Reunited (2/3)

once, there was a calm between the storms. Its slow passage allowed the herds to graze on the fields, the flowers were to replenish from the pool, and the grass painted themselves with deliverance. It was peaceful.

The two Katsuragis were eye-stuck with the sight of the foreign figure, they never really knew them completely but the sense of a long distant yet close memory formed amongst them, but it was irrelevant anyways. Her brunette hair, teenish look, slim, and was the magnet of attraction but she was still young - an expressive nymph who had learned enough but was eager to know more.

Her name is Lyra.

"Thought I could come by, I guess training has already started." She commented. She was both amused and disapproved of the stage, it was set and the props were already there, it was just the actors that were the problem.

Ren, at first, was confused by the brunette's statement and was even curious who this person is. But she remembered a small conversation she had with a young woman, near the coasts, sitting alongside her at a bench - wearing the same clothes and same looks. Red and Blue.

Then, it hit her. It was her, the mysterious woman who confronted her yesterday.

"Let's see. The black haired is Yoake Katsuragi and the white haired is Ren Mirai? (aka Yugere Katsuragi)." She pointed her fingers towards Yoake first then slowly slid it at Ren.

"How do you know my-?" Ren was shocked to hear that Lyra remembered her discourse yesterday and what was surprising was that Lyra knows her last name; something which she hides the most but some stranger managed to find out.

Yoake, on the other hand, was tightening his grip. He was flustered by Lyra's sudden entrance but what was more intimidating was that she was wearing something different. She may have worn the same tops and bottoms yesterday but he felt that there was something odd about it. He couldn't tell what it was but if there was one thing, she wore Red and Black.

"So I guess you accepted my invitation yesterday." Yoake guessed.

"It was based on coincidence, I have no interest in Pokemon training whatsoever, even if I have, I wouldn't spend my time on you." An insult directly hitting his ego. Who was this girl anyway? Daring to speak such nonsense to the prince and princess of Kanto, insulting and degrading them.

"why you…" Yoake muttered.

"Ah. Ah. Easy to pick on, the motif of every Katsuragi. Do you think I don't know this by now?" She raised her index finger and gave her the no-sign, a custom in Johto that is used when you want to warn someone's actions and such consequences will be dire.

"Who the hell are you then?" Ren asked Lyra. The brunette smirked.

"Like you, I have many names but for simplicity's sake, you can call me Lyra. I have full disclosure of my last name as it is irrelevant." She stated.

"And how deep do you know about us? Do you know what we're capable of?" Yoake warned her.

"Battle Bond, isn't it? It is when the mind and soul of the trainer and Pokemon are merged into a single conscience and their merits will be shared amongst them yet their physical bodies would still be in-tact separately. I've heard those rumors before but I want to see its full extent."

"And where did you get that information? So far, only us, Professor Oakido, and the League proposed that theory? Unless…" Ren began to think for a moment. Battle Bond's information was disclosed to the public and they just used Mega Evolution as their allegory, and Lyra's knowledge about it was bizarre in nature, until she drew a conclusion.

"You're the Johto Champion."

Yoake was startled by this revelation. He has been trying to find the Johto Champion and was eager to fight them but, throughout this entire time, this random stranger met was coincidentally, the person he was looking for. It was anticlimatic but if there was one thing he did noticed, is that there is a strange aurua being eminated from her. So, he decided to barrage her with questions.

"If you're the champion then why did you disappear? Johto is in a state of ruin and you have the power to change it. Isn't that the reason why you became the champion?" Yoake's arguments were already an inherint flaw. Lyra knew that Yoake was naive to understand the burden and there were already signs that he wasn't even ready to become the champion of Kanto.

"Simple. I don't want to. The greatest person acknowledges power but refuses to use it, force is the tool of the cowardice." Lyra replied.

"If you were to ask me, Pokemon Champion shouldn't even be a political institution. It was only your country, Kanto, turned it into an industry and due to how profitable it was, many followed. Then, everything went downhill, it became a political entity in your country and so, the champion can do reforms and ratification." she continued.

"It should've made Pokemon Training a desired hobby because of aspirations but unironically, it became inapt. Do you think being a Pokemon champion is a trivial title? No. it's a burden that no one should ever be bestowed upon. You may patronize it but being one is the worst punishment. I don't enjoy being one and either should you." There was no more words to release from her mouth as she has explained it all.

It was a straight-forward abstract, Yoake decided not to argue any more since he acknowledges Lyra's intelectual reason but Ren was puzzled by it.

"Then why did you became one?"

"You'll know, soon. For now, I was asked by Leaf to be your overseeer in Johto, is it not?"

The two nodded.

"Hmm. Since I interrupted your battle, might as well continue it. Instead of fighting each other, how about one of you battle me instead." She challanged them to a duel, and may the best trainer win.

"But, I want to see you utilize battle bond." She remarked. Yoake bugged with Claudine's Pokeball but his Pokemon refuses to leave her comfort. He fidgeted the button and nothing happened, he repeated and none.

Seeing how Yoake is having a hard time opening Claudine's Pokeball, she decided to step forward and accept the Johto champion's challange.

"I'll do it." Ren takes out Gengar's Pokeball and staunches her for a battle. She has been training with Karen before competing here in Johto, and now, she can finally apply it to a stand-off.

"Very well then. Prepare yourself." Lyra walked towards a parallel area from Ren and takes out one Pokeball from her belt. The white trainer threws her Pokeball to the ground and released a purple mist. Toxic fumes shrouded the small area, and from those smokes, malicious red eyes emerged. The clouds concentrated into a spherical shape, spikes grew out of its back, horns rose at his head, and limbs around its body formed.

"Gengar." Yoake muttered the Pokemon name's. He went to a safer area so he could watch the battle with safety. Alongside with him was Tepig and Ren's Totadile - being a by-stander in a battle between greats.

Lyra pressed the button on her Pokeball and a Pokemon emerged from it; she didn't throw her Pokeball and instead, kept it in her palms, a discipline she learned throughout her battles in Johto.

A bipedal figure introduced itself in the battlefield, its body was painted in ash-gray, it has a long tail and its tip was a paint brush-like thing smeared with green pigments. It was a Smeargle.

'A Normal against a Ghost-type? That's… odd. Even then, Gengar has acess to poison-type moves that can hit Smeargle. And knowing Ren, she'll win, reluctantly.' Yoake guessed as he attempts to see a possible conclusion to the battle but little does he know, such hypothesis would be futiled by surprises.

"Gengar, remember what we practiced." A portal emerged from Gengar's footing and he jumped towards it, as if he was some swimmer competing in the olympics.

Lyra and Smeargle were composed, patiently waiting for Gengar to emerge from the darkness. She didn't bother to command anything to Smeargle since they both know what to do in this situation.

Then, a cynical sphere appeared out of nowhere and threw itself towards the Smeargle, instead of dodging it, the Pokemon jumped and used its tail to slam the ball at the ground. Afterwards, a cluster of shadow balls blitzed from the unknown and all of it was pointed directly to Smeargle.

"I've got you." Ren smirked.

With one single flick of her finger, the barrage started. From all directions, the clumps concentrated towards the Smeargle but instead of worrying about the situation, Lyra saw an opportunity for an indesruptable attack.

Smeargle hopped and a green liquid sprouted from its tail and all of the Shadow Balls were destroyed. Lyra saw smoke coming out from the circumferences and she detested the strategy, and to make things interesting, she saw an ooze splattered to a surface floating mid-air and it was moving.

"I've got you. It's our turn, Smeargle, sketch."

Both Katsuragis were surprised by how Smeargle copied Ren and Gengar's special attack. Shadow balls blitzed from the disparity and all of it was revolving around the splattered Gengar.

"Gengar, dodge it." Ren warned her about Pokemon.

With little to no agency, the cluster bombarded the Shadow Pokemon but with its tedious nature, it dived to the darkness once more and dodged the stonks of Shadow Balls. Swimming through the invisible world, it fluidly went beside Smeargle and launched a counter attack by forming a Sludge Bomb at its palm. The painter Pokemon whipped its tail to the ground and another round of green paint emerged from its tail, the ooze splattered the ground and footprints appeared, it was Gengar's.

The Painter Pokemon trashed the ground and used its 'Sketch', and it copied Gengar's move once more and became invisible - and because of that, it saw Gengar - shakened by how this Pokemon was misjudged by him.

Though not everyone can see what was going on, Ren can feel Gengar was getting defeated by an unpredictable Pokemon. The two Pokemon appeared from the unknown realm, with Gengar getting tired from the battle - but he wasn't ready to give up nor was she.

"I can't believe that I have to use this." Ren muttered as she collected her thoughts and initiated a battle bond amongst her and Gengar.

'There it is.'