#i tried to sign up to go into the crater but while my pokemon are cracked so is my spine so. rip. damn scoliosis LOL

[pokemonleagueofficial]

The Paldea Pokémon League would like to publicly reiterate: do NOT enter Area Zero, or the Great Paldean Crater, whichever you prefer. It is incredibly dangerous and unknown to us, and please do not believe any adults who try to lure you and your rambunctious teen friendgroup into exploring Paldea's most dangerous place! Please!

On that note. If anyone is a well-trained adult willing to go into Area Zero to recover, lets say, five teenagers and their two big, strange Cyclizar, please visit the Paldea Pokémon League north of Mesagoza. Thank you!

[shiny-jr]

Been playing the recent Pokemon game (i got violet because Ceruledge grabbed me by the throat), how is ur experience with the new game? Whaddya think of it??

- big hat anon, actively trying to avoid Nemona

Oh god, here we go. Very long reply of my personal thoughts. Remember, these are just my personal opinions and I tend to be a heavy critic. Also, spoilers ahead if you haven't finished the game.

Where do I even begin? First off, this gen's starters were kinda trash. Not as bad as last gen, this gen was actually cute in the beginning but the designs for their last stage evolutions are kinda horrid. I picked the duck, purely so I could name him Quatrina and teach him Hurricane. I originally wanted to go with Sprigatito, but then he stood up on two legs and I was out.

Secondly, my team changed a lot but three remained on there the entire time. Quatrina, a Charcadet I named Charla, and a Fidough I named Conchas. Charla and Conchas? Carried.

Thirdly, I did the order of the story routes kinda weird.

First I did the Team Star route just because I wanted to see the "villains." And let me say, I'm glad they're actually kinda good. Like, maybe they're not as great as Team Skull, but they aren't horrible like Team Yell. The leaders of Team Star are actually interesting, and I wish we saw more of them. In my opinion, I thought they were actually more difficult than the gym leaders. Anyways, they're fun. Penny is a decent character too. I predicted she was the main boss literally before I even raided the first base. Also Clive? He's such a caring headmaster? Love that?? And how he went out of his way to try and understand the troubled students.

Second I did the Victory Road route. I wanted to do that last but it got to the point where became overpowered while playing the Star route and I had no gym badges yet, so new high level pokemon I had would not listen. Which got annoying because my main three: Quatrina, Charla, and Conchas were all higher leveled but they still listened. Anyways, I wanted to like Nemona, and I tried, I really did, but she got on my nerves so bad. She is one of the worst rivals by far. All she cared about was battles. Battles this battles that. That's literally all she ever talks about, its her whole personality, and it got so annoying. Especially because after the Star route, since I was so overleveled and the gyms don't change their levels no matter where you are, I breezed through all eight gyms within a few hours. The Elite Four was too easy, and so was the Champion, and so was Nemona. Actually, the only one that gave me trouble was Mr. Hassel, the fourth Elite Four. He was stronger than the Champion and Nemona. But I still breezed through that too. Anyways, not a fan of Nemona.

And last, I did the titan route. Arven? He is the GOAT. I love him so much, and he had such an interesting story. At first I didn't like him, I kinda thought he was a jerk, but then you learn his backstory and I fell hard. A guy with fluffy hair, Mommy/Daddy issues, cooks for you, and will fight off titans to heal his childhood pet? Sign me the fuck up. He is borderline himbo and I am so here for it. He is my favorite rival in this game by far, and probably one of my favorites of the whole Pokemon series. 10/10. Anyways, the titans were easy too. I usually one shot them most of the time, lol.

Finally, the end story, which I completed literally less than an hour ago. My theory is the crater was made by the same blast thousands of years ago mentioned in X and Y. If you know, you know. Kalos DLC, maybe??? Please?? Okay, so I have Violet meaning I got Professor Turo. When he only showed up during the last route with Arven, I knew it was super suspicious. Like he was absent almost the entire game, and now he wants us to travel to the crater? Red flag. Literally once I entered the cater and heard that beautiful but sorta eerie music, I thought to myself, "watch him be the bad guy." And guess what? I was right, he ended up being the bad guy. Although the whole AI thing and him actually being dead was not what I expected, but it was super interesting when his AI decided to destroy the time machine by going to the future that Turo obsessed over. Still, Turo really was a shit dad for spending his days on a time machine he knew could cause more harm than good and kinda just pushing his son off to the side. Arven deserved so much better. Also, Penny and Arven had a lot of good banter during this but I feel like they tried to make Nemona the peace between the two but she was just more annoying, at least to me. The way I got mad when I would say no to something and she would insist, pretty much giving you no actual choice.

That's all I can think of right now.

[missusk]

Pecha Berries

A Pokemon Shield Nuzlocke Story.

Chapter 5 - Dusk

[Team Roster: Jackson (Raboot), Bella (Yamper), Lacey (Wooloo), Sap (Charjabug), Hudson (Mudbray), Posey (Eevee)]

“I’ve lived around Wooloo for years and I still can’t get a hang of this,” Dolly panted, shoving her body against the Wooloo. “Come on, why won’t you budge? The rest of your mates are already in the pen!”

Dolly looked to the pen corralling the nineteen other Wooloo. They were slowly meandering around the pen and...out of the pen. She would grow old and die here in this bloody Gym mission at this rate. Dolly let out an exasperated huff.

“If all your friends rolled off a cliff, would you do it?” the Wooloo responded glumly, chewing on the grass as the rest of the Wooloo meandered back around the simulated pasture. Dolly resisted the urge to strangle it.

“Why’d you listen to Hop, huh? What’d he do differently than I’m doing?”

The Wooloo gasped, inhaling the grass it was chewing on. Surprisingly it didn’t react - maybe that was another aspect of Pokémon physiology Dolly was never going to understand.

“You know THE Hop?!” the Wooloo asked incredulously, whipping around. Dolly flopped to the ground with a thwump.

The rest of the Wooloo all lifted their heads in unison with an excited gasp.

“HOP?!”

“You know Hop?!” another Wooloo asked.

“Hop’s the greatest!”

“I love Hop!”

“I’m IN LOVE with Hop!”

“WHERE IS HE?!”

The Wooloo all bleated happily from around the pasture. Dolly smacked her forehead. Of course. Of course. No wonder Hop said he breezed past this mission, while Dolly was doomed to sit there for the rest of her life. A lightbulb clicked above her head.

“What if I told you he’s at the end of this Gym mission?” she said, slowly drumming her fingers together.

After a beat, the Wooloo all erupted into a simultaneous, “YAAAAAY!”

“But you’ve all got to run into the pens and help me get to those stairs at the end!” she called, trying to make herself heard from above the bleating (and one yelling) Wooloo.

In an instant the Wooloo exploded through the pen. The counter counted twenty, and the next gate opened. Dolly jogged to keep up, assuming the Yampers and Trainers around would block the path of the Wooloo, but the herd annihilated every bush and shrub unlucky enough to be in the way. The Yampers tried to bark but to no avail, each one only jumping out of the way quickly enough to avoid the stampede of infatuated Wooloo.

A few League staff glared at her as she approached the final staircase as they tried to catch the Wooloo who were now freely rolling around the entire room, breaking through the hedges and wooden signs. Whoops.

She trotted up the steel staircase, offered the cameras a guilty wave as confetti poofed around her, and headed through the doors to the stadium.

She could feel the crowd’s cheers like vibrations in the air as suspense trickled into her blood. The first Gym and final Gym. She made her way through the tunnel toward the light of the stadium, her heart beating in her ears. The old determination began coursing in her veins, the desire for competition replacing any semblance of fear. The same light flickered on again, blazing into a roaring fire as she stepped onto the pitch.

Cheers roared from around her as audience members waved their banners into the air. She couldn’t resist beaming a smile at them and waving to the Rotom camera that flitted about the field. She met Milo in the middle, his smile matching hers.

“Since my Gym is the first, we get a lot of Challengers. I try to keep my mission challenging but that didn’t stop you from completing it! That was uh...quite the unorthodox strategy. I have never seen them behave like that…” he finished, scratching his chin.

“Guess I’m just...really good with Pokémon?” Dolly shrugged, guilty sweat prickling on her brow.

“I think I’ll be the judge of that,” Milo said with a grin. “Ready to go against your first ever Gym Leader?”

Dolly nodded curtly, determination burning in her eyes. She gripped Jackson’s Poké Ball and Leader and Challenger turned, taking their places on opposing sides of the pitch.

Dolly breathed in through her nose, out through her mouth as she tossed Jackson’s Poké Ball up and down. It popped into the air and fell in rhythm with her heartbeat, the sweat from her non-gloved hand slipping it up easily. She closed her eyes, felt the vibration of the crowd, leaned her arm back, and threw.

In an eruption of cheers and a flash of light, her Raboot appeared before them, darting back and forth on the pitch. Little spurts of fire exploded beneath his feet and the grin on his face was identical to his Trainer’s.

This is what she had been missing. This is what she was waiting for: the eruption from the spectators, the power oozing from Jackson, their bond electrified in a single current as he flawlessly executed her commands. He tore throughout the pitch, spitting balls of flame at Milo’s Gossifleur. It didn’t take long before the Pokémon was defeated.

Milo grinned from across the pitch, giving a silent nod of approval. He sent out his next Pokémon and an Eldegoss appeared before them.

“Come on then, it’s Dynamax time! You’re about to be uprooted!”

Milo called Eldegoss back to him and a sharp white light surrounded his wrist as his Poké Ball grew huge. He gave it a loving pat and hurled it into the space behind him.

Dolly’s jaw dropped as she watched his Pokémon grow to momentous proportions. What normally would have weighed barely six pounds now smashed to the ground, a crater forming beneath the weight of the behemoth Pokémon. The crowd roared, breaking out into a song-like chant as the Eldegoss cried into the air.

Dolly hardly had time to be afraid as the Pokémon loomed before her. Instead, an eruption of adrenaline burst within her chest and rushed through her veins. She could hardly contain it as she called Jackson back to his Poké Ball. A huge grin broke over her face, her Wishing Star bracelet shining as she hurled Jackson’s massive Poké Ball into the air behind her.

Her grin never wavered as she commanded her monumental Pokémon to blast a geyser of flames into their opponent. She needed no practice from the Wild Area’s glowing red dens, as commanding her Dynamaxed Pokémon came as second-nature as breathing, as natural as the sweat that flung off her forehead, dripped down her back, pooled behind her knees as she ordered him forward in a blaze of heat.

After one final blast, Milo’s Eldegoss called out again, as if in a melody to the chorus of spectators singing around them, and fell to the pitch below. Dolly’s heart pounded in tandem with the final verse of the audience’s song, her veins pulsing in unison as they cheered her name. Life burned in her as Jackson shrunk to his regular size, then rushed up to her side. They both jumped into the air as Milo returned Eldegoss to its Poké Ball.

Victory.

Milo gave her a smile and a nod from across the pitch as he made his way toward her again. They met in the middle, the cheers from the crowd still surrounding her like sparkling, glittering confetti. She wiped her brow and gave a grin as the Rotom camera flitted around her face.

“That must have been a fulfilling battle for you! You have quite the way with Pokémon,” Milo grinned, holding his hat to his chest. “Allow me to present you with your very own Grass Badge.”

As she took the tiny golden Badge the crowd cheered behind her, the sound swelled in her heart, in her body, as she looked around the stadium. The cheers from the crowd satiated her desire for that ‘something’ that she had so hungered for when sitting on her couch and watching Pokémon battles through a screen.

Perhaps one more Gym couldn’t hurt.

Dolly thought that yeah, perhaps just after Hulbury she could head back to Postwick. One more battle with a Gym Leader, one more chance to feel that blazing passion in her bones, then she would call it quits.

Milo guided her off the pitch, still complimenting her battle style. She paused for a second when she saw a child holding a fuzzy Wooloo toy in the stands. She would have to wrangle Hop in with them somehow, but she’d rather get an earful from her mate then risk being run over by those twenty infatuated Wooloo.

“Say, Milo,” she started, wringing her hands together. “I might have promised something to a, uh...large group. You wouldn’t mind letting me borrow...all of your Wooloo for a bit, would you?”

He gave her a quizzical look and nodded suspiciously as they finally left the stadium.

Milo saw her and Hop off to the next town after letting her borrow his Wooloo barrage. Hop kindly obliged her request, giving each infatuated Wooloo a pat and a kiss on the forehead. One of them passed out, but beside that, no other strange incidents transpired.

She and Hop made their way across the massive brick bridge leading to Hulbury, Hop locking his hands behind his head.

“That’s probably the strangest thing I’ve done in a while,” he said. “I feel like my lips are raw from all that Wooloo love I had to give out thanks to you,”

“Yeah, I owe you one. I didn’t want to get pummeled in my sleep by a stampede of Wooloo...you saw how they acted during my Gym mission,” Dolly laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of her head.

“Challenger Dolly owing future Champion Hop a favor, huh? That is a tempting offer,” he grinned. “Perhaps I can mull it over through a Pokémon battle? We’ve both got our Grass Badges now,”

Dolly grinned as well, pausing as he turned in front of her. He already had his Poké Ball out, tossing it up into the air.

“Something tells me you won’t take no for an answer,” she said, already reaching into her bag as well. “I know just the Pokémon for this,”

She tossed out Posey’s ball as Hop tossed out his Wooloo. Her Eevee hopped back and forth, a determined grin on her face as she locked eyes with the Wooloo. When she looked up to Hop tossing the Poké Ball, suddenly she began to cower. Her tail shot between her hind legs.

“Posey?” Dolly asked, watching the scene unfold as her Eevee slowly backed away from Wooloo and Hop.

Suddenly Posey shook her head and scuttled back to her Trainer. Dolly knelt as Posey jumped into her arms, shaking.

“I can’t, I can’t do it,” she whimpered into the fuzz on Dolly’s jacket. “I’m not strong enough, I’m not good at battling, I’ll just make you lose,”

“What are you talking about? I thought you liked battling?” Dolly asked, stroking the fur on Posey's head.

“Not against Trainers,” she whispered, quickly glancing back to Hop. “Just send out someone else…”

“Are you sure?” Dolly asked, motioning to Hop to pause. “You’ve been doing great so far, you have one of the highest levels on the team,”

“I’ve never battled a Trainer before... What if I lose? I’m scared, Dolly,”

“Well, I won’t make you battle, even though I know you can win.” she said, letting out a melancholy sigh. Then, she looked back and forth suspiciously, and leaned in to whisper into Posey’s ear. “And a Wingull told me that this Wooloo is only level two,”

“He is not,” Posey said as a smile inched onto her face.

Dolly shrugged. After a moment she pat Posey on the head again.

“I won’t make you battle, Posey, but something I’ve learned recently is that if you don’t sometimes do the things that terrify you, you won’t ever grow.”

Dolly stood again, reaching into her pocket for Posey’s Poké Ball. She held it out, raising an eyebrow. Her Eevee glanced from the ball, to her Trainer, to Hop across the way. A new light seemed to dawn in her eyes as her Trainer smiled at her. Posey took in a breath.

“Alright, I’ll try,”

Dolly grinned, clenching her fists.

“That’s all I ask, Posey, I know you can do it!”

Her Eevee turned, setting her paws sturdily into the brick and dirt beneath. A new fire seemed to swirl about her, and Dolly gave Hop a thumbs up to continue their battle.

Dolly couldn’t help but let out a laugh as Posey performed just as she knew she could - gracefully, powerfully, and before they knew it, Hop’s last Pokémon hit the ground.

“We both got ourselves the same Grass Badge, so how come you’re so much stronger?!” Hop huffed, scratching his head.

Dolly grinned as Posey ran back to her.

“I did it Dolly, I did it! I even leveled up, too!”

Dolly smiled and hugged her Eevee.

“I told you could! I’m so proud of you, Posey!” she smiled into her Eevee’s fur.

“And I can get even stronger, I know it! When can I evolve, Dolly? What should I be when I grow up? A Flareon? Umbreon? Vaporeon, maybe? We don’t have any Water-types, that would be so cool!”

Hop smiled too as he watched the two of them. He stepped over to the pair, and Posey let him pat her on the head as well.

“You’ve gotten strong, Dolls. Seems I’ve got to train even harder from now on,”

They fell into step again as they continued across the bridge to Hulbury.

“I’ve never seen you like this before,” Hop said from beside her.

She glanced up at him, and his brow was furrowed slightly. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at her.

“It’s like you have a whole new life in you.”

“Yeah, it...it feels good,” she said, more to herself than to her friend. She looked down to her hands, then to her Eevee who was gazing up at her with so much love. She could feel her heart swell.

“I’m glad you’re doing the Gym Challenge with me,” he said, brow still furrowed. “Even just seeing you talk to your Eevee like that before we battled...it’s starting to make sense why Lee wanted to endorse you too. It’s like that fire in you ignited the fire in Posey as well.”

“Oh, well, that was nothing...she just needed some encouragement is all…” Dolly said, her face flushing pink.

“Look at you, being all modest,” Hop laughed quietly.

He paused again as his eyes flit about her face. Her cheeks grew warmer as she kicked at the dirt. She tried to mumble out a retort, but the way he was looking at her was pretty distracting.

“What?” she grumbled, shoving her hands in her pockets. Why did he keep looking at her like that? Ever since Motostoke his gaze always seemed to linger just a second too long.

“Just thinking about how I’ll finally beat you after I get my Water Badge,” he said.

When Dolly raised an eyebrow at him, he finally broke into a grin. She rolled her eyes and waved goodbye to Hop as he rushed to Hulbury, desperate to take on Nessa before she did. She and Posey continued walking along the bridge, taking in the view of the Wild Area.

Wingulls flew about the bridge, coasting through the air the closer she walked to Hulbury. Even though it hadn’t been incredibly long since she began this trek, she was surprised at how easy battling came back to her. That, and even how easily communicating with her Pokémon had become. Sure, there were times that Jackson acted even more like a moody teenager since evolving, or Hudson would only shrug instead of answering a question, but thinking back to her battle alongside Posey really made her wonder. At the time it was just to encourage Posey to try, try, try again, but perhaps what she said impacted her more than she thought. It had been such a rush of commotion and emotion up until now, she never really took the time to fully think that yes, she was indeed terrified.

She was terrified of losing another Pokémon, another friend. She was terrified of broadcasting her introverted self across the nation. She was terrified the most, though, of having to return to boredom. She had been doing the things that terrified her, and she had already noticed growth within her. Those thoughts took a back seat as she finally emerged from the Hulbury tunnel, a soft gasp escaping her lips.

Dolly looked about the port town, a smile gracing her face as the salty air breezed over her. It had been a long time since she smelled the ocean, and this was a pleasant surprise. Fishers chatted and laughed as their fishing poles swung behind them, and joggers gave polite waves as they trekked through the port town. The gray cobblestone road tied the charming town together, weaving in front of bold-colored houses and connecting them, the downtown, and the market, all to the sparkling sea at the edge of town.

She continued down the main road, looking about for the next Gym and she caught the tail end of a conversation from three people standing in the road. She recognized one as Bede, especially when he shot that now-familiar glare at her. When she approached, the man in the group called out to her, and Bede said his farewell and sauntered off into Hulbury.

The two other people turned, one a tall, elegant blonde woman with icy blue eyes. Dolly had seen this woman before - she was a League staff member, one of the higher-ups, too. If Dolly remembered correctly, her name was Oleana. She had a glamorous name to go with gorgeous hair, face, and style.

The other was a tubby, middle-aged man who had a much warmer ambiance about him. As soon as he lifted his sunglasses and smiled, Dolly felt her heart quicken again as she was met with striking green eyes.

Oh boy.

Rose approached her again as he had in the Motostoke atrium, grasping her hand in his.

Ooh boy.

“Ah, Dolly, was it? So nice to see you again. We were just talking about you,”

Dolly’s eyes widened. Her? Why? Did she have something in her teeth when they last talked? Was he talking about how the guiding light of the Wishing Stars led them to each other? That their meeting was fated by the cosmos? Or did they watch those Wooloo obliterate Milo’s entire stadium thanks to her? Although she was undefeated thus far, that didn’t mean she had a ton of pocket change for stadium renovations.

He released her hand and placed his in the pockets of his blue polka-dot shorts. Even in casual summer wear he was enrapturing.

“I must admit I’m curious as to Leon’s reasons for endorsing you,” Rose said. Suddenly his eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands together. “Ah! I just had a brilliant idea, as I tend to do. You’re going to face Gym Leader Nessa soon, yes? If you get a Gym Badge from her, I’ll hold a celebration. I’d like to get to know you a little better, after all.”

It took every fiber of her being to not fall over from shock and ecstasy at his comment. And that warm smile. He wanted to get to know her? A dinner date with just the two of them? With him and those green eyes gazing at her so captivatingly? She might just die right here. She probably still had mud in her hair... He was truly a gentleman of the highest caliber. This Curse could take a backseat if all she needed to do was get one more Badge. One more, a fancy dinner with the one and only Mr. Rose, and then she’d go home. Or maybe he’d whisk her away to some fancy after party or something? Then she would go home.

Oleana whispered into the Chairman’s ear, breaking their trance, and Rose smiled at Dolly again.

“Please, do your best for the sake of Galar’s future,” he said, and turned into Hulbury. Dolly didn’t realize her mouth was hanging open until Oleana turned to her, the warmth of the air evaporating immediately.

“The chairman will be heading to this town’s seafood restaurant. Win the Gym Badge and meet him there at once. Do not keep him waiting.”

This lady didn’t have to tell her twice. Dolly walked as elegantly as she could past the windows of the seafood restaurant, then stumbled into a sprint. Dolly raced her way through Hulbury, to the Gym, to a lighthouse, through a conversation with Nessa, into the Gym, through the Gym, and exited with a Water Badge. She’d let her Yamper be the flower girl at her wedding as thanks for destroying Nessa’s Pokémon. The Gym Leader barely had time to congratulate her before Dolly was rushing back off the pitch.

At first Dolly was frustrated by Nessa’s Gym soaking her to the bone, but at least now she was squeaky clean. Couldn’t go on a date with the chairman while looking like a greasy Grimer. Would he offer her another charming smile? A bouquet of aptly named roses? Guide her by the hand and pull her chair out for her? Offer her a selection of fine wines? She wasn’t old enough to drink yet though, maybe he’d buy her a chocolate milk instead. Maybe this place had those cool swirly straws, too.

She pushed open the double doors to the restaurant, flipping her hair back and puffing out her chest - girls did that, right? She glanced around for Rose, finding him in his inconspicuous bright blue shorts. There were two women standing beside him and Dolly’s stance deflated. So, it wasn’t just the two of them? Well, maybe it was a double date or something. Or they both worked for him, maybe? That tall one was Oleana, and that other one...was that Sonia? As she approached, Rose offered her another charming smile.

“You’ve arrived Dolly, welcome. Let’s celebrate your recent victory, shall we?”

Sonia looked at her and grinned, eyebrows raised.

“Oh, were you invited too? It’s good to see you again, congratulations on blowing through that Gym like it was nothing!”

They all took their seats, Sonia nattering on about her Gym performance, then her and Rose started talking about Dynamaxing or her gran or something. Dolly wished she would buzz off, couldn’t she feel the chemistry between her and Rose? Ugh. So much for their romantic date. This place didn’t have swirly straws, either.

Before she knew it, Oleana had pulled Rose away from her yet again, so it was just her and Sonia at the table. Dolly plopped her head on her fist with a huff as she watched Rose walk away.

“Congrats on beating Nessa,” Sonia grinned. “You blew right through it! She and I are good friends, and she can get pretty competitive. I’m sure she wasn’t happy about how fast you beat her.”

Dolly tore her eyes away as the door closed behind Rose and Oleana. That guiding light of the Wishing Stars was not doing a very good job of keeping her and Rose together.

“What? Oh, yeah, I guess so.”

“You really are a top-notch Trainer, Dolly. I can see why Leon endorsed you too,” Sonia said. “With how successful you’ve been so far, maybe parts of the Curse no longer affect you.”

Dolly slurped at the rest of her chocolate milk. This place probably didn’t do refills...

“I dunno, but I’m probably not going to stick around to find out,” Dolly sighed. “I actually might be off to Postwick after this, I’m not sure I want to keep going with the Gym Challenge.”

Sonia’s mouth hung open.

“What are you talking about? You’ve been doing great! You beat Milo and Nessa with ease, you can’t stop now!”

Dolly shrugged. She was having a lot of fun with her Pokémon. Was it a worthy risk, though? She was already one Gym beyond what she said she’d do in the first place.

She and Sonia pushed out of the restaurant and into Hulbury as the sun started to set. Dolly grumbled when she looked over the startling pinks and oranges that reflected over the water - that would have literally been the perfect atmosphere for the end of her and Rose’s date and instead she was here with Sonia talking about her Nuzlocke Curse.

Dolly waved goodbye to Sonia and started through the town again. Sonia said that perhaps parts of her Curse weren’t affecting her anymore, but Dolly wasn’t so sure. Everything corresponded to the last time she was with Pokémon: She could still talk to Pokémon, only catch one per route, and she had nicknamed them all - but she would have done that anyway. There was that final aspect of this Curse, but that wasn’t one she wanted to test.

She took a breath. Perhaps she could stop by that little market, get a souvenir for her mum, then really head home. As she trekked down the path she ran into Hop, who was jogging through Hulbury.

“Hey mate! I saw your match with Nessa, I’ve never seen you so determined!” he grinned, falling into step with her. “You’ve got both the Grass and the Water Badge by now, right?”

She nodded.

“Just like me. In that case, we’re both headed for Motostoke and the Fire Gym Leader, Kabu! I hear he’s actually holed up in Galar Mine No. 2, undergoing some special training. Let’s head there and see what all the fuss is about!”

Something about the way he was grinning at her like that made it hard to spit out she was actually heading home. She couldn’t stand the thought of being the one to make his smile deflate, so she only sighed and followed along behind him. She did have to get back to Motostoke first anyway, so may as well fake it until they got there, then head on home.

She watched as the sun sank below the horizon. Only a little bit longer, then she wouldn’t have to worry about anything anymore - just sit comfortably in her house with her mum until...well. Until something else. She could figure out the rest of her life later.

Hop charged forward into the mine, stating he’d catch her back in Motostoke. She rolled her eyes - so much for finding Kabu together.

As Dolly stepped into the mine herself, she couldn’t help but smile. She had to admit, this mine was much more beautiful than the last. Blue, purple, and red stones glittered on the walls, cascading a purplish glow over everything, even the ponds in the mine. The dark purple sand sat like silk on the floor, glittering in the light of the gemstones. She meandered through, managed to catch a Noibat named Fay, and continued down the path - she was just so cute, one more couldn’t hurt, right? And she was a Dragon-type. They could fit eight Pokmeon in their living room if her mum moved some furniture around. A lot of the mine started to look the same, and Dolly could have sworn she had seen this pond before.

“Back at the beginning?” she huffed, shoulders slumping. She wondered if it would be faster just to go all the way around through Turffield again to get to Motostoke than maneuvering through this stupid mine. She heard footsteps behind her.

“You again.”

She turned and was face to face with a tall, white-haired trainer. She took a startled step backwards.

“I’d feel sorry for my Pokémon if I made them take part in a battle against low-level opponents. I’m not in the mood to deal with weaklings right now,”

Dolly looked around sarcastically.

“You’re not talking about me, right Bidet? Seeing as I absolutely annihilated you last time we saw each other?”

“It’s Bede, not- whatever.” Bede huffed and stepped so he was only a foot away from her, standing at his full height. “Then again, I suppose it’s a form of mercy to crush weak opponents early on. If you’re under the misguided impression that you’re stronger than me, then surely you would be up for a Pokémon battle.”

“What, do you have a fetish for losing against cute girls in mines?" she sneered, meeting his gaze. "Gross, but I can’t just stand there letting you spew lies like that.”

“Quite the mouth on this one. It’s utterly inconceivable that I, the Challenger chosen by the chairman, will lose!”

She was thrown into battle and immediately tossed out Posey. Although Sap may have been better for a type advantage, another burst of confidence for Posey would do her well.

Posey battled through almost all of Bede’s Pokémon, every once in a while looking back to Dolly for a nod of encouragement. Once Bede tossed out his final Pokémon, Dolly noticed Posey’s legs starting to shake again.

“Alright Posey, that’s enough, let’s send out someone else,” Dolly called, her brow furrowing. Although Posey was handling his Pokémon well, she didn’t want to push her too far for no reason. Sap could handle these Psychic-types well enough. Bede smirked, folding his arms.

“What, your pathetic Eevee can’t handle it, huh? She’s too scared? Too weak? Just like her Trainer?”

Posey quaked where she stood and let out a yelp.

“No!” she called. “Dolly’s not weak, and I’m not either! I’ve grown stronger because of her, and I’m not afraid anymore!”

Dolly’s eyebrows pulled together, standing there and watching her Eevee. She felt a surge of pride well within her for how much growth Posey had gone through in such a short amount of time.

“I’m tired of hiding, tired of running! If I don’t do the things that terrify me, I’ll never grow!” she said as she looked back to Dolly with a new determination in her eyes. “Because that’s what Dolly’s been doing, and I want to be brave, just like her.”

Dolly felt a knot of pride well in her throat. She nodded.

“Alright, Posey, fine. One last Pokémon, then we’ve beaten this idiot.”

After using a potion to get Posey up to full health, Bede tossed out his Ponyta.

“Posey, use Swift!”

Stars erupted from around Posey, filling the mine with light. They swirled around the room, then shot straight at the opposing Ponyta. A few ricocheted behind Bede, hitting the walls around them. Small shards of gemstones broke off, falling to the floor. The room sparkled in blues and greens and purples as they fell, like cold Wishing Stars falling to the earth.

“Ponyta, Confusion!”

Another flash of light erupted around the room. She could feel Posey getting weaker, but Posey was faster than this Ponyta. One good hit, and Bede would be finished in no time.

“Posey, use Swift one last time!”

The Ponyta moved first, and Dolly watched in horror as another flash of brilliant light erupted. Posey’s scream echoed throughout the mine.

Dolly felt her blood grow cold, her fingers numb.

Her fingers were numb. Her fingers, then her wrists. Her eyes went wide. She hadn’t felt this in a long time. She hadn’t felt her fingers like this since...

No.

The dust trickled through the arena, and the falling gemstones glittered as they clattered to the floor.

No.

They fell like a macabre sunset. The tingling turned to stabbing as it shot up her arms, her shoulders.

NO.

The sapphires fell like settling dusk.

Her mind shot back to that moment in the forest, with her first Pokémon gasping for breath.

“Dolly?” she had whispered, the light slowly draining from her eyes. “What’s happening to me?”

Her fingers went numb then, too. It felt the same. She was seven, she was seventeen. She was there in the forest, here in the mine.

“Dolly, why won’t you help me?” she had said.

The smoke settled, Posey’s silhouette in the dirt of the mine floor.

“I’m trying, I’m trying!” Dolly had cried, gripping her close to her chest. “I can’t,” she had cried. Her Pokémon smiled.

“I still love you,” she had said.

“Critical hit.” Bede smirked.

Posey’s fur still waved in the wind from the outside of the mine, the dirt and remnants of shattered gemstones from the walls still trickling down, grazing over the floor and the cave pond. The flower that always lay tucked behind her ear was crushed under the hoof of Ponyta.

She flashed back again to the forest. Raindrops had started to speckle. Her Pokémon’s small body had tensed, then gone limp, still with the trace of a soft smile.

“Faline?” she had whispered as her friend’s eyes closed.

“Posey?” she said now, voice barely audible.

No movement.

“Posey?” she asked, louder.

Her Eevee lay there, motionless.

“Posey, get up!” she called again, her hands and arms were trembling as the stabbing grew stronger. “Use Swift, Tackle, anything!”

Her voice echoed throughout the silent caves as the stings crawled into her chest like a thousand spiders, tearing at her heart. Only the echo of her own voice called back to her. Even Bede’s face twitched.

“What’s wrong with you, just use a revive!”

Dolly ran from her spot, disregarding every rule of battle etiquette. She collapsed to the ground, and tenderly reached out for Posey. She willed herself to touch her, to hold Posey in her arms.

She flashed to the forest, holding her first Pokémon. Her mind flashed to how she held her as the rain pricked her skin.

She flashed to the present, gripping Posey to her chest. The specks of dust and dirt pricked at her eyes, her skin.

Bede was whispering now too.

“Is she... dead?”

Dolly’s eyes widened at the reality of the word as she stared up at Bede.

She couldn’t even open her mouth to lie. She couldn’t open her mouth to lie that no, she was only fainted, or no, she was only sleeping. She couldn’t even open her mouth to lie that she didn’t feel the stabbing in her veins, the stabbing in her heart, even as much as she wanted to. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t even open her mouth to lie and say the Eevee that lay in her arms was alive.

Because she wasn’t.

He froze too, then shook his head.

“You’re a cruel Trainer,” Bede whispered, face laced with horror. “You’re disgusting. I was right, your last win was a fluke. I’m not battling something as pathetic as you.”

He returned Ponyta to its Poké Ball and turned, leaving Dolly there on the ground. The only sounds in the cave were his footsteps, and the small taps where her tears hit the ground.

The rest happened in a blur.

She ran to the Pokémon Center only to have the nurse confirm what she already knew. She would have done anything not to have everyone in the building staring at her with shock, confusion, pity. All of them were silent and staring as she stood there frozen, hearing the words she knew, but dreaded all the same.

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do.”

With a ghostly nod, eyes hollow, Dolly left and returned to Route 4. She completed her errand and walked away, leaving Posey and the haphazard tombstone beneath the tree by the river. ———————————————————————————————————–Previous Chapter | Next Chapter Full Chapter Index