"Drink this down, Zorua."
Vance had just handed the Zorua the green potion he had mixed.
It was a potion to shore up her constitution and repair the hidden damage in her.
"Glug, glug—"
The Zorua drank it straight down and narrowed her eyes in comfort. It felt wonderful — a lovely spreading warmth.
"Kirlia—"
Behind her the Kirlia, seeing the enjoyment on her face, was glad for her, and clapped and cheered.
Once she had finished, the two little ones ran off to one side and ate their meal at their leisure.
It was some days now since the Zorua had been caught, and she was settling into her new life and beginning to fit into the group.
Of all the Pokémon the one she got on with best was the Kirlia — perhaps because they were both small, and the two youngest on the team.
"Hoo—"
A gust of wind blew up. In the middle of the meal, one of them had broken through: the Zweilous, at level 55 now.
Vance looked over, and saw that it was him.
The Zweilous had passed the Slaking again, and gone up to level 55.
At present the highest level on the team was still the Gyarados at 57; after him the Zweilous at 55, the Slaking at 54, the Aerodactyl at 51, the Blaziken at 50, the Kirlia at 22 and the Zorua at 28.
The Zorua was newly caught; once she was properly restored, her strength would come on quickly enough.
And the Blaziken's level had risen to 50 without anyone quite noticing. Lately he had been working towards a breakthrough to Gym-class.
The Blaziken's temperament was steady. He ground away at his strength in silence, and would not rush at a breakthrough the way the Aerodactyl had, and fail it.
"Chick, it's time to eat. What are you still sitting there meditating for?"
Vance came up in front of the Blaziken, who was sitting in meditation, and called to him.
"Blaziken. No hurry."
The Blaziken did not even open his eyes, and said it mildly.
The fire-type power around his body was gathering in towards him and being taken in, becoming part of his own strength.
He had found the feel of it. A little more grinding and he ought to be able to break through.
Eating was important, but breaking through was just as important.
If he could break through, going without a few meals was acceptable.
"Roar, roar—"
Over on the other side the Gyarados and the rest were wolfing it down, and the smell was drifting across to him.
One whiff and the Blaziken wanted to eat again.
*Boss, why do you have to cook so well? Do you have any idea what it does to a breakthrough?*
So ran the Blaziken's complaint to himself; and he thought that once he had broken through he would have to put away a few extra meals to make up the loss.
"Good luck to you, then."
Vance called to him no further. Having wished him luck he went off to see to the others.
Right into the evening the Blaziken stayed as he was, grinding slowly away, as steady as an old Arcanine.
"Zorua, change into the Suicune first. I want to look at you."
Vance stood in front of the Zorua and motioned to her.
"Oooo—"
The Zorua's outline wavered, her body changed, and a deep-blue Suicune with streaming ribbons appeared in front of him.
There was an inexplicable majesty about the face, and from the moment she appeared the water-type energy around her grew a great deal more active.
Vance looked at her and scanned her with the system, and her information came up.
> **Name:** Suicune (Zorua)
> **Type:** Water
> **Ability:** Pressure
> **Level:** 28
> **Aptitude:** Near-Champion
> **Moves:** Leer, Bubble Beam, Rain Dance, Sheer Cold, Gust, Bite, Water Pulse, Snore, Calm Mind, Extrasensory, Surf, Hydro Pump............
Once the Zorua had transformed, her details on the system panel changed as well.
Going by what was displayed, you could call her a real Suicune and there would be nothing wrong with it.
And that she had so many moves in hand at Intermediate strength took Vance by surprise as well.
After that, Vance had her show him the other forms.
The Zorua changed again, and a fiery red Pokémon appeared on the ground, with orange-red fur and iron rings about its powerful limbs.
There were red six-pointed formations on its cheeks, a golden crest like a clover set in its forehead, and white smoke streaming out behind it.
It stood where it was, giving off waves of scorching air.
Entei, one of the Legendary Pokémon. That was this Pokémon's name.
A Legendary of the Fire type.
"Roar, roar—"
Off to the side the Gyarados and the others watched without blinking. This was too impressive. Too splendid altogether.
Even the Blaziken, sitting in meditation on the ground, felt the source of that fire-type power and opened his eyes.
Being a fire-type Pokémon himself, the Blaziken could feel how far beyond him that power was, and facing the Entei that the Zorua had become, he came to a rather different appreciation of her.
She was no small thing, this new partner of theirs.
The boss's eye was as good as ever, to have picked out a partner like that.
"Oo-oooo!"
Under the astonished gaze of all of them, the power in the Zorua fell into disorder.
The instant it happened Vance moved, put the disorder down and restored her to what she had been, and used the Viridian Power to set her body in order again as well.
"Water and fire meeting, is it. Does this happen every time you go from the Suicune to the Entei?"
The Zorua nodded, and explained further that when she changed into Raikou she felt a good deal better.
There was a clash there as well, but less of one than this.
"It's much better than it was. It used to hurt more."
The Zorua said it again. Under Vance's care the pain now was less than half what it had been, and much easier to bear.
The Kirlia and the others all looked at her with pity. She had suffered too much.
"Good. Now let's try what you can do."
In her Entei state the Zorua used her moves.
Fire Fang, Fire Fang, Flamethrower... one move after another came out.
But when she came to use Sacred Fire, something went wrong.
The load seemed to be far too much; she could not bring it out, and when she tried to force the move through Vance stopped her.
Sacred Fire was a move bound up with Ho-Oh, the greatest of the Legendaries. It was not easily mastered and not to be forced. Better to work towards it slowly.
Then she changed again, and the Zorua turned into Raikou, magnificent to look at, with faint disturbances showing on her as well — smaller than before.
He had her show her moves again, and got much the same result.
Vance had the measure of it now, and made his notes on paper, the pen scratching away.
For the present the Zorua could change into three Legendary forms: Suicune, Entei and Raikou.
And once she had changed, there was very little to tell her from the genuine article.
In that state, whether she moved or not, there was a strain on her body; only when she did move, the load was heavier.
The other Legendaries the Zorua could not do. She had never seen them, and had never felt their presence at first hand.
At that point the Zorua shifted again, and a brilliantly coloured bird-like Pokémon appeared on the ground.
"Well done. Change back now."
Vance put away the 3D model, which was displaying a Ho-Oh.
Clearly the change into Ho-Oh had failed. The presence and the bearing were wrong, and so was the look of her.
She would have to observe a great deal more. There was learning to be done.
The Zorua took the chance to change again, and a Kirlia appeared on the ground, exactly like the Kirlia beside her, the same in bearing and in posture.
He scanned her with the system again, and the figures came out much the same as the Kirlia's.
The Zorua had been with the Kirlia for a while now, and had watched her at close quarters, and had her.
By appearance alone it was very hard to tell which Kirlia was the real one and which the false.
"Kirlia—"
The Kirlia said it in astonishment, and the two Kirlia took each other by the hand and went round and round in circles together.
The Gyarados was laughing away to himself when a Gyarados suddenly appeared in front of him, face to face, eye to eye.
It gave the Gyarados quite a start.
*Good grief, who's that? Face like that on him — doesn't he know how frightening that is?*
*Hang on, he looks familiar. Isn't that me?*