*~~*Chapter Twenty-Four: Battling Prodigy?: Silver's Viewpoint*~~*

The next morning proved to be a rough start once again.

The last thing I expected to see when I woke the next morning was for the lights to be on in my chambers once again, blinding me the second I opened my eyes. I had to quickly shield my vision with the sleeve of my robe as I sat up with a growl. Why do I keep waking up so late in the morning? I've never slept this hard before, not once in my whole life. With a low sigh, I swung my legs out of the warm pocket of blankets and touched my feet to the frozen marble. I cringed at the lack of warmth before slowly heading over to the cream couch my apprentice was using once again.

I'm certain you could imagine my curiosity as I found a strange sight before me. Lying at the foot of the couch was none other than her Ampharos, the creature snoozing with a curled yellow body and letting out a small jolt of electricity—therefore lighting its tail—at every exhale. I raised an eyebrow as I then looked up to my apprentice.

The brunette was sleeping with loud snores of exhaustion, one arm over her head and dangling over the arm of the sofa while the other one was resting right on her chest. Her hair was everywhere except where it should be, spreading out like an old paper fan of Ecruteak City. Some of the strands were even sticking to the corners of her mouth, saliva trailing down to her chin and making a sticky line down her face.

I simply turned my head to my treacherous Persian's bed and found him once again missing. Another morning with a Sharpedo on the loose. Wonderful.

Deciding that my apprentice could wait until I was dressed, I headed to my dresser and searched for a clean suit for today.

"Alright then, let's get this battle underway!"

The voice of the senior grunt bounced off the high ceilings and smashed back to the ground even louder than before, making some of the more sensitive grunts cover their ears and cringe at the sound. I simply leaned up against the painted brick wall and focused my attention on my apprentice. There she was at one end of the field, her eyes narrowed and staring straight at her opponent. A young brunette grunt had offered to face-off against my apprentice and despite the fact that plenty of senior grunts wanted to take a shot at her, I gave the younger recruit the pleasure.

This brunette was a more recent recruit with a history of being the top battler in her area. Seeing as she was close in age to my apprentice, had a similar battle style and was fresh out of her apprenticeship to one of the senior grunts, I decided that she'd be a better match for an opponent.

I would have battled her myself, but last time that did not end so well.

"So the battle between Apprentice Kotone Soul and Rookie Renée Trenton shall now begin," The official referee for this match was one of the older grunts, the head of the Battle Hall and a decent grunt when it came to remembering rules. Grey eyes scanned the field before he cleared his throat and continued on with the rules.

"The rules here are simple, knock out all of your opponent's Pokémon before they knock out yours. This will be a simple six-on-six match with no substitutes allowed. Each one of you will receive six Pokémon from the nearby storage rooms to use in this battle as to prevent any advantages." I glared at the brunette with blue eyes as she focused on her opponent. If my memory was correct—which I'm certain it was—this Renée was a ruthless opponent in battle, never going for defense and instead going all-out on the offensive.

We shall just have to wait and see how my apprentice could handle this.

A woman with long blue hair walked out and handed them each a belt of six Pokémon. I focused on my apprentice as her mouth seemed to move. I found myself grabbing at the elbows of my jacket and wondering what she was doing. She couldn't possibly be talking to her opponent; that girl is too far away to hear her. Just what is she doing out there?

"Are the opponents ready to start the match?"

The two girls exchanged a glance before giving the man a nod. He gave them one in return before lifting up a small replica of the Team Rocket flag.

"Then, battle begin!"

Both brunettes hurled their first capsules out into the field with their own shouts of encouragement. I took a deep breath and watched as the Renée girl's Pokémon turned out to be a Koffing, the purple blob of unmistakable stench just giving the room a dumb grin as it polluted the air. Some the grunts began to cough and found their eyes watering from the rank air. Expecting such a Pokémon showing up in this match, I simply pulled out a gas mask from my pocket and slipped it on with a grin.

My apprentice's Pokémon slithered out onto the field and gave the opposing Koffing a hiss of intimidation. My shielded eyes widened as I found the Pokémon not to be an Ekans as one would expect, but a Seviper. A few of the audience members exchanged looks and motioned to the Fang Snake Pokémon with questioning glances. Personally, I just shrugged off the foreign Pokémon and waited for the battle to actually get going.

Let's see how she does, shall we?

"Alright, Seviper!" My apprentice's voice was the first to ring out in the air. "Let's start this off with a Haze attack!"

The crowd immediately looked around with looks of shock as the black snake let out a thick cloud of smoke. The billowing Haze attack stretched across the battlefield in record time, bringing the audience to zero visabilty within the harsh black clouds. I simply stood slightly taller and triggered my smoke filter on the lens and watched the world reemerge in shades of blue and grey.

Odd choice for my apprentice... I bit my lip in thought as the other brunette called out a Poison Gas attack that would be utterly useless against a Poison Type such as Seviper. The purple cloud weaved among black smoke until it curled around the black snake and let the long body be exposed by the lighter color against the dim colors of Haze. I ran a hand through my hair as I tried to recall where this opponent had been found.

If memory served me right—which it always did—this girl joined Team Rocket around a year or so ago with a team of seven Pokémon. The girl didn't seem that interesting, I could faintly recall passing her on to her mentor at her training ceremony and thinking about her motivations for joining Team Rocket. What was that reason again?

The slamming of a foot against the stone floor reminded me quite quickly.

Ah, she joined to support her family and look for some boy. I shook my head as my apprentice then ordered her Pokémon to use a Crunch attack. The Seviper coiled like a spring and launched itself at the Koffing with deadly accuracy. The purple ball of gas let out a strange cry and tried to loosen the snake's grip, but found those deadly fangs deep within its...skin? No one was really sure as to what Koffings had.

"Koffing!" The recent graduate's voice came out strong and confident, despite the fact that her Pokémon was in a tight situation. "Use Selfdestruct!"

I raised an eyebrow just seconds before the Pokémon started to glow a faint white color. Well then, My mind laughed at this turn of events as the other grunts scrambled to find cover from the upcoming blast. Isn't that a surprise? Going out on your own instead of allowing the opponent to do it for you. Let's just see how my apprentice reacts.

The light grew brighter until it simply became a bright yellow flash that engulfed everything. My apprentice had only seconds to react as the energy then became a powerful explosion, energy filling the room along with a terrible stench. The blast triggered harsh winds to blow around the room, whipping through my apprentice's hair and sending her pigtails fluttering about her and slamming into her cheeks.

Once the smoke cleared from the resulting explosion, my apprentice found her Seviper in front of her, unconscious and limp. With a great sigh, both sides recalled their Pokémon and sent out the next one.

My apprentice sent out a Murkrow next, an odd find once again. I simply raised and eyebrow and instead looked to see what the other brunette had to offer. A Golbat fluttered in the right side of the field, ready for action. I smirked and waited for the next set of orders to be executed.

"Murkrow, use Aerial Ace!"

The small bird responded almost immediately, making me raise an eyebrow once again and watch as a sharp beak slashed the Golbat in the face. It didn't wait a single second? A few other grunts came out of their hiding places with murmurs of questioning once again. Why didn't glare at her or use a different move? That Seviper was the same way, these creatures responded almost right after the words left her mouth.

Renée let out a growl before ordering a Thunder Fang attack. Blue wings were sloppy in air as it stumbled after its opponent, hoping to land a super-effective attack. The Murkrow simply looked to my apprentice and waited for commands, beady eyes watching her every breath.

"Murkrow, fly up high!"

The Darkness Pokémon jumped up and rose with strong wings, eager to evade the attack. Golbat fluttered after it with a squeak and a few clicks, unfazed by the change in direction. Hazel eyes narrowed before a smirk crossed my apprentice's face.

"Now! Hit him with your Hurricane attack!"

The Murkrow laughed before flapping its wings with a furious energy, forcing high winds to grab the Golbat and slam it to the ground. The rookie grunt could only watch as her Pokémon was forced into a rough descent and smashed into the dirt floor of the field. My apprentice let out a whoop and gave the Murkrow a thumbs-up motion before waiting for the Golbat to rise from a crater in earth.

It didn't.

The opposing brunette let out a sigh before recalling the Golbat with a slow sweep of the arm. My apprentice motioned for the Murkrow to come back down and the Darkness Pokémon dove with what seemed like another laugh.

"Good job, Murkrow!" Her voice rang out with a bit of praise for the black bird, earning stares of confusion and a few frowns from the crowd. "You were great out there." The creature landed on the ground and simply hopped about for a few moments before returning to the air. I turned my attention to the currently losing side and waited for another Pokémon to appear.

A capsule spun in the air before bursting open and revealing a Mightyena with snarling jaws. The Murkrow flinched at the sight before shaking it off and preparing for the next round.

"You know," The brunette with blue eyes smiled at my apprentice and motioned to her Mightyena. "You're pretty good for an apprentice. I can see why our leader decided to take you under his wing so to speak."

My apprentice nodded with a smile before standing tall. "Thank you, Renée. You're pretty good, too! I've never seen someone willingly Selfdestruct before besides a few Rockets."

The shorter-haired brunette grinned and put a hand on her belt. "Yeah, I figured you'd take me out next turn, so I better just take us both out rather than risk not hitting you next turn."

"Well," My apprentice seemed to lock up before continuing, "I'll be sure to hit you again!"

"Murkrow, use Air Cutter!"

The black bird fluttered up before blasting the Mightyena with a sharp blade of wind. The Bite Pokémon let out a whimper before charging back to its feet and glaring at the small bird. The creature's master called out for a Take Down attack, which the black canine responded to with average speed. The large form crashed into the Darkness Pokémon with a howl and then smashed to the earth along with the bird.

"Murkrow!" My apprentice called out with what seemed like panic in her voice, making me raise an eyebrow. The creature responded by slipping out from under the black Pokémon and flapping weakened wings up to a safe height. The younger apprentice sighed before pointing to the Pokémon still on the floor. "Use an Aerial Ace attack to take it out!"

The sharp beak once again slashed the opponent's muzzle, earning a weak roar and a stumble from the rising Mightyena. The rookie gave out a groan before trying to hit the bird again with a second Take Down attack. The Murkrow neatly flapped out of the way and left the canine to slam into the dirt.

"Mightyena!" The creature's master yelled out to the Pokémon as it shook out dirt from its fur. "Hang in there!"

"We'll see about that!" My apprentice cut in with a smirk before motioning to the panting Mightyena. "Hit it with another Aerial Ace!"

I watched on as the bird slashed the beast's muzzle yet again and found myself smirking as it crashed to the floor in an unmoving heap. A small chuckle escaped my lips before I realized I still had the gas mask on my face. Recalling the important fact that two trainers are never given the same Pokémon, I removed the mask from my face and relished in the clean air that met my lungs.

Thank Mew for our ventilation systems.

Renée then released a Raticate into the fray, the Mouse Pokémon landing on the cold dirt floor with a roar of fury. My apprentice looked almost bored at the sight of the standard Pokémon, making me narrow my eyes and focus on her. Oh, too good for such things as a Raticate, are we? Don't get overly confident, apprentice.

"Murkrow," The high voice, filled with energy, engulfed the room. "Use your Aerial Ace attack!"

The bird raced for the Raticate with a harsh caw, startling the brown Pokémon with the sharp sound. Sharp beak collided with soft underbelly, and suddenly the creature fell to the ground with nothing more than a squeak. The crowd watched on as the opponent called out to their Pokémon.

Raticate was down with one hit.

This, of course, sent the room into an uproar. A one-hit knock-out? What are the chances of such of thing these days? After all that struggle during the early rounds, why the sudden power? If anything, that Murkrow should be on its way out of here. This certainly wasn't the normal way these battles went.

Just as the blue-eyed brunette was about to send out her next Pokémon, the sound of footsteps echoed off stone floors. I focused on my apprentice's grin of satisfaction and ignored the footsteps that grew ever closer to where I stood.

"A-Ah, it seems Archer and Ar-Arianna weren't exaggerating when they said your ap-apprentice was a battling prodigy."

I held back a yell of shock behind clenched teeth and simply turned around. There was Petrel, standing a few feet away with a nervous smile on his face and a file filled with papers in his right hand. I rolled my eyes just as cheers erupted from the crowd and gave the purple-haired man a harsh glare.

"Petrel, why are you in the Battle Hall instead of down in Surveillance where you belong?" The man gulped and seemed to start to sweat from his forehead as I went on, "All I ask is that you annoying executives let me train my apprentice in peace and do your work is all, nothing more. It's actually quite simply, really."

"Yes sir," He gave me a quick bow and rose back to his normal slouch. "I un-understand that you don't want us ex-executives butting in as we have in the past, and I personally can agree to that." He then held out the pale yellow folder with a grin. "But I came down here to hand you Kotone Soul's files."

At this, I could have sworn I felt a twitch at my eye. "Ah, my apprentice's file is finished? It only took what? A few days?" I snatched the file out of his hand and immediately started looking through her League records. There was mostly registration information, Gym Leader clearings and other such materials in here, but one could find very interesting things from one's League records.

"Also sir," I looked up just as a collective wince and moan of disappointment rose from the crowd. "I be-believe that there's something in there that might interest you."

"What would that be, Petrel?" I was just nearing the end of her initial registration papers, registering her for the Johto League and listing her stats on one simple sheet of paper for us to use.

I glanced up to find him smiling at me, green eyes shining with pleasure. "Ah, that's the best part, sir. Take a look at the top of the folder."

I rolled my eyes at his excitement and quickly flipped to the top of the stack. My thumb jumped in between an old newspaper article and I let myself take in the black print. Beside an aged picture of a young girl in a red dress and pigtails was a single headline that made me raise an eyebrow and stand just a bit taller.

'Young girl from New Bark Town wins Southern Johto's Youth Battling Conference with flying colors!'

"An old newspaper claiming she's won some contest for tikes, Petrel?" I glanced back to the man's wrinkling face and let out a captive breath. "I honestly hope that there's more to this excitement of yours than this."

"Ah! That's just the be-beginning, sir! Keep looking!"

Another roll of the eyes was joined with a loud cheer from behind me. I then flipped the newspaper over and kept going, looking for something of interest. I stopped dead in my tracks as I found two faces I'd never thought I'd find together in one picture.

Standing beside a young apprentice was a boy with black hair and amber eyes that gleamed with self-confidence. My eyes scanned the youth and found a crimson jacket, black shorts and a black and yellow ballcap. I let out a hiss of disgust at the sight of the Chikorita on his shoulder and the cheery grin on the younger brunette beside him.

"What is this, Petrel?" I smashed my thumb on the boy's face with a scowl. "This cannot possibly be what I think this is."

"I'm a-afraid to tell you that it's exactly what it looks like, a picture from a few years ago of Miss Kotone Soul." A quivering hand pointed to the boy with long, bony fingers. "That seems to be a reoccurring figure in her younger years, but he disappears a few years before she turned ten." I resisted the urge to scream as the face continued to grin even after multiple slammings with my thumb.

"That's because that this boy headed off on his own journey a few years before her, you idiot! That alone should be obvious!"

The roar of the crowd resonated behind my back as I shot a glare at Petrel's shocked face. "Sir," His voice seemed to shake along with his nervous hands as he spoke. "If I m-may ask, how did you kn-know that?"

I let out a dragging sigh before scowling at the purple beard on his face. "Don't be such a fool, Petrel! How could you not recognize this dolt beside her?!"

I glanced over my shoulder and found my apprentice shaking hands with her opponent in the center of the dirt field and a nagging voice in my mind pointed out the obvious fact that I had missed the second half of the battle. The man in charge of the match let out a triumphant yell, claiming my apprentice the winner with a final score being an impressive two to six win. I snapped my attention back to Petrel just as my apprentice turned to look at me.

"That fool at her left is Hibiki Gold, the Champion of Johto! Any fool with a brain could see that, Petrel!"

Author's Note: What's this? Another character has been introduced into this AU? AND IT'S HIBIKI?! Wow, who thought that he wasn't going to show up in this series? /looks for hands in the reader's section/ Seriously, who would have thought that Hibiki was the Champion? Also, how did Team Rocket get their hands on so many things relating to Kotone Soul? They must have really good scouts... or they just check PokéBook profiles. XD (That was a joke, everyone.)

It seems Silver's back to his stress-death self. Poor kid needs to chill for once in his life...

(But Hibki chose Chikorita in this guys, Chiko. /starts skipping in a circle and chanting taunts about a Chikorita-owning Hibiki Gold/)