Last month had been hectic to say the least. Getting new challengers to her humble little Gym was a nice way to help Andrea ease her troubled mind. The young PokéManiac greeted Michael wearing her usual dragon onesie, googly eyes and all. She was accompanied by her darling Fuecoco, who was gnawing on a cinnamon roasted apple.

“Hi there! Thanks!” The strangely-dressed woman smiled brightly. “I love Pokémon! The bigger and tougher they look, the better. I wanted my Gym theme to reflect that. I don’t need to be in the major leagues to meet cool-looking and strong Pokémon, do I?” She claimed, although her gaze trailed off, almost like she was hiding the real reason.

“Come, Mr. Navy, this way!” The eccentric girl led the spiky-haired youth into the battle arena, which was less of an arena and more of a rectangular dirt patch in the middle of the ranch. “So, will you be using your Greninja for our battle?” The girl asked.

Michael Navidson

☉

“Haha, nah, you certainly don’t. Hoenn’s chock full of cool, strong Pokemon.” Navy’s sharp eyes fall on the Fuecoco. He smiles down at the little fire lizard. Having never seen one in person before, he has a hard time hiding his smile.[break][break]
“Man. What a cute little guy. Haven’t gotten to meet too many Pokemon from Paldea since the embargo lifted on ‘em.” He only personally owns two – a shiny Cyclizar lovingly named Thin Lizzy and a Kingambit, freshly evolved. [break][break]
He keeps the thought that she’s a bit eccentric to himself. People who love Pokemon come in all shapes, sizes, and creeds. Who’s he to say that it’s weird to wear a Pokemon onesie? Hattori’s the one chuckling at the sight of her. The little Greninja clings to Navy’s back.[break][break]
“Hattori here’s one of my guys, yeah. Saw your format’s two on two. Let’s go singles. Hattori will be the opening act. He’s not too big, yeah, but he’s plenty strong.” His shinobi blushes at the compliments, waving as if to dismiss the words. “Round two will be this guy.” He thumbs up at the silent bear that’s been following them both.[break][break]
Shuwen gives a stoic nod down at the PokeManiac. Nothing more needs to be said. The bear cracks his knuckles and falls back, surveying the battlefield.[break][break]
“Both have got mega stones, so you’re welcome to pick your ‘Mons with that in mind. Ever seen a Greninja who’s forged a battle bond? They’re so darn cool.”

[break][break]

+ Andrea Vaneau

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Andrea beamed with pride when the man commented on her Fuecoco’s cuteness. “Thank you! His name is Jalapeño, and he’s my son.” She said with a straight face, while the Fire starter reached up with its stubby hands, smiling at Michael.

The time for small talk was over. It was time to battle! The young Gym leader placed her index on her chin, pondering. “Mega Stones, huh? In that case, my first pick will be… Missy!” She declared, sending her Kangaskhan out of its ball. Immediately, the Mega Ring around her middle finger began to glow. “Missy, it’s time for Mega Evolution!”

An orb of energy encased the large marsupial, shattering to reveal her Mega Evolved form. While Missy herself looked the same as before, her baby had grown into an adolescent, and was now ready to fight alongside its mother. The familial duo waited for their opponent to make the first move.

Michael Navidson

☉

“Well,” Navy doesn’t miss a beat, “he’s got his mom’s good looks.” When you’re surrounded by people with extraordinary ways of looking at the world, you can either tell them they’re crazy or go along with them. “His dad still in the picture?” Often, the latter is a much more interesting way to live.[break][break]
Regardless, they’re at the field. Navy blinks as Andrea immediately mega evolves. Kangaskhan, Missy as she’s known, is a fearsome specimen. Looking up at the mother, Hattori’s eyes go as wide as saucers. He will not voice this to his trainer, but the sight of this creature makes him think he is hopelessly, irrevocably, outmatched. The little Greninja’s heart beats a mile a minute. Frantic. Terrified.[break][break]
It’s his trainer’s voice that steadies him.[break][break]
“Hattori, don’t think we’re quite ready for the mega evolution ourselves, huh? How ‘bout we set the stage a little bit! Bring the smoke!” Hattori recognizes the order for what it is.[break][break]
His Lord depends on him. Hattori has noticed how often he is called upon compared to Navy’s other Pokemon. He doesn’t understand what his Lord sees in him that he doesn’t see in the other Pokemon, but when such faith is placed in one such as him…[break][break]
Even the tiniest creature can move mountains. This little Greninja, small for his species, opens his mouth. Smoke billows across the arena, filling it with fog. Sight is obscured. Hattori becomes as the shinobi of old, hidden in the smoke.[break][break]
The last thing he does before blowing the smoke is to speak an apology in the language of Pokemon. He vows to the mother he will not harm her child.

[break][break]

+ Andrea Vaneau

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Jalapeño did not have a dad, at least as far as Andrea knew. She was a proud, hard-working single mom!

Anyway, the battle had officially started. Hattori, in spite of his pride as a Shinobi (or perhaps because of it) resorted to the underhanded tactic of a Smokescreen. "Ooh, clever strategy!" Andrea cheerfully remarked. "However, when you battle Missy, you're not fighting against just one Pokémon... You're fighting against two!"

Despite the poor visibility, the Mega Kangaskhan went for a blind Power-Up Punch. The child mimicked its mother, throwing a slightly weaker punch of its own. Thanks to their Parental Bond, the enemy would have to dodge two attacks instead of one, which lowered their chances of survival.

Michael Navidson

☉

“Hattori here’s the kinda guy who works best under pressure. There’s no one I’d rather have as a star player on my team.”[break][break]

The shinobi thanks his makers that there’s smoke all around him. He understands the strategy that his trainer is going for, he thinks. Calming his heart, he feels the rumble of the dirt beneath his feet. Mother and child monsters are coming for him. They’re coming from either side. Eventually, they’ll find him within the smoke.[break][break]

He just needs something to distract them for a bit longer…just long enough to make one move after this one. He creates a substitute out of water, formed roughly into his shape. Hearing the crunch of fists behind him, the shinobi prays it can hold out.[break][break]

Emerging on Navy’s side of the smoke screen, he’s already got his spikes out. Just a few more seconds and he can throw them out into the smokescreen, make the approach to him harder. When a mere human frog such as him battles monsters, it behooves them to craft techniques. Techniques are skills used by the small and weak to overcome monsters such as this mother and son.


[break][break]

+ Andrea Vaneau[break]
Hattori throws out a substitute into the smokescreen.[break]
Emerges on Navy's side of the smokescreen, using it as cover to hide from Andrea and Missy as he preps to throw out toxic spikes next round.

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

The Kangaskhan's fist splashed against a dummy made out of water. "Missy, break that Substitute before it's too late!" Andrea warned her Pokémon.

With an affirmative growl, Missy threw a devastating Mega Punch at the fake Greninja. Her baby followed suit with a punch that was slightly less 'mega', but still quite strong.

Michael Navidson

☉

He has the precious second he needs. Toxic Spikes scatter from his hands as the smoke clears. The field has been set. Hattori looks to the mother, his red eyes giving her a warning. Somehow, he’s found his stride. Ready to move at a moment’s notice. Ready to charge this monster in his own way.[break][break]
The eyes dart from her child to her. Back and forth. Warning her to call off the child, lest they brave this field as well. He doesn’t want the child to get hurt…[break][break]
But, if that’s what it takes to defend his lord, he will. Come what may.

[break][break]

+ Andrea Vaneau

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“There it is! That’s the real one!” Andrea pointed at Hattori. Missy roared, not intimidated in the slightest by the enemy’s warning.

The Kangaskhan charged at its target like a stampeding elephant, the ground shaking mildly with every step taken. The child, being the nimbler of the two, zipped to and fro, avoiding stepping on the Toxic Spikes.

By the time both the mother and her child had reached Hattori, they attacked in unison with a perfectly synchronized Mega Punch.

Michael Navidson

☉

Whether the poison that now courses through the mother’s veins will have any effect remains to be seen. Hattori closes his eyes. Steadies himself. His mind, calm. His heart, sure. His blade, ready. A shinobi is one who takes decisive action. She’ll get to him before his own transformation finishes, but so be it. Let Missy come.[break][break]
He is swallowed by blinding light. Navy’s mega stone, sitting on top of a broken watch, glows. Greninja are somewhat unique among creatures possessing the capability to mega evolve. Even when their trainer possesses the stone, a Greninja cannot evolve unless they possess a strong bond with their trainer. Bonds are finnicky things. Forged in fire. Forged in blood.[break][break]
Forged in the keen of a detective who saw worth in a worthless thing.[break][break]
The frog opens his eyes. The punch lands. It sends him careening across the field. He feels his body cave in pain under the blow, but he is not going to give up yet.[break][break]
“Skrrrrrrr…!” Hattori growls as shuriken form in his hand. He launches them, the watery projectiles flying fast in the morning sun. They’re faster than they would be otherwise. Empowered by his bond.[break][break]
All aimed for Missy herself.

[break][break]

+ Andrea Vaneau

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Andrea relied on the pure, raw power of her Pokémon, but in the end, slow and steady won the race. Hattori’s careful, diligent planning paid off, and with a single move, the Mega Greninja managed to deal a heavy blow on the opponent.

Reverting to her regular form, Missy fell on one knee, looking rather beat up. “OK that’s enough. You did your best, Missy!” Andrea said, walking over to her Pokémon, and using a spare Full Heal to treat its poisoning. The baby Kangaskhan crawled back into its mother’s pouch, and the two retreated to the sidelines.

“Hattori’s pretty strong! We need to be stronger too!” The young cosplayer slapped her own cheeks to get pumped up. A second ball was thrown, out of which a quadruped creature burst out; a strange mishmash of animal parts that looked like a man-made imitation of Arceus himself.



“Grass Memory Install!” Andrea shoved a small, green disk into the Silvally’s head. Its RKS System activated, causing the color of its feathers and tail fin to change. “All set! Now Kimmy, use Multi-Attack!” The artificial chimera roared, its body bathed in a greenish aura as it lunged at Greninja with its front claws extended.

Michael Navidson

☉

A frog gulps. Any creature with the right sort of eyes can recognize when it is in the presence of its creator – or at least a manmade imitation of that creator. He does not understand how this creature was made. He little understands anything about this predicament other than one fact: he’s been ordered to do battle.[break][break]
“Heh. You’re just full of surprises, aren’tcha?” Navy smirks. “How in the world did you get your hands on something like this?” Between her strength as a trainer and her taste in Pokemon, he’s tempted to ask her to guest star at his gym down in Dewford whenever the mood strikes her. A team this powerful would be a good warm-up for his own gym challenge.[break][break]
“Just what in the world’s your story, Ms. Vaneau?”[break][break]
Her story will have to wait. Hattori’s heart sinks into his chest. He has to fight this creature. Holding his water kunai steady in his hands, he studies the area. A plan’s important. Anything can be overcome with a plan.[break][break]
It’s more a desperate ploy at the end of the day. A battle between a creature like this and a novice Greninja still only has one logical outcome. Hattori slips into the only shadow nearby – the shadow cast by the Silvally. Appearing from it, his kunai takes on a ghostly quality. Stabbing up, he tries to deliver an attack. He banks everything on his protean – an odd quirk of his species.[break][break]
Too late he realizes that he’s already locked his own typing in with the shuriken throw earlier. Like so many water Pokemon before him, Hattori is consumed by the grass. One decisive blow is all he can endure. Giving an apologetic look to his Lord, Hattori faints.[break][break]
“Man…he took out Hattori in one hit.” Navy whistles. “This guy’s no joke.” Thumbing over his shoulder back to Shuwen, still calm as a cucumber, he asks a simple question.[break][break]
“Wanna see who can win between this guy and your Silvally? Sounds like a good match.”

[break][break]

+ Andrea Vaneau

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

It was only natural to be curious of Silvally's mysterious origins, as well as wonder how a country bumpkin like Andrea had gotten her hands on such an unusual creature. And yet sometimes, the most complex of questions had the simplest of answers...

"She just showed up in the ranch one day, so I took her in." The young PokéManiac casually replied. "She had this big metal thing on her head that was really hard to get off. At first she was aggressive, but now we're friends! Isn't that right, Kimmy?" Her Silvally growled in response.

With Hattori knocked out, it came down to Shuwen versus Kimmy; a pair of Pokémon that could rightfully be called legendary. The blasphemous chimera stared down its ursine opponent, acknowledging them as an equal. The tension in the air was high. So high that Andrea's Fuecoco began to tremble. Luckily, Missy picked up the scared crocodile, letting him snuggle inside her pouch alongside her baby.

"Let's do this, Kimmy! Double Team!" Andrea yelled excitedly, as her Silvally created many illusory duplicates of itself, which completely encircled Michael's Ursifu.

Michael Navidson

☉