Chp 43: Frontier 
 
“So Reginald. How have you been doing?” 
 
“Fine. It is nice to serve.” 
 
“Yeah...” Seth said. They were high in the sky, just above the tallest buildings of the league, though they were currently over the ocean. In the distance, just on the horizon, was the landmass of the Frontier. “You okay? Not tired?” 
 
“Fine.” He repeated. Seth shifted atop his soft body. His hands were wrapped tightly around the bird’s neck. 
 
Seth wasn’t uncomfortable from the seat. The fluff was actually rather pleasant. Reginald was also steady in his flying and supportive of Seth’s weight. Seth then looked down, causing his skin to crawl. They were at least ten stories high, based on the violently moving water below. If he fell... And he was too big for Reginald. The dragon seemed to be able to lift him, but his body was too small for Seth to properly fit, forcing him to clutch on for dear life.  
 
After nearly three hours of panic, or maybe thirty minutes, they touched down on the bustling docks of the Battle Frontier. “Okay... Yeah, good... good job.” He gave Reginald a rub on his head.  
 
“Thank you master.” He leaned forward and pecked the ball in Seth’s other hand, recalling himself. 
 
Seth stood tall and arched his back in a long stretch. People were all over the place, most of them obviously trainers. Boats, both big and small, were coming and going. Seth reached for his belt, to let at least Fluffy out to see, but it was too crowded. Up ahead, away from the water, was a large building. He entered and, after waiting in line for a bit, reached the receptionist. 
 
“Hi,” She greeted him. “Can I see your ticket?” 
 
Seth took out his pokedex and showed her it. 
 
“Alright, have a nice time.” 
 
Seth began to move forward, but was stopped quickly by another attendant.  
 
“I see this is your first time.” Seth didn’t bother asking how she knew that. “Allow me to give you a battle id. May I see your trainer card?” 
 
Seth handed over his card, a bit annoyed by all the forms he had to fill out. This was supposed to be an amusement park.  
 
She put his card in a machine, it made some noise, and popped out a new card. “Here, this id will record your process. It is linked to your trainer id. It will be updated similarly to badges if you perform well in each of our facilities. Scanning it with your pokedex will allow you to access the footage from every battle you undertake here. The Battle Frontier reserves the right to record and use any and all footage of you and your pokemon battling for any purpose.” 
 
“Right.” Seth took both cards and moved on. He knew the Frontier broadcasted all the battles that took place there. It was their main source of income. They were the only force that could really give the league a run for their money in terms of cash. It ran like a resort, but its real funding was in media, using the guests. Seth emerged back into the daylight, looking up in awe. The place was huge. The league city was big, but this put it to shame. Instead of a city, the place only had a few buildings. There were tents and stalls all over the large open area. In the distance, there were five gigantic buildings, reaching high into the sky.  
 
People were all over and the dull roar of a thousand conversations filled the air. But before any fun could be had, they needed a place to stay. He took out his pokedex and pulled up a map of the island. To the east was the resort area, where the hotels were. He was in the fight area, with the main attractions, and to the north was the survival area, which bordered with Stark Mountain. 
 
He began walking that way, but before long, he came to the ocean. After a ferry ride, he was back on land, surrounded by tropical trees. Despite the exotic look, the weather was nice. He followed the paved path and shortly after ended up in a strange place. To his left were several large hotels bordering the beach. On the opposite side was a small yet fancy village. The houses, all high end but not mansions, were mostly white. There were trees and plants all over. The only thing separating the bustling businesses and the quiet town was a single road. 
 
Seth shrugged off the dichotomy and walked towards the hotels. On the way, he reached down to his pocket. The card that Champion Alex had given him was still there. He took it out and looked at it. As it turned out, the place was in the resort area, probably in the village behind him. He stowed the card and began to look between the hotels. They were all big and all the same. Normally, the cost would be a concern, but the newfound zeros in his funds gave him more confidence. He wasn’t set for life, but he could live well for a month or two.  
 
Not long after, he was opening the door to his room. His eyes grew big at the sight before him. The room was huge. It was twice the size of the usual ones. It was also one big room, no walls separating the sections. Off to the right was a kitchen area, and further in was a TV and some seats. To the left were more chairs and a large ornate wood desk. Further in from there was the main bed, which was huge and had a TV just off the foot, with a bathroom door on the side wall. And, perhaps best of all, was the glass door that led out onto the balcony. There was a small hot tub out there. He reached to his belt and began to let the girls out.  
 
“Alright.” Seth announced, drawing the attention of his scattered companions. “You girls hang here, I’m going out real quick. When I get back, we’ll go have some fun.” 
 
“Go? We can have plenty of fun right here.” Soul said with a predatory lick of her lips. 
 
“Maybe later.” Seth said as he left. Once back outside, he crossed the road into the village. The place was even nicer inside. It even smelled good, a scent of nature. Despite the normal appearance of the houses, they had huge front yards and he could see pools in the backs of some. He followed the house numbers until he came across a cluster of businesses. There was everything a town would need, even a pokemon center and pokemart. One of them was a nondescript building, without any sign. It was just blank, save for a single door and a number.  
 
Seth looked down and the numbers matched. He walked closer and found a card reader next to the door. When he put his card in, a green light came on, and he opened the door. He entered into a well-lit room, with tables and a bar. There were only a couple people inside. Up on the ceiling were several glass sections that let in a lot of natural light. 
 
“Welcome. You’re a new face.” The man in a suit behind the counter said. 
 
“What is this place?” Seth asked, drawing a glance from another patron. 
 
“A private place for highly skilled trainers. Anything I can get you to eat or drink?” 
 
“Uh, yeah. A lemonade for the road.”  
 
“Coming right up. And first one’s on the house.” 
 
+++ 
 
“Damn, this place is nice.” Soul said.  
 
“I know.” Sky agreed. She was outside, looking off at the ocean from the balcony. Across the water, the other side of the island was visible, along with the fight area. “Can’t wait to test this thing out.” Her tail pointed at the hot tub. 
 
“I was talking about the channels. There’s like, a thousand.” Soul said. 
 
Fluffy was exercising by dashing around the wide-open room. Occasionally, he would jump onto a piece of furniture and jump back off, trying to move as fast and creatively as he could. Daim was watching him with an amused smile. 
 
Tiff was sitting on the couch, watching the TV while Soul was in front of it changing the channels.  
 
They all turned when the door opened and Seth came in. “Alright, who wants to go to the park?” 
 
+++ 
 
“Wow!” Fluffy exclaimed. “I’ve never seen so many people!”  
 
“Yeah. Just stay on my shoulder. If you got lost, your mom would kill me.” Seth told him. “So where should we go?” Seth asked. They were standing in front of a map with the five buildings listed. 
 
“Factory!” He said. Seth could vaguely remember a science fiction movie they had watched a few days ago, likely inspiring the choice.  
 
After a bit of a walk, they came to the entrance of the blue and silver metal building. Seth stepped in and immediately frowned at the lines. They were nearly out the door. Of the three different paths, Seth got in the shortest.  
 
It didn’t take long for Fluffy to get anxious. He began pacing atop Seth, climbing onto his head and back down to his other shoulder to get a different look. The building looked even more space age on the inside. Everything seemed to be moving. Neon lights blinked all over the floor, tubes of water traced over the walls and ceiling, and there were even windows looking into sets of gears and more tubes transporting pokeballs. The line moved quickly enough, and after about a five minute wait, Seth made it to the front. 
 
“Welcome to the Battle Factory Multi desk. May I have your pokemon?”  
 
“What, why?” Seth asked. 
 
“First time? We can explain the rules further inside. Sorry, but we have to keep the line moving. I assure you, everything is perfectly safe.” 
 
“Alright, but he stays with me.” Seth pointed with a thumb to Fluffy. 
 
“As long as he isn’t battling.”  
 
“And multi? Uh, is there a solo?” 
 
“Yes, that line.” She pointed to the longest line. 
 
“Multi it is.” 
 
Seth handed over his team and was let behind the counter, into a hallway, and then into an arena. There were already two people in the room. There was an attendant, in the usual formal wear. The other person was dressed casually, in plain solid color clothes. He looked a bit younger than Seth, was a bit shorter, had short black hair and wore a pair of rectangular glasses. 
 
“Aien.” He introduced, not offering a handshake. “Guess I’m your partner.” 
 
“Seth. So, what’s the deal with this place?” 
 
“I can answer that. Sorry for not explaining at the front desk. We are often very busy.” The female explained with a bow. “The Battle Factory has a system of random battles. You get a random set of pokemon, and then can take one from your defeated opponents. Your pokemon are put into the pool for other trainers. When you leave, they’ll be returned. You also entered the Multi battle format. That means you fight with a partner against a pair of trainers. We also offer Single and Double formats. In this format, you fight double battles, each of you with two pokemon. Any further questions?” 
 
“Nope. You ready?” Seth asked his partner. He nodded back.  
 
A pair of hatches in the floor opened and cylinders rose from them. Each cylinder held six balls. A holographic display appeared, showing the contents of each ball. Of his choices, Seth grabbed a seviper and a vibrava. Aien chose a talonflame and a breloom. On the otherside of the arena, a door opened and another pair came in. 
  
“Team one, round one. Team two, round three. Victor will advance. Begin!” The attendant declared.  
 
+++ 
 
“Huh? Where...” Soul looked around the unfamiliar room. She could remember Seth handing her ball over, then going through some tubes, now she was here.  
 
“Absol! Use slash!” The human behind her said. 
 
“Don’t boss me around!” Soul shouted back. Ahead of her was her opponent, or what was supposed to be one. The bug pokemon was tiny, not even a foot tall. Even with the ribombee’s double type advantage, it just plain looked weak.  
 
Soul took a deep breath as wind began to kick up around her. It would be hard to land a slash on a flying bug, but a razor wind would make short work of it. But as the energy started to build up, it was taking longer than normal. At her best, she could fire it off in an instant. But she felt slow and sluggish, not just in terms of power. Her body felt weakened too. The fairy attacked before she could, launching a wave of fairy wind.  
 
Soul tried to dodge, but wasn’t fast enough. She grit her teeth in anger. She was better than this. She howled, launching the razor wind forward. It cut into the bug, doing decent damage. Ribombee’s body began to glow, before a blinding white light blasted out. 
 
+++ 
 
“Phew. That one was close.” Seth said.  
 
“Winner, team one, advances to round five.” 
 
“You battle well.” Aien said. 
 
“So do you. You been here long?” 
 
“Yes. Almost a month now. While most come for fun, this place is also excellent for honing my skills.” 
 
“I can see the results. You handled those pokemon like your own.” 
 
“As did you.” 
 
“Thanks. Uh, hey. Since you’re familiar with this place, why don’t we team up? Trade numbers and take on the facilities together?” Seth offered. “I’ll even buy you lunch.” 
 
Aien looked away from Seth and bit his lip. Seth could swear he saw a flash of movement of something green near his ear, between his glasses and head. “Alright.” 
 
+++ 
 
“Get whatever you want, my treat.” Seth said.  
 
“You have my thanks.” Aien said. He and Seth were now in a fast food restaurant, back towards the port, waiting in line.  
 
“No problem. It’s cheap.” 
 
Not long after, they were seated with a large tray of food. When Aien didn’t release any pokemon himself, Seth let out Sky and Soul. They sat in a booth with room for four, so Sky slid in next to Seth and Soul was on the other side. 
 
“I feel like ass.” Soul muttered. “I dunno what’s up, but I just can’t get into a flow.” 
 
“Ah, that would be the frontier.” Aien said, drawing looks from all of them.  
 
“Can... you understand her?” Seth asked. 
 
“Can you?” He responded, causing Seth to nearly jump. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Yes, I can understand pokemon. I was raised by them. On the topic of your exhaustion,” he turned to Soul. “They have a type of field here that regulates pokemon power. It weakens the strong and empowers the weak. They use it to make battles fair.” 
 
“That’s bullshit!” Soul slammed her paw on the table. “I work my ass off to get strong and they just weaken me?!” 
 
“I find it to be helpful. My team and I have been improving rapidly.”  
 
“I think we’re fine where we are. We’re fresh off the league, so this is our vacation.” Sky said. 
 
“Vacation my ass. More battles is all I see.” Soul complained, taking a long suck on her empty drink to accentuate it. 
 
“If its entertainment you want-” 
 
“Hey bitch, what’s up?” A female voice greeted endearingly. A pair of hands planted themselves on the edge of the table. Seth looked up to find Champion Alex.  
 
“Ale-” Seth started. 
 
“Allie. Pleased to meet you.” She offered her hand to Aien. He looked at it, nodded and said hi. “Friend of yours?” 
 
“We just met.” Seth explained.  
 
“Well, anyways, I saw you in here and thought I’d give you this.” She handed him a piece of paper with a number on it. “Hit me up sometime and I’ll show you how to really battle.” With that, she left.  
 
“Well.” Aien said. He reached down and tore off a section of his fish sandwich. He set the small piece aside and continued eating. As he did, a small green slime emerged from his glasses and slid down his arm. 
 
“What the-” Seth muttered, staring at the odd thing. 
 
“Don’t mind him.” Aien said. “Even Zy has to eat.” 
 
The slimy blob, barely bigger than the burgers, hopped off and onto the tray. “I am the mighty Zygarde, guardian of balance.” The palm sized pokemon announced.  
 
“Yeah, real intimidating.” Soul said, poking the squishy mass.  
 
“Don’t pick on him. He’s one the strongest pokemon in the world. A legendary pokemon.”  
 
“And how did you get him to join you?” Seth asked. 
 
“He decided to come with me. We share a common interest.” Aien said. Zy let out a hiss at Soul’s continued pestering. 
 
“Yeah, come on big guy!” Soul teased.  
 
“You know... you seem familiar somehow.” Sky said. 
 
“As I was saying earlier, if you want fun, the other three facilities should cater. The tower is quite standard, but the arcade, castle and hall are all fun. I recommend the arcade.” 
 
+++ 
 
The entrance to the arcade resembled a series of ticket takers leading into a fair. Seth stopped short of getting in line. “You know, I was thinking about what Soul said. I don’t think this place is for us. We’ve never really liked battling. I think the girls and I will cheer you on from here. Sorry to bail all of a sudden.”  
 
“Fine by me. Do what you want.”  
 
Seth sat down in the lobby, where numerous screens showed the arenas inside. He felt guilty about giving up after just making a friend, but it felt right. There was no more need for fighting. Even the sporting kind. There was room enough in here for Soul and Sky, so he let them out.  
 
“...So that’s the deal.” Seth explained. “We can just watch.” 
 
“That does sound a lot more relaxing. I never really liked the whole trainer idea.” Sky told him. 
 
“You know how I feel about quitting, but... eh, fuck it. Vacation means not doing anything.” Soul said. 
 
“Oh, hey, that’s him.” Seth pointed to the screen Aien was on. He was in the double format, as he sent out both a greninja and a gallade. The battle started with a roulette wheel. It landed on a purple skull and bones. A moment later, poison rained down on Aien’s side of the field, poisoning his pokemon and leaving the opponent unharmed. Aien seemed unfazed. With a simple nod, both of his pokemon leapt into action. They fought ferociously, perhaps more than normal because of the time limit imposed by the poison. Greninja, with feats of blindingly fast acrobatics, took down his opponent first. His body was enveloped in energy, like a mega evolution. When he emerged, he looked largely similar, except for his face. His tongue now covered his entire face like a mask, only his eyes visible. Moving even faster, he closed in and aided Gallade in bringing down his foe. 
 
Watching them, Seth saw something familiar. They worked together so similarly to his own team, even down to the independent fighting style. It was one born of trust and understanding. A normal trainer would give constant orders to direct the flow of combat. But Seth, and apparently Aien, let the pokemon do the thinking, only stepping in to offer aid instead of instruction. But Seth could see a difference. Soul was their strongest, but she always fought flippantly, showing off and never serious. Aien’s pokemon fought viciously, as if their lives depended on it. But it wasn’t fear. They weren’t forced to fight that way. They had determination, similar to the drive that made Seth’s own team fight, but somehow different. They weren’t fighting for the sake of fighting, he was sure of that. 
 
“I’m all for watching tv, but how about we go back to the hotel?” Soul suggested.  
 
“Alright.” Seth took out his dex to send a message to Aien. “U r doing great. We’re headed back to the hotel. See u around.” 
 
+++ 
 
“I’m kinda disappointed.” Sky said. “With all I’ve heard about this place, I expected more.”  
 
“I’m sure there’s other things. We just have to explore. But tomorrow. Maybe Alex can show us around.” Seth said. 
 
“You mean Allie?” Soul asked. “That bold girl from the food place?” 
 
“Her real name is Alex. I think she goes by Allie to hide her identity. She’s the champion.” 
 
“WHAT!?” Soul shouted. “That was her?!” 
 
“Yeah. I didn’t expect to see her here either.”  
 
“That was the fucking champion! The one we didn’t get to fight!” Soul stamped the floor.  
 
“Calm down. We’ll see her in the morning.”  
 
“And I’m gonna give her a piece of my mind when we do.”  
 
“As for us...” Sky started, looking out the window. “I’m thinking about that hot tub later.” 
 
“That sounds great.” Seth said. He, Sky and Soul were lying on the bed watching their tv. Daim and Tiff were on the couch. Their tv was on, but they were more interested in chatting. Fluffy was curled up on the office chair, taking a nap. Only an hour or two had passed since they got back. Sunset was still several hours away.  
 
“Seth... Thanks.” Sky said suddenly. 
 
“Huh?” 
 
“Well, I know you never forced us, but it's nice not having to think about my next fight.” 
 
“Same here.” Seth said. “Hope things can go back to how they used to be.” He muttered. 
 
+++ 
 
There were two windows in the room, one next to the bed and one next to the sitting area. Seth pulled the curtains all the way back on the bed window and opened it. Then he opened the glass door and went out onto the balcony. Flipping the cover off the small pool, he turned up the dials, starting the heat. As he ran his hand through the water, waiting for it to warm up, he looked out into the dark sky. The ocean stretched out as far as the eye could see, besides the other side of the island’s cove. It was an oddly appealing sight. Maybe even better than during the day. He could swear the reflection of the stars were twinkling in the sea.  
 
“Feels about ready.” Seth said. 
 
Sky opened the door with her tail and came out, shutting it behind her. Seth took off his shirt, having already put on a pair of swimming trunks. He climbed in and let out a sigh as he settled into the hot bubbling water. Sky wasn’t far behind, using the steps to climb over the edge and nearly dive into the water. She surfaced a moment later, climbing onto Seth’s lap. She let out a pleased sigh of her own. “Hey Soul, why don’t you join us?” Sky asked through the open window. All she got was a growl.  
 
There was a tapping at the glass. Fluffy was at the door, pawing at it in an attempt to get out. Both Seth and Sky moved to get up, but Daim appeared and opened the door for him. “Be careful!” Seth and Sky said in unison. The balcony railing was wide enough for him to slip through.  
 
“I’m fine.” He came up and climbed the steps. He was too small to actually get in, so Seth reached over and picked him up. At first, Seth held him, but he quickly squirmed free and began to swim in circles.  
 
Both of his parents looked on with smiles as he paddled around. “He’s so adorable.” Sky purred. Seth said nothing, leaning down and kissing her on the forehead. He stroked a hand along her back, soothing her tense muscles. They sat there for a while, simply enjoying each other's company. Fluffy eventually got tired and Seth helped him out. “Daim!” He called through the window. “Could you dry Fluffy off? There should be towels in the bathroom.” She appeared at the door to take care of him.  
 
Seth shifted around, carrying Sky with him to now face out to the water. She moved off his lap and sat next to him, leaning onto him. He wrapped an arm around her side and pulled her even closer as they looked out at the moon. The sound of the television inside seemed to fade away. All they could hear were the ocean waves. 
 
“I love you.” Sky said. 
 
Seth looked side to side, checking for other people. “I love you too.” He told her once the coast was clear. 
 
“I wish we didn’t have to hide.” She nuzzled into his shoulder. 
 
“I know. But.. It's not illegal, but if somebody caught us...”  
 
“Let em! Let them judge us. Who cares? We have each other, and that’s all we need.” Sky said passionately. She leaned forward and pressed her muzzle to Seth’s lips. Seth pulled back at first, but returned it not long after.  
 
“Let me just...” He said after they parted. His body shifted, turning into a lucario. “There, now there’s nothing weird.” 
 
“There was nothing weird before.” She said with a frown. 
 
“I know. I feel the same as you. You’re my mate, that’s that, but we can’t let anyone... anyone normal at least know.” 
 
“I know, I know. Humans can be judgmental. If they knew, they’d talk, and then you’d be an outcast. That'd make life hard for us. For Fluffy.” 
 
“I promise, one day we won’t have to hide.”  
 
Her eyes sparkled. “I’ll hold you to that.” Her grin changed tones as she let out a chuckle. “Though I think Soul and my definitions of hiding are probably different.” 
 
Seth let out a snicker. “She’d probably want me to do her on the front lawn.”  
 
“I can hear you!” Soul shouted from inside, causing them both to start laughing. “And you’re absolutely right! That would be hot!” She said angrily, making them laugh even harder. 
 
“A kiss or a hug would do for me. It sucks having to hide affection.” 
 
“Well while we’re like this, we can do anything.” Seth moved his other arm to pull her into his chest, careful of his spike. She nuzzled into his fur, beginning to purr. With her good ears, she could hear his heartbeat. He rubbed his chin, what little of one he currently had, into her head.  
 
“Are you two gonna do anything or not?” Soul groaned. Seth looked over his shoulder to find her watching, front paws on the windowsill. 
 
“You should try cuddling some time. It’s really relaxing.” Seth told her.  
 
“I think you mean really boring. I’m going back to tv.” Soul turned from the window and hopped back onto the bed. 
 
“Getting more intimate does sound nice, but not out here, or with everybody else in the same room. Maybe later, after our big adventure.” Sky thought out loud.  
 
“Yeah, we do have a bit of a privacy problem in the room.” 
 
“After we finish here... are we going back home?” She asked suddenly. 
 
“I was thinking about that. Still not sure. It’s home but... so many bad memories. And Sinnoh feels like such a nice place.” 
 
“I agree. Is your mom still taking care of the old house?” 
 
“Yeah...” 
 
+++ 
 
“And those ruins are just there? No one explores them?” Daim asked with enthusiasm. 
 
“Uh-huh, right off of Solaceon. But its not like nobody cares about it. Tons of scientists and explorers come through the ruins, but they never find anything. There are even rumors that the ruins change shape overnight.” Tiff told her. 
 
“Fascinating...”  
 
“Hey auntie Tiff. What are you doing?” Fluffy asked as he trotted over. 
 
“I-I’m not your aunt.” Tiff stuttered, a blush forming. 
 
“Of course you are. You’re not my mom, we’re a family, and you’re a girl, and you’re older than me...” He listed off. “So that makes you my auntie.” 
 
“You are just the cutest.” Daim said, reaching down and rubbing one of his ears. 
 
“What happened to auntie Dust? Where’d she go?” Fluffy asked. 
 
Tiff opened her mouth to explain things to him, but Daim started first. “Well, miss Dust went home. We’re staying with your daddy so we can go on an adventure.” 
 
“Oh, adventure!” He shouted and started jumping excitedly. Daim leaned down and scooped him up, creating a hammock with her long and strong wrist fur. He quickly escaped from this, climbing up onto her shoulder. “Are we gonna find treasure?!”  
 
“Probably not. It will be very dangerous. There’s lava that might melt you. One little touch and,” she made an exploding motion with her hands, “poof.”  
 
“I’m not scared! Bring it on!” He growled, snapping at the air.