on (not Ludlow, though that might have just been due to his facial hair obscuring much of his expressions).

  “... You guys are sticking around to watch my Elite Challenge,” I said, less a question and more a confirmation. My traitorous sister laughed anyway.

  “Yeah, no duh.” Okay, yeah, I probably should have seen this coming. The doorbell rang, interrupting any further mocking, and she sprung up. “Oh, I’ll get it.” She never gets the door; she always lets one of the staff do it, so why- no way. Did they really…?

  My suspicions were confirmed as I focused my hearing and heard a familiar scuffing of shoes. Despite Cyan’s lead, I raced ahead of her, opening the door. “You guys came all the way here?” I asked Carmine and Kieran.

  The Kitakami kids looked much as I remembered them, just a bit taller than before. Kieran scuffed his foot nervously at the entrance. “Well, yeah, we wanted to see your big battle; you’ve been working hard for this. You’re gonna kick their butts!”

  Before I could say anything to that, Carmine added, “It was a long trip, so you best not let us down!”

  “Aww, love you too,” I said, my words earning a blush from the tall girl. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at this. Any other guests we’re about to be receiving?” I asked my sister, but she shook her head.

  “Unfortunately not. I tried to get Lacey onboard, but she had a party or something she’d already agreed to go to, and Amethio said he was busy with Explorer stuff. It’s a shame,” she said with a wistful sigh. Does she… have a crush on him?! I mean, he’s a bit older than me, so I guess it isn’t crazy, but still, so weird to think of.

  So I decided not to do that and instead quickly sent out a message to my distant friends telling them I was about to battle the Elite Four and asking for them to wish me luck before chatting with everyone else.

  “So, anything new with you guys?” We chatted regularly on my journey, but I’d dropped off a bit since the Alolan trip had happened. Plus, there’s always things you miss when you aren’t talking in person.

  Carmine puffed up at that. “I’ll have you know that I caught a bunch of strong Pokemon! I bet I could even give you a run for your money now.” She declared boldly, arms crossed in front of her.

  “I thought you were busy spending your time studying. Aren’t you worried about getting into Blueberry?” I asked as I led them inside.

  “Blueberry Academy is a top-tier educational institution, but it’s also one of the best places to hone your battle skills; the untamed Terrarium, regular student tournaments, and the Elite Club all serve to hone your skills as a Trainer. I can’t let either brains or brawn falter if I’m to surpass you!” There was a dangerous gleam to her yellow eyes.

  “Mhm,” I said noncommittally to get a rise out of the fiery girl. “Not really sure that the Terrarium counts as ‘untamed’ though, considering the whole school is man-made.” Kieran snickered at his sister’s sputtering in response.

  “We’ve been studying hard too, though it’d be fun to battle again sometime.” He wasn’t as bold as his sister, but the twinkle in his own eyes told me he was just as excited as her.

  “Looking forward to it, let’s have some matches when we get into Blueberry.” Kieran beamed brightly, and even Carmine gave a soft smile at my easy confidence in them. There’s no doubt in my mind that they’ll make it to Blueberry. They might not have the memories of a past life, but they’re both quite bright too. Honestly, it’s far more impressive what they’ve managed with so much less than I’ve had.

  “What’s this about a blueberry?” Murdoch asked, and my sister answered.

  “Just my sister being stubborn and going to school all the way in Unova rather than the far superior Uva Academy.” Any maturity to her response was slightly undercut by the raspberry she blew my way.

  Which is better than Arven’s grumbling. I still have several months until I go over there… assuming everything goes well with talking down Turo. That thought loomed over my head and made me feel bad every time I saw Arven and knew I was keeping it from him. I still did my best not to let it show, though - no reason to taint these happy memories with my worries for the future.

  It’s fine; if all goes well, he won’t ever have to know. His father’s name doesn’t need to be dragged through the mud. Still, if the worst does come to pass, I’m glad he’s talking to his mother again, which seems to be going well? Baby steps there, but still, if they’re patching things up, I’m happy for him.

  “Both of them are good schools, and like I told Arven, I’ll study at Uva after I’m done at Blueberry. But that’s all far in the future; for now, I’ve got to focus on becoming a Champion.” Hardly the most subtle of topic deflections, but if it doesn’t end up with Arven in tears again, I’ll take it.

  We needed two Flying Taxis, even of the larger variants, to carry our entire group (I had suggested taking the Brave Olivine over, but Friede muttered something about ‘Geeta’ and ‘scary,’ so I let that idea drop). My sister, having planned this all out, had already arranged for two of them ahead of time.

  Our family was in one of the taxis while Kieran, Carmine, and the Rising Volt Tacklers were in the other. With a farewell wave to the staff below, we were off, soaring through the skies towards Mesagoza and the League Building.

  I’d have felt a bit apologetic about leaving the Kitakami siblings with a bunch of people they didn’t know, but almost immediately I heard Carmine ‘challenge’ Friede to a test of his knowledge, declaring the man to be ‘too young’ to be a Pokemon Professor. Kieran was shyly talking with Murdoch, bonding over their ‘food-based’ Pokemon and discussing some of the cultural dishes they had there. Sounds like they’re getting along fine.

  “You doing okay?” Cyan quietly inquired. Mother and father were quickly sending off last-minute messages to work to ensure that any sudden details would be covered while Arven was entranced by some Flamigos he saw flying by, leaning out the edge of the taxi to get a better look at them.

  “Ah, yeah, I’m fine. Really, just thinking. But I feel… ready. This is it; this is our time.” I truly felt that way. As much as a million different thoughts and strategies swirled within my head, I was confident in the strength we had. After everything they’ve been through, I know my Pokemon are strong enough to win, so all I have to do is see them across the finish line. Easy, right?

  …Well, easier said than done. Honestly, the real thing that takes the burden off of my mind is knowing that this isn’t the real battle; it just helps. Convincing Turo to shut down the Paradox machine is the biggest challenge. This is just where I prove I have the chops to force it shut down, if need be.

  ***

  The first difficulty came in landing down. The Flying Taxis weren’t that large, but the grassy hill was swarming with reporters and fans. At least I think they’re fans, given the signs they’re holding up with my name on them- oh, that one has a cute drawing of Dun! A few League Officials cordoned off a landing spot for us, holding back the people that tried to swarm us the moment we touched ground.

  Geeta walked up to us as we disembarked. “Sorry about that. We knew this event would garner much attention, but we hadn’t realized how many people would be here to get ‘close to the action.’”

  I gave her a small smile, somewhat distracted by all the noise around us. People were loudly cheering my name, but also reporters were desperately shouting, hoping I’d turn to answer their questions. Said questions ranged from reasonable (“Who do you think will be your greatest challenge among the Elite Four?” “What are your strategies to take on Martha’s Spiritomb?”) to the intriguing (“Will you be competing in the next junior karate tournament after this?” “What was the greatest challenge you faced thus far?”) to the pretty obvious but understandable, (“Will we be seeing any Mega Evolutions from you?” “Do you think you can win?”) and the truly ridiculous (“Is it true you’re secretly Hassel’s child?!” “Did you fly to Alola to elope before the Gauntlet?”).

  “Thanks,” I said, shaking away the distractions and purposely reigning in my Aura so my senses weren’t as sensitive. I’ll have to get used to that later. Not just people peppering me with questions, but also having to answer them, rapid-fire. Maybe if I thought of it like a battle?

  If I was a little overwhelmed, Carmine and Kieran were utterly gobsmacked. There’s hundreds, possibly thousands here; probably more people on this small hill than in their entire village. And these are just the people who came in person, probably mostly Mesagozans unless I have some really die-hard fans here; most will just watch it on the TV or online later.

  “Pretty cool building, right? No Oni Mountain, but Paldea has some cool places too,” I said, giving Carmine a low ball, which she instinctively responded to, snapping back.

  “That’s right; Kitakami is the greatest! But, uh, your home is pretty nice too, I guess. We could visit someday, so you don’t get lonely.” Kieran nodded along, mutely. Wow, that’s practically Carmine-speak for ‘I love it here!’ Still the words did the job of getting them moving, and they followed the others into the building.

  “Your friends and family can stay in a lounge we’ve prepared,” Geeta informed us, leading us to said room. It was fairly plain, but there were plenty of chairs and a couch for them to sit in, facing a large screen TV. It was also already occupied by three familiar figures.

  “Tulip? Dendra? Gothorita?!” I was flabbergasted for a second before shaking my head and rushing forward and giving Dendra a fist bump (which she returned so hard I was pretty sure I’d end up with a light bruise). To Tulip I dipped my head slightly in respect. “I didn’t expect to see you two here. Admittedly, because someone was hiding everything from me and I thought we were done with surprises after breakfast,” I turned to give a mild glare at Cyan.

  Like, on the one hand, I really appreciate it, but on the other, she knows I don’t like big surprises like that! Dendra cleared her throat, speaking up. “We thought about joining you but someone likes her beauty sleep, so we just teleported here.” Tulip gave her girlfriend a playful swat as the vice chairwoman strode forward.

  “Yes, it might have cleared some issues up had you arrived with Nemona’s party,” Geeta stated calmly.

  Tulip’s response was sweet, but the smile she gave didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m a Gym Trainer, there should have been no issues with my entrance.”

  “It was quite irregular, especially with your girlfriend and an uncaught Pokemon in tow.” Wow, I didn’t realize you could glare daggers at someone while smiling like that, but they’ve both mastered that skill. For some reason Arven looked quite awkward, taking in the scene. I could hardly blame him; however, the tension between them was palpable even without being a Psychic. Speaking of Psychics…

  “And how are you doing?” I inquired, crouching a bit to be on eye-level with Gothorita. She gave me a blank look, betraying no emotions, but extended her ribbons around my hand. Feeling what she was trying to tell me was difficult, but the empathetic communication Athena practiced made it a little easier to decipher her feelings. “You’re still unsure?”

  “But super excited to watch your matches, osu! She’s got quite the spirit, so we just had to bring her along for this.”

  “Thank you,” I told my sensei before turning back to the Pokemon. “I’ll do my best. Not sure if you’ll be able to feel me from here, but I’ll be close by, and you’ll be able to watch me from the screen.”

  “That’s correct, the matches are set to stream directly here,” Geeta explained while I tried to extricate myself from a clingy Psychic. “Relax and get ready for a great show,” she said, gesturing to the television before. “In between matches, Nemona, you can join them here to rest and recuperate. We’ll also have small breaks planned for lunch and dinner in the cafeteria. Does that sound good?”

  They all nodded (and I had managed to gently get my hand loose and wrench my shadow away from Gothorita), so Geeta continued. “With that settled, let’s go to your first match.”

  “Against Daisy, right?” I confirmed, walking to the doorway with the vice chairwoman. She nodded, and I paused at the door to wave goodbye to the others, my eyes watering a little. “Uhh, thank you so much for the support. It means… more than I can say and-” My voice cracked, and they responded enthusiastically.

  “You got this!”

  “We’re rooting for you!”

  “Show them true Glitterati spirit out there!”

  “We love you, dear!”

  “Give them the taste of defeat!”

  “You’ll do great, osu!”

  “Have faith in your strength; your true power cannot be denied.”

  “Go kick their butts!”

  “D-don’t hold back!”

  “Hah, yeah, will do.” With that, I was off, heading towards my first Elite Challenge. Well, I guess it counts as my third if we count my battles against Hassel and Miguel, but… the first real one.

  Geeta was silent as we walked through the corridors, only speaking up when we entered the elevator. “It’s impressive how far you’ve come in a short time. I’ve known you had talent since we first met, but even I didn’t anticipate how far you’d rise since.”

  “We’ve known each other about three years now,” I pointed out. “It’s not that crazy to be taking on the Elite Four after that much time spent training. Or is it just doing so at my age that’s impressive?”

  She inclined her head. “That’s impressive too, but even without that, there are only so many Trainers that can make the jump to challenging the Elite Four and Champion in such a time.”

  “Hey, save that kind of talk for when I win,” I said back with a smirk, glancing over at the tall woman. Not a hint of what she’s really feeling, even here. Geeta’s never been unfair to me, but it’s hard to tell what she’s thinking.

  “I’ll make sure to mention it then too, but I felt I should recognize your growth up to this point. Saving the recognition for after you succeed feels somewhat hollow.” There was a pause, and the only sound was of the elevator descending until we reached our floor.

  “Well, I appreciate the support,” I began, then stopped as the woman shook her head. “Ah right, that isn’t what you were doing, was it?”

  “Correct. You have plenty of people supporting you already.” I smiled as I followed her down the corridor, thinking of everyone who cared for and believed in me. It’s strange; I was so closed off when I first awakened to my memories in this world, and it never felt like I was desperately seeking out friends, but now I have so many.

  Rather than take me to the big double doors at the end of the hall, Geeta motioned for us to go down a side door. At my questioning glance, she explained, “There’s just a small check to go through before you begin your first match.” I was slightly wary, looking inside the doorway to see a small room with a computer and desk off to the side but mainly dominated by a large machine at the center and back of it. The thing was bulky and vaguely hexagonal, coming up to my shoulders, with six indent slots at the top of its points. Wires led out the back through the wall, and there was a small inactive display screen in the center.

  “Please place your Pokeballs in the machine,” Geeta said, gesturing to the strange device. “It will scan them and make sure all the Pokemon within are indeed registered to you. It also saves us some time in registering them as Champion-tier Pokemon when someone wins.” Hard to believe anyone would show up to a match like this with Pokemon that weren’t registered to them, but people can be crazy. That, and/or the League just made it policy to do so preemptively.

  There were only six slots, so I had to wait for all of them to be scanned before taking them out before putting Bahamut’s ball in. Each Pokemon scanned quickly displayed their ID and my Trainer ID on the screen.

  The vice chairwoman tilted her head slightly to the side. “Are you not going to register the last member of your team?” She asked, staring at Radiance’s Pokeball.

  “Nah. This one isn’t quite ready for battles of this level yet.” A decent enough excuse for the time being. Even partially true, though more for fear of them lashing out and getting someone hurt in a match than their own power, however. If they listened to me well, I don’t think a single Pokemon in the Elite Four could stand up to Radiance.

  With the scans done, I took the time to switch Miles out from their phone (noting the ‘Go Nemona! I’ll be watching your matches online!’ and ‘Good luck,’ texts from Lacey and Amethio) to a combat-ready Form. Drone and Boombox Forms are good, and I do want to show them off here, but for Daisy, there’s only one reasonable option. I’ll use the other one in future matches.

  Geeta nodded. “Very well, let us continue.” Leading me back out and down the hallway, she asked, “Do you have any rivals among your friends and family? Someone who pushes you further than ever before?”

  “Hmm, Kieran might get there some day, and Amethio certainly tries, oh! Rika was pretty good when I fought her last.” Shame I won’t be fighting her here today, though, but she was finishing up her Gym run only two years ago and is still a teenager; I guess it’s a bit much to expect that she’d be an Elite Four already. Those thoughts caused a slight realization to click into place. “Huh, yeah, I guess I can’t say there’s anyone who fits that role.” At least not yet; we’re still a bit more than a half decade off of canon, unfortunately, assuming the protagonist even is there.

  “That’s a shame; finding a proper rival could help you rise even farther and give you new goals to reach for.”

  “Eh, might give me more motivation, but I’m not really lacking on that front.” The fate of Paldea is pressure enough, thank you. At the slight frown on her face, I continued.

  “There’s always something higher to reach for, some new goal to attain,” I said, stretching my hand up in the air, as if trying to grasp something ephemeral. “Once I've become a Champion, I’ll just set my sights even higher.”

  “And when you reach the top?”

  “A trick question, that; there is no ‘top.’ Not really. It’s like ‘utopia’ or ‘infinity,’ a goal you can constantly strive for but never truly reach. That isn’t to say that progress isn’t important or worthwhile, however,” I quickly added.

  She surprised me by chuckling. “Sorry, it’s just always a fresh perspective and something unexpected with you. It’s good; it forces me to think in new ways.”

  “I see,” I replied, nodding my head, coming to a stop before the main doors. Well, I don’t truly see; there’s still a lot I don’t get about Geeta, but… “If you’re looking for a match, I’d be happy to give you one some time after this.”

  “I hardly think I’d make a good rival for you, but I’ll keep that in mind. Now, let’s not keep them waiting.” With that, she opened the doors, revealing the rather bland room with big light blue tiles making up the walls and floors. The room was a large, square shape with a slightly smaller gray rectangle within, the lines and Pokeball pattern on it marking it as the arena proper. Rotom Drones, far smaller than the version Miles had, hovered around the outside, recording everything taking place here. There was a man I didn’t recognize with a mic standing off to the side. And across from me on the other end of the arena stood Daisy. Go time.

  Discord to talk about it. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.