In the end, Erika stuck around in the Glass Helix for another few hours. She couldn't resist the urge to spend, and bought even more vitamins and supplements for her pokemon. Snivy was uncooperative, sure, and he was a little bastard, but Erika needed him to be in top form for when he inevitably decided to fight for her. Erika was confident she would be able to break Snivy in, and she didn't want him to be behind on his training when that finally happened.

It wasn't like he could read her mind - the most he could do was sense her emotions, and use that to judge intent. Erika was fully honest about wanting to work with him. Snivy was just unwilling to do so because of her perceived character.

By the time she was done shopping, Erika needed to stuff everything into her new backpack to carry it. Her backpack was practically straining at the edges as all the goodies she had bought tried to burst free. Erika tightened the strap on the backpack to secure her items to ensure nothing fell out.

The itemized list of her new purchases included the anti-bounce backpack, a Model RX-78-2 (Rex) Tent, slow-release vitamins, combat stimulants, chansey healing extract, antidotes, pokeballs, a flint stick, a self purifying canteen, compressed protein bars, a rebreather, various low-grade technical machines, and a miniaturized Silph Scope A2 to detect concealed entities.

Her last purchase was a lucky find. Erika hadn't intended to stick around much longer after eating until full at the Glass Rapidash, but in the end she went back to find Drexel. When Erika asked him if there was truly nothing else she could buy, Drexel informed her that while most of the higher end personal gear could only be bought from the upper floors, it was possible to pay a premium to acquire a Silph Scope.

Erika was puzzled why he didn't tell her initially, until she saw the outrageous price listed. The Silph Scope cost her over 500,000 pokedollars. It was the best model available on the first three trainer floors of the Glass Helix, and Drexel kindly informed her that it could even penetrate the veil of a one-star ghost, so long as Erika maintained her presence of mind.

By the time Erika was finally done shopping, it was evening, and the sun was beginning to set. As the horizons lowered, beautiful red rays spilled from the sky and doused the helix in light. She watched in fascination as the entire glass tower lit up and shimmered with resplendent red, refracting the light in each and every direction. Soft oranges and pinks mixed in as the sun continued to sink, weaving a beautiful celestial tapestry in front of her eyes; she was almost unwilling to part with the tower.

Erika ordered a transport service from the Glass Helix for safety, unwilling to carry her stuff out on the street for fear of being ambushed. She might be great, but Erika knew that the current her wouldn't survive a bullet to the head. Perhaps that might change in the future, but it wasn't particularly relevant at the moment.

For young trainers like herself who didn't have the protection of externalized aura, a gram of prevention was worth a kilogram of cure. For now, it was better not to risk the chance of an ambush. Her current attire practically invited attack from urchins and petty thieves, and Erika knew this extremely well because she too had once been such a petty thief. They loved to target naive rich kids, and she looked exactly the part.

The hotel the transport service pulled into was no less fancy than the Glass Helix. Drexel himself had recommended the Grand Verdant to Erika, citing impeccable service, and that it would be 'suited' for someone like her.

The secure taxi escort she ordered from the Glass Helix stopped in front of an opulent marble building covered with golden accents, and as Erika stepped out, she couldn't help but goggle at the excessive display of wealth. Giant white pillars held up the overarching entrance of the roof, with each pillar being lovingly engraved with intricate golden designs and patterns of various grass type pokemon like Bellossom, Vileplume, Victreebel, and more.

The inside was even more ridiculous. Erika could see flowers of every shape and kind decorating the interior, with each species carefully chosen to accentuate the best aspects of the hotel. Marigolds and sunflowers were most prominent, being scattered around the room to highlight the white and gold coloration of the hotel's marble, while tulips were planted in flower beds for hotel patrons to pick as they walked around. Beautiful paper lamps with floral designs were artfully placed next to plush chairs and mahogany furniture topped with grafted bonsai.

However, the most astonishing thing to Erika was the ceiling. Is that… Wisteria?

Much to Erika's shock, the ceiling was covered in glowing wisteria. The trailing flowers were colored a soft pink, adding a dab of lightness to the otherwise harsh whites and golds of the hotel, which she felt really improved the nature aesthetic. The ceiling also featured a spiraling mural depicting various grass type pokemon, which was intermittently broken up by patches of carefully cultivated wisteria, and a brilliant sun in the center.

Erika also saw names engraved onto the ceiling, and she squinted to try to read them from the ground; the most prominent of which was the name "Belding", followed by other names of what she assumed were conservative families.

This is breathtaking, Erika thought. She was so fixated by the beauty of the hotel's interior that she didn't even continue walking in, holding up the entrance for a few other people hoping to enter. The other patrons shot her a glance as they excused themselves and pushed past, and Erika whispered a soft "apologies," as they walked by.

When she finally entered the hotel, her skin began tingling, and she shivered, despite the May heat. What's going on?

It took her a few seconds to figure it out. That's a fucking artificial sun! And the light - it's so intense!

The mural on the ceiling which featured a sun in the center was not just an artistic piece, as it turned out. Somehow, the hotel had managed to capture sunlight and project it down through the sun mural. She knew the sunlight was real, because the light that shone down triggered a response in her grass aura, meaning it had to be genuine ultraviolet light.

Erika closed her eyes briefly to soak in the warming light, feeling her fatigue be cleansed and wash away. This hotel is practically made for grass type trainers! Even just standing here is making me feel better.

"May I take your bag, young lady?" Erika heard a voice in front of her say. It came from an immaculately dressed bellboy who wore a crimson-fitted waist length jacket and band collar, which was double-breasted and trimmed with golden thread. The cuffs of his jacket featured rows of brass buttons, and he wore a smart looking cap. He dipped into a deep bow toward her, leaning forward and jutting his chest out.

Despite the professionalism of the bellboy's tone and his outfit, Erika still clutched her backpack closer to her anyways. "Sorry." she said apologetically. "I'd prefer to carry my own stuff. Thank you for the offer though."

I'm too paranoid for my own good, Erika thought. There's no way a hotel like this would hire untrustworthy staff. Despite knowing this, she was still unable to shake her instincts, which had been honed through years of brutal street life. Erika would rather play it safe rather than be sorry, and unless she knew for certain that her stuff would be safe, she would never entrust it to anyone.

While waiting for the counter to call her over, Erika sunk into a plush white sofa and leaned back, gazing up at the ceiling. This hotel is seriously nice, she thought happily. Not only were the decorations chic, but the welcome she had been given was also good, thanks to her kimono garb. She hadn't noticed it on first inspection, but there was a subtle logo woven into the fabric of her kimono which read 'Ferragatr'.

Ferragatr was a designer brand most well known for their leather shoes, but they also apparently did textiles, as Erika was discovering right now. Erika had mugged many a rich kid wearing Ferragatr shoes, but seeing clothes made by them was a first. Nevertheless, wearing what was presumably a designer kimono helped add a little extra oomph to her image as a young miss from a big family, and the treatment she was afforded increased correspondingly.

The concierge and waitstaff bowed slightly less toward Erika compared to the bellboy, but their expressions were still friendly and approving. Although the difference in treatment was minute, Erika knew that the depth of a bow was something significant. A slight nod was to be given to indicate respect, while a deeper bow was something given to elders and social superiors. Some people might have missed this fact, but Erika's eyes were razor sharp, and she caught the difference immediately.

It filled her with a sense of indescribable happiness, and she was just about to continue leaning further into the sofa when she was interrupted by a harsh female voice.

"How ungainly," Erika heard the voice say. "Have your parents taught you nothing of etiquette? You should never lie down like that in public."

Erika popped an eyelid open and lazily looked at the girl in front of her. She looked a little older than Erika, but not by much. The girl wore a frilled dress and had blond hair curled into ringlets, with rich purple eyes colored the same as the wisteria which hung from the ceiling. Erika glared at the girl, trying to project as much disdain into her gaze as possible. Before she could speak, however, she flinched in surprise as a voice rattled through her mind.

A wise voice whispers to you… Erika! Don't be a dumbass. Be polite.

Erika whipped her head around trying to look for the origin of the voice, before identifying it as Fulton. Did that bastard put a fucking psychic suggestion into my mind?

"I wasn't aware that lying down was a crime," Erika told the girl politely, deciding to listen to Fulton's voice.

The girl crossed her arms, tilting her head and letting her ringlets fall to the wayside. "I think you'll find that the Grand Verdant demands a certain level of manner from its guests. So long as you patronize these halls, you must obey the rules of my family."

"Your family?" Erika asked apprehensively. Ah, shit.

"Yes," the girl replied. "I am Millicent Belding, of the Celadon Beldings, heiress to the Great and Noble House of Belding. We own the Grand Verdant, the hotel which you are currently standing within. I'd like to ask you to comport yourself properly, as befits a patron of the Grand Verdant."

Erika thought about backtalking Milly and giving her a sarcastic jab, but Fulton's voice rang through her mind once more and she begrudgingly decided to comply with Millicent's request.

Erika clasped a fist and palm together and dipped her head ever so slightly with gritted teeth, uttering as polite an apology as she could manage. "Sorry for being unaware. I didn't have any parents to teach me manners growing up, since I was an orphan until my uncle took me in. I will make sure to conduct myself properly from now on."

"Do you speak truly?" Millicent looked extremely surprised at Erika's words. "If so, then I have been remiss. I apologize."

Millicent imitated Erika's earlier action and clasped her hands together, dipping her head slightly towards Erika in apology. That was a pretty fast turnaround, Erika thought. Maybe Fulton is right. I should be less abrasive.

"There isn't any need for you to apologize," Erika said, waiving Millicent off. "I was out of line just now. Can we start again?"

"Of course we can!" Millicent replied. "I am Millicent Belding of Celadon, heiress to the Great and Noble Family of Belding. What say you?"

Erika thought about her response briefly before speaking up. "Erika Caldwell, heiress of none, and a genius of pokemon battle. Well met, Millicent."

"Let's be friends," Millicent said, extending a hand to shake with Erika. "You may call me Milly, like all my friends do."

We're friends already?

Noticing her confusion, Milly gestured for Erika to sit down. "Your grass affinity is truly marvelous. The elemental density of grass in this hotel is already extremely high, but your presence still shines like a candle in the dark. I sensed a powerful aura of grass while having tea with friends, and decided to come investigate out of curiosity."

"That is most definitely me," Erika said, smiling at her in gratification. "I even bonded a snivy as my starter!"

Milly looked quite caught off guard at that statement, and she reevaluated Erika with a more appraising eye. She swept her eyes across Erika's attached pokeballs and focused in on the great ball holding her snivy. "I see! That is simply wonderful. Would you care to join me and friends for tea?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose," Erika said politely. "I'm sure you and your friends wouldn't want an outsider to join in on your private gathering."

Inwardly, Erika was cheering. Already making connections.

Milly smiled good-naturedly and placed her hand onto Erika's own, tugging her along. "Please don't worry. You aren't imposing at all! In fact, I insist that you join our gathering. I recently acquired a rare blend of jade dew, and it would be terrible of me not to share it with you. After all, we are friends, are we not?"

"Of course," Erika replied. "I would be thrilled to join you for tea. I must ask though, does my background as an orphan not disqualify me of your friendship? I have heard that the old families frown upon people with less than stellar backgrounds."

"Oh, that isn't a concern at all," Milly told her, waiving away Erika's question. "I admire and respect talent, and you are definitely one of the most promising trainers I have ever seen. Regardless, I should still ask: who is your uncle? What does he work as?"

Erika pulled out her Indigo Platinum card for Milly to look at and handed it over. Milly turned the card over and examined the casing, expertly checking it for the proper markers which indicated legitimacy. "Fulton Caldwell," she read out. "Three Star Ace; League Ranger. Fairly respectable. That makes you one of us, does not it?"

"One of us?" Erika asked her quizzically.

"A conservative," Milly replied. "Practically every affiliated ranger in Celadon is a conservative, simply by way of their job. So, what brings you to the Grand Verdant?"

"I'm waiting for my uncle to get me a passport and trainer license," Erika said honestly, mustering as much sincerity into her tone as possible to draw out Milly's sympathy. "I lived on the streets up until a few days ago, so I don't have any papers – but don't tell anyone I told you this!" Erika quickly said. "It may be public record after my uncle registers me, but I still don't like telling the story."

Milly looked horrified at the mention that Erika had once lived on the streets.

"That is outrageous!" Milly declared. "It must have been dreadful. I am glad that you have maintained your dignity and pride, if not your manners from your stay on the streets. This simply won't do.."

Milly grabbed Erika's hand gently and started dragging her away. "Come, follow me. I'll introduce you to my friends. You can consider this your formal introduction into polite society." Checkmate. Now I have an in with the Beldings, Erika thought gleefully.

Before following Milly, Erika made sure to sling her backpack across her back, even though the material of the backpack felt uncomfortable on her smooth kimono. Milly noticed what she was doing and promptly stopped her in her tracks.

"You can give your stuff to the waitstaff," Milly assured Erika. "My family owns this hotel. All the waitstaff of the Grand Verdant have been thoroughly vetted for loyalty, and I grew up alongside most of them. Their loyalty and trustworthiness are without doubt."

Upon hearing that, Erika didn't bother trying to carry her stuff anymore. If Milly's family truly owned the hotel, they could probably buy the contents of the backpack a hundred thousand times over. The items she had bought were expensive, but that was only from the perspective of the average person. To someone like Milly, she could probably buy out entire shops on a whim from the lower levels of the Helix if she wanted.

Milly called over one of the waitstaff and had him take away Erika's backpack, and the two continued walking toward wherever Milly's friends were, and Erika found herself before a private room barred by a door. Two waitstaff stood before it protectively, and only relaxed upon seeing Milly. They moved to open the door, swinging it open with a mighty displacement of air.

Erika followed Milly into the room and noticed a circular table covered in white tablecloth. She saw a well-dressed butler pouring tea for the other people sitting at the table, who sat upright, prim, and proper. There was barely a hint of a slouch in their posture despite the presumably private nature of the gathering, and Erika found herself unconsciously straightening her own back despite it already being perfectly straight. The sole exception to this was a dark haired boy who slouched in his seat, and immediately righted himself upon noticing Milly.

"Keta!" Milly snapped. "Can't you sit properly for once? It's not good for your back, you know."

Erika took a seat next to Milly at the table, waiting patiently for the butler to come round and pour tea into her cup. Erika observed the fracture lines on the porcelain of her teacup, studying how gold was mended into the cracks and formed golden spiderweb veins. This looks… weird. And interesting. There's no way a family like the Beldings will keep damaged cups, so why the fractures?

"That's called Kintsugi, by the way," Milly told Erika casually, answering the question she knew Erika was sure to have. "It's a new cup design which has been all the rage recently. The Muramachi family came up with the design. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of it, but some of my friends like it. Erika, I'd like you to meet Keta, Aisling, and Ender. Say hello, everyone!"

"Hello!" Everyone took turns greeting Erika, who responded in turn. The dark haired boy who slouched was Keta - he had a sharp crew cut and flinty black eyes, and wore a brown vest on top of relatively casual clothes. Aisling was similarly dark-haired like Keta, but the similarities ended there. She wore a festive yukata adorned with orange and black spots similar to the prized koi that Erika used to see swimming around in the Plaza Market's ponds, which matched well with her off-green eyes. Ender wore a simple tee and slacks, with only his brown hair breaking up the monotony of his otherwise drab clothing.

Erika shook hands across the table with them all, before righting herself in her seat once more. She was going to break the silence by asking a question, but Keta beat her to it first, training his dark eyes upon her with a little disdain. "So, Milly, who is this girl anyways? What family does she come from?"

"Erika here isn't from any of the great houses," Milly told Keta politely. "She's the niece to a local ranger in Celadon, but I think she has great potential. Play nice, Keta."

"Fine, fine," Keta muttered, leaning back into his chair. Milly gave him a sharp look of disappointment and he shot back up into proper seating posture, groaning as he did so. "Why did you even bring this girl here Milly?"

"Well," Milly said diplomatically, "this is Erika's first introduction to polite society, and I thought it would be nice to introduce her to my friends. What about you guys? Aisling? Ender?"

The brown-haired boy to the right smirked. "I think she's interesting," Ender drawled, smirking at Milly. "You don't typically bring other people into our gatherings, so Erika here has to be very special to catch your eye. I'll trust your judgement on this one."

"Aisling?" Milly asked.

"…how good is she at pokemon battling?" Aisling asked finally. "I'm always excited to battle someone new."

"She claims to be good," Milly told her. "Actually, why don't we have a battle right now? Erika, call your pokemon out. This room has a built-in arena." She turned to her butler. "Hector, can you bring up a containment barrier?"

Battle? Now that is something I can do.

"I challenge Erika to a fight," Aisling said abruptly, as if she had made up her mind.

"Sure, that works! I'll referee the match then," Milly declared. She blinked briefly before looking around the room, and turned back to Erika and her friends.

"The elemental density of this room is relatively neutral, unlike the rest of the hotel. This room was built using elementally inert material, with the exception of the steel in the rebar," Milly told Erika. "I can see that neither you nor Aisling are attuned to Steel, so there shouldn't be any unfair advantages."

"You can see?" Erika asked her curiously, noticing her strange choice of wording. "I didn't know that it was possible to see aura, only sense it."

Milly looked at her in confusion. "Of course it's possible! This is a common trick all inherited stage trainers teach to their relatives and children. Has your uncle not taught you this yet?"

Oh shit, Erika realized suddenly. I forgot the ranger corps booklet on aura at Fulton's house. I need to go grab that next time I see Fulton, and properly go through it. I didn't have time to read and only skimmed the first few pages.

"He hasn't yet," Erika told Milly. "Can you explain to me what my aura looks like?" I know my aura is green, and I can sense that it's green, but I can't see it.

"It's hard to explain if you haven't seen it yet," Milly said, deep in thought. "Let's call off the fight for now. You don't mind, right Aisling? Erika?"

Both shook their heads no. Milly returned to the table and beckoned them to sit back down. "I can't let you fight Aisling in good faith when you can't even see aura. Has your uncle seriously not mentioned this at all?"

"Never," Erika replied. "He may have been busy the past few days. I've only been reunited with him recently. I think he was probably meaning to get around to teaching me after he got some free time."

"I'll teach you it then," Milly said. "I would be honored to help you unlock your second sight."

At these words, she flared her aura, carefully restraining it just enough that it spread out to blanket the room, but still pressed down on Erika. "You should flare your own aura too. Let it interact with mine."

Erika followed and flared her aura, letting it spread outwards. When it met Milly's aura, Erika felt gentle warmth and a sense of great age, almost as if she were standing before an old oak tree. "Is that your aura?"

"It is," Milly confirmed. "I'm a grass specialist from Celadon, just like you. But ignore that for now. Close your eyes and sense what my aura feels like."

Erika shut her eyes and focused. Milly's aura was… calm. Although Erika could not yet see aura, she could still sense it, and she instinctively understood that it was green. How she knew this, she couldn't say. Erika felt the rustling of leaves, the grainy coarseness of wooden bark, the fine sensation of a plant's new roots, and observed how placid Milly's aura was in comparison to her own. Milly's aura never seemed to fluctuate or move, while Erika's own aura was rampant and chaotic, much like the shaking of trees within a storm.

"Prepare yourself for a little pain," Milly said casually, as she placed her palms on Erika's eyes.

Erika felt Milly discharging tendrils of her aura right into her eyes and she winced in pain. Although their auras were still immaterial, the sensation was profoundly uncomfortable, just like when Fulton imbued his ice into her. The sensation of Milly pushing aura into her was like feeling roots dig into her eyes, scraping out the iris and embedding itself into her brain.

When Milly released her hands from Erika's temples, Erika stumbled backward slightly and shook her head. She slowly opened her eyes and observed the differences.

Everything was… off. In some parts of the room, it was as if the color had been bleached out, while in other parts the colors were sharper and more distinct. Erika paused and looked at Keta, noticing a corona of crackling electricity around him that obscured his body and face. He gave her a thumbs up and withdrew his aura, letting the golden hue around him fade into colorless gray.

"This is incredible Milly! What was that?" Erika asked.

"I stimulated your eyes with my aura after getting you to sense it closely," Milly told her. "That usually forces the target to start seeing aura."

"How clear is your sight?" Keta interjected. "You should be able to see some faint color differences, right?"

"Everything is gray," Erika said in amazement. "You were blazing golden just now, and Milly and Aisling are covered in green. Ender looks like he's covered in brown crystal. Thank you so much, Milly!"

Keta's eyes widened in alarm. "Are you serious? Your second sight must be pretty powerful then. Describe it to me again. Was it just faint gold? What did I look like?"

"Gold," Erika repeated. "I couldn't even see your face. You were just covered in crackling lightning and golden color." Is that a good thing?

Keta turned to look at Milly and the others. Even Aisling looked interested now. "You've picked up quite the prodigy, Milly. Say, Erika, have you heard of the Rising Stars Gauntlet?"

"Of course," Erika replied. "I was going to join it and win. Also, how do I shut off my second sight?"

"Focus on your eyes," Milly told her. "You can shut off your second sight by withdrawing your aura. Imagine your aura leaking and draining out of your eyes, and returning to your chest."

Erika listened to Milly and tried to imagine it leaving her eyes. She felt immediate relief when color surged back in, restoring the room to its original look. Erika blinked a few times to get the spots out of her eyes before turning back to Keta.

"Why are you asking about Rising Stars anyways?" Erika questioned Keta.

"Naturally, I'm going to join it," Keta replied to Erika's surprise. "How could I not? This is far too interesting to miss out on. I hope to fight you there, Erika."

"I can't join," Aisling said glumly. "I got my first badge already from a different city."

"Same here," Ender chimed in. "What about you, Milly?"

"I'm preparing for my first badge challenge against the bug gym," Milly said. "I can't waste my time on the Rising Stars Gauntlet. I need to be in peak form for the match in June."

Everyone turned to Milly in surprise except for Erika.

"Are you serious Milly?" Aisling asked. "You're gonna get crushed. I'm great at battle, and even I had to travel to a different city for my first badge challenge. The bug leader hates grass specialists. Do you really want to start your circuit off with a loss?"
Milly was quiet for a second before she exhaled and let out a sigh. "My family demanded that I challenge the bug gym here first. We'll be seen as cowards and traitors to the conservatives if we don't at least make the attempt at the bug gym for the first badge. It'll look like we're scared of the progressive bug."

"That's ridiculous!" Aisling burst out. "No grasser has been able to get their first badge in Celadon for over two decades! It's practically an open secret by now that the challenge is rigged against us. No one is going to care if you travel to a different city for your first badge!"
While the others argued, Erika was uncharacteristically silent. No grass specialist has ever gotten their first badge from Celadon's bug gym? And it's been over two decades since the last victor? That sounds like a challenge to me.

Erika started grinning. I think I know how I'm going to make my name now. And – I know how I'm going to get in the good graces of the Belding family as well.

"I've got a better idea," Erika spoke up suddenly, drawing the attention of the others. "Milly, why don't you delay your match a bit? I'm willing to fight the gym leader first."

"What good is that going to do?" Milly asked forlornly. "Even if you win – which you won't, it's not going to change anything for me. No. I have to face this challenge with honor. Win or lose, I can't bring shame to my family."

"If I fight him first, you'll be able to study the replays of my fight against him," Erika told her.

"And how is that supposed to help?" Milly asked quizzically. "Thousands of grass specialists attempt the first badge challenge against the bug gym every year, and each year, they all go home crushed. The gym is built to maximize the advantages of bug users, and it's indoors, so we can't even use the sunlight to our advantage. The gym leader brings out his toughest first badge challenge team for grass challengers too. I can go and watch the replays for any of those fights. What makes your fight so different?"

"It's different because I'm going to win," Erika declared.

Aisling snorted and nearly choked on her cup of tea. "You? Win? Even I didn't have the confidence to do my first badge challenge in Celadon. What gives you the confidence to try? What makes you think you're going to win when everyone else couldn't?"

Even Milly and Ender seemed to agree. Only Keta looked otherwise. He stared at Erika as if seeing right through her, before turning away as if in thought.

"Fight me," Erika said suddenly. "Aisling, we'll each send out one pokemon. I'll prove it to you right now. Since I've gotten my second sight, it shouldn't be an unfair fight anymore."

"Sure," Aisling answered, disbelievingly. "Don't blame me when I crush you though, since I've already gotten my first badge. Milly, you can referee right?"

"Of course!" Milly replied.

The others made space for Erika and Aisling. "Hector!" Milly called out. "Set up the arena and barrier!" Her butler released an exeggutor and it raised a circular psychic wall enclosing an area. The ground of the room began to rumble, and a thin layer of the floor slid away to reveal a small arena. That's barely 10 meters across, Erika noted.

Milly stepped forward. "Both of you, release one pokemon each! No substitutions, and fight until surrender or unconsciousness! Begin!"

Erika picked up Gwen's pokeball and aimed it into the arena, releasing her oddish with a flash of red. Aisling opted for a sportier look and threw her pokeball into the air, letting her pokemon be beamed down and materialize in the arena to reveal a skiploom.

"Be warned," Aisling said confidently, "I fought through all the preliminary matches at the bug gym with Troy. Although I didn't challenge the gym leader in the end, my Skiploom still was able to outfight all the first badge gym trainers. Don't say I didn't warn you!"

At her declaration, Skiploom burst into motion and flew straight towards Gwen, body outstretched and ready to strike.

"Double growth!" Erika shouted ruthlessly to Gwen. "Then razor leaf!"

Aisling's eyes widened. "Dodge, Troy! Get out of the way right now!"

Despite her warning, it was too late. Skiploom tried to avert his flight back, but he had already committed to the attack, and there was too much momentum riding on his body to feasibly slow down or turn in time. The best he was able to manage was slightly shifting his body to the right, but even that wasn't enough.

Aisling could only watch in horror as Gwen ballooned up in size nearly two times, expanding her spherical frame until she was almost as tall as Erika. When she swung her head to unleash a razor leaf, what flew out was not a leaf, but rather a whirling blade of death the size of a car tire that sheared through and nearly severed Skiploom's wings, despite the elemental resistance his flying type afforded him.

"No!" Aisling screamed. "Stop the match! Lower the barrier!"

Hector had his exeggutor drop the barrier as Aisling ran through to her downed pokemon, and she rummaged through her pocket before pulling out a full restore. Erika watched as she pressed Skiploom's limp wings together before dousing the severed point with full restore spray, and she injected a vial of what Erika assumed was chansey extract. After Skiploom's condition stabilized, Aisling returned her to her ball and glared at Erika.

"How could you do that?" Aisling said to Erika reproachfully. "That was brutal!"

"Shouldn't you be prepared for the possibility of your pokemon being injured or dying?" Erika asked her in confusion. "This is a pokemon battle."

"I'm not referring to my Skiploom!" Aisling shouted at her. "Look at your own pokemon!"

Gwen looked destroyed. After the boost from her growth ended, Gwen shriveled down to her original size. However, her body was marred by terrible bruises and stretch marks, and parts of her skin wrinkled up and began browning. Through the bond they shared, Erika could feel a portion of the horrifc pain which Gwen felt, which developed within her a greater sense of respect for the oddish.

However, despite her injuries, Gwen stood tall and proud. She barely even wavered, despite the brutal backlash she had just suffered. Gwen slowly hobbled over to Erika's side and leapt up into her arms, and Erika gave her a pat on the head. Just to be safe, Erika pulled out a vial of chansey extract and jabbed it into Gwen's side, letting her absorb the healing liquid.

Aisling and the others only watched in amazement.

"How is your pokemon still okay?" She asked Erika intently. "That shouldn't be possible! She should be writhing on the ground in pain right now!"

"It is possible," Erika replied easily. "You should already know that the bond is a two-way street. Just as a trainer gains aura and added affinity from his pokemon, so too does the pokemon gain from the trainer. My grass affinity is great enough to stimulate a piece of paper into growing back into a flowering tree within hours! How big of a gain do you think my oddish has gotten? Furthermore, Gwen isn't even my strongest pokemon! Watch!"

Erika grabbed her great ball and released Snivy for her new friends to see. Erika hadn't been able to see it previously, and she suspected those grunts she killed weren't either, but now that she had gained second sight, it was possible to see Snivy's aura with her eyes. Grass energy practically overflowed from him, almost as if he were the center of a blazing emerald corona. His aura flooded the room and draped it in thick green, smothering the other colors and forcing them to assimilate into his presence.

As quickly as he did appear, and before he could react, Erika recalled Snivy back into her pokeball. "Do you believe me now? I was able to bond my oddish within minutes of this snivy. How high do you think my grass affinity is?"

"I'm going to level with you Aisling," Erika said. "I've only been a pokemon trainer for two days. I bonded with both my pokemon just the day before." Strictly speaking, that isn't exactly true, since I trained Gwen for months before actually bonding with her, but they don't need to know that, Erika thought.

Aisling looked highly disturbed. So did the others.

"Using a boost move once is already straining on a pokemon," Milly ventured. "It's almost considered self harm to boost twice within a short time frame. Weaker pokemon have been known to implode from boosting twice, and you did without any regard at all!"

"I did," Erika admitted. "But look at Gwen! She's fine!"

Erika cradled Gwen in her arms and held her up for the others to see. Gwen shook her head and dislodged a few withered leaves from her head, revealing the fresh shoots of newly sprouted leaves beneath. "Gwen does this willingly," Erika told them. "I have never forced her into doing anything."

"I'm not in the habit of abusing or crippling my own pokemon either," Erika said, before Aisling could speak up. "I know Gwen's limits. Do you know why I dare to do this?"

Aisling shook her head dumbly. "It's because Gwen is a grass type," Erika said confidently. "With enough time, the concept of a crippling injury simply does not exist! If you have the guts, you can engage in reckless, life-threatening training as many times as you want, and use any manner of dangerous strategies or tactics! After being bolstered by my grass affinity, Gwen's self recovery abilities have grown so potent that she can easily take advantage of this self destructive boost strategy."

Milly had a curious expression on her face now. After she got over the initial shock, she now found herself fascinated by Gwen. "Can you let me examine her?" Milly asked Erika. "This is incredible!"

Erika let Milly hold Gwen, and watched as she pinched Gwen's muscles and pressed her leaves, doing a thorough examination of the resulting backlash from using growth multiple times. Gwen wriggled and thrashed around as Milly held her, and she eventually had to drop Gwen due to her struggling. Upon hitting the ground, Gwen rolled briefly, and then hopped back into Erika's waiting arms where she instantly calmed down.

"How on earth did you figure this out?" Milly asked in horrified fascination. "Can any grass type do this?"

"Probably not," Erika told her. "The pain of even a single boost is terrible, although still manageable. A double boost causes unimaginably excruciating pain as you already probably know. Gwen is quite special. Her willpower is so great that she can largely ignore the side effects of a double boost in battle and still keep fighting."

As for using a triple boost in real battle without collapsing, that'll probably have to wait until Gwen evolves, Erika thought to herself. Willpower can take her a long way, but it won't stop her body from shutting down. Even this double boost was risky. I definitely can't do it twice in one battle for now.

Erika returned Gwen to her pokeball so she could continue recovering. "Now do you believe me? I've only been training for two days. What do you think I can accomplish in a month's time? I promise you, if you give me a month, I'll crush the bug gym for you to see. I'll humiliate the gym so thoroughly that you'll be able to exploit the gym leader's ruined mental state to win, and you can even study my replays!"

"Do it," Milly said suddenly. "Go and crush the gym. I'll challenge the leader immediately afterward. Can you teach me how you got your oddish to boost multiple times instantly? I've never seen someone do that either."

"I definitely can," Erika replied, "but what do you have to offer in exchange?"

"Access to my family's private training facilities in the Grand Verdant." Milly answered after thinking momentarily. "You can use it to prepare for the Rising Stars Gauntlet and your gym challenge."

"That sounds like a plan then," Erika said, smiling, reaching out to shake Milly's hand.

"I'm still not sure what to think," Aisling spoke up. "I can't ever imagine treating a pokemon that's bonded to me like that. Still, if your oddish is truly doing this voluntarily, then I'll trust your judgment."

"You have to attend etiquette lessons with me though!" Milly interrupted sharply. "I've put up with your awful manner for now, but you've simply got to improve. I brought you here initially to introduce you into polite society and socialize. That's been accomplished. If you want to keep associating with me, then you need to learn proper etiquette."

"I was actually meaning to ask you about that," Erika admitted. "This is perfect then! I'll coach you in battle, and you can help me with etiquette."

"Also," Erika said, turning to Keta. "Do you still want to meet me in the finals for Rising Stars, even after seeing that performance just now?"

"I have never been more excited in my life," Keta answered honestly. "When I beat you and take the trophy at Rising Stars, I'm going to rub it in your face."

"You wish," Erika smirked at him. "I think you'll find that you'll be the one who gets crushed."

Milly took out her phone and offered it to Erika. "What's your number? I'll add you to the group chat so we can stay in touch."

Erika took Milly's phone and entered her number – from the same phone which she used to read the Claw grunt texts, and then waited for Milly to add her.

Erika waited for a notification that never came, and she groaned after realizing that she hadn't brought her phone with her. It was probably still back at Fulton's place, just like her booklet on aura.

"Sorry, Milly. I think I forgot my phone at my uncle's place," Erika said, apologizing. "I don't think I can join the group chat just yet."

"That's not a problem at all, actually," Milly said. "Here, follow me! You guys wait here. I'll help Erika check in; I just realized that we've been here for nearly half an hour. She probably missed her check in time."

Erika followed Milly out of the room down the hallway, before realizing that they were headed in a different direction than the way they originally came from. "Hey, Milly, are you sure we're going the right way? I'm pretty sure that the check in counter was in the other direction."

"Don't you worry," Milly replied. "We're going to a different place."

Milly led Erika to an imposing elevator entrance further towards the back of the hotel, and swiped a key card to unlock the doors. There were only three buttons - Training Center, Recreation Room, and Suite Level. "This is my private area," Milly told her with a smile. "All my friends get a suite on the top floor, and you won't be any different."

The ride up the elevator was spent listening to The Offspring - it was an odd choice for elevator music, Erika noted, but not an unwelcome one. She hummed along to the drum beats as the elevator ascended, and turned her attention to the city below. After passing the eighth floor, the elevator emerged into a transparent glass column which gave Erika and Milly a beautiful view of the skyline and city.

The elevator finally stopped ascending around the thirtieth floor. Milly led Erika to one of the doors at the back, stepping to the side to let Erika open the door for herself.

Being friends with the owner is definitely a huge perk, Erika mused, as she swiped her card against the door and swung it open heartily. She gave Milly a huge thumbs up upon seeing the huge bathtub in the center of the room, and the silk covered sheets of the bed. "Thanks Milly!"

"No worries!" Milly replied. "Get settled in, and you should come grab dinner with us later this evening. Your stuff should be on the table. Since you don't have a phone on you right now, I'll call you through your room."

With that, Milly shut the door, leaving Erika to explore the room on her own. Like the rest of the hotel, the room Milly gave Erika featured a color palette largely consisting of white and gold. The central room hosted a massive 20ft wide marble bathtub, which was with engraved floral patterns and designs, and came pre-filled with hot water. It stood in stark contrast to the rest of the room's furniture and furnishings, which almost seemed pushed to the side in order to emphasize the tub. Erika found it odd, until she flipped her second sight on and realized that the water in the tub wasn't regular run of the mill purified water.

When Erika drew aura into her eyes, she could see that the blue of the tub water was stained with splotches of sparkling brown and lustrous white. Erika dipped her hand into the water and swished it around, and then scooped up a handful to drink on a hunch. Spring water! The brown stuff I saw with second sight must be elemental rock energy from the minerals within. What's the white luster from though?

No way, Erika thought all of a sudden. She searched for the room's mini fridge and opened it, searching for the Joy brand fresh-water that she was sure would be inside. A high end hotel like the Grand Verdant definitely had fresh-water, and she wasn't disappointed. Erika uncapped the bottle and tipped it out, watching it spill onto the marbled floor of the central room. Blue, brown, white. Just like the bathtub. There's no way. Surely not, right?

As much as Erika didn't want to believe it, the evidence was right before her eyes. The white luster in the hot tub was elemental life energy, just like the kind the Joy Clan bottled in their signature medicines and fresh-water products. The tub in the room Milly provided her wasn't a recreational tub. This is a healing spring!

Erika snapped her eyes closed and open to dispel the second sight, and started to unpack her belongings. Milly had assured her that she could use the room for the next two weeks, since she didn't have any other friends coming over until then, which meant that Erika could sort her stuff into the drawers and live from the suite until the Rising Stars Gauntlet was over.

Out of curiosity, she unfolded the Rex Tent and triggered the latch mechanism, and watched in fascination as it quickly expanded to full size within a matter of moments. Despite the large stature of the tent, it was still dwarfed by the ceiling of the room. Erika stepped inside to check out her new home away from home likely for the next several years of her life, and then neatly packed the tent back up by triggering the latch once more.

Erika was just about to go take a dip in the hot spring when she noticed a plastic bag magically appear onto her bed. The arrival of the plastic bag was so sudden and unexpected that Erika nearly leapt back out of instinct. She opened the bag, and much to her shock, found her phone, booklet on aura, and other personal belongings that she had forgotten at Fulton's house. There was also a folded note tucked inside, which read: "Here's your stuff. Cheers, Fulton."

This is incredibly creepy. Fulton can track my location at any time? At least I have my stuff back.

After getting her phone back, Erika went into her messages app and accepted the group chat invite Milly sent her. She was instantly barraged by a stream of messages from Milly, and Erika had to turn notifications off because of how loud it got. Apparently, texting etiquette is not a thing Milly's family has covered.

Milly and Friends (7) 50 UNREAD MESSAGES
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------
…
[6:39 PM] - Millicent Belding
You got your phone back?

[6:39 PM] - Millicent Belding
Erika why is your text bubble green?

[6:39PM] - Hamza Yarrow
Wow new member.

[6:39 PM] - Samantha Joy
Milly made a new friend? Gimme the stats. Oil magnate kid? Battle prodigy?

[6:39 PM] - Aisling Shogi
The latter. I got destroyed 😭

[6:39 PM] - Aisling Shogi
I think fliphone text bubbles are green.

[6:39 PM] - Millicent Belding
Don't tell me you're still using a fliphone.

[6:39 PM] - Millicent Belding
Erika?

[6:40 PM] - Erika Caldwell
I'm here. My uncle teleported my phone to me.

[6:40 PM] - Millicent Belding
Good to hear. Also, I can't believe you're using a fliphone.

[6:40 PM] - Erika Caldwell
Any chance I can get a smartphone from the Grand Verdant? Do you have shops?

[6:40 PM] - Millicent Belding
Dinner at 7PM btw at the Titanium Gardens.

[6:40 PM] - Keta White
Yeah there should be a few shops that sell smartphones. Milly can prob get you some for free.

[6:40 PM] - Millicent Belding
Just get over here to dinner lol. We're having slowpoke tail and taurus sirloin.

[6:40 PM] - Ender Rackham
Oh shit we're having taurus sirloin?

[6:40 PM] - Millicent Belding
Language!

[6:41 PM] - Erika Caldwell
Gimme a minute I'll be over there.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Erika didn't waste any more time. She released both Snivy and Oddish from their pokeballs next to the healing spring and chucked them both in. "Both of you, play nice," Erika told them, before grabbing her phone and shoving it into her kimono pocket.

"This is a healing spring, so you can relax here while you recover. Make friends," Erika said to Gwen, who nodded fervently. "Snivy here needs to unwind a little."

She looked around the room briefly and spotted a casing of bath bombs, and grabbed a few for Gwen and Snivy. Erika turned the bath bomb over and read the label.

"Elemental Grass Salts," she read. The second bath bomb read: "Elemental Life Salts." Erika threw them both into the healing spring, watching the bath bomb fog up the originally clear water. Snivy watched her cautiously like a hawk, narrowing his eyes at her every action. Erika only rolled her eyes when she saw him do that.

Flipping her vision back into second sight let her observe how the bath bombs discharged grass and life energy continuously into the spring, enriching it further and drowning out what little rock energy there was. Gwen and Snivy seemed to physically loosen up as the bath bombs pumped ever more energy in, and Erika shut off her second sight, satisfied with conditions.

With that, Erika made for the door and left the room, heading towards the promised dinner with Milly and her new friends. Just thought of slowpoke tail alone made her salivate. Technically speaking, the league frowns upon the creation of this dish, kinda like sharpedo fin soup, but no one actually follows that rule. I can't wait to try it!

Author's Note: I just got back from a 22 hour flight home. Life is pretty good. I'd like to rec a few fics if any of my readers are interested. The first fic is Catastrophe 23 by Dom Noct, a friend of mine on my server. His fic is well written, and the grammar is impeccable. Go give it a try if you're looking for something new to read. The other fic is I Will Touch The Skies by Soussouni, which I've been meaning to read this summer. I've heard great things about it, and the author updates every day, so check that out if want!

I have also increased my squat to 310 pounds, which is a new personal record. Hopefully I can break 400 pounds by the end of this year.

Lastly, if you guys want to make some fanart, I'll happily post it on this fic's media thread. You should join the Twisted Garden discord server too! We have 70 members already, and it's a pretty fun place.

https://discord.gg/J6ygNC8VhQ