What's up, guys and gals? This chapter marks the start of a mini arc, which will feature the arrival of two new characters this chapter, with a third set to appear once Owen and company make their way back to Castelia. So, Owen will be meeting two new rivals and battling one of them in what should be an intense battle, given how interesting of a character he is. With that being said, let's start this up!
ATTENTION: This chapter has a lot of important stuff going on/being introduced/being brought back, so skim at your own risk! And please forgive me for any spelling or grammatical mistakes. I wrote this at 2:00, and started editing at about 5:00. From about 4-5:00 I started writing the next chapter, so expect an update within the next twelve hours :)
Owen's team
Snivy, (f), level 10, Tackle, Leer, Absorb, Vine Whip
Tranquill, (f), level 19, Tackle, Growl, Gust, Quick Attack
Blitzle, (m), level 15, Quick Attack, Shock Wave
Sawk, (m), level 27, Brick Break, Bulk Up, Mega Punch, Blaze Kick
Heatmor, (m), level 21, Flame Burst, Tackle, Hone Claws, Flame Wheel
"CJ, look! It's an all you can eat buffet!" Owen shouted in-between bites of food. The teen continued grabbing shrimp and shoving it in his mouth at a rapid pace, disgusting all of the people around him.
"I don't think he'll ever grow up," CJ muttered while shaking his head. The teen turned his head back to its normal position, and he put his sunglasses back over his eyes while he sat on the deck of the S.S Anne and tanned.
"It really does seem like that," Fate commented while keeping a watchful eye over her six Pokemon. Daisy and Rose ran around the ship playing a game of tag while Hez and Venom gazed in the direction of their destination and talking about what they would do once they arrived on land. Angel looked around aimlessly, trying to find something to do, but she couldn't. Puff, however, was nowhere to be seen. Owen's Pokemon were all too busy watching their trainer devour the entire supply of shrimp, while CJ's Pokemon laid lazily by their trainer.
"I wonder when this darn egg is going to hatch. It better be soon," CJ said to himself angrily as he held the egg against his chest. "How much longer do you guys think it'll be?"
Leaf shrugged and Wotter began snoring in his slumber, which instantly killed CJ's excitement.
"Guys, why don't we go check out the battlefields by the back of the ship?" Owen quizzed while looking at all five of his Pokemon. They cheered in response, and Snivy hopped on Owen's shoulder before the group made their way to the battlefields. Just as Owen was about to head off, Puff flew towards him in her inflated state with a competitive grin on her face. "Do you want to come help us, Puff?" Owen asked as if he were an awful television reporter. Puff nodded, so Owen yelled,
"Fate, Puff's gonna help me train over at the battlefields!"
"Okay! Make sure she doesn't get hurt! I need to practice with her for our next contest!" Puff cringed at the mentioning of the upcoming contest, which made Owen laugh. After navigating past the water park and another dining hall, Owen and the six Pokemon laid their eyes on two sets of three battlefields. Only one was open, so Owen darted towards it.
As soon as Owen stepped foot on the well kept battlefield, a voice shouted at him.
"Hey! We were here first!"
Owen turned and saw a boy running towards the battlefield. When he stopped, he held his index finger up, telling Owen that he needed to catch his breath. After taking about five minutes to recover from his slight loss of oxygen, the boy took his hands off his knees and stood up straight. He looked like he was a year older than Owen, and he looked to be slightly above average height for his age. He had a slim yet athletic build, and perfect posture. Along with that, the boy had messy black hair that ended in spikes on his neck. His black eyes were hard to miss with his pasty white skin tone, but he would've looked very weird with a tan. The grey shirt he wore had a picture of a blue and black fire at his chest, and he wore black jeans with blue and black running shoes. On top of that was a thin black jacket with short sleeves and a hoody that was left unbuttoned. The most noticeable piece of clothing was a sharp tooth hanging on a necklace that laid comfortably on his neck.
"Really? I didn't see anyone here," Owen replied without trying to sound disrespectful. Getting in a fight with this kid wouldn't end up well, because it looked like he practiced some sort of martial art, which Owen assumed because of the boy throwing a flurry of punches at the air before finishing with a wicked kick that could've sent a Snorlax over a mountain.
"I was," he shot back. "I just left to get some shrimp, but some fatso ate all of them," the boy told Owen, who sweat dropped in response. "Wait a second… you're the fatso?" the teen asked after seeing Owen's reaction. "Hahahahaha! Why are you on the battlefield? You trying to work the weight off? Hahahaha!"
"Shut up!" Owen shouted angrily. The boy wiped a tear from his eye before sticking his right hand out as if he was signaling a truce.
"Sorry. It's so ironic, though. Hey, is that a Sawk!?" the obnoxious and unnamed teen asked.
"Yeah. He's really strong, too," Owen replied while patting Sawk on the back. The fighting type flexed his muscles in response, causing the boy to run over and examine Sawk closely.
"He sure looks like it. I've never seen one in such good shape before! You know, they're really hard to come by. I bet if you were to sell this guy to a fighting specialist, you'd get top dollar," the boy told Owen. After turning his attention away from Sawk, he saw Puff standing next to the fighting type. "Wait, why do you have a Jigglypuff?" the pale teen asked Owen.
"Oh, it's not mine. She belongs to my friend. Puff just wanted to help me and my team practice for the upcoming tournament and our gym battle in Castelia," Owen answered.
"That's cool. I know people judge Pokemon's strength based on their species, but that looks really strong too." Owen nodded in agreement with a toothy grin, but the boy acted like he had did something wrong. "I mean… strength doesn't matter. I catch my Pokemon based on if I feel connected to them. True strength is unlocked when trainer and Pokemon share a close bond," the teen said aloud. Owen felt that the boy was just reciting a book or something, but he did agree with that philosophy.
"Me too!" Owen exclaimed. "But if I ever did find a strong Pokemon, I'd definitely catch it."
The boy seemed angered by Owen's statement, and he walked back to where he and Owen had started their conversation. Then, he unexpectedly drew a Pokeball from his belt. "How about a battle? I want a tune-up for the Vermillion City Tournament!" he shouted angrily, which confused Owen and the Pokemon.
He then looked at them, and all of the Pokemon seemed to accept the challenge. Even Puff seemed fired up by the boy's proposition, which Owen found strange.
"Let's do it. How does a 3 vs 3 sound?" Owen asked in response while putting off his questioning of Puff's excitement.
"Sounds good to me," the boy replied. "By the way, my name's Dante Solidad!" the boy exclaimed while giving Owen a thumbs up.
"I'm Owen Plateau. Nice to meet you."
The boy completely disregarded Owen's response, and he began looking around at the other battlefields. "Can we get a referee over here!?" he shouted obnoxiously, grabbing the attention of every trainer. One boy walked out of the crowd that was beginning to form around the battlefield, and he looked at both sides.
The boy looked to be older than both Owen and Dante despite standing at 5 foot 6 (or 169cm). He had a very muscular build for his size, and he had messy, spiked, turquoise hair. On his head was a Boston Celtics hat, and he wore a black t-shirt with a picture of a Manectric using Thunder. Over the shirt was a partially zipped green college jacket with an A on it, and he wore long red pants with a picture of a Tyrogue printed on both legs. To top it off, he wore a pair of blue Nike air maxes.
"The name's Astral Wave, and I'll be your referee!" he started.
"I'm Owen Plateau," Owen told Astral.
"And I'm Dante Solidad," Dante added.
"This battle will be a… 3 vs 3 battle between Owen and Dante! The battle is over once all three Pokemon on one side are no longer able to compete! Furthermore, trainers may not substitute their Pokemon! If a Pokemon is withdrawn, they are automatically disqualified! Dante, choose your first Pokemon!" Astral ordered.
"Dew, come on out!" Dante shouted as he threw a Great Ball in the air. An Oshawott appeared in front of Dante, prompting Owen to look back at his five Pokemon.
"Snivy, go get 'em!" Owen told the grass type. Snivy made her way to the middle of the battlefield while basking the applause of her teammates, causing Dante to laugh.
"This battle will be between Dew and Snivy! Begin!"
"Dew, use Water Gun to start things off!" Dante commanded. Dew reared back before firing a blast of water towards Snivy. The grass snake easily dodged the attack, leading her to sneer at Dante and Dew.
"Snivy, use Tackle at full speed!" Owen ordered. Snivy dashed towards Dew, but Dante and Dew were prepared to counter the basic attack.
"Stop Snivy, and follow it up with Headbutt!" Dante shouted while throwing his arms around violently. Dew stuck his stubby arms out just before Snivy could send him flying. The grass type starter was stopped instantly, however, and the crowd gasped. Dew then slammed his head against Snivy's, causing the under leveled starter to stumble back to Owen while holding her head in pain.
"Shoot a vine at Dew with Vine Whip!" While Snivy rubbed her aching head, a vine shot from her neck and sped towards Dew. A smile grew on Owen's face as he watched the super effective attack close in, but his happiness vanished in a matter of seconds.
"Roll and then run towards Snivy!" Dew did a somersault and rolled underneath the super effective attack, causing the crowd to cheer for the popular Unova Pokemon.
"Keep up the pressure! Use Vine Whip repeatedly!" Owen shouted desperately. Snivy fired another vine at Dew, and she managed to land her first successful attack of the battle. Dew was stopped dead in his tracks, but he maintained his composure.
"Punch and kick the vines away! Dew took a fighter's stance and began to punch and kick away the incoming vines, rendering Snivy's assault useless. "Now use Tackle!" After knocking away another vine, Dew dashed towards Snivy at full speed, giving Owen little time to counter.
"Spin and use Vine Whip to trip Dew!" Before Dew could move any further Snivy shot two vines his way. The super effective attack took Dew's legs out from underneath his tiny body, causing the water type to roll like a tire. Owen's Pokemon erupted with cheers for the grass snake, and she waved her thanks to them.
"Do a cart-wheel that'll lead into a Tackle!" Dante countered as he noticed Snivy's attention being drawn away from the battle. Dew managed to recover from the attack and he launched himself, headfirst, towards the other Unova starter.
"Deflect it with your tail!" Owen barked, causing Snivy to turn around as fast as she could. She whipped her tail forward in an attempt to keep Dew from knocking her into the crowd behind Owen, but the water type starter stopped on a dime.
"Now grab Snivy's tail and slam her against the ground!" Dew's stubby arms extended and grabbed Snivy's tail. Before she should do anything, Dew turned around and threw Snivy against the ground.
"Snivy!" Owen shouted as he watched the grass type Pokemon lay on the ground while fading out of consciousness.
"Finish it with Aqua Tail!" Dante ordered. Dew jumped high in the air while a coating of water appeared around his tail. After doing a front flip, Dew's water-covered tail smacked against Snivy, knocking the small snake out immediately.
"Snivy is unable to battle! Owen, choose your next Pokemon!" Astral shouted. The crowd cheered for Dante and Dew while Owen picked Snivy up and put her with the four other Pokemon. He then turned to face Dante.
"Nice job, Snivy. You were awesome." Taking a deep breath, Owen cleared his mind of the loss he just suffered while he placed Snivy to Blitzle's right and Tranquill's left. "Tranquill, go!" the teen shouted while pointing at Dew. Tranquill instantly took to the sky and circled Dew, causing the water type to become uneasy.
"This battle will be between Dew and Tranquill! Begin!" Astral shouted while throwing his arms down to his sides.
"Use Water Gun to take Tranquill out of the sky, Dew!" Dante's Oshawott reared back before firing a stream of water towards the bird, however, the move was ineffective due to the height Tranquill was flying at.
"Tranquill, descend while spinning and then use Gust!" Owen shouted while throwing his left fist forward. Tranquill descended and flew around the Water Gun before spinning and throwing her wings forward. The Gust attacked quickly turned into a twister due to Tranquill's spinning, which pinned Dew against the ground.
"Shake it off and use Tackle!" Dante commanded. After Tranquill's Gust attack faded, Dew hopped back on his feet before lunging at Tranquill, who was standing a few feet away.
"Fly in the air! Then use Gust again!" Tranquill shot straight in the air at a ridiculous velocity that led to Dew skidding across the battlefield face first. The otter stomped on the ground angrily while his opponent continued circling overhead, and the crowd began to cheer for Owen. Suddenly, Dew was pinned against the ground again by a powerful wind that began cutting his body.
"Dew, fight through it!" Dante instructed while doing some karate moves Owen wished he didn't see. To his shock, Owen watched Dew stand up during the Gust attack.
"That's not gonna happen with Tranquill's strength," Owen told Dante. "Tranquill, use Tackle!" Dew stumbled once the powerful wind ceased, and he tried regaining his balance as fast as possible. As Tranquill closed in, Dew accomplished his goal, and Dante spoke up.
"Dew, use Razor Shell!" Dew grabbed the scalchop on his chest and a blue light trailed the weapon. The water type threw the shell forward, but Tranquill dodged the attack and blew past Dew. The water type, however, didn't notice Tranquill had made a sharp turn and was speeding back.
"Wrap this up with Quick Attack!" Owen called. As Dew turned, he was crushed by Tranquill's wicked Quick Attack. The smaller Pokemon was thrown across the battlefield as result, and his eyes were shut tight.
"Dew is unable to battle! Dante, choose your next Pokemon!" Astral told the older boy while he took out the Oshawott's Pokeball.
"Dew, great work out there. I appreciate everything you did." With that, Dante grabbed a second Pokeball from his belt, and he threw it in the air. "Brago, let's do this thing!" A small eagle appeared from the Pokeball. Feathers covered its entire body, especially around the tiny Pokemon's head. Owen noticed a small line of red and blue feathers on the Pokemon's head and figured it wasn't important.
"Wow! He has a Rufflet!? Those things are soooo rare!" a random girl in the audience said aloud.
"This battle will be between Brago and Tranquill! Begin!"
"Tranquill, start by using Quick Attack!" Owen yelled over the cheering crowd. Tranquill zipped down towards the baby eagle and struck it at max power. The smaller flying type was thrown into the air by the force of the attack, but there didn't appear to be much damage dealt.
"Brago, strike back with an Aerial Ace!" Dante yelled back. Brago flew high in the air before tucking his wings in and descending at mach speed. Before Owen or Tranquill could react, the small Pokemon slammed into Tranquill while white streaks of light trailed his body.
"Shake it off, Tranquill! Use Gust to change Brago's flight pattern!" Owen shouted. Tranquill nodded at her trainer's command before flying to Brago's level. With a quick flap of her wings, a powerful burst of air hit Brago. The baby Pokemon tried to stick his wings out like a jet, but he began to lose control of his movement.
"Hmm… that's a really smart move," Dante said to himself. "Brago, ascend with Aerial Ace and then use Drill Peck!" In the blink of an eye, Brago escaped the wind tunnel Tranquill had created, and then he began spinning like a drill while his beak extended and began glowing silver. Tranquill took the brunt of the attack and was slammed into the ground. Brago flew away from Tranquill and high into the air while a confident smirk was plastered on his face.
"Tranquill, are you okay?" Owen's question was answered when Tranquill got up and squawked at Brago angrily before taking to the sky. "Let's use Quick Attack!" Dante watched as Brago was destroyed by a powerful Quick Attack, which led to Tranquill batting down her opponent with her wings.
"Hang in there, Brago! Use Drill Peck while spinning!"
"Tranquill, you do the same while using Quick Attack!" Both Pokemon obeyed their trainers and flew into each other in the middle of the battlefield. Both moves cancelled each other out, however, and the two Pokemon were thrown back to their trainers.
"Once more, Brago! Use Drill Peck!" Dante shouted, Brago slowly got back up before his beak extended and began to glow silver. The baby eagle then took off and sped towards Tranquill.
"Slow it down with Gust!" Owen screamed. Tranquill hopped back up and threw her wings forward. The powerful burst of wind stopped Brago dead in his tracks, but Dante refused to let his Pokemon be denied.
"Speed through with Aerial Ace!" Much to everyone's surprise, Brago zipped through the Gust while white streaks of light trailed his body. Owen, however, was ready for the incoming attack, and issued Tranquill another command.
"Quick Attack!" Tranquill flew straight into Brago, leading to an explosion. BOOM! A cloud of smoke covered the battlefield, but quickly dissipated. Once everyone was able to see, the collision had resulted in both Pokemon fainting.
"Both Brago and Tranquill are unable to battle! Owen, Dante, choose your last Pokemon!"
Owen turned to look at his remaining choices. Blitzle, Puff, Heatmor, and Sawk eyed the trainer patiently, waiting for him to make his decision. Puff looked at the Pokemon next to her and saw their looks of determination, so she inflated her body and put a scowl on her face.
"Blitzle still can't store enough electricity, so he's out. Puff isn't even mine, and she probably wouldn't even work well with me. Wait… why is she looking at me like that? Does she want me to use her? No way. If I did that, Fate would kill me. Maybe I could use Heatmor… no. I don't want a repeat of the Castelia City Contest, so I can't use him either. I should talk to him about that once we land ashore."
"Sawk, are you up for this?" Owen asked, finally coming to a conclusion. The blue Pokemon looked over at his two teammates before reluctantly nodding. "Alright then. Sawk, you're up!" Owen cried excitedly as his powerhouse made his way onto the battlefield.
"Aura, it's battle time!" Dante roared while throwing a Pokeball forward. A Lucario exploded from the small spherical device, and it growled sat Sawk lowly. The pure fighting type took the growl as a threat, so he tied his robe as tightly as he possibly could before taking an athletic boxer stance.
"This battle will be between Aura and Sawk! Begin!"
"Sawk, use Brick Break repeatedly!" Owen ordered aggressively. Sawk dashed towards his opponent at a breakneck pace before his hands began to glow bright white. The fighting type then reared back and swung, but Aura began dodging the attack without an order from Dante.
"Good start! Use Bone Rush and hit Sawk in the pressure points in his arms!" Dante commanded. Suddenly, a light blue staff of aura appeared in the foe Lucario's paws, and it began to swing at Sawk. Before Owen could do anything, Sawk's left bicep was hit, and it instantly fell to his side limply.
"Get away, Sawk!" Owen shouted nervously. Sawk jumped away from the attack directed towards his right side, and he looked back at Owen uneasily. "Use Blaze Kick!" Sawk sprinted towards the steel and fighting type while his foot turned ablaze before he sprung into the air. Aura tried looking up at her opponent, but the bright sun blinded her.
"Aura, sense where Sawk is and then use Power-Up Punch on his leg after you catch it!" Dante instructed. Aura closed her eyes and stuck both arms out while the two black aura sensors on her head went out to the side. As Sawk swung his foot, Aura spun to the right and caught the super effective attack, causing the entire crowd to gasp.
"Sawk, break free by using Mega Punch!" Owen told the fighting Pokemon. Sawk managed to swing his body upwards as if he were doing a sit up and punched Aura in the nose, causing the jackal to stumble backwards. Owen watched the Pokemon and saw that she was clearly disoriented by the attack, giving him an opportunity to continue. "Now use Brick Break!" With a powerful swing of his right fist, Sawk struck Aura in the chest and his foe was sent flying straight back.
"Aura, recover with Extremespeed!" Aura managed to land thanks to a handstand, and then she disappeared, Sawk and Owen looked around the battlefield until they saw a slight line of energy flying around the battlefield.
"Sawk, focus as hard as you can and use Blaze Kick!" Sawk took a deep breath before his eyes began tracking the movements of the faint white line of energy speeding around the battlefield. His instincts kicked in instantly, and Sawk lunged forward while swing his leg straight down where the speeding blur was about to be.
"Now, Aura! Hit him in the legs!" The sudden outburst from Dante threw off Sawk's balance, causing him to miss Aura by a hair. Due to the extreme force of his foot hitting the ground, Sawk didn't have enough time to dodge his nimble opponent. Aura showed up right in front of Sawk, but the hit him just above the knees, causing his legs to buck. The fighting type then fell to the ground, his legs not moving an inch.
"Sawk, you have to get up! We can't let them win!" Owen shouted to his downed Pokemon. Sawk scowled at the teen. Even though Owen didn't mean it negatively, the command felt as if Sawk were just a puppet used in war. Heatmor noticed Sawk's reluctance to get back up, and he looked around at the other Pokemon to see if they noticed. None of them did. Despite Sawk's disgust with Owen's order, he began to push himself up with his one good arm. As soon as he stood, his legs instantly gave out, causing the crowd to shake their heads in pity.
Heatmor looked at the fighting type in disgust. During their late night, or as Sawk would say 'early morning' practices, Heatmor saw his friend suffer through extreme exhaustion. Yet Sawk managed to willpower his way back on his feet, and he'd continue training for hours on end. His work ethic was ridiculous. Heatmor remembered when he first saw his friend training late at night, his first night with Owen and the others. He woke up early the next night because he wanted to be Sawk's friend, not because he was getting reps in. Sure, he trained as hard as he could when he had the opportunity, but he didn't have the same motives Sawk did. Training for Sawk was a way for him to continue defeating opponents and helping Owen. Heatmor, however, didn't want to acknowledge why he trained. He didn't want anyone to know why he did, either.
"Aura, use Force Palm at max power!" Sawk was lifted up by Aura and she placed a paw on his chest. Sawk tried countering with a Mega Punch, but he was flung back by a sudden burst of energy that shot out of Aura's paw. Sawk tumbled back towards Owen, and he looked over at Heatmor.
The fire type gave him a look of confidence, which Owen noticed. He watched as the two Pokemon communicated on eye contact alone, and Sawk tried pushing himself up yet again.
"Sawk, please hang in there! I know you can do it!" Owen cheered after seeing Heatmor and Blitzle cheering for Sawk. The battered Pokemon's solemn expression cracked slightly to show a smile, but it faded quickly when he felt a wave of pain surge through the three limbs that had been hit.
"Aura, wrap this up with Close Combat!" Dante told his Pokemon.
As Aura sped towards Sawk, Heatmor began seeing everything happen in slow-motion, just like what happened at the contest. The skinny Pokemon began to hold his head in pain before falling to his knees. As he looked back at the battlefield, he saw Fate, CJ, and Fate's Pokemon running over to catch a glimpse of the battle. He then shifted his attention to Sawk and Aura, seeing that Aura was closing in. Sawk turned his head to the right and he locked eyes with Heatmor. The blue Pokemon gave the fire type a weak smile before his eyes shut, causing Heatmor's heart to start racing.
"I have to stop this! I'm not letting it happen again!" Heatmor shouted in his head. He tried springing in front of Sawk to protect him from the attack, but his body refused to let him move. "Wh-Why can't I move!?"
Suddenly, everything stopped moving. The pain in Heatmor's head began to amplify, and he let out a cry of bloody murder while falling to his side.
"Heatmor," a young voice called.
The aforementioned Pokemon shot up off the ground and looked around frantically. He had heard that voice before.
"Heatmor," it called again. A hazy body appeared in-between Sawk and Aura, but Heatmor couldn't tell what it was. His heart began racing, and he started sweating profusely. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before, so why was it happening now? For some odd reason, though, he felt connected to the hazy figure. It was almost like he had seen the figure his whole life, even though this was the first time it had ever happened to him.
The next two words Heatmor heard made his heart drop.
"Save me."
The hazy figure disappeared from sight, and Heatmor was paralyzed in terror. Was the figure telling him something bad was going to happen? Heatmor didn't want to take any chances and risk an awful situation arising. He had to act fast.
Suddenly, the battle resumed to its normal speed, and Heatmor tried lunging forward. Before he could do so, Aura was knocked back by a small creature. The crowd began to cheer for the Pokemon that rescued Sawk, but Heatmor couldn't join in on the festivities. He looked over to his right and saw Blitzle jumping up and down excitedly, but his heart wouldn't let him. His mind had completely shut everything else out.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Dante shouted at Owen angrily. "You can't have another Pokemon protect one that's battling. Especially one that isn't even your own!"
Owen looked down to see Puff protecting Sawk. The small Pokemon had moved so fast he didn't even see her move. The teen then looked over at Astral.
"Dante's right. But you shouldn't have attacked Sawk, man. Everyone saw he couldn't battle anymore," Astral told Dante in a subtle scolding tone. "Sorry, Owen, but Dante is the winner by knockout and disqualification."
Owen nodded at the referee respectfully, understanding that he had broken a league rule for battling. With that, the entire crowd dispersed, leaving Owen, his conscious Pokemon, Dante and Aura, Astral, Fate and CJ, and all of Fate's Pokemon alone on the battlefield.
The losing trainer quickly made his way over to Sawk while Snivy and Blitzle looked at their trainer from a few feet away. and propped him up from his laying place.
"Sawk, I'm sorry I pushed you so hard. I let winning get in the way of your health, and I feel terrible for it." Sawk's eyes slowly opened, and he stretched his shaking right arm out. He then rested his hand on Owen's shoulder and gave a nod that replaced his typical bow. Owen hugged the injured Pokemon tightly before returning him back to his Pokeball.
"Yo, Owen," Dante said to his opponent while walking over with his powerful Lucario by his side. "I didn't mean to go that far. I guess I just got fired up about battling a really strong trainer. No hard feelings?" Dante proposed while sticking his hand out for a handshake.
"It's cool. I wouldn't want you taking it easy. I probably would've done the same thing. After all, Sawk kept making an effort to battle. According to the league rules, you had all the right to keep going."
Dante smiled at Owen thankfully before bowing just like Sawk normally did. Aura mimicked her trainer's actions, and bowed to Owen after shaking his hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Heatmor standing as still as a statue all by himself. The aura-wileding Pokemon decided to walk over to Heatmor, but no one noticed.
"Hey, you," Aura said to Heatmor. The fire type slowly turned his attention to Aura. Heatmor was still terrified of what he had just experienced, and it seemed that not a single person watching the battle saw what he had gone through. Did he even fall to the ground and scream? Or was that just his imagination? That question would eat away at him until he found an answer.
"Ye…Yeah?" Heatmor stuttered. Aura smiled at the nervous Pokemon. The expression on her face calmed Heatmor down slightly, and he ignored his earlier fears.
"You and Sawk are really good friends, aren't you?" Aura asked, trying to find something that could be talked about easily.
"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Heatmor quizzed.
"I couldn't distinguish your aura from his initially, which I've never seen before."
"Is that a big deal?" Heatmor asked curiously. He began to walk back to Owen, and Aura stayed by his side. She seemed surprised by his question, but figured he hadn't been in contact with many other Pokemon before being caught, so his understanding of others' abilities was minimal at best.
"I don't know. I felt an overwhelmingly powerful aura when I was near your side of the battlefield, but it wasn't Sawk's. His was quite strong, the second strongest I've felt since I've been alive." Aura looked over at Heatmor and laughed slightly. Heatmor didn't understand what Aura found funny, but he smiled nonetheless.
"Who had the strongest? Was it your mom? A legendary?" Heatmor asked like a little kid would ask their parent if they could get something. He stared at Aura intently while they made their way into the dining hall with the trainers.
"No, Heatmor. It was you." The fire type stopped walking immediately while the female Lucario continued walking before reaching her trainer's side and being withdrawn to her Pokeball.
"You're competing in the tournament, too, Astral?" CJ asked the teen he had just met.
"That's right. I figured since my fourth badge was waiting in Virbank, I might as well check my competition and how I stack up. Most of the trainers here are rookies, though," he answered with a hint of disappointment. "I haven't really had a challenge yet."
"Hey, I'm a rookie!" Dante shouted after taking offense to Astral's comment. "I think I could give you a run for your money," the pale teen added.
"I hope you will. I'm motivated by competition, and lately I've felt pretty lazy," the hat-wearing teen responded peacefully. Dante nodded at Astral with determination burning bright in his eyes, causing Owen to laugh.
"You know, Astral, Owen's competed in a couple of leagues before this," Fate told the tranquil boy. Astral turned his attention to Owen, and a slight smirk was on his face.
"I figured. That Sawk of your's wouldn't respect any normal trainer. I look forward to battling you," Astral told Owen while sticking his hand out.
"I can't wait either," Owen replied while firmly shaking Astral's hand. "Only if Akito were here. I'd totally battle him," Owen murmured.
"Wait, do you mean Akito Burns?" Astral interrogated. Owen didn't know why Akito's name piqued Astral's interest, but he nodded anyway. "That guy beat me back in the Ever Grande Conference semifinals last year! He was tough, too. I only knocked out one of his Pokemon, and that was after it had faced my first five. I think he let me get that one so it wouldn't like like such a blowout."
"Wait, you reached the semis in Hoenn?" Dante asked in awe.
"That's right. I went top 8 in Johto, two years ago, and was a semifinalist in Kanto four years ago. What about you, Owen? How have you done in league tournaments?"
"I went top 8 in Kanto when I started about four years ago, so I guess there was a chance of us battling if I had advanced," Owen joked with Astral. "Uhmm… I regressed in Johto and Hoenn, going top 16 in both of those three and two years ago respectively, and…" Owen paused as a flame of anger began burning in his chest. He took a deep breath while Astral waited for his response.
"Would ya' hurry up already! I want to hear how my rival did!" Dante asked obnoxiously. He saw the glaring looks from everyone, causing him to rub his neck sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm just really interested. Me and my mom never really had TV, so we couldn't watch all the leagues," Dante told the table of trainers while apologizing.
"Then I was the runner-up in Sinnoh last year. It didn't look close because I only took out one of his Pokemon, but the other five were so close to fainting. He just kept withdrawing them before they did, and then he'd treat them like crap," Owen spat while looking down and avoiding everyone's faces. "I promised my friends I'd win it all," Owen continued, remembering his vow to Jet, his pact with Kane, his promise to Shadix… and then swearing he'd win for Janine.
The boy rose from the table and walked past the three Pokemon belonging to him. Snivy, Blitzle, and Heatmor then followed their trainer out the dining hall and out to the deck dedicated to people who wanted to relax. Owen leaned over the rail at the end of the boat and buried his face in his hands.
"I'm sorry, Janine. I couldn't protect you, and then I couldn't keep that dumb promise." Owen began to weep all by his lonesome while Snivy and Heatmor watched from afar.
"Heatmor, Blitzle, let's go cheer him up," Snivy told the bigger Pokemon that had saved her twice.
"You're right. We need to be there for him," Blitzle added confidently.
The anteater Pokemon looked at Owen and his highly emotional state before shaking his head. Even though he hadn't been Owen's Pokemon for a week, Heatmor knew it was best to not bother his trainer.
"We need to let him handle this on his own. Come on, let's go check on Tranquill and Sawk. It's the least we can do for them after their battles," Heatmor countered. Snivy and Blitzle looked over at the fire type as if he didn't have a heart, and they shook their heads in disgust.
"Heatmor, you have no idea what he's going through!" Snivy snapped, causing Heatmor to stumble back timidly. "If you want to go see them, feel free to. Blitzle and I are going to stay with Owen." Heatmor watched as Snivy and Blitzle made their ways to Owen and sat next to him. Their trainer began to hide his face even more, causing Heatmor to walk away angrily.
"They don't think I know anything just because I'm the new guy. Well guess what? I do!" Heatmor yelled to himself as he stomped over to the medical center for Pokemon that had participated in battles or practice.
"Heatmor." The fire type looked around the person-less boat and began to speed up his pace. "Heatmor, don't go," the chilling voice called. Heatmor froze even though his brain told him not to. He recognized the voice as the one that belonged to the hazy body he saw during the battle earlier that day.
"What do you want?" Heatmor asked timidly while looking around the entire boat. There was no response, so Heatmor sprinted the rest of the way to the medical center. Upon his arrival, he saw Sawk and Tranquill making their way out of a room.
"Heatmor, what are you doing here?" Tranquill asked curiously while she continued flying towards the door with Sawk. Heatmor turned back around and began walking with his two teammates, hoping the voice wouldn't call him while he was with Sawk and Tranquill.
"Well, Owen's really sad about something, and I figured it'd be best to give him some space. Snivy and Blitzle, on the other hand-"
"That's all I need to hear," Tranquill sang while cutting Heatmor off mud-sentence. "They both probably know he wants to be left alone, but they've got such big hearts. Ever since I met them, they've been attached to Owen almost like a baby and its mom," Tranquill told Heatmor, which surprised him. Snivy came off as an independent Pokemon that respected Owen, and Blitzle…. well, he wasn't surprised by that.
"Maybe we should check on them," Heatmor suggested.
"I'll tell them to leave Owen alone," Tranquill told Heatmor. "They're only not listening to you because they don't know you that well." With that, Tranquill took off and flew to where Owen was sitting. Heatmor hung his head sadly at the second part of Tranquill's reply, but he felt a powerful hand pat him on the back.
"Hey, it's not a big deal. Give it some time, and you'll be friends with them in no time," Sawk advised, causing Heatmor to smile at the thought of becoming friends with the other two Pokemon. "And if you don't, we're still friends," Sawk joked while bumping into Heatmor.
"Yeah," Heatmor sighed as he looked up at the stars.
"Hey, why don't we go do some late night sparring? I could use some help after that Lucario kicked my butt," Sawk proposed while smiling at Heatmor. The fire type didn't return the smile, causing Sawk to become confused. "What's the matter, Heatmor? Don't you love battling?"
"…" Heatmor remained silent.
"What's bothering you?" Sawk asked bluntly. Heatmor turned, feeling his anger building.
"I know you intentionally didn't get up after Aura hit you," Heatmor stated angrily. The reaction Heatmor expected was completely different from the one he saw. He expected Sawk to adamantly deny it, and possibly even fight him for making such accusations. Sawk, however, hung his head in shame and nodded.
"You're right. Ever since the Castelia City Contest, I haven't had the desire to battle," Sawk confessed before punching himself in the head in disgust. "Does anyone else know that I threw the match?" Sawk asked worriedly while looking around, hoping that one of the other Pokemon wasn't around. Because his searching was so frantic, Sawk failed to spot out a figure that was hiding behind a garbage can. The Pokemon blended in quite well, but if one were to inspect the area, they'd be able to see the Pokemon in a heartbeat.
"No," Heatmor replied. Sawk let out a deep breath, and put his hand to his racing heart. "But I'm going to tell everyone if you don't tell Owen why you don't want to battle," Heatmor threatened. Sawk looked at his friend wide-eyed. The Pokemon near the trashcan gasped at the startling threat before making its way back to its room in the S.S Anne.
"You'd blackmail me like that?" Sawk asked rhetorically. He shook his head at Heatmor and began to walk past the city Pokemon. Heatmor waited a few seconds to reply, but when he did, Sawk stopped and listened.
"I'm not blackmailing you, Sawk. You're my best friend, and I'd never do that to you," Heatmor told the stronger Pokemon as he began to approach Sawk. "If you keep doing that act you did today, you're going to get seriously hurt, and you know what would happen if I saw that," Heatmor whispered to the calm fighting type. "Even though I blacked out, I remember how I felt before I lost consciousness."
"Yeah? And what was that?" Sawk asked angrily, expecting an insincere answer from the Pokemon he thought was his friend.
"I was going to kill them. I was going to do anything in my power to keep them from hurting you," Heatmor replied quietly, almost as if he were telling a secret. Sawk was caught off guard by the heartfelt response, and he waited for Heatmor so they could walk together.
"We didn't even know each other for a day, and you were ready to kill someone to save me? You're crazy, Heatmor," Sawk said while laughing. "But that's what I like about you. And just so you know, you freaking out isn't why I don't want to battle anymore," Sawk muttered as he and Heatmor began walking through the halls of the inside of the cruise ship.
"Then why don't you want to battle? You said that you didn't want to ever since Castelia," Heatmor asked Sawk while trying to find out why his best friend lost his will to do what he was so good at.
"Can you keep a secret?" Sawk asked as he and Heatmor walked down the hall that there room was in.
"Of course," the anteater responded. "I swear on my life I won't tell anyone... unless you try getting yourself killed in battle again. Then I'll tell everyone," Heatmor said half-jokingly.
"…I want to compete in contests," Sawk confessed while looking away from Heatmor. He felt embarrassed to express his wish with anyone other than his subconscious, but Sawk felt like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders.
"That's awesome!" Heatmor exclaimed while whispering, which surprised Sawk. He expected Heatmor to laugh at him, mock him, and then tell everyone. The excitement behind Heatmor's voice however, made Sawk feel confident about his goals. "You'd be great at those. What's even better is that you could keep that Brooklyn girl from winning a ribbon."
"That's an added bonus," Sawk replied with a bright grin, something he had never shown to anyone before. "Besides, it lets me expand on my boring old fighting style of hand-to-hand combat. I'm not sure exactly what I'll do if I do compete, but I plan on being the best at it!"
"You know you need to tell Owen about this," Heatmor said to his bipedal teammate.
"I know," Sawk stated. "Tomorrow, I'll tell him." After that, Heatmor tried opening the door to Owen's room, but Sawk pushed the fire type's arm away.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Heatmor asked, slightly annoyed about not being able to go to sleep immediately. Sawk looked him in the eyes with a much more stern look than normal, alerting Heatmor that Sawk's upcoming words would be very serious.
"Now that I'm leaving, Owen's going to need a new go-to Pokemon," he started. Heatmor didn't understand what Sawk was getting at, so the older Pokemon continued. "You've got a lot of potential Heatmor, more than I've ever seen in any other Pokemon. You're going to do some incredible things, and I'll be there for all of them. Just remember; when you think you've reached your limits, you're only scratching the surface." Sawk then placed hand on Heatmor's shoulder, and he gave the fire type a bro hug.
Heatmor stared at Sawk, and his head was spinning. When Dante's Lucario talk about his aura he disregarded her findings. Heatmor didn't know if Sawk or Aura were right about his strength and potential, but their words gave him the drive to make their predictions become reality. He was going to show the world power they had never seen before. At the time, however, that was just a goal he'd be striving towards.
"I won't let you down, Sawk."
With that, Sawk and Heatmor arrived at Owen's door and tiptoed into the room holding their sleeping trainer and three sleeping teammates. Sawk sat in the corner of the room and took a meditation pose before closing his eyes. Heatmor laid at the bottom of Owen's bed and tried clearing his mind of the day's events he'd never forget. Sawk telling him that he wanted to compete in contests, and being told that he had near unlimited potential kept him from sleeping. But that wasn't the only thing that kept him awake that night.
"Heatmor, save me."
Holy crap! This chapter you're reading (or skimming, which I suggest you don't do if you don't want to miss anything important) was finished in one sitting that took about two hours! The original plan for this chapter was just introducing Dante, but Astral seemed to fit perfectly in with his personality, and I just ran with the idea of what happened after Owen's battle. So, a lot of stuff happened this chapter, and I'm sorry for having that happen, but I'm so happy with the way this chapter turned out. I've never been fond of making chapters long just so I'll have more words, so I'm genuinely impressed that I was able to sit down and stick to this. Anyways, Owen battled and lost to Dante, but they became rivals. We also met Astral (who will be a very strong rival, just like Dante and Akito), and learned that he and Dante are competing in the Vermillion City Tournament. Then, we learned about Sawk's new desire, and the personalities of Owen's Pokemon and their relationships were shown way more than usual. Heatmor turned into the main focus this chapter, and he will be featured in a ton of chapters similar to how he was in this one, because of his bizarre, and pretty sad past.
I could probably write another two paragraphs for the closing note/wrapup, but I'll make it as short as possible. Next chapter will be the return (or the debut, IMO) of two "new" characters, the return of an old character or two, and new additions to both Owen's and CJ's teams! Till next time, peace out.
Next Chapter: A Big Old Family Reunion