Leo's back hit the ground with a thud, the breath leaving his lungs as he stared up at the bright blue sky. He'd found himself in this position a lot recently. After taking lectures with Oak for the past week, he would go and spar with Victoria who would promptly beat him into the ground. And yet, despite all their spars, he honestly couldn't tell whether or not she had received any actual hand-to-hand combat training or if she was just skilled at fighting. It didn't really matter, he figured as he just lay on his back. Every single time they sparred she beat him, almost flawlessly.

"Still just a kid," Victoria said, offering him her hand. He took it and she hauled him to his feet, wincing as his bruised ribs ached. "What amazes me is how eager you are to jump into a beating. It's almost like you enjoy it or something,"

"Thanks. And nah, I can just be bull-headed. It's genetic, my father was the same way," Leo admitted, leaning into the pain in his sides and hissing as he glanced around the Pokemon Center training areas. It was an indoor arena, so that meant concrete floors, a few training dummies set up off to one side, and a set of rules embossed on a sign next to the door telling trainers what level of pokémon and attacks they could use in the room.

Repairs were expensive, after all. Thankfully he wasn't doing any dangerous training with his team – in fact, only Santiago was receiving any training at the moment, sitting off to Leo's left. Victoria's Oranguru lounged in front of him, the big white-furred ape locked in a staring contest as the two's eyes glowed blue with psychic power - their minds clashing in a psychic duel. And since they were mostly stationary, that left plenty of room for Leo and Victoria to spar in, without fear of getting in the way of any pokémon attacks.

"You don't say," Victoria said dryly, raising an eyebrow. "Have you thought any more about my offer, by the way?" she asked, and Leo nodded with a frown, kneading the back of his neck with a knuckle.

"I think I'll take you up on it. Going to Alola sounds nice right about now, and it'd keep me out of trouble. There's too much surrounding the Youngster License, too much heat, and though they can't revoke my license if it gets repealed, I just…I don't want to touch the situation with a ten-foot pole. Can't say I'm knowledgeable enough about the situation to keep myself out of trouble, and I know myself well enough that I can't make any guarantees. So if I'm going to cause trouble, I might as well remove myself from the equation." Leo reasoned. Victoria nodded.

"That just means you need to get, what, two, three badges before the Season ends in a few months? Otherwise the League won't let you travel to another region as a trainer," Victoria mused.

"Yeah, that's the easiest way. There are a few ways around it, but if I want to go to Alola that'd be my best shot. Which leaves me with, what, three or so months to get those badges?" Leo asked.

"Yes," Victoria agreed.

"I'd probably better get started then. Yesterday was the last day Oak had set aside for tutoring, so now's a good time. Was actually planning on leaving today to head toward Violet City, but I'm pretty sure I already told you this," Leo said, marching over to Santiago. It was only seven or so in the morning right now, so there was still plenty of time to hit the road. It was kind of funny how he was such a morning person now.

Never would he have thought he'd turn into a morning person. In his old world he almost never got up before ten, preferring to stay up late writing or playing video games with Jack, so this early morning thing was new and exciting. He liked it to be honest. Felt productive.

Leo frowned as he knelt next to Santiago, laying a hand on the Slowpoke's head to let him know that it was time to be done. He hadn't thought about Jack, his friend who had come with him through the ultra-wormhole, in a while now. Despite consistent searches on what passed for the internet in this world for people with similar stories to Leo in other regions, or other telling factors that might tell Leo where Jack might be, he'd seen and heard nothing. This was probably due to news from other regions being suppressed or largely ignored by the people of the Indigo League, though. He was, at least, fairly certain Jack wasn't in Kanto or Johto. Barring…unfortunate circumstances Leo didn't want to imagine.

Part of him hoped he'd find Jack in Alola. The realistic side of him doubted it. Wherever he was, though, Leo just hoped he was safe.

"Earth to Leo, you there?" Victoria said, laying a hand on Leo's head and raising an eyebrow at him. He batted her hand away in a practiced motion, standing and recalling Santiago, who had been staring at him with blank eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I just spaced," Leo said, idly noticing that Victoria had recalled her Oranguru.

"I can tell. Have you told the Professor about Alola?" She asked.

"Yeah, he said it wasn't a bad idea. I get to go around and be adventurous and nobody tries to turn me into an icon to send kids out into the wild. It's a win-win," Leo reasoned. "Again, just need to get my badges and deal with the ghost problem first. Technically I could go to Alola now, but then I'd have to leave most, if not all, of my team behind,"

"Definitely not a good idea, especially with a team as young as yours. Santiago may be fine, but Zuko and Diana are still bonding with you. You need to continue to strengthen those bonds," Victoria said, nodding. "As much as he may not like the idea of you continuing around on your journey, you won't be doing anything that hasn't been done by a Youngster before, and I'm sure he'd agree with me on the bonding. The first year is crucial to team development,"

"So I've heard," Leo said, heading toward the exit. "What are you going to do while I'm off doing my thing?" he asked.

"I've got a few jobs I picked up here in Blackthorn, a few requests that may not require the attention of a Master but would still give my team a decent workout. Apparently the local Rangers are having trouble with an encroaching Sneasel pack – the sneaky little jerks are unusually aggressive," Victoria said. Leo raised an eyebrow at her, holding the door open for her as she stepped out of the training area. Leo slid out behind her, the door closing with a hiss of compressed air. The hall was lined with three similar doors, each holding a similar training ground, and off to the right the light of the Center lobby shone brightly.

"A Sneasel pack? Does the League really need your help containing them? From what I know of Sneasel they're pretty skittish of anything that poses a threat," Leo reasoned. He idly touched the scars on his shoulders from his own run-in with Sneasel, and Victoria grinned sharply.

"Ah, that's the glory of being a freelance Master, unaffiliated with any Leagues. I can stick my nose wherever I want," she said. "They can't really complain if I decide to handle a few local problems here and there,"

"They probably can," Leo deadpanned as they walked out into the lobby. The Nurse Joy in charge squinted at them blearily, the early morning sun streaming in through the glass windows to land directly on her face. Leo waved at her. She didn't wave back, nursing her cup of coffee and looking half-dead.

"Probably. Won't stop me from doing it anyway though, it's an official request through the local Center. See ya 'round, kid. Keep up with your martial training while I'm away! I want to see some improvement next time I see you!" she said all too cheerily, all but bolting outside and releasing General on the empty street.

The Braviary stretched his wings and shrieked at the sky as Victoria vaulted onto his back, slapping him upside the head as she did so, and pointed upward. A single powerful beat of his wings later, and the two vanished from Leo's sight. He sighed and shook his head, nodding to the Joy and glancing around the relatively empty lobby.

The official request thing Victoria mentioned had been something he learned about recently. People could put in job requests for trainers through Pokemon Centers, which would be picked up and completed by trainers at their discretion, usually for monetary reward. He'd heard it could be for pretty much anything, from moving companies asking for extra hands, to requests for aid from the local Ranger station. The latter was rare though. The Rangers were pretty good at their jobs.

Leo scratched his chin as he headed back to his room to get his stuff. He remembered something similar being in the Sword and Shield games, as a little side thing for your stored pokémon to do while you did whatever. He'd never really given it much thought, though, until Victoria brought it up a few times. Was a nice way to make a little extra money – or would've been, had Leo been eligible for those services.

As a Youngster, a lot of systems were off limits to him. He got certain levels of healing, a little bit of free room each month, and maybe some food, but other than that? Nah. No trade services, no job boards, nothing – at least through the Pokémon Center, anyway. Honestly kind of sucked.

"Oh well, my job can just be beating people in battle," Leo told himself, chuckling, as he opened the door to his room and collected his backpack and replenished supplies. It was a lie, of course. He wouldn't be beating many serious trainers around Blackthorn. Like Viridian, it was an Eight Badge town. Rookies were rare, and the serious trainers were very competitive.

Slinging his backpack over one shoulder, Leo doubled checked the room and nodded to himself, sure he had packed everything. It was time to hit the road once more.

"Give it back, Froslass!" Leo howled in anger, chasing after the specter. He crashed through bushes and leapt over fallen trees, Zuko zooming about ahead of him as Froslass giggled and darted between trees, holding his pokedex in one ice-white hand. Branches and brambles whipped at his face, catching on his clothes and backpack as he tore through the forest after the mischievous ghost. Haunting giggles echoes through the ever-darkening trees, a Noctowl poking it head out of its nest to watch Leo run by with wide, unblinking eyes.

"Zuko, try an ember!" Leo ordered. The Quilava skidded to a halt and spat out a short burst of embers, the tiny balls of fire mostly spattering harmlessly against the trunk of a tree, while the few that were on target vanished in the icy cold aura of Froslass. She giggled and waggled her head side to side, taunting the two.

If Zuko wanted, his embers could absolutely burn hot enough to reach Froslass without being snuffed out by the cold. The problem was Leo didn't want to start a forest fire by ordering that. He scowled, chest heaving as he doubled over, hands on his knees as he glared at Froslass.

"Give it back," he commanded. A command which, to his surprise, Froslass actually acquiesced to, tossing the pokedex back to him. He warily picked it up from where it landed at his feet, dusting off the casing and checking to make sure it still worked. He'd hate for Froslass' eternally cold body to have frozen the internals or something. "Still works," he muttered, checking the map function and nodding when the 'dex picked up a gps signal. He was a little off course thanks to Froslass, who had led him a good mile north on Route 31. Technically he was still within the bounds of the Route, so he wouldn't get in trouble if the Rangers caught him, but still.

A chill ran up Leo's spine and he turned to cock an eyebrow at Froslass as she floated behind him, grinning evilly.

"It's nice to see you again too. Thought you vanished on that mountain," Leo deadpanned. Froslass pouted – as well as an ice spirit could anyway – and disappeared into a puff of ice and wind that floated north-west. "You want me to follow you that way?" he asked. She reappeared and nodded vigorously.

"I'm heading to Violet City first," Leo argued. She frowned and he help up a hand. "Look, I'm going to help you, but I want to get a few badges out of the way too. Violet's on the way. Obviously, your tower isn't the Sprout Tower, though. Ecruteak, then?" Leo asked. She shrugged but gestured north-west once more.

Leo sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. So far, the journey had been relatively uneventful. The dangerous Ice Path was heavily restricted to Youngsters, so heading West to Mahogany from Blackthorn was out of the question – which left Leo travelling South for a while down to Cherrygrove, then back up north towards Violet. It'd taken him a solid two weeks of constant travel, but that was more because of the convoluted Routes rather than the actual distance covered. South of Blackthorn, Leo forgot the Route number, was the worst. It had way too many canyons and cliffs to wander around.

Still, there had been a few trainers to battle, so his team got a lot of training in against other trainers. Except for Diana. Oak had warned him to keep her out of official battles until he was strong enough to defend against those who might want to coerce him out of the Larvitar, and this time Leo heeded his advice. Besides, she was a little sweetheart. Though she would grow more aggressive as she matured, right now she'd much rather eat rocks than battle.

"Don't suppose you'd want to help me get my first badge?" Leo asked conversationally, heading once again towards Violet. "A powerful ice-type like you would absolutely sweep the flying type gym. At least at this level,"

A sharp giggle and a burst of cold wind was his answer, and Leo sighed. He just hoped she didn't decide to sabotage his first gym battle – he wouldn't put it past her.

Violet City was big. Bigger than Viridian, and by far the biggest city he'd been to in this world – which was still much smaller than the big cities back on Earth. So, despite the growing crowds and bustling people, each heading their own way in the midday sun, Leo didn't feel too overwhelmed. He may have spent most of his time out in the wilds this past half year, but that didn't make him unable to cope with a lot of people.

Didn't mean he liked the city, what with its filthy city smell, constant noise, and an ever-present buzz that spoke of people constantly on the move. The noise hardly left him any room to think – a far cry from the silence of the wild. He was used to it just being him, his team, and the sounds of the forest. It was…soothing, unlike the city.

Which led him to where he was now – standing in front of the Violet City Gym, after having spent the better part of the morning just searching for the stupid thing. Like he said, the city was large. Despite receiving directions from Nurse Joy as to where the gym was both that morning and the night before, Leo having gotten to Violet yesterday and spent the night in the Center, using up one of his allotted "free days," he still got hopelessly turned around. Thankfully the locals seemed more than willing to point him in the right direction.

The gym was tall and domed, not unlike a stadium with its open roof, and from the inside he could hear yells and cheers ringing out. The sounds of combat blasted out of the open roof, setting Leo's heart to pounding. As this was his first gym badge he wouldn't be standing on the big stage, like whatever was happening now – that was reserved for high-badge battles or famous trainers, which attracted a lot of attention and crowds – but the idea that he could be there, one day, was…well, he wasn't quite sure what to think about it yet. It was both intimidating, yet also really cool.

As it was now, no one cared about his battles. First badge battles were considered casual things – battles that anyone with a half-trained pokémon may be able to get. It wasn't until the fourth and fifth badges that things really started to heat up and get competitive.

"Right, no point putting it off," Leo muttered, shaking his head clear of his wandering thoughts and pushing forward. The sliding glass doors gleamed in the evening sun, making him squint as he stepped inside. He was greeted by a dull roar from the stadium and soft music playing on the lobby speakers. The lobby itself was relatively empty, despite its massive size – it was easily a hundred feet wide and lined with couches, TVs displaying the ongoing battle, and with numerous doorways and stairs leading to the stands and other arenas filled the lobby. Directly in front of him sat a man behind a counter, his eyes glued to the TV.

Leo side-eyed the TV's as he approached, where a grey-haired woman was battling Falkner's Skarmory with an Umbreon. As he watched Skarmory swooped down, wings glowing silver, and crashed harshly against the protect shield of Umbreon, who retaliated with a wave of darkness that washed over Skarmory's armor without much visible effect. The camera zoomed out quickly, following Skarmory as it flew back up into the air, shadows trailing like mist from its metallic feathers.

"Hello," Leo greeted, leaning against the front lobby counter. The receptionist jerked in surprise, whipping his head to Leo then smiling thinly.

"Hello. How may I help you?" he asked.

"I'm here for a gym battle," Leo said, glancing at the TV. "Or, at least, to register for one,"

"Gotcha. Can I have your Trainer ID please?" he asked, turning to a computer and waiting expectantly for Leo as he pulled out his ID, reading the numbers off of the metallic card for the man, whose eyes kept drifting to the TV screen. "Excellent, let me pull up your data here…alright. Leo Angelico, Youngster, started this year, no badges. This will be a challenge for your first badge then?" he asked, glancing up at Leo.

"Yes,"

"You're in luck. We have very few low-badge trainers scheduled today, so you'll be able to get the Gym Test out of the way today if you'd like. Once you get that done, if you pass, we can schedule your challenge," the receptionist replied.

"Thanks…what's your name again?" Leo asked.

"Josh," the man replied.

"Thanks, Josh. Where should I go from here?" he asked. Josh smiled and pointed him down one of the halls to the right, explaining that it would lead him to one of the smaller arenas, and telling him a bit about the test. Falkner's test was fairly simple, at least for first-badge trainers. It started with a few accuracy tests, hitting targets at range and in close quarters, and ended with one or two trainer battles.

Leo thanked Josh for the advice and headed down the hall, the roar of the crowds dimming as he plodded along. He palmed an empty pokeball, expanding and shrinking the device absently. It didn't take long for him to run into another guide, who led him to the examination room and promptly began setting up his test, looking thoroughly bored the entire time.

The first part of the test was both a test of his control over his team and accuracy on his pokemon's part, with hanging targets – comically painted red and white, some swinging and some stationary over rocky terrain, and each numbered – strategically placed around an arena with a number of boulders dotting the terrain. He was tasked with ordering his chosen pokémon to hit the target indicated by the instructor.

Leo went with the obvious choice. Santiago wouldn't listen to instructions if it wasn't an actual battle, so the only real choice was Zuko. By the fifth target swiftly and efficiently hit by Zuko's embers he thought that the instructor might bump up the difficulty level, having showcased Zuko's accuracy. The targets were nothing when compared to aiming at Zubat flitting about a dark cave, after all. But there was no such luck to be had – the test continued for a few more targets, the instructor even stating that a few had to be hit in close range or physically, before it finally ended.

"Good job, bud," Leo said, recalling Zuko from the rocky field. He looked over to the instructor expectantly, who nodded to him.

"You passed the first stage. Would you like to continue to the trainer battles, or take a chance to rest your pokémon?" he asked. Leo frowned, hoping the question was rote and not serious. There was no way Zuko was tired after that farce of a test. Maybe he'd be a little worn out as a Cyndaquil? This is a first badge challenge, they're supposed to be achieved in the first three months of training. His brain helpfully supplied.

"I'll continue," Leo answered. The instructor nodded and pressed a button near the exit, stepping to the side of the small arena and up onto the referee podium. The targets on the field retracted into the ceiling and floor, pulled up into the metal rafters via pullies and just lying on the ground for the stationary ones, and the instructor-turned-ref looked Leo dead in the eye as he spoke.

"This will be a two-on-two battle with a gym trainer. No switches are allowed; recalling your pokémon will count as their becoming unfit for battle. Standard battle rules apply. Do you understand?" he asked monotone.

"Yes," Leo responded, itching to get on with it. He wanted to see where he was actually at when it came to battling. He figured he might be a bit over-leveled for the first gym, to use game terminology, but he wanted to be sure. The instructor nodded back and, after a few minutes, the door to the arena opened, revealing a disgruntled young woman with a harried expression. She couldn't have been older than sixteen, from the looks of it.

"Sorry for the wait! I wanted to watch the end of Karen's match – she won by the way. Her Umbreon is a beast," she said excitedly, grinning at the instructor.

"I'm sure I'll be able to watch the recording," he said, boredom still coloring his voice. "If you would please? And please tell me you grabbed a first-badge team this time," he said, gesturing to the opposite side of the field from Leo. She laughed and, after assuring the instructor she had grabbed a team meant for this low-level of battle, moved to stand across from Leo.

"How's it going, kid? Ready to be destroyed by the might of flying types?" she asked cockily, unable to hide the smile on her face. Leo snorted in amusement, shaking his head.

"Ok, be honest with me. Do they make you say stuff like that at the beginning of battles?" he asked. She winked at him and pulled a pokeball off her belt, but didn't reply. If I were a gym leader, I'd make everyone use puns. It'd be the punniest gym around. He thought with a grin.

"Begin!" The instructor called, and Leo and the girl released their pokémon at the same time.

Santiago appeared between two rather tall boulders, while across from him, in clear line of sight of the Slowpoke, a Spearow appeared with a squawk and ruffling of feathers. Without even waiting for a command Santiago leapt into action, a jet of water lancing out from his mouth even as he lowered his stance to do battle. The Spearow was caught completely by surprise by the sudden attack, taking the jet of water head-first and tumbling wing-over-feather to the ground. Silence reigned for a moment as the Spearow lay there, unmoving, Leo and Santiago caught completely by surprise as to how quickly that battle had ended. The girl and the instructor, on the other hand, shared a look as she recalled the downed Spearow.

"Uh…sorry 'bout that. Santiago gets a little excited when it comes to battling. Is Spearow ok?" Leo asked tentatively. The girl smiled at him and waved the comment off.

"He'll be fine. Young pokémon like him bounce back quickly," she assured him, hand hovering over the right side of her belt, where three pokeballs sat. She seemed to deliberate for a moment before choosing the one furthest back, releasing a Zubat onto the field without a command. The purple bat screeched irritably, flitting about erratically as it discovered its surroundings with echolocation.

"No!" Leo barked, stopping Santiago from immediately attacking, and waiting for the start command. Santiago whined pitifully, head swiveling back and forth as he tracked the Zubat, tail drooping.

"Begin!" The ref called, content that Santiago would follow Leo's commands.

"Water gun!"

"Supersonic!"

A jet of water lanced out towards Zubat, narrowly missing the evasive bat as it screeched at Santiago. He paid no heed to the aggravatingly loud screech, which set Leo's ears to ringing, and instead hunkered down to let the purple glow of curse surround his body. Leo's expression narrowed as Zubat zipped in towards Santiago, fangs bared and dripping poison.

He knew this strategy. It was common amongst Zubat, instinctual almost. And the position Santiago was now providing for the bat was all but an open invitation for it to latch onto him and attempt a leech life – his eyes were closed, he was crouching low and seemingly not paying attention as he built up more muscle and mass. Unfortunately for the Zubat, this reaction was exactly what Santiago was going for. The moment its dive was too close to abort his eyes snapped open and he whipped himself around, so his tail smashed straight into Zubat's face. The much smaller pokémon tumbled through the air, only just managing to right itself before it hit the ground, squeaking in surprise and pain.

Santiago pressed his advantage then, spinning back around to face Zubat and spitting a water pulse at it.

"Dodge!" the girl called desperately, but alas Zubat was still too disoriented from being hit earlier to fully dodge. The speeding ball of water barely managed to clip its wing as it flapped to the side, sending it spinning through the air.

"Confusion," Leo commanded, knowing that the battle was effectively over at this point and wanting Santiago to get at least a little practice in with his one known psychic move.

Santiago stilled, his eyes flickering blue for a brief moment as his weak psychic powers came into play, suffusing the opposing Zubat in a blue glow even as the girl called for it to use astonish. The confusion turned out to be too much for the bat to take, however, and it fell to the ground unconscious. The girl recalled it with a sigh, nodding to Leo respectfully before leaving the arena.

Leo recalled Santiago, the Slowpoke not even breathing hard from the battle, and frowned. He took two things away from this battle; one, that Santiago had finished that entire fight without taking a hit. And two; the girl's last-ditch effort to cancel out Santiago's confusion. Using a ghost-type attacking move like astonish to weaken confusion, even if it hadn't worked at the time, seemed like a brilliant strategy. He'd have to remember that one.

Leo looked up from his magazine as the door to the waiting room opened, revealing Falkner himself chatting good-naturedly with the silver-haired girl he'd seen fighting on the TV earlier – Karen. He raised one eyebrow at the pair, folding his magazine up and glancing towards one of the gym employees that sat off to the side, behind a desk tapping away at his computer. Supposedly he was looking up when Leo could schedule his battle against Falkner, or whoever would be filling in for the low-level badge that day.

After all, it wasn't really fair for the gym leader to have to take on the sometimes-literally thousands of people searching to challenge them in one day. It wasn't uncommon for gym trainers would fill in – at least at the lower tiers. First and second badge battles were fair game, it was the third badge where training got serious. Or so Leo heard.

"…I must say, I think you stand a fair chance at winning in Blackthorn, Karen. Clair is still new at the position, so she's trying to cement her strength by defeating as many potential challengers as she can. But after today's battle I'd say you just might be able to pull it off, even if she is going no-holds-barred," Falkner said amiably.

"I appreciate your praise. My team has worked very hard, but I want to make sure we're ready for Blackthorn. Might challenge Clair first thing next season, if I don't think we're ready," Karen responded, patting her belt full of pokeballs. Falkner nodded, eyes scanning the room and passing over Leo – only to return to him, one eyebrow raised.

"I wasn't aware we had another challenger today," he said, glancing over at the gym staff sitting behind the counter. Said man only briefly glanced up at Falkner, swiftly turning his attention back to his computer even as he replied.

"We don't. He just finished his test and is looking to schedule. I'm trying to fit it in, but you're pretty booked up for the next week or so. Just waiting on Janice to get back to me with a few things before I give him the options available," he replied. Falkner hummed in thought.

"How was his test score?" Falkner asked. Leo frowned, not really appreciating being talked about like he wasn't in the room, but also not really caring. A part of him hoped that Falkner would let his challenge happen now, since he was finished with his battle against Karen and now had no other challengers, apparently.

"Flawless," the staff member said. This made Falkner's eyebrows rise, and he moved over to look at the computer over his shoulder. Leo fidgeted.

"How many badges you got, kid?" Karen, the silver haired woman, asked with a raised eyebrow. Leo glanced at her and, in that brief moment where she stared at him with an eyebrow raised and her hip cocked to one side, looking a little annoyed at Falkner's flighty attention span, he thought he recognized her. She can't be…the future member of the Elite Four, can she? He vaguely remembered hearing about her as an up-and-coming dark-type-specialist before he left on his journey, but hadn't made the connection at the time.

"This'll be my first," he replied, shelving his thoughts for now. It didn't really matter if she was or wasn't that Karen. Yet, anyway.

"Bit late into the season to be getting your first badge, don't you think? Did you just start your journey or something?" She asked. Leo shrugged.

"I got distracted along the way. What about you? You just got your seventh badge, right? Saw you on the TV. How long have you been training?" Leo asked, shifting the topic of conversation away from himself.

"Two years," she said, puffing her chest out with pride. "I turn seventeen in a few months. Impressive, right?" Leo immediately reevaluated his opinion of her training skills. To get five badges in one year like Daisy Oak had (again, he hadn't heard from her in a while – was she doing alright?) was impressive and genius-level. To get seven badges, possibly eight if Falkner's words were to be believed, in two was nigh unheard of. The difference in skill level required for the sixth, seventh, and eight badges respectively, when compared to all those before, were leaps and bounds ahead of the rest. It normally took years to get to that level.

"Hey, Leo!" Falkner said, interrupting Leo and Karen's conversation. "You want to challenge me now? I've got some time before I'm needed elsewhere, we could go ahead and knock your challenge out," he said.

Leo frowned at him. "Didn't you just battle Karen? You're not tired?" he asked. High-level battles could be tiring. At least, he imagined they were. They were more stressful and more intense after all.

"I've been battling high-tier trainers for a while now, and any low-badgers that do come in are relegated to my gym trainers. I could use a little break and have a nice, casual battle. What do you say?" he asked. Leo hummed and glanced at Karen more to give himself time to think than anything else. It wasn't like Santiago or Zuko were tired after the tests, so…

"Sure, sounds good. I appreciate it," he said, standing. Falkner grinned and clapped his hands together, an evil glint appearing in his eyes that made Leo immediately suspicious.

"Great! I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of Youngster would catch Victoria Oak's eye. For her to be your sponsor is quite a statement. She helped me train my own Dodrio, you know!" he said with a laugh and Leo internally groaned. Of course having the Oak name attached to his trainer's license in the form of his sponsor would attract attention to himself. Of course it would.

"Victoria Oak? The normal-type Master? You're sponsored by her?" Karen asked, interest plain to see on her face. "…hope you don't mind an audience then,"

Leo barely managed to withhold his groan once more, but still rubbed his face irritably. And now he had an audience. Most first-badge battles didn't because they weren't as interesting to viewers. Well, look on the bright side. At least now that Falkner knows Victoria sponsored me, my team might get a challenge out of this battle.

Why did I agree to this? Leo asked himself for the umpteenth time, standing across from Falkner on the battlefield. Empty bleachers surrounded the indoor field, the ceiling a good twenty feet in the air above the barren arena, with flickering lights illuminating the area. The bleachers themselves were empty, save for Karen and a few gym trainers who had come to watch Falkner. Leo recognized the girl he had fought during the test, but none of that was the source of his current headache.

His headache came from him agreeing to a three-on-three battle with Falkner. The gym leader had all but pleaded Leo to up the pokémon limit, it usually being a two-on-two for first badge trainers, as he "wanted to see the full extent of Victoria's training, not just the best you have to offer." That, combined with the gym leader assuring full confidentiality in case Leo had a rare pokémon (which was his main source of concern, Larvitar were coveted after all - but if he couldn't trust a gym leader who could he trust?), as well as keeping the recording private, had led Leo to accept the terms to a three-on-three battle.

That, and the fact that Leo didn't really need to beat Falkner to earn his badge. Just impress him, and assure him that he had reached a certain level in training. Gym Leaders were allowed to hand out badges at their own discretion.

In reality, it wasn't a logical choice. Leo had just caved in front of the Leader's constant asking. Let's just hope Santiago and Zuko can finish this before I need to use Diana. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Leo refocused on the imminent battle. The referee had just finished with stating the rules, and now had one hand raised in the air, preparing to start the match.

"Begin!" he called, and Leo and Falkner released their first pokémon at the same time.

Zuko appeared in front of Leo, while before Falkner a Doduo appeared in a flash of red. Its two heads squawked at each other, beaks snapping irritably even before it realized that it had an opponent.

"Ember!" Leo immediately called, Falkner simply snapping his fingers to get the bird's attention. Zuko spat a stream of embers at Doduo, the small balls of flame peppering its torso and snapping the two heads to attention as it leapt towards Zuko in one large leap. Zuko scrambled out of the way as the bird came down on top of him, claws scratching and beaks jabbing, and only just getting out of the way. He responded with another short burst of embers before sprinting away from the much larger bird – with only one problem. Doduo was faster. Its legs were longer and its beak had further reach, so it was only a matter of time before it caught him.

"Smoke bomb yourself," Leo ordered.

"Fury attack," Falkner said with a frown. Doduo launched itself forward, leaping clear over Zuko, who skidded to a halt and sucked in a deep breath, before whipping around and jabbing with both of its heads.

The twin beaks jabbed viciously into Zuko's sides, but unfortunately for the bird its leftmost head came dangerously close to the red dots atop Zuko's head. The quilava squealed in anger, flaring up his fire – which singed the side of one of Doduo's heads – and belched out a stream of superheated black smoke all over Doduo. It squawked indignantly, scrambling back out of the increasingly large cloud of smoke and shaking itself vigorously. A dull red glow from inside the smoke indicated Zuko's position, which quickly faded when the smoke ceased to grow.

"Rage, quick," Falkner ordered. One of Doduo's heads squawked in anger, shaking itself vigorously, while the other bobbed its head, beak glowing white. White light burned off of its talons as it all but vanished from where it stood, displacing the smoke as it sped through the cover and slammed into Zuko, who went flying with a yelp. To his credit, though, he was ready and unleashed another torrent of embers at the Doduo, who came tearing out of the smoke with singed feathers and a thirst for blood.

"Flame wheel!" Leo commanded, eyes widening at the sheer speed of Doduo. Zuko hadn't quite mastered the move, but there was nothing like a little bit of pressure to overcome that final hurdle. Fire flared and sparked around Zuko's body as he curled into a ball mid-air, the flame wheel only half-formed when Doduo reached him. Twin beaks lanced forward with astounding precision and speed, jabbing into Zuko once more and sending him flying even further away – and giving him all the momentum he needed to start rolling.

The Quilava crashed into the ground like a rolling tire, flames licking at the ground as he rolled around the arena, spinning on almost a dime to aim straight back at Doduo, who was continuing their charge. It wasn't expecting such a sudden change, and thus Zuko slammed into its torso, sending the bird sprawling as he stumbled out of his attack, the orange flames dying off. For a moment there was silence as Falkner watched Doduo struggle to rise, then recalled it.

"Doduo is unable to battle! The winner is Quilava!" the referee called. Leo let out a breath, grinning despite himself. Zuko looked tired – he was panting and Doduo's attacks had clearly hurt, but it didn't look like he was out of the fight just yet.

"Ready to keep going, bud?" Leo asked. Zuko huffed and flared up, indicating his readiness.

"Got a pretty quick Quilava there," Falkner remarked casually. "For it to keep ahead of Doduo as well as he did is impressive. But I doubt you'll find this next pokémon so easy to give the runaround! Farfetch'd, let's do this!" he called, pumping his fist in excitement as he released his next pokémon onto the field. Leo raised an eyebrow at both the gym leader's enthusiasm and the rare duck pokémon. Farfetch'd were hardly seen in the Kanto or Johto region, from what Leo knew. Thus, he had no idea what to expect from it besides what the newest Galar games reminded him of.

"All contestants ready? Begin!" The referee called. Zuko didn't wait for Leo's command this time, immediately moving into a strafing run as he zipped about the flat arena, embers spewing from his mouth. Unfortunately he was noticeably slower than before, the battle against Doduo having taken its toll.

Farfetch'd scoffed audibly, raising its leek and batting away the incoming embers. Zuko hissed and reared back, spewing smoke from his mouth that Farfetch'd leapt over with a casual flap of its wings, retaliating by whipping its leek sword-like through the air, blades of green energy flying off the leek and hurtling towards Zuko.

He leapt out of the way, only a single leaf managing to strike him and with a glancing blow at that. Farfetch'd quacked at him, flipping its leek into its bill so it could fly through the air properly, and soar lazily above the arena. Zuko tracked him through the air, occasionally testing the bird's reaction speed with a burst of ember attacks.

Leo chewed his lip in thought, trying to figure out a way out of this. Farfetch'd looked far stronger and better trained than Doduo, and if he remembered right they were mostly physical attackers. As a special attacker, it would be best to keep Zuko away from Farfetch'd…a normal smokescreen might be useful at times like this, but it obscured Zuko's vision as much as everything else.

His thoughts were interrupted by Farfetch'd dive bombing Zuko with a sudden burst of speed, smacking him upside the head with his leek and, instead of flying off in the hit-and-run tactics typical of flying types, proceeded to land and viciously attack Zuko.

"Tackle it off you!" Leo called and, to his credit, Zuko did just that. He slammed his head into Farfetch'd's gut and flared the flames atop his head, adding fire to the basic attack even as Farfetch'd smacked him with his leek one more time. The bird awkwardly flapped away with an indignant quack from the attack, breast feathers singed, and eyed Zuko warily from where he lay on the ground, panting heavily. Leo watched for a second, eyes flitting between Zuko and Farfetch'd before deciding Zuko was done. He could barely stand, let alone fight, after the beating he'd just taken.

"Return. I forfeit Quilava," Leo announced formally, calling his friend back and murmuring words of thanks to the ball. He didn't know if Zuko could actually hear him, but everyone did it so he figured it to be a good idea. Wouldn't harm anything even if Zuko couldn't hear him.

"Good choice. You beat the ref to the call. Your Quilava very well might have been able to get off another ember or two, but Farfetch'd would've been able to dodge them even easier." Falkner praised. Leo dipped his head in acknowledgement, plucking Santiago's pokeball off his belt.

"Santiago, you're up," he said, releasing his Slowpoke.

A long, low call followed by a yawn sounded out from Santiago, his head idly sweeping side-to-side until he spotted Farfetch'd, who stood cockily across the arena. He squared himself off then, his normally dopey expression focusing on the threat and his call turning to a wet, bubbling growl as water built up in the back of his throat.

"Begin!" the ref called, and a jet of water immediately arced towards Farfetch'd, who dodged out of the way.

"Fury cutter until it's down," Falkner ordered casually, leaning against the railing with a grin on his face. Leo scowled, but didn't give any orders of his own. Santiago was just as likely to win this at range as he would in close-quarters, fury cutter being super effective against him was irrelevant. Stubbornness could go a long way in a pokémon battle, and Santiago had that in spades.

A water pulse clipped Farfetch'd in the side as it leapt in, leek glowing with green energy and knocking it off course for a brief moment. This allowed Santiago enough time to boost himself with a curse before the bird closed in and began viciously whacking away with its leek, wielding it like some absurd club-sword-thing. Santiago growled and smashed his head into Farfetch'd, sending it stumbling back, but it was undeterred and leapt once more, this time utilizing its superior mobility to keep ahead of Santiago. Santiago largely ignored the attacks though, his dulled sense of pain alleviating most of the immediate shock-value damage, and instead attempted to trade blows with the aggressive duck. For every other fury cutter, Santiago would return with a sweeping tail, a brief burst of water, a flicker of psychic power, or simply ramming the bird with his much-larger body.

At this rate, Leo honestly had no idea who would win. Santiago hit hard and was tanky, but that Farfetch'd was taking and dishing out plenty of damage on its own. He didn't know how many hits Santiago could take.

The answer turned out to be a lot. In real time it took maybe twenty to thirty seconds for the Farfetch'd to go down, Santiago falling to a heap on top of it, breathing heavy but still ready to fight if for no other reason than pure bull-headed stubbornness, but in the fight that translated to a good twenty or so hits from fury cutter onto the Slowpoke.

"Farfetch'd and Slowpoke are unable to battle!" The referee called, obviously disagreeing with Leo's internal assessment. He scowled but didn't argue, recalling his starter and murmuring words of thanks as Falkner did the same. He was pretty sure Santiago was lying on Farfetch'd to keep it down, not out of exhaustion.

"That's quite the aggressive Slowpoke you've got there. What did you feed him to get him like that? Most don't even want to move for food," Falkner teased, grinning.

"He's always been like that. Raised him since he was just a few months old – he'll fight me every step of the way when it comes to training, but in a battle he comes alive," Leo said with a shrug, nervously palming Diana's pokeball. He really didn't want to have to reveal she was on his team, especially with Karen in the stands. No matter how badly Falkner fought it, he shouldn't have agreed to this…

A shiver ran up Leo's spine, the hairs on his arms standing on end as the air around him chilled. And, for a moment, he could feel the presence of Froslass. The shadows danced on the walls and he could feel her eyes upon him, as if waiting for…something. It was an offer, he realized, that she might be willing to fight in this battle. Leo gripped Diana's pokeball, conflict within him raging for but a few brief moments. Did he accept Froslass' offer, and use her to finish this fight? Or did he elect to trust in Falkner, and that his privacy would be respected?

Coming to a decision, Leo released his Larvitar onto the field. "Diana, you go this," she appeared in a flash of red, her curious red eyes scanning the area and blinking owlishly. Silence reigned over the arena for a moment, and Leo felt Froslass' presence recede, the temperature returning to normal. Briefly he felt an icy-cold hand place itself on his arm, comfortingly, but when he glanced down he couldn't see anything.

Thank you. He thought, appreciating the show of support from the normally wholly mischievous ghost.

"I see now why you were so reluctant to have a three-on-three." Falkner said seriously. "Don't worry, this won't be made public. There are a number of laws in place to protect rookie trainers like you, who have rare, and potentially incredibly powerful pokémon. I swear on my title as a gym leader. That said, where on earth did you find a Larvitar?" he asked. Leo smiled.

"Mount Moon. I spent five months searching the caverns there, delving deeper than I honestly should have, until I literally stumbled upon her. Fell through the floor, and there she was, munching on a few rocks. Ran into the mom on the way out – and wasn't that an experience!" Leo laughed, lying smoothly. Oak had helped coach him on what to say. "She trashed my team making sure that I was worthy of taking Diana here along and – hey! No! Don't eat that!" Leo barked, cutting himself off when he noticed Diana had waddled over to the referee stand, and was looking to take a bite out of the painted metal.

She flinched, glancing back over at Leo with as innocent a look as she could muster.

"We're about to get into a battle, girl," Leo said, shaking his head. Falkner chuckled, and pulled his own pokeball off his belt.

"Well, I'm at least glad to hear it wasn't a gift. There's favoritism, then there's gifting your protégé with a potential pseudo-legendary. Pidgeotto, time for battle," he barked, releasing the avian onto the field. The bird shrieked and flapped its wings, lifting itself above the arena. Diana blinked and tilted her head at Pidgeotto, having never seen the evolved form of Pidgey before.

"Diana, focus," Leo said. "Get back to the center, leave the podium alone,"

Diana blinked at him, looked back at the flying bird, and casually waddled back over to the center of the stage. The referee cleared his throat and shook his head, giving Leo a look and holding up his hand.

"Begin!" he called, and Pidgeotto shrieked.

"Steel wing!" Falkner cried, and Leo mentally panicked. Before he could even give an order Pidgeotto swooped down, wings gleaming silver, and slammed its wing into Diana's gut. The little rock-type was lifted off her feet from the impact, tumbling to the ground and skidding a solid foot before coming to a stop. Leo's breath caught in his throat as he watched Diana stand, dusting herself off and…totally unharmed. She dusted her stomach, patted her shoulders, and looked back up at the now-circling Pidgeotto with an excited look. Almost as if that was…fun.

Leo couldn't help it, he laughed. He knew Larvitar had tough armor – not nearly as tough as their evolved forms, but for Diana to survive a steel wing from a Pidgeotto without a scratch? The flying type was going to break its wings before it managed to hurt her at this rate.

"Try mud slap!" Falkner ordered, pointing dramatically. Pidgeotto shrieked once more and swooped low over the arena, talons sinking into the hard-packed dirt floor and flicking clods of dirt at Diana. Mud slap was a bit of misnomer, Leo thought, because it didn't actually require mud. It was more of an upgrade to sand attack, throwing large chunks of dirt that might do damage at an opponent and obscure their vision, rather than throwing dust around.

"Lunch!" Leo said simply. Diana perked up, opening her mouth wide and biting down on one of the chunks of dirt, chewing and grimacing at the looseness of the ground. She promptly bent over and spit it out with a whine, pawing at her mouth and looking back at Leo pitifully. She preferred solid foods, not grainy clods of soil.

"Okay…" Falkner said, clearly at a loss. "Try steel wing, one more time!" he ordered.

"Earth," Leo said, wanting to try something. All Diana really knew how to do was bite and tackle right now, which wasn't very versatile. He wanted to see if any of her copying him had paid off – they hadn't had much chance to try it in an actual battle, though she now knew to connect certain stances and strikes with words.

Diana turned sideways, sliding her feet apart and turning her head so she was facing the incoming Pidgeotto. It shrieked a war cry as it homed in on her, wings glowing silver and slamming into Diana, who lowered her head to meet the impact with her forehead. With an almighty crack the Pidgeotto's wings folded and slid off Diana's head spike, leaving a sharp line in the stone but not breaking it. The bird squawked awkwardly as it tumbled to the ground, hopping to its feet and holding its wing gingerly to one side.

"Pidgeotto, return," Falkner called, the bird disappearing into a flash of red even as it tried to shriek at Diana. Said Larvitar blinked in surprise, rubbing her head-spike and feeling the cut. She whined and glanced back at Leo, who smiled at her and leapt out of his podium, walking over and placing a soothing hand on her back. She leaned into the touch, still touching the cut, distressed.

"Good job, girl. You did great. We'll get you fixed up in no time," he said, recalling her and looking up at Falkner, who was walking towards him with a smile.

"I can't say I'm that surprised. Even if you hadn't won, I'd say you're skilled enough for the Zephyr badge. Congratulations," he said, handing over the small green pin. Leo accepted it with a smile, starting to reach out to shake Falkner's hand before remembering Professor Oak's lecture about Johtoan etiquette. You were supposed to bow, not shake hands here.

So Leo bowed slightly, and Falkner's grin grew wider.

"Normally I'd give a few words of encouragement here, or bemoan my loss dramatically. But instead I think I'll just give you a piece of advice – you're right to be cautious with your team, and hiding the rarity of some of your teammates. Quilava and Larvitar are prized pokémon for a reason, your Larvitar's toughness alone is testament to that. But don't be afraid to use them either. This is not some barbarous country where you'll be mugged for your pokémon on every street corner, not like Orre. This is Johto. We respect your ability to train what you will. Now get out of here, and go celebrate your first badge," he said, patting Leo on the head, much to his chagrin, and looking back at Karen.

Leo grinned and looked down at the Zephyr badge, clenching it in his hand as he made his way to the door. The battle against Falkner had been quite a bit tougher than he expected after the ease of his test, but…well, he was one step closer to Alola now.

Leader Falkner had to hold Karen back before she could go tearing off after young Leo, as she was intent on learning where and how to catch a Larvitar. A Tyranitar would be quite a boon to her dark-type team, after all, but there were laws in place that prevented older trainers from coercing rookies into giving away their pokémon. Falkner felt the need to remind the normally calm young woman of that fact before letting her go chase off after Leo.

Leo Angelico, huh? Falkner mused, sitting down behind his personal computer and looking at the boy's profile. He wasn't a supporter of the Youngster License, but even he wouldn't deny that a kid like that was more than deserving of going on his journey early. He didn't give many orders, but his pokémon knew what they were doing even without that. He had the beginnings of a serious trainer, at least.

In fact, that was the reason he was sitting here, now. Because the boy had some powerful pokémon, and it was necessary to cultivate talent. Much like the Wataru who had ruled them for centuries, Johto believed in cultivating strength, without letting the wielder know of their power. As such, Falkner put a little note on Leo's profile letting the other gym leaders know he had beaten a second-to-third gym-badge level team (with the exception of Pidgeotto, he was first-to-second badge level) on his first try, to let them know to test him. To beat the iron while it was hot, so to speak.

He sipped at his chilled tea, nodding to himself as he read over the notes on Leo's profile. Figures that the Oaks would churn out another prodigy, even if he isn't blood related. They've got at eye for talent. Makes me look forward to when the youngest comes of age.

Falkner sighed and smiled to himself. Some days he hated being a gym leader. The responsibility, the busy schedule, few chances to train or simply go flying with his beloved flying types…but some days? Days like today, where he got to battle an upcoming Master who he was sure would surpass himself, and see a young talent at the beginning of his journey? Days where he got to use Farfetch'd, his favorite pokémon even if they aren't good competitively? Well, even if he was young, only been a gym leader for two years at this point, it warmed his heart. This is what dad was talking about when he would wax on and off about being a Leader. He thought and smiled, closing his eyes. The smile faded as another thought occurred to him, and he sighed …seems I inherited his sentimentality, too.