What's going on, folks? Last chapter, Owen lost his gym battle against Viola, and he will be training in this chapter. During his training, however, he will battle a new rival with a cold personality. How will these two interact? Let's find out!

DaStrawHatReject: Nope, but he'll be appearing by 15 (depending on when I start the upcoming tournament)

Pokebat: Very good points. He will wind up having speed advantages, though

Jaylon101: I was actually going to have Charizard get both Mega Stones. Great minds think alike ;)

NodokaLover: Since our PM's were exchanged during me writing this, we both know the answer to that, and Owen will catch a fairy type that is NOT a Flabebe. Again, the team is official, and I won't be giving out details about who is on it

LightandSound: Thanks! I'll make sure the rematch is as intense as possible

Monfernofreak: I know how you feel, I get predictions wrong (horribly, at that) all the time :P

tepigsfire758: Hopefully the rematch is better. And it's kind of far (I hope I looked at the right spot on the map XD), but I borrowed it from Monfernofreak and the rematch will not take place there

erson: Why thank you ;) It seems like most people thought he'd lose, so it looks like I'll have to move some things around to blow all of your minds

captaincold: Haha, Froakie will be unleashing some of that power eventually, but I'm waiting for the right time to introduce that. Thanks for the review!

Owen's team

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

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

Caterpie, (f), level 7, Tackle, String Shot, Harden

Pikachu, (m), level 13, Thundershock, Quick Attack, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave

"Faster, everyone! Let's pick up the pace!" Owen shouted as he continued jogging down the road from Santalune Forest to Santalune City. Pikachu, Froakie, and Caterpie were all trailing behind the energetic teen by nearly a hundred feet, while Charizard acted as a pace setter. If any of the three Kalosian Pokemon trailed behind Charizard at any second, they would be attacked by the winged lizard.

"Froakie-Fro," Froakie muttered under his breath while struggling to keep up with his two teammates, who were beginning to separate themselves from him. After a half a mile of running, the three Kalosian Pokemon reached the Pokemon Center, where Owen was waiting, and they collapsed on the ground while the fifteen year old rolled his eyes.

"Let's go! Clearly, we need to train after that gym battle yesterday!" Owen shouted like a drill sergeant. Even though he knew it was his fault for their loss - not training in the slightest because he was confident in his own abilities - he knew, at some point in Kalos, his team was going to hit a wall. He didn't expect the wall, however, to come this early.

"Pika!" Pikachu grunted loudly while staring at his trainer. The electric type was panting heavily, but looked to be in better shape than both Caterpie and Froakie, who were nearly unconscious. Pikachu made gestures for battling as opposed to training, but Owen refused to listen to the yellow rodent.

"No way. You three need to prove you're able to last through a workout session before we have a battle. But you can take a bre-" Owen was cut off by Froakie, Caterpie, and Pikachu sprinting over to the water fountain on the wall of the Pokemon Center, and they all gulped down nearly a quart each.

"Rawr," Charizard muttered to Owen while shaking his head at the younger Pokemon. Owen shook his head along with Charizard, but they stopped when they heard a boy training with his Pokemon.

"Good job, Chikorita, that was a well fought battle," the teen said as he walked across the battlefield. Chikorita, the familiar grass starter from Johto, was walking alongside the teen, who was presumably its trainer. The teen looked over at Owen and Charizard before seeing the three other Pokemon fighting to drink water, which resulted in a dirty look.

"What are you looking at?" Owen interrogated defensively, causing the trainer to stop walking. He was about 5'6", which was about half a foot shorter than Owen. He also had short, dark, brown hair that was buzzed, and he had captivating honey colored eyes with a handsome face and a slight muscular build. He also had tanned brown skin like a Native American.

"Why are your Pokemon in such bad conditions? What, did you run ten miles?" the teen joked while looking at the rising sun. It was about six in the morning, and everyone in Santalune was still asleep.

"Yeah, we did," Owen replied, causing the unnamed boy to look down at his Chikorita in shock. "We lost our gym battle yesterday, so we're training for our rematch," Owen explained as Froakie, Pikachu, and Caterpie reluctantly made their way to the amber eyed teen's side. "We're competing in the Kalos League."

"Well, there's no point in training, because you're not going to win," the teen stated bluntly before turning to walk away.

"Why not?" Owen asked aggressively. The brown haired trainer turned to face Owen once again, and he had a cold, expressionless look plastered on his face.

"Because I'm going to win it. I'll crush anyone that stands in my way." Owen's four Pokemon looked at one another, at Owen, and then at the arrogant trainer and his Chikorita. They knew exactly what was coming next, and the three younger Pokemon hung their heads. Even though Pikachu wanted to battle earlier, he knew his body wouldn't be able to handle an actual match. Froakie and Caterpie, meanwhile, just wanted to go relax and fall asleep.

"Oh yeah? Let's battle and see how good you are… right after I heal my Pokemon," Owen proposed.

"Deal."

000

After Owen healed his Pokemon and found a referee, he made his way to the open trainer box on the left side of the battlefield.

"I'm Owen Plateau."

"Larenz Esplain," the teen replied.

"This will be a three versus three battle between Owen and Larenz! Trainers, choose your first Pokemon!"

"Pikachu, let's start off strong!" Pikachu jumped out of his Pokeball before landing on the ground in front of Owen. Froakie and Charizard remained silent while staring at their teammate, who was releasing a tiny amount of electricity from his red cheeks.

"Vulpix, it's battle time!" Pikachu dropped to all fours when he saw his opponent was a Vulpix, which growled lowly at the electric type.

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

"Pikachu, use Thundershock!" Pikachu hopped into the air while yellow light appeared around his body, and a bolt of electricity flew across the battlefield and towards Vulpix.

"Dodge and use Ember!" Vulpix jumped to his left just before the Thundershock hit the ground, and then he released orange bullets of fire from his mouth. When Pikachu landed on the ground he was pelted by the scorching hot fire attack, but he refused to show any signs of weakness.

"Now use Quick Attack!" As soon as the attack ended, Pikachu dropped to all fours and bolted across the battlefield while a white streak of light trailed behind his speeding body. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to land a pivotal attack, Larenz looked down at his Vulpix and nodded at the fire fox.

"Vulpix, counter with Flame Wheel!" Vulpix began to cover himself in fire before spinning like a wheel, similar to how Heatmor used to, and speeding towards her blindingly fast opponent. Pikachu lunged forwards just before he and Vulpix collided, but he was overpowered by the blistering fire attack.

"Hang in there and use Thunder Wave, Pikachu!" Owen commanded as Pikachu bounced against the ground. The yellow rodent quickly recovered by landing on his feet, and he sprung into the air before shooting a tiny bolt of electricity at Vulpix.

"Push on and use Ember!" Larenz shouted after Vulpix was hit by the status inflicting attack, and the tiny fox quickly released several orange bullets of fire. Pikachu was pelted once again by the hot embers, but he stood strong and ran towards Vulpix.

"Now's when we get serious! Use Thunderbolt!"

"Flame Wheel!" Pikachu continued to charge towards Vulpix, who was covered in fire, and he unleashed the strongest Thunderbolt he could. Vulpix, however, was able to dodge the attack and then slammed into Pikachu, who was launched back towards Owen. The large rodent's eyes were shut tight, so the referee raised her arms in the air.

"Pikachu is unable to battle! Owen, choose your next Pokemon!"

"Thanks for the hard work, Pikachu. Froakie, it's your turn!" Owen shouted while pointing at the battlefield. Froakie hopped forwards and stopped once he reached the middle of the battlefield, and he glared at Vulpix.

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

"Froakie, use Bubble!" Owen ordered, playing to the type advantage Froakie had over Vulpix. The tiny blue frog hopped in the air and released a wave of bubbles from his mouth, which slowly made its way towards the fire fox sitting in front of Larenz.

"Vulpix, pop those bubbles with Ember!" Vulpix got up and onto his feet before releasing a series of orange bullets, which cancelled out the Bubble attack instantly, causing Larenz and his Pokemon to smirk. "So much for that type advantage," the teen muttered to himself.

"Now!" Suddenly, Froakie shot forwards while a trail of white light appeared behind his body and he slammed into Vulpix. The red Pokemon was knocked into Larenz due to the force of the normal type attack, but both the trainer and his Pokemon got back up.

"Damn, that was fast. Vulpix, show no mercy and use Flame Wheel!"

"Use Bubble again!" Vulpix quickly covered himself in fire before spinning head over heel, and he rolled across the battlefield. A trail of fire was left on the ground after Vulpix rolled over it, but neither Owen or Larenz paid any attention to it. Quickly, Froakie reared his head back and fired a series of bubbles at his fire type foe, who was stopped dead in his tracks once the super effective attack struck.

"Vulpix, are you okay?" Larenz asked as Vulpix was blown back by the Bubble attack. Vulpix barked to his trainer before shaking his head in a (stupid) attempt to straighten his vision.

"Quick Attack once more!" In the blink of an eye, Froakie checked Vulpix across the battlefield, knocking the four legged Pokemon out cold.

"Vulpix is unable to battle! Larenz, choose your next Pokemon!" the random referee ordered as Larenz withdrew his Vulpix.

"Chikorita, I need you out there," Larenz told his starter. Chikorita ran forwards and glared daggers at Froakie, who was crouching in his normal stance.

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

"Chikorita, use Razor Leaf!" Chikorita began to shake her head from side to side, and a dozen leaves were flung towards Froakie, who narrowed his eyes at the incoming attack before panting his tiny white hands against the ground.

"Dodge it and use Pound!" Owen countered. Froakie pushed his hands against the ground and sprung into the air. As he began to descend, Froakie wound his arm back while his fist was glowing with white energy, but Larenz grinned at Froakie and Owen, which unnerved both of them.

"Grab Froakie while he's in the air with Vine Whip!" Two vines shot out of Chikorita's sides and they wrapped around Froakie, who tried breaking free of the tight grip. "Now use Razor Leaf!" Chikorita shook her head from side to side for a second time, and even more leaves appeared before flying towards Froakie.

"Fro!" Froakie cried out in pain as his body was cut by the sharp leaves. Owen bit his bottom lip while frantically thinking of a way to retaliate, but his mind was unable to do so. Lucky for him, Froakie was able to think on his own, and he threw the frubbles on his neck at Chikorita. When the foamy white bubbles hit the grass type's eyes, Chikorita stumbled around while trying to use her vines to pry the substance off.

"Flail around with Vine Whip!" Larenz demanded when he realized Chikorita wasn't able to get the frubbles off her eyes. Chikorita began to slap the air violently before making contact with Froakie, who let out a sharp and abrupt cry of pain before dropping to the ground. Charizard looked on at the battle intently and analyzed Froakie and Chikorita silently before letting out a low grunt.

"Froakie!" Owen shouted as his water starter was smacked by the wicked whip. The frog rubbed his back in pain while a burning sensation fell over his body, but he refused to back down, especially when his opponent was blinded.

"Chikorita, use Razor Leaf one more time!"

"Quick Attack!" As soon as Chikorita was launched back by Froakie's blindingly fast strike, he was slashed up by the super effective attack. Both Pokemon collapsed on the ground while their eyes rolled into the back of their heads, prompting the ref to raise her arms in the air while running onto the battlefield.

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

"I'm proud of you, Froakie. Caterpie, let's go!" Owen shouted as he withdrew Froakie to his Pokeball. Caterpie appeared in front of Owen with a happy look on her face, but she became serious once Larenz threw his third and final Pokeball.

"Thanks, Chikorita. Feebas, you're last… as usual," Larenz muttered while tossing his last Pokeball. A Feebas landed in front of him with a weak look, and it began gasping for air, which worried Owen, Caterpie, and Charizard.

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

"Feebas, use Water Gun!" Feebas' mouth opened and she released a burst of bright blue water towards Caterpie, who was being watched by Charizard.

"Caterpie, dodge it and use Tackle!" Owen shouted to the tiny bug type. Caterpie somehow managed to roll away from the attack before slinking forward and slamming her head against Feebas'. The water type was hit into the air and began falling towards the ground quickly, but Larenz's mind raced to find a way to keep his Pokemon from suffering any more damage.

"Use your tail to fly into the air, Feebas!" Feebas' large tail slapped against the ground, causing her to fly into the air like a rocket. Owen and Caterpie, however, were unimpressed by the shocking sight.

"Grab a hold of it with String Shot!" Caterpie fired a sticky string from her mouth, which wrapped around Feebas' body. Larenz and the referee gasped in shock while Charizard continued to watch the battle with a straight face.

"What!? No way!" Larenz shouted in disbelief. "There's no way you can do that!"

"Now slam 'em against the ground!" Caterpie whipped her head towards the ground, which resulted in Feebas following suit and slamming against the rough battlefield. A large crack echoed through the air as the battlefield gave underneath Feebas' body, and the referee raised her arms.

"Feebas is unable to battle! That means Owen is the winner!"

Just before Owen could congratulate his victorious Pokemon, Caterpie was enveloped in a white light. As the light grew stronger, Caterpie's body began to take the shape of a cocoon, which was one of the worst Pokemon in the world. Owen frowned in disappointment as the light ceased, and a Metapod stood in front of Owen with a depressed look.

"Metapod, the Cocoon Pokemon. A steel-hard shell protects its tender body. It quietly endures hardships while awaiting evolution."

"What kind of hardships?" Owen thought to himself while peering down at the still Pokemon in front of him.

"Great work, Metapod. Return," the teen said before zapping his ugly Pokemon back into her Pokeball. After that, Owen looked up to see that Larenz and the referee had disappeared, which agitated him slightly. "Charizard," Owen said to the winged lizard as it flew towards him, "I think we're ready to battle Viola!"

000

"Come on, Fennekin! We have to keep looking!" the blonde haired girl (from chapter 1) shouted to the fire type. Fennekin ran after her new trainer while panting before she finally collapsed in front of a large building which was sealed off by a gate. The blonde turned and ran back to her Pokemon before looking over at the building suspiciously while picking Fennekin up off the ground.

"Kin?" Fennekin asked curiously. The blonde that was holding her smiled and took a deep breath before speaking.

"You want to know why I came here? Okay, here it goes…"

I'm guessing you all know what's happening next chapter! Seriously, though, don't feel bad *cough* Monfernofreak *cough* if you can't get it right ;P So, Owen met his first rival of the Kalos region, and Caterpie evolved! Owen will be taking on Viola in two chapters, but I will provide y'all with a quiet chapter, which won't have any battling. Till next time, peace out.

Next Chapter: Flashback to the Past: While Owen tries to find Viola for his rematch, the unnamed blonde tells her Fennekin about why she ventured to the Kalos region! Will this story feature anything interesting? Probably not, but there may be some subtle (or not so subtle) hints dropped throughout

Remaining Santalune Chapters

Chapter 9: Metamorphosis

Chapter 10: A Trainer Like No Other