“Ahh, finally free from the wretched snow!” I declared brightly, stepping lightly on the frosty grass. “Well, mostly free,” I amended, turning to glare at the mountain behind me.

  This was a mistake, as it opened me up to a pile of snow thrown my way. “Gah!” I shrieked as the cold matter hit the side of my head and slid down my jacket.

  Turning around, I glared at Phantasm, the Zoroark chuckling evilly at my discomfort. “Oh, it is on!” With a fierce battle cry and a healthy dose of Aura, ice and snow from the edge of the mountain were blasted towards Phantasm.

  Or where I thought she was. The moment the snow should have hit her, it passed through that spot. Oh tricky, she made an illusion, and it actually fooled me! Though I am admittedly half blind right now, which means…

  Swiveling on the spot, I thrust my arms out and sent the second snowball flying away from me and propelling it in the air and into Phantasm’s shocked face.

  “Ha! Your illusions are getting better, but you need to learn to be less predictable. If your enemy can anticipate you, you’re as good as caught!”

  She snarled and ran after me, the two of us just running as we ran out of snow to throw, until Phantasm got the bright idea to pick up a pile of mud and hurl it at me. She didn’t throw it hard enough to hurt, but with her speed, I had no chance of dodging before it splattered onto the side of my raised arm.

  “Ugh, yuck. I’ll need to wash this off,” I grumbled, much to her amused chuckles. Those stopped when she saw the mischievous gleam in my eye. “You know, I think we could all use a bath,” I said with a meaningful glance at the ocean, just off to the side of the cliff below.

  Phantasm gave a startled yelp as I recalled her, pivoting and pointing the Pokeball straight at the water. “Enjoy the dip!” She had just enough time to scramble helplessly in the air before she splashed in the water.

  ‘You’ll pay for that.’ The baleful gaze she directed up at me as she pushed her head out of the water was enough to send a shiver up even my spine. Don’t want to let that anger settle into any true resentment.

  “Oh, I’d say I already did, though this isn’t just punishment for you; it’s training.” I drew another Pokeball as I spoke. A flash of emotions passed through her face, from joy at others sharing in the torment to continued annoyance to finally acceptance (or perhaps more annoyance - her usually bilious fur lay damp with the water and made her look a tad like a drowned rat).

  A few more flashes of red light, and all but Nightwing and Miles were in the water (the former out of refusal and the movement capabilities that made me doubt she’d ever truly be caught in such a situation and the latter out of the difficulties of having an Electric Type constantly in the water with them). Athena was annoyed but trying to act like it didn’t bother her, floating with her arms clasped, gently guided by Aura. Bahamut splashed around happily, the little guy excited and amazed with such plentiful water all around. Dun rolled around beside him, not playfully but determined, ready to conquer the terrain that had been such an obstacle to him before. Notch floated impassively within the water, seemingly unconcerned by being engulfed by one of their natural weaknesses. Though that might just be me making assumptions. They’re hard enough to read even when not completely underwater.

  “Okay team!” I shouted down, trying to amplify my voice with Aura. Given the snickers I heard from some of them, I figured it did something weird to the sound. Getting it to sound normal at any volume would be cool. I could show off ‘throwing my voice’ to Cyan when I see her again.

  “This will be a little aquatic battle training. First off is just getting a hang of moving in the water, so you’ll be swimming along for a bit until I tell you to stop.” As one, all five of them snapped their eyes to Nightwing and Miles. “Haha, guess I’ve been getting too predictable, huh? Yeah, you’ll have to deal with a bit of harassment along the way. Alright, go, go, go!” I cheered.

  They began swimming quickly, and even with such movement being unfamiliar, if I didn’t have gravity and Aura on my side as I raced down, I wouldn’t be able to keep up. Heck, I might not keep up at all if it weren’t for the times I sent Miles and Nightwing down to harass them.

  I made sure to only do so when the water was clear of any other predators, which it was for most of the trip. Few of the native Pokemon wanted to tangle with the group of five at once, and those that were foolish enough to were quickly discouraged through the powerful attacks my team had. Bahamut sliced hard into that Barraskewda; he’s getting strong, fast. They all are, really. A team of Champions.

  As we reached a long stretch of flat, brown grassland, I called a halt to their movements. I was still a fair bit above them, but not so much so that it would be difficult for most of them to ascend. I’m lucky my team has such mobility. Few Pokemon are as capable in the air, on top, and below the ground as many of my team are. Once they conquer the water, they’ll be good to go pretty much anywhere.

  ‘Conquering the water’ was proving to be a tad difficult as I turned them to the next challenge of engaging each other within the water. “I think they were doing better when fighting you and Nightwing,” I commented to Miles. Whenever discussing tactical or training problems, Dun was my go-to, but if he wasn’t available, then Miles usually had a decent idea, especially with how much they handled my schedule and the like.

  “I agree, bzzt. Shooting attacks upwards was something they’re more used to than fighting something within the water.”

  “Especially close-ranged combat, that takes on an entirely different quality under the sea~.” I couldn't help the musical note that came after and grimaced under Miles' expectant gaze. “Just another Disney song to eventually steal. I do really like that one, but like the other songs, they’ll really need the right music video to make them hit hard.” Possibly more than that. I’ve heard the arguments that ‘Let it Go’ had a full feature-length film to promote it. Though I’d be amazed if my music ever got that popular.

  After an hour in the water, I noticed their comfortability and technique starting to improve, but also how tired they were getting, with Bahamut dipping under the waves once or twice in a fashion that felt like it wasn’t on purpose. “C’mon up everyone, training postponed.”

  We’d definitely be getting back to the water adaptation, but for the moment I was happy to lounge beneath the ominous shade of the massive block of stone jutting out over this thin stretch of land. Did this form naturally, or was it carved out for whatever reason? Probably for the seal, if it was man-made.

  Further down this path, I knew there was another seal holding one of the Vessels of Ruin. It wasn’t worrisome, but the knowledge of its presence weighed gently in the back of my mind, a little reminder of the great power contained here.

  The nearby Pokemon were plenty strong as well. As we ate, I saw plenty of Sudowoodos and Heracrosses eyeing us with consideration. None of them were bold enough to make a move on the team fully gathered, though, but from their stances, the way the ground shifted where they stood, and the casual demonstrations of violence I spied, like ripping up whole trees, I could tell these Pokemon were strong.

  We’re out on the edge of Paldea here. No signs of civilizations beyond the dilapidated wrecks left from ancient times and the Socarrat Trail is an old, barely maintained path stretching around the large pillar of stone. Little human presence to temper the wild Pokemon.

  “Frax?” Bahamut asked as he finished off the last of his food. My understanding of him was enough that I was 98% certain that he was asking what was on my mind (the remaining 2% thought he might be looking for more food, but he appeared satiated for the time being).

  “Just thinking on the state of things, wilderness and civilization and their effects on Pokemon. It's a commonly accepted theory that humans help Pokemon grow stronger and faster. The second one is easily enough proven, but is the first true? Most Pokemon that live closer to civilization tend to be weaker and less aggressive.” Due to a number of reasons I wasn’t getting into at the moment, which had just as much to do with the weaker Pokemon being drawn to the safety of civilizations as it had to do with more violent Pokemon being driven out by rangers.

  “Of course, that theory ignores those like these Pokemon. The wild Tera Pokemon like Athena’s sensei. The proponents of it would argue that they are outliers, that people like the Elite Four and Champions have stronger Pokemon on their teams. But aren’t they outliers of humanity too?”

  My Dragon simply cocked his head to the side adorably. “Ah, I’ve kinda lost you, haven’t I?” As he blushed, I waved him off. “Don’t worry about it; I wonder about a lot of pointless things. Instead, why don’t we do something a little more fun?”

  His eyes gleamed as I stopped reclining and said, “Let’s get you some practice against the natives here.” The enthusiasm he showed dimmed a little as I pointed at the flat top of the large rock. “We’re gonna climb up there and fight the Pokemon there, okay?”

  Despite his disdain for climbing, the prospect of a good battle (and one on solid ground no less) filled him with determination, the tiredness he felt from before banished by a good meal. I split the rest of the team into two groups, within eyesight from atop the rock.

  Helps them with different training focuses, and stopping certain 'personality issues.' This ranged from things like Phantasm's vicious streak to how Athena was getting more aggressive in pursuing Dun since she evolved. I wasn't exactly sure how Dun felt, having not broached the topic with him yet, but he seemed to be playing hard to get, but not uninterested. Those were issues for another day, however, and I pushed them aside as we set to work.

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  The climb was tough, not due to the height but how smooth the stone was. For the most part, I was just using my Aura to lift me up. Bahamut had it easier in that he could simply carve out his own handholds, though it took him longer.

  Scoping out the area ahead of time, I picked the Pokemon I wanted him to fight as he pulled himself over the edge. “See that Forretress over there?” I pointed at the Bug Type, hovering over the rocky ground. “Introduce yourself and challenge her to a fight.”

  Bahamut plodded over and engaged her with dialogue for a moment while I kept an eye out. The Steel-coated Bug seemed disinterested until my Pokemon got around to mentioning paying her back in berries. A few Sawsbuck and one distant Amoonguss seemed interested in what was going on but ultimately turned back to look after their own packs. That’s one reason why I didn’t want him to go up against one of the others here. A large group of Pokemon this strong would be too strong for him to handle.

  The Forretress took the initiative in the battle, shooting forward towards my Fraxure, the slight rainbow light of Double Edge covering her, making it clear what Move she was using. Bahamut dodged the attack with ease, though he made the mistake of trying to hit her on the way past, slapping her with a water-coated tail.

  The counter clanged off her sturdy shell, leaving my Pokemon wincing and rubbing his tail from the impact. And there’s the other reason why I wanted him to face her. Amoongus could be tricky, and Sawsbuck could challenge Bahamut in speed, but only Forretress could eliminate his greatest strength. His, well, physical strength.

  The fight continued without any input from me for a while. The Forretress had excellent control over Magnet Rise to fly around the battlefield, but it didn’t allow her to match the sheer agility Bahamut had. My Pokemon was smart enough not to use any ineffective Moves, but as strong as he was, he couldn’t significantly hurt his foe.

  For her part, the Forretress was starting to cotton on to that fact and stopped charging at Bahamut, readying attacks for when he got in close. After he was clipped by a Rapid Spin after a failed Aerial Ace, I was about to step in and start directing him before things got out of hand until he surprised me.

  Yelling in rage, Bahamut began thrashing about, purple-blue draconic energy surrounding him. That brought a split second of panic (as a Forretress’ shell might be one of the few things that could be a severe threat to his tusks) until I realized what he was doing.

  Channeling that energy to his mouth, he began spitting a line of Dragon fire at Forretress. Unlike the cone of Dragonbreath, this attack was a thin line, snaking through the air to reach its target. It also bypassed her tough outer shell immediately, eliciting a howl of anguish from the wild Pokemon.

  Dragon Rage does 40 HP of damage every time, no matter what. ‘Hit points’ weren’t so clear-cut an object as they were in the games, but it was still enough that he had found a way to bypass a tough enemy’s defense. The Bagworm Pokemon wasn’t to be finished off so easily, though, launching a massive ball of electricity and firing it off wildly.

  Bahamut zigged when he should have zagged, caught off guard by the sudden attack and running straight into it. As his muscles seized up in the flash of lightning, I knew that he had been Paralyzed by the Zap Cannon.

  “Scary Face!” I shouted, and he immediately glared at the Bug Type, grinding his fangs together. The aggression had the Forretress flinching and hesitating, helping to make up for the speed Bahamut had lost from Paralysis. “Dragon Rage strafe,” I called out. Despite the Paralysis and the difficulties in mastering his rage, he followed the order, running around and spitting blue flames at Forretress.

  She then surprised me by firing a bunch of spikes all over the clifftop. Huh? But no new Pokemon… As she began to spin around, I saw her plan, the spikes rising up and drawing in towards Bahamut. He let out a cry as some of the metal slivers cut into him.

  The rest passed by, spiraling towards Forretress, until their spin slowed down before starting to reverse in direction. Whoa, that control over Magnet Rise and to use it in combination with Spikes is so cool- wait, stop gushing over the cool technique and think up a counter! I racked my brain for ideas of something to disrupt the attack or let him dodge but came up blank. The lack of ranged Moves Bahamut knew stymied me, and the only useful one here, Draco Meteor, couldn’t precisely strike all the Spikes. Then it hit me, but only a second before the Spikes once again hit him.

  As Forretress scattered more of the pointy metal around the field, I ordered, “Taunt!” Bahamut pulled down one eyelid and stuck his tongue out at the Bug Type.

  Despite the fact that she had manipulated it into a dangerous attack, at its base, the Move she was using was a variant of Magnet Rise, so the Taunt stopped her in her tracks. Literally, as luck would have it, as her original Magnet Rise, which she used to float around, suddenly ended, and with Taunt, she was forced to hop angrily towards Bahamut.

  My Dragon was frozen up for a moment by the Paralysis, but began to shoot more Dragon Rage at Forretress as soon as he could. Hmm, why is she trying to get closer when her ranged Moves worked bet-

  “PROTECT!” I shouted. At the same time, the Forretress began glowing. Bahamut flinched, holding his arms out as if to hold off the imminent blast.

  His stubby limbs could not, of course, but the spherical barrier he conjured around himself at the last moment did an admirable job of blocking the blast. In front of him, Forretress lay down on the ground, defeated. Explosion took everything out of its user, and so we had won.

  Running forward, I scooped Bahamut up, hugging him tightly. “Great job! I’m sure you’re getting close to evolving at this rate.”

  “Rax, axure! Fra fra fra,” he chittered excitedly. That growth is impressive; I was sure that Forretress was stronger than him, but he proved himself on multiple levels. I don’t want to pin an exact estimation on the day he’ll evolve, but I do believe he’s close. Even with the slow growth rate of his species, he’ll probably become a Haxorus before or during our Elite Four fight.

  ***

  The Pokemon around here were strong enough to give the whole team a challenge, not just Bahamut. As a team, we could drive off anyone getting too aggressive. At least on land. On the oceanside of the landmass, the team trained in the water and did well in learning how to fight while submerged. The lakeside was a different story.

  On the other side of the rock was a loooong drop into Lake Casseroya, a dip we only attempted once before scrambling out. The Gyaradoses, Dragonairs, Dondozos, and Veluzas were all strong and fiercely territorial. Even with Miles heavily shocking the area to fry the first wave, more were soon swimming after the waterbound team members. Guess we won’t be crossing close over the lake to reach Kofu.

  “It feels a little weird,” I admitted later. “To not travel by foot to the next Gym. Like I’m skipping something important.” Though that might just be my game experience talking. I was hardly going to admit that to Arven, however.

  “Eh, didn’t you fly over to the auction?” The young boy on the other end of the video call pointed out. He was dressed in an apron with a bit of flour on his cheek, currently in the middle of his latest ‘experiment.’ He looks up to his father so much, even when trying to carve his own path forward… Uh-oh.

  “Uhh, everything alright there, Nemona?” He asked when I didn’t respond. I adjusted the position of the camera slightly so he wouldn’t see any of the results of my own experiments.

  My Pokemon hadn’t been the only ones busy on this trip. I’d used the time away from civilization and any prying eyes to crack open the Friend Ball I’d gotten from the auction and compare it to the base Pokeball design. It took a lot of work, but the studies into mechanics from earlier were paying off, and I was pretty sure I figured out how to remove the identification tracking system from a Pokeball, while keeping the rest of it functional.

  Such a thing might raise some alarm if anyone noticed or had cause to check, so I’d only make those kinds of alterations to my team’s Pokeballs if I was certain we’d need it against Turo. Still, it feels good to be making progress on that front and to have that tool in my back pocket if I need it.

  “Oh yeah, I’m here.” Clearing my throat, I answered his question. “Yes, we did fly to Porto Marinada, but that was different. There was no Gym there, and I flew right back to where I left from.”

  “Hmm…” he scrunched his brow up, thinking hard about it. “Could you run around the lake and make it that way? You run suuuuuuuper fast.”

  I couldn’t help the chuckle that burst out of my lips. Ah, to be a kid again. I mean, I am, but not one so naive to think that running fast across the beach means I can run halfway across the country in a week or two. That was how long it would take for me to do that and keep to my self-imposed schedule, though I was admittedly giving myself a hefty cushion for potential delays and training time.

  “Though, now that I think about it…” I trailed off, muttering more to myself than Arven. “I might be able to make it in three weeks if I pushed myself.” Having to go the long way around the lake meant a hike back partially up the mountain and just a lot of running. “That would let me still make it before the end of the Treasure Hunt- no, that’s foolish.”

  “Why?” Arven asked, his head cocked to the side, which caused his messy bangs to cover both eyes almost fully before he brushed them out of the way.

  “It would be cutting into my training time hard. Which is what really matters for this journey.” I quickly switched topics before I could let anything more about that slip. Arven can’t know that all of this is mostly for maybe beating his dad up, if it comes to that. “Besides, pushing myself to finish the Gym Challenge and Elite Four before the end of the Treasure Hunt only matters to some people on the internet. And a few of them will be upset no matter what.”

  “Don’t listen to the trolls!”

  I quirked an eyebrow at that. “Where did you hear that?”

  “Uhh, Carmine,” he mumbled, and I laughed. That does sound like her. I wonder how much causing those characters to meet will affect them? Then again, all the other things I’ve changed will divert most things off of canon. Hopefully for the better.

  “That does sound like her.” A ‘ding’ sound went off on Arven’s side, and he whipped around.

  “My souffle! Sorry, gotta go!” He cried, rushing over to the oven. The screen remained on until Mabosstiff ambled over and pressed his snout against the screen and cancelled the call for his Trainer.

  Glad to see that Arven is doing well. His situation could obviously be better, especially if his father were home and not trying to discover the secrets of time travel. I encouraged him to talk to others and reach out if he was feeling lonely, and clearly he had taken me up on that. I was glad to see that he was far from the bitter kid the player character met in the beginning of the game.

  I called Arven the most, but I tried to arrange a time to call all of my friends and family at least once a week, in addition to texts, group chats, and emails. In addition to keeping them updated, it also made the stretches of wilderness feel less lonely, at least from human company.

  “Though perhaps not as lonely as I thought,” I said aloud as my eyes caught a bit of smoke rising in the distance. Getting up, I began marching over there. The smoke is too steady and small to be an out-of-control fire, and Jolteon is the only Pokemon over there that could accidentally start a fire. And the Tera Water Vaporeon would leave his pond and shut it down quickly enough if there was any true danger.

  It took me till sunset to reach the campfire, as it was over on the greener side of the inlet. I’d traveled there a few times during the three or so weeks I had spent here but never tried to stay the night due to how deadly and aggressive the Scythers and Dragon Types that lived there could be.

  This clearly wasn’t a deterrent to the group in front of me, however. Around a small firepit were about three tents, with a fourth off to the side. They appeared odd at first, and it took me a second to realize that they were handcrafted, made of sturdy leather, and the spikes pinning them in place were made of bone.

  It was for that reason that I wasn’t too worried about the Drakloaks, Dragonair, and Gabite that stood outside of the tents. The fact that they were all facing outward was also reassuring and gave me another hint as to the group's identity, even before I saw a tanned woman with short black hair in a shiny blue jumpsuit-like outfit step out. A short red cape billowed lightly behind her, and her yellow eyes snapped onto mine in an instant, a gaze so fierce I could practically feel a predatory nature from her.

  The Dragon Tamer clan.

  That little stretch of land on the opposite side of Lake Caseroya can be easily missed on a first playthrough. There's no Gyms, or Star Bases, or Titans over there, but I still find it a really cool location, and I like exploring those things in the story. What do you think of them? If you liked the update, please leave a comment here or join the the to talk about it. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.

  Nemona's Current Team:

  - Tera Type: Normal

  - Held Item: Expert Belt

  - Abilities: Run Away, Serene Grace

  - Moves known:

  - 'Miles' (Rotom, Genderless, Electric/Form dependent Type)

  - Tera Type: Electric

  - Held Item: Life Orb

  - Ability: Levitate

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Nightwing' (Gliscor, Female, Flying/Ground Type)

  - Tera Type: Water

  - Held Item: Toxic Orb

  - Ability: Hyper Cutter, Poison Heal

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Notch' (Carbink, Genderless, Rock/Fairy Type)

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Light Clay

  - Ability: Clear Body

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Phantasm' (Hisuian Zoroark, Female, Normal/Ghost)

  - Tera Type: Ghost

  - Held Item: Lax Incense

  - Ability: Illusion

  - Moves Known:

  - 'Athena' (Lucario, Mega-Evolvable, Female, Fighting/Steel)

  - Tera Type: Fighting

  - Held Item: Clear Amulet

  - Ability: Steadfast

  - Moves Known:

  -'Bahamut' (Fraxure, Male, Dragon)

  - Tera Type: Dragon

  - Held Item: Dragon Fang

  - Ability: Mold Breaker

  - Moves Known:

  *Custom Moves