Deep dark clouds filled with thunder crashed by the minute. The earthy soil had completely turned to mud, and many large puddles formed on the flat land. It was a heavy thunderstorm that came crashing down on Hibiki, Aiden and Wendy. They ran towards a small building in the distance. From afar the building was only one story tall, with green tiled walls. Looking at the front it had two small windows with a purple door sandwiched between them. A dim flickering light came through the windows, and atop of the house were small puffs of smoke.

"C'mon guys! Just a little bit more!" Wendy yelled.

The three of them had finally made it to the house, their lungs were burning. Wendy could barely get a single exhale out as she was simply gasping for air. Hibiki's head was spinning, and Aiden was on the verge of throwing up. Their clothes were heavy, and being this soaked, everyone of them felt cold to the touch.

They leaned against the walls of the tiny house. They were able to gain a small amount of cover thanks to the slight overhang. It was clear to all of them that this was probably their only chance of staying dry. They needed to ask whoever was home to let them stay for the night. Wendy tried to get a few words out, but she too deprived of oxygen to speak, and Hibiki was clearly still extremely dizzy. It didn't help that it was basically nearing mid night and the rain had caught them in their sleep. Aiden was the only one who could really do much of anything, he could still talk, but he was still extremely out of breath. Either way he mustered up the courage to knock on the door.

It wasn't long until the door opened up to reveal a tall man who messy dark navy blue hair. His eyes were a dull jade, but more importantly he was very well built. He had strong broad shoulders and arms that were the size of tree trunks. His skin was quite tanned, and he had a very friendly aura with the soft smile he emitted. His clothing entirely consisted of a dirty blue plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Underneath was a white shirt with dirt smeared at the sides, he wore some torn up farmers pants and had a blue bandana around his neck.

"My goodness, if it ain't Wendy, Hibiki and Aiden. It's been so long since I seen you folks."

The three of them looked up at the man talking to them in confusion. Aiden in an exhausted breath said. "Huff... I don't mean to be rude, but have we met?"

It was as if a switch had flicked inside of this strange man's head. "By golly, it has been so long since I got visitors... sorry your names kinda just came to me. The name's Donn— I mean Daniel. It's a real heck of a storm out there! Reminds me of somethin that happened way back. So what brings y'all to my humble home?"

Wendy placed both of her hands on her knees finally recovering just enough to speak. "Hey look here buddy! It's pouring outside, we were wondering if you could let us stay at your house up until the rain let up."

Daniel scratched the back of his head. "Ya see, this home ain't gonna fit much for more than one person. But I do have a few sheds in the back if you'd be alright with usin em. They ain't much for comfort, but they're warm and dry. I'll let you use the largest of em."

Daniel walked back into the house and grabbed a handheld lamp giving it to the three of them. "There that oughta keep ya warm. Sorry but I can't have you three lightin a flame in the shed."

The three of them all thanked Daniel for the kindness he extended out to them. They reached the sheds. They soon spotted largest one, it was more like a barn than a shed it was made out of a dark wood, and the outside of it was fenced off with a small pond off to the side. There was a large silo off to the left of it. They slowly opened up the door and noticed that it was completely empty, it was very dark in there, but they eventually lit some of the lamps that were already in there using the oil and heat from the lamp Daniel gave them.

Once the inside of the shed was they had gotten the lighting to reach dimly lit room. Across the ground were bundles of hay, and tiny pieces of grass. Oddly it was much warmer inside the actual shed than it was outside, and there was a some what rustic scent that filled the room. When all of them had finally calmed down and settled into their temporary home both Wendy and Hibiki had one thought running across their mind.

Hibiki yelled out. "Is it just me or does that guy seem like an older version of the Berry Grove Gym Leader?!"

Wendy smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "Ok thank goodness! I didn't want to say it, but he reminds me of Donny so much!"

Meanwhile all of their pokemon were getting settled in the straw hay mixture that was scattered throughout the shed. Both Pikachu, Riolu and Laura all seemed very accustomed to sleeping on hay while Kei and Rei were quite uncomfortable. Rei ended up sleeping beside Hibiki instead and Kei stayed in his pokeball for the night.

Aiden was preparing the sleeping bags for his traveling companions, when he noticed that there was a ruffling in the straw over to his left. Being slightly curious of what was going on he decided take a quick peek. There were multiple thoughts going through his head, but the main one was. *This is probably just my imagination, but it couldn't hurt to check*

He slowly peered over the straw and saw a pokemon that was well known throughout the world. It had short stubby legs and two large ears. It was covered in hazelnut brown fur with a sort of peachy coloured mane.

The tiny pokemon looked at him and shivered trying to hide itself further in the straw. Aiden smiled and simply saw how cute it was. He understood this tiny pokemon, and he knew what it feels like to be shy and worried about everything. He reached into his pocket pulling out a small berry and placing it on the straw.

The tiny pokemon poked its head out and dragged the berry right into its make shift burrow. Aiden smiled and reached out his hand. "Hey don't worry there little guy, I'm not gonna to hurt you."

The pokemon once again poked out its head into the light. This time Aiden got some good eye to eye contact with it. It slowly shuffled its way out and placed its soft cheek in the palm of Aiden's hand. Both of them were comforted by the warmth they had shared in that tiny moment.

"You're really small for an eevee." Aiden was shocked by how cold eevee was, he picked it up and held it in his arms gently rubbing the top of its head.

Eevee cooed in delight and snuggled deeper into Aiden's arms letting out soft breaths as it began to slowly calm down. Hibiki and Wendy soon caught on that Aiden was holding an eevee in his arms.

Hibiki walked up to him. "Wow he's so tiny! I can't believe a pokemon like an eevee would be back here. It might be Daniel's."

Wendy took a closer look at eevee. Upon closer inspection she saw the eevee had collar around its neck. The collar itself was made out of red silk. The silk shined in the dim light provided by the many lamps. Tied onto the collar was a tag that she recognized very well. "Aiden, this is a registration chip. It's used by breeders to keep track of the large litters they usually have. I would know both Pikachu and Riolu used to have them."

Everyone had spent the next few hours either falling asleep or getting ready for bed. Aiden on the other hand stayed up to pet, groom and feed the eevee. Despite eevee not being his pokemon he still felt like giving it a nickname.

"Hey Eevee, I'm going to sound like an old professor, but are you a boy or a girl?"

Eevee tiled its head and started barking out its name over and over again. Of course Aiden didn't understand a word it said so instead he pulled out his wallet showing the tiny pokemon a few pictures. One of the pictures was a young man who to Aiden was an older brother, the other picture was a young maiden whom happened to be his sister.

"Eevee this guy in the picture is my older brother Roy, and the girl is my younger sister Cheryl. So just point to the picture to show which gender you share with either one."

Eevee placed its paw Cheryl's picture. It looked up to Aiden and smiled. She soon found it nice to lean her body up against his hand, just feeling the warmth of his hand was more than enough to make her feel safe.

Aiden looked behind him to see that both Wendy and Hibiki were now completely asleep. As he was grooming Eevee his head turned towards the sound of a creaking shed door. It was simply Daniel holding a bowl of food. He was soaking wet from the rain, but it seemed like he didn't mind it one bit.

"Oh sorry did I wake ya?" Daniel said.

Aiden rubbed the back of his head, and in response eevee cried and whined that the comforting hand had stopped petting her. "Nah... not at all. I've actually been awake all night just taking care of this eevee here."

"Aw shucks well ain't that adorable. I brought her food as usual, I honestly didn't expect all of you guys to pick the shed with the last eevee I had. You two seem to have a special bond. I guess I should really introduce myself then." Daniel said.

Daniel sat down on some straw in front of Aiden. He placed the food off to the side which eevee completely ignored. "So I guess if it ain't obvious. I'm a pokemon breeder, I specialize in breeding normal type pokemon, and this eevee here happens to be the last one. In truth I was thinking about humanely putting her to sleep, tomorrow. She is the runt of her litter. Her legs are stubby and her coat isn't nearly as shiny as it needs to be, and unfortunately trainers don't want to buy a defective pokemon. Although after seeing her bond with you... I'd be willing to offer her for a fraction of what I'd sell her brothers and sisters."

Aiden looked Daniel in the eye. "Wait hold on! You plan on killing her off? Why she seems perfectly fine to me! Of course I'll buy her! Every pokemon deserves the chance to live!"

Daniel smiled. "She'll cost $590."

Aiden stood up. "I-I... I can't afford that!" Thoughts were racing through Aiden's mind on ways he could scrape up that amount of cash. In the end he knew there wasn't a single way that he alone could come up with that amount of money.

Daniel stood up stretching his arms. "Tell me this kid. Are ya one of dem pokemon trainers by any chance?"

Aiden regretfully nodded. He clenched onto Kei's pokeball and stared Daniel in the eye.

"Tell ya what, if you can impress me in a pokemon battle I'll give ya eevee for free. I'm also a trainer in uh... training myself. I do love the thrill of battle. What do you say if I win I keep eevee, and if you manage to impress me you get eevee free of charge, no strings attached."

Aiden clenched his fists. "Challenge accepted!"

Aiden stood on an open grass field as the thunder storm was brewing in its final phases. Puddles were scattered across the grass, and all around him he could hear the crashing sound of thunder. Before him was a tall and mighty ursaring, it had broad shoulders and some mighty fangs. Despite the rain its mere presence and stench reeked of death.

Aiden had already briefed Kei on the situation, and the tiny black bird flew in front of his trainer with great confidence, despite the gusts of wind coming from every direction. Aiden was nervous, and his breaths were short. Memories of his past were racing through his mind, and doubt began to set in his heart.

What if I lose, what if Kei gets injured. I can't live up to everyone's expectations. I can't live up to what Kei wants me to be. I'm a bad trainer I know it. Why did I even accept this challenge. This was a bad idea. I'm so so so screwed! I'm so screwed! I'm so...

Out of nowhere Kei let out a powerful screech that echoed through the entire battlefield. He looked his trainer in the eye, as if he was saying everything will be alright, I trust you so please trust me

Aiden took in a deep breath. He was scared beyond belief, but there was a burning passion within his heart telling him to fight. Despite how scared he was, despite how nervous he felt, despite how weak he knew he was. This was a battle worth fighting.

Once Daniel had recognized that Aiden was ready he yelled out. "Alright kid you make the first move!"

Aiden nodded. Taking in one more breath he yelled "Kei, let's start this off with shadow ball!"

Kei spread his wings and shot up high up into the sky. He loved the feeling of the wind rushing past his wings, and when he reached the peak of his flight dark shadowy energy began to flow in and around his wings.

There was a loud whisking sound as Kei was flying towards Ursaring. Around his wings there were orbs of shadowy energy, and as Kei flew by he threw everything he had at Ursaring.

Ursaring simply stood there without worry and as anyone who would expect the attack simply phased right through Ursaring. The mighty pokemon laughed mockingly at Kei as Aiden quickly realized his mistake. Ursaring stood there waiting to see what Kei would do, but despite how silly he thought that shadow ball was, he still remained high on guard.

Shit! I got too caught up already I used a move that would be useless against a normal type. Aiden collected himself. "Alright Kei, use aerial ace!"

Kei nodded and shot right back up into the air, this time with incredible speed. The water from the rain was whisked away by the force of his wings, as he came descending towards Ursaring.

"Humph useless attempt! Ursaring use fury swipes!" Daniel yelled.

As Kei came closer and closer Ursaring's body began to tense up. His claws were covered in a bright white light. When Kei had come in close for the strike he was instantly swatted away like a bug from Ursaring's attack. The claws had dug deep into Kei's torso as he was sent flying up into the sky. The attack stung with burning excruciating pain, but he looked back at Aiden who had been completely swept up in the fight.

"Kei, we're not giving up now! Use aerial ace again!" Aiden yelled.

Kei roared with passion diving towards Ursaring, but each time Kei dived in and tried to attack Ursaring would block each attempt. Each attack burned, each attack that Ursaring landed struck with the force of a freight train, each hit sounded like a gun shot being fired through the entire battlefield. Aiden told Kei that it wasn't time to give up, they needed to attack. Kei needed to attack, he wasn't a smart trainer, but he had a burning passion unlike anyone before.

"Kei, come on please keep on attack for me!" Aiden yelled.

Kei didn't stop charging in, not matter how many attacks Ursaring swatted him away with. No matter how much it hurt, and no matter how tired he was. Kei would not give up. His body was aching from the pain, but his heart was burning with the force of a volcano. He dived in once more, this time his wings glowed with an even bright light. Heat formed around Kei as the water surrounding him had soon began to evaporate.

Daniel and his partner were getting tired of this pointless endeavor. All these attacks and they knew Kei would soon give out it was only a matter of time.

"Ursaring let's finish this use hammer arm!" Daniel yelled.

As Kei closed in for the final hit Ursaring was reeling back his arm as it began to grow from the bulging muscles. It was only mere seconds but to Kei and Aiden the charge towards Ursaring felt like hours. They both knew that they were going to get hit by that hammer arm, but attacking was their only chance, the only chance that they could think of.

"Kei! Don't give up, no matter how many tries it takes! That's how we've always lived our lives!" Aiden yelled.

"Isn't it about time you give up Aiden! Ursaring use hammer arm with all your might!" Daniel yelled.

Ursaring screamed at the top of its lungs slamming Kei into the ground. The wind was knocked right out of Kei, and there was blood in his mouth. His entire body ached, but Aiden hadn't given up yet and neither would he. The two of them dug their feet into the ground and screamed at the top of their lungs.

"Kei there is a life on the line here! Daniel, I will save that life from you! I know you say that I should just give up, but I already know that! I've been hearing it all my life!" Aiden yelled.

Kei dug deep he pushed with its wings trying to escape the pressure of Ursaring. Ursaring laughed and pushed down on Kei even harder. Aiden clenched his fists and looked his opponent in the eye.

"I've lost all my life, and you telling me to give up is no different from everyone else! Right now... Right now... RIGHT NOW! IT'S NOT ABOUT GIVING UP OR LOSING. IT'S ABOUT ME TAKING YOU ON RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW!" Aiden yelled.

A cry from the shed could be heard. Out in the rain was a soaked eevee her eyes were filled with wonder at who Aiden was she cried out at the top of her lungs. "Eevee! Eevee! Eevee!"

Aiden smiled he was still scared of this fight. He was scared that Kei was going to lose, but it didn't matter he was going to win no matter what it took. It was as if both he and Kei had the exact same wavelength with each other. As Aiden believed strong in his heart that they were going to win he could see that Kei was pushing with all of his might, giving it 110%. When the two of them thought that they had succeeded in lifting up Ursaring's arm.

Ursaring dug his feet deep into the ground, he felt the strength of this tiny little bird pushing up his arm. He lifted his arm and slammed it back down on Kei. The hit had cracked the ground leaving large gashes in the earth itself. Laying in a crater was Kei completely out cold, Aiden fell to his knees in disappointment. He slammed his fist into the ground and could only think about how he lost that fight.

Daniel stood there completely stunned by Aiden's heart in the heat of battle. He felt that this would be the right trainer for eevee. After all the searching, he finally found the match for her, and he knew that this would be the same Aiden that would help in the final battle.

(-0-)

Author Notes: So tell me what you guys thought of the chapter! That's all I could really ask for, and just a special thanks to Lamanti—Gato and Xander46 for both submitting awesome characters!

Anyway see you guys in the next chapter!