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Chp 31: Sunyshore

"Alright. Sunyshore, here we come." Seth announced.

"I could fly us there." Reginald suggested.

"No, you need rest."

"I notice you allow your pokemon to roam free. I would prefer to stay in my ball until I am needed." Reginald told him.

"You sure? I don't mind."

"Yes."

Seth shrugged and took out a spare ball, a luxury ball, and tapped it onto his forehead. The bird dragon was pulled inside and the ball clicked, confirming a capture. "Let's hit it. Unless there's no boat, we should be able to take on the gym today." Seth strapped up his pack and did a last-minute check before they left the room.

A short time later they arrived at the docks. Thankfully, the wooden platforms were clear of snow and ice. A handful of boats were there, most with signs indicating their destination. Seth went for the only one that said Sunyshore, and stepped on board.

"How much is fare?" He asked the captain.

"Free. I get payed plenty by the league." She said, leaning over the wheel. "We set off in... eight minutes." She said after checking her watch.

"Great." Seth said as he took a seat. The boat wasn't a personal sized one, but it wasn't a ferry either. It could hold ten people easily, maybe at most fifteen. There was one other person there, a female trainer. Soul laid down on the deck right next to him. She probably would have struck up a conversation, but she knew it was weird for humans to have conversations with their non-speaking companions. Not that she cared, but he would refuse to talk with her.

It was a boring, almost two-hour long, ride. The weather grew rapidly warmer as they got further from Snowpoint, then remained at a constant temperature for the rest of the trip. It felt almost wrong to be back in the regular Sinnoh climate.

Eventually, after nothing but forest, they starting closing in on the rocky coastline of eastern Sinnoh. They passed by the island that held the elite four as well, the gigantic building of the League Headquarters serving as an imposing reminder of the ultimate destination.

Seth recognized the city from the research he had done. It was big, a port city, with the lighthouse easily visible. The city itself looked high tech, with solar panels all over the place. The bridges, the buildings, the streets, everything was designed to draw power from nature. Truthfully, it was not any more technological than the rest of the region, the city just used a different form of energy. The boat went through some canals before coming to dock. The city was built into a series of rock faces, stretching out over the sea.

"Hah!" Seth groaned as he stretched his arms and legs. Soul did the same as they stepped onto dry land. "Let's hit that gym." He led the way up the stairs to the main 'floor ' of the city. The lower level, at sea level, was mostly for sea commerce, with docks and warehouses, while the upper level was for homes and regular shops. Seth followed the signs, until they came to the gym. Strangely, it was much smaller than the others.

"This is the last gym? It's... humble..." Seth muttered. Most gyms were town centers, with meeting areas, training areas, pokemon stuff, and then the gym leader. This one looked like a small dome. They stepped inside.

True to Seth's assumption, they entered right into the arena. There wasn't even a reception area. Across the room, there was a man, sitting in a sparkling throne. And he was asleep, obvious from his posture, head slumped over and resting on a propped fist. The arena was round shaped, like the building, with a series of gears surrounding a large one in the center. There was a loud buzzer as Seth stepped forward.

The man, whom Seth recognized as Volkner, opened his eyes. He looked up, brushing aside a stray lock of blond hair. "A challenger?" He smiled and stood. "Wonderful." He cracked his knuckles, before tossing out a ball. It cracked open to release an alolan variant raichu. It hopped up, and began to float on its tail.

"Right to it? Alright, Soul, go! One on one?" Seth asked.

"No." Volkner shook his head before giving Seth a smug look. "One is all I need to beat your entire team."

"Oh fuck off!" Soul barked. "Let's show this chump!" She charged forward, winding up for a powerful leaping swing of her horn. Sparks began to flow between the raichu's tail and the metal gear, which began to turn. The turning, along with the raichu floating away, caused Soul to miss, carving a large scar of darkness in the air. It was instantly torn apart by a large lightning bolt blasting right through it. The electricity crashed right into her face, her white fur jumping to attention. "Shit..." She coughed, before falling over.

"Soul?!" Seth called, his eyes going wide. "Fuck me..." Volkner only had one... If he could wear it down... He reached down and took Soul's ball to recall her, then threw his next ball. But when another fluffy white form appeared he was confused. "Reginald? Can you fight?" He had put the balls on his belt in the wrong order.

"Of course master." He took a few small steps forward, before spreading his large wings. The raichu's paws glowed and a bunch of glowing masses appeared around Reginald, before crashing into him. Reginald cried out, before falling forward.

Seth grimaced and recalled him. Sky was smart. Maybe she could find a weakness.

She materialized on the field, looking around in confusion for a moment, before realizing what was happening. Her body began to glow, as did the raichu. The air between them seemed to quiver. Sky suddenly exploded with energy and fell onto her side, out cold.

Seth was dumbfounded. They had been training so hard. How were they getting destroyed like this? He did a quick rundown of all his forms. A dark and ground type would be perfect, but he didn't have a form like that. Lucario? The speed was just what he needed, but the fighting type would be a problem. Lopunny? That would be just as fast, but he wouldn't have the raw power. Absol? That was already proven to fail.

"You done?" Volkner asked, sounding amused. He put his hands into the pockets of his baggy pants.

"I'm gonna need you to edit this out."

Volkner raised an eyebrow curiously.

Seth tensed his body and was enveloped in a white light. He leaped forward into the arena as a lucario.

"Now that's a nice trick." Volkner clapped once. Then he swung one arm out and pointed at Seth. "Finish it."

Seth clasped his paws together and focused. Inside them, he formed dark energy, before tossing it forward. The wave of darkness flew forward, but the raichu just flew straight up into the air, far above his attack. From its tail, a large bolt of lightning shot down and into the dark pulse, causing it to break apart. The electricity also caused the gear to start turning rapidly, causing Seth to lose his balance. He recovered just in time to look up, where the raichu was floating. Its body was covered in violent sparks, that coalesced into a massive thunderbolt. It shot down, completely covering Seth's body. He grunted in pain. It didn't hurt too much, more like a pulled muscle all over his body. His legs gave out, causing him to fall forward onto his knees. The illusion around his body wavered and vanished, leaving him as his zoroark form. He tried to get back up, but his vision was fading rapidly.

+++

Seth groaned as feeling returned to his body.

"Come on, get up." A voice said. "You're holding up the line."

Seth looked over. Beyond his muzzle, he could see Volkner, holding a potion bottle.

"There you go." Volkner offered a hand. Seth took it, mindful of his long red claws. Volkner pulled him up, wrapping an arm around his shoulder to make sure he could stand.

"I'm okay." Seth croaked. His throat was dry, and he ached all over, but he could move. His body glowed as he turned human again. Volkner's arm slipped a bit as his form rapidly changed.

"Come back any time." Volkner said, letting go.

"How are you so strong?"

Volkner smiled. "I have a dream."

+++

"That guy is so fucking cool!" Soul exclaimed. "I mean, don't get me wrong, he's a smug asshole, but he has the power to back it up."

"Yeah, and we have to beat him to move on." Seth said with a sigh. They were in their room at the pokemon center, after having recovered. The girls and Reginald had gone through the healing machine, but Seth hadn't, leaving him sore and tired. Reginald was still in his ball.

Sky rubbed her head against his side. "We just all have to get stronger. You've been training hard, but we haven't been doing much but battling the gym leaders. Really, we've been needed a good lesson in humility."

"No, screw that. I can beat that stupid rat. It just caught me off guard." Soul said.

"Sure you can." Seth said. "But just as much, I think we should take a practice break, all of us. That'll give Reginald time to heal, then we can have four fighters."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Soul said as she rolled onto her side. She lazily reached forward and turned on the TV.

"And she's due to show up at any time." The voice on the TV said. "We've got all the other big names here. Fantina and her Loony, Wallace and- Oh, and there she is! Star has entered the building!" The man seemed like he was about to pass out from excitement while the camera zoomed in on the stage below, where Star was walking out. "We are live here in Sunyshore city, where the international contest championship is about to begin!"

"Oh, wow." Sky said. "What are the odds? Uh, can we go watch in person?"

"Sure. Just let me find some painkillers or something first." Seth rolled over and began to dig through his bag.

+++

They arrived at the contest hall. It was massive, bigger than even the one in Hearthome. "I remember when they decided to build this place. There was whole big thing where they built international contest halls, and a new circuit just for them, in all the big regions. That was like... two, three years ago." Seth explained as they waited in line.

"I just hope we can get a seat." Sky said worriedly. She leaned to the side and looked further ahead.

It took a while, but they did make it inside. Seth wasn't too happy because of the hit his wallet took to get a ticket, but they got a spot in the gigantic crowd. The seats were quite bad, being super high up and far away from the actual stage, but there was a large screen showing the action. Like other big seating areas, there were sections for pokemon to sit. Soul and Sky were in the square, while Seth had managed to snag a seat right next to them. They had missed the first performance, and Fantina was up next. There was another guy, Wallace, a girl, Elesa, and a few other's that Seth hadn't caught the name of. It was an eight-person match, and Star was likely going last.

Fantina gave a good performance, culminating in a giant ball of shadows that exploded into a shower of sparkling red scary faces. Wallace, who was a previous gym leader and champion, was partnered with a milotic. He and his pokemon manipulated water for dazzling display of sparkling rainbows. Elesa, an electric type gym leader from Unova, and a popular model, rode to center stage on her zebstrika. Her performance used her as the central icon, with electrical art flashing through the air above her.

These people were certainly the best of the best. There were others on the stage, who all performed amazingly, and a halftime show of some girl with an army of trained acrobatic linoone. And then finally, Star took the stage, to an uproar of applause. She took out a ball and tossed it forward. It burst in an explosion shimmering glitter. Seth expected the latias had just moved to where she was now, and the human left behind was just an image.

"Hello everyone!" She called out in pokemon, while her human illusion spoke the same in english. Both forms scanned the crowd for a moment, no doubt seeing tons of signs declaring their adoration for her, then she went into her performance. She let out a cry and flew forward, pitching into the air. As she flew, a shimmering trail was left behind. About a second after her passing, it split open, revealing different vistas. One was a desert, a forest, a field, a snow-capped mountain, they all blended into one another and were moving, like the images were on a track. As she flew further, making a path all around the stage, the beginning of the images changed into stars and vibrant clouds of space dust. That went through the entire track until it was all space. Star came to a stop in the middle of all the streaks. Everything came to a stop for a moment, before she raised her head and howled again. The images flew out, into the audience, creating almost a planetarium looking effect. Star flew back to the ground, where her human illusion waited. The fake Star mounted the real one, who flew back up. "Fly me to the moon," Star began to sing.

+++

"That was amazing!" Sky said. "Can we go try and see her?"

"Sure." Seth said. "If she isn't being trampled." He looked around. They were still in the building, stuck in the crowd all trying to leave at once. They diverted off, going towards the rear areas. Most of the private dressing rooms had lines, but Star's had the biggest.

"Name?" A guard asked as Seth stepped into line. Seth provided it and was added to the list. A little while later, the guy came back. "You've been allowed in." There were many whines and complaints as Seth was guided past the line and inside.

"Seth!" Star called out when she saw him. Her human shape came forward and hugged him tightly. It felt very real, even though Seth knew better. He looked over to the side to see the latias herself. "I could have sworn I sensed somebody familiar." The door shut, and her human form wavered and vanished.

"I still can't believe I know you..." Seth said.

"That was awesome." Soul said. "Almost makes me wish I was a psychic type."

"Thanks. I try to do my best." Star blushed lightly.

"Star." Sky said. "I need a favor."

"Sure, what is it?" Star asked, floating over and down to Sky's eye level.

Sky took a deep breath. "You're the strongest psychic type I know. Way stronger than us. Will you please train me?!" Sky blurted out. "Please." She begged, lowering her head.

"Sky... are you sure? I'm not exactly a combat expert." Star said. "If I did, you'd have to come with me. I'm due in Johto next. So you'd have to leave for a while."

"I'm sure. If I can control my powers like you, we can beat the elite four."

"Sky?" Seth asked.

"I think this is the best option. I've come up with new moves, and I can even mega evolve, but it's not enough. If I train with a legendary..."

Seth let out a deep sigh. "Alright. Just... be safe."

"I'll keep her nice and close. And maybe you'll have a famous pokemon by the time she comes back." Star floated around and went over to a desk, taking a pen in a paw. She returned and handed Seth a sheet of paper. "Here's my number. Call anytime."

Seth took a knee and kissed Sky on the forehead and gave her a hug. "I'll miss you." He said.

"One week. That should be enough hard training." Sky said.

"I can do that. I'll bring her back here in one week." Star said.

Seth took her ball out and handed it to Star. His hand was shaking as he passed it to her.

"Okay, get set to go. We've got a boat to catch."

"Boat?" Sky asked, going wide eyed.

+++

"Well, I guess it's just me and you." Seth said.

"Mmhmm." Soul muttered. They were back in their room, one member short. "Actually." She rolled over and stood up, looking to the open space between the bed and the window. "HEY! MEWTWO! Comere you fat skank!" She shouted.

"What are you doing?" Seth asked.

Soul turned around, with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. She whipped her paw up, a night slash carving up the bed and tearing the sheets. It streaked right past Seth, leaving a cut in the headboard.

"What-!" Seth was cut short as Soul pounced on him, pressing her horn against his throat. He could feel the sharpness.

"What is going on?" Mewtwo asked as she appeared in a flash of purple energy.

"Hah, I knew you'd pop up." Soul said. She let go of Seth and walked over to the much taller pokemon. "I don't care what you're doing, but I wanna come with."

"Why would I allow that? I am busy." Mewtwo said.

"If you don't, I'll kill Seth, then you don't get what you want." Seth knew she was joking but she sounded very serious.

"You wouldn't." Mewtwo said.

"You don't know that. I'm a fucking mystery, a rouge element. I can do whatever I want!"

Mewtwo glared at her.

"And if you help me get stronger, I can protect this dummy better." She motioned towards Seth, who was still sitting stunned on the bed.

Mewtwo closed her eyes and thought for several seconds. "Very well. However, you will do whatever I ask, and open yourself to me."

"Sounds kinky. I'm in." Soul said with a smile, walking over to her. "See you in a week."

"That is not what I meant." Mewtwo explained. She touched Soul with a paw, and they both vanished in another flash of energy, leaving Seth all alone.

He just sat there for a minute, staring at the empty spot where they had been. He was all alone. This had happened before, but this time it was self-inflicted. There was nothing to fight against, he could do nothing to reunite with them besides wait. He was going to make this one count. He'd train so hard that they'd never have to stop and get stronger.

+++

Seth groaned and rolled over again. He was having the hardest time falling asleep. He couldn't think of the last time he slept alone. Then he had an idea. He got up, flipping on the bedside lamp to dig through his bag. He successfully pulled out a pokeball and released Reginald onto the bed next to him.

The bird let out a quiet chirp and looked around. "How can I help?"

"Sleep right there." Seth told him.

"I'd rather not..." Reginald said.

"It's an order."

Reginald accepted that, curling his head down to rest on one of his wings. After he turned the lights out, Seth reached over and lazily stroked over his white fluff.