"Still smells as shitty as possible," I sighed, pulling out a black half mask and covering the bottom half of my face.

  Green accepted the forest green one I was holding and placed it on.

  "You got one for me?" she asked with wide eyes.

  "Yea," I muttered.

  Green's eyes shone in joy and she pulled me into a hug that I ignored. She didn't raise my hackles anymore so it was just easier to allow them.

  She had a tendency to hug for too long though, so it normally left me with the task of dragging her wherever we were going.

  "We're here for our gym battle," I grunted to the receptionist.

  I glowered at the lady glaring at me, daring her to say something.

  "Head to the back to meet Gym Leader Erika for your battle. I hope you enjoy it," she grit out eventually.

  "Thanks doll. Maybe afterwards you can take me out for dinner," I said snidely, lowering my mask with the sole intention to show her my thin and painfully fake smile.

  "I'll take you out for ice cream after Erika crushes you, don't worry," she replied with fake cheer, beaming at me with a twitching grin.

  "Are you even allowed to eat ice cream? Wouldn't want your lactose intolerance to act up," I said in faux concern.

  "I don't have lactose intolerance," she said in a moment of confusion.

  "Oh. You just look like someone who does," I shrugged ignorantly, getting her polite facade to crack completely.

  Green dragged me to the back of the gym right as we opened our mouths to sling obscenities at the other.

  Green shook her head. "You two don't even know each other... how did you end up hating each other so much?"

  "What makes you think that? We just agreed to go on a date," I said idly, finally stopping with the glaring as I lost eyesight with her.

  Green giggled. "All of this over the smell of the gym?"

  "Shouldn't have gotten offended that it smelled so shitty."

  The two of use conversed, even as we made our way to the back of the gym and when we finally arrived, I took in the sights.

  There was of course the standard battlefield of the gym but besides that, there were trees decorating the area, dotted with various flora and even berry plants.

  It was gorgeous to behold. The trees weren't too tall, but they were healthy and a glowing shade of green. It honestly looked like it was created by a pokemon with how healthy they looked. I admired them for a bit and found that the aroma of back here eclipsed the front.

  Seriously if it could smell so pleasant back here, then why did it smell like hell in the front?

  As a fan of greenery, it was a very aesthetically pleasing gym to look at. My favorite so far by a mile.

  Near the largest tree under a shade, there were two women conversing in quiet tones to one another. They were both sitting on comfy and sturdy looking grass themed seats and the entire scene looked like something out of a movie.

  The first one was easy to identify because she had made sure that I knew exactly who she was last night.

  I was still a bit sour about that. She was never living it down even if I didn't need her mentioning it anymore.

  My aunt was speaking to a young woman. She looked rather lethargic, almost appearing as if she were about to fall asleep at any moment, but it certainly didn't take away from her pretty features as she attentively responded to her superior.

  Around the area, a small group of powerful grass types were lounging about and I gazed at them with an appreciate glance.

  Tangrowth, Vileplume, Bellossom, Victreebel, Venusaur and Meganium...

  That was quite the team Erika had. They all looked powerful, fitting for a trainer of her calibre. From what I knew of Erika, her first pokemon was a Tangela so that meant the Tangrowth happily soaking the sunlight above, was her ace.

  I whistled, gazing at the Meganium in particular as I inspected the final form of Gaia.

  Green was much the same awing at the Venusaur that Saury would become as well.

  Both of them seemed to sense our gazes and perked up, turning towards us with slight interest.

  The Meganium's eyes immediately locked onto me and I raised a brow at the action.

  I must have spent too much time with Gaia if a Meganium was locking onto me like that from this far.

  I tilted my head to the side and ruffled in my bag, before pulling out some snacks.

  Meganium's gaze lit up immediately and it bounded over to my position, eagerly accepting the snacks with a delighted rumble.

  I gazed at the evolved form of my starter and smiled at it, rubbing its head calmly as the large grass type eagerly butt it against me.

  So maybe I had a soft spot for the Chikorita line now. Hard not to when you had Gaia.

  The Venusaur let out a tired groan, gazing at Meganium with a half lidded gaze of disapproval.

  I handed Green a snack as well so she could feed it to the Venusaur and my companion immediately gave it to the tired looking grass type.

  It sniffed the pokeblock once, before deeming it acceptable. As it consumed the blocks, it let out a content rumble and allowed Green to rub its head.

  "As trusting as ever, Meganium. Won't you stop making Venusaur grow older in stress? Don't you remember that time you got sick because you ate expired food?"

  "Ganium!" Meganium said without hesitation, nuzzling me in satisfaction.

  "Wow, Meganium really likes you!" Erika mused, a gentle lilt to her voice that kinda made her sound both airy and tired.

  I stared at her with with a neutral expression, gauging the woman up and down.

  Erika was... pretty damn short. Was she not taller?

  Must just be one of the many oddities of my world.

  "It's likely because he has a Bayleef," Lorelei interjected, knowing I was going to stay completely silent if given the chance.

  Erika's eyes widened and she sauntered over to me with wide eyes.

  "Is that so? You have a Bayleef?" she asked excitedly, looking far more awake now at the revelation. It was like a switch had been flipped and I watched the Grass Master regard us with a surge of energy.

  I pursed my lips and nodded. "Yeah, her names Gaia," I said.

  "Green here also has an Ivysaur," Lorelei stated, causing Erika's eyes to widen even further.

  "You must show me!" Erika requested politely holding both our hands with one of hers. "I do love when trainers use grass types! They just aren't appreciated enough as a typing I fear. The Chikorita family especially is one that people unfortunately mistreat," she stated, making me pause in ripping my hands away from her.

  "Don't worry. Anyone who does learns very quickly that Gaia and I are not to be fucked with," I found myself nodding in agreement. Anyone who could appreciate Gaia, was slightly less horrible in my books.

  "O-Oh my!" Erika gasped, putting a hand over her mouth at my words. There was a faint blush and I rolled my eyes.

  Stiff.

  "Please refrain from using such harsh language," Lorelei said.

  "No," I denied effortlessly.

  Erika gasped again and watched with wide eyes as Lorelei twitched. "H-How bold!" she muttered.

  Had no one ever denied Lorelei or what? Actually, I wouldn't be surprised at all if that were the case.

  I snorted and without much hassle, released Gaia from her ball.

  At the same time, Green happily released Saury and both our starters appeared in a flash.

  "Bay!" Gaia cheered, rubbing her cheek against against my own happily.

  I could never resist the urge to smile when my team was happy to see me and I cracked a wry smirk, allowing my most affectionate pokemon to get her pleasantries out the way.

  Erika cooed excitedly, gazing at Gaia with pleased eyes.

  "What a sublime Bayleef!" she gushed, effortlessly closing the distance between her and Gaia.

  Gaia puffed up at that, letting out a pleased sigh as Erika easily stroked the leaf atop her head.

  "Such a healthy color! You truly take good care of her don't you?" Erika asked, practically gliding around Gaia with proud and searching eyes.

  "Of course I do," I grunted, pleased that the care routine I was setting up for my team was working out well.

  "Amazing! Silver correct? I have high hopes that you and Gaia here will show the world the potential of the Chikorita line," Erika beamed, patting me gently on the head.

  It was almost funny because she was shorter than me, but I still stared warningly at her.

  "I'll bite you pipsqueak. Don't go patting me for fun," I said bluntly.

  "P-Pipsqueak?!" she repeated with wide eyes. "How rude! My height is a sensitive topic!"

  "Don't irritate me with something as patronizing as patting then. I am not above using someone's insecurities against them," I replied.

  Lorelei let out a suffering sigh, knowing that I actually was very much willing to bite someone.

  "Delinquent," Erika muttered under her breath.

  I sneered at her but Gaia mercifully saved Erika from even more ridicule by kidnapping my attention.

  She was lucky Gaia was a higher priority than her.

  Erika took the time to divert her attention onto the second grass type and I heard the loudest gasp yet from her, as she laid eyes on Saury.

  "Why this is the biggest Ivysaur I've ever seen! The Alpha phenomena?" she gasped, leaning towards the staunch Ivysaur with a look of awe.

  "Yep!" Green laughed sheepishly. "I don't think the Professor knew that Saury had it. It would have been really unfair to hand him out while the other two were normal," she guessed.

  I nodded. That made sense.

  As usual, Saury didn't even flinch at the attention, meeting the gaze of Erika's Venusaur with a steady expression.

  I snorted. Saury was certainly too cool.

  "We're here for our gym battle," I grunted, watching as Gaia and Meganium conversed happily with each other.

  "Oh right! Apologies!" Erika gasped, bustling about with a burst of energy. The short woman looked quite lost in her admiration of grass types and I was beginning to realize all the gym leaders were freaks in their own ways.

  I suppose normal people couldn't reach the apex after all. You had to have a certain amount of insanity to reach the top of the mountain.

  "I'd love to chat with the two of you more after these battles if you don't mind! The condition of your Bayleef and Ivysaur are superb!" Erika gushed happily, smiling at us.

  "I'll think about it," I grunted, making my way to the stands. "You can have first battle, Green."

  The last gym leader we both battled was Surge and I got first battle against him, so it was Green's turn to go first.

  "Kay!" Green grinned eagerly.

  Erika nodded with our words, before turning towards Lorelei. "Lorelei, what do you wish to do now? Thank you so much for showing up but I believe Celadon has calmed down from the uproars of these past few days so you really don't have to stay any longer."

  Lorelei looked all business as usual, a far cry from how painfully awkward she was when trying to bond with me.

  "I'd like to ensure that there are truly no more issues. By the end of the day, my work here should be done and I will head back to Indigo," Lorelei informed her.

  "As thorough as ever. What will you do in the meantime?" Erika asked, yawning slightly as she practically glided over to her spot of the arena.

  "...It's been a while since I've paid such close attention to the younger generation. Seeing as I have some time to spare, I believe there is no harm in watching these two battle," she replied without hesitation.

  Real subtle Lorelei. Real subtle.

  Erika looked genuinely surprised at her words.

  "You knew their pokemon too! Are Green and Silver of interest to you? Well I suppose that makes quite a bit of sense. These two are making quite a name for themselves," The grass trainer mused.

  "We are?" I asked curiously, raising a brow at that.

  Green and I only had three badges to our names. I knew I was eventually going to make waves but so early?

  Hm...

  Erika nodded easily. "I haven't done extensive research because I'd like it for the trainers who haven't battled me yet, to surprise me with their choices. Just hearing that you two have a Bayleef and Ivysaur has left me pleasantly fulfilled! I've been hearing about you two!"

  "Yeah?" I hummed contemplatively, tilting my head at that.

  "Yes! Surge had nothing but praise for you both and he rarely praises rookies! Flint believed that Green was the strongest trainer of the rookie class and the sisters of all people, would not stop talking about you Silver! They never talk about anyone!" Erika exclaimed with wide eyes.

  "Is she really an adult?" I thought, watching the woman constantly shift between lethargic and excited.

  I was being talked about?

  ...Whatever. I guess I'd just take some pride in the fact that three famously attractive girls were talking about me so much.

  In the grand scheme I didn't care, but they were still cute so small victories.

  "Flint thinks I'm the strongest?!" Green asked with wide eyes. "Awesome! But Silvy is just as strong as me... it's a toss up these days who can win!" she explained proudly.

  I rolled my eyes. "Wouldn't be a good rivalry if it was one-sided now would it?"

  Lorelei looked proud and out of Erika's vision I saw her shoot me a small smile that I gazed away from.

  Dork.

  "Well in any case, I eagerly look forward to battling the both of you," Erika said regally, kimono fluttering with every slight movement.

  I simply grunted and made my way to the stands, taking a seat with Gaia happily next to me. I absentmindedly pet my starter with a hum, before releasing Oberon from his ball.

  My most recent capture gazed at me with curious eyes and I beckoned towards the battlefield.

  "Watch. I'm not going to use you for this battle so just observe and see what they're about. You'll watch my battle too," I muttered to him.

  Oberon nodded hesitantly, climbing atop my lap and sitting there as he gazed down at the battlefield.

  He was still pretty weak but he had a good sense for battle. It was a work in progress and I'd have to use him in my battles on the way to Fuschia to build up his experience.

  "Bay!" Gaia beamed, choosing to be out for the battle as well.

  I smiled at them both and inclined my head slightly, as Lorelei took a seat directly next to me, ignoring the aura I was radiating that let anyone know if they sit close to me, there would be bad times ahead.

  Kinda surprising they could pick up on it. There were quite a bit of people filling into the stands, as Green and Erika prepared for their battle to begin.

  Surprising. I dunno if it was because 4th badges were interesting, Erika was popular, or rumor of Lorelei being here spread.

  Probably all three.

  "Aren't you sitting a little too close to me?" I asked idly, without indicating I was addressing her.

  We were being given quite the wide berth and the moment Lorelei sat down next to me, it seemed to get even wider.

  Lorelei stared straight ahead. "We slept in the same tent. I have hardly room to be embarrassed of such a thing after what transpired in there."

  I rolled my eyes. "That's not what I'm talking about. Wouldn't it be bad if you sat next to a redhead who kinda looks like you? You have a reputation to upkeep. This is the second time you've been around me in public."

  Lorelei's eyes flitted over to me and she adjusted her glasses slightly at the sudden movement.

  I'm very sure I heard someone let out a gasp in the distance.

  "Do you truly think I'd let something as trivial as my reputation stop me from bonding with you?" she asked simply, shaking her head in exasperation.

  "The only reason I'd hide our relation to each other, is because that's something you would want. I'm not ashamed of you, Silver so I have no personal reason to hide our familial ties."

  I jolted at that, gazing warily at my aunt, before I shook my head and just turned towards the battle about to begin.

  "Do whatever you want," I said eventually, carefully keeping my gaze trained straight ahead. "Whether you choose parade it to the world or not… I don't care."

  Lorelei gazed at me for a long while and I pretended like I didn't see it, until a hand almost imperceptibly touched me, just keeping constant contact.

  "I'd rub your back or run my hand through your hair but I don't think you'd be receptive to that in a public environment," Lorelei said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

  "You seem to be getting to know me well. It would be a shame if the whole world saw me assault you," I commented, still not looking at her.

  "...Please don't do that. I still have to upkeep some of my image," she replied, not even willing to risk finding out if I was serious or not.

  I snorted.

  Lorelei was… complicated. I didn't really know how to explain my feelings towards her right now so I just wouldn't bother and I'd let her do whatever she wanted until I figured myself out and gained my freedom.

  My aunt said nothing and just squeezed me reassuringly, absentmindedly signing a paper that an eager child brought her way.

  …

  I really couldn't explain any of this. I missed when I was just angry at everyone all the time.

  A vine snaked around my other arm and I sighed at the gentle smile on Gaia's face, patting her and focusing on the match.

  Green's battle with Erika was a 4 on 4 and it began with the Gym Leader sending out a Weepinbell.

  In response, Green sent out Larvee and the battle was quickly underway.

  It began with Weepinbell immediately brightening up the battlefield with Sunny Day and as Larvee spat out a String Shot, the grass type dodged with what had to have been increased speed because Weepinbell were not fast at all.

  The grass type began running (? Don't ask me Weepinbell looked like it was using those leaves to move about) around the battlefield, avoiding Larvee's barrage of Embers with surprising deftness.

  Green's eyes were focused, eyes never leaving the grass type as it darted closer and closer to the Larvesta.

  "Flame Charge!" she shouted.

  Larvee followed her advice quickly, shrouding herself in much harsher flames and rushing towards the Weepinbell with a purpose.

  "Stun Spore!" Erika retorted immediately.

  Green's eyes narrowed and she immediately ordered Larvee to halt her attack, before the bug could run into the yellow cloud.

  Then, she ordered Larvee to ignite the cloud with Ember, causing a brief explosion that clouded both their visions.

  Erika's eyes widened at the surprising move, right before Larvee burst out of the smoke, shrouded once more in the flame charge.

  While Larvee didn't seem that fast, they weren't as slow as you'd expect.

  But it was still surprising to see the moth larva crash into the stunned Weepinbell at surprising speeds, amped up by both the Sun and Flame Charge.

  Weepinbell squealed in pain as the attack connected squarely with its body, burns appearing over due to contact with Larvee's increasingly hot body.

  Larvee was relentless, she shrouded herself in much harsher flames this time around, utilizing Flame Wheel instead of Charge and rushed the Weepinbell...

  Only for a sudden explosion to take place after she took a few steps.

  I raised a brow in confusion at that.

  What the hell did Weepinbell use to suddenly blow up...

  "Clear Smog," Erika said with a calm smile. "It was quite ingenious of you to blow up the stun spore but it gave me ideas of my own."

  Ah, so she filled the field with the invisible gas so that neither Green or Larvee could see it. Then, when Larvee's flames connected with it, it would cause an explosion.

  Hm, Green took the strategy of blowing up those clouds from the battle Crystal and I had... and Erika swiftly adapted it to her own strategy.

  Not bad at all.

  My rival would not be deterred, her serious expression calculating.

  "Morning Sun," she said bluntly.

  Erika's eyes widened in horror. In the sun, Morning Sun would be extremely effective so if Larvee got that off... it would regenerate quite a bit of its health.

  Naturally, any sane trainer would want to stop that.

  "Sleep Powder! Don't let it!" Erika shouted.

  Green's eyes glinted victoriously. "Flamethrower!"

  "Flamethrower?!" Erika gasped.

  I couldn't blame her for being surprised. Larvesta didn't have the necessary stores to belch out continuous flames. As a result, most of the fire attacks they used early on didn't emit too many flames. Up until they reached evolution or close to it, the fire they emitted would only be half effective if used at a range due to lack of sustain.

  But Green had the TM for Flamethrower now and they were battling in the sun. Even if Larvee couldn't utilize Flamethrower to max effectiveness at her stage, it'd still pack quite the punch.

  Not to mention the Sleep Powder Weepinbell was getting ready. The powder moves being combustible was quite a fun thing Green and I found out.

  Weepinbell was a sitting duck, as the Flamethrower raced through the air and crashed into it without mercy, setting off the powder as well and causing an explosion of catastrophic proportion to take place.

  I whistled in appreciation and ignored the concerned look Lorelei shot me.

  "Weepinbell is unable to battle! The winner of this match, is Larvesta!" The referee announced.

  The crowd roared happily at that.

  "Amazing!" they cheered, clapping for my companion.

  "Impressive. I did not expect Green to fake her out there," Lorelei muttered.

  "She's a little copycat," I rolled my eyes. "She was a strait-laced girl before meeting me."

  "So you truly did corrupt that poor girl," Lorelei sighed.

  I chuckled at that.

  Erika looked slightly surprised by the outcome, before nodding with a small smile on her face.

  Then, she sent out a Lombre.

  I raised a brow. Quite the odd and convenient choice to have.

  Much like the Weepinbell from before, Lombre set the weather once more but this time, it began raining onto the battlefield.

  Green's brows furrowed at that due to Larvee's Morning Sun being effectively halved in the rain but she remained mostly unfazed.

  She tried to have Larvee tie up the Lombre in a String Shot but it seemed to have Swift Swim, reactions aiding it in weaving through the strings.

  The grass and water type needed no instructions, rushing the Larvesta with an easygoing expression.

  Larvee's hot body had caused a constant fog of steam to form around her due to the rain so she was having a hard time seeing, which allowed the Lombre to immediately close the gap.

  Larvee attempted to clamp her teeth around the Lombre for a Bug Bite but the grass type clapped its hands together, making the Larvesta flinch in surprise.

  The Fake Out effectively cut out her attack and before she could recover, Lombre opened its mouth and shot a barrage of bubbles that collided with Larvee.

  The Larvesta squealed as she was launched back from the attack, collapsing onto the floor.

  "Larvesta is unable to battle, the winner of this match is Lombre!" the referee announced.

  Once again, the crowd began cheering.

  "Go Erika go Erika go!" they roared.

  "She evened it up without taking a hit," I mused. "Not bad."

  "Effective and quick," Lorelei nodded along.

  Green mulled over her choices and eventually grabbed a Pokeball.

  Much to my surprise, she did not send out Saury. Instead, Lapee was released and she crooned as the rain splashed against her body.

  I watched Lorelei straighten up immediately.

  "Why don't you have a Lapras?" she asked.

  I blinked at the question. "Didn't want one... and Lapras are rare as fuck. How the hell was I just going to find one?" I asked in amusement.

  Lorelei hummed at that. "You know, it's a tradition of our family to be given Lapras," she informed me.

  I snorted. "Yeah?"

  She nodded. "I grew on the Sevii Islands, Floe Islands to be exact. I was always fascinated by Ice and Water types... likely due to the island I grew up on. Believe it or not, before I was even eligible to begin my journey I had already befriended and made up my mind on starting my journey with a Lapras, Slowpoke and Seel," she explained.

  I raised a brow high. "Starting off with three?"

  Lorelei sighed. "My family is rather well off. I could afford to do so and I really would have preferred to not leave them behind. Despite not being legally allowed to catch them, I did spend quite a bit of time with them so I had an advantage when the day of my journey arrived," she explained.

  As she did so, I continued watching Green's battle.

  Lapee had gotten hit by a Leech Seed from the Lombre, as the grass type steadily dwindled the sturdy girl with Mega Drains. She attempted to fire Ice Beams at it, but the nimble grass type was swiftly evading her.

  "Seems to have worked out well for you," I pointed out.

  "I have a strong affinity for the Water and Ice types," Lorelei said. "It is easier for me to train and utilize them to their full capabilities."

  "Makes sense. Most type specialists have an easier time with specific types and delve into that," I mused, watching as Lapee used Life Dew to heal all the damage.

  Life Dew did a fantastic job at depleting a Pokemon's stamina but with Lapee absorbing the water from the rain, it was not nearly as draining.

  Judging by how frustrated the once relaxed Lombre was, it was doing its job.

  "Do you not have a type you resonate with?" Lorelei asked curiously.

  I shrugged and ran a hand against Oberon's hair, watching as my hyper focused bear melted at it.

  He seemed to really enjoy the battle taking place.

  "Not really. I don't feel anything in particular with a specific type," I shrugged.

  I actually had anti synergy with ghosts, psychics and ground types for obvious reasons. I still didn't think I was ever getting a ground type at this rate. My damn dad put too much of a sour taste in my mouth when it came to them.

  Lorelei nodded thoughtfully. "I think you are particularly good at training any type. Your team seems well balanced," she praised.

  "Lapee, use Freeze-Dry!"

  Erika's eyes widened in horror at the surprise move and before she could order Lombree to dodge it, the attack crashed into it and sent the pokemon howling in agony.

  Freeze-Dry was a funny move that did bad things to an organ that every single water type carried. It was the only ice type move that was super effective against water types and considering Lombre was also a grass type...

  Yeah, it was down for the count even through all the sustain it managed to do.

  "We talked through that whole match," I scolded Lorelei.

  She had the decency to look properly chastised and she coughed slightly. "My apologies. It's just... nice to speak to you," she said.

  I rolled my eyes. "You are the second person who has ever said that about me," I said dryly, watching Erika send out a Bellossom next.

  Lorelei surprised me by rolling her eyes as well. "I'm not surprised... but who was the first?" she asked curiously.

  "Jasmine," I replied easily.

  Lorelei sighed. "I don't even know how you could possibly have befriended someone as sweet as Jasmine.

  "She likes that I don't coddle her," I replied easily. "Now focus on the match."

  Lorelei blinked. "Who is the adult here?" she muttered under her breath.

  I snorted at that and focused on the match.

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  Bellossom was a feisty little thing despite its stature. It swayed across the battlefield, immediately arresting control and summoning the dominating sun once more.

  It dodged Ice Beams and Freeze-Dry alike, eyes filled with determination as it summoned Magical Leaves that it fired at Lapee.

  The Lapras let out a cry of pain as the leaves cut into it with ruthless precision and Bellossom immediately summoned a long green blade.

  It dashed forward, Leaf Blade in hand, and immediately began preying upon Lapee.

  It cut relentlessly into her and Green's browed furrowed.

  "Freeze-Dry! Blow it all around you!" she demanded.

  Lapee fought through the pain and let loose the cold and freezing beam.

  Predictably, Bellossom dashed backwards, blade still in hand as it patiently waited out the attack.

  Green was not done however.

  "Mist!" she shouted.

  Lapee crooned and, utilizing the additional moisture from the Freeze-Dry, summoned a huge and hazy mist that covered her entire body and then some.

  "She's attempting to heal. Don't let her," Erika ordered, quiet voice carrying.

  As the Lapras vanished into the Mist, Bellossom, brave psycho that it was, dashed into it on Erika's orders, intent on finishing the match right then and there.

  Only I could see the predatory gleam that entered Green's eyes. "Sing!" she demanded.

  Erika's eyes widened in horror. "You sneaky!" she gasped.

  "She's making me so proud," I said, smirking a rather infuriating manner.

  Only a few notes of the sing escaped the dense mist and periodic flashes followed suit.

  Everyone watched with tense breaths as the Mist finally vanished fully and they watched with wide eyes as Lapee panted tiredly in front of the frozen and unconscious Bellossom.

  "Yes!" Green's cheery personality broke through, a wide grin on her face.

  "Bellossom is unable to battle!"

  Once the referee announced that, Lapee let out a tired sigh and collapsed, shutting her eyes as she fell unconscious.

  "Lapras is unable to battle! Will both contestants send out their next pokemon!"

  Erika chewed her lip in contemplation and I couldn't blame her.

  She lost the Bellossom to a pokemon on its last legs. That victory by Lapee had almost completely swung the tides of the battle in Green's favor.

  Now all she had to do was send out Saury and cash in on her victory—

  "Leafeon, come forth!"

  "Vee, let's finish this!"

  Gasps of awe rang through the arena, as the Leafeon and Espeon both appeared on the field.

  "Wow! Look mom!" a child shouted eagerly. "Two Eevee's!"

  "They have a different name than Eevee, sweetheart. The green one is a Leafeon and the pink one is an Espeon," a woman explained patiently.

  "She must be tired of me calling her a one trick pony," I mused.

  This was a good opportunity to test out Vee's evolution as well. The Espeon had sparred lightly the day before but nothing built experience like a high stakes battle.

  Leafeon started the battle off immediately, firing razor sharp leaves towards Vee.

  Vee's eyes narrowed slightly and began glowing, shooting out a concussive blast of raw psychic energy that gave him enough time to move away from the remaining leaves.

  His eyes began glowing once more and Leafeon let out a cry of agitation, as another concussive blast of psychic energy crashed into it.

  "Focus, Leafeon!" Erika soothed. "Quick Attack. Close the distance."

  "Quick Attack! Get away!" Green countered.

  Vee and Leafeon both began glowing, before a chase ensued and the two raced across the battlefield.

  While psychic type and not very physical... Espeon's actually boasted the second highest sprint speed of the Eeveelutions. It only got outpaced by Jolteon.

  Comparatively, Leafeon was in third place and this one didn't have Chlorophyll by the looks of it.

  It was a good thing Vee had gotten used to their body so quickly, else this game of cat and mouse would have ended far sooner. Neither of the evolutions of Eevee wanted to get hit by what the other specialized in.

  But still... Espeon's did not have as much stamina as Leafeon. Especially not a Leafeon under the sun.

  It was evident that Green would crack first despite being in an advantageous position.

  "Detect!" Green ordered.

  With evolution, Espeon's perception had increased greatly to the point where it gained slight precognitive abilities.

  Detect was practically overkill.

  Vee's eyes glinted and he deftly weaved away from Leafeon's Quick Attack—

  "Sand Attack!"

  —And kicked up dirt directly into the Leafeon's eyes. It was as if he knew Green was going to say that.

  Leafeon let out a shrieking cry as the dirt connected with its face.

  "Return!" Green pressed her advantage.

  Vee, in a decidedly not Espeon fashion, let out a battle cry and tackled his white glowing body into the Leafeon, sending the grass type skidding back.

  Leafeon let out a cry.

  "Magical Leaf!" Erika shouted.

  The grass Eevee shook its head and flicked its tail, shooting out an array of leaves towards the psychic.

  Vee didn't need any prompting to dash away from the leaves and the brief respite allowed Leafeon to get the dirt out of its eyes.

  It glared at Vee and dashed off in a different direction, intercepting where the Espeon was going to go.

  Vee's eyes widened at seeing the glaring Leafeon, only to let out a strangled cry as the grass type lunged, teeth marred with dark energy.

  At the same time, the Magical Leaves crashed into them both, numerous cuts forming as a result.

  I winced as Leafeon bit down fiercely, eliciting a pained shriek from Vee as the super effective attack did numbers to it.

  "Vee! Swift! Get it off you!" Green shouted in concern, gazing at her first pokemon with wide eyes.

  Vee fought through the dark type move, psychic abilities completely worthless at the moment, and fired the point blank stars.

  They came out more numerous and far more damaging than when Vee was an Eevee and they launched the Leafeon back, getting a surprised yowl out of it.

  Vee panted tiredly, glow returning to its gem as its psychic powers returned. It glared furiously at Leafeon, even as the grass type glared right back at him.

  Leafeon glowed white and rocketed across the arena, ignoring how Vee's gem began glowing brighter and brighter in his fury.

  Finally, as Leafeon lunged, fangs covered in dark energy again, a bright pink light erupted from Vee and a gigantic beam of pink energy smashed into the Leafeon point blank.

  "L-Leaf?" Leafeon gagged, before it got sent soaring away.

  Vee panted tiredly as the Leafeon thudded onto the floor, glaring at its grass counterpart even as the gem on its head darkened completely.

  "Oh right," I said. "Espeon's build up their power from being under the sunlight."

  It looked like Vee used a new move as well. Was that Psybeam?

  "Leafeon is unable to battle! As a result, Gym Leader Erika has no remaining Pokemon! The winner of this match is Leaf Green!"

  Green's serious expression vanished and she let out a squeal of happiness, rushing Vee and squeezing him with all her might.

  "We did it!" she cheered happily. "Yes! Great job!"

  She froze up as she finally heard the cheering of the crowd and I watched as my friend blushed a deep shade of red, gazing at the people with wide eyes.

  We made eye contact and I snorted, clapping once for her and getting a grin to form on her face.

  "She's good," Lorelei praised, clapping along with the crowd.

  "Course. She's my rival after all," I nodded once.

  "How was I?!" Green asked me happily.

  "Good. I'm surprised you won without using Saury."

  Green pouted. "Hey! I'm not a Saury merchant... whatever that really means," she muttered.

  I snorted. Saury merchant was what I had taken to calling her lately. She had no clue what it actually meant but context clues.

  "Good luck! It's your turn now!" Green exclaimed cheerfully, squeezing me as her reassurance.

  I grunted and nodded. "Watch Oberon and Gaia for me. They're with aunt," I muttered.

  "Kay!"

  With that, I made my way to the battlefield.

  "Magnificent! Green is quite the exceptional trainer!" Erika commented to me, looking thrilled at the battle that just took place.

  "Of course she is," I said gruffly, cupping a pokeball and staring at her.

  "I do look forward to seeing how she blooms in the future! I was thoroughly impressed!" she beamed.

  I was glad that Erika seemed just as interested in Green as me. More people needed to give my companion her flowers.

  "This is an official gym battle of the Celadon City Gym between the challenger, Silver of Viridian City and the Gym Leader, Erika! Each side is allowed 4 pokemon and only the challenger is allowed to swap. The match will be decided when all Pokemon of one side are unable to continue!"

  A four on four, just like Green's match...

  "Gloom, come forth!" Erika yelled, elegantly throwing her pokeball out.

  "Metang," I said coolly.

  Erika's eyes widened as my steel type revealed itself and she straightened up a bit.

  "Both contestants are set! Gloom vs Metang! Begin!" The referee shouted.

  "Sunny Day!" Erika began immediately, starting off with what was clearly her favorite move.

  I grunted at that. "Goddamn weather merchant," I huffed.

  The gym leader blinked. "What's a weather merchant?" she asked in confusion.

  "You. Metang use Confusion," I said.

  Erika didn't get the time to be outraged by my response, focused on getting Gloom away from the attack.

  "Dodge Gloom! Use Stun Powder!"

  Gloom dodged the concussive psychic energy with its increased speed, short legs carrying it across the battlefield as the plant atop its head began secreting that paralyzing yellow cloud.

  "Don't get touched by that. Use Agility," I said, eyes roving over the field as I mulled over my course of action.

  "How good did you get with ranged psychic attacks?"

  "Do not patronize me."

  "You're so fucking sassy all the time."

  I rolled my eyes as Metang sped up, body floating across the field at much quicker speeds.

  Erika chewed her lip in contemplation. "Giga Drain!" she ordered eventually.

  Gloom focused and shot out beams of green energy that began tracking down Metang.

  Metang utilized his rudimentary Agility and weaved away from the beams.

  "Get close. Zen Headbutt."

  Metang didn't even make it seem like it had acknowledged my order, merely adjusting his flight and rushing the Gloom.

  "Gloom! Run away from it!" Erika said with wide eyes.

  Gloom abruptly stopped trying to catch Metang with Giga Drain and instead began running for its life.

  The harsh truth was that Gloom didn't really have a single attack that would work on Metang. It's best bet was trying to paralyze but I faced enough grass types to know that it was fishing for it.

  As Gloom used its enhanced speed to run away from Metang, it was suddenly blasted with a wave of Confusion, stopping it right in its tracks and allowing my steel type to reach it, Zen Headbutt still formed.

  Metang crashed ruthlessly into Gloom, head actually lifting the pokemon off the ground, and the momentum carried them both through the air before Metang abruptly halted.

  The speed at which he halted, sent Gloom soaring off its body and the grass tumbled across the ground, unmoving from its spot.

  "Gloom is unable to battle! The winner is Metang!"

  The arena had been mostly silent. First it was in shock at me releasing my Metang, then it was getting stunlocked by how one-sided the first battle had been.

  "Holy shit," I heard someone say.

  I bore my silver gaze into Erika's gray eyes and I watched as she pursed her lips, returning Gloom to its ball.

  "I see. The rumors about you certainly were not exaggerated... even the part where they called you a Weavile in human flesh," she said.

  I grunted at the comparison. First people were comparing me to cats, now it was a predator?

  Crystal said I reminded her of a Weavile too.

  Silly idiots. I didn't travel in a pack!

  Erika mulled over her options and eventually grabbed a Pokeball.

  "Nuzleaf! Come forth!" Erika announced.

  "Don't know much about us my ass," I grunted. "First a Lombre for Green and now a Nuzleaf for me?"

  "The others were more awed by your team outside of the Bayleef and Ivysaur," she mentioned with a smile. "My personal favorite was Flint's account of a flying Feebas."

  I rolled my eyes.

  Sounded about right.

  "Good to keep going?" I asked Metang coolly.

  "I find it difficult to believe that you call me sassy, when you actively seek to annoy me like this."

  "I annoy you because you're sassy."

  "I am sassy because you annoy me."

  "Both contestants are set! Metang vs Nuzleaf! Begin!"

  I sighed, adjusting my hair slightly so as to stop blocking my eye.

  "Iron Head," I tested.

  "Fake out!" Erika immediately countered.

  I grunted in some annoyance as Metang's attack was immediately cancelled by Fake Out and as my steel type recovered swiftly from their flinch —

  "Astonish!"

  They were hit by the super effective ghost move... that caused them to flinch again.

  "I am sufficiently annoyed," Metang said tonelessly... or more tonelessly.

  "Way ahead of you. Iron Defense."

  Metang's steel body glowed harshly underneath the sun. I smiled as Nuzleaf, who was in close proximity, was practically flash banged by the sheen and as the grass type flinched back, Metang ruthlessly bashed their steel head against it.

  "Nuz!" Nuzleaf gasped, body folding as Metang headbutt him with its entire body. He was sent skidding backwards, the force uprooting the grass type completely and sending it tumbling across the floor.

  "Bullet Punch," I pressed ruthlessly.

  Metang's eyes glowed menacingly, fists glowing as it blazed across the field.

  "Hang in there Nuzleaf! Use Payback!" Erika cried out.

  My eyes widened. "Shit, you're going way too fast. You're gonna get hit by this."

  "My body is still protected. I will survive," Metang replied effortlessly.

  I raised both brows at that. "Is Ares seeping into you? You sound like a psycho."

  "It is not the dragon I inherited this from. It is you."

  With that, Metang continued their course and I watched as both the pokemon punched each other with full force.

  They both roared in their tongue and were sent away from each other, as Metang's temporary levitation nearly failed, before they uprighted themselves once more.

  I really needed to get them Magnet Rise and Miracle Eye. They would be some of the next moves to learn.

  Nuzleaf wiped a fist against its cheek, glaring at Metang tiredly. It looked barely conscious and I was honestly surprised it could still go.

  Metang floated in place momentarily and rumbled.

  The temporary lull was broken by both Erika and I.

  "Mega Drain, get back some energy!"

  "Bullet Punch, knock its lights out!"

  Nuzleaf utilized the speed Chlorophyll gave it, ducking wildly underneath Metang's swift punches with a desperation befitting a Pokemon on its last legs.

  It scrambled underneath Metang's floating body and lunged atop him, shooting a single green beam that attempted to drain what it could from Metang's metallic body.

  "Pepper him Nuzleaf! Don't get off!" Erika encouraged.

  Nuzleaf roared in affirmation, bombarding Metang with Payback after Payback.

  I snarled in annoyance as my connection with Metang faltered and thought of a solution.

  "Metang, fall upside down!" I barked, a feral look in my eyes.

  Metang didn't outwardly acknowledge my order but I watched as their levitating body did a complete 180.

  Without any hesitation, Metang crushed Nuzleaf under their full weight.

  Then, they floated back up, Nuzleaf's broken body embedded into the ground. The grass type didn't even groan, just flattened onto the battlefield.

  "Do not ever hold anyone accountable for my less than savory antics. You are the reason for it all."

  "You might be right," I replied with a crooked and wild smirk.

  "Nuzleaf is unable to battle. The winner of this match is Metang!"

  ...

  "YEAHHHH!" The crowd roared in awe.

  I ignored them scowling slightly at that battle. The Nuzleaf was way annoying and all her pokemon seemed to utilize Chlorophyll…

  How could I have played that better?

  I frowned as I contemplated it, gazing at the concerned Erika all the while.

  It was just a matter of experience. I couldn't know every single move that a pokemon knew. As I battled more and more, I'd be able to account for more things.

  Erika was gazing at Metang with furrowed brows, biting her lip in contemplation.

  "Come forth, Victreebel!" She announced, releasing the final evolution of Bellsprout from its ball.

  That's funny. She used Weepinbell and Bellossom against Green, then used Gloom and Victreebel against me.

  Alright then.

  "Both contestants are set! Victreebel vs Metang! Begin!"

  "Weather Ball!" Erika said as soon as she could get the opportunity.

  Victreebel didn't waste any time and fired an orange beam, not unlike the sun in appearance. It streaked through the air, leaving flames in its wake and smashed into Metang with crushing force.

  My eyes widened at that and I gazed at Erika in shock.

  "I can be quick and sneaky too," Erika puffed up proudly.

  I scowled at that and returned Metang to their ball.

  "Well done maniac," I praised, pocketing it.

  Weather Ball… A move that changed types depending on the weather…

  Weather Ball… That was an interesting technique.

  "Ares," I decided eventually.

  I heard even more gasps from all around as my gigantic Shelgon was revealed and Erika stared at her with wide eyes.

  "W-Wow. That's quite the Shelgon you have," she muttered.

  "She's glorious yeah?" I mused with a proud smirk.

  Erika blinked. "Yes... I'd have to agree," she nodded.

  "Ready to win, girl?" I asked.

  Ares rumbled, turning those yellow eyes towards me.

  Evolution had chilled her temperament (along with a lot of other things about her) quite a bit in preparation for her metamorphosis into a Salamence, but my violent dragon was still very much there.

  And she'd become a lot worse when she evolved anyways. She'd make Bagon-Ares look like nothing when she became Salamence-Ares.

  But for now, I'd enjoy my slight peace with Shelgon-Ares.

  "Dragon Breath," I ordered.

  "Leaf Tornado!" Erika commanded.

  Ares opened her mouth and fired a giant torrent of dragonic flames. They eclipsed her previous evolutions flames and rushed towards the stormy leaves, burning them to cinders.

  The weird thing about pokemon with abilities in their prevolution that evolved into something with different abilities was that they didn't completely lose their old abilities.

  It was weird to explain. Ares still had the organ that upped her power but it was far less prominent and it would practically vanish as she became a Salamence...

  But as a Salamence, she'd inherit some parts of Overcoat.

  Not the entire thing but she'd be more resistant to weather and whatnot due to the thicker layering that a Shelgon with Overcoat had.

  Weird stuff but I'm not a scientist so I wouldn't try to understand it.

  "Fire some Embers," I tested with narrowed eyes.

  Ares opened her mouth and began firing pellets of flames that Victreebel dashed away from.

  "Acid!" Erika shouted.

  Victreebel's mouth spat out a poisonous stream that connected squarely with Ares, getting a grunt annoyance out of her.

  This sun speeding up every single one of her pokemon was getting really infuriating.

  "Dragon Dance," I ordered with narrowed eyes.

  Erika's eyes widened. "Try and stop it! Don't let her get it off!" she demanded.

  Victreebel hissed in affirmation and launched its sun enhanced body towards the stationary Ares.

  Right before it could fully close the gap, vines shot out of its body to wrap around the guarded dragon.

  Ares grunted in annoyance as the vines stopped her already low movement, trapping her even further in place.

  Then, the Victreebel conjured another Leaf Tornado and crashed it onto her.

  As the leaves crashed onto Ares position, Erika said, "Slam!" and Victreebel continued its combo by hoisting up my massive Shelgon and slamming her onto the floor.

  A huge dust formed that combined with the already hazardous Leaf Tornado, forming a clash of different elements that blocked both Erika and I's vision.

  Victreebel appeared out of the dust, looking none the worse for wear—

  A gigantic stream of flames crashed into its back, getting a gasp out of everyone there but me.

  "TREEBEL?!" Victreebel shouted in both surprise and pain as the huge flames washed over it.

  Erika's mouth was agape in genuine surprise, as the dust settled to reveal Ares.

  My Shelgon, despite the combo she just took, didn't look close to fainting and I smiled at the scuff marks on her shell.

  Her yellow eyes were narrowed in fury, both from the Rage and her genuine anger at being attacked so much.

  Good thing she was a Shelgon now. Those shells of their were criminally annoying to deal with.

  As Victreebel attempted to recover from the Rage enhanced Flamethrower, Ares eyes lit up with malevolence and she began swaying her huge body, the effects of Dragon Dance washing over her.

  With matching malice, Ares and I honed in on the Victreebel with less than friendly intent.

  Ares tensed up her little legs and rocketed over to the wide eyed Victreebel.

  She was actually using more power than speed to close the distance. The sheer strength behind that push, made up for her lacking natural speed and she used the momentum from the initial start to carry her over.

  "Sleep Powder!" Erika tried with wide eyes, knowing Victreebel wouldn't be able to move in time.

  As Victreebel mustered up the power needed to spit out Sleep Powder, it gagged in disbelief as the full weight of, my much heavier than normal, Shelgon crashed into it.

  Miraculously, the full body Headbutt did not knock it unconscious and it managed to get off the Sleep Powder...

  To no effect. Ares shell completely protected her from the effects of Sleep Powder and it only made her angrily retort with another Flamethrower.

  That certainly did the job. Ares rumbled and idly cleaned her feet with the Victreebel's body, before trotting off him back to my side.

  It almost brought a tear to my eye. She was just like me.

  "Victreebel is unable to battle. The winner of this match is Shelgon!"

  "LOOK HOW HUGE THAT SHELGON IS!"

  "DID YOU SEE IT CRASH INTO VICTREEBEL LIKE A CANNONBALL?!"

  "SO COOL!"

  Ares and I both grunted, unbothered by the adoring crowds as we gazed ahead.

  "Sleep Powder failed?" Erika muttered to herself in confusion. "Oh I just knew I should have used Abomasnow for this," she lamented.

  I raised a brow. She had access to a goddamn Abomasnow? What the hell?

  Erika bit her lip (she did that a lot) as she returned Victreebel to the ball and gazed at the violent Shelgon.

  I watched her dig into her kimono, contemplation on her face as she thought of who to send out last.

  Finally, she clutched her pokeball and said, "Come forth, Tangrowth!"

  A Tangrowth… I narrowed my eyes and watched as the final evolution of Tangela revealed itself.

  "Let's wrap this up," I decided.

  "Shel," Ares grunted. Despite being far more tame, despite looking even aloof and unexpressive…

  Ares would never be able to hide that bloodlust from me. After all, it washed over me to the point where I became more bloodthirsty as well.

  The mass of vines had two eyes underneath it, peering curiously at us. Unlike the Tangrowth I saw earlier, this one seemed far more active.

  "Sun's still up girl. It'll be fast," I said warily.

  Ares scoffed and I smirked.

  "Yeah, you're right. The Victreebel was fast too," I nodded in agreement.

  "Both contestants are set. Shelgon vs Tangrowth! Begin!"

  "Wrap it in your vines then use Poison Powder!" Erika began immediately.

  "Burn em," I retorted instantly.

  Ares opened her mouth and shot forth a hellish amount of flames. They were truly huge in nature for how little experience she had in Flamethrower but the sun and Rage helped out a lot.

  Tangrowth's vines were numerous in nature. They lunged from every part of its body with purpose.

  The grass type gurgled in distress as a majority were burned by Ares but a few stragglers managed to make it through, encasing the Shelgon.

  "Physical attacks won't do anything! Use Giga Drain!" Erika shouted.

  Tangrowth's vines began glowing green and Ares let out a snarl of rage, as her energy began getting funneled into the Tangrowth.

  "Tangrowth use Ancient Power!"

  Multiple glowing rocks were suddenly ripped out of the ground and Tangrowth hastily launched them towards Ares from every direction.

  As the rocks converged on her location, Ares let out a cry of surprise as they began damaging her.

  Ancient Power was a strange technique that had ties with a past far ago. The prehistoric technique carried some sort of mystic properties to it that could sometimes boost all of a pokemon's capabilities.

  "Tangrowth! Use Growth then Ancient Power once more!" Erika said confidently.

  "Flamethrower!" I barked urgently.

  Ares snarled in rage and she opened her mouth, only to let out a shout of surprise as the vines covered it up. Instead of a stream of fire, a shotgun like flame erupted instead, blasting a hole through the vines but all that did was cause more vines to converge around her mouth.

  I snarled in rage, eyes pulsing in fury as even more Rocks than before formed. They loomed dangerously as Tangrowth prepared to bombard Ares with a barrage of the prehistoric rocks.

  I narrowed my eyes, mind running through multiple scenarios that could get me out of this situation.

  Finally, one struck me and my eyes glowed maliciously.

  "Ares, Crunch the vines! Don't let go and bring it to your location now!" I barked.

  Ares eyes glinted in joy at the order and she opened her covered mouth. It began glowing with dark energy and she fully clamped onto Tangrowth without any hesitation.

  Half the job was already done thanks to the grass type. Now it was time make sure the pesky little fighter got up close and personal

  "You battle like a complete maniac!" Erika shouted in distress, watching as Ares clamped her jaw around as many of Tangrowth's vines as possible. "Tangrowth, don't let that Shelgon pull you close! Ingrain! Bury yourself into the ground!"

  Tangrowth gurgled in affirmation and as Ares tried to yank it from its spots, she suddenly found great resistance.

  She was not to be deterred however. Ares snarled and tugged even harder, getting an uncomfortable noise to erupt from the Tangrowth.

  "Pluck it!" I barked. "Rip it out of the ground!"

  Ares roared in agreement, eyes pulsing madly as her rage mounted.

  Tangrowth let out a panicked yell and tried doing anything to halt Ares madness. Its vines began glowing green to drain Ares before she could muster up the energy to yank it but if anything, that only made her angrier.

  Finally, with a muffled roar, Ares completely ripped Tangrowth from its spot. The force of her pull was so great, that Tangrowth's vines snapped off even as it began soaring towards her,.

  But the best part about it, was that Ares hadn't even fully ripped it out of the Ingrain... no she just ripped the ground underneath Tangrowth as well.

  It was like the reverse of earlier. Instead of becoming the cannonball, Ares had turned something else into one. Tangrowth's flailing body began getting closer and closer to the feral Shelgon and it let out a cry of fear.

  "Fire the Ancient Power, Tangrowth!" Erika shouted over its panicked yells. "Use your vines to latch onto something! Anything!"

  I smiled eagerly as Tangrowth tried to do so, only to realize a fast majority of its vines were either burned to cinders or chomped off.

  Realizing it had no choice but to meet Ares head on, the grass type launched every single floating rock, even as its body closed the distance—

  "Protect," I said coolly.

  —And crashed right into a sickening green barrier.

  The Ancient Power fared no better, slamming into the Protect and causing it to shudder. However, the barrier held strong.

  I watched as Tangrowth's body slowly peeled off the Protect, eyes dizzy and swirling as its vines did its best to protect the grass type from such powerful impact.

  Ares was not having it. She dropped the barrier and opened her mouth, firing off a gargantuan blaze of flame that consumed the Tangrowth.

  Erika watched the entire thing with a slack jaw, disbelief on her face at the series of events that just took place.

  "Tangrowth is unable to battle! As a result, Gym Leader Erika has no remaining Pokemon! The winner of this match is Silver!"

  That snapped her out of her daze and she met my gaze with wide eyes.

  I flashed her a crooked and satisfied smirk.

  "...You are so rotten," she mouthed to me.

  I let loose a barking laugh.

  I grinned in satisfaction, running a hand on the exhausted Ares' shell.

  "Well damn girl. Two fully evolved pokemon?" I asked.

  "Shel," Ares rumbled tiredly, leaning into my touch with half lidded eyes.

  "Thoughts on Protect now? I know you thought it was lame that you learned such a defensive move," I pointed out.

  "...Gon," she admitted reluctantly.

  "Hah," I chuckled. "I knew I'd win you over with it. You gotta keep your body safe so that you're a perfectly healthy Salamence," I said wisely.

  That got a burst of energy out of her.

  "Shel!" she rumbled, before remembering just how tired she was. She abruptly collapsed and I smiled with a shake of my head.

  "Hungry?" I asked her, enjoying the cool and sturdy shell that I was leaning on.

  "Gon." she shook her head in denial.

  "Fucking liar," I rolled my eyes, digging into my bag and pulling out a snack for her to eat. "I know you're big and bad and don't wanna eat much since you're a Shelgon now, but you'll have to convert even more energy in that shell of yours," I murmured.

  While not eating as a Shelgon made the Salamence come out tougher and hardier, that was completely unnecessary if they were under a trainer.

  Ares was already tougher than her wild brethren. Shelgons stored energy inside their shells, while their cells worked overtime in preparation for evolution.

  As a result, they didn't battle anyone, normally hiding themselves away in an isolated area as they patiently awaited evolution.

  In the wild, it took forever for Shelgons to evolve. They rarely moved and never ate so the energy being stored away was scarce for them. As a result, they refused to do battle because it would divert that energy to something else. They wanted every ounce of what little energy they had, focused onto evolution.

  Ares on the other hand, was battling nonstop and refused to stop doing so. The rate at which her cells worked were accelerated to a far faster degree than if she had holed herself up and she was burning twice as much energy as wild Shelgons in the process.

  As such, she'd need to continue to sustain herself up so that she could have the necessary energy to focus onto evolving.

  Due to this, when she evolved… she'd be stronger (and more bloodthirsty) than any wild Salamence. She was getting the best of both worlds. She did not stagnate at all like wild Shelgons. Ares would continue to battle and so long as I kept her diet right, at the same time she'd be accelerating her evolution at an even quicker and more optimal way than her brethren.

  Ares listened to my words and latched onto the part where she heard that eating would help her more than harm… and wolfed down the snack I offered to her with gusto.

  "Good," I said, pleased by her reason. "You'll need all the nutrients you can get. There will be no complications with your evolution."

  "Shel!" she announced, showing a glimpse of that excitable Bagon.

  "...Phenomenal performance, Silver. Truly. Your style of battle is so unique," Erika said, walking over to me at a steady pace. The look of shock was gone, replaced by a small and proud smile.

  I gazed at the short woman and accepted the badge out of her hand.

  "Here you are. As Gym Leader of Celadon, I hereby declare you worthy of the Rainbow Badge," Erika smiled. "Oh! And here you are, the TM for Giga Drain," she said, handing it over to me.

  My eyes glinted and I accepted it, pocketing both items away.

  "That was a fun battle. Almost made up for the fact that your gym smells like complete shit in the front," I mentioned, nodding in respect at that battle.

  Erika's expression immediately turned offended. "Excuse me, please don't speak of my gym in such a manner!" she scolded me.

  It was hard to take her serious. She was plenty of years older than me but she was really short and her personality didn't help.

  I snorted. "The smells clash way too much. Smells like a Muk's ass. You gotta learn how to filter them out."

  Erika glared at me. "You rude brat! I will take note of your complaint, but didn't anyone ever tell you that if you have nothing nice to say, don't say it at all?!"

  "Hard to take you calling me a brat serious when you're shorter than me… and I do know that saying, I just ignore it most of the time," I replied with a helpless shrug.

  "You…" Erika fumed, crossing her arms. "How does such a rude boy have such a sweet Bayleef? The rumors truly were right about you!"

  I shrugged again. "Dunno. Why does such an elegant, and short, lady use such poisonous perfume?" I returned curiously.

  "Stop mentioning my height!" Erika shouted, poking me on the chest indignantly.

  She even puffed out her cheeks! How adorable of her.

  I smirked cruelly and pat her head mockingly. "Aw it's okay. Not everyone can be blessed… some are just more cursed than others and you're really cursed."

  I deftly dodged the swatting hands and made my way over to the beaming Green and proud Lorelei.

  It was a gift of mine to irritate people. I couldn't let that talent go to waste now could I?

  "The things you say and do are downright terrible. I can't believe you would say such things!" Erika complained, following after me despite her words.

  "If you knew me for longer than an hour you'd believe it."

  "Nice job Silvy!" Green beamed, high fiving me with a grin.

  "You lost the bet by the way," I said with a smug smirk, watching as the gym was quickly emptied out.

  Green's smile vanished immediately and a distraught look crossed her face instead.

  "Ah damn I forgot about that," she muttered. "Alright dishes for a week. I can do that. I'll still help with breakfast, lunch and dinner too."

  I whistled. "You sure are a trooper."

  "You two bet on our battles?" Erika asked incredulously, gazing at us with wide and innocent eyes. The amount of naivety in them almost made me feel bad.

  How was this girl the gym leader of the city with a casino in it?

  "I wasn't really ever intending on losing this battle so yeah," I nodded in amusement.

  "Yeah no offense Erika! We're a bit better than 4 badges right now!" Green said apologetically.

  Erika gazed at the two of us.

  "I was aware of that... do you truly think I'd use that team against trainers with four badges?" Erika asked slowly.

  We both blinked.

  "Now that you mention it..." Green muttered.

  I nodded in agreement. "Yeah that battle was pretty hard," I mused.

  Erika gazed at us helplessly. "You two are surprisingly rotten," she said finally.

  I chuckled at that mostly because of the horrified look on Green's face.

  "W-Wait! I'm not as bad as Silvy, promise!" she pleaded her case. "H-He's the reason I'm like this!"

  "That just means you were never as innocent as you thought," I interjected with a smug smirk.

  Green spluttered. "That has nothing to do with this! You are a literal demon!" she exclaimed.

  I raised a brow and shrugged. "You wouldn't have been drawn to this demon if you didn't have qualities either," I pointed out.

  Her mouth flapped uselessly, trying to muster up something to say.

  "I hate you," she finished flatly.

  "I know," I soothed with a smug smile.

  "An excellent display from the both of you," Lorelei praised us with a small smile, shaking her head at our interactions.

  "Any pointers?" Green asked excitedly.

  Lorelei nodded. "There are a few things I could tell the both of you if your receptive. But that can wait for later when I can properly write down my thoughts."

  I nodded. "Sure thing aunt," I said.

  Both Lorelei and Erika's eyes widened at that.

  "Pardon?! Did I just hear that correctly?" Erika hissed in confusion, glancing rapidly between Lorelei and I.

  As she began noting the similarities between the two of us, Erika went pale.

  "You two are…?" she asked dumbly.

  Lorelei was gazing at me in shock at what I just said. She must have been genuinely surprised that I was willing to disclose this type of information.

  Eventually, a smile formed (I imagine this would be a grin on anyone else) on her face and she nodded without hesitation.

  "Yes… he is my nephew," she said proudly.

  No seriously, she looked too proud to be claiming me.

  "You're such a dork," I sighed with a small smile. "Yeah, she's my aunt."

  "But that's not why he was able to win. I've had no influence on Silver's talents or growth whatsoever," Lorelei assured, looking even more proud.

  "Wow," Erika awed. "Lorelei... how is it possible for someone as dignified as you, to be related to a brute like him? You two are complete opposites."

  "You can't walk in crowds," I said boredly.

  "You see!" Erika cried out. "He made fun of my figure! Who does that?!"

  "Someone who owns eyes and has good vision."

  Lorelei sighed. "It's a work in progress. He's very stubborn. I can still feel the bite mark."

  Erika gasped at that. "You bit Lorelei?!"

  I shrugged. "She was asking for it."

  "It was super fun to watch! Lorelei is really strong… I would have never guessed!" Green laughed.

  Lorelei coughed lightly at that. "Let's not speak about that. Silver is the only one I've done that with."

  "Get used to it. You'll have to do that every time you try to get me in one of those lessons of yours," I replied.

  Lorelei sighed. "It appears in a way, you're also attempting to turn me into a more vulgar person," she muttered.

  "Let's see who cracks first," I said cheerfully.

  Lorelei shuddered. "Don't speak like that. It doesn't suit you."

  "I say the same thing," Green nodded sagely.

  I snorted. "Alright, Leaf. Let's get ready to leave the city. Fuchsia is far so it may take us a while to get there."

  "Yeah! Since we're not in a rush it's gonna take us a long time to get there," Green pointed out.

  "Fine by me. We need to slow down a bit anyways," I nodded in agreement.

  We had been traveling too quickly due to the urgency of catching the S.S Anne. Now we could slow down and pace ourselves, train properly, battle trainers etc.

  "I listened at camp, but you two truly have well thought out plans. It eases my worry by quite a bit," Lorelei praised.

  "More plans means better time allocation. It's efficient," I muttered. "Let's go to the Center first then we can head out."

  "Kay!" Green nodded.

  "I also have to heal my members. 8 pokemon defeated…" Erika mused. "Let's make haste. I'd like to talk to both Gaia and Saury more."

  "Bayleef," Gaia beamed, nuzzling me in satisfaction.

  I rolled my eyes and allowed Oberon to loop his arms around my neck, giving the tiny bear a piggyback. "I don't like attention and you two attract a lot of attention," I said dryly.

  "You've already attracted attention. Both our battles were quite splendid after all," Erika smiled mysteriously.

  I furrowed my brows. "What?"

  I didn't really get what she meant, up until I made it back to the entrance and saw my arch nemesis of a receptionist.

  We made eye contact and I smirked smugly at her.

  "Dinners on you," was all I said, sneering at her mockingly.

  Green sighed in exasperation and prepared to drag me away from the ensuing argument but both our shock, she fucking fluttered her eyes at me.

  ...Huh?

  "Sure!" she chirped, not at all putout by the fact that I comfortably won my battle against her boss that she vowed was going to crush me.

  I blinked in confusion.

  "What the fuck? Why don't you hate me?" I asked aloud.

  Erika raised a brow in confusion and turned towards the just as confused (and outraged) Lorelei. "Hate?" I saw her mouth.

  Lorelei shook her head. "I do not know."

  The receptionist tilted her head. "Hate you? Why would I ever hate you?"

  …

  Huh? Was I imagining it all in my head? Was I actually flirting with this girl without even realizing?

  No… there's no fucking way. There was real venom in our words. Why the hell were things suddenly different with her —

  Oh fuck off.

  "Did you watch the battle?" I asked.

  "Yep! You and Green did an amazing job!" she beamed.

  I scowled and stomped out of the gym without waiting for the receptionist to say anything else.

  If possible, my outrage only grew higher.

  As soon as I stepped out, I saw a swarm of people waiting, who lit up at the sight of me and Green appearing in their line of sight.

  No way.

  "It's Silver! Can we battle?!"

  "That battle was so awesome! What are you feeding that Shelgon?!"

  "How do you know Elite 4 Lorelei?! Is she your mom?!"

  "Are you and Green dating?! I'm asking for a friend!"

  "I think you're really pretty Green!"

  I blinked, looking utterly bewildered by the attention.

  "Oh wow, I think we're getting popular now. It's around 6 badges when this happens but we attracted them before that," Green muttered, shooting an excited wave that made the crowd cheer for her.

  "I've already reprimanded the receptionist but I can't do much with these people," Erika giggled, stepping out and getting the crowd to practically roar in excitement.

  Lorelei was nowhere to be seen, likely not wanting the attention to grow. Knowing her, she was already in the Center waiting for us...

  Good to know Erika and Green were enjoying this…

  "Move out of my way now or I promise someone's getting sent to the hospital."

  ...But I was not.

  The crowd went somewhat silent, as my dark glare washed over them all and I effortlessly cut a path that allowed me to walk right through.

  Oberon was clutching me tightly, nervously glancing at all the people making such loud noises.

  If anything that made my glare deepen.

  "Oh dear. Quite the scary presence you have," Erika commented, waving and smiling at the crowd.

  She pat a small child on the head and cooed at their cute little Oddish, getting a beam out of the kid.

  "He's super scary!" Green agreed.

  "Shut the hell up," I replied gruffly.

  So I was getting popular. That meant more people would be paying attention to me.

  I frowned as I mulled that over.

  It sucked as much as I expected it to but at the same time, I was expecting it to a degree.

  My team was rare after all. Like really rare. Oberon was the most common pokemon on my team and he was my latest capture.

  So yeah. I knew popularity as I grew stronger, was inevitable because being strong was the pinnacle of recognition in this world and my goal was to become very strong.

  Naturally that came with the consequences of picking such a path.

  Didn't think it'd be this early though.

  Time to put my charms to good use.

  "Touch me and you'll lose that arm for a few weeks," I warned harshly.

  I was satisfied to see the sneaky arm disappearing back into the small crowd.

  "You really are a terrible person, Silvy," Green nodded sagely.

  "I agree wholeheartedly. Please do not assault my citizens," Erika muttered.

  I was about to reply, up until someone placed a hand on my shoulder and I body flipped them over me, getting ready to place a foot directly onto their ribcage.

  Alas, I was unable to do so.

  "Bay," Gaia sighed, soaking up the attention as she wrapped vines around me and carried me away from the body.

  "You should have let me," I snarked, letting my Bayleef escort me away from my attempted crime.

  "Leef," she said patiently.

  Next time. That's what she told me.

  "Fine," I conceded, letting her usher me to the center.

  "He conceded to her so easily," I heard Erika whisper.

  "No one can tell Silvy what to do except for Gaia and the rest of his team. He consistently listens to her the most."

  I mulled that over.

  "Bayleef," Gaia snickered slightly.

  I rolled my eyes. "Shut up. You're lucky I like you."

  She beamed and snuggled up against me as we made our way to the Center.

  "Yeah yeah, love you too girl."

  "So you chose Bulbasaur as your starter and Silver here found Chikorita in the wild?" Erika asked curiously.

  Green and I nodded.

  Currently, we were waiting for our team to be healed so Erika escorted us to a nice area that the Gym Leader was allowed to relax in while waiting for their members.

  It was nice. Like a spectators booth.

  "Incredible! You two haven't been trainer for that long but you're both bursting with potential!"

  The Gym Leader gazed at both Gaia and Saury in awe. "Truly, for how young you two are, your pokemon are all in such good condition."

  Erika pointed at them. "You see based on their pigmentation, I can tell that the two of you are actively going out of your way to nurture them properly. Such methods are normally reserved for more experienced trainers, coordinators or breeders," she explained.

  I nodded. That was basically what Joy had been saying.

  "Wow," Green muttered, drinking in the information.

  Erika nodded with a smile. "Yes, it's incredibly rare for new trainers to do such a thing. I'm impressed."

  "You should be impressed with Silvy!" Green beamed. "He's the one who helped me really understand all these things. Without him, I'd be a lot weaker and unaware!"

  I blinked. "You'd be fine," I said boredly.

  "Nuh uh! No way! You need to stop downplaying yourself Silvy," Green pouted childishly. "You're pretty awesome you know?"

  I grunted. "Stop that. I know I'm awesome," I muttered.

  Green glared suspiciously at me.

  "So how have you been since the fiasco with the Celadon?" I asked, changing the subject.

  Erika sighed tiredly. "Tired. It quite literally came out of nowhere. I had no idea the Casino was being used for such a thing..."

  "I'll have to properly thank Lorelei for her timely intervention. I found myself getting quickly overwhelmed with the events as well. That battle was quite phenomenal! Your method of battling is so unorthodox," Erika beamed, looking a lot less tired.

  I snorted. "I just use what I can to my advantage. That's all."

  "The surprise certainly rejuvenated me!" Erika giggled. "You and Green both lived up to the rumors I heard."

  Green blushed and rubbed the back of her hair. "Thanks! Next time I want to battle your real team!"

  The grass specialist nodded happily. "It'd be my pleasure! I love forward to seeing how the both of you progress!"

  I wouldn't be opposed to battling her again. It would be fun.

  A beeping noise interrupted our conversation and Erika got up with a smile.

  "That would be for us! I have some paperwork to finish up back at the gym and then I'm going to take a well deserved nap."

  I snorted. "You do that."

  "It was nice talking to you Erika!" Green waved.

  "You two as well! Be sure to visit when you evolve Gaia and Saury, I'll be glad to teach you something," she waved, gliding off.

  I tilted my head at that. "Alright. I'll hold you to that."

  With that, we watched as the gym leader placed all the Pokeballs in a tiny little purse (she kept it in her kimono), wave at us again and head out of the center.

  "Time for us to head out too," I mused.

  "Kay!" Green beamed. "What do you think she wants to teach us?"

  "She probably wants to teach you how to properly take care of your hair, beast."

  "B-BE SERIOUS FOR ONE SECOND SILVY!"

  After getting our pokemon healed, double checking our supplies and ensuring we had everything ready and began heading to Route 16 to continue our journey.

  Right before we stepped into the route though, we were surprised to see my aunt herself waiting there. I had no idea where she went so I just assumed she had business to take care of.

  Lorelei had a soft expression as she regarded the both of us.

  "Will you still refuse to come back to Indigo with me?" she asked softly.

  I nodded. "Yeah. I don't like being chained to one place. It's too stifling," I told her.

  Lorelei nodded in return. "Do you remember our deal?"

  "Yes, aunt. If something urgent happens, I'll call you. Honest," I told her with an exasperated sigh.

  She let out a small sigh at that, relief filling her stance and I frowned.

  She really did care for me huh?

  "Be careful. You and Green are exceptional trainers. I refuse to let your growth be stunted by the likes of Team Rocket," Lorelei stated passionately.

  My aunt place a hand on my shoulders, before pulling me into a tight embrace.

  "Thank you, Silver. I know you don't… trust many people but I'm glad that you were able to let me in, if even a little," Lorelei whispered to me.

  ...

  "…No problem aunt," I said eventually, letting my hackles drop. "You're not all bad."

  She only squeezed me tighter at that before releasing me.

  "And you are not bad at all, Silver," Lorelai said, standing straight. "Don't hesitate to call me. No matter how big or small the issue, I will be more than willing to hear you out. I don't even mind just small talk."

  "If you want to talk to me more, just say you want to talk to me more," I said dryly.

  Lorelei said nothing for a long while.

  "That would be preferable," she said honestly.

  I rolled my eyes. "Sure. I already check on Jas and… I don't hate you so I guess I can send you a message here and there."

  Lorelei nodded, looking pleased by my reply. "Understood. Now, I have matters to attend to back at Indigo… namely, ensuring that Karen has not caused mayhem."

  My aunt turned towards Green and smiled at my companion. "Thank you for watching over my nephew, Green. I do appreciate it."

  Green blushed bashfully at that. "Of course! Silvy and I are friends so we'll always have each others backs!"

  Lorelei looked thankful at that and simply smiled at the two of us, before she summoned Jynx and they vanished.

  "Silvy," Green said idly.

  "Yeah?"

  "Elite 4 Lorelei is a bit of a dork."

  The abrupt statement caught me so off guard that I wasn't able to tone down the bark of laughter that left me.

  "I'm telling her you said that."

  "W-What?! Don't tell her I said that! I think it's endearing! Silvy I'm serious! Hey, get back here! PUT YOUR POKEGEAR AWAY!"