Milo and the Blue Umbreon

by NanobotEX

Milo is about to embark on his Pokémon journey, when he unexpectedly makes a new friend. His journey begins ten years after the exploits of Ash Ketchum, and he discovers that Pokémon journeys are not as simple as they once were. Milo may soon find himself pitted against forces beyond anything he had imagined! (Not too much Romance, just enough to keep things interesting)

2. Chapter 2 - To Sandgem!

Chapter 2 - To Sandgem!

Milo made it all the way out of Jubilife's south gate before he realized that running all the way to Sandgem was probably not an option. Azura was still jogging along happily beside him, no problem, but Milo had to stop, panting, and put his hands on his knees to rest;

"Hey, hold up. I'm excited too, but I can't run the whole time. Whew. Alright, let's keep going!"

"Br-r-r-r-eee!"

Azura ran a few circles around Milo enthusiastically before settling into a bouncy stroll by his side, her head held high.

"Hey, Azura, I have to wonder. What made you come find me?"

Her walk slowed, and her head drooped. She gave a sad coo,

"Reeeonnn…"

I really wish I could understand her, thought Milo, she seems really upset about something she's remembering.

"Hey!"

A voice called from just down the road. Milo turned to see who it was, and a young kid with an eager, but mischievous glint in his eye ran up to him.

"I'm Tristan, and my friends and I run this route! You can't get past us unless you pay us each 5 whole dollars!"

Milo stared blankly at the boy who couldn't be older than seven or eight, before noticing that two equally young kids had just jumped out of the nearby bushes, gleeful triumph written on their faces.

"Yeah", yelled the little girl now on Milo's left, "Cuz we have 4 Pokémon! So you better pay up or we'll beat you in a battle!"

"What do you kids want? Pocket change to buy an ice cream? Yeah, well I'll take your bet. I think my Umbreon can beat all your Pokémon in a battle."

The blood began pounding in Milo's ears as his excitement boiled up within him. This would be his first battle as a real trainer, with his own Pokémon partner battling beside him. He found it terribly crass that these kids were trying to use their Pokémon as leverage to extort people, but they were only kids. They probably didn't quite grasp what it was they were doing and didn't mean any real harm. But a battle was about to begin and now he could feel the energy roaring through him.

The three kids all brought out their Pokémon; two Bidoofs, a Starly, and a Shinx.

"Alright, Azura, let's go to work!"

As his new partner jumped forward, Milo could feel his brain kick into overdrive. What moves did Azura even have? She was a Dark type, so she must have at least a couple of the quintessential Dark moves, plus a couple of the standard physical attacks. He'd have to count on that, but would perhaps let the kids make the first move to give himself an extra second to think and gain some confidence.

"Tackle!" yelled the middle kid to the Shinx on Azura's left.

As the small electric Pokémon rushed forward, Milo sprang into action;

"Azura dodge right and Quick Attack the Bidoof if you can! Otherwise Tackle it!"

Azura was moving before Milo was done with his command. She deftly stepped around the onrushing Shinx, kicking it aside with her back left paw. Then she sprinted forward in a stunning Quick Attack that knocked out the unfortunate Bidoof before it could react. But two could play at that game.

"Shinx, Tackle again!"

"Starly, Quick Attack him!"

Panicking at the two simultaneous attacks, Milo could only yell, "Azura get out of there!"

She managed to evade the Shinx once more, but in doing so made herself vulnerable to the Starly's impressive Quick Attack dive bomb. Azura took it square in the side and went tumbling head over heels, to Milo's horror.

The three children began cheering, thinking they had already won, so only Milo, as he watched with bated breath, saw Azura push herself back up off the ground and shake her head.

"Br-r-r-ee!", she barked angrily, glaring at her three remaining opponents. She was ready to continue, and now she was angry.

This feeling, thought Milo, I feel like I understand her perfectly in this moment. This is so…awesome! We can win this!

As the kids turned around to realize their work was yet unfinished, Milo yelled with renewed confidence,

"Pay back that Starly, Azura! Pursuit!"

A dark crack appeared in the air in front of Azura and she leaped in. Immediately another crack opened behind the Starly, and Azura came flying out of it, in midair, tackling the little bird Pokémon to the ground viciously. With her paws now emitting dark auras of power, she hit the Starly one more time to make certain it stayed down before turning to face the remaining Bidoof and Shinx.

Of the three kids, only one had enough wits about him to yell, "Shinx, Spark!"

"Dodge, Azura!"

But this time the Shinx would not be denied. The Spark attack missed the first time, but was followed by another Spark that connected with Azura's shoulder. She slid backwards from the impact, but remained standing, breathing heavily. She began to give a low growl, and her whole body gave off the same dark aura that had engulfed her paws.

She's got some kind of power, Milo knew, but what? What kind of abilities does she have?

"I know you've got plenty left in the tank", he told her, "show me what you've got!"

He'd said it almost without thinking, it was like pure instinct. The real shock came next. Azura's dark aura became a sort of dark explosion. The whole field of battle was covered in a cloud of absolute darkness, pierced only by Azura's blue neon stripes. Then a burning sensation overcame Milo's mind, and suddenly he could all but see the two enemy Pokémon fumbling about in the dark field.

This is her power, he realized, Azura is showing me where they are because she can sense them.

Now he received another feeling, a kind of nonverbal suggestion. Going with the flow, he called out,

"Finish this off, Azura! Dark Pulse!"

He could see her blue stripes grow almost dangerously bright. Then, as she built up her power, the dark fog dissipated as quickly as it had come, and as Azura came into view she unleashed a titanic wave of Dark energy that left the two remaining Pokémon unconscious. They stood no chance against her move. Her Dark Pulse was so intense that several small wild Pokémon in the nearby grass and trees yelled in surprise and fell over as her attack hit them like a tidal wave.

Just like that, it was over. Milo had won. He was as shocked as the three kids.

"Hey", called the kid on the right, the owner of the two Bidoofs, "that was really mean, bully!"

"I…I just…" Milo could only stutter, trying to process what Azura had done. She was still standing there in the middle of their battlefield, glaring at the kids, panting.

"Yeah", the girl who owned the Starly chimed in, as the whole group retreated, "You're just a meanie-face butthead!"

None of these petty insults even registered in Milo's brain. He stared silently at Azura, before finally asking the obvious question;

"What…was that?"

As if nothing had happened, the small Umbreon just wagged her tail happily, seemingly content to remain an impregnable enigma.

Another unbidden mental suggestion burst into Milo's head. It urged him to keep going, to hurry along to Sandgem. What were these things that kept pushing into his mind? He began once again on his way, wondering as he went,

Does Azura have telepathic…something? She's not Psychic…

As the afternoon wore on, nothing quite as exciting as their first battle occurred. Milo got the chance to see more of Azura's power as they came across several wild Pokémon, but none of these proved a real challenge. Mostly, the pair of them walked along in contented quiet. As a matter of fact, Milo was rather marveling at the peace of the open road, with the cool fall breeze ruffling his hair. He soon grew accustomed to the constant aura of happiness that came from Azura, both in his mind and in her demeanor.

Just as the shadows began to lengthen, around 4 o'clock, Sandgem came into view, and Milo's excitement once again bubbled over as he took off at a quick jog;

"There it is, that has to be Sandgem! See it, Azura? Let's go!"

"Br-r-eee!" cried Azura and ran lightly alongside her new friend.

Milo didn't slow down as he dashed through the main street of Sandgem town, not until he reached the front door of the Pokémon Lab, home base of the renowned Professor Rowan. Taking a second to compose himself and double check that his new Trainer identification was close at hand, he nervously pushed open the lab doors.

"Ah", said a rather severe-looking Professor Rowan, "you must be Milo. This is the one I was told to expect, Cynthia, if you'll excuse me."

"But of course", replied the elegant woman with whom Rowan had been conversing.

"Wait", said Milo before he could stop himself, "aren't you the Champion?"

With a knowing grin, Cynthia answered, "Why yes, I am."

Her face became serious and she seemed to take a second, closer look at Milo and Azura.

"You know, there's nothing more inspiring to me than seeing a new trainer make a grand beginning. Would you mind my observing, young Milo?"

Taken aback, the poor boy could only sputter, "I..Y-yes, that's, um, that's fine."

Whoa, the Champion was going to watch him pick his starter! But, why? He felt the same confusion from Azura, with a healthy dose of self-consciousness.

"Well, well", began Professor Rowan, "so this is the boy with the blue Umbreon. I've heard from your schoolteachers since you left this morning. Of course, you are still entitled to one of our three starter Pokémon, but if I may, I'd like to run a few tests on…Azura is her name, yes? Yes, I'd like to run a few basic scans on her to determine what exactly differentiates her from the rest of her species. Is that agreeable?

Milo looked silently at his companion, who nodded.

"Sure, professor, that's fine. I'd like to know more about her as well."

Azura followed Professor Rowan, and Milo could feel a sense of curiosity from her. She probably didn't understand her own power any more than he did.

After she was gone, Milo was alone with Cynthia, who turned to him and asked,

"How exactly did you come to own that Umbreon?"

Milo, feeling unbelievably self-conscious and embarrassed, fidgeted awkwardly as he responded,

"I…I don't know, I don't really feel like I own her, you know? I'm just lucky that she picked me and decided to stick around. She followed me home the other day and just wouldn't leave me alone after that. I'm glad, though. Travelling with a real Pokémon partner makes me feel much better about my journey."

Cynthia smiled, and her eyes glazed over with memories as she answered, "I'm impressed, Milo. You have a great understanding of the relationship between Pokémon and their trainers. I rarely see that level of respect and trust for Pokémon – especially from one so new to Pokémon training as you. Would you do me two small favors?"

"Uh, sure? What kind of favors?" asked the young man, still awed by the Champion's presence.

"Every time a Trainer defeats a Gym Leader and earns a badge, the Gym Leader asks permission to upload the footage of the battle to the BattleNet, to be reviewed by other Gym Leaders, Champions, and Pokémon experts the world over. When you are given that chance, please don't refuse."

Cynthia's eyes blazed with excitement as she continued, "I would dearly love to see you battle and grow with that Umbreon. She clearly cares for you and trusts you completely, and I can see that you care for, trust, and respect her as well. You two are something really special."

The Sinnoh Champion wanted to watch him battle! It was almost too much to take in. Numbly, Milo ventured a question, "What's the…other favor?"

A scuffling could be heard down the hallway, along with the vague and muffled voices of what sounded like several young Pokémon, as the Champion stood with a mischievous smile;

"When Professor Rowan and Azura return, and you choose your own starter, will you battle me?"

Taken aback, Milo stuttered, "B-battle? With…with you? But, I…"

"Oh, don't worry", Cynthia laughed, "I don't have my main challenger team with me right now; I have several smaller, newer Pokémon I've been training on the side. They shouldn't be too much stronger than yours."

"Oh. Wow, umm, yeah, I guess."

The scuffling and scratching from the hallway grew louder, and the culprits now emerged around the corner. A Chimchar came sprinting out in a panic, followed closely by a very angry little Turtwig and a jolly Piplup who was following along but seemed to be off in its own world.

"Ah, you three, back at again, I see", sighed Professor Rowan, just returning from his study room with Azura in tow.

With a glint in his eye, he sat down across from Milo and began emphatically, "I've collected a wonderful amount of data, and it'll take some time to sort through it all and correlate it, but I do have a few preliminary findings and questions for you."

Milo was just as excited as the Professor and leaned forward in anticipation as Rowan checked his clipboard and launched into his experiments.

"I first ran a basic move scan and that was one of the most revealing things. Your Umbreon can use Dark Pulse, Pursuit, Night Shade, Quick Attack, Tackle, Confusion, and Shadow Ball. That alone is quite impressive, both the range and volume of her move set are astounding in a Pokémon with her level of experience. But one other move of hers really makes me wonder; we don't even have a standardized name for it because it has only been observed a handful of times over the course of recorded scientific Pokémon history."

"Wait", said Milo with sudden recognition, "do you mean that thing she can do where she turns the whole battle field to darkness?"

"You've seen this happen already!?" Professor Rowan was absolutely incredulous, "Yes, that is what I mean, but I assumed that power had not yet manifested, that it would take much more training and a deeper connection between you! This is incredible! Did you manage to battle through the darkness, or did she give herself instructions while the effect lasted?"

"Well", Milo's brow furrowed as he explained his first battle with difficulty, "I, uh, don't really understand what happened. I couldn't see my opponents, but at the same I could sort of tell where they were. I could sense them because Azura sensed them. She kind of, uh, shared them with me, in my mind. I don't know, does that make any sense to you, Professor?"

Professor Rowan was now leaning forward his gaze fixed intently on Milo, who could almost hear the wheels of the great Pokémon Professor's head whirling faster than a Rapidash's Extremespeed.

"This", said Rowan after some thought, "answers some of my other questions as well. I ran a mental capabilities scan after the move scan – Whoa!"

Their discussion was interrupted by the Chimchar running back down the hallway, narrowly dodging a Vine Whip from the pursuing Turtwig before jumping acrobatically over a Bubble attack from Piplup.

Cynthia chuckled and asked the obvious question, "What's gotten into your starters, Professor Rowan?"

Rowan held his head in his hands and replied, "Well, that Chimchar must be causing trouble again. It…well, it certainly means no harm, but it has very poor control over its powers and has an unfortunate tendency to cause accidents on a rather frequent basis. Piplup isn't greatly bothered by it, being a Water-type, but Turtwig has grown understandably frustrated. This is a fairly typical situation. One silver lining, I suppose, is that Chimchar is remarkably fast because it spends a good deal of time running away from Turtwig and Piplup. They rarely manage to catch it anymore."

A smile on his face, Milo felt compelled to come to Chimchar's defense, "I'm sure it's very sorry for causing problems, I don't think it's Chimchar's fault that it hasn't yet managed to control its power. Fire can be a temperamental element, difficult to keep in check."

"Once again, Milo", observed Cynthia, "that mind of yours seems determined to set itself apart. Yours will be an intriguing career to watch."

Not to be deterred any longer, Rowan gave himself a shake and turned back to Milo, "As I was saying, I ran a mind scan on Azura here, and found some really intriguing things. First, she has within her mind a sort of malleable Dark-type power that can manifest in any number of ways. This means that, with training, she may be eventually able to use unique Dark moves that imitate things she sees from other Pokémon. Lastly, there's a standard telepathic foundation. I'm certain that eventually, Azura will be able to fully speak to you telepathically. This is a very common occurrence, but not for Dark-types. I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen such capabilities in a non-Psychic Pokémon. In short, this Umbreon is incredibly powerful. The word 'rare' doesn't even begin to describe her. She's more than likely completely unique. As I said earlier, I have yet to fully analyze the data I have collected from her, and I hope you'll keep me posted as you and she grow and train together, but I can already promise you that you are a very lucky trainer to be travelling with such a remarkable Pokémon partner."

There was a pause, as Milo was still processing all the Professor had said. Finally, he turned to Azura, who was now sitting at his feet, wagging her tail peacefully, contentedness emanating in wave from her.

"I knew you were special", he said, petting her head, "being blue instead of yellow, but I had no idea you were so powerful, Azura. I must be one of the luckiest Trainers in Sinnoh for you to choose me."

Rowan spoke up once more, "I'm glad you recognize that, Milo. Make sure you never take your Pokémon's trust for granted. The mark of a truly great trainer is complete mutual trust with one's Pokémon. Now, perhaps you'd like to choose your starter? After all, that is how the tradition usually goes, hmm?"

Milo's heart began to flutter. It was time. His brain was suddenly bursting with all the knowledge he'd crammed into his mind about various statistics and advice on choosing a starter. Turtwig was the most strategic choice, as its eventual addition of the Ground type helped combat it's weakness to Fire. Piplup would be able to help him travel over water, but Chimchar would eventually have the best Attack power in battle.

Piplup, Turtwig, or Chimchar… Empoleon, Torterra, or Infernape…

He replayed the scene from a few minutes ago, with Chimchar running from its fellow starters. He remembered how Rowan had sighed in frustration at the mere mention of it. He felt…sorry for the poor little guy. Pity seemed to Milo an infinitely better motivation than any of the cold, unfeeling statistics whirling about his mind.

"Professor", he began haltingly, "I think…I'll take the Chimchar."

Rowan was incredulous, "Are you certain, young man? You've seen for yourself how destructive and problematic it can get…"

Milo began to gain confidence in his decision. The more he thought about this, the more sure he became.

"I understand, Professor, but that's why I want to travel with it. I think it's just misunderstood; it's really not a bad Pokémon. I want to give it another chance, a new setting. Please, Professor, give me the chance to take care of that Chimchar."

Cynthia threw in her two cents as Rowan sat back to think, "I, for one, admire this boy's spirit, Professor. He made that choice out of genuine care for the Pokémon; you of all people must see that. Surely that's as good a reason as any to let him train it."

"I…think you are right", the Professor answered slowly, "but I advise caution when training it. It has a lot of power that it doesn't understand how to properly use or control. I wouldn't want it to be a danger to itself or to others. Do you understand, Milo?"

"I promise", he asserted, "I'll be careful."

With a kindly smile, Rowan encouraged the young trainer, "I know you will."

Then he turned to face the hallway and yelled, "Chimchar! Come here!"

Before too long, all three of the starters came bustling down the hallway. Evidently they had calmed down, but Turtwig still had a few choice words for his fiery compatriot;

"Turt! Twig-ig Turtwig!"

Azura's wide-eyed told Milo that whatever Turtwig had expressed was rather less than kind. Chimchar looked sullenly at the ground, probably feeling guilty for whatever its latest accident had caused.

Adopting his usual grave, serious expression, Professor Rowan knelt down in front of the small Chimchar and said, "Now Chimchar, I know your time here has been, well, eventful and rather stressful, but I have good news for you. Chimchar, this young man is your new Trainer!"

A hush fell over those present. Turtwig and Piplup were speechless with shock, and Chimchar immediately stared in awe at Milo, tears forming in its eyes. Then it rushed forward and grabbed Milo's leg in the best hug it could muster.

"Chaarrr!"

As its emotions and gratitude overwhelmed it, the small Ember Pokémon's tail flame became larger and began to spit out little sparks.

Chuckling as he bent down to pull his new Pokémon friend away from his flammable clothing, Milo addressed it directly, "Hi there, Chimchar! I can tell you've got a lot of fire inside that little body, I think I'll call you Blaze. Like it?"

Blaze thought for a minute, then struck a 'powerful' pose and gave his new trainer a fierce smile. He loved his new name.

"Char chim! Chimchar chim Chimchar!"

Azura put her paws up on Milo to get his attention. As he turned to ask what she wanted, she put another feeling in his head, that Blaze was happy, and she was happy. They were ready to truly get their journey underway.

"Heh, I get you. We're going to be a great team, guys."

Cynthia, who had been quietly observing with a small smile, stood up to remind Milo of their earlier agreement, "How about that battle, then?"

Rowan immediately interjected, "Come now Cynthia, my dear, you can't be serious? He's only been a trainer for a day!"

"Don't fret, Rowan my friend, as I explained to Milo earlier, I have a new team of younger Pokémon that I've just begun training. He'll be fighting two of those, not my main team."

Visibly relieved, Rowan smiled and turned back to Milo, "In that case you'll need this. It's your Chimchar's Pokeball. Also, I'd recommend buying a Dusk Ball at the next opportunity to officially 'capture' that Umbreon."

"Thanks, I'll remember that, Professor! Alright, let's get that battle going!"

Sandgem was a small town, so small that there was only one field large enough for a real Pokémon match, right in the center of the main square. People immediately began to notice as Milo and Cynthia took up opposite sides of the standard rectangular space. Soon enough, they recognized the Champion of Sinnoh and the whispers began to circulate.

"I'll choose first", called Cynthia, "this'll be a two on two, and I'll make no substitutions, Gym battle style. Alright, Aipom, come out!"

Hmm, Aipom, thought Milo, a fairly standard choice. I'd be smart to show a measured response. Let's see what Blaze is capable of.

"Okay, Blaze, let's go!"

Milo's new Chimchar let out a small fiery discharge as it landed enthusiastically on the battlefield. Knowing he'd lose for sure if the Sinnoh Champion got to dictate the pace of the battle, he immediately yelled, "Blaze, give me a Double Team and a Quick Attack!"

"Chim!"

Rowan had been serious when he said running away had honed Blaze's speed. Almost before Milo was done talking, dozens of copies of Blaze sprinted remarkable fast at the thoroughly confused Aipom. But Cynthia was no novice, and remained perfectly calm.

"Jump, Aipom, as high as you can. If it jumps after you, swat it with your tail."

Aipom jumped, and Milo's strategy was all for naught. Unsure of what to do, Blaze's copies began to falter. Fortunately, Milo wasn't out of tricks just yet.

"Get under it and fire an Ember straight up!"

Cynthia's eyes narrowed as Blaze shot a burst of flame upwards from directly beneath Aipom. She could see her Aipom was about to take the first hit. All she could do was return the favor.

"You've cornered yourself! Aipom, Body Slam as you fall, slam right on top of Chimchar!"

Milo watched, mouth agape, as Cynthia's Aipom fell straight through the Ember and slammed down hard, smashing Blaze into the ground.

"Now, Doubleslap", called Cynthia.

Before Blaze could get free, Aipom held him down and began bludgeoning him with its tail.

No, I'm stuck! Blaze! Wait, his mouth is still free…

"Blaze, give me the biggest Ember you can!"

Aipom's eyes went wide, but before it or Cynthia could react, Blaze's cheeks puffed up and he spat a wonderful, powerful Ember attack straight into his vulnerable opponent.

As the smoke cleared, Aipom just managed to get back up, while Blaze made his way wearily back over to Milo, obviously in some pain from taking the Body Slam and Doubleslap. He set himself back up bravely for the next stage of the fight.

"That was great, Blaze! Now it's tired and slow, Quick Attack! Full speed!"

"Nice thought, Milo, but I don't have to dodge. Aipom, catch it with your tail, then throw it."

What? No, it can't possibly…

But as he watched, Blaze collided headfirst with Aipom's tail, which grabbed onto his head. Gritting its teeth, Aipom cried out from exertion as it flung Blaze overhead. He landed hard, and was knocked out.

"No, Blaze! Ugh, my first loss. Return!"

Blaze was sucked unconsciously back into his Pokeball.

Applause broke out from the decently sizeable crowd now assembled to watch the battle. Milo did his best to shut them out, but was still a bit uncomfortable.

"Now", said Cynthia, "let's see that Umbreon in action. I'll use Bonsly! Go!"

"Alright. Azura, let's get to work!"

"Br-r-r-ee!" she barked as she ran out onto the battlefield.

A rock type, thought Milo, good thing Azura's brimming with special attacks. Still, best to keep it at a distance.

"Shadow Ball, Azura!"

"Bonsly, dodge and Rollout."

She read me like a book! She's trying to get in close!

Sure enough, Bonsly avoided the Shadow Ball, which was slightly inaccurate anyway, and came barreling towards Azura. She tried to sidestep it, but it predicted her move and hit her anyway. Bouncing off of her, it immediately came charging again. Suddenly, Milo had a plan.

"Azura, don't dodge it, use Dark Pulse to push it back! If it misses, Rollout will end!"

"Br-r-r-r-eeee!"

Azura let out a huge wave of dark energy that astounded those gathered. It worked, Bonsly's Rollout wasn't just cancelled out, Bonsly was thrown the length of the field and got up only with difficulty.

"Quick, before it recovers, use Confusion!"

Azura's normally amber eyes glowed blue and her neon stripes glowed vibrantly as Bonsly was levitated and put under an enormous mental attack. When Azura finally let it fall to the ground, it was dizzy and disoriented.

"End it, Shadow Ball!"

This time Azura's aim was true, and Bonsly was out for the count.

Cynthia smiled as she returned Bonsly, and was the first to applaud Milo's victory, though the overall battle was a draw. Milo and Azura both stood, panting, processing what had just happened.

Did I just knock out a Champion's Pokémon? I wasn't even thinking half the time, I just…knew what would work. Azura always knew what I wanted, she did perfectly. Wow…what a battle!

"Milo", said Cynthia from right in front of him, "Milo, are you alright?"

He snapped out of his wonderment. Cynthia had walked across the field and he accepted her handshake. The crowd was still whooping and cheering for him and for Azura.

"Whu…? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I just, I don't know, that was…"

"That was incredible", Cynthia finished his though for him with a big smile.

"I can't remember the last time I had a battle that engaging. Your Umbreon is really marvelous, and I'm equally impressed by the connection between you and her."

Grabbing Milo's shoulders and staring at him intently, she continued, "Never in all my life have I seen that kind of connection between a Pokémon and trainer so new to the world of training. Now go on, wave to the people. This is your moment, allow it to make you shine!"

Still speechless, Milo turned and smiled at the assembled onlookers, who now numbered maybe 150 people. He walked over to greet them, Azura by his side. Some of the younger children wanted to pet her (she was only too happy to oblige), and many people wanted to know his name and where he was from.

"Are you going to challenge the Gym Leaders?"

"Will you continue training your Umbreon? Will you use her in Gym battles?"

"Just how new of a trainer are you?"

"Can I have your autograph?"

This last request came from a starry-eyed five-year old boy and his younger sister. Laughing awkwardly, Milo scribbled his name on their little notebook, then excused himself from the crowd on the pretext of being tired and hungry, which he certainly was.

Calling Azura to his side, he made his way to the local Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy quickly healed Blaze and gave Milo a key to a room he could spend the night in. As soon as he closed the room door, a wave of unbridled joy and excitement slammed into his mind from Azura, and she hurled herself into his arms;

"Brr-eeeee! Breeooooooonnn!"

Blaze burst himself out of his ball, and began dancing about, ecstatically. However, he stopped short, and turned to Milo with his gaze turned downward. Milo presumed he was feeling guilty about losing to Cynthia's Aipom.

"Hey, Blaze", Milo knelt down to comfort his new friend, "you did wonderful, don't worry about the result. You gave it your best, even after that brutal combo move she landed. As far as I'm concerned, this battle was a win for all of us. After all, those were the Champion's Pokémon!"

This cheered Blaze right up, and he resumed his dancing about.

Milo left the two Pokémon to rest and play in the room as he cleaned himself up from the battles and travel. After his shower, Milo came back to the room to find Azura smothering a small flame that had singed the sheets of Milo's bed and scorched a small section of carpet. It seemed Blaze had once again accidentally lived up to his name. He knew it, and was back to feeling guilty.

"Hey, don't worry too much, Blaze. It's alright; we'll just leave some money for Nurse Joy and apologize. Promise me you'll try and keep that kind of thing under control, though!"

The small fire monkey nodded vigorously, and all three of them went out to the cafeteria to eat a late dinner.

After a hearty meal, the day's activities caught up to them and they settled into their room. Milo was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

As far as first days go, he'd had a great one.

Author's Notes:

Chapter 2 Thoughts: Here's the first real action and battling. I really enjoy the psychological aspect of Pokémon battling, hopefully it's just as engaging for you to read, and not laborious or overdone. If so, tell me!

As usual, I'd love to hear your thoughts, any thoughts at all! Ask me your questions! I obviously don't own Pokémon, just my OC's.

If you like it, read on, and feel free to follow/favorite. Help others find this story! Thanks for reading! Cheers, all!