"So Clarissa found you okay?" Gary was staring out of the Telescreen that was connected to the Oak Lab in Pallet Town.

Mike looked over his shoulder to make sure that Clarissa wasn't there before he grinned back at Gary. "Found is the nice way of putting it. She nearly ran me over before she knew it was me she was looking for."

Gary smiled briefly before he resumed speaking. "Did she give you the items?"

"Yeah, and we're resting here at her house for the night before we leave tomorrow."

Gary nodded as he turned and reached behind him for something. "Alright, good." He shifted through a few items before dropping everything he was holding. "Did you say 'we?'"

"Yeah, Ms. Daisy's fine with it. Why? Is it a problem?"

"She's not ready to go on a journey of her own yet. She's too kind-hearted to allow her pokémon to suffer while trying to protect her." Gary sighed as he started gathering everything he had dropped. "Though she's too stubborn to listen to reason." Gary smiled as he looked back up into the telescreen. "She'd be real mad if she found out you told me she was going with you."

"Does that mean you've given up and will let her go?" Both Gary and Mike flinched as Daisy, Gary's sister and Clarissa's mother, walked into the room. "You and Ash had your own problems as you left. Part of the journey is growing as a person." She rested a hand on Mike's shoulder as she leaned forward and pointed a finger at the screen. "She's not yours Gary, so just let her go. Besides, she has Mike here to protect her. Right?" She said as she turned a smile to Mike, but the slight squeeze she unconsciously gave his shoulder let him know that she was worried.

"Don't worry, Ms. Daisy. I won't let anyone hurt her."

Gary sighed as he realized that he had lost. "If her father were home…" at the warning look on Daisy's face he backed off. "Fine then. Mike, I had actually intended to give you a squirtle, not Enlil. One of the pokéballs that Clarissa brought you should have him in it."

Mike's face lit up in excitement as he dug through his pocket where he had put the balls. His hand found them and he started feeling them to see if there was one that was different. He was just about to give up and ask when he touched one that felt cooler than the others. He was suddenly reminded of lounging on the beach, enjoying the feel of the ocean nearby. "This one!" he declared as he released the pokéball.

Mike was better prepared so he wasn't quite as startled by the bright flash of light as the squirtle appeared before him. It blinked a few times, then stretched, and then finally looked up at Mike as it's face split into a large grin. "Squirtle!"

Mike laughed as he was assaulted by a light stream of water. "Hey! Stop that! I'm getting wet!"

"What's going on?" Clarissa came around the corner just as Mike dodged another squirt so it hit her in the face.

Mike and Squirtle both froze as they waited to see what Clarissa's reaction would be. Clarissa wiped the water from her face, and then locked eyes with Mike and smiled with just her mouth while her eyes glared at him. This smile was one that Mike knew instinctively meant trouble. "Michael, I suggest you start working on training your squirtle so that it doesn't find it amusing to squirt people in the face."

Mike and Squirlte looked at each other, back to Clarissa and then to each other again. "I think we're in trouble."

"Squirt." Squirtle nodded in agreement.

"Maybe we should apologize."

"Squirt." Squirtle nodded in agreement.

"How do you think we should apologize?"

"Squirtle." Squirtle said crossing his arms and nodding his head. "Squirt!" As he said the last he opened his mouth and blasted Mike with a stream of water strong enough to knock him off his feet.

"Argh, Squirtle! What was that…for?" Mike lost all his anger as he saw that Clarissa was laughing. He looked over to Daisy and Gary and saw that they were also laughing. After a while the conversation returned to more serious topics.

"Clarissa, how did you know something was going on? It didn't seem like we were all that loud." Gary's question seemed plain enough, but there was a certain directness to it that no one but Mike seemed to catch.

"Eevee started getting hyper." She said simply. She smiled as Eevee ran over and started sniffing at Squirtle. "His emotions seem directly tied to Michael's so I knew that if Eevee was getting excited for no apparent reason than something was happening with Michael."

"Just as I thought." Gary said contemplatively. "Mike."

"Yeah?"

Gary stared through the screen straight into Mike's eyes. "Don't let Eevee get caught by the elements. I've seen a few eevee before, but yours seems different. I believe it may evolve into something new as long as it's protected."

"Well, that's up to Eevee. I'd love to help you with your research Professor, but I'm not gonna force my pokémon to do anything they don't want to."

Gary stared at Mike for a moment, speechless, until Clarissa limped over and slipped an arm into Mike's as she leaned her head on Mike's shoulder and smiled back at him.

"See, Uncle. I told you he was different."

Mike looked at her with confusion. "What do you mean, Ryss? We never met before today."

"No, but she's seen you. She was too shy to approach you though."

"Mom!" Clarissa cried. "How could you say that!" Daisy smiled apologetically, and Mike realized that it wasn't just Clarissa that had many smiles.

"When was this?" Gary was also confused and didn't know what the girls were talking about.

"Don't worry about it Uncle. It doesn't matter. And Michael, nothing from you either." Mike just smiled in response, deciding that it wasn't a battle worth fighting.

"Well, now that everything has all been thrown into chaos, it's time we all got some rest."

"Wait a sec Professor. Which gym should I go after first?"

Gary smiled as he thought about it. "Go to Pewter first."

"Pewter? But isn't there a gym here?"

Clarissa pulled on Mike's arm to get him moving towards the stairs and their rooms. "Yes, but you're nowhere near ready to fight the Viridian gym."

"Why not?" Mike was getting frustrated now since it seemed like everyone else knew something that he didn't. It didn't help any that Clarissa and Gary just smiled instead of answering.

"Oh, you two. Stop teasing the poor boy." Daisy turned to Mike and Clarissa as they neared the stairs. "It's because Gary is the gym leader, and he refuses to acknowledge anyone unless they beat him. And no one but Ash has beaten him since he took on the role, and that was an exhibition battle."

The forest was calm the next day as they walked along together, Clarissa's limp was all but gone. Eevee was scampering along the path, energetic as usual, and this time had a play partner in Poseidon.

"It really is a fitting name now that I think about it."

"What is?"

"Poseidon" Clarissa said as she smiled at Mike. "The amount of water he shot at you when he was trying to make me feel better was incredible."

"I know" Mike said dryly. "I thought I was gonna be wet for a week." As he spoke, Mike calmly leaned to the side, avoiding the stream of water that Poseidon had just shot his way. "Don't forget you're only allowed to target the face!" Mike called out as Poseidon pouted and Eevee trilled.

Clarissa was also smiling as she saw that Mike's training idea was working. Poseidon was a bit of a prankster, so Mike had decided to utilize that. He had created a game for Poseidon where he was allowed to shoot as many streams as he wanted, whenever he wanted, so long as he only targeted the face. It kept Poseidon entertained and at the same time improved his aim tremendously.

"It's amazing how well the two of you get along since you just met."

"Yeah, but I only met Enlil and Eevee a week earlier you know."

"How is he?"

"He's doing better. He no longer hurts, he's just sore." Mike smiled as he rested his hand on Enlil's ball. "But he's as frustrated as I am that we did so poorly and so he's sulking."

Clarissa smiled and laughed softly as she leaned forward so she was on eye level with Enlil's ball. "Come on Mr. Sourpuss. Hiding in there won't make things any better. Getting out and stretching your legs will make you stronger though." Mike felt the heat that was ever present in Enlil's ball grow before it popped open and Enlil was walking in front of them. "So good of you to join us. The air is wonderful isn't it?" Enlil just kept walking, pretending not to hear Clarissa, which caused them to smile.

"By the way, Ryss" Mike waited until Clarissa gave him her full attention. "Why have you never let Kitsune and Hinote out?"

Clarissa froze, and looked as if she had just run into a brick wall. "They-" She paused as if not sure what she wanted to say next. "They're shy" she finished quietly.

Mike stood there for a moment, trying to decide whether this was something he needed to press when he got hit full force by Poseidon's Water Gun, knocking him off his feet. As he laid there trying to remember what the license plate on that bus was, Clarissa came over laughing as his pokémon came over looking concerned.

"Well, I did say it was ok as long as you targeted the face. Though that was more of the back of my head but, whatever." He looked over to see that Poseidon was still worried and so gave him a smile. "That was a nice shot Poseidon."

"Squirtle!" he said happily.

"Thanks Enlil" Mike said as he was helped to his feet. "All right. It's another two days to Pewter. Let's get goin'."Clarissa smiled at him again as they started walking along the path again. They hadn't taken three steps before the air was rent by a scream. Mike broke out into a run with Eevee and Enlil close behind. Clarissa picked up Poseidon as she ran to catch up. By the time she reached the clearing where the scream had come from, Mike was already in the middle of a battle.

"Enlil! Flamethrower left!" As Mike commanded Enlil turned his head and fired at the quickly approaching mightyena. It jumped back, out of the way of the fire, but it's advance had been stopped. "Close! Right!" Listening to Mike's command, Enlil spun, lashing out with his tail to his immediate right. This time it connected, sending the mightyena flying.

"Michael!" Clarissa threw Poseidon towards Mike as she approached and took a look at the situation. A young female officer was pinned against a tree, her blonde hair falling out of its bun, with three growlithe standing between her and the mightyenas, all of them but the large growlithe in the middle looking worn out.

"What are they Ryss? I don't have time to look them up!" Mike cursed as he dodged a mightyena that lunged at him, kicking it under the jaw and knocking it out. "Poseidon, you've got defense! Hit anything that gets close!"

"Mightyena, a dark type dog native to Hoen." She looked around trying to find Eevee, but didn't see him anywhere. "Where's Eevee?"

"Hell if I know. He disappeared last time too. Enlil, charge forward! Get to the girl!" Enlil nodded his understanding then lifted his head and roared. It was a startling battle cry that was worthy of the dragon he would one day become. The mightyena shrank back, intimidated by the sound and allowed Enlil to rush forward and join the growlithe defending the girl. Deciding that four fire pokémon was too much trouble, the entire pack of mightyena turned their attention to Mike and Clarissa.

"Ryss, step back slowly. Get to a tree and climb it."

"What about you?"

Mike turned slightly so she could she him smile at her. "I promised the professor and Daisy that I wouldn't let anything happen to you." He turned back to the mightyena, in part to be ready and in part so that she wouldn't see he was nervous.

Clarissa listened and backed up until her back hit a tree, then she turned and began climbing desperately. As soon as her back was turned the pack charged howling at Mike and Poseidon. Mike grabbed a stick that he could use as a club and put a hand on Poseidon's head. "Remember Poseidon, the face." There was then no more time for talking as the pack had reached them. Mike risked a glance to see if Clarissa had reached safety and was relieved to see that she was higher than the mightyena could reach. He then allowed no other thoughts than the immediate disposal of the enemies around him.

Clarissa watched in horror as the mightyena began to overwhelm Mike and Poseidon. They had set up a good defense, with Mike in front whacking them with his club and Poseidon shooting them from a distance, but it was only a matter of time before they could no longer keep up with the numbers. She knew she had to help. But she didn't know what would happen if she just tried battling with no practice. She didn't have the reckless confidence that Mike had. Mike's yell brought her back to the fight. Her heart leapt to her throat as she saw his arm disappear into the mouth of one of the mightyena. "Fucking violent rabid beast! Leggo of my arm!" She watched as he clubbed the mightyena behind the ear, knocking it senseless, and turn just in time to reach the one that had jumped at him while he was preoccupied. She knew that if she didn't help him now, she would never be able to trust herself enough to fight.

"Damn it! Hinote! Fire Spin!" Hinote leapt through the air as she unleashed a ferocious fire storm that engulfed the center of the clearing.

Mike stared in stunned awe as the intense heat evaporated all of the sweat on his body instantly. The few mightyena that had escaped being caught in the inferno ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

Clarissa practically fell out of the tree as she rushed to get to Mike's side. "Michael! Are you okay? I saw the dog bite you…" She trailed off as Poseidon rinsed Mike's arm off for him and saw that the wounds weren't that bad.

He turned to her and smiled, embers drifting past reflecting off his hair. "Don't worry about it. I got lucky I guess. I was trying to punch it so my arm went into its throat and it couldn't close its jaws." He turned back to the inferno that was just starting to die down. "That aside though, holy shit. I had no idea you had that much power. Is this the real reason you keep them hidden?"

Clarissa blushed at the awkward compliment. "Yes, for Hinote anyway. Kitsune stays hidden for a different reason."

"Ah-huh. Wow" Mike turned all of sudden and grinned like a child that just pulled a successful prank. "Enlil's gotta be furious."

Caught completely off guard by the pure delight stamped on Mike's face, the only thing Clarissa could do was laugh in stunned relief. He was okay. That was the only thing that mattered to her at the moment. Neither of them noticed the mightyena that limped through the dying flames towards them until it was smashed down by a vine that whipped through the trees.

They both jumped and stared at it, Poseidon and Hinote looking around to see if there were anymore. But the only thing that came out of the woods was a trilling Eevee. Mike and Clarissa looked at each other as Enlil lead the young female officer and her growlithe through the last bits of the fire storm.

"That's the second time."

"And you said Eevee disappeared last time too?"

"Yeah" Mike said looking down at Eevee. "Just what are you?" But Eevee just trilled in response and blinked its large eyes.

"Excuse me, but you two are the ones I have to thank for saving me, yeah?"

Mike and Clarissa turned to see that the young female officer was right behind them. "I suppose so, though I'm afraid we're not much of a rescue team" Mike said.

The officer smiled as she rested her hands on the two smaller growlithe. "I'd say you did a pretty good job. I was transporting new hounds to the Viridian division when I got attacked by that pack."

"Then it's a good thing we showed up" Clarissa said smiling. She paused a moment before changing the topic. "It seems we are all rather fond of fire types." Mike looked around to see that, except for Eevee and Poseidon, all the pokémon were fire type. And Eevee could evolve into a flareon.

The girl officer laughed. "Yeah, though I don't get to use them yet. I want to join the Hound Squads, but that takes a long time."

"Only until you've proven yourself capable of handling them." Mike said. "They must have high hopes for you or they wouldn't even let you manage them for transport."

Clarissa looked at Mike with a pleased but surprised smile. "Well, look at you, Mr. Knowledgeable."

Mike laughed. "I told you didn't I? All I ever wanted was to be with pokémon, so I looked into any and all professions where I could do that."

The girl officer laughed again. "What? You too? I thought I was the only one my age that was still crazy about pokémon and didn't just see them as useful. I'm glad I was wrong."

A smile slowly spread across Mike's face until it nearly split it in two. "Mike" he said extending his hand. "It's a real pleasure to meet a kindred spirit."

"Jenna" she said taking his hand, also smiling from ear to ear. Suddenly she was hugging him and he found himself hugging her back. "You have no idea how sad I've been listening to all the other officers talking about the hounds as if they have no souls."

Mike shook his head sadly. "Oh, I can imagine. All the kids back in school talked the same way."

The large growlithe forestalled any further talk as it took an aggressive posture before Enlil and started growling. All three of them turned in shock, not having expected any more trouble. Enlil, frustrated by Hinote's display of power, also took an aggressive posture as the two powerful fire type pokémon readied to vie for dominance.

"Oh shit! Not him again." At Clarissa's look of confusion Jenna explained. "He's always gotta be the biggest and the best. He hates it when there's anyone stronger than him." She stopped and stared as Mike walked forward to stand in the middle of the two aggressive pokémon. "Wha-?"

"Leave him." Clarissa said with a soft smile. "He can handle himself and he was the one who hatched this little guy." The last she said as she bent down to pick up Eevee. "He has an almost scary ability when it comes to handling pokémon."

Jenna and Clarissa watched as Mike turned first to Enlil. "Stand down Enlil. Now is not the time." Before even waiting to see if Enlil would listen he turned to the growlithe. "You too. Stand down." The growlithe stepped down a little from its aggressive stance, but it continued growling. Mike leaned forward and stared directly into the growlithe's eyes, unblinking. After a short staring contest, the growlithe backed down completely and lay on the ground with its tongue out, panting.

"Well, well. And here I thought that no one but Hound Chiefs could break an untrained hound." They all turned at the approach of the new person, who they soon saw to be another female officer.

"Auntie Jenny!" Jenna said with obvious delight.

"You're in uniform Trainee Jenna." The words were strict, but Jenny was smiling, also pleased. "I had heard that there was a pack of wild mightyena in the area and was on my way to investigate when I saw that large blast of fire. I'm glad you are all safe."

Jenny walked over to the large growlithe with her own arcanine in tow. She stopped nearby and whistled sharply, bringing the growlithe to its feet. "You've earned my respect young man. And the respect of this growlithe. If you can defeat him, he's yours."

The three of them stared in stunned shock at Jenny. "Are you sure about that Aun- I mean, ma'am?"

Jenny smiled over at Jenna. "As the Hound Chief of Viridian I get to do what I wish with the hounds. And since it's obvious that this one is fond of the young man here, I think it only fair to give him a chance to go with the young man. Don't you agree?"

Jenna could only nod, blinking her blue eyes as her blonde hair fell further out of the bun.

Clarissa looked on in concern, wondering what Mike would do. She didn't know why it bothered her so much that he and Jenna were getting along so well, but it did.

Mike smiled with a very hungry look to it. He stepped back and placed his hand on Enlil's shoulder, which reached up to Mike's chest at five feet. He gave the muscles there a slight squeeze and leaned down to whisper into Enlil's ear. "Now is the time. Let's go all out."

Poseidon and Hinote sat at Clarissa's feet while Eevee rested in her arms as she stood back with Jenna to watch the fight.

"All right Mike? If it gets unsafe we'll stop. Whichever pokémon runs out of strength first loses."

"Very well. Enlil, you're up."

They stood, motionless, waiting for the moment that would be best. Mike jumped out with the first move. "Flamethrower!"

Jenny said nothing and just waited for the fire to die down. Growlithe stood there, uninjured, and his fur glowed a bright red. "Did you forget? You're dealing with someone who deals exclusively with fire dogs. I know everything about them."

"I know" Mike said with smile. "I'm very aware that you are the most respected Hound Chief in Kanto. And I also know that if he doesn't discharge those extra flames soon he's gonna burn."

Jenny looked in surprise to see that Growlithe's fur was no longer glowing, but shining, emitting a red light of its own.

"Oh shi-" The rest was lost in the resulting explosion as all of the absorbed fire had no release. Growlithe staggered a few steps before toppling over. Jenny stared in amazement at the unconscious form of the large growlithe before turning her attention to Mike. "I guess I should've been paying attention to the battle instead of flaunting my experience."

Mike smiled as he placed his hand on Enlil's shoulder. "I was counting on you to be confident in your experience and to try and make this a lesson for me. I knew that was my only chance, to catch you off guard before you knew the strength of my attack. If we were to go for a second round I wouldn't stand a chance, you would know exactly how much time you had before the fire built to strong."

"However, a loss is a loss. Growlithe is yours. He won't make a fuss either. We let them do what their bodies need in a fight so he was surprised by your strength as well. He knows we lost."

"Still, I don't think we would have won if you had been fighting with a hound you trained personally."

"I wouldn't even think of letting you take a hound I had trained personally" Jenny said with a smile.

Clarissa released the breath she hadn't even realized she was holding and smiled at Mike. The smile turned sickly when she saw that Jenna had already run up and thrown her arms around Mike's neck.

"You did it! You actually beat Auntie Jenny! I didn't think it was possible" She said laughing. She stopped as she saw that Jenny was staring at them with intensity, removed her arms and took a step back, readjusting her clothes and straightening her hair as best as she could. "I'm impressed. You did a good job. It's a shame you aren't aiming to join the ranks of the Hound Squads, but we all have our own paths."

"Yes, and yours is not here yet Jenna." Jenna looked up in shock as Jenny walked over. "I hereby give you leave of absence until such time as you feel ready to demonstrate your ability to join the ranks of the Hound Squads." As tears started to well up in Jenna's eyes Jenny wrapped her in hug. "I said not yet, Jenna. Go with him, I know you want to and I know it will help you mature into a wonderful woman." She looked at Mike over Jenna's shoulder. "That's assuming it's okay with you?"

Mike smiled and then turned to Clarissa. "Ryss? I can't make a decision like this on my own."

Clarissa smiled back at Mike, relief flooding through her that he thought she was important, not realizing that her smile was completely melting Mike's heart. "Another companion sounds fun. It will make things more interesting."

Mike laughed as his brain functions returned to normal. "What, am I not entertaining enough by myself?" He turned to Jenny and Jenna and extended his hand. "Welcome to the group Jenna" was all that he said but it had Jenna crying in his arms anyway.

Clarissa felt another flash of jealousy but shoved it down. Eevee, who had been watching everything, turned and licked Clarissa's cheek.

When everyone was ready to go, and the remaining growlithe were with Jenny, they said their good-byes and headed off.

"Oh, before I forget" Jenny called out causing them to turn, "Don't forget to visit your aunt in Pewter. I'll let her know to give you your first pokémon."

"Thanks Auntie Jenny! I love you!"

"You're still in uniform!" Jenny shouted back with love.

"That took a rather long time." The quiet statement was something that Amar found oddly soothing. It was always a truth, and usually obvious, but instead of being annoying it helped him to organize his thoughts.

"So it did. It took us longer because these two decided to go exploring. We lost two days because of that."

"Stop being so grumpy about it Amar. Just admit that if you played with them more, they wouldn't feel the need to create games of their own."

"But Alexis-"

"I know, I know, you want to discipline them so they can help you with your mission. But they're still young. Let them be children for now." As she spoke Alexis reached out to the two young pokémon and brought them into her arms. "What did you say they were again?"

"A very rare specious due to their hyper reactive nature. Eevee." Realizing that Amar was talking about them they turned in her arms to look at him. They were not hard to tell apart as they both had distinctive markings. Jasper, the calmer one that always seemed to know what was going on, had a white spot between his ears. And Jace the wilder one that was always running around getting into trouble, never seemed able to keep his fur smooth; it was always bunched up in tufts. "If they are exposed to too much of any given element they will react to the element and evolve."

"I wonder if you would mind letting me enjoy some time in Pewter?"

Amar turned away from the cliff overlooking Pewter to look at Alexis in confusion. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, I don't think the Jakul's going to just pass through. And I'd like the chance to explore a city for once." She paused briefly. "I've just been following my powers up until now."

"Don't worry about it, really. It's no problem at all." Amar forced himself to slow down, trying to quell the disappointment he had felt at the thought of her leaving. "Besides, I don't really have to go right away."

"You can't stay with me all the time."

"I know, but, I can at least keep you out of trouble while I'm around."

Alexis smiled and stood up, still holding the eevee. She turned and started walking down the path, looking back over her shoulder at Amar. "Are you coming?"

The young man shook his head as he smiled and started following her.

A few hours later Amar and Alexis were enjoying a lunch at one of the restaurants in town before heading over to the gym.

"I still don't see why you're so excited about the gyms."

"Why wouldn't I be? It's an entire organization built around testing your strength. It's perfect!" Alexis let the matter drop. It wasn't often that Amar got this excited about something so she figured she'd just let it go. "Anyway, let's go. I want to see what a real gym is like. I haven't seen a gym battle before."

"So, you only see Pokémon as tools?"

"What? Of course not. They aren't tools, they're partners. and I want to see partners when they are as strong as they can be."

"Thank you." Alexis smiled in relief. "I was starting to get worried, but I see there was no need."

Amar blinked in confusion for a moment before realizing that he had very nearly done something very stupid. He made a mental note to never speak without thinking again. "Well, if there's anything else you want to do, let's go do it. If I need to wait another day to go to the gym then I will." He smiled at her. "Let's go have some more fun first." Alexis smiled and held out her hand, her bell-like laughter cutting through some of the background noise of the city.

0000000000000000

A few hours later, as the sun was starting to set a masked man entered the Pewter City gym. For a brief moment as he entered he froze, hands on his pokéballs ready to enter combat before he realized that the giant rock monster in front of him was a statue of the rock snake onyx. He relaxed and stepped under the massive head, wondering if it was supposed to be the likeness of a live onyx.

"That is a life size statue of my strongest onyx. My first onyx evolved into a steelix but this one, he remembers the pride of stone. Onyx is my most powerful pokémon and my closest friend. Do you understand what this means young man?"

The young man smiled as the voice from the dark finished speaking. "It means that I not only have to defeat the physical strength of Onyx, but also the power that the bond you share gives him."

The lights came on, illuminating the battlefield and a muscular, tanned man with narrow eyes. The man smiled. "Well said. My name is Brock and I am the leader of this gym. How many badges do you possess?"

"None."

"Then I apologize, but I cannot let you fight against Onyx. Before you complain it is a regulation of the Pokémon League. Regardless of your strength, as this is your first gym battle I am only to test your worthiness to enter the League."

"Fine, what are the rules?"

"It will be a three on three match. If a pokémon is unable to battle, as determined by a League Official, then that pokémon loses and is forbidden to reenter the battle. You, as the challenger, are allowed to make substitutions as you see fit. I cannot. Any questions?"

"How strong are the pokémon that you're going to send at me?"

Brock smiled. "All of my pokémon are worthy of entering the Pokémon League. But I am merely trying to test whether you are worthy of taking on the challenge. Come! Show me the bond between you and your pokémon!"

The young man smiled behind his mask and released all of his pokémon. "Battle time! Kai! Rand! Mars!" The three pokémon took up positions around the masked man; Kai in front, palming one of his bones, Rand at his side, growling as flames licked the edges of his mouth, and Mars in back, hovering as his wings beat the air with his large scythe-like hands held ready.

"Good luck Masked Man!" He looked up to see Alexis sitting in the stands with the eevee in her lap. He couldn't tell if she said anything else because the other fans suddenly erupted in sound, though he did see her glancing around as if she were looking for someone.

"Hang in there newbie!"

"Show him what it's all about Brock!"

"Don't be disappointed by a loss, kid!"

"You can still earn approval even if you lose!"

"Nice pokémon kid! You'll be at disadvantage based on type but they look healthy!"

"It seems that I'm getting more cheers even though this is your home." The young man was briefly surprised by his magnified voice, but quickly adjusted.

"You'll find that in most places. While the League is an extremely competitive arena, we respect each and every person worthy of entering. And we encourage the youth to join. Battles such as these keep people from turning violent."

The young man suddenly felt sick about what he had done at Viridian, but he had sworn vengeance on those that had killed his parents and he wasn't about to stop. Instead he just decided that he would fight with honor and respect anytime he wasn't fighting EARTH. He forced all thoughts to stop as the official walked onto the field.

"This will be a three on three match! The challenger may substitute at any time! Ready? Begin!" The official stepped back quickly to his box which then elevated to where he could see the entire field. A necessity since the field was strewn with boulders and rocks of all sizes.

"Mars, you're first." The young man grinned behind his mask. This was getting exciting. Mars nodded and flew up over the young man's head and landed on the largest boulder in the center of the field.

"Golem! Reveal yourself." Mars leaped into the air as the boulder he was standing on suddenly uncurled into a massive golem. Normally barely four feet tall, this one stood at almost six. It's massive arms stretched out and grabbed a couple nearby boulders. "Let's see how in sync you are with your Scyther! Golem!"

"Golem!" The golem started hurling rocks and boulders of various size at Mars, forcing him to fly around and dodge. One particularly massive boulder forced Mars to go to ground in order to avoid it.

"Are you not even going to command your scyther?"

"There's no need to command him to dodge. It's only when it's time to strike that I need to order him." The young man blinked and then realized what it was that he was seeing. Mars had a perfect angle to attack. "Mars, Furry Cutter!"

Mars leapt over the boulder he was hiding behind and charged the golem. "Defense Curl!" Brock's order reached Golem just before Mars' scythes did. Deep groves started appearing on Golem's rocky armor, but the flesh that would actually take damage was protected. The whole gym went silent as Mars' attack continued. One minute, two minutes, the grooves being gouged into Golem's armor were getting thicker and deeper, three minutes passed and Mars showed no signs of slowing down. Mars swung down again and an audible crack could be heard as his scythe nearly pierced Golem's armor.

"Enough! This battle ends now!"

"That enough Mars. Come back." Mars bowed his head and leapt to The young man's side where he collapsed to a knee, exhausted. "I have to say Brock, I am extremely impressed. Mars had the perfect angle and yet it took him three minutes to break through your defense. I was beginning to wonder if I would have to call an end to the battle myself." The young man placed a hand on Mars' head. "He was at his limit. If he hadn't broken through on that last swing it would have been our loss."

"You're not the only one that's impressed. Before today I would have said that no scyther could break Golem's defense, but you did it. Can Mars battle further?"

The young man looked down at Mars and Mars nodded. The young man smiled under his mask and shook his head. "He can, but I won't let him." Mars hung his head and Alexis smiled in surprise. "He was already pushed to the limits of his endurance in this fight. There's no need to push him any further. He earned his rest."

"So you are withdrawing him from the battle? He doesn't have to fight consecutively."

"I may be allowed to make substitutions, but I won't. A battle is supposed to be fought with honor and respect as you said. I will take no advantage that you don't have equal access to."

Brock smiled and brought his fist to his chest. "Well said. Very well, it is now two on two."

The crowd erupted in cheers again as the two trainers acknowledged each other's strength and spirit. Alexis looked around in amazement and then smiled. She realized that this was why Amar was so excited when he found out about the gyms and once again looked around to find him. She hugged the eevee to her as they got caught up in the excitement. Even Jasper was getting excited.

"Way to go kido!"

"That was excellent!"

"Who'd have thought that Golem would go down?"

"Nice effort Brock! Don't underestimate him again!"

Golem limped over to Brock's end where he was given a pat on the head and some words of comfort before being returned to his pokéball where he could rest.

"I don't want you getting too excited now, young man. Now that I know you are synched with your pokémon I must test your bond of trust. How much of a beating can you pokémon take before they lose faith in you? Kabutops!"

The young man stared at the legendary pokémon. They were supposed to be extinct, and yet this gym leader owned one. The young man looked down at Rand and Kai, both of them would be at a disadvantage against this creature of water and rock. "Rand. It's your turn." Rand barked his acknowledgement and then jumped down into the arena. Rand howled causing everyone to cover their ears at the hair-raising eerie sound he produced.

"A houndour! He's fighting a kabutops with a houndour!"

"Come on kid! What happened to that impressive strategy from a moment ago?"

"He must have some plan, let's just watch."

"Ready? Begin!" The official retreated to his platform just in time as fire and water collided in the middle of the field. The entire field was covered by steam so thick that none could see through it. The fans were silent as they had no idea how to cheer. Dampened sounds of barks and the clash of Kabutops' claws hitting stone occasionally penetrated the fog, but still no one could tell what was going on. Suddenly, the fog was blown away as Kabutops' struck a water pipe. The entire field was saturated before the water feeding into the pipe was redirected. Kabutops was standing unfazed and unscratched. Rand looked disgruntled from the sudden downpour but had no injuries.

"Hydro Pump." Brock was no longer shouting out his commands, but issuing them calmly and patiently like the stone. Kabutops swung around to face Rand and unleashed a massive volume of water. Rand leapt behind a boulder and got knocked flying as the boulder was blasted away by the water. Rand landed heavily and struggled to his feet. He shook his head and looked up in time to see Kabutops' claw swing down and smash him to the ground. Kabutops then spun around and kicked Rand, once more sending him flying.

The young man cursed silently as he tried to find a weak point in Kabutops' defense. He knew Rand was waiting for an order to attack. All his pokémon had been trained to evade until ordered to attack. "Hydro Pump." The young man watched as Kabutops crossed its arms and then unleashed another blast of water. Having learned from last time, Rand ran instead of trying to take cover. Kabutops stopped firing and staggered a step as it regained its balance. The young man's eyes narrowed when he saw that, and then he grinned. He had found an opening. He waited as Brock issued command after command, ordering Kabutops to harass Rand. Rand was stumbling as he tried to evade Kabutops' attacks. "That's far enough. Kabutops, finish this. Hydro Pump."

"Dodge it Rand!" Rand's ears pricked from the sudden command and he jumped to the side as the water came blasting out. "Get closer!" Rand closed the distance between himself and Kabutops, ducking under the blast of water or jumping over it. He got in right at Kabutops' feet just as it finished firing. It stumbled to catch its balance and the young man knew it was time. "Dark Pulse!" Not able to aim any higher, Rand blasted a pulse of dark energy at Kabutops' feet. Kabutops fell over and Rand closed his fangs around Kabutops' throat.

"Enough! This battle is over!"

"Come back Rand." Rand released Kabutops and trotted over to The young man. He jumped up and collapsed at The young man's feet, panting heavily. Kabutops stood up and saluted Rand before walking off the field.

"That's twice now. I'm assuming you're removing Rand from further battle?"

"Yeah. It's one on one now."

"But you've one twice."

"Does that mean I win automatically?"

"No. This isn't a tournament style battle. As I said, I'm testing your worthiness to enter the League. The previous battles have shown that you are synchronized with your pokémon and that they trust you. But now I must test your willingness to crush your enemies. These are battles, if you are too soft than you won't make it. Come! Show me your will to battle! Bastiodon!"

"It's your turn, Kai." Kai jumped down and pulled out two bones. He swung them experimentally and then started spinning them. He then faced off against the large dinosaur.

"Ready? Begin!"

Bastiodon immediately started charging. Kai didn't even blink as the massive animal came bearing down on him. He threw one bone and then the other, before pulling out a massive bone that he had to hold with two hands.

"Check out that cubone!"

"Did they always carry so many bones?"

"Why'd it throw those bones away?"

Just then the bones that Kai had thrown earlier bounced off of boulders and came back spinning, straight into the legs of Bastiodon from different sides. With both sets of legs taken out form different directions, Bastiodon found itself in momentarily suspended in the air as its legs were taken out from under it. The young man didn't wait for Brock to regain control of the situation. "Finish it." Kai immediately jumped into action, swinging the giant club down from above his head and driving Bastiodon into the ground.

"That's enough! This battle is over!" The crowd erupted in cheers as Brock's final pokémon lay defeated.

"The newbie did it!"

"There's a new challenger in the League!"

"How long has it been since someone impressed Brock?"

"Too long! It feels good to have a young rookie again!"

Alexis hugged Jasper and Jace tightly as they started trilling excitedly. She smiled, knowing that this was exactly what Amar had been hoping for. The eevee were going to be eager to start training.

The young man and Brock met in the middle of the field, Kai the only pokémon unaffected by the battle walking by the young man's side. "So, young man, what do I call you? You must have a reason for the mask."

The young man paused, he hadn't thought of a name before. He had no idea what to call himself. He went with the first thing that came to his mind. "Jakul. Call me Jakul."

"Jackal? Interesting…" In that moment Brock noticed the dark etchings of Anubis along the sides of the mask. "Very well, let me make this official. I hereby declare Jackal, trainer of Mars the scyther, Rand the houndour, and Kai the cubone, worthy of entering the Pokémon League. As proof of my acknowledgement, here is the Stonebadge."

The crowd roared its approval as Jakul bowed as he accepted the badge and then left.