Leaf
—
Almost three weeks of training was slightly excessive, but I knew Erin was right, and that Sabrina was going to bring stronger Pokemon against us. I wasn't looking forward to another Gym Leader beatdown, but I wasn't trying to lose either, so I guess it worked out?
Tinkatink was very enthusiastic to train, now that she was finally fully grown. She was still tiny, of course, but she had fully 'integrated' into her body, and reminded me far too much of Artemis. These days Artemis was still just as driven to train, but she had finally learned to pace herself. That, or it was me, Erin, Leto, and even Alex repeatedly telling her to reign it in that had finally made her somewhat less annoying to deal with.
Tinkatink hadn't gotten there yet.
In fact, I think she may have been slightly worse than Artemis used to be! Her Astonishes were actually very strong and effective. We all found that out. Apparently the Move didn't have to do damage… It could still very easily startle us humans! Tinkatink almost got kicked in the head when she finally managed to scare Erin, actually. Not on purpose, but when Erin had leapt and spun around in surprise, she had narrowly missed Tinkatink's head.
Tinkatink had laughed, but she didn't try that on Erin anymore… At least not while she was in close range.
Tinkatink's Fairy Wind was rough, but usable in battle. It still took her seconds to gather her fairy energy, and that made her an easy target. Her Baby Doll Eyes was perfect, but then again, she'd practically been training that since the moment she was born. She had started on her Metal Claw, but to nobody's surprise, it was taking her quite some time to get even the most basics down.
She was unhappy about that, but her growth was already fast for a baby, so I was far more enthusiastic about it.
She had also given Kallen, Artemis, and Grace some 'basic' steel and bronze necklaces. She called them basic, but we all called them nice. They weren't works of art or anything like that fork had been, but I honestly wouldn't have been surprised to see them as a high-quality product at a low-end jewelry store. Unity was slightly less enthusiastic about the small necklace he had been given, but he still wore it happily. It was the most basic work from her yet, a simple, decorated band of bronze, but anything bigger would impede him retreating into his apple. His huge apple, because after two weeks it had doubled in size again, and was now bigger than my head! He was working even better with his tail-wyrm too, so I had the feeling he would probably Evolve soon…
Morgrem had really surprised me, in all honesty. I had imagined that he would be… lazy? Tricky? I wasn't sure exactly what I had expected, but while he wasn't a training maniac, he had taken to training like it owed him money. Or fear, really. He greatly enjoyed having three humans around who were actually afraid of him, considering none of us were in the least. I had apologized, of course, but he hadn't done anything drastic, so I didn't reprimand him. It was kind of funny when he would sprint straight for one of them, halberd hair raised above his head, and then jump between their legs.
Or when he had dumped some ice, courtesy of Snazzy the Weavile, down the back of Heather's shirt… He didn't just enjoy fear. Annoyance was great, too.
Apparently the way we trained was… excessive, according to the other group. Heather, Ian, and Zavier weren't exactly weak, either. They had five badges already and hadn't lost a Gym Battle yet, so they were above average for most trainers. To them, though, training was only an hour or two at night after they had traveled, usually just practicing Moves or their actual movements. That was it.
It wasn't unusual, however. Most recommendations on the PokeNet gave similar advice, because why exhaust your Pokemon before the day really got started? Why leave yourself potentially vulnerable for hours? Why risk injuring your Pokemon far away from a Pokemon Center?
It made sense, because most groups, and solo trainers especially, didn't have an Alpha Tyrantrum looming over them for safety, or a certified Nurse Pokemon that could tell when someone was training too hard, not to mention heal them if they injured themselves. They also didn't usually have access to Gravity, or Roar's so loud they had to be restrained to not kill humans or weaker Pokemon.
Heather and Zavier had tried to refuse joining us in our resistance training… Not that mom allowed that to happen, of course. They might not be part of the pack, but they were her daughter's new friends, so they would participate… They had developed a decent resistance to the Move by this point, them and Ian, who hadn't protested the training. Alex, Erin, and me? Well, it still stunned us, of course, but it was more of a flinch these days. It still sucked, though…
Still, as rewarding as the time training was, I was ready to leave! To get moving again! We had been in one spot for half a month! We were also almost out of Wailmer and Wailord, so it was kind of necessary, considering the Wailmer pods wisely avoided this section of the bay, now… Snazzy, Delibird and Mr. Mime had worked with Leto to make a sort of stone cold-storage, so the excessive meat hadn't spoiled, but we were down to what we could fit in Erin's refrigerated Storage Balls. Which was a lot, sure, but we preferred to keep those more or less full, just in case.
We ran into a slight 'issue' after we cleared out the camp that morning, though.
See, we had told the other group that we would travel with them to Celadon, but they didn't have bikes… We also didn't feel like walking for days, so after a very frustrating ten minutes of arguing they had finally accepted a reluctant ride in the Ride Basket. A Ride Basket we would be replacing in Celadon, because the handle was… It would hold, for sure, but I wouldn't want to try riding in it all the way to the plains.
At least Alex had mostly adjusted to the experience. Ian had been strangely fine with it as well, but Heather and Zavier lost their breakfast before we were ten minutes down the Route. Or really, down the side of the Route. Leto had to slow down a lot on Routes to avoid tearing them up. Not that mom cared all that much, but Erin would have to deal with the fines if she did.
Mom once again made distance a thing to be scoffed at, so even with her going slightly slow because of Tinkatink, we arrived at Celadon near noon. It still took us another half hour for Zavier and Heather to actually be capable of moving after that, but at the very least I hadn't minded, and neither had Tinkatink.
The weaker trainers loitering outside of Celadon's west gates made for very convenient targets to pass the time, anyway. Especially the brunette girl frowning at me from across the semi-permanent battle court out here.
She was kind of annoying, though. She had come from the city after mom had gone back into her ball, I wasn't exactly known like Erin was, and I was slightly irritated by her attitude.
"I'm not sure why you think this is a good idea! I'll have you know I have three badges! I beat Erika on my first try! You're going to lose so badly you'll give up on being a trainer, actually!"
Okay, slightly more than slightly irritated, even as the others scoffed and I grinned at her. It was amusing, but also annoying… Especially when I had specifically asked her if she had a newer Pokemon to battle with… So she leapt to conclusions…
"Listen, if you're scared, you can just surrender when your Pokemon gets hurt! Why not send your Pokemon out, huh?" She was smirking at me, arms crossed, and I couldn't help it.
I burst into laughter at her attempts to seem intimidating. Her and her pampered looking Pikachu. They were cute Pokemon, sure, but I really didn't understand why the franchise would make one the mascot… Unless the information was somehow pulled from this world, and just focused on Ash?
"Okay, well, first of all, I haven't technically caught this Pokemon yet, since she just left the whole 'baby' stage… Tinkatink, ready for your first fight?" I looked over at Alex holding Tinkatink, and she smiled widely. She also waved her rattle around, but Alex was already dodging it. I hadn't been completely sure if Tinkatink would actually fight, considering her age, but she was of course very eager.
As she ran over to me babbling excitedly I pulled out a Luxury Ball I had been saving for just this occasion.
"Before you fight, let's get you caught, okay sweetie? Not that you'll need to be returned for your safety, but you are so cute I worry someone might try to steal you!" Mostly truth, honestly.
She nodded up at me, eyes wide, and touched the Pokeball. In a moment she was caught, ball not even rattling, and I manually triggered her release. She came out with one foot forward, rattle raised over her head as she leaned forward, sneering at the Pikachu.
That was… new. That was how Hazard came out! Well, the sneer looked more like Morgrem, actually. Hazard snarled, even if there was a sneer in the snarl… Oh no, she's picking up their bad habits…
The Pikachu took a step back from my fae's expression, then laughed at her when the rattle sent Tinkatink very slightly stumbling. A poor choice, as Tinkatink frowned, immediately stopped posturing, and set herself into a light stance, rattle held behind her slightly.
That was Grace's training showing itself. Most of the fighting style that trained Indeedee used didn't translate well to the Tinkatink line, but enough did for footwork and punches. They were both upright bipeds with arms, obviously. The rattle held behind her and to the back was thanks to Dexter showing her videos of other Tinkatink and Tinkatuff, plus watching Erin and Stabby go at it. Erin had never pulled out her other real weapon she kept in that damn case of hers, but we all had a decent idea of what it was, considering the wooden sword she sometimes sparred with.
It wasn't very long, actually, less than three feet long, with a single edge and sharp, slightly curved tip. It looked like a thin machete, honestly. It was still a practice sword, though, and Erin had… interesting ways of fighting. She refused to tell us where she had gotten her inspiration from, but I had to assume it was games or anime in her old world. Still, Dexter only set his metaphorical foot down a few times when she trained, so it was at least effective, based on the programs Dexter ran…
It was still strange to see Tinkatink hold her blunt club backwards along her arm. Especially considering its size compared to her…
I think this trainer was regretting her choice to accept a battle with me…
"What the hell is that?! Wait, is… is that a fae?!" I just smiled at the fear in her eyes. Smiled so widely.
"She is, actually!" I didn't say anything else as Alex strode forward to the 'referee's' spot and raised her hand.
"The battle starts in five seconds! Five!" The dumb trainer frowned but shook herself a little, even as Alex continued the countdown.
Erin was watching from the sidelines with a wide smile, but Heather, Ian, and Zavier all looked worried. I guess that was understandable, considering they had seen Tinkatink grow over the past two weeks. Tinkatink was barely more than a baby at this point, and her appearance didn't help. She looked like a baby, and would until she Evolved.
She still wasn't a baby anymore.
"One! Begin!"
"Pikachu, Electro Ball!"
"Tinkatink, Astonish into Baby Doll Eyes!"
I really enjoyed the look on the girl's face when I gave out a combo order. I understood it, though. They were the only two Moves Tinkatink could use almost effortlessly, however, and she needed to get slightly closer to Pikachu before she could use anything else.
Which she did, ghostly energies rushing at Pikachu even as the Electro Ball passed them. The Astonish only slightly clipped them, doing no real damage, but Pikachu still flinched slightly. Tinkatink spun in place, smashing the Electro Ball away with her rattle as she charged in, eyes wide and innocent looking. She took damage from the attack, of course, but her right arm was only slightly singed, rather than jerking from the electricity. There were no rules about what you could wrap the handle of a Pokemon's weapon with, and electricity wasn't exactly uncommon… Pikachu watched it happen with a stunned expression, a poor choice, as they briefly locked eyes with my Pokemon, pausing momentarily after the flinch.
"Pikachu, Double Team!" Not bad, but nope…
"Tinkatink, wide Fairy Wind into Metal Claw!"
Tinkatink was still sprinting at Pikachu as she charged up her Move, and it took her long enough that the Double Team took effect, the Pikachu seeming to split into two. Of course, only one was real, and at this low a level of Pokemon battle? Well, the wide, weak Fairy Wind popped the fake one like a soap bubble, even if it barely did any damage to the Pikachu.
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The weak, flickering Metal Claw that enveloped her rattle did far more damage. The steel energies almost entirely radiated outwards when Tinkatink slammed it into that unfortunate Pikachu's stomach, but Tinkatink didn't need the energy to make her strike hurt. Her rattle was more than enough to do that all on its own.
The impact hurtled Pikachu backwards into a roll, but my fae wasn't about to stop attacking! I didn't even call out another move, just smiled as she caught that poor Pikachu in the face with her next, type-less attack. It went down in a heap, blood flowing from a clearly broken nose. Its stunned trainer returned the unfortunate Pokemon with her mouth hanging open, but I was barely looking at her anymore.
"Good job, Tinkatink! You really knocked that poor Pokemon around, didn't you?!" She charged toward me, babbling out happy words.
Her ability to commune had rapidly improved, even if her vocabulary could use some work, so I also got to hear her.
"That fun! Smash dumb face!" 'Yes, you did smash it in the face. Be nice, though. They can't help their faces, young lady.' "Truth hurt! Like face hurt!"
I shook my head as I bent to pick her up. I think I should try to keep her away from Morgrem…
He had actually been kind and patient with her… for him. I think she found his hair fascinating, seeing another 'weapon' user. For his part, he found her to be… well, an annoying baby. An annoying baby he could instigate into pranks…
"Wait! One more round! I'm not losing to a baby Pokemon!" I glared at the stupid girl even as Tinkatink twisted in my arms with her own glare.
"We agreed to a one vs one, idiot!" She was red in the face as she shook her head.
"So? Now I say it's a two vs two! Are you scared or something?" I laughed at her words, even as she sent out a Mankey. I laughed even louder at the sight, however.
"Okay, but when you lose, the loser's fee is going to be even higher. Still want to lose?" She growled a little as she nodded, but of course, it was nothing compared to Hazard, Erin's team, mom, or even Erin herself.
"My little murder demon, do you wanna take this one, or do you want to avoid attention?" Morgrem had some understandable issues with being seen in public. Pallet Town hadn't bothered him too much, considering its small size and population, but this was a major city, even if we were outside the gates.
I guess he felt safe with our teams, however, so he popped out with his usual sneer. The Mankey flinched back, even as the dumb girl gasped.
"Why do you have a Morgrem!? Wait, is he shiny?!"
I just smiled at her and settled Tinkatink in the crook of my arm.
"The match has started!" She frowned briefly before calling out more basic orders.
"Mankey, Cross Chop!" Ooh, not a bad Move… too bad, though.
"Morgrem, have fun! Don't hurt it too badly, okay?" He turned his sneer back on me, even as he communed with me briefly.
"Define too badly." 'No lasting damage, keep the blood to a minimum.' "That's so boring…"
Mankey launched itself at Morgrem, but my little fear-demon just smiled… right before he crashed to his knees, hands on the ground in front of him, head bowed in surrender. Mankey paused slightly in its rush at my Pokemon, and that's when Morgrem stuck.
His hair lanced out like a spear, catching Mankey directly in the chest. His hair was shaped like a halberd, but this had been the spear-tip of the halberd… Mankey screamed in pain, even as Morgrem started darkly laughing. He didn't withdraw his hair, instead choosing to rush directly at the poor fighting type, angling his hair to drive it into the ground.
His followup Bite was wholly unnecessary, but I wouldn't discipline him for it. He was following my instructions, and most of his Moves would have done far more damage to that poor Mankey. A Mankey that looked very relieved to be returned.
Its trainer was glaring at Morgrem, but there was just as much fear there as anger. Not that I blamed her, not in the least. Morgrem was… a Morgrem.
She trudged over to pay me my winnings, mouth set in a tight line.
"I really should have asked before the match, but… How many badges do you have?" I grinned at her. Like mom, or Erin, really. Her smiles had gotten much less vicious during her punishment, and they weren't too mean these days… She was still vicious, though.
The girl jerked slightly as she met my eyes, and I knew they had done that neat little pink flash. I really wanted to see what that looked like, actually… Dexter hadn't caught it in his constant recording, not yet.
"I'm at five badges, actually! Morgrem is my most recent Pokemon, though, and he's the weakest other than Tinkatink here." Tinkatink cheerfully babbled from my arm, even as Morgrem glared at me.
The girl looked stunned for a moment, before her face went red in embarrassment. I tapped my PokeNav to hers, receiving my winnings, before I continued.
"I mean, most people at this point have at least three badges, or they quit… So good luck? You're not doing badly. Your Mankey was tough enough to take Morgrem's False Surrender and not immediately return itself… or die, so it's certainly possible to get more badges!" Her face went pale before she spun on her heel and sped off towards the gates.
I turned around, only to find everyone grinning at me. Well, them, and the small crowd of wary trainers. I smiled at my group.
"Ready to get to the Center?"
—
—
Of course, getting a room was interrupted. I was almost starting to expect it these days.
"Miss Greenwood? We could use your assistance with something, actually."
Erin stepped forward, but Nurse Joy actually shook her head at her with a smile.
"Sorry, I meant Miss Leaf Greenwood, actually." All eyes turned to me, but I was frowning.
"Why would you need my help?"
The Nurse looked confused.
"You are a Fairy Master, correct?" Oh!
I ignored the slightly stunned looks the other group was giving me as I leaned in over the counter. Erin and Alex weren't surprised, of course. The others had heard me call myself a Fairy Master, but that was a little different than actually being certified.
"Yes, I am, actually! Sorry, I kind of forgot this might happen…" The nurse laughed briefly
"This is actually a request from the Celadon Gym. There aren't really any details, but it's marked as least concern, so whatever fairy they're having issues with isn't violent or anything. Would you be interested in accepting the request?" I glanced around briefly, but I got nods from Erin and Alex. The others, too, but while they might be friends at this point, I didn't care about their opinions on something like this.
Nurse Joy smiled before sliding me a laminated card.
"Show this at the front desk of the Gym, and they should have more information for you." I smiled at her as I grabbed it, and from the way her eyes briefly widened, I knew my eyes had flashed…
Was that going to be a thing these days? Or… forever, I guess? Is this what Erin feels like? Hers didn't flash all that often, though, they glowed…
—
—
"You're the Fairy Master?"
I didn't blame the receptionist at the Gym looking at me in confusion. I mean, I was thirteen! I had five badges, but actually having a Mastery certification? The rarest Mastery certification? Yeah, her confusion made sense…
"I am. Here's my Trainer ID, just to verify." She looked at it for a long moment before shrugging.
"Okay, works for me. If you go over to that door, I'll buzz you in and call for one of our gardeners." She pointed at a small door labeled Staff Only.
Huh, gardener… I guess they have a Whimsicott here?
—
—
"So let me get this straight. Your Florges is upset about something and refuses to let anyone into her garden? The garden you gave to her?" I was frowning already, because this was… not stupid, honestly, but…
The gardener sitting across the table from me in what looked like an employee break room was also frowning, though.
"I mean, we didn't just capture her and throw her in, we're not stupid or cruel! We got a lot of help with that contract before we ever contacted anyone about acquiring a Floette who was interested!" I ignored his frustration as I continued to read over the contract.
It wasn't a bad contract, honestly. I didn't use them, obviously, but I was a bit of a unique case. Me and Erin both, really. I didn't see anything glaringly wrong, of course. If they had contacted other Fairy Masters, this was probably as good as a contract got… Still…
"'In return for at least three years of assistance in gardening-related tasks, Floette shall receive a Shiny Stone to Evolve into a Florges. Her garden shall remain open to the public so long as she is reasonably accommodated.' Well, I would need to talk to her, but I think I see the issue." The gardener looked mad now, though.
"We haven't been unreasonable! She's actually nice for the most part! I kind of like her, even! She just won't let us into the garden!" I frowned at him.
"Not the garden. It's her garden, as defined in the contract. Reasonably accommodated sounds good on paper, but it's open to interpretation by her, and her preferences and needs can and do change. She signed this as a Floette, correct?" He nodded at me.
"My guess is she gained a new instinct or desire as a Florges, and can't fulfill it… Okay, this gives me some idea of the situation, but I need to go talk to her." He stood up and I followed him. I was also followed by everyone else, of course. Ian, Heather, and Zavier all looked slightly uneasy, but Erin sure wasn't, and Alex trusted me to handle fae at this point.
Hopefully this was a nice, easy fix.
—
—
I stood in the doorway to one of the many indoor gardens here in the Celadon Gym, glaring at the Pokemon before me. Hope stood behind me, also glaring.
The brilliant blue Florges standing in the middle of a stunningly beautiful flower garden was also glaring at me.
Glares all around!
"I ask again, why can't anyone come in here? How are you not being reasonably accommodated? Just commune with me, it doesn't hurt me." She never stopped her glare, but it became an intrigued glare at my statement. I knew when she finally took a peek into that soul-space, because her eyes widened in shock, glare dropping away.
"How are you already communing? By yourself?!" 'I'm a Fairy Master, a real one. Now, if you want to chat later we can, but I'm here to help you, not them. What's wrong?'
She glared behind me at the gardener briefly, before she gently pulled me into that soul-space. Gently, because she seemed benevolent, but also because she had seen Hope.
I guess most fae looked like smoke here? The Florges line apparently looked like a plus sign, but thicker, kind of? Like a very basic flower shape, if you squinted?
"I desire to… reproduce." Even in the soul-space I winced. I wasn't dumb or a kid, I knew where babies came from, but still, eww…
'You didn't have the desire as a Floette, so it was surprising, right?' She 'nodded' at me.
'Did you attempt to communicate this with them? I can't imagine they would refuse you.'
Her anger was palpable.
"I tried, but I can't commune with any of them! I tried to sort of pantomime it out, but that gardener thought I was just dancing! He's nice, but so stupid!" I frowned at her.
'There's no way that he's that dumb, is there?'
The sense of irritation was intense.
Then I was viewing a… memory? It was for sure a memory, but it was far different than a memory reading. It was like I was looking through a window into another reality, somehow. Hope had done this once before, showing me Mt. Moon…
The same gardener stood there, a wide smile on his face as Florges… danced? His face was delighted, but her face turned wrathful after he clapped at her performance.
Then I was back, and I 'sighed' heavily.
'To a human, you were just dancing. Not even, uhh… provocatively? Or something? You looked like you were happy and joyful, until he reasonably clapped for your beautiful dance.'
She did not like hearing that, as waves of anger crashed into me, but she knew I was telling the truth.
"Can you tell the idiot, then?"
'Sure, and I will. It may take them some time to find someone… compatible? Do you desire companionship, or just reproduction?' She frowned, but went silent as she thought.
"I… reproduction, but I wouldn't mind companionship? I've talked to others who enjoyed the concept, and it's mildly intriguing, I guess?" She sounded unsure, but I was growing used to that.
From what I could tell, most fae came here with only a vague idea of what they wanted, other than new and interesting experiences and to grow through experiencing time. I didn't know her original desire, but if she had accepted the contract I read, she must have fulfilled most or all of it already. For the rest? They had to find out for themselves. Some would choose a desire, an emotion, like Hope. Some found it through actions, like Stabby. Some found theirs through biology, like this Florges.
'I'll see what I can do, okay? They probably won't be another fae, unless one wants the same thing, I guess? Will you allow people back into your garden? It is very beautiful.'
I could feel her embarrassment and joy, even as she nodded.
Then the soul-place was gone, and I was back in the doorway, eyes a little dry as I continued to stare at Florges. I smiled at her and stepped into the room even as she moved to meet me, ignoring the fearful gasp from the gardener.
"Well, I'll certainly let them know, okay? In fact…" I turned around and beckoned everyone inside, but my eyes were on the gardener. They came in, and he slowly walked up to me, looking very on edge as Florges stared at him. She didn't glare this time, however.
"So, when she performed that dance for you? She was very poorly trying to communicate her new desire that came with Evolution." I ignored her glare as my face went red.
"She, ah… She wants to reproduce. Possibly also companionship with her, uhh, partner? For sure reproducing, though?" She nodded at me, glare never wavering.
The gardener laughed in disbelief, though.
"That was a request to reproduce?! Florges, that was one of the most beautiful dances I've ever seen, but how was that a- oh!" I ignored his face as he had a realization. I really didn't want to know, honestly…
"Let's go ahead and figure out what Pokemon she would be… compatible with. You two can work out the actual details for yourselves… Please." I really didn't want to play Pokemon matchmaker! Especially not for one that wasn't my Pokemon!
I very deliberately ignored the amused faces watching me. The ones that watched me for another twenty minutes as I reluctantly relayed her replies to the still-stunned man.
I was so glad to get out of there!
—
—
"Thank you for swiftly dealing with the situation down there, Miss Greenwood. I can't imagine it was easy dealing with a fairy…" The Nurse Joy trailed off as I rolled my eyes.
"It was the simplest thing in the world for me, but they should have just brought a psychic in to interpret… and I think we could use that room, now?" Erin laughed at my tired face.
"At least it wasn't me dragging us around on a request this time!" I glared at her for a moment before I shifted my attention back to the Nurse Joy.
She flushed a little, and after a moment on her computer handed me our room key. I turned to the other group and smiled tiredly.
"That kind of wore me out… Want to get dinner with us later?" Erin and Alex both nodded from next to me, even as the other group smiled.
Heather still sounded slightly stunned, though.
"Yeah, sure! We have our Gym Challenges at the Celadon Gym tomorrow at noon, so…" She trailed off awkwardly, but I just smiled as Erin spoke up, Tinkatink in her arms.
"Yeah, we're hitting the Department Store before dinner. We really need a new Ride Basket…" Yes, yes we did!
Alex cleared her throat, causing everyone to turn to her.
"So, uhh… Think we could run to Pewter City tomorrow? And stay a few days, I guess? This is as close as we'll get for a while, and I kind of need my badge from there… I could register for the Challenge tonight…" Huh… I had forgotten about that, honestly.
Erin just smiled, though.
"Sure! I actually really wanted to challenge Brock at an eighth badge level, and we are close…"
Arceus… So did I now that the idea was out there! Maybe Hazard could get some revenge?
Maybe Hope would get to fight?

