After breakfast and before training started the next morning, we were all called into the main hall by Coach Kudou. There was a large box on the floor beside him that Darragh had just cut open at the top.
"After the draw, I was given this by members of the tournament committee." Kudou said, nodding towards the box. "These are your uniforms for our matches. There are quite a few spares, with long and short-sleeve varieties depending on what you prefer."
"Oh, cool!" Yu was suddenly excited.
"I hope they look good." Hikaru smiled.
"I shan't be best pleased with a gaudy colour." Midorima crossed his arms.
Kudou reached into the box and grabbed a shirt. He held it up for all of us to see.
It was a cool, deep blue colour, with ventilation in the sides to help on hot days. The back of it had our team name, 'Aegis', presented clearly in a light gold font, not too overbearing, but perfectly neat below the neck, much like a sports shirt would display a player's name. Our team crest, on the left-hand side on the front of the shirt, was a small yet magnificently detailed golden shield that looked like it could ward off any attack. At its core was an emerald-coloured jewel, rectangular with two small triangular protrusions spaced evenly just above the centre. Of course, the crest was entirely stitched, but the detail was so incredible that the image of a legendary shield was clear as day.
"Whoa..." Victor marvelled.
"It looks awesome!" Yu punched the air.
"Happy?" Shu smiled at Midorima.
"Not bad." He admitted.
"There's also white shorts, black trousers or skirts of either colour." Kudou said. "So, come and pick out your uniforms and try them on before we start today's training."
Several of us went all at once, and there was a few seconds of confusion as things were sorted out.
"Hey, Midorima." Hikaru reached into the box. "Want a skirt?" She joked, pulling one out.
"An interesting proposition, but I'll pass." He said, completely cool. Victor, Carmello and a few others let out a chuckle.
"How about you, Caleb?" She offered.
"I'm good." He frowned and turned away, his uniform already in his hands.
I went through the box and found a long-sleeve shirt and pair of black trousers, which were made of a soft, light and comfortable material that would also account for heat.
"Ooh, how does it look?" Zhang asked Caleb, who had changed his shirt right there in the hallway.
"Turn around and let us see!" Yu said excitedly.
"Tch..." Caleb pulled the short-sleeved shirt down and turned, arms folded.
"Nice." Victor nodded.
"I could get used to it." Mira agreed.
"If you're done staring." Caleb turned away and walked off towards the stairs.
*
After everyone had checked that their uniforms fitted and put them away, we made our way outside to begin training. After about an hour, Nelly came over to tell me that my training with Grovyle had allowed our average bond level to rise to about 15%, according to Xene, who was constantly monitoring our progress.
"Well, it's an improvement on twelve percent." I wiped my forehead as Grovyle struggled to his feet, once again knocked out of our connection.
"I knew you were getting better." Shu smiled, still bonded to his Delphox.
"Thanks." I let out a sigh.
"Nelly!" Darragh called for her over at the bench.
"Coming!" She shouted back and waved to us both as she walked away.
Kudou was writing something down on a clipboard and looked up as she came near, when he then immediately began speaking to her as he finished off what he was doing.
"Watch out – incoming!" Hikaru shouted.
"Toby!" Kiria yelled.
"Huh?" I turned to see a large icicle flying through the air. Kiria's Ninetales had fired it, and Hikaru's Greninja had dodged, allowing it to shoot beyond their battlefield.
I watched the sharp ice shoot towards me, but the fatigue from breaking the bond with Grovyle hadn't lifted from my body. Just as I somehow willed my legs to move, a wave of heat blew past my face, and a stream of fire intercepted the icicle, burning it into steam in an instant.
Shu's hand was raised forward, and his Delphox had its wand raised, embers flickering.
"Shu, you..." I blinked.
"Phew..." He eased up and dismissed his bond effortlessly. "I didn't think we'd make it in time."
"Thanks." I breathed.
"Don't mention it."
"Are you all right?" Kiria called.
"I'm fine!" I held up a hand.
"Sorry about that!" Hikaru pressed her hands together and bowed slightly.
Meanwhile, Kudou had handed his clipboard over to Nelly. He stepped forward and looked around. "I need someone to go and help with buying supplies." He said, gesturing towards Nelly who had a shopping list in her hands.
I opened my mouth to volunteer, but Kudou picked out someone almost as soon as he had made the announcement. "Shu-ling, go with Nelly."
"Oh? Yes, sir." He nodded. "Good work, Delphox."
His Pokemon was called in and Shu walked across as Nelly made her way to the steps.
"Oh..." I watched them climb up as she explained to him what they needed to get. Then they walked along the path towards the shops, and I felt pangs of jealousy.
"Stop it." I shook my head, trying to dismiss those unnecessary thoughts.
Now I was the odd one out, with no training partner.
"Toby!" Xene called to me. "Come here a minute!"
"A-all right!" I returned Grovyle to his PokeBall and made my way over.
*
Xene ran me through the data he had collected regarding my bond with Grovyle, including video recordings of our battles with Shu, alongside several vitality monitors for both me and my Pokemon. "Looking at you and Grovyle, and then Shu and his Delphox, it's actually quite difficult to tell what makes his bond more potent." Xene said. "As you can see, when you and Grovyle are linked, your heart rate and breathing are almost perfectly synced, which is exactly how it is for him too.
"Really? Then what is it...?"
"I'm not sure," He went on. "But I do have some ideas."
"Shoot."
"Well, obviously, there's the time factor. Like Coach Kudou said, Shu and his Delphox have been dabbling in the Bond Phenomenon for much longer than you and your Grovyle. Naturally, they'll have a better grip on it at this point. But then, the only other key difference I've noticed is the way you and Shu actually activate your bonds."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, forgive me for assuming, but by the way it looks, it seems like when you and Grovyle link up, it's almost like its forced, in a way."
He tapped some keys and showed me a clip of Grovyle and I linking together. "You tense up." He pointed out as I brought my arms up and clenched my fists in the video. "Compare that to Shu..." He played a second clip, and I watched as Shu calmly and coolly initiated his link with Delphox with the slightest of movements.
"He's more relaxed..." I noticed.
"Right. And I couldn't help but wonder why. Again, maybe it's because of the experience they have using it, but it might be more than that, y'know?"
"Hm..." I thought about it. Why was I so tense? Perhaps it was because it was how Grovyle and I had always activated our bond. From the very first time it happened, it had been an explosive surge of power. I began to contemplate whether every time after that had been an attempt at simulating that feeling. It made sense. With no obvious natural trigger, I had always tried to put myself back into the battling mindset that had first truly awakened Grovyle's potential. I did so because I knew that's how it worked the first time, and it had kept working since. I told Xene and he nodded along slowly.
"Huh..." He said eventually. "That... Actually does make some sense. Shu must initiate his bond by syncing up with his Delphox every time, whereas you're constantly trying to recreate the feelings you had when Grovyle first showed his power. That would mean you're subconsciously limiting yourself, in a way."
"How so?"
"Well, think about it – if your mind always goes back to that same feeling, and you will your body to feel the same rush you felt back then, then you aren't fighting in the moment, right? You're thinking and fighting with your past strength, instead of fully utilising the power that you have at hand right now."
"Wow..."
"Of course, that's just a guess, really." Xene shrugged. "I don't know if I'm anywhere close with that theory, haha."
Coach Kudou was standing not far away, and, unbeknownst to us, had probably been listening to the whole conversation. He gave a slow, unnoticed nod and returned to surveying the training in front of him.
"So, you think if I find a new way to initiate our bond, we can get stronger?" I asked.
"Well, it's worth a shot, right? I mean, you are getting stronger. Clearly, using the bond over and over is helping – after all, your power output's gone up three percent already. But brute force probably won't get you up to Shu's level – and definitely not in time for the tournament. So yeah, I'd say it's worth a try."
"Got it. Thanks, Xene."
"No problem. Just don't go forgetting how to do it altogether!" He laughed.
"I'll try."
*
Later on, once Nelly and Shu had returned, Kudou drew the day's training to an end. "Good work today, everyone. Tomorrow, train hard once again. And the day after that, we'll be facing North America's team, Storm Eagle. Tomorrow morning, we'll run through their team and pick out the biggest threats. For now though, go eat and rest up."
"Thank you, Coach!"
We made our way towards the steps and Nelly came over to me, carrying a large bag. Darragh had taken the other one off Shu's hands.
"I'll probably be a little while." She said. "We've got to sort through the stuff we bought and put it all away."
"I can wait for you."
"No, eat without me – I don't want to make you wait. I'll meet you upstairs once I've eaten, ok?"
"All right, if you're sure." I nodded.
With that, she regrouped with her father, and I went inside to eat dinner alone.
*
After dinner, I went up to the bedroom and showered. I put on some clean clothes instead of pyjamas at first, because a small pile of laundry was beginning to take shape. When Nelly got back, I would take it down to the laundry room and have it washed before bed.
Not long after gathering the clothes, the door opened and closed behind me.
"Hey." Nelly said happily, walking in.
"Hi." I turned and smiled. She was carrying a smaller shopping bag than the one she had left with before – a standard plastic one this time.
"Sorry it took so long." She sighed. "We restocked the Pokemon food, the medicine – everything, pretty much. It's crazy how fast it all gets used up."
"I can imagine." I laughed.
Nelly came over and put the bag on the bed.
"So, where did you go earlier?" I asked.
"Let's see... The Pokemon Centre, the supermarket, the department store..." She trailed off. "I think that's it. Oh, I went into the pharmacy too."
"Wow, they really made you run around, huh?" I straightened up.
"Yeah, but it wasn't too bad. I did manage to buy some stuff myself while I was out there." She gestured to the plastic bag.
"Oh, right, I was wondering what you had there."
"Bits and pieces from several places." She said, looking through. "Toothpaste, floss... Essentials..." She quickly shuffled through. "Uh, yeah. Bathroom stuff, really."
"Pretty exciting." I joked.
Nelly giggled and closed the bag up. "Well, I'm going to have a shower."
"Ok. I'm gonna go down to the the laundry room in a minute."
"Good idea." She looked at the small pile I had gathered.
She took her things into the bathroom and shut the door.
Soon after, I took a final look around the room in case I had missed a loose sock. "Looks good." I muttered to myself. I had been about to leave when I suddenly remembered.
"Nelly?" I knocked on the bathroom door as I heard the shower door creak open.
"Yeah?" She called back.
"Do you have anything in there for me to take down? Might as well do it all in one go."
"Oh, yeah! Uh, hang on..."
I took a step back and a few moments later, the door opened slightly and her forearm came through the gap, her clothes in her hand.
"Got it." I took them and put them at the top of the pile.
"Thanks, Sweetheart."
"That's ok." I turned back and she shut the door, the shower turning on a few seconds later.
With that, I made my way out of the room.
*
On the way to the laundry room, I saw Caleb in the hallway. As I saw him coming closer, I felt a little on edge. However, the boy didn't seem interested in picking a fight right now. Instead, he glanced my way and kept walking. "I didn't know you wore a bra. Could've guessed though." He commented as he passed.
"Huh?" I looked down at the top of the pile of clothes in my arms. "I-it's not-!"
"Mm-hm." He turned the corner.
"Ugh..." I felt embarrassed and weird.
"Whatever, just put them in the washing machine and forget it even happened."
I backed into the laundry room's door and pushed it open. There were several unoccupied white machines across the room, with a couple of small benches in the centre of the room. The only other person in the room was Kiria, who was watching her own washing dry.
I made my way over to a bench on the same side as her and put the clothes down. Then, still feeling the heat in my cheeks, I began to load them into a washing machine.
Kiria looked over at me and the clothes as I put them in.
"So," She said, eyeing up the clothes in my hands. "Your girlfriend's comfortable with you handling her underwear, huh?"
"Huh?" I was completely flushed again. "N-no, I – I mean, well, yeah, but it-"
"Relax!" She laughed, patting my shoulder. "I'm just messing around."
"Oh..." I swallowed. "...Please don't do that again..."
"Sorry." She smiled.
I took a breath and threw the rest of our clothes into the washing machine and shut it, turning it on.
"Anyway, how are you doing?"
"Ok. A little embarrassed, but fine." I felt my cheeks.
"Sorry." She said again.
"It's all right." I shook my head. "How's your mission going?" I asked, lowering my voice even though we were alone.
"Slow." Kiria admitted. "But either way, I'm still not completely convinced Kudou's entirely innocent." She folded her arms.
"You think he's lying?"
"Perhaps. He seems like a nice enough man, but I just can't shake the feeling that there's something... Odd about him. He was the last one to talk to the Prime Minister before he went missing, and yet the conversation they had that day is the one thing Kudou won't tell me about. It's too strange to simply ignore."
"I can see that being worrying, yeah..." I nodded. "Still, aren't you a secret agent? Why do you tell me these things?"
"You asked." She shrugged.
"Yeah, but – secret agent." I countered.
"Well, I have two duties here. One being to keep an eye on Kudou, the other to watch over you, as you know."
"Right. Megan put you up to that." I remembered.
"Wouldn't make sense to keep you in the dark." Kiria nodded.
There was a click as Kiria's load of washing was done. She opened up the dryer and began to unload it.
"And you're ok with that?"
"With what?"
"Looking over me."
"Sure." She said simply. "It's from a distance. It's not like I'm your babysitter. I do have training as a bodyguard though, so y'know. Push comes to shove, and I'll protect you, because that's my job."
"Protect me...? Are things that dangerous...?" I wondered.
"Not right now, no. I'm just saying, hypothetically, if there is any danger, you'll be the first one I tend to."
"And you're really willing to do it?"
"Of course." Kiria straightened up, her wash basket full with her clean clothes.
"Why...? I mean, we only met not too long ago."
"Just think of it as a favour I owe that I'm doing for your sister." Kiria patted my shoulder again and picked up her basket.
"Ok..." I nodded.
"Right, well, I'll see you tomorrow." Kiria began to walk away.
"Yeah..." I paused for a second. "Wait!"
"What's up?" She looked back over her shoulder.
"I have a favour to ask of you, too." I said.
"Geez, what am I, a genie?" Kiria sighed.
"You said if there was danger, I'd be the first one you'd try to save, right?"
"Well, yeah. That's what I meant, anyway." She turned to face me, confused. "Why?"
I could tell that she meant it, considering how hard she had tried to keep me safe before at Megan's request. "I want to change that." I said. "If there's trouble – don't protect me first."
"Listen, Toby, Megan said-"
"Protect Nelly instead." I stood my ground. "Please."
Kiria stared at me for a while, scanning my face. I kept my expression still.
"...In a life or death situation," She began. "You would rather I prioritise her safety than your own?"
"I meant what I said. I'm no hero. But you are. And... If she ever needs a hero... Promise you'll be there."
"But Megan told me to help you." She objected.
"It would help me." I argued. "Please. I just... I just don't know if I would be strong enough to keep her safe on my own." I looked her in the eyes. "Please..."
Kiria took a deep breath and stood there with her eyes closed for a moment before turning back towards the door.
"Good night. Get some rest. You and her both."
With that, Kiria left the room, the door slowly closing behind her.
I was left to watch it close. I let out a sigh, and the washing machine beeped. Time to switch over to the dryer.
*
In the middle of the night, a small storm passed overhead. A storm with no thunder and no lightning. No rumbling, no light. But a storm nonetheless. A concentrated mass of ugly black clouds in the dark. An omen of something terrible.
Late that night, the unconscious Poipole finally opened its eyes.
The room was locked. The windows too. There was no way in or out.
And yet, in the dead of night, the tiny Ultra Beast vanished.
There were no wormholes that took it away. Nobody came into the room.
The only thing that was certain was that it opened its eyes.
And had no time to scream.