Chapter 54 – Familial Antics
"Victini looks so normal… not what one would expect from a Legendary Pokémon. It's also missing that distinct aura that puts one on edge when faced with a powerful being. However… Yes, I do sense the vastness of its aura. It's way beyond any ordinary Pokémon.""Vi! Vi!" "I am strong! Bring me more candied fruit peels!"That bout of adorableness was rewarded with a copious amount of head pats from me. I was already reassured that Victini wouldn't let other people's awe get to her head. She might be the match of a good deal of elite level Pokémon, but I was fairly sure she'd lose against champion level ones the way she currently is.We were all sitting on top of the engawa enjoying the afternoon breeze. Flannery, who hadn't bothered to come watch Victini's training sessions with Mr. Moore, had now for the first time experienced her battle prowess firsthand. As to be expected she now kept trying to paw her off of me. Most eager to shower her with attention and praise for beating an opponent she couldn't defeat herself. Phoebe, who was already familiar with the story of how I first met Victini, regaled her grandparents with the story. The knowledge that she came out of an egg just like any other regular Pokémon seemed to be the piece of news they were most interested in. The fact that she was over a hundred years old didn't seem to surprise them at all. I figured being surrounded by ghost types who could easily match her age and exceed it wouldn't seem all that special even though she was a living biological Pokémon.After Phoebe finished telling the story both me and Victini were put under scrutiny from the grandparents. Phoebe's grandpa who seemed awfully invested"What are your plans for the future Egon?""Well… I was wondering if I could perhaps make use of the castle's transfer machine? I caught a Pokémon who agreed to help my grandma with her storefront business. He's been locked inside his ball since this morning.""Of course, but that wasn't what I was asking you about. What are your plans now that you've become a trainer partnered with a mythological Pokémon. If you wanted to, you could have a real shot at the champion's title in a couple of years.""…I want to beat Drake, but I don't want to be the Champion. I told Champion Drake that I would be coming for his title, but I don't see myself sitting in a fancy office telling other people what to do. I want to travel the world and see all sorts of interesting sights. I'll start worrying about my career prospects after I've turned eighteen.""You know Egon, beating the champion doesn't mean that you have to take the job. Challengers have the option to just take the prize money and walk away after winning."That sounded a bit better, just because a ten year old can become the reigning Champion doesn't mean that he or she should. However, having the reigning Champion lose to a minor would most likely result in a loss of respect that would be difficult to overcome if the runner-up held fast to his position."Don't the people living in Hoenn want the strongest trainer to reign?""I think they'd rather have someone old enough to watch an R rated movie. Still, you would be allowed to hold office if you should choose to do so even at your current age. You can just ask the elites to fill in for you until you've grown comfortable enough to wield such authority. Still… let me give you one piece of advice.""Yes?""Do not rely solely on Victini's power to win the upcoming Ever Grande conference. There have been multiple instances in the past where a trainer managed to befriend a powerful Pokémon and earn himself a top spot in the ace circuit. Before falling off the rankings because the Pokémon of his peers eventually managed to catch up in age and power."I didn't foresee any kind of regular Pokémon managing to catch up to Victini whether it be either of those two attributes, but Phoebe's grandpa was giving good general advice. I have seen this phenomenon myself. This usually happened to young trainers who sort of inherited an older family member's Pokémon. This happens because some species of Pokémon had lifespans far longer than that of a human and it would make sense that such a Pokémon wished to remain together with its deceased partner's children or grandchildren. In those situations, you'd often see those trainers lack the necessary skill to guide and instruct weaker less experienced Pokémon which resulted in them eventually washing out of the ace circuit."I wasn't planning to. Having Victini battle against first time circuit trainers wouldn't teach me anything and halt my growth as a trainer. We've already decided to just wash out if I can't make it to the top 16 without her help."That comment seemed to put Phoebe's grandpa at ease. The conversation quieted down after that, the grandparents seemingly content to just ruminate on what me having Victini would mean for the future of the region as a whole. I was about to ask the elderly couple about my initial request to use their transporter when Phoebe helpfully motioned me to follow her deeper into the castle. When we walked far enough to be out of earshot Phoebe spoke up continuing our previous conversation."So, I was thinking of having each of my Pokémon spar against Victini on rotation. Tomorrow we'll find out if she has what it takes to take on Banette.""That's fine and all but I want pranking immunity for my Pokémon and Flannery while we stay here in exchange.""What?! Not for yourself?""I am used to it and after seeing how Flannery reacted to Gengar's door prank I am quite sure she isn't mentally prepared to handle the endless barrage of hijinks I know this castle's Pokémon are capable of. Halo is just a baby and needs her sleep while still in her formative age, also I am quite sure Glove will destroy the castle in anger if any of the ghost types try anything with her."Hearing about the possible threat of a rampaging Pokémon prompted Phoebe to quickly release one of her own Pokémon from the eight or so poké balls latched to her belt."Fross?""Could you please inform everyone to not bother Egon's little hatchling?""Lass!"Froslass disappeared. Phasing through the nearest wall and on its way to inform all the ghostly residents that Halo was not to be messed with. My Pokémon were still safe lazing around that porch with Phoebe's grandparents but that wouldn't be the case for long. My worries eased a bit as my little Larvesta would not be troubled while staying in this place. Phoebe led me all the way to the castle's PC room, odd enough as it was that a traditional family like hers had one."It's still crazy to think that your family could afford a transporter not even mentioning a cable line long and resistant enough to safely connect with the ones on the adjacent routes.""Hmpff! We didn't have to pay for it the league association helped us set it up.""How come?""Technically speaking we are obligated to provide telecommunication services to people who are stuck without, while high up on the mountain.""So, strangers can just knock on your doors and ask to use your PC room?""Yes, but we don't advertise that, and this place has a certain reputation..."That made sense not many trainers would risk getting beleaguered by ghosts just to use this equipment. If I were a trainer that needed to make a quick call I'd rather climb back down the mountain than risk going inside a haunted castle.The machine was standing right there but I figured it would be better to inform the Lavaridge Pokémon center first before sending Shuckle over to nurse Joy. The transfer machine did allow you to leave digital posits with each transmission but since I had nurse Joy's personal number I figured it wouldn't hurt calling her directly."Hello? Who is this?""Nurse Mary, it's me, Egon.""Oh, hi Egon! It's nice to hear from you again. Did something happen? You usually only call this line to talk with family members.""Ahem yea… So, I managed to spot a Pokémon grandma Willow has been wanting for a while now while traveling through the safari zone and I figured I'd catch it for her. Would it be possible to transfer Shuckle over to the Pokémon center and let my grandma know?""But of course! That fits right into my job description. Do you wish me to invite her over, so you can tell her the good news yourself?""That's okay but I know that it's been a while since grandma had a Pokémon of her own. Could you give her a crash course of dos and don'ts on taking care of a bug and rock type like Shuckle? Also, before I forget Shuckle has been registered as my Pokémon, are there any sort of forms I need to send to the league administration to have her ball unlocked? While I was at the safari zone I managed to catch my final team member for this season's circuit run, reaching my carrying capacity.""Certainly, how have things been coming along with Halo? Is she eating properly?""I think so? I have been giving her the portion sizes you recommended. Halo's been growing pretty fast. She's up to my knees in size and is showing no signs of slowing down.""Wonderful! I can't wait to see her again when she's all grown up."Just like that we continued to exchange pleasantries while the machine was powering up. It took a while for these older models to start up unlike the ones at the Pokémon centers, but they are just as safe and easy to use as the newer ones if you didn't mind waiting for a short spell. Mary was a delight. We traded tidbits of obscure Pokémon information while we waited. Her knowledge of Pokémon physiology edifying me while my layman's common sense surprised her from time to time. Eventually I had to hang up on her so I could work the machine, so I gave her my well wishes and promised her to call more often in order to give updates on Halo's rapid development.The transporter machine technology was created based upon the fundamentals of teleportation. The person who developed it was a genius scientist based in Kanto called Dr. Akihabara coincidentally he was also the one who created the first line of porygon, the very first artificial Pokémon made completely out of programming code.The transporter had a very simple interface allowing one to choose out of a list of fifty or so Pokémon centers scattered around Hoenn to send one's Pokémon to. Being already familiar with the process I scrolled down the list until I picked the center inside Lavaridge Town as a destination target. I gave the green safari ball one last look before placing the capturing device inside the appropriate slot and activating the transportation process. A white laser enveloped Shuckle's ball and in a matter of seconds my family's new bug type was safely transferred over to lavaridge's local Pokémon center.'The little guy had plenty of berries stockpiled in that shell of his so Shuckle shouldn't go hungry even if he doesn't get home on time for dinner.'I was distracted from my inner musings by a pat on the back from Phoebe."Let's go back, I'll help you write up a good training schedule for Litwick." Just before dinnertime* Phoebe had been most helpful by walking me through her own approach of training newly caught ghost types. According to her, ghost types were most suited to use tricks and status moves to keep their opponents on the backfoot. This was also reflected in her training schedule. Her first training goal was to teach Orin how to use the move Curse. Of course, Phoebe had her own stockpile of secret maneuvers that she kept to herself but anything Phoebe would consider basic or mid-level knowledge she freely shared with Orin and me."Curse is not my style. Can't we start on something actually useful like shadow ball or maybe destiny bond?""We can teach Orin how to shoot off Shadow Balls, but Destiny Bond is a very high-level move that only the most powerful ghost types can learn. Besides, Curse is what many trainers in my specialization consider a bread and butter move. If a Pokémon can't even inflict such a basic level condition, there's no way they'll be able to curse an opponent enough to share in a mutual defeat.""I guess that makes sense… Curse is very physically draining though I don't want Orin to have to keep hurting himself to learn how to do the move.""Don't you worry we'll start off slow and if he gets weakened you can just feed him some more of your vitality that'll bring the cutie back up to stuff!"While we were talking about training methods the rest of my team was playing hide and seek in the castle. With Halo being the only one that hid herself from the others. Her prank immunity made me feel like it was safe enough for her to do so while the rest of my team was looking for her. The castle had lots of hiding spots, so it was a very enjoyable activity for the lot of them. To keep things fair, I kept Raven and Victini with me. Victini could just psychically scan for the presence of Halo's mind and Raven's nose was too much of a cheat to use and still have the game be fun for everyone. It was quite a sight to see my Pokémon all working together to find Halo. Seeing them like that made me ponder upon the training schedules for each of them.Raven was the simplest since she was my newest companion. The canine Pokémon still had to brush up on her fire type moves to be on par with the rest of the team. At the moment she only knew the standard fare Ember and Incinerate. In contrast she did know quite a few dark type moves Bite and Beat Up for one but also Snarl and Taunt. Especially that last one would come in handy against psychic and ghost type Pokémon who oft preferred using status and or set up moves. Still I was planning to have her learn Protect and Flame Charge during our stay here if she proves to be a fastidious learner we could even try to have her learn Fire Fang.Numsy being the most experienced on my team had a fully kitted out array of moves to use. The only thing he needed now was to grow in strength and experience his species' naturally learned Earthquake by themselves so the only thing I could do for him was to scour the markets for technical machines he could learn or have him stay at specialized move tutors. Me and him already went over this and we decided it was best that he spends most of his time helping the others polish their moves against him.Trying to come up with a schedule for Glove was tough. The blaze Pokémon was a veteran who probably participated in actual warfare and his proficiency with the physical aspects of battle were top notch but he still needed to work on his psychic capabilities. He only knew how to perform Confusion at the moment so there was still much to work on. Victini could help shore him up on the basics and maybe help him learn the move Psychic at the same time. Glove couldn't just stop and Meditate while in zen mode all day long. He took his guarding duty quite seriously, not willing to leave Halo on her own for even a single hour's worth of time. I knew I had to come up with some way to help him develop his mental abilities in a way that simultaneously allowed him to babysit Halo at the same time. Victini could probably be persuaded to fill in for Glove in that regard with her periodically projecting mental images of Halo directly to the Blaze Pokémon's mind.Rena was still at her mother's but to train up Drought she would have to remain at the mountain's summit for over a month. This would require me to spend a good deal of my time over there. She had to be fed and cared for during the entire process. The fact that I had to leave to participate in a gym halfway through the process made me realize that I had to compete without Rena at my side this time around. Luckily Victini was capable enough to teleport me all the way to the bridge overlooking the scorched slabs. She was majorly fixated on that spot making teleporting there a feasible option. From that point the walk all the way over to Fortree city would only take a couple of hours. After which we could just teleport back to the castle, having us stay over for two weeks basically guaranteed that Victini would be able to come back to this place whenever we wanted to.'Still staying here for an entire month is a bit too much if I want to get all eight badges on time… maybe I can book a match long distance? I know that gyms only accept appointments from trainers who come in person but there must be some exceptions to the rule. Lilycove City is home to one of the minor gyms and it's only about a day's worth of travel removed from route 121.'To make it on time I was planning to skip at least one of the major gyms. Dewford Town was situated in the middle of nowhere and the old man who was running the gym was close to retirement. The only point of interest on that island was Granite Cave. It is said that the ancient murals depicting the region's legendary Pokémon are truly stunning to behold. The only reason I'd be going there would be to satisfy Victini's curiosity regarding other legendary Pokémon."Don't skip Granite Cave!"'I would like to visit as well but getting there and scheduling for a match would likely set us back a whole month. We only have a little more than 4 months left to qualify for this season's championship league.'"Noooo!""After we are done visiting Lilycove City we'll head straight for Sootopolis with a bit of luck sneaking into the Cave of Origin shouldn't be a problem.""But… there's no legendary Pokémon in there…"'Yes, but every time those two awaken they fight at that exact spot. They have a hankering for those crystals formed out of the planet's natural energy without those they'd be unable to revert into their primal forms. In any case we'd be sure to learn something new just by surveying that place.'"Okay…"While I was busy mentally communicating with Victini and going over our training schedule with Phoebe. The ghosts were busy cooking up a feast for the entire family and their guests. A good chunk of the ghostly residents in this castle behaved just like working staff. Cooking, cleaning, defense and even carpenting were all included into their daily activities. Phoebe tells me that the ghost types exhibiting those behaviors used to be this castle's former human staff while still alive and that even in death their habits hadn't changed. Still willing to serve their master's living relatives after all this time. The family's oldest known ancestor who originally had this castle built was a warlord hailing from the Ransei region who eventually came to live here after she retired from a life of conquest.Just as I finished up my private conversation with Victini, an old enemy of mine phased through one of the castle's walls giving me a wink before whispering a message in Phoebe's ear. Misdreavus was one of the scariest ghost types inhabiting the castle. Not because of her devious pranks although she dabbled with those from time to time but because of her incessant wailing. She'd wake you up the first time and afterwards kept quiet until you were back asleep again before giving you another dose. It seemed this time she had another purpose for showing up in front of us."Dinner's ready. Let's go!"Tugged along by a ravenous Phoebe she led myself, Raven and Victini through the castle's halls until we came by a luxurious dining room. The long wooden table placed in the center of the room only came up to my knees, so we had to sit seiza style on the floor luckily each position at the dining table had a soft and fluffy pillow to stop the inevitable knee chafing. Flannery was already present as was the rest of my Team minus Numsy on account of being too heavy for the wooden flooring. He was munching grains inside the castle's stables together with Ponyta. Orin loved being the center of attention during mealtimes, so he placed himself on top of the table between the plates and bowls lighting up the room in his signature teal lighting. Ghost types generally didn't need to eat so the only ones in the room were the ones busy plating up so us living folks could eat.Phoebe's grandparents were seated at the head of the table in animated discussion while they waited for the two of us to join them. They seemed to have taken a liking to Flannery's exuberant personality type, willing to indulge the girl's open scheming to catch one of the mountain's vulpix."Egon already told me the story of how he managed to convince Rena's mom to let him catch one of her kits. If I prove myself an able battler, I am sure she'll also allow me to partner up with one of her children!""My my… how energetic. That old Ninetales is keen to see her children partner up with capable trainers. I am sure that if you put your right foot forward tomorrow she would be willing to have you make an attempt at bonding with one of her older ones."After all of us had taken a seat at the table the conversation continued between the three of them. The elderly couple often asking how things were going with her grandfather or his planned retirement. Usually I would be content to let this topic of conversation continue on but I had my own plans. I still had to get permission to use the mountain's summit as a training ground for Rena."Uhmm excuse me.""Yes?""You see I was wondering if it would be possible to gain permission to train on the mountain's summit? I recently received a training method that requires one's Pokémon to be exposed to intense sunlight for a long period of time in order to develop a unique ability."The elderly couple seemed to be taken aback by the sudden change in topic. The convivial atmosphere turned serious as the husband and wife mentally processed my innocuous request. After the couple exchanged a quick glance they seemed to have come to a consensus."Yes… although you are only allowed to stay within the limits of the lower levels of the summit. You are not to go anywhere near the steps leading up to our family's sacred altar. Is that agreeable to you?""Sure, you can count on us!""Ehh!? He gets to stay up there? I thought for sure you would say no grandpa.""Egon has been visiting us every year since he was seven. To be giving him this much trust is only natural."I knew what the family was hiding up there and I'd obviously be watched by their Pokémon living on the summit, but I wasn't interested in the orbs either way. Having those on me would surely lead to me getting involved with the legendary ancient Pokémon. This wasn't a game where you could just throw a master ball at the problem and be done with it. Just merely being around those two was bad for your health.The rest of the dinner went off without a hitch Phoebe and her grandparents doted on Orin a bunch even giving him small requests like heating up a teapot even though the temperature was already at an appropriate level for drinking purposes. Before wrapping up and sending us off to bed the couple told me that Xatu would be accompanying me to the summit in the morning after I was done picking up Rena at her mother's place. I was assigned my old guest room which I previously stayed at during my past visits with grandpa, but before I was ready to go to sleep there were still a few things I had to handle first. "I know you're there Misdreavus! Phoebe told you guys that Halo was not to be messed with, right? How are you supposed to scare me with her resting in the same room as myself? Just give up, you have already lost!""Vess…?""It's okay, cutie. Just a scoundrel phased in between the walls who has troubled me in the past."Most of my Pokémon took my warnings seriously and were now resting inside their balls. The only one I took exception to was Halo who was now acting as my aegis against the castle's residents. The ghosts within this place obeyed the family without question so the only way they were getting to me tonight was with some undue trickery that even Halo wouldn't be able to notice. Off the top of my head there were only a few angles the castle's residents could take and I was prepared for every eventuality. I took to wearing gloves to avoid the hand in warm water trick and made sure to lock the door and close the windows so they couldn't attempt to kidnap me without making a sound. Before falling asleep I mentally patted myself on the back for my first successful attempt at getting a full night's rest while staying over at Phoebe's.'Perfect…'"Miss… Miss…"
Chapter 55 – Evolution Solution
"Waaaaah! Good morning, everyone! Best sleep ever!"
I was feeling great. Making it through the whole night without being victimized by Misdreavus left me enough time to enjoy a full night's rest. Judging by the amount of sunlight falling in through the windowpanes I figured it was almost time to get out of bed and get started with my first task of the day picking up Rena at her mother's.
Most of my team was scattered around the room having made full use of the castle's complementary pillows and blankets to build themselves a makeshift fort. The rascals were using Numsy's body as a tent pole. The big guy didn't seem to mind judging by his lackadaisical body language but I couldn't help but worry about the possible fire hazard this careless use of amenities posed.
"Numsy you alright there?"
"Numsy, you do not have to act as their pilaster if you don't want to, we could just get a table or bench… wait why are you looking at me like that?"
My trusty bovine friend was making a weird face as if to suppress a bout of laughter. The rest of my team roused from sleep were also now staring at me as if I had grown a second head followed up by a bout of sniffling coughs as if they've seen something funny. I was quite quick to catch on though.
"Guys… did something happen to my face?"
I hastily got out of bed and made my way into the ensuite bathroom. To get a look at my appearance in the bathroom mirror. The visage that looked back at me in the mirror was reminiscent of how one might appear after a kid's birthday party. My face looked like it was victimized by a juvenile delinquent, a pirate's eyepatch covered my left eye, I had big cartoony cat whiskers and worst of all I had the word dummy spelled across my forehead. Instinctively I immediately realized who was responsible.
"That darned Misdreavus! I'll need some kind of alcoholic solution to get this stuff off."
The ghost type fazed through the bathroom mirror eager to let me know that she got one over me despite my numerous precautions. She was zipping around me eager to rub her pranking success in my beleaguered face.
"Mark my words Misdreavus… by the end of my stay here you will be the one that has the wool pulled over your eyes!"
Misdreavus wisely chose to exit the ensuite bathroom before suffering the full force of my wrath unbeknownst to the ignorant specter I was quietly gleeful. Permanent marker on my face was the mildest prank I've experienced up until this point. If she kept it to this level I might even forgive her for past transgressions. Still, it was important to keep up the ruse so that things wouldn't escalate out of control.
After washing my face in the sink I'd gotten the worst of it off my face. You could still see faint black lines which I resolved to fix at a later date. My skin's natural oils would in time remove the lines entirely but that would take a few days. This could be resolved quicker if Phoebe's family kept some high proof alcohol in stock but I didn't have my hopes up. The ghosts living here used acid diluted in water to keep the floors clean and I was not willing to take the risk using that on my delicate face.
"I am heading out to pick up Rena from her mother's place. Does anyone want to come with me?"
I didn't have many takers. It was still early in the morning and only a half hour's time removed from when we usually woke up as a team. Orin did offer to come with me, the little ghost type not being bound to the ever-present circadian clock like us living creatures are. He is always in the mood to hang out no matter what time of the day it is. I picked up the little ghost type before placing him on my left shoulder. This way he could enjoy the mountain's picturesque views as the rising sun slowly illuminated the surrounding area.
"That sounds good! I am coming along as well!"
Victini sluggishly levitated herself out of the makeshift blanket fort to join us. Landing on top of my head and wriggling around until she finally made herself comfortable. The little rabbit previously content to laze about was now doing so while using me as her personal mode of transport.
I walked out of the room and into the adjoining hallways which eventually led us to the main gates of the castle. The ghost types seemed content to leave the three of us alone for now probably slightly disoriented by the morning's sunlight. Orin wasn't affected by the sun in the slightest probably due to being part fire type. Luckily the guest room which I stayed at was situated close to the castle's gates, so we were out in a matter of minutes.
Mt. Pyre being bathed under the morning sun was a sight for sore eyes and best of all there were no stray ghost types in sight. The only Pokémon in sight were the flocks of wingull who were known to make their nests on the cliffs overlooking the sea. In fact I felt safe enough that I started to hum the tunes of an old song I once heard in my youth whose name I've long since forgotten. Orin cheerfully hummed alongside me as I walked down the steps leading away from the castle and towards Ninetales' cave.
After some mild hiking and a run in with a wild Meditite practicing their morning Tai Chi, we finally made it to the cave. I didn't feel comfortable barging in without being invited to, so we stood outside for a while before I deigned it proper to call out Rena's name.
The response was immediate. We heard some loud yips before seeing my little fox Pokémon dash out of the cave's opening gracing us with her presence. For some reason, my fox companion had a weathered look to her as if she had been emotionally drained. Being a man with experience I recognized the look of a kit that's been dealing with rambunctious younger family members all night long.
"Calm down Rena, what's wrong? Did you miss me that much?"
"You got pestered by your own siblings?!"
Ninetales walked up to the two of us with her own clarification of yesterday's events. It seemed like her siblings were expecting their sister who was a couple of years older than them to have already evolved by this point and couldn't help but tease her for acting mature despite her diminutive stature.
"Pfft…! Maturity is not measured by size if it were I'd be buckling under both Flannery and Phoebe's antics. The only thing that's important is experience. That's why I am only deferential to trainers who have proven their mettle in the big leagues. Your little brother and sister are just too young to realize the difference between the three of you."
"We still have that fire stone tucked away in my backpack, right? You could at any point decide that you are ready to evolve."
Rena was sporting a conflicted expression on one paw she had a desire to evolve and show up her younger siblings on the other the fear of assuming a much larger form.
"You still think evolving is scary?"
"What!? Of course you can sit on people's lap afterwards. Frankly some trainers prefer larger Pokémon that way there's more fluff to enjoy."
"Vi Vi…" "She's not wrong…"
"Numsy can still get on my lap if he wants to. Well… maybe not. He'd probably break my bones during the attempt. But a ninetales weighs less than a tenth of a fully grown Camerupt so you have nothing to worry about and I still try to do stuff with him from time to time. It's just that working in all our new team members is taking a lot of my attention right now. When Flannery's done with catching the sixth member of her team she'll go back to Lavaridge town leaving me available to spend some more time with you all."
"Then it's settled. We'll show up those siblings of yours at the end of our stay here. You can only evolve once so we will make it extra special by having your entire family come and watch."
Rena darted back into the cave probably to share the big news with her younger sister and brother. Victini growing curious followed her inside as if she was a playmate who had a tacit permission to come and go whenever she pleased, leaving me alone with Rena's mother.
"You don't mind? We'll be staying here for a month, training for our upcoming gym battles. I already received permission from Phoebe's grandparents to let us train on the summit so the three of you can come visit us anytime you want."
The ancient fox Pokémon seemed to be amused by the notion that a Pokémon who has left the nest would not be welcome to stick around for longer periods of time. I knew for a fact that hatchlings usually had around a year or so to strike out on their own. That grace period fluctuated depending on their parent's breeding cycle but seeing as Ninetales were especially long lived I could safely assume the regular rules didn't apply to this species.
"You must know lots of other vulpix and ninetales right? Has any one of them ever developed an ability other than flash fire? Like say for instance their mere presence on the battlefield causing the sun's rays to grow more intense as if the move Sunny Day had been used?"
"Your sire who has long left these lands? Too bad… I would have loved to ask him all about his experiences while developing that ability. Torkoal are also known to develop this ability called Drought making them staples for fire type specialists like me. I long suspected that your line was capable of doing so as well. That's why we'll be training on the mountain's summit. Torkoal need harsh sunlight for long periods of time in order to learn this ability and I thought to put Rena in the same conditions to see if that also works for a vulpix."
"In any case we'd best be going, the sun has almost reached its zenith. We need to be at the summit before that happens."
'Can you let Rena know that it's time to go?'
"On it! You've gotta see this place! Ninetales has everything, even a bouncy house!"
The surprising revelation that a wild Pokémon took the time to have her cave furnished came as a shock to me until I realized that Ninetales used to be a trainer owned Pokémon. It made sense that she would grow accustomed to the perks of living in human society and would try to combine free living with modern amenities. It did make me wonder which human handyman she cajoled into coming up here to spruce out her cave though.
Eventually the duo came back out of the cave's entrance and this time Rena seemed to be filled with newfound confidence having probably taken the time to show up her siblings with the knowledge of her impending evolution. She gave her mother a few head bumps and a playful lick on the cheek before taking off with me obviously in a much better mood.
"Okay we'll make a quick stop at the castle to drop off Orin at Phoebe's for his scheduled training sessions and then we'll go straight up to the summit."
"Vi? Vi!" "We are in a hurry, right? I'll teleport us!"
Without waiting for an answer Victini grabbed a hold of both me and Rena and just like that we found ourselves back inside the guest room startling my team members with our sudden appearance. Teleportation didn't come with any side effects but the sudden shift in surroundings could make one experience vertigo if one's mind wasn't properly prepared. Orin didn't experience any dizziness of the sort which could be explained away by his ghostly nature but Rena didn't get off so easily. The little fox was scolding Victini in a series of heated yips while the rest of my team got woken up by the sudden commotion.
While Rena was busy establishing her boundaries the rest of the team got up and ready for the day. I still needed to make breakfast for them to give them all the energy they needed to go through a day's worth of training. That meant our next destination would be the castle's kitchen.
"You guys ready for breakfast?"
"Alright! Now I just need to figure out where I can find one of the castle's kitchens."
"Halo knows. She hid inside the kitchen pantry during yesterday's hide and seek game."
"That's perfect! you can lead the way then."
My excitable little bug type clambered onto Numsy's back intent on having the big guy walk in front of the rest of our group while she busied herself giving him directions to the closest kitchen. Because all my teammates were out of their balls the castle's hallway got a little bit too crowded, but we managed to successfully navigate our way through until we reached our destination without upsetting any of the other residents. I was also quite sure most of the ghost types living here didn't actually use the hallways preferring to phase through walls to get where they were going. Before we could make headway into our short journey the commotion being produced by my hungry team did wake up the other guest in the castle whose room was directly opposite to ours.
Standing behind the opened doorway was Flannery who had just gotten dressed, her crazy bed hair bunched up by a single elastic band.
She quickly joined our procession walking next to me as we were being led around by my eager Larvesta.
"Halo's leading us to the kitchens so I can prepare breakfast. I am betting the kitchen is fully equipped so this would be an excellent opportunity for you to learn how to cook your own team's meals."
Thus far I've been letting her help me with prep work but not trusting the clumsy teenage girl with a sharp knife. We do have a first aid kit but being stuck on the routes with an open knife wound while constantly having to change her bandages seemed like a bad idea. This wouldn't be an issue if one of our team members was able to use life dew or heal pulse but thus far, I haven't known a single fire type able to use those moves.
"Just you wait! I'll master Heal Pulse in no time!"
'Just because you are a psychic type doesn't mean you'll be able to learn every psychic type move, it doesn't work like that. Every species of Pokémon has an innate aptitude…'
This was the first time Victini got excited after hearing about a new move. Not even learning teleportation got her excitement levels running this high.
'Well, we'll need a specialized move tutor to check if you are compatible with the move… It'll take a while before we have enough money to afford hiring one, not even mentioning the fact that we also need to find a tutor we could trust to keep your existence a secret.'
While I kept mentally conversing with Victini, the baby of my team had managed to lead us to our destination. Unlike what one would expect from an old landmark like this castle, the kitchen was fully modernized while at the same time being the largest kitchen I've ever seen. It even beat out the ones lodging trainers had to share while staying at a city's Pokémon center. To avoid overcrowding I directed the rest of our group to lounge inside the nearby dining area while me and Flannery got busy prepping(preparing the meal. Unlike the hall's guest rooms which were made to handle his weight the dining room floor was not constructed to hold up such a heavy Pokémon.
"I know this sucks, but I'll give you an extra diced berry to make up for it. I just don't want you to be stuck in the stables all by yourself like last time."
I gave the big lug a much-needed hug. Being the size of your average ten-year-old meant that it devolved into me just wrapping my arms around his large head, but it was the thought behind it that counted. After returning him to his ball I started out by opening my backpack to lay out our cookware on a kitchen counter while Flannery went out to look for a kitchen apron. However, I was startled by the sight of multiple specters phasing through the wall giving me and my female cohort the evil eye. I recognized some of these ghosts as the servants who made us a welcome dinner last night. A Haunter, Duskull and Banette strangely enough the Haunter was wearing a large white hat marking him as the head chef.
"Oh, excuse us. We were looking to make breakfast for our teams. Would you guys terribly mind the two of us using the kitchen counters to make meal sets? We have our own ingredients and everything."
"Uhmm you see, each of my team members are on very specific diets. Yesterday's dinner was kind of an exception. I can't have them pigging out each and every day. The meal itself was an amazing feat of culinary expertise though! I especially liked the cold noodles!"
My last comment seemed to have mollified the ghostly kitchen staff somewhat, but this group of specters was still insistent on us not being in their work area.
"Banette says that visiting guests are not allowed to prepare their own food. Tradition dictates that the castle's staff takes care of their every need."
'Hmm… I never figured ghost types to be such lawful creatures. These servant Pokémon must have had some type of obsession with the rules while they were still alive.'
Eventually we managed to come to an agreement, we would not be allowed to prepare our own meals, but the ghost types would follow our directions while making the food for each of our Pokémon. They were very set in their ways but luckily most of my recipes were made up out of mixing a portion of food pellets with sliced berries, so they got done cooking food for us at a fairly rapid pace.
After finishing breakfast and going for another round of sparring with Phoebe my entire team, minus our little candle buddy, went up the mountain to take in the sights of the summit. Despite not being allowed near the altar housing the two orbs I was still eager to experience what the mountain's peak looked like. In my experience places like Mt. Pyre's summit where the celestial bodies could be clearly observed with the naked eye are a hotbed for psychic type Pokémon aside from the expected meditite and chimecho who I was sure to meet there I was also looking forward to finding out what other Pokémon made that place their home. Flannery decided to head off on her own instead of going up the mountain she decided to descend. No doubt planning to woo one of Rena's siblings into partnering up with her.
Luckily the mountain's summit wasn't that far removed from the castle and after what felt like only ten minutes walking, we reached the mountain's peak. At the end of the mountain's grand staircase, we were warmly welcomed by a familiar face.
"Chingling! How have you been, little buddy?"
The sound of the little psychic type's ringing caught the attention of Victini who was taking a powernap inside my backpack after having exchanged blows with Phoebe's Dusclops this morning. Used her telekinesis to unravel the zipper she came out to see where the chiming noises came from.
"He's happy to see us again and wants to show us around! Can we go?"
"Of course! Hey, little guy, do you know a spot that gets lots of sun?"
"He wants to introduce us to his family first."
"That'd be fine too. They say a Chimecho's cries are as beautiful as they are dangerous. It'd be an interesting experience at the least."
The entire summit was made out of tiled temple grounds with small shrines and gravestones dotting the landscape. I knew we weren't allowed to go further up, and it seemed Chingling knew as well since the little bell Pokémon was leading us to a well-maintained shrine. I knew each shrine was dedicated to specific legendary Pokémon and with this place being inside Hoenn it wouldn't be hard to figure out which. Before I had the chance to discover more about the shrine's origins we were greeted by the sound of melodious wind chimes. I was deeply moved by this sound just hearing it eased out all the stress I had accumulated while trekking through route 120's dangerous swamps.
The small shrine which was decorated with various charms was also sporting a pair of Pokémon which I hadn't noticed before since they didn't stand out from all the other talismans and paper lanterns drifting in the wind.
"Amazing…! Just listening to the two of you is very calming. My name is Egon, me and Chingling met a while back and he wanted to show off his home. Sorry for intruding."
"We are welcomed and are invited to stay for as long we like."
"So which Pokémon is this shrine dedicated to?"
"Two Pokémon which she calls the travelers. They favor humans and Pokémon who are on their journey and love observing those that intrigue them from afar."
"Sounds like Latios and Latias. Do they ever visit shrines dedicated to them though? I know for a fact that they tend to keep clear from humans."
The two Chimecho seemed startled by the fact that I knew which Legendary Pokémon they were speaking of. I have done my fair share of research on all publicly available information regarding Hoenn's legendary Pokémon. The Eon duo were not known by their proper names but there are stories of trainers claiming to have seen the two of them from time to time. Usually describing them as blue and red blurs streaking across the skies.
"They are surprised that you know their names."
"Ehh… It's not a big deal. This little girl here might also have a shrine or two dedicated to her back in Unova."
"Hey since this is a shrine what would be an appropriate offering?"
"Food preferably something that doesn't spoil."
"Okay! just let me check what I have on hand."
I combed through my backpack while being glared at jealously by my fire rabbit companion. She wasn't a fan of me frivolously offering up food to other Pokémon but I felt it only right to do so since we'd be staying on the summit for up to a month. After a while I finally decided to crank open the old cookie jar and fishing out two of my grandmother's famed Lava cookies.
"Vi Vi!" "Those are mine! Ehm, I mean ours!"
"Relax, these ones will stay fresh for up to three days in open air. If the Eon duo hasn't eaten them by then I'll put up some fresher ones and you'll get to eat these before they expire. The odds of them actually visiting this shrine should be pretty low."
Victini's grumbling eased up a bit. The realization that she'd be getting extra desserts as long as the two of them didn't show up eased her worries. Unbeknownst to the fact that I would make her skip that day's desert in the event that she got to eat those two cookies.
After placing the two cookies on top of the altar I thanked the two Chimecho for their hospitality and their beautiful singing. Whereupon Chingling excitedly guided us to a spot suitable for Rena's special training. The ambient temperature was fairly warm, not unlike the Lavaridge gym's volcano.
'My sense of warmth is all messed up if I can't even distinguish the massive difference in temperature between the sun's rays and the inside of a volcano. I should really have myself looked over by a professor when I get the chance.'
Unlike the geothermal heat from the volcano all the tiles here are warmed by solar radiation. The sun's light is of a similar intensity comparatively to when a Pokémon uses the move, Sunny Day. I immediately realized that this spot would perfectly suit our training needs.
With one sweeping motion I released everyone from their poké balls. In one bright flash my team materialized onto the white tiled temple grounds.
"This is the place where we'll be training every day for the next two weeks. You all know what to do so for the next four hours we'll be getting used to the benefits of fighting under intense sunlight."
Our practice went smoothly by the end of it Halo even managed to successfully perform her first learned move. Victini's psychic imaging helped Halo get the basics of Flame Charge down pat. While we were all busy enjoying our lunch something peculiar happened. Victini started zipping around frantically searching for something.
"The last sliced custap berry I was saving for tonight's dinner!"
'That'd mean something, or someone got inside my backpack while my back was turned. All of my team was busy enjoying their meals so it must have been a wild Pokémon. This'll be an excellent opportunity to test out the nose of my newest partner.'
"Raven! Come here girl, we need your assistance."
Raven who was busy basking in the sun's glows while digesting her meal trotted up to me tail waggling. Eager to know what all this commotion was about.
"Tini lost her special berry and is very upset about it. Could you sniff this container here and follow the lingering scent?"
I didn't know how reliable her nose was in comparison to Rena's but this was as good of a time as any to find out. At least Raven didn't bother haggling with me for a reward in exchange for her helping to track down the thief. Raven stuck her nose inside the now empty container and with a few rapid sniffs got all the information she needed.
"That way? Okay let's go."
Raven led me and Victini towards the nearest headstone as soon as we got close to it we started hearing munching sounds.
Chapter 56 – Training Blues
The diminutive blue figure seemed to be in a state of bliss as it was eating Victini's very last custap berry with its earlike fingerless arms. I recognized the Pokémon, but I always figured the species could only be found on the elusive mirage island.
"Ahem excuse me there Wynaut. I don't remember there being any custap trees growing on this mountain. Where did you manage to find such an exotic berry?"
"Vi! Vi!" "We all know where! Let me at 'em!"
"Vi!? Vi?" "Really!? You haven't eaten for days?"
"How come you are living here all the way up on Mt. Pyre instead of with your family Wynaut?"
"Vi Vi?" "Your makeshift-raft broke down while attempting to leave your home island?"
'Hmm what to do… there aren't enough sources of food up here at the summit. I could probably ask Phoebe's grandpa to take care of him. I know he trains psychic type Pokémon.'
While I was ruminating on a solution, Victini, while not as hangry as before, has still not forgiven Wynaut's thievery.
"Vi Vi!" "You don't steal even if you are hungry! All you had to do was ask nicely and we would have shared!"
"Vi!" "Humans and trainer owned Pokémon are different. We have plenty of food to share!"
It seemed that this Wynaut was under the impression that Pokémon don't share food with strangers. Certainly, your typical wild Pokémon wouldn't. Since they had to spend a lot of time gathering edible plants or go hunting. I figured that the other Pokémon on Mt. Pyre weren't as accommodating to hungry Pokémon with no skills to make it on their own. Not even mentioning the fact that ghosts didn't even have food since they typically don't need to consume berries for nourishment.
"Vi…" "My special berry…"
Seeing Victini close to tears I immediately took the appropriate steps to lift up her spirits.
"It's okay Tini, we can always ask our gracious host to take some extra berries with them when they inevitably have to go grocery shopping to resupply the castle's pantries. If you are still hungry you can go ahead and take another kind of berry out of my tupperware containers."
"Vi…" "It's not the same custap tastes the best…"
Victini wasn't the kind of Pokémon who got violent when provoked but a small part of me was still fearful of what she might do to Wynaut while blind with anger. So, I opted to berate the little blue furred scoundrel some more in her stead as well as make use of this opportunity to have Wynaut make up for his mistake.
"Wynaut… what you did hurt Victini real bad. What do we say when one unintentionally hurts another?"
"That's right. Now to make up for your mistake I want you to teach Raven here how to perform the move counter. We got a big gym battle coming up and if you agree I'll set aside a bowl of food for you to eat."
Just because you did something bad doesn't mean you also aren't hurting yourself. I can't imagine what it must feel like to be stranded and without any food for days.
Raven who was watching all of this play out was surprised when Wynaut suddenly used its earlike appendages to drag her back to our chosen training spot. I could tell she was properly miffed about getting dragged along by the strange Pokémon, but I was betting that Wynaut was cute enough to be quickly forgiven once the little tyke got the chance to get under her skin.
"Wynaut instinctively know all sorts of useful moves. Their physiology makes them completely incapable of directly harming others, so nature has helped them out in other ways. I remembered that Raven is capable of learning counter so I thought Wynaut could make up for the stolen berry by teaching her a new move."
"Can we go get new custap berries now? I'll get us to Fortree city in a jiffy!"
"Once the sun starts going down Rena needs as much sunlight as she can get and I don't feel particularly comfortable leaving the team alone like this."
"Can I have something to do? Halo knows how to do a flame charge on her own."
"Hmm… Wynaut can teach you how to use Safeguard. It's a handy move to prevent yourself from getting poisoned, confused or sedated. But for now, Raven needs all the help if she wants to learn counter before the end of these two weeks. Having to learn fighting type energy and afterwards the move itself will take up most of our allotted training time before facing Winona. Afterall, she'll be a participant in most of our gym battles from this point on."
I was planning to start Raven on some advanced fire type moves during these two weeks but just the thought of her being able to perform Counter got me all giddy. Returning an opponent's physical attack with twice the power was a gamechanger. I figured not many trainers or even gym leaders realized that a houndour could use the move. Turning Counter into Raven's secret trump card was a no brainer.
It was around dinner time when my friends and I returned to the castle. Having engaged in some rigorous wrestling with Glove, I seemed to have worked up a major sweat. Seeing my Pokémon put down their best foot forward inspired me to start conditioning my body as well. Glove had witnessed many ancient humans engaging in martial arts and having nothing to do except overseeing my team's spars and meditating, he offered to give me some basic self-defense training. Naturally I grasped this opportunity with both hands. I didn't know if the ancient human fighting style could stand up to modern martial arts but I figured learning it wouldn't do any harm. All Mr. Moore had me do was exercising my spatial awareness by dodging projectiles while running. So, learning how to defend myself against other humans would probably be useful down the line. After getting back to the castle I took the liberty to make use of the showers before joining the rest of the family and Flannery at the dining table.
Wynaut had decided to come with us after enjoying a few of the more common berries which I kept inside my backpack. The little guy seemed so helpless that I just caved in hoping Phoebe's grandparents wouldn't mind feeding and housing another freeloader.
"So I was wondering if Wynaut could stay here for now? He's been a really helpful sparring partner and teacher."
The couple took a moment to exchange glances until Phoebe's grandpa gave us his response. I didn't know if the elderly man was psychic but that glance seemed to have been enough for the couple to come to a decision.
"And you say Wynaut has no idea on how to get back to Mirage island?"
"Vi." "He says he has no idea."
"That may be for the better. Mirage Island has long been sought out by many a seafarer looking to make their fortune. The Island is the only place in all of Hoenn or maybe the whole world where one can find naturally growing Liechi berries."
"Vi!" "You know about the Liechi berries!?"
"Of course! There are many tales of seafaring captains stranding on the mysterious island and being hosted by the overly friendly population of Wynaut. The ones that successfully managed to escape the island have recounted their experience for the wider public. Many an expedition were launched by those same captains but all of them ended in failure. Something hides the island from the perception of outsiders. Hoenn's premier berry master has even offered a 250.000 pokédollar reward for anyone able to bring him a fresh Liechi berry."
"Vi!!!" "That's 5000 oran berries worth of human money! We've got to find that Island Egon!"
Even Wynaut was amazed by the importance that mainland people attached to his home island. Pokémon in general didn't care too much about human money but Victini's outburst managed to translate the worth of even a single Liechi berry fairly well not even mentioning what a whole island full of them could get you. My own team was getting all excited at the prospect of visiting the mysterious island which was in stark contrast to Flannery's Pokémon. Her team had all been acclimated to living in the lap of luxury aside from her newest addition. Houndour's wagging tail was reminiscent of a speedboat's propeller indicating what the dark type thought about .
"Vi! Vi!" "Wynaut all you have to do to pay me back for stealing my precious berry is leading us to mirage island. We won't tell anyone else of the island's whereabouts I promise!"
Before the situation got out of hand I pulled my overeager rabbit away from the startled Wynaut. I wouldn't lie to myself by claiming that I wasn't interested in the berry master's most lucrative reward. Zinnia's college fund wasn't going to be magically delivered to grandpa and grandma's doorstep but pressuring Wynaut into revealing Mirage Island's secret location didn't sit right with me even if Wynaut was faking his amnesia.
"In any case, me and my wife are happy to host little Wynaut here. I myself am quite experienced at raising psychic type Pokémon so if this little one doesn't mind he can join my old partners who are also living on the summit."
"Why don't they live here with you inside the castle?"
"This place is filled with ghost types. It makes for a poor meditation environment to those who are repelled by their naturally emitted energies."
"Only specialists call it that."
"Vi?" "Aren't they lonely up there without you?"
"Not at all. When you've been partners for as long as we have distance becomes obsolete. Our minds are always linked in and I am only one teleport's distance away."
The awe of meeting and housing a mythical Pokémon seemed to have already waned some. The elderly man especially seemed almost relieved to see Victini behaving just the same way any curious psychic type would. The couple seemed all too eager to educate her in the ways of the world.
Phoebe sensing a lull in the conversation brought up another topic of interest.
"I am up for another rating battle. We're this close to breaking into the top ten. If I win this battle we will be taking the ninth spot on the ladder."
Impressed I didn't hold back my praise for her team's hard work.
"That's amazing Phoebes. You are this close to getting your dream job."
Flannery obviously confused as to what we are talking about pried further,
"Ninth spot on the ace circuit? Is that good?"
Before Phoebe had a chance to blow a gasket I hastily explained how the ace circuit worked.
"One can only enter the ace circuit by breaching the top 16 at the Ever Grande conference. Getting the ninth spot means Phoebe could be considered to be in the top fifteen most skilled trainers in all the region. After the Champion his elite four and the 8 trainers ranked higher than Phoebe if she wins her next battle. She would be taking her opponents current ranking were she to win."
"Whaaat? Really? So if I get into the top sixteen and challenge the current trainer at the top of the ace circuit I'd get that spot?"
"Yes and no, Trainers that are participating in the ace circuit have to accept at least one challenge every two weeks. Those that are ranked higher get their challenges prioritized. You can challenge the number one but I doubt he has the inclination to waste his time with a trainer ranked dead last. Usually the right to have a battle with the number one is reserved for trainers who made it into the top ten. And before you ask if one is incapable of accepting a challenge, before those two weeks are over, he automatically loses his spot to his highest ranked challenger."
"Hmmm seems like a hassle, you can't go on vacation for longer than two weeks?"
"Yes but making it to the top is worth it. At the end of the ace circuit the trainers who are ranked in the top four get the right to challenge one of the elite four. If they manage a win they get to replace that member."
"Wait?! Grandpa has been a member of the elite four since forever."
"It is rare for an elite four member to get replaced or even challenged. The top thirty ace trainers are no joke. They have numerous gym leaders amongst their number. Frontier brains, hidden masters who want to keep up their skill but have no interest in replacing our current elites. I am fairly sure our current number one could replace one of the elites if he chose to do so."
"Who is the number one!?"
"Brandon, He is always eager to test challengers but his true passion is going from region to region excavating old ruins. He does make the effort to hold onto his ranking inside Hoenn though."
I couldn't stop the admiration I felt from leaving my voice. Me and Brandon shared the same interests. If I was a little bit older and wealthier I'd probably be doing the same thing he's doing. Excavating old ruins, making friends with the legendary Pokémon living within them and donating all the odds and ends I dig up to noteworthy museums. At this point Brandon was the only one that I knew of to have managed to catch one of the regi trio. He was known to have caught a regirock. Where he managed to find one was still a mystery but I was eager to find out. There have been some amateur attempts at stealing the rock titan but the big time criminals like (hunter J) have not made any attempts to do so yet. Brandon was a trainer respected for his skill in battle even before he first showed off his vaunted companion.
"Glacia's already managed to take the third spot so that leaves number two and four for the taking."
"You are not going to challenge her?"
"She may be my rival but we both promised to make it in this year. Besides, she's aiming for a different target. The only thing that matters is that I'll be ranked the strongest among the elites."
"Mr. Moore's still your target right? Well it would make sense for an ice type specialist like her to avoid challenging him."
The current elite four was made up out of trainers who were getting close to retirement age. Sidney being the only exception having gained his position two years prior. Glacia aiming to challenge Spenser would make sense. The man was known to favor grass type Pokémon but he did tend to throw his challengers for a loop by substituting his regular team with other types. However, challenging a grass type trainer would put a mark on her elite four career, making people question whether or not she earned her right to be counted amongst the elites. Based on what Phoebe's told me about her I was quite sure Glacia would end up challenging the other elderly elite Kate. Kate was an islander who specialized in Psychic types hailing from Mossdeep City. She ran the Mossdeep city gym with her husband. The both of them are famed for being of near equal skill. When she's busy attending to her duties as an elite her husband took over her share of the gym leader's duties. Glacia winning against an opponent who had no advantages or disadvantages against her team would set her up for a stable reign as one of the elites.
"Glacia has ways of beating a fire type specialist like Mr. Moore. Her Walrein's thick fat isolates the big lug from any fire type moves."
"Hmpff my grandpa has ways of dealing with cocky water types. On dry land his fire types can't be beat!"
The rest of the dinner ended peacefully. Flannery might not show it outwardly but during my travels she often complained about her grandfather's busy schedule. Him having his elite four position taken wouldn't upset her as long as Phoebe kept from making speculations about Mr. Moore's skills.
It's been two weeks since we first arrived, both Flannery and myself have grown a lot. Houndour managed to learn Counter under Wynaut's guidance. The rest of my team had managed similar feats, each of them nailing down a new move. Numsy being barred from using ground type moves set out to improve on his own. The solution being right in front of us, it only took me a while to realize, curse when used by Pokémon who aren't ghost types hardened their musculature improving their physical defense and attacking power while hampering down on their nimbleness.
Rena also managed to learn a new move. Chingling's parents were always busy guarding the travelers' shrine and with having little to do during the day made it a hobby to watch us train. Seeing us working hard to reach our goal moved the little guy enough to ask his mother to teach us a new move. Chimecho was an expert at using obscure psychic type moves. I immediately asked her to teach Rena Imprison. During my double battle with Phoebe the move caused a lot of mayhem and she didn't hesitate to use it against VIctini in our subsequent battles. As luck would have it Chimecho is a proficient user of the move and she happily taught my little fox how to do so as well.
We quickly discovered that Victini was incapable of making use of the move much to her chagrin. She already knew that there would be a few psychic type moves that would be difficult or impossible for her to learn but finding out this early put a dampener on her mood. After some consoling with me she got out of her funk fairly quickly. The only Pokémon truly capable of using every single move out there was one of her contemporaries Mew. Nonetheless she still made good use of our time here by picking up how to perform Shadow Ball by spying on Litwick's training sessions with Phoebe. The rest of her time was spent coaching Glove and Halo in fire and psychic type moves respectively.
Glove managed to finally reach a level of mastery with Confusion that Victini judged to be only "adequate". Which freed up a good chunk of his time. Psychic was still a ways off so he spent most of his time on meditation while keeping himself close to Halo when he wasn't busy demonstrating basic ancient human self defense for me to learn. He got so into meditation that I was fairly sure he was on the cusp of learning Calm Mind. That's why I asked one of the medicham living on the mountain for his expert opinion. One look by the meditation Pokémon confirmed my initial conjecture. Medicham, who later turned out to be one of Phoebe's grandpa's Pokémon, was impressed enough to give Glove a few tips on how to "fortify the mind against stray thoughts" as Victini put it. Seeing fit to act as Glove's Guru or spiritual teacher.
Little Halo's growth was the most impressive. After quickly mastering flame charge I quickly put her through targeting practice and a crash course on how to control the intensity and temperature of her flames. She quickly grew bored of my standard fare training and set out on developing her own move. She took her inspiration from Rena who she had often seen using the move Sunny Day. Just like my fox companion she sought to harness the power of the sun and by the end of our two weeks training she showed the first signs of learning how to use the move Morning Sun. I was blown away by her intuitiveness and after explaining to her which move she stumbled upon, the little bug type worked twice as hard at mastering the technique.
Raven's progress was hard won; it took her ten days to learn how to channel fighting type energy. At the end of our two weeks' training she finally began showing signs of properly using the move. My Pokémon helped her out by using the move Tackle against her. At first she couldn't get the timing right using the move prematurely or not at all. The first time she executed the move successfully was when Halo flame charged her out of nowhere. Raven's fight or flight instincts subconsciously registered the little bug type as a threat helping her get the timing right just as Halo crashed into her. That was also the first time Halo ever got struck by an offensive move. Not having built up her toughness through battling like the others had resulted with her dazzled out on the ground fainting from the backlash of her own move.
Since today marked our return to the outside world our daily training bouts were cancelled. Rena still had to venture to the mountain's summit since we couldn't afford to have our efforts wasted. So all of us came up with an amenable solution.
"You want me to escort and watch over Rena while she trains on the summit!?"
"Just for today! It's a win win for the both of us when you think about it. Rena gets to show off in front of her little brother and teach him some of the tricks she's picked up from circuit battling."
Naturally Rena was responsible enough to get to the summit on her own. But I still felt a sense of duty regarding her safety. It was one thing when she was spending time at her mother's but another to be all alone with no one to look out for her aside from an overly enthusiastic Chingling. Training accidents are a rare occurrence but they still happen from time to time.
"Hmm I guess? We were actually planning on going down the mountain to go window shopping. But you owe me for this, one favor no questions asked."
"Fine! Whatever, as long as I am not breaking any laws."
We already ate our morning breakfast with Flannery's group before seeing them off with my little fox trailing behind them. She didn't seem to mind overly much to have to sit out my next gym match.
Flannery had really come into her own while free from her grandfather's supervision. She even managed to convince Ninetales to give her a shot with one of her two kits. The older one was a male Vulpix who strongly inherited their line's haughtiness. Ninetales must have figured that Flannery would be a good influence on him. Her energetic personality and natural klutziness coaxing him to come out of his shell. While his orderliness would temper the girl's rambunctiousness. This did not come without a few conditions though. Having been informed that we would be staying on the mountain for a while, she reserved the right to change her mind during this short trial period while we stayed with Phoebe's family. So far Flannery hadn't done anything egregious enough to change Ninetales' opinion on her fitness as a trainer.
The first night she had been given the go ahead by Ninetales Flannery was awash with happiness immediately calling her grandfather to let him know of her success. Mr. Moore was happy for his granddaughter but let her know that it was about time she came home. He needed the extra hands to take care of the gym's increased workload. The houndour pack were now being looked after by a volunteer and it would take more time that he didn't have to hire and train new personnel. Having nearly fulfilled my part of the deal by letting Flannery catch Pokémon and experiencing what it was like to travel the routes he saw fit … to let me continue participating in this circuit with the gym's support and pending on how well I did during my next gym match he might even ask me to wear the gym's colors allowing me to fully represent the Lavaridge gym.
"Vi?" "Are we ready to go?"
"Yep what's the closest place you can teleport us to?"
"That run down building?"
"Vi Vi!" "They had a bunch of interesting stuff!"
"Stolen stuff. I don't want those rogues setting a bad example for Halo."
Still, I couldn't complain overly much. It was already impressive that Victini could teleport us inside the city's limits from this distance after having only been there for less than a full day. I returned the rest of my team who were busy goofing off inside the castle's training grounds to their poké balls. Once I recalled my last partner Pokémon Raven who picked up a penchant for chasing down stray ghosts who visited the castle, I was ready to get teleported. Victini wasted no time clamping down on me and initiating the process. She'd gotten so good at the move it took her less than a full second even when traveling long distances. One moment I was inside the castle's training grounds and now I was in a run down shack populated by Chameleon Pokémon. Who weren't mentally prepared to have a human just drop by out of nowhere.
"Vi Vi!" "Calm down, it's me. This is my human. You know the one I sometimes talk about? He came by here that one time."
That seemed to have calmed down the two Kecleon who had been standing guard over the place while the others were probably out hoodwinking tourists.
Somehow I wasn't that surprised that Victini had been having secret playdates without me knowing about them. If I had the power to travel everywhere within a moment's notice I'd be checking up on old friends from time to time as well.
'Wait… what other friends have you been hanging out with while the rest of us were sleeping?'
"Just here! And sometimes I sneak up on Tranquill. She has been doing really well over here. Winona was so impressed by her grit that she's promised to let her on the team as soon as she's become strong enough to take on eighth badge trainers."
As I took in my surroundings I couldn't help but notice the Kecleon's change in inventory. There used to be the occasional item of value strewn in between all the junk and loose Pokémon food but it seemed that they've been learning to snatch the type of items humans would find actually valuable. Pokémon sized furniture, Leppa Pomeg Hondew and Sitrus berries, leaf stones, a pile of gold nuggets crowned by a single pearl. And strangely enough a single Light Orb.
"Have you been teaching them how to become better thieves…?"
"Vi! Vi Vi!" "No! Thieving is bad but they still needed a way to make a living. So I went through some of you older memories to come up with a solution and now they've been gathering the good stuff so they can start their own shop! For both wild Pokémon and traveling trainers! The Kecleon shop is about two weeks away from officially opening!"
To say I wasn't impressed would be a total obfuscation of the truth. It always seemed strange to me that there weren't any places of commerce run completely by Pokémon. There are shops that are managed by trainer owned Pokémon but to see wild Pokémon like these Kecleon showing such initiative with only a little encouragement from Victini completely changed my initial opinion about these rascals.
"Tini if these guys need an initial investor then count me in! This place just needs a few licks of paint and a signboard. We could get all that done within the day. Probably some display cases to show off their merchandise, maybe a store logo."
"Vi! Vi!" "Wait! Wait! The Kecleon are the ones that decide. If humans suddenly start interfering it will defeat the shop's original purpose."
"Then how will they purchase products to sell?"
"The wild Pokémon living on routes 119 to 121 will bring in items of interest. In exchange for berries, food and human made healing items. Visiting trainers who purchase their wares are encouraged to barter with goods but if they wish to use human currency they will be buying at a premium."
'I could see many a Pikachu trainer willingly fork over the big bucks for that light orb. And since none of these kecleon are trainer owned they wouldn't have to pay taxes. If this place does turn over a substantial profit I could see the local city council authorize an emergency ruling.'
Battles that allowed for the use of items were few and far between in the main circuits. Technical battling like that was usually reserved for places like the battle frontier or the trainer tower. The league didn't expect many of the younger trainers to learn how some of the more esoteric items worked so to keep things fair they banned their use from all league sanctioned battles.
"We are wasting time! Let's go!"
"Fine! Just wait a second."
I ruffled through my bag until I finally found the item I was looking for. Before placing it in the claws of the nearest Kecleon.
"Here you go, another item passing trainers might be interested in."
"It's a single use technical machine for the move Silver Wind. These babies have been discontinued for a while so a passing bug type trainer is sure to scoop it up when seeing it displayed in your store."
"I am proud that you guys are changing for the better and I want to help out in my own small way."
The Kecleon started tearing up before quickly turning around and placing the technical machine on top of the collection of gold nuggets.
"I told you these kecleon are the sweetest!"
"You are right from now on I'll defer to you in all Pokémon related matters. Now… It's time we finally won our third Hoenn gym badge!"
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone