Chapter 15 – Reset

"Where in the world is…?" Rhys felt around for his Badge, but it was missing.

"Rhys? What's taking so long?" Demitri asked. He stopped walking; his natural density made his feet sink slightly into the salt, which floated like clouds in the crystal-clear water. Distracted, he wiggled his claws, letting some of that salt dance around his toes.

"I am certain I brought my Badge with us," Rhys said, opening his bag further. "I always keep it right in the inner front pouch, the sole item. I felt for it on the way out! In fact, it flashed upon us leaving the Dungeon and entering the main salt flats."

Mispy tilted her head, staring at her reflection in the water. Not a bad look. It was a bit distorted from the ripples that Demitri made, and the ones from Gahi's wingbeats. She brought a vine out and grabbed Gahi, holding him steady; that made it easier to see herself. She couldn't wait for the time when her little buds would bloom into huge petals. Meganium were so pretty. She had seen one walking through town—she couldn't believe what the amazing flower her species was able to grow!

Gahi protested being 'monhandled, but eventually relented and looked at his reflection, too. He started by inspecting his wings. As a Flygon, they were going to get a lot bigger. Demitri was rubbing his tusks, wondering what it would be like once they became full-fledged axes like his evolution's.

"Rhys, you sure you didn't drop it in the flats?" Demitri finally said, looking up. "The warp pad isn't too far off. Let's just walk back. We'll get home by sundown."

"Nrgh. But I know I had it… but yes. Let's go. We need not waste extra time searching in this expanse. We can have Nevren track its location later."

"Right. Okay," Demitri said. He looked around. "Wow. It's really nice, though, isn't it? It's so… big!"

Indeed, now that they weren't in such a rush, they had the opportunity to actually take in their scenery—now that they were turned away from the carnage, it was a reflective surface on all sides. Curiously, Demitri lightly—from his perspective—slammed his fist in the salt, creating a huge ripple in the water. The quake of his punch made Rhys and Mispy stumble. The water's ripple went out, and out, and out; it brushed against Rhys' feet, making little disturbances in the waves, and then continued outward. Everyone, even Rhys, took a moment to admire the sight.

"It is," Rhys said. "But… it is a bit unnerving. A salt flat of this size."

"Aw, it's pretty!" Demitri said. "I mean, you can see your reflection perfectly in thi—Rhys?"

The Lucario had abruptly turned around. His paws erupted with aura embers, and he was ready to lash out at any threat. "I believe I found my Badge."

There was a strange creature flying a stone's throw away from them. A Ninjask at the base, in addition to its pointy, serrated-looking legs, it had an additional set of limbs that resembled a Scyther's scythes.

"I don't think Ninjask're supposed ter be here," Gahi said. "Heh… weird. Wait. Ain't their legs s'posed ter look a little different? And only have two of 'em?"

"Weird, hm," Rhys said. "That's one way to express it, I suppose" Rhys briefly scanned the Pokémon's aura. He couldn't quite place it at first, but then— "Demitri. Mispy. Gahi. Stay behind me."

"Wha—"

The Ninjask vanished from view—and reappeared right in front of Rhys an instant later. It moved incredibly quickly—even faster than a normal Ninjask. It shoved its right, serrated limb right into the Lucario's gut. Rhys grunted, eyes bulging. He jumped away and clutched at the wound, forced to a knee in the water. Crimson splotches faded into the salt. The trio stood in stunned silence—it all happened too fast.

Gahi reacted first. "Mispy!"

"Right," Mispy said. She retreated to heal Rhys' wounds. The strange Ninjask rushed forward. Gahi spotted this and countered with a deft shift in the air, ramming into the Ninjask to intercept the blow. Gahi heard a grinding noise that vibrated against his exoskeleton, followed by a shallow, sharp pain where he made contact.

"YOW!" Gahi shouted, flying away to get some distance.

"Gahi?!" Demitri didn't know which way to run.

Some of Gahi's tiny scales were torn away—the Ninjask had an extremely jagged exoskeleton of some kind.

"Rough Skin?" Demitri said.

Rhys grunted, his wound healed. "Be careful!" he wheezed. "That isn't a normal Pokémon! It's—a mutant, but…"

The Ninjask rammed at Demitri, attempting the same attack that it had done to Rhys—but his scales were too tough, and it only resulted in a minor wound. He countered with a powerful chop to the creature's side, using both his arms and his hefty tusks to deliver the blows. Demitri felt his scales get caught on the Ninjask's outer shell. He hissed and clutched his hand. It tingled—in fact, it felt like it was starting to spread.

Demitri recognized this feeling. "I—I think it poisoned me!" he shouted, stumbling back.

"Poison Point?" Mispy squeaked.

"Nah, that's definitely Rough Skin!" Gahi shouted back. He then retched into the water, finally feeling the effects of the poison.

Mispy ran toward Demitri, readying another Heal Pulse to help him—if only to heal the damage, if she couldn't get to the poison. But when she tried… something blocked it. The pulse was emitted, but then it faded away, like a dying candle to the wind.

Rhys closed his eyes and immediately spotted the source. "Rim!"

The Espurr was glowing with a dark light. Its aura radiated from her center, filling the atmosphere with a weak, ominous tinge—Heal Block. Mispy's powers were useless.

The Ninjask zipped toward Demitri again, slashing at his back. The arms tore through his scales with ease, ripping a few right out. He shouted in pain and spun around, but was too slow. It was already chasing down Gahi, who flew higher in the air. The Ninjask was faster and slashed at his tail.

"Nrgh—!" Gahi spun back and puffed out a plume of foul, blue breath at him. It grazed the Ninjask enough for it to back off and fly down again, freeing Gahi from the pursuit.

"Rrrgh!" Gahi tried to ram into Rim, but he hit her barrier instead. The pulsing sphere around the Espurr rejected his advance. The impact alone made a loud, ethereal clang, bending one of his wings oddly. The Vibrava was then blasted back at the same speed he'd approached with. He slid across the ground and tumbled into a pile of wet salt.

His wings twitched; Gahi tried to free himself from the pile. In the meantime, Mispy charged her Solar Beam; Demitri ran toward Rim next, slamming his fist against her barrier. "Bet you can't handle—Brick Break!" Demitri announced, slamming his claws down hard. The light flashed—flickered—faded… and then returned. "N-no fair!"

Rim's eyes glowed a bright purple. A force that seemed to bend the light itself blasted Demitri backward. The Fraxure slammed Gahi back into the pile he'd just escaped from.

"N-now!" Mispy shouted, firing a concentrated blast of solar energy from around her neck, concentrated forward. Rim turned her head, staring at the light. The beam bent around her barrier—flashing, flickering—but it didn't fade. When the Solar Beam finally subsided, it left behind a V-shaped carving in the salt behind Rim. Water slowly filled the gashes, but the Espurr herself was completely unharmed. Not even wet. Her wide, yet neutral eyes stared emptily forward, through Mispy.

"B-but…!" That attack always worked!

"Leave us, Rim!" Rhys said, though he was currently dueling with the Ninjask, careful to only use indirect attacks against it. In this case, his only effective move was a ball of white, hard light—a Flash Cannon. "You already have the Orb!"

Rim stared at Rhys and blinked once, slowly. Then, she turned her head toward Mispy. The Bayleef flinched. That one moment of hesitation earned Mispy a Psychic blast; she screamed and skidded across the salt, bouncing over the salt flat like a rock over a river. She hit Demitri and Gahi, who had both clambered out of the pile seconds before. They all grunted, buried once again. The Espurr, floating over the water, went higher, staring at the pile. Her eyes glowed. Psychic energy twisted the salt around them; all three roared in pain. It was like they were being crushed in the palms of a giant.

"Rim!" Rhys shouted.

The Ninjask doubled back and flew toward Rim, flying behind her obediently.

Rhys fired a Flash Cannon directly at her; she turned her head and deflected it with a glance. That was when Rhys realized that, in his current state, he wouldn't be able to overpower her. He considered going all-out, unleashing his aura in full. But that would only give him a few moments, at the very most, to defeat Rim. It wouldn't work, and he'd only strain his aura to the point of passing out. And then what? He was already injured. His guard had been down. Careless, careless!

The Lucario grunted. "Y-you're becoming quite powerful," he muttered. "How many Orbs have you claimed, Rim…? How many have you relinquished to Eon?" Rhys hoped that his words would distract her long enough for the trio to recover.

It didn't. Rim stared at the pile of salt and blasted again with Psychic. They screamed. Mispy panted. Demitri tried to help them out. Another Psychic—salt flew in the air, mixing with water. Rhys brought up an aura barrier to block some of the water from splashing against him. "Rim—STOP!" he roared, using a vertical Extreme Speed to leap high in the air. Rim blocked him with her barrier; he landed in the salt, feet stuck too deep. "Ngh—" He fired at Rim from below with everything he had. Aura Sphere—Flash Cannon—his two ranged attacks, but neither had any effect. The barrier was just too much.

"Rim—you can't keep doing this! If you do, they'll—"

Rim blasted them one last time—and then… they stopped screaming. Instead, they all roared—in unison, in anger, in frustration, in madness. The salt blasted away with a great wind; the water rippled, splashed, and rose in tiny droplets. Rhys freed himself from the salt—but then, abruptly, felt a sharp pain in his back. "Ng—!" He lost all feeling in his legs. He fell forward, wheezing. The water around him reddened rapidly.

The Ninjask flew toward the trio next, but was blown away by the force. Rhys stared in pain. A blinding, white light emanated from all three of them.

The light of evolution—and then… a flash of black.


Owen left an Owen-shaped hole in the wall. He coughed and collapsed on the ground, barely able to stand. This, for quite a while, was his fight with Azu. It was a bit too dark to see the ground. Thankfully, the Feraligatr spirit had a slight glow to him that added to Owen's fading fire. If this was how strong a summoned spirit was, just how strong was Manny? He was glad that he didn't have his bag with him. While he couldn't use Nevren's Eviolite to his advantage, it also didn't get in the way while he fought. Instead, he had set it aside near Amia and the others, so the only thing that would break in the fight would be his bones.

"HAHAH!" Azu boasted. "And before you blame the Type Advantage, little Fire, I'm pure Fighting in this spiritual form! These muscles don't lie!" He flexed, striking a pose that emphasized his right side. A few loose pebbles blew away from the resultant shockwave of his pose.

"Ngh… that… that hurt!" Owen said, struggling to remain stable. Azu's posing was both annoying and distracting. He leaned back and held the rocky wall behind him, glancing at the imprint he left on the wall. The rocks must have been a bit soft. Surely, he would've died from something like that normally… or he wasn't giving his durability enough credit.

"No pain, no gain!" the Feraligatr said. "Such a wonderful motto! I have no idea where Guardian Manny learned it, let alone Master Yen, but he is surely one of the greatest fighters alive!" He pointed a claw at Owen. "You can't hope to face him with your puny strength! I can feel it!"

"Gooo Owen!" Willow said, crackling near Alex's feet. It made the Magmortar flinch. He quietly inched away while the Joltik leaped high in the air, flashing yellow and white light.

"Y-you can do it, Owen!" Amia shouted from the entrance to the arena. "But—don't push yourself!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Owen said. He saw a fist flying toward him—he ducked and rolled. He felt the shockwave of the fist to the wall; a hole was left where Owen's head's imprint was. "Are you crazy?! That would've hit me right in the—I could die!"

"What's death to someone who died?" the Feraligatr laughed. "That's meaningless to me! Perhaps if I kill you, I'll see you again in the Fighting Orb!"

"S-sorry, but I have some things I gotta do here, first!" Owen said.

"Hah, and don't we all?" He swept his tail, knocking Owen off of his feet. This was immediately followed by an uppercut. The combination of downward gravity and an upward fist knocked all of the wind from the Charmeleon; he coughed and flew through the air. His back hit the ceiling—and then he crashed down onto the ground. Owen could barely breathe, let alone stand.

"Hm, so that is the extent of what you're capable of," Azu said, stomping toward him. With a light push with his foot, he rolled Owen onto his back. The Charmeleon's tail was barely alight.

"Owen!" Amia cried.

"Don't you dare hurt him more!" Willow crackled enough to illuminate the whole cave.

"I won't," Azu replied, crossing his muscular arms. "He's done, anyway." He faced Amia and the others. He boomed triumphantly, "As per the rules, you can't advance. Come back when you're stronger!"

"B-but we have an important mission to take care of!" Amia said. She held her arms out, pleading. "We—we need Manny to come with us, so he can be safer!"

"Why would he be safer with people who can't even defeat me?" he asked. "Your first fighter surrendered before he even entered the ring. And your next fighter…" He looked back at Owen, who was back on his belly, holding himself up a few inches from the ground. "Well, he's out of his league, too. I wouldn't exactly call that reliable. You two don't have very strong fighting auras, either. You're nothing to Manny." There was a wave of seriousness over his voice. But it washed away just as quickly. Seconds later, he had a toothy grin. "So begone, and challenge me again when you become stronger! Ha!"

The Charmeleon stirred. "N-no," he said. "I'm… I'm not done!" He hacked and wheezed, and then stumbled to his feet. His legs shook like autumn leaves.

"Oh?" Azu asked. "Hah. Your body is not ready, but your aura is strong! But you cannot win, Grass Guardian. Leave and return later."

"I won't!" He rushed forward and tripped on his broken leg, yelping.

"Hmph," Azu said. "You fight like a spirit." He picked him up by the horn. Owen's body dangled limply.

"Ngh… and what's that supposed to mean?" Owen's arms twitched—he was trying to punch, but his body simply wouldn't listen.

"Spirits don't have bodies to worry about. They fight with disregard for their wellbeing." He let go, dropping Owen on the ground, where he managed to stay standing.

"Guess I like a good fight," Owen growled, wobbling. He spat an Ember right at the Feraligatr; he blocked it effortlessly with a flick of the wrist. He countered with a powerful blast of his focused, fighting spirit, aimed squarely at Owen's chest. The losing challenger roared and skidded back, holding the sphere in place. But it wasn't stable—the launched Focus Blast exploded in Owen's hands, propelling him into the wall again. Like a ragdoll, Owen hit the ground, eyes blazing.

Amia cried, "Owen! Stop! Please!"

"I can do this!" Owen roared back. He was missing a tooth, wobbling back to his feet. Adrenaline pumped through him. He didn't feel any of the pain anymore. He knew this feeling. So familiar—so exhilarating. He was fighting to the death. He knew this. He'd die if he lost. And he'd never flee. This target would fall—or he would. Why did these thoughts fill him so naturally? It was logical to surrender. Tactically, he was being allowed to leave to return later, to win. But he couldn't flee. He just couldn't. He had to fight. He had to win. He had to kill.

Owen's vision was reddening. He growled. Molten embers dripped from his mouth, melting the rocks below.

Amia covered her mouth. "No…"

"You still challenge me?!" Azu said.

Owen ran toward him and launched a concentrated jet of fire, turning the whole arena red for half a second. The flames enveloped the Feraligatr, but he punched through it and hit Owen in the stomach. Owen growled and opened his mouth, chomping down on the arm, breaking through the scales.

"Grah—persistent Pokémon, I'll give you—THAT!" With his other arm, he punched Owen away. Yet he didn't let go. His jaw clenched even harder, and he took the arm with him. It dissolved into a flurry of blue aura flames; Feraligatr's shoulder looked like it was on fire from the missing limb.

He stared at his erupting shoulder. "Heh… well. Guess y'got me there," Azu said, shrugging with his remaining arm.

Owen growled and shambled toward him again. His arms dangled wildly below, but his legs, despite being broken, carried Owen step after clumsy step.

"Not gonna fool me again!" Azu said, spinning around. His tail slashed at Owen, knocking him over. Owen got up and rushed again. The tail swatted him away. Owen got up and rushed again. And again. And again—he just kept coming. He didn't stop—his stamina was endless. He'd fight himself to the ground. There was no pain. No fatigue. He didn't even hear Amia crying for him to stop anymore. His vision was completely red. Running on instinct. There was something ahead of him, Azu, and that was all he knew. The target. It had to fall.

A final punch from the Feraligatr did him in, and knocked him down completely. Owen's body, regardless of what he couldn't feel, was broken.

"Ngh," Feraligatr said. "I didn't mean to be so harsh… but he wouldn't stop!" he tried to explain to Amia, who was watching Owen intently. "What?" he asked. "Hope you brought Reviver Seeds! He'll need 'em!"

Azu scratched the back of his head, laughing, trying to lighten the mood. His laughing was deterred somewhat by the look in Amia's eyes. There were tears, and behind those tears, wide eyes of fear. But it wasn't toward Azu.

The cave glowed again. This time, the glow was white. Azu turned around. "Eh?"

The cave was filled with the light of evolution. Owen's body grew. Wings sprouted—his tail lengthened, his flame an inferno. A horrible roar filled the cave walls.

A black flash corrupted the light.


"Owowow… Owen! What's wrong with you!"

"S-sorry!" Owen rushed toward Demitri, helping him up.

"Hahahahah!" Gahi teased. "Ol' Scalebag really had it coming to him, eh, Owen?"

"Gahi…" Mispy growled.

"Aw, c'mon, Mispy," Gahi said. "Just playing."

"Are you okay?" Owen asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Demitri said, nodding. "I hope I didn't break one of my tusks…"

"I've got it," Mispy said, washing him in healing light.

"Aw, thanks, Mispy." Demitri said, perking up. "Hey! Why don't we fight again?"

Someone chuckled from the sidelines. "Still looking to fight, are we?" Rhys asked. "Your endless energy is encouraging. If only I could say the same for myself."

"Ohoho!" A Torkoal beside Rhys chuckled. "At least you can fight, Rhys. I just don't see myself doing those things."

"Aw, Elder, I bet you'd be super strong if you fought!" Owen laughed.

"Ah, but I don't know any offensive techniques, Owen! Such a shame, really." Elder didn't appear very regretful of this.

The quartet laughed and Rhys chuckled.

"Say, how about this," Gahi said. "Demitri and Mispy can fight as one team, and you and me can fight fer the other."

"It'll be air against ground?" Owen asked.

"Yeah!" Gahi said, outstretching his wings.

Owen smirked and mimicked Gahi. They both took to the skies.

The memory was wiped away.


The dim glow of nighttime mushrooms colored the rocky walls of the cave in a soft cyan. Mixing with this light were flickering embers of orange and yellow. Owen was lying in the middle of these flames, enjoying the warmth; they licked at his scales and washed over his back. The flame at the end of his tail got hotter, brimming with energy. He rolled over to sear his belly next.

"No resting on the fire, Owen."

"Wh—huh? I wasn't!" He rolled away and quickly hid beneath his bed of leaves. Some of them turned black from the fire, but they didn't burn. He rubbed the back of his head, feeling pain all over. He grumbled and rubbed the orange scales on his arms.

Rhys peered into the room. "You're very lucky we were able to fashion your bed with Rawst leaves, or you'd burn through them every night," Rhys said. He chuckled, but then walked over, patting him on the head. "How are you feeling, Owen? Today was a rough day, wasn't it?"

"Today?" Owen asked.

Memories flashed before him. The Feraligatr. The fighting. That feeling… the sense of dying, yet the thrill. Like he was filling a void in his heart—fulfilling some grand purpose. But what happened after?

"W-wait!" Owen sprang to his feet. "I—I was fighting!"

"You were," Rhys said. "And you lost."

Owen's tail drooped to the ground. "Th-that can't be…. I… I had him on the ropes! I even tore his little spirit-arm off! I remember!"

"It wasn't enough." Rhys shook his head. "Don't worry, Owen. Your mother told me everything—you fought very well."

"Mom," Owen said. He sighed, crossing his arms. "You mean… I wasn't good enough to win, even though I tried my hardest?"

Rhys hesitated.

Owen sighed and stood up. Every part of his body felt bruised, but he paced anyway to clear his head. His bed felt a lot larger today, and he felt smaller than ever. He remembered staring up at the Feraligatr—he was barely up to his thighs, wasn't he? "I just… I bet I could've done it if… if I just… maybe if I moved to the left instead of the right, or…" He stopped. His fists shook with frustration, and he stomped on the ground. "I just wish I could finally evolve or something! I've been a Charmander forever!"

Rhys gulped, but then said, "W-well, regardless, Owen… we need to do some planning. You aren't the only one to fail their mission today."

"What do you mean?" Owen asked.

"We all did," someone said from the room's entrance.

"Gahi!"

The Trapinch wobbled his way inside, clicking irritably. A Chikorita and Axew followed behind, clearly just as crestfallen, even though Gahi didn't want to show it.

Demitri spoke next. "Anam's team… their Guardian was killed right in front of them—and Rim got the Orb, too! And our team… Rim was there! She already beat that Guardian, and then she beat us up! Really badly! But then I guess after we passed out, Rhys fought her off."

"Hmph," Mispy said. "If we were… just… evolved…"

The quartet sighed in unison.

"We're just late-evolvers," Owen said. "We'll—we'll evolve eventually! I'm sure of it!"

Rhys turned around. "We're going to be discussing what happened now. Future plans. Star will be there, too. Would you like to come with us?"

"Y-yeah," Owen said. "W-wait! Zena! Is Zena okay?"

"Zena is just fine. Everybody is okay, aside from the Guardians we tried to rescue," Rhys said. "Come."

The Lucario led them to Hot Spot Square. The Charmander, Chikorita, Axew, and Trapinch followed him out.