Erin

  —

  I was very ready to put Saffron behind me. I didn't hate the city, especially not compared to cities in my old world, but so far I liked it the least out of all I'd visited. Just the city itself, actually. I kind of liked the ambiance walking down the streets, and it was cleaner than cities in my old world, not to mention free of air pollution from gasoline-chugging cars… Did they have gasoline here? I know that coal existed, so theoretically oil should, too…

  Wait, wasn't that how Galar used to power itself? Coal? Which led to Galarian Weezing? Huh… now I can't get the image of a Galarian Weezing just hanging around one of those dipshits who liked to 'roll coal' out of my head…

  I shook my head a little, trying to clear my thoughts. The waiting room at the Saffron Gym was much nicer than the ones I'd seen before, polished wood floors, decorative trim, there was a beautiful tapestry hung on either side of the door, both depicting Alakazam that seemed to sneer at my stupidity… It was also not empty.

  "Lighten up, Erin, it's just a Badge Battle! It's not like more than half of first year trainers that reach it hit a wall at their Sixth Badge!" Leaf looked nervous, but I understood that… I was, too.

  I feel like I have gotten over at least some of my… arrogance? Overconfidence? It wasn't really arrogance, though, I just… rarely ran into someone that could put up a good fight! Brock was the closest, but I knew he had gone easier on me than he could have… Sabrina wouldn't be holding back, or at least not much, this time.

  We had watched a few of her sixth badge battles, but… I could see what Nova had meant, that we were doing everything right, just not right enough, kind of?

  I mean, what kind of deep strategies could even exist in real life? I'd never been competitive in Pokemon, and competition in a turn-based game like it had been in my world was… it just seemed so damn stupid. Everything coming down to a few HP differences due to Breeding a particular Pokemon over and over again, or some shit like that! I didn't care about little nit-picky crap like that!

  I'd managed to get some time to talk to Raihan, however, and what he had to say was… unwelcome.

  I was partially correct, actually. At higher levels of battle, strategy could be a waste of effort when you knew for a fact that a single Draco Meteor could wipe your opponent out… if you could hit them. Strategies like poisoning a foe, then focusing on evasion, were of course common for some Pokemon, and Cerberus at least would have some real trouble hitting a fast, far away opponent…

  Raihan hadn't been very helpful, though, because he had said something similar to Nova.

  "You'll see what I mean for your sixth badge Battle. Even if you win, you'll get it."

  If.

  They were all convinced that we were going to suffer a defeat, and… I didn't like that. Okay, maybe I was a little arrogant and prideful… just a teensy, tiny bit, possibly…

  "Why are we all back here, though? It's not like we haven't watched a few of her sixth badge battles, we're not going to, I don't know, gain some advantage from watching her beat up Erin." I scowled at Alex for that one, but she just smirked at me… with a bit of dread behind the smirk, sure.

  All three of us were in the waiting room for some reason…

  The ding was very loud in this quiet room, too…

  I accepted the good luck wishes from the other two, but honestly, I barely heard them as I pushed through the door.

  The Saffron Gym's arena was plainly grand. It was a weird juxtaposition, because the arena itself was simply a large plain rectangle surrounded by walls… Well, it was actually sunken into the ground, the seating rising around it in tall tiers, easily large enough to hold over three thousand people, like a coliseum…

  It was easy to tell, considering the seating was full! I glanced towards the unofficial 'challengers seating' and was just barely able to pick Nova out of the crowd, sitting with mom. We'd introduced them to each other right before we were sent off to the waiting room. No Lance, he was busy, but they were joined by Midir and Meowstic… also my new grandparents… Not that I disliked them, honestly, so I gave them all a quick nod before refocusing on Sabrina.

  Sabrina, who reminded me a lot of Brock at that moment, sitting cross-legged in the same sort of outfit she had on previously, if a blue shirt this time… Really glad she didn't wear one of her weird leather outfits, or even pulled that whip out… Wasn't that a remnant from when they were monster tamers, though? I saw an eyebrow raise and smirked a little.

  Smirked up at her a little.

  Because she was just floating in the air cross-legged, completely stationary… Because why wouldn't she be floating…

  "Before we begin, I feel that I should explain something to you." I tilted my head slightly, and she gave me a tiny smirk.

  "Up until now, you have fought opponents who are generally rated for a higher badge battle, and you still won. That does not mean that your Pokemon are at the same level as them, however. Gym's are not speed bumps, small obstacles in your Circuit. Gym's test you, and you can't get a feel for how someone battles if their Pokemon sweeps yours. What makes the jump from fifth badge to sixth so hard, then? Why is it that more than half of first year trainers who get five Badges never get another?" She grinned slightly.

  "Because we stop holding our Pokemon back, at least partially. My final Pokemon will be a sixth badge Pokemon, just like every one I will use for these matches, but they will not hold back in the least. I truly hope that you all manage to win, but starting now? At this Badge? It is my job to make sure you don't." All sixth badge? Really?

  With that lovely warning she nodded at the referee, and he immediately launched into the usual spiel.

  "This will be a four versus four Sixth Badge Gym Battle! As the Gym Leader, Sabrina will release her Pokemon first, and be unable to switch! Challenger, you will release your Pokemon second, and will have three switches available to you! The matches will continue until surrender or knockout! Are there any questions?" We both shook our heads, and then Sabrina released a… Kadabra.

  I wasn't exactly shocked, sure, but… she was serious about the sixth badge thing, wasn't she? I took a moment to think, but… I really did just hit shit hard… We hadn't agreed on who would be coming out this time, either, but…

  "Ready for your debut, bud?" I grinned a little as I felt him give me the mental equivalent of a middle finger, which was interesting, honestly… I grinned much wider for my next words, even as the referee began to narrow his eyes at my delay.

  "Want to show them what fear looks like, Stabby?" I knew that was more Giggles' and Morgrem's thing, but still… he greatly enjoyed fear, too… Same as me, honestly…

  The crowd gasped when my best friend came out, because he was a named Clefable. A named Clefable named Stabby! He gave me a quick grin before turning back towards Kadabra, but he wasn't silent, and these days he was much easier to understand.

  "This be funny. Maybe stab ass?" 'Dude, please don't do that… unless it makes sense to… It would be funny, though…' I felt him slap my mind, because fae hated talking through aura if there was another option, but I wasn't Leaf. I couldn't… use a 'board' in my head? Something like that? My sister was honestly kind of… very crazy, actually… That was coming from me!

  Sabrina just grinned at the sight, and that totally didn't worry me at all… nope…

  "Match begin!"

  The arena was silent… or really, Sabrina and I were silent. She could obviously use telepathy, and I wasn't holding back with my aura usage anymore. I had asked her about this, though, and found that there weren't really rules for it, considering most couldn't do this. Psychic regulations fit well enough, though. If I touched Kadabra with my aura I'd be penalized, but… would he even notice?

  I let my grin grow wide as Stabby lifted a hand and… rolled it, as if telling Kadabra to go first… an After You, in fact. I had never used Stabby in an official battle, and I rarely did so in spars… because Stabby was honestly kind of overkill, especially if this was really a sixth badge Pokemon, and it kind of felt like it…

  What kind of Move was After You? In the games it was used as a setup Move, so that you could use a Move that hit harder after being hit, or just to ensure you struck last. In reality, that wasn't exactly a thing, considering turns didn't exist. It was the opposite of Taunt, basically. Taunt would interrupt a Move, the same as Leer could, but After You forced that Move to activate prematurely.

  Unfortunately for Stabby, I think it just made what looked to be a Calm Mind maybe half effective? Or maybe it didn't do much at all, considering the glare from Kadabra. Stabby apparently decided not to risk it again, though, and grinned.

  Then he popped out of reality for a split second, reappearing right behind Kadabra, and the Protect Kadabra raised was badly cracked by the Pound. Pound was a 'weak' Move, sure… It was also fast, and Stabby began to wail on the Protect. It shattered, and Stabby caught the quick return Psybeam on his own Protect…

  Then Kadabra popped across the arena with its own Teleport.

  I would be more irritated, but this wasn't exactly unexpected… Neither were Stabby's next words.

  "Running! Kick nuts!" Did… did they even have those? I assumed so, but I certainly didn't see any… Did Stabby? Actually, no, I really don't want to know any of that… at all!

  Stabby easily avoided the Psybeam that came rushing at him, considering Kadabra was almost fifty feet away, but he had to use Protect to block a shower of Swift…

  Then Stabby got irritated… and Stabby was unusual. He wasn't 'unchained' like Hope, no… He was not under contract, however, and I could see fairy magic begin to crackle around him. It wasn't Type Energy, either… It was fae magic, and there were very good reasons that all contractors restricted their access to that… even if it could be very useful in battle…

  Like the ten Stabby's that seemed to explode out of him. Substitute wasn't just a damage absorber here in reality, they could attack as well, but they took a lot of Normal Type energy to create, and drained a lot of stamina… It didn't take nearly as much fae magic, though and each one was… only a tenth of his strength. They were weak, even considering Stabby's power, even compared to a normal Substitute. They didn't need to be strong, though.

  Just corporeal.

  Each Stabby popped out of existence, and even as Sabrina's eyes were widening my grin grew a bit more… Well, actually, I don't think I could make it more vicious than it was right now.

  I certainly tried when they each popped back into existence in an almost sphere of Stabby's around that poor Kadabra, a quick, weak Protect flickering into existence. I saw its eyes widen as two of them clapped encouragingly. The Encore took effect, even as the rest of the Substitutes that hadn't clapped smashed the hastily-reinforced Protect to pieces with a Meteor Mash a split second later.

  The force of the blow, and using a physical Move, also destroyed the Substitutes, but that was fine.

  Stabby came down with his own Meteor Mash directly onto its skull. It was a punching Move, technically, but it could also be used as a double hammer-fist… a brutal double hammer-fist that radiated Steel energies.

  The strike, the first actual strike of the fight, wasn't exactly overpowered. Stabby hadn't had the time to charge it up, and it was a Steel Move, not something he could just toss out like a Moonblast. A Moonblast would have done more damage, normally, but not to a Pokemon like a Kadabra. It was best to get physical with them, and it was Stabby's strongest Move that actually physically struck.

  Well, Play Rough was still stronger, being Fairy typed, but that was a flurry of blows. This was one.

  One brutal blow that knocked that poor Kadabra out instantly, and it was obvious even before it bounced off the polished stone floor.

  The entire crowd winced, and it was visible when there were this many of them. My grin, though?

  Well, actually, I started laughing… which wasn't nice, no, but I wasn't laughing in a mean way! That had just been awesome!

  "Nice job, Stabby! I know that 'keep away and blast' is a valid strategy, but it's so… uninspired…" Sabrina glared at me momentarily, then let a small smile grow as Stabby returned to our side and she released her next Pokemon.

  I had kind of figured this was going to happen, actually. She knew I had a fae, not to mention a psychic of my own…

  Bronzong were kind of cool, I guess? I didn't want one on my team, sure, but they were kind of neat… Also resistant to everything Stabby could throw out. Well, he had learned Shadow Ball, but his was far worse than Grace's Energy Ball had been for Brock, and she had barely gotten to land that one strike.

  Well, it's not like I've used a switch out of necessity before, so why not?

  "Match resume!"

  It took me a second to reach up and grab Stabby's ball, because I never released mine like they showed in the anime, and most of my opponents didn't, either. Just let them come out on their own like the thinking beings they are, why don't you…

  The Move that rushed out of Bronzong was… different. It looked a lot like Grace's Psychic Terrain, honestly, but it was fast! In the blink of an eye the energy slammed into Stabby, doing… nothing.

  Just like his Luxury Ball when I went to return him.

  I ignored Sabrina's smirk for the moment. That had been Block, I assumed… So Stabby was staying out, and he looked pissed.

  Bronzong began to… roll. It started out so slow I thought it must have tipped over, but no, it just kept increasing in speed… Fuck, that was Gyro Ball, and that would knock Stabby out instantly if it struck him.

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  Stabby knew that, though, and floated high into the air, a Moonblast appearing above him and already growing larger. It was his best option, really, even if it would be resisted… but I guess Stabby also knew that he was a bit of a sacrifice play at this point, because he just kept growing it. A good idea, and what I would have suggested, but…

  'Don't try to do a Spirit Bomb, please!' "Funny, yes. Slow, though." It was funny, but during training, when he could really charge it up! Also belt out a long yell… Like Hope, and she found it funny as hell, too, after I showed her a few scenes from a certain anime that defined my teenage years…

  Bronzong, however, apparently wasn't limited to the ground. Stabby's eyes widened as the large rolling metal bell slapped the ground with one of its 'arms', sending it straight at Stabby. The Moonblast that struck it didn't even slightly knock it off course, smashing him out of the air and into the ground, and I knew before it rolled off of him that Stabby was done with this fight…

  I scowled when I was able to return him this time…

  Fine then! Big metal bell? I'll ring the damn thing!

  "Ahab, dinner tiiiime!" I ignored the murmurs from the crowd at my words, as they quickly became concerned murmurs at Ahab's preferred crashing appearance.

  "Match resume!"

  'Don't kill it, but go hard, dude!' "Feast!"

  Ahab didn't bother with buffs, or anything like that. I kind of had to force him to do anything other than attack in a murderous fury when he was even slightly hungry, and he wasn't exactly full right now… I trusted him not to kill it, though.

  By now… I was still watching very closely, of course…

  Ahab's Anchor Shot was a decently fast Move, honestly. It didn't seem like it should be, but it wasn't slow by any means. It smashed into Bronzong with a loud gong sound, leaving a deep dent in it even as his chain wrapped it up and began to drag his wheel in. At the same time, kelp practically exploded from the chain, only growing as the wheel drew closer.

  Bronzong weren't very expressive, but it seemed surprised, but only for a moment.

  Then it screamed.

  I was certain there was a Metal Sound in there as well, my vision wavering briefly, but it was a real scream. Ahab was actively stealing its life force away, and while he wouldn't kill it, it probably felt like it was dying. I saw Sabrina frown, but I wasn't. I started giggling, actually!

  Then Sabrina spoke.

  "Bronzong, area blast!" That had been deliberate, obviously… That, or Bronzong's mind was too full of panic and pain to hear…

  I recognized the Move Steel Beam, but I had considered it a ranged option… Apparently, when your entire body was metal, it wasn't all that hard to set off multiple smaller ones, like a damn bomb!

  I heard, and felt, Ahab scream in his own pain as his wheel was shattered! Fuck, I don't know if he could fix that the way he could metal! Shit!

  Ahab's compass eye was fine, but it was barely hanging onto the rest of the wheel, and the bottom part of his anchor had been sheared off! After I saw Ahab's anchor get reincorporated I returned him with some slightly panicked haste.

  The fact that I felt gratitude radiate from him when I did was concerning, because he must be hurt… So was that Bronzong, though, more than half of its body mass just… not there anymore, consumed by the Move…

  "I'm withdrawing Dhelmise!" I saw Sabrina do the same as soon as Ahab disappeared, and growled a little internally. I could have tried to wait her and Bronzong out, but… no. There was pain during matches, sure, and all of our Pokemon knew that, and were more than willing to deal with pain to inflict more…

  I still wasn't going to let my partially organic Pokemon sit there in that much pain, though. Bronzong hadn't been in any pain after Ahab stopped draining it, because most fully inorganic Pokemon didn't feel physical pain… Which was its own issue, honestly, they would often go too hard without that kind of feedback…

  "Challenger, release your next Pokemon!" Damnit… Well, my last fighter was already decided…

  "Cerberus, it's stomping time!" The crowd must have had some idea of my team, especially after we fought Brock the other day, because there weren't nearly as many gasps as I'd gotten in Celadon or Pewter… He also didn't come out with roars this time. Instead, Cerberus came out snarling, both heads already 'scanning' around for noise. He was mad, because he liked Ahab! The two of them, or at least Ahab and the mean head, didn't exactly… chat, but they certainly understood each other…

  I scowled at Sabrina's next Pokemon, and it gave me a cheeky little grin in response. They were mostly Psychic, sure…

  Mr. Mime were also fairies…

  "Match resume!"

  'Claw it, Cerberus! No biting!' "Stomp!/Rage! Break!/Kill!" Honestly, that was as good as I would get… I wasn't that worried about him clawing a limb off, but those noodly little arms would not survive a full-strength Crunch…

  Cerberus' dual Roar's didn't stun Mr. Mime at all, and I saw what might be a Barrier shimmer… it had to be a Barrier, actually, considering the next shimmer was for sure a Reflect… I didn't get to see it in action, though, as the instant Cerberus got close enough, Mr. Mime popped across the arena with Teleport.

  'Behind, to your left! There, straight ahead!' "Rage!/Rage!" Oh, that could be really good, or really bad…

  Even as Cerberus was turning, he was… breathing in deeply? Wait, no!

  'Cerberus, no dragon Moves!' "Rage!/Rage!" Fuck, that really wasn't goo-

  What came out of Cerberus' jaws was not a Dragon Breath or Pulse… It wasn't even a Roar. It was pure noise, and I realized what it was almost immediately. It wasn't a good, practiced one, not in the least, but Cerberus had just used Hyper Voice for the first time! Not a physical Move, take that, Reflect!

  Mr. Mime winced in pain, and it wasn't alone. Hyper Voice was loud, dissonant, and pierced right through the arena's barriers. The entire crowd, not to mention Sabrina and I, winced as well.

  Then Cerberus ran out of air, still charging Mr. Mime, and as I saw Mr. Mime grin at my charging Alpha dragon I grew worried. I grew more worried when I saw a shimmer of light in front of it, certainly a Light Screen… Fuck, now I remembered some vague things I had read online, and why Mr. Mime sucked so bad- creepy appearance aside…

  Because it happily took the Metal Claw that Cerberus unleashed onto its torso, and even through the pain, even through the spray of blood, I saw the creepy Pokemon smile!

  Then it popped across the arena once more, eyes already closed, and I knew that look of somehow idle concentration, a Calm Mind. Cerberus had already begun charging it again, claws tearing grooves in the polished stone floor, but I knew what was going to happen even as dull, Normal-type energy shimmered across Mr. Mime's entire form. Its eyes opened once more before it laughed at my dragon…

  Then it disappeared, the Normal-Type energy somehow breaking its form down into grey light that retreated towards Sabrina, towards its Pokeball! Fuck!

  I guess Baton Pass worked just fine here in reality…

  Cerberus skidded to a halt as his target suddenly disappeared from his echolocation, heads scanning around briefly. Not for long, though, as an Alakazam popped out, sitting cross-legged in the air just like Sabrina.

  It smirked at me briefly before turning towards Cerberus and accelerating towards him, and I got a bad feeling.

  "Protect, Cerberus!"

  Cerberus managed to pull a Protect up, but a second later it was being smashed by dazzling pink energy… a Dazzling Gleam, in fact… I cursed and grabbed his ball, but even as I was raising it the next Dazzling Gleam was breaking the Protect, and then Cerberus screamed.

  Even as the light from his ball was reaching out, however, I saw something I should have expected… Just because Alakazam were mental powerhouses with frail bodies, it didn't mean they didn't have bodies! Or hands!

  The Ice Punch wasn't powerful, honestly, but it struck Cerberus right before the light did, and I watched my big happy guy reel back, his screams growing more piercing, and of course angry. Then he was engulfed in red light, and as he realized what was happening he got truly pissed.

  "No flee!/Kill NOW! Erin soft!/Kill NOW!" 'Dude, chill the fuck out! I'm not withdrawing you, just switching!' The sense of rage just intensified, and I idly noticed a few of the closer audience members grow nervous, because I swear you could feel it, even with him not having an overwhelming aura!

  'Give your sister a chance to avenge her big brother this time! That's fair!' The sense of rage died down, slightly… Half of him was okay with that, but one half of him didn't give a shit about fair, it just wanted to kill that Alakazam…

  Sweetie, thanks for not getting onto my inner curses… Want to avenge your big brother and Ahab?

  ""They regret that! I make them hurt!"" 'Normally I would say to calm down, but honestly, go wild, sweetie!'

  This time I held Hecate's ball tightly, even though I let her come out on her own, because it might take me more than one demonstration, but lessons were learned…

  Hecate came out without her normal slapping flip. In fact, she came out deadly still, ponytails raised over her head, glaring absolute murder at Alakazam, an Alakazam who just smirked harder! Okay, is this what it's like to fight me when I'm being mean? I don't like it!

  "Match resume!"

  Neither Pokemon moved, Calm Minds taking hold, and I grew slightly worried… that would be Alakazam's second one, after Mr. Mime's got transferred due to Baton Pass, and it was already a stronger 'special' attacker…

  Hecate realized that, it seemed. She began… running towards Alakazam, on her own tiny little feet. Alpha or not, her legs were short, even in relation to her tiny body, and she wasn't that fast… but she could be, if she needed to…

  I really should have also expected the next Move. Hecate hadn't started on it yet, her having other options, but Grace? Grace had finally perfected it, and it was a very good idea to have a psychic learn it, as demonstrated during our Challenge against that creepy Jynx…

  The Shadow Ball that flew at Hecate was more than slightly strong. In fact, it practically crackled with how strong it was, and it was fast! So was Hecate's Protect, but the issue was that they didn't stop! The next one broke Hecate's Protect, and she had to slap the ground to dodge out of the way of the next one. There was a reason she hadn't tried to throw herself around with her hair at first, though, even if she was slower on her feet.

  Her trajectory wasn't hard to predict.

  The fourth one caught her as she skidded to a halt. She managed to raise one of her ponytails to intercept it, Dark energy surging along it, but it still rocked her back.

  'Maybe pull a Cerberus?' ""Funny, Erin…"" 'You know what I meant!'

  She did, too, as her ponytails both radiated Dark energy and she punched the ground, sending herself flying at the airborne Alakazam, knocking another Shadow Ball out of the way midair. It didn't even flinch as its own Protect shimmered into existence, and Hecate was stopped in midair as her Brutal Swings were blocked, slightly above it. The Protect was wildly cracked, though, and even as Hecate began falling she unleashed a Play Rough into it that shattered it… and grabbed its upper arm with her own, tiny, dark-energy-radiating arms.

  I took quite a bit of satisfaction as my cute, adorable, sweet, vicious woods witch smacked that Alakazam in the face so hard I heard its nose break. It looked slightly panicked in the brief instant I got to see its face between swings, because Teleport would not work with dark energy assaulting its body. Hecate's tiny little 'Brutal Swings' weren't doing any damage, of course, she was just holding on, but psychic Moves and dark energy didn't exactly work well together… Or at all, period.

  Then Hecate's ponytails also radiated dark energy, and I saw Alakazam look truly alarmed, not simply panicked… It's eyes also glowed.

  Then Hecate smashed it in its battered face one more time and they began to slowly fall out of the air… not that Hecate stopped! Absolutely not, there was no mercy when it could get another attack off, and even through my own satisfaction I winced when her final Brutal Swing impacted its chest, and I heard a few ribs crack.

  Alakazam was quickly returned, my woods witch beginning to freely fall the final five feet to the ground… right into the Future Sight it had left as a parting gift.

  I should really practice my aim, because I tried to return her before she landed in it, but the beam of light went straight over her head. Aiming a ball wasn't that easy… Maybe I could somehow slot it into my bracer? I had good aim with that these days, so it might help?

  Then those dark shadows lining a blinding white light touched Hecate and the entire affair exploded. An instant later I watched my poor little woods witch crumple to the ground, and I knew that even if I hadn't heard a snap of bones breaking, she was in a lot of pain… or she would be if she was conscious…

  I didn't miss her with the ball this time, and I scowled. Not at Sabrina, no, I was scowling at myself!

  I watched the Mr. Mime come back out, already holding its two huge claw tracks down its chest, and I frowned in thought.

  I kind of disliked the concept of using the rules to my advantage, like the thirty seconds I had to release another Pokemon or risk disqualification, it felt cheap, but… It was bleeding, and it couldn't use a healing Move until I released my Pokemon… a Pokemon who was even more furious than before…

  Fine, I might stall in the future to let buffs fall away, but that poor Mr. Mime was bleeding too badly for me to consider that… for very long, obviously…

  "Cerberus, here's your rematch!"

  He came out growling, but he was looking bad, honestly. Well, physically he looked fine other than his slightly swollen left head, which had taken the Ice Punch, but most 'special' attacks didn't leave many marks…

  "Final round, begin!"

  I didn't bother to tell Cerberus what to do, because he knew. He charged that Mr. Mime even as I saw it close its eyes… then breathe deeply. Its wounds didn't magically close up, but the blood flow stopped completely, and I knew that Move had to be Rest…

  The Psybeam that flew at Cerberus confirmed it, because Sleep Talk selected a Move at random. I wasn't sure how it worked here in reality, without the ridiculous four Move limit, but it wasn't dumb, and Cerberus didn't even react as it simply… dissipated on him. Cerberus launched himself into the air in a Heavy Slam, and I grew hopeful for one glorious moment.

  Then its arm lashed out radiating Dark energies, tensing up as it impacted Cerberus just before he smashed into it, and I growled when it slid the infuriating Pokemon back just enough to avoid Cerberus's Heavy Slam. It took Cerberus only a second to stand back up, but in that time he was being blasted with… a Psychic, and I grinned at the sight, and I grinned wider at the claws that rose, streams of Steel energy vivid against Cerberus' body.

  Then Mr. Mime opened its eyes, which widened in alarm, very understandably considering it woke up to find a raging Alpha Zweilous about to smash its face off… The Protect was rapid, and shattered easily, but not before it bled most of the force off, leaving only a single, shallow cut down its left thigh.

  Then the Dazzling Gleam rocked Cerberus' head backwards, the rest of his body following him to the floor, and I knew what had happened even before the announcer called it.

  "The winner is Gym Leader Sabrina!" The crowd began to clap, and it felt… weird…

  Fucking really? I… lost? I mean, sure, I kind of expected it to start happening around this level of opponent, and I lost to Nova twice, but…

  Fucking really!? I LOST?!

  I took a deep breath to control the fury I could even now feel rising, because I was not a sore loser! I refused to be! I just… wasn't used to it…

  My steps were nice and steady as I walked to meet Sabrina, not that she walked, oh no! She floated to the center of the arena… I'd do the same if I could, though, so more power to her… It looked slightly awkward, but far more awesome…

  My voice was unfortunately tight and dejected as I stretched my hand out to shake hers, but damn if I'm going to be a sore loser… or a bad sport.

  "That was… a hell of a match, Sabrina. Thanks, I… learned a lot…" There, all truth. I wasn't mad at her, of course, but I was very upset in general. She met my carefully blank face with a wide smile, something that looked slightly off considering her usual 'ice queen' deal…

  "An amazing job, Erin! Congratulations on your Marsh Badge!" She slapped her hand into mine before I could really register her words, and I felt a round object like a coin shoved into my palm. She twisted my hand slightly, so I didn't drop it, before releasing my hand.

  I just stared at her in confusion for a second, though.

  "Huh? Wait…" Absolutely fucking not! "I am not taking a pity badg-" Sabrina looked smug as she interrupted me!

  "Pity badge? A Sixth Badge? Give that a bit more thought before you get all prideful, Erin." She was giving me a serious look, now, and I took a moment to actually think…

  That had been close to a win, sure… If any badge was going to be given out of pity, it would be the first, not the biggest cliff most trainers faced… I knew that a win wasn't required to receive a badge… Still!

  "Pity or no pity, I didn't win, so no!" I tried to pass it back to her, but she just grabbed me! My entire body, actually, with her fucking mind! I glared at her, unable to even move my jaw to speak, and she smirked again.

  "Erin, you just defeated two sixth-badge Pokemon and one seventh badge Pokemon! Gym's are tests, as you should know by now. They also contain lessons, like never trust your opponents words as absolute truth." Wait… "That Alakazam was much more powerful than sixth badge, and he did not hold back. In the least, as I said… because that part was true." She released her control over me, other than gently closing my hand around the badge. Her smile had no smirk in it this time.

  "You did a good job, Erin, and I know you learned more than a few lessons, even without my ability to hear the entire thing. Use this as a learning experience, because whoever you face for your seventh will exploit any weakness you have far worse than I just did. You wouldn't have gotten a seventh badge from me with that display, no… So calm your ego and pride, and train before your next Gym." She floated backwards, towards her side of the arena.

  "Now, keep that quiet for now, because there's a reason I had your sisters wait in the waiting room. The sound-proofed waiting room with no TV's…"

  I finally found my voice again, and it was a lot weaker than I wanted it to be…

  "Well… Thanks, Sabrina. I'll… take your words to heart." I even gave her a small bow, not something I really did, or ever had, but… it felt appropriate. She was smiling when I raised my head, and then I was turning, heading towards the challenger's seating. Well, the door that led to that corner of the stands…

  I… might have a bit too much pride, honestly… It was kind of part and parcel of being a Dragon Master, and I might be even worse these days… So…

  Fuck it!

  I pushed the doors open, finding a short flight of stairs, just as I heard them announce the next challenger.

  "The Challenger, Alex Blackthorn!"

  I might have tripped trying to rush up the stairs to the transfer device connected to the Pokemon Center… I did not want to miss this next fight...

  is me. One of those things that we share is my aunt, who is thankfully still alive. Unfortunately, the part where my aunt was able to leave me the house I grew up in because she owned it was an embellishment for the story.

  was two weeks, but I've already had two failed interviews. That's another thing we share: I have the worst kind of work history. I don't blame jobs when they see my resume and say 'nah, we'll take the cook who has a single-digit number of jobs', I'd probably do the same in their shoes. It's also 'fair', because four years ago? I was a daily alcoholic who only held a job as long as I managed to stay relatively sober. I am not that person anymore, not by a long shot, but I was, and the past likes to follow you around.

  also share some overactive pride with Story Erin.

  have most of the fic written, I just need to rewrite it at this point, because even the first chapters of Savage Trainer look pretty rough to me after this much practice.

  not afford to house me as well. It says a lot that it's easier to pay for utilities and the mortgage on a 2 story, 3 bedroom house than it would be to rent a two bedroom apartment around here, but facts are facts.

  There’s links on my Linktree, found in my bio (right under this author's note section), considering I’m not trying to say what their names are on a story listed as fanfiction.

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  Second Author's Note

  —

  aiming for that...