(Leo POV)
The Pikachu led them deeper into the sanctuary without once checking whether they intended to follow.
Apparently, it had already decided they would.
Leo wasn't sure whether to consider that confidence reassuring or concerning.
The deeper they traveled, the stranger the hidden grove became. What had initially looked like a secluded basin slowly revealed itself as something far larger, with paths winding between enormous trees, glowing pools, and towering formations of crystal that periodically released harmless arcs of electricity into the surrounding air.
Electric-type Pokémon were everywhere.
Some rested openly beside the paths.
Others watched from branches, caves, or patches of tall grass.
Yet none seemed particularly bothered by the strangers walking through their home.
Leo glanced toward Cynthia. "Either they're incredibly friendly, or we're walking into something."
Cynthia watched several Pachirisu disappear into the trees ahead. "Considering our recent luck, I wouldn't assume the first option."
"Glad we're thinking the same thing."
Claire laughed softly behind them, while Bertha continued studying the ground and surrounding Pokémon.
Their Pikachu guide eventually stopped.
The path ahead widened into a circular clearing surrounded by stone pillars.
Leo slowed.
"Oh."
Princess immediately stepped forward.
"Snivy."
"You noticed too?"
She nodded.
Kitsfrost moved alongside her.
Several Electric-types had already gathered around the clearing.
Pikachu.
Electrike.
Blitzle.
Pachirisu.
Most remained beyond the stone boundary as spectators.
Only one Pokémon entered.
An Electrike.
It stretched its front legs before lowering its body into an obviously combative stance.
Leo stared.
Electrike barked.
Princess's eyes narrowed.
Leo looked toward their Pikachu guide. "You're making us fight?"
Pikachu nodded enthusiastically.
Claire crossed her arms. "That answers that."
Bertha looked around the clearing more carefully. "I don't think it's hostile."
"It certainly looks hostile."
"No."
Bertha pointed toward the watching Pokémon. "Look at them."
Nobody appeared alarmed.
There were no protective parents rushing forward.
No Pokémon gathering energy to surround the humans.
If anything, the atmosphere felt excited.
Leo understood.
"A trial."
Cynthia nodded. "Most likely."
The Pikachu pointed toward the path beyond the clearing and then toward Electrike.
That made the message obvious.
Win.
Then continue.
Leo smiled.
"Well, that's significantly better than being chased by Dragons."
Princess walked into the clearing before he could say anything else.
Leo raised an eyebrow.
"You volunteering?"
Princess turned and gave him a look that made the question feel insulting.
"Snivy."
"Right. Stupid question."
Saphira immediately floated forward.
Leo caught her tail.
"Mew?"
"Not you."
"Mew!"
"You would ruin the entire point."
Saphira looked deeply offended.
Leo pulled her backward. "You can cheer."
"Mew."
"Quietly."
The surrounding Pokémon suddenly began crying out excitedly.
Saphira stared at them.
Then at Leo.
Leo sighed.
"Fine. Loudly."
Princess took her position.
Electrike lowered itself.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then electricity flashed.
Electrike launched forward with Quick Attack.
Princess sidestepped at the last instant.
Her vines snapped from behind her body.
One struck the ground.
The second wrapped around a nearby pillar.
Princess pulled.
Her body shot sideways.
Electrike missed.
Leo smiled.
She was learning.
Electrike spun almost immediately and fired a burst of electricity.
Princess crossed her vines.
The attack struck.
Her body slid backward several feet.
But she stayed upright.
Grass resisted electricity.
Electrike realized that too.
Its next approach changed.
Instead of relying on Electric-type attacks, it rushed directly toward her.
Princess waited.
Leo said nothing.
Electrike came closer.
Closer.
Princess's eyes flashed.
Two vines shot low.
They wrapped around Electrike's front legs.
Princess yanked.
Electrike stumbled.
The Snivy spun.
Her tail glowed green.
Leaf Blade struck across Electrike's side and sent it rolling across the clearing.
The spectators erupted.
Electrike attempted to rise.
Princess gave it time.
Leo noticed that.
So did Cynthia.
Electrike shook itself.
Then sat down.
The fight was over.
Princess relaxed.
Electrike walked forward and bumped its head lightly against hers.
Princess blinked.
Then smiled.
"Snivy."
Leo entered the clearing. "One trial down."
Pikachu pointed toward the next path.
Leo followed its paw.
The sanctuary continued deeper.
"How many of these are there?"
Pikachu smiled.
Leo immediately regretted asking.
The answer was a lot.
The next challenge came less than twenty minutes later.
This time, two Blitzle waited inside another stone circle.
Kitsfrost stepped forward before Princess could.
Princess looked offended.
Kitsfrost ignored her.
Leo chuckled. "Take turns."
The battle lasted less than five minutes.
Kitsfrost's unusual abilities made the Blitzle's straightforward speed-based fighting style difficult to use effectively. Every time one tried to rush from another angle, Kitsfrost adjusted faster than expected, forcing both Electric-types into increasingly awkward positions.
The final exchange ended with one Blitzle buried halfway inside a pile of leaves while the other stared at Kitsfrost with visible disbelief.
Kitsfrost looked very pleased with itself.
The next trial involved three Pachirisu.
Princess took that one.
Leo quickly discovered that fighting three small squirrels was considerably more irritating than fighting one larger opponent.
They scattered.
Climbed.
Jumped between trees.
Threw attacks from completely different angles.
Princess spent the first several minutes accomplishing almost nothing.
Then she stopped chasing them.
Leo smiled.
"There you go."
Princess stood in the center of the arena.
The Pachirisu continued moving.
She watched.
One jumped.
Princess's vines struck the branches instead of the Pokémon.
Leaves exploded through the clearing.
Visibility disappeared.
The Pachirisu cried out in confusion.
Princess attacked.
When the leaves finally settled, all three squirrels were lying around the arena while Princess stood proudly in the center.
Leo clapped.
Saphira cheered.
Several Pikachu joined her.
Princess looked smug for the next hour.
The sanctuary continued changing as they moved deeper.
The trees became larger.
Electric Energy grew denser.
Crystal formations became more common.
The Pokémon changed too.
Common species slowly disappeared.
Not entirely.
But there were fewer of them.
Leo noticed the first strange Pokémon near a pool surrounded by glowing stones.
Something orange flashed past his face.
He stopped.
"What was that?"
The object disappeared into one of the crystals.
Leo stared.
The crystal glowed orange.
Two eyes opened inside it.
"Rotom."
Cynthia's voice immediately drew his attention.
"You know it?"
"Of course."
Leo stared at the possessed crystal.
The Rotom emerged.
Electricity crackled around its strange body.
Then another appeared from a nearby pool.
Then a third emerged from one of the stone pillars.
Leo smiled slowly.
"Now we're getting somewhere."
Their Pikachu guide pointed toward a new arena.
Three Rotom floated above it.
Leo's smile faded.
"Oh."
Princess stepped forward.
Leo stopped her.
"You've already fought twice."
She frowned.
Kitsfrost moved ahead.
One Rotom immediately made a strange laughing sound.
Kitsfrost's ears twitched.
The second Rotom vanished.
Kitsfrost looked around.
The third disappeared too.
Leo's expression changed.
These weren't going to fight like the earlier Pokémon.
The first Rotom rushed forward.
Kitsfrost dodged.
Electricity struck behind it.
The second emerged from a crystal and attacked from the side.
Kitsfrost barely avoided it.
The third appeared directly above.
Leo watched closely.
"They're using the environment."
Cynthia nodded.
"They know every object here."
Rotom weren't simply moving around the arena.
They were moving through it.
Crystals.
Stone formations.
Even small artificial-looking objects partially buried near the edges.
Kitsfrost struggled.
For nearly ten minutes, it couldn't land a meaningful attack.
Then it stopped trying.
Leo smiled.
Apparently everyone was learning the same lesson today.
Kitsfrost waited.
One Rotom vanished into a crystal.
A second moved toward another.
Kitsfrost attacked the crystal first.
The Rotom immediately emerged.
Exactly where Kitsfrost expected.
The counterattack landed.
One down.
The other two became more cautious.
That didn't help.
Kitsfrost had learned the pattern.
Several minutes later, the final Rotom dropped onto the grass.
The spectators erupted again.
Leo walked forward and scratched Kitsfrost gently behind the head.
"Good job."
Kitsfrost leaned into his hand.
The defeated Rotom recovered quickly.
One circled Leo curiously before poking his bag.
Leo moved it away.
"No."
Rotom followed.
"No."
It poked again.
Saphira laughed.
Leo pointed at her. "Don't encourage it."
The Rotom eventually returned to the others.
Their Pikachu guide continued onward.
They found the Tynamo deeper still.
Leo almost missed them.
Tiny pale bodies floated through the electrically saturated water of an underground stream, moving in groups beneath the surface.
Bertha stared.
"Tynamo."
Claire crouched beside the water. "This far outside the Electric Domain?"
Cynthia's expression became more serious.
"That shouldn't be common."
Leo looked around.
The sanctuary had stopped feeling like a simple refuge.
It was becoming something else.
A place where Electric-types normally separated by huge distances could gather safely.
Possibly more than that.
A preservation ground.
The Tynamo challenge was different.
There were twelve.
Leo stared at them.
Princess stared at them.
Kitsfrost stared at them.
Leo looked toward Pikachu.
"You're joking."
Pikachu shook its head.
Leo sighed.
"Of course not."
Princess and Kitsfrost entered together.
The Tynamo moved like a single organism.
That immediately made the challenge harder.
Individually, they weren't particularly threatening.
Together, they attacked in patterns.
Four moved left.
Three right.
The others remained behind and fired electricity through the openings.
Princess blocked.
Kitsfrost moved.
They separated.
That was the mistake.
The Tynamo immediately surrounded Princess.
Kitsfrost attempted to return.
Another group intercepted.
Leo's eyes narrowed.
"They're testing teamwork now."
Cynthia smiled faintly. "It seems so."
Princess realized it too.
She stopped trying to win alone.
A vine lashed toward Kitsfrost.
Not as an attack.
Kitsfrost jumped.
Princess caught it.
Then threw.
Kitsfrost sailed over the surrounding Tynamo and landed beside her.
The two immediately repositioned back-to-back.
Their fighting changed.
Princess controlled space.
Kitsfrost attacked openings.
Neither chased.
Neither separated.
The Tynamo gradually lost control of the fight.
Five minutes later, the final one dropped.
Princess collapsed onto her back.
Kitsfrost sat beside her.
Both were breathing heavily.
Leo smiled.
"That one was worth doing."
Princess raised one vine weakly.
"Snivy."
"You're welcome."
The vine fell.
They rested before continuing.
Nobody argued.
Even Pikachu seemed willing to wait.
Several local Electric-types brought berries and water.
Leo accepted both cautiously.
Saphira ate enough for four people.
Nobody was surprised.
An hour later, they moved again.
The next section of the sanctuary was different.
Older.
The trees disappeared.
Dark stone replaced grass.
Electric currents traveled through carved channels in the floor.
The entire region resembled a natural temple.
Leo slowed.
Something moved above them.
Long.
Dark.
Heavy.
Two glowing eyes opened.
An Eelektross descended from the ceiling.
Leo froze.
The Pokémon landed silently in the center of the pathway.
It was considerably larger than Leo expected.
More importantly...
It was strong.
Very strong.
Princess immediately moved forward.
Leo caught her.
"No."
She looked up.
"You've done enough."
Kitsfrost approached.
Leo shook his head again.
"Same goes for you."
The Eelektross watched quietly.
It didn't appear impatient.
Saphira floated forward.
Leo hesitated.
Saphira smiled.
The Eelektross's expression changed immediately.
It backed up.
Leo stared.
Saphira tilted her head.
Eelektross stared harder.
Then slowly shook its head.
Saphira looked offended.
Claire laughed.
"I think it knows better."
Leo covered his face.
"Great. Even the trial Pokémon refuse to fight her."
Saphira crossed her arms.
Eelektross pointed toward Leo.
Leo lowered his hand.
"Me?"
It nodded.
"That feels unfair."
Nobody agreed.
Leo sighed.
"Fine."
He entered the arena.
The battle lasted significantly longer.
Eelektross fought unlike the earlier opponents.
It attacked from every direction.
Ground.
Air.
Walls.
Its levitation made its movements unpredictable, while its physical power forced Leo to avoid direct exchanges whenever possible.
Leo relied on speed.
Positioning.
And Saphira shouting completely useless advice from outside the arena.
"Mew!"
"I know it's behind me!"
Electricity exploded.
Leo jumped.
Eelektross's tail swept beneath him.
Leo twisted.
His counterattack struck.
Eelektross barely moved.
Leo landed.
"Oh."
Eelektross smiled.
Leo smiled back.
"Okay."
Now it was interesting.
The battle left Leo exhausted.
But he won.
Barely.
Eelektross eventually lowered itself after one final exchange, acknowledging the result without collapsing.
Leo was perfectly happy with that.
Mostly because he was the one who collapsed.
Princess stood over him.
"Snivy."
"I won."
She stared.
"That means I'm allowed to lie here."
Kitsfrost sat beside his head.
Saphira poked his cheek.
Leo swatted her paw away.
"Give me five minutes."
Pikachu waited.
For once, it didn't look amused.
Instead, it looked toward the enormous doorway behind Eelektross.
Leo noticed.
The path ahead descended.
Electric Energy poured from below.
Far more than anything they had encountered so far.
Cynthia walked closer.
"We're getting near the center."
Bertha nodded.
"And something powerful lives down there."
Leo slowly stood.
"You can feel it?"
"I don't need to."
Bertha pointed.
The surrounding Electric-types had stopped following them.
Even Eelektross remained behind.
Only Pikachu continued.
Leo's expression changed.
"That seems important."
Claire smiled.
"It probably is."
They descended.
The stone corridor widened.
Electricity crawled across ancient walls.
Then they heard it.
A heavy step.
Another.
Metal scraped against stone.
Leo stopped.
Pikachu moved behind him.
"That isn't reassuring."
The corridor opened.
A massive chamber waited beyond.
Crystal formations covered the walls.
Electricity poured through them in streams.
And standing directly in the center was something Leo had never expected to see outside a very specific set of circumstances.
Four enormous limbs.
A heavy fossil-like body.
Yellow electricity pulsing across ancient scales.
A strange, mismatched shape that looked almost impossible by natural standards.
Leo stared.
"Dracozolt."
The Pokémon opened its eyes.
Princess slowly stepped beside him.
Kitsfrost joined her, while Saphira floated overhead.
Dracozolt lowered its body, electricity erupted from it, spreading across the chamber. Leo only smiled.
"I'm guessing this is the next trial."
Pikachu nodded. Dracozolt roared, the crystals answering with thunder.
Leo's smile widened.
The easy trials were definitely over.