Pokѐmon Journey IV: Eira's Adventure

Chapter 29: New Champion of Sinnoh

Eira's Point of View:

When I woke up the next morning, I was surprised to see that all of my pokemon were already up and gone from the room, minus Paladin and Cleffa who were in the room with me. They played on the other bed quietly while I sat up.
"It must be time..." I may have slept in after the event of yesterday. I didn't remember much after greeting everyone and then getting dinner before bed. It had been twilight then; that had already extended since we had arrived into the spring season. Flowers would bloom soon while the snow was melting... but that was normal once we arrived at the month of April.
Paladin and Cleffa bound for my bed once they saw me up. Paladin jumped into my arms while Cleffa sat in my lap where it was warm. I smiled at the two of them before I began to shift, which they both whined at.
"I need to get dressed..." I explained to them. "Our team is battling today, and I need to be ready for it." I patted their heads while I moved over and grabbed my clothes at the end of the bed. "Where are the others?"
I was quickly told that the others were getting food. Parker, my father, and all our teams had left a while back while I continued to sleep. I smiled at the two pokemon before I made my way into the bathroom to change and clean up.

It took me little time to get ready and once I was set, I picked up the two baby pokemon and headed down to where the lobby was. I slowly made my way down where I noticed a large eating area where everyone was. Cleffa quickly jumped out of my arms and raced for her father. Cameron sighed when she got to him and picked her up before everyone looked at me. I had a large groups of friends and family at my table hat include my father, Parker, Cameron, Professor Rowan, Cheryl, Mira, Riley, Marley and Buck.
I was surprised to see that none of the IPHP League was here with us. I liked around for them before sitting down. My pokemon were still gone from sight and that made me worried.
"Morning Eira," my father greeted me as I sat down next to him and Parker. "You sleep okay?"
I nodded slowly at him, but worrying for my team got the better of me. Everyone was quiet before Parker jumped from his seat.
"You're looking for your team Eira?" I nodded at him as well. "Last time I saw them they were with the league, training."

I nodded to my best friend and stood up, only to be grabbed by my father. "You can go find them in a minute, eat first, I don't want you to be starving out on the battlefield today."

I slowly nodded to my father and he handed over some of what he had been eating. It was some chocolate pancakes with whipped cream. It seemed my father's sweet tooth had risen to the surface and he was taking advantage of being free of Rose's control. He had many types of food before him to try and to relive that he most likely hadn't had in many years. Rose most likely only gave him enough food to sustain himself.

I quickly ate the food he put out before me before standing up from my seat. I left Paladin with the others so that he could enjoy his meal. He had a wonderful friendship with Cleffa, and I knew it was better to give him some more time with her.

I was surprised when I stepped outside and felt the extreme heat coming from the area before me. I quickly hurried up to an open space before the cave we came out of yesterday to see Magma and a blaziken going head to head with fire attacks, each one hotter then the last. I quickly saw it was Jezebel and her friends from Hoenn that were part of the league helping my pokemon prepare for our battle ahead while it seemed that Aaron and Levy were watching.

"Hey there Eira!" Aria came up to me with her boyfriend at her heels. "Here looking for your pokemon?"

"…It's a bit hard to battle without them…" I smiled at them while they grinned back, pleased with the mood. However, I was surprised to see that certain members weren't here. Violet and Alex especially, but it seemed that the Vilmos siblings and their respected partners weren't here.

"You must be wondering where the others were." I blinked as Jezebel came in and the battling had stopped. "Violet got word on some leads and her mother was being dramatic this morning, so all the Vilmos family is working on calming her down and handling the information we got."

"About Rose?" I questioned.

Jezebel nodded. "Violet's making sure that the leads are real because she knows how much you want to get your hands on Razi, no different then I want to take Rose out. If those leads prove to be true, then she'll be leading you toward them. If you can beat your Pokѐmon League in this region, you have nothing to worry about. You've already faced them; I know you'll be okay."

I nodded to her. I would be helping them soon enough. That would make me happy… and I still had to get Razi. I would make him pay for what he and Rose did to my family…

"W-we should give back your team though…" Mattie spoke up from behind Jezebel. "You need to get ready… don't you?"

"I do…" I nodded to him in thanks before I looked over to the five pokemon of mine that would be battling today. I smiled at their eagerness as they returned themselves to their pokeballs and I hurried off to register so that way I could be ready for when the fights started.

HalloweenWitchHalloweenWitch

It wasn't long after I gathered my pokemon that I registered myself and received my ticket to show that I was participating today in the matches. I would have to show it to a recipient in every waiting room before the battle would even start. I held it securely in my hand while holding onto Paladin as well. I was given permission to take him with me, so long as he didn't leave further then a couple feet from me or stayed in my arms, which was the more likely thing that would happen.

I had spoken with my friends earlier to find out more about the opponents I would be facing. Buck had been the most helpful being as his older brother was an Elite Four member. I had been told about each of them, the first being a bug type, the second being a ground type, the third being a fire type, the forth being a psychic type, and the champion not having a specific type at all.

As I thought about it more, the decision s for each battle became easier. For the first battle I would be using Magma, his fire would burn though any bug type and still leave him with more energy for another round. Then I would use Bubbly against the ground type trainer, since that would be where she would excel. I would still be able to use her again if needed. I would probably have both Elecky and Bouncy tag team on the fire type trainer since Bouncy would be able to attack with a wide variety of attacks. Then Elecky would have the power to finish through if needed. Finally, I would use Shadow for the last member with her advantage over psychic pokemon as a ghost type. Then the champion might need to be a mix of whatever pokemon I have left after that...

I walked over to where the entrance would be for anyone who battled the Elite Four and I stared at it for the longest time before I moved toward it.

"Eira?" I turned around to look back at my best friend. He smiled at me. "See you on the other side."

I smiled and nodded to him before I made my way to the door. I took a final look at my friends and family waving at me while I held Paladin in my arms before I entered the room.

There was no going back now...

I saw that there were a few people inside waiting on the battle before me. I would have to wait my turn before it would be our chance.

I took a seat and Paladin looked at me with a pout. He wanted to play.

"Okay. We'll play while we wait."

HalloweenWitchHalloweenWitch

"Eira Helaine!" I heard my name be called and I stood up from my seat with Paladin in my arms snuggly. He happily got a chance to play with me and Magma before we would begin. I returned Magma for the time being so that I could show him off when we got to face our first match.

I walked out onto the field and I was surprised to see it was a lush, tropical area that surrounded a battlefield. To keep it looking so nice, however, I noticed a barrier that was protecting it from the battlefield, much like Gardenia had done during my second gym match.

Across the field, I noticed there was a young man there, most likely no older then his late teens or twenties. He had rich, neon green hair with a single piece that stick up against his normally looking smooth head. His skin was pale and rich dark eyes contrasted, most likely a very dark brown or black. His clothes consisted of a black sleeveless vest like shirt with a rust orange 'x' on it while his pants matched the same color. White shoes were on his feet which he used to step up to his trainer box and smile at me.

"Hello Eira, welcome to the Pokѐmon League!" He held out his arms before him in a carefree nature. "My name is Aaron Locust. It's good to meet you at last!"

"You know of me?" I blinked at him.

"Sweetheart, everyone in this region, and soon the whole world knows who you are." He grinned at me. "The girl who took down Team Galactic and fought against Rosalie Agustino and her brother Razi Harper… that's like being a part of the IPHP League." He shook his head. "But you're here now to face off against us, and to prove your worth. I fight with bug types, their nasty and mean, but also beautiful. In my mind, they're perfect. I'm here because I want to be perfect, just like how I see them. So can I take you on?"

I smiled at him and held out Magma's pokeball, already feeling the heat coming off of it. "I wouldn't be here if that wasn't the case." I threw it out and soon Magma's presence filled the room. Aaron's eyes widened when he saw the stoic fire type that stood in the middle of the room. He watched my pokemon letting off steam for a moment before he looked at me.

"That is what I'm fighting?!" Aaron cringed as he felt the heat going up in the room slowly before looking at me. "Damn… that fire type is hot."

"You get used to it with Magma around all the time…" I smiled at him sweetly. "So shall we? I never planned to make this battle easy for any of you."

"I never expected an easy one, but I get to find out about all the curve balls before they get to the others." Aaron grinned before pulling out his pokeball. "Let's go Yanmega!"

I soon saw the pokemon that Razi had on his team come out before us and buzz around the room. It was quick from the initial speed I saw, I would give it that, but when pokemon are suddenly forced into hot or cold locations that aren't used to the other extreme, it slows them down considerably. Speed won't matter much if the heat gets to this pokemon.

I watched it for only a moment before I felt Magma slowly warming up the room. I could feel Aaron cringe at the change. I knew he could feel it. I've faced so many battles with Magma now that unless he truly gets too hot, I hardly feet his flames unless they come into contact with my skin directly…

Magma stood there, waiting for an order. He grinned up at his opponent and when I told him he'd get the first battle against a bug trainer, while he was a bit upset in the beginning, when I told him then that he'd fight again in more rounds, he was more then happy. Magma like tough opponents that make him stronger, maybe Aaron would have a pokemon that would work like that, and if not, I knew the champion would.

"Magma," my pokemon looked back at me, ready for any order. "Start out with overheat!"

There was no reason to hold back in this battle. I would not beat around the bush and wait for something to happen to my pokemon. This was the Pokѐmon League. I just needed to make my way to the top.

The pokemon screamed on the other side of the field as small white flames danced all over the field. The pokemon tried to escape them with its speed, but much like I had anticipated, the pokemon was unable to keep up initially because of how much warmer the room was, and it was getting to the pokemon. Little flames burned at it and the pokemon was quickly covered in fire.

"Yanmega!" Aaron called out in horror before his pokemon feel to the ground, unable to produce a single attack, and out of the match. "With a single attack…?"

"Magma is just that strong…" I smiled at him and I knew Aaron was cringing. He had pokemont that were strong, but against a fire type, I could imagine that he had pokemon that had two types that were weak to fire.

This was not going to be a good match for him, and he knew it.

"Return Yanmega, we'll do our best to avenge you." Aaron's pokemon left the field and Magma only stood there waiting for more. He was eager, beyond eager.

"Ra ra!" Paladin cheered in my arms and I smiled down at him.

"That's right; your big brother just won the first round!" I looked over at Magma. "Tell him good luck, Paladin!"

Paladin laughed "Ra!"

"Alright, let's try this again! I will get in an attack!" Aaron clenched his teeth. "Let's go Scizor!"

And there was the pokemon I knew he'd have; the bug and steel type that most advanced bug type trainers liked to keep on hand. I smiled as I saw it, not worried in the slightest.

"Attack with cut Scizor!" The pokemon blindly rushed forward to our end of the field and I simple watched with intrest.

"Take the hit."

"Huh?!" Aaron cried out as his pokemon's attack made contact with Magma's openly exposed body. The pincers touched and instantly they were aflame. The pokemon screeched out and ran over the field. It was actually quite comedic to be honest. I did feel bad in a way. Any pokemon that had a disadvantage to Magma would never fair well against him. It was a harsh reality that most people came to.

Magma was strong; there was no doubt in his abilities. But even against opponents that he didn't do well against, such as ground types and rock types, he still could take them out because his fire was so hot, that it could melt the earth, it could melt rock. And those that fail to take Magma seriously would suffer from the same fate.

It made me feel bad for Aaron. Most of his pokemon were only bug types, so they would catch fire getting to close to my pokemon and easily would fall prey to his attacks without him even trying. Buck had warned me thought that there was a pokemon on his team that he normally saved for the end that once was a bug type, but had evolved out of it which meant that there would be no type advantage for Magma, and he'd have a better fight.

But until then, I still had two or three more pokemon before that.

The flames on the opposing pokemon's claws had spread to its entire body. It wasn't used to such hot fiery attacks like Violet's pokemon was. It had run about the field in hopes of putting it out, but the fire was just too hot, the air around it just made the flames grow bigger, and the never ending heat of the battlefield made the flames just expand more.

The pokemon feel to the ground, defeated after the fire had taken hold. None of Aaron's pokemon seemed to hold up well against my fire type. I'm sure normal fire types were a different story, but this was Magma we're talking about… he's not exactly "normal"…

"I can't attack you, I can't do anything with this heat… how do I fight you?" Aaron cursed at his luck. "Its like a one sided battle…"

"Most of your pokemon would have no chance against Magma due to their types and sensitive bodies against fire. I've only met a handful of pokemon that are bug types and can handle Magma's intense heat." Aaron looked at me with wide eyes. "Magma's fire is even hot enough to melt this ground into lava, you're bug types are not a fitting match against him, and I would rather not hurt anyone unnecessarily. Against any of my other pokemon, this match would be entirely different, but this heat, its Magma's greatest stringent and I knew that coming out onto this field."

"So you're saying that any bug types, unless used to this kind of heat, wouldn't stand a chance…"

"That's correct." I nodded my head lightly. "I do not mean to make any fun of your pokemon, it is simply that Magma's heat, confidence, and stubbornness all wrap up into a single package of intensity. If you wish to have any fair fight of any sort, I believe a pokemon that is not in definition or body a bug type would have at least a shot of fighting against him.

"I see…" Aaron had to think for a moment before he looked back at me. "Eira, I'm shortening our match. Only one of my pokemon may be able to hold their own and I don't want my other bug types to be harmed, is that alright with you? I apologize for the shorter battle."

"It is fine." I nodded to him. "I would rather them not be harmed, which is why I took the time to explain myself to you. Even against opponents that are rock and ground types end up being burned by Magma's fire and defeated, that's just how incredible he is."

"Thank you." Aaron sighed. "One day, if you'll let me fight with you again, I want to face this brute again with my team to get stronger, but for now, Drapion! Let's go!"

I remembered this pokemon well, it gave me a lot of trouble during the Grand Festival in its final days. Bubbly and Magma both had a hard time facing it with its many types of moves, but also its strange type of poison and dark. It once was a bug type before its evolution, but now it just makes it stronger.

It was good that Aaron had this trump card, because now Magma could actually put up some of a fight.

Magma could tell that his opponent was different this time. His grin widened and he took a stance, ready to truly fight. When he saw the purple pokemon, I'm sure he remembered the match against him in the Grand Festival. He was excited, ready to go, and ready to burn.

"Good, now we won't have to hold back." I smiled before holding out an arm that wasn't holding my baby pokemon. "Flamethrower!"

My pokemon quickly held out his arm and flames raced across the field to the other pokemon. I saw Aaron flinch as he watched the intense flames hit his pokemon. His pokemon cried out, but I saw its shadow standing still in the heart of it. The pokemon was still standing after the first attack.

I could feel the malice in the air increase. Magma was getting excited…

The pokemon burst from the flames and roared out before racing across the field at Magma. The two of them clashed, claws against fists. The force of the regular attack from the two of them sent out a surge of power that shook the earth itself and blasted the air around. I could hear other people screaming in the audience in cheers and in shock.

"X-scissor!" Aaron cried out and his pokemon jumped back only to slash at the air and craft a bug type attack of a light green color in the shape of a 'x' that flew at my pokemon. However, since it was a bug type move, all it did melt before it could hit Magma.

"Did you forget the first half of the battle already Aaron?" I asked him skeptically. My eyes narrowed at him while he looked frustrated with himself. His normal moves and plans against other opponents wouldn't work against Magma. Grass and bug type moves couldn't touch him with the intense heat around him. Not only did it act to show off his power, but it also acted as a barrier for those attacks that weren't truly able to reach his body.

"Fine then! Cross poison!" Aaron's next attack that came was a poison one and I cringed a bit at it. While Magma could burn the poison out of his body if it got in, it still wasn't a fun process.

The same style attack came again, but this one was a dark purple in color that was able to hit Magma head on, hitting him square on his upper right chest and that same shoulder and arm. Magma stood for the attack to hit him. He grinned when it landed. I could see the poison still on his body, but that never would be enough to stop my fire type.

Magma's grin sent a worried shiver down Aaron's spine. "Toxic!"

I watched the poison type on the other side of the field begin to summon something from the pits of its stomach. I wasn't truly looking forward to that much poison in my pokemon's body.

"Magma, use fire blast!" I smiled at him with a bit of mischief. "Don't hold back."

I could almost feel the very emotions of my pokemon as he happily was eager to complete my order. He raised both arms just as Aaron's pokemon let loose a violet glowing poison beam at my pokmon. Just before it would hit Magma, he threw his arms forward and white fire blasted out of them from how hot his flame was.

The white fire of the attack expanded and covered most of the field while burning the poison in the air. Aaron watched, stunned by the bright color before he noticed it was getting to close and unable to stop. He dived to the side while his pokemon took the hit of the incredible attack and screeched out. The pokemon suffered under the flames before I saw the body fall in the heart of them.

Aaron decided to look up then at my pokemon, only to see that the poison damage on him had disappeared, which made the Elite Four member stutter in shock. Magma had burned off the poison off his body, the heat protecting him. While the wound wasn't entirely gone, it was mostly gone, which was all that mattered. It was hardly any damage to Magma, and if he wasn't worried about it, then neither was I.

"Drapion is unable to battle!" the referee shouted out. "The winner is Magma and the victor of this match is Eira Helaine!"

The crowd was stunned for only a few moments before I could hear all those who came to cheer me on begin to congratulate me from the stands above. Other soon joined in as the fire settled on the field, the heat slowly leaving the area. Magma relaxed, lumbered over to me and grinned. His body was still hot, but he was cooling off enough that at least he wasn't melting everything this time.

"You did well Magma," I spoke to him softly. "And more battles are waiting up ahead… are you prepared for them?"

"Mag." My fire type nodded before I allowed his pokeball to enlarge in my fingers and return him. The pokeball itself became warm to the touch, but not nearly as scolding this time. I placed his pokeball away before making my way over to Aaron, who was still on the ground near his battle box.

"I can't believe how quickly I lost… but that battle... it was out of this world…" Aaron looked up at me, slowly getting to his feet. "Thank you for showing me how intense fire can really be. I'm heading back to boot camp and we're gonna get stronger, so next time when I face that brute of yours, I can face him head on with no worries for either of us."

I nodded to him. "That sounds wonderful Aaron, I wish you luck."

"And I for you as you move further through." Aaron grinned as he showed me the door behind him. "There are three other members besides me, and all of them stronger then myself."

I showed him a light grin on my face. "That's what we're hoping for."

"Go on head then, Bertha will be waiting for you next." I nodded to him before I saw him turn to his melted battlefield, the barrier had broken some time in the middle of it and all of his palm trees and plants were gone. "Did you really have to destroy my battlefield?"

I smiled nervously at him, not giving him an answer before moving onto the next room behind him.

The door closed behind me and I was left standing in a small waiting room. I saw that there were a couple people ahead of me, but no more then maybe two or three. I calmly sat down in a free spot and Paladin then began jumping in my lap when I had released him.

"Don't make too much noise Paladin; we need to be respectful to other trainers." My young pokemon nodded, but he didn't seem all that pleased with what I said. He pouted for a moment and looked away from me before I began to tickle his sides. He let out a yelp of shock before he laughed and my earlier warning was forgotten as we played.

HalloweenWitchHalloweenWitch

"Eira Helaine!" I was quick to stand up from my spot. In the time frame that I'd waited here in the room for my battle, only a small handful of trainers had made it to the same spot that I had past Aaron.

Now it was time to face the ground type user. I walked over to the man who had called my name and he checked my ticket before sending me through to the next room. The one I arrived in next was one that seemed to contain a lot of rough earth and jagged rocks, one of them even looking like a cliff that overlooked the room near the back corner of the room.

I then looked across to see my opponent. My opponent seemed to be that of an older woman. It instantly made me happy since older opponents tended to give me a good run for my money in battle. She had shoulder length silvery hair; some light wrinkles were carved into her smooth features. She wasn't very large, most likely only a bit taller then myself, perhaps the height of my late mother. Her eyes were rich and dark, like that of warm amber. She wore warmer clothes in this room. Was she perhaps cold? She had a thick, white jacket that covered most of her body other then the black skirt and dark grey boots that seemed to sneak out from under it.

"What an adorable child." Her voice was like that of a sweet grandmother. It instantly calmed my feelings, even if only for a moment. "You must, however, have a spin if you've made it past Aaron." She blinked for a moment before she laughed behind her hand. "Oh, I recognize you dear; you're Eira Helaine, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." I nodded to her.

"Oh splendid!" Her hands wrapped together in front of her and she smiled. "I was wondering when I would have the chance to battle you. I've heard you're quite the opponent."

"People do say that often…" I smiled at the older woman, happy to have someone who seemed pleased to battle me. "I don't plan to go easy on you Ma'am."

"I wouldn't dream of it, and apparently I haven't told you my name yet. So sorry about that dear." Her eyes glowed with a warmth to them that just made my heart melt. I was happy to see such a warm and kind face; it was something I felt as if I'd never seen before… "My name is Bertha Tierra, and I will be your opponent." She almost seemed to jump in her spot, even at her older age. "Its been so long since I've looked forward to a serious battle! Not many get this far, with Volkner keeping most trainers from coming to the Pokémon League and Aaron taking out most of the rest. Sometimes it's nice, however, since I need a nap."

"Shall we begin then?" I questioned her softly from the side of the field I was on.

"Yes, yes, we should. We don't want to keep the crowd waiting, do we?" Bertha smiled before a pokeball was quickly out on the field. "Let's start out with Gliscor!"

I was stunned by the flying creature that was the first pokemon to appear on the field before me. It reminded me of a gligar, and most likely had to be its evolution. Instead of pink coloring the body, it was a rich violet color along with black under its wings attached to its arms. Its sharp teeth were nearly glowing white and its neon yellow eyes were bright against its dark complexion. Rich, blood red color seemed to be on its elbows and abdomen, in between its armor like skin. Its pincers and tail were sharp to the tough.

I pulled out my pokedex to understand it further. Gliscor, the fang scorp pokemon and the evolved form of gligar. If it succeeds in catching even a faint breeze properly, it can circle the glove without flapping once. Its flight is soundless. It uses its lengthy tail to carry off its prey… then its elongated fangs do the rest. There are no known gliscor in the region.

So a flying and ground type… what a strange combination… I looked up from the pokedex while Bertha only smiled at me. She seemed to still be calm and kind, but once a battle begins, it can change people.

"Alright then… Bubbly, let's go!"

My starter pokemon was quick to show herself and puff out her chest a bit at her opponent. Once Bertha saw her opponent, I could see the sweet smile turn into a confident smirk. The very fever of the battle was coming about, and both Bertha and myself would fall prey to it.

"You should go first sweetheart," Bertha gestured to me. "I want to see what you're capable of."

"Of course." I nodded to her before looking over at Bubbly.

I will admit that I was slightly concerned in this match due to Bubbly's type. It was true that she had the advantage over them, but she also was somewhat weak against them as well. Bubbly was both that of a water and steel type, water is the advantage over ground, while ground is the advantage over steel.

However, this one I wasn't as worried for. This was a flying and ground type pokemon that Bubbly would be facing. Her ice type moves or water type moves would deal with it easily enough, but Bertha's presence was somewhat off putting… giving me the strange feeling that I should be worried for something she is hiding, most likely a pokemon that will appear later on.

"Bubbly, let's start out with aqua jet!" My pokemon bent her knees before water encircled her body and she shot up into the air. She raced toward the opposing pokemon and in no time was before it.

"Dive." Bertha told the pokemon and it was no longer before us. I watched around the field as it moved at an incredible speed that could nearly matched Bubbly's when in the water. It made me blink.

So this pokemon has more speed to it then regular ground types. That's interesting… I narrowed my eyes as I kept my eyes on the flying/ground type. I watched it move at incredible speeds over the room with Bubbly chasing after it, however, when I noticed that she couldn't keep up well, I knew it was time to change the pace.

"Bubby, faster." My pokemon grinned and before the other pokemon could even find her in the air, she was in its abdomen, her body coated in a water attack that she had increased to double her speed. The pokemon cried out and it was pushed back, but not far enough. I saw it open its eyes and try to fly once more.

So it's going to take more then one hit… good, that makes this battle more interesting…

I smiled as I watched the pokemon dive once more away from my pokemon with her chasing after it all over the field. Slowly Bubbly was able to gain ground against the other pokemon before she slammed her body into the gliscor once more. It chocked out what air was in its lungs, and before it had the chance to move, Bubbly raced around and slammed into it again before hurling the pokemon into the ground. Once it landed, she dropped before it, waiting for another move. When the pokemon didn't stir, she looked over to see it had been knocked out, swirls had overtaken its eyes.

"Well, well… I see what they say about you is true…" Bertha continued to only smile at me, seeing one of her pokemon so easily defeated didn't seem to bother her. "Its been a long time since someone dominated us so easily, not since our current champion. But show me more deary." Bertha showed me a toothy grin. "I haven't had my fill of the battle yet."

"Then send out your next pokemon please." I liked this older woman; she didn't mind at all that she was loosing the battle, only that she was enjoying it. Even if I felt like I was over powering some of my opponents this way, sometimes it felt really good to do, because I felt like I was helping them become a better trainer by showing them they still could lose to others.

"Very well then, let's go Golem!" Her next pokemon appeared and I was happy to see it was a ground and rock type… I would easily be able to rid of it... "Start off with earthquake!"

"Aqua jet!" Bubbly was into the air before the ground could shake and crack open. I felt the ground beneath me begin to split and I felt one of my pokemon release themselves and yank me back. I gave her a thankful nod before turning back to the battle before me. Bubbly hadn't be hit, using the aqua get in order to avoid the coming earthquake attack, but soon after, she slammed her body into the golem, knocking it off its feet.

"Golem!" Bertha shouted out in shock. I was more then willing to bet on her pokemon's powerful defense to protect it, but I knew better. Against a powerful opponent like my empoleon, defense is nothing if a super effective attack is used against it.

And I had another one up my sleeve.

"Steel wing!" Bubbly raced forward over the jagged ground and jumped over the rock pokemon that was still moving. She slashed her wings at it that glowed a metallic color and the rock type chocked on its own breath as her wings slammed into it. It was thrown back into the ground and hopped a bit before landing at Bertha's feet. She looked on in shock before she saw that her second pokemon was down and out.

"My goodness, I'm impressed." She returned her pokemon and pulled out another. "But I'm curious how you will fair with this one? Go Wishcash!"

My eyes widened when I saw the water and ground type appear on the battlefield. I could only curse my luck that she had a water type on her team. It must have been that bad feeling I'd had only minutes before hand… it would make sense… that same feeling is back.

I had to think long and hard about the opponent we were up against. Of course I had taken out Bertha's other poekmon with ease, but this one was a water type, meaning half of my attacks would be almost useless for me to use. And ground has the advantage to steel, so it wouldn't be a good idea to use any of my steel attacks, nor flying. That left me with few options, other then some ice type attacks and a secret attack that I'd taught to Bubbly quite a long time ago in case something like this would happen.

It seemed it would be time to use that move…

"Wishcash, use sandstorm!" Bertha's attack rang out and I flinched as wild winds of sand suddenly appeared all over the field. I could feel it like sandpaper against my skin, it hurt. I could only hiss at the pain while I dared look into Bubbly. She was not affected by the sandstorm due to her being a steel type, but that meant nothing about her being able to see well. Bubbly was a pokemon that preferred the colder climate or water, so for her to be in the middle of a sandstorm (even if she wouldn't be hurt by it) she couldn't see her opponent.

But thankfully, I knew a way around that.

"Bubbly, use ice beam on the ground." My ice type screeched at the ground and ice quickly hit the ground. The sand storm scrapped against the ice and quickly pulled small pieces of ice with it. The ice soon melted in the air and attached to the sand, making it heavier and harder to move before falling to the ground. Only a light wind remained. "Now use hail!"

Bubbly cried out before her body suddenly became cold and ice flew off of her, caught by the wind and swirling around in the light wind left over from the sandstorm before it exploded with an icy wind that took over the area. I saw the wishcash flinch at the ice that hit it, since the sandstorm didn't do any damage to either of them before.

The pokemon wasn't exactly happy with its new environment. I could see Bertha thinking heavily on how to deal with the new arena I've placed before her. Could she handle the ice?

"Zen headbutt!" The pokemon sped through the storm and I was shocked when I saw its head coated in a blue lightning of sorts before it slammed into Bubbly's abdomen. My eyes widened as I watched her halt the attack, but she heaved, the pokemon hit her hard enough to force the wind out of her and to cause some of her stomach fluids to come back up.

"Bubbly!" I watched my pokemon on her flippers and knees, trying to get back her breathing. She had difficultly breathing and I cursed at our luck.

We would have to change some things…

"Grass knot!" My pokemon punched the ground and the opposing pokemon before her struggled as its tail was tied down with grass that was able to grow out of the slightly moist ground. Bertha was shocked to see that we knew this kind of a move and I could only smile at her while I had the upper hand. "Now finish it Bubbly! Use blizzard!"

My water type grinned before the air turned cold around her. From her mouth came a powerful blast of ice that froze the wishcash. We waited for a few moments to see if it would break free or could still fight, when it didn't, Bertha sighed and returned her pokemon.

"This is frustrating as much as it is wonderful." Bertha pulled out another pokemon. "I hope you can handle this pokemon. Let's go Hippowdon!"

I was shocked to see a new pokemon I hadn't seen before. It stood on four legs with a large head and body, nearly the same size as each other with short legs. Its back and the end of its snout was a black color while the rest was a yellowish tan color. Its eyes were a rich red color. I watched as sand flowed out of the holes in the black part of its back.

I pulled out my pokedex and pointed it at the strange pokemon. Hippowdon, the heavy weight pokemon and the evolved form of hippopotas. Its brandishes its gaping mouth in a display of fearsome strength. It raises vast quantities of sand while attacking. It is surprisingly quick to anger. This pokemon can be rarely found on route two-twenty-eight.

Its only a ground type… I watched the other side of the field as the pokemon seemed to let sand loose from its back in hopes of warming up the room. I smiled, I didn't plan on letting it have its way.

"Sand tomb!" Bertha's attack was quick. Her pokemon glared at us before the sand that was around us started to surround my pokemon at her feet. It swirled around her feet and began to get thicker.

"Bubbly, jump!" My pokemon nodded to me and made to do so, but she soon flinched and held a fin to her abdomen. My eyes widened as I watched her.

Did she truly get hurt more then I had anticipated?

Bubbly couldn't move from her spot. I had to work around that to get her out of there. I thought over the many attacks she knew in my head before I figured out what would work.

"Bubbly! Use whirlpool!" Water suddenly appeared and countered the sand surrounding her and helped her to get free. "Use it over the field!"

My water type forced her attack to spread and soon enough it swept up the pokemon that had tried to attack her. It cried out as the water soaked thought its body, which I'm sure was not normal or comfortable for it. Bubbly's attack continued to spread and soon enough, the pokemon went under the water that flooded the field, but avoided Bertha and I.

After a minute, I saw the pokemon fall out of the attack and Bubbly let it go. She watched it worriedly from my side of the field where she held her abdomen. She seemed to be in incredible pain from the attack she took in the last battle against the wishcash. I would need to tend it later, as well as make sure that she finishes up the last battle quickly… so she doesn't suffer more…

"Truly you are a trainer that will give any of us a run for our money." Bertha caught my attention from the other side of the field. Her pokemon seemed to be unmoving, so she returned it. "I'm happy to have battled you, even if this battle was too short lived… I wish I had been a bit stronger so that it may have lasted longer… but perhaps next time?"

I nodded to her. "I'd like that."

"Then allow me to show you my last pokemon, see if you can face it! Go Rhyperior!"

I was shocked to see a large, bulky pokemon that's body was entirely made of rock, its body mostly of a dark slate color with red colored plates on its chest, shoulders and head. It had two horns on its head, one as a nose and the other just a in or two above on its forehead. Claws were on its hands and legs while a tail was behind it which looked to be made of rock.

I pulled out my pokedex a second time this battle to understand that pokemon more. Rhyperior, the drill pokemon and the evolved form of rhydon with a protector. It can launch a rock held in its hand like a missile by tightening them expanding muscles instantly. Geodude are shot at rare times. Its carapace can withstand volcanic eruptions. There are no known rhyperior nests in this region.

It's a rock and ground type. A water type move, if powerful enough… could take it out in one go… It didn't look like a pokmeon with an incredible amount of speed. Taking in the full look of the final pokemon of Bertha's team, it seemed to be more of an endurance pokemon or heavy hitter.

"We need to try and push her back some more Rhyperior!" Bertha called out to her pokemon. "Use rock wreaker!"

The pokemon growled out before I saw it yank large chucks of ground out of the field and hurl them at my pokemon. Bubbly jumped out of the way, but quickly she found that she couldn't escape easily. She evaded the first part of the attack with only inches to spare as she tried to run on the field. The wound she had taken hurt her more then I'm sure she'd like to admit.

"Bubbly, we need to take it out before it really hurts you!" I called out to her, a bit of nervousness in my voice. "Use hydro pump!"

"Em!" Bubbly cried out and sucked in a large breathe before a huge blast of water shot out of her mouth. It shot across the field and hit head on one of the monstrous boulders that the other pokemon was throwing at her. Bubbly's attack shattered the boulder when it lost its momentum and the rest of the water attack shot forward and slammed into the other pokemon. The rhyperior screamed out from the water attack and soon I lost sight of it.

It took only a few minutes before Bubbly let up on her attack. We saw the water slow down and Bubbly raced to try and catch her breath in case the match wasn't over. I dared to look across the field into a crater in the ground that had the pokemon in it, from where he had ripped out earth to throw at us. It must have been tired from its attack, which helped us, but with the attack I had used myself, it would leave us vulnerable for a few minutes if we didn't take it out.

Bertha dared to walk out onto the field. She looked over into the crater to see how her pokemon was only to sigh. I blinked and hurried out as well before myself and the referee came out to see that the pokemon had fallen. Its eyes were in swirls and its body soaked to the bone.

"Rhyperior is unable to battle!" the referee called out. "The winner is Bubbly and the victor is Eira Helaine of Twinleaf!"

The crowd roared out I smiled at the progress we made. I hurried over to my water and steel type and helped her stand up while pulling out a potion for her.

"Hang in there Bubbly, I have a potion for you, and food once we're waiting, okay?" The minute my pokemon heard the mention food, she perked right up, perky and drooling at the thought of food for her.

"Who would have thought you'd be this strong child?" Bertha smiled at me as she met me across the field. She held out her hand for me to shake. "It's wonderful to see young blood like you keeping me thought and strong, even at my age." She gestured behind me. "Go on, the next member is waiting. I imagine your pokemon will enjoy the heat in there."

I smiled at her and I knew I would be facing Buck's older brother Flint. I was excited to face him, especially my next two pokemon…

I wondered how long Bouncy would fair with him…

I moved on into the next room and saw only a single person ahead of me. It seemed it would be quiet from here on out. Once I was out of the pervious room, I sat down Bubbly and pulled out the packed couple of lunches I brought with me. She drooled at the sight and took them from me.

"Go ahead Bubbly, they're both yours."

I didn't need to tell her twice.

HalloweenWitchHalloweenWitch

"Eira Helaine!" I stood up at the ready when my name was called once more. The single trainer before me had gone ahead only a minute or so prior. Had he truly been beaten so easily?

After showing off my ticket to the guard at the entrance to the next room, I moved through the doorway when it was opened for me. Paladin sat quietly in my arms and Bubbly had been returned to rest a bit after being allowed to eat a couple of meals and get some medicine for her wounds. I already knew who would battle first in the round, and I was excited to see how she would fair…

I arrived on the next field seeing that there was lava that seemed to travel around the edges of it, dug into the ground. Magma would love that kind of a field, so if there was a powerful opponent enough for him, I would happily let him take it on, and I'm sure the girls would allow him to go in their place as well. Bouncy is getting better, but she still worries me and Elecky, while she was an incredible battler, still knew better then to get in Magma's way if there was a powerful fight of a fire type or a pokemon similar in design as himself.

A man that looked similar to Buck stood on the other side of the field. His bright red hair was solid in color that seemed to puff out on his head, like a small afro of sorts. A yellow short sleeved shirt hung closely to his chest while black pants were loosely on his hips. He had on an old pair of sneakers while blank bands were on his wrists.

"Well, and here I thought I'd have to wait a lot longer to meet you, Eira Helaine." The man's eyes glinted with eagerness as he stared at me. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Flint Aideen, Buck's older brother as well as the third member of the Elite Four. I've been hearing bits about you off and on for the last year from my little brother, and I'm sure he's watching us."

We both looked up into the stands to see my group up in the stands and both of us saw Buck watching us intently. Flint grinned and waved up to him while I smiled softly, but Paladin growled in my arms, which caused Buck to pale and sink in his seat.

"Ha! He's afraid of that little guy?" Flint laughed and chocked over. "What stupid thing did he do this time?"

"He insulted Paladin…" I looked down at the baby pokemon in my arms who smiled up at me before looking at Flint and cheering. He was excited for my battle with this man.

"That sounds like Buck!" He hit his leg before he stood up. "But you're here for a battle against me, so now let's see what you got Helaine!" He threw out a pokeball. "Let's go Flareon!"

I saw a fire evolution of an eevee appear on the field and I was happy to see it didn't seem like an over the top fighter like Violet's umberon normally was. It made me feel better about what I had planned so that all of my pokemon had a shot.

"Let's go then Bouncy!" My normal type came out and she hopped from one foot to the next before she looked at the opposing pokemon. What shocked me the most was just how strong Bouncy seemed to be as she stood out there on that field. I wasn't expecting that, and it made me… feel more confident in her.

But it would help if I got over my fear of her getting hurt… but it was just so hard to let that go since I met her all that time ago.

"So this is the pokemon I get to start with? Looks like I got a good one, its all fried up, like me!" Flint grinned. "So let's start out Flareon! Use flamethrower!"

"Jump!" Bouncy launched herself into the air with her powerful legs until she hit the ceiling before she landed near the flareon. It cried out in shock before it looked at me worriedly. "Use dizzy punch!"

My pokemon hurled her tiny fists into the small pokemon before her and the fire type screamed out in shock. Flint was in shock as he watched his pokemon hurled toward him. The flareon was able to make to its feet after the attack and growled at my pokemon. Bouncy lightly hopped on her feet, ready jump at any moment.

"She's fast, I'll give you that!" Flint chuckled. "Now let's use quick attack!"

"Flare!" The pokemon raced toward us in an instant and Bouncy bent her legs to jump in response.

"Jump kick!" My pokemon launched herself into the air before hitting the ceiling once more before pushing to head back down and slammed her feet into the pokemon. It chocked as Bouncy's foot was in its stomach before the pokemon went flying into the ground. Bouncy bounced backwards before me and bounced lightly again, waiting for more.

We waited a few moments for the pokemon to emerge from where it had fallen. When we saw nothing, Flint sighed and returned his pokemon before pulling out another pokeball.

"And here I thought that you're pokemon would be on more even terms with me, this one's got a fire in her just like the rest." Flint grinned. "But let's see how you fair with this pokemon! Let's go houndoom!"

The four legged dark and fire type pokemon came out and I couldn't help the confused look on my face. Did Flint just forget the move that I'd used on his pokemon beforehand? I stopped his last pokemon with a fighting type move; fighting type has the advantage to dark.

If he was aware of what had just happened (which he should have been, he was an Elite Four member after all) then he had something planned. I had to be careful then…

"Sludge bomb!" I was caught off guard when I heard the name of a poison attack. Bouncy was startled at it too, but she was quick enough to leap out of the way.

"Spread it all over Houndoom!" I watched in shock as the pokemon recklessly spewed the liquid poison all over the room. Some of it landed in the lava that was around the edges and soon I became aware of their plan.

"Bouncy! Don't breathe in the air!" She looked at me for only a moment before jumping again and covering her mouth with her hand before I saw the poison evaporating in the air and a thin purple smoke took over.

I raced to grab my shirt and hold part of it over my mouth to protect myself and Flint did the same. His pokemon could only grin when it watched my pokemon. I turned to look at her and saw that she was heading right toward a large cloud of smoke that was closing in on her.

"Bouncy!" She turned her head only to be lost in the smoke. I watched her try to hold her breath. She quickly crawled down to the ground where some clean air was left as the smoke was over her head and taking over the room. I could see screens come down between the audience we had and ourselves to keep them safe from the poison.

The dark type wasn't phased by the poison, I could only assume because it was used to using the attack combination so often that it had built up immunity, or something along those lines. Dark types weren't immune to poison, but they weren't as susceptible as other types.

"Bouncy! You need to get rid of the poison! Use dig and cover it with dirt!" My normal type nodded to me before she scrapped at the ground and dig herself a hole, throwing dirt around the field to cover the patches of poison that Flint's pokemon had placed.

"There's no way that pokemon of yours is getting out of this no poisioned Eira!" Flint told me before looking to his pokemon. "Get it up into the air! Use crunch and throw it!"

The dark type raced on the field and had caught up with my normal type in only a fraction of time that I thought it would. My pokemon screamed out when its teeth were wrapped around her arm and it chucked her up into the air. She didn't have a moment to remember where she was at that moment.

"Bouncy!" My cry was in vein however, she had already breathed in the poison. I could see it already working as she coughed, trying to get it out when all she was doing was sucking it back in and more along with it.

I felt rage after that. If this poison hadn't been against us… I had never thought that a fire type user would bring poison to the table in their battling. I was quite surprised, but also infuriated. Bouncy had never faced poison before; she had never been poisoned…

But there was nothing I could do about it, it was in her system, all we could do is move forward….

"Boucny!" My pokemon looked at me through the pain of the poison coursing through her veins. "Jump kick!"

Bouncy hit the ceiling from where she was thrown into the air and slammed her feet against it before hurling her legs into the apposing pokemon. The fighting type move was critical against the dark type against us and it was thrown into the apposing wall. The wall shattered and a large hole was made. The poisoned air instantly filtered toward the hole and made its way out to allow clean air in again, which would make it easier on my pokemon.

"In one hit?" Flint stared wide eyed at the spot his pokemon had fallen and where I was. Bouncy landed next to me, but flinched as the poison took over.

I quickly pulled forward my backpack. "Bouncy, go on and come out, I've got some medicine for you."

"Lu!" She shook her head with an incredible vigor before she went back into a fighting stance, lightly bouncing on her feet. She wanted to stay in… just a little longer…

"Bouncy…"

"If that's what she wants, then that's what she's gonna get!" Flint pulled out another pokeball. "Let's go Rapidash!"

A fiery steed like the one Parker had appeared on the field and Bouncy hardly waited for my order to attack. She leapt forward and kicked out hard against the body of the opposing pokemon. It cried out in shock and reared backward before Bouncy jumped back from it to avoid being stomped on.

"Bouncy! Calm down!" She was so desperate to fight as much as she could before she could be no longer able to. The poison would do fast work on her body, and I'd already seen it taking over and shutting down functions of her body. Her jumps weren't nearly as powerful or swift. Her balance was beginning to waver. "We can still win this, but you have to calm down!"

My lopunny was hardly listening to me. She was so focused on winning the battle and getting stronger that she was hardly regarding what her body needed, and how much pain she most likely was in.

I knew the there were only two options then: take her out, or help her win. The answer was easy in my head, because I knew what she and I wanted; for her to get stronger.

"Take that pokemon out Rapidash! Use fire blast!" Flint threw his arm forward as the command was issued. His pokemon replied with a thick blast of fire coming out of its mouth.

"Boucny! Use Bounce!" My normal type flew up into the air when she kicked off the ground. While she was unstable through her upward climb, she slammed her feet into the ceiling before shooting herself back down, becoming a ball in the air and condensing around herself before she hit her body into the other pokemon.

The fire type screeched out before it was pushed down into the ground. Bouncy followed after it, unable to stop herself once she collided with it. Bouncy was quick to move away from the other pokemon, stumbling on the stage and holding her chest. She flinched every time something moved.

"Bouncy!" Ignoring everything around me, I hurried out onto the field just as my pokemon fell. Paladin jumped out of my arms and hurried up on my shoulder just as I reached her. Bouncy landed on me as she slipped into unconsciousness. I ripped over my shoulder my bag and hurried to find the antidote I had. Once it was in my hand, I quickly injected it into her skin. Once it was inside, while it took effect, I hurried to grab a potion as well to heal the wounds she had taken on, most of them had been because of her poisoning.

"She okay?" Flint had hurried out onto the field. I couldn't see his pokemon on the field, so I could only assume that it was okay and had been returned.

I turned back to my pokemon to see the painful look easing on her. Her muscles seemed to relax and the paleness in her fur seemed to change back to a more normal color. Her breathing had evened out and I could only sigh in relief.

"Yes… she's okay…" A collective breath of relief seemed to take over the air in the room from everyone as I returned my beloved pokemon. Once she was safely in my care once more, I returned to my side of the field and felt the power flow through me. With Elecky's ball in my hands was pulsing, I could feel her excitement and she was doing all she could not to spark myself on the outside of the pokeball.

"Then I guess we can continue then." Flint hurried back to his own side. "I got two more powerful pokemon for you to face. You ready?"

"I am." I nodded to him softly before I threw out my other pokemon I'd planned for this battle should Bouncy fall. "Go Elecky."

My electric type appeared and spark flew off her body as soon as she had immerged. Flint grinned when he saw her and showed his own pokeball to me.

"Let's go then Infernape!" I was surprised then to see a pokemon just like Cameron's there before us. The pokemon hopped on its feet while the flames burned on its body and its eyes locked on Elecky.

"He won't win so easily…" I narrowed my eyes at him before I threw out my arm. "Don't hold back Elecky, thunder."

My electric pokemon snarled at the other side of the field. It didn't help that our feelings for our fallen friend were burning inside of us. What we never expected angered us for not thinking of it, and it enraged us.

And Elecky was going to make sure he knew it…

She howled out into the air, her cry startling most people before the spark flew off of her body and bounced off the walls. People cried out in shock from the stands before they the barrier between the battle field and them closed once more, to ensure protection. I was grateful for it, because we would rather not hold back.

The anger gnawed at me. How could I have been so arrogant to not notice that a dark type could know poison moves? It was well known that dark types were crafty, often knowing a wide variety of moves, much like a normal type could, to make up in certain areas where it would be difficult to deal with an opponent. Poison was one of the last things on my mind when I came into this battle, and it infuriated me. I ruined my pokemon's chances of having a good battle and possibly facing Flint's entire team from that one little mistake.

"Now!" My cry startled everyone and lightning took over the stage. I couldn't see anything beyond the blinding light that was before me that the opposing pokemon took head on.

There was no way it would survive that.

I looked to the other side as Elecky's thunder attack slowly seemed to fade. Everyone in the area seemed startled by my rage and that of my pokemon's. We only looked to the other side of the field to see if the pokemon had made it. Some smoke seemed to linger, but it took only a moment for us to be shown that Elecky was the victor. The fire type pokemon was still sprouting electricity off its body and coughed out a puff of smoke. Flint looked at his pokemon worriedly before he turned to look at us. Even with Elecky's heavy breathing going on, she had more then enough electricity stored away to face him. Our faces both mixed with frustration and anger after what happened to Bouncy for our own stupid mistake.

"Arceus…" Flint flinched as he looked back at his pokemon that was badly hurt before he returned it. "Did I piss you off that badly?"

"No… I'm just frustrated at myself." I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "I'm sorry… did I hurt you pokemon more then I intended?"

"I think so…" Flint dropped his pokeball, crying out from the electrical shock he got from it. "Yeow!"

"Sorry…" While I did feel bad for him, I tried to keep the emotions inside of me so Elecky knew I was still in this battle. She continued to spark and soon her breathing came back to her. She was eager for the next pokemon, now that she had gotten out her own frustration at the last one.

"Well, I guess that means I only have one last pokemon left." Flint pulled out the pokeball. "Let me see if I can slow you down at all, go Magmortor!"

I was surprised to see the same pokemon type as Magma appear on the field. Its flames burned and he itself seemed excited to face me.

I normally would exchange any other pokemon out so that Magma could have a taste of facing his own kind, but I had promised this battle to Elecky, I couldn't allow Magma to take that from her. I also needed him to be in top shape for the next battles ahead, no different then Elecky.

"I hope this pokemon can handle a hit from mine, or else this battle won't last long." I blinked at Flint before throwing out an arm. "Elecky, use discharge!"

Lighting rocketed off my pokemon's body and shot in the direction of the opposing pokemon.

"Magmortor, use thunder thunderbolt!" I blinked as the two electric attacks lashed out at each other and matched before stopping the attack. Elecky only growled as she watched the other pokemon smirk, but it wasn't Magma, and that's what infuriated her more. We would need to use different moves to counter it…

"Crunch!" My electric type raced forward and latched her teeth onto the opposing pokemon. The pokemon cried out in pain, swinging around its arm where she had latched onto, but she didn't let go.

"Get her off Magmortor! Turn up the heat!"

And the pokemon did just as Flint asked. Flames erupted on its body and Elecky was forced to let go from the hot flames inside of her mouth. I could see the burns around her jaw and I flinched, looking at the burnt fur.

I couldn't get in close… my pokemon would be burnt beyond recognition. I cursed my luck as I looked across the field. The pokemon opposed to me couldn't be fought head on with the attacks that Elecky knows. She's more of a long distance battler when it comes to this type of pokemon, especially when their body can turn to lava.

The only way to battle this pokemon would be to attack with lightning and pray it doesn't get stopped the next time. It was Elecky's greatest strength to use her electrical attacks, and use her steel and dark type moves in case those don't work. Normally fire types wouldn't be an issue, but having raised a magmortor myself, it explains itself how we have to be careful and can't treat facing this pokemon like any other fire type.

"Elecky, don't hold back and unleash every volt of electricity inside of you!" I shouted out to her and the air seemed to still. "Thunder!"

"Counter it again Magmortor!" Flint called out. "Thunderbolt!"

The arena seemed to darken as lightning seemed to gather off the two pokemon. It continued to grow before jolting off their bodies and I saw Bubbly race out of her pokeball to block the hit from me. I watched from behind her arm as the attacks left their bodies.

Both blasts of electricity hit head on to each of the pokemon. Elecky stood her ground and took in the electricity, it not bothering her in the least and actually energizing her being recharged. The magmortor was hit with the electrical attack and it cried out, taking the hit head on before it was forced to its knees. The pokemon tried to raise its arm to attack my pokemon again, but the electricity seemed to overwhelm the pokemon. I watched it fall to the ground and I could only let out a sigh as I felt the battle end.

"Magmortor is unable to battle! The winner is Elecky and the victor is Eira Helaine from Twinleaf!"

The crowd cheered as the barrier was removed and I dared to look up to the stands to see my friends and family and many other friends cheering me on. I smiled up at them before walking beside Elecky and petting her head. She purred under my hand and grinned at me, happy the battle was over. Bubbly grinned and bumped her fin into Elecky and the two of them started to laugh behind me.

"Well, I guess I lost then…" Flint sighed. "Not that I expected any differently…" He placed a hand on my shoulder. "You did good kid, sorry for poisoning your pokemon, didn't know it was her first time being poisoned."

"Its alright, I'm going to check on her now." I held out my hand for him to shake. "But the next time I face you, I will get you back for that with her. Bouncy will not rest until she's gotten revenge for that."

Flint sweat dropped. "Gottcha…"

Without another word, I walked past him into the next room. I saw that there was no one here and I quickly sat down on the bench and released Paladin from my arms and Bouncy from her pokeball. Bubbly and Elecky helped her to a bench where I could treat her better. She seemed to be more alert now and awake. She smiled at me.

"Lu…"

"Its okay Bouncy… you did wonderful regardless…" I hugged her. "Get some rest, I have to return you all soon. Shadow will go out next for our second to last battle…"

HalloweenWitchHalloweenWitch

"Eira Helaine!" I stood quickly as my name was called. Apparently, the next person I was supposed to be facing had been busy in battle with the champion with training, so he needed some time to prepare his field and heal his pokemon.

I walked out onto the field that the final member of the Elite Four had and I was absolutely stunned at what I was seeing around me. The room was darker then what I would have anticipated, but large, glowing balls of white light that seemed to hover in each corner of the room.

Across from me was a man, possibly about the age of my father. He wore a rich red suit with a black shirt and shoes under it. His hair was a lavender color with just a hunt of blue in it. Sunglasses seemed to cover his eyes, but behind them, I could see kind, darker eyes.

"Welcome Miss Helaine," the man gave me a light bow before he stood up again with a pokeball in his hands. "My name is Lucian Walsh, and I will be your opponent for this match."

I gave him a light smile. "I'm glad… I'm excited for this match… my dragon is eager to face you."

"Ah, so I'm facing your shadow dragon?" The man stood back up and looked at me with those warm eyes of his. "I was wondering who I would face in this match. After watching your pervious matches, I knew it could be any one of your pokemon. I honestly thought that you would save that pokemon for the champion. A creature capable of controlling an entire world, that kind of pokemon could beat all of us easily." He chuckled. "But I imagine most of your team could do that. Even the young one in your arms I've heard is one to be weary of if angered."

"Ra!" Paladin swung his arms in the air, wishing he was down, but didn't attempt at all to leave my arms.

"Hush Paladin, save your voice for cheering in the battle." I tried my best to keep Paladin from saying things that would get him in trouble while he was still young. He wasn't as big or as experienced as the others. He was only a few months old after all.

"Shall we begin then?" Lucian threw out the pokeball he had in his hand with elegance. "Let's go Mr. Mime!"

I saw the psychic type appear on the field and I watched it move around with its hands in the air, as if there was a wall its gloved hands were pressed against.

"Of course, Shadow, let's go." My ghost and dragon type appeared on the field and she grinned as she looked down at the pokemon before it. The Elite Four member's pokemon paled at the very sight of Shadow and that only made her grin wider.

"Come now Mr. Mime, you won't know how you fair unless you try." Lucian softly spoke to his pokemon. "Try an attack on it, like thunderbolt."

But the pokemon was frozen. It seemed to freeze under the gaze of my pokemon. Shadow broke eye contract to look back at me with surprised eyes. I could only shrug at her before we both looked back at the other pokemon. It flinched when our eyes came back to it and I was even more surprised when it ran behind Lucian and hid, looking nervously over his shoulder.

It seemed that I was seeing many types of pokemon here in the Pokѐmon League…

"If you pokemon does not wish to fight, I won't make it." I mentioned to Lucian. "Please don't force them."

"Oh I would never do that my dear, don't fret." Lucian turned to look at his pokemon. "If you do not wish to fight, I won't force you Mr. Mime, I know how scary they look to you."

Lucian was not wrong; the only ones of my pokemon that were cute looking were Bouncy and Paladin. The rest of my pokemon all had hardened, cold, or tough looks to them when first met on the battlefield. I knew that if I was against them that I would be worried to face them.

"Mime…" the pokemon seemed to be apologizing to its trainer. It seemed to be entirely terrified, and if it was, I hated to make it fight. However, I wasn't expecting that sort of a thing while I was here in the Pokѐmon League.

Lucian returned his pokemon. "I apologize for that, Mr. Mime was nervous before battling you when he saw your team on the screen. I believe that seeing such a large opponent and being scared by your other members made him too nervous to fight."

"Shall we move on then?" I blinked at him. "Shadow should have a fair shot at a battle, and your pokemon as well."

"Of course, allow me to show my next pokemon." He threw out a pokeball. "Let's go Espeon!"

I soon saw another evolution of an eevee out of the field before me. The smooth, sleek, lavender colored fur nearly glowed in the light. Its steps on the field looked delicate as it circled around in the same three feet of space, watching my pokeon with calculating eyes.

I wasn't expecting something like that when it came to a pokemon even smaller then the last one I'd seen. While the Mr. Mime apparently seemed to have been nervous beyond belief, that tiny pokemon, barely the size of my legendary pokemon's eyes, was staring her down as if they were the same size and could wrestle with each other on the floor.

"Start out with double team!" Lucian's pokemon quickly seemed to multiply over the field and Shadow looked around the field, trying to find the real one.

"Shadow, find them." My ghost and dragon type pokemon nodded before fading to shadows and sinking into the ground. Lucian watched my pokemon carefully as the large black entity moved throughout the area, just under the feet of all the espeons in the area.

Shadow stopped soon enough. I saw that she had centered in on a single one that was hidden back in a corner. The pokemon hissed as it realized it had been found. Shadow re-materialized hovering over it.

"Quick attack Espeon!" Lucian called out to his pokemon. His pokemon jumped into the air and slammed its head into Shadow's. Shadow let out a startled cry from the power of the small pokemon before she lashed out, flipping her body so that her tail would hit the other pokemon. The espeon jumped out of the way of the tail before running along the edge of the battlefield, using Shadow's large size to avoid getting hit right away.

"If your pokemon won't stay still, I will make them, Lucian." I narrowed my eyes before looking at my pokemon. "Shadow, use ominous wind."

"Gya!" My pokemon cried out as a portal opened below her where souls of the departed began to take over the room. The air turned frigid and it raced toward the opposing pokemon.

"Dig underground and avoid the attack Espeon!" I was surprised when the pokemon dug its way under the top layer of soil that protected her from the attack. Shadow screeched out in anger as the pokemon evaded her once more and she turned back to look at me.

I nodded to my pokemon. "Enough is enough Shadow, use earth power."

Shadow cried out once more before she slammed her tail into the earth. It began to crack open and lava began to appear and soon we head a screech hit our ears. Shadow followed the noise to where he knew the psychic type was buried and lifted some of the earth off of it. Once the dirt was out of the way, we could see the lightly burned and bruised body of the espeon. It glared up at Shadow before it rested its head, unable to battle any longer.

"I'm surprised, Espeon normally last longer then that," Lucian mentioned while returning it. "However, you are no usual opponent."

"I would think not." I smiled at him. "Will you send out your next pokemon? Shadow would like to battle more."

"Of course, I would never deny a pokemon a battle." Lucian pulled out another pokeball and threw it out onto the field. "Shall we Bronzong?"

The pokemon that appeared before me actually stunned me for a moment, looking like an ancient bell of some sort. Its color was a rich, slightly off blue with tints of grey and green in it with markings all over its body. Its eyes were at the bottom of itself, which were a bright red in color. It levitated there in the air and I felt something strange about it… it was more then just a phychic type…

I pulled out my pokedex to learn more about it. Bronzong, the bronze bell pokemon and the evolved form of bronzor. Ancient people believed that petitioning bronzong for rain was the way to make crops grow. One caused a news sensation when it was dug up at a construiction site after a two-thousand year sleep. Bronzong nests are rare and can only be found within the higher elevations of Mt. Cornet and Turnback Cave.

So its also a steel type… and ground moves won't work with levitation going on… so fire and ghost moves, or dark ones, would be the best to use on it… I also had to be careful of its endurance… I've heard that this kind of a pokemon can last a long time normally in battle… but I've also never faced one…

I narrowed my eyes at the pokemon, thinking how best to go about it. Shadow was eager and ready, not worried in the least, and I knew I had to give her a chance to take the pokemon out for the more powerful fight that would be ahead of us in the next room.

"Alright Shadow, let's start out with shadow claw!"

My pokemon lashed forward with her claws out and hit the pokemon head on, her claws leaving marks in the armor of the opposing pokemon. It cried out and was thrown backward into the wall behind us.

But what worried me was that Lucian only smiled at me. He didn't utter a single world as he let his pokemon pull itself out of the wall with a dark glow around it. Was it going to use a dark type move?

And that's when it hit me… payback.

"Shadow! Use shadow force!"

"Payback Bronzong!"

My pokemon dived into the shadows in the ground and vanished before the other pokemon unleashed a powerful blast of dark energy that that came right towards me. I was yanked to the side by Magma who defended me with his body as the blast flew by us. I watched, stunned at it before I saw movements on the ground. Shadow shot up from behind the pokemon and lashed out at it with a ghost attack, causing the opposing pokemon's attack to halt, but not before the damage had been done.

The room that led back into where Flint had been and where my battle had been before was entirely left open for others to see. Behind a shrivel of rubble that I could see, Flint raised his head to see if everything was over.

"What the hell Lucian?"

"I apologize flint, it seems Miss Helaine's attack was much more powerful then I had anticipated, and Bronzong made it even stronger to try and take out one of her pokemon."

Flint blinked at him. "Did it work?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Flint looked out onto the field and saw that my shadow dragon returned to my side and I stepped out from behind Magma. Bronzong had been defeated in the final seconds of the attack and it lay on the ground, motionless.

That would have ended badly if it was any other of my pokemon who couldn't evade like that…

"I'm impressed," Lucian chuckled. "Not many can take out Bronzong in such a short amount of time. You're quite the young woman Miss Helaine." He turned to look at his fellow member of the Elite Four. "Come and watch Flint, I imagine that all of us will be watching a match with the champion soon anyway."

He knew I was going to win? I watched the man carefully as his companion made his way through the broken wall and stood behind him slightly. Flint crossed his arms and watched Lucian with a certain type of eyes that I hadn't seen on the older brother of Buck today.

"Shall we continue? I'd like to get you through to the next room and watch the next battle."

I blinked at Lucian. "Do you not wish to battle?"

"Oh no, it's not that at all my dear, but I certainly know when I can't win." Lucian waved his hand in a defensive way. "Much like yourself, about a year or two ago, our champion Cynthia, came here and dominated us all. As much as I'd love to just let you through to face her, this is a formality you see. In order to make it to her, you must beat all of us, and my pokemon have wanted to face you for a long while." He shook his head as he returned his pokemon and pulled out another pokeball. "There's no reason to delay you anymore when we all know the real battle is just ahead of us."

I soon heard more footsteps and I was shocked to see more of the Elite Four members show up, in fact, it was the other two. Aaron and Bertha patted my shoulders before going to stand by their leader before the champion. The soft smile on Bertha's face and the grin on Aaron's gave me the impression that they believed in what Lucian had said.

"Then send out your next pokemon." I softened my features and gave him a soft smile, but my eyes spoke other volumes to him. I saw the same look in his own face as he threw out another pokeball.

"Go Alakazam!"

The pokemon soon emerged from its pokeball and began out in a meditation form. Its eyes were hard as they looked at me, ready for the fight. I smiled at him.

"I hope you know then that I won't waste anymore time. I'm ready to move onto the champion. So Shadow, take that pokemojn out, ominous wind!"

"Gya!" Shadow cried out as she summoned the portal below her that created the wind that carried lost souls within it. The alakazam didn't seem to know what to do as it watched the air of despair move around it.

"Send it away Alakazam! Use focus blast!" Lucian's order to his pokemon hit quick and strong. I saw the alakazam store up energy in its spoons in its hands before a bright white flash went off in the middle of the field. I shielded my own eyes and turned Paladin into my chest to protect him. An explosion went off in the middle of the field, but could still hear the eerie sound of the ominous wind taking effect on the field. I also heard a pokemon cry out and I dared to look around my hand to see what was going on.

The alakazam seemed to be in the heart of my pokemon's attack. From the middle of it, the pokemon had fallen to the ominous wind attack. I could see blast marks on the ground, but it seemed the defensive attic didn't work in protecting the pokemon.

"Enough Shadow," I raised my voice and my pokemon obeyed. "We don't want to hurt the pokemon more then necessary."

"Gya…" My pokemon landed on the ground and watched the four Elite Four members before with eagerness. She wanted to face the final one before we would head off to battle the champion.

"You've really tried my hand Eira, and now you have earned my final pokemon," Lucian pulled out a final pokeball. "Show her our power Gallade!"

Out came the pokemon that looked identical to Jezebel's. It stood at the ready with its blade like arms facing my pokemon. It narrowed its red like eyes.

"Psycho cut!" Lucian's pokemon shot forward and darted at my pokemon slicing like a mad man. My pokemon cried out as she was hit, but her blood colored eyes only seemed irritated more then anything as she was hit. "Now leaf blade!"

I was surprised to see leaves magically appear out of this air that leveitated off of the blade like arms. The pokemon shot forward again to lay some more damage on my pokemon. Shadow was more irritated at this attack since it did more damage then the last. She roared out and shot a claw forward to attack. The pokemon avoided her and ran around her to slice more on her tail. Shadow screeched before her tail hurled itself toward the pokemon.

She missed… and that made her angry…

"Stone edge!" Lucian called another attack and this time rocks flew out of the ground and shot up around my pokemon, quickly closing in and hitting her sides, her face and her wings. Shadow screeched out in pain before she punched at the ground. The pokemon flew backwards to avoid the attack and saw that the ground was entirely uneven and in pieces when she was done.

I'd finally had my fill. It was time to attack.

"Shadow, use shadow force!" My pokemon instantly vanished from sight.

"Don't stand still Gallade!" The pokemon took off running at its trainer's order around the field, no matter how rough it was. Shadow move all around on the stage, gathering the powers of the dark spaces around her. Soon the entire arena turned dark and the pokemon couldn't see where it was going, so it was forced to stop. It looked around fearfully before the shadows formed into a single one before it.

"Gallade!"

But Shadow was faster.

Shadow's entire body slammed into the final pokemon and threw it back into Lucian's wall. Everyone watched as the pokemon fell from the gapping hole that it had been thrown into. When Lucian saw this, he sighed.

I'd won the battle.

"Gallade is unable to battle!" the referee called. "The winner is Shadow and the victory goes to Eira Helaine of Twinleaf!"

The crowd erupted into cheers once the battle was over. Shadow was quick to lean down at coo at me at her win. I rubbed the side of her chin and thanked her for her hard work.

"Now comes the fun part Miss Helaine." I looked back up to see Lucian standing before me with a hand of his to take. "I shall lead you to our champion. She awaits you."

I slowly nodded and returned Shadow to her pokeball. Once she was settled, I took the hand that Lucian held out for me. He effortlessly led me to the doors behind him that led a long pathway before us. Lucian gave me a final look before I nodded to him. He calmly led me down the hallway with the other members behind us.

It was time for me to face the champion…

HalloweenWitchHalloweenWitch

Lucian led me down a hallway that seemed endless. I wasn't even sure it there was an ending to it, however, that soon changed when Lucian brought me up to a door. Lucian released my hand there and gave me a light bow.

"The champion awaits."

I nodded to him before the door opened to a very large and spacious battlefield with a dome like shape. We were outside; I could see the setting sun overhead. I must have taken a long while to get through all of my battles to get here. I had started this morning…

In my own corner of the stadium around us I could see the large group of friends and family that were here to support me. I noticed that Parker was right at the front with members of the IPHP League as well as my father. All of them were cheering loudly for me, and I smiled at them before turning to see my opponent.

Across from me stood a woman, Cynthia as I recalled from what Lucian had told me. She was dressed lightly. Her soft blond hair cascaded down her back to her lower back while some of it covered one of her hazel eyes. Black hair pieces were attached to either side of her head as well. Heeled boots were on her feet while long black pants nearly hid them from me. A light grey shirt was on under her long shirt like coat, which swayed around her like a cape. She smiled sweetly at me, much like Lucian had.

"Hello Eira." Her voice was sweet and soft, much like chimes in the summer winds. "My name is Cynthia Caelin, and I am the current champion of the Sinnoh region. I've heard many good things about you, and I'm excited to face a tough opponent here. I haven't had a good battle other then the Elite Four in a long time, so I hope I'm in for a treat today."

"That's the plan." I smiled at her, already holding up my first choice for the battle. "Don't hold back."

"Oh, that was never my intention. I hope you can show me the power of your pokemon." She smiled before throwing out a pokeball. "Let's go Spiritomb!"

I had never seen the pokemon of which she had called out. It was at first, a small stone with a small face carved into it, but soon, a spirit popped out. It was purple and wisp-like in color and shape, with green specks inside of it and the same colored eyes and mouth.

I quickly pulled out my pokedex. Spiritomb, the forbidden pokemon. It was formed by uniting one-hundred and eight spirits. It has been bound to the odd keystone to keep it from doing any mischief. Spiritomb are quite rare and have been lightly spotted near the Hallowed Tower on route two-hundred and nine.

I took a moment to look at the pokemon date one last time before a feeling of excitement flew threw me. There were no weaknesses to this pokemon. A wise choice for the champion to have, but that didn't mean that a powerful pokemon couldn't take it down.

"Let's go then Magma!" I had promised a good few types to fight against him during this championship match, but I also promised the others a chance to fight too. Bubbly and Elecky may not battle due to their wounds, it will depend on them.

"Champion Jezebel?" I stood up straighter as Cynthia called out for one of the champions. "I've heard you haven't refereed for a match for champion yet, would you like to with ours? I imagine it will be quick as we will both be going all out."

"Hell yeah!" Jezebel leaped over the stands and rushed to the box as fast as she could. Once she was there, she grabbed the two different colored flags in her hands. "Alright, this battle is for the championship! Champion Cynthia Caelin versus Eira Helaine!" Jezebel hurled her arms with the flags. "Begin!"

"Dark pulse!"

"Fire blast!"

The two attacks slammed into each other head on in the middle of the field. We watched them match their power before Magma's fire only got more intense. White fire soon seemed to come out of him and took over the attack over all. The spiritomb was shocked by what had taken place before the blast of fire took over and hit it head on. The pokemon screamed before we saw its shadow fall in the blast of fire.

"Spiritomb…" Cynthia's eyes widened before she almost seemed to glow with excitement. "Now this is a battle I've longer for! Come! Show me more of your strength! Go Roserasde!"

The poison and grass type soon appeared and with no time to spare, I lashed out with the next attack.

"Flamethrower!"

"Sludge bomb!"

I hissed as poison and fire mixed once more, just like it had in my battle with Flint. Poison soon made it into the air and Magma was in the heart of it. His attack still hit Cynthia's pokemon and forced it to fall.

"Even if my pokemon has fallen, yours is poisoned."

"Are you so sure?" The woman blinked at me while I smiled. "I was scared for Bouncy, because she had never been poisoned before, but Magma has, and he knows exactly how to handle poison."

Cynthia's eyes went wide before she looked to my pokemon and watched as he began to bring his body to a high temperature, much more like when he would battle intensely. His body let off white fire off of him and I quickly saw his body lurch up something from his stomach.

Out onto the ground came a pile of poison from his mouth. It had been brought together in a pile of sludge from the inside of his incredibly heated body. With no where to travel to and evaporate, it became a charred sludge in his stomach before coming back up. He grinned as the remains poured from his mouth as he looked at Cynthia.

"So I see…" the champion pouted a bit, but a smile came right to her. "Then let me try a different tactic. Go Togekiss!"

The fairy and flying type appeared before us. It hovered in the air and screeched out, looking down at Magma. He only grinned up at the opposing pokemon before him that could maybe give him a challenge.

"Use thunder punch Magma!"

"Water pulse Togekiss!"

I surprised at the water attack that came racing forward to my fire type. Magma cried out when the water hit him, but his fire burned through the water and evaporated it, but not without the wounds on him.

Magma leapt forward after the water attack and the flying type cried out in shock before being slammed into with a fist of electricity. Magma threw the pokemon into the ground and it broke the ground apart upon the impact. Magma jumped back, hissing at his own wound and rubbing it before looking back upon the fallen pokemon.

"So water does bother your pokemon, but it must be large amounts before it would truly hurt them." Cynthia murmured. "So perhaps this pokemon might be a better one to use against this pokemon? Go Milotic!"

I was surprised to see the water type before me that I knew was quite powerful, and I was finally worried for my fire type.

"Surf!" Water instantly appeared form around in the area before it surrounded my fire type.

"Magma! Keep it back with lava plume!" Fire flew off of my fire type's body and lava soon appeared in the arena. People cried out in shock as the air became steamy as the two attacks clashed. Water quickly overtook the fire and lava and hit Magma head on. I was horrified to see him cry out under the water as his body began to solidify from the water against the lava.

"Magma! Fire blast!"

My fire type somehow as able to hear me under the water and his body lit up like a white light before the water shattered off of him. The fire continued to follow its path and hit the water type head on. It screeched out as its scales burned and soon it fell to the ground, but not before Magma followed after it.

"Magma…" He fell…? Magma fell? Is that even possible?

"I'm surprised I was able to take down your pokemon… but he took down four of mine as well with him." Cynthia sighed under her breathe. "It was well worth the wait. Please, let me face another of your team."

"Okay…" I returned Magma and held his pokeball close to me, thanking him for his hard work before pulling out the next, someone who wanted to battle the final pokemon. "Go Bubbly!"

"Em!" She appeared on the field before narrowing her eyes at Cynthia and her pokeball in hand.

"Let's go Lucario!" I was surprised to see the evolved form of Paladin on the field, but I clenched my fist while I held my baby pokemon. I had only two pokemon left… only two… "Aura sphere!"

"Drill peck!"

A large orb of blue energy appeared before the fighting and steel type pokemon before it was hurled at my pokemon. Bubbly rushed forward into the air and spun around, her beak glowing as she spun as she hit the attack head on. Her drill managed to shatter the energy before it could harm her and she herself slammed her body into the lucario. It cried out in shock before it was hurled away into the stands. People hurried away from the spot before it had crashed. Everyone looked on in shock before turning back to look at the champion.

"My goodness... it's been so long since I've felt like this… I've never felt like this!" Cynthia seemed overjoyed. "My dear, I've never lost once in my life, and the idea of losing… the possibility of losing… it's thrilling! To know that there is someone to reach toward and know I'm not on the top, I'm excited for this day." She smiled at me. "But I'm not done yet, I have one last pokemon, and until you've take him down, I'm still in this battle. Now come Garchomp, crush her pokemon!"

Her final pokemon was revealed, the evolved form of gabite. It was much larger in size and I saw its body had huge sword like arms behind claw like hands. Its colors were darker and it towered over myself and Bubbly, at least by a foot. Its teeth were sharp and looked ready for a bite. It also had a fin on its back that matched up in line with its tail.

I quickly grabbed my pokedex from my pocket. Garchomp, the mach pokemon and the evolved form of gabite. It is said that when one runs at high speed, its wings create blades of wind that can fell nearby trees. It never allows its prey to escape. There are no known garchomp nests in this region.

It was a ground and dragon type…

"Now let us finish this!" Cynthia threw out her arm. "Garchomp! Use giga impact!"

"Bubbly! Use avalance!"

The dragon pokemon was encased in light before running right at my pokemon. It screamed out while Bubbly summoned an intensive amount of ice above her head and chucked it at the pokemon just before it could hit her. Bubbly managed to not get hit by the attack coming after her and the ice slammed down, entirely covering the opposing pokemon. Bubbly bounced backward, away from the pile of ice, and watched it, ready to attack if necessary. We waited, hovering for what seemed like hours, before it seemed that the pokemon was down.

Did we… win…?

"Garchomp is unable to battle!" Jezebel called out. "The winner is Bubbly and the victor is Eira Helaine!" Jezebel hurried up to my side and held my hand before throwing it into the air with her own. "You have a new champion Sinnoh region! Champion Eira Helaine!"

I was stunned as people flooded from the stands over to us and I was bought into many arms and hugged. I was the champion now… I won…

HalloweenWitchHalloweenWitch

I sighed and smoothed out the edge of my dress. It was a silver color, sweetheart cut, and only came down my knees. It had been a gift from my father to wear for my crowning. I was excited for my crowning.

But there was something I needed to take care of first.

A sudden know came to my door, just as I had asked of earlier. "Eira? You ready?"

"Come in." My soft voice was just loud enough for my best friend to hear and he made his way into the room I was using to get dressed. My pokemon happily lounged around the room while Parker slowly slipped inside.

"Hey Eira, you wanted to talk to me?"

I slowly nodded to him. I took careful notice of his appearance tonight. He was forced to wear some off black dress pants and a button up shirt of white color. He looked really nice, but I knew it wasn't what he normally liked to wear. Still, I liked it and planned whoever dressed him up for this.

"Eira?" Parker took a step close to me. "What's wrong?"

I smiled at him, the familiar blush coming to my cheeks as I remembered just how much I loved this young man who stood before me, after all he'd done and how well he'd treated me.

So I knew he was surprised when I kissed him.

Eira's Memories:

"Awe…" Parker huffed and crossed his arms, which got him a good thwack on the head by my mother's favorite spoon. She already split it over his head, she was going to loose it at the rate they were going.

"Oww! Eira! Your mother's abusing me!" Parker howled as my mother leapt after him and continued to hit him. I just giggled at the scene before me while Honey laughed on my lap.

"Yes! We did it!" I blinked in surprise as my mother and Parker stopped their fight and grinned at me. "We got you to laugh!"

"That's the best thing I could ask for today." I saw a tear sneak past my mother's eyes. "Oh Eira, its good to hear you laugh and see a smile on your face, honey."

I nodded to my mother and picked myself up off the chair. Honey wasn't pleased that she lost her warm and soft seat, but she got over it as I made my way over to my mother and hugged her. The woman wasn't much taller then myself, and I still had a bit of growing left to do.

"Group hug!" Parker jumped in behind me and hugged me as well and I soon felt a warm body against my leg. Honey was wrapping her's down at my feet. I smiled at the three of them and how they made me feel, warm, whole. I loved these feelings…

I loved how Parker had always cared about how I felt. If I wasn't happy, Parker did everything in his power to make me feel better… but back then, I never realized just how much he cared about me…

HalloweenWitchHallowenWitch

I kept laughing as the conversation went on, it was funny talking to this man who I just met, and he was like Violet in a way, but that made things more fun. I was still hesitant about them a bit, but for the most part, I liked them, and they genuinely seemed like they wanted to help.

Parker instantly was picking up on my laughter. He turned to see the two of us and smile back at me, but it seemed a bit pained. I could tell by the way the brightness wasn't in his smile like it normally was. He was happy that I was happy, but he wasn't very happy with who I was with. Parker was protective of me; it was only him and I as we grew up for many years. He was the world to me, and he hardly liked sharing.

But before this journey, I was okay with that. He was all I needed. Now I craved a bit of learning of new people, talking with them, discovering things about them that I didn't know.

I never realized then just what jealousy felt like, I'd never felt it before, but I could see it in Parker's eyes, the way he looked at me. He was so… angry that it was someone else who was making me happy at that moment. Did it truly bother him that much that it wasn't him who made me smile?

HalloweenWitchHalloweenWitch

While the four of them did their own thing, I was within my own thoughts, truly absent of the world as my mind traveled back to where I had lost control in the past and the harm that I had caused to others and how much it scared me.

There were three different times that I had lost control and my pokemon had followed the same path with me. The first… when Bouncy was attacked in Eterna Forest. The second… was in the city of Eterna against Jupiter. The third… and worst… was after seeing Cleffa… beaten… I knew that I had every right to have snapped and attacked as I did. I know that the others don't blame me for it and don't think it's my fault.

But that doesn't mean it's the same for me… how could I forgive myself for the harm that I've caused others… Should I have even become a trainer?

But then… if I hadn't… what would have happened to the others if I wasn't there to protect them… Bubbly… Elecky… Magma… Bouncy… Cleffa… Cameron… Even Parker…

What was the right thing to do? Quit while I was at this point? I'd already made it so far in my journey, nearly half way and made it into the Grand Festival… I could always drop out… I could stay away…

Or should I keep going? Do I dare test the hands of fate and make sure I'm at their sides and protect them? What about Shadow? I still haven't managed to figure out how I'm exactly tied in together with her and why I can see her other then she "chose me".

What else is there in store for us?

"Eira!"

I lifted my head to see Parker running toward me. His winter clothes covering his body were a thick winter jacket or orange color with his green scarf hanging out of it, whipping behind him and boots on his feet. His hands were shoved in his pockets to keep them warm since he didn't like gloves much.

"Hey, I've been looking all over for you." He planted himself next to me and rubbed my back slowly. "What's wrong?"

"Just… thinking…" I lowered my head and I felt him pull me a little closer to him.

"About what you did?" he questioned me nervously.

I nodded to him.

"Eira…" I heard him sigh, but I didn't look at him.

"Should… I stop being a trainer?" I felt my friend stiffen and my team all turned to me. Magma released himself to stare at me in shock. "I'd still keep my team… but go home… stop being a trainer… not hurt others… anymore…"

Parker was silent as he took in my words. His grip loosened on me and I dared to look at him. His face looked haunted as he remembered exactly what I went through, seeing me from afar as I destroyed and hurt people, even if they are bad…

"How are you supposed to grow as a person if you don't face your own problems?" I blinked at him before I felt his grip come back and it was harder than before, his hand shook and tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to spill over and burn his cold face.

Why was he so worried for me? He's always been worried… but never this worried for what was going on. Was it because I was changing? Was it enough in a good way that he wanted me to keep going? Why was he fighting so hard for me?

"Why do you want me to keep going?"

"Why wouldn't I be concerned about that?" Parker's words hit me hard and made my nearly still heart move for the first time that morning, the numbness fading. "Eira... I know you don't see it, but hear me out. Ever since we started our journey together, you've changed. For the better. And yeah, some bad guys who did stupid things that really hurt you got served. And it scares you. I get that. But you're coming back to life..." He stressed that last word like he had to cling to it. "Eira, I haven't seen you like this since before your dad left. And I've been scared for years that I lost you entirely when you shut down. The real you I know is still deep down inside you and is trying to make her way out. She's hurting, that's why you're so upset. But you can't stop it now... Not to mention... Could you really just stop? What if these bad people hurt others, like your mother?" My eyes widened and he looked at me. "Could you live with yourself if anything happened to her or other innocent people?"
I shook my head. He was right, with all those points. I shouldn't stop just because I'm scared...
"Besides," I saw him smile. "You have me. I won't let you go crazy, okay?"
I nodded to him and curled into his side. He was silent for a bit to let me take all this information in. And it made me smile to know he believed in me that much...

Parker… he knew just the right words to make me come back when I thought that I shouldn't be on this journey anymore. He meant the world to me, and it was only him who could turn me back once I was like that.

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"That's so cool!" I blinked and turned back to the stands and noticed that Parker was on his feet and eyes were glowing in excitement. "I can't believe he pulled that on Eira! He was really thinking ahead when it came to electric types!"

"But that pokemon would be at a huge disadvantage to you grotle Parker," Cameron reminded him.

Parker rushed to glare at him and pout. "So? I bet he knows ice type moves to counteract that too!"

I felt the blood boiling in my veins as I watched him take interest in the gym leader on the opposite side of the field. I could see the man blushing lightly under his mask, but tried to keep a normal face. Annoyance filled my being and I watched my pokemon look back to me worriedly as she looked at Parker as well. At his energy and excitement she shook her head.

"Parker?" My two cheerleaders in the stands turned toward me and flinched when they saw my un-amused face. "Please keep you loud thoughts to yourself until this battle is over with, your shouting is bothering me."

Wake seemed pretty startled by the darkness in my voice as I spoke back to Parker. Maybe in my own way I was jealous too if he took too much interest in another. Sure it was nothing more than an interest in the burly man's fighting style and strategies to compare to my own, however, much like Parker wasn't too pleased about myself talking happily with Vincent Vilmos when we met in Hearthrome.

My best friend seemed to instantly quiet down and plop down; mostly with disappointment written on his face with a pout and a glance he continually gave me. I rolled my eyes lightly at his playful behavior before looking back to my opponent.

Okay… so it might be possible that I could get jealous as well of him being happy with another…

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The air paused for a moment and it was then that I noticed something taking form in his eyes. Parker normally was very upbeat and kept a consistent conversation going even if it took all his effort and more, or he would move about and also play. Compared to those times, however, it seemed that Parker was doing neither such thing. He seemed… not there… at all…

Did this have something to do with what happened at the lakes?

At the single thought of that, the dreading and haunting fears came back in full force about how I could possibly become like my father. The thought not only scared me, but it made me fear for the wonderful pokemon in my life. Would I be as cold and indifferent to them as my father was to others?

The thought made my body shake from the very encounters I had with the man since he left our family, and it not only horrified me… but disgusted me. How could anyone act in such a manner to others? True, no one can get along with every single person that they have met in their lives, but to entirely disregard them all together?

How could he have been once my father? What happened during or after the accident to make him into such a person?

"Eira?" I snapped out of my daze to look over at Parker. He had also returned to the surface after visiting his memories. I felt my hand was being squeezed and I looked down to see Parker's hand there, holding my own.

"I'm okay…"

"To be honest Eira… I don't think either of us are…" The boy looked away from me and stared straight before him at a tree, however, I could tell he wasn't truly looking at it from the hazed over look in his eyes that told me he was deep in thought.

"Parker…?"

"Eira… what happened at the lake?"

I paused, watching him while he looked at me with the same dark eyes that seemed to appear when it came to these subjects.

"I could ask you the same…"

Parker scoffed. "Okay, okay… Yeah, something happened at the lake and I snapped. Mars pushed my buttons-"

"Liar." Parker looked back in shock, his eyes showing more color now under my gaze. "You're not telling me the whole truth."

He sighed and lowered his head. "No… you're right, I'm not." He snickered before patting my shoulder. "But you didn't let me finish either… but I probably would have tried to lie too."

"Parker…" I reached forward and touched his hand with both of mine. Parker looked at it almost like a foreign object before I saw him turn his hand around so that it was holding mine.

"Don't hate me Eira, that's the last thing I could handle…"

His words stunned me. How is it that he could think that I hated him? What in the name of Arceus brought him to such a conclusion?

"Hate you…?" I blinked at him as I felt his hand clench in mine. The grip was tightening; he was bothered by something terrible.

"Yeah… I feel like shit…" He ran his free hand through his unruly hair. "I really hate what's under the surface Eira… what's truly down inside my soul…"

He wasn't the only one. I still had my concerns about becoming like my father, such as what Saturn had mentioned. It had disturbed me immensely. It continued to do so even as our journey continued, because every time I would see certain pokemon, see Team Galactic members, or see their commanders, it reminded me of my father… Everything connected back to him… and it scared me that I could be like him.

"I understand…" I felt my eyes water as I turned my head to my best friend. "Parker… will I… be like him one day…?"

"No way in hell," he replied quickly. "I won't let that happen to you Eira." He looked back at me and turned his body to face me. "So that's what happened, right?"

I nodded. "Saturn tried to mock me, and when that didn't work, he compared me to my father…"

"Damn it…" He shook his head. "Of course they'd pull a low move like that…"

"…It's okay…"

"No its not." I raised my head to look at him. There was a dark and haunting look to his eyes, something that bothered me. Parker was never mad, unless I was hurt. He never lost his temper… he was always so happy…

Now that I'm talking to him so closely about feelings and what not… was that all a guise?

"I've been hiding this from you Eira… this darker side of me…" He glanced over and I saw the defeat in his eyes along with anger, they radiated from the flashes of dull and bright colors in his eyes and the angle of his eyebrows. These were faces I'd never seen on him, that I'd never wanted to see on him. And yet… here they were…

"…Why?"

"So you weren't afraid of what's inside of me…" Parker sighed and seemed to be trying to calm himself down. "But you're not the true cause of my anger… never think that you are."

"…Huh?"

I was really dumbfounded…

He groaned and rubbed the back of his head, a much more Parker like characteristic. "You see, when we grew up, I always liked you for the smile you had on your face. You were so quiet, sweet and caring. Your parents were too… but when shit hit the fan… everything changed… Joey got upset at every little thing after Cyrus left; you couldn't even look at anything in the house because it reminded you of him and how he left. You were so upset that most days you wouldn't leave the underside of your bed. It was like a shield for you to protect you from the few memories you had."

He then paused, the dark look returned to his eyes. I watched him clench his fist that didn't hold my hand. I reached forward with both my hands and held the first one, which he already had a grip on me.

"Parker…"

"I was so mad at myself… I couldn't do anything to help you!" He slammed his fist down on the seat beside him and I flinched, his hand gripped harder between my own as I lightly shook from how he had been coming off. "Sure, I tried to make you happy again, but you were so lost that I couldn't find the way to help you! I spent years suffering that my best friend was right beside me and I couldn't do a damn thing to help her!" He lowered his head. "It hurt so damn much… I couldn't even help my best friend… how could I help others? How could I ever have confidence in myself?"

I was silent as I watched him. Had I truly hurt him this much as we grew up? It was painful to watch and see him crumble before me, as if it was my fault in the first place. Just how many people did I make suffer when I was a little girl? What did I do to deserve this curse of haunting others… my mother… Parker… they were the two most important people to me growing up… how could I do such a thing to them?

"Eira… don't blame yourself. It's not your fault." I dared to look up at my best friend while he seemed to have control of himself now and he was rubbing my hands in a soothing manner. "You didn't know… I purposefully kept it that way in order to keep you from suffering more… If I couldn't help you, I was damn well going to at least make sure you didn't get worse because of me…"

"…Why go to all that trouble for me?"

He blinked at me, as if trying to find the words to explain himself to me. He sighed. "Eira… Listen… why do you think I'm still here?"

"Why?" I blinked, now confused. "You're here… because you're my friend?"

"Best friend Eira, I think I earned that title." I snorted a small laugh before he seemed to get nervous. "I've always cared about you…"

"I do too Parker…" I smiled; finally what seemed to be the real Parker Demeet was before me.

"Eira… it's not just that I care about you, but I'd do anything for you." Parker stared me right in the eyes. "Eira… I love you."

My eyes widened as the reality hit me full force. Parker… he loved… me? More than a friend? But why? What was so appealing about a scared, shy, young girl like myself? Sure, I'd become a bit braver with the help of my pokemon in the last few months, but I was still terrified of many things and or many people around us. What's so interesting about that?

"Let me explain before you get all confused and what not." I looked up at Parker while he leaned back in his stone seat while leaning against a tree. "This isn't something I'm saying out of the blue for the hell of it, and you know it. It's been many year since I discovered this Eira. When we were… maybe eight… you finally smiled for the first time since the accident and it was because of me… I wanted to do it more, making you smile and feel better after all that had happened. And from there that childhood affection turned into attraction. I was just so compelled by you all the time to make you happy… and that's when I realized that I loved you, even if you didn't notice…" He paused and looked over at me nervously. "That's why I got so mad at Mars… she really pushed me wrong when she started to talk about you as a helpless, weak and shy girl."

"But… I am all those things…" I looked down at my lap.

"No you're not!" Parker's voice caused me to look back up and he was standing before me with his fists curled up in anger. "You're strong, smart, and quiet. Sure, you might be cautious after everything that's happened, but you have every right to be that way after what's happened. You don't like to hurt others, that's not being helpless and staying on the sidelines, that's having morals. You have a strong team that believes in you and you should too or else that will be your downfall Eira. So do me a favor and believe in yourself for them."

His earlier confession had escaped my mind entirely. I looked at him before turning to look at the others. While they continued to play with Paladin, who hadn't noticed a thing that was going on between Parker and myself, the others were watching me every second they had with nervous eyes.

It felt much like that time where I nearly gave up on my journey because I hurt others in Veilstone City. I was so torn between what I should do… it was also one of the more in depth conversations I'd ever had with Parker, as well as the most emotional. Parker and I had never shared such conversations before, but when we did, they were meaningful and necessary.

Seeing the pattern from the conversation, it felt like before, a largely visible choice was placed before me. Do I take the easy way out and stop where I am and run, or do I take the harder path and continue to push myself to prove to others that I'm not like that man who was once my father?

I once faced this decision before. The last time I feared that I would hurt someone months ago it made me think back enough to where I was willing to deprive my pokemon of what they wished, and what I needed. I couldn't afford to be such a selfish being anymore. I had five other lives that depended on me. I knew I believed in them… but believing in myself… that was the hard part.

But I had to try… for all of them… my pokemon… my friends… Parker… they all deserved at least that much.

"I… can't promise that I can do it right away…" I looked back up to Parker, my eyes coming into focus on his face. "But I'll try…"

"Hey, that's more then what I was expecting." Parker patted my shoulder. "Eira… you've come so far… and we can't go back." His eyes shined brighter at me. "We gotta keep moving forward, or else we'll always be stuck."

"Mh…" I nodded to him before I leaned over and kissed his cheek. His face instantly reddened at the motion. "Parker… I'm still unsure of how quite I feel… may I have some time to get my feelings and thoughts in order?"

"We've got time Eira." He nervously smiled at me. "Take what you need, but I'll always be there for you."

I was surprised at first when he told me that he loved me, but I was happier when he told me I could have some time to take and figure out my own feelings. It was also the second time that I nearly stopped being a trainer because of Team Galactic, and what my father had become under Rosalie's control.

HalloweenWitchHalloweenWitch

I blinked at Parker when he noticed that he wasn't going to fight in the Pokѐmon League. "You're not… battling?"

Parker turned toward me and looked stunned for a moment before he sighed. "Yeah… I meant to tell you earlier but… I just wasn't sure how."

I blinked at him for a little while and he refused to look at me. "Parker."

Parker then looked back up at me. I didn't look at him with calculating eyes or judgmental manners; I just stood there, neutral, wanting to hear him how. He seemed to have received the message loud and clear because he sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"After everything that happened, I didn't want to put you in a position so soon to battle someone you cared about. Sometimes it makes a difference when you battle someone that you don't know compared to who you do, and with all the suffering, I didn't want that to turn into something that would hurt you. Besides," he grinned at me. "You deserve the title Eira, I've never met someone more amazing then you, strong, brave, cute or otherwise. So… if you want to battle me, then fine, but… I didn't want it to come to that if we both made it to the end or battle here in the caves. I didn't want to force it on you."

And once again was reminded why warmth spread through my chest whenever I was with Parker. Over time, I felt it might have been embarrassment at some point earlier on, or selfishness because I liked to keep him mostly for myself. But now I realized just how wrong I was. It was love… an emotion I'd hardly felt in all my years since I was a child (and most recently a few weeks ago) unless I was by his side and could feel the warmth of his hand in my own, protecting me from all the terrible things that went on in our lives.

I realized it then… I was in love with Parker too… our feelings and caring for each other were mutual…

I smiled at him more before I hurried into his arms. Parker seemed stunned by my display of emotion, but I just rolled it off my shoulders and held him close to me with all the strength I had. I refused to let him go.

"Eira?"

"…Thank you… for everything…"

He rubbed the back of his head and blushed. "You don't need to thank me for this, it's just common sense… even if I normally don't have that…"

I giggled a bit at him and pulled back so he could see my face. Parker must have seen something good because he was smiling too. I felt him pull me close one more time and hug me happily.

When I realized my feelings for him, and the fact that he was giving up his dream of being the strongest trainer for me… there was no words to describe that… I felt loved… more then I had in my entire life. I wish I had known that so much sooner…

So that I could show him how much I loved him…

But now I can…

Present:

Parker's eyes were beyond wide when I pulled back from the simple kiss that I gave him. He took a step back from me and just stood there: stunned.

Did he perhaps… not like the kiss?

"Eira…?" Parker looked to the ground before he raised his head to see my worried face. "Did you…"

I tilted my head at him. Did I need to come out and say it? Perhaps that would be best… even if he normally knows everything about me and what I'm thinking, I believe he was too stunned to use his gift.

"Parker…" My best friend focused on me. "I love you."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you sure?" Parker was quick to raise his hands to my shoulder to brace himself on me. "Just because I told you it doesn't mean you have to say it back. I just wanted you to know, that was all. If you don't feel that way, you don't need to-oww!"

Parker quickly shut up when I smacked the back of his head. He rubbed it and whined before looking back up at me with the slightly irritated look upon my features.

"Wait…" Parker looked at me with what I could only make out to be hopeful eyes. "You mean that?"

I raised an eye brow at him.

"Sorry… I forgot the way you worked for a second." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "But you really mean that?"

I nodded my head tor him.

"Say it again for me Eira, please?" He took a hand of mine and held it in his own, intertwining our fingers. "I love you."

"…I love you too… Parker…"

Just saying the words made my heart jump into my throat and the heat speared throughout me, but for who those words were for, it made everything feel so… good. I felt like I was nearly floating, flying, it was a feeling I'd just never felt before…

"Can I… can I kiss you?" I felt his hand squeeze mine. He looked right into my eyes and looked into them before I nodded to him. Parker used his other free hand to pull me in closer, his face just a short distance from mine.

"Alright, you two had enough time for that." I jumped as the door opened and Violet appeared, more dressed up then normal. "I know this is a special moment, but we got people who are going to tear down this building if we don't take care of your crowning ceremony."

"Okay…" I looked back to Parker. He still had a strong grip on my hand, but I didn't take it from him, instead, pulled him along with myself. "Let's go."

"Hey, don't gotta tell me twice Eira." Parker grinned and walked side by side with me. Our pokemon hurrying behind us as Violet led us toward the main hall.

"Violet…?" The woman looked over her shoulder at me. "When did you get here?"

"Just a short while ago. Regardless of the things going on in my life, I wasn't about to miss your big day." She grinned back at me. "So get yourself ready, its go time."

Violet opened a large door that seemed to lead us toward a ballroom. Many people were there, dressed in fancy clothes, all gathered around tables and a stage, where I saw the other two champions waiting. Violet held out a hand for me to take and I looked back at Parker nervously.

He removed his hand from mine, but not before kissing my knuckles. "I'll be with your dad when your done, so hang in there Eira."

I allowed Violet to lead me up the stairs of the stage and soon, everyone's attention was on us. Clapping could be heard in all directions and I was shocked to see that it was for me and the other champions before me.

I was a champion…

"Thank you all for coming." Violet began as she stood at the beginning of the stage. "Tonight, we're here to crown ourselves a new champion. This girl before us, I met her nearly a year ago, my first encounter with her was after she had fallen over a bridge and her pokemon fled with her into a cave. When I first met her, I was told a lot. She had a lot to accomplish, a lot to figure out, and a lot to change. She accomplished most of these things, but not without trouble along the way, many hurdles were forced against her, such as Team Galactic, the loss of her mother, and facing Rosalie Agustino. But now she stands before you as a new champion. This young woman is more then capable of taking on Rosalie Agustino, and protecting this region. And so, as a fellow champion, I'm here to crown her.

A box was brought before us, inside of it, as Jezebel revealed to us, was a ring. It was specially crafted right after the battle I had with Cynthia and there were stones for every one of my pokemon. A stone was for each of my pokemon, colors matching their shades. I looked at all the stones and noticed I had seven on the platinum colored ring, for all seven of my pokemon. Bubbly, Elecky, Magma, Bouncy, Paladin, Shadow and Zipper (the name I had chosen for Rotom after he had been put in my poession.

Violet grabbed the ring and my right hand. "With this ring, I crown you champion of the Sinnoh region! So let me introduce to you all, your new champion! Champion Eira Helaine!"

The crowd cried out and I was happy to see everyone having a good time. I quickly found Parker in the crowd. When Violet released me then, letting me know that soon I would have photos to be taken, I hurried to Parker and he hugged me close.

"Wanna dance?"

"Yes."

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The night had slowly passed by. I spent it all holding onto Parker as we danced hidden in a corner of the ballroom. Jezebel had asked to take the balcony with Mattie and their teams. Regardless of that, we enjoyed our time. It was quiet after many people had asked questions. When they were satisfied, they left us be.

I had my arms wrapped around Parker; our eyes were silently talking to each other. We didn't need to speak, we had each other.

"Are you two still dancing?" We both turned to look over at Cameron who was also dressed up fro the occasion and had both baby poekmon in his arms. Paladin quickly jumped to my arms. "Eira, the photographer has been waiting for nearly twenty minutes on you!"

Parker grinned before letting me go from him. "I'll be here when you get back."

I nodded to him before I made my way over to where Cameron was leading me to. On the stage, where the rest of my pokemon seemed to be, was a man standing with Violet and the other two champions. They looked deep in conversation before Violet sensed me come close.

"There you are Eira! Let's go, let's go!" She shoved me over the direction of the photographer.

"Hello my dear!" The man grinned at me. "Let's go ahead and take some photos of you and your team. My name is Maxwell Porter, and I've taken photos of all the other champions, so please get situated over there for me please."

I hurried over to where the man had pointed and my team gathered around me. In no time at all, smiles were on our faces to help us remember this special day.

"Now say cheese!"

"Em!"

"Ra!"

"Mag!"

"Lu!"

"Ra!"

"Beetz!"

"Gya!"

I tilted my ehad to the camera. "Thank you…"

He took the photo.

Witch's Note:

Damn it! I didn't get it done in time, but I was pretty close!

But now we've moved passed the mile stone that I've been trying to finish for months! We have passed the Pokѐmon League! I'm so excited, because those two deaths that we really want to get to will be here before we know it!

Now let's get going! Only four chapters are left, so hand in there people! I love you all, thank you for being so patient and I'll be much more on time next week!

Don't forget to Review and Send in Questions!

Halloween Witch