“Excellent. One additional rule… based on the Pokémon you informed me you possess when making your appointment today, I have equipped each room to contain an item or prize that you can use to make the fight easier. If you find yourself struggling, you should seek it out during the fight.”
“Alright, thanks.”
“So let us begin. Olivia, on your left is the doorway to the armory room, and on your right is the greenhouse. Choose your path, challenger. I wish you luck.”
-:-
A sellout crowd packed the Battle Hall’s arena, surrounding the stage that played host to its battlefield. Four rows from the front, Dante and Bill sat side-by-side. While the former sat and stared dispassionately at the stage, Bill fidgeted nervously. The deafening noise of the crowd around him irritated his nerves.
The assembled audience went silent, however, when the lights went down in the arena.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Frontier Society’s Battle Hall!” an announcer declared. “One of the toughest tournaments in the entire Frontier Society is about to get underway. Here as your guide to this monumental event is the Frontier Brain of the Battle Hall, our very own Hall Matron, Kate!!”
Several huge spotlights illuminated a figure standing in the doorway below the arena’s massive video screen, and the crowd immediately began cheering more loudly than ever. After striking a pose, the violet-haired woman swaggered down the catwalk connecting the passageway to the stage. The lights glittered against her red clothing and polished black boots.
“Welcome, welcome to you all!” Kate beamed once she reached center stage. “Yes, as you just heard, what you are about to witness is one of the greatest shows the Frontier Society can present. In just a few minutes, sixteen trainers will face off in a sudden death showdown to determine who can stand at the top. Sixteen trainers, sixteen types of Pokémon… only one of them will have the star power to make it through the fray and stand before me to conquer this facility. Aren’t you ready to find out who it will be?”
Following a resounding cheer from the crowd, Kate turned around and faced the video screen. Almost immediately, Dante spotted something and leaned forward on his cane.
“Bill, look at that,” he said, pointing forward. “On her headset.”
Indeed, there was something embedded in the left-hand headphone of Kate’s headset. It was a circular, blue-and-yellow object bearing a double helix pattern within it.
Bill had to squint to see it, but when he did, he gasped. “A Key Stone, right? Doesn’t that mean she can…”
“Mega Evolution,” Dante confirmed. “I had heard a rumor that there was a Frontier Brain capable of using it. Now only to find out what Pokémon it is that she’s accomplished it with.”
“I’ve never seen a Mega Evolution before!” Bill cheerfully said, his nerves having melted away thanks to his enthusiasm. “I mean, I only just started learning about it, but the whole idea of a Pokémon temporarily evolving even further is exciting, don’t you think? I always was fascinated by Eevee but this just takes it to a whole other level.”
“You sure seem into it, my friend,” Dante joked.
“Take a look at our big board!” Kate urged the crowd. On the screen, mugshots of the trainers for the tournament were displayed, along with tags reading different types. “As you can see, sixteen types, all there for the taking. Each type designates at least one type of that trainer’s sole Pokémon. Are you ready to begin?” When her question was answered by a mighty cheer, she continued, “Alright, that’s the answer I wanted to hear! Let’s shuffle them all up and see who will be facing who in the first round!”
While the crowd’s noise level lowered to a consistent murmur, the portraits on the screen flipped over and began to mix around. After several seconds, they stopped and turned back over, posting the trainers in eight pairs.
Matt and Dino, tagged with the Psychic and Ghost types respectively, were paired together. Nando and his Grass-type were slated to battle Trista and her Dragon-type, while Colress, Falkner, Giovanni and Silver were placed into their own matches against other trainers.
“And there we have it, everyone!” Kate boomed, turning back to face the crowd. “The last man standing at the end of this will face me in a championship match. There’s a lot of battling to get done, so let’s get to meet our first two competitors! Hailing from Goldenrod City and representing the Electric type, Mako!”
Kate gestured toward the right side of the stage, where a woman was approaching via another catwalk. Her dark brown, gold-lined coat flowed elegantly around her slacks just above her tall boots. She carried herself with calm, fluid motions that gave her an almost otherworldly air.
“Go for it, Mako!” Bill called out to his sister from his seat. “I know you can win!”
Mako flashed her brother a brief smile as she stepped into her box on the stage. Once she was in position, Kate turned around and stretched her arm toward the opposite pathway.
“Opposing Mako and her Electric-type Pokémon is the representative of the Ice-type, hailing from Mossdeep City, Abner!”
When the lights shined on the left-hand catwalk, a shaggy-haired, unshaven man wearing hiking clothes and a huge yellow backpack appeared in the doorway. He stood for a moment and smiled smugly, bathing in the audience’s praise. Though he took his time, he eventually joined Kate and Mako on the stage.
“Oi, a real cutie for my first fight, it looks like?” After winking at Mako, he continued, “I ain’t gonna be going easy on you, nope, not at all. Try not to let yourself get too hurt!”
“Some real trash talk from Abner!” Kate shouted, deliberately stoking the playful hostility between the two trainers. “Does Mako have something to say about that?”
Mako reached up and clutched her necklace, then closed her eyes. “I’m not too worried about getting hurt,” she calmly said.
“Mako’s showing real confidence, but who will be the one to stand on top?” Kate thrust her hand into the air and cried out, “Let the battle begin!”
“Froslass, let’s go!” Abner announced, throwing the Poké Ball he’d taken from his backpack.
After drawing out her own Poké Ball, Mako extended her arm in a fluid motion, causing the bracelets she was wearing to tap against each other. She took a deep breath, then threw the ball and called out, “Jolteon, let’s win this!”
Once they had appeared from their respective capsules, Jolteon and Froslass took time to carefully examine each other. Jolteon lowered himself nearer to the ground and slowly circled toward his opponent, who was forced to drift in the opposite direction to avoid letting him get an opening against her.
“Defense and then offense should win the day, Froslass. Hail!”
Mako smirked. “Snow Cloak, as I thought. Looks like I’m going to need some fortune of my own. Jolteon, Thunderbolt!”
Froslass spread her arms, and a soft white aura surrounded her. Clouds began to form above the battlefield, but before anything could happen, Jolteon unleashed a blast of electricity from his body and shocked her. She lost her focus as she reeled back in midair, her once-gentle cry twisting into a distressed shriek.
“Jolteon strikes first with a devastating Thunderbolt!” the announcer boomed over the crowd’s cheering. As Froslass sank to the floor, her body convulsing from the electric shock, he added, “And it appears that Froslass has been stricken by paralysis!”
“F-Froslass…” Abner stumbled.
“And now I call check.” Mako thrust her arm forward. Her bracelets hit each other once more, and the spotlights glistened on the ring she wore. “Shadow Ball!”
With a sharp growl, Jolteon leapt into the air. A dark, glowing sphere took shape in front of his mouth, and by shaking his head, he flung it straight down at Froslass’s prone body. It exploded when it made contact with Froslass, and when the smoke from the blast faded, the Ice-and-Ghost-type Pokémon was sprawled face-down on the stage.
“Froslass is unable to battle!” Kate announced. “The winners of this battle are Mako and Jolteon!”
The crowd erupted into raucous cheering once more, so loud that Bill didn’t notice Dante speaking to him until he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“What…?”
“I said your sister really is impressive. After that, I want to see her and Matt go at it. I’d bet on her, though.”
Mako and Abner shook hands at center stage, their Pokémon at their sides. He hastily scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed to her, and as they separated to leave the arena, she tucked it into a pocket inside her coat.
“That was just the kind of battle we needed to start this tournament out, I’d say,” Kate cheerfully said to the audience. “What do you say we kick it up even further? Huh?” When her question was met with deafening cheers, her smile widened. “Alright, let’s go for it! Up next we have two trainers who have also met several times on the field of Pokémon Contests. They’ve both had their share of glory against each other, but which of them will stand on top this time? Introducing the representative of the Grass type, from Alamos Town, Nando! And against him, hailing from Whitegold City and carrying the Dragon type, Trista!”
Nando and Trista entered the arena from opposite ends; while she carried herself with a hardened determination that reflected on her face, he was simply smiling in the same gentle manner he usually had. His mind was still on the battle, though, it just manifested itself in the tight grip he had on his giant harp.
“So we meet in combat once more, Trista,” he calmly said, his eyes closed. “I look forward to seeing how our battle will turn out.”
Trista took a wide stance and leaned forward, never taking her eyes away from her opponent. “I’m going to beat you this time, I’ll warn you now.”
“I hoped to hear that from you.” Slowly opening his eyes, Nando quietly but firmly added, “Go all out. I will as well.”
“It’s time to can the talk and get to fighting!” Kate thrust her hand into the air, then sharply brought it down. “Battle begin!”
Nando pulled a soft note from his harp, then removed a Poké Ball from his bag. “Roserade, make your entrance!”
The light from Nando’s Poké Ball broke apart like fireworks, providing fanfare for Roserade as he took shape on the field. He held his arms in a cross in front of himself and stood perfectly still with his eyes closed, serenely waiting for the Pokémon he would face.
“When I saw you in the Grass category, I thought you’d be using Roserade,” Trista said, her face rigid. “I came prepared. Dorothy, let’s go!”
A Kingdra appeared from the Poké Ball Trista threw, floating just above the floor as if she was in her natural water habitat. She looked down on Roserade with cold eyes; the two had met before, and they shared a mutual sense of competition against each other.
-:-
Meanwhile, as the Battle Hall’s first round had begun to unfold, Olivia’s challenge of Ecruteak Gym had also begun. She had taken the left-hand door, which led to the mansion’s armory. As a result, she found herself against Morty’s Yamask, a Pokémon that resembled a small black ghost attached to a golden mask. While her Minccino sprinted around the room, using the many suits of armor scattered around as cover from Yamask’s Will-O-Wisp attacks, Olivia was frantically searching the furniture.
“It seems we’re at a stalemate here, Olivia,” Morty commented, his face displayed on a screen much like the one in the parlor. “Yamask can only do residual damage to Minccino, but Minccino can stay away from Yamask. On the other hand, though, if you don’t get close, you can’t damage Yamask either. What will you do?”
“You said…” Olivia was interrupted when she pulled a drawer on an old desk open, sending a cloud of dust into her face. She coughed several times before finally saying, “You said there was something in here that would help me win!”
“I didn’t lie. You only have to find it.” After waiting a moment to allow Olivia to continue her search, Morty moved closer to the camera transmitting his image. “Yamask, continue using Will-O-Wisp!”
Olivia could hear Minccino’s frantic cries behind her, accompanied by the noise of the armor as it crashed down around the Pokémon. She knew that Minccino wouldn’t be able to run forever.
“Hold on, Minccino, just a little longer…” she thought. Sweat rolled down her face as she moved on to search the chest next to the desk, even though the air in the Gym carried a strong chill. “I’ll get you out of this… just hold on…”
In spite of Olivia’s determination, however, the chest contained nothing but another cloud of dust. She pulled her head back in time to avoid inhaling it. The noise of Yamask chasing Minccino forced her to quickly turn around in order to figure out what she was dealing with, but as she watched the pursuit, a glint from an empty flower pot across the room caught her eye.
Olivia reflexively raised her brows, and a glitter filled her eyes. “Minccino, run to where I am now! Just keep dodging Yamask a little longer!”
Minccino looked toward Olivia, and after responding with an energetic cry, turned sharply in her direction. One of Yamask’s Will-O-Wisps just barely missed her head, breaking apart the armor it hit. Olivia deftly danced around the combat, weaving her way past the flying flames and rushing Pokémon, reaching the pot within seconds.
When she reached inside, the only thing she felt was an egg-shaped object. A chill ran up her arm when her hand grazed it, but she still didn’t hesitate to pull it out.
It was a transparent stone that glowed brightly from within. As she realized what it was, Olivia’s eyes widened, and the stone’s brilliance glowed in them.
“Ah, well done!” Morty praised her. “I see you found the Shiny Stone I left for you. You passed the test, so go ahead and use it.” Moving his head slightly, he directed, “Yamask, back off for a minute.”
“Ya,” the Ghost-type Pokémon answered, floating back as he had been told to.
“Minccino, you know what this means, right?” Olivia asked, her voice radiating with excitement. She was clutching the stone so tightly her knuckles were whitening. “Now we can step up to the…”
Locking eyes with Minccino gave Olivia pause, and she stopped walking toward the Pokémon.
“If I force Minccino into this...” she thought, her mind suddenly locking up. “That would be wrong. Herdier and Dewott, when they evolved, it was up to them. I have no right to take that choice away from Minccino…”
Minccino stared at Olivia, gasping for breath as she recovered her strength. She knew what her trainer was holding and understood its purpose. What puzzled, her, though, was the fact that Olivia wasn’t using it. She asked herself in her mind why Olivia was hesitating, why she couldn’t see just how badly Minccino wanted to take Yamask down.
Olivia was lost in thought until she felt a tug on her leg. When she looked down, she saw Minccino climbing up her body, fixated on the stone. Minccino climbed onto her arm, grabbed her hand before she could react, and pulled the stone from her grasp.
By the time Minccino reached the floor again, both she and the Shiny Stone were enveloped in bright light. She absorbed the stone and grew larger, and long tufts of fur emerged from her head to wrap around her body. Her tail also changed, becoming very similar in appearance to the new, fluffy growths. When the light faded a few moments later, a different Pokémon stood where Minccino once had been.
“Cin-ci!” the newly evolved Cinccino cried, putting her paws on her hips to show off her appearance.
“You wanted to…?” Olivia uttered, dumbfounded. “Somehow I didn’t think…”
Cinccino sighed and turned away from Olivia, deciding that the battle was more important than trying to get through to her. She waved her paw at Yamask, taunting him.
“Congratulations on your Minccino evolving,” Morty calmly said. His voice then turned much more serious as he added, “Don’t think it means I’m going to make this easy on you, though. Yamask, go back on the attack! Will-O-Wisp!”
In an instant, Yamask formed two more orbs of blue flame, one in each of his hands. Cinccino waited for a direction from Olivia, but one never came, so she shot down the flares by flinging a pair of small rocks at them with her tail.
“Cin-cii!” the Normal-type Pokémon shrilly reproached her trainer.
Cinccino’s admonishment finally snapped Olivia back to reality. “Th-that’s right, sorry, Cinccino… that wasn’t an attack I’ve seen you use before.” Olivia took out her Pokédex and pointed it at Cinccino, browsing through the pages until she reached its known moves. “Rock Blast… and you learned Bullet Seed, too, I see. Let’s give him a taste! Bullet Seed!”
“Block it, then use Disable,” Morty commanded.
After carefully aiming at Yamask, Cinccino spit four round, pellet-like seeds at him, one at a time. Yamask didn’t flinch, even when they got near to him. He simply held up his golden mask like a shield, causing them to bounce away with little effect. He then flashed a purple light in his eyes, and the same light briefly flashed around Cinccino’s body.
“No more Bullet Seed for now,” Olivia mumbled through clenched teeth. “I need an out right now…”
Olivia thought back to what her Pokédex told her about Yamask at the beginning of the battle. “These Pokémon arose from the spirits of people interred in graves. Each retains memories of its former life. Each of them carries a mask that used to be its face when it was human. Sometimes they look at it and cry.”
After another quick look over her surroundings, Olivia felt an idea suddenly hit her. She hesitated only a brief moment to wonder why she hadn’t thought of it earlier before making her move.
“Cinccino, rush Yamask!”
“You’re not giving up, are you?” Morty taunted, unaware of what was about to happen. “Yamask, stay on Minccino and use Will-O-Wisp!”
Olivia grinned. “Just what I wanted,” she said under her breath. She then raised her voice and ordered, “Hurry, dodge under the armor, then use Aqua Tail!”
Cinccino turned at a sharp angle and sprinted under the legs of a nearby suit of armor. Yamask followed, but the Will-O-Wisp he threw hit the floor and dissipated harmlessly. Though Cinccino was out of his sight after that, he could hear her jump up and strike the back of the armor, which collapsed over him in a heap.
“Ci cino!” the Normal-type Pokémon laughed as she stood over the wreckage.
“Good job!” Olivia called out, pumping her fist into the air. “That’ll turn things around!”
“Do I sense overconfidence now, Olivia?” In spite of what he said, Morty raised a brow. “She wouldn’t get that upbeat if she wasn’t up to something… but what…”
The top of Yamask’s head phased through the metal, allowing him to peer over at Cinccino, who was staring at him intently. He growled to himself, angered by how his home in the Gym had been used against him, then continued to float upward.
Suddenly, he felt a slight tug on the bottom of his body. The armor pieces beneath him shifted, and when he exerted more effort in order to free himself, he shot upward into the air. His mask was no longer attached to him, and when he realized it, he began to flail around and cry.
Morty’s eyes widened, and his mouth slowly fell open. “So that’s what you were…”
“That’s right,” Olivia bragged, “Yamask might be a ghost, but that mask is solid. So obviously, ghosts can go through solid objects, but other solid objects can’t! And now you have no defense either, so eat this! Rock Blast!”
Grinning widely, Cinccino jumped toward the now-vulnerable Yamask with several rocks in her tail. He stopped thrashing, but only to watch in helpless, wide-eyed terror as Cinccino flung the stones at him. His body was weak without the protection the mask provided, and after the fourth stone cut into him, he crumpled to the floor with one last whimper.
“Impressive, Olivia!” Morty complimented her. Now smiling, he pressed a button on his side of the screen, activating the wall-mounted Poké Ball to call Yamask back. “That was the first step on Ecruteak Gym’s challenge. What do you think so far?”
“It was…” Olivia almost said ‘easy,’ but caught herself and realized the untruth of that statement before she finished. “It was tough, but I think I had fun.”
“You did a pretty good job juggling the scavenger hunt with keeping your battle in line, too.” Looking down, Morty added, “And of course, I have to give you credit as well, Cinccino. You’re the one who did the fighting, after all.”
Pleased with herself as the result of Morty’s praise, Cinccino once again took her paws-on-hips pose and smirked. Both the Gym Leader and Olivia couldn’t resist laughing at her playfully cocky attitude.
“Anyway,” Morty continued, “You now have to move on to the next room. As before, there are two doors.” Lights came up on the passages upon Morty’s prompt. “On the left is the mansion’s toy room, on the right, the dining room. Which one will it be?”
Almost immediately, Olivia answered, “The toy room sounds like fun. Let’s go there.”
“See you there.”
Morty nodded gently before his face disappeared from the screen. After scratching Cinccino behind the ears one last time, Olivia recalled her, then walked for the left-hand door.
“A toy room, huh? He’s a Ghost-type Pokémon user, so I should expect…”
Before she even realized it, Olivia found herself standing just inside the next room of her challenge. It was just as dimly lit as the armory, but instead of the cold presence of the suits, it was filled with all sorts of wooden and plush toys strewn about. Olivia felt her muscles automatically relax slightly in response to the more comforting surroundings.
“Welcome, Olivia!” Morty greeted her after his face appeared on the toy room’s screen. “Are you ready to meet the Pokémon that guards this room?”
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Olivia responded. She had her Poké Ball prepared already, even though she hadn’t seen what Morty would go with yet.
“Alright. I like your nerve, I have to say that. Anyway, here we go, Shuppet!”
Morty pressed another of the buttons before him, and the Poké Ball near the screen burst open. The Shuppet that emerged hung limply in the air, though her eyes burned with life.
“I think my choice is a good one,” Olivia said to herself as she pulled her arm back to throw the ball. “Herdier, let’s play!”
-:-
“Now, for our next battle… it’s Matt from Snowpoint City versus Dino from Castelia City!”
Matt had his eye wide open as he walked to the stage on Kate’s cue, but his mind was elsewhere. It was the only way he could prevent himself from falling apart in front of the crowd. To force thoughts of them from his mind, he stared at the floor and considered the battles that had come before him as he walked.
Nando and Trista’s battle hadn’t been long. Roserade tried to outmaneuver Dorothy early, but Trista’s Kingdra was well prepared to face her old foe once again, and quickly overwhelmed him using Ice Beam. Colress fought a bodybuilder and her Swalot using his Klinklang in the third match, and easily won as a result of his Steel-type’s superiority over the Poison-type. After him, Falkner and Pidgeot managed to defeat a Gligar in a closely-fought aerial battle. Matt and Dino were the fifth match, and after him, Giovanni and Silver had slated battles using their Normal and Water-type Pokémon respectively.
A bead of sweat rolled down Matt’s face as he thought about his competition. The Battle Hall’s focus on a single Pokémon dramatically limited his options, and even though he had more faith than ever in his Sigilyph thanks to her performance at the Battle Cafe, he knew just how much every factor in a one-on-one battle mattered. Colress in particular worried him; the man’s cold, calculating nature combined with his Steel-type Klinklang’s ability to trump Sigilyph on type left Matt well aware of the threat Colress posed.
Matt was so lost in thought that he actually stepped just past his mark. He didn’t realize it until he noticed both Kate and Dino staring at him from their appropriate places.
“****,” he thought, feeling a nervous shock running through his body as he returned to where he should have been.
“Well now that everyone is in their places....” Kate loudly remarked, her sarcasm only making Matt even more nervous, “...it’s time to get this battle started! It’s the Psychic-type versus the Ghost-type! Battle begin!”
“Don’t fold now… you came this far,” Matt mumbled to himself, clutching the Poké Ball in his bag for a moment before throwing it. “Cordelia, make your mark!”
When Cordelia materialized in front of Matt, Dino shoved his hands into his pockets and grinned. “Interesting, so you went with your Sigilyph like you did at the Battle Cafe. This ought to be interesting.”
“How… how do you know about that?” Matt choked.
Dino removed his hands from his pockets and shrugged. “There are television shows that cover notable battles at the Frontier Society facilities. Someone fighting tooth and nail to reach Lyra only to lose spectacularly makes for a good show, you know? Anyway, let’s get started. I’ve been waiting to get a shot at you since I first saw coverage of you.”
By that point, Matt was completely frozen. The idea of his battles attracting attention even outside those watching him in person brought his stage fright to a whole new level, and the only response he could muster was the all too familiar twitch that returned to his fingers.
“Now for my Pokémon,” Dino declared, pulling a Poké Ball of his own from his pocket. “Trevenant, let’s go!”
When the ball burst open, a Pokémon completely alien to Matt emerged. He heavily resembled a dead tree, with several places on his body rotted away to expose something black underneath. His thin, outstretched arms ended in sharply hooked claws, and he supported his weight on six thick roots bent like spider legs.
Matt shivered under the Trevenant’s cold glare. “A Ghost-type might be trouble,” he reasoned to himself as he worked his tablet from his bag, “but it looks like it might be a Grass-type too…”
“Trevenant, the Elder Tree Pokémon. Type is Ghost and Grass.” Matt relaxed slightly once his suspicions were confirmed. “It can control trees at will. It will trap people who harm the forest, so they can never leave. Using its roots as a nervous system, it controls the trees in the forest. It's kind to the Pokémon that reside in its body.”
“Yeah, I think I can handle this…”
The truth was that Matt knew he was lying to himself, however. He could feel the heat from hundreds of pairs of eyes searing into his skin, and when he factored in the countless people not watching in person, he felt like he was baking inside his coat. He briefly considered removing it between rounds, but he remembered that he couldn’t get even a little cold and let go of the idea.
“That’s good and all,” Dino said, “but what matters is what happens on the battlefield. That’s where you can become anyone you want.”
“Both trainers have potential type advantages over each other,” Kate thundered, her words pumping up the energy of the crowd. “How will this situation play out? Is it as even as it looks, or does one side hold an advantage we don’t yet see? Let us find out! Let the battle begin!”
“Cordelia, Air Slash!” Matt called out the moment the battle started.
“Alright, Trevenant, use your legs to boost off the Air Slash, then use Shadow Claw!”
Just before the blade of air struck Trevenant, he pushed himself up on his legs. Cordelia’s attack swept under him, creating an updraft that pushed Trevenant skyward. He lunged forward in midair and swung with his glowing-black claw, but failed to do more than graze Cordelia’s body. She flopped backward but quickly recovered and lowered her eye at her foe.
“You just made one mistake,” Matt said, confidence bracing him for the first time. “Now that I know how you respond to my Flying-type moves, I just need to stop you from doing that. Cordelia, Ice Beam!”
Despite his disadvantage, Dino didn’t lose his composure. He calmly directed, “Trevenant, knock it away with Shadow Claw.”
While Cordelia immediately started chilling the air in front of her body, Trevenant hesitated to follow Dino’s command. He stared up at the Pokémon facing him, and even though it was only for a brief moment, it was enough for Matt to take notice of it. He raised an eyebrow just as Cordelia overran Trevenant’s arm with ice, freezing it.
“Again, Cordelia! Ice Beam!”
Though Matt was decisive in calling his next move, he felt doubt creeping up again. It was an unpleasant sensation rising through his arms as if they were still his natural ones; though he was familiar with the feeling he never had gotten used to it.
Dino wasn’t responding to him and giving directions to Trevenant anymore. Whether it was because he knew he had lost, Matt wasn’t sure. All he knew was that Trevenant feebly tried to block the Ice Beam with his other arm, only for it to get frozen as well. Cordelia didn’t relent, either, quickly following it up with a third Ice Beam that froze Trevenant’s feet in place.
“Trevenant is completely frozen still!” the announcer blared, giving words to accompany the visual. “Is this the end for Dino already?”
Matt sighed, his thoughts focusing on one goal - to escape from the increasingly uncomfortable situation as quickly as possible. “Cordelia, finish this up with Air Slash.”
“Nothing you can do when you’re beaten,” Dino thought to himself, clutching the Poké Ball in his pocket even before Cordelia moved.
-:-
Much had changed about Ecruteak City over the years. For a long time, the entire city was like the eastern half of its modern incarnation, filled with quaint, traditional buildings. In fact, it was more like a village, even though it had always been called a city.
When change came, it took hold hard and fast. Ecruteak’s western half evolved into a dense, run-down urban space over the course of only around a decade, coming to resemble Goldenrod City more than itself. All of the swift change was brought on by society’s rapidly increasing interest in Pokémon training and battling. It was the Angel Corporation behind that paradigm shift, through their ad campaigns promoting the then-impending arrival of the Frontier Society in tandem with the migration of Pokémon from foreign lands. Among young people, these acts led to a dramatic spike in interest in the career of a traveling trainer. Other facilities, such as Pokémon Centers and Gyms, also saw greatly increased activity. In the end, even an ancient, traditional city like Ecruteak could not completely escape the change.
One trait about Ecruteak that hadn’t changed over the years was the city’s symbol, their two towers. The Bell Tower was one, and to its east, located exactly on the borderline between the traditional and modern halves of the city, was the other. It had once been called the Brass Tower, but after burning down well over a century earlier, it came to be known more simply as the Burned Tower. Unlike its counterpart, it was fully open to the public, a fact that Bunny and Nekou were taking full advantage of.
Bunny would have been shivering from the cold air flowing through the ruins if she hadn’t had Balin out with her. The Ninetales was exhaling a small, gentle flame from her mouth, providing both heat and light to her trainer, who was leaning down and examining pieces of a broken wall. She was carefully copying down the writing on the wall in a notebook.
“So glad I didn’t have to look long to find this…” Bunny thought to herself. “Not really in the mood to dig around in the cold, quiet dark today…” Realizing what she had thought, she stopped writing and said out loud, “Wait, quiet? With Nekou around?”
Bunny stood and turned around, and discovered that what she noticed actually was true. Nekou was nowhere to be seen.
“Well, that’s weird. I wonder where she went. I guess we’ll meet up again later… she’ll be alright.”
Satisfied with that conclusion, Bunny went back to her work transcribing the strange writing. Because of how the wall had been damaged, a good deal of it was incomplete and out of order.
Several minutes passed in peaceful silence, allowing Bunny to devote her full attention to what she was doing. All of a sudden, however, a bright light appeared over her, causing her to drop her pen and notebook as she sprang up in shock and turned around.
Behind her, a ghostly creature floated, shining the light from within her pumpkin body. A black spirit bearing yellow eyes and a small, fanged mouth grew from inside the pumpkin as well.
“What the hell is…”
“Having fun, Pumpkaboo?” Nekou abruptly appeared, grinning broadly. The Pokémon giggled in response, prompting Nekou to laugh slightly as well. “I see you’ve met my new Pokémon, Bunny.”
“Is that where you went?” Bunny demanded, pointing her finger at Nekou. “You go off and disappear and then you’ve got another of your troublemakers. I shouldn’t be surprised at this point, should I?”
“Nope,” Nekou replied, her voice a monotone. “You know me well enough by now. You should know how things go with me.”
“You know what, you’re right.” Bunny lowered her eyelids and the tone of her voice to match Nekou’s eyes and voice. “I do know how you get.”
While Nekou and Bunny talked, Pumpkaboo floated over to Balin and settled on her head. The Ninetales immediately became irritated and shook around to remove her, then began growling once she got Pumpkaboo off.
Bunny sighed and brought her hand to her face. “Can you try not to disrupt me from doing this? It’s kind of important.”
“Alright, alright,” Nekou answered, waving her hand dismissively. “I’ll be good. Just let me watch.”
For the next few minutes, Bunny quietly continued working on copying the writing, though she was irritated by the feeling of Nekou hovering mere inches away from her.
“Huh?” Suddenly, Bunny stopped writing. “What’s this?”
Nekou peered slightly over Bunny’s shoulder. “Something got you confused?”
“Right here,” Bunny said, running her hand over a section of the wall. Instead of text, it appeared to be part of a spherical shape carved into the stone.
-:-
As Olivia pushed the great doors of the Gym’s main hall open, light flooded her eyes. She couldn’t help but instinctively close them and raise her arm up until she got used to it. Once she was able to fully appreciate her surroundings, she realized the grandiosity of where she was.
The hall could not have been any more unlike the other rooms in the mansion. They had been dim, dusty and cramped, while the final chamber was spacious and well-furnished. Paintings in ornate frames lined the walls beneath marble arches, while a grand crystal chandelier hung over the checkered ballroom floor at the center of the space.
After drawing inside by a few more steps, Olivia could see Morty standing at the far end of the room. He had his back to her and was staring into a video screen, evidently the one he’d been broadcasting from all along.
“I’m impressed with how easily you made it past Shuppet, Olivia.” Morty slowly turned to face her, his arms crossed and his face bearing a wide, gentle smile. “Your Herdier was quite impressive indeed.”
“Well, I raised it well,” Olivia replied, grinning. “I know what I’m doing.”
“I agree, you do. Now…” As he descended the short staircase to the battlefield, Morty started tossing a Poké Ball in his right hand. “Because you advanced through the first two rooms you visited and did not lose a single Pokémon, you may use Cinccino, Herdier and one more Pokémon against my ultimate Pokémon. This will be a straightforward battle, no tricks or hidden bonuses. Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Olivia said, steeling herself and grasping her own Poké Ball. “Bring it on.”
“Very well. The Fog Badge is at stake, so let’s begin!”
Morty put his left hand behind his back and threw the Poké Ball with a sweeping motion of his right. When it burst open, a dark figure emerged from the light, quickly congealing into the form of a Gengar. He stood in front of his trainer with a slouched posture that only made his grin even more sinister.
“I think I might have guessed that was what it would be…” Olivia admitted. She met Gengar’s gaze head-on, but she felt a chill run through her body nevertheless. “I want to try something a little different. It might not work out, but I want to try. Mr. Mime, let’s play!”
Morty took a step back when he learned of Olivia’s choice. He had expected Herdier to return, owing to his knowing Crunch to use against Ghost-types. On top of that, though, he also never thought Olivia would choose a Psychic-type due to their own natural weakness against Ghosts.
“I guess it makes sense, though,” he thought. “Gengar is part Poison-type, and she did say she expected it.”
“Mr. Mime, are you ready to go?” Olivia asked.
To Olivia’s surprise, Mr. Mime replied with nothing but a weak, emotionless groan. He looked up at his enemy, but stood with his arms hung limply at his sides.
“I suppose I will take the first move,” Morty declared. As he raised his arm, he expressed a silent hope that his attack would reveal what was wrong with Olivia’s Pokémon. “Shadow Punch!”
“Mr. Mime, use Mimic!”
Morty immediately understood the kind of strategy Olivia had planned while he watched Gengar lunge toward Mr. Mime. The Ghost-and-Poison type struck Mr. Mime with his glowing, black arm, forcing Olivia’s Pokémon back. As Mr. Mime stumbled, however, his body glowed with golden light.
“Carrying Mimic in order to take Ghost-type moves, which will work well against Ghost-types… it’s risky, but a clever strategy nevertheless.” Though he was complimenting Olivia, in his mind Morty was still questioning what was going on. “I want you to show me what your full convictions are capable of. Gengar, Night Shade!”
“You know what you have to do, Mr. Mime!” Olivia hoped that if she showed determination in her voice, whatever was upsetting Mr. Mime would alleviate itself. “Shadow Punch!”
Mr. Mime lifted his fist and focused the same dark energy Gengar used around it, but he acted so sluggishly that he did not take any further movements. He simply stood and allowed Gengar to overrun him with beams of black light fired from his eyes.
With a weak, frustrated groan, Mr. Mime slouched to the floor in a heap. He could be heard sobbing softly, and he refused to lift his head to either Olivia or Morty.
“Stop, this isn’t working!” Olivia ran out onto the battlefield and got between Mr. Mime and Gengar, waving her arms as she went. “I don’t totally understand why, but I get it, Mr. Mime doesn’t want to fight.” Turning around and leaning down, she asked her Pokémon, “Is that right?”
The only response Olivia got was a frustrated, quiet murmur.
“I think I understand,” Morty intervened, drawing Olivia’s attention. “I won’t force you to make Mr. Mime fight any further, but I hope you understand that I have to count this as a knockout.”
Olivia rose back to her full height, but she couldn’t find words to say right away. Deep down inside, she knew that the right thing to do would be to accept the penalty and let Mr. Mime have his rest. Yet, part of her wanted to refuse the deal and try to turn things around.
“No, I can’t do that!” she snapped to herself in her mind. “What kind of person would I be if…”
Refusing to allow herself to finish the stomach-turning thought, Olivia nodded her assent to Morty’s offer. She then took Mr. Mime’s hand and carefully led him him to the sidelines. It was almost entirely her own effort that moved the two of them; Mr. Mime barely moved a muscle.
Once she had deposited him on the sidelines, Olivia started on her way back to the battlefield. She could feel Mr. Mime’s presence like a burning flame on her back, and it made her hang her head. It horrified her that she could even have entertained such thoughts. By the time she was back in place, she was more concerned with asking herself how she could be so blind to Mr. Mime’s needs.
Morty noticed Olivia’s eyes twitching, but decided to try and work her through it by focusing her back on her goals. “I will be ready to begin again as soon as you decide which Pokémon you wish to go with. Will it be Herdier or Cinccino?”
“Cinccino’s still a bit tired from fighting Yamask, so…” Her mind made up, Olivia took out Herdier’s Poké Ball and threw it, calling out his name as she did so.
-:-
Matt stormed through the tunnels behind the Battle Hall’s stage, his heavy footsteps echoing loudly in the metal corridors. There weren’t any other people around with him, but even if there had been, he wouldn’t have cared if he disturbed them. His one impulse to handle his frustration - jamming his left fist into his pocket while clutching a bottle of Soda Pop with his right - barely helped.
The source of his stress was the newly-announced slate of matchups for the second round of the tournament. Silver and Giovanni, who had won their matches using Persian and Feraligatr, respectively, were matched against each other. Matt found himself amused in a dark way by that, but when he learned of who he was to battle, all humor disappeared.
It was Colress. Matt had feared having to deal with a Steel-type, and knowing that he now had to go against Colress’s mighty Klinklang, his goal of pulling information on Reshiram from Kate felt further away than ever.
“Maybe I can talk to her even if I can’t reach her,” he mentally reasoned. His mood brightened briefly, but quickly fell again. “She’s too famous, though. It would be like trying to get a private autograph from Trevor Hastings. Back when he was around, anyway…”
Matt’s frustration with his situation abated a small amount as his mind wandered to the man he’d seen during the battle on the Magnet Train. He swore that it looked like a someone he knew from one of his favorite films, but the idea of a once-famous actor being in Team Rocket’s ranks confused him.
Suddenly, as he neared a corner, he could hear voices talking just around the bend. Recognizing one of them as Dino’s, he abruptly stopped and pressed himself against the wall. He knew eavesdropping on Dino’s conversation was wrong, but felt strangely nervous about passing by it.
“I owe you an apology, Doctor,” Dino said. “Trevenant didn’t work out the way we hoped.”
“It’s no big deal,” the other party to the conversation replied. “Experiments aren’t experiments if they don’t sometimes fail. We’ll just try again with another subject.”
“That voice…!”
Matt immediately knew that his odd bout of nerves was justified. He recognized the second voice as Colress’s, and realized that something strange was going on. Feeling a great need to know more, he edged slightly closer to the corner.
