Chương 51: Chapter 41

One day after my dad showed up on television, the BattlefieldGo hit the open market. PokéMarts, battle supply retailers, and department stores rolled out fresh pallets of the surprisingly-cheap gadget. Two days after his appearance, you couldn't find a single BfG for sale anywhere at retail prices. You could find scalpers offering them, usually at around three-times the cost in-store. Three days after that, the first crime was conducted utilizing a modified BfG.

The perpetrator 'jailbroke' the device so that it would operate without requiring the barrier to be active, allowing for synergizing outside of the generated arena. They then proceeded to enact a simple break-in, and stole everything from the display shelves of a high-end jewelry store. A city-security subcontractor apprehended them sixteen hours later, though not before one of their number was hospitalized along with their Pokémon partner.

Six days after the devices hit the market, the first car accident involving a BfG occurred. A sedan plowed into a barrier that extended into the street, wrecking the vehicle's entire front end and inflicting the driver with a case of whiplash. Two weeks after my father's tv appearance, a poaching ring used seven modified BfGs to repel Neos' most elite ranger unit and capture one of the region's Gardevoir choirs, abducting each of the Pokémon, down to the last Ralts.

The next day, city-security unveiled new proprietary technology that they'd been working on with RealTech. They called it the Personal Synchronization System. No one had to reach very far for the jokes. The PSS was no laughing matter, however. The device allowed for almost six hours spent in synchronization without side effects, weighed less than ten kilos, and was durable enough to stand up to environmental wear and tear and some Pokémon attacks.

Enough of the devices existed to outfit every city-security officer in the region, along with a healthy surplus to distribute to sub-contractors for a generous leasing agreement. We also learned why the ranger corps had felt underfunded for the past couple of years, when a shipment of PSS's arrived at every outpost and station in Ferrum. Three days after PSS-equipped officers began roaming the streets, the first recorded fatality involving a personal-scale synergy stone occurred.

A Neos City gang member, struck by an errant attack from a city-security subcontractor's partner. The gang member's Pokémon went berserk, and could not be recalled. Witnesses claim that, before they were put down, the Pokémon was surrounded by a strange, dark corona, like the effect of a synergy burst, except inverted. They claimed to see wisps of shadow, red eyes, and unnatural strength from the affected Pokémon.

The media barely reported on it, and outside of conspiracy rags and hushed whispers, phenomena was chalked up to mass hysteria. As were any reports that the synergy stone on the modified BfG turned a sickly orange after its user was killed.

RealTech began struggling under the combined weight of a region's worth of fines and lawsuits, and BfGs were taken off the shelf as the company desperately tried to do damage control, but it was too little too late, and knockoff BfGs made by competitors and home-hobbyists alike began appearing on the market. Some people claimed that the region was on a precipice. Others said the state of affairs was just the new normal and that we'd adjust.

A few voices asserted that Ferrum as a region was already in the midst of collapsing. The truth was probably somewhere in the middle. And yet I could hardly put any attention into ongoing events in the wider region, because the current concerns I was focusing on were far more personal. - It started the day after we won our third badge challenge.

My knights were beyond irate that we'd finished the underleague challenge without them, to the point where, to pacify them, I agreed to go to the next underpass the following day to see if we could get some battles in for them. Somewhat mollified, they agreed, and we spent a wintry Sunday afternoon walking a short distance to the underpass nearest the harbor district. Perhaps appropriately, the Underleader there focused on Water-types, but she was apparently unavailable today, and wasn't taking any challengers.

As a result, we ended up battling with the other competitors present that day. But first, I made my knights wait, insisting that we get the lay of the land. The L12 underpass had a lot more unmasked competitors than I was used to seeing, and a brief period of observation gave me a pretty good guess as to why. It actually made a lot of sense. I you were a foreigner who wanted a standard battle, but you weren't a sailor who could compete in the Battle Warehouse, where did you go? To underpass L12, as it turned out.

Apparently the port was finally open again. Not much reason in keeping it shut when the killer had already escaped into the city proper. Not that there were a lot of non-natives in attendance. Just six or seven, from what I could tell. But that was already far more than I'd ever seen in one place, outside of the harbor district.

Foreign trainers meant foreign Pokémon, and I could already spot three I didn't recognize: an odd, tree-like saurian with fruit growing from their neck, a small, spined Pokémon with black skin that resembled a pincushion, and an orange, humanoid reptile with its scales pulled back in a grimace. Eventually, I felt like my knights had exercised enough patience, and I started asking around for battles. I began with the Grass-type's trainer, who agreed to a match after I told her I had three badges under my belt.

Her partner turned out to be a Tropious, and both woman and Pokémon hailed from Hoenn. The battle started in our favor, but we swiftly learned that the huge Grass-type had a secondary Flying-typing as he took to the air, and his powerful Gusts put us on the ropes. Luckily, we had a new weapon in our arsenal that we'd meant to use against Apex yesterday, and Rock Slide proved just as effective here as we'd hoped it would there. A short break, and we were looking for fights again.

This time, we found ourselves pitted against a Mareanie. The aquatic predator wasn't common around Techne, the iron sands around the city got too warm for them to be comfortable in most seasons, but they did have habitats on coastlines further east and west of us. Her trainer wasn't from Ferrum, however, hailing instead from an island region I wasn't familiar with, called Alola.

I knew the Poison-type would be a tough matchup for us, since she resisted most of our moves, but my knights wanted a challenge, and I was willing to oblige them. Mareanie proved a tenacious defensive fighter, and her Venoshocks were devastating, but she didn't have any effective way of boosting herself, and eventually, enough Bulk Ups and Focus Energy's saw us past her defenses.

After the battle, the purple-haired trainer stuck around to chat for a bit, and I learned that she was a researcher for a conservation organization called Aether. She certainly looked the part, with her conservative glasses and dangling pouches, and her battling style reminded me more of the type of training we did for in the ranger corps. That is, improving your partner's ability to defend you and themselves from wild Pokémon, as opposed to focusing on how to beat an opposing trainer.

Still, she took her loss with good grace, and was more than happy to listen when I offered to give her some tips. We ended up chatting a bit about our jobs, mine as a junior ranger, and her as an Aether researcher. Apparently, Alola had a good deal of species that were considered endangered, so researchers like her often traveled to other regions in search of places where those endangered species (or similar species) might also exist, hopefully in more plentiful numbers.

The idea was that you could recruit some transplants from the more populous region, to help bolster flagging populations in the other. After we said our goodbyes, I was on the hunt once more, but this time, it was another predator who found me. And the man confronting me really did strike me as a hunter. It was the way he carried and presented himself. The easy way he prowled about the underpass in his navy suit and domino mask.

His hair was styled back like wings, and his eyes never stopped roaming, crawling over the crowd as if he were searching for something.

"Saw you chatting up that Aether stooge, little lady. You should be careful around those types, conservationists can be dangerous," his voice was smooth and controlled, with a clear Unovan accent.

"Ms. Wicke seemed nice," I retorted, my guard up instantly, "and she didn't just walk up to someone and immediately start bad-mouthing someone else without even introducing herself." The man held up his hands in a 'my bad' gesture.

"You've got me there, little lady. My apologies. You can call me Grim," he gave a little bow, that just rode the line between polite and mocking.

"I'm Artie," I told him, offering the name I used while battling in the underpasses.

"And these are my knights." I punctuated my statement with a gesture at the bristling battle balls behind me, who were staring at the man with narrowed eyes.

"Charmed," the man nodded to my knights as well.

"Now, it seems to me like you're looking for a battle, and I was hoping you might oblige." I was a little bit leery, this guy was all sorts of suspicious, but I was looking for strong battlers, and something about the way this guy held himself screamed 'tough customer.'

"Fine. I'm looking for a one-on-one, and I've got three badges under my belt. Does that work for you?"

"Hmm, but a one-on-one sounds so boring, does it not? Especially when we both have three balls on our belts." He gestured meaningfully at the Poké Balls clasped at my waist, and then down to the ones affixed to his.

"Are you sure I can't tempt you into a three-on-three?" I shook my head emphatically.

"My other two partners are taking a well-deserved day off, and I promised my knights that today's battles would be all for them. It's a one-on-one or nothing for me." The man huffed, but acquiesced.

"Fine, I suppose a duel can still be at least a little entertaining. Still, I would prefer it if we made things a little more– interesting. Tell me, what do you say about a little wager?" I frowned behind my helmet's veil, alarm bells ringing once more.

"Gambling on non-Ferrum Battles is illegal," I pointed out, "and there's a lot of people on the streets right now very eager to find people breaking the law." The man held up his hands once more, while shaking his head.

"No no, you misunderstand me. Or rather, I suppose I misspoke. Of course I wouldn't propose that we gamble on the results of our battle, just that we come to a little agreement. Say, if I win, I get to ask you any one question, and if you win, you can do the same. Surely that wouldn't be against any of the laws of your fair region?" That still seemed sort of suspect to me, and I was this close to telling this guy to screw off, but I could practically feel the irritation rolling off my partners behind me.

If I told them we weren't battling him now, I'm pretty sure I would have a mutiny on my hands, and I wasn't going to deal with that, after I'd already put so much effort into pacifying them. And besides, this guy was sort of pissing me off. Beating him in a battle would be very, very satisfying.

"Alright, fine. You have a deal. But if you ask something creepy, I'm reporting you to city security," I warned him. He put a hand over his heart, and leaned back, as if swooning.

"Such a grievous assault on my honor. I assure you little lady, my question is nothing untoward."

"Fine then, let's find an arena and get this over with." I turned around, but not so fast that I missed the self-satisfied grin flash across the odd man's features. I really hoped that I wasn't making a mistake with this battle. - We claimed an arena, and the barrier shuddered to life. We both released our partners after a countdown, and my knights found themselves confronted with another Pokémon I didn't recognize. What I did recognize was that our prospective foe was dangerous.

Their humanoid body was covered in gleaming blades, all sharpened to razor points, and their mostly crimson skin shone under the light of the barriers like a particularly reflective metal. I was pretty sure we were up against a Steel-type, which favored us, but the easy confidence with which our opponent eyes us put my nerves up. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Focus up," I called out to my knights, "this seems like it could be tough."

"Well we certainly don't plan on making things easy," the man across from me shouted at us with a laugh.

"Ready whenever you are, little lady, do you want to count us off?" It was sort of poor form to ask me to count us in when we were competing in a serious battle, especially with something on the line, even if that something was as innocuous as a question. Not to mention, he'd been the one to initiate the challenge.

"Knights, be ready, listen to Lance," I told my Pokémon, before shouting out.

"The battle will begin in five, four, three, two, one, begin!" I'd barely finished my call when a command came from the well-dressed man.

"Sharpen up." His partner immediately began a mesmerizing dance, their blades ringing like bells as he went through the obviously-familiar routine.

"Blitz Game," I ordered, spurring my knights into motion. They'd already been in motion before the words were halfway out of my mouth, Lance stirring them up ahead of my command, With the guidance I provided, the Fighting-types charged forwards, their bodies glowing green. Our First Impression had gone through further refinement, and now, instead of crashing into an opponent one after another, my knights spread out, before all rushing at once, converging in an arc.

The concentration of force usually let my knights do a lot more damage than if they just hit things one at a time, though in this case, when all six battle balls slammed into the dancing Steel-type, they didn't seem to do much of anything at all. That made sense considering the type interactions in play, and it also didn't really matter all that much, because now my Knights were up close and personal. The clanging of carapace on metal began as my knights' shields crashed into our opponent like sticks onto a drum.

Rock Smash after Rock Smash collided with the Steel-type, who grimaced and stiffened under the assault, but weathered it without ceasing in his dance.

"Fighting." The dark-haired man called out calmly. I tried to puzzle out what the command meant, but our opponent made it clear after a brief second, as one of their arms began leaking corrosive toxin. It hadn't been a command at all, but rather advice from Grim, informing his partner of what Pokémon type they were up against. The Steel-type lashed out, and their Poison Jab caught Bers mid-Rock Smash, ramming into him in a brutal direct hit.

The formation's hardiest knight was sent flying, slamming into the barrier behind me and then falling to the floor of the arena, clearly out cold. My neck felt cold. It'd been a while since any of my knights had been knocked out in one hit, and that went double for Bers, who could usually take more of a beating than his brothers. We were clearly outmatched here.

Outmatched didn't mean outmaneuvered, however, and just because our opponent was stronger than us and had taken a piece didn't mean checkmate was off the table.

"Brass' Gambit!" I called out, ordering my knights to regroup. They came together, and were immediately under assault by the foreign Steel-type, poison-coated claws gouging scores in the scintillating green barrier projected by half of the formation. The knights in the back row were already boosting, the telltale glow of Fighting-type energy suffusing their form, but our opponents were cannier than we were used to.

"Now now, none of that." Grim called out from across the arena.

"Alister, shut that down, would you?" The Steel-type huffed, seeming somehow affronted, before taking a few steps back. They turned around, said something I didn't understand but that sounded putrid, and slapped their still-poisonous claws on their crimson behind. The Bulk Up and Protect faltered instantly, as my knights flung themselves forwards. The Steel-type turned around, obviously ready to meet their charge, both hands glowing purple and leaking toxin.

Those Poison Jabs were going to be devastating, and I wasn't going to be able to convince my knights to back off and wait out that Taunt. Distortion, even I wanted to rush in there and try to beat the Steel-type into a pulp. Things looked bad, but the battle wasn't over. We still had a chance.

"Mate gambit!" I screamed, trying to make sure my command was heard through the haze of the taunt. I felt my voice crack, but my knights tightened up their formation, proof that my dignity had been sacrificed for a good cause. The Poison Jab crashed into my knights, but they took it together, and kept going. Abigail had explained this to me, after I'd complained to her about more experienced battlers picking my knights apart one by one.

Falinks, to some extent, shared syn, no matter how far apart they were (within reason). That was why a Poké Ball could recall all of them together, even if some of them were more distant. More experienced formations could distribute damage across their numbers at long ranges, but that took far more practice and training than we had under our belts. There was a way for us to cheat, however. The closer together the Falinks were, the easier it was to share damage.

So, all bundled up, my knights could pool their syn inuring any one of them from a knockout blow. And making sure they all took a hefty bit of damage. Five battle balls plowed into the stalwart Steel-type, glowing orange and screaming fury. The supereffective Reversal actually moved our opponent, sending them skidding back across the concrete.

Their gleaming claws dug light furrows into the ground, and released an unearthly screeching sound, but the powerful Pokémon kept their footing, and retaliated immediately, no command necessary from their trainer. They roared, the sound reminding me of the time a metal spoon had gotten caught in our garbage disposal. The guttural sound was accompanied by a wave of pitch-black energy, roiling across the battlefield and slamming into my knights with a crash.

They went sprawling, and the weakness of this new strategy reared its ugly head, as each of them took damage from the move, the front of the formation unable to block for the rear. Three more knights fell. Lance, at the head of the formation, took the brunt of the hit, and rolled away unconscious. Percy and Kay, who hadn't gotten a Bulk Up off, took more damage from the earlier Poison Jab. That meant when the Snarl hit them now, they just collapsed in a heap.

Only two of my partners remained standing, Tristan and Galad. Our opponent wasn't unscathed from the supereffective hit, a deep, resonant groan came from them as they straightened up and shook out their bladed forearms, but they didn't seem like they were on the verge of collapse either. But down wasn't out, and I knew my knights weren't willing to surrender until none of them could move. Mill around aimlessly, perhaps, that was an option, but never surrender.

"Golem's Ark!" I called out, hoping that the Taunt had worn off by now, and also that they were able to listen to my command without Lance interpreting. Luckily, we'd stalled long enough, and Tristan was still standing. My littlest knight had the best head for complicated maneuvers after Lance (and sometimes I thought that he might actually have a slight edge), so after a quick chirrup to Galad to explain, they both set themselves, glowing with energy.

"You're tenacious. I respect that, but we do have a battle to win. Finish this, Alister," Grim commanded, and the Steel-type obliged, charging forwards with claws aglow. He reached my knights and punched down, only for both of them to leap out of the way, the weak glow suffusing them dissipating as they released the thin sheen of energy they'd accumulated to mimic a full-on Bulk Up. Trap sprung, my knights leapt, their Reversals chambered and ready to crash into Alister. I almost didn't see it.

The motion strained what my eyes could even capture. Two quick jabs, glowing with pitch-black power. Both my knights were sent sprawling back, the blisteringly fast move slipping by their defenses right before they struck and knocking them both out before their attacks landed. I let loose a groan, and recalled my partners as the barrier shimmered off around us.

"Great job out there knights, those were some tough competitors," I reassured the ball in my hands.

"Take a rest, and maybe we can get another battle in later." It was hardly our first loss at the underpass, but usually the victors weren't so annoying beforehand. Still, and I would never tell this to my knights, I was actually glad we'd gotten into this fight. Frustrating as every loss was, it helped to have periodic reminders of how much further we had to climb. At least, that's what I insisted on telling myself every time we had to suck up our pride and admit we hadn't been good enough.

Across the field, Alister groaned a bit, rolling their shoulders out and tapping delicately at some marks and knicks on their blades. They grumbled something back to their partner, which earned them a disdainful snort.

"Oh suck it up, you big baby." Grim told his partner good-naturedly.

"You're the one who underestimated them and almost got your dome caved in." The Steel-type grunted in a way that sounded accusing to me, and their partner chuckled.

"Well it's one of our jobs to take things seriously, and it's the other's job to have fun, and since you're pathologically incapable of experiencing the latter, clearly it falls on me." I walked up to the bickering pair, my sense of honor (and desire to get this over with) winning out over my good sense.

"Good battle," I lied, extending my hand to shake. Instead of the warm, human, palm I was expecting, I instead found my hand held in Alister's surprisingly cold, surprisingly gentle grasp. The Steel-type very lightly shook my hand, taking great care that their sharpened claws didn't dig into my skin, before turning their head to Grim and grinding out something that sounded undeniably smug to me. Grim rolled his eyes, the motion visible even behind his domino mask, and recalled his partner with a huff.

"That's enough out of you," he told the ball in his hand with no real heat, before his countenance softened.

"Good battling. Thanks for handling the slack," he spoke at it, before stowing the ball on his belt.

"And as for you," he looked back up at me. The man studied me for a few moments, and I had to suppress the urge to bristle under his gaze.

"Chess openings, huh? That's novel. First time since I started battling here that I've met a trainer that outstripped their partner. Usually it's the other way around in these parts." I felt a scowl form on my face, and I considered ripping off my stifling metal helmet so Grim could see it.

"Yes, I use chess openings as coded commands. That's your question, right, can I get out of here?" Grim's face screwed up, and he barked out a laugh.

"You know what, I probably deserve that. Sorry little lady, I'm not trying to be mean or anything. Your Falinks weren't half bad. Truth's word, I'm shocked you have them listening even when the brass is down. That's good work. If they were as strong as Alister, you would have beaten me here nine times out of ten." The apology had me a bit mollified, but I still wanted to get this over with.

"Sure, whatever. Why don't you ask your question so we can be done here?" The well-dressed man sighed, and shook his head.

"I probably deserve that too. Tell you what, why don't you let me show you something, as an apology, and then you answer my question the best you can, okay?" I was instantly on-guard again at this added condition.

"So let me guess, I'm supposed to follow you now, so you can show me this 'thing,'" I asked, suspicion coloring my tone. Grim sighed, and shook his head.

"Okay, we're getting out of the realm of what I think I deserve. Here, let's clear the battlefield, no need to go anywhere else." That seemed innocuous, and probably necessary enough, so I followed him off of the arena, and he didn't try to lead me away from the crowd, so I stood a few steps away from him while he dug around in his pockets.

"Ah ha, here we go," he Murkrowed triumphantly as he pulled a device free from a pocket, revealing something that vaguely resembled a handheld camera.

"Take a look at this," he powered the thing on, revealing that most of the back side of it was actually a screen. Grim messed around with the thing for a few seconds, before turning it around to show me something. The revealed image was that of a Liepard, facing off against a Falinks. Standing behind the familiar Fighting-type was an older man in a padded gi. His skin was almost as dark as mine, and rippled with well-honed muscles.

He had close-cropped bleached hair, and an unblinking no-nonsense stare that made the hairs on my arms stand on end. Grim handed me the device, and I took it, holding the thing gingerly as I looked closer at the image.

"Press that little triangle in the middle of the screen," he told me, "and watch what happens carefully." A tad bemused, I did as he said, and the image began moving! This thing was a portable video player! I hadn't ever heard of a device like this! As far as I knew, modern Pokégears could only display images, not videos, and unless I was way off my guess, that lens meant this thing could probably take video too!

Crazy as that was though, I didn't have time to focus on it, because what was playing on said device's screen was far more enthralling than knowledge of its existence. The Liepard was attacking the huge man's Falinks with what I recognized from yesterday's battles as an Aerial Ace. Except, the Falinks were ready for it, deflecting the supereffective attack with a brief flash of a Protect before beginning the motion to lash out with some sort of move.

Except, there was that blur of motion again, so fast that the camera couldn't properly track it. An aura of dark appeared around the Liepard's paws, and from one second to the next, they'd made to strike the Falinks. And then, unlike what happened today, the little Fighting-types responded, blurring as well at what had to be priority speeds. The six battle balls respond in kind, their move connecting with the Liepard's flank almost instantly.

"Sucker Punch and Upper Hand. Two important priority moves that I'd recommend teaching to any Pokémon that can learn them." Grim explained, his tone surprisingly serious.

"I didn't even know about the latter until Marshal showed it off to me. Apparently it's a pretty new move. It only works if your opponent is attacking at priority speed. I'm not really sure how you'd even go about training for it, but Falinks can learn it, clearly."

"I'll figure something out," I murmured, as I rewinded and replayed the video, completely certain. This was too valuable to forfeit as an option.

"That's the spirit," he grinned.

"Now, as for that question I had." I sighed, but I really did owe the man for showing me that, and also for winning the wager.

"Fine, what do you want to know?" I asked as I handed the device back. He took it, and began thumbing through it once again, before settling on an image and turning it around to show me.

"Have you ever seen a Pokémon like this before?" I leaned in, peering closely at the device. The Pokémon in question was a dark-furred canid, with red highlights coloring the mane of fur erupting from its head. Something about the Pokémon looked mischievous, and it had a playful smile on its face as it faced whoever was taking the picture.

"I haven't," I shook my head, absolutely certain.

"Sorry, I don't recognize it. Are you looking into a new Pokémon or something?"

"Not exactly." The man shook his head with a sigh.

"Just trying to find a lost friend. On the off chance you ever do run into a Pokémon that looks like this, do yourself a favor, and go the other way. And also let me know if the chance comes up."

"... okay?" I agreed after a few seconds of awkward silence, sort of unsure how to respond to that request. Grim let out a weak chuckle.

"I know that sounds odd, but you seem like a good kid. Would tear me up if you got hurt. Just, be careful. I hear things are dangerous around here lately."

"Same to you, I guess. Thanks for the battle, Grim."

"To you as well, Artie. To you as well." - I wasn't exactly sure what to make of my encounter with the strange man on my way back from the underpass. We hadn't been able to get any more battles in, unfortunately, my knights were too exhausted, but overall, I felt the day was productive. Some wins, some losses, and a new move we needed to work on learning. There were worse ways to spend a Sunday evening.

Some odd events, but nothing I wouldn't put out of mind over the next couple of weeks as we focused on more important things. All would have been well. Except, when I forced my knights into the bath that evening, I found some distinctive yellow markings on the bottom of Tristan's carapace, evidence that his shell was growing around his rear and towards his lower stomach. That sort of development could only mean one thing.

My littlest knight was about to become not-so-little, and I was going to have to figure out how to keep the most important people in the world to me from splintering apart.