“I want that one! Oh, and that one! That purple one looks super tasty! Woah, that one is huge!” Mawile’s giant maw was drooling all over the tiled floors of the Canalave PokeMart as she perused the berries they had for sale. N did his best to ignore the defeated look that the employee was giving them as the puddle of saliva got bigger and bigger, instead focusing on the little Pokemon’s request for more berries. He leaned in, looking at the price tag for the… kaisu fruit? He hadn’t actually seen this one back home, so he wasn’t sure what the name would be in Unovan. Either way, it was far too expensive if she was going to eat it as quickly as she had the other berries up until this point, so he tried his best to guide her away from them.

  “That one is a bit too large for your mouth, isn’t it?” He gently reminded her. “Unless you wanted to feed it to your other mouth, but that would sort of defeat the point of you wanting to taste them.”

  “Hmmm, that’s true…”

  “Why are ya even botherin’ with this, N?” Mimikyu asked. “Kid clearly doesn’ ‘ave any idea how money works, yer gonna go broke if ya don’ jus’ pick some out yerself. Not that ya really even need ta be shovellin’ so many berries down her throat in the first place….”

  Mawile harrumphed. “I’m not a little kid.”

  N just grimaced. He had a responsibility to this Mawile now, because Rotom had been right. Cynthia had been up in arms about fairies being anywhere in her region, and after Riley and Lucario had been given a watered down explanation of what the big deal was, they’d reluctantly agreed that it might be best if the newly minted fae went elsewhere before she infected the rest of the Mawile on the island. Something about a delicate ecosystem…

  Should that matter? He didn’t think so. But if she was going to get kicked off the island anyway, well… he was already caring for Mimikyu wasn’t he? In a very weird way that was likely going to be quite dissimilar to caring for Mawile since the little spirit was so self sufficient and independent whereas she at the very least had a childish demeanor, but…

  He had played a part in Mawile being put in this situation, and his guilt wouldn’t allow him to say no to the Steel type. Not yet, anyway.

  But his fa- Ghetsis and the rest of Plasma would likely have many questions he didn’t want to have to answer if he was suddenly spending all of his funds and then some on a huge supply of berries.

  “You liked the pecha, right? Why don’t we just stick with those for now.” The quantity she was going through was by no means small, but this would at least be comparatively cheap when put up against the kaisu or whatever other berries.

  “Hmmmm…. Okay!”

  Without the chaos of being in a large group, he was picking up on the fact that she spoke in a strange way. Unlike Mimikyu and his odd accent that couldn’t be placed, Mawile spoke like any other Pokemon he’d encountered in Sinnoh with the exception of adding a lilt only when she was finishing a thought. Was she suppressing an accent? Did she think it was cute? It was, in a way, but it mostly left him confused. None of the other Pokemon had said anything about it, so maybe he was just imagining it…

  But insignificant things like that could be thought on more at a later time. He quickly set about purchasing some pecha in bulk, storing them away and getting out of the store before Mawile could drool up any more of a mess for the poor clerk to clean up.

  The three of them walked down the somewhat busy streets of Canalave. Their Iron Island adventure had taken up a considerable portion of the day, but given that they’d left so early, the sun still had about an hour or two before it would set on the horizon. The sky and waters were still a bright blue, the waves catching the sun’s light and sparkling in return, occasionally broken up by the bodies of Pokemon breaching the surface for a moment.

  The soft blue bodies of Tentacool popped up, never rising high enough to see their eyes. Staryu threw themselves into the air with a Rapid Spin, their five brown pointed limbs rotating around their red gemmed cores as they tried to evade Finneon, the fins that resembled a Bug type’s wings being obvious indicators of their presence even if only the tips of them ever appeared over the waves.

  N felt that his education on the Water types that stayed in the waters of Sinnoh had improved dramatically during the course of their boat rides to and from Iron Island.

  And of course, taking in all these details was much easier when moving at such a sedate pace compared to the boat ride. Mawile’s legs weren’t very long, and she was far too heavy to ride on his shoulder like Mimikyu did. Staying in stride with her required that he move slowly and gave him the opportunity to just relax for a bit.

  Or at least, try to relax.

  “Come oooooon~!” Mawile whined, “I want more berries!” She grabbed at the leg of his pants, pulling him over to a bench that overlooked the water.

  Mimikyu let out a slow, tired breath. “Maybe I shoulda gone with the others… Though I guess I’m still s’prised that ya let ‘em outta yer sight, even if they were headed to the Gym.”

  N rolled his eyes. “I am well aware of what I said earlier,” it had only been that morning that he’d dragged Lucas to the library under the premise of not wanting to split up, “but if they’re all going to be in one place, I don’t see much of a problem with us slipping off to take care of Mawile.”

  Riley had offered to use his connection to Byron to arrange a match so late in the day, Dusclops had been interested in seeing a Gym Battle for the first time, and Rotom… well, Rotom’s reasons weren’t clear, but the Pokemon haunting his phone had run off with them regardless.

  He still couldn’t understand how the Pokemon themselves could have an interest in the bloodsport.

  Sitting down at the bench, N pulled out one of the requested pecha, handing it off to the little Steel type. “Now, look, Mawile. I really can’t just give you an unlimited supply or anything, so try to pace yourself.”

  She ignored him as she started digging into it.

  “N, yer not prepared ta be a father.”

  A tinge of red came over his face. “What?! That’s totally out of nowhere! What is that even supposed to mean?”

  Mimikyu muttered something about a “daddy’s girl” as he climbed down off of N’s shoulder and made his way to Mawile’s level, completely ignoring N’s confusion. “Do ya understand what we’ve been tellin’ ya? Cuz ta me, it seems the only thing that’s been on yer mind is berries.”

  She scowled at him in the most adorable way. “I’m not stupid.” She took another bite of pecha. “Do you know how hard it is to find berries on Iron Island? I’m just taking advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime, meanie.” She stuck her tongue out.

  Though he wasn’t sure if it was even possible, N could feel Mimikyu roll his eyes. “And what then? Ya heard everythin’ about the Fairy stuff, right? Sorry about that by the way, but I ain’ exactly able ta take it back. Ya can’t go back to the island. N seems intent on lettin’ ya bum around with us as long as ya want, an’ I don’ exactly ‘ave a problem with it either, but… well, we get involved in a lot of nonsense. The kind yer probably not prepared for if ya’ve spent yer whole life in those caverns. He ain’ the trainer type or anythin’, there won’ be an expectation ta battle or nothin’ like that, but…”

  She licked the excess juice off her fingers as she finished off the berry. “And? The island wasn’t exactly fun. Just a bunch of lame old guys and jerks like Sableye. Exploring life outside the island…. Well, what could be more fun than that!” The giant mouth curved up into a crude smile as she hung it over her shoulder. “Plus…. this Fairy stuff makes me special, right? Does it let me do anything cool? I’ve never heard of Fairies, but it sounds…. Pretty.”

  “Well…” Shadowy tendrils snaked out from beneath Mimikyu’s disguise to move the pom on top of his hat as the wind blew it in front of his true eye slits. “In a way, I s’pose. I’ve heard it argued that Steel ‘n’ Fairy is the best combination out there when it comes ta battle. Gives ya an immunity ta Dragon in the same way bein’ a Steel type gives ya an immunity ta Poison. Seems ta ‘ave some sorta enchantment effect that makes people think yer real cute ‘n’ they should treat ya special-”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Really?!”

  “...on second thought, maybe I shouldn’t’ve told ya that part, given what I know ‘bout yer kind….”

  “This is gonna be the best! Hey, hey, Mister berry man! Gimme some more berries! Please!”

  “He ‘as a name ya know.”

  “But you called him N! That’s not a name either! That’s a kind of Unown!”

  “How do ya know–”

  N silently resigned himself to being “mister berry man” as he pulled out another pecha.

  The Canalave Gym is quiet at this time of day.

  Awe gym confusion The Dusclops has never seen a Gym before.

  “Yes, they can be quite impressive. Rotom thinks you are in for quite a show with Lucas being your first example. He has an unorthodox way of battling!” The Electric type giggled.

  The Rotom has expectations of Lucas. That was good to know. Riley had assumed good things because of the boy’s Aura, the company he keeps, and his reactions on the island, but seeing these sorts of emotions from a Pokemon that wasn’t even registered to Lucas was always a good sign.

  Perhaps it would have been wise to make the offer after he showed his prowess here, if we were going to attend anyway, Lucario remarked.

  “Perhaps,” Riley agreed. “But you sense the same potential in him that I do, and we both know that we’d have made the offer regardless of the outcome here.”

  That is… a possibility.

  Rotom didn’t say a word, but Riley was sure that Lucario felt the Pokemon’s amusement just as clearly as he did.

  Uncertainty fae location

  Rotom let out an electronic hum. “N has some very strange views regarding battles. Rotom does not have all the details, but he seems to avoid watching them when he can. He and Mimikyu try to stick to each other, so the two of them are likely figuring out what to do with Mawile.”

  What to do with her? I’m afraid I don’t follow. They’ve already agreed that she will be joining them, have they not?

  That had been the impression Riley was under as well. Sure, the emotions that had been coming from the group were far from typical for a team that just added a member, but that wasn’t exactly something that was universal. He figured they were just more… subdued about that sort of thing. And with the whole Fairy thing they’d brought up, that had only made more sense.

  “Rotom has definitely seen a Pokeball for Mimikyu, so it can’t be that N is completely against catching Pokemon, but… well, if Rotom is being honest, Rotom had expected either Lucas or N to catch Rotom already. Lucas tried, but only for a little bit when first meeting, and then he gave up at what Rotom assumed was N’s orders. Dusclops should be captured as well, at this point. And yet neither has been captured. Rotom is thinking that N’s strange ideas extend past battles, though what exactly that means isn’t something Rotom has been able to conclude.”

  Laughter denial unconcerned Dusclops has no plans to be captured and isn’t worried about them forcing it on him.

  He and Lucario really had stumbled upon some interesting characters, hadn’t they?

  It seems it’s about to start, Lucario pointed out.

  Byron was a loud man.

  “SO YOU THINK YOU’RE HOT STUFF, HUH?!” he shouted from across the field. “You beat Maylene, and instead of going to one of the nearby Gyms next like a normal person, you charge all the way here to Canalave faster than a Lucario using Extreme Speed?! You’ve sure got some guts, not even taking the time to properly train between Gyms like that…. But if you think that guts are all it takes to break through my defense, you’ve got another thing coming!”

  He deflated a bit after that. “Still, though, that’s a pretty unique route, I’ll have to change up my usual teams to match your skill level… ah, whatever! Not like you can punch through my defenses regardless! Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”

  He tossed a Pokeball towards the rocky field, and a Magneton popped out. Three metal balls, stuck together with screws and magnetism, each one with a single eye and a pair of magnets. Electricity crackled around it.

  Good. This would be an easy match up, then.

  Lucas sent Torterra onto the field.

  “A big, bulky Pokemon like Torterra? You’re a man after my own heart! But sadly for you, even defenses like that won’t stand a chance against my team! Metal Sound!”

  Lucas was only just barely fast enough to protect his own ears from the ear splitting screech of metal grinding against metal, and even then it sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine. Torterra, the quadruped that he was, lacked the ability to do so at all, forced to take the full brunt of the attack. He watched as his starter thrashed and stumbled back under the onslaught, but they couldn’t just let a Magneton of all things put them on the back foot. As soon as the screeching stopped, Lucas got to work.

  Clap, left hand down, snap, clap. The neat thing about this method of issuing commands was that even if that move had totally deafened Torterra, the visuals alone would allow the order to go through with no issue. The Ground type gave him a nod before turning fully towards their opponent, stomping on the ground and sending an Earthquake rippling across the arena, chunks of earth jutting up into the air and battering the Steel type opposing them. Electric types were weak to Ground, and Steel was weak to Ground, so with Torterra’s natural ease at using the technique…

  When the rumbling came to a stop, the Magneton was out cold, laying limp. Or maybe more like a pile of scrap rather than limp? Some of those screws looked a bit warped and bent… Either way, it had been a one hit knockout, something that wasn’t guaranteed. His Pokedex had told him that Magneton could have the ability Sturdy, and who knows what Byron would have pulled out of his arsenal if given the chance to launch another attack.

  Not that he thought he needed to be too worried. This was a Steel type Gym after all, and with his ace being a Ground type, he had the type advantage here. They’d lucked out so far in that regard, though he’d heard that Snowpoint was an Ice type Gym…. not something he was looking forward to.

  It was also something he’d need to worry about later, because Byron was recalling his Magneton.

  “Not bad, kid. Not bad at all! But know this! Magneton is far from the most defensive Pokemon on my roster, and you’re not even close to being the first person to bring a Ground type to my Gym! I know a thing or two about dealing with the likes of you!”

  Next up was… something he didn’t recognize. Four legs like Torterra, but instead of having a big shield on its back in the form of a shell, this Pokemon had a shield built into its face? That sounded like it would be painful to use…. The cragginess of its grey skin made him think potential dual Rock typing, but could also be Ground or even just a pure Steel for all he knew.

  “Behold, my Bastiodon!” Byron helpfully identified the Pokemon. “When you think of defense, you should think of Bastiodon! My buddy is a wall that you’ll never be able to break through, but I invite you to try! Just to be sure, though… Iron Defense!”

  Bastiodon’s broad face took on a silver hue and it adjusted its stance, staring Torterra down as if daring him to even try damaging it.

  An increase to defense might turn out to be annoying, but it was hardly something that Lucas was worried about. He simply repeated the command for Earthquake, watched as the Bastiodon struggled to maintain its footing through the trembling of the field, and kept an eye out for any sort of counter attack. There was a grunt of “Don” or something like that, but not much more. That didn’t seem to have done a ton of damage, even with what should have been a type advantage. Maybe he should try Mega Drain next? Steel resisted Grass, but maybe this thing was more bulky on the physical–

  “Metal Burst!”

  Lucas barely had time to even comprehend that Byron had given a command before he was blinded by a harsh silver light that filled his vision. It took a moment for it to clear up, even with him rubbing his hands over his eyes, and when it finally did what he saw before him didn’t make any sense.

  Torterra was down. Completely unconscious, all of the greenery on him looked like it had been flash baked, browned or blackened with the leaves barely hanging onto his tree. His rough, leathery skin looked like it had been sunburned in an instant, red and raw and exposed. Shards of jagged metal were wedged into him in various places, his skin bleeding around the wounds, his shell thankfully only having some of the dirt like material dug up, and his tree… well, there were some ugly looking splinters in it, the wood forced apart by the metal that had been flung at it.

  What was that? The only other time Torterra had been taken down so suddenly was with the Future Sight in Fantina’s Gym, but she had explained that it had a trade off in that the raw power was hampered by how easy it could be to negate with the long delay and possibility of switching to a Dark type.

  This was nothing like that. It had been instant. Byron called out the move, and Torterra…. He didn’t stand a chance.

  “Pretty neat, right?!’ Byron laughed. “Metal Burst is a move that takes the damage dealt from an attack and sends it right back with some extra punch! The perfect move for a Pokemon that can take hits for days like my Bastiodon! Even without the Iron Defense, its Sturdy ability ensures it can tank at least one hit and return it all back to sender! Not very useful if you’re being slowly chipped away, but against trainers like you who try to end everything as soon as possible? Works like a charm!”

  Lucas’ fists clenched. He was really getting sick of one of his closest friends getting taken out with stupid cheap moves like this. He’d need to look into training to prevent this sort of thing…

  First, though, he needed to teach that stupid Bastiodon a lesson.

  You didn’t get to treat Torterra like that unless you wanted to have a bad time yourself.

  Doing something different and breaking up a Gym battle for once.

  Kaisu Fruit is the japanese name for Watmel Berry, which average about 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter but can exceed 20 inches (50 cm). Quite the difference there, so I assume the record holders are specifically grown for competition.

  As always, feedback is appreciated. (If you’re actually looking for a response, discord is the place to be)