Slate and April didn’t have to use the capsule tents stowed in their new bags that evening. Pokémon Centers offered free hostel accommodation for Trainers—assuming they were in before 11 p.m. and out by 9 a.m. the next morning—and the Hazell Town Center had plenty of beds available. The upper floor was made up of two communal bathrooms and numerous identical small rooms containing nothing but two sets of bunkbeds.

Slate was grateful to have a room to himself owing to how few guests there were. Even so, he didn’t sleep well that night. Ever since dropping Suzie off at her family’s bakery, his mind had been full of thoughts about his mother.

Doubts about whether he should have gone to the police about her abduction, after all, kept swimming around in his head. He’d only finally drifted off to sleep after deciding that in spite of Professor Larch’s advice, he would report his mother missing if she didn’t show up by the end of the week.

At 8 a.m., the Center’s wake-up alarm sounded, and Slate reluctantly rolled out of bed. After getting dressed and using the facilities, he left to meet April in the lobby as planned.

“You know, we didn’t earn any Poké Dollars yesterday, except my ₽200 for catching Zunshin,” April informed him over some bad vending machine coffee.

Slate had never been a big fan of the bitter drink, but he was tired and could use the caffeine boost. Also, he had noticed April’s judgmental gaze when his finger had momentarily lingered over the machine’s hot chocolate button.

“Yeah, but I’m glad we helped Suzie out,” Slate asserted.

“Me too,” April concurred, “but we’re really going to have to work on it today, or forget Poké Balls, we won’t be able to feed ourselves, and trust me, you won’t like me when I’m hangry!”

Thinking back on April’s relentless pursuit of her donut the day prior, Slate decided to take the girl’s word for it.

***

Intending to battle some wild Pokémon to top-up their dwindling funds, Slate and April returned to Hazell Town’s northern route. Unfortunately, after spending the previous afternoon with all the cute Zunshin and Chumster in the opposite field, it felt almost personal to be battling more of their kind. In addition, finding and cornering wild Pokémon turned out to be something of a challenge in itself.

By lunchtime, Slate and April had only managed to defeat one wild critter a piece. Deciding to give it up as a bad job, they started back to town but came upon a pug-faced boy of about fourteen standing in their path. As they approached, he turned his blue baseball cap backwards.

“You two are Trainers?” the boy accused.

“Err, yeah, I’m Slate, and this is Apr—” Slate started.

“No need for all that,” the boy interjected. “All I need to know is that your Trainers, and that means we can battle!”

April frowned and asked, “What if we don’t want to battle?”

“Tough luck, sweetheart! We’ve made eye contact and that means we fight! Those are the rules,” he sneered.

“Sweetheart?” April repeated, looking affronted. “And what rules might those be?”

“It’s standard Trainer 101, babe,” the boy explained obnoxiously.

“Babe?” April expelled, looking fierce. “Maybe I do want to battle, after all!”

Slate laughed nervously. “Ease up a bit, kid,” he advised.

“You got any Gym badges?” the boy interrogated, ignoring Slate.

April folded her arms. “No, but—” she started.

“Not interested!” he said, cutting her off, then turning to Slate. “How about your boyfriend?”

“Oh, I’m not her boyfriend,” Slate corrected quickly.

“He is not my boyfriend!” said April at the same time, though, with rather more vigor.

Slate flashed the inside of his jacket in answer, revealing the badge Bella had awarded him.

“The Chemical Badge, huh?” the boy remarked. “I guess you’ll do. It’ll be a two-on-two battle with official rules.”

“I haven’t said I’ll battle you,” Slate protested, he too getting angry now. “Besides, I only have one Pokémon.”

“I have two,” April interrupted, “I’ll be your opponent, you little twerp!”

The boy considered this for a moment, then announced, “I’ll take you both on then! Make it a double battle. One Pokémon from the badge holder and one from his missus.”

April gasped and warned, “You’ll pay for that, pipsqueak! Let’s get him, Slate!”

“Fine,” Slate yielded, secretly feeling as though the arrogant Trainer deserved a good beating. “I choose you, Cryote!”

Once Slate’s Pokémon’s molecules assembled themselves at his feet, the boy exclaimed, “No way, a Shiny! I want one! Where d’you get it?”

Slate shrugged with an air of smug atisfaction, glad to have dampened his opponent’s spirits.

“Go, Zunshin!” April followed. “Kicking your butt will be good experience for my new catch!”

Slate wished that April had gone with Rodenki considering It had battled together with Cryote before.

“Time for Ace Trainer Howie’s big reveal!” the boy yelled.

“Ace Trainer?” April questioned skeptically.

Unlike Slate and April, he then threw his two Silph Balls to the center of their battle area. Two shapes emerged and solidified, then the balls returned to him as if pulled by a fishing line, right into his outstretched hand.

“Jealous of my Poke Glove, huh?” he bragged.

April gave a mocking laugh. Her mother, Professor Larch, had invented the Poké Glove, after all. She and slate were wearing theirs; they just hadn’t had them activated yet. Slate was more concerned with the two Pokémon that had appeared.

“Sercuit, Akant, prepare for battle!” the boy shouted.

The red bug Pokémon, which Slate had come across before, snapped its pincers. Its partner, which coiled its long, slithering, midnight blue body tightly, was something new. Slate thought he recognized the name, though. He motioned for his Pokédex, but April beat him to it. *Ping*.

SPECIES

#057 Sercuit

DERIVATION

Serpent + Circuit

CATEGORY

Constriction

COLORING

Dark Blue

Blue

Yellow

TYPE

Electric

-

ABILITIES

Tenacity

Lightning Rod

Battery

DETAILS

As electricity builds in this Pokémon’s body, the patterns that line its skin begin to glow. This effect can attract prey as well as ward off enemies.

“Sercuit?” April voiced, turning to Slate. “That’s one of the names listed on the poster we saw at the lab!”

The boy puffed out his chest, put his hands on his hips, and responded, “That’s right, babe! They told me at the lab that I got their very last specimen! My parents can afford the best, you see.”

Slate bit his lip in frustration. He couldn’t believe the last of the starter Pokémon that could have been meant for him or April had been given to this little brat. The snake-like Pokémon was kind of cool, too.

April, it seemed, could no longer contain herself. “Zunshin, Fury Attack!” she commanded, and the battle began.

BATTLE: April & Slate VS "Ace Trainer" Howie

“April!” Slate snapped irritably as her colorful flying Pokémon dived at the Sercuit. She hadn’t been specific, so it had attacked the less suitable target. On top of that, after all the training they did with the Zunshin at the big tree the day before, she hadn’t selected Double Team first. The illusory clones would have confused their foes and increased Zunshin’s evasiveness. “Cryote, Howl!”

April’s Zunshin began jabbing furiously at the Sercuit with its beak while his Cryote’s call boosted its Attack power and Accuracy, but Slate was worried it might be for nawt.

“Sercuit, Thundershock! Akant, Fury Cutter!” Howie ordered.

Slate gave his next command early, “Cryote, use Tackle on Akant!” But there wasn’t time. Zunshin was too far into the opponent’s side of the field. Slate watched in horror as the blue patterns that lined the Sercuit’s long body began to glow ominously, then it directed a jolt of electricity from the end of its pointed tail.

The Flying-Type received a super effective hit, causing it to fall to the floor. Sadly, Howie’s Akant was lying in wait, where it slashed with its glowing pincers. The Bug-Type move wouldn’t have been very effective had Zunshin not already suffered a big blow. Unfortunately, it was enough to knock it out.

“No!” April cried, returning her Pokémon to its capsule in disbelief. Just after it disappeared from the field Cryote came charging in to avenge its partner. Its Tackle sent the Akant hurtling backward, but it recovered, and Howie gave his next commands.

“Akant, stick with Fury Cutter. Sercuit, use Bite!”

Cryote tried to dodge, but both moves landed, causing the pup to yelp in pain and hobble away. Slate knew Fury Cutter to work similarly to his Pokémon’s Echoed Voice. If used again, it would be three times as powerful as normal and would no doubt defeat Cryote instantly. He had to knock out the Akant before that.

“Cryote, Tackle it again, as hard as you can!” Slate instructed, and the Pokémon dashed toward its foe.

Surprised by its speed, Howie looked worried, and quickly yelled, “Akant Fury Cutter!”

Cryote was too quick, though. It’s second boosted Tackle was enough to make the Akant faint. However, it wasn’t out of the woods yet. With one hand, Howie returned his Akant, and with the other, he pointed at the Cryote and called out, “Sercuit, end this with Wrap!”

The snake Pokémon slithered between the panting Cryote’s legs with surprising agility, and began to loop around it.

Slate watched, unsure of what to do as Cryote was bound and lifted off the ground. Then, the Sercuit began to squeeze. Cryote pined. This made Slate realize, it could still use its mouth. “Cryote, use Bellow!”

The pup released its deafening roar, which when delivered in such close proximity, must have been agony for the Sercuit. However, the foe held on and began to squeeze harder.

“Nice try, but there’s no escaping my Sercuit’s Wrap. Plus, its ability is Tenacity, which increases the effectiveness of binding moves!” Howie taunted. “Sercuit, Wrap its jaw shut too!”

The serpent’s tail wound its way over Cryote’s snout. Even if it hadn’t, Slate doubted whether Cryote would be able to take a deep enough breath to use Bellow, Echoed Voice or Howl, and Tackle was out of the question in this situation. As it squeezed harder than ever, Slate knew it was over. He had lost.

“Stop!” he called out. “You win! I surrender.”

VICTORY: "Ace Trainer" Howie

*Ping*. “Battle loss recorded,” Slate’s other Pokédex announced mechanically.

“That’s enough, Sercuit,” Howie ordered. “These losers aren’t worth our time!”

“Hey! How about a little sportsmanship?” April retorted as the boy recalled his Pokémon, releasing the now limp Cryote from its deadly grip.

“I’ll save that for Trainers who know what they’re doing,” the victorious youngster responded. “Almony’s Gym Leader must be a real pushover if someone like you won their Badge!”

Slate ran to Cryote’s side. He could hear April continue to yell something as Howie walked off back into town, but he couldn’t process what she was saying. He could only stare at the injured Pokémon. Its eyes were closed, and its breathing was labored. As bad as Howie’s attitude was, his words had really hit home.

Slate hadn’t won his badge. Not really. Aside from the low-level Zunshin he had defeated earlier, his only two battles had ended the same way—with Cryote in serious jeopardy. What kind of Trainer was he?

“Slate? Slate!” April said, shaking his shoulder. “Come on, let’s get Cryote healed up.”

***

After a standard healing cycle at the Hazell Town Pokémon Center, Slate’s stomach dropped as the nurse explained Cryote must have received a critical hit, and required special treatment. Cryote was placed on a gurney, then wheeled off through the doors next to the nurse’s station.

Slate slumped into one of the lobby chairs and put his head in his hands. “I can’t believe this,” he expressed solemnly.

“Cryote’s going to be fine, Slate,” April consoled him.

“Yeah? And what about the next time I make a mistake?” Slate snapped. “I completely underestimated that little shi—”

“No, it was my fault,” April interjected. “I held you back. Again!”

Slate guffawed and shook his head, unwilling to listen to any objections. “How am I supposed to help my mom like this?” he sulked. “My brother never had any trouble when he started out. If Jet were here right now…”

After a period of silence, April shared that she was going to call her mother and give an update on their progress.

“Hi, Mom!” Slate heard April say. “Just thought I would check-in.”

“Oh, April, I’ve been worried!” Professor Larch replied. “Bella emailed me! She told me all about how you and Slate helped her. I’m so proud of you!”

“Well, it was mainly Slate that beat Team Shade,” April conceded.

Slate let out a puff of air and shook his head again.

“I’m glad you called, hon. Something’s happened,” said Professor Larch in a grave tone.

“Who’s that sitting behind you?” April enquired. “I didn’t think it was safe to have visitors.”

“Well, that’s what we need to discuss. She turned up an hour ago. I was doing a quick shop in town—don’t worry I had my big hat and coat on, so no-one would have recognized me—and she was just wandering up Marcona High Street.”

“Who?” April asked impatiently.

“Heather Davy!” the professor answered.