Chapter 6: A Hard Fight

Light shifted her gaze up to the final battle platform, a weary smile on her lips as she approached the fighting type gym leader. The two gym trainers had been tough but she had managed to beat both of them without using Eve, saving her strongest for the real challenge.

The gym leader was watching her now, leaning against his kendo stick with his eyes half closed. He was a young gym leader, most of them in Heiwa were, and slightly short for his age but he was well experienced with his chosen type.

Behind him sat his three partners: the fighting type eeveelution and town guardian Fighteon, the strange wrestling bird Hawlucha, and the region native and strongest fighter Kendive.

"You're the third challenger today, has the prof finally chosen his pokédex holders?" the gym leader's voice drew her attention back to the coming battle as she finally took her place opposite him.

The thought of pokédex holders hadn't occurred to her before, though she guessed Forest had taken the last starter when he mentioned hers.

"My name is Tai and I watch over this fighting type domain as the master of kendo. Let's see if you're actually ready to be a trainer then…" he motioned his hawlucha forward as he surveyed her pokémon, "This is a 3 on 3 battle so let's begin."

Light nodded as her new vulpix Flame jumped into the ring, a flame already at her lips as she charged at the bird pokémon.


Shadow padded through the thick Evergreen Forest, his thoughts distracted as Crow kept lookout just ahead. His first gym battle in this region had been too easy; almost laughable after all he had done to get here.

"Hey! Hey you boy, what are you doing there?"

Shadow hissed as his gaze snapped to the source of the voice, a pikachu resting on one of the upper branches to his right. He had grown used to hearing pokémon talk through the power of the necklaces but it was unusual for one to directly address him, and he was still on edge knowing 'they' were already in this new region.

Crow landed on the branch above the pikachu, sending a spray of lose leaves down in his face, "Don't address my partner rodent."

"It's fine Crow, he must be one of the hunters of this region…" Shadow waved the murkrow off as he settled after the initial surprise, his gaze shifting to two necklaces dangling from the pikachu's neck, "Water and electric I believe…"

The pikachu snorted, shaking the leaves from his pelt as he ignored the murkrow and turned back to Shadow, "Right, that's me, Spark the element hunter…there was an absol around here too but I think he ran off…"

"I can't imagine why" Shadow muttered as Crow swooped down to perch on his shoulder, "Do you know how many elements remain?"

The pikachu shook his head as he scuttled down the branch and leapt to the ground, his necklaces jingling together at the motion, "I do know where another chosen hunter is though, a flygon that lives up in the mountains…perhaps he knows more, they say he and his mate are the oldest living pokémon…"

"Thanks I suppose, keep an eye out for the shadow seekers…the moon moves quickly in this land…" Shadow turned then and resumed his trek through the ancient forest, Crow flying at his side now.

Spark watched him go, his ears twitching at the thought of what was to come, "I need to find Flee again…prepare for the coming new moon…" He turned then and scuttled off in a different direction, his lightning bolt tail straight in the air as he hurried along.