Clashing ego's

Route 211 was interesting, it started with some rocky areas followed by a big bridge. Once you were over the bridge you would enter Mt. Coronet.

Mt. Coronet was the largest mountain in Sinnoh, it was gigantic and only some things were fully explored. Shuichi knew that Mt. Coronet was also the place of the infamous Spear Pillar, the exact location of Spear Pillar however was still being determined.

After venturing through Mt. Coronet you would find yourself back on Route 211, it was a simple mountainous route which ended with Celestic Town. 

Shuichi guessed the entire trip to Celestic Town would take around 15 days, he had paid ₽1,000 in food supplies and could save on money due to having found all those Sitrus berries in Eterna Forest.

The Machoke problem was close to the bridge which was why there was a job out for them, supposedly they were harassing trainers that wanted to cross the bridge or had crossed the bridge to go to Eterna City.

Shuichi and Cheryl were currently on the rocky area of Route 211, it had only been one day since they set off from Eterna City and encountered people on the road.

It was a youth with blonde hair and blue eyes, he was dressed in a fancy suit and even had an old butler with him. "You there, how would you like a battle against the great me?" He spoke arrogantly and looked at Cheryl. The youth didn't even acknowledge Shuichi.

Shuichi already didn't like the guy, he didn't say anything as Cheryl could take care of herself. Cheryl thought about it briefly and replied "I can battle you but, I don't bet." She was familiar with bets due to Shuichi only wanting betting matches.

The youth scoffed at her, "Just a peasant then, how about you? Or are you also a peasant?" The youth turned to Shuichi and ignored Cheryl's angry looks. Shuichi knew he could take this guy on and fleece him for some money but he was willing to give this guy to Cheryl.

"What? Are you scared of my travelling partner here? Didn't think you'd be a runner." Shuichi insulted his character which did wonders as the youth replied. "Me? A runner? Please, I think someone who doesn't bet on matches is no real opponent for someone like me."

Cheryl had an angry look, "Why don't you fight me and see if I'm weak and a 'peasant'." She told the youth. Shuichi was a bit surprised at her anger, Cheryl was usually kind and calm but it seemed like the youth's words struck a nerve.

The youth sighed and turned back to Cheryl "It seems like I need to put this peasant in her place, I don't want to waste too much time so the best I will do is a one-on-one battle."

The youth then turned to his butler who nodded and gave him a Pokeball, "This is my own Pokéball, my butler just holds them." He quickly explained. 

Shuichi offered to be the referee. "This battle will be between Cheryl and …Uh?" Shuichi realised he didn't know the youth's name, he didn't look like someone familiar so he was completely unknown to Shuichi. "Pierce Lawson." The youth introduced himself.

Shuichi nodded and repeated "This battle will be between Cheryl and Pierce, it will be a simple one-on-one battle. Both trainers throw your Pokéballs at the count of three."

Cheryl and Pierce nodded and got ready, Shuichi counted down and threw their Pokeballs. "Let's go, Chansey!" "Time to win Voltorb!" Cheryl threw out Chansey while Pierce threw out a Pokémon that looked like a Pokeball, the only difference was that the Pokémon had a face and no button.

Voltorb was an electric-type Pokémon and a pretty fast one at that. Voltorb's emotions were that of arrogance as it was looking down on Chansey, normally this wasn't good but underneath the arrogance was confidence that could only be gotten one way.

Shuichi looked at Cheryl, this wasn't going to be easy for her. She might've bitten off more than she could chew and it was not in character for her to be this angry at someone blowing off a battle, she's had people not wanting to battle her in the past and she didn't get angry then.

"Peasants can go first," Pierce stated and Cheryl took the opportunity. "Gladly, Chansey, use Attract!" Chansey nodded and threw out a yellow heart. "Double Team!" Pierce quickly reacted and Voltorb copied itself into multiple copies and circled Chansey.

The heart hit one of the Voltorb copies and it quickly disappeared. "Now, Thunder Wave!" The copies disappeared and the real one was revealed behind Chansey, Voltorb sent out a small current of electricity at Chansey which didn't do much damage but paralysed Chansey.

"Chansey, use Egg Bomb!" Cheryl was losing control of the battle and now she tried to engage in the ranged battle. Chansey had trouble turning as it was paralysed which gave Pierce another opening. "Now, Thunder!"

Thunder was a powerful electric-type attack which showed because Voltorb needed a few seconds to charge the attack. "Chansey! Please!" Cheryl was desperate but Chansey just couldn't move correctly.

Voltorb finished charging and fired off a powerful attack at Chansey, Chansey cried out in pain and Cheryl was in full panic mode now. "Chansey!" Pierce just looked bored at the battle, "Finish it with Wild Charge."

Voltorb suddenly charged at Chansey covered in gold electricity with white static surrounding it, and Voltorb slammed into Chansey which sent it flying. Voltorb stopped and the white static injured Voltorb greatly as recoil damage.

Chansey fell to the ground with tons of burns on it and was knocked out. "Chansey is unable to battle, Voltorb is the winner. The victor is Pierce." Shuichi announced and Cheryl quickly ran to Chansey.

"Humph, that was just as disappointing as I expected," Pierce stated as he recalled Voltorb. Shuichi went to Cheryl and handed her a Sitrus berry, which would kickstart Chansey's recovery. Cheryl appreciated the gesture and accepted it.

Pierce turned to Shuichi "So how about you? Or are you also just going to waste more time?" Shuichi ignored him and continued to monitor Chansey and how it was doing. Pierce noticed he was being ignored and scoffed again.

"So much for low-birth peasants, their parents must have taught them wrong," Pierce stated and started to walk away. This time he pushed Shuichi's buttons as he now looked at Pierce dangerously. "Care to repeat that?" He said while releasing a murderous intent.

Shuichi cared greatly for his parents because he failed to save them in his previous life, thus he wouldn't let anything happen to them anymore. Speaking ill of his parents had triggered Shuichi more than even he expected.

Pierce froze and the butler quickly jumped in between them, Shuichi noticed the butler wasn't an ordinary person and was actually physically trained. Shuichi noticed that being physically trained in this world was rare as people didn't bother with it.

"Master Pierce, I would advise for us to say no more and leave." The butler continued looking at Shuichi as he spoke to Pierce. Shuichi wasn't going to let him run away like that, "And here I thought you weren't a runner, ₽1,000 bet, what do you say?"

The butler frowned, he knew Shuichi was taunting Pierce and he had known Pierce long enough that he would fall for it. "I've already told you, I don't run from battles. I accept the bet." Pierce acted exactly as Shuichi expected and accepted.

The butler could already feel a headache incoming, Pierce had no idea who he was messing with. Shuichi smiled and proposed another simple one-on-one match, Pierce accepted and got given another Pokéball by his butler. 

Pierce looked slightly surprised at the butler's choice but a quick nod confirmed that Shuichi was no pushover. "I don't suppose you would referee right?" Shuichi asked the butler.

The butler nodded and moved to the middle of the field, "This battle will be a one-on-one between Pierce and-" "Shuichi Tsuki." Shuichi was ready as he told him his name. 

Shock flashed across the butler's face which was quickly masked as he continued, "Both trainers are you ready?" He asked. Shuichi and Pierce both nodded.

After a simple countdown, they both threw their Pokéballs "Huntail, go hot." "Scyther, time to win!" Huntail hit the field and was accompanied by a Scyther. Scyther were mantis-like Pokémon, they were green with two wings and two razor-sharp scythe-like arms. 

Shuichi emitted his trademark pressure shocking everyone bar Huntail, Scyther originally had the same emotions as Voltorb but now there was much less arrogance there.

Shuichi went with Huntail as it was currently his strongest Pokémon, Pierce also went with his strongest Pokémon and he didn't look down on Shuichi's Pokémon either. "Scyther, Swords Dance!" Pierce wasn't so courteous with Shuichi as he was with Cheryl as he moved first.

Sychter started to move strangely as blue swords appeared and its arms started glowing green becoming stronger. Shuichi wasn't sitting still, "Big Whirlpool." he calmly stated and Huntail obliged by making a giant Whirlpool.

"Doesn't matter! Scyther, pierce through with X-Scissor!" Pierce didn't think the whirlpool posed a threat and had Scyther charge ahead. "Huntail, fire." Shuichi had seen the whirlpool grow enough and Huntail fired it off.

Scyther clashed with the whirlpool and tried to disperse it with its claws, Shuichi wasn't going to let it through, "Water Gun." Huntail fired off a big jet of water which slammed the whirlpool. The sudden power increase surprised Scyther which caused it to be swept up in the waves.

"Scyther!" Pierce cried out and Shuichi quickly took advantage while Scyther was trapped, "Shell Smash." He wasn't going to go easy on Pierce, Shuichi could already see Pierce's strategy and it was one that fit someone like him to a T.

Or in a realistic sense TM. All of Pierce's Pokémon he's shown so far have gotten absurdly powerful moves due to his unlimited spending of TM's, if one had deep enough pockets even power could be bought.

Huntail's skin shattered and his offensive powers and speed increased. Shuichi saw that Scyther was still trapped in the whirlpool and made his attack "Ice Beam."

By now the whirlpool had lost a bit of its power and Pierce noticed the opening, "Scyther, burst out with X-Scissor!" Scyther agreed that it'd been in the whirlpool long enough and crossed its claws once more before swinging hard and destroying the whirlpool from within.

Shuichi was not concerned by Scyther breaking out, he had accomplished what he wanted. Which was to set up a Shell Smash. "Huntail, Ice Beam." Huntail charged a big blue orb and fired off the lights towards Scyther.

"Scyther, dodge it!" Pierce cried out and Scyther jumped out of the way at the last second. But this was exactly what Shuichi had anticipated, "Charge in and Bite." Huntail suddenly coiled rapidly and jumped straight at Scyther.

Huntail was near Shuichi one second and then the next instant it suddenly was right in front of Scyther coming in like a meteor. Huntail slammed into Scyther and trapped it in his jaws, Bite was a move that Huntail learned instinctively upon evolution.

Scyther cried out and Huntail continued to charge through only to pin Scyther onto a tree. "Scyther!" Pierce cried out and panicked, he quickly pulled out Scyther's Pokéball and recalled him ending the match.

Huntail was a bit disappointed at the battle ending so suddenly and so was the butler as he sighed and declared Huntail the winner.

Pierce quickly walked away and didn't want to say another word to Shuichi, Shuichi was about to chase after him for the money when he got a notification that the butler deposited the money.

The butler then chased after Pierce, he quickly caught up with Pierce and Pierce started to talk to him. "Just who was that guy Jonathan? Was that really a commoner?" Pierce asked.

Jonathan didn't answer Pierce and asked him a question "Have you heard of the Tsuki family master Pierce?" Pierce stopped, he didn't expect that question. He thought for a bit before shaking his head, "So he wasn't a commoner?" Pierce asked again.

Jonathan shook his head "He is a commoner but even commoners have special families, the Tsuki family is one of them." He explained and Pierce wanted an explanation.

"The Tsuki family or rather clan as they're known is a group of family members from Johto, they mainly specialise in entertainment and Master Pierce has to know the Kimono Sisters are of the same family," Jonathan explained Shuichi's family to Pierce.

Pierce was still confused "The Kimono Sisters I know, but aren't they only dancers and entertainers? And aren't only the female members supposed to be skilled?" These were valid questions and Jonathan nodded.

"The female members are indeed skilled and they are dancers, but don't underestimate them too much as their talent for battles is second only to dancing." Jonathan further explained and as Pierce was about to ask again he continued.

"This boy is different, the air and tension he gave off when you provoked him brought me back to my days in combat training. If his mother's side is the Tsuki family then his father's side must be someone from the military days." Jonathan guessed Shuichi's family tree and if Shuichi could hear him he would be surprised as even he didn't know his father's side of the family.

Pierce was a bit silent, a combination of the two was no joke and he could feel it during the battle. It felt like he was going up against his grandfather, just the thought of his grandfather brought a shiver down Pierce's spine.

Jonathan noticed that Pierce made the connection and advised him "We must be careful of other people, there are hidden threats everywhere and even though we have a few leads we still can't be too careful."

Pierce nodded "I know, If the league finds out about our research and leads then Professor Rowan will be breathing down our necks in an instant. Speaking of leads, do you think the Underground Man has what we're looking for?" He asked Jonathan.

Jonathan nodded, "The Underground Man has a massive collection, it's possible he picked up the item and just added it to his collection not knowing what it is." Pierce nodded "If he does have the Black Augurite we're looking for then we can evolve Scyther into his ancient form."

Scyther normally evolved into Scizor with the use of a Metal Coat but it was actually possible to evolve Scyther another way, it required a by-now-extinct item known as Black Augurite. 

Pierce's family had their history very well documented and it detailed such an evolution method as their family was around during the ancient times of Sinnoh or rather Hisui as it was known back then.

"With Scyther's evolution, it'll be possible to find more such extinct evolution types and then the Lawson family can rise again with extinct Pokémon and claim our birthright as a royal family of Sinnoh." Pierce declared as he walked towards Eterna City.

Jonathan was glad that Pierce didn't take the loss to heart and still focused on their main objective however, it didn't stop him from worrying about Shuichi. Should Shuichi ever become an obstacle in their way then he would not know the outcome of what would follow.

Meanwhile, Shuichi was blissfully unaware of Pierce's plan and Jonathan's concerns. He was currently sitting by Cheryl who tended to her Chansey, Cheryl was uncomfortably silent as they looked at Chansey.

They haven't spoken a word to each other since Pierce left and Shuichi didn't know what to say to Cheryl. The silence continued for another 10 minutes when Chansey suddenly awoke, "Chansey!" Cheryl cried out seeing her Pokémon waking up.

Chansey looked at Cheryl and smiled at her, it seemed like she didn't take the loss too heavily but Shuichi could tell she was putting on a facade. Chansey was disappointed and sad that she lost the battle without even inflicting a single hit on the opponent.

Cheryl was glad Chansey would be okay but she still seemed down, "He called us 'peasants'" Cheryl said as she looked at Chansey. Shuichi didn't say anything as he looked at her, although he was interested in why Cheryl would get so upset at that passing remark.

Cheryl sighed as she recalled her memories, "My grandfather was often criticised for just being a regular guy, a 'peasant' is what they called him." Shuichi scoffed at the remarks, "Didn't think treasure hunters were that elite about their hobby."

Cheryl smiled a little hearing Shuichi, "For some, it's a hobby, for others, it's their entire identity. Still, my grandfather proved them all wrong by becoming one of the greatest treasure hunters ever."

Shuichi didn't comment on that, it was great that her grandfather could prove them wrong but that was in the past. Cheryl continued, "I want to become even better than my grandfather, I thought I was doing great after I got the enchanted honey but now…" Cheryl trailed off as she still looked at Chansey.

Chansey still smiled but Shuichi could feel her anticipation going up, there was a right answer and a wrong answer and both Chansey and Shuichi were hoping she would pick the right answer.

Resolve flashed in Cheryl's eyes as she stood up "No! I am going to be a better treasure hunter than my grandfather! I will show Pierce that I too can become great!" Chansey cheered this time, it was honest and Shuichi also smiled.

"How are you going to do that?" Shuichi asked the obvious question and Cheryl looked at him like a starving man was looking at food. "My grandfather always said, If you find a strong Machoke then be sure to grab their leg for as long as possible."

Shuichi laughed "So first I'm a Magikarp and now I'm a Machoke? Are you sure you want to join my training? I don't hold back even on women you know." He warned her about his training schedule. Cheryl only became more determined and said "Bring it on!"

Cheryl quickly grew to regret those words as she was dead tired on the ground gasping for air, Shuichi stuck to his words and didn't hold back having Cheryl mostly do cardio exercises and some slight weightlifting.

She didn't want to look extremely muscular like Shuichi but she did want more stamina and also look fit of course, although she wasn't overweight or looked bad she was still very much out of shape in the stamina department.

Her Pokémon were also not being left out, Chansey was most famous for being Nurse Joy's partners as in battle they had a few massive shortcomings. The most devastating was the mediocre offensive stats and paper-thin physical defences. 

But for those downsides, there were two things that Chansey and her evolution Blissey shined in. One was defence towards special attacks and a massive vitality that allowed them to even take a physical hit.

Shuichi looked through the possible moves Chansey could learn and found one that might help Cheryl a lot. "Counter?" Cheryl asked and Shuichi nodded, "Indeed, Counter is a possible egg move for Chansey and from what you've told me you don't know if Chansey has egg moves."

Cheryl didn't have a Pokédex and she didn't want to spend any money on tests, "But if it's an egg move doesn't that mean that Chansey has to know it or else she can't learn it normally?" She asked Shuichi.

Shuichi nodded "That's indeed the case but I don't think your grandfather is the type of person to not consider something like this." Cheryl had obtained Chansey as an egg from her grandfather.

Cheryl looked at Chansey "Chansey, do you know Counter?" She asked her Pokémon. Chansey looked a little confused, she had never seen the move in action. How would she know what it was? Shuichi was quick with a recording of a Wobbuffet using Counter.

Chansey looked at the video and closed her eyes. It took a few seconds but her entire body was covered in a light red and orange film. Cheryl was happy as she congratulated Chansey, the move needed some work of course as even those few seconds could be too slow.

Shuichi nodded "With Counter and on an equal playing field, you could've used that move when Pierce's Voltorb used Wild Charge and it would've knocked it out due to Counter doubling the power of the move and sending it back." Explaining how Counter could be used.

Of course, Counter had some drawbacks. For one, it could only redirect physical attacks. Secondly, damage still had to be taken. It meant that if Chansey took too much damage from the attack then Counter would fail and Chasney would get knocked out.

"Keep working on Counter, as for another new move my advice would be SoftBoiled. It's a move that Chansey can learn normally and it would allow her to heal the damage she's taken to keep using Counter." Shuichi advised her. 

Shuichi then turned to Tangela, "As for Tangela, It depends on how you want to tackle his future moves and strategies." Cheryl thought for a second before replying "I already have a rough draft that would fit my overall strategy."

Shuichi nodded and trusted Cheryl, although she didn't have a lot of battling experience her overall strategy was still sound. He then focused on his own Pokémon.

Eevee needed to learn one final move and then he could evolve, although he could evolve now and learn the move later it would take him much longer due to losing the type effectiveness.

As for polishing moves, Shuichi wanted to use Quick Attack more as manoeuvrability instead of an attack and fire off Swift stars as Eevee was using Quick Attack. It turns out that it was quite the task due to how energy was used.

When Eevee uses Quick Attack most of the energy goes to his feet and some to his body to protect him from the stress, when he uses Swift it moves to his tail to create stars. One would need to multitask and have massive energy reserves to pull off the combination.

Huntail once more focused on learning Water Pulse, he had shelved the move in favour of Shell Smash for the gym but now it was time to fully learn it. It also helped that his evolution made progress for Water Pulse easier.

In terms of training existing moves, Aqua Ring could be trained again as three rings was Clamperl's maximum. Iron Defence was a move that also needed some work, Shuichi had an idea that could work.

Combusken was another interesting case, for now, she would focus on learning Flamethrower and also combine Quick Attack with her other moves.

Shuichi kept a close eye on her because he had a feeling she would evolve soon. She had grown rapidly since she had joined him.

Speaking of growing rapidly, Drifloon had surprised Shuichi with his growth. Drifloon was currently inflated as he glowed purple, he tried to add another layer to it but it was very difficult.

Drifloon had learned Stockpile very quickly and now was well on his way to mastering the move, Stockpile allowed Drifloon to increase his defences and make him more bulky. Shuichi also gave the TM for Charge Beam a try and Drifloon was polishing that move as well.

Shuichi's style and strategy were slowly taking form, once Eevee mastered his move then the team would truly flourish. As for what move Eevee was trying to learn? It was the same move that Shuichi made famous in his last life; Baton Pass.

Baton Pass in his past life was a cheap imitation of the actual move, Baton Pass allowed one to switch out and tag in a new Pokémon. But here is where it got interesting, if Eevee used Work Up and used Baton Pass then the buff from Work Up would also be passed along.

Every single one of Shuichi's Pokémon could learn Baton Pass. Huntail could Shell Smash and pass the buff to the team. Drifloon could pass Stockpile defence buffs to the rest of the team. Eevee could Work Up and pass them to the team. Even Aqua Ring was passable with Baton Pass.

The possibilities were nearly endless and soon Shuichi's strategy would be unveiled, you didn't fight his Pokémon one-on-one. No, you would face the entire team in a tag battle.

But that time wasn't there yet, Eevee would be the pioneer in the move and he would learn it much faster if he remained an Eevee and did not evolve due to Baton Pass being a normal-type move.

After the impromptu training session Shuichi and Cheryl set off once more, it would take a few days to reach the bridge where the Machoke problem was. It seemed like trainers could still pass through since Pierce had come from that direction.