"Hurry up. I want to see this." Ichigo said as he and his friends were moving as fast as they could.

"We're coming, Ichigo. Don't be an impatient kid." Rukia said. They entered a small stadium for there was a big battle going on. They made it just in time to see a battle going on. It was a double battle with one trainer using a male Jellicent and Clawitzer. Another was using an Arcanine and Talonflame.

"Good. We didn't miss it." Ichigo said.

"I almost can't believe it." Orihime said as she looked down at the trainer using the fire-type pokemon. He had shaggy dark hair with baggy black pants. He also had a piece of black armor over his right arm. "It's really one of the Elite Four: Shusuke Amagai."

Pokemon

No time to question my moves

I stick to the path that I choose

Me and my friends are gonna do it right

You'll never see us runaway from a fight

To be a master is my dream

All I have to do is believe

(I believe)

I'm on a master quest

(Master quest)

I'm on my way to victory

I can be a champion if I just believe

I'm on a master quest

(Master quest)

I want the whole world to see

(I believe)

I'm gonna be the very best

Cause all I have to do is believe in me

Pokemon!

(Ichigo's voice) Burns of Passion

Our heroes continue towards Bountful City for Ichigo's upcoming gym battle against Koga. For now, they've made a small stop to see Shusuke Amagai, one of the Elite Four, in an actual battle.

"It is impressive that we're seeing another one of the Elite Four, but he's in a tough situation." Rukia said. "His specialty is with fire-type pokemon. His opponent is using water-type pokemon."

"I doubt that would stop one of the Elite Four." Chad said.

"Jellicent, Hydro Pump! Clawitzer, Water Pulse!" The opponent said. Both of his pokemon used their respective attacks, and they looked like powerful ones as well.

"Arcanine, Extreme Speed! Talonflame, Sky Attack!" Shusuke said. Both of his pokemon used their attacks and were able to avoid the water attacks. The two of them charged at the opponent and crashed into them with them dealing great damage. "Now, both of you use Fire Blast! Let's end this!"

"Rar!"

"Talonflame!" Both of his pokemon launched an intense blast of fire that spread in five directions. Their attacks blasted both opponents. The intense heat was too much for the two water-types and took them both down.

"Jellicent and Clawitzer are both unable to battle! Victory goes to Shusuke!" The referee claimed with the audience cheering for him.

"Incredible. The type advantage was against him, but he was still able to pull off a win." Ichigo said.

"He's not one of the Elite Four for nothing." Rukia said. Once the battle was over, people were lined up for an autograph session. Might be the boring part, but he is a celebrity. Ichigo and his friends got in line to talk to him. When it was their turn, they were glad to meet him.

"Hi. Who do I make this out to?" Shusuke asked.

"I'm Ichigo, and this is my Absol."

"Absol."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Amagai." Orihime said. "We met another one of the Elite Four. It was Kariya. He was just as strong as you." That bit of information was what caught Shusuke's interest.

"You met Kariya?" Shusuke questioned.

"Yeah, a while back." Rukia said.

"Interesting. It's rare to meet someone who has met another one of the Elite Four." Shusuke said. He took an interest in them and soon felt like he saw Ichigo before. "Wait a minute. I've seen your face."

"Huh?" Ichigo questioned.

"Yeah! You competed in the Johto League, as well as the Unova League!" Shusuke said. Seeing as how the line was being held up, he asked Ichigo and his friends to step to the side so he could continue. "Listen, when I'm done here, how about you and your friends come by the cabin I'm staying at."

"Seriously?!" Ichigo said as he couldn't believe he actually invited them.

"Of course. We can talk all we like there." Shusuke said as he continued with the autographs. It was an offer that they just couldn't refuse.

...

Shusuke's Cabin

When Shusuke was all done, he took them back to his lakeside cabin. It was a pretty nice place. A perfect place for a little rest and relaxation.

"Make yourselves at home." Shusuke said as he allowed them all in.

"Thank you." They all said as they all were impressed with his cabin. Shusuke stepped out on the terrace and took out two of his pokeballs.

"Come on out, Arcanine and Talonflame." Shusuke said as he let out both of his pokemon. "Go on. Both of you take some time to rest and relax." Both of his pokemon went off and rested by the lake. "After a long day, those two deserve a little rest."

"So, what did you want to talk to us about?" Ichigo said. "You said you saw me compete in the Johto League and the Unova League."

"Yes, at least I did on television." Shusuke said. "I was quite impressed with how you battled. You stayed calm and relax, but there was a strong passion in your eyes. I could see it even if it was from just the screen. From what I could tell, you're a pretty good trainer. You pokemon obviously have a lot of trust in you."

"Thanks." Ichigo said.

"So, you met Kariya before, is that right?" Shusuke said as they all had a seat.

"We did." Orihime said. "I mentioned how my Swanna was struggling to learn Brave Bird. He was kind enough to show me how it was done."

"The other two of the Elite Four are name Muramasa and Kagerosa, right?" Rukia said.

"That's right. Muramasa's specialty is with psychic-types. Kageroza's specialty is with dragon-types." Shusuke said. "I take it that you plan on entering the Kalos League, Ichigo?" Ichigo nodded his head to confirm it. "I'm sure it will be an interesting battle, and if you manage to win, you'll be able to challenge the four of us to battle in the Champion League."

"And if Ichigo beats all four of you, he has the right to challenge the champion: Kisuke Urahahra." Rukia said.

"Correct." Shusuke said.

"You can count that I will get there." Ichigo said. As all of them were just talking, Orihime spotted a photo of a young boy with a pokemon.

"Shusuke, who is that in the photo?" Orihime asked as she pointed towards it.

"That's actually me from when I was younger." Shusuke said. "The pokemon I'm with in the photo is my Magby. Magby was the very first pokemon I had."

"Really? I bet it's a powerful Magmar or Magmortar now." Rukia said, but Shusuke looked like there was something bothering him.

"Rar! Rar!" Before they could talk anymore about it, they heard his Arcanine barking for some help.

"Arcanine?" Shusuke said as they all hurried out to see what the problem was. They all ran out, but they saw an Amoongus was there. It looked like it was trying to pick a fight with Talonflame.

"Who's that pokemon?" Orihime asked.

"That's an Amoongus? It doesn't look like a happy one either." Rukia said.

"Is it trying to pick a battle with Talonflame?" Chad said.

"Sometimes wild pokemon come around here and try to bother my pokemon." Shusuke said.

"Amoongus!" Amoongus used Bullet Seed to try and attack Talonflame, but Talonflame flew up and avoided it. Talonflame went at Amoongus, but Amoongus used Poison Powder next and it hit Talonflame.

"Talonflame!" Shusuke called in concern. Talonflame fell to the ground and didn't look good. "Arcanine, scare Amoongus away!" Arcanine breathed out some flames and shot them dangerously close to Amoongus. That was enough to scare Amoongus away. All of them gathered around Talonflame, but Talonflame appeared to be in bad shape. "This isn't good. Talonflame's poisoned, but there's no Pokemon Center near by."

"Oh no. Poor Talonflame." Orihime said.

"Do any of you have an antidote?" Shusuke asked.

"I'm afraid not." Ichigo said. Shusuke tried to figure out what to do, but there was only one option as he looked towards a mountain.

"Arcanine, stay here with Talonflame." Shusuke said.

"Do you have an idea?" Chad asked.

"There are some pecha berries on that mountain that we can use." Shusuke said. "The problem is that there's a nest of Ariados that claimed that part of the mountain as their territory. They don't like anyone going in there. I'll have to force my way through to get Talonflame those berries."

"I don't think it's a good idea for us to go alone." Rukia said. "Let us go with you to help you out."

"It could be dangerous, but if you really think you can handle it, I won't stop you." Shusuke said as he accepted their offer.

...

The Mountain

Shusuke and the rest of them hurried as fast as they could to get those berries from the mountain. They hurried their way up and kept their eyes open for any Ariados.

"Shusuke, how much further?!" Ichigo said.

"Shouldn't be too much further." Shusuke said as they kept running. He led the way until he spotted something reflecting the sunlight. He had them all stop and moved carefully. They looked through some plants and could see a nest with many Ariados around. "There they are."

"That's the nest? Where are the berries?" Orihime asked.

"I see them." Rukia said. They looked ahead and spotted the berries just beyond the nest. "The pecha berries are just beyond this web. We just need to figure out a way around those Ariados and we're home free."

"But how are we going to do that?" Ichigo questioned.

"We've got to try something." Shusuke said as he was getting a little fired up. "I won't let it happen. Those are my pokemon."

"Shusuke, what's going on with you?" Rukia asked. He realized what he was doing and tried to calm down.

"Sorry. I guess there's something you should know before we go out there." Shusuke said. "It's about that Magby I told you about. When I was little, I was really passionate about battling. Magby and I battled together, but we soon suffer our first loss."

...

Flashback

After a crushing defeat from when he was just a kid, Shusuke was in tears about it. He walked down the street with Magby following and trying to cheer him up.

"Magby..."

"Shut it!" Shusuke shouted at Magby. "If you would have evolved, we could have won that battle! What good is a pokemon that can't evolve?!" He just ran off and left poor Magby there.

"It was the first time I lost a battle and I blamed Magby for it. As soon as I cooled down, I realized what I said, I felt terrible and went looking for Magby." Shusuke searched all around town and tried finding Magby, but never found Magby anywhere. Losing Magby was even worse than losing that battle.

End of Flashback

...

"I blamed my friend and never found it to apologize." Shusuke said. "I guess Magby is the reason I got so invested in fire-types. After that, I did everything I could to take care of my pokemon to make sure I wouldn't make the same mistake. That's why we've got to get those pecha berries for Talonflame."

"I get it." Ichigo said as he petted Absol. "If I ever lost Absol, I wouldn't know what to do."

"Absol."

"We'll do everything we can to help you." Orihime said.

"Thank you." Shusuke said. "I just need you to keep them distracted while I go for the berries."

"We can do that." Ichigo said. The Ariados weren't aware of what was going on until the attacks started. "Absol, Razor Wind!"

"Hawlucha, Giga Impact!" Chad said. They both used their pokemon and attacked all of the pokemon, but the Ariados fought back.

"Go, Shusuke!" Ichigo said. Shusuke ran for it. He forced his way through as he headed straight for the berries. Ichigo and his friends did their best to hold off the bug pokemon. Shusuke made it to the berries and it seemed like they made it, but an Ariados attacked him at the last minute. It used Spider Web and pinned him to the ground.

"Shusuke!" Orihime called as they were all worried about what might happen to him. The Ariados went to attack him, but he was actually saved. A powerful flame came out of nowhere and blasted the Ariados and burned through the web. All of them got taken out in one hit and were burned down.

"What was that?" Chad questioned.

"Where did that fire attack come from?" Rukia said.

"Mortar." All of them looked and were surprised to see a Magmortar.

"A Magmortar? Where did that thing come from?" Ichigo questioned. Shusuke took a look at Magmortar. He saw right into its eyes and felt a familiar sensation.

"Are you...?" Shusuke said as he stood up. Magmortar walked over to Shusuke with it holding out its hand. Magmortar looked happy to see Shusuke. "Magby! You're the same Magby! My Magby!" He could see he was right. That Magmortar was the same Magby from before. He was so happy to see his old friend that he hugged it tight. "I was beginning to think I never see you again! I'm so sorry for what happened all those years ago!"

"That's the same Magby he told us about?" Rukia said.

"It looks like it. I guess it felt bad about letting Shusuke down and spent all these years training." Ichigo said. "I guess it never forgot the connection it had with Shusuke."

"Magmortar must have been as passionate about battling as Shusuke. It didn't want to let Shusuke down again." Rukia said. Two old friends were together again.

...

Shusuke's Cabin

They gathered all the berries they needed for Talonflame. Once they got back, they fed Talonflame the berries and was feeling much better. Once Talonflame felt better, and Magmortar back with it's old partner, Ichigo and his friends were getting ready to go.

"It was nice meeting all of you." Shusuke said. "It's great having Magmortar back."

"We're glad you have your old partner back." Ichigo said. "You can expect me winning the Kalos League and battling you."

"I'll be waiting. Good luck to all of you." Shusuke said and they all parted ways.

The bond between pokemon and trainer can be a hard bond to break, but no matter how many years they're apart, their bond can be as strong as ever. Now, our heroes are continuing on their journey, but they're about to have a surprise.

They were only about a half mile away from Shusuke's cabin and close to Bountful City until something happened.

"Gliscore!" They all looked up to see a surprise. A Gliscore came down and got in the way of their path. Gliscore smirked as it looked like it had business to settle with them.

To Be Continued...

Pokemon Question: Okay, folks. The answer to the last question was...Roserade. Roserade hides vines in its flowers and are a part of its body. Here's the next question: What pokemon can run at 150mph and can also be very competitive?