Ethan wasn't exactly thrilled about being dragged out to the park at this hour. His Grandfather had called it "a learning opportunity," which in Harmonia-speak usually meant either a corporate seminar or watching a battle that would scar you for life.
Turns out, it was the second one.
The park's central field was already buzzing with onlookers — mostly kids, trainers, and a few vendors trying to cash in on the crowd. In the center, two trainers were squaring off. They didn't look like they were battling for badges, money, or even pride. No… these two had that look in their eyes.
The look of people who wanted to commit war crimes in broad daylight.
One was a tall, wiry man in a ragged leather jacket, the kind that screamed "Yes, I've been in a motorcycle gang, why do you ask?" His partner was a Garchomp — and not the friendly "protect my family" kind. This one looked like it had been raised on a diet of rusty nails and the tears of other dragons.
Opposite him stood a short girl in a pristine school uniform, hair tied in neat braids… and holding the most menacingly smug-looking Togekiss Ethan had ever seen.
They locked eyes.
No referee. No Poké Center ambulance team waiting nearby. Just pure, unfiltered chaos ready to be unleashed.
Ethan's dad crouched next to him. "Watch closely, Ethan. You need to understand the reality of battles out here."
Ethan stared as the girl raised her hand.
"Togekiss — Sky Attack!"
The leather-jacket guy didn't even blink. "Garchomp — Outrage."
The next five seconds looked like a scene out of a disaster movie. A blinding beam of light met a blur of claws and teeth in midair, the shockwave knocking over food stalls, sending Pidgey flocking in panic, and nearly blowing Ethan's hat off.
Ethan just stood there, slack-jawed, eyes wide, and thought:
This… this is the shit I'm gonna deal with in the future?
Kitsu's eyes were practically glowing, fists clenched with excitement.
"This is awesome!" she squealed, bouncing on her toes.
Ethan, on the other hand, felt his stomach sink into the dirt.
Arceus, you bastard… when you said "hard mode," I didn't think you meant "war crimes committed with fairy-types."
Crimson chuckled under his breath, watching the chaos unfold. "This is why I brought you here," he said, his tone somewhere between proud and cruel. "Your other sisters? They wouldn't even get near this kind of battle. But you two—" he pointed a finger at them "—you want to be trainers? Then get used to it. This isn't a sport. This is survival with a smile."
And then it happened.
The leather-jacket guy's Garchomp, still steaming from Sky Attack, roared as it fainted, leaving him scrambling for his next Pokémon. The girl calmly pulled out another Poké Ball.
"Let's finish this, Audino."
Ethan squinted. Audino?
Harmless. Cute. Medic-type. Couldn't possibly—
"Rest." The Audino instantly slumped into blissful sleep.
The guy laughed. "What, are you giving up?"
The girl's smile never faltered. "Yawn."
The man's next Pokémon — a Hydreigon — staggered, drowsiness flooding in.
By the time it nodded off, the words "Dazzling Gleam" left her lips.
The pink flash lit up the entire park. Hydreigon was out cold.
One by one, the rest of his team fell to the exact same fate. Sleep. Gleam. Sleep. Gleam. No mercy. No escape.
Ethan felt his whole worldview crumble. That's… evil. That's pure evil!
Meanwhile, Kitsu was cheering so loud you'd think she was watching a hero save the world.
Ethan stared at his grandfather like the man had just told him the sky was green.
"I–is this… normal?"
Crimson chuckled, low and gravelly. "In a sense, yes. But not… very much." He gestured toward the field, where the poor guy was still returning his fainted Pokémon in silent despair. "Tactics like these are why trainers train so hard. You never know what's coming, so you build a team that can handle surprises… even if the 'surprise' is an Audino that fights like an apex predator."
Ethan's eye twitched. "So you're saying… trainers prepare for anything. Even… that?"
He jabbed a finger toward the pink menace that was currently waving to the crowd like a pageant winner. "Because that wasn't a strategy. That was a war crime with sparkles."
Crimson smirked. "It may feel that way, but that's the reality. Every trainer fights their own way. Some go for raw power. Others for speed. And some…" He tilted his head toward the girl's smug grin. "…win by grinding their opponent's will to dust."
Kitsu, eyes still shining, turned to her grandfather. "Do we… have to fight like that too?"
Crimson scratched his chin, thinking. "It depends. You'll find your own style eventually. But one day… you might thank tactics like that for keeping you alive."
Ethan swallowed.
Alive was a very specific choice of words, and he wasn't sure he liked it.
"This battle was very fun to watch."
The three of them turned toward the voice, spotting a young girl with cotton-candy-pink hair and a plush Hello Skitty doll tucked under her arm. Beside her stood an older woman—likely her mother—smiling politely.
Ethan blinked. That doll looked worn enough to have seen its own share of battles… or maybe that was just his paranoia talking.
"Uh… I guess so," he replied.
The girl stepped closer, big brown eyes fixed on him with an oddly intense curiosity. "I'm Whitney! What's your name?"
[Insert image of Whitney]
Ethan's stomach dropped. The name hit him like a critical hit.
No wonder she looked familiar…
Images of a pink blur, Rollout chains, and the cries of fainted Pokémon flashed in his mind like PTSD from a past life. He instinctively shuffled back half a step, fighting the urge to run.
Shaking his head, he forced himself back into what he now called Child Mode.
"Hi there. Name's Ethan," he said, managing a small, polite smile.
Whitney's grin widened just enough to make him uneasy.
Kitsu stepped forward, placing herself neatly between her brother and Whitney. Her warm brown eyes met the other girl's bright pink ones without a hint of hesitation.
"Hi, nice to meet you! I'm Kitsu."
Whitney smiled. "Nice to meet you too."
Ethan, meanwhile, found his attention drifting to the older woman standing behind Whitney. Same pink eyes, but her hair was a deep chestnut instead of cotton-candy pink. He quickly shook his head and turned back—now wasn't the time to be sizing up someone's mom.
Kitsu's gaze dropped to the Hello Skitty plush clutched in Whitney's hands.
"Wait… this one looks old."
Whitney beamed, clearly proud of it. "It is! My dad bought it for me when I was a baby. I've had it for as long as I can remember."
Kitsu's eyes lit up with fascination. "By the stitching and fabric pattern… it's from the very first line of Hello Skitty dolls, isn't it?"
Ethan sighed, rubbing his temples. Kitsu's weird little talent never failed to catch people off-guard. She could glance at an object and somehow tell its exact history—like she was part human, part Pokédex for personal belongings.
They'd discovered it last year when she was four, after the twins found an old family toy—an Eevee plush—tucked away in the attic. Kitsu had picked it up, tilted her head, and rattled off without hesitation:
"It was first bought for Akagi, then passed down to Asagi, then Outa, then Midori, then Violet… and now it's ours."
Her accuracy had been unsettling. Even with a few missing details, she'd nailed the ownership chain perfectly. Ethan had no idea if it was a gift, a curse, or just another reason for his sisters to give her that look.
Whitney giggled. "You're right! Dad told me it's from the first release. He said they sold out in a week."
Kitsu's face brightened even more, but Ethan… he had other concerns.
Great, he thought. Not only is this Whitney, but Kitsu's making friends with her. That means she's going to show up again, doesn't it? And probably with the Miltank
Ethan glanced at Whitney, a small smile tugging at his lips as he thought to himself, 'Then again… I'm happy to see her. This world might be different from mine, but there's still so many familiar things. And seeing her—the future Gym Leader of this town, same age as me—it makes me feel… well… happy, I guess.'
With that, he walked up to her, putting on his best cheerful kid voice.
"Hey, wanna run around in the playground at the park?"
Whitney's eyes lit up instantly. "Yes! I'd love to!"
Her mother chuckled warmly at her daughter's enthusiasm, quietly pleased at how quickly she was making a new friend.
Ethan's small hand reached out, and Whitney grabbed it without hesitation. The two of them darted toward the brightly colored playground, the afternoon sun casting long shadows behind them. The faint sound of Pidgey cooing in the trees mixed with the squeak of the old swing set.
"Race you to the slide!" Whitney giggled, already taking off before Ethan could respond.
"H-Hey, that's cheating!" Ethan laughed, chasing after her with short but determined steps.
They scrambled up the ladder, Whitney reaching the top first and throwing her hands up like she had just won a Pokémon League match. Ethan followed, a little winded but smiling.
From the nearby bench, Whitney's mother chatted idly with another parent, glancing every so often at the two children. She noted the way Ethan laughed freely — not the cautious, polite laugh of a child trying to impress someone, but the genuine kind, as if he already felt comfortable here.
The two played for what felt like hours, moving from swings to see-saw, to climbing frames. At one point, Whitney pointed to the sandbox.
"Bet you can't build a sand castle taller than mine!" she challenged.
"Oh, you're on," Ethan replied, kneeling down. He didn't know why, but there was a small warmth in his chest — not just from the game, but from knowing that in this unfamiliar world, he had already found something familiar: a friend.
Crimson chuckled, leaning back on the park bench as he watched his grandson dash around with his new friend. The old man's eyes shifted to the side, noticing Kitsu standing still, arms folded, watching the pair intently.
"Aren't you going to follow your twin?" Crimson asked, his tone light but curious.
Kitsu didn't take her eyes off the sandbox. "Just… doing something," she replied.
One of Crimson's eyebrows rose. "And what exactly is 'something'?"
Instead of answering, Kitsu crouched down, plucked a small pebble from the grass, and weighed it in her palm like a seasoned pitcher sizing up a throw. Her lips curled into a mischievous grin.
Before Crimson could stop her, she flicked her wrist and launched the pebble in a perfect arc. It dropped neatly into the center of the half-built sandcastle Ethan and Whitney had been shaping with intense concentration.
The structure didn't just crack—it imploded spectacularly, collapsing in on itself in a puff of fine sand.
Both Ethan and Whitney froze, mouths slightly open, staring at the ruin. Their heads slowly turned in unison toward the culprit.
Kitsu stood at the edge of the sandbox, hands on hips, smirk sharp enough to cut glass. "Hah. That's what you get for leaving me alone, both of you."
Ethan groaned. "Kitsu! We were almost done with the tower!"
Whitney puffed her cheeks, clearly torn between laughing at the sibling squabble and being genuinely upset about the castle. "That was mean!"
Kitsu just shrugged, clearly enjoying herself. "Should've invited me from the start."
Crimson pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering, "These two are going to be a handful when they're older…"
Whitney's mom, who had been smiling warmly at the children moments ago, replayed the scene of Kitsu launching the pebble in her mind—the smirk, the precision, the total annihilation of the sandcastle. Her lips twitched.
"I am… deeply concerned for whatever poor Pokémon ends up in her Pokéball," she murmured under her breath.
Crimson let out a long, knowing sigh, leaning back on the bench. "That," he said dryly, "is the Harmonia blood for you."
Whitney and her mother froze. The name hung in the air for a beat, heavier than it had any right to be.
Whitney's mom turned her head slowly toward Crimson, her voice cautious. "…Harmonia. As in… the Harmonia Corporation?"
Ethan blinked innocently. "Yeah. I'm Ethan Harmonia. That's my sister, Kitsu Harmonia."
Whitney's eyes widened, a flicker of recognition and something like intimidation passing over her face. Her mother had told her stories—half rumor, half warning—about the Harmonia family. Wealth, power, and a certain… dangerous unpredictability.
The young girl shuffled back a step, her earlier enthusiasm cooling just enough for Ethan to notice.
Ethan tilted his head slightly. In his head, he muttered, Great. My first friend here, and my last name just scared her off…
Kitsu, of course, looked completely unbothered, already grabbing a plastic bucket to start her own sand structure—as if nothing had happened.
Crimson chuckled as he looked at the older woman. "Oh, don't worry, half of does Rumours are not true".
Ethan just yalled in his mind. "What Rumours?"
Crimson's grin was easy, almost lazy, but there was a glint in his eye that made Ethan uneasy. The older woman just raised an eyebrow, swirling the tea in her cup as though she was tasting his words instead of the drink.
"Half, hm?" she said softly, her tone somewhere between amusement and warning. "So that means the other half is true."
Ethan felt a bead of sweat roll down his temple. He didn't want to know what rumours they were talking about, but now his brain was already spiralling with possibilities — none of which were comforting.
Crimson leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "Well, depends who you ask. Some folks say I can cut down a Steelix with one swing."
The woman's lips quirked in the faintest of smiles. "And the others?"
Crimson's grin widened. "They say I can make a Gyarados run away with just a look."
Ethan's inner voice was practically screaming now. 'Okay, that's not… too bad… wait, WHY would a Gyarados be afraid of a human? What did he DO?!'
The air in the park felt heavier now, like a storm was somewhere on the horizon, and Ethan couldn't tell if it was because of the woman, Crimson… or whatever history they apparently shared.
To be continued
Hope people like this Ch and give me Power stones and enjoy