Previously, Jonathan met Venam and Melia for the first time, and helped Ren fight off a group of rogue Pokémon. Impressed by his abilities, Melia offered Jonathan to accompany her to Goldenwood Forest.

Note: Since my co-writer has gone on a vacation, I will be writing this chapter alone, with the chapters coming out later than usual. If there are any grammatical errors, then I apologise.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, it is the property of its creator, SuperJanBro.

Chapter 3:

Jonathan had exited the sewers and took in a deep breath; nothing was better than fresh air after going down into the sewers. He then glanced at his watch, which read 5:30. Jonathan figured that he might check out that help center that he saw earlier today. So the young man backtracked to the tall building with the billboard advertising the Help Center, and entered it.

When he entered the Help Center, the first thing he did was bring out the sheet of paper he took from the billboard and read it.

To whoever reads this.

Please help me, my precious Starly was taken from me by some thugs. They're demanding that I pay an exorbitant ransom to ensure my Starly's safe return. Please help me!

Jonathan read it carefully, before noticing a problem; the client had failed to put down their location for the then went to the front desk, and showed the request to the receptionist, asking about the client.

"Oh, that one? She said something about resting up in the lobby of the Gearen Laboratory." The receptionist answered. "Be careful sir, from what I heard, those thugs are infamous across Gearen for their brutality."

"Don't you worry m'lady, I'll take care of the crooks." Jonathan tipped his fedora at her, before picking up the request and pocketing it, and leaving the building. Half an hour later, Jonathan had arrived at the Gearen Laboratory Lobby, and brought out the sheet of paper, showing it to the people there. Eventually, he managed to located the client; a young girl with black hair done up into two pigtails, wearing a red scout uniform.

"Thank you for taking my request sir." The girl gratefully thanked Jonathan, a few dried up tears on her cheeks.

"No problem." He replied. "So what happened?"

"Well me and Starly were walking in the Petal Garden, when those awful thugs ambushed us. They took Starly and handed me a ransom note, before pushing me onto the ground." The girl recalled, the painful memories sending shivers down her spine.

"Wait, they actually pushed you?!" Jonathan inquired.

"Yes. Why'd you ask?" the girl replied.

"Just wanted to double check…" Jonathan replied with some hesitance in his voice. "Where did they go?"

"They said something about the Badlands, an extremely dangerous place that can only be accessed by boat, meaning they must be at the Gearen Docks." The girl answered.

"Thank you for that, I shall return with your precious Starly." Jonathan told her, as he then left the building and made his way to the Gearen Docks.

An hour later

Jonathan was walking down the docks, searching for any signs of the Starly. His thought process was interrupted by the sounds of a Pokémon in distress, and the sounds of a few men chuckling. The young man ran to the source of the noise, and spotted the Starly he was asked to search of, with a look of distress on its face, locked inside a cage that was near the feet of a couple of gangsters, who looked very familiar to the young man

"Hey assholes!" Jonathan shouted, attracting the attention of the gangsters. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" the leader of the gang locked eyes with Jonathan, before walking up to him.

"We meet yet again…" the gang leader snarled, his fists grasping his baseball bat tightly.

"Hey, I hate it about as much as you do, but you're the ones who assaulted a young girl and stole her Pokémon." Jonathan pointed out.

"Heh, what's wrong with beating up a weak trainer and stealing their Pokémon?" the gang leader sneered.

"It's one thing to steal a trainer's Pokémon…but it's an entirely different thing to beat up an innocent little girl." Jonathan growled. "Only scumbags like you would stoop to beating up a woman."

"Scumbag?! I'll teach you not to piss me off!" the gang leader snapped, bringing out a Pokéball from his pocket, before throwing it at the ground, sending out a Stunky.

"A Stunky? Heh, you chumps are easier than I anticipated." Jonathan smirked, as he sent out his trusty Yatagaryu. The thug's eyes up the Stormbringer Pokémon, a look of greed in their eyes.

"Hey boss, that looks like a mighty rare Pokémon, don't ya think?" a gang member commented.

"Indeed it does…that things bound to be worth millions on the Black Market." The leader grinned. "Once I defeat you, I'll take that fine looking Pokémon and sell it for lots of money!" he jeered, before laughing like a maniac.

"You!" Jonathan snapped. "I'll make you eat those words! Yatagaryu, use Thunder on that Stunky!" the draconic Pokémon unleashed a wicked bolt of lightning onto the Stunky, knocking it out instantly. The gang members were shocked at seeing one of their leader's Pokémon knocked out so easily.

"Whoa! That thing's a lot stronger than I anticipated!" a gang member exclaimed.

"Our Pokémon are useless against that thing, I'm getting out of here!" a second one panicked.

"Compose yourselves! I still have another Pokémon." The leader barked, as he called out his Trubbish. Jonathan simply stared at the Trubbish and scoffed to himself; he'd defeated a Garbodor earlier today, and this Trubbish didn't look that strong.

"Don't worry Yatagaryu, this shouldn't be too hard." The young man reassured his Pokémon. "Now why don't we go for a Dragon Pulse this time?" Jonathan suggested. The Stormbringer Pokémon charged up a beam of draconic power, and fired it at the Trash Bag Pokémon, sending it flying into the wall of a warehouse, instantly knocking it out. By this point, the gang leader had a look of terror on his face, as he returned the Trubbish to its Pokéball.

"Sweet Arceus! That thing is so powerful!" the gang leader exclaimed in shock, as he and his crew walked back a few feet.

"Hand over the Starly, and I'll let you go. Don't make me repeat myself." Jonathan warned, as his Yatagaryu glared daggers at the gangsters.

"Hey boss, the boat's here!" a gang member called out, staring at a single-mast yacht that was arriving at the dock. The hull was incredibly grubby, and half of the yacht's name had fallen off the side. The gang leader glanced at the yacht briefly, before sneering back at Jonathan.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You may have won the battle, but in the end, we're the victors." The gang leader cackled, a few droplets of spit flying out his mouth. The gangsters were about to pick up the cage and walk onto the boat, when the voice of a middle-aged woman interrupted them.

"Gemagarugo!" the voice called out, as a trio of obsidian spikes emerged from the water and impaled the boat, rendering it useless.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?!" the gang leader roared, as Jonathan took this opportunity to sucker punch a gangster, and quickly nab the cage from their grasp, before running back to where he was. The leader noticed it a few seconds later, and pulled out a 9mm pistol from his jacket and aimed it at the young man.

"Not so fast, you little shit! Hand us the Starly, and we'll let you live." He snarled, as Jonathan then turned around and placed the cage beside his feet.

"Little dove, little dove, little dove, pity dove. A bird can no longer fly with clipped wings." The woman from before mused to herself, staring at the ruined yacht, as Jonathan and the gang looked up towards the roof of the warehouse. Standing on the roof was a middle-aged lady with long green hair, and brown eyes. She wore what appeared to be a black suit, and matching black pants.

"We can't have peasants like you running around." She glared daggers at the gangsters. "Do you think you'll just be able to do as you please around here?"

"What's our business to you, bitch?" the gang leader growled. The lady then gazed at the leader, a mixture of contempt and pity in her eyes.

"Awww…that's too bad. I was going to let you go, but I changed my mind." She sighed, before making some sort of odd gesture with her hands. "Aevogio!" she called out, as she walked off the roof and gracefully hovered down to the ground, her body surrounded by a magical aura. Both Jonathan and the gang were at a complete loss for words, as the lady landed smoothly onto the ground, before staring at the gangsters once more.

"As punishment for attempting to steal this poor little pigeon, all of you will become my servants, and I will make sure that you all get taught proper manners." She said coolly.

"And what if we say no?" the gang leader sneered. Sighing once again, the lady chanted another spell, surrounding all of the gangsters in a magical aura, and lifting them off the ground. With a simple flick of the wrist, the gangsters were sent flying into the horizon, screaming all the way.

"I'm just retrieving this Starly for my client, I mean no harm!" Jonathan raised his hands in the air, as both he and his Yatagaryu had frightened looks in their eyes.

"I know. I did witness the event after all…" the woman coyly smirked. "The name's Karen. I'd tell you more, but that would ruin the mystery."

"Wh-what was all that about?" He gathered the courage to ask.

"A little creation of mine, courtesy of my magic. Magic is a beautiful thing, a thing forgotten by humans out of fear." Karen explained, still retaining her smirk. "Ever heard of the Garufa?"

"Uhh…can't say I have." Jonathan replied sheepishly.

"The Garufa were a powerful tribe that roamed the world centuries ago. They harvested the power of Pokémon, and together with their soul, created a series of powerful grimoires." Karen went into detail about the Garufa and their history. "This allowed them to cast powerful spells, depending on the type of the Pokémon that was sacrificed. For instance, the obsidian spikes I created required the combined soul of a Rock-type, and a Fire-type Pokémon; I just used a Magcargo."

"Uh-huh…" Jonathan replied, his mind running wild with the thought of using powerful magic, albeit obtaining it in a cruel and inhumane way.

"Welp, I've got to fix up my mess here. You go bring that pigeon back to its trainer now." Karen called out, as she turned to face the ruined boat. Jonathan sighed a breath of relief, returning his Yatagaryu and picking up the cage, before heading back to the Gearen Laboratory.

An hour later

Jonathan entered the building, with the Starly in tow. The young girl noticed the man, and immediately got up off her chair, upon seeing her beloved Starly.

"You did it! You got my Starly back!" she cheered, wrapping her arms around Jonathan and hugging him tightly.

"No problem. I'd recommend giving the little fella a check-up, since I found him in this cage." He replied, handing the cage over to the young girl.

"Did the thugs give you any trouble?" she inquired. Jonathan had to be careful with what to say next, knowing that she wouldn't believe the things he saw at that dock.

"Well let's just say that they won't be causing any more trouble from now on…" he replied a little uneasily. The girl pondered the answer for a bit, before handing him a sealed envelope.

"Here's the reward for completing my request. Thanks again!" she smiled, as she let Starly out of the cage and returned it to it's Pokéball, before walking up to the nurse's desk. Jonathan tucked the envelope into his bag and proceeded to make his way to the room he borrowed for tonight. The Gearen Laboratory had a plentiful amount of rooms for beginning trainers to rest up for the night, provided they book it in advance. Jonathan had managed to book a room whole he was getting registered for the league. He then walked down the corridor, and stopped at a room that was near a set of restrooms. Inserting the keycard into the slot, he opened the door and entered the room, making sure to close the door afterwards.

The room was fairly quaint, though nothing too fancy. There were your usual luxuries, such as a bed, drawer, and desk lamp. To the right was the bathroom, containing a toilet, shower, and a sink. Jonathan got his bag of his back, and realised that all his spare clothes were at the bottom of the sea now. So he simply got undressed until he was left in his singlet and boxers, and tucked himself into bed, as he began reading his Gym Leader Monthly magazine for a bit.

'Well I can say that today was interesting. I dealt with some scumbags and retrieved a Starly for a young girl, I got registered for the Aevium League, and learnt a bit more about this regions history, and I met some new people today.' Jonathan thought to himself. 'Venam's an upbeat jokester, Ren can be a prick at times, and Melia…' Jonathan continued thinking to himself, before he began thinking about Melia.

A strange feeling came over the young man; what was it about Melia that caused him to develop this feeling? Was it her intelligence, her beauty, her personality, or even her special gift? Jonathan shrugged this feeling away, as he placed the magazine on the drawer, and switched off the lamp, before rolling over and drifting off into sleep.

The next morning

Jonathan was woken up by the sound of the alarm clock ringing throughout the room, and promptly turned it off. With a tired look in his eye, he got out of the cosy bed, and shuffled his way into the bathroom, where he got undressed and turned the shower on, before stepping inside. The young man sighed a deep breath of relief; warm showers were the first thing he looks forward to in a day, and today was no exception. But there was a second reason why today's going to be a good day; he was going to accompany Melia in Goldenwood Forest. Like last night, the strange feeling overcame his body, the moment he thought about her.

'Again? Why do I get this feeling every time I think about her?' the young man thought to himself, as he continued to wash his fairly lean body. Five minutes later, Jonathan turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, as he began to dry himself. After doing so, he exited the bathroom and proceeded to get dressed, mentally wincing about wearing the same pair of boxers two days in a row.

'The first thing I'm going to do once I get some more money, is buy myself some new clothes' Jonathan thought to himself, as he finished getting dressed and packed up all his stuff. After double-checking that both the bedroom and the bathroom were cleaned up, Jonathan then exited the room and locked it with the key card. He then made his way to the front desk, and handed the card back to the receptionist.

"Here's your card back, and thank you for letting me stay overnight." Jonathan said.

"No problem young man. We hope you enjoyed your stay~" the receptionist replied, a smile on her face.

"One more thing, where's the train station that leads to Goldenwood Forest?" the young man asked.

"The station's located in the northern part of the city. The next train to Goldenwood Forest is set to leave in around 18 minutes." The receptionist answered. Nodding in appreciation, Jonathan proceeded to exit the laboratory, and make his way to the train station.

13 minutes later

Jonathan had arrived at the train station, and was surprised to see the familiar face of Tesla, having a brief chat with one of the train conductors. Once their conversation ended, Tesla then noticed the young man and walked up to him.

"Oh Jonathan! How are you going? Are you feeling okay?" Tesla inquired.

"Well…apart from the fact my mother's still missing, I'm doing alright, thank you very much." Jonathan replied.

"…I see." Tesla said, a mournful look on her face. "After dropping you off at the docks, I flew back to the boat in an attempt to rescue more survivors, but it had already sank by the time I got there."

"OH NO! My mother was on that boat, and she's now at the bottom of the ocean!" Jonathan panicked, as he fell to his knees and was on the verge of having a breakdown. However Tesla picked him up off the floor and gently petted his shoulder.

"There, there. You mother's going to be fine; we both have to get stronger if we want to rescue her." Tesla reassured the young man.

"Th-thanks ma'am…" Jonathan stuttered, wiping a tear away from his eye.

"I assume you're heading over to Goldenwood Forest?" Tesla predicted, with Jonathan nodding in response. "It's such a wonderful place. The golden leaves on the trees, and the smell of autumn bring back nostalgic memories for me…" the Elite 8 member reminisced.

"I'm not really a nature guy, to be honest." Jonathan admitted.

"Really? Well perhaps I can help change that. How about I cover the cost for the ticket this time?" Tesla suggested.

"You would do that? Thank you very much Tesla!" Jonathan thanked the lady, a small smile on his face.

"No problem! Just make sure you enjoy yourself." Tesla replied, as she walked over to the front desk. "I'll take one ticket to Goldenwood Forest please."

"One ticket for Goldenwood Forest, coming up!" the conductor at the desk called out, as he accepted Tesla's payment and handed her a ticket. Tesla then walked back to Jonathan and gave him the ticket.

"Here you go. I've got some official league business to catch up on, see you later!" Tesla said, as she proceeded to walk out of the station. Jonathan looked at the ticket briefly, before making his way to the train. On the way there, he noticed a pair of young trainers helping an elderly gentleman onto a chair.

"Sir, you've got to rest your back!" the male trainer told him.

"How can I?! My precious grand-daughter is all alone in the forest." The old man panicked.

"Don't worry, we'll send someone to go find her." The female trainer reassured him. At that moment, Jonathan walked up to the trio.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

"My grand-daughter wandered off into the forest, and I injured myself trying to find her." The old man informed the youth. "Can you go please find her and let her know that I'm at the Gearen City train station?"

"No problem. However I will need a photo of her, to make things easier." Jonathan accepted the request. The old man had an ecstatic look on his face, as he retrieved a photo of him and his granddaughter from his wallet, and handed it over to Jonathan.

"Here you go. Thank you so very much." He replied, as the two trainers continued to help the man, as Jonathan then made his way to the train and boarded it. As he was walking to an empty seat, the ticket master came up to him and requested to see his ticket. Jonathan showed him the ticket, with the ticket master wishing him a good trip in response. The young man then sat down on a seat and looked out the window, as the train began to make its way to Goldenwood Forest. The scenery quickly changed from the tall buildings of Gearen City, to a lush green forest that was teeming with various species of Grass, Bug, and Normal type Pokémon. After around 10 minutes, the green trees were replaced by the golden trees that Goldenwood Forest gets its name from. The train then ground to a halt, indicating that it was the end of the line.

As Jonathan and the other passengers hopped off the train, the young man was awestruck at what he saw. Asides from the golden trees, there was also several small lakes and ponds, as well as tall, lush grass everywhere. The young man had to admit it to himself; nature can be really beautiful at times. Jonathan was about to begin searching for the little girl, when he soon noticed Melia a few feet away from him, gazing at a pair of Emolga resting on a tree branch.

"So you decided to accompany me after all?" Melia turned around and stared at him.

"O-o-of course! I wouldn't miss an opportunity like this." Jonathan blurted out, a little embarrassed over showing up late.

"No need to worry." Melia smiled, as she gestured at a tall, cylindrical machine, with a keyboard and a tray meant for holding six Pokéballs. "In case your Pokémon get hurt, you can use this machine to heal them up. Do you like them? They're the latest invention of Blakeory Co."

"Ah yes, they seem to be rather useful." Jonathan replied. "However I'm going to be a while. I'm helping an old man find his missing granddaughter."

"You're helping an elderly person find their missing grandchild?" Melia pondered, deducing it to be the reason for Jonathan's tardiness. "That's so sweet of you. I'll go on ahead into the forest. Don't take too long~" Melia smiled, briefly winking at him, as she walked off into the forest. Jonathan developed a faint blush on his face, before shaking his head to make it go away, and proceeded to begin the search for the lost girl.

1 hour later

Jonathan had been searching the forest for some time now, but to no avail. Either this young girl was an expert at hiding, or something seriously bad happened to her.

'Argh, it's no use. I've searched this forest for around an hour no, and still no sign of her. Perhaps I should try searching by that big lake in the center.' He thought to himself, as he proceeded to make his way to the lake. Once arriving there, he stared at the body of water for a bit, amazed by its beauty. The water was sparklingly clear, with no signs of rubbish or leaf litter in sight. All around the water's edge, were trainers battling against each other, as well as a few trainers fishing for Pokémon. His eyes then locked onto a shrine standing at the edge of the water…with what appeared to be a pink Pokémon on a tree branch near the shrine. Jonathan walked over there to get a closer look, only to realise that the pink thing wasn't a Pokémon, but a little girl with pink hair, specifically the one he was supposed to look for.

"Excuwse me, twainer!" the little girl cried out in a cute voice. "I want to get down from here, but…I'm stuck. Pwease hewlp!"

"Hold on their sweetheart!" Jonathan ran up to the tree, and opened his arms. "Jump down, and I'll catch you!"

"But I'm scared…" she whimpered.

"Don't worry, I'll promise to catch you!" Jonathan called out. The little girl then proceeded to jump down, with Jonathan managing to catch her in time. "Are you alright?" he asked her, lowering her onto the ground.

"Thank you twainer!" she smiled, doing a little curtsy with her blue dress.

"By the way, your grandfather's waiting at the train station." Jonathan replied, handing her the photo the old man gave him.

"Wa!? Gwandpa's waiting for me at the twain station?" the girl inquired.

"Yes, he is. Do you want me to bring you to the train station?" Jonathan offered.

"No thanks, I can make my way back their on my own. Thanks for getting me down twianer!" the little girl replied, as she quickly made her way towards the train station. Just then, a fisherman walked up to Jonathan.

"Don't worry about her, I'll keep an eye on her. I have to get back home anyway." The fisherman informed the young man, as the two went their separate ways. Now that Jonathan has finished his little side-quest, he was ready to meet up with Melia again, and continued to trek through the forest, until he stumbled upon what appeared to be a cave. Figuring that Melia entered this cave for some reason, Jonathan took a deep breath, and proceeded to enter the cave.

The cave was very peaceful, with virtually no sound, except for the quiet dripping of water falling from the ceiling into the average sized body of water to the left of the young man. The ground has a few mushrooms growing in the dark areas of the cave, where they remained untouched by sunlight, as well as an abundance of moss-covered rocks. Jonathan brought out his Pokédex and turned it on, using it as an additional source of light.

"Hey Melia, are you in here?" Jonathan called out, as he walked further into the cave, his feet walking over the loose gravel on the floor, erasing the silence of the cave. After a few minutes, he stumbled upon a chamber at the back of the cave, a faint light emanating from it. Jonathan entered the room, and noticed that Melia was on a raised platform, staring at the back wall with a candle in her left hand.

"That's strange…he said that the inscriptions would be here, but I don't see anything." Melia whispered to herself, as the sound of Jonathan's footsteps alerted her, causing her to turn around.

"My sincerest apologies, m'lady." Jonathan exclaimed, tipping his fedora.

"It's alright." Melia replied. "So did you find the girl you were looking for?"

"Yes I did. She'd gotten stuck up a tree, and I helped her down. A local fisherman offered to escort her back to the train station." Jonathan informed her.

"That's wonderful to here." The young woman smiled, brushing aside her gorgeous blonde hair.

"So what are we doing here?" Jonathan inquired.

"Well I was sent here to analyse some inscriptions that were supposedly written on this wall…" Melia began, before a frustrated look grew on her face. "But as you can see, there's nothing here."

"Huh…maybe Professor Jenner made a miscalculation." The young man suggested.

"This isn't the first time a thing like this has happened. My father keeps sending me to these locations that end up becoming duds." Melia continued, resting her hand against the wall. The part of the wall her hand touched was pushed into the wall, as the cave began to shake, causing a few small stalactites to fall to the ground.

"Now what's going on?!" Jonathan asked out loud, as the wall gradually separated, until a small entrance appeared where Melia touched the wall. A few seconds later, the shaking ceased, the two trainers staring at the entrance with a look of curiosity.

"Perhaps there was something to this place after all…" Melia mused to herself, as she walked through the new entrance, with Jonathan following in tow. Both trainers stared in awe at what they saw; the cave was hiding a small forest of golden trees, much like the ones outside. The main centrepiece of the cave was a tall statue, depicting the Legendary Pokémon Arceus.

"Now this is peculiar. Why is there a statue of an Arceus hidden away here?" Melia asked herself, taking a closer look at the statue, until her eyes locked onto a plaque. "Huh, there's an inscription on the pedestal. It appears to be written in an ancient language."

"Are you able to decipher it?" Jonathan inquired, walking up to her to get a better look at the statue.

"I can, but since it's a little faded, I might not be able to get it all." Melia replied, as she began to read the plaque. It took a while for her to decipher it, but eventually she was able to, and began reading what she had translated out loud. "…where there is life, there is also death…" "…four shadows…destruction…"

"So was that it?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, the rest of the plaque was too faded to read." Melia answered. "A pity, since I was really curious about what it meant by four shadows. I can't complain too much though, this was the most interesting thing I've ever seen on an investigation."

"Why don't we report our findings to Professor Jenner? Maybe he has a device that could enable us to read a bit more of the inscription." Jonathan suggested, as he was about to leave, only for Melia to reach out and grab his shoulder.

"Jonathan. Did you know that I'm next in line to become a Gym Leader?" Melia informed him.

"Really?!" the young man replied. "When did this happen?"

"The Normal type Gym Leader passed away recently, and I'm ready to take their place. However I could use a bit more training, especially if more trainers decide to bring their Pokémon from Tandor, or other regions with their own exclusive Pokémon." Melia explained.

"Are you suggesting we have a battle?" Jonathan inquired.

"Of course! There's no one around to disturb us." Melia smiled, as she retrieved her Pokéballs.

"In that case, you're on!" Jonathan grinned, as the two trainers stood on opposite sides of each other, and sent out their first Pokémon. Jonathan had started things off with his trusty Vilucard, however Melia started off with a shiny Dodrio.

"A shiny Dodrio?! Was Venam right about you attracting shiny Pokémon?" the young man gasped.

"Heehee, I guess you can say that." Melia answered his question. "Now Dodrio, use Tri-Attack!" the Triple Bird Pokémon opened it's mouths and charged up a ball of different coloured energy in each mouth, until it formed into a triangle. It then fired the powerful attack at the Vilucard, dealing a lot of damage to the Villainous Pokémon, pushing it back a few feet.

"Wow! That attack hit way harder than I expected." Jonathan exclaimed. "Is this the power of the Aevium League?"

"Like what you saw, didn't you?" Melia quipped. "Don't worry, I've got plenty more where that came from!"

"I'm not going to stand there and take it. Vilucard, use Life Drain!" Jonathan called out. A smirk appeared on the Vilucard's face, as it hopped up into the trees and began to creep up towards the Dodrio. Melia was startled at how quickly Vilucard disappeared from her sight, until a thought overcame her.

'Wait, I saw this tactic already during the battle against the Garbodor. I may have an idea on how to counter it.' Melia thought to herself. "Alright Dodrio, keep an ear out for Vilucard, and strike when the time is right!" the Dodrio stood still and closed its eyes, focusing on pinpointing Vilucard's location. While this was happening, Vilucard slithered down from a tree behind Dodrio, and snickered to itself. Quietly, it crept up behind the Triple Bird Pokemon, and was about to sink it's fangs into the opponent, when the Dodrio suddenly turned around and unleashed a barrage of lightning quick pecks at the Villainous Pokémon.

"What?!" Jonathan gasped. "How was Dodrio able to hear Vilucard?"

"There's more to battling than seeing your opponent. You've got to hear your opponent as well, in order to prevent any sneak attacks." Melia taught him. "Now why don't we finish things off with a Jump Kick?" the Dodrio nodded and proceeded to fling Vilucard into the air, before leaping up into the air and landing a powerful kick on the Villainous Pokémon, sending it hurtling towards the ground. Jonathan began to run towards it in an attempt to capture it, but was unsuccessful and the Pokémon crashed into the ground, creating a large impact crater. To the surprise of nobody, Vilucard was unable to battle.

"Argh…that attack did so much damage." Jonathan said to himself, before returning Vilucard to it's Pokéball. "I'll get you patched up once this is over." The young man then reached for another Pokéball and sent out another one of Tandor's unique Pokémon. This specimen appeared to be a large dragonfly, with six wings and six legs attached to its thorax. Its head featured two yellow eyes, sharp mandibles, and what appeared to be two bolt shaped spikes above its eyes. It also had a long tail that ended in a sharp spike.

"Wh-what is that thing?!" Melia exclaimed, staring at a Pokémon she hasn't seen before.

"Allow me to introduce you to my Harptera." Jonathan began, as the Dragonfly Pokémon buzzed up and down in the air at a rapid speed. "Harptera are some of the fiercest hunters in Tandor. They can fly at supersonic speeds, and use their spiked tails to skewer prey. You may have the advantage when it comes to types, but we'll see whether you can land a hit on my Harptera." The Harptera then proceeded to fly around the arena at extremely high speed, as Melia and Dodrio struggled to keep an eye on it.

'Harptera may be fast, and it definitely looks powerful, but most Bug type Pokémon are known to be frail. A strong attack or two should be more than enough to defeat this for.' Melia thought to herself. "Alright Dodrio, let's go for another Tri-Attack!" Like before, the Dodrio began charging up it's attack, however this time Jonathan was going to strike them down.

"Another Tri-Attack? This'll be easy." He mused to himself. "Harptera, go for Rock Slide!" the Dragonfly Pokémon nodded and flew off into the cave, before picking up a large bolder and flew back to the Dodrio, it's speed hampered by the weight of the boulder.

'What is he doing, hampering his Pokémon's greatest asset like that?!' Melia thought to herself, confused on why Jonathan would use such a strategy. She wasn't complaining though, as it gave her ample opportunity to allow Dodrio to charge up it's Tri-Attack. She waited until the Harptera was close to her Dodrio's position, before calling out for Dodrio to use Tri-Attack. The Triple Bird Pokémon fired it's powerful attack at the Dragonfly Pokémon, unaware that it had stumbled into Jonathan's trap.

'Gotcha!' the young man thought, a smirk on his face. "Release the boulder Harptera!" he called out. The Harptera complied with the order and dropped the boulder, shielding it from the Tri-Attack, and causing the resulting rocks to shower upon Dodrio. The Triple Bird squawked in pain, as it's body was pelted with rocks, until it fell to the ground, greatly weakened from the assault. It didn't take Melia long to realise that Dodrio was unable to battle.

"You did well out there…" Melia comforted her Pokémon, returning it to its Pokéball, before turning to face Jonathan. "I must say, that was a rather interesting technique you used there."

"Thanks. I didn't even know Harptera could even learn Rock Slide until recently." Jonathan replied. "Now which of your Pokémon is going to fall next?"

"Heh, I'll make you eat those words. Go Ursaring!" Melia called out, sending out a rather large Ursaring that was shiny as well. "I figured that the best way to deal with your Harptera is to use an equally strong Pokémon."

"That Ursaring does look strong, but it's no match for us. Harptera, use X-Scissor!" Jonathan replied, as Harptera quickly flew into battle, it's tail glowing harshly. It then slashed the Ursaring's torso, dealing a decent amount of damage. The Ursaring then reached for what appeared to be a bright red orb, neatly tucked away in its shoulder fur and held it for a while. The Ursaring grimaced in pain for a second, before tucking the orb away, and inspecting the small burn marks on it's hands, and proceeded to give the Harptera a devilish grin.

"Time for another one of my special tricks. Ursaring, use Façade on Harptera!" Melia called out, as Ursaring began to charge at the Harptera, the bear's body glowing with an orange aura. It then swatted the Dragonfly Pokémon, sending it flying into a tree, causing it to fall down.

"Oh no!" Jonathan cried out, as he ran to the fallen tree, and scooped up his knocked out Pokémon. Returning it to it's Pokéball, he stared at Melia with a look of shock on his face. "I know that Ursaring have high attack power, but I didn't expect to get knocked out in one hit."

"It's simple really. Façade is a move which deals more damage, if the user is inflicted with a status ailment, such as a burn. A common strategy is to give a Pokémon a Flame Orb, and have it use Façade, to gain a significant power boost. However Ursaring can have Guts as an ability, which not only negates the Attack lowering effect of a burn, but increases a Pokémon's power as well. Combining all of these factors, on top of Ursaring's high Attack stat, and the end result should be easily explainable." Melia explained.

"Ahh, now I get it…" Jonathan replied, realising that Melia was not messing around. Just how strong are the Gym Leaders here, if a Pre-Leader is giving him a run for his money? Luckily for him, he had a Pokémon he knew he could count on. "Alright then, I choose you Yatagaryu!" Jonathan called out, as his trustworthy sidekick was sent out into battle.

"A Yatagaryu?! That's one of the very few Tandor Pokémon I know about." Melia exclaimed, her eyes sparkling at the majesty of the Stormbringer Pokémon.

"Ah, so you know about its powerful Electric type attacks." Jonathan replied. "Why don't I give you a firsthand demonstration then?"

"As much as I would like that, I'm not going to let a Pokémon like that run rampant. Go Ursaring, use Façade again!" Melia called out. The bear Pokémon glowed with the orange aura again, and proceeded to charge at the Yatagaryu. However things would be different this time.

"Time for us to devastate the battlefield. Use Thunder!" Jonathan cried out, as the Stormbringer Pokémon flew into the air and summoned a massive bolt of lightning, hitting the Ursaring dead on. The bear Pokémon then fell to it's knees, before promptly collapsing.

"Ursaring!" Melia cried out, as she ran up to her injured Pokémon. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Take a nice long rest…" Melia returned her Pokémon, before sending out her main Pokémon, which was a powerful Togetic, that was shiny as well.

"I can tell that you and Togetic are very close with each other." Jonathan commented, as Yatagaryu floated above the young man.

"Mm-hm. Me and Happiness have been partners since the beginning, and I'm ready to demonstrate our combined power to you." Melia replied. "Use Dazzling Gleam!" The Togetic nodded and began emitting a bright, rainbow coloured shine around it's body, before sending the rays out and striking the Yatagaryu, dealing a fair amount of damage and momentarily blinding it.

"Ah!" Jonathan cried out, as the Stormbringer Pokémon shook it's head for a bit, before staring down at the Togetic, who simply smiled at it. "You good to go?" Jonathan asked his Pokémon, whom gave a small growl of confirmation. "In that case, use Hyper Beam!" The Yatagaryu proceeded to charge up a bright orange ball of pure energy, before firing a beam of almighty power. Togetic narrowly dodged the attack, although it destroyed a few trees in the process.

'Now's my chance to turn things around.' Melia thought to herself."Happiness, use Dazzling Gleam again!" The Togetic began sparkling in various colours again, before sending the rays of light at the grounded Yatagaryu, who was too exhausted to dodge the attack. The Stormbringer Pokémon cried out in pain, as it was sent flying a few feet back, before landing on the ground. It then struggled to get up, it's eyes continuing to stare daggers at the friendly Pokémon.

'Hmmm, I don't think it can take another attack. Gotta make this one count…' Jonathan thought to himself. "Alright Yatagaryu, use Thunder one more time!" he cried out, as Yatagaryu managed to fly into the air, albeit slower than before.

'Argh! This is it, it all comes down to this.' Melia thought to herself. "Happiness, use Shadow Ball!" Togetic nodded and charged up a purplish-black ball of ominous energy. Meanwhile, Yatagaryu had flown up in the air and summoned a large bolt of lightning, and aimed it at the Togetic, whom finished charging up the Shadow Ball and sent it hurtling towards the bolt of lightning. The two attacks clashed with each other, with both trainers looking on to see who would come out on top. After a few seconds, the lightning bolt destroyed the Shadow Ball, and dealt critical damage to Togetic, knocking it out.

"Happiness, are you alright?!" Melia cried out, cradling her starter Pokémon. "You did well out there…" she commented, returning her Togetic back to its ball. Melia debated on sending out her last Pokémon, an Eevee she had recently caught. However she knew that despite the damage it took, the Yatagaryu could still knock out Eevee with ease. "I forfeit the match, I have no more Pokémon that can battle."

"Alright! We won again Yatagaryu!" Jonathan cheered, with his Pokémon giving a weak smile in response. "Now it's time for you to take a nice long rest." He said, returning his Pokémon to it's Pokéball.

"That was a really fun battle! I can tell that I still need a bit more training before I'm ready to become a Gym Leader." Melia smiled. "You an outstanding trainer Jonathan. I can tell that you will go far in the Aevium League."

"Uhh, thank you. Eheheheheh…" Jonathan replied, scratching the back of his head, a blush on the young man's face.

"Well it seems we're done here. Let's go back to the train station together." Melia suggested, as the two of them began to walk, only to hear what sounded like a large explosion.

"What was that?!" Jonathan asked.

"I don't know. We better check it out." Melia replied, as the two trainers began to run out the cave.

And here's where I'm going to wrap up things for now. I apologise for the late update, but hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter. The next chapter will focus around Team Xen's invasion of Goldenwood Forest.