“Iron Head the Weezing,” I opened with, directing Bahamut verbally while directing Anya through our telepathic link. [‘Fake Out the Durant’]. I want to give Bahamut an opening. Anya’s training is coming along well, but she’ll mostly be on support for this part.

  “First Impression,” Atticus called out, and his Bug Type skittered forward, rushing straight for Anya. I wasn’t sure whether it was because he knew the Type matchups well enough to target my Psychic Type, a hidden signal from Atticus, or just perceiving her as the weakest link. He was on her in a flat second, and Anya barely managed to clap her hands together loudly in front of his face as he rushed her.

  The Fake Out shocked Durant enough that he stumbled, though still ended up crashing into her, even if the Type Energy (and thus majority of the power) of his Move had been disrupted. I was surprised she'd managed in time, but grateful. All that practice we put in paid off.

  On the other end of the arena, the Weezing tried to rise up, but Bahamut’s Steel infused charge had him slamming into her before she could get too far away. I noted how he had jumped up and then headbutted her downward with pride. Good, he’s keeping his tactics in mind and recognizing that it’ll be easier for him to deal with a floating Pokemon closer to the ground.

  My Dragon had incredible power, but he had trouble fighting airborne foes, so I made sure he knew it was best to tear into enemies fast and near the ground, leveraging his immense strength. Something that the Galarian Weezing took fairly well despite the Type advantage of the Iron Head, her own defenses holding up. She even managed to fire off a Dazzling Gleam, the light scorching Bahamut, but doing little to Anya, the Durant inadvertently shielding her with his body.

  [‘Tickle him’]

  [‘What?!’]

  [‘You heard me, Tickle Durant now to get him off of you!’] I thought desperately at Anya. It wasn't a Move we had practiced well, but it was one I knew she could naturally learn, and right now it was our only shot at getting the dangerous Bug off of her. She narrowly avoided him snapping his pincers at her, and began trying to tickle the metal Bug. I was worried that her unfamiliarity with it or his steel plated body would make it difficult, but it worked. The Durant twitched uncontrollably and rolled over, letting Anya escape and start to run away as her foe tried to regain himself.

  Bahamut continued to tear into Weezing with quick Slashes and punctuated Iron Heads knocking the poisonous Pokemon around. A Strange Steam poured out from her two heads in response, engulfing Bahamut. The Steam burnt at him, hardened scales providing little defense for the attack. Bahamut has dealt serious damage to her, but he’s also taking a hefty beating too. I could switch - Radiance would handle both of these foes better - but I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, there’s still a few strategies I want to try out.

  “Dance around the attacks!” I cried, and Bahamut broke off his assault to empower himself with a quick Swords Dance. At the same time, I gave my next telepathic order to Anya, and she waggled her finger in the air.

  “Weezing, continue, widespread Steam, don’t let him escape. Durant, do it.” Whatever ‘it’ was, I wasn’t sure, but Anya’s Follow Me pulled in Weezing’s attack. She grunted with pain and immediately began munching on her Sitrus Berry, but it left Bahamut free to finish buffing himself.

  “Follow Me… Impressive, I’ve never heard of a Gothorita learning that Move before.” Atticus commented, rubbing at his chin. True, but how many other Trainers have given their Pokemon a mild existential crisis before even catching them and implanting the idea of that Move in a young Pokemon’s head before?

  [‘Zero,’] Anya said snarkily to me, my thoughts apparently still loud enough for her to ‘hear.’

  Weezing prepared another Dazzling Gleam at some signal from Atticus, proving that some unexpected Move wasn’t going to slow him down much. Luckily, we had more plans than just that.

  “As One, Protect and Earthquake!” I shouted. Running over breathlessly, Anya threw herself onto Bahamut’s back, grabbing hold of him as he stomped the ground hard. My Psychic Type raised a barrier around the two of them, Protecting them from the beam of dazzling light.

  The barrier had to work hard to stretch around the two of them, and I caught a glimpse of Anya’s face screwed up in concentration. The hivecomb barrier even cracked in places from the force of the attack, but in the end it held. Bahamut’s Move rippled throughout the arena, the Ditto Blocks rising up in waves that battered both of the opposing Pokemon before swiftly resuming their base shape. These might make for even better arenas than usual, the floor being relatively unaffected by big Moves unless they’re specifically designed as hazards.

  “Switch, and again,” Atticus' voice rang out with just a bit more tension in it as he saw how badly his Pokemon were doing, but he was hardly panicking either. Durant clapped his forelegs at Bahamut this time as the barrier faded and Atticus recalled his other Pokemon. My ‘As One’ plan worked, but the Earthquake was definitely weaker than it should have been, given the Swords Dance Bahamut just pulled off. It looks like even if another Pokemon uses Protect and cover you in it, it’ll weaken the power of any Move that goes through.

  “Aerial Ace, stomp that Durant down! Heal Pulse Bahamut.” I gave out my commands to my Pokemon. Wow, it’s a lot tougher to do a double battle, those commands have to be lightning fast to keep up.

  Doubling up as Atticus sent out his next Pokemon seemed like a good idea at first, but as Bahamut landed with one foot heavily crushing down upon Durant, I realized my mistake as my Pokemon was panting for breath - a phenomenon shared by Anya right after she healed him.

  That Move he was using before… Entrainment! Durant gave them his Ability which is… Truant?? Shit. A glance at the ground showed me that Anya couldn’t even use her Shadow Tag here because of it. I guess that’s one trick we’ll keep for later then.

  A large, yellow limbed, black capped mushroom like Pokemon entered the field on Atticus side, and it was one I knew from our home nation. Toedscruel, it fights a bit like Amonguss from what I’ve heard but-

  “Earth Power.” At Atticus’ direction, the Toedscruel slammed the ground with several long tentacle like limbs, causing a line to run through the floor before erupting beneath Bahamut and Anya, hurting both of them. Neither of them were able to get out of the way with how tired they were from Truant, but thankfully Durant suffered under that too, not able to make it worse.

  I switched Anya, calling for Bahamut to “Go crazy!” My Haxorus charged forward, the sudden speed and unpredictable thrashing from Outrage catching Toedscruel off guard. Durant Lunged and hit Bahamut from behind, but my Pokemon didn’t stop his assault upon the Grass Type.

  Releasing my next Pokemon was a tough choice, but with what I knew about Toedscruels, I was confident in Miles. They were in Boombox Form, and as I saw Toedscruel squatting, building up for an attack, I shouted “Uproar!”

  Large spore clouds drifted out from atop Toedscruel’s head, engulfing Bahamut and even Durant, the Bug Type unable to get away in time. Miles’ raucous noise had them snapping out of the grogginess before it could really take hold.

  “Outrage again, finish off that Toedscruel.” I called upon seeing Atticus return Durant. The tentacled mushroom Pokemon fought back hard, whipping into my Dragon and attempting to drain Bahamut of his strength, but combined with two Outrages from the strongest physical attacker on my team and Miles’ Life Orb boosted Uproar, the Grass Type fell.

  Haxorus gave a loud cry of triumph before toppling over as he was defeated as well, exhausted from the accumulated blows he’d taken. “You did great out there,” I told him as I recalled him to his Pokeball. I’m not sure if he could actually hear that, but I’m sure he knows how proud I am.

  On paper we were both down one Pokemon with two others used, and one unknown yet to use each, but I was quite confident from this position. Weezing and Durant are both badly hurt, while only Anya is hurt on my side. I don’t know what his fourth Pokemon will be, but given the other two, there’s only one choice here.

  As he sent out his next two, I released Radiance onto the field, the Iron Moth twirling around with a few showy streamers of fire twirling around them. On the other side his Galarian Weezing returned to the field, alongside an amorphous pink blob with two beedy eyes and a thin smile.

  “Sending out a Legendary for a friendly match?” Atticus asked rhetorically. Ah, whoops. I keep on forgetting that everyone sees Radiance as a Legendary and not a Paradox Pokemon because nobody knows what that is… and also because they faced a Legendary head on and won. He continued. “I suppose it’s fine though because that strength will soon be ours. Transform!”

  Not gonna happen. “Double Discharge.” The Ditto had a odd glittery blue powder spread on it’s body which made it much faster than I would have expected from the Imposter Pokemon. But Miles was on the faster side of my team and Radiance was the fastest, even before the Booster Energy triggered, heightening their speed further. As such, I had just enough time to see a ripple spread out across the Ditto’s body before bolts of electricity raced across the arena and into them. This was joined a second later by Miles’ own Discharge, shocking everyone else around.

  Weezing had raised a Protect, stopping them from taking the bolts, but the rest of the Pokemon in the arena were well shocked by it, Ditto fainting and Miles and Radiance looking a little worse for wear, despite the Resistance the former had and the impressive special defenses of the latter.

  “So you’re the type that will risk self damage for a quicker victory, interesting,” Atticus muttered, likely not suspecting that I could hear his words from so far away. He recalled his Ditto and released his Durant back near his side of the field as he ordered his Weezing in close.

  “Take them out!” He declared in a louder voice and I smirked, seeing through his plan in an instant.

  “Double Protect,” I called, and both my Pokemon raised barriers as soon as Weezing began glowing. A second later, a massive Explosion from the Weezing hit the barriers… to no effect, beyond her own fainting from the Move.

  I expected Atticus to fold there, but instead he ordered his Durant to attack with a “Stomping Tantrum.” The ant in the back had used the opening from Weezing’s Explosion to set up an Agility, and thus rushed in now, moving even faster than Radiance and straight towards them!

  ... Or almost straight at them. His charge ended up being a bit off in angle and instead the leaping attack took them over Radiance, his six legs flailing but failing to stomp onto my Pokemon before he went past them and he smashed headfirst into the wall.

  While he was still dazed, I called “Fiery Dance.” A quick sweep of three of their burning wings, and Durant was rolling in pain, screeching loudly. Atticus conceded quickly, calling Durant over with a disappointed expression on his face. The Trainer did a quick once over of the burnt Bug Type, spraying him with a Potion before returning him to his Pokeball.

  “That was disappointing,” he commented after shaking my hand politely. “Not you, to be clear. Your Pokemon did quite well.”

  “Yours tried hard too,” I offered but he shook his head.

  “Tried and failed. We’ve been working on them mastering Truant and Hustle for too long for that to be the result. I’ll have to send him off. Possibly Toedscruel too, though he hasn’t had as much time to prove himself. We’ll see if he can do better in the future.”

  “What? You can’t do that!” At my outburst, Atticus looked down at me, a slight frown crossing his features for the first time.

  “I’m going to assume you mean I ‘shouldn’t’ do that, rather than ‘can’t.’ I won’t be breaking any regulations or rules by releasing the Pokemon here of course. I admire your skill as a Trainer, but I don’t appreciate you trying to tell me what to do with my Pokemon.”

  I bit back an immediate retort on the tip of my tongue. Remember one of the basics of D&D - Diplomacy then Intimidate, never the other way around. “I’ll admit it was a rough showing, but the fact that Durant even has the beginnings of Truant and Hustle is fairly impressive. It might just be a combination that needs a bit more time to come to fruition, especially with that Entrainment.”

  “And yet he could only manage to switch between the Abilities inconsistently, letting Truant slow him down in the middle of the match and being far too inaccurate even considering the usual wild behavior from Pokemon with that Ability.” Atticus shook his head. “No, he’ll simply have to go. I can’t be the best with him pulling me down.”

  “Maybe that attitude is what’s pulling you down from ‘being the best.’ Not exactly a Champion, now are you?” Okay brain, maybe not the most ‘diplomatic’ way to handle things. “Look, I’m sorry, it’s just he tried hard and to see you throw him away-”

  “Better than holding them up to a standard they can never achieve.” Atticus actually glared at me for a moment before shaking his head. “It’s clear we have different methods on how we operate as Trainers. I hope you open your perspective in the future, or you'll find you won't be able to keep up here.”

  “Uhuh,” I said dismissively, recalling my Pokemon and striding off. I almost want to taunt him about how if I need to keep up how come he's the one who lost here, but he'd probably just reply with how he 'wasn't going full out.

  After I was away from his little ‘Elite’ base, I released Anya to walk by my side again as we explored the Savannah.

  [‘Why is that fight still bothering you?’] She questioned, and I looked surprised. I thought I was keeping it in. Did I stomp a little too hard or- Anya gave me an unimpressed glance, pointing at her own head.

  [‘Right, Psychic Type. Even if you aren’t a Psychic focused on empathic abilities, you can still probably sense what I'm feeling this close?’] She nodded and I sighed, trying to formulate a proper response without her picking up on it before it was ready.

  [‘I guess it bothers me in part because I have considered dropping Pokemon from my team. I worried about Nightwing’s prickliness early on, and Radiance… There were definitely some severe trials we had early on, with the Paradox Pokemon trying to kill or hurt me. Repeatedly. Sure, it’s all done now, but still. Do I have any right to judge him then for deciding not to keep a Pokemon?’]

  Anya gave me a look like I was crazy. [‘Of course you do, he was a meany jerk head!’]

  I couldn’t help but laugh at her outburst. It’s an overly simplistic view of things… but I can’t say it’s a wrong one. He is 'meany jerk head.' But even still, I shouldn't let it bug me. If people like Atticus and Elsa want to be jerks, make snide comments and treat their Pokemon like tools (decently cared for tools, but still), then I don’t need to have anything to do with them. Part of me wanted to challenge them but that would mean surrounding myself with their League members to 'earn' the right to challenge them, and that felt like way too much effort and stress for me, and all to try and convince people that probably wouldn't hear me.

  [‘Hey Anya, wanna go check out the coastal biome next? We could have fun on the beach.’] Her eyes lit up as I visualized an image of what the beach on the Coastal Biome was like, and she began racing down the path.

  “Wait, wait up! No seriously Anya, that path doesn’t go to the beach, it leads to the canyon biome!”

  ***

  Our trip through part of the canyon ended up with us still finding some water for Anya to splash around in, with there being a few surprising sections with waterfalls making small rivers and nearby greenery, even amidst the craggy, mountainous landscape.

  Anya watched with keen interest as pods of Squirtle swam around the river, racing the Horsea, all under the watchful eyes of Alomomola who drifted along. Parent Seadra kept an eye out too, but were generally more aloof, focused on doing their own thing. The Pokemon are so accepting here. Even skittish Deerlings on some of the cliffs above were happy to play with Anya. Speaking of which…

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “C’mon up,” I waved Anya over to the dock made of Ditto Blocks I was sitting on. The Chinchou trying to lead her further in the water was disappointed but swam off elsewhere. “You don’t know how to swim very well yet. We can practice that in the future if you want."

  Anya’s face lit up with joy before freezing and becoming horrified. “What- oh. You saw the training I put the rest of the team through off the northern coast of Paldea, huh?” A single, terrified nod.

  After a minute of silence I patted her on the shoulder. “It builds character.” That triggered a bout of waterworks from the Psychic Type which I knew by this point to be nothing but crocodile tears (she had well and mastered Fake Tears). I also knew I was weak to them, so I averted my gaze, instead focusing out on a little cave/waterway system off in the distance.

  The water ran through it and out to other parts of the canyon, the cliff it was under wasn’t so wide that I couldn’t see light from the other side. In the center though was an unusual sight, of a Rhydon moving about atop a tiny island in the center. I saw a couple of Rhyhorns over in the Savannah Biome, but not many here, especially not in the water filled section.

  With nothing better to do, I decided to check it out, returning Anya for a moment as I flew from the shore over, then releasing her when we were back on land. The Rhydon looked baffled before shaking it off and going back to what he was doing before. Waving his arms out, I saw the water shift and ripple forward. Wind on the surface? No, would have felt that. He’s trying for a Water Type Move, but what Water type Moves does a Rhydon learn? Oh right, Surf!

  “Hey, are you trying to learn the Move Surf?” I asked the Rhydon, who turned around in surprise before nodding his head eagerly.

  “Rhy. Do don!”

  “Hmm, well I don’t have any Water Types on my team, at least not full time ones… but Miles can become one, and Dun has a good understanding of how to manipulate Type Energy. They could help if you want?”

  Rhydon stomped aggressively towards me and I quickly backed up, only to stop when he stopped and I saw a hurt look on his face. Oh, he was just going for a hug- “Urk!” I wheezed as I went in to give the rocky giant a hug and he crushed me a little with his strength.

  “Okay, c’mon out Miles, Dun.” I called after Rhydon released me and I caught my breath. Dun popped out of his Pokeball, while Miles flew from the phone and into the washing machine I’d pulled out of my Silph bag. “Alright, Miles, why don’t you explain how being a Water Type feels different from your regular Form, the nature of that element. Then Dun can walk you through how he turns his usual Normal Type tail based attacks into Aqua Tail.”

  “Bzzt, right away! To begin, Water energy is very ‘swoosh’ and swirly. In motion but less erratic than my Electric energy… oh right, Ground and Rock. Bzzt…” I chuckled from the side as Miles began their explanation, leaning over to Gothorita.

  “This might not seem like it, but this is a form of training for them as well,” I told the Psychic Type. “By having to explain what they do, it forces them to think over how they use their own Moves.”

  Anya brightened up at that. [‘You can make teaching others a lesson for the ones doing the teaching? Wow… no wonder Notch said you were a Saint!’]

  My smile dropped and I rolled my eyes. “It’s hardly that impressive, something plenty of teachers and senseis understand with time. I’m just adapting it to being a Trainer. Your lesson will be to learn from this and learn a Move outside of your usual Psychic, Normal, and Dark Type Moves.”

  “Rita?”

  “I’m aware that your line doesn’t learn much by way of Water type Moves, but you do have some other Types you can learn, so give it your best shot.” I gave her a thumbs up for encouragement with one hand while reaching into my pocket with the other and grasping onto a circlet I’d had made recently.

  It was silver but relatively unobtrusive, the dark stone set in it blending in with my hair for the most part. Not many people would suspect those are the Dark Stones I’m using to protect my mind. And those that do, well, hopefully it’ll be enough to ward them off from trying anything stupid.

  Before, such precautions might have actually drawn attention to me and indicated I had something to hide in my mind, but as a Champion ranked Trainer now, obscurity as a defense had flown out the window. I was confident in my Auric skills which were still growing, but I knew better than to rely on just that, so I had the circlet commissioned shortly after I won the Gauntlet.

  Of course, Anya knew all about that and how I was using it to make sure she didn’t piggyback off my own thoughts and instead learned on her own, much to her exaggerated disappointment. A Psychic bond is a useful thing, but it can cut both ways. I don’t want her getting distracted in a fight or constantly relying on my thoughts, so this should be good for her.

  The wild Rhydon was having a fun time, copying Dun and slapping his own tail against the water, which kicked up a fair wave, but more due to the sheer force behind the appendage rather than Type energy. Still, by the time we were done, I noticed decent improvements in his effort to make waves. Now a single thrust of his arms out in front of him would cause a noticeable swell of water outward from the island.

  Hardly the tsunamis a skilled master of the Typing can call upon even on dry land, but it's a huge improvement for a single day’s work. Speaking of, let’s see how far Anya got. I turned to my newest Pokemon. “Alright, ready to show me what you’ve learned?”

  My first warning sign probably should have been the fact that she wasn’t nervous or unsure but instead had a big, smug grin on her face. She started by waving her hand back and forth. “Follow Me? It’s impressive that you taught yourself that Move in the past but we were trying for a different Type-” I paused as I saw the tip glow in an unusual way. “Wait is that-?”

  My words were cut off by the shaking I felt permeating the ground. Instinctively, I rose up, but there was still danger as the Earthquake shook the foundations of the large cliff above me. A moment of panic set in as I feared the worst, but then passed as the tremors faded, unable to cause any cracks or break the cliff. Metronome is still based off of the power of the user and Anya doesn’t excel at Physical Attacks. Even still…

  Any scoldings I could give her were cut off by Rhydon roaring angrily at us. Dun and Miles immediately placed themselves between us, but I motioned for them not to attack, scooping up Anya and backing away. “Very sorry about that, won’t happen again!” I told the irked wild Pokemon as we flew away, my more experienced Pokemon trailing behind me.

  “So,” I began as we soared across the water. “I feel like you didn’t really abide by the spirit of what I was going for. What with Metrnome being a Normal Move and all. Why did you do that?” Anya didn’t answer, though her eyes were still a little watery.

  I was feeling the drain on my stamina even after a short flight with a passenger, so I dropped down to the grass nearby. “It’s okay if you can’t grasp something right away. Most of my team took years to train up to where they are now. Just keep on trying and if something stumps you, ask for help. That doesn’t mean getting frustrated if it doesn’t work immediately,” I amended. That was why I used the circlet in the first place, since I’ve noticed Anya can be a bit lazy if I cut her too much slack. Still, there has to be a good balance.

  It was one of those things you didn’t really think of, especially not for an already accomplished Trainer, but maintaining relationships with your Pokemon was something difficult to manage. It takes work and won’t always be perfect, even among long time team members. Worth the effort though, I thought as I saw Anya sniff and wipe away the tears.

  [‘Why didn’t Metronome do what I wanted? Stupid Move,’] she psychically grumbled.

  [‘Metronome is a complicated Move. Psychics can’t predict it accurately and even Faeries have difficulty getting it to achieve what they want - though they do have better odds with getting a ‘good’ Move than other Types. Its unpredictability is baked into it. Trying to force it to do what you want is usually more trouble than it's worth-’] My phone ringing cut through my thoughts and I waited a second for Miles to float up before they, still in their Wash Form, made a polite ‘Bzzt’ sound reminding me.

  “Ah hello, who is this?”

  “It’s Carmine, I need to know where your room is. We’re all meeting up to have lunch,” she pseudo invited me, and my stomach growled.

  “It’s on the first floor, suite number 179. But umm-”

  “We’ll see you soon, you better be ready when I get there!” She demanded and hung up. I moved to call her back, but Anya tugged on my arm.

  [‘It’s funnier if you wait,’] she advised and I smirked. Alright, we can wait. It didn’t take long, with the phone ringing a minute later. I made sure to hold it a good distance away from my ears before answering, anticipating what was to come.

  “Where are you!? You told me you were here! I’m so annoyed I could black out!” She shouted, and I smothered any laughter that bubbled up. I probably shouldn’t find it so funny, but Carmine’s got such a short fuse. She’s all bark and no bite though.

  “I told you where my room was, not where I am. I’m down in the Terarium; this place is great! Hey, I know you want to have lunch and all, but if you guys are willing to wait a minute and head down, we could have a picnic down here in the Terarium!”

  “Don’t go thinking we’ll go along with whatever you say- what’s that?” She turned to talk with the others just out of sight from the screen. After a moment she returned. “So we’ve graciously decided to meet you in the Terarium and have a picnic,” she declared as if she hadn’t said anything prior to that.

  “Sounds great,” I chirped. “I’ll meet you all in the Savannah Biome near the entrance there,” I told her before hanging up. “Alright team, let’s head back… and see if we can pick any berries to contribute to the picnic on the way, cause I definitely didn’t pack enough food for us and all my friends.”

  ***

  Getting berries wasn’t much of a problem, with them littering the trees and ground, and Notch all too eager to help with picking the berries, plucking the fruit with their hands and then tossing it up to a massive collection they held aloft with Psychic energy. We could have gone with Telekinesis over or in addition to Psychic, but learning how to control the latter was much more useful in the long run. Even with the power boost from becoming a Diancie, Notch’s control remains incredible.

  The length of my route back meant that Carmine, Kieran, Lacey… and Drayton, were all gathered near the entrance by the time I got there. None of them looked bored though, each marveling in the sights of the Terarium (even the generally more reserved Drayton) as I approached. “Hey guys! What’s up?”

  “Not much,” Lacey said first, quickly interjecting before Carmine could go off. “This place is incredible! I heard about it from my father, but just hearing about it couldn’t really do the place justice, you know?” She said and we started walking as a group out from the exit, looking for a place to set up our picnic.

  “That’s right, your dad helped mine out the Chargestones needed for that big cave, right?” She nodded and I whistled. “That must have been a lot of work. I only peeked inside the entrance in the Canyon Biome so far, but some of the blocks within looked huge. And there looked like there were a bunch of cool Pokemon within too, like Drilburs and Rotoms.”

  Lacey’s starter was walking by her side and she cheered at that, clapping her drill-like claws together. Hmm, she hasn’t evolved her Starter yet. Not that she needs to… but while she looks strong, I wouldn’t say she’s that much tougher than her Dad’s Drilbur was when he fought me. Of course, none of that was saying much; as good as I had gotten with gauging a Pokemon’s strength, it was hardly a perfect science.

  “Maybe a scouter…” I muttered to myself before shaking my head at the looks I was getting. “Just an idea about something I might look into building later, not important. I’m hoping to explore the caves later in full. The guide says they cross the entire Terarium!” I said brightly before pointing out a spot on a hill nearby and began pulling out the picnic gear from my bag.

  “It does, though make sure you aren’t missing out on the Torchlit Labyrinth in the Coastal Biome,” Drayton told me as he flopped down on the grass, looking ready to nap. “The caves there are smaller and don’t connect to the Chargestone ones, but there’s a bunch of neat Pokemon there and the ambiance is great. Or so I-” he yawned heavily. “Hear.”

  “You’re related to Drayden, aren’t you?” I asked him, but Lacey answered.

  “He’s his grandson. We know each other from the Gym Leader get togethers and the like. But not all of us are this lazy!” She moved to get him up, but he released his Duraludon, the bulky Dragon Type barring the pink-haired girl from getting closer. “It’s just not right,” she sighed, her arms crossed in front of her.

  This stand-off lasted for a few seconds until she had a bright idea, motioning Drilbur up, who sharpened her claws menacingly towards Duraludon. The Steel Type gave a glance towards his Trainer and then back towards the Ground Type before reaching down and recalling himself to his Pokeball.

  “Traitor,” he said with no heat in his voice as he got up and helped the rest of us. “Yeah, my folks and some cousins went here, so I heard a few bits and pieces about the Academy. Gotta say that it lives up to the hype but I still wish I’d been given a few more years before I had to enroll.”

  Carmine made a ‘hmmph’ sound at that, clearly not enthused by his attitude (which I got - we’d all worked hard to get here). He continued though, asking me, “Your family didn’t have any great battlers in it, yet you became Paldea’s Champion, didn’t you?”

  “They might not have been battlers, but my parents supported me a fair bit with the wealth and resources they have. I don’t think I would have gotten as far as fast as I did without them.” This talk was apparently too much for Carmine who suddenly spoke up.

  “Kiki and my parents might not have been big battlers or billionaires or whatever but we’ll still be great! Believe it!”

  “Y-yeah!” Kieran added, which I raised an eyebrow at. Usually he’d be quiet or ask his sister not to make a scene. He must feel strongly about this too. And why shouldn’t he? They both have tons of potential.

  I said as much as I finished placing the last plates on the foldout table. “Of course you will. Just means that you’re going to be the first famous ones in your family,” I uttered with conviction and was treated to the siblings both going bright red.

  “Now, let’s dig in!” I said, waving an arm out at the assembled dishes, and my Pokemon all burst out of their Pokeballs, joined by all of my friends.

  Duraladon quickly reappeared, previous cowardice nowhere to be seen as he looked eagerly at the spread of food. A Flygon joined him with a Sceptile and Dragonair not far behind. For all that he seems to like to slack off, I don’t think that applies to his skills as a Trainer, with three solid Dragons and a fully evolved regional Starter.

  From Kieran, I saw another Dragon with his Dipplin, who was chatting with a Poliwhirl and a Yanmega. They were all quite comfortable with each other and seemed to be enjoying the Terarium environment. That Poliwhirl could probably evolve any day, and Yanmega looks strong too, good matches for Dipplin. Kieran has a solid core to his team.

  Kieran’s sister had a full team of six out and about, the first of which was her Sinistcha, already happily doling out drinks. Her Hakamo-o and Pawniard kept a keen eye out at the surroundings and the other Pokemon, measuring them up. A floofy Arcanine trotted forward, only to give a bark of displeasure as Munchlax ran past the dog Pokemon, pushing her way ahead to the buffet table. Interestingly, the Morpeko seemed uninterested in the food and more keen to just watch everyone… at least until I noticed how floppy its ears looked and how lifeless its eyes were. A Mimikyu? Nice. Looks like she has a solid team, though they’ll still need to train hard to reach their full potential.

  Lacey’s only other Pokemon so far was a Carbink, who was hovering around Notch, the two of them happily chiming together. I’ve seen Lacey eyeing the Pokemon around here carefully. It could just be her appreciation of all things cute, but I think she’s looking to do more team building now that she’s in the Academy.

  As we ate, we chatted. Most of it was about our upcoming classes, what we were excited for, what we dreaded, stuff like that. Inevitably my thoughts were drawn back to team building and battling, and, deciding to get to know the young boy who had integrated himself into our group, I asked about his closest Pokemon.

  “A Duraludon, huh? Didn’t realize they had those in Unova.”

  He smirked. “They aren’t commonly found, no. When they introduced a bunch of new Pokemon to Unova, the Dragon Tamer clan here made sure to keep a couple kinds of Pokemon generally secured, away from where most Trainers would find them. Met him when I was seven and we just clicked, knew he was the Pokemon for me.”

  The Dragon Type gave a happy cheer at that, earning a look from Dipplin nearby before the other Dragon went back to their food. “Same, me and Dun met on the beach on the day I was set to receive my Starter, but I knew there was no need for what my parents had prepared; he was the one.”

  Lacey chimed in. “My story is pretty similar to yours. Dad has a bunch of Drilbur that help him with mining and/or around the Gym, but when I met Nadia here, I knew she was going to be a great partner!” Drilbur clapped happily, pointing at Lacey as if to say ‘no, you’re the great partner here!’

  “I actually found Dipplin back when they were an Applin and under attack from-”

  “Shut up Kiki, everyone already knows how you met your starter,” Carmine interrupted him.

  Drayton frowned. “I don’t.”

  “You don’t count toothpaste haired dweeb-”

  “-Toothpaste haired?” He looked perplexed, and I cursed Carmine silently. She’s totally right and now I won’t be able to view his hair as anything else!

  “Sinistcha was just a Poltchageist when she was entrusted to me. The spiritual guardian of our home for generations. But it was me who managed to lead them to evolve and become the awe-inspiring-”

  “She found an entirely unremarkable teacup on the ground and Sinistcha hopped into it,” Kieran pointed out, even daring to stick his tongue out at her.

  “KIKI!!”

  As the two of them fought, I turned my attention back to Drayton and Duraludon. “Are you looking to evolve with the Metal Alloy they developed here?”

  Duraludon gave a grumbling nod of agreement and Drayton smiled. “Yeah. Duraludon here has trained hard, he’s definitely earned it. It’ll cost a few Blueberry Points, but as soon as we get them, I’m buying one.”

  “Nice.” Dragon and Steel is a strong Type combination, and Duraludon is no slouch even before evolution. Once evolved, he’ll be a powerhouse. “I wonder how they figured out how to make a Metal Alloy, or even that Duraludon could evolve in the first place?”

  Kieran broke off from fighting his sister to chime in. “The same way you knew about Eviolite working for Dipplin?”

  Drayton straightened from his slouch a little at that. “Yeah, noticed that during your match, that eviolite made Dipplin way tough. That was your idea?” He asked me, and I nodded.

  “It’s a handy little trick, but it only tells us that there is an evolution, not how Dipplin can achieve it.”

  “I’m sure you’ll think of something,” Kieran cheered.

  “Well thanks, but I was hoping to turn my mind to a different project, at least at first.” With every human and a decent number of Pokemon paying attention to me, I elaborated. “The Terarium gives us a very controlled environment. With that, we could introduce some Goomys and try to replicate some of the conditions from ancient Hisui and see if they can evolve into Hisuian Sliggoos, and then Hisuian Goodra.”

  Drayton whistled lowly. “I definitely know some people who would be interested in that if you succeed.” He was silent for a moment before saying, “Champion, singer, and now scientist too. Anything you don’t do?”

  “Take a break,” I quipped… which just had everyone looking pityingly at me.

  “That’s not right!” Lacey declared with her signature ‘X’ pose. She dropped it to think for a moment. “What are your hobbies? Not the stuff like the music or martial arts, but things you do to relax.”

  Reading and playing games are a bit generic, and I don’t actually do that much of either in this world. I guess there’s one thing I’d like to try here…

  “Roleplaying games ar- look fun to play, but I haven’t had the time or group to do so with.”

  “We could play!” Kieran eagerly offered and I paused, seeing the others nod and look interested too. We don’t have a map or dice with us, and there’s the rest of the Terarium to explore- Dun nudged me gently out of my thoughts, nodding his head over at Miles in their phone form. Guess it doesn’t hurt to take things easy.

  “Alright, so let’s start with the basics. A Roleplaying game has you play as a fictional character in a - usually fantastical - setting. One person takes the role of Game Master, running everyone else in the setting. The game is often played with dice that have many different faces…

  one failed match, so I tried to adapt it here in a way that feels more reasonable while still being… unpleasant.

  Discord. Thank you, and I hope you're having a great day.

  -'Dun' (Dudunsparce, Male, Normal Type, Starter, Master Ball)

  - Tera Type: Normal

  - Held Item: Expert Belt

  - Abilities: Run Away, Serene Grace

  - Moves known:

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

  - Tera Type: Electric

  - Held Item: Life Orb

  - Ability: Levitate

  - Moves Known:

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

  - Tera Type: Water

  - Held Item: Toxic Orb

  - Ability: Hyper Cutter, Poison Heal

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Notch' (Diancie, Mega-Evolvable, Genderless, Rock/Fairy Type, Dream Ball)

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Light Clay

  - Ability: Clear Body

  - Moves Known:

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

  - Tera Type: Ghost

  - Held Item: Lax Incense

  - Ability: Illusion

  - Moves Known:

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

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Clear Amulet

  - Ability: Steadfast

  - Moves Known:

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

  - Tera Type: Dragon

  - Held Item: Dragon Fang

  - Ability: Mold Breaker

  - Moves Known:

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

  - Tera Type: Poison

  - Held Item: Booster Energy

  - Ability: Quark Drive

  - Moves Known:

  -'Anya' (Gothorita, Female, Psychic, Love Ball)

  - Tera Type: Psychic

  - Held Item: None

  - Ability: Shadow Tag

  - Moves Known:

  *Custom Moves