Pallet Town — Training Fields, Dawn
A heavy mist clung to the ground as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the trees surrounding Professor Oak's ranch.
In the middle of the clearing, Gardevoir stood silently.
Waiting.
Ready.
Skylar watched from the sidelines, his heart pounding in his chest.
Nearby, Giselle leaned against a tree, arms crossed, her Gallade and Espeon seated at her feet, equally attentive.
This wasn't a normal training session.
Today was something else.
Something sacred.
Across from Gardevoir stood Sabrina.
Her violet eyes gleamed with a strange, serene intensity.
She radiated authority, her very presence bending the air.
"Are you prepared?" Sabrina asked quietly.
Her voice was soft, but it carried to every corner of the field.
Gardevoir nodded once.
Her eyes were clear.
Resolved.
Sabrina lifted one hand.
A faint psychic pulse rolled outward, making the grass ripple.
"This won't be strength you can earn by force," she said. "It will be strength you must awaken from within."
Gardevoir closed her eyes.
The field fell utterly silent.
Even the birds in the trees seemed to hold their breath.
"You are more than Psychic power," Sabrina murmured.
"You have Aura—the echo of life itself—flowing through you."
"You have seen suffering. You have seen hope. You have fought for others, not for conquest but for love."
Slowly, glowing tendrils of energy rose around Gardevoir's form — soft whites and gentle blues, mixing like watercolors.
Her Aura pulsed in time with her heartbeat.
Skylar's fists tightened at his sides.
He could feel it too.
The quiet strength radiating from her.
He knew she had carried him.
Shielded him.
Saved him.
More times than he could count.
Sabrina stepped closer, her own psychic energy flaring gently.
"Now," she whispered, "call your two selves together."
"Your mind."
"Your heart."
"Your aura."
"Make them one."
A tremor ran through Gardevoir's frame.
Her Aura flickered wildly.
Skylar's throat tightened.
He could see her struggling—not with power, but with herself.
The weight of every battle.
Every fear.
Every failure.
Holding her back.
"You are not just a guardian," Sabrina said softly.
"You are a warrior."
"You are Skylar's shield."
"And his sword."
Gardevoir shuddered.
The mist thickened around her.
The light around her faltered—
—and then flared brighter than ever before.
Her body lifted off the ground slightly, floating as if weightless.
Ribbons of Psychic and Aura energy twisted together around her form, forming a cocoon of radiant power.
Her eyes opened—
—and they shone like twin stars.
Skylar took an unconscious step forward, awe flooding him.
He could feel her now.
Not just her presence.
But her heart.
Her determination.
Her love.
A final pulse of blinding light erupted outward.
The mist evaporated.
The grass bent low.
The very air seemed to sing.
When the light faded—
Gardevoir hovered above the field.
But she was transformed.
Her aura was no longer gentle or restrained.
It was majestic.
Commanding.
Alive.
Sabrina stepped back, smiling faintly in genuine approval.
"You have awakened," she said.
"And soon…"
Her voice lowered.
"You will transcend."
Skylar stumbled forward, a huge grin breaking across his face.
"Gardevoir," he said, voice thick with emotion.
She landed gently before him, bowing her head slightly in pride and affection.
Skylar placed a hand gently on her forehead.
"I'm proud of you," he whispered.
From a distance, Giselle watched silently.
Her heart racing.
Because she knew—
Skylar and Gardevoir were no longer just strong.
They were becoming something the world had never seen before.