Chapter Seven- Town of Flames

Dear Lux,

I know this is sudden, and you're probably wondering where I am, but I need you to do something for me. I want you to challenge the Spes League, I know you can do it. I love you and your mother very much son, promise me that you'll remember that. You are destined for something great, I just know it.

Sincerely,

Your Father.

PS: I know you read this without him, Airi, you've always been like that. Make sure you give him the Axew I bred. I'm sorry.

….

"So, Mt. Rebirth is the dormant volcano that Amber was built around." Niles explained as the two entered the soot covered town, a newly caught Starly resting on his head. The two had been flown to the entrance by Draco, who relentlessly teased his son over his apparent relationship with the Grass Gym Leader, Fiorella Dubois. "But, you probably want to know about the Gym Leaders, right?"

"Yeah." Lux confirmed, Eevee clinging to his shoulder. "Why do say 'Leaders'?"

"Well, there are three to be precise. All siblings, two boys and one girl" Niles continued. "If you have one to three badges, you fight the youngest, Albert, four to eight, the middle child, Aine, nine to thirteen, the oldest, Agni. The remaining results in a double battle with Aine and Agni."

"Wait, so Albert doesn't make it a triple battle?" Lux questioned, bewildered.

"Yeah…" Niles sighed. "He isn't very… talented…"

"So, he just gets shafted?" Lux argued passionately. "That's stupid!"

"Well, he'll be an easy win…" Niles inspired, causing Lux to snarl at the ground. "Actually, why do you care about challenging the league? You're the Champion's son…"

"It's a weird one…" Lux sulked. "As you know, my dad disappeared about a month ago… Well about a week ago we got a letter. It was from my dad telling me to challenge the Pokemon League."

"So… because of a letter, you became a trainer?"

"Pretty much…"

Niles let out a perplexed sigh, shook his head, and slapped his fist into his palm. "Well, let's split up to find the gym!"

Lux grinned at his friend, before pacing off in a separate direction. The town, despite being covered in ash, had an alluring charm of its own. Numerous fire type Pokemon assisted the townsfolk in their daily routines. He couldn't help but notice hot springs along the edge of the town, maybe he ought to take a quick bre-

"Alright ya little freakish cat thing!" A massive, imposing biker shouted, shaking a small bag over a river bridge. Numerous other men and women dressed similarly stood by him "Time to pay for-"

"What the hell are you doing!?" Lux interrupted viciously.

"This little runt here went and made the boss's head go boom! All he wanted was to pet its cute little ears!" Another biker explained. "So we're gonna drown it!"

"Like hell!" Lux lashed out, sending out Axew. One of the men laughed before sending out a Koffing.

"Koffing, use Smog!" The biker commanded, eagerly. Koffing instantly spewed a wave of foul smoke at Axew. Lux swiftly ordered him to use Dual Chop. Axew lept over the gas and struck downward at the Koffing, fainting it. The man stepped back awkwardly, returning his Koffing. "What!?"

A woman from the group laughed hysterically as she sent out a Houndour. "You can't beat us all brat!"

"Axew use Dragon Rage!" He ordered. Axew's mouth began to be enveloped by a blue flame before belching it at his opponent. The Houndour collapsed immediately on contact.

"Already!?" The woman shouted in disbelief, retreating behind the others. The rest of the group looked at each other nervously at Axew's power. The burly man dropped the sack, swore at his crew, and sent out a Croagunk.

"Use Poison Sting!" The man ordered, causing the Croagunk to spit forward a barrage of purple needles. Axew jumped back in pain, growling at itself.

"Dual Chop!" Axew lunged forward in pain, striking at the Croagunk. The Croagunk reeled back and lobbed mud at Axew, blinding him. Axew swung at random, attempting to strike the adversary. "Dragon Rage!"

Axew hesitantly fired to the left, launching the fighting toad backwards into the man. The man grimaced, turned away from the sack, and ran, his followers in tow.

Lux ran over and opened the sack, revealing a small grey bipedal cat. It quickly attempted to hide itself in the sack fearfully. "Hey… It's okay now… I won't hurt you…" It slowly began to reveal itself to him, prompting him to smile gently. It slowly pawed at his hand before smiling back. Eevee jumped from his shoulder and played with the Pokemon. Lux pulled out his Pokedex given to him by his mother. Espurr, the Restraint Pokemon. The organ that emits its intense psychic power is sheltered by its ears to keep power from leaking out. Well that explained the 'head go boom' part. "Alright, would you like to come with me Espurr?"

It thought to itself calmly, before leaping onto his shoulder gleefully, causing Eevee to glare jealously. Lux grinned at Espurr, while returning to his search for the gym. Eventually, he found a building with a massive sign that said, Amber Gym. However, a smaller sign on the door revealed that the gym was closed. Lux pulled out his phone to call Niles.

….

Niles leaned against a wall in the center of town, gazing at the local hot springs. Maybe he could invite Fiorella to come sometime. His gaze shifted to a group of inhabitants surrounding a female merchant.

"Who wants a free shiny Torchic?" She offered, Niles perking up immediately. It was an odd purple and black color."All you gotta do is defeat my guards and you win!" She pointed to a masked man and an armored woman.

Murmurs spread throughout the crowd, a muscular man speaking up. "Alright, prepare to lose!"

As quickly as he boasted, his Pokemon were defeated. The man wielded a Scraggy and the woman, a Honedge. The merchant chuckled arrogantly. "Anyone else?"

"Me." Niles interrupted. The three began to prepare for battle when his phone rang. Niles held out his finger and answered it. "Lux, what's up?"

"Hey, the gym's closed." He reported. "Where are you?"

Niles face went pale, worrying that Lux would steal the Torchic from him. "Go to the library! I hear that Albert is a massive bookworm! He has bright as hell red hair!"

"Why don't we go-"

"I'm busy! Just go read a novel or something!" Niles continued to urge, hanging up eagerly.

….

Lux, Eevee and Espurr glanced to each other in disbelief. He shook his head, annoyed, and left for the library. After wandering around for a few minutes, learning Espurr's moves, he found a tall building titled, Heatran Library. Lux shrugged and proceeded to enter.

Inside, the ceiling stood three stories up, the walls lined with bookshelves. The library seemed to only consist of a single main room with two spiral staircases. Lux walked through the surprisingly empty library, searching for a red haired boy.

Eventually he reached the top where a red haired boy, only a few years younger than Lux, stood atop a ladder, a stack of books in his hands. "Hey, are you Albert?"

The boy jerked back, shocked, and fell from the ladder, Lux barely dodging. Numerous books rained down, pelting the boy, who groaned in pain. Lux attempted to help him, picking the books off of the ground. "S-sorry…"

"It's fine…" The boy grimaced, collecting his novels. They consisted of The Honedge in the Stone, The Pyroar, the Delphox, and the Wardrobe, and Kirlia in Dreamland. He forced himself back up, ignoring Lux's aid. "So, what do you want?"

"I'm looking for the gym leader…" Lux explained.

"Well too bad…" He sulked. He had medium length, red hair that obscured his face, and hazel eyes. He dressed in baggy clothing consisting of a red hoodie, a grey undershirt, blue jeans, and worn red sneakers. "The ones you want to see ran off…"

"Where'd they go?" Lux inquired.

"I don't know…" He continued. "Are you a challenger?"

Lux responded with a simple nod. The boy sighed deeply, annoyed. "How many badges do you have?"

"None." Lux confirmed.

The boy let out a sidelong growl. "Great… Guess you're in luck. I'm Albert Eld." He asserted, leading Lux to the gym.

….

"Skrelp, use Water Gun!" Niles commanded, powerfully. "Starly use Wing Attack!" The two Pokemon did as commanded, striking at their opponents fiercely.

The merchant grinned creepily. "Not bad. Not bad at all!" The two guards retrieved their Pokemon and returned to their positions. The merchant held out a Pokeball for Niles. "Here's your prize!"

Niles smirked proudly, as he retrieved the Torchic, hoping he could defeat Lux soon.

….

"I will use three Pokemon for this battle." Albert sighed, causeless. "I hope that's fine with you…"

"It is!" Lux agreed, Espurr jumping onto the steam and stone ridden field. Albert tossed out a Tepig himself. He awkwardly commanded it to use Ember. "Use Confusion!"

Espurr's eyes shone brightly as it fired a ball of psychic energy at the Tepig. It stumbled back in surprise, tripped, and hurt itself. Lux quickly repeated his order, causing Espurr to knock out the Tepig.

Albert sighed, frustrated. He proceeded to send out a Chimchar next. This time he ordered it to use Scratch. Chimchar began to swipe at Espurr furiously, hurting it severely. Lux ordered Espurr to use Light Screen, enveloping them in a bright barrier. Chimchar struck at Espurr once again, rendering it unconscious.

Lux called back Espurr and sent out Axew. The barrier shifted to protect Axew, who quickly used Dragon Rage. Chimchar was sent backward, then recalled by Albert. Finally, he sent out a Cyndaquil, commanding it to use Smokescreen on Axew.

Axew's face was covered by soot, blinding him, and fired Dragon Rage at random. Cyndaquil began to pepper Axew with Ember, knocking him to his knees. "Axew, listen to me! Fire on my command!"

"Use Tackle!" Albert ordered, attempting to finish off Axew. Cyndaquil circled Axew, before attempting to charge into him.

"To your right!" Lux shouted, Axew blasting Cyndaquil point blank, launching it to the side. Axew, still blind, attempted to celebrate, instead tripping over a rock.

Albert returned Cyndaquil, grimacing. He pulled out a cloud shaped badge, and handed it to Lux. "Congratulations... Here's the Steam Badge…"

"Thank you." Lux politely accepted.

"Whatever… This is how it always goes." He frowned, as if on the verge of tears. "Can I go now?"

Lux informed him of Niles, causing him to wince. "Another one…? Where is he?"

"I don't know-"

"Guess who's back!" Niles celebrated, barging into the gym. "Woah, what's with the sauna?"

Albert sighed, told Niles to wait, and went to heal his Pokemon. Lux walked past his friend, who prepared arrogantly for his battle, and left the gym.