1:12 P.M. June 14, Monday, 106 PH (Post Hoopa Event)

Events: The start of the 2nd week in the Joint Kanto and Johto Indigo Summer League Preliminaries. 1st of the 2 Days of Rest after the previous week’s battles.

Hannah held her breath, stomach squirming as the world instantly changed; she went from hanging over empty air to standing on grass and earth. Her balance was the same, but the shock caused her to stumble back a little, and Limru, her Ledyba, hunkered closer to the ground.

Don’t fall! Don’t fall!

The thought of embarrassing herself in front of her new idol was gut-wrenching, but she seemed preoccupied with other things.

Amber was a little disoriented by the sudden shift, but the light gray Fennekin swiftly regained her balance. The fox scanned for danger, and Hannah followed her gaze, regaining her bearings.

They were in what appeared to be an ancient forest; she had no doubt many of the Pokemon nearby had never seen human life. Moss and vines grew on the thick trunks, reaching far overhead. The thick canopy only allowed sheens of light to illuminate the area they’d been transported to.

It was a bit magical, and the rich scent of the air made Hannah fill her lungs to relish the sensation it produced. The chirping of various Pokemon filled her ears, likely spreading the word of their arrival out of shimmering rainbow lights.

Odd berries she’d never seen before and vivid flowers grew throughout the space; the high branches gave her a decent view of their surroundings, but the dense shrubs provided enough cover for most Pokemon to hide. She saw the cute black floof of a foxtail vanish inside a bush, not far away, and dozens of others were taking cover, but the only Pokemon she recognized was Caterpie.

Hannah spun in a slow circle, neck craning back to take in the scope of Viridian Forest; it was enormous. Pallet Forest had some big trees, but those were in some of the more remote areas she’d backpacked to with her dad a few years ago before he’d gotten too busy and on Night Watch, but even those were nothing like these ninety-meter giants.

On the other hand, Amira was a teleporting veteran because she simply unfolded her arms, unhooked her phone from its magnetic clip like it was any other day, and examined their surroundings; no big deal.

Amber and Limru were already on the grind, talking with a few Pokemon she didn’t recognize in a nearby tree.

“Hmm, we’re probably on the lower end of a mountain by Mt. Silver. Let’s see,” she brought up a holographic image of their area; it took a moment to calibrate their exact location. “Yup … wait, hold-up…”

Hannah cleared her throat, adjusting her backpack and purple sunglasses while scooting over to see what caught Amira’s attention. “What’s up?”

Amira played with the device, zooming out and in on a few arrows. “... My mom put us pretty far apart. Rhea’s to the northwest of us and Mallory’s to the south.”

Right … our map syncs to our teammates … helps us find each other if we get separated. Sam should be with Rhea, but Jade’s with those other girls. Where are they?

Pulling out her own phone, it took much longer to find a good enough signal to get the proper data; she kept glancing over at Amira as she played with her holographic map, getting an idea about their surroundings. She couldn’t help but wonder what network Amira was on, but it was only a passing thought since it had to be RT&T, Rocket’s network.

“Uh … yeah, I see Sam further up on … is that a big hill they’re on?”

“Mhm…” Amira replied, looking up to scan the Pokemon around them for a moment before returning to her far more detailed map. The phone was beyond cutting-edge; Hannah hadn’t seen anything about it, which made her feel a little embarrassed with her three-year out of date model, and it was even Silph, not Rocket.

“That’s the biggest hill I’ve ever seen, judging by the picture,” she mumbled; of course, she hadn’t been outside of the Pallet area since she was a girl. “... Jade’s actually a bit north of us.”

Hannah paused. Amira was being as quiet as she was back at the Pokespring, causing her mind to wander; she didn’t want to be annoying or ask too many questions. What was the right way to start a conversation?

She refrained from biting her lip, feeling it somewhat dry already, but one thought popped up more than any other … her health. When she’d bonded with Limru, to say she was a wreck would be an understatement; she’d gone into full-on panic breakdown mode. Rhea had seen her like that, and it was embarrassing enough, but she couldn’t imagine letting Amira see her so weak.

“So, uh … are we really going to catch our second Pokemon here?” Hannah asked, glancing at the minimized Great Ball in her left hand. “Do you think … can I handle it?”

Amira’s red eyes were barely visible behind her tinted sunglasses, and her tone was fairly neutral. “If my mom gave you a pokeball, then probably.” Flipping around her backpack, she took out a pack of gum, offering her a piece. “Want some?”

“Yeah, sure,” Hannah forced a smile while taking the offered item and popping it into her mouth … spearmint flavor. It had a strange familiarity as if she’d had something like it recently. She pocketed the wrapper, pondering the answer.

Her mom would probably be one of the best authorities on the topic … she’s Mukin’ Champion-tier. Although … what if I could technically handle it, but still get sick. No, but wait, Rhea said it had to do with our immune system; so, as long as I don’t go to a place with a bunch of people real soon, then I should be good. Right? It sounds like it should work that way. Okay, maybe it won’t be so bad!

She was starting to feel a bit better now that it was just the two of them and they weren’t around her superstar mother. “Hmm … I’ve never seen some of these Pokemon before. Your mom wasn’t kidding; there must be all sorts of various regional Pokemon around this place.”

She followed Amira’s finger as she pointed out a few, showing the difference in their education; Hannah doubted she was trying to sound smart, though. “That’s a Yungoos, a Budew, Blipbug, Grubbin, and oh … a Nickit just went into that bush,” she mumbled, lowering herself to the ground a little to peer into the shrubbery. “That might be a good addition to one of our teams’”

“The fox? It was kind of cute,” Hannah grinned, catching Limru following Amber around as they talked with the Caterpie. “What do you think we should do?”

Amira set her bag down, sitting on her side while smoothing out her skirt. She gestured for her to do the same. “Probably let Amber and … your Ledyba’s name is Limru, right?”

Hannah’s stomach squirmed with delight. She remembered!

“Mhm.”

“Yeah, we should let them scout out the area and figure things out. Amber seems to think this is a pretty safe spot.”

Hannah quickly questioned Limru, and she gave her the same response, apparently busy talking with the Caterpie. She seemed to be enjoying her time with Amber, but Hannah was still finding it difficult to interpret Ledyba’s emotions into thoughts. Her gaze returned to Amira; she was wearing a soft smile while watching Amber.

I bet she can understand Amber without even trying … why is it so hard for me? Everything’s so hard … I just want to be confident.

The vibration from her phone brought her attention to a notification; it was from the group-chat she’d joined after being taken advantage of by Coral Kaylera, the journalist, and her mind returned to that horrifying incident. She still felt like such a fool and the embarrassment came back.

Scratching above her left ear, Hannah’s eyebrows drew together with concern. “Umm … Amira.”

The red-eyed girl turned her head to face her. “Yes?”

“Uh … is Rhea really not mad at us … you know, for talking about her?”

Amira took a deep breath, full lips dropping. “No, Rhea’s not mad; honestly, I’d bet money she’s forgotten about the whole thing. It’s not like she can blame you three if she looked into that woman. I don’t; you were just her latest victims.”

Hannah pulled around her braided hair, fiddling with the tip. “I mean, she was really friendly, and I never would have thought she was trying to use us. We get so many tourists in Pallet that random people asking you stuff isn’t that uncommon.

“Thinking back, though … there were a few things that should have raised a red flag for me sooner. I just felt … I don’t know. It’s like I let Rhea down. The whole boyfriend thing was adding insult to injury…”

Amira responded by pulling up her phone, sending her an article without explanation. Hannah accepted the transfer and frowned at the title as it popped-up. “... Coral Kaylera’s charges dropped from lack of evidence. Huh … what charges?”

Amira put her phone back on its magnetic strip, staring at Amber and Limru; they were speaking to the cute Nickit that just crept out of the bushes. “Have you heard of Naive Mint?”

“No?” Hannah mumbled. She didn’t like the name on instinct.

“Naive Mint is a naturally growing substance that originated in Galar but is easy enough to import; in fact, it often is through Viridian shipments. If given to a Pokemon to smell, it can very temporarily change its Nature. If given as a herbal tea, it can cause the effect to last longer.”

“Okay?” Hannah whispered, shifting to a more comfortable position on the grass. “I’m following you.”

“Now … what if it were given to a human?” Hannah was repeating it in her head as Amira answered the rhetorical question. “It will cloud their mind and generally make them more gullible. And there you have it; it wasn’t really your fault.”

The dots connected in Hannah’s head; it was like a hot iron pressed against her chest. “You mean she … she drugged us? Then … no wonder we felt so strange. That’s … that’s illegal!”

Amira shrugged. “It’s not easily traceable through drug screening, and only lasts several minutes in small doses, which is why she hasn’t been prosecuted yet; I mean, she mainly operates in Viridian, and the Police there don’t mess around.

“I heard down the grapevine she was a pretty scummy journalist, so I committed her face to memory, and she knows it, which was probably why she didn’t approach us.”

Her cheeks turned in a somewhat sour expression. “I only started looking into her when she came out with that article the other day; we’ll probably run into her again, but she won’t use the same tactic. She’s careful, and buying Naive Mint to participate in battles is well within her rights. If she ever was caught, then yes, she’d have some heavy crimes brought against her. In the end, you just need to be more careful with what you accept from people.”

She pointed down at the gum pack in front of her with a forced smile. “I’m just saying…”

A shiver ran down Hannah’s spine, the wad of gum stuck against the side of her cheek. No-ho-ho … I look like an idiot again!

“Thanks…” Hannah mumbled, face turning a bit red. “Umm … yeah, I’ll try to think more … I just never had to consider that kind of stuff before.”

“No, no,” Amira chuckled, scooting her glasses up a bit further onto her nose, “I’m not trying to make you feel bad. Honestly, it sucks thinking everyone’s looking to get something from you all the time. I’ve kind of … well, envied normal girls.”

She sighed, focus shifting to the forest again. “Don’t get me wrong … no, nevermind.”

Hannah gripped her left arm, extrapolating what Amira had said; she had no doubt that those words weren’t something she shared with just anyone. It made her happy and sad at the same time. She couldn’t imagine what it was like with one half of her family being universally infamous while the other was revered, and she was stuck in the middle.

Not wanting to make the exchange any more awkward than it had already become, Hannah returned to the previous topic. “So, yeah … she drugged us. That’s so slimy … so that waiter was in on it, too … wow, Muk. Her embarrassing us was to make us not question why we felt so strange…

“She said she never even got past the fourth Bronze-tier Gym; so, how can she buy specialized Trainer Battle Items? Does she do low-tier Bronze battles often to qualify? Hey, maybe we can get our revenge on her!”

Amira lifted an eyebrow, focus returning to her. “Eh … she’s Gold-tier; if she said she was Bronze, it was a lie.”

Hannah’s fingers closed into a fist in her lap, teeth clamping down on each other; she’d hoped they could just come up with an official battle condition and bait her into agreeing. “You’re kidding … we can’t even challenge her to make her go away in a bet? How … what can we do?” The anger slowly fizzled out. “Is there anything we can do to stop her in the future?”

“Of course,” Amira smiled at her. “Look, you three got taken advantage of by a horrible journalist that gets her money off click-bait, blackmail, and drugging her victims. Learn from the experience and be more careful. If anything, I should have warned you about the possibility at the spa and that the paparazzi is targeting us, and thereby, you three.”

Amira brushed her extremely thick triple-braided red hair behind her while standing and straightening her triple-tiered skirt. “Anyway, that’s in the past. For now, we need to find some strong Pokemon that want to join us; who knows, maybe in time you’ll be able to get your revenge against her.”

A new goal lit in Hannah’s breast. “You know what, you’re right! If we try hard enough, we can make it to Gold-tier and beat her.”

“Don’t stop there,” Amira chuckled, pointing at her Pokemon. “First, we need to get you a good team. Amber’s got a lead. Ready to go?”

Warm fuzzies swarmed Hannah’s heart; Amira was the best! If there wasn’t a fan club started for her, she’d start one tonight; of course, she had to use an alias because it would be too embarrassing if Amira discovered she was the leader.

They followed behind their Pokemon as the Caterpie led the way. The little insects seemed to be somewhat angry, or they appeared that way to Hannah.

* * *

Amber released a low hum as they entered a very large forest; the trees were so tall that it hurt her neck to try and look high enough to see where they ended. Pokemon could be heard chatting across the area and many were easily spotted, but this was something like the other wild areas they’d been; it was too peaceful.

Pokemon were laughing, talking with one another about recent events, and playing games; that all slowly changed when they appeared, word spreading about their invasion.

“Humans?”

“Tell Butterfree!”

“Are they here to take Butterfree?”

“No! They can’t!”

She sighed, walked up to a nearby tree where a few Caterpie were latched onto. “Hello, we’re not here to start trouble.”

One of the Caterpie responded in a high-pitched male voice. “We have heard tales about the humans; Pidgey tell us about the battles and conquests … Sparrows lie, and Hoothoot cannot be trusted.”

“Right,” Amber mumbled. “So, we are looking to find two Pokemon that like to battle and want to get stronger. Is there anyone nearby like that?”

“I knew it!” A female Caterpie growled, leaning over to whisper to another as if she couldn’t hear them. “They’re here for Butterfree!”

Another gave her a quizzical stare. “You sure? Butterfree doesn’t like to fight; it’s too much work.”

The female Caterpie’s eyes narrowed. “True … remember what the Pidgey say, though?”

“... Which one?”

“The one that said the thing! The thing about humans fighting Pokemon up the mountain.”

Limru scuttled over to Amber, causing the Fennekin to glance her way. “Hey, Amber, umm … do you really think they’ll help? Pokemon where I’m from were pretty cautious of humans.”

Amber frowned; she could already hear a few male Pokemon talking about how pretty she was. She debated using it to spark up the proper conversation; it usually tended to work, but it didn’t seem necessary as one of the Caterpie descended.

“Wait … you’re here to take two Pokemon that love to fight?” He asked with bright eyes. The guy appeared to be fairly young by his size. “Even if they’re battle junkies?”

Low mumbles swept the throng, carried further by several other Pokemon that heard.

“Could they get rid of them?”

“Finally! They’re so rude…”

“Not the pretty one.”

“She does whatever the stupid one says, though…”

Amber listened to the babble for a minute, letting Amira know that things were safe in the area; she didn’t hear a single fight happening at all around them, not even over berries, which was odd. Many of the Pokemon around them were a lot stronger than what she’d seen on Route 1 or in the Pallet Hills. Several Metapod could be seen further up the tree, glaring down at them.

From what she could tell, there were two Pokemon that the area occupants thought of as hoodlums, causing trouble in their peaceful neck of the woods, and the big plan was to get the two humans to take them away.

Limru was starting to get a bit nervous because of something to do with her Trainer; Amira and her were talking, but the conversation wasn’t really that appealing to Amber.

The young representative of the Caterpie inched down to the ground, looking up at her with big eyes. “Can … if you are taking two Pokemon, then there are some we can take you to!”

“Hmm … what kind of Pokemon are they?” Limru asked with a nervous smile.

A soft-spoken male voice came from a nearby bush. “The kind you’ll like.”

Limru glanced between several of the Pokemon that started coming out of the undergrowth; Amira and Hannah had sat down a bit ago to talk. “... I don’t know, Amber … it could be a trap.”

“No, it’s not…” Pleaded the Nickit.

By his tone, he was somewhat infatuated with the shiny fox; Amber was used to vocal strain by now.

Swapping directions, she faced the overgrowth with a small smile, wagging her tail ever-so-slightly. “Hello, my name’s Amber. My Trainer says you’re a Nickit, which is fairly rare around Viridian; that’s really cool. How are you?”

His big black ears and red nose popped out for a moment. “Umm … hi. I’m okay. I, eh … I don’t really have a name. Pokemon just call me Nickit. Oh, it’s, uh, nice to meet you, t-too,” he stammered, ducking back into the bush.

Amber refrained from smirking.

Is this an act? Could this be a play to break the ice with me, pretending to be shy and cute? I guess I could tug the line.

“Hmm … well, I hope you have a good day. Now, Caterpie…”

Caterpie’s confused eyes darted to the bush as the Nickit jumped out. “Wait, umm … hey, so, how long are you going to … you know, stay around here?”

Amber returned her smile to him. “How long … I can’t really say,” she mused. “Probably overnight, if you know of a good open space.”

“Uh-huh! Yeah, I do, eh … there’s a clearing not too far from where I like to hang out, actually.” He said with an innocent smile.

“Mhm,” Amber hid her smirk. “Maybe we’ll have time for you to show me the best spots … of course, we first need to find these Pokemon these Caterpie were talking about.”

“Yeah, uh … I know where they are, too! They practice in that field I was talking about, but … yeah, the one guy isn’t all that interesting, and the girl isn’t as pretty as you.”

Amber pulled her flaming tail around to hide her face. “Oh, am I really that pretty? I mean … I know my tail flame looks nice, but … I don’t know…”

Limru had a forced smile on her face, but this Nickit needed clear hints; he was obviously new to the flirting game.

“Yeah, yeah! I’ll, umm … yeah, follow me!”

Crouching a little, Amber kept her tail close to her face, ears releasing mesmerizing flame patterns that caught the yellow-eyed fox’s gaze. She didn’t even need Hypnosis for the young Nickit. “One second … my Trainer’s almost done.”

“Y-Yeah … uh, so … where do you come from?”

“Mmh, probably a place you haven’t heard of before,” Amber giggled. “It’s pretty far away. By the way, you wouldn’t be interested in joining us, would you?”

He crept closer, vision darting to Limru for a moment before returning to her; the Caterpie seemed somewhat annoyed by his appearance, speaking before he could extend the conversation.

“Hey, Amber, Nickit doesn’t want to go … you need to take the other two Pokemon away before Butterfree comes back.”

Nickit chuckled softly. “Yeah, uh … I don’t know if I’m ready to go with humans … it’s not really something I can see myself doing.”

Amber’s red eyes turned to the bug. “Oh? Too bad,” she sighed with disappointment.

Amira let her know they were ready. “We’re in luck; our Trainers are ready.”

The Pokemon began to lead the way, and the Nickit and Caterpie bounced back and forth; the Caterpie just wanted to be rid of the area’s troublemakers, but Nickit just wanted her attention. She placated both, probing for more information about the area.

Limru suddenly took to the air; she was becoming visibly agitated with what their Trainers were discussing, and from what bits she understood, it would be difficult to hear. They were reading Trainers reviewing Ledyba and how bad they were.

Amber had to focus on the attention-needy Nickit and the annoyed Caterpie; the Pokemon they were being led to were currently getting ready to battle the Area Boss, a Butterfree, which was apparently something of a daily occurrence for the pair, and these Caterpie were done with it.

Their guardian idol needed rest, but by the sounds of it, some battle-crazed egg wouldn’t give him a break, and a string of flowers always hyped the egg up, although Amber didn't know what to make of the descriptions exactly.

They were coming up on the site; their Trainers seemed to have come to a conclusion with their discussion, and Limru looked a lot happier by the results.

“Feeling better?” Amber asked, jumping on a large root to stare at the hovering Ledyba.

Limru was smiling. “A bit … it’s just hard hearing how terrible you are. It’s not like I wanted to be born weak.”

Amber shrugged, hopping down as their Trainers worked themselves over the massive chunk of exposed wood; Nickit landed beside her, listening intently. “Every Pokemon has weaknesses. Humans help us learn how to overcome them.”

“Really?” Nickit asked. “I, uh … I heard humans are really savage. We don’t see too many battles here.”

Ah … that makes sense. This Butterfree must be really powerful if they keep the peace in the entire area.

Her attention shifted to the field as they exited the woods.

* * *

Hannah rose to her feet, brushing her knees off and adjusting her cream shorts; she noticed a few grass stains on them that weren’t there before.

Muk … I really should spend some more money on good resilient clothes, but they’re so Mukin’ expensive…

Not allowing her irritation to show, she kept a bright tone. “Yeah, I’m ready! Umm … so, who do you think I should put on my team? My dad said Ledyba were underrated, but I haven’t figured out how to really utilize her Moves that well … I mean, I guess we only have two at the moment,” she mumbled, trying to remember the articles she’d looked up.

“Okay,” Amira whispered. “Tell me what you’ve discovered … oh?” She unclipped her phone while looking at a notification. “Lori bought the team package for Pokedex … that’s nice.”

What? That’s like … how much money does Mallory have?! That’s super expensive to get a premium subscription like a Team Pass.

“Uh … so, I’m not trying to sound mean, Limru knows that, but … every article I read said Ledyba and Ledian fall off around Gold-tier … they aren’t super reliable overall. My dad’s super confident that Trainers sleep on them, though. I just … what do you think?”

Amira had her phone up again, occasionally keeping track of where they were going and stepping over roots or ducking branches; their group was drawing quite a few Pokemon.

Waiting for her idol to respond, Hannah tried to test her link to Limru. Hey, did that … he was a Nickit, right? Did he want to join us?

The response was a solid negative.

Ah … got it. Thanks, Limru. We’ll find one! Umm … give me a little time, Limru. I’m sorry … I know I’m kind of failing as a Trainer. I get drugged … we’ve lost every battle we’ve been in … our rank is tanking … hard.

Limru paused for a moment giving her a concerned look.

I know … I’m being hard on myself, but I can’t help it. What if Amira or Rhea lookup how we’ve been doing since we left? It’d be so embarrassing…

She sighed, noticing Amira had the picture of a Ledyba on her phone; she was going through the Pokedex site’s information on them.

“Hmm … some of the Trainer comments do mention Ledyba and Ledian are difficult to make competitive, but there’s surprisingly little information overall since not many people move to the higher ladders. Let’s see … if I was going to get advice from someone, it’d be from someone qualified.”

“Like?” Hannah asked. “Uh, you don’t mean High Master Bugsy, right?” She chuckled. “How would I get advice from a Gym Leader?”

“Any of them, really,” Amira mumbled, performing a search. “Viola, Burgh, and Bugsy are all High Master Bug-Type Gym Leaders. Aaron would probably be the best to question as a Grandmaster, and he’s from Sinnoh … ugh, Guzma is considered a Grandmaster Bug-Type Trainer.”

“Eh…” Hannah adjusted her pack; the weight felt like boulders when she took it off for a bit and put it back on. “Should I really be looking for Top-tier advice at this level? How could I even use it?”

Amira shook her head, scanning down Pokemon reviews, speculations, and general thoughts on her Pokemon, using the filter to look for specific Master-tier Trainers giving their opinion.

“It’s important to know where your Pokemon can excel early on to min-max your efficiency. Ah … here we go. Bugsy has a big article on it, but it’s pretty dated … I think it was posted by another user ages ago.”

Hannah scooted closer to read with her; in short, Ledian had probably some of the worst Stats when it came to the currently known pool of Bug Pokemon. Period. Bug/Flying Type didn’t help much since it gave the Pokemon a ton of weaknesses. It had decent speed, but if they were outsped, Ledian would get KO’ed pretty fast. It was one reason why there were never territorial boss Ledian, forcing them to act as a swarm.

Ledian’s Ability, Swarm, was almost useless since increasing their already horrible Attack and Special Attack Stats would do little to help, even if you added their Dream World Ability, Iron Fist. Increasing the Punch-Series Moves provided minimal aid and required a lot of time investment from the Trainer and Pokemon to even accomplish that goal.

In the end, combining the 50% increased Offensive Stats of Swarm with Iron Fist’s 20% just wasn’t enough to push her Pokemon into High-tier competitive play on its own.

By questioning Limru, Hannah discovered her Ledyba had Early Bird, too … she couldn’t even get the offensive boost Bugsy was talking about. The Ability helped against any kind of sleep strategy, and did work with Rest tactics, but wasn’t exactly game-changing when other Pokemon could get Insomnia and still brought downtime in a match.

The news was a bit crushing for both Hannah and Limru; it was one of the first times she’d sensed her Pokemon’s feelings so strongly, which was heartbreaking, but near the end of the critical review, by one of the world’s foremost experts on Bug-Types, came a silver lining.

Bugsy went on to explain that Mega Evolution provided a much needed boost to the Fighting Bug Pokemon, redistributing their Stats in a way to dramatically increase their Attack Stat to rival heavy hitters like Heracross and Pinsir while increasing its Speed by a healthy degree, no longer requiring Rattled as their first Dream World choice.

The addition of Guts further helped Mega Ledian enter the competitive scene by having a way to increase its Attack by utilizing the opponent’s energy when targeting the Mega Ledian with a status condition, allowing it to intercept the Moves for its team.

When combining Swarm, Iron Fist, and Guts with Ledian’s Barrier Bash Ability, gained on its Evolution within Silver-tier, in addition to its changed Typing of Bug/Fighting and Stat redistribution, Ledian could finally become a physical offensive threat.

Barrier Bash gives the Pokemon a permanent Brick Break, able to outright shatter popular defensive choices such as Barrier, Light Screen, and Aurora Veil with any physical Move, and allowing Ledian to bypass up to a +2 Defense buff. All while simultaneously setting its own Reflect, Safeguard, and Light Screen defensive matrix, keeping offensive momentum to snowball.

Bugsy recommended Swarm as a starting Ability since it would provide high offensive pressure for the Bug Pokemon with a proper support to keep the Ledyba just within range of the Stat increase early on, but that wasn’t an option for them.

Ledian became a real offensive threat for set up and wall-breaking strats in Silver-tier, but fell off fairly hard in Gold-tier. It could function as a Baton Pass user to help their team, but with such low Defense and being an up-close and personal type of combatant, they were very susceptible to one shots and focus swap burst teams.

It wasn’t until Platinum-tier, the earliest a Ledian and their Trainer could perform Mega Evolution, when the Fighting Bug could really enter the scene again, and kept its viability into Master-tier if going for their Dream World Abilities. Of course, Mega-Evolution was even difficult for Top-tier Trainers at Platinum, like Rhea’s brother, but was possible.

The Bug Master recommended Iron Fist first but Rattled would be a wonderful addition if you decide to keep your Ledian on your Main Line-up and send it on its second Dream Journey heading into Grandmaster-tier. Hannah couldn’t even imagine that, though, and knew very little about the obscure Dream Dimension.

However, if she was able to meet most of those conditions it would be difficult to stop the rampaging Fighting Bug Pokemon when it started to snowball. It’s just that Ledian required a lot more dedication and time with their Trainer than most Pokemon to reach that Mega Evolution breaking point when they finally became viable.

Mega Evolution was recommended over Z-Moves and Syncro-Burst for obvious reasons.

In the end, her Ledyba would have a rough time in Bronze-tier, grow into a threat in Silver, fall-off hard in Gold before reaching the stars in Platinum … if Hannah could keep up. Limru also required a lot of resources to expand her great TM and Tutor Move Pool, but that came with time. Her dad hadn’t been wrong, but the road would be difficult for them.

Hannah encouraged her little Ledyba while sensing her mixed emotions. Don’t worry! We’ll get you there somehow … I know we will! Even if it’ll be rough … no, we have to believe, and we will get friends to help us! We can do it!

Limru flew a bit into the air as they picked up their pace again, and gave her a weak smile; she was still unsure how she’d make it to that big goal. Her little bug girl had no clue her journey would be so much more difficult than the other Pokemon around her.

Hannah smiled at her idol. “Thanks for giving us a path, Amira … that means so much to me and Limru. I know we can do it!”

“Yeah,” Amira chuckled while putting her phone away. “All I did was find an old article … Gym Leaders don’t post those kinds of Pokemon reviews much anymore … Trainers started to get mad at them for disrespecting their Pokemon.”

“Hmm…” Hannah’s gaze shifted to Limru, flying ahead of them through the ancient forest. “I can see that … I felt pretty bad when you were reading the earlier part. I mean, it’s not like Limru can change how she was born, but the last part showed that there’s a path for us … it’s not impossible.”

Amira nodded. “My grandpa always talks about that … there’s always a way to win, you just need to be smart and resourceful enough to make it happen.”

A fire was burning in Hannah’s chest. Meeting Rhea had been the best thing that had ever happened to her; she used to think there wasn’t anything she could do, these gifted Trainers would always be ahead of her, but after getting to know a few of those untouchable figures … she discovered they were no different than her in many ways.

However, the one thing they had was the confidence to push forward with their goals, and not let anyone else tell them otherwise. She never thought she’d be out here, less than a week after bonding with her first Pokemon, going for her second, but here she was, it wasn’t impossible for her.

Amira, Rhea, and Mallory had given her the confidence to reach beyond her lineage. Reading all the horrible things people said about Ledian and Ledyba online had thrown her for a spiral at first; it was probably why her bond with Limru was so turbulent between her own self-doubt and how far the two of them could go. That was in the past, though. She’d show the world what Limru could do, even if she didn’t have the best possible Abilities she could have.

Maybe she’d even challenge Bugsy and beat him one day before telling him how much his article inspired her. They entered into a wide open field, sunlight exploding across the grassy area, but much of the tall strands had been cut to a small height, and she caught sight of the two Pokemon they were led to, eyes widening with delight.

* * *

Comfey hovered above the ground with a bright smile. Togepi, her best buddy, had been practicing really hard to perfect their big combo recently, and she was ready to help him take the win against their biggest foe … the Boss!

“You ready, Togepi?”

He turned to give her a smug grin, jumping into a quick spin. “I’m ready to take him out; we so got this this time!”

Comfey wrapped her tail around to hold it, floating down to his level. “What should we do after? I can blow some leaves in his face. Will that help?”

Togepi waved his hand. “No, no, no, we’ll be fine; one shot is all it will take from our big show!”

The statement put a bit of unease in her; Togepi had always been a bit quirky with his plans, and sometimes hasty. This was another one of his random attack strategies, but this time, she’d managed to get the timing down to help him.

“Okay, I’ll try and buy time if it fails again,” she chimed. “Of course, that’s probably not gonna happen, though, right?”

“Yeah! I can feel this next one in the tips of my hands; we’re gonna floor Boss Butterfree today!”

Hmm … if we do fail again, which Move should I go with? Butterfree usually lets us get a few in before blowing us away. So … I should blind him for Togepi to build-up another attack, maybe?

Her attention swapped to a crowd of Pokemon that came out of the forest … with humans. “Oh, Togepi! It’s a human … don’t they look funny?”

“Mmh?” Togepi lifted an eye at the peanut gallery they’d attracted. “Ho, ho! We even drew in humans to see our awesome victory!”

Comfey released her tail to clap. “You’re so cool!”

They settled down as a flaming fox came forward with Nickit; the red-furred Pokemon would normally sit by the side of the field and watch them. Comfey thought he might idolize Togepi because the young fox was usually present for their training.

Ever since they’d heard a few Spearow talk about how powerful Pokemon could get when bonded with humans and the crazy battles they had, Togepi had been starstruck. He wanted to prove he was strong, too.

Comfey just thought it was fun to hang out with her best bud, and enjoyed helping him out. It was nice to be wanted and have a friend. She was all alone when she hatched, and Togepi was the first Pokemon to call her his friend.

She’d heard the stories the Pidgey told, but she wasn’t so sure they were being honest; humans couldn’t be that bad if the Spearow liked them. Although, the Hoothoot could be a bit suspicious with their stories about Pokemon ten-times bigger than Butterfree.

Snatching her tail again, Comfey did a few spins in the air. “Hello! We’re getting ready for our big fight today. Are you going to watch?”

The Fire Fox Pokemon sat down, tail swinging softly; she was really pretty, and even sparkled a bit, which drew her eyes from her fur to the flickering flames. The fire was a bit frightening, yet mesmerizing at the same time, and the female fox wasn’t all that scary. In fact, she looked super friendly.

Togepi puffed up his chest, pointing at Comfey. “We’re gonna be the new big bosses of this area and kick out all the bad Pokemon!”

The pretty fox gave them an innocent smile. “Mmh … is that right?”

Comfey was a little perplexed as the two humans began talking with each other; one was super excited while the other was looking at some kind of light that a flat crystal produced. “We’ve been practicing a lot,” she mumbled. “What are your humans doing? They are your humans, right?”

The Ledyba beside them nodded, giving her a bright expression. “Hi! I’m Limru, by the way, and this is Amber,” she pointed to the fox.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Amber added. “They are our Trainers … heh, I suppose you could call them our humans, and we are their Pokemon.”

Comfey’s eyes widened. “Oh, is that how it works? I didn’t know. So you’re theirs and they’re yours?”

Limru sat up on her two back legs. “We’re…”

She trailed-off as the group of Caterpie started to cheer.

“The Boss is coming!”

“Butterfree, our protector!”

“Come show these fools you are undefeated!”

“Beat back the infidels!”

A sad sigh, passed through Comfey’s mouth, giving Amber and Limru a forced smile. “Sorry, they get a little worked up when we battle the boss.”

“Infidels?” Amber mused, lifting an eye at the Caterpie.

Togepi chuckled, drawing their gaze. “It means we are strong; they recognize us as conquerors!”

“Boo!”

“Down with the infidels!”

“Long reign the Sleeping King!”

Yeah, I don’t think that’s what it means, Togepi…

Her best bud was utterly convinced everyone loved them, but the moment they hatched and started challenging Butterfree, they’d been labeled infidels; she was pretty sure it was some kind of unspoken rule not to challenge him. It made Togepi happy to hear their calls, though, and none of the other Pokemon in the area could handle their tag-team, which meant Butterfree was their goal at finally becoming strong Pokemon, like Amber and Limru. In fact…

Comfey grabbed her tail with glee, hugging it close to her chest. “Hey, hey, Togepi! What if we battle Amber and Limru next; we can see how strong human Pokemon are!”

Limru gave her reply a short chuckle. “Eh, heh … we aren’t human Pokemon … we’re just bonded Pokemon.”

“Bonded…” Togepi’s eyes widened. “Spearow talked about that, didn’t he, Comfey?”

She hummed, not recalling the word. “I don’t think I was there for that one.”

Togepi grinned. “Yeah, we can show them how strong we are, but first … ah, there you are Sleeping King!”

Comfey saw the pretty Butterfly hover through an open place in the woods with a low yawn, catching sight of them. The moment he saw the crowd that was gathering, he groaned. “Aww … c’mon, guys … humans, too. What’s the deal?” He questioned, floating over while a group of chanting Caterpie moved below him.

Amber eyed him with a small smirk. “You’re the leader over this area? Yeah … you are pretty strong.”

He groaned, glancing at the Trainers as they conversed with one another. “You’re here to pick-up a few Pokemon? This is a pretty chill area, but I don’t know if you’ll get many…”

Togepi jumped in with a bright smile. “Esskeetit! Let’s do this Comfey; we’re gonna blow you away today, Butterfree!”

Ledyba seemed a bit nervous by Butterfree’s appearance, the Caterpie noises, and Togepi’s response. “Can you two really fight him … he’s super strong.”

Butterfree waved a hand in his typical weak manner. “It’s cool … man, you got the looks, though, girl,” he chuckled.

“M-Me?” The Ledyba stammered, glancing at Amber.

He did a slow twirl. “Yeah … once you grow a bit more, you’ll have all the boys running. Uh … these two fighting me? They’ll be fine. This is … normal,” he grumbled, turning to give a sad glare at the two excited Pokemon.

Togepi jumped up, pointing a finger at him. “Normal that we toss you around!”

“Oh … c’mon, guys,” Butterfree pleaded, droopy eyes sweeping the chants for him to blow them away again or toss them into a tree. “I was up all night talking to Lilligant … she says Nidorino has been pushing a bit into her territory … gah, then the Black Rattata gang tried to make a raid … then the blue Sandshrew clique got into a fight with the Houndour group. Let me sleep…”

“Not until we battle!” Togepi grinned, “Or are you scared we’ll win this time?!”

Butterfree spun his hand in a circle with a short yawn. “Go on … do your worst.”

Comfey and Togepi set their faces; this was it. The others backed up, and low whispers were passed around that she couldn’t hear, but it wasn’t time to focus on them. She had to support her best friend.

White energy gathered around her as Togepi drew his own.

“Don’t regret this; I’m feeling this one, Butterfree!” Togepi shouted. “Let’s go, Comfey!”

“I got you!” She shouted, continuing to build all the helpful energy she could muster.

Spinning in a circle, the white aura condensed in the center of her loop, and she released her tail to push the gathered sphere at Togepi.

All eyes were on them, but Comfey had no doubt they saw their duo as villains. They were rebels to the peace of the area, yet Butterfree never kicked them out, letting them try every time they managed to push to a new level.

Their combined attack exploded within her bestie, supporting his next attack to the maximum. Togepi waved one of his hands back and forth with a devious grin. “Esskeetit!!”

An overwhelming, ominous wave slammed against Comfey’s chest; whatever was coming was far stronger than anything they’d done before. Oh, no … it keeps getting stronger.

Togepi was laughing as power surged from him; the white aura turned light brown before flashing neon green shades, and the air began to vibrate.

Butterfree’s mouth dropped open as hundreds upon hundreds of green shards blasted out from around Togepi’s green brilliance. “... Wha…” Butterfree watched the sky blot out with the projectiles, and with one motion of Togepi’s hand, they descended.

“Okay, what?” Amber shreaked.

The humans and Pokemon screamed with panic, retreating back to the forest, but all Comfey could do was watch in awe.

That’s way bigger than anything we’ve done before! Can we actually do it this time?

Butterfree pivoted, sending a burst of wind at a thousand beams collapsing around him; it stopped many, but was soon overpowered, striking him from every angle, and they lost sight of him from the exploding particles colliding with his body.

“Comfey, Comfey; we did it!” He cheered. “We’re so…”

He trailed off as the devastated battlefield cleared of green; Butterfree was now on the ground, wings lifting left and right while examining himself. “Huh … wow, a lot stronger than anything you’ve done before … I’m definitely awake now, heh.”

“No way…” Togepi mumbled, dropping to his butt.

Oh, I gotta follow up!

It took her a moment to regain her senses after the flashy Move; a four meter area was utterly devastated, only ripped up dirt visible below Butterfree.

Comfey shot forward, twisting around their opponent’s body, barely able to grab her tail before squeezing; white illuminated her frame. “I … I got him, Togepi! I…”

Butterfree chuckled, flexing his wings; her grip slipped, and he beat his wings, blowing her and Togepi back. A massive chunk of her defensive shield was instantly taken. “Nooo … Togepi!”

Sure enough, her bestie was on the ground, eyes spinning; they’d failed for the forty-eighth time, but she couldn’t give up yet just because she was running low on energy.

Turning around, she spun in a circle to blaze bright green. A swirl of leaves and wind expanded in a small tornado toward Butterfree to lift and blind him, but another casual flap of his wings sent it back in her face, negating her Move.

“We tried…”

“It was a nice try,” Butterfree encouraged with a smile and soft chuckle.

The reverse gust struck her and she blacked out.

* * *

Amira’s lips dropped open upon sensing the unusual aura expelling from the Togepi’s body; this was not a normal attack, and reminded her of the aura Legendary Pokemon naturally generated. A dome of green darts trapped everyone in the area.

You have to be kidding me; am I about to die to a random Metronome Move that hit the golden ticket? Amber let’s go!

She grabbed Hannah’s arm; the girl was too stunned to even move upon seeing the hundreds upon hundreds of darts shooting into the sky to lock the Butterfree in before attacking from all angles. “C’mon!”

“W-What is that?” Hannah gasped.

“Togepi luck!” Amira shouted, noticing the arrows instantly curve around them at light speed, leaving a sizzling trail of green dots across her vision.

It didn’t actually hold that much power, but was far stronger than the Togepi should have been able to produce since it had converted into the multipliciable force of a Legendary Pokemon’s energy.

The air hummed with the unique aura, pulsing through Amira’s body; she’d never felt this kind of weird signature waves, which meant this attack didn’t come from the Tower Duo or their subordinates since she’d met each of them when she was a little girl, and it’s hard to forget those kind of forces.

It was over before they even made it to the forest edge; dirt couldn’t even expand, each explosion sending it back to compact the earth with a dense gravitational impact. She slowed to a stop with the others, and she could feel Amber’s panic, wondering what she should do.

Amira soothed her, breathing a sigh of relief. Her mother hadn’t shown up, she had no doubt she would have if she’d actually been in danger, but who could stay calm in the face of such an attack?

The powerful Low Silver-tier Butterfree had taken the full brunt of the attack, and had clearly taken damage by the way it had been forced to the ground. Of course, when struck by Legendary Energy, even from a much lower-tier Pokemon, you didn’t come out unscathed.

Two gusts later, and both the Comfey and Togepi were knocked out; the Butterfree appeared to be taking the surprise attack surprisingly well.

Amber tentatively went over to talk to him, but all the other Pokemon had long since vanished into the forest in panic. While her Pokemon checked things out with him Amira searched Pokedex’s website and scanned for anything that matched what she saw; nothing came up. She couldn’t find any reference to anyone getting the same Metronome Move anywhere online.

Turning off her phone, she put it back on her belt. Setting her backpack down, she got out her Super Potion and went to heal the Comfey and Butterfree; Hannah had recovered and went to do the same to the Togepi.

“Uh … Amira, what was that?”

She shook her head, smoothing back a few strands of hair that had fallen out of place. “Honestly, I have no idea. I couldn’t find anything about it … I’ll have to ask my mom. Umm … how’s the Togepi?”

“Recovering … he seems a bit down.”

The Comfey floated over to comfort the Spike Ball Pokemon after Amira healed her; she seemed to thank her and Amber before hovering to her friend with concern. Togepi was tearing up a little with Hannah’s compassionate rubs to his shell.

“It’s okay … you were really strong; you did good!”

The Butterfree gave her a weak salute when she started healing him, too.

Geez … that nearly stopped my heart.

* * *

Comfey wrapped around Togepi and the human’s hand. “Hey, don’t cry … we did really good, Togepi!” She encouraged. “Look, even the humans think you’re awesome.”

“I … I just wanted to have them … them all like me. Everyone hates us, and now … now … how do we win if that doesn’t work? We tried … everything…”

“Don’t worry! We’ll get it one day, Togepi, and you’ve got me.”

He hugged her, sniffing a little. “... Thanks, Comfey … how do we get stronger?”

Limru rubbed Comfey’s back with a comforting smile. “Hey, if you want to get stronger, you can join Hannah and me. We’re gonna get to Gold-tier … no, Platinum, for sure; we gotta get back at this human woman that drugged my Trainer and made her feel bad.”

Comfey had no clue what Gold or Platinum was, but figured it must be something powerful.

“W-We can get stronger?” Togepi asked, tears still in his eyes.

Comfey frowned. “Will we be separated? I wanna stay with Togepi.”

“Hmm…” They turned to see Amber walking over to them with Butterfree and the other human by his side. “It’s not like you’ll never see each other again,” the fire fox said with a smile. “I could use your help, if you want to join. Amira’s really impressed by that Helping Hand Move you have, and if you want to get stronger, there’s no faster way than bonding with a Trainer.”

“We can still see each other?” Comfey asked. “Spearow said Trainers go to really far away places … I’ve never left this area.”

Togepi whipped his eyes, putting on a brave face. “We can get stronger, though? The bonding thing?”

“Without a doubt,” Amber grinned, glancing to Butterfree as he released a slow sigh.

“Hey, Comfey, Togepi … if you really want to get stronger, then they’re not wrong.”

Comfey’s eyes widened. “But … the Caterpie say humans can’t be trusted. You trust them, Butterfree?”

He chuckled. “It’s a bit more complicated than that, but … yeah, these girls seem fine,” he mumbled. “Plus … I could get some sleep if you two go off to get stronger,” he yawned. “Oh … I’m tired again…”

Comfey’s lips drew in, but Togepi seemed all in.

“I want to get stronger!”

Limru hovered over them to sit in front of him. “Hannah and I’d love to have you! We really want to get stronger, too, and there are lots of Pokemon even stronger than Butterfree out there.”

“Wha … no way,” Togepi mumbled, looking to the Pokemon for confirmation. “Butterfree’s never lost … not once!”

He rubbed his cheek absently. “Well, yeah, but there are way stronger Pokemon up the mountain. I run a pretty easy strat with sleeping groups and taking them out. It won’t work on stronger Pokemon, though.”

Amber’s tail started to wag again, giving her a charming smile. “We can be friends.”

A heat rose in Comfey’s chest. “We … can be friends?”

Limru got up on her hind legs again. “Yeah! We can all be friends. We help each other out in battles; there is this Triple Battle thing where all my other new friends join in and we try to win together. It’s really fun.”

Tears started shining in Comfey’s eyes, hands clamped against her chest. “I can … have more friends? I want more friends!” She cried. “I’ll help a lot, and … and I want to have fun … can we do that?”

“Heh,” Butterfree hovered down, whispering to Amber, but she could still hear him. “They only hatched a few months ago, and … they didn’t have the warmest welcome.”

Amber pressed her front paw against her human’s leg, and the Trainer took out a spherical thing. “Just go into here, and you’ll be bonded with Amira and me; we’ll be your new family,” she grinned. “We can have a lot of fun and make more friends all over the place.”

“Me, too!” Togepi shouted, and clapped with excitement as the other human brought out a similar device. “Esskeetit!!”

Comfey giggled as he jumped out of her grip and off the human’s lap to touch the sphere; her mouth dropped open when it swallowed him whole. “Wha … where…”

Limru waved her arms. “One sec, one sec … I need to go back in…”

The human tensed a little as if in a bit of pain, but Comfey thought she was smiling. In dismay, she watched Limru turn into energy and go into a similar sphere.

What’s happening?!

Togepi’s sphere opened, revealing her bestie’s ecstatic face. “Comfey, Comfey! It’s so warm and … and I can talk to them in my mind! I’m talking to Limru … heh, she’s like … so close to me, but … there, she’s right there!” He pointed at the ball in the human’s hand. “Oh, oh, she wants to give me a name like Limru … Star? Esskeetit!”

Amber lifted an eye. “Eh … what does esskeetit mean?”

Comfey smiled. “It means let’s get it … it’s like his cheer. Hehe … umm, yeah, okay. If Star wants to go with it, and he likes it … I’ll give it a shot.”

She swooped down and tentatively touched the sphere; a strange expansion felt like it entered her chest. Without warning, she was in a warm, safe place next to Amira’s heart. She knew her Trainer’s name, and could feel a wealth of strength within her that made her own look tiny.

Wow … this is so comfy.

“Heh, good one,” Amber commented.

We can talk! This is so cool.

Amber’s tone turned teasing. “Not going to say esskeetit?”

Nuh-uh, that’s Toge … Star’s thing, she giggled. Umm … so, do I get a name?

Her chest burned with wonder as all the new sensations swirled within her and around her; it was so strange sharing emotions and thoughts, but Amira somehow understood her question, and shockingly, she could understand her human.

“Hey, Comfey. I am so happy you decided to join us!”

Amber piped up. “She’s interested in making more friends. We have a team, by the way; you’ll meet them tomorrow.”

More friends?! H-How many? She cried, hands trembling against her mouth; this was the happiest moment in her life.

“We … oh … you want to meet more friends? We’ll be getting at least another four along our journey, probably more, and tomorrow you’ll meet Rhea and Mallory’s team. Lori will have a new Pokemon with her and Rhea has Nova and Mya.”

Four new friends … and they’ll be friends with Star?

“Yup, well … probably,” Amber mumbled. “Name, Amira, name!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Amira giggled, and Comfey could suddenly see the world through her Trainer’s eyes. “How about … Holly?”

This is so, so, so cool … uh, Holly? Holly … Holly … I’m Holly! I’m Holly! She cried. Thank you, Amber, Amira … I won’t … I’ll be a good support and help you as best I can!

It seemed Amira was a bit unique since she was able to have both Amber and her out at the same time, and they spent the rest of the day getting to know each other. Limru and Star took turns by the hour, but Hannah seemed to be pushing herself to do it; she was pretty sore by the nightfall.

A big surprise came when Ho-Oh burst into existence; Amira apparently had some connection to the bird as a little girl. The Legendary Pokemon was beyond anything Holly thought was possible, and it showed her the path they were on, and it excited her. She had a team and friends now; she wouldn’t be alone ever again like when she’d first hatched.

Amira and Holly went over her Moves and Ability, which was exciting for them both, and her Trainer showered her with praise; it was hard to keep modest with the human’s continual proud emotions. She was the key to beating someone named Forrest.

IVs: Average 21

Nature: Modest

Ability: Triage

Known Moves:

Celebrate

Growth

Flower Shield

Helping Hand

Leaf Tornado

Leech Seed

Lucky Chant

Vine Whip

Wrap