We returned to the Driftveil City Gym, only for the Gym Leader to refuse to battle us again! Like come on! Are you for real?! This time Gym Leader Clay was too busy as he has run out of Revival Herbs. Ash jumped at the chance of making the process quicker and offered to go and look for them himself. And by himself, he meant the whole group. Clay took the deal. So we set off to the Driftveil Market to find some... of course, it would not be this easy! Not with us people!

There, through our good friend Charles, we learn that the only place where Revival Herbs grow is on Milos Island, known as the Island of Legends.

Legends... of course...

Knowing that there was no way we could ignore this clear sign, we left for the island and were told to seek out a guide named Lewis. We traveled a great distance to find him, but Lewis sadly told us that he was unable to find any Revival Herbs either... there hasn't been any rain for a very long time, and all the herbs have dried up.

Lewis and his Gothorita have planned a rainmaking ceremony to appeal to the Legendary Pokemon Landorus, whose presence is said to make the land fertile.

Another Legendary...

Hey, why is it that no one thought of using Rainy Dance on the field? Someone! Can someone hear me? No one? Of course!

So, as everyone ignored me, Lewis and his Gothorita proceeded with the ceremony and summoned the Legendary Landorus. Because of course he would come! We have The Chosen One with us! That's Legendary bait if I know any! Luckily, nothing went wrong and we got our herbs... I really hope I did not just jinx us...

Well, moving on, we returned to the gym and presented the bag of Revival Herbs to the Gym Leader. Seeing as they were good quality Clay accepted Ash and Max's request for a Gym Battle. Clay lead our group to a wall and pressed a button on the door that lead us to the gym's battlefield.

What is it with Unova Gym Leader's and their secret battlefield rooms? I asked myself as Ash took his position as the challenger. It was our time to go first.

The referee declares that the Gym Battle will be a three-on-three match, as the rest of our group went to take their seats, and then Clay sent out his first pokemon, a Krokorok. Ash, on his part, sent out his Dewott then promptly commanded an Aqua Jet, but as expected Krokorok dodged it by using Dig. The Aqua Jet was just a way to measure Krokorok's speed.

Dewott stopped himself from crashing into a wall, just in time for Krokorok to leap out the ground and unleash a powerful Sandstorm, that covered the whole field. Dewott tried to fight off the Sandstorm, but got buffeted by it and blinded when sand got into his eyes. Krokorok took advantage of that and used Bite on Dewott.

"Dewott! Use Razor Shell and get him off you!" Ash commanded in his Ace Captain Ranger tone- which had Dewott stop panicking and use the terrain perception training Bulbasaur had beaten into him. Using his other senses, Dewott was able to knock Krokorok off him with a swing of his scalchop. "Now, Water Counter Shield!" Dewott rapidly spun as he fired off a Water Gun to create a water geyser which caused a downpour, managing to stop the sandstorm as well as washing out his eyes. Krokorok tried to escape by digging underground but Dewott simply fired another Water Gun into the hole, flushing the Ground-type pokemon out and into the air. Dewott then proceeded to use an Aqua Jet. This time the move met it's mark and then finished the battle with a Razor Shell. "Nicely done!" Ash cheered as Dewott threw himself into his arms.

"Not bad kiddo," I praised the Water-type pokemon. "You've grown up a lot from the scaredy pokemon that couldn't even open his eyes under water."

"Please don't remind me Pikachu-senpai!" Dewott moaned in embarrassment, making me laugh.

"Not bad," Gym Leader Clay praised as he returned his fainted pokemon, making us pay back attention to the battle. "But it will not be enough to defeat me! Sandslash you are next!"

"Return, Dewott, thank you for a great job!" Ash smiled and kissed Dewott's forehead, before returning him to his Poke Ball. "Riolu, are you ready?"

"I am daddy!" Riolu, who has been very silent since our last Gym Battle, jumped into the battlefield, from Ash's other shoulder, and took his favored fighting stance.

Ash's sweet baby boy was growing up... and Ash was not happy about it. No matter how proud he was of Riolu. The Fighting-type pokemon would always be this cute baby Ash aided to hatch and who had become his grounding Aura Bonded Partner. But that did not stop Riolu from growing up and wanting to evolve. Which he was readyd for, he just needed one last push.

It looks like you will end up winning the bet Lucario, I thought in amusement.

"Rollout!" Gym Leader Clay commanded, and his Sandslash curled into a ball and rolled towards Riolu with an incredible speed.

"Rock Slide!" Ash ordered as a creative defense. Riolu created multiple white orbs of energy around himself. The orbs of energy then turned into large gray rocks with white outlines and with a flick of his arms forward, the rocks were thrown towards Sandslash... or more likely, around him. The rocks created a rocky terrained that stoppe Sandslash from rolling down a clear pathway straight to Riolu. If anything he crashed against a rock nearby Riolu, trying to dodge another upcoming rock. "Now, use a Bullet Punch-Ice Punch combo!"

One of Riolu's fists became surround with icy blue energy and when he punched the confused Sandslash, he froze him. Then the other fist glew light-blue and repeatedly punched Sandslash, the first punch broke the ice and the other did their job of beating the Ground-type pokemon into submission. I did not need the referee to announce Sandslash as knocked out, to know he had fainted. However, what caught my attention was how Riolu did not jump into Ash's arms to celebrate his victory. He stayed in the battlefield, ready for the next battle.

"Sad partner?" I whispered to Ash.

"How can I? When I see how much my boy has grown?" Ash smiled nostalgically at me. "If anything I am proud."

His pride only grew with the following battle. Onix was quite faster than Sandslash, which was hilarious given the fact that Onix was a huge snake made of rocks. Still, Onix's Dragon Tail was able to hit Riolu... repeatedly. Sending Riolu crashing into the ground, black and blue. However, without any prompting or orders from Ash, he stood up. As Onix prepared for the next attack, Riolu, whose legs were shacking with the effort he was making, stood up and fended off the attack with the use of Vacuum Wave. He then finished the battle with a powerful Iron Tail to the face.

Everyone paused as Riolu began to glow. I watched as Riolu grew in size and as round spikes raised on the back of each forepaw, in addition to a third on his chest. The black-colored fur on his torso, turned to a cream color and the blue fur on his thighs now resembled shorts. He even developed four black appendages that hang down from his head, which I know for a fact, rise when Lucario reads or manipulates aura.

Lucario... my baby nephew is now a Lucario!

Lucario turned around sharply and smiled at Ash, instead of throwing himself into his arms as Riolu would have done, he raised a fist towards our trainer. Ash smiled and returned the fistbump, before catching the arm of the unsuspected Lucario and dragging him into a hug.

"I might have no issue with you growing up," Ash whispered into Lucario's ear. "But if you expect me to stop hugging you and kissing your forehead, you will be surprised by how angry I can get."

"Dad..." Lucario whined against Ash's neck, but I sneaked a peak and noticed the smile he was trying to hide- looking at Ash's smile, I could see he had noticed it as well.

After the hug finalized and Ash had returned Lucario to his Poke Ball to rest, we met with a smiling Clay and recieved the Quake Badge. It was shaped like a vertical piece of earth, the top half of which had cracked and slid out of place, resembling the result of an earthquake, or as two tectonic plates interacting. It was an interesting and original design. I liked it!

We fistbumped Max as he made his way to the battlefield and we made our way to his seat. I chuckled when I saw Lucario throw a punch in the air as celebration, after Riley had handed him money. It looks like Lucario will be having a lot of chocolates in the future. He sure does love them! Then again I can't judge anyone, as I am obsessed with ketchup!

Max's first battle was short. The moment Gym Leader Clay had released Claydol (Ha! Clay has a Claydol!), Max had frowned and sent out his Kirlia. Three turns later, the Ground-type pokemon and the Fairy-type pokemon had been knocked out.

"What was that?" Iris asked us confused.

"Destiny Bond," Riley answered. "It seems that Banette taught it to Kirlia. Good on him to take the initiative and not just follow Ash's training plans."

"That move choice was smart on his part," Cilan added with a proud smile. "None of his pokemon have the experience to handle a tank pokemon like Claydol. So, instead of waiting for Claydol to take out his whole team, he sacrificed one for the chance of winning."

"It does not look like Gym Leader Clay liked his choice," Iris pointed out.

She was right, Clay was frowning as he recalled his Claydol. With a growl he released his Palpitoad, who looked much stronger than Max's, and glared at Max. I did not like this attitude. Max did nothing wrong! So, what if he did not win the battle head on?! Being tricky and sly is also a valid strategy!

Max showed him who was the boss when he sent out Servine. Instead of starting off with a Grass-type attack, Max ordered Servine to use Attract, which caused Palpitoad to become infatuated. Servine then attacked him with Vine Whip followed by Leaf Blade, both hitting Palpitoad without any problems. Clay tried to get Palpitoad to snap out of his infatuation, but with no avail. Servine finished off Palpitoad with a Leaf Storm, knocking him out.

Shows you right! I thought smugly as I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against Ash.

Clay, on the other hand, was furious...

"Using Attract and Destiny Bond, wasn't a strategy or fair!" Clay shouted at Max, leaving poor Max utterly confused. Clay took off his hat and scrunched it in his fist then threw it to the ground. Clay sent out one of his best pokemon, Excadrill.

"Is he out of his mind?!" Ash seethed. "That's a pokemon from his A-Team! Not someone he should be sending after a rookie!"

Excadrill let out a roar. Poor Servine started off by using Vine Whip, but Excadrill countered with a Rapid Spin, deflecting all of the hits. Servine tried to attack with a Leaf Blade, but Excadrill easily overpowered her with another Rapid Spin. Servine desperately tried to attack with her other two favorite moves, Attract and Leaf Storm, but, again, Rapid Spin overpowered her move. Excadrill unleashed a devastating Horn Drill attack, instantly knocking out Servine.

"I do not understand what's your issue with me using moves like Attract and Destiny Bond, Fairy, Ghost, and Dark Masters use them all the time," Max glared back at Clay, who looked startled at being on the receiving end of one of them. "I've been trying to be patient and respectful, but I've reached my limit! You are the one who had us waiting for a whole week because you were too busy to even care about your gym duties! You were the one who decided to send a pokemon from your A-Team against a rookie! You were the one who thought that it was ok to intimidate a 10 years-old-boy just because his strategy is not something you approved! News-flash! I don't give a Tauros crap if you do not approve!" Max shhouted at the stunned Gym Leader. "Roggenrola you are next!"

"That's my boy!" Ash laughed. "Showed him Max!"

Roggenrola started off with a Sandstorm, but Excadrill dug underground using Drill Run and then attacked Roggenrola from under his feet. Excadrill then quickly dug back into the ground and repeatedly attacked with Drill Run. Roggenrola was tossed across the field, taking each successive hit. After being pummeled by multiple Drill Runs, Roggenrola was winded, but still standing.

"How did he not faint yet?" Clay was as amazed by Roggenrola's sturdiness as the rest of us. "It does not matter! Let's wrap it up with Horn Drill!"

Excadrill put his arms up to his head and formed his body into a drill. His claws then glew orange, and Excadrill jumped into the air. He then started spinning like a drill, spreading that orange glow all over his body, and rammed into Roggenrola. However, Roggenrola did not fall. In fact, he didn't make a sound at all.

"Roggenrola?!" Max called out to him in worry. But then Roggenrola began to glow and evolve into a Boldore. "Boldore!"

"Now he can turn things around!" I shouted, jumping on the railing.

Excadrill's attacked with Horn Drill once more, but Boldore endured the hit with his Sturdy ability. Excadrill attacked with Drill Run, but Boldore caught Excadrill before he could hit him. Boldore and Excadrill both tried to wrestle the other to the ground, but both were equally matched. Not bad for a recently evolved pokemon! Suddenly, Boldore's crystals began to glow. Understanding the power building in Boldore, Max ordered Boldore to attack with Rock Blast. Excadrill took the attack and stood up, but dropped down to one knee. Boldore's crystals continued to glow, and Boldore attacked with Rock Smash again at the same time as Excadrill did. As both Rock Smash attacks collided, a huge shockwave shook the ground. However, Excadrill winced from the damage and Boldore took the opportunity to overpower Excadrill and slammed him it into the ground, finishing the battle with a blast!

"That's how you do it!" I jumped down the battlefield and threw myself at Max. "Well done buddy!"

From the corner of my eye I could see Ash heading towards Clay, he had his Ace Captain Ranger expression on his face. I knew that he was going to scold him and even send a complain to the Unova Pokemon League, but I could not bring myself to feel sorry for him. The guy brought it to himself and I was too bussy congratulating Max and Boldore.

They were incredible out there! I can't wait to train with them!