"Ren made it weak already! Let's finish this in one blow! Confusion!" The Psychic-type move from Batman finishes off one of the Trubbish as Venam tosses a Pokeball at it. The Pokeball hits the Trubbish as it opens up with a red flash of light hits the Trubbish trapping it inside the Pokeball. It rolls a few times rather slowly before

"Gotcha! Alright!" Venam yells out.

"That leaves Garbodor as the only Pokemon left!" Melia states.

"We got the type advantage! So let's do this!" Ren yells out as Garbodor unleashes a Sludge Wave knocking Batman into a wall next to him. "Eh?"

"Wait a second… You lost the type match-up?!" Venam yells out as Matthew returns Batman back into his Pokeball. "You should be winning this easily!"

"I just caught it not that long ago! It's still kind of exhausted it from me weakening it down to catch it." Matthew takes out another Pokeball and sends out Alister in front of him. Matthew has his eyes fixed on the Garbodor with Ren's Froakie ready to fight as well. The aura around him felt serious, almost not like his usual self.

"Bubble!" Matthew commands Alister. Alister rushes towards Garbodor and shoots out multiple bubbles from its mouth. The bubbles exploded on impact with Garbodor as it shoots poison gas at Alister. Alister jumps out of it with a purple hint forming around its cheeks. "Poisoned?!"

"Shit. Matthew, Alister ain't able to fight properly! Leave this to me!" Ren yells out as he commands Froakie to attack. As soon as Ren stated that, Garbodor shoots out a sludge wave Froakie, doing massive damage.

'Are you kidding me? Do I have to rely on others again? Even with me having a Pokemon, I can't do anything?' Matthew questions himself. He knew the circumstances that he was in. His Pokemon is severely weakened by the Poison. Yet this isn't the first time that a Pokemon trainer has to deal with this type of issue. Alister looked a tad bit exhausted from some of the previous battles in the streets. Ren was struggling to deal with the Garbodor. A mixture of frustration and regret was pumping through him.

"Froakie!" The voice knocked Matthew out of his trance as he looked over at Alister. Despite being poisoned, he was still willing to fight. There was a spark of hope still inside him. Alister was the one who was fighting.

'So why should I be the one giving up?' Matthew thinks to himself. He clenches his fists before yelling out his next command. "Alister! Let's finish this now!"

"Froakie!" Alister yells out as a blue glow surrounds him. The bright light catches everyone's attention. In the light, Alister's physique started to change. He started to get taller before a small explosion revealed a Frogadier in front of everyone.

"Already? How many times has he fought for an evolution?" Ren questions looking over at how exhausted Froakie is.

Matthew looks at Alister before slowly nodding. He took out his Pokedex to register Frogadier when something came across his eye. He smiles as he pockets the Pokedex into his pocket. He raises his hand out with his index finger and thumb pointing upwards. "Water Pulse!"

Alister gathers energy into his hands as it forms an orb of water. He rushes from side to side, avoiding poisonous attacks from Garbodor before jumping into the air and shoots it at close range which explodes in contact with Garbodor. The smoke clears revealing the Garbodor to be completely exhausted.

"Garbodor…" The Garbodor looked exhausted, giving up the fight.

"You two should go and think about what you've done. You guys can't just attack people just because you want to." Ren states as he returns Froakie back into his pocket. Garbodor and Trubbish run away leaving everyone by themselves.

"Alister… Good jo-" Matthew states before seeing Alister falling over the floor. "Ah!"

"The poison is getting up to it. Give him this!" Ren tosses a Pecha berry to Matthew. He barely catches it as he walks over and feeds it to Alister. He eats it before Matthew slowly returns Alister into his Pokeball.

"Thanks a lot… I was right. You did give me hope." Matthew puts the Pokeball close to his chest, clenching it tightly. He lets out a few heavy breathes. His hands were shaking a bit.

"Thanks, Ren, Matthew," Melia said with a sigh of relief. "You guys have nice synergy together, did you know that? Anyway, we weren't in any real danger, to begin with."

"Huh? What do you mean? They were trying to shoot acid at us." Ren said looking back at the fight.

"Well, that's because we have this!" Melia smiles as she takes out a massive suitcase as Matthew turns around.

"Uh… You weren't planning on swinging that thing at the Pokemon, right Melia?" Venam questions somewhat jokingly.

"Very funny," Melia says with a smile while looking at it. "My father gave it to me right before I left. I opened it earlier and it just holds things like Potions and stuff like that. As a matter of fact here!"

Melia tosses Ren and Matthew a Super Potion. Matthew was a bit hesitant to take Alister out after all that he's done. He looks over to see Ren turning the Pokeball over as a small slot opens up. He connects the potion to the slot and starts spraying. Interested, he turns the Pokeball around to see a small white button as he presses it, opening up the slot and just follows what Ren did.

"Thanks." The two states as Melia continues on. "If things got bad, all I would have to do is enter that code and then we would be safe. At least, I think we would be."

"Uh… Sure?" Matthew had a look of uncertainty from the girl's blind faith in whatever her dad has for her.

"Melia… I don't think you should put that much faith into something that you don't even know what it is." Ren comments

"In any case, we found the source of our power problems," Melia says with a smile. "Some engineers should be here soon to fix the broken pipes and wiring around the grid."

"I'm going to stay here and supervise I guess." Venam shrugs with a chuckle. Matthew looks over at Venam as Ren and Melia shake their heads. "Yeah… I got kicked out again."

"Then I gave her food," Matthew states with fake spite. Venam detected immediately as she chuckled with a sny grin.

"That sounded like fun… By the way. You're a new trainer, right Matthew? How about accompanying me to Goldenwood Forest?" Melia asks, catching Matthew's attention. "It's a place where a bunch of new trainers go to practice their skills and become stronger."

"Not sure if he needs it, to be honest, Melia. He's pretty good at battling." Ren states looking back to the previous battles.

"Stop giving me credit. All I do is do a bunch of Pokemon battle puzzles." Matthew states rubbing the back of his heads.

"Well even still. You're a new trainer." Melia takes a look at her watch before realizing the time. "Anyways. I'll be on my way now."

Melia leaves the group with Ren stretching before looking up. "Well, Matthew. I gotta run as well."

"Yeah. I'll go with you. Seeya Venam." The two wave over at Venam before leaving the sewers.

"I have some research to do for the Professor, so I'll be at Magnolia Library." Ren states. "Are you going to Route 1? I still think that you don't really need to go to Route 1."

"I still have to do my assignment for Professor Jenner… Which I don't really know why though." Matthew said with a confused expression.

Ren nods in confusement. "I guess so. Well, good luck man. See you soon!"

Ren leaves Matthew by himself. Matthew takes a minute to process everything as he takes out Alister's Pokeball. The evolution of Alister from Froakie into Frogadier, evolution changed the form of the Pokemon. Yet… for some reason, it felt like something changed inside him. It felt like the hopelessness fueled something into it. It was surreal to Matthew, he couldn't think properly for a little while. He looks Alister for a while before being snapped back into reality before heading towards the nearest Pokemon center.

Pokemon Rejuvenation: Intercepter

By: NexusMHX

Chapter 5: Uncertainty of Faith

"Oh, Matthew!" A familiar motherlike voice ringed into Matthew's ear, knocking him back into reality. He looks up to see Tesla walking towards him in the train station to Route 1. "How are you? Are you feeling okay?"

Matthew takes a minute to process that last question. He felt like he was on some high and didn't even bother to think. It was like everything happened so quickly to him. The whole ordeal from getting his first Pokemon, to meeting Melia, Venam, and Ren. He thought about it for a bit before recalling what happened at the S.S. Oceana. Everything was so fast to him… it was overwhelming to someone weak-minded like him. He slowly nods which gave Tesla everything she needed to hear.

"Your expression speaks a million words." Tesla pats Matthew's shoulder with a hopeful expression, trying to give the young boy some hope. "But I bet none of those words can accurately describe how you're feeling right now. We shouldn't lose hope, though. Your mother is still out there and we both must become stronger to rescue her."

"T-Thank you." Matthew started to tear up before rubbing his eyes. "Anyways. What are you doing here exactly?"

"Well, I figured you were going to head to Route 1 and Goldenwood Forest because you're a new trainer so I thought I would check up on you," Tesla explains with a smile. "Goldenwood Forest is one of my favorite places in Aevium. The golden trees and the eternal smell of autumn brings a calm mood and nostalgic memories- Oh sorry. I started to go off on a small tangent."

Tesla looked a tad embarrassed from the fact as Matthew looked fine from the fact. "N-No. Don't be."

"It's fine…" Tesla said with a sad smile before turning around, away from Matthew. "How about I buy your ticket to Goldenwood Forest?"

Before Matthew could even respond, Tesla runs towards the counter and buys the ticket and hands it over to Matthew. "Thank you, Tesla. You've done a lot for me already."

"Actually… I wanted to give you one last thing." Tesla stated with a smile. She takes out a small case of items and opens them revealing a few supplies for Pokemon. "Your journey is going to be long and hard. So any boosts are going to help a long way. Now I have to go, for now, Matthew, but we'll see each other soon. I promise."

Tesla hands the case to Matthew before walking past him. He turns around. "Tesla! Thank you! I'll make it up to you!"

"You don't have to… I did this because..." Tesla turns around and gives a smile before sending out Talonflame and rides on. "I don't want you to feel alone at the start of your journey. The hardest part of the journey."

Tesla waves before flying away with a massive gust of wind. Matthew looks up at the sky before an announcement from the train station signals that boarding is ending soon before rushing over. The train ride takes about an hour to reach Route 1. However, it didn't take long for Matthew to see the golden colored trees and instantly, he could see how Tesla was so entranced by the setting itself.

When the train comes to a halt, Matthew exits the train to see Melia preparing everything under one of the trees. He walks over as Melia finishes up and notices him.

"Oh, Matthew. So you decided to accompany me after all?" Melia asks. He nods slowly as Melia chuckles with the boy confused. "You're such a doll, Matthew."

"Yeah. I wa- Huh?! What did you just say?" Matthew was confused and flusters a bit as Melia chuckles to herself.

"Goldenwood Forest is just up ahead! Don't take too long!" Melia walks up ahead, leaving Matthew by himself.

"What… I don't. Jeez." Matthew takes a minute to readjust himself. He slowly walks towards the entrance of Goldenwood Forest as something catches his eye real quick.


(Goldenwood Forest)

"This place really has such a pleasant and calming environment. It's like I can just sit around and just forget about all my troubles." Matthew states as he catches up to Melia. She turns around from looking at a sign.

"It does have that nice and romantic feeling. Though these days, it's more like a park rather than a forest." Melia looks around a bit with a smile.

"Romantic? You make it sound like you have future plans for a place like this?" Matthew slightly jokes.

"E-Enough joking around. That was getting back at me for earlier, wasn't it?" Melia blushes slightly before shaking her head. She ponders a bit before getting back on track. "Regardless, there is work to be done here. Shall we get started?"

"Sure. That's fine by me."

Whether it was taking care of some of the Pokemon, to helping a fisherman catch a Pokemon, only for the fish to land on his face, to random hijinks. Even on the way, Matthew got in some training for his Pokemon by battling some of the trainers while in between activities. It felt just pure and simple fun for both Melia and Matthew.

Matthew takes Alister outside of his Pokeball to help the small kid off the tree. Afterward, Matthew returns Alister back before stretching a little. He was having fun on this little expedition with Melia. But something was egging him. Why did Jenner need him to be there with Melia?

"Matthew? Are you there?" The voice brings Matthew back to reality.

"Uh, what?" Matthew asks not paying attention.

"I was just wondering what's wrong? It was like you were lost in thought." Melia picks up her briefcase after seeing the young girl off.

"Oh uh. I was just thinking about something…" Matthew trails off before wondering something. "Say. Your dad is Professor Jenner, right? Is he like overprotective with you?"

"Huh? Where did this come from?" Melia asks. The two of them walk through Goldenwood Forest.

"Well. It's just that I find it interesting that he just lets you go out on these expeditions. It's just that you look young is all. Younger than me that is." Matthew scratches the back of his head, doing his best to not sound rude to the young girl.

"Oh, that's what you mean. It's perfectly fine. This isn't the first time, he has let me do stuff like this. He lets me go on these work trips for him, but he doesn't really let me go until he is absolutely sure that I'll be safe. It's like he always has some way to help me out of any situation that I find myself stuck in on these trips before it actually happens."

"What is he? Some kind of all-knowing genie?!" Matthew exclaims from how ridiculous that sounded.

"It was kinda weird but yeah. It's kinda why I have so much faith in him. He knows what he's doing. He's a great dad." The last sentence stung in Matthew. He just slowly listens to Melia's stories with her father with a smile. After a little while, the two eventually reach an intersection. "Ah! We've finally made it to our destination. Goldenwood Cave is just up ahead. I have some stuff that I need to set up, so I'll meet you inside, okay?"

"Uh sure. How long do you think it's going to take?" Matthew asks as Melia thinks about it.

"About ten minutes. It's not that long." Melia rushes up ahead into the cave leaving Matthew by his lonesome once again. He didn't really know what to do as he just walks in a direction for a little while.

'Why… Where? Was it my fault?'

A young boy's voice echoed into Matthew's head. He just simply walks a little further until he sees a Drifblim floating across a river to pick up a Mimikyu and brings it over. A voice calls out towards Drifblim. "Drifblim? Have you finally found that naughty Mimikyu?"

"Hmm?" Matthew looks over to see a woman with purple hair and dress, with such a young and dazzling face, almost like an actress. She walks over to the Mimikyu as she bends over looking at it.

"Honestly, now, can't you behave and stay home, Mimikyu?" The lady notices Matthew standing on the other side of the Mimikyu with interest. "Oh, and look… You've gone and bothered some foreigner, have you?"

"Oh no. It was no bother at all!" Matthew politely states. The lady stands up, looking at the boy with a fuzzy expression.

"No, bother you say? Then you must have an incredible amount of patience." The lady raises one of her brows in suspicion. "Or perhaps somehow you're not being completely honest? Not that it matters… That's something I, and frankly, the whole of Goldenleaf Town can use. Nevertheless. I apologize if Mimikyu caused any trouble. We'll be off now. Come, my children."

The three leave Matthew by himself. He wanted to ask about what she meant by what Goldenleaf Town needed but never got the chance. He looked at the time on his device before heading back to Melia who was patiently waiting for him.

"Ah, there you are. Welcome to Goldenwood Cave. This is where things get interesting." Melia looked pumped up from the fact. She also had a fierce grin, prepared to get down to business. "What we needed is at the end of the cave! Let's head off immediately! Tally ho!"

"Tally ho?" Matthew questions from the hurrah that Melia was giving.

"Come on Matthew! It's just an expression to pump yourself! Do it again! With more energy this time! Raise your fists, shout with all that you can!" Melia exclaims towards Matthew.

Matthew gives it a thought before bracing himself as he raises his hand in the air and shouts it out."Tally ho! How was that?"

"Much better Matthew! Now let's get going!" Melia and Matthew walk through the cave to eventually reaching the end of the cave. "Ahah! Looks like we've finally made it. Is this really what my father wanted me to look at?"

"They look like some kind of writing on the wall..." Matthew says as he examines the inscriptions on the wall. He looks over at Melia kinda dejected all of a sudden. "Oi Melia! Are you doing alright? What's wrong?!"

"It just seems very simple…" Melia sighs before pumping herself again. "Oh well. No use complaining about it! Let's just get to work and finish this up. We should take pictures of it in its original state just in case it becomes damaged."

Melia places the suitcase on the ground before taking out a camera. She takes out multiple photos of the wall before doing a selfie photo. She looks over at Matthew and motions him to come into the photo. He steps to the right with a smile on his face as she takes the photo.

"Hehe, that's enough picture taking for now." Melia puts the camera away with a smile. "Though. It's strange for my father to send me off to check on something like inscriptions."

"What did you usually do before that?" Matthew asks. Melia walks up to the wall.

"Usually I just study actual Pokemon behavior and stuff like that. I mean, the writing here is practically illegible." "It's not even the interesting kind of illegible. Just-" Melia places her hand on the wall as it suddenly crashes down shocking both kids.

"Melia! Are you ok?!" Matthew yells out if one of the rocks crumbled on the girl.

"I just touched the wall! Why did the ground shake? And why did it open this hole in the wall?" Melia was freaking out by the fact. She takes a minute to process it before a smile forms on her face. "Okay, nevermind! This was definitely worth it! I mean. We found a secret passageway deep within the depths of Goldenwood Cave! This is so… great! Come on! We can't let a discovery like this slip through our fingers!"

Melia rushes over to the suitcase and closes it up before rushing up ahead. Matthew walks out to see a light leading outside the cave. He sees the golden trees around him and sees a bunch of Vivillon surrounding him. He walks down a small flight of stairs that look properly made and walks down a path until Matthew sees Melia setting up a picnic blanket. She looks up to see Matthew walking over with a confused look.

"Ah! Surprise!" Melia said with so much excitement on her face. She looks around with a smile. "Isn't this place really beautiful? This place isn't on a map or anything. It's possible we discovered a completely new area! I mean… this region is less than a century old, so there very well may be places we haven't discovered."

"This place looks crazy surreal and it's not out in the open. It's honestly amazing." Matthew says while looking at the picnic blanket. "So what's all this about?"

"We accomplished a lot today. So the least we could do is celebrate!" Melia waves her hands at the picnic blanket. "A small picnic lunch should be amazing in a quiet and peaceful place like this."

Matthew helps set up with the picnic food from the suitcase. He takes out food that is wrapped rather nicely. He places the food on the blanket before looking over. He sees Melia taking a look at the Arceus statue with curiosity.

"Today has been quite the day, huh? And it's only 1'oclock," Matthew says with a smile.

"Today has been awesome!" Melia looks away from the statue before looking at all the Vivillon surrounding them. "You know. I heard about these types of Vilvillion… I believe they're called "Butterflies of Fate"? Today has been quite a day! A day like this one only comes once a year. A day where you make another life-long friend. That special friend is you, Matthew. Thank you for coming with me. You've made this day a memorable one."

"A special friend…" Matthew felt embarrassed by the fact. It felt so unfamiliar to him that he didn't really know how to respond.

"Though… It's a little sad. This will be my last memory on Floria Island." Matthew gives her a puzzled expression. Melia looks down, twiddling her thumbs. "The day after tomorrow I leave for Grand Dream City. Where I am to become the Normal-Type Gym Leader."

"A Gym Leader?! That's amazing!"

"Isn't it? Someone like me is going to be a Gym Leader. I'm sorry for not telling you before. I was just-" Melia pauses for a second. This, however, was something that Matthew understood. "Anyway, I'm going alone. Ren will still be working with my father, and Venam will be doing her usual Leader duties."

"Just by yourself? Aren't you scared? Being separated from everyone that you know." Matthew asks with a somber expression.

"Of course I'm scared. I'm being thrown into a city I don't know much about." Melia thinks to herself before looking up at Matthew. "Hey, Matthew… Do you have anywhere to go after this? N-Nevermind, that's a really big question for someone I only just met."

"No… It's fine. Honestly. I don't. I'm scared, unsure. Normally, under these circumstances, I would break down from all the stress." Matthew says, catching Melia's attention. "Though… I guess I can say that I have some kind of goal ahead of me. Taking the Gym Challenge to become a stronger trainer. I guess. In a way, we're kinda in the same boat."

"Matthew…" Melia processes what Matthew said before standing up and walks in front of Matthew. "Hey, Matthew, fight me."


Wassup my homies! This is NexusMHX here with another episode of Pokemon Rejuvenation: Interceptor. So thanks for the input from the previous chapter, I decided that I'm going to have a friend from the Sinnoh Region who is going to hold all the Pokemon. This piece took longer for me to make, I know right? It seems lazy and all that but I felt like I would add a little to Melia's character. At least from the beginning. From me playing Pokemon Rejuvenation from the beginning, all I know was that she was a genius and had a massive amount of luck while also having confidence issues about what is to come in the future (which is understandable). And in a way, she kinda relates with the main character. Both people are basically going to start their main journey alone. It forms a much bigger connection than before. Anyways. I don't have much to say. This is NexusMHX here signing off! If you enjoyed, please leave a follow/favorite/comment for more content. Stay Classy!