Sharon’s Pokemon
- Quinn (Gallade)- Alice (Gardevoir)- Alfonse (Alakazam)- Somber (Slowking)- Pearl (Grumpig)- Isis (Xatu)
Interlude 5.19.5: Sharon Fulan
Sharon FulanMossdeep City
I sat at my desk, waiting for the Ever Grande League’s quarterly meeting to begin. It was a routine meeting between the eight primary Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and Champion. We seldom met in person, but we were all expected to attend.
Usually, I found these meetings to be tiresome, especially the two in the first half of the year. Much of the conversation was dominated by discussions about promising rookies and powerful elite challenges they received. Naturally, as the seventh in the traditional circuit, I had little to contribute so early in the year.
Today, I couldn’t deny that I was a little more invested than usual. My son had joined the circuit proper and I was eager to hear my colleagues’ thoughts. Not that there could be any doubt; by all conventional metrics, Aaron was a talented trainer, both as a battler and coordinator.
They came online one by one. Roxanne, Glacia, and Steven were first, of course. They were habitually incapable of being late to anything, a quality I appreciated. We were soon joined by the rest, with Flannery assisting her perpetually tech-illiterate grandfather.
“Holy fuck, I’m too old for this shit,” Drake grumbled as he logged on last. He was sitting on a beach chair. Behind him was the open ocean. “Oi, Stewie-boy, can’t I retire already?”
“Hahaha, you just need a nice, filial granddaughter like mine, Drake,” Marcus laughed heartily. He patted Flannery’s back with a proud smile. “She’ll be taking over some of my duties; I think it’s about time. I hope you don’t mind if she sits in.”
“Yeah, yeah, rub it in. Oi, Wallace, Sharon, wanna be an Elite Four? Comes with great perks and a mountain of paperwork.”
“No,” I said flatly. I had the opportunity before and turned it down. I wasn’t about to change my mind now that Tate and Liza needed a mentor.
“I’m afraid I have my hands full with the contest circuit,” Wallace demurred much more politely.
“Fine, whatever. Let’s get on with it,” the former Champion grumbled.
Steven nodded in acknowledgement. “Ahem, we’ll start as always with region-wide news from Ever Grande and go from there. Flannery, we’re not too formal about these, but if there is anything too classified, we’ll have to ask you to leave.”
“Yes, Champion Steven. I understand,” Aaron’s new friend said.
“Just Steven’s fine. Now, if you’ve got anything specific to report from your own sectors, please let me know.”
Glacia shuffled through a stack of papers on her desk. “Then I will start. I am in talks with Elite Lorelei in Indigo. The Pokemon World Tournament will take place in Olivine this year and she would like a list of all Hoenn-affiliated trainers who will be competing.”
“Now’s as good a time as any, I suppose. A quick show of hands for anyone who plans to be there?”
“I will, though I’m not sure if I’ll compete,” Winona said. Our resident flying type specialist always looked like she’d come out of a wind tunnel. “It’s more than just a tournament, after all; breeders and coordinators will attend as well and I have my eye on a few flying types not native to Hoenn.”
“You should compete,” Brawly said with a hungry grin on his face. “I for sure will. Besides, I want a rematch. I’ve been working on counters against flying types, you know.”
“I'm sure. I'm also sure they will not be enough,” she sniffed imperiously.
“Hoho, them's fighting words, Winnie. You gotta register now.”
“In any case, let me know by the end of the week if you wish to sign up for the main tournament,” Glacia said, cutting them off. The two had started their journeys at around the same time, and had built up a rivalry because of it. “How about you, Sharon? You competed in the previous two tournaments.”
“I will abstain this time. Tate and Liza require my full attention,” I replied. Twice was quite enough for me; I no longer had anything to prove.
“Very well, that is all from me, then.”
Sidney leaned forward, grinning like a shark. Truthfully, he always looked like that. His savage smirk was as much of a shield as my own mental focus. “Caught some poachers the other day, based out in Meteor Falls. They were a bit more organized than your usual bunch.”
“Lucky idiots. Better you than the salamence,” Drake snorted.
“Not all luck, they’re smarter than you'd think. They had a lot of ground and rock types and made a network of underground bolt holes. Even boobytrapped them with powders.”
“That's a lot more organized than usual.”
“Yup. I might want your help rooting them out, Roxy.”
“Yes, of course,” our newest Gym Leader said contritely. “I should have paid more attention. Meteor Falls is in my jurisdiction.”
“Nah, you had that scare with Aqua recently right? There was that hydreigon incident a while back, too. Shit happens. Besides, we all know how the Draconids feel about League presence in their ancestral lands.”
“Says the Elite Four who was rooting around in their ancestral lands not two weeks ago,” Glacia replied dryly.
“Ah, but frosty my dear, you’re forgetting the little fact that I give no fucks.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Sidney was the quintessential dark type master. And, though his many detractors would love to claim otherwise, he was a master, if not necessarily the most powerful example of his element.
No, he was “Sidney the Hunter,” or the “Fangs of Ever Grande” or whatever other fancy epithet the tabloids gave him this week. Rather than direct combat, he excelled at tracking down criminals.
His pokemons’ senses were honed beyond all reason. With both a mightyena and sharpedo on his main team, he tracked down criminals over land and sea for miles and weeks on end. Even esoteric methods were no guarantee thanks to his dark type specialty. Once he took it upon himself to hound a target, he seldom failed to run them down.
I eyed the other members in turn. Drake preferred a life on the high seas. He often went off-grid for months at a time. He could be called back via teleportation of course, but he was a recluse, all but retired already. The only reason he hadn’t yet was the lack of anyone willing and powerful enough to take his hat.
Glacia was Steven’s right hand on the administrative side of things. She presented a polite, professional front that the rest of Elite Four admittedly could never replicate. Hence, she was usually directed towards foreign affairs and kept a broad network of high society and business contacts that rivaled Steven’s.
Phoebe was the heart of the League, in more ways than one. As the heiress of the Fuyou clan, the Vigilant Watchers who guarded the summit of Mount Pyre, she held much sway over Hoenn’s spiritual affairs. It was them who watched over Hoenn’s spiritual wellbeing and the balance of souls, a role they’d upheld longer than we had written records.
Unfortunately, this meant Sidney was the Elite Four member that the average layperson in Hoenn saw most often. He roamed the furthest and wasn’t shy about making his presence felt. Devastatingly effective, but a proud, “who gives a fuck” maverick. I felt for Glacia; she’d likely gotten several calls from the Draconids.
“How is that going, by the way?” Norman asked Roxanne. “It’s rare for Team Aqua to act so brazenly. I read the reports, but I’m still not sure what they wanted out of that fiasco.”
“Rustboro has recovered well,” she replied primly. Her show of force against their captain had gone a long way to putting her city at ease. “The damage was minimal, but the bomb scare was a pain to deal with.”
“Any information about Aqua’s movements? Daschel, was it?”
“No, not quite… I wish I could tell you more, but he didn’t know much. Truthfully, I’m not sure Aqua knew what Aqua wanted.”
“You try psychic interrogation?” Drake asked.
“Of course. He kidnapped my students. He deserves no mercy,” she replied, eyes like chips of flint. “Unforunately, all we got out of him is that Archie Aogiri seems to be on the hunt for a ‘super-ancient’ pokemon. His goal was not my students, but the fossil pokemon we had in the school.”
“Why would he… I admit kabutops and omastar can be quite powerful, but they’re not worth drawing this much attention,” Wallace muttered his thoughts aloud. “No… It can’t be…”
“Wallace? Do you know something?”
“Archie is a water type master in his own right. If he is looking for a powerful, ‘super-ancient’ water type, there is only one that truly comes to mind: Kyogre.”
“Then why would he have a team hit Rustboro? Or a school?” Wattson asked. The jovial old man had the fluffiest, most comfortable-looking desk chair. I made a note to get one for myself later. “Has Devon dug up anything recently?”
“No, or I’d have heard about it,” Steven said blandly.
Roxanne let out an exasperated sigh. “If that’s what Archie meant, then there has been an incredible misunderstanding. Daschel was under the impression that Archie wanted the kabuto and omanyte under my care. There were no mentions of Kyogre directly in his memories, so…”
“So one of Archie’s captains acted on his own, thinking he could impress the boss,” Glacia finished. She seemed to age a decade within a breath. “God save us from buffoons… Roxanne, is there any reason to believe Archie has information we do not?”
“N-No, Glacia. If he does, he hasn’t told Daschel. But then again, he’s only a ship’s captain. An admin higher up the chain might know better.”
“What’s the big deal, anyway?” Flannery asked. She sat alongside Marcus with a perplexed frown. She had her hand halfway in the air, as if we were in a classroom. “I mean, Kyogre and Groudon haven’t been seen in centuries, right? We only know they’re even real because of ancient cave paintings.”
“They’re very real, young lady,” Wallace said grimly. “My family has watched over the Cave of Origins for generations. However, I can confirm that the cave is currently empty. The two Legends are in slumber and we have no idea where.”
“Then we have no choice but to keep an eye on Aqua. Magma as well, while we’re at it,” Steven said with a solemn frown. “If Archie is after Kyogre, it’s a safe bet to say Maxie is after Groudon.”
“They’re annoyingly good at hiding,” Sidney said. He slumped forward, placing his chin on his desk.
I took that as my cue. “If we cannot find them now, then perhaps we should plan for where they will be in the future.”
“You know something? Did they forget to set up a dark type screen at some point?”
“No, they did not. Even if they did, I would have to be looking for them at precisely that moment, and they would need to be at a location worth noting.” I looked at Steven, then Flannery. “Perhaps this is the time for Flannery to recuse herself.”
“Ah, yes, if you don’t mind, Flannery,” Steven nodded.
Once she left, I continued, “Aaron received a vision while meditating with his gardevoirite.”
“Wait, your son has a gardevoirite? And you don’t? That’s hilarious,” Sidney snorted.
“I have an alakazite. Alice’s combat style would not benefit from additional power,” I sniffed.
Winona hummed in thought. “Is it safe for him to have that? Mega stones aren’t too rare, but they’re still very valuable.”
“He also has a larvesta and an alpha chikorita,” Marcus chimed in. “I didn’t know about the gardevoirite, but I’m not surprised to hear it. Quite the unusual young man you’ve raised, Sharon.”
“Are… Are you sure you’re not spoiling him too much, Sharon?”
“I am not. His achievements are his own,” I said flatly. “He found both the gardevoirite and alakazite. He traded the alakazite to me in exchange for a larvesta egg. Otherwise, he is compensated like any other sponsored trainer. He also found Magellan, his chikorita, on his own as well.”
“Then he’s got truly exceptional luck,” Phoebe observed with a knowing smirk. In her hand was a colorful drink, complete with a pink umbrella. Behind her, her banette made faces at the camera, trying to get a reaction from us. “Or, is it luck at all?”
“Relics can’t be tracked psychically,” Steven pointed out.
“True…”
“Unless you know differently?”
“I don’t, but who says Aaron is the one consciously tipping the scales? Perhaps, there is a higher power who has taken an interest in Sharon’s son, Steven.”
“You know I’m not much for the spiritual side of things. Are you saying it’s fate? That he was somehow destined to find two mega stones and an alpha pokemon within months of starting his journey?”
“Maybe. I’ve heard of stranger things.”
I watched as the two slipped into yet another philosophical debate. Steven was a man much like his metagross. He understood numbers and valued observable data like treasure. “Pragmatic excellence” was practically his life motto.
Phoebe was much the opposite. She walked, eagerly pranced, along the line between the material and spiritual planes. Everything was open to interpretation to her, whether battles or life in general. Left alone, she and Steven could debate for hours.
“In any case, given my son’s involvement in Rustboro, his acquisition of two mega stones, and several other pieces of circumstantial evidence, I would give weight to his words,” I said, all the while knowing it was nonsense.
Really, who did that boy think he was fooling? A premonition derived from meditating with a mega stone? Even if I had no gardevoirite of my own, he was obviously lying.
To his credit, relics did sometimes bestow visions upon their bearers. However, such visions were often incomprehensible. They could be of the past, present, or future. They could be in languages utterly lost to time or not yet developed. They could be literal or metaphorical. But most of all, such visions directly pertained to the relic or Legend in question. No exceptions.
A gardevoirite could show Aaron something, at least in theory, but it would likely show him an image of Artoria herself in the future, or some other gardevoir who would come to wield it after her. Last I checked, Archie and Maxie had nothing to do with Artoria or gardevoir in general. And relics most certainly didn’t help in scrying uninvolved Legends.
No, I had a good idea of where he was getting his information. I was not a good mother. I knew this. Aaron knew this. Jin knew this, but simply refused to say so. Even so, not even I could ignore the anomalies surrounding my son.
He did not cry. He did not bite his nails. He did not need to be assured at night. He did not approach problems as every parenting guide suggested he ought. Such differences became even more glaringly obvious when Tate and Liza arrived.
And then there were his hobbies. No amount of “prodigy talent” could explain away his sword mastery. He joined a Kantoan kendo dojo when he was seven. By eight, he beat his sensei in a duel.
His sensei declared Aaron a once in a generation genius and begged me to enter him in competitions, only for Aaron to quit the dojo, saying he’d learned all he could there. I knew little about martial arts, but that sounded impossible even to my ears.
His stories were similarly and utterly alien. Alice in Wonderland. James and the Giant Peach. Lord of the Rings. Star Wars. All stories lacking in pokemon. All told with the skill and imagination of an award-winning writer. I loved him, but I knew my boy; he did not possess such creativity in any other aspect of his life.
He wouldn’t be the first to experience glimpses of a past life. Records of such people were exceptionally rare, but not entirely unheard of. They were slightly more common amongst Fuyou than Summers clansmen. Such memories were hazy glimpses at best, which made Aaron an anomaly among anomalies.
Or was it even a past life? Perhaps, he somehow managed to connect to a soul from a different reality, one in which pokemon did not exist. Such places existed. Fallers were a well-documented phenomenon, though isolated to Alola thanks to their ultra wormholes. Aaron seemed like a strange combination of a Faller and a reincarnator.
I wondered if this was where the bulk of his psychic talent had gone. Perhaps, in connecting with a soul from a separate reality, he gained a mind suited for such connections. It was a guess, barely more than a shot in the dark, but he did excel in empathy.
In a way, I supposed it didn’t matter. Curiosity aside, he had a path he pursued, one that made him happy. Circumstances aligned to unite him with Artoria, a partner who shared his near-obsessive passion for pointy sticks. How he got his information wasn’t as important as his happiness.
I eyed the ghost mistress as I spoke. I told them what Aaron told me but mentioned nothing of my suspicions. Lilycove. Mount Chimney. The rather interesting conversation he’d had with Dr. Kagari.
All the while, the sunny woman sat with the same, placid smile on her face. Her mood was only betrayed by her banette, who had stopped making faces in favor of a silent, seething wrath. Phoebe had a banettite of her own; all the Elite Four and Champion had one. She likely had her own suspicions.
“So, Team Magma or Aqua will, in three or four years, find Groudon or Kyogre. They will establish a base in Mount Chimney or Lilycove Bay,” she repeated, her calm voice revealing a hint of the Distortion-touched master beneath. “They will raid Mount Pyre for the Red and Blue Orbs, relics my grandparents are currently watching over. Is that right, Sharon?”
“That is as much as I know, yes,” I said, unperturbed by the phantasm I’d unleashed on Archie and Maxie. “I looked through old geological surveys near Lilycove City. The bay has a largely unexplored set of undersea caverns to the northeast. Aaron investigated Mount Chimney and found similar.”
“And the chief scientist who headed the expedition in Chimney was studying evolution stones. A ‘Dr. Kagari,’ was it?”
“That’s right. Strictly speaking, she studied abnormal radiation in Mount Chimney’s core and summit. She confirmed when Aaron arrived near her that her technology could also detect the unique radiation given off by his mega stone.”
“Can… Can a Legend mega evolve?” Winona asked, sounding unsure. “Legends don’t evolve; they’re already at the pinnacle of strength. That’s a part of what makes them Legends, right?”
“No one knows,” Steven answered, “and that’s part of the problem. Aqua is looking for Kyogre. If Aaron is correct and Dr. Kagari is working for Maxie, Magma is looking for information about mega evolution. Right now, we don’t have a reason to think they’re related.”
“Could Maxie be looking to manufacture artificial mega stones?” Roxanne asked quietly. “I remember reading journal articles theorizing that evolution stones could be created in labs.”
“I read the same article. It’s a fascinating field of research, but there is a significant gap between theory and practice. Even if it is possible, a mega stone is an entirely different beast.”
“They could be conducting their own research into the topic. ‘Not currently viable’ isn’t the same as ‘impossible.’”
“You’re right, of course. We’ll have to dig into the subject on our end as well. I’ll suggest it to my father.”
“Fine, fine, Sharon’s brat’s a freak of nature. The bossman’s still the diamond spoon to end all diamond spoons. What else is new?” Sidney yawned. “So, what’s our play?”
“Our ‘play’ is that we wait and see. Sharon’s right. If we can’t find them now, we should wait for them to build their headquarters exactly where we’re already monitoring.”
“Heh, let ‘em gather themselves up, eh? I like that. It’s not like hitting a few isolated cells is going to take them down, anyway. Unless we get Archie or Maxie, the rest just scatter like rats.”
“In the meantime, Wallace, Phoebe, your families keep records about Groudon and Kyogre, right? Please look into them when you have the chance,” he said. Ever polite, though it was hardly a request. The two nodded. “I’ll get in contact with Champion Diantha. Hopefully, she can put me in touch with Professor Sycamore. He might be able to tell us more about mega evolution.”
“That sounds fine. I’ll have the rangers nearby keeping a closer eye on Mount Chimney from now on,” Marcus said with a genial nod. I wondered how he felt about all this. It seemed he’d be passing down his seat to his granddaughter at an especially tumultuous time. “We’re going to need more people, though. Lavaridge has never been a priority for ranger presence.”
“That might draw attention, though,” Glaica pointed out. “There’s no point in monitoring Mount Chimney if we scare them off.”
“I know people who can be discreet,” Sidney added. “We should look into whoever funded the expedition as well. If the brat’s right and that Kagari chick is Magma, then it stands to reason that her investors might be, too.”
“One of those investors was Devon, I believe.”
“Heh, boss, something you’re not telling us?” he grinned snidely.
“Don’t you start,” Steven sighed. “Still, you’re right. I want to say we employ good people, but Devon’s a big company. It isn’t unusual for two different branches to have nothing to do with each other.”
“Do I smell a purge? Heh, someone’s about to get fired~”
“Probably not. Father won’t make any moves unless we can conclusively prove affiliation with Magma or Aqua.”
“Well, whatever. I’ll leave the stuffy money-talk to you, boss. You leave the rangers to me.”
“That’s good. We’ve got a tentative plan for the moment. Is there anything else?”
Glacia nodded. She shuffled through several folders on her desk before retrieving the one she wanted. “There is a proposal to formalize the elite challenge. It requests that we make the designation of ‘ace trainer’ official.”
“Hmm… They’re trainers who challenge the personal teams of the eight Gym Leaders, right? Thoughts?”
“I’m against it,” I said flatly. The last thing I wanted was more people challenging me. Suddenly, I sympathized with Drake’s desire to sail away for a month or two. “I have better things to do than entertain them.”
“I don’t know, Sharon. I hear you did a number on that bug type specialist a few months back,” Winona said with a teasing smile.
“Her tactics were amateurish and her team lacked coordination. Individual members were capable enough, but she greatly overestimated herself.”
“Ouch… As harsh as ever, huh? Well, I’m for it. As it is, there is a bit of a nebulous gap after earning the eighth badge but before becoming a recognized master. Maybe we should give them something to strive for.”
Wallace nodded in agreement. “I am for it as well. Legitimizing the elite challenge gives gyms an additional source of revenue and shows our citizens that we are powerful enough to protect them.”
“Maybe, but I’d prefer a quiet retirement. I don’t want a stream of powerful trainers coming to Lavaridge,” Marcus said. He gestured towards the door his granddaughter had left through. “Besides, not all of us have teams worthy of such a challenge.”
“Perhaps we should leave things up to each Gym Leader,” Wattson said. “Mauville isn’t lacking in exposure or funds. I doubt Mossdeep is, either.”
“Fair enough, I can agree with that,” Steven said. “We’ll workshop something before getting back to you all. Each gym can choose to opt in or out at that time. Anything else?”
“The Grand Festival organization committee has a budget proposal for you, but I think that can be left between us,” Wallace said.
“Then I suppose that’s it for the serious topics.”
“Oh, thank god,” Brawly sighed. He’d remained awkwardly silent until now, atypical of the easygoing martial artist. “I’m not good at all that serious stuff.”
Wattson chuckled at the comment. “In that case, any promising newcomers?”
“Aaron Fulan,” Marcus, Roxanne, and Norman said as one. Aaron’s trainer record showed up on our shared screen.
“Haha, he took his first badge from me, so I’m afraid I didn’t get to see him as he grew. How many badges does he have?”
“Just four,” Marcus answered. “He took his fourth off Flannery and Shelly.”
Winona frowned. “That… isn’t especially impressive. No offense to you of course, Sharon. Most trainers who shoot for a one-year sweep of the gyms do so within eight to ten months, leaving a buffer to train before the conference. It’s already June.”
“None taken,” I said blandly. “I would be greatly surprised if he makes it to the conference this year.”
“You… don’t think he can?”
“Don’t be silly. Of course he can.”
“He can, but doesn’t care to,” Marcus noted with an understanding smile. “Yes, he did seem like the type to walk to the beat of his own drum.”
“That he is. My son answers to no one but his team. He is far from untalented, but he has no ambition for the Champion’s throne.”
“I don’t get it,” Brawly said. “Doesn’t every kid want to be Champion one day?”
“You’ll understand when you meet him.”
“Oh? Is he coming my way now?”
“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. “Aaron’s journey is his own.”
“As it should be,” Drake grunted. “A man’s gotta do his own thing.”
“Well, if not him, then who? Any supernova rookies worth watching this year?” Wattson asked again.
I wasn’t sure I liked that term. Rookies who completed a one-year sweep were called supernovas, starbursts, or hanabi in turn. The internet inevitably sensationalized them, treating them as if they were minor celebrities.
Unfortunately, the name was apt in more than one way. They were certainly bright, but they also tended to burn themselves out. I couldn’t recall the name of a single so-called prodigy I’d heard about in the past five years. All that attention wasn’t always a good thing, not when a trainer’s focus should be their team, their family.
“Birch’s Saplings are always worth considering,” Brawly said. “Although, wasn’t one of them a coordinator?”
“Onale Gates, from Oldale Town,” Wallace said, giving the junior Gym Leader a gimlet eye. “And she is exceptional. I saw recordings of her performance and she and that combusken of hers have immense potential.”
“Hey, no shade on coordinators. I’m just saying, she’s not exactly going to show up in the conference this year.”
“Alister Shaw took Birch’s treecko,” Norman said. “I believe he was the one who scored the highest marks on last year’s licensing exam.”
“Yes, he was quite good,” Marcus nodded. “He’s a grass specialist, but had no trouble with my gym. He has a knack for turning the weaknesses of grass types into advantages. I suspect we’ll be seeing more of him before the year’s out.”
“Then how about the third Sapling?” Phoebe asked curiously. “One coordinator, one probable supernova, and that leaves the one who took the mudkip. How’s he?”
Norman shrugged unapologetically. “He’s nothing special. Good, certainly, but not outstanding. I gave him his fifth badge last month.”
“I’m afraid that’s where he’ll stop this year,” Marcus said with a pitying click of his tongue. “A ranger rescued him from the desert. I’m told he fell into a trapinch nest and broke his leg. Nothing career-ending, but it’ll set him back a few months.”
“Ah, I suppose misfortune can strike anyone.”
“If we’re looking at trainers with six badges, then my gym’s Sabine Soto has six as well,” Wattson said with a jovial smile. “She and her electabuzz are going to take the conference by storm, literally.”
“Oh? So it will be between Sabine and Alister?”
“Seems like it. Well, if that’s all, I’ve got to go check on my gym. We had a minor outage the other day. I suspect one of our pikachu has been sneaking out to chow down on the wires.”
That triggered a host of farewells as people logged off one by one. I too exited the meeting and leaned back into my chair. Right on cue, Pearl waddled into my office, carrying a plate of tea and snacks.
The quarterly meeting had gone well enough, but I wondered how long these peaceful days would last. Aqua. Magma. The Legends. Things were stirring beneath the surface. Somehow, I had a feeling Aaron would find himself at the heart of it.
“I hope you’re ready, idiot son of mine.”
Author’s Note
Yes, Sharon knows Aaron is a reincarnator. I figured that was fairly obvious, but maybe not?
Anyway, this ends the arc. Yay.
Animal Fact: Giraffes are significantly sexually dimorphic. Not only are male giraffes bigger, with bigger horns, thicker necks, and more pronounced forelimbs meant for competition, they’re also darker. Pale spots almost always mean a juvenile or a female.
It may also indicate a behavioral shift: A study in 2019 (Castles et. al.) found that males with darker spots were solitary roamers, wandering a territory in search of herds of females to mate with. Meanwhile, males with paler spots tended to remain with their herd, looking for opportunities to mate through social interaction.