Justin woke up after someone tapping him on the shoulder for about 10 minutes. Blitz became worried after that, and Zeus decided to send a little shock to wake up Justin. He almost fell off the bed, and after seeing Blitz's worried look, he understood what was going on here. Then he heard banging on his door. "Who is it?"

"Justin, hurry up! We want to get to Glazeburn City in the next week, you know!" Justin opened the door to see his friends. He tiredly looked at them, then said, "Slow down, guys! What's the rush? We've got a whole year to explore Jiman! How about today we just train once you've done your gym battles? Then we'll hit the road again tomorrow!"

Diana and Anthony had the biggest "oops" face on. "That's right!" Diana said. "We completely forgot our gym battles!"

Justin decided now was the time to get cocky. "Aren't you glad you had me around?"

Diana almost facepalmed. "Let's just go to the gym, OK?"

Justin turned to his team. "Who's coming for the walk?" All of them jumped for joy. Well all right then. Oh yeah, I should introduce Zeus. "Hey guys," he said as he turned to Shawn, "I'd like you to meet Zeus." Zeus hopped on his shoulder. "What!? Where'd you get a Pikachu? Did you go into the forest on your own?" Justin just whistled, he had intended on making them jealous.

He hadn't known that Diana would be the most jealous of all. "Why would you do that? I thought we were friends, and that we'd all experience the journey together at the same time! We are friends, right?" She asked with a worried look.

"Of course we are. I'm sorry. I didn't think going into the forest in the middle of the night counted as experiencing something on my own. Besides, I'm gonna be honest here and say that I really wanted to get a Pikachu before you guys did. Not to make you jealous, although that was a small part of it, but mainly because I wanted to get a Pikachu, and I don't regret doing it because I met Zeus." Zeus squeaked in delight at Justin's words.

Shawn stepped in. "I understand, Justin. But next time, don't go off on your own, OK?" Justin smiled and nodded, glad the conflict had ceased.

"Ok kiddies, you ready for this?" Diana stepped up to the plate and nodded, a look of determination crossing over her features. Zeus, Nightcrawler, and Blitz were already out and cheering. Justin knew that they were both gonna win.

Now Diana remembered that he had Gastly and Litwick. She could only hope that he'd send out Gastly, because she knew Anthony's Turtwig wouldn't do too well against Litwick.

Darius smiled as Litwick appeared on the field. She didn't expect this to be easy, he was still a gym leader, but at least Anthony's battle wouldn't be as difficult. Piplup appeared in a flash of light, the prideful creature ready for battle.

While Shawn focused solely on Diana, drooling a bit at times, Justin actually focused on the battle.

"Ok, Piplup, let's start off strong!" Piplup nodded in agreement. "Hydro Pump!" Piplup let loose a massive blast of water at Litwick. While not as large as water spout, it moved much faster.

"Didn't you learn from your friend's mistake? Heat Wave!"

Litwick drew up its power, but before it could release its attack, Hydro Pump was upon it.

Litwick stood no chance. Without Heat Wave to decrease the effects of it, Hydro Pump instantly took it out.

Diana was shocked. She hadn't expected it to be that easy. She heard her friends and their Pokemon congratulating her, and it made her victory feel even better. She walked over to Darius, who was just as shocked as she was. He handed her the badge and the TM. She happily walked over to her friends, who were still shouting congratulations.

"Thanks, guys! I get it, I kicked butt, but it's not that big a deal. Who knows? Maybe I'm the best of us."

"I'd think Zeus has something to say about that." Zeus, who had taken a position on Justin's shoulder, nodded as electricity sparked in his cheek pouches.

Diana gulped. "Or not!"

"My turn, guys!" Anthony was ready to show what he could really do.

As he predicted, Darius released Gastly. He was ready. Turtwig appeared on the field, ready for battle.

"Seed Bomb," he said. He had a move ready, but he wasn't quite ready to use it. He wanted to really test what Gastly was capable of, considering Justin hadn't given him much of a chance to. Turtwig sprouted two seeds from the leaf on its back, and threw them at Gastly, who flew around the first one but got nailed by the second.

"Sludge Bomb," Darius said. He felt like scaring the kid a bit.

"Withdraw!" Turtwig quickly retreated into its shell, making sure to keep safe from the sludge.

As Gastly approached, Turtwig emerged from its shell. Anthony grinned. "Bite!" Turtwig's jaw became encased in dark energies, and it bit directly through Gastly, who cried out in pain. Gastly barely had time to reform itself before Anthony made his next move. "One more time!" Turtwig bit Gastly just as it reformed, and it reformed in front of Darius. It didn't get back up.

"Nice one kid. Here you go." He handed Anthony the badge and the TM. "Thank you sir." Darius just nodded and said, "All right, now git outta here before I sick Chandelure on you." Anthony's eyes widened in fear, and he nodded as they all walked out, but before that, Justin turned around and gave Darius a thumbs up. Darius returned the gesture.

"I already told you guys, it was like 3 o'clock in the morning! How do you expect me to remember anything? Besides, even if I did, it wouldn't help us get to Glazeburn City."

"Then WHY don't you release Zeus? He should know his way around!"

Justin released Zeus, tired of arguing with Shawn. "Hey buddy, can you get us to Glazeburn City?" Zeus nodded, and started walking, so they followed.

Justin and Zeus got into a few battles, Zeus coming out on top in all of them. But now it was time to set up camp.

"Hey buddy, we're stopping for the night. You might miraculously be energized, but we need to sleep." Zeus nodded and motioned for them to follow him. Justin started walking, calling out with "He's gonna show us a good camp site. They quickly followed Zeus to what had to be the most beautiful lake he'd ever seen. "Whoa, this is amazing. Thanks, buddy!" Zeus puffed out his chest in pride, although it really just succeeded in looking silly. Justin chuckled at it and collected their water bottles, walking to the lake and filling them up. He looked up from his crouching state to see something halfway through the lake.

It was small, but brilliant. Its head was shaped like and arrow with a magnificent shade of Blue, and was barely smaller than its torso. But what really amazed Justin were its tails. There were two of them, and they seemed to end in a crown like shape, with a beautiful red gem in the middle.

When it noticed Justin had seen it, it waved and dived into the lake. There was something about it that seemed so familiar. He finished filling their bottles, then scrambled for his Pokedex before finding it.

Azelf, the Willpower Pokemon. He knew he'd seen it before. It was said to have given humanity the gift of strong wills. He fondly thought back to when he had first seen it.

It was on a trip with his mom and the professor, to the Sinnoh region. They were at Valor Cavern, a cavern that the professor had said to have some sort of mystical Pokemon living in it. The professor told him that the same mystical Pokemon didn't want wild Pokemon attacking humans, so they'd be completely safe.

Curious as he was, Justin went through the cave on his own, making sure to never stray too far or forget his way back. He discovered a small door, too small for most adults, but if he crawled he could fit through it. After crawling through the hole, he ended up in a large room, filled with shallow puddles of water in a confusing pattern. It felt strange, it was as if there was a pressure weighing down on his mind. It didn't deter him though, only made him want to keep going.

Somehow, the room was completely lit. He didn't question it. If there was a Mystical Pokemon living here, it was the reason. He was the top student at his school for a reason.

He looked around before settling his gaze upon something in the middle of the room. It was about a quarter of his height, and it seemed surprised that he found it. Then, it smiled and waved as he walked towards it. He smiled and waved back, and said, "Hey little fella!"

The mysterious Pokemon squealed happily, and Justin laughed as it flew around him multiple times in a rather funny pattern.

"So have you got a name?" The Pokemon's eyes glowed, and Justin heard the voice of what sounded like a young boy in his mind.

My name is Azelf, giver of willpower to your kind, and second of the lake spirits of Sinnoh. And yours?

"My name is Justin! It's nice to meet you! You sound awfully important."

Well, that would make sense, considering that without my assistance your race would be weak and afraid of their own shadows. It has been a pleasure to speak with you; not many humans managed to find me here. However, I think you should return to your family and mentor.

"Good point, I don't want them worrying about me too much. Should I tell them about you?" He felt it necessary to ask, as a legendary Pokemon like Azelf deserved his respect.

No. I fear that your mentor might "spill my secret", as you humans call it. However, you should retain your memories of this. Not many meet me, or a legend at all. You've been very lucky with this.

"Okay, Azelf. I won't forget this. You can count on it." Azelf nodded, and he crawled back through the hole.

"Ah, there you are, Justin! We were worried! Tell me, where were you?"

"I was just looking around is all. I found this little hole that led to a couple of Geodude. I didn't want to disturb them."

"Ah, I see. Very well then. Let's continue on our way back home. We've got to get back to Jiman in time for your dad, don't we?" Justin nodded.

What he wanted to know was why Azelf was here. After all, it seemed content in its cave. Maybe someone else with a big mouth discovered him? From its voice, Justin decided to treat Azelf as male.

That's correct. My cave was disturbed by a human who thought my location would make a good scoop on the news. By the way, you can respond to me with your thoughts.

Are you gonna stay at this lake now?

No, I actually plan on seeing how your journey turns out. You have intrigued me from the start, Justin. From the moment I met you, I felt an air of power that proved to me you'll become a great Pokemon trainer.

Thanks, Azelf. It means a lot to hear that from a legend.

Very well. If ever you need advice or just feel like speaking to me, just think my name and I will respond.

If you say so. I'm glad to have you as a friend and hopefully someday, as an ally.

I'll be looking forward to it. But now, your companions call for you.

Ok.

"Justin, what are you doing?"

Justin closed his Pokedex and looked up to see Anthony. "We'd like our water sometime this century!"

"Sorry, Anthony. Just thinking about an old friend," he said as he looked at the lake and smiled.