As they stepped through the glass back door, Harold released Teddiursa from its Luxury Ball.
Gemma took in the view of the backyard. It was divided into four distinct environments: a massive pond right in the center, a giant tree in the top-right corner, a rocky little hill in the top-left corner, and dense woods surrounding the entire property.
The first group of Pokémon Gemma noticed was a gathering of electric mice—Plusle, Minun, Pikachu, and a small orange mouse with antennae-like whiskers on its cheeks.
"That group of Pokémon is so cute! Do they all belong to the same trainer?" Gemma asked, pointing toward them.
Harold nodded confidently. "Yeah, they all belong to one trainer. Her absolute favorites are electric mice. She even has a Pachirisu from the Sinnoh region here. That cute little white mouse is incredibly mischievous; it actually shocked me on purpose once! It wasn't high voltage, just a harmless static zap, but it definitely caught me off guard."
"What about that cute little orange mouse? What's its name?" Gemma asked. She was quite curious, having never seen one before in her life.
Harold glanced over at the orange Pokémon. "That's Dedenne, an Electric-type Pokémon. Its favorite food is actually electricity, which is why it loves hanging out with other Electric-types. Though, it does occasionally mess with our backup generators." Harold sighed, a resigned look on his face.
Knowing they needed to find Hugo and Aggron, Harold decided to check the rocky hill first, as that was where Aggron usually liked to spend its time.
As they walked, Harold decided to introduce the only current resident of the pond. "I bet you know this one."
Gemma walked closer to the water's edge and peered in. A massive, dark shadow was hovering just beneath the surface.
"Hey, Blastoise! How's it going?" Harold called out loudly. Teddiursa chirped happily, actively waving at the shape in the water.
Splash!
Suddenly, the giant turtle broke the surface, sending a shower of water droplets spraying over both Harold and Gemma. Teddiursa, however, quickly ducked behind Harold's legs, dodging the spray entirely.
"A Blastoise!" Gemma gasped, wiping a few drops from her face. "I've never seen one in real life. It's so rare for Kanto trainers to travel all the way to Hoenn. I read in textbooks that Blastoise's cannons aren't just for show—they can shoot water blasts powerful enough to pierce steel and concrete. Is that actually true?!"
Gemma looked eager to pet the massive Pokémon, though she knew it was usually hard to gain a fully evolved partner's trust so quickly.
"Blast..." the Blastoise rumbled.
It slowly swam to the shore. The closer it got, the more Gemma realized just how colossal it was.
"This Blastoise is definitely larger than average. It looks easily over two meters tall!" she said, completely unfazed by the giant creature approaching her.
"Polishing its shell is a nightmare," Harold joked. "I literally have to stand on a stepladder just to reach the top."
Harold patted the giant shell gently. "We'll see you later, buddy. I'm showing our guest around today."
"Blast~" Blastoise offered a warm, toothy smile to Harold and Gemma, watching them quietly as they resumed their walk.
The grassy path transitioned into a rough, sandy surface covered in loose pebbles as they neared the rocky hill.
When they arrived, they saw a bulky Hariyama thrusting its massive palms against a giant Aggron, which had one of its horns broken.
"That's Hugo," Harold explained. "Its absolute favorite thing to do is test its strength against large Pokémon. It has zero interest in smaller ones." Even in his old age, Hariyama simply couldn't resist a good challenge, eager to test any large newcomer that boarded at the daycare.
"He's so strong. I wouldn't have even guessed he was an older Pokémon if you hadn't told me," Gemma remarked. "His physical strength is incredible for his age." She paused, studying the other Pokémon. "But that Aggron... is it injured? Its horns look uneven—one is noticeably shorter than the other."
"I'm not entirely sure," Harold replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Its trainer didn't really explain it to us; they just left it here for some peace and quiet." In truth, Harold knew about the injury but preferred not to pry or gossip, finding it hard to answer.
"It's alright. If I had to guess, the most likely reason might be..."
Listening to Gemma eagerly share her theories, Harold smiled. He felt a wave of relief seeing that her gloomy mood had completely vanished. Now, it was time to help her overcome her real hurdle.
"Gemma, would you like to have a Pokémon battle with me?" Harold asked suddenly.
Gemma blinked in surprise. "A battle? What for?"
"I think it might help with Lileep's little problem," Harold said, pointing over to the giant Hariyama. "And with Hugo right here to back us up, we don't have to worry about anyone getting hurt."
"Well, in that case..." Gemma looked toward Hariyama before turning back to Harold. "I guess there's no reason for me to say no."
"Great!" Harold nodded with a smile. He called Hariyama over and quickly explained Lileep's situation.
"Hari?" Hariyama waved its massive palms, grunt-asking a question.
Harold shook his head and laughed. "Of course not, Hugo. It's just a baby."
Hearing this, Hariyama immediately lost all interest in fighting Lileep itself, but it still gave a firm nod, agreeing to act as their referee and protect them during the match.
Once Harold and Teddiursa took their positions opposite Gemma, she called out her partner. "Come on out, Lileep!"
"Li~" Lileep's four stubby roots immediately dug deep into the dirt the moment it materialized from the Premier Ball.
"Lileep, Wrap!" Gemma commanded.
"Ted, dodge it and use Fling!" Harold countered.
Lileep's pink tentacles shot instantly toward Teddiursa, but the nimble little bear rolled across the ground, dodging the grasp just in time. Without losing its momentum, Teddiursa scooped up a sharp pebble from the path and flung it hard at Lileep.
Thud!
The pebble struck Lileep dead-on since the Lileep didn't even try to move. However, it was clear the improvised Fling barely did any damage to it.
"Makes sense. It was just a normal pebble," Harold murmured.
But Gemma didn't give him time to think. "Use Ancient Power!"
Several boulders rose from the loose earth, glowing with ancient rock-type energy before flying straight toward Teddiursa. Given the speed of the attack, dodging was out of the question.
"Ted, intercept with Metal Claw!" Harold shouted.
Teddiursa's claws gleamed with a metallic sheen as it tore through the incoming rocks, shattering most of them into dust. Still, the sheer force of the impact pushed Teddiursa back, and a few stray fragments managed to graze its skin, leaving it panting slightly.
"That's not good. How am I supposed to defeat it when it's a special attacker?" Harold struggled to find a way.
His original plan was to defeat Lileep and force it to become aware of other entities—specifically, smaller ones—so it would stop blindly attacking people. But the situation had completely changed. Harold hadn't realized Lileep was a special attacker from the start; those physical tentacles had misled him.
"Use Fling again! Use the item!" Harold called out.
"Use your tentacles to stop it, Lileep!" Gemma countered.
Teddiursa pulled out an Iron Ball—an item Harold had secretly given it before the battle, which was the real reason it hadn't been able to dodge the previous Ancient Power. Summoning all its strength, Teddiursa hurled the heavy Iron Ball at Lileep. Because of the weight, Lileep couldn't react in time to dodge the projectile.
CRASH!!!
This time, the Fling dealt massive damage, causing Lileep to flinch and reel backward for a few seconds.
"Close the distance, Ted!"
Seizing the moment while Lileep was disoriented, Teddiursa rushed forward. No longer weighed down by the heavy Iron Ball, it ran much faster than before.
"Stop it with Ancient Power!" Gemma commanded.
She hadn't expected the Iron Ball strategy at all; the weak pebble Fling from earlier had tricked her into thinking Teddiursa wasn't holding an item. But at this distance... Gemma thought, believing Teddiursa wouldn't be able to dodge this time either. A shorter distance meant the rocks would strike even faster.
"Hit the dirt and roll!" Harold yelled.
Just before the Ancient Power could strike, Teddiursa dropped flat to the ground and rolled forward, causing the massive rocks to crash harmlessly behind it. With that final maneuver, Teddiursa successfully reached the space right in front of Lileep.
"Wrap it, Lileep!" Gemma shouted.
"Use Close Combat!" Harold roared.
Lileep's tentacles shot forward, but with the explosive power of Close Combat, Teddiursa batted the limbs aside and unleashed a relentless barrage of heavy punches directly onto Lileep's body.
BAM!
Lileep collapsed to the ground, unconscious, with dizzy swirls in its eyes.