Hey guys. Sorry for the delay on this chapter, but I have been very busy in my life. I hope this chapter is up to standards, and you enjoy it.
As I sent out Heath and Starly, the opponent's pokémon stepped out of the shadow, a croagunk and a crobat.
"I must warn you, Jason. My pokémon are better trained for combat then Al's pokémon ever were." the young woman I heard through the cave.
"I love a challenge. Let's go!" I said, commanding the two to charge. Starly went after the Crobat, beginning an aerial battle. Heath threw a punch towards Croagunk, who dodged the punch, returning a poison jab of himself. Both Heath and Croagunk were an equal match, dodging and throwing punches. Starly couldn't keep up with Crobat, chasing after him in vein. Suddenly, Crobat to use supersonic, forcing both Starly and Heath to cover their ears. Croagunk used poison jab, hitting Heath in his stomach, knocking him into Starly.
"Starly, Heath. Switch opponents." I called out. Heath jumped over Starly, shooting an ember at Crobat, while Starly used wing attack at Croagunk, only to fly through a clone from Croagunk's double team.
Both Starly and Heath were fighting at the best of their abilities, not giving Croagunk and Crobat a second to breath. All of a sudden, the young woman jumped out of the shadow. It was the girl from the day before, white hair, red eyes, and a large smile on her face.
"Croagunk, faint attack. Crobat, aerial ace!" She said, as both my pokémon slid over the floor, without me saying a single command. I shook my head, getting my focus back.
"Okay, fine. Heath, Starly. Work together on one opponent. First take down Crobat." I said. Starly grabbed Heath by the shoulders, and tried to fly after Crobat.
"Don't chase Crobat, try to outsmart him. Heath! Ember!" I commanded, as Heath began creating a ball of fire in his mouth. Starly threw Heath towards Crobat, giving him enough momentum to turn into a ball of fire.
"Flame wheel! Let's go!" Heath bounced around, chasing after Crobat. Crobat managed to stay a few feet in front, as Heath followed him.
"Starly! Blow a wind at Crobat and push him towards Heath!" I called out, as Starly began summoning a wind, directing Crobat off course. Heath jumped up, turning faster then before, before aiming at Crobat. Heath knocked Crobat into the ground, knocking him out with ease.
"W-What? How did you? Croagunk! Knock Starly out, now!" the girl said. Croagunk jumped up towards Starly, only to get hit by Starly's wing. Heath ran towards Croagunk, setting his fist ablaze. Croagunk began dodging Heath's fist, but didn't see Starly coming.
"Croagunk, watch out!" was all she could say, as Starly hit Croagunk with a wing attack, knocking him into Heath's fist, knocking him out as well.
I walked towards Croagunk and Crobat, holding a potion.
"Are you two okay?" I asked. They both nodded, hopping back to their trainer.
"You managed to beat me." she stretched her hand. "I'm Shada."
"I get now why you didn't tell me your name before. You wanted this to be a surprise."
"Yep, that's my challenge for the trainers. Can they defeat me, when I have the constant element of surprise."
"Well, you were quite the surprise. You actually had me with my back against the wall." The two of us began walking back to town.
"Oh, I nearly forgot." Shada began searching her pockets, handing me a badge, shaped like a red piece of cloth. "I proudly give you the Hidden badge!" she said smiling. "With this, you're one step closer to the league."
We returned to the village, where Maria was waiting for us. Shada began running towards her, hugging her.
"Mother. He's even better then Al told us!" Maria smiled at her daughter, before smiling at me.
"A deal's a deal. Your stay here is free." She said. Shada walked towards me, her hands on her back.
"So, you want me to show you around the village?"
"Sure. Lead the way!"
I stayed in the village for 2 days, getting to know Shada and her pokémon. We spent most of the days training, or Shada showing me around her village. I was planning to go to Jubilife City for a little while, and decided to take a small break in Eterna City. I was packing my bags when Shada walked into my room, with Croagunk next to her.
"Hey, you'll visit when you have time, right?" She asked.
"Of course, Heath and Croagunk still have to train together, right?" Heath and Croagunk exchanged a punch at each other, smiling wide, as Croagunk croaked. I walked outside, with Shada following me. We walked towards a forest trail, as she stopped.
"So, this is it. Through this is the route to Eterna City. Just follow the path, and you'll reach the highway. Follow that highway, and you'll enter Eterna City in no time." She said, I nodded, smiling, as I began walking.
"Hey, see you around."
"Jason, wait for a second!" Shada ran towards me, grabbing me in a deep hug. "For good luck. I'll be waiting for you to challenge the league." I continued my way, walking over the forest path, as I could hear cars driving by. I began looking around, trying to find the highway. After a while, I noticed a small gas station, where I could walk into. I walked towards the first person I could find, an older man, with a goatee.
"Sir, are you by any chance going towards Eterna City?"
"No, but I could bring you to the closest bus stop." the man replied. I got into his car, when my sister called.
"Hey sis!"
"Hi Jason, I heard you're traveling Sinnoh for the first time?"
"Yes, and I'm on my way to Eterna."
"Don't you dare skip your older sister!"
"See you there sis."