'Teaching 4 Dummies' was splayed open, the teacher on the page watching as Lane guided Erika on the grooming routine he had with each of his pokémon. Their teams were wandering around that section of the gym freely. Fomantis was watching the grooming process with its leaves fully tucked in due to there being no sunlight inside. Dunsparce had reserved a bush to rest inside, sharing it with a Weepinbell. Somewhere Cottonee was playing with the vents in the same way that a child played with the filtered water pushed into a pool, and it's not like he had a routine anyhow. Lane knew a lot of niche, useless information and the grooming routines of every pokémon was not made effortlessly. He'd be mad if anyone suggested that figuring out a Lurantis' routine was effortless. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out the specific steps.

  The mainstay of his team took the crown of team princess because he'd only ever figured out how to groom her well enough to be the centerpiece of his team. Dunsparce was his little angel but he'd never be winning awards. Caring for plants was easier than living things that had a tendency to coat themselves in dirt.

  "Why does the water have to be at a specific pH?"

  Lane scratched the back of his head, not caring that the clippers nearly shaved off the back of his collar. "It's 'cause the water over at Alola ain't that acidic. I think it's because they've got volcanos over there that lower it, or something like that. Things get used to things like that and it really shows when you bring a Lurantis outside of the region. Without giving them water closer to their habitat, it turns their colors way less vibrant. Look at Lulu and Fomantis. You can tell that she's better taken care of with a good eye."

  There was a noticeable difference between mother and child past evolution. The pink of Lurantis was brighter, colors more distinct. Lines melded together in Fomantis. Paler colors let him blend in better with the plants around him. Erika wondered why the pokémon wanted to be more visible rather than less without coming to a good answer.

  "That makes sense." Erika nodded over to the bushes of hydrangeas, glowing pink. "The biggest challenge was designing the gym so it had around the year blooming. It now takes a long amount of training before any of my girls has memorized the whole building's gardening. Each section here has their own unique needs."

  With a sharp eye, one could see that there were miniscule pieces of wood that served as divisors between two species of plants in the same planters. Within the same beds there'd be bushes that shared the same needs as others yet bloomed at a different time of year laying dormant behind more eye-catching flowers. Arches followed a similar pattern. Spaced out between a fully manicured structure with spectacular green leaves and fuzzy petals were vines sleeping until their time had come, blooming into a season's greetings. Lane took a closer look at the wall that tended to escape notice when it could barely be seen beneath the man-made habitat. Paint splattered into indistinct shapes that seemed to suggest clouds against a blue sky.

  "Planty," Lane said.

  "I'd rather you gave my gym the proper compliment that it deserved, but we'll work on that when time isn't so tight."

  "Give me a break. I've been serious all week and that's the longest that I've been serious my entire life, unlike you who apparently can't keep your attention on a single subject for seven minutes. Stop stalling, missy. Answer the question," Lane said.

  She had to repress some kind of sassy stare. It was hard to resist, considering that her teacher had to visibly stop himself from constantly doling out jabs like a lowbrow comedian. 'Missy'. The only way she'd normally be given contact with that word would be reading a novel, an exceedingly rare occurrence that last happened a summer ago when Lorelei gave a recommendation—'The Tales of Kingler in His Gold Kingdom', a pseudo-fairytale that poked fun at an old Kanto myth about a heroic crustacean helping a princess, with many aspects modernized (she could still remember hearing the original myth, not sure if she should feel scandalized or disgusted or confused with the story's ending). The novel was fine.

  "They're weak to steel and poison while being strong against fighting and bug. They're immune to dragon." Her face puckered when Lane crossed his arms. "They're also strong against other fairies?"

  "Dark. It resists dark."

  Erika sighed. "I know that it's expected of me, but remembering a typing that officially doesn't exist in Kanto yet feels unfair."

  "Careful now. You're going to sound like one of those old beldams talking like that."

  "You know it isn't like that. I'm making an effort. I've simply been given an extraordinary workload with barely any extra sleeping time as compensation," she said.

  Lane was giving her a flat look, completely unsympathetic. "It really shouldn't be this hard to memorize a bunch of words in collection with themselves, y'know. How'dya think that kids do it? How did you do it the first time round?"

  "Studying like so," she dryly responded.

  "Then study as so!"

  "And study I shall continue doing. Though we've already been at it for three hours. Must we continue? What about we break for lunch? A nap?" She tried gliding past that as if it were another option on the list, though Lane had already clued in with a cat-like smile. "We could also inquire with Yoko about your continued employment. I'd heard that your payment hadn't been finalized yet. Speaking of, where were you searching for these new grass-types? Johto?"

  He decided to let it lie. "Hoenn, actually."

  Hoenn, a loaded word. A distant shore. Cities of small populations. It was a denser place. Imaginations filled in the scarce details, artificially kept scarce because of their reluctance towards fully embracing their much more well-traveled sister region with a much less embarrassing 43% of the population that'd visit another region once in their lives. Vivid descriptions from 50 years ago constructed bubbling pools erupting from beneath their prominent volcano, dug up for the residents' pleasure; beaches of ankle-high water that stretches out its silt fingers into the moderate water, half-submerged coves where you could see the viridian waters reflected the thin pillars of iron salted rock; and the jewel of the region, of which her grandfather claimed was greater than any of Kanto's landmarks, represented by a single sentence: "Mt. Pyre, beautiful. Massive. Trekked for a week. If only you could be here."

  For her, it was a place slightly nearer than the other names. Her father had visited and came back without anything nice to say about it.

  "And the pokémon?"

  "They'll be there. Mostly. I'll need to get creative with some of them but," he shrugged without having a better answer. Because he's not made to think that far ahead.

  "'But'?" Erika asked, because he was made to think that far ahead.

  Planning was too stodgy. It meant ignoring the things that'd happen in the future, and also put him on the spot when inconvenient questions were asked. Aggressively petting Lulu got a glare. She knew he was stalling. Despite talking with him just shy of a week, Erika knew he was stalling. But she couldn't question the process. This was the person who had fought her back for a crucial moment and traveled along with the Champion. Surely there was a mind without parallel behind the quickly smug, constantly duplicitous expression.

  When an answer came it looked more as if he had eaten something delicious. A swirl of his tongue worked around his mouth to savor the taste of sarcasm.

  "Dunno. Probably gonna play it by ear~."

  "If you'd be so kind, provide some sort of assurance that you know of these pokémon past their existence or else you'll have to become creative with your future housing and showering opportunities," Erika said.

  "Creative insult. Nice! The execution could use some work because you have the same proper lady voice with its cutesy pronunciations and everything—maybe that actually improves the delivery though? A contrast of an insult without the spite? Hm, I'll give it a B- at the moment. You're definitely getting better."

  "I hope that you're not implying that you've been hired to train my banter. It's immaculate for the situations that necessitate it—rarely, mind." Then her expression drooped into a pointed glare. "What do you mean about the 'cutesy' pronunciations? What of yourself? Do you think that your approximations have slipped by anyone's careful ear?"

  This was a turn that Lane genuinely didn't expect. His eyes turned wide, guttural sounds slipping out that made Lulu look up with satisfaction. "H-Huh? What do you mean by that? My language is perfect!"

  "No, it most certainly is not! You replace your w's with v's! It sounds as if you can't decide which words should have which vowels too! How else did you think that they instantly recognized you a foreigner when you spoke? Your frivolous abuse of replacing every other vowel with 'ow' would out you with even the most lowborn of speakers. Tell me I'm wrong."

  "W-Wait, you're suddenly—"

  "Did you think me a babe who'd sit still when you're insulting something as base as my accent?" She tilted her head a little, serenely closing her eyes. Argument closed. "Now say that about my accent again. Please give it a better description than merely calling it 'cute'. Are you calling the entirety of Kanto's accent cute?"

  He felt like he'd been grinded down to the point of not speaking. It was weird, hearing insults back, enough that he was just staring at her for a while. There were a few false starts where he tried thinking of something to respond with. Maybe a joke if anything came to mind—nothing, his muse leaving his body.

  So he attacked from a different angle: dumbfounded compliance. It wasn't an attack. He fooled himself into thinking that it was one.

  "Um, you have difficulties with l's. It's a little bit more heavy than other people so I noticed it."

  "Did you feel good when I insulted your own peculiarities?" she asked.

  "No."

  "Then why did you say it to me? If you were to insult my pokémon, would you like it if I insulted your own? Expecting reciprocal action should be the baseline if you're to brazenly insult someone as you do, otherwise you become hardly better than a bully. Do you understand?"

  Lane nodded dumbly. "Um, so insult people in stuff that I don't care about? Guess I'd have to get creative."

  "Because you have a lot to be offended about?" Erika pouted in thought, tilting her head. "Speaking of, you don't talk about yourself overly much. I've told you a good amount of my personal life while you've been relatively private. Why is that?"

  "'Cause you haven't asked." He tapped the book before she could press. "Are we officially calling a break? We've been just sitting around and talking for a little bit now. Might as well say that we're breaking for lunch rather than wasting what's supposed to be your study time."

  She stood up and stretched, managing to press her palms against the floor and arch her back in a way that made Lane sympathetically ache as he watched the full routine. Lulu elbowed him lightly (which barely had the strength of a fly landing on his skin) when he was still sitting by the time that she'd finished stretching.

  He scrambled up to his feet as she began talking. Lulu leapt down and brushed off her lap. "At least it's been productive. We can continue afterwards. Would you join me for lunch? You can continue talking about the Tropius, the one that you mentioned, the one that's gigantic. It sounds wonderful. I've been thinking about it lately—"

  "And that's why you can't remember that fairy-type resists dark-types?"

  Her chin imperiously tilted upwards.

  "It is not any business of yours what I imagine in my free time. If I think of the fossil research culminating in new grass-types that have been long extinct rather than an entire species of low-down tricksters, then it's well within my rights to do so. It's more entertaining than simply thinking of my schedule the next day, anyhow." There was a shudder barely suppressed. Her eyes turned to distant lands and possibilities. "How am I not going to imagine? These past few months have felt so fast. New regions, new opportunities, new tournaments, new typings all seem to have been heralded with Red becoming the Champion."

  "No love for me? I literally am the one teaching you, ya know."

  "Hardly!" She smiled. "Genuinely speaking, thank you for your work. I feel more equipped to deal with the changes working alongside you, even if your sour personality occasionally becomes a bit too much. Perhaps you'd be genuinely bolstering my gym if we were to work beyond this crisis."

  He turned away, flicking away a bundle of hair. "Of course we would. Y'know that I'm a pretty booked guy though? I've got talents out the wazoo. I'm partially responsible for Team Rocket's collapse."

  "Quite right. Their branding of an illegal organization may have been impossible without you and Red striking fatal blows against their infrastructure."

  "Criminal organization, not illegal one. That just sounds awkward."

  "It's an illegal organization because it's been made illegal to join."

  "It's a criminal organization because you become a criminal if you join it."

  "By the books it's an illegal organization, therefore it's an illegal organization."

  "It's a—you know what? This is stupid. Point is that maybe I can be convinced if my schedule doesn't look like this 'cause this is way, way too much work for me. I've had to," he stuck his hip out and counted down his fingers, "wake up, eat the mediocre free meals, read to make sure that I'm not teaching nothin', teach ya, eat again, teach you some more, and then make sure that my team s'all good. And the freetime! Usually I had dawn to dusk myself! This is tyranny! I'm a bluebird that needs to be free! Responsibility is like a shackle."

  Erika waggled her finger at him. "Eventually you'll have to see that work isn't a shackle. Creating this gym and working with pokémon is when I feel the greatest. I'm not saying that you need to become enchanted with working as I do but the whimsical trainer lifestyle won't last forever. It's only when we're introduced to responsibility that we learn how to deal with it."

  Looking at that finger brought back exactly a week ago. Flash, like a flood, swelling down from the crown into the rest of his body, causing a horrible shudder to work through him. It was like he had been literally dragged back to that moment. The feeling was cold, unfamiliar. He didn't like it. It forced him to turn away until that faint blush had receded.

  "Y'know that I'm a kid, y'know? I've got some time left."

  She gave a hum. "And usually people our age are in school, putting down the trainer lifestyle and learning how to become proper citizens."

  "Good thing that I'm not!" he happily said, getting an eye roll from her. "Otherwise I wouldn't have the time to make Lulu the greatest that she can be. She'd be a much punier Lurantis, unable to send your Tangrowth's behind packing."

  "And last I checked, you hadn't won the fight definitively. Haven't you admitted that it wasn't a definite victory on your part?"

  "Technical victories are my favorite, and my favorite thing to do is call things technically a victory." While he was speaking, an idea had started fermenting. It was a much better idea than his previous one. This didn't shackle him with responsibility for the immediate future. "Heeeey. I have a better idea than food."

  "Am I supposed to be scared?"

  "Excited. It's excitement. Can you feel it in the air?"

  She crossed her arms behind her back and closed her eyes to play along. "Summer transitions into fall. The air turns crisp, yet retains the typical moisture endemic to its end—a soft farewell. Change is on the horizon and it's not confined to the leaves."

  "Two fated individuals lock eyes. The lazy day turns tense. What should be the break time for the offices becomes a spectacle."

  "Because when two meteors cross paths, it could only mean one thing."

  "Only one survives."

  "Or do either? If the winner is only determined by whoever keeps the most of their mass, then it's a losing proposition for both sides."

  "But pride determines it must happen."

  "And that is?"

  "A pokémon battle."

  She hummed, cracking open an eye. "To settle the score?"

  "To close this case."

  "To wile away the afternoon."

  "And prove my worth." He slammed his knuckles together, lightly. "You game?"

  "Here I thought you didn't like battling."

  "Here I thought that you didn't like me saying that I won our fight back at the game corner. If you don't fight me, then I'm going to continue bringing it up." He flicked a thumb across his nose. "I think that it's inarguable. I completed my objective and you failed at yours. My pokémon had been able to adapt to the situation well enough to fight against your little squad. Lulu and Dunsparce managed to escape without a scratch. And we demonstrated the huge knowledge gap between us. I bet that you don't even know how Tangrowth evolved."

  Normally she would've brushed off the admission, a lifetime of training not to put her foot in her mouth. It required every sentence to undergo revision in her head, analyzing the person across from her, never wantonly wasting language as Lane was so frequently doing. It's why she could remember a similar question that she'd been posed back during the dojo. Uncertainty, who was this person, what was happening, was this typing real? Calculations were thrown out and that's how she'd said something so crass.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  She could hardly lie and say that she hated the mistake. Their brief working relationship wasn't nearly at the level that she may have been imagining yet, but she wasn't an adult. She didn't know that broaching across the line of genuine emotion, sharing more than their friendship currently should, was a faux pas. Some part of her body reacted to it however, as she scratched her cheeks that had started glowing red.

  "No, you're correct in saying that."

  His smile turned smarmy, hands locked onto his hips. "Then we've got ourselves a barter. You versus me. I get the grass badge if I win since I've surmounted a challenge greater than the no-name trainers that come in here; you get to know how your Tangrowth evolved and, as a combo deal, I'll give you a few tips about pokémon that I know you already have."

  Hiding the blatant interest she had was done by having her hands retreat into her sleeves. "But I already have a fight scheduled later today."

  "It won't require your Tangrowth."

  "That it won't. I'm still not sure however. We would skip lunch in all likelihood."

  "I'm not sure it'll be that long at all."

  The words being said no longer mattered as they'd already started backing away.

  Her head tilted. Though her expression didn't change, there was a difference. Hunting—those eyes were locked with the pokémon who was already standing in front of her trainer. "It'd be a massive disappointment if you were that weak."

  Quickly the materials were cleaned up. Girls who'd been previously fanned out doing their work started congregating, the nearest first, and the shouting runner spreading the word gathering those at the farthest reaches and in the breakroom. Pokémon generally were of the shorter variety and thus would stand nearer to the white lines painted into the grass, the girls who genuinely had barely left high school intermingling with the (hardly taller) older ladies.

  Normally these types of fights wouldn't attract nearly as many people. This was a momentous change however, and it being improvised was the only reason half of Celadon wasn't scrambling to watch. Erika wasn't wrong in saying that the region was changing; from the bottom to the top, Blaine to Misty, everyone had an opinion about the new typings and the mysterious trainer that was nested in the grass gym. One of them knew. The other didn't. Lane instinctively knew that he'd gone over his head. Erika heard it personally from the influx of letters and calls that the gym was receiving. Blaine's full-hearted support and Brock's personal recommendation despite not knowing the boy personally. Koga's trainers had visited to give warnings about the shady personality she was hosting alongside citizens privately giving their support with well-wishes and increased donations. Inside her own gym was a single resignation and new applications to sift through. And change? Change was everywhere. Change was the League releasing statements about their position, colleges starting entire commissions to figure out their own truths, gym leaders pledging to work with the experts and new regions being discovered, the world moving and her moving alongside it.

  On that gym floor was a person who injected change, personally changed the course of their region while barely being able to seriously teach her. She was a person who hungered for more; not fame, riches, but of what she genuinely cared about. She loved her gym and believed in the creed that they were meant to be the guardians of knowledge. She wanted more, to know, to be strong. Everything culminated in this showdown. In these trainers' minds this was the region itself: tradition versus progress. In her mind, she was personally confronting the future.

  In his mind, this was going to be a good time, with stakes that he couldn't fully comprehend. He absolutely couldn't lose this and he couldn't imagine a world where he lost. He couldn't lose to her, in front of her in such an embarrassing way. He couldn't fully put it into words besides the thought being uniquely repulsive.

  Lulu's ears flicked. Her teammates had gathered around the sides and were cheering her name loudly. Many of the fanclub that she'd acquired, brilliant colors outstanding, were cheering her name too. Those who were caught up in the hype joined along. An entire line of grass-types were bouncing up and down, loudly making nonsense noises and spraying non-harmful moves up like fireworks. Across was another contingent who were trying to cheer louder than their opponents and explosively goading those on the other sides; Tangrowth's fan club grew out of personal loyalty to Erika.

  From these moves fluttered down leaves of all shades. Fall's, the browns of a dying tree, a vibrant spring's green, fluttering down like confetti.

  "One versus one. No holds barred. Ready?" she yelled. Up came a pokéball, covering her mouth that had stretched into a lupine grin. Teeth bared, eyes wide, breaths heavy on the back of her hand. Exaggerated, her shoulders raised and lowered as she started hunching down.

  She didn't wait for a response. Across the field created an unfinished duel. Tangrowth raised his hands high, approaching with massive strides.

  Lulu was slicing her hooked scythes in tiny movements, letting out little threatening chirps. She was getting caught in the excitement too. That absolutely did not translate to being an ace pokémon. Standing across from her was a pokémon that they'd revealed a majority of her tricks, beguiled by the arena that had quickly turned to her own advantage. This was a flat grassland. Even back in their homeland, it was the brush which her kind skulked around with their bright colors easily spotted in an open area. Each of Tangrowth's steps could crush her like a can. And standing against him were puny saw blades that needed time to set up.

  She'd been briefed about the pokémon too. When they were laying awake together on Cinnabar, Lane would think out loud about things they'd done and things he hoped they'd do. Included in this was Tangrowth having a very interesting move called 'Psych Up' that copies the 'changes in stats' (his words—she took those to be a synonym for strengthening) that she did herself. Meaning that the gap in strength and durability between the two of them couldn't be closed.

  Improvise. That's what her trainer would say, laughing afterwards like he'd said a joke.

  "Bulldoze!"

  Thus the fight started with the bed of grass upending itself. Soil flipped over as little pieces of earth jutted upwards. From where the foot stomped down came out a shotgun of quakes that quickly gained on Lulu's side of the field. Dodging wasn't possible when border to border the arena was being destroyed, the quaking becoming more violent as it approached. What once was mere tilling became pillars of dirt splashing upwards, leaving behind a mixture of mulched grass and dirt clumps.

  She didn't need an order. Crossing her arms created a barrier in front of her that shimmered as dirt splashed onto it—a buffer of perfect grass in a field that had been stirred into a milk chocolate brown. To her confusion, the Tangrowth immediately followed up by turning around and Bulldozing the other side of the arena. It gave her an opportunity to approach, no matter how it was taken. Most would be surprised by the suddenly loamy ground that seemed to come away like taffy; her grass-type nature sang with each contact, bringing up little clumps of the ground like droplets as she ran ahead. Closer and closer she came, blades risen as the golem slowly spun around. It was way too suspicious. Coattails cut into the liquidated dirt as her limbs swung around like rotary cutters.

  There was a shouted order that she gladly followed. Green, edging to the shade of yellow that a sycamore's bark would turn, ran down like flames from the tips of her blades as she continued to run headlong towards her opponent. Vines, two more sets emerging from behind, bent around so they became the shape of a ribcage in preparation. One blade obviously rose up to slice through the Tangrowth's face. Evenly raised, it would've been a clean horizontal slice straight through its body. She knew better however. She knew before the purple bubbles had started seeping from the vines like an egg white.

  She abandoned the attack to slide underneath the lowest vine. Acrobatically bounding forwards, form like a dolphin's, she landed harshly yet nimbly. Immediately her momentum was redirected to the side, foot sinking into the ground as she pushed off to zig-zag. With barely inches off from her eyes were sudden projectiles. Vines shot out from the greater mass, slamming down like bullets; whatever care that Tangrowth had with holding back in private property had been fully upended. While keeping the tension of iron girders, Tangrowth was still able to spin around with the same grace as he did back during their first fight.

  The fully formed Sludge Bomb was more healthy than Lane had seen from even the poison-types he'd fought against. Around the size of his head, its exterior gurgled and bubbled in the way that you'd expected toxic waste in a cartoon to reply. Last second additions started dribbling down the glob like sweat. Only a second to aim. Forward it went, fast as a bullet, twirling into a pinched tip and barrel-shaped body. Lulu barely had a split second to react by sliding down to her back once again. The projectile skidded against the ground and splashed against the wall. The older grass-types who were more battle-attuned had long dragged the humans away from its trajectory.

  Before she could breathe out a sigh of relief, a sudden strike came from behind. Questions couldn't come as the pain wrought havoc. First came the one from below, then came another strike that sent her tumbling across the entire field. The dirt's turf-esque quality absorbed enough of the impact that she'd skidded to a stop quickly, but the questions remained that couldn't be answered. Immediately she leapt to the side as another Sludge Bomb smashed where she'd been standing.

  Lane had seen the whole thing though.

  "Dodge again!"

  She didn't question the order. Leaping into a forward roll barely made her avoid the vine that sprouted from the ground. At the end of the roll she leapt forwards, pushing out with her blades midway to carry her further. Landing, knees bent, the impact was absorbed as she started leaning backwards. A final leap had her slightly push off slightly off her original course. Jabbing out of the ground straight ahead vindicated the whole effort, as another wriggling vine stuck out with trails of dirt still trickling from its top.

  Lane looked back at Tangrowth, whose vines that had originally seemed to be for protection had transitioned into deadly weapons. The same vines that initially shot towards her were still buried into the ground. The whole plan now made sense: soften up the soil with Bulldoze and use it to create a little exclusionary zone. Obviously there wasn't enough vine to stretch across the entire field, yet there didn't need to be. The strategy seemed to be made specifically for them with how hard it handicapped Lulu's typical battling: since Lulu was generally a close-ranged fighter, it shut off approaching without taking some serious risks since Tangrowth could multitask with both Sludge Bomb and the vines. Fighting from a distance would be embarrassingly weak since all of Lulu's options were grass-type moves. Playing it safe and buffing up her stats to empower her Solar Beams would simply have Erika respond with Psych Up.

  It wasn't simple, and Lane couldn't imagine that Tangrowth was having an easy time considering that only two of the four vines that dug into the ground actually attacked. It was damn effective though and he knew that Toxic was their only way to win in this position, and Lulu understood that was probably only one way they'd win, and Erika fully understood there was only one way they'd win. Now it was simply a game of outsmarting the person who had a field entirely made in their favor.

  "You understand what sort of fluke that you managed to pull off!?" Erika taunted. "Brilliant dodges, but you lack the ability to take victory! With even ground there's no chance to mistake us as equals!"

  Lane didn't fall into taunting because he was genuinely trying to work around a plan that Lulu could carry out without him shouting out the details. And he couldn't figure one out. Everything hinged on his pokémon being creative enough to outsmart Tangrowth once they engaged.

  He had no problem with that. The utmost faith was put on his partner.

  "Lulu! You've got no choice! Approach!"

  Saying it was easy. She had gotten to her feet and stalled while waiting for orders. The second that it left his lips, a single bound took her over a vine that smashed into the ground. They were hardly a great distance away from each other, yet each step that she took was measured. Zig-zags were alternated with back steps as explosions echoed around her, dirt splattering next to her unblinking eyes that made sure the Sludge Bombs weren't getting near—she feared a single one would stop her dead. Vines would erupt from the ground and slam haphazardly in an attempt to cut her off from approaching. Whoever would hit the other was entirely up to chance. A single wrong step or a lucky swing would kick Lulu from her positioning. Both sides swelled in cheers as the game of hopscotch continued. One leap, another vine, another vine, crisscrossing like barbed wire to rebuff her approaches.

  But it was never a perfect defense. Since the vines were rather uncoordinated, there were plenty of gaps that she exploited. Too little firepower, too little vines could keep her away from slowly approaching. The lithe body was just too small to be kept from wriggling between the tiny gaps. She had approached until she was under its shadow. Two vines were behind her, already slammed down in a vain attempt to stop her. The purple blob had impacted the grass far behind. There were two more that she had to be wary of. Nervous energy made her blades shake.

  They locked eyes. The battlefield stalled for a moment. Neither moved. And then, contact.

  She backflipped away from the vine that nearly shot straight between her legs and charged ahead. The final vine washed fresh dirt against her back as it expected her to continue backflipping. Hasty punches were thrown, the first arm slamming onto the bare ground as she ducked underneath it and the other sliding against the scythe that wrapped itself in bug-type energy. She could feel each inch of skin that split open as it ran down her blade. In her other hand was the birth of a purple light, glowing like the tip of a spear. Bare skin was next to her, an open wound, aching for the payload.

  She leapt at the very last second before a vine attacked her. Alarmed, she was barely able to glance behind the hulking pokémon to see one of its smaller vines had dug into the ground behind, out of her sight—a last second defense that worked perfectly. She was too near. Crossing her blades together didn't bring up Protect in time for the other vines to splurt out from the earth.

  Though a physical attack, it was still wreathed with the same typing as the both of them. Like a pinball spring it sent her flying despite barely hurting even her arms. She controlled her flight with careful modulations of her body, quick glances behind to make sure to orient herself correctly. At the last moment her blade stuck out above. The sound of a chainsaw's teeth rending flesh spun around the branch for a moment before the momentum had died an acceptable amount. On the way up, she drew back her claw and did a few flips as a show that she was still able to fight. Landing in a bow didn't draw claps except from Fomantis.

  The white line was far away from the trees. The cheering had died. Everyone, pokémon and humans alike, were looking amongst themselves for some kind of ruling. There wasn't a coach. There was nobody, except the two combatants. Wobbling knees betrayed the brave face that Erika had put on. She was openly staring at the perfectly healthy Lurantis who was waving back at her, at the whole battlefield that she'd manipulated, at her own fingernails that were digging into her palms. Her head bowed as the hunger left by the second.

  "Hey! Why'd you stop fighting?"

  Everyone looked to the boy whose thumbs were hooked in his belt hooks, bending from the waist down to fully convey that he knew—he knew that he commanded the room's attention.

  "Did you forget? Remember what you said? The rules are N-O H-O-L-D-S B-A-R-R-E-D, no holds barred! Absolutely none! Are you thinking that the fight is over after we collectively got five hits in?" He tried leaning down further and found that he was extremely inflexible when she didn't respond. "What is everyone doing pretending this is some exhibition match? We're showing who would win back at the game corner! Far as I remember, there weren't any lines drawn in the sand! No coaches or judges! So stop stalling! Fight back or else me and Lulu will take this ourselves!"

  Erika let her head hang. It felt like a strike against her temple: no holds barred. She could let the defeat lay still.

  She could. But she didn't want to. There wasn't any rationalizing here. No hesitation. The dilation in her eyes spoke of a mad fervor that whipped her into a hurricane.

  "Growth! She still needs to approach you!" she bellowed.

  Which Lulu wasn't about to let happen. Once the battle was back on, she leapt for the largest branch that still looked bendable. It bounced like a diving board and let her sail far above where any of the vines could snap. Of course, that didn't count for when she was falling. The Growth immediately stopped upon her shadow coming across Tangrowth. Vines, no longer needing to dig underneath for the surprise, started shooting upwards like a counter-missile system, plumes of green trailing behind the wiggling tips shooting for her. She was spinning around, letting her blades twirl like an auger.

  The first one didn't attempt to do anything other than impale her face. She suddenly flipped, digging into the writhing limb as she twirled down its length. Peels of green were left behind, the shape of a macabre candy cane. A sharp whip of its body sent her towards another one, barely dodged by her flipping above it and using it as a platform to dodge another vine. Digging her blade into it slowed her momentum enough that she could leap out of it right as a tangle wrapped around her former position.

  The second that her feet landed, the room's enthusiasm had recovered from the previous lull. A megastructure had appeared in the center of the field, a frustrated bundle of vines that was slowly receding back into Tangrowth's general body. Already there were the same four that jutted into the ground in preparation to stall her from getting near. She wasn't exactly confident that her trainer had figured something out, which is why she visibly relaxed when there was a confident shout above the din.

  "Lulu! Sunny Day, and use Growth until you're strong!"

  Heat washed over the arena. More celebratory leaves had started raining down since the proclamation, nearly annoying both fighters as it was getting to the point of genuinely blocking their visions. Through the slight cover came down a buffeting heat that had the humans sweating and fighters squinting to keep alert. Glowing started in Lulu's chest and worked alongside her body. A green veil that shimmered like a mirage became brighter by the second until it was the unavoidable beacon on the field.

  Erika was bemused but didn't want to waste the opportunity. Growth took a lot of focus from the pokémon, which gave the Tangrowth plenty of time to respond. Using Swords Dance to achieve the same results would most likely take too long however, so she did what she'd promised long ago. There was intrigue, ready to see how the battle escalated from this point when both of them were stronger.

  "Psych Up!"

  From the clearing where Tangrowth's eyes poked out came a purple aura that fell over its head like a cloak. Immediately he knew there was something wrong, giving a worried glance back at his trainer to try and convey that. Their opponents already knew their plan had worked and didn't want her to notice. Lulu ran ahead with the exact same grace as before. Another dance that got the crowd roaring was initiated, continuing with the same maneuvers and same outcome. A final effort came with the vine exploding out of the ground mid-swing was done, merely managing to flick mud over a good portion of the spectators. She vaulted it with the same form as a long-distance runner, landing in a crouch that ducked underneath one of the arms that swung for her.

  It was already decided, in their minds. Tangrowth had locked eyes with the vicious glee in the other set. The arm that was on course to smack her away found itself stalled by a simple blade without any move summoned. Erika gasped in confusion. Feeling the battle progressing, the crowd became the loudest it had yet.

  Once again the glare came from beneath her blade. A spot of purple, menacing, reaching up without an attempt to hide it. Tangrowth knew that he couldn't wait for Erika to get with the program. Underneath the fake sun's steely glare, two different pokémon impaled another with a bit of poison. Quickly it caught in their systems, causing two sets of groans. But Lulu knew, and she kept her red eyes locked with the tiny pupils that could be seen within the bush. A fresh scent flew through the air—reserved for herself. Whatever the vines that had wrapped around her legs could do or the arms that were now free to wail upon her, there was one that had been poisoned and another that hadn't. Even then the arms and vines weren't strong enough to send her flying like a golf ball anymore.

  It took Erika a moment to clue in: a side of the crowd weeping, the pokémon still as if posing for a painting, Lane pumping his fist in the air. Everyone knew that the battle was at its apex—and she didn't have an answer. Make him Rest and Lurantis would be given full reign to wail on her pokémon's prone body. Any stalling would be for naught when one of them could cure themselves. Beating down Lurantis even in its prone position within the time limit given would be absurdly difficult considering that it had consistently managed to avoid the vines.

  Her brow furrowed. She thought. And what he did quickly sank in. Her palm smashed the center of her forehead. It slammed down again and again.

  "Contrary. It always makes the pokémon's strength increase or decrease the opposite of what would happen with other pokémon." She started laughing, throwing her head back. "Contrary! Contrary! Psych Up copies any such changes in strength! I'm such a fool! You've won! The challenger has won!"

  Finally came those who were unsure. Belting out at the top of their lungs were the yeasayers and the naysayers. A cacophony, with everyone trying to have themselves heard, rang on both sides of Lane's ears as he ran ahead to scoop up his pokémon. Putting her on his shoulder let her arms raise high, the one and only, who got a respectful nod by Tangrowth as he was recalled. Spinning around let her jump up and absorb the attention: from her child that was wildly yanking on Cottonee's fluff, from the humans who never believed that this trainer was anything special. Even Dunsparce was joining in with the noise making as an uncertain warble was smothered within two young girl's full-chested screams.

  They ran down the field. Erika slowly picked her head back up to stare at the two, the partners who had beaten her.

  "You two…" she lost her words.

  Sunny Day hadn't expired, so he could see from every angle, pressed against her face yet coming from within it, perhaps a mere arrangement of pleasurable parts, something greater, something less; what he learned was that he'd been mistaken—the makeup had been his training wheels, a teacher's telescopic stick to guide a student's eyes—in thinking that it was due to a mere change in style, that the feeling of being inadequate could come from a fa?ade. Nothing could be false with her, not what he was feeling nor what she was trying to convey. It wasn't from her face or what she chose to don herself with; the radiance was inside the person that held her soul, a place that wasn't a place. He couldn't tear himself from the green that enveloped him whole as it transported him where the cheers didn't matter and his victory seemed so tiny.

  He had started piecing together why he felt like he couldn't lose.

  From another place hidden in her clothes. Her fingers had been smooth, warm. Pressed into his palm was a glittering set of rainbow petals sticking out from a white center. Running his thumb across the front caught his skin on the gleaming steel ridges, proof that belonged to thousands of people—but this was his, and those were theirs. He gave it to Lulu so she could see it closer.

  "We spent so much more time than I expected," she laughed. "Yoko will be so angry."

  Of course she couldn't know that the temperamental woman was watching in the far back, hidden behind the little clique of the oldest women who she knew. Standing amongst them nearly made her look like another employee, and surely the secretary with a steel spine wasn't pinching her nose with pride. A whisper, lost to the wind, "you've grown up so much," allowed to slip out when there were shouts coating the whole room.

  The next day, Erika remembered fairy's weaknesses and strengths. Lane divulged how Tangrowth evolved along with other tips as an apology for winning after bending the rules a bit. So the days went until the boat pulled into the port, horn calling for passengers to come aboard.