Samuel was keeping his head low as he walked through the streets of Volt. His hood was up, over his head, covering part of his face, along with his black hair. His yellow and grey robes that he wore marked him as part of the Lightning Sect, but seeing as how most everyone was a Lightning in Volt, he didn't stand out at all.

He kept his head down, moving quickly, towards the city gates.

He fingered his two crystals on his belt, feeling safer with his pokemon. But not safe enough. Was it enough to get out?

He bumped someone on the street, and quickly turned his head away, praying they hadn't seen his face. The gates were in sight, just a few more seconds...

There was an ear-spitting screech from above, and a clap of thunder just after. The great bird Zapdos landed thunderously on the archway that marked the exit of the capitol city. Its talons gripped the stone archway, piercing the rock for balance.

The legendary looked right at him, and he knew he was caught.

Sam sighed, knowing that resisting a legendary was futile, and so he flipped his hood off, exposing his face. Instantly, the guards were on him.

"You should be training!"

"Why are you out in public!"

"Viscount Samuel, your father will not be pleased."

Back in the Lightning Temple, he was scolded for mingling with the commoners, trying to leave the city, and, of course, not attending his morning training session.

"Now Samuel," came the lecture he was all too familiar with. His father, a bulky man with beefy features, was the leader of Lightning. "You are royalty! You are my son! Why must you insist on trying to esca... I mean, leave our lovely city?"

Sam stayed silent, knowing whatever he said wouldn't be heard anyway.

"Exactly," continued his father. "Though, don't worry, you will get your wish sooner than you think! Though it will be to bring honor to our family and to our Sect!"

This peeked Sam's interest, but he stayed silent. His father sighed.

"Go, finish your training, you shall be assigned your task at dinner tonight."

The winding stairs that led to the basement of the temple had become automatic for Sam to descend. He knew how steep each individual step was, how many their were, and how fast to spin around during the descent.

Once in the training room of the temple, he headed straight for his post, crossing the entirety of the room to reach the opposite wall. The others around him were of different social standings, but were all within Lightning. Each wore the customary robes, worshiped the same Legendaries, and had the same types of pokemon.

"Another one of your brilliant plans fail you, brother?" said someone behind him. Sam turned, and saw his brother walking towards him. Christopher had his same cocky gait as he made his way over to Sam. Sam and Chris were identical in every way, being twins, except for their hair. Sam's was a deep obsidian, and Chris's was blonde, nearly white.

"Did father put you back in your place again?" Chris demanded, laughing, Sam turned his head, once again, not speaking. Chris went on. "Just accept your destiny, brother! You and I will bring greatness to Lightning in the next great Clash," he said, referring to the frequent battles between the Wave and Lightning Sects. "And no Normalcy weaklings are going to stop us from slaughtering each and every one of them this time."

Chris looked over his shoulder at the training post that Sam was standing by, nodding approvingly. "The Battler, nice choice, though I would have thought you were too much of a pathetic bitch to use it."

Sam, once again, was silent. Chris narrowed his eyes. "Why don't you speak, hmm? You freak. You're always quiet, never standing up for yourself, just like a woman."

Sam turned towards his brother and glared, still silent. Chris glared back. "You'll always be weak," Chris spat. "And father will never love you as much as I." He stuck his pointer finger towards Sam, and brought it down in an arc to point at the ground, a sign of disrespect in Lightning; comparing people to the ground. Leaving Sam fuming with anger, Chris laughed and turned back the way he came.

Furious, Sam clenched his fists, wanting nothing more than to start a fight with Chris, but he forced himself to relax. Conflict was never his thing, and he hated fighting. He ran his finger through his hair and sighed, turning back to his training post.

He released his two pokemon from their crystals, and they turned to him with smiles on their faces. Sam couldn't help but smile back. His pokemon cared about him, and, to him, that was all that mattered.

"Hello, you two," he greeted them, speaking for the first time in hours. His voice was soft and kind, deep and resonating, unlike his brother's, which was whiny and harsh. He bent to pat them both. "Are you ready for some training?" he sighed.

The happiness on their faced diminished. "Teon, jolte on jol," sighed his jolteon, Glinda.

"Shiiiin shiiiinx," whined Yasser, his shinx. Sam nodded, understandingly.

"I know, it's wrong, but I think we are leaving the city soon," Sam explained quietly, glancing around, trying to avoid being heard. "And if word gets back to father that we used The Battler, then he might... respect us more and... be proud of us..." Sam sighed, hating that he thought that way. Why should he care what the old man thought. Sam cringed, and continued his thought. "And maybe he will see that we are strong enough to be on our own."

Chris had been allowed to leave Volt and return for a few years now, only because he was so zealous about Lightning and enjoyed fighting in a sadistic way. Sam shuddered thinking about it.

He stood from his crouched position, and walked over to the wall. Glinda and Yasser jumped down into the deep pit that was The Battler. Sam could see everything that happened in the pit from his position beside the far wall of the training room.

He swallowed, and took hold of one of the levers on the wall; the one that said "WAVE." "Are you ready?" he called into the pit. The two nodded, and he pulled the lever.

A small gate opened on one of the sides of the pit, and a water pokemon was pushed out from the wall. Once it was out, Sam pushed the lever back up, and immediately pulled it back down, bringing a second water type into the pit.

The first pokemon, a golduck, calmly looked at its surroundings, sadly nodding its head. An older fellow, simply accepting fate.

The second pokemon was not as compliant. "Ma marill!" it shrieked, squealing and trying desperately to get back into the cage it had been kept in. It made Sam sick. It was just a baby.

"You... you know what to do guys," Sam sighed, unable to actually give the order himself. His pokemon nodded and approached the water types, talking to them in their own language.

Sam had raised his pokemon to be compassionate and loving. Most people said they were soft and weak, but he knew they weren't. They were both strong, but did not enjoy killing defenseless pokemon like others did. They didn't like killing other pokemon just to prove a point. In recent years, they had put on the show of being cold blooded, just so people would get off of Sam's back.

The other Lightning members around him were busy doing their own training, too busy to notice what was happening in The Battler pit. Yasser was busy trying to calm down the marill, with little success. Glinda and the golduck were just looking at each other with sadness in their eyes.

"Marill!" the water type screeched again, drawing attention to the pit.

"Look, Sam is using The Battler!" Someone had finally noticed, and other people began to rush over to the sides of the pit to watch the fight.

"Look at that one squealing!" someone laughed, making Sam's blood boil.

But he couldn't show it. He had to play along now, in order for good word to be passed to his father. His face hardened. "Glinda, thunderbolt! Yasser, spark!"

The demeanor of his two pokemon changed in an instant. They too, were good at putting on a show. Glinda bared her teeth, and her body began to spark. A bolt of lightning shot from her spiked fur right into the golduck's chest. He was knocked across the pit, sprawling on the ground, not fighting back.

Yasser sparked as well, and tackled into the side of the marill, knocking it away from the doors of the cage. It sat on the ground, crying. The two electric types stood in front of the water pokemon who weren't fighting back, fighting inner battles within themselves.

Sam grimaced, not wanting to give another order. He forced himself to say it. "Finish them off!" he roared convincingly. The crowd went wild. Most people had never heard him talk, and some were even convinced that he was a mute. But hearing him give commands such as that wiped away many doubts.

The two electric types hesitated only for a second, before making their move. Only Sam could tell that they were faking. They put on quite the facade. Glinda shocked the golduck until it no longer moved. Poor Yasser was forced to tackle the helpless crying marill over and over again, until it stopped moving. Sam looked down, knowing that not only were they not moving, but were also not breathing.

In standard pokemon battles between trainers, there is a point at which the pokemon is incapacitated and unconscious that both trainers recognize. Killing a pokemon in a battle competition is frowned upon. But in war... leaving a pokemon alive of the opposite Sect was dishonorable.

He clenched his teeth, and returned his pokemon, unable to force them to commit acts such as that any longer. It disgusted him to be congratulated. The two dead water types were taken from the pit by the temple priestesses to be cooked and fed to both people and pokemon alike.

Sam turned without saying a word to anyone, and headed back up the stairs, passing the first floor and second, until he reached his bedroom. Only certain members had rooms in the temple, and being the son of Lightning's high priest, of course he had one.

Sam sat in his room, alone and silent, until dinner.

"Why, my boy, I didn't know you had it in you!" the high priest crowed, patting Sam roughly on the back.

"I mean, usually you back out of the battler, or make your kills accidentally, but no! Not this time! It looks like you are finally becoming what this Sect needs."

Sam sat, silent again, cutting his potatoes in half to cool.

Chris was less than pleased. "He's still a little bitch," he muttered, carving into his steak.

Sam had refused to take any meat that night, knowing what it very well could be. He glanced at his mother, who looked back at him silently, with a sad smile. She was also eating vegetarian that night. She remained silent as well.

Archie finally stopped pounding Sam's back, and addressed both of his son's. "Now, here is why I have called you both to have dinner with me tonight," he began. Very few people entered the high priest's chambers, even his own sons. "You are both to represent our Sect in an epic championship, spanning across all of Rudan!" As he said this, he threw his hands into the air for added effect.

And so, the boys' father went on to explain the Queen's proclaimation, making sure to note that it was "about time the woman realized that ruling is a man's job." He announced then that the two boys would become the champions of Lightning, and whoever won would become the King of Rudan, ruling with an iron fist.

"And we can finally show those Wave bastards where the real power lies," their father finished.

"Excellent, father!" Chris crowed. He slammed his fists down into the table eagerly. "When do we set off?"

"Whenever you so choose," he announced, grinning. Sam's interest once again peaked, and he glanced up from his food.

"So, we could leave now? Tonight?" he said, speaking to his father for the first time in days.

The high priest's eyes widened, shocked at hearing Sam's voice again, but he quickly composed himself. "If you so chose, though I would recommend..."

But Sam did not hear the rest; he was up, out of his chair, and headed towards his room to pack.

He could hear his father behind him. "Look at his eagerness! Chris, why aren't you as excited about this as your brother, hmm?"

Sam slammed the door to his room and fumbled around under his bed for his bag. He always kept it stocked with essentials for when he occasionally tried to get away. He pulled it out, already loaded with everything he could think of that was necessary. Clothes, rations, water, a few extra crystals, tinder, and some gold pieces he had saved (and stolen.)

He was so focused on making sure he had anything that he jumped when he heard his bedroom door open. He whirled around, only to see his father in the doorway. He had a look of pride tinged with sadness on his face.

"Oh Samuel," he began. "I am so proud that you are taking this task seriously." Little did the high priest know that Sam's sole focus was to get out of Volt, caring less about the Queen's proclamation. "I have one last thing for you before you leave."

Archie produced a red glowing crystal from his pocket. He held it out. "Come out," he commanded, and white light flowed from the crystal, solidifying on the stone floor.

A small striped pokemon stood there in front of sam. Black, with white stripes (or was it white with black stripes,) it was a striking figure. The little pokemon tossed his head, a small lightning bolt adorning the front of it like a horn. "Bli!" he whinnied.

"This is a..."

"Blitzle," Sam finished. He stared, quite shocked, at the small pokemon. Not because of the pokemon itself, but because his father was giving him a gift.

His shock dissipated soon after though: "The female had twins, this one being the runt of the two. I gave the larger to Chris, I hope you don't mind," his father said, handing him the red crystal.

Figured.

"Thank you, father," Sam said, respectful through it all. "I'll take good care of him."

The high priest nodded briskly, and turned tail out of the room, shutting the door behind him quickly, before he could change his mind about letting his troublesome son out of the city.

Sam finished packing, the little striped pokemon following him shyly around the room, sticking its nose in things that it didn't belong in more than once. Not that there was much to mess up in the room. Basic and bare, Sam had strived not to become attached to it, and instead to want nothing more than to escape it.

Once he was sure everything was packed, he finally faced the striped pokemon. "Well bud, I guess it's time to name you..."

But what to name him? Sam was totally at a loss. And he didn't have much time to waste. He sat on the bed for a while, thinking, but decided that the name would eventually come to him. He returned the black and white pokemon to his crystal.

He opened the door to his room to leave, and was surprised to see his mother right in front of him, her hand raised as if to knock. She lowered it and smiled, pulling him into a hug. Sam hugged her back, enjoying the smell of her, the smell of bread and perfume and home.

"You must enter the competition, Samuel," she said in his ear. He opened his mouth to protest, hitting his chin on her shoulder, but she shook her head. "I saw you down there. You only want to escape. But you mustn't let Christopher become the King. Think of what would happen to the Sects. To women?"

She pulled back, and looked in his eyes, searching. "Each human and pokemon is created equal, and you see that Samuel. I see in your eyes that you believe so. You mustn't let your brother become the King. Never undervalue another human being because of anything but their actions."

She nodded, still looking into his eyes, and smiled sweetly, her crow's feet appearing in the corners of her eyes. "Your father loves you Samuel," she said finally. And with that, without Samuel saying one word, she turned and headed up the stairs to Christopher's room.

Sam blinked a few times, surprised at himself that he found no tears, and he turned and headed down the stairs.

It was raining outside, which is no shock in Volt. It thunderstorms there more than half of the year. Lightning cloaks were made to be waterproof and insulated, and very resistant to conducting electricity.

As he left the temple, the guards at the door presented him with one of two specially made cloaks, the second of which still hung behind them, presumedly for his brother, who was still upstairs preparing.

The cloak was all black, with lightning bolts embroidered all over the cloth, and they were a shimmering golden color. The hood that could be raised covered the entire top half of his face, leaving only his mouth exposed. He was given black gloves and black boots, which he exchanged for his older ones.

All of this he wore through the empty streets of Volt. It was nearing the middle of the night, and Sam wanted to be as far away from the city as possible by morning.

He passed under the stone archway that on which just that morning the great bird Zapdos had perched and found him. He saw lightning in the distance, and thunder boomed soon after. As long as he was beneath the storm, he knew he was not truly alone.

Pondering his mother's words, he made his way south, towards Aero.