Pokémon: Journey Throughout History

by PhereMi

Cover will be changed when I can figure out how to get the one I made on Google Drive up.

Ok, so let me give a bit more context as to how the Pokémon world translates into the real world.

Europe, if you hadn't guessed from the starter Pokémon, the professor and the trials, is the Alola region. The UK is Melemele island, Russia is Ula'ula island all by itself. The rest of the countries between The UK and Russia are then divided as evenly as possible with the more Northern countries filling in the roles of Akala and Southern Europe taking up Poni's events. I'll get to those on my quest later. Cosmog lives in the UK and can be evolved into Solgaleo during the day or Lunala during the night if a trainer were to find the sun/moon flute.

North America is the Kalos Region. To my knowledge, it is one of the more advanced regions in the Pokémon world with cities being more common. Yellow Wood national park would be the home of Yvetal. It's not a volcano below there, but more the cocoon of destruction. Xerneas also lives here, below the ground in case Yvetal would ever wake up.

Asia is the Unova region, because it is also a very modern region that could coincide with the almost robotised city of Japan. Reshiram, Zekrom and Kyrem all live in Asia. Kyrem dwells in the Himalayas and Zekrom made it's home near the power station Birecik Dam in Turkey. Spoiler Alert: later on in my journey, I'll be travelling to Mount Fuji to battle and catch Reshiram as my sixth Pokémon, look forward to that.

South America is the Sinnoh Region, no particular reasoning. I just don't know where else it could take place. Palkia made it's home a short way off the coast of Rio De Janeiro, Dialga lives over in Argentina and helps palaeontologists awaken fossil Pokémon. Then as for Giratina, the entire underworld is just beneath South America. and that Ghost-Dragon type is just floating beneath, waiting for the dead to come and atone for their sins.

Africa is the Hoenn Region. After looking at a map of Hoenn on Bulbapedia, I cannot see any advanced civilisations, which instantly makes me think of either Africa or Antarctica. So I chose Africa, and you'll see why soon. Kyogre swims around the edges of the Hoenn region in the miles of water that surround it while Groudon hides in the Cango Caves, while Rayquaza made it's nest at the top of the Sky Pillar, which is built at the plateau of Mount Kilimanjaro to extend it's height even further into the sky.

Australia is the Johto Region. Over the years, the sandy deserts of the outback experienced multiple destructive plate margin earthquakes that caused it's terrain to turn from a flat, sandy plain to the fold mountains of Johto. Surfer's Paradise is turned into the beautiful Goldenrod City, the same thing happening with Sydney turning into Ecruteak City, home of the Bell Towers that roosted Lugia and Ho-Oh. Entei, Raikou and Suicune are just roaming legendary Pokémon, so they have no fixed position. (However, unlike that person who posted that "Go Home Entei, you're drunk!" meme, Entei will not appear when you're surfing throughout the Johto Region's waters)

Finally, Antarctica is the is the Kanto Region. You may be thinking "But Teo, why is Kanto built on such a barren wasteland?" Well you see, young, naive little Litten, in this universe, construction workers used 1587 Sunny Day moves from an army of 50 Sunflora to melt the ice of the Antarctic and reveal the terrain below it. Then they built Kanto right on top of it, in the exact same lay out. They even found a place for Cerulean City, and you know what that means. Mewtwo is there, waiting to be fought.

Some of this stuff about the Legendary Pokemon or the advancement of continents compared to the regions may be incorrect. I have only ever played Sun (I know right? I'm a filthy casual) Most of this is based on stuff I read on Bulbapedia. If there is anything that needs to still be cleared up, please message me and I'll be sure to make time for replies.

Teo opened his eyes, and gazed at the ceiling above his bed. His tenth birthday, the legal age to become a Pokemon Trainer! It was the day he had waited for his entire life, from the moment he had first been saved by a wild Dragonite. Almost bursting with joy, Teo threw on an outfit, a pair of jeans, plain white shirt, green jacket and a backpack with a pokeball stitched into it. Now all that was left was to head into town, and collect his Pokemon from Professor Kukui.

Teo rushed down the stairs of his house and swept up the packed lunch, quickly giving a hug to his dad and sister. They waved him out the door as he sprinted down the road to try and catch the bus before it left.

Teo made it to the bus stop in the nick of time. The large vehicle was just about to depart before Teo ran up and reached out to the door.

"One ticket to Woodbridge please..." He panted, shoving the money into the bus driver's hand. He glanced at Teo's backpack.

"You a Pokemon trainer?" he inquired with a smile on his face. Teo nodded, still short on air.

"At least I will be, once I get-" A loud wheeze separated his sentence. "Get my starter Pokemon"

Teo sat back in the bus seat, slumped up against the window. He tried to get some shuteye, since he had been tossing and turning all night last night, with excitement for the adventure that waited for him the next day. (True fact about me in real life, I'm very good at getting up in the mornings. No matter how late I stay up, I have the determination to pull myself out of bed every day, but I'm then quite tired that morning. But that's beside the point) He took a small nap, only to be woken minutes later to the sound of the bus's brakes screaming in protest as the people-carrier slowed to a halt.

"Excuse me, young man, you are required to stay in your seat until the bus ha-" The driver tried to stop Teo from leaving, but he simply pushed past the man's arm and out into the traffic, laden road. By straining his vision, he could make out a large, purple Pokemon laying flat on the road, a road-killed Muk causing all this congestion. It was still alive, just stuck, flattened to the road. Police officers used little shovels to try and give Grimer his shape back, but to no avail. Teo ducked under the police barriers and ran to the side of the toxic puddle.

"Sorry fella, nothing you can do for us right now" Officer Jenny explained to Teo, and started to guide him to the edges of the police area.

"Wait..." Jenny paused escorting him out. "Have you tried a Paralyses Heal?" Every police officer in the area paused at the notion. It was very possible that Muk was simply paralyzed. With that, everyone started searching their bags for and rummaging through the potion compartments for a paralyze heal.

"Got one!" A blonde police man handed a yellow spray bottle over to Jenny, who immediately pulled the trigger and let the substance wash over the pancake Muk. He began to glow yellow, and slowly formed into the shape of a hill once again. Jenny shooed the slimy blob off the road. Teo hurried back to the bus and hopped into his seat.

"Ok, traffic is gonna start moving again soon"

The bus pulled into the Woodbridge Turban centre, where Teo hopped out and rushed to the main street, his eyes darting from building to building in a desperate attempt to find Professor Kukui's Pokemon Lab. Finally Teo saw it and sprinted in through the doors.

"Tay!" Kukui greeted him with his Rockruff sat astride his shoulder. "I'm guessing that you are here for a Pokemon? What took you so long?" Teo drew in a large breath and explained his bus had delayed.

"There was a Muk on the highway that caused a lot of traffic, my ride here got caught in it" Professor Kukui had a grim look on his face. "I didn't miss all three, did I sir?" Teo looked over to the table that had contained three Pokeballs.

"Three trainers got her before you did. Your friend Liam picked Rowlet, actually" The professor hung his head while pointing to the table. Teo followed the trend and also hung his head, staring at his feet. Then a door at the back of the room and a woman with platinum blonde hair walked in to see Teo and Kukui looking very solemn.

"Everything ok there, you two?" Upon inspecting the name badge on her shirt, Teo could make out that her name was Lillie. "You two look like you're having an existential crisis!" Teo went to open his mouth and explain, except he was interrupted by Professor Kukui. (I have a habit of being interrupted for some reason)

"Well Teo here wanted to get his first Pokemon, except he was too late." Kukui frowned, but a smirk crept across Lillie's face. Both Teo and Kukui gave her a questioning look.

"There is one more Pokemon that Teo can have..." Kukui had an epiphany.

"Not the Riolu!"

Kukui explained that Professor Rowen up in Sinnoh had one of his trainers send him a Riolu from her team, complaining that the Fighting type had failed to evolve in the 5 months she had battled with him. She had verbally abused it to the point that the confused blue Pokemon would attack any human that wasn't wearing a lab coat. So Rowan had sent the Riolu to professor Kukui, thinking that his laid-back attitude would be able to convince the fighting type to trust humans again.

"That happened 3 years ago-" Lillie added. "-And he hasn't battled since then due to the fact that he refuses to listen to orders, and so has forgotten most of his moves." Teo considered these factors about the Riolu.

"What moves does he know?" Teo put the question out there, and Lillie wrinkled her forehead in thought before answering.

"Endure and Quick Attack" She told him. Kukui finished up with-

"It used to know Brick Break, Earthquake and Foresight as well, but disusing them caused him to forget" Teo began to think, which was an achievement for him as he rarely thinks about anything. Teo sat down in a chair, shut his eyes and became lost in his own mind, thinking about the pros and cons of picking up this Riolu as his first Pokemon. Evolves into Lucario, one of the most iconic fighting types and the ability to mega evolve. An so what if the Riolu didn't trust humans? Teo was great at breaking the ice with animals. If Riolu would be a challenge to befriend, then it was a sacrifice that he was willing to make. His eyes shot open.

"Take me to the Riolu!"

Lillie and Kukui took Teo through the door from which Lillie first appeared. There was an entire back garden to the lab, filled with Pokemon running in total chaos. A rack of Pokeballs was bolted to the fence, most likely if a trainer ever wanted to pick up their Pokemon and put them back into their party.

"Some of these Pokemon have been here for years!" Kukui explained, pointing at a Tauros in the corner. "His trainer set off to complete the pokedex, and simply discarded Tauros once he had found a better pokemon for his team" Teo nodded and smiled at the bull pokemon.

"Does his trainer visit him? He enquired, still giving the Tauros a friendly grin. Lillie nodded.

"He checks on all of his pokemon here once a week, to let them know he still cares about them" She explained to Teo, gesturing to a few other pokemon in the garden who all belonged to the same mysterious trainer. He had also deposited a Camerupt, a Rampardos, a Shiny Chandelure and a Decidueye. If he had a full six team, he was still far from completing the Pokedex, and traveling to each and every continent in the world in an attempt to catch one of every 802 pokemon.

"So where is Riolu then?" Teo looked up at professor Kukui, he turned to a large tree house and called something out to the pokemon hiding up there. A small, blue and black head poked out of the window, smiling at the Professor, then at Lillie. But as soon as he saw Teo, the smile disappeared and Riolu launched into a quick attack. Teo was hit in the chest by Riolu's head and knocked over. The confused fighting type tried to climb on top of Teo and beat him to a pulp only to be restrained by four hands. Kukui and Lillie lifted the pokemon off of Teo's chest and he sat up, staring at Riolu's while making eye contact as he glared right back. "He's pretty damn strong, for such a small pokemon!" Teo chuckled. He tried to introduce himself to his companion-to-be, but the little creature just continued to flinch away. "Can I try and hold him?" Teo looked up from Riolu to see Professor Kukui looking back down at him.

"You can try, but I doubt it will change his mind!" Lillie laughed a little before Riolu was passed down into his arms.

"Well, if me and him are going to be partners, I'm gonna have to teach him to trust me!" The small pokemon squirmed in his arms before settling down and quivering as if it were a Cubone who lost it's mother. This pokemon had been through alot, and Teo was determined to improve it on our journey together.

And so it begins...

Teo was handed a small red Pokedex alongside 15 Pokeballs, 10 Great balls and 5 Ultra balls. It was such an honor, he had been waiting for this moment for years. He was given the Pokeball that belonged to Riolu, but decided not to contain him inside it. This pokemon hated most humans, Teo needed to show him that he could be trusted. Teo walked out of the lab and waved goodbye to the scientists Kukui and Lillie. Riolu reluctantly followed him through the glass doors, only for the both of them to be halted.

"Teo!" A voice called out to the left, and another ten year old boy with a Rowlet on his shoulder came running down the road to greet him.

"Oh, hey Liam!" Teo and Liam highfived and Riolu looked on in confusion, while Rowlet peered at the fighting type in curiosity.

"I see you were late to the party!" Liam observed the fighting type at Teo's feet.

"Is it that obvious?" Teo retorted, when he knew damn well that it was.

"The options were Rowlet, Litten and that Popplio seal thing that nobody ever picks" Liam threw his head back and gave a throaty laugh like he always does. "Not that Riolu is a bad pokemon or anything, but you wouldn't be allowed near that if you had made it on time!

"Sometimes, Liam, I wonder why the hell I'm your friend when all you do is take a massive dump all over my confidence which is already running low" Teo let out a long sigh. He heard a yelp and looked down to see that Rowlet was on his back, hooting in a confused manner. Riolu had used quick attack, and it gave Teo and idea! "How about we settle this in the arena?" He jeered. "My Riolu vs your Rowlet, how about it?" Liam smirked back at him.

"I know an arena, follow me..."

The two boys showed up at a massive, out-doors arena, with a Pokeball drawn in the centre with chalk. Liam dashed for the left podium, leaving Teo to head for the right. Rowlet and Riolu stood on the ground, preparing to battle with everything they have. Although Rowlet trusted the instincts of his trainer, Riolu had no intention of listening to a command that Teo would give, whatsoever. Two health bars appeared on the screen behind the stadium, letting everyone know how much fight was left in each of their Pokemon. A countdown appeared.

3

2

1

"Rowlet, use Leafage!"

"Riolu, use Quick Attack!"

The grass type sent a hurricane of leaves at the Riolu, who didn't use Quick Attack. Instead, he just stayed still and took the hit. There was a loud explosion as the attacks made contact, but the smoke cleared and Riolu was left standing. Teo looked up at the health bars on the side of the arena. His pokemon had one health left.

"He endured the hit..." Liam murmured to himself, his eyebrows arching in anger. Teo frowned. Riolu may of known what he was doing, but he still wanted to show some authority over his Pokemon, this was not helping.

"Ok, now use quick attack Riolu!" Teo almost shouted through gritted teeth. Riolu dashed forward and threw himself at Rowlet.

"Dodge it, and counter with a tackle!" The owl jumped and fluttered for a moment, coming in to land after Riolu had passed beneath and attacking. Riolu attempted to dodge it, but it was too late. He lay on the floor with a confused look on his face as the health bar dropped to 0. An announcer's voice played over the intercom system.

"This match's winner is Liam! Teo, please bring your Riolu to the Nurse Joy at the front desk, she will take him off your hands and have him ready for battle in ten minutes!" Teo ran over to his fainted pokemon, picking him up and rushing off to Nurse Joy.

Teo arrived at the front desk and was greeted by Nurse Joy.

"It's Urgent!" He exclaimed in her face. She promptly took the pokemon into the healing room. Teo sat down at a table. He had to figure out a way for Riolu to have trust in him. He wracked his brain, but came up with nothing. Ten minutes later, a bell rang and Joy called out his name. Teo walked nonchalantly up to the desk, pretending he wasn't bothered. he scooped Riolu into his arms and went to turn away. But Joy knew something was wrong.

"Everything ok?" She placed a hand on his shoulder. He exhaled loudly.

"Well Riolu doesn't really trust humans." Teo explained. "His trainer before me abused him and he hasn't taken a battle order for 3 years or so. How can I prove to him that I can be trusted? What do I do?" Joy wrinkled her forehead in thought for a moment.

"Chansey! Chansey!" A giant pink balloon jumped up and down next to Joy. "Chan, Chan chansey!" Joy looked at her assistant, deep in thought, as if she could understand what "Chansey! Chansey! Chan, Chan chansey!" meant and was considering it. In fact, she did understand, and she was considering it.

"What is it?" Teo inquired. "Whats she saying?" Joy gave Teo a friendly smile.

"Go out and battle some weaker pokemon, like caterpies or pikipeks. Once Riolu sees you have the ability to take on weaker opponents, he may see eye to eye with you and more willing to follow your orders against stronger opponents." Teo looked down at Riolu, who was once again quivering in his arms. He was determined to have Riolu comfortable in his grip.

"Let's go, Riolu!" Teo ran out the stadium door, Joy and Chansey waving as he sprinted towards Elmhurst Park. He ran back in ten seconds later. "One last thing..." Joy cocked her head to the side in anticipation for the question. "You probably get asked this a lot. How come all women in your family look the same?" Joy giggled.

"We reproduce asexually through mitosis" Teo nodded and quickly ran back out the door and into the woods. He would gain Riolu's trust, and he would do whatever he had to.

Teo carried Riolu through town until they ended up at their destination, Elmhurst Park. There would be a lot of pokemon to train on here, Riolu could grow stronger and maybe start to follow orders. Teo was practically praying that Joy was correct. Cautiously, he scanned the park, his eyes landing on the massive tree surrounded by benches in the centre. As it came into focus, so did a little pokemon perched in it's branches. A Starly.

"Ok Riolu, you ready?" Teo pumped his fist and prepared to battle, but his pokemon just let out a little "Hmph" and crossed his arms, refusing to fight the bird. Teo let out a long sigh, crouching next to the fighting type. "Look, Riolu, I'm aware of what you've been through with your previous trainer. But I promise you that I'm nothing like her. She may see you and every other pokemon in her team as a tool for battle, but I know you're more than that. You're a physical being with feelings, power and emotions. You have the ability to be a champion, but you gotta listen to me!" Riolu looked over at Teo, perplexed. "Not very many people act that way around Pokemon, you've seen it yourself with professor Kukui! I promise to support you just like he did, just give me a chance!" This sealed his decision. The pokemon uncrossed his arms and smirked at the Starly. It was time for a legit battle!

Starly jumped from the tree branches, spreading his wing and his beak opened in a shrill squawk. Riolu squared up against him and prepared to take orders from his trainer.

"We have the type disadvantage, but I'm sure we can still make this work. We gotta do our best!" Teo thought to himself. It was going to be close. "Ok Riolu, use Quick Attack!" Riolu leapt forth from his position and prepared to tackle. Starly took to the air and allowed his wings to glow.

Wing Attack.

"Dodge it!" Riolu dropped to the ground and slid beneath the bird, the wings missing his nose by the breadth of a hair. The flying type made a loop-the-loop. His glowing in his wings started to fade and the beak began to take it's place. "Slide under again, and then jump into his underside!" Riolu followed orders, ducking beneath the peck attack before springing up into Starly and knocking his flight off course, into the floor. "Let's finish this, one last quick attack!" Riolu braced himself before smacking headfirst into the chest feathers of the bird who then collapsed. "Nice job Riolu!" Teo walked up and pat him on the head before picking up the unconscious bird, climbing up the tree he had been spotted in and setting him in the nest for him to wait until he came to. He clumsily dropped from the branches and fell on his behind. Riolu ran up to check that his trainer was okay. Teo simply laughed before picking himself up and looking for another pokemon. Then he saw it, and Ekans slithering through the grass near the sundial in the corner of the park. "Ready to test out your Endure move?" His pokemon at his side jumped up in excitement.

"Ri! Rio!" Teo couldn't wait, he was finally able to start his adventure when he was ready.

Teo carelessly dashed over to the Ekans, not aware of how many people were staring at him, not bothered by it either. Go Riolu, use a Quick Attack!" Riolu sprinted towards his new-found opponent, once again smacking into him with a thick skull. Ekans flew through the air, rotating her head around to let loose a Poison Sting. The needle-like projectiles plummeted through the air towards Teo's friend. "Ok, now use Endure!" Riolu braced himself. The Poison Sting planted themselves into his arm, but he continued standing. "Ok! another Quick Attack!" Riolu thrashed his arm to the side to shake the needles off before setting himself for another sprint. He slammed into Ekans chest first. She straightened herself out and rolled into the grass, smacking into the sundial. "Maybe I should try and catch it..." Teo thought to himself again. He pulled a pokeball from his bag and tossed it at the snake, hitting her in the centre.

1 wobble.

2 wobble.

Crash! The pokeball burst open, sending little pieces of red and white plastic sprawling into the grass. Ekans slithered away without leaving a trace. Well other than her Aura. Riolu was about to run after her when Teo stopped the pokemon. "Let her go" Teo hushed, firmly holding onto his shoulder. "That's enough of her, leave her be"

"Back so soon?" Joy was surprised to see Teo and Riolu waltz back into the Pokemon Centre. "So how'd it go?"

"It was great!" Teo was quick to explain. "We saw a Starly and and Ekans! We fought them both, and now Riolu will listen to me!" Riolu jumped up onto the desk and gave Teo and high five, a loud slapping sound emitting from the point of contact. Joy beamed from ear to ear.

"Well I'm glad I could help you guys out!" She responded, her cheeks hurting from how wide she had smiled. "I was glad to do it!"

"Well I'd like to repay you in some way, is there anything I can do for you?" Joy thought for a moment as Teo put the question on her. Then she realized that Teo could help her out a lot.

"My daughter has a Clefa that she wants to evolve into Clefairy and then Clefable as her assistant when she becomes a nurse like me" Teo looked on as she explained her situation. "If you ever come across some 'Moon Stones' do you think you could bring them here?" Teo nodded before walking out the door and waving.

"I'll keep an eye out!" He tossed the words over his shoulder before Riolu could sit atop it. It was time to go exploring!

Teo decided it was time to bring in a new Pokemon for the team. He wanted to have a water type Pokemon, so he headed down the riverside where boats cluttered up the banks and water Pokemon were exiled to the centre of the river. Teo scanned the selection of water types that lay before him. There were Azumarrill, Floatzel, Simipours and more. Plenty of choices. Or at least there was, until he shoved every other thought away as his eyes settled on a yellow fish.

Feebas.

It was similar to a Magikarp, pretty much useless until it reached it's evolution, Milotic. They can only learn tackle and flail. If he had the serpentine Milotic on his team, however, he could take on fire Pokemon easier.

The Feebas was swimming in the same area as a bunch of other Pokemon. Teo waited for it to come closer to the side of the water where Riolu could battle it without the need to swim out too far. He ran along the banks with Riolu in close pursuit. The duo stopped about 15 meters up the river. It was less crowded. Carefully, Teo pulled out a bag of Pokechow and poured a little into the river. Feebas saw the tasty brown chunks fall into the murky water and swam to them in curiosity. She picked one up in her mouth. A muffled

"Use quick attack!" Came from above the water, but she payed no attention to it because Feebas have barely enough brain cells to exist as a living thing.

Big mistake.

Riolu dived into the water and landed on top of the fish quicker than Feebas had chewed and swallowed the first piece of chow. She slammed into the river bed as Riolu swam back to the surface. She clumsily flopped around, trying to get back up and swim away. But it was too late, a Pokeball had already been lobbed into her side. Feebas turned into a beam of red energy and entered the Pokeball.

1 roll

2 rolls

3 rolls

Click. The button on the ball flashed yellow, the all clear signal. The ball stopped rocking and Teo attempted to reach in and pick it up. There was no way he was retrieving the Feebas without jumping into the river himself. Riolu ran off the ledge before Teo could stop him, performing another perfect dive right to the spot where the Pokeball lay still. The small Pokemon tucked Feebas under his arm and swam back to the surface of the river, tossing the new addition to the team onto the path before climbing out himself.

"Three times in one day?" Joy was taken aback by Teo's frequent appearance at her Pokemon Center. "What has happened now?" Hastily, Teo walked up to the desk with Riolu on his shoulder and a second Pokeball in his hand.

"We just caught a Feebas!" Teo informed Joy. "We used Quick Attack to make sure she stayed in her Pokeball, so I wanted her to be checked up before we try and take her out to battle." Joy put her fingers over her mouth and tried to hide her smirk. Teo gave her a confused look and Riolu followed the trend.

"You do realize that Feebas would probably of stayed in the Pokeball if you hadn't hurt her first, right?" The confused gazes continued, so Joy explained what she meant.

"Whilst I love Feebas, they are known to be so oblivious that even using a normal Pokeball without hurting them is supposed to be a guaranteed catch!" Teo rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward laugh. Riolu seemed to giggle. "Oh well, pass me Feebas and I'll see how she's doing" The nurse took the red sphere from Teo's hand. He wanted to say "You'll Fee how she's doing, eh?" as a reference to the species name, but his puns always got him karate chopped in the neck. He decided against it and just sat down at a table by the window. A man walked up to him and asked him and Riolu if they wanted anything to eat or drink.

"Two cans of Doctor Pepper please, one with a straw for the Riolu" The waiter scribbled the order on a tiny notepad before dashing away on a pair of Roller Skates.

Riolu sat, gazing out the window as people and Pokemon passed by. His eyes seemed fixed on one spot though, and Teo noticed this. Slyly, he attempted to follow his Pokemon's gaze, his eyes met with a Kirla, hand in hand with her trainer. Teo snapped his fingers, snatching Riolu from his fantasy. He looked ashamed, but Teo calmed him down.

"Don't worry, little guy!" He hushed down Riolu's protesting. "Maybe we'll catch a Kirla some day, and you can get to know her!" The fighting type stopped complaining.

"Rio?" He tilted his head questioningly. Teo couldn't wait for Riolu to evolve. Then they could communicate through telepathy and he could understand what the hell he was saying.

How long that would take, Teo didn't know. But unlike Riolu's previous trainer,

he was willing to give it time…

"Ok Teo, your Feebas is ready to go!" Teo pushed himself out of his seat and wandered up to the desk, accepting the Pokèball and thanking Joy for being the most prominent person in his Pokè adventure so far. In just his first day, too, which was now coming to an end. Teo pushed into the glass doors and they swung open. Cautiously, he stepped out onto the cool bricks out side. He didn't intend on pulling an all nighter, he would have to find a place to sleep. He stood in the open for a minute, Riou watching intently. Teo sifted through the buildings of the street, but none of them seemed to be renting rooms. Teo and Riolu turned back to the Pokècenter. He could count on Joy again, right?

Nurse Joy peered at Teo from behind the desk. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare room I can spend tonight in, would you?" The nurse just laughed. She looked down at her pokèmon assistant.

"Go take our customer to the spare bedroom" She cooed in Chansey's ear. "I've gotta pack away a few things first. Chansey smiled, looked over at the Trainer and gestured for him to follow. Teo followed the Pink Pokèmon down a small corridor, Chansey then stopped and turned left at a sliding door. A small room with a table, a bed and a TV lay behind the doors.

"Could be better..." Teo frowned "But it'll do! Beggars can't be choosers!"

Teo pulled out the little, brown bag that had contained his lunch and slammed it on the table. He hadn't eaten all day, and his stomach was rumbling louder than the roar of a Nidoking. He pulled out the Egg and Cress sandwhich and tore into it, ravenous. Riolu snacked on a bag of Pokèchow he had found on the flopped down onto the bed, Riolu following the trend his trainer had set and landing on his chest. Teo beamed from ear to ear, so happy that he had gained Riolu's trust. They were going to be the greatest Trainer-Pokèmon battle duo that the world would ever see, he could feel it in his bones.

The next morning, Teo woke up to find himself alone in the bed. Alone in the room. Where had Riolu gone? He wouldn't run off, would he? Teo grabbed his shirt and dashed into the main room of the Pokèmon center. Riolu was sat at a table, a cold glass of Dr Pepper with a straw in it stood infront of him. He was mid sip when he looked over and noticed his trainer. He jumped down from his seat and ran towards Teo, leaping up and landing on his shoulder. "You had me worried, little bro!"

"Rio!" Joy watched the scene unfold.

"He woke up about an hour ago, he just came here and sat down!" Teo looked over at the fighting type perched on his shoulder in amusement. "He was talking to Chansey a little bit, but a little boy ran in with his Magikarp and we had to tend to it" Magikarp, the counterpart of Feebas.

"What happened to the Magikarp?" Teo asked as Joy reached out to pet his Pokèmon. Joy looked at him inquisitively and drew back her hand.

"Well, he had just taught Magikarp how to tackle other Pokèmon, and so was battling this girl with a Torracat to try and evolve it into Gyarados" Teo and Riolu listened in as Joy told the story.

"He didn't win, I take it?" Joy shook her head.

"He nearly did, but then the Torracat used a bite attack and Magikarp fainted once it made contact. The boy brought the Pokèmon straight here and we helped him recover. He's happy his Magikarp is well again, but he's still wondering how just a tackle move is going to compete with enough Pokèmon to evolve it" Teo ran his fingers over his Feebas' pokèball, thoughtful.

"Well, where is he?" He clutched at the Pokèball and brought it up. " I'll battle him with my Feebas, we can work together to make them evolve!" Joy pointed to a solemn-looking 10 year old at the other end of the room. He had a drink of water and a plate of eggs and beans infront of him on the table, untouched.

"You can try, but he hasn't spoken to anybody since. How do you know he'll speak to you?" Teo just smiled. He turned on his heel and walked over to him, with Feebas in his hand and Riolu back at his Dr Pepper. Teo tapped the button on the Pokèball and ejected out the fish, who launched herself into the air before landing in Teo's arms.

The young boy looked up from his uneaten plate of food and at the Trainer before him.

"Can I help you?"He grudgingly shoveled a fork-full of eggs and beans in his mouth to try and make it look like nothing was wrong, Teo wasn't fooled.

"You gotta Magikarp that needs evolving, true or false?" The boy brought up a Net Ball and looked at it.

"Yeah, what of it?" Teo just grinned in that way he always did. He raised up his Feebas, who was now calm and not flopping around like a Donphan's trunk.

"So does my Feebas, so how about we have a few battles?" The boy looked away from the Net Ball and back at Teo, dropping his fork in the plate.

"Let's do it!" He went to get up, but Teo stopped him.

"Finish your food first, Joy made that for you and she'd hate for it to go to waste" The young trainer looked down at his plate and snatched at his fork again, peircing a large slab of eggwhites and covering it with beans.

A loud voice played over the intercom and echoed around the watery arena. "This match will go by the offical rules! Each trainer may only used one Pokèmon, Teo has gone with a Feebas over on the left, and Ben has chosen his Magikarp!" Teo and Ben made eye contact, each facing the other with steely detemination. "Trainers, release your Pokemon!" Teo drew out his Pokèball and tossed it so it landed on an icy floe, releasing Feebas into the water before returning the ball.

"Go, Magikarp!" Ben launched his own Net Ball and out came a...

Golden Magikarp?

*So that's why he wants it to evolve so badly, a Shiny Gyarados looks so cool with red scales instead of the original blue!* Teo thought to himself, picturing the two variations side by side with eachother. Many people had gathered at the stadium, ready to see the clash of two of the most useless Pokèmon. Even though it would be a very uneventful battle as they would just be trading tackle attacks till one of them fainted, it would still be entertaining to watch. It would be like a Sm4sh Sonic ditto where the two players are just Spin Dashing back and fourth, not actually doing anything that effective.

In fact, that is exactly what happened here, it was just Tackle attack after Tackle attack. It didn't take long before Feebas was done fighting. She swam back towards Teo and called out. "Fee! Fee fee!" Teo frowned but thanked Feebas for trying. Just a little more training and he was sure she would evolve. Ben retrieved Magikarp back into the Net Ball and said something to it. Teo couldn't make out what he was saying, but it was probably something along the lines of "Good job Magikarp!" or "Keep this up and you'll be a Gyarados within the day!" The voice came over the intercom again.

"Ben wins this round, round two will begin once Teo's Feebas is ready to fight again!"

Teo walked up to Joy's desk, yet again. "How'd it go?" She took the Pokèball out of his grasp and passed it to Chansey, who took it to the back room. It didn't take long for Teo to explain the situation.

"Well, Feebas took about ten tackles from his Magikarp before she swam back to me and practically begged me to take her out. So we forfit Round 1" Riolu jumped from his window seat and greeted his trainer once again. He was jumping about, screaming his name at the top of his lungs, it was a sight to behold. "How many Dr Peppers has he had since I was gone?" Joy smirked at Teo, thinking for a moment before answering.

"About six-teen as well as a mountain dew..." She replied. "He's on the ultimate sugar rush!" Teo scooped up the Pokèmon around the waist and brought him up. He shot a look at joy.

"Anything you got back there that could calm him down?" Nurse Joy took the struggling Pokemon into her hands. Riolu pushed against her fingers to the best of his ability to no avail.

"We'll get our Kirlia to use her Hypnosis on him, that should calm him down!" She carried her new patient into the back room.

Ten minutes later, Chansey arrived with a healthy Feebas inside her Pokèball. Teo accepted the Pokèball and wondered into the Arena once again. He saw Ben treating his Magikarp's bruises with a few potions. The injuries weren't too serious, so he didn't need Joy's help. Ben looked up from his Magikarp's golden scales and noticed his opponent was back.

"Ready to lose this thing?" He jeered at Teo, who could of sworn that he saw Magikarp stick his tongue out at Feebas. She looked up at her trainer, the two beings made eye contact. Teo arched his eye brows and turned his hat to the back. The voice came over the intercom again.

"Round two, Magikarp vs Feebas! Ben with one point, Teo with none. Can he pull it back? Let's find out! Let the battle begin!"

Riolu was still struggling against Joy's arms, pushing as hard as he could, trying to pry open her grasp. But as soon as he saw her, he stopped. A small pokemon with pink eyes and green hair. Kirlia. Riolu gazed in awe at her before noticing her eyes glowing. That was the last thing he did see before he let out a loud yawn and fell to the floor. Joy picked him up and layed him on the bed. Kirla seemed to smile back up at her before moving onto the next Pokèmon that needed to sleep for a bit. Joy got one last peak of Kirlia working her magic and the sleeping Riolu before walking back to her desk and talking to whoever came in.

5 Minutes later, Ben rushed in throught the doors of the left of the building and slammed his Net Ball onto the desk. "He needs treatment, please make it quick!" Joy took the Pokèball and took it to the back room, where she released it into the fish tank next to Riolu. Magikarp lay still on the fluffy mattress as Kirlia once again worked her Hypnosis. The shiny pokemon fell asleep, his sides heaving. She looked at the sleeping pokemon that lay before her and aww'd. She found it so cute, and was so happy to be able to work with them on a daily basis.

"Hello?" Joy started, craning her neck over her shoulder to see Teo waiting at the door. She let out a sigh of relief, turning fully to greet him.

"How's round two go?" She asked, picking up a syringe and trying to make it look like she was doing something to an Ursaring. Teo laughed.

"Don't worry, it's ok to take a break from work every once in a while, and just admire what you're doing" Joy the syringe down on a table.

"Can anybody lie to you?" She joked, putting her fingers over her mouth as she laughed like Animè girls always do. Teo shook his head before explaining that round two had gone the same way as round one, except Magikarp had caved first. He looked over and noticed the Magikarp sleeping in the fish tank.

"Anyway, is Riolu ready to go yet?" Teo looked over Joy's other shoulder to see him laying in the bed. "I want him to see the final battle, I've got a plan for it!"Joy walked over to Riolu, gently shaking him at the shoulder. The drowzy Pokèmon squinted as light began to invade his sight. They slowly adjusted and he managed to work them properly open

Ten minutes passed. Riolu and Teo sat at a table at the Pokécenter with Feebas tucked under Teo's arm. Glasses of water sat before each of them. There were footsteps across the room, Ben ran to collect a net ball from Nurse Joy. He was ready for the final battle. Teo, with Feebas still tucked under his arm, sprinted after him with Riolu in pursuit.

The two companions ran into the Arena Room. Once again, all the banks were crowded to overflowing. Teo knealt down next to Riolu and spoke to him. "You see that bench over there? Teo pointed to the benches that the supporters sat on whenever big tournaments were hosted her. Riolu looked over at the benches and nodded his head. "Go sit over there, I'll call to you when you come the battle is over!" Riolu nodded again and leapt through the air, landing on the benches and sitting like a puppy. Teo diverted his attention back to his opponent, who glared back. Teo had a plan. He began to whisper it into Feebas' ear, hoping she could understand despite being an unintelligent Pokèmon.

The announcer's voice called out once again.

"The scores are tied, people! Each trainer has got one point in the Fish Fight! This is the deciding round, whoever wins this battle will the entire match! Begin when ready!"

"Go Magikarp, use splash to jump out of the water, then decend on her with a tackle!" Magikarp launched from the aquatic arena like a missle, streaking through the air with a trail of water drops creating a beautiful arc. Then came the decent, a heavy tackle attack headed straight for Feebas.

"Dodge it Feebas!" Feebas darted to the right of the attack as Magikarp plunged back into the water. He stuck out his fins like air-brakes to come to a stop in the water.

"Alright, use another tackle from there!" Magikarp darted through the water towards his opponent. A trail of bubbles frothing the water like a blender.

"Feebas, lead him to this spot!" Teo pointed to a patch of water between an ice floe and the wall of the Arena. Feebas swam for it, doing her best to evade the tackle but not lose it completely. She made it to the rendezvous point and flushed out Magikarp with a bubbly torrent from her own tail. Magikarp was blinded and recklessly charged in the general direction he had last seen his opponent.

"Dodge it again, Feebas!" She did as she was told, she darted to the left of her shiny opponent and around the ice floe.

"What is he doing?" Ben wasn't sure what he was questioning, Teo's strategy or Magikarp's missed attack. But when he heard the words "Tackle the floe!" He knew he only had to question the miss. "Magikarp, use dive to get out of there!" But he didn't know dive, Magikarp hadn't learnt it. So Ben just watched in horror as Magikarp was smashed into by a massive ice floe. When it floated away again, Magikarp lay unconscious and heavily breathing. Ben pulled out his net ball and retrieved the golden pokemon.

The intercom didn't take long to comment on the round end.

"Wow, I've never seen someone utilize the ice like that, it's mainly so that pokemon who aren't normally swimmers have a place to stand. Yet Teo and Feebas found a way to turn them into a weapon!" Everyone in the banks rose to their feet and gave a loud applause. Teo turned in a slow circle and took in all the people, cheering his name. It was an amazing feeling, winning your first battle. It makes you feel alive! Ben dashed off in a hurry, the net ball clutched tightly in his fingers. Teo pulled Feebas out of the water and tucked her under his arm again, while gesturing for Riolu to come to him. People snapped pictures of him and his Pokèmon. Then one of them started to glow white, like an iron tail attack.

Feebas was evolving…

Everyone gazed in excitement and awe as Feebas' short, stubby fish body elongated into a serpentine tail. Strands fell from her head and her tail spread out into a fan shape. Once the shape shift was complete, color returned to the body of Feebas, who was Feebas no more. She was now Milotic, a powerful water-type Pokèmon who had evolved with some help from her trainer. Another wave of camera flashes washed against Teo and his Pokèmon, Riolu still on his shoulder but Milotic now wrapping around his waist with her glorious tail. Teo waved at the crowd before making towards the exit.

Teo waltzed up to the main desk, greeting Joy "I won, and look at what happened!" Teo pointed at the water snake coiling around him.

"Mi! Mi!" Milotic squealed and Joy grinned.

"I saw it already, someone in the crowd was recording it" Joy replied. She pulled her phone out of her apron and showed the footage of Feebas smashing into the floe, everyone taking pictures of him, and then the evolution process. That was when Teo remembered. He noticed Ben dashing out of the arena and took his eyes off the screen to search around the room for him. He saw him running from the Pokècenter without even handing Magikarp in to heal. Teo absorbed Milotic back into her Pokèball and tried to put Riolu on his shoulder, but something about his expression told Teo that he wanted to stay. Teo didn't know why, he didn't care. He raced after Ben, following him to a familiar place…

Teo on his quest to follow Ben found himself back at the river that ran through Woodbridge. Ben pulled out his Net Ball and yelled something at it before tossing it into the Water. The injured Magikarp escaped the Pokèball and stared up at his trainer.

"I worked so hard for you, Magikarp!" Ben continued shouting. "I put you through the paces, hoping you and I could take on any challenger when you evolved. But time and time again, you let me down! You're a shiny, so you're supposed to be valued, and I'm supposed to be proud of you. But how can I be proud of a fish that just slams it's head into things? Why can't you just evolve into a freaking Gyarados?" He paused for a moment, catching his breath. "Point is, Magikarp, I'm done. I can't train you anymore, you're useless to me!" Magikarp was already in the water, yet tears seemed to fall from his eyes.

"Karp! Karp Karp, Magikarp!" Ben started to walk away from the fish, who was struggling to stay afloat due to the injury the ice floe had inflicted. Teo had to intervene. He ran out and placed a hand on Ben's chest, stopping him in his tracks.

"What do you want? Let me past!" Ben went to side-step Teo, who might as well of used mirror move to continue blocking him.

"You're not abandoning that Magikarp Ben, ya know why?" Ben shrugged his shoulders at the question. "Because of two reasons. First off, it's like you said. You put so much time, and effort and love into trying to make him into the ultimate battle machine. You abandon him, all of that training and hard work goes down the drain" Ben crossed his arms and turned away from Teo.

"And what's the second reason then?" Ben tossed the words over his shoulder.

"The second reason?" He began "That Magikarp has so much faith in you. Pokèmon idolize their trainer's with their strategies, because they know they would've never come up with it themselves. For example, your Magikarp doesn't need to use Bubble Beam if it's tail can move that fast!" Ben unfolded his arms and slowly made his 180 into a 360. "Don't let him down, prove he was right to trust you!" Ben stared at his feet, holding out his Net Ball and pressing the button to retrieve his Shiny Magikarp.

"Thanks for that pep talk, I needed that!" Teo patted Ben on the shoulder, leaving behind a slip of paper.

"Good luck! And don't forget, that Magikarp needs to be treated at a Pokecenter ASAP!" Teo threw his hand back and forth behind him, waving Goodbye as he walked down the beaten path alongside the river.

Teo casually walked up to the desk to greet Nurse Joy, who was laughing like she had just seen a running Snorlax. She stopped when she saw him, and even so was doing her best to keep the chuckles from rising. "So what happened?" Joy asked through a smile. "He didn't come to heal Magikarp!" Teo told her what had happened, word for word. Once he finished, he collected a large inhale to catch his breath back. He looked to the left, then the right.

"Where's Riolu?" Joy held up a paper with messy handwriting scrawled on it. Teo squinted and looked closer before finally making out that the paper was written on by Riolu and said the words "Can I see Kirlia again?" He looked up from the paper and saw Joy directing him from the desk to the window table that he always sat at. Except this time, instead of staring out the window, or sipping on the fizzy drink in front of him, he was simply watching a Pokèmon sitting opposite him…

Kirlia.

The two sat across from each other, exchanging conversation and expressions. Kirlia seemed to be laughing. Teo smiled, noticing how oblivious Riolu was to the world around him as his attention fixed on this one other friend in his life. Teo walked up to the tabled and snapped his fingers, the second attempt successful. "C'mon boy" He clapped Riolu on the shoulder. "We're going camping tonight!" Riolu stared straight at Kirlia, who returned the gaze. Teo attempted to stay strong, but he had no choice. He dropped Riolu back in the seat where the two Pokèmon hugged it out. Teo made his way back to the desk and whispered in Joy's ear. "Do you think it would be ok if Kirlia came with me and my team?" Joy considered the proposition. Since night was falling, she and Chansey could easily find a ghost or psychic type to use Hypnosis in Kirlia's place. And if she could make the two Pokèmon happy, she was willing to let Teo take her with him on the journey. The nurse walked into the back room and came out with a Great Ball.

"This is Kirlia's" She explained. "If she ever needs to be put into safety, just have her stay in here for a bit, got it?" Teo nodded and slot the ball in his belt next to Milotic's and Riolu's. Three Pokèmon, three to go. Who else would be on his team?

Teo jogged out of the Warrick and down the street, taking a left with his three Pokèmon following closely. He saw the opening that lead into the forest and dashed in, Zubats and Starlys scattering in every direction. Milotic snaked her way across the roots and grass that littered the floor, while Riolu jumped from branch to branch, gripping Kirlia by the hand and pulling her along behind him. After making their way through the wooded area for about five minutes, the team came to a clearing. A few fallen logs lay strewn around the place with their stumps in sight. This would be a good place for Teo to pitch a tent and start a fire.

Ten minutes later, Teo had put up the tent while Milotic, Riolu and Kirlia went out to gather firewood together. Once he finished setting up the sleeping corners and put his sleeping bag inside, he turned to see his three friends returning. Milotic had coiled around a bundle of branches, Riolu was carrying a stack on his shoulders and Kirlia was keeping them afloat with telekinesis. They all dumped their cargo a short way from the front of the clearing, so Teo looked around for a few flints to strike a spark. He searched around, all he could find was damp grass with the sky growing ever darker. It seemed hopeless. Now if he had caught a fire type Pokèmon, this would be easy. But he didn't. He hadn't even seen a fire type yet. There was the Torracat that Ben's Magikarp had lost to, but that was all Teo could think of. He'd never actually seen one with his own eyes yet. A few wild Pokèmon came up to our camp area, some Ratattas, some Mareeps, a Pikipek even waddled up to the group. Teo brought out his flashlight and looked at the ever-growing audience of animals before him. They were everywhere, it was so amazing to see so many in one place. Teo thought he could see a Cyndaquil, the Alolan form giving it a fire-ghost typing, but it scampered off before he could get a lock on it.

How would they make it through tonight without a fire? It seemed difficult, but there was nothing they could do, so Riolu, Kirlia and Milotic just hopped into their Pokèballs while Teo slipped under the covers of his sleeping bag and attempted to sleep.

Teo stirred in his sleeping bag, his eyes cracking open and staring up into the far corners of his tent. Yawning and rubbing the crust from his eyes, he rummaged around his rucksack and brought out his Pokèballs. He jabbed at the button on each, freeing them into the world. "Ok team, we gotta find a flint or fire type to catch before the sun sets tonight!" His friends looked up at him and nodded, dashing out of the clearing in search of either options.

Whilst Riolu, Kirlia and Milotic were searching, Teo decided to stay in the circle in case they missed anything last night. The grass around his feet was damp with mist and morning dew, his hands were clammy, but he still did his best to find some flint stones. After 15 minutes of searching around the clearing and coming up with nothing, he let out a long sigh and slumped against a leathery plant.

A very leathery, very familiar plant. And very, very dangerous.

Teo realised it too late, he got up to run but a pair of vines wrapped around his waist. He continued trying to run, his feet digging up clumps of dirt as they frantically attempted to gain friction on the slick grass. Victreebel raised Teo up in his vines and called out. Several other Victreebels hopped out from behind the tent, beating their bellies with their vines as if they were Gorillas. "Help! Help!" Teo shouted as loud as the vines would let him, screaming until his throat felt it would tear in half. Each of his Pokèmon came crashing through the brambles and bushes, leaping at the Victreebel only to be picked out of the air by another set of Vine Whip attacks. They watched in despair as Teo was brought closer and closer to the mouth of the leader. He shut his eyes and waited for the impending doom.

"Arcanine, use Flamethrower!" a beam of infernal destruction swept through all the Grass type Pokèmon like a Bisharp through warm butter. Teo fell to the ground in a heap, his friends setting the trend. All four of them looked around for their savior. They saw the Arcanine with his trainer standing next to him, a Dartrix on his shoulder.

"Liam!" Teo pushed himself to his feet as he waved over at him. Liam came over and helped Teo to his feet, then Riolu, Kirlia and Milotic.

"Just in the nick of time" Liam said through gritted teeth before he threw back his head and let out a throaty laugh when he saw how purple Teo had gotten purple in the face from the crushing Vine Whip Grip.

"Yes Liam, I'm fine" Teo retorted sarcastically. "Thanks for your concern!" Liam hastily apologised when he saw the look he was getting from Riolu. Then he noticed that Teo was looking at the Owl on his shoulder. "So Rowlet evolved?" Teo asked when he realised he'd been caught.

"Yup! We were battling a girl from Hoenn, she had a Lucario, a Grovyle, a Wailord and a Torracat" Riolu flinched at this. Teo and Liam both noticed and knelt down next to him. But because Riolu hadn't evolved yet, he couldn't use telepathy. "Oh well, we should get you four to a Pokèmon center. Then we can have another battle!" Teo nodded in agreement and grabbed his bag. The two trainers dashed off from the woods with their Pokèmon weaving between the roots, swinging from the branches or just flying.

Teo and Liam handed Nurse Joy their three Pokèballs each, she took them back into the healing room and the two friends sat down at Riolu's window table. "So, what third Pokèmon did you catch?" Liam swallowed his drink before answering.

"I found a Buneary yesterday" He said before takng another sip. "And just know that if this was a competitive battle, I wouldn't be telling you..." Teo nodded in understanding. It made sense. But what didn't make sense was why Liam had become so cold to him since their time as a Pokèmon trainer began. Joy called out to them that the Pokèmon were ready, so Teo just shrugged it off and collected his three Pokèballs with Liam doing the same.

The two trainers entered the stadium. Teo sprinted to the closest platform, leaving Liam to walk all the way round. The crowds were already fileing into the seats around the place. After hearing that the boy who won with ice was battling again, they just had to see him in action again. The announcer voice came over the intercom again. "Alright battle-fans! Here we got Teo Lesina, who's battling with Riolu, Kirlia and Milotic!" Teo waved and smiled at the crowd, who was cheering for him and his Pokèmon. He even saw some people wearing T-shirts with Icebergs printed on them. He had to give them a good battle. "And on the other side of the arena, we have Liam Brooks! He'll be using his Dartrix, Buneary and Arcanine!" The crowd cheered for him, but the volume didn't come near when Teo was introduced. He was clearly the one they wanted to win. "Ok trainers, this'll be a fair battle! The arena will be a Grass/Water type!" A metal sheet closed over the arena floor, opening ten seconds later to reveal that the green concrete had been replaced with lush grass, trees and a river running through the middle. "Trainers, throw out you first Pokèmon in three seconds!" The crowd around them started counting down, joy and anticipation in their shouting.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

Teo and Liam launched a Pokèball into the arena and a red beam of light streamed out of each. "Go Buneary!" Liam called out his first Pokémon, a fluffy bunny with large ears and a mean look on her face.

"Kirlia, I choose you!" Kirlia dropped to the stadium floor, flipping her green hair out of her eyes. The two Pokémon glared at each other from across the room. The crowd in the banks was cheering, rooting for the competitors who they favoured to win. Liam made the first move

"Ok, let's use an ice beam!" Buneary threw her head back, inhaling before letting loose a column of icy energy.

"Dodge it Kirlia!" She leaped into the air, launching herself to align her decent. "Ok, now use confuse ray!" Purple circles escaped her eyes and washed over Buneary like a Surf attack. The rabbit stumbled a little, dazed and seeing spots spread across her vision. "Future sight!" Kirlia foresaw an attack. Buneary was still spinning around like a homeless man. Liam stood on his podium.

"C'mon Buneary, snap out of it!" She looked around at the source of the voice, her sight kaleidoscopic until she could focus a bit on him. Liam smiled. "Try and use Sky Uppercut!" The rabbit swung her ears around, preparing to launch Kirlia into the roof of the coliseum.

"Kirlia, teleport outta the way!" Kirlia nodded and vanished. The punch missed and swung back around into Buneary as the momentum caused her ear to continue. She fell on her back and Liam slapped his hand into his face, exhaling with frustration.

"Ok Buneary-" He called out, dropping his palm from his vision in time to see a shaky Buneary get back on her feet. "Let's use Double Team!" multiple bunny Pokémon suddenly surrounded Kirlia. She looked around in confusion, scoping each double out and trying to find the real deal.

"Use Psychic!" Kirlia shut her eyes at her trainer's command and searched through the doppelgangers. She rotated on the spot, stopping just in front of the sixth from the start. Her eyes opened and she pointed at the target. A giant ball of blue, psychic energy appeared and tackled Buneary to the ground in a cloud of smoke. Her chest rose and fell, but she couldn't get herself back into the battle. Liam brought up her Pokéball and collected her from the arena.

"You did your best, thanks!" He tucked the Pokéball back into his belt, bringing up another and tossing it into the battlefield, he let loose a fierce command.

"Arcanine! Use Fire Fang!" The flaming dog sprang from the sphere towards Kirlia, flinging open his jaw and clamping down on the emotion Pokémon. Teo watched as Kirlia was thrown about.

"Use Toxic!" Pores opened all over her body and purple bubbles spewed into Arcanine's open mouth. He released his grip on her and shuddered from the poison, the health bar referring to him slowly trickling away every few seconds.

"Use another flamethrower!" Once again, the dog opened his snout and spat an intense blaze straight towards Kirlia. Teo smirked and yelled out to her.

"Use reflect!" A white barrier appeared between her and the flamethrower attack. The fire rebounded off of it and bathed Arcanine in flames. Once it had died down, the flaming dog stood unscathed."Huh!?" Teo exclaimed in shock. Liam gave another of his laughs.

"My Arcanine has the 'Flash Fire' ability, fire attacks heal it and make it stronger!" Teo sighed and looked over at Kirlia, who looked back at him as she awaited the next move.

"Kirlia, prepare another Future Sight!" The Pokémon's eyes turned blue as she looked into the future, and saw Arcanine getting hit with the massive, blue ball, followed by another, smaller sphere of energy from another Pokémon. She snapped out of the vision just in time to see Arcanine coming at her with a Takedown attack. She attempted to dodge it, but it was too late. The wolf smashed into her and knocked her down.

"Use Ember!" Liam pointed at Arcanine, who raised his head and formed a few flaming coals in his mouth.

"Teleport!" Teo called out to his Pokémon, who warped out from underneath the paw. Arcanine had predicted this, and sent the coals straight ahead instead of the floor where the other Pokémon had been. Kirlia appeared in the centre of the stream, pelted by the embers and falling to the floor unconscious.

Teo brought out Kirlia's Pokéball and pressed the button on it's center, zapping the injured Pokémon back inside. "You did you best, Kirlia!" He spoke softly to the red sphere in his hand. "We'll get you to the nurse in a few minutes" The ball slot into Teo's belt and he brought out his second Pokémon, a water type. "Go, Milotic!" The serpentine flew into the air and landed in a coiled crouch, a few feet from Arcanine. The two Pokémon braced for battle. Liam yelled an order.

"Arcanine, crunch it!" The flaming dog charged fourth and swung his jaw downwards, preparing to clamp down on the shimmering scales of his new opponent.

"Dodge it Milotic!" Teo commanded. She snaked around the jaws and under his legs appearing behind him. "Wrap it!" She smirked as she dashed in, grabbing a hold on to the dog and trying to restrain him. He thrashed about, his health still draining from the poison. Now the wrap attack and the exhaustion of throwing himself around to escape it were trying to pull Arcanine from the battle faster and faster. Liam had to do something.

"Overheat!" He shouted out. Arcanine looked up at him and shut his eyes. He howled in rage as fire erupted from his skin. Milotic flew off him and fell on the floor a few feet away.

"Milotic, aqua ring! It'll help" She nodded at Teo and surrounded herself in a hemisphere of watery magic. Arcanine lay on the floor, burned out, but not knocked out.

Then it happened again.

The massive Future Sight attack coming out of nowhere and heading for Arcanine. "Milotic! Follow it's attack! Launch yourself with Hydro Pump!" Surrounded by the blue ball of energy, she blasted herself off the ground and trailed Future Sight. The ol' one, two combination! Arcanine was smashed into by the Future Sight. He flew into the air and out of the smoke cloud it had created. Milotic followed, leaving her Hydro pump trail behind her as she tackled into him. Arcanine was thrown backwards and hit the wall, falling to the floor with a lolling tongue and a "TKO!" playing over the intercom.

Liam brought the dog back into his belt, bringing his last Pokémon up.

"Go Dartrix!" Dartrix burst into the arena, landing on the floor and staring at Milotic through eyes narrowed to slits. "Let's make this quick! Use a Leaf Blade!" Dartrix took to the air and unsheathed a large, sharp leaf from his feathers, swooping in to attack the water type with it.

"We'll use Iron Tail to duel it!" Teo clenched his fist, anticipating how this would turn out. The crowd was cheering, this would be the closest thing they could get to a sword fight, they were excited! Milotic's tail began glowing and she brought it up to block the leaf. The two Pokémon dodged and parried each other's attacks, yet nobody struck a successful attack.

"It's no use Dartrix! Fly outta there!" The owl sheathed his blade and soared away, flying up to the ceiling again. "Now, use leaf storm!" A flurry of sharp leaves rained towards Milotic. Teo gave the command with the best explanation he could.

"Ok, straighten out with Iron Tail still active, then use Hydro Pump to launch yourself tail first at him. You got that?" Milotic didn't even answer before she split from the ground like a rocket. She charged towards the leaves. Whilst the Iron Tail took most of the hits, scratches continued to appear all over her slick body. Her pump faltered and she dropped to the floor short of Dartrix. Teo picked at her Pokéball and she returned inside.

And yet, even though the attack hadn't landed, the entire crowd was cheering his name for the creativity he brought to the scene.

"Tay-oh! Tay-oh! Tay-oh! Tay-oh!" He pressed Milotic into his belt once again, and fished around for his final one.

"Go, Riolu!" The fighting type shot forth from his Pokéball and landed on the floor of the arena.

"Well this seems familiar, doesn't it?" Liam chuckled. "Except this time, my chances of winning are even bigger! Because, you see, there is this thing called evolution. It makes a Pokémon grow stronger and gives it access to new moves, as well as a new form. Unless you plan on doing a Ketchum, I suggest evolving Riolu to a competitive state" Dartrix glared at Riolu, smirking as much as having a beak allows you to.

"You actually gonna follow orders this time? Or are you just gonna ignore him?" He snickered at the fighting type. All that Teo, Liam and the crowd could hear was a series of varying hoots. Riolu looked over at Teo, awaiting the command. The trainer was lost in thought, trying to figure out what move to go for.

"Riolu, use Quick Attack!" The Pokémon dashed into the air to rival Dartrix, who responded with a steel wing. The two attacks clashed and the Pokémon were sent flying backwards. Teo was still left scowling after Liam's taunt from the beginning of the round. He wanted Riolu to evolve. Except, unlike his friend's previous trainer, he was willing to give it time. He wouldn't force anything. He snapped out of the thought as Riolu and Dartrix thumped to the ground.

"Dartrix, Leaf Blade again!" Dartrix drew his sword and dashed towards the opponent.

"Endure the hit!" Teo exclaimed. Whilst Riolu wanted to follow orders, he also knew he needed to try something. He put up one paw and caught the sword on one of the bumps. Red light radiated from the Pokémon's body, intensifying before shutting off and sending Dartrix flying backward. "You can use counter!" Riolu nodded back at Teo. "Ok, let's use another quick attack!" Riolu sprinted forwards, preparing to tackle the owl into the ground.

Tables were turned. "Use Astonish!" Liam called out. Dartrix did as he was told, shrieking at Riolu who halted and flinched. "Finish this up with a leafage!" Green spores were sent hurtling at Riolu, sweeping him off his feet as he fell over backward. His health bar on the screen drained to zero. The crowd roared in approval of the epic battle that had just taken place. Teo rushed into the now safe battle ground and picked Riolu up in his arms.

"You ok?" He asked. Riolu tried to nod, but it wasn't really true. But, since Teo wasn't a sore loser, he walked up to Liam and shook him by the hand before waving goodbye to both his rival and the crowd…

Teo sat at the window-side table, which was pretty much reserved by Joy for him and his Pokémon. He help an empty cup, analysing his strategy and thinking of ways to improve it. Liam was the Blue to his Red, there was no other way to describe the rivalry they had.

"Teo!" A shrill voice called from the desk. Joy held a tray with three Pokéballs on it. Teo pushed himself onto his feet, dropping the cup that he had subconsciously been crushing in his grip. He took the Pokéballs and released each one. Milotic, Kirlia and Riolu were all looking up at him, a wide grin on each of their faces. Teo knelt down in front of them and embraced them all in a warm hug.

"You guys did your best out there, today. You should all be really proud of yourselves!" Joy watched the scene unfold, giggling at the cuteness. It wasn't this often a trainer cared this much about Pokémon. Most of the people that walked through her doors were people who saw them as nothing but battle toys. They didn't care if their Pokémon got injured in combat. Sure, they came here to heal them, but only so they could be launched back into battle. Teo was different. He enjoyed the company of his Pokémon. He saw them as less of a weapon and more of a friend circle. It reminded her of someone…

Joy was snapped from being lost in her mind when she heard a loud clap. She walked back into reality just in time to see Teo draw his hands back from her face. "What're you thinking of Joy?" He asked. "You seem distant" Joy shook her head and banished the thought like it was a wanted outlaw to the town that was her mind.

"It's nothing, what were you saying?" Teo laughed a little bit. Joy, still a little confused, watched his Pokémon as they scurried around the floor of the place. Then they stopped. The ground was shaking, shuddering like the people outside as a wave of purple and light blue creatures flowed into the streets. Nidorans, Nidorinos and Nidorinas. They hurried through the roadways, a few jumping onto the curbs for room. They tackled into people's feet, knocking them to the cold ground that warmed with the friction of 1000 Poisonous Pokémon dashing across it. It was like a stampede of Bouffalant, but a hell of a lot more dangerous. Teo dashed outside and looked up the street. Bringing up the rear were the leaders of the pack, Nidoking and Nidoqueen. The few people who were left standing saw the same sight of the massive Pokémon charging in to crush everyone and attempted to run with the Nidolings, screaming in protest as they continued to topple over like dominoes to a gust of wind.

Teo ran along the curb, towards Nidoqueen. His three Pokémon in pursuit. He collected Kirlia and Riolu, but let Milotic stay out. She would be the best idea for this battle ahead.

"Milotic! Use a Hydro Pump on that Nidoqueen!" The serpentine raised her head and gargled the attack before sending it, straight as an arrow, into the chest of Nidoqueen. She was pushed back, her feet digging into the cobbles of the road. The water died down and Nidoqueen pushed herself back up. She jumped into the air before diving back down and burrowing deep below the ground. Teo and Milotic looked around, carefully searching for signs of her location. It was futile, the queen burst from the earth right beneath Milotic, pressing into her soft underbelly as the two flew through the air like Lugia and Ho-oh.

"Use Coil right as you land to cushion your fall!" Teo called up as the female duo came back towards the ground. Milotic heard and coiled around herself till she looked like a spring. As she landed, she bounced a few times. "Great! Now use Iron Tail!" Milotic's tail glowed white again. She leaped into the air and became a spinning wheel, landing directly on Nidoqueen's horn and sending a large crack down it's centre. A tear escaped from the poison/ground type's eyes as she fled the scene, taking the females of the army with her.

All male Nidoran, Nidorinos and the Nidoking remained. The Nidolings tackled into anyone they saw, while Nidoking turned on Teo and Milotic, slowly advancing. The menacing look on the king's face told Teo that this battle would be even more difficult, because this time, his opponent has motivation. "Ok, let's try that Flying Iron Tail combo again!" Milotic followed orders and turned away from her opponent, her tail solidifying into iron as she let loose another Hydro Pump and launched like a rocket at Nidoking. It once again didn't go as planned. Nidoking didn't even flinch, he just grabbed the tail like the hilt of a sword, swinging Milotic 360 degrees, smashing her against buildings and trees before slamming her into the ground at the point where they started The water snake lay on the ground, defeated. "Milotic, come back!" Teo pulled out his Pokéball and retrieved Milotic, throwing Riolu out in her place. Riolu snarled at the burly Nidoking in front of him, awaiting order. Teo was hesitant.

"Uhhh, use Quick Attack?" Riolu bolted off before Teo had even said 'Attack' and charged, shoulder barging Nidoking right in the chest. The poison type was knocked back slightly, retaliating with a purple glowing fist. The Poison Jab knocked Riolu to the side. He managed to right himself mid air and roll onto the floor, landing in a crouch. Teo shook his head. "We gotta teach you some more offensive move, Riolu. But we'll give it our best now!" Riolu nodded at his owner, turning back to the challenge. Nidoking lunged forward, Poison Sting flying from his gaping mouth and pelting into the Fighting type.

"Endure it!" Riolu braced himself as the bullets made contact, gritting his teeth and barely staying in the game.

All the Nidolings had stopped now. They were just watching, intent on seeing how their king would pull through this time. Riolu shoved himself back onto his feet after withstanding that Poison Sting, his knees shaking and his teeth chattering. But he was still able to battle. Nidoking continued his charge, his horn glowing green into a Megahorn attack. "Use Counter!" Teo exclaimed. Riolu shut his eyes, focusing on the Aura of Nidoking and awaiting the right time. The giant closed in, nearer and nearer. Riolu's eyes shot open. He raised one paw and stopped the Megahorn, catching it like Nido had caught the tail of Milotic. A cloud of dust appeared, followed by a gust of wind as Nidoking was thrown from the dust and landed on the cobbles. Teo pulled a Great Ball from his backpack and tossed it.

1 roll.

Crack. Nidoking exploded from the Pokéball and let out a roar. The Nidorans and Nidorinos retreated, falling into line behind the King. There was an uproar of cheering. The crowd gave a round of applause and began chanting Teo's name once again. What a battle!

Teo dashed back to the Pokécentre with a wave of citizens chasing after him, reaching for high fives and calling his name. He had already built such a reputation, and yet, hadn't even caught a full team yet. He burst through the glass sliding doors and handed Joy the Pokéballs. Joy laughed at the crowd outside, pressing themselves onto the windows trying to see what he was doing."You've got quite a name, haven't you?" She said, taking the tray of Pokémon back into the room. Chansey handed Teo a glass of Dr Pepper, he accepted it gratefully before sitting at his normal window to drink. He looked out at the people of Woodbridge calling his name. It was rather hilarious, he thought to himself. Finally, they managed to pry the doors open and a few of them streamed in. The young trainer looked around at all the attention he was getting

"Hey Teo, party my place on Friday!"

"Hey, I've got a Pyroar if you wanna trade for your Riolu!"

"Yo dude, we should totally battle some time!"

Even a young boy from Hoenn with a Treecko came up with a Pokéball for him to sign. It was unlike anything Teo had ever experienced, so many requests for him to do something. He had so much power in this situation.

After five minutes of listening to his crowd, Joy brought the Pokémon back from the infirmary room. "Milotic and, uhhh" She seemed distracted. "Uhh, and Riolu both learned a few new moves. Umm, try them out" She told him, handing over the little spheres. "Milotic now knows Dazzling Gleam and, umm, Riolu learned Force Palm. uhhh, very good moves" Teo looked at the crowd who was still calling out to him, turning then back to Joy. "They forced the door open" Joy laughed before picking up a megaphone and shouting a few orders into it. "Everyone who isn't here to eat or tend their Pokémon, please leave now before I call security in here!" Everyone in the crowd sigh and aww'd before turning and exiting. "You should try a trial, there is one here in the UK and I hear that Captain Ilima is holding sign ups in a few hours!" Teo nodded, grabbing the Pokéballs.

"Where is he?" Joy pointed back to Elmhurst, where Teo had originally gained Riolu's trust.

"There is a stall which has the words 'Island Challenge' written on a banner above it, he should be there if he isn't on break" Teo nodded again at Joy, slotting his Pokéballs into their slots. He was about to throw a wave over his shoulder when he remembered that there was still a group of people outside waiting for him. Joy reached under her desk and pulled out another Pokéball, pushing the nozzle and releasing a blob of clay.

"Ditto!" The clay exclaimed. Teo reached down and pat the shape shifter.

"Decoy?" Teo still crouched, looked up at the nurse, who nodded in response.

"Decoy" She repeated.

Teo walked out of the Pokécentre and made a dashed down the main road, passing the "Old Sweet Shoppe" and "Natwest" with the fans in pursuit. Then a second Teo waltzed in the opposite direction towards Elmhurst once the crowd had dispersed. He smiled, they'd find out soon enough. He poked his head round each and every corner he saw, slowly but surely making his way to the start of his quest. He entered Elmhurst and saw the stand that Joy had described. A man with pink hair and a waistcoat sat behind the stall with a short queue waiting in front of him, seeing him write something down on a piece of paper before walking away and enjoying the beautiful sun that day. Teo joined onto the back of the line, releasing Milotic, Kirlia and Riolu out into the world for their own basking purposes.

"You guys excited to finally get out there?" Riolu, Kirlia and Milotic all nodded, exclaiming their names. Teo couldn't wait until Kirlia evolved into Gardevoir, she could remove the block in his brain and he could finally understand just what his Pokémon were saying.

The queue was minimising like a Driftblim or a Muk, shrinking and shrinking until just Teo and his companions remained.

"Hi, my name is Teo..." His voice cracked, he cleared his throat and tried again only to be silenced by Ilima.

"I know why you're here, kiddo. I'll put ya down!" He scribbled a fancy Teo onto the list. "Be here at 8 tonight, everyone else who signed up is going to have a tournament. Whoever wins gets to go on the trial. You got that?" Teo nodded. Tonight was gonna be a blast!

Teo stood in the centre of his room, adjusting his cap and clothes. There would be a lot of decent trainers at the tournament. Even if he didn't win, he wanted to look his best. He straightened the creases on his shirt as his Pokémon groomed themselves. Kirlia helped swab Milotic down with a damp sponge, shining her scales to the max. Riolu simply tried to sharpen the spikes on his hands by slicing them along the large Regirock statue in the corner of the room. Teo had tried to stop him from doing it, as the rooms wasn't his forever. Joy had pretty much rented it to him. But Riolu never listened and always went back to it, so Teo eventually stopped trying.

"We'll be back in an hour or two" Teo informed Nurse Joy before him and his Pokémon left for Elmhurst Park. Joy waved him out, a supportive smile etching it's way across her lips. The doors slid open and the quartet marched into the night. They waltzed in though the gate, and found a large amount or tiki torches lighting the area and casting the shadows of 7 other trainers and their Pokémon. In the crowded darkness, Teo scanned for his rival. He was nowhere to be seen, just brand new faces at every turn. Teo took his place as the 8th person to sign up, and the UK Kahuna, Hala marched in front of each of the Pokémon trainers and Ilima made his way towards the centre from the other side. The two experienced trainers stood atop a wooden platform, each with a large microphone. Hala was the first to speak.

"Eight trainers stand before me..." Teo could of sworn he heard someone whisper "But only one of them can be America's next top model" and another sniggered at the joke. Hala continued. "7 will be defeated in Pokémon combat. The victor will then face off against Ilima to prove they are worthy of attempting the first Melemele trial" He stopped and looked at the pink-haired boy stood next to him. Ilima began speaking.

"Whoever goes on to attempt the trial must know these rules!" He raised a finger to silence the eight trainers who had started muttering. "Once you have begun the trial, you won't be able to catch any Pokémon or leave the trial site until you have either defeated the totem Pokémon at the end or each of your Pokémon has been knocked unconscious. Teo heard the trainer next to him gasp, she clamped a hand over her mouth. He could tell that a few other competitors were nervous now too. Teo would spare them the pressure and win this, then he'd go on the trial himself. Ilima wasn't done yet. "Another thing! If and when the victor defeats the totem Pokémon, they will be given a Z-Band and a Normalium Z crystal, giving them access to normal type Z-moves such as 'Breakneck Blitz'. Each trial in the Alola region will award the person who completes it with a Z Crystal of whatever type the Trial Holder specialises in, and you must collect all the Z Crystals in Alola before you can challenge the Elite Four!" Teo looked across the line and saw determination spread across each face. He followed the trend and smirked, drumming his fingers along the lid of his Pokéballs. Ilima stood away from the podium and Hala took his place again.

"First up, we have Tom Raider-" Hala struggled to supress a chuckle. "Tom Raider with four Pokémon against Harrison Mortem with five Pokémon" The first two trainers in the line stood forward. "Since Harrison has more Pokémon than Tom, Harrison will have to hand one of his Pokémon over for Ilima to look after during the battle. Harrison, which Pokémon will you forefit?" The masculine face creased in a short thought before he formed the word "Ledyba!"

Teo watched each battle go past, fascinated. Each trainer gave it their all, using each of their Pokémon to the fullest. Soon it was his turn, and he's be battling against Hanna Hentso. Just as Olivia's Gible struck down Eddie's Bagon, Kahuna Hala stepped up to the podium again.

"Hanna Hentso and Teo Lesina!" Teo and Hanna walked up to the arena as Olivia and Eddie left, a smile on Olivia's face and a frown covering Eddie's. Kahuna stepped up to Hanna as she stood astride her trainer tower. "You have six Pokémon, meaning you must hand three over to Ilima for the battle. Which Pokémon do you choose?" Hanna thought, biting her lip and looking down at the six Pokéballs in her hands. She handed over three and communicated the contents of each to Hala.

"Fennekin, Grimer and Scyther..." Hala nodded and took the Pokéballs to Ilima before standing at the edge of the arena and counting down.

"3!

2!

1!

Fight!"

Teo launched Milotic into battle first. She was left to deal with a sent out by Hanna.

"Ok , let's start this off with a Psywave!" obeyed and let out rings of psychic energy from the palms of his hands. They levitated towards the snaking Pokémon before him.

"Hit them with a Hydropump!" Teo the order out and Milotic unleashed a torrent of powerful water to destroy the first ring. The stream faltered before it could erase the second, but it could slow it down enough for Milotic to dodge it before she was hit. The final two rings smashed into the floor and sent splinters up. A few stuck into Milotic's scales, but she just ignored them. "Now use Iron Tail!" Milotic slithered across the ground and leaped into the sky, bringing down her glowing tail with tremendous force.

"Double Team!" divided into 10 clones of himself. Milotic landed and forced her tail through one of the clones, leaving nine possible real ones remaining. Teo looked at each, there was no possible evidence that gave away the real that he could see with his naked eye. He looked back at his snake, who was looking straight at him, waiting.

"If you have learnt any Area of Effect moves, they'd come in handy right now!" He said, shrugging his shoulders in his nervousness. Milotic nodded and turned back to the nine angry mimes waiting for her. She shut her eyes and raised her head, before sending a bunch of pink balls of energy scattered at the .

"Teo is using Dazzling Gleam to reveal !" Hala called out in excitement. He'd jump if he could. Each vanished except for the one left of the centre, the real deal.

"Iron Tail Rocket!" Teo called out. Milotic turned around, launching herself in 's direction with the recoil of the Hydro Pump. Her tail turned to iron again.

"Barrier!" Hanna shouted. rubbed his hands on thin ear, quite literally turning it thick. Milotic crashed into the magical barrier between her and and she left a crack.

"Keep attacking it! You'll break it eventually!" Milotic landed and smashed her iron tail into the barrier over and over again. Small cracks began to spread across the magic like a wild fire on a cold day.

"Grab that protection!" Hanna instructed. "Use it like a shield against a sword!" formed a handle on the barrier and began moving it around to parry every iron tail strike. Then the tail ran out of power and returned to it's original, scaly state. drew back his shield and spun 360 degrees, slamming the rim across the snake's head. Milotic was launched backwards into the bed of splinters created by Psybeam. She was down, but not out. She pushed herself back up, gritting her teeth and tensing her tail. "Let's finish this up, Mime! Use a Magical Leaf!" drew the leaves and spun them around him before sending them flying in Milotic's direction.

"Coil! Resist it!" Teo nearly tore his throat in half giving the command, but it paid off. She curled into a resistant bunker as the glowing leaves pelted into her. She reared up and prepared to attack. "Great work! Now let's try this again!" Teo pointed at . "Iron Tail Rocket!" The Hydropump stained the wood with a large, wet mark as she escaped gravity. Her Iron Tail reactivated.

"Barrier again!" Hanna shouted in her Pokémon's direction. He did his best to turn the air in front of him into an effective shield, but he didn't have the time to remove the cracks from the last encounter. As soon as Milotic struck the magical wall, it shattered and the Steel type attack connected with the Psychic / Fairy type Pokémon. The Mime was knocked backwards and unconscious, breathing heavily with a heaving chest. "You did you're best, " She whispered before abducting him into the Pokéball.

Teo watched on as Hanna carefully decided which Pokémon would battle next. She held the two options in her hand and thought of the positives and negatives. Then she settled for the Pokémon residing in the Great Ball and threw the red, blue and silver sphere into place. A Stoutland jumped free from his home and roared into the face of Milotic. She prepared herself for the next fight. She was already tired, but she felt she could do this. When Teo reached for the Pokéball, she simply shook her head at him.

"Ok Milotic, use wrap!" The snake glided along the arena and snaked up Stoutland's leg, making her way round his waist and beginning to squeeze.

"Use Thunder Fang!" Hanna called over to Stoutland, who opened his jaws to reveal his teeth covered in electrical waves. He aimed and clamped down on the nearest part of Milotic's tail he could find. The snake screamed in pain before retracting from the wrap attack.

"Lone Hydro Pump! Quick!" Teo pleaded. Milotic attempted to turn and aim, but her energy had been completely drained by the Thunder Fang attack, and she drooped limp to the floor, slipping into unconsciousness. Stoutland pulled his fangs from the snake and they lost their thunder. Teo fumbled for the Pokéball in his belt and called Milotic back into it. What Pokémon would he choose next?

Teo clutched another Pokéball and lobbed it into the battle grounds. Riolu pounced out of his capsule and landed with a crouch on the floor, facing Stoutland.

"Let's start this off with a Force Palm!" Riolu ejected a large Aura attack from the palm of his paw, throwing it at Stoutland and making a heavy connection into his flank. The dog Pokémon slid backwards towards Hanna, but stood strong.

"Crunch it Stoutland!" Hanna called to him. Stoutland galloped forwards and bit down on the arm of Riolu, shaking him about.

"Counter!" Teo was screaming at this point. "Get outta there!" Riolu began glowing red, shutting of instantly and releasing him from Stoutland's jaws. "Nice!" Teo stuck his thumb up. "Now Quick Attack!" The Fighting Type dashed forwards, thundering along the wooden planks of the arena and charging straight towards Stoutland. Hanna flipped battle in her favour.

"Use a Hyper Beam!" Riolu skidded to a halt and watched in horror as Stoutland inhaled, a ball of glowing, white energy forming within his throat.

"Endure!" Riolu crossed his arms, time stood still as the Hyper Beam enveloped him, bathing him in white light. As the attack faded, Riolu remained standing, knees weak, arms heavy. "Quick Attack again!" Teo pleaded. Riolu nodded and dashed forth from his fixed position again. Just as he was within' range, his right arm gave a strong, upward punch to the jaw of the dog, causing him to bend over backwards and fall onto his back. Hanna gasped.

"Was that a sky uppercut?" She enquired. Hala bellowed a laugh.

"Why of course it was!" He explained, putting the battle on pause. "And a mighty strong one at that. The only unevolved Fighting-Type Pokémon I've ever seen punch someone that hard was a Machop!"

Stoutland rolled back onto his feet, flanks heaving, tongue lolling. Hanna frowned, looking at her determined friend...

A minute passed as Hala continued gloating about how strong his Machop had been. Teo and Hanna sighed before she finally spoke up.

"Can we keep battling now?!" He voice cracked in frustration. A few of the other trainers watching snickered and she blushed.

"Oh, sorry, yes, continue!" Hala rectified himself.

"Good! Stoutland, use Thunder Fang!" The hound Pokémon barred his fangs and lightning began to course through them again. He charged straight for Riolu and sunk his electrical fangs into the forearm of the opponent. Riolu screeched in protest.

"Counter again!" Riolu's counter, this time, sent Stoutland flying backwards instead of skidding. He was confirmed unconscious when he didn't get up, so Hanna called him back into his sanctuary.

"Go Weezing! Use a Smog Attack!" Hanna tossed her Pokéball like a grenade and out popped the solidified, polluted gas. Weezing opened both his mouths and let a large portion of noxious smoke wash over Riolu. Loud coughs and splutters emerged from the cloud.

"Riolu! Just walk forward until you get out of there!" There was no response. Not even footsteps. "Riolu?" Then he remembered the Thunder Fang, his Pokémon was likely paralysed by the attack and now couldn't move. He turned to Hala and Ilima. "Am I allowed to call my Pokémon back?" He asked. Hala shrugged and turned to Ilima, who nodded.

"Yes, you may" Teo pulled out the Pokéball and pressed the button, retrieving Riolu safe inside.

Teo brought up Kirlia's Great Ball. She was a Psychic Fairy type Pokémon, meaning she would be kind of weak to the many poison type moves he could use. But what else could Teo do? Milotic was unconscious and Riolu might as well be too. He under-armed the ball into the arena and Kirlia popped out. Hanna chuckled.

"This'll be easy..." She whispered to herself. "...Weezing, Gyro Ball or Shais opponent.

"Teleport past it!" Teo pointed at Kirlia, who warped out of the attack's padow Ball, your choice!" Weezing thought for a moment before sending the Gyro Ball at hth and into Weezing's face. The balloon flinched at the suddenness of her appearance. "Psychic!" Teo exclaimed. Kirlia sent a psychic attack at the other Pokémon and knocked him backwards. He fell to the floor, but picked himself back up and tried a Shadow Ball instead. "Reflect this one!" Teo gestured to the ghostly projectile headed at Kirlia. She formed the protective barrier in front of her and the purple sphere ricochet back at it's sender.

"Evade it!" Hanna clenched her knuckles with frustration and watched on as Weezing made a clumsy attempt to dodge his own attack. Her concern was growing.

"Kirlia, Future Sight this one!" The small Pokémon's eyes glowed blue again, and she watched the future unfold only in front of her. She snapped out of the vision to see Weezing hurtling towards her with a Sludge Bomb attack.

"Don't let her get away!" Hanna called out to her poisonous hazard. Kirlia tried to teleport out of the way, but the Venom Bomb exploded against the ground and drenched her in toxic sludge. Her health bar on the screen trickled away, she was nearly out of this with just an eighth of her energy left in her.

"Psychic again!" Teo yelled in her direction. She forced psychic energy towards Weezing, who was once again knocked out of the air. "Teleport and grab him before he can get up!" The Emotion Pokémon warped next to the still Weezing and picked him up by the little ball that connected the two heads. She heard the universal timeline ripping open behind her and threw Weezing in the direction of the sudden, bright blue light. An explosion occurred, followed by the gaseous Pokémon dropping to the arena floor...