Stretching his arms over his head with a jaw-cracking yawn, Nigel Birch settles into his office chair and mentally reviews what he needs to get done today. ‘Mister Nelson’s Dustox has been looking a little under the weather, so he probably needs to be added to the checkup roster. Need to finish up my article from the Verdanturf Sitrus grove study. The fire extinguisher in Exam room B needs to be replaced after the mishap with that Torchic…’

As he writes his mental list, Nigel jiggles the mouse of his computer, waking the old device. As per usual, he goes to check for any emails that came in during the night. Yawning once more, he goes down the line. ‘Not important. Not important. That one can wait. Spam. Why am I still getting this one? I need to have the IT guy adjust the mail list.’ Nothing seems urgent, and then Nigel spots two that came in a few hours after he went home the night prior.

New mail from: [email protected]Subject: Lhenson New Capture

New mail from: [email protected]Subject: Logs and Research

Nigel’s eyebrows rise to his hairline. A new capture and updated research logs? Lee hasn’t sent in any logs recently, though with the debacle on the volcano still fresh in the mind, the professor can’t say that he minds much. “Well, let’s see who your sixth is, Lee,” Nigel murmurs, opening the email.

Acquisition Details:

Pokémon Species: #0700 – SylveonGender: FemaleMethod of Acquisition: AdoptionLocation: Verdanturf – “Greener Pastures Breeding and Boarding Services.”Research Value Index: 0.89[Attachment #1: Adoption Forms]

Nigel sighs, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. “A Sylveon. An adopted Sylveon. Why am I even surprised? I shouldn’t be. I said it before, and I’ll say it again—for a man deathly afraid of drama, Lee sure finds himself mixed up in a lot of it.”

Already resigned to the fact that today is going to be a long one, Nigel leans toward the screen and continues. Opening the adoption forms, he scans them with a critical eye and finds nothing out of place. Upon finishing, his mind immediately goes to Lee’s Ninetales. The professor can only imagine how in the world Lee is going to manage with not one, but two emotional time bombs on his team.

“Well, if there is anyone who can get a Ninetales and a Sylveon of the same gender to get along, it would be Lee,” Nigel muses. He resolves to check Battlenet after this and to remind the lab’s PR team to be vigilant for a week or two. The internet is going to have a heyday with this one.

Moving onto the next email, there are fewer audio logs than expected, but there are a few research papers attached. Again, likely a consequence of Lee being so busy after the volcano incident. After standing to close his office door, Nigel opens the first log and sits back, listening.

"Log twenty-four, day one-hundred-twenty-one."

“It was narrow, but we took the win from the Lavaridge Gym yesterday. I had no idea that Leader Moore was going to blindside us like that, but looking at silver linings, he was an excellent test for me and my team.”

“I didn’t expect Grovyle to actually take down Moore’s Rapidash, and I admit I feel a little scummy for doubting him. The plan originally was to have Grovyle essentially be a sacrificial buffer to weaken the first opponent for Octillery. I can’t overstate how continually I’m amazed by him. Grovyle, that is. He’s something else. Taking down a fully evolved, near-elite Fire-type as a middle stage Grass-type? It’s crazy. His air control using Quick Attack is also advancing faster than ever, and he showed that off yesterday with how he continually outran Rapidash’s Flamethrower while avoiding the burning ground. This fight also highlighted his predisposition for cutting attacks more than ever. The Sceptile line has very little natural inclination for Dark moves, yet Grovyle’s Night Slash cut into Rapidash easily. Leaf Blade, X-Scissor, and now Night Slash. Not a bad repertoire of slashing attacks, if I say so myself. I’m thinking we're going to lean into this strength and see where it takes us.”

“I’m still rather frustrated with my poor synergy with Octillery. I’m so used to having the fastest pokemon on the field that trying to transition into Octillery’s preferred fighting style is a pain. He has power in spades, and the accuracy to nail a bouncing Joltik at a hundred yards, but none of that matters if I can’t effectively work with him. His performance in the gym match was stellar despite me choking with our defensive measures. Gunk Shot is a truly heinous technique, and if not for landing it right in Arcanine’s mouth, I’m thinking that the fight would’ve been a complete blowout. Octillery is one intelligent ‘mon, so I’m sure between both of us, we can figure something out.”

“Ninetales… Well, I’m sure that you saw the fight. Ninetales and I are as in-tune as we can possibly be, so I don’t have much to comment on there. This did show me how higher level pokemon can resist more esoteric forms of attack, like Confuse Ray, Baby-Doll Eyes, or being held aloft with telekinesis. I can say with no exaggeration that Ninetales’ Confuse Ray is officially too dangerous to use on weaker pokemon at full power. We haven’t tested it much considering the unpleasant effects it has on targets, but Nine’s Confuse Ray has gone from being discombobulating to sending weaker targets into full-blown seizures. Sources and research papers I read say Confuse Ray can’t cause permanent harm, but I think it’s better to err on the side of caution here. Until I can study the effects to confirm that it’s not causing irregularities to the autonomic nervous system of targets, we’re saving full power Confuse Rays for emergencies.”

“Like with Ty. Arceus damn, what a monster. He barely even flinched.”

“Baby-Doll Eyes is… a really weird one. I thought that the attack induced muscle weakness via involuntary relaxation, but I’m getting inconsistent results with tests. Sometimes the targets relax against their will, other times their muscles stay tensed, but they simply aren’t able to bring all of their strength to bear for a reason I don’t readily understand. Ugh. Fairy-type. It’s times like these that I’m glad Ninetales is a Kantonese Ninetales, and not an Alolan one. A fox that doubles as a portable air conditioner would be great, but not if it means dealing with Fairy nonsense all the time.”

“Alolan Ninetales, huh?” Nigel blinks and pauses the recording. Turning to his other monitor he types the species name into a search engine and digs for several minutes. “Huh…”

Alola does have its own species of Ninetales! Lee mentioned it in another log, but Nigel didn’t have time to look. There is even less about them than the already mysterious Kantonese Ninetales, and only a handful of Alolan Vulpix have been confirmed to be owned by trainers. There are even fewer confirmed Ninetales captures. If Nigel is reading right, then the white fox species is even more elusive and temperamental than their Kanto cousins.

“Sometimes I forget that Lee is filled to the brim with secrets and trivia you’d never find anywhere else.” Nigel shakes his head. Oh, how he’d love to study Alolan pokemon habitats to see what causes so many regional mutations. “I need to go to Alola at some point,” Nigel resolves to himself. “Maybe I’ll drag Lee along. He already has a knack for troublesome foxes, so maybe he can nab an Alolan Vulpix to study,” he says, resuming the playback.

“Brendan and Zinnia have been sticking close to me, apparently worried since all three of my active battlers are recuperating in the Pokemon Center. I never really considered the cultural angle of having no battle-ready pokemon on hand. I guess it’s kind of like conceal-carrying a gun back home. Some people do it for so long that they feel a bit nervous when they do without, wondering about ‘what if’ scenarios. I myself owned a pistol, but I rarely took it with me anywhere, and thankfully never needed to use it in self-defense, so I guess I don’t really know what that feeling is like. Also, I’ve still got Shinx, and although she is nowhere near the level of the rest of the team, I don’t feel unsafe having just her. Her Thundershock has to hurt like hell.”

“Not too much more to say for this one. Lee, out.”

Nigel plays the next one.

"Log twenty-five, day one-hundred-thirty-four."

“Corvi came back.”

There is a short pause broken up by a joyful, disbelieving laugh.

“Corvi actually came back. On his own. I can’t… I can hardly believe it. The worry over him has lessened over the last few weeks, but never totally gone away. I came back to our hotel room to find him and Ninetales talking. He’s like a changed pokemon! He actually let me touch him, something he never allowed before. Oh man. After letting him inside and getting him some dinner, I had Ninetales act as a translator so I could understand him word-for-word as he explained what he was up to.”

“It’s… Well, Corvi’s story is a personal one, and not really mine to tell. I’ll just say that my theories about him having a trainer before me were correct and leave it at that. His tale does explain why he acted the way he did, though. It was enough to satisfy Ninetales, so I think just about anyone would understand why he did what he did. Hoooo… Okay, I’m getting a little too excited here. Let me back up and try this again, or I’m just going to end up rambling… What was I saying again?”

A scratchy ‘caw!’ fills the lull in the recording.

“Right, right. Anyway, I gave Corvisquire a check over, and I’m happy to say that he is still in great health. He’s roughly at the same level of combat ability he was before he left, so he probably has a bit of catching up to do with Grovyle and Ninetales, but that’s nothing he can’t handle. I admit, I’m a bit surprised that he didn’t evolve while he was away. He was on the cusp back in Mauville, and he still is today. Curious. Regardless, I’ll be revising his diet and adding him back into our training routines soon.”

“Regarding the rest of the team, I’m currently brainstorming a new technique for Grovyle. Grass is a type of somewhat poor defensive capabilities, so to counteract that, I’ve been wanting to create an energy-draining technique similar to Absorb or Drain Punch for Grovyle, one that he can use with his Leaf Blade. I figure that rather than try to bulk-up a pokemon not known for being bulky, it would be better to play to Grovyle’s strengths, namely his speed and proficiency with cutting attacks. With this hypothetical ‘Drain Blade’ in his repertoire, Grovyle should be able to endlessly dance around his opponents as he cuts them to ribbons. Our initial tests have produced some results, but it’s going to need a lot of refinement before it’s ready for live combat. I’m hoping that we can use Grovyle’s understanding of Absorb as a starting point for this technique, and to facilitate that, I’ve been having him drive a Leaf Blade into newly felled lumber, then using Absorb on the same piece of lumber. My hope is that he can begin associating the two attacks together, and the focal point of Absorb will migrate to the edge of the Leaf Blade.”

“Not much to report with Shinx. She’s steadily outputting more voltage each day, and she’s certainly cemented herself as the leader of the group’s younglings, despite being the youngest of them all. She’s making use of different cries for different instances and scenarios, so if you’re comparing her to a human baby, she’s in the toddler stage where speech starts emerging. I might be mother-henning a little, but I still want to hold off for another week or two before I begin to actively look for battles for her. She’s done well in spars with Grovyle, who can shrug off her electricity and safely divert her physical attacks, but I still want her to firm up a bit more before throwing her into a real fight. I should’ve taken a picture of her face when I pulled her aside one afternoon and told her she doesn’t need to be a fighter if she doesn’t want to. I’ve never seen her look insulted before. I guess that also confirms that her grasp of human speech is maturing as well.”

“Octillery, I’m still trying to make plans for. He has such a wide array of techniques with the capacity to learn more, but I am still not good enough to command slower pokemon effectively against trainers of equal or greater skill than myself. I initially thought, 'Well why even bother? Let’s get him a technique to facilitate faster movement, like Aqua Jet,' then dismissed the thought. I don’t know if a shortcut like that will do us any favors in the long run. Otherwise, it’s business as usual for Octillery. He is still as voracious an intellectual as ever, and hungers for stimulation. I'll admit, I broke Battlenet’s rules on “pokemon sock puppet” accounts and let Octillery make his own so he can peruse the site without using mine. Thankfully, he’s very opsec conscious and tends to keep to himself. He learned quite quickly that it’s useless to argue with morons online, even if he’s right about whatever he’s talking about. He certainly learned faster than I did as a teenager.”

“He’s not the only one who has been doing some reading. After our win at the Lavaridge Gym, a number of groups reached out to us, and one of them was a cabal of trainers who own their own Ninetales. I got the invitation from Kabu, a gym Leader all the way over in Galar, and the place is run by a Pokemon Master called Lokoko. I swear I’ve heard that name somewhere before, but for the life of me, I can’t remember it.”

There is the sound of an exasperated sigh over the recording.

“Anyway, Ninetales’ temper has been especially short here recently, so I reached out to Lokoko for advice. We had a very enlightening discussion, and I can certainly see why Lokoko is referred to as a Pokemon Master, as she had some unique insight on the Ghost, Psychic, Fairy, and Dark types. A large part of our discussion revolved around the psychology of Ninetales as a species, however. She had… a few interesting things to say.”

Nigel leans in slightly, listening carefully.

“According to Lokoko, trainer fixation is just something that Ninetales is going to experience, and constant telepathy is only making things worse. She advised that we don’t use our telepathy any more than needed, or we face a serious risk of becoming a gestalt entity.”

Pausing the recording for a second, Nigel narrows his eyes in thought. “A gestalt?” he wonders to himself. “Like a Dugtrio or an Exeggutor?”

The concept of a gestalt entity is not something completely unknown to pokemon academics, but neither is it well understood. The hows and whys of things such as identity or consciousness are still purely theoretical. For all the resources and advancements in the fields of medicine and science, the inner workings of the conscious mind for both man and pokemon alike remain largely a mystery. Even with the aid of expert psychics, it all rapidly hits a dead-end that traditional science simply isn’t equipped to handle. After a certain point, things simply become indescribable to any who haven’t experienced it firsthand.

Feeling a touch uneasy, Nigel resumes the recording, hoping that Lee provides his own insights.

“I… The thought of breaking what Nine and I have is unthinkable, Nigel. Even if we don’t speak a single word to each other, just knowing that she’s there is reassuring in a way I can’t put into words. It’s an affirmation that I’m not alone, that someone else out there is real. There are still some days where I think I’m back on Earth, and this is all just a wonderful hallucination before I die, and then I feel Ninetales and I know this is the real world.”

A long pause, then Lee begins speaking again.

“I’m not a philosopher, or psychologist, or anything like that, so take the following with a grain of salt. You know, we rely on our hands, our eyes, and our ears to perceive the world around us, and we simply have to trust that they are correct. What if they aren’t? What if what we see and what we hear is not the same thing other people see and hear? What if we’re missing something entirely? What if we’re missing everything? In a way, the only thing we can ever know is true is our own existence. The telepathy between Ninetales and I, though, is proof that more exists beyond the sanctity of my mind. It takes away a weight, knowing for certain and on all levels that I’m not alone. It’s a kind of weight I don’t think people even realize they’re carrying, at least until it’s pointed out to them.”

“Neither of us can go back to living without that—without each other—Nigel. I’m really hoping that your psychic expert can offer some kind of alternative, otherwise Ninetales and I might have to figure this out on our own.”

“Jumping backwards a little bit, I had to sit and think on the gestalt bit Lokoko mentioned. I know the definition, that a gestalt is something that is somehow more or different from the sum of its parts. It’s a loose definition with a lot of room for interpretation, and that’s probably why I’ve seen so many people attribute the word to so many different things, or even use it wrong during some independent research. By some definitions, Ninetales and I are already a gestalt, if you count the telepathic bond as an integral part of our beings. I get the feeling that Lokoko was referring to something different when she used the word, however. It seemed to have a more dire meaning. I know that fanciful fictional stories of the Lovecraftian sort… Wait, Lovecraftian isn’t a genre here, is it? Stories about cosmic and existential horror sometimes deal with the concept of fusions and gestalts. They often depict it in the worst way possible, where the components that make up the resulting entity are miserable and devoid of individuality. That can’t possibly be what Lokoko was talking about, was it?”

“…This turned kind of grim and gloomy, didn’t it? Well, Lokoko also mentioned that a hobby is a good way to ease a Ninetales out of a fixation, so we went out and found a bookstore that piqued Nine’s interest. She’s got the mind for history and political intrigue, so a book retelling the fall of the Johto shogunate caught her eye. I’m already saving up for a house with a full library in it, because I know I’m going to need it. She’s turned into a bibliophile overnight.”

“I think that’s everything relevant for this one, so… Lee, out.”

As the recording ends, Nigel can’t help being left disturbed, the talk of new pokemon techniques overshadowed by Lee’s musing about the mind. There is a slight crawling to his skin as he thinks over Lee’s words and admissions, questioning about how anyone can be certain of the world around them. Such a line of thought never occurred to Nigel, and after having it thrust upon him, he finds that he doesn’t care for it. Something about Lee and Ninetales’ relationship still seems unhealthy, but now doubts gnaw at the professor. He notes down the recording, resolving to get the relevant parts to his loaned psychic, Anabel.

Nigel’s thoughts then turn to Anabel: master of the Battle Tower, natural-born empath, and the young woman who is going to be meeting Lee and Ninetales in just one more week. The teen girl is famous the world over not only for her team of Elite pokemon, but for the empathic powers she possesses. With her amazing psychic gift, she can telepathically communicate with all of her pokemon, making battling her a daunting prospect to say the least. If anyone can understand what Lee and Ninetales are experiencing and offer them appropriate help, it would be her.

‘Took her long enough to get ready… But I suppose I can’t complain, considering Scott is letting me borrow Anabel for free.’ Nigel sighs as he thinks of his old frenemy. Not wanting to dwell upon Scott or Lee’s disquieting words anymore, he moves to the next recording.

"Log twenty-six, day one-hundred-sixty-five."

“It’s been two weeks since the volcano. I’m sorry for not recording recently, Nigel, but… I just haven’t had my head on straight for what feels like weeks now. I’ll try to keep this one brief and relevant. I know you probably don’t want any extra shit.”

“We left Lavaridge a week ago, and we're stopping at a small border town to rest for a day or two before we continue on to Fallarbor. We’re planning on meeting Zinnia’s tribe near there, then taking a bit of a sabbatical to train for a while. By the time we get there, all of our pokemon should be back in decent shape. Octillery is mostly recovered from the confrontation with Magma, but Ninetales and Grovyle are different stories.

“Poor Grovyle… Camerupt’s Flamethrower burned away large patches of his skin across parts of his body, and the resulting scar tissue and misshapen scales are leaving him stiff. The scars are fading with time and treatment, but they won’t fully clear up until he evolves. This has left him with diminished maneuverability, and by Arceus, it’s frustrating him something fierce. I’m working with him every day and providing physical therapy to speed up the recovery, but I know that he’s not going to be satisfied with the pace. He should be back to a hundred percent in a few weeks.”

“Ninetales… She took a fully-powered Eruption from Camerupt, lodging a spear of superheated rock into her chest. If I ever meet who created the modern pokeball, I need to thank them, because without the stasis-like effect pokeballs have on a pokemon’s physical body, she would have died within minutes.”

There is a weak shudder, barely audible in the recording.

“…I…If she had died, I think the shock would have killed me.”

Professor Birch’s blood runs cold.

“Thankfully, the rock missed her heart, but it irreparably destroyed about ten percent of her left lung, and the temporary damage that she’s still healing from has left her with diminished lung capacity all around. She’s getting over it, but it’s going to take another two or three weeks before she stops being short of breath.”

“As with last time, there’s not much to report with Shinx. She hasn’t been sleeping very well recently, and I think the gloomy atmosphere is what’s causing it. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to be having nightmares, and I’m fairly certain that she is ignorant of what happened on the volcano. According to Ninetales, pokemon have to actively try to see outside of their ball, and I don’t think Shinx is quite capable of that level of focus yet. I’m quite glad for it, because she frankly didn’t need to see what went on up there. I’m also going to try looking for actual battles for her. I can only hope I don’t intimidate the kinds of rookie trainers who would be a fitting match for Shinx.”

“Moving on to lighter things, I guess if you haven’t seen it already, Corvi evolved. Heh, he’s really something else now. Nine-foot-ten, and over seven-hundred and seventy pounds. He’s enormous! I think one of the things that appealed to kids back home about pokemon was the idea of being friends with big monsters, and Corvi scratches that itch perfectly. Also, I had no idea that flying on pokemon-back was so fun. This is going to open a lot of doors for us. On the not-so-bright side is the food cost. Corvi is taking in over twenty-five thousand calories per day, and that’s on days where he’s mostly idle. On days where he’s battling or training, he’s eating thirty to thirty-five thousand calories without overfilling. This trainer business is getting expensive…”

Nigel cracks a smile at the levity. “Lee, you have no idea.”

“On the topic of my aching wallet, I also placed an order of TMs for my team to the tune of over a hundred grand. My last TM deal with Silph Co was lucrative enough that they want to do another run, and want something new to copy. I’ll be heading back to Mauville in a week or two for that, and I was thinking I might also visit a few breeders to see about getting my sixth team member. If all the stars line up, I can get a bulky fighter who also has some utility use, like Heal Pulse or something. I think that’s the biggest gap in my team currently.”

“That’s all for this one. Lee, out.”

The next log is dated for yesterday, several hours after Lee acquired his Sylveon. Nigel clicks it, curious to find out why on earth Lee would adopt a Sylveon.

"Log twenty-seven, day one-hundred-seventy-six."

The log opens rather quietly as Lee is practically whispering, so Nigel has to turn up the volume for the rest.

“Sixth member acquired. Sorry for whispering, but I’m currently in a hotel room in Verdanturf and my pokemon are asleep around me after a meet-n-greet. I didn’t get the pokemon I expected, but it could have turned out worse, I suppose. Like I said in my last recording, I took the time after visiting Mauville to go down my short list of pokemon breeders. After I missed a potential deal on a pair of Eevee brothers in Slateport, I got a referral for a place in Verdanturf, where I met one Evelyn McGarden. Her ranch had quite a selection of pokemon, but after all was said and done, I left with her Sylveon. Apparently, Evelyn had been looking for someone to take Sylveon for a while, and begged me to take her away from the ranch.”

“It’s a bit of a sad story, and I’m only mentioning it because I think it might be relevant to future notes on Sylveon. Apparently, she was a breeder at the ranch for over thirty years, and fell in love with a ranch hand who treated her especially well.”

“When she evolved for him, that ranch hand made the decision to get out of Dodge.”

Nigel does a full body flinch. “Oh…”

“Evelyn… wasn’t really sure how to handle things from there. She’s a fantastic pokemon breeder and caregiver, but having to deal with a broken-hearted Fairy was a tall order. I admit, I didn’t want to take Sylveon at first. I said that I didn’t want to risk my team with a potential weak link, and then she revealed that Sylveon knows Wish, and has Pixilate as her ability.”

A long sigh comes from the computer speakers.

“Damn it all. Her story had me hooked and it hurt saying no, but I wasn’t at all prepared for Sylveon to be everything I was wanting with the exception of her baggage. I ended up agreeing. Already, I can tell this is going to be a challenging one. I’ve made a few notes that I’ll take photos of and send along with this log. I would scan and digitize the notes, but I don’t want the noise of the scanner to wake everyone up. I’ll give a brief summary of my findings so far. I’m sure that I’ll have more to report.”

“Firstly, Sylveon either has no faith in her ability to read humans, or is literally incapable. I’m not sure which, yet, but I’m leaning towards the former. While we settled in and began to relax in the hotel room, she seemed awkward and unsure of where she should be. I told her that she can relax on the bed with myself, Nine, and Shinx, but the point didn’t seem to get across to her. I tried again, this time being more literal with my words, and that seemed to help, but only so much. Initially, I likened her apparent non-understanding to autism, as she displayed several key symptoms in the communications area, but when I reached a hand out and let her touch it with one of her ribbons to activate her touch-based empathy, everything I said came across just fine. This problem doesn’t exist with pokemon, as she was able to converse with the rest of the team without issue. If this is the worst of her problems, I’ll count myself lucky.”

“What am I saying? It’s never that easy…”

“In regards to her physical state, Sylveon is going to need a fair amount of TLC to turn herself around. Currently, she’s underweight and malnourished from self-deprivation, as according to Evelyn, Sylveon refused to eat full meals for over a year. I’m already in the process of devising a proper menu for her, and it’s going to be a tricky one. Nutrition for a Fairy-type seems to place just as much emphasis on emotional stimulus and state of mind as it does physical need, so to that end, I’m going to devise a meal plan that is especially tasty, as nutritious as I can make it without sacrificing flavor, and on a rotating schedule to prevent palate fatigue. For now, the grain and meat omnivore mix that I use for Ninetales seems to be fine, as Sylveon got most of a bowl down with some encouragement.

“Trying to keep the peculiarities of Fairy-types in mind, I didn’t want to jump straight into a physical, and decided to groom her first. Sylveon allowed me to give her a thorough grooming, but held my wrist with a ribbon the entire time. She seemed uncomfortable at first, but the discomfort eased after the first several minutes. Afterward, I think she was a touch embarrassed that someone ten years her junior was nurturing her.”

“Oh, I suppose I forgot to mention. Sylveon is thirty-six years old, making her the oldest member of our whole traveling group. It feels a bit strange that one of my pokemon is older than I am.”

Nigel’s memory goes back to his father’s Ludicolo, who was actually his grandfather’s starter. When Granddad settled at home to be a family man, he asked his Ludicolo to keep an eye on his son, and Ludicolo interpreted that as “Go on his journey with him.”

Dad always lamented that having “Uncle Ludi” with him on the road made things weird.

“Anyway, after a good grooming, she let me poke, prod, and measure her. She turned and asked Ninetales if I’m always like this, and Nine laughed in reply.”

“Ninetales… She’s been surprisingly onboard with Sylveon joining. I really expected a lot of conflict to arise, but Nine’s been keeping a tight leash on her jealousy recently. That’s not to say that she wasn’t a little jealous tonight, but she kept to herself. I asked, and Nine had this to say. Quote: “Our situations are not the same, but that does not mean I cannot sympathize. If you, Lee, ran away from me out of fear, I do not think I would’ve held up quite as well,” unquote. It was… Hrm. I don’t have a good way to describe it. I don’t want to say I’m surprised with a levelheaded response, because that implies that Nine is more hot-tempered than she actually is. I’m not going to jinx it by talking about it more, I’m just going to enjoy the peace while it lasts. Tomorrow, I’ll be flying back to the Draconid territory, and I imagine that my hosts aren’t going to be pleased that I brought a pokemon known for hunting dragons back with me.”

“There hasn’t been much in the way of significant training breakthroughs with the rest of my team sans Grovyle and Octillery. Grovyle once more blew me away with his mastery of Leaf Blade a day ago. After thinking about some half-remembered book that Ninetales was reading, I realized that Grovyle could really refine his technique with some formal… well, technique. I asked him to bend his Leaf Blade forward so that he could grip the actual blade and manipulate it by rolling his wrist, and he immediately grasped just how much of an improvement doing such a thing provides to his control. I would like to scrounge up some time-tested sword fighter manuscripts and see if anything could be adapted for Grovyle’s use.”

“Octillery, meanwhile, got the honor of being the first member of the team to try out one of his TMs. I taught him Psychic, and we put our heads together and came up with a solution to his mobility problem. His tentacles don’t allow him to move too quickly on land, but what if he wasn't using his tentacles? Instead, we decided to go with a cushion of telekinesis that he can sit on and manipulate, letting him skate around the battlefield. He used this trick to great effect in a battle with Zinnia’s Swablu-turned-Altaria, taking the win. He doesn’t have the earth-shattering psychic power that Nine does, but Octillery’s telekinesis started off with some rather fine control, and I can only imagine that both his control and power are going to get better. Telekinesis is practically his new favorite toy. I didn’t want to alter how he fights naturally at first, but Octillery doesn’t seem to share that sentiment.”

“I do think I awakened some kind of demon in him, though. He’s really been eager for his next TM. Did I mention that this pokemon training stuff is expensive?”

“That’s it for this one. Lee, out.”

As the final recording ends, Nigel rubs his face with a sigh. “You really can’t resist attracting trouble, can you, Lee?” he mutters. He leaves the research notes attached to the email alone for now, instead navigating over to Battlenet to see if anyone has discovered who Lee’s sixth team member is yet. “The Internet never sleeps, so who knows…?”

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In: Boards ► Hoenn ►Indiv Trainers ►Ash Ketchum►FlyingMagiKarpetReplied On September 14th 20XX:@O_Parker (Verified Trainer) For real. Ketchum’s Pikachu glassed the whole arena so Flannery’s Torkoal couldn’t step anywhere without shredding his feet. They turned a weakness into an even bigger weakness. Not even Torkoal’s new Flame Burst move could help. Pikachu was too fast and the fight was over after that.

In: Boards ► Hoenn ►Contest Circuit General ►Top Picks►Borsht11Replied On September 14th 20XX:@Orbulon That shit was so pretentious it just gave me a film school degree.

In: Boards ► Hoenn ► Rumors and Hearsay ► Eco Terrorists?►K_Kole (Verified Trainer)Replied On September 14th 20XX:The magma and aqua gangs were reclassified this morning by the PLDoJ. No idea what happened, but it’s suspicious that there was a total lockdown in Lavaridge just weeks before this suddenly drops.

In: Boards ► Hoenn ► Pokemon Hunting ► Aron/Lairon/Aggron►J_Abdi (Pokemon Ranger)Replied On September 14th 20XX:It looks like whatever was preying on the Aron in the Granite Cave has moved out and has been gone for a while. It should be safe again, or at least as safe as can be expected.

In: Boards ► Hoenn ► Indiv Trainers ► Lee Henson►NoirpgReplied On September 14th 20XX:@Yu_Nou_Gud Fake and gay. Go take a bath with a Magnemite you pinhead.

Ah, there it is. Nigel can already see that this is going to be a fun one. Opening Lee’s thread, the professor grimaces at the number of pages and realizes that he’s got a lot of backlog to get through. Resolving to do that later, he looks at the posts that arrived just this morning, because there are a lot of them.

“I guess the Meowth is out of the bag. Or the Sylveon is…” Nigel clicks his tongue and begins reading.

Topic: Official Lee Henson MegathreadThreadmark #4: Lee’s 6th PokemonIn: Boards ► Hoenn ► Indiv Trainers ► Lee Henson►JankyFranky_EXReplied On September 14th 20XX:I can put the sixth pokemon debate to rest. I live in verdanturf and I saw the same humongous Corviknight the other guys saw with Lee in slateport and Mauville. He flew to the outskirts of town towards a pretty high end breeding ranch called Greener pastures. I followed as best I could but by the time I was getting there he was taking off. I managed to pull my phone out just in time to see Lee returning a Sylveon to a ball before leaving. Evelyn McGarden the lady who runs the place has a Sylveon. Or I guess she had one not anymore picture attached

Edit: first ever thread mark nice.

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(Showing page 239 of 245)►KazuoKandyReplied On September 14th 20XX:@JankyFranky That picture is really grainy. Are you sure that’s him?

►JaaaceReplied On September 14th 20XX:@KazuoKandy I’ve got a pretty clear picture of them in Slateport that you can compare Janky’s to. Looks like a pretty close match to me. [CLinSP.png]

►UNDERMAN!Replied On September 14th 20XX:Fuck you this loser is a ringer and you can’t deny it now. The entire hoenn league is a sham because they pull stunts like this.

►P_Trundale (Verified Trainer)Replied On September 14th 20XX:Holy shit it is them. Where 2 find rare poke magnet?

►JaaaceReplied On September 14th 20XX:@P_Trundale Bro I don’t know if I would be envious. @L_Henson is going to have a lot of weirdos in his DMs soon.

►Flying_TA_5455Replied On September 14th 20XX:Holy miltank, I’ve just come back and this Lee is a heck of a trainer. Looking at all of that Corviknights footage I can tell that while it seems of decent breeding the specific hight and wingspan tells me it’s mostly TLC that got it going. I gotta see if he’s willing to enter a breeding contract.

►mothslover1012Replied On September 14th 20XX:Arc, a Sylveon? Think he can help a sister out and share his strategy to find so many rare 'mons? He doesn't seem like the type to use lure and incense and all the expensive crap. Are we sure he's not just got connections? I've spent literal years searching for Larvesta to no luck and how long has he been on the circuit now?

►BlueRibbonsOnlyReplied On September 14th 20XX:Greener Pastures? That place is up there as far as breeders go. You have a referral or a known rep as a good trainer, or don't bother even calling. I tried to get on the waiting list for a Growlithe there, and they wouldn't even talk to me until I won a half dozen first place contests without a reference. Love my Solaire more then life itself, but I could have bought a condo for what he went for.

►D-ActualReplied On September 14th 20XX:How could Henson just get a Sylveon of all mon’s? There’s no way in hell there isn’t some under the table shit going on here. You don’t just pick up the rarest Eevee evolution in your first months as a trainer. Seriously first a Ninetails now this!?

►Lopunny_PancakesReplied On September 14th 20XX:A Sylveon? Are we certain that Henson isn't planning on entering the contest circuit? I mean every single pic I have seen on here has shown that his team are absolutely gorgeous specimens of their species. And look at his team members! Even ignoring Ninetales (I practically cried when I saw she got hurt somehow?!?! But even still she pulls off the Wounded Beauty look like none I've ever seen!), his (newly evolved?) Corviknight is just the picture of a gallant dark warrior, stoic with gleaming armor and mighty presence! And now a Sylveon, perhaps one of THE most legendary of the Eevee line when it comes to performances! I am almost convinced here that as soon as he finishes up the gym circuit, however that might go, it will all have turned out to just be a warmup for him taking the Contest circuit by storm!

(Showing page 240 of 248)►AlmostSaneReplied On September 14th 20XX:A Sylveon is a wonderful addition to Henson's team as it compensates for various weaknesses, but the degenerates will of course ignore this fact. I'm sick of all the weird behaviour online whenever someone catches any pokémon that's... 'cute'. It's unfair to both the trainer and pokémon to keep making these inappropriate comments, and can genuinely be damaging in some cases. Grow up.

►Specc-time Replied On September 14th 20XX:Adding to this, me and Metang spent a dozen minutes or so on this topic. I thought the rumours were just false, but the website for Greener Pastures Breeding and Boarding Services has had a recent page update relating to their Pokemon tally. There's no official notice yet, but It's exceedingly likely that this is the Sylveon that Lee has just acquired. On that note, how often do people frequent that breeder? I don't live nearby so I don't have a good tally on local affairs (nor can I go and check). And both of us don't want to be attributing some random trainers acquisition to these ongoing rumours of Mr Henson.

►Trainer4FunReplied On September 14th 20XX:@UNDERMAN! Got any evidence to support that claim? I swear, you losers come out whenever anything good happens to anyone. Ringer this, league plant that, waah waah waah. Just because you failed your dreams of being a bigshot league champion doesn't mean you need to go all conspiracy theorist over an eevee.

►Mikoto_H (Verified Trainer)Replied On September 14th 20XX:I hope mister Henson will have the capacity to bring a Fairy to their best. If the rumors of his telepathy with miss Ninetales are true, then he might have an advantage if she can translate Sylveon's thoughts. However, the mind of a Fairy is fickle. After all, there is a reason why fairy specialists are so rare and that's because taking care of a Fairy is much more than just their physical health.

►CorrodedSteelReplied On September 14th 20XX:Oh Corviknight, my beloved. Henson's knocked my Corvi out of the top 10 big bois. Also, thank Arceus that he has something I hard counter. He is still going to melt me and mine, but now I know I can beat one 'Mon if I face him. But a Sylveon adoption? Holy crap, I wish him well. But it's also Lee Henson, and if someone could pull that off, it's that dude.

►Leafeon_L0verReplied On September 14th 20XX:Wait, Henson managed to grab a Sylveon? From momma McGarden? I know it's a ribboneon and not a Leafeon, but she's famous for any eeveelution fans out there! Any pokemon that's come from her farm has serious potential.

►MurkrowInWaitingReplied On September 14th 20XX:Has anyone seen those recent pictures of Henson's Ninetales? The fur shaving patterns are pretty indicative that she suffered some sort of penetrating chest injury, maybe something that collapsed a lung. Someone noted that she's not been very active when seen. Some sort of career-altering permanent cardiopulmonary injury, maybe? She's shown so much sheer power, it's hard to imagine what kind of Pokemon could hand her that level of injury that wasn't an Elite's and Henson has no battle of that sort on his public record.

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Closing the website, Nigel shakes his head. “Forget finding drama, Lee throws himself into it headfirst.” The professor huffs out a single laugh, one tinged with a bit of despair for the coming headaches. “The Academic Board better give my lab another grant for this.”