Pokémon: Hoenn Travels.

-The Important Stuff:-

1) I am not at all affiliated with Game Freak nor Nintendo, or any other companies that write/produce Pokémon.

2) I do not own any part of Pokémon.

-A Waiver:-

1) This is not a direct steal from anything already Pokémon-related that exists, not the show or a game or a novel/book. It is my own creation, therefore I may bend the rules a little bit to fit my needs.

2) The names of Professors, Gym Leaders, and Cities were taken from Ruby Version.


Chapter Eight:

Kira

After finding dinner, Doug and I found that Dewford Town had its own gym. We took our time eating and recovering from our exploration in the Granite Caves before leaving the restaurant to find the gym leader.

The gym was easily located, as it wasn't so much a building, but a fighting pit in the middle of Dewford Town. The arena was white tape outlining the box in the warm sand and the bleachers weren't so much bleachers as just space for people to set up their own beach chairs.

There was a sign placed near the arena that stated any inquiries for a gym battle could find Brawly his home, just behind the arena. Circling around the fighting pit, we found a quaint cottage with large, open windows, a red tile roof, and a well-kept walkway leading up to the front door.

As we neared, a young man walked out of the front door. He had wild, light blue hair that was pushed away from his face with a headband. His bright orange shirt fit loosely over his torso and he wore pants that nearly matched his hair in color.

"Good evening, something I can do for the two of you?" He asked.

"We were looking for the Gym Leader," Doug answered. "We were hoping for a battle."

A smile formed on the man's face. "Brawly," he introduced himself by waving at his own chest. "If you head back to the arena, I will call my secretary to set up the details and meet you down there momentarily."

Doug and I quietly returned to the training area, setting up in one of the two marked boxes and waiting for Brawly. He appeared after only a short amount of time, assuring us that a woman would be along shortly to take our information for the battle. In the meantime, he told us, we could commence with the battle.

"Two on two?" He questioned, which we agreed to with a nod. "Then I call out Machop and Makuhita!"

Use Ralts, Luma's voice filtered into my head and I nodded, glancing to find Luma and Phantom sitting on the sidelines beside each other.

"I'm using a Hoenn Pokémon," I told Doug as Brawly's Pokémon formed on the field out ahead of us. "Ralts, actually."

Doug's lips pressed together in a thin line. "I guess I should stop using overpowered Pokémon to finish these things quickly."

"Kinda defeats the purpose," I agreed, tossing out Ralts in front of me. The elegant, short Pokémon formed, her little white skirt swirling around her as she swayed back and forth.

"Fine." Doug grabbed a pokéball from his waist and tossed it out in front of him and the small, black canine-like Pokémon formed.

"Doug," I sighed. "Dark type do less damage against fighting type."

"Thank you, Ms. Eden. I am aware."

"He does this, Rowan, he thinks its fun." Phantom called to me from the sidelines. I glanced up to the side of Doug's face and found him grinning.

"Machop!" Brawly was immediately shouting orders as soon as both of our Pokémon were formed. "We are taking that Ralts out first, use Karate Chop. Makuhita! Tackle!"

"Ralts, dodge both attacks!" I ordered. "And then use Confusion!"

The Machop surged forward, his hand lifted and an impressive look of focus in his eyes. Ralts crouched slightly, watching the Machop closely. As soon as he was within striking distance of her, she crouched lower, missing the strike from his extended hand, and slid sideways. The Makuhita wasn't far behind the Machop. Though he was a short, round Pokémon, he moved with incredible agility.

"Poochyena," I heard Doug bark an order now. "Tackle on Makuhita. Knock him out of his stride."

In a black blur, Doug's Pokémon was across the field. He smashed into the fighting Pokémon and both of them went rolling off to the side. Ralts watched the two, making sure she was safe, before she finally stopped, planted her feet, and threw her arms out to her side. A melodic, high-pitched sound echoed from her and I could see light undulating through the air toward Makuhita. The attack nailed the round Pokémon, sending him sprawling a second time and giving Poochyena time to scramble to his feet and put distance between himself and the fighting type.

"Machop, follow up with a Low Kick. Again, on the Ralts. Makuhita, on your feet!"

Ralts spun to face the Machop, who was already responding to the order he had just received. She dodged expertly again, her skirt making her movements more graceful and mesmerizing. Poochyena was racing in their direction as Doug told him to intercede on Ralts behalf again.

The dog threw himself into Machop's knees. The fighting Pokémon was undeterred and instead used its attack on Doug's Pokémon. Poochyena yelped and fell to its side. After a moment though, he stood back up and shook his head.

"Ralts, Psychic, on the Machop this time."

"Makuhita, stop that attack. Machop, finish off the dog!"

Ralts attack was silenced before it was summoned as she had to dodge a strike from behind. Makuhita fell in front of her and tumbled slightly. It quickly bounded back up onto its feet though and spun to face her. Machop closed in on Poochyena, who seemed to still be regrouping himself. Doug ordered the dog to dodge, and he tried, but Machop's attack landed again.

I glanced up to Doug. He looked the same as always, stoic and unexpressive, but I had to assume he was aware his Pokémon was getting pummeled. Even if Poochyena took less damage from fighting types, he had taken a fair few strikes head on and he was a relatively untrained Pokémon.

I looked back to the field. Ralts was the powerhouse in this fight, she needed to get Machop out of the fight. He was Brawly's stronger Pokémon.

"Ralts, Teleport! Across the field!" I shouted, pointing in the direction I wanted her to go. She immediately reacted, her body shimmering as she faded from view. As she disappeared, Makuhita dove at her form in an attempt to stop her. She reappeared quite some distance from Makuhita, successfully buying herself some time to blast off a strong attack.

Machop was standing over Poochyena, landing another kick at Brawly's command. Doug was shouting orders to get Poochyena to his feet, but the young Pokémon was struggling. After another kick, the dog collapsed, his chest heaving and his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

I heard Doug swear, but he recalled his Pokémon with no further comment.

"You cannot summon another one," Brawly remarked smugly. "Ralts has to finish it or be finished."

"I know how battling works," Doug spat across the field.

"I assume you do, Champion," Brawly smiled brightly.

"Rowan, I have never needed you to win a battle so much before in my life," he growled in my ear.

"No pressure," I hissed back at him, shooting a glare up at the side of his face. "Ralts!" I shouted to her, deciding to ignore Doug for the moment. "Psychic on the Machop!" She could easily dodge the Makuhita, but the Machop would be an issue. While she had space, she needed to fire off a few attacks into him.

Both fighting Pokémon were facing her and heading in her direction. Ralts closed her eyes and waved her short arms in front of her face, a light barrier forming. As she concentrated harder, the barrier became more visible. Finally, she opened her eyes and one of her arms shot straight out in front of her. The barrier that had been formed flew away from her and across the field. It pummeled into Machop's chest and though the Pokémon was not thrown off his feet, he did fall to one knee.

"While he's catching his breath," I called to her again, shooting a look at Makuhita. The round little Pokémon wasn't quite in striking distance of mine. "Ralts, use Confusion again."

Ralts too looked at Makuhita and then pressed her hands together and brought them against her chest. For a moment, she looked as though she were praying, but when her eyes opened, they flashed with anger. A second psychic attack struck the Machop, causing him to drop to his hands and knees as he hadn't quite recovered from the first attack.

Makuhita rushed at my Pokémon. I tried to tell her to teleport, but as she began to shimmer, Makuhita landed a strike to her face, knocking her out of her concentration and causing her to stumble backwards. She shrieked and I heard Doug bark my name again.

"Doug, go stand with Luma and Phantom if you can't keep your mouth shut!" I turned and shouted at him. He took a step back and held his hands out defensively. I faced my Pokémon again. "Ralts, distance yourself. Don't worry about attacking right now."

Ralts picked up the front of her skirt and darted away from Makuhita. I knew with one more attack, she could knock Machop completely out of the fight. She slid to a stop, throwing a cautious look at Makuhita, who had doubled back and was chasing after her. She had a moment before he was near to her though.

Her eyes were back on Machop. "Ralts," I said, "another Confusion!"

The attack quickly fired off, knocking Machop fully onto his back. His chest was rising and falling steadily, but his eyes were closed. I was relieved when a red light formed around him and Brawly recalled him.

"Makuhita!" He was shouting. "Throw that thing out of here, Seismic Toss!"

Ralts threw herself backwards, successfully dodging Makuhita's grasp. However, she lost her footing and toppled backwards, squealing as she did so. Brawly called for his Pokémon to follow up with another attack and the round Pokémon landed a solid strike into Ralts' chest, causing her to be thrown quite some distance from the other Pokémon.

Another swear word emanated from Doug and I stood frozen, staring at my Pokémon. My hand was already on her pokéball, ready to recall her if need be. However, she had rolled over onto her hands and knees and was slowly pushing herself upright.

"I'll give you this," Brawly chuckled, "she's a fighter."

My eyes flicked to his face. The man was confident and wore a pleased grin across his mouth. I opted out of responding and instead looked back to my Pokémon.

"Makuhita, another hit should do it. Let's finish this."

As Makuhita started to barrel in her direction, Ralts forced herself upright and her eyes locked onto the Pokémon. She reached her arms up and a shrill call echoed across the field. Ralts was covered by a white light and I had to look away. I happened to glance to Luma, who appeared to be particularly proud.

As the light dimmed, I looked back across the field and found a taller, much more slender Pokémon. Ralts had evolved from an elegant, small Pokémon to a graceful, slim Pokémon; appearing more now like a ballet dancer.

Her eyes flicked from the Makuhita, who's movement had stopped from the blinding light, and to me. I smiled at her. "Finish this," I whispered.

Her head ever-so subtly nodded. She spun once on her elegantly poised legs and her arms shot out from her side. The psychic attack tore away from her and thrashed into Makuhita. The attack took him off his feet and flattened him out onto his back. The round Pokémon laid there, though his eyes were still opened.

After a moment, and to my surprise, he rolled to his side and pushed himself to his feet. He took on a readied stance as he waited for Brawly's next order. Again, surprising me, Brawly ordered him to attack my new Pokémon.

Her voice filtered into my brain, and though it wasn't as high as it had been when she was a Ralts, it was still calm and melodic. Do I still have your permission to end this fight?

Of course you do, I thought back to her.

My psychic Pokémon let Makuhita get in her immediate area. She summoned a light barrier in front of her, similar to her first Psychic attack, but released it directly into Makuhita's face. The fighting Pokémon absorbed it completely and its unconscious form was flung away from her. It slammed into the dirt and continued to slide across the ground. It came to a rest near Doug and I, outside the fighting arena.

"Holy shit," Doug whispered.

My Pokémon, whose name I still didn't know, moved gracefully to my side. It almost looked like she was floating above the ground as she pranced across the space.

Kirlia. Her voice sounded in my mind again.

"What?" I looked down at her.

I am called a Kirlia. Her eyes narrowed in a smile as she told me. But you could call me Kira?

I returned the happy expression. "I can call you that."

Thank you.

"Well fought." Brawly was in front of Doug and I and when he spoke it caused me to jump. "I was sure I had that, but you proved me wrong."

"It was a good battle," I agreed.

"Here's the Knuckle Badge, one for both of you." I reached out and took both of the small pieces of metal from him.

"Thank you."

"You should get some rest, the Pokémon Center has some great rooms here on Dewford," Brawly quickly dismissed us with a stiff nod of his head. "Thank you for the battle."

He disappeared back in the direction of his home with his final comment. I turned to face Doug, holding up one of the badges. "Do you think you deserve this?" I asked him, cocking my head to the side as I stared up at him.

"I get it Rowan, I battled like an idiot."

"Oh, I am not worried about that. I just thought you were an ass to me."

"Yea, I am an ass and an idiot."

I smiled at him, holding the badge up to him. "Say thank you."

He grabbed it from me as he leaned down to put his face near mine. "Thank you, Rowan," he growled at me before brushing past me and heading away from the arena. I laughed as I followed after him, waving for Luma and Kira to follow.


By the time we got into the Pokémon Center, night had fallen. The center had been easy to find, as the sign over the door was brightly lit and illuminated the loose, stone path that led up to its doors. Doug and I entered, handed over our Pokémon, and asked about getting rooms.

They apologized, they only had one room left.

Doug and I told them that was fine.

And so, I sat on the bed in the room, nervously playing with the hem of my shirt as I waited for Doug to come out of the bathroom.

Are you seriously thinking about the fact that you think your bed clothes are inappropriate? Luma jumped up on the bed beside me, her eyes rolling.

"Shut up," I hissed at her.

Naked would be inappropriate, shorts and a tank top is a tease.

"I swear to Mew, Luma, if you don't stop, you're gonna sleep out on the beach."

"What's she doing?"

Doug walked out of the bathroom and my eyes were immediately on him. He wore a white t-shirt and a pair of shorts. He walked to his belongings stacked on a desk chair in the room and threw the pants he had been wearing over his bags.

"Nothing," I squeaked. "Done in the bathroom?"

"Yup." He turned away from me and seemed to be looking through his bags. I hopped off the bed and hurried into the bathroom. I changed and brushed my teeth. I briefly began to worry about needing to shower and freshen up, then Luma's voice sounded in my head.

If you're planning to have sex with him, then I would like to go out onto the beach.

I threw the bathroom door open and stomped out into the room. Luma was perched on the end of the bed and she was smiling happily up at me as I stopped in front of her. "Luma," I snapped at her. "Stop."

"You good?"

Doug was now seated on the small sofa in the room, holding a small contraption in his hands. He was staring at me though, instead of at it.

"Tell him what we are talking about, Rowan."

"Luma apparently wants to sleep out on the beach," I spat at my Pokémon.

"Tell him why."

"Why?" Doug asked.

"Well, I don't know about you, but today really took a lot out of me," I ignored him and climbed onto the bed, deliberately jostling Luma as much as possible as I did. She hissed and I felt her paw slap my butt as I passed her. As I settled at the head of the bed, she resettled herself facing me and glaring. I glanced over at Doug, he was playing with the contraption again. "Whatcha got?" I asked him.

He looked up again, lifting the item as he did so. "It's my old Pokédex," he told me. "I was wondering if I could finagle it so it would work for Hoenn Pokémon."

"And?"

"No luck so far."

"Well, try tomorrow. We are gonna have a lot of time to kill on the ferry."

"Yeah, probably." He dropped it to the floor and stretched his arms over his head, yawning as he did so. "I guess we do gotta be up early." He then kicked his feet up onto the sofa, with his knees bent because he was too tall to lay across the piece of furniture.

I furrowed my brow. "What are you doing?"

"Sleeping," he mumbled.

"On that?"

"Well, Rowan, you are in the bed."

"It's a queen-sized bed, Doug."

"Okay."

"We will both fit on it," I told him.

He slowly straightened up, staring pensively at me. "You're inviting me to sleep with you?"

"Emphasis on sleep. Just sleep."

A smile tugged at the corner of Doug's mouth as he stood up and sauntered across the room. It caught me by surprise when he suddenly grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it off over his head.

"Emphasis on sleep, Doug!" I squealed again.

His expression immediately became deadpan as he pulled the blankets down and sat down on the bed. "I am gonna get way too hot fully dressed under blankets, Rowan, calm down."

He flopped on his back and dropped the blankets over his chest. I quickly threw myself onto my left side and away from him so that I was facing the wall.

"Consider yourself lucky," I heard him mumble, "normally I sleep naked."

I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my lips together.

"Consider yourself unlucky," Luma spoke, "normally she does too."