Chapter 22: The Guardian of Route 110

Two days had gone by since the Slateport City Contest, but the trainers were still stuck in Slateport. Lyla had rushed Eevee to the Pokémon Center immediately when Nurse Joy returned from the contest that night, and Eevee had some pretty serious injuries from her battle with Ashton's Shiftry. Nurse Joy wanted to be sure that they were all healed before the trainers set off for Mauville City because there had been some rumors of some particularly vicious Pokémon who had claimed Route 110 as its territory. Route 110 was the only road to Mauville without a bike so Nurse Joy wasn't taking any chances. She insisted that Lyla leave Eevee at the Pokémon Center until she was well enough to be traveling. Lyla agreed without hesitation and spent those two days working on Skitty and Mudkip with Aiden and Eziray, although she wasn't exactly sure who she would be entering in her next contest, whenever that was. Who knew? Maybe she'd have a completely new addition to her team by then. But for now, it was time to pick up Eevee and hit the road. The three trainers gave Slateport one final goodbye and set off on Route 110.

"Quickly now," Lyla said as she hurried the other two along.

"Between the two of you, getting a full night's sleep on a semi-regular basis is becoming impossible. It's not like we have any place to be so why set off so bright and early?" Aiden asked with a yawn.

"No, Aiden. Lyla is absolutely right! We've spent much too much time in Slateport. We've got to get to Mauville on the double! My next gym badge awaits me," Eziray exclaimed.

"Forget about your badge, Ez," Lyla said, looking around anxiously. "I'm just trying to get us the hell out of dodge before Olivia notices we've left!"

"Mud!" Mudkip whined.

"Where did you come from? Get back in your ball!"

"Kiiiiiip!" he whined even louder and more obnoxiously, running out in front of her to block her path.

"Whaaaaat?" she asked, in the same whiny tone. "Oh wait, I know what you want. Are you still buggin' me about that? I still need to think about it, Mudkip…"

As they walked along, Mudkip stayed at Lyla's heels, quietly and obediently. It was probably the most peaceful walk they had ever taken with Mudkip because, if they hadn't known any better, they wouldn't have even noticed he was there. After a while Lyla started giggling and called him out on what he was trying to do.

"Alright, pretty impressive! But fifteen minutes of silence isn't going to sway me, buddy. I know it's your turn to compete in a contest. In fact, I would have loved to enter you back in Slateport. It's just that I'm not so sure that's a good idea. I mean you're definitely strong enough, but you're still a tad too wild for a contest," Lyla explained, trying as hard as she could to break it to him easily without hurting his feelings.

"Hey, I think you need to trust in him a little more," Aiden said. "I mean it looks like he really wants to make you proud. He understands when it's time to be serious. You should give him a chance."

"That little guy packs a lot of power, as well as personality. I think he'd fair well in a contest, Lyla," Eziray added.

"Alright," Lyla began.

"Mud!" Mudkip exclaimed, bouncing up and down with his face full of excitement.

"Hold on now, let me finish. I'll work with you as if I were going to enter you in the next contest, but you better shape up and behave like you were competing in one. Understand?"

Mudkip responded by brushing his entire body against her leg in gratitude. She couldn't help but set Skitty down so she could give the rascally little Mud Fish Pokémon a hug, and he just about knocked her over in the process. She stood up and carried him in her arms for a bit while Skitty bounced alongside them.

"Hey, Lyla, can I see your PokéNav for a minute?" Aiden asked as they walked along.

"Sure thing!" she exclaimed.

"I'm really glad you haven't decided to give up on contests," Eziray began. "I don't know much about them, but I do know that you've got all the pros talking about you. That's gotta mean something right?"

"Looks like she's this year's number one rookie coordinator," Aiden said as he concentrated on the device in his hands.

"Oh, stop it guys! Ashton just likes to gossip about everyone, obviously. I mean I haven't even won anything yet," Lyla replied.

"Well, you know what they say. The third time's a charm!" Eziray exclaimed.

"Hey, Ez!" Aiden began. "The Mauville City Gym Leader goes by the name Watson and he uses Electric-type Pokémon…I guess they're pretty abundant in this area."

"Electric-types, huh?" Lyla and Eziray said in unison as they thought deeply for a moment.

"I think an Electric-type would be a perfect addition to my little team of performers!" Lyla exclaimed, thinking back to her most recent contest. "Robin and Mareep gave me so much inspiration. I would love to compete with an Electric Pokémon in an upcoming contest!"

"Mud!" Mudkip objected, jumping out of her arms angrily.

"Don't worry! You're still next in line," Lyla assured.

She'd given him the right answer apparently because he hesitated and then swallowed the mouthful of water that he had prepared to blast her away with.

"I think...I'll use Speedy for sure…But I can't decide between Baby, Charo, and Gracie! I don't really have a disadvantage with any of them!" Eziray exclaimed in an attempt to plan out her gym battle.

"Are you going to challenge him today?" Lyla asked curiously.

"If I can…Aiden, how long is the walk to Mauville?"

"About two days," he replied, crushing her spirits.

"Are you kidding me?" Eziray replied.

"We've got to cross over those mountains up ahead. Luckily, there's a Pokémon Center just at the bottom. We could rest there for the night and then pick up again in the morning. If we're quick, we'll get there sometime after nightfall tomorrow," Aiden explained.

"Which means your gym battle's gotta wait until the next morning," Lyla concluded.

"At least it gives you time to pick out who you're going to battle with!" Aiden exclaimed with a chuckle.

"This sucks," Eziray muttered.

"Hey, come on now. Traveling's the best part of this adventure!" Lyla reasoned.

"I suppose you're right!"

It took several hours for the trainers to arrive at the foothills of the mountains that they had to cut through and they were pretty worn out as it was because they hadn't really hiked much since they had arrived in Rustboro City – it had all been smooth sailing from there, literally. The three took a break at the base of the mountain, wondering how on Earth they were going to make it over in one piece. It was all uphill now.

"I had no idea I was so out of shape," Eziray panted.

"I wasn't really in shape to begin with," Lyla added, taking out a water canteen.

"Come on, that was nothing," Aiden said with a grin.

"Uh oh…" Lyla murmured softly, tipping her canteen upside down.

"How are you not at all tired?" Eziray asked, sending out her Pokémon for a breather.

"Hey, guys? You'll never guess what I forgot to do…" Lyla trailed off.

"Can you pass me some of that water?" Eziray asked, paying no attention.

"Well, that's the thing. There is no water…"

"Are you serious? How are we going to get up over the mountain without water?" Eziray asked.

"Well, we do have Mudkip…"

"That's like drinking spit…"

"I'm sure there's a stream or something around here…Espeon, Combusken, come on out and find us one!" Aiden exclaimed, tossing two Pokéballs in the air.

Aiden slung the straps of the three canteens over Espeon's shoulder and she took off with Combusken in search of a water source to refill them. While the three trainers waited, Eziray gave more thought to who she would use in the next gym battle as Aiden fiddled with the PokéNav some more and Lyla brushed out Skitty's fur.

It didn't take long for Espeon and Combusken to find a large stream tucked away in the forest. Something didn't quite seem right to Espeon about the area, however, so she watched their surroundings carefully as Combusken filled the canteens.

"Combusken…" the Fire-type trailed off as he paused at the sound of a couple twigs snapping nearby.

"Yes, I heard that too. I think we should get back now. I have a strange feeling that something has its eye on us, and it certainly does not wish for us to be here…" Espeon communicated. "Come along."

As the two walked away, Espeon could have sworn she heard something growling. It didn't really scare her, but she knew that the two weren't welcomed there and she just wanted to be respectful of that. The two returned with the filled canteens and the trainers got ready to go again. As Eziray called her Pokémon back to their balls, Espeon warned Aiden about a Pokémon nearby who really didn't want to be disturbed. Aiden thanked her for the information and called her and Combusken back to their balls.

"Myaaa…" Skitty trailed off, perking her ears.

"Something wrong, Skitty?" Lyla asked.

Skitty shook her head. She hadn't heard anything too alarming. She only heard a little rustling sound nearby, but she decided to stay on the ground for a while in case they were being targeted by something. She even told Mudkip to stay on his guard as well.

"Stay close guys," Aiden said as they began to walk.

"Why, what's going on?" Lyla asked, convinced that something was up now.

"Espeon was getting some odd sensations about this area and I can't seem to shake that rumor Nurse Joy told us about. If there's some aggressive, territorial Pokémon on the loose then we should be careful not to upset it," Aiden explained.

"Great," Lyla said, looking around nervously as she got as close to the other two as she could.

She eventually loosened up and focused on hiking up the steep path along the mountain that they had to climb. She figured that whatever Espeon had sensed must have stayed behind because it would have attacked by now. Skitty wasn't convinced yet, however, and kept her ears alert. Every once in a while, she would hear a small pebble tumble down the mountainside and that was enough to keep her on edge. She was certain that they were being followed.

"Hey, we're getting pretty high," Lyla said, peering over the side mountain. "It's a good thing this trail is so wide. That'd be a nasty spill…"

Although it was tough hike, she was pretty proud of their progress. They had almost made it to the top in just over two hours. She suggested that they maybe stop once they got there so they could have lunch. It was around noon and they were all pretty hungry, so it was decided. Once they got to the top, they immediately spotted a group of large, flat boulders that were perfect for sitting on. The trainers set up bowls of food for their Pokémon on the ground and perched themselves on the rocks while they ate sandwiches and enjoyed the aerial view of Slateport City and the magnificent ocean beyond it.

"Mudkip, quit eating so fast or you're going to choke," Lyla warned as Eevee relocated her bowl so she could avoid the crumbs flying from Mudkip's mouth.

"KEH, KEH!" Mudkip coughed, trying to spit out the piece of food lodged in his throat.

"I told you so…"

"Hey, Ezzie?" Gracie began, looking up from her bowl.

"Sup, Gracie?" Eziray asked, looking down at the Ralts.

"I won't be sad if you don't pick me for your gym battle!"

"Aww, who says I wasn't planning on picking you?"

"I'm really proud of myself for helping you defeat Brawly, but I'll understand if it's someone else's turn now!"

"That's really sweet of you Gracie, but I just can't make up my mind!"

"Myaaa…" Skitty trailed off uneasily, looking over her shoulder.

"This is getting ridiculous," Lyla began, standing up on the rock. "Alright, if there's anyone following us, show yourself now!"

Everyone waited in silence for a moment as nothing happened. Then Lyla turned around, smiling.

"See? There's nothing there, Skitty. We've already passed through that Pokémon's territory, so we can all relax now. It has no reason to follow UUUUS–"

As Lyla was finishing her sentence, Mudkip jumped up and tackled her off of the rock. Before she had the chance to scold him, a jolt of electricity traveled passed them. It had been aimed at the spot where she had been standing.

"Eleee…" a green Pokémon trailed off as it leapt up and landed on the trail behind them, just near the edge of the mountain where they had hiked up. Eziray pointed her Pokédex at it curiously.

"Electrike, the Lightning Pokémon: Electrike stores electricity in its fur and uses it to simulate its muscles and heighten its reaction speed."

"Not exactly the prettiest Pokémon in the world, but it's kinda cute in its own way. I could definitely work with it!" Lyla exclaimed standing up.

"Hey, I know you're set on catching an Electric-type, but are you sure you want that one?" Aiden asked.

"He looks pretty mean…and hard to tame," Eziray added.

"He'll just have to learn to love me then!" Lyla exclaimed.

As if it wanted to shove that comment right back into her mouth, the Electrike snarled and sent some massive sparks her way. Luckily, Mudkip came to the rescue by blocking the attack. He took some pretty big damage from the sacrifice, however, and Lyla dropped to his side to see if he was okay.

"Mud," he grunted, standing up to face the enemy.

"Hey Mudkip, maybe you should sit this one out. As a Water-type, you're at a bit of a disadvantage here," Lyla insisted.

"KIP!" Mudkip uttered as he tried to blast the Electrike off the mountain with Water Gun.

The Electrike moved right out of the way with Quick Attack and charged forward at great speed, plowing Mudkip right over. The Mud Fish Pokémon bounced back up almost immediately and tried to slow it down with Ice Beam, but the Electrike was just too quick. This time it landed on Mudkip and dug its fangs in deep, giving him a painful jolt of Spark as it clamped on.

"Muuuud!" Mudkip cried out.

"Mudkip, return!" Lyla exclaimed, trying to return Mudkip to his ball. He wouldn't give up though and continued to fight the Electrike. "See? You won't even listen to me! How am I supposed to compete in a contest with you?"

She watched in horror as every single attack that Mudkip attempted missed and the Electrike fried Mudkip over and over again. Finally, with one final zap of Spark, Mudkip was down for good. Lyla hurried over and scooped him up, demanding to know why he never listened. Then the Electrike began to close in on them, growling viciously.

"Get ready, Charo!" Eziray exclaimed as her Charmander rose to take a turn with the Electrike.

Suddenly Skitty bounced out in front of them all and began to meow softly. Her meows became more and more melodic and soothing as multicolored sound waves began emitting from her mouth. The sound waves traveled forward, and the Electrike had become too relaxed to even want to avoid them. As soon as they hit, the wild Pokémon fell asleep instantly.

"Was that a new move, Skitty?" Lyla asked as Gracie rushed over to take a look at Mudkip.

"There's no time, Miss Lyla! You've got to get Mudkip some help!" the Psychic-type insisted.

"You're right," Lyla said, rushing down the trail that led to the other side of the mountain. As Aiden had mentioned before, there was supposed to be a Pokémon Center at the base.

"Lyla, don't run down the mountain!" Aiden shouted in an attempt to warn her.

As Lyla felt her momentum picking up, she realized that Aiden was right and she slowed down just enough to prevent herself from running right off the edge of the mountain. The trip down was definitely quicker than going up, but still not quick enough for Lyla. As soon as she made it to the Pokémon Center at the bottom, she practically busted the door down and insisted that Mudkip had to take priority over all the others. To her surprise, however, there were no other patients. Nurse Joy appeared to have been sitting there with nothing to do and the fact that she had a visitor seemed to be more surprising than the manner that Lyla had entered. As Nurse Joy took Mudkip into the back room, Aiden and Eziray came trailing in as well.

"That was fast," Lyla said.

"Boy, I'll say," Eziray said, breathing heavily. "I thought you said you were out of shape too!"

"How's Mudkip?" Aiden asked.

"I don't know, she took him into the back there and–"

"He's going to be just fine!" Nurse Joy announced as she walked into the room. "I see you ran into that pesky Electrike! No one's been able to take this route ever since he showed up. Everyone's just been renting bicycles and taking the bike path instead. I have no idea why he's been so territorial lately, but I'm surprised you three made it past him! No one else has. Especially since…"

"Since what?" Eziray asked.

"Well, I'm almost certain it was him but…a large group of boulders suddenly appeared between here and Mauville City just a week ago. I have no idea how he did it, but now no one can get through. You'll have to stay here until it gets cleared up I'm afraid."

"Are you kidding me? We can just clear it ourselves!" Eziray insisted.

"But why?" Lyla interrupted. "Why would it do that?"

"It's like he doesn't want anyone on this route. He must've put those boulders there so he could regulate the other side of the mountains and not have to worry about people coming through. It's just so strange…"

"I guess it doesn't matter that we made it here in record timing, we still gotta wait the night anyway," Lyla began before Eziray could even suggest that they should head off to break the boulders now. "Mudkip's gonna need a full night's rest."

"But that doesn't mean you should go off by yourself either," Aiden began before Eziray could suggest clearing up the boulders herself so they didn't have to waste time doing it the next day. "We don't need all your Pokémon in the emergency room too."

"Well hey, I'm sure it's nowhere near as powerful as Watson's Pokémon and I need the practice against Electric-types!" Eziray insisted.

"No offence, but I don't think any of your Pokémon possess the ability to move all those Rocks, Eziray. Gracie would get too tired out trying to move them telepathically because those things are heavy, and it would take Charo forever to cut through them all with Metal Claw," Lyla pointed out.

"Then how will we get through?"

"Well, Mudkip could freeze them solid which would make them easier to smash, and Aiden's Combusken can break some up with his Sky Uppercut," Lyla suggested.

"Who knows, maybe you'll capture that Electrike and we could get him to clear them the same way he moved them in the first place," Aiden suggested with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I was thinking about that and I think I'm going to hold off for now. I don't need any more high maintenance Pokémon," Lyla said, smiling awkwardly.

"Good idea," Eziray replied. "Hey, maybe I'll catch it! I could use another tough Pokémon on my team and I can handle anything!"

"Then you'd have five Pokémon to decide between for your next gym battle, knucklehead," Aiden said as he Nurse Joy led them to their room.

It was pretty tiny and crammed with two bunk beds and a dinky walkway. Fortunately, there was a closet next to the entrance for them to store their bags inside. After settling in a bit, the three helped Nurse Joy with some of her daily routines. She even gave Lyla some pointers about tending to an injured Pokémon for whenever a Pokémon Center wasn't nearby as she bandaged up Mudkip. For dinner, the three feasted on apples, cheese, bread and whatever other perishable things they found stashed away in their bags. Then they went to sleep fairly early because they were all so exhausted.

"How's Mudkip?" Eziray asked the next morning as Lyla walked into the room.

"He's A-Okay!" Lyla exclaimed, holding up his Pokéball. "I think I'll keep him in here in case we run into that Electrike again."

"Good idea," Eziray said as she packed away her toothbrush. "Alright, let's head out!"

"But Aiden's still sleeping…"

"Mya?" Skitty meowed, standing up on her hind legs so she could put her front paws up against the glass of the window.

"That's right, Skitty! We're going hiking again today!" Lyla exclaimed as the Kitten Pokémon sniffed around curiously.

Suddenly, the Electrike from the day before popped up from the other side and greeted them all with a vicious growl as Skitty scurried away in fear.

"Oh brother," Eziray said, crossing her arms.

"Not the brightest crayon in the box, are you?" Lyla asked as the Electric-type electrocuted the glass in an attempt to hurt them.

"Hey! Go away now, Electrike!" Eziray called, motioning her hand to shoo him away, only provoking him even more. "Come on! I just want to get to Mauville!"

As if the situation wasn't bad enough, Mudkip popped right out of his ball and sprinted out of the room towards the front entrance.

"Mudkip, NO!" Lyla shouted, grinding her teeth together in frustration.

"What's going on?" Aiden asked with a yawn and she bolted out after her rebellious little Water-type.

"Come on, Mudkip! Listen to your trainer. I don't want to spend all day at the Pokémon Center again!" Eziray called as she followed after them without answering Aiden.

"Kip!" Mudkip replied defiantly as he raced out the front door.

The Electrike turned as he noticed Mudkip exit the building. With a low growl, it charged forward, body outlined in white.

"That's Strength!" Eziray exclaimed.

"It must be how he moved those boulders," Aiden presumed, joining them outside.

"Mudkip, move!" Lyla demanded as Aiden sent out Combusken to assist the Mud Fish Pokemon.

"Mud!" the Pokémon exclaimed as his body suddenly began to glow.

"Mudkip?" Lyla called, a little surprised by the transformation that began to take place. "Oh my gosh, that's not Bide!"

Just as the glowing subsided, the newly evolved Marshtomp caught the incoming Electrike and tightly squeezed his arms around it so it couldn't move. Then he opened his mouth and blasted the Electric-type in the face with a thick jet of mud.

"Eeeeh!" the Electrike cried as it tumbled over itself a ways.

Then it stood, angrier than ever, and zapped the Mud Fish Pokémon with all its might. Marshtomp stood, grinning, not even fazed by the attack due to the fact that he was now part Ground-type.

"Yeah!" Lyla cheered.

"Maybe he knew he was getting ready to evolve and needed a strong opponent to push him over the edge," Aiden suggested. "Some Pokémon are like that."

"Marshtomp, use that mud thing again!"

"I believe that's called Mud Shot," Nurse Joy informed as she walked out to see what the commotion was about.

Marshtomp stepped backwards with one leg and then blasted the Electrike once more with Mud Shot. The Electrike knew it didn't stand a chance so it quickly fled when the move subsided.

"Yay, Marshtomp!" Lyla exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around her newly evolved Pokémon. "Wow, you're more than half my size now. That's gonna take some getting used too. I mean you, Eevee, and Skitty have been so teeniEEE!"

As Lyla spoke, Marshtomp hugged her back, squeezing her so hard that he about suffocated her. As she struggled to break free, he even lifted her from the ground slightly as he rubbed his face against her lovingly.

"Help," she squeaked as Aiden and Eziray burst out laughing.

"Well Marshtomp seems healthy," Nurse Joy began with a pleasant smile. "I guess he's fit to travel, especially since that Electrike won't be able to hurt him anymore."

"Thank you so much for everything, Nurse Joy!" Lyla exclaimed as soon as Marshtomp had set her down.

"It was my pleasure, really. I'm just happy that Marshtomp is going to be okay!"

The trainers thanked Nurse Joy once more, in unison, and then began trekking towards Mauville. Just as Nurse Joy had warned, they happened upon a row of large boulders blocking the route. The forest was way too thick off to the sides so there was really no way to just step around the obstacle. The trainers stood there and tried to figure out the best way to break through. They really only needed to destroy one boulder because that would create enough space for them to just slip by. Both Marshtomp and Combusken were still out of their Pokéballs so Lyla asked Marshtomp to freeze one of the boulders solid so Combusken could shatter it with Sky Uppercut. It worked, but the trainers quickly realized that there was more than just one row blocking their path. To conserve their Pokémon's energy, Lyla and Eziray decided to go take a look at just how many boulders they had to bust through.

"Here, here, sit on my shoulders," Lyla said, lowering her body.

"I could just…" Espeon trailed off as she and Aiden watched the spectacle.

"Yeah, but this is more entertaining," Aiden said, crossing his arms and chuckling.

"I can't reach it, lift me higher!"

"But I can't stand any taller! Hurry up, this is killing me!"

"I don't have a hold of anything!"

"Okay then get off, let's switch. Maybe you could lift me high-ER!"

"Maaarsh!" Marshtomp exclaimed as he picked Lyla up by the legs, giving Eziray just the boost she needed to grab onto the top of the boulder. Lyla gave her a quick shove with her hands and Eziray was up.

"Look at you!" Lyla exclaimed as Marshtomp held her. "You're such a gentleman now, I love it."

"Marsh…" he trailed off, deep in thought about something.

"Marshtomp?"

Marshtomp grinned and blasted her with Water Gun, shooting her into the air and right over the rock. There was a very delayed scream followed by a large thud, and Eziray jumped down to the other side to see if Lyla was okay.

"I TAKE BACK EVERY NICE THING I'VE EVER SAID ABOUT YOU!" Lyla shouted as Marshtomp put his hands to his mouth and snorted in amusement.

"Marshtomp, Combusken, c'mere. Alright, Espeon," Aiden began as he and the two bipedal Pokemon put a hand on the Psychic-type. "Let's show them the practical way. Use Telepor–"

"TRIKE!" the Electrike roared, suddenly charging at Aiden and the three Pokemon from out of nowhere once again.

"Marsh!" Marshtomp shouted, running forward to put the Electric-type in its place again.

"Wait a second," Aiden said, holding his hand out to stop Marshtomp. "I can tell that it isn't going to give up no matter how many times we beat it. Even if we manage to get to Mauville, this Electrike is just going to get in someone else's way. We need make sure this Pokémon doesn't bother anyone again."

"Marsh…" Marshtomp trailed off in agreement as the Electrike slowed and closed in on them.

"I do hope that you are not proposing what I think," Espeon said, taking an offensive stance to defend her trainer.

"AIDEN!" Lyla exclaimed. "Get over here, quick!"

"In a minute," he called back.

At the sound of Lyla's voice, the Electrike suddenly tensed up and charged in the direction of it, completely forgetting about Aiden.

"Combusken," Aiden's Fire-type clucked, strutting forward to block the Electrike's path.

"I don't know what you've got against us, but you'll have to get through Combusken to get to my friends," Aiden challenged.

The Electrike growled and began charging up a Spark attack, but Aiden gave a quick command to use Fire Spin, so the Lightning Pokémon was completely torched before it could even attack. It snarled in frustration and immediately followed up with another jolt of Spark that Combusken dodged with ease by flipping up out of the way. When he landed, Electrike charged forward with Strength.

"Sky Uppercut!" Aiden ordered as the Electrike neared.

Combusken's right fist began to glow and he swung it upwards into Electrike, knocking it up into the air as the punch sunk right into its gut. The Electrike let out a choking cry of pain and small sparks electricity danced around him, giving Combusken a slight jolt. It had just been some excess static that hadn't done any real damage, but it brought about a strange tingling sensation that seemed to restrict Combusken's movement.

"Hey, are you okay?" Aiden asked as sparks crackled across Combusken's body and the Electrike backed up to get a running start for its next attack.

"Some Electric-types like this Electrike release static from their bodies that can paralyze a Pokémon who touches it, Aiden," Espeon informed.

"I know that, but don't tell me…" Aiden trailed off as Combusken cringed.

"Here it comes…"

As Electrike charged forward with Strength once more, Combusken just stood there, completely motionless as his body continued to spark softly. The hit sent Combusken flying straight into one of the boulders, busting it into pieces.

"Come on Combusken, keep trying!" Aiden called as the Electrike closed in. "Try scorching it with another Fire Spin! I know you've got some movement left in ya!"

Combusken forced his mouth open and managed to keep Electrike away from him with a rather weak blast of Fire Spin. Electrike wasn't hit but it did have to dash away to avoid the attack, giving Combusken more time to try to regain his motor functions.

"Try a Sky Uppercut!" Aiden called.

Combusken managed a nod and struggled to draw his arm back. As he thrust it forward, he suddenly stopped it in midair as electricity sparked around it. Electrike charged forward and latched onto Combusken's cocked arm with his sharp fangs. Combusken cried out and tried his best to shake Electrike off, but he just couldn't do it. The wild Electrike finished off the Fire-type with a powerful jolt of Spark and released his Bite as Combusken fell to the ground.

"Combusken!" Aiden shouted. "I'm so sorry…"

"And just where might you be heading?" Espeon asked as the Electrike backed up and charged forward with Strength in order to move the rocks.

As Aiden called Combusken back to his ball, Espeon teleported and blocked Electrike's path. The Electric-type proceeded forward anyway so Espeon sighed and used Psychic to knock him off balance. He stood up growling and attempted to zap her with Spark, but she teleported once more.

"That was a very cruel thing that you did to Combusken," she said, appearing behind him.

"Trike…" he snarled.

She silenced him by lifting him off the ground with Psychic, slowly raising him into the air as he managed to squirm slightly.

"We have been trying our absolute best to be as respectful to you as possible. I am truly sorry for passing through your territory, but you must understand that it was something that had to be done. However, we did so in the most peaceful and quietest of manners. If you will not permit us to pass and continue to attack us like this, then I will have to get involved. I will not allow you to harm my trainer or his friends!" Espeon threatened as she suspended him. "Now let us be on our way!"

As she finished her short lecture, she swung her tail and released a flurry of bright stars that blasted Electrike back to the ground.

"Thanks, Espeon," Aiden said as he studied the motionless Pokémon for a moment.

"It will be up to you now," Espeon replied.

"I thought you were against me doing this," Aiden said, taking out an empty Pokéball.

"We will just have to keep him in check…" Espeon trailed off as her trainer hurled the ball at the fallen Electrike.

They both watched as it violently rocked back and forth. Espeon closed her eyes and frowned as the Pokéball busted back open and Electrike appeared and roared mightily.

"Between you and Combusken, he's taken some damage…but not enough I guess. Espeon, use Quick Attack!"

Espeon sprinted forward, as did Electrike, and the two collided with great force that did some damage on the both of them. They stared each other down aggressively in anticipation of the other's next move. Electrike went first, zapping Espeon with a Spark that she avoided by leaping back out of the way.

"Morning Sun!"

Although Espeon hadn't taken a considerable amount of damage from the Quick Attack collision, Aiden had a hunch that the idea of Espeon being vulnerable would lure the Electrike into coming at her. He was dead-on too. As the Electrike charged at Espeon with Strength, Aiden ordered her to use Psychic. She ceased her Morning Sun immediately and used Psychic to rip a medium sized tree from the ground and bat the Electrike away with one hit. He was forced back into another tree and collapsed at the base of it. Espeon gave him a quick Swift attack to be sure he was down this time.

"Alright, let's see if this one'll be enough for you," Aiden said, taking out a blue Pokéball with two red dashes along the top. "This one's a little stronger than an average Pokéball so hopefully you won't break out this time…"

He tossed the Great Ball at the wild Pokémon and he and Espeon watched in anticipation as the ball rocked side-to-side for quite a while.

"Finally," Aiden said, letting out a breath of air as soon as the glowing in the center of the ball subsided and the motion ceased.

"Not quite," Espeon said as the ball suddenly began rocking again.

"He's pretty stubborn," Aiden said as it rocked just a few more times.

"Did you get him?" Lyla asked excitedly as she perched herself up on one of the rocks.

"I think so," he said as the rocking stopped once more.

"Then get over here quick! You're missing it!" she exclaimed as she jumped down to the other side again.

"Missing what?" he asked himself as he picked up Electrike's ball and sent him out.

"Sorry to make you do something you don't wanna do, but you really need to let people pass through here. They've got places to be you know…"

Without saying anything, the Electrike turned and calmly walked over to the row of boulders. Then he used Strength to move a couple of them out of the way, revealing Lyla and Eziray sitting amongst a nesting site of eggs. These eggs came in either yellow and blue or yellow and red, and some had apparently hatched already because there was a small hoard of very tiny Plusle and Minun climbing all over the two trainers. The Electrike analyzed the situation for a moment and seemed to relax a bit, as if he was relieved about something.

"You were protecting these eggs, weren't you?" Aiden asked, as the Electrike sat down and a Minun hopped over and jumped on his face.

"Look, there's more hatching!" Lyla exclaimed as three more of the eggs began to glow brightly.

"I understand now…" Aiden thought to himself as he and the girls watched in admiration. "Even with the help of Psychic-types who can communicate like Espeon, it's not always easy to understand what a Pokémon is thinking. I think it's kind of funny how both Lyla and I are realizing this at the same time…I mean with what happened this morning. Marshtomp was being so stubborn because he was just trying to push himself into evolving. This Electrike has been so aggressive because he was just trying to protect some abandoned eggs. We as trainers need to start trying to read Pokémon better and consider what their motives are and how they're feeling. If only I had known, Electrike…We could have helped you come up with a better way to protect them."

As if the Electrike knew Aiden was thinking about him, he looked up at his new trainer obediently and they both somehow knew that they were going to get along just fine. Deep down, they both looked forward to battling alongside one another in the near future.

Author Notes:
I don't have much to say about this chapter other than that I hope you enjoyed it! Even though the eggs have safely hatched and Electrike would let people through now, Aiden doesn't release him because Electrike has decided that he's a good person and has accepted him as his trainer. That's sort of what was going on at the end there. Review if you liked it (or even if you didn't)!