“Kiki, we have to go,” Carmine told him, attempting to drag the younger boy away, but he dug his heels in and refused to move. “Kiki, c’mon- Kieran!” Carmine shouted as after dislodging him from his spot, her brother had reached out to the bus stop and was clinging onto it desperately, refusing to go.

  “No! I finally saw her. For real this time! Then you came and scared her off! You can go back to Blueberry Academy, I’m looking for her again.” The boy said mullishly. Kieran’s search was a rousing success, which is unfortunately now a problem. The three of us were standing on the edge of town, the bus driver looking down impatiently at the scene as he waited for us to board.

  “You’re being unreasonable Kieran,” Carmine responded with gritted teeth, still trying to pull the boy off. “You’re probably just imagining having seen her too!” The boy glared angrily, his expression twisting to something I’d never seen before.” At least not in this life. He got pretty pissed off in the DLC, with hints that he was going to get worse in the second half. We all thought that was him being possessed by this ‘mastermind’ behind the Loyal Trio, but given what Musamune said, I don’t think that’s the case. Maybe he just has a darker side to him?

  In any case, it was proving to be a problem now. “I did NOT imagine it! I saw her, wearing the mask WE gave her! I’m gonna find her, and be her friend, and you can go off to that stupid school. I don't care.”

  “Gramdma and Grandpa paid a lot for our tuition there, don’t be so-” I stepped in before Carmine could finish that sentence, hoping to de-escalate.

  “Kieran, I believe you.” Carmine whirled around, looking betrayed, but I held a hand up and she let me continue, letting go of her little brother. “I honestly think you did see Ogerp- the ogre, and that’s great. But we still need to go,” I said, holding out a hand to him.”

  The smaller boy looked at my hand suspiciously, like it was viper ready to strike. “But if you believe me then-”

  “You want to go chasing after her, and I understand. I think it’s clear by now that she only lets herself be seen when she wants to. It’s been two years since you gave her the mask, and while I’m sure she appreciates it, she took her time to approach you and just wave before leaving again. So maybe you should give her some space and let her look for you on her own time.”

  “I- it was just Carmine that drove her off before, I’m sure she’s ready to see me now.” Kieran tried, but his voice was shaky. I shook my head.

  “She read your note, she knows who Carmine is. The ogre is still too cautious for a longer meeting, so let’s give her time and work on your schoolwork and training your team. Dipplin still wants to evolve, right?”

  “Yeah, I guess… the boy trailed off morosely, letting go of the bench. Carmine took the opportunity to drag him away and onto the bus before he could change his mind again. “I just really want to be friends with her, you know?” He said as the bus took off, carrying us to the airport.

  “We know,” Carmine and I said in unison, her voice a bit more exasperated than mine. She’s also been dealing with this longer than I have. “You’ll get plenty of time to look for her in the summer and when we’re on break,” I offered, and Carmine glared lightly at me. What? It’s not like he wouldn’t think of that stuff anyways.

  ***

  With that matter settled, the rest of our trip back was fairly smooth. Our friends all said hi and inquired as to how it went, and I even had plenty of other students who had been wondering where I was, and more importantly, if I could give them more tips. I hadn't realized I'd made that much of a presence on the other kids here, though I suppose it could be due to exams starting up, however. That, or trying to get advice from Drayton; he's barely motivated enough to help himself!

  I was happy to learn that him and Lacey had at least tried to help out those acquaintances of mine in my absence, it was nice of them. And likely very well received by them. We were nearing the end of the first term, so everyone was studying furiously to try and pull up their grades or get the best scores.

  I was busy with both that and helping the installation of the Tera Sphere. Technically I could have fobbed that off to Friede and the researchers here, but after having gone all the way to get the Tera crystals over here, I was eager to see how it would all work.

  “Man, having this guy around must make the construction a breeze,” I commented as I watched the steel beams being lifted into place by Colress’ Magnezone. With incredible control, they held it steady at the top of the Terarium. Flying nearby were Skarmorys holding workers aloft so they could weld the beam in place. Though it looked similar to how it had been before, I’d seen some of the construction they’d already done from the outside, how they reinforced the structure. A lot of the terms went over my head at first, but reviewing the engineers notes was informative, and at least helped prepare me for my math exam, heh.

  Colress gave me an odd look from behind his glasses. “Whatever do you mean?”

  “Hmm?” I turned my attention back to him. Dun was doing his best to keep me afloat while I observed the construction process, and doing an admirable job at that. He hardly needs more endurance training, but every bit of work they put in helps. Unfortunately, with my time dominated by exams, this project, the Hisuian Goodra project, and miscellaneous activities, my training had slipped a little. Not much, but my team needs to push harder after things are set up to keep its edge.

  “You said ‘having this guy around,’ in reference to Magnezone,” the former villain said, lightly patting the top of said Pokemon he was currently riding on. “The way you phrased it was like you had some idea of large scale construction that took place without Pokemon being involved.”

  “It- well, we make some things without Pokemon of course. Like look right there, the construction crew is using welders, not Fire Types.”

  “Fire Types would only spook the Steel types involved in the process. Welders can achieve the same degree of heat without triggering those primal instincts,” Colress responded automatically. “Hmm, but the way you phrased it did truly feel like you were talking about more than just tool use alongside Pokemon.” I blanched slightly before he frowned.

  “My apologies, I didn’t mean to pry,” the man added. “I just hope that if you have an… alternative perspective, you’ll feel free to share it. I’ve noticed how you’ve been studying hard, but innovations in science are made through both rigorous study and great imagination.”

  I blushed at the idea of making such ‘innovations.’ So much of the technology of this world feels fantastical to me. I wasn’t an idiot back home, but I never pursued scientific discovery with great passion either. But I want to here. I want to understand how it all works.

  “Well, thank you. And I appreciate you mentoring me, it means a lot,” I said earnestly. Colress is insanely smart, I hope I can learn a fraction of what he knows some day.

  “It’s no trouble. At least not on my behalf.” He then paused in a manner uncharacteristic for him, even though it was only for a split second. “The world of science caves to many practical demands however, and you might find certain doors closed to you, if you continue to learn from me.” He gently warned.

  “Is Friede still giving you problems?” I asked, and a faint smile graced his face.

  “He has not said an unkind word to me since our first meeting,” Colress replied, and I rolled my eyes. Which probably means Friede has been giving Colress the cold shoulder ever since… and that behaving that way is still better than most people.

  “I’ll have a word with him,” I decided, and before Colress could warn me off of that path, I felt a shaking in the incubator. “Oh, the egg just shook! I’ll go ask him about it now,” I said, digging my heels into Dun’s sides gently to indicate we should fly off.

  Down on the ground, Friede was overseeing the construction of the massive sphere that would change the Terarium forever. The sphere was split in half, with chunks of Tera Crystal being carefully lowered into the green liquid within the bottom half of the glass. “What’s up with the liquid?” I inquired, dismounting Dun and striding forward. Dun slithered off to chat with Friede’s Charizard who was hanging out nearby but didn’t look nearly as interested as the Professor did.

  “Nemona! This is… well I never came up with a name for it exactly,” he said with a chuckle scratching the back of his head. “As a placeholder we’ve been calling it Terarial.” Which means that’s probably what it will be called forever, now. As names went, it wasn’t the worst. “I found some special herbs and plants within Paldea When ground up and added to water caught within the basin of a Tera Crystal outcropping you get this.”

  “Fascinating.” Those ‘special herbs’... Herba Mystica? No, I doubt it, those are almost always fiercely guarded by Pokemon nearby. Still, they could be an offshoot of those mythical herbs. A different evolutionary path that made them less empowering to Pokemon while still having strange properties of their own. “How did you come up with this?”

  “There was a bit of an accident when I first Terastalized Cap-”

  “Chu…” Captain Pikachu said darkly from atop Friede’s shoulders, the electric rodent Pokemon’s cheeks sparking with power.

  “-which we do not need to get into, hah. But suffice to say, I noticed a boost to the power of the Tera Orb with the water. Experimentation allowed me to refine Terarial to the point that I could use my Tera Orb while abroad.”

  A fact which had Geeta looking like she wanted to both strangle and kiss Friede, for having come up with a solid answer to Paldea’s problems in oversea events but also furious that he never told anyone else. Thankfully, he hadn’t been in the room at the time I told her.

  I know she wants to get someone new to represent Paldea as the regional Professor, but I’m not sure he’ll make the cut. Friede is a bit too much of a free spirit for the role. It wasn’t likely that geeta would pick Sada or someone else either, since she said the person she had in mind was ‘young, but had a proven track record.’ Well, as long as she’s not worried, I’m not either.

  “And the Terarial will work on such a scale? No offense but this is on a bigger scale than just recharging your Tera Orb. Also, will the liquid need replacing over time?”

  “It might need to be replaced over time, but Tera Crystals are fascinating stuff. They seem to have limitless energy, growing and sprouting all on their own if the conditions are right, albeit slowly.” Why does that sound famili- “I helped the caretakers plant the herbs they’ll need, so with that, Blueberry Academy should be able to make their own replacements. If worst comes to worst, they could ask the Paldean League for help again and I’m sure something could be worked out. Or Colress will whip up some miracle out his… rear.”

  I gave him an unamused look at that and he sighed. “In answer to your first question, yes, the Terarial will work on that scale, thanks in no small part to the adjustments Colress suggested. Should it be called Terarial v2 now?” Friede pondered aloud for a moment before shaking his head. “I get the man is smart, brilliant even, and I hope you know me well enough by now to know what that means.”

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  It’s true. Friede has a very ‘cool’ energy about him, but he’s well and earned that title as the world’s youngest Pokemon Professor and for him to consider someone brilliant is quite high praise indeed. Nodding slowly, I asked, “So why have you been so cold to him ever since this began? We’ve been working for nearly a month on this, and you barely ever discuss anything with him.” They work together, and Friede doesn’t complain if they’re in a group, but he never stays to chat and is always brusque with him.

  Running a hand through his stark white hair, Friede gave me a look. “Maybe you’re too young to get it, but what he did with Plasma-”

  “Was bad,” I interrupted Friede. “Awful and horrible on a level that cannot be described. May Ghetsis burn forever for the things he did. And yes, I know that Colress worked with Team Plasma for a time, but he did so for a very different reason! Trying to advance the potential of Pokemon rather than blind ambition. And he’s confessed to his crimes and worked to make amends for over a decade now. Doesn’t that mean something too?”

  Friede paused, staring at me with that slightly uncomfortable expression on his face. “...You have a better understanding of the situation than I realized, better than most people have. Logically, I understand that view point, and can even agree with it. I trust you and the people working with you. But as I studied for my professorship, we’d be told of the dangers of unethical experimentation. And who do you think was used as an example of that?”

  “Colress,” I said, craning my gaze up to the top of the Terarium where he was overseeing the work.

  “Exactly. So be aware that people will judge you for working with and learning from him. But if you think it’s the best way forward, I won’t stop you.” Charizard stomped forward, giving the Professor a slight nudge with his head. Which, being a ‘nudge’ from a Charizard, was still enough to push the man off balance slightly.

  “Whoa- hey! Okay, okay, I’ll try to be politer while dealing with him too.”

  “Ah, thank you,” I muttered, lost in my own thoughts. I talk a big game about wanting to be forgiving, but is that just because I know these people personally? I want to help Colress and Turo, but that’s because I know them, and know from the games that they have the potential to do great things. The Rainbow Rocket incident hadn’t (to the best of my knowledge, which was limited) happened here, but I had seen a version of Colress that had been willing to fight against Ghestis and save the day, and I had no reason to believe that Colress was so different from the man I was growing to look up to.

  On the other hand, if I saw some random, ‘no-name’ poacher, would I be willing to spare them? The jury is out on Raifort, and I even know she could be a teacher at Uva. I wasn’t sure if I hadn’t butterflied that event away yet, however. Martha was an Elite Four member, and would likely push for a lenient, if well-supervised, punishment, but I also knew she wouldn’t be an Elite for long. Though I might have changed that too.

  “Thank you for the advice as well, but I think I’ll stick with Colress.” I snapped my head up to meet Friede’s gaze. “I’ll always keep an out for cruelties carried out towards Pokemon and I’d never be a party to such acts. But so long as Colress continues to give solid, practical advice and mentoring, I’ll learn all I can from him. It might not be the easiest path, but it’s the one that will see me grow the most, and that’s the path that I’m always going to take.” Whoops, nearly said ‘that any Glitterati would take,’ guess mom and dad have really rubbed off on me.

  Friede smiled and reached down, rubbing my hair. “Ack! Hiss!” I batted his hand away and he laughed.

  “Growing up so fast,” he whispered, low enough that I likely wasn’t meant to have been able to hear that. “Keep in mind that you’ve got other people you can rely on and learn from too.”

  “True, that Turo sure is a smart Professor,” I said, doing my best to keep a straight face, even as I used a modified battle command through hand gestures to send Miles out and snap a pic of Friede’s upset face.

  “Oi,” he said with a deadpan before blinking as the flash went off.

  “Sorry, bzzt.” Miles said before floating back and I got a good look at the shot, deciding it was good enough to fire off a quick text to Orla.

  “Kidding, kidding. Seriously, thank you.” On impulse, I gave him a quick hug startling the Professor slightly before he returned it.

  “Ah, it’s no proble- it’s fine. Like I said before, happy to help. This thing is going to be amazing when it’s finished.” The man scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He really doesn’t know how to deal with praise, huh? Maybe that’s why he travels around so much; no sticking around to get thanked. Eh, probably more just to live that free lifestyle.

  Something that I could admit was tempting at times, but for now, I was eager to see what work could be done here, in an institution as advanced as Blueberry Academy. Letting Friede go, I was reminded of my original question by another shake of the Egg.

  “Oh right, meant to ask you if you had anything more you could advise me on how to raise a Goomy and the environment and stuff,” I finished inelegantly. There had been just enough time in between the meetings discussing the Tera Sphere and my own duties that I’d had the time to outline my experiment to him and mention the Egg I carried around constantly, but nothing more.

  He rubbed his chin. “Goomys are a very social Pokemon, moreso than most Dragons. They still have their pride, even if they can be friendly and are more easily frightened than most of that Type. You’ve got them situated on the cliffs in the Canyon biome, correct?” I nodded. “I think they’ve got a good enough handle on the formula and mixture for now,” he said, jabbing a thumb at the other researchers, construction people, and Pokemon at work making the Sphere. “Let’s head over to check it out.”

  While Friede was invaluable in helping draft up the designs in the first place, there isn’t much for him to do now, but I get the feeling he’s too excited to just leave things be which is why he was overseeing things here. I guess Colress is similar in that respect to him. I carefully kept that observation to myself before agreeing. Recalling Dun, I sent out Radiance as a faster flier to keep up with Charizard as we took to the skies.

  ***

  “Ouch ouch ouch,” I muttered as I got off of Radiance in a hurry once we arrived. They gave me a gesture with their wings that was half shrug, their crosshair eyes drifting slightly to the side and not meeting my own gaze. It was their way of half apologizing and half saying ‘nothing I can do about it.’ Radiance was firmly willing to work with me and listen now, but they were still the most standoffish of my Pokemon.

  “Are you okay?” Friede asked, dismounting his own Fire Type. Did he hear me say that or just notice it from the heat Radiance radiated? Am I actually on fire? A quick glance at my clothing revealed that nothing had caught on fire as we streaked through the air.

  “Yeah, I’m fine, just get a bit warm flying on Radiance,” I downplayed it. For short flights it really isn’t too bad, and up here the wind is cooling me down nicely.

  “It’s always warm when I fly on Charizard but not hot. How did you get a Flying License for your Iron Moth if they can’t regulate their heat at those speeds?”

  There was an awkward silence where I cast my gaze over the verdant landscape and rocky backdrop, looking for something to get me out of this conversation. Okay, chucking a rock at that Scyther would probably do the trick, but maybe not the best choice.

  “Would you believe that you don’t need a Flying License to fly here?” Technically true; while we are still in Unovan Waters and not international territory, we are in the water, so the argument can be made that flying within the Terarium is a-okay.

  “Uhuh, and I’m also supposed to believe that you never flew on Radiance - or any of your Pokemon that you don’t have a license for - while in Paldea?”

  “Yes?”

  “No.”

  “Nemona!”

  Dammit. Thankfully, I was spared a lecture by the shutter sound of a camera catching our attention. Turning around, I saw Sohdayo taking a picture of the Pokemon and environment here.

  “Sorry, let’s talk about this never” I told Friede before grabbing onto the distraction. “Sohdayo! What are you doing here?”

  “Discovering the hidden world of Blueberry Academy’s Terarium!” The green haired man exclaimed excitedly. Huh, that one is pretty close to the truth… so I’m sure he’ll exaggerate it in some way. Still, it’s kinda hard to top reality here.

  “Anyone else from the crew down here?” I asked. I know Orla at least will be remaining up top on her ship. She helped with the design of the Tera Sphere a bit, but the Brave Olivine is really her passion. I don’t expect Murdoch to come down much and it’s hard to get a read on Ludlow, so that just leaves-

  “I’ve got it! The panacea you mentioned” Molly declared triumphantly, pushing her way through the underbrush to get to the clearing we were in. She looked somewhat disheveled from her walk through the wooded space, with some goo still sticking to her pink outfit and holding a full vial of the substance. “Oh, hello Nemona, Friede. What are you doing here?”

  “Wynaut?” Sohdayo’s partner Pokemon questioned dubiously, staring at the vial of greenish-purple goo within the rogue nurse’s hands.

  “We wanted to check on the Goomys and Sliggoo and see how they were settling in. And uh, I don’t think you should trust that on blind faith - any claim of a panacea is probably unlikely to work perfectly for all kinds of Pokemon.” Even the Herba Mystica needed all five types to heal Mabosstiff in the games, and they really were touted as rare, miracle cures.

  “Oh.” Molly let out in a quiet voice, glancing over from the vial in her hands to the photographer, whose smile had taken on a slight nervous edge.

  “Well, it might be a Panacea for some Pokemon,” he defended. For someone so bright and knowledgeable about Pokemon, it’s surprising that Molly gets tricked by Sohdayo so. Then again, I have the feeling that will change over time. There was a new level of suspicion the pink-haired girl had to her eyes.

  Before we could get too far off track, I asked, “How are the Goomys doing, by the way?”

  She turned her attention back to me, brightening up. “They’re doing great!” Waving a hand, I followed her through the brush to get to the Goomy enclosure. The almost three dozen Goomys were gathered together, nearby a tree, letting rainwater drip down on them. All of them happily cheered as they saw us.

  “None of them have spread out,” I muttered. This whole clifftop is supposed to be a free space for them. Though there are still other Pokemon wandering around here. “Are they scared?”

  “Possibly, definitely for some of them,” Molly replied, keeping a bright smile on her face as she waved at the Goomys. “You mentioned rescuing some of them, and it looks like the other Goomys have designated themselves as ‘defenders’ of the group.” Looking closer, I could see there was indeed a loose ‘ring’ of Goomys in front of the rest of the pack, and I imagined these ones were the ones who had come from the Dragon Tamer Clan. The only exception to this was Sliggoo at the center, likely because her height meant she could watch out above the others and serve as a final line of defence.

  “When taking the… ‘panacea’, I tested the Goomys to make sure none of them were sick and they all appeared to be fine. No significant injuries among the bunch and they show no signs beyond the norm for Goomys of their age,” Molly explained. Both a good and bad thing, here.

  The Sliggoo seemed quite happy to see us, and moreso when I released Bahamut. The fully evolved Dragon had a few of the Goomys frightened for a moment until they recognized him and began eagerly swarming forward, climbing on him. My Dragon gave half a pretence of dismissiveness, trying to hold onto that draconic pride… which lasted all of a few seconds before he was happily playing with them too.

  This is nice, I’m glad to see he fits in so well here. I’ll likely need his help in getting them adjusted here. The majority of the Goomys weren’t incredible fighters, at least not by nature. With how things worked out in Kitikami I don’t actually have to send that many back, but I’d like to see this experiment succeed. Even in the best case scenario however, that will require waiting.

  There hadn’t been any signs of changes or evolutions yet, but that was fine. Some of the Goomys were even fitted with Everstones for the moment, to make sure they didn’t evolve too early, before they had adapted to the environment. When that would occur exactly, no one was sure, not even Colress. He had suggested slowly letting the more trained Goomys off after another month, however. If one evolved into a Hisuian Sliggoo at that point, the others could be encouraged to evolve as well. If not we’d wait longer and try to spread it out over the next year, to see if/when they could adapt to the environment.

  Assuming it works as I intended. Glancing around, I could see the freshly dug earth where iron deposits had been placed. Hidden unobtrusively around trees and shrubs were special humidifiers, designed to make the environment more prone to rain and to add a very slight level of iron to that rainwater. In theory, it should all work out. All the numbers we crunched, every historical document of ancient Sinnoh we could study… it points to this working. But I’m still worried.

  Watching the Dragon’s play and having fun (even the more serious ‘guard’ Goomys getting roped into it, enjoying being around Bahamut), the worry wasn’t for them. So it must be for me, and my own ambitions. I was coming around to the idea of becoming a Pokemon Professor, and this would be a tremendously step forward. It would prove that my discovery with Notch wasn’t just a fluke.

  “So, what do you think?” I said, turning brightly to Friede, who had been chatting with Sohdayo for a moment.

  “Hmm, well, the set up looks about as ideal as you could get to Hisuian climates,” he replied, rubbing at his chin. His own experimentation had him studying plenty of the ancient land before he shut it down. “I’d say the best way forward would be to focus on how the Goomys are trained.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, Goomys can actually learn Iron Tail through the right tutors, Technical Records, or via breeding… despite not having much of a tail at this point in their lives. A Steel Type Move might help them connect with the Typing you want them to emulate. Not sure if you can find enough Technical Records to help teach all of them that, though.”

  “No, but if I get just one then I can teach it to the others through Mirror Herb!” Which would be expensive to buy, not that I really was ever hurting for cash. Still, I want to do this on my own merits, as much as I can, so maybe I should start looking into the BBQs?

  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: Babiri Berry

  - 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: Sitrus Berry

  - Ability: Shadow Tag

  - Moves Known:

  -Hard Boiled (Goomy Egg)

  -Tera Type: ???

  -Held Item: None

  -Ability:???

  -Moves Known: None

  *Custom Moves