A/N: This will be the only time in this story I'll add this. I didn't want to put this in the summary (mainly because it wouldn't fit...), but this is the story I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2010... and I just remembered a little detail about this site I gotta fix...
"Welcome one and all to the top of the luxurious Realgam Tower in the heart of the Orre Region!" an announcer shouted out. Ever since the crime syndicate known as Cipher was disbanded and the leader arrested, the tower was given to the newly founded Colosseum Committee. Now, it was used for the final stage of a near week-long tournament. "We've had many participants battle at the Pyrite and Phenac Colosseums for a chance to appear here, and we finally have those two trainers!"
Below the arena, right next to the elevator that would take him up to the arena stood a fifteen-year-old trainer named Ezekiel Webber. When he signed up for this tournament, he never imagined he'd be one of the two finalists to battle at this extremely luxurious arena. If anything, he was nervous, but he trusted his Pokemon. They got him this far, and they have a chance to take it all the way.
"Ok, you may now step into the elevators," an assistant announced to them. "Ezekiel Webber, you go up first." To Ezekiel's right was his opponent, a large, burly-looking man almost twice Ezekiel's size. To anyone else, he might've been too intimidating to battle, but Ezekiel wasn't even paying attention to him. He just wanted to get to the top and start the final battle.
The elevator doors slid open, and Ezekiel stepped in. The sheer height he had to travel upwards tormented him, as he has a small little fear of heights, but he was able to look out the glass windows and see almost all of the Orre Region. Phenac City to his left, Pyrite to his right, and behind him was the lush Agate Village and fierce Mt. Battle.
He unclipped two Poke Balls off his belt and held them in his hand. "You guys ready?" he asked them. He wanted to tell that to his Pokemon personally, but they had to remain in their Poke Balls. Only for a little longer, though.
As he neared the top, he could hear the cheers of the audience and the voice of the announcer. "Now, please welcome our first finalist, Ezekiel Webber!" The elevator opened its doors and Ezekiel stepped out into a beautiful, sky-high arena. He got many cheers from the audience, whom many of which were just shocked that someone so young managed to become a finalist.
"And now, please welcome our other finalist, Drake Harton!"
Ezekiel's opponent rose out of the ground and stepped from his elevator. He, too, received many cheers from everyone in the stands, but mainly from the Orre Region habitants because he himself was an Orre native.
"Hey, kid!" Drake shouted. His voice was relayed through the stadium speakers by the tiny microphone attached on his shirt, "Don't go crying to your mommy when I beat you!"
"Hey, don't think I'll be so easy to beat; I made it this far, haven't I?" Ezekiel shouted back, his voice also on the speakers from a microphone on his vest.
"There are sparks already flying in between the two opponents, so let's get this battle under way!" the announcer started. "The rules haven't changed at all; it's a two-on-two double battle with no substitutions. We will now flip a coin to see who has to send out their Pokemon first, giving the winner a type advantage if he chooses." A small camera attached to the announcer's headset flashed on, bringing the picture of a coin in his hand onto the mega-screen. He flicked the coin and shouted, "Call it in the air!"
Drake was the first to shout out, "Heads!"
"I've got tails, then." Ezekiel responded afterwards.
The coin flipped over and over on the screen before finally being caught by the announcer's hand. He then flipped it onto his palm and held it covered for a brief second before revealing, "Tails! Drake sends his Pokemon out first!"
Ezekiel didn't care that he won the coin toss; he knew exactly which two Pokemon he was going to be using. Both their Poke Balls were still in his hand.
"You got lucky this time, kid, but don't think you're winning!" Drake shouted again, snapping two of his own Poke Balls off his belt. "Meganium, Raichu, let's go!" He threw the Poke Balls up into the air. The first one snapped open, releasing a bright, white light. The light formed into a mainly green Pokemon with bright-pink petals adorned around its neck, Meganium. The other Poke Ball snapped open and released its light, forming into a tan-colored Pokemon with a long tail with a lightning bolt tip to it and lightning bolt ears, Raichu.
"So it's Meganium and Raichu for Drake! How will Ezekiel respond?" the announcer asked, keeping on top of the action, as is his job.
'Well, this should be interesting…' Ezekiel thought to himself. "Ok, Politoed, Marowak, take point!" he shouted as he threw his two already unclipped Poke Balls into the air. His Poke Balls snapped open and revealed his two Pokemon, a mainly green frog-like one with a tan belly, Politoed; and a light brown one with a skull for a head and holding a bone, Marowak.
"And Ezekiel responds with a Politoed and Marowak!" The entire crowd looked on in disbelief. The coin toss winner has a possible type advantage, so why did Ezekiel throw out Pokemon that were both weak to Grass types? "Will Ezekiel be able to win against a type disadvantage? Let's find out now! Begin!"
"Alright, Meganium, let's get this over with quickly. Razor Leaf!" Drake commanded. The Pokemon responded by sending out a flurry of leaves from around its neck.
"Marowak, counter it with Bonemerang, and Politoed, follow up with Bubblebeam!" Ezekiel responded. Marowak obeyed and threw his bone weapon to meet the leaves in mid-air. The pointed tip of the bone sliced through all the leaves easily and hit against the Meganium with considerable force, but being a Grass type, the Ground type attack didn't do much damage. However, due to Bonemerang's attack style, it circled around and blind-sided the Raichu, and being an Electric type, received major damage from the attack, but the assault wasn't over yet.
Politoed had followed up Marowak's attack with his Bubblebeam attack. The storm of bubbles rushed towards the Meganium and Raichu. Again, the Meganium didn't receive much damage due to type, but the Raichu took normal damage. Not commanding his Raichu to do anything wasn't good skill on Drake's side.
"Heh, you think that just because you were able to land a few hits means anything?" Drake said with a smug look. "Prepare yourself, now. Meganium, Sunny Day!" The Meganium's leaves started to glow white as solar energy was released into the sky. Sunny Day has many effects, and is mainly used for powering up Fire type moves, but it also halves all Water type moves. But, where Drake was going with using Sunny Day…
"Now, use Solarbeam!"
Sunny Day negates the need to charge up sunlight for a Solarbeam attack. The solar energy instantly charged in the Meganium, and the power was released in a second, traveling towards the two Pokemon who would take super-effective damage if hit.
Ezekiel, however, wasn't worried at all. "Marowak, get close to Politoed, and Politoed, use Protect!" Marowak jumped behind Politoed just as a green barrier surrounded both Pokemon. The Solarbeam impacted against the barrier, but just dispersed around it. "Now, Politoed, jump into the air, and Marowak, use Earthquake!" In battle, Ezekiel had always commanded both of his Pokemon at the same time. Rarely did he have any of his standing idle.
Following orders, the Politoed jumped high into the sky as the Marowak slammed his bone club against the ground, sending out a massive wave of tectonic energy.
"Raichu, try and avoid it!" Drake attempted to command, but the attack was moving too fast for him to react. When the energy slammed into the Raichu, it was sent flying through the sky. Both of his Pokemon were hit again by Ezekiel's attack. The Meganium again was able to withstand the attack, but the Raichu again took super-effective damage. When it landed, Ezekiel was expecting it to be out of commission, but to his amazement, the Pokemon stood up, still raring to go.
"I gotta say that's one tough Raichu you have there," Ezekiel complemented.
"If you like his defense, just wait until you see his offense! Raichu, Thunder! Fry that Politoed!" Finally given a command, the Raichu charged up its electricity into one of the strongest Electric type attacks there is, Thunder. The massive bolt of electricity flew toward Politoed, but he didn't make any attempt to dodge.
Ezekiel knew why he didn't move. "Marowak, hold your club high!" he shouted. The Marowak held the pointed tip of his weapon into the air. With the erratic movements of Thunder, and his LightningRod ability, its energy hit against the tip of the bone before it hit Politoed. The bone acted just like a lightning rod, diverting the electricity from the Raichu to him, and being a Ground type, completely unaffected by the attack.
"What! Gah, that's it! Meganium, Solarbeam again!" Drake called out in a rage. Sunny Day was still in effect, so the attack was able to charge instantly.
"Politoed, Protect, once more!" Ezekiel commanded. The green barrier again surrounded Politoed, again dispersing the attack over the shield. "Now, use Belly Drum!" After the shield disappeared, Politoed flipped down onto his back and beat a rhythmic beat on his belly. He felt his stamina drain, although he never got hit with an attack so far, so he still had plenty to keep going, but more so felt his physical strength skyrocket.
"Alright, Politoed, use Body Slam on Meganium!" With his physical power maxed, Politoed rushed towards the Meganium.
"Use Solarbeam once more!" Drake commanded, and Meganium obeyed. Another charged beam of solar energy was quickly produced due to Sunny Day still in effect. The beam of energy fired again at Politoed; however, Ezekiel didn't call for Politoed to use Protect again. Instead, he just left it up to Politoed's ability to dodge the attack and continue his.
Politoed viewed the attack coming at him and sidestepped it just at the last second. Unable to do anything, the Meganium was hit by the full force of Politoed's Body Slam. With the added effect of Belly Drum, the Meganium sustained much more damage than it has before in the battle.
"Ok, get back here, Politoed."
With both of his Pokemon having sustained massive damage while Ezekiel's haven't even been scratched, Drake was getting sent into a fury. "Raichu, Thunder, once more, and Meganium, Razor Leaf!" Both Pokemon obeyed and fired their attacks.
"Marowak, use Dig to evade, and Politoed, use Protect!" Ezekiel ordered. Marowak dug deep underground, letting the attacks pass harmlessly over him, while Politoed was once again protected by a green barrier. "Ok, Marowak, attack!"
"You're not hitting Raichu again with a Ground type attack again. Raichu, jump up!" Drake commanded. The Raichu did as told and jumped into the air, but no attack came from underneath him. That is exactly what Ezekiel planned.
"Go for it, Marowak!" Marowak launched up from underground, attacking the Meganium instead. It was sent flying into the sky, intercepting Raichu's jump and causing both Pokemon to slam to the ground. Marowak then rejoined his battle partner on their side of the field.
With the effects of Sunny Day almost over, Drake attempted to get one last ditch attack to try and win. "Meganium, Solarbeam!" The weakened Pokemon mustered up enough sunlight to form another attack, but it was near the edge of its power.
"Time to finish this. You ready, Politoed?" Ezekiel asked his Pokemon, who in turn nodded his head. "Alright, use Hyper Beam!" Politoed charged an immense energy inside him and released an orange beam to match the Meganium's Solarbeam. Both attacks collided in the center of the arena, kicking up dust and debris of the fabricated dirt arena.
Both teams were blinded from the other by these two attacks, and neither of them suspected the other's attack to still be going. Unfortunately for Drake, that's what happened. Politoed's Hyper Beam had enough energy to break Meganium's Solarbeam and still keep going. It hit against the Meganium with massive force, and the Raichu was hit by residual energy.
Politoed had dropped to his knees, drained from the effects of Hyper Beam; Marowak was in front of him, guarding him while he recovered, but it was ultimately unneeded. As the dust settled, both the Meganium and Raichu were out of commission. That final Hyper Beam knocked them over the edge of fainting.
"Meganium and Raichu are unable to battle!" the announcer shouted. "The winners are Politoed and Marowak, and the winner of the Colosseum Tournament is Ezekiel Webber! Congratulations!"
Ezekiel just stared for a minute before running over to his Pokemon. "Great job, guys! You were amazing!" Politoed had recovered and started clapping his hands in delight; Marowak just held his bone club on his shoulder, a satisfied look planted on his face. All he had left to do now was wait for the final ceremony to start.
Drake had already recalled his Pokemon to their Poke Balls. If anything, all his rage was replaced with amazement. Both of his Pokemon had a type advantage against one of his Pokemon, and he still lost. "How did you win when I had a definite type advantage?"
"Battling's more than just type advantages. Just fight to have fun. That's at least what I believe." Ezekiel responded. Politoed just continued clapping his hands together. He definitely had fun in this battle.
After a quick set-up of a stage, the director of the tournament stood next to the platform's microphone. "And now, may I present one of the most powerful trainers in the Orre Region, Eagun!"
An old man with a white beard and wearing a purple robe stepped up to the microphone. "I would like to congratulate both parties for an amazing battle, but there ultimately had to be one winner," he turned to Ezekiel. "Congratulations, Ezekiel. It is my honor to present you with your prize: this trophy and one-hundred thousand Poke!"
"Thank you, sir," Ezekiel said in response. He took the trophy with the prize money inside it from Eagun. 'Wow, what am I gonna do with all this money? My Pokemon deserve a little of it.' Ezekiel thought to himself. His Pokemon really did deserve it. After all, it was thanks to them that he made it this far.
"And that concludes our Colosseum Tournament! May all the participants and audience members have a safe trip back home," the director announced.
"Man, what a day…" Ezekiel had checked into the Pokemon Center at Agate Village. For being so close to a desert, the town was very lush and contained plenty of water. It wasn't as amazing as Phenac City, though. That town is completely in the middle of the desert, but they have plenty of water, too. Even their colosseum had copious amounts of it. Ezekiel even used that fact to his advantage when working up the ranks of the tournament.
But now, that whole tournament was over. It had taken nearly five days to complete, and hundreds of trainers… and he came out on top. "I definitely gotta treat my Pokemon tonight, but how?" He pondered exactly what to do, but couldn't think of anything that would represent just how much they've helped him.
"Maybe I should just ask them," he finally decided. He reached over to his belt and snapped all four of his Poke Balls. "C'mon out, everyone!" he shouted as he threw the four red and white spheres into the air. They all snapped open and revealed Ezekiel's entire party: Politoed, Marowak, Quilava, and Pidgeotto. The four Pokemon made themselves comfortable in the room of the Pokemon Center, not knowing that Ezekiel wanted to treat them somehow.
Since they were all comfortable, he decided to try and figure something out on his own again. This was the first time since all four of them had been out at the same time that day, and they all started to converse between themselves.
"Hey, Marc, who else did Ezekiel use in the final battle, because I sure know it wasn't me," the Pidgeotto asked, slightly irked. Each of the Pokemon had names, but names given to them by their parents, not Ezekiel. Ezekiel always just used their species name like many other trainers did.
"Hey, I don't control who he uses for his battles. I'm just his best bud and strongest one out of us; he knows that," the Politoed Marc-or rather, Marcus-replied. "It was Cail, by the way."
Cail, the Marowak, just slightly shifted at the mention of his name. He knew that Nick would come after him next. "He may have used me, but I barely did any work. Marcus did most of the work. Although, it was very satisfying sending that Meganium into the air," Cail remarked, mainly trying to mention who they were facing.
His plan worked, because it just infuriated Nick all the more. "He was battling a Grass type and didn't use me?" Nick always was jealous of Marcus and Cail. Ezekiel had always used them more than he did him. Heck-even Ven got more action, and he's a lazy bum half the time! "Out of all the battles he faced, I participated in two…"
"Yea, and you got knocked out each battle," Cail stated, laughing slightly afterwards. "If it wasn't for Marcus and Ven, Ezekiel never would've made it to the final round." Nick sent over an evil glare towards Cail. However, it really didn't have that much effect on him. Cail knew he could easily down Nick if he needed to.
"Ok, guys, let's calm down now," Marcus interrupted. He was always the one to calm down any situation before Ezekiel even knew about them. "We don't need to start anything, especially inside a Pokemon Center. You remember what happened last time, right?" Marcus was reminding Nick of the little episode he and Cail had a few years ago, when Cail was still a Cubone and Nick a Pidgey. Nick had gotten so mad at Cail that he started sending off Gust attacks left and right, making a huge mess in the lobby of a Pokemon Center in Vermillion City in the Kanto Region. Ezekiel was forced to clean up the mess before Nurse Joy allowed him to leave.
"Yea, yea… Don't remind me." Nick said begrudgingly.
"He just did," Cail remarked.
"Cail, I am going to murder you…" Nick started moving closer to Cail, who was gripping his bone club, ready to fight.
Fortunately, Marcus got in between the two before they could start anything. "We don't need another repeat of that! Get a grip, you guys."
Nick just huffed and flew to the other side of the room where Ezekiel was still pondering how to thank his Pokemon, oblivious to the fact that a fight almost broke out between two of them.
Still unable to think of any definite way to thank them, he just decided to ask them what they want to do. "Hey, guys? Could you all come here for a sec?" Ezekiel called out. His four Pokemon gathered near him, Nick staying far away from Cail. "I've been trying to think of a way to thank you four for all you've done throughout this tournament, but I can't think of anything. So I'm asking you: what do you want to do?" Ezekiel knew he couldn't understand any of his Pokemon, but they might give him some ideas through charades or something.
Nick started speaking his mind first. "I know I'd like to take Cail's club and sho-"
"Don't even go there, Nick," Marcus cut in.
"No, no. Let him finish, Marcus. I want to hear the rest of that sentence," Cail said next, gripping his club. "He might have the wrong idea on where this club's getting shoved."
"You wanna go, Cail?" Nick responded, ready to attack.
"Enough!" Marcus shouted out, causing everyone but too-laid-back-to-care Ven to jump in surprise. "It's clear what we need to do: get out of this room before you two start attacking each other." Marcus started walking towards the door of the room, opening it and pointing out. "Poli, Poli," is what Ezekiel heard.
"You guys wanna go outside? Sure. We aren't gonna be in the Orre Region much longer, so let's enjoy it while it lasts." Ezekiel fastened all of his Poke Balls back onto his belt and put it on again. He also threw on his trademark, a plain black vest he always wore when he went out. He left everyone out since that was the whole point of going out. "Well, c'mon. Let's go."
Everyone followed Ezekiel, save for Ven who needed a helping hand in leaving the room. He was incredibly lazy, but formidable in battle to be sure. Once he was out in the hall, Ezekiel locked the door to the room and followed behind his Pokemon. Nick and Cail were both still avoiding each other, and Ezekiel was still oblivious.
Agate Village was special on its own. The houses all had tree roots or trunks growing on them. One surprising thing about it is its relatively clean air even though there's a volcano just due east of the village. There's also a pillar rumored to be connected to Celebi, the protector of the forests. That was one thing Ezekiel had to see before he left the region.
"Everyone, I trust you to all behave yourselves. I'm going to look at that Celebi pillar, so don't do anything stupid or get yourself into trouble. We'll meet back here in a few hours. If you're here before everyone else, just wait for them. And try not to get into any fights." With that said, Ezekiel started to walk towards the cave that led to the Celebi pillar.
As he walked away from the Pokemon Center, he happened upon Eagun who was out for a walk. "Ah, Ezekiel, glad to see you again. It seems you're staying in Agate before leaving?"
"Oh, hello, Eagun." Ezekiel sure was surprised to see Eagun again. From what he heard at the tournament, Eagun was one accomplished trainer. "Yea, it seemed like a good idea at the time, mainly because I wanted to see that pillar attributed to Celebi," Ezekiel explained.
"Ah, the Relic of Agate. That stone pillar was a vital part of defeating that crime syndicate that almost overtook Orre. One of the kids who helped defeat that organization was also my granddaughter!"
"Your granddaughter?" Ezekiel spurted out in disbelief.
Eagun let out a hearty laugh at Ezekiel's response. "Yes, my granddaughter. She had the peculiar ability to see the tainted Pokemon the organization made. Come. I'll tell you more as we walk." Ezekiel gladly accepted Eagun's offer. He really wanted to know more about that whole fiasco. However, they hadn't taken but a few steps before Eagun turned back around. "I almost forgot something. I see you've already let you're Pokemon out, so I'll introduce them to my long-time companion." Eagun grabbed a Poke Ball out of his pocket and threw it into the air. The ball snapped open and revealed Eagun's Pokemon of choice, Pikachu. "Run along with Ezekiel's friends now, Pikachu. When you're done, just return home and Beluh will let you in."
Pikachu nodded his head, and Eagun started walking and talking with Ezekiel. Marcus was the first one to approach the Pikachu. "Hey, I'm Marcus." He had his hand extended to offer a handshake, which the Pikachu gladly returned.
"I'm Ian. Who're the rest of your friends?" Ian inquired.
"The Marowak is Cail, the Pidgeotto is Nick, and the Quilava is Ven," Marcus said as he introduced everyone. Cail gave a friendly nod towards Ian, Ven let out another yawn, and Nick just glared at Cail.
"Pleased to meet you all. It seems that your trainer has taken an interest in the Relic and all about it. Are any of you interested in it? I'd be willing to tell you anything you want to know about it." he offered.
"I'd take that offer, but I don't know about everyone else." Marcus said. He looked over and saw that Cail had already shook his head to decline, Nick had already started to fly into the trees, and Ven had already fallen asleep in the shade of a tree. "Nice hospitality, guys…"
"I don't mind. Come. I'll show you the Relic of Agate Village," Ian said as he started walking in the same direction as Eagun and Ezekiel did.
"That Celebi pillar that Ezekiel went to see, right?" Marcus asked as he followed
"Yea, that's the one. You really can't come to Agate and not see it. It helped that one kid and Eagun's granddaughter to defeat that crime syndicate here."
"Really? How?" Marcus again asked.
"The Relic has the powers of Celebi infused in it. That evil syndicate, Cipher, artificially closed Pokemon's hearts, turning them into pure fighting machines, Shadow Pokemon."
"Wow. That's insane."
"It gets even better," Ian started. "The trainer stole the Shadow Pokemon from any trainer holding one and by battling with them, slowly opened the door to its heart. The relic was the final key to unlock that door and purify the Pokemon." Ian started to shiver a little bit.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Those Pokemon were not natural… I had to fight one of them; its power was immense…"
"But the Relic has the ability to heal those Pokemon?"
"Yea, the power of Celebi inside the Relic helps the Pokemon recall its nature before it had its heart closed. It's insane, really. There's even a rare item that can call Celebi herself!"
"An item to call Celebi? That is insane."
"Well, here we are." Ian declared. They arrived at a large cave entrance that went under the entire village. It was a small cave, and on the other side was a small stone path with a stone pillar in the center. Eagun and Ezekiel were next to the pillar.
"Ah, Pikachu, I see you've gotten young Ezekiel's Politoed interested in the Relic, have you not?" Eagun asked his Pokemon.
"Pika, pika," Ian replied while nodding his head.
"So, Politoed, you know of all the stuff this Relic has done for this region?" Ezekiel asked to his Pokemon who also replied by nodding. "Unbelievable that someone would want to close a Pokemon's heart. It's even more amazing that the Legendary Pokemon Ho-Oh came to their aid!"
Marcus looked over towards Ian. "You didn't mention that a Legendary Pokemon appeared."
"Yea… It… slipped my mind…" he said, scratching the back of his head.
"Don't worry about it, Ian." Marcus gave Ian a little pat on the back.
"Well, thanks for the tour, Eagun." Ezekiel said as he offered a handshake to Eagun
"It was my pleasure," he said, returning the handshake. "Are you going to head back to the Pokemon Center now?"
"Yea, at least I am. If my Pokemon want to hang out some more, I'll let them."
"Very well. Pikachu, do you want to stay with Ezekiel's Pokemon for now, or return home?"
Ian looked over at Politoed. "I'm gonna go back home now. It's been nice meeting you, Marcus."
"Same here, Ian. Take care."
He nodded and ran over to Eagun. "Ok, let's go."
Marcus walked over to Ezekiel and stood by his side. Ezekiel was still marveling at the Relic before him. Marcus prodded the side of his leg to get his attention again. "Ok, Politoed, let's get back to the Pokemon Center. I gotta get a box for that trophy to mail it home, anyway."
The two friends walked back through the cave and towards the Pokemon Center. Ven was still asleep by the tree next to the center, while Cail and Nick were exchanging glances again. Those two were going to attack each other someday, but when is anyone's guess…
Actually, that when is now. "Listen, Cail, I'm stronger than you think." Nick said, burning with anger.
Cail just smirked at what Nick was saying. "Yea, you're so strong. That's why you get knocked out in every battle you're in," he stated.
"I could easily mop the floor with you!" Nick screamed out. Marcus wasn't close enough to defuse this situation, and it quickly spiraled into what Nick wanted most, a fight with Cail.
Without warning, Nick had flown high into the sky, only to drop back down with his full wingspan extended, ready to slam into Cail with his Wing Attack. Cail, however, didn't intend to get hit by any of Nick's attacks. He easily sidestepped Nick's attack, letting him pass and fly back into the air.
"Missed me," Cail taunted. "Is that the best you can do?"
"Shut up, Cail! I'm just getting started!" Nick yelled back, dive-bombing straight towards Cail. He pulled up just in time to place himself right in front of Cail and started to peck at him. Cail just easily blocked all of his attacks with his club. He knew Nick couldn't beat him and was just simply humoring him by fighting with him.
Much to Nick's dismay, the fight ended up like all other incursions he had with Cail. Marcus was quick to react the second he saw the two begin fighting, and since Nick was the main instigator, tackled and restrained him. "Calm down, Nick!"
Nick was thrashing around furiously to get free of Marcus, and he eventually did. "Stay out of this, Marcus!"
"You know I'm not gonna do that," Marcus replied. "You two need to stop this incessant fighting you two do. You're on a team and need to work like one."
"Gah, whatever…" Nick just flew up to a branch in one of the trees. 'I'll get you someday, Cail,' he said in his mind.
This was one of few times when Ezekiel had witnessed those two go at it. Normally Marcus was able to quell the two before anything started, but with him not in the area at the time, they were free to fight. "Hey, Politoed, what's with those two?" Ezekiel asked. As the trainer, he needed to know of anything wrong with his Pokemon.
In truth, even Marcus didn't know why Nick went after Cail so much. All he did to reply to Ezekiel's question was to shrug his shoulders. He honestly didn't have a full answer.
Ezekiel looked up to Nick, then down to Cail. Ever since that incident at Vermilion, he was wise never to use the two together in a double battle. He just never understood why they hated each other…
The day quickly turned to night and Ezekiel was back in their room. Although the plan was to treat his Pokemon to something special, it seemed that only Politoed got that reward. He'd still have to think of something to do for them all, but for now, it was time for sleep. Tomorrow they'd all head back to the Johto Region to continue their journey over there.
"Alright, everyone, time for bed," Ezekiel called out as he held each of his Pokemon's Poke Balls, two in each hand. "Ready?" Everyone nodded. "Return." A red beam of light shot from each Poke Ball, each one hitting each Pokemon and returning them into their Poke Balls. "Night, everyone," he said as he clipped them all on his belt and lay down on his bed. He got under the covers and quickly fell asleep.