Over the last few weeks, Professor Krane had soon found himself with new assistants by his side. The seven applicants had come from all over the Pokémon world, having brought their own experiences and memories with them. To each other, they were strangers, but together, they served a common purpose in helping brighten the future of Orre—to study the Shadow Pokémon phenomenon that had taken place within the region roughly five years ago.

Whilst Shadow Pokémon hadn't been seen for quite some time, the event was still fresh in the minds and hearts of Orre's populace. In truth, it was hard to forget such creatures as they wrecked havoc upon the region. Orre had been used to the common thug or crook using his Pokémon for evil, but these Shadow Pokémon were vile, leaving a trail of pain and sorrow wherever they were seen. People were viciously hurt by these twisted monstrosities that had been created by Team Cipher and their Snagem mooks, and while they were eventually defeated, their mark had already been established throughout Orre.

Still, with the defeat of Team Cipher at the Realgam Colosseum and the disappearance of Team Snagem, many considered the Shadow Pokémon epidemic to be over, yet Professor Krane thought differently. Perhaps it was gut feeling or his research, but Professor Krane wanted to ensure his new assistants had been at least somewhat battle ready for whenever Shadow Pokémon were to return, which led to him allowing them use of the laboratory's battle simulator whenever they had free time.

Incidentally, today had been one of those days. Perhaps at urging of a short, ashen gray-haired girl, the seven of them had gathered within the battle simulator. With the aid of a couple coin flips, a double battle between the guys—Harvey and Colton versus Judas and Mushirou—had been decided, while the remaining three—Wiebke, Dahlia, and Erza—would spectate the battle.

Placing VR visors over their eyes, the seven stepped within the simulation chamber, with their forms digitizing into zeroes and ones as they stepped foot into a virtual world that seemed too real. From the very air they breathed to the sunlight shining down upon them, it was almost impossible to tell that they were in a virtual setting, but hopefully it wouldn't distract them from the battle that was about to take place before their very eyes.

Wiebke looked towards the battlefield with glee.

Her fellow colleagues had made their choices—a Magnezone and a Glalie versus a Scizor and a Volcarona—and though they weren't exactly the choices Wiebke would have made, she had figuratively been sitting at the edge of her seat. Pokémon battles were always exciting, especially whne it was clear that one side had a large advantage over the other. Whilst Colton and Harvey had picked out powerful Pokémon, Mushirou's Volcarona could potentially wipe the field completely with any sort of fire move. It was certainly either going to be a hard fought battle or an easy victory, and Wiebke couldn't wait to see which it would be.

"My bet is on Volcarona winning for their side. Fiery Dance can be a real burner, or so my grandpa says." Wiebke exclaimed, making idle chat with the two girls that were waiting their turn to battle. "What do you think, Erza? Dahlia?"

Once the four had finished finalizing their preparations for the battle, Wiebke broke off from the spectator group and stepped forward. Any Pokémon battle needed someone to go first, and since Wiebke had rather insistent on the group battling today, she bestowed the choice upon herself. Counting in her head to the tune of "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe," Wiebke had been quick to decide who would start first.

"Harvey, Colton!" Wiebke announced with excitement in her voice. "You're up first!"

The experience with Professor Krane so far had been thrilling and innovative. Ezra was learning a lot of different things as she studied and read, along with the hands on experiences she was receiving. Today was a special day as they were having battling simulations, something that Ezra was fond of. The excitement and adrenaline that battling brought on to both trainer and Pokemon was a feeling that was hard to describe.

"I'm always for rooting for the underdog!" Ezra said, fist-pumping the air. If it was her on the battlefield, Ezra would have went for something with a bit more cuteness for her choice of Pokemon, but not that looks were too important for her. The pink-haired trainer's preferred style of battling often relied on the strengths of her partners, like her Ivysuar, Baz, who had a very gentle soul, but was dependable in a stitch. He was more of a shield than a sword when it came to fighting, but she learned to adapt when needed.

The girl was just so pumped to watch the battles. The free time they were given in the battle simulator were always a good time, especially when the trainers came up with unique solutions to disadvantages they had. "Let's go, boys!" Ezra cheered loudly as she waved her hands wildly into the air.

And with the chorus of an echoing boom, the battle was over.

Wiebke had watched each moment carefully; her eyes nearly glued to the battlefield. Harvey and Colton clearly had a strong weakness to their opponents' Pokémon, and it showed within the short battle. Glalie had been smacked with Bullet Punch, being sent flying from the recoil of the super effective move after its Freeze Dry had been redirected to Volcarona. Perhaps there was a small chance that Glalie could've survived, but with the added power of Life Orb, it was clear that the Pokémon was down and out for the count.

On the other hand, Magnezone had escaped without a scratch, choosing to go for a Substitute instead. As useful as the move was in a competitive sense, Wiebke was hardly a fan of it. The spirit of battling, she thought, was not through playing defensively, but rather though having a strong offense. It seemed Harvey had some sort of an understanding of such matters at least, as he was quick to call for Magnezone to explode after his partner's Pokémon had fainted on the first turn.

However, despite Explosion being quite the powerful move, the battle had already been decided.

Volcarona had taken the brunt of the blow, being cast aside due to the power of the move. The previous Freeze Dry, while hardly effective against the bug-fire type, had given Magnezone the slight edge it needed, allowing the Pokémon to knockout the moth-like creature from play. Nevertheless, the true threat was Scizor, who had managed to tank the Explosion by an inch of their teeth. Their red chitin armor had been covered in dents and dust, yet even Explosion's power was at a disadvantage toward a Pokémon that was part steel type.

"Woah," Wiebke mumbled, staring with shocked, wide eyes. Despite the battle's shortness, the village girl still felt the intensity that stung from it. "You guys were awesome! Glalie wanted to freeze Scizor, but Scizor went hiyaah and Magnezone went kaboom moments later!" She continuted, adding in silly sound effects whenever necessary.

Once Wiebke had a chance to calm herself, however, she made a motion to address the winners of the battle. "Anyhow, I suppose we should announce those who won, right?" Wiebke asked, raising an arm in Judas and Mushirou's direction. "Judas, Mushirou! Congratulations!" She announced, adding in a short, yet excited applause. "I just hope we don't overshadow you four with our battle!" Wiebke jested, a stupid grin expressed across her face.