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My Stash of completed fics

Stash of numerous good fics that I like have more that 100k word count and are completed . Fics here range from anime, marvel, dc , Potter verse, some tv series like GoT Or some books . You can look forward to fun crossovers too ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- list of fics :- 1. Wind Shear by Chilord (HP) 2.Blood, Sweat and Fire by Dhagon (GOT × Minecraft) 3.Harry Potter: Lost Son by psychopath556 ( HP ) 4.Deeds, not Words (SI) by Deimos124 (GOT) 5.From Beyond by Coeur Al'Aran ( RWBY) 6.Everyone has darkness by Darthemius ( Naruto ) 7.Overlord by otblock57(HP) 8.Never Cut Twice - Book 1 Butterfly Effect by thales85(GOT) 9.The Peverell Legacy by Sage1988 (Got × HP) 10 .Artificer by Deiru Tamashi (DxD) 11.So How Can I Weaponize This? by longherin ( HP ) 12 .Hero Rising by LoneWolf-O1 ( Young Justice × Naruto) 13.Harry Potter and the World that Waits by dellacouer ( X-Men × HP) 14. What We're Fighting For by James Spookie ( HP ) 15. Mind Games by Twisted Fate MK 2 ( RWBY ) 16. Crystalized Munchkinry by Syndrac (Worm SI ) 17. Red Thorn by moguera ( RWBY) 18 . The Sealed Kunai by Kenchi618 ( Naruto ) 19. Dreamer by Dante Kreisler ( Percy Jackson ) 20. The Empire of Titans by Drinor ( Attack on Titans ) 21. Tempered by Fire by Planeshunter ( Fate / Stay night ) 22 .RWBY, JNPR, & HAIL by DragonKingDragneel25 ( RWBY × HP ) 23. Reforged by SleeperAwakens (HP) 24. Less Than Zero by Kenchi618 (DC) 25. level up by Yojimbra (MHA) 26. Y'know Nothing Jon Snow! by Umodin ( Pokemon ) 27. Any Means Necessary by EiriFllyn ( Fate × Worm × Multiverse ) 28.The Power to Heal and Destroy by Phoenixsun ( Naruto ) 29.Force for Good by Jojoflow ( MHA) 30. Naruto: Shifts In Life by The Engulfing Silence (Naruto) 31. Naruto Chimera Effect by ZRAIARZ ( DxD × Naruto) 32. Iron Re-Write. By lindajenner (Marvel) 33. A Whole New Life By MadWritingBibliomaniac ( HP ) 34 . Restored by virginea (GOT ) 35 . I Am Lord Voldemort? By orphan_account ( HP) 36 .There goes sixty years of planning by Shinji117 (Fate Apocrypha) 37 . The Wings of a Butterfly by DecayedPac ( HP ) 38 . The War is Far From Over Now by Dont_call_me_Carrie ( Marvel ) 39 . Black Rose Blooms Silver by CyberQueen_Jolyne ( RWBY ) 40 . Cheat Code: Support Strategist by Clouds { myheadinthecoudsnotcomingdown } ( MHA) 41 .Hypno by ScarecrowGhostX ( MHA ) 42 . Happy Accidents by Rhino {RhinoMouse} ( Marvel ) 43 . Fox On the Run by Bow_Woww ( Naruto ) 44 . Time for Dragons: Fire by Sleepy_moon29 ( GoT) 45 . Intercession by VigoGrimborne ( HP × Taylor Herbert ) 46 . Flight of the Dragonfly by theantumbrae ( MHA ) 47 . Restored by virginea ( GOT ) 48 . An Essence of Silver and Steel by James D. Fawkes ( Worm × Heroic spirits ) 49 . Trump Card by ack1308 ( Worm) 50.Memories of Iron ( Worm & Iron man) 51. Tome of the Orange Sky (Naruto/MGLN) 52. A Dovahkiin without Dragon Souls to spend. (Worm/Skyrim/Gamer)(Complete) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ If you have any completed fic u want me to upload you can suggest it through comments and as obvious as it is please note that , none of the fics above belong to me in any sense of the word . They belong to their respective authors you can find most of the originals on Fanfiction.net , spacebattles or ao3 with the same names ]

Shivam_031 · Tranh châm biếm
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2777 Chs

26

To be a Gym Trainer is to be an apprentice. A Gym Trainer is a young trainer with a talent or inclination towards one specific Pokémon type, hand selected by a Gym Leader to learn and train directly beneath them, giving said trainer the opportunity to gain further insight and ability in their Journey. It's a prestigious sort of commemoration, a proof to society at large that this person means business.

Or, at least, that's what I've been told.

"I'd like to sign up for a battle with Winona!" A boy around my age range shouted at the front desk, a Wurmple sat snug on his shoulder.

Starting to think I was lied to.

I stared at him, then looked behind him. A line of roughly fiftyish people camped out from the night before. And when I had just started doing this, there were almost one hundred people in line. They were all carrying Pokémon of similar sizes on their persons, Wurmples and Poochyenas and Tailows and such. Wide eyes of innocence and want were all on display amongst those boys and girls and Pokémon, with the occasional spritz of competence mingling about.

"…Right, just sign this form." I said, handing the brat a registration form.

All of those wide eyes of innocence were going to be crushed over the course of the next two weeks.

So, yeah. This whole Gym Trainer thing hasn't been what I expected it to be like so far. Winona told me time and time again that I would primarily be her assistant, helping out where I was needed and keeping track of her schedules and Pokémon. When there was free time, I would have the chance to train directly under her, learning what I came here to learn.

But then, surprise surprise, things didn't go how they were meant to. To start off, we got to Hoenn later than. The ferry we took was delayed due to a pod of Wailord deciding to be social, and since you can't really tell them to go away since one single Slam attack would capsize the ship, we had to wait. A wait that took an extra day and a half, meaning we arrived in Hoenn only late in the afternoon on the 19th. That was yesterday.

Today was the start of the Hoenn season.

A worrying state of affairs to be sure, but not the worst thing to happen. But then again, that wasn't the worst thing to happen. Something far more grave occurred, giving Winona a fit of stress that was so over-the-top it culminated in her Altaria using Sing to make her crash.

It made me crash as well, but those are semantics.

See, while Winona went on vacation to Johto, so too did the rest of her staff take some time off, and she wasn't the only one that was ditzy. The first few weeks of the Hoenn season's opening, of any regional League really, were hectic things, and yet barely anybody was here. Some were still in different regions; some were stuck with family. Three even had legitimate reasons not to be here, but the fact that of the matter was that we got shafted and not in the fun way according to my new boss.

What does it say about one of the bastions of the Pokémon League that it's so understaffed they need to use ten-year-old apprentices to man the front desk?

I don't actually know.

I proclaim it to be bullshit regardless.

"Here you go!" The kid said cheerfully. I took the form and after giving it a once-over began typing his information into the computer. I can already tell how this is going to go. According to his registration, he's had that Wurmple as a family pet since he was five. A Wurmple hasn't evolved in five years. And his other Pokémon is a, get this, a Zigzagoon caught two days ago.

Must not have realized that putting down anything past his starter was unnecessary. When a trainer gave that information, it normally meant they were confident in their victory.

Yeah, he's gonna get destroyed.

"You're number 43 on the list, scheduled for tomorrow at 1:30PM sharp. If you are late by more than five minutes, the battle will be considered voided and you will have to go through this process once again."

"But I want to fight her now." He whined.

I shrugged. "Take it up with the forty-two people in front of you. Take it up with the line behind you. Winona's in the middle of a battle right now anyway. If you want, you could head to the stadium stands and watch, maybe get some insight on how to strategize for your own battle."

I wisely left out the you'll need it that was on the tip of my tongue.

As if to echo my thoughts, the doors to the arena opened, and a crying girl ran out of the gym with a badly bruised Whismur held tight in her arms.

Awkwardly, the kid I'd just been dealing with stared at her retreating figure, and then after sharing a look with his Wurmple, silently entered where she left.

"Next!"

A brown-haired girl was behind the kid. She should have been next. Should have been, because a burly teenager cut past her just as she was about to move up.

"I'm next." Said the teen, looking down on me. As if daring me to contradict him.

Now, normally speaking, were I not working register, I wouldn't have cared. Honestly would have no shits to give about some rando being an asshole. But, because I am, and because I don't feel like messing anything up during my first week of work and the fact that there was a line of now-angry eyes shooting towards the pair of us…

"No," I denied, shaking my head. "You're not."

He whipped out a Poké Ball from his pants pocket and enlarged it. It had a lightning bolt sticker on its red upper half. "Yes I am."

I stared at the ball not even a foot from my face, then eyed the teen once more. Is he serious?

Welp. Not my problem.

"Baelish," I stated. "Use your new trick to remove this guy from the premise. He's banned from the gym for the day. I'll make a note on the computer."

From behind me, perched on a wall mounted shelf, was Baelish. The shelf was filled with small plushies and knickknacks, so one would never know he was there unless they were close enough to tell the difference.

I couldn't see him use his technique, but I could see it in action quite clearly. The Poké Ball in front of my face was outlined in a deep blue glow, one that snaked its way up from the ball to the teen holding the item in question. Then, they were lifted from the ground. The guy yelped and flailed and cursed, and Baelish pushed him out of the gym with a telekinetic gusto. Too much gusto, seeing as how the guy crashed into the dirt pavement outside, but that's what happens with new attacks.

Last night, when Winona learned she was short staffed to the point of desperately needing my help, she didn't just fork work onto me. She was genuinely apologetic, explaining that this sort of administrative duty was not meant for Gym Trainers, but she wouldn't have the ability to do it herself and it needed to be done. So, she offered me compensation for manning the front desk, like she would any other employee.

I didn't get money. This is essentially an unpaid internship, all things considered, and it was going to stay that was according to my contract. But the Foretree Gym has plenty of resources to be found; Poké Balls and training guides and TM's galore.

The training guides would do me no favors right now, and I can access them whenever I want. Plus, my Pokégear can take pictures and has a fairly decent hard drive that hasn't been used much, so anything valuable to know will always be available. And I wasn't particularly worried about the Poké Balls either, not when they were contractually available to me two months into my apprenticeship.

But the TM's?

Yes. Those were useful. Those I wanted.

So I dug through Winona's lists and found some interesting items. As should be expected, most of the TM's were Flying type moves, Acrobatics and Aerial Ace and Roost and such, but the other options weren't anything to sneeze at. I was told I could pick one item, so long as it wasn't overly expensive, like Hyperbeam or Fire Blast.

I picked Psychic. And naturally, I gave it to the only Psychic type on my roster.

Baelish was quite happy, squeakily laughing and being an all-around menace in the best of ways. He'd been playing with it nonstop upon absorbing the Technical Machine's data, much like he did when he learned Teleport. The super-circle-bird never even went to sleep, so caught up in his new ability that he was. And while he was nowhere near the point of having it down pat...

Well. His progress showed.

…Though his next objective would be to learn some more control, if the rabid twitching of the guy from outside was to go off of. But his eyes were swirling and he had a dopey sort of smile on his face, so I chalked it up to some anime nonsense.

Returning my attention to the girl who'd been cut in line, jaw hanging loose in astonishment, I smiled lightly and handed her a registration paper.

.

"Couldn't find a bottle opener."

"That's fine," Winona said. She took the beer bottle from my hand and placed it against her forehead. "Ahhhhhh. I needed that."

Then she flopped onto a couch in her living space, grabbed a pillow, and muffled a scream.

We were in her apartment area of the gym. It was a really nice place, being truthful. High ceilings and wax wood floors. A decently sized kitchen, a large media center… Winona was living well.

But living well did not necessitate living well.

"Is it always this bad?" I asked, wincing. If the rest of the gym circuit was anything like this first day was, then I was not going to be getting much done any time soon.

Her head plopped out from behind the pillow. "No, thank the creator for that. The first three weeks are the worst, the rest are fine. Honestly, after the first two months, I spend more time doing odd jobs to fill time than battle. That'll be when we'll have more time to work together."

"Any idea when the rest of the gym staff will be back?"

"Never." A fire was in her eyes at the mention, her tone harsher than I'd ever heard it. "I trusted them too much and didn't check in on them before returning. Guess I was a bit of a fool for that. But I shouldn't have to remind people to do their jobs. They knew how important this first day was. I fired them during my lunch break."

I took a sip of my own drink, contemplating her words. I don't care if it makes me a pussy, Moo Moo Milk is great.

"Don't get me wrong, I wish I didn't have to do it." She continued. "But- If you weren't there…" She shivered at the thought of running the gym on her own. As if to make herself forget, she unhooked one of her dangling earrings and used it as a bottle opener.

Now that was an impressive little party trick.

But, all in all, she was fair. In my mind, at least. Winona may be a bit ditzy and overly open, but she's essentially the owner and operator of the gym and if people don't do their jobs they get fired. Same as they would anywhere else. Sure, it could be said that she was harsh to fire people so quickly for small mistakes. But today was important and she was left in the dust.

However…

"What about the three that had legitimate reasons not to be here?"

"They'll be back." Winona stated, tone softening a tad. "Honestly, they're the only ones that I would have given a second chance to for this even if they did screw up. They're all friends I'd made during my Journey, even travelled with Marty for a little while. Janice is leading a funeral in Sinnoh for her older brother and will be back next week, Marty is on his honeymoon and will be back in two weeks, and Nancy's maternity leave doesn't end for another month. They all informed me and got permission for their time off before I'd even left for Claire's party."

"They're the closest to you then?"

"Definitely!" She nodded. "How's that phrase go..? Oh! It's not what you know, but who you know. I can safely say that if they didn't know me, I would never have hired them in the first place. But I did know them, and I trusted them, and was willing to take the risk to take them on and train them as employees. It doesn't always work out, I've had to fire friends before, but those three are great."

"What about me? If you didn't know Claire, would you have taken me on?" I was honestly curious. She seemed open to a lot of things, but a rando asking to become a Gym Trainer seemed a stretch. Or perhaps it wasn't? Dunno, the politics of the position have been lost on me.

"Can't say. I mean, if you messaged me and gave a link to your battle in the Orange League, I'd have been interested. Definitely interested. But I get asked to take people on all the time, and the last trainer I took on was because her dad gave a big donation to the gym. She hadn't even had her trainers license for a week when she came here. So… Yeah, I can't really say, Does it matter, though? You're here."

No. No, I suppose it doesn't.

Then our conversation turned. We talked on inane things, such as our pasts and our intentions for the future. Apparently, one of her aspirations is to become my stepmother. I wish her well, but based on what I know from Lance, based not only on my birth but of the numerous complaints Claire held over his bachelor ways, that'll never happen. From there, topics drifted, mainly because I didn't want to talk about daddy dearest at that moment, and we switched back to today.

"-I battled like, twenty people today, and only was able to give badges out to four of them. The rest'll be back soon enough, I guarantee it."

"Wait, people actually beat you?" But I saw everybody! Nobody from today's first round was good enough for that.

Or, at least, nobody of note or interest to me showed up to battle.

…I'll admit to being a little biased. But Winona was strong, there's no way in hell anybody that came in today should have been able to beat her. The only kid that might have stood a chance in my mind was a girl with a Mudkip starter, and she was among the sixteen that were beaten.

She shrugged, taking a sip. "Three of them surprised me with attacks with type advantages, and one girl had a fully evolved Pokémon hidden up her sleeve. An Exploud. Oooo, I can't wait for my level restrictions to loosen up. Then I'll be able to get some actual challenges."

"Level restrictions?"

"Did Claire never tell you?" She looked at me, and then comprehension dawned in her eyes. "No, what am I saying. Of course she didn't, she's the Johto gate. Doesn't have to deal with that. You know what the gates are though, right?"

I shook my head slowly.

She exhaled. "Gates are the nickname for the strongest gyms of their region; Kanto has Viridian, Johto has Blackthorn, Hoenn has Sootopolis- so on and so forth. If a trainer beats the gate of their region, they automatically skip the qualifying matches for their League tournament. It's considered a good milestone. But the gates've got a reputation to uphold, so there are no level restrictions placed onto them. Claire probably always uses the same team during a Gym Battle."

"Yeah, she does." Her Gyarados, Kingdra, and Dragonair were her standard. Whenever her Dragonair would evolve, she would start training up a Dratini. "She's got stronger Pokémon, like her starter and original team, but she always uses the same three for the gym."

"Right, well… Level restrictions are placed onto Gym Leaders in the earlier parts of their circuit. It's to boost interest for new trainers. Essentially, it's the League forcing me to use weaker Pokémon at the start of the circuit. For seven weeks, I can't use my main team. Each week leading up to that lets me use stronger and stronger Pokémon, but not the ones I would want to use."

That didn't really make a ton of sense. "What's the point in doing that? Gym circuits are nine months long, anybody can spend that time training their team to acceptable levels."

"True, they could- Alright, think about it like this. You know that being a trainer is expensive, right? That most people have to save up for a while before they can start their Journey? Well, once a child turns ten, they can still receive and train a Pokémon, they just might not be able to travel. But Pokémon Gyms being located in major cities and towns are attractive, and lots of new trainers live in or near those cities. It could be their only chance to have and win a Gym Battle for years. Do you know what kills dreams, Jon?"

"Waking up." I stated with as straight a face I could. My lip still twitched. It was a good joke!

She rolled her eyes. Apparently, she had no humor. "Reality. If I battled any one of those kids today with my real gym team, the only one that would have even a chance at beating me would be the girl with the Exploud, and I doubt she'd win. It didn't listen to her very much, so I'm guessing it was a gifted Pokémon. Kids that get stomped on tend to avoid what stomped them. But we want young trainers to battle, we want those kids to save their money and go on adventures – it's something I personally think everybody should do. And the League agrees. So, for those first two months, we give those new trainers a better chance of winning. I'm not giving away my badges by any stretch of the means, but I'm giving them an easier time of it."

I mulled that over. I hadn't thought about it from that perspective, and honestly? It was a reasonable mode of thought. Money is an issue for everybody, young and old, and Journeys are expensive. I've had most of my money for over a year now and have barely touched it purely due to the fact that it is meant for when I travel properly, and that won't happen until I'm done with Winona. But few people have the advantages and mindset that I was blessed with (literally), and they have to make do within their means.

But something felt a little off with that explanation. It makes sense and there's fair reason for the restrictions to be in place, but… I don't know. It just feels off.

And then it hit me. "The trainers don't know, do they?"

"Not a bit." Winona clapped, shaking her head. "League employees keep it under wraps for the most part, it's easier for all parties involved. Preferably, should a trainer find out, they would have already become strong enough for it to not matter anymore."

"And what about trainers that are already strong enough? That don't need the restriction."

She took another sip of beer. "The restriction is specific towards new trainers, lasting only for those two months. Trainers like you, who've already been active for a time, or who worked directly under a Pokémon institution of some sort before beginning their Journey, are exempt from the restriction. When you start challenging, you won't be screwed over. Trust me."

"So, if I were to battle you right now, you'd use your main team for the gym?"

Winona let out a none-too delicate snort. "If you were to battle me right now, after the day I had? I'd use my personal Pokémon that are too strong for the gym."

…Reasonable.

The week passed in a state of routine. Four more days of sitting behind a desk, dealing with noobs and the occasional douchebag. On two occasions, a properly experienced trainer came by for a battle, allowing Winona to go all out in an honest Gym Battle.

And, sadly, I was not able to witness them. Because I was stuck dealing with said noobs and those occasional douchebags.

But the weekend was finally here, and with it, my promised training. A one-on-one session with Winona herself, expected to last anywhere from an hour to three depending on how slow my team was to learn her lessons.

Some would be fast, like Winter and Nagga and Drogon. Some would be slow, like Ramsey and Valyrian. And Rayder, come to think of it.

Oh. Right. Rayder is my Murkrow.

Winona had gone out on Thursday night to get dinner with a friend, but she'd not left before settling with Professor Oak to allow me to leave my stored Pokémon in the gym. Apparently, it was expected for me to keep them here whilst under her tutelage. The goal of it being that whatever Winona had to teach be taught to all of my Pokémon, not just the ones currently on hand. It's easier to have them all on hand over having to switch out.

Naturally, while Oak was amenable and more than willing, he did not allow me to bring my fossils from his lab. They were meant for breeding and since we signed a joint breeding deal, there was no getting them out from under his thumb.

Not that I intended to do anything with them anyways.

So, I took my remaining three Pokémon from his lab: Umber, Murkrow, and Onix. Since I'm intending on getting rid of Onix soon enough, I thought it best to just have him on hand. Easier transactions and all that rot.

Murkrow turned out to be… well, interesting. He wasn't a little standoffish and playful at the start. If anything, I'd say his most glaring personality trait would be being a pest.

Upon releasing him for the first time, after trading him out with Umber, with only Baelish and Thoros at the ready in the event that he was going to be difficult, his first instinct was to dive at me and, as opposed to attacking, dug through my backpack. Then he stole my goggles and played keep away for a good hour.

It was a harmless enough prank, so I didn't do anything about it. I got them back upon returning him anyway. Plus, I'd done some research on the Murkrow line, and learned that they had a natural predilection towards objects that shine or reflect light. They build nests out of them, meant to attract mates or instill the same interests into their offspring. Those goggles were similar mirror sunglasses, meaning that the sun just bounced off of them, and they would obviously be of interest to the Dark type.

Thoros got a kick out of it though, and somehow, though I should have expected such, they became fast friends. I'm sure Baelish would have felt the same, had my newest Pokémon not decided to get into his personal space looking for something. Don't know what, neither does Baelish, but suffice to say that Murkrow wouldn't stop being a general pest, and Baelish eventually got fed up and returned himself.

A rarity, it should be said.

His name was a simple thing. Murkrow is a crow, and a crow is a derogatory nickname for members of the Night's Watch in the books that I've named all of my Pokémon for.

And when you add his personality, I asked myself: who would be the biggest pest amongst the Night's Watch?

A fair question, but when I thought on it, the answer came out pretty simply. The biggest pest of a crow known to me was Mance Rayder himself, the turnclock who became King-Beyond-the-Wall. The man that ended up becoming the leader of the greatest enemy to the Night's Watch since the Long Night.

If that's not what one would consider a pest, I don't know what said person would consider a pest. Sounds pretty pesty to me. Badass, but pesty.

Which I hoped would also be the case for my newest Pokémon.

And it looked like that was going to be the case! Rayder was a decent Pokémon all around. Certainly my weakest Pokémon, but he'd a willingness to learn. And he knew a rare move, Perish Song. And he was social, interacting with the rest of the team well enough.

As far as traded Pokémon went, he was far easier to manage than Valyrian had been.

"Alright, you ready Jon?" Winona asked.

"Yep!"

We were stood on the second level of the gym. The Fortree Gym was an interesting place, designed to look like an Aztec pyramid, with massive sloping blocks of stone rising up towards what was simply called the platform. The gym had two battle arenas, one located inside the gym itself, which was more commonly used, and the one atop the platform, designated for trainers Winona either respected or trainers whose Pokémon would be more comfortable in open air settings.

Such as my Flying types.

"Send out everybody." She commanded.

Happily, I did so.

Winter was first to take the stage, followed by Ramsey and Valyrian. Then I released Thoros and Rayder, followed by Umber and Drogon. Viserion and Rhaegal were next, and Baelish had already been on my shoulder. And last was Nagga, who had to wrap his body around the top lay of the gym to ensure he didn't take up too much space.

Nagga and Rhaegal swarmed me with warm greetings upon release, knocking me over in their affection. Winter hopped towards me and began to preen at my hair. Thoros and Rayder snickered at the display, whilst Ramsey leered boldly at Valyrian, who was ignoring everybody with her head tucked under a wind. Umber was making animation motions with her flippers towards an interested Viserion and a disinterested but tolerating Drogon, who wore a scowl upon his face.

I presumed the scowl had something to do with the Everstones wrapped around his neck. Not the most enjoyable things in the world.

"Alright, question. Who's your strongest Pokémon?"

"Nagga, my Gyarados." The rest of my team knew it. I believed that there would come a time in which the rest would catch up to be able to fight him on more even terms, but for now? Definitely Nagga. He purred at my acknowledgement.

"His strongest attack? Hydro Pump?"

"No, he doesn't know that. Thunderbolt is his strongest."

Her eyebrows rose at that statement, and she whistled in appreciation. "Pretty unusual for a Gyarados to know that. Though this is a very unusual Gyarados in the first place. Nearly had an aneurism when I saw him for the first time."

Now Nagga was just basking in the attention.

Winona released only one Pokémon, a Pelipper. It let out a high-pitched caw of its name, flew a short circle around my team, and then landed directly in front of Winona.

"But him knowing Thunderbolt actually helps us out quite a bit. Like Gyarados, Pelippers are both Water and Flying type Pokémon, meaning they have a dual weakness towards Electric attacks. I want you to send the rest of your Pokémon to the stands, and once they're there I'd like for Nagga to fire his strongest Thunderbolt at Pelipper."

I blinked, befuddled. But, she wanted me to do this, and I wasn't gonna say no.

With a wave of my hand, my team went over towards the stands. Some, like Ramsey and Rayder, needed to follow the group, since they didn't fully understand the request, but within a few minutes everybody was in their places.

"Are you ready?" Winona asked her Pelipper. It cawed once more, eyes narrowed in confidence, and gave a short nod. She looked at me and gave her own nod.

"Nagga, fire as much lightning at you can at Pelipper." I said, putting on my goggles. Had a feeling I was gonna need 'em. "Give it everything you've got."

He let loose a roar of confirmation, and the trident frill atop his brow lit up in golden sparks. They charged longer than normal, and with a thrash of his head, a veritable blast of lightning struck out at Pelipper, far great in strength than I was accustomed to seeing. So strong and bright was it that Winona had to shield her face with her forearms, my own Pokémon had to hole themselves into their wings and neighbors to not be blinded.

Holy shit. That wasn't a Thunderbolt, that was a Thunder.

Well… Hopefully Pelipper doesn't die.

The Water Bird Pokémon's body was doused in electricity, so much so that for a few moments I couldn't even see the outline of its body. It was reminiscent of my escape from Zapdos, though not at that level of power. And Zapdos hadn't been using Thunder, just Thunderbolts that were supercharged to the point of extreme danger.

But once Thunder dissipated, once the electricity fell away, I saw.

Nagga has an extreme weakness towards Electric attacks and would normally have been KO'd upon being hit by anything remotely nearing that level of power. All Flying types had a weakness towards Electric attacks, but his was a dual weakness, as Winona explained, and was even more difficult about it. Pelipper should have been the same, if not worse. Without question, should any of my Pokémon, save for Thoros, have been hit by that, they would have been knocked out.

And yet, instead of being knocked out as expected, there it stood, looking right as rain, if not a little annoyed. Sparks jolted over its body, sending spasms through its feathers, a common indicator for paralysis, but it was still active and able to handle further strain if the look in its eyes were any indicators.

There weren't enough words to settle my shock. Instead, I went with a simple: "How?"

"Flying type Pokémon sadly don't have a lot of potential for taking hits," Winona began. "And Pokémon like Pelipper and your Gyarados have it even worse for their weaknesses. When I started my Journey, my starter was a Swablu, and every time she was hurt, I wanted to help. But there wasn't a lot endurance and stamina training could do. But then… I figured it out."

Her arms spread wide, and an equally wide grin sprouted. "If Swablu couldn't tank an attack, she'd just have to counter it."

"…Counter?"

"Counter." She nodded. "I figured out, through trial and error, that Electric type attacks react to Steel type energy in the same way a bolt of lightning reacts to a lightning rod. It becomes attracted. Pelliper countered your Gyarados' attack simply by using Steel Wing. The Thunder was compelled towards the Steel Wing, and then stabbed into the dirt, conducting it away from Pelliper as a whole. The attack was really strong though! Pelliper has never been paralyzed from an Electric attack before, so its proof that Nagga should have been able to win, but…" She shrugged.

I was not slow on the uptake. "And this works for every Flying type?"

"It works for every Pokémon in general. What we'll be focusing on over the course of this year is drilling into yours and your rosters heads the differences in types, and what the smartest thing to do is against them. Most of the time, that'd be dodging, sometimes tanking, but countering isn't something you can just call out. They need to know it instinctually. And if you're good, and if they're good, they should never need to fear being one-shot by the time you leave the gym."

And suddenly, any anxiety or desire to walk away from being a Gym Trainer were washed away.

I've always known that certain types were strong and weak against others, and have even used attacks to combat other attacks, such as when Umber used Ice Beam against Drake's Gengar's Night Shade, but never have I thought about going farther with it.

But now that I knew, now that I had the opportunity to do this myself, there could only be one response.

"Where do we begin?"

Hoenn was the right choice.

Winter/Pidgeot – Male

Moves: Tackle, Gust, Sand Attack, Agility, Double Team, Whirlwind, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Steel Wing, Twister, Hyper Beam, Sunny Day, Heat Wave, Attract, Rest, Sky Attack, Aerial Ace

Ability: Keen Eye

Thoros/Gliscor – Male

Moves: Sludge Bomb, Slash, Poison Sting, Metal Claw, Dark Pulse, Dig, Guano, Attract, Steel Wing, Iron Tail, Sandstorm, Ice Fang, Crunch

Ability: Sand Veil

Valyrian/Skarmory – Female

Moves: Steel Wing, Wing Attack, Cut, Peck, Screech, Metal Claw, Metal Sound, Slash, Night Shade, Steel Wing, Icy Wing, Sky Attack, Iron Head, Attract, Dark Pulse, Aerial Ace, Iron Defense

Ability: Sturdy

Drogon/Charmeleon – Male(Shiny)

Moves: Growl, Scratch, Ember, Ancient Power, Attract, Iron Tail, Metal Claw, Sunny Day, Bite, Flamethrower, Dragon Rage, Dragon Claw, Dig, Protect

Ability: Blaze

Viserion/Dragonair – Male

Moves: Leer, Wrap, Thunder Wave, Water Pulse, Attract, Water Gun

Ability: Shed Skin

Baelish/Nate – Male

Moves: Peck, Leer, Night Shade, Calm Mind, Protect, Teleport, Flash, Confuse Ray, Psychic

Ability: Synchronize

Nagga/Gyarados – Male

Moves: Splash, Tackle, Bite, Leer, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Ice Fang, Crunch, Body Slam, Headbutt, Iron Head, Twister, Dragon Rage, Thunder

Ability: Intimidate

Aerodactly/Ramsey – Male

Moves: Iron Head, Hyper Beam, Wing Attack, Bite, Roar, Crunch, Take Down, Supersonic, Headbutt, Rest, Stealth Rock, Earthquake

Ability: Rock Head

Rayder/Murkow – Male

Moves: Astonish, Pursuit, Peck, Wing Attack, Taunt, Haze, Perish Song

Ability: Super Luck

Jon Snow – Male

Date: Mar 26

Orange League: Complete

Held Pokémon: Pidgeot, Gliscor, Skarmory, Charmeleon, Dragonair, Natu, Gyarados, Aerodactyl, Murkrow

Stored Pokémon: Shelgon, Onix, Kabuto(x2), Kabutops(x2), Omanyte(x2), Omastar(x2), Delibird

Currency: 12,740