¤Game¤ Dragon Tamers Battle Range v.24

[Lady Vulpix]

*Omits reaction because we've already talked via IM.*

OK, here it is! Pulse's RBG and more. Credits to Jeff for his side of our conversation.

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<Pulse's POV>

I didn't know where I was when I woke up. It took me a few seconds to realize I was in what was supposed to be my new home. I was still uneasy about the whole thing. I missed my old life, with Pa and the computers... There was a computer here, but I'd been told not to go inside it. And the place was so noisy! There were Pokemon everywhere, all the time. The one named Caledor was nice when he was alone with me, but when he was with his friends they were all so annoying! And then there was the trainer... I'd been hoping she'd spend the day with me, teaching me knew things and helping me get stronger, but she had left the house a few minutes after I arrived, been out for most of the day and then come back to simply ask me how I was doing and if there was anything I wanted. She did bring me an Eviolite, but still, things were not what I had expected. But I couldn't go back to my old home: Giana was there now, and Pa was sure that she would hurt me if she saw me; not physically - she never hit anyone for personal reasons, Pa would say - but emotionally. She could say things to make you wish you'd never been born, Pa said. I wondered why Pa had decided to stay with her... It said that she needed it, that she'd go crazy without it, but why did it care if she was so mean? None of the things it said - that she'd never had a good parent, that she didn't know what it was like to feel loved, that she couldn't help seeing the worst in everyone, or that she had rescued Pa from an abandoned storage room - felt like a good reason for it to stay with her rather than leave with me. But that wasn't my choice. My old life was gone, so all I could do now was learn to accept the new one.

"Good morning!" Caledor greeted me with the biggest smile I'd ever seen. "Did you sleep well?"
"Uh... I think so," I replied.
"You don't sound so good... Is anything wrong?"
"I don't know... I'm just not used to being here, I guess."
"Oh... miss your old home? I know how that feels. I was stranded on the Moon for 2 years once. I really missed being here."
"On the Moon? Really?"
"Yes, in some kind of... base. Anyway, if there's anything any of us can do to help you feel better, just ask."
"OK... I mean thanks. I'm just worried about my parent."

The Espeon thought for a moment, and then asked. "Do you know where your parent is?"
"I don't know," I said. "I remember the IPs and MAC addresses of the computers we normally used, but I don't think I could get there without going through the Cloud."
"I'm going to assume that what you said makes perfect sense. We'll find a way to protect your parent from Giana and make sure you two can meet again."
"Really? How?"
"I don know yet. But we'll do it. As long as you don't give up, sooner or later you'll succeed."
"But what if it's too late? What if she's already done something horrible?"
"Terabyte has lived with Giana for years, I don't think she'll suddenly decide to kill her only companion."
"No, she wouldn't do that, but..."
"While there's life, there's hope. It's an old saying, but it's true. Giana won't be able to break your parent, not while it knows you're safe and sound."
"What do I have to do with anything?" I asked.
"Everything!" said Caledor. "Your parent sent you away so you'd be safe. You're its greatest hope. As long as you're OK, it can endure anything."
"You speak as if you knew it well."
"I know love. I know the strength it can give you. And I once saw Lagi confront a Dragon - a real Dragon - to protect her eldest daughter."
"A real Dragon? How did she survive?"
"With a lot of help, but that's beside the point. The point is... she didn't hesitate regardless of the danger because her daughter mattered to her that much."
"Oh... And where is her daughter now?"
"Australia, I think... Anyway, let's talk about happier things. I remember you said you liked video games, so I asked Gabi and Amber last night and they said you can play any of their games if you want."
"Oh, cool! What games do they have?"
"You'll have to ask them, I can't handle the controls so I don't even bother checking. Which makes me wonder, how do you play? Do you play games from inside the computer or console?"
"What? No! You have no idea what a computer looks like from the inside, do you?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Of course... You wouldn't ask that if you did. When I'm inside a computer, I feel the electric charges and can interpret them as bits or bytes. I've learnt to recognize many patterns, so I can, for example, read and write text files, decode TCP and UDP packages, or recognize different file formats. But I don't see the images, just the codes for the pixels (or even less than that if they're compressed). So no, playing from inside a computer would be a terrible idea."
"Then how do you play?"
"I send the right electric pulses to the machines. Every key pressed, every button clicked and everything else you do to send data to a computer or console translates into electric pulses, so I just send the pulses needed to make my moves."
"Wow, that's fascinating! I'd love to see that!"
"OK, you can watch me play if you want."

I was about to ask where Gabi and Amber were, but then I heard their calls from the kitchen saying breakfast was ready. We went to the kitchen and, as I was crossing the door, I was nearly run over by the Ninetales. I wasn't hurt, but I got scared for a moment. Then the Dragonite picked me up and put me on a chair. By then there were Pokemon all over the place.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," said the Dragonite.

I didn't know how to react, so I didn't say anything. I remembered what Pa had said about Giana: that he could see your greatest fears and regrets, and everything that made you suffer. Was that what the Dragonite did? And if so, how was being with her any safer than being with Giana?

"Earth to Pulse," said the Vaporeon, distracting me from my thoughts.
"Eh? What?" I asked.
"Gabi just asked you what you'd like to have for breakfast. We have toast, cheese, cereals, yoghurt, fruits, milk, mixed fruit juice, and lots of teas because both Gabi and Amber are tea addicts."
"Not as many teas as we had before, I'm afraid," said Gabi. "It'll be hard to recover from the damage the moths have caused."
"So you don't deny that you're addicted," the Vaporeon told her.
"I don't know... I can go for months without tea if I have to, but I don't enjoy it. If that makes me an addict, so be it, at least it's not an unhealthy addiction. Anyway, what would you like?"
"Umm... I don't know? I've never tried any of these things," I told her.
"Really?" she asked.
"Believe it or not, not everyone in Ulthuan has these things for breakfast," said Tsunami. "Breakfasts at Jenny's were very different. We had eggs both poached and scrambled, sausages, hash browns, beans... sometimes even fish."
"Just thinking about having that for breakfast makes me nauseous," Gabi told him. "But if that's what you want, I can make some scrambled eggs."
"Zack had some of those things for breakfast too, but we liked the cereals better," said the Pidgeot.
"He did?" asked Caledor. "Breakfast at Lord Growlithe's was mostly just fruits. All kinds of fruits."
"Sounds a lot like a Brazilian breakfast," Gabi commented.
"So different trainers make different things for breakfast?" I asked.
"Generally yes," said Gabi. "Some kinds of breakfast are typical of certain regions. This kind of breakfast is common in Argentina, which is where I come from. I like food from all over the world, but for breakfast I just can't eat anything savory other than cheese."
"Can't drink coffee either," said the Vaporeon.
"That's just a personal dislike, most people do drink coffee where I come from," Gabi replied. "Anyway, Pulse, what kind of breakfast do you like?"
"I... I haven't tried many kinds. We would sometimes eat instant noodles because pa found a pile of them somewhere and brought them home, and apples when they were in season because there was an apple tree nearby. But we once went to a farm and I tried a raspberry pie... It was strange, but I liked it! And I tried some rice and croquettes at the Adoption Center."
"Ah, so you were at the Adoption Center before?" asked Gabi. "Shonta said she'd seen a Porygon there, I wondered if that was you."
"Yes, my parent dropped me there one day saying I should find a good trainer to help me reach my full potential and learn about the world. The other Pokemon and the caretaker were nice, but on my second night there I was missing my parent so much that I found a computer and used it to return home. I was afraid my parent would be mad at me, but it said it was OK, that I was not ready yet and I could try again later when I was older."

I just hadn't expected it to happen the way it did.

"I'm sorry," said the Dragonite. "We'll do what we can to help you feel comfortable here."
"I don't think you can," I told her, perhaps too bluntly.
"Oh..." she replied. "I think I'm not hungry anymore. I'll go... do something else."
"No, Lagi, don't go," Gabi told her.
"Pulse, that was rude. Lagi was only trying to help you."
"I'm sorry," I said. "But she can't help me feel comfortable when she keeps reminding me of how uncomfortable I am. I do want to be a good Pokemon. I do want to learn and become stronger, but this was all so sudden! And everything's so different here!"

No one seemed to know what to say. It took a few seconds before Gabi spoke again.

"OK, let's tackle things one step at a time," she said. "You please let us know if there's anything we can do to help you feel better. I'll try to get to know you better and figure out what I can do to help. And we'll see how things go from there."

I nodded, still not knowing what to expect. I decided to try some toast, but the taste was not what I had imagined. Caledor suggested I tried it with butter and salt, but that didn't make it much better. Then Amber, the Charizard, suggested warming it up to melt the butter. I didn't think it would make a big change, but it did! I realized I liked it this way.

"Great!" Gabi cheered. "We've discovered one new thing you like."

Yes, we had. I finished my toast and waited for everyone else to finish eating before I asked Gabi if she was leaving again that day.

"I have to," she said. "I have work to do, and I have to talk to the MTU people so we can start arranging the party together. But you can come with me if you want."
"Can I?"
"Of course. There are many places for Pokemon to hang out at the Dragon's Guild headquarters. I'm sure you can have a good time there."
"Maybe you can even help Gabi with her research," Amber suggested.
"What?" asked Gabi. "How?"
"It's just an idea I had when we met Pulse," she said. "There's so much we don't know about Porygons! I thought Pulse could help you learn more about its kind, and then we can share that knowledge with the world."
"Oh, I hadn't thought about it..." Gabi said. "But are you sure no one else has done that before? Jeff probably has. He is Lord Porygon, after all. And besides... writing a Porygon report right now could be dangerous. If Constanzio's looking for Pulse, I don't want to give her any clues."

Was she talking about Pa's trainer? If so, she had pronounced her name wrong, but I didn't have the chance to tell her.

"Oh, good point," said Amber. "Sorry, I hadn't thought of that."
"That's OK... Anyway, we do need to learn more about Porygons, if only to make it easier for Pulse to live with us. I'm sure we'll figure some things out as we go along, but I think we should ask Jeff for some tips. Anyway, it's time to go. Who's coming with me?"

It turns out that everyone wanted to follow her this time, so we all went together. We came across so many humans and Pokemon along the way! I had once read that there were billions of humans in the world, and even more Pokemon, but reading about them was not the same as seeing them. I started to think that maybe Pa had been right about my need to learn more about the world.

We entered a large building and walked across a big hall and out into a big yard surrounded y different buildings. At that point the Vaporeon made a strange remark.

"Oh, look! The fountain's back!"
"What do you mean it's 'back'?" asked Amber.
"It hadn't been there ever since the magic outbreak. There was just a swimming pool there, the fountain was gone. I had almost forgotten what it looked like! It's nice to see it again."
"OK, that was weird..." said Amber. "One more item on the list, I guess."
"I really missed it all these years," said the Pidgeot. "It's the best place for bathing."
"I was here only two days ago," Gabi recalled. "I can't believe I didn't notice there was no fountain!"
"You had other things on your mind," Caledor told her. "Or, as I've been told before, maybe you were just distracted."
"A whole fountain disappeared and I didn't notice!" Gabi laughed at herself. "I can't believe it!"
"That's called change blindness," I informed her. "I read about it on a web-comic."
"You read web-comics?" Gabi asked me.
"I like all forms of entertainment," I replied.
"That's extremely broad," she said. "Do you even know what all forms of entertainment are?"
"Comics, TV shows, films (or movies, I've seen them called both ways), video games, books, forums, chat, battle simulators... Am I missing anything?"
"Are you kidding? You're missing almost everything!" Caledor told me.
"Only everything you can't do on a computer," Gabi said. "Don't worry, you'll soon find more ways to have fun. Maybe even today. Anyway, I need to go to the MTU building now. Who's coming and who's staying here or going somewhere else?"
"I'm going to the barracks," said the Ninetales, dashing away only a split-second later.

I noticed something strange about him, but then I was distracted by all the others who started speaking.

"I'll join Hero later," said the Vaporeon. "Right now, I'd like to go for a swim in the fountain."
"I'll stay here," said the Pidgeot. "I'm not missing my first chance to bathe in the fountain in over 3 years."
"You took baths in the swimming pool," Ventura told him.
"It’s not the same," he replied. "I love the way the falling water tickles my skin and ruffles my feathers. I guess you'd have to be a bird to understand. Or Lagi, maybe."
"Do other Pidgeots like that too?" asked Ventura.
"I don't know, I've never asked any. In any case, you should know by now that I don't care whether what I do is considered 'normal' or not."
"I can relate to that," Ventura said. Then she turned to me. "Maybe we should go to the barracks like Hero did."
"What are the barracks?" I asked her.
"It's a good place for training."
"Oh, training! Like a battle simulator?"
"Not exactly. You'll see when you get there."
"Oh... OK," I accepted.

I followed Ventura back into the building we'd just gone through, followed by Caledor. The others were still in or near the fountain when I looked back. Only Amber was following Gabi.

"Gabi and Amber do a lot of things together, don't they?" I asked as we moved along a series of corridors.
"Now that you mention it, I think they do," said Ventura. "They do research together, cook, play games and drink a lot of tea. And they maintain the computer together too. But Amber spends a lot of time with Sylvan too, and also flies on her own sometimes. And Gabi, well... She does all the human things. And she writes stories sometimes."
"Really? What kind of stories?"
"Fantasy stories. About magic and travel to other worlds... Which considering the events of the last few years sounds a lot more than real life than fantasy. But there used to be a time when those things were rare enough for people to write stories about them."
"I don't know," said Caledor. "Sometimes reality inspires even better stories. Something new comes up and writers start thinking of all the different ways in which it could go."
"Maybe," Ventura said. "I'm not a writer, so I wouldn't know."
"Caledor, can I ask you something?" I said.
"Sure," replied the Espeon.
"Why is your gem yellow?"
"Why not?" he said. "I like yellow. It's a nice, cheerful color. Some say it represents envy, but I think they're just envious because they can't have it."

He stuck out his tongue for some reason.

"I mean... I thought Espeon's gems were red," I explained. "The Espeon on the Pokedex had a red gem, and so did the ones whose photos I saw online."
"Oh, I can change my gem's color," he told me. "And I've seen other Espeons' gems glow, so I assume they can change theirs too. Red's just the default for most Espeons, I guess."
"I think red looks better on purple than yellow," said Ventura.
"Well, it's my body, so it's my choice," Caledor told her.
"Please don't fight," I urged them.
"We're not going to start a fight over something so trivial," Caledor said. "Anyway, you shouldn't trust a Pokedex to show you what Pokemon look like. They usually have just one or two photos. They can give you a general idea, but the details vary from one individual to another. And also between regions. You know... the Pokedex we use the most around here was made in Avelorn, so for example the entry for Stantler has a photo of a Stantler with a beige coat. The Stantlers from Caledor have darker coats... You've already meat Iael, you may have noticed his coat is much darker than the one on the Pokedex."
"Oh... I thought it was just a trick of the light," I said. "I've seen photos of Stantlers in different shades of brown, but I thought it was just because the lighting was different."
"No, there are really different shades of Stantlers. And other Pokemon too. Not counting the rare ones born with really unusual colors, Venomoths' wings can range from pink to purple, a Vulpix's coat can be light red, orange or brown, and I've heard of one who was bright red. Eye color varies even more."
"What about Ninetales?" I asked.
"I've seen them in white, cream and different shades of yellow."
"But do they always have 9 tails?"
"Oh... I think I see where you're going. Normally yes, but Hero's evolution was a bit unfortunate. There was something wrong with the Fire Stone he used to evolve, so he ended up with 7 tails instead of the usual 9."
"Oh... That sounds bad."
"He wasn't happy about it... At all. Even after all these years, he's still a bit touchy about that subject. But luckily that was the only negative effect the stone had. He's as strong as other Ninetales - those who have trained as much as he has, which aren't many - and faster than most. Oh, look, here we are! Hero's over there, so if there's anything else you'd like to know about him you can ask him. Just don't get in the way of his attacks."

I looked around... It was a really large room. I saw some things I recognized from TV shows, like targets, punching bags and fences; and also some metallic and wooden things I couldn't recognize. There were also stacks of hay piled up on different places... I remember seeing others like them at the farm. There were only a few Pokemon around, all busy doing different kinds of exercises. I could see the seven-tailed Ninetales... Hero... hitting a punching bag repeatedly at a high speed. I could hardly see his legs moving. I thought of getting closer and talking to him, but I didn't know what to say, so I just stayed where I was, watching.

"OK, why don't we get started with your training?" Ventura suggested after a while.
"Sure," I said. "What do we do?"
"First of all, I'd like to ask you a few questions," said the Venomoth.
"Oh... OK."
"Have you ever battled before?" she asked.
"Many times," I answered. "But mostly on the battle simulator. I've only had one battle against a real Pokemon. That was on the day we went to the farm."
"Oh. What kind of Pokemon was it?"
"A Sunflora."

A few seconds passed before Ventura spoke again.

"Sounds like a rather unfair battle," she concluded. "Unless it was a really weak Sunflora or you have a strong Ice-type move."
"It wasn't, and I don't," I told her. "I lost."
"I see. There's nothing wrong with losing a friendly battle, but you need to learn to assess your opponents and know your own abilities and limits before you decide to battle someone else. Otherwise you won't be able to present a decent challenge for your opponents."
"OK... How do I do that?"
"You will learn over time as you encounter more Pokemon. Watching others battle can help. In the meantime, Gabi and I will guide you. What moves can you use?"
"Huh? Er... Tackle, Conversion, Conversion 2, Agility, Sharpen, Psybeam, Psychic and Hidden Power."
"What type of Hidden Power?"
"Electric."
"Oh... Of course. OK, so you can use mostly special moves, which puts you at even more of a disadvantage against a Sunflora, who has a high Special Defense. What's your ability?"
"What do you mean?"
"Every Pokemon has a special ability they can use in battle. Mine, for example, is Shield Dust, which protects me from the possible side-effects of my opponents' moves."
"Oh... I think I know what you mean. I can scan my opponents when the battle starts and increase my Attack or Special Attack to exploit their vulnerabilities."
"Except you have no good physical attacks. We'll have to make sure you learn some. Oh, and by the way, that ability's called Download."
"Ah... OK. So... When do we get started with the training?"
"Right now. I want to see your Psychic in action."
"But... how? The only way you could see it in action would be if I used it on you."
"Then do it."
"But... You're a Poison type!"
"I know my type, Pulse. I also know I'm much stronger than you are. No offense meant. Trust me, I can take it."
"OK, then."

I still had doubts but I had to trust that Ventura knew what she was doing. Her Special Defense was higher than her Defense, so at least the force of the blow wouldn't be augmented. I tried to focus, pretending it was another simulated battle, and gave her my best shot. She seemed to barely notice it.

"OK, so you can use psychic attacks," she finally said. "But that was just an empty psychic blast. Have you ever tried putting some content into a Psybeam?"
"Content? What do you mean?"
"Like a message. Images, words, sensations. It can be a good means of communication if you manage to master it. It's not easy, but it's worth it. If you practise hard enough, you may even learn to send just the message, without causing any damage."
"Can you do that?" I asked. I'd never heard of the move Psybeam being used in that way.
"I can," she answered. "It took me many years, but I've finally learned to do it. Still, it can startle the receivers if they're not expecting it."
"How did you learn?"
"Practice. I kept sending psychic pulses to my friends. At first it caused them a headache and they yelled at me more than once, but they soon realized it was a useful way to communicate sometimes, so they put up with it. After a few years, I managed to reduce the headache to just a tickle. And for the last 2 years I've been able to do it without causing any pain."
"You mean... it takes ages to learn!"
"It must seem like that to someone your age, but once you've learnt how to do it you'll see that it was worth the effort."
"Can anyone else in the team do it?"
"None of them have practised as much as I have, but... Gabi can send simple pulses to attract someone's attention, and Caledor can send short messages. Just words, but at least it's something."
"Are you trying to trick me? How can you do it better than a Psychic Pokemon, and how can a human do it at all?"
"Most humans have some psychic potential. Some more than others. Whether they make any use of it or not depends on the individual humans. Most don't even bother exploring it. Gabi did... at least a little. The result isn't great, but not so bad for a human. As for Caledor... He's a very unusual Espeon. He has a much broader moveset than any other Pokemon I've seen, which is usually good for him, but makes it hard for him to specialize in any of his moves."
"How did he learn so many moves?"
"He was born with the potential for learning them. He was a prize Pokemon."

I thought for a moment, and couldn't make any sense of that answer.

"That doesn't answer the question," I told her.
"Hey, you're a smart one!" exclaimed Caledor, who had been playing with a ball and hadn't seemed to be paying much attention to us. "Almost everyone accepted that for an answer!"
"Really?" I asked.
"Believe it or not, yeah, really," he replied. "I don't know why. Maybe all they really wanted was to point out how weird I am and weren't really interested in knowing the reason."
"And what is the reason?"
"Genetic engineering," he said. "And radiation. I was... I was the result of a scientific experiment. And I was deemed good enough to be given out as the first prize of the first Griffon Games."
"Really? That's... that's..."
"Whatever the word you're looking for is," said Caledor, "remember you're also the result of a scientific experiment."
"Me?" I asked. "I was born from an egg!"
"So was I... I think. I mean, I'm almost sure I was, but I can't remember my own birth. Anyway, the first Porygons were a scientific experiment, and you descend from one of them, so you're one of the results of that experiment."
"By that logic, every Porygon is a result of that experiment," I pointed out.
"Exactly," he told me. "And there's nothing wrong with that. No one gets to choose how they're born or where they come from, so you can't judge others based on that."

I thought about that. He did seem to have a point, but it still felt strange.

"This is all so weird!" I said.
"Life is weird," Caledor replied. "That's part of what makes it interesting. And fun!"
"Before you cause Pulse to become even more confused," said Ventura, "shall we continue with the training? Pulse, I'd like you to learn to receive my psychic pulses. That'll make it easier whenever I have to give you directions."
"Umm... OK. What do I have to do?"
"Just wait for the signal and see if you can understand it."

I waited. I was a bit nervous, but Ventura had said her psychic pulses didn't hurt now, so that had to mean everything would be fine, right? Suddenly, an image flashed before my eyes... or behind them. I closed my eyes and saw Caledor sitting in front of me.

"I see Caledor," I told Ventura.
"That's right, but if you close your eyes during a battle, you'll leave yourself open to attacks," she replied. "Let's try again. This time, I'm going to suggest an action. Please keep your eyes open and do as I say."

What happened next is hard to explain. I heard a faint hum and I kind of saw myself fetching the blue ball Caledor had left behind and bringing it, but not really, since I didn't really see it. I just had the vague sensation of doing it... like when you plan to do something, before you actually do it. It was an idea, but I knew it wasn't mine. In any case, it wasn't hard to realize that was the signal, so I fetched the ball and slowly pushed it back to my starting point.

"Well done!" Ventura approved. "We can still work on your reaction time, but that was a very good start."
"I thought I was going to battle a Pokemon," I told her.
"There'll be plenty of time for that," Ventura replied. "These exercises are the base from which you can start building your battling techniques. Any Pokemon can throw one attack after another and hope to win. It's the little details that can give you an edge in battle."
"I think Pulse has plenty of edges already," said Caledor.
"Please don't joke when I'm explaining something important," Ventura protested. "It's hard enough to find the right words without interruptions."
"OK, let me see if I can explain it," said Caledor. "Brute force may win you a few battles, but the smarter or stronger your opponents are, the less effective it will be, and you'll end up losing more often than not. You need to hone your skills and find ways to do something your opponent won't be expecting. Like..."

Caledor suddenly stopped talking and a strange yellow glow surrounded him. After a couple of seconds, it turned blue and Caledor shot a stream of water out of his mouth. Then he stopped glowing and started talking again.

"OK, I still need to work on that," he said. "Didn't mean to switch to blue. I'll have to keep practising."
"How..." I began. "OK, you were right, I wasn't expecting that."
"Glad to have pleased the audience," Caledor smiled.
"What other strange things can you do?" I asked him.
"I can glow in different colors, use any moves naturally learned by Eevees, Espeons, Jolteons, Vaporeons, Flareons and Umbreons plus the ones I've learnt through TMs, boost the team's morale when things look down, and come up with the most delightfully delirious battle cries you'll ever hear."
"I think Pulse was asking about the first two," Ventura told him.
"Pulse asked about strange things, and my battle cries are as strange as they get," Caledor replied. "Have I mention I made a really scary Pokemon laugh with one of them? And everyone up there started calling me 'Ball of Light' for a while."
"You've mentioned that, yes," said Ventura.
"Not to me," I said. "How did that happen?"
"I was stranded in a place far from home because of the chaos magic," Caledor began.
"On the Moon?" I asked.
"How did you know that?!" he asked me.
"When we met, you said you'd worked at a nursery on the moon," I replied. "I wasn't sure of what you meant by that."
"Ah, yes. Well, I did work at a nursery there. But the thing is, the place was... is 'ruled' the word? He didn't seem to do much ruling, but everyone respected him and thought of him as their mentor and protector. Anyway, there was this big, scary Pokemon. And he didn't want me to come back to Earth because he didn't want anyone here to know about him."
"Why not?"
"He had his reasons. Do you want me to finish my story?"
"Oh... sure."
"So he threatened to erase my memories - someone later told me he thought he was doing me a favor, but there aren't many worse threats you can make in my book - so I got really mad and glowed red at him, and told him: 'I am the light that never stops shining. I am the ball that always bounces back. I am Caledor of Caledor. And you will not change who I am!'"
"You still remember it word by word?" Ventura asked him.
"Of course! That was far better than the one about feeling the wrath of the electric willow!"
"What's an electric willow?" I asked.
"It's like a twisted willow, but mistranslated from Spanish. Gabi said that by accident once and I turned it into a battle cry."
"And what's a twisted willow?"
"Oh... It's a tree. With all its branches twisted around each other. It's a funny-looking tree."
"I can't tell how much of what you say is serious," I admitted.
"Oh, most of what I say isn't serious," Caledor said. "But that doesn't make it any less true."
"I don't understand," I said.
"Many use the word 'serious' as a synonym of 'true', but you can tell the truth and be funny at the same time."
"Don't pay him too much attention," Ventura warned me. "You'll only get confused."
"Only at the beginning," said Caledor. "If you pay enough attention, you may end up reaching the other side of confusion and coming out as a wise Pokemon."
"In your dreams, Caledor," she told him.
"Have you ever tried?" he asked her.

I figured my training was over, so I decided to look around the place for something else to do, but Ventura stopped me.

"Please don't go just yet," she said. "Sorry about that, I didn't notice you were getting bored. Would you like to try the swing? It's good for balance practice. Or maybe the punching bags. Then we can go back to practising psychic communication and use the ball to train your reflexes."
"Not all on the same day, though," said Caledor. "Because that would be too much for a day's training."
"Of course," Ventura agreed. "We can start today and then come back tomorrow, and any other day we want to."
"OK," I accepted. "I've never done balance training before. I'd like to try that."

Balance training consisted in sitting on a small wooden plank held to a metallic structure by two chains and shifting my weight so that the plank would move back and forth, and trying not to slip out of it. I failed the first few times, but I kept trying and, once I got the hold of it, it was fun! I kept playing on the 'swing' - because it had turned into a game for me - until Caledor said he was hungry and Ventura decided we should go look for the others and get something to eat.

"Again?" I asked. "We ate less than 6 hours ago."
"We're not like you," said Ventura. "We need to eat several times a day. We usually get 3 or 4 meals in one day... sometimes more if you count light snacks. It's up to you whether or not you decide to join us."
"You can try another new dish if you want," Caledor suggested.
"My body's still processing what I ate this morning," I told them. "I don't think I can eat again today, but I'll go with you and... maybe we can talk while you eat?"
"Sure," Caledor accepted. "So one meal a day, eh? We'll have to make sure it's the best one. You can try different things each day and find out which ones you like the most."
"OK," I said.

I wondered how many different foods might exist. I tried to recall the ones I'd seen on TV shows... There had been times when the characters were clearly eating things I'd never seen before, but I couldn't tell what they were, let alone how many. How many new things would I experience with my new team? And how many of them would I like? I keep asking myself those questions, but I knew I wouldn't be able to find the answer. Only time would tell.


<Gabi's POV>

I was having some trouble getting back into the habit of doing Pokemon research. I tried to think of a subject for my next report, but I was drawing a blank. The facts that my Ponyta and Ditto reports had not achieved the success I had expected and the Deerling report had been interrupted and postponed indefinitely didn't help. Since I wasn't making any progress on that front, I headed towards the MTU building hoping to at least do something useful by helping with the preparations for the party. As I entered the building, I was met by an unexpected sight: a Charizard came dashing across the main hall and had to make a sudden turn to avoid bumping into me and Amber.

"Hey, watch out!" Amber warned him.
"Sorry," the Charizard said. "Had to get away from that cheating blob of fat."
"Who?" asked Amber.
"I heard that!" a voice came out from a corridor on the right. "I'll get you sooner or later! You'll have to pay! I won in good faith!"
"You don't know the meaning of the term 'good faith'!" the Charizard shot back.
"Don't be a cheater!" said the voice, now closer. "You were the one who attacked too soon, and you still lost, so now pay up!"
"I don't owe you anything! I never agreed to your terms!"
"Dealing the first blow constitutes an agreement!"
"No, it doesn't! Now, ladies, please move away, I have to... Have I seen you before?"

The Charizard fixed his eyes on Amber.

"Hmm... Maybe," Amber said. "Your face does look familiar. Perhaps we met at one of the Guild's events?"
"That voice... That way of speaking... Wait, I know who you are! You're Eliot's little softie friend, aren't you? The one who was with the Vaporeon at the Lava Room."
Amber sighed. "Of all the Pokemon I could find here!... I don't know who you're running from, but he's probably right."
"Of course I am!"

Now I could finally see the owner of the voice. A rather large Walrein showed himself, looking proud after having finished his chase across the long corridor. I thought he looked familiar.

"Maybe we can help solve the problem?" I suggested.
"I'm getting outta here," said the Charizard. "Be back when that idiot decides to shut his pie-hole."

With that, he flew past us and through the main door.

"He's the idiot!" the Walrein protested. "He didn't even let me finish setting the wager. Now it's only his fault that he has to do whatever I say because he couldn't wait. We could have negotiated!"
"Wait, how is he supposed to pay if you never set the wager?" asked Amber.
"Issuing the first blow means agreeing to the terms," claimed the Walrein. "He hit me while I was trying to set the terms, so that means he agrees to them, no matter what they are."
"Wait," I said, "hitting you before terms were set wasn't right, but what you're suggesting isn't fair either."
"You can understand me?" asked the Walrein.
"Clearly, I can. Had you ever battled that Charizard before?"
"Nope. It was the first time."
"Then how... I'd never heard of that rule about dealing the first blow constituting an agreement to the terms. Is it a traditional rule at the MTU?"
"It's traditional for me," the Walrein said.
"Then how was he supposed to know?" I asked.
"That's his problem, not mine. It's his fault if he couldn't wait."
"This all sounds too familiar," I realized. "What's your name?"
"Gamble," the Walrein replied.
"Ah, right! Of course!" I exclaimed. "Never mind, then. Amber, come on, let's see if we can find someone reasonable to talk to. We're not getting involved in a squabble between these two."
"Do you know him?" Amber asked me.
"He battled Spark and Water Angel once. He was really annoying."
"Wait! Don't leave me alone! You must help me defend my rights!"
"Find better opponents and try to play fair, and then maybe you won't need anyone to defend you anymore," I told him as I walked into the nearest corridor, followed by Amber.

"Was he really that bad?" Amber asked me as we walked.
"He was mean to Spark and Water Angel," I told her. "I don't remember all the details, but I do remember he didn't play fair, he tried to set the rules and them bend them, he insisted that they told him some personal things at which he laughed, and then he didn't pay in kind. What bothered me the most was that he laughed at Spark for something that was Team Rocket's fault."
"Really? That's awful! And I thought the Charizard was bad. You're right, then, neither of them deserves our help in solving some stupid argument."

I must be fair, when I talked to Spark about our encounter later that day he said Gamble hadn't exactly laughed at him, he'd only asked more questions in a rather rude manner, and Spark hadn't told him what Team Rocket had done to him, only that he couldn't remember his name at that time. But he'd been far from nice in any case.

At one point Amber asked me where we were going, but the truth is I didn't really know... I was just trying to look for someone. Anyone. Luckily, it didn't take long before someone showed up. I soon saw Ian and Ares, the Blaziken, carrying some boxes.

"Ian, hi!" I called out. "And Ares too!"

Ares put down the pile of boxes he was carrying to greet us. Ian was only carrying two smaller ones, so he didn't put them down.

"Hey! It's Gabi and... Amber, right?"

Amber nodded.

"It's good to see you again!" Ian said. "Eric told me you were back, but I feel better now that I can see you're OK. I'm really sorry I wasn't there."
"Where?" I asked.
"At the mountains," he replied. "I keep hearing about all the things that happened, and I can't help but think I should have been there. I'm mad at myself for letting my father coax me into staying at home."
"What do you think you could have done?" I asked him.
"I don't know... something! I know I wouldn't have been able to stop the magic from leaking out, but perhaps I could have sensed it in time and warn everyone. We could have evacuated before things got bad."
"I didn't know you could sense magic."
"I wouldn't be able to train in the mountains if I couldn't. It's a dangerous place, as you must have realized by now."
"OK..." I said. "But how far in advance could you have known what was going to happen? It would have taken some time to warn everyone and evacuate, especially since most of us were engaged in battles."
"I don't know... I might not have made a difference, but at least I'd have been there with the rest of you and not safe at home."
"Because being safe is a bad thing?"
"Being safe when your friends are in danger is. I told myself I needed to take care of Helios and Selene, but they didn't need me that much. They were recovering quite well. They could have waited at home for a few hours, or maybe at a Pokemon Center."
"How are they now?" I asked.
"Oh, they're fine," he replied.
"I'm sure they must have appreciated your staying with them. I doubt you could have made a difference in the mountains. You couldn't have stopped the Black Dragon from making a crack in the barrier, and there's no way we could have all left the area before the magic hit us, even if you'd somehow managed to warn us all."
"Maybe, but... It didn't feel right. Later that day I saw Aaron and Eliot in my room. Aaron tried to speak but I couldn't hear him and Eliot made no sounds either. Turns out they were both intangible. I wanted to help them, but I didn't know how. I had to ask my father for help, and he got some of the wizards to look at them. It took the wizards two days to undo just enough of the spell for Aaron and Eliot to be able to make themselves tangible for short periods of time, so they could hold things, eat and drink. And communicate, of course. The rest of the spell lasted for about 3 weeks."
"In that case, it's a good thing that you were there to help them," I told him. "They wouldn't have been so lucky otherwise."
"I didn't do anything," said Ian.
"Yes, you did. You knew who to ask for help."
"That's not much."
"It is. Would they have known who to ask or were to find them if you hadn't been there?"
"I don't know."
"I don't think so," I said. "I believe you saved their lives. It's a good thing they were still able to breathe, but they wouldn't have lasted long without water. At least not Aaron, but Eliot would have needed it eventually too."

I realized I didn't know how long a Charizard could survive without drinking. I hoped no one had put that to a test.

"I guess we'll never know," said Ian. "But thanks for your support."
"Just don't beat yourself over it," I told him. "You did a good thing."
"I'm sure Aaron and Eliot are glad that he stayed at home," Amber told me.

As I turned to look at her, my hair flew into Ian's face and got stuck there.

"Ow! Your hair!" he said.
"Oops! Sorry!" I apologized, pulling my hair back where it belonged. "I hadn't noticed you have a Velcro beard."
"Yeah, this is what I get after trying to grow a beard for the last 2 months," Ian explained. "I'm starting to see why my father never tried. Or his father and grandfather. But if I'm patient, I may have a proper beard in a couple of years."
"Er... Good luck with that," I told him.
"Thanks. Anyway, we have to take these boxes to the Commons wing."
"Can we help?" I offered.
"I'm only carrying these two, but I'm sure Ares wouldn't mind some help," Ian said.

Amber and I picked up 2 boxes each, leaving the last 2 for Ares. We kept talking as we walked together towards the Commons wing, which served as the sleeping quarters for MTU Pokemon who did not have trainers. I didn't get to hear the conversation between Amber and Ares, so I'll just retell the one I had with Ian.

"Speaking of the 'commons'," I began, "a Charizard left the building shortly after we entered, and Gamble the Walrein was chasing him around."
"Don't worry, they'll be back," Ian assured. "Many Pokemon leave the building every now and then, but they always come back. This is their home."
"OK," I said. "Change of subject, then. Do you know about the event Eric was trying to organize?"
"Do you mean the friendly battles? Yes, I'm one of the organizers too. We don't have much planned yet, so for now it's just an idea."
"I talked to Jeff and Shonta, and we thought we could make a party to celebrate the return of most missing trainers and Pokemon, and have the battles in the context of the party."
"Oh! Yes, that sounds like a good idea! Does that mean the Dragon Tamers are in?"
"Yes, we're in," I smiled. "I'll have to ask some of the people at the PRTD if they'd like to join us. And of course find out how many of the Dragon Tamers are available. And find a place to host the party."
"We can take care of the latter," Ian offered. "We've organized and attended events in all kinds of places. It shouldn't be hard to find the right space for a party. Just let me know how many will be attending and I'll start looking."
"Thanks! I'll let you know as soon as I find out. What about the cost?"
"That depends on where we host the party. Ballrooms are more expensive than clubs, and stadiums cost even more. Hotels are out of the question unless we're getting lots of visitors from abroad, which I doubt. We'll have to choose the site depending on the number of attendees. If enough trainers attend, a small admission fee should be enough to cover the cost. And we could add a raffle to spice things up, that tends to make people more eager to contribute."
"OK, I'll leave it in your hands then, since you clearly know what you're doing. I'll give you the number of DT and PRTD attendees as soon as I can."
"Thanks. And thanks for your help with the boxes too," said Ian as we reached our destination and left the boxes on a table.
"No problem. What's in them?"
"The latest batch of TMs for our Common Pokemon. They should be more than ready for the party, when the time comes. Which reminds me, we need to set a date. Prizes may vary depending on the season."
"I'll have to get back to you on that," I told him. "And I will, but right now I have to go back to the PRTD building. I have a lot of work to do, and also some questions to ask."
"OK. See you!"
"See you!"

Amber and I headed back to the PRTD building, and then split up. Amber went to my office to help put some things in order and sort out the tasks I still had to complete, while I headed for Jeff's office. There was something I really needed to ask him before I did anything I might regret.

I found Jeff sitting at his desk which, like mine, was covered by a large pile of paper.

"Hi!" I greeted him. "I hope I'm not interrupting you."
"Nah, it's fine," Jeff replied. "I could use a break."
"Same here," I said. "I'm still trying to figure out what to write for my next report and it hurts just to think about it. Anyway... There's something I'd like to ask you about. Do you remember I told you I'm taking care of a young Porygon?"
"Yeah, because of tebibytes."
I chuckled. "Yes. Well, you have far more experience in that area than I do, so I was hoping you could give me some tips. I mean... Porygons are a very special kind of Pokemon... I don't know much about their needs or what to expect from them. I've seen a few before... Some sounded almost like robots while others sounded almost like regular Pokemon. Pulse is one of the latter. And I'm still trying to figure out the cause of that difference. But above all, I'd like to know if there's anything special I need to do... or avoid doing."
"Sure, no problem. They're pretty easy to keep up with, so long as you have an electrical source and a computer nearby."
"Oh, I have those alright. And Pulse has told me it can subsist on electricity, but what do they need the computer for?"
"They like computers," Jeff answered.
"Ah... OK. I was afraid I'd done something wrong already when I told Pulse to sleep near the computer rather than inside it. I think it sounded rather disappointed."
"Huh. Never known 99 to do that, but everyone's different, I guess."

It sounded like a good time to put the theory I'd been formulating into words . Perhaps Jeff could help me figure out if I was on the right track.

"I can't be sure, but... I think it's possible that newer generations of Porygons behave more like organic Pokemon than older ones," I said. "I mean, the first ones were just code, but then they somehow started breeding with Dittos. Some of the Dittos' traits must have been passed on to their descendants."
Jeff nodded. "That makes sense to me. I mean, look at 99."
"What about him?" I asked.
"Ever since he got that bad patch and evolved, he's been swinging back and forth between sounding organic and sounding like a computer."
"He's still like that? That doesn't sound too good. I've seen that kind of variations among different Porygons and their evolutions, but not within the same individual Pokemon... Except the ones who had split-personalities, were possessed or had that strange quirk which many Nincadas have." That gave me an idea. "Hmm... Perhaps I could do some research on that quirk. You may have given me an idea for my next report. Thanks for that!"
"Hey, no problem."
"But anyway... I'd feel better if I knew 99 is OK."
"He doesn't seem to mind. From what I've been able to tell, I think it's just a tic at this point - he falls back into sounding like a computer when he's nervous or stressed."
"Oh... Has he told you how he feels when that happens?" I thought for a moment. "Feeling nervous or stressed is never nice, but at least if he can feel like that it means he's not at risk of turning into a machine."
"Yeah, that's what I figure. Granted, I haven't had the chance to talk to him much since I came back."
"Oh... When is your team getting reunited?"
"Oh! I thought I told you! Everyone's back at home now. Just yesterday, as a manner of fact. I just haven't been able to spend a whole lot of time at home because... well."

Jeff gestured to the heap of paperwork on his desk.

"Oh, great! That they're all back home, I mean. Not the paperwork. At this rate we'll have to wait a long time before we can actually have the party."
"Nah, it's not so bad. It's going quickly, at any rate. I've got Maza helping with filing."
"That's good to hear. Amber's helping me too. I wonder if they're counting on us getting unofficial help."
"I would not be surprised."
"It's not really fair, though. They do so much work and don't get any official recognition. They could at least list them as assistants."
"I think Lady Ninetales could use a night at the Pacing Ponyta."

That would help her realize the importance of Pokemon's work, and as a bonus she might approve of my old Ponyta report, I thought. If only I could take her there!

"Maybe get her to spend a night there, then ask her about our assistants," Jeff chuckled.
I smiled. "Yes, that's what I was thinking."
"Heck, if that works, maybe we can put her up there every time we need to ask her for something."
"I wish it were that easy," I laughed.
"Maybe we just need to find the right person to lean on her."
"Or at the very least find a way to get her out of her office. It's as if she lived there! I can't recall seeing her anywhere else, except for the few times she came looking for me at mine."
"I mean... are you sure she doesn't live there?" Jeff grinned.
I chuckled, trying to suppress a loud laugh. "For her sake, I hope she doesn't."
"I'm just saying, if you go in her office and see a bed, it might be a sign."
I chuckled yet again. "It's probably well hidden because I haven't seen it yet. Anyway, I talked to Ian about the party and he said the MTU can look for a place as soon as they have an estimate of how many will be attending. There'll probably be an entrance fee, but they'll try to make it as cheap as possible."
"Sounds good to me."

I should have said 'admission fee', I told myself, too late. But at least Jeff had understood me. I'd have to get used to speaking English again.

"Good," I said. "Then... I guess we can go back to doing the things we wish we didn't have to do. It was a nice break.
"All right. Thanks for dropping in."
"And thanks for your tips! See you around."
"See ya!"

As I walked to my office, more things I could have said came to my mind.

"I could have asked him about the fountain," I told myself. "I wonder if he noticed. And I should have told him about Mewtwo and his Lunar colony! I could go back, but I really need to start digging for information on Nincadas before the inspiration runs out. I'll tell him and Shonta next time I see them."

When I finally managed to sit down in my office and start searching for information on Nincadas, the rest of my team came together saying they were ready for lunch. I felt like the universe was conspiring against my report, but I reminded myself that lunch was not that big of an interruption, and I'd be able to work better on a full stomach. During our meal, I asked everyone how their morning had gone, and I was glad to hear that Pulse had enjoyed training at the barracks.

"I'd like to see how Pulse fares in a real battle," Ventura suggested.
"Isn't it a bit early?" I said. "We barely even know each other yet."
"Then come with us to the barracks and start getting to know Pulse better," she countered.
"I'd really love to," I said. "But I need to get started on that report. The bills won't pay themselves, and I'll have to show some results in order to keep this job. But you know what? I can join you at the barracks when I'm done for today, and then maybe on Saturday we can go to the MTU building and let Pulse have a battle. Would you like that, Pulse?"
"Uh... Me? Er... Sure, why not?"
"You don't sound too excited," I noted.
"Sorry... It's just I've never battled with you before. I used to do all the battling at the simulator, and then I challenged that Sunflora at the farm and lost... I don't know what this will be like."
"It's just for training. Whether you win or lose doesn't matter as long as you learn something from it. Did you learn anything from battling that Sunflora?"
"Yes. I learned that I wasn't ready to face that opponent."
"Oh... Well, that's something. I'll do my best so that next time you can learn something that can help you in the future."

Pulse nodded.

"Anyway, what was that about a simulator?" I asked.
"The battle simulator," said Pulse. "It's a virtual reality environment you can use to train. You can battle virtual Pokemon and become stronger if you defeat them. Don't you have those around here?"
"Wait... I remember something like that," I recalled. "Someone got some of those from a mysterious overseas sponsor. Was it Scott?"
"No, it was Charlie," said Tsunami. "I remember that too."
"Ah, yes, I remember!" Hero piled in. "It was weeeeird. What happened to those things?"
"I don't know, maybe Charlie returned them once we were done with them?" I ventured a guess. "I'd ask him if I could, but I haven't seen him in years and I have no idea where he is."
"I don't know, but I do know where to find an Ice-type Raichu," said Caledor.
I thought for a moment before saying "OK, no, that doesn't even deserve an answer."
"The one I used is in an old warehouse," said Pulse. "My parent fixed it so that it could be used without coins. I could go there, but it wouldn't be safe now that Giana's back."
"If you tell us where she is, we could tell the police so that they can arrest her," I said. "We may not be able to find enough proof of some of her crimes, but she's at least wanted for kidnapping an MTU member, who can testify against her, as can the geneticist she once threatened. There's also footage of her entering a couple of Dragon's Guild facilities without permission. Which is how the Guild found out who she was."
"I don't know where she is right now," Pulse told me. "I know a few places she may go to, but I don't know how to find them from the outside. I can only reach them through the net. And if I go there, she may find me."
"I won't ask you to put yourself at risk," I said. "I just hope we can find her before she hurts anyone again. But don't worry about that now, we should focus on your training."

I'm not sure if I was able to help Pulse feel any less worried, but at least it did go back to training. I was able to gather some sources for my report, but my attention was divided. I finally decided to try to spend more time with Pulse - and the rest of my team for that matter - while my mind kept working on my report on the background. We were bound to get news of Giana sooner or later, so all I could do was pray that she didn't get to do anything too bad before we could find her. Of course, she wasn't the only former Team Rocket member who hadn't been found. But she was the one who would try to hurt Pulse if given the chance, and she'd been partly responsible for the death of Iael's parents, so that made it personal.

The nest few days were largely uneventful. I could mention some of the things we did, but I don't want to risk writing a 'pizza report' (named after the time I asked the Dragon Tamers for mission reports and one of them gave me a long and detailed description of his team's dinner at a pizza place and all the kinds of pizzas they had ordered). Especially since we did have pizza on Friday.

Well, there was one event worthy of notice. I let Pulse download any video-games it wanted as long as we didn't have to pay any money, so the Porygon spent quite some time exercising patience with freemium games and experimenting with SD cards - of which, fortunately, I had a few. At one point, Tsunami saw the game Pulse was playing and seemed to recoil in shock.

"What's wrong?" asked Pulse after pausing the game.
"That place..." said Tsunami. "It looks almost like... Look, it's an island surrounded by an impossible ring of water floating in the air! And with those weird cogs on the sides, even! It looks almost like the place where the chaos magic took me! Except this one has an Empoleon and a lot of Prinplups rather than Omastars. But they look like they're made of plastic too!"
"Of course they're made of plastic, this is Plastic World," Pulse responded. "Every Pokemon in this game is made of plastic. But it'll be a while before I can reach the level with the Omastars. It's either time or money, and since I can't use money, I have to wait."
"So there is a level with Omastars?"
"Yes, it's level 16. I'm still on level 2. Funny that you mention it, I read there's a Vaporeon on level 16. It's one of the bosses of that level."
"Really? But... Wait, does that mean I was trapped inside a video-game for a year?! That sort of explains how such an impossible place could exist, but it still makes no sense. Those places aren't real, they're just bits of code! You said yourself that you can't play a game from the inside."
"I can't, but I can't use magic," Pulse told him. "Who knows what magic can do?"
"Maybe those places exist in some other universe," I suggested. "One where the laws of physics aren't the same as ours. Maybe the creator of this game saw them somehow and that inspired the video-game. Or maybe that strange island came to exist in the minds of the game's creators and players, and the magic took you there. I don't think we'll ever find out. But at least you're back, which is what really matters. And now we can see what it was like."
"You can take photos too!" Pulse added.
"You can see what it looks like, but not what it felt like," Tsunami told us. "Anyway, do take a photo if you make it to level 16. I want to see what I look like in a video-game."
"It won't be you," said Pulse. "It'll be a plastic Vaporeon."
"OK, then let's see how close they came to the real thing," Tsunami suggested.

Then Saturday came, and I got ready to fulfill my promise to Pulse. Shortly after I announced myself at the MTU building, Donna Tyler came to greet me. Funny, I'd been thinking of her lately, but I wouldn't tell her that because I didn't want to remind her of her experience with Giana.

"Lady Vulpix," she said. "It's nice to see you again."
"Same here, Lady Noctowl," I told her. "But you can call me Gabi. Lady Vulpix is too formal."
"OK, you call me Donna, then. I heard you were here the other day and witnessed a fight between Char and Gamble. Those two are quite a handful."
"I bet they are," I said. "But not in the way Gamble likes to bet."
Donna smiled. "Right. So... are you here to discuss party preparations, or would you like to battle? I've been looking forward to battling you... without Gamble."
"That depends, are you training any Pokemon around level 10?" I asked. "Because I'm here to help my team's new member get some training. Donna, meet Pulse. Pulse, this is Donna of the MTU."
"Oh... Nice to meet you, Pulse," Donna said. "Sorry, I don't have any low-level Pokemon in my team. We could get one of the commons, or... I think Ash is here today. Would you mind battling him? He sort of specializes in training low-level Pokemon."
"How can anyone specialize in training low-level Pokemon?" I asked. "If you train them well enough, their levels will rise."
"He trains them up to level 20 or so and then finds them new trainers and adopts new ones. Except for his Pikachu, whom he adores so much it's funny, but he won't let him evolve for some reason. He's a bit eccentric, but not as crazy as his brother Alan."
"Wait, Alan? You don't mean..."
"Alan Davenport, also known as Lord Magikarp," Donna confirmed.
"You do know that not being as crazy as Lord Magikarp doesn't really mean much, right?"
"OK, maybe he is a bit crazy, but in a harmless way," Donna conceded. "He does know how to battle, though, even if he shouts a bit too much. Should I call him, or shall I get one of the commons instead?"
"No, go ahead, call him," I said. "I'm intrigued now. And if he shouts to much, well... I have a pair of earplugs in my purse."

Donna laughed and used her cellphone to call Ash Davenport. He was, indeed, in the building, and didn't take long to reach us. When I saw him, I could immediately notice his eccentricity. The guy looked like hi was in his late 20s or early 30s - I've never been good at guessing people's ages - but dressed more like a teenager: torn jeans, a black T-shirt and a loose blue vest - it was warm inside the building-, sports shoes which I also wore so I couldn't complain, and his black hair was a complete mess. To complete the picture, a Pikachu was sitting on his right shoulder.

"You must be Lady Vulpix," he said, extending his hand. "I'm Ash, and this is Pikachu."
"Nice to meet you, Ash," I said, shaking his hand. "So... just Pikachu? He doesn't have a name?"
Pikachu shook his head.
"I don't name my Pokemon," said Ash, without even trying to explain why. "Which of your Pokemon is going to battle?"
"Pulse," I said, encouraging the Porygon to come forward.

Ash took out his Pokedex and scanned Pulse.

"Oh... level 10! Cool, I have a Pokemon at that exact level. Follow me, let's find a battle room so we can have our battle."
"They're all available right now," Donna told him. "You can choose."
"OK, then I choose... I choose room number 6!"
"What's room number 6 like?" I asked. I didn't know the MTU battle rooms very well.
"You'll see," said Ash. "Just a second... Here we are! TA-DA! Room number 6!"

He opened the door to a large garden-like room with a glass ceiling sky-blue walls, and layer of grass covering the floor.

"This reminds me of the farm," Pulse commented. "Except it's smaller... and empty."
"OK, are you ready to battle?" asked Ash as he took a red and white cap from his backpack and put it on. "Togepi, I choose you!"

Ash took a Pokeball which released a beam of red light, out of which a Togepi appeared. I slapped my head. A Togepi, really?! But then I'd had Alex battle a Togepi at a tournament before, so I thought it might be karma striking back through the years. Then I remembered something else.

"Ash..." I said. "Have I seen you before? You seem really familiar."
"Weren't you the judge of the Unicorn Games?" he asked. "I was one of the competitors. It was my first real tournament."
"Oh... Yes, I remember now! You were the one who made me realize Ashley was a boy's name. You were much younger then. But I see you haven't changed that 'I choose you' routine."
"If it works, why change it?" he smiled. "Anyway, it's been 11 years since then. I'm much stronger now!"
"Has it really been 11 years?!"

I couldn't believe it... 11 years since the Unicorn Games meant 11 years since we found the Unicorn Gate Lab... 11 years since DiAnnio died... 11 years since Giana had kidnapped Donna and threatened her uncle for information on the Singlehorn Project. 11 years since the Singlehorn Project himself had died at the claws of a bloodthirsty Charizard... who was probably still on the loose unless Tsuyoi had taken care of him somehow.

"No time to get nostalgic," said Ash. "You came here to battle, remember?"
"Of course," I said. "Are you ready, Pulse?"
"I'm ready," Pulse answered. "I've already scanned my opponent and raised my Special Attack."
"Oh, that was lucky for you! But don't announce everything you do or else your opponent will be prepared to defend against you."
"Aren't you going to tell me what to do?" asked Pulse. "Isn't that what trainers do?"
"I'll help, but if you have any ideas, don't say anything, just do what you feel is right."
"Uh... OK, I'll try."
"I'll be helping too," said Ventura, and then she turned to me. "If you don't mind."
"Sure," I said. "As long as Pulse doesn't get confused."
"I won't contradict you," Ventura promised. "And you, Pulse, remember what we practised."
Pulse nodded.
"I don't know what you're all talking about, but you'd better be ready because the battle begins now!" announced Ash.

Level 10 Porygon vs. Level 10 Togepi

"Go, Togepi! Use Rock Smash!" Ash called out.
"He knows Rock Smash?! Quick, Pulse! Convert to Psychic type!" I reacted.

Luckily, Pulse was faster than the Togepi. I didn't see any visible changes at first, but when I looked closer it seemed like Pulse's aura had become brighter. The attack hit, but Pulse barely seemed to notice. I saw a smile form in the Porygon's eyes.

"Don't just stay there!" Ventura told Pulse.

The Porygon turned to look at her, and I realized the Togepi could have used the chance to attack, but apparently he was just as inexperienced as Pulse was and instead turned to Ash to hear the next command. I'd forgotten what beginner battles were like. Not much of a surprise, since I hadn't adopted a new Pokemon since Iael and he had been a natural. Caledor was the last one who had struggled with his first few battles.

"Togepi, give that Porygon a Sweet Kiss!" Ash instructed his trainee.

I was about to tell Pulse to use Psychic, but it launched the attack before I could say anything. I saw the Togepi press his eyes shut and raise his arms trying to hold his head. I looked at Ventura and she nodded.

"Just like we practised," she said.
"Well done!" I commended them both. "Keep going, Pulse, just a little more!"

But the Togepi was able to endure the pain and recovered from the shock fast enough to throw himself at Pulse and kiss it. Pulse's eyes began to spin around, while the Pikachu cheered from Ash's shoulder.

"Can't help now," said Ventura. "It's not safe to send telepathic messages to a confused Pokemon."
"Don't worry, Pulse will come through," I assured. "You can do it, Pulse! Just one more attack!"
"Togepi, now's your chance!" Ash shouted out. "Use Metronome!"
"Metronome? Really?" I questioned him.
Ash shrugged. "Togepi only knows so many moves, and Rock Smash is all but useless now that your Porygon's a Psychic type. Besides, it can be fun!"

I was hoping that Pulse would get a hit in, but was also ready to encourage it if it ended up hurting itself. What I did not expect, however, was to see Pulse stay motionless and wait with its eyes closed. I reckoned Pulse would rather not take a risk if it couldn't trust its senses, but staying still while the Togepi readied an attack was risky too. Luckily, the move that came out of Togepi's Metronome was harmless.

"Safeguard?!" exclaimed Ash. "Well, at least now you won't become confused. We'll be luckier next time. Try Metronome again!"
"Pulse, please... try to attack," I said.

I wanted to explain that risks were needed in order to win, and that this was a friendly battle anyway, so nothing important was stake... But I couldn't find the right words in time before the Togepi started waving its arms again.

Then Caledor shouted out: "Pulse, zap out of it!"
"'Zap' out of it?" Tsunami questioned him. "Really?"
"Hey, it worked for me!" Caledor claimed.
"The worst thing is I remember," Tsunami said. "But that wasn't what I said, it was just what you heard because you were confused."
"Still worked, though," Caledor insisted. "And it'll work again. You show them, Pulse! Zap that Togepi!"

I couldn't tell how much of the conversation Pulse was following, but apparently Caledor's advice did work. Pulse released a round of electric sparks in all directions, and a couple of them hit the Togepi, who was already too battered from the Psychic attack to endure the blow. He wobbled a bit, trying to keep his balance, but soon fell on his back and closed his eyes.

Pulse won and grew to level 11!

Pulse opened its eyes and looked at me.

"Oh, good," it said. "The world's stopped spinning. Did I... win?"
"Yes, you did," I replied. "Congratulations!"
"Thanks," Pulse said, smiling with its eyes. "That was strange... but good. I felt like anything could happen."
"Well, your opponent was using Metronome, so you're not that far off," I said.
"Good battle," Ash said, extending his hand. I shook it right before he added "but we'll win next time!"
"We'll see," I replied. "Good battle, Ash."
"Now maybe you can tell me something. Why is it that Dragon Tamers Pokemon have their whole teams cheering for them?"
"I'm not sure it's a Dragon Tamers thing," I said. "But we do go through all kinds of things together and that brings us closer. It's not the case with Pulse yet, because we only met a few days ago, but... we all want the best for Pulse just like we do for the rest of us."
"My Pokemon and I want the best for each other too," Ash assured. "Do you think I should bring them all out to watch their teammates battles?... Nah!"
"Do as you wish," I shrugged. "But it won't hurt to ask them. Pikachu clearly likes cheering for his team."
"It's not the same. Pikachu was my first Pokemon. We've been together from day one. He cheers for me and I for him. I don't think I could have that kind of connection with any other Pokemon."
"I don't think there's much I can say," I replied. "How you train your team is up to you, but you can form different kinds of connections with different Pokemon."
"Er... I'll think about it," Ash said.
"OK, then... See you later, I guess."
"See ya!"

As we left, I congratulated Pulse again and thanked Ventura and Caledor for their help.

"I refuse to believe that using Electric attacks can cure confusion," Tsunami insisted. "There's no logic behind that."
"It's not a matter of logic, it's a matter of attitude," said Caledor. "You have to feel it!"
"I think you two were just lucky," Tsunami shook his head.
"Some cultures believe that luck can be trained," Ventura commented.
"Not you too, Ventura!" Tsunami complained. "You used to be the level-headed one."
"I was just providing a bit of information," Ventura said. "I'm not saying I believe it."
"Ah, good," said Tsunami. "Because it makes no sense. In fact, it makes as little sense as half the things Caledor says."
"Ooooh, I'm curious now!" said Caledor. "Does that mean half the things I say do make sense?"
"Only when you're distracted," Tsunami laughed. "Given enough time to think of what to say, I'm sure you could make anything sound ridiculous."
"Oh, this one knows me too well!" Caledor exclaimed. "I'll have to do something to become less predictable. Even if it means making sense more often... but not too often. Just at random, unexpected times. Yes, I think I can pull it off."
"Why do you want to not make sense?" Pulse asked him.
"I just want to have fun," Caledor replied. "I hate being too serious. Being funny's much better, and seeing the looks on everyone's faces as they try to figure out if what I said is supposed to make any sense is priceless. And if they laugh at how ridiculous it is, then that's a job well done."
"You'd be surprised at how much effort he puts into pretending he doesn't think before he speaks," said Tsunami. "And also pretending he's never worried or upset."
"Hey! Don't divulge my professional secrets!" Caledor scolded him.

Pulse made some electronic-sounding noises which I interpreted as laughter.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," it said. "So... using electric moves doesn't really cure confusion, does it?"
"Not as a rule," Spark told him, "but for you it may... if it helps you focus. It's your Hidden Power, so it can help you connect with your essence and ignore the noise. It's worked for me before. And for Water Angel too, even if hers is a different type. It doesn't always work, it depends on how well you can concentrate, but it's a good tool to keep in mind."
"I had no idea I would end up having so many trainers," Pulse commented.
"You can learn from everyone," I said. "You just have to pay attention. In fact, they say that's exactly what makes someone wise."
"Paying attention?" asked Pulse.
"Being able to learn from everyone," I clarified.
"Are you wise?" Pulse asked me.
"I try my best," I said. "Sometimes it works better than others. I try to learn as much as I can... Hopefully, I'll keep learning new things for as long as I live."
"But... are there so many important things to learn? I know the random trivia on the Internet grows faster than anyone can read it, but how many really important things can there be?"
"How many valuable experiences can you go through?" I wondered. "How many life-changing events? How many friends can you make? How many obstacles can you overcome? How many things can you discover about yourself? The possibilities are endless. As long as you have more days to live, you'll have more things to learn."
"Even if I reach level 100?"
"Even if you do," I said. "But don't be in a rush for that, not many Pokemon have actually achieved that."
"But isn't that like... being on a mission you can never complete?"
"It's not a mission," I explained. "At least not the kind you try to complete. Learning how to deal with life as it comes, and improving ourselves... that is the mission, if you can call it that. My goal is not to run out of goals. I look for answers, yes, but sometimes finding the right questions is more rewarding than finding an answer, and sometimes an answer brings up more questions. And I like it that way, because that means there will always be something to look forward to... something to search for. In fact, it was because I said something like this that Scott decided to promote me to Universal Scholar, so I can say the search for knowledge is rewarding by itself."
"I think I'm getting confused again," said Pulse. "But don't worry, you can try to explain it again some other time. For now I'll try to think about it."
"Sounds like a wise thing to do," I said with a smile.