Action: Welcome to the next set of chapters featuring L’Ark and Gale.

  L’Ark: Why am I nervous?

  Gale: I’m not sure, but I’m excited.

  Action: I’m glad because, honestly, this section is my favorite. It’s going to be simpler than the other chapters.

  Gale: Oh.

  L’Ark: Also, dates have been added to mark each chapter as to where we are in time. As these next set of chapters happen at different times.

  Action: Anyway, Disclaimer, please.

  L’Ark: Action doesn’t own Pokémon, art, and music links if used.

  ~L’Ark’s~

  ~April 6th~

  ( - T/B/T SimPlayer)

  “Look at that! Another victory for L’Ark Stone here in the Master class at Wyndon Stadium!” The MC announced. Another victory and I still want more. I was walking off the Wyndon stadium battlefield. It is also known as the venue for the Crystal Conference. “For those who don’t know, L’Ark is the tactician for Team: Ragnarok and is currently raking in wins through all these exhibition matches!” I could hear the MC even though I made it to the locker room. Since Gale and I arrived at Galar, I’ve been doing exhibition matches every other day. It felt good to do so, it reminds me of the time before I joined a team.

  ‘When I got to have my fun and run the underground ring Dad left for us,’ the dark voice said. I growl at the thought of going back to those days. I was a lab rat then and now I make my own decisions. ‘If you think so, why am I still here? Your heart is sealed off and no one can purify it,’ the voice chuckles. I clench my knuckles as I enter the shower to clean up. Gale wanted to go sightseeing again today. Though every time we go sightseeing, it’s never in Wyndon, I wonder why? ‘You know there is an underlying reason, why not ask?’ I growl at the voice. Why doesn’t it shut up like it used to? Why does it keep antagonizing me at every turn now? I’ve opened my heart to my teammates and other teams as well. ‘Have you truly opened your heart? Otherwise, your clue wouldn’t mention anything about accepting others to let yourself be purified, a deep chuckle echoed in my head. He’s right, he wouldn’t exist if I were purified. The water flows down my fur as I think about it. All those Pokémon I hurt, I forced them to follow my lead and fight to the death. You never forget the first kill. I was ten and I clearly remember my paws cloaked in darkness as my opponent was a young adult Weavile. His body was lifeless on the ground and I could see his head across the battlefield with shock on his face. At the time, I felt no remorse for my actions. I was excited and wanted to do it again. It didn’t take long before I started running the underground ring. By the time I was twelve, my heart was closed and I was the boss of Nimbasa’s underground ring. No one denied me because they all knew that strength rules above all.

  I don’t want to go back to that. All those I’ve hurt and killed. The others would not trust me if they heard any of this. ‘Yet you recall all of this, and now sharing is why I’m still here. To open your heart, you must share everything’ the voice chuckled, knowing I wouldn’t do what he said. Doesn’t he want to stay around? I’m trying to do better by helping others and even building strong bonds with my teammates. Isn’t that enough? ‘That’s you trying to cope and run away from an answer,’ the voice teased and I was starting to get angry. At this point, my form was completely soaked from being in the shower for a while.

  ( - P3P)

  “Hey Ark! That was an awesome fight as always!” Gale’s voice pierced through the locker room, bringing me back to reality. “Ark, are you still in the shower? Hurry up, I want to catch the next train out of Wyndon,” he said, sounding happy and ready for an adventure.

  “Sorry, I’ll be out in a second!” I shout from the shower as I quickly try to clean my body and rinse off. I quickly exit the shower with a towel around my waist and another wrapped around my neck. As I walked back to the locker that had my stuff in it. Gale was waiting for me, legs swinging while on the bench like a little kid.

  “Take your time, the next train doesn’t leave for an hour, but this trip will be an overnight trip as we’re going to Wedgehurst,” Gale said excitedly. I was confused as Wedgehurst is farmland.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be solving your clue and not sightseeing?” I asked.

  “I can do both,” he gave me a goofy grin. I sigh as I finish drying my fur and start to change.

  “We can try so many things while in Wedgehurst, as everything there is family-owned businesses and tomorrow there is a farmers market,” Gale was excited while looking through his ORB screen on things to do in Wedgehurst. I finish putting on the rest of my clothes as I walk out of the locker room with Gale following right beside me. We exited the stadium building and since the sun was starting to set, more and more Pokémon were out, as the main event fight would be starting soon, as well as vendors trying to sell their merchandise. As we were walking through Wyndon, I had an uneasy feeling as if we were being followed. I could tell Gale felt a bit uneasy. His aura is so easy to read, however, his facade of being peppy and happy stuck. I find that interesting, as many would let their facade slowly slip until their true emotions showed. He’s very strong-willed. I wonder why that is?

  It didn’t take long for us to reach the station and get on the train. With a few hours of traveling ahead of us, I took the time to reflect.

  We’ve been in Galar for a month and it’s the beginning of April. I haven’t checked in with Kaiser as I’ve been too embarrassed that I wasn’t able to solve my clue. By extension, I haven’t contacted Ignis, but I’m not concerned as they are very capable and have members of Team: Fusion with them. My clue was weird, but I can only assume it’s the same for the others.

  ‘For you to use your powers of aura to the fullest, you have to break free from your mental prison and let others help you. To train your abilities further, go to the land where people fight for the number one spot of Champion the most. Here you can gain new perspectives and experiences.’ I groan as the dark voice recites my clue.

  ( - P3P)

  “Something wrong?” Gale asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked into his ruby eyes and I could see his concern for me in them. I was choked up for a second, unsure how to respond, but also taken away by how cute he looked in this moment. His soft eyes and the light from the moon passed through the window of the train.

  “I’m fine just thinking about stuff,” I admit, trying to be vague.

  “What stuff? You always keep me out of the loop,” he pouts.

  “You are a rival, so I can’t tell you everything,” I joke, trying to lighten the mood. I feel that made Gale feel worse, as his eyes looked down at his hands, which I could hear him playing with under the table.

  “I’m also your friend, or do you only see me as your rival? I’ve been planning all these events for you to loosen up and open up to me, but nothing has changed,” he sighs.

  “I’m open to you, you know a fair amount about me,” I retort.

  “I know about you, but one thing you never share is your problems. Kaiser and Ignis have both, on occasion, shared a bit about their issues with us. Kaiser even knows a bit about my secret alongside my teammates,” he pours his heart out on the table. “Yet every time you bring up something about your family or past, you hesitate,” Gale looks a bit teary. “I never had friends growing up until I reached the league and before then, I was protecting my brother from our father, even though he hates me now. What hurts is being with someone I like and them not trusting me. Do you not remember what you said before the Junior Cup?” All of this was coming at me all at once. He’s right, we talked a bit that night and we got our clues for the scavenger hunt.

  “Someone will know the truth eventually, so why not you?” I quoted myself from that night.

  “That’s exactly as you said,” emotions were running high for both of us as he shared a lot of himself in just seconds. I was unsure what to share; Kaiser and Ignis haven’t heard anything about my situation yet. I am sure they’ve seen the power struggle within me and sure, many saw what happened at the Junior Cup.

  “I’m a product of an experiment my father greenlighted,” I admitted. We both sat in silence after everything that was said. I look at Gale, but he doesn’t seem surprised.

  “Is there more?” Gale sounded curious.

  “You’re not shocked?” he nodded his head.

  “I’ll tell you why afterward,” he said.

  “I lived in Nimbasa with my dad and he was a leader of a rogue team that was in the Nimbasa underground. They would do underground dogfights and bet on them. A fight to the death is not something a kid should learn,” I started.

  “Rogue team!” he was shocked at that.

  “Be quiet, but yes, they were called the Rogue team: Tempest, their leader is my father, Rento Tempest,” I admitted.

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  “If he is your dad, why does he have a different last name than you?” Gale seemed confused.

  “I changed my last name when I left the rogue team and joined the league, and stop interrupting me,” he put up his hands in defense. “I joined the fights at the age of ten and would win, but I never had the heart to kill my opponents like the others. After two years, my dad was fed up with it and some random guy approached him with the idea of power enhancement and he forced me to go through the process,” I could see Gale's ears flatten as I said this. “He artificially tried to close off my heart and my connection to my emotions, which kind of worked. It created an alter ego who could control my body. He was the complete opposite of me: reckless, mean, selfish, and aggressive. Everything my father wanted from his son. The alter ego calls himself Lucious and even added an ‘L’ to my name. I didn’t have control of my body for the next two years. It felt like a blur. That’s when my dad got caught doing a job and was put in jail. That's when I regained consciousness and my body. From then I tried to do good and left the rogue team, changing my name from Ark Tempest to L’Ark Stone. I supported others and fought in legal matches, gaining a reputation for myself up until I became sixteen when I decided to join the league,” I gave him the cliff notes of what happened back then.

  “I’m sorry that happened to you,” Gale reached for my hand on the table in front of us and it was comforting.

  “Do you remember when I asked you if you were Lucious? Why did you lie to me?” he asked, a bit hurt.

  “If I told you the truth, you wouldn't want anything to do with me,” I said. With us openly talking about my past, I feel a weight lifted from my heart.

  “I’m not running, am I?” Gale giggled. Finally, I saw his cute giggle for the first time during this train ride. “I wanted to confirm is all; it was only a brief interaction, though you were rude and nasty about it back then,” he twisted the knife a bit. I chuckled a bit, as it’s not far off.

  My Orb screen opened up, showing I had completed my clue and was waiting for the other members of my team to do so. “I finished my clue just like that,” I was in shock.

  “Seems that way, not all clues are about fights, it’s about connection,” Gale put his hand on mine as we looked at each other and I could see a blush appearing on his cheeks. It made me feel fuzzy and warm, too. Is this what it's like to connect to someone?

  ‘Bleh ew, I’m out,’ Lucious ruined a perfect moment, but I focused on Gale’s touch.

  “Since you shared, it’s my turn to share about myself,” We then noticed the train doors open and a familiar-looking Arcanine walked on the train past us and then stopped. I then noticed Gale’s ears drooped and his hand retracted.

  “Woah, I thought you’d never come back here and yet here you are,” It was a feminine voice.

  “Hi Tina,” he didn’t like her being here. Then it hit me.

  “You’re Tina Evergold,” I was a bit surprised to see her, I thought she’d be in jail.

  “Oh, so you remember me,” she giggled, amused at my shock. “Don’t worry, I’m not here on business like I was in Virbank,” she admitted, but her air of confidence never left.

  “Wait, the two of you know each other?” Gale seemed confused.

  “Yeah, we met five years ago in Virbank City. She was forcing the miners to dig up empowerment seeds,” I grumbled. I then heard Gale mention something, but I could barely make it out.

  “. . . Father . . . why would he?” Something about his dad.

  “Does your dad know you’re in town?” Tina asked. “Maybe I should let him know,” she started to laugh.

  “No! Don’t,” Gale pleads with her.

  “You already know it’s not worth my time. He probably already knows you’re here,” she shrugs. I could see Gale starting to shake and his eyes were wavering with fear. “See ya,” she walks off to another train car and chuckles happily at the state in which she left Gale.

  “Hey, you okay?” I asked, trying to comfort Gale. He looked at me with a sad look as his hands were fidgeting lightly in his lap.

  “I’m fine,” he responded dejectedly. His body language changed almost instantly when Tina appeared. I could tell he didn’t want to talk anymore, but he was not seeking comfort from me in the slightest. This trip turned gloomy quickly. By the time tomorrow comes, I hope Gale will feel better. The train, after a few hours, stopped in Hammerlocke and we got off at the station. Now it was complexly dark as we walked out to the wild area. Galar is weird as wild and vicious Pokémon still exist who have evolved from their more primal state, so they say always be vigilant when roaming and don’t forget rogue teams. As we made our way to the open area. Gale seemed to still be down in the dumps about what happened with Tina. Not only that, but he seems to always be looking behind us as if we were being followed. He would even look at me wanting to say something and always back out.

  ‘Look at that, maybe he is scared of us,’ Lucious laughed viciously in my head.

  ‘No, it’s not that at all!’ I tried to counter, but the way he’s acting, it’s hard to refute what he said. We walked together in silence, making our way to the Meet Up spot, as they called it. Along the way, some dens had rays of red light shooting out of them. I know Galar is famous for Dynamax and they say inside the dens are Dynamaxed wild Pokémon. I wonder what it would be like to use that power?

  ( - V The Sad)

  ‘I’d rather use a power specially made for us,’ I heard a grim chuckle. He was referring to mega-evolution. I will admit I want to try, but what if I use it and Lucious is only in control? We made our way into the station, and instantly, I was caught off guard when I saw a familiar Dubwool sitting next to an Eevee.

  “Reuben?” The overgrown sheep looked in our direction.

  “It’s Gaston and his energetic mutt,” his personality will never change. I sighed at what he said, but the Eevee beside him glared at him. “I mean hi, Ark and Gale,” his sounding happy to see us didn’t suit him either.

  “I remember you, I met you five years back,” the Eevee walked toward us and Reuben trailed behind. “Ark, right? It was brief, but I remember you,” She was so cheerful for how late it was.

  “Right, and you’re Chloe, a part of Iris’s team, right?” I asked, trying to remember.

  “Correct, I'm glad you remember and who’s your friend?” she pointed out Gale, who seemed to be contemplating something, but was still present.

  “I’m Gale, I’m a friend of both Team: Basic and Team: Ragnarok,” he smiled.

  “What brings the two of you here? Are you also going to Wedgehurst?” I asked. Chloe’s tail started to wag at the mention of the town.

  “Yes and no, we’re heading for the Isle of Armor, but Chloe wanted to stop at Wedgehurst as there is an event going on tomorrow,” Reuben explains. Normally, Gale would chime in all excited, but I heard nothing from him.

  “You two are an odd pair. How did you two end up here together?” I asked.

  “While I was visiting Opelucid City, stopping by to say hi to Drayden, Reuben challenged me to a fight and lost. Wondering how an unevolved Eevee won, he asked if he could train alongside me. Yet I have plans of my own, so I asked if he would join me on my adventures,” Chloe explained short and sweet.

  “I still have yet to win against her and we have had five official fights since I tagged along. At the same time, I’m also looking to solve my clue,” he seemed a bit embarrassed, but it’s hidden behind his brash attitude.

  That’s when the announcement came that our train was arriving and beware of the tracks. The four of us waited as the train arrived and stopped. Getting on the train, we all sat together: Chloe was humming while Reuben decided to take a nap, and Gale still looked shocked. I put my hand on him to try and comfort him, but he looked at me and shook his head, moving his hand away from mine.

  ‘So much for feeling connected to Gale, ’ Lucious snarls. I ignore him as the train takes us to Wedgehurst.

  ~L’Ark’s~

  ( - Persona 5 Scramble)

  It would seem last night didn’t have too much effect on Gale, as today he’s full of energy with a pep in his step. I thought it was going to be something along the lines of a farmers market, but this looks like a state fair. Many Pokémon roam, so many venues, events, and announcements left and right for fights, contests, and weird challenges. I wasn’t sure where Chloe or Reuben went, but they did promise to see us before they go.

  “Ark, come try this,” Gale came up to me frantically and gave me some food to try. It was a strange-looking fry and it looked dipped in chocolate before I ate it. “It’s a funnel cake fry, what do you think?” I could see his tail wagging, clearly excited by the food he just got. It was sweet and savory. I thought it would be overly sweet, but it was just right.

  “It’s delicious,” I said as I went to eat another.

  “Is there anything specific you wanted to try? I know I’ve been dragging you everywhere,” Gale’s ears flattened a bit.

  “Don’t worry, I already signed us up for what I wanted. The Wedgehurst Gauntlet,” I was excited and so was Gale. “It has many challenges and the prize is unfused mega stones. Since I signed up as a pair, we could earn them, but making them our mega stone is a different story,” I explained.

  “That’s fine by me as long as I get to have some fun with you,” he happily barked, which I had never seen before.

  ‘Yet when you tried to comfort him last night, he rejected you, isn’t that odd to you?’ Lucious points out. There is no reason for me to be suspicious of him. ‘Think about it, he only acted differently when Tina appeared and as you know, Tina is bad news. Not only that, she mentioned something about his father and that is what caused him to be in that timid and fearful state last night,’ Lucious started to dissect last night's interactions. ‘If you won’t pay attention, I will.

  “Hello everyone!” A loud voice caught everyone’s attention. “Those who signed up for the Wedgehurst Gauntlet, please come to the train station, we’re about to begin,” A crowd of Pokémon started to move in that direction. I grabbed Gale’s hand to make sure I didn’t lose him in the crowd and as we were walking, Gale intertwined our fingers. I was glad he couldn’t see my face as I was blushing. It took a bit of time to reach the station and in front of the crowd was a Charizard on a box holding a microphone. “I’m glad all of you are here to compete. My name is Leon and I’ll be hosting this year's Gauntlet,” The Charizard introduced himself. “I’d like to welcome you to my hometown and yes, I am the leader of Team: Iron. Today's event will last the rest of the day and will challenge you and your partners. At the end of the day, one pair will walk away with these unfused mega stones. The first challenge is a basic harvest; the first forty pairs to harvest fifty Oran berries will qualify for the next round. Now, for today's festivities, everyone is provided a proper farmer's outfit in our changing booths. Everyone changes and meets me out on the farmland,” he then flew off his box heading in the direction of the vast farmland that led to Postwick.

  “Let’s go change,” we both agreed, heading for a changing booth. I let go of his hand, I forgot I was holding and went into the booth. Inside, there was a pair of farmers' clothes and a bag for us to put our clothes into and carry around. I changed into the blue overalls and my set had a black bandana I tied around my neck. I exit the room with the bag on my back, waiting for Gale. It didn’t take long for him to come out as he had the same blue overalls, but he wore a yellow bandana around his neck.

  “Something wrong? You’ve been staring,” Gale had a blush creep on his cheeks as his tail wagged lightly.

  “Sorry, you just look really cute in that outfit,” I haven’t complimented anyone on their cuteness besides Kaiser, but this felt right.

  “You look good as well,” he walked up to me. We should get going, after all, those are our mega stones,” Gale giggled as he ran off toward the farmland, and I chased after him. It’s so weird, Gale. One minute, you’re fine, the next minute, you’re not, and now you’re fine again. This electric dog is going to be the death of me.

  ‘Just don’t forget he was going to tell you something on the train last night,’ Lucious had to ruin the moment. It didn’t take too long before we made our way to the farmland where Leon was waiting for everyone.

  Action: Wow, that was a lot harder to write than anticipated.

  Reuben: Maybe just get better at planning.

  Gale: He’s trying.

  Action: Thank you.

  Ark: Here I was thinking we were abandoned.

  Action: I’m sorry, yes, it has been about half a year, I’m a busy guy.

  Chloe: Guys, let’s focus, at least we are halfway done with the book.

  Action: She is correct and what is in store for our group at the Wedgehurst Gauntlet, stick around for the next chapter.

  Lucious: Fav, Follow, and Review. There I did my part.

  Gale: We’ll see you very soon.

  Chloe: Bye!