Forward Unto Johto, Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Commissioned by Stormed

Beta'd and Edited by Dr_Feelgood and The Grand Cogitator

The raft ride was rather awkward, but mercifully rather short, as after only a few minutes they arrived at the other side of the broad river, where Titus and Mel dragged themselves ashore.

“I’m Lyra, by the way, thanks for asking,” the girl said as she picked up her exhausted blue mouse thing. “And again, what the fuck?! Who picks a fight with a tyranitar and then lures it off Mount Silver!?”

Titus looked up from where he was helping Mel bandage her wounds and grimaced. “Uh, Titus Rann. This is Mel…Delta.”

The Spartan raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Apologies, ma’am. We were unaware that creature was there. Thought it was a bear.”

“You keep saying ‘bear.’ I’m going to assume you don’t mean a Beartic, because those are native to Unova. The hell are you talking about?” Lyra demanded.

“Uh…It’s an…ursine animal, with a ring marking on the torso?” Titus offered.

“Ursine…you mean an ursaring?” Lyra demanded, looking completely disgusted with the situation. “Is that what happened to her? She got mauled by an ursaring? Did you try to box it or something?”

“Knife fight, actually,” Mel grunted, standing now that her wounds were treated. “We stumbled upon it and it’s young. It attacked, and unfortunately the only weapon we had was a knife.”

Lyra’s mouth flopped open, and she just goggled for a moment. Then she managed. “Don’t…don’t you have any Pokémon? No one’s crazy enough to go up Mount Silver without a strong team, and who the heck fights an ursaring THEMSELVES!? You’d die!”

“Uh, we’re…sorta new. We’ve traveled over from Kanto,” Titus said, digging the name of the country nearby that he vaguely remembered. This was supposed to be Johto from what he recalled.

“Kanto. Do they not have Pokémon in Kanto? OR COMMON SENSE!?” Lyra demanded, going red in the face and breathing hard.

She suddenly took a deep breath and turned away, taking several breaths, in and out. When she turned back, she was smiling and looking slightly less apoplectic. “I’m sorry, I don’t normally curse out strangers like that. Are you two from a mental hospital or something?”

“We’re uh, just travelers. We figured we’d study the local wildlife, and, well, tour Johto and see the sights,” Titus offered lamely. He really didn’t know how to talk to civilians.

Lyra gave them both a completely disbelieving look, threw her hands up in the air, and started to walk away. “Come on, Kotone. I do not have time for this bullshit today.”

“What should we do?” Titus whispered to Mel.

“Shadow her, with a leaping overwatch formation. If she becomes hostile, we take her out, nice and clean,” Mel answered in her own low voice.

“Mel. She’s a civilian girl with a blue mouse thing. She’s not a hostile.”

“Oh. Uh, we…protect the civilians until…” Mel scrunched up her face, looking worried. “I’m…not certain. The only civvies I’ve spoken to are base personnel of some kind.”

“Right. Just let me do the talking.” Titus jogged a bit to catch up to Lyra, who steadfastly ignored him. “Look, we’re really grateful for you saving us. You really pulled our bacon out of the fire and we appreciate it. So, thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Lyra muttered, though she didn’t look at Titus. She did jump a little when the earth shook slightly, head jerking around to see Mel falling into step with Titus. “Oh, um, I guess your friends hurt pretty bad huh? I guess we could take her to a hospital, but…The nearest one’s 15 kilometers away in Cherrygrove City. Could you even make it that far?”

“Fifteen clicks? Easy morning jog,” Mel said with a shrug.

“Er, you sure? You look pretty beaten up,” Lyra said uncertainly.

“We can hoof it, though we’ll have to double time, it’s midafternoon,” Titus said, nodding to the slowly sinking sun. Rotational period was about 25 hours, which was pretty perfect for humans.

“Yeah…maybe we should just see the professor. He’s got plenty of experience treating pokemon, and no offense, but you’re big enough to be one,” Lyra said, looking Mel up and down. She was definitely taller than any woman Titus had ever met before. Actually, Mel was probably taller than any person he’d met before, period. She was well over 2 meters tall, probably something like 210 centimeters, and easily over 100 kilos.

Though if he’d learned anything from vids and books, it was that you didn’t discuss a ladies weight. Especially when she could knock your head clean off with a good punch.

“Professor?” Titus prompted.

“Yeah, Professor Elm? You know, the premiere expert on Pokemon in Johto?” Lyra said. She saw the blank expressions on Titus and Mel, and gasped. “Oh my trio. You seriously don’t know!? What kind of backwater are you even from!? That’s like not knowing who the champion is!”

“Yeah, that would be pretty embarrassing,” Titus laughed. Shit. He had never really followed sports, being on an ONI project meant there was basically a media blackout, and, well, not many sports when your race was struggling for survival.

Lyra came to a complete stop this time, her eyes bugging out of her head. “Seriously!? Come on! Ok, tell me right now: Who’s the Champion?”

“Freddie,” Titus said instantly.

Mel gave him a flat look. “Lance Wataru is the current champion of the Pokemon League for the combined Kanto and Johto region, having won the title off Red Satoshi in their rematch five years ago, and has been undefeated since.”

“Oh thank the guardian, you’re not completely clueless. Freddie. You’re funny, Titus. Well, come on, Professor Elm will probably be able to help treat you at least a little,” Lyra sighed, and picked up the pace, her blue Pokémon hopping along beside her.

“Thanks, how’d you know that?” Titus whispered as they walked.

“It was covered in the briefing. You were there too, you know.”

“Yeah, and that briefing was super boring. I sort of zoned out. I missed a little detail like who the champion was. Champion of what, anyway?”

“The Indigo League. I am…not certain what that is, but it seems to be a role of some importance.”

“I’m starting to think we’re a little under prepared for this shit,” Titus muttered.

“First time as a mushroom?” Mel asked, her face blank, but her eyes sparkling.

“Seriously? I didn’t think they treated Spartans as badly as us grunts.”

That earned a snort from Mel. “Please. We were just as expendable as any other tool to the REMF brigade. There’s a reason you never heard about the Spartan IIIs. Too many of us died to live up to the Spartan myth.”

“Well, you’re still a stone cold badass. No way could I have taken that bear bear-handed.”

Mel nodded, then frowned at Titus’ shit eating grin. Then she rolled her eyes. “Very funny.”

“You did exercise your right to bear arms!”

“Well it’s an ursaring around here. Though ‘ursa’ does just mean bear.”

“Really? Do you think she’s bear-ing us a grudge?”

In response, Mel awkwardly rooted around one-handed in her belt kit, and pulled out some tape.

“What’s that for?” Titus asked.

“You know what they say: Silence is golden. But duct tape is silver.”

“Wow. I didn’t know Spartans made jokes. Good thing that wasn’t really a joke.”

“What’s a Spartan?”

Titus and Mel both turned around to find that Lyra had fallen back and was frowning at them.

“They were a group of ancient warriors from the Homeworld. I’m a history buff,” Mel answered.

“Homeworld? Do you really believe that crazy legend that humans came from outer space?” Lyra asked, sounding curious. “The Professor says that human relics only go back a few hundred years, but I dunno, it sounds kinda crazy.”

“What? Where do you think we came from, if not from Earth?” Titus asked, too baffled to hold back.

“Well, obviously Arceus and the Creation Trio made us along with all the Pokémon. I mean, I guess if you’re an atheist or whatever you might not believe that, but I mean come on! Lord Arceus making us totally makes more sense than people coming from space,” Lyra said with a laugh.

Titus tried to mimic Mel’s stone face, but to his surprise Lyra nodded. “Yeah, you two totally believe the alien theory, I can tell. I don’t judge. Whenever I ask a question Mel goes all scary. Were you in the army or something? You don’t look like you’re older than I am.”

“We’re both vets,” Titus said hastily, trying to give Lyra a disarming smile.

“What, did your Pokémon die in the war?” Lyra asked, rolling her eyes. “Never mind, don’t even bother lying to me. This is why mom says I’m too nice.”

They walked for another few minutes in uncomfortable silence, before arriving at the outskirts of a small town. It looked rather idyllic, like something out of a prewar tourism vid. Mel and Titus both just stood there, staring for a few moments. Titus even found himself crying a little. How long had it been since he’d seen humans living in peace, without fear, in an intact city? There weren’t even any places left on Earth that hadn’t been ravaged by war and privation to one degree or another. While most of the fighting had taken place in Africa, there had been bombings and food riots the world over.

And up until now, he’d thought Earth was the last place humans still survived, save for a few living in isolated terror on worlds the Covenant hadn’t glassed. Now, he saw a flourishing human city, free of care. And it was too much.

He sat down on a rock and just cried for a little bit. Mel stood beside him, hand on his shoulder, but her own eyes weren’t dry.

“Uh, are you two…?” Lyra now looked deeply concerned, but she seemed to sense that this wasn’t a time for words, and was quiet herself. She started to look thoughtful, obviously reevaluating the situation.

“Sorry, it’s just…that’s what we were fighting for, you know?” Titus said, motioning to the peaceful town.

“Yeah…I guess? Seriously, what WERE you two doing in the mountains? And just how long were you there for? What sort of pokemon did you see?”

“Eh, you know. The usual,” Titus said vaguely. Then he snapped his fingers. “Say, when we’re taking Mel for treatment, you know a vet? We found a little guy getting his nest raided by these fast mongoose things.”

“Yes, they had sharp claws, red feather crests, and were attacking a nest,” Mel agreed. “I would also like for Alex to get  looked at, to ensure he is in good health.”

“Uh, do you like…not know the names of the local Pokémon?” Lyra asked, frowning. “Well, the professor can help if you found something exotic, come on.”

They walked along paved streets, with barely any vehicles moving along them. There were a few cars and trucks, but there were more bicycles, and to Titus and Mel’s astonishment, lots of people riding on what had to be Pokémon. They saw one man riding a flaming unicorn much like Mel’s, complete with saddle and bridle. There was a family in a cart being pulled by large bulls, and a young boy riding atop a dog with the coloring of a bengal tiger.

Titus did his best not to act like a wide eyed tourist, and Mel did her best impression of a rock, but he could see Lyra studying them and the wheels turning in her head. She seemed to be uncomfortably observant, though not hostile and rather good natured. For someone who had a murderous T-rex lured to their fishing spot, she was shockingly polite.

Near the center of the town, they found a small sized school campus with a large wooden sign with “Celadon City University: New Bark Town Research Campus.”

“Come on, let’s go see Doc Elm,” Lyra said, motioning them towards the central building. The campus had wooden boardwalks as paths, with plenty of trees and flowers planted along them. There was a stream and even a pond, with a fair few students and researchers walking along the path or sitting on benches in the shade. There was a greenhouse, animal stables, and a few other buildings that seemed to be school houses or laboratories. The central building itself was rather quaint looking, with wooden construction and a tiled roof, though it did have large glass windows to let in plenty of natural light.

“I was expecting something smaller than this,” Titus admitted. “Are you sure we have clearance for this site?”

“You just check in at the front desk and get a visitors badge if you really care, though most people don’t bother. I just graduated so my student ID is still good,” Lyra said with a shrug. That both did and didn’t answer Titus’ question, but he and Mel followed Lyra not to the front entrance, but to a side down.

As they were about to enter, Mel paused. “You there! Unidentified civilian! Come out from behind those bushes and be recognized!”

There was a muffled swear, and a young man with dark red hair, broad shoulders, and a sour expression stepped out from behind a tall shrub. “What? Can’t a guy find a quiet place to read?”

“Lyra, do you recognize this man? He appeared to be conducting unauthorized surveillance?” Mel asked.

“No. Are you lost? Visitors entrance is that way,” Lyra said, pointing and frowning. “Do I need to call campus security?”

The boy shoved his hands into the pockets of his black jacket, which Titus noticed and some later patches where it looked like an insignia had been ripped off. “I’m fine. Mind  your own business.”

He strode off along the path at a brisk pace without turning around, and Lyra shook her head. “I would meet all the freaks and weirdos today. No offense, guys.”

“Uh, none taken,” Titus said, glancing at Mel, who had gone stone faced again.

They stepped inside the building, into a somewhat cluttered lab. Despite the rustic exterior, the interior had the bright white lights, hard tile flooring, and metal walls of a more modern building. However, the computer in the corner looked painfully out of date. The laptop perched on a back table had a blocky, largish case, and there were no touch screens to be seen. Instead, large mechanical inputs abounded, with flips, toggles, or keys to press. The machinery was ergonomically designed for the lab, but was far more cumbersome than anything the UNSC would have used on all but the most absolute backwater colonies. If those still existed.

“Oh hey, Lyra,” a dark haired young man said, looking up from a machine. He looked rather similar to Lyra, though he seemed to be a few years older. “Didn’t expect you back so soon. How’d the fishing trip go?”

“Not so great, Ethan. I caught a bunch of goldeen and magikarp, so at least Kotone got some fighting experience,” Lyra sighed. “Is the professor in? Or maybe Nurse Joy, I found some strangers on Mount Silver and they’re a little beat up.”

Ethan looked up from his work, seeing Mel’s injury for the first time. “Oh damn, that looks nasty! What’d you do, fight a Pokémon yourself?”

“Yes. Yes they did,” Lyra sighed.

“Heh heh,” Ethan said awkwardly, then seeing Lyra’s disgusted look and Mel’s blank expression, he paled. “Oh, um…let me just see if the professors are done, they were-”

“We’ve finished, Ethan, thank you,” a thin, bespectacled man with a receding hairline in his middle years said, stepping into the lab from a side room. He was followed by a square jawed older gentleman with bushy dark eyebrows and iron gray hair. “Oh, didn’t expect to see you so soon, Lyra. And who are these two?”

“Hey Dad, this is Mel and Titus. They’re some weirdos who decided to fight an ursaring and tick off a Tyranitar. Mel got banged up, because of course she did, and I think both of them are brain damaged somehow so I figured I’d bring them by for you to study. Hey Uncle Oak!”

“Good to see you again, Lyra. I can’t believe it, you’ve graduated already. Congratulations!” Oak said, smiling at Lyra. Then his gaze shifted to Titus and Mel, and he frowned. He glanced down at their shoes, cocking his head to one side. “Those are very strange shoes. What are they made of?”

“Uh…rubber? And…leather?” Titus ventured, looking down at his jump boots. It was a weird question, and he frankly had no idea what they were made of.

“Standard issue, sir. They’re made of polytetrafluoroethylene, combined with genuine leather, nylon, and other synthetics, and made in an extra large size for kicking Covy ass,” Mel responded with the automaticity of something that had been drilled into her and was spit out whenever it demanded. Apparently, Spartan drill instructors were weird, and anal.

Lyra rolled her eyes. “You know what your shoes are made of, but you don’t know who my dad is. Honestly, I can’t decide if you're cool or just strange.”

Professor Oak laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “Sir? Well, that does make me feel my age I suppose! This isn’t a classroom. At ease, both of you.”

Instantly, Titus and Mel fell into “at ease” posture, hands behind their backs, legs shoulder width apart, eyes straight forward. Both of them apparently also realized what they had done the moment they did it, but neither broke their stance. Mel looked especially awkward with one arm in a sling, but she did her best.

“Hmm. Interesting. And where did the two of you say you were from?” Elm asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“Kanto, sir,” Titus responded, having to force himself not to bark his answer like he was on parade, sweat beading on his brow. He was not cut out to be a spy, dammit.

“Will you knock it off? Mel’s hurt, and Titus said he had a Pokémon that was hurt I think,” Lyra said, nudging Titus with her hip.

He blushed, and pulled out both his Pokéballs, then blinked at them. He had no idea which was which. Well, he had a 50/50 shot, so he threw one onto the floor. Out flopped Floppy, who let out a gurgle of delight.

“A magikarp. You went climbing Mount Silver…WITH A MAGIKARP!? You are the worst Pokémon trainer in the history of everything, ever,” Lyra said, putting a hand over her face.

“Whoops, wrong one,” Titus muttered, and sucked Floppy back into its ball. He let out the other one, and the green rock lizard appeared.

“Lrrrrrr?” the creature let out a soft growl, then hastily scurried over, hiding behind Titus’ legs and looking frightened.

Lyra’s jaw dropped, and she gaped as Titus picked up the creature, letting out a soft “oof” as he cradled it in his arms. It was surprisingly warm and docile, looking up at him with an expression of utter trust. “We found this one as the last survivor of a nest. Some dangerous looking mongoose things were raiding it, they cut me and Mel up pretty good, but we saved this guy. Or gal. Uh, you know how to sex this species?”

“You…you took a baby larvitar out of the nest!? You…you are crazy,” Lyra said, slowly shaking her head. She bent over, examining the hatchling. “Hmm, the crest is taller and pointed forward, the diamond shape has clear ribbing…it’s a bit hard to say, but I think it’s male. What about you, dad?”

Professor Elm stepped forward to examine the larvitar, which hissed at him and wriggled closer to Titus’s chest. He wished it wouldn’t do that, as it was HEAVY. At least 60 kilos.

“Hmm, yes, I’d agree. He does look bruised. Lyra, have him put it through our Pokehealer, and I’ll take a look at you, young lady. You are tall, aren’t you?”

“They grow us tall where I’m from, sir,” Mel said, sounding a bit defensive.

Lyra took Titus and the larvitar over to a machine that looked a bit like an incubator, and had him set the Pokémon inside it. She closed the lid, and there was a faint humming sound as it glowed softly. “There, he should be good in a few minutes. I guess you’re both crazy and awesome. He was pretty hurt, and I don’t think he would have survived in the wild, but messing with a larvitar nest means you really hacked off mommy tyranitar. No wonder she came after you.”

“To be fair, I didn’t quite think that far ahead,” Titus admitted. “I was just worried about the little guy. Will we be able to release him back into the wild with his mother?”

“Wow, you’d just give up a larvitar? That’s…noble of you. Or dumb. Anyway, we’d have to check with my dad or Uncle Oak, but probably not. He’s clearly bonded with you already as his trainer. He’s too young to be able to survive breaking that bond, so he’s yours to take care of. Fortunately, Larvitar mostly eat rocks, dirt, and the occasional berry so they’re pretty cheap to care for.”

“What about the other one? It’s a magikarp, right? What does Floppy eat?”

“You named a magikarp…” Lyra snorted, then let out a giggle. “Ok, that’s kinda cute. You are odd, Titus, but I think I like you.”

That made Titus blush, but he pretended to ignore it. “So what’s a magikarp’s diet?”

“Whatever fits in its mouth really. They’ll eat almost anything organic and a few things that aren’t. It’s a bottom feeding species like whiscash after all,” Lyra said with a shrug.

“Huh. Ok, what about the flaming unicorns?” Titus asked curiously.

“Flaming…uni…?” Lyra blinked at him. Then shook her head. “Never mind, you’re definitely crazy. Come on, it’ll be a while before the Pokéhealer finishes. Let’s check on Mel.”

Elm was just standing, shaking his head. “Your physiology is… fascinating. Young woman, please come with me, these will need sutures and I think you’ll need a full medical exam.”

“Oh, uh, I don’t know if I’d be comfortable with that, sir,” Mel said, shifting awkwardly in her seat.

“Don’t worry, I don’t mean I need you to disrobe, I just need to check your vitals and do an X-ray. And if you’d prefer a female physician, I’ll have Nurse Joy help. She usually works with Pokémon , but she’s seen to more than a few hurt students.”

Giving Titus a helpless look, Mel let the gangly professor, who was nearly half a meter shorter than she was, out of the room and down a hall.

“Hmm, very interesting friends you found,” Oak commented. He glanced at Ethan, who was pretending to work but had mostly been eyeing Mel. “Ethan, do we have any of the graduation gifts left over?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, in the case over there. I think there’s a few of each left,” Ethan said, motioning to a locked cabinet at the back of the room.

“Did you get one yet, Lyra?” Oak asked.

Lyra blushed as she went over and unlocked the cabinet with a key. “I was gonna wait. Didn’t want anyone to accuse my dad of nepotism or something if they ran out.”

“Tell you what, for rescuing that young larvitar, you can take one as well, Titus,” Oak said.

“Uh, OK,” Titus agreed. There were three rows of Pokéballs, with just one of each left. They were marked with small symbols: a green leaf, a red flame, and a blue teardrop.

Lyra took one of the leaf marked balls, a huge grin on her face. “I’ve always wanted a chikorita! I’ve been jealous for years.”

“Grats, sis,” Ethan said, and gave a politice golf clap, which earned him a smile and a middle finger from his sister.

“Oh! Um, sorry professor,” Lyra said, blushing and hastily lowering her hand.

Oak laughed. “Ha! If you think I haven’t seen that before, you have something else coming, young lady. Go on, Titus.”

“I bet he hasn’t a clue,” Lyra said. “You know what’s in these?”

“Uh…Pokémon?” Titus ventured.

“Wow. You’re so smart. A real genius. Ok, look. They’re the standard NBU starter mons, which conform to the IPL standards for a certified Pokemon University. Our grass type is Chikorita, which I took. There’s some left if you have taste or are a total copycat. Then we have the water type, Totodile if you’re a poser like my brother.”

“I’ll kick your ass and you know it, Lyra,” Ethan called.

“Remind me, how many gym badges did you get before you gave up and came home?” Lyra asked sweetly.

“Whitney cheats and everyone knows it!”

“He got two,” Lyra confided to Titus, who had no idea if that was good or bad.

“Then we have the fire type, cyndiquil,” Lyra finished, pointing to the fire marked balls.

“Uh, cyndiquil?” Titus said, taking a red marked ball.

“Tryhard,” Lyra said, rolling her eyes. “Well, let’s have our inaugural battle, as is tradition.”

“A fight? Uh, no offense, Lyra, but I was in, I mean, I was in the military for a while and I’m not half bad at CQB. Do you even have any training in hand to hand?” Titus asked, not certain what Lyra was asking.

She rolled her eyes and poked Titus in the bicep. “No, dumbass. I’m not stupid enough to challenge someone crazy to pick a fight with an Ursaring and a Tyranitar to a punch out like some sort of barbarian. I mean a Pokémon battle!”

“Oh. Um, I guess they would make pretty effective fighters,” Titus said, chuckling nervously.

Lyra gave him a baffled look. She seemed to do that a lot, and it made him feel rather inadequate. “You were in the military. Didn’t you, like, fight with Pokémon?”

“Sort of, I had a partner named Spot. She was a…velociraptor?” Titus offered.

“Huh, haven’t heard of that species. What type?” Lyra asked.

“Dino…saur? Um, theropod?” Titus guessed.

“Dinosaur/theropod? I think you’re talking nonsense. Uncle Oak, have you heard of a new type or a species called velociraptor?” Lyra demanded.

Oak shook his head slowly. “No, but I don’t know everything. Why don’t we go to the lab’s arena and have you show Titus how to battle?”

“Sure, I guess. I can teach him how to wipe his own ass while I’m at it,” Lyra muttered.

That made Titus’ face burn. “Hey, listen, just because I’m a dumb marine doesn’t mean you get to insult me like I’m some kind of boot who doesn’t know his finger from his dick.”

“Geeze, relax. But you are pretty clueless. You’ve seriously never had a Pokémon battle before?”

“I’m sure you haven’t either Lyra, seeing as you just got your trainer's license this morning,” Ethan said, giving his sister a malicious grin.

“Uhhhh….nope! Total battling virgin! Um, I guess this will be a learning experience for both of us!” Lyra said, glancing nervously at Professor Oak.

The professor laughed and put a hand to his heart. “My students, having secret Pokémon battles before they get their official license? I couldn’t imagine such a thing?”

Blushing, Lyra nodded and scurried out of the lab, showing Titus to another room, this one somewhat larger, designed like a gym but with an astroturf floor and marked lines in white on it.

“Right, well, first you bow to your opponent,” Lyra explained, walking to the other side of the field and bowing to Titus.

He returned the bow, then Lyra held up her pokeball. “Well use just one pokemon each, since well, your larvitar is healing and a magikarp is basically not worth counting anyway. Go, Chikorita!”

“Chhhhhkkkkk!” out of the ball came an odd, somewhat lumpy looking pokemon with a green leaf on its head. It looked almost like a living squash or melon instead of an animal, but it skipped around Lyra’s legs happily.

“Aww, you’re so cute!” Lyra said, bending down and hugging the chikorita. “Hmmm…I’ll have to see how you act in this battle before I give you a name. That OK?”

“Rrrrrttaaa!” the Pokémon hooted, and sprang to the center of the field, taking an aggressive stance and glaring at Titus.

“Uh, well…come on out, Cyndaquil!” Titus said, and tossed his own ball down.

“Quilllll!” Out popped what looked like a small black and tan hedgehog with an elongated snout, though when it cried, flames flickered along its back quills.

“Right, I’ll be the referee for this match,” Oak said, stepping to the edge of the field at the midline. “Match will be until I deem one pokemon can no longer battle. Are you ready?”

“Hold up, I guess I have to explain things,” Lyra sighed. She pointed to the two pokemon, who were glaring at one another with hostile intent. “Your Pokémon is basically freshly hatched, and doesn’t have much experience in fights or had much training to learn more complex moves. You’re best off with the really basic stuff. Since both our Pokémon are quadrupeds with no sharp claws, they’ll know Tackle as their basic move. They might maybe be able to use a simple Growl or Tail Whip, or if they’re really smart an elemental move like Ember or Vine Whip, though you’ll probably have to spend some time training before they learn that.”

“Right, so… they know those basic verbal commands? Anything else?” Titus asked.

“No item usage, because that’s lame and against standard rules anyway,” Lyra said with a shrug. “So don’t worry, I won’t Potion halfway through the fight, and I didn’t give my Pokémon a berry or something when you weren’t looking.”

“Right. Sure. Me neither,” Titus agreed. “Um, hey there, little guy. You ready to fight?”

“Cyn!” The little pokemon agreed, and its back flames flared up.

“Super. Uh…I think I’ll call you…Spiny. Right. Um, tackle, Spiny!”

“Quilllll!” the fiery little hedgehog cried, and jumped forward at its opponent.

“Chika! Dodge to the side, then counterattack with Tackle!” Lyra ordered.

Her Pokémon was a bit slow to obey, taking a glancing hit from Spiny, but it spun and shoulder checked Spiny, causing him to squeal in pain.

“Spiny! Heel!” Titus barked, wanting the pokemon to retreat back to his side. That order just seemed to confuse the little pokemon, who pawed at the chikorita, not doing much to it. “Shit! I mean, tackle!”

Titus was too slow though, as Lyra barked out, “Tackle it, Chikorita! Pin him and don’t let up!”

The two Pokémon tussled, with Titus calling out frantic encouragement along the lines of “Hit ‘em, Spiny, don’t let up!”

Lyra was more tactical, ordering, “Scare him, use Growl! Now, Tackle again! Try a Razor Leaf!”

The razor leaf order had the Chikorita try to use the leaf on its head like a blade, but it missed, apparently unused to that tactic.

After a couple of minutes, Spiny was bruised and exhausted, and Oak raised a hand. “Spiny is unable to battle! The winner is, Chikorita and Lyra!”

“Chika!” the plant pokemon cried, and Lyra ran up, scooping it into a hug.

“Great work! Hmmm, you’re a girl, so…how about Kei!”

“Chhhhiiii!” the pokemon said, and nuzzled Lyra happily.

Titus, for his part, knelt by the battered Cyndiquil, who looked up at him dejectedly. “You did good, champ. Sorry, I don’t know much about a Pokémon fight, and we haven’t practiced together. We’ll do better next time, OK?”

Spiny nodded, looking relieved, and Titus picked him up. “Should we put him in the healing machine?”

“Yeah, you can pop him in there with your Larvitar. Please, do not name your larvitar ‘Rocky’ or something lame like that,” Lyra said, shaking her head. “You gotta name it something interesting. Powerful.”

“Uh…well…he does look like a rock…and mountains are big rocks…what about Denali?” Titus suggested.

“Uh, I’ve never heard of a Denali Mountain, but that’s better than Rocky. Good job!” Lyra said, giving Titus a thumbs up.

He sighed, and nodded. They put both Kei and Spiny in with Denali.

“Lyra, why don’t you and Ethan go get us something to eat. I’m sure Titus is hungry, and I could eat,” Oak said, coming over and resting a hand on Titus’ shoulder.

“Sure thing, we’ll get some bentos from the cafeteria,” Ethan agreed, and Lyra nodded, frowning as she saw Oak’s hand on Titus’ shoulder.

“You’re not going to beat him up, right Uncle? He’s weird but Titus seems like a good guy.”

“An old coot like me, take on a strapping young man like this? Ha, I don’t think so!” Oak laughed.

Lyra shrugged, and waved to Titus as she left. “Take care, don’t go anywhere Mr. Weirdo. I haven’t finished with you yet. You owe me for ruining my fishing trip.”

Once the door was shut, Titus turned his head to look at Oak. “Uh, sir?”

“Well, Titus. If that is your name. Why don’t you tell me about Rayquaza, and why you and your friends attacked the World Guardian,” Oak said, his voice suddenly ominous.

Titus swallowed. He really was an awful spy.