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"It's quite simple, really." Blaine said, putting his sunglasses back on after a thorough cleaning. "Just avoid any further incidents like Slateport, and especially Lilycove."

"I can do that!" Mike said enthusiastically. "I can not destroy cities all day!"

You haven't done it in four years, we'd say that is pretty good for cold turkey.
That isn't so bad.
You're doing quite well.

"And have regular counseling sessions and a non-related sponsor that you check in with time to time to make sure that you're sticking to it."

"A shrink?" he grumbled. "I know, I know." he said before any spirits could protest. It made complete sense why they would require it. "Non-related, hm?" Mike pondered for a moment.

Not Flannery, and we shouldn't put any more stress on Winona or Kasiya.
Well, we do have someone in the room who fits that description.

"You're right, we do..." the boy raised his head, flashing an overly expectant smile at the gym leader.

"Well, um." Blaine stammered, obviously taken aback. "That is to say, I-"

"Please Blaine?" Mike begged. "This way you could monitor the progression of my physiology. Not only that, but you have the coolest Gym in the entire world! It makes too much sense! Plus, you're so smart, you probably know a lot about emotional therapy and all that jazz." The gym leader sighed, drooping his shoulders.

"I...do have some experience in the field, yes."

"Whoo!" Mike said, throwing his arms into the air. A few popping sounds were heard, but he paid them no mind.

Plus, who better to help you with training your Fire Pokemon than a veteran master Gym Leader. remarked a ghost.
Especially one that isn't your ex-girlfriend. another added.

"Precisely!" Mike cheered. "Everyone wins!" By everyone he was referring to him and his ghosts. "So what do ya say, Blaine? Do you think you could do a little more for me? I'll pay you back. Oh!" a thought occurred among the masses. "I could help you in the lab! My mom is an inventor, and I used to help her do all sorts of sciencey things! And plus now," he lit a small flame at the tip of his finger." I can heat up beakers!"

Blaine couldn't help but smile at the child's enthusiasm. He was almost an entirely different person from a few days before. Besides, it isn't like the gym leader's schedule was bustling with things to do. He was mostly retired from the field of genetics, and any experiments were in his free time, which there was an abundance of. Oh, what the hell. "Alright, Mike." The boy let out a third cheer.

"Yes!" the tubes rattled against the side of the bed as Mike fidgeted anxiously in his seat. The temperature gauge spiking as he became more worked up. Frowning, the boy looked back at the noisy machines. "Can I get these out? They are really starting to get annoying."

Blaine shuffled through some of the papers on a nearby table, comparing them to the seemingly random assortment of numbers flashing over the machines. "You appear to be stabilizing. Hold still." The gym leader put on thick cloth gloves with small rubber pads on the fingers. "This will feel a bit...odd." he said, grasping the side of one of the needles.

"How od-AH!" Mike yelped as Blaine took the band-aid approach, yanking the needle out quickly before the boy's brain could stress too much about it. He could feel the parts of his arm move, the sensation running up his arm, sending a nauseating wave straight to his stomach.

Tingles! Tingles up our spines! a ghost shrieked.

"Bu-but ghosts don't have spines!" the boy whined, looking down at the tiny hole where the needle once was. He shuddered. "Do the others ones! Now now now!" Complying, Blaine removed the three remaining needles and wrapped up the boy's arms with thick bandages.

"Since your powers draw from your blood, you have to be careful when you use them. Too much and it could be dangerous."

"Yeah, I noticed I got really tired after using it a lot." Mike replied, rubbing his arms.

"That isn't good." Blaine brought over a glass of water. "If you get any feelings of fatigue, stop immediately." Mike hesitantly accepted the water. "You can drink it." the gym leader reassured. "I actually suggest you keep yourself as hydrated as possible. People don't know it, but water is very good for Fire Pokemon, too. Just not when its sprayed in their face."

With shaky hands, the boy took a swig of the water. Surprisingly, it didn't burn. In fact, it felt amazing! Such a cold drink rushing down his warm body made him shiver. "Well I wasn't expecting that." Mike said. It was kind of scary how after living for 18 years in the same body and knowing exactly what to do to keep it working, that a great deal of it just changed basically overnight. "So what else do you know about my condition?" he asked, taking another sip.

------

Sasha waved her hand at Nina's question. "I'm fine. Just a bit rattled. I'm not cut out for the hero business like you guys are." she shook her head and smiled warmly. She had a lot of brave, albeit reckless friends. "Kasiya is a bit shaken up, but she will be okay. She was the one leading the charge to help Mike, after all. Almost got herself really hurt while doing so, too. Petite sotte." She ran her finger along the rim of the glass. "But she looked really happy when she was with Mike. I hadn't seen her smile that brightly in a while." When Nina asked how Mike was doing, her brow wrinkled slightly. "To be honest, I'm not even sure how to answer z'hat. I mean, he's alive and all, but now he s'hinks he is haunted and has all z'hese cuts and bruises all over him. Not to mention his weird s'hing where he can shoot fire from his body." The girl frowned as she imagined what she would look like with such a condition, thankful it wasn't her who had a run in with a mountainside.

Sasha was lost in her thought for a moment, snapping back when Whitney and Nina started to bicker. "Mes amis, z'here is no need to argue!" She let out a sigh when they began to calm down, only to have her heart practically jump out of her chest when Anna snuck up on the three of them.

"Pourquoi les fantômes toujours se faufiler?" Sasha muttered, holding a hand against her chest as she caught her breath.

The door closed softly behind him once he'd entered the sanctuary of his room, and Keegan sighed, looking around the sparsely decorated space with disdain. Unlike most boys his age, his walls were barren; devoid of posters or even photos. He had a calendar tacked to the wall beside his desk, dedicated to showcasing various Fire-types month by month - a Christmas gift from Flannery, naturally. After studying it for a moment or two, he realized he hadn't flipped it over to July yet. He paused to smile at the sweet picture of several young Ponyta sprinting across a grassy field and he silently pondered how Mori was doing as he flipped the page. He felt a slight lurch in his stomach at the sight of the next image: a mighty Arcanine posed proudly at the top of a rocky ledge, its mane and bushy tail being thrown about by the wind. It was impossible not to see Kasiya's Arcanine in that photo, and he sighed, looking away from it while picking a single PokeBall from his desk - Eithne's. He wasn't sure how he'd be able to raise the young Growlithe without constantly thinking of Hiro and his trainer, and as though summoned by his thoughts, the Puppy Pokemon released herself from her confinement, quickly licking her trainer's hand and giving him a good sniff before she set out to explore the room.

He watched the Fire-type as she investigated absolutely everything, but before long, Keegan had flopped down on his bed, laying back and closing his eyes, eye twitching occasionally as a small crash or thud came from the direction of Eithne. He really wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now. Sure, he had told his mother that he was behind on his training, and while there was a shred of truth to that statement, he just didn't feel like it. What was the point of it all, anyway? Sure, he could go out and win badges, but what reason did he have for doing that? He could care less about titles and trophies, and he really had no plans to even enter the Pokemon League. He laughed a bit at the very thought of him in the league, figuring that he'd likely lose in the first round. No, he'd certainly had his share of humiliation to last a lifetime.

Either way, he was home now, and he knew that meant that he wouldn't be able to hide in his room forever. His mother may have been a bit of an airhead sometimes but even she would eventually pick up on the fact that he indeed was not training, and his father would likely give him a few hours' respite before assigning him a full workload of chores to do. The redhead sighed, opening one eye as Eithne had hopped up on the foot of his bed, looking at him with wide eyes and adorable droopy ears. "C'mon," he muttered, patting the empty space beside him, and with a happy yelp, the Growlithe crawled forward on her belly before flopping down beside him. Keegan sighed, absentmindedly scratching the Puppy Pokemon behind the ears. "We might as well get some rest before Dad puts us to work."
=====
A relieved sigh escaped Miharu as she watched Jasmine's Magneton succumb to sleep thanks to Lily's Sleep Powder, and even the Ivysaur appeared to be pretty pleased with herself as she trotted back toward Miharu. Jasmine's attempt to wake her sleeping Pokemon did not work, at least just yet, and Miharu knew she should capitalize on her advantage. Meanwhile, on the sideline, Leroy couldn't help but remark to himself what a nuisance the girl's Ivysaur would be in battle, as she could make quick work of them all with just one Sleep Powder. It was cruel, he knew, but he sincerely hoped that whatever Pokemon Jasmine had in reserve would take out the troublesome Grass-type.

"Now use Leech Seed, Lily," the green-haired girl commanded, taking a small step forward. She easily appeared more confident when she was in control of the battle, and she could feel the thrill of excitement building up inside. This was it, her sixth badge was on the line! The Ivysaur darted forward, her flower bud glowing slightly before she fired off several small seeds, tiny sprouts already visible, toward the sleeping Magneton.

Hoping the Snivy couldn't take much more damage Kressen tried to think up a plan to finish the battle.He'd have to get unstuck first. The tackle of course hit, but even after leering at Odin the attack wasn't all that effective, so only a grunt would issue forth from the dark/steel type. Odin kept struggling to get free, and as he did so the gouges in the dirt got deeper and wider, making it easier for him to move.

Kressen snapped his fingers at his next idea. Odin use Psycho Cut on the ground to break free!" Odin nodded and summoned the energy into his blades and sent a blast into the ground cutting deep and giving him room to roll over in an attempt to stand. Hopefully, he'd be able to since he was flailing his little bladed hands in an attempt to ward off the Snivy, so he could get up and back into the fight.

Bubbles of course was powerless to do anything at this point.Tangrowth readied his strange attack and sent the mystic stones flying at the Muk, who let out a light cry of discomfort, feeling the pain of the rocks smash into his goopey form, but his eyes remained closed. The powder was too strong and he couldn't fight it off. Crenu considered what to do next, swap out pokemon and save Muk for a later opponent? Pet Shop was a flying type which was good, but that Ancient Power would do serious damage to him. Terrato might be good to use, but again the grass type moves would hurt and the rock type Ancient Power wasn't all that welcome either. Newgate of course was out of the question, as were the other two weaker pokemon, and that was a shame as Korra could do nicely in this gym, though Ancient Power would hurt her a lot as well. But Bubbles was tough too, not the bulkiest pokemon in the world but he could take some hits for sure. "Wake up and retaliate." He said deciding to stay in for now. But it was no use, Bubbles remained snoring there on the battle field, he was useless right now. Grass types and their statuses, how annoying.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jason wasn't surprised to see the Onix take the hit like a champ, Roark's Onix looked pretty tough. Especially after it's Curse, he didn't think it was possible but the towering rock snake looked like it was even bigger now. It wasn't all perfect though, It's moves looked sluggish, and Jason wondered why. Curse wasn't a move he knew yet, still a rather inexperienced trainer. Still He didn't want to loose or give Roark the edge here, and in the sense of a researcher he decided to go for it. "Um, Atlas use Curse too, like they did!" Moment of truth, could he do it? Atlas had never used Curse before, he wasn't all that sure himself. But just having watched the enemy Onix pull it off he just did his best to imitate, feeling the move from inside him, instinct taking over what his mind couldn't quite picture. Luckily the enemy Onix was slower now and by the time it smashed apart the rocks and flung them at Atlas, his body had begun to glow as he became beefier, feeling power start to course through him, letting out a roar as he felt the Curse's effects, only to be pummeled by rocks right after. The rocks stung a bit, but less that he thought it would. Curse made him feel much more sturdy, his defense was boosted as well, and he roared out feeling great! "Hee hee, that's so cool! Thanks for that Roark, we're even tougher now!"

It was a bit surprising for Keegan when he woke up some time later, as he often had trouble falling and staying asleep to begin with. At his side, Eithne was curled up, still sound asleep, though every now and then, her legs would twitch and she'd make an odd sort of noise that was a cross between a bark and a whimper. She must be dreaming, the redhead thought, wondering what Puppy Pokemon dreamed of as he carefully got out of bed so as not to disturb the Fire-type. He dressed himself properly now, finding a comfortable-fitting pair of jeans and a slate grey t-shirt. He was in the process of finding a matching pair of socks when the Growlithe perked up suddenly, looking through bleary eyes around the room for her trainer. "Right here, girl," Keegan said softly, and the canine relaxed, hopping down and stretching. Keegan recalled her into her Great Ball, tugged on his socks and then his shoes and headed downstairs, knowing well that the best way to get back on his father's good side - assuming he even had a good side - was to get his chores done without so much as being asked.

His mother was still in the kitchen, seemingly quite giddy over a bunch of round, deep-purple eggplants, and Keegan tried his best not to make a face and went into stealth mode, hoping to avoid detection and being roped into helping. Maggie was far too busy making preparations for her upcoming meal to notice her son sneaking around behind her, turning to look only when the screen door to the kitchen banged shut behind him. Keegan had managed to snatch a couple of apples on his way out and he devoured them both in several large and messy bites, tossing the cores into the compost bin as he looked around for signs of his old man. Todd was nowhere to be seen, but the truck was still here, so that meant he was around somewhere.

Deciding it best not to seek him out unless absolutely necessary, Keegan ventured out into the yard, looking around for odd jobs that needed doing. It didn't take long for Helios to find his trainer, apparently not caring if the redhead was still upset over his misuse of Extrasensory earlier that morning, though it was the last thing on Keegan's mind as he found several sections of fence that needed repairing. "I guess this'll do," he muttered, unaware of the fact that Helios was staring at him as though his head was on fire.
=====
It was reassuring to watch the Magneton continue to slumber, and even more so now that Lily was intermittently receiving health from the Steel/Electric-type, even if she didn't quite need it. Miharu wasn't sure what else she could do, so she figured she'd best go on the offensive. "Okay, Lily," the green-haired girl called out. "Seed Bomb, go!"

The Ivysaur gave a growl and lowered the front half of her body, aiming her bud so that it was pointed at the sleeping Magneton. It shimmered a bright green before it launched a large, glowing and highly explosive seed high into the air, and it quickly reached its apex before falling back down again, reminding Miharu of those old war movies her dad sometimes watched on TV back when she was younger.

"To be honest, I'm not sure exactly what it's gotten now." Sasha said with a shrug after playfully disregarding Anna's judgement. "I mean, from the little that I saw him he seemed pretty relaxed," Mostly because he was in a slight coma. "But now he has all these ghosts and well, I mean, they can't be, can they?" Sasha groaned. "You know what? Let us not worry about him right now. He is safe, and has someone looking after him who will make sure he gets the attention he deserves." Kasiya certainly fit the bill in that regard. She gave a salute to her little lightning bolt. The best of luck to you, ma chere. You will certainly need it.

"Enough about moi!" the girl exclaimed. "What about all of you? What are your plans?" Sasha leaned forward, holding her chin in her hands expectantly.

Using test tubes and plenty of scientific analogies, Blaine continued to explain Mike's current condition. "There are still many variables and unknowns, but for the most part, you function very similarly, and share certain aspects of a Fire-type Pokemon. That isn't to say you are one." he chuckled. "But it serves as the most accurate baseline. Flames appear to have no visible negative effect on, you, and at times can even have positive benefits." Blaine demonstrated this by dripping a small amount of water on the boy's arm, which stung and reddened his skin. He then held the afflicted area over a candle, the skin returning to his usual pigment. "This happens because your epidermis reacts to concentrated doses of water. I would say to avoid walking around when it rains."

"I remember something like this, actually." Mike said. "I tried to take a shower at your lab and something like this happened. I passed out from the pain and Napalm somehow figured out that cooking me like a hot dog would help. Speaking of, how am I going to get clean if I can't shower? I am pretty sure using alcohol-based cleaners will turn me into a human Molotov cocktail."

"There are plenty of cleaners that have very low concentrations of water. And if all else fails, baking soda and a little bit of water works wonders. Also, you could try a steam bath. The composition of the steam might be such that it won't react harshly to your skin." Blaine shrugged. "Unfortunately, for now it is the experimental stage. Your condition is unique, so we will have to just try to see what works."

You're starting to sound like some type of freak-accident superhero. a ghost said, hissing with laughter.

Mike chuckled. "You're right. It certainly is starting to seem like that."

"Seem like what?" the gym leader asked.

"They say it's making me sound like a superhero with all these new powers."

"They?" Blaine looked around. Seeing nothing he cleared his throat. "Now this isn't to say you should go blindly rushing into burning buildings or the like. You still need to breathe, and fire has a wonderful habit of stealing oxygen. And this doesn't render you immune to any sort of explosives. Flames are the least damaging part of any sort of blast, so I would prefer if the term 'superhero' wasn't used to describe what you've become. You need to be careful how you use this, and it would be best if you didn't at all until we know all the facts."

"I know." Mike said, crossing his arms. "To be honest, I've done enough hero-work for quite a long time. His phone weakly buzzed from inside his bag. "Hm?" Mike leaned over the side of the bed and picked up the once proud scrap of plastic and pulled out his phone.

A text? Who is it from?

"Kasiya." he said quietly. Flipping open his now scratched up PokeNav. Thankfully, the screen inside was in pretty good shape. He took a look at the message.

I hope you're feeling better, or sleeping, or both! I'm going to Viridian City for some training. Don't you worry about me. Just focus on feeling better, okay?
Love, Kasiya.

Viridian City? What is in there for training? pondered a phantom, scratching a sharp finger against its head. Small tufts of black smoke wafted from it as it did.
Nothing, really. added another. But it does have the gym, owned by one Giovanni.
And who is it that has current possession of her Raichu?
Ohh...

A smile crept up on the boy's face as the ghosts came to the same realization as he did. "Oh, Kasiya." he said with a sigh. "It's like you think I don't know you." It was precious. Mike hummed a little laugh. She thought she could do something stupid and dangerous without her stupid and dangerous backup? No way was he letting his girlfriend rush into a Rocket base without help.

Viridian is a small ways away, but we could make it there in a few hours. Mike nodded to the ghost.
Now we just need to get out of here.
Without explosions we must add.
"I know I know!" Mike said. Blaine turned to the boy with a raised eyebrow. "So," he said with an awkward cough. "Am I back to being a registered trainer?"

"That's correct." replied the gym leader. "Did the Pokedex I gave you survive your antics?"

"Seems so!" Mike said, producing said device. Like the Nav, it had some scrapes, but was still functional. "Awesome." He closed both of them and stuffed them back into his 'bag'. "Well. That nap was pretty nice, but it's time for me to get going now."

"You what?"