Milo and the Blue Umbreon

by NanobotEX

Milo is about to embark on his Pokémon journey, when he unexpectedly makes a new friend. His journey begins ten years after the exploits of Ash Ketchum, and he discovers that Pokémon journeys are not as simple as they once were. Milo may soon find himself pitted against forces beyond anything he had imagined! (Not too much Romance, just enough to keep things interesting)

4. Chapter 4 - Companions on the Journey

Milo Chapter 4 – Companions on the Journey

Amaya

My…my first loss…

Amaya could only sit and process this. School had ended about an hour ago, it was late afternoon. She could only vaguely remember going about the rest of her day numbly. She seemed to recall Milo winning against a couple of the other students once the audience dispersed; trifling fights using the practice Pokémon owned by the school. He had handled them easily.

But the big fight, the one everyone had watched, the battle in front of every student in the Twinleaf Pokémon School, had ended in her first – her only – defeat.

Everyone had gone back inside for what amounted to a guest lecture from Milo on battle mentality and how to improvise on the fly. Amaya had stared blankly at her desk the entire time. When the bell rang, she had returned without thinking to the scene of her humiliation. She sat now, cross-legged, in the Trainer Box on the field where just hours before, Milo's Umbreon had unleashed that massive Dark Pulse that shattered her illusions of grandeur.

"I'm supposed to be the next big 'Twinleaf prodigy'", Amaya muttered to herself, "But this Milo guy, he just shows up and…and does that? How? I must be the worst 'prodigy' in history."

"Hey, Amaya."

She started at the sound of Mr. Kalu's voice behind her. Had he heard her talking? Oh no, she must've sounded so whiny and pretentious...

He sat down next to her and seemed to understand. He smiled and began, "I would tell you not to get down on yourself, but I think we both know you're way past that."

"I…yeah, Mr. Kalu. I'm not supposed to lose. Everyone expects me to be the next big Twinleaf Trainer, you know? But some random JPTA kid just stomps all over me. I'm barely average."

"I know what you mean", he nodded, "this town, despite its size, has a proud tradition of producing outstanding Pokémon Trainers. It's really quite remarkable. And yes, people have already begun to put the weight of that tradition on you, fairly or unfairly. But I'll tell you something else. Something really interesting."

She looked curiously over at her instructor as he paused before continuing with a gleam in his experienced eyes, "That Milo is no ordinary kid, not even by JPTA standards. Don't worry about losing to him. There's something…really special about the way he battles, an incredible sense of instinct that I've only seen in a handful of people before. He's got battling brains that you just can't teach, and the determination to back it up, too. He's certainly the best beginner I've seen in recent memory."

"Mr. Kalu", Amaya observed darkly, "somehow your glowing praise of my opponent is failing to make me feel any better. I don't care who he is, I can't believe I lost my first match in front of the whole school."

She stuffed her face angrily back into her hands with a frustrated moan.

"…You're lookin' at this wrong, Amaya. You gotta turn your head around."

"Uh, what? What's that even mean?"

Kalu's concentration deepened, Amaya could tell he really wanted her to understand what he was saying, "Amaya, you lost. Not only that, you only landed one solid hit. It's a tough pill to swallow. I get that, I really do. But if you never get beat, you'd never know how to get better. Use this to fuel you. So you lost to Milo? Train harder, so that next time you'll beat him. A defeat isn't a road block; it's a sign post. Does that make sense?"

Amaya cocked her head to one side and frowned. She thought about this deeply before answering; "Actually…yeah, I think I get it. I shouldn't pretend not to be upset. I should be, uh, productively upset? Is that right?"

"Yes! That's exactly it."

"Okay. Cool. Yeah, I can get behind that philosophy. But…where does this sign point? I'm all for getting stronger, but how do I get better from here?"

Mr. Kalu stood up and dusted himself off as he answered, "Well, you're about to graduate and go off on your journey. You get stronger by being around people better than you and learning from them."

"What are you saying?"

As he walked off, Kalu offered one last nugget of experienced wisdom, "I'm saying, when the time comes, surround yourself with the best, and one day, you'll discover that you are one of them."

Alone, Amaya hugged her knees to her chest as she sat on the dirt battle field.

Surround myself with the best…?

She knew what he meant. At first, she rejected the idea as ridiculous and insulting, but… Gradually she warmed to the notion. Kalu's logic made sense, after all. To get better, she needed someone at least as talented as herself. Nobody like that could be found in Twinleaf, certainly. With a deep breath and a sense of conviction, she got up, dusted herself off, and ran to find Milo.

Milo

So, he thought to himself, I've seen Twinleaf. Now I guess it's back to Jubilife, then I head East.

He sat on the bench in the middle of town that he had visited yesterday, mindlessly petting the sleeping Azura, curled up contentedly beside him, as Blaze ran about entertaining himself.

He was in the midst of pondering his prospects for the Rock type Gym that awaited him in Oreburgh when he heard someone run up behind him. He turned to see Amaya, with a fiery look in her eyes that was rather terrifying.

She slowed and took a deep breath as she approached him;

"Milo, I want to come with you. You're the only person I know who is stronger than me, so travelling with you is the best way to grow as a Trainer."

Milo was speechless. Azura lifted her head curiously as Milo found his voice and stuttered, "Uh, y-you what? You want to come on my journey? A-aren't you still in school? Where is this coming from?"

"You're stronger than I am, and I want to learn from that. Training with you is the best way for me to improve. Plus, if you let me come along, you get someone strong to train with as well. I'll be graduating in less than two weeks and we can tackle the Gym challenge together. What do you say? You are doing the Gym challenge, right?"

"Umm, yeah… That's what the best Trainers do, after all. I – I guess it would be cool to have a travel buddy. Sure! I guess that means I'm staying in Twinleaf for a while, though…"

Amaya was quick to reassure him, "Thank you, you won't regret this! With both of us training together, we'll be the best two in Sinnoh in no time, just you wait!"

Milo was taken aback by her intensity, but the more he thought about it, the more it made him smile. It really would be cool to have a constant training partner and travelling companion.

Together, the two young Pokémon trainers went to the Twinleaf Inn, where they managed without much trouble to convince the kindly innkeeper to allow Milo to stay there until Amaya was ready to leave.

News spread like wildfire through the town; Amaya would be travelling with the visitor from Jubilife. Not only that, they were taking the Gym challenge! This was exceedingly rare; Gyms had become so difficult and stressful, and the travel so tedious, that the vast majority of Trainers qualified for the Pokémon League by passing a series of certification exams. Gyms were almost exclusively places for local trainers to receive type-specific training. Only a couple dozen Trainers each year took the Gym challenge, and only a handful of these made any noteworthy progress.

As it turned out, Milo's first full day in Twinleaf became something of a template for the rest of his time there. As predicted, he spent a total of about two weeks waiting until Amaya's graduation exams were over. Each day, he joined the advanced class at the Twinleaf School. He listened, offered his perspective whenever Mr. Kalu asked, and he trained and battled.

He trained in his own time, in much the same way as he had begun; focusing on speed, power, and his team's ability to act independently when necessary. A few times every day, Milo would battle against one of the advanced students using the school's training Pokémon, occasionally in front of an audience.

Finally Amaya's graduation day came, and there was a small ceremony that evening wishing her well on her journey. Several notable Twinleaf citizens made grandiose and rather vague speeches encouraging her to carry on their town's proud legacy, which made Amaya fidget nervously. When it was over, she and Milo went out to the woods just beyond the town border and were lounging on a rather large tree, watching Azura and Blaze frolic nearby;

"It's weird", she remarked, absentmindedly chucking leaves and sticks that fell from the branches overhead, "I've always felt so ready to get out of this small town, but now that it's finally time to go, I'm freaking out."

"I was just the opposite", Milo answered, "I was really nervous until the night before I left, when Azura found me. Once I knew she'd be coming along, I felt like I'd be alright."

"Huh", Amaya was only half-listening, still lost in her own thoughts, "Hey Milo, could you look over my gear again?"

He'd already gone over her packing three times, but he understood only too well the nerves she was feeling, so he agreed. She maintained her tough exterior, but he could tell that she really was freaking out below the surface.

"Azura! Blaze!" Milo called his Pokémon as he stood and brushed himself off, "we're heading back now, come on!"

After telling Amaya another four or five times that she had everything she needed, Milo went out to one of the few restaurants in Twinleaf with Amaya and her family for a late dinner, and then went back to his room at the Inn, one last time.

At long last, the fateful morning arrived. A small contingent from Twinleaf, mostly Amaya's family, classmates, and teachers, awaited her at the gate that led out of town. In fact, Milo was strongly reminded of his own departure only a few weeks ago. She was less sentimental about it than he had been, though, and after a few necessary goodbyes and encouragements, as well as the inevitable tears, Milo and Amaya left Twinleaf, headed North on the road to Sandgem.

"First stop, Sandgem Town! We'll make it today, right?"

Milo smiled. Amaya was positive brimming with energy and intensity. He reassured her, "Yeah, we'll get there about early to mid-afternoon."

They did in fact make good progress, despite Amaya's rather unnecessary insistence to pull out Coral, her Milotic, to pulverize every Bidoof and Starly unfortunate enough to cross her line of vision.

It was just after lunch when the two young trainers finally made their way through the gates of Sandgem Town.

"Alright", began Amaya, as ready to go as ever, "where's Professor Rowan's lab?"

"Hey, chill for a minute", Milo was breathing heavily, still running to catch up to his new friend; "don't you think you should take Coral through the Pokémon Center first? I know she didn't take many hits, but you can't be too careful…"

"Oh, yeah", Amaya spun around in place until she found the familiar red roofed building, "you can wait, I'll be right back."

With that, she dashed off again, and Milo stood, hands on his knees, in the middle of the main road.

"Hey, move it, kid!"

Milo jumped out of the way instinctively as a biker brushed past him, before turning back around to face him. The rider of the bike was a boy who looked about Milo's age, but was much taller. He wore very clean-looking jeans, and a grey t-shirt under a flashy red leather jacket. His light brown hair spiked stylishly outward from his head, as if he needed anything else to announce his unmistakable presence. He was evidently quite upset.

"Can't you watch where you're standing? I could've run you over, you little punk!"

"Geez, sorry", Milo held up his hands defensively, "didn't see you coming. My bad, okay? Could you calm down?"

Azura had been playing aimlessly by herself, but now she stood in front of her trainer growling softly.

The biker guy yelled, "Don't you dare tell me to calm down! You're the one standing in the middle of the road like a stupid idiot! And get a freaking grip on your little Pokémon, jerk!"

This guy was quickly frustrating Milo. He wouldn't let anybody talk like that about Azura.

"That little Pokémon is my friend", Milo's voice was low, but dangerous, "and she could kick your butt, so back off. Take your bike and get going if you know what's good for you. I said I'm sorry, so let it go and move on."

The biker's eyes narrowed as he sensed Milo's challenge; "…No. I don't think I will move on. I happen to be a rising Pokémon Trainer star, so the only butt getting kicked around here will be yours. What do you say? Your little Dark type…thing, versus my three Pokémon. Or are you too chicken to walk the walk?"

"You're on, with one change", Milo answered, "I get to use both my Pokémon against all three of yours. The battlefield is that way."

The guy smirked, as he and Milo walked over to the field and stood on opposite sides, "You've got two? Don't tell me… are you supposed to be a Trainer too?"

"Yeah, believe it or not, I am", Milo retorted with no small amount of sarcasm, "The name's Milo, I just graduated from the Jubilife Pokémon Trainer Academy."

"Hah! Well, isn't this just perfect", with an arrogant flick of his head, the other Trainer shot back, "I'm Damion Parr, and I am going to be the best Trainer in all of Sinnoh, maybe the whole world. I just got out of Veilstone Pokémon College. Now I get to show you why Veilstone deserves to be called the best school in Sinnoh!"

Milo knew that Veilstone had a reputation for churning out dangerously strong Trainers. Veilstone's Pokémon College had long been the only real rival for the JPTA in terms of quality.

"Hmm. Arrogant, flashy, and disrespectful. I should've known you came from Veilstone. If this is going to turn into JPTA versus the VPC, so be it. I won't lose!"

Milo didn't really know why he was so worked up about this, but his heart was pounding intensely and he could feel the fire behind his eyes, the adrenaline coursing through his veins. It was at this point that Amaya came running back from the Pokémon Center;

"Hey Milo, I'm back, now can we – uh, whoa. Milo? Care to tell me what's up here?"

Without taking his eyes off Damion, Milo explained curtly, "Amaya, this is Damion, he's from the VPC. He thinks he can just push me around, but I'm going to prove to him that the JPTA still produces the best Trainers in the region!"

Damion noticed Amaya, and did a visible double-take, "Hey there girl. What's a hottie like you doing with a JPTA loser? Once I beat him, you're more than welcome to come with me instead."

Amaya, clearly disgusted, retorted immediately, "As if. Crush him, Milo, I'm already sick of him."

"Enough talk, then!" Damion called, "Let's do this! First one out of Pokémon loses, substitutions allowed! Get it done, Zubat!"

The bat Pokémon appeared, fluttering erratically around its half of the field. From the look of it, Milo guessed it hadn't received much training; Damion must've caught it quite recently.

"Blaze, let's go to work!"

Blaze flashed out of his ball, immediately picking up on Milo's heightened intensity and responding in kind.

"Chaarrrrr, Chim Chim!"

Damion wasn't waiting around, "Zubat, Supersonic! Now!"

"Don't give it time, Blaze! Get behind it and Flame Wheel!"

Blaze's speed training paid off; he just barely escaped the Zubat's dangerous sound waves and before it could figure out what was happening, Blaze was behind it charging a Flame Wheel.

"Dodge it!" Damion called furiously, "Get out of the way you blind bat!"

But his ferocity was lost on the Zubat, who had no idea where it was supposed to go and took Blaze's Flame Wheel head on, crumpling to the ground briefly. Milo was wary of assuming it was down, though, and sure enough Damion called out another attack;

"Tackle it! At least get in close and Supersonic again!"

Thinking quickly, Milo tried to disrupt this second Supersonic attack, "Tackle, Blaze, hit it before it confuses you!"

Both plans were successful. Blaze's Tackle hit the Zubat squarely, but it fired its Supersonic accurately before tumbling once more to the ground, unconscious. Blaze had won, but was now stumbling about, clearly confused.

"Blaze, return! Azura, you're up!"

As Azura leapt readily onto the field, Damion called his next, "Zubat botched it. Piplup, get it done!"

As the Water-type starter appeared, Milo's brain was racing, planning compulsively. No more reacting, he decided, it was time he lead this battle;

"Azura, Quick Attack! Follow that with a Pursuit!"

"Piplup, move!"

The small penguin Pokémon was no match for Azura's speed and took the Quick Attack before it could react, but it did manage to just barely avoid the Pursuit follow-up.

"Alright, now Bubble before that thing sets up to dodge!"

It was a good plan, Milo could see that because of the missed attack, Azura was off-balance and wouldn't be able to dodge in time…

"Azura, stay put and beat it back with Shadow Ball!"

The majority of the Bubble attack was dispersed, but the Shadow Ball had been a rather hasty one, so Azura still took a small hit from the Piplup's attack.

Alright, thought Milo, time to end this.

Dark Pulse, said a voice in his head that wasn't his own. Before he could stop himself, he heard the same words come from his own mouth, "Dark Pulse!"

Azura, responding to her Trainer's intensity, put some extra venom into her Dark Pulse, and Piplup was unconscious before it hit the dirt.

What…just happened?

But there was no time to dwell on it. Damion had already thrown his last ball out, and yelled, "I can still whoop you with this last one! Starly, get it done!"

Still unsure of what had just occurred between himself and Azura, Milo decided to switch back to Blaze, who would no longer be confused.

"Azura, let Blaze finish this out!"

With a confused look, Azura trotted slowly off the field as Blaze jumped back out, eager to bring home the victory.

"Starly, Quick Attack!"

"Blaze, you can't dodge that, use Ember!"

Blaze took the Starly's Quick Attack, but because of Milo's quick thinking, the Starly got an Ember to the face. Both Pokémon withdrew to wait for instructions.

"Blaze, get in there with a Flame Wheel!"

Blaze did his best, but the Starly was just fast enough to get out of the way.

"Now Starly, Quick Attack again!"

"Keep moving Blaze, don't stop!"

Milo's gamble paid off. It was a close shave, but because Blaze could use his momentum to gain a head start he just got away from the Quick Attack. Starly couldn't pull out fast enough, and tumbled awkwardly to the ground.

"Now get in with a Focus Punch before it can get up!"

This time Starly wasn't fast enough, and Blaze's Focus Punch ended the battle.

"So, that decides that", Milo called to his opponent, "JPTA 3, VPC 0!"

"Shut up, you punk! I just got these puny little Pokémon, of course I couldn't battle effectively. Once I've had time to actually train them, I'll destroy you!"

With that, Damion Parr hopped on his bike and pedaled away furiously.

Milo watched him ride off, eyes narrowed in rage, until Amaya interrupted his thoughts,

"So, looks like you've got a rival. How did that all happen?"

"He almost ran me over on that bike", began Milo darkly, "and then blamed me for it. I apologized but he wouldn't back off. Once he said he was VPC I couldn't let him go without kicking his butt. Everyone from VPC trains like that, with no compassion, no genuine care for their Pokémon! That's why the JPTA is always better. It's also why VPC grads are always butt-hurt that they can never beat us. And hey, looks like you've got a creepy admirer, I heard his little comment."

"Ugh, that was awful. Subject change, where's the lab? I still need to get my starter!"

With a small shake of his head, Milo calmed himself down enough to point to Rowan's laboratory and lead the way. As the door slid open, the Professor was waiting inside to greet the pair.

"Milo, my boy! Good to see you again, young man. I take it your visit to Twinleaf was unexpectedly productive? And you must be Amaya! I am Professor Rowan. Mr. Kalu told me to expect you."

"Yep, that's me", Amaya could hardly contain herself; "I'd like my starter Pokémon, please! You have a Turtwig, right?"

The Professor gave a kindly chuckle, "As it so happens, Turtwig is the only starter we have left at the moment. We had all three until Milo claimed that marvelous Chimchar of his, and another young man just picked up our Piplup earlier today."

"Perfect", Amaya grinned, "I decided on Turtwig a long time ago."

Milo interrupted with a question, "The other trainer…was Damion, wasn't it, Professor? The one that took Piplup?"

"Yes", said the Professor with a sigh, "I take it the two of you crossed paths?"

"We just had a battle. I swept his team, Piplup included. How could someone like him get a Trainer license, Professor? Surely you can see he doesn't care for his Pokémon partners!"

"Now listen to me, Milo", Professor Rowan's brow furrowed, "I understand your concerns, but Damion is very talented, and has years of schooling. The League does not revoke Trainer licenses because of bad attitudes. The best thing you can do is learn to accept that there will always be Trainers with a philosophy different from yours."

"But Professor, he-"

"That's enough, Milo. You and Damion may be very different Trainers, but he has as much right to catch and train Pokémon as you do. I'll hear no more about it."

Milo fell silent at the man's insistence and seriousness. Professor Rowan turned towards the side hallway and called, "Turtwig? Turtwig! I know you're back there somewhere, come out here!"

Amaya rubbed her hands together in anticipation, as Milo let both his Pokémon out to stretch their legs after the battle. Within a few seconds, the same Turtwig Milo had met two weeks earlier came barreling down the hall into the lobby.

"Hey there, Turtwig", Amaya couldn't contain herself, and ran to meet it; "I'm going to be your Trainer!"

The young Grass-type's face exploded in joy as it began to jump about in excitement at the news.

"Twig! Turt-turt-Twiiig! Tur-"

Suddenly it stopped dead, as it caught sight of Blaze lounging by Milo. Its eyes narrowed and it yelled, "Turtwig-twig!"

Blaze's ears perked up. Seeing his old playmate, Blaze gave a nervous smile and a small wave before tucking himself nervously behind Milo's leg.

"Ah yes", grinned Professor Rowan, "those two always used to be at each other's throats for some silly reason. But I'm sure you two upstanding young Trainers will find a way to help them learn to cooperate, hmm?"

Amaya's joy could not be curbed, and she responded immediately, "They'll be best of pals before you know it. Hey Milo, how about a battle?"

Milo thought about this, but politely declined, "Umm, I'd rather not, since my team and I just finished beating Damion. Besides, if we leave Sandgem now, we can be in Jubilife by dinner. I can show you the JPTA."

"Fair enough, I guess. In that case", Amaya turned to her new Turtwig, "I suppose we should get going, huh little guy? Hey, how about I call you… Terrus?"

"Twig-ig. Twig."

Terrus shot one last nasty glare at Blaze before giving Amaya a nod of agreement.

"Then you'll need this: his Pokéball", Professor Rowan handed Amaya the corresponding ball before wishing the pair good luck, "Well, the two of you had better get going if you're to make Jubilife this evening. Best of luck, and I'll be eager to start seeing your Gym battle victories before too long. I suspect that the two of you will do amazing things. Power seeks its own company, as they say."

Slightly befuddled by Rowan's little tidbit, Milo and Amaya recalled all of their Pokémon and headed out into the afternoon light. After another quick trip to the Pokémon Center to heal Blaze and Azura from their battle with Damion's team, the whole group got underway, leaving North towards Jubilife.

As they walked, the two young trainers released their four Pokémon in order to make proper introductions. The newly christened Terrus was introduced to his teammate, Coral, as well as Azura, while he still made a point of glaring menacingly at Blaze whenever possible. Amaya then recalled her two, while Milo decided to let Azura and Blaze walk with him.

All of a sudden, a voice, just like during the battle with Damion, spoke clearly in Milo's mind,

Master Milo? Can you hear me?

"AAAAHHHH!" Milo jumped and screamed at the top of his lungs, sending Amaya running and spooking every wild Pokémon within a hundred meters.

"Holy crap, Milo, what's going on?" Amaya called from behind a nearby tree, "What the heck just happened?"

"I…I just heard a voice…in my head…it happened when I was fighting Damion, but I was too focused on the battle to think about it…"

Turning slowly to Azura with an expression of absolute shock on his face, Milo could hardly whisper as he voiced his suspicions, "Was…was that you, Azura? Did you just…use telepathy on me?"

Yes, Master, but I'm so sorry I scared you!

Milo still nearly collapsed as the voice entered his head again, but he took several deep breaths and tried to reason himself through what had just happened;

This is cool, it's okay, nobody is invading my head, it's just…my Pokémon communicating to me via telepathy…Okay, yeah, sure, no big deal…Alright.

Should I not use telepathy, Master? Is it too strange?

Amaya, who could hear none of this, was still incredibly on edge, "Hey, Milo, what's going on? Is Azura talking to you somehow? Talk to me, what's happening here?"

"Yeah…" Milo answered shakily, "Yeah, it's Azura. She just figured out how to use telepathy. Umm, wow. Sorry, Azura, it's not your fault, I just wasn't expecting that… Definitely don't stop doing it, though, it's really cool. I was just totally surprised by it."

Alright. You can also just think back at me, you don't have to talk out loud.

Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Well, first things first, I suppose, don't call me Master. Just Milo is fine. We're partners, after all, right? We're a team. I'm nobody's Master. Wow, now that we have this connection, I have a lot of questions and I bet you do, too.

Milo turned to Amaya, who was still looking apprehensively at him, "It's cool, Amaya, I figured out how it works. Now I guess I can talk to Azura whenever I want, so if I'm awkwardly quiet for a while, you'll know what's up."

"I guess I will. Man, some Trainers have all the luck, huh? I mean, wow, actual telepathy! And she's not even a Psychic type!"

"Yeah…it's pretty cool. Still, though, we're both lucky. I mean, how many Trainers start out with a Milotic, much less one as strong and well-trained as Coral? If things keep going our way, we'll take this league by storm!"

"That's a promise", Amaya had her game face on and was in full daydreaming mode before snapping herself back to the present, "But first we should just worry about taking Route 202 by storm. We still have to make Jubilife this evening."

Fortunately, their journey was short and uneventful. Amaya called out Terrus and spent her time acquainting herself with her new partner, including the occasional battle against weak wild Pokémon. Milo spent much of the walk in silent conversation with Azura. As it turned out, Rowan's predictions about her hadn't been far off, though she couldn't tell Milo much more than the Professor already had.

I don't really know that much about myself, she revealed, I couldn't even say for certain why I felt called to choose you. I was drawn to you as soon as I got close to that city, Jubilife, and I just…knew that I had to find you and stay with you.

Azura was also very curious as to Milo's own past, having vaguely seen many of his memories and emotions through their new connection. Milo had always been a quick study, and the pair of them had more or less mastered their new shared power by the time Jubilife's large southern gate came into view. Blaze was even able to talk to his new Trainer using Azura as a kind of messenger. As long as Azura allowed it, Milo and Blaze could speak directly to one another through her mind;

Milo? Azura says you can hear me, is that actually for real?

Yeah, Blaze, I hear you, buddy. This is neat, huh?

Oh my gosh! So much to say… Thanks for my name, and for helping me get stronger, and helping me control my fire, and trusting me, and for picking me in the first place, and not letting Terrus kick my butt, thank you thank you thank you for everything!

Milo laughed aloud at his fiery friend's excitement.

-o-

It was around 5 o'clock in the evening when Milo led a wide-eyed Amaya to the familiar front door of the JPTA. A delighted Mrs. Ketchum opened the door and wrapped him in a welcoming embrace.

"Milo! You're back! The Professor called and told us to expect you, so I've got food all ready for you and your friend and your Pokémon." She then addressed Amaya, "You must be the young lady from Twinleaf, Amaya! It's so good to have you as a guest! My name is Deliah Ketchum, how are you?"

Amaya was still processing the size of Jubilife City, never mind the fact that she was actually standing in the most prestigious Trainer school in Sinnoh. Mrs. Ketchum's introduction shook her from her wonderment only to inspire a fresh wave of awe, "Wait…you're really Mrs. Ketchum? Like, you're Ash Ketchum's mom?"

"Indeed I am", laughed Mrs. Ketchum. "Come, we can talk all about it over dinner, you must be hungry!"

As the whole group settled down in the dining room, the familiar rumble of the JPTA pets brought a broad smile to Milo's face. Sure enough, Shinx, Munchlax, and Buneary all bounded noisily down the hallway to be reunited with their friend.

Milo and Amaya enjoyed a nice, private dinner with Mrs. Ketchum, and all four of their Pokémon were fed and cared for. After a brief discussion, it was decided that there really was no reason for them to stay, and that they would head East for Oreburgh in the morning.

A spare room was found for Amaya, while Milo was given his old room back for the night, which he now shared with Blaze and Azura. As he drifted off to sleep after a long day, Milo thought about how odd it seemed to come back now, how much he had already changed, and learned, in only a few short weeks. He soon fell asleep, with Azura purring contentedly at his feet, and Blaze's tail glowing softly in the corner of the room.

Author's Notes:

Chapter 4 Thoughts: I'm really making a concerted effort to differentiate Damion from the trope Rival character. That's why I emphasized the school rivalry, and gave him a real nasty streak. He's not just another rival (I hope); he represents a hugely different Trainer philosophy and has a vested interest in one-upping Milo whenever possible. I would love to hear your thoughts (pretty please)! I obviously don't own Pokémon, just my OC's.

If you like it, keep reading, and feel free to follow/favorite. That way you can keep up to date with Milo and other people will be more likely to find this story! Thanks for reading! Cheers, all!