Pokémon Pokemon: Legendary Adventures

[RJR Basimilus]

I was never in the fanfiction scene as a youth. So sometimes I feel caught between this like, did I miss something essential when I sat there only really knowing pokemon as a pursuit shared between myself and my friends or can I have a fresh and unabashed perspective getting into the game late? Or is it the secret third option - who cares? I’ve never really found a way that satisfies me making a review, so every time I end up doing it again, it’s like a means of reevaluating myself and what I want to do. Can’t spend too much time going back and forth about it, this is supposed to be a review. Oh noooo~ : )

I envy Koa, not for any deeply meaningful reason, purely because he woke up at 6:00 AM for an exercise routine. He’s very dedicated, albeit, in an uneven manner. It’s something he can be easily forgiven for though, hardly anyone can give 100% one hundred percent of the time. His enthusiasm falls in a strange little zone. We know he’s being hasty, we know he’s a little bit ahead of himself, he’s penciled in his team like he’s planning a trip to Disney. For me, the casual observer of TR discord multiple times every day without fail (I lead an uninteresting life O.o), I know how it’s going to end up. I also know from blacklight a few more discerning details about this and that. So how does that make me feel? I like optimism, so I find it exciting to know the future, or at least parts of it. He will be friends with zubat, and many others, because that what it means for Koa to grow as a person.

The pokemon world always seems to walk a line between dangerous, and mundane, but I think that though we always point out the strange little things time and time again, it’s just like real life! I wish I could have been sent on a three day errand to deliver a package to another city. Personally, I’ve started shying away from flying, too much hassle in the process and limitations- and I love driving. To be by myself, just going places, it’s the essence of an adventure, a feeling explored through exploration in pokemon. On a bike though? Ough, maybe too much, I’d look for one of those e-bikes. The trainer exam mentions hurdles and the rock wall, maybe they should have had a peloton test too...

It’s very non-swag of the children to make light of Koa (and immediately after writing this, I went to eat pasta, so I’m not sure if I’m still on the same train of thought). If anything, the callow youth would be more prone to making light of Cade for the dramatism associated with dragon taming. Like, in terms of pokemon training, you’re either at the revered end of the spectrum with dragons, or you’re a bug catcher- what do they call poison collectors?? Hitman I guess. But Koa’s determination in sticking to his guns is admirable. It’s like kids who say they want to be a firefighter or an astronaut, and then do it. When did it become unfashionable to dream of yourself being happy? I’ve gathered from the streets that it’s brought up later that it’s somewhat of an ill-regarded topic to be interested in, so I guess most people in Sinnoh are boring and unfun. You can’t cancel legendary pokemon without sacrificing some of your imagination (quote by me, owner of 7 arceus plushes).

Koa is too foolish to recognize the providence of a zubat paying forward onto him it’s companionship by finding him multiple times over the course of multiple days. Said it yourself kid, it was a five day walk. That’s a loot of ground to cover, especially for the blind. But he will learn, I have heard it on the grapevine. Otherwise, it would be a slander upon destiny itself.

I will make a wishlist now. Because I am an audience, and it is the duty of such to selfishly express their hopes and dreams for the future. If expectations work out- great! Vindication! If not? Tragedy! But tragedy in itself becomes a new form of excitement, we were arrogant to think we could envision the future and we paid for it with a few seconds worth of dignity. In other words, I hope this and that happens, but if these or those happen instead, wow!

Long term hopes
Koa makes many friends since he seemed very lonely at home with Blake
Koa defeats his rival Sasuke, also known as Cade.
The Zebstrika guy obviously gets a citation

Now I will read the second chapter.

Would cave exploration be scarier or less so with pokemon? Thinking about it, I think it would be fun to see large open caverns full of many pokemon, but meeting one in a thin tunnel, or god forbid, cave diving, it would be very scary. Sure, Koa was frightened of the Golbat horde, but it was a learning experience. Still stubborn about being a hater towards Zubat, but it’s been like one day.

Nice of the nurse to not report him or nothing. One would imagine the obligation to do so exists, but all’s well that ends well, right? Running a pokemon center is kind of like running a gas station. Open 24/7, lots of fics even mention spaces to clean up, like truck stop stations have. I guess to expand on the analogy, that makes trainers like truckers. Long hours on the road, little sleep, and needs specialized gas compared to normal commuters (Uh, I guess this means competitively raising pokemon compared to household companions). This makes Koa a trucker, as his goal is wanting to meet a legendary - the trucker equivalent of wanting to own your own truck. Anyway, the point of this exercise is to wonder if that means pokemon centers would sell lottery tickets. Are they all government subsidized or something? In this case, since it’s part of the ranger outpost, maybe it goes along with them. Rangers are the ATF of the pokemon world.

What separates a poacher from a ‘catcher’? Poaching pokemon is unwise, it is evil and bad and very dishonorable- catching is different. I know that getting too deep into the distinction won’t go anywhere, so for me it’s better to think of catching pokemon as a ritualistic exchange of the soul. Koa showed his soul stopping the poacher, and it resonated with Hazard. Kind of silly to say, but when does being silly stop dramatic tension and release? We agree to see our surroundings on our own terms. Regardless, what a wimp of a poacher! Not immediately catching a wild Gavantula and escaping with a smoke bomb. If *I* were the poacher, I would have just had a backup gun and shot Koa. Pokemon forensics will never convict me! Actually if it were me, I wouldn’t have been a poacher in the first place because it’s too mean : ( Gosh I have a hard time inserting myself in the shoes of a villain.

There’s a bus from Sandgem to Jubilife?!? Man, Canalave really has it rough. It even has all the boats and stuff, but it seems like it’s just a Juneau, Alaska compared to Sunnyshore’s Manhattan harbor. Well, if Koa had taken the bus the first time, then it would be a very different story. Zubat would be a passing curiosity in the window and Koa would be like “That’s fucked up” then go back to listening to BVB on the bus. I mean, we were even told explicitly that the library is the only two story building in town. Makes Canalave a real drag. Now that I think about it though, Koa took the bus to his exam too. Guess Blake’s just a proponent of hard work, making Koa bike all the way there. Gotta love siblings! (I have none, so I’m projecting)


The third chapter has an art piece! Look at that jawline! Intense

According to the author’s note, some people felt that Koa’s change of heart for Echo was abrupt. I suppose I can see it, but I actually feel to the contrary (for real, I swear!). Granted, it’s been like 3 years since, so who knows what has changed! It’s not like it’s the author’s job to keep everything as consistent as possible if there’s no paycheck. I was just reading a book that had been released for sale and everything and it had an incorrect citation in it! Anyway, it’s something I find interesting. Everyone knows that Echo is Koa’s friend except Koa. The narration knows it, Hazard knows it, the readers know it! Is it a form of tension when Koa teases the viewers, saying such things like “I will release Zubat soon as is written in the prophecy” and then thinks about how cute Echo is. Plus there were all those hints about Echo being skillful. Well... it’s totally what teenagers do now that I think about it. Such a chore to play coy with yourself. Haha, at least he’s on the right track now (or ‘was’ 2020 was so long ago).
Also, Koa should have killed that impudent child for insulting Echo. As crime shows have taught us, random murders are near impossible to solve, because most murders are usually between related figures. The pokemon world is practically asking for it with their lack of oversight of the youth. That said, who can resist watching one of those youtube videos where they send the kid on their first errand. American cynics lose out again.

I wonder what kind of market there would be for fake licenses and badges. Even the games make a lot of notes about certain this and that being gated behind requirements of stuff (I just remembered sun and moon have literal gates sitting in the road too). It’s not like every out of the way super cave could have a guy out there with a scanner that can cross reference an international database unless the pokemon world has super internet (not that I would be surprised if it did!). So like, forgery and all that. I mean, the badges could be made out of nice stuff like dollars. I just read about a wells fargo credit card made of palladium and gold especially for their top investors, so there’s more than enough precedent. Oops, that would be evil and bad. Does Roark have a monopoly on reviving fossils? I would think there would be some nice third party operators that could do a bang up job if Koa just looked around a bit, but he might end up with a Lileep.

Ahhh, to be a free spirit! When I was young and I didn’t know what I was doing, Sudowoodo in gold was such a mystifying thing. I like to think that I’ve developed a perspective on life that allows me to experience at least a portion of that feeling again. I may not have had anything pertinent to say here, but I am free, unchained, unbound, getting silly if you would.

Special shoutouts to Heartache, for the extra push to get myself involved again and Whole Foods, for hiring me after over half a year of unemployment! I want to read more already... but I should pace myself. OoooOooooo, I’m hungry

What a great story! I’ll do my best to continue this later in the week~

 

[RJR Basimilus]

I failed in my approximation. Oh well, better luck next time!

When a pokedex scans a pokemon, is it like when you’re at the airport? Foreign metal object detected in that lucario’s chest or something, ha. Regardless, it’s very smart to be able to scan and detect pokemon - and their gender! What if the markings are on its back? Guess that’s why they’re presumably very expensive. Gosh, it would suck if they expanded on that recognition technology in service of surveillance tech. Pokemon FEMA!?! To say nothing of its ability to recognize the exact moves known.

It’s nice to think that there would just be a cabin for people to stay for free. Not that there aren’t people in real life who would do much the same, rather, the level of trust is just unique. Maybe it’s just the western perspective again, americans are known for being enamored by the concept of a hostel. Though the wayfarer’s cabin wasn’t a hostel, the communal elements of it are similar, kind of in the same way insular neighborhoods like to start book boxes. I would be kind of wary spending the night in such a place, psycho vibes, or you know, the fact that I was just watching The Shining on tv. Is that Arcanine responsible for making sure no one is using it as an extended stay?

It’s good to see Koa in a winning sort of mood. Ostensibly according to writing convention, it’s a temporary high, but if only it could last. Honestly though, that a trainer can get a full breakdown of the leaders team *and* bet on the outcome? Easy money! I’m sure there are checks and failsafes for that kind of stuff, but hey, if there are shoplifting rings in grocery stores, many things are possible. I wonder if you could pawn badges off to a shop for some quick cash...

Being a trainer sounds like a lot of trouble if you’d have to keep dealing with people like Megan. I know that the game is very specific about it being a rule or something when eyes meet, but there’s not even any rules defining trainers as contractors or something? Is a trainer not entitled to any workplace regulation? Most fics even have them have to get licensing too, but no Title IX protections? Well, now that I think about it, it’s more of a license in the sense of like, food safety certification. Not really something that makes money on its own, but a compliment to a career. Does pokemon handling work as a substitute for forklift certification? Anyway, I hope Koa made sure the poison was off Echo’s mouth before he let him lick him.

Strong teeth on that golbat to bite a rock in mid-air. Makes me think of hibachi grills when the chef throws the cucumber at you. It’s nice to see his strategy and hard work pay off again, though a philosopher would wonder if it’s a function of skill (Echo dodging) or luck (Onix sucking at aiming). If the poison made it so hard, Roark should have just had it made less but bigger rocks or just use a bigger rock to create a distraction for smaller rocks. Out-tactics by a kid! Although, Roark is supposed to be fairly young himself... Or you know, a lot of people like to point out that a gym leader would have to switch out teams because the team would get a lot of experience from getting beaten up constantly, but you also can’t escape the fact that the gym leader would get a lot of hands on experience in every form of tactics. After enough time, they’d have to hold themselves back to give the challenger a chance because they’d know what would happen. Oh well, that would be too complex, it’s more fun to pretend those kinds of considerations have no merit. Life is lived the way we want it to be lived best @_@

When reviving fossils, does anyone spare a thought to if the pokemon brought back is the same one that was a fossil? Like, does the machine recreate flesh or simply make new flesh? With people it’s always the same conundrums, how do you bring back the mind, how do you preserve memory, and stuff like that. I think of that one game, Soma, where you as a human mind inside a robot think that you are transferring your consciousness to different robots throughout the game to progress, but it’s really revealed that you are just copying it over and over again, and leaving the last robot you to be stuck forever in an undersea box. Anyway, it’s a grey zone. You could just as easily say that a revived fossil pokemon is scared from being brought back to life as it is frightened as it was just brought into existence from a blueprint. As they say “Until we meet again under the Dharmic wheel!”

I guess evidence points to the revival angle, if Rascal is sort of instinctually ‘hunting’ the Ponyta. Or, considering what luxury balls and the like do, just more evidence that humanity is typecasting fossils by ingraining a set personality into a fossil. That’s pretty scary, so I’m going to ignore what I just said and go with the first thing.

Google says that philosophers say that the soul is located in the lungs, the heart, the brain, or in the pineal gland. The last one was specifically attributed to Descartes, so maybe his holds a little less merit, or at least it doesn’t sound as meaningful. So when having a heart to heart with a pokemon, what do you do if they don’t have those things? Far be it from me to suggest that Koa’s vision quest wouldn’t have worked in most cases but I suppose it’s a consideration. Cade just said he had to fight his Bagon 6 times. Why would it have not worked for Koa the same way if he just kept at it with Rascal? 90% of pokemon trainers quit right before they form a perfect bond with their pokemon (or so I’ve heard). Well, all’s well that ends well. God save the trainer that has to make a bond with their Dracovish. Maybe if they did one of those magic tricks where they pretend to be cut in half...

If Fantina takes over a month off of work, does it count as PTO? This is why there needs to be assistant gym leaders, the world has progressed past the point where gyms are mom and pop businesses. Fortuitously (or not), it means Koa has time to go meet Wyatt and end up getting Houndour. Judging by the laws of causal progression (which I invented now), he would have lost to Fanta anyway and stopped the thug because he’s had it too good for the last few chapters. Cinema dictates pain must be felt. Not that I want it though, I’d be perfectly happy for everything to be on the up and up forever!

Koa’s world is kind of composed of diametrically opposed situations. Everyone is either really nice or mean and bad. Not to suggest that this is a bad thing! If everyone was as ambiguous as they are in real life, then the journey would just be a trip to the gas station. The highs and the lows complement and strengthen each other. It’s like picking out customer stories from the workplace. You always remember the guy who wants no salt, not the hundreds of large coffees. In that respect, Koa’s adventure hits all the right points of this and that and that and this without stopping to look at the trees for too long.

Check in on my long term hopes~

Oh damn it, Cade’s more of the nerd friend than a rival. Did his father send him on this globe trotting journey or something? Definitely one of the ‘wise beyond his years’ kind of kid. Like that chess grandmaster who drilled his three children from a young age in chess, and then they all became grandmasters too.

Koa now how many friends : )

Maybe the same guy got arrested? Seen one faceless goon, seen em all? Who knows... I’m behind the curve compared to real LA fans, so I have a lot of work to do to catch up

Recently I’ve gotten back into reading a lot in general. And I’m having a great time! This fiction provides a good contrast to the book I’m reading right now, ‘The Enigma of Japanese Power’, which is apparently categorized as a business textbook. Gosh, I thought I had a good grasp of business after reading Barbarians at the Gate, but I knew nothing!! I will return after I have some ice cream, which may paradoxically take a few days. I may not want to have it now.

 

[Umbramatic]

Here for Smeargle Swap! Here are an Avis and a Kitto

https://imgur.com/POnzYKK

 

[Sinderella]

TETRAAAAA IT'S CATNIP TIME YO.

Alright, we are here for a chapter 4 review!! I am finally in a state where I don't want to give Koa a wedgie; he was pleasantly, well, pleasant this chapter. I like this version of him where he isn't treating Echo like garbage and actually seems committed to training him. That said, WOW I WAS NOT EXPECTING AN EVOLUTION SO EARLY, BUT I'M KINDA HYPE ABOUT IT???? Now the real pain in the ass is going to be getting him to crobat, glhf.

I felt myself making 😬😬 faces this chapter, mostly because I was having BEEG war flashbacks to when I battled Gardenia in my first runthrough of Plat when I was like......8. That bitch gave me a run for my money, so when Koa was like "nah she won't be shit" I wanted to be like STOP LYING, YOU'RE IN FOR A BAD TIME. But it seems like he had a better time than I did. I reeeaaaallllyyyyyy liked seeing him put his actual trainer brain to work here and finessing his way around the way Gardenia commanded her 'mon. It really gave me a sense that Koa is ACTUALLY learning and growing despite his first defeat with Roark. He actually did take the time to play to his Pokemon's strengths in this battle rather than just sending their asses out blindly and getting upset when they got bullied to filth. We love this kind of growth.

I also want to say that I just loved the utter game vibes I got from this chapter. Like, I felt like I was reading Pokemon Plat if that makes sense. It invoked a sense of nostalgia in me that had me smiling like a dummy--I also just love Eterna City and Eterna Forest, but I do have to (jokingly) say that I am mald as FUCK you didn't give Koa the coveted "anime protag visits haunted house and hijinks ensue" moment by not having him visit the Old Chateau. Missed opp, now Echo will never taste Old Gateau goodness

Getting into the more critical stuff, it took me a little bit to realize what I thought was missing here, but I think I figured it out and hope I'm wording it right despite my mental exhaustion. I overall felt like this chapter was kind of lacking in sentence/exposition variety if that makes any sort of sense. To explain, it felt like there was a lot of "Koa did this. Then he did that. Then he went and did something else. Echo responded. Then Echo did this" and it kind of got to the point where I felt like I was truly just watching these characters do things without any real insight into their thought processes or anything alike as they were doing it, if that makes sense. Like it's totally chill to explain Koa doing something, but I want some extra descriptions between everything to help, say, cushion mannerisms and help give me more insight into WHY Koa's doing what he's doing, or WHY Echo's reacting how he's reacting. I feel that'll also help with your sentence rhythm, because your sentences started to feel like they were pretty uniform and almost stagnant, which might start to take the creative flow out of the way the chapter might read.

Also! I was so hype that Echo evolved, but I REAAALLLYYYYY wanted to see some more buildup to it. Like, I dare say that it happened almost too abruptly for my tastes. It kind of feels like Koa JUST became buddy buddy with Echo and suddenly there's an evolution. I don't actually mind that much, as maybe it's just a testament to how much Koa trained him, but perhaps some extra exposition leading up to the evolution scene would help bolster it. Like, have Koa reminisce more about how poorly he treated Echo now knowing that Echo has some strength to it, or have Koa think about just how fast Echo is picking up on things and maybe WONDER if Echo's close to evolving just before it happens. Y'know just something to help guide us into it a little smoother instead of jumping straight into "he evolved!" I was so hype for that moment but I totally feel like you can make it hit a little harder.

I'm so curious about this nameless man. Also, are Kody and Rachel going to be relevant going forward??? Only time will tell. But I'm glad Koa beat them both. Especially Kody. Fuck Kody.

I have a couple line-by-lines below delving more into some nitpicky grammar things and commentary, but that about caps my thoughts! I can't wait to see Koa grow more and perhaps get his ass handed to him again!!! We love to watch fetus growth here!!!!

Spoiler: Line-By-Lines

Line by lines

For now, however, he decided to settle for working on teaching Echo Confuse Ray. It worked on the same principle as Supersonic but was much more potent and accurate.

Omgggggg I LIVE for this WB, taking mad notes.

To his surprise, developing the Confuse Ray technique proved easy. After a solid couple hours of practice, Echo managed to change his Supersonic into the concentrated golden orbs of a Confuse Ray.

Repetition of Confuse Ray here kinda makes this paragraph read a lil clunky.

Wayfarer's Cabin, a large cabin built at the edge of Eterna Forest, was a place where trainers and pokemon could rest briefly. A tall wooden fence surrounded the cabin, and an Arcanine sat at the gate, watching his surroundings intently. It acknowledged him with a bark as he approached, then moved from in front of the gate. Koa stroked him gently, scratching behind his ears before going into the cabin. He briefly wondered about its trainer. It looked happy and well-cared for.

The cabin looked empty, though a sign near the door instructed weary visitors to help themselves to food in the cabin, or to take a quick nap in the beds.

Repetition of "cabin" here makes this part read a little clunky. You could def stand for some synonyms to replace these.

The cabin looked empty, though a sign near the door instructed weary visitors to help themselves to food in the cabin, or to take a quick nap in the beds. Koa took a breath and sighed happily. It had been a few days since he slept in a proper bed. Once Echo and Hazard made themselves comfortable, Koa took a shower then made himself cozy in one of the beds.

Same as above, repetition of the word could be rewritten.

Koa patted his chest. "Come on," he whispered. With a happy chirp, Echo launched off the lamp and plopped on Koa's chest, nestling into his neck. Smiling softly, he stroked his soft fur, then tucked his own hands behind his bed. Plan or no plan, he was happy to have the Zubat by his side.

THE WAY I SQUEALED. CHARACTER GROWTH.

With a glance at his two companions, he started into the forest. The outside sounds faded, replaced by the distant humming of bugs and gentle chirping of bird pokemon. Thick shade enveloped him, cloaking the forest in a cool, eerie stillness. He moseyed through the forest, taking in the sights as he walked.

Just another instance of some clunky repetition.

"Yeah, but for the record, he insulted my pokemon, then I punched him."

As you fucking needed to

Echo was evolving!

OMG?????????? YES???????? GOLBAT RIGHT INTO MY VEINS??????

Koa immediately recognized the technique as Bite's more powerful successor, Crunch.

I think I marked this cuz I wanted a little extra to explain what the difference is. Like, just any cool visual cues you could offer.

Gardenia didn't stand a chance.

The way I SWEATED here

The Cherubi he wasn't particularly worried about, and the Turtwig likely wouldn't be too much trouble, but the Roserade did worry him.

Yeah isn't THAT the fucking truth, fuck her Roserade dammit

"Magical Leaf, Roserade. Destroy it." Roserade shot a volley of leaves at orbs, shattering them.

"Crunch!"

Echo shot forwards, straight at Roserade.

"Poison Sting," Gardenia called. Roserade quickly shot a volley of tiny purple needles from its hands.

A lil more repetition here that could easily be rewritten

 

[Nekodatta]

Here for Review Blitz and chapter 5!

I liked the battle between Hazard and the ponyta because it showcased what makes battles in fics interesting to me: that a battle is much more than just launching moves at each other and that the outcome depends on a lot more than simply who can bust out the strongest attack. It's a matter of using the environment and each Pokemon's unique characteristics to personalize the way they battle.

You used this again during Echo's battle by mentioning his erratic flight patterns, which I really liked especially because it's a pretty unique thing to the zubat line with the way they flutter in place even in their idle animations.

Another great use of the environment was using the web to trap Geodude underneath!

It's cool to see Koa get better at understanding his Pokémon and trusting them more and more. And he finally gets his Tyrunt! Kinda.

As soon as he catches it I guess ahah
Fossil Pokémon getting revived is always interesting because of how it's handled from fic to fic. The term "revived" kind of implies that it's pretty much a specific individual that's literally getting...revived from the past, which definitely makes it more fun but has some... Interesting implications, while some dex description imply that it's more of a Jurassik park situation where they have to fill in the missing parts of DNA (like Tyrantrum's Ultra Sun dex entries mentioning that "complete restoration is impossible").
Both have some fun ideas to play around with, this seems to be more like the first case and I'm curious to see how Tyrunt will adapt to this new place.

 

[Ambyssin]

Blitzy New Year!
Disclaimer: My blitz reviews are stream of consciousness styled rambles. Let me know if you have any questions.

From what I remember last time, there was fire dog gerbil thingy but then Koa was already thinking about his next destination because teen I guess. I am unlikely to actually catch up because... [looks at average chapter word count and sweats profusely]
Why do I do this to myself?

Spoiler: Chapter thoughts

15: This pun gets a 2024 Amby Spheal of Approval ← pretend that's a spheal
-Multiple entei means nothing in a universe where Hoopa and Necrozma exist.
-Sky Uppercut is just a Shoryuken. Change my mind.
-Something ironic about the Mario 1-Up looking mushroom 'mon doing jump training. Wahoo?
-Would the Sinnoh rumor mill really default to Entei as the source of a big fire problem when they have Heatran as a native regional fire-type legend? 🤔
-Oh, right, Koa still has his nice EGG in this trying time.
-Not much to say about the large amount of training stuff overall. It'd be the same for me whether it's PMD or trainer stuff, I think. I suppose the battles are kind of supporting the purpose of the A plot but at the same time they are just training and happening back to back in tandem with move teaching. So, I can't help but wonder if there'd be a way to quicken some of this stuff.
-Rascal's just a wee bit of a sore loser, which is most likely planting the seeds for the lack of controllability later on when she inevitably evolves.

16: Gee, I wonder which pokémon this chapter's about?
-Ah, yes, more angy pouting Rascal. So tsundere~
-Koa "pokémon that control space and time" is not the awesomesauce you think it is. That's actually quite terrifying. See: Cyrus, Red Chain, etc.
-Don't worry, Avis, beating Arceus isn't that hard. You just need your smartphone, some strafing, and dodge-rolling over and over again.
-The grass grows inside Lost Tower because it's actually SPOOKY GHOST GRASS. 😱
-Oh look Koa's fanboying. Ahem... NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERD
-I do still think using "legends" as the noun makes a lot more grammatical sense than "legendaries." I know you're probably too far along to want to change. It's one of those nitpicks that always gets me nowadays.
-Not believing there can be more than three beasts? I see Koa didn't watch the zoroark movie. Smh.
-The guy's name is really Mr. Daycare? Talk about being typecast into your lot in life.
-I see Charles has the charisma of Flavio in TTYD. And is le French, to boot. 🥖
-Guess we're catching the alphabet as a sidequest. Fortunately it's easier here than in the Gen IV games. Or Legends.
-Oh, hey, look it's that one passage from the games. I think I forgot that it's in normal Sinnoh and not just Legends, but double checking this update day says 2020, so...
-Nice to see the unown lore of the weird things they can do when you group them up like this. And, ayy, is that the "unown are Arceus' Thousand Arms" headcanon? Das one of my favorites.
-Lmao Koa got Gen 8 box-kun. I guess that's one way to power up your human protagonist on a trainer fic. XD

17: Not sure what's up with the different font colors for chapters. They, uh, kind of blend in to the Dark Skies theme...
-Is this opening implying surprise entei attacks can cure ADHD? 🤔
-Koa and Blake in the dark about the power of friendship and evolving 'mon that way smh.
-Scrapper vs. gravity seems like something that's going to have to be worked on in the future. Honestly, though, it wasn't until Avis actually brought off that something seemed off that I even realized that was the intent of this fight. Because, like, it seems as though Koa's frozen up in the past. I figured the whole point of the fight was to show the results of move training and TM use. But I guess that wasn't the intended effect? Dunno. Maybe a little bit more attention being drawn to it was needed. Though part of that may be on me because I will admit I'm kind of glazing over a bit with some of these battles.
-Oh nooooo Koa's having his Kieran moment, isn't he?
-Whyyyyyyy does Sinnoh allow teenagers to be independent investigators? They practically sound like police informants. This sounds like there are absolutely no drawbacks whatsoever. I fear for Avis' long-term safety in this fic
-Koa requesting so many battles he's both Kieran and Nemona, apparently. At least this one was off-screen. XP
-I see we're gonna get this fic's take on the "wall o' ducks" in the Sinnoh games. If the eggs are that valuable, wonder if Team Blackout will show up there...

18: This chapter title gives me great pain. In a good way.
-Even the characters we're following are lampshading the "well, that just happened" nature of this ninja kid. 😅
-Koa used Diplomacy! ... It's not very effective...
-Dumb ducks figured Koa's egg was one of theirs. Sounds like a big ol' misunderstanding.
-Okay, yep, misunderstanding confirmed. And double okay, there's Team Blackout. Right on schedule. I imagine this grunt sounding like Lt. Surge in the original anime dub. "GIVE EM DA TUNDABOLT, RAICHU!"
-The descriptors for the flashbang on Rascal sounded painful. Nice job.
-So, the egg was a spheal, huh? Interesting choice of pokémon. And one that opens the door for lots of roly-poly shenanigans. At least until she inevitably evolves. I'm not quite sure if her thing will be that she's a bit too docile and needs to learn the basics of battling... or if it'll be some sort of opposite scenario. I'm favoring the too docile, given we have Rascal.

19: Ah, yes, I've made this pun, too. Except I ended in type because I hurt an Alolan vulpix. :3
-I'm just imagining pinball and bowling sound effects while FLurry rolls around and bounces into things. Just imagine that wurmple is a bowling pin. See also: rolling ball Wonder Flower in SMB Wonder.
-Also I guess this means Flurry's okay with battles. I wonder if her thing will be struggling with her fighting style when she evolves and can't roll as easily.
-I can get down with PokéDad Anubis.
-I can practically hear Koa's brain sizzling trying to figure out this extended metaphor for ice.
-Ah, here's the obligatory flygon appearance. And just in time to have it mop the floor with Rascal. Or at least put her on her back feet.
-Flygon using Sandstorm right off the bat? How Darude~
-Or it could do pretend fighting to help Rascal learn the move. Cute. I've seen a couple of trainer fics do the "powerful pokémon takes a dive while hamming it up." It's always good for a chuckle.
-Koa seems to love these dragons as much as legends. I wonder if that love stems from, like, half the legends being dragon-types. Including some of the biggest in Sinnoh lore.
-Maaaan, even Wilma doesn't acknowledge Rascal as a proper dragon. She gets no respect. No wonder she's (probably) gonna become such a menace when she evolves.
-I don't have much to say on the whole stuff about elements and typing. I've seen similar variations on the idea before. Trainers helping pokémon surpass their limits sounds Saiyan as hell. XD

20: Electrifying encounter in mystical ruins, huh? Incoming electric legend? Random Zapdos? Lightning furry bait? Or the other lightning cat?
-Of course Koa wants to head for the magic ruins first. If he had a trainer class, it'd be ruin maniac. :V
-They always are in trios because three is a magic number, Callahan. Didn't you watch Schoolhouse Rock as a kid? Smh.
-I don't know why, but I imagine Callahan sounding like Robin Atkin Downes any time he plays a classy Brit character. See: Luxord, Emperor Nefarious, etc.
-Nah, Kitto was totes stalking him. X to doubt the "real" explanation. Call the police, Koa.
-I see we're going with the anime's take on Cilan. And, uh, perhaps Skyla? I did not watch the Unova anime.
-A pidgey named Kaze? See, Kaze just makes me think of the prominent SM64 ROM hacker. Hacked Pidgey incoming.
-Four-legged lightning kitty confirmed! I suppose that makes sense following on the heels of Entei before it.
-The way Raikou's described and the way Koa talks about it legitimately brings the whole 'mirage pokémon' idea to mind. Which is, like, a very niche thing to put into a trainer fic. Maybe it's not quite the same, but rather an analogous, original idea.
-And onto another "rival" battle. Yaaaay, mood whiplash!
-Nah, I'm with Kitto. Koa's overconfidence (and his li'l Kieran stronger joker moment) is setting him up for failure against Maylene. He's got to eat some humble pie at some point. Clearly these little rival scuffles don't do enough in that department.

21: Judging by this chapter title, nah, Koa will not be able to win as easily as he believes. He might even lose. :V
-Oh, yeah, that's how you know the battle triplets are trihards. They have perennial VGC menace Incineroar.
-ohmygod these characters are a stand in for competitive players aren't they? Which means Koa's about to get told his pokémon aren't cut out for the sorts of dreams he has.
-Winners of competitive battle facilities? Yeeeeeeep, we got the try hards here.
-This whole chapter just exists to dunk on the metagame and how samey most people's Sinnoh teams are, isn't it? Like, it's funny and all. But even with things being kept vague with just "stats" or "numbers," I'm reeeeeeally not a fan of these types of things eeking their way into fics. Like, the chapter's trying to show them not being in the right there, but that's undercut by making 'em battle facility champs. That means your whole world has this "competitive" circuit within it. Which is also surprising, considering this draws more from the anime and its whole message of any pokémon being able to be strong.
-Aw, man, and the gym battle goes out and actually uses the "critical hit" phrase with the Rock Tomb, too. Nnngh. It's not badly written. I just... always flinch seeing certain game mechanics essentially put one to one into the fics.
-Gottem with the ol' No Guard Machoke. Classic.
-Yep, there's the defeat. And there's the blue screen of death.
-Deuce, despite the unfortunate name, is the best of the trio. Unfortunate that he explicitly drops the EVs and IVs stuff in there. It's just a big oof for me, personally. Again, I get what you were going for, I just think there were other ways of going about it that wouldn't make me feel like I have an itch I can't scratch while reading this.

-The ending part, in contrast, is much more emotional. Quite literally the power of friendship on full display. (Though you still list Echo as a golbat at the end of the chapter despite his evolution.)

22: Gee, I wonder if the villains will show up in the chapter named after them?
-Echo's still listed as a golbat at the start and end of this part, too.
-All right, it's the classic not-so-salty runback where things are going much better now that Koa's employing a little extra strategy into his choice of moves and techniques. Don't have much to comment on the actual battle overall. Pointing out Scrapper wanting to go for team synergy by staying in was a nice follow up to the power of friendship moment from the end of the last chapter.
-RIP Koa's festival hopes and dreams.
-ahhhhhhh god no whyyyyyyyy is there literal turn-based battling in these facilities?!
-Oh, hey, look, it's the bad guy team right on cue to pokénap half of Koa's team. Double RIP.
-Damn. No bloodlust today.
-Caught by the coppers on multiple fronts!
-Why do I get the feeling Scrapper will not get the proper time to recover?
-Letting him off with a warning. Like most TV cops with good samaritans. Shame it doesn't work that way IRL.
-Interpol member with a trench coat. Looker? 👀

23: Is it better than St. Elmo's fire?
-Again, Echo remains listed as a golbat.
-Even unevolved, electric-types could provide a charge. Galvanize (heh) something.
-Oh dayum Koa's in troooooooooouble. If it isn't the consequences of his own actions.
-Suddenly Ho-Oh! And a rainbow wing. Can't wait for it to bring Koa back from the dead after he does something so stupid it gets himself killed.
-It is Looker! And I would say something about Interpol recruiting a fourteen-year-old, but Looker recruiting children for dangerous ploys has happened across three pokémon gens worth of games and two anime regions.
-Never mind, not in trouble. But there's no way Koa's going to let the police handle things. And it may not even by choice. Evil author wishing misfortune is stronger than Arceus.
-Still not sure why Ho-Oh's in Sinnoh. Then again if you're going with the headcanon that the gen 1-4 regions are just basically different parts of Japan and all really close to each other, I suppose it'd be easy enough.
-Wait the mirage stuff is acknowledged. Solid mirages akin to that one OVA could totally explain it. And those would probably need a decent amount of electricity to power.
-I LOOOOOOVE BYRON JUST LIKE HE LOOOOOOOOOOOVES BASTIODON! ... Okay obligatory joke over.
-Incoming loss since I already know how this plays out. Whoops.
-Discontinued Aether research, you say? 👀 Golly, that could possibly have my attention if it turns out to be relevant to the fic. Alternatively, this is [insert Galar corporation here] stealing the research materials to make the Galarian silvally.
-Latias? Where the heck is Latias coming from?

24: Iron hearts sound unhealthy.
-Did I forget something from an earlier chapter? Why the Latias fascination? He's made some jokes about getting certain legends. Has it been such a long stretch of chapters since Latias was brought up that an infrequent reader like me would just easily forget?
-Aaaaand there's the suicune. Or "suicune."
-Funny how every time Team Galactic gets brought up Koa cuts off his train of thought before the leader is brought up. Wonder if he's related somehow?
-Kaze has totally become the pidgey equivalent of Galarian moltres, hasn't he?
-Yeah, seems like it. [plays chocobo music]

I may or may not return

 

[Sinderella]

HEEEEYYYYY BEBBY, GUESS WHO'S HERE FOR 5 AND 6????? My crit chops are a little on the low side right now so this is mostly going to be a ramble (honestly, same as usual). These were very fun chapters, so buckle up for the essay.

Okay, so the moment we all waited for--Koa challenging Roark!!! Before we get to that though, I just have to say how much nostalgia this story beats me with. Like, you wrote about the Cycling path and suddenly all I could hear was that fucking music from the game as I have my PC ride that shit back and forth trying to hatch eggs 😂 Something about the way you've written all of this just evokes that warmth within me and it's such a cuddly feeling, and I appreciate it so much LOL. And also I know I keep saying it, but I so feel like I'm literally reading a game. It's really cool how you've captured these kinda game mechanics while meshing it with realism and I'm gonna keep mentioning it until the end of time because it's literally fucking great, don't @ me. Though I fucking JUMP every time Koa runs into a random trainer, because I'm being held hostage by Chekhov's Gun, so I automatically think every asshole character Koa runs into is going to show up to kill him later. Like, Megan definitely has some serial killer energy about her, man. I swear it.

Getting into the actual Roark battle, that was some good shit!! I'm actually crazy obsessed with how much Koa managed to grow between three chapters ago and that moment where he won fair and square. And him telling Echo he had his back???? My fucking heart??? My whole soul just CRACKED when Echo came out and saw the Onix and got scared, like ohhhhhh my god my CHEST, I'm having PALPITATIONS. But it all ended up going so well because Koa LEARNED and GREW and APPLIED SOME SKILLS HE LEARNED, and we LOVE TO SEE A KING ON HIS PATH TO FUCKING GROWTH.

I was super excited for him to finally revive the Tyrunt but it.......did not go at all as I expected!!! The machine exploding totally threw me, but my first assumption was that it blew up because it couldn't handle the pressure of the Kalosian jaw fossil for some reasons (cuz yk Kalos 'mon built different LMAO). But NO it was a whole ass fucking ROBBERY. Cuz apparently we have a new EVIL TEAM ON THE FUCKING PREMISES HOLY SHIT. But I'm skipping ahead.

Anyway, I saw what you did here Little Miss Whump Star. And let me just say, that whump was prrrettttttyyyyyyyyy spicy. Like you left off in such a good place and BOOM hospital visit. The whole Rapidash pounding sequence was also a really fun and VERY welcome change of pace! I think this was the first time Koa really got his ass handed to him?? And I was so here for it??? But oh my god, literally fuck Blake bro. I know as soon as I saw his name it was gonna be some lecturing shit and how right I was. I was on Koa's side for that one; can't even be bothered to ask if he's okay or what happened, just goes STRAIGHT for the jugular. I know he probably means well and its coming out of a place of protection, but a bitch needs to do better. Koa definitely just needed a big hug during that moment, not someone screaming at him for fucks sake. Right now, I'm on Team Eat Blake.

One thing I noticed was that Maria came in to assess Koa's state of existing and mentioned to him that the police wanted to speak with him. However, that ended up never happening or being mentioned again aside from Roark or Avis approaching him to question. I actually think I would like to see a small scene of the cops coming into his hospital room to question him and him getting mad. Maybe double down and have that be the moment Blake shows up to chew him out, so on top of being drilled by the cops, he also simultaneously gets drilled by Blake, and that's when Koa rightfully loses it.

Also when she asked him if he was a boy or girl I wanted to throw an e-brick at you. But like, in an affectionate way.

And also???? Team Blackout??? The level of INTRIGUE I have??? (Also what a good name for a team bestie, fuck it up). I'm SURE they're connected to Galactic but I'm really looking forward as to how, ya feel. What are they stealing all this shit for? Just to be bad, or because they're about to Bring On The End Of The World Again. Only time shall tell

Most of my critiques are just things I've mentioned in previous reviews, just little nitpicky stuff about word repetition and sentence length variation so I won't bog this down with all that. Overall I thought these chapters were really good, easy to read, paced pretty well, and really have Koa going on his way. Like holy shit he has THREE Pokemon now???? Halfway to the full team and I'm not even on chapter 10 yet???? I know I already know the rest of his teammates but I'm literally so excited to see how he meets them. MY BOY IS GOING PLACES. AND MAYBE HE'S GETTING HIS ASS BEAT A LITTLE BIT IN THE PROCESS.

Anyway, will hopefully be back again before blitz end!! Cya l8r allig8or <3

 

[Starlight Aurate]

It's been 3 years since I've looked at this story, so what better time to take a look again than the annual Review Blitz?? I know you said to be gentle on the first set of chapters, so I won't go too in-depth and won't be too critical! I'll just give my overall thoughts of how things are each chapter.

Chapter 4

Ah, it's so cute to see Koa training Echo and enjoying it!

He can shower in a cabin in the woods??? The luxury!

Smiling softly, he stroked his soft fur, then tucked his own hands behind his bed.

Pointing this out only because you use "soft" twice in this sentence so it's feels a bit repetitive, even though it means different things. Just something to be aware of!

Mmm I love me some deep forest imagery.

Echo had a bit of difficulty with a Misdreavus, but soon triumphed thanks to his powerful Bite attack.

Yeah, go Echo! And so cute to think that Koa is calling him "powerful" since he's defeating opponents now <3

"Yeah, but for the record, he insulted my pokemon, then I punched him."

Retaliation makes everything A-OK!

"Come on out Psy!" She tossed a pokeball, and a Psyduck emerged.

PSYDUCK YES 10/10 because this chapter has Psyduck.

Okay I know I'm supposed to be rooting for the protagonist but tbh I just want Psyduck to win.

Psyduck noooooooo

"Hey, still got that loser Zubat?"

Omg I would RAGE if someone insulted my Pokemon.

Ah, Echo evolves! So heartwarming, since it shows how far he's come since being an annoyance to Kody. I imagine this will culminate in his (eventually) evolving into a Crobat, which will REALLY show far they've come and how close they'll grow!

The poems on the statues of Dialga and Palkia are pretty. Did you come up with them? I've never played the DPP games lolll

"Alas, I am afraid I have tarried too long. I have business to tend to, as well as preparation for my gym battle."

Lol this kid sounds like he's from the 1800's

Aside from his cousin's bike, he never had his own, since they were so expensive

If Koa can't afford a regular bike, don't tell him about E-bikes!

"I'm here to challenge you to a battle."

LOL Koa, good manners. Nice way of saying "Thanks for welcoming me, nice to meet you."

"How about 10,000 Poke." It was basically all he had, so if he lost, he would be broke. But if he won, it would pay off handsomely.

Good LORD Koa, if you lose, you're going to starve and be homeless!

Echo was quick, but as a Golbat, he could never compete with Cherubi's speed.

Wait, really??? I had no idea that Cherubi were so fast!

Aww, it's so cute that Koa goes to the field to directly tend to Hazard and take care of him instead of just automatically returning him to his Pokeball once he's out.

His eyes opened and he churred happily.

And I learned a new word today! Churred!

He'd come so far with him, he couldn't lose now.

Yeah, you can't afford to lose the 10,000 that you put on the line!
(For real though, it's cute that Koa is unconcerned about his money and more concerned about Echo's well-being.)

And it's sweet to see that Gardenia is happy for Koa's victory! Although I guess that being a bitter, sore loser wouldn't do too well for a member of the Pokemon League, heh.

Cute that Koa encouraged Echo to continue fighting by relying on his hearing, just like he did when he was a Zubat! Though, to be fair, Echo must have been so excited at the novelty of being able to see. Can't blame him for panicking when he lost that ability again!

Ah, poor Koa, underestimating just HOW rare a rare Pokemon ca be :P Looks like he's determined to get a Tyrunt, if he can't get a Tyrogue.

That was a fun chapter! Your battle definitely felt very anime, with the electroweb and weather ball causing an explosion and Hazard being able to swing across the battlefield using his string shot. It shows a really creative side to your writing, and I think you did a good job with it! Like I mentioned, my favorite part is definitely Koa loving his Pokemon more as they grow together. Even just 4 chapters in, he's matured a lot from the start of the fic!

Chapter 5
I like that Koa asked if Golbat and Hazard were all right with being returned to their Pokeballs before recalling them. Incorporating Pokemon in ways like this just makes me happy!

"Yeah, let's battle. Winner takes all," he added with a growl.

Oh GOSH Koa, just because it worked for you once doesn't mean it'll work a second time!

... Okay, so it DID work a second time, but i feel like it's going to fail somewhere along the way and Koa's going to pay the (very big) price for it.

Enough to have a bit of spending money, but since he wasn't exactly poor at the moment, he didn't bother with a larger wager.

Koa logic: poor = bet everything in your pocket
Rich = bet only a little bit
Rich but someone insulted you = bet everything in your pocket

"Better get ready to hand over that badge," Koa replied.

Also Koa logic: your opponent complements you -> brag and tell them they're going to lose

"Excellent. This will only take a few minutes."

Only a few minutes to revive a fossil? Man, times have certainly changed from Kanto when it took "a few hours" AKA walking outside the building and right back in.

He lunged for Tyrunt, wrapping his arms around it and struggling to lift it and pull it out of the way.

Awww, my heart!

Pain exploded across his body and he crashed to the ground. In a daze, he looked up to see the furious Rapidash preparing to charge again. Fear froze him in place.

Awww, my heart </3

Really exciting chapter! Nice to see Koa take Roark down with relative ease, even if he did have an attitude about it. That battle, and the one with the biker girl owning a Shinx, also felt very anime in how the Pokemon use their moves in unconventional ways. It's nice, and I think you really have a signature way of writing Pokemon battles! Though it definitely looks bad for Koa right now (being unable to call on Hazard and Echo, having to try and deal with a trio of angry Rapidash and no way of defending himself), it is sweet to see that he's willing to sacrifice himself to try and save Tyrunt--and he doesn't even know Tyrunt yet! I'm not sure how they're going to get out of this, but I have a feeling someone will show up and help the two of them out.

Chapter 6

In the first paragraph, you use the word "pain" in almost every sentence. I know this was written several years ago so I realize it might be a remnant of your old writing, just pointing it out for something to be aware of in the future.

Following up from the previous chapter--makes sense that Koa wakes up in a hospital after being taken down by a trio of Rapidash!

Heh, nice call out to the Professors asking us if we're boys or girls at the start of the games.

None of the orders sounded appetizing, and he was forced to settle for a burger and some sort of berry dessert.

I know hospital food is sub-par at best, but that sounds amazing to me!

It's interesting that Blake expressed his concern for Koa by exploding and getting angry. It's valid, to be sure, and a way that a lot of people express their worry. It just wasn't what Koa needed.

And I love that the hospital has a Pokemon Wing where they can be comfortable in their habitats! The emphasis on the Pokemon here just warms my heart.

I loved the battle between Tyrunt and Cranidos! It was definitely a humorous concept: strongest jaws + strongest head = no sell. It was also cute to see the Pokemon interact: Tyrunt finally listened to Koa (a bit) to fight another dinosaur Pokemon, and Cranidos was smitten (with possibly the only female dinosaur Pokemon he's ever met lol). It was sweet, and it was nice to see Roark give advice and encouragement to Koa. I also like that it's taking time for him to form a relationship with his Tyrunt, as it feels more organic, and I bet they'll have a stronger relationship because of it. Koa's thoughts about wanting a Gible "because it'll be strong" did strike me as rather utilitarian, but I think it's something that he'll eventually have to grow out of. He's definitely better than he was at the start of the fic, when he could hardly even look at his Zubat!

Thanks for sharing this classic trainerfic with us! I know this is an old project of yours and you've asked your reviewers to be gentle, but I'm quite enjoying the ride. Hopefully my next batch of reviews won't take 3 more years haha ^_^;

 

[Umbramatic]

Hi! Here for Review Blitz! I figured I'd come back for more of this fic. It's Legendary. It has adventures.

Poor bby Hazard... do not like seeing baby Joltik getting hurt. :(

Speaking of. I am.... not the biggest fan of the "this Pokemon doesn't want to evolve" trope. But the good news is Joltiks are cute. So I forgive yoiu, even if Galvantula is cool.

A DAY OFF! HOORAY! .Let the babies do what they want. Cause chaos. Do c5rimes.

Scrapper cannot comprehend treats.

DID SOMEBODY SAY BOOM???

Oh shit it's Mr. You Are Mama himself.

Damn Entei is giving Koa a beating

Ahem. Flash Fire bitches.

TWO ENTEI?!



Are we getting evil Legendary clones..

And as a result Amnity Square is not fucked up too much. Anubis is not fucjked up to much either, good pupper. Koa may be a little fucked up.

Oh good to hear from Koa's eg. Wonder what it'll hatch into.

Aww and thanks to Wyatt Anubis gets exytra treats. Good puppy.

Veilstone is next... We'll see how Koa fares against Maylene.

Fun chapter! It's definitely fun to see the party being crashed by a Legendary. Imagine. Legendaries in a fic called Legendary Adventures. Sounds fake. You're clearly gaslighting me.

Also Anubis is the goodest boy and he deserves alll the treats and I am biased for reasons but ILOVE Pokemon abusing Flash Fire. Good shit.

Also. The two legendaries bit. I'm still betting evil Legendary clones. It's gotta be. Unless it's some cosmic conflict of light and and dark legendaries or some shit.

But your fic is super fun as usual! Thanks for posting

 

[HelloYellow17]

HEEEERE WE GOOO

It has been far, far, FAR too long since I have officially returned to this fic and actually reviewed it in earnest. I’ll be covering 3 chapters here, but I hope to come back and review 3 more before Week 2 ends!

Spoiler: Quotes

Terrifying tales of specters and visions assaulting the brave souls who tried to ascend to the peak. Or worse, trainers vanishing entirely, only to reappear days or weeks later with little memory of their time missing. Koa hated it.

Oh boy, that’s shady af. This is either the workings of another sinister organization that’s flying under the radar, a specific legendary Pokémon, or the work of overblown rumors—though this feels too much like foreshadowing to be the last one.

Well, there would be plenty of opportunities to catch another Starly. He just wanted to catch the right one. Yeah! That was all. And when he did, he would release Zubat.

Suuuure, that’s the reason you hesitated. Not because your conscience is nagging at you and you’re already getting attached. Nope, not at all!

Once he'd set up his tent and sleeping bag, he sighed contentedly and leaned against a tree, taking a moment to relax and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. About three seconds later, he sat up again. Time to train.

Laughing at that “about three seconds later.” Sometimes Koa is an ADHD mood. I diagnose him with Overly Ambitious Teenager. (And maybe a smidge of ADHD. /j)

Koa rolled his eyes and shook his head, ignoring the smile that tried to tug at his lips.

Ah yes, I also diagnose him with Tsundere.

His dreams were filled with legendaries and thoughts of climbing Mt. Coronet, only to be greeted by a giant Zubat instead of a legendary.

Ahahaha this was hilarious. Listen, encountering an impossibly gargantuan Zubat would be ALMOST like finding a legendary, right?

Sandgem

It’s gonna take me some serious retraining of my brain not to read this as “Snagem” every dang time.

Rocks, rocks, and more rocks greeted Koa. The gym almost seemed to be carved from it, with various gym trainers and their pokemon lounging around. Koa only had eyes for one trainer, however. He spotted him almost immediately, at the far end of the gym. Roark had his arms folded as he stood beside a steep incline that led up to the battlefield.

I find it fun that you can go straight to challenging the gym leader and not the trainers, if one so chooses! It’s also just…so very Koa to do that. Who needs training anyway?? He KOed like 3 wild Geodude, so he’s TOTALLY ready for this. (Narrator: he was not, in fact, ready for this.)

"We'll see," he muttered angrily. His anger boiled over, and he wished he could charge across the field and fight Roark himself for the badge. He'd probably have better odds, too.

This is the most Koa thing I’ve ever read.😂 “I’d get a badge if I could fistfight you for it!” says the teenager to the grown-A man. 😂😂😂

Roark gestured dramatically to the hulking beast. "Rocky, use Screech!"

Idk why it’s so funny to me that Roark has such basic nicknames for his Pokémon, but I get a kick out of it. Maybe he’s had these mon since he was a kid and that’s when he named them. I like that headcanon.

"I know!" Koa snapped. "Look, clearly, I made a mistake. No need to rub it in."

"I only-"

"Just stop. Hazard and Zubat need rest. And I have other things to do than stand around here all day getting lectured." Without waiting for a response, he turned and stormed away.

Ahh Koa, I know you’re embarrassed, but you really should slow down and listen when people try to help you out! I’m willing to bet gym leaders see this kind of reaction a lot, though, especially in the early gyms. Young, inexperienced trainers that are still learning how to accept defeat with grace and maturity. Koa will get there, but not yet.

"You! I didn't even want you on my team. And today's battle proved you don't have what it takes." He frowned. In a slightly quieter tone, he continued. "It's my fault for not releasing you sooner. I'm taking you back to the pokemon center and releasing you." Even as he spoke the words, a pang of guilt flickered through him. He'd thrown Zubat into a battle he was utterly unprepared for. Whose fault was that?

Zubat chittered in alarm and fluttered in circles. Koa tried to brush him away, but he remained undeterred.

Oof, definitely projecting his own shame and embarrassment onto poor Zubat here. And he knows it, too! I’m glad Hazard chides him for this, even if it still takes a little while before Koa fully comes around.

I like that we see that he is aware of whose fault it really is, though. He’s harsh and terrible to Zubat, but we see he’s not heartless. He does have a conscience, he knows what he’s doing is wrong, and he does feel conflicted about it. That makes all the difference to me—obviously it doesn’t excuse the behavior, but it makes it clear that I’m not reading a villain, just a 14 year old kid who is so desperate to prove himself. Even if he doesn’t seem to know who he’s trying to prove himself to.

The next morning, he awoke to a strange weight on his chest. Blinking his eyes, he opened them to see Zubat nestled against his chest, sleeping peacefully.

😭 SO CUTE. Curse you Tetra for endearing Zubat, of all Pokémon, to me. Never thought I would see the day when I found Zubat adorable, but man these little moments sell it for me. Echo is too precious to resist.

A few hours later, he spotted Floarama's infamous wooden arches,

I thiiiink you meant “famous” here? Since “infamous” implies that they are widely unpopular for some reason.

"Hmph. Just keep that thing away from me. I don't want it trampling my plants."

Hazard shot her an angry glare as he returned to his perch on Koa's shoulder. Koa glared at her back, wondering how a pokemon as tiny as Joltik could possibly trample anything.

Lol this interaction was relatable. As a dog owner with an anxious and reactive dog, I sure do feel some type of way about people who run up to pet him without asking me—especially people who let their kids run up to him! No! You don’t know that dog (in this case, Pokemon) and you don’t know how it will respond! Have some common sense, people! Also, lol at the image of a Joltik “trampling” plants.

Looking a little closer, he realized Zubat wasn't just goofing off, however. Was he... training? Curious, he continued to watch. Zubat would spiral through the air, pull off some acrobatic tricks, then pause to open his jaws and fire a soundwave at a small tree. It looked like he was trying to use Supersonic. Each time he did it the waves of sound spread out across a wide area and dispersed quickly, not even reaching the tree.

😭 he’s training himself for Koa! He is TOO PRECIOUS, come on Koa you can’t see that and not feel some type of way about it!

Meditite made a strange noise, and the boy chuckled. "You heard me. Weak. Common."

Koa punched him in the face. "No one calls my pokemon weak!" he spat, breathing heavily.

Oh? Zubat is suddenly your Pokémon now, I see. 😏 You ain’t fooling nobody, ya dingus. [points] TSUNDERE.

Also the abrupt punch to the face never fails to make me laugh. It’s so shonen. So Koa. Very fitting. 😂 Why face your problems when you can just punch them instead?

A knot tightened around his throat. The words he wanted to say formed in his head, but he couldn't get them out. Still cradling Zubat in one arm, he dug his fingers into the earth. An uncomfortable heat rose in his face.

"Oh Zubat, I'm sorry!" he blurted out. Once he started, he couldn't stop. "I've been an awful trainer to you. You fought so hard for me and I didn't even care."

Theeere it is, finally! I know some people have said this moment feels too abrupt, but I think it’s nicely placed, and Koa spends plenty of time battling with himself before reaching this point. I love that it takes a defeat, not a victory, for Koa to see Zubat’s value. He realizes he can’t go on like this, and he only has himself to blame for rushing into battles unprepared. It feels very appropriately fitting for this story and the themes in it. It’s not in a moment of triumph or a heroic rescue or anything like that—it comes at a low point, after a particularly humiliating defeat, when all the chips are down. Feels pretty real and raw that way.

Wayfarer's Cabin, a large cabin built at the edge of Eterna Forest, was a place where trainers and pokemon could rest briefly.

WAYFARER, YOU SAY? :D

A tall wooden fence surrounded the cabin, and an Arcanine sat at the gate, watching his surroundings intently. It acknowledged him with a bark as he approached, then moved from in front of the gate. Koa stroked him gently, scratching behind his ears before going into the cabin. He briefly wondered about its trainer. It looked happy and well-cared for.

This Arcanine is BEST BOI and deserves all the scritches and headpats. I love him. I wanna hug him.

Koa patted his chest. "Come on," he whispered. With a happy chirp, Echo launched off the lamp and plopped on Koa's chest, nestling into his neck.

Eeeee it’s so cute, I’m so happy that this is an accepted ritual now that Echo is part of the team!

The memory of the loss still left a bitter taste in his mouth. "Yeah, but for the record, he insulted my pokemon, then I punched him."

"Fair enough," she said with a shrug. "He gets punched in the face a lot honestly."

Ahahaha I like her. She radiates such sibling energy 😂 She has no pretenses about what her brother is actually like and fully acknowledges that he’s a pompous little snot. I love that she still has to get a little defensive of him at first, though—seems to indicate that they have a good relationship, even if she does admit that he’s a brat. Siblings do be like that.

"You and your brother nicknamed your pokemon the same name?"

At that, Rachel frowned. "NO. Psyduck's name is Psy. P-S-Y. My ridiculous little brother spelled it S-A-I or something. I had the name first."

LOL I FORGOT ABOUT THIS. Idk why but this feels so very Sibling, too. I bet they argue about it all the time, over how copied who. 😂

Kody stared at Meditite, his gaze distant. Slowly, he pulled out a pokeball and returned it. He stared at the pokeball for a moment, then looked up. "Well, I guess I was wrong. Your Zubat - sorry, Golbat, is impressive. You've trained it well." Kody strode forwards and offered his hand.

Well, color me pleasantly surprised. I didn’t expect Kody to handle the loss with such maturity, but there you have it. I’m willing to bet he still continues to be an arrogant snot to others, but at least he does accept losses with a good amount of grace, even after all that smack talk.

The architecture gave the city an old fashioned feel, and combined with the cobblestone streets, reminded Koa that Eterna City had been Sinnoh's first city.

Ohhh I forget about that, but Eterna was the first city, wasn’t it? Makes me wonder about PLA, then. Though I guess Eterna could be one of the places where ruins are in that game.

Although he didn't look much older than Koa, he sounded odd. His voice had some kind of dialect or accent, although not one he could place. And the way he spoke sounded unusual as well. Not to mention he had a really weird outfit.

Hmm yeah this kid has me real curious. Who is he? Where’s he from? This paragraph makes me suspect he isn’t a native Sinnohan.

Outside, the gym looked fairly average. Unlike the rest of Eterna, the gym's architecture had a distinctly newer feel, and it was painted in shades of green. Taking a quick breath, he stepped inside. A rush of warm, slightly muggy air greeted inside of the gym resembled a giant greenhouse, with rows of trees and various plants growing all about. Although they were not in any specific order, they still seemed very precisely planted. A forested scent hung thickly about, and he took a deeper breath and closed his eyes, the scents reminding him of the woods around Canalave, minus the ocean scent.

Ngl this sounds rad. I’d love this kind of work environment. Gardenia will you hire me pls?

Koa sized up the Cherubi. It was a gym leader's pokemon, which meant it wasn't a pushover.

I see he’s already learned since immediately underestimating Roark’s Geodude! Good on you, Koa.

"But you have a long way to go. Go Twiggy!" She tossed out the pokeball. With a flash of light, a tough looking Turtwig emerged.

LMAO Twiggy. What a name. I’m so here for these grown adults, these elite Pokémon trainers, having the most basic nicknames for their mon. I love it.

After Cherubi, he wasn't sure what to expect from this Turtwig.

Lol could you imagine if the Turtwig was the speedy one instead? 😂 What a hilarious image. Nobody would be prepared for that, let’s be real.

"Do you trust me, Hazard?"

Hazard looked back at him. Their eyes met and he nodded, his blue eyes sparkling with determination. His desire to help his team burned in his gaze.

"Electroweb."

Aaaa I freaking love stuff like this!! The plan isn’t immediately clear to the pokemon and there’s no time to discuss it (and you don’t want to give your plans away to the enemy either), so the two operate on blind trust in the other. The Pokémon trusts in the trainer’s commands, and the trainer trusts in the Pokémon’s will and ability to follow through. It’s my JAM and I love it, give me all of it.

Hazard nodded in understanding. He launched a precise string of webbing at a tree behind Roserade, using it to yank himself forward.

"Now Bug Bite!"

Hazard sailed forwards, pincers glowing. He emerged from the smoke created by the blast from Weatherball and Electroweb, straight for Roserade.

This goes so hard what the heck?? Tarzan-ing through a cloud of smoke like freaking Tom Cruise in a Mission Impossible? HECK YES. I love that imagery. Gives me “cool guys don’t look at explosions” vibes.

"Hey Echo. I know you can't see right now and it's scary. But remember being a Zubat? You didn't need to see back then. Just relax and listen."

I was gonna say! Echo’s had a whole lifetime of living without eyesight. This ain’t no thing for him.

"I'm coming for you Roark," he growled. And for you, Tyrunt.

Chuckling because oh boy I can’t wait to meet Rascal and see how much of a handful she really is.

He turned to his pokemon, who stood by his side - a fierce Joltik, and an eager Golbat. "You guys rest for now, okay? If there's any battles I'll call you out." They both gave cries of agreement. Koa grinned and took out their pokeballs, returning them. He planned to travel pretty fast, and he didn't want to tire them out needlessly.

To be fair, Hazard would probably just ride on his shoulder anyway. However this did give me an absolutely hysterical image of Hazard following along at top speed, but HOPPING like Joltik do in SV. PLEASE. 😂 I think I’d cry laughing if I saw that. RAPID BOING PURSUIT

 

[HelloYellow17]

Aight here we go once more, and I’ll actually review the bulk of chapter 5 this time, lol.

Spoiler: Quotes

The other rider, a young woman with straight blond hair and condescending eyes, turned and gave him a fake smile. She looked to be at least twenty. "You were the one who wasn't looking where you were going, sweetie."

"What? You cut me off!" Koa exploded. He clenched his hands into fists. Echo shrieked angrily and glared at the woman.

Bruh I’d be PISSED. What’s this girl’s problem? Being so bratty for absolutely no reason?? And she’s a grown adult, to boot!

Unlike most of its species, this Shinx wore a smug smirk that resembled its trainer. It made the normally adorable pokemon look almost ugly.

Looool the roasting

The woman laughed haughtily. "Hey sweetie, you do know that flying is weak to electric, right?"

"You do know owning a pokemon doesn't make you a good pokemon trainer, right?" he shot back.

HA, gottem. She’s so condescending and obnoxious. Gross.

A thought began to dawn on him. Unlike when other pokemon he faced dodged, or even Hazard, Echo was different. Thanks to his naturally erratic flight patterns, he had a way of being unpredictable. Of course, he probably would have realized that sooner if he'd paid more attention to Echo in the first place. Well, all he could do now was be better...

Aw, we love the little shimmer of further character development. Love that he’s realizing he can use Echo’s natural flight patterns to his advantage too! I love it when strategies involves thinking about the species and not just type matchups.

Koa accepted it, unable to stop himself from smiling. "Thanks, sweetie," he called, as she departed. She shot him a furious look before hopping on her bike and pedaling angrily away.

Ahahaha she totally deserved that

Koa grinned. He hoped Geodude would try the same tactic again. "Up and use String Shot."

Hazard nodded and jumped upwards. Aiming straight down, he fired a huge mass of sticky web. A second later, Geodude burst from the ground directly beneath Joltik. His eyes widened in surprise as he collided head on with the web. He struggled futilely and crashed back to the ground, immobilized.

Oooh this was clever! I really enjoy the unique flair you add to your battles! And how often Koa battles at a type disadvantage, but that it doesn’t mean an automatic win or lose. Way more interesting that way.

The two attacks collided in an explosion of hazy energy.

I see you are a fan of this, hehe. Attacks stalemating or colliding and making big booms. Can’t blame you, it’s pretty epic :D

Koa grinned. Joltik certainly lived up to their title of 'Attaching pokemon'.

Hehe little fuzzy Velcro spider!

"Crunch, destroy it if you can," Koa said. Echo sunk his jaws into the first rocks, shattering it, then whirled out of the way of the second.

Ooh I like this too! Just dodging all the time is boring. It’s fun to use an attack for something other than an outright, well, attack. Using them to neutralize the opponent’s moves, to modify the terrain, and so on is fun to read.

Koa took it, and Roark pulled him to his feet. "Listen..." he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, trying not to look Roark in the eyes. "I'm sorry about how I behaved before. You were just trying to give me good advice, and I ignored you."

Aw, good on you, Koa. Character growth, we love to see it!!

"Really? How odd. I've not known Tyrunt to be found anywhere on Sinnoh. How odd..." he murmured. "And Ore Cavern of all places. Hmm..."

It’s very interesting to me that this is pointed out in the narration. I’d always assumed it was just kind of a thing that wasn’t going to really be expanded on, but now I’m wondering if there’s some kind of lore or plot reason for that fossil to have been there…

Loud alarms blared, and the lights overhead flickered. There was a distant noise, like a dull boom, and the room went dark. The machine's hum grew into a high pitched whine before it exploded. Shards of debris hammered against the glass and door and Koa ducked.

"Jared!" Roark shouted.

The heck?? Did the machine malfunction or something?

Just a few feet away, by the room's exit, stood a stocky, reptilian pokemon. Dark brown scales covered its body, which vaguely resembled Roark's Cranidos, except its head was far larger, and its legs were thick and powerful. It roared again, then charged at the doors, smashing into them and warping the frame severely. Jamming its jaws into the gap, it tore the door apart with its jaws, creating a hole big enough to fit through.

TINY YET MIGHTY. I’m so confused though—what was that explosion? Did Tyrunt immediately go berserk and break something? Surely this can’t all be her doing.

He even saw a few Stunky glaring at him from the bushes, which he gave a wide berth.

Lolol good call.

Koa held his breath and began to edge down the slope towards Tyrunt. Maybe, if Tyrunt surrendered and backed down, the Rapidash might let it leave. His hopes were dashed seconds later when Tyrunt roared and leaped for the Rapidash, its jaws glowing with energy. The Rapidash kicked out hard with his front hooves, striking Tyrunt hard and knocking it back.

Oh boy, she sure is fearless! To the point of brainlessness, perhaps. 😂

The impact knocked him down hard, and he crashed into the ground. There was a frightening crunching noise as he rolled over and stopped. A moan escaped him and he lay still for a few seconds, trying to collect himself. His senses felt dulled, and the world seemed distant.

YAAAAS I was not expecting to get whump this chapter, but I am here for it. >:) I mean uh, oh nooo

Unfortunately, it was extremely heavy, and before he had even stood up fully, he felt the Rapidash crash into him. Heat seared across his back and the force threw him forward, his body hitting the boulder. Pain exploded across his body and he crashed to the ground. In a daze, he looked up to see the furious Rapidash preparing to charge again. Fear froze him in place.

sheeeesh this is scary and brutal. I feel like I’d be terrified of Rapidash for life after this.

"I'll answer your question, but first I have to ask you a few questions. Are you a boy or a girl?"

LOL I love the little Easter egg. This nurse is fun, I like her.

"Of course, you wouldn't remember. The museum was robbed. They apparently created a distraction with the explosion. Several fossils were stolen, among other items. The police and Roark have been speaking to witnesses."

Ahhh that explains it. Sure have been a lot of robberies lately! Something is definitely going on. These are all connected somehow.

Koa opened his eyes and glanced toward the door. Blake stood there, staring at him. Almost unconsciously, Koa found himself scowling. He tensed himself for what he knew was coming, and tried to calm the mess of emotions rising in him. Resentment, anger, relief...

Oof, the instant defense trigger is pretty telling. Says a lot about the possibly tenuous relationship these two have.

For a moment, his cousin didn't say anything. He stood, staring, his posture stiff. Then he clenched his fists, striding towards the bed. "What were you thinking? No, forget that, clearly you weren't thinking! How many times do I have to tell you? Stop rushing into things. Be smart, watch what you're doing! This isn't a game, Koa. You could have been killed."

Aaaand there it is. I know Blake means well, and he’s just angry because he’s worried, but, my guy, could you be a little gentler? Save the lecture for another time? Your cousin is literally in a hospital bed after surviving something scary. Not gonna ask him how he’s doing?

Blake gave a long sigh, then walked out of the room. Wiping his eyes with his arm, Koa blinked several times. Why did his cousin have to get like that? It felt like nothing he did was right. He hadn't even asked how the accident happened! Hot tears gathered in his eyes. He swallowed and brushed them away. Pull yourself together. He pushed aside his bitterness and focused on thinking about his pokemon, and where he would go next.

I really feel for Koa here. When you’re vulnerable and you get berated on top of it, it freaking sucks. I want to hug him. He needs a hug.

The Pokemon Wing consisted of a large glass dome, connected to the hospital by a hallway. Inside was a sort of greenhouse, with a miniature lush forest. Two smaller sections had also been created for different types, such as a cooler indoor spot for ice types, a tank for water types, and a warm sandy area for pokemon who preferred heat. The entire area was sectioned off, and attendants and nurses moved about, playing with the pokemon or tending to injuries. He stepped inside the fence.

Well dang, the Pokémon wing sounds nicer than the human one!

"What's this?"

"A new pokeball Roark and his team engineered. A Fossil Ball. Designed to help fossil pokemon feel safe and comfortable."

Ooooh this is so cool!! Now I really want a fossil ball to be canon. It’s so boring that it defaults to a normal one in the games.

then retrieved a pouch of jerky. He tossed a piece to Tyrunt. She glared at him, then the jerky. She took one sniff, then stepped on it, crushing it beneath her powerful hind legs.

NOT THE JERKY! What a punk. 😭

The next couple hours dragged by. Koa tried everything he could think of. He tried to talk calmly and approach slowly, but he couldn't even take more than a couple steps. He tried food, but Tyrunt never ate any. When she wasn't trying to bite his hand off or growl at him, she would sleep, or at least pretend to, unless he got too close. Finally, he settled for scanning her with his Pokedex. At least he could find out her moveset.

The Nani parallels are so strong with this one. 😂 The two of them would be great friends, I think.

Avis shook her head. "No, obviously. I just saw you two talking. I wasn't even close enough to hear what you said. That's why I'm asking. What was he saying?"

Heat rose to Koa's cheeks and he tried to hide his embarrassment. He was being meaner than necessary, he realized. "Nothing I'm going to tell you."

Haha at least he realized he was being snippy. This girl is persistent though. Is she like a journalist or something? Seems weirdly nosy, but maybe she’s just curious.

Avis nodded and hummed thoughtfully. "Interesting... From what I've found, it seems like a similar MO to other crimes all over western Sinnoh."

"You mean it's not local?"

She shook her head. "Recently, over the past few months, there've been several small break-ins at local shops around the mainland. There's also been muggings during the night, on several routes. Witnesses all give the same description. Men in all black clothing, wearing black masks and capes. They move quietly and strike hard and fast. Many use electric pokemon as well, and the pokemon are often painted dark colors to blend in."

Hmmm it’s definitely gotta be more than just money. It’s way too widespread and organized to be only about that, surely? I dunno what else it would be, but it’s mega sus.

Hazard clung to one of the lightbulbs in the bathroom, his fur spiking from the electricity. Koa watched him curiously for a few moments. He seemed to be concentrating, and every few seconds his fur would fluff out before relaxing slightly

Ehehehe every time Hazard is described as fluffy, it brings me joy. I also love that the smallest one of the crew is the most serious about his training.

Finally, he settled on a perch. Upside down, hanging from the ceiling fan. A moment later, he directed a burst of focused sound at a switch on the wall. The fan turned on, its blades beginning to spin. Echo gave a happy shree of delight as he whirled around the room. Koa couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sight.

Oh my gosh I laughed out loud at this. 😂 FREAKING ADORABLE. I love Echo!!

"Go Tyrunt!" He tossed out Tyrunt's pokeball, and she emerged in a flash of light.

Oof, ehhh something tells me this is not gonna go well. And I was right. She’s too stubborn for her own good!

Roark tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Come have a battle with me. Let me see."

After a moment, Koa nodded in agreement. It wasn't as if he had another option.

Well, Roark is a rock expert! It’s very nice of him to offer this little tutoring session.

Tyrunt had her jaws wrapped around Cranidos' head. Both seemed confused, with Tyrunt gnawing on Cranidos skull, who pressed on valiantly. The strange struggle continued for another minute. Finally, both pokemon sat down, looking equal parts frustrated and confused.

Ahahaha ok the title of the chapter makes sense now and I love it. 😂

Chapter 7: Looking Onward and Inward

Just wanted to point out that the color of this title is practically invisible on my theme! I’m using the purple skies theme. I even thought the quote box was empty when I went to write my review. 😂

"Ready buddy?" he asked. Echo shrieked loudly in reply, making Koa flinch. "Easy there, Echo. I still need to hear, you know," he said jokingly.

Lol Koa is gonna be deaf by the age of 40. Also, I love that Echo’s happy response to everything is simply SCREAAAAAM

The guard eyed Koa calmly, only acknowledging him with a curious quirk of his eyebrow. Koa stopped in front of the guard. Realistically, he knew he would never get in. Not yet, anyway. The upper levels were utterly off-limits to trainers unless they had earned 8 badges. And even then, it wasn't as if anyone wanted to venture that way these days.

Unless you’re Koa! Honestly though, makes sense that they would have this restriction AND a guard in place. Keeps people like Koa from brazenly marching in there regardless of their badges haha.

The guard smiled. "Maybe we can have a battle, then. It's been a very long time since I've had a six on six. Not many trainers come this way. I know Machamp would enjoy a challenge." Machamp grunted and nodded.

Yo I like this guy! He’s a homie.

Rats! He smacked himself in the face in annoyance. He'd completely forgotten to ask for the guard's name!

Iiinteresting. I wonder if this guard is a canon character? Either way, he’s definitely gonna come up again.

Koa took out a potion with a sigh. He restored her quickly, then returned her to her Pokeball for the night. He couldn't help but wonder if she would ever learn. Did she dislike him that much? Maybe he should look for a new trainer for her after he got to Hearthome City...

You know, Koa, it’s funny, because you two are quite alike…😂 no wonder they clash initially.

On the third day, he let her out to walk beside him and get some exercise. She plodded along behind him, her eyes downcast and looking for all the world like a sulking child. Koa almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

Haha aw she’s so cute. Infuriating, but so childlike. Wonder if being knocked down a peg or two will help her come around.

"I know you don't want to listen to me. But will you at least let me help you learn some new moves? If you knew some stronger moves, I bet you could beat that Machop."

Tyrunt's head shot up and she looked at him. After a long, long moment, she nodded. Koa resisted the urge to let out a whoop. Progress! "Okay Tyrunt. Right now you know Bite, Tackle, Stomp, and Tail Whip."

Yayayayay I love it!! He’s learning to speak her language, reach her in the ways that matter to her!

Koa leaped to his feet. "Yeah! You did it, Tyrunt!" Tyrunt roared again, hopping from one foot to the other in a strange sort of victory dance. He ran over to her and dropped to his knees, hugging her.

Tyrunt croaked in shock, then squirmed free, glaring at him. Koa wasn't even mad. She'd actually let him train her, she'd won, and he'd gotten to touch her, for the first time since he saved her life from the Rapidash. That night, he went to bed feeling the happiest he had since Tyrunt joined the team.

Hahaha HUMAN WHY DOST THOU TOUCH ME. GET THEE HENCE.

Love the steady development of their bond!

He took his time, exploring side paths and caverns, confident Echo could lead him out if necessary.

Oooh this is another reason why they’re a good match. Koa likes to explore caves and Echo has a natural knack for guiding him, being a cave mon.

Something at the bottom glimmered red. Koa peered closer, and he could just barely make out a fragment of something red and star-shaped. His eyes widened. A Star Piece! They were incredibly valuable fragments of a rare mineral. Many Pokemarts would buy them for a high price. Koa examined the tunnel. The rocks within seemed loose, but if he moved carefully enough, he was sure he could make it.

I love the sort of treasure hunting aspect that you’ve included as Koa explores.

If there was one rule of Blake's he'd learned, it was to never go diving in cave pools. They were dark, difficult to navigate, and you never knew when you would find air. It was one of the most dangerous things an explorer could do. He stared at the dark water, then back at his pokemon. Echo had landed a few feet away and was eyeing him worriedly. "What do you think, Echo?"

Yes HELLO are we going to get some drowning whump???

Looks like not quite yet. I am very exited for when that day comes though >:)

Koa glanced over, noting that even Tyrunt looked mildly concerned, though once she saw he was alive, she stalked off on her own.

[points] TSUNDERE

Apparently, he'd been in Mt. Coronet for nearly two weeks.

Oh snap. I don’t think I could do that, I’d lose my mind lol. Koa and Steven would be great caving pals though.

A river wound and splashed down the mountain, forming a beautiful waterfall down below. It curled through a deep canyon spanned by several wooden bridges. Beyond that lay grassy plains and forests, cut through by a long, winding dirt road that led up to the shining city of Hearthome.

Oooh this is a lovely description!!

"Hey! I saved your life, you know! I'm not your enemy!"

Tyrunt roared at him. Then, to his shock, she turned and sprinted up the slope, disappearing behind some bushes.

Hmm. I wonder if she’s embarrassed that he saved her life?

The boy stared back at him in surprise. And equally shocked looking Shelgon stood beside him. "My apologies," the boy said. "I did not realize this Tyrunt was yours."

Heyyy it’s dragon boy! I like him.

With a dramatic flourish, Cade tossed out a pokeball. A small Gible emerged in a burst of light. Koa's eyes widened. A real Gible!

0/10 could have been a Trapinch

His Shelgon reminded him of his Joltik - fierce and only affectionate towards its trainer. Dratini and Gible, however, seemed very playful. They both got along exceedingly well with Echo. Pretty soon the three of them engaged in a makeshift game of tag, swooping and darting about. Hazard joined them briefly, but then retired early to sit in silence with Shelgon.

Awww so cute. I love little moments like these where Pokémon just get to play.

When most wild pokemon are caught or even fossils revived, a weak link is created between trainer and pokemon." Cade paused to stroke his Shelgon. "But you and Tyrunt lack any kind of link."

Interesting! I wonder why that is?

"Any time a trainer specializes in one type, he starts to grow a special connection to that type. It's almost as if he can begin to understand his own pokemon in a new way."

Oooh I like this. I like it a lot. I might steal it. It’s a fun little thing about type specialists!

He also told him how he fought his Bagon six times and lost each time, before finally defeating it in battle and catching it.

Ahahah Cade is so cool. I really like him.

"Alright Tyrunt, listen up."

Tyrunt, who until now had amused herself by scratching lines into the stone, looked up.

"Here's the deal. I'm sitting here, on this rock, until you come to me. No matter how. Long. It. Takes." Even as he said it, the idea sounded kind of ridiculous. Still, Cade's instructions had been clear. He was to sit here, meditate, and not attempt to approach Tyrunt under any circumstances. She had to come to him.

Nice, the waiting game. This would take so much patience. One thing that Koa usually lacks, but he really tries here.

Koa took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking. "You know, my cousin Blake had a way of always trying to make me do something, just before I was about to do it. I'd be planning on cleaning my room and then BAM! He'd ask me to clean it. I know he meant well, but it was really annoying." Tyrunt lifted her head slightly, staring at him intensely. "I hated it so much, sometimes I would avoid doing whatever he told me to."

Such a Koa thing lol. Told you you guys were similar!

Taking a deep breath, Koa removed his fingerless glove from his right hand. Deliberately, he looked away, then closed his eyes and held out his arm, palm open and outstretched. He let his breathing slow, and he focused his thoughts on Tyrunt. He'd spent so long chasing Tyrunt and trying to make her listen and understand... but maybe he never needed to. Maybe she just needed a chance to come to him.

For several moments, nothing happened. Suddenly he felt a warm breath flow across his hand. He kept his eyes shut, not daring to risk looking at her now, when - a sudden pressure surrounded his hand and entire upper arm. He whipped around just as her jaws closed across his hand. A flash of pain shot up his arm. Without thinking, Koa seized one of her spindly arms with his left hand, yanked her closer, and bit her arm.

AHAHAHA I’M CACKLING, I was waiting for an HTTYD moment but this happened instead and I was so not prepared. 😂 The dramatic set-up only to devolve into mutual biting has me dead. It’s beautiful.

A gleam entered her eyes and she made a rumble of approval.

Koa stared at her, perplexed. Then, to his utter shock, she trotted over to him, wriggled her head under his arm, and curled up in his lap.

APPROVAL HAS BEEN WON. Victory!!

Laughter bubbled up inside him, and he started to crack up. "Guess you didn't count on me biting you back, huh?"

Tyrunt snorted at that.

"Well, I'm glad you've finally come around."

Tyrunt gave a pleased rumble and snuggled deeper into his lap.

Shaking his head, he continued to stroke her. "You're a real rascal, you know that?" She thumped her tail gently against his leg in response. Koa shrugged. There was more than one way to befriend a pokemon, he supposed.

And there’s her name! I love that so far, Koa hasn’t immediately named all of his Pokémon. Echo was for specific reasons if course, but I like that he didn’t force a name onto Tyrunt until they had a bond. Makes the actual names carry a little more meaning that way.

So far this arc of learning to bond with Tyrunt has been my favorite. It captures the essence of Pokémon training, in a way—because no two mon are alike, and a lot weighs on how well a trainer can truly understand their team. 💛

 

[Namohysip]

Sup Tetra, here I am and now I can finally say that I'm caught up with Legendary Adventures, reading the final chapters of this arc! This will be a review of Chapter 23 onward.

Yooooo Koa encounters Ho-Oh? Now that's one hell of a thing to just casually drop in. I wonder what kind of sixth sense Ho-Oh has to appear in that way, but now that I recall some of his involvement with the Beasts, perhaps there's a connection... That'll be important later.

The bond Koa shares with his Pokemon is getting stronger. being able to more clearly understand what his Pokemon are saying is a major development in particular.

The talk back home was a nice breather from what I recall was a very hectic set of chapters prior. I guess we will see where that goes from here but it was just nice to decompress and go over what had happened. In some ways, this is a very convenient chapter to get back to after so long, huh?

It seems like there's still something brewing in the background with Team Blackout, though. And the title of these chapters is curious... And the two-year gap as well. Are you planning something during that downtime?

The battle being called off simply because Koa wasn't in sync with his Pokemon was very interesting. It seemed like he was doing well had it not been for a few missteps, but I can see how that would play out while Koa is in his self-loathing phase. He's suffering a lot from that encounter... I wonder how Koa would feel about a certain character from my own story. Those parallels are crazy.

Also ha, I caught that Blacklight reference. Funny that showed up now.

Koa's encounter with the Fossil enthusiast takes a worrying turn when he faces an example of people who are starting to distrust Legends. And only a little while later, we get signs of Zeraora being on Iron Island, which is such a left-field combination that I can't help but wonder if something is up. Koa seems to acknowledge this, too. All these legends not native to Sinnoh showing up... very very strange.

The bits of training and advice were nice, though we've admittedly seen a lot of that lately. Koa is constantly learning and growing, but I feel like the actual plot hasn't moved a whole lot during this chapter, just speculation. It would be nice to see more developments soon.

Wow, yeah, Koa going for the catch there without a battle or even an introduction was a pretty big misplay. This was particularly weird because I'm pretty sure there's still a lot of lore around befriending Pokemon in the first place and so on, right? No matter which way you slice it, it doesn't seem to add up. Kitto would've been totally in the right to point that out to Koa, it definitely knocks him down a lot of pegs and really calls into question what Ho-Oh supposedly saw in him. In general, that moment felt weirdly out of character and just for the sake of conflict.

The payoff in the next chapter was nice even if it was a classic play. I wasn't expecting our fossil enthusiast to wind up being such an antagonist in the end, though. Does this mean the average person would also try to go full pitchforks against Zeraora and other Legends, or is this someone with a more sinister motive? It's hard to tell but the implications are quite ambiguous at the moment.

And then the plot I was hoping for gets to be front and center. Team Blackout a diversion for something even larger? Something about pooling power to create false Legends... I wonder just what that would mean in this context and what kind of tech would be behind it at all.

The final few chapters and now I'm all caught up, with Koa more or less redeeming himself and taking care of Zeraora from what I'd say is his first Blackout Admin encounter, if we're following how the games would structure the same sort of plot. Very interesting indeed... And it seems that Koa did a lot more by freeing him afterward when breaking past the chains meant to keep him captured. The mental remark about him being surprised at how good it felt to release a Legend was probably the defining moment of the chapter.

Overall, I think the bit with Zeraora as the bonus chapter was mostly redundant. It did refer to a few things that only Zeraora understood like the relationship with some of the Legends and so on, but otherwise, I sort of caught most of everything else that happened from Koa's perspective with little need for explanation. Still, I guess this was just a bonus chapter so not totally relevant, though I wonder if we will see more of those Legends later...

Buuut that's everything! Alllll caught up. I'm bummed I couldn't get this review in on time due to irl the past two days not letting me finalize and post it, but whatever. At least I'm caught up now. I'm eager to see where this'll go next time I get around to this fic and what next arc there is for Koa. I know there's one secret that's slowly being alluded to here... still not revealed. I wonder, with how much you spoke of it in Blacklight, if it will be revealed proper very soon...

 

[Nekodatta]

I'm here for Reading Rookidee!!
So I ended up reading from Chapter 5 to Chapter 10, and I've been really enjoying it.

If I had to say what this fic feels like to me it's "Cozy". You said the intent was to invoke a feeling similar to watching the anime and I think you nailed it, all chapters have their own little adventure and really feel like you are watching a random episode of the anime with characters-of-the-day that occasionally return, the focus moving to specific Pokemon each "episode"/chapter, but still feeling clearly like Koa is making little but steady progress in his journey.

It's just a really relaxing read for me!
My favourite scenes for now where the little scene with the guard at Mount Coronet, (I'm looking forward to seeing the two battle again), and the whole episode with the theft of Clefable.
Also Koa's character development is really nice, he still has his "plan" in mind but is pretty much sticking to it less and less.
I'm SO curious about what will hatch from the egg!!

 

[Flyg0n]

Happy 4 years of Legendary Adventures! Can't believe I've been chipping away at this still. I've got no plans of stopping. For a quick recap:

After setting out to visit Iron Island to meet with Kitto and train, he runs into trouble upon realizing Team Blackout are on the island, along with a Zeraora! Although he got off to a rough start with Zeraora after jumping the gun on catching it, he later made amends by helping it confront Team Blackout.

A tough battle ensues where Rascal the Tyrantrum evolves to defeat the remaining pokemon and Koa temporarily catches Zeraora to free it, and is able to stop Blackout just before the police arrive. Koa and Kitto return to Canalave for a much needed rest.

Echo (Male Crobat)

Hazard (Male Joltik)

Rascal (Female Tyrantrum)

Anubis (Male Houndoom)

Scrapper (Male Breloom)

---

The return to Canalave proved mind numbingly boring in comparison to the excitement and danger of fighting Team Blackout. He kept half dozing off during the boat ride and jolting awake again, keenly aware of how his body ached and he felt on edge, even knowing that everything with Blackout was over. For now.

Hazard clung to his shoulder, snoozing. Seeing the little Joltik resting so peacefully lightened Koa's heart a bit.

His thoughts kept drifting as he ruminated on everything that happened. This wasn't about Team Blackout... it was about whoever they were working for. And whoever they were working for didn't just want ordinary pokemon, but legendaries. Specifically Johto's, as far as he could tell. Except Zeraora, although many myths and legends suggested Zeraora had a tie to the ancient birds and beasts. So why...?

The thought of Zeraora brought a frown to his face. He was glad he'd gotten to save it, but trying to catch it like that in the first place... just like one of them. Criminals. Rocket. Magma. Galac- he shook his head and sighed. No. He wouldn't think like that. In the end, he'd done what was right. He'd helped him and hopefully done good.

The sight of Canalave's shore drawing close brought a sense of relief. It was strange how it felt like Canalave was both home and not home. He felt more at ease with his team than anything else. Still, it was good to be back. A rest was just what his pokemon needed. They'd earned it, and it would give him a chance to pass through the library one more time before getting back on the road again.

XXX

Once they docked, Jaime followed them to the pokemon center, where Koa dropped off his team, along with Kitto, then she started for the station. As she walked, she made idle conversation. Apparently she was quite impressed with how they'd handled the situation, and relieved that they'd recovered so many missing pokemon. The thought brought a flicker of warmth to Koa's heart.

Soon they arrived at the station. Like many of Sinnoh's cities, the police station was fairly small and nondescript. One part of the building looked distinctly newer, like an annex added on later. It made sense, he supposed. As far as he was aware, the region's police forces used to be a lot smaller, until more groups like Rocket started cropping up. And Galactic. In response, more trainers formed groups to try and combat the problem.

Jamie glanced over her shoulder as they approached the doors. "Don't you two worry, this won't take long at all. Here in Canalave, we have one of the best methods for taking statements. My partner is a psychic, and can do memory scans. In and out in five minutes, promise." She grinned brightly, as if she were saying something delightful, but Koa's stomach knotted.

He paused. "Memory scans?"

Stopping, she turned to face them. She inclined her head, as if puzzled by his question. "Yes. It's a bit newer, but not entirely uncommon. Trained psychics, with the subject's permission, can scan the entire memory of an incident and record it, saving everyone time and hassle. And it's more accurate."

Koa swallowed, pushing down the pit in his stomach. "What about just the regular way?" The idea of someone perusing his memories made his skin crawl. What if they saw something they shouldn't? What if information got out? Or the wrong people saw Zeraora. Or if...

"You don't have anything to worry about," Jaime said finally. "Memory scans aren't really like how you see in movies. Psychic pokemon can't secretly root through memories willy nilly," she said with a chuckle. "Fiction makes it seem like they can see your whole life in an instant." She snapped her fingers for effect.

"Think about it like... inviting someone over to watch a movie. The only thing the psychic can see is whatever you play on the screen. If they tried to look at something else, they would have to stop the movie, and dig through your collection and play another. You'd know if they were doing it, and it would be really hard to do too. Make sense?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Koa saw Kitto watching him curiously. A rush of self consciousness flooded Koa, mixing with his uneasiness. There was just too much. He felt like he shouldn't say anything about Zeraora's presence. And what if he accidentally played a different movie instead—

"Can we just do it the um, old fashioned way," he said, giving a casual laugh. "I think I have a headache still." Hopefully the excuse was good enough.

Jaime shrugged. "Sure." She turned to Kitto. "And you?"

Kitto glanced at Koa, then shrugged. "I just want to get this over with."

"Heard."

xXx

Over an hour later, Koa trudged out of the station, brain thoroughly scrambled. Apparently their run-in on Iron Island was one of the best breaks in the fight against Team Blackout in some time. Jaime was eager to make sure she didn't miss everything, often asking the same questions over, or for seemingly innocuous details. By the time she was done, he almost wished he'd just done the memory scan. Almost.

Once he was out, he found Kitto waiting for him outside, watching a Buizel scamper between patches of flowers, watering them.

"Finally. I was beginning to wonder if they'd just arrested you," he said lightly as he rose from the bench.

"Sorry about that." Koa took a second to orient himself, then started in the direction of the pokemon center.

The silence between them grew heavy, but Koa couldn't think of anything to say.

To his dismay, Kitto beat him to it. "What was that about?"

"Huh?"

"When she brought up the memory scan you looked..."

"Worried?" Koa cut in.

Kitto shrugged then nodded.

"I didn't want anyone else to know about Zeraora, in case word gets out." The lie came easily. Not a lie, he told himself. It was true, even if it wasn't the only reason. It wouldn't be fair to anyone if his thoughts somehow drifted during the scan. Especially Blake.

"Where are you headed after we pick up our pokemon?" Koa asked quickly.

"Probably find a room at a motel or something. Get some rest."

An idea flashed through Koa's mind and he paused. "Why don't you stay at my place? With Blake I mean. If you want. He's always said he wanted to meet you, and I have enough space in my room."

Kitto grinned. "Sure, why not?"

After a quick text to Blake to let him know he was bringing Kitto, Koa started for the house, making idle chatter with Kitto as they walked. Both their teams had opted to rest in their pokeballs.

Around them, a few people milled the streets, though Canalave seemed a little subdued compared to what he remembered. Did it have to do with the legendary pokemon? He spotted one or two Rangers around as well, and he frowned slightly. Perhaps people were worried about another attack. Less city pokemon seemed to be wandering about as well. He used to sometimes see Buizel hanging around, or more Starly perched on street signs.

Was this what the people or person behind this wanted? Fear? Or was there more to it? His thoughts continued to stew all the way up to when he reached his house.

Koa rapped on the door before opening it. "Hey Blake, I'm back," he called as he stepped inside.

Blake's head poked out from the kitchen. His eyes went wide. "Beedrills knees Koa! Were you two fist fighting Graveler on that island or something?" His tone was chiding, but not angry. Behind him, Blake's Bronzong peeked out curiously. His Murkrow was perched on Bronzong's head.

Koa paused in the doorway, glancing down at himself and realizing for the first time how rough he and Kitto looked. His jacket was scuffed and torn in spots, dirt caked on his boots and pants. Kitto didn't look much better; with faint scrapes and bruises on his arms and equally dirty. Definitely a fair bit worse for the wear than the average trainer.

"Sort of?" Koa laughed awkwardly.

Blake sighed and rolled his eyes before his gaze shifted to Kitto. He smiled and waved. "Oh you must be Kitto. Nice to finally meet you! You two can go upstairs and get cleaned up if you want, lunch should be ready soon, and you can tell me everything then."

A shower had never sounded as good as it had at that moment.

xXx

"So then I said, I'll just tell the end of the joke instead of writing the whole thing!" Kitto declared.

Blake and Kitto's laughter filled the dining room, as well as the assorted laughs of the assembled pokemon. Koa could just make out Rascal's huffing laughs from the backyard, where she just managed to fit, and a window had been opened so she could look in.

After introductions and explanations had been made, Blake and Kitto had hit it off. Koa had explained the gist of what happened at Iron Island, though he decided not to explain just how harrowing the battle had been, opting to tell the simple version of finding them, calling the police and stalling until help arrived. He decided not to bring up Zeraora yet, or catching it, however briefly.

Blake filled him in on how he'd been doing some work with Rowan studying growth rates of wild pokemon vs trained ones, and how he had a trip planned to meet with Rowan tomorrow to do some field studies for a couple days. "Sorry I won't be able to hang out with you tomorrow, but if you're still in Canalave when we're done maybe we can figure something out."

Kitto seemed fascinated by Blake's tales of his research expeditions and discoveries, and Blake was equally intrigued by Kitto's battle strategies and outlook on training.

"So Koa told me how you only train one pokemon?" Blake asked.

Kitto nodded. "Up until recently, it was just me and Jackie." He gestured to the living room, where Jackie sat on the couch, conversing animatedly with Absol, who nodded his head every few seconds. "I didn't get Kaze until a month or two ago." The Pidgey in question was nestled comfortably on Kitto's shoulder.

"How do you manage?" Blake asked. "Surely training must be difficult with only one partner?"

Kitto shrugged. "More is less, in a way..." he trailed off as he scratched Kaze on the crest. "Training one Pokemon gives me something to focus on. Less to worry about."

"That's certainly one way of looking at it. Your Hitmonchan has certainly reaped some benefits," Blake said. "He's in fantastic shape."

Koa pondered Kitto's words. It certainly paid off, strength wise. Despite how far Koa's own team had come, he felt certain Kitto and Jackie had the strength to beat any one of them in technique, and even power. Even with Rascal's evolution...

Blake glanced over to Koa. "Speaking of gyms, when's your rematch against Byron?"

Koa rolled his eyes. "We just got back to Canalave. I haven't had a chance to stop by the gym. Plus my team needs to rest tomorrow. But I'll do it first thing the day after tomorrow," he added.

"Good." Kitto said. "Can't have you getting rusty."

"Yeah, what about you? You don't even have any Sinnoh badges, if I recall," Koa shot back, grinning. As far he remembered, Kitto only ever mentioned his gym battles in Unova and a few in Johto.

A strange expression crossed Kitto's face. The corners of his mouth twitched and his eyes sparkled, as if he were amused. "You're adorable." He leaned over and reached into his bag, removing a small black case, which he proceeded to flip open. Inside were six badges.

Koa gaped at the sight, then stared at Kitto. "You have Sinnoh badges?"

"I'm seventeen Koa. I've been around the world a bit. I've fought gyms before."

He eyed the badge case again. Only two missing. Snowpoint and Sunyshore. "Why'd you stop?"

Kitto shrugged, his gaze growing distant. He shared a thoughtful glance with Jackie. Finally he replied. "I guess we wanted more."

"More?" Koa realized he'd mused out loud.

"More than badges. Jackie wanted more too. Like you want more. Not just badges or being Champion, but catching a legendary."

Ice shocked Koa's veins and he could practically feel Blake's gaze stab through him. He'd never mentioned the catching part to Blake before. Or at least, not for years. As far as Blake probably knew, he'd abandoned the idea.

"Catching?" Blake's voice was clipped, his eyes fixed on Koa.

Annoyance overtook Koa's fear. "Yeah, and?" he snapped back, reflexively.

"And? And? Koa are you insane? You can't—"

Koa saw red. Kitto started to say something, but Koa ignored him. "I can't what?" he hissed. "I'm not like you! I'm trying to fix things. I'm going to do something that matters!"

Blake shot to his feet, rattling the table. "That matters? You mean like protecting you? Raising you? Keeping you away from—" his voice hitched "— giving you a better life?"

"I didn't ask you to do any of that!" Koa's voice trembled, his hands shaking. He could feel his nails digging into his palms and his chest twisting in knots. A buzzing sensation flooded his body. "Just because you're afraid doesn't mean I'm just gonna give up! Someone has to do something!"

"That doesn't mean you can! Why can't you get that through your head?"

Koa flinched, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. White hot anger burned through him, blurring out every coherent thought. "Maybe I refuse to be some kind of muking gutless coward who hides from problems like you!"

The flicker of hurt and shock in Blake's eyes felt unnervingly satisfying to Koa in the moment.

A cold look settled in Blake's eyes and he drew back. "I did what I had to."

"So will I." Koa spat the words, forcing himself to look Blake in the eyes. He couldn't read him anymore, other than a sense of masked anger. Koa didn't really care. Blake could be as angry as he wanted, it wouldn't change anything. Just one more person to prove wrong who didn't believe. Except he'd never thought Blake would be one of those people.

Blake shook his head and turned away, grabbing a pokeball from a nearby shelf before striding out the door wordlessly.

A long exhale escaped Koa. The room seemed to come back into focus and he realized Kitto was staring at him, as were all his pokemon. His hands still shook slightly and his chest felt like a hippowdon was sitting on it. Swallowing, he pushed his chair aside and hurried upstairs. Some part of him felt bad leaving Kitto alone downstairs after that, but he couldn't think of any words to say.

He was halfway up the stairs when he felt something grab his wrist. Spinning, he glared and saw Kitto, flanked by Anubis. Further down, he could see the worried looks from the rest of his team. Kitto wore a neutral, infuriatingly calm expression. "What?" Koa snarled.

"Wait."

Koa yanked his hand free. "Leave me alone. I'm not in the mood for your advice."

"Koa I'm—"

"Why don't you keep your mouth shut." The bitter words somehow felt good, even as he wished he could take them back.

For a second, he saw Kitto's mask slip, his conviction wavering. Then the expression was gone. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean... I didn't think that would happen—"

"Well it did." This time, the words didn't feel as good. An uncomfortably silent second passed as Koa debated between standing where he was or continuing upstairs.

"I thought Blake knew," Kitto said quietly. "I would never have said anything otherwise."

Koa felt a bit of tension leave him as the tightness in his chest loosened slightly. "I know," he muttered. He'd always known Kitto could keep a secret if necessary. And he'd always told Kitto how close he was with Blake. Heaving another exhausted sigh, Koa sagged against the wall and slowly sank down, sitting on the stairs.

Kitto sat down a few steps lower, leaning with his back against the wall.

Letting his head rest against the wall, Koa stared off into space. "Sorry for snapping at you," he said after a minute. "It wasn't your fault."

Kitto simply nodded in understanding.

"We are— I am close with Blake. But he doesn't get it. He doesn't believe I can do anything. I have to do this." The words came out choked, and he swallowed uncomfortably. His stomach churned as a familiar void grew inside it.

"Why?" Kitto's voice was soft, and his gaze far off.

"I..." his throat closed up, and his responses died in his throat. I have to prove... Part of him felt like screaming in frustration, but that would be pointless. He couldn't begin to articulate why. He couldn't tell Kitto, couldn't tell anyone; he couldn't even think of it himself... His head still buzzed, and the argument played over and over in his head. Maybe Blake is right, maybe someone like you shouldn't do this. The feather burned a hole in his pocket.

"More?" Kitto said finally.

Koa nodded, grateful for the simple answer.

"I understand."

xXx

At some point, Koa dragged himself upstairs and to his room, set up a bed for Kitto, then promptly collapsed into an exhausted sleep. His thoughts and memories blurred into nonsensical dreams of talking legendaries complaining about him missing lunch, and more disconcerting dreams. Dreams of running and fighting and being lost. A dream where he was facing Byron's Bastiodon, except they were battling in the library for some reason.

Koa tried to throw books at the Bastiodon to distract it, but there were too many of them. Tons of them, all around the battlefield, trampling his team. He saw Zeraora watching the battling from the sidelines, along with Entei and Raikou. But when he ran over to ask for their help, they were gone. Disappeared, somehow, into a shadowy corner of the library. Only Zeraora remained, its shining blue eyes cold and emotionless. He heard a voice, almost like Zeraora's yet reminding him of Silas.

"Do not look for me."

When Koa turned back to the battle, Blake was there instead, arms folded. Sitting on the back of Ho-Oh. They flashed matching thumbs up before Byron tossed a gym badge to Koa. Catching the badge, Koa pinned it to his jacket, and the tears on his jacket vanished. Sick. He ran his hand across his brand new jacke—

—T shirt? Koa brushed his hands against his t-shirt, then gave a start as he realized he was lying on his bed, at home. He blinked a few times as the dream faded from his memory. Something about his gym battle and a library? And... Koa shuddered. The words from the dream echoed in his mind. It'd been a long time since he'd had that nightmare...

Sitting up, he glanced around the room, realizing it was still fairly dark. He stretched and yawned, realizing he felt pleasantly rested and rejuvenated. A quick glance at the clock told him it was just past 7am. Well that explained it, he'd slept for over half a day and through the night. Kitto was still sleeping on the pull out mattress, and he spotted Echo hanging overhead.

The memories of yesterday's argument with Blake suddenly resurfaced and he felt uneasy. Great. Blake was probably awake by now too. A sudden urge to get out of the house rushed through him. Slipping out of bed, he tiptoed past Kitto and out of his room.

Silence. Koa crept through the house, but quickly realized Blake was nowhere to be seen. He must have left early then for his trip. Heaving a sigh of relief, he turned to head back to his room. A twinge of disappointment gnawed at him beneath the relief, but he pushed it aside.

"Leaving without me?" A shadowy figure stood at the top of the stairs.

Koa yelped and almost jumped out of skin before he recognized Kitto. "Sheesh! Don't do that."

Kitto chuckled. "I keep telling you to pay better attention." He paused, peering down at the first floor. "Blake left already?"

Koa nodded. "I'm gonna go out to the library. Clear my head," he murmured. "You can stay if you like. There's food in the fridge I think."

"Nah, Jackie and I are gonna head to the beach I think. We can meet up later."

"Sounds good." He always felt better after a visit to the library.

xXx

Before he left, Koa checked in on his team. Hazard wanted to come with him to the library, but the others seemed to want their rest, so he returned them to their pokeballs. They'd more than earned the reprieve, and any training for the gym could wait a bit longer.

Canalave was fairly quiet at the early hour, giving Koa time alone with his thoughts. Hazard rode on his usual spot in Koa's hair while he wandered through town and to the library. His thoughts drifted as he navigated the familiar streets. He refused to dwell on his fight with Blake. Fretting wouldn't do any good. Things would just have to wait until he saw Blake again. Besides, as hot tempered as they both could be, it wasn't the first time they'd gotten into a spat.

Instead, he turned his thoughts towards his plan for the morning. Last time he'd done his research, he'd been more aimless. Too general. But after the events of Iron Island, and talking to Kitto, he had a much clearer idea of what he wanted to check out. Possibilities he hoped to eliminate.

Just then, Koa felt a buzz on his head, and Hazard's weight vanished. A yellow blur moved in the corner of his eye and he turned to see Hazard now clinging to a light post, directly below a brightly colored flyer.

"What's that?" Koa moved closer, squinting at the flyer as Hazard chittered excitedly.

'Silver Wind Festival'

Koa skimmed the words. It appeared to be a festival held in honor of bug types every year in Floaroma town. During peak migration season and pollination season, many rare bug types would pass through the area for the town's unique flowers that didn't grow anywhere else. Even bugs from far off regions passed through the area.

It sounded vaguely familiar, but he'd definitely never gone. Apparently there would be games, battles, and the highlight of the festival was a massive 'hide and seek' bug catching contest, with a chance to win a special prize.

Hazard tapped the poster with one of his claws, then looked at Koa, eyes shining eagerly.

"... You want to go?" Koa asked slowly.

The Joltik nodded, practically shaking with excitement.

Koa glanced again, noting the date. A couple weeks from now. Plenty of time to get his badge and travel to Floaroma. But not exactly on his way. He'd hoped to try and travel to Sunyshore for his 7th badge. Floaroma was a bit out of the way but... Hazard's big blue eyes were hard to resist.

He sighed good naturedly, smiling. "Sure, I'll take you. We can go after Rascal's gym battle."

Hazard perked up and clicked his mandibles together.

"Promise," Koa replied.

Looking pleased with himself, Hazard scurried back to his spot on Koa's shoulder and Koa continued on to the library.

This time, he headed for the first floor, where the biology and reference materials were kept. First, he found the encyclopedias and made notes of every mention of 'illusion' and 'mirage' and anything even close to the topic that he could find. Ditto, Zoroark, Mew... and even more pokemon and stories than he initially assumed.

He brought all the books back to a quiet corner of the library, where a small table with chairs had been set up.

Hazard made himself cozy on the table while Echo perched lazily on the back of a chair nearby. Aside from them, the library was fairly quiet this early in the morning, so he had the place to himself.

Then he poured over every book he could find relating to the topic. Most of them were mind numbing and dense historical or biological texts about aura and wave generation and optical illusions, as well as philosophical tales about spirits and tricks. Outside his preferred expertise, but he forced himself to read them anyway. Others were more speculative tales or less credible, but at this point, anything was good.

Although he already knew full well it wasn't the legendaries, the next time he ran into someone like Fossie he wanted to be able to explain everything better. Besides, maybe he'd come across something he missed before.

Some of it he already knew about - Dittos highly skilled were known to be able to pull off near flawless transformations, but even the strongest on record could only hold a form accurately for a fairly short time. And generally a Ditto required a subject to mimic. Using moves took additional effort, apparently. He found it fairly hard to believe a Ditto had been responsible for the destruction of Amity.

Zoroark were the masters of casting illusions, and more than one tale told of travelers being trapped in entire illusions of areas. Except Zoroark illusions couldn't do damage (unless apparently the Zoroark itself used a move). If a Zoroark had blown apart Celestic, or attacked Anubis, that wouldn't have worked. And an illusion wouldn't have activated Flash Fire.

He hummed in thought as he stared at the book about Zoroark, eyes glazing over at the potential explanation about the science of how it worked. Something about forming physical apparitions through a unique manipulation of aura and light waves? It was a bit technical for his taste.

"Always a pleasure to see a kindred spirit here."

Koa's head jerked up and whipped around to see Callahan standing nearby, giving an amicable wave. "Oh hi," he blurted, his eyes wide as he waved back awkwardly. Real smooth.

Callahan smiled. "I must confess, I wasn't expecting anyone to have found my favorite spot in the library, usually no one is here at this hour."

"Sorry, I didn't know this was your spot," he said, blushing slightly. "I'll move," he reached out to gather his books.

"Please, stay, although I hope you don't mind if I join you?" he gestured to one of the empty chairs.

Resisting the urge to grin stupidly, Koa nodded. "Sure, go ahead!"

As Callahan sat down, Echo cracked one eye open to watch.

"If I may," Callahan said, "what are you researching? That's quite the stack of books you have."

Koa shifted in his seat, suddenly self-conscious. "Illusions," he said anyway. "I was just curious after hearing about the legendary attacks."

Callahan leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. "You don't believe the attacks are real?"

"Of course not!" Koa paused as he realized how abruptly he'd spoken. "I mean. No. Legendary pokemon are guardians and protectors, right? Why would Entei burn down Amity Square? There has to be more to it."

A troubled look crossed his face, his brow creasing. "Yes, that is true I suppose. And you believe it to be some form of trickery then?"

"Yeah. What I saw— I mean, yes and no. Not the real legendaries, but not purely an illusion." His gaze shifted down to the book in front of him. Except Zoroark and Ditto didn't fit with what he saw. So what else?

Callahan hummed softly, folding his hands thoughtfully. "Do you have any theories? If you don't mind sharing, that is."

Koa nodded almost without thinking. He underestimated how nice it felt to talk with someone else about this. Maybe Callahan's knowledge of legendaries could help. "At first I thought about Ditto or Zoroark. But even the best Ditto don't seem strong enough, and Zoroark can't use powers, only make illusions. But..."

Leaning in, Callahan tipped his head expectantly.

"I was just thinking, maybe another legendary pokemon? Do you know of any legendaries that could do that?" Koa held his breath, hoping. He was sure by now he'd read about almost every text the library here had about legendaries, but maybe there was more in other regions...

"I would be loath to consider their involvement," Callahan murmured. "You yourself said they are protectors, are they not? Why would another legendary implicate one of their own in such a heinous act?"

Koa hesitated. "Unless they were forced—"

"But it seems rather outlandish, does it not? For example, I do not believe a Mew could be responsible for what happened. One would have to not only find some elusive legendary, and capture it, but successfully control it. Not only does such technology seem beyond possibility, but then to use it only to fake disasters as other pokemon?"

Except it does exist. Dialga and Palkia, red chains... The lake spirits enslaved, captured and their powers used. Cold chills spread through him and he did his best to focus on what Callahan was saying instead.

The researcher drummed his fingers on the table, his gaze settling on Koa's stack of books. "Have you considered the other possibility? Mental trickery?"

"Mental—?" Koa hated how ignorant he probably sounded, but he couldn't figure out what Callahan meant. Illusions were essentially mental trickery, were they not?

A familiar excited smile crossed Callahan's face, as if he were on stage, about to recount a fantastical tale. He edged closer, lowering his voice ever so slightly as he spoke.

"There is much more to the nature of visions and illusions than simple parlor tricks you see. A Ditto is what one might consider quite real. They can indeed shift their biological structure to imitate anything they see, but they cannot replicate the power. Even if a Ditto could take on the visage of Lugia, it could not control the seas and the winds, correct? And a Zoroark can create things that can be seen, but not truly interacted with."

Koa nodded along as he spoke, curiosity piquing.

"Well, there is a third possibility. One of the spirit and mind. For example, are you familiar with the Johtonian pokemon Stantler?" Once Koa nodded again, he continued. "Stantler, strong ones, are said to be able to make people see things. Often when they wish to drive out intruders, they inflict strange visions upon them. But unlike a Zoroark, these cannot be seen by anyone but the victim."

"So..." Koa's brow furrowed and he shot Hazard a baffled look. The Joltik looked equally perplexed. "Is it all fake? A hallucination?" That couldn't be right. "But that makes no sense. How can it all be in someone's head? Amity did burn and the ruins were damaged."

Callahan shrugged. "I would presume not entirely faked, but I see no reason it can't be in part. A few well placed fire-moves, a powerful enough attack at Celestic. And then some ghost or psychic pokemon to make people believe they witnessed a legendary pokemon. Or confirmation bias. Enough people on edge can easily mistake some Arcanine or Luxray in the dark and panic."

He gestured to the books in Koa's stack. "Mismagius... Duosion, Ninetales, Gastly. If the pokemon is strong enough, they could certainly deceive the mind."

A strange sense of annoyance rumbled in Koa's gut. He refused to believe what he had seen and felt was faked, or all in his head. Anubis had been attacked. He'd been hit. The memory of those cold eyes was burned into his mind. But then... Callahan knew legendaries well. If he said this, surely he'd know...?

He glanced reflexively at Hazard, then Echo. Hazard's gaze was narrowed, as if deep in thought, and Echo looked confused.

Callahan cleared his throat and sat back. "Ah, sorry, don't mind me. I suppose this is all speculation at the end of the day. It is quite possible Entei and the other beasts have grown weary of humanity."

No they haven't! Koa grit his teeth. He wanted to shout back, argue. How could anyone who dedicated their lives to researching legendary pokemon believe that? He started to open his mouth, but Callahan spoke again.

"However I am afraid I haven't been entirely honest with you young Koamaru. It is not an entirely random chance I approached you today."

Echo's ears perked up and Hazard stared at him. Koa unconsciously tensed.

"This is my favorite spot, but I also have been hoping to run into you for some time. I came over here to talk to you particularly, and it is quite good fortune that we ran into each other here. I was thinking about you after our brief meeting in Celestic. It's rare to find such passion and a kindred spirit, who truly loves the majesty of legendary pokemon."

Koa found himself smiling brightly.

"I have for some time now hoped to employ a few interns and researchers to work with me, and I think you'd be an excellent candidate. I'll be opening a proper lab in Johto to start researching different legendary pokemon full time, to understand them better, and educate people. I'd like to offer you the first chance to return to Johto for a few months and get set up over there."

Koa's eyes widened and he stared at Callahan, open mouthed, before quickly trying to compose himself. His heart raced. Johto? That would be incredible. He could see the towers and the shrines, and Kanto wouldn't be far away, he could see the museum. And work with Callahan. Then Callahan's words dawned fully on him. "N-now?" he stammered.

Callahan nodded quickly. "It is quite imperative, actually. I can't promise it'll be glamorous at first; there's some setup to do, but there will also be plenty of field work and studies to be done. I could use an assistant very soon, and I'd be honored if you were my first. I'd rather not waste time, as I'm sure you understand."

Yes! Koa wanted to immediately agree except... "How long would I be there for?"

"At least a few months," he replied. "The initial setup will be fairly busy. And it would need to be now, of course. I can arrange transportation by the end of the week. I can make time after the initial setup is complete for you to return to Sinnoh if you want, but you'd be fairly busy."

Koa's heart lurched. He'd be giving up everything here. Kitto. His gym badges. And most of all, his team.

Something tugged his sleeve, and he looked down to see Hazard peering at him pleadingly.

"Well?" Callahan interjected.

Hazard tugged his sleeve again. Right. The contest he'd promised. That wasn't the only promise he'd break either. Growing strong with his team, climbing Mt Coronet. His hope to reach Spear Pillar. Lifting the curse... But this could give him a chance to work with Callahan. His idol.

Glancing between his pokemon, and Callahan, then at the books before him, he knew his decision was already made. His next words felt like lead. "I'm sorry. I can't."

Frustration flashed across Callahan's face, followed by a sort of disappointment. "Please reconsider."

Koa shook his head. "I made promises here. Thank you, thank you so much for asking me and for offering me this. But I have to finish what I'm doing here."

Callahan pressed his lips together. "... Very well. Perhaps later, or another time then. If you excuse me, I do need to be off, however. It was a pleasure speaking with you again." He offered a sympathetic smile before rising from his chair. "I do wish you the best of luck with your goals here. And do try not to get too concerned with such things as legendaries. Try to focus on your journey. Nature has a way of keeping its own balance."

Koa nodded, then waved farewell. Despite the heavy sense of disappointment, he felt good. It was nice to know Callahan wanted him. His gaze drifted back to the stack of books. Yet despite the brief moment of pride, he found himself disagreeing with Callahan again.

What he'd seen wasn't a trick of the mind. He sighed in frustration, leaning back on the chair. "It feels like I'm going in circles, rehashing the same things. I haven't gotten any closer to figuring out what was going on. What do you think, Echo? Illusion? Hallucinations?"

Echo stared at for a moment before shaking his head confidently.

"Thought so," Koa murmured. Not to mention... he pressed a hand against the feather in his pocket. Ho-Oh had been very real. Which brought him back to his first assumption. Legendary pokemon. Off the top of his head, only Mew had that kind of power. He dismissed that initially but could someone really have found a way to capture Mew? Or... was there some other pokemon he was missing? Instinct led him to believe it was the work of a legendary, but what if it wasn't?

And even if he did figure out how, there was still the question of why.

At least his research hadn't been a total loss. He'd thoroughly eliminated a lot of basic possibilities.

Still contemplating, he decided to call it quits for the time being. He reshelved the books he'd taken out and decided to head back home. Echo and Hazard returned their balls to rest. Just focus on what you can do.

The best thing he could do for his team and his goal now was to finish what he started.

XXX

Koa yawned again as he plodded through the empty streets of Canalave City, navigating by the barely present sunrise. Scrapper had woken him before the crack of dawn the following day, both of his own volition and apparently on behalf of Rascal, who was quite sick and tired of waiting around the backyard, and wanted to do more training. Despite him begging them to let him sleep in, they didn't seem keen to listen.

So he'd left a note for Kitto explaining where he was headed, and crept out of the house.

Ideally, Koa would have preferred another few hours of sleep, and maybe letting his team rest. His team didn't seem to see it the same way. Even Echo was awake, gliding above him in eager circles, flying ahead ever so often before circling back impatiently.

Finally, Canalave's beach came into sight. It was mostly empty save for a few people hanging around. He walked to the far end so as to not disturb them, then released the rest of his team. Rascal apparently couldn't help herself but to announce herself to everyone within a quarter mile radius, and Koa winced, covering his ears. "Rascal please," he hissed, shushing her.

The beach was considered a public space, but that also meant trainers and pokemon were expected to be courteous if out during off hours. She huffed in response, rolling her eyes. Koa shook his head, grinning still. Looking at her still felt surreal. Now he had to actually crane his neck to be able to look up at her.

Anubis simply rolled his eyes at the display, but Flurry seemed to be gazing up at Rascal with renewed awe. Scrapper was already shadowboxing, while Hazard watched patiently from Anubis back.

"Okay," Koa said, stifling another yawn. "Let's train."

Scrapper gave an eager cry.

"Rascal, we can make sure you're ready for the gym battle first."

Anubis gave an expectant bark, then nodded to Flurry.

Koa grimaced internally, a tiny prickle of guilt eating at him. He was long overdue to help train Flurry too. He breathed out, looking from Rascal to Anubis. "Okay Anubis. You're right. Rascal, let me help Flurry first, then we'll work on you."

Flurry gave an eager squeak. The Tyrantrum huffed and shot Anubis a scowl, but otherwise remained silent.

He turned to his other pokemon. "Hazard, you and Scrapper can run some drills, got it? And Echo, how about your work on dodging with Rascal? Try to focus on countering too."

His pokemon gave cries of agreement and for a moment, Koa found himself amusedly understanding exactly why Kitto opted to train one pokemon instead of six. Shaking his head, he turned to Flurry.

"Ready Flurry?"

She immediately took up a battle position in the sand, her tiny tail flipper swishing side to side. Such determination in a tiny body. The sight made him smile.

She clapped her fins and gave a shrill cry. Chuckling, Koa quickly withdrew his TM case. "Let's get started."

A few minutes later the process was complete, and he released her from her pokeball. "Ready?"

She made no reply, but he could sense her readiness all the same as she waited for his command. Koa fixed his eyes on a small dune several yards away. "Flurry, use Ice Beam!"

The Spheal opened her jaws and a weak blast of chilly air shot out, traveling a few feet before petering out. She huffed and breathed out again, only succeeding in generating another blast of cool air.

With another frustrated huff, she started again, but Koa held out his hand. "Whoa there," he said, kneeling next to her. "The TM will help you get the idea, but it's different for every pokemon. Take it slow, concentrate."

Her little brow furrowed, her dark eyes shining as she listened.

"Try to let the energy build first and get a feel for it. Think about how ice feels, then use it, okay?"

She turned, setting her sights on a rise in the sand a few yards away. For a moment, she remained perfectly still, her eyes squinted and body tense. Frost crept up around her flippers. Then a weak, but precise stream of ice energy came from her jaws and cut into the dune, leaving a patch of frosted sand in its place.

A wide grin grew on Koa's face. "Again!" he called.

Once more, she gathered her energy and fired the beam, striking the dune. This time, nearly the whole patch of sand froze over. Delight shone in the Spheal's eyes, but also a raw excitement that Koa found himself sharing.

They had more to give. "Come on Flurry, one more time! Give it all you got!" As he called to her, he pumped his fist in the air. She slapped her fins into the sand, kicking up the grains. There was a purposeful hesitation in her stance, a tense of her body, and a prickling of her fur. Then she opened her jaws.

A blaze of a pale energy shot from within, cutting across the sand, leaving a trail of frost in its wake before hitting the ocean waves. For a brief second, a patch of ice formed in the salty water, spreading several inches before Flurry finally let up and the pieces broke apart, slowly melting away.

For a second, Koa just beamed, then he ran to Flurry, scooped her into his arms and squeezed her tight. "That was amazing!"

The Spheal squealed happily in turn before Koa set her down. "Alright, I want you to keep practicing that while I work with Rascal, okay?"

She rolled off almost immediately, quite eager to work on it, and Koa turned to focus on Rascal, only to start with surprise to see her standing just a few feet away, looming over him. Her eyes sparked with excitement and impatience.

"So I think you should try to learn Fire Fang."

A devilish twinkle sparked in her eyes as understanding dawned on her.

Koa continued. "Remember how you learned Ice Fang? It'll be the same principle."

Rascal nodded. Anubis trotted up and barked something to her. She studied him in response for a moment, then gave a nod of understanding. With a swish of her tail, she moved a few feet away, her gaze narrowing on concentration.

Fire. If it was anything like what he'd learned about ice, it wasn't as simple as just something hot. His gaze shifted to Anubis. For him, fire was natural. A part of him. All fire-types had that inner spark, and that was tied to how they wielded flames. But for Rascal, fire was something unnatural. Outside her. So how would Rascal wield it?

For several seconds, nothing happened. Anubis rumbled, and she huffed in frustration, but kept focusing. A slight shimmer flashed around her jaws, and Koa noted a few tiny orange sparks appear before fading.

Rascal let out a sharp roar and reared her head back, snapping her jaws shut. A few more sparks flickered from her mouth. She growled under her breath and stamped her foot.

A tremor shook the ground, a small shockwave rippling outwards and making Koa stumble. He caught himself, then grinned. "Maybe we're working on the wrong move Rascal."

She turned to him, tipping her head to the side.

"Look, we can hone Fire Fang in time, but maybe there's a move you can harness now that'll give you another edge against Bastiodon." He gestured to her feet, excitement flowing through him.

A mischievous light glimmered in her gaze as understanding dawned on her.

Koa couldn't help but grin in turn. "Let's shake things up."

"Anubis, want to help us train for a minute?"

The Houndoom stopped watching Flurry and trotted over, an eager gleam in his eye. Rascal eyed him and huffed dismissively, to which the Houndoom responded with a challenging growl.

"Okay Rascal, ready? You'll need to be able to use Earthquake in the middle of the battle. Anubis, try to avoid Rascal's attacks and attack her. "

Anubis barked something at Rascal, to which she responded with an annoyed huff. Growling, Anubis began to pace around Rascal, as if sizing up how to best attack her now that she was so much larger.

Rascal began to pace with large, deliberate steps, each one making the ground tremble slightly.

Then Anubis barked, cocking his head in a taunting motion. Rascal charged, jaws wide. Anubis burst forward, lunging between her legs in a blur of black and orange fur. Rascal's jaws closed on empty air. Anger sparked and she spun, kicking up a spray of sand.

A stream of fire washed across her face, courtesy of a Flamethrower from Anubis. Not very strong, but enough to make her even angrier. Still keeping on his paws, Anubis dashed out of range of any counter attack. With a mighty roar, Rascal slammed one of her feet down.

The ground shook, rattling Koa's body and making Anubis lose his balance. She lunged after him, giving chase. The Houndoom scrambled to his paws, recovering and breaking into a run.

Interesting. Despite the raw power Rascal possessed, her movements had become clumsy and uncoordinated. She seemed unused to her new body. He made a mental note to try and hone that later.

His gaze shifted to Anubis, who despite needing almost four strides to each of Rascal's one, was managing to use his greater agility to stay out of reach. Every so often he'd spew another burst of flames at Rascal, glassing the sand. She retaliated with Earthquake.

The first few strikes were weak, and even with the range Anubis managed to dodge or get far enough away to avoid getting hurt.

Waves of irritation rolled off Rascal, and he could almost feel her frustration building. Both at her inability to catch Anubis and to master the move. But she was growing less and less coordinated.

"Rascal stay focused!" he called. "Focus your power into the earth!"

Rascal paused, ceasing her chase to focus, then she struck the ground again. This time, Koa really felt the impact, and nearly fell over himself. Anubis yelped as he was thrown off his paws and into a sand dune. Then Rascal lunged. Caught off guard momentarily, Anubis didn't have a chance to move before Rascal snatched him up.

With a flick of her head she flung Anubis to the side, sending him rolling. He tumbled to stop and lay still for a moment, dazed. Rascal snarled in triumph and anger, then lowered her head and charged at Anubis again before he could rise, a strange light glowing in her eyes.

Koa's heart lurched. What was she doing? She'd gotten the move but Anubis was down-

Her jaws opened, this time with dark energy, going for an attack still.

"Rascal!" he shouted, voice spiking with anxiety and confusion.

She skidded to a halt only a foot from Anubis, blinking. The wild light left her eyes and she slowly closed her jaws, looking briefly guilty. Anubis scrambled to his paws a moment later, glaring at Rascal, a growl rumbling in his throat. He barked, then turned and stalked off.

"Are you alright?" Koa asked, hurrying to Rascal's side.

She turned to him and snorted, rolling her eyes. I'm fine. Koa frowned doubtfully, then shrugged it off. If Rascal said she was fine, he would believe her. Besides, getting heated in battle wasn't terribly new.

"Good job though," he added brightly. "I think you've got the hang of the basics, right?"

Rascal nodded emphatically, her old mischievous gleam returning to her eyes. She gave a hearty rumble of delight. From the sidelines, Flurry gave a pleased squeak and Scrapper pumped his fists in the air.

Delight flooded Koa. "Let's keep working on your power."

Half an hour later, Koa stood triumphantly as he took in the near destruction of the sand all around Rascal, who had successfully learned Earthquake and even refined it to be able to use it more easily on the move and with greater strength.

Rascal looked weary from using the move so much, but her head was held high with pride. Already Koa's mind was running with ideas for her gym battle, and how he could use the move.

The Canalave Gym badge was as good as theirs.

---

I hope everyone enjoyed! Lots of setup to squeeze into this chapter for things that will be important. Some little teases and bits and pieces, and investigating.

I have already completed a significant portion of the next two chapters as well. If I can edit those over the coming weeks I should be able to post more this month.

As always thanks so much for reading, I read and appreciate all the nice comments and they keep me going. While I don't know what the future holds, I have no intention of abandoning this story yet, no matter how slow the progress. Thanks!