The bus maintained a low rumble that brought us eastward along a consistent path. What started as mountainous cliffs turned into a low-lying moor, and then evergreen forests began to flank the road.

  Despite the untamed nature around us, this road was the most well-paved road I’d seen so far. Most of the time, travel in the Pokémon world was not something done lightly. Even if Routes were actively maintained as “safe” paths between cities, they could only be patrolled by Pokémon Rangers so often. Aggressive wild Pokémon always had a presence, and a small threat would always remain.

  But here in Unova, this paved road meant there was an actual stream of cars. Though I could not claim the bus was always near another vehicle, there were just enough other cars that I would see at least one pass every few minutes. A few of those cars would have a Pokémon in the back or seated on the roof, ready to fight if needed. My guess was that their frequent presence let these roads persist thanks to something akin to herd immunity—if enough travelers were present and ready to defend themselves, then wild Pokémon were less likely to bother with any attacks.

  The bus that I had bought a ticket for traveled through the night, and buses like it existed all over to bring people between cities. Technically, they were primarily meant for infrequent travelers—trainers, really—but strangely, they were rarely used when compared to slower forms of travel.

  After all, walking down a Route yourself would result in encounters with wild Pokémon and other trainers. So, what better way to gain that experience than to travel on foot?

  Taking a bus meant my team and I skipped all of those encounters, but I was in a rush.

  This trip took three full days of constant driving to travel across all of northern Unova. There were a few stops along the way to pick up and drop off passengers, but those stops never lasted long. At most, I would have the chance to stretch my legs, but there was never enough time to practice any moves or get into any battles.

  However, I was able to stare in awe at the feathered raptor that had made a nest for itself between the luggage on the bus’s roof. I had never thought that a resurrected fossil Pokémon like Archeops would be used for something as mundane as a vehicle’s protection.

  But for most of this travel time, I just sat there and stared out the window. Every so often, Liepard would join me just to have something to do, but he only really came out to eat and receive a few pets; it was far less cramped within his Pokéball.

  I sat in that bus for hours on end, experiencing travel that really only had the sights going for it. Time continued to pass, and the northern Unovan chill faded slightly the closer we got to the coast. The ride caused such a daze that it almost came as a surprise when we neared our destination.

  Honestly, it felt as though Lacunosa Town had appeared in an instant.

  “Look at that wall!” I had to press my face to the window’s glass just to get a good view, but I could see the ancient, quarried stone that had protected Lacunosa for centuries. “I can’t even see any of the buildings in the town past it! It’s probably why this place is still a town and not a city.”

  A permanently rusted-open gate allowed the bus to enter Lacunosa, and I could see that the square buildings that filled this place were made from the same quarried material as the walls. There was no dirt or pavement; everything was covered in stone. A rare tree poked up through a dedicated patch of gravel, but this place was truly created solely due to human ingenuity—just human ingenuity from centuries in the past.

  “Never seen anywhere like this,” I said, looking around as I hopped off the bus. Valiant was already out and on high alert at my side. “Cascarrafa, maybe? Except, that place felt a bit more modern and definitely more polished.”

  The stone around me had cracked with age, and there were plenty of places where moss actively grew. Still, this town was plenty populated, as I could see dozens of people walking around and going about their daily lives.

  Before the bus left for its next stop, I made sure I had all of my possessions with me. My monstrous backpack remained on my back, my team’s Pokéballs were snug in my coat pocket, and my watch was still tight on my wrist. I had to nag Rotom a bit to encourage him out of one of the bus’s ceiling lights, but he very much didn’t want to be left behind, zipping right out of it and back into my watch when it became clear the bus was about to set off once again.

  With Valiant already out, standing guard and staying alert, their glowing gaze watching the surrounding crowds, I pulled out the Pokéball that contained the last member of my team.

  “Liepard,” I named, releasing the big cat before me.

  Even with Liepard’s release, nearby trainers were already eyeing us; Valiant was a new and unknown species. For most people who lived a life defined by battling, the best way to learn about something new was to meet it in a fight.

  Too bad for them, I was busy right now.

  “If we’re fast enough, we might be able to get to the place we’re staying at before it’s locked up. Otherwise, we’ll do some initial scouting toward the Giant Chasm today,” I said, ignoring the other trainers while making sure my backpack was on properly. “We got here a bit earlier than I expected, so we might be able to stop by before she leaves for work? I’m not too familiar with the town, but I do have the address written on—”

  Liepard had arched his back to stretch, but out of nowhere, he snapped his head up when he realized just where he was.

  Blinking, he sniffed the air, tail whipping back and forth. I could see his thin, feline pupils begin to widen, and before I could do or say anything at all, Liepard had already taken off in a dash.

  “Hold on, wait for us!” I shouted, rushing to chase after him. With how much stuff I had in my backpack, it was a fight to even just try to keep up. “Liepard, we don’t know this place as well as you! If you don’t slow down, you’ll leave us behind!”

  Though I was scrambling to run after Liepard as fast as I could, it took no effort for Valiant to keep up with me. Rotom snickered at the situation from where he was at rest inside my watch. Behind me, I heard the faint sound of metal ringing against metal—Valiant connected the blades on their arms to ready their polearm just in case I called for them to strike.

  “...No. Let’s be smart about this,” I said, slowing down, and Valiant came to a stop at my side. “Liepard knows where he’s going. He’s just excited. So... Rotom, we need you! Track. That. Cat!”

  Rotom gladly turned to electricity and slipped into my backpack. As Liepard turned a corner and disappeared into the distance, I was reminded of a fact about this world that I had encountered countless times in the past:

  As a human, I was never going to catch up.

  It didn’t matter how skilled or strong or well-practiced I was. No matter what, a trained Pokémon was always going to outmatch me.

  However, humans had their own strength, and that was why I had started to rely on technology instead.

  From within my backpack, static crackled out as Rotom dug around. The countless metal parts that had been shoved in there clanged against each other as he searched for the device that I had requested. Finding something else, he left for a short moment to deposit my tablet into my hands before returning to my backpack’s interior just as fast.

  While he was occupied, I turned on the tablet and launched a certain program.

  Then, behind me, the top flap of my pack snapped open, and an orange blur shot high into the air.

  “Searching pattern, Rotom!” I shouted.

  It took only a single tap on the touchscreen to send three more blurs up after Rotom. They formed a triangle shape around the fan he possessed, and Rotom kept high in the sky while beginning to zip around above the town.

  When I had caught Rotom, he had been a welcome member of the team due to the nature of what his species could do as a Pokémon. Where most electronics were limited by their structure and programming, a Rotom had the freedom to manipulate all of that.

  In battle, that meant he could use the devices he possessed to utilize new and powerful moves. Outside of battle, regions like Paldea, Galar, and a few others made great use of Rotom as a species to have access to hyper-advanced smartphones.

  But my Rotom? The Rotom on my team? He didn’t exactly enjoy the concept of sticking to one device, and he didn’t like being restricted to such simple forms. He constantly helped me out when it came to utilizing the devices I wanted to use, and here, his fan drone served as a guide for the three other, less important drones that I had purchased for support.

  Thanks to him, all I needed to do was have them automatically follow Rotom himself, and he could guide them around in irregular patterns for a sky-high search.

  After making sure all of the settings were correct, the screen of my tablet changed to display a four-part view of the streets. Sending me a stream of everything beneath him, Rotom decided where to fly, and the three other drones tracked his position while keeping to a specific distance at his sides.

  “Okay. There’s Liepard. He’s running through some alleys, but his path is pretty chaotic. Lacunosa feels like a maze.” I held up my tablet so Valiant could see the screen as well. “I’m pretty sure the place’s address means it’s over this way, so...”

  I zoomed out, looking over the real-time map of our surroundings. Valiant clicked their blades back into place and then pointed at a spot on the screen.

  I hummed to agree.

  “Yeah, I think so, too. It’s a bit out of the way, but if we take that street, we should have a straight shot over.” I brought my gaze back to the sky. “Rotom! We’re heading that way! Follow from above!”

  Liepard might have been familiar with this town and knew about all of the secret paths a Pokémon could follow, but my devices meant I didn’t even need to think. I basically got to cheat for this and immediately identify a better route. There was a reason I was so willing to rely on these kinds of devices.

  ...Then again, my willingness to splurge on them was probably why my wallet was empty so often.

  But it all worked out—taking the side street meant we got there first, running down a stone road and turning a corner to dash toward a row of apartments. We got there just in time, too. Our host was still present outside of her home, just starting the process of affixing a saddle onto a tall Pokémon’s back.

  “Wait, Nick?” Her voice was surprised, but a smile grew on her face as she saw me. “You’re here already?”

  I ran right up to her, and at her back, the Pokémon she was with bellowed out an excited greeting.

  “Yup. Hi, Dianne!” I said. “Nice to finally meet you in person. But, uh, you should brace yourself. Liepard’s not with me. He should be catching up pretty—”

  A howl echoed from down the road.

  “...Soon,” I finished.

  I’d never seen Liepard run so fast. His legs were practically thrown over each other, and he all but galloped down the road. Dianne, the curly-haired trainer standing in front of me, only had a single moment to process his arrival before Liepard suddenly lunged.

  There was no hesitation; he pounced right at her chest.

  Hit by the full weight of the three-foot-tall cat, Dianne wasn’t prepared for the impact, getting knocked straight to the ground.

  “Liepard!” she cried out, but despite being pinned, she gained a bright smile. “It’s so, so good to see you again!”

  Liepard’s purring was loud enough to hear from even where I stood a few feet away. The big cat could not stop rubbing his head against Dianne’s cheek, and she could not stop petting him back.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “You missed me that much? Aw, I missed you, too!” she said, hugging him tight.

  Behind the pair, a taller Pokémon lowered its head to better look me in the eye.

  “Yeah,” I laughed, greeting them, “I missed you too, Farigiraf.”

  A thick tongue swiped against my cheek.

  “Tea or coffee?” came a shout from the kitchen.

  “Coffee, please! I need the caffeine—today’s going to be busy.”

  “I’ll bring it out in a minute!” Dianne shouted. “I hope instant is fine!”

  Her apartment’s small living room was bare but livable. I could tell that Dianne had only recently moved in by how little furniture she had prepared. Still, the couch looked comfortable, and Rotom had already secured himself a home within a hanging ceiling light. Its illumination flickered as he settled in, but I was still able to view a wall full of photos that Dianne had of her team.

  Her and an Eevee. Her and a Trapinch. Her standing next to a man with brilliant red hair as she smiled brightly and held a white-and-orange egg in her hands. And, there was a picture of her at a young age, crouched next to a certain, unevolved Pokémon.

  Liepard actually looked pretty cute from back when he was a Purrloin.

  “How are you doing, Farigiraf?” I asked, looking over after seeing one picture of Dianne in her red Pokémon Ranger uniform, sitting on a saddle placed onto a large giraffe’s back.

  From an open window, a merry cry came out. Farigiraf poked her head into the room from where she was standing in the apartment’s small back garden. A towel had been placed on the lower frame of the window to give her neck a more comfortable place to rest, and she looked pretty happy about it. Given she couldn’t fit into the building, she likely checked in on Dianne like that a lot.

  For a Pokémon, Farigiraf was a bit strange. She resembled a giraffe with two heads. However, she didn’t have two separate heads; rather, a giraffe-like head sat inside of a larger and simpler, sphere-shaped jaw.

  “I’m glad you’re doing well,” I said, smiling at her. “I knew Dianne would treat you right. Trading you away was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I’m glad everything worked out.”

  “Yeah, Farigiraf’s been great!” Dianne suddenly added, marching into the room while holding a tray. “I’ve never seen a Pokémon so determined to help! And she makes my job way easier by letting me ride on her back!”

  A loud “CLACK!” rang out from the window—Farigiraf slammed closed the sharp teeth of her larger head to hide her blush. Dianne laughed at the sight of the embarrassed Pokémon, and she placed the tray down on a small table while depositing herself onto a big, cushioned chair.

  It looked like she had salvaged that seat from the side of a road.

  I sat on a ragged couch placed across from her, and I watched as Dianne was immediately joined by Liepard. She grunted from the big cat’s impact, but her expression softened as Liepard laid down and immediately began to purr.

  “I know. I know. It’s been a while,” she said softly, beginning to run her hand down his back. “You don’t need to act so desperately. You already know that I missed you.”

  “Liepard’s been great, too,” I said, speaking while putting in what was probably way too much sugar into my drink. “He’s a big part of why my team does so well. I don’t like having to get too clever in battle, and it’s really nice to have a Pokémon that can shut down tricks.”

  “I’m glad he fits in,” Dianne said, but her smile turned more bittersweet. “Trading was... hard.”

  “Yeah,” I said, pausing where I was scooping the sugar. “I know what you mean.”

  Farigiraf was my second Pokémon, caught before even Rotom. We traveled together for a while, but...

  Sometimes, partnerships didn’t work out.

  She left her herd to join me because she wanted to experience more of the world than just the small grove her group of giraffes commanded. However, my definition of “seeing the world” turned out to be far more action-packed than she had hoped.

  While we had fought and worked well together, the problem was that our desired destinations didn’t exactly align. But, due to the influence of my sponsor, I was able to access the Pokémon League’s trading service even though I didn’t directly work for the Pokémon League itself. With that access, I didn’t have to deal with the risk of the public global trade service, and I was able to work with experts to find a trainer who better fit what Farigiraf wanted.

  As a result, I was connected to Dianne, who was getting ready to retire from her Pokémon journey and settle down into a more structured work life. Although she was taking on a job as a Pokémon Ranger, that kind of life was too “quiet” for Liepard. He didn’t want to stop chasing a greater and greater strength.

  “So you’ve been working as a Pokémon Ranger?” I asked. I was legitimately curious—Dianne had been a trainer longer than I had, but she was only a year or two older in age.

  “I have! It’s nice to be back home, and it’s even nicer to be working to keep it safe. I mostly just patrol Route 13 to the east. We make sure no wild Pokémon gets too aggressive, and we resolve fights while making sure anything too powerful stays off-route.”

  “Just Route 13?” I asked.

  “Yeah. It’s kind of why... Well, it’s a pretty relaxed job,” Dianne said, briefly closing her eyes. “Even though we have to walk all of Route 13 every few days, we don’t have to go anywhere other than that. Pokémon Rangers are expected to have a pretty good lay of the land, so it doesn’t make sense for us to constantly change where we’re based.”

  “Checks out,” I said, commenting idly before taking a sip of the coffee. While it was alright, I put it down and then added some cream.

  “Anyway, you said you wanted to stay here for a bit, right?” Dianne asked, and I hummed to confirm. “I like having my own place—and I like not being that far from my parents—but I do get worried about leaving so much behind. Most days, I’ll be out to check one location or another before heading back, so it’ll be nice to have someone around here just in case.”

  “Well, you won’t need to worry about that while I’m here! I’ll keep it occupied every morning!” I said, gaining a grin and pointing at my chin with my thumb. “But... I’ll probably be out exploring during the day, and then I’ll be out battling whoever I can at night.”

  Still petting Liepard, Dianne let out a short laugh. Technically speaking, she was no longer an “active” Pokémon trainer like me. Due to her job as a Ranger, she was maintaining a team of Pokémon, but she wasn’t competing in tournaments, searching for sponsorships, or taking on any of Unova’s Gyms.

  She had gone on an impressive seven-badge Gym run, but now, she had her job.

  “If you’re here for the Series, you should know that Lacunosa Town doesn’t get too many trainers,” Dianne said, giving me a moment to sup my now much more tolerable coffee. “We don’t have a Gym, so most trainers don’t bother to stop here. I know that some lower-ranked battles happen at night, but I don’t think I’ve heard about any higher-ranked trainers staying here. Lacunosa has been pretty peaceful.”

  “Huh. Really?” I asked, looking up from my drink. “With all the people I saw in Mistralton, I’d think there’d be more trainers here.”

  “Well, Opelucid City tends to draw everyone important away,” Dianne said, her tone briefly turning sharp. “Really, Lacunosa Town is a town, not a city. There might not be too many people around here to fight, but we’re probably better off for it—I mean, the news keeps talking about how all the big-name places are absolutely filled with trainers. I’ve even seen reports that foreign companies are stepping in to help with management. Something about needing to set up nightly battle zones?”

  She shook her head, and then she took a sip of her own coffee. With how black it was, I almost gagged from the bitterness that came from just the sight alone.

  Liepard even jumped out of Dianne’s lap when he sniffed it, and she giggled at the sight of the cat’s scrunched-up nose.

  “Anyway, this whole World Coronation Series business has been way bigger than anyone thought,” Dianne said, putting her cup back down. “Even though it’s been pretty uneventful here in Lacunosa, we’ve still been getting some trainers, and I’ve been seeing way more people traveling down Route 13.”

  “Causing problems?” I asked.

  “Not yet, thankfully,” she replied, “but all of these new people around means it’s hard to keep track of them. I’ve already been warned about the crowds. They could easily serve as cover for... Well. Other actors.”

  Briefly, her expression darkened, but she was quick to push away those thoughts and brighten back up.

  “But it is neat to see how many different people and companies are getting involved,” she quickly continued. “Sponsorships are getting pretty big. That one Galarian company that was broken up recently—what was it called?”

  “Macro Cosmos?”

  “Yeah, Macro Cosmos,” she said. “Apparently, they’ve set a record for total number of trainers sponsored, and then you’ve even got big names like Silph. Co and the Devon Corporation stepping in to sponsor people, too.”

  “Huh. I guess a tournament that only happens every five years would cause something like that,” I mumbled.

  “Yeah,” Dianne added. “Excitement’s through the roof.”

  As we briefly quieted down, I took a sip of my drink, and then I added another scoop of sugar to that far-too-bitter liquid.

  If I had to liken the World Coronation Series to anything I was familiar with, it’d be like the Olympics crossed with the World Cup—except, far more open. Instead of just the best of the best competing, everyone was allowed to compete. However, only the best of the best would be the ones to compete in the final tournament happening at the end of the year.

  “But while all of that is going on,” Dianne suddenly said, “I am curious about why you’re here in town. Not because I want to know when you’re leaving—my place is open to you for as long as you want—but I just don’t understand why you rushed to Lacunosa, of all places.”

  “Oh, that’s because I want to explore the Giant Chasm.”

  And Dianne’s face immediately went pale.

  “The Pokémon there are pretty strong, so it’s the best place for us to train and expand our team,” I continued, idly stirring my coffee. “I’ve already looked up the species that live there, and some of them—”

  “You can’t!”

  After a rush of motion, Dianne and I blinked at each other.

  Neither of us seemed to have expected her to suddenly stand up.

  “Um, I mean, well...” Hurriedly, she sat back down, clearing her throat as her face turned red. Liepard sent her a worried look. “It’s just... the Giant Chasm is dangerous. More so than you think. You know how Pokémon Rangers patrol Routes to keep them safe?”

  “...Yeah?” I offered.

  Dianne sucked in a breath.

  “We don’t patrol the Giant Chasm,” she said, her speech perfectly level. “We only ever step in when a Pokémon ends up getting pushed out. And whenever that happens, it’s a battle. We have to fight to make sure they go off-route. Just about every Pokémon there is strong.”

  Despite Dianne’s grim demeanor, I found my smile widening. Nothing she said sounded bad.

  “That’s perfect,” I said, already picturing it. “That’s exactly what we need—tough wild Pokémon to practice against, and even tougher wild Pokémon to catch.”

  “No, Nick. You don’t get it.” Dianne’s voice was ice cold. “The temperatures in that crater are freezing. The Pokémon there are extremely territorial. There’s a magnetic field in it that messes with technology. And...”

  She stopped herself, turning away. She looked as though she had to visibly bite her tongue.

  In an attempt to comfort her, Farigiraf let out a soft whine from the window, and Liepard stood up to rub against Dianne’s legs.

  As she leaned forward to give Liepard an affectionate scratch, she did seem to slightly calm down.

  “I grew up here,” Dianne said quietly, unable to look at me. “That means I heard all of the stories and myths. You ever wonder why Lacunosa Town has that wall? You don’t need to. It’s because years ago—centuries at this point—a monster would stalk the town at night and take people and Pokémon away. Those walls were built to keep that monster out.”

  I could tell that there was more she wanted to say, but she stopped herself again, once more biting her tongue. It was as if there was something she knew that she desperately wanted to warn me about, but she couldn’t speak of it for one reason or another—probably due to some level of secrecy that came with her job.

  Still.

  I maintained my casual smile, taking another sip of the coffee and letting that sweet caffeine energize me.

  Despite all of her worries, I wasn’t bothered.

  I had a feeling that I already knew what she wasn’t allowed to say.

  “A big part of heading into the Giant Chasm is training, but I also really need to expand my team,” I told her, putting my coffee cup down. “I don’t have much of a choice. I’m trying to reach the top, and I have a lot riding on my shoulders.”

  “Due to your sponsor?” Dianne asked, looking up.

  I felt my smile waver.

  “...Yeah,” I said quietly.

  Rubbing the space between my eyes, I sat up, wanting to make sure I was properly upright for when I spoke about this.

  “Every Pokémon on my team has a role.” I was basically in lecture-mode, at this point. Sometimes, it was just fun to talk. “Everyone has a specific purpose in battle. For example, Rotom? He’s my dedicated special attacker. Valiant? They’re extremely flexible, but they’re otherwise best in melee. And Liepard? I like to call him our technician—he’s the reason everyone else can fight as freely as they can. He shuts down any tricks so we don’t have to worry about them, and then his claws can deliver quite the slash when they land just right.”

  Liepard brought up his head, closing his eyes in a cat-like smile of pride.

  “But that’s not a complete team. That’s only three Pokémon,” I continued. “But the Giant Chasm is filled with species that can fill our missing roles. I need a Pokémon that can take hits—something that can act as a wall. Meanwhile, I know Valiant can break a wall if properly set up, but Valiant is a bit too flexible. I want them to have the freedom to adapt, so I also want to have a dedicated wallbreaker that can always be able to live up to the task.”

  Dianne breathed out, and her breath was shaky. I could tell that she still wasn’t comfortable with my plan, but sharing specifics was continuing to help her calm down.

  “A wall and a wallbreaker. Okay,” she said, nodding. “And, for your last?”

  “Eh. Flex slot, I guess,” I said, letting myself fall back as I wiggled a hand. “I need four Pokémon minimum, but five is preferred. For my sixth, I guess it’s more about getting a species that can help with transportation. Riding a bus was nice, but having a Pokémon fly me around would make travel way better.”

  But notably, I needed to have every Pokémon I catch fit well on what would eventually become a Master-ranked team.

  Dianne took a few moments to digest my words, rocking her jaw back and forth. Liepard ended up jumping back into her lap, and she eventually let out a sigh as she came to a state of reluctant acceptance.

  “So... you already know what Pokémon you want to catch?” she asked. “In the Giant Chasm?”

  “We have options, but... strong Pokémon,” I answered, half-joking, “Something like an Excadrill would be great for its powerful attacks and battlefield effects. And, if I’m lucky enough to find one, a Metagross would be able to take a hit and deal massive damage.”

  “...Pretty rare, but pretty strong,” Dianne mumbled.

  There were also other species in the crater, too. Uncommon ones that didn’t live there in great numbers. The magnetic fields there would sometimes lure in Magnezone, and Lairon would sometimes wander in from way off in Victory Road.

  I had also heard comments from people online talking about finding Ferroseed in nearby trees, but that was a species that could technically be found anywhere in Unova.

  Explaining all of that, I told Dianne my plans, and she eventually seemed convinced that I wasn’t going to go into the Chasm and immediately make a horrible mistake.

  “Lotsa Steel types you’re bringing up,” she said, some of her humor returning.

  “Hey, Steel types are defensive and strong. It’s not my fault they fit so well in my team—and it’s not my fault that they’re so neat, too.”

  Dianne looked me right in the eye, and I looked right back. Her stare was piercing, and it was as if she was trying to see right through my words.

  But I kept on the most serious expression possible, forcing myself not to smile. That staring contest lasted for a full minute, stopping when Dianne eventually blinked.

  Doing so saw her let out a sudden snort.

  “Alright, alright! I guess I won’t worry,” she said, waving a hand. “Just promise me that if you enter the Giant Chasm, you won’t go too deep in.”

  I didn’t like lying.

  “I can promise you that I’ll never go deep enough that I won’t be able to return to Lacunosa in the same night,” I said.

  “That’s... good enough, I guess,” she mumbled. “But be careful, Nick. I don’t want to see you or Liepard get seriously hurt.”

  When she parted to start her work day, she left me a spare house key—she wouldn’t always be here to let me in. I waved goodbye to her as she rode down the road on Farigiraf’s back, but I stayed back to deposit a few items and leave the non-essentials behind.

  My team waited around me: Valiant, Liepard, and then Rotom, who was still in the ceiling lamp. They watched me as I looked through my backpack and inventoried all of my stuff.

  “We’re going to the Giant Chasm to train and catch at least one new team member,” I told them now that we were alone. “But Dianne might have been right to worry. Our ultimate goal is to fight against Master Rank trainers—as in, trainers comparable to Champions. I know she warned us, but I do have a plan to go really deep in. The best way to develop a team’s strength is to face as tough a fight as possible, and that monster she talked about?”

  I paused for dramatic effect.

  “It still exists,” I said, looking around to take in my Pokémon. “We’re going to the Giant Chasm to train, but once I judge us to be ready, we’ll be seeking that beast out. Then, to truly push ourselves, we’re going to challenge it to a battle and have a proper fight.”

  If you’ve read my previous Pokémon stories, you know that I tend to include an overall summary of the main character’s team in the post-chapter author note. I plan to do the same for this fiction, but this first arc serves as an introduction to the team. More specific capabilities will be revealed over time, and only once this arc is over will the team information be written out more explicitly. Until then, I’ll just have links to the Bulbapedia articles for each of Nick’s Pokémon.

  Additionally, I’ll also be including links for every relevant Pokémon in a chapter, as you’ve seen previously.

  Pokémon mentioned in this chapter:

  Eevee

  Nick’s Team:

  Iron Valiant

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