Jenny had arrested team Rocket, despite their kicking and screaming, and put them into the back of a police car. She had offered to give Jamie and Tyler a ride back to the city, which they graciously accepted.
Once they returned Jamie and Tyler thanked officer Jenny for her assistance and walked back to the pokemon centre. On their way Jamie glanced at the Driftveil stadium and did a double take as he stopped in his tracks.
"Oh shit."
"What?" Tyler asked as he stopped and turned around.
"The tournament, we might've missed our battle." He said worriedly.
"Oh crap, I totally forgot." Tyler said freaked.
"Damn, we need to get to the pokemon centre right now!" Jamie panicked as he ran off with his brother right behind him. They were both scared that they had missed their battle today because if that was the case then they would have both been disqualified. After so much training and preparation that is the last thing a pokemon trainer wanted to happen, to be eliminated in such a manner. Hell, Tyler would have rather take his chances against that Darkrai trainer.
When they finally got there they both ran through the doors and were greeted by Ash and company.
"Hey there you guys are, where'd you go?" Asked Max.
"We… uh… didn't…miss our … battle… did we?" Panted Tyler.
"You're fine, you guys didn't battle today." Brock confirmed for them. The brothers let out a sigh of relief.
"YOU GUYS MISSED IT?! IT WAS AWESOME! One of the battles was Johto champion Lance against the Kanto champion Red!" Said Max excitedly.
"We missed a battle between champions?!" Tyler asked in shock.
"Yep."
"Afraid so."
"Sucks to be you." Said Ash, Brock then Gary.
"Who's Red?" Asked Jamie.
"He's that mysterious trainer from Kanto that lived atop Mt. Silver. Tyler answered.
"So then what happened to you guys?" Asked Dawn.
"We witnessed a pokemon get kidnapped by team Rocket. We then chased after them and ended up in a fight like 6 miles out of the city." Tyler explained.
"Figures, team Rocket always butting into our lives." Commented Misty.
"So are you ready for dinner? Jamie you're more than welcome to join us." Insisted Brock.
"Thanks, but I've had a pretty eventful day and I'm just going to go to bed." He replied as he walked up to the second floor of the pokemon centre.
"Team Rocket? Eventful? He must be talking about someone else, Because Jessie and James suck." Said Ash.
"Now now Ash, not everyone is cool enough to hang out with criminals all day." Said Gary sarcastically.
"Don't worry, you'll get there." Ash said coolly as Gary got a tiny bit agitated.
"Let's eat." Said Brock ending the quarrel as all the teens began stuffing their faces.
Tyler woke up the next morning a bit earlier than usual, but he didn't mind. He got up got dressed and did a good stretch before he walked downstairs to the pokemon centre lobby.
He checked the tournament schedule and realized that there were only 2 more days for the third round battles. After that there will only be 32 trainers left. Then there would be 3 more days of rest before worrying about the 4th round battles.
But for now he needed to focus on his third round battle. Ash had already qualified and Tyler found out that Tobias had moved on already as well, so he wouldn't have to worry about battling him this round. But there was still the possibility of battling Brock, or Jamie for that matter. There was still Seth that he met yesterday. Odds are he is competing too and he didn't fancy himself a fight with someone that serious.
After checking the schedule he walked off to the pokemon centre cafeteria alone and had a quiet breakfast. Once he got his stomach full he went outside for an early morning walk. He figured he might as well relax a bit before his battle if he's battling today. Even so he still needed to focus on his battling. If he was not set to battle today he would go back to the pokemon centre and to some hard training. With people like Tobias and Red he needed all the training he could fit in. The last thing he wanted to do was lose. He wanted everyone to know how good he really was and he wanted to show everyone how strong his pokemon had become through all their hard work. Together he wanted to be the best, he wanted it with all of his being. And he would prove it, in his next battle.
But for now he was just relaxing, taking a leisurely walk through the city.
Once he reached the city limits he turned around and came back. While walking back to Driftveil stadium he couldn't help but get battling back on his mind. He then began to think about all the hard work his pokemon had done up to this point. Sure he wanted to win more than anything, but he decided he really should congratulate his pokemon every step of the way, not just if they win. He grabbed one of his pokeballs and released the one in its confinement. The pokemon that appeared was one Tyler told Iris he already had. Standing there was Tyler's best buddy Flygon.
Tyler couldn't explain it but he had developed a very close bond with Flygon above all his other pokemon. He figured it was because Flygon seemed to share a very close bond with him. Whenever Flygon was outside of its pokeball he would follow his trainer everywhere. No matter what he always seemed to want to be by his trainer's side. Flygon was a good natured pokemon who was very friendly and who really cares about others. He's proven in the past that he will do anything to protect his friends. Whenever Tyler needed a helping hand with anything, Flygon was his go to guy and Flygon always seemed happy to assist. He was also a very loyal pokemon, Flygon had always listened to Tyler and what he had to say and was the only one who had never disobeyed him one way or another. Even Tyler would have small problems or fights with his pokemon, but never Flygon. He always seemed to be the peace maker and the delegator between other pokemon's disagreements.
And lastly, he was strong. The loyal dragon was thee most powerful pokemon that Tyler has in his arsenal. He had gotten Tyler through many of his toughest battles. And 8 out of 10 times the powerful dragon was the reason behind a major or significant victory. Tyler always thanked him for his hard work and his efforts. But despite this Flygon never took it for granted. He never stopped trying, he never got cocky and arrogant and he never ever thought himself to be better than anyone else just because he was strong. Whenever another pokemon was struggling with training he was there to offer encouragement and tell them to keep trying and realize their potential, just as he had.
"We may have our battle today and I might need you for the 3rd round. I'm sorry that you haven't got to battle yet. I wanted to save you for the later rounds when I'm facing other pokemon that can give you a challenge." He said as he rubbed the head of the mystic pokemon.
"Rraaaa." Flygon said quietly, signaling that he was ready to help if need be.
"Good. I can always count on you." He said as he continued to rub the dragon's head. Flygon responded positively to the affection and rubbed its head in Tyler's palm.
As Flygon cooed happily Tyler noticed a boy and a girl running up to them.
"Hey you're Tyler right, from Blackthorn city?" Said the boy.
"Yep that's me."
"Wow, you're so cool! And this must be your Flygon." He said in awe and excitement. The girl reached up with one arm towards the dragon type. Flygon bent town to the girl and received a warm patting from the child.
Tyler was used to this thing by now. During his travels he had developed a high reputation of being a strong dragon trainer. Flygon was what he was best known for.
"You're so cool Flygon. I've seen so many of your battles. I think you're amazing." She said.
"Flyyy." Cooed Flygon happy to get such praise from a stranger.
"Hey Charles, Lacy! Come check this out." Called another boy as he ran up to them. He ran forward and excitement and then shock when he saw Tyler and Flygon.
"Whoa, that's Tyler's Flygon! So cool! Can I pet Flygon too please?" The child asked hopefully.
"Sure, Flygon would love that." Tyler said as Flygon moved its head to the side to meet the hand of another small fan of his. The kid rubbed Flygon's head like before and he relished in the attention.
"What did you want us to see Owen?" Asked the boy.
"Oh right. When we were playing down by the beach I found a small cave close to the water and found a pokemon in there and it was this big!" The boy said as he waved his arms around dramatically and then spread them apart at the end to convey how big the pokemon was. Of course the boy didn't have a very big arm span so it was up to Tyler's imagination to determine what this kid was talking about.
"That big huh?" Said Tyler playing along.
"Uh-huh." The boy confirmed. "I couldn't catch it yet because I'm not old enough, but you gotta come see it!" Owen yelled as he waved Charles and Lacy to follow them.
As the 3 children started to go Flygon called out goodbye to them. The kids then decided that they wanted to spend some more time with the dragon.
"Hey Flygon! Do you want to come too?" Asked the girl.
"Yeah you can come with us." Said Charles to Tyler.
Flygon looked at its trainer and then back to the kids with a smile on his face. "Sure. Let's go and check out this pokemon." Tyler said enthusiastically. The 3 kids cheered and the 3 of them lead Tyler and Flygon down to the beach.
Alright guys, here's another chapter in the books. Sorry it's been taking so long, I've been dealing with a bit of writer's block. But feedback is always helpful so let me know what you think. Review and tell me what you think of it so far.