Hey guys, what's up? I know my pace with these chapters is slowing, but Ive got a lot going on IRL at the moment. Im not sure how long it'll take to get it all settled out, but Ill still try my very best to bring you chapter after chapter to come, whenever I have the time that is. Thank you for your patience, please enjoy.

Shortly after finishing up their little day at the beach, and getting changed back into their usual outfits, Draco and Ruri made a quick stop at the Pokémon Center, then continued on their journey, bound for Route 10.

Draco is still determined as ever to find out exactly what's going on there, while Ruri is still more on the nervous side, but one thing is the same for both of them. Neither is sure exactly what to expect once they arrive.

What's more. Given the events that took place earlier in the day, with Draco and Rin's battle, neither Draco nor Ruri are talking very much at the moment. Although both are trying to think of anything to say that would break the rather awkward silence.

Regardless, they soon arrive on Route 10, and straight away they both begin looking around for any signs of rare Pokémon, the Pokémon Ranger, or those fake Team Flare guys.

Ruri's concern only grows by the second, as she unintentionally sticks close to Draco, not daring to leave his side for even a second.

Draco notices this and decides to finally break the silence. "Ruri, I already told you that you don't have to be afraid, but since you are, try not to leave my side while we're here. Got it?"

Ruri hears him and is a little shocked to hear Draco showing concern for her well being, but she still nods. "Okay, thanks Draco. By the way, I know you mentioned that you wanted to catch the rare Pokémon that's supposed to be here, but what if someone else has already captured it? Or the Pokémon Ranger might've taken it somewhere more safe?"

"I doubt it. Those two trainers I talked to said they'd been trying to capture this Pokémon for a while now, but it always evades capture somehow. Something like that wont be so easy to catch, not for anyone. But that also means that once I catch it that it'll make a great addition to my team, and I love a challenge." Draco grins at this, looking ready for it, no matter what it is.

Ruri had a feeling he'd answer like that, and while she didn't say it to him, she also wonders if Draco will also try and fail to capture this Pokémon.

Ruri's thoughts are soon interrupted, as they enter a clearing, filled with all different kinds of small forest Pokémon, all playing together or gathering food.

Draco doesn't pay them any mind, as he's sure none of them are the Pokémon he came here for, because their all pretty low leveled and none of them have evolved yet.

Ruri on the other hand gets sparkles in her eyes upon seeing them all, especially the Eevee she spots among the group. "So cute! Id just love to have an Eevee on my team!" She blurts out, smiling at the little Pokémon.

Draco then stops and turns to her. "If ya want it, then catch it. None of these Pokémon is the one I came here for."

Ruri turns back to him, smiles, and nods. "Okay then, I will. Help me out Chespin!" She calls it out.

It appears just a few feet away from the Eevee. "Chespin, Ches!"

The wild Eevee turns to the Chespin. "Eevee?"

Ruri looks ready to go. "I wanna catch that Eevee Chespin, use Rollout!"

Chespin begins rolling towards the Eevee, then the attack hits and the wild Eevee cries out.

Ruri keeps battling though. "Okay, now finish with Take Down!"

Chespin rushes in again, but then something happens.

In the blink of an eye, something dark appears from the trees, lands between Chespin and the wild Eevee, then hits Chespin really hard, sending Chespin flying all the way back to Ruri.

Chespin hits the ground at Ruri's feet hard, looking unable to continue battling.

Ruri is surprised by this, then kneels down to her Chespin and picks it up. "Ah! Chespin! Are you okay?"

"Ches...pin..." It weakly answers her.

Then Ruri recalls her Pokémon, stands back up, and looks to see what it was that attacked her Chespin. What Ruri sees surprises her far more then what just happened, as she looks at it in total and complete shock and disbelief.

Standing there, in the clearing, is a Pokémon known as a Hawlucha. But its a Hawlucha of a different color.

Ruri is finally able to form the words, her gaze still locked on this rarity among rarities in the world of Pokémon. "No way! A shiny Hawlucha!"

The shiny Hawlucha turns to the wild Eevee Ruri was just battling, then gives it a Sitrus Berry to eat. "Hawlucha."

The small Pokémon eats the berry, gets back to its feet, then runs away into the forest, along with all the other Pokémon in the area, besides the shiny Hawlucha.

Ruri sees this and gasps. "Ah! Wait, come back!" She calls out to the Eevee, but its already out of sight. Ruri then looks down and sighs. "...It got away..."

But then, from seemingly nowhere, an Ice Beam attack heads straight for the Hawlucha.

"Hawlucha!" It quickly jumps into a nearby tree and avoids it.

Ruri snaps out of her current sadness, turns, and sees that the Ice Beam came from none other then Draco's Frogadier.

Draco called it out a little after the shiny Hawlucha showed up, now with a look on his face that screams "Target acquired" as Draco narrows his eyes right at the shiny Pokémon.

Ruri sees Draco's expression and realizes instantly that Draco wants to capture it.

Draco then pulls out another type of Poke Ball and throws it in. "Now Noibat, use Air Slash!"

It appears now too. "Noibat!"

"Hawlucha, cha!" But the shiny Hawlucha acts even faster then Draco, using Stone Edge to defend almost right away, sending the stones right at Noibat.

Draco isn't about to give up or give in though. "Quick Noibat, fly up and dodge it!"

"Noibat, bat!" Noibat obeys, quickly flying high into the air and avoiding the Stone Edge.

However, the shiny Hawlucha has already used this time to easily jump to the top of the tree it was in, then glide of into the forest, disappearing among the trees thanks to its dark coloration.

Draco and Ruri watch it leave, as Draco recalls both of his Pokémon and grins up at the spot where the shiny Hawlucha used to be. "Rare coloration, strong moves, and fast on its feet and in the air. That Hawlucha certainly lives up to its reputation." Draco sounds impressed.

Ruri looks at Draco, knowing what he's thinking all too well. "Does that mean you think that Hawlucha is the rare Pokémon you came here for?"

Draco turns back to her. "It all adds up. There are no legendary Pokémon said to live around here, and a shiny Pokémon is a very rare and valuable find. Plus that Hawlucha was pretty skilled in battle too."

"That's right, although Im afraid Im gonna have to ask you to please leave it alone." A voice says to Draco and Ruri through the trees.

The two trainers turn and see the source of the sound, and they see a Pokémon Ranger. Its a male ranger, dressed in a standard Pokémon Ranger uniform. His hair is a brunette shade, his eyes are darker green in color, and he looks to be about 16 or 17 in age.

The ranger walks up to the two trainers and Ruri smiles at him. "Oh, sorry. My names Ruri, its very nice to meet you."

Draco looks less then pleased, but still introduces himself. "I go by Draco."

The ranger smiles at them as well. "Its a pleasure, my names Alexander, but you can just call me Alex."

He and Ruri then shake hands, and Ruri proceeds to ask a question. "So then, is that Hawlucha really the Pokémon your here to protect Alex?"

Alex nods. "Yup, it sure is. Its a full time job keeping up with that one though, believe me."

This confuses Ruri a bit. "But I don't understand, normally the Pokémon Rangers just protect Pokémon that are considered to be legendary or something close to it right? Ive never heard of a ranger protecting a shiny Pokémon before."

Alex then loses his smile, and takes a look over his shoulder and all around. Then he turns back to Draco and Ruri. "Okay, you two seem like nice people. Lets go back to my cabin and Ill explain, but ya have to promise to hear me out after my explanation."

Ruri nods. "Deal, and thank you Alex."

Draco nods slowly, but still doesn't lose his expression. "Fine, whatever."

Alex smiles again. "Good, no problem Ruri. Just follow me." He begins leading them back to his cabin in the forest. Once they reach his cabin he lets them in and shuts the door behind them. "Have a seat anywhere. Can I make either of you some tea?"

Ruri smiles and nods. "Yes please, if its not too much trouble." She also takes a seat at the table.

Draco stays standing. "No thanks, Im good."

Alex smiles and begins making some tea for Ruri and himself, once he finishes he hands Ruri her glass, and takes a sip from his own.

Ruri takes a sip from her glass and smiles again. "This is good, thanks Alex."

"No problem Ruri. Now then, onto my explanation." Alex begins to explain everything to them. "Its true, the Pokémon Rangers normally don't protect things like shiny Pokémon, but the circumstances have changed. See, recently a new evil organization has been abducting trainers, their Pokémon, and a large number of wild Pokémon."

This instantly catches Draco and Ruri's attention, as they both remember the fake Team Flare grunts they battled before. "Would the grunts from this evil organization happen to look like Team Flare grunts, but with a different symbol?" Ruri asks.

Alex nods. "So you've seen them already. Yes, they do. Nobody knows their team name or what their up to yet, but we do know that for some reason their targeting trainers and wild Pokémon all over the Kalos region, then capturing them all and taking them all back with them, but we don't know where either unfortunately."

Ruri then asks a follow up question. "So what does that have to do with the shiny Hawlucha?"

Alex continues. "That's this evil organization's next target. They've been trying to capture it for the last two weeks, but it always evades capture. Also, I cant just capture it myself and take it back with me some place safer, it needs to stay here. That shiny Hawlucha also protects all the Pokémon of this forest that cant protect themselves, which helps the environment greatly. Especially since Route 10 is also home to the statues of the Pokémon that lost their lives in in the war hundreds of years ago. Its also dangerous for other trainers to come here and try to capture it, because we fear the evil organization may try to capture them as well, just like other missing trainers. So, as such, Ive been sent out here to protect that Hawlucha, and the trainers that pass through here, until this evil organization is shut down. If they catch that Hawlucha, not only will it further their plans, but it may also put this environment in serious danger."

Ruri understands, knowing the fake Team Flare grunts may very well come in and capture all the wild Pokémon here too if that Hawlucha isn't around to protect them. This also makes her feel a little bad about trying to catch a Pokémon back there. Ruri also remembers all the damage done to the Glittering Cave, and thinks it was probably those fake Team Flare guys that did it as well. "I understand, if this evil organization captures too many wild Pokémon then the environment they live in will die. It'll upset the balance of nature."

Alex nods, knowing she gets it. "Exactly. We've seen some areas suffer because of this already, and its not pretty, believe me."

Ruri nods too. "I know, we've seen it too."

"That's why Im telling you what I tell everyone who passes through here, please leave that shiny Hawlucha alone. I know shiny Pokémon are one in a million, but this area needs it here right now." Alex informs them.

Ruri nods again, understanding completely. "Its okay, we understand. We'll leave it be."

Draco however doesn't look as cooperative. "Tch, speak for yourself. Im catching that Hawlucha." he then heads for the door.

Both Ruri and Alex stand up, surprised by his response. "Draco!" Ruri calls to him.

Alex then walks over to him. "Please, you don't understand."

Draco turns to him. "No, I do understand. But here's my input. Life always finds a way. Now Im going to catch that Hawlucha, and since your against it, then stay out of my way. Got it?" Draco then reaches the door and grabs the handle.

By this time, Ruri has run over to Draco and put her hand on his shoulder. "Draco please, reconsider. I know you need strong Pokémon to fulfill your dream, but just think about the other Pokémon that live here and the land for a second. Please." She looks into his eyes, begging him to reconsider his decision.

Draco looks back into Ruri's eyes, his expression not wavering for a second. "That's not my thing. If the other Pokémon here are too weak to take care of themselves then it just means that their letting that Hawlucha baby them too much, and that's not my problem. Im gone, Ill see ya at the entrance to the next town by sundown if ya still wanna travel with me Ruri." He then opens the door and heads back out into the forest, determined to find and catch that shiny Hawlucha no matter what.

Ruri and Alex watch him leave, as Ruri can only muster up one thing before he vanishes from sight. "Oh Draco..." She's concerned not just for this area, but also for him as well, knowing that those fake Team Flare guys are still out there too.

Ruri then turns to Alex. "Shouldn't you stop him or something?" Is all she can think to say at the moment.

Alex turns to her as well. "Usually when I tell the trainers to please leave they just leave, and I was only authorized to use force against the fake Team Flare grunts. Plus...that guy doesn't seem like the kind of guy Id wanna mess with." He says, sounding rather intimidated by Draco.

Ruri giggles at his response. "Yeah, Draco can be really tough and scary when he wants to be. But I know he's a nice guy, even though he doesn't look like it. I think he's just a little misguided right now, that's all."

Alex then looks a little curious. "I see, so then are you his girlfriend or something?"

Ruri instantly blushes hard and rapidly shakes her head. "What?! His girlfriend?! No way! We're just friends, nothing more!"

Alex cant help but laugh at her reaction a bit. "Relax, I was just messing with ya."

Ruri calms down, but still blushes a bit. "Not cool. Anyway, Im sure Draco has an idea. So try not to worry, okay Alex?"

Alex still worries a bit. "Its not that I don't trust you and Draco, its just that something still doesn't feel right."

Ruri compromises. "Well then why don't we go find Draco and the shiny Hawlucha? Once we do that then we can decide what to do next, either way finding at least one of them should put us in a better spot."

Alex thinks it over, then nods at her. "Okay, yeah, lets go."

Ruri smiles and nods back. Then they both exit Alex's cabin, shut the door behind them, and head off into the forest to look for Draco and/or the shiny Hawlucha, both of them hoping its not too late.

Little did they know that they were being watched by a not so friendly face, from the shadows of a nearby tree. The mystery being quickly follows them, moving even faster then the shiny Hawlucha did, careful not to be seen by anyone or anything as well.

Ruri and Alex look around for a while, and soon the sun begins to set, but still they find no trace of Draco or the shiny Hawlucha.

Yet they continue the search. "Draco!" Ruri calls out for him.

"Hawlucha!" Alex calls out for it, but neither of them gets an answer. Then Alex turns to Ruri. "Maybe we should take a break for the night, its getting dark, and that'll only make it harder to find the shiny Hawlucha, with its dark coloring and all."

Ruri turns to him too. "Yeah, same for Draco. He wears a lot of black. Still, Im not giving up yet, they've gotta be somewhere around here." So they both keep searching, as the sky continues to grow darker and darker by the minute, to the point where Ruri calls out her Braixen to give them some light.

Soon their search yields some results, as they hear some faint moaning coming from the trees close by. "You hear that?" Ruri whispers to Alex.

Alex nods and whispers back. "Lets check it out." They quietly walk toward the source of the sound, and what they find is on the surprising side.

They find a group of three of the fake Team Flare grunts, all looking badly beaten and tied to a tree, moaning from the pain their all in.

Alex looks at them all in disbelief. "No way, these are the same three grunts that have been trying to capture the shiny Hawlucha. Someone beat them all?"

Ruri then smiles and nods at this. "Yeah, Draco did. I know it, only he could hold his own like this." She says, sounding positive that this was Draco's handy work.

Alex turns to her, still not believing it. "Are you serious? You think he did all of this himself?"

Ruri turns to him and nods again. "Of course. I don't think, I know. Draco might seem like a cold jerk sometimes, but its like I said, he's actually a really nice guy when he wants to be, and he's a really amazing trainer. Both he and his Pokémon are super strong."

Alex begins to relax and listen to Ruri's words. "I see, you seem to have a really high opinion of him don't you?"

Ruri keeps smiling and blushes a bit. "Well yeah, I guess I do. Its just I haven't been traveling with him for very long, but Ive seen for myself just how strong, brave, smart, and resourceful he is. Plus he's saved my life several times already, and Ive learned a lot from him too."

Alex smiles, still listening to her, but then Ruri's thoughts get interrupted by the sound of an Ice Beam very close by.

Ruri and Alex both turn towards the source of the sound. "That sounded like an Ice Beam." Alex comments.

Ruri then gets a knowing expression. "Draco. Lets go." She then begins running in the direction of it.

Alex quickly follows her, though he didn't catch the first thing she said.

What they find when they reach it is the shiny Hawlucha in a tree, looking down at Draco and his Frogadier. All of them looking very battle ready.

"Frogadier use Ice Beam one more time!" Draco orders.

"Frogadier!" It fires its beam right at Hawlucha.

"Haw!" The shiny Hawlucha defends with a Stone Edge, blocking the Ice Beam, then sending some of the stones at Frogadier.

"Dodge it!" Draco quickly orders again.

Frogadier dodges the remaining stones.

But then the shiny Hawlucha jumps away into the trees like it did before, its dark coloration doing a much better job of hiding it with the sunlight still fading away by the minute.

However this time, Draco and his Frogadier are right on its trail, running after it into the trees, not letting it get away. "Hold on!" Draco yells out.

Ruri and Alex watched the whole thing, then both of them follow Draco and Frogadier after the shiny Hawlucha into the trees as well. "I knew Draco would find it again." Ruri says, knowingly.

"I can see that, but do ya think he can actually capture it?" Alex asks her.

Ruri smiles and nods. "I know you have a job to do, but Draco already beat all the fake Team Flare grunts. So please, just watch."

Alex thinks it over, then nods to her. "Okay, deal. Ill give him a chance."

Ruri keeps her smile, as they soon stop and Draco continues his battle with the dark Hawlucha.

"Go Inkay!" Draco throws it into the battle now too.

It appears, looking as ready as Draco and Frogadier. "Inkay!"

"Frogadier, Ice Beam! Inkay, use Psybeam!" Draco gives them both orders.

"Froga!"

"Ink!" Both Pokémon begin to use their moves.

But then the shiny Hawlucha stops in one of the trees, as many of the smaller forest Pokémon all come out from hiding and quickly draw the attention of Frogadier and Inkay away from Hawlucha, making both of them stop using their respective moves.

Draco doesn't like this, and now looks and sounds a little annoyed. "Keep focused! Inkay, Hypnosis!"

"Inkay, Ink!" Inkay obeys, using its move on all the small forest Pokémon, putting them all to sleep and stopping their interference.

"Lucha!" Hawlucha doesn't like this, so it then dives right at Inkay. "Hawlucha, cha!" It uses Brick Break and hits Inkay hard with it, and at a great speed too.

"Inkay!" Inkay is then sent flying back at a great speed as well. It hits Frogadier, sending it flying back as well.

The two Pokémon are then stopped by their own trainer, who catches them both before they go back too far, digging in and holding on. "Rgh!" This only makes Draco a little more annoyed.

Ruri and Alex continue to watch from a good enough distance away, Ruri not wanting to interfere with Draco's battle.

Then the Hawlucha begins yelling at Draco, in its own Pokémon language of course. "Lucha, cha! Hawlucha!"

"The other Pokémon in this forest will do just fine on their own, I already beat all the fake Team Flare grunts in this forest!" Draco counters.

"Hawlucha, Haw!" The dark Hawlucha still doesn't seem too convinced though.

But Draco still argues his side. "That's why I only put them all to sleep, Im not like those grunts!"

The trainer and the Pokémon continue their little argument, as Ruri and Alex continue to watch, but now both of them look more interested.

"Is he having an argument with the Pokémon?" Alex questions, then he turns to Ruri. "Its not like he can actually understand what its saying, right?"

Ruri narrows her eyes at Draco a bit, wondering about that herself. "Im...not so sure about that."

Shortly after that, Draco and Hawlucha finish their little argument. "Never mind, this ends now. Use Smokescreen Frogadier!"

Frogadier covers the entire area in a thick smoke.

The dark Hawlucha acts by quickly jumping high into the trees to get out of it.

This makes Draco grin, knowing it would do that.

When the shiny Hawlucha reaches a safe layer of air both Frogadier and Inkay are already their, waiting for it. This makes Hawlucha's eyes widen, as it did not expect that.

"Do it now!" Draco yells up, through the smoke.

His two Pokémon listen, using their Ice Beam and Psybeam once more.

This time the moves hit the dark Hawlucha hard, catching it off guard. "Hawlucha!"

Ruri and Alex listen to all of this, but cant see a thing. "Now what?!" Alex questions.

Ruri smiles, knowing what happened. "They got it!"

Hawlucha hits the forest floor after that, having taken a great deal of damage from both attacks at the same time.

The smoke then clears and Draco's two Pokémon rejoin him at his sides, as he stares down at the downed shiny Hawlucha.

"Now go Fast Ball!" Draco throws a Fast Ball at it.

It hits, and Hawlucha goes inside. The ball then shakes a few times, then stops.

Draco then walks over to the Fast Ball, picks it up, and begins scanning it with his PokeDex. "This Hawlucha may be useful to me." In addition to being shiny, its also got some pretty impressive stats and moves. Draco puts the Fast Ball away for now, having deposited one of his Pokémon while they were at the Pokémon Center back in Cyllage City, fully preparing himself for this capture a head of time.

Its then that Ruri and Alex walk out to him, Ruri smiling at him. "That was amazing! And great work taking down and capturing those grunts too Draco."

Draco turns to them. "Thanks Ruri. They kept bugging me to go with them, then when I refused they tried force. Bad idea." Draco then turns to Alex.

For a minute, the two just look at each other, but then Alex speaks up and smiles. "I know what your thinking, and don't worry. Pokémon Ranger HQ should be okay, once they hear what you did to those grunts. It looks like my work here is done, just promise me you'll take good care of that Hawlucha. Its very special."

Draco grins back at him. "Only the best on my team."

Alex laughs a bit. "Yeah, thank you Draco. Your a great Pokémon trainer." Then he turns to Ruri. "I think I see what you mean now Ruri, and don't worry about the other forest Pokémon. Now that the grunts have been captured, they should all be just fine."

Ruri smiles and nods at Alex. "Yeah, and thanks Alex."

Alex then turns away from the two trainers and begins heading back to his cabin. "Well Id better pack up and head back to Pokémon Ranger HQ. The work of a Pokémon Ranger is never done. I hope to see you two again someday." He waves goodbye to them, smiles, then vanishes from sight into the trees.

Ruri smiles and waves back to him. "Thank you, see ya soon Alex!"

Draco then turns his attention back to his journey, as we proceeds out of the trees and back onto the main route. "That took a little longer then expected, but we should still have plenty of time to make it to the next town before it gets too late." However the sky has already turned dark, and the moon and stars shine brightly in the night sky.

Ruri looks up, sees this, and sighs. "If you say so." She still smiles and follows Draco anyway.

Despite the darkness, it doesn't take them very long to reach the end of Route 10, as the next town comes into their view, a little ways away in the distance.

"Hey look, its the next town. We made it." Ruri points out, through the darkness, with another smile.

Draco nods, seeing it too. "Yes, now lets go and get some rest. Its been a long day."

Ruri sighs after hearing that. "Ill say."

The two continue on, with the town now in sight, but then something unexpected occurs.

Suddenly, Draco's instincts kick in, as he quickly dives at Ruri and pushes her out of the way. And just in time too, as not even a second later, a powerful Fire Blast attack hits the ground in the exact same place they were standing.

At first, all Ruri does is blush hard at this. She is currently laying on her back on the ground, with Draco kneeling over her.

Draco's is definitely more focused on the flames though, as he now gets an expression that looks to be a good mixture of battle readiness and anger. But that doesn't stop him from asking Ruri a question. "Ruri, you okay?"

Ruri keeps her blush, but nods. "Yeah...Im fine. Thanks for the save Draco, again...What was that?"

Draco narrows his eyes and grits his teeth, knowing what's coming all too well. "Something bad. Get clear Ruri."

Ruri sits up and begins to worry now. "Why? What's going on Draco?"

"Don't ask questions! Just get out of here!" Draco yells at her, but its already too late.

A strong wind fans the flames out, as a single being in the seen, walking through the darkness and appearing before the two trainers. This being appears to be a woman with short, fiery orange colored hair with several white streaks in it. She looks to be in her upper twenties when it comes to age. And her outfit is basically a suit that looks to be very easy to move around in, but what really catches Draco and Ruri's attention is the color and symbol on it. The symbol is the exact same symbol the fake Team Flare grunts have on their uniforms, and its colors match their team colors as well, meaning mostly shades of silver and grey. She walks forward and looks down at the two trainers, a smug looking grin on her face. "Tch, I knew if I followed you that you'd lead me right to it, then capture it for me. Now I can bring you both back, as well as the shiny Hawlucha."

Ruri's eyes widen and her worry only grows. "She's with the evil organization? She must be an Admin, just like that Ideo guy before."

Draco gets back to his feet and glares at this woman, only looking more and more angry for some reason.

Woah, talk about bad timing. Just when things seemed to be going smoothly for Draco and Ruri, they find themselves in a tight spot. Think they'll make it out of this okay? Just who are these evil organization guys? Why is this one making Draco so angry? And just what is this evil organization planning exactly? All this and more to come, next time, only on Pokémon Clear Version.

Also, hahahahahaha! Be honest, how many of you thought it would be a legendary Pokémon? I got you all good!