A/N: I have a poll up about LITM Chronicles. You should check it out! (:

Chapter Thirty-Seven:

If Nothing Else

I seem to recall a time when I would have given anything to not have been reborn as a Pokémon. To not have died. But I was selfish, and immature then. As I sat guard over the sister of my long lost love, her friend, and thought of all the good times Kenya, Tyson, Claire and I had shared; I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't trade it away for anything. Not even for my old life.

My keen ears pricked up at the sound of rustling in the bushes, and my lips curled back in a feral snarl. A Cherubi hopped into the clearing, saw me, and frantically bounced back; screeching in terror. I sighed and lay down with my head in between my paws. Was I really that scary?

Leah moaned in her sleep, rolled over, and sat up; stretching in a cat-like manner.

"Mornin' Shadow," she mumbled, eyes heavy-lidded.

I rose and padded silently over to her, and licked her cheek in greeting. Leah shivered in the cool morning air and shrugged on a faded old sweatshirt. Then, she hit Julie in the head with a pillow; waking her up. Not at all a morning person, Julie got dressed groggily and did not speak.

Nothing of importance occurred until we came across an elderly bug catcher. Pumped about Kenya's evolution, Leah ecstatically challenged him to a battle.

He frowned at her. "Don't you idiot newbie trainers get it? Not everyone wants to battle on your terms." He glanced down at me. "Besides, your little puppy here would be no match for my lovely Pinsir."

I growled at that, but Leah dejectedly motioned for us to leave. I guess not every Pokémon trainer is itching for a battle 24-7.

It wasn't long, however, before we came across a regular trainer as equally stoked about battling as Leah.

"Hiya, I'm Cody," he chirped. He looked to be nearly identical in age to Leah. She smiled and shook his hand. "Say, want to battle?" he asked her.

"You bet I do! My Pokémon could definitely use the experience," mumbled Leah.

"Hey; I think I'm pretty fuckin' awesome already," I barked.

"Do you have six Pokémon?" he asked, ignoring my protests.

"Well… no. I have four."

He smiled wickedly. "Awesome. Then a four-on-four it is. You can choose first."

Leah nodded at me. "Go for it, Shadow."

I calmly stalked onto the field; completely confident, and ready for whatever he threw my way.

"Go, Machop!"

Well… except that.

"Shadow, you're gonna have to compensate for that type disadvantage. Use Firefang!"

I sprung at the humanoid Pokémon, who agilely leapt to the side. I snarled angrily as it used Karate Chop on my back. Sure; I've taken some hard hits in my Pokémon life. But let me tell you; getting hit by a super-effective move hurts worse than anything you could ever experience. Ever.

"Good Machop! Now, use Bulk Up!"

"Firefang, Shadow."

I darted over and clamped down on the Machop's arm; and it wriggled in pain. It had been glowing an odd greenish color, but when it ceased; I let go.

"Shadow, use Thunderfang!"

"Machop! Take the hit, and then use Revenge!"

"Wait, Shadow, I take that back…"

It was too late. I could barely hear the commands over the pounding of my heart. I got the Machop around the neck this time, and electricity fried his slate grey skin. It cried out in pain, and then pushed me off. Its eyes glowed red, and then it roared. I succumbed to the darkness as I was knocked out cold by the enraged Machop.

I assume Leah used a Revive on me; because I faintly remember Kenya electrocuting the shit out of the Machop.

"Good work, Kenya!" whispered Leah; much more calm in battle than her older sister had been.

The Luxio grinned broadly. "Why thank you, Miss Leah!"

Cody patted his Machop, and then recalled it. "You're up, Bulbasaur," he cried as his second Pokémon materialized.

The squat Pokémon blinked as it stared at the Kenya. Saur.

"Bulbasaur, Tackle!"

"Kenya, Charge."

Kenya barely winced as the blue grass-type bounced off of her. She drew in as much electric energy as she could; so much her fur crackled and stood on end.

"Good, Kenya, now use Spark!"

"Bulbasaur, dodge and use Vine Whip."

Bulbasaur lazily attempted to roll out of Kenya's way, but she was too fast. The super-charged electric move didn't do much, however, and Bulbasaur countered with Vine Whip. He constricted Kenya, and then flung her into a nearby tree. She yelped as she made impact, and then snarled. Resorting to what she knew would work; Kenya ignored Leah's order for a Tackle attack and began running circles around the sluggish grass-type. When she had become a blue blur; she would dart in an use Bite.

Leah watched; amazed as Kenya dealt serious damage. But just when we thought Kenya had defeated it, Cody surprised us once again.

"Bulbasaur, now use Leech Seed!"

Roots sprung from the ground and wrapped themselves around Kenya's legs. She fell with a thud to the ground; and we watched in frustration as they began sapping her energy. Unable to move; Kenya watched helplessly as the Bulbasaur fed off her energy. It was then that I realized Kenya didn't know a single range attack.

Leah seemed to realize this too, after scrolling through the list of Kenya's attacks on the Pokedex. The Luxio weakly protested when recalled to her Poké Ball.

"Sorry, Kenya. It's hopeless though," explained Leah once Kenya was safe on the sidelines with me.

She plopped down at my side with an exhausted sigh. "Cody is a good trainer," she commented; sounding winded.

I merely nodded. Admitting someone was better than us was above my maturity level then.

"Claire, come on out!"

Claire gave her best attempt at a ferocious roar. It didn't matter. One well-aimed Flamethrower easily took out the lazy Bulbasaur. Cody seemed to have expected this, and reluctantly sent out his next Pokémon. A Bronzor appeared; and made an odd clanking sound as its battle cry.

"This is my newest Pokémon!" yelled Cody. "I want to see how it does in battle."

Leah smirked. "Too bad it's a Steel type!" she laughed, checking her Pokédex.

His face fell. "Yeah… well I didn't get a Pokédex, so how was I supposed to know?"

When she didn't answer him, he growled and began battle. "Bronzor, use… uh, Extrasensory!"

"Claire, Flamethrower!"

The metal dinner-plate of a Pokémon hissed in pain as flames engulfed it, though it was hurting Claire pretty bad as well. She had her claws digging into her temples; groping her head in pain as Bronzor attacked her mentally. When the attack subsided, Bronzor ended up in better condition than our favorite little Charmander. She huffed and puffed, and then unexpectedly fired a Flamethrower at Bronzor.

It clanked in pain, and wavered in mid-air. It managed to continue levitating, but this battle was nearly over.

"Claire, finish it off with Ember!"

"Bronzor, quick! Use Confuse Ray!"

The tiny flame and the ray of confusion were fired at the same time; and both hit their respective targets. The Bronzor fell to the ground with a loud clatter; and was quickly recalled by Cody. Claire stumbled backwards; and became cross-eyed. I wasn't sure whether to be concerned or bust out laughing.

Leah groaned inwardly. "Claire, can you battle?"

"Okay as can do when eating flying blueberry waffles made by the magical flying purple Chimchars!" chirped Claire as she continued to stumble around; drool coming out of the corner of her mouth.

Leah seemed to grasp the concept. "Uh… return, Claire."

The tension was rising. We had no choice but to put Tyson into battle. Cody, however, had his selection of any of his three remaining Pokémon. It was up to chance what he would pick. He looked over his Poké Balls, glanced questioningly at Leah, and then picked the middle one.

"Go, Swellow!"

I whooshed out a breath of relief. We had the type advantage.

"Go, Tyson!" hollered Leah. Even she was excited about this one.

The Cranidos cackled insanely upon arrival to the battle. "Tyson will rip pathetic birdie to shreds!"

It was then I noticed Kenya twitching slightly, though she seemed to be able to hold herself from violence. Leah's smile turned to a frown quickly as she noticed Tyson's crappy moveset. The only attacking moves were Headbutt, Pursuit, and Take Down. Not a single rock-type move. But I knew she was formulating a plan; because she was stalling so well.

"Tyson, follow that Swellow! Don't let it get out of your sight. If it swoops down, use Headbutt!"

He nodded in affirmation; but it was a daunting task. The Swellow was incredibly fast. Tyson's technique bought us a little time; though the Swellow quickly figured out she could fake him out and then dart in and use Wing Attack. Although it wasn't super-effective, it would slowly wear down Tyson.

"Tyson, use Scary Face repetitively," commanded Leah calmly after much consideration.

Julie tapped her on her shoulder. "Uh… Lee? What good will that do?"

"Swellow's only strong point is its speed. When you take that away; you level the playing field."

Julie raised an eyebrow, and then nodded in agreement. "Yeah… that actually makes sense! That's why you became the Pokémon Trainer."

When I returned my attention to the battle; Tyson had just managed to Headbutt the greatly slowed bird. It was still faster than him; but not by much. They parried back and forth; and eventually Tyson's constant battering of the bird took its toll. The Swellow began weakly flying towards a tree; wanting to land. But Tyson followed hot on her trail; preparing a massive Headbutt attack with his momentum.

Seeing the battle as a lost cause, Cody suddenly withdrew his bird Pokémon and forked over the prize money; looking rather dejected as he shook Leah's hand. Tyson, however, had gained so much momentum that he slammed into the tree with a sickening crack. He fell flat on his ass; and moaned.

"Ouch. Well don't I just feel like an idiot?" Kenya and I exchanged glances, and then I grinned excitedly. If nothing else; at least Tyson was back to normal now.

A/N: Next Chapter, we get to Pewter City. YAY!

I hope you have a nice Labor Day weekend everyone! Please review!

Until next time,

~Shelby