Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

The chapters seem to get longer the more Lyra Sprinkles and I write. I enjoy this story and I'm happy Lyra Sprinkles put so much effort into writing with me. Thank you creator of Pokemon if your reading for being a bug collector who used that passion of yours to make a cool game.

Brendan's POV

It was thanks to Wingull's help that I defeated Roxanne.

I had caught Wingull just outside Rustboro, since I figured that a fire-type like Torchic wasn't going to be much help against a Rock-type Gym. Wingull had proved to be a huge asset, and had single-handedly taken down Roxanne's Nosepass. And now, I had a beautiful new badge to brag about to May.

My Pokémon and I were now in Dewford Town, where we would be challenging the next Gym Leader. Since it was a Fighting-type Gym, I was training my Wingull to win this one for me too.

" Show me that beautiful move Wing Attack." I said.

Wingull hit the Tentacool hard, causing it to faint. I grinned to myself. I was lucky to have such strong Pokémon by my side. We were ready to take on Brawly.

First I healed them in the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy knew from the look on my face I was going to battle Brawley.

"Ready, Combusken?" I whispered.

Yeah, that's right. My Torchic was now a Combusken, and it was just as badass as ever. And the best part was that it was now part Fighting-type. May was gonna be so jealous when she saw it.

Combusken gave a war cry and struck a fighting pose. I laughed, and put it back in it Poké Ball. With a deep breath, I entered the Gym, which was pitch-black.

According to the person greeting me at the entrance the gym would lit up the more trainers I defeated.

Defeating the Gym Trainers wasn't very difficult. They either used Machop, Meditite or a combination of both, and my Wingull and Combusken took them down easily. Now all that was left was the Gym Leader.

I quickly healed up my Pokémon and walked towards him. Brawly was a buffed-up surfer with long blue hair and blue eyes. He watched as I walked up to him, a small smile on his face.

" Your the first trainer to challenge me today. Are you ready?"

"You bet I am!" I replied. Even though I was confident in my abilities, Brawly had these exercise machines surrounding him that kind of intimidated me. Not to mention, he was stretching and flexing like we were about to get into a wrestling match.

" Here goes. Go Machop show them what hard earned muscle looks like."

"Wingull, go!" I cried, releasing my Wingull, I definitely had the type advantage, which was a bonus for me.

"Bulk Up!" Brawly ordered his Machop to increase its stats. But it wasn't going to work, because my Wingull was going to finish him before it could land a single blow.

"Wing Attack!" I commanded. Wingull moved faster than Machop, and hit it first. The attack did a significant amount of damage to Mchop, who barely scratched Wingull.

" Don't let him do that to you again Machop. Use Karate Chop."

Karate Chop hit Wingull, lowering its HP. "Wingull, come one!" I tried my best to cheer it on.

Wingull flapped its wings up to show it was still capable of fighting Machop.

I knew that Wingull was strong enough to take down Machop. "Wing Attack, again!" I ordered. Wingull obeyed and hit Machop hard, causing it to faint.

" That's a powerful Pokémon," Brawley complimented. " Too bad now you have to face Makuhita."

"I'm confident that Wingull can take anything you dish out!" I bragged. Brawly snorted and released Makuhita, a bulky yellow Fighting-type.

I guess I spoke too soon, because as soon as Makuhita's first attack - Arm Thrust - hit Wingull, it fainted.

It was up to Combuskin to defeat Brawley's last Pokémon.

"Combusken. Win this for me." With a silent prayer, I released my last Pokémon.

Combusken screeched loudly and punched the air. Brawly looked impressed.

"A Combusken, huh?" he said. "Good pick. Fighting-types are the best, am I right?"

"You know it!" I grinned. It was all down to this - his last Pokémon vs. mine. "Let's kick things off, shall we? Combusken, Flame Charge!"

Combusken's claws burned with fire before that fire engulfed it and it moved like a cannonball on fire towards Makuhita.

"Arm Thrust!" Brawly cried. Makuhita tried its best to defend against the attack, but Combusken was simply to fast for it. It was on fire before it could attack back.

Combusken's speed rose, and Arm Thrust barely scratched it. "Flame Charge, again!"

Makuhita was hit again, and its HP was critically low. "Damn it!" Brawly gritted his teeth.

" Time to finish this battle. Combusken use Fire Spin."

"Makuhita, Arm Thrust!" Brawly cried desperately, but it was too late. Combusken hit Makuhita before it could move a muscle. The bulky Pokémon fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Yeah! We did it, Combusken!" I reached forward to hug my Pokémon. Combusken was tired, but happy. I was so proud of it.

Brawley wasn't able to keep his cool after losing to Brendan. He fell to the floor, his palms flat on the wood. "How...how could I lose?" he whispered. "My Makuhita...it's my strongest Pokémon..."

I didn't know Gym Leaders could take losing in their gym so bad.

Brawly stood up. He looked frazzled, but there was that look in his eyes that said that he was impressed with what he saw. "Congratulations on beating me," he held out his hand, which I shook. "It's not everyday it happens, but hey. You've earned the Knuckle Badge."

With a smile, he placed the blue fist-shaped badge into my palm. I could only stare. My second badge...I had come so far from that kid in the moving truck.

"Thank you," I replied, pinning it on my clothes. I thought of May's distraught face when she found out that I'd beaten another Gym before her, and I smirked.

I had to get moving fast if I wanted to get to the third gym leader before May reached this island.

"Oh, and you can have this too," Brawly handed me a CD-like device.

I knew what it was. It was a TM, or Technical Machine. I had collected a few on my journey, and knew that they could be used to teach Pokémon new moves. "That's the TM for Bulk Up."

"Thanks, Brawly," I replied, putting the TM in my bag. Gym Leaders sure were generous.

"You're pretty strong for a kid your age," he said. "You're gonna go far, kid. I can already tell. By the way, have you heard of Granite Cave?"

"No?" I replied. "Why?"

"It's a cave located to the north," he explained. "It's full of rare rocks and stuff. You should check it out while you're here. You might meet some interesting people."

Three things given to me in only one day. It must be my lucky day.

I said goodbye to Brawly and made my way out of the Gym. For some reason, I expected to see May there again, taunting me because I was more awesome than her, but she wasn't there.

I wonder where she was. I hadn't seen her since we caught up in Rustboro City. What could she be doing?

Not that I cared, of course.

After healing my Pokémon at the Pokémon Center, I made my way to the north of town. I had decided to take Brawly's advice and visit Granite Cave. Maybe I might find the next member of my team there, who knows?

I had to find some way to reach the minimum six Pokémon if I was going to be champion.

The moment I stepped into the cave, I was swarmed by Zubat. I tried my best to fend them off, but they kept annoying me with every step I took. I kicked myself for not carrying any Repel with me.

I made my way deeper into the cave. A friendly hiker had given me the TM for Flash. He had advised me to teach it to one of my Pokémon, as it got pretty dark further ahead. But I didn't do so, because none of my Pokémon could learn the move. I decided to just wing it and go ahead.

When I got to a pretty interior section of the cave, I came across an older boy in a fancy purple suit and pointy blue hair. He was studying some weird cave paintings on the wall.

I couldn't help myself. I had to walk to that guy and talk to him.

The boy was studying a large mural of a giant dinosaur-like Pokémon fighting a whale-like creature. I stood next to him and studied the mural, too.

"Hmm," he said softly. I couldn't tell if he was talking to me or himself. "So in the ancient world, their primal forms had this much power?"

"I don't know," I replied, assuming he was talking to me.

He wasn't, he in fact didn't know I was standing there until I started talking.

This was evident by the way he jumped up suddenly. "Gah! You scared me! When did you get here?"

"Just now," I replied. "I wasn't spying on you or anything, dude, I literally just got here. Thought the painting looked interesting so I wanted to see it too."

"I see," he replied.

He was in an awkward moment between me and him now.

"Well?" he said finally.

I stared at him. "Well, what?"

"Well, you said the mural was interesting. What do you think?" he asked.

"Um," I looked back at the painting. The sight of those two powerful Pokémon fighting each other was scary, but most of all it made me sad. "It's creepy. And are those Pokémon really that big?"

The boy nodded as if he understood. "What terrible strength," he commented. "But their appearance...it doesn't seem like Mega Evolution."

He turned around and studied me. "What's you name?" he asked.

" My name is Brendan. What is your name?"

He held out his hand. "My name is Steven Stone." We shook hands, and I tried to pull away, but he didn't.

"Don't you have a letter for me?" he asked.

"What?" I replied. "A letter? What are you talking about?"

Steven frowned. "I'm sorry. I don't know why, but I thought you were going to give me a letter."

He turned his attention back to the mural. "Brendan," he said. "Do you feel anything in particular when you look up at this wall?"

I didn't really know if I felt anything particular so I decided to look closer.

"It's strange," I said, after studying the mural for a while. "I don't understand it. Why were they fighting? Did these Pokémon exist in the past?"

Steven nodded. "A primal world, lost thousands of years in the past," he said, sounding sad. "The legendary Pokémon became the world's greatest threat. You can see the terror they caused in this artwork..."

"Huh," I replied. "So...these are legendary Pokémon?"

It was impressive and at the same time spooky. Maybe I would want to meet these Pokémon in the future but not until I raised my own Pokémon to be a challenge for them.

"Who knows?" I said, out loud. "Maybe one day I'll meet these Pokémon and even catch them."

Steven shot me a look.

"Not until I'm strong enough, of course," I added.

He laughed. "I can see that you're an ambitious one. I like that." He picked up his backpack, which he had set down beside him. Rummaging through it, he pulled out a TM.

"I'd like you to have this," he said, handing it to me. "It's a TM for my favorite move, Steel Wing. Consider it as a gift - from one Champion to another."

" Awesome! Thank you very much Steven. I have a flying Pokémon named Wingull and I'm sure it will love this move."

"Good choice," Steven remarked. "I can tell that you've got a strong team of Pokémon. You'll do well, no doubt. Who knows, maybe one day you'll even beat the Champion!"

I laughed. "Yep, that's what I'm training for!"

"I should go now," Steven turned to leave. "But I will definitely see you again, Brendan."

I watched as Steven left the cave. First Brawly, now Steven - everyone could tell that I was a strong trainer. I would do well and not let any of them down. Like Steven said, I might even beat the Pokémon League Champion. And maybe someday, I'd finally surpass my dad.