Eliana opened the door to her room and once she closed it her Pokémon all released themselves. She was immediately greeted by Raichu, who chattered excitedly, her cheeks sparking with anticipation. Kirlia took his normal place to start meditating. Staryu floated near the window, its core pulsing with a steady, hopeful rhythm. Eliana smiled, a genuine, warm smile that was reserved only for them.
"You were amazing," she said out loud, the words echoing in the small room. "You earned this."
She held up the Water Stone that she had gotten from that Eevee Family.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a brilliant light erupted from the point of contact. It was a blinding, celestial flash that filled the entire room, forcing Eliana to shield her eyes. The light coalesced around Staryu, twisting and swirling like a miniature galaxy being born. The star shifted, elongated, growing more complex. Crystalline structures formed and locked into place with soft, clicking sounds. The light intensified, reaching a crescendo of pure, white energy.
Then, as quickly as it began, it faded. Where Staryu had once floated, there was now a Starmie. Its body was a magnificent, multi-pointed star of deep, indigo-colored crystal, with a smaller, golden star set in its center. The red core was now larger, glowing with a vibrant, powerful light that pulsed like a captured heart. It spun slowly, the new form feeling both alien and deeply familiar at the same time. The evolution had been successful.
Raichu let out a congratulatory chirp, hopping on her tail to surf up to where her newly evolved teammate levitated. She circled it, sniffing a few times before giving an approving nod. Kirlia stood up from his meditation position, teleporting in front of the star Pokémon. He observed his teammate's new form and gave it a proud pat, before returning to mediating.
Eliana walked up and gently put her hand against Starmie's core. A wave of psychic acknowledgement passing through the connection. Starmie responded with its own pulse, and through it, Eliana could feel a new wellspring of power, a deeper resonance with the water and the cosmos. There was also a new emotion, a quiet but profound gratitude. Her Pokémon was stronger and it had learned some new moves upon its evolution.
…
Days bled into weeks, each one marked by a new kind of routine for Eliana. Sabrina had changed her morning meditations to be right before bed. Instead mornings began with the grueling, solitary mental exercises Sabrina prescribed. Tasks designed to push her psychic abilities to their absolute limits. She would spend hours focusing on a single grain of sand, lifting it, splitting it, and then reassembling it atom by atom. Other times, Sabrina would challenge her to complex telepathic puzzles, weaving intricate illusions that Eliana had to unravel thread by thread. Eliana was around fifty percent sure this was the start of turning people into dolls, she'd wait a bit longer until she knew for sure before asking.
The afternoons were for her Pokémon. Eliana and her team would head to the western training hall, now a familiar space. She would run drills, testing Starmie's speed, its power, and its mastery over its new form. She taught it to weave its Ice Beams into intricate patterns, to fire rapid, pinpoint Thunderbolts, and to use its increased psychic power to create whirlpools and launch rocks with devastating force.
Raichu's training consisted of Eliana putting her through grueling obstacle courses designed to test the limits of Surge Surfer, using Raichu's speed to outrun her own attacks. The electric mouse's screens were also much better. Espeon was a great teacher, Reflect and Light Screen were now strong enough work as stand in Protects. However Raichu's aggression stayed the same, she still loved to fight.
And her Kirlia was training with Sabrina's Alakazam, she didn't know what all they were doing but it looked like an advanced version of their old meditation exercises. What Eliana did know was that Kirlia speed and physical attacks had gotten much better. He didn't even need to teleport to close in the distance between opponents. Kirlia also seemed to be in the middle of learning a physical psychic attack. He was keeping the move a secret but Eliana wasn't concerned, he'd show her when he was ready.
Gabriel was also a figure that kept popping up. While they didn't meet in person often he texted Eliana multiple times a day. Usually just asking her opinion on whatever game he was playing for the day. They visited the arcade together whenever they had free time, Eliana still used her abilities to win but Gabriel was suspicious of her now. Occasionally he asked her for training advice, and while their type specialties were different Rliana still helped him out.
His Machop for one had gotten some advice from Kirlia about using Ice Punch. It could now freeze an opponent around eighty percent of the time. And it had started working on the other elemental punches. Tyrogue had evolved into Hitmontop during one of their training sessions due to Raichu's unrelenting attacks. Gabriel was frankly concerned at the violent influence the electric mouse had on his Pokémon, but he couldn't deny the boost in strength. Riolu was different, it tended to train on its own but occasionally joined in the group. It constantly challenged Kirlia to mock fights, wanting to redeem its first lost. It hadn't won yet but Eliana thought it was getting closer, maybe once it evolved into a Lucario.
Outside of training, Eliana's life at the gym continued much the same. The only difference was that she had to attend those monthly meetings. She still ignored most of Sabrina's other students they weren't worth her time. However she texted Izabel whenever she had an actual battle. The older teenager would then text her about battle strategies and where she could improve.
And then there was Theo, the older boy never spoke to her but still watched her like a hawk. He thought he was subtle about it but Eliana knew that he was planning something against her. The only reason she hadn't taken care of him was because Sabrina told her not to act until Theo actually did something. As annoying as it was her only option was to ignore him.
…
Elaina's Current Team:
Pokémon: Kirlia
Gender: Male
Ability: Trace
Moves: Disarming Voice, Teleport, Draining Kiss, Psychic, Psyshock, Magical Leaf, Charge Beam, Hyper Voice, Protect, Life Dew, Ice Punch
Pokémon: Starmie
Gender: Genderless
Ability: Natural Cure
Moves: Hydro Pump, Surf, Psychic, Swift, Recover, Confuse Ray, Harden, Power Gem, Ice Beam, Dazzling Gleam, Flash Cannon
Pokémon: Alolan Raichu
Gender: Female
Ability: Surge Surfer
Moves: Psychic, Thunderbolt, Electric Terrain, Electro Web, Iron Tail, Light Screen, Reflect, Focus Blast, Grass Knot, Signal Beam, Double Team