Told you guys it wouldn't take as long as last time to update! After the refresher you guys got from the revision of last chapter, I feel like you should all be good for this one. If you haven't read the revised version of Chapter 2, I strongly recommend to do so. You will be confused about a scene in here if you don't.
Let's respond to some reviews!
DJTiki: I'm glad you liked the Kalosian language! I did delete it because I felt there was no need to have it around if I wasn't going to be doing anything with it. I know it's the first story I completed but to be perfectly honest, it wasn't actually complete because the first book was supposed to be the entire first year and I just ended it where I did to feel accomplished. I never intended for a scene that shows Mark being bullied to be in the chapter but the revision actually helped with that too. You'll see what I mean in this chapter.
Shinymudkip25: Eric was too Gary-Stu of a character so he had to be replaced. I contemplated on just redoing his personality but I just felt like he wouldn't fit the same way that he did last time. As for Mark and Kari's friendship, I'd like to know how you feel about it after this chapter because it's definitely something I should be conveying better if you're saying that you don't see it.
Overused: I'm sorry but I have to reject all of your claims. The first you made is that I am using overused names. Now I read A LOT of Pokemon SYOCs so you must have seen these names in other categories because I've only seen Riley being used a few times (one of my previous stories, which is now under the ownership of emosewa-13, being one of them) and I can see how Kari's name may be common but I've never seen Sergio or Kirsty's names in a Pokemon SYOC. Secondly, you're upset that I'm not using a lot of the OCs I had before and I will agree that a lot of them were very good (The Orre trio, Liam, Ava, and Eden, just to name a few) but you have the same mentality that a lot of Gen-Wunners have. They basically think that Gen 1 is the best and no other gen can top it simply because of nostalgic reasons. Well you see the original characters as far better to these newer ones simply because they came first. I'm sure if their positions were reversed, you'd say that this cast was much better and that the old one was garbage. Then you claim that I just threw away Eden. Number 1: It's been 2 chapters so you don't know which ones were re-submitted and accepted. Number 2: the whole point of this reboot was to separate the people who were still actively reading and the ones who weren't. I will admit that I rejected Liam and Ava's resubmission because they did not fit the story the way it is going to be written. And Number 3: Eden's creator did not even want to resubmit her, she gave me another OC. Do not claim things without knowing if they are true and understanding the circumstances. Finally, you said Alex is supposed to be with Dawn and that Cherilyn is a "wanna-be" character. How dare you bash on another reader's character like that after only seeing her in one scene? Alex isn't SUPPOSED to be with anyone. He is with whoever I set him up with. There are no canon characters as students in the academy so it is impossible for him to be with Dawn. Now I know that I have had a rude tone and honestly, I hope it comes off that way because if you speak to someone in a rude manner, be prepared to be responded to in the same way. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Now we can start over on a fresh clean page and you can give this story an actual chance or you can take this rant to heart. The choice is yours.
Legolas Dragon Ranger: I am so sorry for forgetting to put you. I made sure to do it in the revision of chapter 2.
The Prince of Light: I'm glad you liked the way I wrote Mr. Querrero. I thought that I was too theatrical with him.
Bearer of Sins: I'm curious to know who your first favorite is. And I'm so sorry for removing that scene. I know you liked it but there was no way I could fit it in with the revision. It just didn't make sense to.
SteveAnt: He only has a total of three Pokemon and realistically his Charizard had only barely evolved before the beginning of the story putting Pidgeotto and Pikachu's levels in the twenties region so they aren't that strong.
Chapter 3: Lighthouse
Kari stood with her legs spread out and her back slightly hunched as she kept vigilant for the volleyball in play in case it came towards her. She wore her gym clothes like the rest of the girls on the court, however she had a pair of shorts of reasonable length while others should not have bothered wearing shorts at all.
In the corner of Kari's eye, she could see Kirsty sitting on the bleachers surrounded by her posse of fashion-obsessed zombies. The brunette rolled her chocolatey eyes at the sight of her pampered roommate fanning herself and clearly talking about something completely unimportant in any way shape or form while her followers just nodded their empty heads. Kari could almost hear rattling noises coming from them and the thought made her laugh.
Unfortunately, she would not be laughing for long as the ball went over the net right towards her, tattooing its lines onto Kari's olive face. She fell with a thud and while on the floor, could hear laughter, most notably from Kirsty whose obnoxious laughter had already been embedded into her brain.
Alex, Mark, and Sergio, who had been playing other sports or participating in other physical activities inside the gymnasium came to her aid. Chimchar ran up to his trainer from the sidelines to check if she was okay as well. The emerald boy offered Kari a hand, easily picking her up.
"You alright?" Sergio asked.
She nodded, "Yeah, just didn't see that coming."
"Did you space out?" Mark inquired.
Her face lowered but she maintained her gaze as a small smile formed on her lips, "Yeah…a little."
"Hey Kari, are you alright? That was some hit."
She turned to find Jarrel with a concerned look on his face. Kari smiled and nodded at him, putting his worries to ease.
"I'm okay, thanks for asking. Oh! Jarrel, these are my friends, Mark, Alex, and Sergio."
At this point, Mark had inched himself as far away from Jarrel as possible – standing behind his roommates for protection. The third year shook hands with Alex and Sergio, who parted so that he could greet Mark as well.
Jarrel's eyes narrowed and a small grin formed on his face as he put his hand forth and said, "It's nice to meet you…Mark."
The third year's voice played in the crimson boy's head and he was suddenly inside the boy's restroom – his arm on the toilet seat to support himself and his hair dripping wet. Jarrel stood on the other side of the open stall door with his arms crossed, a grin plastered onto his face, and his friends huddled around him. The copper-haired boy threatened, "I hope you learned your lesson because next time, we won't go so easy on you." He turned his back to Mark and began walking but suddenly stopped and simply turned his head to him to say, "Oh, and you better not tell anyone either or else…" With that, he and his posse left their victim defeated, wet, and scared to death.
Mark returned to the present and with a shaky hand, accepted Jarrel's. The third year commented, "Whoa there, are you cold, buddy? You're shaking like crazy."
"N-no. I-I just don't feel too w-well…"
"Maybe you should go to the nurse," suggested Jarrel.
Kari pressed the back of her hand to his forehead and commented, "You don't seem to have a fever. What's wrong?"
"I, um, I was just feeling a bit lightheaded but I'm alright now." He gave her a genuine smile. "Thanks, Kari."
She returned the smile, "Of course."
Jarrel's scheming grin turned into a frown upon seeing how close Mark and Kari were. She made physical contact with him as though it were nothing and the way they smiled at each other was as caring as the gesture could possibly be.
"Hey! What are you all doing just standing around?!" They turned to find Coach Roads approaching them, her chocolate brown ponytail swaying behind her with each step she took. Her eyes were cool like the sea but a raging fire danced against her irises. "You boys get back to what you were doing and Kari needs to get back to her game!"
"Yes ma'am!" they all said, quickly scrambling to escape their instructor's wrath.
After P.E., Alex, Mark, and Sergio were in the locker rooms changing out of their gym clothes. Chimchar was sitting patiently on one of the benches, swinging his hanging legs from the edge as his coordinator's friends talked amongst themselves.
"Did you guys see that redhead on the volleyball court?" Sergio inquired.
"She was on Kari's side, right?" Alex asked for clarification.
The silver-haired boy nodded, "Yeah that's the one. She's got a really nice body."
"Her chest was kind of small but her butt was nice."
Sergio added, "Oh, and she had a lollipop in her mouth the whole time! You know what that means!" He winked at his roommates.
Alex laughed, "She wants it. You should talk to her, dude."
"She's in your guys' class, isn't she?"
Mark nodded, "Yeah. That doesn't mean you can't talk to her."
"I know but I feel like I need to see her more than once a week to work on her, you know?"
"You don't have her for any other classes?" Mark asked.
Sergio shook his head, "Not that I know of." He shrugged, "Eh, if I find an opportunity, I'll talk to her. So you guys pretty much made it through the first week. Any girls catch your attention yet?"
Alex replied, "Well that Cherilyn girl is pretty cute."
"Yeah, I've seen a lot of guys trying to get her attention but she's a tough one to crack. It's a good thing, though. It just means she respects herself enough to only choose the best for her. What about you, Mark?"
He shook his head, "No, not really."
"Well it's barely the first week. You might end up liking a girl later. Speaking of your first week here, how do you guys like the school?"
"Most of the classes are whatever," Alex replied. "I just can't wait to start battling strong trainers!"
"The classes I have are all really interesting," Mark said. "I'm actually excited to see what's in store, you know?"
Sergio nodded, "Yeah, I get you. Most of the classes here are pretty fair in difficulty. There's just that occasional teacher that wants to make the class a little more difficult to challenge the students. I know Dr. Beatty and Dr. Drake are pretty tough."
Mark asked, "What classes do they teach?"
"Beatty teaches the coordinator class and Pokemon Evolution. I took her Evolution class last year. Me and Aaron are in Dr. Drake's Literature class and I think he also teaches Politics."
"How are they?" Alex inquired.
"Well Beatty is really nice and understanding but her grading is really strict so a certain number of people get a specific grade. I think ten percent got A's, twenty got B's, twenty C's, twenty-five D's, and twenty-five E's. Drake is just kind of really strict in general but if you do the work, you'll do good in his class."
"They sound kind of tough," the emerald boy responded. "Remind me NOT to pick their classes."
"I have to remind you to pick your classes, first," Sergio jabbed.
"How was I supposed to know?!"
Mark responded, "It was in one of the emails they sent."
"I hardly check it."
"It's a good idea to start checking it more," Sergio suggested. "They send news and updates about grades, events, and days off."
Alex's eyes glinted with energy, "We get days off?!"
Mark nodded, "According to the school's calendar, there are a few days off like Champion's Day and the Spring Equinox."
"The Spring Equinox? Kind of a random day, don't you think?"
Sergio clarified, "It's because the Cherry Blossoms come into bloom and there's a big festival in town."
"Ohhh, got ya'! Whatever gets me out of class is alright with me!"
Now that they were all dressed, the three roommates and the Chimchar they were entrusted with exited the locker room to wait for Kari.
"So are you guys doing anything this weekend?" asked Sergio.
Alex shook his head, "No, not really. I was thinking of calling my folks sometime today after class but that's about it."
"I'm not doing much either," Mark said. "I'm probably just going to do some homework."
"Lame. How would you guys like to do a bonfire tonight?"
"A bonfire?" they asked.
"Yeah, Sevilla Beach on Crescent Island has pits for bonfires. It'd be fun to get a bunch of people together to celebrate the end of your guys' first week here."
"We don't know a bunch of people," Mark said.
"Speak for yourself," Alex replied.
Mark rolled his crimson eyes, "You've made one friend other than us, Kari, and Aaron while we've been here."
"You can invite your friend, Alex. I've got some people in mind that I'm going to invite."
"Who?" the brunette asked.
Cherilyn stood with her feet together and her back straight, only struggling slightly to control her breathing. Her Leafeon, Kaia, tried to maintain her composure as well, but it was harder for her – she was doing all the fighting.
On the opposite side of the zone designated to them on the stage inside Star Academy's Contest Hall was an incredibly tall young woman with mocha skin and curly ebony hair – white highlights could be found throughout it her mane. Her dazzling diamond blue eyes were shining with confidence, complimented by her perfect posture. She wasn't feeling the stress and fatigue from the battle between her shiny Audino, named Gold, and Kaia.
"Would you like to stop, Cherry?" the dark-skinned girl asked – her voice angelic and sweet.
Cherilyn shook her head and responded, "No, I have a strong feeling that today is the day I defeat you, Stacy."
A grin formed on the tall girl's face as she called out, "Then we shall continue! Gold, use Misty Terrain!" The violet Pokemon spun and called out her own name, summoning a light pink mist to cover the field. "Now Psyshock!" Amethyst gems hovered around her, reflecting the sparkling lights of the Misty Terrain, before flying towards Kaia.
The psychic-type attack dug into the Leafeon's fur but her physical defense allowed her to endure the attack.
"Are you okay, Kaia?" The grass-type nodded and barked her response. "Fantastic! Use Sunny Day!" Kaia looked up and barked her name again to create an artificial sun underneath the roof of the contest hall which was every bit of hot and bright as the real sun. "Use Energy Ball!" Using the same strategy that Stacy used, the bright sun illuminated the green sphere more, making it bright enough to slightly blind Gold. The attack connected directly with the normal-type.
"I suppose imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," Stacy responded. Gold stood back up, obviously scratched up slightly, but not enough for her to show the pain. "We can blind you as well. Dazzling Gleam!" The Audino released a bright flash that intensified the sparkling pink mist and knocked the Leafeon out.
Cherilyn sighed from defeat but kept her posture as best as she could as she recalled Kaia into her Poke Ball. Stacy did the same and the two walked to the stands to take a short break from practice.
"That was awfully close," Stacy said.
"Yes, but you seemed to have everything under control. That makes another win for you. Sacre bleu (damn) – oops!" The blonde quickly covered her mouth with her petite hand.
Stacy could not help but laugh at her friend's little slip-up, knowing that the Kalosian girl hardly ever cursed. Cherilyn felt it very unladylike and normally, Stacy would too but she found it adorable when the blonde girl did it. The ebony-haired girl offered her friend a drink from her water bottle, which Cherilyn gladly accepted.
"So what would you like to do after classes?"
Cherilyn responded, "Oh! You just reminded me that Sergio asked if we wanted to go to a bonfire today on Sevilla Beach tonight."
"Of course! That sounds like fun. I'm assuming Aaron is going to be there."
"Yes, as well as Sergio's new roommates and some friends of theirs."
"Text Addie if she would like to go and I will text Vera." The blonde nodded and the two began typing away on their devices.
Alex had told Riley about the bonfire, exciting the black-haired boy who started going on about trips that he and his dad had gone on and the bonfires that they shared.
"You and your dad are awfully close, huh?"
"Yeah! He's actually the one that got me into Pokemon battling. Haven't beaten him yet, though."
"Haven't beaten me yet either," Alex taunted while rubbing his nose.
"Oh you got lucky in that last battle. Sand got in Flora's eyes."
The brunette placed his hands behind his head and responded, "Well I do have two Pokemon that can beat an Oddish so it didn't make much of a difference."
"You just wait 'til next time! Hey, so are we going to Sevilla Beach now?"
"Well I wanted to call my parents to see how everything is back home. Plus I think we should take swimming trunks just in case we feel like getting in the water. My roommate said he'd handle getting the firewood and food and stuff."
"Alright, let's meet in the courtyard, then?"
"Yeah, sounds good to me."
With that, the two friends went off to their respective dormitories. When Alex reached his room, he found Mark in a pair of white swim trunks with bubble print and a simple T-shirt.
"You look ready to go," Alex commented.
"Yeah, just need to put on some sunblock."
The brunette raised an eyebrow and said, "It's going to be sunset when we get there."
"There are ultraviolet rays everywhere, even when the sun isn't out, so I want to protect my skin."
"If you say so. I'm going to call my parents right now."
"Okay, I'll wait down in the lobby."
The door closed behind Mark and Alex searched for the number to his house phone on the brand new Pokegear that his parents bought him to celebrate his acceptance to the academy.
There were a few rings until he heard a woman's voice answer, "Hello? Alex?"
"Hey mom! Yeah, it's me. Just thought I'd give you a call to let you know I'm doing great and to see how everything is back home."
"It took you long enough!" she snapped.
He held the device away from his ear before pressing it back and apologized, "I'm really sorry, mom. This week's been kind of hectic, you know?"
She sighed, "I know, honey. I just worry is all. So are you liking the school?"
"Yeah, it's awesome! Most of the classes are kind of boring but I have this battle class so I get to take on other strong trainers. I've got a little bit of streak going." He arrogantly rubbed his nose with a finger and despite not being able to see it, his mother knew her son all too well, already picturing him doing it.
"That's great, but remember to do well in your other classes, okay?"
"I know, I know."
"Have you made any friends?"
"Yeah, I get along with my roommates pretty well and I've made a few other friends. We're actually having a bonfire tonight on the main island and one of my roommates is inviting other people so there'll be a lot of us."
"Well aren't you the popular one?"
Alex chuckled, "Well you know how lovable I am. So how's everything at home?"
"Everything's good. Your dad might be getting a promotion at the office."
"That's awesome! Is he there?"
"No. He's at work right now. I'll let him know that you called, though. I'm sure he'd love to call you back. What time is it over there?"
"It's a quarter passed three. How about over there?"
"You're about three hours ahead. It's barely noon over here. Your father doesn't get home until seven so I'll tell him to call you tomorrow."
"I'll probably still be up around ten."
"You don't have to wake up early tomorrow?"
"No. There aren't any classes on Saturdays and Sundays."
"Okay, I'll tell him to call you."
"Alright, thanks mom. I've gotta' go. Love you."
"Love you too, Alex."
The emerald boy clicked and left the device on his bed while he exchanged his blue jeans for a pair of black and red swimming trunks. He packed his backpack with spare clothes, picked up his Pokegear, and went downstairs to meet up with Mark.
Sergio walked through the aisles inside the super market with a pencil and paper in hand. Aaron was holding a mountain of supplies in his hands as his silver-haired friend said, "Wood, check. Lighter fluid, check. Marshmallows, check. Graham crackers, check. Hey big guy, what kind of chocolate should we get?"
"I dunno, mon but could you do a brudda' a favor and carry it?"
"Sure thing, boss."
"How 'da heck did this place run out of shopping carts?"
"Who said that? I just didn't feel like looking for one."
A vein pulsated in Aaron's forehead, almost bursting out. "You lazy liddle Rattata!"
"Come on, we're almost to the register. You can do it! You can do it!"
Aaron dumped all of their supplies onto the conveyer belt and crossed his arms, intentionally flexing his muscles to intimidate his shorter friend.
Sergio approached the cashier and asked, "How much will that be?"
She responded, "Eight thousand Poke Dollars." Sergio's mouth dropped and he slowly turned to Aaron to ask for half of the cost but his dreadlocked friend was already out the automatic doors leaving him to pay and carry all of the supplies out.
Alex, Mark, Kari, and Riley made their way through campus, each carrying supplies they would need for the beach inside their backpacks like extra clothes and towels – Riley even brought a football to toss around. Alex was a little disappointed when he saw that Kari was in shorts and a hoodie but his worries were dismissed when she disclosed that she was wearing her bathing suit underneath.
The group got on the bus that travelled to and from the academy and to Alex's surprised, Dr. Boykin was seated inside it. The violet-eyed instructor tore his gaze away from the book he carried and greeted the emerald teen.
"Hey, Dr. Boykin, how's it going."
A smile formed on his pale face as he responded, "I'm well, Alex. Thanks for asking."
"Hi Dr. Boykin," Kari greeted as well. Even Mark waved hello.
"You guys know him?"
Mark nodded, "Yeah, we're in his Astronomy class."
The instructor nodded, "I thought you two looked familiar." He lightly slapped his forehead with his palm. "How could I forget the two students that seem to know all the answers to my questions?"
Riley stomped around, "Aw man! I feel left out! How come I'm the only one that doesn't know this teacher?"
Dr. Boykin laughed before offering the black-haired boy his hand.
"Well then let's put an end to that solitude. My name is Dr. David Boykin. And you are?"
He accepted the handshake and responded, "Riley Bosque, sir!"
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Riley. And you two are Kari and…wait don't tell me…Mark, correct?"
The ruby-eyed boy nodded, "That's right, sir. If I may ask, what are you doing on this bus?"
"Yeah, are you going home?" Alex asked.
His chocolate locks swayed as he shook his head, "No. All instructors are provided with living quarters on campus. I'm going to Crescent Island for a date."
All of the students looked astonished, making Dr. Boykin laugh. "Yes, I know how shocking it is to find out that teachers have lives of their own. Well enough about me. How have you all enjoyed the academy so far?"
"It's amazing!" Kari responded. "There are so many great things about it!"
"The classes," said Mark.
"The girls," added Alex.
"The battles," continued Riley.
"The girls!" repeated Alex, earning a look from everyone. "What? There are a lot of pretty girls here! You're included in that too Kari." He winked at her and she couldn't help but smile and roll her eyes.
"Okay, you're off the hook because of that compliment," she said.
Cherilyn and Stacy decided it would be best to buy chips and a few bottles of soda so that Sergio and Aaron did not have to buy everything. The blonde struggled to reach the bag of Flaming Hot Liepoh's on the top shelf, practically standing on the tips of her toe nails, before Stacy simply put her hand forward and handed them down to the short girl.
Cherilyn sweetly responded, "Merci (thank you)!"
"Vera! Stop it!" yelled a short brunette as she ran into the aisle the two girls were in. This third girl was being chased by a fourth who was repeatedly whacking her with a pair of foam water noodles.
"You declared war, Addie!" the taller black-haired girl responded mischievously.
The girl named Addie managed to swipe one of the toys and began retaliating, leaving Cherilyn and Stacy confused.
The tallest girl approached Addie and Vera and took the water noodles from them. "Will you two behave? You are going to get us all kicked out."
Vera pointed a pale finger at the brunette, "She started it."
"All I did was say, 'Hey, these would be fun to play with,' you overgrown Black Spy!"
Vera shrugged and responded, "At least I can ride the big person rides in Galactic World."
"Hey!" whined Cherilyn.
"Oops, forgot you were shorter than her, Cherry."
The petite blonde held her hands behind her back and somberly kicked a can on the floor as she sullenly responded, "I'm not short, you and Stacy are just tall."
Vera shook her head, "No, I'm tall. Stacy's an Amazon."
Stacy sulked by mimicking Cherilyn's action and kicking another misplaced can. "I'm not an Amazon, I am just big-boned." As the quartet made their way to the registers, Stacy asked Vera, "You are going to the beach dressed like that?"
The pale, steely-eyed girl was dressed in all black from her T-shirt to her jeans to the ankle-length trench coat with the only color coming from the Rubik's cube attached to her silver belt. She simply shrugged and responded, "I have my bathing suit under. You're one to talk, 'Diamond'."
Stacy had gotten used to her nickname by now and even took great pride in it. She earned it on account of all the diamonds she wore. Her black mini-vest had diamond-colored buttons, the back pockets on her black dress shorts were bejeweled with fake diamonds, and her accessories included a small blue diamond plug in each ear, a white diamond bracelet, and a diamond necklace. Her cream-colored blouse, cream rose leggings, and black church shoes were the only articles with diamonds. The silver piercing through her left philtrum was also a nice change from all of the diamonds.
The tall ebony-haired girl replied, "Well a coordinator must look her best wherever she is." Her tone was so proper it was unbelievable that it actually existed. "Besides, my bathing suit is also underneath."
"I guess," said Vera. "How about you, Cherry?"
Cherilyn unzipped her white jacket to reveal that she was only wearing a black bikini top underneath. Her bikini bottom was underneath a simple pair of jeans.
"Well isn't that classy?" Stacy commented, referring to the white rose outline on Cherilyn's breast.
"Someone's trying to get it," Addie teased.
"Addison!" the blonde complained as she quickly zipped her jacket back up. "W-well what about you? What are you wearing?"
Addie's swimsuit was also underneath her clothes. She wore a simple red T-shirt, a pair of jean shorts, and her favorite white, black, and orange running shoes. Two leather anklets could be seen because of her short socks and a silver bell-shaped locket hung from her neck.
"Nothing," the brunette responded with a wink.
When they reached the island, Alex and the others said goodbye to Dr. Boykin and wished him luck on his date. They took one more bus before arriving at Sevilla Beach where they found Sergio and Aaron waiting at one of the bonfire pits, a fire already dancing inside it. Aaron was seated on one of the stumps surrounding the pit while Sergio was strangely laying on a towel as if he was passed out.
"Uh, is he okay?" Kari asked.
"Oh ya, he just had a nice work out right now."
Sergio instantly sat up and pointed at him, "You owe me four thousand Poke Dollars you Girafarig!"
Aaron waved him off, "Just ignore him. Have a seat wherever you want. You guys want someting to eat? We have hotdogs, smores…hotdogs."
"I'm okay for now, big guy." Kari sat down next to her dark-skinned friend and opened her handbag to pull out a bag of berry-flavored candies.
"Hey, Aaron," Alex said. "This is my friend, Riley. I met him in my Battle Styles and Tactics class."
Aaron shook the first year's hand, "It's nice to meet ya, brudda. Come on an make yaself comftable!"
"Nice to meet you too! I haven't seen you in our battle class so that means you're not a trainer, right? Come to think of it, I haven't seen any of you in that class."
Alex explained, "Well Aaron and Mark are breeders, Kari's a coordinator, and Sergio is a lazy bum."
"Am not!" he yelled, but his reluctance to even sit up said otherwise.
"I'm just playing, he's a researcher."
"Awesome! Kind of thought you'd have more trainer friends, though Alex. I was looking forward to battle someone."
"We got a couple trainer friends on der way," responded Aaron.
"Speak of the devils," added Sergio, who was now standing up. He waved over to Cherilyn and the others and gave both the short blonde and the very tall dark-skinned girl a hug. He hadn't known Addison for too long so he simply waved to her and he already knew Vera preferred to clasp hands. After a few short introductions, the entire group sat around the bonfire, roasting sausages and marshmallows and talking amongst themselves.
Riley asked, "So you guys are all trainers?"
Cherilyn shook her head, "No, Stacy and I are coordinators. Vera and Addie are trainers, though."
"Were you looking for a battle, squirt?" Vera asked while savagely biting a piece of sausage off, her face as solid as a Bastiodon's.
Her intimidating behavior shot fear into Riley, causing him to quickly shake his head, "No ma'am!"
That is until Vera spat out the piece she ripped out and rapidly wiped her tongue, "Ugh! It wasn't cooked right!" This earned a laugh from the group.
Sergio turned to Stacy and said, "I see that you're as presentable as ever. I don't see your Mega Glove though."
"I didn't think that I would need it. After all, we're just having a bonfire, right?"
"You have a point there."
Mark asked, "What's a Mega Glove?"
Sergio slapped his forehead, "That's right, I never told you guys about my research. Well you see the stone on my necklace?" He lifted the treble pendant to give everyone a closer look.
"Yeah," responded the ruby boy.
"Stacy has one as well but she keeps it on a glove. This stone is called a Key Stone and it is one of the necessities for a Pokemon to Mega Evolve."
Alex and Riley shot up from their seats and crowded Sergio. "What's Mega Evolution?" they asked in unison.
Sergio pushed the two boys away to give himself breathing room and yelled, "I'll tell you if you don't do that again!"
"Yes sir!" they both saluted and sat down on the sand with their legs crossed like a pair of kindergartners.
"Okay well you guys know how when a Pokemon becomes stronger, it evolves, right?"
Kari nodded, "Yes, there are three stages of evolution. Basic like my Chimchar, Stage 1 like Mark's Prinplup, and Stage 2 like Alex's Charizard."
"That's exactly right, however some Pokemon in their last forms can unlock power hidden deep inside of them and unleashing that power causes them to transform into their Mega forms and that's what Mega Evolution is."
"Are you saying my Charizard can evolve one more time?!"
"Well he can transform into his Mega form but he can't stay in it for too long because merely using this power puts a strain on both the Pokemon and the trainer. You see, there are three requirements to Mega Evolution. The first is that the trainer must have a Key Stone like this one. The second is that the Pokemon must have its corresponding Mega Stone. In Stacy's case, it would be Audinite for her Audino. Only a handful of Mega Stones have been discovered so far, meaning that only some can evolve."
"Can any of my Pokemon Mega Evolve?" Alex asked.
"What about mine?" added Riley.
"Or mine?"
"How about mine?"
"Enough! I'm not going to look through everyone's Pokemon to see who can Mega Evolve and who can't. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure of all of them myself."
Alex taunted, "And they're paying you to research this stuff?" Before Alex knew it, he was rubbing the back of his head, almost sure that a bump was forming.
"It's not like I have an arsenal of Pokemon and a bunch of Mega Stones to figure it out!"
Riley replied, "But you do have one, don't you?"
He nodded, "The first Pokemon I ever caught."
"Can I battle it?" the black-haired boy asked.
"No fair, I want to go up against it!" Alex said.
Riley rebutted, "You got to battle Chase on the first day of class!"
"You can both battle me."
"But you're a researcher," said Riley.
"True, but I used to be a trainer. I am a little rusty, but I think it's fair to say that I'll only use Mega Evolution if I need to."
"Wait," Kari interjected. "You said there were three requirements. What's the third?"
Sergio stood up and merely smirked, "You're about to find out. You two ready?" The emerald-eyed boys nodded. "Call out your best Pokemon."
"Go Charizard!"
"Let's go, Flora!" Riley's Pokemon of choice was his Oddish.
Sergio grinned, "Oh you two are going to make this way too easy. Slowbro, I choose you!" The large pink water/psychic-type landed on the sand with a thud. A leather hat was strapped to his head with a pink and cream-colored gem lodged inside the hat in the center of his forehead. His wide eyes held a lost look, causing Alex and Riley to burst out into laughter.
Riley shouted, "What a stupid-looking Pokemon!"
Alex's laughter was interrupted when he suddenly realized something. "Wait, you said this is the first Pokemon you ever caught. Does that mean you're from Kanto?"
Sergio nodded, "That's right, straight from Cerulean City."
The emerald-eyed brunette looked to his partner, "Riley, we definitely can't lose this now."
He nodded, "Wasn't planning on it from the beginning."
"I'm a bit outnumbered so I'll make the first move. Slowbro, use Water Pulse on Charizard!"
"Fly up!"
The sphere of water traveled over the sand but Charizard managed to get out of the way and even throw up some sand with his powerful wings. Unfortunately, Flora was standing too close and was not only blown back, but she also got sand stuck in her eyes.
"Oddish! Odd!" she cried angrily.
"Alex!" Riley whined. "What was that?!"
"S-sorry! I kind of forgot she was there."
"Hope you didn't forget that we were here, though. Slowbro, another Water Pulse." The pink Pokemon shot another water sphere, but Charizard was able to dodge it again.
Alex taunted, "You'll never hit us like that! Charizard, Wing Attack!" With blue energy cloaking his wings, the fire/flying-type flew towards Slowbro.
"But we will like this. Use Yawn!" Slowbro opened his mouth to release a loud yawn and a small bubble came out of his nose, making contact with Charizard. Slowbro was knocked back, but not out. His physical defense was much too high for one Wing Attack to defeat him.
"You feeling alright, Charizard?" The winged beast's eye lids started feeling heavy but he shook the feeling off and nodded towards his trainer. "Great! Use Dragon Rage!"
Riley shouted, "Join in and use Absorb!" A small glowing green tentacle reached out from Flora and wrapped around Slowbro before the Weed Pokemon started sapping away his health. Blue flames shrouded Slowbro, adding to the assault, but Sergio remained calm.
Charizard's eyelids began closing without his consent and the intensity of his attack weakened until he fell over, completely asleep.
"Charizard! What happened?!"
"Do you remember the attack my Slowbro used before? It's called Yawn and if it connects, your Pokemon will eventually fall asleep and it won't know when or where it'll happen. Now that we only have Flora to deal with, Slowbro, use Psychic." The water/psychic-type's eyes began glowing blue and Flora was soon surrounded by a thin layer of the same color. She was lifted into the air and slammed down onto the sand.
Riley clenched his fist, "Flora! Are you okay?" Surprisingly, the grass/poison-type managed to endure the super-effective attack but was struggling to get up. Once she was up right, she began glowing brightly.
"She's evolving!" said Cherilyn.
When the light faded, a dark blue Pokemon with orange leaves and a reddish-brown flower on her head was left in the Oddish's place.
"Gloom!" she said happily.
"G-gloom?" Riley stuttered. "Flora, did you evolve?! This is awesome! Alright Sergio, the real battle begins now! Flora, use Sleep Powder! Let's see how they like getting put to sleep."
Sergio noticed Alex yelling at Charizard to wake up as loud as he possibly could and the researcher thought to himself, This is bad, Charizard's going to wake up soon and we'll be back on defense. "Slowbro, Psychic on the Sleep Powder!" The green dust was kept floating before Slowbro simply dropped it onto the sand – its potency to be lost forever.
"Got ya'! Flora, Mega Drain!" A couple larger energy tentacles wrapped around Slowbro to eat away more of his health.
"Mega Drain?"
Riley nodded while holding up his Pokedex. "Flora learned it with her evolution."
"Slowbro, Slack Off." Listening to his trainer's command, Slowbro clumsily sat on the ground and rested for a bit. "Feeling better?"
He stood back up and responded by eerily saying, "Broooo…"
"I'll take that as a yes. Psychic again!" Slowbro lifted Flora again, raising her several feet off the ground but just as he was about to slam her again, he was hit by blue flames.
Sergio looked to find Alex with a confident grin and Charizard flying towards Slowbro with a Wing Attack, knocking him down again. The fire lizard circled back around to prevent Slowbro from standing back up over and over again. With each hit, Alex shouted, "Show! Us! Mega! Evo! Lution!"
"Slowbro, stay down!" He was about to get up but laid himself out instead. He had no problems with this command. He loved lying down anyway. As Charizard passed by, Sergio called, "Psychic, now!" The fire-type was held above Slowbro and then thrown elsewhere so that the water-type could rise. "Alright, alright, you guys win. I'll show you Mega Evolution." The emerald duo began celebrating together. "Do you guys see the stone on Slowbro's forehead? That's his Mega Stone and it's called Slowbronite. Kari!" The brunette sat up straight upon hearing her name. "You asked what the third requirement is…" He held his Key Stone before him and continued, "The trainer and Pokemon must have an unbreakable bond!"
He pressed the colorful stone and beams of yellow energy sprang from it, connecting to the beams of blue energy coming from the Slowbronite. As they connected and intertwined, the energies created a blinding light and once it faded, Slowbro had been transformed. The large shell on his tail had completely consumed him leaving only his arms, head, and the tip of his tail visible. This new appearance made Alex and Riley laugh even harder.
"He looks even dumber!" Alex yelled.
Sergio smirked, "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to judge a book by its cover? Water Pulse!" Slowbro opened his mouth and unleashed not just one Water Pulse, but a barrage of them, which hit Charizard before he could even hope to escape. The fire/flying-type was easily defeated.
"What the?! Charizard! Get up!"
"Psychic." Slowbro lifted Flora and instead of dropping her back on the ground, sent hundreds of feet away.
"Flora!" Riley ran as fast as his legs would allow him and slid to a stop next to his Pokemon to find that she was unconscious. His eyes trembled from witnessing such power. Slowbro was able to attack with multiple Water Pulse attacks and then easily follow-up with a Psychic attack. Riley turned his head to find Slowbro reverting to his normal form and mindlessly taking a seat.
"T-that's incredible!" said Mark. "What happened to Slowbro?"
Stacy answered, "His hidden power was unlocked. Even though Mega Slowbro's strength is his physical defense, his special attack is no joke either."
After the battlers recalled their Pokemon, Alex exclaimed, "That was so awesome! I have to get a Pokemon that can Mega Evolve!"
"Me too!" joined Riley. "Then we can have a rematch!"
Sergio shook his hands in defense, "Guys, I'm not a real trainer anymore. If you guys just strengthen your Pokemon, each of you should easily be able to take out my Mega Slowbro."
Alex responded, "Yeah, but there are other trainers that can Mega Evolve their Pokemon, right?" Sergio nodded. "Then that means I need it to get stronger or I'll never become the best."
"Wasn't going to happen anyway with me around," Riley teased.
"You want to go?"
"Bring it!"
Their argument stopped when Kari left each of them with a bruise on their heads.
"Ow! Kari, you hit me on the bump I already had!" complained Alex.
After splashing around in the water, playing a couple games of football, and burying each other in the sand, the group sat around the bonfire, just talking. Everyone lent their ears to Aaron as he told them a story about a fishing trip he once took.
"So me and mai fadda had been on da boat for seven hours when it came into sight."
"What was it?" Cherilyn asked.
Vera contemplated, "A five-headed Milotic? An army of flesh-eating Lotads? Oh! Oh! I know! It was Arceus!"
"Pssh," Sergio responded. "Arceus is just a figure head that established religions use to explain things they don't understand and a source for them to pray to instead of facing their problems themselves."
"That's an incredibly pessimistic view of religion, don't you think?" Stacy asked.
"I like to call it realism."
Aaron waved his friend off, "Anyway, what we saw was a massive island but it was weird because der was some sort of red light comin' from da top. We were both curious so we climbed all da way up and dat is where saw it – a golden ring wit a weird purple aura comin' fraum it. In front of it was a Pokemon I had neva seen before. It was small wit two tails and a round yella head. It was like someting out of a dream, I tell ya!"
"Why does that sound familiar?" Kari asked herself out loud.
It was obvious that Mark was thinking hard about it too. He pressed his fist against his lips and aimed his eyes at the crackling flames in front of him.
"It's the legendary Pokemon, Uxie." All eyes turned to Addison who had been mostly quiet during their time there.
"Guess you can speak," taunted Sergio, but she just ignored him.
"That's the guardian of Lake Acuity near Snowpoint," explained Mark. "How do you know about it?"
"I'm from Veilstone," she replied matter-of-factly.
"So it's a legendary Pokemon from Sinnoh?" Riley asked.
Kari nodded, "But that doesn't explain what it was doing in Hoenn."
"You sure that it wasn't a couple Chimechos?" Sergio remarked.
Aaron shrugged, "'Dunno, coulda' been."
"Well what happened next?" asked Cherilyn.
"If I rememba correctly, whateva it was sensed us and went through da ring. Afta dat, poof! Da ring disappeared and dat was de end of dat. Anyone else got anodder story?"
A mischievous smirk spread across Sergio's face as he responded, "I've got a ghost story."
"Bring it!" Alex challenged. He stood up from his seat and sat down on the sand next to Cherilyn. "Don't worry, if you get scared, I'll be here to protect you." She simply giggled and rolled her eyes.
Sergio clapped his hands together once and said, "Alright, it's time! You guys see that lighthouse over there? It's awfully tough to find because it doesn't work anymore but it's there." The group followed his finger to find a dark tower standing on the edge of a cliff.
"What about it?" asked Riley.
"Well there's a legend behind it about the spirit of a girl that haunts it. The legend starts like this: back when the city was still under construction, this island was a major pit stop for trade between Hoenn and Unova so the lighthouse was built to signal ships. During the early days of this city, back when it was just a pub, there was a girl known throughout the small town for her incredible beauty. Her skin was as white as ivory and her hair as dark as the night sky. It flowed down her body in waves. Her eyes were as clear as diamonds and her lips were a ruby red. Her name was Carrie and she was constantly asked by men to marry them.
"One day, a sailor came to the island because his ship needed to restock on supplies. This man was incredibly generous and so during his stay, he would help everyone and anyone in any way he could. Unfortunately, his generosity ended up making him miss his ship. During his time on the island, he had helped Carrie a few times so she offered him to stay in her house until the next ship came for him. During his time there, the sailor had fallen in love so he asked her out on a date and she accepted. The date went great and they ended it with a stroll on the beach, right through where we're sitting right now until they reached the lighthouse."
"He pushed her off, didn't he?" Addison interrupted.
"Would you let me finish the story?" She opened her palms, gesturing for him to continue. "As I was saying, he told her that he loved this lighthouse and she asked why. His response was that it was because it led him to her."
Some of the girls let out an "Aw."
"Anyway, when the ship finally came for him, he didn't get on it because she was pregnant with his child and the two went on to have a second child after that. He loved it on the island so he wanted to stay. At first, it was because of Carrie, but after a while, he loved the island for all the beautiful women that he began sleeping with. One night, Carrie found out and in blind fury, she took her kids to the lighthouse where she fell in love with him and tossed them into the rock-infested waved below." There were gasps so he explained, "I guess she figured that he had thrown away the love that they shared so there was no point to keep their children. They were a mistake that she felt needed to be erased. Or at least that's how she felt until a few seconds passed for her to realize what she had done. Even though she was the one who threw her children off the cliff, she blamed her husband because it was his affairs that led her to do such a thing so she went to go look for him and when she found him, she killed both him and the girl he was sleeping with. After that, the officials chased her down until she reached the lighthouse where she was shot and killed, her lifeless body falling off the cliff.
"Time passed by and eventually the lighthouse was no longer in use, replaced by a newer one up the beach, but every once in a while, the light will turn on but it's impossible for anyone to get in because of the barb-wired fence surrounding it. People say that on those nights, Carrie comes back and if someone goes near the lighthouse, they are never seen again, rumored to be thrown off the cliff. That is the legend of Bloody Carrie."
Addie stated curtly, "That story was lame. You'd have to be a total pussy-meowth to be scared of that."
"You take that back!" threatened Alex as he came out from cowering underneath the towel Cherilyn was using to combat the ocean breeze. She hadn't even noticed this until that moment.
"Um, what's that?" pointed out Stacy. To their surprise, the dark tower was flashing a beam of light out into the ocean.
"It's Bloody Carrie!" yelled Vera. "We're all going to die!" This startled Alex, Mark, Riley, and Chimchar and the five of them began running around aimlessly and screaming wildly.
Addison was getting annoyed so she yelled, "It's not Bloody Carrie. Someone's probably doing maintenance.
"But Sergio said there is no way in," responded Cherilyn.
"Well how does he know that?"
"I've checked it out myself," he responded. "Aaron came with me too and the fences are actually pretty tall and there's no gate."
"That's probably because you're so short," teased Vera.
"We're the same height!"
"Someone could use a flying-type to fly over," reasoned Addison.
Sergio disproved her theory, "There isn't enough room for any flying-type big enough to carry an adult to land there. The fence is pretty close to the building."
"Well regardless, I do not think it is any of our business," said Stacy. "It is getting late. We should go back to campus so we are not late for curfew."
"Ya, dat sounds like a good idea. We should start packing up."
As the group gathered and put away their supplies, Alex approached Cherilyn and said, "Hey, pretty dumb story, huh?"
She rolled up her towel and responded, "It was definitely an entertaining one."
"Right, right. You know, I wasn't scared or anything. I was just behind you to make sure no one tried to scare you or anything. Usually when someone tells a story like that, someone else comes up from behind one of the unsuspecting suckers."
Cherilyn finished closing her handbag and said, "Well then, I appreciate the heroism." She gave him a smile and he could see the reflection of the swaying flames in her metallic eyes. He was left looking after her as she walked off with her friends.
As the quartet walked, Addison remarked, "Well that was a lame attempt to try and pick you up. You don't actually buy that he wasn't scared, right?"
The blonde giggled, "Of course not, but there's no harm in humoring him, right? Besides, he's a very nice guy."
Mark and Kari walked side-by-side when the brunette said, "You were awfully brave during the story. I thought you hated scary movies and scary stories and all that jazz."
"Are you kidding me, I need to change my pants," he joked, getting her erupt into laughter. She pushed him playfully and he came back to push her back.
"I hope a ghost-type comes and takes you in your sleep."
"I hope it takes Alex instead."
"I'd give anything for it to take Kirsty."
"Oh yeah, how's that going?"
"I'm living with the Giritina incarnate, how do you think?"
No, you've got Darkrai to deal with because she haunts you but I've got the real Giritina incarnate because I'm the one living in his Distortion World.
Special thanks to:
DJTiki for Stacy Ivoran
callofduty1994 for Addison Elizabeth Bryant
Limeade Space Doritos for Vera Blake
I hope you guys are all enjoying Aaron's accent and the way I write it because that is definitely the hardest part about writing his character. I can't have him say "the" or "that," he has to say "de" or "dat." I have fun writing him though because of his personality.
I can already see the wheels turning in all of your heads after reading what was discussed in this chapter. Also, you may now begin shipping couples because you're all going to anyway. Now like I said in the last chapter, if you could not review the revised Chapter 2, feel free to review both it and Chapter 3 at the same time. If you don't have much to say about the revision and you want to talk about just Chapter 3, that's perfectly fine too.
QOTD: Favorite generation of games and why. I'll answer this question myself at the beginning of next chapter.
I hope you all enjoyed it and I'll see you all next time! Legacy, out!