Theme Song

You're on your journey with your friends from the start (shows the group walking down a road together laughing)
There will be bonding and broken hearts (Owen puts his arm over Brooklyn's shoulder)
The power inside will make us strive... (Charizard starts to Mega Evolve)
For greatness! (Split screen of Owen at the Kalos League and Daniel and Brooklyn at the Grand Festival)
Put in the work and you will go far (Haunter evolves, Gengar's face is covered in shadows and she throws a Shadow Ball at the camera)
But what happens when we're torn apart? (Ariel and Blaziken look up at the moon)
A threat will rise, but we'll realize (Frank and Dragonite squaring off with Owen and Charizard)
We can do it together... Pokemon! (Group stands together with their Pokemon)


Alright, it's time to get back into the swing of things now that I'm finally able to use document manager. Last chapter, Catherine told everyone about her past, which included her being a member of the Elite 4, where she specialized in fire type Pokemon. Now, Brooklyn and Daniel will compete in the Laverre Contest, so let's get going! Two things before you start reading... 1) My drive to finish this chapter was killed when I lost it due to FF logging me out when I tried saving my work after I had finished, so there won't be any battle rounds 2) I will go back and change Catherine's last name because it's starting to bother me too.

ShadowDragon9000: Water types are pretty awesome, but fire just seems so much more... dynamic? Thinking about it, it would've been funny if Catherine was a water specialist haha

MCMXCV: Her being young definitely had a part in her giving up Owen and Ariel, and their father's role will be explained in a few chapters, so there won't be that long of a wait

Defender31415: Ariel did have a caring family, and she'll mention it once in a while, but it's not that important to the story, so I won't go out of my way to have her bring it up. A chapter about her history could be interesting, but I doubt I'll end up doing it

guest: It'll be interesting to see their relationship grow, and there will be some arguments between them, but nothing too big. They're kind of being forced to like each other, given the circumstances with Team Grim and everything, so I think that could explain their relationship

SomeGuy (guest): Haha, I will, though I can't make any promises ;) It's good to see you liked all the chapters, with the only nitpick being the last name. Reading it instead of thinking the name kind of gives me chills, so I'll end pup going back to the last chapter and changing Catherine's last name for the sake of my own sanity, let alone yours

The 6th Spectral King: I'm not sure what your first guess was, but if it's Lysandre, no. And he isn't Wulfric's son, but you'll find out soon!

SinnohBlaze (guest): Thank you! I believe you're the only reviewer to bring up the picture at the Tower of Mastery (which was a long time ago), so nice connection

ErsonThaCarter: It's good to hear from you again! And the brawls between Chespin and Slurpuff will be a recurring thing for a while

Owen's team

Greninja, (m), level 39, Water Shuriken, Smack Down, Round, Quick Attack, Water Pulse*, Smokescreen*

Charizard, (m), level 71, Flamethrower, Dragon Claw, Seismic Toss, Blast Burn, Aerial Ace*, ?*

Haunter, (f), level 38, Shadow Punch, Mean Look, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Sucker Punch*, Payback*

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

Pikachu, (m), level 32, Slam, Quick Attack, Thunderbolt, Nuzzle, Electro Ball*, Double Team*

Chespin, (m), level 35, Mega Drain, Needle Arm, Rollout, Vine Whip, Energy Ball*

Slurpuff, (f), level 37, Fairy Wind, Fake Tears, Cotton Spore, Draining Kiss, Energy Ball*

With Professor Sycamore

Tyrantrum, (m), level 39, Dragon Claw, Stomp, Stealth Rock, Crunch, Ancient Power*, Dragon Tail*

Hawlucha, (m), level 37, Wing Attack, Karate Chop, Flying Press, Aerial Ace, Bounce*


When his eyes opened, Owen looked around the unfamiliar room and rose from the couch, groggily rubbing his eyes. Once he stopped, he saw Charizard was still sleeping in the corner next to the TV, and his six other Pokemon were also sleeping. Quietly, Owen went into the bathroom and changed into a fresh set of clothes before turning the TV on and putting the volume to a minimal level. Once he did that, Owen checked his PokeGear and saw that he had received several texts, mostly from Brooklyn, all of which were her asking if Owen would be present at the contest.

"Good morning!" Catherine sang as she walked into the entertainment room, waking up all of Owen's Pokemon. The seven animals didn't seem bothered by the woman's enthusiasm, given the circumstances with her and her children, so they decided to stay quiet and go back to sleep.

"Morning," Owen greeted as he began to turn the volume up on the TV now that almost everyone had woken up. A segment on Pokerus was currently being broadcasted, and Owen watched with intrigue until Catherine changed the channel manually. "Hey, I was watching that!" Owen informed his mother loudly, but she didn't care about his displeasure.

"Hold on, I'm trying to find the news," she told her son before settling on a random channel, which was showing Owen and Ariel battling Frank. The teen scowled at the video, and Charizard's eye opened slightly when he heard the anchors speak.

"After this video began circulating around the region, there has been an overwhelming amount of support for Team Grim along the west coast of Kalos, so make sure to be on the lookout for these two enemies," the woman said before a commercial break took over. Catherine slowly turned to see Owen clenching his fists so tight they were shaking, and Charizard lifted his head and growled at the TV angrily.

"Those idiots. How do they think we started that fight!?" Owen shouted.

"Frank edited the video," Ariel replied as she walked into the room with a yawn. Blaziken, meanwhile, was wide awake and it looked like the fire type had gotten a good night of sleep. "If anyone saw the real video, they'd realize that he instigated the entire thing." Charizard and Blaziken nodded in agreement while Owen shook his head angrily. After getting another text from his girlfriend, Owen began to withdraw his Pokemon while turning to walk out of the house.

"Where are you going?" Catherine asked, making Owen stop.

"Today's the Laverre Contest. Brooklyn's been texting me to get there," Owen replied as Charizard stood up and stretched.

"Ooh, Owen's got a girlfriend," Ariel sang, making her brother's face turn as red as a cherry while Catherine laughed at the sight.

"Ariel, stop. Feel free to go, Owen, but Charizard has to stay here. I don't want you to attract any attention," the young mother voiced. Owen turned and thought about arguing but decided against it when he saw Charizard cheer and lay down in exhaustion. "I heard there aren't going to be battle rounds today because there were so few contestants, so come back to the house if you want."

"Okay. Are you coming, Ariel?" Owen asked his sister, who shook her head in disgust at the mere thought of contests.

"No way. One, I don't like Brooklyn, and two, contests are boring."

"Well, I'm watching the contest on TV, so you're going to watch it one way or another," Catherine informed the young girl as she sat down on the couch and changed the channel, making Ariel groan while rolling her eyes. The teen angrily sat down on the couch beside her mother while Blaziken glanced back at Owen and shook his head with a grin before the teen left.

"Greninja, come on out!" Owen shouted as he stepped outside his mother's house. His trusty Kalosian starter appeared from his Pokeball and looked around at Laverre City before walking alongside Owen as the two headed towards the Contest Hall. "I'm having a tough time deciding, Greninja, on who to use for the gym battle. No one has any steel or poison moves, so we don't have a type advantage."

"Ja," Greninja muttered while scratching his head, thinking hard about who Owen should pick. If fairy types weren't so strong against dark types, Greninja would've volunteered in a heartbeat, but that wasn't the case. Once he and Owen arrived at their location, Greninja pointed to Owen's belt, and the teen took the other five Pokeballs off. Each Pokeball had an element on it, which was the type of the Pokemon inside.

"What're you doing?" Owen asked as Greninja handed Owen one of the Pokeballs that had a ghostly eye, and Owen put it back on his belt. The teen continued to wait while Greninja looked over the remaining four Pokeballs, and he handed back one with a pair of wings on it. "So you're saying these three are good to go?" Owen asked, holding up Chespin, Pikachu, and Butterfree's Pokeballs.

"Nin," Greninja replied confidently with a nod of his head, making Owen laugh quietly as he walked into the large building. After receiving a free ticket - thanks to Brooklyn - Owen and Greninja walked towards the coordinator room and entered, seeing his four traveling companions all talking to each other.

"There you are!" Brooklyn exclaimed before running over to Owen and kissing him on the cheek. "How was your mom's?" she quizzed while walking back to the others with Owen and Greninja.

"It was nice. Charizard had to stay back with her just incase someone decided to call Team Grim or something, and Ariel's staying back at the house," Owen told the others.

"Good," Brooklyn muttered under her breath while Owen sat down in a chair with Eddy and Cindy.

"Did you get to battle your mom's Pokemon? Are they all really strong? What's it like-"

"Calm down, Eddy, Owen only spent the night there," Cindy said to the younger boy, who slumped down in his chair disappointedly. "Besides, you can always look up videos of her battling if you want to see her Pokemon."

"It's not the same. Seeing it in person is way cooler," Eddy shot back before running towards Greninja to play with the outgoing Pokemon. Owen quickly released his other Pokemon and they all gathered around him, prompting Greninja to run over, making Eddy return to his seat next to Owen.

"So have you decided who's going to be battling?" Daniel asked as he turned to face Owen. His four Pokemon were all out of their Pokeballs, just like Owen's Pokemon, but Aerodactyl and Axew didn't look like they were listening.

"Actually, yes," Owen answered as he looked at his six Pokemon, who waited anxiously. "Pikachu, Butterfree, and Chespin, you're battling." The aforementioned Pokemon celebrated gleefully, but they stopped when Slurpuff lunged at Chespin and attacked the grass type. The tiny Pokemon began to roll on the floor hitting each other violently before being separated by Haunter, just like the night before, and Owen rolled his eyes.

"Slurpuff doesn't look happy about that," Cindy pointed out, even though everyone already knew that. Slurpuff nodded at the statement and glared at Chespin, who began yelling at the fairy type, but they were stopped when a voice echoed over the loudspeaker.

"Would Brooklyn Moore please report to the stage?"

"Good luck," Daniel said to the blonde with a smile as she began to walk towards the stage. The girl nodded and continued down the hallway with two Pokeballs in her right hand. She took a deep breath while stepping onto the wide-open stage, and the crowd began to cheer while the three usual judges sat behind their podiums.

"Please begin when you'd like," the first judge told Brooklyn, who nodded. The girl looked down at the two Pokeballs in her hand and threw them in the air quickly.

"Braixen, Smeargle, take the stage!" Brooklyn shouted as the two Pokemon appeared in front of her. The fire and normal types looked around at the stadium before Brooklyn spoke up, making them focus on the task at hand.

"Smeargle, start this off with a Flamethrower on the stage!" Brooklyn commanded while pointing at the ground. Smeargle quickly opened her mouth and covered the battlefield in flames, turning the yellow stone crimson. "Now use Avalanche on one half of the stage!" Smeargle's body turned light blue before a storm cloud appeared above her head. Then, a pile of snow fell on one half of the stage.

"Now, Braixen, use Psywave to speed through the fire, and use your tail to sled through the snow, Smeargle!" Brooklyn shouted while twirling her right hand in the air. Both Pokemon began to speed around the stage, but Brooklyn wasn't done yet.

"Build ramps with Ember and Avalanche!" Both Pokemon created ramps of fire and snow in front of themselves before they flew off their creations, and both Pokemon landed on the ground perfectly after performing front flips. The crowd exploded with cheers while Brooklyn and her Pokemon curtsied thankfully, and they turned to the judges.

"The performance was executed flawlessly, but it was lacking a bit of... substance," the judge in the red suit told Brooklyn, who nodded at the constructive criticism.

"Kind of remarkable!" the second, and always annoying, judge screamed.

"I like the idea of fire and ice, but it seems to be done a bit too often nowadays. It was a great performance, though," Nurse Joy said. Brooklyn nodded, and she walked off the stage while waving to the crowd. Once she walked back into the coordinator room, Brooklyn sat down angrily next to Owen and folded her arms across her chest while Braixen and Smeargle looked at the ground disappointedly.

"Hey, don't get down about it," Owen said to the girl, who turned to look him in the eye. "Even if they didn't love the performance, it was still really good and they said you guys did well."

"He's right. You two were really awesome!" Eddy exclaimed while looking at Brooklyn's two Pokemon, who looked up with smiles. Owen's Pokemon quickly walked over to Braixen and Smeargle - except for Slurpuff, who was sitting in front of Owen - and they began talking.

"Hopefully I can do just as well. During practice, Aerodactyl and Axew weren't listening to me," Daniel told Brooklyn and the others before sighing.

"Why don't you stick with Dragonair and Dedenne for the contest?" Cindy quizzed.

"I want to, but I don't think I'll make any progress with these two if they don't have any experience in contests," Daniel replied. The teen looked at the two sets of Pokeballs in his hands and thought about picking Dragonair and Dedenne before putting all four Pokeballs on his belt.

000

"Oh, Brooklyn was so great!" Catherine shrieked while looking over at her Pokemon. They all nodded in agreement along with Charizard, but Ariel rolled her eyes. "What's wrong, honey?"

"Don't call me that," Ariel snapped before leaning back and closing her eyes. "Contests stink, that's what's wrong."

"Oh come on, Ariel, they're pretty cool. I think we all know you've never given them a chance," Blaziken said while looking around the room. Ariel glared at her starter while he laughed and elbowed Charizard in the side. The fire type laughed along with his brother, but Catherine shot up from her seat when she looked at Charizard, and she ran into her bedroom. When she came out, a strange device that looked like a collar was in her hands, and she walked over to the fire and flying type.

"I can't believe I forgot to give this to you yesterday, Charizard. It's a translator, so people can clearly understand what you're trying to say," Catherine explained while putting the device around Charizard's neck. Once she snapped it on, the lights on the device began to flash before turning off, and Charizard opened his mouth.

"Is it working? Ah!" he shouted, covering his mouth when the translator began to work. Catherine laughed at the lizard's reaction, and even Ariel cracked a grin while Charizard began talking to Blaziken.

"Our next performer will be Daniel London from Snowpoint City!" the TV announcer screamed, catching Catherine and Ariel's attention.

000

"You've got this, Daniel!" Eddy yelled while Daniel walked down the hallway that led to the stage. The sixteen year old nodded back at Eddy and made his way onto the stage, waving to the crowd that was cheering for him.

"Please start when you're ready."

"Okay. Aerodactyl, Axew, let's give 'em a show!" In two bright flashes of light, Aerodactyl and Axew appeared in front of Daniel, with the tiny dragon sitting on the prehistoric Pokemon's back. The crowd laughed at Axew, who looked around angrily just like Aerodactyl, and the rock type stared at Daniel hatefully.

"Aerodactyl, use Ancient Power! Axew, hop on each of the rocks and destroy them with Dragon Rage!" Daniel shouted. The mischievous duo, however, didn't listen and instead began firing their attacks all around the stage. After several explosions, Daniel looked up at his Pokemon and knew they weren't going to listen, but his heart forced him to continue the performance.

"Alright, Axew, jump grab Aerodactyl's tail and swing on it like a rope! Aerodactyl, fly around in a circle!" The two Pokemon actually obeyed Daniel's orders, and Axew held onto Aerodactyl's tail for dear life. The flying type, however, flew around at mach speed, sending Axew flying into the ground. Aerodactyl looked down at his injured friend and landed on the ground alongside Axew, helping the dragon type back on his feet.

"Axew, are you okay?" Daniel asked while running over to the Pokemon, making a loud bell ring through the air. The teen and his Pokemon looked up at the giant scoreboard and saw a large 'X' pass through their pictures, and the word 'DISQUALIFIED' was displayed in bold red letters.

"Ew," Axew replied while hopping onto Aerodactyl's back. The flying and rock type glared at Daniel, who sighed at his luck, or lack thereof, and he withdrew the two Pokemon while walking off the stage. When he arrived in the coordinator room, Cindy bit her tongue while Eddy was playing with all the Pokemon. Owen and Brooklyn, meanwhile, got up and walked over to the older teen.

"It sucks that you got disqualified," Owen said to Daniel, not knowing what to say.

"The same thing happened to me in Cyllage City, so don't worry about it. You'll get through to them and bounce back better than ever!" Brooklyn exclaimed with a smile, making Daniel grin slightly.

"Thanks, guys. Hopefully the judges give you the ribbon, I doubt any of these people will do well," Daniel whispered while looking at the five other coordinators, all of whom looked very strange.

After the last performer had finished her routine, the judges met for less than a minute and appeared on the TV screen in the coordinator room.

"Upon unanimous decision, we would like to announce Brooklyn Moore as the winner of the Laverre City Contest!" Nurse Joy exclaimed. Brooklyn had already been notified about her win, and walked onto the stage and waved before accepting her ribbon. Braixen and Smeargle waved to the crowd while they and their trainer walked back into the room, and the blonde hugged Owen while celebrating her victory.

"Wahoo! Two ribbons down, one to go!" the girl cheered before putting the ribbon in her ribbon case.

"Congrats. You deserved it," Daniel told Brooklyn, who bowed thankfully at the compliment.

"So what's up next?" Cindy asked while looking around at the four other travelers, who suddenly stared at Owen and his Pokemon.

"Your gym battle's tomorrow, right?" Eddy inquired, looking at the fifteen year old. Owen's Pokemon looked at him and they all frowned when he shook his head.

"Nope. I figured you guys would've wanted to do some sightseeing, but there isn't anything here. Do you know what that means, guys?" Owen asked his Pokemon while turning to face them. All six shook their heads, making Owen grin evilly. "Training!"


Oh man, I wish FF would've saved my work on the first draft of this chapter, it was so much better :( Now that the contest is out of the way, we're closing in on Owen's sixth gym battle, but there's still some time for that. So, Brooklyn won her second ribbon and only needs one more to qualify for the Grand Festival, and Daniel's new Pokemon didn't listen to him. Also, I've scrapped yet another chapter, (which seems to be a pretty common thing for this arc) so there are only two chapter remaining! Till next time, peace out.


Next Chapter: "A Fight for the Forest Championship!": While Owen trains for his battle against Valerie, he runs into a familiar, fiery trainer. After learning this rival defeated Valerie, Owen challenges them to a battle, which turns out to be tougher than expected. Will Owen be able to defeat this rival?


Laverre City Arc

Chapter 52: A Fairy Finale: Slurpuff vs Sylveon!