Hello all! You may have noticed I went on a bit of a writing spree with my past four updates (across all of my stories) and that it suddenly stopped! I wanted to take one day off, but this weekend is also Thanksgiving weekend! So I've been visiting family, and a few friends that went to schools outside my city returned so I've been spending time with them as well.

So, Happy Thanksgiving!

Titania

It must have been five minutes that I stared into the small, blue Pokemon's red eyes. Not for one second of this time did it blink. Instead it stared right back into mine, searching for the same thing that I was: a connection.

Despite my focus I could barely make out the elaborate blue suit of a man who stood a few feet to my left. His arms were crossed and he observed with eyes that were likely impossible to read. I was surprised my slow pace with this whole ritual had not irked him in the slightest, or if it did, he hid it perfectly.

Still, it was best not to keep him waiting. I at least owed him that much.

So I took a deep breath. The Riolu in front of me did the same, and in unison we closed our eyes together.

"All right. Both of you focus on my voice. Shut out any other noise." The man, Riley, instructed. His tone firm and confident. He was charismatic that way, like he could tell you anything and you'd believe him without a moment's doubt. It was something I envied in him.

Nonetheless I complied. The dull, echoing sounds of the cave we were in slowly but steadily faded into nothing. One by one my natural senses slowly shut down as I let the darkness around me wash entirely over my being. Over my world.

Soon even Riley's voice was lost to me. So I had to do the rest of this on my own.

I concentrated the only sense I had left to me, my sixth sense, on the world around me. Or at least I tried. Seconds turned into minutes and nothing changed. The darkness was still darkness. I couldn't see or feel anything through the veil of black. I didn't give up, though, and instead kept pushing forward. At least for a few more minutes...

But even then, nothing changed.

I breathed a sigh and opened my eyes. The trance fell apart as all of my natural senses returned to me. "I feel like an idiot..." I muttered, unable to hide the bitterness in my tone.

"Well, at least you're able to feel that much." Riley said with a chuckle. I shot him a look that wiped the smirk clean off his face, but he still walked over to me and knelt down. We may only have been cousins, but our resemblance was very apparent. Same dark blue hair, though his was much shorter and wilder than mine, and the same steely grey eyes.

"Look, you've never had any official wave guiding training until you met me, right?" Riley asked me. I nodded, and he continued on, "And even then you completely neglected any form of practice since our first meeting. Instead you battled your way to the top of Mt. Coronet, through the Distortion World...and even after seeing that abomination of a dimension, you still have doubts about aura?"

"I saw the Distortion World." I replied, adjusting my sitting position into a kneel. The rocky ground of the cave was cold and uncomfortable, but I didn't want to stand so long as Riley had knelt to my level. "I was inside of it. The place may have bent and shattered every single law of physics, but I was inside of it for long enough to know that what I saw was real. Even if it didn't make any logical sense at the time, it was...it is real."

"When it comes to aura, though...I've only seen or felt glimpses, and even then that can be explained through logical means. There's no science to aura, no solid facts. Just interpretations and intuitive knowledge," I continued. "Humans don't normally have sixth senses. It's just not logical, so everytime I focus..."

"It slips away from you before you can even grasp it." Riley cut in, a small but knowing smile on his lips. He stood up straight and I followed suit. "But you have seen proof of it. Raw proof, several times."

I quirked my brow. "And when did I see this?"

"Well, for one, when you battled my Lucario. Aura Sphere isn't like normal energy based attacks. It is pure aura, woven by the Lucario into a form they can use offensively, such as an explosive sphere." Riley explained. He then gestured towards the Riolu that still sat on the ground before me. "But if you need more proof...then you should keep her."

Wait, was he serious? I looked over at the Riolu, whose tail wagged at Riley's words. She seemed quite enthused at the prospect.

"Raise her, train her, watch her powers grow." Riley continued on with a smile, "Who knows? Maybe it'll help trigger your abilities too?"

"Maybe...if she's really willing, then-" I was cut off by the Riolu bounding over to me and hugging my leg. Her expression was so hopeful, joyous. I couldn't help but smile at the sight. "Then I'll be happy to take her in. Thank you."

"It's nothing. Consider her a birthday gift from your long lost cousin." Riley stated with a big smile. Long lost was a bit of a stretch, but until we had run into each other here, on the Iron Islands, back when I was doing my league challenge, it had been over ten years since we last saw each other.

"Well then, I'll have to be sure to get you something in return." I replied, Riley's contagious smile having its effect on me. Riley chuckled and waved his hand nonchalantly.

"If you insist." With that he gestured for me to follow him back towards the cave entrance. We hadn't wandered too deep into the cave lest we disturb the Steelix that lived within. We stepped out into the open and I smiled at the smell of the ocean on the air.

Outside of the caves the Iron Islands were actually quite lovely. Grassy with some tall trees scattered throughout, and even from where I stood the beach was visible. Granted the water, like most of Sinnoh's water, would probably be ice cold even though it was still summer.

"So, what were you going to do now?" Riley asked as he crossed his arms. I turned around and scooped the Riolu up in my arms with a smile.

"Well, I'll need to come up with a name for this girl." I smiled back, the Riolu purring as she snuggled into my arms. "But I also owe Professor Rowan a visit. I never did get around to sharing the data I collected about Heatran with him. After that it's back to the League with me."

Riley chuckled at the mention of Heatran and quirked his brow in amusement. "Heatran too now? I nearly forgot...how many legendaries does that make for you?"

"Nearly the entire Sinnoan pantheon, save for Arceus." I answered with a fair bit of pride. Even a legend chaser like Cynthia hasn't seen as many of our legendaries as I have. The lake guardians, the three dragons, Regigigas, the lunar duo, Shaymin, Manaphy, and Heatran. I've seen each of them at least once now.

The most memorable encounter, for me though, would always be the dragon of antimatter. Though it was not necessarily a fond memory...

"And yet you were respectful enough to not try and catch any of them." Riley stated, his voice bringing me back to reality.

"Each of them serve a key purpose in the environment they reside in," I explained to him. To remove them would no doubt anger them and damage that environment on a level that I can't possibly begin to predict. It just wouldn't be worth the risk, even if I wanted to capture them."

"You've never thought about capturing them?" Riley asked me, a hint of doubt on his features.

"Ever since the Distortion World...no, I don't think I'd ever want to catch one of them." The Distortion World incident was...just a bit too unnerving. I know that it only truly applies to Giratina, but it was enough for me to realize that no trainer was ready to be training a legendary full-time.

They were viewed as gods for a reason: they were powerful in ways far beyond mere battling. How would one manage owning Dialga, whose very breath was said to be the flow of time? Or Palkia, who crossed through dimensions like we walked through doors? How could one ever tame Darkrai and stand the nightmares that it brings. Even Manaphy has the ability to briefly swap the consciousness of two individuals, including itself and other legendaries. That ability could be disastrous in the hands of a trainer.

And with men like Cyrus among us, I doubted any trainer could be trusted with their power for years to come. Yet Unova did its best to prove me wrong, I still considered that incident the exception that proves the rule.

Riley nodded at my answer, perhaps one of the few people who really knew just how much the Distortion World affected me. I plucked a pokeball off of my belt and clicked it open, releasing Cirrus, my Togekiss. Cirrus was a rather sweet guy, very affectionate and cheerful, and almost immediately he sensed the Riolu's presence and hopped close to me, beaming at her.

"Well, tell the Professor I say hello. Johanna as well, if you stop by home." Riley said as I carefully straddled Cirrus. It was never the most comfortable method of riding him, but it would be illegal to capture Riolu in a pokeball while I had my full team on me. I'd have to immediately send her to the box until I could swap her in for one of my team members, and I wanted to at least name her first. So having Cirrus fly me by picking me up by the shoulders was not an option.

"I will, I'm sure she'll try to give you a call to join us for dinner sometime." I replied before giving Riley my best stern frown. "You'd be wise to do it this time."

Riley nearly burst out with laughter and my stern expression faded to a more default blank one. "Good try there, Titania, but you're not quite a Berlitz woman yet. Another ten years and you'll have all the intimidation you need."

I rolled my eyes and held the Riolu tightly as Cirrus slowly took to the air, but before we could ascend too high Riley called up to me. "Wait!"

"Yes?" I asked, looking down at him. He had a smile on his face.

"Have I ever told you what your aura looks like?"

I thought on the question for a bit. To my surprise he actually hadn't, at least as far as I could recall.

"No...you actually haven't."

"Probably because it's difficult to describe, yet so simple. Kind of like you," He stated with a teasing tone. I shot him a frown, or my best attempt at one, but that only made him laugh more. Damn, ever since I won the title of champion I had done my best to try and be more intimidating. Intimidation was a Berlitz speciality, though a certain professor had mastered the art as well. Perhaps because Riley was a Berlitz as well, he was simply immune to my attempts?

"Anyway. Your aura is...remarkably clear. There's almost no distinct colour to it, just a light that radiates different bright colours based on how you perceive it. Consider it like holding a diamond up into the sun." Riley explained to me, his hand on his chin now. "Bright and beautiful, but strong. Unbreakable...but also untouchable. Do try to bring yourself down to the level of us mere mortals from time to time, you know?"

Even as I arrived in Sandgem about an hour after leaving the islands, Riley's words rang through my mind. I was a mortal, wasn't I? So what did he mean by that...

As Cirrus touched down upon the ground I shook my head and gently slapped my cheek with a palm. It wouldn't do me any good to dwell on that around Rowan. The professor was the sharpest man I've ever met, and also the most direct. If someone was distracted around him he wouldn't hesitate to call them out on the fact.

I returned Cirrus to his pokeball after giving him a "good job" pat on the head, and set the Riolu down beside me. Still had to think of a good name for her, but perhaps after I spoke with Rowan.

"Professor, sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I can show you all the data my Pokedex recorded on Heat..." I stepped into the Sandgem lab and blinked. It seemed I wasn't the only one who had decided to visit Rowan that afternoon.

"Cynthia?" I asked as I approached the two. Cynthia was dressed in what had to be her favourite outfit. Black long coat with fake fur cuffs and lining around the coat's tail with black pants and black and gold heels. She looked stunning in it, as she did in just about every outfit. Her bright blonde hair and steely grey eyes, combined with her impressive height, made her the poster girl for what a pure Eastern Sinnoan looked like.

There was always an elegance and confidence to her every motion, her every step. It was...enviable. Just like Riley's voice and smile, they were traits I could only dream of emulating to that effect.

Cynthia turned those steely eyes to me and they softened with fondness. "Ah, Titania. Perfect timing actually."

Rowan turned his own eyes upon me as well. Had I not known the man for a couple of years I would no doubt have been intimidated by his gaze. By default he had a fierce expression, his mouth mostly hidden by his bushy facial hair leaving only those sharp eyes to give away what he was thinking, and they usually gave away nothing.

But the reality was that the professor was a very kind, passionate man. He was just very old-fashioned as well, and rarely showed that side of himself.

"Hm, yes." Rowan added as he gestured to Cynthia. "Cynthia had actually come here looking for you. Apparently she stopped by Johanna's in Twinleaf as well."

"Oh. Sorry, I was at the Iron Islands with my cousin." I explained, a bit confused. Cynthia often stopped by the League even now, as a champion was always welcomed there even if they had lost that title. I tended to do the same, as it was required of my station to do so, so we ran across each other rather frequently. If she had something to tell me that couldn't wait for our next natural encounter, then no doubt it had to be important.

"Nothing to apologize about, I just figured this would be something of interest to you, and the more time you had to think on it, the better." With those words Cynthia withdrew an envelope from her coat pocket and offered it to me. I took it carefully and read the front of the envelope.

It was addressed to "Champion Titania Berlitz IV".

I'd show the contents of the letter, buuuuut yeah, you probably know where it's going by now XD. So ends Arc 1 of this story, I suppose. All of the protagonists have their invites. Now the fun begins.