What's up everybody, King of Swag is back with another chapter of your favorite story! Sorry it took me so long to update, but like always, I have the worst luck with my computer. Seeing as how I don't own my own laptop or computer, I gotta use my house PC. Which, when it isn't working, leaves me with nothing else. :( BUT I'm back and that's all that matters! Not only that, but this chapter is a special one, that's for sure! But first, what happened last time!?

1.) Final battle between Gyarados and Dewgong ends with Gyarados as the winner!

2.) The group learns that Gary 'abandoned' his Magnemite!

3.) Nicholas takes up Gary's offer for a battle!

Good? Good! Now, lets get to the story!

READ!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, just my OC.

(PS - Don't be afraid to tell me of any grammar errors involving spelling or font styles for certain speech. Thank you for your support!)


Chapter 28: Boiling Water

If there was one thing he took seriously as a Pokémon Trainer, it was the bond between partners that truly mattered.

That's why, looking at Gary across the field, made Nicholas' blood boil.

To abandon or throw away a Pokémon just because of their lack of experience was despicable. Hearing Gary run his mouth about his 'reasons' was more than enough to spark the feud.

Just like the two promised, they were setting up for their very first battle between childhood friends. Luckily, there was an empty field nearby the Pokémon Center. Perfect for a friendly match. Except it wouldn't be very friendly at all. Right now, Nicholas stood on one side of the field with balled fists. Charmander stood next to him with crossed arms, a strong scowl on her face. Both of them were glaring at Gary, who was reaching towards his belt for a Pokeball.

"What's the rules, Nick?" Gary called out. "A full battle?"

"No. One-on-one should be enough." The teen responded bitterly. "We'll use our strongest Pokémon. Our starters."

Hearing that, Charmander wordlessly stepped in front of her trainer.

Gary arched an eyebrow. "You sure you wanna do that, man?"

"Just hurry up." Nicholas growled. "The faster we start, the quicker it'll be for me to teach you a lesson about morals."

"Jeez, so uptight over something so trivial..." Gary muttered to himself before shrugging. He heard it clearly, word for word. A battle, one-on-one between Starter Pokémon. The auburn haired trainer grinned as he picked out a Pokeball and watched it grow in his hand. Bad for Nicholas. Good for him. "All right then! Come on out, Squirtle!" After tossing the ball in the air, Nicholas sighed as the flash that escaped the capsule.

Exactly like he remembered from seeing on Professor Oak's documentaries, a light blue colored Pokémon popped out onto the field. It stood on two short legs and had a brown shell on its back with a short, curly tail underneath it. The Squirtle narrowed its reddish-brown eyes towards Charmander.

Small, but nothing to underestimate.

'Of course he'd pick a water type.' He thought as he pulled out his Pokedex. 'Still, it'll be worth the struggle if we win.'

Species: Squirtle

Type: Water

Sex: Male

Next Evolution: Wartortle

Attacks: N/A

Info: Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon. Squirtle's shells are very sturdy, a tool they use for both defense and offense. Although they are fast swimmers, Squirtle aren't very quick on land. To compensate, they usually battle by shrinking into their shells and launching powerful water attacks across large distances with precise accuracy.

"Last chance to back out before you embarrass yourself!" Gary hollered with a confident grin. His Squirtle laughed along with his trainer before flexing his arms, clearly showing that he was ready to battle. Instead of being intimidated, Charmander remained unfazed by her opponent's show of strength and continued to gaze at Squirtle with sharp eyes.

"Don't think a type advantage makes this an easy win," Nicholas warned. "Brock learned that the hard way."

"Are you two ready?" Cody asked as he stood off to the side, eyeing both both Trainers and their Pokémon. Behind him, Alex sat down on a nearby bench with Umbreon in her arms and Riolu standing next to her. In her hands was a camcorder. It was obvious that Nick would want to look back at this match, win or lose, it didn't matter. Even without asking her to do so, Alex knew that it would be a strong memory to keep for both strategic and friendly means.

"Yup." Gary nodded.

"Let's do this." Nicholas called out.

"Alright." Cody raised his hand into the air like a professional referee would. "Remember, this will be a One-on-One match. Should either of you choose to switch out your Pokémon during the match, it's an instant loss. There will be no time limit!" He brought his arm back down with a loud and clear "Begin!" No second later, the two Pokémon charged each other.

"I'll start things off!" Gary exclaimed with a smirk, holding out his hand. "Squirtle, use Bubble-Beam!"

The turtle-like Pokémon nodded as his chest inflated slightly before he released a stream of bubbles from his mouth, shooting it straight at Charmander. "Avoid it and hit him with a Metal Claw!" Nicholas ordered, watching as Charmander rolled to the side to avoid the attack and began sprinting with her arms crossed over her chest. Her nails extended, becoming a shiny silver color as she neared her opponent.

With sharp reflexes, Squirtle narrowly dodged Charmander's attacks. But soon, he found it difficult to keep up when Charmander quickened her attack patterns. Although that didn't mean he avoided all of it. He sucked his teeth when he saw thin claw marks along his chest.

"Don't let her overwhelm you!" Gary instructed as he watched his partner get pushed back. "Attack with Rapid Spin!"

When Charmander went in for another slash, Squirtle had caught her off guard by jumping over her head and causing her to lose her footing. While Charmander was busy trying to correct herself, Squirtle had landed and kick-started off the ground to shoot off like a bullet. He pulled his arms, legs and head into his shell just as he began spin, colliding dead-center with Charmander's back.

The fire-type grunted in pain as she fell forward onto her face, but flipped herself back onto her feet. "Flamethrower!" Her tail burned hotly as embers cackled in her mouth. She spun on her heels and saw Squirtle charging her with another Rapid Spin. With a roar, she released the flames that grew in her mouth. "Counter it with Water-Gun!" Squirtle had stopped spinning and planted his feet into the ground to gain some balance before shooting out a pressured blast of water from his mouth.

The two attacks met halfway and resulted in a huge cloud of steam that engulfed the field.

"We can't see her, but she can't see us either!" Gary called out to Squirtle just before his vision of his partner became clouded. "Make sure to keep her on her toes with Rapid Spin!"

"Shit!" Nicholas cursed. He saw Squirtle's shadow as the water-type shrank back into his shell before rushing forward. "Charmander, don't bother using your eyes! Listen for Squirtle's movements and hit him with a Metal Claw!" He instructed as he watched the faint light of Charmander's tail flame move from inside the steam cloud.

Doing as she was told, Charmander activated Metal Claw and stood still, waiting.

The sound of dirt crunching picked up quickly. Her eyes darted to the left to see a shadow coming towards her and she immediately crossed her claws to block the spinning shell. Sparks flew as Squirtle's shell spun against her silver claws and with a grunt of effort, Charmander pushed the water type away from her. Seeing her opponent roll against the ground, she jumped towards him and reeled her right arm back.

She cursed under her breath when her claws pierced the dirt instead. Squirtle had barely avoided her attack, but managed to spin away just in time to begin circling her again. But she wouldn't let him get the drop on her.

It was like a game, an annoying one, that had Charmander blocking Squirtle and attempting to attack him.

It had lasted until the steam cleared up enough for the trainers to see the two at a stalemate.

The fire type was gritting her teeth in strained effort as Squirtle continued to push her back with Rapid Spin.

"Water-Gun!" Gary ordered. Charmander felt Squirtle's rotation come to a screeching halt and soon enough, she saw a single hole from the shell facing her. From inside, she saw Squirtle looking at her with a grin before taking in a deep breath. The next thing Charmander felt was the pressure of cold water crash into her chest, sending her flying back several meters.

"Charmander! Are you alright!?" Nicholas called out in worry. That wasn't good. She just took a direct hit from a point-blank water-type attack. The trainer watched his partner struggle to pick herself up from the ground, her teeth grinding against each other as steam rose off of her body. The heat from within her body had already started evaporating the water on her scales, but the damage had already been done. She clutched her chest and winced as she stood up straight, glaring at Squirtle as he spun back onto his feet.

"About time we landed a hit! I was getting bored of the Cat and Mouse game, ya know?" Gary laughed from his side before curling his mouth into a battle-ready smirk. "Now, while she's still recovering, launch another blast of Water-Gun!" He ordered, watching his partner nod and take in another breath.

"Flamethrower!" By the time Charmander had managed to shoot out the flames from her mouth, Squirtle's attack had already closed in on her. Because she had rushed to release her inner fire, her flames had been doused by his water and ended with Charmander rolling back after getting hit for a second time. This time a direct hit to the face. "Charmander!" Nicholas called out again. The fire type coughed as she rolled to a stop, pushing herself up with her arms.

"Rapid Spin!"

"This doesn't look so good..." Alex said. The teenage girl, with Cody sitting next to her, watched as Squirtle sped towards Charmander in his shell. "Charmander doesn't have much of an advantage against a water type like Squirtle." The two, along with Alex's Pokémon, watched Charmander dive to the side to avoid the incoming attack. Squirtle had made a sharp turn-around as he targeted her back.

"That much is obvious." Cody replied with crossed arms. "But it's not like Charmander would give up so easily. At least, not without making it harder for her opponent."

It was true.

Before Squirtle could enter a straight dash towards her, Charmander had released a small burst of Flamethrower along the grass to create a firewall to protect her. At first, it looked like Squirt had slowed down and was going to stop himself from entering the flames. But after receiving another command from his trainer, Squirtle released a jet of bubbles from his shell and put out the firewall just as he spun over the scorched lines.

Charmander sucked her teeth before activating her Metal Claw. But it was just like before. The second she tried to thrust her claws down towards Squirtle's shell, her enemy had made a abrupt leap over her head, pushing out his head from his shell and blasting her in the back with a burst of Bubble-Beam.

"After getting hit in the chest by water, it's obvious that Charmander's in pain." Cody calculated as he watched Charmander stumble forward again, but instead of falling, she bounced back to her feet in an instant. Although there were little wobbles in her steps. "As of now, not only does Squirtle have the type advantage, but he's too fast for her to land a hit on."

"This isn't looking very good..." Alex whispered to herself.

In her arms, Umbreon could only watch in silence as her rival was being played with by her enemy. 'She boasts about how strong she is, but this is the extent of her abilities?' Her red eyes narrowed as she watched Charmander protect herself from a Water-Gun attack using another Flamethrower. 'Pathetic.'

They held this stalemate, but as soon as a sharp pain flickered through her body, Charmander fell to one knee and accidentally lost focus on her attack. Her Flamethrower was quickly overpowered and next thing she knew, she was laying sprawled out in a puddle. "If Squirtle hadn't landed that first hit on her, she might've had a better chance." Cody sighed to himself while Alex covered her mouth with a hand, concealing the gasp that escaped her lips.

"You know," Gary started nonchalantly, slipping his hands into his pockets. "I had always thought you'd be the better trainer, should I ever battled you. With all that Poke-Knowledge swimming around in that head of yours." He shrugged before rubbing the back of his neck, a disappointed frown on his face. "Should've known better than to get my hopes up."

"No hard feelings." Squirtle, with a smirk, made his way over to the downed female. He held out a supportive hand. "Need some help?"

"F-Fuck you!" Charmander, who was panting on the ground, growled and tried to push herself back up. Her body was in pain and she continued to twitch as she struggled to move. She let out a shuddering gasp when the pain ran through her spine, leaving her temporarily immobilized. "I-Im... I'm n-not finished... yet...!" Charmander spat out in her native tongue. Her claws dug into the damp soil, her tail slowly swished behind her and her flame flickered brightly.

As soon as her reptilian eyes connected with his, Squirtle suddenly felt a sense of foreboding loom over him.

The second Nicholas opened his mouth to call out to Charmander, a bright flash took over the field and made him shield his eyes.

"Oh. My. God." Nicholas whispered under his breath as he squinted his eyes. Off to the side, Alex was on the edge of her seat with wide eyes. Umbreon tilted her head in interest while Riolu covered his eyes from the blinding light. "Well... this just got interesting." Cody snorted to himself with a smirk.

Squirtle started to back away with an nervous smile as he watched Charmander's form turn white, soon starting to expand and shift. Her claws grew a few inches and dug into the ground, her tail stretched out and started to whip to the sides. "This... is not good." Gary gulped, feeling a little bit of sweat on his forehead. As soon as the light faded away, it became clear that what just happened wasn't a hallucination.

This wasn't Charmander anymore.

No. Something even better.

After he pulled out his Pokedex, his smile only grew larger.

Species: Charmeleon

Type: Fire

Sex: Female

Next Evolution: Charizard

Attacks: Flamethrower, Metal Claw, Dig, Smokescreen, Flame-Wheel, Slash

Info: Charmeleon, the Flame Pokémon and the evolved form of Charmander. Charmeleon are often quick-tempered individuals. Their flames get stronger the angrier it gets. And when battling, they often use their long tails to trip their enemies and attack using their sharp claws.

"Ohooo, how the tables have turned...!" Nicholas hummed smugly, rubbing his hands together. Leave it to his best friend to change things up through sheer determination alone. "Charmeleon, how ya feelin'!?" The teenager actually took a step back when he felt the heat of his partner increase just like the flames on her tail. Nicholas watched as his partner stood on both feet, arms stretched out at her sides as she let loose a long blast of fire into the air. It was stronger than her usual output. 'Wait a minute... this happened before...'

Looking at Charmeleon's body, he could still see the injuries she received from fighting Squirtle. Even if she had evolved, which increased her basic abilities, her injuries and the fact that she had to fight a water type still left her at a disadvantage. But this happened before, against Jack and Graveler. Even when backed into a corner, she'd always find the strength to fight back.

That must've meant Blaze was active!

"Not only that, but she learned a few new moves..." Nicholas nodded before he took a slow breath, calming himself down before he got too excited. "Even so, looks like Charmeleon can't handle much more." He was right. Even with her power boosted from not only her evolution and Blaze, none of that mattered if she was too weak to endure any more hits. That meant they had to be careful.

Which was Nicholas' strong point.

"We're not finished yet, so let's get this show on a roll!" Nicholas held out this hand towards his partner and grinned. "Charmeleon, let's start things off with a Flamethrower attack!" Hearing her trainer bark out the right orders, a toothy smirk appeared on her face before she took in a deep breath. "Squirtle, make sure to counter it again with Water Gun!" Gary instructed with narrowed eyes. There was no way he'd let a simple evolution take away his first victory against Nick.

Doing as they were told, the two starters finally released their attacks nearly simultaneously.

Charmeleon's Flamethrower shot out from her mouth like a geyser. Thick, condensed heat raced towards Squirtle's Water Gun. However instead of before, her attack had gotten stronger. Nearly three times stronger. Instead of the usual reddish-orange, it was a blazing crimson and the size had even gotten bigger. Eventually the flames made contact with the opposing water, causing the usual steam to erupt between them.

But this time, the flames overpowered the water and pushed it back.

Squirtle's eyes widened upon seeing the fire making its way towards him, eventually consuming him in a ball of flames. He braced himself for the pain and gritted his teeth as the heat rolled off his body. Once the flames dissipated, all that was left was a small circle of charred grass and a steaming Squirtle, who was kneeling down on his left leg, panting.

Stopping her attack once she saw her opponent was down to a single knee, Charmeleon snorted a puff a smoke from her nostrils and shot the water type a cocky smirk. Crossing her arms, she used a single claw to urge him to retaliate. "No hard feelings." She took great satisfaction from the irritated and pissed expression on Squirtle's face. The water type forced himself to ignore the burning pains and stand back up, eyeing the evolved fire type carefully.

"Squirtle, we gotta knock her out before she starts getting the upper hand!" Gary advised. "Speed things up with Rapid Spin!"

"Just like before! Metal Claw!"

Charmeleon let out a battle ready roar as her claws extended, coated in a shiny silver color. Bracing herself as her claws crossed each other, Charmeleon soon took the full brunt of Squirtle's Rapid Spin. The fire type let out trails of smoke from her nose as she was slowly pushed back, but for the most part, her claws were keeping the water type at bay.

It was incredible! Before, she had been getting pushing back and barely had the strength to block such an attack. But now? Now she could hold him back with such ease! Evolving had made her stronger, more skilled than she was before. And she could feel it. The newfound power raging inside her like a storm, wanting nothing more than to be released in battle. It exhilarated her! "That all you got, bubbles?" Charmeleon growled out, her tail burning even hotter behind her. "This is the best you can do!?" She continued to taunt.

"Shut up!" She heard the angry response echo from the moving holes of the shell.

"Heh," Charmeleon's eyes narrowed. She was still smirking. "Make me."

Pushing her foot forward, she forced her claws down even harder against Squirtle's shell. After adding enough pressure, eventually she was able to stop his shell's momentum.

Before Squirtle could even pull himself back or even shoot out an attack, Charmeleon laughed as before she spun and swatted him away using her tail. "Squirtle," Gary watched as his Starter Pokémon pushed out his limbs just in time to catch himself by landing. "Use Skull-Bash on Charmeleon!" The water type tensed the muscles in his legs before he shot forward, head first, towards the smirking Charmeleon.

"Avoid it with Dig!"

Charmeleon rapidly dug her claws into the grass below, leaving a cloud of dirt as she quickly burrowed into the ground. Squirtle had been quick to charge through the smoke, stopping once he realized there was a hole where his opponent should be. Which meant, Squirtle gulped, Charmeleon could pop up anywhere for her next attack. "Not good..." He mumbled to himself, eyes darting all over the place. And it seemed he was thinking the same thing Gary was because he started to move around the field, making sure his position continued to change in case Charmeleon resurfaced.

However underneath the grass, said female was biding her time and keeping track of Squirtle's movements.

She grinned when she heard his footsteps coming her way.

Just before Squirtle could stop to dash to another direction, the ground beneath his foot broke apart and he found himself propelled into the air. "Now you got 'im!" Nicholas exclaimed as he watched his partner appear above the floating water type. "Slap him back down with your Slash attack!" From the other side, Gary quickly called out for Squirtle to use Withdrawal.

But Nicholas paused for a moment.

As Charmeleon's claws extended in a white coating light, her trainer looked closer and noticed a particular glimmer in her eye.

Usually, whenever she battled, she'd always have a look in her eye. A sign that proved she was excited to fight, determined to win the match. But this was different. Alongside her hungry grin, the glimpse in her eye was more... sadistic. And he knew that look from documentaries of battles between wild pokémon. Charmeleon still had the drive to win, that's for certain, but she wanted to make it exciting for herself.

She had the look of a predator that wanted to completely terminate whoever stood before her.

With a battle cry, Charmeleon brought down her right claws down on a protective Squirtle. Inside his shell, Squirtle grunted in pain. Not from the impact of smacking into the ground, but instead from the new marks that were inflicted on his chest. He rolled around until he was back on his feet, reacting quickly to Gary's shout of "Water Gun!" Charmeleon already knew what her trainer would order her to do and after taking in a deep breath, she combated the water with a burst of Flamethrower.

This time, Squirtle had dodged the incoming flames in time, only to see that Charmeleon was upon him in seconds with a deadly Metal Claw ready at her disposal. "Squirtle, use Water Gun again, except use it on the ground!" Gary instructed quickly. Everyone watched as the male shot a jet of water into the ground where he stood, shooting himself into the air in time to avoid Charmeleon's attack.

"We'll catch him off guard when he lands!" Nicholas shook off the thoughts in his head and held out his hand. "Cloud the field with a Smokescreen!"

Squirtle cursed his luck when he saw an explosion of black smog appear beneath him. He felt his stomach drop as he descended into the smoke cloud, quickly realizing how difficult it was to properly see.

"You afraid...?" Charmeleon's voice whispered near him, causing Squirtle to jump.

He spun on his heels and shot a burst of Water Gun, only for it to hit nothing. A chuckle was heard from his right side. "Hehe, try again."

This had gone on long enough where Squirtle was left a panting mess, exhausted from wasting so much water. "Where are you!?" He called out angrily, taking slowly steps around the never ending smoke cloud. "This isn't fair at all!" He heard a snort. "Fair?" He heard back. "This is a battle, little man. Anything goes. But if it'll make you happy," In a matter of seconds, the smoke around the duo cleared to reveal a smirking Charmeleon standing in front of him with her arms crossed. "Better?"

"That's it!" With a tick mark appearing on his forehead, Squirtle finally snapped until Charmeleon's smug and taunting attitude. "Take this!" With an angry roar, Squirtle released a burst of water from his mouth, except it wasn't like any of his earlier attacks. Gary looked on in surprise as his partner executed a newfound Water Pulse attack, but neither Charmeleon nor Nicholas were fazed very much.

"Flame Wheel, go!" Nicholas ordered.

Charmeleon's tail flame exploded in a burst of heat as she got onto all fours. "Pathetic!" She exclaimed before she pushed herself forward into a flip, the fire from her tail encasing her in a ball of flames. It only took a second for Charmeleon to impact with Squirtle's Water Pulse, only for the ball to explode into steam while the fire type rushed forward in a mad dash. Squirtle's eyes widened as the flames were upon him and soon enough, Charmeleon full-body slammed the water type and caused him to fly backwards.

As soon as Squirtle's back hit the grass, Charmeleon stopped rolling and spun on her heels with a puff of fire coming from her teeth. "That's game over for you, bubbles." She commented, only to arch a scaly brow when she saw her opponent grunt. Squirtle winced, a hand on the burning 3 slash marks on his chest, but he continued to push himself back to his feet. "You want some more?" Charmeleon sneered, raring herself up for another Flamethrower.

"Charmeleon, hold it!" Nicholas quickly called out to her just before she attacked.

Before the fire type to voice her annoyance, Squirtle let out a short grunt before he fell forward onto his chest.

His eyes were swirls.

"The match is over!" Cody was quick to announce. "The victor is Nicholas and Charmeleon!"


Damn, that's gonna take some getting used to. I've gotten so used to typing out Charmander's name, that I might've messed up a few times. Tell me if I mess up the names here and there, but don't worry, I shouldn't leave too many mistakes. Anyway, how'd you like the chapter? This chapter was meant to be special just because of EVOLUTION! Looks like there's a new rivalry between the Starters! Not only that, but there's a little change with Charmeleon's attitude! How's this going to affect our heroes in the future!?

I'll catch you guys next time on If I Was I Pokémon!

REVIEW PLEASE!