Chapter 41: 161-164

Chapter 41: 161-164

The New Normal – 8-11 – INTERLUDE – SABRINA & WHITNEY

(Sabrina POV)

After Janine's victory over her parents for the Marsh Badge, neither herself or Whitney had much difficulty against her parents for their own Marsh Badge.

Oh, she knew that her father had tried to make things harder for them, but he was still constrained by the limitations of the 6th Gym Badge. He could not pull off the raw power that she knew that he had, nor make use of his strongest Pokémon.

Her battle against her father was intense. They knew each other's tricks, and while she outclassed her father in terms of pure Psychic talent, her father had significantly more experience at fighting against other Psychic specialists.

But that's why she fought slowly, with methodical precision, focusing on wearing down and fighting extremely carefully as to not get caught up in her father's many tricks. She used the fact that she actually overpowered her father's Pokémon and was more efficient with her attacks to gradually achieve victory with her Psychic types.

It was not the grandest way to win, but it worked. And it was the totally opposite way of how Whitney won, which was to literally power through his Psychic attacks before and overwhelm her father before he could probably set things up.

Whitney's Miltank was powerful.

After their fight, she had seen clips of her fight against her father popping up on BattleCast, mainly in the forums dedicated to Psychic trainers. She felt a surge of pride at being recognized for her Psychic skills, which was only increased when Whitney gushed over the fact that her friend was becoming a 'well-known' trainer on Pokenet.

As always, she was endlessly thankful that Whitney took the chance to become her friend.

With their trio all winning, she asked the other two if she could hang around Saffron City for a little while longer to spend some time with her parents. Past her would have never suggested something like this, thinking that spending time with her parents was overly stifling and boring.

But now that she had gone on her journey with Whitney, she learnt to appreciate her parents and their love for her far more. And she was eager to talk about the many events that took place over her journey.

Whitney was more than happy to accompany her and spend some more time in Saffron. However, Janine asked if she could take the opportunity to head back to Fuschia to challenge her father. She stated that she felt that now was as good as a time as ever to challenge her father; to prove to him how much she had grown ever since she set off for her journey.

Sabrina felt bad for accidentally splitting the group like this, and she could tell even without reading her mind that Whitney was torn between accompanying Sabrina with her parents or cheering Janine on at Fuschia.

However, Janine insisted that she would go and fight her father alone. Though Whitney obviously wanted to support her friend, she ultimately respected Janine's decision and wished her all the best in her battle against Koga while the two of them remained in Saffron.

So as Janine left for Fuschia, Sabrina and Whitney spent most of that time with her parents, doing many things that Sabrina previously loathed in the past, but now found enjoyable thanks to Whitney's encouragement.

This included things like shopping trips, or simple meals outside with the family. They did a LOT more shopping than either had expected, and they ended up buying matching ribbons for each other. In the end, they bought 3 ribbons in total. One pink, one magenta, and one purple for Whitney, herself, and Janine respectively.

Whitney giggled and said that she couldn't think of anything more suitable.

Of course, they didn't only use their break to rest. During their short break, the two of them spent some time doing further research into Blaine's team and fighting style. Her parents saw this and gave a few words of warning.

"Blaine is not going to be easy." Her mother warned, "I've seen plenty of aspiring and talented trainers defeat your father, only to fall short and get stuck on Blaine. He has the unfortunate reputation of being more of a scientist than a trainer, but everyone forgets that he used to be a former member of the Elite Four."

"You may have been too young to have seen Blaine in his heyday, when he used to be in the Elite Four, but he is easily Giovanni's match if they were to fight at their strongest. Even with his disadvantaged type matchups." Her father added, "Here...let me try to show you."

He closed his eyes and Sabrina felt a slight tingle of Psychic energy try to push into her mind. She allowed the tendril of Psychic energy in, and her mind was suddenly assailed by a flash of images as her father tried to project his memory into her brain. A normal non-psychic may have been overwhelmed by the sudden invasion of thoughts, but Sabrina was more than used to this and easily accepted his memories.

She could see flashes of a Magmar torching the entire battlefield into a sea of flames. The torrent of fire so strong that it overwhelmed the incoming Hydro Pump from the opposing Blastoise. There was another image of a Torkoal unleashing a tidal wave of magma and rock that sent the enemy Lanturn wailing in pain as it was buried underneath endless tide of scorching rock.

The images continued to flash through her mind. But there was always one constant. A grinning Blaine, this time with a head full of hair, as he stood victorious over his opponent.

Time and time again.

She shuddered at the thought of him being her next opponent, even if he was going to be limited by the restrictions of the 7th Gym Badge. She was beginning to realize that their shared goal of clearing out all 8 Gym Badges by the end of this circuit was going to be very optimistic.

Her father must had read her thoughts, or maybe he simply guessed them based on her expression, as he continued, "You might not have noticed this, judging by your streak of success, but did you know that after the 4th Gym there is a significant jump in difficulty between the Gyms?"

"Really?" Whitney couldn't help but interrupt, "But why?"

"The first four Gyms are supposed to teach you the basics and fundamentals of being a trainer." Her mother explained, "That's why they're much easier to defeat. They're just meant to teach you to develop good habits in training your Pokémon, alongside some basic confirmation that you understand the type charts and stuff. The Gyms are supposed to be reasonable for you to defeat with just some training."

"But once you've beaten the 4th Gym, then the 'training gloves' come off, so to speak. The goal of the Gyms are no longer to train you, but to test you and to force you to push yourself to new heights. To put it more bluntly, it is meant to drill and hone your talents so that you can show off your full potential as a trainer. It would not be unusual for the common trainer to have to attempt and challenge the 5th and 6th Gym Badge multiple times before they can earn their badge. Just ask your father, he's seen it dozens of times now." Her mother described, with her father nodding along in agreement.

"Or, if I could speak more cynically, the purpose of the Gyms after the 4th Badge is to discover and weed out the exceptional trainers among this year's batch of trainers." Her father frowned, "I don't approve of this mindset, as I believe every trainer can achieve great things if given the opportunity, but that's just how things are set up."

"...So, we are considered unusual for being able to get so far on our first try?" Sabrina asked.

"No, not unusual. You're not unusual, but exceptional." Her mother chided, knowing that Sabrina didn't like to be called 'unusual'. "You make us so proud as parents to see you succeed like this. Don't ever let anyone downplay your achievement. Even if you struggle with Blaine, being able to reach us without a single loss is already incredible."

"But we wanted to defeat all 8 Gyms before the end of this circuit..." Whitney mumbled a little sadly.

Her father reached down and patted Whitney on the shoulder, "Having an ambitious goal like that is good...but don't feel upset if you can't reach it. I'm sure your brother would be very happy with you even if you don't manage that." Her father comforted, and Whitney slowly formed a small smile as he hit the nail on the head about her concerns.

She smiled too.

"Did you know that there are plenty of trainers that try to hire private tutors to get past your father's Gym?" Her mother added, shooting them both a smile, "I find the whole concept ridiculous, especially since they charge exorbitantly high prices for their 'training'. And half the time it doesn't even work. You don't know how glad I am to see you not relying on such services."

"And besides, you haven't lost yet!" Her father spoke up with a cheery tone, "Keep your chin up. Keep training hard and keep studying Blaine. Maybe you can even beat him on your first try! But if you don't, don't beat yourself up too hard about it. We all face roadblocks in our lives, and learning how we overcome them is part of growing up."

Whitney nodded firmly, accepting her father's words to heart. Sabrina just smiled; her friend always had more enthusiasm for the three of them. She knew that Whitney could bounce back even from a loss. And if she did fall into a slump, well Sabrina was confident that her brother could get her out of it.

Sabrina knew that the only thing Whitney could not accept was disappointing her brother.

After that enlightening conversation, they spent a few more days with her parents before they eventually had to say goodbye. Janine had finished up her fight against her own father, squeaking out a very narrow victory as her Golbat barely held on after Koga's Weezing Exploded.

Whitney had insisted to watch the recording of the match, and Sabrina couldn't help but think of how similar Janine's match against Koga was compared to her own match against her father.

The fight really could have gone either way, but Janine HAD won. And considering the bright smile and the sheer joy radiating out of her face when Janine had called them, Sabrina didn't think Janine cared about how close it was.

Sabrina was quick to share in her friend's joy, she had felt similarly when she had defeated her father.

She felt a little bad that Whitney couldn't experience something similar any time soon, because her brother wasn't a Gym Leader, but Whitney didn't seem upset about that at all.

Sabrina vowed to help Whitney grow and become strong enough for her to put up a good fight against her brother. Because she knew that was Whitney's dream.

Anyways, with Janine finishing up with her fight, they left Saffron City and decided to all meet up in Cinnabar Island. And Sabrina immediately wanted to leave as soon as she arrived.

Why was this place so hot and sticky?! She knew it was next to a volcano – but still!

At least the trio was fully back together, giving them the opportunity to continue spending time strategizing about how they would defeat Blaine.

As agreed, Sabrina would be challenging Blaine first, followed by Whitney, then Janine.

Right now, they were at one of the training fields near the Cinnabar Island Pokémon Centre training up her team with her friends. Since it was late in the circuit and Cinnabar Island wasn't the most popular of places anyways, this meant it was easy to secure a training field for the entire day.

Although Sabrina did note that there were plenty of scientists rushing about. Maybe there was something big going on? She was tempted to look into their minds, but her friend's frequent reminder to NOT casually invade someone's privacy stopped her.

The newest addition to her team, her newly caught Girafarig, was doing well and was quickly growing to become another valued part of her team. She and Whitney had expectedly taken opposite approaches with their Girafarig. She focused more on developing Girafarig's Psychic abilities, teaching it how to set up barriers and the like for her team. She really valued having a Psychic type Pokémon that wasn't weak to Ghosts and cold actually fight in close range decently well if needed.

She was taking inspiration from John's Wyrdeer in how she wanted her Girafarig to develop. Although being able to create and leap from barriers mid-air was going to take a lot of time to master.

On the other hand, following her Girafarig's more aggressive preferences, Whitney was training her Girafarig to focus more on the physical side, to effectively be the opposite of Loudred. Whereas Loudred mostly focused on Special Attacks but also had a range of physical moves as backup, Girafarig focused on mostly physical attacks with a range of Special Attacks as backup.

Sabrina suspected that Whitney was drawing inspiration from the same source as she was.

Speaking of Whitney's team, they had finally managed to find and acquire a Moon Stone so that Whitney's Jigglypuff could finally evolve into a Wigglytuff. The evolution was long overdue at this point. On Sabrina's part, she had finally decided that now was the best time for her Staryu to evolve into a Starmie, making use of the Water Stone that she picked up a while ago.

With Wiggytuff's new evolved form, and in the subsequent spars that took place between Wigglytuff and her Pokémon, it was immediately obvious that Wigglytuff was now able to do more than make use of status moves, as it now had the power to actually fight back offensively. Not only that, but Wigglytuff was now far more durable than her pre-evolved form.

But, if Sabrina could be honest, her Staryu's evolution into a Starmie was even more important, at least for their upcoming battle against Blaine. It gave her another fast Special Attacker that could hit really hard and blast Blaine's Fire types with powerful Water type moves. Even ignoring the advantageous type matchup, her Starmie hit even harder than Xatu, which was more focused on support moves.

Now, if only she could get her Kadabra to evolve into an Alakazam, but she knew that was some ways off.

However, even with all these new evolutions, the warning from her parents about Blaine's strength remained in her head. She had studied Blaine's past battles, so she knew that he was a hot-tempered trainer with a huge focus on devastatingly destructive attacks.

Personally, she saw him as very similar to Surge. Whereas Surge focused on speed and fast striking attacks, Blaine focused on raw power and explosive devastation, forcefully gaining control of the battle by setting the entire arena alight.

Even Whitney's Miltank, by far the tankiest of their Pokémon, would not be able to withstand such attacks for too long. No, they all knew that they had to somehow beat Blaine by trying to reduce his incoming firepower while knocking his Pokémon out before they succumbed to the scorching flames.

Sabrina felt bad for Janine, who had the hardest task out of the three of them. A good portion of her team were weak to Fire types, meaning that she had to be extra careful when going up against Blaine.

And so, as time ticked by, the three of them spent their days in Cinnabar Island, carefully training up their teams and trying to come up with a plan to allow them to conquer Blaine and earn themselves the Volcano Badge.

========

?To their surprise, their time training around the training fields did not go unnoticed by the local population. And it was to her shock that her group of friends were suddenly approached a long, black-haired scientist lady and a weird guy wearing sunglasses, a fake moustache, and a wig.

No, wait, he had a moustache. But he just chose to wear a fake one on top of his real one. Why?

Also, was the wig actually part of the disguise, or was it because he wanted to conceal the fact that he was bald?

Still, Sabrina had no idea who that guy was trying to fool. The disguise was so obvious that it would take an actual idiot to not see through it. In fact, if it was not for the very official looking scientist lady with the Devon Corp badge placed proudly on her lab jacket, Sabrina might have been suspicious of his intentions.

Just to be safe, she discretely tried to probe his mind, only to reel back in pain as she felt her mind searing with pain. Her mind felt like it was being scorched alive.

Suddenly, her thoughts about the strange man were flipped on its head. This was a powerful trainer.

She didn't know how she didn't see it before, but despite his attempts to look mundane, he was anything but. Was he here to spar against them? She readied herself for a fight, but then the lady spoke, and all the tension broke away.

"I can't believe this coincidence! Whitney, is that you?" The lady suddenly spoke as she approached her friend, shaking Whitney's hand. "I thought I recognized you! Never thought I'd actually meet you. Congratulations on making it so far in the circuit!"

Whitney still had an extremely confused expression on her face, and the lady must have seen that as she was quick to clarify, "Oh my, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Shelly. I work with your brother and am the branch head of Devon Corp here at Indigo."

Whitney's face morphed into recognition, "Oh! Shelly! Yes, John did mention you a few times! It's good to meet you, and thanks for helping my brother!"

"More like he's helped me!" She chuckled, "Anyways, this is my friend...uh...Ian!" Sabrina had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the obviously fake name.

"It's good to meet you." 'Ian' greeted them, "I must say, it's nice to see trainers working so hard to train up their Pokémon. You looking to challenge the Gym Leader?"

"We are!" Whitney exclaimed eagerly, "We're looking to beat him on the first try! But we know he's very hard, so we're training up."

"Oh? That's ambitious. Have you been beating the other Gym Leaders on the first try too?" Ian asked, but Sabrina narrowed her eyes at his question. She had a suspicion that he already knew the answer to that.

"Yep!" Whitney answered with a nod, "We hope to do so for every Gym Leader! And we hope that we can beat all 8 Gyms before the end of this circuit."

Shelly whistled, "That's quite the goal. I wish I was nearly half as ambitious back when I was on my journey. But good luck on that! I'm rooting for you."

"Wow, then you must be really strong trainers, right?" Ian suddenly said, in a voice that couldn't sound any more fake than he tried. Sabrina noticed that Janine had immediately stiffened up at his words.

But Whitney continued, utterly unaware, "Maybe? John always says that there is always someone stronger than you, so I don't think I'm that strong."

Ian nodded, "That's a good mindset to have." He pretended to think for a moment, "Tell you what, I've not had a good battle in some time, and truthfully, I don't like having to hold back so often. Would you be interested in a Pokémon battle?"

Whitney almost instantly agreed, but Ian continued, "Just to warn you. I've seen you practicing, and while I have no doubt that you are all very talented trainers, my Pokémon ARE stronger than yours." He let his gaze sweep amongst the three of them, "I have a proposal. I'll only be using one Pokémon against one from each of you, so it'll be a 3v1. If you can win, I'll give you something as a reward."

Now even Shelly was giving Ian a weird look. And Sabrina had a sneaking suspicion that whoever this trainer was, he was seriously underselling his strength.

"Why are you doing this?" Janine suddenly asked, "If you're so strong, why challenge us?"

Ian nodded as if he expected the question, "I've recently acquired a new Pokémon that I've been really looking forward to testing its strength. Unfortunately, both due to a lack of time and suitable trainers, I haven't had much opportunity to test out its strength to my liking. But I figured that if I fought you three together, I might have a chance to finally get my Pokémon's measure."

"How about it? Does something like this interest you?" Ian asked, falling silent as he allowed Whitney to ponder the suggestion.

Whitney turned to her and Janine, a silent question on her lips. But Sabrina knew what her friend was thinking. Whitney always sought an opportunity to improve herself, and what better way was there than to challenge an experienced trainer more powerful than them.

And so, both Janine and Sabrina nodded back to her friend, who only shot them grateful smiles as she turned back to Ian.

"We accept." She told him.

The grin that Ian had was positively feral.

"Excellent."

===============

?(Whitney POV)

Whitney had a slight suspicion that this 'Ian' wasn't who he says he was. She knew she wasn't as observant as her friends, but even she could tell that he was not an ordinary trainer. Especially not with that proposal and the ferocious grin that he suddenly had on his face.

"Prepare yourself," Sabrina's voice psychically filtered into her head. "This will likely the hardest fight that we've ever fought." Whitney subtly nodded back at Sabrina as she readied her Pokéball.

"I guess I will be officiating then." Shelly shrugged and took her place in the centre of the arena. Janine and Sabrina walked over to Whitney's side of the arena as they got ready for battle.

"Shelly, could you ask the Joys to set up the psychic barrier around the arena?" Ian asked her, and Shelly nodded before dashing off to the nearby Pokémon Centre. She returned moments later accompanied by a few Psychic types and a special machine that quickly formed a protective barrier around the training field.

In the corner of her eye, Whitney saw Sabrina's eyes narrowing as the psychic shields were set up. If they thought this battle to be destructive enough, then what kind of Pokémon was Ian going to be using?

Whitney had never fought in a 3v1 before. In fact, this was likely the most unusual battle that she had ever fought in so far. But she was confident that with her friends by her side, there was no way she could lose a fight.

"Trainers! Are you ready?!" Shelly shouted out, getting nods from all the trainers.

"Miltank in front, Kadabra for support, Golbat to distract and wear them down with Poison." Sabrina mentally listed out their plan in their heads. Janine and her tapped Sabrina on the shoulder to show that they agreed.

"THREE...TWO...ONE...RELEASE!"

"Come on out!" The trio threw their Pokéballs as they released their respective starters, their pride and joy. Whitney couldn't help but grin as she waited to test her strength against whoever Ian would send out.

"MAGMORTAR! ITS YOUR TURN AT LAST!" And that grin quickly disappeared as surprise filled her face. What was that? She had never seen that Pokémon before!

"It is likely a Magmar evolution, based on the appearance and name." Sabrina's voice remained calm as she spoke to her telepathically, but even then she could tell Sabrina was a little rattled. "Definitely a Fire type, but it might share a secondary typing we don't know about."

"Take to the skies and Confuse Ray, Gol-"

"Flamethrower! BURN EVERYTHING!"

Janine tried to Confuse the opposing Magmortar, but before Golbat could even take to the skies a huge stream of searing fire suddenly split the battlefield in half, creating a trench of scorching flames that split up their Pokémon. Her Pokémon were forced to dodge out of the way, but Magmortar had just gotten started.

Never letting up for even a second, Magmortar continued spewing out flames from its cannons as it flooded the battlefield with an ocean of flames. Within seconds, the battlefield had suddenly turned into a furnace that her Miltank was trapped inside.

But that didn't mean they weren't ready to fight back.

"Light Screen, Kadabra!" "Rollout and Rock Throw, Miltank!" "Circle around and Toxic, Golbat!"

A huge screen of light shimmered into existence in front of the team, forming a protective barrier that should hopefully lessen some of the power of the Magmortar's attacks. At the same time, Miltank curled up into a ball as she began rolling and launched a huge slab of stone straight towards the Magmortar. In the meanwhile, Golbat carefully circled around and tried to fire off a glob of pure poison at the opposing Fire type.

But Magmortar didn't even have to move as it simply launched an even more intense lance of flames at both incoming attacks, its flames now turning a dangerous blue as Magmortar ramped up the heat. Both the globule of poison and the incoming Rock Throw instantly melted as they touched the blue flames.

But even as her rock shield melted into nothing, Miltank continued charging forwards, fully relying on the Light Screen to offset some of the damage.

But the Light Screen wasn't able to block as much as they'd hope, as even her Miltank, her tankiest and strongest Pokémon on her team, staggered backwards and was almost forced out of her Rollout as the searing flames blasted her body. Miltank was instantly Burned.

However, her Miltank persevered, continuing to force herself forwards as she endured through the roaring flames.

Realizing her ally was in trouble, Kadabra teleported behind Magmortar and fired a Psychic to distract it. Magmortar stumbled as the blast of Psychic energy impacted it, but before it could recover, a barrage of Air Slashes cut into it, flinching and distracting Magmotar for long enough to give Miltank just enough of a reprieve for her to close the distance.

Magmortar let out a grunt and tried to retaliate with another blast of flames towards Golbat, but then Miltank slammed into it with a powerful Rollout that transitioned into another Body Slam as Miltank grappled the Fire type. Not giving Magmortar any time to recover, Miltank roared and crashed another Hammer Arm straight to the face.

Yet before Whitney could cheer – Magmortar suddenly caught one of Miltank's arms in its own, revealing that it was far healthier than Whitney thought, before countering with a flaming punch that dug deep into Miltank's stomach.

Miltank staggered back, and Magmortar stepped forwards with one of its fists glowing white as it moved to follow up, but another blast of Psychic knocked it off course.

Then Golbat swooped in from above with a Confuse Ray, this time succeeding to dazzle Magmortar with a dizzying array of lights.

Magmortar's attack went wide as it began to stumble around confusedly, and Whitney knew this was the moment to attack.

"Rollout into it, Miltank! Pummel it!" "Thunder Wave, Kadabra! Paralyze it!" "Brave Bird, Golbat! Hit it hard!"

"IGNITE!"

However, before her team could get close, Magmortar suddenly fired off a thick cloud of gas that spewed out around it. Whitney looked curious at what Magmortar was doing before Sabrina suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs.

"EVERYONE PROTECT NOW!"

Her Miltank, having trained with and trusted Sabrina, instantly responded by forcefully stopping her charge and forming a Protect shield. The shield barely formed in time before a deafening explosion shook the arena as Magmortar detonated and ignited the cloud of gas with its flames. The weak psychic barriers were hardly able to withstand the explosion as they instantly shattered.

Whitney winced and covered her face as she felt the huge wave of force blasting her back, her ears ringing loudly from the sheer power of the explosion, and her eyes blinded as a cloud of dust was kicked up and covered the arena. She could feel the sweat dripping down the side of her head as she felt the sweltering heat of the flames.

Worse, she couldn't see what was going on with all this smoke and dust obscuring everything.

Luckily, they had Sabrina, "Our Pokémon are still up, but they're badly injured." Sabrina told her psychically, "Miltank and Golbat were closest to the blast and took the most damage. I sense that Golbat may be unable to fly and Miltank may have almost been knocked out. Kadabra was able to Teleport out in time and was mostly fine.'

As the ringing in her ears slowly faded away and she processed her friend's words, and she studiously ignored how one attack nearly brought down her Miltank, her mind settled in what she had to do next.

"SLACK OFF, MILTANK! HEAL YOURSELF!" She shouted, hoping that Miltank could hear her words.

"ROOST UP, GOLBAT! DO THE SAME!" Janine ordered the same, putting their entire defense on Kadabra's shoulders. It was not ideal, but they had no other choice.

As the cloud of dust and smoke cleared away and the psychic barriers were reformed, the grisly sight of the battle revealed itself to them.

Miltank had been painfully blasted back, her body leaving a trench in the ground as the explosion sent her flying. Her arm wobbled badly as she struggled to even pull herself up, the other arm hung limply to her side. She had one eye sealed shut and her face was bruised and twisted in pain with black soot marks covering most of her face. She had evidently taken the full brunt of the explosion, as close as she was to the initial detonation.

Golbat was barely doing any better. It flailed weakly on the ground as both its wings were limp and refused to move and small wisps of flames continued to linger on its skin. It too had been blasted backwards as it fell into a small bed of loose rocks.

Neither Pokémon were in any condition to fight.

Fortunately for them, Magmortar did not escape from its own explosion unscathed. Its once pristine arm cannons were now marked with scratches and scars, and the flames on its head and shoulders no longer burned as intensely as they once did.

Yet despite all this, Magmortar's eyes were still burning with fighting spirit as it took a step forwards, eager to continue the fight.

"Fire Blast, Magmortar! Finish them off!"

"Psychic, Kadabra! Hold it back!"

Seeing that two of its opponents were busy healing up from their injuries, one of Magmortar's arm cannons flashed as an enormous ball of white fire formed within them. Forming a vicious smile, it fired off the searing ball of pure flame straight towards Miltank – the opponent it saw as the greater threat. As it flew, the ground crackled and burnt as the orb of white flame scorched everything its proximity.

To make matters worse, the Fire Blast was accompanied by another lance of flame as Magmortar unleashed a second Flamethrower as well, intent on finishing the fight right here and now.

But Kadabra Teleported in front of Miltank and retaliated with a powerful blast of Psychic, his eyes closed as he dedicated every bit of concentration in fending off the incoming flames, but the sheer power of Magmortar's attacks forced Kadabra back.

Kadabra remained defiant as he continued to dedicate every last scrap of Psychic power he had into the holding back the attack. Kadabra's entire figure began to glow a bright blue as Psychic energy began to leak out of him as he strained his Psychic power to the limit. His singular spoon wobbling uncertainly as it was unable to withstand the sheer amount of Psychic energy being channelled through it.

I nodded, fully intending to comply. If he was going to be sending out his starter Pokémon, then I would honour him by doing the same.

"Come, Infernape!"

"Tyrant."

Both Pokémon rushed out onto the field, charging towards each other as they got ready to slam their fists into the other. However, while Infernape was the faster Pokémon, the quick realisation of the sheer power difference between our Pokémon rapidly caused it to reconsider as a glimpse of fear entered its eyes as Tyrant shot it a menacing smile.

It was a smile that promised pain and violence.

Infernape pivoted on the spot and chose instead to keep its distance and unleash a double vortex of swirling flames towards Tyrant – which looked like a combination of Fire Spin and Flamethrower together.

Infernape must have thought that it was safer at a distance. Unfortunately, distance could not protect you from Tyrant's wrath.

Seeing the attack coming, Tyrant instantly leapt into the air with an Aerial Ace, spinning through the air with a surprising degree of grace as he also fired off a sudden Thunderbolt towards Infernape.

A rapid Protect saved Infernape from the incoming bolt of lightning, but it did little to block the follow-up Hammer Arm that came violently crashing down from the sky like a smite from Arceus. To Infernape's credit, it Endured the blow and lashed out with a quick Low Kick to trip up Tyrant.

Tyrant grunted as he fell over, but not before he released a paralysing Thunder Wave that swiftly coursed through Infernape's body, slowing it down significantly. Yet Infernape pushed through the effects and smashed a powerful Drain Punch into Tyrant's face, draining his health and restoring its wounds.

And it wasn't just a single punch. Blow after blow came hammering down on Tyrant's form as Infernape unleashed what appeared to be an interesting combination of Close Combat and Drain Punch, each punch striking with incredible force that also healed up Infernape in turn.

That was until Tyrant did a kickflip off the ground, kicking Infernape hard in the chin with a powerful Mega Kick that broke through Infernape's pummelling and caused an audible SNAP as Tyrant shattered Infernape's chin while also allowing him to reposition himself.

To Infernape's credit, it recovered quickly and rushed back forwards with a Mach Punch, hoping to maintain its offensive momentum.

That plan was immediately torn apart as Tyrant cut off Infernape's Mach Punch with a Sucker Punch of his own that caught the rushing Infernape right in the stomach, completely knocking the wind out of it. Then, blue light flashed across Tyrant's eyes as he released a quick blast of Psychic that sent Infernape reeling back for a moment.

A sadistic smile flashed across Tyrant's face as he stared at Infernape's reeling form. It was only exposed for a single moment, but that was all the time that Tyrant needed.

"SLAKINGGGG!!!" Showing absolutely no mercy for his opponent, Tyrant roared out as he suddenly exploded forwards in an orange blur – ruthlessly ramming into Infernape with a terrifying Giga Impact that created a deafening BANG upon impact. The ground brutally split apart from the point of impact and shook violently from the aftershocks of the attack as if an Earthquake had been unleashed.

It was an absolutely ridiculous attack to make use of without any charging time.

The Giga Impact sent Infernape rocketing backwards like a missile, unable to even release a pained cry as its limp body was thrown backwards like an unwanted lump of meat.

And Tyrant wasn't done yet – nor was he winded at all from the Giga Impact. Recovery times were for other Pokémon.

"KING!!!" Roaring after his fallen foe, Tyrant leapt into the air and unleashed a barrage of Thunderbolts at Infernape before it had even landed on the ground, shocking the Fire type as spears of lightning came raining down on top of it – giving Infernape absolutely no opportunity to recover.

As Infernape collapsed to the floor from the crippling effects of the paralysis, Tyrant came flying out of the sky and ruthlessly and savagely slammed his massive body against Infernape with a Body Slam, while also clutching onto Infernape's head and dragged it across the ground.

Then Tyrant lifted Infernape by the head and SMASHED the Fire type head first into the ground, pounding it into the ground in a savage display of utter dominance. Each time Tyrant smashed Infernape into the ground, the ground would crack and shatter some more, until a small crater was formed using Infernape's head.

There was nothing that Infernape could do in the face of Tyrant's unrelenting and merciless pummelling. Not when it was being pummelled into the ground so hard that it could never muster up the concentration needed to make a proper counterattack.

"Enough! I lost!" Flint shouted out, quickly withdrawing Infernape from the fight.

As soon as Infernape was released from his grasp, the battlelust rapidly faded from Tyrant's eyes and he let out a proud snort, satisfied with his overwhelming victory. He even had the audacity to grin cheekily at me.

It took a moment for Flint to pull himself together from that very swift defeat. "...So...that was something." He eventually said with false levity, "Why didn't you pull this guy out against Cynthia?"

"Well I think it was because he was holding back." A sudden voice surprised the both of us, and we turned around to find Cynthia walking up to us with her hands on her waist.

I smiled as she approached, "That's right. I didn't want to show everything off in that fight, so I chose my weaker Pokémon. Though, what are you doing here, Cynthia? How did you find us?"

She shot me a look as if I was stupid, "Really? You didn't think your massive Earthquake and then casual breaking of the sound barrier wouldn't attract attention? Then you have Flint setting off huge pillars of flames everywhere. What did you think was going to happen?"

I scratched my head sheepishly, "Okay, maybe I didn't consider that."

She snorted and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I could tell. You're going to have to tidy all this up after this, you know."

I blinked, "Sure, but why just me? Flint contributed."

"And if he hadn't been tossed around by you I would agree." She shook her head, "But I think he needs a Pokémon Center more than anything else."

"Hey you know I'm still here right? Sheesh, it feels like you two are only talking to each other." Flint spoke up, drawing both of our eyes. "But Cynthia's right. I do have to visit a Pokémon Center. So thanks for doing the cleanup, John!" He grinned cheekily.

I grumbled, but kept my silence.

"Anyways, that was a humbling battle." Flint added, apparently not leaving just yet, "I really didn't think I would get defeated so easily like that." Then he shot the two of us a knowing look, "Though I shouldn't be surprised when you were fighting for Cynthia's honour."

"Oh? Is that what you were doing? Colour me surprised." Cynthia grinned, immediately catching onto Flint's insinuation, "I didn't know you cared so much."

"Haha, laugh it up." I replied dryly, "I'm not the one that just had his starter tossed around."

"Ouch!" Flint clutched playfully at his chest, before breaking out into a chuckle, "You got me there. Your starter really is something - Infernape stood no chance. And I had even trained him up to be more defensive than his counterparts."

"Don't take it too hard, Flint." Cynthia spoke up, "John just happens to be the worst opponent for you to have picked a fight with, in the same way you frequently lose to Bertha. Just like her, his fighting style crushes yours. Explosive firepower doesn't matter much when John's Pokémon can tank through it."

"And yes, John's Slaking is an absolutely ridiculous Pokémon." She added, ignoring how the two of us blinked at her succinct analysis, "Trust me, I've done the research."

"...I can see that." Flint nodded, then his smile turned playful, "Then does that mean I have a better chance when fighting against you?"

I grinned, while Cynthia burst out laughing, "You wish, Flint. I hope you train up well over the next few weeks. Because I'm not so easy to beat either." She remarked.

"You sound so sure." Flint responded.

I spoke up before Cynthia could, easily remembering the words that she had previously said to me.

"Would she be telling you this if she wasn't?"

The New Normal – 8-13 – Explorers of Time

With the battle with Flint over and with him retiring to have his Pokémon healed up, Cynthia turned back to me.

"I'm glad you seem to believe in me." She said with a cheeky smile.

"Why wouldn't I?" I shrugged, though I was also smiling. "Anyways let's talk and work at the same time. I need to clean up the fields."

So that's what we did. I had Smough and Tyrant help tidy up the field, while Cynthia continued to talk.

"Oh, by the way, John, did you know that I've been organising an expedition into the caves under Snowpoint City?" She said.

"I did NOT know that." I remarked, a little surprised, "Since when did you have time to organise it?"

"It's been something in the works for a while, even before you got here." She informed me, "But we thought that now would be a good time. Because you're here."

"Me? Why?" I asked.

"You see, this expedition is huge. We'll be bringing a group of over 50+ trainers and scientists to delve together into the caves to set up a forward base – that would allow future explorers to have an easier time to resupply and rest instead of having to travel all the way back up to the surface." She explained.

"Okay, I understand that. And I suppose you want me to come along for the extra security, right?" I said.

"Exactly." She nodded, "I've seen how your Pokémon are capable of not just fighting, but also healing and supporting others. That'll be very useful to bring along, since you'd be a huge help to buff up our security. So would you please come with us?" Her eyes seem to shine as she begged me with her eyes.

Damn. "You don't need to beg, I'd say yes anyways. A big expedition that goes far down into the caves? I'd be a fool to decline!"

She grinned, "Excellent. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some last minute preparations to sort out. I'll leave you to your cleanup." Then she left me alone as she rushed back to the labs. I just shook my head and focused back on tidying everything up.

I quickly learnt that Cynthia was really underplaying how much work was required to organise a huge expedition like this. Not only did she need to acquire the necessary manpower, but they had to do repeated checks to confirm that the safety and stability of the caves was suitable for such a large endeavour.

There were many safety checks that needed to be done.

Plus, to add on to the complexity of everything, the defense of the huge bagging training that we would be bringing along needed to be organised and planned. And the strength of the security team of trainers that would be bringing along had to be tested to make sure that we could actually defend against the inevitable onslaught of wild Pokémon that would undoubtedly be attracted and aggravated by the large group of people suddenly entering their territory.

That task was made worse by the fact that the wild Pokémon that could be found within the caves were more than a match than your average trainer, and we needed to have extra trainers on standby to set up the perimeter for the forward base when everything was set up.

Later, Cynthia mentioned to me that if it wasn't for the fact that the Celestic Town Research Centre was THE largest and most prestigious research lab in Sinnoh, they would never have been able to organize or even fund this expedition. But Cynthia adamantly believed that such an expedition would finally unlock the secrets of whatever hid within the caves below Snowpoint City.

I didn't know how she found the time to do all of this while also prepping for her not-so-secret ambitions to challenge the Elite Four, but she seemed to be no less determined nor tired whenever I saw her.

The whole 'last minute' preparations ended up taking a whole two days. I did my best to help her whenever I felt like she needed it. I obviously wasn't as familiar as her with the resources of the lab, but I was able to help with organising and testing the Ace trainers that we'd be bringing along to make sure they were up to scratch.

We couldn't afford any weak links. Not when we were about to enter into very dangerous territory.

Overall, despite how busy everything was, I was very excited for this expedition. Everyone had been chatting about how they hoped to find all sorts of rare Pokémon when we ventured deep into the caves beneath Snowpoint, and my mind flashed across to a few Pokémon I had really hoped to add to my team.

It was a slight disappointment that I hadn't managed to find any Pokémon that were particularly interested in joining my team thus far, but I was hoping that would change soon.

And so, after many hectic days of planning, the expedition force was finally ready to set off. Reporters had also been invited to join in the initial stages of the expedition to take some photos and to allow the Celestic Town Research Centre to not only show off their prestige, but also to hopefully encourage and generate interest in their readers about what they were doing.

Mostly for funding purposes.

Once again, as I followed the large expedition group into the caves, I spotted a Wigglytuff, Chatot, Loudred and Bidoof casually waving at us while munching on Apples. It was as if they were wishing us good luck as we entered into the mysterious dungeons below.

Odd, but I made sure to wave back.

As soon as I entered into the caves, I released my two Pokémon as I was asked to, Klee and Luna, both to support and to protect the weaker members of the group from the wild Pokémon. My other Pokémon were less suitable as they either lacked the wide supporting capabilities, or they were simply too large. But as we delved into the caves, I found myself assaulted by two different threats, one from wild Pokémon, and one from the overeager reporters who stubbornly insisted on getting an interview with me even as we were in dangerous territory.

It was like they had no sense of danger.

Fortunately, practically everyone told them to shut up and to ask questions later when it wasn't so dangerous, and that got them off my back for the time being. And the danger was very real, as the second that we entered into the deeper part of the caves systems, it was like we were assaulted by a constant onslaught of attacks from all sorts of wild Pokémon.

They were furious at our intrusion into their territory.

All sorts of powerful Pokémon, including many Drapion, Hippowdon, Gligar, Probopass, and many others charged and blasted against our defensive line, bombarding us with Earthquakes, Flash Cannons, Pin Missiles and the like. But we were well prepared for this, and we retaliated with overwhelming force. For every one wild Pokémon trying to attack us, we shot back with 4 or 5 of ours. In these smaller engagements, the numbers were heavily skewed in our favour, but even then, we were constantly pressured and strained as we often had to fend off attacks from unexpected angles.

It only took one stray attack to suddenly knock out an unsuspecting expedition member, especially the weaker auxiliary staff – many of whom were not Pokémon trainers. That was why Cynthia had arranged for many Psychic types to be on rotation to constantly maintain a defensive barrier around the entire group.

The most dangerous part of the expedition was when we entered into what we thought was an empty room, before an entire horde of wild Pokémon suddenly appeared and swarmed us out of nowhere. It was like a monster house!

"Life Dew! Heal up the frontline!" I ordered both of my Pokémon as the sudden swarm of Pokémon crashed and mauled a few of our Pokémon that were taken unaware.

"Aura Sphere, Lucario! Make some space!" Cynthia was also there, leading from the front as Lucario forcefully repelled the initial assault. The Aura Spheres detonated powerfully on the many rock and Dark types that tried to ambush us, forcing them back and allowing our downed Pokémon to recover and rejoin the fight.

Fighting in confined spaces like this was dangerous. Not only was the threat of friendly fire EXTREMELY likely, but we had to watch out in case we accidentally caused a cave-in from the collateral damage of our attacks. And so, while it might be common practice to use large sweeping moves to clear out a large group of Pokémon like this, we couldn't afford to do so because doing so might inadvertently collapse the roof of the cave on us.

Then, with our frontline healed up and restored, Klee and Luna switched to a more offensive role and slammed the groups of wild Pokémon with powerful Psychic and Ice Beams that reaped through their numbers, freezing and slamming swaths of wild Pokémon into the walls and forcing them out of the fight. All the while the many other Psychic types in our group moved to maintain the Light Screen and Reflect barriers.

With our Elite Pokémon thoroughly overwhelming their greater numbers, it didn't take long for the wild Pokémon to scatter once they realized that they weren't about to win the fight. We allowed them to scurry away as we quickly checked to see no one had been injured in the ambush.

Once we had gotten out of that trap, we continued on. But as we progressed, I slowly realised that the threat of the wild Pokémon was not the only thing we had to look out for. Rather, it was the treacherous terrain.

The slippery ice-covered rocks, the occasional falling stalagmite, and even the ever-present darkness. Accompanied by the biting cold, combining all these factors together was just a recipe for disaster and forced us to slow down significantly.

There were many times where we had to catch someone with our Psychic types before they slipped and fell down a large hole. The reporters were the main victims of this, since they both lacked the experience and spatial awareness to keep themselves from slipping. This was only compounded by the fact that the wild Pokémon continued to hound at us, and I personally felt that they were acting more aggressive due to sensing our vulnerability.

Eventually, and we were behind schedule because of just how many interruptions we had from either wild Pokémon or the treacherous terrain, we arrived at the area that had been scouted and marked out for the forward base.

Camps and supplies were promptly set up, with the lab equipment being prioritized due to how big and bulky they were. In the meanwhile, the rest of us formed a large perimeter around the area much like the ones we did near the entrance to the caves. Everyone worked swiftly and efficiently; the training that we did was put to use as the forward base was rapidly established.

And everything had to be set up properly. We were in very dangerous territory, with so the perimeter had to be well-defended by a range of powerful trainers and their Pokémon. Repels were scattered and sprayed liberally as an extra layer of deterrent to ward off any potential threats, while Berries were stored in a specially sealed container to not accidentally attract any wild Pokémon.

While everyone was running around, I noticed that Cynthia had taken some time to rest, sitting herself on top of a rock that her Lucario had carefully melted the ice off, and so I used that opportunity to approach her.

"You doing okay?" I asked her as I walked up.

"Tired." She replied with a sigh, "But otherwise, I'm doing fine. I didn't expect us to run into quite so many wild Pokémon though. I had expected a lot, but even then..."

"We were making quite the ruckus when we were heading down." I pointed out, "It's not surprising for us to have attracted so many wild Pokémon as a result."

"True." She nodded, "But I'm mostly just glad we got to set up this forward base in one piece. So long as this base can hold, I'd already consider this expedition a success."

"I'm still surprised you had the time and energy to organize all this." I continued while looking around, casually watching as everyone ran around to set up the base, "I thought you might not have the time for it, considering..."

"Just because new considerations have popped up in my schedule doesn't mean I can simply ignore my previous commitments." She stated, "This expedition has been in the works for some time. Yes, my personal ambitions are important too, but I had a duty to fulfil as a member of the Celestic Town Research Centre."

I smiled despite myself, "Very admirable."

"Thank you. Oh, and I think you ought to know that my preparations to become Champion are currently being made." She told me, her voice lowering slightly so no one could overhear her.

I nodded, "How's that going?"

"Less than I hoped, more than I feared." She explained, "I did research on how the other Champions from Hoenn and Indigo came into power. While I don't have the unshakable foundation and backing that Lance did with the Blackthorns, nor the sheer charisma and on-stage popularity of Wallace, I have made some connections with a few of the movers and shakers of Sinnoh - thanks to a few introductions from Lucian. But not as many as I hoped."

"But Sinnoh desperately NEEDS a Champion, and I at least have the backing of the Elite Four, as you could probably tell." She continued, her eyes narrowing with determination as her voice filled with resolve. "If I calculated this correctly, then that should be enough to ensure a smooth transition, so long as I give off a sufficiently eye-opening and unquestionable display of strength."

The determination in her voice once again sent something through me. And having felt this feeling so many times, I was starting to realise what that was.

But I tried to push those thoughts aside for now.

"...Then it's all down to your performance against the Elite Four." I pointed out.

She nodded. "We'll all be fighting at our strongest to demonstrate my strength to the public. There won't be any sandbagging – the public will know the difference. And, truthfully, most of my support is dependent on my own personal strength as a trainer. They wouldn't have supported me otherwise."

"Honestly, I'm surprised there weren't other contenders for the position." I pondered curiously, "I would have thought the title of Champion would have been very alluring."

"Strong trainers don't just grow on trees." She chuckled, "And the other two Sinnoh Conference winners...they aren't at the level of strength needed to become Champion. Far from it, in fact. Usually, that means that the Committee ought to pick who the next Champion should be, but they're in no position to do that at the moment with all the chaos and deadlock that they're in. So, by luck or chance, I found myself to be the first real contender for the position in some time."

"I see. That sounds like a pretty fortunate coincidence then." I commented.

"It was, so I'm not going to let this opportunity go to waste." She agreed, "I've already pushed this back as much as I could to shore up my political standing, but after this expedition is over, I'll be making my official challenge."

She ran her fingers through her hair and flicked it back as she spoke, and my eyes unconsciously followed her movements.

"All hail the new future Champion." I chuckled, trying to play off my staring.

Cynthia looked at me for a moment before laughing, "Yes, I hope so as well. But I'm not na?ve enough to think that simply being Champion is the end goal. I am aware of the numerous responsibilities that are piled on a Champion, especially with Sinnoh in the state that it's in, but I WILL manage those responsibilities. The public will expect nothing less."

That last sentence was why I believed she'd be a great Champion, "I'm sure you'll do an excellent job." Was all I said.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"It's a shame I probably won't be there to see it, since I'll likely be sent back after spending so much time here." I said with a bitter smile. I knew it was only a matter of time before I was sent home.

Cynthia stared at me for a moment. An unknowable look passed through her eyes, and we ended up staring into each other for a moment.

It took her a moment before she spoke up again, "...Yes, that is quite a shame." She said slowly, "Actually, now isn't the right time for this, but would you like to speak later? I have something I want to talk to you about. It's important."

There was something in her voice that caused a shiver to run up my spine. Or was that from the look that she was giving me? I didn't know if I was overthinking it or not, but I thought that her expression was a mix of both determination and something else.

My heart beat in my chest, and I responded a second slower than I normally would. "...Of course. I think I have something to get off my chest as well." I replied, shooting her a slight smile.

Was it because I was being sent home soon; that my time in Sinnoh was running out? Or was it because I had stopped trying to blind myself to what I knew I was feeling deep down.

But either way, there was no denying it now. The truth was laid bear with how I recognised that I could never seem to peel my eyes away from Cynthia, and how her determination never failed to spark something within me.

The truth was...I liked Cynthia.

Though I was taken in by her looks when I first met her, as most people would have been, her looks had little to do for why I had become attracted to her. She was far more than her appearance may imply.

Her unyielding determination and passion was what drew me to her. Seeing her drive herself forwards, pushing to claim what she wanted, that was what I was entranced by. Her force-of-will and personality was magnetic, and I found myself wanting to see more of it.

Out of all the incredible individuals I have met during my time as an Elite Four, Cynthia still stood out proudly amongst them all. In my eyes, I saw her to be a person of both strength and intellect, who would use her hard-work and unwavering spirit to pave the way for Sinnoh's rebirth into a stable and prosperous region.

I was absolutely sure of it.

I was blessed enough to consider her a friend. One that I hoped that I could maintain for the years to come. But now I was starting to hope for more than that.

My fists clenched behind my back.

Cynthia nodded, unaware of my thoughts, "Well enough of that. We have an expedition to finish, don't we? I think we both have rested enough."

I shook off my thoughts and agreed, and the both of us started helping out the other expedition members with setting up. She resumed her duties as the leader of the expedition, while I checked on the perimeter crew to make sure there wasn't any risk of wild Pokémon breaking in.

Overall, despite my limited experience with setting up a defensive perimeter, I was satisfied with what I saw. There was a small army of Pokémon constantly on rotation to defend the forward base, with each Pokémon at least at the level that I would expect to see from Conference finalists. It must have been very expensive to have so many capable trainers on demand to be used as a perimeter guard like this, but when you were the largest and most prestigious research centre in all of Sinnoh, I suppose that you could have access to such resources.

It didn't take long for the forward base to be built up enough for it to be deemed safe, which was done under careful supervision. Once the base was sufficiently set up, a small group of more experienced explorers, myself, and Cynthia broke off to head further into the unexplored caves, hoping to find something cool or an important piece of history.

And so, after a quick rest, we set off, heading deeper into the increasingly freezing caves below. Fortunately, we had brought Fire types specifically to ward off the cold, but in turn that increased the number of wild Pokémon attacks against us as the sudden warmth attracted many hostile visitors.

This time, the reporters weren't going to be following after us. With them, wisely, deciding that they weren't about to subject themselves to THIS level of danger. So they stayed at the forward base, hanging around for some pictures and interviews. Therefore, since we didn't need to escort them or any additional equipment, we could actually move much faster than before, even despite the increasingly treacherous terrain and conditions that we found ourselves in.

It was immediately clear to me why it was so important to set up a forward base. This far down, it was practically a treasure trove of new and unexplored ruins, filled to the brim with undocumented history and rare Pokémon. In fact, the 'rare' Pokémon might as well be considered as common considering how often they showed up.

Yanmega, Mamoswine, and even a few Lickylicky could easily be found just stomping around in the caves, which would all be considered very rare Pokémon above ground. We even saw a group of Garchomp fighting over territory, all of them very strong and battle-scarred. We made sure to avoid them.

The explorers had enough discipline to not stop and gawp at each and every ruin that we walked past, even though I knew that every scientific bone in their body itched for them to do so. But we had a different priority; to go deeper than we ever could before. To explore every unknown crevice within these freezing caves.

After who knows how long of careful exploration, though it was probably just under half a day as we were slowed down by the occasional breaks that we had to take to stave off the increasing tiredness and exhaustion, we stumbled onto a huge open area, filled to the brim with nothing else but wild Pokémon. There were no ruins here, just inches and inches of freezing cold rock that encased the entire zone.

And the startled gasp of one of the scientists drew our attention. We followed to where he was pointing at, and all of us gasped in shock.

I was probably the only one that could fully comprehend what we were seeing.

Right in front of just, slightly in the distance, was a Kleavor minding its own business. But that wasn't all. A Sneasler was battling a Mamoswine, its poisonous fists slamming repeatedly into the Mamoswine, who tried and failed to run it through with its large and menacing tusks.

It took all of their collective discipline and survival instinct for them to not immediately rush forwards to inspect all these new Pokémon. And that quickly proved to be the correct decision, as Cynthia's Lucario suddenly growled as it turned to face the nearby wall.

Cynthia and I turned to look at the wall, and Klee and Luna both stiffened slightly as they suddenly threw themselves in front of me. Barely a moment later, the wall began to shimmer as a recognizable form suddenly appeared in front of us, its Illusion fading from sight.

And with a ferocious and vengeful howl, the Hisuian Zoroark's eyes glistened maddeningly towards us, its razor sharp claws shining menacingly from the light reflecting off the ice. At the same time, its howl alerted all of the wild Pokémon within the cave, all of whom suddenly turned to us and glared at the sudden intruders that had entered into their territory.

Almost as if they had planned it beforehand, the wild Pokémon roared out and charged at us, forming a deadly stampede that looked to barrel straight through us. With the Hisuian Zoroark leading the charge as it leapt straight towards one of the explorers who was unlucky enough to be the closest to it.

My hands instinctively went to the Premier Balls on my belt. We were going to have to fight our way out of this one.