The Pantheon

Mt. Moon

As Ashley walked the last mile to Mt. Moon, her sneakers kicked up little clouds of dust with every step, the late sun throwing long shadows over the trail. Mars trotted alongside her, his tail flame low but steady, flicking like a lazy metronome. The mountain loomed closer with every step—big, jagged, and not even pretending to be welcoming. The breeze coming off it carried that familiar cave-air scent: cool, damp, with just a pinch of “something probably lives in there and wants to bite you.”

Ashley had her Pokédex in one hand, thumb tapping through menus like she was scrolling through a particularly aggressive to-do list. “Alright, Mars, let’s run this one more time,” she said, squinting against the sunlight reflecting off the screen. “I know I’ve looked at this a million times but humor me.”

Mars gave a half-hearted grunt that translated to something like again?, but didn’t argue. He just kicked a rock off the trail and kept pace.

“Okay. Charmeleon—male, obviously. Ability: Blaze,” she read out loud, the words mostly for her own benefit. “Move set… yeah, yeah, we’ve been busy.”

She skipped through the older ones—Ember, Smokescreen, Scary Face, Swift, all the baseline stuff. Her thumb paused on the last four entries, the ones with a little yellow star next to them. “Here we go. Flamethrower, Fire Fang, Shadow Claw, Focus Punch. You know what that means.”

Mars arched an eye ridge, not looking over, just letting out a puff of warm air through his nose.

“It means these four are your real job now. Like, I’m not saying you’re not dangerous with Fire Blast or Dragon Rush, but these—” she jabbed at the screen with her thumb, “—these are your bread and butter. They will give you a bit more range. Which is why you will need to master them.”

Mars gave a toothy, sideways grin. The kind that said Yeah, I know.

Ashley tilted the Pokédex toward him anyway. “Flamethrower’s looking clean. Consistent burn, good range, barely any misfires. I think we can squeeze more power out of it, but honestly? You’ve already got it down to a science.”

He rolled his shoulder like he was trying to shake off a compliment, but the flick of his tail said he was proud.

She scrolled to the next. “Fire Fang’s coming along. Still a little messy on the follow-through though—you’re biting too wide, like you’re trying to chomp through a Steelix or something.”

Mars snorted, flicking his claws like yeah, and?

“Hey, I’m not judging,” Ashley said, stuffing the Pokédex under her arm for a second to grab her water bottle. “Just saying, maybe don’t try to dislocate your jaw every time you go for a bite.”

She took a sip, wiped her mouth, then pulled the Pokédex back up. They rounded a bend, and the terrain started getting rougher—loose gravel and bigger rocks mixed with the dirt trail, the edges of the mountain creeping in like sharp shoulders.

“Shadow Claw,” she said, slowing down a bit to keep her footing. “Still not sure how a lizard like you can swipe like a ghost, but I’m not gonna ask questions. It’s freaky, and it works.”

Mars flexed one clawed hand, the tips glowing faintly for a second, before fading.

“See, that’s what I’m talking about,” Ashley said with a short laugh. “And finally…” Her thumb hovered. “Focus Punch.”

Mars perked up. Literally perked. He straightened his back, puffed his chest, even lifted his chin a little.

Ashley gave him a look. “Yeah, I know. You love that one. I am glad we passed through the Fighting Dojo before leaving Saffron City that second time.”