"The tunnel's closed."

"The tunnel's what!?" John exclaimed, eyes widening.

"I said the tunnel's closed, kid." The worker replied through his mustache. He regarded John with an aloof look as he leaned on his shovel. The hot sun beat down on all those in the area, and he removed his hard hat to wipe the sweat from his brow before replacing it atop his head.

John sighed in disappointment, his shoulders sloping. Thea sat on a rock a short distance away, out of earshot of the conversation. She was watching several Butterfree flying around a nearby tree, seemingly enjoying herself.

"Where were you headed?" The man asked, noticing John's downcast attitude.

"Me and my Pokemon were on our way to Rustboro City to battle the gym leader there." John replied.

"That's a real shame." The worker replied as he winced, "This is the only route to Rustboro from Verdanturf. If you still want to get there, you'll have to take the long way around, through Mauville City and Oldale Town."

"You've gotta be kidding me." John groaned.

"Sorry to break it to you kid." The man continued, "This cave in only happened three days ago. Some goons snuck into the tunnel and stole eggs from the Onix who live here. It drove them into a frenzy and they caused so much commotion that some sections of the tunnel ended up collapsing."

John's brow furrowed. He's never heard of anyone stealing Pokemon eggs before, but the thought of it made him feel quite indignant. It was the type of action that he would never consider doing himself, and certainly couldn't condone.

"Any idea who did it?" He asked.

The worker looked both ways as if to check if anyone was listening, and then leaned in closer to John, like he was about to disclose some private information.

"Well I've heard rumors that some thugs from a group calling themselves 'Team Magma' are the ones who did it, but nobody has any proof it was actually them."

"Interesting. I can't say I've heard of them before, though." John replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I hadn't before this, either." He wiped his brow again and put his hand on his chin, as if thinking.

John found himself fuming. Not only had this "Team Magma" completely inconvenienced his entire Pokemon League journey, but they had also cruelly stolen the young of innocent wild Pokemon. Whoever these people were, he hoped to one day meet them so he could-

His train of thought was interrupted as the worker he had been speaking to placed a burly hand on his shoulder.

"Hey kid, you're a Pokemon trainer, right?"

John nodded in response, taken a little off guard.

"Well, make me a promise. If you ever cross path with the hoodlums who pulled this stunt, give 'em a good whack for me and my crew, okay? Repairing this tunnel is going to take weeks, and we're stuck in the hottest season of the year."

"Sure." John smiled, "You got it."

The man took at step back and gave a thumbs up, coupled with a toothy grin.

"And good luck on all your adventures kiddo!"

"Thanks!" John replied as the worker turned to walk away, "Good luck with the excavation!"

As his conversation finished, John made his way back to where Thea had been sitting. He chuckled under his breath upon reaching her. She was no longer observing other Pokemon, but was now splayed out on her back, eyes closed as she reveled in the hot sun. Her mouth was open in a content smile, and her small chest rose and fell with cute little breaths. Her blue hair hung down over the side rock. She looked as if she was in her own little world.

"What are you, a Meowth? Didn't know you were so into sunbathing." John asked, laughing as he crouched down beside her.

"John!" She telepathically exclaimed, shooting up in surprise to look at him with an with her big orange eyes, a faint pink blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. She averted her gaze immediately after, looking at the ground rather than at her trainer.

"I was just appreciating the weather, sorry."

"Don't be!" John replied with a smile, "You were pretty cute enjoying yourself there in the sunbeam."

Her blush doubled in it's intensity and she scrunched up her mouth in response, continuing to refuse to look at John. It seemed that a small patch of grass out of the lower right corner of her eye was far more interesting than her trainer as her gaze seemed totally fixed on it.

John made a mental note to tease her far more often.

"So... what did you find out?" John heard the words in his head. She was clearly attempting to get down to the matter at hand.

John sighed.

"Well Thea, it's mostly bad news." He said regretfully.

The Kirlia's face became far more serious in response, the blush dissipating almost completely as now looked at him directly.

"What's up?"

"Well it seems like some criminals went into the tunnel a few days ago and stole the eggs from the Onix who live there. They ended up getting so mad that they caused a cave in."

"That's horrible!" Thea exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Yeah, it really sucks. And since we can't use the tunnel, we're gonna have to take a really long alternate route to fight Roxanne in Rustboro City. It'll probably take us a while to get there."

The appeared to be in thought for a few seconds before her features softened. John had little to no idea how she was going to take the news.

"Well, what do you think?" John asked, scratching the back of his head.

"I think the situation with the Onix is terrible." She started, "But I'm not too broken up about the detour."

John blinked, "And why is that?"

"Well," She looked at him, "You and I will be traveling together, right?"

"Um, yeah." He replied.

"As long as that's our situation, I'll be happy." She said, closing her eyes and giving him a big smile.

For once, John was at a loss for words. It seemed that he truly had the perfect companion.

"Y'know what? Same here." He said, returning her smile.

He scooped her up and placed her on his shoulders as she laughed.

"Okay!"

She slapped the top of his head with one hand and pointed forward with the other.

"Mush!"

And with that, the duo set off on the longest detour of their lives.

Days passed as John and his party traveled. It wasn't long before they were in Mauville City once again.

John coughed as a large city bus belched a large cloud of smoke right in front of him. It was midday, and buildings covered in neon signs stretched as far as he could see. As he and his group moved to cross the street with a large group of people, a businessman ran past John, bumping into him and nearly knocking him over. He righted himself and quickly glanced to make sure his Pokemon were alright.

"Y'know, this place kinda loses a bit of its charm once you've been here once already." He groaned.

Oddball and Earl nodded in response, as Thea held a hand over her mouth, with one eye closed. He could tell that this visit would quite likely be on the shorter side.

"John!" Wattson exclaimed when he saw the doors open, "I didn't expect you back so soon!"

"Neither did I." John admitted, chuckling. "We ended up getting turned around. Rusterf Tunnel was caved in."

"Shame." Wattson said, "Was the journey a complete waste, then?"

"Well, not exactly. We met some... friends along the way. Well, more like rivals, I guess you could say."

"Well then it wasn't a waste at all!" The gym leader exclaimed, "Finding a rival is a nearly integral part of any Pokemon adventure! Journeys just aren't the same without them!"

John and Thea laughed. Both the Phanpy and Pidove got busy making themselves comfortable in the lobby while the pair chatted with the older man.

"So what are they like?" He asked.

"Well the trainer is a guy who's older than me by about four years, which is a pretty big experience gap."

"What's he got for Pokemon? How many?" Wattson asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just one. A Gardevoir. She's crazy strong." John responded.

Wattson's eyes widened before he broke into a hearty laugh.

"Wahahaha!"

"What's so funny about that?" John asked, despite laughing a little himself. Such a jovial personality was highly infectious.

"I'm just impressed with how large of a goal you've decided to set for yourself! To say this guy has a head start on you would be an understatement. You think you can catch up?"

John looked at Thea, who nodded back at him. He looked at the gym leader with determined eyes.

"I'm sure we can."

"Well I must say I admire your ambition. Still, It's pretty ironic that you managed to find another trainer like you. Gardevoir are quite rare. You don't see many trainers with them. You're the first I'd had in my gym in a long time."

"Really?" John asked. He knew Thea was special, but he didn't know that Gardevoir as a species were overly rare.

"Well, you almost never see a Gardevoir in the wild, and Ralts are not at all common. They're hard to train, too. Lots of trainers end up giving up on them before they really form a bond and mature."

"I wasn't aware of that." John said, casting a questioning glance at the Kirlia standing beside him.

"What makes you think I would know any of this? It's not like I have a textbook for own species. I can't even remember my parents, you know that." She replied, her tone slightly cold.

"Anyways, I'm sure you're gonna knock it out of the park." Wattson said, "I've seen you and your little gang in action, don't forget!"

John smiled at the compliment, but found himself asking questions. Why had Duncan, some random Pokemon trainer, been able to outclass him and Thea by such a huge degree when he had been able to overcome a licensed gym leader? Had Duncan taken on the gym leaders at some point in his life? Did he beat them? Had he only used one Pokemon to do it, like he did now? Was something like that even possible? What was he doing nowadays, if he was so powerful? He didn't seem driven by a particular desire back when they had seen each other before.

John realized that his time spent with his so called "rival" had created many more questions than it had answered.

After a little more chatting, Duncan and his crew left Mauville City's gym and, after grabbing a bite to eat, set off towards Route 110, the cycling road. After renting a bike, it wasn't long before John was flying down the cycling road, wind blowing though both his hair and the hair of the Kirlia sitting in the bicycle basket on the front of his handlebars. John laughed as Thea held onto the sides with an iron grip, teeth clenched and eyes wide with fear.

"John, when I get out this basket I'm going to kill you! I swear!"

"This was your idea!" He laughed, "You begged me to rent the bike with the basket!"

"That was because I wasn't expecting you to be doing mach one for the entire ride!" She snarled back, letting out a little scream as John rounded a particularly sharp corner.

Showing mercy, John heavily reduced his speed for the second half of the trip, and the pair were able to enjoy the scenery on display along the road without one of them fearing for their lives.

With their travels on the bike track finished, the group had nearly reached Oldale town. The only thing standing in their way was route 103.

John decided that it would be best to let all his Pokemon run free on a nice scenic route like this one, so he walked along the path as both Phanpy and Thea plodded along beside him, while Oddball flew a short distance ahead. The path was pretty much a straight passage, flanked by heavy trees on one side and large, heavy reaching rocks on the other. Noticing a slight chill in the air, John pulled his gaze away from where his Phanpy had begun rooting around in to dirt to realize that nearly the entire day had passed. The sun would soon be setting. It would be wise to try and get to Oldale before night actually set in.

Oddball suddenly returned, squawking excitedly at both his trainer and fellow Pokemon team.

"What's he saying?" John asked, looking at Thea.

Her expression soured in an instant as she translated the bird Pokemon's message.

"He says that the road ahead is blocked by water. That there's no way we'll be able to cross it."

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." John growled, doubling his pace as his eyes narrowed.

Sure enough, it was true. At the end of the path, there was a sizeable river that was far too deep and wide to cross safely by swimming. Rocks had been placed to create a calm section in the middle, and while that may have been an improvement, it didn't help John's situation in the slightest.

John let out a deep sigh. He seemed to be faced with setback after setback as of late.

"I hate to say it guys, but it looks like we're gonna have to go back the way we came. I'll put you back in your Pokeballs, so it wont be too bad, don't worry." He offered a little smile to his team.

John may have been putting on a brave face, but Thea could easily sense the defeat and disappointment that her trainer was feeling. She found herself wishing she could do something to help.

"You wanna cross that river?"

John whipped around to see who had spoken. In his haste to see the river, he hadn't noticed that a stranger had been sitting on a large rock near the river's edge. He couldn't make out much the features, but the voice definitely sounded male, and he could tell from the silhouette that the person was wearing some kind of long scarf or headband, which was blowing in the wind.

"That would be great, yes." He replied, a hint of caution in his voice.

The stranger jumped down off the rocks and walked until he was facing John, standing at the center of the river, with the setting sun behind him. He looked to be about the same age as John, with long blonde hair and a set of piercing blue eyes. He stood confidently in a black hoodie and grey sweatpants, a pair of skateboard shoes adorning his feet. His most striking feature, however, was the red scarf he wore around his neck. It seemed to be almost too long, with ends that had been frayed from wear. They flowed in a glorious fashion against the backdrop of the brilliantly orange setting sun, almost giving him the look of a fictional character from an anime or video game.

"I'm Chase! You can call me 'The Red Dragon'!" He exclaimed as he pointed an outstretched finger at John, "And I'll take you across that river if you can defeat me in a Pokemon battle!"

John grinned. It had been too long since he and his team had some good action.

"Okay, you're on. My name's John." He replied as he locked eyes with his opponent, "What's the plan?"

"Two against two. Right here. One Pokemon at a time." The Red Dragon replied, producing a Pokeball and a Great Ball from the pocket of his hoodie and pointing down at the spot where they were standing.

John gave a quick nod, and with that the battle began.

"Go, Edward!" Chase yelled, underhand throwing the Pokeball from his hand as a Machop emerged from it, throwing up a cloud of smoke and it hit the ground, striking a martial arts pose.

"Machop!" It growled, flexing its biceps.

"John, let me take this guy." John felt Thea's words ring through his mind as he sized up his opponent's Pokemon, "Psychic type Pokemon heavily counter fighting types."

She was right, but John had a hunch that the other trainer was hiding a much more powerful Pokemon inside that Great Ball. He decided to save Thea, his strongest, to go up against whatever Chase had up his sleeve.

"That's not a bad idea, but I think this guy is hiding something big after his starter. I'll save you for then, just in case."

"Okay, if that's what you think is best." She replied, willing to put her trust in her trainer.

John nodded before turning to Earl and pointing at him.

"You got this Earl. I choose you."

"Phan!" He responded, puffing out his chest and running towards the Machop standing in front of Chase.

"You ready?" John asked, looking towards his opponent.

"Yeah. Bring it!" The Red Dragon exclaimed, throwing his arms wide in a 'come at me!' kind of gesture.

And with that, the battle began.

"Edward, use low sweep!" Chase exclaimed, taking a battle pose behind his Pokemon as the Machop charged forward.

"Earl, defense curl!" John said quickly.

The Phanpy crouched low in a defensive stance as the it's opponent swept out with it's leg, connecting with one of Phanpy's legs, knocking him back but not toppling him. Both Pokemon took a step backwards after the clash, but it was clear that Earl was now favoring the leg that had been struck. He would be slowed significantly for the rest of the battle.

"Karate chop!" The trainer with the scarf yelled.

"Defense curl!" John responded again.

"Chop!" Edward growled.

Phanpy took an even more defensive stance, and the Machop struck him with his hand. The attack landed solidly, but Phanpy was now a tank thanks to two uses of defense curl. He only took minimal damage.

"Solid strategy." Chase complimented, a hand on his chin in thought.

"Thanks." John replied. He preferred as little banter as possible while battling.

"Shame it won't save you! My Machop is the strongest out there, my dude!"

"We'll see about that." John responded, "Hit him with a tackle!"

"Seriously?" The Red Dragon exclaimed, "You're gonna use normal type moves against-"

He was cut off as Earl slammed into Edward with his body, throwing him back off his feet onto his backside.

"What-" Chase exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Before he can recover! Rollout! Just like you saw in the gym!" John commanded as he thrust one of his arms forward.

There was no time to react as the Phanpy curled into a ball and began to spin at a very high speed, quickly rolling into the Machop and continuing to spin, grinding the enemy Pokemon into the dirt.

"I've never seen Rollout used like that before!" The Red Dragon said to himself, clearly quite surprised. "Get out of there, Edward!"

The Machop managed to get a hold on Earl with his immense strength, bringing his rolling to a halt. He threw the Phanpy several feet backwards and rose to his feet. The fighting type Pokemon was quite obviously the worse off of the two in terms of damage now. Scrapes and scratches adorned it's body, and it was breathing hard.

"Ma... chop." It growled as it glared daggers at it's opponent.

John looked to Thea for translation. She brought her eyes up to him in response.

"I'm not going to repeat that kind of language." She said, taken slightly aback.

"You're pretty good." Chase said, closing his eyes and shrugging his shoulders with a small smile. "I think I've underestimated you a bit. Using an ineffective move like tackle for it's utility in knocking Pokemon over so that you can follow up with your actual attack is a pretty smart plan."

John offered him a nod in response.

Suddenly, the trainer's features darkened as his eyes opened and transfixed themselves on John. His small smile quickly grew into a harsh slash of a smile.

"Too bad all that scheming won't mean a thing. Edward?"

"Machop?" The Pokemon asked, glancing sideways.

"Revenge." The single word seeped through the grin transfixed on Chase's face.

John opened his mouth to speak but he was cut off as Machop roared and charged forward with incredible speed. The Pokemon jumped into the air and delivering a spinning kick to Earl's face, staggering him backwards. As Earl reeled, he was struck with a powerful uppercut that launched him into the air. As he began to fall back to the ground, Edward took a low stance, pulling a fist back in preparation for the final blow.

"Earl!" John called out.

"Now!" Chase roared.

He connected, sending the Phanpy skidding backwards in the dirt before coming to a rest.

"What kind of move was that?" The exclaimed as she glanced nervously at John, "I've never seen it before."

"Revenge is a move that's way stronger if it gets used right after a Pokemon takes major damage. I haven't seen it used before, either." John replied, staring nervously at where Earl was lying in the dirt. A small dust cloud had been kicked up behind where he had stopped skidding. The now nearly set sun shone a few beams through the dust.

"Well, it seems like that's that, huh?"Chase said smugly, "Don't feel to bad, I've been-"

He was cut off as Earl slowly got to his feet, one eye closed in pain. He seemed to be having some trouble standing, but he was certainly still in the fight.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me" Chase groaned, putting a hand on his forehead.

"Phan... py?"

"Thea, translate." John commanded.

The smiled.

"He says, 'Is that all you've got?'"

John chuckled in response.

"Chop! Machop!" The opposing Pokemon shot back.

"The Machop says, 'Your ass is grass. This ends here.' Charming."

"Phanpy." Earl said, his eyes glowing with determination.

"Earl says, "I'm done talking. Let's end this.'"

"So am I." John said, looking towards his Pokemon. Earl looked back and nodded.

"You're... what?" Chase asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Use Rollout!"John exclaimed.

As Earl curled into a ball to prepared to use the attack, John's opponent grit his teeth in frustration.

"Oh no way, it aint not going down like this! Hit 'em with Knock Off!"

Edward growled as his fist surged with dark energy. He pulled his fist back and ran at Earl, who began to roll at top speed towards his foe. The fighting type Pokemon threw his punch forward as his opponent ran into him, connecting and creating a loud noise and a small shock wave that blew some of John's hair back. Both trainers watched in anticipation as both fighters had a test of strength. After Earl continued to spin on Edward's fist for a few seconds, he slowly began to overpower the Machop, who seemed to have tired after using Revenge earlier. What had looked like a test of strength was actually a test of endurance.

"No!" Chase exclaimed.

The Machop's arm was blown back as Earl connected with full force, knocking Edward out on impact as he was driven down into the ground. The Phanpy came out of the Rollout, took three steps forward, and collapsed.

John, Thea, and Oddball all cheered excitedly at their victory. John pumped a fist in the air, Thea spun happily in circles, and Oddball flew in loops in the air, squawking loudly. After their previous defeat, it felt good to have a win again. Chase looked disappointed, recalling his Machop and saying something under his breath that John couldn't make out.

"That was really close." John said, calling Earl back to his ball and thanking him for his performance.

The last sliver of sunlight faded behind the water, revealing a multitude of stars overhead. The night was clear, and moon's reflection cast off the water as the dust from the previous battle cleared.

Chase withdrew the Great Ball from the pocket of his sweater, admiring it in the moonlight. It was easily recognizable from its blue and red markings.

"Do you wanna know why they call me the red dragon?"

"Uh, sure?" John responded, as Thea cast a quizzical glance at their opponent.

"Let me show you."

With that, Chase nonchalantly tossed the great ball over his shoulder into the river. John was about to ask him what he was doing when his though process was interrupted by a deep roar coming from beneath the waves. Suddenly, a massive Pokemon emerged from the water, letting loose and nearly ear-splitting screech as it rose to it's full height, towering over everything in the surrounding area as the upper portion of it's body stuck out of the river. It looked like an aquatic dragon. It's eyes seemed filled with an unstoppable rage, matching nicely with the brilliant red scales that covered it's body. The monster glared at it's opposition and gnashed it's fangs.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" John exclaimed, eyes widening as both he and his party took a couple steps back.

"Is that a Gyarados? Why is it red? I've never seen one up close before!" Thea's words rang through John's mind, tainted with panic.

"Hehehe."

Chase's chuckle became almost hysterical laughter as he spread his arms wide and looked up at the sky.

"Hahahahaha!"

John had to admit that this trainer certainly knew how to make things exciting. The sight of him standing there laughing while his beast of a Pokemon towered right behind in the moonlight was a sight that would intimidate anyone.

The Gyarados proceeded to lean down near Chase, allowing its trainer to clamber on atop it's neck. It rose back to it's full height, with The Red Dragon now riding high on it's back.

"I'd like you to meet Alphonse!" He exclaimed, "He's quite a sight, isn't he?"

"You could say that, yeah." John responded, his mind buzzing as he tried to formulate a battle strategy.

"He's a shiny, that's why he's red." Chase explained as his features suddenly lit up, "That gives me an idea! Your Kirlia is shiny, right? Why don't we pit shiny against shiny? Seems like a pretty fitting way to end this."

John found himself agreeing.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. Thea, are you ready?"

"Always."

Thea quickly flipped in front of her trainer, eager to start the battle.

"Okay, let's dance!" Their opponent roared from the top of his Gyarados.

The battle that followed was one of attrition. Alphonse was powerful enough to knock Thea out with only a few attacks, but she was putting everything into avoiding his moves. Her incredible agility coupled with the utility of her Double Team was enough to allow her to only take glancing blows from the overpowering moves her opponent was using. Whenever she was able to dodge successfully, she used the opportunity to pelt the Gyarados with a usage of Magical Leaf. It was a battle strategy that proved itself to be very effective, not to mention that Thea's status as a fairy type Pokemon meant that any dragon type moves that Chase tried to use would have no effect on her, cutting off some of his strongest moves.

"Hold still!" Chase yelled angrily.

"Oh yeah, what a brilliant idea. Why haven't I tried that, again?" The sighed, sidestepping an ice fang that destroyed one of her doubles and firing a group of magical leaves into her foe's eyes.

"You're doing great, Thea." John reassured as a bead of sweat began to drip from his brow, "But we both know you can't keep this up forever. He's gonna outlast you if we don't figure out how to end this soon."

"I know." She replied as she panted, "But he's too heavy for me to use confusion on. I can't budge him."

"Hang in there!" John cried, "I'll think of something!"

John wracked his brain for a plan to finish the fight. Was it possible that Thea simply lacked the firepower to win, like when she had faced off against Elysium? No, that battle had been different. John knew they could win this time.

Suddenly, and Idea came to him. Thea had never used this move before, but it was likely their only chance to pull off a victory.

"Thea, buy yourself some time!" John yelled, "Make an opening!"

"There's no openings, man!" Chase growled in unison with his Pokemon, "Aqua Tail! We're done here!"

"Don't count on it." The said, her eyes glowing blue as she used confusion to levitate the dirt from the ground she was standing on into a giant cloud, obscuring the vision of her foes.

"That's playing dirty!" Chase snarled before chuckling to himself, "...or dusty? Playing dusty? Hehehe."

"You need to concentrate!" John cried, "Clear your mind! Focus! You can do this!"

Obscured by the cloud, Thea fell to one knee and closed her eyes. Clear her mind? She wasn't completely sure what he meant, but she had a slight idea what he was thinking of. She had never even done the move that her hunch said he was hoping for. The odds of her pulling this off with no experience before the cloud dissipated were slim to none. She shook her head. Why had he gone with such a risky plan?

"Thea! I believe in you!"

Oh. Right. That was why.

Thea began to speak telepathically.

"My mind is my strongest weapon."

It was a different feeling than her conversations with John. It felt like she was projecting her thoughts to the surround area, not just at one individual person. It was like everything could hear her. Like she was talking to every little inanimate object around her.

"All weapons must be kept in peak condition."

John could see a faint blue flow coming from within the clouds of dust, but it was impossible to tell what was actually happening.

"I take this time to sharpen my sword."

Chase squinted. All he had to do was wait for a clear shot, and he could finish the fight with one attack. He was confident of that fact.

"When I finish speaking, it's edge will be razor sharp."

Thea stood up and simultaneously dispersed the entire could of dust with a wave of her arm.

"What the hell?" Chase yelled, "What was that move? How did you do that?"

John was at a loss for words. Thea stood before the Gyarados, eyes glowing brilliantly. That wasn't all that was glowing, as her entire body seemed to be enveloped in a blue aura that illuminated the surrounding area. John swore he could almost feel the power coming off of her from where he was standing. She stared down the massive beast that was her foe with a pair of cold eyes. He had to admit that he was a incredibly impressed she had been able to pull off Calm Mind without having practiced it before. By clearing her mind and focusing, psychic Pokemon are capable of greatly improving their psychic abilities and special defense for a limited time. The trick was buying enough time to actually pull off the technique.

"John, what do you say we end this?" Thea asked, her telepathic words almost sounding like an actual voice in this heightened state.

"I was thinking the same thing." John agreed "Thea! Use Confusion!"

"I don't care what kinda of Super Saiyan bullshit you're trying to pull right now, but I'm not losing!" Chase growled while grinding his teeth together, "Aqua Tail!"

As Alphonse turned to swing with his tail, Thea grabbed his face with her telekinesis and stopped him in mid air. Using both arms and gritting her teeth, she let out a yell as she redirected the serpent's face down into the shore with all her strength. The ground shook a little from the impact, and Chase screamed in surprise as his mount collided with the earth. The serpent recoiled back into the air with a roar of pain, temporarily stunned.

"Don't let up! Keep attacking! Don't give him a second to recover!" John exclaimed, his hands balled into fists.

Thea continued her assault, slamming Alphonse's head once again. She roared as she pulled a large boulder from the riverbank and threw it into her foe, nearly knocking it over. She kept up these two attacks until her enemy looked ready to collapse.

"This is it!" She exclaimed, raising her hands in the air as an incredibly high volume of magical leaves appeared surrounding the Alphonse on all sides.

Chase looked around and sighed.

"You cannot be serio-"

He was interrupted as the attack struck his Pokemon from all sides at once, causing it to roar in pain and fall onto the shore. It was knocked out before it even hit the riverbank. Chase tumbled off and lay beside the water, groaning.

The aura surrounding Thea slowly faded and she turned around to look at her trainer, offering a shaky smile. John rushed forward and picked her up, giving her a warm hug.

"That was incredible! You were incredible!" He exclaimed, squeezing her in his arms.

"Thanks John." She replied, burying her face in his chest.

"I'm okay, in case anybody was wondering." The Red Dragon groaned, interrupting the moment from his spot in the dirt.

"Oh, right." John chuckled, making his way over to where his former opponent lay and offering him a hand. Chase took it, and John helped him to his feet.

"Thanks." The trainer sighed, "Hell of a fight, man. Thanks for that."

"Could've gone either way. It was pretty great." John agreed. Both trainers exchanged a look of respect and admiration.

Chase reached into his pocket and produced a small yellow crystal which John recognized as a revive. He lumbered over to his defeated Gyarados and used the item on it, restoring it's consciousness. The Pokemon groaned and looked up at it's trainer. It's previously rage filled eyes were now apologetic. It gave a soft growl.

"Hey, don't worry about it Al." Chase said as he placed a hand on the Pokemon's snout, "You did great out there. We almost had 'em. Besides, I think we put on a pretty good show."

The serpent snorted in response.

"Exactly!" Chase laughed, "Now let's head home, yeah?"

The Gyarados gave a mighty nod and turned, allowing The Red Dragon to climb aboard. Thea and John watched with curiosity. This monster of a Pokemon now seemed almost completely docile.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" The rider exclaimed, "Climb on! I said I would take you across, right?"

The pair hesitated before approaching.

"Before we get on, I've got a question for you." John said, eyeing Alphonse.

"Don't worry!" Chase hollered as his scarf flared out behind him, "He only bites when I tell him to!"

"Actually, I was wondering about our deal." John uttered as Thea climbed onto his shoulders.

"What about it?"

"Were you really going to turn us away if you won?"

Chase looked at John for a second before bursting into laughter.

"Nah, man." He said, still chuckling. "I wasn't gonna make you turn around and walk all the way back. It just would've been more of a pity ride. This is like a respect ride. That's like the opposite of a pity ride."

"Right. Good to know."

With that, John and Thea climbed onto the red Pokemon's back. Oddball flew close by.

"Oldale isn't a very big town, but there's an inn where you could stay the night. I'm assuming you're on your way to Petalburg to challenge the gym leader, right?"

"That's right." John replied as Thea nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Sweet. I've got faith in you, man. You and that Kirlia are going places, I can tell." Chase said as his Pokemon began to swim towards their destination. The ride was surprisingly smooth.

As John rested his head back and looked up at the brilliant night sky, Thea sat beside him, resting her little head against his side. He couldn't have been more proud of her. This battle had been great for his team. Both Thea and Earl had learned new moves, and Thea now possessed a means of greatly increasing her own power, which would allow her to take on opponents who were far stronger than those they had faced before. He still had a long way to go before he would be able to face Duncan, but today had been an important step forward for John, Thea, and the rest of his team.

John put an arm around her and pulled her closer as he looked at the approaching horizon, a small but confident smile forming on his face.

Hey guys! It's the author here. Long time no talk, huh? I just wanted to offer my sincerest thanks to everybody who's read my story, left a favorite or follow, and especially those of you who have taken the time to write a review. The lot of you are the reason I decided to come back and continue writing this story. I'm going to be writing a lot more now, so please stick around! New chapters will be coming out very soon!