A/N: Hey pokemon fans! Did you miss me? Ok, not funny with the whole extended hiatus, I know.
I have been suffering severely from writer's block for this story plus my other fics have kept me extremely busy. Now that I'm finally out of that funk, I should be able to update chapters without keeping you guys waiting for months on end. This Kalos arc will introduce plenty of new characters, and even bring back a few old ones.
I'll let you guys read the chapter now and stop rambling on.
Ren woke up with a yawn from his bed. Next to him he saw Misaki still fast asleep. Clair was also sleeping in the second bed in the room. The three of them had decided to sleep in the same room ever since they had first arrived in Kalos. Not only did it save a little bit of money, it also made it easier to meet up in the morning and leave quickly.
Two weeks had passed since all the remaining players in PWO had been teleported to Kalos. Throughout that time, Ren, Misaki, and Clair had kept a low profile and tried to avoid being seen in public as much as possible. The same was true for all the region champions. It wasn't to avoid fans or because they were antisocial. The reason why was the same for all the region champions. The bracelet on their wrists.
When everyone had first appeared in Kalos, the creator of PWO had told them that they had two months to train themselves. In addition, the bracelets given to each of the region champions were supposed to have some special power. Ren couldn't figure out what this power was, or even how to use it. Even still, it was too risky to walk around in broad daylight showing it off. Plenty of selfish players would be more than willing to kill him so they could obtain it.
Ryota hadn't stayed with Ren and the others. He said he wanted to travel alone and train himself for the upcoming fight in two months' time. Ren didn't have a clue as to where he was now.
Ren sat up from his bed and opened his menu. When they had first arrived in Kalos, they had begun in Lumiose City. The team of three had decided to head towards the rocky area of Ambrette Town. Currently, they were about a day's journey away from Camphrier Town. At the rate they were going, Ren assumed it would be about a week till they got to Ambrette Town. On the way there, Clair had caught a new pokemon to add to her team, a Talonflame. Since almost every remaining player in PWO had high level pokemon, all the wild pokemon in Kalos were high leveled as well, making new additions to teams much easier to find. However, Ren still hadn't found his new addition to fill in the now empty slot in his party ever since Deoxys had sacrificed itself in his battle against Ryota. It wasn't entirely the fact that he hadn't found a strong enough pokemon, as much as the fact that he felt like he couldn't replace Deoxys. Ren had learned that all pokemon in this game have their own thoughts and feelings. They weren't mere computer programs.
Ren turned his head as he heard Misaki wake up with a yawn. She rubber her sleepy eyes and smiled at the sight of the brown haired teen she loved. "Morning Ren"
"Morning" Ren replied back with a smile.
After getting out of bed and waking up Clair, the trio did as they had always done for the past two weeks. They quickly got dressed, left their room, and walked outside with hoods covering their heads while the sun was still coming out and most people were asleep. Before leaving town, they bought some food to eat on the road since staying in town for breakfast was a risky move. The longer they stayed out in the open, the more likely someone would recognize Ren as the Sinnoh champion, and the more likely they would be attacked.
The way to Camphrier Town was filled with hills and woods. It made for good cover as they traveled. However, at the same time it made it easy for PKers to ambush them. PKing had gotten a lot more common ever since the remaining players were all transported to Kalos. Some people had gotten so desperate to try and find the bracelets the champions wore that they had started killing anyone they saw. PWO became a much less safer place after that started up.
Clair let out a big yawn as she rubbed her drowsy eyes. The lack of sleep had slowly started taking its toll on the young girl. Ren noticed this and paused their walking. "Come on Clair. I'll carry you"
"No, I can still *yawn* keep going" Clair said in a drowsy voice that showed she was obviously lying.
"It's fine Clair. Just get on my back"
Clair wanted to argue but the drowsiness won over and she climbed onto her brother's back. Ren got back on his feet and the trio continued their trip while Clair caught up on her sleep.
"I'm amazed she's lasted this long without collapsing" Misaki said as they walked. "I can barely keep this up"
Ren tilted his head down. Both Clair and Misaki were suffering all because of him. Because of the bracelet on his wrist. He wanted nothing more than to tear it off and throw it away. But unfortunately he couldn't unequip it. It was stuck to him, like a curse.
"Hey… Misaki?" Ren began. "I was thinking… maybe we should split off for a-"
"Don't even think about it" Misaki glared, yanking at the teen's ear. "There is no way I'm abandoning you just because of the danger being around a champion. I'm staying with you till the end, got it?"
"But-"
"Got it?!"
"… Alright" Ren finally said. "I just don't want you and Clair getting hurt because of me"
"We'll be fine" Misaki assured him. "I'm not exactly a pushover when it comes to battling"
"I know" Ren nodded. "It's just-"
Ren suddenly stopped talking and walking. He focused his hearing and listened to the seemingly silent woods. Misaki looked at him in confusion. "Ren? What's wrong?"
"Get ready, Misaki" Ren told her. "We're surrounded"
"What?" Misaki asked with widened eyes. She scanned the area around them, seeing only trees. Whoever was nearby, they were definitely skilled at hiding.
Ren reached for a pokeball at his belt. This was not an ideal situation. He had to assume there were at least five players, probably more. Clair was too exhausted to battle and he and Misaki weren't in good condition either. Soon, they could hear the sound of snickering all around them. One player emerged from the trees and walked into view.
"So you noticed us. That's pretty impressive"
"Who are you?" Ren asked with a glare.
"Who I am isn't important" he smirked as more people emerged around the trio. Ren scanned around them. There were about seven in total and they all had an Ariados at their side. "What is important is whether you're one of the champions or not"
"And if I am?"
"Then your time in this world is coming to an end sooner than you'd like."
Ren quickly weighed his options. Talking things out was out of the question. The only way out of this was through a battle. But two against eight would be a tough feet in their condition.
"Misaki, get ready to run when I say" Ren whispered quietly so the players around them wouldn't hear.
"Got it" Misaki whispered back.
Ren tightened his grip on the pokeball he chose. With one swift motion, he grabbed it and threw it up into the air. A flash of light appeared and Glaceon came out of its pokeball.
"Blizzard!" Ren quickly ordered.
"Poison sting!" the group of trainers all shouted in unison.
Ren grabbed Misaki and tackled her to the ground as the thin violet needles were released from the mouths of the Ariados horde. After they zoomed over their heads, the blizzard attack from Glaceon came and shrouded the area in a thick veil of snow.
Clair awoke with a jolt from the sudden movements of her brother. "Wh-What's going on?!"
"No time to explain" Ren told her. "Right now, we need to move"
Clair nodded understandingly and got off of her brother. Ren grabbed her hand and the three of them ran through the blizzard. "Glaceon, this way!"
The ice-type pokemon nodded to its trainer and took off with them. They ran a few feet before they saw one of the players and his Ariados.
"They're over-"
Ren didn't give the player time to finish calling out to his buddies as he sent a right hook to his face, knocking him into the trunk a tree. The blizzard began to die down and vision was slowly returning. Ren, Misaki, and Clair ran with Glaceon following them closely behind. They didn't stop running. They had to get away or they would be in big trouble. Unfortunately, they could hear the sound of footsteps behind them after only a couple minutes passed. Things got even worse as they ran into a dead end, a large cliff that would take too long for them to climb. The group turned as the players from before appeared, with grins on their faces. The boss of the group walked out in front of his friends. He tossed out a pokeball and a Machoke appeared.
"You just had to go and make this difficult, didn't you?" he grinned. "Now it looks like you'll have to die painfully."
Ren was out of ideas. There was no way to run like before, and they were severely outnumbered. He couldn't fight these guys, dodge the attacks that would come his way, and protect Misaki and Clair all at once.
'What do I do? Is this how it ends?'
"Machoke, use mega punch!" the leader of the group commanded.
"Glaceon, ice beam!" Ren countered.
Glaceon fired a clear blue beam of energy at Machoke, but it missed its target as Machoke leaped over it. The fighting-type pokemon's fist swung down towards Glaceon. One hit would be enough to finish it.
"Glaceon!" Ren cried out.
"Leaf blade!"
Ren watched as a figure rushed past him and cut through Machoke. The fighting-type lost its focus on the attack and hit the ground with a thud. Ren saw the pokemon that had just saved their lives skid across the ground. It was a Sceptile, and a very well trained one from the looks of it.
"Looks like I showed up just in time" a voice said from above. Ren, Misaki, and Clair all turned to see a male player descend from the top of the cliff on top of a Salamance. The trainer had dusty blonde hair and wore a red jacket, similar to that of a biker gang. He had a smug grin as he looked at the group of PKers. "If you want a fight so badly, how about trying me?"
"Stay out of this buddy" the leader of the group said with a glare. "We're after the champion's bracelet he's got, and you're not taking it from us"
"Take his champion's bracelet? Why would I want that?" the player shrugged as he slid down his left sleeve to reveal a bracelet just like the one Ren had. "I've already got one"
"What?!" he gasped.
"That's right pal" he grinned as he jumped off the back of his Salamance. "Get ready cause now you're facing Akio, the champion of PWO's Hoenn region.
Ren looked at the new arrival in confusion, before his eyes widened in recognition. He had met this person before. Not in PWO, but in the real world. "No way… Felix, is that you?"
Akio looked over at Ren. After looking at the teen's face for a few moments, he recognized the Sinnoh champion's identity as well. "Dan? That you man?"
Ren smiled at the sight of his friend from the real world. He knew Felix, or Akio as he was called in PWO, was logging into PWO on the opening day. When he never saw him in Sinnoh, he figured he must have been in one of the other regions. The real surprise was that he had become the Hoenn champion. "Glad to see you're still alive. I was wondering where you had been all this time"
Akio gave a small laugh at his friend. "Please, you think I'd die that easily? No way am I getting killed in here"
"If you two are done, we have a battle to finish" the player facing them pointed out. "Look Felix, or Akio, or whatever your name is, we're just after one of you so I suggest you run away while you still can"
Akio looked over towards the group of players with an amused expression. "Do you really think I'd lose to a bunch of weaklings like you? Don't make me laugh"
"It's your funeral then" he smirked. "Get him!"
All at once, the goons called out for their Ariados to use poison sting. The flurry of poisonous needles flew towards Akio.
"Sceptile, protect"
Sceptile moved in front of its trainer and a barrier appeared, blocking the poison sting assault. Akio turned towards his Salamance next. "Draco meteor"
The dragon-type shot a blast of energy into the air. Once it reached the top, it split up into several meteors that came crashing down on top of the Ariados horde. When the smoke cleared, not a single one of the bug types were still standing. Every single one of them had lost their HP and shattered into fragments.
"This is the part where you run away like the cowards you are" Akio smirked.
"Grrr… we'll remember this" the leader said, returning Machoke to its pokeball and then taking off with the rest of his friends.
Ren, Misaki, and Clair all took a collective sigh of relief that they were finally safe. Akio returned his Sceptile and Salamance to their pokeballs and shot a grin towards his friend. "Long time no see man"
"Yeah. It has been awhile" Ren nodded in agreement. "I'm surprised to see you became the champion of Hoenn"
"Well you shouldn't be. After all, I AM the great Akio"
"Not to mention modest" Misaki muttered sarcastically under her breath.
"So anyway, what happened back there? Were you having an off day, or are all the trainers in Sinnoh scrubs?"
"Excuse me?!" Misaki glared. "Maybe you haven't realized, but all the champions have targets on their back! We're exhausted cause we've barely had any sleep for the past week!"
"Geez, someone has a big mouth" Akio remarked with a roll of his eyes. "You always were one to find interesting friends Dan, or I guess I should say Ren for now."
Misaki growled at the blonde trainer. 'And I thought Ryota was a jackass. This guy's ten times worse than him.'
Ren and Akio spent the next few minutes talking and catching up. Ren explained everything that had happened in Sinnoh, while Akio talked about the events from Hoenn which wasn't much. One abnormality from the region Akio did notice however was that Sky Pillar wasn't included. The enormous structure that was known to be the home of Rayquaza was nowhere to be found in Hoenn. After trading info, Ren explained to Misaki that Akio was a childhood friend of his. The two of them had always been skilled at the regular pokemon games so they had both gotten a copy of PWO when it was first released. The rest of the story was obvious enough.
"Well I should probably get going" Akio said as their conversation came to a close. "Like miss loudmouth said, us champions have targets on our backs"
Misaki glared as Akio sent out his Salamance and flew off into the distance. "Ok, I've got to ask Ren. How are you friends with someone like HIM?!"
Ren chuckled at Misaki's comment. "He's not that bad a guy once you get to know him"
"Somehow I doubt that" Misaki said with a low growl. "Well we should keep moving. We need to get ahead before those PKers find us again"
Ren nodded in agreement. The trio threw out their flying type trio of Starraptor, Altaria, and Talonflame to get to the top of the cliff as their journey through Kalos continued.
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed meeting Akio. Please review (I know a lot of you probably want to tell me off for extending the hiatus for this story for so long and I know I deserve it but try not to flood the reviews with that).
Also, I have sent PM to some of you guys, asking you all a very important question for this story's future. I have gotten a fair amount of results and tallied them up. I will not say what the results are, but I promise you will all know with the next chapter. Whether they are in it or not will tell you fans that voted what will happen. For those of you that didn't receive a PM, ignore what I just said.