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choshifics · 6 months

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Another First Kiss Chapter 3

Echoes

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“As she runs out of things to say And grabs my coat to walk away”

“Five,” Max gasped, shoving the bar up off her chest and smacking it into the rack. “Done.” Goon had told her she had an affinity for weightlifting, so she’d put that to the test the past month. The World of Pokémon had no shortage of wonders; already, she’d manage to bring her bench up to eighty pounds—four times her own body weight (because, apparently, she was about twice as heavy as the average pikachu).

The only part that impressed anyone was that she did this at all. Other people at the gym respected her dedication, but the only one amazed she could do that was her. She was lucky that she’d gotten more comfortable on all fours, too, since being the smallest one in that gym had led to more than a few close calls.

It might have equipment to accommodate those of her size, but the people were a different story.

A towel flopped over her face. She snatched it down to see an eager Ithos looking down at her. “Ready to spar?” he asked.

“Wha-Ithos,” Max said. She shook her head while ruffling the towel through her fur. A fresh towel helped a bunch; she’d already sweat well through her first. “I’m exhausted from this!” The moment the words left her lips, she realized why he had a devious grin spreading his lips.

“You gotta learn to fight tired!” Ithos recited with vengeful venom. “Ferals aren’t going to wait for you to catch your breath.” He looked so proud of himself, too, as if he’d been waiting years for this moment. She just wished he could appreciate the irony of turning the tables after she’d made him spar after drilling Overheat for an entire day—that was her paying him back for sparring after drilling Thunder for an entire day.

“All right, fine,” Max said. She started to second guess his motive bringing her a fresh towel, but dried herself off some more, anyway.

“Great!” Ithos cheered, then ran through to the arenas on the other side. That devious glint in his eyes echoed to the other hundreds of times she’d seen it, even before crash-landing out of time. She collected her towels while trying not to force a headache on herself trying to remember.

Ithos would have to practice his patience, because she took her time heading over. Some odd cramps this morning made her hesitant to go running about. Memories had started coming back to her, but they were always vague. She could barely ever tell when they came from even moments later. So many strangely familiar interactions kept happening, even without her influence.

Events and moments that were barely different, or even sometimes seemed reversed, constantly meshed in her head. Several times, at this point, she’d brought up something he’d told her that he knew he’d never said in his life. The times she was completely wrong were easier to deal with. Any time she knew something she wasn’t supposed to, she had to weasel her way out of it.

Ithos knew she was hiding something, and every time she worried more what might happen if he figured it out. The consequences of time aside, she felt sick the more she thought about it. Getting Cori and Neb to like her had already felt like a trick. She always felt one mistake away from them seeing the truth—hell, that happened right before she showed up here.

She’d known him from day one and used that knowledge to befriend him. He’d called her a great friend; would he hate her if he knew how manipulative this all really was? Could he have ever really been her friend again?

“Max?” Ithos asked, lightly tapping her shoulder. Max flinched away, but his touch stopped her from jumping. “You all right? You had that look again.”

“Sorry, I’m fine,” Max said. She pretended to dry her face off again to rub out a smile—accidentally using the wet towel. Instead of as smile, she came out of it with her face twisted into disgust before tossing it aside and using the dry towel. Based on his chuckles, though, she’d done what she wanted anyway.

“All right,” Ithos said. With a firm squeeze to her shoulder, he let her know he was only pretending to believe her. He cared about her too much. “Ready to spar?” Luckily, he was too excited to help himself.

“No, but wasn’t that the point?” Max asked as she took her face out of the towel. She gave him a cocky smirk, and even beneath the one he returned, she could see concern lurking. “Still won’t be enough to win, though.” She tossed the towel to its brother and started over to the nearest arena with him. “Not unless you’re hiding another trick.”

Ithos answered with a silent gleam in his eyes that told Max more than he knew. He did, in fact, have another trick, and he was burning with excitement about it. The look made Max a bit nervous as they took their positions, but not much.

Considering how ruthless he’d been in spars, she was a little bit less conflicted using her ill gotten knowledge to kick his ass. Two yards away, they nodded their heads three times in unison, and the spar was on.

Ithos started with a billowing cloud of smoke between them while Max swung her tail around to guard like always. His tailflame gave his general location away, but it made him a bit harder to hit. He’d done this before, so Max wasn’t worried about it. She followed the wisp behind the smoke with her eyes while carefully circling around the cloud.

The flame started growing erratic in its movements. It didn’t go in any one direction without flinging back and forth, feinting, then switching in unmotivated directions. Ithos knew she was watching it.

It swung to the right and a billowing flame shot low and to the left; he’d dropped to the ground to trick her. Max flinched back while she tried to bat the blast away with an iron tail. Since it was so low, she had to move more than usual. Even largely blocked, though, it was a solid hit.

He was, however, on the ground.

Max split the difference and lobbed a bolt right between the two flames before he could get up. It flashed through the fading smokescreen and revealed an Ithos shaped shadow rather close to where she heard a yelp. She fanned some air into the smoke before letting her tail relax back to fur. The extra wind did just enough to split the cloud in two and thinned enough that she could make out Ithos on the right.

Max shot another charge to him before he could start blocking her vision again, making the charmander-shaped light bulb seize in place. She’d gotten two hits in, but both were at range. If she wanted to do damage, she’d need to get up close.

Ithos gave her the perfect opportunity to do just that. As the last of the smoke dissipated, he sputtered out a weak wave of embers right between them. Max caught a glimpse of his eyes before the ember obscured the sight: scared. She dropped down to dash around the attack and pulled in a charge while running right for him.

With every leap, she shot the electricity into a flow around her and completely saturated herself in the charge. Ithos barely registered her in the corner of his vision before she flung herself at him with lightning all over her and—hot, scalding—he was hot!

Ignoring the shocks, Ithos turned to snatch her before she could get away and burst into an inferno so hot Max was sure her eyes had melted before she could close them. Well into the attack, he released his grip and let her fly away. She couldn’t bother trying to land on any particular side, and it wouldn’t have mattered, anyway. Everywhere hurt. Skidding across the ground felt, again, familiar.

Still, even with all of her fur burning against her skin, she couldn’t help a little smile hearing that roaring cheer from him. She could remember cheering about the same the first time she got a leg up on him. It wasn’t a strong enough smile to endure trying to get up.

“Kachu ka, Pika,” Max groaned as she pushed herself up to sit. Even putting her paws on the ground hurt. He didn’t knock her out, but she wished he had. He better have an oran ready for her.

Surprisingly, she still didn’t hear him coming over to help her up. Instead, she heard him eagerly bragging to someone with just as much if not more to say. She didn’t recognize the new voice or the cyndaquil it came from when she got a good look. Ithos seemed happy to see them, though.

She forced herself up with her own strength and headed over with a limp. Cyndaquil hushed Ithos and nodded her way when she started to get close. Ithos gave her a confused glance and shrugged as he acquiesced.

“Hey, great job!” Max said with as much cheer as she could manage. Ithos beamed a weak smile in answer. He was exhausted, too, but she could barely stand. She was already even shorter than both of them, so she accepted her fate and sat down. “Whatcha talking about?”

“Guy stuff,” Cyndaquil said. Max almost forgot that excluded her (and realizing it did gave her an odd bit of excitement). Ithos elbowed him for her, though.

“C’mon,” Ithos chuckled. He followed her lead and sat down, too, with a shake of his head. “Max, this is Ashton.”

“What?!” Max spouted before she could stop herself. It wasn’t even the same name, but it clicked in her head. She suddenly remembered her own first time getting a leg up on Ithos. That had been when she met Oshton.

“It’s Ash,” Ash grumbled. That didn’t sound like Oshton at all. “If you keep calling me that, you’ll learn to live life without a tail.” Max tried to check how genuine that threat was, but his eyes didn’t exactly give much away. Ithos looked all right, though, so she didn’t worry about interceding.

“Congrats on the win, young man!” a familiar voice said. Max froze in place—it couldn’t, not yet! But Grovyle dropped right next to her to spritz her with a spray bottle before she could deny it. “That looked serious, though, so I’ll just need to check up on her.” She held her paw up to block the spray, objections stuck in her throat, when he grabbed her by the nape just like a month ago.

“I-Ithos!” Max whimpered. She wished she could’ve screamed, gotten him to help her, but she couldn’t muster the energy. She couldn’t even say goodbye. This was it. Grovyle burst through a door and plopped her down on a table before spritzing the rest of the bottle all over her. “G-Grovyle, please! I-I ca—not yet, please!!”

“Oh, would you stop it?” Grovyle grumbled. He tried to shake another spray from the bottle, but it was spent. “I’m not taking you yet.” Max flopped down in relief. “Probably.” The lingering threat made her worry just enough to get back up.

“Then why are you here?” Max asked. She looked across herself to all the spots he’d spritzed and watched the scorch marks disappear. Burnt fur shed with fresh fur growing right underneath.

“Hello, nice seeing you again, too!” Grovyle said. He shook his head and tossed the bottle Max almost recognized into his bag. “Whatever happened to pleasantries? To being friendly?” He looked some amount of judgmentally down at Max, who just glared up at him with her arms crossed.

“You grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and yanked me into a room without even saying hi,” Max said. “What part of that was friendly?”

Grovyle raised a finger before slowly lowering it, mumbling, “Touche.” A thought seemed to strike him, and he reached into his bag before turning to face the door. Max winced away from an earache of a sound that went on until the tumblers let out a thick clunk. “There, locked. Don’t want any disturbances.” Max raised a brow and tried to get a look at what he’d used, but he hid it in his bag before she could.

“Hello,” Grovyle said, this time without the sarcasm. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, little missy.” He crossed his arms to lean against the door, and Max started getting flashbacks to last time.

“Grovyle,” Max sighed, rubbing her face. “I already told you. I don’t know!”

“No tremors,” Grovyle spat. “Not a one.” He narrowed his eyes and stared down at her. Even placing her on a counter, he towered well over her. “I’ve had tremors happen, albeit benign, from one word, one step, one stone that shouldn’t be there. Then, I let you have your fun for a week, and nothing. Not a one. Not even the champagne you drank caused so much as a wrinkle in time!”

“What?” Max asked. She immediately thought back to that first mission. How had getting rid of Nuzleaf not caused any changes? She wouldn’t admit to trying that, though, so she focused on another angle. “A week?” Grovyle eyed her, waiting for her point. “Grovyle, it’s been a month.”

“That’s even worse!” Grovyle said. “How—tell me, how—that after a month, you haven’t caused anything to change?” He kept a close eye on her reaction to every word, getting more frustrated with every second he didn’t get one. “You are someone who isn’t supposed to be here. Worse, you’re someone who isn’t supposed to be here taking the place of someone who is. Do you know how disastrous that should be?”

“I mean,” Max mumbled, shrugging. “Time usually has a way of self-correcting, right? It’s not exactly fate, but aren’t there fixe-”

“I knew it!” Grovyle shouted with a snap of a vine. He towered over her with his arms crossed in his assumed victory. “You know more than you’re letting on.” Again, he watched her carefully with his smirk as strong as it could be, and again, she gave him vanishingly little until eventually, she started to chuckle.

“Guessing,” Max said. “I’m just guessing based off shows and stuff.” Grovyle’s victorious grin turned to a sneer, so Max crossed her arms in a victory of her own. He kept looking at her every movement, every micro-expression until finally seeming to step just a bit away from anger.

“Max, look,” Grovyle said. “I know you miss him, but this isn’t right.” All of a sudden, he seemed even more urgent, yet still looked like he was holding himself back. Max’s tail flicked behind her at the shift. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. “This isn’t your Ithos.” Max started to grit her teeth, tail flicking much more as her frustration built. “I know it’s hard to let go, but trust me.”

The shift finally showed its purpose as his voice began to crack. His fate defying certainty in himself suddenly faltered as, for just a moment, his heart broke again. “You can’t go back. You can’t get that time back.” Max felt her frustration fade in the face of his despair. “He’s not your Ithos. It’s not right.”

“Why not?!” Max suddenly barked, surprising even herself as she leapt to her hindpaws. He’d smacked into a fresh nerve. “It’s—a lot’s different, but it’s still him!” She stared up, pleading. “I have—it’s him! He sounds the same, looks the same, he’s too similar to be different!” She had trouble staying together as she went on, and Grovyle gained a layer of empathy to his despair. “He’s Ithos. I know it.”

She’d started crying without noticing. Now that she did, though, she couldn’t stay up. She fell back, cradling her left arm in its twin. Grovyle stared at her with a storm of conflict. Max could almost hear the yelling of an internal debate as he jerked his head to the side to rub at the back of his neck. He pulled both paws to the back of his neck and rubbed them to the front.

“All right, fine,” Grovyle whispered. “Yes, it’s Ithos. It’s the Ithos you know.” Max rubbed the tears away to stare at him in frustration. That much was painfully obvious. “He likely never told you because he never knew, either.” His paw came to rub at his head as he tried to decide how much more to say, clearly already unhappy with how much he already had.

“He wiped his own memory after this,” he said; Max froze. She knew clearly, painfully clearly, how severe a step that is. “Because this is when Ithos fails.”

“What?” Max asked. After the first week, she’d stopped doubting this was well further in the past than her first time. “He can’t, though.” She shook her head, trying to imagine how Dark Matter could succeed, yet still leave a world behind. “How?”

When she looked up, though, she could tell that was all Grovyle would tell her. Some understanding started to grow in his eyes, too, that she couldn’t quite place. Then, it hit her, too. “He wiped….” She stared blank off to the distance. All the time she thought she’d gotten back would all be thrown away. She clenched her paws in building rage. How could he just throw it all away?

Grovyle tried to put a paw on her shoulder, but she smacked it off. “You need to let go,” he said. “You need to go back to where you belong.”

“Why?” Max said with spite. “If he’ll just forget it all, what’s the difference?”

“Time, Max!” Grovyle said. Whatever empathy he had for her position had started running thin. “I can’t let you stay here! Time can’t just correct itself for every little thing.” Something clicked in Max’s head.

“Correct what?” Max asked. She looked up at him to see a similar thought in his eyes. “If there aren’t any tremors, ripples, whatever.” She raised her brow at him. “Why are you here? What’s there to fix?” As she thought about it, she started hatching a plan. If Ithos wipes his memory to try again….

“Nothing,” Grovyle mumbled. He brought a claw to his chin as he thought again. “Not just a week, but a month, and nothing.” That new look he’d started giving her came back with a vengeance. He stared at her while looking right through her. Whatever he was thinking had nothing and everything to do with her. “It’s not impossible.”

“What?” Max asked, tired of being stared at. It seemed to snap Grovyle out of his thoughts, only for him to stare at her again. At least this time, he looked at her like she was a living creature.

“How has your relationship with Ithos been?” Grovyle asked. It seemed innocent enough, but the look he gave her didn’t. “What do you think of him?” Max started to glare a bit as the direction made a bit more sense. “As a friend, or were you maybe hoping for something m-”

Thanks to the added height of the counter top, Max could easily hop up and slap him across the face. After the initial shock, Grovyle simply nodded. “I suppose I deserved that.”

“Yes,” Max growled. “You did.” Even still, she didn’t like the smirk he started to have. It still wasn’t enough to dull the sting in the back of her mind, though. With every day, she felt the memories she’d thrown away torment her. She’d lost everything, friends, years, even simple facts about herself, in the worst desperation of her life. She couldn’t imagine Ithos ever doing the same.

She couldn’t let him.

“I can’t,” Max mumbled.

“Max,” Grovyle whispered. Again, he had that empathy in his voice. He almost seemed to have finally stopped thinking of her as his enemy. “You can’t change this.”

“You can’t stop me,” Max growled back. She pushed up to her hindpaws and pulled her tail forward. Locking the door wouldn’t stop her.

Grovyle didn’t move beyond shaking his head with a sad smile. “You misunderstand me,” he said. The certainty in his voice had returned, the cut of grief replacing the slice of anger. “You can’t change this.” Again, just by looking, Max could tell he wouldn’t tell her more. He relaxed as he looked at her even though she hadn’t stood down quite yet.

He watched her with growing amusement. Max brought her tail back behind her, feeling a bit ridiculous, but that didn’t stop his stare. She started to consider smacking him out of it before he chuckled, shaking his head. “I suppose I was wrong about you,” he said.

Max didn’t bother asking for clarification. He’d keep talking without her.

“I might not need to stop you at all,” he said. Max’s ears popped up in excitement before she could stop them, making Grovyle’s smile wider. As he chuckled again, Max felt a flutter of hope building.

“Does that mean you’ll leave me alone?” Max asked.

“Oh, definitely not,” Grovyle said. He shook his head, but his grin stayed exactly the same. “No, if you’d been a threat, it’d be open and shut. I’d get you back where you belong, and everything would be back as it should.” The glee in his eyes made Max feel like a mix of trapped prey and a lab rat. “Now, though, I’m interested.” His grin grew as he spoke. “Disastrous for you, if you wanted rid of me.” He let out a laugh.

Max didn’t care about the megalomaniacal laugh as her excitement built. She barely felt safe entertaining the thought. “I don’t have to go?” she asked. Grovyle looked at her again, getting another chuckle from her wet, desperate eyes.

“If I’m right,” Grovyle said, drawing out every word to torment her with the answer’s length. “Then, well, I suppose you might be able to-”

“Thank you!” Max squealed as she threw herself at him. She squeezed her arms around his neck. Her arms were already sore from the exercise, but that didn’t stop her. They squeezed as tight as they could while Grovyle let out his laughter. Some part of her didn’t appreciate the jostling, though.

“Kaaa chuuuu,” she groaned. She turned to hop off him, but the sudden cramp in her stomach liked that idea even less. As she pulled one arm to massage the ache away, Grovyle took ginger hold of her and put her back on the counter.

“Easy does it, little lady,” Grovyle said. “Something wrong?” He knelt to get a closer look on where she was holding, but Max quickly covered herself with her tail, sparks bouncing off her cheeks. He gave her a curious glance before rolling his eyes with another chuckle. “Weren’t you the one who called me a doctor?”

“Not the same,” Max grumbled. Whatever she had in her gut started to soften its approach until suddenly taking hold of her insides and twisting it with spite. She let out a yelp and fell back, both arms holding her belly now. It seemed to calm ever so slightly, but she didn’t let herself relax yet.

“Eat something bad?” Grovyle suggested. His paw went to his bag and started digging through, but he kept his attention on her. “I’m no doctor, but I can help in a pinch.” He pulled out an oran to prove his point.

“Thanks,” Max said. She risked reaching one paw out and started nibbling on it. “I guess I ate something, I don’t know.” The cramps threatened a return as she swallowed before ultimately standing down. She let out a breath of relief. “Just been having cramps today.”

“Does it feel like food poisoning?” Grovyle asked. As he watched her, though, Max got the feeling he already had a different hypothesis brewing.

Max barely gave it a thought before shaking her head. She’d had simple stomach aches before. This wasn’t anything similar. A lighter wave came through and had her wincing as she grumbled, “It feels like a part of my gut I’ve never felt before.”

“Oh, you are an interesting one,” Grovyle chuckled. A perfect world would’ve dropped a meteor on him for doing such when she was in the exact opposite of a joking mood, so Max reasoned she didn’t live in one. After his fun, though, he started digging through his bag with a knowing nod. “You said it’s been a month?” Max nodded.

“Yes, I have an idea,” he said as his paw scrounged through his bag. He needed to dig deep for it. It almost seemed deeper than the bag was. “Just a little monthly thing, but don’t worry too much.” Max really didn’t like that knowing grin growing, but she hated the ‘monthly’ mention more. “Believe it or not, it’s a common condition among humans that come here, well,” he glanced at her tail, “half of them.”

“Half?” Max grumbled. Her eyes narrowed as she looked to the side. “Right, of course.” The new body. It must have been an exact half, then. She didn’t have whatever this was before. “I luck out the first time, then I’m stuck in the other….” a gleam started to join Grovyle’s knowing grin as a look of horror grew in her eyes.

“Half,” she said. He’d glanced at her tail. “Oh, come on!” A new cramp came to accentuate her suffering. She shoved the rest of the oran berry in her mouth with one eye stuck shut in a wince.

“Yes, the first one’s always the worst,” Grovyle said. Max tried to look up with curiosity, but she couldn’t unscrew her face enough. “Well, so I’ve heard.” He flashed his teeth in a smile and made her want to strangle him. His eyes flashed as he finally grabbed whatever he’d been searching for and yanked it out.

“I’ve also heard humans are always thrilled to hear bleeding won’t be an issue,” he explained as he gave her an opaque bottle. True to the rumors, Max let out a deep sigh of relief.

Max took the bottle and said, “Thanks.” She spun it around to read the label, raising a brow. “Ibuprofen?”

“A girl’s best friend,” Grovyle explained. Max hurriedly fiddled with the cap before dumping one pill out and tossing it back. “You learn a lot in my line of work.” He watched her look up with a silent question and seemed eager to answer it. “Time Thief.” Because, of course, Max could never meet someone normal. She held the bottle back out to him, but he refused it. “Consider it an apology.”

Max gladly pulled it back. She didn’t have anywhere to put it, though, so she set it down next to her. “Apology?” she hummed. A smirk started to spread her lips. “That mean you’re sorry?”

Grovyle furrowed his brow and stared her down with a lighthearted glare. “Don’t you push it, missy,” he said. Max put her paws up in surrender with a little chuckle. The way he consistently referred to her, though, didn’t escape her notice. Either that’s just how he spoke, or he had a goal in mind. Of course, it’s not like he had any way of knowing.

“Hope this doesn’t sour your second go ‘round, too much,” Grovyle said. Max flinched. He did, in fact, have any way of knowing. She needed to get better at hiding that—though it’s not like she’d had ideal circumstances to hide it. The only two people who knew were the only two people who knew she had a new body.

“I think I’ll manage,” Max said, bringing her tail around. Even after all this time, it still made her grin to look at. Another, fading cramp came to challenge her claim, and she was glad she’d had the oran.

“See?” Grovyle said. He took a deep breath in to stretch and stared down at her as if he’d made some point. “Isn’t this so much nicer?” He crossed his arms, pointing his nose up to look down at her. “Better than being at my throat, don’t you think?”

“Don’t you push it,” Max said, crossing her arms again. “Who locked who in a cage?”

“Wasn’t locked,” Grovyle said. That hardly mattered in principle, but it was a pointless avenue. Aside from clearly not seeing an issue with it, he’d started looking at her in naked intrigue again.

It left Max time with her own thoughts. She didn’t really want the time, but they came on their own schedule. Every moment she’d spent with Ithos so far might disappear forever. She knew, better than anyone, what giving up your memories was. Even though Neb and Cori had saved her, she’d died. She’d gotten what she wanted out of it and then had to live through the consequences. She shook her head.

Ithos could never do that. She’d never let him.

“Hey, hey,” Grovyle whined. “What happened? We were getting somewhere!” Max flinched out of her thoughts. “What’s so wrong, all the sudden?” Open tenderness resounded below the veneer of snark.

Already, Max could feel herself closing up. She’d had to hide most of her worries all month. Ithos was the sweetest guy she’d ever known, but it’s not like she could really tell him all her worries. She wanted to let the impulse run its course, anyway. Even if Grovyle was a bit nicer all of a sudden, he wasn’t exactly a close friend.

But who else did she have?

It took some time to force herself, but she eventually managed to sigh out, “Ithos.” Ever since Goon reminded her of his name, saying it had a certain pain. Having him with her again, she hadn’t felt it again until now. “How can he just forget this?”

Grovyle didn’t move, but she felt him struggle to stay together. That vein of shared suffering she’d hit earlier seeped up to the surface again. Rather than say anything, he brought a paw to her shoulder and waited. A hurricane of thoughts tormented Max. She’d need to get that out before even thinking about an answer.

“What’s the point?” she asked. “Why am I here—why bother with a second chance if he’s just throwing it away?!” Rage started to build with helplessness before her own regret awoke to cut them down. This was just what she’d done to him.

“I can’t tell you,” Grovyle said. “The meaning is yours to find.” Already, she regretted talking to him. This worthless, non-answer therapy wouldn’t mend anything. “But I’ll tell you this. The time we spend with others is ours as much as it is theirs.” For an instant, he lost the reins on his composure, and then it came back. “To love is as good for you as it is for him.”

Max looked into his eyes and saw loss. She saw herself. It was as if Grovyle was seeing his own world die before his very eyes again. For a brief second, she felt like someone else understood. She felt the broken heart that could only come from losing love.

“Thanks,” she said. She brought her paw up to wipe her tears away so she could look away. Evidently, he’d had more than a worthless non-answer. Loving Ithos had already made her feel whole in a way she’d long since given up on. It finally started to make sense when she thought about his wording for a second. “Love?” She kept a close eye on his face, watching for any movement, any micro-expression.

He knew what was supposed to happen.

“Well, many kinds of it,” Grovyle answered. He had incredible control of himself, staying almost unreadable. When he turned away, though, for just an instant, she saw his frustration. He got up to pick at the leaves on his wrist. “Friends, family, couples, throuples, plenty.”

“Right,” Max said. Her grin started to grow when she saw another brief slip of panic. Maybe she hadn’t ruined her chances with Ithos, after all.

The same piercing buzzing from earlier tore her out of her thoughts. She flopped her ears to her head and slapped her paws on top. Under the squealing that stabbed into her eardrums, though, she could almost recognize the buzz, and the lock’s tumblers falling into place made her a bit more certain.

“About time I headed out,” Grovyle said. He put his paw on the knob and looked expectantly at her. “Come, if you like. Can’t save the world cooped up in here, can you?”

“Oh, can’t I?” Max said. She tried desperately not to think much on what he said. Saving the world was stressful enough the first time. She didn’t need to think about doing it again. Luckily, he simply shrugged and tugged the door open. She started hopping behind when a vine flicked out beside her and yanked the bottle she’d forgotten to her paw.

“Right, thanks,” she said. Grovyle was gone by the time she’d looked up. She scurried out through the door before it closed and couldn’t see a trace of him. Even running further into the main area, she didn’t see so much as a leaf.

“Looking for something?” a different voice drawled from behind her. She jumped around to see Ash leaning against a wall. Ash quickly threw up an open paw. “Don’t you worry. I’ve got exactly what you’re looking for.” He put his paw down and started to saunter over while Max tilted her head in confusion. Did Ash know Grovyle? Once he was just a bit uncomfortably close, he gestured to himself.

“Here it is,” he said. His permanent squint made it difficult to read his expression, but he almost seemed to be smirking. Max waited for him to finish his thought, but he didn’t go on.

“Here what is?” Max asked. She’d known this guy for less than a few minutes. He wasn’t exactly predictable to her yet. As he looked her up and down, though, she started to get a bit of an idea. As is typical of this kind of interaction, it only got worse once he continued talking.

“The perfect guy for a cute little thing like you,” Ash said with all the extra savoir-faire of bread just moldy enough to gain sentience. Despite that, he seemed entirely confident in his delivery.

Max hadn’t really gone through this kind of thing before. Like the ailment her ibuprofen intended to alleviate, it was a new experience for her. She didn’t know exactly what to do. A few educated guesses came to mind. For one, she obviously knew it’d be rude to laugh, so she made sure to try and hide the chuckles with a paw. Ideally, she’d deliver a gentle and polite, ‘No thanks.’

Instead, a piercing squeak of a laugh forced its way out before she could stop it. She tried to pull it back when another cramp echoed out from under the medicine, bringing a paw to her belly. “Sorry!” she forced out, desperately trying to reign herself in.

“Well,” Ash said, matter of factly. “Worth a try.” Max desperately hoped he was all right behind his perpetual squint. “Thinking I’ll die, now.”

“Hey, wait, sorry,” Max said. She forced herself to sober up and play nice. “Look, I just didn’t expect it. You’re, y’know.” She got a sudden insight into how Ithos felt the day of their first mission while she tried to think of a compliment for someone she’d exchanged scant few sentences with. Her cheeks sparked at the mere thought of it, and she shook herself out of it. Better to start fresh.

“Thanks for the flattery,” she said. “That was really sweet of you. I’m really sorry for laughing.” She dared to step a bit closer and pat his shoulder. “Putting yourself out there takes guts.” As she pulled back, she saw him relaxing a bit. “I’m sure you’re great, but I just don’t know you.”

“Gotcha,” Ash said with a nod. Even if it was a bit less, Max could feel the unease dripping off him. “Good thing we’ll know each other a lot better soon.” Before that could even start to make sense, a shout yanked them both out of conversation.

“Max!” Ithos screamed from half-way across the gym. He barreled over with utter disregard for the several pokémon that had to jerk out of his way to avoid collision until he skid to a stop less than a foot away. “Sorry! Are you all right?!” He grabbed hold of her shoulders and started to look her over. A yelp squeaked out of Max when he did, sparks spewing down her cheeks, but she didn’t move to stop him.

“Ohhhh,” Ash said. He looked between Ithos and her reaction to him with a knowing nod. “Got it.” Whatever he got seemed to soothe the blow a bit. He gave her a knowing smirk.

“Oh no, was it that bad?” Ithos asked. Max had to shake herself out of watching Ash to find Ithos had zeroed in on the ibuprofen. “Did I—are you gonna be all right? Here, you need to rest.” He started trying to sit her down and Max had to push him back.

“No, no, it’s all right,” Max chuckled, taking a few steps back. “This wasn’t you, don’t worry.” She showed it to him for a second before letting her arm relax. “Just some hu-,” Ash was right there, “—little cramping.”

“Oh, thank Mew,” Ithos sighed. He rolled his shoulders to let the relief through and soothe the sore muscles. Now that his panic had subsided, he still looked pretty exhausted from his attack. He pulled his left arm up with his right, trying to twist the scales enough that he could see his elbow. “I think I overdid it today.”

“Let me see,” Max said. Without giving him a chance to answer, she set the bottle down to look his arm over. All along the length, patches of his scales looked worn and raw. “What did you do?” She rubbed a nubbin across one, and he yanked his arm back with a hiss.

“Ash’s idea,” Ithos said with a nod to the cyndaquil. He took another quick look, then let his arm fall to the side. Max looked over and waited for Ash to explain himself. Despite how minor the scrapes were, she felt some anger building. It didn’t help that she could still feel her insides trying to wring themselves out.

“Evasion training,” Ash rushed to say. He threw up his paws in surrender at Max’s unintended glare. “You know, just, dodging attacks.” He gingerly lowered his paws while keeping careful watch on Max. It was a perfectly sensible idea. She didn’t have any reason to be mad, but that tickle of frustration wouldn’t leave the back of her mind. “I don’t think he knows how to roll yet, though.”

Ithos looked away, bringing a paw to another raw patch of scales on his arm. Both of them had an eye on Max, though. She was struggling to relax her expression.

“Sorry,” Max said. A paw went to hold her gut while she shook her head. “I don’t know what’s up with me.” Although another quick cramp gave her an idea. She gave Ash an apologetic smile dulled by the sudden wince. “I’m not really good at first impressions.”

“No kidding,” Ithos said with a smirk. Max was already eager to lightly strangle him for whatever snark he had planned. Luckily for both of them, he didn’t go on to say more. Instead, he turned to Ash with an excited bounce. “Did you tell her about it?” That little hop managed to soften Max’s wince into a smile as the cramp subsided.

“About what?” Max asked. Ithos’ eyes shot over to her, eager and wide. Just like she’d hoped, he couldn’t wait to tell her.

“The Expedition Society!” Ithos cheered. Max felt her smile falter, but Ithos was too excited to notice. “It’s a new group that’s setting up in the Water Continent! He thinks he can get us in!” He turned to Ash for confirmation, and Ash nodded.

“Yeah,” Ash said. “I’ve got some friends and favors to ask, but I couldn’t find anyone willing to move.” It matched Max’s memory better for them to join, but the idea still felt weird. This also seemed strangely exclusive, though she couldn’t remember if the Expedition Society she remembered had been like that, too. “The places they’ve got for members are way nicer, though.”

Ithos grabbed her paws with a few bounces of excitement. Max meeped at the sudden touch, a few sparks bouncing down her cheeks while she looked at her paws in his. “Isn’t that great?!” Ithos asked. Now that he was looking right at her, though, he could see the conflict in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“S-sorry,” Max said, shaking her head. They’d been in the Expedition Society to fight Dark Matter. This was the way it was supposed to be, but part of her couldn’t get over what Grovyle said. Would this help, or just ensure he’s the Ithos that fails?

“I think it’s me,” Ash said. He turned to the side to scratch at the back of his head. “Didn’t exactly paint myself as a great new teammate while you were gone.” To this point, Max hadn’t even realized he was joining.

“What?” Ithos asked. He glanced over before suddenly letting one of Max’s paws go to turn to him. “Dude, really?” His paw came up to slap his face; Max kept her eyes on the paw still holding hers. “Come on, man, I told you not to try that.” It was so warm.

“Well, why not?” Ash asked. He crossed his arms defensively. “You said you weren’t interested.” The warmth in Ithos’ paw suddenly burned.

“Wh-what?!” Ithos stuttered, looking between both of them. “I-”

“Let’s do it,” Max said. She yanked her paw out of Ithos’ while a few sparks bounced down her cheeks. After the initial surprise, Ithos crumpled a little while pulling his paw closer. He seemed oddly dejected for someone not interested, but Max didn’t let herself linger on hope. “Look, I was just worried about typing,” she explained with a forced smile.

Ash let out an audible breath of relief, and the sparkle returned to Ithos’ eyes. It made it a lot easier to smile for Max. The joy it always gave him made her love telling Ithos yes. “We’re still gonna be Team Plasma, though, right?”

“Yes!” Ithos cheered as he yanked Max up into a hug. The cramps strongly disagreed with the ensuing bounces, but she was too happy feeling his arms around her. Ithos was the only person she didn’t mind picking her up. After a few bounces, though, she couldn’t keep her groans suppressed. Ithos rushed to put her down, smile still wide. “Right, sorry.”

“It’s all right,” Max forced through grit teeth. She located the ibuprofen bottle and tossed another pill back, praying it would help again. Until then, she let herself sit down. “So, where do we sign?”

“Well, we’re not in yet,” Ash said. His paws rubbed over each other, a few little spurts of flame flaring up on his back. He looked hesitant to share the last part. He’d seemed excited and open about all the details earlier. This nervousness brought back the worry Max felt earlier. “There’s still auditions and initiation.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Ithos asked. He rested his paws on his hips with brazen confidence. “That’ll be a cinch for us!”

Max wasn’t so sure, but she smiled when he looked at her anyway. She shared a glance with Ash after. Someone worried about something with a very innocuous sounding name never ended well. The dread on Ash’s face gave Max a growing weight in her stomach that complimented the cramps something fierce.

#Pikachu #charmander #hitokage #cyndaquil #pokemon mystery dungeon fanfic #pokemon super mystery dungeon #fanfiction #pokemon mystery dungeon #pmd fanfic #electric type #trans character #canon trans charcter #trans story #grovyle #mystery dungeon #time travel

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pokemonheritageposts · 2 months

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It sucks that I have nowhere near enough time or energy to make a fangame because I have such a good idea for a direct sequel to the Johto games and I can't stop rotating it in my brain. Anyway I just spent the last 8 hours typing up the entire plot for no particular reason

Pokemon Blaze Gold and Storm Silver

-Box mascots are Entei and Raikou, but new formes with Ho-Oh/Lugia's wings respectively plus added motifs from each Pokemon, Fire/Flying and Electric/Flying

-Regional Pokedex has all Kanto/Johto Pokemon minus the Kanto starters available, plus every new evolution to a Kanto/Johto Pokemon up to Gen 4

-Start in Camellia Town, a new town south of Route 29, loosely based on Toyohashi

-Rival 1 is your neighbour, Maya, who has major chuuni vibes, tells you Prof Elm has returned from a trip and that you should go ask him for a Pokemon, declares herself the best trainer ever despite having no Pokemon

-Start traveling to New Bark Town but get interrupted by Professor Elm upon entering the grass

-He reluctantly agrees to take you to his lab on Maya's insistence

-At his lab you meet his kid who is also his assistant, Rival 2, who is the opposite gender version of the player character. Following old traditions I'm gonna say the male character default name is Blaze and the female character default name is Storm. I'm gonna refer to the rival as Blaze going forward but it depends on your PC.

-Elm says he was going to offer one of the three to Blaze, but we can have the other two.

-Blaze gets nervous and indecisive and asks us to pick first, Maya says it doesn't matter which one they get because she will win no matter what. Maya picks the starter that's super effective against yours, Blaze picks the one it's weak to. Maya immediately challenges you to a battle.

-After you win, Maya declares that this is jist a roadblock and that she's going to take on the gym challenge and become champion. Elm gets wistful remembering the PC from the original games, and then decides to ask you to retrieve a package from another professor in Cherrygrove City.

-Route 46 now has wild Pikachu, plus a new part of Dark Cave featuring all Pokemon from the Violet City side as the original location will not be accessible until much later. Phanpy and Teddiursa are also available in their respective Crystal version locations (I have no idea why HGSS removed this inprovement). Paras is also now available on Route 30. These changes have been added so that you are not completely fucked if you didn't pick Chikorita.

-Cherrygrove City is now much larger, featuring a port, and a new Pokemon Gym. You go to the house Elm indicated but Blaze comes out and says the professor is out, and that they need to go look for him.

-On Route 30, you see Professor Oak standing in front of a cliff face dividing the route in half. He tells you that 6 years ago, a great cave suddenly sprung from the ground, causing great devastation. Nobody knows how, and it should have been impossible. He then tells you to come with him to get the parcels Elm asked for.

-Upon returning and being handed the parcels, Blaze asks you to battle him. When you win, he gets nervous and asks you what you think it takes to be a good trainer, before leaving.

-When you all return to Professor Elm, he hands you and Blaze the newest Pokedex which was in the package from Oak. He asks you to fill out the dex. After Blaze leaves to go catch Pokemon, he suggests you could try the gym challenge like Maya is.

-You run into your mother in front of the entrance to Camellia Town. After explaining the situation, she gives you the Poketch and encourages you.

-When you get to Cherrygrove Gym, Maya comes out and declares she beat the gym leader easily (though she is clearly worn out), and says she's going to get on a ferry to go take on Cianwood Gym.

-Inside, the Gym Leader, Akua, is a cheerful, portly middle-aged lady wearing a blue floral patterned sundress. Her team is a Lv12 Chinchou and a Lv14 Corsola. Upon winning, she grants you the Shore Badge.

-Upon leaving, a boat has returned to the port. You can interact with it and travel to Cianwood City. You arrive at the new Cianwood Port inside Cliff Edge Gate. However, Chuck is blocking the entrance to Cianwood City proper. He asks you to go after his son, Hurley, who ran to the Safari Zone saying something about Team Rocket - which is strange, since Team Rocket disappeared 10 years ago.

-The same Pokemon as usual are available on Routes 47/48, but only their first stages, and levelled down. Miltank has been replaced with Murkrow to make Dark-types accessible earlier in game.

-You see Hurley in front of the Safari Zone. He is a young boy with a buzzcut, tatami pants, and a sarashi chest wrap. He is surrounded by a group of Team Rocket grunts. Team Rocket are trying to kidnap all of the Pokemon out of the Safari Zone. Hurley is trying to take on all the Rocket Grunts himself. Blaze arrives and you take on two of the grunts in a double battle.

-After winning, the entrance to the Safari Zone is wrecked, so theycare trmporarily closed. Hurley thanks you for your help, and gives you the field move Poketch app for Headbutt. He tells you some of the apps need gym badges, but not this one, before announcing that he is the new Cianwood gym leader now that his dad has retired.

-You return to Cianwood City, which is now accessible, along with its gym. Hurley has a Lv18 Tyrogue and a Lv20 Heracross. Upon winning, he grants you the Storm Badge, which allows you to use the Fly app (which you will need to acquire later). The ferry is now ready to depart for Olivine City.

-At Olivine, when you pass in front of the Olivine Gym, Maya is there. They tell you they came to fight Jasmine, but she's gone travelling to Sinnoh and the gym is closed. Maya challenges you to a battle. She has a Lv18 Snubbull, a Lv19 Shellder/Bellsprout/Growlithe (whichever is weak to your starter), and a Lv22 Bayleef/Quilava/Croconaw.

-At Ecruteak City, the Gym is locked, and Morty is in the Burnt Tower. When you enter it, you run into Colress as he is leaving the building. He talks about the Legendary Beasts that were believed to have existed in this building. When you go up and speak to Morty, he says he had been having a conversation with Colress about the legends surrounding the towers. He then heads back to his Gym. Houndour is now catchable in Burnt Tower.

-The Kimono Girls can be battled as before for the Surf app, however there are now 7 of them, with the addition of Leafeon and Glaceon.

-Morty has a Lv24 Gastly, a Lv25 Misdreavus, and a Lv27 Gengar. Upon defeating him, he grants you the Fog Badge, allowing you to use the Surf app.

-The path south of Ecrutreak is blocked by a Sudowoodo, forcing you east. As you enter Route 42, Blaze appears. He says he thinks he's gotten stronger and wants to test himself against you. His team is a Lv25 Pikachu, a Lv20 Happiny, a Lv24 Oddish/Vulpix/Staryu (whichever is super effective against your starter), and a Lv27 Bayleef/Quilava/Croconaw. After you win, he says Professor Elm said to give you this, and installs the Rock Smash app on your phone.

-Upon arriving to Mahogany Town, you see that it has been levelled by the rising caves. The Gym and Pokemon Center are in disrepair, and the path to Route 44 is obstructed by a new cliff face. If you enter the one accessible house, the hermit inside will tell you everyone left when the disaster happened, and they moved to Lycoris or Ecruteak cities, and that the Gym Leader Pryce disappeared when the cave formed and hasn't been since since.

-At the Lake of Rage, two Team Rocket grunts are standing by the water. When they see you, they challenge you to a battle. After defeating them, more arrive, but they are scared off by the arrival of Silver. Silver thanks you for defeating the grunts, and introduces himself. He says he's had some experiences with Team Rocket before, and that it's troubling to see them around here. He then gives you a Squirtbottle to get past the Sudowoodo.

At this point, you can take on the next three Gym Leaders in any order you want. However, there is a firm level curve, and if you challenge the 6th one next you're likely to get your ass kicked - you are, however, free to do so. This will be following the recommended order.

-After removing the Sudowoodo, the path to Violet City and the Ruins of Alph is blocked by a risen cave, forcing you towards Goldenrod City. This area is mostly unchanged, but more houses have been made accessible, including one with a conspicuously blocked off basement. Additionally, if you enter the basement of the Pokemart, they tell you you're not allowed down there and send you back into the elevator. The radio tower has modernized, and now runs streaming content and podcasts. You can also still obtain an Eevee from Bill at his home.

-At Goldenrod Gym, Whitney has a Lv29 Clefairy, a Lv31 Furret, and a Lv33 Miltank. Upon defeating her, she grants you the Plain Badge, allowing you to use the Strength app. She has a line about how she's not gonna cry over losing any more, and tells you there's a reward at National Park for the Strength app if you win the Bug-Catching Contest (if you haven't already won it).

-The Bug Catching contest can now be played at any time, and allows you to catch as many as you like, with your final score being a point total so as to make it way easier to win. You also get to choose which Pokemon you keep at the end so you don't have to keep a bunch of fodder mons.

-When passing the Daycare, you see Maya outside. She brags about having 5 gym badges and challenges you again. She has a Lv27 Snubbull, two of Lv28 Weepinbell/Shellder/Growlithe (excluding whichever matches their starter's type), and a Lv32 Bayleef/Quilava/Croconaw. When defeated, she throws a mild tantrum about how she has more gym badges and should be stronger than you, but then corrects herself and offers you one of two eggs she was given by the daycare. Yours contains a Togepi.

-In Ilex Forest, at the Celebi shrine, you encounter a strange man with a tattered black cloak shrouding their body, extremely long white hair, and a white mask covering their entire face, although you cannot see the front of it from your position. He is talking to the shrine. "Celebi... how long has it been? To this day, I still don't understand why...". He sees you, at which point he excuses himself and leaves.

-At Azalea Gym, Bugsy, now an adult, has a Lv35 Ledian, Lv35 Ariados, and a Lv36 Scizor. Upon winning, he grants you the Hive Badge, allowing you to use the Cut app.

-As soon as you leave the gym, you hear a commotion coming from nearby. Bugsy comes out of the gym, and says that sounded like the Cut master, and that it was coming from Slowpoke Well. He heads over to see what's going on. In the Well, you see the Cut master trying to corner a Team Rocket grunt, but the grunt defeats him. You step up and battle the grunt, who then tries to escape.

-When you leave the well, the grunt is being cornered by Kurt, who says he'll never let Team Rocket mess with this well again. The grunt runs away towards Union Cave. When you get to the cave's entrance, he is nowhere to be seen, and the cave's entrance is boarded up. Kurt, Bugsy, and the Cut master all arrive and tell you he must have gone into the cave, but that we shouldn't follow him - the cave was unstable after the rest of the cave system rose from the ground, and it may still be dangerous. Kurt introduces himself and tells you about Azalea Town's history with Team Rocket, and tells you about his apricorn ball service. The Cut master thanks you by giving you the Cut app.

-Returning to the Lake of Rage, the northeast has a new path, but it's obstructed by two rocket grunts. Travelling west, though, through the maze of trees, there is now a new route, Route 49. It is a winding route, covered in trees and snow. Here, you can catch Fearow, Furret, Noctowl, Murkrow, Misdreavus, Smeargle, Sneasel, Houndour, and Delibird.

-To the west of Route 49, and north of Mt. Mortar, is Lycoris City (loosely based on Fukui). It is a snow-covered city with architecture similar to Ecruteak, with numerous beds of Spider Lillies. It is divided into two halves, with the top half being on a high raised wooden platform.

-In the north is Lycoris Shrine. It is a two-storey building in the center of the raised platform, filled with trainers and wild pokemon. Here, you can find Growlithe/Vulpix, Golbat, Gastly, Haunter, Bellsprout, Weepinbell, Natu, Murkrow, Sneasel, and Houndour.

-When you get to the far end of the top floor, you encounter Blaze. He tells you he came all this way looking for as many Pokemon as possible, and wants to show you. His team is a Lv37 Pikachu, Lv36 Chansey, two of Lv37 Gloom/Ninetales/Starmie (minus whichever is the same type as their starter), and Lv38 Meganium/Typhlosion/Feraligatr.

-Karen comes over, who tells you she used to be the gym leader here a long time ago. She says she was impressed by your battle and likes the look in your eye and expects she'll be seeing you again soon, before giving you the Fly app.

-At Lycoris Gym, the Leader is Shin, a tall person with spiky white hair, a sleeveless black turtleneck, mesh sleeves, long and sharp black nails, and baggy black jeans. Their team is a Lv37 Sneasel, Lv38 Umbreon, Lv37 Murkrow, and Lv40 Weavile. Upon winning, they grant you the Umbral Badge, which allows you to use the Whirlpool app.

-Once you have 6 badges (and have handled the Slowpoke Well incident), Silver will call you asking you if you can come to Mahogany Town. When you arrive, he is in front of the old Rocket hideout. He thanks you for coming, when suddenly Maya arrives, bragging about having 6 badges, before being shocked that you've caught up to them. They proclaim that they will be the strongest, and need to battle you to prove it. Silver interrupts saying we have more important things to worry about, and telling Maya that it's a mistake to view everything in terms of Weak and Strong.

-Silver then breaks down the door to the hideout with his Crobat, and inside we see the place full of Team Rocket members, who run down into the base. Silver comments that he thought they'd be smarter than hiding here again, and tells the two of you to follow him into the base.

-In the boss's office of the base, you encounter Proton, Petrel, Ariana, and Colress. Silver says he's shocked to see the three of them back at it, but asks who the new guy is. Colress introduces himself and says Team Rocket are his new benefactors. Petrel tells Silver that Colress is the brains behind their big new scheme, before Ariana tells him to be quiet. You battle Proton, while Maya battles Petrel and Silver battles Ariana. Proton has a Lv38 Golbat and a Lv39 Weezing.

-Upon winning, Proton says it doesn't matter, and they already got everything ready here. Petrel says they learned one thing from last time, and Colress flips a switch turning off all the lights. When they come back on, they have all vanished. Silver expresses disappointment that they couldn't catch them, and tells the two of you that he once battled Team Rocket here with two of his good friends. He then wonders what they're planning next before he takes his leave.

-Maya says it was always her dream to become the strongest, but that seeing the way Silver battled was something she never imagined. She trails off before leaving.

-The rocket grunts at the lake have now left, allowing you to take a new path heading down into Route 44, which is much the same as it always was besides the entrance to Mahogany Town being obscured.

-You travel through Ice Path into Blackthorn City, and on arriving at the front of the Blackthorn Gym, Maya shows up. She tells you that she's not sure if she really is the strongest, and that since you two are even she wants to battle you before either of you face the gym. She says to meet her in the Dragon's Den behind the gym, and she'll be waiting.

-In the shrine in Dragon's Den, you face off against Maya. She has a Lv42 Granbull, a Lv40 Rhydon, two of Lv42 Victreebel/Arcanine/Cloyster, and a Lv44 Meganium/Typhlosion/Feraligatr.

-Upon defeating her, she wonders if maybe she isn't the strongest after all. Before she can go on, Lance appears, and tells her that she's plenty strong, but strong isn't enough. Clair also arrives, and says they heard us talking outside their gym and watched our battle. Clair announces that she is the leader of Blackthorn gym, before Lance corrects her and says that they are the leaders of Blackthorn gym, and that they now battle side by side, and that they're excited to face us.

-In Blackthorn gym, you face off against Lance and Clair in a double battle. Lance has a Lv43 Gyarados and a Lv45 Dragonite, and Clair has a Lv42 Dragonair and a Lv44 Kingdra. Upon winning, the two of them bicker a bit, before giving you the Rising Badge, allowing use of the Waterfall app.

-When you exit the gym, you get a call from Professor Oak telling you there's an emergency at the radio tower and he needs our help. Immediately afterwards, Silver calls, and tells you Team Rocket are attacking Goldenrod City, and wonders to himself if they're really just trying to same plan all over again.

-When arriving to Goldenrod, the city is swarming with Rocket Grunts. The radio towers has waves of them in front of it, blocking the entrance. Silver is fighting them all off. Silver tells you he'll take care of this, and to go look for a cardkey in the underground - he know show they operate, and that we'll need it to get to the top of the tower. We go to look for it, however the Pokemart and the Underground are both blocked by Rocket grunts. Blaze and Maya are both here, battling rocket grunts at each of the entrances.

-Heading into the house that had the suspicious basement passage from earlier, you are immediately confronted with a rocket grunt, who accidentally gives away that this is the new secret entrance to the underground system. You then battle your way through the underground, where you eventually encounter Petrel, who has the keycard. He has two Lv40 Koffings and a Lv42 Weezing. Upon defeat, he runs away, dropping the keycard.

-You can then leave via any of the three exits, where you can see Blaze and Maya have defeated their respective batches of grunts. You head into the radio tower, now accessible, and give Silver the keycard. He heads upstairs. You encounter Proton and Ariana, but before they can stop you, Maya arrives. Silver says to fight them while he heads upstairs and deals with their leader. You and Maya enter a double battle. Proton has a Lv40 Golbat, a Lv39 Qwilfish, and a Lv42 Weezing. Ariana has a Lv40 Arbok, a Lv41 Vileplume, and a Lv42 Honchkrow.

-Upon defeating them and heading upstairs, you see that Silver has firmly defeated Archer. However, Archer makes a break for it, running outside of the building. Outside, you see Blaze, who tells you they saw Archer run towards Ilex Forest.

-In Ilex Forest, you encounter Archer at the shrine, where you challenge him. He has a Lv40 Houndour, a Lv43 Weezing, a Lv42 Ariados, and a Lv45 Houndoom.

-Upon defeating him, Silver, Maya, and Blaze arrive. Silver tells him to give up, but Archer tells him that this was a trick to buy time while the broadcast was uploading. You then get an alert on your Poketch showing you the radio tower has a live stream - you cut to the video, and you see a man shrouded in a tattered black cloak, with long white hair, and a white mask covering his face... with the Team Rocket emblem over the mask. It's the man you saw here, in Ilex Forest. He begins a speech, telling everyone that he believed that Team Rocket was done when Giovanni left - however, the broadcast 10 years ago inspired them to take up his mantle. He calls himself Rocket Mask, and declares that he is the new boss of Team Rocket. He informs them that they have plans in motion that will enable them to achieve total domination, and invites anyone who abandoned their cause to return to them to fulfil their destiny. He tells them that the Mahogany Town base is compromised, but that they should know where to go. The stream ends.

-Archer says he's completed his work, and it doesn't matter if you take him in. He tries to eacape anyway, but suddenly... Looker turns up. He apologizes to Silver for taking so long to arrive, and captures Archer. They all briefly talk about who the strange man in the mask could be. Archer refuses to tell them anything, and is hauled away by Looker. Silver thanks you for your help, and gives you the Flash app for your help. He tells you to head to Violet City through the Dark Cave.

-As everyone leaves, you begin to walk away, but suddenly hear something. Celebi floats down in front of you, before hovering over their shrine. The space in front of you begind to warp, and you are shown a vision of Rocket Mask at the shrine, with the four Rocket Execs beside him. He tells them that this shrine belongs to Celebi, and that it is thanks to them that they can begin their glorious return. Celebi then disappears, returning everything to normal.

-You fly back to Blackthorn City, and travel through the Dark Cave to Violet City. Falkner is currently out, at the Sprout Tower. You battle your way through Sprout Tower, and once you meet Falkner at the top, he returns to his gym.

-At Violet City Gym, you face Falkner, who has a Lv45 Noctowl, a Lv44 Fearow, a Lv46 Dodrio, a Lv47 Togetic, and a Lv48 Pigeot. Upon defeating him, you are granted the Zephyr Badge, allowing use of the Rock Climb app.

-Upon leaving, Professor Elm calls you and asks if you can come back to his lab. When you get there, he gives you the Waterfall app, and upon finding out you have all 8 badges, suggests you go to the Pokemon League. Before you leave, Blaze arrives, and says they've been watching us, watching Maya, and that they think they've learned from us and our bond with our Pokemon what a good trainer is. They challenge us to one last battle. Their team is a Lv48 Raichu, a Lv48 Blissey, a Lv47 Espeon, two of Lv48 Bellossom/Ninetales/Starmie, and a Lv50 Meganium/Typhlosion/Feraligatr. When you win, he thanks you, and declares that they're going to take on the gym challenge as well.

-You travel through the way to the Elite Four the same as in the original games. Just before entering to face the Elite Four, Maya stops you. She says she's been thinking about what Silver told her, and that maybe she had been wrong to focus on being the strongest. She asks you to battle her again to help her figure it out. Her team is a Lv50 Granbull, a Lv50 Rhyperior, a Lv49 Umbreon, two of Lv51 Victreebel/Arcanine/Cloyster, and a Lv52 Meganium/Typhlosion/Feraligatr. After you beat her, she thanks you, and says that she realizes that instead of trying to be the strongest, she should just try and be the best that she can be... which meand THEN she'll be the strongest! (never change, Maya).

-As you enter the Elite Four, the first member you face is Brock. He has a Lv50 Golem, a Lv51 Kabutops, a Lv51 Omastar, a Lv51 Onix, and a Lv52 Aerodactyl.

-The second member is Will. He has a Lv51 Hypno, a Lv52 Girafarig, a Lv52 Slowking, a Lv53 Exeggutor, and a Lv54 Xatu.

-The third member is Misty. She has a Lv53 Politoed, a Lv54 Cloyster, a Lv53 Azumarill, a Lv53 Vaporeon, and a Lv55 Starmie.

-The fourth member is Karen. She has a Lv54 Umbreon, a Lv55 Honchkrow, a Lv56 Weavile, a Lv56 Gengar, and a Lv58 Houndoom.

-As you head up the long staircase to face the champion, the ground suddenly begins to shake, and the lights momentarily go out. You continue to climb the stairs, but when you reach the door at the top, it won't open. As you head back down, a gang of Team Rocket grunts swarm in. They tell you that the building is surrounded, and they're going to keep the Elite Four incapacitated while they carry out their plan. They begin to back you into a corner, but suddenly, Celebi appears. The world around you begins to warp. Suddenly, the Team Rocket grunts have disappeared, and everything seems to be normal.

-You head into the Champion's room and see... Lance? But wasn't he a gym leader now? He seems just as confused as you are, since there wasn't anyone challenging the league. After you explain about Celebi, he tells you that he has heard the myth of a time travelling Pokemon, and that maybe you've been sent back in time. You leave the building with Lance.

-As he begins to wonder how to return you to your own time, he gets a call from Silver. Silver tells him that the Pokemon are going crazy near the Ruins of Alph, and that there are some strange signals being picked up on the Poketch. Lance takes you to Violet City, however as you head to the Ruins of Alph, a great quake begins. The ground begins rising in front of you. You hear a great cry, and you are seperated from Lance as the ground beneath your feet lifts, turning into a new cave. It's six years ago, and the disaster is occuring before your eyes.

-From the Ruins of Alph, you see something fly away. As the sunlight clears, you see Entei/Raikou (the opposite of the boxart legendary) soaring into the sky on wings, surrounded by Unown. Its emits a great glow, and its wings seem to burst into flames/lightning. It falls onto the new cliff face in front of you, now in its original form. As it stares us down, Celebi returns, warping us back to our own time, in Ilex Forest, before disappearing.

-We immediately get a call from Blaze, who is asking if we're okay and is confused that we're in Ilex Forest. They heard that Team Rocket is staging an assault on Indigo Plateau. Suddenly, the same signal starts coming through the Poketch that did six years ago. A broadcast comes on, and you can see Rocket Mask once again making an announcement. He states that six years ago, he failed. But this time, he will succeed. Celebi has shown him the way, and soon, Team Rocket will have the key to world domination.

-You head to the entrance to Union Cave, now unblocked. As soon as you enter, you see Suicune. It roars at you, before running into the cave. You travel through its underground passages, and make your way into the Ruins of Alph.

-The ruins now have a large pillar in the centre, which you seemingly have no way to access. As you head into the ruins, you see Suicune again, at a wall. Suddenly, Unown surround them, and a portion of the wall disappears, revealing a hidden passageway.

-As you get to the end of the passageway, and enter the pillar in the center of the ruins, and see Colress and Rocket Mask. Colress seems alarmed to see you. Rocket Mask asks how you got here, but remarks that it doesn't matter. The screen pans, and you can see Entei/Raikou (your box legendary), surrounded by two chains of Unown, spinning around them like a gyroscope.

-He explains that ever since a fateful encounter with Suicune, he had sought the power of the legendary beasts. 10 years ago, when Team Rocket made their broadcast, he was ashamed to have left them when Giovanni first disbanded the team. To find out that they had even been operating in his old secret hideout brought him great shame. After the news of their defeat broke, he went on a journey. In Ilex Forest, he was suddenly approached by Suicune, and feared Suicune was going to attack him. Suddenly, Celebi arrived, and teleported him back through time, showing him his glory days in Team Rocket as Giovanni's right-hand man. He decided then that this was a sign - that he needed to bring back Team Rocket, and that the Legendary Beasts were how he would do it.

Six years ago, he was approached by Colress, who had experimented with Pokemon before, and had heard of his interest in the beasts. He knew that they had a master who had created them, a legendary Pokemon named Ho-Oh. If they were created by Ho-Oh, they could use its power. By utilizing the power of the Unown, he believed he could combine their power - with a Rainbow Wing/Silver Wing. However, they only used one chain of Unown - they needed two. The beast they captured six years ago broke free, and unleashing their full power caused them to send that energy through the land, reshaping it. While they lost both the beast and the wing, they discovered that there was a second wing - that the Silver Wing was not actually from Ho-Oh, but from Lugia, a Pokemon whose power mirrored Lugia, and that they could use the Silver Wing instead/that they had the wrong wing, and that the Rainbow Wing was needed. Now they have obtained the second wing, and captured another beast.

After their failure six years ago, they felt tremendous shame. Not just for their failure, but for the damage they did. They even destroyed their own town. After that, they could never go back. They had to see this through to the end. They took up the mantle of Rocket Mask, and decided nothing would stop them from taming the beast - least of all, you.

-Rocket Mask removes their mask, revealing themselves to be none other than Pryce, the former leader of the Mahogany Town gym. While Colress finishes combining the beast's power with the wing, Pryce challenges you. He has a Lv55 Weavile, a Lv57 Dewgong, a Lv56 Piloswine, a Lv57 Cloyster, and a Lv59 Mamoswine.

-Upon defeating him, he says it no longer matters - the beast is complete. The Unown chains spin faster, and emit a great glow. The ground begins to shake, and then... suddenly, it ends. The Unown are floating freely, and Entei/Raikou is before you, in the air, flapping its wings. Pryce is amazed, and orders Entei/Raikou to come to him. It roars, and ignores his order. Pryce is shocked and indignant, and demands an explanation from Colress, who doesn't understand why the Unown chains broke apart - they were key to controlling it. Entei/Raikou attacks them, sending them both reeling. It floats before you, waiting.

-You challenge Entei/Raikou, Lv60. Capture or defeat it.

-Once captured/defeated, Pryce demands an explanation, and says he couldn't have been wrong. Suddenly, Celebi descends. It shows Pryce his past again - this time, the day he left Team Rocket. It shows him coming to terms with moving on, and looking forward to the future. Pryce then begins to wonder if he had made a mistake this whole time.

-Suddenly, Looker flies in! He challenges Pryce, before realizing that he has already been defeated. Pryce agrees to come quietly. Colress slips away unnoticed.

-Suddenly, Maya, Blaze, and Professor Elm all fly in seperately. They congratulate you on taking them down, and you all head home together. Roll credits.

-Upon resuming, Maya comes to your house, informing you that the league is shut down at the moment to repair the damage Team Rocket did, and that in the meantime we should go and challenge the Kanto gym leaders!

-You head to Cherrygrove City and take the ferry to Vermillion. When you arrive, Looker is there, and thanks you again for your help taking down Team Rocket. However, the three remaining admins are at large, and they believe they are somewhere in Kanto.

-With one exception, the gyms can now be faced in any order. However, two of them require specific events first. The rest, in no particular order:

-Lt. Surge has a Lv56 Raichu, a Lv57 Electrode, a Lv57 Magneton, and a Lv58 Electivire

-Sabrina has a Lv58 Mr. Mime, a Lv58 Slowbro, a Lv59 Espeon, and a Lv62 Alakazam

-Janine has a Lv55 Ariados, a Lv57 Venomoth, a Lv56 Weezing, and a Lv58 Crobat

-Cinnabar Island has a new artificial extension to keep the town proper out of volcano range, and have fully revuilt the town over the water. Blaine has a Lv58 Rapidash, a Lv58 Arcanine, a Lv57 Magcargo, and a Lv60 Magmortar

-Flint, Brock's father (yes, like in the anime) has taken over Pewter Gym. He has a Lv57 Forretress, a Lv57 Magneton, a Lv58 Skarmory, and a Lv60 Steelix.

-Erika is not at her Gym in Celadon - she can instead be found in front of the disused casino. She is speaking to Looker about Team Rocket sightings in the area. She will not battle you until after all of Team Rocket are fought. If you go inside the Casino, you can find Rocket's original base is in use again, and the rest of the rockets are hiding there. You and Looker go through and find Proton and Ariana there. You battle them. Proton has a Lv55 Golbat, a Lv57 Qwilfish, and a Lv57 Weezing. Ariana has a Lv60 Arbok, a Lv59 Vileplume, and a Lv61 Honchkrow. Looker captures them and takes them away. On their desk, you can see a plan to take over the Power Plant. If you head there, you find Petrel, the last Rocket, skulking around in front. He has three Weezings, Lv60, Lv61, and Lv62. Once defeated, he agrees to come quietly, and Looker thanks you for your assistance. You can now fight Erika.

-Erika has a Lv60 Jumpluff, a Lv61 Victreebel, a Lv61 Vileplume, a Lv60 Bellossom, and a Lv64 Tangrowth.

-In Mt. Moon, you encounter a young girl digging for fossils. She has beige overalls, a braided black ponytail, a hard hat, thick gardening gloves, a white dirt-stained tank top, thick round glasses, and freckles. She tells you her name is Bonnie, and says you're welcome to one of the fossils she's just dug up. At that moment, Maya arrives and tells you she already has 6 of the Kanto badges, but can't find the other two gym leaders. She then challenges you to a battle. She has a Lv64 Granbull, a Lv65 Espeon, a Lv64 Rhyperior, two of Lv65 Victreebel/Arcanine/Cloyster, and a Lv66 Meganium/Typhlosion/Feraligatr. After you beat her, Bonnie offers you both a fossil (you pick between Dome and Helix) and she awkwardly says that she's acfually the new Viridian City Gym Leader, and heads back to her gym. You can now challenge her.

-Bonnie has a Lv63 Quagsire, a Lv64 Pupitar, a Lv64 Donphan, a Lv65 Gliscor, and a Lv67 Nidoqueen.

-Upon passing the front of Cerulean Gym, Lorelei will appear. She informs you that this gym is closed now that Misty is in the E4. She retired from the Elite Four years ago to look after her home in the Sevii Islands, but got offered the Gym Leader position here. She arranged for a new gym to be made in the Sevii Islands instead, and to come visit her once you have the other 7 badges. You can travel there from Vermillion.

-At Lorelei's gym on Four Island, you can battle her once you have the other 7 Kanto badges. She has a Lv65 Delibird, a Lv66 Dewgong, a Lv67 Jynx, a Lv67 Glaceon, and a Lv68 Lapras. Once defeated, she grants you the Snow Badge.

-With 16 Badges, you are ready to take on the league again.

-As before, the first member you face is Brock. He has a Lv67 Golem, a Lv68 Kabutops, a Lv68 Omastar, a Lv69 Steelix, a Lv69 Rhyperior, and a Lv70 Aerodactyl.

-The second member is Will. He has a Lv69 Hypno, a Lv70 Wobbuffet, a Lv70 Girafarig, a Lv70 Slowking, a Lv70 Exeggutor, and a Lv71 Xatu.

-The third member is Misty. She has a Lv70 Politoed, a Lv69 Cloyster, a Lv70 Azumarill, a Lv71 Vaporeon, a Lv71 Golduck, and a Lv73 Starmie.

-The fourth member is Karen. She has a Lv71 Umbreon, a Lv72 Honchkrow, a Lv71 Weavile, a Lv72 Gengar, a Lv73 Muk, and a Lv74 Houndoom.

-Finally, you climb the stairs up to the champion, once again. No interruptions from Team Rocket this time. You open the door.

-Silver greets you. He thanks you for yoir work in defeating Team Rocket, and says he doesn't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there. He apologizes for not being able to fight last time, but as the Pokemon League Champion, he will hold nothing back. Silver has a Lv74 Crobat, a Lv73 Weavile, a Lv74 Magnezone, a Lv76 Gengar, a Lv75 Alakazam, and a Lv78 Tyranitar.

-As you defeat him, he congratulates you, and says he knew you had it in you. That he hadn't faced a trainer like you in a decade. He takes you to the hall of fame, and swears you in as the new Pokemon League Champion.

Roll credits, again.

-Finally, as champion, you now have access to Mt. Silver. And who is on top the mountain... but Ethan/Lyra, standing in the spot where they once defeated Red. They say nothing. The battle begins. They have a Lv82 Red Gyarados, a Lv81 Ampharos, a Lv83 Meganium, a Lv83 Typhlosion, a Lv83 Feraligatr, and a Lv85 Togekiss.

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