Chapter 26

" You know you're an asshole right? " Zinnia asked, sitting next to Alain in the airport.

After the battle, Atsumu and Alain decide to stay and take a day of rest before heading back to Kalos.

" Have you looked in a mirror? " Alain asked.

" Yes, I have. " Zinnia said. " Which allowed me to do some... self-reflecting and see that you aren't that bad. Thanks, for setting me straight that day on the roof. "

" Well, it was either that or fail leading to a catastrophe, so I had no choice. " Alain said.

" Can't you say something like ' You're welcome' or ' No problem ' or ' Don't worry about it '? " Zinnia asked.

" Can't! " Alain said.

" Why? " Zinnia asked, narrowing her eyes.

" Because you were a pain in the ass that day and I hated the fact I had to set you straight. " Alain states.

" ... I take it all back, you're just an asshole. " Zinnia said.

" Thank you. " Alain responded.

" Wasn't! A! Compliment! " Zinnia stressed.

" ...Yes it was. " Alain said. Zinnia clenched her fist tightly, taking a deep breath to control her desire to punch Alain in his smug face.

" Hey, " Alain called out. " What are you going to do now? "

" ... I don't know. " Zinnia said. " Most of my life was to prepare to save the region. Well, that region's been saved, and... I have nothing to do anymore. "

" What about you? " Zinnia asked, turning to Alain.

" I'm... still undecided. " Alain said. " More so on whether I have what it takes because of the gap... that has been clearly defined to me. It's... massive. "

Zinnia looked in the direction Alain was looking and saw Atsumu sitting across from them talking to Steven who was sitting right him.

" Yeah, " Zinnia agreed. " How can you even close a gap that huge? "

" No idea. " Alain said. " But I'll close that gap! "

With Atsumu and Steven,

" Okay, I have one last hypothesis on how you pulled off Mega Aegislsash. If I'm right, say yes, if not say no. Those are my conditions, you have anything else to say, say it. Alright, here we go. " Steven said, shifting on his seat till he got comfortable.

" You pulled off the Mega Evolution by copying the method Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza used, by absorbing a ton of energy from the stone. But unlike the Hoenn Legendaries who have been alive for literal centuries and have an astute sense of self that allows them to be in complete control, you needed to use the keystone to help Aegislash so that he doesn't spiral from the large influx of energy he absorbed.

The enormous energy from the stone acts as a 'mega stone' while you use your keystone, thus you achieve mega evolution with Aegislash! Am I right or wrong?! " Steven rants.

" You are right. " Atsumu says with a smile.

" Yes! " Steven celebrates. " Let's go! "

" What are your plans when you return to Kalos? " Steven asked.

" Collect the next badge I need. " Atsumu answered.

" Why are you participating in the Kalos league anyway? " Steven asked.

" I wanted to experience the Gym Challenge and Kalos just appealed to my interests, so I went there. Though, I don't care about the league now. " Atsumu admitted. " I'm still doing it because I promised a certain trainer a battle in the league. "

" Ash? " Steven smiled.

" Yep. " Atsumu confirmed.

" What will you be doing after that? " Steven asked.

"...Honestly, I think I... " Atsumu said before an announcement was released.

" Boarding for the 2:30 pm flight to Kalos is now open. Boarding for the 2:30 pm flight to Kalos is now open. All passengers, please make your way to Gate 51. "

" My flights here. " Atsumu said, getting up from his seat.

" Yeah... what was your answer? " Steven asked, getting up from his seat.

" Huh... oh, yeah... " Atsumu mumbled, before sighing. " I have an idea... but I'll hold off on it till all of it is over. "

" I see... " Steven mused. " Guess I'm not the only one who's stumped. "

" Does it make you feel better? " Atsumu asked.

" A little. " Steven replied. " Be sure to stop by sometimes, it'd be nice to catch up. "

"... Alright. " Atsumu agreed, bringing up his fist. " Catch you later Steven. "

" Yeah. Catch you later. " Steven replied, bumping his fist with Atsumu's.

Turning around, Atsumu walked towards Alain and Zinnia.

" Ready to go? " Atsumu asked.

" Yeah. " Alain replied, before turning to Zinnia. " See ya airhead. "

" Bye, asshole. " Zinnia said.

" Hey. " Zinnia called out as Alain was about to walk off. " You better not slack off, I want a rematch. "

" You'll still lose. " Alain said.

" We'll see. " Zinnia said. " For real this time, bye asshole. "

Walking off, Atsumu and Alain's backs became smaller and smaller.

" Have you decided on what you want to be doing now? " Steven asked, standing beside Zinnia.

" Not really. I do want to get revenge on him but I don't want to train all the time. Already had enough of that with the whole ' last of the Draconid tribe, gotta save everyone ' situation. " Zinnia said.

" Then... how about traveling with me for a bit? " Steven asked.

" ...Hoenn Champion say what now? " Zinnia asked after turning her head slowly toward Steven.

" Do you want to travel with me? " Steven asked.

" ...Why? " Zinnia asked.

" Because... I miss the days when I would travel and go on adventures as a young trainer. There weren't any politics, almost zero paperwork, and a ton of fun just by staying around good people. " Steven said. " I'm just... flabbergasted and thankful that I could be reminded of that after fighting literal gods. "

" We could have died!? " Zinnia chuckled.

" Yet, we live! " Steven smiled.

" You don't have to say yes right away... " Steven said before being getting interrupted.

" Can I get paid? " Zinnia asked.

" ...What? " Steven asked.

" I want to... get paid. I've mostly earned through battling but I don't feel like battling for a while... but I need money so, is there a way I can get paid while traveling with you? " Zinnia asked.

" So... you want to travel with me? " Steven asked.

" Yes! But I also want to get paid. " Zinnia said.

" That's an easy fix. You just need to become my assistant. " Steven said.

" Okay... what does an assistant do? " Zinnia asked.

" I think it's better if you get a first-hand experience. " Steven smiled. " Come on, let's head back and get your new job sorted. "

" Yes sir. " Zinnia said, walking beside Steven, and heading out of the airport

...

Walking through Route 5, also known as Versant Road, Tobias kept his eyes open while searching for the next potential member of his team. Murkrow soared above, getting a bird's eye view, his keen eyes scanning the area to see if anything matched the photo Tobias showed him earlier.

" Any luck? " Tobias called out. Murkrow cawed while shaking his head.

" They aren't near here. Guess we'll have to go further up. " Tobias muttered, walking while looking at his phone. Murkrow perched on his shoulder, his eyes staring at Tobias's phone screen.

" We'll be closer to Camphrier town if we find them there. If we don't get a Scraggy by today, we'll stay at Camphrier Town's PokeCenter and try again tomorrow. " Tobias said, petting under Murkrow's chin with a single finger. Murkrow cawed in agreement as the pair traveled onward.

...

Sitting on the plane, Atsumu finally got comfortable in his seat, his eyelids were slowly getting heavier by the second. He could feel himself slowly ease himself into a nice slumber.

" How did you get so strong? " Alain asked.

Atsumu's eyes snapped open, his head slowly turning towards Alain, his irritation bubbling, boiling his blood, he was just about to fall unconscious! Taking a look at Alain's troubled face, Atsumu sighed and sat up straight.

" Is this about what I said during the fight? " Atsumu asked.

" Yeah. " Alain admitted, " That and the feeling of uselessness I felt throughout the entire fight. "

" I see, and that feeling of uselessness, that was a bad thing in that situation? " Atsumu asked.

" Being useless is being useless. Doesn't matter the situation. " Alain argued.

"It does matter. " Atsumu said. " You think people will give you a hard time for not being able to go up against legendaries? Anyone who says that either underestimates the power of legendaries is disillusioned with their strength, or using it against you because they know that you have deep-rooted issues with regards to not being able to do a job. "

" Not being able to do a job? That isn't what's bothering me, it's about how I can reach your level! " Alain stressed.

" Alright, alright. " Atsumu, mock surrendering, " But let's say you did reach my level of strength, what would you use it for? "

" What? " Alain asked.

" Why would you want to reach my level? To be the best perhaps? Maybe it's so you can protect those closest to you? Or, how about being able to handle any situation that comes your way, aka, you'll never be in a position of uselessness again? " Atsumu asked.

" ...You don't know what you're talking about. " Alain said, a strained smile on his face.

" You sure about that? " Atsumu asked, to which Alain clenched his teeth in frustration.

" You know what I want to know, why the hell do you want more work after you complete some other work? " Atsumu said. " It's like you need to keep working, day in, day out, just to validate your existence. "

" Hahaha... " Alain laughed, " That's not even close to why?! "

" Is that so? " Atsumu said. " Then tell me why. "

" ...No, never mind. " Alain backed off. " I don't need to know how you're so strong, I'll figure it out on my own. "

" And how are you going to do that? " Atsumu asked.

" That's my business, stay out of it. " Alain said, looking away and staring at the sky outside the window.

...

As the sun began to set, Tobias had thoughts of stopping for the day, if not for Murkrow to find a lone Scraggy wandering around. Tailing behind Murkrow, Tobias eventually reached the place where the Scraggy was and revealed himself.

Turning his head, Scraggy glared at the approaching Tobias who had Murkrow on his shoulder. Keeping eye contact with Scraggy, Tobias motioned for Murkrow to take his place, opposing Scraggy in battle.

Understanding the situation, Scarggy growled, his body tensing in preparation for the battle.

" Murkrow, use Wing Attack. " Tobias commanded.

Rushing forward, Murkrow's wings glowed with a blue hue. Scraggy watched as Murkrow closed in and lifted his skin. Murkrow landed his attack, landing straight in the center with enough force to knock Scraggy back a couple of feet.

Getting his footing, Scraggy peeked from behind his skin and Leered at Murkrow. Murkrow tilted his head to the side, confused by the face Scraggy was making. Scraggy rushed forward to attack Murkrow, Murkrow simply watched Scraggy get in close. As Scraggy got in range, brought back his head before performing a Headbutt.

" Dodge. " Tobias commanded.

Murkrow went back, avoiding the headbutt, causing Scraggy to trip and fall to the ground.

" Haze. " Tobias said.

Dark clouds rolled off Murkrow in waves before he blew them towards Scraggy with his wings. Standing up, Scraggy's eyes widened when he got engulfed in the Haze. Scraggy looked around, but couldn't see anything from inside.

" Nightshade. " Tobias called out.

On instinct, Scraggy lifted his skin to block the incoming attack, however, that proved to be useless. Murkrow avoided the asking altogether, attacking Scraggy, and landing a blow to his chest. Scraggy was knocked onto his back, his eyes widening in surprise from the attack landing.

He quickly stood up, only to be hit by an attack from the back, knocking him forward, followed by an attack from his left, knocking him to the right, and down to the ground unconscious.

As the haze lifted, Tobias stood over the defeated Scraggy with Murkrow on his shoulder. Bending down, Tobias gently tapped a Pokeball on Scraggy's head. After Scraggy was sent inside the capturing machine, the Pokeball shook thrice and a 'ding' sound was heard.

Tobias smiled in satisfaction, the second member of his team had been captured.

" You did well. " Tobias praised, petting Murkrow who cawed in bliss, happy hearing the praise. " That combination worked quite well. Using Haze to obstruct the opponent's view while surrounding them in the dark, allowing you to use Nightshade from anywhere. "

" We need to test this more. Night Shade is an attack that makes a mirage and is used to attack the opponent. The strength of the attack is based on how strong the user is, so that won't change. But we can use the mirage aspect in other ways, especially when the opponent is unable to see when we use Haze. This is interesting, we need to test this more. This has a ton of potential. " Tobias rambled excitedly.

Murkrow cawed before rubbing its belly with his wing. Tobias chuckled, " I know. Don't worry, I'll get you something to eat once we get to the Pokemon Center in Camphrier town. "

Murkrow disagreed, expressing the fact he needed food now. Tobias sighed, rubbing the back of his head while chuckling at Murkrow's antics. Reaching into his pocket, Tobias brought out a granola bar and fed pieces of it to Murkrow as they walked towards Camphrier Town.

...

From the descent to the landing, and boarding off the plane, there was silence between Atsumu and Alain. As the two of them went through the gates and stepped out of the airport, Alain walked away from Atsumu without saying a word and released his Charizard. Atsumu watched from below as Alain flew off on the back of his Charizard. As Alain soon became a speck in the distance, Atsumu sighed.

" How the hell does Kukui do it? " Atsumu muttered to himself as he waved to get the attention of a cab.

As Alain traveled through the sky, meters above the ground of Lumiose City, he focused on his destination. The main building of Lysandre Enterprises.

" Faster Charizard. " Alain commanded and Charizard growled speeding up.

...

" Will it be possible for you to make Xerosic? " Lysandre asked over the phone, sitting in his office.

" I am appalled sir! You know that I'm fully capable of creating whatever it is you desire! But I'm going to need quite a lot of time. I've never captured a legendary before. " Xerosic said in excitement, his new project is quite the challenge and he loves a good challenge.

" Excellent! I want your full focus on this project. The power of a legendary would provide far more energy to the Ultimate Weapon than what we've done thus far. " Lysadnre said.

" Yes, however, do you know where they are sir? " Xerosic asked.

" No, I do not. " Lysandre replied. " Once I iron out the details, I'll start having dedicated search teams to find them. "

" Very well sir. I'll hang up now, I need to start writing down my ideas. My brain just kickstarted into 3rd gear! " Xerosic said.

" Alright then. Goodbye, Xerosic. " Lysandre said before hanging up the phone.

Lysandre leaned back in his chair, his eyes glued to the roof. Hearing the click of his office door unlocking, the sound his door opening made Lysandre sit up straight as Alain walked into his office.

" Alain... why are you here? " Lysandre asked, perplexed.

" I came here for my next task. " Alain said.

" When did you arrive in Kalos? " Lysanre asked.

" About 20 minutes ago. " Alain replied.

" ... You got off the plane around 20 minutes ago and yet... you want your next assignment, why? " Lysandre proded.

' To make up for my mistake. ' Alain thought.

" I still haven't done enough to pay them all back. And on the last mission, I couldn't do a damn thing. So I need to be stronger. " Alain states. "To be stronger, I need more stuff to do. "

' That... is incredibly unhealthy. ' Lysandre thought.

" And to show my progress, I'll defeat him. " Alain said.

" Him? Him who? " Lysandre questioned.

" Atsumu Miya. " Alain said. " I'll crush him in the Pokemon League. "

' Did Atsumu say something that upset him or was it something inspirational? ' Lysandre thought. ' Well, either way, I can use this since Alain isn't working with Atsumu. '

" I see. However, I don't have any assignments that I can give at the moment... " Lysandre said, taking Alain by surprise. He grits his teeth ready to ask something but Lysandre continues,

" But I have had some ideas popped into my head and I'm running it with a few of my scientists. If things turn out smoothly, you'll be getting your next assignment soon enough. "

Alain perked up at the mention of his next task as Lysandre followed up by saying,

" For now, take a breather. You just came back, go around town and enjoy yourself. The assignments will come eventually. " Lysandre said.

" Yes sir. " Alain responded.

" Good, off you go now. " Lysandre waved off, and Alain left his office.

________________________________________________________

Sup.

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