Welcome, readers! Drama filled chapter right here, and it's going to be pretty confusing! I'm hoping it'll be kind of short so I can get Owen's gym battle up, but even if this is long I'll still probably post the next chapter tonight. So, last chapter we saw Fate win her second contest, so she only needs one more ribbon to compete in the Grand Festival! What will happen now? Let's find out!
P.S: When I shift to other characters, it's not going to be in chronological order. So if I were to say CJ did ABC and then switch to Owen, it doesn't mean CJ has already done that. Sorry if this is confusing, I'll try explaining further in my post-chapter A/N
Pokebat: Thanks! He won't be in this chapter, but he'll be returning at some point
beastmode456: Lol. Glad to see you liked the chapter
Owen's team
Snivy, (f), level 26, Tackle, Leech Seed, Grass Pledge, Vine Whip, Leaf Tornado*, Leaf Blade*
Tranquill, (f), level 26, Detect, Air Cutter, Gust, Quick Attack
Heatmor, (m), level 32, Flame Burst, Tackle, Hone Claws, Flame Wheel, Fury Swipes*, Fire Pledge*
Zebstrika, (m), level 30, Quick Attack, Shock Wave, Thunder Wave, Flame Charge
Puff, (f), level 29, Dynamic Punch, Sing, Rollout, Pound, DoubleSlap*
Krokorok, (m), level 33, Bite, Dig, Dragon Claw, Bulldoze
With Professor Juniper
Muk, (m), level 37, Sludge, Body Slam, Protect, Poison Jab
Empoleon, (m), level 36, Water Pledge, Drill Peck, Metal Claw, Whirlpool, Bide*, Brine*
"Guys, we're going out to a party, so you're going to have to stay here with Nurse Joy," Owen told his six Pokemon. He and CJ were sitting in the lobby and were about to go to the masquerade party. Rebecca and Fate were going separately so they couldn't see the boys' outfits and know who they were at the party.
"Vy!" Snivy shouted angrily. Owen smiled at his starter, but shook his head.
"Snivy, if you come then people will know who I am," Owen replied. "It's not that I don't want you guys to come, it's just… I want to take a break from all the training and battling we've been having lately," Owen told the six Pokemon. "I'll see you guys in a couple hours. Make sure you don't do anything stupid," Owen warned the Pokemon before walking out of the Pokemon Center with CJ, who had left his Pokemon too.
"Dude, I'm really pumped for this party!" CJ exclaimed while he put his hands in his pockets and continued strolling down the road. Owen laughed at the older boy's excitement and looked up at the sky. "Do you have any idea what masquerade parties are even about?" CJ quizzed while turning to Owen.
"No. What's the point of them?" Owen responded while looking over at CJ.
"You put on a mask and talk to girls! Then you hook up with them after!" CJ squealed while shaking excitedly.
"Haha. I don't think you're right about that, but I guess we'll see," Owen opined while adjusting the tie around his neck. He was wearing a plain black suit and a black tie, which was the same thing CJ was wearing. "If you're right, though, maybe you could find Destiny," Owen joked while punching CJ's arm. The fifteen year old laughed at the thought, which creeped Owen out. The two teens continued down the road and their hearts raced as they headed towards the contest hall.
000
"So are you looking to have a fun time tonight?" Brooklyn asked while making a face that meant she was inferring something else. Fate laughed at the question and shook her head while blushing. Rebecca looked at the two girls with a puzzled expression, clearly not understanding what they were talking about. "A little birdie told me that you… like a certain guy you travel with," Brooklyn whispered, causing Fate to freeze up.
"Owen," she growled, causing Brooklyn to laugh while nodding. "He can't keep his big mouth shut about stuff like that." Brooklyn laughed again, and Rebecca continued to give the girls looks of confusion.
"Are you ever gonna tell him how you feel?" Brooklyn asked quite loudly, which made Rebecca gasp in shock, but the two older girls didn't notice.
"I don't know," Fate replied quietly while burning bright red. "I really do like him, I just don't know if he likes me." Rebecca quickly put her dress on and made her way out of the room, but bumped into Destiny when she arrived in the lobby of the Pokemon Center.
"Rebecca, right?" Destiny asked while holding back an annoyed look. Rebecca nodded frantically with a shocked look on her face, which piqued Destiny's interest. "Are you okay? It looks like you just saw a ghost."
"I-I'm fine. I just heard Fate say…" the girl trailed off, realizing what she was saying to Fate's primary rival. Destiny waited for Rebecca to finish, but the girl put her hands over her mouth and tried walking away.
"Rebecca, you can tell me," Destiny told the girl with a friendly tone. Rebecca looked torn between not telling Destiny or spilling the information she heard. Sighing, Rebecca motioned for Destiny to come closer, and she whispered into the older girl's ear.
000
(Switch POV)
"Where exactly is Owen going?" Tranquill asked while looking around at the others, hoping to get an answer. All of her teammates shrugged their shoulders, but Leaf answered the younger Pokemon's question.
"They're going to some party hosted by the contest. CJ seemed pretty excited about talking to some girls there, but I doubt he'll do it," Leaf said while chuckling. Wotter and Excalibur laughed too, agreeing with every word Leaf had said. "So how are you guys feeling about your gym battle tomorrow?" Leaf asked Owen's Pokemon.
"Owen hasn't told us who's battling, but I think we're all feeling pretty confident," Heatmor replied. "We've been working our butts off these past few days." Krokorok scoffed at Heatmor's response, causing the fire type to turn around angrily. "What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing," Krokorok replied while waving his arms as if he didn't want to argue with Heatmor. "It's just funny how you all think Owen's your friend."
"Why is that funny?" Zebstrika asked genuinely. "He's encouraged me every time I battle or train, and he always compliments me."
"Me too," Puff replied while glaring at Krokorok. The ground and dark type laughed at the two responses and sat down on a chair in the Pokelounge inside the Pokemon Center.
"You need to realize we're all replaceable. None of us are really friends with Owen, because he can catch another Pokemon and use that one instead of us. Why else do you think he sends some of us back to that lab? Because he's replacing us with a different Pokemon," Krokorok explained. His five teammates looked around and tried to find a valid counterargument.
"I haven't been sent to the lab yet," Snivy told Krokorok.
"So? That Deerling over there apparently jumped into the middle of the last gym battle, right?" Krokorok asked. Snivy reluctantly nodded, and so did Leaf and Hez. "Watch, Owen's going to trade for him and that gives him the flexibility to replace you."
"You know, Snivy, that's happened to you before," Angel told the grass snake, causing Snivy to glare at the fire pig. "Snivy was actually released by her original trainer, and two more after that," Angel announced while looking at all of the other Pokemon.
"Shut up!" Snivy barked while running at the Pokemon she hated so passionately.
"Why was it, Snivy? Oh, I remember now! They all said you were to weak!" Angel shouted before being tackled by Snivy. The two starters began to fight each other, which led to Hez separating the two.
"That's enough! Angel, shut your mouth! Snivy, stay over there!" Hez ordered angrily, causing all of the Pokemon to turn silent and look at the powerful Pokemon. Angel immediately shut her mouth, and Snivy walked over to the opposite corner of the room with Tranquill, Heatmor, Puff, and Zebstrika. Krokorok, however, cackled at the grass type before wiping the tears out of his eyes.
"This is gonna be a fun night."
000
(Switch POV)
"This night sucks," CJ muttered dejectedly while walking over to Owen. The two boys had arrived at the party and their masks were on. CJ had struck out countless times with several different girls, and he was also wearing the same suit as every other boy at the party.
"You're just saying that because you can't talk to girls," Owen responded while laughing lightly. If he could've seen CJ's angered expression, he would've stopped laughing. "You might want to move away from me, by the way. I think Fate and Rebecca would recognize us," Owen added. Nodding, CJ walked away, and he attempted to talk to another girl.
"Hey there. You look hot," Owen heard CJ tell a girl. SLAP! Owen turned and burst out laughing when he saw the girl CJ approached slap him across the face. CJ turned and gave Owen a confused look when he stuck his arms forwards with his palms facing up.
"He's an idiot," Owen muttered to himself before taking a gulp of water from the cup in his hand.
"Hey there," a girl greeted while walking up to him. Out of the corner of his eye, Owen saw CJ looking his way in shock. "Sweet party, right?" she asked while taking a swig of her drink.
"Yeah, I've never been to a masquerade party before. How about you?" he asked while seeing CJ circle around to hear how Owen was talking to the anonymous girl.
"Nope," the girl answered. "I'm kind of regretting coming here too," she added before laughing.
"Really? Why's that?" Owen inquired.
"This guy made some really perverted comment to introduce himself," she told Owen, which made the amber eyed teen sweat drop. He knew she was talking about CJ, which nearly made Owen laugh.
000
"Where is CJ?" Destiny asked while pushing through a wave of drooling boys. "Now that Fate likes Owen, he's all mine," she said under her breath. After Rebecca had told her about Fate's secret infatuation with Owen, Destiny bolted to the contest hall so she could find the boy her age.
"Excuse me," a boy said to Destiny, making her stop in her tracks. "Are you from around these parts?" he asked while Destiny continued looking around for CJ. "I feel like I've seen you before," the boy talking to her said.
"Yeah whatever," Destiny said while pushing the boy out of her way. She continued pushing past dozens of other boys before eyeing a boy that was talking to a girl that was slightly shorter than him. "That has to be him," Destiny thought to herself before walking over to the boy and girl that were conversing.
000
Fate, Rebecca, and Brooklyn had arrived five minutes earlier and they traveled as a group as a way to avoid perverts, which seemed to be a major concern because one boy had been slapped at least ten times. They had to admit, though, at least he was persistent.
"Come on, Fate," Brooklyn whined. "Let's go find him!" She began tugging Fate's arm and tried pulling her towards a boy that looked like her crush, but the girl refused to move.
"Quit it," she snapped, causing Brooklyn to back away with her hands up. Rebecca looked at the two and decided to walk away from them so she could find Owen and bring him to Fate. "Just let me decide if and when I feel like the time is right," Fate added.
"Fine. Let's try finding you a guy just in case you change your mind about CJ," Brooklyn said as she and Fate began to walk forward. Suddenly, they were stopped by two boys.
"Hey, ladies. You both look beautiful," the boy on the right stated with a sly grin. "Would you care to dance?" he asked while looking at Fate as music started to play. Fate looked over at Brooklyn, who nudged her forwards, and she sighed.
"No thanks. I'm not into dancing," she told the flirtatious boy. Fate then walked away, leaving Brooklyn by herself with the two boys.
"Sorry about that, guys. Good luck with the rest of your night," she said with a wink before chasing after Fate. The two boys looked at each other and hung their heads in sorrow. As Brooklyn tried pushing through the crowd to find Fate, she eventually saw a boy by himself drinking from his cup. She looked around for Fate before deciding to approach the boy that was clearly by himself.
000
"Where the heck is Owen?" Rebecca thought to herself while looking for the older boy. After a few minutes of searching, Rebecca decided to call it quits and she sat down at a table by herself. After taking a deep breath and readjusting her mask, she stood up and prepared to search for Owen again. SMACK! Rebecca's head turned to the loud noise and she began to smile, thinking she had finally found Owen. She then took off and tried finding the boy.
000
"So you're from Kanto?" a masked girl asked while placing her right hand underneath her chin. The boy she had been talking to was surprisingly normal, given the amount of creeps she had come across during the party. They had been conversing for nearly an hour and had moved over to a table to sit down.
"Yeah. Are you?"
"Nope," she replied while taking her hand off her chin. "What's it like over there? I've always wanted to visit Saffron City."
"It's pretty relaxed. There's not too much going on anywhere except Saffron City. Maybe I could show you around some time," the boy offered.
"I'd love that," the girl said as she and the boy got up from the table. Suddenly, she moved forward and kissed him on the lips for a few seconds before she walked away giggling. The boy looked down at the number on his hand and pumped his fist victoriously, which she saw and laughed at.
000
Destiny saw the boy she thought looked like CJ and walked over immediately. The masked boy turned to the attractive girl, and he began to fidget nervously, which Destiny didn't pay attention to.
"Hi. How are you liking the party?" she asked.
"It's fine, but not as fine as you," he said, causing Destiny to smack him across the face before storming away. "Why do I always act like that?" the boy said to himself before face palming.
"Hey!" a girl called while walking over.
The masked boy turned the girl and smiled.
"I have a friend that's pretty interested in you," she told the boy while grabbing his arm and pulling him towards her friend.
"Awesome!" the boy exclaimed while following the girl that was directing him through several people. After a few minutes, the girl managed to find her friend and introduced her to the boy.
"Nice to meet you," the girl greeted while shooting her friend a dirty look.
"N-Nice to meet you too," the boy replied nervously. "Pretty awesome party, right?" he asked, trying to think of something that was easy to talk about.
"Yeah, it's been pretty fun," she replied with a smile. "I'm actually traveling through Unova and competing as a coordinator," she told the masked boy, which grabbed his attention.
"Really? I'm traveling here with my friend who's a coordinator. She's really good too," the boy replied. "She actually just won her second ribbon today."
"...Wow, that's... impressive," the girl said while trying to keep her composure. "I actually competed in that contest."
"Hey, maybe I saw you there."
000
Rebecca watched the conversation between the boy she thought was Owen, and the girl she thought was Fate. She then smiled to herself and couldn't help but think of herself as the world's best matchmaker. Then, she was caught off guard by what she saw next. The two kissed for a split second, causing her to explode with happiness.
"Well, I've got to get going," the boy said before walking away. The girl stared at the boy that was leaving the party, and she decided to leave also. Rebecca checked her phone and saw that it was 11:00pm, which was the time she and the girls would leave.
000
(Switch POV)
"You know, Snivy, it doesn't matter if your trainers left you," Tranquill told her friend while trying to cheer her up. "I mean… at least you're here with us." Snivy frowned at Tranquill's efforts, and turned to see Krokorok walking her way.
"At least Snivy knows I'm not wrong when I say that we're all replaceable," Krokorok said while looking at the other Pokemon. Snivy glared at the newest member of the team before getting up to run out of the room.
"Krokorok, why can't you shut your mouth and just leave us all alone?" Heatmor interrogated before running after Snivy. Once he made his way out of the room, Heatmor ran to the back of the Pokemon Center and found Snivy crying by herself. "Snivy, come back inside. Krokorok's just a jerk," the anteater Pokemon told his teammate while walking over to her.
"It doesn't matter," she replied while sniffling. "He's right. My trainers replaced me because I was too weak. What if Owen does the same thing?" she asked nervously before whaling.
"Owen wouldn't do that," Heatmor said in defense of his trainer.
"How do you know!?" Snivy screamed, causing Heatmor to step back in surprise. "He may not get rid of you because you're strong, but what about the rest of us?"
"Snivy, you're strong too," Heatmor stated while sitting down next to the crying Pokemon. "You may not think it, but the rest of us can't believe how much stronger you've become since that tournament last month."
"Do you really mean that?" Snivy asked while looking into Heatmor's eyes. The fire type smiled and nodded, which made Snivy laugh quietly. "Thanks. I mean it." She then rose to her feet and extended her stubby arm. Heatmor looked up and took her hand before walking back to the Pokelounge together, both beaming after each step they took.
000
"So, Fate, did you tell him?" Brooklyn asked while laying on her bed in her night gown.
"Kind of," she answered while blushing slightly. "Rebecca brought him over and I kind of went for it." Brooklyn shot up from her bed and stared at her rival with a sly grin on her face, making Fate and Rebecca laugh.
"How'd you find CJ, Rebecca?" Brooklyn asked the younger girl.
"Wait. Fate likes CJ?" she asked as her heart dropped. The two older girls nodded, causing Rebecca to freeze up nervously. "I brought Owen over," she whispered quietly.
"What!?" both girls screamed in unison.
"I thought you liked Owen, so I brought him over to you," she told Fate, fearing the girl would attack her. Fate, however, was too confused to do anything to anyone. Instead, she walked around the room while burying her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry!" Rebecca apologized loudly, but Fate glared daggers at her.
"That doesn't make sense! Owen isn't that that nervous around people he doesn't know," Fate stated matter of factly. "It actually doesn't make sense."
"So I brought CJ over to you?" Rebecca asked in confusion. Fate immediately slammed her hands against her face in embarrassment before falling onto her bed.
"I kissed CJ and he doesn't even know it was me!" the girl shrieked into her pillow, which muffled her rage. "Aaaaah!" she screamed again, which made Rebecca and Brooklyn sweat drop.
"What about you, Brooklyn? How did your night go?" Rebecca inquired, trying to change the subject.
"I guess you could say it was eventful," she said with a slight blush, which intrigued Rebecca. Fate's head shot up from her pillow, and she eyed Brooklyn with the same sly grin the blonde gave her.
"Ooh, what was he like?" Fate asked excitedly.
"Perfect. It was almost like we were meant to meet."
000
"Owen!" CJ roared while jumping onto his bed. "I did it! I got some action!" he cheered.
"Hahaha. I wouldn't have guessed," the younger trainer replied.
"Did you? Come on, I saw you talking to that girl for an hour."
"Maybe," Owen answered with a sly smirk, causing CJ to jump up and cheer. "It's weird, though. I don't think I ever met her before. She didn't tell me anything about herself, so I can't really talk to her again," Owen answered with a depressed tone. "Hopefully we do meet again. She was really cool."
000
"Why did you go to that party? If you did something to him, they're going to find us," Blaziken hissed at Ariel as she removed her mask.
"Calm down, Blaziken. I didn't do anything stupid," Ariel fibbed. "I'm fully aware that they'd find us if I did something, so relax. "I talked to him for a while, and then I left." Blaziken eyed his trainer with suspicion. He couldn't tell if she was lying or not, but he decided to take her word. "There's no way he knows I talked to him."
000
"This stone," Professor Juniper muttered while studying the black object. "What trainer do I know that's different than the rest?" she asked herself while rubbing her head. She then threw a stack of papers off her cluttered desk and immediately went to pick it up. Suddenly, her eyes focused on one paper specifically, which had a picture of a trainer and his name above the picture. "Owen Plateau."
Dun dun dun! Wow, that was confusing to write, so it has to be even harder to read, so sorry about that! Anyways, the group went to a masquerade party, and it seems that Fate and CJ kissed! It's a bit harder, however, to tell who the other two were. That answer will be revealed in time, but for now, it appears Ariel and her Blaziken are in Mistralton! Will she finally meet the boy she's after? And we found out about Snivy's past! That will be explained further in a few chapters, so stay tuned. Till next time, peace out.
1) Who do you think was involved in the other kiss?
2) What ONE Pokemon do you want to see Owen use for his gym battle next chapter?
Next Chapter: Sky Battle: Puff vs Swanna?
So, as stated in the A/N at the start of the chapter, each event between the interacting people was NOT in chronological order. Just because I wrote a certain passage first, doesn't mean it was. For all you know, it could've been last. That is all :P