The Type Specialist

Once I was back in the Pokémon Center, the trade didn't take that long at all. The person who had messaged me was free, and we slotted the Pokéballs into the PC.

The PC let us confirm the Pokémon's summary before the balls were transferred to prevent scams. What was about to be sent was indeed a Cottonee, and it was male and knew Absorb, Fairy Wind, Stun Spore, and Growth. I noticed that he had already started to develop his Prankster ability, which was nice to see since that ability generally required a specific mindset to train.

The trainer on the other end was also happy with what I caught, excited to be able to train such a weak Staryu from scratch. We briefly thanked each other once the Pokémon were sent over then said goodbye, both of us wanting to meet our new team member as soon as possible.

When I removed the Pokéball from the slot in the computer, I noticed that Cottonee was in a basic Pokéball, which was a shame. However, that was still a unique design compared to the rest of my team.

I headed to the back of the Pokémon Center to check out their field to use as a place to meet Cottonee. There weren’t any other trainers around right now, so I had the area to myself. I sent out Ninetales and we both tried to look as friendly as possible. Since Cottonee was significantly weaker than everyone but Ponyta, I would only have Ninetales out to not scare Cottonee when I first released him.

After tossing the Pokéball forward, Cottonee appeared in a burst of light and looked around cautiously. He was essentially a floating cotton ball with a pair of flat leaves sticking off of his ears on the side. The cotton growing as part of his body only covered the upper and lower parts of his round body, so the area around his eyes was exposed and revealed his white skin. The leaves on his side flapped occasionally to assist Cottonee as he floated in the air in front of me and let him resist being blown around in the breeze much more easily.

I spoke in a calm voice to try to make my introduction as friendly as possible.

"Hello, Cottonee. I'm Alex, your new trainer, and this is Ninetales, my starter and fellow team member."

Ninetales proceeded to lie to Cottonee by gracefully bowing her head, pretending to be significantly more elegant than she actually was.

Cottonee carefully looked between Ninetales and I, and his eyes grew wide with excitement. Not expecting him to do anything, he surprised me by shooting forward, floating in the air, and excitedly rubbing all over us in a sign of affection.

"Haha, wow, I didn't expect you to be so friendly so quickly. It's nice to meet you too, Cottonee."

Ninetales held still soon after Cottonee rubbed itself against her, which was weird since I expected her to be rubbing herself right back against Cottonee.

But that's when I realized I couldn't move either.

Cottonee looked between Ninetales and I, our muscles locked up and tensed due to a reaction from Stun Spore, and began to laugh.

“Cottonee-ee-ee-ee!”

I rolled my eyes.

"That's very funny. Can you, uh, let us free now?" I said, thankful I could at least move my mouth.

Cottonee looked between us again, then his eyes widened and drooped his body to face the ground. It took me a moment to understand what suddenly made him so down.

Great, so he can't cure us. At least I have another Pokémon that can help.

"Please send out Florges. Just grab her ball and hit the button to let her out. She's in the Heal Ball - the pink and purple one - at my waist."

Cottonee floated forward to my belt and picked up the ball by lodging it into the fluff on his head. He floated back to its original position and set Florges's Heal Ball on the ground in front of him.

"Great! Now just press the button on the front center and send her out so she can use Aromatherapy."

Cottonee narrowed its eyes in thought, and seemed to be considering if sending out Florges would actually be worth it. At first I was just mildly bothered, but now I was just getting annoyed.

"Cottonee, please send out Florges. This prank is lasting a bit too long and I have an itch on my nose."

Cottonee glanced at the entrance to the fields, but relented and let Florges out by touching the button with the leaves on his side.

Florges manifested into being from the light and saw that Ninetales and I were paralyzed. She immediately sent out a wave of sweet smells from her flower as Aromatherapy made our muscles relax and the paralysis faded.

I fell to the ground and Ninetales sat down. Having the majority of my muscles locked up and only being able to move my mouth and the tips of my fingers was decidedly not pleasant.

Cottonee chuckled guiltily and Florges suddenly jolted back in shock. Cottonee had been silent to watch Florges cure us, and Florges hadn't realized he was there.

Florges made some curious noises and bent down to hold her hand out to Cottonee. Cottonee looked her over and was about to respond but Ninetales burst out laughing.

We all looked over to the ice fox who was practically rolling on the floor in laughter now that she had time to process the prank.

As for myself, I pushed myself up to be in a seated position and grumbled. I clearly hadn’t understood the implications of the “Prankster” ability outside of battle.

"Alright, let’s calm down now, Ninetales. I need to send everyone else out to meet Cottonee,” I said.

Luckily, Cottonee didn't go through with any more pranks as the rest of my team appeared around us. Azumarill didn't care that Cottonee was here, Altaria tried to push Cottonee into his similarly fluffy wings, Mawile just greeted him then took out her rock and stopped paying attention, and Ponyta trotted forward and bowed to introduce himself.

Cottonee wasn't frightened to be around so many new and unfamiliar Pokémon, but seemed to be almost ecstatic instead. I had to give him a firm "no" when he eyed Mawile's rock since I could already tell he was planning something, and I couldn't let that happen because she loved that stone too much.

While everyone was talking and learning about their new team member, I sat back to continue to enjoy being able to move my body and took a moment to consider how to best train him in the coming months.

Cottonee is a Grass Type, so he can help develop Florges's Flower Veil ability. He can also work with Azumarill to get her Sap Sipper working, and he could also help Ponyta train in a few weeks since they're both weak compared to the others.

Looking back over to the second new member of our team in the past two weeks, I could see that Cottonee was happy to be here and to be receiving the attention his previous trainer was unable to provide. I was glad to see he would have no trouble adjusting to our team. I would need to set rules about Cottonee's pranks, but other than that, he would fit in just fine.

Before we left Slateport, I stopped at its famous market to see if I could locate held items for my team. It was nostalgic walking through the chaotic mess of a bazaar, but this time I actually had money to spend.

My goal was to purchase held items, but the actual selection was smaller than I expected. Every Pokémon could legally hold one item in battle, but most trainers didn't bother or only used berries. From my knowledge of the games I had the advantage of knowing exactly what to look for, but ended up settling on a pretty basic selection.

There were no Choice Scarfs, Life Orbs, Eviolites, or any other "high-tier" items for sale, but rather just a few that would boost certain moves. I bought a Mystic Water for Azumarill, to boost her Water Type attacks, and a Miracle Seed for Florges, to boost her Grass Type attacks. Florges did have the option of holding the Expert Belt she earned, but she didn't have a large enough range of different Type moves for it to be useful.

Each item was more expensive than they should have been, but considering they provided at least a 20% increase to the power of the move when the appropriate energies were channeled through it, I didn't mind.

As for handing them to my Pokémon, the method they actually held them varied between species. When Ninetales was a Vulpix, she wore a collar to slot her Never-Melt Ice into, but now just froze it within her mane with cryokinesis. Florges stuck her Miracle Seed into her head bouquet to keep it safe, and a Mystic Water could be worn as a necklace, but Azumarill tied it around her forearm like a thin armband.

After the unreasonable sum for the items was passed over, I did a brief, casual search for any Mega Stones on sale (there were none), then left to meet up with Wally to leave for Sootopolis.

Thankfully, the overnight trip to Sootopolis was uneventful and we managed to arrive before lunch. When we were close to arriving, I became upset with myself because I completely forgot about Pacifidlog. I had wanted to visit to see an entire floating city, but was stressing about earning my last three badges in the next three months so it had slipped my mind. Even though I missed the perfect chance to check it out, it wasn’t that big of a deal since I could always just go there later down the line.

Who knows, maybe when I finally see Pacifidlog I could visit the nearby Sky Tower as well?

…

Haha, yeah right, like I would willingly approach Rayquaza’s home. Maybe I’ll just stick to Pacifidlog when I have the chance.

When we departed the ship, we had to pass through a temporary checkpoint managed by Ace Trainers that checked through the crew. The official story was that they were trying to find a poaching ring operating out of Sootopolis, but I knew it was really to prevent Team Magma from getting near the Cave of Origin, one of the potential locations of Hoenn’s regional Legendaries.

Once we managed to leave the docks, we entered the city of Sootopolis.

It was beautiful.

Sootopolis was built on a massive caldera that was once an ocean Volcano. It was one of the oldest cities in Hoenn, and almost looked like a living ancient city. All the buildings were either built onto or into the cliffs, or were built on top of flat stone platforms that extended a short ways into the center lake and surrounding ocean. Almost every building had some kind of blue on it, either their roof or their windows, making each of them contrast and pop out next to the pale white stone of their surroundings.

The streets didn’t follow a regular pattern either, they were littered with stairs going up and down throughout the city and twisted around outcroppings of rock from the caldera. It was a bit exhausting to move through the entire city like that, but almost every turn provided a brand new, incredible view over the ocean and interior of the city.

When Wally and I managed to make it to the top of the caldera, Wally spoke up in excitement.

“Alex, I can see the Gym! Let’s go challenge it!” he shouted, pointing towards a long building with a well manicured garden in front of it.

I shook my head.

“I’m going to explore the city first. I want to take in the sights and relax for the rest of the day before doing anything too tiring. It’s a big city, and I’ve heard it has a beautiful view of the stars at night. We can do it tomorrow.”

“Aw. I really wanted to see your team in action. I haven’t seen you in a trainer battle yet!”

I blinked.

“Huh, I guess you’re right. …Wait, you aren’t just scouting the competition for Ever Grande, are you?”

Wally looked away from me.

“No... I just... wanted to support a friend?”

He refused to meet my gaze.

Shaking my head, we headed towards a Pokémon Center, taking a long route to see what the city had to offer.

Wally stayed with me as I walked through the city for the rest of the day. The streets were unfortunately too narrow to send out any Pokémon to walk alongside us, but we ate at a restaurant that allowed Pokémon in it after Wally and I went half in on reserving a private room. Our Pokémon were also able to be out to watch a Water Type performance done by the local Gym Leader Wallace in an open amphitheater with a moat of water in front of it.

The performance was an absolutely incredible display of Wallace's mastery over the Water Type. He started with a pair of Wingull that crisscrossed in the air and used Water Gun to create a light drizzle. Clouds formed as their movement shifted into a Rain Dance that blanketed the water that surrounded the stage in a light mist. The waters shifted as several Goldeen swam in organized patterns that were mesmerizing to watch, and a Seaking emerged, only to jump up and slam down into the water, causing it to split in half with two giant waves that displayed the Goldeen swimming within.

As the waves splashed back down, the stage was covered in fog and the sky slowly began to clear. I thought it was a short performance and it would end there, but a melodious voice echoed throughout the amphitheater as the fog began to clear.

A beautiful Milotic was revealed to have slithered onto the stage and was now singing. The games and anime didn't do Milotic justice. The slowly appearing sun shone down on the dissipating mist around Milotic and created several rainbows that shifted and reflected off Milotic's scales. The stage was illuminated in a prismatic web of color, and several Palpitoad waddled near it to shake and thump to add a beat to the performance.

It eventually developed into an entire musical score that consisted of numerous Water Types creating sounds with their bodies and moves, but never so much as to overpower the sound of Milotic's song.

The music developed into a lament, and I saw Ninetales shed a tear out of the corner of my eye. Milotic's song had lyrics, but they were in the Pokémon’s language and I had no clue what they were.

The performance ended with Milotic and all of the Water Types commanding the water around the stage with hydrokinesis to create one large wave that silenced the music with a sudden crash and washed them away.

The entire audience cheered at the end, the performance receiving a standing ovation. Mawile actually didn't have her rock out at all during it, which showed how much she enjoyed it.

I was incredibly impressed with how much work clearly went into the entire thing. Each and every Pokémon was incredibly well trained, and from the time it took me to get Ninetales's control of her cryokinesis to where it was now let me understand how much effort it must have taken.

It was motivating to see the peak of what a Type Specialist could do. Despite the season nearing its end in only a few months, I was still only a beginner with the Fairy Type. I had done little to master the Type itself, and had only focused on my Pokémon individually. Once my team was stronger, I would be able to develop my understanding even further, and couldn't wait to see what the Fairy Type would be truly capable of.

I reached to my belt to send out my Pokémon to sleep for the night, but was interrupted when I heard a knock at my door.

I stood up and rubbed my eyes, then headed over to open it up.

“Do you need something, Wally? I thought we-”

“Hello Alex,” Steven said. “Would you like to help me break into the Cave of Origin?”

I rubbed my eyes again, just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

“Why does the Champion need the help of a random trainer to break the law?” I asked, a little annoyed.

Steven chuckled and glanced back and forth in the hallway.

“May I come in?” he asked. “I would like to make sure I am not overheard. No one knows I am here right now, and I would like to keep it that way.”

I stepped aside to let Steven enter the room, and closed the door behind him. He grabbed a Pokéball at his waist, and a floating black Pokémon with eyes on all sides of its head appeared in the room. Steven’s Claydol glowed blue and a barrier came into existence, encompassing the boundary of the room. It floated to an empty corner when done and stayed there.

“How goes training Ponyta, by the way?” Steven asked. “Any progress on your mind protection?”

I nodded as we headed into the room to sit down. Steven pulled up the chair next to the corner table to sit, and I just sat on the bed.

“Ponyta is developing at a rapid pace,” I said. “Just recently he was able to locate a swarm of Staryu for me. He should have the basics down in a few weeks.”

Steven hummed in response, then crossed his legs and layered his hands over the other before he spoke.

“Now then, onto business. I read the report of what happened in Mauville, and I wish to make use of your mental protection once again.”

I was a little annoyed to have some dangerous task dropped on me when I just wanted to relax, but I knew Steven was doing this for a good reason so I wasn’t going to decline. I didn’t say anything yet to let Steven explain.

“Outside of Charles, and the members of the Elite Four, I have not informed anyone of the potential locations of Groudon and Kyogre. Officially, I have repositioned trainers in this city to catch ‘poachers,’ as you saw, and I have stationed extra Ace Trainers around Lavaridge with the excuse of fixing the lack of professionalism within Lavaridge Gym. Of course, the real reason is to keep the Ace Trainers nearby to protect a Legendary Pokémon, but there are few who I can reveal that information to without causing chaos.

“However, even though I have placed protections, we have not confirmed the location of either Kyogre or Groudon. Mount Chimney has been thoroughly searched and we have found no signs of Groudon, and we have numerous divers scouring Route 128 with the excuse of gathering data. Unfortunately, they have not found the Seafloor Cavern you mentioned. From the information you provided, the only option left is the Cave of Origin in this very city, which not even I can enter.”

“You’re the Champion of Hoenn,” I stated flatly. “You have the ultimate authority, don’t you? You could just enter as a matter of regional security.”

Steven shook his head and fixed the cuff to his sleeve.

“I’d rather not abuse my position of authority like that. There are still politics in play, and the elders of Sootopolis have sway in circles I do not. If I were to force my way into the Cave of Origin, I doubt my tenure as Champion would last much longer.”

Steven almost looked wistful as he said that, which was strange. I was unsure if he just unintentionally implied he didn’t want to be Champion, or if he just really wanted to be able to force his way into the cave.

“Moving on,” he said, interrupting my thoughts, “that’s where you come in. I may not be able to enter the Cave of Origin, but you can enter it without the elders’ Psychics detecting you. Claydol can Teleport you to just past the entrance, and from there, I need you to reach further down to find out if a Legendary Pokémon is present. It is dangerous, and I understand you may not want to, but you are the best option that doesn't require revealing dangerous knowledge to another trainer.”

I slumped where I was seated. I didn't like it, but I had to go down there. Primal Groudon could evaporate an ocean, and while it would probably be stopped eventually, it represented too much potential destruction. Whatever was left of Team Magma couldn’t be allowed to find it, and we needed to know if it was there to better protect it in the future.

"Alright," I said, turning to Steven, "I get why I need to go down. When do you want me to leave?"

"Now would be the best. No one knows I'm here, and the written records state that the cave doesn’t extend that far so it should be a quick trip. When you're ready, touch Claydol and you'll be sent to the cave. Claydol will wait for you to return to the entrance to bring you back. Their Psychics won't detect any humans thanks to your protections, and no one will see you enter or exit your room to suspect you even if your intrusion is detected."

I sighed in a frustrated acceptance of this situation.

"I need to leave some of my Pokémon behind," I said, not willing to risk my weaker team members in this operation. "It'll be too dangerous to bring them if I’m approaching a Legendary, and I want to keep them safe in case of the worst."

Steven pressed his mouth into a thin line, unhappy that this was needed, but accepted the Pokéballs for Ponyta and Cottonee as I handed them to him. While I doubted anything bad would happen, I knew my other team members would at least be able to get away.

With the smaller team of my stronger Pokémon, I grabbed my backpack then walked over to Claydol. I pressed my hand to its cold, clay body, and the room shifted.

The teleportation was near instantaneous, and I barely felt it happening. I appeared a little ways down the mouth of a cave, half obscured by a large rock. I turned around to look out the entrance only to see an elderly man peacefully meditating outside, standing guard. I quickly moved against the stone wall to minimize my presence and watched Steven's Claydol float over to the same gray, rocky wall and blend in, almost making itself invisible.

I knew the Psychics that belonged to the Sootopolis elders wouldn't detect me, and Claydol was strong enough to protect itself. Even if they did detect me, Banette would just make them think I was a wild Ghost. I couldn't send any team members out until I was deeper in and out of their range.

Once I was sure the guard wouldn't turn around and see me inside the cave, I carefully moved deeper inside of it, deliberately placing each footstep to minimize any sound I made.

The stone that made up the Cave of Origin was not the same white stone the rest of Sootopolis was built on. Rather, it was a dreary gray that was almost tinted orange. Unlike the other caves I had been in, the Cave of Origin was more like a tunnel and only had a single passageway that sloped downwards. It looked like it was natural and not reshaped by a Pokémon, which was a first for me to see.

I heard the familiar cry of a Zubat, and, considering that I had made it a ways in, I sent out Ninetales to guide me. I hadn't been using any lightsource yet, merely walking forward and keeping my hand on the wall as a guide. I had her use Dazzling Gleam at a low intensity since the light wouldn't reveal our presence this far in, but quickly had her cancel the move when I noticed the ceiling was almost completely covered with Zubat and Golbat.

We moved even further down, and once we were farther away from that swarm, I took out a flashlight and covered it with a spare shirt to reduce the amount of light it produced. Ninetales's low light vision would help us proceed instead.

The walk was relatively uneventful, but there was a nerve-wracking moment when I noticed a purple creature with gemstone eyes watching me walk by. Thankfully, the Ghost Type Sableye just grinned at me and faded back into the shadows, leaving me disturbed but unharmed.

The structure of the cave shifted deeper within and started to have pockets of stone bricks reinforcing the structure, and I climbed down a few stairs carved into the stone. The manmade parts had clearly been worn down from natural erosion over the years, and because of that it took me a bit to recognize them for what they were. As we pressed onwards, my spine started to tingle from nerves and I felt like I was trespassing on sacred ground, which, to be fair, was exactly what I was doing.

I had to return Ninetales soon after the manmade portions appeared because the cave started to become hot and difficult to breathe. As an Ice Type, it would soon be too uncomfortable for her to stay out. I considered sending out Azumarill instead since her Thick Fat ability and Water Type would help insulate her, but I didn't want her to get in any fights, or worse, challenge a Legendary.

I was alone as I went even further, clearly reaching depths no human had reached in years. I briefly cursed Steven for claiming this place was short, since I had been walking for almost half an hour at this point. However, I couldn’t get too angry. He had no way of knowing without being able to check himself.

I reached a point where the manmade sections multiplied and combined into a makeshift ruined temple. It had crumbling pillars and carved stone pews that almost made this place look like a church. It was definitely ancient.

Thankfully, the back wall of this church-like structure had fallen down, revealing a hole I could pass through to continue my descent. This place was covered in dust and was practically undisturbed outside of the wear from years of neglect, so I doubted I would encounter any Pokémon from this point on.

The next section was hot enough to remind me of my time in the desert, which started to make me worry about where the heat was coming from. I paused for a moment to take a sip of my cooled water from my backpack before continuing my journey downwards.

I froze when an unusually cold breeze went across the back of my neck, but calmed down when I realized it was just Banette doing something in my shadow. The area around me darkened and the heat was reduced down to more tolerable levels. Banette was doing a weaker version of whatever it did back in Sea Mauville. I uncovered my flashlight since Banette’s move already muffled the light enough.

Soon, I saw an orange glow ahead of me and my heart raced. Sounds of something bubbling made me stop to consider what was creating them, and my suspicions were confirmed when I saw the edge of a pool of magma. I couldn't get too close since the heat was genuinely unbearable even through the unnatural chill Banette was creating, but I was still able to peek down the passage and see into the cavern this tunnel led to.

From my position I could just barely make out a massive cavernous magma lake. The ceiling was flat and almost looked like something sheared solid rock to make it. Within the lake itself were islands of dark stone poking out, and the walls were half melted and dripping molten rock. However, as impressive as that room was, it was what was sleeping in the back of the room that made my heart pound and my mouth dry up.

Groudon.

The games did not do the Legendary justice, and I could tell they never could. It was larger than a blue whale and stood at least two stories tall. The armor on its body wasn’t just red plating, but solid chunks of raw ruby that sparkled occasionally from the glowing magma. Every breath Groudon took while it slumbered caused its body to take on a warm glow that pulsed red through the rune-like breaks in its armor. Each arm had a set of massive claws that were longer than I was tall, and I could tell that it could rip the earth asunder and no one would be able to stop it. The sheer presence the Pokémon emanated made it difficult to breathe, even this far away.

I was unable to look away from Groudon. My gaze was drawn towards it no matter what I did. My mind was half blank just seeing it, but I somehow managed to build up enough willpower to take a few steps back and retreat into the hallway.

I leaned forward and put my hands on my knees to catch my breath.

That... was a lot. I knew Legendary Pokémon were strong, but not so strong that I would have a physical reaction just from being nearby one. I am so glad that I’m able to share my knowledge safely. Imagining humans taking control of a Pokémon like Groudon is terrifying.

I trudged back to the temple a ways away and collapsed onto one of the ancient pews. I took out a Pecha Berry to eat and drank some water. I have no doubts that whatever Banette did protected me, but the gasses produced by magma weren’t known to be safe to breathe. The poison-curing effect of Pecha Berries would be great for my constitution.

Didn't the protagonist need a suit to reach Primal Groudon in the games? It'll be impossible to reach Groudon without one here, too. At least it has some form of natural protection.

I didn't expect to ever see Groudon, nor did I ever expect to see any Legendary. Something about my reaction after I saw Groudon felt uncomfortably familiar, but I discarded that thought to focus on leaving instead. It honestly took me a bit of just sitting and resting to recover from the heat of the magma and being near Groudon, but this ancient, church-like area was so peaceful it didn’t take me long to feel better at all.

I stretched as I stood up, tired from both moving through this cave and my long day, and started to leave the church. Before I put the ruined area behind me, a nagging feeling in my mind stopped me before I left. Feeling as it was appropriate to do, I clapped my hands together and bowed in the direction of the collapsed wall, where all of the pews were facing.

“Whoever was responsible, thank you for bringing me to this world. I don’t know why or how I am here, but I’m here now, and I will do whatever I can to keep it safe. This world is nothing like my old one, and I will not allow its peace to be disrupted.”

I waited to see if there would be any response, but the church remained silent. I stood up and started to head out of the chamber. I wasn’t religious, but I did feel a bit warmer inside after doing that. In a world where there was an actual Pokémon god, I figured it wouldn’t hurt.

"Groudon's in the cave."

I said that the second Claydol Teleported me back to my room, and Steven surprisingly barely reacted. I walked over to the bed and collapsed on top of it, not caring about being improper in front of Steven since I was so exhausted.

"I had a feeling,” Steven said. “Thank you for your assistance, Alex. With that confirmation, I'll be shifting around where some Ace Trainers are stationed. Now then, for you compensation-"

"Is that how things generally work?" I asked, interrupting him. "A trainer does something dangerous or gets in a dangerous situation and gets rewarded by the League? Because it's seriously happened to me four times already: your Metagrossite, Meteor Falls, Sea Mauville, and then TV Mauville. I guess the extra money Professor Birch threw my way after the discovery under Mirage Tower also counts, so that's five times. Is that common?"

Steven frowned and crossed his hands.

"Not often, no. Most trainers never receive compensation, but those that do tend to receive it several times over. There are several trainers around the world that tend to frequently get themselves in trouble, but their actions generally end up helping large numbers of people. Providing them compensation ensures that they will be better off the next time they find themselves in a bad situation. It isn’t a perfect solution, but it’s one that has more pros than cons."

I closed my eyes while I laid on the bed.

Guess Ash must be one of those. I wonder if any other game protagonists are out there somewhere, too.

I continued to lay in silence for a while, and Steven was kind enough to let me rest before continuing what he was saying. After a few minutes, he spoke up to go back to the topic of compensation.

"So your compensation. I cannot provide anything directly, as anything physical might connect back to this operation, so instead, I pulled some strings in your favor," he said.

I raised an eyebrow at that. Steven continued to speak.

"Keep an eye out for an announcement at the start of the year that coincides with the beginning of the Kanto and Galar season. I recommend you compete in the Lilycove Tournament the month prior. There are certain prizes that will be included as a lead up to it. You may see something specific to your liking."

I was about to complain about needing to compete in a tournament to get paid for this, but at the same time, the way he phrased it implied he was confident I would win, or at least place high up, so I just felt a bit flattered instead.

“Before I go, thank you again for your assistance, Alex,” Steven said. “I understand it was dangerous to approach the potential location of a Legendary, but with the information you provided, I can more properly prepare for Team Magma. Your help was invaluable.”

I smiled at Steven and we said our goodbyes. He turned around to move next to Claydol, then teleported away once his hand was placed on Claydol’s side.

Now that he was gone, I released my team and started to get ready to go to bed. As I did so, my Pokémon took up their positions around the room to rest. Cottonee would sleep next to Florges, and Ponyta would sleep next to me in bed. Ninetales was willing to share her prized sleeping spot with Ponyta, but only him since he was young and was small enough to fit.

As I crawled under the blankets, I pushed the thoughts of Groudon out of my mind to focus on my Gym Battle tomorrow. However, I was unable to sleep well as my dreams were plagued with the images of waves crashing down on me and washing me away.