New year, new chapter!

Sorry for taking so long. Just a few days after I put up the last chapter, I got a new job that required me to move almost 300 miles (or a little more than 480 kilometers for you metric system people). Naturally, this story had to take a back seat for a while, but I'm back at it now that I've settled in.

Let's get to it! This chapter we see our first trainer battle, and Hermione does Hermione things.

Chapter 3

My Silver Lining

"Hey, Stephanie," Harry said as they continued to march through Petalburg Woods.

"Hm?"

She hadn't spoken since catching the Murkrow, and still looked unsettled. Harry decided to try to snap her out of it.

"Why'd you choose to come here?" he asked. "Why not stay in your home region?"

"I want to see the world," she answered. "I love to travel. I've been to a lot of the cities in Unova, so I figured I'd start off somewhere else that I knew very little about. It makes for a much greater sense of adventure."

"And when you're finished in Hoenn, what do you plan to do?"

"If all goes well, the plan is to go back to Unova and enter the Pokemon World Tournament next year. Most of my class from trainer school is shooting for that."

"Are any of them here?"

Stephanie paused for a second before answering.

"Yeah. There are at least two more other than me and Marcus," she said. "Hopefully we don't run into them."

"Not on good terms?"

"With one of them, yeah," Stephanie answered. "The other…"

She started choking up.

"Sorry," she said. "I just can't talk about it right now."

"It's alright," Hermione said. "You don't need to tell us if you don't want to."

Harry decided to let it go.

A rustling noise from one of the trees in front of them stole his attention away, along with everyone else's.

"What do you think that was?" he asked.

"I'll check it out," said Stephanie. "Come with me, Lynx. Kuro, you stay back with them."

"Vee!" Kuro cried, as if protesting.

"Save it," Stephanie scolded her. "I'm not in the mood."

She walked up to the tree directly in front of them where the noises had stopped.

"Wands out?" Ron suggested, drawing his.

"Not a bad idea," Harry replied. He and Hermione did the same.

Something jumped down from the tree. It moved too fast for Harry to pick up. He only saw a black streak.

Stephanie let out a piercing scream and fell backwards.

"Eevee!"

Kuro charged toward her, with Harry, Ron and Hermione not far behind.

They didn't get there. Whatever had landed from the tree jumped over Stephanie and right into their path, allowing them to get a good look at it.

It was a creature resembling a cat or a weasel. It stood on two legs and was covered in black fur. It had three tail feathers on its back and another on its left ear.

Its red eyes locked onto Harry and the others. It drew sharp-looking claws from its paws, as if daring them to come closer.

"Okay, that's enough, Bandit," a female voice cut in. "We don't want to scare them too much."

"Sneasel!"

The cat-weasel creature sprinted back in the direction of the voice, which belonged to a blonde haired girl who looked to be about their age. She almost looked like she could be Draco Malfoy's twin sister.

"That thing is yours?" Ron asked.

"Of course he's mine," the girl shot back. "If he were a wild Sneasel, you all would have been torn to shreds by now."

"I think she's one of the people Stephanie was talking about," Hermione whispered to him.

"Kiara," Stephanie growled as she got back to her feet, her face red with embarrassment. "That was uncalled for."

"I couldn't resist," Kiara answered, amused. "You make it too easy, anyway."

More red was added to Stephanie's face. But Kiara still wasn't done.

"You really should get over that," she said. "Other trainers will hear about it and use it against you. You won't be able to get very far otherwise."

Stephanie growled again in frustration. Before she could say anything, Kiara shifted her attention back to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"I see you made a few friends," she said. "Kiara Bright's the name. You're all Psychics like her, I can see."

"Psychics?" Harry said, confused. "We're not Psychics, we're…"

He didn't finish. He wasn't going to try to explain their situation to her. Kiara didn't notice.

"Really?" she seemed surprised. "That's strange. You have similar Auras to hers."

She pointed to Harry.

"Yours is especially strong. I wonder what makes you special."

"Are you an Aura Guardian?" Hermione asked.

That had been information Stephanie had transferred to them earlier. Harry wondered how Hermione could sort through all of that in such a short time.

"Oh, no," Kiara said. "I may be good, but I can just sense Aura. I'm nowhere near that level."

She gestured to Stephanie.

"Her friend Marcus can do that too," she said. "But his sister is the real deal."

"Why are you here?" Stephanie asked. "You wouldn't go out of your way just to prank me like this."

"Funny you should ask," Kiara said. "I just challenged the Rustboro City Gym."

"You won and you've come to gloat?"

Stephanie seemed to be getting more annoyed every time Kiara spoke.

"Actually," Kiara said. "I got quite the ass kicking"

"Huh? You lost?"

"Afraid so," Kiara answered. "So I came back to the Woods to catch some new Pokemon and train. And since you happened to be around…"

Stephanie finished for her.

"You want to battle me?"

"You got it."

"I don't know if I have the time."

She looked over at Harry.

While he did want to get out of the Woods and meet up with Stephanie's friend as soon as possible, this was an opportunity to learn more about the world they were in.

"Go ahead, Stephanie," he said. "I have a feeling she won't leave us alone until you do."

"How many Pokemon are we using?" Stephanie asked.

"Just one each," Kiara answered. "I figured your team might have been worn down in the Woods."

"Got it."

They had exited Petalburg Woods and were now on the north side of Route 104. Kiara had suggested they battle in a less confined area, which Stephanie was grateful for.

"I'll get this started," Kiara said as she tossed a Poke Ball forward. "This is your fight, Marten!"

The Poke Ball opened with a burst of light, revealing a Mienfoo.

She has a Fighting-type on her and she still lost at the Gym, Stephanie thought. That could be trouble for me. But I'll worry about that later.

"Arrow, you're up!"

She sent out her Emolga. She figured he was rested enough by now.

"Arrow, take flight!"

"Emol!"

Arrow jumped onto Stephanie's shoulder, and leapt into the air to maximize his elevation. He began to circle around the opposing Mienfoo.

"Now, hit it with Spark!"

Arrow's body became surrounded with blue electricity, and he dove at his opponent.

But Marten was ready for it. He surrounded himself in a bubble of blue light.

Protect.

Arrow bounced harmlessly off the bubble and back upward.

The bubble dissipated. Marten began flexing his arms, and a red glow outlined his body.

He's using Bulk Up, Stephanie thought. He's well trained. Kiara doesn't even need to command him.

That wasn't a surprise. It was a strategy Kiara frequently employed in her battle simulations at school. Using Protect to scout her opponents' moves and then powering up before going on the offensive. She had obviously ingrained it into her Pokemon.

But Protect wasn't likely to work again if used too soon after the last time. And Stephanie saw an opportunity.

"You know what to do, Arrow!"

The Emolga shot a Thunder Wave at Marten. There was no time to block or dodge it.

Marten had strengthened its Attack and Defense, but the Thunder Wave left it Paralyzed and would restrict its movements.

Off to a good start. Now let's see what you can really do.

"Aerial Ace!"

Arrow's body began to glow white. He dove at Marten again, and this time he landed a direct hit. Arrow then did an abrupt turnaround and struck Marten a second time.

Marten started to wobble.

One more should finish it.

"Hit him again!"

Stephanie could barely contain her excitement as Arrow dove for another run. After all the trouble Kiara had given her back home, defeating her in their first battle felt immensely satisfying.

Until…

"Façade!"

Oh, no!

"Bail out, Arrow!" Stephanie called out in panic as. "Pull up! Pull up!"

Too late. Arrow was too far into his descent.

A yellow glow surrounded Marten, and he delivered a swift kick to Arrow when he was close enough.

Arrow was knocked back near Stephanie. He tried to get back up to no avail.

"Easy," Stephanie said as she pat Arrow on the back. "Don't push yourself too hard. You did great. I just screwed up."

She recalled Arrow back to his Poke Ball before turning to face Kiara, who had already approached her.

This was going to be painful. Having a win snatched away from her when it was so close like this was never easy to stomach. It was even worse for it to happen against Kiara.

She shook her head. She still needed to be a good sport about it.

"Congratulations," she said as they shook hands. Her voice still sounded hollow.

"So what did you do wrong?"

"What?" She was not expecting that.

"You said you screwed up," Kiara said. "How?"

"I, uh…I don't know."

"Because you didn't. You probably would have had me on the first Aerial Ace if Marten hadn't used Bulk Up. You made the right decisions. I gambled, and it paid off. Give yourself a little credit."

Stephanie poked Kiara in the shoulder.

"Uh…"

She did it again.

"Sorry," Stephanie said. "Just making sure you're the real Kiara. You've never been this friendly."

Kiara laughed.

"That was interesting," Harry said as Stephanie and Kiara walked back to them.

Ron was a bit more impressed.

"It was almost like a wizard's duel," he said. "Except no one died."

Hermione didn't say anything. Instead she was staring intently at Kiara's Sneasel.

"I wonder," Harry heard her whisper as she ran her hand over where the Horcux hung around her neck.

"So," Stephanie said to Kiara once they were all back together. "Aside from the Gym loss, how are things going for you in the region? Any captures so far?"

"Just one," Kiara replied. "I caught a Zigzagoon just after arriving. It's been tough going ever since. That's part of the reason why I lost. Limited encounters means fewer training opportunities."

Stephanie nodded.

"Yeah, it's been tough for me, too," she said. "I haven't caught anything yet, either."

"But you just caught that Murkrow," Harry said. He didn't understand how she could have forgotten that ordeal already.

"Hold on," Kiara said. "Say that again. I want to make sure I heard that right."

"Stephanie caught a Murkrow," Harry repeated. "It happened right before you showed up."

Kiara gave a dumbfounded expression before looking back over to Stephanie, who gave Harry an annoyed glare.

"You caught a Murkrow?"

"Not willingly," Stephanie said. "It was hurt, and they forced me to catch it."

Kiara laughed.

"That must have been one hell of a guilt trip they put on you."

"It doesn't matter," Stephanie was getting annoyed with the conversation. "I'm going to release it after it's healed at the Pokemon Center."

"Why?" Kiara asked. "You'll have to get over that eventually. Holding onto the Murkrow would be a perfect way to start."

"Excuse me," Harry cut in. "What is all this about?"

"I guess she hasn't told you," Kiara answered. "But since you're traveling with her, you probably should know. Stephanie has an issue with Dark-type Pokemon. As in, she's scared to death of them."

"It's a sensory issue," Stephanie snapped. She clearly wasn't happy to be talking about this. "Dark-types are immune to most Psychic powers. I can't sense them, so I wouldn't be able to tell when a dangerous one might be sneaking up on me."

She glared back at Kiara.

"You're an Aura user," she said. "You don't have that problem because you can sense anything."

"That's not really an excuse," Hermione interjected. "Most don't have your abilities, and have that problem with all Pokemon types."

Kiara nodded at Hermione.

"She gets it," she said. "Plus, you know other trainers will take advantage of you fear once they learn about it. If you thought losing to me in a casual fight was bad, imagine losing to someone like Chloe in the PWT."

"Chloe isn't someone I would dread losing to," Stephanie replied. "She's almost the definition of a gracious winner."

"After she wins, sure. But do you really want to get one of her lectures during the battle? I can't really see you enjoying that."

Stephanie paused, and then heaved a sigh.

"I guess you're right," she said. She tapped the Poke Ball that held the Murkrow. "I'll give it a try."

"That's the spirit," said Kiara. "By the way, since I brought her up and you know her better than I do, where did Chloe end up going?"

"She said she was going to Alola. She really liked the place after researching it."

As the two girls kept talking, Harry saw something in the corner of his eye. Hermione had her wand out, pointing at Bandit, Kiara's Sneasel, and was muttering spells.

But nothing was happening. Bandit looked completely unaffected.

"Hermione," he whispered. "What are you doing?"

"I'll explain later," she whispered back. "I may have just learned something very helpful."

"Bandit!" Kiara's voice sounded. "Time to get going!"

The Sneasel ran over to join Kiara, who was on her way back into the forest.

"I'll see you all around," she called back to the group.

"I'll look forward to it," Stephanie called back. "It was nice to run into you, for once."

"We should probably move on, too," Ron said. "Don't want to keep your friend waiting any more than he has to."

"Right," Harry said. "But I think Hermione has something to tell us."

Hermione smiled.

"I certainly do," she said. "So, I tried to use some minor spells on Bandit while Stephanie and Kiara were talking. Nothing worked on it."

"Just like with the Murkrow?" Ron asked.

"Just like it," Hermione answered. "Remember what Kiara said when we first met her?"

"Yeah," said Ron. "That our Auras were almost the same as Stephanie's."

"She's a Psychic and we're Wizards," Hermione continued. "And even if they're not exactly the same, it looks like they have very similar properties. Dark-type Pokemon are immune to Psychic powers, and it looks like they're immune to magic as well."

Stephanie nodded.

"That makes sense," she said. "Good catch."

Stephanie looked at Ron.

"She does things like this all the time, doesn't she?"

"Oh yeah," Ron answered with a huge smile. "And it doesn't look like she's done yet."

"You're right," Hermione said. "There's one more thing."

"I take it this is the helpful part," Harry said.

"It is"

Hermione held up the Horcrux. She had been wearing it after Ron got it back.

"Stephanie, you said the locket tied itself around your wrist when you tried to throw it away during the Murkrow attack?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"It tightened around my neck when I got close to Bandit. So if Dark-type moves are super effective against Psychic Pokemon…"

Harry realized what she was getting at.

"You think they might be able to destroy the Horcruxes," he said.

"It's definitely worth a try," Hermione said. "And after Stephanie heals her team at the Pokemon Centre, we can find out. We might actually be able to accomplish something while we're here."

"Sounds good," said Harry. "I think we've stood around long enough. Let's get moving."

"Is everyone ready?"

Draco had assembled his team for the expedition: his father, Crabbe, Goyle and his aunt.

Bringing Bellatrix along was a risky move. She was one of the Dark Lord's favorites, and it would only make things worse for Draco and his family if anything were to happen to her.

Still, Draco felt it was worth the risk. This was a situation that needed to be dealt with quickly, and Bellatrix was very good at that.

No one said anything.

"Alright. Let's get this over with."

"Remember," Lucius said as they approached the ring. "Don't try anything foolish. We don't need to deal with any more conflicts."

Draco sighed in annoyance. That seemed like an unnecessary order, but – he glanced over at Crabbe and Goyle – some of them probably needed the reminder.

"Bellatrix and I will take the lead," his father continued. "The rest of you keep behind us."

Makes sense, Draco thought as his father and aunt disappeared through the ring. They'll be the most prepared for whatever's waiting for us.

He waited a few seconds before motioning to his remaining two comrades.

"Our turn," he said, and stepped through.

And there's Chapter 3. Hope it was worth the wait.

One thing I've noticed in Pokemon stories is that Dark-types are almost always the bad guys or used by the bad guys (except for the "cool" ones like Umbreon, Absol, ect.,). So I decided to flip the script. As for Dark Pokemon being immune to magic, a lot of things magic in PokeWorld are associated with Psychic-types (for example, both moves with "magic" in their names are Psychic-type moves), so I figured there were enough similarities for that to work. Hopefully I portrayed it in a way that made sense here.

I hope the battle read well. I don't read any of the Pokemon manga and I haven't really watched the anime since the Deoxys movie first aired on Cartoon Network more than a decade ago. So I didn't really have a whole lot to go on.

Finally, there's Stephanie and Kiara's conversation about Chloe. If you couldn't tell, that was a not so subtle advertisement for another story I plan on writing in the near future. It will connect to this one, though I'm not sure how much yet.

Next time: Our heroes arrive in Rustboro and Draco's group lands in Hoenn (but what awaits them there?). See you then.