---
Metro PKMN Center, Sinnoh
Days had passed since Oliver and Jacob took on the challenge given to them in Mythic Forest. Deciding that the duo needed some time before their next rigorous training session, Michael allowed the two a few days where they could do whatever they wanted. Whether it be to recuperate, do some more battling, or to enjoy themselves in the new location, it was up to them what their next outing would be.
Though, it seemed Oliver was more content with staying in their small room within the Pokémon Center.
"Ugh... So... Bored...!" The Pikachu groaned, dramatically writhing on his bed, "When can we go and do something!?"
Oliver was quick to retort, "We are doing something!" He exclaimed, restlessly flipping through the pages of the Pokédex Book he acquired in Forest Grotto, "Trying to connect the dots between what's been going on and what's been happening in this book has been keeping me busy since I got this thing!"
"I can barely even understand what you're doing with it..." The Electric-Type turned himself onto his side to look at the Oshawott on the other side of the small room, "Some stuff about glowing, and ripped pages, and that Nidoking guy we fought..."
"Nidoking!?" Bursting into the room was Logan, who nearly kicked the door from its hinges as he entered, "What about him?"
The room quickly fell silent as the Scorbunny looked between the Kanet natives. Upon realizing that there was no immediate threat, Logan let out a sigh, crossing his arms. He really had to get himself out of the mindset of the one he lived with while Nidoking was constantly a threat in his home. Jacob, meanwhile, was a little confused to see him so quickly after he brought up the specific Pokémon.
"Were you just waiting outside for one of us to mention Nidoking or something?"
"Shut up!" The Scorbunny barked, "It isn't wrong to be on guard! Anything could happen!"
"I'm pretty sure Nidoking wouldn't suddenly start rampaging through this town or something like that..." Oliver chimed in with a chuckle, "Though you do have a point... Remember what happened in Sapphire Town with that Hippowdon?"
"The one that went nuts and started charging through the Sapphire Plains?" Jacob remembered, "What about it?"
The Oshawott's eyes narrowed, "I'm thinking that both the incidents in Sapphire and Forest Grotto are somehow connected."
"Connected?" Jacob and Logan chorused.
Oliver's lips tightened together upon remembering what happened following the fight for Forest Grotto. From meeting Nidoking in the cave one night and learning about what caused him to go insane, to discovering that they both had similar experiences during a moment of unconsciousness where a voice spoke to them individually. Everything seemed connected somehow. He wasn't too sure what was connecting all of the strange incidents surrounding them, but the connection was there, and it all seemed to relate to one thing.
"That substance..." He muttered, a paw gently stroking his own chin, "...It was on that Hippowdon, and it was on Nidoking too. That Greninja we fought also had it, but he seemed to be able to use it without issue."
Joining the conversation was a familiar voice, "I see what you mean. That Greninja seemed to know about the strange properties of that substance, and was able to use it to block his wound after you stabbed him. It didn't seem to take over his mind like it did with Nidoking or the Hippowdon..."
Turning their heads, the boys noticed a familiar Snivy standing in the doorway, leaned up against the right side of the opening. Once her presence was acknowledged, the Snivy sat herself down on a nearby chair that sat close to Jacob's bed.
Sophie couldn't help but overhear the conversation her friends were having, and she had to admit, it interested her. Especially when Oliver brought up details about the Greninja they faced off against in Sapphire Town. The thought of figuring out more about the mysterious Pokémon interested her more than she cared to admit, prompting her to walk to Jacob and Oliver's small room to learn more.
"Something that's always confused me was why they were so strong..." Sophie commented, "...I've never heard of either of them anywhere around Sinnoh, yet they were only pacified using dirty tactics and all of us were there. There was no way any of us could've won a one on one fight."
"Speak for yourselves. I took 'em both on by myself!" Logan grinned as he spoke boisterously.
The Snivy looked over at him, her eyes narrowing, "And how'd that turn out? Last I checked you ended up unable to battle after that fight."
"That's not important!" The Scorbunny was quick to stand up, "Those damn Pokémon shot us outta the sky! I needed my get-back!"
"Bad word!"
The four, hearing the voice, turned to the doorway, where a Rockruff and a Zorua were peering in.
"Just... Come in..." Oliver, after trying desperately to concentrate on flipping through the PDB throughout the loud conversation, finally closed it and put it down, "The more the merrier I guess."
"Whatcha guys talking about?" Akari asked, hopping onto the bed beside Jacob.
The Pikachu sat up, "We were talking about what happened in Sapphire Town. Like when we fought that Greninja and Conkeldurr."
"Oh that?" The Zorua recalled, "I remember that! Especially how me and Oliver took down that frog guy! We were in a cave, up against a wall, and we managed to beat him anyway!"
"How were you not scared?" Miles hopped onto the bed beside Oliver, interested in hearing more about the feat his best friend managed to achieve.
"Scared?" Akari scoffed, "There's no way I'd be scared of—"
An idea quickly came to Sophie's mind, "The Greninja's outside."
"Eep!" In an instant, the Zorua transformed into a Joltik, hiding herself on the blanket.
The group all laughed at the Snivy's little joke, much to Akari's embarrassment, who quickly transformed herself back to normal with a faint shade of red tinting her cheeks.
"In all seriousness, though. Sophie has a point... Those two were strong..." Oliver agreed, "Either they're immensely strong, or we're all immensely weak..."
The room fell silent. Jacob's brows lowered as he allowed Oliver's statement to sink in. When he sat and thought about it, really thought about it, he couldn't say he was wrong. Not in the slightest. He might've won a good amount of his fights since leaving Kanet Village, but looking back, he had help. He would get himself into a fight, begin to struggle, and would immediately fall back on the strange power he had. He couldn't go all the way on his own, using his strange power to give him the edge. A power he couldn't even control all that well.
Sophie was faced with a similar realization. One that only brought her back to the moment she tried her hand at facing off against Mark in a one on one fight. Her power had been fluctuating during that fight, which showed how far the gap of strength was between her and Mark without the use of her Dragon-Type ability. Since the Garchomp was able to go head to head against the Conkeldurr when they first met, she quickly assumed he was around the same level of strength as who they faced in Sapphire Town. Meaning, had they not met up with Mark when they did, they could've died.
"Weak? What are you talking about?" Logan, though, was quick to try and disprove the Oshawott's statement, "Between my Flame Shots, Sophie's Dragon-Type stuff, Jacob's power, and your smarts, we're able to beat anybody!"
"As a group with coordination?" Oliver looked at the Scorbunny, "Absolutely. We've done it against some serious threats. On our own though? We're just... Not as strong..."
"Excatly. That's why you're training, isn't it?" Another voice came from the doorway, "Especially you two."
Both Miles and Akari felt a cold sensation run up the course of their spines. Their eyes quickly met, pupils shrinking in their growing fear. After a brief moment of silence, both the Rockruff and the Zorua shakily turned their heads to look at who was standing at the open doorway. Much to their dismay, a Garchomp stood there patiently, looking between the two youngest Pokémon in the room.
Akari gulped, "...Uh... You sure we have training with you again today...?"
"Yeah, you said we had an off day today!" Miles eagerly nodded along.
"I said that yesterday, did I not?" Mark raised an eyebrow, "Nice try you two. Get ready. We have a full day and night in that forest nearby."
Groaning, the two young Pokémon begrudgingly hopped off of the beds they had been sitting on to follow behind the Garchomp, who quickly left them behind. This left Oliver, Jacob, Sophie, and Logan on their own to finish their conversation.
"I don't know about you guys, but it sounds like some serious training is in order!" Jacob exclaimed, pumping his paws above his head, "To the fields for some practice battles!"
Sophie interjected, "I'm not too sure about that. We might have secured some rooms to live in before the Ion Cup starts, but there's still one problem."
"Hm?" The Pikachu turned his attention to her, a little confused, "What other problem do we have?"
"We need money for food. We're running low."
"That's a good point..." Oliver smiled awkwardly, "It was a little concerning watching Jacob and Logan fight for the last berry yesterday..."
"I saw it first!" Jacob was quick to defend himself.
Logan snapped back, "Well I called dibs!"
"Yeah, we need some food..." Sophie let out an exasperated sigh, "And to get food, we need money. Where can we make some money and train at the same time?" The Snivy looked between Oliver and Jacob, expecting them to know the answer.
A lightbulb went off in the Oshawott's head, "Oh! Iron Tale!"
"To the battle cafe to make some money!" Jacob stood up, pointing to the door.
---
Iron Tale Cafe, Sinnoh
"Okay, here's the plan!" Jacob grinned, watching Logan step onto the battlefield in the center of the restaurant, "We're gonna make this thing into a game!"
The Scorbunny stretched his legs, ready for a battle. Though, despite it being Logan to step up for a battle, he was listed on the board as Jacob. Logan grinned widely, watching his opponent step onto the other side. A Sudowoodo, who began to bounce on his feet, pumping his legs up for whatever he was planning.
"One by one, we all go and battle!" Jacob explained, "Since only me and Sophie have registered into the World Cup in Casteel City, Oliver and Logan will have to battle under our names, so neither of us can rank up with these battles, but we can get a lot of money."
"What part of this is a game?" Sophie raised a brow.
"Well, we'll all keep battling until one of us is left!" The Pikachu answered, "If you lose a battle, you're out."
Oliver was intrigued, "What does the winner get?"
"The winner?" Jacob repeated, raising an eyebrow, "Well..."
Logan could feel the temperature in his paws begin to rise. He glared ahead at the Sudowoodo he was supposed to fight, a menacing grin spreading across his face. The Scorbunny took a slow, deep breath in, allowing his muscles to temporarily relax. His ears twitched softly, anticipating when the referee would call the battle on.
The Pikachu's eyes lit up, an idea coming to mind, "I'd say the winner gets a bigger cut of the money we earn."
Standing on the sideline of the battlefield was a Squirtle, one who wore a black and white shirt to show that she was the referee of the battle. She looked between Logan and the Sudowoodo, checking to make sure that they were both ready for the incoming battle. Upon seeing that they were both standing ready, she raised her hand into the air.
"Battle... Begin!"
The Squirtle lowered her hand in a slicing motion, now pointing it toward the center of the small battlefield. All at once, the Scorbunny exhaled, opened his eyes, and drove his feet into the ground as he quickly closed the distance between himself and the Sudowoodo. The Rock-Type, meanwhile, closed his eyes the moment the battle begun, letting himself relax.
"This battle will be over in ten seconds flat!!" Logan shouted, thrusting his paw toward the Sudowoodo's face. The tree-like Pokémon swiftly bent his body, the upper half of it now parallel to the floor. This immediately threw the rabbit-like Pokémon off guard, who's momentum began to send himself floating over his opponent.
The Sudowoodo swiftly raised his right arm, striking Logan's stomach. The Scorbunny cried out, the impact from the punch redirecting his slow descent to the ground upwards for a moment. Logan gripped his stomach, landing on a bent knee as he struggled to regain his breath. The Fire-Type clenched his teeth, his eyes darting in the direction of the Sudowoodo.
"Lucky shot..." He spat, moving one of his arms to begin developing the heat in his right paw, "That won't happen again—!"
Logan swung his arm around, readying a Flame Shot to counterattack. In the process of swinging his arm, though, the Sudowoodo swatted it away by using his leaf-like hands to push his arm by his wrist. This sent the Flame Shot blasting into a nearby wall. Thanks to the way the battle area was built, the wall didn't take any damage from the destructive attack.
"Damn it!!" He swings his other arm around to try his luck at landing another Flame Shot, but the same exact thing as last time happened. It was blocked and redirected, the attack hitting another wall.
Spectating the match, Oliver grimaced. The Oshawott couldn't help but to think back on the battle Logan had with Pan back in Forest Grotto, where the Scorbunny was easily overpowered and outmatched by the larger Pokémon. While Logan didn't seem to be overpowered by his opponent, the Sudowoodo's battling style was certainly throwing the hotheaded Fire-Type for a loop.
"I was worried something like this would happen eventually..." Oliver muttered, catching the attention of Jacob and Sophie.
The Pikachu was quick to question the quiet statement, "What do you mean, Ollie?"
"The way Logan fights isn't unique... He's primarily focused on remaining aggressive and overwhelming his opponents, and we all know that..." The Oshawott began to explain, "I had a feeling that eventually Logan would have to start facing opponents that trained to deal with this fighting style, and get overwhelmed himself."
Jacob glanced back at the unfolding battle, watching the Scorbunny's various attacks be parried and avoided, "No kidding, the guy can't even land a hit!"
"...It's actually kind of sad watching it..." Sophie remarked.
"Jacob, did you happen to rank up before we started this competition?" Oliver inquired, eliciting visible confusion from his best friend.
"Did I? I never really checked."
"Why would you not check?" Sophie raised a brow at him, "I thought you wanted to progress in the World Cup while we traveled. Why would you not be paying attention?"
Jacob shrugged, "I didn't want to see myself rank up, then choke in a battle because I got too nervous."
"Could you check now?" Oliver asked.
"Sure."
The Pikachu quickly looked down at the bracelet he had grabbed specifically for the competition. One that was only needed whenever he participated in anything World Cup related. He scrolled through the small screen of the Battle Bracelet, trying his best to find the place where he'd check his rank. Eventually, he laid eyes on what his rank was, his ears perking up.
"I ranked up... It says I'm in the Normal Class now."
Sophie nodded, "Figures... With how many battles we've been a part of, and how much we've improved since we were in Casteel City, I guess it isn't surprising that you made it to the next rank."
"That means from here on in... The battles will only get harder, right?" Oliver asked, a bit of sweat building on his forehead.
"It's what we need, isn't it?" Sophie went back to watching the battle, her eyes narrowing.
After time and time again of getting his attack blocked, parried, or avoided, Logan grew extremely frustrated that things weren't going as smoothly for him as he originally anticipated. The Scorbunny racked his mind for any type of solution to his problem, but he was drawing blanks. He wasn't used to having to think too much about his battling style.
Eventually, Logan grew frustrated and lunged at the Sudowoodo once more. The tree-like Pokémon began to turn his body in order to swiftly avoid his attack once more, but was stopped by the sensation of his arm being pulled.
"Gotcha... You're not gonna escape this one!!" He pulled the Sudowoodo close, wrapping his arms around him. Many were confused at what Logan was doing initially, but quickly came to realize what his plan was, "...Now!!"
In a flash, a large Flame Shot was fired from each of his paws straight into the Sudowoodo's body. But, because of his close proximity to the attack, he ended up damaging himself in turn. Once the smoke from the flames cleared up, both comabtants were still standing, their bodies singed by the high temperatures of Logan's attack. The Scorbunny wasn't nearly as damaged as the Sudowoodo was, though, who stumbled forward, a bit disoriented by what he had done.
"You're wide open!" He shouted, lunging at the Sudowoodo once more, reeling his leg back to prepare to kick him. Because of the previous attack, the Sudowoodo was still struggling to recover the moment Logan's foot slammed into his jaw.
Logan felt the impact, along with a sense of relief, wash over his body. He would never admit it, but he was beginning to grow worried that he would never get a solid attack on the shifty Sudowoodo. Now that he has, though, he wouldn't allow his opponent a moment to breathe, nor a moment to recover. Upon completeing his kick, the Scorbunny held a paw up to the Sudowoodo's face, firing a point-blank Flame Shot into it.
His breathing heavy, the Scorbunny stood still, allowing the smoke from his attack to clear from the battlefield. He didn't hear anything from inside the cloud of smoke, but didn't let himself relax. He clenched his aching paws, eyes narrowing.
Once the smoke cleared enough to provide enough visibility in front of his face, he noticed the Sudowoodo lying on his back, his eyes swirling, a clear indication that the Rock-Type was no longer able to battle. His determined expression turning into a wide, toothy, grin, the Scorbunny punched his paws together.
"That's how it's done!"
Following Logan's battle, Sophie was up next. The Scorbunny watched on as Sophie was pitted against a Bronzong. The Snivy didn't seem to have much trouble against the Steel and Psychic-Type at first, keeping up with him well. Both had gotten in a few attacks of their own. That all changed, though, when the Bronzong used Psychic Terrain, coating the entire room in a mysterious pink aura.
"Come on, Sophie!" Logan yelled from the table he, Jacob, and Oliver were sitting at, "Just go Dragon on his ass and take 'em out!"
The Snivy obviously heard the loud shouting from her hotheaded companion, rolling her eyes as she tried to look for another method to claim victory. As much as she wanted to do exactly what Logan was saying, she refrained from doing so. After all, what she and the rest of the group talked about earlier had struck a chord with her. They all seemed to have an over-reliance on their own strange abilities. So much so that they grew to neglect growing their own strength at their core.
So that was exactly what she was going to do.
Focusing on her opponent, the Snivy watched closely for the Bronzong's next move. Despite her heightened focus, the Grass-Type was unable to predict or block the Bronzong's next attack, which was a Zen Headbutt to her head. The Snivy's eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head as she took two shaky steps back. The move was a bit disorienting to take without allowing herself to fall unconscious. But, she remained standing. There was no way she'd let herself lose a chance at a bigger cut just for winning a battle or two.
She closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath in as she used her next attack. Swords Dance. She boosted her own strength, her eyes squinting as she dashed at the Bronzong. Thanks to the fact that her opponent could levitate, it wasn't too hard to dash underneath the Steel-Type and go for an attack to his back. Sophie didn't expect what happened next, though, as the Bronze Bell Pokemon flipped himself around, using one of his arm-like appendages to strike Sophie to the ground before she could even get an attack in.
Sophie slid to a stop on the ground, but didn't have much time to breathe and recover. The Bronzong was rocketing toward her with the use of Tackle, trying to finish the battle there. The Grass Snake Pokemon gasped faintly, racking her mind for something to do.
Once impact was made, dust from the battlefield was kicked up, the spectators unable to see what was going on. The smoke then cleared, revealing that the Bronzong's Tackle wasn't effective against the attack Sophie pulled out. Reflect. She strained her arms, feeling the weight of literal hundreds of pounds press down on her small barrier.
With a loud grunt, Sophie pushed the barrier back, throwing the Bronzong away from her. While the Bronzong was a bit disoriented from his attack being blocked, Sophie took the opportunity to use Leaf Blade. Thanks to her strength boost from Swords Dance, this was enough to knock the Bronzong to the ground and end the battle in her favor.
Sighing, Sophie wiped her drenched forehead. Her determined and focused look soon morphed into one more stoic and calmed, just as usual.
---
Metro City, Sinnoh
As the day went on, Logan came to realize that he was struggling a lot more than the others. Following Sophie's battle was Jacob's, which was finished off as quick as it started, even without the use of the Pikachu's strange power. Even Oliver seemed to be doing better than him in his first battle, using his smarts to gain the upper hand and barely win the battle. Sure, Oliver barely won the battle, but what better was that than how he won his own battle? He had to hug his opponent and disorient him by using an attack that hurt himself in the process.
So, why? Why wasn't what he was doing working?
Logan's second battle was an absolute loss. Just as big of a loss as when he battled Pan in Forest Grotto. He was facing a Kadabra, one that seemed more than prepared for a battle against Logan. He kept his distance from the Scorbunny, using more ranged attacks to defeat him. Logan was skilled at dodging them at first, but as the battle went on, he grew fatigued. He was slower than what he started at. That's when he began to get frantic. He exerted the rest of his energy just to get close to the Psychic-Type, which didn't even work in the end. He was utterly defeated.
Before Oliver, Jacob, and Sophie could reach him after the conclusion of his battle, the Scorbunny stormed out of Iron Tale, deciding to head back to the Pokemon Center. The Rabbit Pokemon walked down an alley as he racked his mind, thinking back on both his battle against the Sudowoodo, as well as his battle against the Kadabra.
He wasn't getting it. He was definitely stronger than he was back in Sapphire Town, especially back when he was living in Forest Grotto. The constant training from his home to Metro City without a doubt added to his strength. He even added another move to his arsenal, something he would have never considered before meeting Oliver, Jacob, and Sophie.
But yet... He still lost. Before Jacob and Sophie, and even before Oliver. Oliver, of all Pokemon.
He trained the Oshawott himself before they faced off against Nidoking. He was always sure that his level of strength was far above the introverted Oshawott's, even after Oliver and Akari fought and won against Dilligence. He has always assumed what got them the win was their tactic of Akari transforming into an Oshawott to distract their opponent. It wasn't even a one on one fight!
But, now that they were participating in one on one fights for some training before the Ion Cup, he found himself unable to beat more than one Pokemon. How would he make it to the top if he couldn't even beat Oliver of all Pokemon in a competition of battles?
"What's the issue!?" He punches the wall of a building to his left, his teeth gritting, "I'm getting stronger! Why can't I win?"
His anger growing more by the second, Logan raised a paw into the air, firing off a series of Flame Shots into the air. There was no way. There was no possible way. Why did he always have to be right? Why did Oliver have to say something so stupid?
"In all seriousness, though. Sophie has a point... Those two were strong..." Oliver agreed, "Either they're immensely strong, or we're all immensly weak..."
Huffing, The Scorbunny allowed his arms to fall to his sides, "I'm not... Weak..."
"Oh, you surely aren't. Especially after that little display."
Logan's ears perked at the new voice talking to him. His head whipped around to see a figure standing at the other end of the alleyway he was in. His eyes slowly widened as the figure drew closer.
"You're..." The words barely spilled from his mouth, "...You're a Cinderace..."
"I am, aren't I?" Standing there was a shiny Cinderace, one who crossed their arms the second her eyes met Logan's.
Logan couldn't help but to be reminded of his mother for a moment. If she weren't currently in a coma back in forest Grotto, he would have mistaken her for the Pokémon he'd do anything to see just one more time. Well, that, and the fact that this Cinderace's fur was a completely different color than his mother's. One thing still stood, though. This Cinderace's presence wasn't normal. Far from it.
The Scorbunny was quick to begin building heat in his paws in preparation for a battle, "What are you doing here, Bucko!? Cinderace aren't from Sinnoh! Even I know that!"
"I'm well aware. I'm not from here... In fact, you're the only one of our species to be born in Sinnoh."
"You'd better get to talking! What do you know?" Logan's eyes narrowed.
The shiny Cinderace couldn't help but chuckle at him. She found his blind courage a tad cute, "I'll get to talking in time, but I do have one question for you before I do."
"What?"
"Do you happen to know a Cinderace by the name of Emily?" She asked, watching in amusement as Logan's angry face contorted to one of shock.
A gentle breeze wafted by, running through the fur of the similar Pokémon standing in the alley. Silence fell between them as the Cinderace allowed her question to sink in more by the second. She had to admit, it was entertaining to watch. She was having a bit of fun watching the gears slowly begin to turn in his head. She opened her mouth to speak once more.
"Does that ring any bells for you... Bucko?"