I'm back and still alive! But is Muffin okay? What about the mysterious Pokémon? Will Barbaracle come back in the future? If you've read the back of nearly any novel ever, then you probably know that the answer to all of these is yes. xD

Anyway, on to the story!

Muffin lay on what felt like a solid board with his eyes closed. It was stiff like a board, but there was enough cushioning on it to make it comfortable. It was comfortable enough to rest on, at least for a little while. There was a bright light above him, as well as the soft hum of machinery.

Wait, he thought. This almost felt familiar.

Too familiar.

Muffin woke with a start and leaped off of the cushioned board. He knew the feeling all too well. If this place was what he thought it was…

Fortunately, this wasn't the place; this place looked much different. The walls were a soft orange, and there were no cages. Around him were a bunch of other Pokémon, both unconscious and starting to wake up, also on beds.

"Be careful!" One Pokémon hissed. It was a farfetch'd, which had apparently just woken up. "Not all of these Pokémon are fully healed yet. Do you want anyone getting hurt?"

"How else are you supposed to react to randomly waking up in a place you've never been?" Muffin shot back. "...And what do you mean 'healed?'"

"Right." The farfetch'd rolled its eyes. "You're new. Typical of Kalos Pokémon, I suppose. You come here when your health is low, and you can get it filled back up for free." He hopped out of his bed. "Anyway, since you're fully healed now, you should probably pack up and go." Muffin flicked his tail dismissively at the farfetch'd, and left the room.

As he left the Pokémon Center, he remembered the odd Pokémon at the end of Parterre Way. Where was he? He definitely had the features of a houndour, but he also had two fins on his back, almost like a carvanha. Could he have been a fusion? Well, whatever happened probably didn't matter now. What mattered right now was getting his first gym badge. It was already the afternoon, and he didn't want to have to wait another day before proceeding.

He took two turns to reach the Santalune Gym (the area was fairly small, hardly worth being called a city). Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bolt and Kiki run past in the direction of Ouvert Way. If they're headed that way, then they probably haven't defeated the gym, Muffin thought to himself as he walked inside.

"Oh, you're back. I wondered when you would be."

Muffin walked up to the vivillon. "Well, I'm here for one thing, and one thing only."

"Of course." Tulip nodded. "Why else would you be here? So, without further ado, shall we get started?"

Muffin fired a Shadow Ball at her. "Gladly."

He leaped up into the air to dodge Surskit's incoming Quick Attack, only to be hit by Tulip's Tackle. He fell to the ground, landing right in front of another Quick Attack. After running to a safe part of the arena, he began to charge his Shadow Ball. This time there was no risk of it not affecting his opponent, since neither of them were Normal types. He swiftly dodged another Tackle from Tulip, and fired his Shadow Ball at her. Muffin smirked with satisfaction, only to see that she shook it off without much second thought.

The Gym Leader smiled back at him, and fired a swarm of insects. Muffin began to charge his Shadow Ball again, recoiling at the biting pain of the Infestation. He was about to fire it when a small flurry of bubbles came his way. He yelped and ducked, his tail wagging back and forth. Once he was sure they were gone, he looked up to see the two opponents giving him a sympathetic look. Muffin sneered, and zipped at Surskit with Quick Attack. The surskit slammed against the wall and began to push himself up. Out of the corner of his eye, Muffin could see Tulip's skin thickening and hardening.

"A very good tactic," she said. "However, you need to keep in mind that a strong opponent may have a way to work around them, or undo them altogether."

Muffin winced at the Infestation as he began to think of a plan. Surskit, with his lowered Defense could be defeated in two more hits at the most, but Tulip, his biggest concern, still had most of her health left.

Surskit slammed into him with another Quick Attack. Muffin leaped onto his feet and did the same. The Pond Skater Pokémon slid across the hardwood floor, too exhausted and battle-damaged to keep fighting. That was one Pokémon down. Now he just had to deal with Tulip. Surviving long enough to take her down was also proving to be difficult.

He shook off the last of the Infestation and began to charge his Shadow Ball. However, the Gym Leader launched another Infestation at the tiny Pokémon. He jumped out of the way and fired the Shadow Ball. He pulled out an Oran Berry and stuffed it into his mouth as Tulip got up from the critical hit.

"I must say, you've made it further than I expected." She smiled. "If you managed to win, though, I'd be rather impressed, considering you're just by yourself."

Muffin narrowed his eyes and charged forward with another Quick Attack. This seemed to be a much more effective move to use; he had his Ability to thank for that. Tulip slammed into him with Tackle once more.

He struggled to push himself up. He felt exhausted, as though a single hit would take him out if he wasn't careful. Muffin sped forward, hitting Tulip with one last Quick Attack.

To his gratitude, this was just enough to finally take her out. Tulip weakly lifted herself into the air.

"Well, congratulations," she said. "You just beat your first gym! That must feel good, huh?"

Muffin gave a small nod. It felt even more rewarding than he thought it would. Tulip walked over to a large crate and handed a small token to him.

"Take this. It's your gym badge. Equip it to your Capture Beam, and you'll be notified if an opponent is higher level than you or your partners. I honestly don't see why everyone doesn't have a Capture Beam already; they're really worth the money. Here, take this exit."

Muffin took the badge and pinned it onto his Capture Beam. He nodded farewell to Tulip and Surskit, and began to climb up the stairs. As he climbed up, he stuffed two Oran Berries into his mouth. There was no reason to wait until tomorrow to go to the next city. Parterre Way was fairly peaceful, so he didn't have to worry about being attacked by others.

"Thank you for choosing Hotel Richissime. We hope you enjoy your night."

Muffin, about to collapse with exhaustion, nodded and gave a small "Mm-hm." He crawled into the elevator, holding himself up off the ground with one paw, and rose to his room's floor. He found his way to his hotel room and climbed on top of his bed. He looked at the digital clock; it read 12:36. He let out a heavy sigh and drifted off almost instantly.

Welp, I'm finally done. So, Muffin has now defeated the Santalune Gym, and has made his way to Lumiose City!

Now that I've caught up with Bolt's side of the story, the two are going to be updated at the same time as one another. That means that updates will be much slower than they already were, and I'm sorry about that.

Anyway, Muffin belongs to Squishy Blue,

Kiki belongs to chimpy888,

Wrath belongs to nicranger,

And Bolt and any others belong to me

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll try to write a little more frequently!