Shrouded in Mist

by CroweAndAria

After travelling to the Unova Region, Crowe has finally begun his Pokemon Journey! However, his past comes to hunt him as he's forced to deal with the countless hidden dangers of the Pokemon Universe. Ranging from well organized teams to chaotic cults, can Crowe solve the mystery to save the world before time runs out? Only time would tell. OC STORY! Explanations within chap.1

Crowe here!

Aria here~

Hello everyone, this is our first time writing a story! Hopefully, you will take us well as this is our first fanfic~

We have chosen Pokemon for various reasons; but most of all, we've chosen pokemon because we LOVE it.

This story takes place in the DARKER Pokemon Universe, however. SO don't expect a light and happy story in this. People and Pokemon alike will go through some heavy stuff in this. Though, that's Crowe's specialty.

Aria will be handling all the character developments. She's a LOT better than me in that field :/

First of all, a few guidelines for this story~

The Anime Universe takes place alongside the games; meaning, the anime storyline and the game storyline will be intertwined. Ash will also be in this story. HOWEVER, the BEST WISHES series never happened. During this time frame, Ash is in Kalos.

There will be some time warp stuff going on here~ The events of BW will happen at the same time as the events of Ash's journey throughout Kalos. Explanations for that... Well, you'll find out in the later chapters ;)

Pokemon Adventures, the manga, will have some cameos as well. So expect some of the characters showing up sometime soon :P

Now, without further adieu~

---

The world is being torn apart. The balance of the universe is in disarray, as the three states of matter have collided with each other.

One man and seven Pokemon stood in the chaos. There was the odd-looking Pokemon with feminine features and a black flowing dress, a fighting Pokemon with closed eyes, and shook the Earth once it steps, a grass-type Pokemon with the lineage of a dragon flowing through its empowered reptilian body, a Pokemon that burns souls without giving much of a thought; a Pokemon with properties that deny logic, a Pokemon that shines brighter than any surface of the earth, and…

A Pokemon made up of dark matter.

The man jumped from falling debris to another as an attempt to reach the dark side of the creator. His flowing lilac hair went against the wind, showing off the burnt side of his face. The place where once the unseeing eye was held contained a new eye: a slit white pupil with a bright blue iris.

On both of his hands, orbs made of dark energy swirled with power. Parts of it surrounded its finger tips, and went as far to his elbow. His entire body was crackling with dark energy; a needed prerequisite to fight against these godly beings.

After all, there were no other choices to save this universe. The fate of the lives of the many now rests on his shoulders.

He dodged a few attacks done by these beings, and successfully parried the being of Liquid with the help of his reptilian Pokemon's hurricane of destruction. The being of Solid tried to knock him with a deafening roar, but his feminine Pokemon fought back with just an equal amount of power.

The being of ideals tried to squash them, but the fighter and the defying Pokemon stood on its way. The being of truth tried to burn the trainer alive, but the hellfire Pokemon simply took its flames away.

Now reaching his destination, the man cried out one statement which put the world around him into endless sleep:

Dark Void

---

Several years ago….

A boy sat in his bed, completely thrilled to experience his upcoming journey. He wore the red jacket handed down to him by his father, and a hat given to him by his lovely classmate: Cynthia. He wore black jeans that were ripped in a few areas, but most specifically: his knees. On his belt, he had three Pokemon that he'd been training in the wild since he was younger: a level 22 shiny Kirlia, a level 19 Riolu, and a level 18 Snivy.

He fondly gave them nicknames, mostly for their defining features. He nicknamed his Kirlia as Luciela, mostly calling her Lu, due to her resemblance to a certain famous video game character in the PC. He gave his Riolu's nickname as Reina, since he loved how his little troublemaker tried to act as pompous as possible.

For his Snivy, he settled with the name Levi because of one reason: his Snivy won't accept any other name except "Levi". He is also the most "chill" in their merry group.

Going back to the present time, the boy constantly checked his reflection. He was a little troubled since none of his classmates visited him to wish him luck on his journey in the continent known as "Unova". His only friend in school, Cynthia, left for her journey a few weeks ago already; unfortunately, that journey only took place in Sinnoh.

The main reason why the boy accepted the journey to Unova was all because of one thing: get away from this wretched town.

Though granted, it wasn't really where he was born. He was born and raised on a completely different region; he just moved here when he was around 5 years old.

He sighed, and brushed up the bangs that were covering the right side of his face. He saw a glimpse of his burnt skin.

Besides being the town he grew up in and the place where he met all the wonderful beings in his life, it was also the same place where he suffered. The right half of his face and torso were burned during an unfortunate situation when he was at a younger age; he'd saved a Ralts, now his Luciela, from being killed by a Team Cipher member.

The said member was frustrated on his Ralts due to how weak she was despite being corrupted, and ordered its Growlithe to kill her with an ember. The boy jumped in to save the poor Shadow Pokemon at almost the cost of his own life.

Next was how he got Levi. He got his Snivy when he overheard a trainer treating his Pokemon like a freak. This was during the time when he was training with the wild Pokemon and his Ralts.

The trainer was shouting about how Snivy was supposed to get stronger with his status moves, not get weaker. The trainer proceeded to beat up his Snivy, which the boy quickly intervened in. He ordered his Ralts to use Psyshock against the trainer, while he snatched the Snivy away.

Of course, this led to a few days of cat and mice. Every time the trainer would try to return his Snivy, the boy would simply order Luciela to use Psyshock against him, or Disarming Voice. It was not before long the trainer gave up on his Snivy, and just handed him over to the boy.

Despite how many times the boy got into trouble, he didn't regret his actions. Now, he had a loving family that loved him more than his own.

For his Reina, he received her as a present from Cynthia before she took part in her journey. He trained with the three of them, personally sparring with Reina, and teaching Luciela the move called "Psyshock". Though, it took quite a long time, and Luciela was only able to perfect it once she evolved into a Kirlia.

He spent countless nights and days for their training, carefully applying and revising formulas to bring out their full potential. His plans didn't only stop in their current level, and even went as far as to what they could fully bring out in their level hundreds.

Despite how hardcore this training might sound like, he made sure to put some breathing space in between, and play with them as frequently as possible. Of course, this includes the wild Pokemon.

He heard a knock on the door, and quickly became ecstatic. He grabbed his bag, and quickly walked towards the door. He opened it, and revealed Professor Laurel with a huge smile on her face.

However, those weren't the only times he dealt with hardships.

In this small little town he lived in, he also faced two Pokemon Organizations: Team Cipher, and Team Discord.

Unfortunately, he didn't have most people who could support him with his battles against these organizations. Only Cynthia ever paid heed to him, and they fought these two organizations together.

Team Cipher came all the way from the Orre Region to grab more Pokemon to enslave, while Team Discord was an organization with an unknown purpose.

Books, researchers, and recent news had little information on the latter organization. Crowe hoped that they weren't much of a threat, but judging from their name, it was obvious that wasn't the case.

"Hello, Crowe, ready to go?" she asked. The boy, revealed as Crowe, nodded eagerly and gestured for her to continue. The professor chuckled at his antics, and led him out of the house.

They entered the car, which looked rather similar to a VW Beetle. While Professor Laurel could've gotten a better car, she didn't really care about those. As long as it does its job, she's fine with anything.

Professor Laurel was the one who suggested he should go to Unova. She noticed his sadness when he wasn't chosen to have the journey in Sinnoh, and felt her heart waver. She really didn't like to play favourites, but Crowe was definitely her favourite without a doubt.

It was like the son she never had.

However, that wasn't the only reason why she wished for Crowe to go to Unova. On the boy's behalf, she had been researching on the location of where his father was last seen. Apparently, he was last seen in the Unova Region.

However, she kept that part to herself. She knew how reckless Crowe could be for the sake of his loved ones. She wanted him to have a journey full of joy. She smiled bitterly to herself as they've neared the airport.

Her friend, Professor Juniper, proposed that she should meet Crowe by the airport, and escort him until they've reached her lab. Professor Laurel didn't mind, but it surely cut her time off with her precious "son". Once they've stopped, she gave Crowe a quick lookover.

"Remember to look both sides before going, okay?" she chided, and pinched his cheek. Crowe puffed his cheeks, but chuckled at her.

"Yeah, yeah," he smiled, unzipping his seatbelt. He gave Laurel a huge smile, and hugged her. "Thank you for everything."

That simple statement brought Laurel to tears.

"No, thank you for everything," she said, before reluctantly moving away from the hug. Crowe gave her one last smile, before leaving the car.

Looking at both sides before crossing the street.

---

"I'll miss Professor Laurel," thought Crowe. It was particularly painful for him to leave his motherly figure behind, but he knew he needed to stay strong. Being too lenient will cost him everything he loves.

Though, there's a difference between being lenient and being kind. He won't be an asshole, no matter the situation.

Though, he could be a troublemaker just as long as things wouldn't get worse.

He looked through the airport, frowning in anxiety when he couldn't recognize anyone. He knew that he should look for this person known as "Professor Juniper". She was said to have a lab coat, and a normal Castform for her hair.

Crowe didn't really understand what his "mom" meant by that. Whatever questions he had, however, were instantly washed away as soon as he saw a Castform-shaped head in the distance.

"Ah. So that's what she meant," he accidentally blurted out a little too loud. A few people around him turned to look at him, and he fought down a blush. He meekly walked towards Professor Juniper, avoiding the stares he was getting.

As soon as Professor Juniper noticed him, she waved her hand.

"Crowe!" she called out. Crowe instantly brightened and walked faster to her location. She laughed quietly. Unfortunately, Crowe didn't like that.

"What's the matter?" he asked, frowning.

"When I've heard from Professor Laurel that you had a hairstyle that could put Absols to shame, I didn't believe her," she confessed. With wide eyes, Crowe stared at her, before laughing as well.

"That definitely sounds like m-Professor Laurel," he said, slipping on Laurel's name. Juniper didn't notice it, and simply gestured him to come over.

Over the trip, they were talking about the sights in Unova and the wonderful Pokemon in it. Crowe was listening to her words with full-blown enthusiasm that beats any Pokemon trainer. When it comes to befriending new Pokemon, Crowe always seemed to have the upper hand. Professor Juniper took notice of this, smiling fondly to herself.

The way Crowe acted reminded her of Hilda and Bianca. If only some of their enthusiasm would rub off on Cheren…

Juniper shook her head. Now wasn't the time to dwell on such matters.

"How's your trip going, Crowe?" she asked nicely. Crowe looked away from the vast ocean sight before him, and replied just as nicely.

"Going swell, Professor Juniper. Though, I'm saddened I can't bring out my Pokemon to see this view," he answered. Professor Juniper chuckled.

"Sorry about that. Ever since the accident, Pokemon are forbidden to be outside their balls, until we touch land."

"That's a shame," he said, before turning back to the ocean. The stars twinkling in his eyes were hard to miss.

"He must really love Pokemon, doesn't he?" she thought.

By the time they've landed, Crowe instantly brought out his Pokemon. Of course, his Pokemon instantly mobbed him; well, Luciela.

As soon as Luciela was brought out, she quickly redirected the way she was going to get caught by her master. Crowe caught her in surprise, before cheerfully laughing at her antics. Luciela giggled back, before raising both of her small arms in a request for a hug.

Crowe simply raised an eyebrow, but gave in to her request anyways. After he hugged her, she quickly jumped off his arms, and danced around him.

He heard Professor Juniper laugh behind him.

"She really likes you, doesn't she?" she asked, smiling fondly at the Kirlia.

"She does," agreed Crowe. This time, his Snivy jumped on his shoulders, hanging onto it. It reminded Juniper of a certain blockhead and his Pikachu when Professor Oak brought them over for vacation.

"Fine, Levi, you'll take that spot today," chuckled Crowe. Despite how young he looks, he had quite a deep voice. Crowe's Reina visibly frowned, not liking the absence of affection towards her. Crowe quickly spotted it, before smiling to himself. He gave Reina a quick peck on the cheek, causing the latter to falter, and look embarrassed.

"Wait for it," said Crowe, eyeing Juniper's response. Almost immediately, Reina slapped Crowe, causing the latter to laugh. Meanwhile, Juniper was surprised.

"This is the first time I've seen a Pokemon react to someone's affection like… that," commented Juniper. Crowe gave her a grin.

"That's just how she is. She's Pompous by nature. Or Jolly for that matter," answered Juniper's hidden question. Juniper sighed in response.

"I see," she answered, a smile not leaving her face. "Oh, come. Let's go and meet your fellow trainers in your journey."

Crowe nodded, excited at the aspect of meeting new people. He motioned for his Pokemon to jump into his arms, and motioned for Juniper to lead the way;

Well, Reina did.

Professor Juniper saw this and laughed softly.

They took a red truck on their way to Professor Juniper's lab, and Crowe gawked at the new Pokemon in sight.

There were a few deerlike-Pokemon, a few birds, and a few weird hamster Pokemon in the area.

"So, Crowe, what do you think of these new Pokemon?" she asked. She wasn't prepared for the answer he was going to give her.

"Absolutely FANTASTIC! There are SO many new Pokemon I haven't seen yet, and there are so much of them! I wonder if those are Patrats, and those are Pidoves or something. Oh man, I just can't wait

to meet them!" Crowe shouted ecstatically; albeit accidentally. Juniper was startled, as she looked back to see Crowe looking at the Pokemon in the area with so much interest, and his Pokemon were responding to their master's reaction just as enthusiastically.

Juniper was speechless, and simply smiled.

"Is that so? Then, you will love your journey here," she finally said after a few seconds of silence.

The rest of the trip was remarkably silent, except for Crowe's praises of "ooohs" and "aaahs".

---

It wasn't before long they've reached Nuvema Town. The area, despite being called a Town, was quite urban than rural. Though there were still a few large patches of grass in the place to consider it as rural, the structures, streets, and stores of the area really made it out as something Urban instead. Crowe already loved the place, and loved it more when he saw how wide the area around the Pokemon Laboratory was.

For Crowe and his Pokemon friends, this place was a godsend. He recalled his Pokemon, planning to surprise the new trainers later on.

By the time they've entered the lab, three other trainers were in front of the receptions desk.

One trainer had a ponytail, and ripped shorts. She wore a vest over her white shirt, and a pink and white hat. The other trainer wore a dress, and a green hat that covered most of her head, and a white jacket on top.

For the first time in his life, Crowe was relieved to see a MALE Pokemon trainer with him. Usually, he hated male Pokemon trainers, despite being male himself. The male Pokemon trainer had orange glasses, and a blue tuxedo over his white polo. He wore a loosely tied red necktie, and a pair of pants, and leather shoes.

All in all, doesn't he feel hot in his outfit though?

"Professor Juniper, you're late," the boy called out. Crowe frowned instantly.

"Ah. Never mind. He's just as bratty as the others," he thought to himself.

"Sorry, sorry, I escorted Crowe from the airport," she apologized. The three trainers looked at him instantly, which caused him to falter.

"Er… hi?" he asked out. Levi and Luciela shared his sentiments, despite being recalled in their pokeballs.

The girl with the ponytail, and the blonde one instantly went "awww" for Crowe, while the boy with glasses rolled his eyes.

"Hilda, don't you think he looks like an Absol?" the blonde asked. The girl with the ponytail, apparently known as Hilda, replied but not as enthusiastically.

"Yes, he does a bit," answered Hilda. The two girls giggled together, while Cheren furrowed his eyebrows. It seems that he was trying as hard as he could to understand their joke.

Meanwhile, that only embarrassed Crowe further. Professor Juniper smiled at their interactions, but frowned a bit on the boy with glasses.

"Cheren, you should try being light once in a while. It's not so hard to be a little goofy," commented Juniper. Cheren cleared his throat.

"Professor, while I take your advice at the highest respect, I do believe that being goofy won't lead any advancements on my purpose."

Hearing this, Crowe was peeved.

"Purpose?"

"To become the Champion," answered Cheren with an air of finality. His actions caused Bianca to snicker, while Hilda smiled nervously. Cheren raised an eyebrow at Bianca.

"What's so funny about it?"

"N-n-nothing" panicked Bianca. Cheren visibly recoiled, causing Juniper to intervene before it got any worse, and Hilda to raise her hands to attempt to calm them down.

"Alright, everyone, I will call over the helper for the three of you to be able to choose your starter Pokemon," she said. She walked away, giving Crowe a meaningful look.

Crowe sighed.

While, granted, he was 18 years old and definitely at least 2-4 years older than the people before him, that doesn't mean he had to babysit.

"Wait, what about your starter?" asked the blonde. Crowe smiled at her.

"You'll see. I don't want to show my Pokemon yet until you get yours," teased Crowe. Bianca frowned, while Cheren raised an eyebrow.

"I take that as a challenge?" asked Cheren. Hilda sighed, obviously just as displeased as Crowe on how Cheren acted.

"Cheren, take the battling out of your mind and do something else. Like, performing or something," mumbled Bianca. Cheren turned to her again, and Hilda immediately stepped in.

"Well, well, let's call down, okay?"

"We're back!" announced Professor Juniper, happy that none of them broke out into a fight. Besides Juniper was a helper, pushing a tray with three pokeball on top of it. Well, there was the case of ALMOST, but Cheren instantly redirected his attention.

"Finally, I can start out on my Pokemon Journey!" said Cheren, a little bit of overconfidence in his words.

Bianca heaved a shaky sigh.

"T-that was scary," she said with a shaky voice, while Hilda comforted her as smoothly as possible. However, it was instantly changed once Bianca saw the Pokeballs on the tray.

"I was so excited last night about this, and I couldn't sleep about it!" exclaimed Bianca, walking towards the tray. Hilda chuckled to herself, moving along as well.

"Here's the first Pokemon; Tepig!" Juniper said, calling the Pokemon inside the pokeball out. What released was a piglet tinted in black, and energetically walked around the place. The girls instantly cooed over it, while Cheren stood there, giving it an analytical stare. "Next up is Oshawott!"

The water-type Pokemon showed up from its ball, giving them its best impression of a cute Pokemon. The girls were a sucker for it, while Cheren didn't even change his reaction.

"Finally, Snivy!" Juniper said, calling out the last Pokemon. It revealed a Snivy, similar to Crowe's; except Crowe's Snivy had a little bit of a twist that can only be noticed in battle.

"Oh man, it's so hard to choose!" said Bianca, cuddling the three Pokemon at once. Hilda chuckled nervously, while Cheren continued staring.

"Eh, Cheren, you're not going to choose?" asked Bianca. Cheren looked at Bianca, before looking over at Hilda.

"… I want Hilda to choose first," said Cheren. Hilda looked startled, before looking at the three Pokemon, who were currently on Bianca's arms.

"Erm… I'll go for Oshawott," said Hilda, causing the Oshawott to instantly brighten. Bianca looked struck with pain, however.

"Cheater! You chose the cutest Pokemon first!" claimed Bianca. Tepig looked offended, while the Snivy rolled its eyes.

"Then, I'll take Snivy," said Cheren. Crowe raised an eyebrow. He knew what Cheren did.

"Process of Elimination, eh?" grinned Crowe.

"Then, I'll choose Tepig!" said Bianca, reluctantly letting go of the other two Pokemon, and hugging the life out of Tepig.

"Wait, Bianca, the Tepig will die!" said Hilda. Bianca instantly recoiled, and the Tepig was trying its best to breath.

"Oh Arceus, I'm sorry!" Bianca claimed. The Tepig snorted, as if laughing at its new master. Juniper smiled at their interactions, and handed them the pokeball, extra pokeballs, the gym badge casings and the pokedex. Juniper also made sure that Crowe had them as well.

"Thank you!" they spoke in chorus, while Crowe nodded in appreciation.

"Why don't we have a match?" spoke Cheren quickly right after the three players recalled their Pokemon.

"Eh? Like… Right now?" asked Bianca. Hilda looked worried as well.

"Yes. Think of it as a… Opening Ceremony," answered Cheren, pushing his glasses up. Crowe frowned at that.

"He probably just wants to show how superior he is from the start," he thought. "Ah. I totally forgot to show them my Pokemon."

"There's a Pokemon Match Courtyard just beside the lab. I'll lead you there if you want to," proposed Juniper. Crowe looked at Juniper, and saw a rather innocent reaction.

"… She probably knows," Crowe thought. Bianca, and Hilda gave in, before Cheren turned to Crowe.

"You're joining too."

The room was silent. Crowe simply shrugged.

"Sure. Just don't blame me if you lose," said Crowe, giving Cheren a small grin. Cheren simply raised an eyebrow.

"I won't."

The four new Pokemon trainers, and the professor went to the courtyard for their first Pokemon Match.

Well, not for Crowe anyways.

Upon reaching their destination, Cheren pulled out a cup from his bag with four sticks on them.

"… This thing is rigged, isn't it?" thought Crowe.

"We'll pull out these sticks. The people with the same color of the stick will have a match. The winner gets to fight the winner of the other match," declared Cheren.

"Oh! I'll be the referee then," said Professor Juniper.

"Please do, Professor. Then, shall we?" asked Cheren, raising the cup before the others. The other trainers looked at each other, before taking their choice of stick.

"Ready… Go!" shouted Cheren. They all pulled out at the same time, revealing Cheren and Hilda with pink stick ends, while Bianca and Crowe had blue stick ends. Crowe didn't miss the smile on Cheren's face.

"I knew it."

"The match has been decided! Hilda and I will go first," said Cheren, motioning for Hilda to come over. Hilda nodded, before moving to the other side of the court.

"Today marks the first ever match between these two growing Pokemon trainers! On the left side, we have Hilda from Nuvema Town, and, on the right, we have Cheren from Nuvema Town."

"I won't lose!" declared Cheren, bringing out his pokeball.

"I'll do my best," Hilda declared back, though her voice was shaky. Crowe watched their posture, and sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked Bianca.

"Cheren will win in this fight. Compared to Hilda, it seems that Cheren seems to have knowledge in Pokemon Matches. His posture says it all."

In fact, Cheren was imitating the posture of a legendary trainer known as "Red". It made Crowe snicker.

For Hilda… the slightest bit of shaking and anxiety could be seen from her. It felt like she was afraid of battling in its entirety.

"Begin!" announced Professor Juniper.

"Snivy, I choose you!" shouted Cheren. He threw the pokeball high in the air, and Snivy came out, landing on the grass with excellent posture.

"Oshawott, let's do this!" Hilda yelled back, throwing the pokeball up into the air. Oshawott came out with the same entrance, but failed slightly upon landing. Seeing that caused Hilda to falter further.

"It's my win. Snivy, Leer!"

Cheren's Snivy narrowed its eyes, and gave Oshawott a menacing grin. Oshawott visibly recoiled at the sight of Snivy. Hilda looked worried for her Pokemon, but steeled her resolve.

Crowe smiled at that. She had potential.

"Oshawott, don't falter. Use Tail Whip!"

Hilda's Oshawott turned around, and wagged its tail around. Because of how small it was, it instantly caught the enemy Snivy's amusement, dropping its leer act.

"Now!" shouted Bianca, startling Hilda and Crowe, who was sitting beside her.

"Oshawott, Tackle!"

The Oshawott instantly launched itself into action, and slammed its body on the enemy Snivy. The enemy Snivy took some significant damage, but Cheren's victory smile never left his face.

"Snivy, use Leer again!"

Snivy glared at Oshawott, causing the latter to flinch when their eyes connected with each other. Vines sprouted behind Snivy.

Crowe was surprised to see the vines. Weren't starters supposed to be at level 5?

"Now, use Vine Whip!"

The vines from behind Snivy solidified, and slammed itself on the Oshawott. Its defence was lowered, causing Oshawott to receive a lot of damage. Hilda cried in alarm, rushing forwards to check if her Oshawott was fine. The poor Pokemon was knocked out cold.

"Oshawott has fainted, Cheren wins!"

Cheren adjusted his glasses.

"Of course."

Crowe's right eye twitched.

"I'm sorry, Bianca, but prepare to lose. I need to kick his sorry ass back to where he came from," growled Crowe. Bianca flinched at his tone, but Crowe gave her a smile that eased her worries.

Though, that didn't put Juniper's to ease.

Before Juniper could react, Crowe stood from where he sat from, and approached Hilda. Hilda was looking at her Pokemon with so much concern, since Oshawott wasn't still able to react. Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes. Crowe pulled out a potion, and comfortingly wrapped her shoulders with his left arm.

The sudden closeness startled Hilda for a bit.

"Don't worry, he's just fainted. Here," said Crowe, spraying the potion on Oshawott's wounds. Oshawott instantly reacted, slowly opening its eyes.

"Oshawott!" Hilda exclaimed, hugging her Oshawott. Crowe smiled at them. It was the same scene when he first fought a trainer with his Ralts. Though, his Ralts was a Shadow Pokemon back then, which made it a lot more painful.

He turned to Cheren. His smug attitude was still there, but his eyes were conflicted. Crowe sighed in relief.

"Good. He still isn't a pure asshole," thought Crowe, slowly standing up. He helped Hilda to her feet, and noticed a slight blush on her cheeks. He simply shrugged it off, thinking she might be embarrassed from crying. He gently led her to the side, before moving over to where Hilda once stood.

Juniper smiled gratefully at Crowe, who just nodded in return.

Cheren shrugged, before moving away, and Bianca going on his spot.

"I-I'll do my best!" Crowe nodded his head in response.

"May Victini praise us both," answered Crowe, reaching out for his Snivy.

"On the left side, we have Crowe from the town of Beckendorf, and Bianca from the town of Nuvema!"

Crowe smiled internally from Juniper's introduction. It was nice to know that Laurel told Juniper his true hometown than the hellhole he lived in.

"Go, Tepig!" shouted Bianca, clumsily throwing her pokeball. It simply landed on the grass, and Tepig came out of it.

Crowe eyed the Tepig analytically, causing both itself and its master to flinch. Crowe decided to ease the tension with a smile.

"Go, Levi!" Crowe yelled back, throwing his pokeball into the air. He threw his pokeball with expert precision, using the momentum by throwing it backhanded to sail up into the air. Levi came out of his pokeball, crashing into the ground with style. Crowe looked proudly on his Levi as the latter slowly rose from the small crater it created.

By what I mean small crater, I mean Snivy-foot-shaped-craters.

"Begin!"

"Levi, Tackle," ordered Crowe with a relaxed voice.

Levi launched itself forwards; his speed surprising everyone in the vicinity. As soon as he slammed his body on the Tepig, Crowe followed up the order: "Wrap." Levi wrapped itself around Tepig, and squeezed it.

The enemy Tepig grunted from pain.

"W-w-what should I do?!" panicked Bianca.

"Bianca, use your pokedex. You can tell your Pokemon's moves from there," Juniper advised.

"Oh!" Bianca clumsily looked in her bag, before pulling out her pokedex. She pointed it to her Tepig, and instantly scanned every move.

"Just use Ember!" shouted Cheren. Bianca flinched, before nodding her head.

"T-then, Tepig, use Ember!" shouted Bianca.

"Levi, slam him down," called Crowe. The latter saw it coming.

Levi launched his body into the air, before violently slamming Tepig to the ground. The foe Tepig burnt the soil below it instead.

The Tepig squealed a bit from pain, causing Crowe to flinch. He really didn't like harming Pokemon.

"Let's end this. Tackle."

Levi, from the air, sailed downwards at Tepig. He slammed his body at Tepig, damaging it directly. Results? Tepig fainted.

"Tepig has fainted, Crowe wins!"

Bianca did a very dramatic no which caused Crowe, and Hilda to chuckle at her antics. Bianca scooped up her Tepig, and walked towards Juniper.

Meanwhile, Cheren moved towards where Bianca was.

"You're a pretty good fighter."

"Thanks."

For some reason, the air between the two became tense. Everyone sensed it, and even Juniper went silent.

"Hey, tell me, have you ever fought seriously?" asked Cheren. Crowe smiled.

"Maybe a few times or two, why?" I'm not falling for your provocations.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just looking forward to win this match," he answered. Damn. He didn't fall for it.

Crowe recalled Levi, and pulled down the tip of his hat. Time seemed to have slowed down as he'd raised his pokeball to shoulder level, and casually threw it up before catching it.

Cheren gasped. He knew exactly what that posture meant.

For some odd reason, instrumentals from afar started playing.

The tension just rose higher, as Crowe's body seemed to be glowing with power. The amount of pressure he released was too strong for the amateur trainers, but Cheren just fought it back just as much with his ego.

Crowe grinned at the development.

"Good. Entertain me while you can, alright?" requested Crowe, raising the tip of his hat, looking directly into Cheren's eyes.

Cheren flinched, but quickly steeled his resolve.

"Then, here I go!" shouted Cheren, though not as conceited as before. He sent out his Snivy, completely ignoring the posture he did before. Crowe just grinned even more.

"Then, here I go. Levi!" shouted Crowe, tossing his pokeball to the air. His Levi did the same entrance, but, this time, landing softly on the ground.

The air around Crowe and Levi turned completely different, and Cheren could feel it.

"So… This is how it feels to fight against a Pokemon Trainer," he said in awe. He was shivering a bit, not anticipating the fact he'll be facing one so early on.

"Yeah."

Both Snivies stared into each other, wary of what the other might do. Crowe waited until Cheren grew his wits back before taking his move.

"You alright now? Then, allow me. Levi, wrap."

With a snap of his finger, Levi instantly went into action. He went almost invisible as he rushed across the soil at a steady speed.

"Snivy, Leer!" Cheren tried to counter.

The Snivy managed to leer at Levi, but a red glow covered the latter. Instead of slowing down, Levi continued his assault, successfully wrapping itself around the enemy Snivy. It took both the Snivy and Cheren by surprise, while Crowe simply grinned.

"Did you know? Abilities matter. Levi, throw him into the air, and use Tackle!"

Levi did as he was told, throwing the enemy Snivy into the air. Levi quickly jumped over the Snivy, sailing its body against it. The enemy Snivy grunted in pain, causing Cheren to widen his eyes.

"Snivy, Leer then use Vine Whip!"

The enemy Snivy leered at Levi, but that red glow simply covered Levi once again. The enemy Snivy panicked, throwing out a half-finished Vine Whip against him. The Vines snapped upon contact, and caused Cheren's mouth to drop.

"Impossible!"

"Wrap." Spoke Crowe.

Levi wrapped itself around the enemy Snivy once again, squeezing it extra hard. Cheren knew that he couldn't rely on Status Effects anymore.

"Snivy, fight back with Tackle!" shouted Cheren, desperation in his voice which was uncharacteristic for Hilda and Bianca.

Snivy tried to butt its head and throw Levi off balance, but found it impossible. Unlike itself, Levi was a lot faster. Every time the Snivy would try to hit Levi's head, it would simply change spots.

It was as if he was toying with his prey.

"Levi isn't a snake for nothing, I suppose," thought Crowe. He could end this now, but voted against it. He wanted to see if Cheren would regain his wits again. He watched Cheren, who was taking deep breaths in.

"Snivy, use Vine Whip to levitate yourself into the air, then use Tackle!"

Crowe's eyes widened, and the Snivy did as it was told. The enemy Snivy formed two Vine Whips behind it, raising itself into the air significantly. It flipped its position with Levi, and slammed itself down with such ferocity.

Levi, who caught the brunt of the attack, grunted in pain, letting go of the enemy Snivy. Unfortunately, Cheren didn't let this chance slip by. "Now, use Vine Whip!" shouted Cheren. Snivy formed its two complete Vine Whips, slamming them down on Levi.

But, for some reason, they didn't seem to have damaged Levi in the slightest.

"Typing, Cheren. You know. The one you used against Hilda," Crowe called out. Cheren simply glared at Crowe. Ah, that was quick.

Crowe sighed. He used provocation on Cheren, and it was an OHKO.

"Come at me with any method you like."

"Snivy, Vine Whip and stop Levi from moving!"

The Snivy did as it was told, and locked Levi in a grip.

"Now, slam him do-"

"Wrap."

A simple order sent unease down Cheren's spine. How could he order his Pokemon to use Wrap when it was wrapped around Vines?

His answer was answered as he'd slowly watched the events unfold before him. As if in a slow motion shot, Levi continued wrapping himself around the Snivy's Vine Whips, coming closer and closer to Snivy. The moment Levi managed to approach the enemy Snivy, the wind around them started picking up.

"What's… going on?" Cheren asked. Crowe chuckled.

"It's a simple move known as Leaf Tornado."

Cheren's eyes widened. The fact that Crowe didn't need to order what Levi needed to do was beyond his knowledge. Before either of them could react, the winds picked up even further, and the leaves from the surroundings circulated around it. The leaves had a magical green coating surrounding it, making it sharper than usual. It cut through the vines wrapping Levi, and freed him from the enemy Snivy's control.

Levi redirected the winds towards Snivy, blowing it backwards and cutting it in a few areas in the process. The Snivy slammed into a tree, before being knocked unconscious.

For a while, there was only stunned silence. What happened before them was too fast to follow. Crowe smiled fondly at his Levi, and crouched down.

"Come here, Levi," Crowe called out, excitement barely contained in his voice. Levi immediately rushed over, its two arms reaching out as if asking for a hug.

Levi stopped just a few centimetres away from him, before the two started clapping each other hands. It was as if they were playing patty cake, before ending it with a huge hug.

"I'm so proud of you," chuckled Crowe, his smile never leaving. He patted Levi's head, before pulling out his pokeball."Now go get some needed rest," he said with such a caring voice. Levi nodded, before allowing himself to be recalled in his pokeball.

Everyone stared at him in shock, not sure what to say.

"Erm.." Crowe blurted out. With the amount of attention he was getting, he was starting to feel nervous.

"That was a good fight. I've definitely learned a lot from it, thank you!" exclaimed Cheren, bowing down his head.

"Er, you don't have to," said Crowe, waving his arms. Embarrassment was reaching his cheeks.

"Well, aren't you a kind boy?" asked Juniper, laughing as she said it. Not so soon after, the tension in the atmosphere was gone, and was replaced by a cheery one. Cheren recalled his Snivy, telling it to get a good rest. He set his pokeball aside, before entering a thinking pose. Crowe approached Cheren with his hand held out.

"You have a very promising future, Cheren. Just try not to let sudden actions faze you," teased Crowe, his troublemaking grin present on his face. Cheren regarded him for a moment, before smiling himself.

"Yeah, that was one mistake I've done. I'll never do it again," said Cheren, shaking his hand.

"Be sure to take care of them as well, they get stronger that way."

This time, Cheren raised an eyebrow.

"I don't believe that's the right way they get stronger. They get stronger by fighting, correct?"

"Ah… you're the logical kid." Crowe shook his head amusingly.

"Cheren, I think you've done enough thinking for today," said Juniper, approaching the two trainers. Hilda and Bianca came along.

"Yeah, don't let yourself turn into Jimmy Nerdtron," joked Bianca. Cheren tilted his head at Bianca's joke while Hilda chuckled.

"I don't see what you mean. Isn't Jimmy Nerdtron the best in terms of knowledge?" asked Cheren. Bianca sighed while Hilda patted Bianca in the back. Cheren's face contorted from confusion, causing Juniper to laugh.

"See, Crowe? Cheren's a nice kid, just a little hard to take care of," said Juniper, while messing Cheren's hair.

"Professor, that's an awful way of introducing me," frowned Cheren.

"Ah, we haven't really introduced ourselves properly, haven't we?" Hilda blurted out. The other people nodded their heads.

"Then, I'll start. My name's Cheren from Nuvema Town; an aspiring Pokemon trainer, and becoming Champion is my goal."

"Ah, me next! My name's Bianca from Nuvema Town. For my profession… err…ah, what? Sorry, I haven't thought much about it!"

Crowe chuckled at her antics.

"My name's Hilda. I'm not certain about my path… But I think I'll travel and get stronger while meeting new Pokemon," Hilda introduced herself, feeling a little shy from the peculiar boy before her.

"Nice to meet you three. My name's Crowe from Beckendorf Town, all the way from the region of Aften."

"Aften, eh? I've heard that place was full of things to see," said Cheren, reaching out for a handshake.

"It is," answered Crowe, accepting the handshake.

"Well then, I'll go get going first. I'll get stronger and promise to take you down. Next time, it'll be my win!"

Crowe smiled. He liked a competition once in a while.

"Sure, I'll be looking forward for our next fight." Cheren nodded, giving Crowe a friendly smile. He left soon after, heading out to the wilderness.

"A-ah, I'll go and talk to my father," said Bianca, excusing herself. Juniper simply smiled.

"I'll leave you two now. I still have a few researches to do. Oh, the two of you should go to Striaton City GYM to test your abilities, alright?"

Crowe nodded and waved goodbye to her. Juniper left, leaving Crowe and Hilda alone.

"So…uh… What are you going to do now?" asked Hilda. Crowe shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I'm new here, and I have a very bad sense of direction."

Hilda simply stared at him, before softly laughing.

"You're an odd person, you know that?"

"I know," Crowe answered, smiling sadly to himself. He shook his head. "Anyways, I'll be going ahead. You guys take care, alright?"

"Ah, I don't mind travelling with you. I mean, you need someone to keep you in track, right?" teased Hilda. Crowe laughed at her words.

"Perhaps. Shall we go then?"

"Let's," agreed Hilda. She was about to move, until she remembered something important. "Ah, let's get our Pokemon treated first then pass by Bianca's."

"Alright then," said Crowe, motioning for Hilda to lead the way. Unfortunately, there were no Pokemon Centers nearby, and the Pokemon Lab was currently busy. Hilda decided to bring Crowe to her flat, where she lived with her mother. Crowe insisted that he could just use a potion, but Hilda went against it.

Mostly because she wanted to take a shower, and wash up her face because of how sweaty she got during the battle and how her cheeks were spilled with tears.

That, and she wanted to somehow impress Crowe. She was completely fine with it at first, until she realized something that made her blush.

She was bringing home a boy.

Just how much will her mom react to that?

Crowe and Hilda walked side by side with awkward silence as their mentor. They haven't talked to each other for quite some time now, and were walking rather slow than usual. They would glance at each other for a while, but quickly look away.

For Hilda's case, she was shy. For Crowe's case, he was wondering what he did wrong. Crowe glanced at the sky, noticing that it was sometime in the afternoon.

"Ah… I wonder how those guys are doing…" Crowe blurted out, a pleasant smile spreading across his face.

"Hmm?" Hilda hummed. She was internally rejoicing for two things: one, the awkward atmosphere was gone, and two, Crowe was smiling. For Hilda, Crowe felt a little gloomy ever since she called him an odd person.

"Ah, back home, I trained with the Wild Pokemon, you see. I was… going through some rough times."

Hilda didn't ask what he meant by rough times; she knew fully well that it was rude to ask that question. Instead, she asked something else: "Can you elaborate how you trained with the Wild Pokemon?"

Crowe's smile turned one of yearning.

"We took turns to train. I let my Pokemon be defeated, and fight back later on. That way, we both get experience points, and the Wild Pokemon in the area would be able to keep up with mine. We usually train at this time, and I give them meals in return. Though, it really ate a lot of my allowance," Crowe chuckled to himself.

"Though, we could only keep up the training for so far. My highest levelled Pokemon right now is level 22, which is my Kirlia."

Hilda stared at him with wide eyes.

"Wait, what?"

Crowe laughed at her reaction, causing the latter to blush intensely.

"While it was true that both of my Pokemon and the wild Pokemon were gaining experience, we can't really go further from that point. We practically know what each other will do now, and be able to dodge them with no roughness. We can't gain any experience from that."

"I mean, you have a Kirlia?" clarified Hilda; though her voice was barely heard, because of how embarrassed she was feeling.

"Oh, yeah, I do. I was supposed to show you my Pokemon, right? I suppose I could show you when we've reached our destination."

Hilda nodded eagerly, wishing to meet Crowe's Pokemon as soon as possible. She loved meeting new Pokemon, after all. Seeing her reaction caused Crowe to be reminded of himself.

"Looks like we'll get along really well," Crowe said with no meaning in particular. Though, Hilda took it on a different meaning, and her blush intensified further.

They've reached Hilda's place, and it was still pretty early in the afternoon. Now, Hilda was even more embarrassed.

"A-a-alright, I'll go and ring the b-b-bell now…" said Hilda, slowly raising her arm, a little scared that Crowe might notice her sudden change in demeanor. Before Hilda could press, however, she heard the door swung open wildly. Startled, she quickly turned her attention to her mom who was crying tears of joy, wiping snot from her nose.

"Oh, Hilda… Just how quick you've grown…"

This caused both Hilda and Crowe to blush.

"Ah, we're not going out," said Crowe to save both of them from embarrassment. Hilda nodded mutely, still feeling the heat in her cheeks.

"Oh, you're not? Hilda, you should totally nag him!"

"Mom!" Hilda protested. Hilda's mother laughed, leading the two in the house.

They spent most of the time inside in silence, with the occasional stories of Hilda's mom about Hilda's embarrassing childhood.

It was entertaining for Crowe, but made Hilda upset. To cool off, she headed to the bathroom and took a long bath.

In the bathroom, she spent her time thinking about her match today. She replayed how her Oshawott faced a humiliating defeat, especially how painful it looked like for Oshawott to go through it.

She felt completely useless as a trainer, it hurt her self-esteem.

Then her thoughts drifted towards Crowe. His battling skills were top notched, and how Hilda wanted to be on his level was more than desperation.

"I'll become as strong as him… I swear it on Arceus," she vowed. She left the bathroom, and dried herself before wearing the freshly placed clothes on top of her bed.

Once she came downstairs, she saw Crowe sitting on the sofa. He was watching a random TV Drama, and seemed immersed in it. The TV Drama was nothing new; it was a Romance story between a Latios and a Latias that had been going for a few months now.

Hilda didn't really pay heed to any romantic stories. It's not because she was always last in love, mind you, but because of her lack of interest in the subject matter.

But maybe with Crowe, those things might change.

Hilda decided to greet Crowe to announce her presence.

"C-Crowe," Hilda called out, unintentionally stuttering in her words. Crowe turned to her, and gave her a small smile.

"Yo."

Hilda smiled back. Nice going me, she sighed internally.

"You're interested in those things?" she asked, sparking up a normal conversation.

"Yeah, a little bit. I've always liked this show, despite how cheesy it is," admitted Crowe, turning his attention back to the tv.

"Hmm… I see," said Hilda, dropping herself next to Crowe. Since Hilda was freshly out of the bath, she was expecting some kind of reaction from Crowe. She glanced at his face, and saw that he had no reaction at all. This caused Hilda to pout, and feel her self-esteem as a woman go lower.

I should've paid attention to romance stories…

"I like this show because of Latios."

Hilda turned her head at him, confusion filled her thoughts. The Latios in the story was portrayed as weak-willed, and the "damsel in distress".

"Why?"

Crowe shrugged.

"Because, for the first time in any romance film, the male protagonist is actually the one suffering and needed help from the female protagonist; not the other way around. It puts to show how not all men are macho."

Hilda was surprised about his answer.

"Then, wouldn't that be a bad thing?"

Crowe turned his attention to her, and Hilda felt like crawling into a hole. The intensity beside his stare made her sweat, despite just leaving the bathroom.

"I-I mean, wouldn't guys wish for a macho figure? I mean, the boys in my school used to talk about it all the time; how they wanted to be so strong, and have so much confidence in themselves."

Crowe was silent, making Hilda think she said something wrong. Then, he surprised her by laughing heartily.

It was a laughter that instantly grabbed Hilda's attention, and she felt her heart beating faster as time passed by.

"I see, I see. Well, I guess I'm an exception. Being overconfident and, ah, "strong willed" will just feed my ego. I'd rather not be that type," answered Crowe. "I mean, it's not bad having a low self-esteem, but I don't encourage it. It's not bad having confidence, but I don't encourage it, and make it grow either. I prefer being in the middle. What's so good about a guy who's all bark, but no bite?"

Crowe looked away from Hilda, staring back at the screen.

"No matter how strong you are, there will always be someone who's stronger than you."

Hilda stared at him some more, before chuckling to herself.

"You are an odd person, alright."

Crowe chuckled along. Unbeknownst to the two of them, a certain girl was taking a picture of the two of them together. Hilda smiled at Crowe, before standing up.

"Let's go then. Bianca's waiting, and I can't wait to see your Pokemon."

Crowe nodded, motioning for Hilda to lead the way. Hilda went towards the table and grabbed her bag; Crowe doing the same.

"Mom, we'll get going now!" Hilda called out to her mother, who was in the kitchen. Her mom immediately came out, and hugged her daughter.

"Take care sweetie~ Ah, Crowe, be sure to look after my little angel, alright?"

Crowe smiled, and nodded. Hilda's mom reluctantly let her go, and smiled fondly at her.

"I'll make sure she won't be harmed, ma'am," said Crowe, wrapping an arm around Hilda.

Hilda blushed at this, while her mom gave Crowe an approving grin.

"My, aren't you a gentleman?" teased Hilda's mom. Crowe rolled his eyes.

"Chivalry's long dead," he teased back. Unable to bear the embarrassment anymore, Hilda quickly squirmed out of Crowe's arm in a way that wouldn't seem rude, and walked towards the door. Hilda and Crowe chuckled to themselves.

"I think we've teased her enough. Good luck on your journey!" Hilda's mom said, before turning to the kitchen to finish editing the photo. Crowe simply nodded, before joining Hilda, who was waiting outside the house.

Hilda had her arms crossed in front of her chest, and she was pouting at Crowe.

"Did you really have to tease me that much?" asked Hilda, annoyed that he and her mom ganged up on her. Crowe simply shrugged.

"No harm with a few jokes here and there," admitted Crowe. Hilda sighed, before turning around with Crowe in tow.

---

Unsurprisingly, Bianca's house was just on the next street.

"Childhood friends have this reoccurring theme of living near each other, huh," thought Crowe. Cynthia and he were no different.

"We're here," announced Hilda, raising her hand to push the doorbell. Before she could push it, however, the door opened suddenly with a displeased Bianca, and an angry man behind her.

"Come back here, young girl, you're NOT going out on a Pokemon journey!" shouted the man, who was threatening to grab Bianca by her hair.

"I can take care of myself fully well, dad!" Bianca shouted back. Her Tepig came out of the pokeball, and snorted some flames to prove her point.

Unfortunately, that just pissed the man off more instead.

"You dare raise your voice to me?" growled his father. Bianca visibly faltered; fortunately, Hilda came to her rescue.

"Bianca!" she called out, raising her hands. Bianca turned around, and her expression quickly turned to relief.

"Hilda!" she called out as well. She quickly moved towards the gate, and opened it to hug her dear friend.

The two hugged each other, while Crowe kept an eye on the man. The Tepig had already retreated to its master's side.

"Hilda, let's go," said Bianca. She was pushing Hilda away, causing the latter to protest.

"I can move on my own!" said Hilda, but let herself be carried away by Bianca. The man moved closer to the gate, but Crowe stood on his way.

"Move, kid. This isn't something you should poke your nose into," threatened the man. Crowe raised an eyebrow.

"Was that supposed to be scary? I'm sorry, but Nurse Joy could make a scarier face if she'd wanted to," grinned Crowe. He shook his head in amusement, before locking eyes with the man. "You won't have to worry about your daughter; she could take care of herself."

The man narrowed his eyes.

"You don't understand. In this country, there are cults you should be wary of."

Crowe's eyebrows went above his bangs.

"… Elaborate," said Crowe. The man looked at him oddly, before shrugging his shoulders.

"This matter isn't for your age. You could get killed," he said seriously. Crowe nodded his head, donning a serious expression.

He's faced threats like this before, but didn't go as far as infiltrating their bases. He knew he would die in the process, so he settled with interfering with their missions as much as he could.

"I've faced Team Cipher, and Team Discord before. I know the dangers of this."

This time, the man's eyes widened. He gave Crowe a scrutinizing stare, but found no lies in his words.

"… Then. I'll let you in," said the man, bregrudgingly.

Crowe nodded, glancing to his side. Apparently, Hilda and Bianca were watching their interactions with great interest. He raised the universal gesture for "wait", before motioning Bianca's father to continue.

"There are cults all over the world; unfortunately, this country has plenty of them. The cults range from being harmless, like the Cult of Jirachi, to something extremely dangerous, like the Cult of Giratina."

Crowe's expression darkened at that.

"They're just free to roam around? Why are you the only one who knows this?" asked Crowe. The man sighed in exhaustion.

"I'm tired of that question, honestly. They just don't roam around; the three teams are keeping an eye on them."

Crowe tilted his head.

"Three teams?"

The man nodded.

"Team Valor, Team Mystic, and Team Instinct. They recruit trainers all around the world and one of their leaders has been positioned here in Unova: Blanche. I'm from Team Valor."

Bianca's father raised his arm, revealing a red bracelet with the words TEAM VALOR around it. Crowe nodded to show he saw it.

"Do your family know?"

The man shook his head.

"Public information about this would be extremely dangerous."

Crowe sighed.

"So it's safe to say that these three teams are monitoring these cults?"

He nodded his head, but shook it later on.

"Yes, but not efficiently. Other Cults manage to get by our sights, and are stronger than us."

"… So that's why you don't want Bianca to roam around the country."

He sighed.

"Yes, until the cults are finished."

Crowe frowned. It looked like Pokemon Organizations aren't the only things he should look out for.

"Ah, but doesn't that mean houses aren't safe as well?"

The man looked at him oddly.

"If these cults were truly dangerous, there's a chance they might just suddenly barge in someone's house, and do stuff right? By travelling, we could get stronger and be able to combat these people."

"You're saying I should go and let Bianca be killed by no one knows where?" growled the man. Crowe narrowed his eyes.

"I didn't say that. She's perfectly competent on becoming a Pokemon trainer, and she'll be stronger before you know it."

"… I refuse."

The two had a brief standoff before Crowe sighed.

"What's use is it for us to receive our Pokemon, but not learn to train them? What's use is it for us this generation to just cower in fear, and be protected by the adults? We were supposed to be the ones who will save the previous generations, and carry our will to the next, were we not?"

Bianca's father had no real response to that.

"By protecting Bianca, you're restricting her freedom to do those. Think about it, will you?" frowned Crowe, before leaving her dad behind.

He called out to the two girls who had been staring at him in awe.

"Yo."

The two just continued staring at him, causing the latter to feel embarrassed.

"Err… Did I do something wrong?" he asked. Bianca shook her head.

"No, it's just that's the first time my dad ever talked to someone seriously…"

"Like…wow," agreed Hilda. Crowe frowned at them. Was talking to her father really that hard? Despite his temper issues, he seemed like a pretty reasonable guy. Crowe shrugged.

"Let's go. He won't be bothering us… for a while."

Bianca sniffed.

"Thank you. I'll… go to Professor Juniper's place first. You guys go ahead," she said, before quickly leaving Hilda and Crowe behind. Crowe felt sad as he'd watched Bianca's figure go away slowly.

"She's… a tough girl, isn't she?" Crowe said. Hilda nodded, feeling sorry for her friend. "Why don't you go after her?"

Hilda shook her head.

"In times like this, she refuses to speak. She can be… quite stubborn."

"… I see. Shall we go then?" he asked. Hilda nodded, feeling glum from what just happened. Crowe scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to do.

"Ah, do you have a map we can use?"

"Ah, yes. Here," Hilda answered, bringing out a map from her pink handbag. Crowe gently took the map from Hilda and took a peek into it.

"On the North from here is Accumula Town, huh. After that is Striaton City… That's where Professor Juniper told us to go right?"

Hilda nodded; her mood was still pretty low. Crowe glanced at the direction of the sun, before turning his attention to roughly north of the town.

"Alright, let's go," smiled Crowe, wrapping an arm around Hilda. Hilda blushed as Crowe, who hoped that he was right, had walked towards the direction of Accumula Town.

---

Fortunately for the two of them, Hilda's mood improved drastically as soon as she saw the new Pokemon around her. Her glum mood was quickly replaced with wonder as she'd dreamily looked at the Pokemon around her.

It made Crowe chuckled, before calling out his Pokemon. Hilda was quite startled from the sudden noise of Crowe's Pokemon being released, but didn't protest about it. Before her were two more Pokemon other than Levi, both of which were extremely rare in the Unova region. Especially one Pokemon in particular.

Luciela quickly jumped on Crowe's arms, causing Crowe to cradle her like a child. Meanwhile, Levi and Reina climbed up his body, and perched themselves on his shoulders.

"Is… That a… Kirlia?" asked Hilda, her shock visibly covering her face. Crowe laughed at her reaction, and Kirlia instantly became wary of the person before her.

While Kirlia and Levi had no problems with Crowe, they were afraid of the other beings around them. If they were on their own, their confidence would drop exceedingly, and flee away from battles.

The only reason why they felt so confident in battles was that they trusted Crowe in all of their hearts.

Though, for Levi's case, he gained that Nature after the abuse he received from his previous trainer. He regained his old attitude, surely, but his insecurities remained.

Crowe noticed his Pokemons reactions, and decided to introduce them. It was better to build their trust now, before regretting it later.

"Ah, Hilda, this little gal in my arms is named Luciela. She's a bit timid," said Crowe, patting Lu in her head. Luciela instantly felt comfortable, but was still cautious of the person before her. "This Riolu on my shoulder is named Reina. She's a bit bratty."

The Riolu in question rolled her eyes, before energetically waving at Hilda.

"And this other guy is Levi, the Snivy from earlier."

Levi nodded his head. Unlike Luciela, Levi has a stronger control over his fear. Hilda continued staring, before she voiced out her question.

"Wait, you gave them nicknames?"

Crowe rolled his eyes.

"Ain't that obvious?"

Hilda frowned, and Crowe grinned.

"You love teasing me, don't you."

"Don't have to state the obvious~"

Hilda sighed, annoyed with the boy before her.

"Hello, I'm Hilda," she introduced herself, completely ignoring the smirking boy. The three Pokemon nodded their heads in response while Reina jumped on Hilda's shoulders.

Hilda was startled, but laughed after Reina rubbed her cheeks against hers.

"She likes you," commented Crowe, a fond smile on his face.

Hilda blushed, not sure if that smile was directed to her or to Reina. It was more likely the latter. She cleared her throat, before Reina jumped off her to perch herself on Crowe's broader one.

She reached to her Oshawott's pokeball, contemplating if she should give him a nickname as well.

"You should give him one, if I were you. It strengthens the bond between trainer and Pokemon."

At Crowe's words, Hilda smiled. He knew exactly what buttons to push to convince her mind.

"Then, come out, Oshawott!" she said, throwing her pokeball into the air. Her Oshawott sprung into glory, thrusting out its chest as soon as it landed on the ground. The three other Pokemon on Crowe's care looked unimpressed with its performance, but the Oshawott stood its ground.

"Oshawott, would you like a nickname?"

Excitement was barely hid from Hilda's voice. Oshawott looked at her, before nodding enthusiastically. This put Hilda in a thinking pose, with one finger on her cheek.

"Hmm… How about…"

"Wait, Oshawott, are you a boy or a girl?" asked Crowe. Oshawott looked at him, before nodding its head and shaking it.

"Boy then."

Oshawott nodded his head to confirm the answer.

"A boy, huh… How about… Zhuzhu?"

Oshawott looked flabbergasted.

"He hates it," commented Crowe. Hilda frowned.

"Eh? It's a good name."

The Oshawott exaggeratedly shook his head.

"Hm… How about…Vivi."

He looked at Hilda with an expression that showed discontent.

"Nope, not that one neither."

Hilda sighed.

"Nicknaming is hard."

Hilda thought long and hard about his name, before she finally settled down with an answer that satisfied the ones who were listening.

"Olly!"

Oshawott looked happy with the name, and nodded his head. Crowe smiled.

"There you go. Olly the Oshawott," grinned Crowe. Hilda squealed excitedly, chanting Olly's name over and over before crouching down to hug him.

Olly was ecstatic, before it settled its eyes on Levi. His stare sharpened, before he broke himself free from Hilda, and planted its feet on the ground.

Levi calmly stared at Olly, and he shared the same thought as his trainer. Olly mistook him for the Snivy he fought earlier.

Crowe glanced at Hilda who had a worried expression. She didn't seem to know what was going on, and was trying to calm him down.

"Olly, Levi isn't the Snivy you fought earlier."

Despite Crowe's words, Olly didn't budge.

"… Oh. Adamant. This is… going to take a while." Crowe sighed.

"What do you mean?" asked Hilda.

"He won't budge until they fight," frowned Crowe. He slowly set Lu down, and the two other Pokemon jumped off from his shoulders.

His Levi walked towards Olly, stopping just a few feet away from him. Eyeing the two carefully, an idea entered Crowe's mind. He smiled at his idea, slowly nodding to himself.

"Ah, how about we use this as a chance to get you accustomed to Battling?"

"But… I don't think I'm up to the challenge…" Hilda looked visibly shaken. Her loss against Cheren earlier really dealt a blow on her, and she didn't want her Olly to go through the humiliation of losing again.

Seeing her reaction made Crowe's smile bittersweet.

"Losing a few times isn't so bad, you know. I lost a couple of matches myself, and there were times I lost confidence in battling."

Crowe's eyes became dazed with thought, as memories clouded his mind. Hilda noticed this, and her shaking figure slowly calmed down. Instead of the complex emotion she was feeling earlier, she felt pity instead as she'd watched the boy before her revisit his past.

Crowe shook his head.

"But even during those times, I've always reassured myself that I could do it. My Pokemon put all of their trust in me to bring out their full potential. It would be despicable of me to just throw that level of trust away."

Crowe turned to Hilda, his eyes filled with sympathy.

"I know how you feel right now, and I know how complicated it is. I won't force you to take the match, and we could just postpone this on a later date. I'm sure Olly would understand, despite how stubborn it is."

Olly redirected its attention to Crowe. His sharpened gaze was long gone, and was replaced with a look of understanding. He turned to his master, who looked at him warily. He smiled, walking towards his master and gave her a hug that was befitting his size.

"I think you know what to do."

Hilda was surprised, before she returned the hug. She tenderly wrapped her arms around Olly, and gave Crowe a grateful look.

"I'll take you up on your offer one of these days. Until then, I plan to build my bond with Olly using other means."

Crowe's smile turned cheerful again.

"Good to know we're sharing the same thoughts. Alright, everyone return. I'll call you out if needed, alright?"

His three Pokemon nodded, but one of them had an unsatisfied look on her face. He recalled his Pokemon to their balls, thinking on how he should deal with that certain Pokemon.

"Ah, Olly, you should return to-"

"Nah, don't. You should use the time of our stroll to Accumula Town to get to know him more. Besides, we don't really have a lot to talk about."

Hilda knew what he meant by that, and just mutely nodded at his suggestion. She carried Olly on her arms as she stood back up on her feet.

"You know, the way we talk to each other might make people mistake us as a couple," she joked, hiding the true meaning of her words. Crowe shrugged.

"Let people think what they want to think about."

Hilda giggled at that, but felt unsatisfied about his answer.

The two continued venturing through the forest, and Hilda chatted with Olly all throughout of their journey. She was talking to him about some of her past, and told him a bunch of stories which made Olly laugh.

Crowe smiled at their development before they spotted a herd of the deer Pokemon in the middle of a clearing.

"Ah, what are those things again…" thought Crowe. He pulled out his pokedex, and just aimed it towards one of them.

"Deerling, the Season Pokemon. The turning of the seasons changes the color and scent of this Pokémon's fur. People use it to mark the seasons."

"You know, after years of development, I've expected a less robotic, and more human voice for the pokedex entries." Crowe shook his head in amusement. He continued reading the pokedex entry, until he heard Hilda's voice.

"They're so cute… Can I catch one?" Hilda asked. Crowe glanced at Hilda, before shrugging.

"Go ahead. You started out with a Water type, so it should be fine."

Hilda frowned at him. She didn't understand his implications.

"Ah, those Pokemon are Normal/Grass types. While you have a Water-type to check for Fire-types., you need to have a Grass-type to check for Water-types."

Hilda made an "o" with her mouth, before turning back to the Deerlings.

"Then… go pokeball!" Hilda shouted. Crowe was surprised from Hilda's sudden outburst. She grabbed a pokeball out from her bag, and threw it towards the Deerling.

Unfortunately, since the Deerling was still at full health, it just hit the pokeball away.

"Wh-why didn't it work?" asked Hilda. Crowe sighed.

"You have to battle it first."

"… Oh yeah. Sorry, forgot about that…" Hilda faltered, her face turning red from embarrassment. She shook her embarrassment away, and stepped out towards the herd. Olly was still on her arms, but his tensed muscles made it clear he was ready to act at a moment's notice.

The Deerlings took notice, however, and immediately ran away. One of the Deerlings cried in alarm, causing an outburst from the bushes.

Crowe quickly rushed forward to grab Hilda back before she and Olly got hit by the stampede of the hamster-like Pokemon.

"T-thanks," Hilda said, her breathing turned ragged from shock. Crowe shook his head.

"No need to thank me. Just be careful next time. Wild Pokemon are completely different from the people you see in Towns or Cities," Crowe scolded. Hilda looked saddened after being told off. Crowe instantly softened at that. "It's fine. Everyone makes mistakes at first, you simply didn't know."

That cheered up Hilda, while Olly looked displeased he wasn't able to fight. Crowe sighed. Looks like Hilda will have to pour in a lot of effort to control her chosen starter. Crowe glanced at the sky, and noticed the sun was setting.

"Ah. Let's set up camp here for now. This place is pretty nice, now that I give it some attention."

The clearing had fresh grass that seemed soft enough to lie on, and the breeze felt refreshing. There were a few apple trees in the area, and a small pond.

"I'll go collect some of the fruits for our supper."

"Ah, I'll help."

Crowe accepted Hilda's help, since it felt like she won't stop pestering him about if he denied her.

Soon, they collected enough fruits to last for the night. Crowe only picked out two for him to eat, while he gave the rest to his Pokemon who ate happily. Hilda did the same, but spoiled Olly by feeding him.

This action caused Crowe to sense something from Lu. He turned to Luciela, who was looking at him with a yearning expression. Crowe cracked a grin.

"I swear, you're spoiled enough already," he said, taking a piece from his apple and handing it over to Lu. "Alright, say "aahhh"."

Lu did as she was told; her expression turning gleefully as seconds came to pass. Crowe continued to feed Luciela, while Reina and Levi gave Lu incredulous looks.

Reina rolled her eyes and continued eating while Levi sighed at Luciela's antics.

After they've finished eating, the Pokemon immediately went to sleep, leaving Crowe and Hilda the only ones awake. Hilda's excitement for her upcoming adventure kept her awake, while Crowe was planning on taking first watch.

While there's almost no violence in this world, it wasn't bad being too careful. There might be trainers who would take advantage of them in their sleep.

Crowe was perched on a tree branch, while Hilda was lying against the tree.

"The stars are beautiful tonight, aren't they?" Hilda blurted out. She really didn't mind if Crowe didn't answer; she was too busy admiring the stars. Crowe glanced up, and saw what Hilda meant.

The countless number of stars littered the sky above them. The sight reminded Crowe that the things he could see were just a part of this expanded universe.

"Yeah…"

Hilda glanced at him, before nonchalantly asking his age.

"Just recently turned 18."

Hilda counted her age. She was 15.

"A three year gap… It can still work out," she told herself confidently. Uncomfortable silence settled between the two, and Hilda was troubled on formulating a topic to talk about. Though, after sensing Crowe's wish to be unbothered, she eventually gave up. She lay herself down on the grass, before drifting into sleep.

Crowe, on the other hand, continued watching the stars. He saw a shooting star pass by, and chuckled to himself.

When he was younger, his father always used to tell him to make a wish upon a shooting star after seeing one. Seeing that there was no harm in trying, he uttered his wish under his breath.

He jumped down afterwards, softly landing on a spot just a few feet away from Hilda. He looked at her face, studying it closely for the first time. Her lips instantly caught his attention. They were on the small side, but looked gentle and sweet.

He shook his head, clearing away any unwanted thoughts. He came to this region to explore, not scout out any potential lovers.

He glanced over at his sleeping Pokemon, and a fond smile graced his lips. He looked around, and noticed the Pokemon from before staring at them. The moment they knew they caught his attention, they instantly became frightened.

Crowe sighed at this. He glanced to the side, and noticed they still had a few fruits lying around. Thinking they might be hungry, he slowly picked them up one by one, and carried it over to the center.

He gently laid them out for the Pokemon in the area to see. He sat down in front of them, and raised his arms to the side. He gave them an overly friendly smile, and a reassuring nod. He was gesturing them to come over and eat.

A few of the Pokemon came forward. He didn't move, and just let them approach him and potentially do whatever they've wanted.

He watched them fondly as they began to chew down on their meal. Seeing that it was safe, the remaining Pokemon came out of hiding as well to eat. The sight made Crowe's heart warm, and softly lulled him to sleep.

Crowe woke up from his slumber with a start. He didn't mean to sleep, and panicked. He quickly gave his surroundings a quick scan, sighing in relief when he saw his Pokemon, and Hilda remaining untouched.

He looked around again and realized that some of the Pokemon were guarding them. He laughed emptily, chiding himself on how stupid he must've looked like.

"Should've expected you guys would repay the favour like this."

He shrugged, slowly rising to his feet. He glanced at the sky, and it was still a few hours until the sun rose.

"Hm… Nah. I'll let them rest today."

Usually, Crowe would train with his Pokemon in this time of day. No one was usually up in this hour, so they could keep their training a secret. Though, Crowe found it odd. Reina was usually up first.

He glanced at Reina, who was sleeping peacefully. His three Pokemon were locked together in an embrace. It caused Crowe to squeal for a while, before making fake coughs to cover it up. There wasn't any need for that though.

The Pokemon around him turned to him, and gave him a grateful nod. They left right after, as if they were on their way on some kind of gala.

"Still… I wonder if Hilda doesn't know any of the basics."

From Sinnoh and Aften, he, along with a few other children, was taught the basics on how to train and catch Pokemon. Seeing Hilda's attempt caused him to frown.

"Ah, it might be due to the excitement. I shouldn't judge her so harshly."

Crowe nodded to his conclusion, and settled with waiting patiently until at least one of them gets up.

---

It took a grand total of 2 hours and 15 minutes, according to Crowe's cellphone, for at least ONE of them to wake up.

Surprisingly, the first being to wake up was Hilda. She slowly got up from the grass, and stretched her arms. She yawned, covering her mouth with her right hand in the process.

"Morning," Crowe called out, walking towards Hilda. He handed her a water bottle, and an apple.

"Ah… Thanks," she said, taking both items off Crowe's hands. She first took a swig from the water bottle, before Digging in to the apple.

"I'm guessing you had a good sleep?" he asked, chuckling to himself. Hilda tilted her head at him, causing Crowe to roll his eyes. He walked around her, before crouching down to be on the same level as her. Hilda was startled, both excited and worried about what Crowe was about to do to her.

"Wa-wait, what are you…?"

"Fixing your hair," answered Crowe, not bothering to let her finish her question. He's done this many times before with Cynthia, so he was pretty confident in brushing a girl's hair. He ran his fingers through her hair gently, untangling any strands that were locked together.

Hilda's hair was soft, and curly; a sensation that Crowe was used to. In fact, it felt so familiar, Crowe saw an image of Cynthia flash before him.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts away. This was Hilda, not his childhood friend.

"Though, won't your hair be damaged like this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Keeping your ponytail while sleeping… That's a bad thing right?"

Crowe wasn't entirely sure with the specifics, but he remembered getting scolded by Cynthia when he left his hair tied back when he slept.

"Ah… Yeah… I forgot."

Hilda was glad she was turned away from Crowe. Her face was heating up from embarrassment.

"Hmm.. Alright. Just don't forget it again," chuckled Crowe. Crowe continued fixing her hair, until he was finally satisfied with it. He stood up, stretching his limbs , before walking towards his Pokemon.

"Reina, Lu, Levi, get up," ordered Crowe. The three Pokemon mumbled in response, before snuggling closer to each other. Crowe sighed. "I'm in danger."

At those words, the three Pokemon instantly bolt up, and looked at their master in worry. Seeing their reactions, Crowe felt guilty but laughed nonetheless.

His Pokemon glared at him, and simultaneously used moves to punish their master. Levi swept up a Leaf Tornado, blowing Crowe against a tree. Crowe yelped in pain, before he was held into place by Lu, using her Psyshock.

Reina rushed forwards, slamming its glowing paw on Crowe's abdomen. The poor boy gasped in pain, causing Hilda to cry out in alarm.

"Crowe!" she shouted, running towards him. Panic overwhelmed her, completely forgetting about her sleeping Oshawott. Luciela let go of her hold on him, before rushing towards as well. Crowe quickly collapsed to the ground, causing Reina to jump back from shock.

The three Pokemon didn't mean to go that far. They looked worriedly at their master, feeling terribly sorry to what they've done.

Hilda was holding Crowe by his shoulders with her hands, gently holding him up. Olly woke up from the commotion as well, and was more curious than worried.

"Crowe, are you alright?" Hilda asked restlessly, as she'd inspected his body for any injuries. Instead of a groan of pain, deep laughter came from Crowe.

"You don't… have to worry… Hilda…" said Crowe in between his laughter. He quickly sat up, able to support himself just fine. He gave his three Pokemon his signature teasing grin.

"You guys have gotten stronger alright."

Levi sighed in relief, while Reina and Luciela rolled their eyes. However, judging from the flood of emotions he was feeling from the two female Pokemon, he knew they were relieved that he wasn't injured in the slightest.

Hilda incredulously stared at him.

"Your very own Pokemon attacked you and almost got you critically injured, yet you praise them?" she asked. She couldn't grasp the fact that this boy before her eyes would just shrug off the fact his Pokemon attempted murder.

Crowe smiled at her.

"Yeah. I trust them, and I know they won't harm me willingly."

Crowe turned his attention back to his Pokemon, giving them a stare so full of love that if Hilda wanted to, she would've drowned in it.

She couldn't help but feel envy for the females in Crowe's Pokemon team. Still, Hilda heaved a relieved sigh.

"Thank Arceus then…" she said, happy that he wasn't harmed at all.

The two of them reorganized their things, before recalling their respective Pokemon to their pokeballs.

Except for Olly and Reina. The two insisted they stay outside. For Olly's case, well, he was just stubborn. Reina wanted to make it up with Crowe.

They soon reached the next town,Accumula, and Crowe liked the view from the hill they emerged from. Seeing Crowe's expression caused Hilda to giggle.

"If this place made you gawk, I wonder what Castelia City would do." She thought to herself, fondly staring at Crowe.

The boy in question, on the other hand, didn't notice that stare. Reina did, but kept it to herself. She'd love to see a certain shiny Pokemon's reaction would be upon learning this.

"Is there anything here that's noteworthy?" asked Crowe.

"Hmm… There's the Pokemon Battle Club."

"Battle Club?" asked Crowe. Hilda nodded.

"It's a place where trainers train, and improve their techniques. Want me to take you there?"

Crowe nodded enthusiastically, while Reina motioned for them to move forwards. The two trainers chuckled to themselves, while Olly felt displeased he wasn't being showered some affection.

They've reached a tall green building, and Hilda led Crowe towards a nearby monitor. The monitor contained the trainer's profile, and the latter read some of them.

Some cheering was heard from the side, grabbing Crowe's attention.

"It's a Pokemon match," thought Crowe. He and Reina shared a look, before pacing towards the scene.

"H-hey, wait!" Hilda called, catching up to the two oblivious beings.

Once they've reached their destination, they found an inside match court with two young trainers and their respective Pokemon: a Servine, and a Dewott. The two Pokemon were staring each other down, as well as the two trainers.

"I won't lose this time. Servine, use Leaf Blade!" shouted one of the trainers.

"Dewott, use Water Gun!"

The Servine rushed forwards, its tail glowing green. It jumped to the air to strike at the Dewott, but was interrupted as a burst of water erupted from Dewott's mouth. The blast took Servine by surprise, knocking it out the court.

"Match is over!"

"Servine!" The trainer rushed over, and carried the Servine in his arms. "Are you okay, Servine?"

The Servine grumbled in response, before they left. Crowe frowned. The battle went by too quickly for his liking.

The man who seemed to be the referee walked over towards the two trainers.

"Oh, welcome to the Pokemon Battle Club. I'm Don George, the Owner of this place."

Crowe reached out a hand.

"Ah, I'm Crowe. This one here is Hilda."

The man raised an eyebrow, before laughing heartily. He accepted Crowe's hand, shaking it with a firm grip.

"It's rare to find people who introduce themselves formally nowadays. Is that a Riolu I see?"

"Ah, yes. This little one's name is Reina," he confirmed.

"Reina, eh. Seeing one in public is rare nowadays, but not really exclusive. I take it you're here to try battling?"

"You've read my mind."

"Hey, you're a trainer too, right? Want to battle?" the boy with the Dewott asked. Crowe was about to reply, when Olly suddenly jumped out from Hilda's arms and positioned himself before the Dewott. The Dewott regarded him, eyeing it carefully. Hilda immediately panicked.

"Sorry! Once Olly acts the first thing that comes to his mind,"said Hilda, reaching it for Olly. She grabbed Olly and hoisted him up, but the latter resisted. The latter jumped out again, this time, running towards the court. It directed a challenging gaze towards the Dewott.

At this, Crowe chuckled, while Reina was displeased but let it slide.

"Well, it seems that we have a contender already."

Both the man and the younger trainer laughed softly, while Hilda felt fear. Crowe, noticing her fear, smiled at her. He gently laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about failing. I'll help you out."

Hilda looked at him, still unsure about what to do. Crowe smiled, unconsciously reaching out for Hilda's head, and rubbing it.

Despite the fact his hand was just touching her hat, it felt like his hands were touching her directly.

"Cheer up. I'll teach you after this."

Hilda inhaled quite deeply, before reluctantly giving in.

"Ah, is she new to this?" the younger trainer asked. Crowe nodded, and the younger trainer smiled.

"Alright, I'll try going easy on her then."

"Please do-"

"No need for a handicap," said Crowe, winking at Hilda. Hilda's anxiety skyrocketed. Crowe laughed at her expression, causing Hilda to pout.

"Come on, believe in yourself. Let's go."

Hilda started protesting as Crowe pushed her towards one of the corners of the match grounds. The man shook his head.

"An odd couple, aren't they?" asked the man. The younger trainer nodded his head, before taking his place as well.

Olly and the Dewott gave each other stares, before nodding their heads at the same time.

"Alright, Hilda."

"Y-yes?!" asked Hilda, her voice turning high-pitched due to the anxiety of the upcoming battle before her.

"Breathe. Calm yourself down, count from one to ten."

Hilda was still scared, but followed his orders regardless. She worked hard to collect herself, before calming down.

"Better now?"

Hilda nodded mutely. Crowe moved closer to her, squeezing her shoulders.

"You'll be fine. Believe in yourself. Take out your pokedex, then point it to Olly. Look at his moves first."

Hilda followed his orders, and brought out her pokedex. She pointed it to Olly, and the pokedex listed the moves Olly knows:

Tackle, Tail Whip, Focus Energy, and Razor Shell.

Crowe was shocked. It knows four moves despite being level 5?

"Pokemon never cease to amaze me," thought Crowe. It was like how Reina knows Aura Sphere despite being level 19. "Hm… I suppose Pokemon could learn moves outside training and experience… "

Crowe shook his head. This wasn't the time to dwell with matters.

"Let me give you a rundown of your moves. Olly will slam his body on the Pokemon when it uses Tackle, and Tail Whip will lower its defence. Focus Energy will cause Olly to gather up his strength to use them in an upcoming attack, while Razor Shell, well, I'm not certain myself. Although, it's safe to say that Razor Shell is a powerful attack."

Hilda took in the information taught to her, and she became worried. How will she utilize these attacks?

"Trust in your instincts. Go with the flow of the battle," said Crowe, as if sensing her worries. Hilda sighed, before steeling her will. "If it makes you any better, you're absolutely stunning when you battle."

Hilda blushed at his remark. The man saw that a a sign to start the match.

"Begin!"

"Dewott, start it out with a Razor Shell!"

The enemy Dewott pulled out both of its shells, and raised them into the air. Water swirled around the shells, before forming itself like icicles on the tips. It rushed forwards, its speed immediately causing Hilda to falter.

"So that's what Razor Shell is…" mumbled Crowe.

The attack hit Olly immediately, and Olly was thrown back. The latter slammed hard on the ground, and struggled to get up. The Dewott, on the other hand, jumped back and put its shells back on its hips.

"Now, go get him with a Water Gun!"

The Dewott began charging up its attack.

"Hilda, fight back."

"H-how? His Pokemon is way too strong! There's no way I could win this."

"If you can't believe in yourself then believe in Olly. In a Pokemon battle, the Pokemon isn't the only one who fights."

"Isn't the only one…?"

"Don't get distracted! Dewott, finish him up with a Fury Cutter!"

The Dewott's claws began to glow, and charged towards the Oshawott. Hilda panicked, and shouted on the top of her lungs.

"Olly, dodge it!" Hilda shouted. The Dewott was right in front of Olly, and raised its arms. Hilda tightly shut her eyes, and waited for the noise of her Olly crying out in pain to come.

It didn't. She felt something soft touch her cheek.

Hilda slowly opened her eyes, and instantly widened them. Olly was dodging every strike the Dewott was hitting him with.

"See?" she heard Crowe's voice from beside him. She turned to him, and he was smiling at her warmly. Reina had her arm stretched out, and her palm was near her face. "If you can't trust yourself, trust in your Pokemon. Go and make your next order, your Olly is waiting."

Reina nodded at her in response, and Hilda felt a wave of emotion flow in her: motivation.

Hilda slowly turned back to the situation before her. Olly was dodging every strike, and gave her a few glances. He was subtly telling her to make her move.

Seeing that boosted Hilda's confidence in battling, even for a little.

"Olly, let's strike back. Use Tackle," ordered Hilda. Her words were still filled with hesitation, but she's managed to find her voice. Olly nodded enthusiastically. His pained expression turned determined as he'd slammed his body on the unsuspecting Dewott.

The Dewott cried out in pain, and jumped back.

"Olly, use Tail Whip!"

Olly wagged his tiny tail, catching the Dewott's attention.

"Dewott, don't fall for it, use Water Gun!" shouted the younger trainer.

"Olly, dodge it!"

Olly nodded his head, and ran to the sides. The Dewott released the blast, trying to catch Olly with its blast radius. The latter nimbly dodged, ducking and jumping over the streams of water.

Crowe smiled. He felt the uncertainty on Hilda's words, but she definitely improved from before.

"Though, Reina, did you really need to push in some of your aura into her?" he asked his Pokemon quietly. Reina rolled her eyes, before snickering.

"Tell it to use Focus Energy while it runs. That way, we won't waste any time."

Hilda nodded her head, taking every piece of advice she could get right now.

"Olly, keep dodging and use Focus Energy!"

Olly let out a warcry, and started glowing blue.

"Dewott, don't let him store energy! Use Razor Shell."

The Dewott pulled out its shells again, and immediately rushed Olly. It was as if Dewott teleported from its location to the spot besides Olly.

"Olly!" Hilda cried out in alarm. The Dewott slashed at Olly, but Olly countered it by blocking with his shell.

"Hilda, now's your chance," Crowe whispered in her ear. Hilda involuntarily shivered at his voice, but kept her focus in the match.

"Olly, use Razor Shell!" shouted Hilda. Olly let out a warcry once more, and the water swirled on the tip of his shell. The water solidified into an icicle figure, and struck the Dewott.

The Dewott immediately cried out in pain, slamming to the ground.

"A critical hit!" exclaimed Crowe. The younger trainer's eyes widened, while Hilda jumped in joy. The Dewott struggled to its feet.

Hilda was about to order Olly again, but he fell on one knee.

"Match is over!" the man called out. Hilda instantly felt depressed and humiliated for her loss.

"Hey, you did well," praised Crowe. Hilda shook her head, hiding her face with her hands. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"No… I still lost…"

Crowe sighed, walking towards Olly. He hoisted Olly up, before walking back to carried Olly with one arm, and took Hilda's hands away from her face with the other. He shoved Olly to Hilda's arms, causing her to carry it like a baby.

"Look at him. Look at how happy he is," said Crowe. True to his word, Olly seemed happy, and stared at his trainer full of trust.

At this, Hilda felt confused.

"But… why? I lost…"

Olly spoke to her. Unfortunately for Hilda, she couldn't understand what he was saying. Crowe, on the other hand, understood what Olly said.

Living and training with wild Pokemon had its perks. He could translate a Pokemon's words by their gestures, mouth and eye movements, and their tone.

"He said that it didn't matter if the two of you lost or not. You managed to overcome your fear in battling, even just for this moment. For him, that's a victory by itself."

Hilda looked at Olly, who smiled back at her. Hilda slowly began to cry, hugging her Pokemon.

"Thank you," she said. Crowe fondly smiled at the scene before her, and saw that both the man and the younger trainer were crying as well. The other people who were watching also started crying, causing Crowe to feel ashamed for not crying. He shrugged it off, and started rubbing Hilda's head.

"You did well."

Hilda scooted closer to Crowe, and hugged him as well. Crowe was surprised, but returned the hug.

After that small scene, everything went straight back to normal; except for one obvious difference: everyone in the vicinity was more than pumped up than usual.

This caused Crowe to chuckle as he'd watched Hilda and Olly talk comfortably to each other, and learn a few techniques from one of the female trainers in the club. Though, while she didn't fight anymore, she was listening to their criticisms very eagerly. She even brought out a notebook and began taking down notes while she watched the other trainers fight.

Reina will to fight was long quenched after watching Olly's fight.

Crowe smiled, and decided to go outside for a while for a breath of fresh air.

He walked around the town, noticing that there were a lot more people in the area.

"Hey, there's someone talking by the plaza," said a person.

"I've heard it was a speech about Pokemon cruelty."

"Eh? Pokemon cruelty?"

Crowe furrowed his eyebrows as he felt strangely guarded. He walked towards the area where there was a high concentration of people, and saw an old man with a weird get up talking to the crowds of people.

"Hey, it's you," a voice called out. Crowe turned to the voice, and saw the boy with the glasses.

"Cheren," he greeted. Cheren nodded, before turning to the sight before them.

"That man, Ghetsis, had been going on and on about liberating Pokemon from their trainers. He leads the organization named Team Plasma," he said, pointing to one of the flags. The flags had a symbol of "P" in it with the letter Z on its background. "Apparently, he thinks that the partnership between humans and Pokemon are nothing but lies; that Pokemon are nothing but slaves to human's selfish commands and the like. That we're basically abusing them."

Crowe's right eye twitched at this. He glanced at the man, known Ghetsis, and the people behind him. They wore weird clothes, but he had a strong vibe that these people had an ulterior motive.

"That's right! It is our duty to liberate Pokemon! Until then, we can never truly call ourselves as equal to our Pokemon. We have been enslaving them for these past centuries!"

Crowe growled at this, and walked forwards. He glanced at the people behind Ghetsis, and saw pokeballs on their belts.

"Crowe?" Cheren called out.

"Then," Crowe raised his voice. All eyes turned to him.

"You claim that it is our duty to liberate Pokemon. Why do I see pokeballs in your belts then?"

Ghetsis regarded him oddly.

"Because these Pokemon are in line with our interests. They help us i-"

"Doesn't that mean you've been contradicting your statements earlier? You claim Pokemon should be free, should be free from our orders; from HUMANS. And yet, here you are, enlisting their help just to fulfil this ridiculous idea of yours."

Ghetsis' face immediately turned red.

"Now, listen here young man. I assure you that we have-"

"Don't dodge the question, old man. If you truly pursue this idea of yours of liberating Pokemon, then liberate yours now. Show me that you mean everything you've said."

Everything was at a standstill, and some held their breath. Ghetsis looked like a deer caught caught in the headlights, while the people behind him glared at Crowe dangerously. Reina didn't miss this, and growled. She jumped in front of Crowe protectively, and raised her paws.

"… So you're not going to do it. Ridiculous." Crowe gave an empty laugh. "If you, the organization who claims to liberate Pokemon, CAN'T liberate their Pokemon, then I suggest you leave. The world doesn't need more hypocrites like you," Crowe spat. Ghetsis' nostrils flared, and immediately turned around.

"Let's go," he growled. The members nodded their heads, and quickly left before things get more humiliating for them.

As soon as they left, the people quickly dispersed as well. However, they gave Crowe stares of wonder, leaving him and Cheren behind.

He looked at Reina, who smiled at him and jumped back on his shoulders. Reina spoke a bit to him, and he chuckled.

"You… You can hear it too?" asked a voice. It wasn't particularly deep, but not too high either. They turned to a man wearing a white hat and had long green hair. "Your Pokemon… She was talking…"

"Pokemon? Talking? That's an odd thing to say," said Cheren. The man shook his head.

"So… You can't hear it. How sad… My name is N."

"My name is Cheren, and this is Crowe. We were tasked to complete the pokedex. My goal is to become the champion, though."

Crowe rolled his eyes.

"There's more than being the champion, you know. Like getting to meet new friends," Crowe said wistfully. Cheren frowned at him.

"There you go again. Just when I've started to hold you on a higher regard."

N chuckled at Crowe's words.

"The Pokedex, eh… So you're going to confine more and more Pokemon in… those." N shook his head, before turning to Crowe.

"You… Crowe, right? Your bond with your Pokemon is… strong. Can you… give me the pleasure to battle you?"

Crowe regarded N, before nodding.

"Do you mind if I use this little girl here?"

N smiled.

"I don't mind."

Crowe nodded, before the two walked away, giving them space.

"Go, Purrloin!" said N. He called out a cat Pokemon with a large forehead and purple fur.

"Reina, take care of this," said Crowe. Reina nodded, jumping down again and entering a ready pose.

"Let's begin. Purrloin, use Growl!"

The Purrloin let out an adorable noise, which made Reina feel attracted and go easy on it.

"Reina, Force Palm!"

Reina burst forwards, her paw glowing in the midst of everything. She pressed the palm against the Purrloin, who took the impact greatly. The Purrloin immediately fainted, and N was surprised.

Meanwhile, Crowe masked his disappointment, but felt extremely happy at Reina's jolly nature. He crouched down to receive Reina's hug, and he was Tackled to the ground by her. He heartily laughed with her, before getting to his feet.

"Getting excited over one victory?" commented Cheren. If Crowe heard, he pretended he didn't hear.

"I… need to make this world a better place for Pokemon to live in… For my friends… But you…"

For some reason, N looked conflicted. He turned around, and left abruptly.

"… Strange Guy. But I'm not going to worry about it. Listen, I'm going ahead. I'll be challenging the gym in the next town. It's the best way for a trainer to become stronger, after all. See you soon."

Cheren nodded at Crowe, before leaving. Crowe sighed, before turning to return to the Pokemon Battle Club.

Despite just the handful amount of people in the town, the news over the plaza wasn't carried over to the Pokemon Battle Club. Crowe felt relieved about it, since he didn't want to deal with the attention he got himself into.

Hilda was at the lobby, looking worried.

"Hilda!" Crowe called out. Hilda immediately turned to his direction, and looked remarkably relieved. She stood from her spot, and rushed forwards.

"Where have you been?" she asked.

"Sorry, just took a quick stroll outside. Did you have fun?"

At that question, Hilda's mood immediately went up.

"Definitely! Everyone here's so nice. They gave me a few tips, and some potions," she said, opening her bag. She showed the contents to Crowe, who was surprised with the amount of freebies she received.

"Perks of being adorable, eh," murmured Crowe.

"Eh?" asked Hilda. Did he just… tell me that I'm adorable?

Hilda's face started heating up, but Crowe's expression didn't change. Reina snickered.

"Hmm… Pretty lucky then," grinned Crowe. "Let's go, we don't really have much to do here now."

Hilda mutely nodded, and the two left the town to head for their next destination.

Hilda walked through the forest. Her head was filled with thoughts, primarily concerning on ways to improve herself as a trainer.

While she didn't have a goal as high as Cheren's, she still wanted to become a strong trainer.

Though, thinking about it, she still had only one Pokemon. According to the others, one way to get stronger is to catch as many Pokemon as you could and train them. Before she was told that, however, she had been thinking of catching other Pokemon for Olly to have company.

She felt sad for Olly who was the only Pokemon in her team.

"Though, if that's the case, then why don't you just bring everyone along…?" Hilda accidentally blurted out. Apparently, each trainer can only bring six Pokemon in their journey.

Crowe glanced behind him. He'd noticed that Hilda has gone unnaturally quiet, but left her be since he might bother her. Hearing his statement made him think as well.

Is she thinking about how to get stronger…?

"Ah, it's for fairness. A lot of people tend to think it's rather unfair in a Pokemon match if one of the trainers had more Pokemon than the other. It makes taking care of them easier too."

Hilda made an "o" with her mouth, accepting his answer. Crowe was glad he got it right. He stopped on his tracks and looked around.

"Want to try catching a Pokemon?"

Hilda nodded, seemingly eager on catching one. Crowe looked around, trying to find any good Pokemon. The deerlings seemed to have disappeared, along with the flying types.

"If you want to catch a Pokemon, you need to find them first," Crowe mumbled to himself. Hilda giggled at his statement.

"That's a given, right?"

Crowe smiled sheepishly at her. He gestured for her to follow, and the two looked through the woods in search of a Pokemon.

They finally found one after a few minutes of searching. It was a puppy, a quite one, and was roaming around by its own. Crowe felt horrible about the idea of fighting it, but felt even more about leaving it behind alone.

"Well, we found one."

Hilda nodded, suppressing her urge to squeal and rush out to the Pokemon before her. She's learned her lesson back at the clearing.

Crowe noticed this fact, and felt proud of her. She was a quick learner.

She pulled out her pokedex, and aimed it at the puppy.

"Lillipup, the Puppy Pokemon. Though it is a very brave Pokémon, it's also smart enough to check its foe's strength and avoid battle."

"This… is going to be a tough one then," commented Crowe. He glanced at the gender, and saw it was female. Hilda nodded, but put her hand on Olly's pokeball. Hilda turned to Crowe. She looked anxious, but Crowe could feel the determination from her eyes.

"If I don't do this… How would I be able to improve myself? Besides, even if I fail in this one, I still have a chance later, right?"

Crowe sighed in relief, nodding at her question. Hilda turned to the Lillipup before her, before inhaling a few times. She mustered her courage, and came out of hiding.

The Lillipup immediately turned to her, and eyed her warily. She cleared her throat.

"Err.. Hi. I'm Hilda."

The Lillipup nodded its head in acknowledgement.

"I… uh… want to have a battle with you and catch you. Is it fine?" she asked, her words slowly trailing off.

She glanced at Crowe, since she felt like she was doing this wrong, but received a thumbs-up from him instead.

The Lillipup regarded the trainer before her, before nodding its head. Hilda's mood immediately got lifted, before she reached out for Olly's pokeball.

"Then, let's begin," she said excitedly. "Go, Olly!" she said, calling out her Oshawott.

Olly jumped out of his pokeball, and landed on the floor. He raised his chin, and tried to stare at the Lillipup menacingly. The latter didn't react.

"Ohh… Brave nature then," smiled Crowe. Looks like they found a good Lillipup.

"Let's begin. Olly, use Tail Whip!" she said. According to one of the trainers, starting the match off with a "Status Effect Move" will guarantee her a sure win. Olly did as he was told, and shook his tail.

The Lillipup, however, simply worsened it stare. It didn't stop Olly from trying though, but it definitely caused him to feel unsure about his foe.

"Now, use Tackle!"

Olly ran towards the Lillipup. As soon as Olly was within striking distance, the Lillipup skipped to the side, before jumping to the air. Its body began to glow white, and slammed onto Olly.

Olly cried out in pain, rolling across the ground before abruptly coming to a halt. He struggled to his feet, and the Lillipup regarded him with a cold expression. The Lillipup charged forwards, its mouth open.

"Olly, dodge it!" Hilda practically screeched.

Her Oshawott frantically moved side to side to avoid the Lillipup's "fangs".

Crowe frowned at this development. What level was this Lillipup? He brought out his pokedex, and his eyes widened.

The pokedex recorded the Lillipup's level to be 15, and Olly's level to be 17.

"Ridiculous. Are you telling me that Olly was level 17 from the start…? How did it lose to that Snivy then…? Unless…"

Crowe sighed. He might need to take another look at his Pokemon's levels soon. They might've levelled up as well.

Though, shouldn't Hilda's Olly be a Dewott by now?

Pokemon really move in mysterious ways.

"Perhaps there's some kind of factor that causes Pokemon to evolve," thought Crowe. His Pokemon evolved on the level they were intended to evolve in, so he was having a lot of trouble believing the data he was given. He didn't notice Hilda's fight was almost over, until he snapped back to reality.

Olly and Lillipup were staring each other down. Crowe could feel the sense of respect the two were regarding each other, and smiled. They would get along together really well.

"Hilda, just one more attack should finish this," Crowe called out. Hilda nodded, then pointed at Lillipup.

"Olly, let's finish this off with a Tackle!"

Olly cried out a warcry, before running towards the puppy Pokemon. The latter did the same, and the two collided head-on.

Unfortunately, Olly hit harder, so Lillipup fainted as soon as it received the blunt edge of Olly's attack.

"I… throw the pokeball now, right?" asked Hilda. Crowe chuckled, before saying yes. Hilda excitedly pulled out her pokeball, and threw it on Lillipup. The pokeball opened, and a red glow covered Lillipup before it was sucked into the ball.

The pokeball shook a few times, before producing a "ching" sound.

"Did I… catch it?"

"Yep."

A few seconds were needed for Hilda to register the fact she won, and caught a Pokemon. She quickly burst into tears of joy, and rushed forwards to hug her Olly. Her Olly did the same, feeling immensely proud of his master, and the thrill of being victorious. Hilda walked over and grabbed the pokeball before raising it to the sky.

"I caught a Lillipup!" she exclaimed. Reina and Crowe laughed softly at her behaviour.

"Would you like to give a nickname to your newly caught Lillipup?" asked Crowe. He flinched at his tone, since it felt oddly robotic.

"Hmm… How about Lily?" she asked. Crowe nodded, liking the name. Hilda immediately called out Lillipup, who was still injured from her last battle.

"I'm sorry for beating you up like that," apologized Hilda as she'd crouched down. The Lillipup stared at her weirdly, before rubbing its cheek on Hilda's legs. "By the way, I've decided to give you a nickname. It's Lily, is it fine?"

Lillipup's ears immediately perked up, and nodded her head. Lily now looked at her new master in adoration.

"Yay!" rejoiced Hilda as she'd hugged Lily.

"You might want to use a potion on them," chuckled Crowe. Hilda nodded, before proceeding to healing her Pokemon. Crowe glanced at the sky, and it was just a little after noon. "Let's eat lunch as soon as we reach the town. My threat, think of it as a victory party." Crowe winked at Hilda, who gave him a beaming smile.

"Thanks!"

She caught his attention for a while, before he slightly shook his head. He gestured for her to follow, and Hilda did so; carrying both of her Pokemon in her arms.

On their way there, Crowe liked the sound of nature; in other words, Hilda's storytelling to Lily, and the occasional laughter and noise of her Pokemon. Crowe would glance behind him whenever he heard one of them speak to see if Hilda could understand them as he could.

Unfortunately, Hilda couldn't grasp their language very well. She could make out a few words and gestures, but that was it.

Then again, to be fair, she didn't exactly grow up with the wild. His thoughts led him to think about the odd fellow he and Cheren met back at Accumula Town.

"I wonder if he went through a similar experience…" mumbled Crowe. Reina, who knew who he was talking about, nodded her head in understanding.

Crowe looked at Reina.

"Reina, what do you think?" he asked. Reina gazed into his eyes, and spoke a few words of her native tongue.

Maybe the term "cry" was perfect for this case?

In addition to her words, she made a gesture of waving her right paw to the side, and a small flow of aura into Crowe's body.

She was saying "Maybe he's gone through the same."

Suddenly her expression looked grim. She spoke a few more words, and Crowe felt another surge of emotion.

She was saying "Though, it felt like he didn't go through the same as you."

Reina broke eye contact, looking towards the route before him. Crowe sighed. At least this person, named N, was still free from the harsh reality.

Crowe looked forwards again, completely missing the looks Hilda and her Pokemon were giving him.

---

They reached the city around one in the afternoon. Compared to the other two towns they've visited, this place was large.

It wasn't called a city for nothing.

Crowe and Hilda looked around the city, strolling through the streets. It wasn't exactly Hilda's first time here, but the place was still wonderful to look at.

"Striaton City, huh… Know any notable places here to have dinner in?"

"Hm… Ah! The GYM here also works as a part time restaurant. The foods there are delicious, last I've heard."

"Then, let's go there then. We're headed there anyways; who knows, we might just encounter Cheren or Bianca on the way."

Hilda nodded, but was slightly terrified in the prospect of facing a gym leader. Hilda led the way as she'd remembered where the gym was.

They reached the gym, and were surprised on how large it was. For Crowe, since it's the first time he's seen it, and for Hilda, since it was smaller the last time she came.

The gym was designed after what people called the "Roman Age", and looked downright fashionable.

"Wow. Looks like we'll have a good meal today."

Crowe walked towards the door, opening it, and let Hilda entered first. Hilda felt flattered, and entered the restaurant. Some of the people turned their eyes on them, while the others continued eating. One of the butlers, a boy with green hair, noticed them first. He quickly approached them.

"Welcome, welcome! Please, this way," he said, leading the two of them to their table. Crowe and Hilda followed immediately. The butler placed them on a table served for two. It had a pink tablecloth, instead of a white one, with a simplistic flower vase in the middle. There were red roses in it.

"My name is Cilan, and I will be your butler for today. Would you like to have something to drink first?"

"Ah, we're good," said Crowe. The butler nodded his head, before taking out his notebook.

"I suppose the two of you will have the Couple's Special? It's wonderful in this time of year!" said the Butler. Both Crowe and Hilda blushed immensely at this.

"Ah… We're not a couple…"

Hilda mutely nodded.

"Oh, but the two of you share such a fantastic bond! Truly, a sweet taste that never seemed to reach its end," said Cilan, his grin never leaving his face.

"What's on the menu for lunch?" asked Crowe, desperate to change the topic.

"Ah, my apologies. Here's the menu," he said, handing over the menus to Crowe and Hilda.

"We recommend Psycho Soda for a cold beverage, and the Fruit Esperanza for dessert."

Crowe nodded his head.

"Then, we'll take those. For lunch…"

Crowe pondered. There were a lot of good meals, and it was hard to choose.

He decided to play safe.

"For lunch, we'll take one at moderate price."

The butler nodded, pleased with his decision.

"Then, please wait. I shall deliver it to you once your order is ready." Cilan bowed to the two of them, before leaving.

Meanwhile, Crowe looked around. It was a fine restaurant.

"You sure it'll be your treat? This place seems quite expensive…" asked Hilda. Crowe waved her off.

"I've got plenty. Besides, the victor deserves all kinds of praise, right?"

Hilda sighed.

"That's true but…"

"Seriously, don't mind it," reassured Crowe. Reina jumped down from Crowe's shoulders, and sat down on his lap. Crowe chuckled, rubbing her head.

Reina let out a small joyful cry.

"Still can't believe this place is a gym."

After what seemed to be like moments, their order finally arrived. They were handed a purple-looking drink, a parfait with mixed fruits, and a delicious looking meal.

"This is… This is Sinnoh-styled Curry, isn't it?" asked Crowe, his mouth opening at the familiar sight before him. Cilan's eyes widened in surprise.

"You know about it? Ah, this is a surprise, a truly wonderful surprise!"

Crowe chuckled.

"I've used to live there." At this, Cilan's eyes widened, if it was even possible.

"Really? Then, please give me your remarks after this meal. I've prepared this myself, and I would be honored, no more than honored to know what a native thinks of this meal! May it be as bitter as a bitter gourd, or as spicy as a pepper," said Cilan, his eyes practically sparking.

Everyone in the area shared his enthusiasm as how the girls swooned over, while the other two butlers were watching them.

The amount of pressure on Crowe was too high.

"Hilda… Help me out here…"

"Eh? H-h-how?" asked Hilda.

Crowe sighed. It was a helpless case.

"Then," Crowe took a spoonful of the stew before him, and ate it.

The mild spicy flavouring of the curry filled his mouth, followed by a sweet aftertaste. It made Crowe's eyes widen further.

"… It's a perfect match."

"I-is that really true?!" asked Cilan, excited as a kid. Crowe nodded, a smile gracing his lips.

"I have some very sharp taste buds, and this curry is EXACTLY like the one I've had back at Sinnoh."

"Oh, your praise is too much," said Cilan. Crowe shook his head.

"No, you should proud of yourself. Recreating the Sinnoh taste is quite tricky."

Cilan looked like he would faint from praise, so his fellow butlers went forwards to support him. Hilda, who was curious about what was happening, took a bit of her curry as well.

She loved the taste, but found nothing special about it. Though, she refrained from asking the question. She had a hunch that a certain butler might start ranting about it.

"So what brings you here from Sinnoh?" asked the red-haired butler.

"Ah, I'm here for my Pokemon journey. There weren't any slots left back at Sinnoh, so my professor took me here instead."

"Ohh. So I'm guessing you're here to challenge the gym as well?"

Crowe nodded. At that, Cilan instantly recovered.

"Ah, then after your meal, would you like to have the battle?"

"Can you at least let me rest first before we fight? I think I'll get a tummy ache if I fight right after," joked Crowe. The three butlers laughed, and agreed to his terms. They've proceeded to cater to their remaining customers to give them their peace. They ate in silence, enjoying their meals.

"By the way, are you going to try and take the gym on as well?" asked Crowe. The two of them have finished their main course, and now taking their time with eating their desert. Hilda played with her parfait for a bit.

"I don't think I could yet. I plan to train my Lily first."

"Hmm… I see. Then, I'll oversee your training."

Hilda looked at Crowe in surprise.

"No, no, you should go ahead. I don't want to hinder your journey," she said, waving her arms. Crowe shook his head.

"We agreed to go together, right? I don't want to back down on a promise," he said, taking a spoonful of the parfait. "Besides, it's fun travelling with you."

Hilda sighed. If only he actually meant something about that. Actually, Hilda isn't sure. She seriously wanted to know what Crowe felt for her, although they just met a day over.

"Ah… I'm full," mumbled Crowe, stretching his arms.

"Wait, what are we going to feed our Pokemon?" asked Hilda, realizing that fact when it was a tad bit too late.

"Ah, don't worry about that. I've got that covered," said Crowe. He rummaged through his pack, and brought out a case with a style identical to a normal pokeball. He opened the case, revealing packs on packs of poke food. "I've made these before I left Sinnoh. They're poke food with special flavouring of berries. Everyone my team prefers it over the ones you could eat in a restaurant," chuckled Crowe.

Hilda was pleasantly surprised from this fact.

"You can cook?"

Crowe nodded.

"I've cooked since I was 7. I've thought myself how since my mom was always busy with working."

"Wow…"

Hilda felt embarrassed for herself. She didn't know how to cook after all. Crowe finished his drink and waited for a while for the contents to settle down. He nodded his head when he felt content, and stood up.

At that moment, the butlers instantly turned their heads on him.

"… That's creepy," commented Hilda as she'd stood up as well. Reina jumped on Crowe's shoulders.

The lights suddenly turned off, before a spotlight shun down on Cilan.

"Your wish… Shall be granted!" he said, pointing at Crowe.

"A gym match?!" exclaimed the people in the surroundings. Looking around, Crowe just realized they were all girls.

"In this case, we'll now greet you passionately! Like scorching fire," shouted the red-haired butler when it was his turn to be under the spotlight.

"No, I believe we should attend to him coolly; like cold water."

The girls were swooning over the butlers. This made Crowe roll his eyes, while Hilda just stared at the scene before her with a dumbfounded expression.

"This is the Striaton City Gym," said Cilan.

"And we," continued the redhead.

"The triplet brothers," said the blue-haired butler.

"Are the Gym Leaders! It's… showtime," they finished in unison. Crowe raised his eyebrows, pleasantly surprised with the development. The wall behind them started to move, revealing the true nature of the gym.

"That… is insane," blurted Crowe. Hilda had her mouth open wide. Crowe looked at her, and chuckled before closing her mouth with his index finger. "You'll catch flies like that."

Hilda blushed.

"Then, everyone! Pardon us, but we have a challenger today. Your meals might be delayed, please excuse us for our horrible behaviour," said the blue-haired butler.

"We will give out free parfaits, or refunds after the match. You are free to stick around and enjoy the show!" said the red-haired one.

"Follow me," said Cilan, leading Crowe and Hilda to one of the doors. They took a quick stair down, and before them was a rocky looking battleground. Seeing the environment made Crowe smile.

This kind of environment was right up Crowe's alley. Crowe glanced up, and saw the audience gathering.

The other two butlers followed right after escorting their audience.

"Now, will you please choose your opponent for this battle?" asked Cilan. Crowe looked at him with a confused expression.

"Choose?"

"Yes! Me," Cilan pointed to the redhead, "Pod," and gestured to the bluehead, "Corn; you'll choose one of us to battle. And if you win, you can get the badge! That's how the rules in this gym work."

"I'll tell you who my partner is!" exclaimed Pod, bringing out a pokeball. He called out his pokeball, revealing a red monkey.

"Corn uses this Pokemon… Use it as reference!" Corn did the same, revealing a blue monkey.

"And this is my partner," said Cilan, bringing his pokeball to chest level. He twirled around, before fashionably tossing the pokeball into the air.

A green monkey came to view.

Crowe suddenly became ecstatic with the Pokemon before him, and so did Hilda. As if they were of the same body, they simultaneously brought out their pokedex.

Their pokedex spoke at the same time as they've described Pansear, Panpour, and Pansage. Crowe looked at their levels.

According to the pokedex, they were level 20.

"Now, who do you pick? Me?" asked Cilan, snapping Crowe out of his thoughts as he'd contemplated where he could get at least one of them.

"It'll be me! I'll be your opponent."

"I don't mind if you choose me though…"

Crowe entered a thinking pose, before a challenging grin appeared on his face. This would be a good challenge to him, and would be a good way to gather up some experience points.

"Then, how about all of you?"

Stunned silence.

Everyone in the vicinity had their eyes open wide.

"Eh?!"

"All… You mean all three of them?" asked Hilda. Crowe nodded.

"It's fun that way, and it would make my VERY first Gym match exciting," explained Crowe.

"Now, this is a problem.. This is the first time a trainer like you here. What now?" asked Cilan.

"It's quite an interesting suggestion, don't you think? I wouldn't mind."

"Then, how about this? The rule is you get the badge if you win two out of three matches."

"Is that okay?"

"Nah. What I mean fighting all of you, I mean fighting all of you. In one match."

Stunned silence again.

This time, the three gym leaders had their mouths open wide, while Hilda had an expression of awe. Crowe's grin grew wider.

"It's not entirely unconventional for a three on three match now, isn't it?"

The three gym leaders looked at each other.

"While it is true that triple matches aren't really uncommon…" Corn trailed off.

"But those are commonly reserved to special tournaments…"

"Ah, why not though? This should test your compatibility with each other, and how well I could do under pressure."

With a smile, Cilan turned to Crowe.

"You just know what buttons to push for us. Are you sure about this though?"

Crowe chuckled.

"Definitely. I'm not the type to come running away from this," teased Crowe. Cilan nodded.

"Then, we accept. Though, we need a referee…"

"I'll be the referee," shouted a man in the audience. Everyone turned to the direction of the voice, revealing a boy with glasses.

Crowe sighed.

"Cheren!" greeted Hilda. Cheren nodded, before jumping down. He landed on his feet, though he felt a bit of pain shooting up his legs.

"I have a bit of knowledge, and some experience with mediating Pokemon matches. Professor Juniper taught me all I need to know."

At this, the gym leaders nodded their hands.

"Then, we hope you don't mind."

Crowe shook hands with the three gym leaders, before they went to their respective positions.

Though, Hilda stopped Crowe for a moment.

"Are you crazy?" asked Hilda, worried for her new friend. Crowe flashed her a warm smile.

"I'm happy to know you're concerned about me, but don't worry. In fact, my Pokemon and I will have fun in this."

Reina squealed excitedly to prove his point. Hilda stared into Crowe's eyes, trying to see if there were shreds of nervousness.

Surprisingly, she found none. Hilda suddenly realized what she was doing, and blushed.

"Okay… I'll pray for you."

Crowe patted her head, before he moved to his spot. He glanced at the three Pokemon before him, before he smiled.

"Then, let's get the show on the road!" he said, dramatically throwing away his hat. The girls in the audience immediately squealed for two reasons;

One, they were about to see their beloved gym leaders fight again.

Two, the challenger was actually hot.

Crowe pulled out two of his remaining Pokemon, and crossed his arms first. He pressed the button on them, making them larger.

"Go, Luciela, Levi!" shouted Crowe. He tossed the pokeballs into the air with fashion, putting his arms to the side. It made it seem like he was welcoming someone.

In this case, he was welcoming the challenge.

Luciela and Levi came out of their pokeballs, landing on the rocky terrain below them. Reina jumped off Crowe's shoulders, landing in front of the two.

"The first match between the three gym leaders, and the challenger will begin. This is a triple match. The side who defeats the other wins!"

"Have at thee! I'll easily scorch and cook you," shouted Pod. His two brothers looked at him, and laughed softly.

"I'll have it no other way," Crowe shouted back.

"Begin!"

"So-"

"Wa-"

"Fla-"

"Levi, Wrap, Lu, use Psyshock!"

Levi leapt into action, sliding between the rocky terrains. Luciela, on the other hand, stayed on her position. Her eyes glowed pink as her surroundings began to shake.

The three gym leaders visibly recoiled, unease spreading across their facial features.

"I won't let you! Pansear, use Fire Punch on his Snivy!"

"Pansage, use Bullet Seed!"

"Panpour, Double Team!"

The Pansear ran towards Levi to intercept him, while Pansage shot at Luciela to disrupt her attack. Panpour, on the other hand, created images of itself all over the field to confuse Crowe's Pokemon.

"Now!" shouted Crowe. The surroundings around Luciela stopped shaking, and the seeds were deflected back at Pansage.

Though this time, it was twice the velocity.

The Pansear stopped in front of Levi's tracks, but the latter was too fast for him. As soon as it punched forwards, Levi wrapped himself around its waist, before tightening his hold.

Both the Pansage and Pansear let out a short cry of pain.

The three butlers had their eyes wide opened.

"He used our attacks against us…?" Pod trailed off.

"This is a peculiar taste… I haven't experienced anything like this!"

"We're just getting started. Luciela, Psyshock, Levi, smack him down the use Tackle. Reina, go in there and use Force Palm on Panpour!"

Realizing that not doing anything would lead to their defeat, the brothers quickly made his move.

"Panpour, use Scratch on his Kirlia!"

"Pansear, shake him by using Dig! Then use Flamethrower."

"Pansage, use the power of the sun!"

Panpour and his clones rushed towards Luciela. All of their claws started glowing, an intended effect to try and confuse her. However, Reina appeared behind the real Panpour, and slammed her paw on its back.

The Panpour slammed to the ground with a loud thud,barrelling across the rough landscape. The clones instantly disappeared.

"Panpour, get up!" Corn cried out. The Panpour struggled to get up, failing over and over.

Meanwhile, Pansear jumped into the air.

"Levi, jump off him then use Tackle on Pansage! Reina, sense Pansear's location."

"Pansage, dodge!"

Levi bolted towards Pansage, and attempted to hit its body with his. The Pansage nimbly dodged, but had to redirect his attack on Levi. Levi didn't stop attacking Pansage, causing the latter to hold off its attack.

Cilan clicked his tongue.

"Pansage use Solar Beam!"

The gathered energy on top of Pansage started to solidify.

Reina rushed towards Luciela, and the latter instantly knew why. The latter jumped out of the way, momentarily distracted from her thoughts.

The Pansear emerged before her.

"Pansear, use Flamethrower!"

Flames started gathering on Pansear's mouth. Unfortunately, Reina appeared before Lu.

"Reina, Aura Sphere!"

At this, Cilan's eyes widened.

"Pansage, redirect your attack on his Riolu!"

They planned to get rid of Crowe's Kirlia first.

"Smart," grinned Crowe. "Too bad though. Focus on the one attacking you; Levi, use Wrap then slam 'im down!"

Levi stopped his assault, before throwing his body against the Pansage. He wrapped his body around the Pansage, causing the Solar Beam to fire abruptly.

The Solar Beam hit the ceiling instead, causing small rocks to fall down on the arena. Levi forced himself into the air, before slamming the Pansage he held captive into the ground.

Reina finished preparing her attack faster. She shot the sphere of aura on the Pansear before her. The latter cried out in pain as it was blasted off from its position, before crashing against a rock.

"Pansear!"

"Pansage!"

His three Pokemon, with Luciela still preparing her attack regrouped on one side without being ordered to.

"Lu, now."

The rocks that fell on the ground started levitating. They shot towards the three monkeys, causing heavy damage on them.

The gym leaders cried out for their Pokemon. The three monkeys struggled to their feet, before retreating to the side of their trainers.

Hilda, who was watching the match, was speechless. Crowe handled THREE gym leaders with ease. She looked at Crowe, who was smiling with glee, and noticed sweat on his forehead and neck.

She was drawn to what Crowe looked like now.

Meanwhile, the cheerleaders went silent when they saw how much of a beating the gym leaders were taking.

The gym leaders were shocked. They haven't fought together in a long while, but they were confident in their teamwork. They thought that this match was going to be easy, especially since they had the three types covering each other.

They were supposed to attack Crowe's Pokemon in the first turn with a mix of their strongest attacks, but his orders and how his Pokemon moved unsettled them.

"I've faced a lot of Snivies, but this is the first time I've seen one like that…" commented Cilan.

"Thanks. It took a while to get him like that; it's still a work in progress," said Crowe, scratching the back of his said sheepishly.

Cilan smiled at that.

"Don't be so modest, your Snivy deserves praise! Truly, I could sense the strong bond between the two of you. A bond that is as sweet as honey, truly wonderful!" said Cilan, respect shinning through his eyes.

The girls swooned over his words.

The other butlers nodded, agreeing with their brother's words. Crowe's Snivy was ridiculously fast. He was the fastest Snivy they've ever seen, and he caught them offguard. His Kirlia was dangerous, as it learned Psyshock at such an early state.

But what truly made them wary was none other than Crowe's Riolu. When Crowe didn't order his Riolu in the first turn, the brothers instantly knew he was going to use Riolu to defend his Kirlia. It was a dangerous combination.

Riolu, being the Aura Pokemon, could sense anything around it. This meant that Double Team and Dig were absolutely useless.

Pod grinned. He loved a challenge, and to be faced with something like this pumped up his soul. Corn was the same, but regarded the situation before him with calmness. Cilan looked like he wanted to say something again, but held it in.

But all three shared the same thought. They have been rusty since all the challengers that have been challenging them were nowhere near as strong as Crowe.

Only a few notable ones showed up, but even they would pale in comparison to the boy before them.

"Shall I take my move now?" asked Crowe. He didn't want to win this match by some cheap means.

"Yes. Sorry for our pause there," apologized Corn.

"Yeah, it's just been a while since we've entered such an intense battle," admitted Pod.

"We'll be a lot more serious now," said Cilan. The aura coming off from the three siblings became stronger, and their cheerleaders started becoming lively again.

This made Crowe grin. "Then."

Crowe snapped his fingers. His three Pokemon looked at each other, before nodding. Reina positioned herself to face Panpour, Kirlia on Pansage, and Levi on Pansear. The three gym leaders were taken aback at this.

"I let them choose their opponent. From this point on, they'll be a lot more serious," explained Crowe. He felt Hilda and Cheren staring at him with wide eyes.

"You're saying those three weren't serious earlier?" asked Cheren, his voice tinged in disbelief. Crowe rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, I mean the fight's just going to be a lot more intense."

At this, Pod literally fired up.

"Alriiiiiiiight, let's start the fireworks!"

Seeing their trainers pumped up made the three Pokemon pumped up as well. Despite their heavy injuries, they looked like they could take on the world.

Reina grinned wolfishly with the development, while Levi and Kirlia remained impassive.

"Pansear, use Flamethrower!"

"Pansage, use Solar Beam!"

"Panpour, use Watergun!"

"Levi, Leaf Tornado, Reina, Aura Sphere, Kirlia, Psyshock!"

The Pokemon in the arena trembled with power, as the rocky arena started to crack. Rocks began disintegrating just from the sheer pressure these six Pokemon were releasing.

Winds picked up on the side of Crowe, as leaves appeared out of nowhere and started encircling Levi's tail.

Until, finally, they let it out.

The three monkeys released the beams of elemental energy, representing the three main starter types.

Levi threw the tornado towards them, while Reina shot the blue sphere of energy. Luciela controlled parts of the Solar Beam and caused them to collide with each other.

A large explosion covered the field, leaving a dense dust cloud.

"Reina, Force Palm on Panpour!"

Reina closed her eyes, and saw the world using Aura. She scanned her area until she found a watery signature. With a kick, she sprung into action. She accelerated towards Panpour, before slamming its fist on Panpour's face.

The Panpour barely had time to react, barrelling backwards. Corn seemed to have heard what happened to his Panpour as he'd shouted back.

"Panpour, use Scratch!"

The Panpour struggled to its feet, looking around. It still couldn't see into the dust cloud, but its opponent could. Reina was already behind it.

"Lu, use Psyshock!"

Luciela closed her eyes, finding her target. As soon as she locked on her target, she harnessed her psychic powers, focusing them on one energy ball. After compressing the ball enough, she released it. The ball lurched forwards Pansage, and exploded upon impact.

Pansage collapsed to the ground from the extreme pain, but struggled to his feet.

"Let's get rid of this fog. Panpour, use Water Gun on the ceiling!"

Panpour raised its head up, and shot forth a torrent of water. The torrent of water slammed against the wall, before bits of it slowly poured down, clearing the dust fog.

It revealed a waiting Reina, charging up her Aura Sphere.

"What?!" The three butlers called out in unison.

Crowe winked at them, and Reina released the Aura Sphere.

The sphere slammed into Panpour, causing the said Pokemon to collapse to the ground. Its eyes were going in circles.

"Panpour is unable to battle!" announced Cheren. The girls in the audience were saddened, except for Hilda who was exhilarated.

"Panpour, return," said Corn, recalling his Pokemon. He smiled fondly at the pokeball. "Have a good rest."

He turned to his brothers with a saddened look.

"I'm sorry, looks like I'm out first guys."

"Don't sweat it, we'll get revenge for you," grinned Pod. Corn visibly cheered up, before walking next to Cheren.

"Alright, Reina, return," said Crowe, calling back his Riolu. She looked visibly displeased, but let it happen.

This small act made Cilan and Pod smile, not bitterly, but warmly at Crowe.

"I'm guessing you hate advantages?" Cilan asked. Crowe nodded.

"A 2-on-3 is pretty unfair. Shall we return?"

Cilan looked like he was about to burst into emotions.

"Oh, I can't handle it anymore! It's… Tasting Time!"

All the girls on the top floor squealed excitedly.

"It's Pokemon Sommelier Cilan's tasting time!"

…what?

"You are absolutely outstanding! Your flavour is out of my expectations; in fact they've heightened my standards! The content of your battle has so much detail in it with the perfect mix of seasoning to give out the perfect punch of spice that is consistent through and through! Your attack pattern is unpredictable, and the trust you have in your Pokemon is just… très bien. Compare that to my Pansage and me, you are truly the star of this battle!"

The girls squealed excitedly, despite Crowe was the one being complimented

"Uh… Okay…" said Crowe. He looked like he wanted away due to embarrassment.

"Oh, I can't wait for us to continue this battle. I am learning so much from this! However, I'm quite disappointed that your Snivy chose to fight a type that is stronger than him. Haven't you been taught that Grass types are disadvantageous against fire types?"

Crowe grinned at that.

"We'll see."

"Let's try it then! Pansear, use Fire Punch on Levi!"

"Then, Pansage, use Bite on Kirlia!"

Fire surrounded Pansear's fist as it rushed towards the Snake Pokemon. Pansage, on the other hand, bared its fangs and leapt towards Luciela

"Levi, use Wrap!"

As soon as Pansear reached Levi's coverage, Levi bounced himself towards Pansear.

"Pansear, turn around and slam the target behind you!"

As soon as Levi latched on to Pansear, the latter turned around with its fiery fist raised. It brought down its fist on Levi, causing the latter to cry it out in pain and let go.

Levi jumped back a few feet to recover some of its lost health.

Meanwhile, Pansage was trying to catch Luciela with its fangs. The Emotion Pokemon didn't need to be told to dodge the incoming attacks. She simply waited for Crowe to tell her what to do.

Though, it's not like she couldn't fight without orders.

"Pansage, use Bullet Seed!"

"Lu use Psyshock, Levi use Leer!"

Pansage shot out seeds upon seeds towards Luciela, who just deflected all of them with Psyshock.

"Pansage, dodge!"

Pansage jumped out of the way before Psyshock hit it.

Meanwhile, Levi leered at Pansear who visibly faltered.

"Ahhh, don't let that affect you! Use Dig," shouted Pod. The Pansear dug to the ground, leaving a wary Levi.

"Levi jump and use Leaf Tornado to keep you up longer in the air!"

Cilan raised an eyebrow. Levi did as he was told, but could only keep up the Tornado for a few seconds.

"Interesting strategy. Pansage, use Bite!"

The Pansage closed in to Luciela.

"Lu, Disarming Voice!"

Luciela let out a harsh cry that hurt Pansage's ears, and caused its chest to tighten. It accidentally bit its lower lip, drawing blood.

"Now, use Psyshock!"

While Crowe was midway his order, Pansear emerged out of the ground with a rock on his hand. It threw the rock on Levi, and hit him, causing Levi to stop abruptly.

"Pansear, Flamethrower!"

"Levi use Leer and dodge!"

Levi leered at Pansear, who visibly faltered but held its ground. It released a torrent of flames at Levi, who dodged it nimbly, but his tail got caught. The latter yelped, and put out the flames as soon as he landed on the ground.

Unfortunately, Levi wasn't given any break at all.

"Now, Pansear, follow it up with a Fire Punch then use Dig!"

The Pansear leapt out of its hole, and engulfed its fist on fire. It hit Levi, causing the latter to cry out in pain, before Pansear dug into the ground.

Crowe clicked his tongue.

Luciela managed to blow Pansage away, but the latter was already getting to its feet. Levi was seriously injured.

"Our counterattack starts now, Crowe!" shouted Pod, snapping his fingers. Pansear emerged out of the ground, and hit Levi. The grass snake slammed into a rock with a complimenting crack.

Just hearing it caused Crowe to flinch. Levi struggled to his feet, obviously worn down. He was trembling in fear.

"Levi…"

Crowe felt sorry for him, and brought out his pokeball. When Levi saw this, he shook his head. He tried to flash Crowe a grin, but scowled in pain instead.

This action tore Crowe apart.

"Pansage, Bullet Seed!"

Crowe's moment of contemplating was cut short as Cilan took advantage of him. The Pansage shot its bullets at Luciela, who was looking worriedly at her master.

Cilan hated how underhanded the attack was, but he knew they wouldn't win without using such a method. Luciela yelped as she'd jumped back.

"Pansage, don't let her escape; use Bite!"

The Pansage lunged forwards, and successfully latched its fangs on Luciela's small arm. Luciela cried out in pain, trying her best to throw Pansage off her arm.

He expected Crowe to get angry, but the latter regarded the situation calmly.

This sent chills down their spines. For a trainer to react like this was usually not a good sign.

Crowe was having a mental debate. He wanted to switch out his Levi for Reina, but he obviously refused to be switched out. He glanced at Hilda, who was looking at him with confidence.

It was as if saying that he will win this match.

Crowe widened his eyes in realization, before he laughed bitterly. He, out of all people, forgot one basic principle.

Trust in your Pokemon.

He looked on to the battle, determination filling his body. At this moment in time, he felt something click between him and his two pokemon on the field.

"Levi, use Leaf Tornado and burst Pansear out of his tunnel, Lu use Double Team!"

Levi let out a warcry before jumping into the air. Winds instantly picked up around him, and circled his tail. Luciela's eyes glowed bright as she'd replicated herself several times all over the arena.

"Now, use Disarming Voice!"

All the clones let out a screech that caused strong emotional damage at the Pansage, which caused it to quickly falter. It let go of its hold on the Emotion Pokemon, and clutched its ears.

Levi released his hold on the tornado he set up, and directed it towards the hole Pansear was in.

Both monkey Pokemon let out cries of pain, startling their trainers. Though, they were startled for another reason.

Their moves happened way too fast for the eye to follow.

The Pansear erupted out of the ground like it was a geyser, being brought to the air by the vicious winds of Levi's makeshift tornado, while Pansage fell to its knees just from the sheer force of Luciela's voice.

The brutality behind their attacks were too much for these monkeys to handle. A few seconds passed by before they fainted.

"Pansage and Pansear are unable to battle- The challenger Crowe wins!" Corn announced.

"Alright!" shouted Crowe, feeling elated from his victory. He rushed towards Luciela and scooped her up, before rushing towards Levi and scooping him up aswell. He hugged them tight, but not tight enough for them to get hurt. His Pokemon squealed happily, and hugged their trainer just as much. Reina forcibly went out of her pokeball, and jumped into the hug.

The three laughed together joyfully, while Pod and Cilan gave them warm smiles.

"The bond between those four… It's incredible," said Pod. Cilan nodded; admiration shone through his eyes towards the trainer before him. He sighed, and approached his Pansage.

"Good work today, Pansage. Go get some rest," said Cilan, recalling his Pokemon. Pod did the same. Corn, on the other hand, walked towards one side of the gym and took out the casing that contained the gym badge. The three butlers walked towards each other, before walking towards Crowe.

They all had smiles in their faces as they've watched the four rejoice over their victory.

"Here you go, you deserve this badge," said Corn.

"It's proof that you've won against the Striaton City Gym!"

"It's the Tri Badge."

Crowe smiled and nodded, slowly putting his Pokemon on the ground. He gingerly took the gym badge, muttering a thank you towards the gym leaders.

He raised it on the air, admiring the badge with a bright grin on his face. Hilda ran forwards, slamming into Crowe with a hug.

"You did it, you did it!" she said, being all way too excited.

Crowe chuckled. Hilda realized what she was doing, and quickly let go. Crowe set his badge on his badge case, before giving the three gym leaders a brief nod. Cilan chuckled.

"The two of you are giving off quite the lovely flavour," he complimented them.

"Congratulations on winning your first gym badge on your first try. You should go and get your Pokemon healed up over at the Pokemon Center," said Cheren.

"I'll go and visit the Pokemon Center now. Would you care to join?" asked Crowe. The three gym leaders nodded their heads in response.

"Brilliant battle today, you guys."

Crowe recalled his Pokemon, and the six of them headed for the Pokemon Center.