Author's Note: Well guys, we've reached the first Gym Battle! I'm sure you'll all know who the Gym Leader is since this game is far from new. But, there are some interesting things that unfurl in this chapter, I'll give you that much. So, to find out what it is, go on and read! Enjoy!

As Lester and Eunice got further out of sight, I noticed Percy was looking melancholic at having to say goodbye to his former owners. When I tried getting his attention, he'd barely speak a word to me.

"Chin up, Percy-" I started.

"Perseus," he insisted. "We're not 'friends', so you're not allowed to call me by my nickname!"

"Sorry," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Anyways, Perseus, I think you're gonna like everyone! Eris might be a little hard to connect to, but there's probably another side of her we don't know about yet! Tidus can seem emotionless, but he's nice too! As for Timon and our other new recruit, Michi-"

"Look. I couldn't care less about you or your little prisoners, but I'm only coming with you for Eunice and Lester. They were the only humans I'll ever care about; almost like another family to me! And I honestly want nothing to do with any of you!"

"...Fine then. You are the rudest Riolu I've ever met!"

"Yep. You'd better get used to it, human."

Scoffing, I recalled Percy to his PokéBall. I knew there had to be a way to have him get used to things if I was gonna take him under my wing, but I decided to cross that bridge when I came to it. Eventually, we made our way back to Floccessy Town, where we were stopped by Alder upon passing a gate.

"Hynden, there you are!" he exclaimed. "Listen, I've got a little proposition for you. It won't take long, I promise!"

"Sure. Whaddya need?"

"Come with me."

Alder guided me into a school building, which was completely empty save for two kids. One was a boy with short olive-brown hair and his school outfit, the other was a girl with chocolate brown hair in pigtails and wearing her glasses with her school uniform. Both looked at me with curiosity and intimidation at the same time.

"Seymour, Cassie, I'd like you to meet Hynden," Alder introduced as I shook out my hand for them both to shake one at a time. "Back when I was Champion, she was my true successor before she resigned."

"You were the Champion?!" both kids gasped in awe after shaking my hand.

"Wow, ma'am, you must be strong!" Seymour beamed. "M-Mr. Alder, sir, are you sure we're supposed to battle her?"

"Yeah, isn't it an automatic loss if we try and fight an ex-Champion?" Cassie asked.

"Winning or losing doesn't matter," Alder said. "Either way, it's still a wonderful opportunity for the two of you!"

"Alder's right, kids," I agreed. "It's like my mom always told me: 'never be afraid to lose; it's a wonderful learning experience for everyone'! And wouldn't you know it? My mother's the current Champion of Johto."

"Neo-Champion Ritsu's your mom?!" the kids squealed. "That's amazing!"

"And just as importantly, I've taught you to enjoy your battles, regardless of the outcome," Alder added. "Now, who wants to go first?"

"I-I'll go!" Seymour squeaked, holding a PokéBall between his palms, tossing it with two hands. "P-Panpour, go!"

Panpour came out in a flash, so I sent out Tidus to fight. While Seymour looked incredibly nervous, Tidus was as cool as a cucumber like usual. Panpour attacked with a commanded Scratch, which hardly left any damage on Tidus. My Snivy in turn used two Vine Whips, and Panpour was down.

"Wonderful battle, Seymour!" Alder encouraged, clapping. "Don't you think so too, Hynden?"

"Yeah! You may not have won, but you still tried your best. I'm sure if you keep training a little harder, then you'll get better!"

"O-Okay! Panpour and I are gonna get stronger! C-Cousin Cassidy, it's your turn!"

"Alright! I'm gonna win since you couldn't do it, Seymour!" Cassie declared, calling out her Pansear.

"Michi, I choose you!" I called, summoning my Azurill from her PokéBall.

"Pansear, use Lick!"

Pansear got closer and ran its tongue up the side of Michi's face in a swift manner. Although disgusted, the move lit Michi's short fuse off as she became irritated.

"Michi, Bubble!" I commanded.

Without any hesitation in her actions, Michi fired several bubbles from her mouth, which left critical damage on Pansear. She didn't give it the chance to attack and instead used Bubble again, this time knocking Pansear out.

"Don't you ever touch me with your gross tongue again!" Michi snapped. "Well, that was fun!" she chirped, suddenly glad.

"Good battle…" Cassie pouted, returning the fainted Pansear to its PokéBall.

"Yes, it was," I replied, recalling Michi. "Just remember: losing isn't usually a bad thing. It's all a part of becoming a better Trainer!"

"You both did a wonderful job," Alder remarked, clapping again. "Now, what do you say to Hynden for her time?"

"Thank you!" Seymour and Cassie said to me.

"You're welcome, you two," I responded. "Alder, I gotta go. There's an Aspertia Gym battle with my name on it!"

"Well then, I won't keep you waiting! And something tells me the Gym Leader is someone you'll be more than happy to face!"

I had no clue what Alder meant by this, but I said goodbye to him and left the school building. I continued traversing through Floccessy Town until I passed the town limits and was back onto Route 19. When I passed the familiar cliff, Alder surprised me by shouting from the top of it. Just as he was about to jump down again, I waved my hands back in forth in front of me and pleaded.

"No no no! Don't jump again, Alder!" I begged. "That's so unnecessary!"

"Aww… alright. I'll just toss my gift down to you!"

In my hands landed a straw basket. And one by one, a bunch of Oran Berries fell into it perfectly. I thanked Alder for the present and he left once I put the berry basket into my bag. I kept traversing Route 19, using Michi and Eris to battle each of the wild Pokémon that ambushed us. Before we knew it, I was back in Aspertia City, the sunset visible in the horizon.

"It's getting late," I thought, "I'd better hurry and face this Gym Leader fast!"

After a brief healing trip to the Pokémon Center, I found the Aspertia City Gym and went inside. What I wasn't expecting was the inside to be an elementary school classroom, full of desks, a chalkboard, and everything. On the board was an erased version of a lesson on types, but unerased were a few names under the words "30-MIN DETENTION". Walking past the area, I found the door to the outdoor Gym.

"I wonder who the Gym Leader is…" I pondered.

When I looked up after taking a free Fresh Water from the shelf, I couldn't believe who was talking to two children who presumably went to the school. At a closer glance, I confirmed that it was definitely someone I knew, and that Bianca and Alder were right when they hinted at me being pleased with who the Gym Leader was.

"Well well well, look who it is!" I exclaimed from behind. "You remember me, don'tcha, Cheren?"

"Hold on, it's probably another challenger," I heard Cheren say to the children. "Welcome, I-" he paused, his now glasses-less eyes widening with surprise when he saw me. "Oh my Arceus, it's you! Hynden, you've finally returned! You've come back!"

I ran over to Cheren and hugged him tightly after two whole years of not seeing each other. Although the embrace ended, we were still looking at each other warmly.

"You're a Gym Leader now?" I asked him with a chuckle.

"That's right, my friend! I did say I was training to work with the League, and here I am!" Cheren confirmed. "In the process, Iris was nice enough to allow me to share my knowledge with others. So, she made me the teacher of the Aspertia Trainers' School too."

"So, you got a bonus too! Well, 'Mr. Cheren', now it's time for a little after-school battle!"

"You're on, Hynden! But, you cannot face me until you defeat two of my top students. When you do, then it'll begin. Also, please try not to take too long; I still have a few papers left to grade from earlier."

Cheren went to the back of the outdoor Gym, and two of his students stood in my way. The girl walked across the Gym until she was waiting at the other battling field. If I wanted to battle Cheren, I was going to have to get through his students first. The boy introduced himself as Pedro and sent out his first Pokémon once we were both ready.

"Go, Patrat!" he called, summoning the Normal-type rodent.

"Michi, you're up first," I said, calling out my trained Azurill. "Use Water Gun!"

A jet of water shot from Michi's mouth and left moderate damage on Patrat. But, Michi's opponent attacked with Tackle, which dealt a critical hit onto Michi. After spraying Michi with a Potion, she was able to take Patrat out with Bubble, followed by another Water Gun.

"Return!" Pedro shouted, recalling Patrat for his next Pokémon. "Go, Lillipup!"

The very sight of the determined Lillipup reawakened terrible memories from my 16th birthday. From the moment I caught Chiro to his demise, my vision flashed red for a second in unison with my mind blanking out for as long. I quickly suppressed it, and everything returned to normal again.

"Come back, Michi," I said to her before tossing Tidus' PokéBall. "Come on out, Tidus!"

My Snivy's first move was Vine Whip, but Lillipup quickly bit down on the vine and used it to tos Tidus forward. Tidus picked himself up and stood firmly for battle.

"Lillipup, use Leer!" Pedro exclaimed.

Tidus and I didn't expect Lillipup's eyes to switch from cutesy to downright frightening, its glare succeeding in lowering Tidus' guard. Just as he was bouncing back from the Leer, Lillipup attacked Tidus with Tackle.

"Tidus, Tackle!" I commanded, "Then use Vine Whip!"

Lillipup was attacked by Tidus ramming his body into it. Then, Tidus wrapped his vines around Lillipup's body and tossed it across the room, resulting in a critical KO. Pedro recalled his Pokémon and I proceeded to my next opponent.

"I'm Serena, one of the top students in my class!" she introduced, "And now, I'm gonna beat you before you even think about reaching Mr. Cheren!"

Serena's first Pokémon was a Lillipup. When I sent out Timon to battle, Lillipup first used Tackle to leave damage on my Patrat. But, Timon retaliated with a Bite attack, leaving a critical hit on Lillipup.

"Lillipup, Leer!" Serena commanded.

Like the one before it, Lillipup's eyes turned fearsome, striking fear into the heart of Timon and lowering his ability to defend himself. When he least expected it, Lillipup attacked with Tackle, leaving Timon almost to his limit.

"Timon, Bite!" I exclaimed, spraying him with a Potion.

Timon opened wide, his tooth emanating a small dark aura. He sank his teeth into Lillipup and inflicted damage upon it. Lillipup fell to the ground, and we celebrated what seemed like a near victory. While we cheered, I saw Lillipup charge at Timon again.

"Timon, look out!" I cried.

"What-" he was about to say.

Lillipup used a Tackle attack on Timon, knocking him far across the Gym. I went over to him and saw that he wasn't moving or responding to the sound of my voice. Once again, my fears and horror built up inside of me as my once-gray eyes turned completely scarlet, as they had several times in the past after I received the Dark Stone. Electricity snapped and crackled at my very fingertips as dark feelings grew inside of me.

"Miss, are you okay?" Serena asked me as she got closer.

I bolted around and gave her a fierce glare, and Serena nearly screamed when she saw my red sclera and strange energy. But, I paused when I heard a sound. That very sound was a faint inhaled followed by an exhale. I looked down at Timon and saw that he was still very much alive, but he had fainted like lots of other Pokémon.

"...It's gone…" I realized as my dark abnormalities faded, "Nuzlocke Syndrome really is gone! Now my friends won't die anymore!"

"A-Are we still gonna battle?" Serena asked in fear, backing away from me a little.

"Oh, sure. Sorry for scaring you, Serena. Timon, return and take a rest." I looked at the PokéBall I picked up and thought about whether or not I should use this one. But, this was the only way to get things done, so I decided to go for it. "Perseus, go!"

Out came my Riolu, who looked at his surroundings before shooting me an angry glare. He folded his arms and turned away from me with an attitude.

"Look, mister," I scolded. "This is a good way to give me a chance to be your Trainer. Besides, Fighting-types do really well against Normal-types!"

"And listen to some second-rate human? No way! Send me back already; you're on your own, woman!"

"Okay, that's enough, Perseus! You'd better start cooperating pronto!"

"What if I don't? What are you gonna do then?"

I didn't get the chance to give Percy my anger answer as Lillipup used its Tackle move on Percy. Angry, my stubborn Riolu used Counter on it, resulting in an easy defeat due to previous attacks. Serena's next Pokémon was Patrat, and Percy got up from the ground and stood firmly.

"That was a great move against Lillipup!" I told him, "Now can you beat this Patrat?"

"I told you, I don't take orders from humans! You can't do anything to benefit me! But, I'll humor you this time. Go on, just give me a command."

"Alright. Use Frustration! Let go of any anger you feel, Perseus!"

Percy stood and concentrated for a moment, every ounce of frustration and irritability he felt was channeled all into one. Glaring at his opponent, he immediately charged towards Patrat and KO-ed it in a single super punch of rage. Eventually, Percy calmed down from the Frustration attack.

"Feel better?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Other than the sudden rage, that actually felt… kinda fun. Maybe I'll help you take this Gym down, but that's it! After this, you'll be on your own!"

"Alright, if you wanna think that," I said, recalling Percy for the time being.

Serena allowed us to move forward up to Cheren's platform. I walked up the sturdy white wooden steps until I was finally at a fair enough distance to battle him. The sun was going down, but Cheren seemed to be sweating from his face from the summer heat, so he wiped his forehead and straightened his carnelian-colored tie.

"Whew, it's almost nighttime, but it's still stuffy out here…" Cheren panted. "Ahem! As expected, you've made it here, Hynden. And as a matter of fact, you're actually my first and only challenger today."

"Just like old times, Cheren?" I asked, taking out my first PokéBall.

"Not quite. Skills can change over two years if you used your time wisely, my friend. And although I'm a novice Gym Leader, it still stands in my case!"

Cheren's first Pokémon was a Patrat, so I decided to use Tidus to fight it. Rather than using a physical move, Patrat used Work Up a couple of times to boost its power. I quickly had Tidus use Vine Whip to attack, but it hardly did any damage.

"Patrat, Tackle!" Cheren ordered.

Much to my surprise, Patrat's attack left Tidus completely winded with just one hit. I sprayed him with a Potion and gave him an X Attack I found on my way back to the city. In seconds, Tidus was looking healthy again.

"Tidus, Wrap!" I shouted.

Tidus leaped forward and tightly wrapped his body around Patrat for a few seconds before releasing it. The attack's constriction still lingered, causing Tidus' opponent to still sustain damage as if it was still trapped by him.

"Clever girl, Hynden," Cheren remarked, "but will it be enough to defeat me after so long? Patrat, use Bite!"

Patrat sunk its teeth into Tidus, only pulling back from the damage when it sustained some of its own from the Wrap effects. Seeing the cringing as an opportunity, Tidus attacked with a critical Vine Whip, causing Patrat to faint from too much damage.

"So, you have been putting your time to good use after all this time," Cheren remarked. "However, that doesn't mean I'll let you defeat me again! Lillipup, let's go!"

Lillipup took the stage, but I decided to keep Tidus out for the time being since he was doing so well. While Lillipup used Work Up like its previous teammate, Tidus attacked with Wrap, trapping the Normal-type Pokémon in a perpetual bind that tightened frequently.

"Lillipup, Tackle!" Cheren commanded.

Despite being binded by Wrap, Lillipup was still able to attack Tidus. This time, it left enough damage to knock Tidus unconscious, resulting in his own defeat. I wanted to make sure he was still breathing, and when it was confirmed that my Snivy still lived, I recalled him for a rest.

"Perseus, come on out!" I called.

"Lillipup, use Work Up! Then attack with another Tackle attack!"

"Perseus, use Counter!"

When Lillipup had amped its power a little more, it ran towards Percy with full speed and strength. But, Percy was able to easily knock Lillipup back by slugging it in the snout. This time, Lillipup started to get weaker from the hit, but it still kept pressing on.

"Perseus, Feint!"

Percy clenched his fist tight and ran towards Lillipup with it out in front of him. The fist charged up from the energy until it glowed orange. When it made contact with Lillipup, the little Pokémon finally succumbed to the attack and fainted with a THUD. Cheren said nothing and recalled his Lillipup, a genuine smile creeping upon his face.

"Congratulations," he said to me, electronically paying me my prize money via Xtransceiver transfer. "You've beaten me again, Hynden. But, it's certainly not like old times; we're both back at the beginning, but I feel as though things are a little different now. As part of the Unova League rules, I present you with your first step to regaining your title: The Basic Badge!"

Cheren handed me the Badge, which I happily placed inside of my new badge case. I knelt down and held my hand up for Percy to high-five, which he outright refused to.

"Good job," Percy told me, not making eye contact. "You're still some low-life human, but there might be a few good qualities in you."

"I'll take it," I sighed, recalling Percy.

I said bye to Cheren and walked outside, not hearing him say anything else. When I walked out of the Aspertia City Gym, it was night time. I was about to turn in for the night after I healed my team, but something else made me change my plans a little.

Pokémon obtained: None.

(New!) Badges earned: 1/8

Boxed/Unboxed: None.

Author's Note: Since this isn't a Nuzlocke, I've decided to add a new feature to replace the "Deaths" feature. This story's gonna be a little less dark, but still pretty gruesome/grim at certain parts. Stay tuned for Chapter 6, which I'm working on right now!