Eterna City Showdown, Zach vs Gardenia!

Zach stood next to the flowing river that laid on the outskirts of Eterna City, fishing rod in hand as he patiently waited for a bite though his patient appeared to be wearing thin as a bored expression slowly crept across his face. Lucario looked similarly bored as he let out a yawn before tensing up as he sensed something.

"Car..." Seconds after Lucario muttered those words a tug was felt on the line and Zach quickly began reeling in the line as his expression changed to that of excitement.

"I wonder what we've caught this time!"

"Car." Lucario shrugged as he never encountered a species whose aura matched it. A light wave of water splashed onto the shore as a green piranha Pokemon came bursting out from beneath the water's surface! A red stripe arched over his eye and went along the upper half of his body, separating his green scales from the black scales atop his body.

"Bas!"

"...okay what's that? I didn't even know these things lived in Sinnoh." Zach quickly pulled out his Rotom Phone so that he could scan the fierce looking piranha Pokemon. Scorbunny let out a terrified yelp as she hid behind her trainer's leg, heavily shivering as she peered around to sneak a peek at it.

"Basculin the Hostile Pokemon, Red Striped Form. Red and Blue striped Basculin are very violent and always fighting, they are also remarkably tasty!"

"Could have gone without that last part," Zach muttered as he stuck his tongue out in disgust at the mere thought of it. "Lucario use Thunder Punch!"

"Car!" Lucario swiftly raced towards Basculin as he pulled back his fist which started crackling with electricity. Lucario reached out and delivered a swift electrically charged blow to the piranha, Basculin let out a shriek of pain as the electricity surged through his veins!

"Alright, you're mine Basculin!" Zach pulled out a Dive Ball and enlarged it before hurling it across the grass, nailing Basculin head on before the small piranha disappeared in a beam of red light! The ball landed in the grass and shook back and forth a couple of times before chiming out to announce the capture complete!

"Data successfully registered."

"We finally caught a Water type, awesome!"

"Car!" Lucario growled out with a light smirk.

"S-Scor..." Scorbunny didn't look pleased at the idea of being on the same team as Basculin, her eyes narrowed while her ears flattened against her head.

"How about we introduce ourselves to our new teammate?" Scorbunny shivered before releasing a soothing cry as she felt her trainer's hand lightly stroke her behind the ear. "Don't worry Scorbunny, I'll make sure he doesn't get close to you." Scorbunny smiled up at him but continued to shiver as she heard the release button activate followed shortly by the sight of Basculin bursting out of his ball.

"Basculin!" Basculin's cry didn't exactly sound friendly as he glared up at Zach. "Basculin bas bas!"

Lucario gave his trainer a look as he shook his head, refusing to translate what the piranha was saying.

"Hey there Basculin, welcome to the team! I'm Zach and these two are my close partners Lucario and Scorbunny, we're happy to have yo-Aaaah!" Zach reached out his hand to greet Basculin only for the piranha to bite into it! He quickly waved and shook his hand in a desperate attempt to shake him off while Scorbunny let out an alarmed shout and rushed up onto his shoulder to deliver a swift double kick to the piranha, knocking it loose and sending the Water type flying through the air before he landed back in the water with a splash. His spiked fins could be seen swimming down shore as he quickly made his escape while Zach was busy tending to his injury.

"Good gosh that stings!" Zach hissed out as he made sure that the bite mark wouldn't get infected before he wrapped a bandage around his hand. "At least Dawn is off practicing Contest moves, she'd have freaked out if she were here."

Dawn wasn't that far away from him as she moved just enough distance so that her attacks wouldn't scare or startle any potential catches that he may encounter.

"Piplup use Whirlpool, Buneary follow up by firing an Ice Beam at Piplup's attack!" Dawn cried out as she threw out her arm with an excitable look as she hoped that the attack would be as beautiful as she pictured it within her head!

"Piplup!" Piplup threw back his head as a massive geyser of water erupted from his beak and shot straight into the air before forming a strong current as it rapidly spiraled around the air above him.

"Buneary!" Buneary fired a beam of ice from her mouth towards the whirlpool and freezing it solid, the sunlight reflected off the ice and created quite the beautiful scene as Dawn and Buneary both looked up at the sight with stars in their eyes.

"This will win us the next Contest for sure!"

"Pip Piplup!" Piplup tapped his chest with a proud look.

"Buneary!"

"Ah!" Dawn tensed up as she heard somebody screaming nearby causing her to quickly jerk her head before swiftly turning towards Piplup.

"We should find out what that was." Piplup nodded before the two rushed into the nearby trees where they'd encounter a trainer who found herself in quite the predicament as she and her Pokemon found themselves surrounded by a swarm of Ariados! She appeared to be the same age as Dawn as she stood around the same height range as her and Zach, she had medium length brown hair which was mostly covered up by a large white cap that rested atop her head. Beneath a pair of blue short overalls the girl wore a magenta colored hoodie. She wore long white leggings that covered a majority of her legs while on her feet were a pair of red running shoes. Beside the girl was a strange looking pale green quadrupedal with a rather large leaf growing from the top of it's head. Dawn was rather curious as to what exactly the Pokemon was but that would have to wait as the Ariados had the girl outnumbered and were closing in fast!

"Piplup let's send those Ariados flying with Whirlpool!"

"Piplup!" Piplup raised his flippers as the massive spiraling whirlpool formed within his beak, with a wave of his arms the whirlpool went flying off in the direction of the Ariados!

"Ariados!" The spider Pokemon cried as they were all swiftly sucked into the whirlpool as it circled the area around them, the Ariados were all trapped within the spiraling vortex before they'd find themselves being launched into the air and sent flying safely away from the girl!

"Way to go Piplup!" Dawn praised as she gave the penguin Pokemon a light pat.

"Piplup!" Piplup smirked as he placed his flippers on his hip.

The girl shook for a few seconds before a smile quickly formed across her face. "T-That was awesome, t-thank you so much! Oh wow a Piplup!" The girl's eyes instantly lit up as her mind fully processed the Pokemon that stood in front of her. "The world champion's girlfriend used to own one of these, I always fancied having an Empoleon of my own! Is there any way that you'd be willing to trade?!" Lyra excitedly asked as her Grass type excitedly chirped out alongside her.

Dawn lightly sweated as she held up her hands and quickly shook her head back and forth. "No way, sorry! I could never trade Piplup away, he's irreplaceable and a great friend!"

"Piplup!" Piplup tapped his chest with a proud look while the girl hung her head.

"That's a shame..." She then jerked up and a smile formed as she appeared to recover from that quite easily. "Oh where are my manners? I'm Lyra, future champion of the Johto region! I'm actually here helping my grandparents out with the Johto Festival but seeing as we had plenty of time before it starts, I decided to leave Hearthome City and come out here in the hopes of encountering a Pokemon that I can't catch back home!"

"Chika!"

"I'm Dawn, future Grand Coordinator and these are my partners Piplup and Buneary!"

"Piplup!"

"Buneary!"

"We were practicing our contest moves when we heard you screaming, at first we thought it was our traveling companion but we weren't going to stand aside and let you get hurt."

"You're a Coordinator? I've heard about you all, never actually seen a Contest myself but I heard that they're quite a show!" Dawn sweated lightly at her words. If Zach were next to her he'd be hyping her up but Dawn wasn't one to gloat about her own skill.

"You could say that, there are some hits and misses but a majority of performances you'll see are quite remarkable!"

Lyra was about to speak before another shout was heard this time it sounded more familiar and in pain causing Dawn to quickly rush off without a word as panic crossed her face. "Zach!""

Lyra glanced towards her Pokemon before nodding after Dawn. "Come on Chikorita, she might need our help!"

"Chika!"

"Oh my gosh, what happened?!" Dawn squealed out with a panicked tone as she raced towards Zach and closely examined his bandaged hand. Lyra stared off with a dreamy expression as her eyes set upon Zach for the first time but that look quickly faded as she noticed how Dawn was eyeing him.

"It was nothing, just tripped into a thorn bush is all." Zach lied as he tried hiding the truth from Dawn as he was worried it'd just make things worse. Scorbunny glanced towards his Rotom Phone as it rested nearby, the rabbit shot Dawn a look and quickly raced to retrieve it but Dawn grabbed hold of it just a few seconds faster! Dawn's eyes looked towards Basculin's data as she began putting two and two together.

"You didn't stick your hand in the water did you?" She asked with a worried tone.

"Of course not, I'm not an idiot! I captured Basculin after Lucario punched him with Thunder Punch, then when I tried introducing myself to him... Basculin bit me and swam away after Scorbunny kicked him off me!"

Dawn rested her hands on his injury and smiled lightly. The lie didn't phase her much as she could tell he only did it to prevent her from worrying. "Maybe this is a sign that you should stop trying to catch a Water type Pokemon for awhile? I hate to say it but it feels like you're cursed." When she tried to capture him a Prinplup, it escaped! He tried capturing a wild Buizel shortly before he met Mimikyu and the Water type winded up bursting from the ball on three different occasions before swimming away! And now he succeeded in capturing one and it bit him before making it's escape!

Dawn gazed into his eyes with a pleading look while Zach gazed back into her eyes before eventually nodding in agreement to it. "S-Sure, I'll stop for now. I promise." Though he really wanted to own a Water type he just didn't have it in him to say no to her. Dawn smiled and pulled him into a tight hug as she leaned her head against his.

"Thank you..." She breathed softly before pulling away from him as the two shared a light blush.

Lyra tilted her head and smiled, finding their behavior cute. "Hey there, I'm Lyra! Future Johto League Champion!"

"Chika!" Her Pokemon posed alongside her.

"I'm Zach, I too aim to become a champion someday!"

"Car!"

"Scor!" Lucario and Scorbunny cried out.

"Oh my gosh, a Lucario!" Lyra excitedly exclaimed before quickly tilting her head as her gaze locked onto Scorbunny. "She's cute but what is she?"

"I could ask the same of your Pokemon," Zach replied as the two pulled out their Rotom Phones, Lyra's was a dark pink color.

"Chikorita the Leaf Pokemon, a sweet aroma gently wafts from the leaf on its head. It is docile and loves to soak up the sun's rays!"

"Scorbunny eh, you're one of the most adorable Pokemon I've ever seen!"

"Scor!" Scorbunny rubbed the back of her neck as she blushed at the words.

"Yeah Scorbunny's pretty awesome, I couldn't imagine life without her!" Scorbunny smirked up at her trainer.

"So how many badges do you got? I've got two!" Lyra proudly declared as she whipped out her badge case, presenting two of the Johto League's badges! One resembled a pair of wings while the second had a ladybug design to it.

"I've only got one but I'm about to go win my second badge," Zach whipped out his own badge case as he showed off the Coal Badge. "I've just got to heal up my Pokemon first!"

"That sounds like fun... say there's a Gym in Hearthome City, would you guys mind if I tag along? I'd love to see a Sinnoh Gym Leader in action and I'd love some company on the trip back to Hearthome!"

"I don't mind," Zach shrugged before looking towards Dawn. "Do you?"

"Not at all," Dawn offered Lyra a smile. "We'd love to have you with us!"

The Eterna City Gym was much larger than the one in Oreburgh City as it was filled with trees that bordered a walkway that led to the battlefield, which was also surrounded by trees. Several Grass type Pokemon could be seen sleeping in the sunlight around them though rather they were the Gym Leader's or simply wild Pokemon was up for questioning. When they reached the battlefield they'd find an older woman albeit not by much as she appeared to be in her early twenties. The woman had fair light skin and orange eyes that matched her short orange hair, there were some strands of black hair visible though giving the impression that she likely dyed her hair. She wore a forest green poncho atop a long sleeved black t-shirt that was trimmed above her belly. She wore a pair of orange cargo pants which had been torn into a pair of shorts and atop her feet were a pair of forest green boots!

"Greetings challengers, I'm Gardenia! I trust that you've all come for a battle?" She asked with a light tilt of her head.

"Actually only Zach's here to challenge you, I'm here to offer him my support and Lyra's simply watching!" Dawn explained as she pointed towards Zach who offered Gardenia a light wave.

"Hey there, I'm looking forward to earning my second badge!"

"Scor!" Scorbunny clenched her fists as Dawn lightly sweated, figuring that it'd probably be a quick match.

"Well I'll be happy to battle you, as soon as you find all my Gym trainers and beat them in a one on one battle!" Gardenia lightly smirked.

Dawn smiled as though Zach would probably finish that rather quickly, that would give her more than enough time to get changed. "Good luck Zach!" Dawn waved as he, Lucario and Scorbunny quickly raced into the tree lines to find Gardenia's Gym trainers. Dawn then got up to make her way to the Pokemon Center to get changed.

"And where are you going?" Lyra tilted her head with a questioning look.

"You'll see!"

"Finished!"

"Scor!" Scorbunny flashed a cocky grin as the three of them returned right as Dawn returned in her cheerleader outfit. Dawn let out a sigh of relief as she was a bit worried that he'd have started the match before she got back, she gave him an eager wave and blushed as Zach waved back at her. Lyra raised her eyebrow as she looked Dawn over before the girl took her place next to her on the side of the battlefield.

"He sure is something isn't he?" Lyra smirked before staring off in his direction as Zach and Lucario leaped into position and prepared for their battle against Gardenia. "I mean you two are definitely dating, right?"

Dawn's face shot bright red as she quickly shook her head. "N-No! N-Not that I don't want to... I'd love to more than anything it's just that... he hasn't asked."

Lyra rolled her eyes lightly before nudging her arm. "Come on Dawn if he isn't then you should ask him! That's not something restricted to guys, I mean look at the way he looks at you! He obviously cares a great deal for you and he seems to like your outfit too. If you don't ask then somebody else might, he's hot, has a great love for Pokemon and most of all is just a nice person, it's not often you meet a trainer that fills all those traits!"

"I-Is that a threat?" Dawn questioned with a light glare.

"No, my attraction for him is strictly physical! You clearly love him for who he is and I couldn't take that away from you, I was merely explaining why you should act quickly!"

Dawn looked thoughtful for a moment as she gazed off. Lyra wasn't wrong as May definitely shared Dawn's own feelings for Zach, her thoughts were interrupted however as Gardenia spoke up as she listed off the rules.

"Alright so the standard Pokemon League rules apply here, only the challenger is allowed to switch Pokemon and can do so at anytime they desire. While we'll stick to a three on three rule set, once one side runs out of Pokemon the battle will end. Sound good to you?"

"Definitely, we're ready to earn our second badge!" Zach grinned as Lucario and Scorbunny posed alongside him.

"Alright Leafeon, let's show them the power of Grass types!"

"Leafeon!" The Grass typed Eeveelution cried out as she burst from her Pokeball!

"Scorbunny you're up, let's heat things up!"

"Scorbun!" Scorbunny leaped onto the battlefield with a cocky grin as she locked eyes with Leafeon before waving her paw in a beckoning manner. "Scor scor!"

"Flame Charge!"

"Scor!" Scorbunny's body ignited in flame as she charged across the battlefield and was rather quick at slamming her body up against Leafeon's! The Eeveelution let out a cry of pain shortly before collapsing onto her side in defeat as swirls filled her eyes.

"Way to go Scorbunny, that was awesome!"

"Scor!" Scorbunny leaped up and high fived her trainer as Lyra's jaw dropped.

"S-She just one shot... but how?! She's still a Scorbunny!"

"We think Scorbunny's purposefully holding back her evolution to keep her cute factor going for awhile." Dawn explained before proceeding to leap up and down as she waved her pompoms. "Way to go Zach and Scorbunny, you can do this!"

Zach glanced towards Dawn and blushed lightly before looking back towards the battlefield as Gardenia had returned Leafeon and was now reaching for a different Pokeball. "Grotle let's show them not to underestimate us!"

"Grotle!" The ground lightly shook as a bulky pale green turtle appeared, two small bushes grew from the shell on his back. The Pokemon looked familiar but Dawn couldn't place it until Lyra pulled out her Rotom Phone.

"Grotle the Grove Pokemon, the shell is hardened soil. Some Pokemon come to peck the berries growing on the trees on its back!"

"A Grotle, I always thought your species was cool." Zach gave a light smile before he threw out his arm. "Flame Charge!"

"Scor!"

"Earth Power!"

"What?!" Zach tensed up as the attack took him by surprise, he knew that Torterra could use the technique but he didn't know Grotle could! Grotle's body became outlined in a golden glow as he stood on his hind legs for a brief moment before crashing them against the ground resulting in a light shake as the ground cracked around them, a golden glow appeared and quickly raced towards Scorbunny before rocks burst out beneath her and sent her flying!

"Scor!" She flew up like a rocket due to her Flame Charge attack, going up and up before she hit the glass ceiling with a loud thud that caused everyone to flinch as they saw her body pressed against it before she dropped to the ground, her body had already gone limp as Zach quickly dove out to catch her in his arms. The unconscious rabbit Pokemon let out a moan of defeat as she rested in his arms. Zach offered her a light smile as he returned her to her Pokeball.

"You were awesome Scorbunny, don't worry we'll take it from here!" He placed her ball back on his belt before reaching for a different one. "Staravia, time to fly!" Zach flinched at his words as he realized that one could use some work.

"Staravia!"

"Use Double Team!"

"Staravia!" Multiple copies of Staravia surrounded the air around Grotle causing the turtle to look around with a frantic expresson.

"Grot?!"

"Razor Leaf, we'll trim those copies down!"

"Grot!" Razor sharp leaves flew out from the bushes atop his back and made their way to the Staravia, slicing their way through the copies and shrinking down their numbers while the real Staravia was unaccounted for!

"Wing Attack!" The remaining copies all flew at Grotle, their wings shined bright as they soared towards him before slashing at him!

"Grot!" Grotle groaned out as he found himself pushed back.

Gardenia gritted her teeth before she threw out her arm. "Heavy Slam at random!"

"Grotle!" Grotle moved as fast as his legs could carry him before he took a small leap and crashed down on two of the Staravia, one of them proved to be the real deal as it let out a shriek as he was slammed against the ground! Staravia's eyes grew wide before turning to swirls as he laid in defeat beneath Grotle.

"Staravia return," Zach returned Staravia to his ball and offered him a light smile. "You'll get them next time, Lucario will finish things here."

Lucario stepped onto the field and let out a deep growl as his eyes locked onto Grotle. Grotle stared up at him with an unmoving expression as Gardenia threw out her arm.

"Leech Seed!"

"Repel the attack with Bone Rush!" Lucario pulled out his aura infused bone club and began rapidly spinning it in front of his body resulting in the seeds quickly being flung away upon impact with the attack! Lucario then rushed forward and swung his bone club before bringing it down upon Grotle's head, knocking the turtle Pokemon to the ground as it let out a light grunt before going limp as swirls filled his eyes.

"Way to go Lucario, you're making us proud!" Dawn cheered.

"Buneary!" Buneary cried out as she cheered alongside Dawn. Lucario cast Buneary a light smirk before turning his attention back to the field as Gardenia reached for her final Pokemon.

"We're not done yet, Breloom let's show them that Grass types can be fast too!"

"Breloom!" The Grass/Fighting type stood confidently as it appeared from it's Pokeball.

"Sky Uppercut!"

"Breloom!" Breloom quickly raced towards Lucario as he prepared to deliver an uppercut. Lucario gave Zach a brief look before he gave him a nod, Lucario nodded in return and waited silently for Breloom to approach. Once Breloom was a few seconds away Lucario slowly pulled back his right fist as an icy glow surrounded it, the jackal let out a shout as he threw out his arm and punched Breloom right in the stomach as he approached! Breloom let out a gasp for air due to the direct hit, his body shivered before becoming encased in a block of ice as Dawn let out a loud cheer.

"Way to go Lucario, that Ice Punch was ice cold!"

Zach let out a light chuckle as he flashed Dawn a smile before turning his attention back to the field. "Alright Lucario let's finish this, Bone Rush!"

"Carrr!" Lucario charged forward and swung his aura infused bone club against the block of ice, shattering it before slamming the club against Breloom's body! Breloom let out a grunt as he collapsed face first into the dirt, swirls in his eyes as Dawn leaped up and down and cheered loudly for him while Buneary cheered just as loudly for Lucario. The two of them blushed and smiled at them before turning their attention to Gardenia as she approached with a badge in hand.

"I must say that was quite the exciting battle, for a second I thought that I had you once Scorbunny was taken out but I see now that the true threat was waiting on the side line." Gardenia looked at Lucario with a light smile as she held out a badge shaped like three trees intertwined. "This is the Forest Badge, take it and give it your all at the Sinnoh League. I'm most interested in seeing how well you'll fare against Flint and the other Elite Four members!"

"I'll give it my all if I wind up facing them!" Zach grinned before holding the badge out towards Lucario. "We're one step closer to the League buddy, just six badges to go!"

"Carrr!" Lucario let out a light growl as the two looked forward to what the future had in store for them!

Another Gym battle down, I figured to give her a Grotle so the line could be fully showcased in the story and it was the best way possible to avoid Zach sweeping with Scorbunny, that would have been a boring battle.

The Johto arc is approaching as Lyra has temporarily joined.

Let me know what you all think and if there's anything that you'd like to see in the future!