During the course of one's life, a dream is realized and thoroughly admired. We strive to follow that dream, but until then... we think. We think with the mission of perfectionism of that dream, memorizing every single detail and answering every single question. What will we do? How will we react when the dream comes to fruition? Will it be everything I want it to be? Well, that dream must be fulfilled in order to answer those question.

However, there is a question that can be answered right now: was any of this going through Shane's head when his dream was being fulfilled?

Heck no.

The thrill of the moment was just too much for Shane to comprehend anything other than the situation at hand. He was focused, he was determined…

"Alright, Pyrten! Use… um…"

… he was confused as to what to do next.

Damian and Ben looked over at Shane, noticing the look of confusion on Shane's face growing larger and larger.

"Well? Go on, tell it to do something!" Damian yelled over to the perplexed trainer-to-be with his hands cupped around his mouth, his voice stinging with annoyance (as well as a little jealousy).

"I- I don't know any of Pyrten's moves! I didn't even know this thing existed until just now!" Shane yelled back, running his hands through his hair.

Damian groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Are you serious? Come on, how dumb are you?"

Shane stomped up and down in frustration, his eyes closed and his mouth wide. "Oh yeah? Well, you tell me one of its moves, then."

"Uh… um… s-shut up!" Damian yelled back, a slight blush coming on his cheeks.

'This is hopeless,' Ben thought to himself, shaking his head.

What then followed was the genius exchange between two great minds:

"Ha! See? You don't even know!"

"Shut up, idiot! I know more than you!"

"I'm not an idiot! You're the idiot!"

"Don't you call me an idiot, idiot!"

"I said don't call me-"

"Pyrten, use ember!"

Amid all the chaos and name-calling, the gruff and experienced sound of Professor Linden's voice rang out like the chime of a rusty church bell. Everyone looked over at the old man, who was still on the ground due to his injury.

Pyrten's ears shot up, hearing the familiar words of the bright red eyes began to glow even brighter, the ember on its head beginning to grow more intense. It dug its claws into the ground and opened its mouth wide, shooting out a small (yet intense) ball of fire.

The enemy pokémon looked over and took notice of the danger coming towards them. They seemed to be distracted by the hateful banter coming from the two boys to realize that maybe Pyrten was going to be a challenge for the trouble- making group. This fear was about to become a reality as the ball of fire was getting closer at an alarming rate.

"K-Kriminaw!" the five Pokémon yelled frantically. They began to disperse, doing their best to get away from the flame.

Professor Linden continued to park orders, doing his best to not pass out from the pain coming from his bite wound. "Now… use headbutt!"

Pyrten then charged, its flaming head held low. Running at such an incredible speed, one of the Kriminaw was unable to dodge out of the way, feeling the full extent of thr blow.

"Naaaaawww!" it yelled as it flew back. It landed hard on the ground, its eyes turning into spiral shapes.

"Whoa," Shane watched the spectacle in amazement. The way Pyrten moved, how fast and strong it was made him think:

'I need this pokémon.'

"Pyrten… *huff*... use… ugh…" before the professor could give out another order, he felt his consciousness about to give way. His eyelids were beginning to droop, despite his desperate urge to keep them open.

Pyrten looked over at the professor in concern, wondering what he wanted it to do next. Suddenly, out of the corner of its eye, it saw one of the Kriminaw lash out at it. Its claws were sharp and it was ready to get revenge for its fallen comrade.

"Pyrten, dodge!"

Hearing this order caused Pyrten to quickly jump out of the way of the attack, the Kriminaw's claw digging deep in the ground. Pyrten looked behind him, knowing the unfamiliar voice was coming from the mysterious boy it just met.

Shane looked it in the bright red eyes and confidently smiled. "Good job, Pyrten."

He then looked over at Professor Linden, who was staring at him with drooping eyes and a look of puzzlement. Shane lifted his hand and gave him a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, Professor. You're Pokémon's in safe hands."

The professor slightly nodded, his head beginning to drop to the ground as he lost consciousness. He did have one last thought before he blacked out: "Whose is this kid?"

Shane looked over at Damian and Ben, who were surprised to see the sudden change in expression. Shane now looked confident and focused. He almost looked like… an actual pokémon trainer.

"Guys, get the professor and the girl out of here! I'll finish this," he said, then turning his attention to the four remaining Kriminaw (who looked even angrier than before).

"Don't tell me what to do," Damian muttered under his breath as he walked over to the unconscious professor. "Come on, Ben."

Ben followed nervously, each of the boys grabbing the arms of the professor. He looked over and saw the little girl, who was still shaking with fear.

Ben gave her the best calm smile he could. "Hey. It's going to be ok. Come with us and we're going to take care of your father."

He held out his hand to the girl, who nervously reached for it. She looked up at him, her light brown eyes stained with tears. Ben reached into one of the many pockets of his cargo shorts and pulled out a handkerchief. He smiled warmly and gave it to the girl.

"It's going to be ok," he repeated.

As she carefully dried her eyes, she looked back at Shane who was now yelling a command to Pyrten, who was following it without hesitation. "W-who is that boy?"

"A fool," Damian answered harshly. "A lucky fool."

As the group walked away from the scene, the battle between Shane and the group of Kriminaw was becoming more intense.

"Pyrten, use ember!" Shane commanded, sweat dripping off his brow. He never knew pokémon battles could be so exhausting.

'This is so awesome!'

Pyrten coughed up another fire ball, aiming it at a charging Kriminaw. Unable to dodge it, it relunctantly took the the blast head on. It collapsed onto the ground, unable to continue battling.

"Yeah! Two down, three to- oh!" Shane began to celebrate his minor achievement, but then realized he had made a grave mistake. He didn't notice another Kriminaw charging from behind Pyrten, who wasn't able to stop the surprise attack. It was knocked back by the force of the enemy, landing hard on the ground.

"Pyrrrrr!" it yelped in pain, slowly getting up to its feet. Now injured, it seemed that the tables were now turned. The three remaining Kriminaw were circling around the helpless Pyrten, ready to strike.

"Oh no! What do I do?" Shane asked himself, hating the helplessness he was feeling right now. If he had been paying attention, they wouldn't be in this mess. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes, unable to look at his helpless partner.

"I… I failed. I'm… so sorry," Shane said softly, a tear running down his cheek. His dream, everything he had been waiting for, was now beginning to crash down upon him.

Suddenly… he heard something.

Shane looked up to see Pyrten beginning to change. Its eyes were were glowing brighter and brighter. The fire on its head was starting to grow, emanating heat equal to that of an inferno. The fur surrounding it was rising and moving around, looking like a sea of fire crashing on the Pyrten's back. Its growl was becoming louder and more menacing, causing Shane to look up and find this beautiful (yet terrifying) spectacle.

"P-Pyrten?" Shane asked nervously. Was it mad at him for failing, or was it something else? The Kriminaw were just as confused as Shane was, looking at each other in alarm.

It then drew back its head, and let out the most powerful roar that he had ever heard. It was so strong that the noise seemed to have weight, causing both the group of Kriminaw and Shane to fall back. It was like a powerful gust of wind, blowing away everything in its path. Trees were moving violently side to side, twigs and patches of grass were swirling in the air. Shane felt like he was in a tornado, grabbing onto a nearby rock as to not fly away. The Kriminaw were not so lucky, each of them being hurled into the air.

Pyrten then slowly closed its mouth, its eyes beginning to dim and the fire on its head returning to normal. Shane felt the wind begin to die down as he slowly moved away from the rock. He looked around, seeing all the destruction that… whatever it was… had caused. He couldn't even find the Kriminaw; they must have been blown away.

Shane looked over at the Pyrten, who was jumping up and down and cheering, "Pyrten! Pyrten!"

He rubbed his hand through his hair, which was now standing up on end. "Well… that happened…"