Chapter 46

The morning light illuminated the town enough for Aoro to see, sitting as we were in a tree and peering through binoculars. So far, we had seen no movement come from anywhere; no people or pokemon in sight.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, uneasy.

"I don't know," Aoro replied. "At the very least I'd expect to see military vehicles, personnel, or pokemon."

"Maybe they just passed through?" I posited.

"Perhaps, but it still doesn't explain where all the civilians are."

"Taken prisoner?" I asked.

"Potentially," he said. "I'm just curious where they'd be in that case. A force sizeable enough to take an entire town's population prisoner would be hard to miss. What's more, I'd expect them to leave their own people and take only the Kanto citizens. We passed by and didn't see or hear any signs of military movement… I think we should investigate more. I think it's time to use psychics."

We had been avoiding the use of psychic pokemon because even though they could easily ascertain the proximity of people and/or pokemon, they would easily be seen by other psychics. Given the circumstances, Aoro deemed it acceptable.

He released Coco onto the ground below. After a few tense moments passed, Aoro frowned. "He can't sense anyone in the town at all. It's deserted."

"Or everyone's dead," I responded morbidly.

"Let's hope that's not the case," replied Aoro. "I think it's time to take a more proactive approach here," he said, pocketing his binoculars. With one meaty hand, he then swung down from the branch upon which we were resting and landed heavily on the ground. I followed him a little more gracefully, landing with a soft thud.

On the ground, Aoro released Brawler and Reaper. "Take out two more pokemon," he told me. "There could still be darkened bogeys." I released Dante and Gilles, who appeared within the Blackout provided by Rufus. "Stay nearby."

We cautiously walked as a group into the town. Reaper, Brawler, and Dante spread out around us to offer a larger tactical perimeter. The wind offered a slight respite from the glaring sun, but I was numb to it. The resounding silence revealed the muffled sound of my heart beating in my ears. We were headed to the radio tower; Aoro had stopped by the Kanto ranger outpost to grab a map earlier, and as we came upon the first house, I said, "I'm going to check inside for anyone."

Aoro nodded his approval and I climbed the steps of the porch. The door was closed so I knocked. Unsurprisingly, there was no answer so I turned the handle to find it locked.

With a quick jerk of my elbow, I smashed the small window, whereupon I reached through and unlocked the door. I moved through the house with Gilles and Rufus alongside me, finding nothing out of the ordinary. The lights were all switched off and there were normal slightly messy areas. Finding nothing, I retreated from the house.

I shook my head and continued walking with Aoro. As we passed the second house, I noticed the door hanging ajar. "Aoro, I'm checking this one too," I told him.

He shot me a look as if to say, "We're not checking every house," and I acknowledged it with a nod. I opened the door relatively slowly, giving it a knock in the process. I immediately noticed that something felt amiss. The house smelled like methane.

Without hesitating, I bolted away. Aoro tensed and shouldered his gun as he saw my quick retreat, while his pokemon formed a defensive barrier around him. I slid to a halt next to him, noting that nothing had happened. "What is it!?" he quietly exclaimed.

"…I thought I smelled something dangerous…" I said sheepishly.

Aoro raised an eyebrow quizzically and marched up to the door. He took a whiff and turned to me with an amused expression. "Someone left the stove on," he said. "It's faint so I'd hazard a guess that it's been on for a while. Probably used all of the gas reserve."

I nodded in embarrassment and entered the house, which also seemed in a state of normality. When I entered the kitchen, I found the stove switched on but without a flame, and a small pot laying on the ground. There were stains near it that looked like a liquid spill. Nothing else caught my attention. The bedroom was empty and the bed was unmade.

I left the house with my confusion of the situation compounded. I told Aoro what I found and his expression turned ponderous. "Let's get to the radio tower and hope someone just turned it off. This place is giving me the creeps."

"I'll second that," I replied. We hurried towards the tower which was the tallest structure in the square mile town. We arrived to find the electrical box caved in. It looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. Aoro peered at it intensely and turned to me.

"We're not going to be able to fix that," he said, his face serious. "Alright, I'm really not liking this. Let's get the security camera footage from the police station and the Johto ranger station and get the hell out of here."

"Definitely," I replied tersely. "Dante, keep your mind open for anyone or anything. Same with you both, Rufus and Gilles." I had too many experiences with ghosts to avoid jumping to that possible conclusion.

As a paranoid team, we returned to the town proper and made our way to the sheriff's station. Dante and Rufus followed beside me while Coco and Reaper followed beside Aoro. The town was still eerily quiet. Our psychic pokemon did not detect anyone in the time we spent making our way to the station. There, we both entered and searched for the backup generator. The few buildings for which we needed electricity conveniently had backup generators. After Aoro activated the generator, we located the security desk. There, Aoro powered up the surveillance system, wrote the video file to a disk, ejected the disk, and then erased the video footage from the system.

I looked at him quizzically, not knowing whether to approve or disapprove. He caught my eye and said, "If we find somethin' on these videos that's a threat to national security, we don't wanna have to come back to erase it. Better now than later. It's standard procedure. Any evidence we find is the property of the League."

I nodded. It did not come as a shock that incident information would not be readily available. Even if this was not a matter of national security, it would still probably be a police/League investigatory issue, and any evidence would be confidential until declassified.

When we finished, we left the station with our compact haul. The Johto ranger station was about half of a mile away, on the outskirts of town past the Johto border; basically, where the Kanto station had been except on the Johto side of the border.

As we walked, an errant wind blew down the street, whistling as it passed open windows and cracked doors. It had the unsettling effect of slamming one house's door shut, but which seemed to have a broken locking mechanism because it quickly swung back open.

The unsettling nature of the seemingly abandoned town only made me grow paranoid. "If this wasn't a military operation, then how long do you think it'll be before Johto does show up?" I asked. "We were called in pretty soon. Don't you think they might get the same idea that this was a military operation?"

Aoro frowned. "…I think you're right. We need to pick up the pace. Return your Gallade and have your Houndoom raise an anti-teleportation field around us to mask our presence from psychics."

We both jumped into a fast jog. Rufus and Reaper kept up easily. We passed into the Johto side of Beyer Mill in a matter of minutes. We caught sight of the Johto ranger station soon after. We approached cautiously, just in case there was anyone hidden like us nearby. It appeared to be deserted, so we moved in.

This time, we both moved inside. I could not effectively meld with the Noxmiasma in the middle of the day, and Rufus's Blackout would be too obvious, so the safest place for a lookout was indoors. At least it was darker inside.

I phased in and cloaked while Aoro found the generator, and watched outside the window on one side of the lobby. Rufus blacked out the lobby and kept watch at a window on the other side of the lobby. A couple of minutes passed in tense placidity. Then, for the first time since we arrived in the ghost town, movement caught my eye. A man in a dark green combat suit was rushing in from the forest adjacent to the station. Beside him, bounding majestically, was a Mightyena.

Simultaneously at the window on the other side of the lobby, I heard Rufus growl and felt alarm through our link. I warped the Noxmiasma around a word and sent it back through the shadowy lodge to the security room. "Incoming!"

Rufus and I backed up into the hallway leading to the security room where Aoro met me. Reaper and Dice were behind him. "Get the video CD once it's done downloading. Do not reveal your Shift." he told me crisply.

I hurried back to the security desk with Rufus, who I told to draw the Blackout inward. The blacked-out area contracted to cover a smaller area. The download that Aoro had started was only at 15%. I soon heard a whoomph! And the sound of glass breaking.

Then I heard Aoro say, "Whoa, whoa, hold up! Can I help you?"

"Return your pokemon!" I heard a voice say in a foreign accent. "Try anything and you'll be treated as hostile!"

"Boys, I think we started off on the wrong foot here," Aoro replied calmly.

"I'm only going to tell you one more time!" the same voice demanded.

"I am an Indigo Gym Leader." Aoro asserted suddenly, pulling the foreign rank card. "YOU will stand down!"

There was pause. "Prove it." I heard. There was a longer pause as I watched the download progress gradually tick upward. "Hurry it up!" the man demanded.

"Just tryin' not to make any sudden moves," Aoro said pacifyingly.

There was another shorter pause. "You may be a gym leader, but you're in Johto. This is our jurisdiction. Now return your pokemon, and tell us what you're doing here and why you were blacked out!"

"I will not be returning my pokemon," Aoro replied stubbornly. "And this town is a Kantoan town as well. But yes, I'll tell you what I'm doing here."

The man started saying something but Aoro cut him off. "There's somethin' going on in this town! We lost contact with our ranger team here a few days ago, and I found the radio tower sabotaged. Since I've been here, I haven't found a single person, or any trace of anyone. I don't know where everyone is or why they're not here, but I will not be returning my pokemon when I may be in danger."

"So you say," the man replied. "So far you've failed to mention your friend hiding back there, blacked out, or why you were blacked out in the first place."

My adrenaline spiked. They knew I was here. They probably saw us both enter. At the moment, the download progress had made it to 87%. "Oh, you mean my personal bodyguard?" Aoro said with poorly-disguised sarcasm.

"Don't be a dick!" the man replied curtly.

"Fine, he's my apprentice. He's back there 'cause I told him to wait while I converse with you. We've been blacked out because we don't know if the area is dangerous and we didn't want to attract any hostile attention."

"Yeah, we know. You were obviously trying to avoid detection," the man said matter-of-factly. "And you were caught snooping through a Johto League building. Regardless, this is our jurisdiction and you'll cooperate or we'll have no choice but to use force."

I'd love to see you try, boys," Aoro replied cockily. "But I don't think that's a scenario we want. We'll just be going."

Just then, the download completed and the CD ejected. I grabbed it and walked slowly out of the room towards the scene in the lobby. Rufus followed beside me, still using Blackout. Unfortunately, if there were any Psychic pokemon being used by the newcomers, they could theorize that I was dark-type or ghost-type based on my ability to avoid their detection. But if I used Rufus, I could potentially avoid that. I quietly whispered, "If you have to, only knock the person out, Gilles. No need to kill anyone if we can avoid it."

"I don't think so," the man said as I walked out of the security room. "I know you were looting our surveillance footage – why else would your 'apprentice' be hiding in the back – in the security room?" He saw me coming down the hall within Rufus's Blackout and his eyes narrowed. There were two men standing in front of Aoro.

"Fine, you're right," Aoro told him. Standard procedure is to gather evidence, which is what we're doing. The Indigo League investigation will undoubtedly share the evidence with Johto so you might as well call it a day."

"Or, you know exactly what happened here," the man on the right accused. "And you're taking evidence to cover your asses."

"Be careful with your accusations," Aoro told him, his voice menacing.

"Then you wouldn't object to psychic memory extraction?" the man challenged.

"You won't be gettin' in my head, boy," Aoro told him aggressively. "My memories are my own." He also had knowledge of my typing. "What you willdo is respect my rank and station, and let us leave peacefully."

"…That's not going to happen," the man said with conviction. "The video footage is the property of the Johto Pokemon League. Hand it over or we'll take it from you."

"Yeh think yeh can tango with a gym leader, boy!?" Aoro bellowed, his voice growing in volume as he spoke.

As soon as Aoro finished his sentence, Gilles leapt out of his shadow and slammed a shadowy fist into the back of the man's head. The man fell to the floor unceremoniously. At the same time, Aoro attempted to strike the other man in the throat. However, the man bobbed under the jab and countered with an elbow to Aoro's jaw.

Despite his size, Aoro was sent sprawling away while the man leapt back to the door. Reaper and Dice instantly double-teamed the Mightyena before it could protect its trainer. Reaper cut straight for the dark wolf's feet, which leapt over the strike and released a Dark Pulse into Reaper simultaneously. Dice did not let the enemy pokemon do anything else. He rushed in right behind Reaper and leapt into the air, slamming his metal claw into the Mightyena's face and cloths-lining the dark beast where it lay motionless.

As the situation erupted into mayhem, I released Titus and said, "Blackout!" Together, Rufus's and Titus's Blackouts blocked 75% of the light, which blocked all light from exiting their radii in the already-shadowy station. To anyone attempting to glimpse us, there was a wall of deep black which looked as if it was drawing light in from the sources around it.

"Stay together," I told my team. "The more Noxmiasma the better."

We moved forward so that the Blackout covered Aoro, who was raising himself to his knees from a prone position, after which I helped him to his feet. Reaper and Dice were next to their trainer in an instant, seemingly unfazed by the darkness. They were probably trained to use their senses to see in the dark, like mine were.

We moved towards the door through which the trainer had fled, and Aoro immediately released Coco, who shrouded us in weaker-than-usual psychic barriers – given they were being utilized in a Blackout. "Take it easy," Aoro warned. "There's probably a pokemon or three out there waiting for us."

"Wonderful," I commented. "Titus, Rufus, expand the Blackout zone as far as you can!" I ordered.

The zone grew and I phased in, not having to worry about being seen in the pitch black. I sensed there were two more trainers outside, who were rushing back to escape the dark bubble. Rufus's stronger Blackout reached farther out. This resulted in an area where the darkness was not as deep, bordering the area where their Blackouts overlapped and the lighted area outside of both.

I immediately saw a group of pokemon spread out. A Bronzong was slowly levitating out of the dark bubble; an Ampharos, a Rhydon, and a Blastoise were holding ground right outside of the dual-Blackout layer; and a Lucario and Samurott were creeping towards both sides of the door.

"Lucario and Samurott right outside," I told Aoro crisply. "More farther out."

"Take out the Lucario," he said before issuing a serious of clicking whistles from his mouth. Dice and Reaper zipped straight through the wall, blowing it out and surprising the Samurott from the side.

Meanwhile, I issued orders. "Hypnotize and Fire Blast." Gilles cackled from within my shadow and flew through the wall while Rufus melded with the shadows. "Titus, standby," I said while the others disappeared.

Dice and Reaper charged the Samurott, who sent a Water Pulse into both of them. Simultaneously, Dice smashed two large rocks that were flung at him by the Rhydon. However, the two juggernauts looked only slightly inconvenienced by the two attacks and barreled towards the water pokemon. The Samurott looked somewhat shocked to see Aoro's pokemon unfazed by the attacks, but it leapt backwards and issued a scalding blast of water into the Scizor, who shuddered but continued on nonetheless.

The pokemon and its trainer looked further shocked at the Scizor's tenacity when, without hesitation, Dice reached his target and executed a powerful Brick Break at the Samurott's throat. However, the Samurott lowered its head to block the attack at the last second. Dice's Brick Break knocked the Samurott to the ground and he followed up with another, only to shift halfway through the attack in an effective juke, and change course. Reaper was right behind him, and stabbed the Samurott with both blades while it was recoiling and attempting to block Dice's next attack. From there, Reaper issued a devastating Mega Drain. The Samurott began to seize, but was then recalled to its pokeball.

Dice quickly intercepted the Rhydon, which had surged forward at seeing its teammate double-teamed, and slammed a Metal Claw into its leg as it ran. The Rhydon plowed into the ground. Dice's wings buzzed as he shifted his momentum, whipped around the tumbling Rhydon, and then executed a brutal Brick Break directly down onto the back of the Rhydon's neck. The Rhydon was returned immediately.

Meanwhile, Aoro and I moved outside to better survey the situation. Almost immediately, a bullet pinged off of my shield. One of the ace trainers had a rifle pointed at me. Upon seeing the bullet ricochet, I saw the ace trainer lift up his weapon and mouth something.

While Aoro's team had been steamrolling their targets, mine had fully engaged the Lucario. It took a full Fire Blast from Rufus while it was hypnotized, but woke up with a vengeance as it was flung many yards back from the explosion. It then took off towards Rufus at speed, who was about 15 feet in front of me.

"Watch it!" yelled Aoro.

"Titus!" I barked. Titus was in front of me in an instant, providing a mirror image as a decoy beside him.

The Lucario reached Rufus and slammed a fist into his ribs, blasting my Houndoom to the side, and continued on towards Titus. It attempted to slide between Titus's legs but was batted away like a golf ball when Titus struck from the Noxmiasma with a strong Metal Claw. The Lucario sailed several tens of feet away before landing on its hind legs. "Fire Blast!" I yelled.

Just then, I heard a deafening blast to my side. A quick glance showed a feathery mass flailing on the ground next to Aoro, who had a smoking shotgun in hand. He cocked it and fired another deafening blast into the Staraptor, which was thrown a few feet by the impact but still feverishly flailed on the ground. He cocked once again, only to find his target returned to its ball.

The din was interrupted by another loud boom as thunder arched from the Ampharos into Reaper, who shuddered under the force of the blast. He was then hit with a forceful Hydro Pump from the Blastoise.

Two more pokemon were released onto the field – a Machamp and a Typhlosion. The Typhlosion immediately started sending multiple wheels of fire rolling at Dice, who was making his way to its trainer. The Machamp raised its arms and the sun's intensity increased, breaking through the Blackouts. "Shit, Rain Dance, Titus!" I ordered.

The Lucario had dodged Rufus's follow-up fireball, at which point it was hypnotized once again. Titus blocked out the sun with clouds and re-erected his Blackout. Before Rufus could hit the now-vulnerable fighter, it was returned to its pokeball, allowing Rufus's Fire Blast to explode on the barren ground. The Lucario was quickly re-released 20 feet to the side, but in the meantime, I yelled, "Bloodboil on the Machamp!" When the Lucario was released, I followed up with, "Rufus, Flamethrower on yours!"

Gilles leapt up from a shadow and splashed Toxic liquid into the Machamp's face, who quickly and surprisingly hit Gilles through his incorporeal defenses. After a chilling shriek of pain, Gilles shot back down into his own shadow and reappeared behind the Machamp, who uncannily dodged the combo follow-up. Gilles wasted no time retreating back into his shadow once again to avoid another potential counter.

Rufus sprayed the Lucario with super-heated flames from 20 feet away, but it darted away from the fire, and then from side to side to keep its distance from the flames as it gradually closed in. "Fire Shield!" I yelled while sending emotional pings across our link to indicate how large it should be – courtesy of Aoro's training. Rufus's Flamethrower morphed into a condensed donut of fire around him, stretching out ten feet. The Lucario backed off but started circling.

I was managing to hold off my attackers, but Aoro was steamrolling his in a fantastic manner. Dice had taken the Typhlosion's Flame Wheel with grace and had slammed into the Ampharos like a bullet quickly thereafter. Likewise, Reaper slammed into the Typhlosion. They were both much too fast for their opponents to dodge. They sliced and diced their targets and then inexplicably retreated from both at the same time, only to switch targets and attack at the same time for dual sneak attacks.

The fluid grace of their teamwork was beautiful! Reaper's opponent lunged for him and was taken by surprise by Dice's attack, which was directed at one of the Typhlosion's weak spots. Dice clamped his claw around the side of the Typhlosion's neck and jerked it down. At the same time, Reaper sliced clean through the Ampharos's tail as it released a bolt of lightning into its retreating opponent, Dice.

The orb at the end of the Ampharos's tail dropped to the ground while it squealed in pain, the Typhlosion lay motionless in the ground, and Dice shrugged off the Thunderbolt. The Blastoise and the Bronzong were the only two enemies separating them from the two ace trainers, and the Blastoise started to fire Hydro Pumps from its cannons rapidly.

At that moment, the Machamp leapt back from our fight to help out with Aoro's team, while another pokemon entered the fray – a Glaceon. However, before it could aid its teammates, Dice and Reaper had advanced. Reaper had plowed into the Blastoise after slicing through a jet of water with a well-timed Stone Edge, and Dice vaulted over them both to come face to face with the enormous metal psychic and the silver Glaceon. Gilles never had the opportunity to finish his Bloodboil move, but he quickly targeted the Lucario.

"STOP!" a voice roared over the din of fighting. Simultaneously, pokemon began disappearing from the field until the two conscious ace trainers were alone, kneeling on the ground with their hands on their head in submission. The same voice rang out again. "WE SURRENDER!" They were instantly surrounded by our pokemon.

"DROP THEM!" roared Aoro. The ace trainers flung their pokeball bandoliers in front of them, and followed with their weapons.

"Gilles, grab them," I barked, and Gilles quickly swiped the bags and firearms.

"Have one of your pokemon go grab the other trainer and bring him out here," Aoro told me. I phased out and motioned to Titus to drop the Blackout.

I was deeply proud of my team. They had stood their ground against a professionally trained military team with an unknown number of Elite wins. They had exchanged blows long enough for the battle to be called.

"Now what are we going to do with you...?" Aoro mused, walking up to the submitting trainers with his shotgun held intimidatingly. Coco lumbered along behind him.

The ace trainers remained silent. Gilles simply moved one of his shadows inside the station, jumped into his current one, and then dragged the ace trainer back out of it right next to the others, to their shock.

"Did yeh honestly think that challengin' a gym leader was a smart idea?" Aoro admonished them. "Oh, there're three of us; he won't stand a chance," Aoro mocked. "Well looks like that wasn't such a great idea, now was it?"

"Are you going to kill us?" asked one of the ace trainers – a woman with a deep voice.

"Why the hell would we do that?" Aoro asked. The woman remained silent. "We aren't responsible for what happened here; we're trying to figure it out. Why were you sent here?" he pressed.

"To investigate loss of contact," replied the other ace trainer – a man.

"And to investigate potential acts of war?" Aoro added.

The man stared at the ground intensely.

"I thought so. So we're in the same boat," Aoro stated. His willfully intimidating and imposing demeanor softened. "Look, ye're in no more danger, soldiers. We aren't goin' to kill yeh. We aren't even gonna apprehend yeh. When we leave, yeh can have your pokemon back."

The ace trainers looked up in shock. "W-why would you not arrest us?" asked the male ace trainer.

"Soldiers, our meeting here was political. Let's just chalk the fight up to a misunderstanding, yeah?" Aoro said, kneeling down to the man's level. "Besides, if yeh don't get your Ampharos help soon, he's gonna lose that tail permanently and become inoperative."

The two soldiers looked at each other in disbelief.

"We're all part of the League, boys, even if we come from different countries," Aoro told them. "If leadership wasn't too busy seein' Gengar in their shadows, they would see that somethin' legit is goin' down here, and it's got jack shit to do with our foreign relations."

Aoro looked around cautiously and then back to the ace trainers.

"We're gonna head out very soon. I suggest yeh do the same. The entire town's deserted, the communications are bashed in, and I'm sure there's a reason for it. And like I said earlier, we'll probably be sharin' the information we gained today. I'm sure both nation's Leagues will work together to investigate now that we know neither of us is trying to attack the other. Sound good?"

The man looked at Aoro with cautious disbelief. "What are we going to tell our CO's?"

"Do I hafta' think of everthin'!?" exclaimed Aoro. "Tell 'em the truth. Yeh got in a fight because of a misunderstanding and after yeh lost, you were let go as a sign of good faith and camaraderie."

The man's look of distrust did not leave his face, though he lowered his hands from his head.

"What's your name, soldiers?" Aoro asked.

"Clyde Denson and Valerie Weber," the man replied. "Our teammate's name is Shane Lomack."

"Well, Clyde and Valerie, the name's Aoro. This is Zach. Just remember that, despite our countries' squabbles, we protect and uphold the balance between humanity and pokemon. In the grand scheme of the world we're a part of, we're on the same side."

"So, you're actually letting us leave?" the man asked, incredulity ever-present.

"That's what I said!" exclaimed Aoro. "Just remember what happened here and know that the answer to everything isn't always death or cruelty. We can afford to have a little humanity every now and then. Got it?"

They both nodded, though the woman subtly rolled her eyes.

"Great! Then we'll be on our way," Aoro told him in finality. "Zach, return your team."

I nodded and returned my team. The blackout persisted despite Titus's return, and would continue for a few more minutes.

My initial feelings were similar to the ace trainers'. I was surprised that Aoro was letting them go after they attacked us. Common sense and law enforcement doctrine dictated we apprehend them for their hostile actions. I could not tell if Aoro was planning something, or if he was genuinely too nice of a guy.

As soon as my team was returned, Aoro tossed the bags of pokeballs and weapons behind him at a distance – he was still cautious – and returned Reaper and Dice. "Hopefully our League's will work out their differences. I would hate to see yeh on less-than-friendly terms again because of their decisions," he told them.

With that said, Aoro gave them a small, crisp nod, and Coco teleported us away.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

Since the need to travel discreetly was no longer imperative, our journey back to Fort Haverton was significantly faster. After our first jump, which landed us outside of Camelia Crossing, Aoro decided to institute some spontaneous training. He released all of his pokemon, had me release all of mine, and then had Dante transport all of us at the same time as far as he possibly could.

Given the amount of people and pokemon, as well as the dark types therein, the distance of Dante's jumps quickly declined from a mile to a couple hundred feet until he was too exhausted to continue. At that point, all of our pokemon were returned and Dante was told to continue teleporting Aoro and I until he exhausted himself. Being fatigued from the mass jumps, Dante's teleports with just the three of us were significantly shorter.

He once again teleported us in jumps until he collapsed under the strain. While at that state of exhaustion, Aoro took it further. He made a temporary camp while Dante teleported me around the area as far as he could until he could no longer. Then, Aoro had me wait while Dante teleported him around the area. Since Aoro's Shift typing did not strain Dante's psychic abilities, he was much easier to transport, and once again repeated his skill until he wore himself out.

At that point, Aoro joined me and had Dante teleport only himself around as far as he could. In this way, Dante received a solid session of Psychic strength training. While he did, Aoro and I watched the footage from both the Johto ranger outpost and the sheriff's station.

The ranger station footage showed a team of rangers leave the station early in the morning and never return. Needless to say, there was no revealing footage. I expressed no small amount of outrage when I realized the effort we went through to retrieve the footage was trivialized.

The sheriff's station's footage showed a few desks, only one of which was occupied for the duration of the video. At one point the sedentary man answered a phone call and leaned back in his chair with his boot hooked under the desk to prevent himself from falling. He spoke for a while about filing a missing person report, his head nodding occasionally. Then, in the middle of a sentence, his words slurred and his foot let go of the desk. He fell back onto the ground and the phone cord detached from the receiver.

The officer lay on the ground motionless for a few minutes, until he twitched and stirred as if waking up. The man then unceremoniously stood up and walked outside of the station. The external footage showed him walking away northward. Other than that, the external footage captured a few more people walking by the station in the same direction.

"Well with all of this evidence, it's good to know our efforts weren't a complete waste of time," I said with bitter sarcasm.

"Don't be so quick to despair," Aoro told me as Dante walked into the camp, slumped over in exhaustion from his teleportation training. "We know with fair certainty that this wasn't the work of the Johto military now. We would've seen or heard a commotion on the videos if the Ace Trainers had been lyin'. At the very least, we can return to base and initiate an investigation into what happened here without worryin' about that."

I thought about it. True there was no evidence of a large military ground movement or of destruction. However, that did not technically preclude the possibility of a Johtan military invasion. On the contrary, it did not prove anything at all – just that there was no blatant evidence to suggest a conventional invasion. They could have come from underground. Or the sky. Or via teleportation. The truth was that we knew absolutely nothing about what had occurred in this town.

"Speaking of which," Aoro said, breaking my train of thought. "I think it's time we get back. Go ahead and return your Gallade."

After I complied, Coco teleported us outside of Fort Haverton. A short while later, we were recounting the events of our mission to the 3rd Elite. We were asked many questions in varying detail, and afterwards we were instructed to complete a written report with excessive detail – which would effectively drain the remainder of the day away.

We left the conference room and headed to an office space. Aoro looked to be deep in thought until a small group of people entered the opposite end of the hallway through which we were walking. His expression went grave, but then immediately became annoyed.

4th Elite Manson was leading three ace trainers and another person with his hands bound behind his back. As they passed, Aoro and 4th Elite exchanged looks – fiery amusement from the Elite and annoyance from Aoro. As we walked past, I saw two of the ace trainers had their hands hooked under the prisoner's arms on either side, and the third ace trainer was carrying a large metal suitcase. The prisoner looked utterly dejected, staring down as he walked ahead.

As soon as we entered the office space, we sat down and I smirked. "I'm guessing by your expression that wasn't a coincidence."

"Correct," Aoro replied tersely. "That was a warning. What yeh saw is what happens when a Shifted trainer breaks a contract and goes rogue. That box yeh saw them carryin' stores pokeballs, and it has the ability to destroy them, with the pokemon inside, at a moment's notice. First they disable yer pokeballs, which they can do easily and wirelessly if they have an electronic connection to your PokeDex. Then they send out another ace team to bring yeh in, and lastly they take yer pokemon. If yeh fight back or try to escape after that, they kill yer pokemon in front of yeh. If yeh continue, they put you down."

"And if you go willingly?" I asked.

"Sometimes you're allowed to return to yer ace team, with punishments on the side. Other times… You're "addled.""

"Addled?" I asked.

"The League doesn't want Shifted trainers wanderin' around with grudges against 'em. Those trainers could cause a lot of trouble. So, the League psychically rewires yer brain. It's a long and painful process, and it has two parts. The first is they mess with yer brain's ability to regulate metabolism. Yer muscles degrade and yer body becomes weak. The second is they effectively damage yer brain such that it cannot operate at the same level of thought that it's been able to. In the end, they've effectively crippled yer body and yer mind so that yeh cannot cause them any more problems."

I was bewildered. "That's… evil," I said, shocked. "I swear to the gods, I am getting tired of all these threats. There needs to be something I can do to fight back."

"Yes, it's evil," Aoro said quietly. "Yes, it's unethical. Yes, it needs to stop. The only thing yeh can do right now to fight back is to get stronger. The stronger you are, the more valuable yeh are, and by virtue of that, the more bargaining power yeh have. But it also means they'll strengthen their attempts to control yeh. I'm sure you've started to see the paradox."

"There's got to be something we can do! What about the news?" I asked. "Couldn't we expose the League on air? People and trainers would be outraged to know what's in store for them if they're successful enough."

Aoro shook his head. "The League and government have learned to work together effectively, mostly favoring the League's agenda. The government controls the largest news stations, and can easily reign in the smaller ones if they prove problematic. I've seen it happen."

I was silent, brooding at the injustice of it all.

"Ultimately, the League has the most important bargaining chip: yer pokemon. They can render yer pokeballs inoperable and ensure that yeh never see yer team again. As long as they have that ability, they're always gonna have the upper hand. If yeh break the rules of their game, they will not hesitate to use the leverage they have against yeh. Yer only defense is playin' the game and becoming a more valuable asset – one they'd rather bargain with than lose – until yeh gain the power to change it."

"But what if we take away their trump card?" I asked hopefully. "Surely there's a way we can disable a pokeball's ability to be shut off like that. I've seen modded pokeballs before. Some guy could throw his ball and have it return right back to his glove."

"Good luck finding someone who could perform such a mod," he replied. "And what's more, tampering with certain functions of a pokeball is highly illegal."

"Of course it is!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in exasperation. "Though I'd assume they find deserting to be illegal as well."

"Correct," Aoro replied. I sighed and leaned back in my chair, looking at the computer on which I was supposed to write my report. The League had a firm hold on its assets, and supposedly the only way to beat it was to do so at its own game. Somehow, I doubted it would be achievable by any normal means. But there were trainers who were not beholden to the League. And I assumed there were also black markets for pokeball modification. The more I thought of it, the more pissed I became. Recognizing my increasing instability, I forced myself to pay attention to the task at hand.

When we finally finished our reports, I was mentally exhausted and Aoro did not look much better. A passing glance through a window revealed twilight.

In spite of our mental fatigue, Aoro directed me to the indoor pokemon training compound, where we spent the next five hours training well into the night. When we finished, I dragged myself to bed, only to be woken up four hours later for early morning training.

Our lack of rest was no excuse for Aoro. He was determined to maintain a daily training schedule. Even when a messenger came for him, he would stall for half an hour before departing and would leave half of his team with me to continue training.

A week proceeded in a similar fashion. We would start training, and then several hours in, Aoro would be summoned elsewhere. But after a few days, we moved our training time to the middle of the night. Conveniently enough, after a few days of midnight training, those sessions began to be interrupted as well, so we changed it up again.

Then, early one morning, Aoro woke me up before our scheduled training time. I immediately noticed the sullen look on his face and mentally prepared for bad news. "They're sending me out on a mission," he told me, vindicating my apprehension. His look and tone conveyed bitter resignation. The League had found a more effective means of preventing him from training me.

"They made sure I couldn't "accidentally" tell yeh where I'm going, so here," he handed me a small USB thumb drive. "Yeh'll find a basic training regimen focusing on all we've been workin' on. There's also details for one more order of the pokemon food. Follow the meal plan, pick up the order and yeh'll be fine. There's about four days left of food in the last pickup.

"From now on, yeh get to personalize your tactics. You're well past the basics and yeh got some muscle – now incorporate my lessons into yer pokemons' fighting styles. Yeh should challenge the 2nd Elite as soon as yeh get through the last of the training food. I don't think yer team'll be in better condition." His sullen voice did not hide the confidence behind his words.

I did not know what to say. In a way, I was not surprised that the League had sabotaged our plan here, but any expression thereof was pointless. Aoro seemed to recognize the sentiment, and put his massive hand on my shoulder. "Give 'em hell, Zachariah." He gave my shoulder a crisp pat, then turned and marched out.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

With Aoro gone, the League had no reason to keep me confined to the base, which immediately became apparent. No more than a half-hour passed after Aoro left before notice arrived that I was free to leave. It was actually insulting how obvious they were being about sabotaging my plans. It was a blatant show of power.

On the one hand, my frustration with and general dislike of the League was growing every day, compelling me to side with Aoro in his desire to subvert it. On the other hand, I struggled with Aoro's interest in me as a revolutionary weapon. After the League's latest cheap shot, I made up my mind. At the very least, I would continue to let Aoro's advice help sharpen me until I found my own path.

Mulling over my situations, deep in thought, I failed to notice a flash of red hair while approaching the security checkpoint.

"Zachariah MacAfee," a feminine voice stated, unnervingly dissonant despite its grace.

I looked to my left to see 4th Elite Manson casually leaning against a wall. "4th Elite," I replied in kind with a salute.

The Elite fixed her intense gaze upon me. Her maroon eyes looked like they held fiery suns in their depths, and it took a lot of effort not to avert my own gaze out of discomfort. She was younger than the other Elites. Older than me, but only by a few years. Her subsequent silence felt awkward. I was about to ask her if she needed anything, but the corner of her mouth twitched into a subtle smirk.

"Interesting…" she remarked, ignoring my salute. "So, you're the one causing so much trouble…"

I could not help myself. "The League creates its own trouble," I quipped self-righteously.

"Heh!" she scoffed. "I can see why. You're a feisty one. And so young."

"Is there something I can do for you?" I asked, interpreting her words as patronization.

"I just wanted to see what kind of man you are," she replied nonchalantly, though her intense stare never wavered.

"For what purpose?" I asked, wary of whatever game she was playing.

"My, paranoid, aren't we?" she asked.

I didn't respond.

"Ah yes, you're quiet. You prefer to let your actions speak for you most of the time. And from what I understand, they speak very loud."

I did not appreciate being inspected like a lab Rattata. "4th Elite Manson, I apologize, but I must be going now," I told her.

She nodded apathetically, but as I walked away, she said, "You've got a fierce fire burning in you. Don't let it go out… Would be quite the tragedy."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said, looking over my shoulder. And, with a final salute, I exited the building. I could not help but feel uneasy as I took my leave, wondering why she would want to ascertain the kind of man I was.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

I could think of no better spot to train than Aoro's Valley. It was spacious and relatively close to Pewter City, where the pokemon food was delivered. Most importantly, though, it was unoccupied. I did not want to have to fight someone for the spot like I had at my previous training ground.

I quickly stopped by League Special Procurements to pick up the food, which I attached to Azrael's harness. Then, thanks to Azrael - who was emotionally compelled by my frustration and bitterness - we returned to the valley in record time in spite of the large burlap bags dangling beneath him.

When we arrived, my plans immediately hit a speedbump. I did not expect there to be someone else there, yet I was greeted by a large, intimidating man and a small entourage of pokemon.

More surprising, the man looked vaguely familiar to me. The thin scar running across his cheek; the black hair, once short and groomed but now long and unkempt; his imposing stature. His Blastoise's wary glare jogged my memory. It was Virgil McCormick – Indigo Conference Champion and former Master Chief Ace Officer whose team took down the Meteors.

Remembering that the last time I had seen him was on PokeWatch when he challenged League Champion Volker, I noticed that there were only two pokemon in the vicinity. His Blastoise had a scar across the right side of its face and its right eye was clenched perpetually shut beneath it. There was also a Krookadile standing beside him, giving me an amused look – the pokemon was missing its left arm up to its elbow, and its snout was missing a large chunk from the left side, exposing sharp teeth and gaps between them.

I immediately felt a pang of pity for the man and his pokemon. His loss against the Champion must have been much worse than what was apparent. His Tyrannitar, the only other pokemon that I could remember from his team, was nowhere to be seen.

The intimidating man merely looked at me with curiosity as I dismounted and inspected him at a distance. No doubt he had not expected company. "Can I help you?" he asked. There was a tacit air of melancholy surrounding him. His subtly downcast expression, coupled with the breeze tossing his dirty hair around unceremoniously, gave the man the appearance of one who had his spirit broken.

"I didn't expect anyone to be here," I responded. "You're Virgil McCormick, aren't you?"

The man sighed with low energy. "Yes. If you have no business with me, could you please leave me in peace?" he asked.

"Of course," I replied. "I hope you don't mind if I share this valley with you?"

"And if I do?" he asked.

"I know you don't know me, but I give you my word, we will keep to ourselves. I'm only planning to be here less than a week," I explained to him.

His Blastoise rolled its shoulder as if to tell me it would not hesitate to enforce its trainer's wishes. He simply stared at me unnervingly, his eyes simultaneously piercing and nonchalant.

"Look," I told him. "I'm challenging the 2nd Elite when I'm done here, and the League has been trying to prevent me from preparing for weeks. They even interrupted and cut short my training with Gym Leader Aoro Craul in this valley. I promise we'll be too busy to bother you."

Virgil issued a sigh of resignation and shook his head. "Another generation of prey for the League," he muttered. "You must be something special for them to put that much effort into you. But I guess Craul doesn't just take an interest in anyone. Very well, you can stay, but please keep your distance."

"Yes, sir," I responded with a small bow. "But before we part ways, can I ask you a question?"

He looked at me with blank, yet dejected expression.

"How were you able to leave the League?" I hoped my question was not too insensitive. I only assumed that he had left the League before challenging the Champion.

Virgil's expression grew more somber. "Time and pain," he replied. Then he turned and walked off. His Krookadile stared at me for a few uncomfortable moments and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I phased in and turned around to find a dark shadowy dress that was in tatters, floating in the air. An incorporeal witch's hat nearly obscured two orange glowing slits of eyes.

The Mismagius simply cocked its head at me and sent a ghostly feminine chuckle ringing through the calm air. Then it simply drifted upwards and past me towards the ambling champion. The Krookodile seemed to scoff at the ghost as it approached, and then turned away to walk alongside it.

I phased back out, sensing no more danger. Shortly thereafter, I heard the ex-ace officer say at a distance, "Ah, that explains it. Poor bastard."

It was then, as I stood watching him walk away and felt the absence of the Mismagius, that I realized it had been ages since I had last seen the Banette. But seeing the broken hero walking away with an injured team spoiled all of the joy I would have felt at the realization that my ghastly stalker would no longer bother me.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

The remaining food lasted us the four days, as expected. During that time, I focused our training on intensity and agility, and researched the 2nd Elite's battle strategies. All footage I watched, which was much more limited than footage of the 1st Elite's battles due to the sparse number of people who had challenged him, indicated that the Elite's team consisted of a Lucario, a Magnezone, an Empoleon, an Aggron, and a Metagross.

Like the 1st Elite, 2nd Elite Barnes seemed to employ multiple styles of combat for each of his pokemon. However, they were all exceptionally durable, given their steel-type characteristics. Of all the Elite's pokemon, the Metagross gave me pause. The thing was a veritable walking fortress – nigh impenetrable and packing a serious punch. It was well-known to be the Elite's starter and most powerful pokemon, and would take a LOT to bring down. One thing was for certain: I could not let the Elite heal it during the fight like the 1st Elite had done to his own starter.

Despite having multiple fighting styles for this team, the 2nd Elite's tactics were very simple and blunt. He either tried to outlast his enemy or hammer them hard. There was virtually no complexity. With Aoro's help, I had determined the best course of action would be to employ multiple methods of damage at the same time. I needed my team to use techniques that were capable of delivering sustained damage to the Elite's team, while concurrently using high-power attacks. In other words, we need to gradually chip away at the enemy while simultaneously hammering them hard.

I occasionally saw Virgil in the distance, but I never saw him doing anything in particular. Nevertheless, I respected his wishes to be left alone. I understood that desire very well.

It was the 20th of September when I left the valley. I left early in the morning and was in Viridian City after a couple teleports. I then commissioned a transportation teleport to the Indigo Plateau, where I formally issued my challenge to the 2nd Elite.

I heard back from the League about my challenge date relatively quickly, which I found ironic. It was to be held two days later, on the 22nd. So, I was called in the very next day to meet with the Elite and his apprentice.

2nd Elite Jean Barnes was a stoic man. He so much resembled the steel-type pokemon for which he was known, that one could mistake him for one. He never showed any emotion during our meeting, his hair was cropped short and crisp, and his attire consisted of a black polo and khakis. He was also enormous – as big as Aoro, and probably leaner.

In short, I could not read the Elite, and his stature alone was intimidating. The meeting went similarly to my first meeting with an Elite. I was given a choice to defer my challenge to the Elite's apprentice, withdraw it entirely, or confirm my challenge. The difference this time, however, was that a League legal representative was present.

I had spent the previous night preparing a written statement and other legal material, with the help of my father over the phone – I made sure that he was not privy to any sensitive information.

My written statement was an addendum to the agreement that I was signing. I imagined they would attempt to add something in to the agreement as a way to sneak further control over me, so I was prepared to alter the document. I came into these agreements unprepared the first time, and I had no intention of repeating that mistake.

Unsurprisingly, there was a provision in the agreement dissolving any previous contract made between me and the League in the event that I win or lose a formal challenge. The provision further stated that a new contract would be written up to address my skills and my relationship with the League with respect to my abilities. As soon as I started reading it aloud, I took my PokeDex out of my pocket, set it on the table, and started to record the audio – much to the surprise and discomfort of everyone at the table with the exception of the Elite.

Without hesitation, I took a pen from out of my pocket and crossed it all out, signed the correction, and took out my own statement to add. I read it aloud,

Any further reconsideration of the undersigned party's contract with the Indigo Pokemon League will be made as an addendum to the original binding contract signed by all relevant parties. No standing contractual obligation will be rescinded arbitrarily, and any and all changes to the original binding contract must be signed by all relevant parties.

In essence, my contract was not to be thrown out to make way for a new one that addressed my standing within the League. All changes would be to my existing contract, and would be signed by both me and the League representatives.

I slid the agreement across the table towards the 2nd Elite and the legal representative, saying, "Since we are apparently addressing my current contract with the League in my formal challenge, I hope you don't mind that I made a few minor alterations to the agreement."

The legal representative glanced at the documents in front of him and said, "This is the contract everyone signs to challenge an Elite."

"Why do people keep telling me that this is the way it's always been done, as if that makes a damn bit of sense or difference?" I asked, annoyed. "This agreement has provisions that address a separate contract of mine with the League, and I will not be signing it simply because other people have."

"Well then it seems like we have a problem," Elite Barnes chimed in. His voice was even, and held a thick accent which sounded vaguely Unovan. "You see, if you don't want to sign our contract, then I am under no obligation to accept your challenge."

"Oh, but I do want to sign a contract as it relates to the challenge. This other shit does not relate. It addresses "other contracts" with the League," I said, gesticulating quotation marks. "This challenge has nothing to do with those contracts. Nowhere in any of my contracts is my challenge to you mentioned aside from my bet with the League President. And as my own legal representative, I demand a challenge with the 2nd Elite with an agreement that pertains solely to that end."

"You are challenging me, Mr. MacAfee. These are my conditions for the fight," the Elite told me calmly.

"I am a League Trainer. The bylaws of the League charter oblige you to accept my challenge. Adding other crap into it is not part of the League's rights." I slid another document across the table. It was a section of the League's regulatory bylaws guaranteeing a trainer the right to challenge any League official for whom the trainer is certifiably qualified. The section went on to clarify that League badges count as legal certification.

"I have all eight badges and my first Elite bar. By the League's rules, I have the right to a challenge, sans any other agreement. Now you can redraft this agreement with absolutely no additional provisions, giving me the right to refuse any future arbitrary revision of my League contract, or you can agree to my terms."

It was a long shot to hope that they would simply sign my addendum, but it was worth a shot. The legal representative looked over my excerpt of the League code, compared it to a digital version in his hand, and mulled it over for a while. I was not surprised when, instead of signing my addendum, the legal representative stood up and said, "I will have this agreement re-worked without additional obligation placed on you. You are guaranteed a challenge, and you will get one."

With that said, the legal representative motioned to the Elite and they both left the room, leaving me and the Elite's apprentice. Awkward silence pervaded the room. The apprentice – a female a few years older than I – drummed her fingers on the table awkwardly for a few moments.

"Soooo," she said, "you came prepared…"

I only sent her an apathetic look. I knew this was going to happen, but it still pissed me off.

Receiving no response, the apprentice let out a deep sigh and started whistling poorly, heightening the uneasy vibe in the room.

The Elite and the legal representative returned to the room after a few minutes, carrying a new piece of paper. True to the legal representative's word, it was devoid of any legal obligation for anything outside of the challenge.

The apprentice relaxed back into her chair with relief at the mere presence of the other League officials. After signing it, 2nd Elite Barnes shook my hand – a cold, crushing handshake – and wished me luck on my upcoming challenge.

I left the meeting with a triumphant gait. It felt good to be one step ahead of the League, even in something so minor as an Elite Challenge. The next time I saw him, I would release myself and my team from indefinite bondage.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

I left the battle arena, almost failing to contain my rage. I could feel my blood boiling and I was one minor inconvenience away from flying into a Shadow Frenzy.

The bastards had postponed my challenge. And, waited until I showed up for it to tell me! It was not difficult to see their new tactic – they would not deny me my challenge, but there was no provision in the League's code defining an obligatory timeframe for them to give it to me.

In other words, they were going to stall; and they were going to stall until after boot camp started. Once again, I felt helpless. Once again, the League was screwing me. But instead of wallowing in despair, I desperately searched for a solution.

I briefly thought about searching for any legal precedents, but wrote that off. They were going to try to stall any way they could. I could find a technicality, but they would find another loophole. I needed to find a way to force them into giving me my challenge.

I thought about my conversations with Aoro, but that was not much help. He had always impressed on me the fact that it was all political, and that I needed to play by their rules to win. But right now, they were using their rules to screw me in a legal riposte to my last attempt to retain my relative autonomy.

After a while of stewing, I considered the possibility of getting the media involved. I may not be able to expose the League, as Aoro and I had discussed, but I could potentially get a furor of support started for my challenge. I had a sizeable following, despite my inactivity in the spotlight, and people loved to root for something special. I would be challenging the 2nd Elite sooner than any other trainer in recent history after beating the 1st Elite. People would eat that shit up!

The more I thought of it, the more it seemed the most pragmatic approach. But something still nagged at me from the back of my mind. The League was crafty. It could potentially find a way to thwart that as well. I kept it in the front of my mind as Plan A, and searched for a Plan B.

After hours of brooding, I could not come up with a Plan B, but I did think of a game plan for Plan A. There was a potential way to hit the League where they would not expect it. But there were a lot of variables and a lot of "if's".

I dialed a number in my PokeDex and waited for a response.

"Hello, Kenneth speaking."

"Hello, this is Zachariah MacAfee."

"MacAfee?" he asked. Then his tone turned reticent. "OH, Zachariah MacAfee. How are you doing?"

"I'm in a bit of a bind, actually, and I was hoping you might be able to help me out," I told him, wasting no time beating around the bush.

"Oh, okay," he replied with palpable trepidation.

"Without going too much into detail, I need the 2nd Elite to go through with my challenge before December," I explained.

"Okay," he responded, regaining some confidence to his tone. "I'm not sure how I can help you with that."

"To put it bluntly, the reason I'm not getting this challenge is political," I told him. "I've issued my challenge and the Elite has accepted. But the fact is they're stalling until December when I won't be able to challenge – it might be best that you don't know the reasons for it. I think I need a political solution." It was part of the original contract to keep silent about it.

"I see, but I still don't understand how I can help," he told me. "I don't have any leverage with the Pokemon League. My brother was the Senator; not me."

I sighed. "I understand that Kenneth. You may not have been the Senator, but I'm sure you have connections to other Senators. If I don't have my battle before December, then I'll have signed away my freedom, and the freedom of my pokemon, to the League."

The Senator's brother cleared his voice nervously.

"Look, I understand that I made some bad choices that led to this situation, and believe me when I tell you that I've done everything I can to solve this problem, but I'm desperate now and I'm asking a favor. You're the only person I know who can possibly help me. Even if it's a long shot, I need to try for the sake of my team." I am sure that my voice betrayed my attempts to remain in control of my emotions. I really did not want to use the "you owe me" angle for saving his ass from being used as leverage by the Meteors against his brother, but I was prepared to if the man did not at least grant me an attempt.

The Senator's brother sighed. "I don't think there's much I can do. I can reach out to a few, but I can't promise anything."

"Please," I implored. "Anything you can do. They are politicians, but I'm sure they would honor your brother's memory enough to at least listen to you!"

"Like I said," Kenneth repeated, "I'll reach out. But I wouldn't put all your eggs in this basket. Politicians are politicians."

"All I need is for the League to honor my challenge," I pressed. "I'm not asking for anything illegal or against the League's rules. Like I said, the Elite accepted my challenge, which means they've acknowledged my qualifications. I just need them to give me the battle in the next two months. I'm sorry that I've called only to ask you a favor, but I'm desperate. And I don't think my request is too much to ask."

Kenneth sighed again. "I don't think it's too much to ask either when you put it like that. But if there's one thing I've learned by having family in politics, it's that nothing is for certain, no matter how trivial, unless… Well unless they've made a public pledge to do something. But even then, that just means they'll give the appearance of a public effort." He paused for a second. "But that does give me an idea. Can you give me an example of anything you've done to help people, aside from rescuing me?"

My demeanor turned hopeful. "I think so. But what's your idea?"

"It's just an idea, but I could ask for their public support and recognition of heroism, with the purpose of raising some excitement for your battle. If you have some heroic examples, it would make them more receptive to giving you their acknowledgment since they are supposed to be apart from the League. But acknowledging heroism is easier to stomach than a blatant endorsement of League operations."

"I see," I said, my hope growing exponentially quickly. "I think I can give you some examples."

"Good, we're going to formally broadcast those achievements and get people hyped for your battle. I worked on social media for my brother a while back when he was campaigning, so I can help out a little."

Ugh, reporters, I thought, not relishing the idea of broadcasting myself. But this seemed to be my only legitimate shot right now. While the League may not care about a few people clamoring for my battle, they might try to avoid reporters digging into their affairs at the direction of civil political leaders.

The Senator's brother still seemed pessimistic, though, because he said, "I still wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you, Zachariah. If it's as bad as you say, they may just ignore us."

"People and the Senators are going to see the 2nd Elite around and start questioning why he isn't taking my challenge, all on their own," I replied.

"That's true. I'll keep that in mind as well."

"Thank you, Kenneth."

"I guess it's only fair…" he responded. "But listen, this may take a while. I'm not going to immediately get audiences with them. If I were you, I would think about a plan B."

I only acknowledged him with a grunt. This was my plan; actually, more like my last resort. I did not have any other ideas. As far as I was concerned, this was my solution, and I was emotionally exhausted trying to figure out another angle. I was not one to sit around and wait, though, so I decided that, if this truly was going to be my last period of freedom, then I needed to make it worthwhile.

I had a little over two months until Boot Camp. After that, challenge or no challenge, I would be property of the League. After ending my call with the Senator's brother, with the request that I make my way to his house in Pewter City as soon as possible for an in-person interview, I spent the next few hours trying to put my mind at ease. When nothing worked to that end, I took a walk.

I brooded on the League, and my brooding turned into spitefulness. So, with my resentful mood and desire for action, my thought process churned out a resolution. After I was finished at Kenneth's, I would leave Kanto and travel to Blackthorn City. With their specialized knowledge of dragons, and Azrael's unique heritage opening their doors to that knowledge, I would hopefully learn something valuable – both for Azrael and Ceto. And if the League wanted to screw me over, then I'd already have a head start… I would not let them win this way.

So, without further ado, I started to make travel plans to Blackthorn City in Johto. Given how well my last accidental encounter with Kanto-Johto border patrols went, I decided to use my favorite form of transportation – commercial flight – instead of pokemon flight or teleportation. Military relations with Johto were also worsening, so it just made sense to avoid the hassle.

After Dante teleported me home, I immediately started the booking process for my flight, which came with as much security, if not more, as I remembered my Hoenn foray including. There was a questionnaire that I needed to complete, and since I was a ranger, added security measures were taken from Johto Customs. I needed to describe the purpose of my travel, which I told them was to do dragon research in Blackthorn City. I kept it vague on purpose – they did not need to know everything. I had enough oversight in Kanto as it was.

When I was finished with the booking process, a hold was placed on my flight request due to my status as a ranger and the pokemon I was bringing into the country. Travel for trainers had not been restricted, but I was a One-Star trainer bringing in heavy artillery. Luckily for me, the hold was lifted after about 24 hours and my flight plans were finalized, effective in two days' time.

In the meantime, I had a request to honor and I had another idea to help it along. Before I left for Kenneth's property in Pewter City for a formal interview, I called him and told him to hold off on contacting any particular reporter. Then, I dialed a number in my PokeDex for the reporter – Beatrice Fierra – who had interviewed me before and after my first Elite challenge.

I was happy that she actually answered, given how awkward our parting had been. But I took that opportunity to tell her that I was going to be raising some support for myself for my second challenge, and that it had the potential for a big story. When she asked how, I told her there was a reason no one celebrates after their wins, and while I could not tell her why, she could find out through the course of this story. That was all I needed to tell her to convince her to meet me in Pewter City that afternoon, and accompany me to Kenneth's house thereafter.

I informed my parents that I was going to be leaving, and then had Saraph fly me north to Pewter City. She was not as fast as Azrael, but I had several hours until Beatrice and I had agreed to meet. Saraph was delighted to be outside of her pokeball in flight, and I relished the time spent alone with her.

It took us a couple hours to reach Pewter with Saraph flying as fast as she could and as long as she could, and we still arrived an hour early. I spent that time planning my route in Johto from the airport in Cherrygrove City to Blackthorn City.

Beatrice met me outside of a local coffee shop, wherein she grabbed a cup to-go before we exchanged pleasantries. Her Pachirisu, Pickles, sat on her shoulder as annoyingly cute as I remembered. "So, there's actually a consistent reason why you all are so dejected," she mused, taking a sip from her cup. "I hope you aren't blowing smoke up my ass."

"That's all I'll say for now," I told her. "But I'm telling you the truth."

"Speaking of;" she said with narrowed eyes. "Why are you contacting me about it? What's in it for you?"

"I guess I do have selfish reasons…" I said. "But they're reasons I can't tell you. Let's just say that League can be a jerk sometimes, and I don't like it."

"Hmm, revenge is it?" she said bringing her hand to her chin. "That can't go wrong…"

"Well, it's more about me covering my ass," I responded.

"Oh, so you need me to blackmail them?" she asked, her tone drastically worsening.

I sighed. "If you want to look at it that way. But it's only to get what was promised to me."

"And that is?" she asked pointedly.

"For them to give me my challenge to the 2nd Elite," I replied.

Beatrice was silent for a few moments, looking at me with amused disbelief. "You shitting me?"

"I'm not," I told her, serious.

"Because it sounds like you're telling me you're going to challenge the second Elite merely half a year after beating the first," she said cynically. "No one does that."

"I do," told her, still serious. "I need to do so before December. They're stalling."

"Why?" she asked.

"I can't tell you why they're stalling. Only that they are."

"No, why do you need to challenge the Elite before then?" she pressed.

"That ties in with the reasons they are stalling," I told her. "I'm sorry I can't give you more. But that's why I'm involving you – so you can potentially expose it on your own."

"So… Scorched earth…" she muttered. She was quick.

"If it comes to that," I told her. "But if you want to go down this rabbit hole, you need to be prepared to watch your back."

"I kind of figured that," she said nonchalantly. She was quiet for a little while, deep in thought. "Screw it, I'm in."

I smiled. "Fabulous."

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

"Beatrice Fierra," the reporter said, shaking hands with Kenneth.

"Kenneth Ludiger," the Senator's brother replied. Then he looked at me with a quizzical expression.

"Beatrice has interviewed me a few times, so she knows who I am," I told him. "Skips a step, and she knows the risks."

"Fine by me," Kenneth said.

"So how do you know each other?" Beatrice asked as we entered his house.

Kenneth and I looked at each other awkwardly. "He sort of saved my life and rescued me from the Meteors some time ago," he told her.

"No shit!" Beatrice exclaimed. "So, you're a hero, and you're going to fight the 2nd Elite less than a year after the first. I knew there was something special about you."

I felt myself turning red. Kenneth then responded, "Well, good you came to that conclusion, because that is what we're going to try to sell. Heroism. This interview is going to be shown to a few senators, from whom we are trying to solicit support, and heroism is something I believe they can get behind – especially the ones more critical of the League's power. So please limit questioning to that end."

"Wow, you weren't kidding," she said. "You're going through a lot of trouble for this. Well let's get this started!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Kenneth replied with smile.

The interview was held in a comfortable living room. Beatrice used her camera drone to record all three of us sitting on a couch and chair. The interview was casual, and included me telling them the stories of my involvement with Pokemon raids, my unclassified exploits in the Ranger Corps, my rescue of the Senator's brother and several other people, and my personal League exploits – all told, of course, without the questionable details.

Near the end of the interview, Beatrice asked me what I was going to do while I wait for my challenge, and I told her, "I intend to go back into training until I receive word of my challenge. I need to stay strong. After all, I did challenge the 2nd Elite already so I can't get lazy now. I'm ready, though, unless the 2nd Elite is scared of a trainer who only just beat the first."

Calling the Elite's honor into question may not have been necessary, and may even have been seen as juvenile, but I wanted to show that there was no reason for the League to wait. This would elicit questions by those who were skeptical of the League, such as some of the senators this interview would be sent to.

This interview was basically me saying to the League, Give me my chance or risk your shady practices being pulled into the open where non-League lawmakers can pick them apart and use them as inspiration to hold you accountable.

We brought the interview to a close, whereupon Beatrice transferred a copy of her interview footage to Kenneth. We stayed a little longer after to eat some snacks and chat with Kenneth. Kenneth told her a little more about the particulars of his rescue – his version did not include the bloody extent of my actions, but was more graphic than the version I told on camera.

By the time we were leaving, the sun was descending. Before we parted, Beatrice released Pickles, who bolted to her shoulder, and invited me out for a beer, which I accepted. We found a quiet bar and chatted while we had our drink.

After a little while, Beatrice suddenly brought up my situation. It sounded like she had been wanting to ask for a while. "So is there anything you can tell me off the record?" she asked. Her Pachirisu looked at me with enormous eyes.

"I can't," I replied solemnly, ignoring the little creature. "If the League knows of any foul-play on my part, they could use it as leverage to avoid my challenge."

"Ugh that's such bullshit!" she exclaimed. Pickles crossed his arms angrily as well. "I can't imagine what they're holding over you and all the other trainers who win their matches. I really want to know what they do."

"Join the club," I said with a laugh. "My parents do too."

Both the reporter and her Pachirisu pouted as she took another drink. "Well, anyway, do you really think you're ready to challenge the 2nd so soon? I don't need to tell you the risks."

"I am," I told her. "I have faith in my team. They can do it."

"Hmm," she hummed. "Either you're crazy or I was right about you."

"Oh yeah?" I asked.

"Yeah," she replied coyly. "You're special." She affixed me with an intense gaze. "So, you're going back into training after this? Where to?"

"Blackthorn City," I told her.

"Johto?" she asked with a look of surprise that was immediately mirrored by her little pokemon. "Why so far away? Does it have something to do with your dragons? Blackthorn is the city of dragons, right?"

"I'll be researching dragons," I told her. "So yeah."

"That sounds so cool…" she said. "But that's so far away."

"Yeah, but I'm going to get stronger," I told her resolutely.

She shifted with my last statement and looked at me intensely once again. She then finished her drink.

"So, I don't suppose you'd be down for hanging out a while longer tonight, would you? I'm going to get a PokeCenter room tonight and I'd love to hear more about your adventures over another drink… Though I get it if you don't."

For the first time since Sheila and I had last spoken, I did not feel guilty in entertaining the thought of being intimate with another woman – which Beatrice was almost-certainly indicating. She was nice and very attractive. And for a reporter, she wasn't too awful.

I smiled and said, "Sure."

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

I ate breakfast with Beatrice the next morning in the Pokemon Center cafeteria. We chatted some more before we parted ways outside of the building, at which point Beatrice gave me a kiss on the cheek and a wink. Then, shortly thereafter, she took off on a Pidgeot with a wave.

I felt good, which was a relief given how much I had expected to feel the opposite. So, after a night of intimacy with another woman, I felt that maybe I was starting to move past Sheila. So, with high spirits, I flew back to Veridian City atop Azrael's back, and allowed Saraph to accompany us rider-less.

My flight was the day after that, and I had no trouble packing a bag before then. When the time came, I reluctantly set off for the airport.

Accessing the airport terminal was much more difficult this time around. My ID and PokeDex were both checked, and all of my credentials were verified electronically. This did nothing to calm my nerves about flying, with which I had yet to grow comfortable.

Luckily the flight to Cherrygrove City was a short flight compared to the flight to Hoenn. After the plane had landed, I went through another round of ID and PokeDex verification at Johto Customs. They asked more questions and even imposed a formal deadline on my departure – which was interestingly a month into ace boot camp.

Being a One-Star ranger traveling to a country with whom his country's relations were tense gave the entire process an air of paranoia. Johto Customs even scanned my mind with an Alakazam, whose fear I mentally allayed with corroborating information. When I was finally able to leave the airport, I emerged to a taxi zone with strict flying pokemon restrictions, indicated by an enormous yellow sign with directions for safe distance and direction of teleport. So, I released Dante and followed the directions to teleport to a large open field occupied by a few people.

I quickly ascertained my location via my PokeDex GPS and its relation to my travel route, and then recalled Dante for Azrael. I had never seen Johto before from this side of the mountain, so I wanted to get the lay of the land as I traveled to Blackthorn. Additionally, I would enjoy the flight time with Azrael – and a little speed training never hurt anyone.

I noted that the small group of people in the field with me was comprised of trainers, as indicated by the fact that two of them were battling. Judging by their age appearance and types of pokemon being used, I could determine that they were not too experienced. Apart from noting their presence, I paid them no mind. Though almost immediately after Azrael was released, their battle predictably stopped and they looked over at me with amazement. I could tell Azrael enjoyed the attention, though with an attitude of expectation.

"Quite the vain one you are," I noted with an affectionate chuckle, eliciting a bitter growl. With an effortless leap, I mounted him in preparation for flight. Before we could take off, Azrael turned and snarled in warning.

"Whoa! I don't mean any harm! Just wanted a moment of your time." I looked at a boy who appeared a little older than myself standing about a hundred feet away.

"What do you need?" I asked.

"I was actually just wondering what your badge level is," he replied.

"Oh," I replied. "I'm Bronze-Star."

"Really!?" he exclaimed. "This is so lucky! I, incidentally, have eight badges and am looking to challenge the First Elite real soon. I think you'd be a good measure of if I'm ready!"

"I don't think so," I replied curtly and apathetically. I needed to get going.

He looked taken aback. "Oh come on, please?" he asked. "I've been wanting to gauge my strength for a while, and I'd like to show my cousin over there a more serious fight."

"Sorry, it's not going to be a fair fight," I told him stoically. Then I nodded to Azrael and added a mental nudge to take off.

As Azrael spread his wings and tensed his large muscular legs, the boy exclaimed, "Wait! I challenge y-!" He was cut short by a powerful wind blowing over him and pushing him back a few feet. Both Azrael and I chuckled at the display as we ascended into the sky.

Had our circumstanced been different, I would have accepted his challenge just for experience for my team, but as it was, we were ready to fight the 2nd Elite, and he had not even challenged the first. That was not even taking into account the Point of Ambiguity in pokemon levels. Nothing against the guy, but we had better things to-

"HEY NOW! Why do you have to be so rude!?" I heard over my left shoulder.

I looked back, startled, to see the same guy riding a Pidgeot and trailing us close by. "I told you man; it wouldn't be a fair fight!" I called back to him, and gave Azrael's reins a crisp jerk. We surged forward and I was pushed back into the saddle. I heard the guy's yelling grow distant.

About a half-minute later, I heard "I'M NOT TAKING NO FOR AN ANSWER!"

I looked again to see the Pidgeot straining with the speed it was traveling at – it was obviously using the Extreme Speed technique. "Dude, you don't get it!" I yelled. "I'm about to challenge-"

"I don't care!" he interrupted. "And stop patronizing me! I challenged you fair and square, now stop!"

I sighed. As much as I wanted to avoid any distractions, I was slightly impressed and amused at the guy's tenacity. You just couldn't escape from some trainers. Though if it were me, I would try just as hard to get a challenge that I wanted. "Well I guess he really just wants to be beaten," I told Azrael, who responded with a hum. "Let's give it to him." Then I called over my shoulder, "Alright, fine, but don't say I didn't warn you!"

I heard a triumphant whoop and an "Alright!" and we descended into a clearing in a wooded expanse. The foliage was similar to the pine trees of the Viridian Forest. As soon as we landed, I noticed the pop of a teleport.

Azrael was slightly perturbed at our travel disruption, but he was also slightly excited for a fight. Less than a minute later, a Xatu appeared with multiple kids in tow – the ones from the field.

The boy noticed me looking at the kids and said, "Sorry if you don't care for an audience, but I want my cousin to watch… and I guess he wanted his friends to see it too.

"Fine," I replied simply, and with a small note of arrogance. "Three on three."

"Fine by me!" the boy replied enthusiastically.

All pokemon were recalled and we paced to a fair distance. I looked at my opponent's distance from me and started walking away some more, to the amusement of his entourage. Once I was content with our distance, we counted down and I released Saraph. My opponent released an 8-foot-tall Ursaring.

"Fire Shield, and then get into the air," I ordered, while the Ursaring launched itself into a roll. It reached Saraph right as she finished fueling the ring of fire around her. It sped through the fire, disregarding the flames, and slammed into Saraph. The bear rocked her, but she did not move, causing the Ursaring to fall out of its rollout.

Saraph spread her wings and leapt into the air, but not before the Ursaring slammed an icy paw into her leg. Through Saraph's pained roar, I could hear our audience ooh-ing at the sight of Saraph bringing a rotating ring of flames with her into the air.

"Roast him!" I called out. "Flamethrower!"

From her height of 30 feet, Saraph loosed a stream of fire at the bear, and as the fire passed through her Fire Shield, it intensified three-fold into a veritable wall of fire. The streaming inferno reached the bear as it attempted to Rollout away from it. The fire impact the ground with force, instantly disintegrating the grass and scarring the earth.

Simultaneously, I heard my opponent yell, "SHIT! Get away from it! Dig!"

Saraph's wall of fire followed the Ursaring mercilessly as it fled. Then the Ursaring flung itself out of its roll and furiously burrowed into the ground as the fire started washing over it.

"Fire Blast!" I called out. "Don't let it get away."

Saraph's river of fire halted for a second as she charged her Fire Blast. The orb shot from her maw, gained a small amount of mass as it passed through her shield, and impacted the ground. The explosion that rippled through the field sent heat washing over its residents. The crater left behind showed a singed furry rear-end furiously digging farther down.

"Draco Meteor!" I ordered.

Saraph's fiery ring lost some of its intensity, despite having trained as we did over the last couple of months, but did not die out. In return, she fueled a blue fiery orb over her head that then plummeted to the ground and impacted at twice the force of her Fire Blast. The explosion nearly threw me off my feet, as it occurred relatively close by on my side of the field.

The Ursaring drug itself out of the crater, shaking, and powered up a Hyper Beam. "Ace!" I yelled, and Saraph dropped into an aero-dynamic spiral. The bear loosed its destructive beam, dragging it through the fiery orb spinning around Saraph, but it could not stop her from plowing into its smaller frame, carrying the flames with her.

At that moment, the Ursaring was returned to its ball. Simultaneously, my opponent exclaimed, "Shit! That was way too close." His face was contorted in a grimace of concern.

"Good job, Saraph," I yelled out as she recovered on the ground, and then returned her as well to give another of my pokemon a chance to fight.

"That was the most terrifying display of firepower I've ever fought against," the boy called out, voice audibly shaking.

"You sure you want to go on?" I called back. "She was my least-powerful pokemon – not one of my starters."

"Are you freaking kidding me!?" he asked. I saw him rub the back of his neck as he thought it over. "Let's keep going," he finally said.

"Alright then," I replied and hefted Titus's ball.

We both released our next 'mon, and I found us facing against a Mamoswine, a behemoth of a pokemon standing nearly 16 feet tall, a full six feet taller than Titus. I knew little about them, as they were fairly rare, but I did know they were ice type and could take a lot of damage.

My opponent looked at the hulking Bisharp with a bewildered look that lacked recognition. "Let's put your training to the test," I told Titus. "Let's see how hard you can hit. Homing Blackout, Void Ambush. Double-Edge and Metal Claw."

The Mamoswine let out a trumpeted battle cry and stomped forward as Titus centered his Blackout on it. The area darkened to about 60%, as it was a little cloudy, but then rocks around Titus curled around him and entombed him.

The large Blackout field passed over Titus in his Rock Tomb, as the Mamoswine approached his immobilized body. But when it reached a distance of about 20 feet, Titus broke free and brought his arms up defensively in preparation to meet the charging mammoth. Little did either the mammoth or my opponent know, Titus had melded into the shadows and left an image behind.

He used his speed in the next couple of seconds to pick up some momentum, and as the Mamoswine lowered its head to deliver a devastating slam, Titus appeared next to it, traveling at speed. An audible whoomph! passed over us when Titus slammed into the mighty behemoth. The force of the blow threw the multi-ton mammoth off of its feet and to the side about a yard.

The attack also stunned Titus for a moment before he melded into the shadows, leaving an image of himself where he was to back up. His next attack came from the mammoth's other side as it was struggling to upright itself. A metal fist slammed into the side of the Mamoswine's skull and outright knocked it out.

"Titus, back off," I called out as he was about to issue a finishing move. He stopped and backed away as my opponent recalled his pokemon, dissipating the Blackout.

"What in Entei's ass was that!?" my opponent cried, pale as a ghost. Nothing has ever taken him out that quickly! What pokemon is that!?"

"I told you, man," I said bluntly. "This was going to be no contest. I'm about to challenge the second Elite of Kanto and I've been told I stand a very good chance. But Titus here is a Bisharp – a pokemon native to Sinnoh."

"Legendaries, maybe I'm not ready to challenge the First Elite…" he said holding his head.

"Can we call it now?" I asked, apathetic to the guy's crisis. "I have two wins and the last one is going to be no different."

"Yeah, I'm not going to put another of my team against you. I probably should have listened to you, but I guess now I know I'm not ready for my first challenge."

I was impatient, but the smallest tinge of empathy crossed my mind. "I wouldn't say that," I replied. "You may just be ready. However, I'm going to beat the second Elite soon, and the difference between two elites is significant." The boy looked skeptical as he shuffled towards me. "My team is also stronger than average," I added. "I have an unbeaten League record."

"Damn, good to know…" he murmured, pulling out some cash and handing it to me.

"And one last thing," I told him. He looked at me with downcast expression. "Bring a lawyer to your meeting with your League after you win. Trust me, you'll thank me for it. If your League is anything like mine, you'll want legal representation."

His expression turned reticent. "What? Why?"

"You're a person commanding creatures that can cause mass destruction. Use your imagination. But bring a lawyer who knows the League regulations." I told him, my patience fully at an end now. "Good luck."

Then I turned away and returned Titus for Azrael. I hopped onto his back, giving him a pat and reassuring him nonchalantly that we had done exactly as I had predicted. As he launched us into the air, I got one last look at the pale faces of the boy's cousin and entourage.

Honestly, I was almost as surprised as they were at the sheer destructive capabilities of my team. Yes, we had been training specifically in defense and firepower for the last couple of months, one of which with a gym leader, but I had grown accustomed to the skill of Aoro's team. Seeing that skill used against a non-barred trainer (one who has not earned a bar for beating an elite) put into perspective the caliber I had reached. It was exhilarating.

I mulled over the battle as we made our way northeast to Blackthorn City. I thought of different ways to improve and savored the memories of my team's power displays. And, by the time we reached Blackthorn City, a few hours later, I was in good spirits.

I wasted no time finding directions to the gym. A man on a mission, I opened the doors to find a receptionist looking at me with surprise. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm looking for someone who can get me in contact with the Wataru Clan," I told her.

"Oh, well… you are in their gym. Give me a moment." She dialed a number on her phone and looked like she was about to say something, but then remained quiet. She only said, "Yes," before putting the phone down and telling me, "Please wait here, someone will be here shortly. You've been expected."

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

Current PokeDex Update

One-Star Trainer: Zachariah MacAfee; KA523VI979E; Sergeant, Ranger Corps.

Active Pokemon:

Azrael – Garchomp

Gilles – Gengar

Rufus – Houndoom

Ceto – Seadra

Dante – Gallade

Titus – Bisharp

Pokemon in Preparation:

Saraph – Charizard

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

Author's Note: Sorry for the wait everyone. I've had a hell of a year. Went through a heavy breakup with a long-term girlfriend, moved around, and switched jobs. It's been difficult for me to get the motivation to write most days, but I'm not abandoning the story. It just may take a while for me to produce a chapter. I generally send updates of my life/progress to my .on site, so if you're ever curious about how long it's been, you can get some answers there.

On a separate note, I have read all of the reviews that come in, and I appreciate all of the support for this story. It's one thing that has kept me from losing interest in writing entirely. So thank you so much.

On another separate note, if anyone wants to play Warframe with me on Nintendo Switch, shoot me a PM. And if you live in the Portland (OR) area and want to grab a beer when this covid crisis ends, also send me a PM.

For this chapter, the League has almost won against Zach. But a shred of hope remains. And we get to see the fruits of his training with Aoro when he fought the Johto trainer. His team can hit a hell of a lot harder, and take a hell of a lot more of a beating – as Saraph showed when the Ursaring slammed into her and she didn't budge. I hope you liked it.