Episode 37

"So long, Sunnyshore City," Matt said at the gates to Route 222. He, Tyler, and Auren had just left the Pokémon Center, and decided to set off to their next destination: Veilstone City. He was leaving Team Revenant behind him, stepping on a new path forward. They went through the gate and started to traverse the coastline of the Route, taking in the morning sun shining on the sand underneath their feet.

"You know there's a path right over there," Tyler said. "We don't have to walk in all of this sand…"

"Don't be so worried, dude. It's just tiny little rocks, they can't hurt you." Matt was responded with a blow to the chest by a small boulder. "Ow…" He was hit directly in his scar, which he had almost forgotten about.

"Just little rocks, huh?" Tyler chuckled.

Matt heard footsteps running towards him as he got up, his vision blurry. "I'm so sorry, we didn't see you there!" His eyesight cleared, showing a young male trainer with a Rhydon. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it," Matt said, extending his hand. "I'm Matt."

"Tanner! It's nice to meet you!" He shook Matt's hand. "My Rhydon and I are training to take on the Sunnyshore Gym!"

"Really? I just got my badge from there!" He began to take out his badge case.

Tanner immediately covered his eyes. "Don't show it to me yet! I wanna earn it for myself, first!"

He put it back, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Whenever I see something like a Gym Badge for the first time, it always has to be mine that I see. Nothing at all beats the feeling of getting a badge for the first time!"

"Rhy!"

"I know exactly what you mean, Tanner. How many badges do you have so far?"

Tanner took out his case. "I've got six badges! This will be my seventh!"

Matt grabbed it quickly. "Already? I only have five!" They were all shiny, sparkling in the sun.

"Rhydon and I make a great team, don't we?" His Pokémon nodded, and Tanner pet its horn. "What do you say to have a battle, Matt?" Tanner's eyes turned slightly to the left, noticing Auren and running up to him. "Woah, you have a Lucario!"

"Er…hello there," Auren said, not enjoying how close this trainer was getting to him.

"And he talks?!"

Matt rolled his eyes. "Do you want to battle or not?"

Tanner turned to him. "Let's do a double battle!"

"A double battle?"

"You know, when two Pokémon battle for each side at the same time," Tyler said. "I'm sure you know about these, Matt."

"I do, I just have never done one before."

Tanner grinned. "Then this'll be a first for both of us. Come on!"

Matt looked at his belt, then back to Tanner. "I'm in."

The trainers took their spots across each other on the makeshift battlefield Tyler drew in the sand. Rowan's assistant took his place as referee, something he was very used to doing. "Each trainer will use two Pokémon. The winner is the first one to knock out both of his opponent's Pokémon."

Matt grabbed two Pokéballs off of his belt. "Raina and Lunar, Let's Battle!"

Raina landed forcefully, staring down the other trainer. "Float!"

Lunar landed gracefully, his eyes closed. "Bre!"

"Rhydon, get on out there!" Tanner shouted, grabbing a ball off of his belt. "Fraxure, you get out there, too!" From the young trainer's ball emerged a Dragon-Type with a large, swaying tail.

"Battle begin!" Tyler yelled.

"Raina, use Aqua Jet on Rhydon!" Matt yelled. He wanted to get damage in as quickly as possible.

"Fraxure, intercept her with Dual Chop!" Raina narrowly avoided the first attack and slammed into Rhydon. The Dragon-Type collided with the Floatzel knocking her away. An equal blow was done to both sides.

"Lunar, use Sand Attack on Fraxure!" The Umbreon kicked up a large tuft of sand, plentiful on the beach. It landed in its eyes, the sharp rocks stinging it and making it hard to see. Matt didn't think he's have much use for that move, but he proved himself wrong.

"Rhydon, use Rock Blast on the Umbreon!"

The Rock-Type started throwing multiple rocks at Lunar, dodging the first but getting hit by three more afterwards. Lunar shook it off, barely affected by it. "Raina, use Water Gun on Rhydon; Lunar, use Shadow Ball on Fraxure!" Matt's Pokémon fired their attacks at their opponents, hitting them directly. The two recovered.

"Fraxure, use Dual Chop on Raina, Rhydon, use Earthquake!" Fraxure lunged towards the Floatzel, hitting her in the chest only once and sending her straight into the sand. Once it landed, the entire ground shook, damaging Lunar, Raina, and Fraxure.

"Why would you damage your own Pokémon?" Matt asked, eying the damage to his own team.

"Life's about taking risks," Tanner replied. "Fraxure, use Dual Chop before Raina can get up!"

"Raina, quick, use Aqua Jet!" The Water-Type got up, and surrounded herself in a raging tide. She lunged at Fraxure, knocking it back before it could hit her. The Dragon-Type hit the ground, unable to battle.

"Fraxure is unable to battle!" Tyler yelled.

"Oh no!" Tanner shouted, running over to his Pokémon. "It's alright, Fraxure. We'll get them next time."

"Xure…Fraxure!" The trainer returned his Pokémon, turning his attention to the battle. Now that Fraxure couldn't be damage, Tanner ordered another Earthquake, shaking up both Raina and Lunar immensely.

"Lunar, use Sand Attack! Raina, use Water Gun!" Matt had him now.

"Rhydon, intercept the attacks with Rock Throw!" Tanner ordered. The Rock-Type shot a boulder towards Lunar, blasting away the sand and sending it on a direct course to the Umbreon. Another rock crashed into Raina's beam of water, stopping it in mid air. More rocks were thrown, all crashing into Lunar, who could no longer take it.

"Lunar is unable to battle!" Tyler said. It was down to two. Raina had a significant advantage, but was much weaker than the Rhydon.

"Concentrate, Raina," Matt said. "We've gotten out of tougher situations before. Just keep your head in it…and use Water Gun at full blast!"

The Floatzel drew in power, and then unleashed it at full force. "Rhydon, use Rock Throw!" The two attacks collided once more, but the rock was too weak for the torrent of water. It broke the rock and went straight for Rhydon, knocking it away and sending the heavy Pokémon flying into its trainer.

"Ow..." Tanner groaned, the unconscious Rock-Type on top of him.

"Rhydon is unable to battle, meaning the winner is Matt!"

"Great job, Raina! You did great!"

"Float!"

Auren and Tyler ran over to help get Rhydon off of Tanner, who was fine despite a couple scratches. "Are you alright?" The Lucario asked.

"Yeah, don't worry," Tanner said, turning to Matt. "That was such a great battle!"

"I completely agree. Your Rhydon is a powerhouse."

"He and I have been partners for a long time. He's gotten me out of so many tight spots. Every battle I experience, I want to experience with him."

Matt felt Flint's Pokéball suddenly on his waist. "I know how you feel." Then again, he felt that way with all of his Pokémon.

"Well, we're going to go heal up in Sunnyshore. Tomorrow, we'll take on Volkner!" Tanner returned his beloved Pokémon.

"Good Luck," Matt said to him. "I hope we'll meet again someday."

"And when we do, Rhydon and I will win." The trainers stared each other down with a competitive glare. Matt was satisfied in knowing he had just made a new rival.

The trio continued down the Route, after Matt's exciting battle with Tanner. Matt started to slow down, feeling an odd feeling in his chest. "Are you alright, Matt?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, my chest is just…" his speech slowed as he started to pant.

"Auren, help me hold him up," Matt's cousin said urgently. "He needs water." Tyler quickly opened his backpack and took out a water bottle, giving it to Matt, who could barely hold it up. "Take his shirt off, it's gotta be his scar."

"Scar?" The Lucario asked, helping his trainer get off his shirt. He was greeted with an inflamed, zigzagged scar protruding from Matt's chest. "I see what you mean."

"It's gotten worse. I wonder if it was Rhydon's Rock Blast that hit him earlier."

"I can go get help!" Auren said. Before Tyler could respond, the Lucario started to run.

"Wait!" Tyler yelled. "Sunnyshore's the other way!" But his words didn't reach the Fighting-Type. "Shit, I hope he doesn't get lost."

Matt was panting heavily. "Why is it…acting up so badly…?"

"I don't know, buddy. But you'll be alright."

Auren's running was interrupted when he crashed into a trainer who had just turned the corner. The two fell into a pile.

"What just happened…?" The trainer said with blurred vision.

The Lucario got up. "I am so sorry, please, let me help you up." He grabbed the trainer's hand with his paw, lifting him to his feet. "Are you alright?"

The trainer's vision cleared. "Holy shit! A talking Pokémon!"

Auren wondered how many people in one day were going to freak out about that. "Listen, do you have any medicine for humans? My trainer's got a wound that's very bad."

"Scar? Yeah, I've got the perfect thing for that, where is he?" The trainer asked.

"Follow me."

"I've got a better idea," the trainer released a Pokémon. Hop on my Charizard, we'll get to him quicker."

Matt's breathing started to get better, but the scar was still inflamed. A crowd at this point had gathered, offering some not very good advice. Tyler noticed bits of sand in the wound. It must have blown into it; they were on a beach after all.

The rousing of suggestions got too much for Tyler to handle. "Please, would you all just quiet down? He's going to be fine, get on with your day!" This deterred some, but not all, making the trainer groan.

Suddenly, a loud roar was heard. Everyone looked to the sky to see a large Charizard landing. Auren jumped off of his back. "I found help!"

The Charizard's trainer leapt off as well, noticing who was in pain. "Matt!"

"Ricky?" Matt wearily said, not expecting to see his friend.

"You're alright! Well, not alright now, but you're not dead from that portal!"

"Not the time for reunions, what do you have that can help?" Tyler urged.

"Sorry," Ricky reached into his backpack, taking out a pale salve. "Here you go, Tyler, just spread it on the wound."

Tyler grabbed it and smoothly applied it to Matt's scar. The young trainer cried in pain at the touch, but soon saw the scar healing, and his breathing becoming fully regular. The crowd applauded, causing Tyler to groan once more. "What's in that stuff?"

"I'm not sure, actually. I got it from a strange merchant, but it works phenomenally for both Pokémon and humans."

Matt stood up. "Thanks a lot, man…I owe you one big time."

"Don't mention it. I'm glad to see you're alright." The group of people had already departed.

"Where's Gold?"

"He decided to head to Pastoria City to find Crasher Wake and tell him about Team Revenant."

"No need. They don't have control over the Legendaries anymore." The trainer said this with a bit of a smile.

Ricky returned the smile. "So that's where that portal took you. I'm not surprised in the slightest, Matt." The rivals shook hands, in a way thanking each other for saving their own life. "So where are you headed?"

"We're going to Veilstone next."

"I'm on my way to Sunnyshore. Good luck to you."

"And to you as well." Matt, Tyler, and Auren bid goodbye to Ricky, making their way to Veilstone City.

Ricky's phone rang a second later. "Hello? Hi mom. Yeah, I'm on Route 222, I'll be at Sunnyshore soon. What? What do you mean he left home? God, I hope he's alright. Did he say where he was going? Man…I can't imagine where he would go. Or why. Did he leave a note? No note? That's so unlike him. Ok. I'll talk to you later, mom. Bye."