In its past life...
In its past Pokémon life, Duosion had always believed that no matter the differences in strength between Pokémon, the gap would never be so vast that it felt insurmountable—like a chasm that could never be crossed.
Maybe it was due to its natural talent, but Duosion had never encountered an opponent that felt overwhelmingly powerful.
Even the top dog from its old territory—supposedly the strongest—had seed just "alright" in Duosion's eyes.
Certainly not anything transcendent.
Its own power had always been steadily climbing.
The kind of opponent it couldn't beat today? Given ti, Duosion was confident it could turn the tables and go fifty-fifty in a rematch.
So, deep down, Duosion held a quiet confidence—so might even call it pride.
Even though it hadn't evolved into its final form yet, its current strength wasn't anything to scoff at.
Compared to the older mbers in the team, it didn't feel like it was lagging that far behind.
At the very least, not hopelessly so.
As long as it could see the gap, that was enough.
Duosion firmly believed it would eventually catch up to, and even surpass, its seniors.
As for what i had said before—sothing along the lines of "Natsu's Pokémon are all really strong"...
Well, Duosion had just kind of brushed it off.
Probably nothing special, it thought.
With that carefree mindset, Duosion watched as Natsu tossed a rather weathered Poké Ball.
'Where did he even find that relic?' Duosion mused, unimpressed.
Then—fire blood.
A scarlet blaze burst forth, painting the entire sky in crimson.
Orange trails of light danced within the flas, like joyful fish weaving through water.
For that brief mont, ti seed to stretch into eternity.
The heat was suffocating. The air felt thick and heavy.
Even vision itself seed to blur, as though it were lting under the searing pressure.
For the first ti in what felt like forever, Duosion's mind went blank.
It couldn't think.
Then—a familiar voice called out:
"w."
Duosion's few still-functioning brain cells began to process the situation.
w?
What was that?
A Pokémon?
Before Duosion's nearly crashing brain could fully make sense of it, the scene before its eyes shifted again.
With a soft "poof," the raging inferno vanished in an instant.
Only a few flickers of embers drifted in the sky, fading completely before they even touched the ground, leaving no trace behind.
As if the whole thing had been nothing more than a strange, fleeting dream.
"Uuuu..."
That majestic, blazing Pokémon from just monts ago was now circling obediently around the human nad Natsu, like a wronged child.
Staring blankly at the scene, Duosion felt its brain—just beginning to recover—starting to crash all over again.
"I just casually called out w's na, that's all. You didn't have to get so worked up, Chi-Yu."
Cradling w in his arms, Natsu glanced at Chi-Yu with a smile.
Though, to be honest, that smile didn't look very friendly.
"Nyuu~"
Yes, feel free to be even more outrageous next ti.
Curled up lazily in Natsu's arms like a real cat, w let out a slow hum. It half-lifted its eyelids and casually gestured with its little hand—making a "tiny" sign with its fingers.
And within that gap between its fingers... it felt like a whole universe was hidden there.
Chi-Yu didn't dare respond. Head hung low, it remained perfectly docile.
It already had a taste of what the pink demon was capable of before coming back.
It never wanted to see the view from the stratosphere ever again.
Nor did it want to be gawked at by a horde of green dragons.
It was just a weak, helpless little goldfish, okay?
Its poor heart simply couldn't handle that kind of trauma.
Watching Chi-Yu behave so ekly, w gave a soft hmph.
This one, like that Good Doggo, was another restless troublemaker.
If its sharp edges weren't filed down early, it was bound to stir up trouble in the future.
And that was sothing w absolutely could not allow.
The last thing it wanted was to be taking a nap one day, only to wake up and find the house had burned down.
If that happened, w knew it would truly lose it.
Angry kitty is no joke. You wouldn't like it when kitty's mad.
"..."
Watching the unusually obedient Chi-Yu, Duosion hesitantly reached out a jelly-like hand, as if trying to gesture sothing.
Wait—this feels kind of off, doesn't it?
This was the first ti Duosion had ever seen such a powerful Pokémon.
Also the first ti it had directly felt what "legendary power" really ant.
Even if it didn't fully grasp what a Legendary Pokémon was...
That sheer force—was no illusion.
In that mont, Duosion had genuinely felt like it was about to be reduced to ashes.
But that sa terrifyingly powerful Pokémon... had been subdued by just one word from Natsu?
And now it was being so ta?
Duosion wasn't sure if it was imagining things, but it could've sworn it saw... flattery on Chi-Yu's face.
...Was it just a hallucination?
Watching Chi-Yu fawn around like so kind of sycophant, Duosion fell into deep thought.
"That's the enemy Natsu dealt with on his last outing."
"A Legendary Pokémon known as one of the Treasures of Ruin, also called the 'Beads of Ruin.' In simple terms—yeah, a god-tier monster."
"Natsu told that even while it was sealed, a re trace of Chi-Yu's leaking power managed to burn down an entire forest."
i chid in casually from the side.
She was well aware of the problems her own Pokémon had.
Serperior was still doing alright—obsessed, yes, but that obsession helped drive it forward.
Samurott, on the other hand, was in a slump. i needed to find a way to get it back on track.
Pignite was just one step away from evolving, but was stuck due to so lingering emotional baggage. She'd have to help with that, too.
Tsareena was currently the least worriso. No clear target to defeat, but still striving to grow stronger.
Chingling was mostly treated as support, so i hadn't pushed it too hard with training. That would co after evolution.
But Duosion—the latest addition to her team—had the most serious issues.
To put it plainly: it was prideful.
Confident to the point of arrogance in its own strength and talent. Even when facing formidable opponents, it showed no fear.
It lacked respect for the strong and had way too much faith in its own future—bordering on delusional.
Around its teammates, it maintained a detached, indifferent attitude.
And that wasn't a good thing.
There's nothing wrong with pride. But arrogance? That's dangerous.
And Pokémon were no exception.
Right now, Duosion was only showing early signs of this, but i would never allow her Pokémon to turn into a brainless, arrogant ss.
Bringing Duosion along today was partially to take that edge off it.
At the very least, it needed to understand that its current power ant nothing in front of the truly strong.
Respect for the powerful wasn't optional.
It wasn't fear—it was about having a clear understanding of oneself.
Like in that other show—Digimon, wasn't it?—there was a Digimon called Gotsumon.
Endless potential, but very rare.
One major reason? Despite being weak, it would always charge into battle against stronger foes without hesitation.
In other words—loved to throw itself at death.
So i brought Duosion here.
She had actually considered letting it watch those intense battles on TV first.
But ultimately scrapped the idea.
After all, a lot of people think, "I could do that too," when watching soone fight on screen.
And i worried Duosion would be no different.
Besides, the impact wouldn't be the sa.
Far less shocking.
Seeing real strength up close? Now that hits differently.
"All right, everyone—ho sweet ho."
Natsu paid no attention to the overly eager Chi-Yu or the silently brooding Duosion.
He unclipped all his Poké Balls from his belt and tossed them into the air in one motion.
A chain of white flashes exploded onto the grass.
Duosion, whose brain had just barely rebooted, imdiately crashed again.
Maybe it was the lighting—
—but the scene before Duosion now looked like sothing straight out of hell.
Backlit by the sun, Ting-Lu's massive body cast a long shadow across the ground.
Its face, slightly lowered, was swallowed in the darkness of the great vessel it carried. Two scarlet pupils glowed faintly in the gloom.
Gardevoir stood silently behind Natsu, elegantly brushing back her hair.
Her slender fra was nearly trembling with the sheer volu of psychic energy boiling within, barely restrained.
Beside her, Gallade stood the sa.
They both radiated terrifying levels of psychic power, but the difference between the two was clear.
Gardevoir's energy felt like a calm sea.
Smooth and unruffled on the surface—but beneath it, hidden currents surged violently.
Gallade's was the opposite—razor-sharp, like a blade unsheathed and poised to strike.
In front of Natsu, the lazy Persian stretched with a crack crack crack of its joints.
There were no flashy effects, but the sheer predatory pressure made Duosion's body scream at it to run.
And standing before the Persian was a—
—a Furret?
Caked in mud from head to toe?
Because of the mud, Duosion had to squint and guess what species it even was.
And that fur color...
Pink? Was it a Shiny?
Unclear.
A lot of people these days dyed their Pokémon different colors for style or trendiness.
Kind of a fashion thing, really.
Like how rich folks loved customizing their Cyclizar to look cooler.
Huh?
You're wondering why rich folks?
Co on. Cyclizar may look dopey and harmless...
...but it's still a legit Dragon-type.
Base stat total: 501.
It's not only battle-capable, but also doubles as a ride.
Average Trainers? They don't even get to touch one.
Anyway, for reasons best not to get into, the mud-covered (possibly Shiny) Furret that was currently being scolded was temporarily ignored.
And finally—there was the Ogerpon, wearing its nacing demon mask.
Completely different from its usual playful self.
Right now, Ogerpon was probably still radiating a faint killing intent, likely due to just having finished a battle.
Though it had faded to a re trace, it was still a bit much for Duosion to handle.
So this... is the world of the strong?
Staring blankly at the scene before it, Duosion felt like its mind was racing with thoughts—
Or maybe it was completely blank, thinking nothing at all.
An inexplicable mix of sadness and sha washed over it.
The sadness ca from realizing just how weak it truly was, how far removed it was from anything resembling strength.
The sha ca from its earlier thoughts.
It had dared to think of itself as strong—putting on the airs of a powerhouse, when in truth, it was anything but.
Honestly, it was downright mortifying.
Just the thought made its taphorical scalp tingle.
People lost in their chūnibyō phase rarely realize how ridiculous they look.
They just think they're incredibly cool.
Only when they snap out of it and look back do they wish they could throttle their past self.
That's pretty much where Duosion was right now.
Nearby, i silently observed the little blob.
After sensing its current mood, she gave a satisfied nod.
Good—this kid was just montarily lost, not inherently arrogant.
Every Trainer has their own philosophy.
For i, her baseline was simple: at the very least, her team had to get along on the surface.
If even that couldn't be managed, then forget about traveling or training.
You'd spend every day diating petty squabbles between Pokémon.
There'd be no ti for anything else.
Thankfully, Duosion wasn't the kind to go that far.
And i wasn't yet at the point where she had to make any tough calls.
"Alright, that's enough for now. Everyone head back—don't forget to co for dinner tonight."
Clapping his hands, Natsu signaled to Persian and the others to go rest.
He had a big dinner to prep with Ellegance and Lopunny, which would take so ti.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Pokémon dispersed in all directions.
Except for one that he stopped in its tracks.
"Not so fast."
Natsu reached out and held back the shiny Furret, a faint smile creeping onto his face.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Staring at the mud-caked body of the shiny Furret, Natsu's grip subconsciously tightened.
It was like watching your dog roll around in the mud right after you gave it a bath.
No pet owner would be thrilled in that mont.
So would even be on the verge of breakdown.
"Furr..."
The shiny Furret, now pinned down, turned its head stiffly and tried to flash a charming grin in return.
Ehehe~
And then...
Shrrrk—
Dragged away by Natsu, the shiny Furret left two long skid marks on the ground with its hind paws.
Clearly not thrilled about bath ti.
That resistance continued all the way until Natsu hauled it into the bathroom.
"Furr~"
After getting a quick rinse from Natsu, the shiny Furret dove into the petal-sprinkled bath tub.
Well, "quick rinse" might not be entirely accurate—it was more like Natsu gave it a good whack with the showerhead?
Not that it actually hurt—Furret mostly saw it as playti.
With a rubber duck perched on its head, its tiny paws flopped lazily over the edge of the tub.
The shiny Furret was the textbook example of a Pokémon who hated baths before they started, but never wanted to leave once they began.
It would soak for ages.
Only when the water turned completely cold would Natsu forcibly fish it out and towel it off.
"Don't stay in too long. We've got a feast tonight."
With that parting line, Natsu headed downstairs to the kitchen.
"Furr~"
Got it~
Waving lazily, the shiny Furret signaled its acknowledgnt.
Natsu, knowing how this always went, decided he'd co back in an hour to drag the little rascal out.
There was no way it'd scrub itself clean without supervision.
More likely, it'd try to reheat the water with a Fire Punch.
As dusk settled and the sky darkened, warm golden lights flickered on in the living room.
The celebration feast at the Natsu household had officially begun.
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