I'm back! Even though it was a short two weeks (I honestly thought it was only a few days) I decided to post some updates once again. Even though I've returned for now, I'd like to inform you that I'll probably be taking a week off each, or every other month in order to not burn myself out. Now, last chapter featured Owen's gym battle with Korrina, and he lost despite a great effort from Tyrunt. Hawlucha also refused to obey any of Owen's attacks, though Owen doesn't know why, and he's also going to be introduced to Mega Evolution! Let's get going.

Owen's team

Frogadier, (m), level 26, Pound, Lick, Round, Quick Attack, Water Pulse*, Smokescreen*

Charizard, (m), level 70, Flamethrower, Dragon Claw, Seismic Toss, Blast Burn, Aerial Ace*, ?*

Butterfree, (f), level 34, Tackle, Silver Wind, Psybeam, Gust, Poison Powder*, Sleep Powder*

Pikachu, (m), level 23, Thundershock, Quick Attack, Thunderbolt, Nuzzle, Electro Ball*, Double Team*

Tyrunt, (m), level 27, Tackle, Stomp, Stealth Rock, Bite

Hawlucha, (m), level 30, Wing Attack, Karate Chop, Flying Press, Aerial Ace

The group of five walked along several blocks of stones floating in the water that connected Shalour City to an enormous castle floating in the middle of the ocean. Brooklyn looked over at Owen and saw that he was incredibly focused on learning the details of Mega Evolution, which was what Korrina was talking to him about.

"The Mega Evolution Master is incredibly selective when it comes to all of this, so don't be surprised if he comes off as cold," the older girl informed Owen. "It took me about three years to prove myself, and it took another year for Lucario to prove that he was worthy enough to learn such a technique." Eddy looked over at the aura wielding Pokemon and gaped. He had seen a few Riolu and Lucario while he was at boarding school, but none of them compared to the size of Korrina's. It had to have been due to all of the training for Mega Evolution, which helped him gain all of his muscles.

"I think Charizard is more than capable of proving himself," Cindy told Korrina as the fire and flying type walked behind the trainers in silence. "He almost beat Diantha's Gardevoir... but then it Mega Evolved," the girl continued, realizing the irony of mentioning Mega Evolution.

"Really!? That's incredible, you might just be able to make a great first impression."

"Rrr," Charizard grunted lowly before looking up at the large castle. There was something about it that felt familiar, even though he had never seen the area before. A sudden knot formed in his stomach, and Charizard placed his hand on his yellow belly. He had certainly been here before, but when?

"Charizard, come on!" Owen shouted to his first Pokemon. Charizard snapped out of his daydream and saw that Owen and the others were already at the entrance to the complex, so he flew after them at a comfortable pace that would allow him to think more about the Tower of Mastery, or whatever it was called.

"So is anyone able to get a Mega Ring and all of that? I could definitely use that for the contest," Brooklyn asked Korrina as the gates swung open and they walked into the colossal building. Before Korrina responded, the group took in the sight of the tower. There was a large elevator in the middle of the ground floor while a spiraling staircase leaned against the wall and seemed to go on forever.

"Nope. Mega Evolution is only presented to a select few trainers. There are only thirty-five known trainers capable of using Mega Evolution, including myself, but the rest are current and retired members of every Elite 4 across the world," Korrina answered with a grin on her face. "There are definitely more people out there that are capable of using it, but the power of Mega Evolution is so incredible that it can't be handed out like a souvenir." Brooklyn frowned at the information while Cindy laughed at her, but Eddy and Owen continued to stare in amazement. There were portraits of people hanging up on the walls of the tower, and Owen inspected a few of them.

"Hey, Korrina, who's this?" Owen quizzed as he pointed at a young girl. She was standing in-between a Charizard and Blaziken with her arms crossed over her chest. Even though it was just a picture, Owen could feel a bravado emanating from the girl's proud smirk. Both of the Pokemon standing next to her had the exact same smirks, which showed the connection they had with their trainer.

"Oh, I don't know about her. The Master took down her name a few years ago, and he's never mentioned her before," Korrina answered as she repeatedly clicked the button for the elevator. Owen continued to stare at the picture as Charizard walked in, and he made his way over to the teen. Eddy, Cindy, and Brooklyn were also looking around at the pictures on the walls, and they stopped to stare at the photos of the current regional Champions in their youth, excluding Diantha. Oddly enough, the picture Owen was looking at happened to be placed next to the Champions, but that could've happened due to her being the end of her section.

"Wow, this is what Alder used to look like when he was young? He looks so much more..." Brooklyn paused to find the right word for the free-spirited Champion of the Unova region, but she was unable to find one.

"Owen, look! It's Red!" Eddy cried shrilly. Owen and Charizard instantly turned away from the picture of the girl and her fire type's to stare at Red and his Charizard. The two shared a similar smile of pure joy, and they looked as excited as a trainer leaving for their journey. Owen looked over at Charizard and the lizard locked eyes with his trainer. The two nodded without saying a word, but their seemingly telepathic conversation ended when a loud ring echoed through the air.

"The elevator's here. Let's go meet the Master of Mega Evolution!" Korrina exclaimed as she hopped into the cramped space. Owen withdrew Charizard to his Pokeball in order to have everyone fit inside the elevator, and the doors slammed shut as soon as the five trainers were inside. Korrina swiftly pushed the top button, and the elevator soared at a dangerous speed.

"We're going to die!" Brooklyn screamed as she latched onto Owen, who nearly fell over due to the force of her shocking grab. Once they stopped, the doors slowly opened and they were met by a shocking sight. They walked out and stood on top of a balcony that overlooked Shalour City and the beach at the very edge of the metropolis.

"Why are we out here?" Eddy asked as a light breeze pressed against his back. Korrina didn't respond, and she walked over to the rail and looked out at the city with Lucario by her side. The two both took a deep breath and exhaled as the breeze died down, and they turned with straight faces.

"I'll be back in just a second, so don't go running off somewhere," the girl joked before hopping back into the elevator with Lucario, leaving the group of four traveling trainers.

"She's totally trying to kill us," Cindy opined jokingly as she leaned against the rail. "Hmm... this could be a pretty interesting place to jump off of, right Owen?" Cindy turned with a cheeky grin that terrified Owen, and the teen backed away with a worried look.

"I think jumping off Lumiose Tower was enough of a thrill for me. Besides, I think Brooklyn would have a heart attack if we jumped."

"Actually, I'd love it if Cindy jumped by herself," the fifteen year old girl informed Owen, causing Cindy to charge at her. Thankfully, Charizard managed to keep the two from fighting, and he sighed at the immaturity of the two girls.

As Charizard handled that situation, Owen sat down at the edge of the balcony and let his legs dangle over the edge. The picture of the girl and her two Pokemon was flooding his mind, and he couldn't stop thinking about it. He had never seen her before, but there was something about the picture that pulled him towards her.

"Owen, are you okay?" The teen turned to see Eddy standing behind him before he sat down next to Owen with a smile.

"I'm fine, I've just got some stuff on my mind, that's all. What about you? How are you holding up?" the older boy quizzed. Eddy beamed in response before replying as Charizard, Brooklyn, and Cindy walked over.

"I've loved every second of it so far. Traveling across the region, living without rules, catching Pokemon, all of it is incredible." Everyone smiled at the eight year old's mature comments, but he continued. "And traveling with all of you has made this even better."

"Aww. Thanks, kiddo," Cindy joked as she ruffled Eddy's hair.

"It's been a lot of fun traveling with you, too, Eddy," Brooklyn told the youngest of the group sincerely.

"That's right. And whenever you decide to go traveling on your own, we'll always be there," Owen concluded.

"Raaaawwrr!" Charizard boomed, causing everyone to laugh. The laughter stopped, though, when a creaky noise cut through the air. The four humans and Charizard turned to see Korrina and Lucario walking next to an older man.

He had white skin and long eyebrows that extended off his face, and he had a small patch of light blonde hair on his head. His grey jumpsuit appeared to be a bit too baggy for him, and he had a cold look on his face.

"Are you Owen?" the man asked sharply, not wasting any time in getting to the point. Owen rose to his feet and nodded before bowing in respect to the older man. "My name is Gurkinn. People call me the Mega Evolution Guru due to the abundance of Mega Stones I have found and own."

"I'm Owen Plateau... but I guess you already knew that. And this is my starter, Charizard," Owen told Gurkinn as he pointed to Charizard. The fire starter nodded at the old man, who cracked a slight smile.

"Your Charizard is quite the confident fellow, isn't he? He's got moxie, but does he have the clothes to match?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Owen asked, not understanding what the man had just asked.

"He wants to know if Charizard can walk the walk," Korrina answered, looking back at the old man. "My grandfather has seen tons of Pokemon with a similar attitude to Charizard's, but none have impressed him."

"No need to worry, sir, Charizard is the strongest Pokemon I have. We're ready to learn how to use Mega Evolution!" Owen proclaimed as he pumped his fist straight forward.

"Raaaawwr!" Charizard roared, echoing his trainer's words. Gurkinn suddenly began to laugh after a few moments of silence, and he wiped a tear from his eye before looking at the pair in front of him.

"Korrina, you told me these two were worthy, but I don't see it. They're overconfident, weak, and their hearts are not in the right place, nor are they on the same wavelength. Please leave," Gurkinn told Owen and Charizard, who stared at the man in shock. Brooklyn, Cindy, and Eddy also gaped at the result of the meeting, and they waited for Owen to respond.

"You may think that, but I bet Charizard would crush any of your Pokemon in a battle! Even if they Mega Evolved or not, there's no way we'd lose!" Owen shouted in frustration. Charizard nodded and released a cloud of ember from his nose, which began to turn into flames because of his anger at being slighted.

"Owen, you don't want to do this," Korrina told the younger, hardheaded trainer. "My grandfather and his Pokemon are way too experienced."

"Quiet, Korrina. If your friend would like to try and prove me wrong, he's more than welcome to do so, but not at this time. You're clearly proving my analysis right, at the moment, and I refuse to accept your challenge. Once you defeat my granddaughter, I will accept your challenge. Now get out of here, immediately."

Owen was ready to charge at the man, but Charizard placed his arm in front of his trainer and shook his head. The Pallet Town native exhaled deeply in frustration before nodding at Charizard.

"Fine, but when I win my third badge, I'm heading right towards here." With that, Owen and his companions left the Tower of Mastery, and Gurkinn watched as the fifteen year old walked back towards Shalour City. He then entered his office where there was a small gold nameplate that looked like it had been ripped off of something.

"It's finally happening. Your son is seeking to learn Mega Evolution, and he looks to have similar, if not greater potential than you did." Slowly, Gurkinn placed the nameplate on his desk and stared at it, remembering his star pupil from several years ago. "Catherine Trainem."

Yeah, this chapter was pretty boring, but at least some of Owen's family is starting to come into the light. Don't worry, there will be an entire arc about his family coming later in the story, but for now we're going to be focusing on his quest to defeat all of the gyms. There won't be any trainer battles going on next chapter either, so this stretch is going to be a bit slower than normal. Till next time, peace out.

Next Chapter: Straying from the Pack: Owen prepares to challenge Korrina once again, but he's stumped in regard to who he should pick for the battle. He suddenly finds a new option that was never expected before when a colony of Pokemon exiles one of their own. Will this devastated Pokemon be able to help Owen win his third gym badge?

Shalour Arc Chapters

Chapter 27: Go Go Gogoat

Chapter 28: Forming an Alliance

Chapter 29: Mega Destruction