Having Golurk follow me down the streets of Black City turned out to be a mistake. Similar set-ups had worked with Valiant, but Valiant was not nine feet tall and was certainly not as wide as a truck.

  “Sorry. Excuse me! Didn't mean to— Sorry about that.”

  Men and women dressed in suits practically had to fight just to get past us, and I eventually had to settle and pull Golurk into Black City's equivalent of a public park.

  Here, towering skyscrapers made of darkened glass and black metal surrounded us on all sides. The ground was paved over with smooth concrete, lacking even the slightest signs of vegetation. The only “green” life here was the few trees in this plaza that the city had dubbed a park. However, each tree existed solely within its own carefully maintained planter that sat next to the occasional bench.

  “Just... sit here for a second,” I said.

  As I watched, Golurk walked over to one of those benches and tried to sit down. I had meant for Golurk to sit underneath the tree, but with the bench right there, they walked right up to it and deposited themself onto it, instead.

  Upon hearing a metallic screech, I winced, trying to pretend that I didn’t witness the seat bend under Golurk’s weight.

  I watched them, thinking. We hadn’t yet fully had the chance to talk. I’d purchased tickets for a flight almost immediately after they’d joined us, and I couldn’t exactly chat with them on the flight over when they had been stuck inside a freshly used Ultra Ball.

  “So,” I said. “Your ability is Klutz. That would explain your clumsiness.”

  Although I was able to ignore the property damage, Golurk wasn't, and I was barely able to stop them in time. They stood up, but I managed to convince them to leave the bench where it sat instead of tearing out of the ground in a misguided attempt to unbend the metal.

  “You're big, lumbering, and don't have great control over precise movements,” I said as Golurk sat back down, hearing the creak of the bench bending even further. “But your attacks are so overwhelming that they feel unavoidable. In exchange, you don’t tend to bother with defense—but with your size and low speed, you can’t muster much of a defense, anyway.”

  I was mostly just thinking out loud, trying to picture what Golurk represented in a fight. I had been more than willing to have them join the team, but I was having trouble figuring out their role given how both Valiant and Metang were already strong, physical attackers.

  And I couldn’t forget how Liepard was another fighter that excelled in melee, too.

  “I guess all of that means you almost have a second ability trained—No Guard. That’d let you forsake your defense to go all in, making your attacks always hit in exchange for not being able to avoid attacks in return,” I said. “I guess that sounds good on paper if we can train you to be sturdy enough, but there’s also the fact that both Metang and Valiant will still be better at defense than you.”

  I rubbed my chin in thought, feeling my frown. There was something there, but I couldn’t see it just yet. As strong as Golurk was, their abilities were what stood out to me. Other Pokémon on my team were better melee attackers than they were.

  As it stood, all Pokémon had at least one ability, but this world was not the games. This was reality, where each Pokémon was an individual member of a larger species. With enough training, a Pokémon could eventually develop multiple abilities, and Pokémon could even train themselves to minimize their abilities’ downsides.

  In Golurk’s case, No Guard could turn them into an incredible attacker.

  But even with training, Golurk would be incredibly vulnerable in exchange.

  And then, they were also clumsy; right now, Golurk’s only trained ability was Klutz. Due to having that, held items would do nothing for them since they were unable to wield anything well.

  I had little clue what role Golurk could play on the team, but I also couldn’t ignore the strength that was contained behind their attacks. As risky as No Guard was, it did carry the possibility of some incredible combinations. Just off the top of my head, I could picture Dynamic Punch—an attack so strong that it traded almost all of its accuracy in exchange for power.

  With No Guard, a Dynamic Punch used by Golurk would always hit, and that kind of power could bring Golurk to stand at the very top of my team. However, their defenses would remain at the bottom; my best thought at this point was to turn Golurk into some kind of glass cannon. They’d be capable of dealing the most damage, but they’d also take the most damage in exchange.

  As I stood there, considering our options, I realized that I’d just been silently staring at Golurk for a while.

  Golurk had been silently staring back.

  “What do you want?” I ended up asking them.

  With Golurk’s flat expression, I realized that I already knew the answer.

  “Yeah. You want to continue protecting the Lunar Feather,” I said, “but that wasn’t what I meant. I know that you want to help, but I want to know what you want to do in battle.”

  Every Pokémon on my team had a goal they wanted to achieve, or they at least had a certain measure of strength that they wanted to reach. Valiant wanted to be a master with their blade, so I trained them to primarily fight in melee. Rotom wanted to not be limited to one device, so I made sure he could always freely swap between machines and battle well with any form he chose.

  Liepard wanted to be able to defeat any foe, so we trained him to fight even the toughest of opponents.

  Metang wanted pure, raw power, so we—

  Well, we were working on training him to achieve something similar to that.

  But Golurk?

  As it stood, Golurk just continued to stare at me from where they sat within this concrete park.

  Soon, however, a giggle brought their gaze away.

  I followed where they were looking to see that they were now staring at a small child. There, a young girl laughed while chasing a small Lillipup around.

  At the sight, Golurk’s fists tightened—but they didn’t do so out of anger. Rather, the reaction seemed to come from a stirred memory. Golurk’s true desire was to always act in defense, and they never wanted to fail anyone or anything ever again.

  “...I get it,” I said, my voice softening. “You want to protect those weaker than you. That’s what drives you to act. But that’s also a big ask. Both Valiant and Metang will always be better at defense than you.”

  Once again, Golurk turned to stare at me. I did everything I could to consider their species’s structure as well as what their presence on the team represented.

  I knew what they wanted, and I wanted to give them that. We couldn’t forget that they were on a team, now, and I actually did start having an idea for them to achieve the goal that they wanted to achieve.

  “How about this,” I offered, “I know it sounds the same as everyone else’s goal, but increasing your strength would mean a better defense. Specifically, we make you so strong that you’re able to take out any opponent, one at a time.”

  “Golurk,” I continued, “you’re not alone. You don’t have to act independently. You joined a team, so we’ll act as a team. We’ll work together to protect everything you want to protect, so rely on us, and in exchange, you’ll have the role of handling opponents no one else can reasonably take out.”

  Alongside his full-body offense, Metang was already focused on training defense; his Steel-type actually made him a decent defensive wall. Meanwhile, Valiant was capable of performing a similar role with how their attacks could deflect other attacks, but Golurk was capable of something else:

  They had a third ability that could be developed alongside their other ones.

  Alongside Klutz and No Guard, a Golurk was also able to train Iron Fist, an ability that drastically increased the power of all punching moves. That combination with Dynamic Punch I had considered earlier? With enough training, Golurk could make that punch-based offense even more devastating than it already could be.

  “What do you think of that?” I asked after I explained my plan. “We turn you into our nuke button—our ultimate wall breaker. You don’t need to last long on the field as long as you can take out opponents that no one else can face. That would give us the room to not worry about the biggest threats.”

  I then paused briefly.

  “Just, uh, don’t ask me what ‘nuke’ means.”

  Golurk continued to look on, and I continued to further explain the plan. I wanted to work with my Pokémon, and I wanted my Pokémon to be able to follow their desires to have the dedication needed to become strong.

  Golurk didn’t care how they protected others; they just wanted to keep doing so. They only considered what they wanted, so it was up to me, their trainer, to figure out the best plan.

  While I could not turn Golurk into a Pokémon that could fight against a horde, I could turn Golurk into a Pokémon capable of lasting just long enough to unleash one singular, incredibly powerful blow.

  With the proper training, that blow could be enough to take out any opponent, and I explained all of that to Golurk.

  I went into detail, trying to explain my reasoning and plans, hoping this was something that aligned with the desires of the newest member of my team.

  Unfortunately, it was hard to judge what they were thinking. Golurk’s expressionless face and blocky eyes meant they only stared.

  However, as soon as I finished, they nodded their head. I grinned at that—Golurk welcomed the chance to become that powerful force on the team.

  “We’ll work on it,” I promised them. “You’ll be able to protect everyone from the toughest of opponents, and we’ll fight together to act as a greater whole. And, once we find him, I’ll talk to Cee about what you want—but, uh, we kind of need to find out where he is?”

  Although we were in Black City, I had no idea where Cee was, even though he had told us to meet him here. He’d made me a promise that he’d help, but we hadn’t exactly exchanged information about how to contact each other.

  As I looked around, trying to piece together our next steps, Golurk stood, acting as if they intended to help. Unfortunately, any further conversation or attempts to search stopped there. From a distance, a low rumble grew louder from behind us, and the single headlight of a motorcycle approached.

  “You the trainer blocking the road with a Golurk?” a brown-uniformed officer asked as the motorcycle came to a stop within this park.

  I had to fight against my need to groan.

  “Yes,” I reluctantly admitted.

  Unfortunately, the fine she levied saw me say goodbye to all of the leftover money we had earned from our job with Grey.

  But it was worth it for this chance to have had a decent chat with Golurk.

  Except, we still needed to find Cee.

  While I didn't know where Cee was, I was at least able to head toward the local Pokémon Center. I knew it occupied an entire skyscraper somewhere around here, and this time, I didn't make the mistake of blocking the road with Golurk. Instead, Valiant walked at my side as they were no larger than the average human.

  Halfway to our destination, however, my watch beeped, and I blinked. I half-expected the message to be from Geeta, but it wasn’t.

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  Instead, the message simply read, “Just a bit further, and almost you're there!”

  “Wait, is this Cee?” I asked, staring at the watch. “How does he know where we are? And... Hold on. How did he get my number in the first place? It’s not posted online.”

  I stared at the words on the screen before sending a look to Valiant. They weren’t exactly allowed to draw their weapon in the middle of a city—we had learned that the hard way back in Paldea—but they could at least look up and around for any sign of that masked man or glowing camera.

  I was about to join their search when my watch beeped again.

  “Oh, you don’t have to make that look,” the message said. “I’m just trying to guide you!”

  “Well, it’s definitely from Cee,” I said flatly. “And, apparently, he can see my face.”

  Joining us, Rotom left where he’d been in my backpack to zip into my watch. There, he checked to see if there were any unexpected connections, but he could find none. Cee must have truly been watching us from elsewhere, and I looked around to see if anyone was staring. However, all I found were people appropriately dressed for a busy city and rows of darkened windows that stretched toward the sky.

  “Higher!” a new message read.

  I looked up.

  A drone, maybe?

  But there was nothing in the air.

  Instead, a final message came in, and this one contained nothing more than an address and a simple set of instructions. The lack of a comment attached to it almost made the message read as disappointed.

  Changing my path through the city, I was able to find the exact address and enter one of the many skyscrapers’ lobbies. I could tell that this place had to be an office building of some sort; people in suits wielding briefcases strode through the sterile, main floor.

  Upon approaching the elevators, one of them opened up automatically, and Valiant and I stepped inside. The world rumbled around us as we were brought up, and the doors eventually opened on the elevator’s destined floor.

  “Ah, Nicholas!” a voice said as soon as the doors began to open. “There you are!”

  Cee’s voice came so suddenly that I almost jumped, and Valiant twitched as if wanting to prepare a defense, but they forwent grabbing their blade for now.

  As the elevator doors finished pulling open, I was met with that same billowing cloak and the metal-banded mask that I had seen back in Undella Town. Cee’s yellow eyes stared out from behind the narrow holes, but I could at least tell his eyes had curved up slightly in what I hoped to be a friendly smile.

  “Didn’t expect to see you still wearing that,” I said, stepping out of the elevator alongside Valiant.

  “Wearing what?” Cee asked with genuine curiosity.

  “Your, uh...” I shook my head. “You know what? Nevermind."

  “Wonderful!” The fabric flowed behind Cee as he turned around, and he practically began to glide across the hallway’s smooth, black floors. “I’m glad to see you arrive so early—I honestly didn’t expect you to show up so soon. It’s good to see you’re so eager, and it’s fortunate that I’ve spent this time preparing!”

  “I don’t know if I’d call myself eager,” I said as I hurried to catch up. “It just didn’t make sense to put this off. My team needs training, and as much as I can do it on my own, you said it yourself that you’ve been studying Pokémon battles. We’ll get farther if we work with you.”

  “Good answer,” Cee said, his eyes locked on the halls in front of us.

  This floor turned out to be a maze of smooth hallways that connected to closed-off room after closed-off room. The doors solely had metal numbers printed on them, and they lacked descriptions for whatever they connected to. It almost felt unearthly to be in here; there were no decorations and no windows whatsoever. However, despite the lack of any signs or markings, Cee seemed to know exactly where he was heading, and he guided me with purpose.

  “I’ve been spending the past few days tearing through the data I have on your team as well as all of your recorded, public matches,” Cee said. “I’ve collected that information and combined it with my research to begin piecing together a plan to further develop your team.”

  “Huh,” I said. “You did all of that already?”

  “Of course! Just like you, I found I had no reason to wait.”

  “But that’s still a lot to do for someone you just met,” I pointed out, needing to walk quickly just to keep in pace. “I didn’t accept your offer in Undella, either. How’d you know that I’d show up?”

  The second I finished my question, Cee stopped moving. He came to an abrupt halt just to turn and stare at me through his mask.

  “It’s not that I knew you’d accept,” he said, his yellow eyes locking with mine, “rather, it’s that I simply knew you’d never have a reason to decline.”

  I waited for him to start moving down the hallway again, but he never did. He simply turned to face the wall, and I finally realized that we had stopped next to a door. It lacked a handle or any obvious way to open it, but as soon as Cee took a step closer, it slid open.

  I followed him in.

  Immediately, this room let me see just why Cee had been able to watch us while we traveled down Black City’s streets. It was a massive, empty space—one that likely stretched up through multiple floors. Most of the walls in here were solid black, but directly ahead of us was an enormous window. That set of towering, glass panes served as darkened, one-way windows that could let anyone observe the city’s streets from above.

  So he tracked us from up here.

  But that still left me with the question of how he knew I was down there in the first place—or even just how he had learned my contact information.

  However, although I had those questions, my focus was quickly brought toward something else:

  This room was essentially empty, but that was to fulfill the purpose of the full-sized battlefield that took up the floor.

  “Don’t worry about the windows. They won’t break,” Cee said, striding toward the battlefield’s center. “Like the walls, they’re rated to take attacks from even the most elite of elite trainers.”

  The door slid closed behind us.

  “And, I apologize for not acquiring a ‘proper’ battlefield for this,” he continued. “The League’s standards mandate a compacted dirt field to support Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon, but due to the limitations of this building, we’ll have to settle for a solid platform field for now.”

  “I, uh...” As I walked forward, swallowing slightly, it started to settle in that this expensive-looking place was all just to train my team. “What do you mean by ‘acquire?’”

  “Oh!” Cee turned to face me at the very center of the field. His voice was merry. “For the purpose of your training, I’m now the proud owner of this building’s thirteenth floor!”

  Black City was strange. It was an enormous city, but its population didn’t quite match the population of other Unovan cities. It had countless, darkened skyscrapers, but each one had been assembled quickly, and before a sizable population had moved in.

  Truly, it was a city assembled solely for the sake of being a city, and it mostly served as an opposing claim of land. As a result, due to the lack of people, property here was surprisingly cheap.

  But outright purchasing an entire floor was still quite expensive.

  “You’ve come to me for help, and I promised you that I would assist. I’ve already told you that I plan to do everything in my power to make both you and your team strong,” Cee said.

  The lack of any visible expression on his mask made him appear as if he were the most serious man in the world.

  “I’ve been devising a plan to bring out your Pokémon’s true strength,” he continued, “but it is, admittedly, a work in progress. I’ll be able to finish it off by tomorrow, but to speed up my task, I’d like to start simple. First, a test.”

  “Of course, there’s a test,” I said with a slight sigh, remembering the short battle that I had with him only about a week ago.

  As I moved to join him at the center of the battlefield, Cee pulled back a sleeve to reveal that his gloves went further up than I thought. There, he briefly typed on a keyboard built onto his glove’s forearm before throwing an Ultra Ball in the air.

  Something whirred within the walls, but I could not see what changed. More obviously, ahead of us, a familiar Pokémon made its appearance over the field.

  Facing me once more, Cee’s Magnezone buzzed out a merry greeting. It rotated the two U-shaped magnets set on the front of its body, and the rapid change between red and blue almost made them seem like flashing lights.

  “I need to know exactly what we’ll be working with,” Cee said, speaking as he continued to type onto the keyboard built into his glove. “Please, send out your Pokémon—and I do mean all of your Pokémon.”

  In such a strange room and in such a strange place, with this entire floor owned by a man that I barely knew, I probably should have hesitated. However, this was for a purpose greater than just some base training; our goal was to win the World Coronation Series, and that goal was never going to be easy.

  I was already here, so I didn’t bother to hide anything. I held nothing back as I tossed my remaining three Pokéballs into the air.

  As Valiant was already at my side, they just had to take a few, cautious steps forward. Rotom left my watch to join them, not possessing anything but just flickering around in the air. Upon his appearance, Liepard’s tail swished back and forth, hinting at his willingness to enter any necessary battle. Meanwhile, Metang brought his arms out to his sides, clenching and unclenched his sharp, metallic claws.

  And then, a fifth Pokémon moved forward.

  Golurk.

  The newest member of my team towered over everyone else in this room. Upon Golurk’s appearance, Cee’s response was a stare that immediately snapped up to lock onto my Pokémon as the living construct moved forward.

  “You’ve caught a fifth Pokémon? Already? In just the few days we parted?” He hummed to himself quietly. “I’m surprised. It looks quite strong.”

  “Less caught, more gained, but yeah. I did,” I answered. “I hope this isn’t a problem.”

  “No,” Cee said quietly, his eyes flicking back and forth in deep thought. “Not a problem. Not a problem in the slightest. In fact, this will do perfectly. Astounding! A fifth Pokémon will drastically speed up the plans I have for your team!”

  Rather than go back to typing on his keyboard, he turned toward me, his cloak swishing behind him once more. There, he pointed directly at where his Magnezone was floating in the air.

  “Nicholas, order your Pokémon to attack my Magnezone,” he said. “Tell them to do their utmost to knock out my Pokémon.”

  “Got it,” I said.

  So this is the test.

  I knew from our last battle that Cee’s Magnezone was tough, but it would not be tough enough to withstand all five of my Pokémon at once.

  “Your Pokémon are to work together,” Cee said, “but you are not allowed to give them any in-battle commands.”

  “But I can give them commands before the battle?” I asked.

  “Simple commands at most.”

  I nodded at his reply.

  “Then, I understand,” I said. Taking a step forward, I let out a yell. “Everyone! Full offense! Hit that Magnezone with everything you got!”

  The first Pokémon to act were Valiant and Metang, as both of them immediately charged their foe. However, it was Rotom who unleashed the first move. As those two began to rush the Magnezone, Rotom zipped down to stab his arms into the earth and generate an Electric Terrain that overtook the platform field.

  That terrain provided Valiant a boost in speed that allowed them to tear to the front, taking a sudden lead in the charge toward Magnezone. Within a single second, they drew their blade and swung it down, but their strike clashed against the perfect defense of a Protect.

  They pushed, and sparks flickered out past the edge of their blade. From under the shield, Cee’s Magnezone chirped in delight, eyes curved up in a sign of contesting appreciation.

  “All within expectation so far,” Cee stated. “This battle will play out just as planned.”

  “Just as planned?” I repeated. “You already know what’s going to happen?”

  Cee hummed briefly.

  “Well, I suppose your Golurk is a new variable, but as strong as your Pokémon are, their roles tend to be singular and easily predicted.”

  Cee’s Magnezone shifted as Valiant pressed their blade deeper into its shield, but it looked no less cheerful in the face of that threat. Maintaining its barrier, it suddenly rotated out of nowhere, and Valiant was forced to shift around to not let up the pressure of their blade.

  “Oh no,” I groaned, recognizing what was about to happen.

  Thankfully, Cee remained perfectly silent.

  As was a standard reaction in our practice, the very second that the Magnezone sparked, Valiant jumped back to make room between them and their opponent.

  It was a well-trained, reflexive dodge.

  However, the Magnezone’s previous rotation had been intentional; this jump saw Valiant leap back and right into Metang’s face.

  Immediately, the two metallic Pokémon crashed into the ground, and Metang didn’t hold back to start rumbling out his name to assault Valiant with complaints.

  Frustrated and treating this battle all-too-lightly, Valiant jumped back to return to their feet, brandishing their polearm as if trying to fight against Metang’s grievances. They waved their blade around as if to emphasize the crash wasn’t their fault, but Metang just took that as a threat and moved forward to continue to shout his name inches away from Valiant’s face.

  I groaned yet again; as much as this was a “casual” test in our favor, turning away from their opponent was not something my Pokémon should have been doing.

  As those two argued among themselves, almost like a gliding shadow, the Magnezone used the distraction to place itself right next to them.

  Its proximity to the Electric Terrain allowed it to unleash a world-swallowing Discharge.

  “And now... Protect,” Cee said, but he wasn’t commanding his Pokémon. He was just speaking under his breath. His Magnezone already knew the plan, so upon finishing its Discharge, it used Protect once again to prevent the retaliation that came from both Valiant and Metang.

  However, it wasn’t just their strike that was blocked; I also heard two other voices of frustration.

  An annoyed buzz came from Rotom, and a soft growl whispered out of where Liepard was stalking about to the side.

  “Ugh,” I said, pressing my fingers into my temples. “Rotom and Liepard aren’t attacking. They don’t want to risk hitting Valiant or Metang. Magnezone knows this and is using positioning as a form of defense.”

  Cee let out a chuckle, but it was humorless. It was a noise made to represent acknowledgment rather than any sort of amused reaction.

  “The role of the trainer is key; a trainer’s commands eliminate doubt, and they serve as a multiplier to a Pokémon’s effectiveness. Here, this battle might have gone differently if your Liepard had moved first, but it’s been trained to lurk and use moves in reaction. It only ever shuts down opponents after they’ve revealed or hinted at their tricks. It did not have the reliance of you standing behind it to properly oppose my plans.”

  Despite four of my Pokémon being present and wanting to go after this Magnezone, only two of them could actually use any moves. Thankfully, Valiant and Metang did seem to find some kind of balance where they attacked from two sides, but the Magnezone simply cycled between further uses of Protect and then Iron Defense to withstand all of those blows.

  With Rotom and Liepard remaining in the back, allowing my two most aggressive Pokémon to take the lead, it seemed as though this battle would remain in a near-equilibrium, but I couldn’t forget the newest member of my team:

  Golurk was slow.

  It took ages for Golurk to catch up to everyone in the center, and Golurk was a behemoth that drew back their arm regardless of the fight that was going on.

  Clearly, Golurk intended to just punch the Magnezone, but Valiant and Metang were making the same mistake that had seen Valiant crash into Metang earlier. They were far too focused on their opponent instead of the battlefield as a whole, and with its positioning, the Magnezone could see Golurk coming and move to ensure the incoming Shadow Punch hit all three Pokémon at once.

  I had already known my Pokémon were dedicated, but I had never realized just how single-minded they actually were.

  “We’ll stop here,” Cee said.

  The trio of Pokémon in the center hit the floor, with their defeat being more emotional than it was physical. Cee’s Magnezone looked incredibly battered at this point, but its constant usage of Protect and Iron Defense had prevented the worst of the damage.

  Frustrated, Metang returned to the air, refusing to stay on the ground any longer than needed. Valiant, meanwhile, just laid there. Empty, they stared up at the fluorescent lights of the ceiling.

  “So,” Cee started, “overall—”

  “A disaster,” I said for him, letting out a groan. “Compared to your Magnezone—”

  “Your team is stronger,” Cee interrupted in return. “One Close Combat from your Iron Valiant, and my Magnezone would have been placed in an unrecoverable position. Your Rotom is agile enough to fly circles around my Pokémon, and your Liepard can perfectly shut down any singular foe.”

  Cee then turned to face me as the Pokémon on the field began to recover after their extremely short battle. Golurk somehow looked incredibly apologetic even through their emotionless gaze, and Cee’s Magnezone actually floated down to place itself close to the floor. Valiant turned their head to look on flatly, but then the Magnezone chirped.

  With the equivalent of a sigh, Valiant accepted the Magnezone’s offer for help off the floor.

  “Power and skill are critical to win any battle,” Cee began to explain. “If you recall the match we witnessed in Undella Town, Cynthia’s Pokémon fought with extreme power, and Lucian’s Psychic types perfectly utilized their skill. Those two traits qualify a Pokémon’s ability to participate in battle, and I have no doubt that your team excels in both. However, let me ask you a related question: have you been satisfied with your team's recent growth?”

  I felt myself frowning.

  “Lately? We’ve had some growth, but not enough to win. We aren’t going to place first in the tournament if we continue as we are now.”

  Cee nodded in reply.

  “For most of your team, I imagine that you’ve hit a wall. No matter how much specific training or singular practice you lead your team through, your Pokémon are not improving at the rate needed for you to achieve your goal,” he said. “For that reason, I know what you’re missing: the third trait. Mastery. Or, strategy.”

  I stayed silent.

  “Yes. For your team to continue growing, you need to develop how your Pokémon fight as a whole.”

  He went on to turn and face my team, and I was left to weigh the words he had spoken. But Cee was not done just yet, and he kept speaking, continuing with the speech that he had clearly planned.

  “Of course, any of your Pokémon could have defeated Magnezone if fighting one-on-one, but the World Coronation Series does not ‘do’ one-on-one battles. Your Pokémon must better learn how to work together, and they must better learn the best situations in which to use their moves. However, to match Champions, they also must possess a respectable amount of personal strength—and that is a strength they are yet to reach.

  “Nicholas,” he continued, “I will assist you in your attempts to climb, but you are their trainer. I can only help you plan. Your team must expand their power, their strategy, and their moves, and you must dedicate yourself to them just as much as they dedicate themselves to enhancing your team.”

  “I understand,” I said seriously. “Anything for my Pokémon.”

  “Good!”

  Cee clapped his hands.

  And, just like that, that sudden shock caused the tension that had been unknowingly building in this room all but disappear.

  “There’s so much to do! So much to achieve. So many things to test!” Cee said, cheerfully speaking to himself. “The World Coronation Series, Black Tower, Benga, and the upcoming tournament— But I’m getting ahead of myself.”

  As my team finished recovering in the center of the room, Cee’s yellow eyes flicked back over to me.

  “Nicholas, now that you’ve seen how cleanly your team can be dismantled with just a week’s worth of analysis, let’s fix that. I have specifics in mind, and I have specific goals for you. You need to develop both your team and your personal strategy, so it's time to start pursuing that. However, there’s no sense in starting just yet—not without some further information gathering first.”

  I consider this the start of the third major “arc” of this story.

  If you’ve read or seen Hunter X Hunter, you might know part of the inspiration for what I have planned.

  Pokémon mentioned in this chapter:

  Lillipup

  Nick’s Team:

  Current Placement: Great Rank

  (Note: Low-level moves have been omitted.)

  Iron Valiant (Valiant) (Fairy / Fighting type, Genderless, Serious Nature, +-n/a)

  Abilities: Quark Drive

  Moves: Fury Cutter, Feint, Dazzling Gleam, Psycho Cut, Night Slash, Close Combat, Shadow Claw, Electric Terrain

  Rotom (Electric / Variable type, Genderless (Male), Quirky Nature, +-n/a)

  Available Forms*: Default (Ghost type), Fan (Flying type), Wash (Water type), Mow (Grass type)

  Abilities: Levitate

  Moves: Charge, Thunder Wave, Discharge, Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Electric Terrain, Variable*

  Variable Form Moves*: Air Slash (Fan), Hydro Pump (Wash), Leaf Storm (Mow)

  Liepard (Dark type, Male, Naughty Nature, +Atk/-SpD)

  Abilities: Limber, Prankster

  Moves: Assist, Snarl, Fake Out, Bite, Torment, Hone Claws, Slash, Taunt, Night Slash, Shadow Claw, Psycho Cut, Encore, Foul Play

  (Steel / Psychic type, Genderless (Male), Adamant Nature, +Atk/-SpA)

  Pokéball: Ultra Ball

  Abilities: Clear Body

  Moves: Take Down, Metal Claw, Confusion, Zen Headbutt, Magnet Rise, Iron Head

  (Ground / Ghost type, Genderless, Brave Nature, +Atk/-Spe)

  Pokéball: Ultra Ball

  Abilities: Klutz

  Moves: Shadow Punch, more to be added

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