Chương 90: Act 3: Chapter 7

In a secluded, newly discovered clearing outside Petalburg, the morning air is as crisp as the first bite into a ripe, juicy apple, putting a smile on Lee's face. Getting here without being mobbed was an interesting ordeal. With the Petalburg Gym done and dusted, his and Brendan's urban legends grew to new heights.

The choice to use Sceptile and Swampert rather than their "strongest" pokemon against Norman's unusual challenge whipped up BattleNet into a flurry of speculation about how truly strong the rest of their teams might be. As Lee half-expected, Norman got very little blowback for his curveball, similar to how Moore got little more than grumbles for his. Hell, losing seems to have been the best outcome for Norman, for he was lauded for giving everything he had and taking his fall with grace.

But the more he thinks about it, the more Lee realizes Norman probably had little choice. Had he taken it easy on them, the accusations of softballing for his best friend's son and employee would have been swift. Even an average challenge might have drawn suspicious eyes.

"And on my end, if I was going to lose, I needed to make it an exciting, valiant loss for the bean counters upstairs." The sudden change in the challenge still bothers him a little, but in the end, they won, and that's that. He's glad he didn't back out now, for if he had, his and the Lab's own prestige might have been in the crossfire. Speaking of prestige…

Normally, when trainers find themselves the subject of intense attention online, they'd have something to say on the matter — they'd want to interact — but his and Brendan's steadfast reservation on the matter is driving the powerscaling nerds online into a frenzy, doubly so now that Brendan and Latias have been sighted enough to confirm her capture. The boy's megathread is on fire, and is set to outpace Lee's soon enough.

"Why not use Latias?" they ask.

"Surely she's stronger. She's a legend! A pokemon so mighty that nothing can stop them!"

"Where is Ninetales?" they wonder. She fought Ty the Typhlosion to a dramatic standstill, yet her weaker teammate Sceptile went toe-to-toe with Slaking, a pokemon even stronger than Ty. Was it not worth her time? With Lee's aversion to social media and Brendan's image being carefully maintained by Monty and the lab PR team, they're getting nothing, and they hate it.' Maybe I should say something at some point, lest expectations balloon out of control…'

Lee muses, shifting his notebook and pen to one hand, then taking his phone from his pocket and opening his favorite BattleNet group, Fox Friday. As it usually is, there are three dozen unread notifications aimed squarely at him, and all of them are ignored. Instead, he scrolls up to see that the theme of the week is "Cuddly Selfies". There is a teen girl with her Braixen, who has her ear fluff tied in braids like her trainer's brown hair. Both are mid-hug and smiling for the camera.

Another features a pale Galarian boy holding his Nickit, who looks less than pleased with the arrangement. The one garnering the most attention, however, is a man cradling a small and quite young three-tailed Vulpix, who is fast asleep. Of course, Lee shows his own appreciation by pressing the little heart button under the post, making the counter rise from 77 to 78. Tapping the attachment button with his thumb, Lee scrolls through his pictures for something to send, and smiles when finds just the right photo.

Today at 11: 55 AM L_Henson: Fluffy (Attachment #1) There isn't much to see in the picture, other than the view of his arm emerging from a golden cocoon of tails to hold the phone. … Multiple people are typing…' Close, and mute.' He smirks, tucking his phone away and returning his attention outward. Just a few yards away, in a small, translucent purple box of psychic walls erected by Ninetales, Sylveon and Shinx dart in and out at each other in a game of half tag, half chicken.

Sylveon's pink and white fur shimmers faintly in the morning light, and Shinx's own coat crackles with static. Both the youngest and oldest members of the team are the most physically fragile—which isn't to say they are frail in any way; it's just, when compared to the rest of the team, they aren't the most tanky pokemon around. The solution for this? Condition them to automatically retaliate when struck, to punish the foe for daring to attack in the first place.

Classical conditioning, or Pavlovian conditioning as it's sometimes called, was something Lee studied in college, then made practical use of under Aasir's watchful eye. It's how animal handlers, dog trainers especially, train their charges to perform tasks or behave.

To boil the concept down, it's the process of associating one stimulus to another, like the pleasure of a food reward after following a command, until just the spoken command compels the wanted behavior because of an unconscious association with the other stimulus. Now, this doesn't work the same with pokemon considering their higher brain functions are comparable to a human, but that doesn't mean the concept is useless.

In the cramped, translucent cube, Shinx ducks under Sylveon's latest charge, then bashes her head into the fairy's stomach. Immediately, the cube lights up with a burning, silvery light as Sylveon lets a newly-learned Dazzling Gleam rip, drawing a pained hiss from Shinx, who then lets Spark arc over her body, electrocuting Sylveon in a brutal cycle. Before long, it'll be purely instinct. The two pull away from each other on shaky paws, both burned and twitching. Is it a bit of a gamble?

Could they accidentally let a move fly after stubbing a toe, or a pulled tail, or something? Maybe, but most trainer-oriented spaces have insurance just for pokemon damage, and he's got the cash to pay little things out of pocket.' Uh oh, is this how real pros think?' Lee wonders, looking down at his notebook as he scratches down the result of Shinx and Sylveon's latest clash.

'Yeah, sorry my cat started an electrical fire that torched your whole building. My bad.' From where she sits a few paces away, Ninetales lets out an amused huff.

'I believe that without the adrenaline of a true bout, something as mundane as a pulled tail won't result in property damage.'' Really? What if I pulled your tail?' Lee shoots back, an eyebrow rising. The vixen's eyes flash with laughter.

'Goodness, the other half of my soul is planning to give one of mine tails a yank. How could I ever prepare for that?' Point.

'And if someone else did?'' Ah, but beloved, that violence would be premeditated, not spontaneous.' Lee shakes his head.

'Let's not,' he sends, before flipping to an ear-marked page in his notebook and looking over to the other half of the field. BANG! BANG! BANG! Sceptile, with his Siphon Blade held ready, ducks one supersonic bolt of black from above, which hits the earth like an artillery shell— BOOM! —sidesteps another— BOOM! —then swipes his weapon downward faster than the eye can see, bisecting the final shot with a shower of sparks. The two halves fly on either side of him, hitting the ground like the others. BO-BOOM!

Turned dirt and shredded grass flies high, only to be dispelled seconds later by monstrous wingbeats from above. Flying in a tight circle above the sparring ground, Corviknight keeps a watchful red eye on the green gecko below. Just under him, and clinging to Corvi's chestplate like an upside-down limpet, or more appropriately, like a cannon fitted to an aircraft, Octillery stares at Sceptile with narrow, vexed eyes.

The duo in the sky both shimmer with the faint pink of Corvi's Light Screen, keeping Octillery shielded from the retaliatory Energy Balls Sceptile was hurling at the beginning of the bout. Sceptile doesn't give them the chance to attack again freely, and instead fires back with a differing attack, this time a Seed Blast. With only a blink's worth of charge time, he spits a supersonic cone of seeds with green, luminous trails at the pair.

Corvi's eyes narrow, and an emerald sphere surrounds both him and his passenger in the nick of time, sending the seeds deflecting off in every direction with a series of ringing ricochets. Lee looks down at his notes and scribbles away.

'Gunship Maneuver shows exceptional promise. Eliminates Octillery's key weaknesses and gives the team the power to attack in one direction and move in another. Octillery has no issues adjusting aim from inverted position, as expected. Will test more before live application.' Beep-beep! The noon alarm set on Lee's phone goes off, so he shuts his notebook with a snap, sheathes his pen in the binding rings, and takes a deep breath.

"Break for lunch, everyone!" In a heartbeat, all of his pokemon are assembled around him, bright-eyed and ignoring any little wounds they have.' Wow, that was fast. Maybe Teleport is on the table for more than just Nine and Octillery.' Lee laughs under his breath, dropping his backpack and digging inside. In short order, cling-wrap-covered bowls of food filled to almost bursting with extra portions are passed out, and any idle talk is eschewed for the sound of munching.

Unwrapping and biting into his own lunch, a simple sandwich, Lee lets his eyes roam the edge of the clearing as he sits in the grass.' We're a good five-six miles out from Petalburg, and the area is relatively free of any native pokemon,' he plots, keeping his thoughts to himself so Nine can focus on enjoying her food.

'Sceptile is my most level-headed team member by far, but still…' His gaze, now a touch unsettled, falls to the glimmering stone set in the gorget around Sceptile's neck.' It's hard to say what he'll be like after getting Dragon as a second type, let alone what his headspace will be like after the mega-evolution itself.' A glittering akin to the one of Sceptile's megastone beams Lee right in the eye. Squinting, he looks at his own wrist. There, his keystone stares back.

The timepiece built around it ticks away, reading 12: 04. Stuffing the last of his lunch in his mouth and chewing slowly, Lee raises the watch to the sun, where the dark blue-tinted steel band shines and the keystone sends rainbow rays scattering over his face. The watch really is a work of art, and still he feels as if he underpaid for it despite the four-thousand credit price tag.

After the battle at the Petalburg Gym, Lee set out to find a jeweler who could set his keystone in some kind of sturdy bracelet, so he wasn't carrying the thing just loose in his pocket all the time. Unfortunately, his fame bit him in the ass here, as all of the jewelers in Petalburg are small-time, local shops. When he, the infamous Lee Henson, walked in with a commission that hinged on them signing an NDA before he'd even let them see the stone they were working with, all of them turned him away.

Well, nearly all of them. Determined to try one more place before hopping on Corvi and flying to a larger city like Mauville, Lee stopped into a shop that specialized in timepieces, finding a rather… peculiar encounter waiting inside. The ring of the bell above the door can't hope to cover the perfect, synchronized 'tick-tock-tick-tock' of every single clock in the store. As they step inside, both Lee and Ninetales crane their heads around, taking in the walls utterly filled with a medley of clocks.

In one corner, an artful grandfather clock, carved with tree and grass pokemon motifs, stands, its internal weights and pulleys freshly wound. On one wall, a cuckoo clock ticks away, and Lee can spy joints around the wings and beaks of the extra, wooden Taillow perched before the central cuckoo clock door. The little birds seem impatient, forced to wait for the top of the hour before they can sing.

Near the back wall and hosting the cash register is a glass jewelry case that stretches from one wall to the next, filled with watches of all sorts. From plain watches with stainless steel bands to pocket watches etched with golden filigree, it seems like there is something for every taste and priced for every budget. And every single one, down to the second, is perfectly synced.' Did the owner make all of these?' Lee can't help but wonder.

'I know the sign on the door said everything is hand-made, but…' Ninetales flicks an ear, but even her sharp hearing can't pick out any kind of flaw in the cadence of the ticking all around them.

'If the sign is truthful, then the proprietor certainly takes their craft seriously.'" Hoo?" From a half-open door behind the watch case-slash-front counter, a Hoothoot flutters out and into the register, settling and bobbing his head in-tune with all of the clocks." Hey there," Lee greets, struggling to tear his eyes away from all the wild art around him. He shifts the folder holding the NDA for the keystone from under his arm to his hands.

"Is the owner in? I'd like to talk about a commission."" Hmm? A commission?" a whispery voice from the back room Hoothoot just vacated asks. Through Nine's ears, Lee can just barely hear the sound of something small and metallic being dropped into place.

"I'm working right now, dear customer, and cannot stop, lest I lose my rhythm, but I'm listening. Please, go ahead."" Uh…" Lee smiles unsurely and sets his folder on the counter.

"It should be simple for someone like you, sir. I just need a jewel set into a band."" Oh?" the owner asks amid a metallic creak.

"I'm sorry, dear customer. I only deal in timepieces. I cannot accept." Lee blinks.

"Uh… This should be an easy commission, sir. It's literally just a sturdy bracelet I need."" And I cannot accept. I'm sorry." Lee shares a glance with Nine.' Is this guy serious?' Ninetales takes her time to answer, though in real-world time that's hardly a second.

'Artists are usually as eccentric as they are skillful, Beloved. He must have some sort of code or fixation he's unwilling to violate,' she sends back, turning her eyes to a pocketwatch in the case. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The cheery Swablu etched into the case meets her red gaze unflinchingly.' Perhaps requesting a watch will yield a better result?' Ninetales continues, looking up at him.

'Should you ever need to don formal attire, you'll look quite fetching with a tasteful timepiece to round out the ensemble.' Lee mulls it over.

"Sir? Could you maybe incorporate the jewel I have into a watch? If you could-!"" Ah, I would be delighted," the unseen owner cuts him off.

"Tell me, dear customer, which hand is your dominant hand?"" Uh, it's my right," Lee answers before raising his folder.

"We should discuss a few-"" Your birthday?"" Things - It's October 14th. Now, we should-"" Oh, happy almost birthday then, dear customer." Lee pauses.

'Oh, shit. That is just a few days away, isn't it?'' Treat this as a gift to yourself, then,' Ninetales adds her two cents, nosing his elbow. With his train of thought derailed, the shop owner is free to ask Lee a barrage of seemingly nonsensical questions. When he decided to be a trainer, the date of his high school graduation, what time he was born, things that don't seem to relate at all to making a watch." Hmm… That should do…" the man murmurs from his workshop behind the door.

"Ah, you wished for the band to be quite immovable once fastened, correct?"" Thats the idea…" Lee slumps forward and puts his elbows on the glass case. He just wants a watch; why the quiz?" I understand. Hootie, can you bring everything back so I may begin as soon as this project is done?" The Hoothoot on the register gives Lee a questioning "Hoo?", but Lee shakes his head." I'm sorry, sir, but I need to have some paperwork signed beforehand.

The gem in question is quite valuable and I require an indefinite NDA for this commission before I can turn it over." There is a sigh from behind the door, and Lee almost misses it, but from inside comes the sound of a metronome being clicked on, synced to the clocks.

"Hootie?" Hoothoot carefully takes the folder from Lee's hand, and flies back into the workshop. The scratch of a pen over paper follows, and Hoothoot flutters back out, presenting the signed document to Lee. On the page is a loopy, cursive signature for one 'Willard C. Lock'. Satisfied, Lee takes the keystone, hidden away in a little drawstring bag, from his pocket. He hesitates, then gives it to Hoothoot, who once more takes it back to 'Lock'." Ah…

I understand the need for caution," Lock murmurs, almost too quiet to be heard over his clocks.

"The strongest material I offer is Aggron shed. Quite robust, and polishes to a mirror shine… Unless there is another material you would like to request?"' I'm already in this deep, may as well go all the way.' Lee removes his backpack and sticks a hand in, careful not to be too hasty, lest he cut himself.

"I have a few feathers from my Corviknight. Could you use those?" After turning over the feathers and the keystone, Lock told them to come back the next day, which seemed too short to Lee, but sure enough on the morning after, Hootie was waiting with a small box, and inside was the watch. The dark metal bracelet holding the watch and keystone is formed from thick, hardy links, with a latch that refuses to give no matter how hard Lee pulls at it.

The watch face itself is a little marvel, as with the keystone in the center, Lock had to put the hands on the outside edge. Three rings, one for seconds, one for minutes, and one for hours, are each fitted with an inward pointed hand, all of them rotating around the center to point at etched numerals around the keystone. The whole face is covered with shatter-proof glass, keeping the stone and delicate internals protected.

With the whole thing being wrought from Corvi's armor, Lee is certain only an act of extraordinary violence could break it. Nigel already sourced Brendan a thick bracelet with a shutter to hide his keystone, and Zinnia has some loopy, spring-like draconid accessory she's taken to wearing around her leg for her stone. If they didn't already have their own solutions, Lee definitely would have pointed them towards Lock.

The longer he stares at the rainbow gem, the more it shines, and the more it shines, the more his stomach roils with odd emotions, so Lee lowers his hand.

'Huh. It fits perfectly, but I don't remember ever giving Lock my wrist measurements…' The minutes roll by, and soon six bowls of lunch are polished off. As everyone sits and lets their food hit bottom, nerves build among man and pokemon alike. Taking a deep breath, Lee stands and gestures for everyone sans Sceptile to get behind him.

"Ready, pal?" Sceptile, cool as can be, nods once. Taking his notebook from his bag once more, Lee licks his lips and flips to a clean page.

"Mega Evolution trials, attempt one," he murmurs, dictating to himself as he writes.

"Okay, everyone brace," he warns, raising his watch.' Please don't go wrong…' Even if it isn't alive, the keystone sits at the very edge of his consciousness, waiting to be noticed and given energy. If Lee weren't so familiar with minds touching his own, he would have totally missed the stone. Despite not having any kind of telepathic talent of his own, reaching his inner self out to the stone is deceptively easy, and the ephemeral fingers that wrap around the keystone find it quite warm.

"Here goes." Lee gulps, keeping Sceptile and what the great gecko truly means to him in mind.' Legend. Dear friend. Irreplaceable. Family. Legend. Dear friend. Irreplaceable. Family.' Both the stone on his watch and around Sceptile's neck begin to glow with an inner light, and Lee jumps when something reaches into him, past his mind, and deep into trenches only Ninetales has ever seen. It's there and gone for an instant, but the touch is like a shot from a stun gun. Still, he keeps the internal mantra rolling.

Legend. Dear friend. Irreplaceable. Family. Legend. Dear friend. Irreplaceable. Family.' Lee shudders, going back once more to his first real encounter with a Mega pokemon. The mountain shook with each stomp. Fire and brimstone rained. They were set to die. Sceptile bites down on his twig, and in Lee's chest, a heart that doesn't belong to him feels as if it's beating in-sync with his own. Both are racing. Legend. Dear friend. Irreplaceable. Family. Legend. Dear friend. Irreplaceable. Family.'

The light is blinding, and Sceptile's eyes screw shut. The corona around him goes from shining rays, to a prismatic shell, bending in ways that should be impossible. In the span of a breath, all that is left is a crystalline egg. It holds for one second that stretches on for far too long, then it explodes outward in a shower of shards and raw force.

"Shit!" Lee's arms rise to shield his face, but all of the shards dissolve into motes of light long before they reach him. Tentatively lowering his arms and cracking his eyes open, the sight that greets him drops his jaw. There, standing in a circle of scorched grass with arcs of wild green TE traveling up and down his body, is Sceptile. Mega Sceptile. The first thing Lee notices is his height. The transformed Sceptile would tower over his previous form, and can nearly look Corvi in the eye.

The twin ridges on his head and over his eyes now stand up further, with crescent shapes punched into each one. On his chest, an x-shaped breastplate of rustling, razor leaves grind with each breath Sceptile takes. Like the faded, starburst scars on his old form's chest, the leaves are a pale green. Then there's the red. The tips of his wrist leaves, the scales under his eyes, the stripes on his belly, and the new stripes down his spine and around his tail are dyed a deep, bloody red.

The tip of his tail, now ending in a four-sided, arrow-like broadhead, has the deepest hue. Sceptile's eyes snap open, showing tiny black slits amid a sea of wide, wild yellow. The Mega takes a deep breath, green lightning arcing around him once more, and each time one of the arcs strikes the ground, the grass around the strike zone instantly shoots up to shin height. The air itself is filled with an electric-like charge, and something akin to static runs up and down Lee's body, from his fingertips to his toes.

All around, bird pokemon take to the skies, fleeing the trees with a cacophony of screeches, each one sounding less like warning calls, and more like mindless panic. Once they're gone, all that is left is an eerie silence.

"Sceptile?" Lee asks, trying his damndest to not flinch when the Mega's gaze shoots to him.

"How are you feeling?" How is he feeling? If evolution was euphoria, then Sceptile has no name for this experience, as it's beyond any words, both 'mon and man. His whole being thrums with unfettered power, beyond any of his wildest dreams. Before, he mused that with but a flick of his ankles, it felt as if he'd fly up into the sky and never come down. Now? It feels like that would be reality. One kick upon the earth too hard, and he'd shoot to the moon.

The red-tipped leaf that springs to his palm and extends into a blade as tall as himself. He does so with such ease, that even breathing seems like a labor in comparison. The movement is smooth and easy, but still draws a thrill of unease from his spectators. That's okay. They're weak. It's natural to be afraid. One cleave from him would tear the whole world asunder, after all. Sceptile's eyes settle on the one who he's never defeated, always playing second fiddle to.

Next to his human, Ninetales stares back, her jaw set and those pesky tails shivering like Seviper. Ninetales. Ace and Queen of Team Henson. A fiery tempest upon four legs that only grows more focused and raging as time marches on. His leader, his alpha… until now. Sceptile raises his weapon, and his heart races with the other phantom heart in his breast. His blood sings, his claws tingle, and his breath comes steady despite the thundering heartbeat in his ears. It's time.

Ninetales has served well thus far, but it's time for the crown to rest upon his head, not hers. Time he takes his place as the strongest with the entire team to bear witness. Once that crown is his? The next one, as the strongest pokemon ever, is only a meager leap away. He moves, there one moment, gone the-"Sceptile, Stop!" To Lee's horror, his sole Mega raises his leafy sword high, and the blade, even moving at a sedate pace, cuts through the uneasy silence with the whistle of air upon a beyond-razor edge.

Those wild, dragon-like eyes stare burning holes into Ninetales. Lee's heart won't stop its frantic drumbeat, mirrored by the reflection of Sceptile's own heart. The heart on the other side of his chest… In a way, it's like his bond with Ninetales, only so much more focused yet muted all at the same time. There aren't any words or feelings, just bodies and… and something else moving in sync.

Every movement Sceptile makes, his own muscles want to imitate, and even now, his right arm twitches as if it wants to rise and mimic Sceptile's stance. That odd bond, so familiar yet different, is why he feels the strike long before it actually comes.

"Sceptile, Stop!" Lee screams, jumping right into the Mega's path as the sword screams down like a flash.' Lee!' Nine cries, her words almost lost as Shinx, Sylveon, Octillery, and Corviknight all cry out as well, far, far too slow to do anything. The humming, glowing blade stops dead, only an inch from splitting Lee's skull in two. Where there should have been an explosion of wind from the sudden stop, there is nothing, barely even a whisper of displaced air, and the hairs on Lee's neck stand up." Hrrrn?"

Sceptile growls, staring down at him with narrow, accusing eyes.

"No, Sceptile." Lee stares back up, forcing the shakes that want to overtake him back.

"This isn't you. Whatever… Whatever this is," he begins, reaching up and pinching the sword between his eyes with a finger and thumb, pushing it away, "its not you. Just calm down, okay?" Lee raises his watch, looking down at the second hand as it turns, and then returns his attention to Sceptile.

"Here. Watch the hand tick down, bring your heartrate down with me. One per second, okay?" There isn't any acknowledgement from the towering lizard, but neither does he move to strike again.' Lee!' Ninetales hisses within his mind, standing at his side and staring up at Sceptile with flames licking the edges of her lips.

'This is insanity! Back up and let us stall him until he exhausts himself! He cannot handle it and could snap again!'' Just give me a minute, love,' Lee sends back, moving his tongue to try and wet his dry-as-cotton mouth.

'I have faith in him.' The seconds roll by, and all of the pokemon around Lee, from Ninetales with her wary stare, to Shinx, who is shaking but crackling with a Spark ready, wait with bated breath. Only the near silent tick-tick-tick of the watch reminds them that time isn't standing still. With each second, Sceptile leans further and further down, fixated on the second ring of the watch as it turns, and with each tick, Lee feels not only his own heart finally begin to settle, but also the phantom one beside it.

"Thats it, just calm down, Sceptile," Lee murmurs, raising his other hand and gently placing it on Sceptile's brow. The green scales are near-burning hot to the touch, but the man ignores the discomfort.

"We're both just going to take it easy for now." Tick-beat. Tick-beat. Tick-beat. Tick-beat. Once one minute has come and gone, Sceptile has sunk to his hands and knees, with Lee's hand rubbing a circle on the top of his head.' It's like with a wild animal.' The realization strikes Lee, and he silently kicks himself.

'Only far more literal. Sceptile wasn't antsy because he could sense my own nerves, he was directly feeding off of them. Shit. Way to go, Lee…' He pinches the bridge of his nose.

'It's fine. No one was hurt. We'll do better next time.' Sceptile slumps, his fire gone without any warning, making Lee withdraw his hand in surprise. A dull light overtakes his form, and he shrinks back down, leaving him shaking on the ground with his head bowed low. Lee presses a hand to his chest, feeling only one beat this time, then kneels down next to his pokemon.

"Sceptile?" he begins gently.

"How are you feeling?" The gecko shakes his head, refusing to look up.

"Sceptile, c'mon. It's okay, nothing happened," Lee urges, reaching out and touching Sceptile on the shoulder, garnering a flinch in return.

"Look at me, pal." The Grass-type finally raises his head, and never before has Lee seen such profound shame on a pokemon's face. Sceptile's jaws are clenched around his twig, and he can't bear to meet Lee's eyes for longer than a second.

"Hey, don't be like that," Lee says a bit more firmly, getting Sceptile to finally look up glumly.

"That was a lot of power you had to handle, and a new typing on top of it. You did great."" Did great?" Sceptile hisses in disbelief.

"I cut you! I almost attacked Nine* out of some petty * of superiority!" With distress throwing off Sceptile's tone, it takes Lee a moment to put the hisses and deep trills into words, but when he puzzles it out, he frowns.

"Keyword 'almost'. You listened, you stopped, and you calmed down, all when asked. We all know that Mega Evolution carries risks…" The volcano and Camerupt's rampage replays for both he and Ninetales, and the fox presses herself to his side. For his sake or her own, neither can say.

"You just needed a little help to keep your head on straight, and you came down just fine," Lee soldiers on, putting the memory behind him. He grips Sceptile's shoulder a little tighter.

"I knew you wouldn't actually harm me, Sceptile. I trust you." Sceptile shudders, hanging his head.

"It's not you I wanted to harm…" Lee looks to Ninetales, who is regarding Sceptile with an uncomfortable glare.

"You… You've always been a good teammate and a better friend, Sceptile," Ninetales begins aloud, and it's plain to him that his fox is struggling to not let an instinctive grudge form.

"As Lee said, controlling something like Mega Evolution is a daunting task, one few can hope to achieve. I can forgive you for your lapse in control… This once, and only once, however. I expect you to do better." Sceptile's reply is a quiet hiss, too low for Lee to properly interpret, but the way the tension eases from the Grass-type's shoulders is heartening.

"Well." Lee smiles and stands, offering a hand that Sceptile takes, letting his trainer pull him to his feet.

"We know what we did wrong. Are you up for the challenge of trying again?" Sceptile's face hardens, and his answer is a crisp nod. The following attempts are much better in Lee's opinion. The second time, Lee doesn't let his own doubt reach the surface, and keeps a steady rhythm to his breathing, counting along with his watch. When Mega Sceptile emerges once more, it's a far calmer affair.

Again, Sceptile's eyes lock to Ninetales, but there is no violent outburst, and eventually, the newly evolved Dragon drops his smoldering gaze to the grass as Lee comes up close, notebook in hand. Before Lee can finish, the transformation falters, and Sceptile reverts once more. The third time is the final time of the afternoon. Lee finally finishes his initial observations, and they try to move into practical testing of Mega Sceptile's abilities. Try being the keyword.

Even though he does little each time, transforming three times in one day is just too much for even a pokemon as hardy as Sceptile, as he drops out of his Mega form before he can use a single move, falling to his knees and nearly down on his face in exhaustion.

"You did so well today, Sceptile." Lee smiles down to the panting gecko pokemon.

"You'll have Mega Evolution perfected in no time at this rate." He gets an annoyed grunt in return, only for that annoyance to turn to mortification as Sceptile's stomach growls like a starving beast. Standing on shaky legs, Sceptile covers his stomach with his hands like it'll silence the demands for food.

"Huh, a heightened metabolic state could potentially explain why your temperature rises so much while transformed…" Lee mutters, pulling his half-rolled up notebook from his back pocket and trying to find space on his latest page, only to find none. He flips to the next page, and the back cover of the notebook greets him.

"Damn it, full again?" Sceptile manages a weak, raspy chuckle, then groans as his stomach audibly tries to eat itself. Clicking his tongue, Lee tosses the full notebook into his backpack and pulls it on.

"We'll call it here for today, everyone," he says, looking between each of his pokemon before stopping on Sceptle.

"Think about what you want for an early dinner, Sceptile. We can order in, or I can make whatever you want, double portions." Sceptile wears a rare grin as he, Sylveon, Shinx, Ninetales, and Octillery are recalled into their balls, leaving Corvi and Lee alone in the clearing. Checking his watch, which reads 3: 07, Lee strokes Corvi's wing as the great corvid sits.

"Thanks again for the feathers, Corvi," Lee says as he pulls Corviknight's saddle from his bag and begins unfolding it.

"They're some top-notch stuff." Corvi's chest puffs up, and his deep croak seems to say:"Of course they are!" Later that evening, with stomachs full of takeout and a movie no one is really watching on the large TV in the living space, Lee and Ninetales sit cuddled on the couch, the last two awake for their final night in Petalburg.

On his side, with Nine spooned to him like a living heated blanket, Lee looks up away from the Fortree hotel reservations on his phone screen to give the living room of the current abode a once over. Sitting against the corner of the L-shaped couch, Brendan sits fast asleep, held in Latias' short arms. The dragon, who is likewise asleep, is engulfed in Swampert's massive embrace, holding Latias and Brendan like teddy bears as he quietly snores.

The shiner Swampert is sporting over his left eye tells everyone that Brendan spent the day battling. Zinnia lays on her back on the other side of the couch, a pillow over her face and dead to the world. On her stomach, Sliggoo is curled up like a snail, his body partially retracted into the little curly shell on his back. The cute scene almost distracts from the bandages wrapped around her left hand, and the slight scent of ointment that permeates the room.' What was she up to?' Lee groggily wonders.

'I hope she didn't get the same idea we did…' The rest of the pokemon are away in their balls, snoozing off their heavy meals.

"Nine?" Lee mumbles, putting his phone down and focusing on combing his fingers through her chest fur. One of her ears flicks, tickling his nose.

'Yes?'' It's probably about time we let everyone in on the Giratina thing,' he replies silently.

'It's been almost two weeks.'' We have been putting it off, haven't we?' the fox sends back rhetorically, returning her head to look back at him with one ruby eye.

'Tomorrow, or when we arrive in Fortree?'' Forgreen… Fortnite… Whatever, Fortree, you know what I mean.' Lee yawns.

'Once everyone is settled in we'll say something.'' Mmm.'' Nine?'' Yes, beloved?'' No hard feelings for Sceptile, right?' This time, Ninetales takes longer to answer, and Lee can feel the mix of emotions in her chest, right under his hand.' No,' the vixen sighs.

'He wasn't in his right state of mind, and I don't know if Mega pokemon even have a proper state of mind. For all we know, theirs is a madness that never goes away and can only be managed.' Now it's Lee's turn to ponder, but before he can think of something to say, the phone laying on Ninetales' side suddenly vibrates with a call, making both pokemon and trainer jump.

"Who the hell is calling at this hour?" Lee frowns, picking up his phone and looking at the caller ID. What he reads snaps him back awake in an instant. INCOMING CALL FROM: CHAMPION STONE [ACCEPT] [DENY]