Salad 2.3

Aaron FulanVerdanturf Town, Hoenn Region

Six days after leaving Mauville, I was here and "here" took my breath away.

Verdanturf was a countryside paradise. It looked like one of those Danish villages I'd seen on postcards and travel magazines in my past life, with fields of flowers as far as the eye could see and bushes of succulent berries all along the roadside, just waiting for a passing soul to pick them. The air here was noticeably crisp, not just compared to Mauville, but even the route, as though several grass types acted as living air fresheners daily.

According to the PokéNav's guidebook, that was basically what was going on. Bellossom, the final form of oddish, were an unusually common sight here, the largest population of them outside a grass type reserve in Johto, and their naturally purifying properties were evident for all to experience.

Which, upon further reflection, raised an important question: Where were they getting sun stones? Was there some kind of giant sun stone somewhere nearby just like the giant moon stone on Mt. Moon? Did the local bellossom conduct some ritual of evolution once a year with a batch of new gloom? Or maybe there were trace minerals in the water that catalyzed this specific evolutionary path?

Strictly speaking, this wasn't like the games. A stone, or most evolutionary items I was familiar with for that matter, wasn't necessary for evolution. Otherwise, pokémon like oddish and bellsprout would have died out in the wild thanks to the simple fact that their most powerful forms were locked behind a giant scavenger hunt.

This was not so. Vileplume and bellossom weren't common, but nor were they nearly as rare in the wild as one would expect.

In this world unrestricted by a developer's programming logic, age and power were perfectly acceptable substitutes. In fact, some believed that a natural evolution was more powerful, claiming that the catalyzing effect of evolutionary items provided immediate benefits in exchange for long-term potential.

Evidence was… mixed… on that front. For example, Lance and Clair both had monstrously powerful kingdra and neither were "natural" evolutions, both having received dragon scales from one of the many dragonite that called Blackthorn home. Then again, those two were exceptionally powerful trainers. It could simply be that their kingdra were powerful in spite of their triggered evolution.

No matter the truth, the bellossom population here was far more numerous than expected. While it was true that pokémon with branching evolutionary paths were likely to evolve into forms they were most familiar with, usually whatever their parents or leaders in their communities were, the sheer quantity of bellossom in Verdanturf was abnormal.

'It has certainly done wonders for this town,' Artoria quipped. She let out a pleased sigh, practically dancing by anyone else's standards. 'If this is the result of too many of these flower dancers, perhaps we should all strive to cultivate more of them.'

'You like the air, huh?'

'I do. It has a refreshing aroma and even were I not a fan of the scent, many people are. Their uplifted mood is positively delicious.'

Saying so, she nudged an impression my way. For a moment, I felt my senses replaced by hers. Smell and taste blended seamlessly until I could hardly tell the two apart. The air quite literally tasted sweet and fruity, light with a bit of a bounce. If I had to tie an impression to it from my old life, I would liken it to Christmas morning as a child. It was the hope, the eager expectation, that anything could happen. If optimism could be distilled into a perfume, this would be it.

'This is wonderful. Is this what you taste when you feed off emotions?'

'Indeed, my lord. There is something delicious about this type of optimism. I think this type of flavor is my favorite even among all other positive emotions. The thrill of a new day is contagious.'

'So it is. I'll try to be more optimistic for you then,' I promised.

'There is no need for that, my liege. I assure you I am eating fine. Besides, trying to be what you are not would only taint the flavor.'

'Heh, my kirlia is a glutton even when it comes to emotions.'

'Hunger is the enemy,' she sniffed.

'Of course it is,' I smiled indulgently. 'Honestly, seeing you so happy makes me wonder if we should have stopped to catch a roselia for the team.'

'Hmm… I would not be opposed to a teammate who is florally inclined.'

'We'll see. If we meet one, it wouldn't be a bad idea. Grass is a criminally underestimated type.'

X

There were a few things I wanted to do in the town. To start, I had to go register for the pokémon contest. I still had four days, but I wanted to get that out of the way as soon as possible before going on my mega stone hunt. I didn't think Jeanne would forgive me if I forgot about it. The three of us walked to the wealthy north end of town and found the building. Really, it was impossible to miss.

The contest hall was honestly kind of ugly. It was a deep maroon color, which would have been fine, on its own, but it was also shaped like a military pillbox I'd seen in one of those WWII documentaries, or maybe one of those hilariously pointless duncecaps that seemingly every military dress uniform seemed to include. To either side were two fountains shaped like pokéballs so people could sit around while waiting for the show to start.

The interior was much better. It was a half-moon shape with the center area being taken up by a prominent stage that doubled as the battlefield. To the right of the stage was a set of three desks where the three judges would sit. Typically, those seats were taken by a prominent member of the hosting city or town, a member of the League, and a wildcard guest, oftentimes a veteran coordinator.

I walked up to the registration booth. Next to me, my mareep was literally glowing with excitement. I could even feel the hairs on my leg tingle and stand on end whenever I brushed past her. To my other side, Artoria had her spoon out and was rolling a marble of psychic energy around the rim, an exercise in control she did almost absentmindedly at this point.

"Hello, ma'am," I greeted the teller. She was a middle-aged woman whose nametag proclaimed her as a proud member of the local contest fan club. Larger contest halls had formalized staff, but I supposed that in a small town like this, volunteers were a great way to cut down on overhead costs.

"Hello, sweetie, are you here to register for the contest?"

"Mareep!" Jeanne bleated cheerfully, standing on two hooves and leaning against the booth. Her glowing tai wagged like a puppy's. "Reep!"

"Aww, she's adorable. Is she the one competing? Your kirlia is quite lovely as well."

"Yes, Jeanne, my mareep, has been looking forward to this all week."

I was in the process of handing her my dex when I heard a familiar voice shout behind me.

"You!"

"Hello, Drew," I said with a lazy wave. The green-haired boy was standing next to a tall, attractive girl with salmon-pink hair and intense blue eyes. Unlike the boy, her demeanor was filled with grace and poise. "Fancy seeing you here. Who's your friend?"

"You said you weren't competing!"

"I never said that."

"You did!"

"No, I said it'd be strange if Artoria won this contest since she isn't competing. Jeanne on the other hand, is quite thrilled at the prospect."

I took some small satisfaction in watching his eyebrow twitch as he tried to find a comeback. It was petty of me, he hadn't done anything egregiously wrong, but I couldn't find it in me to care overmuch. I wondered if frustration was an emotion Artoria could taste as well.

'I'd rather not, my lord,' she said dryly. 'Frustration tastes bitter and chalky. It is something that linger unpleasantly. Must you antagonize him?'

'It's funny?'

'And unknightly.'

'Fine, fine, you win. Would you like me to apologize?'

'No, my lord should not be so quick to bow his head. He was the one to give offense first. But nor should you continue to jab at what fragile dignity he has left.'

I stooped down a bit to scratch Artoria between her horns in that one place I knew she loved but would never admit to. It was always fun to feel her vibrate with indecision between shrugging off my hand or luxuriating in the sensation. 'Hehe, since when is my little knight so wise?'

'Hmph, I have always been wise. My lord is only now opening his eyes to the truth,' she sniffed, turning her nose up.

I chuckled and picked Artoria up, ignoring her embarrassed squirming. 'Well maybe you can help me see clearly from a better height.'

'Height jokes. How juvenile. I won't be small forever.'

'Don't worry, I'll still hug you even when you become a gardevoir.'

'That isn't what I meant and you know it.'

"You're doing it again!"

I turned back to him. For a few seconds, I'd completely forgotten he was here. "Oh, yeah? Sorry, guess I got lost in thought. My kirlia is adorable and hilarious. Anyway, Jeanne, my mareep, is competing."

"Che, no matter. My budew and I are going to take the win."

"We'll see, but it's not good to boast you know. You just end up sounding like a blowhard if you lose."

"That won't matter because I'll win."

"Then you'll sound like a smug jackass. Gracious in defeat, humble in victory, you know?"

"A friendly rivalry already? But you shouldn't count other contestants out," said the girl who came with Drew. She sent me a mature smile that made me curse my hormones. "Hello, my name is Solidad and this will be my third year as a coordinator."

"Solidad…"

'Is she someone you know, my lord?'

'Maybe…' I held out my hand for her to shake. "Aaron. That's an odd name. Are you not from Hoenn?"

"No, I'm from Pewter City in Kanto. Contests aren't as big there, but I wanted to be a coordinator ever since I saw one on TV so I've been traveling through Sinnoh for two years. I decided a change of scenery might be nice so here I am for the third."

"Wow, then I guess a normal-rank contest like this is going to be a piece of cake for you."

"I have an advantage, but that's no reason to not put your best foot forward. Raw power is much less important in a contest than in a gym battle, so it's possible for younger trainers to quickly overtake even a past victor," she encouraged. "I won my first ribbon from only the second contest I've ever been in."

"True enough, but now that means you have both experience and power."

"I'm glad you think highly of me, but remember that I'm competing at this rank because I don't yet qualify for a higher one. That's partially because Hoenn did not recognize my credentials from Johto, but I do have to be honest and say that I have much to learn."

"In any case, Jeanne and I will be working hard to master our routine."

"Then I'll look forward to a challenge."

We parted on good terms. Solidad was the polar opposite of Drew. She was a woman who'd long since become accustomed to the trainer's life and had a wealth of experience to back her. Speaking to her jogged my memories a bit. I remembered her as a famous coordinator during May's time, someone who'd become a mentor for both her and Zoe. It meant that whatever her struggles in the past few years, she would likely become a Grand Coordinator in the near future.

Speaking of famous coordinators, I was reminded of Lisia, the closest thing the pokémon world had to a pop idol. She said she would travel to Lilycove to compete in her first contest and I wondered how she was doing.

'Perhaps she would appreciate a call, my lord?'

'You think so?'

'I find her company far more pleasant than this Drew fellow.'

'You and me both.'

X

In another half hour, the three of us found ourselves in our room in the pokémon center. The PokéNav rang for all of four seconds before the call went through. My vision was filled with fluffy white clouds as Ali pecked at the screen curiously.

"Ali, stop that," I heard Lisia chide before the blue songbird was lifted into the air and her smiling face took up the screen. She fumbled in her breast pocket before extracting a familiar case. "Hey, Aaron! Look what I've got!"

In her hands was what I'd expected, her first contest ribbon. It was a brass shield with a crown that held in place a ribbon of blue bubbles framed in green. Like badges, the real record was kept digitally, just in case she lost the thing, but it still made for an impressive trophy.

"I thought you might have that," I said with a soft smile, "and from your first contest ever. Congratulations. Only two more until you qualify for super-ranks, right?"

"Mou! You can't do the all-knowing psychic thing!"

"I told you, I don't have the Sight."

"Then why aren't you more surprised?" she pouted cutely.

"What can I say, I have an eye for talent. I really do think you're the most likely person to dethrone your uncle. Just call it a gut feeling, hmm?"

"T-Thanks," she stammered. For all her enthusiasm, she was still a teenager and I didn't know a single one that could take a compliment without embarrassment. She hastily changed the subject. "Well, are you ready for Verdanturf? That's in four days, right?"

"We are," I nodded firmly. "I don't know if we'll win, but Jeanne and I will give it the ol' college try."

"But you're not in college, silly."

"Yeah, I'm not sure where the phrase comes from either now that you mention it. Anyway, are you still in Lilycove?"

"Uh-huh. Ali and I've been hanging around at home, but we're going to visit the Safari Zone in a bit before heading to Fortree City. I can't wait to see all the cool flying types there!"

"Hmm, still in Lilycove? You're not getting lazy now that you've won a ribbon, are you?" I teased.

"I'm not, you meanie! Mom's just really good at making me want to stay, alright? She makes these really good cream puffs and every time I want to leave, she bribes Ali with her favorite poffins. It's unfair."

"Of course. Truly a formidable woman. Why Fortree though? Do they have a contest hall I don't know about?"

She shrugged. "Kind of… Their annual Feather Carnival is coming up. I heard Leader Winona is going to be performing a special sky dance with her altaria so Ali and I wanted to go check it out. You know, get some tips from a real pro. There's also an amateur contest that's not really sponsored and only for flying types but it'd be cool to win it."

"Yeah, that sounds pretty sweet. Anyway, it was nice talking to you, but I'm going to go train while I still have some daylight left."

"Yeah, keep in touch, Aaron! Bye!"

The signal winked out, leaving me alone with my two pokémon. I stood and gestured to my team. "Shall we?"

X

"KIIRRRLLLIIIAAAA!" My little knight-in-training let out a valiant (adorable) roar as she rushed forward with Mana Burst, turning into a comet of bite-sized aggression and determination. Her normally blue-clad spoon was shrouded in deep, mist-like violet that left a trail of sinister light in her wake.

Her attack struck the thick tree trunk she'd chosen to practice against with significant force, tearing a wicked gouge into the bark roughly four inches deep. Unfortunately, it was the silver of the spoon rather than the phantasmal aura of ghost types that did most of the work. The aura shattered on contact with the trunk, dispersing like a flame scattered in the wind.

She returned to her starting point and took up her ready stance.

'Artoria, dear, maybe you should stop,' I suggested gently. This was her first major bottleneck since we began traveling. Everything came to her easily. She was a natural with the blade, possessed of both monstrous talent and single-minded dedication to the art. She was the ideal student; I couldn't imagine a more perfect pupil in that regard. Even fashioning custom moves using psychic energy was a minor challenge at best for her.

And then there was Shadow Sneak. Ghost type aura fucked with psychics; everyone knew that. But it wasn't as though the two were truly incompatible. If I had to describe it, the contrast was more an alienness in their way of thought rather than any fundamentally unreconcilable difference. The mind and soul were intrinsically linked after all, and the majority of fully evolved ghost and psychics could learn moves from the other's type. Hell, the fact that a gallade could pass on Shadow Sneak as an inherited move to a ralts proved my point.

But that alienness of thought was proving to be a major obstacle for my little knight. Ghosts were stealthy. Ghosts were spiritual. Ghosts were entities who embodied the intangible and unknowable. Artoria was direct and honest. Artoria turned her great mental affinity towards refining her body and technique. Ghosts were everything Artoria wasn't.

And it showed.

She began by trying to sink into her own shadow as the move demanded but decided to stop that when we found it took her a full fifteen seconds, an eternity in battle. Instead of trying to shroud her entire body, we decided to simply work on the physical aspect, sticking only to her spoon. Even then, keeping up the enhancement for a decisive strike was proving to be a challenge.

'I will master this move before the day is through,' she swore.

'I don't doubt you will, but not today.'

'This is the move passed down from my sire. I must-'

'Artoria, come here,' I spoke firmly, giving our mental bond a sharp tug. I seldom snapped at her, but it was necessary. The trouble with training-nuts was that they just didn't know when to quit. She trudged to my side, her expression mulish. I patted my lap and she sat down without her usual complaint.

The two of us watched Jeanne train. My little lamb had taken to making only a few Cotton Spores at a time, launching them into the air before nailing them with a low-powered Thunder Shock to light them up while working on her accuracy. She was improving, turning Cotton Spore form an indiscriminate attack to something… not precise perhaps, but more directed.

I absentmindedly brushed my partner's emerald locks into place.

'It shouldn't be this hard,' Artoria said. I could feel her self-flagellation through the bond. Shame. Frustration. The impression that she was letting me down somehow.

'It should be this hard,' I chided gently. 'You know ghost type moves will always be hard for a psychic.'

'I am not other psychics.'

'No, you're my little knight. You can already teleport in combat. Sinking into shadows would be useful, but it's not a critical need. Take it slower.'

'At least the weapon enhancement… How else will I strike down phantoms?'

'That will come in time. Be patient. In fact, I'm forbidding you from swinging your sword again for the rest of the day.'

She whirled indignantly. 'But-!'

I squashed her hair down. It was convenient having hands big enough to grip her head like a baseball. 'Listen,' I chided. 'You're going to stop swinging that spoon around like a berserker. All you're doing is tiring yourself out. Instead, sit with me. Meditate. Try to channel ghost type aura into your spoon and refine it. If you accustom yourself to having it, it might last longer.'

'I… Perhaps you're right, my lord.'

'Good. Have you noticed that trail of aura you leave behind every time you swing?'

'Yes.'

'Well, while it looks cool, it's proof that you're wasting your aura. Condense it. Focus on holding it in place and shaping it to become an edge around the spoon.'

'As you say, my lord.'

'You'll get this, Artoria. I believe in you.'

She looked at me with newfound determination before settling onto her knees, her sword on her lap. 'I will not let you down.'

With Jeanne refining her contest routine and Artoria in meditation, I had a rare moment to myself. I pulled out my bokken and began to practice. Over a month away from home had given me back some of my stamina, but it'd be up to me to drill in the muscle memory I remembered from my past life. Between sword practice, sorting my memories, physical conditioning, and training my team, I had a daunting schedule.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Author's Note

Why Solidad? Because I feel like no one gives famous coordinators enough screentime in fics.

The Feather Carnival is an actual thing in canon.