Hey, people. Last chapter, Frank and Team Grim killed the King and Princess of the Kalos region and are making strides towards reaching their goal of conquering Kalos, while Owen and the rest of the world are unaware of the murders. This chapter will feature Owen battling one of his rivals, so let's get going!
MCMXCV: Team Grim is definitely the most intimidating group I've had Owen face in his travels, and their rule is going to get a lot worse. And this chapter will be a three versus three only because my brain can't take another full battle
LightandSound: I was actually using the French Revolution as 'inspiration' for last chapter and Kalos is going to be a completely different place pretty soon. I guess you could say it'll be similar to Oceania in 1984 with the chaos that's going to go on. To put it in short, shit's going to hit the fan
guest: Thanks! And Frank is a really simple/bland name, but I didn't want to give him the traditional evil name like 'Prince of Death' or something extreme like that. I'll be looking to amp up my production over these next few months, so expect some more multi chapter days within the next few weeks
FlameStriker123: Damnit, you beat me to a pun! I wanted to say Frank went out with a bang, but it's a little to late for that, lol. And thanks. I've gotten so much support from all of you guys with this story, so I figured I'd put out as many chapters as I could as a token of my appreciation
Elodus: If you liked that, you're going to love the end of this arc! Just judging by the titles, I think it's pretty obvious some major moves are going to be made, making life in Kalos pretty tough for Owen and the others
Defender31415: Yeah, Team Flare seemed more delusional rather than evil, but Team Grim (true to their name) is pure evil. Lots of more people will die, including a main character or two
SomeGuy (guest): Thanks for the great review! I did intentionally set this chapter after Owen and Brooklyn's date because I thought it would amplify the severity of what Frank had done, and judging from all the reviews, I got the reactions I wanted. I do understand where you're coming from though, as this really was out of the blue with the limited action Team Grim has gotten. Thanks for pointing that out, I'll add in a lot more chapters about them in the future :)
MTWKing: Oh don't worry, Kalos is going to be under the rule of Team Grim pretty soon, and their power will only continue to grow as the story goes on
Owen's team
Greninja, (m), level 36, Water Shuriken, Smack Down, Round, Quick Attack, Water Pulse*, Smokescreen*
Charizard, (m), level 71, Flamethrower, Dragon Claw, Seismic Toss, Blast Burn, Aerial Ace*, ?*
Tyrunt, (m), level 30, Tackle, Stomp, Stealth Rock, Bite, Ancient Power*
Haunter, (f), level 29, Shadow Punch, Mean Look, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Sucker Punch*, Payback*
Butterfree, (f), level 34, Tackle, Silver Wind, Psybeam, Gust, Poison Powder*, Sleep Powder*
Chespin, (m), level 35, Mega Drain, Needle Arm, Rollout, Vine Whip, Energy Ball*
Pikachu, (m), level 28, Slam, Quick Attack, Thunderbolt, Nuzzle, Electro Ball*, Double Team*
With Professor Sycamore
Hawlucha, (m), level 34, Wing Attack, Karate Chop, Flying Press, Aerial Ace, Bounce*
"It's great to be traveling again," Owen chirped as he and his friends walked down Route 13, which would take them to Lumiose City. "Now I can win my fifth badge, and you can win your first ribbon," the teen continued as he walked alongside Brooklyn.
"Thanks for reminding me," the blonde grumbled, remembering both of her showings in the contests she competed in. "I wouldn't be surprised if you qualified for the Grand Festival after we leave Lumiose," Brooklyn told Daniel, who laughed at the comment.
"I hope," he said while walking with Cindy and Eddy, while Owen and Brooklyn continued to set the pace. "Oh yeah, what'd you guys do last night? You got in pretty late," Daniel inquired, making Owen and Brooklyn glance at each other before smiling to themselves.
(Flashback to the night before)
"Remember, don't tell them about us, okay?" Brooklyn said to Owen as they were about to walk into their room.
"Don't worry, I won't say a thing."
(End flashback)
"Nothing much. We had a battle with CJ and Fate," Brooklyn replied. Before Owen could add to his girlfriend's comment, Greninja zipped by the group while Charizard flew right next to the speeding frog. Both starters nearly knocked Owen over, but they somehow managed to avoid their trainer and continue their race, which Greninja was winning handily.
"Greninja's so fast now. I wish I could run as fast as him," Eddy announced as the sun overhead continued to beat down. Even though it was only March, the entire Kalos region was like an oven, even when the group had traveled during December.
"Yeah, he's going to be a lot stronger now that he's evolved," Cindy added, trying to be as knowledgeable as Eddy. "Speaking of evolutions, when do you think the rest of your Pokemon are going to evolve, Owen?"
"I have no clue. That's the exciting part about being a trainer, though. You never know if, or when one of your Pokemon will evolve. Chespin, for example, should've already evolved according to the level index, but levels don't always mean a Pokemon will evolve. Besides, most of my Pokemon can't evolve."
"You're not going to evolve Pikachu with a Thunderstone?" Daniel inquired, shocked to hear that Owen wouldn't want to evolve his Pokemon and make them stronger.
"I'd prefer not to, otherwise I'd be losing a decent amount of speed, and my team isn't that fast to begin with. But if Pikachu ever wanted to evolve, I'd let him," Owen answered while grabbing the rodent's Pokeball and looking down at it with a smile.
"Nin!" Owen looked up and nearly screamed when Greninja appeared right in front of him, making the water type laugh while Charizard smirked at the teen's reaction. "Ja! Gre-Gre," Greninja said to Owen while pointing at a tunnel, which connected to a desert - unbeknownst to the group - that led to Lumiose City.
"Awesome! We could reach Lumiose by tomorrow!" Brooklyn exclaimed while clapping her hands together and cheering. Greninja nodded and slammed his hand against the ground, disappearing in a thin cloud of smoke.
"Greninja's personality changed a lot when he evolved, but why?" Eddy asked as Greninja somehow reappeared in a tree.
"Well, that's actually a pretty common thing," Daniel informed the eight year old. "Think about Pokemon evolving like people growing up. Your interests and personality change as you become older," the sixteen year old explained.
"That makes a lot more sense. Greninja seems a lot more... outgoing?" Cindy said, trying to find a word to describe the newly evolved starter. Greninja quickly swung his legs around the branch he was standing on so that he was hanging upside down, defying gravity, and he waved to the group to catch their attention. Once they looked over, Greninja fell off the branch and landed on his head, causing Owen to run over to his Pokemon's side.
"Are you okay, Greninja?"
"Ja," the ninja frog answered while rubbing his aching head. Owen shook his head and laughed at the water and dark type before Charizard helped the Kalosian Pokemon on his feet. Greninja bowed to Charizard thankfully before he narrowed his eyes, confusing Charizard and the trainers.
"What's wro-" Owen was cut off by Greninja hopping in the air and flinging a shuriken made of water into the bushes facing his trainer's back. Suddenly, a familiar duo hopped out of the bushes and landed on the ground, shooting Greninja looks of annoyance.
"Moe?" Owen asked in confusion as he walked over to his rival and helped him off the ground. The older boy dusted his clothes off and looked around at the group Owen was traveling with before looking over at his Clauncher and helping the large (for its species) water type off the ground.
"Long time no see, eh?" Moe greeted as he and Owen shook hands. "I see you've met a few more people since our battle," he said, trying to make Owen introduce him to Daniel and Eddy.
"Guys, this is Moe. Moe, that's Eddy, Daniel, Cindy, and Brooklyn." The four kids waved to Moe, who nodded back before turning to see Greninja and Charizard standing next to each other behind Owen. Greninja's arms were crossed in front of his chest (think of his introduction trailer in Smash 4), and Charizard stared at him.
"Wow, a Greninja. We haven't seen one of those yet, have we, Clauncher?" Moe asked his starter, who shook his head in response to his trainer's question. "You've definitely gotten stronger. How about we battle?" Moe asked anxiously, catching Owen by surprise. His rival's question wasn't unexpected, but he figured there would've been a bit more dialogue.
"Okay, I accept your challenge. Let's do a three versus three." Moe nodded at Owen's proposition, and the two trainers took ten steps back before Daniel decided to be the referee. Greninja walked to Owen's side while Charizard sat next to Brooklyn, only because he knew about his trainer's relationship with the coordinator.
"This will be a three versus three battle between Owen and Moe! Trainers may substitute their Pokemon, and the battle is over once all Pokemon on one side are unable to battle! Choose your first Pokemon!"
"Tyrunt, let's do this!" Owen shouted. After ripping the prehistoric Pokemon's Pokeball off his belt Owen tossed the device forward and Tyrunt landed on the ground in front of the Kantonian.
"Marowak, show them how strong you've become!" Owen, Brooklyn, and Cindy all stared as Marowak, the evolved form of Cubone, appeared in front of Moe while holding a club in its hands. The ground type looked much more powerful than when it was a Cubone, naturally, but it was also trained very well.
"This battle will be between Tyrunt and Marowak! Begin!"
"Marowak, use Bone Rush!" The bone Marowak was holding suddenly expanded and began to glow light blue, and he charged towards Tyrunt aggressively. Owen stared at the ground type that reminded him of his own Marowak, but he snapped out of his daydream when Tyrunt was whacked across the face by the super effective attack.
"Fight right back with Bite, Tyrunt!" Tyrunt quickly lunged forward and snapped his powerful jaws on Marowak's arm, and the ground type dropped to his knees in pain until he heard Moe's counterattack.
"Take its legs out with Bone Club!" The Kanto Pokemon whipped its arm back before smashing its club against both of Tyrunt's legs, making the dragon type lose his grip and flinch in pain as he began to lose feeling in his legs. Owen, however, didn't realize that Tyrunt was so injured, so he continued using him.
"Tyrunt, use Stomp!" The short armed t-rex grimaced as he jumped in the air, aggravating the pain in his legs, and he began to fall through the air while he stuck his foot out in order to squash his pesky ground type opponent. Marowak and Moe, however, were far too fast for Owen and Tyrunt's attack to land. Marowak managed to block the powerful attack with his club, but he was being forced against the ground because of gravity.
"Escape by using Dig, and then resurface!" Much to their surprise, Owen and Tyrunt watched as Marowak dug a hole in the ground and escaped Tyrunt's attack, making the fifteen year old and his Pokemon frustrated.
"Use Stomp again, Tyrunt!" Owen commanded as Marowak resurfaced in front of Moe. Tyrunt charged towards Marowak sluggishly, each step delivering a sharp pain to his legs. He then lunged forward with a powerful swing of his leg, and Owen grinned victoriously.
"Dodge and finish this with Hyper Beam, Marowak!" Somehow, Marowak dodged the Stomp by jumping back, and he unleashed a blast of wicked orange energy that hit Tyrunt head-on and sent the rock type rolling across the ground and into Owen.
"Tyrunt, return! Haunter, come on out!" Owen called as Tyrunt pushed himself back up. The dragon and rock type was zapped back into his Pokeball, and Owen threw out his second Pokeball, which revealed Haunter.
"Damn, that was impressive," Cindy said to Eddy and Brooklyn, both of whom nodded while Charizard looked at Haunter and began to scratch his chin while the ghost type maintained a straight face.
"It doesn't matter. Haunter's definitely going to mop the floor with Marowak," Eddy reassured the older girls as Daniel looked at Owen and Moe before raising his arms.
"This battle will be between Haunter and Marowak! Begin!"
"Shadow Punch!" Owen shouted as fast as he possibly could. Haunter reared her arm back and launched her fist forward in nanoseconds as a shadowy fist flew through the air and connected with Marowak's chest, knocking the ground type onto his back. As he got back up, Marowak saw Haunter hover around before locking eyes with him, unnerving the club-wielder.
"Fire a Stone Edge!" Marowak stuck both of his arms out to his sides and several sharp rocks began to revolve around him before they were flung towards Haunter. The ghost type simply stuck her enormous hands out and tried to block every one of the stones, but that backfired as she was crushed by the powerful attack.
"Shake it off, Haunter. Now use Night Shade!" Haunter nodded and her eyes flashed before a vertical line of purple energy sliced through the air and exploded when it hit Marowak's body. Once again, the ground type was launched onto his back, and he got up much slower than the first time. Moe noticed his Pokemon's lack of energy, but he refused to believe that Marowak couldn't defeat Haunter, so he pressed on.
"Marowak, get in close and use Bone Rush!"
"Don't let that happen, Haunter! Use Shadow Punch repeatedly!" As Marowak began to charge towards Haunter, the ghost threw her fists forward repeatedly at light speed, making it impossible for Marowak to get close. Overwhelmed by the amount of Shadow Punch attacks, Marowak was clobbered by the ghost move, but he refused to give in.
"Marowak, use Dig again and then shoot another Stone Edge at Haunter!" Marowak quickly dug a hole in the ground as Haunter continued her Shadow Punch assault, but the attacks only struck the ground while Marowak began to dig his way towards the hole he had created against Tyrunt. Once he did, the fully evolved Pokemon resurfaced and unleashed another wave of sharp rocks that dealt massive damage to Haunter, who cried out in pain before falling on the ground.
"Haunter, hang in there just a little longer and use Payback!" Owen ordered, seeing that his second Pokemon was on the verge of fainting. Haunter nodded and waited for Marowak to resurface, and once he did, she threw her fist forward. A black bullet of energy then zipped across the battlefield towards Marowak, but Moe was quick to react.
"Block it with Hyper Beam!" Marowak shot another blast of orange energy at the black energy, and the attacks collided. BOOM! Both Pokemon were launched back by the force of the explosion, and Daniel raised both of his arms in the air.
"Both Pokemon are unable to battle! Trainers, choose your next Pokemon!"
"That's not good. Owen only has one healthy Pokemon left while Moe has two!" Brooklyn shouted. "Come on, Owen! You can do this!"
Owen looked over at his girlfriend and nodded as he returned Haunter back to her Pokeball. "Thanks for the awesome effort Haunter. Greninja, I need you to battle," the teen told his starter, who hopped forward excitedly.
"Great job, Marowak. Heracross, use your typing to your advantage!" Owen stared at the bug standing in front of Moe and remembered his Heracross before returning his focus to the battle at hand. Greninja glared at Moe and Heracross, who had a distinct type advantage, making the water type angry.
"This battle will be between Greninja and Heracross! Begin!"
"Heracross, boost your attack with Power-Up Punch!" Moe commanded. Heracross grinned as the wings on his back opened as he flew towards Greninja. Owen and his starter noticed that Heracross' fist was only slightly glowing red, which was confusing because Heracross were always strong attackers. Owen decided to not focus on the lack of power behind the attack, and instead ordered Greninja to counter.
"Dodge and hit Heracross' back with Smack Down!" Owen countered. Greninja sprinted as quickly as he could around his slower opponent before opening his mouth and shooting a large rock at Heracross. The rock struck Heracross' wings, instantly taking him out of the air, but a red ring of energy swirled around the bug type before disappearing into thin air.
"Turn around and use Pin Missile!" Moe shouted. Heracross did exactly as instructed, and he fired several arrows of white energy from his horn towards Greninja, who wasn't able to dodge the super effective attack. As the arrows crashed down on his body, Greninja grunted loudly before charging at Heracross', who wasn't ready for the water type.
"Slam into him with Quick Attack!" A white light trailed behind Greninja's body as his legs began to move even faster, and he slammed into Heracross. The bug and fighting type was sent skidding back while Greninja landed on his feet and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for Heracross to make the next move.
"Land Close Combat and knock Greninja out!" Moe ordered, hoping his Heracross could do something to Greninja. Heracross attempted to fly, but his wings refused to work, forcing him to trudge towards Greninja.
"Greninja, use Smokescreen!" Greninja opened his mouth and released a cloud of smoke, which Heracross ran right in to. Moe frowned at Owen's strategy, which made it incredibly difficult to get a hit on Greninja with a close ranged attack.
"Get out of the smoke, Heracross, and look for Greninja!" As the smoke began to clear, Heracross looked around in confusion as Greninja was nowhere to be seen. Even the spectators were confused about Greninja's whereabouts, but they didn't say anything. Owen, meanwhile, was grinning the entire time everyone looked for Greninja, and he snapped his fingers. In a small cloud of white smoke, Greninja appeared in front of the Kantonian before leaping into the air.
"Use Water Shuriken!" Greninja quickly threw dozens of shurikens made of water at Heracross, and the bug was hit by every single one of them. With each hit, Heracross lost a large chunk of health before collapsing.
"Heracross is unable to battle! Moe, choose your last Pokemon!"
"Wow! Greninja's so strong!" Eddy exclaimed while Greninja and Owen high-fived and Moe withdrew his fainted Heracross. "Water Shuriken is such a cool move!"
"Greninja, I want you to take a break," Owen told his starter, who reluctantly obeyed. His traveling companions looked on in confusion as the water and dark type stood next to Owen and waited for Moe to send out his final Pokemon. "Tyrunt, you're up again!" Tyrunt appeared in front of Owen for the second time in the battle, and he roared while Moe prepared his final Pokeball.
"Clauncher, it's up to you," he told his starter, who floated forward and snapped his enormous claw at Tyrunt, who responded by snapping his jaws.
"This battle will be between Tyrunt and Clauncher! Begin!" Crabhammer, Aura Sphere, Aqua Jet, Cut
"Clauncher, use Aqua Jet!" Moe demanded while pointing at Tyrunt, who began to swipe his feet anxiously. Clauncher nodded and zipped through the air while encapsulating himself in water. The sheer speed of the attack caught everyone off guard, and Tyrunt was clobbered by the water type, who knocked him through the air and onto his back.
"Tyrunt, are you okay?" Owen asked nervously. Tyrunt let out a weak response as he got back up in pain, wincing as he did so. "Quickly use Ancient Power!" Tyrunt stomped on the ground and five boulders were sent lying towards Clauncher, who waited for Moe's command before acting.
"Punch through the boulders with your claw and then use Crabhammer!" Owen, and Tyrunt watched in fear as Clauncher launched his claw through the boulders before making his way across the battlefield and slamming his glowing claw over Tyrunt's head.
"Tyrunt!" Owen cried as the dragon type refused to give up, and he continued to try and push himself up, but Moe wasn't going to let him get the chance to continue battling.
"Finish this with Crabhammer!" Clauncher's large claw began to glow white as he wound his arm back and slammed his claw over Tyrunt's head for a second time, knocking the prehistoric Pokemon unconscious instantly. Once he fell over, Tyrunt's eyes were closed and Daniel raised his arms in the air to signal the end of the match.
"Tyrunt is unable to battle! Owen, choose your last Pokemon!"
"Thank you so much, Tyrunt, you gave it everything you had. Greninja, you've got this," Owen told his starter while patting him on the back. Greninja nodded confidently and walked forward before crouching and placing his right arm on the ground while his left was pointed back at Owen.
"This is going to be good," Cindy said to herself and Litleo as the two water type's began to scowl at each other. "Wait, haven't these two battled before?" she asked Brooklyn, who was present at the last battle between Owen and Moe.
"Yeah, Greninja won."
"This battle will be between Greninja and Clauncher! Begin!"
"Clauncher, use Aqua Jet!" Clauncher grunted as he covered himself in water before flying through the air like a bullet. Even though the speed of the attack was topnotch, Greninja didn't have a hard time tracking Clauncher, nor did Owen.
"Crash head-on with Quick Attack!" As soon as Owen finished saying that, Greninja bolted towards his water type foe, and the two collided. A blast of water flew into the air and fell on everyone as the two Pokemon began to battle back and forth, making Charizard mutter angrily before moving further away from the battlefield. Brooklyn looked back at the large Pokemon and giggled at his hatred for water, but she turned back to the battle when she was hit by more water.
"Throw your claw forward and use Cut!" Moe shouted. Clauncher quickly swung his open claw at Greninja, cutting the water and dark type across the head, making him stumble back before being blasted by the Aqua Jet he had been fighting off.
"Are you okay, Greninja?" Owen quizzed as his starter took a deep breath and stood up. Greninja then nodded back at the teen, making Owen smile at his Pokemon's resiliency. "Okay, use Round!" Greninja slapped his hands together and began to hum loudly while air began to circulate around his legs. As the humming became louder, Greninja opened his mouth and a ring of energy slammed into Clauncher, who tried to shake the pain away.
"Stay strong, Clauncher. Use Crabhammer!" Clauncher nodded at his trainer's words and powered through the pain surging through his body, and his claw began to glow white as he flew towards Greninja.
"Block it with Water Pulse!" Greninja formed a tiny sphere of water in his left hand before he dashed towards Clauncher, and the two threw their arms forward at the same time. The two attacks collided, causing a wave of force to launch them backwards, but Greninja seemed to be doing worse than Clauncher, as he rolled on the ground while Clauncher was simply pushed back through the air.
"Use Aqua Jet again, Clauncher!" Moe yelled after seeing an opening to attack.
"Greninja, use a fully charged Water Shuriken!" Owen shouted back, not wanting to lose the battle. Greninja got back up as Clauncher sped through the air while covered in water, and he put his hands close together and at his ribs. A large, spiraling shuriken the size of Clauncher was formed, and Greninja threw it at his opponent.
"Dodge and use Aura Sphere!" Clauncher began to spin like a drill, allowing him to dodge the vicious attack Greninja had fired, and he opened his claw before firing a blue ball of aura at the fully evolved water starter. Owen watched as Greninja was obliterated by the super effective attack and launched through the air like a rag doll before landing on his stomach with a loud thud.
"Greninja is unable to battle! Moe is the winner!" Daniel shouted as Owen ran to Greninja's side and checked on the fainted Pokemon.
"You were incredible, Greninja. Take a long rest." Owen withdrew his fainted starter and looked up to see Moe extending his hand with a smile on his face. The two trainers shook hands and Owen sighed before grinning at Moe. "You definitely got a lot stronger since last time."
"Thanks, you did too. We need to have another battle soon so we can finally see who the better trainer is," Moe informed Owen, referring to both of them winning one battle.
"Sounds like a plan. Good luck," Owen said as he and his friends walked away from Moe, who waved back before heading towards Coumarine City.
"That was a tough battle," Daniel said as the group continued their trek to Lumiose City, which was so close yet so far away. "He's a really strong trainer."
"Yeah, but there's no way he's going to win the next time we battle, right, Charizard?"
"RAAAWR!"
Well, Owen lost his second rival battle in a row, but he'll look to stop that streak in Laverre City. So, I know I didn't do a good job with the ending there, but it was actually really hard to write, so that's the best I could do. Also, the announcement about the Royal Family's death won't come until Chapter 41, so don't think I forgot about it. Till next time, peace out.
Next Chapter: "Desert Demons": The only thing separating the group from Lumiose City, aside from the massive desert they have to pass through, is a sinister group of Pokemon willing to attack anything and anyone. The only problem Owen and co. have is that they can't see them! Will our heroes be able to make it out of the desert alive?
Lumiose Arc Chapters
Chapter 41: Hit the Lights!
Chapter 42: Outlaws
Chapter 43: Tyrantrum vs Heliolisk: A Dinosaur Duel
Chapter 44: Clearing the Path
Chapter 45: Escape the City
Chapter 46: Total Takeover