When making our way through the route we encountered a tall trainer who looked to be around the same age as Emily but couldn't make out what he looked like due to his a cap shadowing his eyes and his hood wasn't helping matters either and was being followed by a goblin like Pokémon that was covered in what looked to be black/blue hair once it noticed us it snarled at us specifically Emily this caught its trainers attention as he turned to face us and tilted exposing a gray eye looking directly at Emily "Didn't you place eighth in the indigo conference Emily Colten or something?" hearing his question made Emily blink and say "And you are?" Emily asked, the teen just sucked his teeth before asking "Simon, who are you two" he asked as he stared me and Jason down with cold calculating gray eyes, Jason spoke up "I'm Jason this is Dante we're graduates from Lavender" hearing this the now named Simon seem to think before saying "I challenge the three of you to a battle if your aren't to scared that is" he provoked which pissed Jason off "Alright fine come on guys" he let out Gaia and she glared at the goblin like Pokémon before it growled causing her to take a step back "Come on out Frost" what came out the dusk ball was a average sized Sneasel who snickered at Gaia.
"I'll take you on myself, you two stay back" Jason exclaimed as Emily and myself lowered our Pokéballs "So what are the rules" hearing this Simon responded "We go till you can't" he said challengingly "You can have the first move" he mocked.
"Gaia use Defense-Clone then Rock Tomb" once ordered Gaia started spinning then made copies of herself with the use of Double Team then all of them including the original glowed white and silver indicating the use of Defense Curl and Iron Defense, Gaia and her clones spun towards and around each other to cause confusion for the Ice/Dark type who unsheathed its claws ready for battle as boulders erupted from the ground before being destroyed instantly by a blitzing Sneasel who charged towards the clones with the use of Quick Attack and Agility and claws glowing silver signaling the use of Metal Claw whether knowing the first two were fake or not or just slashing at them for the sake of doing it I couldn't tell as the duo type Pokémon charged at the next copy before a hole opened up in front of it and out came Gaia with a full powered Rollout but before making contact the Ice/Dark type dodged last second and slashed Gaia as she passed her.
Gaia stumbled to the ground the slash mark was small thanks to her using her buffing defense combo but before she acted Frost the Sneasel kept blitzing her from the left right behind she had no choice but to block "Gaia use 360 Stone Barrage" Gaia spawned multiple jagged stones all around her and unleashed it for the first few seconds Frost kept dodging before being pelted by three stones but before she went to move Jason acted "Use Rolling-Edge then Brick Break" Gaia charged her opponent but wasn't prepared for Sneasel using Blizzard stopping Gaia in her tracks before Frost charged forward using Quick Attack and Agility and its claws coated in silver energy and ice showing a combo of Metal Claw and Ice Punch and slashed Gaia across her face taking a few chunks of her stone hide off and blood started pouring out covering her right eye she used Iron Defense again to strengthen her defense as she took dirt and covered her wound.
"Frost use Evasion and then Strike" Frost then unleashed Hail obscuring everyone's view Gaia seemed to tense as she closed her eyes "She's trying seismic sense but it's a gamble since she's so slow and inexperienced in the technique" I thought worriedly then was surprised when Jason called out "Gaia use Dig and make sure she can't escape" he called as Gaia dug into the ground after disappearing from view she sealed hers and Frost's holes to prevent escape.
Jason looks to be tense because he had to trust his starter to win, there were sounds of fighting and grunts and hissing and bangs and slashes then silence and a hole opened revealing a battered Gaia who looked to be absolutely exhausted carrying out an unconscious Frost but judging from Gaia's appearance it wasn't an easy victory "Good job Gaia take a rest" Jason said as he returned her then grabbed the second Pokéball on his belt with apprehension since he hasn't gotten any training with Apex yet "Apex lets go" the Avian let out a battle cry before staring at Jason "It's our first battle together so let's do our best" he said hopefully the bird rolled his eyes and nodded and flew off the ground but not taking off "hmmm max size decent wing span definitely it's physical prime hmmm... Come on out Nero" Simon said aloud mainly to himself, what came out was a raven like Pokémon, I scanned the beautiful bird and saw it an error saying no data "Oh shit" I thought internally then looked to Emily and questioned her "What is that?" After listening she responded "A Corviknight their from Galar and are a Flying/Steel type and that's a prime specimen definitely of the king size variety and looks to be experienced" she said worriedly "I hope Jason knows what's he doing" I thought to myself.
"Apex use Agility then-" he was interrupted by Simon "Knock it out the sky" the raven with a simple flap of its wings unleashing a Hurricane catching Apex dragging him in when the raven was cloaked in wind then disappeared and reappeared jabbing a Steel Wing into Apex sending him back to earth before he could recover Nero shot a Flash Cannon at Apex knocking him out before the fight could really start.
Jason fell to his knees as he returned Apex, Simon spoke "Who's next?" Simon asked with a cold tone as he returned Nero.
Emily glared at Simon and went to step forward but beat her to it by letting out Violet and glared at Simon "Let's go" I said.
"Hmmm Shiro lets go" what came out was a average sized shiny Torracat though I could tell it wasn't anywhere near the power of my cousins when he was in his middle stage "Violet use Haze and Double Team then Super-Screech" I called out as the most spewed from Violet's mouth then letting out an ear splitting scream as she doubled, Simon cursed at the sight of Haze then shouted out "Use Counter Shield flame variant" as soon as the order was let out the white and red cat got on its back and spun spewing a Flamethrower and Fire Spin blasting away the Haze revealing multiple Violet's looking surprised but I quickly called out "Air Cutter followed by Venoshock" Violet flapped her wings unleashing blades of air then spewed purple poison accurately aimed at Shiro who got hit by the Flying move, before Simon called out "Fire Blast then Flame Charge" the fire attack cancelled out Violets attack as Shiro cloaked in fire rushed around Violet which reminded me of that one Indigo conference battle between a Jolteon and Steelix with the Electric type emerging victorious due to being faster.
But unlike the metal snake Pokémon Violet is fast and has moves that never miss "Violet use Swift then Strike S/F" hearing this Simon went to counter "Destroy those stars with Flamethrower" the wildcat stopped its sprint to burn the stars away but was caught off guard when he got hit in the back of the head and hearing "Now Violet use Leech Fang the Steel Wing" the peppermint colored cat was hissing as it felt poison being injecting into his back and his energy stolen simultaneously as the bat was ramming its steel coated wings into his body "Overheat!" Simon shouted as the Torracat unleashed a blast of flame engulfing itself and Violet.
The aftermath revealed an unconscious Violet and a exhausted and poisoned Shiro who glared at me to which I rolled my eyes as I returned Violet and said "Thanks Violet you did your best I'm proud of you" I finished then grabbed Dojin's Pokéball and threw it and said "Let's finish this Dojin" as he was released and met the Torracat's eyes he let out a battle cry as Simon and myself let out commands "Shiro/Dojin use Fire Pledge/Evasion H " we called out as Shiro let out pillars of fire from the ground towards Dojin had he not dug into the ground avoiding it.
"Shiro be on guard this guy fights smart" Simon warned his half unconscious Fire type who ignored its exhaustion as he tensed up and glared at the ground but was caught off guard when two boulders rammed into his sides then a hole opening up in front of him revealing Dojin with his skull glowing silver and white head butting him instantly knocking him out, Simon looked to be caught off guard not expecting to be so casual beat.
"Spike let's go" what came out was a king sized Nidorino, the Poison type glared at Dojin and raised its spines and getting in a battle stance "Let's end this use Ice Beam and Sludge Bomb" I quickly countered "Retaliate and Focus Rush" Dojin disappeared from view then appearing in front of the Nidorino smashing his club upon the Poison types head smashing into the ground dealing more damage thanks to Retaliate adding another boost to Dojin's Focus Rush.
"Dojin end this with Focus Break" the Cubone's hand glowed as down upon Spike till "Use Berserker" something within the Poison type snapped as his pupils slitted and took on a red hue "Oh shit" I thought "DOJIN RUN" the Cubone went to dug into the ground but was cut off when Spike rammed his glowing horn into Dojin sending him skidding back revealing a flesh wound leaking blood and poison "This is gonna be tough Berserker looks like a combo of Thrash and Rage, Dojin's only winning if he delivers a crippling blow or traps and or keeps a distance since Thrash/Rage makes the user only set only on it's fight response ignoring everything else" I internally said to myself then acted "Dojin your on a time limit, use Stone Edge and Rock Tomb to avoid it getting close" as the Nidorino went to charge Dojin but boulders smashed into it but shrugged it off to continue its assault till another boulder rammed into its side and another into it's stomach "Use Focus Rush then set Rock Tomb across the field" before Spike could recover his face was met with Dojin's glowing club then its view was obstructed by boulders erupting from the ground but rammed through them ignoring the damage it was doing to itself only focusing on taking Dojin down but his face smashed into against by Dojin's club once again but before he could react the club was gone and so was Dojin "Spike won't be able to hear me out right now thanks to Berserker, this kid isn't bad he seems to rely on combos and knowledge of Pokémon techniques kinda of like my instructor and that woman" Simon thought to himself as Spike was smashing every boulder in sight before multiple Dojin's popped from the ground surrounding him "hmm I noticed that kid stomped his foot four times pausing then to do it two more times, I hate fighting smart guys they always have tricks" Simon complained internally.
"Dojin use False Barrage v2" the Ground type and its copies threw their clubs and unleashed jagged stones towards the raging poison type who fired off an Ice Beam meeting Dojin's attack head on but the beam was overpowered as spike was bombarded stones and when the onslaught was over it Spike was unconscious meaning Dojin won, I reached into my bag and tossed Dojin a pecha berry "Dojin catch" my starter grabbed the pink berry and ate it.
"Hmph alright kid you ain't half bad let's see how you do against one of my more experienced teammates, come on out Omukade" Simon threw a worn Great Ball and what came out was a Pokémon that vaguely reminded me of a Scolipede but was more lean and longer as well and looked to be a Fire type.
"Can I be privy to know what this is?" I asked curiously to my opponent in hopes of being able to stall.
"She's a Centiskorch, now use Flamethrower high power" Simon said as he both answered my question and ordered his Pokémon, "Use Rock Tomb to block hurry" I ordered worriedly as Dojin quickly obliged by hastily raising boulders to block the fire as he managed it I stomped three times before pausing and stomped two more times sensing the vibration from my stomp Dojin immediately borrowed under ground and mentally thanked my past self for making more stomp commands for Dojin.
After the boulder was destroyed by the powerful fire types Flamethrower it scanned the area and clicked irritably when it didn't see a charred Dojin.
Simon quickly ordered "It's gonna attack from below use Defense Curl and Coil" the spun in place glowing as it was smashed into by Rock Tombs from all sides when it countered attacked with what looked to be a combination of Inferno and Overheat it was somehow both destructive and beautiful.
After the boulders were blown to smithereens by the fiery explosion.
I tapped the ground twice before stomping three times, after that five Dojin's emerged from the ground skulls glowing silver as they used Aerial Ace to carry them towards the fiery insect he reacted to Simon's command before it even left his mouth showing their experience of teamwork "Use Hell Driver" the centipede coiled up and started spinning as fire engulfed its body and blitzed the ground types who all hit each all disappearing which Simon noticed as Centiskorch was spinning around in a blazing glory "Hmm so those were a trick but why what was the point what is this kid thinking" thought Simon.
"As I suspected that thing is fast and that combo looks like a mixture of Flame Wheel and Rollout but still it's a bug type it can't take to many hits and I'm all running out of non verbal commands that'll work for this situation and Simon already showed he won't fall for the same trick twice" I tapped the ground twice as the pit makeshift battle field collapsed in on itself causing Omukade to fall in as Dojin erupted from the ground smashing the Centiskorch across the face with a Focus Club and then bombarding it with Stone Edge causing the centipede to cry out in pain till it quickly grabbed Dojin with its fangs causing Dojin's to bellow out in pain "Use Leech Life take it all" Simon commanded in a assured tone of victory.
"Use Curse" hearing this Simon cursed and called out to his Pokémon but it was to late as it absorbed the toxic ghost energy witch was the equivalent of swallowing a rag that was used to clean puke and damage itself from the energy and was writhing in pain to the point it didn't hear its trainer and dropped Dojin who was hurt and exhausted but not broken as he acted of his own accord slamming his now glowing skull against the centipede before smashing it with it's glowing club then ending it with a Focus Break.
Dojin fell to his knees as in front of the unconscious fire type who was promptly returned "If it weren't for curse causing that much damage we would've lost" I thought to myself then congratulated my starter "Great job Dojin you beat a high level Pokémon far from clean but you won all the same buddy I'm proud" I said while smiling.
As I finished saying Dojin looked to me and gave me an eye smile as Simon grabbed a Ultra Ball of his belt but stopped as Dojin was concealed in a white light seeing this made me shed a few tears of pride "I knew your were close" I said to myself as Dojin's body grew along side his trusty club, I noticed wild Pokémon came out to watch the process with a mix of envy and admiration Dojin deserved this and more.
After the light faded it revealed a proud and mostly healed Marowak which stood at a 5'05.5 and opened his his crimson eyes and admired his evolution as he looked over his bone weapon then his hands, he let out a battle cry as he glared at Simon who smiled for the first time in the short time I've known him smile but this wasn't a happy smile it was a bloodthirsty one "Well aren't you a tough bastard but the fun is over now to end finish you, come on out Garrosh" what came out was once a thought to be extinct evolution of Syther from the old the early days of Sinnoh when it was known as Hisui till they popped up in Paldea.
A massive insect Pokémon covered in a brown stone carapace and two mighty axes on both ends of its arm stood at 6'09 was a monster Kleavor who sized Dojin up and appeared to see something in him if its battle stance was anything to go by.
"If I remember the entry correctly that despite its heavy appearance it was actually clocked to be faster than Scizor and didn't have the crippling overheating weakness they had either and this thing seems to be one of his mains given the way it stands" I monologued to myself internally.
"Kleavor this is your battle do as you see fit" Simon ordered as he took off his hood revealing his cap was one of the copies of champion Leon's.
The massive Bug/Rock type just stared at Dojin with calculating eyes who was in his own battle stance waiting for orders.
"Dojin use Focus Rush followed by Focus Head and use Precognition" I ordered my freshly evolved starter as the Kleavor just stared at Dojin as the club hit itself then raised its arm to block Dojin's empowered Iron Head with little to no injuries as it pushed Dojin back and he landed on his feet and dodged Kleavor's Slash attack but Dojin dodged even before Garrosh went to attack "Hopefully Precognition lasts long enough to where we would be able to at least hurt because I'm sure even Dojin realizes he's out matched" I thought to myself as Garrosh went for a X-Scissor which Dojin again managed to dodge something Garrosh noticed as it tapped into Agility and zoomed across the field so fast he left after images and added Double Team on top of it.
It then unleashed a powerful Sandstorm to cause confusion but didn't effect Dojin due to both Precognition and Seismic Sense but "Garrosh knows Dojin is using an advanced form of Detect and try to see the limits of it good thing Dojin evolved before if he didn't he wouldn't have been able to dodge" I thought to myself as I called out to Dojin "Use Stone Edge V2 360 barrage" I ordered as he complied and did but was caught off guard as the Kleavor suddenly appeared in front Dojin driving its axe into him but Dojin blocked thanks to already reacting and was blown back flying through the air before Garrosh appeared before he landed and drove a Brick Break into Dojin's stomach sending him crashing to the ground knocking him out instantly as the Sandstorm subsided from is users will.
"Dam so speed is the issue Dojin might've won if he was faster to react and counterattack but was outclassed" before I could return Dojin Garrosh suddenly appeared in front of me with Dojin in his arms and he gently let him down and gave him a nod of respect and to me as well as his trainer walked up to him with his hand raised towards me in a gesture of wanting to shake hands which I complied with when he suddenly said "Your pretty good for a rookie and your friend may be a little rough right now but he has promise" he continued was we finished shaking hands and he turned towards Jason and Emily.
"Sorry for being a bit of an ass just wanted to see if you could perform we'll dispute being angry and sorry for pulling out Nero on you I thought your Fearow could take him" he apologized to Jason with a dip of his head then looked to Emily "I would love to fight you right now but the kid here caused a lot of damage to our makeshift field and I don't think the wild life would appreciate it if we completely destroy this area even more" he said to Emily who shrugged her shoulders and said "No problem we can always battle if we meet up again or while we're in Vermillion if you want" she asked as Simon nodded in agreement.
I spoke up "Well since we're practically in front of Vermillion wanna join us" he nodded as he returned his Kleavor.
As Emily let out Queen to repair the ground with the help of Gaia which took six minutes afterwards we made our way through the entrance of Vermillion when I brought up a question "So are we getting the three Water Pokémon from the breeder first then battle Lt. Surge or vice versa?" I asked curiously as Simon walked along side listening in on the conversation.
Jason was the first to answer "I think it's best to battle Surge first since the tree Pokémon are only just freshly hatched from what Tobias told us so there wouldn't be time to play catch up, so battle first pickup later?" He asked for any agreement to which both Emily and I nodded to.
"Wait breeder are you talking about a wanderer Water master from Galar who traveled here to Vermilion" he asked to which Emily confirmed with "Yeah someone you know?" Emily asked.
"Yeah we both work under the former champion of Kalos Abel Morel after he stepped down the position after the war" Simon said as we made our way to the Pokémon Center.
"Wait thee Abel Morel as in the oldest and longest reigning champion that Abel Morel?!" Jason exclaimed surprised when he continued "And what do you mean you work for him?" He asked Simon who responded "Well after the war he decided he'd take interest at stopping any rising threat by making his own splinter group for the International League and we single-handedly stopped 3 terrorist groups and other conflicts from happening in the eight years we've active he only hires thought he or any of us deem trustworthy to join" Simon finished.
"Wait how old are you?" I asked since he didn't look the age to work under such a prestigious group then mentally kicked myself when I remembered my sister was one of the youngest to be inducted into the Indigo League.
"I'm Eighteen I joined well inducted after Mr. Morel's top pupil took me from the slums of Motostoke city to work for him the second best thing that ever happened to me" he said in a happy tone as we made it inside the Pokecenter as our journey to Vermilion was finally met.
AN: I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter it took me awhile to finish due to not liking how they turned out but I'm proud of how this one at least and don't worry we'll get the gym battle against Surge next chapter and finally meeting up with the Breeder Tobias mentioned, speaking of that what due you guys think the three water type Pokémon are.