Louhearst vs. Seathroul

When Logan Met Sadie

It was nearly nightfall by the time the group arrived at the concert. However, it would be another thirty minutes before the band showed up. People where arriving in droves and Jeremy suggested that they hurry up and get to their row. "Well guys," he told them. "If they shine the stage light on the tenth row, we all get backstage passes, so let's pray!"

"Man, Roux is going to flip when she finds out that I went to see the Psycho Spindas!" Logan added. "I wonder if I can get her an autograph or something after the concert…"

"Come on guys," Nina told them. "Let's hurry up and go."

"Yeah, those seats are filling up fast," Kaylee said. "But before we go in, we need to go over some rules."

Logan and Rus stared at her in confusion as Nina and Jeremy began groaning. "Can you not be a stick in the mud for one night?" Nina asked her. Kaylee frowned before continuing.

"Hey, this is for safety reasons!" she shot back. "Now, first we need to stay together so when it's time to leave, we don't have to look for anyone and if someone does get lost, we'll call them on our phones. Also, we need to keep our Pokémon in our Poké Balls and our Poké Balls latched tightly on our belts. You'd be surprised how many people steal Pokémon at events like this."

"Alright then," Jeremy started. "Everyone remember what Kaylee said. Now, let's rock!"

They headed towards the entrance and Logan stopped momentarily due to wind blowing his hair into his face. He pushed it out of his eyes and from the distance caught the eye of a girl with shiny, waist-length pitch black hair and dull emerald green eyes with fair skin. He thought she was attractive, but not the type of 'cute' or 'hot' like he thought Emma and Roux were. It was more of a seductive and dangerous type of attractive. The girl gazed at him in indifference before disappearing into the crowd.

"Come on, man!" Rus said, interrupting his thoughts as he quickly grabbed Logan's arm. "This concert's gonna be awesome and we can't miss a second of it…"

Jett and Ethan stood outside the gate to the Louhearst building with Magmar and Togepi. The two boys barely mumbled a few words to each other since they both had their minds on different things. "So…" Jett said in an attempt to begin a conversation. "What did you get on that last Aquatics paper?"

"I barely passed with a D," Ethan replied. "What about you?"

"Man, my paper just had poo written on it in big red letters," Jett answered. "Not an F, but poo. I guess that must be lower than an F. Starlin could've at least given me a G or an H. Anyway, screw all that, what's the deal with you and Ronnie? Is it official?"

Ethan stared at him in confusion. "Official? What are you talking about?"

"I mean she helped you recover when you got jumped by those Seathroul guys, you're really good with her kid, and you and your Pokémon have been spending every day with her. I can't even remember the last time I saw you hanging with Emma or Lyra."

Ethan shrugged his shoulders. "Z.K. told me that sometimes you need to branch out and she's right, but as far as me and Ronnie goes, I don't think she's even interested. I mean, she hasn't really given me any signs or anything."

"Maybe she's nervous?" Jett replied. "I mean, she probably doesn't think anyone wants a girl with a kid especially if the kid's dad is part of that psycho Seathroul gang. I think you should make the first move. Yeah, she has a kid, but she's hot so that technically make her a MIL-"

"Dude!" Ethan cut him off as he tried to contain his laughter. "Don't even go there!"

"Yeah," Jett said jokingly as he put his fists up. "You must've forgot. I'm Jett Mitchell and I go there, but I was just trying to spell 'milk' that time. Oh, but I do think Ronnie Ventura is a totally hot teen M-I-L-F. What are you going to do about it?

The two boys began play fighting as Togepi looked on in utter confusion. Magmar, on the other hand, simply grinned and shook his head. Jett managed to put Ethan in a headlock and he struggled to get free.

"Ouch!" he groaned. "Did you forget that I got in a four on one beatdown last month?"

"Oh man!" Jett said as he loosened his grip. "Are you alright? I totally forgot about-"

In a quick move, Ethan managed to flip the distracted Jett onto the ground. The green-eyed boy stood up and dusted himself off. "I hope I didn't get you too dirty," Ethan taunted.

"Funny…" Jett replied sarcastically. "That's it for today, but next time, I won't fall for your little sneak attacks. You're lucky I need to look good for Sonia, but then again, even when I'm dirty, I'm still hot. Plus, I got my brother's old car. If that can't get girls, nothing can."

The two recalled their Pokémon as Ronnie approached them with her Mr. Mime. She was pushing a stroller while Mr. Mime used telekinesis to transport the diaper bag and the car seat. "Whew," Ronnie sighed. "Sorry it took me so long. I had to finish the homework from Aquatics, rush to pick up Joey from Professor Pine's, and then get all of his stuff, but I'm here. You are a safe driver, Jett?"

"If by safe, you mean drive as fast as you can, then yeah," Jett replied. "But, I'll put a lock on my amazing driving skills since we're gonna have two beautiful ladies and a baby in the car. Speaking of which, do you know Sonia Barret?"

"Yeah," Ronnie answered as she took Joey out of his stroller. "She was funny, always energetic, and a major flirt. Now that I think of it, she kinda reminds me of you…if you had boobs."

"Speaking of Sonia," Ethan interjected as he turned Jett's attention to the other direction. "I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that's her?"

The gorgeous brunette approached the three of them and Jett once again found himself a bit tense. "Hey, Sonia," he greeted nervously. "You look nice and I mean better than you did earlier even though you have on like the same clothes and everything."

"Thanks," she replied. "You look good too and your car is awesome!" She glanced inside the car and her eyes widened. "Ronnie Ventura? Holy crap, I heard you left Seathroul, but Breezy started a rumor that you got transferred to that military academy that's in Unova this year. I should've known she was lying. Where's that cute little baby at?"

Ronnie pointed to the car seat. "He's asleep right now, but he'll probably be awake by the time we get to the Sprout Tower."

"Speaking of which," Jett said as he reached for the keys. "Time for us to go. Now, whose ready to see a dirty swaying tower and some old sages?"

Rietta glanced around the small room where the Friendship Club was held. It was a small and cozy portable outside the main building with two large windows and a wooden door. There were old couches that were pushed together in a circle where the members sat and talked to one another. The decorations surrounding the room were made up of very bright colors with a large mural on the ceiling that showed children from all over the world holding hands with one another in perfect harmony.

"Dear, Arceus," Rietta sighed to herself. "This is…too sweet. Ugh…"

She figured Z.K. and Becca had either come for the free food or just to sleep on the couches since she knew that they weren't the type to just show up at a Friendship Club. However, she did realize that they didn't exactly have that many friends and after looking around the room, she realized that the majority of the students that were present were generally loners.

There was Leo Smith, who was one of Logan's roommates. From what Rietta knew about him, he came from a foster home and was a quiet and intelligent boy. Next to him was Grey Thomas, who claimed to be able to understand Pokémon and she knew that he was roommates with Shane, but that was just about it. Cecil Vitalis and Henry Cook were seated next to one another. They were also Shane's roommates and generally kept to themselves with Cecil being an avid gamer and Henry being a photographer. Sitting next to Grey was the red-haired Juniper Hawthorne and from what Rietta knew, the girl was extremely intelligent, being in the top three of their class, only falling behind Shane and herself. The last person she recognized was Asher McConnell of the first year trio and wondered why he was there. He had friends, but judging by the meek expression on his face, Rietta came to the conclusion that his friends' large personalities overwhelmed his shy and quiet demeanor. Other than Ilys, she didn't recognize anyone else. She was sure she knew a few more faces, but she really didn't care.

"Maybe Shane's right," Rietta thought to herself. "I mean, I hang out with a lot of people, but only when I'm with Logan and Jett. When they're not around, I barely even associate with Roux or Ethan or Emma or any of them. I used to think it was just their problem, but maybe…"

Christina walked to the center of the circle as her Vulpix climbed on top of her shoulder. "Hi everyone!" she started cheerfully. "Welcome to the first ever meeting of the Friendship Club! If you don't know, my name is Christina Tenner. Now, I know most of us have had difficulties in the past and I believe that in a few weeks, we'll be able to discuss our lives with each other. There are no secrets here and no one is judged for their appearance or popularity or grades or anything. We are all people with Pokémon, but more importantly, we're all friends!"

"No one is judged…" Rietta thought.

Christina went on for a few more minutes before there was a knock on the door. Professor Pine entered the room and smiled at the children. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she said. "But I need to speak to Henrietta for a second."

Rietta arched an eyebrow as she followed Pine out of the room. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing of the sort," Pine answered. "It's about your GPA."

"What about it?"

"Well, Henrietta," Pine began. "You have remarkable grades in everything except one subject. You're gym grade is affecting your overall grade point average and you've dropped by a point."

Rietta looked at her in absolute horror. To her, this was like a nightmare come true. "That means…"

"Yes," Pine said as she nodded her head. "Shane Clarke is at the top of the class..."

The professor covered her ears as Rietta let out an ear-piercing scream. She began breathing heavily and the professor had to try to hold her laughter in. "I-I can fix this!" Rietta stammered. "Please don't tell me that you've told Clarke."

"I'm sorry, but it was only fair that I tell him."

Rietta sighed "What did he say?"

The professor reached in her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She went to her saved videos and handed it to Rietta. In a matter of seconds, Shane's face came into view.

"Hey, Muk-Face! This is probably one of the greatest days of my life! Not only did I make it to the top of the class, but I surpassed you. You're probably crying your eyes out! Man, I really hope you are. Your misery gives me strength. Now, I'm better than you at school and life! You suck and I rule! Ha! Victory dance time! Seviper, turn on the music!"

Rietta simply watched as Shane began dancing in the video. It ended with confetti falling from the ceiling with Shane giving the camera the middle finger causing Rietta to wonder why he hadn't at least received detention. Professor Pine had obviously read her thoughts.

"I gave him detention for it," Pine told her. "But he was happy to go. Um, I guess you need some alone time…"

Jett, Ethan, Ronnie, and Sonia stood in the small crowd watching the Elder Sage battle a young man from Seathroul. He had purple hair with green eyes and was dressed in a very formal matter.

"Not a bad battler," Jett said to Sonia. "You said he's from Seathroul?"

"Yeah," Sonia answered. "Lyle Edwards. He's normally a cool guy, but ever since this war started, he's been hanging out with Duncan's gang. The guy really hates Louhearst for some reason…"

The battle ended and the Elder Sage was the victor. He shook hands with Lyle before the young man disappeared into the crowd. The Elder stood calmly as he awaited the next challenger.

"Hey, Ethan," Jett said. "You want to go up or should I?"

"Let's flip a coin," Ethan replied as he reached in his pocket.

However, before he could get it out, he heard music playing and the crowd parted way to see what was going on. Shane Clarke walked through the crowd dressed in a very fancy black suit and a pair of sunglasses. He had Jewel and Mari around each of his arms, Seviper was draped across his shoulders, Rolen and Tinett were walking behind them and for some reason, Lulu was playing a trumpet.

"This has got to be something stupid…" Jett muttered.

"Definitely," Ethan added.

Shane let go of the girls and stepped to the center of the crowd all while staring directly into the Elder Sage's amber eyes. "Shane Clarke…" the Elder said calmly. "Ah, I have anticipated your arrival."

"So you've already heard of me?" Shane asked as a smirk formed across his face.

The Elder nodded his head. "I know all about you and your family…"

"Well," Shane continued. "I bet you didn't know that I accomplished something great today. Today, I became the top trainer in my class. After a year of being number two to an undeserving loser, I'm finally on top!"

Ronnie stared at him in confusion as she turned to Jett. "I thought Rietta was at the top of the class?"

"She is…" Jett said. "Or she was. Dude, she is probably having a Miltank right now!"

Shane continued staring at the Elder in a focused and determined fashion. "As the most powerful trainer at Louhearst, I challenge you! One-on-one! What do you say to that, old man?"

"I accept…"

"Lulu, play the battle music!" Shane ordered as he reached for a Poké Ball. Lulu began playing as Shane tossed the ball in the air. "Victreebel, let's show them what a real grass type is like!"

"Viiiiiii!"

"Weepinbell," the Elder called out. "Get ready to battle!"

"Growth!" Shane shouted.

The green beam erupted from Victreebel's vines and the grass Pokémon smirked at her opponent. "Acid!"

"Viiii!"

"Dodge and use Slam!" the Elder yelled.

Weepinbell jumped over the purple gunk that was headed its way and slammed into Victreebel, knocking her over in the process. As Victreebel struggled to get up, Shane realized that he should think practically. The Elder was an extremely skilled trainer and Shane knew that he couldn't underestimate the man.

"Wrap!" the Elder commanded. Weepinbell wrapped its vines tightly around Victreebel and began squeezing tightly. "Now, use Slam!"

"Weeepiii!"

Once again, Shane saw Victreebel fall to the ground, this time even harder. He began getting nervous. Victreebel hadn't landed a single hit on Weepinbell. The Elder looked to be finished with the battle. "Razor Leaf-"

"Leaf Blade!" Shane shouted.

"Weeepii!"

"Viiii!"

The razor sharp leaves flew at Victreebel as she began slicing through them extremely quickly, each time moving closer and closer to Weepinbell before slashing the Pokémon across its face.

"Slam!"

"Acid!"

Weepinbell managed to connect with Victreebel, but the acid hit it square in the face causing it to lose focus which in turn made the slam weaker than the previous two. However, Victreebel was struggling hard to maintain her balance and Shane knew that he had to end the battle immediately. He noticed Weepinbell trying to get the acid off of its face and he took a deep breath. This last move would either make or break the battle.

"Leaf Storm!" he shouted. "Maximum power! Quickly!"

"Viiiictreeeeee!"

The leaves on Victreebel began glowing until they turned into a blinding bright green color. In a flash, a powerful cyclone of wind and a torrent of green leaves flew at Weepinbell at maximum power. When the attack ended, the grass Pokémon stared into the eyes of its evolutionary form before collapsing onto the ground. The battle was over.

"Good job, Victreebel," Shane sighed as he held out her Poké Ball. "Return!"

The Elder recalled Weepinbell and began clapping. The crowd followed suit and in a matter of seconds, there were loud cheers from the mass. Even Jett and Ethan joined in, though Shane didn't care for it. The Elder gestured for him to come forward.

"You Vellas always give me an excellent fight," he said calmly. Shane looked at him in surprise and the Elder simply nodded his head. "I know all about you and your family. In fact, I challenged your mother when she was your age. I remember how she had the same expression on her face when she walked into the Sprout Tower. I want you to remember something, Shane. You are in control of your own destiny. The path expected of you and the path of righteousness may be one in the same or they may be two different roads. I know you are a good person and I know that there is an internal struggle that you are faced with every day. You act the way that you do because you have a hard time choosing what is right and what is expected. I can see it in your eyes. There is something I want to give to you so you can always remember the battle we had today."

The Elder reached into his robe and pulled out a gold coin and showed both sides to the young man. The first side had a picture of what seemed to be a dragon Pokémon that Shane had never seen before. The other side had another dragon Pokémon that Shane couldn't recognize either.

"Two sides of one coin," the Elder continued as he placed the coin in Shane's hand. "One side represents the right path and the other side represents the easy path. It is up to you to figure out which side is which and which path you will go down. Good luck…"

Logan, Rus, Jeremy, Nina and Kaylee cheered with the crowd as the Psycho Spindas finished preforming. Logan felt like this was easily one of the best nights of his life right after the trip to Tohjo Falls with Roux. He suddenly felt a bright light shining in his face and his breathing became heavier.

"Row Ten!" Dirk, the lead singer yelled into the microphone. "Come on stage to get your backstage passes!"

"Oh…my…Arceus…" Nina began. "That's…our row. That's our row!"

"Logan, I can't move!" Rus said. "This is a dream come true!"

Jeremy lifted Rus and slung him across his shoulders as he, Logan, Nina, and Kaylee rushed on stage. Logan's eyes widened as he stood face to face with the Psycho Spindas. He knew that he couldn't even pretend to act cool as Dirk approached him with the microphone.

"What's your name, kid?"

"L-Logan M-Martin," he stammered.

"Logan Martin!" Dirk shouted into the microphone as he turned his attention to the crowd. "Well, Logan, and his friends will not only be receiving backstage passes, but they'll be getting two tickets each to our next concert in Cianwood City!"

The security guard handed them the passes and their tickets as they followed the Psycho Spindas back stage to their recreation room. They autographed pictures and t-shirts for them and Logan couldn't believe his luck. He took a picture with Dirk and the others and immediately forwarded it to his friends. They hung out with the band and talked for a while before Logan headed down the hall to use the bathroom.

"This is unreal…" he said to himself as he made his way towards the sink. As usual, he didn't have to use the bathroom, but he felt like his hands could never get clean. As he felt the warm water hit his hands, he looked into the mirror to see something approaching him from behind.

"Use enough soap, Logan…" the voice taunted.

He whirled around and to his surprise, it was the girl he had saw outside the concert. "The girls' bathroom is next door," he told her.

"I don't need to use the bathroom," the girl replied irritably. "I've heard of you before. My name is Sadie Yanes and I go to Seathroul, but that's not important. What is important is that you have two tickets for the next concert in Cianwood and I want them."

Logan stared at her like she was crazy. "You're out of your mind, Sandra or whatever the hell your name is. So, what's the deal? You were stalking me until you could get me alone and demand my tickets."

Sadie smirked and reached into the pocket of her shorts and retrieved a wad of money. "Three hundred and fifty bucks," she said. "You beat me at a card game, you get all of it, but if I beat you, I get the tickets. Come on, if you win, you'll have enough money to buy more tickets and I'll even let you pick the game."

"Fine," Logan said as a grin formed on his face. "Blackjack…"

Logan stood in the bathroom dressed in a gray t-shirt and black boxers with matching gray socks. Not only had he lost the tickets, but he had lost his shirt, his pants, his shoes, and his coat. His face was red with anger as he tossed his silver skull necklace over to Sadie who was grinning in satisfaction.

"Should we keep going?" she taunted. "You really don't want to lose your boxers do you, Emo Boy? Or should I take your eyeliner instead? That'll probably be worse for you, huh."

"You tricked me you little troll!" Logan shot back. "But that's cool because I have a challenge for you."

"I don't think so," Sadie replied. "I won and you lost. It's over!"

"No the hell it's not!" Logan shouted. "When the expedition gets to Azalea Town, Louhearst and Seathroul will be touring each other's campuses. I challenge you to a battle and if you win, I'll give you four hundred dollars and give you my employee discount at the clothing store I work at."

"As if…"

"What's the matter?" Logan taunted. "Are you scared? Maybe that's why you cheat people out of their stuff. You obviously suck as a trainer."

Sadie glared at him. "Fine, you're on."

"See you in a month, troll…"

"Count on it, Emo Boy…"

AN: Final chapter of 2010! Happy New Year!

Later!