Chương 131: Chapter 127

As it stood, it was actually early December, and, as my next show battle was scheduled for the third week of January, I had more time to spare than I had initially thought. My current biggest worry was that the routes that lead up to Snowpoint, Route 216 and Route 217, had a higher elevation and were naturally colder as a result. With Snowpoint located so far north, away from the rest of the region, I wasn't sure my team was ready to make the trip in the middle of winter.

For now, my goal was to get Kirlia to evolve, first. Outside of the occasional stone evolution, this would be the first time I actively sought to evolve a Pokémon since Florges initially evolved from a Flabébé to a Floette. So, once I finished researching what I could on the Fairy Type forums, I gathered up my Pokémon and sat them down to have a serious discussion about our end goal: beating Tobias.

"So, what do you all think?" I asked after giving my team an overview. My gaze lingered on Kirlia, who was actually looking somewhat conflicted. In fact, my team wasn't giving me that usual determination that they normally had. It took me a moment before I figured out the issue.

"You're worried if this is even possible," I said in realization. Ninetales sent me a guilty look while a lot of my other Pokémon shifted awkwardly on their feet. Well, Azumarill actually looked motivated, at least. However, when I had said she wouldn't be the one to take down Darkrai, she did become unhappy.

"Look. I know we've all seen the power of Legendary Pokémon, or at least heard tales of them, for some of you. Primal Kyogre devastated Mossdeep Island, Mega Rayquaza easily beat it back, Diancie demonstrated incredible control over crystals, and finally, Xerneas, the strongest Fairy Type Pokémon, fainted most of you with a single Moonblast." I ignored Azumarill's protests about Xerneas being the strongest Fairy Type.

"I'm not saying that Darkrai isn't powerful, but I am saying those other Legendary Pokémon are stronger. Darkrai doesn't have the power of Kyogre, Rayquaza, or Xerneas, and it doesn't have a Mega Evolution like Diancie, either. Most importantly, Darkrai doesn't have the Type advantage! We can beat it, we just need to train! You know me. You know I'm great at making plans. Trust me, and we can win this fight! Now, who's with me?" My Pokémon acted a bit more confident, but none really cheered like I expected.

I didn't really get that big of a response until Kirlia flashed forward with Teleport. Everyone turned his way. In the center of the group like that, Kirlia very purposefully and deliberately turned around. For each Pokémon here, he looked them dead in the eye with an extremely serious expression on his face.

"Kirl," he stated. He then crossed his arm over his chest, then faced my way.

"Lia," he continued. Still holding that pose with his arm, he very gracefully moved into a kneeling position. Lowering his head as if to bow, he said one last thing.

"Kirlia," he declared. All of my Pokémon stated their name in agreement. Ninetales looked excited. Azumarill was ready to rumble. Mawile and Whimsicott both had confident smirks, and Carbink's eyes were furrowed in a look of determination.

"We're going to beat those Legendary Pokémon," I told them.

"With the right training and strategy, we can beat anything Tobias throws our way." Two of Tobias's Pokémon were all but guaranteed: Darkrai, obviously, and Latios. In the anime, Latios only showed up after Darkrai had fainted, but with how everything else had essentially lined up, I was confident Latios was still a part of Tobias's team. My own team was rearranged to give everyone the best opportunity they had to train.

As it stood, everyone was either training together or going off to secure opportunities to better themselves in another way. Whimsicott and Carbink were off at Sycamore's ranch to find a Poison Type to help them with their development of Toxic. Mawile was with them to keep them in line and serve as a decent training partner. Whimsicott would benefit with dealing with Taunt, and Carbink was the perfect partner for Mawile as their incredibly strong defenses let her unleash her attacks without needing to hold back.

Other than those three, Florges and Azumarill were off on their own, taking advantage of what connections we had. Azumarill was with Crasher Wake, of course, battling alongside experienced, physical fighters while also competing in the occasional high-level Gym Battle. Florges was also on Sycamore's ranch, but she was actually spending her time with Sophie, one of Professor Sycamore's assistants.

Sophie's research into healing meant Florges could assist Sophie while also further developing the mastery of her own healing moves. As for the Pokémon with me, they were all working under my watchful eye. Ninetales and Dedenne worked with Altaria, firing Ice Beam after Ice Beam and Thunder after Thunder at the flying bird. I planned for Altaria to be our answer to Latios, keeping in mind that Latios was faster than a jet plane with far more maneuverability.

Altaria needed to practice how well he could fly just to be competitive. The fast attacks of both Ice Beam and Thunder would help train him to be quicker and more adept at suddenly adjusting his flight path. Through this practice, Ninetales was able to practice how quickly her Ice Beam went off, and Dedenne worked to modify Thunder into Thunderbolt.

As it stood, he was exceptional at releasing all of his energy at once with both Thunder and Discharge, but he needed to have an attack that didn't leave him effectively useless for the rest of the battle. By repeatedly using Thunder against Altaria, he was forced to use a version of the move that contained almost no energy to it. When Altaria got hit, he only got lightly singed. However, this practice served to help increase Dedenne's control and finesse.

Kirlia and Rapidash trained together, with Togepi at their side. Togepi's training was more like playing games more than anything else; the activities I had her do were mostly about keeping her entertained while also serving to build up her baseline capabilities. Rapidash kept a careful eye on her while both he and Kirlia worked nearby. Kirlia was trying to develop his connection to the Fairy Type. For that purpose, I brought out the Pixie Plate. As it stood, Kirlia didn't actually have any decent Fairy Type moves.

He had Disarming Voice, but such a weak attack just didn't match up to the level of power his Psychic had. It was only worth using in the rare situation that caught his opponents off guard. Rather than having him immediately try to perfect any offensive Fairy Type moves, I wanted him to gain better control over his secondary Type. To do that, I was having him learn Misty Terrain.

"Focus on the Pixie Plate," I told him.

"You're familiar with Fairy Type energy. Try to see if you can draw any more out of the item you're holding." Kirlia nodded slightly to acknowledge me, but his eyes were currently closed. He wasn't directly holding the Pixie Plate in his hands, but, rather, he was having it float in the air about a foot away from his head. His two red horns glowed blue with Psychic Type energy as both he controlled and focused on the item.

Behind him, Rapidash was taking several deliberate steps forward, trying his best to maintain a Fairy Type infusion in his hooves. The infusion was needed for the first step of Play Rough, which he would then be able to develop into a powerful, trampling attack.

"Focus what Fairy Type energy you have," I continued, speaking to Kirlia.

"Try to compress into a tight ball, then release it under your feet. That's how the rest of the team described the move to me." He didn't nod this time, choosing instead to silently do his best to follow what I said. The hue of his blue psychic momentarily faded as he split his focus. However, it picked right back up when used Calm Mind to help him continue his efforts with increased focus. I made a mental note to have him practice his moves without being under that self-buffing effect.

"Good. Now release," I said. As soon as I said those words, Kirlia clenched his eyes and a pink burst was sent out underneath him. Due to a quirk of his species, he was actually only balancing on one foot right now, and in a small patch around it, faint pink mist began to emanate from the ground. The move was already fading, but that didn't stop the absolutely massive smile from forming on my face. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"You did it!" I cheered.

"Kirlia, that was only your first attempt, and you managed to get a basic Misty Terrain down! That's incredible!" He opened his eyes, shocked, and immediately looked down to see what he'd made. Unfortunately, he seemed disappointed by how weak this first use of Misty Terrain was as the foot-long patch dissipated while he stared at it. Kirlia let out a sad groan in response.

"No, don't get upset. You got the basics down first try. Get more used to using Fairy Type energy like this, and practically any Fairy Type move will come to you easily! Misty Terrain is going to be important in our strategy, after all, so this move in particular is key, too." His face tightened back into a determined look as he closed his eyes to try again. However, that attempt was interrupted by a friendly push from Rapidash's nose to try to get him to at least celebrate a bit.

At first, Kirlia looked a bit annoyed, but then Togepi merrily skipped over his way and jumped up to take his hand. His expression lightened as she cheerfully spun him around in celebration. Togepi laughed. Rapidash snorted in amusement.

"See? It's an impressive first step. We just have to keep going and keep getting stronger. We still have a long way to go before we beat Darkrai." My focus may have been on Kirlia, but that was only because he had the longest way to go compared to everyone else. The rest of my team already had a solid baseline, or, in Togepi's case, had no chance to be in a competing state by the Conference. Due to that, my next move for training was based around Kirlia as well.

Hopefully this would both prepare him while also giving him the perfect opportunity to evolve into his next form. Kirlia and I entered Eterna forest. The rest of my team was with me, of course, but the purpose of going in together was to prepare for Darkrai. Darkrai wasn't necessarily a Ghost Type, but I knew it could travel through shadows as if it were a ghost. As it was a Dark Type, that meant it wouldn't be able to be detected by Kirlia's mental detection while moving around stealthily.

To try to practice dealing with those things, I wanted to make use of a certain location in Eterna Forest: the Old Chateau. The Old Chateau wasn't located too far into the forest, but it was still a bit of a ways in. Overtaken by nature, the place had become a residence of Ghost Type Pokémon, eventually being declared a reserve for them by the League in recent years.

Normal trainers weren't allowed access to it due to the threat the Ghost Types created, though I could have potentially requested access due to the implied responsibility my ownership of the Key to Kalos entailed. Instead, my goal was to stay near the mansion without actually going past its gates. Going into such a Ghost-infested place would basically be a death sentence, not to mention incredibly terrifying.

I also had faint memories of the place having actual ghosts in the game, so there was no way I'd actually enter. Kirlia and I found a place nearby that had the mansion visible in the distance between the trees. We rested throughout the day and stayed awake at night. The forest was dark. Ancient trees loomed over us overhead Through the canopy, pinpricks of starlight poked through just enough to barely illuminate our surroundings.

I had set up a basic campfire to provide some light, though there was no tent, only a few blankets to cover ourselves if we got too cold. Kirlia was out, across from me, keeping his eyes closed in focus on detecting our surroundings. Nearby, a few Kricketot chirped into the night. The leaves rustled in the wind. For a brief moment, I heard the sound of a Murkrow flapping its wings as it passed by above. It felt quiet, despite those few sources of noise. I stared into the fire as Kirlia continued to focus.

"It's been a while since we really talked, huh Kirlia?" I said quietly. He slowly opened his eyes to look at me.

"We've been through a lot, I'd say," I continued.

"Everything involving Luxio at the start, our training on Iron Island, Chance." I chuckled.

"I remember how determined you were to train yourself up back when you were a Ralts. I remember how injured you made yourself for that cause. Do you still feel the same way?" Kirlia stared at me, unblinking, before closing his eyes and shaking his head no with a smile. The explicit denial of such negative feelings filled me with warmth. I was happy to know he was feeling better.

"You know, if you don't want to have this pressure, tell me. Ninetales can work as a secondary alternative, too. Her Fairy Type power has been making leaps and strides ever since Kalos." I sighed.

"Kirlia. You're still a developing Pokémon. I don't want to stress you over this battle." Kirlia gave me a nonchalant shrug, then caused his red horns to glow. From the ground, three different items took to the air: his Utility Umbrella, the Iron Ball, and the Pixie Plate. The way they moved was effortless; Kirlia didn't even struggle to bring the Iron Ball off the ground like he used to. Both of us watched the floating items spiral and spin around each other before Kirlia placed them on the ground in one stack.

The plate was set standing up. The ball was placed on the plate. The umbrella was balanced on the ball. The pile stood there, precariously, for several long seconds before the umbrella suddenly opened and knocked the items to the ground. Kirlia laughed at the sight. I laughed too.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Kirlia. You're my Pokémon. I only want the best for you." Kirlia glanced my way one last time to give me a thankful tilt of his head. Then, he closed his eyes and went back to keeping a mind on our surroundings. We returned to the still silence of the night. Memories of pranking Hope and Ramos in the Allearth Forest flashed in my mind. Funnily enough, I told them about Darkrai back then. This camping trip was inspired by Darkrai, too.

After another hour's wait, Kirlia suddenly stood up.

"Kirl," he said. I joined him in his standing position.

"Ghosts?" I asked. My question was answered when I saw my breath appear before me. I only had a moment to grab my old, trusty flashlight before the fire went out. I stepped toward Kirlia as he flashed towards my side, and I moved the beam of the flightlight around into the forest. As I did, I quietly tapped on the rest of my team's Pokéballs, waking them up. They knew not to release themselves unless it was an emergency, as there was no way I'd have Kirlia and I face ghosts completely alone.

My beam of light revealed nothing until Kirlia grabbed my arm to drag the light towards the direction he was facing. There, in the forest, a thick mist was spread out all across that side. We stared at it as it slowly drifted forward.

"High alert. This is it," I declared. Kirlia made a quiet noise to acknowledge me. I felt him grab my pants leg to let me know he was there. All of the sounds of the night were gone. A quiet hissing emanated out from all around us. The clearing became completely still. That is, until Kirlia used Psychic. Lit up by Kirlia's psychic powers, a perfect sphere of ghostly, poisonous gas was outlined in blue. He held the Pokémon there and looked around before bringing it a bit closer.

Based on what I could see, Kirlia had dragged a Gastly out from the darkness. The Gastly moaned ominously. In Kirlia's psychic grip, it rotated to have its cruel eyes stare our way. Beneath those eyes, a fanged smile stretched out across the Pokémon's lower half.

"Is it alone?" I asked. Kirlia teleported forward a few feet within the Beam of my flashlight. The Gastly was held in the air directly over him, but as I saw him leave, a terrified feeling sank into my gut.

"Kirlia," I whispered.

"Please." The grip on my pant leg tightened. The flashlight clattered to the ground as I was yanked into the forest. Immediately, Kirlia's horns glowed for a Teleport, but he didn't move. That Gastly from before glared at him with a Mean Look, preventing him from escaping. A look of dawning horror appeared on his face as I saw him rapidly shrink into the distance while I continued to be dragged farther and farther away. Then, whatever was dragging me stopped.

The grip was torn away from my leg as I pushed back to my feet and ran to return to our small camp. My Pokémon were still at my waist ready to step in, but it seemed being dragged away by a Haunter wasn't good enough for them to be motivated to come out. As I ran, the Haunter suddenly shot past my side to get closer to Kirlia. It didn't seem intentional on its part, though.

The floating face and two sharp claws were dragged closer, enveloped in blue light that brought them right next to where my Pokémon was standing. Gastly and Haunter did nothing but exchange an unhappy look. Kirlia looked smug in his victory. However, both Ghost Types then smiled. Gastly's gas burst out erratically, the mist that obscured its form stretching out in all directions. Similarly, Haunter's body stretched and squashed, reshaping and reforming itself in ways I never thought were possible.

With such chaotic movements from the pair of Pokémon, Kirlia struggled to keep them under control. I just barely managed to pick up my flashlight in time to see Kirlia's shadow double in size under him.

"Kirlia—" was all I said before I was interrupted. Despite the surprise attack in the works, we had come to Eterna Forest to have Kirlia practice his detection, and it seemed he had kept that in mind. With Mean Look up, he couldn't use Teleport, but he could at least still hop away. From that growing shadow, a crooked hand reached out to try to grab where Kirlia had just been.

The annoyed clicking of a tongue rang out before that hand twisted around and began to push whatever Pokémon it was attached to out of the ground. I'd seen this Pokémon before. Recently, too. Fantina's Gengar was a smooth, furred, and almost pure purple mass of shadow. This one was something different. Its arms were thin and lanky. Its body was twisted and dented. A pair of yellow eyes were sunken into the upper half of its face while its large mouth was wrinkled and cracked like a dehydrated corpse.

Overall, with the shape of its relatively round body and pointed ears, this Gengar almost looked like the purple skull of some strange demon. It cackled at Kirlia, smiling cruelly as if to promise pain. I tapped the Pokéballs at my side just to make sure my Pokémon were actually awake. They still chose not to come out, apparently judging that Kirlia would be enough for this battle. I wanted to tell Kirlia to leave, but, again, the Mean Look was keeping us here, unable to run. Instead, I gave him a different order.

"Stack Calm Mind. Grab them all with Psychic!" I shouted. Kirlia sent me an annoyed glance as if to imply he was already doing that. He closed his eyes. Kirlia's grip around both Haunter and Gastly tightened, and their chaotic movements lessened somewhat, but the blue glow that appeared around Gengar snapped when it took a single step forward. The fully evolved Ghost Type laughed at Kirlia's feeble attempt to stall it.

It held up a hand to form a small, pulsating Shadow Ball in its palm, but it didn't send it forward just yet. Instead, Gengar stared at Kirlia as if daring him to do something. Kirlia just stared back at the Gengar, challengingly. Gengar's grin stretched even further to reach the sides of its body. There was a moment of tension before it suddenly twisted and lunged to the side, pushing the Shadow Ball right at me. Kirlia screamed. Still, though, none of my Pokémon exited their Pokéball. I soon saw why.

Originating from Kirlia's position, a blinding flash of light suddenly knocked all the Ghost Types back. I hadn't had Kirlia learn Dazzling Gleam, but it seemed that in that moment, he chose to rely on a non-Psychic Type move since the rest of his energy was tied up in his telekinetic grasp. Despite all the Ghost Types here being dual Poison Type that resisted the Fairy Type move, the unexpected light did stun them for a second.

Gengar blinked a few times to regain its vision, then did a double take when it noticed its unusually gaunt visage had been reset. Now looking exactly like a normal Gengar, it quickly began to pinch and pull its body to try to regain its previous fearful appearance. Kirlia took a step towards it. Then another step. And another. Each stride he took spoke of grace and power, and each stride he took was slightly longer than the last.

His short, green legs increased in length, and the ruffles around his waist extended down into a long drape. His arms stopped being held around his middle to fall down to his sides, and while his red horns sunk back into his head, two more grew out of the center of his chest and back. I smiled as the area around us was illuminated with the light of evolution.

"You did it," I whispered proudly.

"Congratulations, Gardevoir." Gengar tried its best to return to a battle ready stance. Haunter and Gastly, on the other hand, attempted to flee the clearing. With a casual flex of his mind, Gardevoir easily grabbed all three of them and brought them forward in an organized row. All three Pokémon tried to inch back in fear. After letting the Ghost Types squirm under his psychic grip, Gardevoir smirked and released the trio without any further attempts to hold them.

Immediately, all three of them disappeared into the darkness of the forest, not even bothering to return to our camp. Gardevoir stood tall and easily looked me in the eyes. He and I both smiled, then burst into laughter. However, just like he did earlier, he soon crossed one arm over his chest and took a knee on the ground. Ever since I first saw a Gardevoir in person in this world, I always thought the species lay firmly in the uncanny valley.

Their arms were gangly and slightly too long, with no visible division for their elbows. Their legs were nothing more than thin, straight points, and their clothes were a part of their body, not something that was put on. Now, however, with Gardevoir kneeling in front of me, I could see a natural grace to him. In a way, he almost looked knightly.

"Rise," I said, purposefully playing into the theme. Gardevoir rose to his feet and looked at me head on. He bowed his head in both thanks and respect.

"Let's get out of here." He extended a hand. I confidently took it. Gardevoir teleported us out of the forest.