Let the gym battles begin! Owen will be taking on Viola in this chapter after catching a Pikachu, who was the leader of a group, and he will be vying for his first badge. Now, with a collection of inexperienced and newly acquired Pokemon, will Owen be able to pull off a stunning victory? Let's find out!

Jaylon101: Aside from Charizard, Owen will have one other Pokemon that can (and will) Mega Evolve

erson (I'm only calling you this because the full name doesn't show up): I figured someone would look at that, cuz he's a jerk! JK, but I'm glad you liked it

Guest: Thanks for reviewing! I love the submission, but I'm sorry, I can't use the OC because I have too many at this point. IF I do a spinoff, I'll definitely add it :)

midnightrebellion86: Thanks!

tepigsfire758: I think it's a little too early to judge Froakie at this time (Pikachu was the leader of his group, after all), but Snivy was awful XD Don't worry, Froakie's gonna step up within the next six or seven chapters. And I will explain Owen not training (partially, I didn't want to do a training chapter this early) so far

Monfernofreak: You scoundrel ;P And there will be a Pokemon on the team later in the story that is like Krokorok, but you already knew that :3

captaincold: It's good to hear from you, and thanks for the compliment! I was kind of going for the matchup of Owen's experience versus his Pokemon's inexperience, so I'm glad someone noticed ;)

Owen's team

Froakie, (m), level 8, Pound, Leer, Bubble

Charizard, (m), level 69, Flamethrower, Dragon Claw, Seismic Toss, Blast Burn, ?*, ?*

Caterpie, (f), level 4, Tackle, String Shot

Pikachu, (m), level 10, Thundershock, Quick Attack, Thunderbolt

"Listen up, everyone, our first gym battle is going to be really tough. I know we can do it, though, and you should all be confident in yourselves and each other!" Owen exclaimed. Froakie and Caterpie cheered excitedly while Pikachu rolled his eyes. He was more than confident in himself, but those two? Pikachu sighed, but froze up when he saw Charizard glaring at him. To say the winged lizard was terrifying was an understatement, as Charizard began to release ember from his nose. "Caterpie, Pikachu, return." Owen zapped the two Pokemon he had recently caught back into their Pokeballs, and Froakie hopped onto Charizard's back.

The trainer and his two starters passed through a rather thin forest, and they reached a clearing after a minute of walking. Upon reaching the clearing, Owen and his Pokemon noticed a large hole on the side of a cliff. There was also a river in-between the cliff and clearing, and a waterfall was in front of the hole. Owen looked down at his brand-new Pokedex and analyzed the picture on the screen. It was the same hole in the same cliff, so he walked down towards the river and hopped from rock to rock while Charizard flew over the water. Froakie cheered as Charizard landed on the ground in front of the waterfall, and he waited for Owen to reach his side.

"This is it, guys. The Chamber of Emptiness." Owen walked behind the waterfall, Froakie ran through it, and Charizard crawled around the water while roaring angrily at the water. Once all three arrived inside the hole, they were wowed by the area. There were flowers all over the ground, and there was another waterfall at the back of the candlelit room.

"Welcome," Viola greeted while sitting on the ground with her legs crossed. She quickly rose to her feet and looked over at the referee, who stood on the right side of the cave. Owen and his two Pokemon continued to look around before snapping out of their gaze when the ref cleared her throat obnoxiously.

"Sorry, this place is just so… beautiful," Owen remarked. "I'm Owen Plateau, by the way. I forgot to introduce myself yesterday," Owen told the gym leader.

"How does a three versus three battle sound, Owen?" Viola quizzed while shooting a glance at her referee.

"Sure! Are you ready, Froakie?"

"Fro!" Froakie shouted energetically while jumping in the air.

"This will be a three versus three gym battle between Owen and Viola, where only the challenger may substitute Pokemon! Furthermore, once all Pokemon on one side are unable to battle, the battle will be over! Viola, choose your first Pokemon!" the referee ordered.

"Spewpa, let's go!" Viola shouted while throwing her first Pokeball into the air. A strange grey caterpillar appeared in front of the young gym leader, and it was covered in white hair with strange sparkles.

"Spewpa, the Scatterdust Pokemon. The beaks of birds can't begin to scratch its stalwart body. To defend itself, it spews powder." Owen looked up at the strange Pokemon that resembled a Kalosian version of Metapod, which made him rethink his decision of Caterpie opening the battle.

"Caterpie, let's do this thing!" Owen shouted while chucking his first Pokeball forwards. In a flash of light, Caterpie landed on the ground and locked eyes with her opponent. The two similar Pokemon both slunk towards the middle of the battlefield, where they exchanged respectful nods.

"This battle will be between Caterpie and Spewpa! Begin!"

"Caterpie, use Tackle!" Owen commanded. Caterpie shot forward and aimed her head at Spewpa, who remained stationary and began shaking its body, which caused a colorful dust to fly into the air.

"Spewpa, dodge and use Bug Bite!" The odd looking bug dodged Caterpie's attack, and then it bit her on the back, causing Caterpie to cry out in pain before dropping to the ground.

"Hang in there, Caterpie! Use String Shot around Spewpa and throw it against the wall!" Caterpie's head whipped around and she covered Spewpa in a sticky string, which completely immobilized the larger bug. Then, Caterpie began to swing her head in a circle, and Spewpa was slammed into the side wall behind the referee, who glared at Owen for his reckless attack.

"Spewpa, are you okay?" Viola inquired as her injured Pokemon slowly ripped through Caterpie's powerful String Shot. The white-haired bug type nodded back to its trainer, prompting Viola to issue another attack. "Good. Now use Tackle!"

"Swing away with String Shot and then use Tackle!" As Spewpa closed in on Caterpie, she fired another String Shot at the top of the cave and swung away from her evolved opponent. Once she landed, Caterpie turned around and lunged at Spewpa headfirst.

"Use Tackle again!" Spewpa turned around and lunged at Caterpie, which led to both bug type's slamming their heads. As a result, they both fell over with their eyes shut, and the referee raised her hands in the air.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle! Trainers, choose your next Pokemon!"

"Thanks for the awesome job, Caterpie. Froakie, do you wanna go out there?" Owen quizzed. Froakie hopped forward with an excited grin on his face as Owen withdrew Caterpie to her Pokeball. Viola then withdrew her Spewpa and took out her second Pokeball.

"Well done, Spewpa. Heracross, go!" Froakie's jaw dropped when he saw he was going to battle the bug and fighting type, and he turned to Owen with a horrified look on his face. Owen nodded at the water starter, which made Froakie sigh before turning back around and looking at his large foe.

"This battle will be between Froakie and Heracross! Begin!"

"Heracross, use Horn Attack!" Heracross' horn turned bright red and it flew towards Froakie, whose eyes shot wide open. Luckily for him, his instincts took over along with Owen ordering an attack.

"Froakie, dodge and hit with Pound!" The acrobatic Pokemon quickly did a backflip and avoided Heracross' horn, and followed up by swinging his glowing white fist at the bug and fighting type.

"Counter, Heracross!" Viola shouted. Owen and Charizard gasped as Heracross' body turned red for a split second, and Owen closed his eyes as soon as Froakie landed his Pound attack. Once Froakie hit Heracross, the bug type wound back and punched Froakie as hard as possible, sending the water type flying past Owen and out of the cave.

"Stay strong, Froakie! Use Bubble!" Owen shouted to his starter as Froakie ran back into the cave. Froakie nodded and jumped into the air before releasing a flurry of high speed bubbles, but Viola and her Heracross weren't fazed by the special attack.

"Power through and use Horn Attack!" Heracross took off into the air by using its wings, and its horn began to glow red. After plowing through all of the bubbles, Heracross spiked Froakie into the ground with a tomahawk whack of its horn.

"Use Pound again!" Owen shouted as Heracross fell towards the ground. Froakie slowly got back up and charged towards his foe while his fists were glowing white, and he jumped towards the bug and fighting type.

"Counter!" Viola yelled just as Froakie wound his arm back to hit Heracross. The latter of the two Pokemon was covered in red energy, and it punched Froakie right after the blue frog landed his Pound attack. As a result of the wicked attack, Froakie was launched across the battlefield and slammed into Owen, who was knocked over by the force of the impact.

"Froakie is unable to battle! Owen, choose your last Pokemon!"

"You tried your hardest out there, Froakie, so be proud," Owen told his water type starter. The nearly unconscious frog nodded with a frown, and Owen laid him near Charizard, who patted the smaller Pokemon on the back. "Pikachu, it's all up to you!" Owen shouted while throwing his last Pokeball. The electric rodent stood in front of his trainer with a look of disgust on his face. He could tell, just by the way Owen was acting, that Froakie and Caterpie had fainted. Sighing, Pikachu knew that he'd have to make up for his teammates' deficiencies.

"This battle will be between Pikachu and Heracross! Begin!"

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Owen ordered. Pikachu dropped to all fours and sprinted towards Heracross at a breakneck pace.

"Coun-" Before Viola could finish her counterattack, Pikachu slammed into Heracross and knocked the large bug onto its back. After Pikachu made his way back to Owen, Heracross got back on its feet with a pained expression. "Wow, that's one fast Pokemon."

"Now use Thundershock!" Pikachu hopped into the air and fired a quick bolt of electricity towards Heracross, but Viola was more than ready to counter the weak electric type attack.

"Block it with Pin Missile!" Heracross threw its arms forwards and released a dozen white arrows towards the Thundershock, and the two attacks canceled each other out, but Pikachu was hit by a few of the remaining arrows, which caused both Viola and Heracross to grin.

"Quick Attack!" Owen yelled for a second time. Pikachu dashed towards Heracross while a white trail of light appeared behind his body, and the electric type was ready to finish the battle.

"Fight back with Counter!" Because he was moving at such a high speed, Pikachu was unable to stop, and he rammed into Heracross while red energy surrounded the beetle's body. After hitting into Heracross, the bug and fighting type punched Pikachu in the face and sent the electric type flying through the air. Once he hit the ground, Pikachu

"Pikachu, let's give this attack everything we've got," Owen told the electric rodent. Pikachu nodded while panting, but he looked ready to end the battle with Viola's Heracross. Charizard and Froakie watched the battlefield intently and kept their eyes locked on Pikachu, who looked tired from using Quick Attack at such a blinding speed. "Zap 'em with Thunderbolt!"

"Heracross, use Horn Attack!" Pikachu jumped into the air while his body was covered in electricity, and he fired a zigzagging bolt of lightning towards Heracross, who took to the air after hearing Viola's order. The bug type's horn began to glow bright red, and Heracross slammed through the Thunderbolt before slamming into Pikachu. The result of the collision was an explosion, and Heracross was sent rolling back to Viola. Once the smoke cleared, both Pokemon were revealed to be unconscious.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle! That means Viola is the winner!"

"Great job, Pikachu. You were incredible out there," Owen told the electric type. Pikachu nodded at his trainer before being withdrawn to his Pokeball, and Owen sighed. Viola withdrew her Heracross back to its Pokeball, and she walked over to Owen, Charizard, and Froakie with a grin on her face.

"That was an impressive battle, especially because you have such new Pokemon," the gym leader complimented. "I can't wait for our rematch, whenever that is."

"Thanks. We'll be ready next time, right, guys?" Owen asked his two Pokemon. Charizard and Froakie nodded in response, and they headed out of the Chamber of Emptiness with Owen. "Charizard, I think it's time to train."

Well, Owen lost. It looks like Froakie, Caterpie, and Pikachu are in for some intense training, and Charizard will assist them. Owen, however, will meet his first and biggest rival of Kalos and have a battle. Till next time, peace out.

Next Chapter: The Beginning of a New Rivalry: While training for his rematch against Viola, Owen meets a teen with a cold personality. After a rough introduction, the two decide to battle. With newfound confidence in his Pokemon and a different mindset, will Owen be able to beat his new rival?

Remaining Santalune Chapters

Chapter 8: Flashback to the Past

Chapter 9: Metamorphosis

Chapter 10: A Trainer Like No Other