A Pokémon’s evolution was almost like filling a water balloon—the energy inside them would slowly fill, building pressure up to a certain point. Then, it would attempt to “burst,” spreading out and inspiring a rapid, extreme change. Different species had different ways to achieve this sudden transformation, with the vast majority of Pokémon only needing to reach the prerequisite level of strength. However, a species like Beldum had two ways to evolve into Metang: it could either become strong enough or it could “merge” with another individual of its kind.

  All that being said, this knowledge was relevant due to a certain fact about a Metang’s mind. That Pokémon was essentially the equivalent of two Beldum put together. That trait might have seemed to imply that a Metang was twice as smart as its pre-evolved form, but the increased brain power only served to increase a Metang’s Psychic-type potential.

  In other words, a Metang wasn’t smarter. It only had its usual thoughts, just twice as fast.

  When this Metang finally awoke in that Hyper Beam crater, we were waiting nearby, still hidden by the surrounding trees. The blue Pokémon creaked its eyes open and dragged itself up off the ground. It took several long seconds for it to regain its bearings, and then it shook, causing lingering ash from the Hyper Beam to drift off its floating form.

  The Metang stared into the darkness of the Metagross’s cave, looking as if it were debating the value of another challenge. However, it quickly came to a decision and turned around, rushing back into the forest instead.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said quietly, watching the Pokémon fly off. “Metang is still trying to push forward. It thinks that if it gets a few more wins, it’ll be strong enough to try again.”

  Rotom snickered at that harebrained plan.

  Continuing where we left off, Liepard took the lead, and we followed. The Metang didn’t notice us; it flew with a furious mission, not caring about the branches and bushes that blocked its path. Splinters were sent flying as it crashed through the woods, but even with its injuries, its Steel type gave it enough of a sturdiness to ignore all of that.

  Then, in the distance, the faint clang of metal on metal rang out, and the Metang’s interest was piqued—there was a battle going on nearby. From where it slid through the air beneath the trees, it changed directions to curve toward wherever the fight was taking place. It was on a hunt to gather even more experience for itself.

  Unfortunately, as we hurried after it, keeping our distance and waiting for the perfect moment, I couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the pair of Pokémon the Metang discovered. A lone Aron, a little, hard-shelled Steel type, growled at a floating Beldum, attempting to taunt the blue Pokémon into coming closer so that it could bite off a chunk of the Beldum’s metal carapace.

  These two Pokémon were the most basic of the basic; both were completely unevolved. They were only managing to last in the Giant Chasm by not being a threat. Honestly, their only real opponents could be found in one another.

  But now, this Metang had arrived.

  Truly, it was a menace.

  “Let’s fix this,” I said, tilting my head toward the floating Pokémon to signal for my team to ready themselves. “Night Slash, Valiant. Liepard and Rotom, make sure it doesn’t escape.”

  Claws gleaming for the start of a Metal Claw, this Metang never got the chance to fully realize its move. Before it could swing, there was a flash of motion, and Valiant was already there.

  Blade turning pitch-black, an upwards slash struck the Metang’s steel underbelly with a loud, echoing gong. The darkness of this Night Slash, a move inspired by Liepard, practically ate away at the Metang due to how its secondary Psychic type had imbued it with a Dark-type weakness.

  Still, the Metang took the blow, eyes going wide, and the two lower-level Pokémon didn’t hesitate to take this moment to flee. Valiant continued their slash as the pair darted off, and Metang was sent careening into a small grove, where it only just barely managed to catch itself before it hit the earth.

  “Again,” I commanded from the trees. At the sides of this grove, Liepard and Rotom took up position to ensure the Metang couldn’t escape.

  Once more, the Steel type’s claws gleamed with metallic energy, but as injured as it still was, it wasn’t able to move fast enough to stop a second blow.

  This time around, Valiant’s blade came from above, and before the Metang’s claws could even begin to reach them, another strike impacted the Metang’s head. This attack caused a new groove to be formed in the Steel type, and the power of the blow slammed the Metang straight into the earth.

  But Valiant was not finished. I didn’t need to give them any more commands for them to understand my plan. Just to make sure, they jabbed down with their polearm, using both of their hands. Alongside that downward push came a weak Dazzling Gleam that forced the Metang down just a bit further to ensure it was fully and truly stuck in the dirt.

  Finally, I walked forward.

  “I’m not going to lie about what I want to do here,” I said, eyes locked onto that Metang as I stepped out of the surrounding woods. “I’m a Pokémon trainer. I catch and train Pokémon. A few days ago, you caught my attention, and now I want you to join my team.”

  Metang’s red eyes twisted into sharp angles as it glared at me in defiance, but the Pokémon couldn’t leave the ground with how Valiant had ensured it was lodged deep into the earth. That, and Valiant was right there and capable of retaliation. Their constant threat loomed even as they took several steps back to give me space.

  “So,” I continued, walking over. To ensure it didn’t try to escape, I planted my foot on the center of Metang’s head. “My Pokémon beat you. You’re heavily injured. Most trainers would throw a Pokéball here. According to how things usually work, I have the right to try for a capture, but a capture like that isn’t why I’m here.”

  I leaned into my stance, putting pressure on the Metang. Doing so slightly tilted the Pokémon back, ensuring it could look up and see my face.

  “I need to ask you a question,” I said to it. “Before anything else happens, just tell me—Why?”

  Blinking, the Metang didn’t understand. I couldn’t lie and say I hadn’t been trying to appear intimidating, but I was still here to have a chat first and give this Pokémon a recruitment pitch. Metang was supposed to join my team, but I needed to understand it. There was no way I’d just toss a Pokéball and bring it with us without at least trying to have a proper conversation, first.

  ...Also, this may or may not have been the first time I had tried to catch a Pokémon in a more “classic” sense. Every other member of my team had been befriended without the intention of trying to catch them.

  “Why throw yourself into such a ridiculous number of battles?” I continued, asking my questions. “Why risk it and push yourself to that kind of an extreme? And... why challenge the Metagross in the first place? I mean, both of us know you weren’t going to win.”

  I was not familiar enough with this Metang to get a strong read on it, but when it came to Pokémon in general, they primarily communicated through body language rather than any particular noise. However, I had plenty of experience interpreting the body language of my team as well as the glow in Valiant’s eyes to at least get the gist of what Metang was feeling here.

  It was defiance. It was determination. It was so many different things at once. But, by bringing up that Metagross, one emotion pushed past all the others.

  This Metang was filled with awe.

  For it, the awe it felt about that Metagross was an intense, almost desperate sense of awe. It was an awe that was all-encompassing, and it was an awe that matched the awe of so many trainers in the past.

  That Metagross, that fully evolved Pokémon, was the Metang’s goal in the same way that a Gym Leader or a Champion would drive so many trainers forward on their journeys. It was the goal that this Metang wanted to surpass; it had seen the Metagross in battle, and it now desired that same kind of potential.

  Although there was nothing wrong with being so inspired by a single individual, this Metang had not been going about it responsibly. It was not a trainer. It didn’t have the information or background to guide it on its pursuit of strength. It just knew battling was what made a Pokémon stronger, so it had thrown itself into battles. And then, it kept battling and battling and battling.

  At a certain point, battling became all this Metang had left.

  But even with it so motivated to chase after its goal, what struck me about this Pokémon was the way that the Metang had acted when it challenged the Metagross. And, with its look, it didn’t even need to explain just why it thought the Metagross was so impressive—I had already seen it for myself.

  However, I soon realized I could only bring myself to frown.

  “So I was right,” I mumbled, still watching the Metang for further reaction. “The Metagross wasn’t just another opponent; it is your opponent. It’s your goal—your objective. You’re constantly battling to become just as strong as it, except...”

  All I could think about was the disappointed look on the Metagross’s face and how that had compared to the desperation that had filled this Metang's eyes. Although this Metang was living a life so similar to countless trainers, the same could not be said of that Metagross. It was not a Gym Leader or a Champion; it was not in a place of responsibility that mandated that it respond to challengers with respect.

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  “Okay,” I said, looking over the Metang once more. “So, you do know that you’re letting that Metagross dictate your life, right?”

  At first, the Metang blinked at me, not understanding the blunt statement in my words. Then, meaning started to settle in, and it shook where it was trapped as if it wanted to fight back against what I said. However, after all of the countless, untreated attacks it had taken, it didn’t have the energy to escape just yet; it had no choice but to back down.

  Trapped due to its level of physical damage, this Metang was forced to consider and think.

  “Look,” I said, bringing my foot down so I could crouch and face the Metang head-on. “It’s fine to use another Pokémon as inspiration. And it’s... fine to use someone stronger than you as a goal you want to reach and surpass. I’ll be honest, I’m in the same boat, but the way you’re going about it isn’t fair to yourself. Injuries aside, yeah, you’re allowed to challenge tougher Pokémon, but going up to that Metagross and challenging it all the time? You aren’t giving yourself a chance to define your own strength. You’re just... forcing that Metagross to define your strength for you.”

  The Metang’s red gaze practically stabbed into me, and I stood up, sighing as I walked a few steps back. Valiant tensed as I stepped away from the trapped Pokémon, exposing my back to it, but even though the Metang could try to escape now that it had space, the wild Pokémon didn’t move.

  No.

  It was too busy watching my every movement and listening to my every word. What I was saying was the first time it had been challenged in a way that wasn’t just physical, so it was trapped—both in the ground and in deep thought.

  “You can’t... live with someone else controlling your decisions,” I said, turning away to stare up between the branches of the trees and running my hand through my hair. “Everyone has their own wants and dreams. You can’t let someone else determine whether or not you’re allowed to reach them. Only you can make what you want come true, and while you’re allowed to want to surpass that Metagross, having its decisions be the only thing that judges your efforts is... Gah. I hate that. Like I said, I’m almost in a similar position as you.”

  Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw the Metang blinking again, still not fully understanding me, and I had to let out a short sigh. I had plenty of memories of finding myself in a similar situation, but they weren’t necessarily happy memories. However, I could at least put on a slight smile because every mistake I had made had been another step toward bringing myself to where I was right now.

  “I have someone I want to defeat, but even though I’m taking on challenges, I’m not irresponsibly throwing myself into battle like you,” I started, speaking once again. “But I am battling to challenge my team and increase our strength, but we’re taking steps to do it safely. While I do have a single goal, that doesn’t mean we’re going to let her decide when we’re ready. We’re the ones who are going to decide when we’re strong enough to beat her, and we’re the ones using what freedom we have to get stronger on our own.”

  Though he was meant to be hidden, Rotom chimed in. He let his electricity buzz in support.

  For him, he lived to not let others define what he could do, and I knew that same fact stood for the rest of my team, as well.

  With that noise from my Pokémon, I felt my smile grow more genuine, but it only lasted for a short moment.

  “...Of course,” I continued, unhappily, “that doesn’t mean we’re not trapped. We’re still living under her thumb. Not necessarily because of what we’re doing, but really just because of her authority, and also because of...”

  The word was acid on my lips.

  “Expectation,” I said.

  Facing away from the Metang, it took me a moment to resume talking. I crouched again, finger poking at the ground. Even with the thick pine needle coverage of all of the branches above us, the forest floor was covered with a thin layer of smooth, white snow. However, every footstep caused it to shift, and putting even the slightest bit of pressure onto it disturbed that surface to expose the detritus underneath.

  “I’m not the first person to be in my position,” I said quietly, feeling the Metang’s gaze on my back. “I kind of know a bunch of things that I probably shouldn’t. But people in my position are so common that they actually have a specific term for them—Fallers. Except, not all of them choose to become a major trainer like I have, and the last person to do the same as me ended up doing... a lot, so they set a standard that’s way too high. And now?”

  I let out a short laugh.

  “People expect the same from me,” I said tersely. “She expects the same from me. And because of the contract I signed with her in the past, she’s basically my boss until I can prove to her that my team and I are strong enough to go out on our own.”

  Standing back up, I walked back over to the Metang, but this time, I didn’t turn away or plant my foot on its head. With how it was positioned inside the earth, the Metang had no choice but to watch me, but after everything I had said, I could tell it would have been watching me regardless of its current state.

  “Just know this—even with all of that pressure, I want you to know that I live for myself, just like how my Pokémon live for themselves, too. I wanted to catch you because of your drive, but I also want your drive to be your drive rather than something that Metagross defines for you.”

  I waved a hand.

  “Look,” I continued, changing topics somewhat, “you’re a strong Pokémon, and I’d lie if I said that wasn’t a big part of why I want you on my team. But that’s just it—I don’t just want you to be my Pokémon, I want you to be a member of my team, and that means this needs to go both ways. So, if you let me catch you, I promise I can make you strong, and in more ways than one. But I also need to make sure you understand what I want to bring you into, so...”

  I crouched before the Metang once more, but this time, it was for something far less personal. I could feel the sharp yet subtle grin that had crept onto my face, and I could tell I had captured every ounce of this Metang’s attention right now.

  “Wanna hear a secret?” I asked, my voice a whisper.

  Leaning in, I pulled out my secret weapon. Even if everything I had said before was meaningless to it, I knew this fact would convince the Metang to join me.

  “You don’t need to care about that Metagross. It’s not the strongest thing in the crater,” I whispered as the Metang’s red eyes burned. “There’s an actual monster out there, one that’s more powerful than everything else, and my team and I are here to train ourselves to become strong enough to defeat it.”

  Pulling back, I smiled at the Metang, but my smile wasn’t meant to be any show of joy. Rather, my smile was the weapon I used in my day-to-day life. Contracts could be restrictive, and financial support could be turned into strings. Yes, I had come here to take on the World Coronation Series, but in all honesty, that decision hadn’t entirely been my own.

  However, my smile served as proof that no matter what my sponsor or anyone else expected of me, I would keep going and live a life according to myself and not just them. I would see the world and train my team, and, in this moment, my smile was my way of telling this Metang that there was more to strength than just trying to match up to someone else.

  So, with my speech finished—probably a bit closer to a rant, in all honesty—I stood back up and gave the Metang a bit to process everything.

  It took a while to get through all of that.

  However, when it eventually came to a realization, it came to more than one realization:

  I had spoken for just long enough that the Metang had time to recover and begin pulling itself out of the ground.

  Without anything holding it back, the wild Pokémon broke free from the earth, sending dirt and torn-up grass raining down around it. The injured form of this battle-hungry Metang floated above me, its red gaze stabbing down as it stared at where I stood.

  “So?” I asked it, not blinking an eye. “What are you going to do?”

  Valiant was frozen—they could make no sudden movements. With how close this wild Metang was to me, it could unleash an attack before my team could even hope to get close.

  But the Metang didn’t. The wild Pokémon didn’t attack or even use any moves. It just shifted back through the air to reach the other side of the grove. There, its gaze purposefully met my eyes, and it looked at me with an unspoken question.

  “...So my words didn’t really get through to you. You just want to be strong,” I said, letting out a sigh and stretching my arms. “That’s a bit of a disappointment, but I get it. If we’re going to be challenging the strongest Pokémon in this crater, you want us to prove our strength in a fight before you let yourself be caught.”

  There was a reason most Pokémon were caught only after a battle. Battles proved a trainer’s skill and demonstrated the strength of their team. No Pokémon wanted to be caught by an undeserving trainer, and for this Metang, no battle we had before now had counted for this capture attempt.

  “Alright. We’ll fight you,” I said. “Valiant, I want you to—”

  A resonating cry left the Metang’s body, interrupting me.

  Valiant wasn’t the Pokémon it needed to see in a fight.

  Though my words had been spoken from the heart, they had also been spoken in an attempt to convince it. Back when I had first entered this open space, I had told the Metang of how trainers trained Pokémon, and now it wanted to see if I could actually live up to that promise.

  It knew Valiant was strong, and it knew Valiant was the strongest member of my team by far. So, the Metang didn’t need to see Valiant’s strength. Rather, it needed to see evidence that if it joined us, I wouldn’t just ignore it and cause it to be left behind.

  Understanding its request to meet a different Pokémon in a fight, I looked to the woods and nodded at someone else. Quickly, Rotom zipped over, not in any machine form. He was just a tiny little lightbulb, or a living electric bolt. It was almost humorous how small he was when he wasn’t possessing anything, but he floated in place regardless of his diminutive size, willing to meet any opponent head-on.

  “Your move first,” I told the wild Pokémon. Rotom chirped his name in support.

  The Metang narrowed its eyes. It almost saw Rotom as a joke, but after my claim, it was still willing to face us in a fight.

  Snapping up its body, the Metang brought up its arms just to lock them at its sides, almost having them become like a glider’s wings. Like a rocket, it then rushed us, and the tip of the spike in the center of its face glowed a Psychic-type blue for a Zen Headbutt.

  It intended to stab into Rotom to take him out, but Rotom didn’t move, and I said nothing.

  The Metang approached regardless.

  When it was only a split-second away from reaching my Pokémon, I gave a single command.

  “Thunder Wave.”

  With that order, Rotom turned to pure electricity and flickered off to the side. Metang slammed its head forward, trying to pierce its move into him, but Rotom was no longer there.

  Instead, next to Metang, static crackled out of my tiny Pokémon’s form, and it stabbed into the Metang like needles. The electricity crackled through the Steel type, coursing through its body, and it interfered with Metang’s movements by causing it to go tense with pain.

  “Paralysis,” I told it. “You’ll struggle to move.”

  Fighting through the pulsating currents, the Metang managed to tear an arm away from its body in an attempt to swipe for a Metal Claw.

  Unfortunately for it, Rotom was an extremely annoying Pokémon to hit when he wasn’t possessing anything. He easily zipped away to make as much room as possible within this small grove. The Metal Claw went wide by a dozen feet, and the Metang tried to go after him.

  However, Thunder Wave’s paralysis meant the Metang could barely move before it tensed again, finding itself locked in place. Due to the effect momentarily picking up, it was unable to pursue or unleash any attacks.

  “Rotom,” I said, gathering my Pokémon’s attention and knowing that with the Metang’s injuries, there was no sense in delaying the outcome of this fight. “Use Shadow Ball.”

  Arms made of plasma stretched out, and shade from the nearby trees gathered in front of Rotom to form a darkened sphere. His Shadow Ball caused the space around it to waver, and Rotom let his move build before letting that spiritual attack fly.

  And, I didn’t hesitate to reach into my pocket and pull out a sphere of my own.

  When the Shadow Ball shot into the paralyzed Metang, it burst, sending writhing darkness across the metal Pokémon’s form. Somewhat similar to Valiant’s previous use of Night Slash, the energy crept into the Metang’s body with increased effectiveness, dealing super effective damage.

  The sheer number of injuries it had sustained, combined with the pain of this Shadow Ball, left this wild Pokémon stunned and dazed. The Metang was incapable of doing anything at all as I finally let my own projectile fly through the air.

  Injured and paralyzed, the Metang was primed for capture. A yellow-and-black sphere hit the center of its face.

  For the second time in the past few days, this Metang was turned to light and sucked into an Ultra Ball.

  Thunk.

  And the Ultra Ball hit the ground.

  Holding my breath, I carefully watched the outcome. The ball began to move on the forest floor.

  One shake, and the Metang didn’t escape.

  A second shake, and the Steel type tried its best to snap the ball open.

  A third shake happened, and the Metang had no more energy left.

  Paralyzed and injured to a concerning level, the wild Pokémon was unable to break free. With that, a resounding click echoed out of the unmoving Pokéball.

  That sound signalled that this Metang had finally been caught.

  “YES!”

  For more reasons than one, I was bouncing on my feet. It was rare to find a species like Metang, but it was even rarer to find a Pokémon with a drive so intense that it fit well with the motivation of my team.

  “That’s Metang caught! A Metang’s been added to our team! And that means we finally have a fourth team member, and that means we can finally start heading toward—”

  A hand placed on my shoulder told me I should stop.

  With an even gaze, Valiant sent me a simple stare, and that flat look was enough for a realization to hit me like a bucket of cold water.

  “Oh. Yeah. We need to leave—and probably as soon as we can, at that,” I said, looking up from the now-occupied Ultra Ball and clearing my throat. “Metang’s a part of our team now, and that means I’m responsible for them. After all of their battles and all of their injuries... Yeah, we really need to head to the Pokémon Center. Metang needs to be treated, and I think—”

  I smiled.

  “I think we all deserve some rest,” I said. “After this, we’ll need just a bit more time to train, and then I think we can start making our final push.”

  Pokémon mentioned in this chapter:

  /

  Nick’s Team:

  Iron Valiant

  enormous thank you to everyone reading! Your support keeps this story going.