Reinterpretation of Pokemon White

This is turning into a very convincing and good story. It'll probably be worthy of being published - I know if it were a book I'd buy it. It's professional. You really know how to write a good story, Valin.
As for the psychological part of things, it's very interesting and I'd love to see how it turns out, it is certainly convincing.
Keep it up! =D

So that is how Clay got so rich! Everyone (well, nearly. ) wants to evolve, so if one person has a good share of evolution stones, one could be rich. Nice thought, Valin!

I head back to Driftveil and briefly stop by the Pokemon Center to heal the injuries Gallade and Marowak sustained from their battle. After that, I go to the Driftveil-Route 6 checkpoint, and hop on the subway. After a brief layover in Nimbasa City, I'm en route for Undella Town.

As the train's intercom announces to me and the other passengers that we are five minutes away from arriving at our destination, my Xtransceiver beeps. I answer, and Professor Juniper appears on the screen.

“Salutations,” greets the Professor, “Where are you now?”

“On the subway to Undella Town,” I answer, “I'm just a few minutes away.”

“Well, in that case,” says the Professor, “You're going to have to wait a few hours. As it turns out, daddy is making the most of his vacation, and is on a tour right now. Still, I called him, and told him you were coming. He asked if you could wait at the patio behind the Pokemon Center. I gave him a basic description of what you look like. You're still wearing your white shirt, black vest, and ratty short-shorts, right?”

“They're not ratty,” I protest, “but yeah.”

“Good. It looks like I didn't give him any misinformation, then. Just head to the Center, enjoy the sights for about three hours, and wait at the patio. Got it?”

“Got it,” I confirm.

The Professor's expression softens, “I really hope daddy will help you with your problem. It can't be easy living in fear of Pokemon, being a Pokemon trainer.”

“Yup, it sucks as much as it's weird,” I say, trying my best to be myself after my big shock from earlier, “Anyway, I'm looking forward to meeting your dad.”

The Professor grins, “Daddy is a brilliant man, and if anyone can help you, it's him.”

I force a smile, “Good to know.”

Professor Juniper's expression changes to a sympathetic look, “Anyway, good luck, Ria. After the years I'd spent with you, it's hard seeing you like this. I hope you'll get the help you need.”

“Ditto,” I respond, and with that, the transmission ends.

---

The subway arrives in Undella Town. I was expecting for the boarding platform to be located beneath a checkpoint, just like most of the others, but to my surprise, I quickly find out that it's underneath the Pokemon Center, which, itself, has gotta be the biggest one in Unova!

The Undella Pokemon Center has four floors: the lowest, which is underground, is the subway's boarding platform, of course. The ground floor, being spread over a very wide area has the facilities that one would expect of a Pokemon Center, such as a healing station, lodging, and all that good stuff. The upper two floors, however, is a small shopping mall, with shops and services of every kind. First the Driftveil Pokemon Center, and now this! Things have been looking up in that regard, at least.

The first thing I do is go through the Pokemon Center's back door to the patio, where I'm supposed to meet Professor Juniper's dad. As soon as I'm outside, I am immediately blasted by a wave of intense heat, about a hundred degrees, or so. It's immediately apparent that, while I was on my way here, Thundurus finally got bored with Unova and moved on to pester some other region, because the rain has stopped completely, the sky is blue, with only a few fluffy clouds, the sun is shining, and seagull-like Pokemon, called Wingulls, are circling overhead. Wow, the weather did a total 180 while I was riding the subterranean rails. The water covering the ground has almost dried up completely!

The patio is a large cluster of small round tables, each with parasol adornments, and at the end is a long pier extending out to the ocean. It's from that pier that I get the town's general layout.

Undella Town is known far and wide as a resort town, where people, from both in and out of Unova, generally go on vacation, including some Champions, as I'd been told once, and the sight of the place makes that fact apparent. Undella Town runs along a beach, Unova's east coast, and beyond it are simple white houses, which are probably lavishness incarnate on their insides, and beyond those, even though I can't quite see from where I'm standing, are probably mansions, mansions, manors, villas, chateaus, and more mansions, as the people who make a permanent living here are millionaires at the absolute least, and... well... Clay, at the absolute most, or at least it wouldn't surprise me if he lives here, and just commutes to Driftveil City. It would be kind of a waste, otherwise...

Now that I know exactly where I'm going to meet up with Professor Juniper Senior, I head back inside since it's as humid as Hoenn outside. From there, I decide to check out the mall area of the Center, and put my exorbitant winnings from my last Gym battle to good use.

The Center's mall is pretty much Driftveil Market Plus, as it has pretty much the same variety. One thing it does have that Driftveil Market doesn't, however, is a TM lab. Well how about that? A TM lab and a Pokemon Center in the same building. What a novelty! I wish more Centers were like this. Since I have money to burn, I decide to see what can be offered to my Pokemon.

Since I hadn't checked to see what variety of moves Magmortar can acquire at a TM lab yet, I decide to see what's available to him. The results don't disappoint at all, as I'd pretty much found a much-needed ace against water-types in the most unlikely Pokemon on my team. Apparently, Magmortar is capable of learning the electric-type attack, Thunderbolt and the grass-type attack, Solar Beam. Other than those, I also have the fire-type learn the fighting-type attack, Focus Blast, and the psychic-type attack, called... well... the Psychic attack. Since I'm a sucker for financial punishment, I also make an impulse buy, and have Rufflet learn the ghost-type attack, Shadow Claw, placing me in the red zone for remaining credits once again.

From there, I pretty much wander the Center, until it's about forty-five minutes until the Professor's dad is scheduled to arrive, at which point, I buy a cheap lemonade, and head out to the patio, hoping I'm lucky enough that he'd arrive early.

In the water alongside the pier, I see several trainer's water-type Pokemon swimming in the water, generally having a good time. I analyze groups of them with my Pokedex: Lanturn, Wartortle Tentacool, Staryu, Prinplup, and even a Gyarados, which would scare the crap out of most people, if it didn't belong to a trainer, thereby making it harmless. Among the Pokemon, I see a fish-like Pokemon, called Seaking, and an eel-like Pokemon, called Huntail, both of which are rare for trainers to have, as they can only battle in water, as opposed to amphibious water-type Pokemon, like my Dewott (although I'd seen Pokemon battles on TV, where water-borne water-types could swim on air, thanks to some gravity devices installed in certain stadiums).

Speaking of Dewott, I grab his Pokeball and send him out.

“Dew wott wott?” Dewott stares up at me.

I gesture toward the water, “You can take a little swim with the other Pokemon, if you want. Enjoy yourself, alright?”

“Wott wott!” Dewott cries out enthusiastically, before diving into the water.

I sit down at a table close to the pier, sip my lemonade, and stare blankly out at the water, my mind reflecting on recent events.

Well, things are going just wonderful for me, aren't they. Just a minor injury from some dark-type, not even half as bad as the ones I received five years ago, and my anxiety is back in full swing. On top of that, while Gallade seemed pretty cool with my breakdown, Marowak, who I just barely got to connect with, now is pretty much disgusted with me. How on earth am I gonna smooth things over with him? Again, I hope Professor Juniper's dad can help, but what if he can't? What will I do then? Go back to Accumula Town? Take meds again? Get more counciling? Start over from square one in my recovery from trauma? Geez, am I usually this pessimistic?

The thing that frustrates me the most, however, is that I'm even having to deal with this again. Like Professor Juniper said, things are different than before. I now have five Pokemon, determined to become as strong as possible, who I think are really getting there. Cheren said that a trainer can rightly be called strong when one has won three badges, and I'm two past that. I should feel secure, but... I don't. If I had to analyze this whole deal I'm facing now, it was that the Bisharp was strong enough to break through both Gallade and Marowak, and even with their protection, it wasn't enough to protect me that time, and all the reasons I felt to feel safe evaporated in that moment.

“Wott wott wott!” My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of Dewott yelling angrily. I get up from my table and rush out to the pier to see what's up.

I'm hoping it's another Dewott that's shouting out, but I quickly notice mine's the only one present. He's wildly splashing in the water, shouting stuff at some other water Pokemon: A large, blue, kinda tough-looking, sea lion thing, with whiskers resembling a mustache and beard, a yellow shell helmet with a long horn, a tail with a fin, and a piercing gaze.

I analyze Dewott's new 'friend' with my Pokedex, and the result, “Pokemon: Samurott” comes up. It's also called the Formidable Pokemon, it's a water-type, and the first line of the description says that this Pokemon is what Dewott evolves into. It looks like I'm witnessing a family squabble.

Not knowing what to do, I call out, “Um... Dewott? What's going on?”

“Dew dew dewwwww!” Dewott yells. I should have figured as much. I have no clue what he's saying...

The Samurott flatly says, “Samu.”

“Dewwwwwww!” Dewott screeches. If I had to make a guess, based on its tone, the Samurott made some condescending remark, which really offended Dewott.

A male trainer with long black hair runs over to me, “Hey! What's your Dewott doing with Samurott?” It looks like this guy is Samurott's trainer.

“Like I know!” I say.

Dewott swims over to me, briefly dives underwater, and then jumps out, several feet into the air, and landing in front of me on the dock. He turns toward Samurott, unfastens his scalchops, and yells stuff, swiping with his weapons in the Formidable Pokemon's general direction.

Samurott's trainer says, “What's going on between our Pokemon is a mystery, but it seems your Dewott wants a fight. Care to battle?”

I consider it for a second, but then decide, why not? A civilized Pokemon battle (if you can call them 'civilized') just might be what I need to get my mind away from my anxiety. Besides, no one, human or Pokemon, disses Dewott, so I'm all for beating the Samurott down.

“Yeah, sure,” I say, looking down to Dewott, “Alright, Dewott, let's do this.”

Dewott nods back at me, and then shouts out to Samurott, taking more swipes at the air with his scalchops. He's saying something along the lines of, “Awright, Samurott! It's a battle, and I'm so gonna kick your butt! Let's get it on!” if I had to take a guess.

“Alright, Samurott,” shouts the Formidable Pokemon's trainer, “We're having a Pokemon battle, so come over here!”

“Rott!” Samurott swims toward us and climbs onto the dock. With the rest of it coming out from the water, I see that it's a quadruped. All four of its legs have yellow plating on them, with the front two with... things of some sort protruding out from behind them. On closer inspection, it's very hard to believe this is what Dewott's gonna evolve into, since they look practically nothing alike. I mean, Dewott still has some of Oshawott's features, as do Servine, Serperior, Pignite, and Emboar of their pre-evolved forms, but this is a complete transformation.

Besides my observations of Samurott's appearance, however, I notice something else. In most cases, an evolved Pokemon should have abilities superior to the form it had before. However, Dewott dove under, and then jumped out of the water, while Samurott just climbed onto the pier. Either Samurott was lazy, too modest to one-up Dewott, or... not all its abilities match Dewott's. Dewott trained with the Power Bracers and Power Anklets, so I guess it can be assumed Samurott didn't. This difference in their training could work to our advantage.

The Samurott's trainer and I stand at opposite ends of the pier, with me on the far end. It looks like our 'battlefield' is going to be thin strip of artificial land, but they can both fight in the water, so it's all good. Some of the landlubbers gather to watch the battle that's about to start. I wonder if any of them are making bets.

I mutter to Dewott, “Fight defensively. Watch Samurott's movements and react accordingly.”

Dewott glances back at me, “Dew.”

The battle starts. “Let's end this quickly, Samurott!” yells the Formidable Pokemon's trainer, “Slash attack!”

I was under the impression that Samurott was a quadruped, but apparently, I was only half-right. Samurott stands up on its hind legs, and charges at Dewott, with one of its hands gripping the piece protruding from behind the plating on its other arm. As soon as it's within the Discipline Pokemon's range, it quickly pulls out what's behind the armor: a... sword?

Samurott quick-draws the three-foot-long blade, delivering a horizontal slash. However, Dewott managed to duck under the attack, causing it to just graze his head fin, and he rushes through Samurott's defenses, and performs a quick slash with his scalchops. The Formidable Pokemon staggers back a couple steps, but hardly seems affected by the blow. I can't say I'm too surprised by this, due to Samurott's armor.

Well, Dewott is definitely faster, and the fact he's smaller helps too, but Samurott has a clear range and power advantage with its swords. It's a good thing the Formidable Pokemon's attack missed, since I felt the disturbance in the air its attack made, even from where I'm standing!

Samurott recovers quickly, unsheathes its other sword, and delivers a quick succession of slashes, which Dewott narrowly manages to dodge. If one of those attacks hit, it's going to really do some damage, and Dewott can't just dodge forever.

“Dewott!” I yell, “Aqua Jet! Get behind it and onto its back!”

“Dew!” Dewott ducks another strike from Samurott, and then bolts off to the side, into the water. Moving at a near invisible speed, Dewott dashes across the water's surface, circling around Samurott. The Formidable Pokemon tries to turn to face Dewott, but the Discipline Pokemon is much quicker, and is well ahead of Samurott's ability to turn. Good. It doesn't look like there's much Samurott can do in retaliation if Dewott can just get on its back, as that seems to be its major blind spot.

Dewott leaps over the pier and dashes across the water some more, with only a blue blur and the disturbance in the water's surface to clue me in on what's going on, until Samurott's back is completely exposed to it, at which point, the water-type jumps toward it, scalchops poised for attack.

Samurott's trainer commands, “Behind you, Samurott! Use Dragon Tail!”

Samurott glances back at Dewott, its tail glowing dark blue, which it then flips up as the Discipline Pokemon approaches, launching him several feet into the air above it.

“Dewott!” I yell.

Samurott's trainer smirks, “Good work, Samurott! Now, catch it with Megahorn!”

“Samuuu!” Samurott positions its head, and by extension, the tip of its helmet's horn, upward, which then glows light green.

Dewott tumbles back down toward the Formidable Pokemon, who then shoots up like a missile.

“Defend yourself... somehow!” I command.

Dewott turns in midair to face his rapidly approaching opponent, and positions his scalchops in front of him defensively. Of course, scalchops aren't exactly defensive weapons, and while his maneuver did soften the blow enough for him to be slammed upward again, rather than skewered by Samurott's horn, he no doubt still took a big hit.

Samurott lands back on the pier, creating a big vibration through the wood.

“Dewott...” I mumble, looking up at my airborne water-type.

Samurott's trainer grins, “Atta boy, Samurott! Now, stand your ground and finish it with another Slash attack!”

“Rott!” Samurott assumes a stance, looks up at Dewott, and positions itself to deliver a double-sword strike upward, once the Discipline Pokemon comes within range.

I knew this battle was going to be a little iffy, but is there anything Dewott can do to get out of his current situation? Shoot a Water Gun attack down at Samurott? No, that will barely hurt the thing. Counterattack as soon as he comes within range? I shake my head. That won't work either, as Dewott doesn't have to power or range to compete with Samurott's swords directly. Dang... What to do...

As I watch Dewott tumble closer to Samurott, I catch a brief glimpse of his face, and it's not what I'm expecting, considering his circumstances. He looks... calm... focused... I might not have any good ideas, but does Dewott?

Just as Samurott is about to strike, there is a massive explosion of water, which drenches me and the other trainer, and gets several exclamations from the onlookers, followed by the sight of Dewott propelling itself upward by firing a large and powerful blast of water from his mouth. This attack too hardcore to be Water Gun, but I'd seen other Pokemon use it before, and I don't need my Pokedex to figure out what the attack I'm witnessing is: Hydro Pump; one of the strongest water-type attacks. It looks like Dewott had recently become strong enough to use it!

When the aquatic explosion clears, I see that Samurott is no longer standing on the pier... in fact, it no longer has any pier to actually stand on, as Dewott's newly-acquired attack completely blew out the section of the dock, on which Samurott was standing, away. The onlookers loudly cheer at this recent development, as collateral damage plays well with people for some reason.

Samurott is now in the water, but, even as powerful as Hydro Pump is, I doubt it was enough to take Dewott's evolved form down.

Samurott's trainer glares at me, and then yells, “Samurott! You're not losing to a Dewott, got it? Take it out!”

Dewott dives down at Samurott, who tries to counter with a sword swipe, but since the Formidable Pokemon is no longer standing on solid ground, to provide power and accuracy behind it, along with trying to stay afloat, it's hardly a reliable move, and the Discipline Pokemon dodges it and lands on Samurott's back, between its helmet and tail, and it doesn't look like the Formidable Pokemon is going to have an easy time guarding that part of its body.

With little resistance, Dewott gives Samurott one heckuva back-scratching, hacking away at it with his scalchops, in a quick succession of Cut attacks.

“Samuuuuu!” Samurott roars in pain as it swims around, bucking, trying to throw Dewott off as he grabs the edge of his opponent's helmet and holds on (ride 'em, coyboy!) It's back on the pier when it finally succeeds, tossing Dewott a few feet into the air above it.

In midair, Dewott puts one of his scalchops away. Then, as he falls, he uses his now-free hand to grab Samurott's horn, dangling from it, in front of the Formidable Pokemon, which gives an 'oh crap' expression in response.

“Wott!” With a yell, Dewott's scalchop glows light-green, and he delivers two swift slashes to Samurott's face, leaving an X-shaped scar in their wake.

“Sa... muuuu...” With that final attack, Samurott lets out a deep cry and collapses. Dewott stands over his opponent, grinning. The feeling is totally mutual. This is no small win.

The onlookers let out a loud cheer at Dewott's unexpected win over his evolved form. Samurott's trainer recalls the Formidable Pokemon, gives me a small payout for my dazzling victory, and storms off in a huff.

With a running start, I barely manage to jump over the hole in the pier Dewott's Hydro Pump created, and I stand in front of the Discipline Pokemon, “Nice! That was totally awesome, Dewott!”

Dewott smirks, “Dew dew... Wott?” Suddenly, Dewott's proud expression changes to one of surprise.

“Huh? What's up, Dewott?”

Dewott's body starts to glow blue, and by now, I know full well what that means: evolution time! It's funny, considering we'd just fought a Samurott, and now, my Dewott is about to evolve into one.

Dewott begins to change shape, his silhouette starting to take Samurott's shape, but suddenly, the transformation pauses, and I hear a strange mix of both Dewott and Samurott's voices, “Samu... wott!” The silhouette starts to revert, then change again, followed by another reversion, “Dew... rott! Dew dew dew... wott!” Finally, Samurott's features shrink down, returning to Dewott's shape, and the light clears, Dewott still being Dewott! What the heck?

I kneel down to Dewott's level, “Um... you were about to evolve, but you didn't? What's wrong, man?”

An approaching man's voice says, “A Pokemon refusing to evolve? Well, that's not something that happens everyday...”

I look up to see a man, probably in his late fifties, though he looks pretty good for that age, with short brown hair, gelled in the front, a short beard, and wearing a casual yellow shirt, brown pants, and a permanent smile, just like someone else I know. I don't even need to ask to know who this guy is: he's Professor Juniper's dad, a very distinguished Pokemon researcher. I'd seen him on TV a few times, and there's also a picture of him at the Professor's lab.

I stand up straight, “Oh! Professor Juniper... sir!” It sounds weird calling him that, as the face I usually place with the name, 'Professor Juniper,' is the thirty-or-so year old woman, who mentored me, Bianca, and Cheren.

Professor Juniper Senior eyes me up and down, “Let's see here. Curly brown hair, blue eyes, worn down shorts, white shirt, black vest, with five badges attached, and a pink hat, which offsets her otherwise tomboyish image. You're my daughter's student, Ria, aren't you?”

“Um... yeah.” From the description he just gave, I imagine so of it was in Professor Juniper Junior's own words. Figures.

The Professor's dad extends his hand for a handshake, “It's nice to finally meet you. I was wondering if I was ever going to meet one of Aurea's first students. I bet she's mighty proud of you too. Five badges... One more, and you'll become a Hyper Ranked trainer. You're really on your way, aren't you?”

I shake hands with the Professor, “Yeah, it looks that way, Professor Juniper.”

Our shake ends, and Professor Juniper says, “No need for the formalities. We don't have a student-mentor relationship, at least not officially, so you can just call me 'Cedric.'”

“Yeah, sure thing, Cedric.”

Dewott looks up at Cedric, “Dewott wott?”

Cedric looks down at Dewott, “... And you must be the Oshawott my daughter raised, and then gave to Ria. Have you been fighting hard for her?”

Dewott stares at the stranger for a few seconds, but then nods, “Dew.”

“Atta boy...” The Professor looks at me again, “You may be well on your way to becoming a very powerful trainer, but I guess that doesn't mean that you'll be problem-free. My daughter said you had quite a situation earlier today. Care to tell me the detailed version of the story?”

“... Yeah...”

Cedric, Dewott, and I sit at one of the tables. I don't know why I didn't recall Dewott. Maybe because he's my first Pokemon, I feel he might understand me the best, as opposed to, say, Marowak.

I explain to Cedric what happened with the mysterious Team Plasma member a few hours ago on Route 6. After that explanation, he asks me for more info, and I move on to other topics, like the root of my problem five years ago, its initial resurfacing on Route 3, my sensitivity to Pokemon aggressive toward me, and some of Professor Juniper's theories about the actions I'd performed, that may have been a subconscious result of my trauma.

Cedric and Dewott sit still, listening to me the whole time. Finally, I finish explaining stuff, my throat feeling sore as a result of almost forty minutes of nonstop talking.

Cedric leans back in his chair, “Well, your life has been quite an adventure, hasn't it. At least things have been interesting for you, haven't they?” I should have expected a reaction like this from Professor Junipers old man. Like father, like daughter.

I smile, despite myself, “That's... not the kind of 'adventure' I need...”

“Anyway, you've come to the right man, Ria, says Cedric, grinning, “I've had a total of fifteen students throughout my career, and a few of them have had issues similar to yours. Yours isn't really a unique case, but you were right when you told my daughter you couldn't handle it alone. After all, psychological problems are near impossible to fix by oneself, without guidance.”

“Thanks, but is this really your job?” I ask, “I mean, you are a Pokemon researcher, not a psychotherapist.”

Cedric grins, “Pokemon research is a broader subject than you think, Ria. The relationship between humans and Pokemon, and their reactions to each other, falls under that heading. That's the reason why Pokemon researchers take fledgling Pokemon trainers under their wings, and educate them.”

He actually has a point. I never asked Professor Juniper about it, but I kinda doubted her part of the whole arrangement was pure altruism, and there was some give-and-take involved, but I never could figure out the 'take' part on her end, that justified the three years she spent on us. With Cedric's answer to that question, I can't help but feel that Bianca, Cheren, and I have been Professor Juniper's guinea pigs behind the scenes... not that I'm complaining.

“Intriguing,” I say.

Cedric leans forward and interlocks his fingers in front of him, “What you told me about what my daughter said to you via Xtransceiver, about how you might have become a trainer for you own protection... My daughter may have told that was okay, but it seems she still has much to learn. That is actually unacceptable for your relationship with your Pokemon.”

Way to sugarcoat it, I think to myself, “Um... Unacceptable? Really? But... isn't that part of a Pokemon's duty to their trainers?”

“Technically, yes, but it's not supposed to work that way, exactly.”

Feeling a headache coming on, I respond, “Dude, you're totally losing me.”

Cedric takes a deep breath, “It took generations of research to discover this, but there are three things Pokemon look for in their trainers: friendship, camaraderie, and leadership. According to what you told me, you are certainly friends with your Pokemon, but your role as a comrade and leader need work.”

“Is being their friend not enough?”

“Sometimes it is,” says Cedric, “but not all Pokemon prefer those three qualities in that order. Some lean more toward camaraderie, and other lean more toward leadership.”

“That's kinda interesting,” I say, “but what does all this have to do with my problem?”

Cedric's eyes bore into me, “Ria, you are clearly kind to your Pokemon. However, why are you so nice to them?”

I'm taken aback by the question. Is Cedric toying with me, or something? The answer seems so obvious, “Dude, is this a trick question? Trainers are supposed to be kind to their Pokemon. Treat them with love, and they love you back. That's one of the most basic concepts of Pokemon training.” I glance at Dewott, “Don't you think so, Dewott?”

Dewott nods in response, “Wott wott.”

Cedric says, “I'm sure you'd seen Pokemon disobey their trainers, so they do have a sense of independence, but have you ever wondered why Pokemon are so faithful to trainers that treat them harshly, regularly throwing around taboo words, like 'weak' and 'useless,' and train them beyond what's considered reasonable?”

I shrug. Why is he asking me this? “I dunno.”

“It's because, to a Pokemon, they have the leadership quality, meaning they give off a strong impression.”

“Oh... kay. Are you saying I should be more like those jerk trainers, then?”

Dewott looks at me pleadingly, “Dew! Dew! Deeeeeew!”

“Don't worry,” I say to the water-type, “That's not gonna happen, no matter what I'm advised.”

Cedric shakes his head, “No... At least not entirely. However, have you ever raised your voice to your Pokemon, at least outside giving then orders during a battle?”

I think about that for a moment. Have I? I look at Dewott. When I first got him, back when he was an Oshawott, and he got into a brawl in my room with Tepig and Snivy, I did reprimand him, but no differently than I would for disciplining an infant for throwing its bottle, but that seemed to be enough for the Sea Otter Pokemon. Since then... Hm... As much as I wanted to scold Ralts for running away from that Purrloin, I didn't, and let Rufflet do it for me. I never yelled at Marowak for his attitude, both after I caught him and after I wimped out earlier today.

It dawns on me that I'd never been strict with my Pokemon. I mean, I didn't think it mattered, since most of them seem to like me anyway, and I went with total leniency. Still, was I just lucky to find Pokemon that liked me that way?

I answer Cedric's question, “Not really...”

“Why?”

“Because... I saw no need to?” I guess, shrugging. I realize this is me we're talking about, and I wonder why I'm so unsure about the answer.

Cedric smiles a little too sweetly, “Are you sure that's the case?”

“Well, no...”

Cedric claps his hands together, “Well then, that brings us to the other quality Pokemon look for in trainers: camaraderie. Let us back to what I told you about it being unacceptable for you to have your Pokemon simply protect you.”

“Okay, so what is acceptable?” I ask, though I already have a guess of the answer.

“To truly win your Pokemon's respect, they need to fight with you, not for you. To put it simply, don't let them think you're just hiding behind them, making them fight your battles. Instead, stand firm, and show as much courage as they are showing.”

Crap... I was afraid that was the answer I was going to get. Deep down, I knew I should, but it's too hard...

Cedric stares at me for a few seconds, “If I had to guess, Ria, your current... habits as a Pokemon trainer are a direct result of your trauma. Could part of you actually be afraid of your own Pokemon, and that's the reason you'd never risked strictness; because you wanted to be on their good side?”

“Are you crazy?” I ask, practically outraged, “Afraid of my own Pokemon? If that's the case, why do I hang out with them 24/7? Heck, why am I even a trainer?”

Cedric gazes at me solemnly, “It's not a conscious action of course, but your situation makes a lot of sense, if I happen to be right.”

“I... I...” I look at Dewott, who's looking at me sympathetically.

Unable to look at Cedric or Dewott, I just stare at the table instead, trying to process everything I was told. I knew I had a cowardly streak going, but the implication that I'm afraid of the very Pokemon I'd caught and trained is just too much. I want to continue denying it, but I can't. It just makes too much sense, considering my history.

There is a long silence at the table as I try to absorb everything I'd been told. I evaluate my own worth as a trainer. I learned lots, had my Pokemon train hard, and was kind to them, but that wasn't enough? I had to be brave and harsh if I needed to. All Oshawott seemed to want was a friend when I first got him, and I'm confident I made good on that. Even now, Dewott isn't giving me any dirty looks over my characteristic shortcomings. Rufflet and Magmortar seemed to want a trainer that would give them opportunities to make them strong, show them a good time, and have great battles, and I'm sure I did the job there, too. It's in Gallade's nature to be loyal to his trainer, so I'm probably good in that respect, as well. It's Marowak that's being judgmental, and with Cedric's explanation, I now have an idea why: he didn't want a friend, or even a skilled trainer; he wanted a strong, fearless leader, and in that regard, I'd failed miserably...

I grab Marowak's Pokeball from my belt, and stare at it. After watching my big-time breakdown after that Bisharp attacked me, how on earth can I gain his complete respect?

Cedric breaks the silence, “If you want to cry, Ria, try not to. The key to overcoming your problems is to find the strength within you, and face them head-on.”

Strength... Face my problems head-on... That just seems like the most natural solution, doesn't it? Here, I thought Cedric would have had some easy magical miracle cure, and make all my problems go away, but I should have known that was just wishful thinking.

Still, he's absolutely right. I have to face my fear. I can't run, and I can't just keep feeling sorry for myself.

Cedric asks me, “Ria, which Pokemon is in the Pokeball you're holding? You're really staring it down.” After all he'd said, he's smiling. I guess this is his idea of a good time.

“Oh!” I snap out of my resolve-geared thoughts, and explain Marowak to Cedric, from how he became distrustful of humans, after his original trainer released him, to how he refused to obey me at first, to his grudging offer to give me a chance, his disgust with me, after my panic attack, and finally, the conclusion I'd just drawn about him.

“I see,” says Cedric, “In that case, doing something to earn your Marowak's respect could be a good first step toward overcoming your fears.”

“Something to do with that whole 'I'm kinda scared of my own Pokemon, but I didn't know it' thing you brought up?” I guess.

“Something like that,” says Cedric, “You guess that Marowak wanted a strong leader in you... so show it that you are.”

“That's a tad-bit easier said than done,” I say, “Marowak watched my cowardly breakdown just a few hours ago. How on earth am I gonna convince him of that? I'm still trying to find it in me to suddenly be this badass you're suggesting I become.”

Cedric leans back in his chair, “Obviously, you're not going to convince him that you'd changed completely over the course of a few hours, but you can show him that you have the makings of a tough, no-nonsense trainer in you. Just be strong, and show that you are not afraid of him.”

I try to process my instructions. Just what is Cedric suggesting? Part of me feels like I'm being told to be someone I'm not, but on that note, what am I exactly? A scared little girl, who let her fear control her life? Is that really what I want to be? Heck no! Well, taking action outside your comfort zone, if you can call it that, is the first step toward self-improvement, or so I read from some cute little motivational poster somewhere...

I think to myself, Okay, Ria... This crap has gone on long enough. Meds and counciling were only temporary solutions to the problem before, but now it's time to wo-man up, and go toe-to-toe with this thing! You're not gonna let it control you anymore! You're gonna take back your life!

Resolve or no resolve, however, it's not an easy thing to prepare for. I spend a half-hour just sitting there, with Cedric and Dewott staring at me, and me staring at Marowak's Pokeball, playing out the coming scenario in my head, and gathering my courage to be unflinching, no matter what kind of attitude Marowak gives me. The biggest issue is that I only have one shot at this. If I screw up, Marowak will probably see me as a poser, and I'd pretty much have lost him forever. Oh, geez. Just listen to me. Cedric was totally right about me fearing my own Pokemon, deep down. Still, that, among other crap, must stop!

A brief memory flashes through my mind, of when I tried to help Ralts overcome his fear of hostility by having him confront it. That thought gives me an extra boost in determination. After all, if I can't do the same, I'll be nothing short of a hypocrite.

I rear back to throw Marowak's Pokeball. Okay... It's all or nothing. This is the first step toward conquering my fear and connecting with Marowak, finally. I glance at Cedric, who just gives me a silent nod and a reassuring smile.

Before I can change my mind, I toss Marowak's Pokeball, and it just feels like it hangs in the air much longer than it does. Okay... be firm and be fearless... be a leader!

The capsule hits the ground, and the seemingly long-awaited flash bursts from it, and when the light clears, there's Marowak. The Bonekeeper and I gaze at one another, and then the ground-type looks away from me in disgust.

I take a silent deep breath as I prepare to make my stand. It's showtime.

“Marowak, look at me,” I say.

As I anticipated, Marowak says nothing and does nothing in response.

“I said look at me!” I yell, slamming my hand on the table for emphasis, and standing up so fast, my chair falls over. I clench my fists to control my shaking so hard, I feel my fingernails digging into my palms.

This does the trick. Marowak whirls toward me, startled. I'm sure I caught the attention of people nearby, as well, but I maintain my eye contact with Marowak, “M-maro?”

“Listen up, Marowak,” I begin to lecture in a measured tone, “I'll admit I screwed up earlier, and I'm sorry you had to see that, but even so, I'm your trainer, whether you like it or not, and we will work together! I believe in your strength, and I want to count on you, but if I can't, don't expect to see too many battles from here on out. I'm trying to improve my attitude, but yours is equally unacceptable, and you will clean up your act! Am I making myself clear?” I take a deep breath. Was that too harsh? Too abusive?

Marowak stands in shock and surprised, but finally responds, nodding, “W-wak.”

I force a wry smile, “Good. I'm trying not to let you down, so don't let me down. Now take a rest!” I direct Marowak's Pokeball at him, and say, “Return!” Marowak vanishes, but just before that, I notice the slightest trace of a somewhat satisfied, or maybe amused, smirk on his face. Did I get through to him?

Standing up to my own Pokemon in such a way, despite my awkwardness, makes me physically exhausted, and I pick up my chair and collapse in it. I never thought I'd find it in myself to confront a Pokemon that way, let alone one of mine. After my racing heart begins to slow down, the strangest thing happens: I start... feeling totally euphoric for reasons I don't get. I even let out a couple chuckles.

I glance at Dewott, who is looking at me, stunned, and then at Cedric, who nods contently, “Well done, Ria. Even though I'm sure you felt awkward, and maybe even a bit nervous, you stood your ground, and let your Marowak know who its leader and comrade is. As long as you keep that up, you should conquer your fear eventually. Your obvious joy is a sign that you, yourself, know you'd just taken your first big step.”

Smiling, despite myself, I say, “Yeah, I guess. That was really something.”

Smiling himself, Cedric stands up from his chair, “However, that's only the first step. There is one other fear you must stand up to, if you are to recover in earnest.”

“What would that be?” I ask.

“The root of your trouble is the dark-type Pokemon, isn't it? Everything, such as your fear of being harmed by Pokemon, stems for that incident. Facing that means facing everything since.”

“Yeah,” I say, “but... how am I supposed to do that? I mean, I had my Pokemon fight dark-types before, but nothing really came of that. How am I supposed to face it, so that I can recover?”

“That's up to you,” says Cedric, “However, you came at the right time. South of Undella Town, on Route 14, there has been a certain dark-type Pokemon, called Absol, that's been heard at night, and causing a great deal of unease.”

“How would that cause unease?” I ask, “From what you're saying, it's not actively attacking people, so why is it such a problem?”

Cedric explains, “Absol had received an unfortunate classification, as the Disaster Pokemon, due to their tendency to show up whenever some sort of catastrophe, like an earthquake or a tidal wave occurs. Once, they were thought to cause disasters. Later, however, as Pokemon research advanced, it was confirmed that they can, in fact, sense disasters, and their appearance is a warning. The rest of the time, they hide deep in the mountains.”

“Again, how is that a problem?” I ask, “An Absol has showed up! It's a warning that something's gonna happen! Why is this upsetting people?”

“The weather has been checked,” says Cedric, “While Thundurus brings harsh storms with it, it's never caused title waves, and there aren't any natural earthquakes in this part of Unova.”

“Well, something gotta be up,” I say, shrugging.

“Yes, something is,” says Cedric, “Pokemon rangers have examined the mountain nearby to this town, and there has been a recent overpopulation of Munchlax, and it's causing the amount of natural resources to dwindle quickly. As such, Pokemon, including the Absol, have been forced to live closer to Undella Town. Absols, being dark-type Pokemon, are nocturnal, and tend to howl at night when there's a crescent moon, and the sound of one in such close proximity is causing discomfort.”

“So, what what does this have to do with me?” I ask, “If a Pokemon is causing a problem, isn't that a Pokemon Ranger's job?”

Cedric grins, “Normally, it would be. Undella Town's upper echelon has thought of calling someone in from Almia, but when my daughter talked to me about your problem, I had a brilliant, one-in-a-million, idea: Tonight, you will play Pokemon Ranger, and do something about that Absol. The rest is up to you.”

“Great...” I say.

“In the meantime,” says Cedric, changing the subject, “It appears your Dewott has no desire to evolve into Samurott. It's rare that a Pokemon refuses to evolve, but it happens.”

“Oh yeah,” I say. That issue about Dewott not evolving has been overshadowed so completely by everything else Cedric had brought up, I almost forgot about it. I turn my attention to Dewott, “Hey... Dewott? We need to become really powerful in order to reach our goal... but I'm not gonna force you to evolve. From now on, just give a little extra effort in training to cover for that, alright?”

Dewott slowly nods, “Dew...”

Cedric says, in a mood-lightening tone, “But there's no need to worry! There are ways to get by with Pokemon that aren't entirely evolved. Have you ever heard of a little something called 'Eviolite?'”

“'Evi-what?'”

“It's a stone,” says Cedric, “which, if a Pokemon still capable of evolving absorbs the power of, they become a little stronger. Still, there's no boost in strength greater that that brought by evolution, but Eviolite is the next best thing.”

“Cool,” I say, “Do you know where I can find some Eviolite?”

“Well, you've come to the right town, and, by extension, the right Center, as this place has a mall, in case you overlooked that tiny detail, that offers a lot of stuff trainers can use. If we look around a bit, I'm sure well find some.”

---

I recall Dewott, and Cedric and I explore the Undella Pokemon Center's mall area. It isn't long until we find a shop that sells all kinds of stones associated with the growth of Pokemon, and it's there find some Eviolite, which is a small purple rock. With the winnings I received from the Samurott trainer, I just barely afford it.

After making my purchase, I send out Dewott, and he absorbs the stone's power, just like Kirlia did with the Dawn Stone. Instead of evolving, however, Dewott becomes enveloped in a pale purple light, and after that clears, absolutely nothing seems different about him.

Still, just to test it, I have Dewott and Gallade spar for a few rounds. Gallade proves to still be the stronger of the two, but not by too much, as Dewott's performance is enhanced enough that he still holds his own, and even pulls off a couple narrow wins.

As the sun begins to set, Cedric and I grab a quick dinner.

Afterward, the Professor leads me along the coastline that makes up the majority of Undella Town. By the time we reach the Undella-Route 14 checkpoint, the sun is completely behind the horizon, and besides the little bit of red peeking out, the sky is pretty much dark.

As we walk through the checkpoint building, Cedric stops and says, “You're on your own from here, Ria.”

“You're not coming along?” I ask.

“The rest is for you and your Pokemon to face. You can deal with the Absol however you want, but remember what you're doing: trying to overcome your fear that came from being attacked by dark-types.”

“I still don't know what to do,” I say, “but I'll keep that in mind. Um... Professor?”

“What is it, Ria?”

I smile and say, “Thanks. You've really helped. You've taught me so much in the short time I'd known you, and I couldn't have taken those first steps to recovery without your help.”

“A Pokemon Professor is responsible for his or her students,” says Cedric, “My daughter did right by recommending you to me. Hopefully she'll learn something by the example you and I are setting right now. As she learns more, I'm sure she'll even surpass me someday.”

“You're totally proud of her,” I observe.

Cedric grins, “Why shouldn't I? She has my knowledge, her mother's beauty, and wonderful students like you.”

“Charmed,” I say, blushing slightly, “Well, it's time to look for Absol.”

“Good luck,” says Cedric, “but before you go, there's something you should do.”

“What?” I ask.

“Well, you are about to do a Pokemon Ranger's job, so you have to do a Ranger's pose before you embark on your mission.”

I raise a questioning eyebrow, “... You're kidding, right?”

“Just try it,” says Cedric, “just for fun.”

“Whatever,” I say, “Here goes...” I do a quick jig, tapping the floor three times with my feet, windmilling my arms. Lastly, I perform a quick twirl, and then thrust my index finger toward the ceiling.

There's a long silence in which I wouldn't be surprised if there was a draft and a piece of tumbleweed rolling through the building.

“I give that a two out of ten,” says Cedric, finally. Ouch. “Alright, then. Happy hunting.” With a satisfied smile, Cedric leaves.

Well, I just totally acted like a fool. It looks like my Pokemon Ranger-esque mission is off to an awesome start. Why the heck is that pose so important, anyway?

I head out the other side of the checkpoint.

(Continued next post)

Last edited by Valin on Mon Aug 29, 2011 12:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

(Continued from last post)

---

Route 14 is a path that runs alongside a mountain. It's a pretty beautiful place, at least from what I can see with what little light of day remains, with a huge waterfall crashing down from the summit, feeding a nearby river.

Cedric said that the Absol shouldn't be too far up the mountain, due to that gluttonous Munchlax feeding frenzy toward the top, so it doesn't look like I'll have to do too much scaling. Still, there is quite a bit of ground to look over, regardless.

So far, meeting new Pokemon have all been chance encounters, but this time, I'm looking for one Pokemon, in particular, and I don't even know what it looks like. Well, I guess it's time to start thinking like a Pokemon Ranger.

There are two type of Pokemon rangers: Pokemon rangers, who are basically trainers whose business is protecting and preserving the wild, and Pokemon Rangers, 'Ranger' with a capital 'R,' who are professionals, trained in their base region of Almia, who enlist the temporary, and occasionally, permanent, aid of wild Pokemon, who help them solve people's problems, and prevent disasters.

When the latter type of Ranger needs to find a Pokemon that's causing trouble for humans, the first thing to do is track it down. Luckily, a method of tracking pops up in my mind right away, as I'd already done it twice before.

I send out Rufflet, and say, “Hey there, Rufflet. We're looking for a Pokemon called Absol, which should be around here somewhere, so I need your eyes and wings again to look for it...”

A thought occurs to me. The first time I asked Rufflet to do some scouting, in Nacrene City, it was broad daylight, and the second time, it was in Castelia City, which is very well-lit at night. This time, however, we're in the middle of nowhere, with our natural light dwindling fast.

I reach into my supply bag, pull out a flashlight, turn it on, and hold it out to Rufflet, “Here, take this. It'll help you see. Come back, and lead us, if you find something.”

“Flet ruff ruff!” Rufflet lifts off, takes my flashlight in his talons, and flies off. I notice that Rufflet didn't give me any questioning looks when I gave my orders, and it makes me wonder if Pokemon have some sort of connection with one another, that humans don't have, as the Eaglet Pokemon seemed to know full-well what an Absol is. Interesting.

As for me, I send out Gallade and have him use Flash, lighting up the area around us. I learned a valuable lesson about this on Route 3, but that was back when he was a Ralts, and I seriously doubt Gallade is as easily victimized as the Feeling Pokemon was. Sure enough, nothing comes out of the woodwork to attack us.

---

Gallade and I follow the path along the foot of the mountain for a half-hour, aimlessly looking for the Absol.

Just as I'm getting frustrated over our so-far fruitless efforts, we hear a distant howl, “Sooooooooool!” Cedric say they howl on nights of a crescent moon, like tonight, so is that it? Absol?

Gallade and I head in the direction of the noise, and about a minute later, I hear Rufflet calling down from overhead, “Ruff ruff ruff!” We look up, and see the light of the flashlight I lent the Eaglet Pokemon shining down on us, then, using it as a beacon, we follow him.

To catch up with Rufflet best, however, Gallade and I end up wandering off the beaten path, and we start swatting our way through tree branches, eventually reaching a very steep slope, with many dead trees jutting out of it, probably the result of a landslide that happened a long time ago.

Seeing the trees as potential footholds for scaling the slope, I take a running start, and manage to advance a few steps up the near-vertical surface, just barely making it to the first tree. One down, Arceus-know-how-many to go. As I try to think of how to reach the next one, about five feet up and to the right of the tree I'm already hanging on to, I feel myself being grabbed from behind, and then lifting into the air. I'm shocked, until I notice it's Gallade, jumping from foothold to foothold, like I weigh no more than three pounds.

Feeling Gallade's arms, I realize how seldom I'd actually touched my Pokemon, even to pet them. Terrific, another thought of how I'm not as great a trainer as I thought. I don't know if today has been enlightening or depressing. I guess that's something else I should make a point to change...

With the Blade Pokemon practically flying up the slope, I hear another howl, “Soooooool!” Where it's coming from is so close, I feel as though I could touch its owner.

Twenty seconds later, we reach the top of the slope, and find ourselves on a cliff, with the star-dotted sky and crescent moon in plain sight. Near the edge is a quadrupedal creature, which turns around to face us.

It's four feet long, with a dark-blue face, and covered in soft-looking white fur. It has some mean-looking claws on its four feet, but most noticeably are its tail and a growth on the right side of its head, both looking like scythe blades.

I get out my Pokedex, and analyze it. “Pokemon: Absol,” comes up as a result, the first couple lines reading: “Dark-type, AKA: The Disaster Pokemon.” So this is Absol. Looks like we found it... and inadvertently cornered it too, as it's on the edge of the cliff, and the only escape route is through me and my Pokemon.

Absol give me a hard look and growls, obviously not happy with its current predicament. Rufflet flutters down to join me and Gallade, and I send out Dewott, Marowak, and Magmortar to join them. I don't intend for them to gang up on Absol, but I want them to see how I'd changed... if I'd changed. Channeling the courage I used to talk down Marowak earlier, I stand firm. Cedric told me to use this chance to face my fear of dark-types. Being unflinching, even if I am a little scared, is the best thing I can think of doing right now.

There's one thing I'm unsure of, however: Now that I've found Absol, what do I do? I mean, it may be bothering everyone in Undella Town, but it's not like it's doing anything wrong, so how should I get it to stop? The Disaster Pokemon clearly isn't in the mood to sit down and talk things out.

Well, since Absol is about to attack, I guess the only choice for now is to battle.

“Marowak,” I say, “This battle is yours! The rest of you, stand back!”

Marowak steps forward to face Absol. Dewott and Gallade respond to my directions obediently, while Rufflet and Magmortar give some 'oh man!' groans.

Absol pounces at me. However, seeing Marowak immediately take action, I summon every ounce of willpower I can and stand my ground. Marowak intercepts the dark-type Pokemon, and knocks it back with a Bone Club attack. A brief memory flashes through my mind of when one of Gallade's Psycho Cut attacks was flying Alder's way, but the Champion held his ground. I guess this is a step toward being more like him. Still, it wasn't easy, and I feel my hands shaking, but I then clench my fists hard. We're not gonna have any of that!

Speaking of Psycho Cut, after Marowak knocks back Absol, the blade on the side of Disaster Pokemon's head glows pink, and it swings it, sending a psychic blade toward the ground-type. Marowak steps toward the attack, his club positioned defensively, and the blade clashes against it. Struggling to hold his ground, the Bonekeeper ducks down, and then jerks his club upward, redirecting the psychic blade skyward. No sooner does Marowak do that, however, when Absol bolts forward, gets inside the ground-type's defenses, and slams him, followed by a second attack, while Marowak is stunned from the first, where Absol's head-blade glows black, and it slashes Marowak, sending him stumbling back, and leaning on his club for support.

“Get up, Marowak!” I yell, “Show us how tough you are!”

“Waaaaak!” In response to my little bit of encouragement, Marowak gets back upright and charges at Absol. The dark-type attempts another slash, but Marowak blocks that one and pushes the dark-type back.

While Absol is momentarily stunned, Marowak lunges forward, his club glowing reddish-brown. He slams Absol with a Brick Break attack, steaming pouring from the bruise that was formed. The Disaster Pokemon goes sailing back, skids across the ground, and then goes over the edge of the cliff.

“Sooooool!”

A wave of guilt slams me like a Mega Punch to the gut. Absol may be one of those dark-types I feared so much, but nothing deserves this!

“Rufflet!” I yell frantically, “Hurry and save Absol! Quick!”

“R-ruff!” Rufflet flies past me and Marowak, and dives over the edge of the cliff.

As I run to look over the edge, I say to Marowak, “That was very bad, Marowak! Next time, hold back!”

“Wak...” Marowak lowers his head apologetically.

My Pokemon and I look down the cliff to see if Rufflet succeeded. The Eaglet Pokemon was still holding the flashlight, so I try to use that as an indicator of where Rufflet and Absol are, but the light isn't anywhere to be found.

There is a long silence, but finally, we hear the beating of wings, and the sound of Rufflet grunting, “R... uff... r... uff!” Finally, Rufflet flies up, holding Absol in his talons. Obviously, he had to drop the flashlight to save Absol, but whatever.

We make room and Rufflet puts the Disaster Pokemon down.

Absol gets to its feet, but then falls over on its side, probably due to the battle and... something else. I look at its face, and I can see it's terrified... trembling, which is understandable, as it narrowly avoided death. This sight causes me to think back to how I felt after I was attacked five years ago, and its at that moment that I totally get how Absol is probably feeling.

I feel bad, realizing I'm part of the reason Absol just got traumatized. Humans, dark-type Pokemon... maybe, when we get right down to it, we're not so different. We're capable of harming each other and becoming scared of the other. Did what just happened to Absol be the same as what happened to me five years ago? If so, I don't want the Disaster Pokemon to live as I had, and upon realizing our common ground, I want to... become friends.

An idea occurs to me, and I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. I think I get what Cedric was getting at when he told me to confront my fears with this mission. If I had a dark-type with me... have one around all the time... maybe, just maybe, I'll gradually recover from my phobia; confront my fear head-on. Okay! I'm gonna do it!

I step away from Absol, and reach into my supply bag, pulling out one of the Luxury Balls I bought at the Driftveil Market. I was told this type of Pokeball conveys a trainer's feelings of friendship to a Pokemon. With this, hopefully Absol will come to understand how much I hope we can forgive each other and work as a team.

I toss the capsule, and Absol disappears with a flash. The Luxury Ball lays on the ground, rocking a little, but ultimately, there's a click, and its center turns void-black.

I pick up the Pokeball containing my sixth Pokemon and attach it to my belt. I turn to my other Pokemon and say, “Well, you guys. It's been quite a day. Let's head back and get some much-needed rest.”

My Pokemon nod in response.

---

We make our way down the mountain and return to Undella Town.

I recall my Pokemon and walk along the beach, looking out at the sight of the moon reflecting off the water, reflecting on the personal victory I'd just achieved. Five years worth of damage cannot be cured overnight, but I now know for a fact that a full recovery is in the near future, and Absol just might be the key to that.

I make it back to the Pokemon Center, which is still pretty active, even during the middle of the night. This town sleeps even less than Castelia City, it seems.

I hand in Marowak and Absol to the front desk to be healed, and a half-hour later, I get them back.

I return Marowak's Pokeball to my belt, while I hold out and stare at Absol's Pokeball. Alright... the more time I spend with this Pokemon, the less I'll have to fear from dark-types, so it's time to get started...

I send out Absol, who intensely stares at me for a few seconds. I wonder how it feels about me. Angry for that near death experience? Stay calm, Ria. Hold your ground, Ria... The Disaster Pokemon's expression then breaks into a smile, no different than the one Oshawott gave me, when I first received him, then it walks over and rubs against my leg. The touch makes me shutter; well, I knew I wouldn't change overnight. Still, I kneel down, and, with a trembling hand, stroke the dark-type's fur, saying, “Hey, Absol. I'm Ria, and I'm gonna be your trainer and friend from now on. Let's work together, okay?”

Absol grins happily, “Sol sol!” It then jumps up on me, hugging me with its front legs, which forces me to the ground. Man, this Pokemon's gotta weigh, like, a hundred pounds. Still, this Pokemon is a lot friendlier than I was expecting. Could it be an effect the Luxury Ball had on it, or the fact that I'd proven myself worthy by beating it, and saving its life to boot, or... maybe it's just in its nature, whenever it's not in the extreme hotness of battle.

Still, if Absol's going to be this nice, I guess I have nothing to worry about. It seems not all dark-types are as vicious as I had been forced to believe. Besides, they're Pokemon, just like any other, regardless of type.

---

The next day comes, and after all the weirdness that went down the day before, I decide to take a day off from my journey, and spend it in Undella Town.

However, even though I'm not spending the day traveling, or in a town with a Gym, there's no rest from training, and man what a productive day it turns out being in that regard.

According to Cedric, Absol can learn a huge variety of attacks. After a few sparring matches, it's  evident that he (Cedric confirmed the dark-type's gender. Yup, it's official: Ria is incapable of catching female Pokemon, despite being female herself) has a ton of strength, further boosted by his ability, Super Luck, which occasionally gives his attacks a significant power boost, but just mediocre energy, so I make a request at the Pokemon Center to have four of the Power Anklets and the Power Lens I bought (all of which I left in storage in Driftveil City, because that stuff is too heavy to just haul around) transferred over to Undella Town. Five hours later, they arrive, and I fasten to Power Anklet to each of Absol's legs, and the Power Lens around his body.

I also put Magmortar's new techniques to the test, and the results don't disappoint. However, the grass-type move he learned, Solar Beam, had a drawback of him needing to take the time of gathering energy from the sun, which gives him a brief period of vulnerability, and even then, the sun's not always gonna be handy. However, Cedric gave me a quick lesson on items trainers can use to augment their Pokemon's abilities, and he explained a little something called a Power Herb, which, if Magmortar eats, he'll get an energy boost that would allow him to fire his Solar Beam right away and even if there's no sunlight. There is a drawback, however: Magmortar can only get that energy boost once, and then he'd have to either rest or be healed at a Pokemon Center before he can use it again. Still, it's better than the alternative, and I set out to battle some trainers to get the money needed for the Power Herb.

Luckily, I run into this rich-looking girl trainer, probably one of those lucky few that call Undella Town home, and she's actually the one who challenges me, confident she'd win, despite her two badges, saying she was taught by the best Professor and trainer money can buy. One lesson in experience later, I get a massive payout, and then purchase the Power Herb for Magmortar, which he promptly eats. Judging by his expression, it didn't taste very good, but he just gained a big advantage for the battles to come.

Cedric explains to me that a Pokemon is allowed a single augmentation (besides TMs) each, according to Pokemon League rules. With the Eviolite and Power Herb, Dewott and Magmortar already received theirs. Noticing from training that Absol had very little physical fortitude, I purchase a red band, called a Focus Sash for him, which, according to a shopkeeper, supposedly gives a Pokemon an extra boost in endurance, and tie it around one of his hind legs. I use the remainder of the money I won at the TM lab, and have Absol learn the techniques, Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Stone Edge, and X-Scissor. I guess Cedric could have sent me after any old dark-type, but he singled out Absol, due to the variety of techniques he can learn, meaning he could be that Pokemon to round out my team that I needed.

Finally, at end the day, Cedric mentions the 70 out of 100 score I got on the trainers test, no doubt some info he got from his daughter, which earned me the right to become a Pokemon trainer, and to see how much I'd improved since then, he gives me the exact same test. After all I'd learned on my journey, it's nothing short of astounding how easily the answers come, and my pencil is moving a mile a minute throughout the whole thing. I can't help but feel a great sense of accomplishment when my new score turns out being a 94 out of 100. Wow, this time, I scored even higher than Cheren did, but then again, Cheren's no doubt learned some stuff too, so I can't claim that I'd officially out-trainered him. I guess we'll need a rematch to determine that.

---

The next morning, at the subway platform beneath the Pokemon Center, Cedric and I wait, alongside several other people, for the next train, en route to Nimbasa City.

“Hey,” I say, “Thanks for everything Cedric. I'd sure learned a lot from you.” I grin and add, “You really are Professor Juniper's father.”

Cedric laughs, “Haha! Thanks for the complement. It was great meeting you, Ria. It's always my pleasure as a Professor to help trainers like you better themselves.”

“Yeah,” I say, “You really helped me out, and I'd learned some things about myself I never even known about. Thanks to your help, I know I'll become a better trainer... and a better person.”

Cedric smiles, “That's one of the things a Pokemon journey does for people. Of course, not all things can be figured out by oneself, and it's up to us Professors to help.”

There is the distant sound of an approaching train, and seconds later, it comes to a stop at the platform, and the doors swing open.

“Well, it's time to continue my journey,” I announce, “Thanks again for all your help and advice, Cedric!”

“Good luck,” says Cedric.

I board the train, and it soon departs Undella Town. From there, I think of what I should do next. I consider returning to Driftveil City and then taking Route 6 again to Mistralton City, but after my little side-trip, with all the training I got accomplished, as well as catching my sixth Pokemon, I'd probably done enough for two trips along Route 6, so I decide I can probably pass it up, and head straight to Mistralton City.

Okay, it's decided! Next stop: Mistralton City!

TEAM UPDATE


Yeah, I'm still alive. Sorry about the delay. I wanted to get this Undella mini-arc done in one installment, but there were quite a few details to address (and a job that has you waking up at 4:30 in the morning doesn't help much).

This arc is meant to be Ria's biggest leap in character development (though she still has more to come), so I hope everything turned out good on that end, story-wise.

Anyway, I hope you really enjoyed this one, and the next one shouldn't take as long to put out, as I'd already made some decent progress on that.

Last edited by Valin on Mon Aug 29, 2011 12:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Well, I guess an Absol would be one of the least threatening Dark types. It detects danger, which would darken its nature due to the sadness and pain it could fortell. I have to agree, this is a  good 'starter' Dark type for Ria, one that could warn her due to its abilities.

Well, I just totally acted like a fool. It looks like my Pokemon Ranger-esque mission is off to an awesome start. Why the heck is that pose so important, anyway?

Lol. =D

This chapter is long (woo-hoo), and very good. Ria gains a much needed boost in the direction of "badass", and gets an Absol, (a Pokémon I always thought was cool) to boot!
Also, when Absol went over the cliff, and Ria got Rufflet to bring him back, that'd mean she saved his life, wouldn't it? Considering Absol's a Dark-type and all, that's got some meaning.
A well done chapter as always. Looking forward to the next installment!

This isn't the first time I'd been to a place called a city, which had a size and layout that hardly constituted its title, but Mistralton City sets a new record for being overstated, as this place isn't even big enough to be a town.

Then again, maybe I'm reading into this whole 'city' thing all wrong. After all, every place I'd been to that's been labeled as a 'city' had a Pokemon Gym, so is that the thing that differentiates a city from a town? If that's the case, then yes, Mistralton City is most definitely a city.

Mistralton City is a fairly out-of-the-way place, made up mostly of grass, with small, simple houses spread about, and farmland toward it's northern area, extending into Route 7. In other words, it's a pretty quaint little village. At the Pokemon Center, I saw some housing adds, and compared to what I'd seen in Undella Town, living here is the closest thing there is to free... and the reason why this place is so cheap quickly makes itself apparent: noise... lots and lots of noise...

Mistralton City's most defining characteristic is an airport located at its west side, and the loud sounds of planes coming and going are heard throughout the day, and I have to wonder how anyone manages to get any sleep around here.

Luckily, the Mistralton Pokemon Center's walls are pretty much soundproof, but it doesn't look like getting any sleep there is any easier, as after the awesomeness that were the Driftveil and Undella Pokemon Centers, the quality had just nosedived, and the lodging is now in rooms with metal triple-bunk beds, that fold into the wall, and have mattresses as thick as my pinky finger, and no AC, not to mention smelly low-end bathrooms, and equally low-end cafeteria food. Bottom line: it's worst Pokemon Center yet.

I was planning to spend the day training, but after getting to know the Pokemon Center, I decide to head straight to the Gym, get my business here done as soon as possible, and find someplace better to sleep before the end of the day.

I pick up a Town Map at the Center, and it isn't hard to find my way around the 'city,' because it's so small.

I head westward to the airport, which isn't one of those flashy public airports, but rather, a somewhat small establishment, with planes made for the transportation of goods. It makes sense that Mistralton City is partly a farming town, as it allows for produce to be shipped as fresh as possible.

According to the map, the Gym is located at the end of the runway extending from the airport, but oddly, there's no building, or anything along with the 'G' marker. Still, I head that way, with planes passing by, blasting me with both their sounds and tailwinds. Still, seeing that the Gym is in an airport's general area, coupled by the fact that a lot of bird Pokemon seem to like flying around this place, I have about five guesses as to what Pokemon type this town's Gym Leader specializes in, and four don't count, as this place practically screams 'wild blue yonder.'

Along the way, I see an electronic billboard, the most advanced piece of technology I'd seen outside the Pokemon Center since arriving here, which scrolls through a list of qualified trainers. Sure enough, I see, 'N (6)' toward the end. Well, it's time to get caught up with him.

Two miles later, I finally reach the end of the runway, where there are a couple of platforms at opposite ends, both of which elevated at about ten feet. There is a worn-down metal sign nearby, saying 'Mistralton Gym: Blow the whistle. If I don't come in three minutes, I'm flying around someplace else! -The High Flying Gym Leader <3' Looped around the sign is a strap with a wooden train whistle attached.

I pick up the whistle, look around to make sure there aren't any planes coming or going to drown out the sound, and then blow as hard as I can.

Okay, this is a pretty unusual arrangement, and I'm starting to wonder if this Gym, if it can even be called that, considering it's not even a building, had been officially sanctioned by the Pokemon League. It sure doesn't seem that way at a glance.

I glance around to where the Gym Leader might hear the whistle from. Beyond the runway is a small grouping of greenhouses, and just beyond that is a small house with a poorly-maintained paint job. If that happens to be where the Gym Leader lives, it sure doesn't look inhabited. That, in addition to the heart at the end of the sign's message tells me that Mistralton City most likely has one eccentric Gym Leader living here...

Three minutes pass, then, refusing to believe I walked those two miles down the runway for nothing, blow the whistle again and wait another three. When no one shows up, I decide to just accept that no one's around, and back up the runway. Would it have killed the Gym Leader to post a schedule, or something?

When I'm halfway back to the Pokemon Center, I see a male trainer walking in the opposite direction, with three badges pinned to his t-shirt.

With a pretty good idea of where the trainer is headed, I flatly say, “Don't bother, man. The Gym Leader isn't in right now.”

The trainer responds, “Oh. Thanks for telling me. It would have been a bother to walk all that way for nothing.”

“Tell me about it,” I scoff.

The trainer asks, “Hey, are you new here? I didn't see you around the Pokemon Center yesterday.”

“Yeah,” I answer, “I arrived earlier today.”

“I see,” says the trainer, “In that case, have you visited the Celestial Tower?”

“The 'Celestial Tower?'” I question, tilting my head.

“Yeah,” says the trainer, “It's a tower with many memorials for Pokemon that had passed away. Since you work around Pokemon and all, you might want to head there and pay your respects to them.”

“So... it's basically a graveyard?” I ask.

“Pretty much,” says the trainer, “Is that a problem?”

“No, just curious,” I say, “Where is this tower?”

“Over there!” The trainer points in the distance, and I see the outline of a cylinder shape beyond all the grass and trees, “If you head straight along Route 7, you reach it eventually.”

“Thanks,” I say, “I'll check it out.”

I don't really like graveyards, and I'm hardly a spiritual person, but I do love and respect Pokemon for what they do for their human trainers, and it would be good karma if I did pay my respects to them. Besides, it's something to do while I wait for the Gym Leader to show up. Alrighty then, I'm off to the Celestial Tower!

---

After I leave the airport area, I head due north to Route 7.

For the most part, Route 7 is an expansion of Mistralton City, with farmland extending beyond its borders. A common sight along the way are cornfields, with bird Pokemon flying around, grabbing corn with their talons and returning to their farmers with it. However, there are signs warning travelers not to walk through the rows of corn stalks, as poisonous bug Pokemon like to hide among them and get their jollies by stinging people. However, because people are apparently so considerate around these parts, they built wooden bridges, which allow travelers to walk above the cornfields. How nice is that?

I send out Absol to travel alongside me for the triple-purpose of being prepared in case a wild Pokemon suddenly decides to get surly on us, pumping up his speed to the max with the Power Anklets, and my dark-type-recovery therapy.

The trip is pretty much uneventful, and the tower seems to get bigger with every step. I reach a fork in the road, but with a huge tower looming over me, it's pretty clear which path I'm supposed to take. As I'm about to continue walking, I hear a voice call out to me, “Heeeeey! Riiiiiia!”

“Huh?” I know that voice, but it feels like it's been forever since I'd last heard it!

I turn to the direction the voice came from, and running toward me from the other road is Bianca. Holy... I knew our paths were gonna cross eventually, but it's still feels strange to see her now, after almost a month of being separated. Maybe it's just the absence, but something about her seems older now.

“Bianca!” I call out, “Long time no see! It feels like it's been forever!”

“Yeah, same here,” says Bianca.

I look Bianca up and down. She's wearing the orange and white clothes I'm used to seeing her in, but pinned to them are now five badges: the Trio and Basic Badges, of course, a badge that looks like a dragon's head, probably the one she got by beating Iris, another badge that's shaped like three light-blue triangles, and lastly, the Insect Badge.

I look down at her waist, and see that she now has six occupied Pokeballs. The first three have red , pink, and brown centers: Pignite, if not Emboar, Musharna, and Drilbur, no doubt, though Drilbur's capsule is an Ultra Ball, as opposed to the Great Ball Bianca originally captured it with.

As for the next three, one is a standard Pokeball, with a light-blue center, indicating an ice-type, the fifth is an Ultra Ball with a white center: a normal-type, and the last is a standard with a dull-gray center: a rock-type.

I notice Bianca giving me a similar examination.

“Ab?” Absol walks up beside me, and looks at Bianca.

“Zan?” At the same time, a Pokemon walks up next to Bianca. It's a white four-foot-tall cat-like Pokemon with two sharp claws on both of its hands, a fluffy tail, zigzag marks on its fur in a shade of red that I can only describe as crimson, and a permanent scowl, like it watched one too many of its friends die horrible bloody deaths.

Looking at Absol, Bianca asks, “Who's this?”

I kneel down next to Absol, and after a moment of hesitation, stroke his fur, “This is Absol. I befriended him a couple days ago. He's a dark-type.”

Bianca blinks a couple times, “A... dark-type... but aren't you...?”

“It's something I'm trying to recover from,” I say, cutting Bianca off. I say to Absol, “Absol, this is Bianca. She's a longtime friend of mine.”

With Bianca's relationship with me now revealed, Absol happily howls, “Soooool!” and then leaps at Bianca, hugging her with his front legs, and knocking my friend to the ground.

“Aah!”

“Zaaaan!” Bianca's cat-like companion doesn't take kindly to Absol's act of affection, and steps toward the Disaster Pokemon, swiping horizontally with its claws. At that moment, Absol lets go of Bianca, and leaps back, narrowly avoiding the slash. The two Pokemon glare at each other, clearly not having gotten off on the right foot.

“It's okay, Zangoose,” says Bianca, getting up.

“Zan...” The cat-like Pokemon lowers its claws, and stands casually.

“So who's this?” I ask, referring to Bianca's Pokemon.

Bianca kneels down next to her Pokemon and pets it, “Oh, this is Zangoose. He's a normal-type, and I caught him a couple weeks ago. Isn't he just the cutest?” As Bianca showers him with affection, Zangoose continues standing there, not looking the least bit amused.

I smile wryly and nod, “Yeah... cute... right...” Not a word that comes to mind when looking at Zangoose, but I guess it's a relative term.

“Anyway,” says Bianca, “I see you got more badges and Pokemon. You sure seem like you'd been busy during your journey.”

“Same to you,” I say, “I'm sure you got quite a story to tell, so let's hear it.”

“Okay...”

Bianca and I exchange stories of what went on during our absence from one another. I tell her about what went on with me, as well as Cheren, up until we parted ways in Driftveil City.

As for Bianca, after she arrived in Opelucid City with Iris, her 'new best friend,' she got her third badge, the Legend Badge. From there, she spent a great deal of time in Opelucid, training with Iris, her Pokemon getting very similar training as those of me and Cheren, such as the Power items. Throughout the course of that time, she evolved her Munna into Musharna. She also got a traded Pokemon with someone, who offered his Vibrava (female), a ground/dragon-type, for her Drilbur. Naturally, she was hesitant, but after she was a temporary trainer for Iris's Haxorus, she really wanted a dragon-type, so she ultimately decided to make the trade.

Later, Bianca got her Eevee back from Professor Juniper, and traveled east of Opelucid, on Route 11 for more training, and that's where she found and caught her Zangoose (male), after he got injured battling against a Seviper, its natural sworn enemy, apparently.

Later, she traveled southwest to Iccirus City, where she fought the Gym Leader there, who specializes in ice-types. She pulled off a fairly easy victory, winning the Freeze Badge, with Pignite, and afterward, it evolved into Emboar.

After hearing about a small tournament going on in Castelia City, with the prize being a very rare Pokemon, she took the subway over there to participate. She managed to win the competition, and her prize was a rock/ground-type Pokemon, called Larvitar (male). Afterward, she challenged Burgh, and won, at which point, her Vibrava evolved into Flygon, and Bianca gained her wings; Flygon isn't a flying-type, but she has an ability that allows her to soar the skies like the best of them.

Bianca flew back to Iccirus City, and journeyed through Spiral Mountain. Partway, she found an unusual glowing blue rock. Her Eevee, who was out at the time, walked over to it, as if mesmerized, and touched it, at which point she evolved into Glaceon, an ice-type. She got through the mountain, and made it here, where she ran into me, and that brings us up to speed with the Bianca Chronicles.

Listening to the story intently, I say, “I see. Well, you had quite a trip, huh? So, after the Mistralton Gym Leader, the next two I'll have to battle use ice-types and dragon-types?”

Bianca nods, “Yeah.” She then asks, “And from what you told me, after the Gym here, my last two opponents will use ground-types and electric-types?”

“You got it,” I say, as I calculate how I'm going to do my next few Gym Battles. Magmortar and Gallade should do me a ton of good at Iccius Gym, and since Dewott and Absol know Ice Beam, I have a shot at Opelucid Gym. I can tell Bianca is on a similar line of thought. Well, she has Glaceon for battling Clay, Larvitar for battling Elesa, and Flygon who has an edge against both, so I'd say she's well on her way too.

“Anyway,” I say, “the Mistralton Gym Leader doesn't seem to be in right now, as I'm off to pay my respects at the Celestial Tower.,” I gesture in the tower's direction, “You're welcome to come along if you like.”

Bianca considers it for a moment, and then says, “Sure. I'm really thankful for the Pokemon that are fighting by my side, so I'll pay my respects for Pokemon that had done the same.”

“Alright,” I say, “Let's go!”

Bianca and I head toward the Celestial Tower.

---

Meanwhile...

At Castelia Gym, Cheren finally managed to pull off a victory against Burgh, and it was such a spectacular victory, it was almost disappointing, after the difficulty he previously had. Burgh's first Pokemon was Scizor, while Cheren's first, and only Pokemon for the entirety of the battle, was Combusken. With Scizor having a critical weakness to fire attacks, Combusken took it down with a single blow. Burgh's second Pokemon was Accelgor, which actually turned out being a fairly tough opponent, thanks to its speed, but it didn't have the speed advantage for very long, due to Combusken's ability, Speed Boost, which caused her to steadily become faster as the battle raged on, and soon, she completely overwhelmed and defeated the bug-type. Burgh's third and final Pokemon was Scyther, which Cheren had fought before, and always lost against, partially due to its speed, but with Combusken having gained enough speed against her first two opponents, it didn't stand a chance. With that, Cheren won the Insect Badge, and to sweeten the victory, Combusken evolved into Blaziken.

Now, with his fifth badge won, Cheren returned to Driftveil City, and journeyed up Route 6. The whole way, his eyes were glued to a Town Map he picked up, so that he wouldn't miss his next destination, the Chargestone Cavern, where he would hopefully capture his long-awaited electric-type.

The cave is much like the section he and Ria fought Clay in: illuminated by glowing blue rocks.

Eventually he comes across a group of Pokemon that are a very rare find in Unova: two-foot-tall yellow humanoid Pokemon, with black stripes, a lighting bolt pattern on their chests, and horns resembling the prongs on an electric plug. These Pokemon are known as Elekid, the Electric Pokemon, the pre-evolved form of the electric-type Cheren saw Elesa use against Ria, Electabuzz. He had to smile to himself. First Sawk, and now, Elekid... Rare Pokemon have just been making themselves available to him, haven't they?

Cheren sent out his Staravia, the Starling Pokemon, a two-foot-tall bird-like normal/flying-type Pokemon with gray, black, and white feathers and a crest on top of its head, to battle the group of Elekids. Cheren is well aware that it's not the best Pokemon choice to counter an electric-type with, but he's also aware that if a Pokemon battles an opponent it has a disadvantage against, they'll have some experience necessary for the occasion, if it were to arise again, and there are no alternatives.

The battle raged, with Staravia's fighting abilities overwhelming the Elekids, and causing the to run away in different directions, until it finally singled one out, and chased it outside the cavern. With Staravia now having a lot more room to maneuver, it had gained even more of an edge over the Elekid.

Staravia flies circles around the Electric Pokemon, who tries countering with ThunderShock attacks, but the normal/flying-type, with her training, proves to be too fast to hit. With each futile attack, the electric-type wears down more and more, and that's when Staravia goes on the offensive, bombarding E'elid with a series of lightning-quick hit-and-run attacks. Finally, the Electric Pokemon slumps to one knee, and Cheren uses that sign of weakness to throw one of his Great Balls in an attempt to capture it.

The capsule shakes a few times, but Elekid's weakness is apparent in the movements. A few more seconds pass, and the Great Ball makes the hoped-for click, along with its center turning yellow.

Elated, Cheren picks up the capsule containing his newly-caught electric-type. At last, he caught one!

As Cheren attaches Elekid's Pokeball to his belt, Staravia lands in front of him, expecting a response to her efforts. Cheren doesn't overlook this, and he says, “Great job, Staravia! The results of your training are really showing.”

“Staraaaaaaavia!” Suddenly, Staravia starts glowing a bright white color and begins changing shape.  Cheren instantly realizes that she's starting to evolve.

When the light clears, Staravia's body had grown, becoming twice as big, reaching a height of four feet, her plumage going into a downward curve, with a red tip, and generally having the appearance of a hawk.

“Staaaara!”

Cheren takes out his Pokedex and analyzes the new Pokemon: Staraptor, the Predator Pokemon, a normal/flying-type.

A side of Cheren's mouth tilts upward, “Staraptor... Congratulations. I will really be relying on your power.”

Staraptor smirks in response, “Raptor!”

Cheren directs Staraptor's Pokeball at the normal/flying-type, and is about to recall her, when suddenly an unknown female voice calls out, “Heeeeeey!”

“What?” Startled, Cheren looks around him to find the owner of the voice, but he doesn't see anyone.

The voice giggles, “Teehee! I'm up here, handsome!”

Cheren blinks a couple times. 'Up here?' 'Handsome?' He looks up, and sees a flock, if not a swarm, of various winged Pokemon. The group is mostly made up of bird Pokemon, but there are some bats and bugs among them as well. One of the birds, a white Pokemon, with a long neck and beak, and a wide wingspan, descends toward Cheren and Staraptor's location.

Cheren recognizes this Pokemon as a Swanna, a water/flying-type Pokemon, which he previously had an interest in finding and catching, but he never came across one, nor its pre-evolved form, Ducklett.

As the Swanna descends, Cheren notices someone riding on its back: a girl, about his age, or maybe a year older, with long magenta hair, mostly bunched together in a clump fastened by a propeller-shaped hair ornament, blue eyes, and wearing a blue aviator's outfit. She looks at Cheren with her very pretty face, as he notices, smiling brightly, and he feels his cheeks becoming warm, but, like every time he'd felt that way, he internally chastises himself for reacting to a girl that way. For someone with his condition, such thinking is unacceptable.

As the girl hops off the back of her Swanna, Cheren asks, not really sure how to respond to this girl who just suddenly showed up out of nowhere, “Um... Can I help you?”

The girl says, in a peppy tone, “Oh, I was just flying around, and I noticed your Staravia was battling against that Elekid. I really like flying-type Pokemon, in case you couldn't tell, and since it was so fast, and managed to completely overwhelm an electric-type, I can tell you raised it very well. On top of that, it just evolved into Staraptor, as well, so I wanted to congratulate both of you!”

“Oh, thank you,” says Cheren.

The girl walks past Cheren and over toStaraptor, who looks at the girl questioningly, “Stara?”

The girl nods approvingly, “Yep, you look like one strong, healthy Staraptor. You're very lucky to have such a caring and skilled, not to mention cute, trainer.”

Staraptor caws happily at her compliment, “Staaaaaar!”

Cheren, on the other hand, is silent. 'Cute?' Is she flirting with him? Sure, throughout school, he'd occasionally gotten love letters, so he was given the sense that he's at least somewhat desirable as a male, and it's a good feeling, but getting romantically involved with girls is dangerous, due to the virus, which could get passed on to any offspring that result down the line. It's best he doesn't get tempted, and have the virus die with him, and as time went on, he'd become very good at acting nonchalant about such matters, like Ria making light flirty remarks from time to time, but this girl repeatedly making such advances, it's not easy to keep up the act.

The girl turns back to Cheren, “So tell me, handsome, is Staraptor your only flying Pokemon?”

Cheren, growing more and more uncomfortable with every complimentary nickname the girl is giving him, deadpans as convincingly as he can manage, “My name is Cheren.”

The girl blinks a couple times, “... You don't like being called 'handsome?'”

“... Well, it's not like I don't like it, it's just...”

“In that case, I'm still calling you handsome,” says the girl, beaming, “Anyway, is Staraptor your only flying-type?”

Cheren nods, “Yeah.”

“I see...” says the girl, “So, you've never flown before?”

“I haven't.”

“Well, now that your Staravia has evolved into Staraptor, would you like to take your first flight?”

Cheren thinks for a moment, then says, “I don't know. It's too soon to--”

“I see,” says the girl, “So, you're afraid of heights? That's so adorable.”

“It not that I'm afraid of heights,” says Cheren, “I just don't think I'm mentally prepared to try it yet.”

“Don't worry about it,” says the girl, with a reassuring wink, “I'll be with you. I fly every single day, so if something happens, I've got your back.”

Cheren sighs. This girl isn't gonna take 'no' for an answer, is she? He turns to Staraptor, “Staraptor... I'm sorry if this is sudden, but would you mind me riding on your back for a little while.”

Staraptor nods, “Stara.”

“Alrighty then,” says the girl, as she climbs back onto her Swanna's back, in a hand-and-knees position, “Let's fly!”

“Hold on,” says Cheren, “Even though you insist on calling me 'handsome,' I gave you my name, so if I'm going to spend part of my day with you, it would be nice if I knew yours as well.”

“I'm Skyla,” the girl introduces herself, “That's my name, so let's get off the ground, shall we?”

Cheren smirks, despite himself. 'Skyla' just can't wait to start flying, can she? He climbs onto Staraptor's back, mimicking Skyla's position. It's uncomfortable, but he manages to get his entire body on Staraptor's back that way.

Staraptor and Swanna flap their wings, and then take to the sky, gradually accelerating, with their respective trainers in tow.

Cheren looks down from Staraptor and watches as the ground gets further and further away from his feet. Before long, he can see what's left of Route 6, Mistralton City, the Celestial Tower north of it,  Spiral Mountain to its northeast, and even a little bit of Iccirus City beyond the mountain.

While Cheren isn't afraid of heights, it's still unnerving to be so far away from the ground, feeling he can fall so easily, and the increasing winds are not helping matters. In response, Cheren reflexively grips Staraptor's feathers tightly, knowing his life depends on it.

Skyla, on the other hand, is having the time of her life, as she laughs, “Haha! I still remember my first flight! There's nothing more thrilling! Don't you think so, handsome?”

“Y-yeah... sure...” Cheren mutters.

Skyla stares at Cheren for several seconds, “Hey, I get why you're so scared right now, but try to have a little more faith in Staraptor, will ya? If your Pokemon is letting you ride it, it's not gonna let you fall off. Loosen your grip a bit. This is as safe as it gets. I've flown more times than I can count, so take it from me.”

“I'll try...” Cheren shakily loosens his grip on Staraptor, but a gust of wind causes him to tighten it again.

“Hm...” Seeing her advice didn't work out as well as she had hoped, Skyla thinks of a new way to get Cheren to trust his Staraptor enough in times of flight. Finally, a decent, if somewhat crazy, thought pops into her mind.

Skyla gets off her knees and to her feet, as she starts riding on Swanna like an aerial surfboard. Cheren glares as he sees what Skyla is doing. Showoff...

Swanna flies over and beside Staraptor. As Cheren wonders what Skyla is doing, she jumps from Swanna's back and into him, knocking him off Staraptor. The two of them freefall, the ground gradually approaching them.

As much as Cheren wants to lament the things he won't live to do, or say something to question Skyla's sanity, he instead lets out a scream, though part of him is aware his life was short anyway. Since she's the one who caused this scenario, it isn't surprising Skyla isn't reacting the same way, but rather, she, like the rest of the time he'd known her, looks like she's enjoying every second of what's going on.

As Cheren, in his terror-addled mind, is estimating thirty or forty seconds until a life-ending impact against the ground and becoming an unsightly corpse, he sees Staraptor swoop down past him and position herself under him, descending slowly to reduce his impact.

Cheren lands on the back of the Predator Pokemon, and at the same time, Skyla lands on Swanna's back. For the next few seconds, Cheren's heart is beating wildly, he's breathing quickly, and he's thankful that he 'watered a tree' before entering the Chargestone Cavern, otherwise he'd have an embarrassing accident right now, but finally he manages to say something to Staraptor, “Thank you so much, Staraptor,” and then Skyla, “Hey, are you insane? You could have killed both of us!”

“Staraptor star!” Staraptor adds incredulously.

Skyla giggles in response, “Teehee! There was no chance of us dying. If you fall off, your Pokemon will always come to your rescue. See? Flying is perfectly safe.”

Cheren's first impulse is to tell Staraptor to get as far away from Skyla as possible, but to his complete surprise, he finds himself... laughing? Is it a response to his relief... or did he actually just have fun in a twisted way?

In response, Skyla starts laughing as well.

As they laugh, Cheren notices he's not gripping Staraptor as hard as he was, and he's not feeling so terrified of flying as he was before. Skyla's intentions, as crazily as they were carried out, got through.

---

Fifteen minutes later, Cheren and Skyla land their Pokemon on a grassy, dandelion-dotted hill near Spiral Mountain's summit to rest their wings.

Cheren takes note of how beautiful the place is, with a great view, extending out to a faint outline of Castelia City's skyscrapers in the distance, and that it feels nice as well, with a cool breeze, which is refreshing, considering how sunny and hot the day has been.

Cheren and Skyla lay back in the soft grass, and Skyla points at the clouds in the sky, commenting on what they are shaped like, “... and you see that small, fluffy one right there? That looks like a Cottenee. And that one...”

To Cheren's surprise, he's actually participating in such a juvenile game, “Hm? That round cloud with the dark patches looks somewhat like a Voltorb...” Giving it some thought, however, he realizes why: he used to play this game all the time when he was two or three years old, before his life took its darkest turn to date.

As Skyla is focused on the sky, pointing out more cloudy images, Cheren, despite himself, turns his head to glance at her profile. She really is pretty... It's so unfortunate that--

Before Cheren can complete his thought, Skyla turns her head toward him, and he turn his head away, but apparently not fast enough, when Skyla says, “Hey, you were looking at me right then, weren't you, handsome?”

“You're mistaken,” Cheren says as flatly as he can.

“So you say,” says Skyla, “but let's ask our audience...” She sits up and looks back at the flying-type Pokemon roosted behind them, “Hey, was Cheren staring at me?”

Cheren gets up and looks as the Pokemon nod in unison, including Staraptor, with a grin across her face. Traitor... Cheren thinks to himself.

Skyla smiles, “Well, the spectators don't lie. Care to tell me why you were staring?”

Cheren stays silent as he feels his cheeks heat up.

Skyla grins, “It's because you like what you see, isn't it? Well, I don't mind. Girls like being told they're beautiful, y'know. Now that that's out of the way, let's stare at each other, since I like what I'm seeing too...” Skyla rests her head on the back of her hand as she stares at Cheren, periodically shifting her head's position, like she's admiring a work of art.

Cheren tries to stare back, but keeps turning his head away. Finally, he can't take it anymore, and says, “Please stop. That's uncomfortable.”

Skyla laughs, “Haha! You're cute. Still, you can look at me. In fact, I'd consider it a compliment if you did!”

I don't like where this is going, Cheren thinks to himself. Getting involved with a female, beyond a casual friendship, will mean nothing but trouble in the long run.

“Skyla,” says Cheren, “Please stop this right now.”

“Aw... Don't be shy...”

“I said right now!” Cheren repeats himself, raising his voice.

Skyla ceases her flirtatious advance, “Hey... What's wrong with you? You were the one who was staring at me.”

“Sorry,” says Cheren, “It's not like I'm not flattered. I am. It's just...” Cheren considers telling Skyla about his illness, ultimately deciding to do so, as it's not like she's a longtime friend of his, “I... just can't be tempted. You see... I have the water-type virus.”

Skyla pauses as she takes that sad bit of information in, “Oh... I'm sorry to hear that...”

To Cheren's dismay, the situation had just turned into another he doesn't like, “Please don't feel sorry for me. I don't tell this to many people, because I don't want them all reacting to me like that.”

Skyla gradually perks up her tone, “Whatever you say, handsome. Still... what did you mean about temptation and the virus?”

Cheren blushes slightly and hesitates before saying, “You... do know that the virus gets passed down through the generations, right?”

Skyla considers this, and as it dawns on her what Cheren is getting at, she giggles, and then outright laughs, “Heeheehee... Hahaha! You have one heckuvan imagination, handsome! We haven't even known each other for an hour, and you've already thought this whole relationship through, haven't you? Just because I'm having a good time flirting with you, you think this means we're gonna get married and start a family?”

“Not really,” says Cheren, “but it could be the start of a dangerous path.”

Skyla settles down, “Okay... So you have the virus. That's not good, but it doesn't mean you can't have a relationship, or anything.”

“Didn't you hear anything I said?” asks Cheren.

“Sure I did,” says Skyla, “So it's better if you don't have a cute little bundle; I get that, but you can still get yourself a girlfriend, and even a wife down the line! It's not like there's a written rule that getting romantically involved means having kids. I'd say you're taking yourself way too seriously.”

“'Too seriously?'” asks Cheren.

“Yeah,” says Skyla, “Here's the Skyla credo I live by: Life is too short, so we need to enjoy it while we can... and seeing that your life is a tad shorter than that of most other people, you should enjoy yourself more, and take every opportunity you can. Do you have any women in your life?”

“Two,” Cheren answers, “but purely on a platonic level.”

Skyla shrugs, “Good news for me, I guess. Anyway, is there anything your doing with the time you have?”

Cheren answers, “I'd decided to create a legend. I'm trying to become a really powerful Pokemon trainer, and be remembered for eternity as a Champion.”

Skyla looks at Cheren admiringly, “That's cool... and kinda deep too! Champion, huh? Well, are you having a good time doing it?”

“A... good time?”

“Yeah. I mean, I'm sure it's really great becoming a Champion, and entering the Hall of Fame, and all, but... after you die, does it matter?”

“What?”

“Look... Once you get past Pokemon training, bonding, and being prepared for when wild Pokemon attack, at its core, Pokemon battling is a game.”

“A game?”

“Yeah; Something that's supposed to be fun. Humans like seeing how strong their Pokemon become, and Pokemon like battling; just some fun competition. What I'm trying to say is, is trying to become Champion fun for you, or is it just an ambition?”

“Well...” Cheren considers that. During all the years he spent studying to become a trainer, 'fun' was a concept far from his mind. His goal was to do something meaningful with his life; to not just be seen by whoever knows him as a tragic figure whose life was cut short by forces beyond his control. Still, Skyla is right; Pokemon battling does have a lot to do with entertainment, though it's tightly tied in everyday life as well.

Still, now that Cheren is a Pokemon trainer, having just won five badges, is he enjoying himself? He never read too much into it, but battles are thrilling, and it's great to see the hard work his Pokemon put into their training pay off.

Skyla stares at Cheren for a few seconds, and then says, “You sure seem to be lost in thought. Well, how about paying attention to you feelings during a little match?”

“Huh? Are you challenging me?” asks Cheren.

Skyla shakes her head, “No. I'm just giving a suggestion. I'm waiting for you to challenge me.”

“Okay,” says Cheren, “Let's battle, then.”

“You got it,” says Skyla, “Now for a formal introduction...” She clears her throat, “I, Skyla, the Leader of Mistralton Gym, accept you challenge.”

Cheren is taken aback, “G-Gym Leader?”

Skyla giggles, “Teehee! That's right! Surprised you, didn't I?”

Cheren after a moment of consideration, grabs Gardevoir's Pokeball from his belt, “Maybe you did, but I plan to win this battle!”

“I wouldn't expect an aspiring Champion to have it any other way,” says Skyla, as she puts distance between herself and Cheren, “How does two-on-two, singles, no switch-outs sound...? Not that I'm gonna accept any objections.”

“Fine by me!”

“Alrighty then, handsome! Let's have some fun!”

“Go! Gardevoir!”

“You're up first, Honchkrow!”

Cheren tosses Gardevoir's Pokeball into the field, while Skyla gestures for a large black bird Pokemon from her flock. The battle begins.

---

After one more mile, or so, of walking, Bianca and I finally arrive at the Celestial Tower. At a glance, there's nothing too remarkable about its exterior, other than its size. It's just a white cylinder, with a few tiny, glassless windows, mostly likely solely meant to let light in. With that thought, we open the large, kinda heavy wooden doors, and enter the tower.

I was told the place is a cemetery, but considering the place has the word, 'celestial' in its name, I was partially expecting something radiant or heavenly. However, that isn't the case at all; It's as grim as any graveyard, with more stone monuments to dead Pokemon than can be counted, each with the name of the Pokemon that had passed away, who their trainer was, when it happened, and an epitaph.

All around, people kneeling in front of the monuments, sobbing, with nearby Pokemon (among the living) howling or muttering sadly. The melancholy feeling all around the place is contagious, and my mood darkens considerably.

Bianca and I walk through the place, ascending the floors, glancing at the monuments as we make our way through. I don't know what Bianca is thinking, but I'm wondering what the Pokemon were like when they were alive. How much did they love their trainers? How strong did they become?

“There are so many monuments,” says Bianca, “It's hard to believe so many Pokemon have died. I mean, they're so strong, and most of them live for hundreds of years...”

“Yeah, it's pretty amazing,” I say in agreement, “though not in a good way,”

Throughout my journey, and the battles my Pokemon and I had fought, I'd come to notice just how much damage a Pokemon can take, and even when they reach the threshold of their limits, they're just recalled to the Pokeballs, and enter a state of stasis, and then taken to a Pokemon Center, where they get healed like nothing had happened. With that under consideration, how could so many Pokemon have died?

I glance around, and come up with a hypothesis for the great number of monuments: the Celestial Tower, judging by its wear and tear, is clearly a pretty old structure. Until about fifty years ago, today's technology was not readily available, and trainers had to be the judge of how much their Pokemon can stand during a battle, being careful they don't get too hurt, and then using primitive healing methods to cure them, and probably having to wait for a week for the Pokemon's wounds to heal, before looking for another battle. It's not hard to imagine a higher Pokemon mortality rate back in those days, but I still wonder, seeing how many floors this place has, with hundreds of monuments on each. Are results of the olden days really the whole story?

I'd lost count of how many floors Bianca and I had ascended. As we're toward the top of another staircase, spiraling up the tower's inner wall, we hear a voice coming from the next floor, “Hey, old friend. Are you having a good time where you are? Still have many great battles like always? You don't know how much I miss you... or maybe you do, and I'm the one who's clueless. Heh. Well, wherever you are, if you heard me, I hope you're laughing. I'm sure you wouldn't like watching me just mope around, after all...” I recognize that voice...

Bianca and I arrive at the next floor, and in front of one of the larger monuments kneels a man. The yellow poncho, the messy red hair... It's Alder!

Even though he's facing away from us, Bianca seems to recognize the Champion, “Hey, isn't that...?”

“The Champion?” I say, keeping my voice down, since the Champion is clearly in mourning, even though he's oddly upbeat, and I don't want to distract him, “Sure is.”

Bianca, following the example I'm setting through my pitch of voice, says, “Wow. You said you met him before, haven't you? I had a hard time believing it, but here he is!”

“He really gave me some great training advice back on Route 6,” I say, “I'll introduce you, but first, let's not distract him.”

“Okay...”

Bianca and I stand silently, as Alder is kneeling in front of the monument for the next fifteen minutes. He continues being strangely upbeat and making jokes, hoping the passed-away Pokemon he's talking to is laughing it up on the other side. He also mentions the Pokemon's name a couple times: Ninetales.

Finally, he rises and turns, spotting Bianca and me, “Hey, I remember you, back on Route 6... Um... what was your name again?”

“Ria,” I say.

“Champion Alder!” says Bianca, “I'm Ria's friend, Bianca. It's really great to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you,” Alder looks Bianca over, “Five badges, not bad. You seem to be just as skilled a trainer as your friend, there.”

Bianca looks elated at Alder's compliment, “Oh! Thank you so much... your Championship!”

Alder waves his hand casually, “Ah, just 'Alder' will do.”

“S-sure.”

“It's great to see you again,” I say, “Is... er... was that a Pokemon of yours?” I gesture toward the monument the Champion was at.

Alder nods solemnly, “Yeah. Ninetales, my starter. She was a really strong fire-type Pokemon, and we fought many battles together. Unfortunately, she caught the water virus from the water-type she was raised with, before they were given to their trainers. Ever since then, she fought really hard for me, and trained really hard, all for our dream of becoming Champion...” Alder spreads his arms, “Well, I guess you know how far we got, but soon afterward, she passed away.”

“I'm sorry,” I say, lowering my head. I can't even begin to imagine how Alder must have felt about his first Pokemon, the one he'd been with the longest, passing away. The whole thing also reminds me of Cheren, not that I'm about to mention it.

“Me too,” says Bianca.

“It's fine,” says Alder, “Turn those frowns upside-down; Ninetales wouldn't want to see us all crestfallen, now. Anyway, I always visit her a few times a year...”

“It must be tough,” I say, “Losing your first Pokemon.”

“It is,” says Alder, “However, I take reassurance that we'll be reunited someday, so it's goodbye forever. In fact, there's a belief that if there's a strong bond between trainers and their Pokemon, they will be united for eternity.”

“Really?” says Bianca.

“So it's believed,” says Alder, “Have the two of you know about 'The Fading?'”

“'The... Fading?'” I question.

Alder nods, “Pokemon live for hundreds, sometimes even thousands of years. Of course, the same can't be said for their human trainers. As a result, the Pokemon are left behind in this world, while their trainer passes on.”

I never really thought about it, but now that the Champion had mentioned it, a depressing though enters my head: Many years from now, Cheren having long since passed away, and me, as an old hag, on my death bed, with Dewott (or Samurott, if he ever decides to evolve), Braviary (since I imagine by then, Rufflet will evolve, finally), Gallade, Marowak, Magmortar, and Absol standing around me, having not aged a single day since they were caught (since they can't, being ageless, and all), mourning the coming passing of their longtime trainer (or at least I hope they like me enough to do that), about to be left behind...

Alder continues, “However, Pokemon, living as long as they do, can leave this mortal plane if they desire to...”

“Like... they kill themselves?” Bianca asks, sounding very disturbed.

Alder shakes his head, “No, nothing like that. What's been noticed, however, is that in quite a few cases, the Pokemon left behind, after their trainer dies, shortly disappear from the face of the earth afterward. While it's unknown what becomes of them, exactly, but there's an old belief that the Pokemon leave this realm behind, and join their trainer in the afterlife. Can you imagine it? Pokemon whose love for their trainer allows them to remain by his or her side, even in the life beyond. People have come to call it 'The Fading.'”

I'm silent for several seconds. That was a pretty interesting thing to hear, and I don't know how to feel. It's... kinda beautiful, but sad too.

Alder says, “I don't know if The Fading exists or not, but the bond between humans and trainers is truly something remarkable.” Alder turns to me, “Ria, before, you told me about a trainer you know, who is trying to become Champion, so he can have all trainers release their Pokemon? I promise, if he ever makes it far enough to challenge me, I won't lose. I can't let someone destroy this special bond we all, humans and Pokemon alike, have.”

I nod in response. I wonder if N knows about 'The Fading.' Part of me is guessing he doesn't. If he did, would he still do what he's doing? Honestly, I have no idea. The guy, even after telling me who he is, is still something of an enigma.

Alder sends out the large moth-like Pokemon he sent out the last time I saw him ('Volcarona,' IIRC), and says, “Well, I'm off. Ria... Bianca... I hope our paths will cross again down the road sometime...” With that, he and the Pokemon head toward the stairs to the next floor, and presumably the roof, from there.

As soon as he's out of sight, Bianca says, “Wow! The Champion himself! I can't believe I'm so lucky to just run into him like that!”

“Yeah, what a coincidence, huh?” I say, though my mind is a tad preoccupied. I wonder how much the loss of his starter affected Alder, really. He said it fought and trained hard, so Alder could become Champion, but now that it's gone... is that the reason why he's not hanging out at the Pokemon League anymore?

Bianca snaps me out of my thoughts, “Hey, Ria? That trainer Alder mentioned... the one who's trying to separate people and Pokemon? That's N, right?”

“Yeah.” On the way to the tower, I mentioned my run-in with him to Bianca. She was understandably surprised when I told her he's Team Plasma's 'king.'

“Well, I hope Alder can beat him. I don't wanna be separated from my Pokemon, but didn't you say N mentioned something to you, called 'Reshiram,' and that you think it's a Legendary Pokemon. I sure hope that's not enough for N to beat Alder...”

I try to reassure Bianca, “Hey, if Cheren and I are right about Reshiram being a Legendary Pokemon, there's not even a guarantee it will even join N. I mean, they choose their trainers, after all.” Even though I'm saying it, I have my doubts. After all, N seemed so confident before.

“I hope you're right, Ria...”

---

The Gym battle between Cheren and Skyla reaches its final phase.

Several feet off the ground, Skyla's Pokemon, a four-foot-tall black and gray bird-like Pokemon, a female Unfezant, the Proud Pokemon, and a normal/flying-type, stares down at its opponent: a red and yellow humanoid chicken-like Pokemon, standing over six feet tall, with talons for hands, long white feathers extending down its back, resembling long hair, and long muscular legs: Blaziken, the Blaze Pokemon, a fire/fighting-type, and the Pokemon Cheren's Combusken evolved into.

At the beginning of the battle, Gardevoir did a massive amount of damage to her opponent, Honchkrow, with a Thunderbolt attack, but her opponent ultimately won the round with a Night Slash attack. Cheren, deciding to let Staraptor take a rest from her flying with him in tow, sent out Blaziken next. He's well aware that sending out a fighting-type to counter a flying-type is a controversial decision, but in the case of battling elusive flying-types, it comes down to more than picking the right type, and since Blaziken is very much capable of aerial combat, due to her being able to jump high enough to clear a 30-story building, she seemed like a fairly solid choice. Blaziken managed to finish off Honchkrow with little difficulty, and Skyla sent out Unfezant as her second and last Pokemon.

Skyla extends her hand and commands, “Unfezant! Razor Wind!”

Cheren counter-commands, “Blaziken! Advance, guarding yourself with Fire Punch!”

Several circular sky-blue blades materialize around Unfezant, and it flaps its wings in Blaziken's direction, sending the blades down at her.

At the same time, Blaziken's wrists ignite, and she leaps up at Unfezant. As she closes in on her opponent, Blaziken delivers punches, deflecting whatever blades she can. Some get through her defenses and graze her, but she successfully guards against the ones that would have otherwise scored a direct hit.

“Now! Sky Uppercut!” Cheren commands.

“Blaaaaaaz!” Blaziken reaches Unfezant, and delivers a powerful upward punch as she passes.

“Fez...” Unfezant hangs in the air stunned, while Blaziken is now above her opponent.

“No! Unfezant!” Skyla shouts.

“Excellent work, Blaziken!” says Cheren, “Now finish it with a Hi Jump Kick!”

“Blazi!” Blaziken descends on Unfezant, performing a series of forward aerial somersaults. Finally, using the momentum she built up, the Blaze Pokemon slams the Proud Pokemon from above with a devastating axe kick.

Unfezant rockets into the ground. Blaziken lands near her opponent, and strikes a fighting stance, waiting for the Proud Pokemon to recover, but it doesn't happen.

Skyla sighs and holds out Unfezant's Pokeball, “Nice try, Unfezant. Return.” Skyla recalls the normal/flying-type.

“You did a great job, Blaziken,” Cheren congratulates the Blaze Pokemon.

Blaziken grins back at Cheren, “Blaz!”

“Take a good rest. Return!” Cheren recalls Blaziken to her Pokeball.

Skyla shrugs and smiles, “Well, I can see you're serious about becoming Champion. Still, what did you think of our battle? Did you enjoy it?”

Cheren reflects on the battle he just had, and how he felt throughout the whole thing. It was indeed thrilling, but it was also fun, finding a way out of a tight spot and devising a winning combination of attacks, “Yes, I'd say I really do like battles... I take it you like battling too? You did say you try to make your 'short' life as enjoyable as possible.”

“You know it!” says Skyla, “Flying and Pokemon battles! I wake up everyday, excited to know those two things await me. Besides...” Skyla smile lightens a bit, “Life is worth cherishing. I'd say the key to living well is having fun with it, doing the things you love.”

“I'll remember that,” says Cheren, “Unlike me, you may have the right idea on how to live life... ”

“I don't know about that,” says Skyla, “Unlike you, I have no ambition, and I'm not doing anything to leave something about me behind. After all, history remembers Champions, not Gym Leaders. I doubt I'll make into the history books, like you intend to...” Skyla winks, “... unless, of course, I marry a Champion!”

Cheren doesn't know if his lightened mood came as a result of the fun battle he just had, but he finds himself smiling wryly and jesting, “You might actually have an ambition after all. I may consider you, among the admirers I'll probably end up having after I win the Unova Championship Tournament.” Both of them start laughing.

“Now, that's what I like,” says Skyla, “You're handsome and funny, when you put your mind to it... Anyway...” Skyla walks over to her Swanna and hops on its back, “You beat me, so I owe you a Jet Badge. Let's head to Mistralton City!”

“Okay,” says Cheren, as he climbs onto Staraptor's back. With that, the two of them take flight, followed by Skyla's flying-type flock.

TEAM UPDATE:



EDITED!

Well, well. We have an installment where Ria doesn't take center stage!

Yup, Bianca's back, and we finally see how her team had changed in her long absence! Also, all three major characters now have all six Pokemon (wow. Looking over the 18 Pokemon they have between them, it looks like I liked Generation III more than I thought! Still, all five gens have at least one representative.)

How to portray Skyla was one of the things that took me forever to decide. I hope the playful and flirty personality, as well as sharing Cheren's circumstances, was good enough characterization for her.

I thought The Fading was one of the more interesting concepts I'd come up with for my depiction of the Pokemon world, so I hope you found it interesting as well.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this latest installment!

Last edited by Valin on Fri Jan 06, 2012 12:12 pm, edited 5 times in total.

Wow. This installment was pretty awesome, but I noticed a mistake:

Pupitar for battling Elesa

Her Larvitar hasn't evolved yet, right?
Either way, it was awesome! Can't wait for more

Well, I liked it. I found the 'Skyla has the virus, too' thing a little over the top, but I could identify with the desire not to have children.

As for Bianca, she certainly was busy! I imagine it took a lot for her to trade away her Pokemon for Flygon. She seems like the type to  get strongly attached.

As for the Fading, now you are taking Pokemon further away from their roots as biological beings (as I saw them) to something ethereal. I don't mean to say I don't like it, I just find it unusual.

Well, I liked it. I found the 'Skyla has the virus, too' thing a little over the top, but I could identify with the desire not to have children.

I agree, at least with the virus thing, in my opinion it was a bit much (in a way). However, that meant Skyla contrasts with Cheren even more, (in her attitude to her impending death) which I liked. I didn't mind the flirting an' that either. It was rather well done, along with the rest of her personality. (Pushing him off his Staraptor? Lol, and yet so apropos.) Maybe something will happen for Cheren yet. Also, it was refreshing to not focus on Ria for a while.
"The Fading" seems like some kind of myth, like something people'd have believed in easily a good few years ago, but in no way today. It is a little unusual, but I like the concept.
Also, was the Pokémon Alder lost ever actually defined in the games?
And the only thing anyone seems to die from seems to be this "virus". Alder's Ninetales, Skyla, Cheren (even though they aren't dead yet)... There are other terminal illnesses out there you could have used, I assume.

Wow. This installment was pretty awesome, but I noticed a mistake:

Pupitar for battling Elesa

Her Larvitar hasn't evolved yet, right?
Either way, it was awesome! Can't wait for more

FIXED!

Thanks for noticing that. I originally planned for Bianca's Larvitar to be evolved at this point, and I had it written out, but then, considering Bianca only just recently got it, I figured "Too soon."

Well, I liked it. I found the 'Skyla has the virus, too' thing a little over the top, but I could identify with the desire not to have children.

I agree, at least with the virus thing, in my opinion it was a bit much (in a way).

EDITED!

Yeah, you're right. It seems I'd been abusing that plot device a little too much in this recent installment, and it's not like Skyla had to share Cheren's circumstances to give him the advice she did. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it ultimately came off as contrived, meant to add a little drama to Skyla's character. I altered the latest installment a bit to have Skyla simply be someone who enjoys living. I hope this is an improvement over the old version.

"The Fading" seems like some kind of myth, like something people'd have believed in easily a good few years ago, but in no way today.

As for the Fading, now you are taking Pokemon further away from their roots as biological beings (as I saw them) to something ethereal. I don't mean to say I don't like it, I just find it unusual.

I like the way you think, Cyblaze! I also edited the recent installment for The Fading to be more of a mystery, on top of all the other mysteries surrounding Pokemon, that may or may not be true. I hope this is a happy middle ground.

Also, was the Pokémon Alder lost ever actually defined in the games?

Not that I recall, hence the liberty I'd taken there. If it ever is confirmed, I'll change it to that.

Thank you for your feedback, everyone. I want to make this the best story it can possibly be, so the help is very much appreciated!

Last edited by Valin on Thu Sep 08, 2011 1:33 am, edited 1 time in total.

On reflection, the story does looks better now than before. The edited section was edited well, and I think that Skyla's responses fit her better in that way, rather than as they were before. It's done well.

On another note, here we have a writer who reads his readers opinions, can take on board their criticism, and will edit his work according to those criticisms - which is something we need more of!

TL;DR: Awesome =D

EDIT:
Oh yeah, eagerly awaiting the next chapter =)

I have to say, I like this version better. I have to agree with Cyclone--it does seem more in character for Skyla to just love the thrill of life.

Nevertheless, I think some scientific name for the 'water virus' should be made up. I mean, in vernacular one epidemic was 'the swine flu', while in medical terms, it was 'H1N1.' As the effects seem to be pulmonary, and repiratory issues such as hacking up blood (and poor respiration would lead to poor oxygenation, poor growth, and thus shortened life span), I'm thinking that aqueous pneumo-hemoptysis would be a good start. Pneumo deals with the respiratory system, while hemoptysis means coughing up blood from the lungs.

Nevertheless, I think some scientific name for the 'water virus' should be made up. I mean, in vernacular one epidemic was 'the swine flu', while in medical terms, it was 'H1N1.' As the effects seem to be pulmonary, and repiratory issues such as hacking up blood (and poor respiration would lead to poor oxygenation, poor growth, and thus shortened life span), I'm thinking that aqueous pneumo-hemoptysis would be a good start. Pneumo deals with the respiratory system, while hemoptysis means coughing up blood from the lungs.

Where the heck did you get that out of? But yeah, it would be kinda cool to use a name like that. Seems like the kind of thing Cheren would know, or Prof. Juniper. Hmmm... aqueous pneumo-hemoptysis...

I got that out of an old anatomy textbook from one of my previous year's classes, as well as some help from the internet to put it together.

Bianca and I make it back to Mistralton City by sunset. Well, that little sidetrip took more time than I thought; so much for my perfect plan of beating the Mistralton Gym Leader, and going someplace else before the day is through. Now I'm gonna have to eat and sleep at Unova's lowest-quality Pokemon Center, after all. The thought to just pitch a tent at the outskirts of the 'city,' and sleep that way, had crossed my mind, but there's even less cooling, and the surface is a equally uncomfortable, as I imagine the beds are, if not more. I decide to count my blessings.

Instead of food stands, the Mistralton Pokemon Center has a cafeteria, with a schedule of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and if you're not there when one of those three periods is in session, you go hungry. Things just keep going up for this place...

Bianca and I make it just before the dinner serving period is over. None of the food served looks or smells good. Still, I pick my favorite out of the selection (in sort of a 'least of multiple evils' kinda way): macaroni and cheese, Bianca gets some lasagna, and we get our Pokemon some cheap mass-produced poffins for later.

Even though the Pokemon Center cafeteria is roughly the size of the one at school, back in Accumula Town, there are only about four other trainers there. It's not a huge shock, considering we're out in the boonies, and I doubt people would want to stay here any longer than they have to.

As Bianca and I are about to look for a table, which wouldn't be too hard, considering there are so many empty ones, we spot a familiar face among the four other trainers: Cheren... or at least I think it's Cheren. Unlike the neutral expression he's usually wearing, he's smiling. Maybe there are brighter and cheerier smiles a person can make, but seeing as Cheren's not interacting with us, or anyone else, and he's smiling, he must have had a darned good day today, even as he picks away at the barely-edible slop this place calls 'food.'

Bianca runs past me and over to Cheren, “Cheren!” She plops down at the table our friend is at, across from him. Since I'd seen Cheren much more recently, I just causally walk over, and sit down next to Bianca.

Cheren greets Bianca with his smile, “Oh! Bianca! It's been a long time.”

“Well, it looks like the trio's back together again,” I say, “You seem to be pretty jazzed, Cheren. What's the story?”

Cheren pauses, but then directs his hand, thereby directing our gazes, to the badges on his jacket: six, in two vertical rows of three. Wait a minute... The last time I saw him, he had four. One of his new badges is the Insect Badge, so it looks like he finally earned his place on the long list of people who'd beaten Burgh, but he'd just won his sixth badge too? It looks like a blue feather, “I'd just won my fifth and sixth badge. Why not be joyous?”

“All right, Cheren. Clearly more happened than just you going back to Castelia City and beating Burgh since we parted. Let's hear it,” I say.

Cheren tells us about his adventures after we parted way outside Driftveil City. He went to Castelia City and, with Combusken, he defeated Burgh easily, and Combusken evolved into 'Blaziken.' Afterward, he returned to Driftveil City, and journeyed up Route 6, where he found the Chargestone Cavern, and caught his sixth Pokemon, 'Elekid.' After that, his Staravia scored her final form, called 'Staraptor,' apparently, meaning I'm now the only one out of the the of us without any wings (C'mon, Rufflet! You can feel free to evolve anytime, now.)

Anyways, the Mistralton Gym Leader just happened to be in the neighborhood. As I'd guessed before, the Gym Leader, who Cheren identifies as 'Skyla,' specializes in flying-types, and she gave our good friend some flying lessons. Afterward, they went to rest their Pokemon's wings, and Skyla told him who she is. They had a quick match, and with Blaziken, he won. They headed to Mistralton City, and Cheren got the Jet Badge. From there, he came here to this sub-par Pokemon Center to eat some sub-par grub and get some sub-par sleep, and that gets us caught up.

Still, something tells me Cheren's not telling the whole story. If it were just about the badges, he'd look merely satisfied, but in this case, he looks... happy. However, if he's not sharing any further details with us, he has a reason, and I know of one big secret he's keeping, and seeing that Bianca is here... I guess I'd better ask him later.

Next, Bianca tells Cheren of her big adventure, like where she'd gone, what Pokemon she'd caught, etc. I don't have a clear idea of Cheren and Bianca's respective timelines, but both of them had gone to Castelia City shortly before the present. If I had to guess, Cheren battled Burgh, and then moved on while Bianca fought in the tournament, where she won Larvitar.

Now that Bianca had gotten past her daddy issues, however, it seems she still can't live without some drama in her life, and she illustrates her latest crisis to us.

“Being a trainer is fun, and all,” Bianca says, “But... I don't know... I'm not sure if being a trainer is all I want to be. I know there are people who make a living as trainers, and that's great, and all, but... I'm not sure if that's all I want to do with my life. I guess... I'm not entirely sure of what I'm fighting for.”

“Don't tell your Pokemon that,” I say, You're their leader, after all, and you are the source of their morale. If you constantly show your doubt, they won't feel the motivation to train or fight their hardest.”

Cheren stares at me, aghast, “That's good advice, Ria... but I never thought I'd hear that from you.”

I grin slightly, “I guess I'm full of surprises, then.”

Cheren turns to Bianca, “Anyway, Bianca, you don't just have to be a trainer. Your achievements as one will greatly help if you want to be a Pokemon Ranger, or an agent for the International Police.”

“That doesn't sound too bad,” says Bianca, “I mean, I want to do something meaningful with the skills I'm gaining from my journey. I'm sure it'll be something to think about.”

Cheren turns back to me, “Anyway, Ria, I seriously doubt that advice you just gave Bianca just suddenly popped up in your head. Is there a story behind that. In fact, what have you been doing, ever since we parted ways?”

I tell Cheren about the adventures I'd had, gallivanting around in Undella Town. Like how, on Route 6, I was targeted by that Team Plasma dude, and his dark-type reopened an old psychological wound; how the Professor told me that Cedric might help me overcome my problem; how I met Cedric; how I learned that some Pokemon need a hardass for a trainer, thereby answering Cheren's question; and how I confronted my fears head-on, and captured Absol.

“So, you met Cedric Juniper?” asks Cheren, “That must have been something!”

“Yeah,” I say, “But anyway, I just know I'm starting to get past my phobia. I mean, I don't know if I'll conquer it completely, after five years worth of damage, but I think I can deal with it better now.”

“It looks like you'd just taken another big step,” says Cheren, “I guess our journey is doing wonders for all of us.”

“Looks that way.”

From there, we send out and introduce our latest Pokemon. Cheren's Elekid is a two-foot-tall yellow Pokemon with a black thunderbolt shape on its chest, and a pair of horns, resembling an electric plug. He says it's an electric-type, obviously, and that it's the pre-evolved form of Electabuzz, that Pokemon Elesa fought me with in Nimbasa City; I guess I'm never free from fighting a Pokemon again, even after beating them once. Bianca's new Pokemon, Larvitar, is a green reptilian Pokemon, exactly as tall as Elekid, with a hard hide; Cheren explains that Larvitar eventually evolves into a powerful Pokemon, called Tyranitar. As for Absol, I introduce Cheren to him, but instead of jumping over the table and hugging Cheren, like he did with Bianca and me, he just gives a passing nod, and then curls up and takes a nap. Oh Arceus... Don't tell me he only likes girls...

---

After spending almost an hour of forcing ourselves to eat our 'food,' we proceed to get ourselves cleaned up. The showers, like everything else in the Mistralton Pokemon Center, are sub-standard, with uneven heating, like the water is freezing cold at one moment, and unbearably hot at the next. Somehow, I survive that.

I get dressed and notice that Bianca is still getting herself cleaned up. As long as I'd known her, she'd been one to take a little longer to take a shower; what a neat freak. Still, this is good. While Bianca's getting herself cleaned, I can ask Cheren about the part of his story I suspect he omitted.

I head to the sleeping quarters, not looking the least bit forward to the night I'm about to have. The room is dimmed, and the few other trainers spending the night here are on their 'beds,' if you can call them that, tossing and turning, futilely trying to find the right position to sleep in. Yeah, good luck with that, guys.

I see Cheren sitting on the edge of one of the beds, with all his Pokemon out, eating some of the processed Poffins the Center offers, and looking like they're enjoying their meal as much as we humans enjoyed ours. Still, food is food, I guess. They are a pretty impressive sight though; particularly Blaziken, a humanoid chicken-ish Pokemon with legs buffed out to the max, and standing at a height taller than most humans.

As for Cheren, he has his Pokedex out, snapping pictures of his dining Pokemon, and reading data on them.

“Hey, Cheren,” I say, as I sit on a bed adjacent to his, and, following his cue, send out my Pokemon, and feed them some of the poffins I picked up earlier. Of course, they aren't enjoying their food either. Rufflet looks at me, with a face saying, 'C'mon, Ria! You're not seriously expecting me to eat this, are you? Get me a pizza, or something!' I respond with a face of my own, 'You will eat it, and you will like it... or try to anyway.'

Cheren glances at me from his Pokedex, “Oh. Ria.”

“So... what was up?” I ask.

“Excuse me?”

“When Bianca and I saw you, you look like you just had the day of your life. You said it was because of the badges, but you seemed too happy for it to just be that. Care to share it with good ol' Ria?”

Cheren hesitates, and then says, “Sure...” He inches closer to me, and lowers his voice, so no one else can hear, “Let's just say I feel... liberated.”

“'Liberated?'”

“Yeah...” Cheren gives me the long version of his encounter with the Mistralton Gym Leader. Apparently, she's a peppy and flirty girl... but most significant of all, according to Cheren, is her outlook. She likes nothing more than having fun, and looks forward to every day, whereas, Cheren, even though he'd had twelve years to deal with his impending death, and has taught himself to not let any of it on to others, but he still worries about it, and had dedicated himself toward pursuing his goal of becoming Champion... without realizing that, at its core, Pokemon battling is essentially a sporting event. Anyway, the Gym Leader, Skyla, helped Cheren realize that what matters is that he makes the most of the time he has, and take enjoyment in the pursuit of his dream, rather than just chase it.

“... I guess that realization just make me feel like something had been lifted from my shoulders,” Cheren concludes, “I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe it doesn't ultimately matter if I become Champion. This isn't to say I will stop, but maybe the journey is more important than the goal.”

“It's like you said,” I say, “this journey really is doing us wonders.”

---

There are three layers of bunks for the trainers to sleep in, but considering they have no guard rails, rolling around on an upper bunk too much would result in one heck of a rude awakening (and this Center hasn't been sued because...?) Still, with the small number of trainers around, and thus, no shortage of free beds, Bianca, Cheren, and I each take a low bunk.

I lay back in my bed, with a mattress so thin, I'd might as well be sleeping on the floor. I say to Bianca and Cheren, “Well nighty-night and sleep tight... if you can even sleep under these conditions.”

“Are you going to have trouble sleeping?” Bianca asks.

“Considering my body is already starting to ache, pretty much.”

“Yes, this is rather unpleasant,” Cheren agrees.

“I can help!” announces Bianca, as she sits up in her bed. She takes a Pokeball from her belt, and gives it a little toss. There's a bright flash, which warrants some moans and rocking from the other trainers trying to get to sleep, and the Pokemon that appears is a three-foot-long oval-shaped Pokemon, hovering in midair, with a pink and purple body, and a lazy expression. I don't even need my Pokedex to tell that it's Musharna, the Pokemon Munna evolves into, since they don't look that much different.

Bianca says to Musharna, as she gestures to me and Cheren, “My friends are having trouble getting to sleep. Can you use Hypnosis on them?”

Okay... I get it. It would have been a good show of faith if Bianca had asked our permission, but whatever; I'm down with anything that can drag me into the deepest depths of Dreamland right now. Since Cheren raises no objection, it looks like he's up for it too.

Musharna floats over to Cheren. Her eyes glow bright pink, and in about three seconds flat, he's out like a candle. Afterward, Musharna floats over to me. I stare into its beady eyes, which start to glow, and, in an instant, I find myself falling asl... Zzzzzzz...

~~~

I find myself... somewhere. It looks like outer space, or at least what I'd been led to believe what outer space looks like, surrounded all around, even below, by stars, planets, comets, and all that other groovy cosmic stuff. However, something's strange: Firstly, I'm on solid ground, and by that, I mean that there's gravity where I am. Secondly, the surface that gravity has me stuck to is invisible. I feel like I'm walking on a floor, which feels hard, smooth, and tiled, but when I look down, I don't see it. Thirdly, I can breath. Finally, I'm not even human; I'm a Minccino, and I have two other Minccinos with me: One is dark-furred and wearing Cheren's specs, and the other is yellow-furred and wearing Bianca's green cap. As for me, I'm brown-furred, and wearing my black vest.

In front of us is a huge white four-legged Pokemon, with a golden ring encircling its body. I recognize it as Arceus, or at least how most depictions portray Him, and He looks angry for some reason.

The Minccino versions of my friends and I hop into action, and get ready for the fight of our lives against the being who is believed to create the universe.

The battle goes on for a while... and by a while, I mean a millennium or two, though it feels a tad shorter than that, but finally, we have Arceus down, and we're Tickling Him into submission, when the Alpha Pokemon suddenly turns into a colossal Musharna. The dot on its head turns black, and it sucks everything, universe and all, into it like a black hole.

~?~!~

Thanks to Musharna, I managed to sleep well enough, but I ultimately find myself jolted awake.

I open my eyes, thinking I must have had an interesting, if maybe scary, dream, but I can't remember a single bit of it. What's up with that? When my vision comes into focus, I see Bianca and Cheren standing over me, and between them is Bianca's Musharna, and a bunch of pink mist is pouring out of her forehead. Dream Mist?

“Honestly, how long do you plan to sleep?” asks Cheren, “It's almost eleven o' clock.”

“That late?” I ask, drowsily.

Bianca smiles, “You were having an interesting dream, Ria, with us being Minccinos, and fighting Arceus.”

“That's what I'd been dreaming about?” I ask, “How did you know...?” I stop short. Of course I know how they know what I was dreaming; Musharna ate my dream, and is now producing Dream Mist, sharing it with anyone who breathes it in. Did Bianca and Cheren just make me their guinea pig? Whatever. I'm too drowsy to make an objection.

“Anyway,” Cheren begins, “You need to rise and shine, and fast. The Gym Leader is waiting for you.”

“So?” I say, “She's got going anywhere...”

“Actually, she is,” says Bianca.

“Skyla is getting restless,” says Cheren, “She likes spending the better part of her day riding her Pokemon, and, after I watched Bianca defeat her, I said you'd come shortly. She said she'd give you one hour to arrive, and then she'd go on an outing.”

“Okay...” I say, “I'll grab a quick breakfast, and then...”

“Actually, says Bianca, “It took a twenty-five minute walk to get back to the Center, so you actually have thirty-five minutes to get to the Gym...”

“Oh crap!” I'm jolted wide awake at that news. There's no way I'm gonna let another day pass by! Besides, now that Bianca had won the Jet Badge, as I observe on her shirt, that means my reign as the one ahead in the 'badge race' is now over, so now it's time to try and tie the score!

I put on my vest, grab my supply bag, buckle my Pokeball belt, dash out of the sleeping quarters, with Bianca and Cheren eating my dust, pass through the cafeteria to grab a low-quality bagel to eat on my way to the Gym, and leave, dashing across town and down the runway. It's not like I'd been keeping time, but I don't think it took me ten minutes, or even five, to start my day; I think I just set a new personal record!

Through all of that, however, my mind manages to be preoccupied with a thought that isn't involved with how chronologically screwed I might end up being. I realize that Minccino-related dreams have been a pretty common occurrence for me, and after recent events, I retrospectively have an idea why.

About four months after the traumatizing event I experienced five years ago, my dad caught a Minccino, and gave him to mom as a gift. He's sort of been like our family pet, as well as a housekeeping Pokemon, ever since. Anyway, even though he's a cute two-foot-tall critter, I got really nervous around him, even though he was just trying to be friendly. However, time has a way of working a little magic on someone, and I gradually became less and less nervous around him, as I knew he was harmless. I guess he's the reason why I managed to stand being around Pokemon, even while my phobia was going on, and maybe my recovery began before I even knew it. Heh... I owe Minccino a big thanks when I see him again.

---

I head down the mile-and-a-half of runway at full sprint, and the already-humid eighty-degree day isn't making things any easier. Finally, I make it to the end of the runway, where Mistralton 'Gym' is, both winded and with my clothes drenched in sweat. After the morning I'd been having so far, the Gym Leader had better be here.

Despite my limited oxygen, I head over to the whistle, and blow it. The sound that comes out is barely audible. Reluctantly, I wait for my breath to catch up with me, and try again... multiple times.

TOOT! TOOT! TOOOOOOOT! TOOTOOTOOT!

Finally, a young-sounding female voice from the badly painted house beyond the nearby greenhouses, calls out, “Okay, okay! Hold your Horseas! I'm on my way!” About thirty seconds later, a... cloud, or something like that, rises and spreads out from behind the house. I'm startled at first, until I notice that it's not really a cloud at all, but instead, a large flock of flying Pokemon of various kinds; birds, bugs, bats. They fly toward my location, and start roosting on the ground, perching themselves on the two elevated platforms, or simply remaining in the air, hovering or soaring around.

I notice one of the birds, a swan-like Pokemon with a long beak and wide wingspan, flying toward me, and on its back is a human, who, as the Pokemon approaches the ground, jumps off and lands right in front of me. Man, what a showoff.

The person, who I don't think it's a stretch to assume is the Gym Leader, is a young girl, about eighteen, if I had to guess, making her the youngest Gym Leader I'd seen so far on this journey, besides Iris and those triplets in Striaton City. She has magenta hair, striking blue eyes, and an equally blue aviator's outfit. She comes across to me as a pilot of some kind, unsurprisingly, considering the type she specializes in.

“Well, it looks like someone is pretty impatient,” says the girl, who, despite her words, is grinning like she's having the time of her life, “Still, seeing as you clearly came here in a hurry, is your name Ria?”

“Yes, it is,” I say, “Are you the Gym Leader...? 'Skyla,' right?”

The girl winks in response, “You got it. So, you're the third member of Cheren's trio. Hm...” Skyla leans forward and stares at me intently for a few seconds.

“Um... what are you doing?” I ask, feeling uncomfortable.

“Oh, just getting a good look at you,” says Skyla, “Well, I'd say you don't quite hold a candle to Bianca, but you're still an attractive enough girl. I can't believe Cheren's never fallen for either of you.”

“What?”

Skyla waves a dismissive hand, “Oh, just noticing things. Anyway, I know why you're here; a Gym battle, right? I was looking forward to this, so I told your friends that I was about to go flying to get you to arrive sooner.”

“Hold on,” I say, “That whole 'leaving in an hour' thing was just a ruse?”

“Yes it was,” says Skyla.

“Ugh! Of all the...”

“Aw, don't look so sour,” coos Skyla, patting my shoulder as if I were ten years younger, “You want a Gym battle, so you got a Gym battle. Hm...” Skyla gives me a once-over, “Like the handsome Cheren and the cute Bianca, it seems the sporty Ria has five badges too. It looks like I have another five-badge Gym battle, then. I guess we'll follow the rules of the other two: two-on-two, singles, no switch-outs. You don't really have a choice, or anything, but does that sound like a plan?”

“Sure thing,” I say.

“Awesome,” says Skyla with a bright smile. She reaches upward, and her swan like Pokemon takes fight. She grabs its legs and is carried ten feet to the top of one of the platforms. Skyla calls down, “Go onto the other platform, and let's begin!”

“Totally,” I say, though I'm a tad annoyed that Skyla got to be carried to her platform, like she's mocking me, while I have to climb a latter to mine.

When I get to the top of my platform, I think about what my first Pokemon should be. Flying-type Pokemon have always been a problem for me... and really, most other people too. In fact, most of the battles I'd lost to other trainers were because of flying-types. This is because choosing a Pokemon with attacks that have an advantage against them are usually not enough. Either, they have to be able to attack from a distance, be quick enough to counter if one swoops in to attack, or be able to fly too. Luckily, I have Pokemon that are capable of all three of those tasks, but I decide to make Magmortar my first choice, due to his expertise in long-range combat, as well as having attacks that are effective against flying-types, like Thunderbolt.

I grab Magmortar's Pokeball, while I wait for Skyla to make her choice. I noticed before that she has a few Pokeballs attached to her belt, but they have clear centers, which mean that they are empty, or they are custom-made for any Pokemon under her care who need to be recalled to be healed. Noticing that she's looking at the flock of Pokemon that came with her, I'm guessing all of them are her Pokemon to be used for Gym battles.

Skyla glances back at her group of flyers, and after a few seconds of thinking it over, she says, “Alrighty, I've decided! Send out your Pokemon whenever you feel like it!”

“Got it!” I rear back and toss Magmortar's Pokeball into the field, “Go! Magmortar!” The capsule falls ten feet to the ground, the furthest it's ever had to fall, hits the surface and bursts open, releasing Magmortar, and then it flies ten feet up, back into my hand, making me wonder how far it has to fall to not return to me.

At the same time, Skyla gestures at her flock, and then at the battlefield, “Alright, Ninjask! Let's have some fun!” From her group, a Ninjask flies out in a black and gold blur, and appears in the field.

Hm... A Ninjask, huh? I've sen Burgh use one a couple times. It's a bug/flying-type, and it's really, really fast. Still, Magmortar has a big type advantage over it, so it looks like things are looking up for us right off the bat!

I look at Skyla, but I see no sign of worry on her face at all; a sure enough sign that she's up to something. Still, all we gotta do is knock Ninjask out, right?

“Let us begin!” declares Skyla.

“Niiiiiiin!” Ninjask cries out in a shrill voice.

“Magmortar!” I shout, “Let's end this fast! Flamethrower!”

“Mag!” Magmortar aims one of his cannons in Ninjask's direction, and fires off a stream of flames. The attack looks like it's about to hit, but suddenly, Ninjask practically vanishes from its location with a blur. Magmortar tries to follow Ninjask's movements, but even with his speed training with the Power Anklets, the bug/flying-type is much, much faster.

To make matters worse, Ninjask's body periodically flashes blue, and after each flash, its already-unbelievable speed increases even more, to the point where it's not even a blue anymore, and its movements become invisible! I try to analyze this with my Pokedex, but Ninjask is moving too fast for me to get a snapshot. However, Skyla decides to fill me in, “Haha! Are you trying to figure out Ninjask's ability, Ria? It's called Speed Boost. The more the battle goes on, the faster Ninjask becomes. If I weren't your opponent, I'd wish Magmortar luck in hitting him!”

“Tch!” The battles goes on, with Ninjask moving around like crazy, and Magmortar unsuccessfully trying to get a lucky shot in. Ninjask doesn't go on the offensive, and I feel like we're being mocked.

Ninjask suddenly appears right in front of Magmortar's face, too close for him to use his cannons. The fire-type staggers back in alarm, “Magmag!”

“Fire Punch!” I command.

Magmortar's hand emerges from his cannon, ignited. He throws a flaming punch at Ninjask, but it vanishes at the last possible second, reappearing several feet above.

“Thunderbolt!” I yell.

Magmortar's arm turns into a cannon again. He aims up, and fires a dazzling beam of electricity, but that, like every other attack so far, misses, as Ninjask effortlessly dodges it. Shoot! It's too fast! Still, something as small and quick as Ninjask has to be a major lightweight; I can't imagine it being able to take a hit very well, so as long as we can just get one in, it should be all we need to gain the upper hand...

Skyla laughs, “Teeheehee! Good show, Ninjask! Enough fun, though. It's time to attack! Fury Cutter!”

“Niiiiiiiiiin!” Ninjask's claws glow light-green, and it vanishes again. A split-second later, Magmortar winces, as I see a small cut get formed on his skin. Ninjask reappears, and then vanishes again, and another cut is formed. Soon enough, the bug/flying-type is showering Magmortar with slashes, each one seeming to be stronger than the last. Even though it's touching Magmortar, whatever burns it's getting from his Flame Body ability don't matter, as like Emolga during my battle with Elesa, Ninjask's momentum is no doubt blowing out the flames.

Speaking of my match against Elesa, though, between winces from Ninjask's increasingly more powerful attack, I notice that Magmortar is giving me some sort of pleading look, and I have a guess of what he has in mind: the same thing that allowed him to defeat Emolga that time.

I realize that if I verbally give the command, Ninjask may be alerted, and keep its distance away from Magmortar, therefore blowing our chance, so I just respond with a silent nod.

Magmortar performs Overheat, releasing flames from his entire body, though, in order to get in a fast hit, he doesn't charge up. Still, even in its weakest form, Overheat still manages to score a good hit on the unsuspecting Ninjask. Covered in burns, with steam mixed in with the smoke, Ninjask is sent staggering back, and landing on the ground, stunned.

“Ninjask!” Skyla cries.

“Now's our chance, Magmortar!” I yell, “Take it down with Flamethrower!”

“Mag!” Magmortar stands over Ninjask. Being the merciful dude that he is, he aims down at the Ninja Pokemon, and completely engulfs it in fire. When the flames clear, Ninjask is just barely hanging on. It's at that moment, that I notice something tied around its body: a Focus Sash, like the one I gave to Absol! It's glowing brightly, and giving Ninjask one last ounce of willpower.

“Ninjask!” shouts Skyla, “Use Baton Pass!”

“Niiiiin...” Ninjask groans. It points one of its arms skyward, and a bluish beam shoots up from it. Once it's about fifty feet in the air, it takes on a shape: a small glowing blue cylinder. With that, Ninjask collapses.

Skyla recalls Ninjask with one of her empty Pokeballs and says, cheerily, “Well, it looks like I'm down to one Pokemon, and you still have two. You're on a roll, Ria!”

I can tell that something's not quite right. Sure, Ninjask was fast, but overall, that round came off more as 'annoying,' rather than 'difficult.' I'm also worried about that last move Ninjask performed before fainting. Skyla is definitively up to something.

I snap a picture of the cylinder floating in the air with my Pokedex, and 'Technique: Baton Pass' comes up as a result. Without having a lot of time to look all the information over, I just read the first line, which has the moves most basic information. It's says that any temporary ability augmentations a Pokemon gains during a battle are released from a Pokemon's body, and can then be transferred to another Pokemon. I get it... Ninjask's Speed Boost ability increased its speed several times throughout the battle, and now, those increases will be transferred to Skyla's next Pokemon, if it gets to that cylinder! This is bad!

Skyla calls her next Pokemon into the field, “You're up next, Swoobat!” The Pokemon that flies from Skyla's flock to the battlefield is a three-foot-tall blue bat-like Pokemon, with black wings, light-blue mane covering most of its body, a pink tail, and, most noticeably, a round nose with a heart-shaped nostril. According to my Pokedex, it's called Swoobat, the Courting Pokemon, a psychic/flying-type.

Skyla commands, “Swoobat, get the baton, and gain Ninjask's speed!”

“Swoooo!” Swoobat ascends toward the cylinder.

Not good! Swoobat will become as fast as Ninjask if it gets to the cylinder, and I have a feeling this one may be the real deal.

“Magmortar!” I shout, “Fire! Fire! Shoot down Swoobat right now! Don't let it get to the cylinder!”

“Magmort!” Magmortar aims up, and fires several bolts of electricity up at Swoobat in rapid succession.

Unfortunately, while not as fast as Ninjask, Swoobat is still pretty quick, and it manages to swiftly dodge Magmortar's shots as it rises. Magmortar, no doubt understanding the situation, fires off Thunderbolt attacks even more rapidly.

When Swoobat is just a few feet away from the cylinder, Magmortar finally gets in a lucky shot, which grazes Swoobat's left wing. Afterward, the Courting Pokemon, probably just having had a few muscles in its wing paralyzed, isn't flying as fast, but it's still close enough to come in contact with the cylinder. It vanishes on contact, and Swoobat's body flashes with blue light a few times. As for Magmortar, he really wore himself down by firing off all the shots he did, and slumps down in exhaustion.

“Good job, Swoobat,” says Skyla, “Now, keep your distance, and keep firing on Magmortar!”

“Swoooo!” Swoobat swoops down, to get a little closer to Magmortar, but still maintain a safe distance. Swoobat definitely got faster after getting the cylinder, but it's not moving invisibly fast, or even as a blur. It looks like the injury it got slowed it down a bit, which is a plus on our end, but it's clear that Magmortar can't take much more exertion.

A bunch of sky-blue colored blades materialize around, Swoobat, and it flaps its wings down at Magmortar, launching them. The Blast Pokemon takes evasive action, trying to avoid the blades the best he can. With the training he got with the Power Anklets, he's pretty agile, even with his bulky body and short legs, but there are a lot of blades, and it's hard to counterattack while dodging. Ultimately, most of the blades manage to hit, and Magmortar slumps to one knee.

“Magmortar!” I yell.

“All right, Swoobat!” says Skyla, approvingly, “Now, finish it with a Psychic attack!”

“Baaaaaaat!” a large pink orb appears in front of Swoobat, and it fires it down at Magmortar. It scores a direct hit, creating a small crater in the pavement. Magmortar goes down.

“Return!” I say, recalling the Blast Pokemon.

Alright, now we're down one-to-one, but Magmortar did cause quite a bit of damage on his own, beating Ninjask, and lessening the speed increase Swoobat could have gotten. Still, who to send out next...

I have two Pokemon with long-range attacks that are strong against flying-types: Dewott with Ice Beam, and Absol, who can use both Ice Beam and Thunderbolt, but the latter is still in training, so no go there. As for Dewott, I'm not so sure. Swoobat has the speed and distance to avoid ranged attacks, especially from a non-flyer, with ease. The best method I can think of is, rather than attack from a distance, fight it up close and personal, and I have only one Pokemon capable of doing that. Might as well go for it!

I send out my second and last Pokemon, “Rufflet! I choose you!” The Eaglet Pokemon appears on my end.

“Oh!” Skyla squeals, “A Rufflet! That's really awesome, Ria!”

“Um... Thanks?” I'm not used to an opponent getting excited about a Pokemon sent out on the other side.

“Ruuuff,” says Rufflet in an 'aw shucks' kinda way.

“We're not gonna go easy on it, though,” says Skyla, “Swoobat! Attack with another Air Cutter attack!”

“Swoooooo!” Like before, another flurry of sky-blue blades materializes around Swoobat, and it sends them down at Rufflet.

Luckily, since Rufflet is feeling 100%, unlike Magmortar, when Swoobat used the same move earlier, he leaps and flies around, dodging all but a few of the blades.

“Alright, Rufflet!” I say, “Get up there, and let it have it!”

“Ruff ruff!” Rufflet takes flight, and approaches Swoobat.

“Keep your distance, and wear it down with Confusion!” Skyla commands.

Swoobat retreats by a few feet. Its nose glows bright pink, and it starts firing off a volley of Confusion bolts.

Being familiar with the Confusion attack, I know there will be problems of one of those bolts gets Rufflet in the head. “Rufflet! Focus on defense, and guard your head!”

“R-ruff!” Struggling to hover by flapping one wing, Rufflet covers his head with the other. All the bolts slam into Rufflet, but none hit his head.

“Good job,” I say, “Now, advance!”

Rufflet flies toward Swoobat. He, like all my other Pokemon, since their Power Anklet training, is pretty agile, but no matter how fast he is, Swoobat's augmentation makes it even faster, and it falls back, the Eaglet Pokemon being unable to get anywhere close to it.

Rufflet flies after Swoobat, delivering one unsuccessful attack after another.

Finally, Rufflet closes in on Swoobat, but it's quickly apparent that Swoobat's just toying with him, when it dodges upward at the last second, just as the Eaglet Pokemon is attempting to slash it with his talons. The Courting Pokemon flies directly above him, and, facing downward, a large pink orb appears in front of it, and fires.

Rufflet takes the Psychic attack at point-blank range and is pushed downward, ultimately getting sandwiched between the psychic blast and the ground.

“Rufflet!” I cry out.

“Ruff... let...” groans Rufflet as he slowly gets back to his feet.

“Well, it looks like this one's in the bag,” says Skyla, “Rufflet isn't getting anywhere near harming Swoobat. Your Pokemon is fast, but not fast enough.”

C'mon, Ria! Think! Does Rufflet have any moves that can even the speed difference? Brute force alone just isn't cutting it here.

I mentally run through our previous training sessions, trying to recall whatever moves Rufflet had gained. Unfortunately, between six Pokemon, learning techniques left and right, there's a lot to keep track of, and I don't exactly have time to consult my notebook right now. Finally, I recall a sparring match between Rufflet and Magmortar, where the Blast Pokemon fired a bunch of shots up at the Eaglet Pokemon, and Rufflet was forced to dodge like crazy. It seemed Magmortar had him completely at bay, but then Rufflet performed a move that caused him to fly like a jet, and he started flying faster than Magmortar could aim. I was so confident in the speed Rufflet already had that I almost forgot about it! Hopefully he can better match Swoobat's speed that way.

“Rufflet!” I call out, “Use Tailwind!”

Rufflet nods in response, and then his eyes start to glow sky-blue. I noticed that Pokemon do this when they are about to perform a technique where they manipulate an existing element in an area, like plants, water, or, in this case, air. Dust and tiny fragments of asphalt lift off the ground and circle around Rufflet as he takes control of the surrounding air, turning it into wind. The Eaglet Pokemon looks up at Swoobat and spreads his wings wide.

Skyla sighs, “Maybe this isn't over, after all...”

With the wind powering his wings, Rufflet launches from the ground like a missile, straight at Swoobat, who narrowly dodges. Rufflet flies past it, but he then performs an almost instantaneous U-turn, and shoots back down at the Courting Pokemon, and even with its enhanced speed, it looks hard-pressed to compete with the Eaglet Pokemon.

“Ah! Swoobat! Psychic attack!” yells Skyla.

Another orb of psychic energy forms in front of Swoobat, seconds away from being fired. Not good. Rufflet's coming in too fast to dodge in time. An idea occurs to me, however: that ghost-type technique Rufflet learned in Undella Town... and ghost-type techniques are strong against...

“Rufflet! Shadow Claw!” I counter-command.

Swoobat fires its psychic blast. At the same time, Rufflet's talons glow dark purple, and he performs and aerial forward somersault, vertically cutting into the psychic orb.

Rufflet breaks through the attack, not appearing to have taken much damage himself, and he closes in on Swoobat. His talons radiate ghost-type energy again, and he tears into the psychic/flying-type with another Shadow Claw attack.

“Baaaaaaat!” Swoobat screeches, as Rufflet's attack forms no fewer than six steaming scars on its body.

“Ah! Swoobat!” Skyla cries out.

“Awesome work, Rufflet,” I say, “Now, follow that up with Crush Claw!”

“Flet!” Rufflet maneuvers above Swoobat, and kicks down hard with his talons. The Courting Pokemon is sent rocketing to the ground, slamming hard against the runway's asphalt.

“Swoooooo...”

“C'mon, Swoobat!” Skyla tries to urge Swoobat on, “You've still got some fight in you!”

“All right, Rufflet!” I call out, “Now, finish it with Brave Bird!”

“Rufflet rufflet!” Rufflet's entire body glows sky blue, and he shoots down toward Swoobat, who responds by rolling onto its back, and firing another psychic blast up at the Eaglet Pokemon.

Rufflet and the blast collide, and struggle against each other. However, with Swoobat weakened by Rufflet's previous attacks, the attack is also weakened, and the normal/flying-type breaks through with little trouble.

Rufflet slams full-force into Swoobat, and there's an explosion of dust and broken asphalt. When the debris clears, Rufflet is standing over Swoobat, breaking heavily, while the psychic/flying-type is down, not even attempting to get back up. The battle's outcome is clear.

Skyla sighs and recalls Swoobat, “At least we lost to a Rufflet. I can't complain much, there...”

I slide down my platform's latter, and rush over to Rufflet, with my elbow extended to my side. Rufflet flutters up, and perches himself on my arm, “That was awesome, Rufflet! Great battle!”

“Ruff rufflet!”

Skyla rides her swan-like Pokemon from her platform and down to me, “Well, that was a fun battle... Of course, I think all battles are fun, so that's not saying much, but anyway...” She holds out an upside-down fist to me and opens it, revealing the feather-shaped badge I'd seen Cheren and Bianca wearing, “... here's your Jet Badge. Y'know, after battling Cheren and Bianca, deep down, I had a feeling you'd pull off a win somehow.”

“Yeah right,” I respond, as I take the Jet Badge and pin it to my vest, “You really had us on the ropes for a while.”

Skyla shrugs, “Yeah, but trainers who'd won five badges usually don't lose that easily...” She turns her attention to Rufflet, “Anyways, it looks like Ria really raised you well, Rufflet! With a little more training, you'll definitely evolve into one mighty Braviary!”

“Rufflet rufflet rufflet!” Rufflet exclaims excitedly.

“How much longer?” I ask, but then glance at Rufflet, “Uh, not that I don't like you as a Rufflet, or anything.”

'Ruff rufflet,” says Rufflet in an understanding tone.

Skyla says, “It takes an immense amount of training for a Rufflet to become strong enough to evolve into a Braviary, but I'm positive yours is almost there, Ria. Anyway...” She looks over my shoulder and upward, “Did you two enjoy the show?”

“Huh?” I turn around and follow Skyla's gaze.

Several feet in the air, I see Cheren, on the back of a black and white-colored hawk-like Pokemon, and Bianca, riding a light-green dragonfly-like Pokemon, almost seven feet long, with red eyes, wide wings, and a long striped tail. Both of them are hovering in the air, watching us. I'd already seen Cheren's flying Pokemon, Staraptor, and seeing as Bianca told me about it, I'm pretty sure the Pokemon she's riding is the flying ground/dragon-type Pokemon, Flygon.

“Um... How long have you guys been there?” I ask.

“About the time Rufflet shot up at Swoobat,” Bianca answers.

“We decided to watch how your battle would go,” says Cheren, “and give you a shoulder to cry on if things went awry.”

I feign a laugh, as I recall Rufflet, “Ha-ha, you guys. Real funny.”

Cheren and Bianca land near Skyla and me.

“Anyway,” says Bianca, “It looks like we've all just made Hyper Rank!”

Pokemon trainers are ranked by how many badges they earn. Beginners are just that: Beginner Rank. Trainers with one badge are Novice Rank; Two badges are Normal Rank, three are Super Rank, six are Hyper Rank, eight are Elite Rank, and trainers who have earned the Pokemon League Badge, or hold the title of Elite Four or Champion, are Master Rank. Two more, and we become Elite Ranked trainers... not a bad feeling.

Skyla says, “Well, being a Gym Leader, and all, I guess I have to congratulate you. So... I guess I can't count on you sticking around in Mistralton City a little longer?”

“I'm afraid not,” says Cheren, “It's only noon, which means we have enough time to at least make it a fair enough way to Iccirus City...”

“Or Driftveil City in my case,” says Bianca.

“So, you're taking on the Boss-man next?” I say to Bianca, referencing the story I told her about our Driftveil adventures.

“I don't know,” says Bianca, “Now that we're Hyper Rank, the Gym battles are really gonna get tough. I should pick my next opponents carefully. Anyway... before we part ways again, there's something I want to ask.”

“What's up?” I ask.

“Actually, it's something I want to ask Cheren...”

“Hm? What is it?” asks Cheren.

Bianca gives Cheren a straight-forward look, “I want to challenge you to a Pokemon battle. I want to see just how far I'd come as a trainer.”

Cheren seems a tad surprised, not that I blame him. Bianca wasn't hesitant about challenging him at all. He recovers, and then nods, “Okay. I accept. Let's head back to the Pokemon Center, so Staraptor and Flygon can recover their strength, and then we can--”

“Oh, you don't have to go through all that trouble,” Skyla cuts in, “You can go ahead and use my Gym. As for Staraptor and Flygon, I'll be right back!” She rides her swan-like Pokemon over the greenhouses and back to her house. About forty seconds later, she's back, and she hands two white and purple spray bottles to Cheren and Bianca, “Now that you have flying Pokemon to ride around on, it's a good idea to have some Ethers handy. Just spray their wings with it, and the soreness will just disappear!”

Cheren and Bianca do just that, and spray their Pokemon's wings with the Ethers they'd been given.

In the meantime, Skyla explains, “Flying around on your Pokemon is a two-way deal, you know? It gets you places, and it's good training for a Pokemon to become a better flyer. In time, they won't even feel sore from carrying you from one side of the region to the other.”

Mere seconds later, Staraptor and Flygon look energized enough to battle.

“Thank you, Skyla,” says Bianca.

“Yes, thank you,” says Cheren.

“Oh, you're welcome, handsome,” says Skyla to Cheren, “Would you like a good luck kiss?”

Cheren smiles while blushing slightly. Well, Cheren sure wasn't kidding last night about Skyla's flirtatious tendencies, “Thanks, but only if you give one to Bianca too. I'd like things to be equal.”

“Oh, really?” says Skyla, looking over at Bianca, who frantically shakes her head. “Oh well. I guess I'll just say 'good luck,' then.”

“Same here,” I say, “I'd like to see how you guys do against each other.”

“Thanks!” Bianca and Cheren call out as they recall their flying Pokemon.

They take their places on their respective platforms, and Bianca asks, “So... um... what are the rules gonna be?”

“Elekid isn't quite up to fighting strength with my other Pokemon,” says Cheren, “and seeing as you just recently acquired your Larvitar, I doubt it is too.”

“So, five-on-five?” Bianca asks.

“Yes,” says Cheren, “and how about we make this a straight-forward battle with no switch-outs?”

“Okay,” says Bianca, “That's fine.”

“Then let's get to it!”

There is a brief pause, as Bianca and Cheren consider their first move. In some ways, battles against fellow traveling trainers are actually tougher than battles against Gym Leaders, as they don't specialize in a single Pokemon type, so you don't know what to expect. It ultimately comes down to luck of the draw.

I look at Bianca. The Bianca I knew would probably be nervous about battling Cheren, but if she is, it's sure not registering on her face. Well, Bianca traveled and trained on her own for a while, and she'd won six badges, just like me and Cheren. I shouldn't be surprised that she'd become a much more confident and disciplined trainer during that time, and she's not gonna feel doubtful against an opponent that's on the same skill level as her. Still, the transformation is almost scary. Where did the old Bianca go?

After roughly fifteen seconds of consideration, Bianca and Cheren make their first Pokemon choices and toss their Pokeballs into the field, “Gardevoir!”

“Go! Glaceon!”

Gardevoir appears on Cheren's end, while the Pokemon that appears on Bianca's end is a blue and light-blue colored fox-like Pokemon. My Pokedex identifies it as Glaceon, the Fresh Snow Pokemon, an ice-type, and an evolved form of the Eevee Bianca got at the Pokemon Sale; one of several, actually.

“A psychic-type and an ice-type,” Skyla observes, “It looks like a pretty even start to this match.”

“Let's begin, Gardevoir!” Cheren shouts, “Psychic attack!” In response, Gardevoir holds out her arms and fires a powerful blast of psychic energy at Glaceon. After the match against Swoobat, that move seem to be everyone's attack of choice for the day.

However, Glaceon narrowly sidesteps the attack, and Bianca commands, “Good one, Glaceon! Ice Beam!”

“Glaaa!” Glaceon opens her mouth and fires a beam of concentrated frigid air at Gardevoir, who extends an arm in response, and the attack clashes against a psychic barrier that she forms. Looks like a stalemate for now.

“Gardevoir! Close in and use Focus Blast,” Cheren commands.

“Voir...” Gardevoir suddenly vanishes from where she was standing, and reappears behind Glaceon. She extends her arms down at the ice-type, and a reddish-brown energy orb forms in front of her. With that color, it means she's preparing an energy-based fighting-type attack.

“Glaceon! Behind you!” shouts Bianca.

“Gla!” the Fresh Snow Pokemon exclaims as she leaps away from Gardevoir, quickly putting ten feet between them.

“Shadow Ball! Quick!” Bianca calls out.

Glaceon opens her mouth, and a dark-purple ball of ghost-type energy forms and flies toward Gardevoir. At the same time, the Embrace Pokemon releases her attack, and the two energy orbs fly at each other.

Fighting-type attacks are complete ineffective against ghost-types, and the same goes for techniques, apparently, as instead of the two attacks clashing, Glaceon's Shadow Ball attack passes right through Gardevoir's Focus Blast.

The two attacks slam into their respective targets, leaving steaming wounds on both of them.

“Gar...”

“Glac...”

“So, Gardevoir knows a fighting-type move...” notes Bianca, “I guess we gotta play it a bit safer. Glaceon! Hail!”

“Ceeeeon!” Glaceon cries as snow materializes and spirals around her, spreading until is completely fills the arena. Looking through the snowstorm as well as I can, I see Gardevoir, but not Glaceon. Okay, this is familiar; It's the same technique and ability combo Clay's Mamoswine used: Hail and Snow Cloak.

However, Cheren seems fairly unconcerned by this latest development... probably because he countered it with Gardevoir, then Kirlia, before. “Gardevoir! Magical Leaf!”

“Garde!” Several glowing leaves materialize and circle around Gardevoir, as she waits for Glaceon to appear and for the leaves to home in on her.

A few tense seconds pass before the leaves fly out at Gardevoir's four o' clock direction. She turns, a Focus Blast at the ready, but she suddenly gets slammed by a Shadow Ball before she even gets a chance to attack. Afterward, the Magical Leaves return to Gardevoir.

“Gr...” Cheren growls, not looking so reassured anymore, and I can see why; When we battled Clay, his Mamoswine was charging at Magmar and Kirlia, zeroing in on them, but in this case, Glaceon is using long-ranged attacks, attacking from a safe distance, and then going into hiding again. The Magical Leaves alert Gardevoir of Glaceon's location, but not before she attacks.

Gardevoir, clearly having taken quite a beating, is breathing heavily and slightly hunched over. It doesn't seem like Cheren has an idea of how to get her out of this situation. The Embrace Pokemon forms another Focus Blast, and waits for the Magical Leaves to reveal Glaceon's location... which they eventually do, indicating that Glaceon is right behind her.

Gardevoir whirls around to launch her attack, but another Shadow Ball slams into her before she even even has time to aim.

“Gar... de...” Having taken too much damage, Gardevoir slumps to the ground, defeated.

“Tch. Gardevoir! Return!” says Cheren, recalling the psychic-type.

The snowstorm is still going on, and Cheren is gonna have to find a way out of the funk he's in. I wonder who he'll send out next. Blaziken might be a good choice, having a full type advantage over Glaceon, or maybe Froslass, as she has Snow Cloak too, and can also benefit from it.

“Well, handsome is sure in a tight spot,” says Skyla, “I wonder what he has planned.”

Cheren takes several second to make his next choice, but he finally does, “Okay! I'm counting on you for this, Staraptor!” Cheren tosses his Pokeball and Staraptor appears on his end.

Bianca blinks a couple times, “Staraptor...? I sure wasn't expecting that...” The feeling is mutual.

“Oh! I was wonder when he was gonna send out Staraptor,” says Skyla, excitedly, probably because a flying-type had just taken to the field, “but against an ice-type? I wonder what he has planned.”

“Clearly something,” I mutter, “That's not a choice I'd make...”

Bianca shrugs, “Ah, anyway. Take Staraptor down quickly, Glaceon! Ice Beam!”

“Staraptor! Take evasive action!” Cheren counter-commands.

Staraptor spirals upward, narrowly avoiding Ice Beam attacks that Glaceon fires from various location from inside the snowstorm. Eventually, Glaceon wears herself out from attacking too much, and the beams come much less frequently.

“Okay,” says Cheren, “Now! Whirlwind!”

“Raptor!” Staraptor's eyes glow sky-blue, and she starts whirling around. The combination of the gusts caused by the Predator Pokemon's powerful wings, and the wind she's manipulating forms a cyclone around her, which sucks the entire snowstorm into it. Glaceon uses a minor Ice Beam to freeze her feet to the ground, in order to avoid getting sucked in as well, while Skyla and I step back and try to hold our ground against the powerful wind.

After all the snow gets sucked in, the wind pauses for a split second, and then everything gathered by the tornado gets blasted outward in every direction, almost knocking every human present, including me and Skyla, off our feet, and showering us with frost and dust, which is unpleasant to say the least. Where the mini-tornado used to be is Staraptor, hovering in midair, with thin steam rising from her body, no doubt having taken some minor ice-type damage from gathering all that snow.

With the snowstorm gone,and Glaceon no longer able to hide, Cheren says, “Excellent work, Staraptor. Now take Glaceon down! Close Combat!”

“Stara!” Staraptor's beak glows reddish-brown with fighting-type energy, and she swoops down at Glaceon, who tries to counter with an Ice Beam, but the normal/flying-type barrel-rolls out of its path, and slams into the ice-type, riddling her with a succession of powerful pecks, each leaving a steaming puncture.

“Glaceon!” shouts Bianca.

“Now for the finishing blow,” says Cheren, “Steel Wing!”

Staraptor rears back, and one of her wings glows with light-gray energy. She slams Glaceon, creating a misty gash. With that final blow, Glaceon goes down.

“Ah! Come back, Glaceon!” Bianca recalls the Fresh Snow Pokemon.

“They're down four-to-four,” says Skyla, “It looks like things are even again.”

Without taking too much time to consider, Bianca sends out her next Pokemon, “Alright! This one's up to you, Flygon!” Flygon appears on Bianca's end. It's a sensible enough choice; One way to counter a flying-type is with something that flies.

Staraptor ascends to put some distance between herself and Flygon, while Bianca commands the ground/dragon-type, “Okay, Flygon! Use Quick Attack and Stone Edge!”

“Gooooon!” The end of Flygon's tail glows dull-gray and she quickly bolts up toward Staraptor, reaching her in a matter of seconds, and swinging her tail up at the Predator Pokemon.

At the last second, Staraptor maneuvers to the side, the attack just grazing her, and, with Flygon rendered wide open, performs another Close Combat attack, repeatedly pecking her unprotected belly. However, it's an attack that requires a lot of stamina to pull off, and Staraptor is worn out after performing it. Flygon's tail glows again, and she performs an aerial front flip, slamming Staraptor from over head, spiking her down to the ground, slamming hard against the runway's asphalt.

“Star...”

“Hang in there,” Cheren urges Staraptor.

“Okay, Flygon!” says Bianca, “Take it down with Hyper Beam!”

“Goooooon!” Flygon looks down at Staraptor, and opens her mouth. A few seconds later, She fires a bright orange blast of energy down at Staraptor.

“Staraptor!” yells Cheren.

“Star... raptor!” Despite her wear and tear, Staraptor get to her feet and just barely manages to leap out of the beam's path. The Hyper Beam attack tears up the pavement and ground underneath where Staraptor was just a split second ago.

Bianca's eyes widen, “Oh no!”

Skyla states, “Hyper Beam is a powerful attack, but it uses a ton of a Pokemon's strength, and it needs a few seconds to recover. Flygon is now wide open for Staraptor.”

“I see,” I say, making a mental note to be careful about how Hyper Beam is used, in case one of my Pokemon ever learn that technique.

Staraptor flies up to Flygon, who is hovering in the air, stunned, while Cheren shouts, “Here's your chance, Staraptor! Use Brave Bird! Give it everything you've got!”

“Stara!” Staraptor flies up and above Flygon, performs a quick U-turn, and dives into her. The Predator Pokemon's entire body becomes silhouetted with sky blue energy, but also wisps of red, which is different than when Rufflet used the same technique against Swoobat. My Pokedex identifies this as a result of Staraptor's ability, Reckless, which makes high-energy collision attacks even more powerful, as well as strenuous for the user.

Staraptor slams Flygon into the ground, and the ground/dragon-type faints.

“Ah! Flygon! Return!” Bianca recalls Flygon.

“Yay! Staraptor!” Skyla cheers, “Go for three! Go for three!”

“I don't think that's gonna happen,” I say, “Look at Staraptor.” Staraptor is breathing heavily. I notice something wrapped around one of her legs: a Focus Sash, and it's glowing; she's being given one last ounce of energy to fight with.

“Oh.”

“Anyway, the battle is now four-to-three, and Cheren has gained the advantage. I wonder who Bianca's gonna send out next.”

After a couple seconds of consideration, Bianca tosses her next Pokeball into the field, “Okay! I'm counting on you to turn this around, Emboar!”

On Bianca's end, a huge, bulky, five-foot-tall pig-like Pokemon, mostly black with some orange, with large arms, short legs, flames wreathing its head, two tusks protruding from its lower jaw, and gold bands encircling its torso, appears. I instantly recognize it as an Emboar, a fire/fighting-type, also known as the Mega Fire Pig, like the one I'd watched in my Pokeflick. It's been my favorite Pokemon for a while, and I thought I'd be psyched to finally see one in person, but really, I'm not as excited as I thought I'd be. I guess I found some new favorite Pokemon... six new favorites, in fact; Dewott, Rufflet, Gallade, Magmortar, Marowak, and Absol. Heh... I guess it's only natural for trainers to be a fans of their own Pokemon. Now that I'm thinking about it, I used to idolize the Elite Four members, Marshal and Flint, but I think I found some new favorite trainers too... and I'm watching them battle right now.

Still, Emboar is part fighting-type, so will he be alright against Staraptor? On the other hand, Staraptor probably has just enough energy left for one last attack, so typing might not make too much of a difference in this case.

“Don't give in, Staraptor,” Cheren urges the normal/flying-type, “Give it everything you have! Brave Bird!”

“Star... raptor!” the Predator Pokemon cries out, as she becomes completely enveloped in flying-type energy again, takes flight, and charges at Emboar.

“Okay, Emboar,” says Bianca, “Hold your ground!” 'Hold your ground?' She not gonna let Emboar dodge that? What's she planning?

“Boaaaar!” Emboar leans forward, spreads his legs, and raises his arms, clearly anticipating Staraptor's impact.

Just before the Predator Pokemon would have slammed into Emboar, the Mega Fire Pig instantly stops her by clamping his arms on her. He's pushed back a few feet, but recieves no damage at all. Staraptor struggles, trying to break free, but it's quickly apparent that it's futile; Emboar's grasp is way too strong.

“Staraptor!” yells Cheren.

With a slight grin, Bianca says, “Good one, Emboar! Now, Heat Crash!”

“Boaaaaar!” With a roar, Emboar leaps about thirty feet into the air, which is surprisingly high for something of his weight class. After reaching the height of his jump, Emboar's body becomes enveloped with orange flames.

“Staaaaaaar!” Staraptor cries out as Emboar comes crashing down like a meteor, putting all his weight on top of her, which has got to hurt, considering the Mega Fire Pig Pokemon has at least two-hundred pounds on her, if I had to guess.

Emboar gets off Staraptor, who is embedded into the asphalt, not even twitching. It looks like she's as down as down can be...

With a sigh, Cheren recalls Staraptor. Now, Cheren's remaining Pokemon are Serperior, Blaziken, and Froslass, and Bianca's are Emboar, Musharna, and Zangoose; three-to-three. The score has tied once again.

As for Cheren, there's only one logical choice for which Pokemon he'll send out next, as both Serperior and Froslass are at a disadvantage against fire-types. He grabs a Pokeball from his belt, but as he's about to throw it, he pauses, and then puts it away, grabbing another. What the heck? Dude, Blaziken's the only sensible choice you have right now!

Cheren sends out his next Pokemon, “Go! Froslass!” Froslass appears on Cheren's end.

Bianca quickly analyzes Froslass with her Pokedex, and looks dumbfounded, “Huh?”

“I sure wasn't expecting that,” says Skyla.

“Believe me, the feeling is mutual,” I say, “Still, the last controversial choice Cheren made during this battle paid off, so I guess we should know better than to question it, and just assume he knows what he's doing.”

Recovering quickly, Bianca shouts, “It's part ice-type, Emboar! Let's take it down quickly! Flare Blitz!”

“Boooooooar!” Emboar's entire body ignites, but then all the fire converges into his left arm. It looks like he's putting all the fire-type energy he can muster into one powerful punch!

Emboar charges at Froslass with a blazing fist reared back, poised to throw his ample weight into a powerful punch.

Just as the Mega Fire Pig is just a few seconds away from the Snow Land Pokemon, Cheren commands, “Now, Froslass! Double Team!”

Froslass suddenly splits into four images of herself, and Emboar ends up attacking and passing through a fake, stumbling forward and almost falling over as he throws his weight-filled punch into thin air.

“Ah! Double Team...” Bianca groans.

With a satisfied smirk, Cheren then commands, “Froslass! Hail!”

“Laaass!” Froslass raises her arms, and a second snowstorm starts up in the battlefield, with Froslass and her three copies fading into it with Snow Cloak. This time, it's Bianca who's on the receiving end, and Cheren one-upped that strategy by making the ice/ghost-type even more elusive with Double Team! Smart move! I get my notebook and pen out of my supply bag. If Bianca manages to find a way out of this, I should make a note of how, in case I end up facing the same thing, and with the Iccirus Gym Leader being an ice-type expert, according to Bianca, I just might.

As much as I'm hoping Bianca will find a way out of her predicament, she hasn't thought of a solution right away, and seems to frantically be checking her head. Meanwhile, Cheren says, “Good job, Froslass. Now, Psychic attack!”

Emboar is looking around, charging at whichever Froslass he sees, fake or not, when he gets hit from behind by a psychic blast.

“Boaaaaar!” With a steaming back, Emboar does an about-face, and charges at where the blast came from, only to get blasted from behind again. The Mega Fire Pig slumps to the ground in pain.

“Emboar!” cries Bianca, now trying harder than ever to come up with a plan. Finally, her face lights up, “We can still do this, Emboar! Earthquake! Full power!”

“Em... boar!” Emboar raises one of his fists, and it glows brown. He then slams the ground, just barely ducking under another Psychic attack from Froslass. The ground violently shakes. Skyla's Pokemon keep us from toppling over, while Bianca and Cheren tightly grip the guard rails of their platforms. All around Emboar, within the confines of the arena, the ground explodes, launching asphalt, rocks, and clumps of dirt into the air.

“Looks like I'll have to give the Restoration Team a call later,” says Skyla.

“Slass!” Froslass cries out in surprise and pain from somewhere in the bedlam. Her copies, wherever I can see them, disappear, and the snowstorm thins out a bit. She was definitely hit hard. When the ground becomes calm again, with the section of the runway used as Skyla's Gym now being a cracked and ruined mess (luckily, the planes lift off well before they reach this point), I see Froslass, in plain sight, on her hands and knees, covered with scars.

“Ah!” Cheren exclaims.

“Way to go, Emboar!” cheers Bianca, “Now let's give Flare Blitz another shot!”

“Boaaaar!” Emboar charges at Froslass again.

Although at a disadvantage, Cheren still has one more trick left, “Froslass, take Emboar down with you! Destiny Bond!”

At Cheren's order, Froslass's body starts glowing with dark-purple light.

Bianca, apparently aware of the situation, cries out, “Whoa! Emboar! Deflect your attack!”

“Ee-em...” Responding to Bianca's command at the last possible second, Emboar throws his punch, but intentionally fumbles it, just grazing Froslass instead, not inflicting any major damage.

“Oh, not good...” says Cheren.

Bianca, clearly having had some previous experience with Destiny Bond at one point or another, says, “Emboar, when the light clears, take it down with Head Smash!”

Emboar picks up Froslass, and his head starts to radiate dull-gray light. Froslass tries to prolong her technique as long as possible, but finally reaches her limit, and the light fades. Emboar, not wasting any time, thrusts his head into Froslass's, steam rising from the bruise that was inflicted. She goes limp, and, with the ice/ghost-type clearly defeated, Emboar tosses her aside. Cheren recalls the Snow Land Pokemon. It looks like not every scheme ultimately pays off.

“Two-to-three,” I say, “Bianca's in the lead again.”

Cheren sends out his next Pokemon, this time being the one I'm expecting, “Okay! Let's go, Blaziken!” Blaziken appears on Cheren's end.

Analyzing Blaziken with her Pokedex, Bianca says, “Fire/fighting-type versus fire/fighting-type? This ought to be a good one.”

“I wouldn't expect as much,” says Cheren, “After all, Froslass did greatly weaken Emboar. At any rate...” Cheren extends his arm as he commands Blaziken, “Blaziken! Hi Jump Kick!”

“Blaaaaaaaz!” Blaziken charges at Emboar, who, in response, stands firm and awaits impact like he did with Staraptor. However, partway through her charge, Blaziken's body glows a blue color, and she suddenly becomes faster. So, she has the Speed Boost ability too.

“Boar?” The sudden boost in speed throws off Emboar's timing completely, as the Blaze Pokemon rapidly closes in on the Mega Fire Pig. She leaps midway, and sinks her knee into Emboar's gut, and then her other leg shoots up, kicking his jaw and forcing him a few feet into the air. Speed Boost... enough power in her legs to force Emboar off the ground... Man, Blaziken is powerful!

Bianca and Cheren give commands to their respective Pokemon at the same time, “Body Slam!”

“Sky Uppercut!”

Emboar spreads his body, preparing to belly-flop on top of Blaziken, but the Blaze Pokemon raises a fist and jumps into the air, pounding the Mega Fire Pig in the face as she passes. It becomes quickly apparent that in terms of fighting ability, Blaziken has the clear advantage.

With Blaziken practically juggling Emboar with heavy blows, the Mega Fire Pig is forced upward again. Blaziken lands, and Cheren instructs the Blaze Pokemon to deliver the finishing move, “Okay, now hit it with one more Hi Jump Kick!”

“Blaaaaaaz!” Blaziken leaps up at the stunned Emboar, performing a midair twirl, and then a powerful diagonal downward kick to Emboar's gut, sending the fire/fighting-type rocketing into the base of Bianca's platform. Bianca tightly grips her guard rail to avoid falling over from the vibration.

“Em... boar...” Emboar gets to his feet, and takes a couple slow steps toward Blaziken, until his strength gives out, and he falls to the ground with a ground-vibrating thud.

“Good job, Emboar. Return,” says Bianca, recalling the Mega Fire Pig.

Skyla says, “With Emboar down, Cheren and Bianca are even again. This is definitely a battle between two evenly-matched opponents. I can't predict who will win this thing.”

Bianca's reaming Pokemon are Zangoose and Musharna. If I were her, I'd go with Musharna; Zangoose is a normal-type, and not so good against Blaziken's fighting-type.

Bianca sends out her next Pokemon, and as it turns out... I was totally on the ball; Musharna appears on Bianca's end. Still, even at a type disadvantage, Blaziken is way faster than the psychic-type. Can Biacna pull this one off?

Bianca points skyward, “Okay, Musharna! Put some distance between you and Blaziken! Ascend!”

“Musha!” Responding to Bianca's command, Musharna begins to levitate upward.

“Blaziken can clear a thirty-story building with one leap, now more with her Power Anklet training,” says Cheren, “Height means nothing to her! Blaziken! Go after Musharna!”

“Blaz!” Blaziken quickly rushes in Musharna's direction, no doubt ready to leap at any moment.

“Musharna! Psybeam!” Bianca shouts.

“Sharna!” Musharna fires a pink beam from her forehead down at Blaziken, who takes evasive action, coming to a halt, and using her inertia to leap backwards with a midair backflip, narrowly avoiding the psychic-type attack.

Musharna reaches a safe enough height, at about thirty or forty feet into the air, and Bianca commands, “Now, Musharna! Attack! Don't let Blaziken get anywhere near you!”

“Mushar!” Musharna starts firing a series of Psybeams down at Blaziken. However, the safe distance thing works both ways, and the Blaze Pokemon is given plenty of time to dash around, avoiding Musharna's onslaught. Still, with Blaziken easily dodging the psychic-type's attacks, and the fire/fighting-type grounded, unable to leap at Musharna without getting blasted, the battle is at a stalemate, and someone's gonna have to start getting cleverer.

Cheren, being the brainiac he is, is the first to come up with an idea, “Okay, Blaziken! Charge your Speed Boost to the maximum, and launch your attack!”

“Ziken!” Blaziken's body starts flashing with blue light, and she gradually becomes quicker and quicker, until she's moving around as slightly less than a blur. She jumps, kicks off Cheren's platform, and jets toward Musharna. However, for a non-flying-type like Blaziken, there is only one way to approach an aerial target: straight ahead.

Bianca and Cheren issue simultaneous commands to their respective Pokemon, “Psychic attack!”

“Blaze Kick!”

Musharna fires a large blast of psychic energy at Blaziken, while the fire/fighting-type's legs ignite and she flies toward her opponent, foot-first. The Blaze Pokemon flies into the psychic blast, and their attacks collide, struggling against each other. However, with speed backing Blaziken, her attack proves more potent (I guess speed is power, after all), and she breaks through, bursting the Psychic attack, though she appears to have taken some damage from its residue.

With Blaziken having broken through Musharna's attack, the psychic-type is left wide open. The Blaze Pokemon, slightly slowed down, but still moving with a lot of speed, ignites her legs again, and performs an aerial somersault, delivering an axe kick, which slams Musharna from above with her heel. The Drowsing Pokemon tumbles to the ground, slamming against the broken asphalt.

“Musharna!” shouts Bianca.

With a smirk spreading across his face, Cheren says, “Well done, Blaziken. Now finish her with another Blaze Kick!”

“Blaaaaz!” Blaziken's legs ignite again, and she poises herself to thrusts her leg down at her opponent, no doubt to propel herself in that direction.

Bianca counter-commands, “Don't let Blaziken beat you, Musharna! Use one more Psychic attack! Give it all the power you can!”

“Muuuusha...” Musharna floats a couple inches off the ground, looks up at Blaziken, and a psychic orb starts forming in front of her, gradually expanding. Meanwhile, the Blaze Pokemon shoots down at the psychic-type.

As Blaziken approaches, Musharna hangs back, pouring as much power as she can into the Psychic attack, until the last possible second, and lets it fly. There's another power struggle of Blaze Kick against Psychic, with the latter being much more powerful than before, while both speed and gravity are backing the former.

Instead of just a burst, this time there's a full-on explosion of psychic energy mixed with flames, which engulfs both Pokemon. When it clears, Blaziken is on the ground, standing, hunched over, and breathing hard, while Musharna is hovering just about an inch off the ground. Finally, Blaziken slumps to her knees and crashes to the ground. Seconds later, Musharna stops levitating, and tumbles over; It's a double-KO. Cheren and Bianca recall their respective Pokemon, with the score still tied, and one Pokemon left for each.

“Zangoose and Serperior are the only Pokemon they have left,” I say, “Normal-type and grass-type.”

“It'll be a pretty even final round, then,” observes Skyla.

“I'm counting on you! Go! Zangoose!”

“Let's finish this, Serperior!” Bianca and Cheren send out their final Pokemon. Looking at the two of them, I'd probably put my money on Serperior, being eleven feet long, and able to extend that length even further with Vine Whip, while all Zangoose has is his claws.

“Let's keep Zangoose at bay,” says Cheren to Serperior, “Leaf Blade!”

“Ssssssserp!” A group of leaves sprout from Serperior's tail, and then jut outward, with sharp edges, resembling knives. The Regal Pokemon's body then extends to a length long enough to cover the entire expanse of the arena; It looks like Serperior's version of Leaf Blade is an upgrade to Vine Whip.

Serperior thrusts her bladed tail at Zangoose, but the Cat Ferret Pokemon casually turns his body to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. Serperior maneuvers her blade to get Zangoose from behind, but he jumps to the side, performing a midair cartwheel over Serperior's body, his claws glowing sky-blue, and slashes the Regal Pokemon's tail, completely severing it. “Eeeerior!” Serperior cries out as her body returns to its normal length, and the severed part regenerates.

Geez! Zangoose didn't even break a sweat, and furthermore, Bianca didn't give Zangoose any orders at all; He acted completely on his own!

Bianca says, sounding unusually haughty, “Zangoose's natural enemy is Seviper. There's no Pokemon better at fighting a snake.”

Cheren gives some kind of facial expression as a response to Bianca's info, but I can't tell if it's good or bad.

“Seviper is a snake Pokemon that fights using a blade on its tail,” says Skyla, who'd no doubt seen many different Pokemon through her daily battles as a Gym Leader, “The tactic Cheren just attempted with Serperior is not going to work on a trained Zangoose.”

Zangoose goes on the offensive, taking multiple swipes at Serperior's ample body. In response, the Regal Pokemon takes evasive action, performing swift and complicated slithering motions. I glance at Cheren, and see him making a circular motion with his finger.

Serperior dodges another Slash attack from Zangoose, and then encircles, closes in, and tightly coils herself around the normal-type, at least three times over, and gradually constricting.

“Zan...” With his arms bound, Zangoose futility tries to break free.

Despite her circumstances, a slight grin crosses Bianca's face, “That's not going to work, Cheren! Zangoose! Swords Dance!”

“Zaaaaaaaaan!” Zangoose's body surges with red energy. He attempts to resist Serperior's hold on himagain, and this time overpowers and breaks free of Serperior's coil.

“Ssser?” Zangoose leaps toward the stunned Serperior, passes her head, and twirls around, delivering a Slash attack from behind, which sends the grass-type flying to the other side of the arena.

I'd seen that Swords Dance move a couple times. Basically, it supercharges a Pokemon's strength. Serperior no doubt took a really heavy blow from that last attack.

As Serperior recovers, Skyla observes, “Unless Cheren thinks of something, Zangoose will probably win through sheer power.” Of course, Cheren is no doubt aware of that fact too, as he seems to be planning a way out of Serperior's current situation.

Bianca says, “Okay, Zangoose! It looks like we've got this one in the bag! Finish Serperior off with X-Scissor!”

“Zan!” Zangoose raises his arms, his claws glowing light-green, and he charges toward Serperior.

Cheren, who seems to have come up with an idea, shouts, “Serperior! Use Leech Seed!”

“Sserp!” Serperior opens her mouth, and spits a volley of seeds at the charging Zangoose, like they were bullets. Every one makes contact, sinking into the normal-type's hide. Just as the Cat Ferret Pokemon is about eight feet away from reaching the Regal Pokemon, and delivering a finishing blow, the seeds sprout thin vines, which quickly wrap around Zangoose's body like ivy.

“Z-z-z-zaaan...” Zangoose suddenly stops in his tracks and sinks to one knee.

Curious about what just happened, I get out my Pokedex and take a picture. Besides Zangoose, and Serperior, part of whose body is in the shot, 'Technique: Leech Seed,' comes up as a result. It's a move grass-types use, which drain an adversary's strength, and give it to the user. Not a bad way to counter Zangoose's power boost, I guess; after all, it's gotta take a bit of stamina on the normal-type's part.

Zangoose, surrounded by a green aura, visibly weakens, while Serperior, engulfed by a similar aura, seems to be recovering her strength.

However, Bianca isn't done yet, “Zangoose, you know there's more where that power came from! Swords Dance! Give it all the power you can!”

“Zan... Goose!” Zangoose's body produces an other red aura, which commingles with, and eventually overpowers the green aura. The ivy-like vines gradually whither and fall from Zangoose's body.

However, Cheren still has some tricks handy, “Alright, Serperior! Put the strength you gained into your ultimate attack! Frenzy Plant!”

“Peri!” Serperior spits out seeds again, this time into the cracks throughout the arena. As Zangoose is about to go on the offensive again, suddenly very thick vines, surrounding the Cat Ferret Pokemon, sprout from the ground, and converge on Zangoose. They try to wrap around the normal-type, but Zangoose manages to break free or sever them, but they regenerate quickly, and there's eventually too many for him to fend off, and they overwhelm him, binding his body. However, Zangoose had gained a ton of power, and resists, causing the vines to gradually give way, but not before they sprout thorns, piercing the normal-type in more places than can be counted. Even so, Zangoose continues to resist, and with one last burst of red energy, breaks the vines and frees himself.

Zangoose's white fur is almost entirely dyed crimson, but he's still standing, though it doesn't seem he will for much longer, between Serperior's attack, and putting so much of his energy into his Swords Dance technique so he could overcome Frenzy Plant.

Likewise, Serperior looks pretty worn out as well, having just used such a powerful move. I analyzed Frenzy Plant while it was going on, and the result says that it's one of the most powerful grass-type techniques there is, only able to be performed by a small handful of fully-evolved Pokemon. However, it's similar to Hyper Beam, as it uses a ton of energy to perform, and a Pokemon needs a few seconds to recover afterward. Since it failed to finish off Zangoose, Cheren could be in major trouble here.

Bianca lets out a sigh, “Whew... Way to go, Zangoose. Serperior is wide open for you now! Finish it off!”

“Zaaaan...” Leaving a trail of blood in his wake, Zangoose zombie-shuffles toward Serperior. He raises a claw to deliver the finishing attack, but then suddenly loses his balance, most likely to to complete and total fatigue, and stumbles back, almost falling over; This gives Serperior enough time to recover from Frenzy Plant.

“Ah! No!” cries Bianca.

“Okay, it looks like the tables have turned again,” says Cheren, “Serperior! Leaf Blade!”

“Ssssssser... perior!” Serperior's tail sprouts a bunch of blades yet again, and she slams Zangoose, sending her flying across the arena, and slamming against the side of Cheren's platform. Okay... if Zangoose can still be standing after this... well... Okay, I guess I don't have a snappy remark for it...

Zangoose slides down, but is still on his feet. He takes a step toward Serperior... but not a second, as he falls forward onto his face, and doesn't try to recover. Manohman... what a battle...

“Oh...” groans Bianca. I can totally get her position, coming so close to winning, but suddenly falling short.

“Whew...” exhaless Cheren, sounding understandably relieved.

Skyla cheers, “Yay! Way to go, handsome! Way to go!”

With their Pokemon outside of their Pokeballs' recall range, Bianca and Cheren climb down from their platforms and to Zangoose and Serperior, respectively. They call their Pokemon back, and walk over to one another, and share a respectful handshake, and this, of all battles, definitely warrants it.

“Darn...” says Bianca, disappointingly, but also slightly smiling, “I thought for sure I was gonna win. Still, that was the funnest Pokemon battle yet!”

Cheren gives a wry smile of his own, “Likewise. Back when we started our journey, I never would have imagined you'd be the opponent you'd just proven yourself to be.”

“Yeah, same here...”

I rush over to Bianca and Cheren, followed by Skyla, “Wow, guys! That was awesome! If I ever have a rematch with you, I'd better be careful.”

Cheren gives me a slight grin, “Scared, Ria?”

“Heh. Maybe...”

Skyla runs past me, and into Cheren, giving him a sudden embrace, “Congratulations, handsome!”

Cheren, whose cheeks turn a light shade of pink, says, unusually speechless, “Oh, um... Thank you, Skyla...”

Without warning, Skyla then gives Cheren a quick kiss on the cheek and pulls away from him.

Cheren, being the most dumbfounded I'd ever seen him, responds to Skyla's latest action with stunned silence.

Skyla grins, “I couldn't give you a good luck kiss, so that was your victory kiss! Anyway, I hope all three of you make rightfully make it far as trainers, and that you visit Mistralton City, and, more specifically, me, again soon!” She turns to her swan-like Pokemon, “Okay, Swanna! Let's fly!”

“Swaaaa!” 'Swanna' takes flight and makes a low swoop, as Skyla jumps and lands on it. From there, they take to the sky, followed by the Gym Leader's flock. Well, that was a quick exit; If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's embarrassed, though she didn't show it on her face.

Cheren stands like a statue, with one hand on his cheek, watching Skyla get further and further out of sight.

Okay... I see how it is! I give Bianca a sly grin, and she returns it with a goofy smile, blushing slightly.

When Cheren breaks out of his trance, I put a hand on his shoulder, “I think someone likes you.”

Cheren responds, a little too calmly, “She was just flirting; It doesn't mean anything.”

“Dude, you're the brightest guy I know, and I can just tell you're feigning denseness.”

Cheren gives me a defeated smile, “It looks like you got me...”

“Heh.”

“Well, what you claim has crossed my mind...”

“So, Cheren,” says Bianca, putting a hand on Cheren's other shoulder, “You have an idea of what Skyla thinks of you, so... what do you think of her?”

“I can't say for sure, at least not yet,” says Cheren, “but the one thing I can say with certainty is that I won't mind seeing her again.”

“Well, it looks like little Cheren's growing up,” I jest, giving his shoulder a couple pats, “Anyways, we've all had some tough battles today. Let's get our guys, or girls, in Cheren's case, to the Pokemon Center.”

---

Bianca, Cheren, and I walk back to town, and get our Pokemon fixed up. Afterward, I ask Bianca if she wants to battle me, but she says she had enough action for one day, and will have a six-on-six with me, after she trains her Larvitar a bit. Cheren says he'll do the same, after he gets Elekid up to speed with his other Pokemon.

From there, we part ways, Bianca heading southeast, down Route 6, to Driftveil City, while Cheren and I head north to Route 7. This time, when we reach the fork in the road I was at when I was on my way to the Celestial Tower, we take the other path, which leads to Spiral Mountain. According to a Town Map I picked up at the Pokemon Center, the road to Iccirus City goes through it. Well, it looks like it's time to do a little hiking.

---

We follow the mountain path for about a half-hour, until we find a mine's entrance. Next to it, there's a sign, “'Driftveil Excavation Site,'” Cheren reads, “'Do not take fossils.'”

“'Driftveil Excavation?'” I say, “Gee, I wonder who's in charge of this operation. I take it Clay is selling fossils now? This would make it his... what? Fourteenth billion?”

“This would imply that there are several ancient Pokemon fossils to be found here,” says Cheren, “meant to be sold and cloned. I guess letting traveling trainers come through and taking what they please would be bad for business.”

“Money-grubbers...” I mutter.

“It's not like we have much need for fossils anyway.”

“Speak for yourself. I wouldn't mind training a Kabutops.”

We enter the mine. I send out Marowak to be our escort, in case a wild Pokemon plans to do something mean to us. As for Cheren, he keeps his Pokemon inside their Pokeballs. Seeing as their battle with Bianca's Pokemon was way more intense than a Gym battle, they deserve a good rest.

Inside, the place is well-lit with various lamps attached to the walls, probably all connected to a powerful battery somewhere. Also, it isn't a stretch to say that Spiral Mountain is basically hollow, as its interior is a massive mining shaft, with near-countless floors worth of wooden walkways, connected by tunnels and exits. This place is like a gigantic maze!

There are a few workers, assisted by various ground-type Pokemon, around, looking for more fossils, making sure no passing travelers pulls a fast one and take any of them, denying their Boss a couple hundred measly credits. However, they prove to be helpful, as they give Cheren and me directions to successfully navigate our way through the maze-like mine. I wonder how many times they'd done that for travelers, as their advice came out pretty polished.

Cheren and I make our way through the area, walking along the walkways, going through tunnels that go up or down to other walkways, or exiting the mine to momentarily take a mountain path that leads into another area of the mine.

When going through the tunnels, one of the most common sights are skeletons of long-dead Pokemon embedded in the walls. The were a surprising and interesting sight at first, but after passing the seventh one, they just become another scenery detail.

A couple hours of walking pass, and the once-fascinating sight of the mine in general starts become ordinary and stale.

“Cheren,” I say, wanting to start a conversation to pass the time, “I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner, but couldn't you have just rode Staraptor over the mountain?”

“I could have,” says Cheren, “But part of the reason trainers go on a journey is to see what the world has to offer. That's why we could take the subway around, but usually don't. Besides, I'm just getting used to walking a lot, and my body could use more of it. It's like you said before about us not looking good, if only train our Pokemon, but not ourselves.”

“Heh. Good point,” I say.

“Anyway, I'm glad I'm walking through here,” says Cheren, glancing around, “This is an interesting place. I wonder what might have happened in the distant past to cause so many Pokemon to be fossilized here...”

“Glad you're still interested,” I murmur, “I'm looking forward to seeing something normal again...”

We head into another tunnel, and I glance at yet another unlucky Pokemon's skeleton in the wall... but then do a double-take when I see Marowak rush up to it like it's the most interesting thing he'd ever seen... and maybe it is, seeing as he doesn't do a whole lot outside of battling and giving others attitude.

As Marowak is pacing around, observing the skeleton, I give it a look-over as well, trying to figure out which Pokemon it is, and it doesn't take me long when I see the skull, because I recognize it! It's the same kind of skull Marowak is wearing, only with hollowed out eye sockets. However, unlike the living Marowak, the dead one is about five feet tall, two feet taller than my Bonekeeper. I recall Cheren saying once that some Pokemon grow bigger than most of their kind. Am I looking at one of them?

“What's up, Marowak?” I ask, “Find an old relative?”

“Maro...” Marowak's club starts glowing reddish-brown, and he starts whacking away into the wall around the skeleton, or at least on of its legs, each Brick Break attack putting a sizable dent in the wall.

As I'm about to ask Marowak what he's up to, a memory flashes through my head: Soon after I caught him, I was trying (unsuccessfully) to figure out why the Bonekeeper had such a chip on his shoulder. I looked to find answers by thoroughly reading the Pokedex's data on him. It said that it's believed that a Marowak graveyard exists in the world somewhere, and that they get new bones from the remains of others of their kind. I doubt we're in a Marowak graveyard right now, but the ground-type is definitely grave-robbing right now. I think I've been training a monster... oh wait...

Finally, one of the bones comes loose from the skeleton, the thick one that makes up the thigh. I don't know anatomy very well, but that would be the... femur bone?

Marowak picks up the bone, gives it a couple practice swings, nods approvingly, and tosses his old club aside. The new one is bigger and thicker than the old one. Well, each Pokemon is allowed at least one augmentation; I guess this new Thick Club can be considered Marowak's...

---

We journey even deeper into the mine, and I don't think it's gonna be evident that we're close to reaching Iccirus City, until we actually get there.

Suddenly, my Xtransceiver beeps, indicating a transmission coming my way.

“It looks like you have a call,” observes Cheren.

“I have forty credits that say it's Professor Juniper,” I say as I take the communication device out of my pocket.

I accept that transmission... and if I were making a real bet, I'd be forty credits poorer right now, since the the caller appearing on my screen is my mom, “Hello, Ria!”

“Huh? Mom?” I guess I really shouldn't be surprised. I'd been making a few calls home, but have neglected to do so over the last couple of weeks...

“You really should call more,” says mom, “I know you're on a Pokemon journey, which is a part of growing up, but I still get worried about my little baby girl.”

“Uh...” I glance around me. Just about everyone watching me found mom's previous statement amusing. It's not like anyone's laughing, but they are cracking grins, including Marowak, “Hey, um... I kinda have an audience here, so could you watch what you call me?”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Min!” Suddenly, Minccino climbs up mom's back and onto her shoulder, “Cino! Min min!”

“Oh, Minccino wants to say hello too,” says mom.

“Hello, Minccino!” I say, “Anyway, I'm sorry I hadn't called you lately. It's... been a busy journey. So, how's it going? Still nuking my room, so you'll have a cleaning project?”

“Oh, I did that twice more since you left,” says mom, like it's not the least bit unusual, “but I'm satisfied now, and your room looks good as new!”

I'll believe it when I see it, I think to myself, but say, “Good to hear.”

“Professor Juniper came by recently,” says mom, “She told me that you recently won your fifth badge, and are about to try for your sixth.”

“That info's a little outdated,” I say, “I just won my sixth badge a few hours ago.”

Mom's face lights up, “Really! So, you're a Hyper Ranked trainer now? That's wonderful news! Your father only won five badges during his first summer as a trainer. I'm sure it will be great news for him.”

“I might do that.”

“At any rate,” says mom, “It seems you are proving yourself to be a very powerful trainer, and, with that fact, I'd like to ask a favor of you.”

“Min...? Min!” Minccino exclaims, glancing at mom, and looking kinda excited for some reason.

“Cool,” I say, “What's up?”

Mom pauses, then says, “Actually, I need you in person for it, so if you could take a brief trip home, that would be wonderful.”

“Riiight,” I say, nodding, “Sure, I can head home for a little while, but why can't you tell me now?”

“I am asking you for a favor,” says mom, who then smiles somewhat mischievously, “but it's also a surprise, and you'll find out when you get here.”

“Alright,” I say, shrugging, “I'll swing by and visit for a day when I can.”

“Okay,” says mom, “I'll see you then!” The transmission ends.

“A favor and a surprise...” says Cheren, who was listening in on me and mom's heart-to-heart, “From what your mother said, they seem to be connected to you being a trainer.”

“Sounds that way,” I say, “Well, let's keep moving. If we get to Iccirus City soon, I might be able to make that trip home sooner than mom thinks.”

Cheren and I move on, moving from a wooden walkway into yet another tunnel, and it's there that we hear the sound of several feet headed in the opposite direction, but only one person walks around the corner: a tall boy with long green hair and monochome-colored clothes. Both Cheren and I stop in our tracks upon seeing him.

“Wait,” says Cheren, “Isn't that...?”

It's N, alright. He looks at us blankly, and I think about that darkly dressed Team Plasma guy who attacked me, saying it was on his 'master's' orders. With that memory, I angrily charge straight at N.

“Ria!” calls Cheren after me.

I know it's not like me to get this PO'd, but seeing as N ordered someone to specifically attack me, both physically and mentally, I'm not letting that one go! “N!” I barrel right into him, and pin him back-first against the nearby stone wall, yelling, “You have a lot of nerve just showing up here, after you sent that thug after me!” Wow. Sometimes I scare myself...

N says nothing in response... but he does do something. He starts by shrinking down to a height just a few inches shorter than me, then his clothes fuse into his body, which then turns black and furry, and finally, his eyes become blue and very un-human-like, and his face elongates and changes into a black face with pointed ears. He's not N anymore; he's a humanoid fox-like Pokemon with dark fur, a long mane of scarlet hair with black streaks, and sharp red claws on its hands and feet. “Zorrrrrr!” The Pokemon growls.

“Holy...!” I stumble back, my anger replaced by shock. Marowak, not missing a beat, stands between me and the Pokemon that was apparently masquerading as N.

A familiar voice comes from further up the tunnel, “I had a feeling she may respond to what she believes with hostility, but you went in my place. You didn't need to do that, but you have my gratitude, Zoroark.”

“Zor zor!” responds the Pokemon, 'Zoroark.' It runs off in the direction of the voice that I remember as N's... the real N's.

N walks into view, along with five Pokemon. One is 'Zoroark,' and another is that yellow and brown rodent-like Pokemon with the long claws and quills I saw with him in Nimbasa City. Didn't N say that he released Pokemon after the fought for him for a little while. Is that a different Pokemon of the same species, or did N actually discover that his whole 'persuade and release' policy was gonna hit a snag sooner or later?

Anyway, the third Pokemon with him is spider-like Pokemon covered with yellow fuzz ,with blue highlights, almost three feet tall. I actually recognize this one; It's a Galvantula, a bug/electric-type that Burgh used when I fought him in Castelia City.

However, I don't recognize N's last two Pokemon. One is a bulky five-foot-tall blue bipedal turtle-like Pokemon with short arms and legs, and armored by a large shell and the other is a four-foot-tall monkey-ish Pokemon with white and brown fur, gold plating on its shoulders, chest, hands, and knees, and has a large flame rising from its head.

I take a quick group photo of N and his team with my Pokedex. The results that come up are, 'Pokemon: Blastoise,' 'Pokemon: Galvantula,' 'Pokemon: Infernape,' 'Pokemon: Sandslash,' and 'Pokemon: Zoroark.'

“It's been a while, Ria,” greets N. He looks past me and at Cheren, “Oh! I remember you from Accumula Town. You're Ria's friend... what was your name again?”

“Cheren,” Cheren flatly answers.

I sigh, “What do you want, N? You sent one of your goons after me, and now you're greeting us like we're old acquaintances. What's your deal, anyway?”

“I've been informed of what happened to you on Route 6,” says N, “I have no way of proving it, but I assure you I was not behind it.”

“He... er, she... I mean, it, said something about its 'master.' Seeing as you're Team Plasma's king, and all, I can only assume it meant you.”

“To you, I'm sure it seems that way,” says N, “However, the Shadow Triad also follows the orders of the Seven Sages. They are aware of what I'd revealed to you, and I told them to leave you alone, but I imagine some of them might see you as a threat, and acted on their own.”

“Seeing as you're their king,” says Cheren, “wouldn't that be treason?”

“Yeah,” I say, “So, did you have whoever's behind that dragged out to the town square to be publicly drawn and quartered... or something like that?”

N gives us a questioning look, “It happened because one of my followers was only doing what he thought was best for Team Plasma. Why would I punish him for that?”

I put a hand over my forehead. Is this guy for real? “Geez, you sure are forgiving. If only real kings were more like you. Anyway, you're saying someone went behind your back, and acted on his own?”

“Yes,” says N, “I'm sorry that happened, but I hope you'll believe me. Do you?”

Do I? I'm not sure if I should so readily believe him, but thinking about it, he did tell me who he is, outlined his plans, and even challenged me to stop him. Would he tell me that, only to try to shut me up, or whatever that Shadow Triad thing had in mind. That doesn't really add up. In hindsight, I might have even had trouble believing N was behind the attack, “Okay, I believe you... I guess.”

“Thank you,” says N, gratefully, “I'll try to make sure that never happens again.”

“You do that.”

“Now that that's out of the way,” says Cheren, “I would like to ask you a question.”

“What is it?” N asks.

“Ria told me about her encounter with you in Nimbasa City. There, you mentioned a 'Reshiram.' What is that, exactly? We're under the impression that it's a Legendary Pokemon, but is it really?”

“It is,” answers N, “Are you aware of the legend of the two dragons that originated Unova?”

“I am,” says Cheren.

“Glanced at it,” I say, shrugging. It's not a complete lie; Cheren mentioned it to me.

“Reshiram is one of those dragons, also known as the Vast White Dragon.”

“I see,” says Cheren, “So, it is a Legendary Pokemon, after all. What gives you the idea it will aid you?”

“I cannot say for sure,” says N, “but with my mission, I am sure it will.”

“You think it'll help you because you wanna become Champion and make everyone release their Pokemon, whether they're happy with their trainers or not?” I ask.

“It's not quite like that,” says N, “My mission is to learn of what kind of world Arceus intended. Simply put, I want to learn the absolute truth. Is this the way the world should be, or was it meant to be one where Pokemon and humans live separately, and something went horribly wrong? With Reshiram's help, I hope to find that answer.”

“Uh huh?” I say, not quite getting it.

Instead of giving any further explanation, N says to me, “What about you, Ria? Why do you think humans should keep using Pokemon? Why... do you think I'm wrong and want to stop me, and Team Plasma, from achieving our goal?”

I think for a moment, inhale deeply, and answer, “If you really wanna know, N, it's because I think this is how the world should be. I know for a fact that most Pokemon wouldn't want to leave their humans trainers. We've lived together and done things together for a long time, and we care for one another. I know my Pokemon would be sad...” I glance at Marowak, “... or bitter about being told by their trainers to leave them. What can I say? Humans and Pokemon are close. I'd even heard of a possible phenomenon where Pokemon follow their trainers into the next life. With something like that, how can you say we'd be better off apart?” I take a breath, “Besides...” I kneel and put a hand on Marowak's shoulder, “... I love being a trainer. I love my Pokemon and I love traveling with them. It's through that that I learned how to be a better person. Besides, Pokemon training and battling are the only things I'd ever been good at. I want us to keep living as we are, and whether you get the help of Reshiram or not, my Pokemon and I will resist you with everything we have. Right, Marowak?”

Marowak nods, grinning back at me, “Marowak maro!”

N smiles mysteriously, “That's good, Ria. I hope you and your Pokemon keep holding on to your ideals.”

“Oh, we will,” I say, “but why are you so happy about that? You do know that we'll not make your mission an easy one.”

N walks toward and past us, followed by his five Pokemon, “You'll find out, I'm sure...” He pauses, “One more thing: You're going to Iccirus City, aren't you? If the signs present themselves, please come to the Dragonspiral Tower.”

“Dude, I'm totally into your cryptic routine,” I say, “I kinda wish I knew what you're talking about, though. Care to enlighten me? What's the Dragonspiral Tower? What do you mean, 'if the signs present themsevles?'”

“Do some research and you'll know,” says N, “As for the 'signs,' I'm sure you'll figure it out when... if it comes.” He glances back at his Pokemon, “Let us go.” The six of them keep walking.

“Hold on,” says Cheren.

“What is it?” asks N, stopping again.

“Whether you think it's the 'truth' or not that we should be apart, are you aware of the possible consequences if humans and Pokemon were to be separated? Humans were almost rendered extinct a long time ago, because we had no Pokemon to fight alongside us against wild Pokemon, and if it weren't for capturing and training Pokemon, we wouldn't even exist right now. If we were to release our Pokemon into the wild, we'd be helpless once again. Worse, some Pokemon, made powerful by the training the received, may feel betrayed or abandoned, and come to resent, and may even actively hunt humans.”

“Maro maro!” shouts Marowak. He has been there before.

“Isn't it obvious? Humans need Pokemon!” Cheren continues, “Also, seeing as you're working up the ranks as a Pokemon trainer, just like Ria and me, you must have seen many trainers with their Pokemon, and should know that they are happy together. If you know that, then why are you doing this? Is it because you object to the fact that Pokemon have battles? Pokemon are a naturally combative species, born with the will to become strong and the ability to fight. Knowing that, are Pokemon battles so wrong?”

N glances back at Cheren, still smiling, “Interesting. It looks like you have some strong ideals of your own. At any rate, whether the truth exists with your reality or my dream will be something to be determined by Reshiram. If you truly value the coexistence of Pokemon and humans in its current form, become strong enough trainers, and prove that the truth lies with it.” N and his Pokemon start walking away, “Goodbye, for now. I imagine we'll meet again soon, Ria. Until then, I wish you luck.”

We listen to the sounds of N and his Pokemon's footsteps getting further away, and Cheren sighs, looking back in the direction King Plasma went, “He may be Team Plasma's leader, but he seemed reasonable. I thought I could talk some sense into him...”

“I don't think anything short of defeat will make him stop,” I say, looking at the ground, thinking about the latest turn of events, “In Nimbasa City, when I asked him where he got the idea that Pokemon are suffering, he started crying. He said he'd known many Pokemon that had their spirits broken beyond repair because of what humans had done to them. Whatever his history is, it seems to have touched him too deeply for him to abandon his journey, no matter what proof to the contrary he'd witnessed.”

“It's interesting, though,” says Cheren, “Even though he's clearly in favor of separating humans and Pokemon, he doesn't seem to entirely object to the idea of things staying as they are. The proof of that is in the fact that he seems to genuinely want us to challenge him. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that he likes the idea that we're in opposition to him.”

“Yeah, good point,” I say, “He did tell me to try to stop him if I could. I mean, if he just wanted to separate humans and Pokemon, he could have just kept everything to himself, but there's definitely more to it than that.”

“It adds up, though,” says Cheren, “He said he's looking for the 'truth.' I imagine it takes two to figure that out. Still, if he gets Reshiram, his side of the grand debate will gain a huge advantage. I don't know how he think we'll be a challenge to him, if he were to wield that much power.”

“There's only one thing I can think of right now,” I say, “Keep going as we are, train like heck, and defeat N, all while praying Reshiram has better stuff to do.”

“I suppose that's all we can do, right now,” says Cheren, “besides, now that we're Hyper Rank, our last two Gym battles will likely be the toughest yet.”

“Alright,” I say, kneeling down to Marowak's level, “Hey, Marowak? After we get out of these mines, we're gonna take a quick trip to my home, and head back tomorrow, but after that, I hope you're ready to trainer harder than ever!”

Marowak nods in understanding, grinning, and slinging his new club over his shoulder, “Maro!”

“Okay! It's settled, then! Let's go!”

---

From further into the tunnel, the voice of Ria's friend echoes to N's ears, “It's interesting, though. Even though he's clearly in favor of separating humans and Pokemon, he doesn't seem to entirely object to the idea of things staying as they are. The proof of that is in the fact that he seems to genuinely want us to challenge him. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that he likes the idea that we're in opposition to him.”

N signals for his five Pokemon friends, Zoroark, Sandslash, Galvantula, Infernape, and Blastoise to walk ahead, while he briefly stays put, curious to how Ria and her friend will react to their latest encounter amongst themselves, convinced he'd left.

Ria's friend is right, of course; he does want to be challenged. He has resolved himself to keep moving forward with his mission, and not turn back, as he has too many people and Pokemon counting on him, but he'd also seen that more Pokemon than he could have possibly imagined are happy with their trainers, to the point where the thought of separating them is... almost depressing.

N thinks back to an Xtransceiver transmission he had with his father...

“... Father?”

“N, my boy! How goes your journey?”

“Things are going well, so far. I'd won my third badge.”

“Excellent! It won't be long until you challenge the Champion and liberate all Pokemon.”

“Your suggestion for me to go on a Pokemon journey is sure to achieve the goal of Team Plasma, but... the outside world wasn't quite what I was expecting.”

“Oh?”

“I'd always been told of how horribly Pokemon were abused by humans, but I'd seen things that are the exact opposite. I'm... confused...”

“You aren't forgetting that everyone is counting on you, are you?”

“No, I haven't, but...”

“Hm... My boy, you appear to be torn between what kind of world is truly meant to be. To put it simply, you seek the truth.”

“I guess...”

“Do you remember that story I always told you growing up?”

“The one about the two dragons?”

“Yes. That one. Do you remember that the hero that Reshiram fought alongside was in search of truth?”

“Yes.”

“You are clearly in a similar position... and I haven't a doubt Reshiram would be willing to aid you in your quest.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Reshiram is sleeping somewhere in Unova, awaiting a new hero determined to find the truth... and the hero could be you. N, my boy, become stronger, for the Legendary Pokemon only assist the mighty, and awaken Reshiram!”

“I... I'll try.”

“Just keep one thing in mind: regardless of whether your mission is to find the truth or to liberate all Pokemon, your final objective is the same: defeat the Champion! After all, if you can defeat the strongest of trainers, it will be apparent that the world Team Plasma is striving for is the way this world was intended to be!”

But is that really be the answer? N thinks to himself, I have no doubt that the Champion is Unova's most powerful trainer, but what is he, compared to the might of Reshiram? It sounds too simple a determination for finding the truth. I'm sorry, father, but just this once, I'm going to try to find an answer on my own: is the one I must defeat with Reshiram's help really the Champion... or a new hero that pursues ideals... with Zekrom's aid?

TEAM UPDATE:


It's been almost a month, hasn't it? Sorry for the wait, but it takes a little time to write up a ~40-page mega-installment. Since there was a lot to go over, it's possible there might have been some edits I'd missed, so if you notice anything, please let me know.

This installment has the story's first "major" battle. I'm aware that the battle between Cheren and Bianca may not have been entirely necessary, but I really wanted to do it. I don't think it's a spoiler that Ria will eventually have rematches against them, so I kinda wanted their three-way rivalry to come full-circle. I'm aware that battles can be tiring, so I tried to make the battle with Skyla short, but still tense, so the reader won't be worn out for the "real" battle.

At any rate, I truly hope this installment was worth the wait, and the next one shouldn't be as long, and should also be a bit more laid back.

Also, 431 pages!

Last edited by Valin on Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:37 pm, edited 3 times in total.

(I lost this post so I needed to retype it D=)
Another great chapter, and long too. I was wondering why it was taking so long, but it was worth the wait! I enjoyed the battles much.
I can see that the storyline is gonna really kick into gear now with the party's arrival at Iccirus City and the Dragonspiral Tower, though it's likely that Ria will go back home before that. I do look forward to seeing what surprise her mother has for her (and the rest of the story), though!
Two more things. Firstly, why are you still making those Trainer Cards I see at the end of each chapter at "pokestadium.com" when we have a fully-functional and much nicer looking TCM here? I expected this installment would feature brand-spanking new Trainer Cards.
And secondly, kongratulations on 431 pages! =D

Firstly, why are you still making those Trainer Cards I see at the end of each chapter at "pokestadium.com" when we have a fully-functional and much nicer looking TCM here? I expected this installment would feature brand-spanking new Trainer Cards.

I don't disagree. It's just that the "Pokestadium.com" ones are a bit quicker to make, since it's kinda of a slow process for the one here, for all the times I have to make new trainer cards. I plan on using the Pokecharms TCM to add a little flair to the Final Team Update, though.

Well ok, that's fair enough. Also having the four cards in a row stretches off the post a bit, so maybe you could put them one under another? But anyways.

Oh wow! Superb! I loved Ria's battle with Skyla, but the match between Cheren and Bianca made this chapter. I also enjoyed Marowak's "grave robbing." It made for a good change of pace and certainly livened things up. The recent encounter with N was another point I liked, especially how you linked in the truth vs ideals aspect of Reshiram and Zekrom to N's mission and Ria's beliefs.

In my opinion you could have split this up into two or three smaller chapters, but I digress. 40pages is quite an accomplishment for one chapter and 431 total is definitely something to be proud of.