What's going on, readers? Last chapter, Owen defeated Korrina and Pikachu was voted the MVP by the reviewers! After their battle ended, Owen and the others saw an aircraft carrier flying towards the Tower of Mastery, and it belonged to Team Grim. Then, as Owen and Charizard flew towards the ship, Ariel and Blaziken saw them, and they're ready to join the fight!

Defender31415: Lol, Pukachu. Yeah, the stories on here give a way more violent view on battles. I think they avoid killing each other because their trainers keep them from doing too much damage. There will be a battle later in the story that gets really violent to the point that there will be some bad injuries to those involved. Thanks for the review!

guest: Thanks, I really enjoy doing the gym battles so I'm glad you liked this one!

Emboar-Man (guest): I like the predictions, but Frogadier won't be evolving early in the arc. He will be evolving, but it'll be near the end of the arc and after the gym battle

FlameStriker123: Charizard is going to get his Mega Evolution(s) very soon, maybe a bit sooner than you expected ;)

MCMXCV: Haha, at least Pikachu didn't win unanimously, and I like the predictions. And I'll keep trying to make the chapters as good as they can be :)

Owen's team

Frogadier, (m), level 26, Pound, Lick, Round, Quick Attack, Water Pulse*, Smokescreen*

Charizard, (m), level 70, Flamethrower, Dragon Claw, Seismic Toss, Blast Burn, Aerial Ace*, ?*

Pikachu, (m), level 28, Slam, Quick Attack, Thunderbolt, Nuzzle, Electro Ball*, Double Team*

Tyrunt, (m), level 27, Tackle, Stomp, Stealth Rock, Bite, Ancient Power*

Hawlucha, (m), level 34, Wing Attack, Karate Chop, Flying Press, Aerial Ace, Bounce*

Gastly, (f), level 22, Lick, Mean Look, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Sucker Punch*

With Professor Sycamore

Butterfree, (f), level 34, Tackle, Silver Wind, Psybeam, Gust, Poison Powder*, Sleep Powder*


"Charizard, land on the balcony of the tower and be on your guard!" Owen shouted as he and his starter zipped through the air at a breakneck pace. Charizard grunted in response as he landed softly on the balcony that Owen had been on earlier in the week. The two looked around in confusion as no one was in sight, and the ship's door was shut tight. Owen turned to walk inside the building, and he did so without a care. Charizard stayed close by his trainer while being on high alert for any attackers.

"Come on! Come on! Come on! Make sure you grab as many Mega Stones as Mega Bracelets as you can!" Owen and Charizard's eyes locked onto a man in a black uniform that was yelling at several other people in similar uniforms, but he had black tattoos of skulls on his arms.

"That's gotta be one of the admins," Owen whispered to Charizard as he started to backpedal outside. As he was doing so, Owen stepped on Charizard's tail, and the winged lizard let out a mighty roar while Owen fell onto his back. The Grim admin turned quickly and began running up the spiraling staircase towards Owen and Charizard while he grabbed a Pokeball out of his jacket pocket.

"Gyarados, go!" the admin shouted as he hurled his Pokeball into the air. Owen's eyes opened drastically as the water type flew through the air and straight towards Charizard.

"Charizard, use Dragon Claw and knock Gyarados into that guy!" Hearing the urgency in his trainer's voice, Charizard's wings shot out to his sides and he flew towards Gyarados while his claws extended and began to glow light blue. He then slashed Gyarados as hard as he could, and the powerful Pokemon was knocked into the stairs that its trainer was climbing.

"Get back up!" the admin screamed angrily as he hopped over his Gyarados. The Pokemon wasn't moving, though, as Charizard had put all of his effort into the Dragon Claw. On top of that, he was an incredibly high level, and very few trainers had Pokemon that could compete with Charizard. "So you're the kid Frank was talking about. You should be proud, he's made sure you're very high on our list of targets, but you're not worthy of being at the top."

"That's enough, Spike. I think Owen knows where he stands with us," a voice announced. Owen, Charizard, and Spike looked down the winding staircase and they all gasped when a figure blew past them. Once it stopped ascending, Owen realized the person who had spoken was none other than Frank. He was wearing the all black suit just like the other members of Team Grim, but the top of his uniform had a hood and he was wearing black boots. A silver chain with a locket was hanging around his neck, though it looked like it was from his days as a child. He was sitting on his Dragonite's back, and the pseudo legendary was fixated on Charizard, who was growling back.

"Frank," Owen muttered as Charizard stepped closer to him protectively. "What are you doing here?" the teen interrogated.

"Why would I tell you that? If I did, you'd know what we're planning to do," the young man shot back with a stern look. "Well, it doesn't really matter, because there's no way you'd be able to stop us. You see, we're here to collect all of the Mega Stones for our army. By taking all of them, no one will be able to use Mega Evolution except the Elite 4. Once that happens, we'll be unstoppable!"

"We're not going to let that happen! Frogadier, Tyrunt, come on out!" The two Pokemon whose names were called broke out of their Pokeballs and stared at Frank and his Dragonite, but Charizard stepped in front of them.

"Rawr," the fire type said as he stuck his arms out to push the younger Pokemon back. He then pointed at Dragonite and released a wave of fire from his nostrils, making Frank and his Pokemon smirk.

"Charizard, are you saying what I think you are?" Owen asked. Charizard nodded back confidently, making Tyrunt and Frogadier move so that they were hiding behind Owen. The trainer, however, grinned in excitement. as he withdrew the two Pokemon "I've been waiting for another shot at this. Charizard, use Flamethrower!"

"If you want a rematch, then you've got one. Dragonite, Hyper Beam!"

000

"Blaziken, plow through them with Brick Break!" Ariel shouted as she and Blaziken ran up the winding staircase. Blaziken's fists turned bright white and he unleashed a flurry of punches and jabs that took out all of the Pokemon and Team Grim grunts. Blaziken showed no mercy in striking anything standing in his way, and he sent all of the obstacles flying over the stairs.

BOOM!

Ariel stopped running and looked up at the top of the tower to see a massive cloud of smoke fill the air, and she scowled.

"Owen, you idiot! Great, now it looks like Blaziken's got even more work to do," the girl thought to herself as Blaziken neared the top of the stairs. She sprinted after her starter and kept her eyes on the top of the tower, which she was closing in on.

"Use Aerial Ace!" a booming voice commanded. Ariel and Blaziken stopped for a second before seeing a Charizard slam into a Dragonite, and they crashed into the wall on the other half of the room. Ariel and Blaziken turned to face each other after Dragonite threw Charizard towards the middle of the tower, and then he struck the lizard with a Thunder Punch.

"Blaziken, use Blaze Kick on Dragonite!" Blaziken leaped off the stairs while his foot caught fire, and he slammed it over Dragonite's back while he reared back to punch Charizard once again. As that happened Ariel ran to the top of the stairs where Owen and Frank were standing, and they watched as Blaziken latched onto Dragonite while Charizard struck the dragon with Flamethrower.

"Look who decided to join the party. It's good to see you again, Ariel," Frank greeted hostilely as Dragonite shook Blaziken off his back. The fire and fighting type recovered from his fall by firing a Flamethrower so that acted like a jetpack that allowed him to land in front of Owen.

"Charizard, fly outside!" Owen commanded, hoping to take the aerial battle outside of the tower so Charizard could fly freely. Charizard obeyed Owen's orders and turned towards the balcony before flying as fast as he could, and Dragonite pursued. The three trainers and Blaziken ran after the two flying Pokemon and watched as they started to fly around the tower.

"Blaziken, jump on Dragonite again and then use Brick Break!" Ariel shouted despite the fact that the consequences of Blaziken missing his target could've been fatal. Without hesitation Blaziken sprinted towards the railing and used it as a spring as he leaped straight forwards. As he did that, Charizard and Dragonite zipped by, and Blaziken latched onto the dragon type and began to hit him repeatedly.

"Damnit! Dragonite, fly into the tower to knock Blaziken out!"

"Not on our watch! Charizard, grab Dragonite's wings and start punching him!" Charizard turned around and flew towards Dragonite as quickly as he could, but he wasn't fast enough. Dragonite rammed Blaziken into the stone building, and the fighting type immediately lost his grip on Dragonite. As Blaziken began to fall, Charizard swooped down and grabbed him by his hand, and Charizard flew to the three trainers before landing harshly.

Dragonite followed suit and landed on the balcony next to Frank while Charizard and Blaziken stood by Owen and Ariel. The two teenagers stood by the railing while Frank was camped out by the opening that led to the inside area of the tower.

"This is fun. I haven't been tested like this in quite some time, I commend you for that," the Team Grim member praised as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "But I'm done messing around. Bring him out!" Owen and Ariel looked on in confusion as Frank and his Dragonite waited patiently until two people walked out of the tower. Spike walked out with Gurkinn, who had bruises all over his face, two black eyes, and he was bleeding from his mouth.

"Hey! Leave him out of this!" Owen barked as Spike threw the old man to the ground and he put his foot on Gurkinn's neck.

"We will, as long as you let us leave," Frank replied with a sinister grin, making Owen steam.

"And what if we don't?" Ariel interrogated.

Her question was answered by Spike putting more force against Gurkinn's neck, making the man cough in pain.

"I don't like to play games, kids. Either we walk out of here with the Mega Stones, or you try to act like heroes and this man dies." The proposal sent chills down Owen's back and he looked at Charizard, who backed away to show he agreed with Frank's proposition. The two turned to Ariel and Blaziken, who continued to glare at Frank and his Dragonite.

"Blaziken, do it," Ariel told her Pokemon. The order was confusing due to her tone combined with Blaziken's reaction, which was him stepping back. Much to everyone's surprise, he disappeared and reappeared behind Spike. The Team Grim admin was thrown into Frank, and Blaziken picked Gurkinn up off the ground before retreating to his trainer's side.

"Th-thank you," Gurkinn coughed out as Blaziken sat him down.

"Oh that's it, you little shit!" Frank screamed. "Dragonite, let your hatred awaken! Mega Evolve!" Frank pressed the button on Dragonite's Pokeball, and the dragon was covered in black aura while his eyes turned pure white. Owen cringed at the sight of the transformation while Charizard masked his fear.

"Ariel, we need to go," Owen told the girl in fear. Much to his surprise, Ariel scoffed at his demands, and he held her right arm up to her eyes.

"I'm not running. Blaziken, Mega Evolve!" Owen gasped in shock as Blaziken was enveloped in a blinding light as the wristband he was wearing began reacting to Ariel's bracelet. After the light vanished, Blaziken's appearance changed slightly. His hair was now pointed upwards while two streams of fire escaped both of his wrists. The upper portion of his legs was also black while the lower portion was red.

"Wow," Owen muttered under his breath while Charizard stared at Blaziken in awe.

"Knock Blaziken off the balcony with Dragon Rush!"

"Counter with Blaze Kick!" Dragonite flew forwards as the black energy surrounding him took the shape of a dragon, and Blaziken's foot burned brightly. The fire type then swung his leg at Dragonite, but he was overpowered instantly and launched off the balcony, much to Ariel's shock.

"Charizard, go get Blaziken!" Owen shouted. As Charizard flew after Blaziken, Frank, Dragonite, and Spike took the opportunity to escape. Dragonite grabbed both of the men and flew onto the aircraft carrier, and they laughed as Charizard landed on the balcony with Blaziken, who had reverted back to his normal form.

"Neither of you are worth my time! Get stronger!" Frank mocked as the ship flew off at an incredible speed, one that was too fast for Charizard. As the criminals disappeared Ariel and Blaziken walked away from Owen and Gurkinn angrily.

"Ariel, wait!" Owen shouted as he ran towards the girl. She stopped and stared at Owen with a furious look in her eyes, which intimidated Owen. "I just wanted to say thanks for the backup. I don't know what would've happened if you two weren't there."

"I should be thanking you and Charizard for saving me so many times," Blaziken said with a smile. "It was no problem at all. Hopefully we don't meet under similar circumstances." Owen nodded in agreement with the Pokemon, and the mysterious pair left without another word.

"Owen..." Gurkinn coughed as Charizard helped him walk towards the teen. "You showed great strength during that battle. Please, take these." Gurkinn slowly reached into his pockets and pulled out a strange bracelet and a wristband that looked like the one Blaziken wore.

"What's this?" Owen quizzed in confusion as he put the bracelet on his wrist while Gurkinn handed the longer band to Charizard. The fire type looked at the band like it was from a different species, which made Gurkinn laugh.

"What you're wearing is called a Mega Bracelet, which you need to wear in order for Charizard to Mega Evolve," the man explained as he put the band on Charizard's arm. The fire type looked at the two stones placed inside the band he was wearing and poked at them. The one closer to his hand was a red stone with a blue inside, while the one further up his arm was a blue sphere whose inside was red.

"Wait... we're worthy of learning Mega Evolution!? YEAH!" Owen screamed as he threw his arms in the air happily.

"Haha, yes you are. Now, the red stone on Charizard's arm will allow him to Mega Evolve into Mega Charizard Y, while the blue sphere will let him Mega Evolve into Mega Charizard X. Be careful, because you may only use Mega Evolution once during battle."

"Thank you so much! Charizard, do you want to test it out?" Owen inquired.

"Raaawwrr!" Charizard roared back emphatically.

"Okay! Charizard, Mega Evolve Y!"


I really don't like how that chapter went, but I'll live with it. Any who, Frank kind of kicked ass again, and Owen was granted the power of Mega Evolution! Next chapter will mark the start of the Coumarine arc, which is going to focus a lot more on the relationships the characters have, whether it be with each other, their rivals, or their Pokemon. Till next time, peace out.


Next Chapter: Back to the Ranch: While on their way to Coumarine City, the group stops by the Gogoat Ranch once again when a fight breaks out for group supremacy. When one of the characters helps a Gogoat train for the fight, the two begin to bond. Which of the characters is it?


Coumarine Arc Chapters

Chapter 31: The Garden Guardian Part 1

Chapter 32: Coumarine Contest

Chapter 33: Shadow Punch: Haunter vs Gogoat

Chapter 34: Crouching Rival, Hidden Meganium

Chapter 35: A Mega Crossover!

Chapter 36: Daniel's Decision

Chapter 37: Double Date Double Battle

Chapter 39: The Plan Unfolds