Gardevoir did better too.
And Kadabra went further still. There were flashes in his movement now that genuinely looked like Takeru.
Though it was still just memory and coordination and a flawless copy.
A full day of training ended, and by evening Nanami couldn't get off the floor. Akiyama had to walk her back with her arm over his shoulder.
"Seriously, what's the goal here? You planning to step into the ring yourself at the League?"
He pictured it.
Gyarados is unable to battle!
And now, entering the field—
Trainer Nanami!
Beautiful image. Truly. He couldn't stand to look at it.
Nanami just shook her head, chin down, too tired to argue.
Back at the Pokémon Center, she made it into her room and hung onto the door frame.
She stayed like that for a long moment. Then, barely audible: "…Thanks."
She shut the door.
From the hallway, Akiyama heard a solid thump.
Like a body hitting the floor.
He waited. The door didn't open, so he didn't knock.
He went back to his own room, waited for Gardevoir to finish in the shower, and cleaned up after her.
Kadabra ran a hand over himself, sheathed his body in Confusion, and was done.
Akiyama had just gotten flat on the bed when Gengar squeezed out through the wall.
He was holding a poster.
He shoved it at Akiyama.
"Huh?"
APRIL 6 — FROSTVALE CITY SPRING AUCTION!
Below the headline was an illustration of the venue, a tent that looked like an oversized yurt.
Akiyama's eyes went to the center of the tent.
Printed there were several black spheres arranged in a ring, and at the very center of the ring, a rainbow-colored double helix.
"Mega Stones." His gaze locked.
He started running dates.
Today was the twenty-ninth of March. Frostvale City by April sixth. Six days.
He got out his phone and checked ferry tickets from Bedrock City to Frostvale City.
Departure April third. Arrival April fifth.
"So we've got room for one more day of training." The math worked.
He didn't want to start traveling tomorrow. Takeru's coaching had produced visible results in Gardevoir in a single day, and he wasn't going to find a sparring partner like Urshifu anywhere else.
But he'd promised Kadabra a Mega Stone. Even if none of the stones at that auction were Alakazamite, he had to be there.
You didn't break a promise like that.
One more day. Just one.
He fell asleep in Gardevoir's arms with all of it still turning over in his head.
She went under before he did—it had been a brutal day for her too.
Once they were both out, Kadabra quietly lifted the poster with Confusion and stared at the rainbow symbol.
His heartbeat kept picking up.
Gengar cared about none of this. He came home from a full day of goofing off, burrowed under the covers, wedged himself against Akiyama's back, and drifted off.
......
Akiyama woke first the next morning. Gardevoir was still down.
He slid out from under the blanket as quietly as he could and went to make breakfast.
When she woke to an empty bed and opened her eyes, breakfast was already on the table.
She swung both legs out from under the covers, set her feet on the floor, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before padding over to him.
"Milk?"
Mm-hmm!
She nodded, took the glass in both hands, and sipped at it.
Once everyone had eaten, they headed out for the Gym. Kadabra came along.
Gengar was nowhere to be found again. Off somewhere, having a great time.
The Gym was still closed, no challengers out front. Not a single Trainer.
When Akiyama came into the back room with his Pokémon, Nanami was already there.
He asked Takeru the question that had been bothering him. "You're not taking challengers at all?"
"I resigned as Gym Leader. Next time you come looking for me, I probably won't be in Greenlight City." Takeru said it like it was the most ordinary thing in the world.
He had a direction now. No reason to stay parked in a quiet corner of the region.
And Greenlight City's Fighting Gym shouldn't keep getting laughed at as the baby's-first-badge Gym, either.
"Huh." Akiyama felt a pang about it.
He'd been half-planning to swing back after the Frostvale auction for more coaching. That wasn't happening now, and a man like Takeru would be hard to track down once he moved.
"Something on your mind?"
Takeru had finished another round and was resting against a post.
"Not really." Akiyama watched Nanami trade with Urshifu. "I'm leaving tomorrow. That's all. Kind of a shame."
Takeru knew what he meant.
He frowned. "What's the rush?"
"There's an auction in Frostvale City on April sixth. I promised Kadabra I'd find him a Mega Stone."
Kadabra's whole body went stiff. He started to say something.
Akiyama cut him off with a look and a smile, and Kadabra swallowed it.
"Mega Evolution, huh. Incredible thing," Takeru said, and there was regret in it. "Nobody ever turned up a stone for Wave, though."
Akiyama's smile went slightly rigid.
A Mega Urshifu?
He didn't even want to imagine it.
Nanami lost and came over to lean on a post the same way Takeru was, listening to them.
Gardevoir stepped in to take her place.
The two Pokémon escalated fast, and the impacts started coming with real weight behind them. Urshifu's punches carried more power now, but Gardevoir kept slipping them, leaning on her own agility.
The exchange looked like it might hold for a while. Takeru said something on his way out and left the room without explaining where he was going.
Akiyama didn't think much of it. He kept his eyes on the fight.
Crack.
A slender fist met a huge one packed with fur.
Ripples ran up both arms at once.
Shedding the force. Gardevoir had picked that up yesterday, and against an opponent with an overwhelming power advantage it worked beautifully.
Urshifu pulled his fist back—and then both fists came down like a downpour.
Nanami tensed without meaning to, putting herself in Gardevoir's place. This was exactly how she'd gone down.
Gardevoir couldn't dodge. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and took it, giving ground the whole way, the floorboards splintering under her heels.
The instant Urshifu stopped, her eyes went hard, and she came back.
The same motions. The same punches. Over and over.
But that massive body was suddenly nimble beyond reason, sliding out of the way in a manner that almost looked like Teleport.
Akiyama knew it wasn't. Urshifu was simply that fast.
Every last strike missed. She didn't land one.
Gardevoir didn't get discouraged. She caught the split second in one of his dodges, pulled her fist back, and swept her leg across instead.
Contact, finally.
But where her foot landed, the fur rippled, and every bit of force dispersed harmlessly.
Takeru came back through the door just in time to see it. He watched her and shook his head in admiration. "Hard to believe I'm looking at a Gardevoir."
Akiyama turned around. There was a bracelet in Takeru's hand.
~~
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