Combusken swiftly dodged another Take Down attack from Grant's Amaura. Grant was the Cyllage City Gym Leader and was actually putting up a well fight. Aiden was beginning to have second thoughts about sending Combusken out first. But then again, it turns out Amaura is part ice type as well. He thought the first battle would end quickly. But Amaura, not matter how cute he looks, is actually quite the fighter.
"Amaura! Use Rock Tomb!" Grant yelled.
"Try to dodge and use Ember!" Combusken swiftly dodged the rocks that were thrown at him and struck Amaura with spits of fire. Amaura cried out in pain. But not enough to cause critical damage.
"I'm impress!" Grant called, "You remind me of another worthy opponent I fought two years back. She used her Charmander to fight my Amaura. Just when we were about to defeat him he evolved into a Charmeleon. Hoof! The adrenaline I felt during that battle."
Aiden blinked. Were they really comparing him to this Natalie person? "Combusken! Finish Amaura off with Double Kick!" Combusken nodded and flung into the air before delivering the finishing blow to Amaura. The ice blue dinosaur let out a defeated wail before returning to his Pokeball. "Good job, Combusken!" Aiden praised his Pokemon, "Return!"
"This is fun!" Grant panted, "It really has been so long since I've last had a worry opponent. Go, Tyrunt!"
"Tyrunt!" a tan and white Pokemon emerged from the Pokeball and stood ready for battle.
"Tyrunt, huh?" Aiden swiftly brought out his Pokedex.
'Tyrunt: the Royal Heir Pokemon. This Pokemon was restored from a fossil. If something happens that it doesn't like, it throws a tantrum and runs wild.'
Aiden couldn't help but snicker at the Pokedex entry. "No wonder it's called Tyrunt." he snickered before putting his Pokedex and taking out the Pokeball that contained Froakie next. "Froakie, I choose you!" he howled.
"Froakie!" Froakie emerged from his Pokeball and stood before Tyrunt.
Grant gritted his teeth slightly. This wasn't going to be an easy battle with a water Pokemon out. The chances of him wining were clearly one in a million. "Tyrunt, use Stomp!" he yelled. Froakie didn't have time to react when he was suddenly stomped on by the other Pokemon.
"Froakie! Use Water Pulse!" Aiden yelled.
Froakie jumped back and shot a pulse of water directly at Tyrunt. Tyrunt skidded across the Gym floor before smashing into a rock. Tyrunt shot up and glared dangerously at Froakie. Aiden could've sworn he saw steam blowing from his ears before the Pokemon looked like he was about to go in a rage. "Tyrunt, use Take Down!" Grant yelled. Tyrunt charged Froakie at full speed before ramming him. The attack had sent Froakie flying and caused him to land in one of the small pools of water that surrounded them.
"FROAKIE!" Aiden gasped.
Nothing. Tyrunt stood where he was, panting. He glared at the pool of water and waited for Froakie to emerge. Concern started to fill Grant as he waited anxiously for the other Pokemon to emerge. Just then, the entire pool lit up in a bright light, surprising everyone. A form suddenly jumped out of the water just as the light vanished. But it wasn't Froakie. This Pokemon was a darker shade of blue with a light blue underside. His head wasn't as large and the bubbles around his neck swayed back like a scarf would. Both his arms and legs were very long.
"What Pokemon is that?" Aiden asked as he brought out his Pokedex once more.
'Frogadier: the Bubble Frog Pokemon, and the evolved form of Froakie. It can throw bubble-covered pebbles with precise control, hitting empty cans up to a hundred feet away.'
"Frogadier!" Frogadier cried before swiftly throwing a small black ball at Tyrunt. Tyrunt yelp in alarm when he was struck and suddenly found himself in a black fog. It was a Smokescreen attack. Frogadier landed before looking at Aiden over his shoulder. "Frogadier! Frogadier!"
Aiden nodded. "Right. Quick! Surprise Tyrunt with another Water Pulse attack!" Frogadier leaped into the air and shot another pulse of water directly at Tyrunt. This time it defeated him easily.
"Tyrunt is unable to battle; Frogadier wins!" the ref yelled.
"WOOHOO!" Aiden whooped before he and Frogadier embraced one another in a tight hug. "Frogadier, you're awesome!" he said happily as they rubbed cheeks.
"Now that's what I call friendship." Grant said as he approached Aiden with a small case in his hands. "I believe this belongs to you. Take it, you've earned it."
Aiden smiled at Grant before taking the badge out of it's case. "Thank you, Grant." he said.
...
Aiden stretched his arms as high as he could up towards the late afternoon sky. "That's good." he sighed after hearing a few cracks and pops. He was currently on Route 10 and was taking a break by one of the ruins that were present. "These stones are amazing." he said to himself as he rubbed his hand on the smooth rock surface. Just then a flash of blue shot up, causing him to tumble back on the grass.
"Lucario! Stop!" a woman's voice yelled.
Aiden propped him self up just as a woman in skates suddenly came rolling over. Beside her was Lucario, a Pokemon he's rarely seen in Hoenn. "Are you alright?" the lemon haired woman asked worriedly as she knelt beside him, "I'm so sorry about that. Lucario! Get over here!"
A second Lucario suddenly came into view. His head was lowered and he knelt down beside his Trainer. Looking apologetically at Aiden. "Rwwoof." he growled softly.
Aiden said up crossed-legged and smiled at the Pokemon. "Hey, there, buddy. It's alright." he said gently as he patted the Pokemon's head. Lucario growled affectionately and pushed his head into Aiden's hand.
"Hm. It's been so long since he's acted like this towards a stranger. Perhaps there's something in your aura that he likes about. Oh, yeah! I'm Korrina. I'm the Shalour City Gym Leader."
"Really? I was just on my way to challenge you!" Aiden laughed. He allowed Korrina to help him up and the two stood face-to-face with one another.
"Again, I apologize about earlier." Korrina said, "I was doing some Training with my Lucarios when this one suddenly took off and shot an Aura Sphere at this one."
"So that explains the blue light." Aiden murmured. "It's alright, though. I don't blame anyone."
"So I assume you're heading over to Geosenge Town first?" Korrina asked as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Yeah. I decided to take a breather first." Aiden replied.
"Do you know what these stones are?"
Aiden shook his head. "No. I only figured that they must be ruins of some kind."
Korrina tilted her head to the left slightly. Staring at Aiden with curious eyes. "You're not from around here, are you?" she asked.
"No. I'm actually from Hoenn." Aiden replied.
"Well THAT explains everything!" Korrina grinned, "Otherwise you would've known that this is actually a Pokemon burial site."
"Pokemon burial...WAAAAUGH!" Aiden jumped away from his spot near the large stone and bumped into Korrina slightly. "Oh, sorry." he said sheepishly. Still a bit shocked by the suddenly revelation. Korrina laughed.
"It's fine. I should be the one apologizing for not saying it sooner. I just wanted to see what your reaction would've been."
"Oh." Aiden looked back at the flat rock. "I hope I didn't disrespect anything." he said worriedly.
"Nah. You didn't know so they'll probably let you slide." Korrina assured him. She did feel a bit guilty about scaring him though. She was just having a little fun with him. She looked over to her Lucarios, who were giving her disapproved looks. I know! I know! She rolled her eyes before turning back to Aiden and placing her hand on his shoulder. He flinched slightly at the touch. "Hey, I'm sorry about that. How about I make it up to you?"
Aiden smiled a small smile. "No, no. It's fine. Really." he said.
"Don't tell me it's fine. It's not. Come on, I'll buy you a drink at Geosenge. They have one of the best cafes out there."
"I... Sure." Aiden replied. What's it with everyone and cafes in this region?
...
Geosenge Town has went through a lot of re-construction in the two years since the Team Flare incident. Homes and buildings have been rebuilt and the giant hole where the weapon once stood had been completely filled up. A statue of Arceus had been placed in the center where the original ruins once stood. On it was a bronze plaque dedicating to the many Team Flare members and their Pokemon who didn't come out alive. Most of which were Jane or John Does. They were considered "innocent" men and women who were manipulated by a mad man's dream of a "Beautiful World". Some people are still recovering from that day.
"Here we are." Korrina said as they entered Geosenge Town. "Nice little town with lots of history."
Aiden noticed the Arceus statue not far from them. "Is this where the whole incident occurred with Team Flare and stuff?" he asked.
The smile on Korrina's lips dimmed. "Yeah... This is where everything occurred on that fateful night. Who would've guessed that Team Flare was right under everyones feet this whole time? It was certainly a shocker for me."
"I wouldn't blame you." Aiden said, "I first heard about the thing one morning when my mom called me downstairs."
Flashback
"AIDEN! AIDEN COME QUICK!"
Aiden's eyes cracked open as his mother's frantic call woke him up. "What?" he asked as he walked downstairs and into the living. There he found both his parents sitting in front of the TV with shocked expressions on their faces. Aiden looked at the TV himself would've sworn he felt his heart drop to his stomach. It was a live news report from the Kalos region.
"What happened?" he finally asked.
"Something happened last night in Kalos." his mother replied, "A weapon of some sort suddenly erupted from the ground and completely destroyed a small town in its wake. You're cousin was there."
"CALEM!?" Aiden exclaimed, "WHAT HAPPENED!? IS HE ALRIGHT!?"
"Calm down, Aiden!" his father said, "Calem is fine. He actually managed to stop the ones behind it."
"But a lot of people had died..." his mother added in a whisper.
Flashback ends
"Yikes. Must've been some morning for you." Korrina said as she drank her Green Ice Tea.
"Yeah." Aiden said as he took a sip of his juice, "Certainly going to be one of the things I'll remember the most before I die." Aiden turned his attention over to his Pokemon, who were playing with Korrina's Lucarios. Sometimes he wished he could be as carefree as they are. Not having any kind of burden or problem on their shoulders. Well, other then survival that is. "Say, dose anyone come here to pay their respects to the people and Pokemon who died during the incident?" he asked.
"Sometimes." Korrina replied, "Why do you ask?"
"Because I see someone approaching the statue."
X.X
You're probably wondering, "How the heck did Geosenge recover so quickly in just two years?" WELL! It's called Fanfiction ;) Nothing is ordinary about it. And, oh my, who could it be approaching the statue...?
Harbinger: It's probably-
SHUT UP HARBINGER! You'll spoil it!
Harbinger: Hmph.