Author's Notes: Its been a long time, hasn't it? RayTheZoroark here, and I must say, I can't remember when we last updated this fic (too lazy to check.) blazingalex is a little tied up at the moment (more like really tied up), so we decided that it'd probably be best if I handled this chapter whilst he got his shit together. That being said, I hope you enjoy this (extremely overdue) chapter.

Disclaimer: Neither blazingalex nor RayTheZoroark own Pokemon.

Chapter 28: Earth Shaking Confrontations

Ray's POV

"This will be a Two-on-Two battle between Clay, Mistralton City Gym Leader, and Ray, from Pallet Town!"

Clay stared across the field at me, his cowboy hat tilted slightly downwards, eyes narrowed as he surveyed me with interest.

"Your friend was strong," He commented, "I hope you are as well. Otherwise, you have no hope of winning. Go Krokorok!"

As he released the light brown crocodile with sunshades onto the battlefield, he looked at me expectantly. I nodded, and pulled out a pokeball of my own.

"All right, Aura! It's your turn!"

After I'd summoned her to the battlefield, the four of us stood, poised and ready, waiting for the signal.

"Begin!" The ref announced.

"Krokorok, use Bulldoze!" Clay commanded without hesitation.

"Aura, use Dragon Pulse!"

Sure enough, Aura launched a blue pulse straight at the incoming pokemon.

"Jump!" Clay ordered.

The Krokorok leaped upwards, barely clearing the pulse, and coming crashing down directly on top of Aura. She was knocked flying, barely able to right herself in time to hit the ground with minimal injury.

"Right, that didn't work..." I muttered.

Clay, however, wasn't going to give us time to rest.

"Now, Krokorok, use Crunch!"

Once again, the Krokorok charged forward, its teeth bared.

"Take it!" I ordered.

Aura raised her arm as the crocodile reached her. It clamped down onto her arm, causing her to wince.

I smirked. "Now, Aura Sphere!"

The Krokorok had nowhere to go, and thus was hit point blank by the pressurized sphere of energy. The Krokorok was torn away from Aura, sent back over to his own side of the battlefield. He slowly got to his feet, shaking slightly. He turned to face us, eyes narrowed.

"Bulldoze!"

Once again, The Krokorok charged, the ground shaking slightly with each step.

"Hold, on my signal!" I ordered.

The Krokorok got steadily closer, Aura watching, poised and ready to act. When the Krokorok was mere inches away, I ordered, "Bullet Punch!"

Aura immediately lunged forward, covering the space between her and the enemy faster than the eye could follow, sinking her fist into the Krokorok's stomach, stopping him in his tracks.

"Now, Aura Sphere!"

Due to the fact that all the air had been driven from the Krokorok's lungs, he didn't even see the attack coming. He was blasted back to Clay's feet. He didn't get back up.

Clay nodded as he recalled the fallen pokemon, looking once again at me, this time with a contemplating expression on his face.

"You definitely have your type match-ups down. Can't really figure you out, though. You seem to battle on the dangerous line between reckless and ingenious." He shook his head. "Regardless, we have a battle, and I'm not backing down just yet. Let's win this, Excadrill!"

And with that, he called out a rather large mole, two razor sharp, steel claws and drill prevalent on the dark brown pokemon's figure.

"You good to go, Aura?"

She turned to give me a nod, before turning her attention back to the fight.

"Excadrill, Use Metal Claw!"

The monstrous mole shortened the distance between him and Aura with surprising swiftness, his claws taking on an even deeper metallic sheen.

"Bullet Punch!" I ordered.

Aura shot forward, paws clenched, and swung at the incoming pokemon. The Excadrill swung as well, the two attacks colliding with a sound like two swords connecting. They exchanged blows for a few moments, then separated.

"Aura Sphere!"

"Dig!"

Just as the ball reached the large pokemon, it launched itself into the air. As it began to descend, its claws hooked together, and it began to spin. When it reached the ground, it went right through, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.

"Shit. Keep your wits about you, Aura!"

Aura nodded, her eyes scanning the arena, her muscles tense as she prepared to move at the slightest movement. Suddenly, the ground erupted beneath her, launching her into the air.

"Now, Excadrill, Drill Run!"

Still spinning, The Excadrill continued its relentless pursuit of Aura.

"Aura Sphere!"

Aura immediately fired off a blue ball, causing an explosion against the mole. This did little to deter the relentless pokemon for the moment, however, as the Excadrill reached Aura, colliding with her and sending her crashing out of the air.

"Aura!" I called, worried that she had gotten seriously injured. The Excadrill too fell to the ground, its injuries more prevalent now that it had stopped spinning. Aura slowly got to her feet, legs shaking as she struggled to support herself. Her eyes, however, burned with a fire I had not seen before.

"Finish it with Metal Claw!" I heard Clay order.

"Aura Sphere!"

Aura turned, launching a sphere wildly. It had the intended effect, however, as the Excadrill was forced to dodge to sphere, and thus was unable to connect with its move. Aura now stood in front of me, her stance slightly off, but I knew she wouldn't back down.

"Excadrill, use Drill Run!"

The mole pokemon charged forward as it began spinning, connecting its claws together. It turned onto its front, so its claws were now pointing towards Aura.

"Hold for my signal." I ordered once again.

The Excadrill came at her like a real drill, the front point spinning wildly, and I knew that if it connected, Aura would be down for the count.

"Wait for it...wait for it..."

When the Excadrill was mere feet away, I sprang into action.

"Rock Slide!"

Aura slamed a foot into the ground, causing large chunks of rock to raise from the ground. These she launched at the incoming drill. The first few simply shattered due to the spinning of the drill, but after a moment, the rocks swamped the pokemon, and it was buried.

"Now, finish it with Aura Sphere!"

Dutifully, Aura launched one last sphere at the pile of rocks, which the Excadrill was just digging itself out of. There was an explosion, and the Excadrill was knocked backwards into the wall, where it crumbled to the ground, fainted.

"Excadrill is unable to battle! The victory goes to Ray, of Pallet Town!"

Suddenly, I heard cheering, and turning, noticed that there was a small crowd of people in the stands, Alex among them.

Clay walked up to me, a grin plastered on his face.

"Well done!" He commended, clapping me on the shoulder. "You gave quite a show. As proof of your victory, I present you with the Mistralton City Badge!"

As I took the badge, there was another round of cheering from the crowd. I nodded to him, and pocketed the badge. Turning to the crowd, I waved my hand in gratitude, then left the battlefield.

Once I made it outside, I waited until Alex came out to begin the walk back to the pokemon center.

"Congratulations on the badge." He said as we began walking.

"Thanks," I replied, rubbing Aura's head, "but the real victor is Aura."

She smiled, then pressed up against me. "I know a way that you can thank me."

Alex coughed, and I shook my head.

"We're in company, Aura. You don't just say things like that!"

Alex laughed, and everyone else, including me, joined in shortly after. When we had calmed down, we once again continued on our way to the Pokémon Center.

"So, guess the next destination is the Flying gym." Alex said after a moment.

"Guess so. That'll take us through Chargestone Cave." I commented.

"In that case, I think I'll stop by the pokemart to stock up on supplies." Alex said.

"Okay, then I'll see you at the Pokemon Center."

"All right."

And with that, Alex headed down a different street, while Aura and I continued on our way to the center.

"I was being serious." Aura said after a moment.

"I know. That's just not something you say when we aren't alone."

"Speaking of sex, you haven't done anything with Shadow since you proposed."

"Technically, I haven't since I got her pregnant, but sure. I wanted to save it until after we got married. Problem is, I think we'll have to wait until we go back home. Mom would kill me if I didn't invite her."

I was interrupted by a cry of pain. My head jerked around, and in an alleyway to my right, I spotted a man standing over a figure, something clenched in his hand. It wasn't until he swung that I realized that it was a pipe. Immediately, I charged forward.

"You couldn't beat a sewaddle if it laid down in front of you!" The man was saying as I ran up. He swung the pipe once more, making the figure he was standing over cry out in pain again.

"Stop!" I growled as I reached him, tackling him away from the figure. The man pushed me away and got to his feet, glaring at me. I stood and planted myself in between the unknown figure and the man.

"Stand aside," The man growled.

"No," I said.

"Now."

"I already said no."

Fine then. First you, then the bitch!"

The guy charged me...only to let out a grunt and fall to the ground. Blinking, I realized that Aura was standing in front of me now, pulling her paw from the guy's gut.

"Thanks," I told her, then turned to observe the one he'd been beating.

The pokemon had yellow fur from its neck down to its waist. Its legs had black fur, and it had white fur on its face. Her tail was yellow, ending in red, with a stick in it. And for the first time since I could remember, I didn't recognize the pokemon.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Y-yes, I-I think so," She spoke timidly as she got shakily to her feet. She sported a bruise on her left arm, but otherwise seemed okay.

A cough from behind me drew my attention back to the guy, who was standing up slowly.

"Want some more?" I growled.

He stared at me angrily for a moment more, then threw a pokeball onto the ground.

"Fine, if you like her so much, keep the bitch. She's useless anyway." And with that, he ran away.

Picking up the pokeball, I turned to the pokemon.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is your species?" I asked.

She stared at me timidly, absently rubbing her bruised arm.

"B-braixen," she answered, shying away slightly when I took a step towards her.

"Sorry, I was just trying to hand you this." I held out the pokeball.

"You...you're letting me go?" She asked.

"Yeah, I don't see why not. You're not my pokemon, so..."

She looked at me strangely for a moment.

"Where are you going?" She asked after a moment.

"To the Pokémon Center."

"No...where are you going?"

"Oh. I plan on heading to the next town, and taking on the gym there."

"Could you..." She trailed off.

"What?"

"Could you take me with you?"

I blinked. "You want to come with me?"

"If I do, will you train me?"

"Sure, of course." I nodded. Dropping her ball on the ground, I stepped on it, and with a crack, it broke. Nodding at my work, I raised a pokeball of my own.

"I'd prefer to catch you myself."

End Notes: And That's a wrap. Once again, sorry for the wait, but we plan on picking it up from here. pm me or blazingalex if you want anything added to the story. RayTheZoroark Out!

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