A/N: Hey guys! Here's the 2nd chapter of the story.
As always, thank you for your support on the story and I'm very grateful to everyone who has lost some of their time to create an OC char.
A special thanks to KomoriRin, my buddy :D
The first two chapters have been re-uploaded, with some minor changes.
Unfortunately, I'm also quite disappointed since until now we still only have one Gym Leader!
Deciding to restrict my creative urges and knowing that this is a SYOC story, I promised myself to only create one OC - Neo. This means that, I'll have to stall the story until we get more characters - Gym Leaders *cough *cough
Now, I understand that this role is probably not very interesting for you guys, but that's not true at all. Based on you ideas the leaders can be really important chars just like in the Manga/Game/Anime.
I'm still looking for antagonists as well, but this one might be trickier and if you are interested in creating one PM and I'll gladly help you.
So, may I ask some of your time to create a char for the story? :3
As always, I hope you enjoy.
Hoenn, Mossdeep City, Lyon's POV
It was early in the morning, but I was already up and ready to leave home.
I should stay home today, knowing that I only returned to Mossdeep on the weekends, but right now I was excited to visit my old school, one last time, in order to get my starter.
I felt bad for not spending more time with my mother before leaving on my journey, but my friends had invited me to stay with them in local Center and there was a limited number of boats headed to the city.
"Lyon, don't waste too much time ogling yourself in the mirror; you'll lose the boat!" Elaine, my mother, hit the bullseye.
Hearing this made my checks turn the same color of my hair, a dark shade of red, "I'm not looking in the mirror, mom! I'm just getting ready!" Well, that was a half-lie.
I was indeed getting ready, but I was also having a hard time trying to decide what to wear. I needed to look cool, especially when facing the Gyms.
Looking at my options, I immediately picked up my favorite black cargo shorts. Knowing that I would wear them, I grabbed my matching short black boots.
I chose to wear a white button-down shirt and of course I finished my look with my red leather jacket.
Looking myself one last time in the mirror, I liked how this outfit looked. I quickly styled my spiked fringe and put a new band-aid on the cut on my face.
Now I was ready. I had packed my bag last night and it was already by the door, along with my ticket.
Exiting my room without looking back, I headed towards the entrance hall ready to bid farewell to my mother.
When I looked at her I noticed that her eyes were about to burst into tears. I sighed and tried to calm her, "C'mon mom! Don't look at me like that. I'll feel guilty leaving you behind, crying..."
"O-Oh, I'm sorry Lyon! You look so grown up that I couldn't hold back a mother's tears." She adjusted my jacket and embraced me in a hug.
Clearing her throat and wiping her face, she said, "Go, Lyon! You'll lose the boat at this rate. Please be careful and don't pick fights with everyone!" She scolded me right before my departing. Wow.
"Yes, mom! I'm not like that, you know?!" I said, trying to convince myself that I wasn't a hotheaded person.
Kissing my mother on the cheek, I grabbed my bag and exited my house. Tomorrow I would receive my starter.
What a great feeling! Too bad I'd to wait one more day than that psychic moron.
Hoenn, Rustboro City, Normal POV
The sunrays enlightened the tropical region of Hoenn. Today, many teenagers from all around the world started their journeys.
Within a week, all the graduates would receive their starter, and another year of tough challenges awaited them.
This was no different for Neo. He had just received his own Pokémon, after having a hard time picking.
Normally, he wouldn't bother that much with this type of thing, but he didn't want to start off on the wrong foot.
After a fierce battle with his inner self, he was able to finally overcome his insecure thoughts. The purple haired boy was able to pick his starter with no regrets.
Right now, he was leaving his school; or rather, his former school.
He started to walk faster. There was someone waiting for him and he was already late. He hated when that happened.
A couple of meters in front of the Rustboro Pokémon School a teen with spiky blue hair was gazing at the view while finishing his ice cream.
When he saw him, Neo sighed in contentment. His friend hadn't changed much since the last time they saw each other, especially his carefree attitude.
Neo noticed that his friend was still dressed in a rather simple way. He was wearing a red shirt and black jeans, along with his favorite red sneakers.
Now getting closer to his friend, Neo noticed that Colt looked a little stockier and he definitely had grown a bit.
This would only add to their differences even more. Colt was rather muscular and tall, while Neo was shorter and somewhat skinny.
Their disparity wasn't only on physical terms. Their personalities were totally different as well.
Colt acted mostly on his instincts while his friend was always over thinking every little detail.
Colt was like the sun, emitting confidence and beaming with joy, while Neo resembled the moon. He was a lot more calm and cold, always enjoying watching the world from his own point of view. They had many differences, but they still got along just fine.
Getting closer to his friend, Neo said, "It's been a while, stranger."
Turning around to face his friend, Colt couldn't help but laugh at his mannerisms.
One year has passed and Neo was still uncomfortable with talking to people.
"Hey, Neo! Yeah, you're right! It's been awhile!" Colt said, extending his hand to greet his friend. Neo shook his hand and they both looked at each other without knowing how to break the ice.
"Just to be clear, I think you did well in Kanto, despite losing in that match." Neo said firmly, without a trace of hesitation.
It was the truth. He really thought his friend had done well. Of course, he had made some mistakes, but that was his first competition.
"Haha! You're always going easy on me, kiddo!" Colt knew that he wouldn't lie to him, but if Colt had been a stranger, Neo would be even blunter with his words.
Neo knew that the two of them had their own ways of thinking and, to be honest, he couldn't really understand how Colt always did so well, without thinking about his actions.
Colt had thought the same. In the end, they had an argument and they ended up deciding not to judge each other's methods.
Looking once more to the view, Colt said, "Well, this region is definitely different. You can see the ocean wherever you are and it looks way more alive than the Kanto did."
"Yeah, it's not that bad. You have a lot of beaches, water and terribly hot temperatures." Neo said while faking heatstroke.
"Hmm, so that's the Devon Corporation," Colt concluded when he looked at the huge stone building in the northern section of town. It was clearly visible from any point in this city, due to its size.
"Yeah, it's run by the ex-champion Steven Stone. They work specially on fossil revival and research associated with Mega Evolution."
Of course, Colt knew about Steven. In fact, he would love to have a battle with him, but unfortunately that would be almost impossible.
"So, you already picked your Pokémon, right?"
Neo nodded.
"So, which psychic type did you choose?" Colt asked once again, with curiosity.
"I chose a Ralts," Neo said bluntly. At his answer, Colt gasped and stared at him for a while before opening his mouth again.
"R-Really? Sneaky bastard, hahaha!" After recovering from the shock, Colt actually found the situation rather funny and started to laugh.
After regaining composure, Colt said, "You did that to counter me, didn't you?" Before letting Neo answer he continued, "I bet you even chose a female because of the fairy type advantage!"
Neo stared at him with an annoyed expression. He was hitting him on the back in a friendly way, trying to hold in his laughter.
"Yes, that was my idea." Neo admitted.
"I knew it!" Colt said proudly, "You always said that you weren't interested in Pokémon battles, but I'll change your mind, bro."
At this comment, Neo flinched. It has been awhile since he heard Colt call him brother and he had forgotten how affectionate and frank the other boy could be, always treating Neo like family.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," Neo said half-jokingly, knowing that he wouldn't leave him alone with this matter.
"Now that you're free, let's check out that enormous water park that I saw. I think it's a couple of blocks to the right side of the Devon Corp-"
"You mean the Rustboro Gym?" Neo interrupted his friend's speech.
"That's the city Gym?" Colt asked, surprised. "I thought it was just a normal amusement park or something."
Neo shook his head, "After the reform of the Gym leaders' rules, and when Roxanne stepped down and decided to start teaching full time, there were no rock type trainers interested in taking her position."
"The vacancy was then taken by a water specialist who rebuild the Gym with the League's help. Of course this was in all of their interests."
"Ohh, those greedy bastards!" Colt scoffed at this piece of information. "So they build this to attract more people to the town?"
"Yes. Being in region where people love to spend their vacations, this would attract more income than an old museum."
Colt nodded in agreement. It made sense for them to make a decision like this.
Right now, Rustboro was one of the most important cities in the region. Here, they had the Devon Corp, one of the most famous companies in the world, and a prestigious school for trainers.
"Anyway, I've got an idea! Let's check it out, right now!" Colt shouted excitedly.
Neo frowned when he heard this. This didn't sound good for him; he was betting that Colt was going to challenge the Gym on his first day.
Sighing in exasperation, Neo started to follow his friend who was now whistling in high spirits.
Hoenn, Rustboro City, Neo's POV
Nearing the water park entrance, I noticed that Colt was looking around with an amazed look on his face.
"Look at the size of that slide, Neo!" He shouted at me, acting like a child at the water park for the first time.
This park really was something else, though. It had two outdoor swimming pools that connected with the water slides.
Speaking of the water slides, they had two types of these attractions available. The yellow one was the normal body slide that could also be ridden by two people inside of a small raft.
In the distance, covering almost the entire park and having some crazy loops, was the other slide. I tested it firsthand, thanks to my aunt.
There was also a multi-lane racer, where a total of eight people could dive headfirst onto a mat and down a slide with several dips. This attraction was famous among the groups of students that came here to challenge each other and have fun.
But the most important part of this amusement park was the building with an orange roof, right in the center. A small forest of palm trees and other tropical plants surrounded the building.
It was the Rustboro Gym. A place where trainers could challenge the Gym Leader of this town, in order to get their badge.
The path that connected to its entrance was somewhat sandy, creating the feeling that we were walking on a beach.
Actually, I bet we could walk barefooted anywhere here, since the park was filled with synthetic grass.
Colt was still gaping at everything. From his reaction, I could picture him coming here with his family in a few years. The perfect example of tourists that the League aimed to attract.
"C'mon, Neo! Let's check out the Gym. I want to challenge it, right now!" Colt said excitedly, dashing towards the building.
"Well, that was expected." I thought to myself, trying to keep up with the rhythm of my friend's legs.
Ignoring all of the attractions and distractions that we passed, Colt rushed towards the Gym.
The automatic doors opened and we noticed that the entrance hall was silent, as if the Gym was empty.
"Hello~?" Colt shouted once he reached the counter.
He looked at me, confused, and I just shrugged, "Wait a few minutes, maybe they're performing a water show or something."
A few seconds later, a small, slim girl appeared in the door frame and came running to greet us.
"Hey! I'm sorry, I was dealing with some paperwork and I didn't heard the door opening." The brown-haired girl said apologetically, bowing in shame.
Looking at the girl once again, I noticed that she was probably older than me despite looking so tiny and thin.
Her brown hair reached a little down her neck and the tips were painted green. She was wearing a white dress, knee length, which hung off one shoulder.
On her waist there was a black belt with small pockets, which I assumed to be where she stored her Pokémon.
She was also wearing black boots that reached a little above her ankles.
"There's no need to apologize, right Neo?" Colt said awkwardly, trying to get her to stop.
"Yeah, that's right," I said stoically.
"So, are you the Gym leader?" Colt asked without losing another minute.
Judging by her previous attitude, I had assumed that she wasn't the Gym leader. She was also acting somewhat uncomfortable, but it seemed like Colt was too excited to notice that.
"Unfortunately, I'm not. The Gym Leader was called out by the League, just like the other leaders. I'm merely an apprentice." She said, once again with an uncomfortable look on her face.
She was probably afraid that Colt was here to challenge the Gym.
"Ahh, that's lame. So, I guess I can't fight the Gym leader today, right?" Colt said, downhearted and knowing that he couldn't have his first challenge.
"No, they probably won't be back before nightfall. However, I have the Gym leader's permission to accept challenges from trainers that started their journey today."
I narrowed my eyebrows when I heard this. Well, the Gym leader must be very open-minded to allow an apprentice to fight challengers.
I bet no one was expecting a new trainer to head straight to the Gym after receiving his starter.
"Well, unfortunately I'm not a new trainer." Colt said, showing the girl his trainer card on the Xtransceiver.
"Ah! You're from Kanto, C-Colt." The girl concluded after reading his card. "Yeah, unfortunately I can't really give you the challenge that you are looking for. I just started aiming to be a type specialist a couple of months ago."
"Yeah, don't worry! I'll come back here again." My friend said, now looking somewhat happier than before. This doesn't looked good at all.
He stared at me and gave me a wink, "What's your name, you haven't introduced yourself."
"S-Sorry! I'm Korianne Smith, it's a pleasure to meet you guys!" She said embarrassed for not introducing herself earlier, she was the one in charge of the Gym now.
I couldn't help but smirk at her personality. I quickly deduced that this girl just like me was somewhat shy around other people and she was also a bit clumsy.
"Unfortunately for me Korianne I can't fight you, but my friend over there just started his journey today..." He said, while pointing at me. I was standing a couple of meters behind them watching the whole scene.
When I heard this I was about to knock some sense into Colt's head, but he continued talking, "Why don't you fight him? He's aiming to be a psychic specialist so it would be a good experience for both of you." He said with a smirk on his face.
Hearing this the brown haired suddenly started to pay attention to me. "Ah! Damn you Colt!" I cursed my friend in my head.
The small teen approached me and greeted with a handshake, "I'm not very experienced in fighting, but I'd happy to accept your challenge and I promise to give all I got! Does that sounds good…?" Korianne said with a serious expression.
Her hazel eyes showed strong determination. For a second, I froze. Her mettle was evident from me on that moment and I felt drawn to accept the challenge immediately.
She was still staring at me, waiting for my introduction and answer to her challenge. Being able to think clearly, I just saw the mistake that I was about to make.
I almost accepted to battle her despite not having no experience in real situations like this. I would probably end up losing. There was no way I could beat her without thinking about a plan first.
Finally mustering the strength to answer, I decided to introduce myself and put an end to this mistake, "I'm Neo. Well, I just started today so I think that battling is not-"
Suddenly, I got interrupted by Colt appearing at my side and putting his arm on my shoulders, taking control over the conversation. "Neo will accept your offer, right?" Colt glared at me, trying to convince me.
I glared back at him, trying to tell him that this wasn't a good idea. I wasn't prepared. Despite the fact that she was a beginner like me, she still had the upper hand.
"Huh? Guys, could you stop your eye-conversation? I'm feeling left out here," Korianne scolded us and we immediately stopped our glare contest.
I sighed in defeat, "Ok, I'll battle you. Give me just a second to talk with my Pokémon." Knowing that there was no turning back now and not wanting to look bad in front of my friend and this fellow specialist, I accepted the challenge.
When I finally gave in, Colt sent me a triumphant smile, proud of being able to influence me into accepting this Gym battle.
I really couldn't care less for the Gym badge or the fact that this would help me enroll in to Hoenn's conference.
I was never a fan of battling, but if this would help Ralts and I get stronger, then I would gladly accept her offer. I probably was feeling bad for wanting to turn her down.
Stepping away from them, I released Ralts and decided to introduce myself. "Hey Ralts, I'll be your trainer from now on. I hope that we can be friends and, starting today, I'll be counting on your strength to help me grow as a trainer."
My introduction didn't seem to go the way I had planned. Maybe I sounded a bit too cold.
I felt like I had just started off on the wrong foot. Ralts was known as the Feeling Pokémon. Her horns were able to read people and Pokémon's emotions.
I saw Ralts taking a step towards me and I crouched to face her. She looked directly up at me, with her eyes finally visible. She extended her arm and her eyes started glowing in blue.
After a few seconds, she stared down and happily nodded. "What just happened?" I thought to myself.
When Ralts did that, I felt like someone was reading my mind. Was that even possible?
Calming down, I patted Ralts's head and called her back. "She probably used her ability Trace to found out about my true intentions," I concluded, after remembering that using her skills could enable her to read me.
Then, it meant I did well, right? Of course, it came out weird, but fortunately for me she can read my intentions. I won't need words to interact with my Pokémon.
I grinned, happily while looking at Ralts's Poké Ball.
After this, I told Korianne that I was ready and the three of us headed towards the battle arena, the swimming pool area that also hosted water shows.
My plans of having a calm day went down the drain as soon as I met Colt.
Somehow, I got dragged along by his reckless behavior and now I was going to fight my first Gym battle, mere minutes after receiving my starter.
I was being unfair. It wasn't just his fault that I was now in front of the swimming pool, ready to face Korianne.
I was probably being affected by my own pride. I couldn't deny that deep inside I wanted to battle a fellow specialist.
Yes, I did wanted to battle her, especially after seeing how serious and honest she was about this situation. Despite feeling uneasy, I was sure that she had to muster a lot of guts to do something like this.
She could have sent me away to avoid having to be in this tough situation, but she decided to face her responsibilities and I reached a point where I couldn't say no to her.
It was probably her first time battling in such an important event, so I felt like showing how serious I was too.
This was probably the confirmation that from now on, I would be one of Colt's rivals.
I was mentally ready for this after calming myself.
Korianne was already on the other side of the pool with a Poké Ball on her hand.
She had explained me that she was ordered to face new trainers in one versus one battles if someone would desire to do so.
Korianne would be using one of the Gym leader's Pokémon. Of course I only had only one option as well, my new partner, Ralts.
Knowing that she was a starter Pokémon, her move set wasn't going to help me that much. Right now, Ralts only had two attacks that dealt damage and one supportive one that would be effective in this arena.
Analyzing the pool, there only a dozen round floating platforms that Ralts could use to avoid entering the water.
I could only win this match if Ralts and I were able to coordinate the transition between defense and offense.
Ralts's Teleport move would be the ace up my sleeve for this battle.
Smiling nervously at me, the brown haired girl asked, "Are you ready to start the show?"
I thought that her choice of words was fitting exactly the feeling that this match would give. A great number of people started to enter the countertop area to my right and slowly the benches were being filled by many curious people.
Most of the spectators were students from my school and there were also some tourist families. I was able to find Colt in the crowd and, unfortunately for me, I also spotted my ex-classmate Lyon.
That guy was a hothead and we never get along. The fact that I didn't like battling that much and still gave him a good challenge always pissed him off.
Trying to ignore the red haired nuisance, I started focusing on the main issue, "I'm ready!" I finally answered.
Stretching her arm, she threw her Poké Ball, revealing that my opponent would be a Spheal.
The dual-type Pokémon wasn't a bad opponent for us. Facing the chubby, spherical, seal-like Pokémon would be better than facing a Carvanha.
Reaching for my belt, I grabbed Ralts's Poké Ball and sent it to one of the floating platforms.
"Let us begin, then! I'll give you the first move." She said in a courteous manner.
I sighed at this type of formality. This was probably the usual behavior of a Gym leader. As an apprentice she was just following those rules.
This was an inconvenience for me. Being the analytical type, I never liked to take the lead in the battle. In fact, I always played on the counter attack, waiting for an opening.
Knowing that there wasn't a point in trying to break the habit, I ordered Ralts to attack, "Use Confusion!"
At my command, the two red horns on Ralts's head started to glow and she sent out a weak telekinetic force.
If we managed to land a solid hit, Spheal would be confused and Ralts would be able to control the opponent with her mind.
Of course I wasn't expecting to land a decisive blow on the first attack. In fact, I was expecting Korianne to order her Pokémon to dive at any second.
"Time for a swim, Spheal!" As I expected, the brown-haired girl gave the command. Spheal happily rolled its body into the pool.
Confusion hadn't landed, just like I had thought. In reality, the first command was my way of hiding the fact that I wanted my opponent to take the lead and I think it was going as planned.
The seal Pokémon was now out of sight. I simply waited for Korianne's next move.
"Spheal, use Water Gun!"
Despite her command, the Pokémon still hadn't made the move. Spheal had probably been waiting in the deepest parts of the pool for a while and now it would take a while to come back to the surface.
"Ralts, focus and try to sense Spheal's presence. When you sense the attack Teleport in the opposite direction."
This command was somewhat risky, but I trusted in Ralts's sharp senses, especially after seeing that she was able to connect with my feelings as soon as I introduced myself.
As expected, Spheal appeared at the surface right in front of Ralts and released a spiral of water from its mouth.
Sensing danger, Ralts's body started to glow multicolored and just before being hit, she disappeared.
Seconds later, my Pokémon appeared meters away on top of one platform, being now closer to Korianne.
I sighed in relief. It seemed that my strategy had worked.
"Spheal use Water Gun, again!" Once more, Korianne tried to land a hit on Ralts.
That wasn't going to work, "Dodge it, Ralts."
Once more, Spheal shot a blast of water at Ralts and she avoided it using Teleport. Now I was confused. Was Korianne so inexperienced, to the point of making the same mistake twice?
By the smile on her face, I knew that I was the one mistaken. I had misread her.
"You can't keep dodging forever, Neo! Spheal use Encore!"
My face was pale now and for a second I was lost on my thoughts. I had just fallen into her trap and for three turns she had an advantage over me.
The only command that I could use right now was Teleport. For three rounds Ralts would be forced to keep dodging.
It might not sound that bad but she probably had something else in mind.
"Spheal, use Rollout!"
The seal Pokémon started rolling over its own body, using the round platforms to reach Ralts, its speed gradually growing.
As if jumping from rock to rock, while crossing a river, Spheal started to approach Ralts, "Teleport!"
Luckily for me, this first attack was still rather slow, but as Spheal continued to roll over its own body, the speed of Rollout started to be more evident.
"I won't be able to keep dodging it at this rate." I thought to myself.
I was still forced to use Teleport two more times, but as I kept using this defensive skill, Spheal's attack continued to gain power.
Seeing that the seal Pokémon was once again too close, I shouted, "Ralts dodge to the other side of the pool!"
Ralts teleported to the opposite side, but Spheal's attack was now too strong. After two rounds of using the same attack, the speed that it had built was too much to avoid and Spheal was already crossing the pool.
At this rate the attack was surely going to hit. I panicked. There was no way to dodge the attack now, and Ralts was still glowing blue, finishing the process of teleporting.
My mind went blank. For the first time, I felt hopeless.
I had no way to counter this situation. So this was how a real battle felt like. Now I understood why even the most experienced trainers made mistakes.
I had never experienced anything like this before. Was this adrenaline that I was feeling?
Maybe it was fear of not knowing what to do next. The only thing that was certain for me was that I didn't want to lose like this.
No, rephrasing it, I didn't want to lose at all!
I lost precious seconds with my inner thoughts; Spheal was already centimeters away from Ralts.
I wanted to order to dodge, but my voice didn't come out. I started trembling like my knees were about to give in. "Behind you! Dodge it!"
That's what I wanted to shout, but I couldn't muster the strength.
Completing the previous dodge, Ralts turned around and started to glow again.
She was using Teleport, once again without my order. How was this even possible?
Was she a rebellious Pokémon that decided to act on her own free will, seeing that I had failed?
No, she didn't seem to have that type of personality when I introduced myself. In fact, she seemed calm and serious.
Unfortunately, Ralts's reaction was a second too late. Just before vanishing again, Ralts was struck by Spheal's body.
I heard her cry of pain fade away as she teleported in front of me.
"I'm sorry, Ralts. I failed you," I apologized. Ralts shook her head and gave me a weak smile.
Seeing her trying so hard to keep herself in battle made me really proud and sad at the same time.
Here she was trying her best to win her first battle and I, her trainer, was having second thoughts and doubts about my potential.
I wasn't strong enough right now, but Ralts didn't seemed affected by that. She was still ready to follow my orders.
Now, with a smile in my face, I said with confidence, "Let's win this, Ralts! Use Confusion and send Spheal back to the water."
The effect of Encore was now gone and Spheal was now the one stuck on doing the Rollout attack for two more consecutive attacks.
Knowing this, I had to put an end to Spheal's attack. As the seal kept rolling, its attack kept gaining more speed and power.
Ralts's red horns started glowing and she sent a psychic wave that stopped Spheal.
Korianne inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself. Now she was the one who had walked into my trap. Being outside the water, her Pokémon couldn't possibly avoid this attack.
A blue light was now surrounding Spheal's body. Ralts had control over her opponent now.
Ralts raised her arms and with a sudden move dropped them and as she did this, Spheal started to float and seconds later was forcibly sent to the water.
I was mesmerized by Ralts psychic power. It was amazing how such a weak attack could still be so beautiful and destructive if used correctly.
From the other side, I heard Korianne letting out a soft chuckle, "You surprised me, I wasn't expecting your Pokémon to survive that hit and stop Spheal's attack!"
"It was all thanks to Ralts."
"Well, now it's my turn! Spheal use Powder Snow!" At Korianne's command, Spheal jumped to one of the platforms and inhaled deeply.
A few seconds later, Spheal blew out snow from its mouth.
Knowing that my opponent would be immobile this was my chance, "Ralts, Teleport behind Spheal and use Disarming Voice."
"No, Spheal, watch out! Behind you!" It was too late. Korianne's warning wasn't on time and her Pokémon wouldn't be able to stop Ralts.
While the seal was still shooting snow from its mouth, Ralts appeared behind it and let out a loud but charming cry that made its opponent vulnerable to future attacks.
Lowering its capability to avoid my next attack, I decided to end this battle, "Ralts, use Confusion and send Spheal out of the arena."
Gathering her psychic powers, Ralts started to levitate her enemy and, once she had full control of Spheal's body, Ralts sent her enemy flying against the nearest wall.
With that, I had just won my first Gym battle - with lot of luck and a bit of skill.
Suddenly I became aware of my surroundings again. Since the beginning of the battle, I had been so focused that I had blocked all the noises and my eyes became sensitive.
Was I so happy that I was about to cry? "No, focus Neo!" I scolded myself. It wasn't like me to act so much on my emotions, but I'd admit that I had never felt something like this.
Ralts teleported in front of me and gave me a happy cry. I was so proud of her that I picked her up and embraced her. "Thank you," I whispered softly.
I noticed that Korianne was walking in my direction and she seemed like she didn't know what to say.
"Wow~ Neo! Great battle!" She said, somewhat awkwardly.
"It was amazing," I said sincerely. That was what I really thought.
Normally, I would probably say that this was nothing but a practice between two rookies and I would be bored to death by it.
However, there was a huge difference between watching and battling. This was probably what Colt wanted to show me.
Suddenly, my purple Xtransceiver beeped and I noticed that I had received some money from the fight. "Thanks, Korianne."
"Only doing my job! Here, take this, fellow specialist." She said in a friendly way, handing me a badge with the form of a water slide.
I had to contain the urge to not scoff at the irony of this situation. Sometimes the League managed to impress me.
I took the badge and put it in my bag. In the meantime, the spectators had started to leave the Gym and I noticed that Colt was now approaching me.
He already had a goofy smile on his face and I was sure that he was going to give me the "I-told-you-so" speech.
"Man, that was amazing! Your first battle went really well. I'm proud of you," He said, while hugging me and faking tears.
"Yeah, yeah, thanks. Now, stop doing that!" I scolded him.
At our little interaction, Korianne started laughing, "You guys are funny." She looked at me. "I really had fun today!"
"I know! I knew it was a great idea to come here, right Neo?" Colt was still somewhat excited after all this commotion.
"Yeah, I also had fun," I admitted.
"So, are you guys going to travel throughout Hoenn from now on?" The brown-haired girl asked us with a glint of curiosity in her eyes.
"Of course!" Colt shouted without hesitation. I simply nodded.
Hearing this, Korianne became somewhat sad, "Yeah... That sounds great." After a small pause, she continued, "Well, if you guys excuse me I have some Gym stuff to do. It was a pleasure to meet you." And just like that, she walked away with a melancholy smile on her face.
Colt gave me a confused look. "What the hell just happened?"
I simply shrugged. "I have no idea. C'mon, let's get going."
After walking around town for a while, I convinced Colt to stay at my aunt's house for the night, instead of renting a room at the local Pokémon Center.
We were already waiting for the bus when Colt started bombarding me with questions about Lyon, the classmate he had met during my battle.
"Are you telling me that you don't like that guy?" Colt said, astonished. "I thought he was really funny!"
"I really couldn't care less for him. The dude is a jerk. He was always trying to pick fights with me."
Colt laughed, "Haha! C'mon, he seemed to be a nice guy. I bet you didn't gave him a chance."
I didn't answer him. There was no point in discussing this matter.
"He told me some funny stories about you... Like this one when you got lost in your world during Roxanne's class or when-"
Suddenly, a female voice broke through Colt's dialogue, and thank Arceus for that. "Guys! W-Wait up!"
We noticed that the one calling for us was Korianne. She was running in our direction and she seemed to be tired.
"A-Ah! Y-You're still here!" She said, in between breaths.
"Hey, what's wrong? Did we leave something behind?" Colt asked, checking his belongings.
"No, that's not it. I-I wanted to ask you something, guys..."
We nodded and she continued, "So... I wanted to know if I could tag along with you guys. J-Just for a while, of course," She added shyly.
Colt gave me a look that clearly said that it was up to me, "Well, we don't really mind, but we won't start our journey until tomorrow. Right now, we're headed to my aunt's to spend the night."
The brown-haired girl looked a bit sad when I told her this. "Ahh okay! Well then let's forget this... I don't want to become a burden for you guys or you aunt."
She was about to leave when I stopped her, "Hey! I don't mind, and I bet my aunt will be happy to have her house filled with people. I'll be the one cooking anyway, so it's totally fine!"
"R-Really? You guys don't mind?" She said, in an almost childish way. It was clear that she really wanted to join us.
"Yeah, of course not! Neo already said so," Colt said, trying to break the heavy mood. "But weren't you on charge of the Gym just hours ago?"
Colt finally decided to try to find out what was going on. Both of us were still confused about this sudden situation.
Korianne scratched her head sheepishly, "Well, the Gym Leader returned a few minutes ago and told me that if I wanted I should also start a journey, and that it would be good for me to explore the world and catch some Pokémon."
I nodded; her explanation finally cleared my confusion. However, Colt seemed to be upset. I was betting that he was contemplating if he should turn back and go fight the Gym Leader now.
"Damn it! So the Gym Leader is back now, hmm?" Colt said trying to sound casual.
He noticed that I knew what he was thinking. "Oh, forget about it! I'll go back tomorrow."
Minutes passed an the three of us kept talking and having fun, telling funny stories and just simply getting to know each other.
The bus finally arrived and we headed on our way, towards Oldale Town.