Leaf

  —

  "Maxx, I am so sorry! Tinkatink! You still have some metal from his gate! Don't eat his chair!" She just grinned at me from the corner… The corner where Maxx had placed a cheap folding chair.

  It made sense to me. Maxx had a nice chair for himself and Rosie had her huge cushion, but on a budget? Maxx had simply bought cheap chairs for guests, because he didn't anticipate many! Just Rangers, really! Thankfully he had bought four of them, because now? He had three with all of their legs! The ones we were sitting on!

  He actually laughed at the sight, not even bothered by the wild, uncontracted fae. Well, technically wild, because you were supposed to give baby Pokemon at least two weeks outside of a Pokeball before catching them. Not just to let them develop more physically, but mainly that. There were certain issues with a psychic bond being formed with a baby Pokemon, of course, but for a fae? Her mind was formed, if not integrated fully. It wouldn't hurt her… but I wasn't taking that chance, even if she had been a fae species that came out fully grown… Like a Togepi… I didn't mind fae at all, but those were just so wrong!!! Even for fae!

  Maxx spoke up through his laughter.

  "She can have it! It was cheap, unpainted, and I guess it's… tasty, huh?" She smiled at him and rapidly nodded.

  Rosie's baby came over and appeared to ask to try it, but Rosie shut that down fast! Not the 'coming over' part, the 'trying to eat metal as an herbivore' part. I had extracted a limited promise from my newest fae. It was simple, actually. She promised to not hurt anyone in any way for the span of a week. She hadn't minded such a limited restriction, so she was able to easily interact with another baby for now.

  Alex was giggling a little at the sight.

  "She's going to be a handful for you, Leaf. Maybe more than a handful?" Tinkatink smirked at her, even as she lifted the torn off leg of the chair to her mouth. Erin was smiling at the sight.

  "She's going to need to behave in cities, though. Or anywhere, really. If she starts ripping metal off random equipment, you'll not only end up with a fine, she might end up shocked to death." Her smile was warm, but her eyes were hard. Tinkatink glared at her, but only for a moment. I knew the instant she tried to invade Erin's mind and found out what it looked like in there with all that vicious aura. There was no other reason for her to jerk like that. Or to start scowling at Erin.

  "Don't glare at me for stating a true fact. You should know very well that I do not lie. My mind? Sure, you're allowed to invade it. I gave you permission. Stabby gave you permission. It's not my fault what you find in there, you little cutie." The glare lessened, even as she took another bite of metal!

  I knew that some species ate rocks and metal, sure! It was one thing to hear about it, one thing to see an Onix chow down on a boulder. It was still different to watch an eight-inch humanoid tear metal like tough jerky and chew it up. Even if she was taking tiny bites…

  Erin was still smiling at her, and her eyes were kind, now.

  "We're going to need to buy her a large selection of metal. The more variety, the better. Steel is obviously great, and iron of course, but I bet she would love some copper or bronze to snack on, and for decoration! She also needs plenty to play around with, to work into her hammer, or even other projects. They don't just make hammers, even if that's obviously their favorite thing to make and improve." Tinkatink perked up and practically cheered out some babbles at Erin's words.

  "Indeed!" Indeedee was, of course, watching her closely. Female Indeedee were known to be enthusiastic caretakers of babies, no matter the species, so it was absolutely no surprise to me that she was hovering over Tinkatink, eyes and smile of course warm and caring.

  "She's already feeling better about her agreement with you. It's hard to understand her completely, but she wants to make. That's easy enough to interpret." 'That makes sense if she… chose a Tinkatink? Do you choose?'

  The complete lack of response told me Hope couldn't talk about that, not wouldn't. If she just wanted to keep something from me for the fun of it, I would feel her amusement. Probably not, would be my guess. Maybe it was more of a natural predisposition thing?

  I smiled at Tinkatink's hopeful face.

  "Yes, I'll buy you plenty of metal tomorrow when we go back to the city, okay? A variety, too!" She began to do an adorably unbalanced dance at my confirmation, rattle throwing her around, and we all burst into laughter.

  She was going to be a handful, but as long as she had metal and could make, she seemed to be very easy going and positive, like most of her species.

  …

  I would buy her a lot of metal, actually…

  —

  —

  Tinkatink apparently liked to cuddle, which was great! She was adorable, and I wanted to really bond with her. She was so tiny that she didn't kick Hope, Noibat or Indeedee out of their spots, or even Erin, Alex, or the smaller members of their teams that joined us inside… Tinkatink was a cuddler… Who also held her 'rattle' while she slept.

  Tinkatink was also a bit of a restless sleeper.

  Luckily her 'rattle' hit Indeedee in the head the first time and not me!

  I would be buying some foam or something to wrap around it at night. Once she Evolved it would be too large for her to casually swing in her sleep, but until then? That 'rattle' needed a cover!

  —

  —

  The next day our training was cut short, due to my need to buy a lot of metal, so we only did a group battle. Once again against Hope, but also Stabby darting around… not stabbing, but certainly doing physical damage, and Tinkatink was in awe of them. She also wanted to join, but I wasn't about to allow a baby to enter Gravity, absolutely not.

  Instead I spent time just… playing with her. The Tinkatink line may be one of the more dangerous, unpredictable Pokemon in battle, and fairies, yes, but they were also very personable. Humans, and our metal creations specifically, fascinated them. Slightly less so when they were young, but it overall made them a very easy species to raise… as long as you didn't have any other Steel types, because they would hunt them for their metal. Well, Tinkatuff and Tinkaton would. Tinkatink were more metal scavengers in the wild, their rattles an easy source of food for metal-consuming species. In fact, it was generally assumed that once they had a hammer strong enough that they didn't fear it being easily stolen that they could Evolve into Tinkatuff.

  Trainer-raised Tinkatink weren't common, like all fae, but they were far from rare. In Paldea, as long as they never hurt anyone, the Tinkatink line had the exact same rights as humans, even when wild. They eagerly apprenticed themselves to blacksmiths, voluntarily worked as construction workers for payment in metal, and rarely took, because they wanted to make! Even wild Tinkatuff and Tinkaton would generally leave humans alone… the humans themselves, at least. They would steal your metal… Well, Tinkatuff would ambush you and steal it. Tinkaton preferred to intimidate you into dropping your metal with a wide smile and swing of their enormous hammers. They would then simply stroll right past you to collect your former belongings.

  Even those were generally ignored, because when you had a region full of Pokemon, and a species as personable as Tinkatink? You put up with a few things. Hell, there had been a band of bandits centuries ago in Paldea that stayed in power due to their Tinkaton comrades. Not their Pokemon, not their captured partners, their comrades!

  More than many other humanoid Pokemon, they integrated well into society as fellow tool-users and makers.

  So it was very little surprise to me that she acted fairly… human, in her play. Except for the solid hunk of steel she refused to let go of for more than a few seconds, of course. I could hold it, sure, but she still wanted a hand on it. Even as she looked longingly at the circle of flattened grass in the distance.

  Indeedee wasn't training, of course. She would, for sure, but the baby's first full day? Try to keep her away from the baby all day. I wouldn't, that's for sure… She was scary sometimes…

  Noibat had been relatively happy to meet her. As happy as he could be to meet another fae, really, so I wouldn't push him. He would get used to her… or, honestly? I would try to push him in training a little bit, but if he refused to stop being lazy after a while, I would have to have a talk with him. I didn't need a lazy, unmotivated dragon on my team. I would rather him go to our Ranch, or the Professors, than continue to refuse to pull his weight. Everyone else did!

  Especially Hazard! To be fair, so did Indeedee and Hope, but the effort put in by Hazard was still amazing to me these days. He hadn't had a single issue with Tinkatink, either, and almost looked happy! To be fair, he had been staring at her rattle, so maybe it was a shared appreciation for weaponry? He might not wield them, but he had blades! Either way, when he had smiled at her when I introduced them? I think everyone was stunned, even Erin! It may be the fact that she was a literal baby, sure, but… this was Hazard! I would have assumed a baby fae equaled an easy meal to him!

  After training and some quick goodbyes to Maxx and Rosie we all hopped into the basket for a quick run back to Fuchsia. Well, a somewhat fast trot. I had to hold Tinkatink, so Leto didn't go that fast. Once she was in a Pokeball, however? I just knew mom would take great pleasure in making even me and Erin sick… Vicious tyrant…

  —

  —

  "Yes, I would like to purchase all of this… Yes, I know how much it is… I could take my business somewhere else if you don't want to sell to me that badly?" I was glaring at the employee here at the local hobby shop.

  I mean, I understood! I was buying a lot of their stock of metal! Ingots and ingots of steel, plenty of iron, bronze, copper, and even two tiny bars of gold and silver. It was a lot of the money I had, honestly, and I'd had to borrow a Storage Ball from Erin, but this would be far more than enough for Tinkatink, or even her Tinkatuff stage! Minus the extra creations, if she let us have them. Not that I would demand it. Let her play with metal like Seraphina played with fire! Let her have fun!

  The employee frowned at me, then the cart full of metal… then the baby in Indeedee's arms looking at the pile hungrily. He looked back at me and sighed.

  "Okay then…" He sighed again, heavily. "I need to weigh them, though…" Oh… Yeah, that sucked, but it was your job!

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  It took me a while to fit them into the Storage Ball.

  —

  —

  "Tinkatink, could you just… Look, I know you can kind of mold metal with your hands! Do you have to slam them together?!" She just grinned at me and continued to slam some copper into steel! Over and over again! In our closed, contained Pokemon Center room!

  Erin was not having a good time, either.

  "Listen, you little demon! You know I don't lie! I won't hurt you any time soon, you are a baby! You're also smart enough to know what you're doing! So I make you this promise! As much grief as you deliberately cause us I will repay back triple! I'm sure you wouldn't like to have your hammer taken away as a punishment, hmm?"

  I almost got mad at Erin, but when Tinkatink smirked at her and stopped, I realized she had been doing it on purpose! Erin! Why didn't you do that sooner, then?!

  Why didn't I?!

  I glared at my newest fae, who turned her smirk on me before gently continuing her hammering. I let it go, because it wasn't deliberately loud, and as she turned back around to concentrate I sighed.

  I thought Alex's Noibat would be the loudest Pokemon in our group!

  —

  —

  The next morning when I woke up I had a new problem. That problem was named Tinkatink. What new problem had she created? Well, it wasn't her, so much as Indeedee… and Hope… Because Hope wanted to carry her today… Indeedee wanted to carry her again today… Me? I didn't care! I had been trying to sleep!

  Everyone had been trying to sleep!

  It was a very irritable group that left the Pokemon Center that day for our Gym Battle and Challenges.

  —

  Alex

  —

  I couldn't deny how nervous I was for this Gym battle. I had no type advantage again, which wasn't a big deal, of course. It was an advantage, not essential. Dipplin wouldn't be fighting yet, so none of my Pokemon would take extra damage from Poison… Jangmo-o wanted to start us off, and I was considering it. Still. I hadn't decided yet. He wasn't weak at all, but he hadn't had much training… If it was a grounded Pokemon, I might let him fight… He didn't have any ranged attacks yet…

  The ding that announced my Gym battle startled me a little, but I still shook my head and tried to focus as I went through the large double doors into what looked more like an old training hall for monks than anything else, the stands fancy wooden benches instead of the usual cheap metal. The packed stands… Including Erin and Leaf, Tinkatink being held by Indeedee as she waved her rattle around, Dipplin watching from… Leaf's hand? She was going to regret that…

  Janine was not an easy opponent to face. Misty was more or less kind despite her temper, Surge had played at being mean, but wasn't. Erika had certainly startled me more than I had thought she would, but it was Janine's analyzing stare that really got to me.

  "Welcome, challenger. Do you think you have what it takes to claim my badge? To see truth through illusions? To avoid an obvious trap?" Janine, that speech probably works better after someone completes your Challenge, not just challenges you…

  Still, I cleared my throat and gave her a bright smile.

  "I think illusions don't matter if they have no substance." She grinned at me, even as the announcer went through the same boring rules as each time. Seriously, I get why they announced it each time, but come on! Three Pokemon for the Gym Leader, two switches for me! Simple!

  I really wasn't expecting Janine's first Pokemon. I don't think much of the audience was, either, judging from the murmurs. That or it was just their sheer disgust.

  Gulpin were horrible Pokemon. I mean, sure, Grimer and Muk were 'worse' with their smell, yeah… They were also surprisingly personable and friendly, and that was common knowledge. Gulpin weren't personable, not at all. Nor were they really capable of being friendly. They were horrific blobs with a brain so small, so weak, that training them was more akin to programming. Their personalities existed, they weren't insects, but… They might be one of, if not the dumbest species in existence. They were also disgusting.

  I'd have been polite if I ever met a wild Gulpin, of course, but this wasn't a wild one… Not that I would insult it, out loud, but still, eww!

  Still, it was grounded, so I might as well give him his chance.

  "You're up, Jangmo-o!" He came out with a clang of scales, and the crowd started to murmur. Janine smiled at the sight, and after a moment the referee called the start of the match.

  "Gulpin, Yawn!" Crap.

  "Jangmo-o, Protect!"

  I watched as the horrid green Pokemon yawned widely, a wispy white Normal-typed cloud speeding towards Jangmo-o. I hadn't even had to borrow a TM for this, his entire line picked it up easily enough at a young age. Of course, they also did it head-on, so I wasn't surprised when a flickering Protect sprang up from his forehead scale even as he charged. The normal-type energy broke on the weak Protect, but so did the Protect.

  "Jangmo-o, Headbutt into Dragon Tail!" Janine just smirked at me, however. Not at all worrying!

  "Gulpin, Acid Spray!" Double shit.

  The horrible blob inflated briefly, before its puckered lips pointed straight at my charging dragon and it blew. Well, partially. There were of course Poison energies that also propelled it, but it really looked like that fucking Gulpin had just spit at my Pokemon!

  For his part, Jangmo-o managed to duck under most of the horrid green liquid, but the top of his forehead scale and the tip of his tail were discolored now. Still, it didn't look like it hurt that much, especially as he finally closed the distance. With a short, panting non-move roar my honorable dragon smashed into the Gulpin with his head-scale… which caused it to slam backwards… The top of it, that is. It was like taffy! Nasty taffy! Nasty taffy that made an unfortunate choice when it tried to rebound into my dragon even as he spun in place.

  Its horrid face met my dragon's Dragon Tail with force! Enough force that it knocked the Gulpin right out… and across the floor, slamming into the barrier with a nauseating plop sound.

  Jangmo-o still took some damage from that, however. By some, I mean a lot. His tail wasn't broken, that was easy enough to see, but he must have pulled a muscle or cracked something, because he held it very stiffly as he returned to our side of the arena. I whistled and he met my eyes with a frown. He did not look happy, but I withdrew him with a smile.

  "You did great, Jangmo-o! Your first real fight, and you managed to knock out a Gym Leaders Pokemon! Don't be frustrated you hurt yourself. Be grateful that you have a new goal in training!" His Pokeball shook a bit, and I was smiling as I returned the ball to my belt.

  Janine was giving me an appraising look, and I really didn't like that! At all! I might not have to deal with ninjas, sure, but I'd rather not deal with a fifth-badge poison Pokemon, either!

  I was mostly expecting the Beedrill that came out next. Almost every lower badge Gym Challenge here included one, simply because they were so easy to Evolve and train. A freshly evolved Beedrill was perfect for a first-badge match. For a fourth badge match?

  This Beedrill looked experienced, and mean, like it could glare through me… or it wanted to pierce through me… Considering the look from the referee, that was a fifth badge Pokemon, too. I shouldn't even be surprised at this point…

  Still, I smiled widely at it as I released my starter, appreciating the murmurs that sprang up, again. I mean… I wasn't announced as Alex Blackthorn, just Alex, but by this point they should maybe expect it after Jangmo-o… Nah, dragons were rare. I just Journeyed with a chaos magnet that sometimes drew in good things.

  "Match Resume!"

  "Dratini, Thunder smackdown!" I enjoyed the frown that came to Janine's face even as she called her own order.

  "Beedrill, dodge and Focus Energy!" Nope, not going to work! We've practiced this on Hope!

  My noodle dragon coiled up briefly before she launched herself across the arena like a spring, electricity already starting to crackle around her. Her Thunder Wave was great. Fast, precise, and powerful. It still missed, because that was a fast bug, but we hadn't expected the first hit to land. Hoped, sure, but not expected…

  I would have preferred it, because I could already see the shine of a buff take hold briefly, but the next Thunder Wave to erupt from my dragon hit it. It didn't fully paralyze it, but it did cause it to fall out of the air with a crash.

  I didn't need to call out this next move, she was already beginning it, but I wanted to.

  "Dratini, Dragon Rush!"

  "Beedrill, Payback!" Well… Okay then, fuck. Hopefully it's too Paralyz-

  Dratini was already slamming into the Beedrill as the dark energy built around it, and I couldn't help my huge wince as that Beedrill was crushed into the barrier… or as my dragon got blasted back by the explosion of dark energy that smashed into her head.

  She came to a rolling stop in the middle of the arena, and despite my worry I was highly amused by the sight of my dragon rolling like a loose pen on an incline… She slowly, carefully, painfully curled her lower half and pulled herself upright, glaring at the Beedrill even as the unconscious Pokemon was returned. She did not look good, at all. I whistled lightly, and even as her eyes met mine I knew she would resent me if I returned her now.

  Therefore when the referee glanced at me to see if I was returning her, I simply shook my head. Resigned. She might have a lot more respect for me these days than when she first chose me, and she certainly loved me, but she was still a dragon. She had almost been knocked out in one hit! Yes, by a Move almost designed for it, if not one of the nastier ones like Destiny Bond, but she didn't care. She was offended, so she would continue to fight…

  I felt very conflicted when I saw the Weezing come out, and I knew Dratini was, too. Not enough to stop, of course, but I couldn't help but frown. I knew that just because they were common Rocket Pokemon didn't make them all abused… Indeed, that was a healthy, happy looking Weezing… Well, it looked 'happy'? As much as their faces could, I thought? It was well cared for, though, for sure.

  "Match resume!"

  "Weezing, Smokescreen!" Nah. Kallen was a little shit, and we didn't just spar against Hope! We knew how to deal with obscuring moves that actually hung in the air.

  "Dratini, Twister into Dragon Breath!"

  I really enjoyed how the billowing smoke was parted by the wide, sweeping Twister she unleashed. I especially enjoyed how the Dragon Breath was a direct hit. The way the Weezing flew back was gratifying.

  It was less gratifying when it rose during its backward motion, into a circle above my dragon. It was hurt, sure, but far from out of the fight.

  "Dratini, evasive Agility!"

  "Weezing, Sludge Bomb!"

  The huge glob of horrid looking sludge slammed into the ground near Dratini even as she dodged, but while she hadn't taken a full hit, she had still been splattered. I could see the black discolorations spreading as the poison began to wreak havoc on her internal energies, and I winced even as I gave the next order.

  "Dratini, Dragon Tail!" She had anticipated my order, however. If she was poisoned, and already heavily damaged, she needed to end this now if she wanted to win.

  "Weezing, Double Strike into Smog!" Oh, so now you bring out more than basic move orders? Too late! Hopefully!

  My dragon leapt into the air to meet Weezing, and I knew the second she did how this was going to play out. Her Dragon Tail managed to strike first, barely, but she still got hit once with the smaller face as the Pokemon bent around her tail momentarily.

  Then it exploded into purple smoke, even as it was blasted back, into the barriers this time. It didn't get up, but I only had eyes for my dragon.

  She was shining as she fell, even as I could see that her eyes were unfocused, that she was barely conscious. She didn't slam into the ground, however. She slid onto it, in the process seeming to explode into blinding white light that grew! She grew to be almost twenty feet long! Most Dragonair were around fifteen feet long! She wasn't an Alpha Dragonair, not even close, but she was big! Big, and beautiful!

  Dratini were cute little noodle dragons, even if they were around five or six feet long. They were thin, light, and for all their typing, weak compared to a Dragonair. They were large, almost the width of my body, and her head had grown slightly more pronounced, with larger jaws, a single horn in the middle of her forehead, and her proto-wings on her head like white ears. Her head alone was almost the size of my torso! Her jewels sparkled in the light of the Gym, the single large one on her throat overshadowed by the two larger ones on the tip of her tail. Well, the one towards the tip of her tail was smaller, but still!

  She was gorgeous! Dragonair were known to be one of the most beautiful, majestic Pokemon in the world, and she knew it! She had to, because she looped around herself rapidly for a few seconds before her eyes fell on me. Our eyes locked.

  Then she sprang, like a spring, straight for me!

  She didn't knock me over, of course, she landed next to me… then she tried to curl onto my shoulders. When that obviously didn't work, she tried to wrap herself around my waist, but that wasn't happening, either. I pat her head with a warm, amused smile.

  I opened my mouth to congratulate her, but I had a habit, apparently. A habit that I hadn't completely broken myself of, it seemed.

  "That was an impressive display from your Dragonair!" I jerked a little, turning to find Janine standing there smiling at the sight. Most of the crowd was, because Dragonair just didn't stop in her attempts to show me affection. Which, sure, I loved it! Not right now, though! I smiled widely as I returned her.

  "Thanks! She's been close to Evolution for a while, she just needed a challenge! That Weezing almost had her!" I wasn't exaggerating, either. Not to mention, we both knew that in an actual fight that Weezing would have Exploded if need be. In fact, her using a Weezing as her last Pokemon was probably a bit of a 'lesson', too. Probably to keep a stronger Pokemon in reserve…

  Most Pokemon that could Self Destruct or Explode in some capacity didn't mind doing it. It was a part of them, of course! They just didn't like being forced to. Or to do it too often, obviously. As Janine's last Pokemon, she would have forfeited if they Exploded, however.

  She smiled and handed me a pink, heart shaped Badge, and I couldn't stop the huge smile that grew on my face as I took it from her. Huger. Larger. A very large smile.

  That was half of the badges already. The two-month delay had done nothing to slow us down.

  I was halfway to my first Conference, and I was just getting started.