What's up, people? Last chapter, Owen caught a Gastly and Hawlucha has decided he's going to listen to Owen, so it looks like his team got a lot stronger! Now, Brooklyn will be meeting her second rival, and she's going to be a ball of energy. Their personalities will clash a bit, and that's all I can tell you without giving away the entire chapter. Now, let's get started! Also, I changed the name of this chapter because I found out that the anime has the same title for an episode.

Thanks to Thewhatzupwriter26 for the submission of Olivia

guest: It feels good to be back, and damn, that's a pretty bold prediction. I don't want to tell you if you're wrong because that would end up ruling out a pretty crazy twist

defender31415: Yeah, one of my reviewers from Unova Adventure (dragon66) requested Owen catching a Ghastly, so I decided to follow through with that because he/she was moving, and because it was an interesting idea that I hadn't thought of

FlameStriker123: Greetings from America! Thanks for the compliment, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story :)

MCMXCV: Haha, there's usually a stretch of chapters in each story where that happens, and I did it again!

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 24, Thundershock, Quick Attack, Thunderbolt, Nuzzle, Electro Ball*, Double Team*

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

Hawlucha, (m), level 31, Wing Attack, Karate Chop, Flying Press, Aerial Ace

With Professor Sycamore

Gastly, (f), level 19, Lick, Mean Look, Night Shade, Confuse Ray

"Oh come on, Professor Sycamore. I don't use Charizard in trainer battles, so why can't I have Gastly with me?" Owen interrogated, using an alarming amount of logic that was impossible to counter.

"Because it's against the rules. If you really want Gastly with you, just send me one of your other Pokemon," the older man countered with an equal amount of logic, which frustrated Owen. As Owen crossed his arms, Brooklyn walked into the picture of the video chat along with Eddy and Cindy.

"Hi, Professor Sycamore!" the elder girl shouted to the man, who covered his ears at the sharp noise.

"Hello Brooklyn and Cindy," the researcher replied before Cindy could greet him. For only meeting the girls once, he sure had a good memory if he was able to remember their names so quickly. "And who's that?"

"Oh, my name is Eddy! I'm a really big fan of your research, sir. Your report on how Mega Stones are created and how they're native to the Kalos region was impeccable!" Eddy exclaimed excitedly as he jumped up and down.

"Haha, thank you very much. I'm glad at least one of you is interested in science. Anyways, I haven't seen your Pokemon in a while, Owen. Would you mind sending them out?" Professor Sycamore asked curiously. Owen looked at his traveling partners before shrugging and tossing the six Pokeballs on his belt in the air, releasing all of his Pokemon.

"This is Tyrunt. We met him in Cyllage City when some thugs were trying to steal fossils," Owen informed the professor as he patted Tyrunt on the head. The fossilized Pokemon waved his stubby arms at the black haired man gleefully, making laugh while Owen walked over to Hawlucha. "And this is Hawlucha. We met him in Geosenge Town," Owen stated, not wanting to bring up Hawlucha's less than stellar past.

"Hmm... that's quite the interesting collection of Pokemon you have. And I see that Pikachu hasn't evolved yet, but I guess you come across any Thunderstones. Butterfree appears to be doing quite well, too, and so are the others." The man continued to inspect each of Owen's captured Pokemon and Charizard, but he stopped and began scratching his chin.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Cindy inquired, snapping Sycamore out of his deep thought.

"Where's Froakie? Isn't he-" Professor Sycamore was cut off by Frogadier leaping from the back of the group and onto Owen's head, nearly knocking his trainer over. The large frog waved at the Augustine energetically, and the man breathed a sigh of relief. "It's nice to see you, too, Froak- I mean Frogadier. So, Owen, will you be switching any of your Pokemon for Gastly?"

As soon as Owen's Pokemon heard the question, they immediately gave their trainer threatening looks, causing the teen to sweat drop. He knew that Gastly was the weakest Pokemon he had at the moment, and she needed to get some much needed training.

"Butterfree, would you mind going to Professor Sycamore's lab? I promise you'll be back right after the gym battle," Owen vowed as he placed his hand over his chest. The large butterfly sighed and nodded her head, and she was quickly transferred to Sycamore's lab. "Thanks, Professor. I'll call you tomorrow." Owen ended the call and picked up the Pokeball that had been swapped with Butterfree's, and he placed it on his belt before withdrawing the three other Pokemon that weren't his starters.

"Well now that that's over with, let's go to the Gogoat Ranch," Brooklyn suggested as the group of four trainers, Frogadier, Charizard, and Litleo walked outside.

"Oh come on! We just rode Rhyhorn in Cyllage City, why do we have to ride some dumb old goats?" Cindy groaned as usual. "Can't we just relax and sit at the beach? We haven't had a day off since Parfum Palace."

"We're not taking any days off until we qualify for our tournaments, so get used to it," Brooklyn shot back as she pointed at herself and Owen. "And you don't have to ride the Gogoat, you can sit inside if you want."

"Now that sounds like fun," the younger girl joked as they continued walking down the road towards the ranch. "So, Owen, who are you thinking about using in your rematch tomorrow?"

"I don't know yet. I want to use Tyrunt so he can go up against Machoke again, but I also want to use Frogadier and Pikachu so I have some speed on my side. Picking the team is actually a lot harder than you think," the older and stronger trainer answered as he ran his hand through his hair. Owen realized how long his hair had gotten since arriving in Kalos nearly two months ago, time that had seemed to fly by.

He looked over at his three traveling companions and smiled. In all of his travels, he had a group of friends that helped him push through any obstacles and adversity he faced. This time, though, he needed to face his issues head-on. He knew he wasn't being proactive in trying to find his parents and he didn't want to ask for help from his friends because he didn't want anyone to know about his familial issues.

"Owen? Are you listening?"

The aforementioned teen snapped his head to the right and looked at Brooklyn, who was giggling at his lack of focus. He then shook his head lackadaisically, which made everyone, including his starters laugh.

"I was asking you about how your parents were after you got home."

"Oh, they're fine," Owen replied quickly while scratching his right arm nervously. No one noticed the anxious tone behind his answer, except Charizard, and they continued walking towards the ranch, which was only a few more minutes away.

The front of the ranch had a traditional, old wooden entrance (you know, the thing that looks like a doorframe except it's pretty big) that gave off a rustic feel. Eddy and Frogadier sprinted ahead of the others as they frantically rushed towards a group of wooden gates that had a bunch of strange Pokemon inside. Once the others reached the fences, Owen and Brooklyn pulled out their Pokedexes and scanned the two different Pokemon.

"Skiddo, the Mount Pokemon. If it has sunshine and water, it doesn't need to eat, because it can generate energy from the leaves on its back," Brooklyn's Pokedex stated robotically.

"Gogoat, the Mount Pokemon, and the evolved form of Skiddo. They inhabit mountainous regions. The leader of the herd is decided by a battle of clashing horns," Owen's Pokedex explained.

"Look! Those two Gogoat are fighting!" Eddy shouted as he hopped onto the fence and leaned over. Frogadier mimicked the eight year old while the older trainers watched from a distance.

A much larger Gogoat was charging towards a smaller, yet determined Gogoat with the intent to send it into the atmosphere. All of the other Gogoat and Skiddo were cheering and had formed a circle around the combating Pokemon. The smaller Gogoat was crushed by the larger, and it was sent flying into the fence with a loud thud echoing through the air.

"We've gotta help that Gogoat!" Owen shouted as he grabbed a Pokeball off his belt. Much to his surprise, Brooklyn had already sent out her Fennekin and they hopped over the fence to stop the fight.

"Fennekin, hit the bigger Gogoat with Ember!" the blonde shouted loudly over the cheering grass types. Fennekin charged towards the center of the area before releasing a flurry of orange bullets towards the larger Pokemon, but they missed and hit the smaller Gogoat. Brooklyn gasped in terror as she ran towards the injured Pokemon, but she was stopped when the enraged Gogoat, who was presumably the leader, cut her off and began to swipe his hooves against the ground.

"This isn't good," Eddy muttered as Fennekin ran in front of her trainer and began barking at the aggressive Gogoat. Owen quickly looked back at Charizard and motioned for the lizard to intervene, so he took to the skies and flew towards the Gogoat. Before Charizard could land, Gogoat charged towards Brooklyn at full speed.

"Eevee, use Iron Tail!" a feminine voice cried. In the blink of an eye, a tiny dog leaped through the air and slammed its metallic tail against the charging Gogoat's side. The bulky Pokemon was launched away as a result, and a girl ran towards Brooklyn while the Eevee made sure the Gogoat was knocked out. "Hey, are you oaky?" the girl inquired as she extended a hand towards Brooklyn. The fifteen year old took the girl's hand and rose to her feet, making direct eye contact with her savior.

"I'm fine, thanks to you're help." Owen, Cindy, Eddy, Litleo, and Frogadier made their ways towards Brooklyn and the random girl before stopping to look at the downed Gogoat.

"My name's Olivia Donaldson, what's your's?" Olivia asked as she brushed her shiny red hair out of her blue eyes.

"I'm Brooklyn Moore, and these are my friends," Brooklyn replied as she shook Olivia's hand.

"Eddy," the youngest greeted with a toothy grin.

"Cindy," the twelve year old stated with a much less enthusiastic tone.

"I'm Owen Plateau," Owen greeted, being the only one to give his last name. Olivia's ears perked up when she heard Owen's response, and she began to smirk while putting her hair behind her ears.

"So you're the Owen my cousin was talking about. I heard you're a pretty good trainer." Owen's expression turned to one of awkwardness, as he didn't know who Olivia's cousin was. "Penny sure does fabricate a lot of stuff, so I'm not completely sold on you being the real deal."

"Your Penny's cousin? How's she doing?" Owen quizzed, letting Olivia's slight fly over his head. He realized the lost looks on everyone's faces, so he told them Penny traveling with him in Sinnoh.

"She's fine, I guess." The conversation ended abruptly, leaving an awkward silence that was soon broken by an old man in typical farming clothes stroll over to the cage.

"What're you people doing in the damn cages!? The sign clearly says to stay outside and wait to pet the Pokemon!" the round man screamed as his face turned red. After looking around at the terrified looks the children had, the man began to laugh heartily before wiping a tear from his eye. "I'm just kidding. My name is Ernest, and I own the Gogoat Ranch."

"It's nice to meet you," everyone replied in unison before telling the man their names.

"Let's go inside where we can talk in peace," Ernest ordered as he began to waddle towards his wooden house. Once the trainers got out of the Gogoat enclosure they followed Ernest into his house and sat down at a large table in the kitchen.

"So what brings you kids to the Gogoat Ranch?"

"We want to see everything Kalos has to offer because my friends and I aren't from Kalos," Brooklyn answered while looking at her companions, who nodded along with her statement. "You see, I'm competing in the Grand Festival and Owen is competing in the Kalos League, so we're trying to make the most of our time here."

"What about you, Olivia? Why are you here?"

"It was on the way to the Shalour Contest, so I figured I'd check this place out. It's really cool seeing all of these Pokemon in one place," the blue eyed girl replied nonchalantly.

"Brooklyn's competing in the Shalour Contest, too," Cindy told Olivia, who turned her attention to the blonde sitting across the table.

"Is that so?" Olivia asked with intrigue. She had yet to meet a coordinator that could match her. Perhaps Brooklyn would be the one to help push her, or she could be just like all of the others.

"Ernest, if you don't mind I want to check on the Gogoat that were fighting earlier," Brooklyn told the old man with concern. He laughed at the teen's sincerity and motioned for her to walk outside, which Brooklyn did. While she walked alone, the teen released Fennekin from her Pokeball. The two walked towards the group of Gogoat and Skiddo they had interacted with earlier in the day, and Brooklyn looked around for the Gogoat that had been attacked.

"Kin!" Fennekin exclaimed, pointing at the small Gogoat. It was all by itself, eating a sliver of food that looked unsanitary, and the other Pokemon were feasting on a pile of meat. Brooklyn sighed as she watched the frail Pokemon look over at the group and it tired to get some of their food, but it was blocked out.

"Hey! You need to let him eat!" Brooklyn shouted at the hoard of Pokemon. None of them listened to her, but the lonesome Gogoat ran over to her and smiled thankfully even though the girl's efforts were unsuccessful. "Here, Gogoat, take some of this." Brooklyn pulled out a can of food and opened it. She shouted in shock, however, when a bunch of plastic worms shot out.

"Hahaha! I got you!" Olivia remarked while she was grabbing her sides. Brooklyn and Fennekin glared at the redhead while Cindy, Eddy, Ernest, and Owen followed her. "Oh man, I can't believe I pulled that off. Are you looking for this?" Olivia asked rhetorically as she pulled out a can of Pokefood from her backpack. The older girl waved it tauntingly, making Brooklyn growl while Olivia tossed it in the air and caught it several times.

"Give it back." Brooklyn and Fennekin began to walk towards Olivia angrily, but the girl didn't seem to notice the rage. from the two. The Gogoat Brooklyn had been talking to just before was watching the situation unfold, and he didn't like the way it was going to turn out.

"How about we battle? The winner gets this stupid food."

"Or you can give the food so I can give it to Gogoat," the fifteen year old spat. Olivia rolled her eyes at the younger girl and then she shook her head. "Fine, let's have a one on one battle."

"Good. Eevee, let's go!" Olivia shouted as she tossed a Pokeball into the air. Her Eevee materialized from the light and it locked eyes with Fennekin, who narrowed her eyes angrily.

"Fennekin, let's teach them a lesson," Brooklyn muttered as Fennekin stepped forward.

"I'll be the referee for this battle," Ernest announced as he stood in-between the girls and their Pokemon. "This will be a one versus one wager battle between Olivia and Brooklyn! The winner will get the Pokefood in Olivia's possession. Brooklyn, as the challenger you have the first move," Ernest informed the blonde as he pointed at her and Fennekin.

"Alright. Fennekin, use Ember!" Fennekin charged towards Eevee before jumping in the air and releasing a flurry of orange bullets of fire. The speed and power of the attack were remarkable given the limited battle experience Fennekin had, which impressed all three of Brooklyn's companions.

"Eevee, dodge it and use Quick Attack!" Olivia countered as she threw her right hand out to her side. Eevee easily evaded the attack and she sprinted as a white light trailed her body. As Fennekin landed on the ground Eevee crashed into her headfirst, and a loud thud echoed through the air. Fennekin stumbled back in pain before shaking it off and glaring at Eevee.

"Hang in there, Fennekin! Use Tackle!" Fennekin retaliated quickly as she checked Eevee, but the attack didn't do much damage. It was pretty obvious that Olivia and Eevee were wait out of Fennekin's league, but the normal observer, such as Cindy and Eddy, weren't able to realize that. Owen, on the other hand, knew it right away.

"Way to go, Fennekin!" Owen cheered along with Frogadier, who made Fennekin blush slightly. Brooklyn also blushed at the appraise, but no one could tell with how far away she was.

"Iron Tail!" The blonde's head snapped up and she watched as Eevee began to spin like a wheel while her tail turned to metal. As she descended, the normal type's tail struck Fennekin over the head.

"Kin!" Fennekin cried as she was slammed into the ground face first. Everyone stared in silence as Fennekin laid on the ground limply until Cindy cracked.

"Holy crap! That wasn't even very effective, and it still managed to knock Fennekin out!" Cindy said aloud.

"I guess that's that. Eevee, return." Olivia withdrew Eevee back to her Pokeball before Ernest could announce Fennekin's status, and she took the can of food out of her backpack before handing it over to Brooklyn. "You can have the food, seeing your reaction to the other can was priceless. Well, I guess I'll see you guys at the Shalour Contest. See ya!" Olivia turned her back to the group of trainers and began to walk away from the ranch all by her lonesome, but everyone turned their attention to Brooklyn, who was holding Fennekin in her arms.

"I'm not going to let her win the contest, no matter what," Brooklyn vowed as she returned Fennekin to her Pokeball. "Thank you for having us on your ranch, Ernest," Brooklyn told the man as she bowed with the others.

"It was my pleasure. Please, come back when you can." Everyone nodded at Ernest's words, and then they headed out. The walk back to Shalour City was one of silence, for the most part, until they reached the Pokemon Center as the sun was setting.

"Hey, do you guys think I'd be able to challenge Korrina to a rematch right now? I doubt she'd still be at the gym," Owen asked as he looked in the direction of the gym.

"I don't know, but it's worth a shot. Let's go!" Eddy exclaimed.

Sorry for the delay, people. Nothing significant happened this chapter aside from Brooklyn meeting and losing to her new rival, Olivia. Next chapter, Owen will be facing Korrina in his rematch, so stay tuned!

1) Do you like Olivia? Or naw?

2) Who do you think Owen is going to use in his rematch?

Next Chapter: Forming an Alliance: Owen takes on Korrina with a whole different team from their previous battle, but will these Pokemon be able to defeat Korrina and her Mega Lucario?

Shalour Arc Chapters

Chapter 29: Mega Destruction