Katy was escorted back to the lobby just as Yael and his trembling opponent left. Dendra, as the loser of the match, had been escorted out.

  Aiden and I congratulated her as she sat down, and she accepted the praise with a sheepish smile. We were waiting for the match to start when I decided to ask her about her pokemon, especially about their grit, since at our level we almost never even see broken bones.

  "Great match," I said. "I was pleasantly surprised by the intensity of your pokemon, especially Asha."

  "Thank you, but I can't take credit," she answered after a few seconds thinking. "Asha's always been like that, ready to trade blows as long as she came out on top. I do think that she motivated Tylla though... can you believe that she learned Flail without me."

  "Really?"

  "Yep, I learned about it just last week."

  "How'd she hide that?" I asked. Flail was a very noticeable move to use or to train.

  "You know I have too many pokemon, right?" she said with a wince.

  I 'd told the story in our chat. Katy's family was big, very big. There were several older cousins, aunts and uncles that wanted to chip in on her journey. Knowing that she wanted to be a water type trainer, a few sent her pokemon as presents. They'd realized too late that, in one year, they had given her seven pokemon in total.

  "Since I can't possibly train they all, they have some specific times in the day to practise alone."

  "I see. Well, they were incredible," I said. "After seeing that, I was thinking that it would be good to have a training session for Project before we separated again , to mark our progress... and Cape would love to have a spar against Tylla or Asha."

  "We can ask everyone," Katy said, and then sighed. "I just hope we don't take what happens here personally."

  I was about to reassure her when I saw that Aiden, who was a reserved guy most of the time, was interested in our talk.

  He was looking at the screen, but had tensed a little when I mentioned a training session. Locking eyes with Katy, I motioned with my head towards Aiden. She stopped for a second and then gave a brief nod. Katy was the unofficial leader of the group—being the one who had the idea and recruited us—so it would only be fair to ask her permission.

  "Hey Aiden," He looked at us, "would you like to participate in a training session for our group if we held one?"

  Aiden knew of Project from travelling with me and Jess, but hadn't been interested. Seeing that match had probably changed that. He looked between us for a moment. "I… will think about it."

  "Sure."

  Katy and I talked for a little more, but then stopped to see Yael's fight. He'd be fighting her later after all. Unfortunately for Katy, there wasn't much to learn. Jess had been the only one to really challenge him yet, and it would continue to be like that until the next round.

  Yael's Vibrava apparently was in a foul mood after losing against a Zangoose, and release her pent up rage by releasing heavy punishment against her opponents in the form of Dragon Tail. The entire match ended in less than three minutes.

  The two trainers left the battlefield and, sure enough, an employee came to the room and called my name and my opponent's.

  It was only when we were in front of each other in the battlefield, waiting for the official to finish inspecting the battlefield, that I noticed that he was nervous. I ignored it.

  Now, what to do? Katy had showed what planning for the future looks like, but how could I do the same? My next match would be against George Reed, a ghost trainer, and I already had a team in mind for him; Cape, Mesa and Mountain.

  Cape and Mesa were my strongest pokemon and had ways to diminish their weakness against ghost type, Cape with his Aerial Ace and Rock Tomb, and Mesa with his incredible control over earth. Mountain could slow down the ghosts with his ice moves, and was the only pokemon that had a dark type move, Night Slash.

  But what could I do right now? I could try to evolve Jungle, but would an evolved Jungle be able to replace Mesa or Mountain? No. So what could I…

  Ah, I know.

  "Trainers, please release your pokemons."

  My opponent promptly released a Hoothoot, the owl pokemon landing on the battlefield with a hoot, and his jaw drop when he saw the pokemon on my side of the battlefield.

  I felt a little guilty, but it had to be done.

  Cape, my strongest pokemon who had one shot a famously strong Pinsir starter in one move, was staring blankly at the Hoothoot. The bug type probably couldn't believe that I had released him for this. His head slowly turned around to look at me.

  "Oi, oi, is that legal?" Akashi voice blasted from speakers.

  "It sure is," William answered.

  Camilla said something, but I already had turned down their voices in my head.

  "We'll try to learn Throat Chop in this match, Cape," I whispered quickly, and one of his eyebrow came up, before he shrugged and turned forward.

  Throat Chop was a dark type move that we both knew very well since itwas used a lot in high-level matches. Your pokemon needed to break down psychic barrier in one move or strike hard a ghost pokemon? They would probably use Throat Chop. And since Heracross can learn it naturally, it was the perfect move to try to learn right now.

  The arbiter started the match, "Ready… Fight!"

  "Don't end it too fast, Cape," I said. Fortunately, my opponent didn't want to make the first move. "Lets begin with the first step, try to draw out dark type energy and direct it to your arm."

  Cape froze. He was still watching his opponent, but his mind had gone elsewhere as he tried to reach that well of energy inside his body.

  I was looking at him as he tried to locate, reach and pull out that unusual energy, and suddenly I wasn't looking at him anymore. In a flash, I remembered every single strange piece of text that I'd read in Brian's journal.

  I was looking at him, and suddenly I wasn't.

  Cape was travelling. He had reached deep inside himself, at the space where all the type energies were supposed to be inside every pokemon. He travelled past his naturally gained twin oceans that were his fighting type and bug type energies. Through the arduously gained vast lakes of flying and normal type energy. There was a stream there, a stream of pure darkness. I was there with him, looking as he connected to that little stream.

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  I was suddenly back at the Battle Hall, at the stadium. I was about to freak out when I saw a cutting line made of air approaching Cape. "Throat Chop, Cape!"

  Cape's eyes focused and he glared at the move. Pulling back and twisting his arm, the Heracross twisted his body forward and chopped at the incoming move with the side of his open hand. The hand collided with the effective flying move and Cape's hand was thrown back, his body soon following.

  Throat Chop failed and my starter was hurling through the air. Not even a lick of dark type energy had appeared on his hand.

  The bug type pokemon landed on his side, and instantly stood up in front of me with a bounce. The hand that was supposed to have the Throat Chop was cut, but it wasn't a deep cut.

  The move had failed, because of course it had. It was not enough to pull on the energy. The pokemon still had to shape it, will it to its purpose, and then release it at the precise moment. Not that easy when put like that.

  "Ok, Cape," I said, "Try again, this time focus on shaping it."

  Cape crouched and jumped. Releasing his wings from his exoskeleton, the bug type pokemon dashed towards the Hoothoot with a raised arm.

  The owl pokemon panicked slightly, but still obeyed its trainer and launched a couple of Air Slash. Cape easily dodged both and invaded his opponent's personal space. Hoothoot began to use Confusion, but Cape accelerated and chopped the pokemon's throat.

  The strike had a hint of dark type energy, but not enough to be shaped, and definitely not enough to be willed. I was about to ask Cape to fly back and try again when the arbiter spoke up.

  "Hoothoot fainted," he said, and I stared at the unconscious owl pokemon on the ground.

  Really?!

  It was just a chop with no energy behind it. Well, I guess I also would faint if Cape struck me like that.

  The next pokemon released was a Mareep. She looked at Cape on the other side of the battlefield and began to run away.

  "Ok Cape. Let's try to shape and will it this time," I said. "And no flying, running will give you more time to prepare."

  Cape released a heavy sigh, but nodded. I understood his frustration, we couldn't even fully bring out the energy, and now I wanted him to almost complete the move. Absurd, but unfortunately we were on a timer. We needed to aim higher if we wanted to be ready for our next opponent.

  The Heracross dashed forward, an arm extended to the side as he tried to draw the energy, shape the energy into a move, and will it.

  He dodged lightning strikes as he drew the energy and shaped his move, not... well but it would work.

  Now will.

  Every move was created for a purpose through the will of a pokemon.

  Most moves were straightforward. Rock Smash's purpose was to smash something for example. Others were more difficult. Will-O-Wisp didn't want to faint a pokemon, it wanted to slowly burn it until it fainted, and if the pokemon willing the move couldn't assume that mentality, they wouldn't be able to use the move. It was as simple as that.

  Fortunately for me, Cape always wanted to throat chop someone or something.

  The Mareep reached the end of the battlefield, stopping just in front of his trainer. She looked back at Cape and launched as many Thunder Shocks as she could. Cape jumped to the left, and then to the right, and to the left again.

  As he closed on her with an raised arm, the Mareep tried to use Thunder Wave. The circle of paralyzing lightning rippled from the sheep pokemon, but Cape just used his wings to hover above the area of effect of the move.

  The Heracross landed and swung. His arm shone with dark type energy, and had the will, but the shape was still so bad that it couldn't be considered a move. The Mareep still fainted from the blow to her neck though. Her body slacking to the ground at the hit.

  Its trainer sighed and returned his fainted pokemon to the ball. He reached for his last pokeball and launched it, releasing his last pokemon, a Ponyta.

  This time he looked determined, so I guess that the Ponyta is his starter.

  "Agility and Flame Charge!" he shouted.

  The fire type pokemon began to walk forward and as soon as an pink glow came and went across its body, the walk turned into a run. Flamed began to emerge from the Ponyta's body. It consumed the entire pony, and a giant fireball was suddenly barreling towards Cape.

  "Rock Tomb to slow it down." Cape stomped at the ground, raising four blocks of rocks from the soil. He stomped again and these blocks were launched towards the Ponyta, two of them one after the other and the other two on the flanks. They were closing in at the charging comet of fire when its trainer shouted.

  "Jump at the bug!" The Ponyta jumped over a third of the battlefield and over the four rocks columns, and began to fall like a meteor towards Cape.

  "Throat Chop," I said, watching as the fire type was about to deal a effective move towards my bug type. I could have said more, but Cape likes to have as much independence in low-level battle as possible. And I trusted him to deal with it.

  Cape crouched and opened his wings. They were both glowing with flying type energy that exploded when he used Aerial Ace.

  The Ponyta landed, stomping with her front legs and transferring all the fire and energy to her target. The ground held for a second before turning into a crater. The inside filling with fire and heat until it spewed out of the hole. It was an incredible scene.

  I now learned how this trainer passed the group stage. Unfortunately, that attack was so good that the Ponyta had no experience on what to do when an opponent dodged.

  Cape appeared on her right already punching out at her. She turned towards him in surprise.

  His fist, cloaked in dark energy clouds, snaked around her head and hit the fire type's neck. The move failed, dissipating before it had the chance to strike the pokemon.

  Ponyta's upper body was thrown back by the pure force behind Cape's attack, but she firmed her front legs on the ground and transferred her momentum to her back legs. A powerful Stomp struck a surprised Cape on his side. The move slightly pushed him back.

  A weakness!

  Cape didn't know how to deal with a move that failed.

  Of course that would be his weakness. The Heracross was a prodigy, and most of all, a training maniac. He never needed to test a move in battle, so he didn't know that if a move failed the enemy pokemon wouldn't need as much time to recover and could counter attack almost immediately.

  That was actually important since an elite trainer was capable of disrupting an opponent's move. And to become a master was to ignore that.

  The Ponyta capitalised on Cape's surprise and spat a powerful Ember at the bug type. Cape screeched in pain, and instinctively punched straight through the fire and at the Ponyta with his full force.

  His arm was charred, but the Ponyta had fainted. Her head had whipped back and the pokemon landed almost outside her own crater.

  Cape was putting out the fire across his body when the arbiter shouted. "Ponyta fainted. The winner of the battle is Heracross, and the winner of the match is Trainer Scott Wood."

  "Well," I looked at Cape, who simply looked away sheepishly. "We'll just need to get it right next time. In the middle of the battle against the ghost type prodigy and his powerful ghost pokemon."

  Cape quietly laughed as I returned him to his pokeball. I shook hands with my opponent and followed the Battle Hall employee towards the waiting room. In the middle of the walk, I gave my starter's pokeball to a nurse who was waiting just inside the tunnel, even though the damage to Cape was minimal its better to be safe than sorry.

  I entered the lounge and sat down after getting some appetisers from the food table. As soon as I sat down, Aiden and George were called for their match. Aiden was walking away when he stopped and looked back at me.

  "Scott, you better pay attention to this match." He said, and then left. I looked at Katy with an raised eyebrow and she just shrugged.

  "I will," I whispered. "Good luck Aiden."

  Some minutes later, I had finished my food and on the biggest screen of the lounge, Aiden and George stood. Aiden was glaring. George was sneering.

  "Trainers, release your pokemon."

  The Atrocious pokemon materialized into the battlefield. The giant blue snake slithered around Aiden's side of the field while roaring to the skies, challenging his next opponent with his line's usual rage.

  Across from him stood the Alolan Marowak, he was the very definition of calm. His flaming bone was held like a spear. The ghost and fire type awaited the battle's start with the patience of someone who had never lost before, which was fair in his case.

  The arbiter began the match, and the battlefield exploded with water.