Chapter 2: Mall Town Showdown

Mall Town, Southwest of Bostonia - Northern Unova Region

The mall was crowded with hundreds of people, and the two rich kids blended well among them. Or rather, Alex did. Jessica stood out completely thanks to her hair and her looks, drawing the attention of literally everyone who saw her.

He had forgotten how noticeable she could be among normal people. He saw her confused look as she noticed the various and multicolored Unovans walking past them staring at her, and he leaned in to whisper in her ear, and explain. "They're not used to seeing someone as alluring as yourself. Though it could be the fiery hair." He had a newer shirt on now that was brown, with a green Pokéball on it, under a black jacket that had a useful, but thin green hood. It was proper travel attire for a Trainer. A graduation gift from his Gruncle.

"I think you're imagining things. People attractive enough to catch an entire mall's attention only exist in dreams." She said, smirking as she scratched her Charmander under her chin.

"Then may I never wake." He muttered, as he looked around for the store he'd driven down here to find.

His new color scheme more or less matched his future Torterra, and with a few more battles, he'd finally have one. There was no reason to hold off evolving anymore, as he'd caught Jess' eye and successfully asked her out, more or less. Just as he planned. He'd imagined this a thousand times, actually experiencing it was something else entirely. He still couldn't quite believe it had actually worked. The hot day had an almost ethereal quality to it, as if this was yet another of his daydreams. He expected to wake at any moment, and realize he was still a Pokéless outcast.

They'd come to this town, a fair number of miles south of their home, for the enormous mall that served as a hangout, movie theater, and shopping center for the many sparsely populated towns north of Unova, but too far from Bostonia to make a day trip. Thankfully, in their society, business tended to thrive, and Mall Town was no exception. It was a place to do business, and had enough 'rural charm' to entice city folk into making the trek out. The result was the massive mall they were now strolling through. If you couldn't find what you were looking for here, it was fair to say it probably didn't exist, such was the variety of stores.

His purpose here was multifold. Find the Shinx he'd seen on the Pokéstore's site, train up his Grotle into a Torterra, get his Shinx some experience if possible, and impress the girl next door who, as she looked around at the many shops, holding her Charmander, took his breath away for a moment. It was as she looked back at him, smirking, that he realized he was staring. Her Charmander blinked up at him, and made a soft noise. He scratched her chin, and the small red-orange Pokémon shivered in delight.

The poor thing had been a runt, rejected by her mother, and given to the Charicific Valley's keeper to hand to the Professor of Kanto. But they hadn't wanted such a small Pokémon for their potential Trainers, and so eventually, Jessica's father had been convinced to buy the small burning lizard while they were on vacation that year in Johto, living in their Goldenrod City Apartment, or so Jess had told him. She'd originally wanted a Torchic or Fennekin, but after seeing the fire lizard on the adoption site, she knew she had to help.

It had either been that, or releasing her into the wild where the laws of nature would have likely seen her dead before long. Such things were avoided these days, however. The world was connected like never before, for Pokémon at least, and there was always a sympathetic heart in the world that would take in a runt or a stray who needed a home. Transportation only required a Pokéball.

Hearing how she'd saved the little Charmander was what had made him realize that this neighbor of his was the one. Sure, he had eyes for her long before that, any guy would've, but that was the proverbial nail in the coffin.

"She really likes that when you do it." Jess said, frowning slightly. "Like, more than when I scratch her. Why do you think that is?"

He winked. "Magic fingers." She rolled her eyes, but the faint blush was there, on the pale cheeks. Before he started awkwardly staring once more at perfection incarnate, at least to his smitten eyes, he forced them elsewhere...and they landed upon exactly what he'd been looking for. For a moment, he put the ever-distracting thoughts that had driven human procreation for millions of years in the back of his mind.

"There." He stopped, and touched her arm, fighting down the instinctual thrill in his pants from feeling her skin. He might've been a bit loopy from the Leaf they'd had before coming in, but he could've swore he felt a slight buzz of...something where his rough fingers met the soft, warm skin. If she had a similar reaction, it didn't show. He pointed across the way at the Pokéstore, where they sold unwanted and highly desired Pokémon alike. There, in the window, was a bored looking Shinx, colored gold and black. Just as the Pokésite had promised.

A quick PokéGoogle search on the PokéNet for a special Shinx had given him the store's location, and he had been lucky to be close enough to make the trip in a day. It was fitting for today though, as it was quickly becoming the luckiest day he'd ever lived. When Jess had heard how near his next partner was, she hadn't backed out, and the car ride had certainly been pleasant. He wished he could've let Terra out, but there was no way he would ever fit in a car again, so big was he after putting off evolution for so long.

As far away as the mall was, it wasn't really that unusual for the people of his town to go there, as their town was pretty small and remote. It didn't even have a PokéMart, as it was primarily ranches, which meant a few local stores trying to ignore the technological revolution, and a train station that charged absurd prices for tickets, because they could.

He hadn't wanted to use the train though, he knew the reaction to his companion would be similar, if not worse on a crowded metal tube. He knew her Charmander wouldn't like it either.

Jess hadn't seemed to notice, but he could tell the little fire lizard hated cramped spaces. The entire car ride, she had been twitchy, until he'd managed to calm her by scratching her under the chin, a sweet spot that most Charmander shared.

The bored looking Shinx was licking his paw when he looked up suddenly, on instinct, and met his new Trainer's eyes. And from that moment on, they knew they were bonded. The cat gave him what seemed like a smirk. Alex returned it. Yes, this was definitely the one.

Alex didn't even blink at the exorbitant price tag on his new Shinx, who had been reserved for another, until Alex offered a sum four times larger that he would pay right then and there.

His deal was graciously accepted. He could tell his father it was a charity donation, which it essentially was. Any Pokémon store could run itself on what he'd paid for years, and open additional branches as well, but they could easily afford the cost. Plus, after years of being denied a Pokémon and used for nearly free labor on the ranch, he was more than due a few thousand. His allowance had been pitiful, especially compared to his relative's, but it had been enough. But none of that mattered anymore. This Shinx was his. He lifted the electric kitten into the air, and eyed him, before setting him on his shoulder. The cat purred against his Trainer's neck, and his hair flared as electrical current moved through it.

Jess watched, amazed, at how easily he'd bonded with a new Pokémon. The ones from the store usually had an issue of some kind after being mistreated by their Trainers. The only real problem their world faced was people who abused Pokémon, that hadn't changed. All it took was a mindset that viewed them as tools, or 'lesser' beings because their brains weren't as advanced as humanity's, and people could justify using them for anything.

But for every Ghetsis, there was an Alex, it seemed. This Shinx did not have a defect however, as he was one of the store's ideal Pokémon, with a price tag only the rich could ever hope to afford. He was proud, and already strong enough to make sparks of his own.

He was put inside Alex's Premier Ball, and appeared in a flash of blinding light that made him sparkle when he was called from it. The entire mall watched, noticing the display. Just as he'd planned. Someone would surely want to battle a Shinx like his. He knelt down to the gold and black cat, petting its fur, and then checking his hand.

"I'm going to call you Leo. What do you think? Do you like the name?" The Shinx blinked at him, then tilted his head, and nodded once. It would work. "Good!" Alex said, standing and looking around the crowded mall intersection. They were surrounded by people and stores. There was no way he'd go unchallenged.

"Yo, bro! Jess!" A voice called out, and Alex suppressed a grimace. His brother. Eric. The brothers had always been rivals, and unlike Alex, he'd gotten a Squirtle when he was young, and had grown up alongside it. Alex had no illusions about who the favored son was, and he'd decided that he didn't much care. He'd show his parents his worth as well, eventually, but it wasn't his main goal. Buying a Shinx with their money was more than enough of a snub to them, especially with that many zeroes on the price tag.

He looked back to his brother, and knew that though he only had primarily water types, he was a skilled Trainer, and had been battling much longer than Alex had. Still, water types were weak against both electric and grass types, and Alex knew that though Leo was young, he'd still be a valuable partner after he'd benefited from a few Technical Machines.

Eric primarily trained against the other water types their cousins had, while Alex had trained Terra in the harsh northern mountains to grow a resistance to his weakness. Now, the brothers would see which training style paid off more.

"Eric." Alex said, meeting his brother's gaze, "My new Shinx and I, along with my Grotle, would like to battle you."

"Aha." Eric responded, sarcasm creeping into his voice. "The plan is in motion then?" His eyes darted from his brother, to their gorgeous neighbor, and Alex nodded.

His brother was his opposite in every way, short where he was tall, deathly thin where he was literally big boned, straight hair where his was wavy and curled at the edges. The younger brother had caught Jessica's eye for far longer than the elder brother had. Yet he had never pursued her.

Kindness was one thing they had in common, along with a love of Pokémon, but Eric was always busy researching on the few occasions the Gladstone siblings had wanted to hang out and enjoy a bowl of Leaf. Alex knew his childhood had been no picnic either. Being the favored son destined for greatness was almost as rough as being the futureless farm-hand.

Almost.

From the day they'd been old enough to talk, they'd been rivals. In video games. Sports. School. Friendships. They clashed over and over, and often Alex was the one who would lose. Thus, Eric had become the more popular brother with an affinity for water types, and a Squirtle to go with it.

Eric was studying to become a Professor, and even their granduncle was impressed by his scientific mind. He claimed Alex had a similar mind, but Alex was too focused on his grand plan for the future to bother with contemplating what he might do if he ever achieved his lofty goal of becoming the next World Champion. But his granduncle had always told him to aim high, so he wouldn't end up disappointed.

Being able to even make it to the World Tournament was an ordeal on its own, or so his granduncle had told him. But it was one he was willing to endure. Nothing could be worse than living in a world of magical creatures, and not being able to bond with one as a proper partner.

Eric was thin, thinner than most because of an eating disorder. He didn't even have muscle on him, which once more made his brother look fatter by comparison. He was garbed similarly, but in blue, and together, the three of them in green, blue, and shades of orange and red on Jessica's part, represented the three starting type colors quite obviously. People were staring.

Alex raised his voice, and Leo's new Premier ball towards his brother. Leo watched his Trainer. Eric had always been more popular, considered the 'better' Trainer in the Redwood family. Now the onlookers they'd managed to pique interest in would see otherwise. He had no doubt that several of their peers were here today as well. It was early summer, and the day was perfect. If he managed a win, word would spread like wildfire.

"I challenge you, Eric Redwood, to a battle. Outside. Bring as many Pokémon as you like, and substitute as many times as you wish. I will do the same, and I will beat you." Eric raised his eyebrow to Spockian heights.

"With two Pokémon, you're going to beat my entire team? Yea right, bro. Fine. I'll meet you outside. Smell ya'." With that, he walked off, and some of the milling crowd watched with interest, following the younger Redwood outside. The majority of the others watched him and Jessica, but mostly Jessica. She was gorgeous, after all. The Charmander only added to her charm.

Her looks were unmatched, but she had, at least to his knowledge, never really used them. The boys had certainly tried, of course. But trying to tie her down was like trying to tame the wind. There was only one way to attract a free spirit like hers, and that too, was part of his ultimate goal.

"Are you sure about this, Alex?" She asked, frowning. She doubted his chances. Eric had always been better at battling. Alex was good at calming Pokémon, but he was a new Trainer. "You know you'll probably lose, right? This is your first battle out of school. Against a full team. Maybe you shou-" He cut her off.

"No. This is perfect. I couldn't have scripted it better if I was in a play. The showdown that was always meant to be." He smirked. "I've waited a lifetime for this battle. I worked hard for my power, and my team. Now, I will take them on the first step to victory!" A few people sarcastically applauded his enthusiasm in the background.

Jessica nodded. "If you're sure…" Now she felt confused. He had certainly impressed her with the battle against the Trainer Department Head, and his Turtwig evolving on schedule, but Eric had been training far longer. His Blastoise was surely much stronger than any Grotle.

"And I'll lead with Leo." That got everyone's attention.

"You're leading a rival battle with the Pokémon you just got?" She said, staring in disbelief.

He nodded. "Leo is my partner now, I trust him completely. I have the proper TMs for him, too. He won't let me down." With that, he strode off, and began loading the disks into the Technical Machine.

A few bright flashes later, while walking no less, and a dazed little Shinx stumbled into the sunlight of the parking lot. He knew many moves now. How to manipulate electricity in ways he'd never known, but knew were far stronger than his sparks had been.

"Are you ready Leo?" His new master asked.

The young Shinx came to grips with his newfound knowledge. He had the power. He would use it, even if he ended up fainting. There was something about this human, something that made him want to fight with all he had. If he did that, he knew he would still feel satisfied, even if they ended up losing.

He nodded at his new Trainer, and growled at the figure in blue, who spoke then, "Really? Are you sure you want to lead with the one you just bought?" Alex nodded.

"Fine!" Eric called, drawing his own ball, a blue affair covered in water drops. "Don't bitch when dad finds out you spent that much money on a painted Pokémon."

Alex rolled his eyes. He had, of course, checked for paint on the Shinx, but had found none. He seemed to genuinely be golden furred. Fate, it seemed, was with him. He eyed Eric's ball and sighed at its' similarity to one of his own. He didn't have a Mudkip for his yet, however.

"Go! Draking!" A Kingdra appeared across the small battle field, to the side of the parking lot. Dozens of townies were watching now, and there were a few laughs as they saw the former fat, awkward kid with his tiny Shinx walk up to battle a well-known water-type expert.

"Even with type advantage, he has no chance." Someone whispered. "I know" came a reply. "The dragon typing will make it too tough for a Shinx. But Alex Redwood never listens. He'll learn the hard way. Amateur."

"I don't know, didn't you hear how he graduated?"

"Later. You shouldn't buy into rumors."

Jessica sighed, looking down at her Charmander. "At one point Chari, I would've said the same thing." She said, speaking too softly to be heard. After spending most of the afternoon with her neighbor, she was slowly realizing that this was who he'd been all along. She should've listened to her brother when he'd said he had potential. Connor had an eye for those kind of things.

"Charmander. Char?" Came the response from the bundle in her arms. Jess grinned. "You're right. Let's do it." She looked up, grinning, and Chari raised her little arms as well, for her master, as she was holding her up with them. "Go Alex! Go Leo! You've got this!"

Alex and his new partner turned at that, and the crowd quieted. He met her gaze from under the hat, where she saw the last hint of his hesitation fade. She was cheering for him. Her. The girl he dreamed about constantly. She believed in him, and that was all he needed. He smirked, and turned the hat backwards. Eric rolled his eyes, but some of the more enthusiastic gawkers whistled. There was fire in the amateur's eyes, and the veteran Trainer was coming off as entirely too confident. At the very least, it would be fun to watch.

Leo felt his master's surge of confidence, and sparks radiated from his fur. He'd battled before, but this…connection he felt now was new, exciting, and most of all, powerful. He was ready to give this battle everything he had. He had to prove he was strong too, if he was going to face down his sire someday. With this Trainer's help, he knew he could do it.

He growled at the much larger, much stronger Kingdra, the water dragon shivered at the look of ferocity in his eyes. Leo knew he might go down…but these humans would remember how strong he had been against a superior opponent. Alex nodded to his oldest rival, and the battle began. Eric shouted at the same time his brother did.

"Hydro Pump!"

"Thunder!"

The crowd gasped. These two certainly weren't using novice gloves.

The Kingdra sprayed at the Shinx, but to no avail. It dodged the water stream easily, taking only minor damage, and getting a bit wet. Which, of course, only made its attack stronger. Electricity bristled over its fur.

"Shiiiiinx!" Thunder burst down from the sky, and hit the water and dragon type head on. It winced, taking significant damage, and began panting. Leo grinned, baring his tiny fangs. The crowd, and especially Eric, looked stunned.

"Again!" Eric shouted, eyebrows narrowing as his attack was dodged and countered with too much ease. His Shinx was moving with speed his species just wasn't supposed to have.

"Dodge!" Came the cry of Alex, and Leo did so, his small, nimble form helping him miss the water completely. "Thunderbolt!" There was another cry from the small lion-like creature as a flash of golden electricity arced towards the Kingdra, hitting it squarely on the chest. It winced again, but powered through the hit.

"Smoke Screen!" Alex smirked as the area filled with dark clouds, pouring from the Kingdra's snout, and obscuring all vision of the fight in seconds. The crowd mumbled, displeased.

"Wait for it Leo…" Alex said, softly, "Use your ears…and then dodge." The Shinx obeyed. Someday, his eyes would be able to pierce clouds like this with ease, but for now, he relied on pure battle instinct. There was a sharp inhale, followed by the sound of a torrent of water.

Leo jumped, dodging it once more. "Now, Thunderbolt the direction it came from!" The little Shinx responded immediately, as if he and his Trainer had been partners for weeks instead of minutes. The Kingdra cried out in pain, and as the smoke faded, the mighty water type fell, fainted.

There was a stunned pause, before Eric shouted, "Draking! Return!" Alex's smirk widened. He had checked the Shinx's recorded level, and discovered that it had been kept from evolving for quite a while. They would need that power boost in this battle, and as Leo glanced at him, he nodded. The time was now, it seemed.

The crowd's eyes were on Leo. He was growling, panting, and electricity sparked across his form. Now the fun began. "Do it!" Alex shouted as Leo cried out again, and evolved before their very eyeswith bright spiraling double helix shaped energy that always appeared when Pokémon evolved. "Luuux…iooo!" Came the new, deep roar.

The little Shinx was gone. In its' place now stood a fearsome looking cat that looked ready to keep fighting. And keep fighting it did, taking down two more of Eric's water types, a Gyarados, and a Poliwrath. By the end of that however, Poliwrath's fighting type had drained the newly evolved Luxio with a swift low-kick that nearly knocked him out. The only way he'd even managed to weaken Wrath was with Thunder Wave, and several lucky rounds of paralysis. He was panting hard after using his fourth Thunder to finally bring the martially skilled water type down.

"Take a breather, my friend, and well done. You, are going to be one of my strongest." Looking tired and proud, Leo returned to his ball, and rested, satisfied that he had demonstrated his worth to this blue Trainer, and the crowd.

Pokémon were a lot smarter than many people realized, and when you insulted one by claiming it was overpriced and weak, you had to expect it to try and prove you wrong. Even if the win against Wrath had been mostly luck and timing, taking down a Kingdra and a Gyarados was nothing to sneer at.

Eric called out from across the field, and his voice had a tinge of anger to it. He hated losing, especially to Alex. "Now you have my final three to deal with, Brother! They will beat you, and your novice Pokémon!"

Alex smirked, and raised the ball holding Terra. "Try it." The calls came out simultaneously. "Terra!" "Aurora!" Grotle appeared, in all his large, earthy glory, and across the way, an Aurorus, a prehistoric and revived ice and rock type, appeared across from him. The crowd made an 'ooo' sound. Ice beat grass. Hard. Eric smirked, some confidence returning to his stance.

Terra didn't flinch, but his Trainer did. He hadn't expected an ice type yet. Oh well. He was part rock, too, just like Tyran had been. Terra would adjust the plan as required. "Terra. Just like last time."

The Grotle nodded, and waited for the inevitable. He wasn't as agile as he'd been this morning, but his legs were much stronger. He just had to keep moving, and remember his footwork. He'd likely only manage one jump this time, though. He was much heavier.

"Ice beam!" The long-necked creature shot forth a powerful beam of frost that was sure to one-hit poor Terra. Or rather it would've, if he hadn't sprung to the side at that moment, and slammed the field with his feet as he landed, causing a massive Earthquake.

The entire parking lot shook, and the field was in chaos, as was Aurorus, whose Ice Beam had been disrupted by the massive attack. The damage it took wasn't the issue, it could've followed Terra with its attack and ended this quickly, but now it was dazed, struggling to recover its footing. It had never been in a battle like this, and Alex realized this must've been the newest addition to his brother's team.

"Do it!" Alex called, "Energy Ball!" The Grotle's mouth glowed green, and the condensed ball of grass power, at least twice the size it had been when he was a Turtwig, smashed the frilly dinosaur hard. It whimpered once, before fainting.

Eric had counted on a difference in type giving him the win, but had forgotten his opponents type advantage, as well as his level. He had no excuse either, as he had been around to watch most of their training at the end of last summer. The crowd cheered. Eric however, was red-faced and rapidly losing his patience. When had Alex gotten so good? And how had a turtle Pokémon dodged an Ice Beam?

"Vapor! Come!" Eric shouted angrily after hurriedly recalling his ace in the hole, brought down by a well-timed type disadvantaged move from a turtle Pokémon. Vaporeon was a water type that could learn ice moves. But it was still a water type. Eric wasted no time. "Aurora beam!"

To which his brother responded, "Energy ball!" The two attacks met in mid-air, and the aurora beam pushed through, but was skewed by the sheer power of the Energy Ball it had collided with, the spin of so much condensed grass type energy altered its trajectory, and it slammed into the ground beside Terra, a credit to the strength of this Vaporeon.

Terra's attacks had been trained against genuine blizzards of the north, but a type advantage was a type advantage. "Razor leaf!" The follow-up was quick and brutal, as hundreds of razor sharp leaves came through the smoke of the attack collision, and hit the Vaporeon hard.

"Acid Armor." Eric said, regaining some measure of composure. Alex hadn't used Frenzy Plant to one-hit his Vaporeon, something he had to do if he wanted Terra to have enough power for Blastoise. Now, he played it careful.

"That won't work. Razor Leaf barrage!"

"What!" Eric cried. Hundreds of leaves shot from Grotle's back, twice as many as he had made when he was a Turtwig. Each of them slammed home against Vapor's Acid armor, whittling it down to nothing.

Terra, meanwhile, never looked healthier. In the water, Acid Armor was very hard to beat…but on land, especially a parking lot battlefield in the summer, water types were at a disadvantage. In this much sun, grass types were incredibly strong.

Alex finished the Vaporeon with a swift Energy Ball follow-up that smashed through his brother's hastily chosen Hydro Pump. Had he gone with Ice Beam, he might've won right there, but he wasn't on his game anymore. He never lost to Alex, not like this.

As Eric reached for his trump card, Terra began to glow. The entire crowd, save Jessica, but Eric included, shouted "Oh, come on!" One evolution was rare in a battle. Two was just unfair…but this battle never specified against that in the rules.

And now a healthy, freshly evolved Torterra would face off against a Blastoise. Eric's predicament did not look favorable…until he realized that ground was also weak to ice. Looking across the field, he knew Alex knew it too. One Ice Beam…and that would be enough to finish this Torterra.

It would be the attacking power of Blastoise against the natural defense of a Torterra, with type advantage. No, things were definitely not set in stone. Torterra could endure fire, but not ice, when freshly evolved. His shell was still new.

"Ice Beam!" Eric called, confirming his brother's fear that, yes, he had indeed taught his starter that attack. Terra was too big to dodge now, too unused to his bulk. He was massive, even for a member of his species, and while that was a sign of his strength, it would also make him unable to move quick enough to dodge. He was a veritable tank, now, powerful defense against most attacks, even fire, but ice was even more of a threat.

"Take it!" Alex shouted as the Blastoise powered up the attack in his maw. He got a few glances from the crowd. That was just cruel, forcing his Pokémon to struggle against its major weakness.

"Terra! Scenario Alpha." The giant tortoise Pokémon nodded, and trusted his Trainer. He hunched down to brace himself, watching the Blastoise as it powered up the attack. He'd glared at the grass turtle for months. Finally, they had a chance to battle properly. The Ice Beam launched, arcing across the field, and slammed home. It was too fast to dodge, even if he'd still been small.

They waited. The entire parking lot was silent. Finally, shivering, Terra stood, and snorted through the smoke of the colliding moves. He was seemingly untouched, and smirking, as was his Trainer. They had planned for this, of course, and as planned, learning Protect had been a smart choice when he'd evolved earlier.

His attributes were maxed from all the pills and vest training, and he had only just become a Torterra. The heights he would reach with his new strength were limitless. All that hard training up was finally paying off, it seemed. Terra would never be as quick as he had been that morning, but the trade-off was worth it, as his power now exceeded the strength of his brother's Blastoise by quite a margin. His type advantage all but assured a victory now, and the counter-attack was his.

"Now…Frenzy Plant!" The massive earth tortoise stomped on the ground, and the battlefield shook under his feet. He was larger now, dwarfing most Torterra on record, by the Pokédex's calculations, and Eric knew he was done if an attack like that hit.

"Dodge!" he cried in vain, but his Blastoise was too slow and defense heavy, like Torterra, to dodge. And unlike this Torterra, he had never been trained to take grass attacks, let alone the most powerful grass attack a starter could learn. He had spent his days fighting other water types.

He tried to grab the giant roots as they slammed into him, but they overwhelmed the cannon turtle, and knocked him back onto his shell, sending him crashing through the chunks of debris upended by the roots to the feet of his Trainer, fainted.

Blastoise didn't actually weigh all that much, but his bulk was deceptive. Terra on the other hand, full grown as he was now, had to be pushing eight hundred pounds. There was a low buzzing murmur through the crowd until Jessica blinked in time with Chari.

"He…he won…HE WON!" She shouted after whispering. She cheered loudly, and the rest of the crowd followed suit. "He did it!" "I don't believe it!"

"I guess he did have a solid plan after all." "Seems the rumors from the University were true." All the remarks he knew he'd hear and more filled his ears, and Alex smiled at his partner.

"Amazing, as always, my friend. Rest now. You've earned it." He put his first Pokémon's ball away, only to find himself face to face with the girl whose eyes made his heart stop for an entire five seconds.

She was grinning ear to ear, and he couldn't help but blush. He mumbled something, scratching the back of his head, and seeming for a moment like his old self. Jess raised an eyebrow, and he became increasingly more aware of the crowd around them.

"I couldn't have done it without you." He managed. A few catcalls came from the peanut gallery, as well as a few whistles. She blushed as well, and let her hair hide her face. Her Charmander looked up in confusion. Her cheering really had helped…so why was she suddenly so shy?

Jess looked up again, but Alex was already walking towards the car, whistling to himself. Off to, if she remembered correctly, find a Mudkip. Everything else had gone according to his plan, the plan he had shared when they had spent one lazy summer day smoking hallucinogenic plants together. Why wouldn't he stick to it now?

The words "Could they BE any more obvious?" came to her ears from the dispersing crowd, but she paid no mind. Eventually only she and Eric were left. It was rapidly becoming obvious to both of them as to which brother she preferred. That, and Alex was her ride out of here.

Her own brother had always said that it was likely she'd end up with one of the Redwoods after their fathers had become so entwined in business and PokéGolf. She blinked down, embarrassed. She'd always said she'd preferred Eric…but now, she was realizing that she had been more focused on his cool demeanor and reputation, rather than who he was as a person. Something she often did when it came to men, it seemed.

She made a note to change that, with Alex at least. Even if he did become a Champion among Champions, she had to remember the person under all the fame that would no doubt follow him. In the span of two days, he was going from a complete unknown in this area to a respected Trainer. She could only imagine where he'd be in another year, at this pace.

"I…I knew he would do it this time." Eric looked up, sighing first at his fainted Blastoise, who he had mistakenly called 'Squirt' when it was just a Squirtle. He'd gotten Squirt ages ago. He should've been able to beat a Torterra.

He looked up at Jessica. He'd never really pined for her the way he knew his brother had, but seeing her preference now only disheartened him more. "He had that look…the same look he had the day he came up with that plan of his, and chose his team…I was just a stepping stone on the way to his prize."

The fire-haired girl blinked at the boy her age, clad in blue. "Prize? What prize?" Eric looked at her, then nodded slowly. He hadn't told her yet. That part had changed.

"The reason he fights so hard." Eric stood, brushing his knees, and retrieving his fallen two hundred pound turtle. "The reason he gets up in the morning. The reason he ran with his Turtwig through rain, heat, and apparently even snow. The reason behind his drive to be a Pokémon Master." Eric smirked, and patted her shoulder as he headed back into the mall, and then the Pokémon Center.

Jessica stood silently, holding her runt of a Charmander, and watched her neighbor stride away with his camouflage pattern ball holding Terra, surrounded by new admirers peppering him with questions. He was rapidly becoming used to it.

Had she been younger, she might've mistaken Eric's words, or denied them, but this was too obvious. Had he really been in love with her this whole time, Jess wondered. She would need to review everything they'd done or said. He was quiet, so she figured that meant what little he had said must've been important. She had no idea how right she was.

She put Chari back in her ball for the ride home, choosing instead to pet Leo, who certainly didn't mind it. After a potion and an elixir, he was feeling much better, and Alex decided to let him spend some time free of confinement. He knew that those stores were usually cramped, even though they did their best to accommodate the many strays and abandoned Pokémon they ended up with.

As Leo felt the female's soft hands, he purred loudly, and rolled on his back, in her lap, offering his belly for a rub. Human standards of beauty were foreign to most Pokémon, but even a Magikarp would gladly be touched by a girl like this one. The clever cat eyed his master as he steered the strange machine that ran faster than he could. If this was the mate he was after, Leo certainly didn't mind her. She smelled wonderful.

And to emphasize that point, he purred against her lap the whole ride back, not noticing that she was fighting down a blush under her crimson locks. Leo wasn't used to his strengthened electrical current yet, and he was tickling her with his purring in all the right places. Despite herself, she kept petting the Luxio. Once they got back to the Redwood's combined ranch and lab, Alex recalled his newest addition, not noticing Jess' flushed face either.

"Seems he likes you." She yelped, and nodded, hurrying out of the car into the cool night air of summer. Alex blinked once, and then shrugged. He'd understood a long time ago that trying to figure out everything women did was, at best, a hopeless battle. There were some things men just simply could not grasp. This was not one of them, but as usual, he was too distracted by her presence to pay attention to the flush in her face, or the discolored damp spot on her skirt.

"S-so," she stammered, before realizing that he hadn't noticed what she'd been doing the entire car ride. A thick skulled Torterra really was the perfect partner for him. "What's next? A Charmander? Mudkip?"

He stretched, yawning. "A nap. And then maybe a Mudkip tomorrow. There's a small swamp out to the west that supposedly has some. Which means mud, bugs, and tons of Wooper hitting me with Water Gun, for fun."

She giggled. "I think I'll skip that adventure then. But you'd better come show me once you catch it!"

He shrugged. "I wasn't planning to come back here for a while. I was going to challenge the Unova League this summer, starting tomorrow."

She blinked. "The Unova League? As in…facing all eight gyms, and then the Elite Four?" He nodded, as if that was a perfectly normal thing that normal people did against the hardest League in the world.

Most Trainers challenged a few gyms to prove they could battle well, and then found a position in a gym with a steady pay check, and a team with a specific type. Almost nobody went the whole way, and for good reason.

The Elite Four of Unova were notoriously strong, with varied teams, and even Legendary Dragons. Or so the rumors said. She believed them. Champions earned their titles, and Unova had five. Jess shook her head, brushing her hair from her face. The flush was gone now, the cool night air had done its job.

She rolled her Serperior-like eyes at him. "Only you would think you could run around the entire Unova region in one summer."

Alex shrugged, saying, "It's been done before. I could do it in a week with a flying type. The capital isn't that large."

She nodded. The Trainer who'd brought down Team Plasma for good had done it in a similar period of time, and became Champion for good measure. Now he and the Trainer who had beat the Legendary Dragon Tamer known only as 'N' during Team Plasma's first incarnation were in the Unova League, smashing all hopeful challengers down to size with their Legendary dragon types.

Alex yawned again. "Well…I have an early start tomorrow. Thanks for coming with me. I guess I'll see you around. Maybe at the end of summer, I can catch you before your last year at the University."

"Yea, maybe..." She couldn't tell if he was just tired, or not interested anymore. She had noticed the numbers many of the girls were giving him back in the parking lot. It was the thing to do when you met a Trainer with obvious skill.

He surreptitiously watched her, the words of both his Gruncle and his friend Nick coming back to him then. Naturally, they had given him womanly advice. Play it aloof, he thought, play it aloof. Not too aloof. Just the right amount of aloofness.

"Or, you could come with me." He smirked as he decided to trust his instinct, and say what came naturally, as he'd done all day.

She blinked. What. "What?" she asked, but he was already strolling into his garage, ducking under the door before it fully opened, and then closing it again. She sighed, and began the walk to her house. No way was she going to let him start a journey on a note like that.