Floaroma's Champion

by LowePlays

While out on a walk a boy from Floaroma finds a menacing beast. Using modern technology, he captures the monster. After it comes to accept the boy, both travel to become the best. For fame and fortune! Both strive to become the best, the Champion. But the path is not as easy as they might think... This story was inspired after MetalDargon's work in Sacrifice and Subjugation.

7. Losses

Alright! Let's go! Gotta write. Someone remind me weekly to get my ass in motion. Seriously, I need someone telling me what to do sometimes. Kinda weak in that department...

Anyways, it's nice that everyone's been supporting my story. It'd be helpful if everyone shares it with someone. Like, online in forums or in groups. Or send the link to a friend. You don't have to, but it would help. Next thing I need to do is put ads on this... lol

If you enjoy, make sure to leave a review! Enjoy the story!

And if no one has caught on, I like Topo berries. Seems fitting for a northern region, being the Potato berries.

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The trek down into the forest was peaceful and quite. We didn't talk much, as we were used to being in the Gate. Every whisper was louder, but out here... Once out in the forest, you had to shout to be understood. The sounds of Noctowls was starting to pick up as the sun got lower in the sky, telling us to start setting up camp, but we kept going.

The trees were larger than the ones near Floaroma, of Eterna Forest, but this forest was most likely controlled more than the one back home. Used to be the forest only came half way down the route. Now, the entire thing was trees.

But at least the Pokemon were mostly the same...

There were Hoothoot, Paras, Lillipup, Kricketot. The usual. It was reassuring to see so many familiar Pokemon. Sarah looked to some of them, but didn't attempt to catch any of them as they ran away when we passed. I looked at the Lillipups and was reminded of the Herdier back home. I missed him, but I knew I'd see him time to time.

I kept looking from Sarah to July from time to time. The hair on my neck was constantly standing up. It might have been the cold air that made me on edge, but I don't know what it was. To take my mind off things, I released Stein to be a little reassuring. If something happened, I would rely on him to protect us.

July and Sarah gave me strange looks for sending out my Geodude, but I tried to hide my true intentions by telling Akuma to carry him while he did pushups on her back. It was a balance exercise of sorts, and Akuma showed her dislike for it, but she followed me for guidance. This obviously had a purpose.

The trees grew darker as we traveled deeper and I opened our last bag of jerky. The journey through the Gate had run our supplies drier than I thought, though Akuma enjoyed eating Digletts and Zubat. Thorn enjoyed the sunlight and Stein just ate ores and rocks. Besides them, I wouldn't know how to feed another meat-eater Pokemon. Luckily, Akuma would eat anything.

"Do you feel that," July questioned. "Feels like something's pricking my neck, but nothing's there." I looked around and felt in my pockets for something. Anything to hold. Holding onto an empty Pokeball helped, but only because I kept enlarging and shrinking it. The feeling of it always made my adrenaline pump. It helped me feel calm.

With darkness covering us, Sarah suggested we set up camp. It was also about the same time July went to sleep. Maybe a bit later... About five at night. It made sense since she was complaining too. Giving in, lead us to a small clearing. It gave me some small relief enough to put away the Pokeball. Gesturing outwards, I announced our campsite.

"Alright. We can set up here." Immediately, Akuma and Stein separated, finally given the signal they could separate. It was nice that he followed my commands more readily than even Thorn, who only followed orders when trying to impress. I started with gathering up supplies for the fire and dug out a small hole for it. Sarah and July set up their own bedding, and I wondered for only a second why Sarah and July didn't sleep together in the tent, being large enough for a second person.

But then I remembered the two didn't exactly get along well.

I was about to go hunting, heading over to Sarah and July to invite them, before I felt a wave pass over us all. I saw everyone's hair begin levitating before falling. Akuma spun around on the spot and began growling and Stein had arcs of electricity over him. He'd protected us from whatever had hit us.

My own movements to turn were strange. The muscles in my legs and arms felt tight and clenched. I could still move, but it was weird. And out of the trees, several sets of glowing eyes approached. We were being hunted.

"What's going on," July asked. She stood from her bed and smoothed out her hair. Sarah was already standing, having been trying to set her tent up. I watched as four felines came out of the trees. It was a pride of evolved Shinx. And my skin was tingling. The adrenaline in my body was making me want to move, want to run. But fear of what might happen kept me still.

The pride of Luxio and Luxray had large and powerful bodies, the leading and fully evolved Luxray was easily larger than I was, being almost six feet tall. A monster. It's massive set of teeth and claws had enough power in them to cause large arcs. The ones that hit the ground left bright orange spots.

Being unaffected, Stein and Akuma took the front lines. I suspected it was more of Stein presenting a larger capacity for neutralizing power, allowing us to move while he absorbed the charge. I wanted to call back them back, but I could barely move my jaw.

This was it.

All we'd done.

All for this.

Now it was all going to end here and now.

As I watched, the Luxray advanced on my two Pokemon, towering over them by at least four feet. Akuma had only just reached two foot three. She was still so young. Stein, he'd easily accepted me as a trainer, showing him the perks of training with me. And now they were faced with this, a beast that would slaughter as easily as slicing a steak.

But my throat wouldn't let a sound escape.

The large leader pounced like a Meowth, grabbing Stein in it's fangs. I saw bolts of electricity course down into the stone body of my Geodude, but he still attempted to punch the Luxray in the face. It seemed he had some effect on it, but each blow simply made the Luxray angrier. In response to the resistance, it bit down harder, cracks forming on Stein's body.

The shock of losing my Pokemon was enough to pull me out of fear. I tried to pull out his Pokeball in time, to return him. I threw open my bag and stuck my hand in as the sounds of cracking filled the clearing. Once I turned back with the Pokeball in hand, the button wouldn't work. No Pokemon would be returned.

A pile of stone lay at the Luxray's paws. Realizing what had happened almost brouhgt tears to my eyes. I couldn't have the same happen to Akuma. I had to stay calm. Her Pokeball was next, used quickly to recall her. She wouldn't like it later, but I wouldn't let her die. Of course, how I would escape was an entirely different question.

With Akuma gone and no challengers left, the Luxio of the pride started to advance towards the prey. I was scared of the smaller felines as much of the Luxray. The three that there were coming toward us were more than enough to rip us to shreds. We would die here.

"Hey, moron! Duck!" Looked back in time to see a red ball sail towards me. July had chucked a Pokeball past me and hit the Luxray square in the mouth. It was enough to open the ball and pull it into it. Looking back, the three Luxio were confused as to where their leader had gone.

July took off the moment the ball had left her hand and abandoning all her belongings at the camp. It was a bold move and the remaining cats looked at us in fear. They considered the possibility of chasing us for food.

Getting the idea, I pulled out a Pokeball of my own as Sarah threw hers at one of the Luxio. I did the same, throwing mine as hard as I could. Tears threatened to blur my aim, but the bright red flash was enough to tell me I would be fine. I ran after Sarah and July and smashed through branches and bushes.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. I was supposed to conquer every trial with ease. With the threat of a pride of wild cats behind us, the fear drove me faster. Hardly easy.

The scene of the crushed rocks of Stein falling replayed in my mind as I ran. I only kept the image of Sarah's hair as my guide. The tears at the edge of my eyes tried to come out, but I held them back. Keep strong, I kept telling myself.

Looking back was something I wanted to do. If a Luxio was on my tail, I'd want to know. But the only sounds was of crashing through the forest like the scared Buneary we were.

When my lungs burned, my heart ached, and my legs were like jelly, we finally stopped. Luckily, the Luxio and Luxray hadn't followed us. At least, not this far. It was hard to say how far they did go. All I knew was it was safe enough to rest. So, I rested.

I dropped like a fly when I was beat. To which, Sarah followed suit. July did as well, reaching her own limit. Seems she actually had one. I felt like there wasn't enough oxygen in the entire forest to satisfy my lungs for how fast I was breathing. My bag felt as heavy as a sack of Tapu berries.

The adrenaline that had pushed me this far was quickly dissipating and leaving me a tired and ragged mess. It almost let me fall asleep then and there. But the fact that all our stuff was back at the camp, including a bed, that sounded better than the bush below me.

"So... How's everyone?" Sarah looked around from her position against a tree. She seemed to be to most active person of us three.

"I... I think I'm okay. Can't really move, but I'll be fine it a few minutes."

"And July? How's she? She looks like she's out cold or something. She isn't dead, is she?" I lifted my head from the bush and looked at July. Her black hair covered her face, but I could see it moving from something under it in the light of the moon. She was still breathing, so she was still alive.

"I think she's just... sleeping." It was like she fell asleep as she was running and just dropped. No wonder since we were about ready to pass out ourselves. Even though I remembered Stein, my eyes wouldn't cry anymore. I was too tired to. Even though every time I thought of Stein, my chest hurt.

After several minutes of laying there, I finally felt like I could move. My breathing was still faster than normal, but it had slowed down to a reasonable rate. Sarah checked up on July and rolled her onto her back. She seemed to be okay, just asleep. Out cold as a Snorlax.

Once we were actually prepared to head back, I was forced to carry the unconscious July on my back. She wasn't too heavy, but I guessed she wasn't that tall either. Her hair occasionally tickled my ear, but most the time it was tree leaves. Another good. thing is she didn't have a heavy bag weighing her down either. Lucky me.

We walked back through our path of hasty escape, back through bushes and branches. It was much longer coming back, but the walk with Sarah was nice. Dark, but nice. With the moon overhead, along with tree branches, it was difficult to see, but at least we could see.

And there was the perks of seeing Sarah in the beams of moonlight. She didn't seem to notice my occasional glances, so I guessed I was safe.

"I think I see the camp. Just up ahead. See the light?" I looked up and pushed some of July's hair out of my face. I saw the outline of the white tent and some light. Rushing ahead, I made sure not to be too rough with the girl on my back. She might have been more peaceful while asleep, but if she woke up, I'd probably die.

Going over to July's bedding, I set her down carefully as Sarah went over to check the surroundings with Yami. I was trying to be careful, but she groaned when she touched the ground. To be honest, I was surprised she slept for the two hours back. And I was surprised I'd stayed standing the whole time.

My legs burned as I walked over to the center of the camp. The cold air was finally reaching me, making me shiver as well as exhausted. As I walked to the small hole I'd filled with wood for after hunting for a meal, I noticed several half spheres. Broken shells of Pokeballs.

I ignored them, not even wanting to think about the entire Luxray encounter. Looking at the pile of gravel I knew would be left of Stein wasn't something I wanted to do. The pain of simply losing him was enough to nearly bring tears to my eyes. As such, I tried to keep my mind on what I was doing.

Staring at the wood I'd set up in the pit, I realized Sarah still had her set of flint and steel on her. I turned back to ask her about them, but I caught a glance of the grey stone on the ground. It was pretty easy to see, against the flat greenish brown grass and leaves below it.

Instantly, the entire scene replayed in my head, finally breaking the dam I'd tried to hold. Tears began flowing and I just couldn't stand. This was the loss of one of my first Pokemon. I'd expected this to happen at some point, but never this early along the line. All I could do was wipe the tears as they dripped off my cheeks.

Sarah quickly noticed my condition and ran over to me. I don't really remember what she said, as I didn't really care. In fact, it was hard to remember what even I did. Sarah's care for me was nice, and I'd assume she comforted me about my lost Pokemon. Human stuff.

At some point, Sarah must have lit the fire and was sitting next to me when I finally calmed down. I sat up and crossed my legs, looking into the flames. My eyes were still blurry and probably pretty red and puffy. It was peaceful and quite, the only sounds was of the crackling of the fire and the occasional hooting of Hoothoot.

"You feeling better?" Sarah bumped my elbow. I turned towards her and she backed up from me. My eyes must have been worse than I thought if she backed up. I sniffed and rubbed my nose. Did I feel better? I couldn't really tell for sure, but I just knew that crying was more painful.

"I guess I'm alright," I said with a slightly raspy voice. I said it mostly for myself, but also to reassure her that I was alright. I didn't need another person reminding me. It was bad enough with just me.

"That's good. Anyways, it's getting late. If you're okay now, I'm going to bed. Kinda tired. See you in the morning?" Sarah began to stand up, but I stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

"Have you eaten anything yet? I was going to eat some jerky, wondering if you wanted some?" I opened the flap of my bag and pulled off the blanket on top. And pulled out the last bag of Miltank jerky. I'd eaten some of it already, but most of it was still there.

"Sure. I... I guess I could eat some. I ate some berries I had saved." She sat down and I held out the bag for her. We both took a piece and I gnawed on it while staring at the fire. I didn't know how to talk about what'd happened, as I assumed she expected. I noticed she kept looking over at me, waiting for me.

We just sat there eating the jerky until the bag was empty. Once it was, I tossed the bag into the fire. It instantly shrank and burst into flames before disappearing. It was nice just sitting with Sarah, but I could tell she was getting uncomfortable. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms them, resting her chin on her knees.

"If you need to talk, I'm here for you. Just to vent your feelings or something, it'll be good for you." That was what I was afraid of. The entire topic of Stein made me a bit emotional. I knew he was a new addition, having been on the team for only a few days. But the battle experience and bond we'd made in the short time had been real.

"I'm tired, too. I think I'm going to bed and see you in the morning." I stood up from my place and grabbed the strap of my bag.

"Alright. I'd better head to sleep to. Just remember what I said?"

"I will. Thanks." We nodded to each other, said goodnight and all. I let her close her tent before pulling out Akuma's Pokeball. I wanted to spend some time alone with her. With just me and her, I could show true feelings. Hesitant, I clicked the button.

She appeared in a small flash of light, and immediately set into alert mode. Her growling was kinda loud in the darkness, but I tried to keep her calm by resting a hand on her neck. She turned towards me and growled at me, before she sniffed the air and noticed it was me.

"Hey, Akuma. How're you doing?" She was still on edge, her fur standing up and her muscles were tense. Due to the time flow in the Pokeballs being slowed. To her, maybe it'd been a few minutes or an hour.

She didn't seem to understand, but Akuma didn't really care. She didn't see, she didn't care. It was better that way. Not like I really wanted to go through the entire story again.

Instead, I unrolled my blanket and got under it. Akuma joined me by lying on top of me while I rolled up a shirt to use as a pillow. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. But when my mind was clear, the memories of the day replayed in my mind. Water came to my eyes and I silently cried into the shirt underneath me.

It burned my eyes and made my cheeks itch, but it's not like I could stop it. Akuma licked my face and took away my tears for the moment, but they still kept coming. My breath started shaking, but Akuma kept nudging me, almost asking me; How could I be so weak?

Finally, I was too tired to stay awake any more. Having spent the day running through a cave, from Luxray, and general exhastion was enough to put any man to sleep. For me, I just ended up passing out. But that's just when the worst of it began.

With my dreams being able to create anything, all they wanted to show me was everything I didn't want to see. The same scene of Stein shattering, interrupted occasionally by all the fights I'd used him in. Before going back to his body shattering. Each and every time I saw it, it seemed to happen slower and slower.

At some point, I sat up in cold sweat. Akuma woke up and turned to me. I'd almost thrown her off me. She whined at being woken up by cross-clearing vaulting. Luckily, she wasn't really hurt. She appeared fine and walked over to me, obviously tired. Just like me.

"Sorry. Just been having bad dreams. Didn't mean to do that." I patted her on her horn and bent it slightly. She tried to laid down on me again, to back to sleep, but I pulled my legs out of the blanket. I didn't want to sleep. I knew what would happen if I did. The same dreams would play over and over, and I didn't want to go through that again.

Instead, I slipped on my sweatshirt and sat in front of the fire. The branches still had a little left to them, leaving a small and dying flame there. As it was small, it was kinda cold. I couldn't help but add a branch or two. Not that it changed much, but at least it would last a little longer.

Akuma followed me over and laid down next to me, laying her head against my leg. I reached out and rubbed her neck, which she seemed to enjoy. Soon enough, she was snoring again while I was left alone and awake. As peaceful as it was, all I could do was succumb to sleep. Falling backwards to the ground, I closed my eyes and hoped for a bit of peaceful sleep.

.

The morning came quickly. With a boot from July. Same wake up call as yesterday, so it wasn't that much of a surprise. It was still a kick to the ribs, so it did hurt, but I was getting used to it. Yawning, I sat up and brushed the leaves off my face. They'd been falling from the trees above while I'd been sleeping, being the middle of fall. Shivering, I looked around the camp and saw July beside me, completely ready to leave. It was dark, but I could still see her clothes.

"Hey," She started out. "Now that we're on the other side of the Gate, you don't have to wait up for me, and I shouldn't have to wait on you two. We should split up and go at our own pace. Besides, you're kinda stupid, so it'd be a waste to stick around with you." Walking off, I thought about what she'd said. I think it was something about letting me sleep? And why'd she have to be so rude about it?

Laying back down, I pulled my blanket from above me over myself and rolled over, on to Akuma. She adjusted by crawling out from underneath me and jumping on me.

"Wow. Akuma, you're heavier than I though. Might have hit my bruised rib there." Groaning, I settled in under a pillow made of my shirt and began to fall asleep, not truly understanding what July had meant. I was too tired to really care anyways. To help fall asleep, I told myself I'd deal with it later.

.

It wasn't until the sun was well above the trees that I realized what was going on. I sat up and scared Akuma in the process. I looked around for July, but as she said, she'd already left. One of our party was gone. Of course, it's not that big of a deal. We'd be able to travel during the day more, but it still... It was weird to me.

The blind dragon walked over to me and yawned, nudging my shoulder. I couldn't resist rubbing her neck. Her fur was sort of coarse, but it was sort of nice. Familiar. Like Herdier's fur, back when I was back home. Shaking my head, I pressed my forehead into her side.

I didn't really do anything for several minutes before Akuma began to get uncomfortable and started to fidget around. In the end, I agreed and decided to get out of bed. Or, my bedding at least. It'd been almost a week since I slept in a bed.

Looking around the clearing, I shivered in the cold air and rubbed my arms together. It'd probably snow by next week, to be honest. I couldn't see my breath yet, but it was most likely because it wasn't quite below freezing. It's not like I understood it that well, but my guess was probably the best I could ever want, really.

"Oh, morning. Do you know where July went? She didn't wake me up this morning." I spun around to see Sarah just coming out of her tent, combing her hair. She seemed to be in a happier mood than the grim one yesterday, but she still had a look in her eye when she looked at me. Something told me it was pity, but it could have been anything. I don't know why, but I didn't like it.

I shrugged, signalling I didn't know. To be honest, her entire conversation with me was fairly vague. She hadn't said much to begin with, other than she was leaving. Maybe she thought we were slower together. True, the thought crossed my mind several times in the Gate.

"So she didn't talk to you either... She's really antisocial, not to mention secretive. She never once showed her Pokemon and just sneaks away in the middle of the night!" Sarah walked over to me, looking around the forest before looking into the sky.

"July only said one or two things to me before she left. Just saying that she didn't need to stay with us. Guess she thought we were too slow or something. That's my guess." I ran my hands through my hair and smoothed it out, mainly because I felt like it was sticking up like crazy.

"Well... I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but what do you plan to do with Stein? I mean, you aren't going to just leave him, are you?" The very mention of Stein made me freeze, but I shook it off. I couldn't spend more time crying like a baby. I was better than that.

"I-I don't really know. After he was shattered, I didn't really think about doing anything with him." I tried not to look at the pile of rocks that was Stein now. I knew I could probably do it without flinching, but I also know it wouldn't be like a plain of flowers to me.

"We should probably put him back in the ground. Put him back where he belongs." Nodding, I decided this to be the best course of action. Burying Stein... It seemed to be the right thing to do.

Acting, I kept myself from showing anything. I used my facade to dig a hole, gather the stones, and hold the funeral. I tried not to think, to remember. At most, I hiccuped or breathed deeply. But I kept it under control. It was difficult, laying the remains in the hole I'd dug, but Sarah helped me do so.

Once everything was laid down and ready to be covered up, I did one thing I'd never really thought I'd ever do. I put both of my hands together and looked up to the cloudy sky. Arceus, if he really was a god, I hoped he would listen to me.

"Arceus. I hope you'll find it somewhere to allow my Pokemon Stein to rest peacefully in the ground. You know, not revive as a ghost Pokemon. Thanks." Sarah put her hands together and whispered something as well, before giving me permission to start shoveling the dirt into the hole with my tree branch and hands.

To finish off the grave, I took out my knife and engraved a crude sign. It just read 'Stein the Geodude' with the date below it. I had to check my PokeDex for the actual day before carving in '1 - 11 - 2064'. It barely fit on the branch, but I managed. I cleaned it up quickly before stabbing it into the dirt. Akuma sniffed it and I put my hand on her head.

Almost on cue, rain started falling. It reflected the mood of the situation. With water falling on my face, it became easy to hide my tears and I let a few slide. Just this once. I really was a baby, with all this crying. Then I realized our bedding was currently getting soaked.

While walking over to my blanket, I tripped over something. Looking down, I saw something red half-buried in the dirt. Pulling it out, while I thought it was just the top of a Pokeball, I realized it was whole. Pokeballs weren't just left places often, so I wondered why this one was. Akuma sniffed it before looking at me.

I checked the screen that was pulled up when I picked it up. Reading it, I saw the species of the caught Pokemon; Luxio. The Pokemon I was holding was one of the monsters that had attacked us last night, and we'd caught one of them. I guessed that the disappearance of one of them was why they left us alone after that.

The thought of keeping the Luxio disgusted me, angered me and almost tempting me to throw it away and leaving it there forever. But I decided against it. I couldn't throw it away. Instead, I just put it into my bag and tried to forget it. I had bedding to clean up. Sarah looked back at me, but I just shook my head at her, forcing her to look away from me.

After cleaning up our camp, we shouldered our bags and started walking towards Oreburgh. I kept myself distracted by trying to come up with a strategy to deal with the gym there. I leaned over my screen in an attempt to block it from water. It was kinda boring without fast connections, but I quickly noticed my PokeDex's signal bars fill up fast.

It also gave me and excuse to text my parents, to tell them I was on the other side of the Gate. Not much detail, but just to tell them I was fine and safe. I didn't dare mention anything about the Luxray pride I'd seen, nor about my traveling companions. All that mattered was that I was okay.

That took at most ten minutes to do.

Now that I was in range of signal and internet, I looked up details on Gym Leader Roderick's fighting style. Anything helped, until I saw the guy just went with whatever he felt like and hoped it worked. From the picture posted online, I saw he was a young guy, around twenty or so. It seemed to be just a long ranged shot, but it was high quality. He looked serious, like he was about to battle.

And so I set to work. Just jotting down in a digital notepad hints and notes to use in a battle was the best I could really hope for while we were traveling in the rain. Akuma tried to stay near me, to keep out of the rain, but quickly noticed I wasn't the best shield. As such, she tried to hide in the shade of trees, but it didn't do the greatest job either. Which caused her to try to light fire to them with her new draconic flames move, projecting her fire about her head's length away.

I quickly stopped her though, before she set the entire forest. That wouldn't go over too well with the League...

Akuma just stuck to grumbling in the rain. Her fur was matted down and soaked, much like Sarah's hair. I guessed it was the same with mine as well. My clothes stuck to my body and it was quite annoying that everything in my bag was getting wet. Including my blanket.

After writing down as much as I could, I was stuck with just walking. Sure, it was an opportunity to talk and get closer to Sarah, but every time I tried to talk to her, I remembered our conversation last night and couldn't actually do it. Instead, I just focused on walking.

The rain stopped falling sometime around noon, so it left us walking through mud and soaked to the bone. Coupled with the cold weather, it might have been better to be naked. Of course, since we weren't that close, we'd never do that.

It was still kinda depressing since we were soaked to the bone, not to mention heavy. Akuma tried to heat herself up with my pants legs and by trying to breath fire, but I had to stop her before she set me on fire. Sarah, while she occasionally groaned about her clothes being wet, she mostly kept going. Myself... I just kept going. Thinking wasn't fun, nor was talking, or trying to battle. All in all, it wasn't very great.

Luckily, Oreburgh was coming up quickly. With the darkened sky, the glow of the city could be seen from where we were. Our maps showed us closer and closer every time we checked. From the point we noticed the lights, it took almost two hours to get there. Even at a quick pace.

"Damn... 'Bout time we got here." We passed through the arch at the front of Oreburgh, which read something cheesy like, 'Welcome to Oreburgh, City of Rocks!' I don't know. Coupled with wet clothes, being tired, and hungry, I just wanted to go to the Pokemon Center and fix all of it.

"What should we do? Should we register for the gym fight now? Or just eat? Sleep and do it tomorrow?"

"Wait, what? Do it tomorrow? No, we should register today, but not right now. I'm sick of wearing these wet clothes, for one, and I'm hungry. I want to eat." After I said it, I felt a bit guilty for being selfish about my own needs.

"Fine, Bossy," She said, kinda looking a bit irritated. "But I guess I feel the same about my own clothes. Besides that, I want to make sure everything in my bag is alright." Nodding, I sighed in relief. Our relation allowed me to take a bit for myself.

Heading through town, I had to recall Akuma while inside the boundaries of town. It wasn't to big of a deal to me, and probably not for her either, but it felt a little weird without someone else being near me. Sarah being near me was fine, but it just made it weird when we were both alone together.

The city of Oreburgh was nice and everything, but the air felt dusty and the buildings weren't nearly as big as in Jubilife, but still fairly larger than any building in Floaroma town. There were several people on the streets, most of them young adults and had umbrellas. I looked at some of them and their dry clothes as I dragged myself towards the Pokemon Center.

Walking through the sliding glass doors of the Pokemon Center, the heat from inside billowed out. I let Sarah walking in first, being a gentleman. I looked around inside and was sorta surprised to see several people lounging around. When it's the end of fall, it was strange to see many people still here.

"Wow. Are these just people who lost against Roderick at the Gym?" The idea of these all being losers made it obvious the battle wouldn't be just a walk in the park. Of course, having a dragon on my team, it might not be that bad.

Walking up to the front counter, Nurse John greeted us before pausing. He looked at our clothes and opened a comm channel to the laundry manager. Saying something about bringing two sets of sweats and and sweatshirts. That was one of the things off the list.

The young man who walked out of the back room froze for a second when he saw our clothes. I looked down at my clothes and realized why the guy was surprised. The small cardboard boxes wouldn't like a bunch of wet clothes. Still, the guy came up to us to do his job. He stopped in front of us and bowed before handing the two boxes to us.

"If you two follow me, I can show you to our changing rooms, or if you'd like to change in our bathrooms, I could take you there as well." This was similar to the one back before the Gate.

"Sarah? Your choice this time." I didn't know whether or not it was the right question, but I couldn't just decide for her.

"The changing rooms are fine."

"Alright, you two. Just follow me. You'll find a set of clothes in the boxes. You can put your clothes in them once you're done, but... I don't know if they'll survive all the water." I almost smiled at that. "Oh, and when you come back, you can leave your Pokemon to be healed as well."

He began to lead us into the back, past the sets of washers and dryers already spinning with wet clothes. Back into a small area with three sets of curtains on both sides. I looked around it and noted the differences between the all the Pokemon Centers. I had previously thought each one was the same as the one in Floaroma, but they obviously weren't.

"Well? Go ahead and change. I'll wait here." I looked at Sarah before walking into a separate and curtained room. Once inside, I started the slow process of peeling wet fabric from my skin. After taking off my shirt, I noticed my arm.

The scars on my arm were almost overlapped by the healing fang marks from the Zubat. I guessed I'd have another set of scars there. I rubbed them and wondered when they'd fade. I knew they were scars, but they didn't look as cool as I first thought. Maybe it'd make a good story later on?

After a while, I remembered to put on my clothes. The number on the sweats read 10, with the zero being a Pokeball. Over another Pokeball. The sweatshirt I put on shortly after had the same emblem embroidered. Same grey as always. Once I was dressed, I ducked out of the dressing room, dragging my bag behind me. It was, after all, still very wet.

"Your box, sir?" Holding out the white box used for laundry, I noticed it dripping. I also noted a trail of water and mud being mopped up by two janitors behind. The young man accepted the box, but stayed there. I looked behind me, but Sarah hadn't come out of her changing room yet.

Feeling my hair, I noted it was still a bit wet, but it was already drying. The perks of having short hair. I wondered if that was what was slowing down Sarah while she was changing.

As I was thinking that, the curtain was pulled back and she walked out. I noted that she wore the same clothes as me, but it was still wet from her hair. It also a bit baggy on her, hiding her curves. She looked more... normal. Not exactly like she was more manly, but she was less feminine. I didn't know how to explain it, but she looked better this way.

I shook my head. I couldn't be thinking about that.

"Your box, miss?" The guy I'd been waiting with held out his hands as Sarah walked out. She obeyed, handing over her clothes and I saw her box was fuller than mine. Almost overflowing, really. The lid was balanced on the pile of dripping clothes.

"So, shall we go? We should get your Pokemon checked in, just in case." I nodded at his point and agreed. He led us back through the washers and driers. As we passed, he handed over both boxes he held under each arm to one of the workers there. Of the two, the youngest girl smiled at us before taking the boxes to the washers. Back in the lobby, the man said his goodbye and left us there.

"Should we check in now or after eating," I asked Sarah.

"Now is better. We can eat while we wait, as well as go over to the Gym and register for our gym fight. We won't have to worry about it later then." Damn. She made it sound so smart...

"Right. So..." She gestured for me to lead the way, putting me in an awkward position. Nodding, I walked up to the front desk again. The Nurse John looked at me before smiling. It almost made me uncomfortable how much people smiled at me.

"Hello, sir. What can I do you for, now that you're cleaned up?"

"Me and my friend would like to check in our Pokemon."

"Alright, let me see your Pokemon and PokeDex? Both of you, please." I pulled out my PokeDex from my bag, before I gave over my three Pokeballs." Sarah looked at me for a moment before handing over her own PokeDex and balls. "Okay... Uh, sir. This Pokeball here. It's unregistered, so I'm going to have to ask for your index finger scan."

I held out my hand and the nurse pressed a small opaque plate. It glowed red for a moment before he touched it to the Pokeball. Once it turned green, he nodded before checking Sarah's two Pokeballs. I moved to the side to talk to Sarah. I knew she would ask me anyways.

"I'm not going to keep it. It's not Stein's either. The Pokemon inside is a Luxio, one of the ones that attacked us last night." She looked confused. "I just got lucky."

"So, what do you plan on doing it? You aren't just going to kill it, are you?"

"Arceus, no! I'm just going to sell it at the Pokemon Guild here. You don't have to come with me, but I plan to do it soon. Besides, the registration costs something like a thousand Poke Dollars. Insane, but a mid stage Pokemon should sell well." Sarah took back her own PokeDex before handing me my own. I thanked her before slipping it into my sweats pocket.

"Your Pokemon don't seem to have sustained much damage, but I'll run a quick checkup on them before giving them back. You should be able to get them back in about an hour, after some of our other patrons." I nodded to Nurse John and stepped back from the counter.

"So, in the mean time, do you have any money left over for food? Because I'm totally broke." Sarah pulled out her pockets to show me she didn't have anything. Looking down at my bag, as well as Sarah's, I saw they weren't much drier.

"We should probably check our bags for any loose change. I don't remember if I have much money either." Sarah sighed and shook her head, before following me to a set of free benches. There weren't many people really around, but it was enough to say there were a few. More than ten, at least.

Sitting down, I set down my bag. Sarah did the same, setting down her larger bag. I opened up the flap, moving aside the blanket. I could have gotten it washed, but it slipped my mind. Pushing aside some of the stuff, I pulled out two empty Pokeballs, a few cords of soaked but dry grasses, and almost three hundred Poke dollars. Score.

"I guess I do have a bit of cash. Did you have any luck?" Sarah held up her open palms. Most of her bag was spread out on the ground, showing off some of the worthless things she'd brought along. Like half a dozen bottles of perfume. It's obvious she did have her girlish tendencies, but I brushed it off. Not my problem. "Well, I guess lunch is on me... Or would it be dinner?"

"My guess it somewhere in between," Sarah replied, checking her Poketch. "Now, Dragon Boy. Let's go get something to eat." Her last comment was a false voice, like she was trying to be formal. Playing along, I bowed before laughing. She laughed as well, filling the mostly quiet lobby with our laughing.

"Guess we should put everything away first," I stated, gesturing to her backpack's contents on the ground. I tried not to look at any of the other trainers, who were most likely sizing us up. Two light-hearted kids showing up, I guessed it was strange. After all, most of them had apparently lost to Roderick.

After a bit of reorganization and coercion, Sarah and I managed to fit most of our things in our bags. Luckily, without clothes, my blanket and little pot could fit inside my bag. I had to squeeze a bit of water out, but the blanket could still be folded into a compact enough form to fit.

With everything in our bags, we left quite the puddle on the floor. I was starting to feel bad for any janitors working here.

"C'mon. I'm starving." Sarah started dragging me behind her, along with her bag, heading for the cafeteria. I felt the eyes of several boys and girls digging into my back. I almost felt tempted look back at them, just to make sure, but I wasn't sure I'd like it if I did. Instead, I focused on Sarah's hair as it moved back and forth.

"Hey, wha'd you like to order? We got Topo and Egg Salad, Miltank Casserole, and Cereal with Oran berry chunks." The lady behind the counter was one of those stereotypical lunch ladies. Grouchy, and kinda fat like a Snorlax. Looking behind the glass that seperated us, I saw everything she'd offered.

"I'll take the Miltank Casserole," I said. I moved aside as the lady started to gather up some of the dish that looked like Mashed Topo berries and pulled out a healthy scoop. The lady handed over the tray and looked to Sarah.

"Um, Topo and Egg Salad, please? With a side of Pinap?" The lady started to glare at Sarah, who just looked calmly back. As if the lunch lady had offered it.

"How'd you know we had Pinap berries?"

"A kid out there was eating some. Where else would he get if, if not here?"

"Fine, but only this once. I planned on keeping that Pinap for later, but your deduction skills are sharp." The lunch lady walked over to the edge of the display case. Inside was chunks of yellow berry flesh. She dumped a bit of it onto a tray before shoveling a scoop of Topo salad onto the tray. Sarah accepted and turned to me.

"Lead the way, Dragon Boy," Sarah said, giving me permission to choose a seat. Heading to one near the windows, though it looked like rain clouds above and getting darker. I took my place and hung my bag around the seat. Sarah just laid hers against the wall.

"Bon appetite," She said, picking up a set of utensils from a canister in the middle of the table. I followed suit, and stabbed a fork into the Casserole. Taking a bite, I noted it also tasted like food from a school lunch lady. It wasn't that warm either. Four out of ten.

"Not exactly five star, is it?" Sarah poked her fork at her Pinap and ate some. I stabbed mine a few more times before eating more of my own food. Same as the first time. My excitement for food was quickly diminished. Still, I was hungry, so I still ate it. Almost tempted me to go out and find a Miltank burger stand, but I didn't really have money to spare.

Once we were finished with our food, we went up to the counter where a stack of dirty stack of trays were stacked. Passing by the lunch lady, I handed her the fifty we both owed for food. At least it was cheap, right? I guess they're right when they say you get what you paid for.

"How much time has passed since we handed in out Pokemon," I asked Sarah, as we stepped out of the cafeteria. She looked down at her wrist and check her Poketch. She had to tap it a few times before telling me only about twenty minutes had gone by. Only forty minutes left... What was I gonna do in the mean time?

We couldn't register until I sold the Luxio, hopefully getting two thousand for it. I know it would probably go for something like four thousand in places like Pastoria, but going there would most likely take longer than I cared for. Besides, I was already here. I hung my head.

"What're we gonna do for so long? Geez, I could probably beat the League Circuit in the time it takes for our Pokemon to be ready. Ugh." I flopped down on the couches and tossed my bag to my side. The kid near me glared at me before turning back to his PokeDex screen.

"I don't know. It's not like we need to stay inside the Pokemon Center. We're going to be here for more than a day or two, most likely, so it'd be nice to explore a bit." I lifted my head and glanced at her.

"But it's cold out there. And we have wet bags. What're we gonna do with them?"

"Well, I do have a solution for that. There just so happens to be rooms just upstairs we can put them." Oh, yeah! I'd almost forgotten there were rooms here. It was a good thing that one of us remembered. Still, I'd probably remember some time later at night. When we didn't really need to store our bags.

Going up to the main desk, Sarah asked for two rooms. The male nurse checked our PokeDexes and confirmed the legitimacy of our IDs. Then he asked us both one question; Whether we were here for the Coal Badge or not. Nodding, we both confirmed we were. He handed us each a pair of keys to rooms upstairs, with numbers on the chain.

"Well, guess that's that. Let's go upstairs. Then we can go exploring." I almost laughed at what Sarah said, but she quickly noticed my smile. "Shut up, Dragon Boy. That isn't what I meant. Now get moving!" She pushed me towards the stairs before following me.

After a quick look around our rooms, including dropping off our bags, we met back up in the hallway. I made sure before I left the room a hung up my blanket. It would be nice if it was dry before we left Oreburgh. Still, the best thing to think about is how I was going to beat the Gym.

Sarah seemed to know where she was going, and it nice and all, but the facade lasted until we stepped outside. Once we hit the cold air, I looked to Sarah for her directions. When she looked as confused as I felt, I knew asking her anything wouldn't help. Leader time, I guess.

"So, wanna figure out where the gym is? Should be easier to find it later, right?" It was the first thing that came into mind when thinking about going anywhere. True, going there now wouldn't be that useful, but I really didn't know what else to do.

"Sure. Better than what I had in mind."

"And what was it that you had in mind," I asked as we started walking. We stepped through puddles and pushed through the cold.

"Not much. Just looking at the mine or something."

"The coal mines here? Those were closed years ago, when the coal ran out. Doesn't seem that interesting when nothing is happening."

"What, you'd expect they'd just let whoever down into operational mines? Not likely." Sarah pulled at the sleeves of her Pokemon Center sweatshirt before rubbing her arms.

"True..." Now that the mines were no longer in use, it was much safer than when they pulled tons of coal from the rocks below us. That didn't mean the tunnels were that safe, though. I'd heard of stories from passing trainers that some kids had died in there. Scary stuff.

We walked past shops, housing, and a few entertainment places. Like a cinema and a few parks. I thought about going to one of the parks later, but at the same time, it felt like wasting time. I glanced at Sarah, but she still looked confused. After a minute of me glancing over, she noticed.

"So," she started out. "Where is the Gym at? I know it's a stadium and all, but where is it?" That would be an issue... I knew we'd find it eventually, yes, but why waste time? Seeing someone walking down the street, I walked over to her.

"Hey, ma'am? Could you tell me where to find the Oreburgh Gym?"

"Lost, are you? Geez, I don't see how you could miss it. Just go down that street up there, past two intersections, then turn right. It'll be right there."

"Thanks, ma'am!" I ran back to Sarah and smiled. "See? Not a problem." I took the lead and went down the street.

"You couldn't have done that earlier? I hate being lost."

"We weren't lost. All I had to do was ask someone." Sarah huffed, but didn't say anything. Keeping track of the intersections as we crossed, I turned at the third one. Looking down the street, the huge sign of the Sinnoh League was held over a building at the end. Right there, just as the lady had said.

Walking towards it, we crossed the streets and I watched as the cars passed. I looked at Sarah before reaching the Gym, but she looked fine. Looking back at the Gym, it looked more like it was being eaten by the rocks around it. Going quite overboard with the aesthetics.

"Well, we've seen it. Let's go back to the Pokemon Center." Sarah seemed impatient, but in a cool way. Passive aggressive or something.

"But, what about the Pokemon Guild? What about finding that?"

"I don't really want to go there. When you get back, we can come back to the Gym and register. Deal?"

"A-alright. Doesn't matter that much, I guess. And what are you going to do in the mean time?"

"It doesn't really matter. Let's just head back." Shrugging, I followed as Sarah began heading back. What's gotten into her? Was it the cold? Or was it something else? But she'd said something about it not being my problem by saying it didn't matter. I decided not to push it. Not even when I felt the burn to ask what was wrong.

Back at the Pokemon Center, Sarah and I ran through the sliding doors as rain began to drizzle down again. Some of the trainers looked at us, but I ignored them. Besides, I'd much rather be dry than having to change clothes again. Breathing heavily, we both walked up to the counter.

"Ah, you two. Just in time." The same Nurse John greeted us and pulled a tray from under the table. I wondered how they kept track of each and every trainers' Pokemon. "For you, miss," he said, handing the two Pokeballs to her. It was easy to recognize her green and blue Pokeballs, I guess.

"And for you," Nurse John reached below the counter again and pulled out another tray with three Pokeballs. Nodding, I took them. "Now, can I see your PokeDexes? Just for a moment."

Reaching into my pocket, I handed over my blue PokeDex and flipped it open for him. He opened my ID and nodded. He did the same for Sarah and we stepped back from the counter. I looked at the three Pokeballs in my hands before putting two in my pocket with my PokeDex and the Luxio one in my other.

"Well? Should we just separate here or on the way?" I looked to Sarah, but she'd already gone. "Geez, I'll take that as 'here'. Didn't know you hated me that badly." Walking towards the exit again, I noted the darkness getting stronger. The rain still came down in a slight drizzle, but I suspected it'd get worse pretty quickly.

I covered my head with my arm as I ran out into the cold darkening streets. My shoes splashed water around me from puddles, making me worry about my pants, but I would rather run than be soaked. I dodged around people while I looked down at my PokeDex for directions.

Once I reached the Pokemon Guild, I found myself near the edge of Oreburgh. Looking around was hard to do in the dark, even with street lamps on. Anything outside the lights range was hard to see. Still, I was here for business. The place I was looking for was well in the range of lamps.

With the rain falling, it was nice to get inside. Going through the heavy door, I walked into the Guild. Looking around, I saw two people browsing the items inside. One looked to be a mother, the other a younger kid. Like, thirteen young. But what I was interested in was the guy behind the counter.

"Hey, young trainer. You look to be in need of a good Pokemon. We sell an assortment of Pokemon here, and you might just be able to find the perfect partner. How about it?" The man behind the counter didn't miss a beat.

"Sorry, man. I'm not here to buy. But I do have business." The man laughed for a second before shifting around.

"You looking to sell something? Tell me what you're looking to trade and I'll tell you what it's worth." I nodded and pulled out a Pokeball. I put it on the table for the man to look at, but I kept my hand near it. Just in case.

"Hm. Let's see..." He lifted the Pokeball off the counter and allowed me to press the button for the display. "A Luxio, huh? Well, kid. Oreburgh is a rock and ground type city. Most people here train to defeat Roderick, meaning that most won't want an Electric type on their team."

"But that kid over there just wants a Pokemon. C'mon, any kid would want a cool feline as their starter. And it's a second stage evolution. It's bound to be worth at least two thousand, right?"

"Kid, I see what you're doing here. But you could easily get more from another guild. Like, in Pastoria city would be better."

"So, you won't take it?" My hopes for getting the two thousand needed to register. But then he shook his head.

"I didn't say that. I'll take it, but it's a pain to sell something no one wants. But I'll give you exactly what I think it's worth. Are you cool with that?" A smile betrayed me as I felt my success burning brightly.

"I'll take it. It's all I got." Going over to his register, he put the Pokeball in the slot in the side and opened the tray. He started typing in a few things, but then he turned towards me.

"So, kid. You got a bank account somewhere?" I shook my head. The bank account I did have was controlled by my parents. "Alright then. Here's two thousand and two hundred Poke dollars. I'm hoping that you win on the first attempt, but I guess that's just wishful thinking. Not many pass on their first try."

"Thanks. I'll do my best." I stretched out my arm to offer my forearm, but I had to shake myself to hold out my hand instead. He shook my hand a smirked. I just hoped this worked. This was my only chance, after all.

Looking back around the guild, I saw the kid was still there, but the older woman had already gone. And the kid was looking at me. I could tell he wanted to talk to me, but I tried to ignored it. It's not like I didn't like kids, I just didn't know what I'd say if he started questioning me. Besides, I'm not some sort of winner yet.

Trying to by the kid, I kept my eyes away from him. I walked around the other side of the store, appearing like I was browsing until I reached the door. With the door within arms reach, I felt a hand catch my sleeve. I turned around to see the one kid I didn't want to.

"Hey, let go of me." Tugging my arm back, I felt his grip slip.

"I-I'm sorry. I just wanted to ask you which Pokemon I should get?" I looked around and glanced at the guy behind the counter.

"To tell you the truth, this is something only you can decide. I can't tell you which to choose. Sorry kid." I turned away from the kid and opened the door. Then I turned back. "Besides, you're too young anyways. Wait a few years." I heard the kid groan, but he nodded, as the door closed behind me. Not like I stuck around, with the rain coming down as hard as it was. In the dark.

.

Running through the front doors of the Pokemon Center, I sighed as I shook my hair. The few trainers who were still down in the lobby glared at me for flinging water over them. Looking around the room, I felt the wad of cash in my pocket. I had to find Sarah, mainly because I didn't feel like waiting.

When I didn't see her in the main lobby, I decided it would be best to ask her. With my Pokedex, I sent her a message. For a good minute, I stared at the screen, but the she didn't respond right away. It made me concerned, but I guessed she was busy with something else.

Sighing, I sat down on one of the benches in the lobby. I was about to send another message to Sarah when someone nudged my knee. Looking up, I saw a guy with a tough look on his face. After a quick glance at him, I noted that he didn't look that muscular. Paired with blonde hair and a thin face, he looked like a wimp. But his facial expressions told me he was used to being rude and crude. Or just mad.

"So, you think you're a hot shot, do you? Just because you got some Pokemon, you think you can come in here and act like you own the place? Ha, like hell. You're a runt. I'll tell you, I've been here longer than most, so I'm the Alpha. Got that, puke? Got it?" I look up with a straight face. Shortly before bursting out laughing.

"Oh, man," I breathed out. The kid glared at me, but didn't do anything. Yet. "You've been here the longest? God, your Pokemon must be garbage. And just how much money have you spent fighting Roderick? I gotta say, you must suck." Calmed myself down, as well as slide my PokeDex into my pocket.

"You think you're all that, huh? I'd like to see you do better than me. No noobie can beat the first gym on the first try. Trust me, when you lose, I'll crush you." Grumbling, the blonde kid walked away while I closed my eyes and breathed. Before lightly chuckling.

Just in time for my PokeDex to ring. I pulled it out again and looked at the screen. Sarah said she was in her room, to meet her there. Standing up, I glanced over at the kid from earlier, but he didn't look at me. Rather, wouldn't meet my eyes. He'd probably been glaring at me the whole time.

After running up the stairs two at a time, I knocked on Sarah's room. I heard a bit of shuffling inside, right before it opened. Sarah stood in the doorway, and she didn't look too happy. Minding myself, I made sure to not do anything to piss her off. If she was mad, though I wasn't sure why.

"Hey, I got the money. So, whenever you're ready to go, we can." She looked at my eyes, then sighed. I looked at her hair and noted it was fairly damp. And she smelled... nice. She'd showered, but I didn't know exactly why she was a bit angry with me. Was it something I'd done?

"Dragon boy. Hey. We going or not?" Sarah snapped her fingers near my face, making me flinch and blink. "Seriously, sometimes I think you're not even paying attention." Sighing, I gave up and just followed her. Down the stairs and through the lobby, and out the front doors. I winced at the rain hitting me, but still followed Sarah.

.

A few minutes, we stood at the entrance of the gym. The large and heavy doors guarding it were pretty big, being probably three meters tall and a meter wide EACH! They were quite large, compared to the ones back home. Quite impressive. I liked the look of them, but once I tried to open them, I started to like them... not as much.

"Man, just how thick do you need these things? Are they trying to stop military mortar shells with it?" Once they were open, I groaned and looked at the doors again. They had to be at least fifteen centimeters, and not hollow. After catching my breath, the doors began to close automatically behind us. Why couldn't they have opened automatically?

"C'mon," Sarah said, being impatient. "I want to get back to my room as soon as this is over. The faster this is done, the faster I can leave." I had to look at Sarah, and she'd given me the reason to. I knew I shouldn't ask her, but the question burned me.

"Are you alright? You suddenly got kinda angry and stuff. You can talk to me." It was something any human person would ask. Still, I knew she wouldn't appreciate me asking. I prepared for the worst.

"... Fine. You're right. I haven't been very nice, have I? Well, it's just my time. You know? Periods." The sudden, yet obvious realization made me facepalm. Why hadn't I thought of this?

"Well, that does make a lot of sense. Sorry for not considering that."

"Great, not the time to discuss this anyways. Let's go and register already." Almost dragging me, we walked through the first room, which was mainly just a hub of rooms, and to the administration desk. Sarah went first, without asking for me, but I kept up.

"Hey, I'm here to register for a gym battle." The lady who was behind the glass dropped her book with a look of annoyance. From my distance, she didn't look too old, but she did look sorta pissed.

"PokeDex, please?" Grumbling, she handed it over. The lady opened it and placed it on some sort of scanner. I came up behind Sarah and waited by her. She glanced at me, but didn't really care to comment. The lady behind the glass was rapidly tapping her keyboard and glared at the screen.

"Alright. I've cleared you for the gym battle, but I gotta give you a bit of a warning sentence. With only a few weeks on your Trainer ID, the chances of you actually winning the battle are pretty slim. Go out and train. You've got a whole week. But I can place your reservation now, if you want."

"Why do I have to wait an entire week?! I'm ready now, so why not just let me fight him now?!"

"Now, calm down. If you pay the thousand now, I'll make sure you have the fight in exactly one week." Pulling my money out of my pocket, I started counting out the one thousand. It wasn't exactly hard with only about two thousand with me, but it still took me a good 30 seconds.

"Here, Sarah. The money." She snatched the wad of cash and shoved towards the lady. The woman had to reach under the glass to take the money, but Sarah was a bit reluctant to give up the money. She held onto a few bills while the woman counted out the bills she had.

"I'm gonna need another seventy Poke dollars. Promise, it's part of job. So, stop being a spoiled brat and make up your mind." Making a face at her, Sarah handed over the remaining bills. I'd counted it out perfectly, leaving no change. The woman handed back Sarah's PokeDex along with a slip of paper, proving her gym battle was scheduled for the eight of November. With that, she backed away from the desk and allowed me to step up.

"Yo, I'm also here to register." I pulled my PokeDex out of my pocket and pushed it through the slit under the glass, along with the money. I breathed slowly. This was happening. The one thing that marked me as a League Trainer, a gym badge, was only a week away. Hopefully I was patient enough to stand the week.

"So, you're with the girl," she said as she typed stuff into the computer. She'd already put my PokeDex into the scanner. "Like I told her, you're gonna have to wait a week. I can't have newbies losing and not have had a warning. Sorry, kid. Not my rules."

"Yeah, I get it. Sorry about Sarah, by the way. She's... had a bad day." The lady nodded, seeming to understand. I'm not exactly sure why I was hiding it, with a woman probably knowing and understanding periods better than me. Still, I guess it's the chivalry for her privacy.

The lady took the money and counted it out. With no more cash on me, the money she had was everything I had. It also meant the money she handed back was supposed to last me an entire week. Thinking about it made me shift back and forth on my feet while the lady finished up my registration.

"Here you go. Your PokeDex, change of two hundred eighty Poke dollars, and your confirmation of the battle. See you then." Kicking back, the lady pulled up her book and kicked up her feet. Probably what I would do, except the book part. Most likely, a nap or something.

I shoved my things into my pockets and left the main hall, seeing as it was finished. My hand felt the thick paper receipt in my pocket, and I felt my muscles tighten in excitement. It was confirmed. The battle was going to happen. And I was gonna win.

Looking up, I glanced back and forth. Something was missing... But what was it? Something? Or someone. A certain someone hadn't waited for me. Sighing, I grumbled about Sarah abandoning me. But I guess with her condition, I decided not to pester her about it.

After pushing the button to the door, I waited for it to slowly open and felt my PokeDex buzz. A private message? I pulled it out as I walked out into rain. I covered my head with the sleeves of my Pokemon Center sweater. But reading the message in the rain was a pain. Sighing, I decided to save it for later. Instead, I focused of running for the Pokemon Center.

.

It was definitely dark out by the time I walked through the door. The familiar sliding doors were a relief to see and going through them was nice, too. My breath was quick, but I got it under control pretty fast. Looking around the lobby, I noted not as many trainers were just sitting here.

My clothes were pretty wet, for the second time today. On top of that, I wasn't allowed any seconds. Meaning, this is what I had to sleep in. Hopefully they dried in time. Wishful thinking, right?

With a roof over my head, I had a chance to check my messages. The curiosity had been burning in my pocket, so I had to check it. I pulled out my Dex and flipped it open. I scrolled down my message board and opened the one that was flashing. I immediately noted it was from Sarah, so I had to read it.

You done yet? I'm heading back to the Pokemon Center. Just wanted to tell you, before you freaked out.

Freak out? Why would I freak out? I wasn't that heartless. Besides, it's not like we absolutely had to be shoulder to shoulder 24/7. I started to type out a reply, telling Sarah I was already at the Pokemon Center, when I heard the doors open behind me. Turning, I saw that it was just the person I was about to message.

"Sarah!"

"Dragon Boy!"

We both spoke at the same time, making it hard to understand what we said.

"How'd you get here so fast? I left way before you." Sarah recovered from her surprise quickly, but a bright red blush covered her cheeks, making it obvious she was embarrassed. But I could also feel a burn in my face, meaning my entire face was probably red.

"I ran here. We probably took different routes, because I'm pretty sure I didn't pass you."

"Oh..."

"So... Are you hungry?" I felt my own gut telling me it wanted something to digest. It was about dinner time anyways, so I hoped she was in the mood for something.

"Sure, but can we not eat in the cafeteria? I was thinking something like Pizza, too."

"Pizza, huh? Well, I don't really feel like going outside again, you know?"

"You have a PokeDex, and it's the 21st century. You can order Pizza and they bring it straight to you. Magic." I had to stifle my laughter, but Sarah still saw it. She started pouting, but I held up my hands in defense.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think of ordering Pizza. But, just saying, you could have ordered it yourself."

"I don't have any money! How could I order a Pizza!"

"Woah, woah. Calm down, I'll do it." I opened my Dex phone, before I realized I didn't have the number of the pizza shop. Of course, all it took to get it was a little talk with the Nurse at the counter.

And fifteen minutes later, we were both eating pizza with Miltank sausage on it in Sarah's room. Unfortunately, it left me pretty much with empty pockets. Still, it was good stuff. Good cheese, almost spicy sauce, and delicious sausage on it. And I was eating it with a girl. Definitely worth it.

It also helped because Sarah seemed not as pissed off as before. Either one, her period was over, or two, pizza has magical powers. I was inclined to choose the latter, but the former was the most likely. Still, the meal was good, so it wasn't all that bad.

After finishing two and a half slices, I laid back on Sarah's bed while she sat on the small table. There were still a bit of Pizza left, but neither of us felt like eating more. Instead, we both just... relaxed. I'd thought about talking to Sarah, but nothing really seemed appropriate in my mind. Besides, after eating, I felt like I needed to chill.

"Hey, you're not going to fall asleep on my bed, are you," Sarah asked. I opened my eyes and sat up. Shaking myself, I realized I was close to doing just that. I blinked a few times to wake myself up, before looking at Sarah.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. Just... I should probably go to my own room, shouldn't I?" I jumped off the bed and started walking to the door, but Sarah stopped me.

"Wait, before you go... I just want to say I'm sorry, too. I don't mean to be a bitch sometimes, but sometimes I just have bad days and stuff. You know? And I don't mean to be better than others, I just can't help it."

"Yeah, I can understand that." I nodded and turned back towards the door. "We all have our issues, we all have our perks. That's what we are. Flawed. I know that I also have the flaw of letting my hubris get the better of me. I'm sorry, again. I-I guess goodnight." Turning away, I opened the door and walked out into the hall, closing it behind me.

Breathing, I walked to the door beside Sarah's and swiped my PokeDex. It opened the door and I stepped inside, sealing myself inside. Now that I was alone, I simply jumped on my bed and sighed. This entire day was confusing, and not to mention exhausting.

My clothes were mostly dry by now, but I still didn't feel comfortable. I'd emptied out my pockets and set everything on the table, but it still felt like I was missing something. To help clear my head, I entered the bathroom and turned on the shower. I let the hot water flow over my body and I relaxed.

Once I deemed myself clean, I dried and dressed myself. After that, I went back to lying on the bed. It was soft and comfortable, I guess. And it was a hundred times better than sleeping on the ground outside. So, why couldn't I fall asleep?

After a good half an hour of trying to get some well-deserved rest, I took out my PokeDex. Looking at the screen, I saw it had a message waiting for me. From my parents. Instantly, I remembered what I was forgetting. I was supposed to tell them I was going to be competing!

The message was useless, asking me where I was. I assumed it was from my Mom, so it was nice. But still kinda redundant.

I sent the message a few minutes later, informing my parents that my upcoming battle was coming up in a week. The fact of it was that I wanted them to see me battle, but while I was writing, I couldn't stand actually telling them. They'd know if I told them anything too important, so I kept it pretty vague.

Once I was finished with the message, I tossed my PokeDex off the bed. Laying back on the mattress, I exhaled and relaxed. Now that everything was taken care of, I could finally fall asleep. Cuddling against my pillow and closed my eyes, I pulled my blanket over my shoulder and fell asleep.

.

The next week passed pretty quickly. The weather turned colder and colder every day, but the sky also cleared up. Not once did it rain, or even snow. So, Sarah and I spent some time outside. I didn't do anything or make any moves on her, but the thought did cross my mind.

Instead, I spent most my time outside with my Pokemon, training, hunting for food and money, and developing strategies. Thorn worked on her Razor Leaf and Absorb techniques while Akuma worked on her Dragon fire and speed. I guessed she could work on her agility, but not enough to actually put a routine into effect.

Thorn actually made great progress to obeying me. Now, she would listen to my orders if she was in a good mood. Most of the time, she was. Development wise, her bud on her head seemed to shrink, while her body turned a pale green. But most of the evergreens and grasses turned to the same color, if they weren't a boring grey.

Sarah's mood improved vastly from the first day. She instantly started talking to me the next day, over a breakfast of cereal. She didn't really talk about much, other than info she was going to use, like how ice was powerful against rock and ground-types. It gave me hints on what she could use, but it was hardly something important to me.

My parents replied to my message with assurance they'd watch it on LeagueLive. It made me grin when I thought about them watching my battle, seeing my skills. I'd win, for sure. Of course, what would happen if I lost? I'd have to beg for money from my parents. And if that happened, I'd have to deal with them.

And with the approaching date of our battle, the nerves started to kick in. The thoughts about what could happen started to make me worry. Sarah seemed to deal with it differently, because she didn't really show it. I tried to hide it as well, but she seemed to notice it. Somehow. To calm myself down, I had to keep telling myself all that mattered was the outcome. When I already knew my strategy worked, it helped bring myself to my senses.

With all our hard work, all our preparation, Sarah's battle, and my own, was here. The morning of the Gym Battle was dark. The time of our battles were early in the morning, at nine. As such, I'd set an alarm on my Dex for half past seven. Sarah's idea.

It didn't take long to get ready, because I was excited. I'd made sure I was ready before I'd gone to sleep, so it was easy to just put on clothes and my bag. Once I'd put on my shoes, I opened my door and stepped out into the hallway. Knocking on Sarah's door, I checked my PokeDex.

Only twenty till eight.

Plenty of time and I was ready. I couldn't help but bounce on the balls of my feet. I was ready. Nothing would be able to stop me. Except that Sarah was still in her room. With time to spare, I took out my PokeDex. I sent a quick message to my parents, reminding them of my upcoming fight. Didn't want them to forget.

It took a good twenty more minutes, and a few wakeup texts, for Sarah to come out of her room. Her hair was a bit messy, but at least she was here. What matters is the outcome.

"Morning," She said, through a yawn. "Should we get going?" Sarah ran her hand, along with a brush through her hair while she walked past me.

"I thought we'd agreed to be up by seven forty five, not eight."

"Hey, I was awake. A girl needs more time is all."

"Right... Then why is your hair and clothes still a mess?" My comment made her look down and hurriedly smooth out her shirt. I smirked, before going down the stairs in front of her. But as soon as my face turned away, the worries started to show on my face

Soon after, we were having a pretty quiet breakfast of Braviary eggs and Moomoo Milk. Mainly because I was to busy trying to think about what to do. What kind of things would- Should I expect? It was all a mystery, even if I had watched a few fights before. I didn't know what to do, or what I should-

"Just calm down," Sarah said, grabbing my arm. "You're starting to hyperventilate. You just need to breathe and calm down." Closing my eyes, I started to breathe through my nose and slowed down. I open my eyes to focused on my eggs and took a large bite.

Once finished, I paid with the limited amount of cash I had. I'd made a fair bit from hunting over the week, but most of the Pokemon around Oreburgh were mostly worthless. And I also had to split some of the cash with Sarah, since she helped with Perry and Yami.

Outside was cold. Much colder than a hoodie could protect me from. As in, it's really cold. I really didn't enjoy it much at all. Sarah, on the other hand, had a poofier coat. And, at the same time, no money. It made me question if she really understood money. And now, I understood her decision. This was almost biting frost!

People didn't exactly feel inclined to see a match between a newbie and the gym leader, meaning there was almost never the crowd the later gyms had. At most, maybe a few rows of the bleachers were filled. As such, it was no surprise that there weren't many people itching to watch the battles.

Besides that, we were an entire fifteen minutes early. First time to a gym fight, best to be early. The doors were held wide open today, the large stone doors held open. It was nice and all, because I didn't have to open it. Sarah and I both walked to the front desk, my own receipt held in my hand.

It only took a few moments to get directions to the waiting room, the one reserved for fighters. The man behind the counter, who seemed the regular, told us we could have one of our Pokemon out, as long as they were smaller than us, and manageable.

Soon, we'd be going out there to fight, through an elevator leading into the stadium. Inside the fighter's pit, as I called it, was darker than the halls outside, but there was a screen on the wall showing the order of which our fights would take place. Sarah was first, and me after hers and some other kid named Joel. Still, I didn't see anyone else but us, but I still didn't trust Akuma to take some stranger coming in so well.

Instead, I just let out Thorn on the floor and sat down on one of the several metal benches. She seemed to fine with her surroundings, but she also seemed like she wanted to see the sun. More light and warmth of spring, probably. Funny, because I was just about done with the cold. And it wasn't even that cold yet.

I couldn't help but feel nervous. I was about to go out there and show them I was a real Pokemon Trainer, worthy of the Coal Badge. This was something I'd wanted for a long time, but now that it was here, I was having second thoughts. At the same time, I knew this was the best time, not to mention the only time, to do this. I couldn't stop my leg from bouncing, but I could steel myself for what was coming.

Sarah looked like she was also nervous, with Perry sitting on her head. She was wringing her wrists and tapping her heel, but I knew she'd do just fine. I hope. After a minute or so, she noticed I was looking at her and she met my gaze.

"You okay, Dragon Boy?"

"Huh? Yeah, I think so."

"Good, because you'd better win this. I don't want to be waiting her like everyone else, just because you lost."

"Yeah," I said, a nervous smile pulling at my lips. "Same to you. Besides, if we do lose, no way we can challenge again. Still, good luck."

"Thanks." A few seconds later, a stocky kid walked in. He looked at us, then our Pokemon, before laughing. I started glaring at him, with Sarah probably doing the same.

"What," Sarah asked, with malice dripping from her voice. "Just sit down and shut up, kid."

"Wow, I guess looks don't always mean they're nice. Eh, I doubt you two will make it far anyways, with such weak Pokemon. Not to mention, one of 'em's an electric. Ha! Worthless!" I shot daggers at the kid with my glare. He didn't really look at me, instead choosing to slouch on one of the benches and pulled out his PokeDex.

I looked back at Sarah, hoping to continue our conversation, but she'd gone to checking her Poketch. With that option gone, I turned to my Budew. She looked up at me expectantly, like she was waiting for me. It made me smile, so I carefully patted her on the head. Or, on the bud. Whatever.

Suddenly, the intercom turned on and called out for Sarah to make her way out on to the field. I looked at her, nodding at her. She gave me a thumbs up and returned Perry, before heading towards the elevator. I watched her until the doors closed behind her and took her to her fight.

The sounds of cheering was still loud enough to reach us down here in the pit, even if there wasn't the largest crowd out there. It still made me clench my fists. There would be people watching, which scared me. My leg bounced fasted and I looked to Thorn. She blinked at me from below and started walking around.

Voices of the crowd and the announcer weren't exactly comprehensible, but they sounded excited. The battle between Gym Leader Roderick and Sarah seemed to be getting underway and it was something that I would kill to be seeing. I wanted to watch the one match, but I knew it would cost more money. What can I say? I'm a hoarder.

After several minutes of waiting, a loud cheer rose out of the crowd, signaling the end of the match. And a minute later, the intercom called for Joel. The stocky kid walked into the elevator with his Nuzleaf in tow. I looked at the Pokemon he had as it looked to be made of wood. A grass type, no doubt.

I sat there, in silence while I watched Thorn as she wandered around. I was alone again. I listened to the noises of the crowds cheering again for Joel and the announcer saying... whatever. Some people above sounded excited or disappointed, once the fighting started, but I just focused of my own green Pokemon.

Halfway through the match, a boy walked in. He had wavy blonde hair, and he saluted me once he saw me. I nodded to him, and he smirked. He didn't look like he was too concerned with what he was wearing, as it was either wrinkled or didn't even match. I instantly decided I didn't like him. Looking at the board, I read his name as Miles.

After calling over Thorn, I lifted her up onto the steel bench beside me. Miles sat down across from me, in front of the screen with our names.

"Nice Budew. How long have you had him?"

"Thorn? It a she, and I've had her for about a month or so." Miles started laughing and I raised an eyebrow.

"Man, you are such a newbie. That is totally a male Budew. Don't you see the thorns on it are short? But it still looks like a great Pokemon, don't get me wrong."

"You mean, I've been calling a male Pokemon a female? Man, I feel stupid."

"Hey, a lot of people call the entire line feminine. And they aren't wrong. Still, they do have genders. Don't feel too bad."

"O-okay." I looked at Thorn and took in the fact it was a he, not a she. It took a bit of convincing, but I accepted it. Then I heard it. The crowds alerted me to the end of the fight, ending in a recognizable booing noise. I guessed he must have lost. And I was up next.

Standing, I returned Thorn to her- no, his Pokeball. Then I waited for the familiar noise of the Intercom. I wish, and I did receive.

"Challenger Kael Lorano, please make your way to the elevator and proceed to the field." I walked to the elevator as the doors opened and I stepped in.

"Good luck," Miles called, as the doors started to close. I gave him the same salute he'd given me before, and rode the elevator up to the stadium. I couldn't help but feel my leg shake and I held onto my last Pokeball. The repetative expanding and contracting helped calm me down.

A sliding door opened above me, allowing light from the sun, as well as the cold, to reach me. The noise of the crowds was louder than I'd thought it would be as I entered the field. It was time.

---

Okay. Does anyone think it's weird every time I say, "Akuma looked at me"? She can't see, but she can still hear and smell, and generally sense where a person is, turning to face them. Would that be considered 'looking'?

Anyways, I was pretty excited for this chapter when I was writing it, while at the same time hesitant. I know no one felt really attached to Stein, but it still felt wrong to kill him. Yes, Kael turned into a baby about it, but it's how I thought I'd react to a partner I'd had for five days. They grew close-ish, even if I didn't go into detail.

Also, Name reveal! And it's about to get real with the Gym Battle literally seconds away. Sorry for leaving it at that cliffhanger. I know, I'm evil. Mwa ha ha ha!

Don't forget to leave a review!

Current Pokemon

Trainer: Kael Lorano; SI863FL239A

Pokemon in Possession:

Akuma - Deino

Thorn - Budew

Trainer: Sarah O'Perr; SI772SP8HN

Pokemon in Possession:

Perry - Dedene

Yami - Sneasel