Chapter 2: Clash in Floaroma Meadow

The next morning Kent woke up to find Gardevoir sitting next to him, as she always had. He was always a little slow to wake up in the mornings as his nightmares didn't let him get much rest. He knew that Darkrai didn't do it intentionally, but he still wished that he didn't give them to him at all. Still half-asleep he walked over to the Pokémon Center's dorm room door and opened it so he could find the restroom. Ashley was standing in front of the door, her Togekiss floating gently next her, and up until now wondering if she should wake him up. Surprised, she jumped back some and stuttered nervously, "G-g-g-good morning K-Kent" Spirals were in her eyes as she stammered the morning greeting.

Kent just stood and stared at her for a while before remembering what had happened the day before. "Oh, right…uh…Good morning to you too Ashley." He noticed that she was already set to go. "Ah, just…give me a moment." He stepped back into the room and shut the door behind him. He finished getting dressed, attached his belt to his pants, and stepped back out again with Gardevoir, who had woken up while Kent was dressing. "Alright, shall we get going then?"

As they walked out of the Pokémon Center the sun's light reflecting of the dew of the flowers made for a spectacular view. "It's so pretty" said Ashley, gasping at the sight. Kent looked over at her and smiled.

"This your first time seeing the sunrise in Floaroma Town?"

"Yeah…I only got here yesterday when my Pokémon were stolen."

"Have you seen the meadow yet?"

"There's a meadow?"

"Yeah, it's just a little farther that way," he said indicating the direction, "Do you want to go see it?" Ashley nodded in reply, and Kent started walking in the meadow's direction. "Let's go then!"

While walking up the road leading to Floaroma Town's meadow Ashley couldn't help but wonder something. She kept looking at Gardevoir who always seemed to be right next to Kent.

"Hey Kent, is that your Gardevoir?" she asked.

"Hmm? Oh that's right, I haven't introduced you yet. This is Gardevoir, she's not really my Pokémon but she's my best friend and we've been travelling together for a long time."

[Nice to meet you Ashley said Gardevoir to Ashley telepathically.]

"She can talk?"

[I use my powers to talk to your mind explained Gardevoir. You may call me Gardevoir, or if you'd prefer you can use my other name, Lillith.]

"I think I'll go with Lillith, it's such a pretty name."

[Thank you for the compliment said Lillith with a bow.]

"Hey, don't go forgetting about me kid" said a rather disgruntled Darkrai.

"W-who's that?" Ashley was surprised by the second voice that had come out of nowhere.

"Alright alright, I know. I hadn't forgotten you, I was just getting to you. Ashley this, or rather that voice you heard was the Pokémon Darkrai. It's a rather long story, so for now let's just say that he's currently living inside my head." Kent pointed to his head as he was explaining this. "In case you were wondering, it's the same reason why I'm able to become a Pokémon."

"Yo" said Darkrai.

"I-I see, I understand now" said Ashley who had not understood. She decided not to pry any further though.

"I suppose I should also introduce you to the rest of my group." He reached for his Pokeballs and throwing them all at once into the air, shouting out, "Come on out guys!" The Pokeballs opened up, revealing six different Pokémon, a Lopunny, Mawile, Cherrim, Milotic, Froslass, and Chatot.

"Wow…" went Ashley admiring all of his Pokémon. "How did you get them all?"

"Well, about that…" started Kent.

"I'll tell her Kent," said Darkrai, "When I first brought Kent over from the Kanto region I asked for the assistance of some of the local Pokémon and they agreed to leave some of their eggs after I explained what had happened to him."

"That's incredible," said Ashley with a face of awe, "So you're from the Kanto region? Why did you come here? And…what about your parents?"

After hearing the last question Kent twitched in pain for a moment before replying, "Sorry, I'd…rather not say."

Sensing that she had mentioned something she should not have, she hurriedly tried to apologize, "N-no, I-I'm sorry, I overstepped my boundary, I-I didn't meant to, ah… s-say, why don't I show you my Pokémon?" she said trying to change the subject.

She reached for her own Pokeballs and tossing them in the air shouted, "All right guys, come on out!" A flash of light erupted out from each of the Pokeballs as they took the forms of an Eevee, Vulpix, and Combee. "Kent, these are Alice," she pointed to the Eevee, "Rachel," she pointed to the Vulpix, "and Honey" she pointed to the Combee. "And you've already met Togekiss" she said as the bright white Pokémon landed on top of her hat, gently saying, "Toge, Togekiss."

"Nice to meet you too Togekiss" replied Kent as if he had understood her.

"Huh? Can you tell what she said?"

Their Pokémon started to chat with each other as Kent and Ashley continued their discussion. "Yeah, it comes with being possessed with Darkrai; I'm able to understand all kinds of Pokémon."

"That's so cool…" said Ashley sighing a bit, "I wish I could understand them as well."

"Well if you ever want to know what one of them is saying you can just ask."

"Really?!" Ashley brightened up a little, "That'd be so nice!"

"It'd be no problem. But I'm curious about a few things myself. Is it alright if I ask you a few questions as well?"

"Oh, sure that'd be fine." They both sat down in the grass as their Pokémon were continuing to mingle with themselves, some lying down and napping, a few others picking berries off a nearby bush.

"You said that Eevee is named Alice, but yesterday you were calling her by her species name, what's with that?"

"Well, after she defeated that Luxray all on her own yesterday I decided to name her after my older sister because she reminds me of her, having a cute appearance but being really tough when it comes to things like battles."

"You have a sister? What's she like?"

"She's a member of the Pokémon police force who takes care of abused and improperly handled Pokémon. It's my dream to become just like her, and helping her on her missions once I'm old enough to join. She's 20 by the way, and you have to be at least 18 to apply, so I have 3 more years to go."

"Wow, that's pretty impressive. Sounds like you have a nice sister."

"Ah…ah, yeah, I guess I do," she smiled a bit; "she likes to tease me about my shyness however."

"You don't seem to be very shy." Kent leaned forward and took a good look at her face.

Ashley began to blush some. "R-really? Do you really think I'm not shy? I mean like, really, REALLY shy?"

"Well, you did end up looking for me and came along with me didn't you? I don't many people would have the courage to do that, especially if they had seen me, you know, 'transforming.'"

Ashley thought back to when she had first seen him, battling Lillith as a Gallade and changing back into a human when they had finished. She realized that what Kent was saying was true. "You're right; I don't think many people would have."

"See? Now I have another question though."

"What is it?" asked Ashley.

"You've named all your other Pokémon, but what about Togekiss?"

"Oh, about that…" Togekiss lay sleeping on Ashley's lap having abandoned her rough hat for her warm, soft lap, "She had a name before she was taken by those people from the crime syndicate."

She knows some pretty big words for someone only 15, thought Kent. "You mean Team Galactic, right?"

'That's right. I actually found Togekiss when I was 5 and she was still an egg. I found her egg in my room one day after I got home from school so I decided to take care of it. When it hatched she came out as a Togepi and we became attached to each other instantly. We would go everywhere together, even to school where she would sleep during the classes and played with me during lunch and recess. I named her 'Eggy' at the time because of the way she was shaped. When I turned 10 she suddenly started to evolve as we were playing with each other. After becoming a Togetic I named her 'Fairy' because, well, she looked just like a fairy from one of my picture books."

"Sounds like you two have together for about the same time I have with my Pokémon" Kent said having been fascinated by the story, and almost jealous of how she had had a nice life while he had been suffering most of the time but he shook of the feeling and went back to listening to Ashley's story.

"Yeah, we've been together for a long time. But one day, just last year actually, we were playing in the field near Sandgem Town, my hometown, when a couple of men from Team Galactic jumped out and stole her. I cried the whole night until I fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning I learned that Alice, my big sister I was talking about, had gone off to find Fairy and bring her back. It took a few weeks and I felt horrible the whole time, but I was sure that Alice would manage to get her back. Finally she returned after several weeks of having left home she walked back into town covered in dirt and a few rips lined her outfit, but in her arms she was carrying Fairy. I was shocked at first, but she walked up to me and looked down to me with a cheerful grin saying 'See? Told ya' I'd get her back.' At that moment I just broke out into tears and hugged my sister, feelings of gratitude filling my mind yet unable to take the form of words; I was just too happy to have her back. Once I had finished crying I noticed something strange about Fairy. She had evolved into a Togekiss and although uninjured on the outside she looked like she was suffering from pain of a different type. I looked up at my sister and she told me that they had taken her so that they could perform tests of several sorts and they had used a Shiny stone to make her evolve."

She continued, "At first, I was afraid that she would be different, but after she woke up she began to cheer happily, glad to be away from Galactic and back with me. The only other new thing about her besides having evolved was the way she shone whenever she was really happy or sad. Any time she becomes really happy she gets covered with a pure white aura, and when she's sad or angry she gets this blue and sometimes red aura. I don't really know what it means yet, but I've been chased by Team Galactic because of it."

Waiting a few moments to make sure she had finished her story he proceeded to talk. "That's quite the tale. Seems like you've had both your ups and downs, but you don't need to worry about Team Galactic while we're around. Isn't that right guys?" he turned and faced his Pokémon who all voiced out their agreements.

[We are currently trying to bring down Team Galactic and we believe we have the power to do so. If you wish you may help us in our attempts but your assistance isn't required unless you want to] Lillith said to Ashley with Kent nodding in agreement.

"We'd be able to do it on our own but if you'd like to help us we'd appreciate it. Of course, it's all up to you, we'll help you regardless of what you decide to do." said Kent.

"You guys…" tears began to well up in her eyes but she wiped them off with the sleeve of her arm and looked at Kent with her green eyes full of motivation and courage and said, "If you guys are willing to accept my help I'd be glad to join your cause. It'll be good practice for the Pokémon rescue squad."

Kent smiled and patted Ashley on the head. "Welcome aboard then. We may be few but we've more skill and power than any of those guys combined."

"Good to have you with us" said Darkrai from inside Kent's head, "the more the merrier they say." Then in a smaller tone he said to himself, "just as I predicted."

"Huh? Did you say something Darkrai?"

"No, just talking to myself. Or would that be thinking? Bah, who cares."

[We're glad that you could join Ashley] said Lillith in a pleasant-sounding tone.

"Thanks you guys" Ashley said being genuinely happy that they had accepted her into their group instead of having killed her to keep their secret when they first met.

Lillith glanced down at Togekiss who was sleeping blissfully in Ashley's lap. [My, she looks just like an angel when she sleeps.]

Ashley looked at Togekiss and then lifted her head up to look at Lillith. "You know…you're right. She does look like an angel, doesn't she?" She was smiling at her when she had a thought. "I think I've decided what to name her this time."

"Lemme guess. Is it going to be...?" Kent said the name in a quiet voice. Ashley nodded to let him know he guessed correctly.

"That's right; Togekiss' new name will be…Angel."

Once they had finished talking, doing introductions, and eating breakfast (realizing that they had left the Pokémon Center without eating) they continued making their way over to Floaroma Town's meadow. Angel was awake now and floated gently alongside Ashley while Kent and Lillith led the way. The sun fully risen and was looming overhead, warming the air around them as a pleasant breeze blew softly across them. The author kept on typing other details about the scene that was occurring before realizing that he had begun to write about himself in third-person narration just so he could make a small joke that had no meaning whatsoever and added nothing new to the story in progress.

They reached a clearing in the path where the tree line of the forest they had traversed through came to a halt. They stepped through to find the meadow on the other side. Flowers of almost every variation, color, and scent could be spotted in the large beautiful meadow that stretched out as far as the eye could see. The Sun's bright light shone over the entire field, giving a sense of majestic and brilliance that could touch the heart of even the most evil ghost-type Pokémon. A small house with a honey tree sitting next to it sat atop a hill about a quarter of a mile away from where they stood.

Kent and the others were all enthralled by the magnificent view they were experiencing. Almost as if in a trance they all began to walk into the field as they gazed all around them soaking in the peacefulness and joy the flowers emitted, basking in the Sun with all their glory. Ashley was the first to speak.

"I've never seen such a beautiful place before."

"This is even more spectacular than I expected it to be" said Kent, his red eyes starting to shine a bit.

[Truly a most magnificent sight that is a pleasure to all senses noted Lillith.]

"Even I'M feeling something" said Darkrai having never actually gone to places like this. "I've seen places like this in visions of future events, but this is far beyond what I thought it was."

Noticing the house, Kent pointed at it and said to the others, "Let's see who lives there." Lillith and Ashley nodded in approval and they all began to make their way over to the house. Upon reaching it they walked up to the door and knocked.

"Hello?" said Kent, "Anyone home?" A few shuffling noises and the sounds of objects being moved could be heard coming from inside the house. They waited for a while until they heard a large 'Thud!' accompanied by a small groan. After a few moments of silence they could hear shuffling again and the knob on the door turned as it swung open to reveal a somewhat scrawny but still healthy-looking man in his mid 20s-30s step out. He was tall with knotty, unkempt brown hair, and had a pair of rectangular glasses hanging partway off his nose. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt that had stains on it and smelt of honey. His legs were partially covered by his baggy, brown shorts and had sandals on his feet. He looked at his guests with his hazel eyes while he rubbed the large bump on his head.

"Oh, hello there! Are you here to buy some honey?" He spoke with a large grin that showed off his bright, white teeth and surprisingly fresh breath.

"Hey, we were just wondering who lived here" said Kent, feeling somewhat bad that this man had hurt himself trying to answer the door in such a hurry.

"I see, I see. No problem. I get guests like you all the time. Come on in, I'll get you some drinks."

"If you insist. Oh, could we get your name? Mine's Kent, and this is Ashley and Lillith, the Gardevoir."

The man shook hands with them as they were introduced. "Ah, nice to meet you too. My name's Barry, I'm the 'Honey guy' you'll hear most people call me. I collect and sell the honey that can be found here in the meadow. But I've kept you waiting out here long enough. Please, come in and have a seat in the living room."

He beckoned them to come inside and they did so, thanking him for his hospitality as they stepped inside. They sat down in the various chairs and couches that circled the room, Kent and Lillith on a sofa and Ashley in the chair next to him. Barry came in carrying several cups filled with a green drink that was emitting a relaxing smell into the air. He placed three of the drinks in front of them and placed the tray on the table before sitting in the chair across from them and picking up his own cup, taking a deep whiff of the relaxing scent before taking a small sip. He moved the cup away from his mouth as he swallowed and said to them, "It's my own special blend of green tea I made from the numerous plants and vegetation found in the meadow. So far everyone that's tried it has told me that it is a very relaxing and calming drink so go ahead and try it."

They obliged, each picking up their cup and taking a small sip of the warm light green liquid. Almost immediately they felt themselves becoming more lax and soothed, the effect of the drink having made its appearance.

"It's wonderful" said Ashley, not having felt this nice since being reunited with Angel. She lifted her cup to Angel's mouth so she could try it as well. Taking in a small amount of the warm drink into her mouth she swallowed and felt the soothing effects of the tea take place. She began to glow a light pink as she let out a soft relaxed sigh of happiness. Ashley giggled a bit as she watched the Jubilee Pokémon melt in her arms, "I think Angel likes it too."

Kent voiced his own opinion, "It's true. A very relaxing drink that makes all your worries melt away as it soothes one's very soul."

"You can say that again" said Darkrai in a voice that couldn't be heard by Barry. As Kent's body began to experience the soothing sensation of the tea he could feel his own mind becoming more clear and relaxed.

[It is a marvel for the body and mind both. I can feel my thoughts becoming clearer and my body is becoming less tense than it normally is. May I ask how you made such a drink?] asked Lillith.

"Whoa, you can talk to me? Well isn't that a surprise. Sure, I'll tell you how I made it. Actually, I'll show you instead, even better! Just follow me!" As he stood up and walked into his kitchen he beckoned for Lillith to do the same. She stood up and followed him, a bit anxious to be leaving Kent's side for more than a few moments but she sensed that no danger was nearby so she decided it was ok. Once they were gone only Kent and Ashley remained in the room. They glanced around at the stacks of honey jars and boxes that littered the room and Kent realized what the sounds they had heard earlier were. Kent turned and faced Ashley, about to say something, when Barry and Lillith came back into the room and headed for the door.

"We'll be back in a jiff; I just gotta show your friend here how to gather the right herbs and plants. Shouldn't be longer than, say, 10-15 minutes tops. You're free to come along if you like though." Barry told them.

"No, I think I'll stay here, thanks though" Kent replied.

"I-I'll be staying as well, but thank you for the offer." Ashley bowed slightly as she responded.

"Your choice. Let's go then Miss Gardevoir."

[I will be back shortly] Lillith told Kent. With that they both headed out the door and they were left alone again. Well, not entirely.

"So why'd you decided to stay kid?" asked Darkrai, his presence though sometimes unnoticed remained within Kent's head. Kent actually jumped a bit as Darkrai asked him the question. He had forgotten for a slight moment that he was there.

"Hey, don't go telling me you actually forgot about me for a moment there" said Darkrai, his voice having a somewhat miffed tone about it.

"O-of course not, how could I ever forget that I have a Pokémon living inside my head?

"I don't know, perhaps you were thinking about the fact that you've never been alone with a girl before?" Kent flinched some. "Nailed it, didn't I? Well it's not like you're actually alone, I'm sitting here in your head and she knows that too." Darkrai was speaking in a way that only Kent could hear.

Ashley was quietly drinking her tea, looking at the objects around her but she was thinking the same thing: she had never been around boys much before, much less alone with one. Then she remembered that Darkrai was still in Kent's head so she managed to relax a little. Still, she though, what are we supposed to talk about? Kent's own thoughts were similar: I've barely been around other PEOPLE; I'm nowhere near able to talk to someone else on my own, not to mention the fact that she's a girl. They both began to blush some as they drank their tea, taking small sips and savoring the taste and aroma before swallowing. Kent suddenly sprung up out of the sofa unable to stand the pressure any longer. He turned and faced Ashley telling her, "I'm going to go see how they're doing. You can come along if you want."

"S-sure" was Ashley's response. As they opened the door and exited the house Kent thought he could hear sounds of a battle occurring. Suddenly worried about Lillith Kent tried to establish a mental link with her.

[Gardevoir! Gardevoir, are you there?!] He got no response. He tried again, expanding the bandwidth of the link only to get the same results as before. Nothing.

"I think they're in troubled" Kent told Ashley. He reached for one of his Pokeballs and grabbing it, tossed it into the air to let out his Pokémon.

"Go, Cherrim!" The ball opened up to unleash the bright red light that took the form of Cherrim. The small Pokémon was covering itself with two large flower petals that were colored a deep, dark purple. "Cherrim! Cher cher!" it cried out.

"Cherrim, root yourself to the ground and use the plants to find out where Gardevoir is!" After giving the command, Cherrim nodded and cried out its name again before digging into the soft soil beneath her and rooting herself in the vast network of plants. Cherrim stood quietly in the earth for a few moments before hopping up and exclaiming, "Rim! Cherrim, cher rim rim! Cherrim!" She began to point in a direction away from the house.

"Cherrim says that they're this way! Let's move Ashley!" said Kent as he and Cherrim started to run off.

"How did she do that?" asked Ashley.

"I'll explain it as we run! Now come on!"

As they made their way to where Cherrim was leading them Kent explained to Ashley what Cherrim had done.

"By rooting herself in the ground Cherrim can 'talk' with the other plants in the ground so long as there are enough of them and they aren't spread out to far apart. Then she simply looked for any disturbances in the network where communication with a plant was either cut off completely of damaged. Then by grouping the air where the most disturbances take place she can determine where the battle is taking place. Most grass Pokémon can do it, they use it to find each other in large meadows like this and forests where they usually live."

As they reached the top of one of the many hills they could see Lillith fending off attacks from a Houndor and Mightyena who were trying to get to Barry. There were two Team Galactic grunts off to the side commanding their Pokémon and ordering them to get 'The scrawny-looking one.' Gardevoir was having a difficult time defending herself and Barry as the two attacking Pokémon were Dark-types and most of her attacks were of the Psychic variety. Kent growled angrily as he watched Gardevoir struggle and he commanded Cherrim, "Cherrim! Hit them with Petal Dance and go help Gardevoir!"

Cherrim obeyed Kent by spinning around to create a small whirlwind. The wind began to pick up petals from the surrounding flowers and Cherrim added her own to the lot before launching them at Houndor and Mightyena. As the petals made a small pathway in between the flowers Cherrim continued to spin but started heading over to Gardevoir as well.

Hearing the rustling of flowers approaching them the Houndor and Mightyena turned to face the source only to get pelted by a barrage of sharp petals which caught them off-guard and scoring a critical hit. Houndor wasn't as effected by the attack as Mightyena was so it was the first to get back up to get hit by a second barrage of petals, knocking it into Mightyena who fell back down. They were struck three more times before Cherrim got to dizzy to spin any more. Having finally gotten a chance to recover the Mightyena and Houndor stood and braced themselves in case there was another barrage of petals. Once they saw that the attack had ended they went back on the offensive as their trainers called out attacks.

At this point Kent, Ashley, and Angel had made their way over to Barry who explained what had happened to them.

"We were just collecting some plants when they suddenly showed up. They told me to take them back to my home and give them all the honey. That's when your Gardevoir pushed them back her psychic abilities, but it only seemed to get them angry cause they released their Pokémon and started to attack me. Gardevoir's done a real nice job of holding them off me but I don't think she can take much more."

Kent looked over at Lillith who was struggling to even stand. He glared angrily at the two Galactic grunts that had hurt her and told Barry, "Stay here. And don't worry; I'll take care of them."

Ashley looked at Kent and flinched some when she saw his expression. Kent glanced over his shoulder at Ashley before telling her, "You stay here as well. I'll handle this one alone." Ashley merely nodded in response for she had never seen anyone so angry before. Kent walked over to Lillith and put his hand on her shoulder. She shook as he touched her and was about to attack him until she saw it was Kent.

[Ah…Kent. I'm glad…you're…ok] she said weakly.

"It's ok now Gardevoir, I'm here. You go ahead a take a break."

[But it's my…duty to protect…you, not…the opposite.]

"I said it's fine. Fall back now and let me handle this."

[But…] she was about to voice her objection again until she saw the look in Kent's eyes. They were burning an even brighter red than they usually did as hate for the ones who attacked her shone harshly. He's…worried about me?, thought Lillith. She suddenly felt something she had never felt before and she began to blush slightly. What is this…feeling?, she wondered to herself. After staying quiet for a few moments she spoke again, [Can you at least call me…by my real name?] she asked him and immediately found her asking herself why she had asked him that.

"Sure. Lillith, please fall back and let me handle this."

Lilith's white face suddenly became very red. She tried to hide it by walking past him with her face bowed and nodded to show that she would oblige to his request.

Kent turned to face the two grunts and their Pokémon who were currently trying to attack Cherrim with their claws and fangs but somehow kept missing as Cherrim kept swaying around, still dizzy from her Petal Dance move earlier. Kent raised his right arm and aimed his palm at the Houndor and Mightyena. He muttered a few words and the two Pokémon were suddenly sent flying back to their owners.

Whoa!, thought Darkrai, Even I had no idea he could do that. He must be pretty damn angry to be able to do that.

Kent's voice was a little harsh sounding and cold as he commanded his Pokémon. "Cherrim, snap out of it and use Sunny Day" he said bluntly, showing no real emotion in his voice. Cherrim shook itself and snapped out of its confusion. She then started to glow brightly as the amount of sunlight increased raising the temperature.

"Hah!" went one grunt, the one with the Houndor, "That'll only make it easier for my Houndor to KO you!" "Hound!" his Houndor barked in agreement.

Kent said nothing and simply waited until the amount of light had reached its peak. Slowly, the petals covering Cherrim began to open up and the two grunts watched as Cherrim emerged into her true form, four sakura petals circling around her neck and one on her forehead. She opened her eyes to show the two small, round, pink eyes she had as the petals covering her moved up enough to reveal to small pink spheres on either side of her forehead. Her small body stood proudly as she shouted out, "Cheeeerim! Cher! Cheeerr!"

"S-so what?! All it did was change into a pink little fluffball! Houndor! Hit it with your Ember attack!" as the grunt called out the attack Houndor built up the flames in its stomach and launched a couple of burning embers at Cherrim, aiming for her feet.

"Mightyena! Use Takedown!" The Mightyena began to charge recklessly at Cherrim, lowering its guard so it could focus more on the power of its attack.

Kent calmly ordered Cherrim's next move. "Cherrim, counter the Ember with Energy Ball. Then use Grass Knot on the Mightyena." His voiced remained as cold as before. Cherrim borrowed some energy from nearby plants to launch a glowing green sphere at the embers flying towards her. They collided in the air and a small burst occurred before both attacks disappeared. Then she turned to where the Mightyena was charging at her. She planted herself into the ground and caused the plants near the Mightyena to constrict him, causing him to trip and hit the ground hard.

"W-what?! How did you do that you little brat!" He reached for the remainder of Pokeballs at his side. "How about this then!" He launched the three Pokeballs into the air and his partner imitated him. A Gravler, two Golbats, a Dustox, and Machoke all appeared and stood next to their owners. "How's that you snotty twerp?!" he cried out half-crazed and half-scared at the same time.

"Pathetic." Kent pointed at the entire group of them and ordered Cherrim. "Solarbeam" The two spheres on Cherrim's head began to glow as they began to collect sunlight.

"Quick! Everyone attack before he can-"The grunt was cut off as Cherrim launched the energy it collected in a large beam of light. The powerful grass type move engulfed the entire group of both Pokémon and grunts. "H-HOW?!" the grunt managed to cry out.

"Cherrim, hold the attack until I signal you."

"Cherr!"

The large beam of collective energy continued to engulf them growing larger by the second as it was being powered by the Sun's extra-strong light as Sunny Day's effect continued. Just as Sunny Day was about to end, Kent swung his arm down at the grunts and they're Pokémon, telling Cherrim with a hint of aggravation in his voice, "Now!" Cherrim ceased the ray of sunshine and watched as the last of it reached where the grunts and their Pokémon were. The energy began to quickly surge and spin around in a large ball of light before creating a massive explosion of light and power.

Once the smoke had cleared from the explosion the two grunts were found moaning softly as their Pokémon lay on top of them, preventing any chances of escape. Kent walked over to them and grinned evilly.

"Now…what should I do with you two…?" He cracked his knuckles and moved his head side to side, popping the joints in his neck.

"Eee…" was all the grunts could say as Kent roughly dragged them out of the pile despite their pleas for help and mercy.

After Kent finished performing actions on the grunts that would give this story an 'm' rating if I were to go into details, he tied up what remained of the two grunts (they're still alive, so don't worry) he walked over to Ashley, Barry, and the rest of them who were shaking in fear and very thankful that he was on their side.

"Jeez kid, you went ballistic on those two" said Darkrai.

Kent turned his head so that the others wouldn't see as he gave an expression intended for Darkrai that could scare the Devil himself. Darkrai decided that now was not a good time to talk.

Kent walked back over to Lillith who was resting herself on her legs while sitting up. She began to blush as he approached her and looked downwards as he kneeled in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right Lillith?"

Being called her actual name by Kent made her heart beat fast for some unexplainable reason, and she stuttered (if it's even possible) a telepathic response, [Y-yes, I-I-I'm fine] she said, continuing to look down. Kent said nothing for a few moments before suddenly raising her head up to look him in the eyes. "Lillith…please, tell me if something's wrong. You're important to me, and I hate to see you getting hurt. You know that, right?"

Ashley was blushing a lot as she felt her heart twinge in pain. W-What?, she thought, Am I…jealous? Is that what I'm feeling? But…why?

Lillith was trying to avoid looking Kent in the eyes but couldn't stop herself from doing so. However, she noticed that there wasn't anger in his eyes anymore. It had been replaced with worry and anxiety. He's worried. He's worried…about me?, she thought. What am I doing, this isn't the time to be thinking of myself. I live to protect Kent, be it physically or mentally. She bit her lip in a way that Kent wouldn't see as she placed her arms around his neck and embraced him.

[I told you Kent, I'm fine. I just need some rest, that's all. Now will you please stop worrying about me and worry about what you're going to do with those men instead?] She was referring to the two grunts that Kent had tied up.

"Alright. If you insist you're ok, I'll believe you. As for these two," he glanced at the two uncurious grunts, "We should strip them of their Pokémon and report them to Officer Jenny." He walked over to them and took off their belts. Something fell out of one of the grunt's pocket as he was doing so and he picked it up curious. "What's this?" he asked. It was a keycard of some sort. He decided to hang onto it, slipping it into his pocket. The sun was returning to normal and was almost at high noon. Kent turned and faced everyone again. "Well then, shall we get going?"

When they got back to Barry's house, the two grunts in tow (literally), Kent was carrying Lillith on his back as she had fallen asleep from fatigue on the way there. They tied the two grunts to the tree outside the house before going inside. Barry showed Kent the way to the guest room where he could let Lillith get some rest in one of the guest beds. They then returned to the living room where Ashley was sitting in one of the sofa chairs, the day's events running around in her head.

"We've had quite a day, huh?" said Kent to Ashley as he and Barry walked in. She turned to face him and responded with a quick nod and said, "It's been one of the most eventful days I've ever had." She said this with a sigh as she clamped her eyes shut and held her head in-between her hands, trying to remember everything that'd happen.

"I really must thank you again for helping me out of that situation" said Barry, "I just wish that your Gardevoir hadn't got so hurt in the process. The least I can do if offer you two a stay here, there are plenty of guest beds if you need them."

"Ah, thanks. I think we'll take you up on that offer." His stomach growled hungrily as he finished talking. He hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was at least around 5:00 Pm. "Err…do you have anything to eat?" he asked embarrassed. Both Barry and Ashley couldn't help laughing. Kent just smiled bashfully at first until Ashley's stomach rumbled as well. She put her hands over her stomach quickly and everyone was quite for a moment. The both Barry's and Angel's stomachs growled in unison and everyone broke out laughing.

Ha ha ha…I haven't laughed that in a while. Wait right here, I'll go make us something. Barry went into the kitchen and made them some mountain stew, taking mushrooms and over vegetation he found in the forest.

Later that night, as Barry, Lillith, and Angel were sleeping, Kent was looking outside the window of the southern-end guest room at the stars and moon as he thought to himself.

"Whatcha thinking about kid?" asked Darkrai. Ashley was lying down in the bed next to the door pretending to be asleep.

"Just about the nightmare I have every night. You know, of my parent's death" replied Kent.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'm not really able to control who I give nightmares to."

"I know that, you don't have to apologize for it. At least it reminds me of why I'm fighting to bring down Team Rocket, as well as helping you keep the World's balance or something like that."

"It's called the Balance of Time and Space kid. Memorize it already; I'm getting tired of repeating it."

"Right, that. Well, there's not much point in staying up, might as well get some slee-"

Crack!

"What was that?" Kent opened the window at looked out. "Someone there?"

"Meow."

"…just a cat huh? Oh well, off to sleep then."

He climbed into the bed next to the window and fell asleep despite knowing of the nightmares that await him. Ashley lay still, taking in everything she had just heard. She couldn't believe he could be so cheerful even though he's had a rough life. She determined that she would support him no matter what and help him achieve his goal no matter the cost. Feeling a bit better now that she was determined she managed to fall asleep.

The story continues in chapter 3…

Extra: The Grunts' Late Night Escape

It was dark out by the time he woke up. His entire body was in pain, having been beaten to near death by that kid. As his senses returned to him he realized that he was tied up to a tree along with his partner. He looked to see if anyone was around, and once he was certain he tried to wake up his partner, Joe.

"Joe. Joe! Wake up! Joe!" He whispered loudly so he wouldn't alert anyone who might be in the house. Joe only murmured a few words in response ("no, the auto goes into the diaper, not the Matrix man…"). He started to rock back and forth to try and cause Joe to hit head against the tree in hopes of waking him. When that failed he tried to kick him with the heel of his foot, but the tree kept him from reaching and he couldn't stand any higher because of Joe. Crap, thought the grunt, trying to think of another solution.

Joe suddenly jumped into the air, dragging Mark, the second grunt, along the bark of the tree until his head hit a branch.

Crack!

Oh crud, thought Mike as he rubbed the bump on his head.

Joe was awake now and turned to see Mike. "Oh, hey mike. What's going-"

He was interrupted by the sound of a window opening and heard a voice.

"What was that? Someone there?"

The two grunts instantly remembered the voice of the guy who had beat them black and blue. "Whatdowedowhatdowedowhatdowedo?!" Joe whispered to Mike panicked. "S-shut up! I have an idea!"

Mike took a deep breath before making a sound.

"M-Meow."

Mikes heart was pounding as he wondered if his plan would work. After a few moments of silence they finally hear him say, "…just a cat."

After they heard the window close the two breathed large sighs of relief... They furiously worked to get the ropes of them, and after several hours of attempting they finally managed to break free.

"Let's get out of here" said Mike breaking into a dash.

"But what about the mission? And our Pokémon!" asked Joe.

"You wanna stick around until that behemoth of a kid wakes up again? I sure don't so I'm outta here!"

Joe thought for a moment and realized anything the boss might do to them for failing their mission AND losing their Pokémon would be nothing compared to what that kid had already done to them. "W-Wait up!" he yelled as he chased after his partner, as they disappeared into the night.

I hope you've enjoyed the second chapter of Nightmares of Destiny. I wrote this with the free time I had while waiting for the site to allow me to upload. As I type this there are approximately 7 more hours until I can upload. All that's left is the spell check and personal check to see if I've forgotten anything. This took me several hours to write (all night in fact!) so it would be greatly appreciated if some of you could review this and let me know how to improve it. I'm also still looking for O/Cs and if you email me asking for more information I'll reply with what openings I have and if you want you can go ahead and send me your idea for an O/C. It can be anything from a regular trainer to a Galactic Grunt/Boss to minor characters, like Barry who appeared in this chapter. Anyway, just email me if you're interested, my email can be found in chapter one. Also, I've heard of them and I might be willing to do a crossover with someone if interested. That's all for now!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, only characters that ARE mine are O/Cs