LNOEW: Chapter 119

Nemona's Current Team:

Dun - DudunsparceMiles - RotomNightwing - GliscorNotch - DianciePhantasm - Hisuian ZoroarkAthena - LucarioBahamut - HaxorusRadiance - Iron MothAnya - GothoritaCataphract - SliggooTestudinidae - TorkoalMeloetta - Meloetta

“Ah, good to be- urk!” I wheezed as my parents ran across the waiting space at the airport to wrap me in a tight hug.

“Oh our darling girl, we’ve missed you so!”

“Tell us everything that’s happened!”

My parents declared while crushing me. Behind them, I heard my sister clear her throat. “Perhaps you should let her down first?” Cyan suggested, and they let me go.

“Thanks,” I said to her as I got my bearings. My parents looked as stunning as ever in their bright white and gold outfits, designed with a level of fashion I could not, and likely never would, comprehend. Behind them, Cyan had her Uva school uniform on. I doubt she’ll wear it through the summer break like some students do. The uniform is comfortable enough and the school can be strict about wearing the uniform when classes are in, but my sister prefers to express herself a bit more freely when she can.

“I’m doing fine. Blueberry had some bumps midway through, as you know, but things are much better now. I just defeated Elsa and became Champion of the League Club, so that should be interesting for next term.” Despite the fact that I was sure they had all seen the match as it was streamed, my entire family cheered and congratulated me for my victory. This is nice.

I felt the same seeing Leah again, standing by the limo outside the airport. “Welcome back home, Young Miss,” she told me warmly.

“Thanks. It’s good to be back.”

***

While airport security had kept most of the paparazzi away for my arrival, I was surprised at the sheer throng surrounding our home. All of them were technically off the property line and moves (slowly) to let the limo pass, but I could already hear them hounding for questions, microphones and cameras pointed at the tinted glass windows.

“I’m surprised there are so many of the press here. They didn’t have anyone the last times I came home.” I commented as the limo came to a stop past the front gate.

“Things have changed a bit since then, new events are what the news is all about,” my mother replied and I nodded. Right, I did just beat Elsa. Guess my fame is back then.

We got out of the vehicle and though they kept their distance, I could hear the questions they shouted at me. 

“What do you have to say about the proof that your evolution of Carbink to Diancie wasn’t a fluke?”

“Your new album is topping the charts - do you have any plans for more musical endeavours now that you’re back home?”

“What’s your secret for finding so many Legendary Pokemon?”

“Will Meloetta be playing a role in your future music?”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Sinnoh just repelled certain age limit registration on Trainers to allow exemptions for exceptional younger Trainers to go on their journeys. Do you agree with this given your own position?”

“What was it like being a foreigner in Unova?”

Huh, I heard things online and from the students in Blueberry but… I guess the rest of the world really didn’t care as much about that kind of stuff. I decided I’d think about the questions for a while before answering, probably in a more focused setting. I’m sure some type of interview can be arranged. Maybe on a late night talk show.

The thought stopped me for a moment as I walked up the front steps, the staff well used to Glitterati’s spacing out getting intently focused, and maneuvering around me while carrying my luggage inside. In many ways it was still strange to think of my fame and influence as they were, some part of me still thinking of myself as ‘normal.’ But with time, I was adapting to this life, and somehow, it didn’t hurt as much any more, to remember that life now gone.

“Nemona!” A cry snapped my attention forward and I saw Arven rush up to greet me, stopping somewhat awkwardly in front of me for a moment. I appreciated him not tackling me in greeting, but still gave him a big hug of my own. 

“Good to see you Arven. You came here just to greet me?”

“Of course we did, it’s been ages!” I caught onto one of those words and saw his father giving me a nod from the doorway before turning back to my parents, chatting with them.

“That’s great. C’mon, I have tons to tell you, and I’m sure you’ve got a bunch of stuff that’s happened to you too.” We ran back inside, carefree. 

***

Considering how close we had been over the course of the school year, communicating online often, I didn’t have a ton of ‘new’ information to tell Arven or vice versa. Though there were a few details he had left out in his stories.

“So your parents are fighting over where you should go to school?” I summed up, and the boy nodded glumly.

“It’s great to have Mom and Dad back in my life and all, well more Dad than Mom, but this is less fun. I don’t care where I go to preparatory school. Don’t think I’m going to like it either,” he mumbled the last part.

“Professor Sada is still busy?” I inquired, and the boy nodded his hair flopping about slightly.

“She is, and Dad wants her nowhere near us. He hasn’t taken out a restraining order or anything, but she hasn’t come by in person ever since she was first here. But I don’t talk to her much on the phone; she’s busy with something.”

“That’s rough, sorry to hear it,” I said, offering a platitude while I thought the problem over. Going to prep school near his mom probably would give them more chances to bond. But I hope that wouldn’t impact his relationship with his Dad, which sounds like it’s finally starting to improve.

At dinner that evening, I found a different subject to broach with him, as we sat around the dining room. It began with my father asking, “What other scientific endeavours are you pursuing these days? I haven’t heard much, so it must be quite the find. Perhaps more to do with Terastalization?”

“I’ve been busy recovering and spending time with my son,” Turo said crisply, cutting off my father. “And I don’t have the urge to revisit those old projects.” Technically you could study Tera Crystals over in Kitikami too, but perhaps best not to pick at old wounds. My father gave a blink-and-miss-it awkward expression at our guest’s blunt refutal before nodding cheerfully.

“Of course, that makes sense. The brightest gardens need the most care and nurture," he declared and my mother practically swooned over his almost nonsensical words. Glad to see they’re just as lovey-dovey as ever.

“When you are interested, I might have some ideas you could work with, if that isn’t too presumptive,” I said. He gave me an intense stare before shaking his head.

“Hardly. You’ve been making quite the splash scientifically with your Hisuian revivals. Congratulations.” He raised a glass in cheers and we all drank. “Did you want my help with something along those lines?”

“Thank you, but no, I hadn’t been thinking of that, at least not for the moment.” There’s one other evolution I want to bring back from then at least, but it’s not urgent. Getting direct contact with Bloodmoon would better explain how I knew about Sinnohan bog peat and its interactions with Urasarings under the full Moon. “And I wasn’t thinking of a project for me, but rather one that you could pursue, though I’d be happy to help and could hopefully serve as a good test subject in.”

He didn’t verbally respond, but Turo did lean forward slightly over the table, a glint of interest entering his eyes. I continued, “Have you heard of Aura?”

Turo slowly nodded. “I’ve heard of the theory. Psychic powers may be well known, but Aura Theory supposes that those are just one of many powers humans can tap into, alongside all the known Types of the world, each with their own abilities and unique features. Of course, I’ve also heard that the other elemental representation are just different forms of psychic powers as modeled by our human minds, and the gap between how Pokemon access their energies is fundamentally different from how a human can. I’ve also heard that these are merely the tricks of charlatans, using partner Pokemon and the mysticism,” he said, spitting the word out as if it was the worst kind of slur. “To hide their cons and deceive gullible people.”

I blinked, surprised at that. “Okay, well I can assure you that it isn’t a scam.” As I spoke, I pushed my chair back, levitating in the air for a few moments before continuing. “But I agree that the mysticism surrounding the topic is something of a barrier for people to study it. I feel if anyone could find a way to categorize and make it more known, you could do it.”

Turo was quiet for over a minute, deep in thought. It got to the point that I wondered if I should sit back down when he asked, “Are you sure this is wise?”

“Huh?”

“Do you think it would be a good idea to have this knowledge revealed to the world? I’ll assume that this display is not some attempt to trick me, so this being true, the various rumors and legends surrounding the subject have likely been, to some degree, intentionally obscured. Would it be wise to give people access to these powers?”

Wow, he’s really come a long way. That, or he thinks I’m still suspicious of him and that this was some sort of test and is asking me this in an attempt to ‘pass,’ which would still likely be more consideration to the repercussions of his work than he’s shown before. 

“I do. While there’s the potential for people to hurt others with it, that potential lies in most advancements. I believe that these powers, as well as our general physical bodies, are much less impressive than that of Pokemon, and we can have plenty of them aiding us. It takes a lot of effort to develop your Aura,” I admitted. “So if people want to learn how to do that, then I think it’s fine, and that these studies may help us discover more about our nature.”

He gave me a small smile. “Well then, I think this would be an interesting subject to pursue. Not one that I’ll need to rush into either,” he added, glancing down at his son, who brightened up at that. “Should do me some good to have such a project to investigate. Thank you, Nemona.” He offered a hand and I shook.

“Oh this is wonderful!” My mother exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “The Glitterati family will be happy to fund this experiment.”

“Thank you, that is quite generous,” Turo said before turning to me. “I take it you have some knowledge of the basics of Aura?”

“Yes, or at least what I assume them to be.”

“Good. I want to know everything. Ahem, but what you know will be a good starting point for my investigation.” The shift to his posture was minute, but there was something more ‘alive’ in his stance than I’d seen from Turo in a long time. Provided he can keep it from taking over his life, this should be a good thing.

***

“Alright, I want a clean match. No hits below the Expert Belt and no ‘accidentally’ Draco Meteoring the other side,” I said, with air quotes while specifically looking at Cat. My squishy Dragon Type turned his head, as if to sense around before being like ‘Who? Me?’ Yes, you; you’re the only one who broke that rule last time.

Not the only one to break the rules admittedly, Anya probably used her Psychic powers in ways that broke the rules last time, but at least she tried to be sneaky about it, and she was serving as one of the judges this round. With no complaints or last minute swaps raised, I said “Three, two, one… play ball!” And I tossed the rugged rubber ball onto the field with all my might. I still didn’t quite reach the center of the field. It was close enough however and the game was on!

My Pokemon scrambled back and forth, trying to claim the ball from the other side. Athena’s Extremespeed let her get ahead of Bahamut, kicking the ball past him, but he’d seen such tricks before, and so he didn’t overextend himself in his rush forward, extending his tail out to catch the ball. The maneuver didn’t quite work, but it tipped the ball in a different direction, letting Nightwing swoop forward, juggling the ball with her tail.

Radiance was the mid-fielder for the other side and quickly intercepted, however. Even without their Booster Energy, the Paradox Pokemon was more than fast enough to slice through the air and knock the ball away, creating a bright Flash of light to momentarily disable the other flier. Oh, that was good! When did they learn that? Practice with Sunny Day could make for the basis of it though, to make a mini sun that only lasts a moment, but around them.

Most disruptive Moves like that were limited to Defenders, but after a moment I decided to let it play on, both for being impressive to learn a Move without my guidance and that it wasn’t nearly as debilitating as Thunder Wave or Encore or the like.

The game shifted, Dun’s team recovering from the fumble and nearly pushing ahead, only for Meloetta to step forward, changing their form, with a signal to me, one that Athena gave at the same time. “Accepted switch! Game is on!” I called out, letting the field know that Meloetta’s play was good there, her use of Relic Dance as she tore across the field with the ball acceptable. Athena’s empathic voice carried on in my mind, picking up where Meloetta’s song had left off, ending on a triumphant note as the newest mythical Pokemon kicked the ball across the last third of the field, sending the ball just through the corner of the diamond goal posts, well ahead of Notch’s outstretched arms (and just past their Psychic range).

“Goooooooal!!” I declared, waving my arms to the cheers of Meloetta’s team, who began Cheering (and in the case of Athena, throwing the mythical up in the air) in celebration. “Now, let’s go to our judges! What’s the verdict?” Everyone’s attention turned over to the other side of the field, where Anya and Testudinidae were sitting. Test released a plume of smoke that coalessced into a clear ‘7’ in the air above her. I got the sense that Athena wasn’t thrilled with that result, but accepted it. However, when Anya flipped over her card…

[‘Four! How dare yo-’] I blew on my whistle to halt her angry march across the field, Meloetta forgotten in the air where Athena had tossed her (though they easily had the grace to right themself as they landed back down).

“The judge’s rulings are final. You know Anya has a higher standard for Psychic performances- oh, hey sis,” I said, waving at my sister as she walked towards us.

“What’s going on here?” she asked, looking around at the large section of field we had cleared out. Beside her, Primarina crawled forward, the starter looking quite happy with himself, or perhaps just with the water, clearly having taken a dip in one of the nearby rivers that ran through the grass plains.

“There were some Hypnos causing problems for the Flamigos nearby. We gave them a telling off and they agreed to let us use the field for our game,” I explained, gesturing at the birds in question who were watching the game with mild interest. A few Drowzee’s were as well, though they tried their best to not look that way in front of the Hypnos sulking in the shade of some trees off in the distance.

My sister gave me an unamused stare and after a moment it clicked together. “Oh right, I never told you about this game, have I? Whoopsie,” I said, scratching the back of my head sheepishly. “So, this is Calvinball. I actually think you’d really like it, want to join us for a game?”

“Maaaaaybe,” she said with the tone of someone interested but had been burnt one too many times before. “How’s it work?”

“So, it’s five Pokemon to a team, each with different positions. Low power moves like Tackle and Water Gun are the only Moves allowed, unless otherwise qualified for by your position. Forwards,” I said, clearly stating my stance on what the position was called, regardless of my Pokemon’s insistence that ‘Attackers’ worked better. “Are the only Pokemon that can use higher power Moves. Still nothing major or wide area like Draco Meteor, but Extremespeed, Dragon Rush, Liquidation… that stuff is okay there. Because they have the stronger Moves they’re usually the ones leading the charge in getting the ball into the other goal.”

“And that’s the point of the game?” Cyan asked, already looking a bit confused.

“Yeah! There’s modifiers to it, but I’ll get to them in a moment. So the Mid-fielders are the only ones who can fly, but they can’t grab the ball as they move, so usually they try to juggle it forward. They can’t rise above fifteen meters in the air, to give a chance for others to jump up and clash. Defenders are the only ones allowed to use Status Moves to debilitate the other team, or to buff their allies. The last line of defense is the Goalie, who can grab the ball but can’t go more that Ten meters past the goal posts. They’re also the only ones who can telekinetically grab the ball, but they can only exert Psychic pressure on it within two meters of their bodies, but if they toss it like that, the inertia after they let go is fine.”

Primarina had joined his Trainer in looking confused, his eyes swirling around so much I worried I had managed a one-hit k.o. on the guy. “Nims, this is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Aww, I’m sorry. I guess this can be a bit complex. I just wanted a game that got to use everyone’s talents, and with Meloetta loving singing and physical activity, I came up with this-”

“Singing?”

“Yeah! So the last position is Skald. They can hit the ball like with the base rules, but as the game goes on, their job is to project - verbally, emotionally, or psychically - a story around the game. The better it is and the closer it matches the events of the game as they unfold, the more points the judges give you after you score. You get 5 base points for scoring a goal, and then the judges can give you up to ten more points each, so each goal is worth five to twenty five points. Right now we have two judges, though we could up it to three and have them score by up to seven each? Then again, maybe I should change up the judge's impact, I’m still playing around with the balance.”

My words did not win over Cyan in regards to the game’s difficulty, but Primarina was locked in. Eyes wide at the thought of singing, they turned and added a sparkle to those wide orbs, giving his Trainer the best Baby-Doll Eyes he could manage. Cyan tried to resist, turning her head, but like the inevitable pull of gravity, her neck twisted back and she crumpled under Primarina’s gaze. “Okay fine,” she said with the heavy sigh only a teenager could pull off. “We can play a game.”

Primarina clapped his flippers together wildly, cheering as he surged onto the field, the rest of Cyan’s team joining. Should I make it a three way fight? No, my larger team might gang up on Cyan’s even subconsciously. Best to give some of my team a break.

The Pokemon quickly got rearranged on the field and the fight was on, my sister and I cheering our respective teams forward. I limited myself from giving tactical advice, but it still ended up favoring my team, though Cyan’s put up a good fight. Wishi’s combined bulk makes them a powerful presence on the field, and would almost entirely cover the goals if they were put there (though using them as Forward lets the school leverage their offense). Kingdra has Sniper like aim and precision, combined with aerial superiority as a mid-fielder, and Primarina is an excellent Skald.

“That was a good match,” I said at the end, turning to my sister. There was a flicker of deep seated disappointment on her face that I barely caught before she tried to cheer up and respond.

“Yeah, it was fun, even if I still think it’s waaaay too complicated. Like rules on no emotional attacks? Where did that even come from?”

“Phantasm,” I droned, giving the mischievous Hisuian Zoroark a fond look. “She got very inventive with her illusions even after she was restricted to just around her body. Seeing a version of my bloody body amble around like a zombie certainly was a shock, though my team took it far worse than I did. “But what’s really up?” I pressed, stepping back a little from the field.

Cyan followed me with a sigh. “It’s no big deal- fine, it’s nothing you can change,” she amended at my questioning stare. “I just… I can’t match up to you.”

“Hey, your team did great for their first time with this game and my Pokemon have practiced more-”

“It’s not that!” She shouted before stopping, looking ashamed of herself. In a calmer tone, she continued. “It’s- it’s all of this. The field, the coming up with games on the spot, the music, the sheer genius you have. My friends will constantly ask me about my little sister, wondering what crazy thing she’s done next. And I know I shouldn’t be upset. You work hella hard at everything you do, you deserve the praise. I just wish I could stand on the same level.”

My mouth opened with arguments of how she was better than me at a lot of things too, like socializing and business, but I realized that argument wouldn’t fly this time. Back then, people just praised me as a gifted child of rich parents, not an international name in my own right. Cyan is great too, but hardly anyone recognizes her as such.

“I think you should ask mom to put some of your art up in a gallery or an exhibit,” I finally said.

“Huh? But I- my artwork should stand on its own, I don’t need our parents to help me,” she argued, crossing her arms defensively.

“I don’t think you need it either, but I got help from them for my music career, and I wouldn’t be anywhere near as famous without them. You can submit it under a Nom de Guerre if you want- uh, that’s fake name - but our parents can give you your chance to stand out too, to get your own talents recognized.”

She paused, frowning, and I could see her slowly turning the idea over in her mind. “...You think I’m good enough for that? For something big like that?”

“You only know once you try, but for my opinion? Heck yeah you are! Your art is fantastic and it deserves a place to shine.” I waited a beat, letting the heartwarming moment sink in before adding, “Like any good Glitterati effort, dazzling the world with your magnificence-”

My sister grabbed me and gave me a quick noogie. “You’re taking way too much after them,” she said, and we both laughed as I pushed myself away. “I… I’ll do it,” she said, her voice firming up. “I’ll have to work really hard to get something worth submitting for any of the big events mum funds but I’ll give it a shot. Thanks, sis.”

“No problem,” I said, smiling at her. Then as I turned my gaze back to the field I saw that half of it was flooded, the other half was on fire, several of our Pokemon were running about, Athena was applying Heal Pulses to the injured, Notch was staring dead eyed at the field with a bunch of pizza boxes they’d somehow found in hand, and pandemonium raged. “Big problem, big problem!”

***

The rest of the summer passed by quickly, with a chance to relax and catch up with some old friends. Both Amethio and Professor Friede stopped by at points (just missing each other, in fact). I’m glad to hear that Amethio is doing well. His new friends within the Explorers are surprisingly deferential and loyal to Amethio, considering how he mentioned them being prickly at first when his grandfather basically ordered them to be friends with him. Then again, he also mentioned that after some bumps they’ve grown a lot closer together.

It was strange to see the lonely boy I knew branching out and connecting with strangers, but a good kind of strange. I hoped he’d continue to make friends like that, and his reveal of his newest Pokemon, Eevee (alongside his Rotom officially joining the team; I’d given him all the Rotom Appliances for his last birthday present).

“Oh you’re a cute little guy, aren’t you?” I said, scratching under the Eevee’s chin, something the Pokemon greatly appreciated, even as Amethio tried to retain his aloof attitude. We were standing up in the garden by my house, looking down over the beach, and the arena where Zirc and Onia were testing each other. They’re fine Trainers, but their Pokemon still need a lot of conditioning before I’d consider them strong and tactics wise… well they’re alright but nothing special.

“Uh, yes, he is… cute. But also very strong,” Amethio emphasized while Eevee mewled adorably. 

“I don’t doubt it; your team is a solid challenge already. You should really take at least the Gym Challenge one of these days. I know, I know,” I said, waving off the immediate argument. “You're busy with your Explorer work. But you gotta have some time free to try something new. The Explorers don’t have to be your entire life,” I said softly.

“I’ll think about it,” he eventually responded, uncomfortably. “Such an endeavour would still be a ways off. Eevee needs more training and I’d want a full team before undertaking the challenge.” I guess it would be hypocritical to say he doesn’t need to do it like that, considering how my journey went.

I could have pointed out that he could catch Pokemon along the way, but knowing Amethio, that would just lead to him arguing about how much time that would add and further push him away from the idea. C’mon dude, you need to open up, live a little!

Instead I asked, “So forgive me if this is a bit early but what are you thinking for an evolution?” This appeared to be the wrong question as Eevee hissed, abruptly deciding that cuddle time was over and marched back to Amethio’s side.

“Appologies, Eevee doesn’t appear to want that,” Amethio explained.

“No worries, a lot of Pokemon feel the same way,” I said, more to Eevee than Amethio. The Normal Type stopped being so angry but still eyed me with suspicion. “You can be plenty strong while not evolving; in fact, there’s even some advantages to it, especially for an Eevee.”

That got both of their attention, the two of them unknowingly cocking their head to the side in the exact same manner. “Really? I’ve never heard of that before. The Eevee specific part, at least,” he amended remembering some of the lectures I’d given on evolution and strength before.

“Haha, yeah. It’s true though. There’s a Z-Move called Extreme Evoboost, which only works with Eevees and the right Z-Crystal.” Amethio nodded his head, his interest greatly decreased, likely from realizing he’d never have the chance to go to Alola and take the island challenge. “Of course, there’s other benefits too. Eevee is a pokemon with a ton of potential, and I’ve heard it can be channeled even without eeveelution. Powerful Moves that can Paralyze, raise barriers, burn or heal you, all matching the eeveelutionary Types. And that’s on top of powerful Normal Type Moves that you can pack a punch.”

“Whoa that’s incredibl- wait did you just say ‘eeveelution?’” Amethio demanded while the Pokemon at his side piped up eagerly.

“Eevee! Vee Vee!”

The older boy sighed at my big grin. “If that’s true, then why haven’t I heard of it before?”

“Maybe if you got out a bit more you’d see there’s more to the world than meets the eye,” I suggested tauntingly before getting more serious. “Well, the Eevee thing is pretty hidden admittedly; I only saw one guy who had those kinds of Moves with his Eevee before.” Amethio perked up only to be brought down by my next comment. “Unfortunately, I never actually learned his name, and he left Blueberry Academy at the end of the school year. Don’t worry though, there’s gotta be ways to teach your Eevee the same tricks, whether through Move tutors or just experimentation.”

“Is that really all it takes?”

“Well, this is just a gut feeling, but I’m pretty sure those Moves can only be learned by an Eevee that can’t evolve. I feel like the potential they have for so many different Types energies needs to be channeled in a different way to make learning them possible.

Amethio furrowed his dark brows together and I idly wondered why his hair was split black and white on either side on top of his head, and whether it was weirder or more natural that his eyebrows were the same color instead of being split too. I’ve definitely seen hair in this world where it goes the other way around. Heh, would be funny to do all these shocking scientific revelations and then one day do some big in-depth look into why hair works the way it does here when no one in this world cares about that stuff.

“Can’t all Eevees evolve? At least through evolutionary stones?” He questioned.

“Nope. Or at least some can’t, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to Gigantamax. Pretty sure there’s some kind of soup you can get for it? That would turn evolutions on or off, but I don’t know too much about that stuff.”

“It’s a good start and a worthwhile goal. I’ll see if Grandfather will let me take a trip sometime to further our prowess,” Amethio’s voice was dramatic and full of conviction, something that I felt as goofy, but would probably actually give a ‘cool’ vibe to anyone who didn’t know him as I did.

Friede popped by not long after, just missing Amethio and his friends teleporting away. “Nemona!” He declared, hopping off the back of his newest Pokemon, an Aerodactyl, as he landed.

“Friede! Great to see you and your new friend. Hi there,” I said to the Aerodactyl. I wasn’t the best at reading the expressions of fossil Pokemon, but the look she gave me implied danger, and I retracted my hand slowly from her.

The warning look Friede gave his Pokemon as well as what he said afterwards confirmed that. “Good to see you too Nemona, be careful around her, she’s… new to the team.” As he walked towards me, I noticed the look she gave Captain Pikachu, one of disdain mixed with anger and no small amount of fear. The Electric Type gave her a warning stare back before waving at me.

“Hello to you too, Cap. I’m glad to see you but where’s the Brave Olivine?” I had glanced around as soon as I noticed Friede, but there was no sign of the airship nearby.

“Orla’s getting some parts to fix her up real good in Mesagoza. We had a minor scuffle with sky pirates, which is actually where I found this girl.” He jerked his head towards Aerodactyl before recalling her. “Thought while she was busy with that I’d stop by and have a chat.” I noticed that as he talked, he adjusted the settings of the Pokeballs on his belt, lowering the volumes of each (save for Cap’s Pokeball), so the Pokemon within would be less likely to overhear our conversation.

Oh boy, guessing this is more than just a ‘how do you do?’ I led Friede inside the house, and the Professor said hi to Leah, remembering her from the Junior Tourney all those years ago, something my majordomo seemed pleased by given her slight blush. Then we went to my basement and I bluntly announced, “So what’s the problem?”

“Well- I- I really did come down to congratulate you, word has gotten around of what you’ve achieved with Diancies and Goomies... Buuuuuut since you mention it, I wondered if you might have any advice about troublesome team dynamics?” The white haired man asked and I nodded easily.

“Sure, I can give it a shot. I take it it has to do with your new Aerodactyl? From what I’ve heard they can be tough Pokemon to connect with at first and I saw the stink-eye she gave Pikachu. Is it just with Cap or with Charizard or that third, other new Pokemon on your team?”

“Hmm? Druddigon isn’t that new - I caught her not long after that incident with the poachers we stopped what? Six months ago now?” I gave him an unimpressed look and he eventually realized. “I never told you about catching her, did I?”

“Nope! Speaking of, what else have you been up to? I noticed your videos have dropped in number a bit.”

“That’s because I’ve been working with Rangers and conservationalists, fighting against poachers. The bounties aren’t huge, but they help keep the Olivine afloat and I’ve gotten the chance to film some really incredible sights and unique environments there, but it also means I have to be careful with what I show; don’t want to give the bad guys any ideas. What do you think of the shows though? The quality has gone up, right?”

There was a moment of awkward silence where I couldn’t meet his gaze. “I have them on my to watch list? I’m sorry!”

“You’ve been busy-” he tried to reassure me but I shook my head.

“Maybe back when I was in school but I’ve got some free time now, I should definitely catch up on those. But sorry, back to the problem with Aerodactyl?”

“Aerodactyl and Druddigon really. Druddigon was first brought onto the ship but didn’t get along well with the others, save for Charizard. I invited her to join and she accepted. Druddigon was doing well, but recently she’s been upset with all of us and not listening to me, alternating between being too eager to fight and not listening to me.” I kept that in mind while motioning for him to go on. “It hasn’t helped with acclimating Aerodactyl to the team.”

“How did that happen?”

Well like I said, we were fighting these ‘sky pirates’ when Aerodactyl got drawn to our clash attacking indiscriminately at both our ships. She took Charizard down with a lucky hit, but then Captain Pikachu defeated her. I caught her to keep her from falling into the ocean.”

“A wild Aerodactyl?” While not impossible to find (for the given measure of that word in our world) pockets of wild Aerodactyls or any Fossil Pokemon were incredibly rare. Given the environmental differences and impact a Fossil Pokemon can have there are strict rules against just releasing them into the wild. “Were there any others of her kind nearby?”

“No, and when I managed to get through to her after the fact she got very interested, refusing to go back and has now joined my team.” He gave a half-hearted chuckle and I felt like there was a story behind that too. “But she can get testy around anyone else. I’m aware that predatory Pokemon can be fiercely independent, but this feels like more than that.”

“Hmm, well I think the root of  both of these issues is Cap beating Aerodactyl.”

“Pika?!” Cap exclaimed, shocked, and I quickly explained.

“Not that you doing that was a problem for the situation at hand, but it’s why the others started acting out. Aerodactyl is unused to Pokemon as small as Cap fighting back, much less to being beaten by them. It’s kinda throwing her worldview off. Beating the message into Aerodactyl might sound harsh but that’s sometimes the best way to get through to an aggressive, stubborn Pokemon.”

“I’m surprised to hear that from you, given how you made friends with all of your Pokemon before joining your team,” Friede commented. 

I shrugged, pointing out, “I may have only confirmed them as team members afterwards, but I did have clashes with Nightwing and Radiance and caught them before they joined me properly. Of course, I also looked for what they were interested in and offered it to them too. For some Pokemon it’ll be as simple as showing them how you can make them stronger, but others will have different desires.” I’ve got some suspicions based on what Friede has said but I also wasn’t there and don’t know as much about it as him. Still, he’ll figure it out.

Honestly, given how easily he accepted and processed my words, I was 95% certain he had already thought of at least some of this already as possible causes and just wanted to double-check his hypothesis with me. “As for Druddigon, I think she’s in love with Charizard.”

“Huh?”

“Pika-pi?”

“Ha, well, that might be jumping the gun a bit, but it’s not an unrealistic idea. Druddigons are in the same egg categories as Charizard, and they like the warmth, something Charizard provides plenty of. Seeing the mon she’s interested in get beaten and then not being the one chosen to avenge him might sting. Even if it was the right tactical call, Pikachu having a clear advantage over Druddigon, new Pokemon can be sensitive to this sort of stuff.” 

“Especially Dragons,” Friede confirmed with a glance at the Pokeballs on my belt.

“Yup, though for me it’s only been with Cataphract and not Bahamut. Could be their different situations, could just be differences in temperament though. Not all Pokemon fit perfectly into the stereotypes of their species or even Types.”

Friede nodded, launching into a fascinating tale of an Oddish they had rescued that liked playing in the sun over the moon, and some of the issues he had dealing with wild predators away from his family. We traded stories like that, his experiences in the wide world and my tales of the unique environment of the Terarium for hours until Orla started yelling at him on his Rotom phone that it was time to get back.

I bid him farewell and told him he could call me anytime if he ran into any further issues with his team, but he didn’t, instead sending me a picture of him and his team all awkwardly but happily scrunched into the frame a few weeks later.

A/N: Here we go, new arc time! Got a bunch of stuff to explore here, and I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully, they’ll be better reception here than the previous one. Un/fortunately, we’ve still got some stuff to be covered at Blueberry Academy, what with two years of school still to go an all, but the majority of this arc is going to cover other stuff, and we’ll be time skipping a lot of it.

Like the summer break. We skimmed by this pretty quickly, but I hope the snippets here were enjoyable and made sense. I find these to be some of the most difficult parts of the story, because we don’t have a lot of time, but I do want to show the growth of these side characters that by necessity are often out of focus in the main story. Let me know what you thought