The Fairy Contender Chapter 37: Like Brother, Like Sister, a Pokémon + Fairy Tail Crossover fanfic

Chapter 37 – Like Brother, Like Sister

Hello, my wonderful readers and Reviewers! Insane Dominator is on a roll with these past few updates! I'm glad that the Kalos Arc has positive Reviews up to this point; thank you guys so much for allowing me to give you 37 chapters of insanity, and there is a whole lot more to come in the future.

Since I'm situated in college now, this means I'll have to start looking for a part-time job, but I'll still be working on FanFiction, so don't worry for I'll still find time every day to get some writing in. Now for Reviews.

Guest Valvrave: Let's just say I have a few surprises for Vanessa.

shadowmwape: In terms of their hairstyle, yes. But remember, Vanessa has black hair with a single blond bang.

Alpha Dragonis: Let's just say many things are to come in this chapter.

tylerxc626: Nope, I am absolutely NOT gonna include Ash and friends.

Alright then, let's get on with the show!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the OC that appears in this chapter, she belongs to PokeguardianZ.

To Recap:

Realizing that they made it to Kalos, along with Panther Lily and Lisanna, Nic and the Fairy Tail members present get in contact with Dialga and Palkia, who explained that Giratina had Hoopa transport them to Kalos and they have but one week to find a portal. They made it to Lumiose City, where they regrouped and started planning where to set off, and that's when the group encounters Nic's little sister, Vanessa.

Chapter 37 – Like Brother, Like Sister

"WHAAAAA?! YOUR SISTER?!" A majority of everyone howled in comical shock, hearing Nic introduce Vanessa to everyone.

Nic raised a brow and realization had hit him like a Hammer Arm on the head. "Oh right! I hardly told you guys about her, didn't I?" He said.

Natsu stepped forward with a smile. "Yeah, this is a surprise!"

Sophie was baffled, and it was clearly shown on her face. "No kidding! You never told us you had a sister!"

Vanessa, ignoring their comments, turned happily towards her brother. "I take it that you never mentioned me much, huh?" She sounded slightly rhetorical, but also sad at the same time. As Nic was going to explain, Vanessa had a soft grin come across her face. "It's okay, I don't blame you. It's better so our past stays shrouded."

Nic smiled, seeing how he would feel the exact same way if he were in his sibling's shoes, er sandals, it's a figurative speech okay?! Anyways, Nic turned towards the group and he presented Vanessa to everybody. "Vanessa, these are my friends. I want you to meet Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Wendy, Gajeel, Lisanna, and Sophie." He announced.

Vanessa marveled at the numerous friends that Nic had. She honestly felt super happy; not just because she met new people, but because her brother finally has friends. Vanessa was at a loss for words.

"I…I don't know what to say Nic. You met so many people that I'm left shocked." She stated. "…It was just the two of us, and now look."

Lucy blinked. "Uh, wait. What do you mean by the two of you?"

The Pularis siblings then lost their grins, remembering their sullied past. Even now, that past follows them. The two looked at one another and stared, understanding that since Nic's friends are now involved.

Nic sighed and turned back towards the group. "I think you guys have the right to know. Erza already knows, so I apologize in advance."

Erza nodded. "It's alright Nic. Don't beat yourself up over this. It's best to let it off your chest."

"Okay." Nic then turned away and glanced back at the group. "Follow me." Everyone then trailed behind Nic as he made way towards Bleu Plaza, where minimal people were around and a blue column represented the circular plaza. When they arrived, Nic and Vanessa both stood right next to each other and nodded in understanding to the other.

Nic and Vanessa then began to share their story, about how Vanessa was like the princess and how Nic was like the junkyard dog that was kicked around for fun. Lucy, and Sophie, and pretty much all the females there had hands over their mouths when Nic and Vanessa went on about their parents being extreme alcoholics sometimes and would come home from losing so many gambles and letting Nic take their frustration, having their father's Magneton take orders to shock Nic and make him beg for mercy, in which only got him kicked in the face even more. They even went on about how one day Vanessa stood up for her brother and was hurt, in which made Nic snap and beat the crap out of his parents, but he nearly got killed in the end, ultimately seeking help the next day, and then the parents went berserk in front of the police and they nearly killed a few officers. The two siblings were then given custody to the kind neighbors, and the parents were sent to life in prison.

At the end, Vanessa had misty eyes as she then recounted about not even a couple of days later that Professor Sycamore had heard about this and he gave Nic the opportunity to see the world, in which they would meet in Aquacorde Town, where Nic would meet Greninja as a Froakie.

Now out of shabby clothing, Nic had on his present attire that was given as part of the compensation for fifteen years of hell. When he got on his coat, it flapped in the wind and Nic turned his back towards the foster parents and Vanessa, who looked on with sadness.

Nic had a sad expression over his face, knowing that he chose this way, and he didn't wanna look back.

"Are you sure you have to go?" Joanna asked, who was a young woman with blue eyes and long brown hair that was wavy and went down to her back. She had on a pink dress and pink heled shoes.

"Nic, we understand that you've suffered. We can give you what you've earned." Michael persuaded, the man having short brown hair and brown eyes. He had on a white dress shirt and classy work pants that were a dark grey and black shoes. "You can stay with us and we'll give you fresh clothes and a real home and-!"

"No." Nic said, stopping him in mid-sentence. Nic still had his back turned as he spoke. "You've done more than enough for me. Joanna. Michael. Your job is to be foster parents, and that is what you must do. Vanessa is still young, so look after her for both our sakes." He paused as Vanessa had shaken eyes and she was starting to stream tears. "This is the path I've chosen. I won't be weighed down anymore. It's time I start seeing the sun and new faces."

Joanna blinked as her eyes were shaken, but she smiled through it all. "We understand, but never forget that you're always welcome here."

Michael swallowed and nodded in agreement with his wife. "Don't you worry, we know you have to look after yourself now. Vanessa will be taken care of."

"…thanks you guys." Nic then turned around. "Vanessa, I-!" He suddenly found himself being tackled, making him step back in shock. His wonderful little sister squeezed his waist as she couldn't hold back the tears. Her big brother was going on a journey, and she wasn't gonna be there to watch him grow anymore.

Vanessa was shaking as she was crying in Nic's shirt. "N-Nic…I wanna go with you!" She pleaded. "I don't wanna be without my brother! You've always taken the fall! IT'S NOT FAIR!" She cried. "Please let me go with you! PLEASE!"

Nic saw the frustration on his sister's face. She really didn't want Nic to go. Too be honest, Nic didn't like this anymore than she did. His blue eyes gazed down in shock as Vanessa was sobbing. Nic wanted to cry as well, but he chose not to. He had to be strong. Strong for his sister's sake. He had to grow and learn on his own so he could protect her in the future.

"Vanessa…look at me." Nic said softly, and she looked up with puffy eyes and streaming tears. Nic put a hand on her head. "Vanessa, you gotta be strong. I want you to stay here and have Joanna and Michael take care of you. Unlike the ones before, these are real parents. They'll make sure you get educated, fed healthy food, and discipline you."

Nic then knelt to his sister's eye level and put a hand on her shoulder. "Vanessa, I want you to become a beautiful, dependable young woman for everyone to admire. All your life, I was the one depended on, now it's my turn to depend on you to promise me you'll grow up and do as I say. You have to be strong and learn to love those other than your brother. Those who care about, those who would take a bullet for you, those who would be by your side. Make friends that will have your back, and don't take their trust for granted. Promise me you'll be strong and stay here."

Vanessa sniffled at her brother's wish. She wanted to be with her brother and watch him to get pampered and to see him actually happy for once, but this is what Nic's chosen, and he chose to get stronger and meet various people and the future members of his team that would be his happiness.

Vanessa choked as she slowly nodded. "I…I promise." She cried. "I promise!"

"That's my little sister." Nic smiled. Nic then pulled Vanessa in for a hug and held it for the longest time. As Vanessa vowed to be strong and stayed, her first step was to keep from crying, and she started holding back tears.

Vanessa then blinked when she felt tears stream off her shoulder, feeling Nic tear up and saying goodbye to his sister. Both siblings held each other for a little longer as Joanna and Michael both had misty eyes.

"Vanessa." Joanna cued softly, seeing as how Nic had to go. Regrettably, the two siblings parted and Vanessa sniffled and turned back towards the foster parents.

Nic looked up and his sister turned back towards her brother. "Vanessa, I love you."

"I love you too Nic." Vanessa stated, choking back tears.

Nic gave a soft smile as he started to ease on the small stream of tears. He finally flipped on his pair of sunglasses for the first time and he looked at Joanna and Michael. "Joanna. Michael…that's my sister you got there. My sister." The married couple nodded and had misty eyes as Nic finally turned and was out of sight soon, with a smile on both siblings' faces.

When the tail ended, everyone was baffled. Hearing as how Nic was abused and then chose to become strong to protect his love ones rather than stay with his sister. In their hearts, they knew it was the right thing to do, so no arguments were made, but some level of melancholy was expressed.

Vanessa turned towards Nic and smiled. "I pulled through, and a few months ago, Michael and Joanna hugged me tightly and bid me farewell. And Nic, they sent you their regards."

Nic gave a soft smile. "I can't be anymore grateful to them than I already have. They were great foster parents, weren't they?"

Vanessa nodded and perked up. "But enough reminiscing! I'll be happy to tell you that I just got by fifth Gym Badge yesterday!" She got a case out from her big, brown purse and presented the case, showing the top four slots filled and one slot filled on the bottom. Nic went slightly wide-eyed. "I got the Voltage Badge a few days ago. I gotta say, Clemont wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be."

Nic snickered. "No Gym Leader is easy. Speaking of badges, who did you use?" His question had caught questions mark all around the Fairy Tail Mages.

Vanessa smirked. "You really wanna find out?" She rhetorically asked. Getting into her purse yet again and reaching for six poke balls.

Natsu blinked and crossed his arms. "Hold up, you mean to tell me Nic isn't the only one with Pokémon?"

"Well duh flame brain. We are in Kalos, meaning people have these Pokémon things." Gray berated, which concluded to a glaring contest in which Erza bopped them on their heads. Everyone waiting in anticipation as to the Pokémon Vanessa was gonna show to her big brother.

"Come on out guys!" Vanessa threw her poke balls up into the air, in which they were preparing to open. That's when Vanessa realized something. 'Uh oh. There's one that Nic will…'

The Pokémon all appeared on the ground, in which they announced their names. Some were average height, some were taller, and some were unique in certain ways.

The smallest one in the bottom left was a light purple blob-like creature. The bottom half was darker in purple and had green spots on the sides, and also had two small, black eyes.

Another, right behind the former, was a bipedal fox-like Pokémon. The fur was primarily yellow, but the legs were black and from the chest up to the bottom half of her face was white. There were orange tuffs of fur growing from the ears and also had a wand in the fluffy tail.

To the right of the fox creature was a reptilian Pokémon with a tan body and pink stomach with a plethora of black lines running across. The tail had rings of back that had triangles on the top. The eyes had a big, black membrane all around, and the two legs that kept the Pokémon up had a single black patch on each thigh.

In front of it was a short, bipedal Pokémon. It had what appeared to be a hakama made of yellow fur and had red eyes. The most noticeable feature was the large horns on the head that resembled jaws.

Behind the former and the one before that was a large plant-like Pokémon. Or in this case a hybrid of an animal and a plant. It had a primarily bulky physique and had big legs. It had red eyes and had four huge leaves that grew from all four sides from its back. There was also a rather large trunk and a massive pink flower with white spots, and this one took everyone by surprise most of all.

"Woah!" Natsu marveled. "They're completely different from the Pokémon Nic has!"

Gray gave a twisted face at Natsu. "It's called variety genius."

They then began to butt heads again, with their auras flaring. "I can dish out as much variety as I want buddy!"

"I care to dish a variety of punches to your-!" Gray and Natsu were stopped not by Erza, but Nic this time, who just about had it and he shoved them away from the other, cracking their necks in the process.

Erza was left surprised, as was Vanessa. Nobody saw how fast Nic was at stopping them. "Fight just one more time and I'll be more than obligated to dislocate your bones so you can't move." He mildly warned, in which Natsu and Gray trembled.

Gajeel sweatdropped. "Man, his demeanor makes Titania look like an angel."

Vanessa blinked and giggled. "Seems as though Nic grew even more backbone than I'd thought." She noted.

Nic turned around. "So anyways." He motioned, turning to Vanessa's Pokémon. "These are your Pokémon Vanessa?"

Vanessa then introduced her Pokémon. "Yeah. Nic, meet Goomy, Braixen, Krokorok Mawile, Venusaur…and…" Vanessa trailed off, seeing how Nic wasn't gonna like this next one.

Nic blinked. "Is there something wrong Vanessa?" He asked. "Is there something peculiar about your…" Nic glanced over towards Vanessa's sixth Pokémon, and when he glanced at it, let's say he got suspicious on the spot.

Nic was staring at a wide and circular Pokémon, which was similar to a disc or saucer. Said creature had three eyes, the main one in the center with large, red pupil. Both sides of the body had screws, an eye, and large magnets. The top of the head had what seemed to be a yellow antennae. Behind the body was a third magnet, which was like a tail.

"Wait a minute…" Nic was slowly getting an epiphany, and narrowed his eyes as it was starting to come back to him. "Do I…I know?"

Vanessa bit her lip, expecting for something bad to come. The Pokémon was motionless in the air as it stared blankly at Nic.

"(It has been a long time, Nic Pularis.)" Its electronic-like voice muttered with some shame.

Nic gasped and was struck with horror. His pupils shrunk at the resemblance. Now it was clear to you. "It can't be…"

It was Magneton, but he evolved into Magnezone. (For the sake of the story, despite Magnezone being an 'it', let's just say it's a 'he'. I know they're genderless, but let's just leave it at the case its voice sounds like a he.)

Everyone looked to see Nic clenching his fists and veins were erupting all about. "You…" He snarled, his teeth baring and everyone heard the feral snarling Nic was emanating. He was pissed bad. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" He bellowed. He had no control as he lunged at Magnezone with extreme fury.

Everyone looked with extreme shock as Nic went to attack Magnezone, but Vanessa slid in front and blocked Nic off from Magnezone. "Nic! Stop!" She pleaded.

Nic came to a screeching halt in front of Vanessa, his anger filtering out as he stared coldly passed his sister towards Magnezone, who floated blankly about. As Vanessa had both arms out to stop Nic, he reluctantly stepped back and restrained himself, but was very well annoyed.

Nic pointed at Magnezone. "Vanessa, what is the deal here?! Why is it here of all places?!" He demanded. "You know full well that it tortured me along with our parents!"

"I know Nic! You think I don't know that?!" Vanessa exclaimed. "You didn't stop to think Magnezone felt sorry?!" Her exclamation made Nic fall in a state of shock and everyone watched in surprise. "Don't you remember that last day? The day you left and was brought home? You remember full well that when mom and dad began attacking the officers, you saw it too! Magneton did nothing! After that night, it quit!"

Magnezone looked down in shame. "(It's true. I may not have looked it in the past, but I've watched you grow Nic. With every passing day, I watched how you took care of Vanessa when your mom and dad were out. Sadly I was obligated under fear and tyranny, but even so…I felt pity for myself harming a caring individual who looks after the innocent.)" Magnezone stated.

Nic blinked as he still had his fists clenched, but the veins started going away. "(I watched you two grow, and I felt shame that I kept hurting you, but I was following orders. When I watched you stand up and nearly die, I had it. The next day, I just watched and did nothing…)" Magnezone looked down. "(…I know I cannot be fully forgiven for the sins I've committed, but I had to make it up somehow.)"

"Nic." Vanessa said, getting his attention. "After that day, Magneton willingly allowed himself to be taken into custody. He spent his time atoning for the pain he's caused, and I couldn't sit by any longer and watched Magneton suffer. Yes he's committed sins! Yes he was our father's Pokémon! But you saw his poke ball shatter that day too! Magneton deserved a second chance! When I left home, I found out that Magneton was release from his sentence and trailed back home, so I asked him to come along. He wants to make amends by taking your place and look after me." Vanessa admitted with slightly misty eyes. "Please don't fight."

There was long pause and Nic was still left baffled. He looked down at the ground and then he narrowed his eyes as he looked at Magnezone. "Is this true Magnezone? Have you tried atoning for your sins?"

Magnezone looked down and slowly bobbed as a nod. "(Yes Nic. It's all true. I've done wrong because I was told to. I apologize for my past actions, and I do not expect forgiveness, but give me this one chance to prove my worth.)"

Nic looked down at the ground as everyone in the background remained silent. Vanessa looked on in worry as Nic stepped forward towards Magnezone. "Nic."

There was a brief stare between Nic and Magnezone, but Nic broke the silence. "…very well. Since you've been atoning for all this time, I won't see you as an enemy." He said, much to everyone's relief. "However, I won't forget the pain you've caused, and I won't be so easy to warm up to you. Know that if you dare to try anything to harm Vanessa, know you will suffer the ultimate punishment by my hands."

His warning was made loud and clear and Magnezone complied. "(I'll abide accordingly. Your sister has been in capable hands this whole time, and will be until the end of my days.)" Nic looked down and stepped back, seeing as how he allowed for Magnezone to be his sister's Pokémon. He honestly thought Magnezone deserved a chance after hearing how he's been battling by Vanessa's side this entire time. Seeing him atone, it makes Nic remind Magnezone of Jellal in a way, which was how Nic was even more forgiving.

With the matter settled, Nic backed off and grinned at the other Pokémon. "I take it that these are the others you caught along your journey, yes?"

Vanessa nodded. "Yup! Braixen evolved from Fennekin, and Venusaur was just a Bulbasaur. Both came from Professor Sycamore, the first being Fennekin of course."

Nic smiled. "I see, that's just like my Greninja and Charizard a long time ago, both were from Professor Sycamore. It's nice to see that my sister has Pokémon by her side. Nice to meet you all."

"(Hello!)" Goomy announced with her bubbly and slimy voice. "(I'm new too! I was caught yesterday! It's so good to see my Trainer's brother!)"

Braixen waved at Nic. "(It's so good to meet you at long last! Vanessa has been telling us a lot about you!)" She explained.

Krokorok looked at Nic. "(LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING NIC PULARIS! I AM KROKOROK!)" Her Krokorok yelled loudly.

Mawile sweatdropped. "(Oh Krokorok.)" She pitied. "(You'll have to excuse him. Krokorok is loud and thinks anything can be solved just by biting.)" She exaggerated.

Krokorok turned towards Mawile. "(That's not true! SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO BITE THINGS A LOT!)"

Mawile crossed her arms. "(Uh, last I checked, we both know Crunch, not Bite.)" She corrected with a raised brow. Krokorok snarled at her, and she just turned away.

Venusaur slowly stepped in between the two and broke the little tiff. "(Okay Krokorok Mawile, save the comments and anger for a battle please.)" He persuaded. Reluctantly, Krokorok backed off and Venusaur gave a relieving sigh.

Vanessa sweatdropped. "That Venusaur. Always the peacekeeper besides me." She sighed.

Nic smiled and looked at her Pokémon. All of them were unique, just like his. "All of them looked nice and healthy Vanessa. They all have plenty of room to develop their personalities, so I wouldn't worry too much with their disputes."

Vanessa smiled happily. "Thanks so much Nic!" Then something crossed her mind. "Wait, did your Pokémon ever get into tiffs?"

Raising a brow, Nic tried to think as to how to answer her question, since he has his Pokémon battle each other and him as well. "Well, it's hard to explain. For starters, we never once got into an argument, but that's because we're always together, I can't be sure how to put it anyway else."

"So they don't fight ever?"

"The fights you talk about? No. We always train. Maybe I'll show you sometimes just exactly what I mean." He explained. Vanessa then returned her team to their poke balls and she turned towards the group. Vanessa gave a cheerful grin and everyone looked with a smile.

Natsu had a fist pumped. "Aw yeah! Seeing these Pokémon are making me all fired up! Now I really wanna see what these things can do!"

Gajeel crossed his arms. "Are you forgetting something Salamander? Luminous 's shark dragon destroyed that robot dragon, remember? And that light bulb too before that big parade." He reminded.

"Just thinking about what that thing did is making me shiver!" Lucy said, clenching herself due to her shivering.

"Same. I'm shock that Laxus was S-Class and Garchomp wasn't even trying from what I've heard." Sophie remarked.

This little statement caught Vanessa's interest. "Huh?" She tilted her head. "What's this Laxus? And what's this talk about S-Class?" Immediately, Sophie and Lucy clamped their own mouths as they spiled the beans. "Nic?"

Nic was momentarily still as he wasn't sure how to put this. Should he tell or should he avoid it? He can never ever lie to his sister, and it was evident that she was bound to catch on. Nic sighed as he had no choice, seeing as how Lucy and Sophie started this.

"I guess since you're my sister, I'll make an exception." He said and turned towards her.

"You can't be serious man!" Gray protested. "Are you seriously gonna drag your sister into this mess? Have you considered the consequences?"

Nic turned towards Gray with a harsh glare. "I'm not dragging her into anything!" He retorted. "I have no intention on doing so, but she deserves to know the truth of what's happened. It's been three years after all." He then took in a deep breath. "…Vanessa. There's no easy way to explain what I'm about to tell you, but you have to swear that you will never tell a living soul."

Vanessa was all ears. "Nic, whatever it is, I'm gonna help you in whatever way I can! No matter how dangerous!" She insisted.

Knowing that his sister was slightly more resilient, protests weren't an option. "Okay then." Nic looked around, seeing as how the Bleu Plaza was empty this time and it was just the group and Vanessa. Once again, Nic took in a deep breath. "Vanessa…"

Nic took it nice and easy with the explanation. He went very slowly in explaining the situation at hand. He explained that the universe was in peril because Arcus was dying. He then explained as to how his mission was to collect all eighteen Plates in the land of Fiore. He went even slower as to the crazy battles he's been in, and the events that led him up to this point. All of that took about an hour. And that included revealing Happy, Carla, and Lily.

Vanessa was left baffled, but not to the point where she would stutter and faint, but where she was speechless. Vanessa couldn't even begin to fathom the pressure Nic has on his shoulders, but was lightened when she found it slightly awe-striking with Nic being able to use actual moves, though he didn't display any. She believed every word, and she didn't seemed too bothered with the Exceeds.

Nic turned around and crossed his arms. "Vanessa, I'm sorry you had to be told that, but it's what happened. It can't be helped. I-!" Nic suddenly felt arms wrap around him and was shocked that his sister was hugging him yet again with a smile.

Everybody there expected Vanessa to be breaking down and saying how unfair it was for Nic to be burdened with such a tall order, but she actually took it rather well.

Vanessa let go and walked in front and turned towards Nic. "Nic, it's true that I find this to be a responsibility no one including yourself to bare, but like you said, this was the path that you've chosen." She smiled. "And no matter what, I won't leave you to bear this alone. I'm gonna support and root for you, because you are my brother, and I believe you can do it! Because you're awesome and so strong now!"

Nic was speechless, but felt relieved at the same time. He smiled gently at his sister. "You've really grown Vanessa."

On one of the monitors in Bleu Plaza, the only monitor there, they heard crowds cheering and applauding. Erza looked up. "What's going on?"

Nic and everyone looked up at the huge television and saw a stage with many lights. Vanessa knew instantly what it was. "Hey, it's a Pokémon Performance!"

"Pokémon what?" Lisanna asked.

Vanessa turned towards Lisanna and everyone else. "Pokémon Performance. It's a special kind of showcase where Trainer and Pokémon both dress up and perform sort of speak." She explained and looked back up at the screen. "I don't participate in these things ever because that's not my style, but I know a few people, so that's how I know."

Sophie raised a brow. "So, what's the concept in this performance?"

"Well, from what I've heard, the trainer and Pokémon get into clothes and they dance and perform moves to wow the crowd. If they're fortunate, they move on to round two, where they have to style their Pokémon and walk down a runway. The people vote for the best one and the winner gets this Princess Key or something." She informed.

Lily, seeing how the coast was clear, was on the ground and crossed his arms. "So what you're saying is that it's like a more friendly version of these Gym Battles that you and Nic do?"

"Supposedly, sure." Vanessa said. She then looked at the monitor and went wide-eyed. "Hey look!" Everyone turned towards the screen. "She's one of the friends I talked about!"

The young woman on the big screen had long, wavy, white hair that was braided and went down to her ankles and had bangs sweeping to her left and strands that framed her face. She had large sea green eyes, naturally tanned skinned, and had on a short sea foam green kimono that faded into darker shades of green as it went down to the edges of the bottom of her sleeves, which were quite long and hid the girl's hands. She also had black leggings underneath, emerald flats, and an emerald rose pinning her hair back.

She was currently on stage with two Pokémon of her own. She had a Braixen of her own, and the other was a huge surprise, in which it was a Pokémon with ribbon-like feelers all around the body. It was known as a Slyveon, but the eyes were pink and the fir that was meant to be pink was actually blue.

"There's something you don't see every day." Nic marveled at the Sylveon with mild shock.

Natsu crossed his arms. "What's the big deal?"

Nic turned towards Natsu. "You that creature? The one with four feet?" Nic looked at the Sylveon and everyone followed his gaze. "That's no ordinary Sylveon. That's a shiny Sylveon."

"Then why isn't it sparkling?" Happy asked.

Vanessa explained. "It's hard to explain. The basic concept is that the Pokémon's color is different. Shinys are almost impossible to get. Count her lucky." She remarked with a grin.

Onscreen, they watched the girl and her Braixen and shiny Sylveon do a dance in unison. When the girl twirled, Sylveon and Braixen twirled around their Trainer and Braixen crouched and backflipped into the air.

"Now Lacey, Fairy Wind! Fireheart, Fire Spin!" She exclaimed. The Braixen named Fireheart then dove downwards while upside down and used Fire Spin, sending a vortex of fire downwards. The shiny Sylveon spread the feelers she had and unleashed a sparkling wind upwards, colliding with the Fire Spin. What that did was made pink winds with sparkling embers cycle about the whole stage as the two attacks spun and wowed the crowd.

The girl then posed as her shiny Sylveon and her Braixen landed on opposite sides and did a unison spin and bowed to the crowd, earning a big applause.

The small group looked with surprise at the flashy display and even Nic had to admit it was rather creative. Wendy clasped her hands together with a smile. Wendy marveled (hah! Get it? Her last name is Marvell) at the site. "Oh wow, that was a great performance!"

Erza nodded with a hand to her hip. "Those moves were in sync. I have to admit, that was an eye-opener."

Vanessa turned towards the group. "Hey, I know where the showcase is! It's a few plazas down, but we'll be able to see her when she comes out!" Vanessa then turned and started out of Bleu Plaza. "Hurry up!"

With a shrug, everyone decided to follow in pursuit and followed Vanessa towards the South Boulevard, which was a long trek and taxis weren't affordable because the group was rather large and Natsu would easily get motion sickness, so it was a fast forty-five minutes to the front of the showcase area, where everyone had arrived.

Vanessa and everyone grinned as people exited, meaning the showcase was over, but the big screen showed that the girl from before made it on towards the Styling Round with her Braixen and the two actually won.

Everyone eventually saw the same girl walk out soon after in her normal attire. Her attire was comprised of a grey tank top and simple black leggings. Unlike Nic and Vanessa, she had a Mega Necklace laced on her neck. Her wrists had bands to keep her poke balls on, three for each wrist. The bands were sea foam green. She also had simple black shoes with green designs on the sides. She also seemed to have sea foam colored headphones around her neck and had a simply grey shoulder bag.

"Zetta!" The girl heard her name being called and she had recognize the voice almost instantly, hearing the voice from numerous occasions.

"Huh?" She turned and her sea green eyes caught sight of Vanessa rushing up to her. "Vanessa! It's been a while!"

"I know!" Vanessa came to a stop when she was in front of Zetta. "I saw that performance, and it that was amazing!"

"Thanks! Because of Fireheart and Lacey, I got my third Princess Key!" She squealed.

Vanessa crossed her arms with a curious look. "You know, I still don't get why you nickname your Pokémon."

Lacey and Fireheart were both behind Zetta as she heard them question Zetta's nicknames, in which made a tickmark.

"(Watch it.)" Fireheart scowled with a British accent, protecting his Trainer's actions. "(She's free to choose whatever names she wants.)"

"(Oh please. Different people, different opinions. Some people reading this would like nicknames for once.)" Lacey commented, breaking the fourth wall.

Zetta took note of how Fireheart and Lacey felt and raised a brow. "Careful Vanessa, you might make them mad." She teased.

Vanessa narrowed her eyes and turned slightly. "Hey, it's not exactly my fault when I ask a simple question and your team gets defensive."

Zetta shrugged her arms. "Maybe if you ask nicely, maybe I'll lighten up and I could give you a few suggestions for nicknames myself."

Vanessa kept a calm expression, but a tick mark was seen on her head. "My Pokémon are fine Zetta. Mind your own please."

Zetta giggled. "Oh come on Vanessa, you know I'm just messin' with ya!" She teased and laughed as she gave a pat on Vanessa's back, in which made Vanessa grumble. "So anyways, since you're in Lumiose City, I assume you have your fifth Gym Badge?"

Vanessa then held up her badge to Zetta, who marveled at it. "It wasn't easy, but I got a lot of help from Krokorok."

"(That Krokorok, always yelling and being angry for absolutely no reason. Not even worth deceiving.)" Lacey sighed.

Braixen scowled in agreement, but kept himself at a cool state of mind. "(Now be nice. Vanessa's team is unique and we might as well respect that.)"

Zetta turned towards Fireheart with a raised brow. "Well it's nice to find that you're temper eased just like that."

Nic snickered and crossed his arms as he proceeded to Vanessa's side. "Sounds like he can be easily tempered, yet keep himself restrained." He commented.

Zetta sighed. "Yeah, he's always been like that and…wait, you can understand Pokémon too?!" She squealed with sparkling eyes.

Nic sweatdropped, trying to figure out a convincing lie, but luckily Vanessa was there and she turned towards Nic. "Uh, Nic? I'm not sure about this myself, but Zetta can understand Pokémon, or sense what they're saying sort of speak. At least that's what she says."

"It's so true!" Zetta testified.

Vanessa put her hands up in objection to her offence. "I'm not denying your claim, I'm just stating it."

Sophie raised a brow as she and everyone else looked on at the scene. "Oh my, seems those two have a little rivalry." She commented.

"Yeah, like Natsu and Gray, but on a much lighter scale." Lucy joked, in which the two mentioned groaned.

Nic then intervened the two. "Zetta, take it easy. You know my sister doesn't intend on hurting others feelings. If anything, we both sympathize with your ability." He explained, dying down the heat. "And if you are curious as to how I know is because I'm around Pokémon all the time." He stated, and he wasn't wrong, yet it wasn't true either. He could understand their speech fully, but he couldn't say.

"That's amazing!" Zetta exclaimed. She turned towards Vanessa. "You know him?"

Vanessa smiled happily. "Of course. This is Nic, my brother!" Zetta could've sworn that her jaw dropped to the pavement in shock. She was completely white and was staring in shock. Vanessa and Nic smiled at each other. "He's very smart, and is a Pokémon Trainer too!"

"S-S-Seriously?!" Zetta tried composing herself and tried calming down. "You never told me you had a brother. Is he strong?"

Vanessa's grin never left her face, but her expression grew to a serious one. "Yeah. He's very strong."

"I see." Zetta turned toward Nic with a serious grin. "I may only have five Gym Badges and three Princess Keys, but that doesn't mean I'm weak." She pointed at Nic. "I challenge you to a battle!"

Nic's lip parted with shock, and he wasn't sure what exactly to do. They were on a deadline, and they couldn't afford to waste any time. Though technically, there was a rule and Nic had to follow it, so he sighed.

"Very well." He stated calmly. "I accept your challenge."

Vanessa blinked in shock. "Zetta, are you sure you want to face my brother?"

"I don't see why not." She reasoned. "Come on!" She returned Lacey and Fireheart and they made way to the Pokémon Center in the South Boulevard, where there was a battlefield out back.

Natsu pumped his fists. "Sweet! We get to see an actual battle!"

"Aye." Happy whispered, remembering that they were suppose to be plush toys in their arms.

"Yeah well, that chick is in for a world of disappointment." Gray remarked. They eventually made it to the battlefield behind the Center, where there were two Trainer boxes. Nic went to one side while Zetta went to the other, both facing the other.

Zetta plucked a poke ball from one of her wrists and enlarged it. "We'll each use two Pokémon, got it?" She stated, to which Nic nodded.

While everyone was on the sidelines, Vanessa walked in the middle, just outside the battlefield lines. "The battle between Nic and Zetta will now begin! Each side will use two Pokémon, and the battle will be over when all of one side's Pokémon are unable to battle! Substitutions are allowed!" She announced.

Nic then flipped on his sunglasses and pulled out his poke ball. "Very well. Let's go!" Nic threw his poke ball and it opened, revealing it to be his Arbok, and he hissed quietly.

Zetta raised a brow. "An Arbok?" She said. "Don't be too disappointed when I wipe the floor with ya!" She declared, throwing a poke ball. "Come on out Miri!"

The poke ball opened, revealing Zetta's Gogoat that she named Miri. Miri looked out at the battlefield and saw her adversary.

Zetta grinned. 'I'm positive Arbok are Poison-Types, so if I use Bulldoze, I can score serious damage.' She thought.

"Let the battle begin!" Vanessa shouted, chopping downwards.

"(Nic-sssssama, what isssss that you dessssire me to do?)" Arbok obediently asked.

Nic narrowed his eyes under his sunglasses and extended an arm out. "Use Ice Fang!"

"(Asssss you wish.)" Arbok's mouth opened and his fangs were covered in ice and grew.

Zetta extended her arm as well. "Intercept with Seed Bomb!" As Miri inhaled to use Seed Bomb, all anybody saw was a purple blur and a blink of an eye was all it took. Zetta was caught off guard when she saw the left side of Miri was covered in ice. Arbok hissed lowly and ceased Ice Fang as he was behind Miri. He didn't look back to see Miri fall to her side and faint.

"Whoa!" Natsu jerked up from the benches at seeing how fast that attack was. "I didn't even see that!"

"That was so quick! My mind couldn't even keep track of Arbok." Sophie commented.

Vanessa was also caught by extreme surprise. She had never seen anything move as fast as that before, but she shook off the shock in time to call it. "Miri is unable to battle, Arbok is the winner!" She announced.

Arbok scowled. "(That wasssss quick work with that walking rug, but I exxxxpected no better.)" He snobbishly commented, which didn't go unnoticed by Zetta being able to sense what Arbok was saying.

"Hmph! Bet you'd make a fine belt if you were flattened." Zetta witted back and returned Miri.

Arbok snarled and hissed at Zetta. "(You'd be wisssse to be shaking in thosssse shoessss grandma. You'd be damned if you think we'd ever losssse.)" Arbok commented right back in which made Zetta grow a tick mark.

"I see. So the objective is to defeat the opponent's Pokémon and be declared the winner in the end." Lily said quietly. Gajeel nodded in agreement.

"So you set the terms and you continue on until one side is defeat. In this case, Zetta can only use one more Pokémon before she loses the match." Erza deduced. "That's interesting."

Zetta brought out a second poke ball. "I underestimated your Arbok's Speed, but it won't happen again! Go Spark!" Zetta threw the poke ball, which was revealed to be Spark, her Emolga.

Spark appeared and glided through the air. "(Hey!)" She cheerfully called out. Arbok merely hissed, and that made Spark uneasy.

"I know Arbok is suited for the ground, so try and strike us when you can't reach us." Zetta stated.

Vanessa knew Zetta fairly well, she may be slightly childish and odd, and maybe sassy, but she is rather clever in battle, and she thought Zetta would have the advantage. Vanessa clenched her fist in defiance, believing that Nic could beat her.

"Thunderbolt!" Zetta commanded. Spark then became engulfed in electricity and fired a lightning bolt at Arbok, who saw it coming from a mile away.

"Dodge." Nic stated.

"(Assss you wish.)" Arbok then slithered left in a flash, evading Thunderbolt with little to no effort, but Zetta expected this and had Spark fire even more Thunderbolt attacks. The Thunderbolts trailed the ground, but Arbok's serpentine skills and evasive prowess that he has kept him from being touched.

"So fast." Zetta remarked.

"Gunk Shot!" Nic commanded, and Arbok made a silver light and it turned into a garbage bag with a purple outlining. Arbok then fired at Spark, and it zoomed faster than a rocket, and Spark had a 0% chance of dodging. There was a big explosion in the sky, and Zetta watched in shock as Spark sailed down and crashed, creating a crater within the ground.

Zetta was shaken by this and was baffled that Nic and Arbok didn't even blink and they swatted her Miri and Spark like they were nothing. "I…I…what?"

Vanessa called it. "Spark is unable to battle, Arbok is the winner; therefore, the victory goes to Nic!" She announced.

Gray blinked and raised a brow. "Geez, why am I not surprised?"

Erza turned towards Gray. "Gray, your shirt."

"Aw crap!" He realized he didn't have the shirt he had on and scrounged about to find it. Meanwhile, Vanessa hurried towards her brother as Zetta returned Spark.

"Nic, that was amazing!" Vanessa cheered.

Nic smiled and Arbok was pet on the head. He then returned Arbok. "Thanks Vanessa." He then thought internally. 'Better not say that we didn't even try.'

Zetta walked up while gawking at Nic. "I…I'm speechless."

Vanessa nodded. "See? Nic is really strong, and now you've witnessed it first-hand."

Zetta raised a brow and she looked at Vanessa now. "I was very impressed. Miri had just evolved too. And Spark is my aerial combatant, hardly anyone can touch her, but that Gunk Shot had hit Spark like it was nothing!"

"Like Vanessa said, my Pokémon and I are pretty strong as you would put it." Nic said with absolute zero modesty, stating the fact that it's what they said.

"I know, but…" Zetta then pointed at Vanessa. "Vanessa!"

"Huh?"

"I have to wonder, when was the last time we battled?" She noted, in which was the implication as to a challenge. Vanessa's lips parted slightly and she was left in surprise.

Vanessa didn't know what to say. "R-Really? Even after your battle against my brother?"

Zetta then reasoned. "I don't see why not. I admit that your brother is far beyond my level, but you and I still need to even out that score. You got me by surprise the last time, but that won't happen again."

Nic snickered. "I wouldn't mind seeing that."

Vanessa whipped her head towards Nic. "R-Really?! You wanna see me battle?!"

Natsu crossed his arms. "For sure. I've been dying to see what Nic's little sister can do!"

Wendy looked excited. "Yeah, I wanna see another battle! These things seem actually fun!"

"If by fun, you mean painful, then I agree kid." Gajeel said.

"And besides." Lisanna stated. "Nic was on a completely unmatched level. I think it would be fair to have Vanessa and Zetta battle since they're on even grounds."

Erza crossed her arms and grinned. "I don't mind one more battle, but keep in mind that we have places to be and very little time to do so." She reminded the group.

Seeing as how there wasn't much of a choice, Vanessa complied. "Alright Zetta, you're on!" Vanessa smirked. "But don't think I'll be easy on ya for one second. Because my brother is here, and I have no intention on losing with him here!"

Zetta grinned. "Sure, give it everything you got Vanessa, and I'll do the same." In less than two minutes, both parties were set and they were in their respective Trainer boxes.

Nic was the referee this time and everyone watched as the battle began. "Okay. The battle between Vanessa and Zetta will now begin. Each side will use up to three Pokémon, and the battle will be over when one side's Pokémon are unable to battle. Substitutions are allowed."

"Are you ready Vanessa?" Zetta asked, to which Vanessa nodded. "Alright then, go Lacey!" Zetta then took another poke ball from her wrist and threw it, revealing it to be her shiny Sylveon from before.

Lacey elegantly flipped in the air and posed gently on the ground. "(What? I'm not in the mod for battle.)" She whined.

Zetta sighed and pulled out something that seemed to be a little cupcake of sorts. "Poke Puff?" She teased.

Immediately, Lacey whipped her head around. "(YES!)" She zoomed towards Zetta and devoured the Poke Puff happily and then felt satisfied. Lacey then walked back to place. "(Okay, I'm good.)"

Vanessa sighed. "So Sylveon huh?" Vanessa pondered. "Let's see…" She narrowed her eyes and then pulled out a poke ball. "Let's try this! Come on out Krokorok!"

Krokorok appeared onto the battlefield, and this displeased Lacey. "(Oh great, him again.)" She sighed.

"(LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING LACEY, THE SHINY SYLVEON! Krokorok is gonna wrap those ribbons around you, and then tear them open, AND WRAP THEM AGAIN!)" He yelled.

Lacey blinked. "(Just what the heck are you talking about?)"

Krokorok narrowed his eyes. "(I DON'T KNOW!)"

Nic raised a brow under his sunglasses. 'Hold up, Krokorok is part Ground and Dark-Type. Just what does Vanessa have planned for Sylveon?'

Zetta put a hand to her hip. "Don't tell me you're using Krokorok just to annoy Lacey, are you?" She questioned.

Vanessa shook her head. "Nope. Krokorok may have lost before, but we're battling to overcome Type disadvantage. Right Krokorok?" She asked.

"(That's right!)" Krokorok stated.

Seeing both sides ready, Nic brought his arm down in a chop. "Let the battle begin!"

Immediately, Zetta moved her hand in an arc. "Now Lacey, Swift!" Lacey then followed her command and unleashed yellow stars in golden sparkles towards Krokorok.

"Intercept with Rock Tomb!" Vanessa commanded. Krokorok then had a white aura outline and then several gray boulders appeared over his head. He yelled and the attack went being thrown at the incoming Swift. All of the stars clashed with the boulders, making them crumble and burst, making a small burst of energy that left the area in between obscured. "Dig!" Vanessa commanded, and Krokorok dove into the earth, with the smoke and dust being used as cover.

Zetta narrowed her eyes. "I'm not a fool Vanessa! I knew you would try that, and that won't help when we do this!" She extended her arm out. "Use Swift and aim for the hole!"

Lacey jumped and she was momentarily over the cloud, where she saw the hole and she unleashed Swift at the hole, the stars flying into the hole, and everyone was fairly shocked that the Swift actually traveled through the hole.

Lacey smirked as she landed. "(Hm, too prdei-!)" Lacey was then struck from underneath by Dig, and she yelped when Krokorok resurfaced and bashed his claw into her abdomen. Zetta looked on with shock as Krokorok grabbed Lacey and threw her into the hole underneath, sending her right into the Swift intended for her, making a burst of energy from within the ground and Lacey shot out and landed on her side.

"Lucy looked on with shock. "Whoa, that was a good move!"

Erza nodded as she spectated. "She had her opponent's attack turned against them. Well played."

"Lacey, can you get up?" Zetta asked. Lacey slowly arose from the ground and shook her blue fur and she glared harshly at Krokorok.

"(That was a dirty trick! You tricked me!)" Lacey exclaimed in irony that she's suppose to be the deceiver, though Krokorok did not care.

"(Krokorok does not do trickery! Krokorok is about beating, and beating I will do!)" Krokorok testified.

"Shadow Claw! Now!" Vanessa shouted. Krokorok's right claw was then coated in a black aura with purple outlining and he then rushed after Lacey.

But Zetta had brains, and she wasn't gonna let this move hit. "Now, grab Krokorok!" Lacey's feelers then extended and went out towards Krokorok and grabbed both his arms, stopping his attack. Vanessa gasped as she had realized the feelers were an asset for Lacey. "Now whip him around and use Fairy Wind!"

"(Mind if I have this dance?)" Lacey asked, and then pivoted and her feelers began to whip about her body, dragging Krokorok through the air. Lacey kept going until she reached a critical point and let loose Fairy Wind over her head, making a cyclone that swallowed up Krokorok as he was still stuck in the feelers. He was whipped about in circles about Lacey's head while Fairy Wind whirled about.

Everyone, including Nic, looked with surprise that Zetta was surprisingly smart in immobilizing Krokorok and scoring damage. "That Lacey thing used its ribbons to restrain and keep that Krokorok fellow in place to do damage." Gray said. "That's smart."

Erza nodded. "I know, and it would appear that Krokorok is taking more damage than we would have originated." She didn't know much about Types, nor much about Pokémon, but it was evident that Krokorok was sustaining damage.

"Krokorok, hang in there!" Vanessa shouted.

"(LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING RIBBON-LIKE FEELERS THAT ARE RESTRAINING KROKOROK! KROKOROK DOES NOT LIKE BEING HURLED IN CIRCLES!)" Krokorok yelled as he was hurled about within Fairy Wind.

"Now reel it in for Draining Kiss!" Zetta commanded.

The Fairy Wind stopped and Lacey paled. "(…oh good lord. She wants me to kiss that thing?)" She quivered, but was retracted her feelers as to comply.

'I gotta think and fast! Otherwise this Draining Kiss is gonna finish Krokorok!' Vanessa thought. She tried to look for a weakness. 'I'll go for the feelers!' Vanessa moved her arm in an arc. "Krokorok! Use Crunch!"

"(Now that's more like it!)" As he was being reeled in, Krokorok opened his mouth and his teeth glowed and extended. He then chomped down on the left feeler really hard, which made Lacey shriek as she felt pain in her feeler, sustaining even more damage. This surprised Zetta greatly, as it also forc Lacey to let go.

"You forgot that Krokorok could still open and close his mouth." Vanessa said. Seeing how Lacey retracted her feelers and sustained even more damage, this was her chance. "Now! Shadow Claw!"

"(ADIOS LACEY, THE SHINY SYLVEON!)" Krokorok used Shadow Claw and he rushed in at a whimpering Lacey.

"Watch out!" Zetta warned, but Lacey was too caught up in her pain and Krokorok slashed downwards, making Lacey wail and fly back, landing on the ground several feet away and was scattered in dust. "Lacey!" The dust cleared, but Lacey was knocked out.

Nic called it. "Sylveon is unable to battle, Krokorok is the winner!" Nic announced.

Vanessa grinned at Krokorok. "Great job Krokorok!" She raised. In which he stood like a champ.

Zetta returned Lacey and she sighed. "Impressive. I didn't see that coming. You overcame Type advantage after all." She commented. "I never expected such a comeback, but it looks like I'll have to kick it into high gear! Let's go Jaws!" Zetta threw another poke ball, revealing her Tyrunt that roared.

"(What are you looking at?!)" Jaws's anger issues could probably rival Krokorok's if possible.

"(Let me tell you something Jaws the Tyrunt! Krokorok is eat you up, and then spit you out, AND THEN EAT YOU AGAIN!)"

"Crunch! Let's go!" Vanessa shouted. Krokorok then went to use Crunch on Jaws, but Zetta made her counterattack.

"Jaws! Counter that with Dragon Claw!" Zetta commanded. Jaw then roared and then had light green energy around his claws and he rushed in and Crunch and Dragon Claw collided, making energy burst in between, sending fairly strong winds surging about. Both Krokorok and Jaws skid back, both sides taking a little damage.

"Now, use Crunch!" Zetta commanded. Jaws then had his fangs glow and extend and he lunged at Krokorok, who sustained damage from before and was on a knee. Vanessa wanted Krokorok to dodge, but she made an alternative.

"Dig!" Krokorok quickly went underground by Vanessa's commands and went underground quickly, evading Crunch just in time. Zetta gritted her teeth and Jaws looked around in anger.

"(Where are you?!)" Jaws demanded and started stomping about angrily. "(Where?!)"

"(Right here!)" Krokorok burst through the ground underneath, sending dust flying and Jaws sailing in the air, with Krokorok in the air from an uppercut he did for Dig as he resurfaced.

"Now use Shadow Claw!" Vanesa commanded, in which Krokorok used it in midair and slashed at Jaws, dealing even more damage and the Rock and Dragon-Type howled as he hit the ground, making dust fly.

Zetta was caught surprised, but Nic was even more surprised by that clever display. 'Wow, Vanessa's giving commands with ease. That's my sister, she's grown up into a great Trainer.' He smiled as he continued to be the referee.

Jaws slowly got back up. "(C-Curse you!)" He scowled as he was shaking from anger and from being tired. "(I'M NOT THROUGH WITH YOU, YOU HEAR ME?!)"

Zetta narrowed her eyes. "I forgot that your Krokorok had that Moxie Ability." She stated. "I forgot that was what made the match close a couple of times."

"Moxie?" Natsu asked.

Vanessa turned towards Natsu and everyone else. "Moxie is an Ability that my Krokorok has. When he defeats a previous opponent, his Attack power gets boosted."

"So it's like a power that boosts your chances of pain? Nice." Sophie commented.

"We're not down yet! Dragon Claw!" Jaws complied and he went at Krokorok with Dragon Claw once more.

Zetta extended her arm out. "Use Shadow Claw!" Krokorok then went with his Shadow Claw and both Krokorok and Jaws raced towards the other, and everyone was wondering who would come out on top. Both angry Pokémon then trust their claws into the opposite attack making a full burst of energy that had sent dust flying about like crazy.

When the dust cleared, both Trainers gritted their teeth in anticipation as they saw their two Pokémon all wobbly. Both Pokémon were covered in scratches and their visions were getting hazy.

"(Curse…you…stupid…stupid…)" Jaws fell forward.

"(Let me…tell you…something…)" Krokorok then fell forward, both parties falling forward into unconsciousness.

"Jaws!" Zetta exclaimed.

"Krokorok!" Vanessa shouted in worry.

Nic announced it once more. "Krokorok and Tyrunt are both unable to battle!" He announced.

Everyone spectated as the unconscious Pokémon were put back into their poke balls. Everyone seemed to take delight in how this battle was going.

"Man, this battle sure is something." Natsu commented. "I never knew you could just tell these things to do something and they just do it."

Sophie raised a brow. "Though I do wonder why they take orders anyways?"

Gajeel just shrugged. "Guess they just need a guiding hand or something."

Zetta gave a grin, yet a concerned expression. "You battled well Jaws, thanks." She then put the poke ball away and reached for another one on her wrist and looked at Vanessa. "Vanessa, I haven't pushed this far back for quite some time. Normally it's the other way around. Nice comeback, but now I'm gonna go all out! You leave me no choice, now go Aura!"

The poke ball was thrown into the air, and what came out was a pretty hard Pokémon to get. Lucario, or as Zetta nicknamed him, Aura.

He stood affirm as he looked out at Vanessa. "(At your service, Master.)"

Vanessa was taken by surprise. "Geez Zetta! I didn't know your Riolu finally evolved. Well played." Vanessa took out a device, and she then analyzed Aura to understand what is was.

Gray raised a brow. "Hey, that's the same gizmo that Nic showed us that one time." He reminded Team Natsu. They then heard the hologram of Lucario speak.

"Lucario, the Aura Pokémon. By reading the auras of all things, it can tell how others are feeling from overhalf a mileaway."

Vanessa stowed her device away and she looked at Lucario. She began to mutter. "I'm for certain since it's the evolved form of Riolu. It's gotta be part Fighting-Type. So…" She then reached out and got another poke ball out. "Braixen, come on out!"

Vanessa's Braixen then appeared and looked pretty pleasant. "(Let's give it our all Vanessa!)" Braixen said, being ready to act with Vanessa by her side.

Zetta smirked. "Oh, a part Psychic-Type, well played Vanessa." Zetta admitted. "However…" Zetta slowly reached for her own neck and showed Vanessa the Mega Necklace. "You know I have Mega Evolution now, just like you."

Vanessa gasped and went wide-eyed. "Wait, but that would mean…" In her mind, she was panicking as Zetta had an ace.

Nic looked in shock as well, seeing as how Zetta had a Mega Necklace. "A Mega Necklace? That means her Lucario can Mega Evolve." He was getting worried for his sister, as she could very well be at a disadvantage.

Wendy saw the necklace as well. "Hey wait. That's the stone Nic used when his Garchomp became that Mega Garchomp." She stated.

Gajeel narrowed his eyes. "Seems as though Luminous isn't the only one who can do that Mega stuff." Gajeel remarked. "We'll just see just how this goes for his sibling."

Zetta grinned. "This isn't over, not yet at least! Aura, Mega Evolve!" Zetta tapped the stone on her necklace, which then began emanating light waves. Aura's body began to shine a glow, in which yellow light waves began to surge. Erza and everyone else watched in shock as the process of Mega Evolution was happening.

"This power." Erza said as the light waves made contacted. "It's staggering."

The light waves shined and trailed towards Aura and she began to shine a light. They all saw Aura's body change, and Braixen and Vanessa grunted as Zetta's Mega Evolution caught them off guard. They saw the appendages on the head separate, and the tail changed, and then the light faded, it showed that Aura's cream fur became longer and the thighs slimmed. The spikes on the back of the paws grew in numbers and turned crimson, and the feet were crimson too and also had spikes. The aura-sensors grew longer and two were tipped with crimson. The shoulders had spikes as well, and the body in general had black markings.

Mega Lucario, or Mega Aura, then roared as a shockwave rippled, making a wind palpitate upon his Mega Evolution. Everyone watching had their hair flow from the wind.

"Whoa! It really happened!" Wendy exclaimed, with Carls swallowing.

"Mega Evolution." Erza said quietly, marveling at this power level she was sensing.

"Yeah." Gajeel nodded then pause. "That's exactly what Luminous did, only his was far more immense than this one. What you sense now…is nothing compared to his Mega Evolution."

Lucy turned towards him. "So, he's done this before?" To which Gajeel nodded.

"Yeah." He responded. "Those energy levels I sensed frightened me, but this is nothing."

Zetta then narrowed her eyes. "Aura, use Power-Up Punch!" She commanded.

"(Yes Master.)" He then darted at an alarming speed with a red-range aura surrounding his right paw and he struck a very sizeable blow onto Braixen, sending her into a skidding thud she was caught up in and came to a harsh halt.

"Braixen!" Vanessa exclaimed.

That one Power-Up Punch increased Aura's Attack and Braixen slowly got back up. "(That one had some bite.)" She muttered and then faced Aura. "(But I'm not down yet!)"

"Alright then! Flame Charge!" Vanessa commanded. Braixen then cloaked herself in flames and she lunged at Aura's Mega Evolved form. All Aura did was simply put up her hands and she blocked the Flame Charge, but he did skid back several feet as a result from Flame Charge being super effective.

Braixen landed and was ordered to use Psyshock, to which she made thick masses of various shades of blue and purple orbs around her body and she unleashed them at Aura, but the latter dodged and evaded by jumping high into the air.

Zetta extended her arm out. "Use Force Palm!"

"(Yes Master!)" Aura then went downwards with his paw extended out, Braixen dodged by leaping backwards as the paw struck the ground and let lose a yellow energy that made the ground shatter, much to everyone's shock.

"Whoa! That's one scary move!" Lucy exclaimed, relieved that she wasn't fighting against it.

"Braixen, straighten out and use Fire Spin!" Vanessa commanded, to which Braixen then grabbed the stick in her fur and she unleashed a vortex of Fire from it towards Aura.

"Bone Rush!" Zetta commanded, in which Aura put his paws together and spread them apart and made a large bone out of light green energy. Aura then held the bone with only one hand and he twirled it at high speed, blocking the Fire Spin completely.

Braixen and Vanessa alike were left in shock. "What?!"

Zetta narrowed her eyes. "A Ground-Type move has an advantage over a Fire-Type move! Aura!" As the Fire Spin ended, Aura zoomed in with the Bone Rush active and leaped high into the air. Vanessa and Braixen both looked up, but realized it was too late as Aura let loose a battlecry and slammed the bone's end on Braixen, making her yelp as she was send into the earth with dust and wind flying.

"Braixen!" Vanessa called out. Everyone from the sidelines gasped at the attack displayed. Aura landed and posed on a knee and the bone disappeared. The dust cleared, but it showed that Braixen had fainted and was lying the crater.

Nic called it once more. "Braixen is unable to battle, Mega Lucario is the winner!" He announced.

"Braixen!" Vanessa ran out and she knelt down and held Braixen in her lap, seeing her damaged friend. "Braixen, you did your best. Thank you." Vanessa then returned Braixen and she got back to her feet and she looked forward with a straight face. "Zetta, you got me by surprise. Having Aura Mega Evolve just like that threw me off." She admitted.

Zetta nodded in understanding. "Having Mega Evolution to begin with was a surprise." She tilted her head as Vanessa made way back to her box, seeing her right wrist having a Key Stone. "And I see I'm not the only one who could very well have an ace."

Vanessa didn't turn around, even after Zetta realized she could use Mega Evolution. Venessa was at a stalemate with herself as she was lost in her thoughts. All she wanted right now was to prove to Nic how strong she's become. She needed to win this so she wouldn't be so useless like that day when she tried standing up for him.

Vanessa slowly turned around and stayed quiet, and Nic saw the deep yet concentrated look on her face. 'Vanessa.'

Venessa clenched her fists. 'I could use Mega Evolution to Mega Evolve Venusaur or Mawile, but her Aura is too fast. What do I do? I can't lose, not in front of my brother…'

"Vanessa." Nic said, snapping her out her thoughts and turning towards him. "Vanessa, do you remember when I left? What I told you?"

Vanessa was slightly wide-eyed as she was beginning to remember what Nic told her so long ago

Vanessa was in shock briefly. 'That's right…I promised I would have more than just Nic to win for. No, I have to win this for myself, and for the team that got me this far, and I know just who to use.' Vanessa nodded to herself and she inhaled and took a deep, deep breath. She then got out her last poke ball.

"You ready Aura?" Zetta asked, to which Aura nodded.

Vanessa then threw her poke ball. "Okay, here we go!" Her poke ball opened, and it revealed to be none other than Magnezone, much to Nic's surprise.

"It's Magnezone!" Wendy stated. Erza narrowed her eyes and awaited for what was to come.

"This is it huh? The last round that'll decide the winner." Lucy muttered. Lisanna nodded.

"Are you ready Magnezone? Let's finish this battle together!" Vanessa declared.

Magnezone took a brief moment and bobbed his body in agreement. "(Agreed. We shall take them on together as you say.)" Magnezone then glanced over and saw that Nic was the referee. He was aware that Nic was keeping an eye on him, but he expected this. He'll do his best as always.

Zetta blinked. "A Steel-Type? I don't know where you're going with this, but we'll see! Use Force Palm!" She commanded. "Let's do this!"

"(Very well Master!)" Aura the rushed in to attack with his Force Palm, the palm being ready to strike.

Vanessa had a plan, and she began to execute it. "Intercept with Magnet Bomb!" She commanded. Magnezone complied and his body was surrounded in light blue sparks of energy and his magnets flashed, releasing light blue orbs at Aura. The Magnet Bomb attack and the Force Palm collided, and the tons of orbs exploded from the sheer force of Force Palm, making a large explosion.

The explosion obscured everyone's vision, but Aura could sense aura from others and he was sensing Magnezone. "(When I sense you, you can't-!)" He was cut off when he sensed Magnezone at last and he felt him right through the smoke cloud.

"Now! Spark!" Magnezone's body was covered in electricity and he bashed his body as hard as he could against Aura, successfully scoring damage and making Aura skid back to a halt.

"Aura, are you okay?" Zetta called out. Aura looked back at Zetta to nod, but when he turned back, he felt a sharp sting as he felt yellow sparks engulf his body, making him numb. "What's this? Paralysis?"

Natsu raised a brow. "Hold on, what's with this paralysis talk I'm hearing?"

Nic turned back briefly. "Paralysis is a condition that's pretty self-explanatory Natsu." He explained. "The opponent becomes paralyzed, thus they won't be able to attack sometimes and their Speed also decreases."

Gray, having a shirt on this time, blinked. "So you mean Vanessa may have the advantage?"

"We'll see…"

Vanessa then extended her arm out. "Magnezone, now use Mirror Shot!" Magnezone then was covered in a light blue aura and said aura became an orb of light blue energy and was fired at the numb Aura. Aura put his hands up to block, but he still sustained damage and the orb exploded, making a white burst of energy and he skid back and got to a knee.

"Aura, can you stand?" Zetta asked, in which Aura slowly got to his feet and huffed.

"(I shall not conceded so easily.)" Aura testified. Zetta then ordered for a Force Palm yet again, in which Aura, though rather slow, still manage to do and dash with such prowess and will into Magnezone. Aura then pressed his paw on Magnezone, startling the latter, and unleashed a light energy that engulfed Magnezone and made him yelp. Mgnezone screeched as he felt the powered-up super effective move deal a large amount of damage. Magnezone was sent flying and crashed, making the ground shake.

Everyone looked on with shock as the dust cleared and Magnezone slowly arose from the ground, badly wounded. Up against a Fighting-Type, he was at a disadvantage, but a Mega-Evolved Fighting-Type was a far tougher challenge than he'd expected. "(I won't…back down…I shall…for it's Vanessa's will…and mine.)" Magnezone stated.

Nic looked on with some hints of surprise in his eyes. "Magnezone."

Zetta grunted. "I forgot that the Magnemite family has Sturdy, guess you're no exception." She then smiled. "But that won't stop us! We're battling to the sheer end! Ready?"

"(On your command Master!)" Aura exclaimed.

"Magnezone! Let' show them we're not done yet!" Vanessa shouted.

He said his magnets. "(We'll pull through to the end.)"

"Use Power-Up Punch!" Zetta shouted. Aura then lunged as fast as he could, being not paralyzed and found this to be his only shot.

"Now! Zap Cannon!" Magnezone started gathering energy fast and his red pupil in the middle gathered a plethora of energy that made a yellow sphere with a red and green core. As Aura jumped to punch, Magnezone aimed and both attacks shot at the other.

Both Aura and Magnezone's attacks were in close range, and they were practically five feet away when they let loose their punch and cannon. There was a massive red-orange and yellow explosion in the center of the battlefield and winds flew like crazy. Everyone covered up because of the power exerted, hair flew in the powerful winds that surged and dusted scattered.

Nic looked from within, seeing as the dust didn't go through his sunglasses. When everything was clearing up, everyone looked on with sheer anticipation. Everyone leaned in and Vanessa and Zetta both remained silent as the dust cleared out finally.

They saw Aura reverted from Mega Evolution and was scratched up bad, and Magnezone was just the same. The two adversaries were unconscious, and Vanessa and Zetta gaped in shock.

Nic took in a quick breath and called the match. "Both Magnezone and Lucario are unable to battle; therefore, the match is a draw!"

Both Trainers rushed out to their Pokémon and knelt to their sides. Zetta knelt down and tended to Aura. Zetta smiled. "Aura, are you okay?" All she got was a groan, meaning Aura was still fine. "You did wonderful today. Get a nice rest." Zetta then returned Aura.

Vanessa knelt down to her Magnezone, seeing how he was out. "Magnezone, are you alright?" She asked, in which Magnezone gave a slight groan, but wasn't able to move. Vanessa sighed, but smiled in the end. She wasn't sure whether this would be considered a win or a loss, but she tried her best. It would've been upsetting if it had been a loss, but it wasn't a loss, yet it wasn't a win. She was just glad her team did their best. "Magnezone, thank you so much. I know Nic will warm up to you. He's got the purest heart, and he'll sympathize hopefully; for now, let's be glad he's back." She said softly and she returned Magnezone.

Nic heard it as he was walking towards his sister. True, he wasn't trusting Magnezone yet, but after that battle, he saw the effort Magnezone put into that battle, and Nic gave a faint grin.

His sister looked up at him and she frowned. She tried her best, but wasn't sure if Nic was okay with it. "Nic…I…" Vanessa couldn't say anymore for her brother pulled her in for a hug, surprising her.

Nic's eyes softened heavily with a smile. "Vanessa. You can win, or you can lose. It doesn't matter one bit." He softly said as he kept hugging her. "What really matters is that you try. You don't have to prove anything to me. I've seen it all in your battle. The bond you held with your team is truly remarkable. You have five badges, and you made the journey across Kalos like I did. I can say that I am beyond proud. You've grown so much, thanks for the display of the bonds you've made besides me Vanessa."

Vanessa's eyes were shaken, and she was still for a brief moment, but her frown turned into a grin and she hugged back, thankful that her brother would always and forever be proud of her.

After the display, all of the Pokémon were fully recovered in the South Boulevard Pokémon Center and the group was currently outside the Center, where Vanessa and Zetta were looking at the other.

Zetta grinned. "You caught me with that last choice of yours." She admitted. "I never expected a Magnezone to give Aura a run for his money."

"It was tough, but we still managed to pull it off. It's okay to call this a tie, but don't think next time will be as equivalent as this one." Vanessa said.

"Count on it." Zetta then turned and she pulled out a random book on knowledge of Pokémon and started walking. "Until we meet again Vanessa!" She called out.

Vanessa waved at Zetta. "See you soon!" Vanessa continued to wave until she had an epiphany and she was comically flabbergasted. "Er, wait a minute…!" She turned towards Nic. "If she has five badges, doesn't that mean we should tell her that lies between here and Laverre City?" She questioned.

Nic pondered about this and smirked. "Oh right, Route 14." He said nonchalantly. "That's where I first learned to live and travel by trees…I say let her find out for herself."

"Of course." Vanessa sighed. With the matter settled, she then frowned at Nic. "So what's gonna happen now? Are you gonna find a portal and go back to Fiore?" She asked worriedly.

Nic looked down in dejection. "I'm afraid so. We have six days to find one." He then looked back up at his sister. "We're planning to head up Route 16 and try our luck there. Maybe I'll start sensing something there."

"…I see." Vanessa said. Nic and everyone saw the sadness in Vanessa's eyes. Her brother was gonna go again, and she just reunited with him. She clenched her fist and was about to speak when she suddenly heard Nic's voice.

"Vanessa." He said. "Listen." He gave a neutral smile. "I know what you're thinking, and I know full well you don't want to go through with it again…but it's a hard debate because your safety is important…however I also see the fact that you have chosen to follow my path, in my footsteps, and dare not tread another path." He then turned away. "To be honest…I wouldn't walk away from my sibling either, not again."

Vanessa was wide-eyed as Nic turned towards Lisanna. "You see her? Her name is Lisanna. She has two siblings back on Earthland, and they've been waiting long enough for her to return home…and we'll get home." Lisanna looked down, sympathizing with Vanesa in terms of siblings. Lisanna was waiting all this time, and she knew Vanessa felt the same way. They needed their siblings.

"Y-You mean…" Vanessa was starting to see a glimmer of hope.

Nic turned back towards her. "Yes Vanessa. You can come along." Vanessa had a hand over her mouth and she couldn't control herself and she held onto Nic and had misty eyes. Nic just smiled down at his sister. "You're all grown up. I can still be your protector, yet you can handle problems yourself now, and that's what I wanted to see and know."

Vanessa continued to hug Nic and a small tear ran down her cheek, so glad Nic wasn't gonna leave again. "I'm so glad you're back Nic."

"Yeah, me too." He said. He then gave a sincere grin towards Lisanna. "And we'll promise to get Lisanna back to her siblings, not just for her sake, but for everybody and Edolas Mira and Elfman."

Lisanna looked down with a face that showed she wanted to cry, yet she didn't. She was very glad Nic would do everything to get her home, and since Nic was bringing his sister, things were bound to get more interesting.

As Vanessa softly sobbed that she was gonna follow Nic at long last, everyone looked on with a glad expression.

Erza looked on in sincerity at the siblings being happy. 'Nic, you have so many people who will follow you. Just know, I'll follow you anywhere too.'

I felt as though I was in the biggest haze ever. My mind was just a foggy haze that threw me off big time this chapter. There were so many debates running through my head. So many! It was really tough choosing her six, but I figured it wouldn't hurt. Their personalities have plenty of room to develop.

While I was reminiscing in Ben 10, I couldn't help but see how picture perfect Rath's personality was in the form of Krokorok. When I thought of it, it was a little funny, so that's where his personality came from. So a disclaimer her to; I do not own Krokorok's personality.

I know some of you would be thinking this could've been laid out differently, but sympathizing with Lisanna's situation was how I would allow Nic to bring Vanessa along on the journey. I wanted to make her character mature, yet still loving and caring about her brother. Please leave a Review is you thought this ended quite suitably.

I realized that as I was making this chapter, I was getting all moody and the haze kicked in as I was writing in the second half. PokeguardianZ is a huge supporter and she wanted her OC in here so badly. We agreed on the terms and I did the rest, but trying to get her character when it's not my OC was tricky. VERY tricky. Still, the second half was what PokeguardianZ wanted, and I figured I would have the Fairy Tail Mages get introduced to battling, so that's a nice conjunction there.

If you're gonna give me suggestions of one-time OCs, don't ever do that. This was a one-time deal and I feel all messed up now because there's PokeguardianZ's story, then there's my story, and I like to keep stories to themselves.

Okay, since I got that hazy ordeal out of the way, I'm gonna have to take some time off. I'll still be active, but I won't be writing is all. My head is hurting like crazy from writing back-to-back fanfics every single day, and I'm taking a toll on it. I need to take a few days off to recharge my batteries, so the next update will be backed up quite a bit, but I need my rest. I will say that I already have a general idea as to how next chapter will go, and I will say that it will be extreme, and I mean extreme! I mean something that might leave you scarred, so forewarning there.

Please Favorite, Follow, & Review this story and/or chapter if you guys didn't mind the small crossover for once and are enjoying Vanessa's company and the development and plot twists and etc.

Next Time: Bathed in Pain