Pokemon: 11; Deaths: 3; Badges: 3

Ch: 21

~Uh...Aya...?~

"...Y-Yeah...?"

~Are ya...sure about this?~

"I think so..."

~...Ya sure there's not another way...?~

"...I checked...There's not..."

~Alright, fine. Jus'...Jus' be gentle...?~

As Vash said this, Aya was seated on her Acro Bike while Vash was standing on the back pegs and holding tight onto her shoulders. When she began creeping forward, Vash's eyes widened at what he saw and quickly began shaking his head.

~Th-There's gotta be another way! There's no way this is the only path!~ However, before he could make a move to get off the bike, Aya suddenly pushed off and they went flying down the mountainside of Jagged Pass; the panicked squawks of the 'mighty' Vash being easily heard echoing all throughout the Pass. ~Gyaahhhh! We're gonna dieeee!~

By the time it finally ended, they actually crashed, causing the two to flip the bike and hit the ground. Groaning under their breaths as they slowly pushed themselves up onto their hands and knees, Aya spied what had caused them to crash and tapped a Great Ball on top of their head; capturing them.

(Machop/Tyson, Gender: Male, Nature/Characteristic: Gentle/Somewhat of a clown, Place: Jagged Pass)

~Ugh, my head...Aya? Never again on that damn path. Next time we ever come here, it'll be through means of freakin' flyin'.~

"Ngh...A-Agreed..."

As they both rose up onto their feet, Aya staggered a bit just as Vash did before spying that they had made it to the end of Jagged Pass even despite the...rough stop. Shaking her head lightly in an attempt to get her sight back on track and no longer seeing double, Aya stumbled off towards the exit with Vash staggering and tripping over his talons after her. By the time they made it to Lavaridge Town, the duo had not only managed to get their 'land legs' back, but no longer felt like they had just gotten off of a roller coaster. Spying the Pokemon Center, both seemed very relieved by this and made their way over to it. Once inside, Aya handed over all of her pokemon, including Vash, for healing and a check-up, save for their newest member as she stared at his pokeball for a moment.

'...I already have two pokemon on my team...that are part fighting...And even Leon will eventually evolve...into a part fighting type too...I can't have a fourth one on the team...' Making up her mind, Aya went over to the PC and transferred Tyson into it where her other pokemon were contained. Staring at the small list of what she had in the PC Box, she seemed hesitant in transferring any of them onto her team, but then ultimately decided against it and logged out. She still wasn't ready to fill in that sixth spot again...It was still too soon cause that had been Twilight's spot...

"Miss? Your pokemon are fully healed and ready to go."

Lifting her head up, she glanced over at the counter as she walked over to grab up her pokeballs from the tray while Vash walked himself around the corner as he had never been returned to his pokeball.

"By the way miss, about your Kirlia..."

That instantly caused Aya to tense up and her now wide gaze quickly shot up in alarm towards Nurse Joy's mention of her precious Leon. "...Wh-What about him...? I-Is he ok...?"

Nurse Joy realized the teen before her instantly assumed the worse and quickly decided to ease her mind. "No, no. Everything is just fine dear. He's fully healthy and those burns from the Venoshock he obviously got hit with are healing nicely and not the least bit infected. I just thought you should know, that your Kirlia's burns will be able to heal for the most part, but as you were probably already informed, those scars will unfortunately remain for the rest of his life. I'm honestly surprised that he managed to keep his sight in his right eye, let alone even survive such extensive damage...However, there is something that I had noticed when I was running his check-up..."

"H-Huh?...What...did you find...?"

"The extent of the damage to his nervous system on that side was pretty bad...He has almost no feeling at all on that side of his torso and arm...Thankfully, there wasn't any damage to his nerve endings on his face though, so he can still fully feel everything there..." Nurse Joy then spotted another trainer coming in carrying an injured Sandslash on their back that was suffering from bad burns from what only could've been caused by intense heat. "Oh dear; not another one. Miss, I need to get back to work. If you're going against Flannery for the badge, please do be careful. She's new to being a gym leader, but she's far more brutal than the previous leaders you've face." With that, Nurse Joy hurried off to take the Sandslash from the boy so she could do her best to have the pokemon survive it's ordeal.

Watching as the pokemon was taking away into the back where the emergency care ward was, Aya seemed to get a bit nervous for a moment before drifting her gaze onto Vash. She had to trust her team. They've pulled miracles before and she just had to believe that they were strong enough. "Alright...Lets get some rest...We'll face the Lavaridge Gym in the morning..." When she got a nod of understanding from her starter, the two made got a key to one of the rooms from a Blissey and made their way up the stairs that were at the far right and where the rooms that trainers stayed in during their travels slept.

{Next Morning}

Unsteadily crawling off the wooden platform, Aya stumbled slightly on her feet before steadying herself once more. She had been forced to return Vash to his pokeball for the first time since they had teamed up and needless to say, she knew that he wasn't liking it. However, both knew that both of them couldn't fit on those platforms at the same time either. As she found herself face to face with Flannery, she released her starter from his pokeball again so that he didn't have to be confined anymore.

~Aya? I officially hate this Gym. Not only did it's stupid mechanics force ya ta return me, but on top of that, the ground was a hot spring through the whole Gym, save for here! You're practically soaked and your skin's all red from the hot water!~ Throwing his ranting about the looks of the Gym out since he had been forced to hold it in up till now, he glanced over at the obvious gym leader and pointed at her accusingly. ~If my trainer gets sick or somethin' cause of all this, I'm gonna burn all that hair off your head!~

Rolling her eyes at this, Flannery flicked a hand in front of her towards Vash nonchalantly. "Yeah, yeah. Tell it to someone who cares. Knowone else minds how my Gym works. In any case,..." Bringing her gaze onto solely Aya as she lowered her hand back at her side, she decided to get things going. "Alright, look. I may be new to this whole gym leader shtick, but I'm not gonna drag this along. I was already expecting you and was told to go all out so don't take it too personally, but I need to kill all your pokemon now." Before Aya could even respond to that threat, which only made her uneasy now, Flannery released the first of her pokemon; a Slugma.

Biting her bottom lip, Aya quickly released one of her own as she sent out Tana first, who immediately synced up with Aya's mind and rushed in as she used Headbutt.

Watching as her Slugma got tossed through the air before landing on the ground, she smirked as her eyes narrowed when her pokemon slowly rose back up as her lava form went back to it's usual shape. "Sorry, but you'll have to do better than that. Overheat!"

Slugma narrowed her eyes as her lava body began to glow intensely before opening her mouth as she released a powerful burst of heat, smashing it right into Tana's body as she sent her flying backwards and crashing to the ground.

"Tana!"

~I-I'm fine Aya. Don't worry about me, kay? I'm a lot tougher than I look.~ Glaring towards the Slugma as she pushed herself back up onto her paws, she growled as Flannery healed her pokemon with a Hyper Potion. Getting annoyed by that, she rushed in and slashed through the magma pokemon with Covet, though Slugma still managed to stay alive. ~Grrr...Why won't you die already?!~ Getting furious now, she smashed into her opponent one last time with another Headbutt, but while she finally succeeded in killing the pokemon, her eyes widened suddenly as she released a surprised cry of pain as she trembled against the burn that she received from Slugma's ability. ~H-Hurts...It...hurts. Ah...~

Watching as Flannery returned her down pokemon and released her strongest pokemon, Torkoal already, Aya panicked and shook her head. "Vash, get Tana out of there and take her place...Endure it for a moment while I heal Tana."

With a sharp nod of his head, Vash quickly rushed in and picked Tana up into his arms before getting her carefully back over to their trainer's side. Setting her down gently, Vash narrowed his eyes at the sight of the burn that was along the side of her neck and shoulder. Growling lightly in anger towards this, he turned around and quickly took her place out on the field. ~Bring it on ya ugly turtle!~

"Hmph...That's a really rude Combusken you have there, Aya. Maybe someone should shut him up! Use Sunny Day, Torkoal." As her pokemon did as she was told, she watched as Aya few her Linoone a Rawst Berry to heal the burns she was suffering from. Narrowing her eyes at this, she shook her head. 'Focus, Flannery. You may be new to this whole thing about this girl, but you can't be fooled by her supposed care and concern over her team. That doesn't mean she cares about the rest of the world's inhabitants...'

Narrowing his eyes, Vash got the ok to begin and listened as he used Bulk Up. He understood the reason for it after all. Two of his attacks were fire and that wouldn't do hardly anything to the one before him so he'd have to up his attack in order for his Double Kick to do any heavy damage.

"You're just buying time, Aya and besides that, raising his defense isn't gonna save him! Overheat!"

As Torkoal released an increasingly intense burst of flames thanks to Sunny Day, Overheat managed to do more damage than it usually would've even though her opponent was still more than ready to keep fighting. Watching as Vash rushed in to finally take on the offensive, Torkoal braced herself as she felt his talons smash into her shell, though her defense still held strong as she retaliated with yet another Overheat, knocking the fellow fire type back.

Back flipping in the air, Vash landed in a knelt position as his eyes narrowed irritatedly. Apparently, a single Bulk Up wasn't enough to land much heavy damage. Hearing Aya's voice ring out in his head, he used Bulk Up once more. However, as he did so, his eyes suddenly widened as he found himself being charged at by the Torkoal before she suddenly used Body Slam; the starter biting back a slight cry as he was smashed into the ground, creating a small crater under the impact and weight of the pokemon, though it didn't do much damage overall to himself thanks to those Bulk Ups. Glaring at the pokemon that was on him still, he knocked her off balance and smashed into her with another Double Kick, which she just barely managed to survive as blood stained her form a bit here and there and her shell was cracked in a few areas. Despite the pain she was obviously in though, Vash was still taken by surprise as she used another Body Slam, this time effectively paralyzing him as he let out a string of pained curses.

Slowly forcing himself to stand, he grunted from the exertion as he watched Torkoal thankfully use Curse to raise her own stats rather than attack again. Struggling against the paralysis, he managed to will himself through it by sheer determination as he rushed in and finished her with one final Double Kick, smashing in her shell as shards of it stabbed right through her body, killing her. Panting raggedly as he stood there while still sparking from the paralysis, he glared towards Flannery as she returned her best pokemon and brought out her final one, Numel.

Knowing that Vash wouldn't be able to survive this last one, she pulled her starter back and released the only one on her team that was fully healed and she thought may have a chance...Arceus, she hoped he did...

As Leon took to the field in a swirl of light from his pokeball, he drifted his gaze over towards his opponent. Narrowing his eyes at the sight of the pokemon, his eyes began to glow faintly, though his horns atop his head and his hands glowed much more intensely as he unleashed his newest move onto his utterly helpless enemy; Psychic...

Watching as the move struck her Numel and caused her to cry out in uncontrollable agony, she could only watch as blood began to slowly trickle out of her pokemon's mouth, nose, eyes, and ears from the Psychic slowly destroying her brain all together rather than simply using it to smash her into something. When it was finally over, she returned the lifeless corpse of her Numel to her pokeball before sighing softly. Walking over to the teen, she held out a TM and her Gym's official badge. "...You really didn't hold anything back in that last one...My Numel didn't even stand a chance against that Kirlia of your's...Anyways, this is the Heat Badge and my favorite TM, Overheat. Do whatever you want with the TM. Your next Gym is your father, Norman's. You better watch yourself there cause he's much stronger than I am."

Watching as Aya got nervous over the mention of her father, Flannery remained silent as the girl left with her pokemon that were still out while Vash used his trainer as a crutch since she didn't have anything to cure the paralysis. Once they were gone, Flannery pulled out her Gear and contacted Norman. "She's heading your way. That girl is pretty dangerous so watch out."

"Are you trying to suggest that I'll lose to my own daughter?"

"N-No. I'm not saying that at all." Sighing Flannery shook her head even though he couldn't see it. "Look, just don't underestimate her. I think those memories are starting to come back more now. Her team is starting to get a bit more violent and...the Kirlia with her...He took out one of my pokemon in a single hit and completely crushed her brain by using his attack to strike her internally rather than on the outside..."

"Heh...I see now...Then this should be an interesting match when she finally makes it to me...Looks like it's about time I put my...daughter...back in her place..." With that, the call ended.

Back outside of the Gym, Aya and her team sighed softly as they were all glad to be out of that heat. Normally, heat never bothered Vash. Given he's a fire type, he loves heat...But that heat,...had been the humid, wet kind and he hated...that kind of heat. As they steadily made their way towards the Center, they halted and sighed once more as they spotted Brendan running over to them. "...What is it Brendan...?"

"Well,...nothing really. I mean, I know you had gone off after that Team Magis, or whatever they're called, from a few days ago and...well,...I was worried, you know?" Rubbing the back of his neck uneasily as he tilted his head down a bit in an attempt to hide his expression even just a little from her.

"...I'm fine...I didn't lose anyone this time and...well, we stopped whatever it was they were planning there..."

"R-Really?! So you really did battle them again?!" Surprised by this, Brendan calmed himself back down as a wave of relief washed over him when it clicked that Aya mentioned that all her pokemon are safe and that she didn't lose anyone. "I'm so glad for that...You...You even managed to get back the Meteorite I see and it looks like you and your team just finished getting your fourth badge too...You and your pokemon sure are amazing, Aya...Normally, at a time like this, I'd probably give you something to help you out further on your journey, but you already have goggles so you should be fine traveling around in the desert that's nearby. It has some pretty cool pokemon over there." Smiling cheerfully as he said that last part, he thought for a moment before speaking again as he blushed faintly and glanced off to the side. "A-Anyways, since you have the fourth badge now, I-I guess you'll be off to face your dad now, huh?...W-Well, if that's the case, um...d-do you wanna maybe walk to Petalburg City?...W-With me, I mean?"

Cocking her head slightly to the side at being asked this and also towards her friend's sudden extreme shyness. She then finally closed her eyes gently from behind her goggles as she shook her head. "No...I'm not ready to go back yet...I'd actually like to see about that desert you mentioned..."

"O-Oh, really? W-Well, that's ok with me Aya! I-I mean, it's not like I'm in any hurry to get back over to that area anyways. I'll stick around here a while longer and relax. You can tell me when you're ready to head back...Then maybe...we can go together?"

Seeing the hopeful look on her friend's face, she couldn't bring herself to say 'no' to him. After all, he was a good friend and had been really helpful so far in her journey. Plus, it wouldn't be so bad to return to Petalburg with him. More like it seemed like it'd be nice. So, with that thought in mind, she offered him a faint smile as she nodded her head. "Sure...That'll be fine."

Blushing at this even more, Brendan smiled brightly as he nodded his head. "Great! I'll wait around Lavaridge while you check out the desert, Aya. Be careful out there though. The desert is a hard place to battle in."

Nodding her head lightly in understanding, Aya shifted Vash in her arms to allow him to be more comfortable and headed for the Center to have him and Tana fully healed.

To be continued.

Little Tsu: Ever since Leon learned Psychic,...he's been quite the powerhouse even though I still really worry about his defense do to his nature hindering it. *sighs*

Anyways, ch21 and finally 4 badges. Whoohoo! Next stop, the desert where Aya will get another new pokemon. However, will she finally allow herself to have that 6th spot on her team filled?...Or will she continue to hesitate and not move on in that part over the loss of Twilight? Found out next chap!