Intro:

Hey everyone, sorry for not posting last week but that's because I went back and revised some old chapters. With that being said this chapter is a bit short because I was combining this writing time with the editing. Starting today chapters 1-6 will be reposted with better format, grammar, and clearer reading. Chapters 1 and 2 have already been posted and I will continue to update the story up to chapter 6. Without further ado, let's hope back in with Lucas.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own pokemon in any way, this is just a fanfiction. Please support the creators by buying and playing Pokemon Platinum Version wherever sold in your respective area.

AND. HERE. WE. GO

Guide:

Bolded Italics: Speaking to Audience or Out of Time

Regular Italics: Thoughts

COF: Character(s) of Focus

Chapter 16: Building a Bond

COF: Lucas Diamond

Lucas biked through the peaceful path of Route 209. It was nice to not have a path jam-packed with trainers. It was calm, the wind blew into the trees giving it the sound of nature. Wild pokemon rustling in the grass made Lucas feel right at home. He was on his way to Solaceon Town. Despite it not having a gym, Lucas was just as excited to go there as any other place he had been. He wanted to experience all of Sinnoh no matter how big or small it was.

Lucas thought about his battle with Fantina. It was close and even though he had 5 team members he could only use 4. Pokemon like Gabite are very stubborn to train, only certain trainers can create the bond needed to keep them in line. Luckily for Lucas, Gabite was still young so there was still a chance. Garchomps are some of the most powerful pokemon in the world and require a lot of work to tame. Lucas knew that for Gabite to trust him he needed to feel like Lucas was being honest with him.

This might be a bad idea but fuck it I have to try.

"Gabite, come on out," Lucas said, releasing Gabite.

Gabite came out and looked around confused. Once he looked back at Lucas he growled and turned his back to him. Lucas sighed, he didn't know that being a trainer could be this difficult.

"Look, I know you don't like me but we need to talk," Lucas said.

Gabite huffed as if saying no.

"I know how your kind can be tough, difficult, and stubborn but I still think we could make a great team please just listen to me," Lucas pleaded.

Finally, Gabite turned his head in Lucas' direction. Lucas shouted inside, finally a small win.

"One thing I feel like we can do is learn to trust each other, listen I have to put my faith in you just as much as you to me I'm not giving up on you so we need to work past this," Lucas said.

Gabite said nothing but eventually gave a small nod.

"Let's start with the basics, my name is Lucas Diamond, I come from Twinleaf Town and I just started my journey," Lucas said.

Gabite looked at Lucas for a minute and eventually sat down.

"Good, can I call you Gabite?" Lucas asked.

Gabite nodded and Lucas smiled at him, finally, they were getting somewhere.

"Look you are one stubborn bastard, you want to do your own thing and you want independence I get that," Lucas said.

Gabite raised his eyebrow. That is what he wanted but how did Lucas know how that felt.

"Honestly this is the first time I have really been on my own and it's rewarding and I don't wanna take any freedom from you at all," Lucas said, looking right at Gabite.

Gabite slouched back a bit, maybe Lucas did know what it's like to want to be free.

"You wanna do your own thing and you don't care what anyone says, I GET THAT I know how that feels, I've been on Team Galactic's ass for a while now despite people saying I should steer clear I don't care what they say I am going to keep being a thorn in their side," Lucas ranted.

Gabite looked at Lucas, not with a glare but a straight face, so Lucas was stubborn like him but Gabite had a reason to be stubborn. For Gabite's whole life he saw his friends and family get captured by trainers so of course, he wasn't so fond of becoming a glorified pet. But why was Lucas so pissed at Team Galactic?

"People ask me all the time, Lucas, why do you get involved? I have been asked by so many news reporters and random people, why do I care so much," Lucas ranted, getting up and looking away.

Lucas never really told anyone why he hated Team Galactic so much, he didn't just have a sense of justice for no reason there was more to it.

"Back when I was younger about 10, I went over to my grandparents in Sandgem Town, they owned a little berry shop, that's how they stayed afloat," Lucas reluctantly said.

Lucas stopped, the story was hard for him to tell because it still haunts him every time he spoke about it but Gabite needed to know that he trusted him, and by telling him a personal story maybe it would open something up to him.

"Team Galactic robbed it, took all the berries and money, a couple of grunts wrecked the place too. Insurance couldn't replace this store and soon my grandparents went poor...my grandpa couldn't handle the stress anymore and took his own life. My grandma died shortly after presumably of a broken heart," Lucas told Gabite with tears in his eyes.

Gabite said nothing, he felt his pain of seeing family members leave and the pain it left inside of him.

"Those assholes killed my grandparents, so yeah NOW THAT I HAVE THE POWER TO I WILL BE A FUCKING THORN IN THEIR SIDE," Lucas shouted angrily.

Gabite walked up to Lucas and put a claw on his shoulder. Gabite still wasn't super happy about being with Lucas but he did find a new level of respect for him and understood why he did the things he did.

"Look I know you don't wanna be with me but I wanna build the strongest team I can to protect people, and having you around increases my chances," Lucas said, looking at Gabite.

Gabite looked into the sky for a moment, maybe Lucas wasn't as bad as the other trainers, the only other time Gabite saw a trainer nice to his kind was a long time ago when a girl with blonde hair took in one of his fellow brethren.

"I know we have a lot of work to do before we can call each other partners so let's get started. I know we can get past this, what do you say?" Lucas said, offering his hand.

With this new level of respect, Gabite shook Lucas' hand. He still had his eye on him but could see that he had a greater sense of what a trainer was and Gabite thought that if he was going to be with Lucas he could at least like the fact that he cared for him.

The two went through the route battling wild pokemon. Gabite still had trouble following orders but he did listen to Lucas if need be. Lucas was happy, finally, Gabite was listening to him, and finally, he could start to use him in battles.

It's gonna be awhile before his first gym battle but god damn will he be good with them, that sheer power is insane.

Lucas was right, the whole Garchomp line was extremely strong and durable in battle. Gabite went through 10 battles without needing healing or even a break. Gabite was also training his moveset, using it on other Gabites was good but it never really showed what his moves could do, now was the perfect opportunity to do so. Lucas was amazed by all the variety Gabite had he saw Iron Tail, Slash, and Take Down.

"Man, remind me to never get on your bad side...even more," Lucas commented.

Gabite looked back at Lucas and smirked but quickly got rid of it.

"I saw that first time I've seen you smile, it was because of my fear for you but I'll take it," Lucas laughed.

The two pokemon walked through the rest of the path together, Lucas talked to Gabite about himself and how at first he didn't want to be a trainer but then it became his favorite thing to do. Gabite thought he talked too much but admitted to himself that it was nice to hear someone talk to him normally rather than shouting or roaring at him. Lucas introduced Gabite to the rest of the team, he thought he should get to know his teammates since today was going so well.

First was Monferno. The two of them eyed each other for a bit but then started to communicate. They both liked to cause trouble and scare away smaller pokemon. Lucas sighed, he knew those two would have something in common but it's better than them hating each other. Monferno showed Gabite some fire moves which seemed to interest him. Gabite even tried to do some of his own but to no avail, he soon realized that he couldn't just do moves he had to learn them.

Next was Staraptor. Gabite looked at her with respect, acknowledging that she was fully evolved. Staraptor raced Gabite to test his speed and to her surprise, Gabite was keeping up, of course, Staraptor was still faster but it was much harder to keep a lead on him than the others. Gabite showed Staraptor his Dig move and how it was a lot like Fly, pokemon couldn't attack Gabite while he was underground proving to be an effective strategy to Lucas.

Luxio at first didn't like Gabite, they fought on almost everything but eventually stopped. Luxio loved the fact that he could spar with someone for so long and Gabite was just happy to pound Luxio like an accordion. Luxio showed off some electric moves and in return, Gabite showed Luxio Dragon Claw. It was fast, even throughout the battle training Gabite was doing with Lucas he never used Dragon Claw. It was sloppy but impressive as both Luxio and Lucas were wide-eyed from the speed and impact it could do. With enough practice, it could be Lucas's best singular move.

Last was Bibarel. Again, Gabite acknowledged the fact that Bibarel was fully evolved but Gabite couldn't overlook his goofy smile and lack of intelligence. Gabite was all energetic and Bibarel was...well Bibarel. Bibarel tried to get Gabite to lay on his belly and take a nap but Gabite gave Bibarel this look as if saying "that's creepy". With that being said, Gabite found it nice that a member of the team made it easier to relax, with Bibarel, Gabite sat down and looked at different rocks Bibarel gave him. He found it odd that Bibarel liked rocks so much but in time he found a couple he liked himself.

Lucas was relieved to see that Gabite could at least get along with everybody and while in every introduction he showed a level of reserve, he still attempted to get to know everybody and didn't kill them which is what he wanted.

"Alright Bibarel, come on back," Lucas said, putting Bibarel back into his ball.

Gabite looked at Lucas with a straight face as if saying "what now".

"Now, you can go relax in your ball, you did great today man and I know we still got a lot of work to do but thank you for making an effort," Lucas smiled.

Gabite finally showed Lucas a small smile and nodded. Maybe he was wrong about trainers, maybe this could be good for him. Sure he still missed his family back in Wayward Cave but Lucas didn't seem like a bad guy but in fact, has the kindness of that one blonde trainer.

"Rest up, we'll talk tomorrow," Lucas said, putting Gabite back into his ball.

Lucas got on his bike and raced through the path into Solaceon Town. It was small like Twinleaf with only a couple of houses, a Pokemart, and a Pokemon Center. The people in the town were quiet even when they talked. Lucas made his way into the Pokemart to shop for supplies. While looking he saw a woman with brown hair approach him.

"Hi there," The woman said.

"Hi, can I help you?" Lucas asked.

"You're Lucas right from Twinleaf Town?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah," Lucas confirmed.

Great another fan, at least it's only one, I can do a picture or something.

"My family is a big fan of yours. We love how you are trying to put a stop to Team Galactic," The woman smiled.

"Oh well thank you, just happy to help," Lucas smiled back.

"If you wouldn't mind I would love for you to meet them," The woman offered.

"Actually, I do need a place to stay for the night," Lucas said to himself.

"You can stay with us, we would love it, don't worry it's just me and my parents, you won't be bombarded with cameras and stuff," The woman chuckled.

"Thank you so much, I would appreciate that," Lucas said.

"Follow me," The woman said.

Lucas smiled to himself. Today went amazingly well, he got to bond with Gabite and he got a place to stay for free. It felt off having things go so well lately he had been all over the place with the events of Eterna City happening and his battle against Fantina it was nice to arrive at a town where he could just relax for a while. The woman brought him to her house. It happened to be the biggest house in the town and Lucas was amazed by it. It was the nicest house he had ever seen. As he walked inside, he felt cozy. The house was clean and spacious but still had a lot of stuff in it. It looked rich but also had this average family feel to it like they wanted to still save money despite what they earned. Pictures of a family of four were on the walls. A mother, father, daughter, and son.

"My parents went on a picnic, they won't be home for a bit so make yourself comfortable," The woman said.

"Thanks, this place is amazing," Lucas said.

"My brother had a huge hand in paying for this before we were poor and living in Hoenn," The woman said, pulling out two water glasses.

"Lucky guy," Lucas commented.

"He's a real know it all, always commenting on things and trying to meddle his way into plans, sometimes it just makes me wanna slap him," The woman laughed.

"I have a friend who always gets right in your face about things so I get it," Lucas laughed as well.

The woman gave Lucas a glass of water. He thanked her and drank it all, he told her about his adventure across Sinnoh. She was interested and said that he reminds her of Brendan the Champion of Hoenn.

"You know Trainer Brendan?" Lucas asked in shock.

"Oh yeah my brother was best friends with him when we were growing up, it was hard on him when we left but ultimately was the right move," The woman said.

"Holy shit that's insane, I'd love to meet him, he's a legend," Lucas said in awe.

Despite not wanting to become a trainer, Lucas loved the legends of the trainer world. People like Red, Blue, Leaf, Wes, Brendan, and May were all heroes and role models to kids around the world. Lucas was amazed people like this were fostering him for the night. Who could be so kind even to a guy like Lucas? He chalked it up to his newly acquired fame but she was so nice and the family's house was so inviting he had to know who these people were.

"I don't think I ever got your name?" Lucas said, sipping his water.

"Oh, where are my manners, Angela, Angela Rollins," Angela said with a smile.

Outro:

Told ya it was a short one, I wanted to test the pace of this chapter lately we have been doing a bit longer (in my standards) chapters so I wanna see how the faster chapters go. I am not returning to the pace of the first chapters, that was too fast imo but I wanna find a nice even mix between the two so feedback is appreciated on where it could have been longer or even if I could have been a bit faster in some departments. LMK, anyways thank you all for sticking around lately the story has been growing so much not just on here but on AO3 and Wattpad. It's amazing to see people sticking by and I can't wait to put into place some of the major plans for this story. As always I hope you all enjoyed it, leave a comment telling me what you liked, disliked, etc. PM with suggestions or questions or if you wanna tell me that a Minecraft hand has better typing skills than me, I'll take it. Thank you guy for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter!

Don't forget to Smile!

-Shocker

Question of the Chapter: What do you think would happen if Mike and Lucas met? What was your favorite moment of the chapter?

For me, knowing those two characters, it could be a nice convo or a brutal battle who knows. My favorite moment of the chapter was when Lucas and Gabite had a heart to heart it was wholesome and established some trust and a small bond between them.

Important Moments/Ideas:

-Lucas and Gabite build a small bond/trust

-Find out Lucas' origin for Team Galactic disdain

-Lucas arrives in Solaceon Town

-Lucas meets Angela Rollins

Lucas' Team (5/6):

-Monferno: Ember, Mach Punch, Flame Wheel, Cut, Leer

-Luxio: Spark, Charge, Tackle, Bite, Flash

-Bibarel: Water Gun, Headbutt, Rock Smash, Yawn

-Staraptor: Wing Attack, Aerial Ace, Quick Attack, Tackle, Brave Bird

-Gabite: Slash, Dragon Claw, Dig, Take Down, Iron Tail

Next Chapter: Insurance Policy

Mike finds a way to secure his future in case things go bad!