The Type Specialist

Cheers rang out around the arena as I looked at Lisia carefully. My hand hovered over the three Pokéballs at my waist, ready to send out my first choice. Chants of Lisia’s name began as some last minute announcing was done by Gabby and Mr. Sukizo. Lisia smiled, but my face was locked into one of pure focus. I knew I wasn’t living up to the image of an ideal Fairy Type specialist, but I couldn’t help it. I had never been more motivated to win than right now.

This battle would be extraordinarily difficult. While Lisia wasn’t currently at the level of fame she was at in the games, her team was powerful and had been taking the Hoenn contest scene by storm. Contests didn’t only consist of a performance demonstrating a Pokémon’s moves and abilities, they also had their own tournament-like section where coordinators showed off their Pokémon’s skills in battle.

While Lisia’s Corsola and Pikachu weren’t necessarily stronger than other Pokémon, the way they used their moves was unique and perfectly tuned to their personal way of fighting. Her Altaria was similar, except that it also had the raw power to back it up in a battle regardless of showmanship. Her success in this tournament proved it so far, so I had to be extra wary of anything she tried to pull off.

The referee approached the arena and the cheering grew even louder in excitement. He went over the rules of the match, which was the same as usual, except no switches were allowed. Once a Pokémon was sent out, it stayed out until it fainted. It limited my strategies, but only slightly. The biggest issue was that I couldn’t have Florges heal others with Wish.

The referee held up a green flag in his hand, and Lisia and I readied our Pokéballs. I held a Heavy Ball, while Lisia held a normal Pokéball decorated with stickers of waves and shells. As soon as the flag was swung down, the match started and we sent out our Pokémon.

“Mawile, Misty Terrain and focus on offense!”

“Show them the ocean’s beauty, Carrie!”

Mawile momentarily closed her eyes to focus before a pink pulse burst from her center of mass, traveling over the field and causing pink mist to emanate from the ground. Corsola, meanwhile, created a small wave with Surf, only large enough for her to ride on and nothing else, and zoomed forward.

I was caught off guard to see a normally offensive move used to enhance Corsola’s movement speed, but Mawile was ready. She turned to use her jaws as a shield, and enhanced them with Iron Defense. Corsola slammed into them with Surf and bounced off into the air. There, it spun as flecks of water sparkled off of it while several large chunks of stone formed on its body. Those chunks of stone ended up splitting off in a multitude of directions along with the water, making it look as if Corsola just exploded in a breath-taking fashion.

The rocks flew out and lodged themselves into the flat dirt of the battlefield, then faded to almost match the terrain. Corsola had just used Stealth Rock, a utility move that created a trap for Pokémon switching into the battle. When I next sent out Florges or Altaria, rocks would fly up to dig into them before they could defend themselves.

I cursed myself after the Stealth Rock was set up. I knew Corsola used utility moves as part of its strategy, but the ones it had shown off were moves helpful for outlasting its opponents, like Recover and Toxic. Stealth Rock hadn’t been shown off before, which made sense, as all previous battles were one-on-one and it hadn’t been necessary. Taunt could have prevented the move, but I hadn’t ordered Mawile to use it yet because I thought we had time before Corsola used any utility moves. I was wrong.

While Corsola fell back towards the ground, Mawile took advantage of Corsola’s position midair and swung her jaws up into Corsola’s rocky body with an Iron Head attack, causing pink chunks of coral growing on Corsola to break off. Despite the damage it just took, I could already see the pieces beginning to grow back, thanks to Corsola’s Regenerator ability healing it.

Corsola managed to reorient itself after the impact and gracefully landed on its feet. It reformed its Surf and rode it in circles around Mawile, who readied herself to snap at the slightest of movements. I took this moment to adjust our strategy to prevent any future surprises from Corsola.

“Taunt into hyper-aggression, Mawile!”

Mawile smirked and mumbled a few choice words towards Corsola, who became enraged as those sounds echoed ominously around the arena. Brilliant, sparkling gemstones started to form around Corsola's body, and it charged toward Mawile as it released a Power Gem attack. I had to give it credit, however. Even in its rage, its attacks were gorgeously performed.

Mawile ran straight towards the charging Corsola, and took the Power Gem head on with little reaction. As soon as Corsola got in close, Mawile’s jaws snapped forward to try to lock it down with Vice Grip. However, to both of our surprise, Corsola just barely managed to dodge with Surf, kicking up a wave that pushed Mawile back as it turned, then circled around to slam into Mawile head on.

This Surf managed to hit Mawile right in her stomach, but Mawile was able to push past that injury and finally locked down Corsola with Vice Grip. Without needing any prompting from me, Mawile discharged electricity into Corsola with her Thunder Fang attack, and Corsola flailed in pain due to the super effect damage. The coral Pokémon tried to use a Bubble Beam within Mawile’s jaws, which did end up hurting her a bit, but the ongoing super effective damage was too much and it quickly fainted.

Mawile placed the unconscious Corsola down on the ground in front of her, and looked around nervously while panting from her wounds. The cheering was mixed: not necessarily boos, but more sad comments at Corsola’s defeat. Mawile looked a little uncomfortable to be getting negative attention, so I spoke up to try to comfort her.

“Mawile, you’re absolutely amazing,” I said with all my heart. “You took care of Corsola with ease. Stand tall, we’re winning here. Let’s see how far we can go!”

Mawile stood up a bit straighter hearing my words, and I smiled. I probably should have tried to strike or pose, or look dramatic, but I wasn’t here to perform. I was here to win.

Corsola had been returned while I spoke, and Lisia didn’t even need to stop to think about who she sent out next. This time, the Pokéball she held was decorated with electric-themed stickers, and the Pikachu wearing an orange wrestling costume appeared on the field.

“Shock and awe, Libre!”

When this Pikachu appeared on the field, Mawile started with Taunt once more and Lisia’s normally cheery expression broke for the slightest of moments. Considering how much I liked utility moves, I would be upset if my Pokémon weren’t able to use them, too.

The battle started with Pikachu Libre moving in towards Mawile. It too wasn’t absolutely enraged by Taunt like most others were, but was approaching cautiously and ready to respond with the air of an experienced melee combatant. Mawile readied herself for when Pikachu got close, and when it did, rather than using a melee move, it jumped in the air and launched a yellow orb of electricity out at Mawile.

Mawile was caught off guard by the sudden ranged attack, and the yellow ball expanded in the air to form an entire net of solid electricity as an Electroweb attack. Mawile’s position was locked down as the web surrounded her and attached to the ground, preventing her from moving at all. She began to try to escape by snapping at individual strands with her jaws, and while they were able to be cut, each time they were cut a jolt of electricity shot through Mawile and damaged her a little bit more.

Pikachu Libre charged forward over the net, unaffected by the electricity of its own move, and smashed a fist into Mawile’s face with a brutal Thunder Punch.

Mawile stumbled back and tried to send out her jaws to bite Pikachu, but it was already gone. She looked around in confusion, unable to find it. After a brief moment, she heard my voice and realized where it was.

“Above you!”

Mawile looked up a moment too late. Pikachu had already jumped into the air and was sailing down at her with the powerful Fighting Type move, Flying Press. The full momentum-boosted weight of Pikachu crashed into Mawile, finishing her off after all of the Electric Type damage she had taken before.

If it hadn’t been for the Electroweb limiting Mawile’s movement, the Flying Press would have missed. Not only was it needlessly flashy, taking a long time for Pikachu to jump up and fly back down, it was risky and hard to land. However, she managed to make the whole situation look effortless and maneuvered Mawile right where she wanted her. Her skill as a coordinator as well as a battler was obvious.

I returned Mawile and unfortunately the Misty Terrain faded at the same time. I frowned.

Florges is going to have to delay her attacks to set Misty Terrain back up. We don’t want Pikachu to be able to paralyze her.

Florges was sent out next. When she noticed Misty Terrain wasn’t present, she began to set it back up without me needing to say anything. At the same time, the stones hidden in the floor vibrated in place, then broke out of where they were hiding and launched themselves at her as if she was a magnet attracting them. She tried to move out of the way, but the stones followed her movements and dug into her body.

Slipping in an attack while Florges was distracted by Stealth Rock, Pikachu Libre attempted to lock her down with another Electroweb, but Florges just barely managed to move around in the air to avoid the attack entirely. After all of that, Florges’s Misty Terrain finally finished and once more pink mist emanated from the field.

Rather than immediately retaliating, I had Florges begin to use Calm Mind instead. I hoped by boosting herself she could perform better against Pikachu and handle Lisia’s Altaria much more easily after Pikachu fainted.

Pikachu Libre ran away from Florges and readied itself on the other side of the field. I was confused why it was letting Florges use Calm Mind without any interruptions, but I realized that it was trying to shake off the Taunt from earlier. After taking a moment to cool down, it soon succeeded in its endeavors and ran at Florges with incredible speed.

Florges tried to prepare herself for Pikachu’s attack after she finished using Calm Mind, but Pikachu had boosted its entire body’s movement speed with Agility and reached her before she could react. Its tail glowed with the color of sturdy steel and slammed into Florges’s chest, dealing super effective damage with an Iron Tail and causing her to be knocked back in the air.

Florges quickly healed herself with Synthesis, curing some of her own wounds, and puffed out a fast Fairy Wind in defense. Pikachu had already jumped back up for a second Iron Tail, so it wasn’t able to change its direction. It sailed through the sparkling wind, sustaining injuries in the process, and Florges managed to move out of the way without Pikachu’s attack connecting. Once Pikachu was back on the ground, Florges tried to faint it by using an enhanced Moonblast, but Pikachu’s strategy changed.

“Switch it up! Become the heel!” Lisia called out.

Pikachu jumped back and dodged Florges’s attack with another use of Agility, then rapidly circled around Florges with dizzying speed. Florges tried to track it, but I yelled to not bother tracking it and to focus on reacting instead since I didn’t want the constant spinning to throw her off balance.

As Pikachu ran, Florges used Calm Mind another time in preparation for whatever Pikachu would do. At the same time, Pikachu continued to run without attacking and chuckled as if it had just heard a mean-spirited joke. Hearing its soft laughter and remembering Thomas’s Houndoom, I realized that Pikachu was creating a Nasty Plot, thinking of specific ways to use its special attacks to deal the most damage as cruelly as possible.

I shouted that revelation to Florges, who looked alarmed at the possibility, and she tried to send out a Magical Leaf to interrupt Pikachu’s plans. However, the Electric Type destroyed the leaves with a short-ranged Thunder Shock, sparking the air around it, then jumped up and squeezed, sending a powerful Thunderbolt right at Florges.

Florges braced for impact, and tried to reduce the incoming damage the best she could, but Pikachu’s Nasty Plot managed to account for Florges’s enhanced focus from Calm Mind, causing her to take more damage than normal. Florges was wounded after the attack, but sent out Magical Leaves at Pikachu, who was forced to run away while its electricity recharged.

Trying to think of a way for Florges to beat Pikachu, I came up with another plan.

“Florges, Grass Type,” I called out at the top of my lungs, forced to be as loud as possible for her to hear me over the sounds of the roaring crowd.

Florges was unsure of my plan, but trusted me. The last dredges of Misty Terrain were replaced by a Grassy Terrain, and Lissia smirked at our actions.

“Now’s our chance, Libre. Thunder Wave before it can move!”

Pikachu turned around and jumped over the Magical Leaves, causing them to crash into the ground and leaving me to wonder why it didn’t do that in the first place, and sent out a weaker burst of electricity that looked more like a spark than a lightning bolt.

The Thunder Wave hit Florges, causing her to lock up, but she had already started the process of her Petal Dance and limiting her movements wasn’t enough to stop her favorite attack from being completed.

An absolute swarm of petals flew out of Florges’s bouquet and flooded towards Pikachu Libre. It tried to run, but the oncoming attack was too fast to avoid even with Agility, and it was completely covered up red and pink.

Florges didn’t let up even though her sight was blocked, and the audience’s cheering actually slightly quieted down as they saw her incredibly graceful movements. Watching her use Petal Dance made me feel incredibly proud, and knowing this sealed the match let me sit back and appreciate Florges enjoying herself in battle.

As her dance ended, the petals floated towards the ground and the unconscious form of the costumed Pikachu was left on the field. Lisia returned Pikachu and paused before sending out Altaria to talk to me.

“Alex, Florges is amazing. I’m glad we got to fight in this battle.”

I nodded as Florges cured herself of Paralysis with Aromatherapy. She was still a bit confused, but not enough to prevent herself from using such a well-practiced move.

“Thank you. I’m looking forward to seeing how well your Altaria fights before it loses,” I said.

Lisia smirked at that.

“Don’t get too cocky! Ali, come on out, show us how amazing you are yourself!”

Lisia threw out her final Pokéball, which was almost completely covered with stickers of clouds and stars. Ali, the Altaria that served both as Lisia’s ace and starter, appeared in the air above the field. It looked almost identical to my Altaria, but it was slightly larger and clearly had more battle experience.

The first thing that happened was that Florges refreshed Misty Terrain. While Grassy Terrain had been set up against Pikachu Libre, I didn’t want Florges to get burned if Ali knew Flamethrower. The second thing that happened was that Ali started to fly in a predetermined pattern in the air. It didn’t attack, choosing to glide around as if it was in the middle of an air show.

I was unsure what it was doing, but it was clearly doing something, and I couldn’t let that progress any further.

“Moonblast, Florges!”

Florges formed a ball of pink energy as an image of the moon briefly appeared behind her, and sent the attack out to chase after Ali. Ali was able to easily avoid it, but Florges’s control of Fairy Type energy let her adjust its direction to try to hit the bird. Unfortunately, the opponent Altaria was too fast in the air, and the ball sailed off into the distance, hitting the Psychic barrier and getting destroyed.

Florges tried again with a second pink ball, and as she did so I noticed something peculiar.

Ali was slowly becoming faster.

Putting two-and-two together, I realized what its abnormal flight pattern was doing.

“Florges, we need to interrupt it now! Disrupt its flight, it’s using Dragon Dance to boost itself!”

A faint glow of draconic energy started to come off of Ali as the Dragon Dance infused it with the power of a true dragon. Florges ignored the second Moonblast, letting it sail forward ineffectually, and instead chose to send several clouds of Fairy Wind forward. The growing number of gusts forced Ali to adjust its path to continue its dance, but they soon developed into a maze of lingering clouds of Fairy Type energy that completely blocked sections of the sky, preventing Ali from continuing its Dragon Dance.

Florges was tired from pushing herself so hard to use Fairy Wind that quickly so many times, but she was focused and willing to keep going. I wasn’t able to return her here without taking her out of the battle entirely, as switches weren’t allowed, so she would need to do her best.

Ali did a loop in the air, and its wings began to glow a silvery-gray. Recognizing that move as a Steel Wing, I called out for Florges to defend herself.

“Force it to fly through your attacks!” I screamed.

I knew Florges wouldn’t be able to move out of the way, just like I knew that her significantly enhanced opponent would most likely finish her off with this one move. The Fairy Winds had already mostly dissipated, so Florges focused on creating a final Moonblast instead. With the enhanced speed from Dragon Dance, Ali was on her in moments, but Florges was able to send the weak Moonblast she did manage to create right into Ali’s face the second its Steel Type infused wing slammed into the center of her body. Florges suffered super effective damage and was immediately knocked out.

Ali was injured from Florges’s attack, but was still ready to battle. I could have had a back-and-forth with Lisia here to appease the audience, but I didn’t want to give Ali time to recover. I returned Florges, and immediately sent out Altaria, who I had to make sure was ready for the Stealth Rock.

“Cloud form!”

Altaria just barely managed to get his Cotton Guard up before the Stealth Rock dug into him. It disrupted his flight and prevented him from setting up Mist before Ali reached him. With its enhanced speed and strength, Ali tore into the thick layer of fluffy feathers with Dragon Claw, but the Cotton Guard hindered the attack too much and Ali’s talons only scratched Altaria’s body instead of seriously hurting him. While Ali was close, Altaria managed to send forward a Dragon Pulse, hitting Ali thanks to Ali’s claws getting stuck in the Cotton Guard.

Already, both Pokémon had taken super effective damage and weren’t looking so hot, Ali having suffered from both Florges’s Moonblast and Altaria’s Dragon Pulse, and Altaria having suffered from Ali’s boosted Dragon Claw.

The two nearly identical birds split apart and soared in the air. With such a large field, they moved back towards each trainer box then flew straight at the other. Altaria let loose a Dragon Breath, and Ali curved around the flames.

In response, Ali let loose a Dragon Breath of its own, and Altaria just flew straight through it, letting his Cotton Guard be singed from the effect.

As they were so high off the ground, the nearly faded Misty Terrain had no effect on preventing paralysis, but neither of them suffered from that condition after the Dragon Breath.

Once the two of them had effectively exchanged places after their fly-by Dragon Breaths, they turned around and repeated the process.

This time, Altaria still didn't bother to dodge, but he tried to sneak in a sudden and unexpected Peck when Ali got close. However, he was forced to move back himself to avoid retaliatory Dragon Claw from Ali.

Once they were back on their corresponding sides of the field, it seemed like they both wanted to go through another Dragon Breath “joust.” The movements were nearly identical to what Altaria had done against Wally’s Flygon in the desert of Route 111, and I wondered if this was some method Dragons used to test their opponents.

However, instead of letting the exchange continue, Lisia changed Ali’s strategy. The Dragon Breath attacks hadn’t been doing much damage to each other and were easily avoided. Lisia clearly wanted to finish the battle.

“Sky Attack, Ali!”

Ali flew up into the air, just barely coasting under the flat psychic barrier that served as the roof to the arena, and became cloaked in a harsh light. Seeing how powerful the glow was, as well as seeing how injured Ali was after both Florges and Altaria’s attacks, I knew this would be the final exchange of moves in this battle, and had Altaria ready himself to attack.

“Fly close to the ground, and prepare yourself for your most powerful Hyper Voice. This is it, so put your entire heart into it.”

Altaria had time to set up since Sky Attack took a while to get ready. He cheerfully flew close to the ground, excited to use Hyper Voice as hard as he could. There were a few tense moments as everyone, Lisia, the crowd, and I, watched to see how this exchange would go.

At the drop of a hat, Ali lurched into action. He moved so fast it almost looked like a smear in the air, and shot straight towards Altaria.

Altaria, meanwhile, screamed so loud I had to cover my ears. The audience had to as well, and all the excited cheering ceased in favor of protecting their eardrums. A ring of violenting pulsating vibrations formed in front of Altaria and was sent forward towards the incoming Ali. The attack burst apart as Ali slammed through it and into Altaria, the two birds suffering damage from the others' move. However, the outcome didn’t stop there and the momentum of the Sky Attack caused Ali to continue forward, taking Altaria with it, and the two of them crashed into the ground that Altaria had positioned himself just above.

A few screams of excitement rang out, but the majority of the audience was silent, having quieted down after experiencing the noise of Altaria’s Hyper Voice. That sudden reduction in volume persisted as everyone tried to see through the cloud and figure out what just happened.

The dust cloud slowly settled, revealing one of the two birds sitting up, swaying unsteadily, while the other laid on the ground, unconscious.

I hoped, prayed, that it was my Altaria, but its shape was too large.

Ali was the one still conscious.

The referee waved a flag, and the crowd burst out in cheers. Lisia’s name began to be chanted throughout the audience, and she laughed and waved as they exuberantly shouted in excitement.

It hurt to lose.

Lisia earned this victory, it was easy to tell. While Mawile and Florges performed admirably, I had messed up at several points. I should have had Mawile start with Taunt to prevent the Stealth Rocks from going up, I should have helped Florges learn a move that was strong against aerial opponents, and I should have helped Altaria learn more moves to give him more options in battle.

I knew I was just going over hypotheticals and being hypercritical of myself, and tried to force myself to stop. It was hard. An Altarianite had been my goal since I caught Altaria, and I thought this was my chance, but it didn’t seem like it would be the case.

I returned Altaria, and forced a smile. Lisia’s Pokémon were incredible, and even though they were a bit more showy than other Pokémon, I was impressed by their clever use of moves.

Since this wasn’t a round where they were squeezing as many battles in as possible, I walked to the center of the field to shake her hand. Lisia had a massive smile as she did so, not because she was taunting me or anything like that, but just because she was proud that she had won.

“Alex, you were great! That battle was exhilarating! If you put some more effort into appearances, you’d definitely do well in contests.”

I nodded once.

“I think your uncle said something similar.”

Somehow, her smile managed to grow wider.

“Wow! You met Wallace, and he said that! That’s really cool!”

I let go of her hand and scratched the back of my head, chuckling.

“Uh, not really. He just said I should consider competing in contests if I wanted to understand Fairy Types better.”

She waved a hand dismissively.

“That’s basically the same thing. Just because he tells everyone to compete in contests, doesn’t mean he wasn’t impressed by you.”

I could not wrap my head around her logic, and just smiled again.

Lisia turned around as the announcers’s voices echoed throughout the arena. Gabby spoke excitedly and Mr. Sukizo called our battle “remarkable.”

The winner’s ceremony took place soon after we returned our Pokémon, and after we handed them off to be healed. Rory, Hope, and I were kept to the side as I had earned second place, and the other two had placed third. The other trainers who had participated were allowed to be a part of the ceremony as well, but a good chunk of them were missing since they had already left or gone to bed for the night, having lost much earlier in the day.

For those of us who had made it into the top three placements, we were each given a large TM case to signify our physical reward. Lisia herself got a medal to show that she was the final victor and I tried not to stare at it too jealously. After the ceremony, we gave back the cases, since they were just props, and instead received coupons that could be redeemed for TMs of our choice at the Lilycove Department Store. As I was in second place, I would be able to redeem them for three free TMs of my choice, and for prize money I had the choice between a large golden nugget or just cold hard cash. I chose the cash since it was similarly valued, and because I could immediately turn that around into more TMs.

However, the tournament organizers weren’t finished with the rewards just quite yet. Despite Lisia being the one who won the tournament overall, Rory, Hope, and I were also invited to visit Steven’s home the next day for a mysterious bonus reward straight from the Champion himself.

It seemed that I might not have completely missed out on getting something good just yet.

I spent that night celebrating with Wally and making calls to friends to talk to them about the tournament. I might not have won, but getting into second place overall in my first tournament was seriously impressive. Laura tried to downplay how well Lisia fought, whereas Marty was just super happy, and was also mildly drunk from the tournament watch party he organized at the end of the day.

(Marty had closed the Pokémart early just so he could watch the final rounds of the tournament with a few Olivine locals in the back room of the Pokémart. He was able to get away with that both because he was sponsoring me, and also because he was the manager and could do what he wanted.)

They were both apologetic that I lost, but happy I had done so well.

The next morning, after sleeping in as late as possible after our long day yesterday, my Pokémon and I headed back to the stadium to meet up with Rory and Hope. Wally offered to come, but ended up staying behind. I told him it wasn’t necessary for him to come, especially since I knew he wanted to go to the beach again while we were still in a coastal city.

A few locals recognized me as I headed back towards the stadium, and actually asked for my autograph. I was surprised at that, but I made sure to be as kind as possible and signed what they asked. I had known Pokémon battles were extremely popular, but I had never been on the receiving side of someone’s admiration who I didn’t know personally. It was strange, but I appreciated my team’s efforts being recognized.

When I reached the stadium, Rory was dozing off on a bench outside, and Hope was waiting by the front door. Rory woke up after Hope nudged him, and the three of us headed inside.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t think any of us expected to see Wallace standing next to Lisia in the meeting room.

“Congratulations for making into the top four, you three,” Wallace said cheerfully. “Alex, I can tell you’ve certainly made improvements. I’m impressed by your progress with Mawile.”

I genuinely smiled at that.

“Thank you. I’ve been trying really hard to see what I can do to help my Pokémon battle more in tune with themselves.”

“You’re doing a good job,” he replied. “However, since you’re here, I believe someone has something they wish to say to you.”

Wallace stared pointedly at Lisia, who was back in her disguise consisting of a long jacket and sunglasses, and she looked away from his gaze in shame.

“...Sorry, Alex," she said as she looked up at me. "I was so caught up with how cool of an entrance I was making, I didn’t even think about how I was causing the audience to root against you back there, and I shouldn’t have done that. I’m really sorry.”

That was unexpected to me, since I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, and because she acted fine after our battle together. Wallace must have had a conversation about being too cocky.

“It wasn’t great that you did that, but I think it should be fine. It was mostly just introductory banter, and if anyone was thinking less of me at the beginning, our battle should have changed their minds. Just be more careful about that in the future, alright?”

Lisia nodded and Wallace smiled.

“Wonderful. A true coordinator brings everyone up, rather than putting someone down. Remember this lesson, Lisia,” he said. “Anywho, I was just stopping by to congratulate my lovely niece, and to say hi to Steven while he was around. I’ll be off now, I don't want to be taking up too much of your time. Be kind to Lissy, okay?”

Lisia’s head snapped to face Wallace from where she was looking away as her face turned red.

“Don’t say that!” she said loudly. "Do you want me to call you Uncle Wall in front of them?”

Rory stifled a snicker.

“...Uncle Wall?” he said.

Wallace shook his head and chuckled.

“Touché. Enjoy your prizes, I really must be heading out.”

Wallace left the room, leaving the four of us to sit at a long, oval table. Lisia on one edge, so the rest of us sat as well, leaving the seat at the head for Steven.

We didn’t have any time at all to converse among ourselves before Steven entered the room, carrying a thick suitcase in one hand. He nodded to greet us, then sat down in the seat we had left for him.

“Congratulations on placing so high in the Lilycove tournament, you four. It’s nice to see most of you again, and it’s nice to meet you for the first time, Rory.”

I glanced over to Hope.

She met Steven before?

“I will make this quick so as to not take up your time. As already revealed by Gabby’s unexpected presentation, I do, in fact, have Key Stones to provide you all. Each of you have proven to have the appropriate strength to handle this phenomenon.”

He placed the suitcase on the table in front of him, then opened it up, revealing four individual boxes that resembled a case a wedding ring would be stored in. He took them out then slid them towards each of us, the boxes coming to a stop perfectly in front of us.

Rory and Hope opened their box up and looked at their Key Stones carefully, with Rory actually taking the rainbow stone out the box to properly look it over. Neither Lisia and I opened ours yet, probably because we were already familiar with what the boxes contained.

Rory suddenly stopped analyzing the stone, remembering what Steven just said, and looked over to where Steven was sitting at the head of the table.

“Wait, ‘handle this phenomenon?’ What are you talking about?”

Steven crossed his hands over the other where they were resting, and smiled lightly.

“That is exactly why I am here, to explain how it works. Each Key Stone provided to you represents a potentially dangerous phenomenon called ‘Mega Evolution.’ These Key Stones allow your Pokémon to undergo a form change that increases their power to be comparable to that of a mythical Pokémon.”

Rory and Hope gasped at that, with Rory clutching his stone tighter, and Hope reflexively moving away from her stone.

“There’s no need to worry, your Pokémon can only intentionally enter that temporary state. However, Pokémon require more than just a Key Stone to Mega Evolve. In order to undergo a Mega Evolution, the Pokémon must be holding a Mega Stone that contains the frequency of infinity energy that coincides with that Pokémon’s species. Without it, these Key Stones are nothing more than, forgive my crude language, fancy rocks.

“While it is an intentional decision to use it in battle, I must make sure you understand the threat this change poses. Without the proper training, a Mega Pokémon will quickly lose themselves to the chaotic power of infinity energy, and go berserk in their empowered state. This is why a Key Stone is necessary. A Mega Stone and a Key Stone synchronize when they touch, allowing a trainer and Pokémon pair to initiate the Mega Evolution process when they choose.

“In order for the Pokémon to not immediately lose themselves, the Key Stone draws on the vitality of its wearer to stabilize the chaotic energies within the corresponding Mega Evolved Pokémon. This requires intense focus to maintain, and without proper practice, will likely knock you unconscious the first few times you do it. Due to that, it is League policy that any trainers with access to Mega Evolution are not allowed to practice it in its initial stages on their own, and must do so within a Gym or similarly League-run building. It is for the safety of us all that we do not have any berserk Mega Evolved Pokémon running amok along our routes and cities. For your own safety, I also recommend you only Mega Evolve a Pokémon no more than once a day.

“Any questions?”

Rory and Hope both raised their hands. Steven made eye contact with Hope, who had been slightly faster on the draw.

“How do we obtain Mega Stones?”

“You either are extremely lucky and find them in the wild, purchase them from a stone vendor, or receive them as a reward from the League. I am aware two of you currently do not have a Mega Stone, and will provide an opportunity to earn one, if you so desire.”

Hope and I nodded at that.

Two of us, though? I knew Lisia chose the Altarianite as a reward last night, but does Rory have the other?

Rory then asked his question next.

“What does a Mega Stone look like?”

Steven gestured to Lisia.

“Lisia, if you will.”

Lisie smiled then reached into her pocket to pull out a familiar pink stone with a visible blue and white swirl on the inside. I tried my best not to look downcast seeing the Altarianite in her hands. I really wanted to be the one who received it.

“This is a Mega Stone. They all follow the same pattern, appearing like a colored glass sphere with a solid swirl on the inside that matches the colors of the Pokémon they align with. In this case, Lisia’s Mega Stone is an Altarianite, used to Mega Evolve Altaria.”

Lisia pocketed once more, and Steven turned back to Rory. Rory looked a little dazed, then reached into his backpack to pull something out.

“So, uh, is this a Mega Stone?” Rory asked, holding up a gray stone with a yellow and black swirl on the inside.

Steven kept a calm face, but froze at the sudden reveal.

“Where did you get that?” Steven slowly asked.

Rory looked a little out of it.

“A friend told me about some Beedrill being weird in Sea Mauville, so I checked it out, and uh, my Beedrill convinced them to let us have it? It looked important but I didn’t know what to do with it so I kept it as a good luck charm.” He laughed. “I guess it really was lucky, huh?”

Steven blinked slowly.

“I am unfamiliar with the stone itself, and it seems to be a Mega Stone we currently do not have in our records. I did not mention this, as it will be revealed as part of the public announcement at the beginning of the next year, but there is a bounty on unknown Mega Stones. Anyone who finds a Mega Stone whose frequency is not recorded in our database will receive a compensation of at least three hundred thousand dollars. If you are willing to temporarily provide that to us, we can take it to record its frequency and use that to create new Beedrillite, I presume. You are a very lucky man.”

Rory looked genuinely shocked at that revelation, and I took this chance to ask a question of my own.

“How many different Mega Stones can be duplicated?” I asked.

Steven glanced over to me while Rory was recovering.

“As it stands, we have the frequencies of approximately thirty-five Mega Stones stored, up from a dozen earlier this year. We recently acquired information that let us match those frequencies to certain Pokémon, and speed up research of this subject by several years. For your Pokémon in particular, we only have the stone to allow Altaria to Mega Evolve”

So it seems that the information I provided really got things moving, huh?

Steven looked around and saw we had no questions.

“You will be receiving an information packet within your email detailing specifics of how Mega Evolution works, and I ask you to please be careful who you share this information with before the end of the year. While it no longer needs to be kept as a secret, we still would like to avoid any negative media attention before the initial announcement. Hope, if you wish to acquire a Mega Stone of your own, I will personally send you a list of opportunities the League would appreciate your assistance with. As for you, Rory, once you make a decision on what to do with your personal Mega Stone, stop by any League-owned building to drop it off after the announcement on the first.

“With that, there is nothing else needed to be said. However, I would like to talk to Alex alone, please.”

Lisia and Hope quietly got up to leave, Hope deep in thought about Mega Evolution. Rory, meanwhile, stood up in a daze and stumbled out of the room, absentmindedly putting the Beedrillite back into his backpack. I was soon left in the room alone with Steven.

“Please open your box, Alex,” he said.

I raised an eyebrow, and as I lifted the top half of the case up, I almost slammed it back close in shock.

He said that Mega Stones can be duplicated. I should have realized there wasn’t only one Altarianite.

I looked over the stone contained within the box, and my heart beat faster as I took in the Altarianite. However, what Steven said ruined what I was feeling.

“Unfortunately, you may be the owner of a new Altarianite, but you are not yet ready to Mega Evolve your Pokémon.”

I turned my head to look up at Steven in confusion.

“Why not?” I asked.

“Unlike the others, you do not have the experience that would assist you in mastering the phenomenon. Rory competed in the Indigo League before entering Hoenn, and both Hope and Lisia have mentors familiar with the phenomenon. While I cannot stop you from attempting to master it as soon as you can, I advise you to wait until after the Conference at the minimum before you attempt to Mega Evolve any of your Pokémon.”

I was a little upset to have this dangled in front of my face only to have it be snatched away from me the second I got a Mega Stone, but Steven had a point.

“I understand it might be difficult, but since I have to train it within a Gym anyway, doesn’t it make sense to start right now?” I asked. “If I get into a dangerous situation, I’d like to be able to Mega Evolve my Pokémon without the risk of a berserk Mega running around.”

Steven sighed.

“As the League prides itself on the freedom of its trainers to choose how they train, I cannot restrict your practice unless it endangers people or Pokémon around you. You still have the card containing my personal phone number, correct?”

I nodded.

“Then if you are to practice the phenomenon, send me a message to inform me you are doing so. I will send Metagross over to watch your practice, as they are familiar with Mega Evolving themselves.”

My jaw dropped open.

“You, the Champion of Hoenn, are offering to send your ace and starter to my location just because I’m practicing Mega Evolution?”

He smiled and inclined his head.

“Yes. I rarely have them go out and about, so it’d be good for their health to be able to get some practice in for once. As you have an Altarianite, their Steel Type moves will be extra effective against its Fairy Type and will help keep everything safe. It’d be good to have a backup for when you fail.”

...He said ‘when’ I fail, not ‘if’ I fail. If the Champion says I’m likely to not succeed, I should probably listen.

I sighed.

“I’ll put off practice for as long as I can,” I said. “I will attempt it at least once before the Conference, though.”

“That is fine, as long as you contact me like I requested. I would think it’s best for you to wait, after all, as your sponsor might be able to provide you a more in depth explanation of Mega Evolution than I.”

I blinked.

“...My sponsor?”

Steven stood up and straightened his suit, then walked to the door. As I sat there, processing what he just said, he smirked.

“I recommend checking your email. I believe you have a phone call to make.”

And with that, Steven left the room. This time, he had caught me off guard, leaving me in shock.