The Great Reckoning

by Hellfighter98

A young trainer has been dealt a stinging defeat when he was on the cusp of victory, and some of his friends have had enough. Joined only by the few who stayed loyal to him and his Pokemon, he sets out to prove to his detractors how wrong they were. OC x Harem. Based off of JTZ29's works, I highly recommend reading him if you like this story.

3. Chapter 2: The Battle Lines are Drawn

Onwards with Chapter 2
Cynthia (19)
Hilda (15)
Dawn (16)
Rosa (15)
Leaf (16)
Lucas (16)
Barry (16)
"thoughts"
"Regular Speech"
Attack
"telepathic speech"
Chapter 2: The Battle Lines are Drawn

"Damn it all! Why?!" These questions had been bouncing around Andrew's head for hours now. Meanwhile, two Pokemon looked at their trainer worriedly: Torterra, and a small purple scorpion. For hours, Andrew had played the battle in his head, trying to figure out what did him in, and it was driving him nuts. Torterra walked over and nudged his master's side gently, shaking him out of his stupor. Andrew saw the worried look in Torterra's and Skorupi's eyes and sighed, "Maybe you two are right, I need some air." Skorupi skittered onto Andrew's shoulder and the three set out to explore the ship.

A couple of hours later and the trio made it back to their room, and in much higher spirits. It seemed that all Andrew needed to do was clear his head, as he felt much better and was ready to put the loss behind him. "Just think you two, by this time tomorrow we'll be home" Andrew said, causing the two Pokemon to perk up. "Don't worry you guys, I'll be fine, we're gonna win the next one, I can feel it in my bones. Also Torterra, I think you did phenomenal against Regice, taking on a Legendary is no easy feat, especially with a type mismatch like the one you had." Torterra smiled from the praise and nuzzled his master affectionately, earning a laugh from the trainer. "With that said - who could be calling me?" asked Andrew quizzically. He answered the call and, to his surprise, he saw none other than the champion of his home region, Cynthia.

"Cynthia? What a surprise." Andrew stated, the surprise evident in his voice. "What, I can't call my friend to check up on him?" she said, feigning hurt. "Of course you can!" said Andrew, a little loudly, quickly sitting back down with a small blush on his face from embarrassment, which the blonde female noticed, eliciting a giggle. "Well I just wanted to say well done on your performance in the Silver League." At the mention of his loss, Andrew's face darkened a bit, but a nuzzle from Torterra quickly brought back his bright smile. "You doing alright Andrew? You seem a bit upset." asked the blonde woman. Andrew sighed, "I've seen better days". "Well I think you did fantastic against Tobias, you saw how hard I had to fight to beat him back in Sinnoh." "Yeah I guess so", said the boy, a blush appearing on his face from the praise. "Andrew, believe me when I say I see potential in you, potential to become one of the best, hell, you might take the title of Sinnoh champion away from me someday if you work hard enough." "You really think that?" Andrew asked, to which Cynthia responded with a nod.

This brought a genuine smile to his face, "Thanks a bunch Cynth, you just made my day, I'd give you an Ursaring hug right now if I could". "Wouldn't mind that, wait WHAT?" thought the champion, who was interrupted by the sound of a foghorn. "Sorry Cynth, I gotta go, Torterra return, c'mon Skorupi, Pallet Town's a'waitin; bye Cynthia!" Andrew smiled brightly at the blonde champion and ended the call, leaving a stunned Cynthia with a light shade of pink on her cheeks.

As Andrew charged down the gangway, he ran into someone. "Watch where you're going dude! What the hell!" barked a girl who was headed for a ferry bound for Unova. Just as Andrew was about to snap back, he took a moment to take her in, and did he like what he saw. A 5'5 girl with long brown hair under a baseball cap. She had a white shirt underneath a black vest and a pair of cut-off jean shorts. She had piercing blue eyes and long slender legs that Andrew could stare at for hours on end.

Andrew had to admit he would be drooling right now had they met under friendlier circumstances, but was quickly shaken from his stupor when the girl snapped her fingers in his face, "You listening to me asswipe?" "Deepest apologies miss, that was my fault; how about I propose a way I can make it up to you" said Andrew, noticing the Pokeballs on her waist. "You're damn right it's your fault, but I'll hear you out, but I'm on a tight schedule so make it snappy." "How about the next time we meet, we have a battle, and by the way, the name's Andrew", he said, sticking out his hand. The girl pondered for a second and calmed down, shaking his hand. "Alright Andrew, you got a deal, and the name's Hilda"; for some reason, she couldn't stay mad at this particular boy, if it were someone like her friend Hilbert, things would have been different. To only confuse her further, she swore she felt electricity course through her upon making contact with this boy, "Well he is kinda cute, wait WHAT!?" thought Hilda, "I gotta go, see ya soon Hilda!" Andrew said as he took off, leaving behind a blushing brunette.

After a while, Andrew could see Pallet Town, "There it is buddy, Mrs. Ketchum awaits", "Skorup, skor" agreed Skorupi. Andrew then grinned and set down the scorpion, much to the Pokemon's confusion, "Skor?" "Hey Skorupi, what do ya say about a race?" The scorpion simply responded by taking off, "Hey! I didn't say 'Go'!" Andrew yelled, taking off after the little Poison type, laughing all the way. Andrew eventually reached the Ketchum residence to see Skorupi with a shit-eating grin on his face. "No fair!" Andrew said, but he couldn't help but laugh, it was all in good humor. Skorupi climbed back onto Andrew's shoulder as he walked up the flower lined path. Reaching for the doorknob, that gut feeling returned, telling him sometthing was about to happen, but Andrew quickly shook it off. "Into the breach" thought Andrew as he opened to door and the lights flashed on.

"SURPRISE!" yelled his friends, causing Andrew to stumble back in surprise. He quickly regained his footing and smiled warmly at them, "Thanks guys, you know just what to do to cheer me up." As the hours ticked by, stories were shared and laughs were had, but Andrew couldn't shake the feeling he had earlier, and why the hell was he getting guilty vibes off some of his friends. "Something's up" he thought. Meanwhile, Misty was talking to Lucas, "It's now or never" sighed the redhead. "I suppose so" Lucas said reluctantly. Lucas went over to Delia, "Hey Mrs. Ketchum we're out of drinks, could you go and get some?" "Of course I can Lucas and I've told you to call me Delia." Lucas took this as his cue, "H-Hey Andrew, can we talk?" "Sure we can my guy", said Andrew cheerfully as he sat down, noticing his friends and rivals gather around him. "So Lucas, what's on your mind?" "Well, we've been talking and- oh fuck this I can't do this!"

Andrew looked confused, "What do you mean Lucas?" Andrew was starting to feel uneasy. "Andrew, they want you to quit your dream but I just can't do it! You're like a brother to me, I can't turn my back on you!" "Wait, what are you-" "Oh for Arceus' sake Andrew" interjected Brendan, "From one trainer to another, give up your dream of being on top!" It took a moment for it to sink in, but when it did, Andrew was livid. "And who the hell are you to tell me that asshole, this has been my dream since the beginning." "You've been in every single league we know of and haven't won a single one that's official" said Max. "Look who's fucking talking, you didn't even make it past the first round in the Hoenn League pipsqueak!" barked Andrew. Some people took a step back, they never knew Andrew could be so vitriolic.

Andrew was about to rant further but he noticed something. Lucas, Dawn, Rosa, Leaf, and Barry all had guilty looks on their faces, the girls even looked like they were about to start crying. To verify, Andrew used what limited Aura powers he had to check their emotions and sure enough, guilt and sadness radiated off them, while the others had an aura of malice. With this knowledge, Andrew stood up and looked the traitors dead in the eye, before making his way over the group of five friends he decided to give a chance. He whispered to them, "Meet me at the Oak lab in ten minutes." With that, Andrew looked at his Skorupi, who was enraged beyond belief, he looked like he was about to jump on the nearest traitor and stab them with his tail until they stopped moving, and said "Come on Skorupi, let's get the others, we got some training to do and some people to prove wrong." Skorupi looked at the traitors, and raised his tail, hissing threateningly, and skittered onto his master's shoulder. Andrew looked at the traitors, pointed at them, and said "Next time we meet you will learn to FEAR me and my power." With that, he slammed the door and stormed over to the lab, stopping underneath a large tree nearby to wait for the others.

As the group of five made their way to the lab, one thought rang through their mind, "What does Andrew have in store for us?" They saw the blonde-haired boy underneath a large tree waiting for them and he was - smiling? "S-so Andrew, w-what do you w-want with us?" asked a nervous Rosa. Andrew said nothing, instead he moved forward and proceeded to embrace each of them in a massive hug. "W-wait, you're not m-mad at us?" Leaf asked. "No I am not, I noticed the looks on your faces and even checked your Auras, I saw nothing but guilt, that you all still had faith in me." The girls were brought to tears, while Lucas and Barry sighed, relieved that Andrew wasn't about to tear their faces off. But Andrew wasn't done, he had to confirm a sneaking suspicion he had been having for a while now, "But I have to ask, why you guys?"

At this, the girls blushed heavily. "W-w-well Andrew the truth is", Dawn said, grinding her foot into the grass, "w-we three h-have feelings for you." Leaf and Rosa simply nodded, their faces a deep shade of red. "As I suspected" remarked Andrew, earning a confused look from everyone. "What? I ain't as dumb as I look when it comes to romance, I saw the signals you three sent my way. However, I felt that I wasn't ready for a relationship, that it would get in the way, but now, I think otherwise." Andrew continued by walking up to each girl and giving them a quick peck on the lips, first Dawn, then Rosa, the Leaf, causing all three to nearly faint. Andrew continued, "I may not have expressed it, but to be honest, each of you caught my eye the minute I saw you, I am deeply sorry for making you hold back your feelings for so long, but know that your actions today have only made me love you three even more."

Lucas and Barry looked on in amusement, Andrew had shared this secret with them, that he had feelings for all three of them and that it worried him a little. Then Andrew realized something, "Hold on a second, how am I going to make this work, I have feelings for all three of you, damn I didn't think this through." At this the girls looked at each other and giggled, Lucas and Barry looked on curiously, they knew something the guys didn't apparently.

"Well Andrew", Rosa said, grinning, "you're in luck because we have a solution." This piqued Andrew's interest, "Alright, let's hear it." "Well it all started back at Johto", said the brunette.

Flashback, 1 Day Before Andrew's Battle with Tobias

The three girls sat in their hotel room in Johto. All three had come to show Andrew their support, as well as something else. Each girl planned to confess their feelings to the Sandgem native after the conference. The three were introduced to each other by Andrew and they had become good friends, unaware of each other's romantic intentions. This day, they were in their room playing the classic Truth or Dare.

"Alright Dawn", Leaf said, "Truth or Dare"

"Truth", said the bluenette

"Do you have a crush on someone?" The Twinleaf native immediately blushed, prompting a squeal from the other two girls.

"What's he like?" asked Rosa. "W-well, he's kind, brave, super cute, helpful, and so much else, I feel so happy when I'm around him." said Dawn sheepishly.

"What about you Rosa?" asked Dawn, prompting the Unova native to blush like her blue-haired friend. "I-I do, he's the sweetest guy I've ever met, he never gives up on me and just thinking about him makes my heart race, and his smile in enough to make my knees feel like jelly."

Leaf was feeling a bit left out, so she gave her two cents. "I have one too, he saved my life once, and I've loved him ever since. He's selfless, caring, and brave. I love him so much" she said, blushing heavily.

"It seems we're all after the same type of guy huh?" said Rosa.

"I got an idea", said Dawn, "how about we say our crush's name on the count of three"

"Sounds good", "No complaints from me" said the two brunettes.

"1...2...3!"

"ANDREW TOWNSEND!"

Silence followed, the girls were speechless, all three of them were head over heels for the same boy.

"W-wow, so we all love Andrew huh?" asked Leaf.

"I-I guess so" added Dawn, "I can't say I blame you guys though"

"I thought you fancied Ash" Leaf said to the bluenette.

"I like him, yes, but in the way a girl likes her big brother, he's like a dopey, lovable big brother", said Dawn, causing Leaf to giggle.

"So, what now?" asked Leaf, "We are all in love with the same guy, so what are we going to do?"

"I-I might have an idea", said Rosa, causing the other two to look at her.

"W-w-what if we s-share him?" Rosa asked nervously, all three immediately blushed.

"I'm okay with it" said Dawn, "as long as you two truly love him and don't hog him for yourselves"

"I do love him", Rosa and Leaf said, "and we won't hog him"

"You guys are my friends, and great ones at that, I don't want to lose you guys over this" said Leaf; Dawn and Rosa nodded in agreement.

"So it's settled, we'll confess to him and if he returns our feelings, convince him to let us share him" said Rosa, earning a nod from the other two, "and no funny business if one of us is alone with him" she added, causing all three to blush from the implications of that statement.

Flashback End

Andrew, Lucas, and Barry stood there stunned. Lucas eventually broke the silence, looking at Andrew, "Damn dude, you're one lucky bastard."

Andrew snapped out of his stupor and looked at the three girls, "Are you sure you're okay with sharing me, because I have no problem with it." This caused the girls' faces to light up; "Of course we are Andrew" said Dawn.

Andrew grinned and opened his arms, "In that case", he said, causing all three girls to run into his arms, snuggling into his embrace.

After a minute, Andrew turned his attention to his male friends. "I am so going to fine the hell out of you if you say you have feelings for me Andrew" said Barry. This caused Andrew to laugh, "No man, but I gotta say I'm glad my best friends still have faith in me." "Of course we do Andrew" said Lucas, "you're like a brother to us, we ain't about to give that up, who cares if you never win a league, you're our friend, and that's what matters." This brought tears to Andrew's eyes as he embraced Lucas and Barry in a bro hug. "Thanks guys, that means a lot." "Don't mention it buddy."

"Now, with that settled, I need to head to Sinnoh to grab the gang, you girls might want to come with me, we should be quick, I'm not on good terms with some of those bastards back in that house so they may try to pull a fast one; Lucas and Barry you guys can go do whatever, I'll ring you guys up when I'm ready to strike." "Got it" said Barry. "I'll put in a good word with Professor Rowan so he can help if you need anything" said Lucas.

Andrew then turned his attention to the girls, "Alright ladies, lets move" He pulled out three Pokeballs revealing Deathclaw as well as a shiny Staraptor and a Braviary. "Climb aboard, we got places to go." Andrew and Dawn boarded Deathclaw, while Rosa climbed onto Braviary, and Leaf took Staraptor, Andrew told his Pokemon their destination, and the three fliers dutifully took off towards Sandgem Town

Several hours later, Sandgem Town

After telling his parents of what happened, Andrew headed to Rowan's lab to meet up with the Professor and the girls. When he arrived, the elderly professor smiled warmly at the boy; Andrew, Lucas, and Barry were like grandsons to him. "I guess Diamond told you the news" asked Andrew, referring to his friend's old nickname. The Professor's face darkened a little, "Yes, he did, and I must say I am very disappointed in them." "Well I'm glad you still believe in me Professor, it means a lot." "Say nothing of it my boy, I've seen potential in you for a while now. Now, Lucas told me about the concerns you have about your Pokemon, I can assure you they will be safe here, but if you do want to move them, I can have them transferred to Professor Juniper's lab in Unova." "Thank you Professor, I think I'd like to take the extra precaution and send them over." "Alright then, I'll let Aurea know." "Thank you Professor, before you do, I'd like to address my Pokemon about the situation." "Of course my boy, take your time."

The six teens walked out and Andrew released his six on hand: Deathclaw, Braviary, Staraptor, Torterra, Flareon, and Skorupi. He then gave a loud whistle and waited. Seconds later, a rumble could be felt as a small legion of Pokemon charged towards their master. They all lunged at the blonde trainer, all trying to nuzzle and lick him, eliciting a laugh from everyone present. "All right, all right, I missed you guys too." Andrew stood up and cleared his throat. "All right guys, as you may already know, I lost the Silver League", his Pokemon looked upset as they were reminded of the loss, "but that is not why I have called you here today; I have called you here because something else has happened, something worse." His Pokemon looked confused, "At an afterparty I was at, I was approached by many of my former companions and rivals, you may know some of them: Max, Brendan, Trip, Misty, and others," his Pokemon nodded, some taking an angry visage at the mention of Andrew's rivals.

"Well, they approached me and you know what they told me? They told me, they told us, to give up on our dream, that we'll never reach the top." At this, Andrew's Pokemon immediately became outraged, how dare these people try to make them quit a dream they had all worked so hard to achieve; some of the Pokemon like Tyranitar and Aggron, wanted to head over to Pallet Town that instant and teach them a lesson. "I know, I'm just as angry as you guys are, but we are not going to face them, just not yet. We are going to train, we WILL become the best, and we WILL show those bastards just how wrong they were." Andrew was pacing back and forth like a general giving a rousing speech to his soldiers, "So, WHO'S WITH ME?" Andrew yelled, and was met with a deafening cheer from the Pokemon, "That's the spirit! Now, you will be transferred to Professor Juniper's lab in Unova for the time being, but I will be rotating you guys from time to time." His Pokemon nodded in agreement, and looked at Lucas and the others, eyeing them suspiciously. Andrew noticed this and quickly added, "It's okay guys, they still have faith in us," this caused their gazes to soften and they quickly went over and showed their appreciation.

"Alright guys, that's all" said Andrew, "Torterra, Luxray, Roserade, Staraptor, Braviary, and Deathclaw come with me." His Pokemon nodded and began preparing for the transfer. "So now what?" asked Rosa. Andrew looked at them and grinned, "I got a place we can go to". "Then let's get to the harbor" said Dawn. "Oh, we won't" said Andrew, motioning for Deathclaw, Braviary, and Staraptor. "Where we're going, we can't use a ferry, hop aboard" said the blonde as he climbed aboard his first flying type, Staraptor. Dawn and Rosa climbed onto Deathclaw and Leaf boarded Braviary, while Andrew whispered to Staraptor the destination, who looked surprised, "Yes Staraptor, THAT place." Staraptor nodded and Andrew motioned for Deathclaw and Braviary to follow. With that, the group took off to start their new life together.

And that wraps up Chapter 2, I'll probably have the next chapter be an overview of what Pokemon Andrew and the others have