PARAGON
Remnants of the Great War Arc [19]
Chapter 28 : Storm Before The Storm
It was a bright day out in Rota again. Ash had gotten an early start, beginning with his usual jog around the World Champion’s property. He returned to find breakfast ready for him in the dining hall, but again, there was no one to join him, and he ate alone. As expected, Cynthia slept nearly till noon. Taking advantage of the lull in her busy schedule, Ash supposed. And as he’d learned at dinner last night, Sabrina had crashed earlier yesterday afternoon after watching over Anabel for so long, and Ash still hadn’t seen her at all today.
All and all, it meant a quiet morning for Ash and Albrecht to dedicate to their Platebearer training. With the threat of AZ on the horizon, Ash had once again switched around his roster. Although type matchups had largely become irrelevant at his level of trainer, since he could comfortably engage with any pokémon with any of his own regardless of type, he still thought it’d be wise to use a different flyer than Dragonite for now. He’d gotten one-shot by AZ, even through his Multiscale, so clearly types still mattered. In place of Dragonite’s powerhouse offense, Charizard was on his way. Venusaur and Lucario were still onboard as checks, and they were both training their poison and steel moves respectively in a different part of the valley. Though thinking about them made Ash remember a certain request from his Lucario.
“Hey, Albrecht, if it’s not too much trouble, d’you think I can head over to Cameran Palace later today?” Ash asked. “My Lucario is actually the younger brother of a Guardian friend of mine and he wanted to say hi while we were in the area.”
The World Champion crossed his arms. “Hmmm, I’m not sure that’s wise.”
“What do you mean?”
“I spoke with Queen Ilene yesterday and told her everything I told you. As you can imagine, she was quite shell-shocked to learn who I truly am, and she demanded a royal banquet be organized immediately. I talked her out of that, but she did insist I stay for dinner with her at the Palace, which is why I was absent last night, and I apologize for that. But ultimately we decided it would be the wisest course of action if my presence and identity remain hidden from the rest of the Guardians, for the time being. As I understand, she’s actually calling a meeting of all her top advisors and captains later today to discuss AZ’s imminent attack, and she plans to summon all the Guardians from around the world back here to defend their home. The time will eventually come for all to be revealed, but there’s no sense in causing a panic before we’re ready. For the time being, I’d prefer you and your friends to remain here, so as not to cause undue excitement.”
Ash nodded. “I guess that makes sense. But couldn’t AZ attack any time? He could attack today, or tomorrow for all we know, before the Guardians even get here.”
“That is true, but I don’t think he will. Like us, he still needs time to gather his forces. Taking into account the secrecy of his journey here, and how quickly he left, I suspect it’ll be at least two or three months until he’d even consider launching a full-scale attack on Rota.”
“Which means I have two months to get ready to face him again,” Ash said, clenching his fist.
Albrecht turned to Ash. “Your gusto is admirable, and appreciated. But Rota is my home. And the home of the Guardians. It is our duty to defend it.”
“But didn’t you say you thought I was the one who’d use the Plates to end the conflicts of the world?” Ash asked.
“That I did,” Albrecht smiled. “But this quarrel with AZ is a fight that should have ended three thousand years ago. AZ is a sad old man coming back to haunt the present. If I can help it, you won’t need to concern yourself with him.” He rubbed his fingers. “Allow me to finish what I started long ago.”
As much as Ash wanted another shot at AZ, especially as revenge for Anabel, there was a certain poignance in Albrecht’s tone that made him relent. It was clearly a personal matter for Albrecht.
“By the way, I did end up asking Queen Ilene about Zagreus,” Albrecht continued. “First, she asked me to apologize to Sabrina on her behalf. I imagine your friend may have been a bit frustrated after hearing the Queen’s paltry explanation, but the truth of Zagreus’ crime is strictly confidential for a good reason.”
Ash frowned, listening intently.
“Zagreus was the name of a Guardian who was obsessed with power. It seems he was quite the knave back in the day, but his antics weren’t yet malicious in nature. However, he apparently disappeared from Rota shortly after the Great War began.”
He walked over and sat on a rock, facing away from Ash. “The truth is, I’ve wondered for quite some time what exactly caused AZ to change so abruptly. What would compel him to create a weapon powered by the lifeforce of pokémon? After speaking with Queen Ilene, I may finally have an answer. You see, the Great War began for the Guardians after we received word that AZ had massacred a countless number of pokémon. At the time, we thought he’d gone mad. After all, it was an unprecedented act, and entirely uncharacteristic of the benevolent Kalosian Empire. However, after the war ended, the Guardians began an exhaustive investigation into AZ and the remains of his empire, as part of their search for his ultimate weapon. At this time, I had already recused myself from the Guardians so I was not privy to their findings. But the investigation concluded, among other things, that Zagreus was the one who’d told AZ how to harvest Aura from pokémon. That is his crime.”
Ash was speechless. “Why in the world would he do that?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know. I never knew the man personally, but from what little records remain of him, it remains unclear how he benefited from allying with AZ. If he desired power, he didn’t get it by spilling secrets about Aura. And if he hated the Guardians for some reason, I imagine he would’ve made a move against Rota some time in the past three thousand years.”
“He’s going after the Plates, we know that much,” Ash said. “And it doesn’t seem like he has any yet.”
“If he desires power, the Plates are an excellent place to find it,” Albrecht agreed. “But I sense there’s more at play than just that. We’re missing a piece.” Albrecht turned and smiled. “All this scheming and plotting has never been my strong suit.”
“Ha ha, me neither,” Ash grinned. He stretched his arms and hunkered down. “Now, let’s continue!”
In front of Ash, Emboar smashed his fists together and grinned.
“You still want to go with what you told me earlier, eh?” Albrecht mused. “If that’s what you want to do, I’d be very careful about how you do it. If you don’t have adept control over your power, you could end up causing far more harm than good.”
“That’s exactly the type of strategies we love!” Ash said, electricity crackling between his fingers. “That’s our style!”
Over the next several hours, Ash continued to work with his pokémon as he trained his abilities as a Platebearer. Albrecht watched intently and offered pointers every now and then, but remained passive for the most part. Eventually, Ash’s curiosity got the better of him, and when they broke for lunch, he decided to ask Albrecht about it.
“I thought you’d be more hands on if I’m being honest,” Ash chuckled as he munched on a sandwich. It was good, but it tasted a little too gourmet for such a casual meal. He preferred Sylvester’s. His pokémon ate from bowls on the grass.
“Oh no, I’d not dare interfere,” Albrecht said, waving his hand. “The power you have…it’s not so dissimilar to training pokémon. I could tell you how I might use it, but just as a trainer asserts his own style of battle for his team, you must also develop your own path for how you wish to use your Plate. You have a font of power at your fingertips, but you will only reach your own fullest potential if you wield it in the way that best suits your style, as you said.”
“I guess that makes sense. Though I guess I am curious about how you used your Plate. Especially during something like the Great War.”
“Oh, I didn’t bear any Plate by the time the war began,” Albrecht chuckled. “My stint with the Plates was a youthful folly. I expelled its power shortly after I first touched it.”
Ash frowned. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
“Oh, yes,” Albrecht nodded. “That is how the Plates can pass from one to another. A Platebearer can surrender it willingly.”
“So what happened to yours, then?”
Albrecht smiled, a twinkle in his eye. “Oh, I still have them. All three.”
Ash’s jaw dropped. “You had three Plates at once?!” With just one, he already felt so powerful. He couldn’t even imagine carrying a second, much less three.
“I still have them, but they’re hidden away where no one could ever find them. With the Great War on the horizon and AZ on the hunt for the Plates, you can imagine how imperative it was that I make them disappear.”
Ash gulped and nodded. “That’s true. I guess it makes sense why he’d attack Cameran Palace directly.”
“The fighting here was brutal,” Albrecht agreed. Then he frowned. “When you were here with your friends, you glimpsed that battle through the Time Flowers, didn’t you?”
Ash’s eyes widened. “I did! But I had no idea that that was from the Great War!”
“Yes, the Time Flowers that grow around Cameran Palace chronicle many significant events in Guardian history. And few are more consequential than that battle.”
“I remember hearing the story of Sir Aaron,” Ash said. “How he and his Lucario sacrificed themselves to save Rota.”
Albrecht’s eyes glazed over and he gazed at the blue sky wistfully. “Yes… Sir Aaron. The incessant fighting had begun to affect the health of the nearby Tree of Beginning, which the Guardians are charged to protect. It was an unacceptable fate to allow the Tree to fall. Sir Aaron’s deed allowed the Guardians to gain the upper hand and rout the attacking Kalosian army. They surely would’ve returned with an even greater force… But then AZ’s weapon fell upon the east, and that was the end of that.”
Ash swallowed. Even just seeing the battle through the Time Flower, he remembered how visceral the fighting was on both sides. And through the magic of the Flower, it felt like he was actually there. He still remembered the heat of war, the cries of fury, and the stench of blood and dust.
“Why is the Tree of Beginning so important to the Guardians anyway?” Ash eventually asked. “I know a Mew lives in it, and it has a ton of pokémon living there, but it sounds like it’s important to the Guardians for other reasons.”
Albrecht nodded. “You’re exactly right. The Tree holds an elevated significance to the Guardians. It is where all the pokémon in our world originate. Arceus was the first pokémon, of course, but apparently, pokémon did not begin to inhabit this world until Arceus descended from the heavens and incarnated here. The Tree of Beginning marks the spot where Arceus first stepped, and thus, pokémon came to be. The Tree has a storied history from then on, but that is where it gets its name.”
“I see. So I guess the reason the Guardians are called the Guardians is because you’re literally guarding the Tree of Beginning?”
“Yes, I suppose so,” Albrecht laughed. “Though the Guardians protect many things, be it the natural world, our fellow man, and the bond between people and pokémon. But yes, protecting the Tree is quite high on the list. After all, it isn’t just that pokémon originated from the tree. Many energies flow throughout the Tree even now. For example, did you know that Mega Evolution stones also first appeared within the Tree? And relatively recently too, I might add.”
“I didn’t!” Ash exclaimed.
“Before the stones, people achieved Mega Evolution by forging an unbreakable bond with their pokémon, so tight that their very souls seemed to meld together. But that meant the fate of one decided the fate of the other. One could not live without the other, and in an age of such rampant violence, many pokémon lost their lives due to the deaths of their trainers.”
“That’s terrible,” Ash said. “I don’t even want to imagine my death causing the death of any of my pokémon.”
“However, some time ago, the Mega Evolution stones started to appear, first in the Tree of Beginning, and then in secluded places across the world. By using the stones, the former penalties of Mega Evolution have are passed off, so to speak, and one can wield Mega Evolution safely without compromising the safety of trainer or pokémon.”
“Hmm, I wonder if there’s any difference between the two different kinds of Mega Evolution,” Ash wondered aloud.
“There are old clans who mislike the use of Mega Stones, calling them blasphemy. The Draconids in Hoenn are one such group. But if anything, I’d say it shows the fortitude of the bond between people and pokémon, that trainers continued to pursue Mega Evolution in spite of the heavy consequences. Perhaps Arceus above gifted us with the stones after persevering for so long. That’s my theory, at least.”
Ash smiled. “I like that.”
As always, talking with Albrecht filled Ash’s head to the brim, and Albrecht seemed to understand that, as he didn’t say another word for the rest of lunch. After they were done, Ash excused himself to go check on his friends, and Albrecht politely bid him farewell.
“Do try and return quickly,” he called as Ash was heading back toward the house. “Your stratagem won’t be mastered overnight!”
“I will!” Ash replied. But he was worried. It was now afternoon and he still hadn’t seen Sabrina. At least Cynthia had popped outside earlier, watched him train for a bit, then head off into the forest. Although it wasn’t exactly unusual for Sabrina to hole up in her room, Ash still thought he should check on her. She’d clearly taken Anabel’s injury hard, and it’d affected her enough to break her normally rock-solid stoicism.
But after ascending the stairwell to the second floor and walking down the hallway that contained both of their bedrooms and Anabel’s room, he ran right into her. Or more accurately, she’d run right into him.
“Oof!” Sabrina said, clutching her head.
“Whoa, there you are!” Ash said. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”
Sabrina looked up at him, then looked away. “Anabel.” She moved to get around him.
“Wait,” Ash said, grabbing her wrist gently.
She stopped and turned, but he noticed her gauntlets flare, and he quickly let go. She stared up at him blankly, and he realized he didn’t really know what to say.
“Where have you been all day?” he eventually asked.
“Sleeping,” she grumbled. “She tricked me.”
“I guess you needed it,” Ash said, cracking a small smile to try and lighten her mood. “It’s past lunch time, you know?”
“I’m not hungry,” she said, and she started walking away again.
“Wait!” Ash said, running to catch up to her. She jerked away from him, before he could touch her, but stopped all the same. “Just wait for a second, please.” He took a few moments to catch his breath. “What’re going to do?”
“I need to watch over her.”
“You don’t,” Ash said. “You don’t. Sabrina, Anabel will be just fine. I’m more worried about you right now. You missed dinner last night, and now breakfast and lunch today. That’s basically a whole day without food.” As he said it, he noticed how pale and skinny she looked, even more so than usual.
“That’s not important,” Sabrina said curtly. “Anabel is the one who’s hurt! I’m just—”
“What do you mean?” Ash said, frowning. He grabbed her wrist again. “What do you mean it’s not important?”
Sabrina looked away, her cheeks hot, though she looked more annoyed than embarrassed.
“Sabrina,” Ash said. “You’re important too, you know that, right?”
Sabrina grit her teeth. She seemed upset, though at Ash or herself, Ash couldn’t quite tell. Her eyes twitched and she yanked her hand out of Ash’s grip. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”
“What?” Ash said, confused. “But I just said it so clearly! You haven’t eaten anything since yesterday so obviously you need to go and eat—”
“Is food all you think about?”
“No, I was just thinking about you!”
Sabrina’s eyes flicked over at him, burning with irritation. “And why would you be doing that?”
Ash’s arm dropped as he processed what she’d asked. He was speechless! “Because we’re friends,” he said softly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Isn’t that why you’re going to Anabel now? How can you say you don’t know what I’m talking about?”
Sabrina dropped her arm too and she looked away again, taking deep breaths. Once she calmed down, she turned back to Ash and bowed. “I’m sorry. This was all my fault.”
“Sabrina… That’s not what I—“
“I think I understand what you mean, though, now,” she said, fidgeting with her hair. “Just a little bit.” Her blush now was clearly from embarrassment.
A smile dawned on Ash’s face like the sun peeking through a cloud. “Oh…oh, good! So that means you’ll come and eat now, right?”
“I guess.”
“Great! I think they still have the ingredients out and stuff,” he said, walking back downstairs, Sabrina in tow. “Sandwiches, but not as good as Sylvester’s, of course. Oh, yeah, I gotta tell you about everything I’ve been working on!”
On the other side of the door, Anabel smiled. Thank you, Ash.
Back downstairs, the cooks had luckily still been at their stations as Ash had said, and at his request, they whipped up a meal for Sabrina and presented it to her in the dining room. Despite the fact that they’d already been here for several days, Ash was still reminded at how surreal their situation was as he watched Sabrina casually eating a sandwich at the end of the table in the World Champion’s grand dining hall. It actually made him a little self conscious, since he didn’t have anything to eat, and had to sit there with the queen of introverts herself. Pikachu had returned from his own training, but was resting on the table, exhausted.
But, Ash still wanted to stay here for her. No offense to her, but Anabel was hardly in any shape to support Sabrina after everything that had happened. If anything, spending so much time next to that severed arm probably only exacerbated Sabrina’s feelings of guilt.
Though, now that he thought about it, Ash realized that was probably the case for him. He’d been subliminally avoiding spending too much time with Anabel. Every visit, he spent no longer than fifteen minutes with her. The sight of her arm simply tore Ash’s insides to shreds.
If Sabrina was spending too much time with Anabel, then Ash was the opposite. He was avoiding her.
Clearly, he hadn’t escaped from his encounter with AZ as unscathed as he initially thought.
So really, talking with Sabrina here now, about little things, trivial things, meaningless things, was good for the both of them.
Of course, Ash still did the vast majority of the talking.
Just as she was finishing, Cynthia strolled in, and they both looked up.
“Oh, good, you’re both here. We need to talk.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing happened,” Cynthia said, sitting in one of the chairs next to them. “I just got off the phone with N and Zinnia. They’re making good progress in Kalos. They’re both closing in on the entrance ways to AZ’s hideout, it’s just taking awhile since his men are so meticulous. It’s no wonder they haven’t been caught all this time.”
“Do they think they’ll have found it in less than two months?” Ash asked. “That was Albrecht’s estimate for when AZ would be ready to attack.”
Cynthia nodded, processing his statement. “Yes, assuming nothing else comes up.” She narrowed her eyes. “Two months, huh? That’s very soon, all things considered.”
“Yeah, but it’s still enough time to get ready,” Ash protested. “Is the International Police or the League sending anyone out here to help?”
“That’s what I came looking for you two for,” Cynthia said. She locked eyes with both of them. “We’re pulling out of Rota for now.”
Ash glanced over at Sabrina, then back at Cynthia. “What? Why?”
Cynthia pursed her lips, seemingly considering how to phrase her response. “As I understand it, the Guardians are taking point on the defense of Rota. Interpol has no jurisdiction here, and neither does the League.”
“So we’re just abandoning them?” Ash asked incredulously.
“We’re not abandoning them,” Cynthia said firmly. “We’re going to be keeping an eye on Rota from afar. Maintaining a bird’s eye view of the situation, so to speak. Then, we will act accordingly.”
Ash shook his head in disbelief. “You still don’t trust Albrecht. After everything? He saved our lives.”
Cynthia glanced at Sabrina, but she was stoic, and her hands were beneath the table. “Ash, I don’t trust anyone right now. Except Paragon. You’re the only ones I can trust.”
Ash continued shaking his head. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. You’re going to let AZ attack Rota without even putting up a fight?”
“Ash, you heard what I said. If Rota needs our help, then we’ll—”
“We’re leaving because Interpol doesn’t have jurisdiction here?! I’ve never heard you say something so ridiculous!”
“Calm down. Haven’t you disobeyed me enough already?” Cynthia snapped.
“This isn’t like you all,” Ash said, standing up. Pikachu’s ear perked up and he opened his eyes lazily. “You’ve lost your way.”
At that, Cynthia cracked a tepid smile. “Lost my way, huh? It’s the opposite. Paragon is doing what it always should’ve done.”
“Leaving Rota to fend for itself?” Ash demanded. “Paragon was created to help people!”
“Wrong.” Cynthia stood up as well. Her smoky gaze seemed to cause the air in the room to thicken, and Ash found himself taking deeper breaths. “Paragon was created by me, for me.”
Ash’s eyes narrowed. “What did you just say?”
Even Sabrina couldn’t hide her confusion, and her eye twitched.
Cynthia sighed, and her gaze dropped. “Paragon was born of my own selfishness. I had dreams and desires that I couldn’t reach on my own. So I gathered talent to help me.”
“Help you do what?”
Pikachu padded across the table and jumped up onto Ash’s shoulder, sensing danger.
Cynthia crossed her arms. “You’ve known me a long time, Ash, surely you should know.”
Ash thought for a moment, but it sounded absurd in his head. She was abandoning Rota for that? What did one have to do with the other? “You want to discover the history of our world. But why do we have to leave Rota because of that?”
“You just learned yourself that the Great War, one of the most significant events to ever happen on this planet, began not because of border disputes or resource scarcity, but because of the Plates of Arceus. And yet every article and textbook on the subject reports the former. I would know, I’ve read them all. Which means the history is a lie.”
“The Guardians didn’t lie, they kept the truth about the Plates hidden to protect them from falling into the wrong hands!” Ash countered.
“This is bigger than the Guardians, Ash. For now, we need to pull back and assess the situation at large!”
Ash sat back down. “No. I won’t leave.”
Cynthia closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. “I was afraid you’d say that.”
A sheet of darkness burst out from behind Cynthia and engulfed the entire room. The table and chairs vanished, and the floor beneath them disappeared. The inky void surrounded them, churning and roaring all around them as they stood suspended in midair.
Ash winced as the darkness raced around him. It was so cold he thought he’d get frostbitten, but his body seemed fine. He grit his teeth and faced forward. Across an indescribable distance, Cynthia stood before them unmoving, her platinum blonde hair whipping around her, the only color in this deafening miasma. “What is this…?!” he bit out. Beneath him, Pikachu had fallen off his shoulder, but was clinging to an unseen floor, trying to maintain his footing, one of his eyes clamped shut from the effort. Sabrina was behind them, and though he couldn’t see her, Ash could hear her straining against the storm of darkness. “Sabrina!” he yelled.
Neon green pustules erupted from Cynthia’s form, staining the void, and an otherworldly cackle echoed as they passed.
Just as Ash felt like he was going to be ripped off the “ground” and sent hurling away, the darkness began to recede back toward Cynthia. The howls of laughter quieted, and light once again flooded his vision as the floor once again materialized beneath him.
He fell to his knees, panting. Beside him, Sabrina was crouching down, shivering. Pikachu took a step forward and snarled, electricity sparking on his fur.
“I’m sorry for that,” Cynthia said. She was still standing, and was exactly as far away from them now as she was before. “But my decision is final.” Beside her, Spiritomb shuddered and grinned.
Ash glared up at her and stood. Then he frowned as he noticed where he was. Sunlight beamed through the windows around them, bathing them in a familiar warmth. “This is Paragon Island. How…?”
“Spiritomb can teleport over long distances. I didn’t want to have to do this, but it was the fastest way.”
A million thoughts raced through Ash’s head, bouncing off emotions of anger, confusion, and disbelief. “What did you think would happen? Did you think we would abandon Rota without protest?”
“You’ve become quite fond of the World Champion,” Cynthia noted. “As expected, your emotions are clouding your judgment, Ash. Once you’ve calmed down, I’m going to summon N and Zinnia back, and then we’ll talk about how to proceed. You said two months, didn’t you? That’s plenty of time for us to clear things up, once and for all.”
Ash was enraged. How dare she bring up Albrecht as an excuse to leave Rota behind! Riley was his friend too, and he’d surely be partaking in the battle against AZ. But above all that, protecting Rota was the right thing to do. How didn’t Cynthia see that?
“Cynthia? Ash? Sabrina?”
Sylvester walked into the room, drying his hands on a towel tied around his waist. “What’s going on here?” he asked, looking between them all, bewildered.
Cynthia glanced over at him, but her attention quickly shifted back to Ash. “Stay out of this,” she said curtly.
“She’s ordered us out of Rota, leaving the Guardians to AZ,” Ash answered.
Sylvester frowned. “Is this true, Cynthia?”
Cynthia bit her lip, scowling. “Get back in the kitchen.”
“You are going to return, aren’t you?” Sylvester asked, ignoring her.
“We’ll see.”
Sylvester glanced at Ash, then Sabrina, then back at his cousin. “That doesn’t sound like you.” He tapped his chin. “In fact, you’ve been acting strangely for some time now, Cynthia.” He glanced over at Ash and Sabrina, as if considering what he was about to say in front of them. “You’ve been taking more and more flights to Alola, but the League HQ isn’t there. The League hardly even has a presence there.” His expression darkened. “I’ve tried to respect your privacy, but I’m afraid it’s all become far too unusual. What’s in Alola, Cynthia?”
Cynthia shook her head. “I’ll explain everything when everyone’s here.”
“You…,” Ash murmured. “You’ve been taking orders from someone else this whole time?”
Cynthia sighed, glancing between all of them. “Ash, I’m the same person you’ve always known. You can trust me.”
Ash shook his head. “I can’t. The Cynthia I know would never abandon people in need like this. She wouldn’t leave something as dangerous as AZ for others to deal with. She’d face it head on.” He glanced down at Pikachu, then back up at her. “I’m returning to Rota. Whether you approve or not. But you’re staying here.”
“Oh?” Cynthia said coldly. “You’re calling the shots now?”
“I guess so.”
“It sounds like you want a fight.”
Ash met her gaze. “Only if I have to.”
Pikachu’s cheeks crackled, and Spiritomb roared with silent laughter, those neon green souls roiling within him.
Before Cynthia could respond, Sylvester took a step forward. “Sorry, cousin, but I’m with Ash. I trust you have a good reason for everything you’re doing. But I can tell you’ve thrown caution to the wind. You're acting recklessly now. So forgive me, but I can’t let you continue.”
“‘Can’t let me?’” Cynthia repeated. She took a step toward him. “And who are you to tell me what to do?”
“Wait, what’re you doing, Sylvester?” Ash said.
Sylvester reached around and pulled something from his belt. “Not to worry, Ash,” he said, his eyes never leaving Cynthia. “In all the battles Cynthia and I have had over the years, she’s never beaten me.” He enlarged his pokéball. “Not even once.”
Next — Chapter 29 : The Board Before The Battle
