Wendy felt the soft breeze of a ceiling fan, a familiar scent that was commonly known in every pokemon center across the region. Her belly and arm ached with a great amount of pain, around her she could hear three voices, two of them sounded familiar while the other wasn't. She slowly opened up her eyes to see nurse Joy, and right beside her was a young male whom she didn't know.

This young male had long messy auburn brunette hair. Just past his hair was a soft face, with a pair of bright blue eyes. Despite this he was lanky, skinny and not at all attractive. His clothes were beyond average, it was something that you'd expect a teenager to wear. Just a brown flannel, some black pants and white shoes. Around his shoulder was a travel pack, but that was about it.

Wendy soon noticed that her head was pounding, she raised her hand to her forehead. "Uhg... so who are you?"

As Wendy said those words someone she did recognize came into view. It was Hibiki holding her poochyena "Geez Wendy, what happened to you last night? Oh wait I guess I should probably introduce this guy." Hibiki pointed over to the young male who stood beside nurse Joy. "This is Aiden, we sorta ran into each other the other day, and we found you in awful shape last night."

Wendy sat up in her bed and looked down at both her arms. Her arms were covered in scratches, they were actually large gashes that had scabbed over. She ran her fingers along the skin of her stomach and felt those same scabbed over gashes. She tried to think of what happened the night before, but nothing specific came to mind, other than loud howling.

"Uh... I think I was picking flowers... I was uh training I think," Wendy stuttered.

Wendy soon noticed that Aiden was flipping through a book. "Wendy, by any chance are you uhm... a Yava born native?"

Wendy nodded in response. She didn't talk back mainly because she was getting water from nurse Joy.

Aiden let out a soft blush. "Do you perhaps know what kind of flowers you were picking. There's this legend in Yava that there are white zoroarks that attack those who take from the land. I didn't think they were real, but maybe one attacked you."

Wendy let out a soft chuckle. "Was probably attacked by a territorial Ursarang, they are common in this area. The white zoroark fairytale is just a dumb story to stop kids from ripping flowers out the ground. Yava is known for its silly, scary fairytales."

Aiden shook his head. "I don't think Yava's fairytales are silly at all! I actually find them quite fascinating. Even though they are just fairytales all of them if not most of them came from something that was once true."

After a bit of discussion between the three of them it was decided that they should walk around town. Aiden was sight seeing and Hibiki suggested that since Wendy was born in Yava she could provide the knowledge he so greatly sought for. Wendy agreed as she didn't really have anything better to do, while there was challenging the gym, she could do that at anytime. All though trying to remember what had happened last night puzzled her. With the scabbed over cuts on her arm she looked like she was some sort of self harming individual, but she normally did hide her arms with a red sweater, so in the end it didn't really matter.

Walking out of the room Wendy found herself in the pokemon center lobby, she was forced to pay for the fee as she knew quite well that her three days of free rest were up. In the pokemon center it was the usual scene, some trainers chilling in the lounge, while others were waiting to get their partners all healed up. This is when Wendy noticed that Aiden was excitedly flipping though a pamphlet with Hibiki, it was filled with information on the Aggron Festival that was being held in the town later tonight.

"Uh... Wendy, I have a question, do you by any chance know why you guys have a festival entirely dedicated to Aggrons?" Aiden asked.

Wendy kind of just smiled in response and let out an awkward laugh. "If I'm being completely honest... I have no clue why. It's just tradition, I think I went with my friend once when we were little. It's very similar to festivals that you'd find in Kanto or Johto. There's dancing, food, fireworks, and Aggron themed goodies."

Hibiki quickly tightened her fists. "Oh my gosh! Guys we have to go! Look down there at the bottom, it says the special guest of the night will be The Fighting Type master of the Elite Four! I don't care if they ignore us we have to meet them!"

Wendy sort of looked at both Aiden and Hibiki with an awkward smile. "Yeah... sure it'd be nice to see him again." Wendy mumbled her voice and said to herself. "Not like he's a narcissistic asshole."

Aiden looked at both girls. "I'm alright with going if both of you are."

Wendy put both her hands behind her back. "It's not like I have anything better to do. Plus I've been looking to makes some new friends!"

Hibiki just smiled and grabbed both of Aiden and Wendy's wrists and pulled them out of the door. It was just the three of them to tear up the town, and it now just the three of them to get to know each other. It was still nearing noon and the festival wouldn't happen until later in the day, so it was just a calming walk through Berry Grove Town.

"So Wendy, you have a Riolu and a Pikachu. Seriously how did you get them? Those pokemon are so hard to find in the wild pretty much everywhere in the world," Hibiki asked.

Wendy let out a nervous blush. "Embarrassingly enough, I got them from separate breeders. Pikachu was bred for above average speed and above average physical strength, while my Riolu was bred for personality. In the end Pikachu has managed to carry me through all the gyms while Riolu is kinda just there on the team. So how did you two get your pokemon?"

Hibiki sort of smiled. "It's a long story, but basically what happened was that I found Rei in pretty bad shape. I helped to nurse him back to health, but when I tried to release him back to the wild he kinda just stayed with me. I'd love to share more... but I'm scared that I'll bore you to death."

Aiden rubbed the back of his head. "Well the thing is, I have a little Murkrow named Kei. I was given him to be a sort of practice pokemon. My parents did this to help me well get practice with a real pokemon before getting me an actual starter. During this time Kei and I really grew close and I wanted to keep him. Long story short he's my partner now and nothing will change that. Although Wendy, if you got both Pikachu and Riolu from a breeder, how much did it cost you?"

Wendy let out a nervous wheeze. "So the thing is I only had to pay about 10% of the original price, my friend actually paid the rest for me. I'm still really embarrassed about it, as I practically begged him to buy me my team, and set me up with his personal breeder. Even though I paid only about 10% of what it should have cost, it was basically a fortune."

Hibiki sort of just smiled but asked. "So any reason you haven't nicknamed Pikachu or Riolu?"

Aiden butted in on the conversation. "I was wondering that as well, most people our generation end up giving nicknames to their pokemon."

Wendy put her hands behind her back. "Geez both of you really ask the tough questions. The thing is I haven't really thought about it. I might do it in the future, but as of right now I'll keep calling my pokemon by their species name. Although I did think about giving Pikachu the name Sparky and Ken for Riolu."

As the group walked through the town Aiden was looking forward to seeing all the religious shrines, and historical monuments. Hibiki really wanted to see what Berry Grove Town could offer her in the terms of poetry, photography and just overall get her creative juices flowing. Wendy was mainly sticking around for some friendly conversation.

Wendy took notice at just how curious the two of them were. To her it seemed strange, but it was probably normal to people who weren't native to the region. After all when you're in a town like Berry Grove. Its a mix of modern technology, but it tended to lean more towards the traditional side of Yava. While the town had its pokemon center and a pokemart the main source of trainer goods still came from the locals trying to make a living. The town itself didn't really have any sort of large apartment complex, but more of just small homes dotted throughout the town. As for entertainment, you wouldn't find an arcade in the town, you'd usually end up seeing kids climbing trees, playing in the river, or playing around with their parent's pokemon. Of course the town had its share of dangers like the iron rich river beds, the surrounding forests and the massive water wheels that generated energy for the town from the series of rivers and canals running through the town.

"Look I know it says here on the map that ordinary people should stay away from the iron rich river beds... but c'mon we have to go! It is probably a sight to see!" Hibiki suggested.

Aiden rubbed the back of his head. "I wouldn't mind seeing it... Hibiki if you want to go then we should go... but Wendy, what do you think about it? You want to see them?"

Wendy didn't care that it was dangerous she had pikachu with her. Hibiki was more than a competent trainer. So everything seemed fine. "Yeah sure!"

When the three of them made it to what Berry Grove called Magnetic Beach everyone was surprised to see the sand. The sand had a light grey colour to it, everyone expected to see red sand, as normally that's what iron was in their heads. Walking down onto the sand and picking it up, it was a very fine black sand with tiny white stones mixed in. Near the water there were a few Lairons with some baby Aron. They were happily eating the sand, only shooting a few glances towards the group. There were also a few other people further down the river bank, some were even having a few battles, and this was pumping Wendy up.

"Hey guys! There are trainers down there! I want some free cash!" Wendy said.

"Alright sure!" Hibiki yelled.

Aiden nervously laughed. "I'll just watch."

Wendy excitedly ran down to where the battles were being held. She saw a girl who was probably the same age as her, but then again everyone around her age looked like they were either 13 or 18. She looked sort of boyish, lean, black hair in a pixie cut. Taking a closer look she had pale skin, and large brown eyes. Her clothing was a light gray short sleeve collared button up blouse, a dark purple pinstripe vest with a black pocket watch, black skinny jeans, and black flats.

She walked up to the girl and introduced herself. "Hey are you accepting battles?"

The girl let out a soft smile, but in a cold voice said. "You better be strong, I'm looking for a good opponent. Planning on getting my fourth badge from the gym leader."

Wendy liked this girl's spirit. "Don't worry I can hold my own, let's make this a one on one fight."

"The name is Naoki Morita, and I accept your challenge," Naoki said.

The two of them got set up in an open area by the side of the water. Aiden had offered to be the referee to the fight. Both Wendy and Naoki agreed to the terms that Aiden had set, and both of them were getting pumped to start this fight. Wendy hadn't had a good battle for a while and she was growing in excitement.

Wendy clenched the pokeball in her hand and tossed it out into the field. "Pikachu! Come on out!"

Pikachu formed from the beam of light that came out from the pokeball. Like usual sparks of electricity radiated out from his body, he had a deep stare that showed a soul forged from battle. To Wendy's surprise Naoki didn't look fazed one bit, normally people native to Yava would be shocked to see a Pikachu.

Naoki put two fingers in her mouth and from the sound it was a loud whistle. As she let out the whistle there was a rustle through the leaves and air in the surrounding forest. In front of Pikachu formed what appeared to be dark energy forming into a sort of orb. This orb soon grew arms and in between the arm formed a bright purple flame, until a Lampent had finally made itself known.

Naoki smiled at her opponent. "Well, you're more than welcome to make the first move!"

Wendy smiled back. "Alright! Pikachu let's start this off with Thunder Punch!"

Pikachu clenched his fists as electricity formed around his body. He lunged towards his opponent, and unleashed a fury of punches. He was extremely fast, but Lampent was quite agile. A few of his punches landed but there was the occasional dodge here and there. With each committing punch Lampent slowly started to adapt, but had to float back to its trainer.

"Don't let it escape Pikachu! Keep on that!" Wendy yelled.

Pikachu grunted in response and dashed further towards Lampent. This time was different, while a few punches landed, it seemed that Lampent was getting used to Pikachu's speed. It was skillfully dodging almost every punch, and occasionally deflecting a few of the hits with its arms.

"Pikachu! That Lampent is starting to get used to your speed! Use agility and thunder punch!" Wendy yelled. She quickly glanced at Naoki who just smiled, despite the fact that she was clearly at a disadvantage.

Pikachu was fazing in and out of visibility, and only the sound of electricity interacting with the air could be heard rustling across the trees. Lampent calmly stood in place, but it did occasionally turn its head in the direction of the sound.

"Lapat! It doesn't matter how fast they are! Speed is only and advantage against directed attacks. Use nightshade, but explode the energy out in a dome!" Naoki yelled.

Lapat nodded, there was a dark mist that formed around his body. The air around him became incredibly wavy, he waited until the energy was at a critical point before unleashing it around the entire area. The blast of energy made a screeching screams as it exploded outwards. As the energy passed through Pikachu, he was quickly knocked to the ground from the sudden pain.

"Ah, no way! Pikachu are you alright!" Wendy yelled.

Pikachu clenched his fist and dug it into the ground twisting his arm. He pushed himself up and brushed the dust off of his arms. He looked frustrated as if he thought that nightshade was a cheap shot, like that Lapat didn't deserve to land that hit.

"Lapat, that pikachu is going to be too mobile to land a finishing hit! So use will-o-wisp variation two!" Naoki yelled.

Upon hearing will-o-wisp Wendy got into defense mode. "Pikachu get ready to dodge! If we try to attack that Lampet head on while it's using will-o-wisp you'll get burned for sure!"

Lapat flew high up into the air, and formed multiple purple orbs around his arms. He fired them down at the ground all over the field. Pikachu looked up at the sky and only saw fire. His body was surrounded by a bright white light. He used agility to its maximum, and tried his best to quickly move out of the way. Once the constant rain down had finished Pikachu was completely untouched, all that remained was a field with dim purple orbs dotted around the area.

Pikachu let out a cocky laugh while Wendy boasted, "That was flashy, but it seems like your plans failed!"

"We're not finished! Lapat use astonish! Let's finish this fight!" Naoki yelled.

Lapat flew towards Pikachu. His arms were surrounded by ghostly energy, as he got in close he quickly threw out a right hook which was skillfully blocked by Pikachu's thunder punch. Lapat soon reached down onto the ground and picked up some dirt throwing it into Pikachu's face temporarily blinding him. He quickly spun around smacking pikachu with his arm. Pikachu was sent reeling back, but backed up into one of the purple orbs left by the will-o-wisp. As his foot made contact with the orb, the orb exploded with great force. Leaving Pikachu concealed by a smoke cloud.

"Pikachu!" Wendy yelled. She watched carefully as the smoke cleared to reveal Pikachu knocked completely out cold.

Lapat quickly flew over to his trainer's side and was pleased by the praise it was given. On the other hand Wendy slowly picked up her partner and returned it.

"Damn it... I thought we had that one," Wendy looked at her Naoki and walked up to her. "I guess it was a good fight."

Naoki looked at pikachu and placed a can of lemonade in its paws. "There that should help, Wendy was it? Just a tip, getting the fourth badge is usually what separates the amateurs from the pros. You were losing the moment you charged head on, simply increasing your speed and power makes you very predictable."

Naoki walked away leaving Wendy standing there clenching pikachu in her arms. She felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned her head only to be met eye to eye with Aiden and Hibiki. "I just don't understand, ever since the third badge... I've been on a bit of a losing streak."

Aiden placed his hand on Wendy's shoulder. "Wendy take it from a guy who knows what it's like to lose constantly. I'm not a strong battler, it's the probably the reason I've stopped trying to be a serious trainer all together. But you're so much better than I ever was, and there's probably so much room to grow. You really only have two pokemon on your team, so it limits your options a bit, but don't worry I'm sure things will get better from here on out."

Hibiki grabbed Wendy and Aiden's wrist and placed her hand on top of both of theirs. "Look here guys we're a team. I know we just all started to get to know each other, but I don't think I've felt this way about other people in awhile. It's kinda dangerous out here what do you say, I think we should all travel as a group. We can all fill out our goals just the three of us! Doesn't it sound fun!"

Wendy sort of just smiled. "The last time I tried to travel alone I nearly died. It feels as if I've known both of you for a long time. I'm in if all of you are in!"

Aiden laughed. "It might not be so bad to have some friends for once, yeah I'm in. After all I'd love for Wendy here to tell me all about the Yava region."

All three of them raised their hands in the air and yelled out. "So you guys wanna eat?"

Author Notes: Sorry that this update took forever, truth is that pokemon was starting to lose interest, but I really wanted to continue the story. So I was caught in this long burnout cycle, but then I found the beauty that is fan made pokemon games. I've recently been playing Pokemon Rejuvenation, and Pokemon Reborn. Oh and don't you dare give me any sort of advice or story spoilers I want to figure out everything for myself! They have reignited my passion for this franchise, and I have so many flowing ideas now!

Let me know your thoughts and stuff, especially what you guys think about the OCs who were introduced in this chapter, down below I'll be putting my thoughts and opinions on the characters!

Aiden created by "artrt7900"

This is an amazing example of a character that fits into a traveling companion role. I love how complex you made him, and it really lets me build on his character to hopefully bring out those smaller hidden qualities he has. Amazing job!

Hibiki created by "Kenjispiritslasher"

Much like Aiden this character blew me out of the water. She has small complexities that I just love, and it makes her a perfect travel companion for the group. Her personality makes for some great chemistry, and overall I just really love the character.

Naoki created by "POMForever"

I'm not even sure you read this version of the story, but your character was perfect for being the rival of Wendy. Somewhat equal team strength, only being slightly better than Wendy. She's just awesome. Thank you for submitting such an awesome character!

Remember Character Submissions are still open! I've even received some awesome elite four members, and even some gym leaders. Ask if you want to add these kinds of characters. Anyway see you guys in the next chapter