This is a new story that I'm starting, taking place in Marion, the setting of Pokémon Sun and Moon (the 'games' I 'made'). I will attempt to describe all the new Pokémon as best I can, so you know what they look like. They're all based on real plants and animals found in Oregon. I'm excited to write this now, but I make no guarantees that the excitement will endure. Know that I have every intention of finishing the story eventually, but that intent may not last.

*****

CHAPTER ONE

The blare of the train’s horn woke Sean with a violent start. Heart pounding in his chest, he silently cursed the train. All summer, he had seen signs near the train tracks saying they would stop sounding their horns. But every now and then, one would sound, and he would curse it. Before the signs had said the horns would stop, he hadn’t had any problems with them; in fact, he barely noticed them. But now they annoyed him.

He checked the clock, saw how late in the day it was, and immediately darted out of bed. He made a quick pit-stop in the bathroom before throwing on any clothes he knew weren’t absolutely filthy. Smelling himself to make sure he was fine, he rushed down the stairs and out the front door, shouting a quick love-ya to his father before running down the street toward the Pokémon Lab. Most mornings, he’d take the time to notice the crisp air of his home city of Cherry Orchard, delight in the slightly sweet taste of it all, but not today. Today he was far too late to notice anything, not even the packs of Cherubi and Cherrim meandering about. Today, he had to pick his first Pokémon and start his adventure.

Last night, his father had warned him to get a good night’s rest. Sean usually didn’t need the advice, as he loved sleep almost as much as he loved food, but still he didn’t get to sleep until late. It wasn’t that he was too excited to sleep, just that he was waiting on the song. Every night before bed, he’d hear the most beautiful song sung from somewhere out in the world, and it would lull him to sleep. There were no words to the song, just the sweet melody that would put him out just as he was starting to enjoy it. When he was a young boy, his father had told him it was the moon that was singing to everyone at night, but whatever the case, last night the song did not play. The moon had been out, but there was no song, and Sean spent far too long waiting for it.

Luckily, Sean only lived three blocks from the giant Pokémon Lab. Still, he was out of breath by the time he barged through the huge double-doors. Panting, heart hammering in his chest, he swallowed a few times and walked quickly through the off-white halls, passing rooms with people in lab coats holding beakers of foaming liquid, or humid rooms buzzing with insects and filled with plants, or any number of other rooms that were not the one he was looking for. He stopped in the Pokémon Center, as he did every time he visited the professor, to check on the sick, injured, and abandoned Pokémon. There was a Pichu that had been found in the wilds south of town, part of its ear missing, as well as a pair of Eevee that had been left on the front steps of the lab. Sean visited them frequently, as they were the only ones there every time Sean arrived; the others were just sick or injured, and spent no more than a day there before their Trainers picked them up.

That day, however, it was just the two Eevee. Sean asked the nurse what had happened to the Pichu, and the grave look she gave him told him more than he wanted to know. But she smiled warmly at seeing his grief-stricken face, and said, “No, hon, I’m sure she’s fine. She was just adopted by a young man yesterday. She was happier than I’ve ever seen her.” Sean smiled too, happy for the little Pichu, and went to visit the Eevee. He scratched their ears and chins as they gently pressed their heads into him. After a few minutes, he said goodbye and went back to rushing to get to the professor.

“I was wondering where you were,” a man said from behind him as he rounded the corner out of the Pokémon Center. Sean turned to find Professor Fir standing with a small smile on his face. The professor was much taller than Sean, taller even than Sean’s father, with dark eyes and a shaved head. He was around the same age as Sean’s father, though perhaps a little younger. Although he talked like an Englishman sometimes, he was from Cherry Orchard just as Sean was. “I called your father and he told me you had rushed out of the house. Didn’t sleep well?”

“No professor, it’s not that. I just didn’t get to sleep when I was supposed to,” Sean replied.

“It was the song, wasn’t it?” a tall brown-haired girl asked, coming into view as she stepped out from behind the professor.

“More like the lack of the song,” Sean said. “Were you late, too, Lexi?”

“No, we’ve just been waiting for you for the last three hours.”

“Enough chit-chat,” Professor Fir interrupted, “we’ve something important to do.”

He took off down the hall, long legs forcing Sean and Lexi to jog to keep up. Up the stairs they went, down another long hall, finally to the professor’s office. Inside was as it always was: cluttered and stacked with papers. Except today the desk was clear of everything, and on it sat three Pokéballs. That explains why these stacks of paper are taller than normal, Sean thought.

“Today is the first day of the rest of your lives,” Professor Fir stated after clearing his throat. “From now on, you will be Pokémon Trainers, and you will live with and depend on the Pokémon you choose here today. So don’t muck it up.” He touched the buttons on all three Pokéballs, releasing the three within.

“First up is Xantholus, the Forest Bird Pokémon,” Professor Fir said, indicating the first Pokémon. It was a small bird with forest-green cheeks, chin, throat, and chest, and dusky brown body plumage. It chirped cheerfully as it bounced around, greeting everyone who was looking at it before conversing with the other two Pokémon, who didn’t seem to notice its presence. “She evolves into Icteriol, and then into Neglectark. She is very friendly, as you can see, and loves to fly around and dive into water to fish. All of her evolutions, including herself, are dual grass and flying type. This one will provide you with a bit of a challenge in the first couple of gyms, but she’ll be a great friend and companion should you choose her.”

Judging from her high-pitched squeal, Sean could tell Lexi was already in love with it.

“Next is Firula, the Beaver Pokémon,” Professor Fir said, pointing at the second Pokémon. It was the largest of the three, with dark orange-brown fur, large front teeth, and four five-toed feet. Its whiskered nose sniffed Sean’s hand before giving it a lick. “He evolves into Beavire and Pycastra. He makes his home in volcanoes, and does not like the cold. As he evolves, he will grow a tail and use it to absorb heat to warm himself in cold areas. Firula and Beavire are pure fire types, but his final form, Pycastra, becomes dual fire and ground. When he’s hungry, he doesn’t notice much. He’s obsessed with smells, and will smell everything before he eats it. If it smells good he’ll lick it, and if it tastes good he’ll eat it. His favorite snack is wood, which he uses to prevent his teeth from growing too long. As he evolves, he’ll start eating rocks to keep his teeth from growing. He’ll have a bit of a challenge in the first gym, but otherwise should be an excellent companion.

“And finally, we have Hermik, the Hermit Pokémon.” The smallest of the three, Hermik was a dark blue crab-like Pokémon with a faint-blue shell in which it seemed to live. It had one large pincher, which it had used to grab ahold of Firula’s front-left leg. Firula didn’t seem to notice as it stared down at the wooden desk, a hungry look in its eyes. “He is a pure water type, and evolves into Grachela, another pure water type, and finally into Magicrab, becoming dual water and psychic. While not very friendly to others, he’s extremely loyal to his Trainer and his Trainer’s Pokémon. After he evolves into Grachela, his shell becomes attached to him, and grows harder the stronger he becomes. As Magicrab, he can use telekinetic powers to move objects and attack foes. He’ll be very useful in the first few gyms, and should be a big help to you should you choose him.

“So, which one do you kids want?”

“Xantholus!” Lexi screamed. “I want Xantholus!” Xantholus chirped delightedly and jumped onto Lexi’s shoulder, playfully pulling on her hair. Professor Fir handed her the Pokéball before turning to Sean.

“I’ll take Firula,” Sean decided. Even though he thought it had contemplated eating him, he felt they were a lot alike, and would get along splendidly. “I’ll call you Castor. It seems a strong, unique name. What do you say?” Castor responded by biting a chunk out of Professor Fir’s desk and munching noisily. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”

“Okay, here’s your Pokéball,” Professor Fir said, handing Sean the ball. “While Xantholus likes to be out and about, Firula—sorry, Castor—is not big on moving around, and would likely prefer being in his ball. But when you stop for the night and, say, build a campfire, he would most certainly like to join you.”

Sean and Lexi attached their Pokéballs to their belts, Lexi not recalling Xantholus because of what the professor had said, Sean not recalling Castor because he was still chewing on Professor Fir’s desk.

“The next order of business is your Pokédex,” the professor said. He opened his desk and retrieved two red book-sized devices, handing one to each of the prospective Trainers. “As you see and capture Pokémon, your Pokédex will fill up. Just seeing a Pokémon will get its name and type, but in order to get its full information, you’ll need to capture it. These devices are very important to us professors, and they’re new, so don’t lose them. Go ahead, give them a try!”

Lexi used hers to record Xantholus. “Xantholus, the Forest Bird Pokémon. Xantholus live in forests and by rivers, and will welcome any stray Pokémon into their flock.” On the screen, Xantholus’ type, height, and weight were listed.

Sean used his next to record Castor. “Firula, the Beaver Pokémon. Born inside a volcano, this Pokémon is very uncomfortable in the cold. It loves to eat wood.” The screen listed its height as one-foot-seven-inches and weight as sixteen-point-three pounds.

“There you go, your first entries into your Pokédexes. In your Dex, you can find all your Pokémon’s attacks, where they can be found, and whatnot. Play around with them a bit to get completely familiarized with them. Now, our final bit of business before I kick you out of my lab so I can fix my desk: the gyms. In order to challenge the Elite Four of the Marion League—something every young Pokémon Trainer seeks to do—you’ll need to battle the eight Marion Gym Leaders. There is one gym to the west, two to the north, two to the northeast, and three to the southeast. I would suggest you head southeast to Royal Town first. Train your Pokémon by battling other Trainers and wild Pokémon, capture a few—oh, that reminds me, take some spare Pokéballs—and, most important of all, be safe. The road can be a dangerous place. Now beat it.”

“Thank you, Professor Fir,” Lexi said as she made for the door.

“Thanks, Professor,” said Sean, recalling Castor and attaching the ball back to his belt. “Sorry about the desk.” He waved and shut the door behind him as he joined Lexi in the hall. “So, Lexi, where to first?”

“Well, we should probably go home and pack. You need a shower. And then we should buy supplies for the trip. Do you have any money?”

“Yes, my dad gave me 3,000 Pokédollars for my tenth birthday last week. What about you?”

“My mother did the same for my birthday this week.” Xantholus took off down the halls, flying around and chirping into rooms. Lexi watched her as she said, “I’ll meet you by the exit to Route 22?”

“Sure thing, see you in about an hour,” said Sean.

“See you, Sean. Come on Xan, we’re leaving!” Xan flew back to Lexi as she walked down the staircase nearest them, and Sean moved on down the hallway to leave for his home. Outside, he picked up a few branches, cleaned them off as best he could, and tucked them under his arm for Castor to much on once he got back to his house. On his walk home, he enjoyed the smells and tastes of Cherry Orchard, recorded a Cherubi—the mascot of Cherry Orchard, after whom the city was named—and Cherrim into his Pokédex, and opened his front door to find his father all dressed up in his work clothes.

“You’re back!” his dad said. “Did you get a Pokémon?” Sean answered by releasing Castor. Castor looked around at his new surroundings before making his way to a wooden stool. Sean quickly waved a stick in front of him, waited as Castor sniffed it, and let go of it so he could eat it. “Excellent, son. I’m proud of you. You’re going to make a fantastic Trainer, I just know it. Listen, I have to go to work now, but I love you, okay? Be safe, and watch after Lexi and your Pokémon.”

“I will. I love you too, Dad.”

His father kissed him on his forehead before grabbing his keys and leaving. Sean picked up Castor and went up to his room, placing his new Pokémon on his bed while he packed his backpack. Once he was done, he grabbed a towel and went to take a quick shower. When that was finished, he went back to his room and, at first, couldn’t find Castor. Then he noticed a lump under his blankets, lifted them up, and found Castor tucked into a ball, asleep. Sean replaced the blankets as he got dressed in clean clothes, went downstairs to pack some food for himself and his Pokémon, grabbed his jacket from the coat-hanger, and left the house. He immediately went back in to recall Castor, grabbed his own keys, and locked the door. He started to leave again, but instead turned back around to get his backpack and a handful of berries to snack on on the way to Lexi and Route 22, and left the house one more time.

“Third time’s the charm,” he said to himself, plopping a marionberry into his mouth. He began humming to himself as he walked toward his great adventure.

Arrived, the next chapter has. I forgot to mention last time that there are going to be rules I ignore for the purposes of this story. Not rules like, "Up is up, down is down," but things like a Pokémon only being able to know four moves at a time, and only being able to carry six Pokémon with you at a time. Also, when capturing a wild Pokémon, it will be fully healed when brought back out, assuming it is given time. And tired Pokémon will get their rest (for their moves, not their health) when in their balls. I don't know how many of those changes were made in the anime, but that's what's happening here, so deal with it. Finally, if you like the story, or have criticisms, feel free to post them, knowing that you will not be hunted down for expressing your opinions. Well... no, no you won't.

*****

CHAPTER TWO

As they left the Pokémart, Sean checked his pack to make sure everything was in place. He had Castor’s Pokéball attached to his brown leather belt; the five empty Pokéballs Professor Fir had given him in his black denim jacket’s right inside pocket, a moment away should he need one; a healing potion in the left inside pocket with more in his black backpack; his Pokédex in the back pocket of his blue jeans; and last, but certainly not least, some food for Lexi, Xan, Castor, and himself in his backpack. Lexi had a similar arrangement, her pack containing their change of clothes, camping equipment, and toiletries, as well as healing potions for Xan and any other Pokémon she should capture on their journey. Sean had offered to carry the heavier pack, but Lexi had said she’d feel better knowing he had the food, since he wasn’t likely to let anything happen to it.

They took off down Route 22, which led south. The sun was shining and the wind was a cool, pleasant breeze. Sean’s shoulder-length, shaggy brown hair—which was tucked behind his ears, his black-framed glasses keeping it from falling—was blowing gently in the breeze. Lexi, with her pink tee-shirt, darker blue jeans, and white and pink shoes, practically hopped along the path, “super excited” about what lay ahead, as she had put it.

Cherubi and Cherrim, in their Sunshine Forms, called out to them as they passed, and Lexi took the time to add them to her Pokédex while Sean waved. Xan flew over to get a quick word in with them before flying back to soar above Lexi and Sean’s heads. They crossed a bridge over Cherry River, then went out onto the grassy area of the route. Small Kituru flew about, their stark white tails, heads, and underbellies glowing with reflected sunlight. One dove down close to them, landed, and gave them a terrible, whistling yelp.

“I think it wants to challenge us,” said Sean.

Lexi replied, “I’ve got this. Xan, why don’t you give it a Gust attack?” Xan began flapping her wings, kicking up dust and wind simultaneously. The wild Kituru responded by flapping its own wings, using Gust itself to counteract Xan’s attack. Kituru’s Gust broke through Xan’s and continued toward her. Xan took off, flying up and around the small wild Pokémon. The Kituru turned its grey back on them, following Xan as she flew around and around. “Tackle!” Lexi yelled, and Xan swooped in to crash into Kituru. The wild Pokémon righted itself in time to dodge a follow-up Tackle, and took flight after Xan. It quickly caught up with her and tried to grab hold with its talons, but Xan dove into the river. Kituru couldn’t follow it, so it hovered in place, trying to find where Xan had gone. With a splash, Xan charged out of the gentle river, Tackling the wild bird when its back was turned. Kituru fell onto the bridge and tried to get up.

“I’m going to capture it,” Lexi said, mostly to herself, as she took out one of her Pokéballs and threw it. Kituru was converted into energy and pulled into the Pokéball, which closed and fell to the ground. “Yay!” Lexi shouted, frightening the other Kituru that were around. A flock of them took off out of the tall wild grass. “I’ve caught my first wild Pokémon!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about, Lex,” Sean said, pointing behind her. Her Pokéball was moving on its own, as though the Kituru inside were struggling to get out. Lexi inhaled sharply, holding her breath, as the ball continued to fidget. After a few seconds, though, it stopped.

“YAY!” she yelled again, jumping up and down. “My first Pokémon, my first Pokémon, you ain’t got one, you ain’t got one,” she teased in a sing-song voice while doing her victory jig. Sean had seen the victory jig often throughout the years, since they first became friends in kindergarten and she had beaten him at a game of tic-tac-toe. It was no less annoying now than it had been then.

“Very nice. Shall we proceed, now?”

“Sour puss,” she scolded. Then she went to pick up her new Pokémon and attached it to her belt. She took out her Pokédex and recorded the Kituru.

“Kituru, the White-Tailed Pokémon. These Pokémon hover over fields, using their white underbellies to blend in with clouds and take enemies by surprise.”

“Excellent!” said Lexi. “I just love bird Pokémon!”

“Alrighty, then, let’s go,” said an impatient Sean.

They moved on south down the route, the forest on either side. Eventually, the path turned southeast, but continued onward nevertheless. They battled more wild Pokémon, mostly Rattata and Kituru, but neither of them attempted to catch any of the wild Pokémon. Two hours in, they met a man with a net, coming out of the forest with a bulging pack. He waved to them, and they waved back.

“How do you do?” Sean asked.

“I’m fantastic!” the man exclaimed excitedly. “There were so many bug Pokémon in the forest, I nearly went nuts.” He eyed the Pokéball on Sean’s belt. “Hey, we should battle! What do you say to that?”

“Sounds good to me,” answered Sean, removing Castor’s ball from his belt. The two combatants moved a good distance away from each other, with Lexi standing behind Sean, Xan perched on her should to watch the math. Pokéballs in hand, Sean and the bug-loving stranger squared off.

“Okay… First up, I choose Baird!” The man threw one of the three Pokéballs he had, and out popped a small, hairy green Pokémon with black and yellow stripes. Sean checked his Pokédex, but all it told him was that it was the Bearded Worm Pokémon, and that it was a bug type.

“As I only have one Pokémon, I’ll start with him. Go, Castor!” With a flash of white, Castor was free from his ball. He was far more alert than when Sean had first met him; this was due in no small part to the various trees on which he had nibbled over the last two hours. His dark orange-brown fur bristled as he gave Baird a fierce look.

“Baird, use String-Shot,” the opposing Trainer commanded.

Baird’s mouth worked and shot out thin white threads of string, covering Castor.

“Use Ember, Castor,” Sean said, and Castor opened his mouth and spewed out hot flames, hitting the bug Pokémon and sending it cringing away.

The bug catcher took his Pokéball and recalled Baird, then took his second ball from his belt. “Maybe this one will have more luck. Go!” Another Baird came next. It gave Castor a fierce look, but it was too adorable for it to strike any fear in him.

“Tackle attack, Baird!”

Baird charged with a speed Sean did not expect. “Chomp!” Sean shouted. As Baird drew closer, Castor opened his mouth and bit down as soon as Baird was within range. He shook his head around, shaking the trapped Pokémon. He threw it, and it did not get back up.

“Wow, you’re very good,” the bug catcher said as he recalled his Pokémon. “But your Pokémon must be tiring now. Yet I have another Baird who’s ready to go.” He threw his third and final Pokéball, and out popped a third Baird, identical in every way to the previous two.

Sean wasted no time. “Hit it with another Ember,” he instructed. Castor took a deep breath and spat out bouts of fire. Baird didn’t stand a chance. The bug catcher recalled his last Baird and pulled out his wallet.

“You’ve won fair and square,” he said defeatedly. “Here are your winnings.” He handed Sean sixty Pokédollars. “I should probably head back to Royal Town to heal up… how long will it take to get to Cherry Orchard?”

“We’ve been on the road out from Cherry Orchard for about two hours now,” Sean answered, putting his money in his own wallet, which he kept in his front right jean pocket so no one could steal it without him noticing.

“Oh, then you’re almost to Royal Town. Just another hour’s walk, I’d say. I’ve actually been in the forest all morning catching Pokémon, so I don’t know for sure exactly. Oh, well, I’d better get to it. See ya!”

“Bye,” Sean and Lexi both said. The bug catcher waved as he scurried back into the forest.

“Sean…” Lexi tugged on his sleeve. He looked to see where she was pointing, and noticed Castor was glowing. Sean stared open-mouthed as Castor grew to almost three times his original size. His body became barreled. His tail grew long, thin, and flat, and appeared to be scaly. His forefeet were still the same proportion, but his hind feet became large and partially webbed. His fur turned a dark red and became glossy. “I think he evolved.”

“I think you’re right,” Sean said. He checked what his Pokédex said and read it aloud. “Beavire, the Beaver Pokémon. This Pokémon uses its tail to absorb heat, then fan itself to become warmer. It enjoys eating rocks.” It listed Castor’s new height as three-feet-two-inches and weight as sixty pounds.

Castor ran up to Sean and nuzzled his nose against Sean’s chest. Sean patted Castor’s smooth, red fur and scratched his chin. He almost jumped at the sudden buzz coming from his Pokédex, trying to play it off like he was simply reaching for it so Lexi wouldn’t notice.

“It looks like Castor’s learned a new move,” he told Lexi. “Mud-Slap. Cool!”

“Lucky,” said Lexi, coming over to pet Castor. He seemed very happy to be receiving all the attention.

Castor’s hairy ears flicked, and he turned toward the forest. A small, white Pokémon had come out of the forest, apparently investigating all the commotion. It seemed to be friendly enough, and didn’t appear to be frightened by Castor. Xan chirped happily, as if inviting the Pokémon to join them. Sean checked his Dex.

“It’s a Ralts. A psychic type.” Ralts drew closer. Sean squatted down so as not to appear threatening. “Hello, there,” he called kindly. The Ralts drew even closer. She seemed hesitant, then turned back to the forest. Something moved among the trees, but Sean couldn’t see it. Ralts turned back to him and glided right over, hugging onto his knee. “Do… do you want to come with us?” Sean asked, a little startled. He looked to Lexi and saw her eyes were wide as she took in the adorable Pokémon. Ralts nodded, and Sean reached into his pocket for a ball. He held it to the Ralts and captured it. Unlike when Lexi captured Kituru, Ralts didn’t struggle once inside the Pokéball.

“I wonder what it was looking at,” Lexi said. Sean shook his head that he didn’t know, and stood up and looked into the forest.

“Is there anyone there?” he called, attaching the ball with Ralts to his belt. The leaves moved some more, but nothing came out. A small rumbling sound cut through the silence.

“What was that?” Lexi whispered.

“My stomach,” Sean answered. “I’m starving. Let’s take a lunch break.”

“Okay, I suppose I could eat.” They moved off the road into the grass, found some rocks that looked suitable as chairs, and sat down, plopping their bags on the ground. “I still can’t believe that Ralts just came right up to you and let you capture it.”

“I know,” Sean said. “I’ve never heard of that happening. Very strange. Let’s see what Dex says about it.” He flicked open his Pokédex and played the description.

“Ralts, the Feeling Pokémon. Ralts is very sensitive, and won’t appear if it senses hostile people or Pokémon.”

“What are you going to name her?” Lexi asked as Sean returned the Dex to his back pocket.

He took Ralts’ ball from his belt and released her. She turned around to him and gave his leg a quick hug before spinning about and staring at Lexi. “I was thinking Genève,” Sean answered. Ralts looked at him. “Does that work for you, little one?” She smiled and hugged him again, then sat next to where Castor had placed himself. “Genève it is, then.”

Sean took out the satchel of food from his backpack and handed a bag of Pokémon food to Lexi. She released Kituru and placed two small bowls of the food on a stone next to her. The two bird Pokémon landed and ate, Xan periodically chirping, Kituru yelping a response, the two Pokémon seemingly friends after their fight. Sean then gave Genève some food, then returned the bag to his pack and removed food for Lexi and himself. Castor, meanwhile, sniffed a stone, then began munching happily.

“Remember a few years ago when we were at your house,” Lexi asked after a short time, playing with her ponytail, ”and that Cherubi walked on in and parked itself on your lap?”

“Vividly,” Sean answered after swallowing a bite of his sandwich. “What about it?”

“It just seems like Pokémon are attracted to you somehow. Like they find you compelling to be around.”

“Are you suggesting I’m not?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s just…”

“I know what you mean. I think it’s because I’m so calm. They sense that about me and feel relaxed and safe near me. A similar thing happens with babies. I can usually calm down a crier.”

Lexi snorted.

The trees rustled again. Castor shifted his head toward the forest, and Genève stood up and began spinning happily.

“What in the world is in there?” Sean wondered aloud.

A small green and gold Pokémon shot out through the forest canopy. Sean had his Pokédex out quickly to scan it. It searched its database, but yielded only the words NO RECORD.

“No record?” Lexi asked after Sean showed her. “Did you get a good look at it?”

“It sort of looked like a Cherubi, I think, but it was bigger and gold. And it can fly, obviously.”

“That’s odd. We should ask Professor Fir about it on our way back.”

“Agreed.”

Everyone but Castor ate in silence, the crunch of stone the only sound coming from the large beaver. Once everyone was done, they packed up and continued southeast to Royal Town. Sean and Lexi kept all their Pokémon out, even Castor; he appeared big enough to keep up, and seemed keen on getting some exercise.

The final hour of travel went by as quickly as the first, and they soon found themselves walking into the small Royal Town. Sean had only been there once before, when he was a small child visiting his father’s brother in Pioneer City. It was just as he remembered: sounds of people about their business, but no one visible.

“Where is everyone?” asked Lexi.

“Probably at the bar,” Sean answered. “Come on, the Pokémon Center’s over there. We should rest these guys up and learn as much as we can about the gym leader.”

They recalled their Pokémon and Sean led the way down the dirt path to the Center. Inside, they handed their Pokémon to the large nurse, then went outside and made their way to the gym. There they saw a sign, which read:

Royal Town Gym, Home of Ken, the Solid, Down-to-Earth Ground Master

“Ground-types, eh?” Sean said to himself. “What do we have that can be effective against ground-types?”

“I have Xan,” Lexi said. “She’s immune to ground attacks. But didn’t Professor Fir say that she wouldn’t be useful in the first few gyms? Why is that?”

“Maybe they’re dual-typed. Let’s check the Pokédex for Pokémon that are part ground and part… whatever’s effective against flying. How about electric?” He checked the Dex. There were no electric/ground types. “Okay, ice?” None. “Rock, then.” This yielded a result: Geodude’s line.

“So a Geodude is probably what you’ll face,” said Lexi. “Or something else that knows rock moves. Or ice or electric.”

“Either way, we don’t have anything other than Xan that should be useful here, but the professor said she wouldn’t do… Let’s go back to the Center, get our Pokémon, and think this through.”

They walked back to the Pokémon Center, thinking of strategies to use against Geodude or any other ground-types. Once they got their Pokémon back, they sat at a table and thought some more.

“Well, we know that rock-types like Geodude are generally strong against physical attacks,” Sean began, “so we’d want something that has special attacks. Xan, Castor, and Gen have special attacks, but Castor is weak to ground and rock moves, and Xan is weak to rock moves, as well.”

“You’re still assuming he’s going to use Geodude,” Lexi reminded him. “We don’t know that for sure.”

“True,” Sean conceded, “but there are wild Geodude further southeast of Route 23.” He removed Gen’s Pokéball from his belt. “Whichever combination it turns out to be, be it dual ice or rock or electric, Xan still wouldn’t be a good choice, and neither would Castor. That just leaves Genève. So, do you want to face him first, or should I?”

“Oh, I’m not battling him,” she said, as though Sean should have known that.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to be a Trainer. I don’t want to make my pretty birds fight over a little badge. I want to be a Pokémon Breeder, take care of them and make sure they grow up healthy and strong. I’m only coming along with you so you don’t get into trouble.”

“When have I ever gotten into trouble?”

“The last time? When you let your Pokémon eat Professor Fir’s desk.”

“How was that my fault?”

“Castor was your Pokémon, you should have prevented it. A good Trainer would have prevented it. Now poor Professor Fir will have a huge chunk missing from his most prized desk.”

Sean laughed and stood up. “Whatever the case, I’m glad you’re here. It would be lonely going on this adventure myself. Well, we should get a move on. If we hurry, we should be able to face Ken, get the badge, and make it to Bridge Town before nightfall.”

Sean and Lexi placed their Pokéballs on their belts and began to leave, but before they had gone out the door Sean remembered the strange green and gold Pokémon they had seen earlier. He decided to inquire about it, so he went to the nurse.

“Miss, out on Route 22 my friend and I saw what looked like a Cherubi, but it was gold and much larger, it only had one… er, cherry, and it could fly. Does that sound like any Pokémon you’ve heard of?”

She leaned back and put her hand to her chin. “I’ve heard of many strange and new Pokémon being sighted in the forests. Some have seen this golden Pokémon of yours, some have seen strange four-legged Pokémon with antlers, and others have seen giant birds. No one knows what they are. Don’t you have a Pokédex?” Sean nodded that he did. “Did you check it?” Sean nodded again. “And you didn’t get any results, did you?” Sean shook his head this time. “Right. We’ve had professors from all over come to try to find out about them, some coming from as far as Unova. Still, no one’s made any record of any of them. They’ve never been able to see one, let alone catch one. Seeing one is said to be extremely lucky.”

“Maybe that’s the reason I caught my Ralts,” Sean said. “She just came up and asked for me to capture her.”

“That’s very odd, but you could be right. All I know is my momma told me that there are certain Pokémon in the world who act like guardians for all the other smaller, weaker Pokémon, or for us humans, or for both. Some might not get along, some might be best friends, we simply have no way of knowing until we find out more about them.”

Sean thanked the woman for her assistance and, Pokémon in hand, he and Lexi left and walked the short distance back to the gym and entered. Inside the large blue building they found naught but a dirt floor, some bleachers off to the sides, and one person at the far end with two small Pokémon out in front of him. As Sean and Lexi approached, they noticed that the two Pokémon were both Geodude.

“You owe me money,” Sean said.

“No, you forgot to bet me, loser.”

Sean smiled. “Hello there, sir!” he called out. “You must be Ken!”

The man looked up from his Geodude. “I am,” he said with a dramatically low voice. “Are you here to challenge me?”

“I am,” Sean mimicked.

“Okay, come on up. Will it be both of you, or just the one?”

“Just him, I’m going to sit down,” answered Lexi, moving to the bleachers.

“You know the rules, then?” Ken asked.

“Yes, yes. ‘Only use the Pokémon on my belt, no attacking fainted Pokémon,’ blah blah.” Sean was a bit impatient to begin, and extremely nervous. The nervousness expressed itself most commonly as arrogance.

“Good. Then let’s begin. Geodude, you’re up.”

He recalled one of the Geodude, but the other moved out onto the field. Sean let go of the Pokéball he had clutched in his hand the whole way from the Pokémon Center. “I choose Ralts.”

Genève looked around, studying the room she was in, before realizing she was in a fight. She hunched her shoulders and growled.

“Cute,” Ken smirked. “Geodude, Tackle.”

Geodude rushed toward Gen, gaining speed. She was so small, Sean didn’t think she would be able to withstand a single hit. “Double Team,” he told her. Her image flickered, then split, becoming two separate Ralts. Geodude picked one and rushed at it, but went through it and dissipated the image.

“Rock Throw,” Ken called.

“Use Teleport, Gen.” Genève disappeared and reappeared as Geodude picked up rocks from the terrain and threw them, disappearing just in time for the thrown rock to miss. “Hit it with Confusion,” Sean instructed next. Geodude was still throwing rocks, but Genève was teleporting safely out of the way. She placed her small, fingerless hands on her green helmet-like hair, and waves of psychokinetic energy struck out and hit Geodude. It seemed to work a treat, as Geodude did not recover.

Ken recalled his fallen Pokémon. “Very good. But this next Geodude is stronger. Go, Geodude!” Geodude sprang forth from its ball in a flash of white light. “Tackle!” It rushed forward, quicker than the last, and struck Gen hard. She fell backward, landing on the rocky ground and banging her head. Sean almost ran out onto the field, but she got up, a little slowly but steady nonetheless.

“Confusion,” Sean yelled. Placing her hands on her head, waves of energy struck out and knocked the Geodude back. It got up and started looking about wildly.

“Tackle it again,” Ken said. Geodude took off, but halfway across the gap separating it from Gen, it veered to the left, where it crashed into the bleachers opposite Lexi. It fell over, fainted.

“Damn…” Ken recalled Geodude, the red beam absorbing the small fainted boulder. “I can honestly say I didn’t expect to lose to a child, especially not so fast. But, you won, so you’ve earned the Solid Badge. Wait here while I go get it.”

Ken left through one of the back doors leading into what appeared to be an office. Sean turned to Genève to congratulate her, and found her glowing. She grew to twice her original height. Sean took out his Pokédex and checked it.

“Kirlia, the Emotion Pokémon. The happier its Trainer, the more cheerful and beautiful this Pokémon becomes.”

Lexi appeared behind Sean. “Hey, you evolved. Yay!” Genève spun around happily as Lexi clapped.

Ken came out of the back office with a fist closed. He saw that Gen had evolved into Kirlia, and looked at Sean and said, “So, your Pokémon evolved, too. Good for you. Here’s your badge.”

He handed Sean the small brown badge, and Sean held it up to the light. It was brown and parallelogram-shaped, with raised specks that resembled pebbles, making the whole thing look like the floor of the gym. Sean pinned the badge on the inside of his jacket, realizing he’d need to buy a badge case later.

“Congratulations, Sean,” Lexi said as Ken turned and walked away. “I’m so proud of you.” She bent down and kissed his cheek. “Now let’s get going. Like you said, we could probably make it to Bridge Town before dark, but only if we leave now.”

Sean, his cheeks red and burning, motioned for Genève to follow. “Good idea. One badge down, seven to go. I hope they’re all this easy.”

Behind them, Ken shouted, “I heard that!”

About the evolution: I totally agree with you on this. I looked to the games for when each Pokémon should level up, and in the games mine will have almost always leveled up at least once before the first gym. In the third chapter (which is coming) I definitely felt this a bit more, as more of Sean's Pokémon evolve. I'm tired right now (it's three in the morning), so I'm going to over-explain why I do the things I do: I make a list of all the gyms in the games, what level the leaders' Pokémon are, and try to get all my Pokémon to be a certain level above them. For example, Brock's highest level Pokémon in Blue was a level 14 Onyx, so I made my Pokémon all level 15; Misty's highest level Pokémon was level 21 Starmie, so I made all I Pokémon 25. I did math (I really like overcomplicating things) to get the average levels of... blah blah blah. It doesn't matter. All that's important is that I noticed the problem in this last chapter, and I'm going to change it.

About the first gym's easiness: Again, I agree with you. But the first gym was supposed to be easy, to lull Sean into a false sense of security, so he'll be MURDERED IN THE NEXT GYM!!! I mean... no, not that. Something completely different... Oh, yes, a wedding! Seriously though, you're right in thinking they'll get harder.

About the Pokémon personalities: The third chapter will delve a little deeper into their individualism. Or the fourth.

About Chapter Three: I have most of it written out already, but the finishing touches are still being applied. I've been absorbed in my finals (which start Monday), so that's why there's been a delay.

Finally! My final final is finally over! So, here's chapter three! Yay!

*****

CHAPTER THREE

"Kaiyu, finish it off with Magnitude!”

Sean’s newest Pokémon, Geodude, pushed himself into the air, then came crashing down, causing the ground to shake. The other Trainer’s Oddish tipped over and shook violently with the ground. Sean and the picknicker shook with it as well, until the tremors slowly began to die down. Oddish was done long before they finally ceased.

“No,” the girl wept, “my poor Oddish. You big meanie!” She returned her unconscious Oddish to its ball, stuffed her hand in her purse, and angrily shoved money at Sean. “Take it, jerk.”

“You challenged me, lady!” Sean snapped. “Don’t be such a sore loser.”

“I didn’t expect you to win, or I would never have challenged you.”

“Whatever. Let’s go, Lex.” Sean recalled Kaiyu and placed him next to Gen on his belt.

“Almost done here,” she said behind him. Xan was locked in battle with a Hoppip and had it on the ropes. “Hit it with another Vine Whip!” Vines leapt off the ground and struck out at the cottonweed Pokémon. It fell out of the sky and its Trainer, the picknicker’s camping partner, recalled it.

“Good match,” he said to her. He gave her the money he owed her. “Next time you won’t be so lucky.”

“That wasn’t luck, pal, it was skill.” She put the money in her wallet and replaced it in her pack. “Okay, Seanie, we can go now,” she said in a sweet voice. “Wait a minute… is Xan evolving?”

Sean looked at the small bird, only it wasn’t small anymore. It had grown to be almost as tall as Sean. Her under-feathers, breast, and face were green, whereas her back, wings, and tail were greyish brown. Each eye was covered with black, like makeup. Her throat had a black patch as well, and the wings had a white bar on them. Even Sean, who wasn’t as fond of birds as Lexi, had to admit she was beautiful.

“Icteriol,” Lexi read from her Pokédex. “Hm… if it’s alright with you, I’ll keep calling you Xan.” Xan’s chirp was harsher as Icteriol than it had been as Xantholus, but she was still obviously happy to keep her nickname.

“Congratulations, Lex,” Sean said. “You’ve finally evolved a Pokémon. I mean, yes, I’ve already evolved two, but, you know, good for you!” She punched his arm. “By the way, I thought you said you didn’t want to battle.”

“Yeah, well, I was bored, and he looked easy.” She looked at Kaiyu’s ball on Sean’s belt. “And could you please not use Magnitude when I’m battling right behind you?”

“Why not? Both of your Pokémon were flying types. If it bothered them, they could have just taken to the sky.”

“Yes, but I’m not a flying Pokémon, and it made me queasy.”

“Oh, quit your whining, I wrote you a poem. ‘Lo’, what is it I see before us—a city? Well, then we must away, perhaps ‘ere end of day?’”

She gave him a quizzical look, then beckoned for Xan to follow them. She took off, leaving Sean with his arms stretched out. When Lexi said nothing about his poem, he followed her. “What did you think? I should write a bunch of them down and sell ‘em or something.”

“You do that.” She squinted down Route 23, trying to see Bridge Town. She could see nothing. “Where’s this city? I don’t see anything.”

“Miss Lexi, what I see is simply, well, silly. Another poem! Are you remembering these?”

They trudged on, Lexi in silent regret of her decision to join Sean in his journey, Sean coming up with sillier and more elaborate poems with each step, inventing words as the need arose. After what seemed to be an eternity to Lexi and only a few minutes to Sean, but was in fact only thirty minutes, they arrived in Bridge Town. The town was split down the middle by Cherry River, the Pokémon Center and Pokémart on their side and, across the bridge after which the town was named, the Bridge Town Gym, the residents’ homes, and the exit to Route 24. They made their first stop at the Center, where they requested a room for the night. The nice older woman took their Pokémon with a large smile, handed Sean a key, pointed to the stairs leading to the top floor, and gave him directions to their room. The two travelers thanked the woman and went upstairs. Through the window, they could see the setting sun, bright rays basking the interior of the Pokémon Center in a beautiful ruby light.

Their room was small, most of the space taken up by the bed, which was more than big enough for the two of them. Sean threw his backpack in the middle of it, stretched, and yawned. It had been a long day: he had received his first Pokémon, evolved it, caught another, evolved it, won his first badge, and caught a third Pokémon. Now, they were in the town where he’d get his second badge. He was sorely tempted to go back downstairs, get his Pokémon, and challenge the second gym leader, but decided against it.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Lexi informed him as a way of asking if he needed to use the bathroom before she went in.

“Okay, I’ll make us some dinner,” Sean responded as a way of saying he didn’t. As Lexi stepped into the bathroom, Sean took the cooking equipment from his pack and got to work. He cooked a pot of beans over the fire on the patio outside, fried up a few strips of bacon, getting them perfectly chewy before cutting them up and tossing them into the beans. Next, he took a loaf of bread, cut it down the middle, and set it on the grill, getting a nice golden-brown. Then he spread garlic butter on it, swallowing his watering mouth frequently. “It feels like its missing something,” he said to no one in particular. He snapped his fingers when he realized what it was, took the bag of spinach, lettuce, and broccoli from his pack, and opened and placed the greens into a medium-sized serving bowl he found in the room. By the time he was done, Lexi was, too.

“If you don’t hurry up, I’ll eat it all by myself,” Sean warned, setting the dinner table in their room. Hair still in the towel, she sat down opposite Sean, not knowing whether or not he was joking, but not willing to risk it.

After the meal, they placed their backpacks down in the middle of the bed, arranging them so they acted as a sort of barrier, and went to sleep.

Sean, however, was unable to fall to sleep. Just as the night before, he waited for the song. Just as the night before, it did not come. When he finally fell asleep, he was wearing a frown on his face.

The next morning found Sean up earlier than he normally was. Lexi was still asleep, and Sean was content to leave her be. He went downstairs to collect his Pokémon and went outside. It was dark and very cold, causing Sean’s teeth to chatter. He let Castor out and walked beside him, the beaver Pokémon’s body warming him splendidly. Castor didn’t seem to mind the cold, and Sean led him down the street and across the bridge, stopping occasionally to allow Castor to sniff something. The Bridge Town Gym wasn’t as large as the Royal Town Gym, but that meant nothing. Sean read the sign hanging out front.

Bridge Town Gym, Home of John, the Cold-Hearted Ice Master

“Ice types?” Sean almost laughed aloud. “Sound fun, Castor?” His companion grunted an affirmation before they headed back to the Pokémon Center.

It was still early, the sun not yet up, fog all about. Lexi would not likely be up yet, and the gym didn’t look open, so Sean decided to pit his Pokémon against each other behind the Pokémon Center. There was a training area a good distance from the Center, where they wouldn’t wake up anyone with their noise. He released his other Pokémon and set the instructions.

“Castor’s doing the fighting in the next gym, you two, so we need to practice to ensure victory.” Genève and Kaiyu had serious expressions on their faces. “I want you two to fight him, separately, but don’t hold back. I’m not going to command you, so you’ll have to do what is necessary to win. Castor won’t be holding back and I won’t be telling him what to do either. Are you ready?” Everyone nodded. “Good. First up, Castor versus Kaiyu.”

Sean and Genève moved to the side of the training area as Castor and Kaiyu squared off. Genève held onto Sean’s arm as she watched her two friends fight.

Kaiyu started things off ready to go. He lifted himself off the grown and slammed back down, causing a small tremor. Castor lost his balance and fell, but regained his footing soon enough. Kaiyu lifted himself off the ground again but this time Castor charged toward him, flames surrounding him, and crashed into the rock Pokémon. Kaiyu tumbled backward, then picked himself up, brushing off the attack. Kaiyu charged right back at Castor, but Castor countered by Chomping down, shaking and throwing Kaiyu aside. This seemed to do more damage to Castor than Kaiyu, but neither Pokémon were out of the match yet.

Kaiyu picked up nearby rocks and started throwing them at Castor. Castor backed away, the rocks bouncing off his head. He turned and spat out fire, setting the grass aflame and obstructing Kaiyu’s view. Kaiyu tried to see his opponent but couldn’t, so he just kept throwing rocks. A few found their way to Sean and Genève’s location, but the psychic Pokémon, her arm still clutching Sean’s, Teleported them out of the way. Through the flames charged Castor, crashing again into Kaiyu, this time landing a direct hit. Kaiyu struggled to get up, and was just barely able to do so. Sean was surprised at his tenacity, and even more surprised when he started to glow.

Sean thought he was going to Selfdestruct, an attack he had not yet seen used, but instead Kaiyu evolved. The new Pokémon stood tall, still weak but confident. Sean took out his Pokédex.

“Graveler, the Rock Pokémon. This Pokémon either does not notice or does not care when pieces fall off it as it rolls about.”

Kaiyu rolled forward, ramming into Castor, then spun about and threw rocks at him as he tried to shake off the daze. The rocks hit with brute force, much harder than Geodude had thrown them, and proved to be too much for Castor to handle. He fainted, and after seeing who had won, Kaiyu fainted as well.

“So, that’s a tie,” said Sean, recalling the two combatants. Genève followed him back to the Pokémon Center where he handed his fainted Pokémon to the nurse and went to a table to sit. He was suddenly tired, so he recalled Genève and set his head down on his arms, quickly falling to sleep.



“C’MON, WAKE UP!”

Someone who was undoubtedly very annoying was pushing his arm.

“We don’t have all day, now get up! You have a badge to win.”

Sean opened his eyes and squinted through the brightness of the room’s lights at Lexi. “What time is it?” he asked, sounding groggy.

“Eight.”

“At night?!” He yelled the question as he jumped to his feet.

“No, in the morning. See that there sun? Yeah, those only happen in the day.”

“Don’t belittle me. Come on, I have a badge to win.” He pushed past her and out the door.

“Have you planned anything, or have you just spent the morning drooling on yourself?”

“I have not been…” Sean glanced down at his sleeve, then wiped the drool from it and his mouth. “Yes, I have something planned. I went out this morning and saw that this gym is an ice gym. Sounds perfect for Castor, no?”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

A quick walk brought them to the gym, and when they went inside they found an ice skating rink. Immediately wishing for a heavy coat, Sean looked at all the empty seats, then went down the stairs to search for the gym leader. But he and Lexi were the only ones in the gym.

“Hello?” he called. “I’ve come to challenge John! I mean you no harm! We haven’t come for the children!”

“What are you doing?” Lexi asked.

“Listening to my voice’s echo,” Sean answered, as though the question was a dumb one.

At the other side of the gym, doors opened and a man stepped into the room, wearing a festive holiday sweater and a furry hat. Sean’s right eyebrow lifted, seemingly of its own volition, at the sight of the gym leader.

“‘Sup!” the man called.

“The sky!” Sean answered, feeling witty. He turned to Lexi, who rolled her eyes. Wiping the smile from his face, he turned back to the man.

“Truth, man, truth!” The man Sean presumed was John sat down at the bottom of the staircase, putting on ice skates. “You got any?” he asked, indicating the skates.

“No,” Sean answered. “Ice isn’t really my thing.”

“Aw, man, that’s alright. Everybody’s different, bro. To each his own, you know?”

“Sure…”

“A little bird told me you were looking for the gym leader, John. Is that true?”

“Yes, it most certainly is. The biggest clue, I think, was when I shouted that I was looking to challenge John.”

“Yo, that’s so… man, it’s just so… Hey, what’s your name, man?”

“Sean,” Sean sighed.

“What?! That’s so cool, dude! My name’s John, and your name is Sean! Whoah, my mind is literally blown!”

Sean wasn’t quite sure what was happening. Was this man really a gym leader? “So… are we going to do this or what?”

“Oh, sure bro. I get it, you’re busy, probably got things to do. No, that’s cool. I guess we can get started. Hey, you’re not going to use fire or rock types, are you? That would suck, man.”

“Actually, that’s exactly what I was planning on using,” Sean answered. He walked out onto the ice and carefully made his way to his side of the rink as John squinted at him.

“Oh, dude, that’s not cool. I got ice types, man. And if you use fire, the ice will melt, and I’ll have to get it frozen again. Do you have any idea what kind of hassle that is? Naw, man, I’m just kidding. I got ice types, they can just re-freeze it if necessary. Man, I’m really craving an apple all of a sudden. Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have any apples, would you?”

Sean pretended not to hear the question. “Okay, Castor, go!”

The large Pokémon was not too thrilled to be called out into such a cold environment. He gave Sean a look that left no doubt about his feelings on the matter. Sean shrugged apologetically.

“Aw, beautiful Pokémon, bro. He looks like he could eat a whole mess of apples. Oh, I choose Vanillite.”

An ice cream cone? The man is using an ice cream cone!

“Castor, use Flame Charge.”

Castor’s newest move sprang to life as he charged at Vanillite, fire spreading from his head, along his fur, to his tail. As he neared Vanillite, the small ice Pokémon slid to the side, and as Castor tried to stop he slid all the way to John’s side of the rink.

“Whoah! You okay, little buddy?” John asked as Castor smashed into the wall. Castor seemed fine, however, and got back into the match. “Yeah, you show that Vanillite what you’re made of! Go, Castor!”

“You realize you’re cheering for my Pokémon, right?” called Sean, smiling at the goofy man. In the stands, he could hear Lexi giggling.

“No, man, this Pokémon’s on my side, Vanillite’s on your side. Castor, use… wait, what moves do you have? Hold on a minute…”

“Castor, use Ember!”

“Uproar!”

Vanillite started shaking, and the loudest noise Sean had ever heard echoed all around the small gym.

“Bad idea!” John shouted, although no one heard him.

Castor seemed to go crazy with the sudden noise, and spewed bouts of flame at the small snowy Pokémon. It fainted, and mercifully the noise died out.

“That sucks, man. I told you, fire wins out against ice every time. So who will you use next?”

“John, Vanillite is yours, remember?”

“What? Oh, right.” Even from the distance separating the two, Sean could see John’s lower lip quiver. “Poor thing. You didn’t deserve this. Don’t worry, your big brother will avenge you! Go, Vanillite!”

Another Vanillite popped out, no bigger or more intimidating than the previous.

“Don’t use—” Sean began.

“Uproar!” John cried. Then, realizing what he’d done, he shouted, “Wait, no—”

The small Pokémon cut its master off with the extremely loud sound. Sean’s teeth jarred and his bones quaked as the sound reverberated off the walls. “Ember!” he shouted, but Castor did not seem to hear. “Castor, use Ember!” Instead of doing anything, Castor simply fell over.

Sean recalled his fainted Pokémon and reached for Kaiyu. He tilted his head into his right shoulder, his left hand covering his ear, but still it didn’t help. Vanillite kept at it, and Sean wasn’t sure if he would survive. His brain felt like it was turning to jelly. As he grasped at his belt, the ice began to crack, long breaks reaching both competitors. From the corner of his eye he saw Lexi with her hands over her ears, eyes squeezed shut. Finally, he was able to get to Kaiyu’s ball and throw it.

As Kaiyu came out into the arena, Vanillite’s Uproar ceased.

“Hmm…” John shouted. “That’s lucky for you!”

“What?!” Sean shouted, having seen John’s lips move but not hearing what he said.

“Huh?!”

“Kaiyu, use Rock Throw!”

Kaiyu grabbed bits of itself and threw them with amazing precision at the icy Pokémon.

“Avalanche, Vanillite!”

A fierce wind kicked up, and flakes of ice flew up into the air, gathering together and thickening before crashing down on Kaiyu, burying him under several feet of snow. The two human combatants stood still as they waited for something to happen. Then, the cracked ice cracked even more, and the snow fell in. Kaiyu rolled aside, then charged at Vanillite. The small Pokémon was surprised by the sudden movement, and fainted when hit.

“NO!” yelled John. “What cruel fate does Destiny have for thee, my precious snow angels?!”

“Is that it? Are you out?” Sean really hoped he didn’t have another Vanillite on his belt.

“No, man, not quite. You still have to face the terrible, horrible, terrifying, horrifying… Spheal! It’s all up to you now, buddy!”

From her seat, Lexi yelled, “It’s so frickin’ cute!”

“Water Gun, Spheal!”

A beam of water shot from the adorable little Pokémon’s mouth, hitting Kaiyu hard, knocking him rolling back into the wall.

“You okay, Kaiyu?” Sean asked. Kaiyu got to his feet and nodded.

“Water Gun again!”

“Dodge it, Kaiyu!”

Kaiyu tried to dodge it, but he was too slow and was hit again. Sean could tell he wasn’t doing very well, and didn’t see how he was still up, so he reached for his Pokéball to recall him. However, before he could, Kaiyu rolled toward Spheal and began to glow white.

“Hey, man, what is he doing?” John asked. “Is he… evolving?”

“I doubt it,” Sean answered.

“Spheal, jump down the cracks in the ice! Get away from him!”

Spheal escaped just in time as Kaiyu exploded, sending bits of rock and chunks of ice raining down on everyone. As the smoke cleared, Sean saw a large crater with Kaiyu at the bottom, knocked out cold. Sean recalled him.

“Okay, Genève, let’s finish this!”

Genève spun happily in the still-falling bits of ice particles, as though it was a snowy day.

“Use Water Gun again, Spheal!”

Genève, still dancing, Teleported away from the water’s path, causing Sean to get soaked. As he stood shivering, she reappeared behind Spheal.

“Use Confusion!” Sean shouted as his teeth chattered. Gen struck out, and after the wave of energy hit Spheal it began to look around the room, searching for his prey. When his eyes found John, he charged.

“Does someone need a hug?” John asked, arms reaching out. Spheal opened his mouth and bit down hard on John’s arm. “OW!” he yelled. “What the hell are you doing?! She’s the enemy, not me!” Spheal didn’t let go, however; he seemed to bite down harder.

“I’d recall my Pokémon if I were you,” Sean called.

“You would? That’s probably a—ow!—good idea. Okay, Spheal, return!” His Pokémon returned to its ball, and he rubbed his arm, large strands of Spheal saliva gooping down onto the ice. “I guess that means you win. Congratulations, man, that’s really cool. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks. So, uh, the…”

“The what? Oh, the badge! Yeah, here you go.” John reached into his poket as he skated to Sean. He pulled out a small white badge, which looked like an intricately-designed snow flake. “Here’s the Cold Badge.”

“Wow, it’s beautiful,” said Sean, admiring it before placing it in his newly-purchased badge case next to the Solid Badge.

“Aw, thanks, man! You know, I make them myself. Each one’s unique, just like a real snow flake. I want you to take it, go off, become the Marion Champion, and whenever you see that badge you’ll think of your old pal John and all the adventures we’ve had together.”

“Right… Thanks again, John. You’ll be okay by yourself?”

“Of course, dude, real sweet of you to ask.” Sean turned and started walking toward the gym’s exit, Lexi already heading the same way. “Say hi to Cindy for me!”

Sean turned to tell John he didn’t know anyone named Cindy, but John was gone.

“Where… You know what? I don’t care. Let’s go, Lexi.”

“Way ahead of you!” she called. “Why was he called the cold-hearted ice master? He’s one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever met.”

The two kids left the gym, and as the doors shut John yelled, “Guys! Help! I fell down the crack in the ice!”

Okay, guys, I know you've all been waiting so very patiently for the rest of this story... What do you mean, you've not been waiting at all? Well, why... Whatever. I've rewritten the last three chapters, fixed some spelling errors, and whatnot, and here is chapter four. I just got off track, is all. I stopped being into writing, which happens occasionally, but I'm back, baby! Here's Chapter Four. SPOILER ALERT: There aren't going to be any ninja showdowns. Those come later.

*****

CHAPTER FOUR

With his second gym victory and his second Marion League badge, Sean was in a very cheerful mood. He and Lexi enjoyed the cool mid-morning air on their walk back to the Pokémon Center, Sean walking with a skip in his step. As they walked, they spoke of their encounter with the strange John, laughing at his laid-back manner and cluelessness. The doors to the Pokémon Center hissed open as they walked through, and Sean continued toward the nurse to give her his tired Pokémon.

As they waited for Sean’s Pokémon to heal, they had a scrambled-egg-and-sausage breakfast with copious amounts of ketchup. A man walking by made a disgusted face at the sight of all the ketchup, which made Sean and Lexi laugh even more. After breakfast, eager to continue to Pioneer City, Sean grabbed his Pokémon and the two adventurers left heading east onto Route 24. However, separating them from Pioneer City was the small Quiet Town.

From what Sean’s father had told him, Quiet Town was so named because of the small number of people who resided within it. There were only ten people who called Quiet Town home, and three of them lived and worked at the Quiet Town Pokémon Center. There was no gym, no Pokémart, nothing that would warrant a visit; it was just a waypoint for travelers heading to or from Pioneer City, which was a short distance to the south.

The road to Quiet Town was, as Sean put it, quiet. They did not see any other Trainers heading toward them, nor did they see or hear any wild Pokémon. The weather became worse with each step, fog rolling in until, by the time they had arrived at their destination, they couldn’t see anything that was more than five feet away from them. Quiet Town itself was aptly named, Sean and Lexi decided, as there wasn’t a single person walking the street. There were no sounds of life coming from either of the three homes, nor from the Pokémon Center, which they only knew were there because Sean remembered them from his last trip. There were still no wild Pokémon scurrying about, at least none that they could see or hear. With the whole town mired in thick fog, even their footsteps were quiet, the fog seeming to absorb all the sounds that might wish to be made. Lexi returned Xan to her Pokéball, not wanting to lose her new best friend in the fog.

“I don’t like this,” Sean said, circling his finger around the button on Castor’s Pokéball. “Something’s definitely not right about this place.”

“Oh, stop, you’re just being paranoid.” From the sound of her voice, Sean thought Lexi was trying to convince herself rather than him. “Let’s check in the Pokémon Center. The nurse will tell you everything’s normal.”

“Gee, I would love to, but I can’t see anything. I think I’d rather leave. I’m not above leaving and, what a coincidence, there’s a road! Let’s go.”

“Come on!” Lexi grabbed his arm to prevent him from going anywhere. “I’m sure, with the both of us working together, we can find the pesky Pokémon Center.”

“Well,” Sean said, “I suppose you could use Xan’s Gust attack to blow some of the fog out of our way. Then we’d be able to see enough for me to get my bearings, at least.”

“There’s using your noggin!” Lexi, still clutching Sean by his arm, released Xan from her ball. “Use Gust, Xan! Let’s try and clear this fog.”

Xan’s larger wings were able to get the job done, for the most part. The Gusts cleared the fog for a few seconds, which was long enough for Sean to recognize which way he was facing and determine where the Pokémon Center was. Arm in arm, he dragged Lexi toward it.

The doors had to be pulled to the side, whatever mechanism they used to detect when someone was nearby apparently broken. Upon seeing the interior, Lexi’s hand moved down to grab Sean’s. The entire Pokémon Center was empty, deserted, appearing as though no one had inhabited the building in months. Cobwebs adorned the ceiling corners. Sean jumped when he saw a Galvantula below a counter. The Pokémon scurried out of the open doors before anyone could do anything about it. “I hate spiders…” Sean muttered under his breath. The stairs that led to the top floor of the Center were in disrepair, some steps missing chunks, some steps missing altogether. The back door swayed slightly, making it look like someone had just left.

“I think now would be a great time to go,” Sean said, clutching Lexi’s hand and trying to pull her out of the building.

“Don’t you want to know what happened here?” she asked, not budging from her spot. “Aren’t you curious?”

“Not even a little. Let’s go.”

“Well, I am. There has to be a reasonable explanation for this.”

A noise sounded from one of the houses outside, causing both Sean and Lexi to start and turn around. They scooted closer together as they peered in vain into the fog, trying to determine who or what had made the sound.

“Okay, I’m done with this,” Sean said, reaching for a Pokéball on his belt. “Come on, Genève. Lead us out of here.”

Genève reached up and took Sean’s free hand and began to lead the two through the fog toward what Sean assumed was Route 25, the road to Pioneer City. Lexi was still squeezing his hand, alertly looking at every wisp of fog that looked like it hid something dangerous. After a few steps, however, Genève stopped.

“What is it, Gen?” Sean asked, trying to see anything through the fog.

“Who’s there?” a voice boomed from in front of them. Sean cursed under his breath as his heart began pounding furiously. Gen, the protective Pokémon that she was, moved in front of Sean, ready to fight off whatever unseen threat lay ahead.

Swallowing against the dryness in his mouth, Sean answered, “We’re Trainers on our way to Pioneer City.”

After a moment, the booming voice called, “You sound like children.”

“Well, I don’t like the world ‘child’, but I suppose…”

The figure of a large man emerged through the fog. “Oh, good,” he said, coming fully into view. He was extremely tall, taller than any person Sean had ever seen. He was big, too, at least half as wide as he was tall. He had a scraggly white beard and thick white hair. He wore a dark red shirt and a black apron, his hands covered in some kind of black gunk. “My name’s Gerry. Come with me, it’s not safe up here.”

Without waiting for them, Gerry took off into the obscure distance. Still holding hands, Sean, Lexi, and Gen followed the giant of a man. He led them around the back of the largest of the three houses to a trapdoor in the ground, which was hidden quite well behind a bush. Heaving the thick, solid metal door open with one hand, he motioned for the newcomers to head down. Sean recalled Gen to her Pokéball before doing as he was told, following Lexi as she climbed first. As he stepped off the ladder, he was stunned to see a small makeshift village in the underground cave.

Several tents were set up, crammed close together in the tight-fitting space the cave provided. There was an electronic stove in the center of the encampment, which at the present moment a Galvantula was charging with its electric powers. A woman stood with her hands over the stove, warming them against the chill. When she saw Gerry and his two companions, a withered smile spread across her slightly wrinkled yet attractive face.

“Well, well, Ger, who have we here?” she asked, coming up to them and putting a small hand on Gerry’s shoulder.

“Hello, dear,” he said soothingly. “These are some visitors that were passing through our little Quiet Town. They didn’t know it wasn’t safe to travel through these parts in the middle of the day.”

“What’s going on here?” Sean asked, trying not to sound too alarmed. “Why is everyone down here?”

“We’re down here because it’s safer here than up there,” answered Gerry, pointing upward. “Oh, sorry honey, where are my manners? Folks, this is my wife, Peggy.”

“Hello, dears,” Peggy said sweetly.

“Hello, Peggy, I’m Sean.”

“I’m Lexi,” she said with a wave.

“Why is it safer down here than it is up there?” Sean asked, eager to get back on track.

“Team Blitz,” Peggy answered. She seemed to think that was enough of an answer, as she didn’t say anything else.

“Team Blitz?” Sean scratched his itchy eyelash. “What’s that?”

“You’ve never heard of Team Blitz?” Gerry asked incredulously. “They’re a criminal organization intent to take over the world.” Gerry stretched before sitting down, rubbing his hands together before the electric stove. “Nothing new, really. I’ve seen dozens of these so-called Teams in my day, and they’re all the same. ‘We want to take over the world, pay attention to us!’ But rather than counting on idle threats and intimidation, Team Blitz actually does what they say they’ll do. They don’t care who they have to hurt, if they want something they’ll do whatever they have to to get it.”

“Why hasn’t anyone tried to put a stop to them?” Lexi asked.

“They have powerful friends, and powerful Pokémon they force to serve them.”

“How do they expect to take over the world?” Sean asked. “That seems a somewhat lofty goal.”

“The last time they were here, they said something about harnessing the power of the sun and moon,” said Peggy. “They were hush with the details on how they were going to do this, but from what I’ve heard, they want the sun’s power to make powerful weapons, and the moon’s power to influence the tide and hold coastal cities like Unova hostage under the threat of flooding. They’re all insane.”

“Obviously,” said Sean. “Why isn’t it safe to walk the streets here in the day? What interest do they have in Quiet Town?”

“They’re here searching for the Guardian,” replied Peggy. “You’re familiar with the Guardian, I trust.”

“Yes,” Lexi said. “It’s a powerful Pokémon that protects life in Marion. With its three charges, it roams all of Marion, making sure everything and everyone is safe. It is also said to be the reason the sun and moon rise.”

“Correct, young lady!” Peggy clapped her hands together. “Now, no one has ever seen this Pokémon, but legend has it the Guardian makes its home in this area. Its charges are said to be brothers, each one the reason certain aspects of Marion are as beautiful as they are. Let’s see… there’s Travadin, the Forest protector, Vodva, the Water protector, and Utri, the Mountain protector.”

“And don’t forget,” chimed in Gerry, “the sun and moon!”

“I’m getting to that, Gerald! Yes, yes, the Guardian is also friends with the sun and moon. Back before people were as learned as we are now, they thought the Guardian communicated with the actual sun and moon, but recently we’ve started to believe the sun and moon are powerful Pokémon.” Peggy sighed. “But, unfortunately, these are just legends and rumors. No one knows if they’re true. At least, not anymore. Team Blitz seems to think they’re true. Which has brought them to our Quiet Town.” She sighed again. “It used to be quiet and peaceful here, which is why it was named Quiet Town. Now, it’s just quiet and deserted.”

“Why don’t you just leave?” Sean asked. “Contact the authorities in Cherry Orchard?”

“We’ve tried. Police have come here and searched all over the forest, but have never been able to find a single shred of evidence that Team Blitz even exists.”

“Why don’t you move away, then?” asked Lexi.

“Two reasons: One, we don’t want to. Quiet Town has been our home since we were born. To abandon it would be to abandon a big piece of ourselves. And two…”

“Two,” Gerry said gruffly, “is Team Blitz owns the police!”

“Oh, they do not,” Peggy chided.

“Yes they do! Everytime we’ve gone to them in Cherry Orchard, they made it unmistakably clear we were not welcome to stay there. Not that we’d want to, anyway. Too many people.”

Suddenly, shouting could be heard from the town above. Everyone in the encampment stopped breathing as they tried to listen to the muffled shouts. While most of the shouting was impossible to understand, they were able to hear someone shout, “There it is! Get it before it escapes!”

“The Guardian!” Gerry whispered harshly. “They’ve found the Guardian! We can’t allow them to capture it!”

“Then let’s go!” Sean suggested. “Do any of you have Pokémon?”

“Of course we do,” Gerry said. “We may be a small town, but we’re not without our defenses, meager though they may be. But, perhaps with your help, we’ll be able to get in a few good licks before they leave.”

Gerry pushed past Sean and Lexi, gently moving them aside as he climbed the ladder and lifted the trapdoor, thinking it was too heavy for one of them to lift. Sean’s adrenaline pumping, he followed Gerry up the ladder, Lexi right on his heels. As soon as he stepped off the ladder he took Castor’s ball from his belt, ready for action. He helped Lexi, then they followed Gerry around the house to the road. The fog, Sean noticed, had significantly lessened, and he could see clearly enough to see what was going on.

Five people dressed in yellow jumpsuits with black lightning bolts up the legs and sleeves and on the chest were chasing a small golden Pokémon. Sean and Lexi both recognized it as the one they had seen the previous day. It was close enough for Sean to get a better look at it: The Guardian, if that’s what it was, looked like a golden Cherubi, although it wasn’t quite the same. For one thing, it was much bigger, and it could fly. It was exercising its flying abilities by darting around the yellow-clad people as they tried to capture it with a net.

“Fools!” a man’s voice yelled from the fog to Sean and Lexi’s left. “Out of the way!”

A man dressed in a black jumpsuit with a single golden lightning bolt on his chest came into view out of the fog, pushing the others out of his way. In his hand was something that looked like a Pokéball, although it was unlike anything Sean had seen. Instead of having a red top half, it was purple. There were raised pink circles on either side of the button. Directly above the button was a white letter M.

“With this, I can capture any wild Pokémon,” the black-clad man said. “That includes you, Guardian.”

For the first time, the golden cherry appeared frightened instead of amused. Sean looked around for something to grab, a stick or rock or something, and found a branch. He threw it as hard as he could just as the man threw his ball. The dire situation must have helped his aim, because the branch and ball met in midair. With a crack, the ball flew into a tree, breaking in half. The Guardian turned to Sean and gave him a grateful smile.

“WHO DID THAT?!” the man yelled, looking around wildly. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW RARE THOSE DAMN THINGS ARE?!”

“No, as a matter of fact, I don’t,” Sean answered, stepping forward so the man could see him. “But I don’t care, either, so…”

“Who are you, kid?”

“The name’s Sean.” He bowed dramatically, the arrogance brought on by nervousness showing itself. “And you are?”

“I’m Stefan, leader of Team Blitz. This is official criminal organization business, so if you wouldn’t mind BUTTING OUT, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Well, Stefan, thank you for asking so gentleman-like, but I’m afraid we cannot allow you to harm that innocent Pokémon. Turn and leave now, or we’ll make you.”

Stefan stared perplexedly at Sean, mouth slightly agape. Gerry and Lexi stepped forward, Pokéballs in hand. Stefan pivoted on his heel to stare at his cronies, then pivoted back to face the three challengers before bursting out in laughter.

“You think,” Stefan managed after catching his breath, “that you can defeat us? Defeat all of us? You are either crazy good or just plain crazy.” He reached for the Pokéballs at his belt. “Let’s see which it is. Go, guys!”

He threw all three of his Pokéballs, releasing Kirlia, Gloom, and Icicus. Sean had never seen an Icicus before: it was cute and furry, its body and tail the same length and width; its tail had black and white rings on it, and the fur on its body was white with a slight bluish tint; its face had a mask-like white with black rings around the eyes; its fur-padded feet had clawed toes that appeared to be able to do some damage if they got ahold of you. Sean finished admiring the new Pokémon, then released all three of his own Pokémon. Castor, Genève, and Kaiyu faced off against Stefan’s Pokémon in what appeared to be an equal fight. However, the Team Blitz henchmen were not about to be left out of the fight, and they released their own Pokémon. Three Pikachu and two Jolteon joined the fight.

Lexi released Xan and Kituru, who flew above the fighting area. Gerry threw his own Pokéball, releasing Leafeon. Galvantula appeared from behind the house, joining Gerry. With all their Pokémon, plus the Guardian, the battle would be eight versus eight.

Sean didn’t quite know how to explain what happened next. It was as if everything went right for Lexi, Gerry, and himself, and everything went wrong for Team Blitz. Stefan’s Kirlia’s Confusion attack backfired, causing itself to become Confused, giving Castor the opportunity to Crunch down on it, fainting it. Genève took out Gloom with its own Confusion, and Kaiyu’s Rock Throw knocked out the furry little Icicus, which made Sean feel a little bad. Lexi’s bird Pokémon combined their Gust attacks to take out both of the Jolteon and one of the Pikachu, while Galvantula and Leafeon defeated the last two Pikachu with a Tackle each. The Guardian simply stood by, eyes closed and unmoving.

“You’ve won this round, you little snots!” Stefan fumed. “But know this: You cannot stop us. We will harness the power of the sun and the moon, with or without the Guardian’s help! Come on, boys! Someone fetch my Master Ball.”

Team Blitz left, fading off into the foggy forest.

“We did it!” Lexi cheered, breaking the silence once Team Blitz was out of view. Sean jumped and the Guardian opened its eyes. “That was amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Sean said. “I was there. It was like we knew exactly what to do, like our Pokémon had rehearsed the fight a thousand times before.”

“I don’t want to take anything from your victory,” the golden Pokémon said in a small, quiet voice they had no problem hearing, “but your success was due, at least in part, to me.”

“You can talk,” Lexi said, as though she was informing someone who did not know they could talk.

“Yes, I can talk, Lexi. I am the Guardian, after all. Although I prefer to be called by my name, Sulisia.” Sulisia smiled warmly at Genève, who was twirling around happily. “I see I was correct in my assumption that you would be a good Trainer for her, Sean!”

“What do you mean?” Sean asked.

“Remember when you first met Genève? When she came out of the forest and allowed you to catch her?”

“Like it was yesterday,” Sean said. Then, realizing it was yesterday, he added, “Wait…”

“She allowed you to catch her because I sent her to you,” Sulisia said. “She was all alone in the forest, too shy to approach any of the wandering Trainers. I found her and learned she wanted a Trainer, so I stayed with her until I found someone who would treat her with the kindness and love she deserves. And, lo’, there you were. I sensed greatness in you, Sean. So, I sent her to you. And, of course, I also sensed that you would need her help in your travels.”

Genève smiled and twirled around even faster, spinning so fast Sean was sure she’d get sick.

“Well, then,” Sean said, smiling at Gen, “I guess that means I owe you a big thanks. I am very glad to have her on the team.”

“You are most welcome,” Sulisia said warmly. “Now, we have something important to discuss, this Team Blitz business. I’m afraid our time together here will be short, for I see the moon may be in danger. Stefan’s goal for Team Blitz is to steal the powers of the sun and moon, or, rather, the Pokémon who your ancestors believed to be the sun and moon spirits who manifested themselves on our world. Dagrutu is the great Sun Hawk, and his mate, Notsin, is the great Moon Heron. Notsin is Stefan’s first target. How he found her, I do not know, but it is imperative that he not capture her. With her, he will be far more powerful than he already is, and it will be much easier for him to capture Dagrutu. If the sun senses his mate is in danger, he will come to her aid.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Lexi asked.

“Not yet, child, but your help will be most important in the days to come. For now, continue on your journey. But be warned of Stefan and his Team Blitz. Fight them whenever you can, foil any of their plots, and prevent them from capturing helpless Pokémon. From what I’ve seen of the two of you today, you will both become great Pokémon Trainers. Practice more with your Pokémon, catch new ones, and build a strong bond with them. That is one of the most important tools in a Trainer’s arsenal. Now, I’m afraid I must go. Thank you both, my friends. And you, Gerry. Your people can return to the surface now. Team Blitz will bother you no more here. Goodbye.”

Sulisia took off, shooting high into the sky heading westward. Sean’s mind was spinning faster than Genève as he watched Sulisia fly away. He wasn’t completely sure he hadn’t imagined the small Pokémon. He was still stunned that it could speak. Turning to Lexi, he asked, “Did that just happen?”

Lexi stared openmouthed at the small speck that was Sulisia. “Yes,” she said simply. “Yes it did.”

And now, for the fifth chapter in the epic adventures of Sean and Lexi...

*****

CHAPTER FIVE

"Come, come, it’s alright now, everyone!”

The people of Quiet Town were reluctant to leave the place they knew was safe from Team Blitz. After quite a bit of convincing, however, Gerry was finally able to get through to them, reassuring them that Team Blitz was gone from Quiet Town for good. “The Guardian has taken care of us,” he kept saying, “by sending these two.”

Everyone wanted to thank Sean and Lexi for their help in reclaiming their home, but Sean really just wanted to leave and get to Pioneer City. He was more than just eager to get his third badge; he also had to help Sulisia stop Team Blitz. Continue his journey is exactly what he wanted to do.

Using the Guardian as their excuse, Sean and Lexi were finally able to leave. “Don’t be strangers,” Pamela told them as they headed out. Sean assured her they wouldn’t; after all, he said, they’d need come back through on their way home.

The fog had entirely dissipated by the time they got out onto Route 25. Sean was surprised to find that the sun was not yet midway in the sky. He checked his watch. 11:53 in the morning. It felt much later than that, he decided.

“You know you’re buzzing, right?” Lexi said suddenly.

He had no idea what she was talking about. Then he felt it, his Pokédex buzzing in his back pocket. He opened it to see what it had to say.

“Oh, cool!” he said upon reading it. “Gen’s learned a new move! Psychic!”

“Wow, isn’t that a really powerful psychic-type move?”

“I think so. Too bad there aren’t any Trainers nearby to try the new move on.”

“Well, our Pokémon did just battle Team Blitz,” Lexi reminded him. “They’re probably too tired to fight anyway. We should just let them rest.”

“Good idea,” Sean agreed. “Too bad the Pokémon Center in Quiet Town is all broken down.”

They walked the rest of the way to Pioneer City in silence, thinking about everything that had happened on their journey. Sean was certain his father wouldn’t believe half of it. Now that he thought about it, though, he might not want to tell his father about all of it, namely Team Blitz. His father had been a worrier since Sean’s mother died when Sean was five years old. If he knew Sean was fighting a criminal organization hellbent on taking over the world, Sean seriously doubted he would be allowed to continue his journey. Yes, he would keep silent about it for the time being, he decided. Perhaps after he became Marion League Champion he would tell his father…

In under an hour, they arrived in Pioneer City. A restaurant met them as they passed the Welcome sign. Strangely, though, neither of them were hungry, despite it being lunch time. They walked up the Pioneer’s Hill, on the corner of which was the Pokémon Center. They made that their first stop.

“Hey, Aunt Jacky,” Sean greeted as the door slid open.

“There’s my favorite nephew!” his aunt shrieked, throwing her arms wide for a hug as she rushed over to him. Sean was almost as tall as the small round woman, whereas Lexi was taller. When she reached him, she squeezed him tightly. “I haven’t seen you in years! Look how much you’ve grown!”

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” Sean said bashfully, his face going red. He motioned to Lexi. “This is my best friend, Lexi. Lex, this is my Aunt Jacky.”

Aunt Jacky studied the skinny brunette Sean had brought with him with the eyes of a mother scrutinizing her son’s new biker girlfriend. “Yes… his father has told me about you. You two are nearly inseparable. When’s the wedding?”

“Next summer,” Lexi said.

Aunt Jacky smiled. “I like this one, Sean. You should hang on to her.” Sean shook his head as his face grew a darker shade of red. This one? he thought. Lexi is the first person I’ve introduced you to. Aunt Jacky had an arm around Lexi’s shoulder and was leading her to the counter. “You’ve got some Pokémon, I see. I take it you two are here for them, not just to see little ol’ me.”

“Yes, they had quite a battle,” Sean said. Realizing his aunt would probably want details, he made something up. “There was a… bird Trainer. They were flying everywhere, it was crazy.”

“But since I use flying Pokémon,” Lexi added, “it was a little easier for me.”

“Perhaps you should take notes from your friend, Sean.”

Sean nodded that he would. Wishing to change the subject, he asked, “Where’s Uncle Dean? Has he gone to work yet?”

“Not yet, no. He’s working swing shift, so he’ll be going in a few hours.”

“Maybe he’ll be able to watch my match with the gym leader,” Sean suggested.

Aunt Jacky’s eyes went wide. “That’s right! You’re collecting gym badges! How many do you have now? Let me see them!”

Sean removed his badge case from his black denim jacket’s inside pocket and handed it to Aunt Jacky. Her wide smile changed when she saw he only had two badges.

“There are only two gyms between Cherry Orchard and Pioneer City,” Sean reminded her. “I decided I wanted to see you first and, uh, that’s why we came here first.”

“Sure you did.” She closed the badge case and handed it back to Sean. “It’s not that I’m not proud, I just assumed you’d have some more experience before you came to challenge Cindy. I’ve heard she’s difficult.”

“Cindy… She’s the gym leader here?” Sean asked. Aunt Jacky nodded. “Oh. So that’s who John was talking about.”

“Oh, yeah,” Lexi said. “I was wondering who he was talking about. That dude was weird.”

“Here, give me your Pokémon,” Aunt Jacky said, clearly not interested in who John was or why he was weird. Sean and Lexi did as she asked.

“So, Aunt Jacky, what can you tell me about Cindy?”

“She’s spooky,” Aunt Jacky said without hesitation. “She likes ghost Pokémon, so expect to face some of them. Other than that, I have no idea. I’ve never seen her in battle.”

While their Pokémon rested, Sean visited up with his only aunt, catching up with her. Her four-year-old daughter, Caitlynn, was talking up a storm, apparently. Sean had never met Caitlynn, so Aunt Jacky said she’d bring her along to cheer for Sean during his match. When the machine beeped, Aunt Jacky retrieved Sean and Lexi’s Pokémon and returned them. She notified one of the other nurses that she was going to take an hour off, then she took Sean and Lexi to her home, which was just down the street from the gym.

“You two get situated,” she told them. “We’ll be there in a few minutes. Just have to get Caitlynn ready.”

Sean and Lexi walked down the block to the Pioneer City Gym. It was much bigger than the gyms in Royal Town and Bridge Town. Sean remembered that this gym also had a training facility where people from all over came to learn about ghost Pokémon. Now Sean remembered the gym from the last time he had visited his aunt and uncle. He remembered he did not like it.

The trees in the front area of the Pioneer City Gym were not trees, but rather a whole bunch of sleeping Trevenant. The last time he had been here it was dark, and there were Lampent lighting the pathway to the front of the gym and Chandelure inside the building itself.

Sean read the sign that was hanging precariously above the door.

Pioneer City Gym, Home of Cindy, the Haunted, Spooky Ghost Master

Great, Sean thought. I can’t wait.

Pushing open the doors caused them to creak loudly. The interior of the gym was eerily quiet and dark, even though it was noon. Chandelure lit the hallways in a spooky, ghostly purple light. They floated above Sean and Lexi’s heads, not paying much attention to them. The hallway branched off in two directions, left and right. A sign read “Litwick Nursery” and had an arrow pointing to the right, so Sean went left. Lexi, however, stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Sean asked.

“I want to see the Litwick,” she said.

Sean sighed. “It’s been a long day, Lex. Can’t we just get to the main gym and get out of here?”

“Oh, sure, let’s do everything you want to do.”

Sean sighed again. “Fine! Let’s go see the Litwick.”

The Litwick were exactly what Sean expected: a bunch of small purple-flamed candles with faces. What he did not expect, however, was the glass barrier separating them from the small Pokémon. When Lexi asked what the glass was for, the over-cheerful guide told them it was because these were young Litwick and couldn’t control themselves. Without the glass, the Litwick would leech away people's souls and the souls of their Pokémon. He then asked if either Sean or Lexi wanted one, a little too eagerly, Sean thought. Sean immediately said no, but Lexi said she did. Getting a Pokéball, he asked her to point to which one she wanted, then he captured it and gave it to her. “Enjoy,” he said with a big smile as they turned to leave.

“These little guys are SO cute, don’t you think?” Lexi asked, holding her new Pokémon in her hands like a valuable treasure.

“Uh-huh,” Sean said.

“I think I’ll call him…”

“Chadwick Litfield?” Sean suggested.

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Lexi said, adding Chadwick to her belt next to Kituru.

They made their way to the area labled “Gym” and opened the doors. The inside of the room was pitch black and silent. As they closed the doors, a spotlight shone on a coffin in what appeared to be the center of the room. The coffin didn’t have arms, so Sean didn’t think it was a Cofagrigus. The lid to the coffin opened and out up popped an obese blonde woman wearing all black, with white face paint and black lips and eye makeup.

“I’m Cindy!” the woman said with a dramatic wave of her arm, speaking with a lisp. “I’m the gym leader of Pioneer City. I specialize in ghost Pokémon. Do you come here to challenge me?”

“Yes I do,” Sean answered, his voice reverberating off the walls.

“That lady’s weird,” a young girl’s voice said from behind Cindy. The girl was shushed by a woman as a man chuckled. Sean thought he recognized the sound of that chuckle. Yep, he thought, weird is a good word to describe Cindy.

Cindy seemed to ignore the comment. “Approach, then, if you dare.”

“Could you turn some lights on?” Sean asked.

“Why? Does the darkness frighten you?”

“Not since I was five. I’d just like to be able to see where I’m going.”

“Fair enough.” The lights turned on and Sean had to cover his darkness-adjusted eyes in the sudden brightness. Sitting on bleachers in the back of the gym were his Uncle Dean and Aunt Jacky, who was holding an adorable little girl Sean assumed was his cousin Caitlynn. He quickly waved at them as he moved to his spot on the floor. Lexi moved to join Sean’s family.

“You’re ready, I trust?” Cindy asked.

“I believe so,” Sean answered.

“Then, firstly, I choose Litwick.”

“You mean Chadwick.”

Again, Cindy ignored the comment as she released her Litwick. It looked identical to the ones in the nursery.

“I’m going to go with Beavire,” Sean said, sending Castor out. Castor looked quizzically at the small candle Pokémon. “Let’s get this done.”

“Smog, Litwick,” Cindy commanded. Litwick blew thick black smoke all around the room, making it hard for either Sean or Castor to see. Castor began choking. “Now hit it with Fire Burst.” Cindy’s voice was bored now as small bursts of fire broke through the smoke and crashed into Castor. The lumbering Castor wasn’t harmed by the weak fire attack, simply shrugging it off.

“Use Bite,” Sean commanded, Litwick’s Smog thinning enough for them to see.

“Minimize,” Cindy responded. Litwick shrank to a fraction of its original size. Castor’s Bite missed the small candle. “Now hit it with Night Shade.”

“Mud-Slap,” Sean said quickly. Castor looked around, confused. He then kicked out at the ground, slapping chunks of the floor at Litwick, all of them missing as he was hit with the dark, ghostly mirage. Castor fell over onto his side, apparently fainted from fear. “Dang it,” Sean said under his breath, mindful of his family watching him. He recalled Castor and called, “Graveler, you’re up next.” Kaiyu looked around for a minute, trying to find an opponent. “Magnitude,” Sean said, not wishing to give Cindy another victory. The little candle did not like what happened next. As the ground shook, Litwick tumbled over and rolled around. “Hit it with Rock Throw,” Sean instructed next.

“Get out of the way!” Cindy yelled. Litwick was able to roll out of the way just in time to avoid the rocks Kaiyu threw at it. Litwick was still small, and even though Kaiyu was a great aim, he was still having a hard time landing a hit. “Great job, Litwick,” Cindy encouraged. “Now hit it with Night Shade.” The small candle Pokémon disappeared behind another dark, frightening mirage. Kaiyu wasn’t affected as much as Castor had been. Despite Litwick’s best effort, its attack didn’t do the trick.

Something clicked in Sean’s brain. He got an idea, one that would surely put an end to the annoying little foe. He hoped Cindy didn’t have any more. “Kaiyu, Tackle.” Kaiyu charged toward Litwick. Cindy’s smirk was annoying. Sean knew that Tackle wouldn’t affect a ghost Pokémon, but that wasn’t his plan. When Kaiyu came within range, Sean yelled, “Selfdestruct!” A rolling, glowing Kaiyu detonated in a spray of stone shards. Sean would have rather not sacrificed Kaiyu to attain victory, but sometimes you had to do what you had to do. He waited for the dust to settle so he could see the two fainted Pokémon.

Except Litwick was fine. Cindy’s smile broke into an annoying, high-pitched laugh. Kaiyu, on the other hand, was not fine. He lay motionless in the hole he’d just made.

“Selfdestruct is a normal-type attack!” Lexi shouted from the sidelines. “It doesn’t work on ghost Pokémon!”

Sean slapped his forehead. Perhaps he was a little more tired than he’d thought. He should have known it wouldn’t work. He couldn’t figure out why he thought it would work. Disappointed, feeling foolish, he recalled Kaiyu.

“Okay, Gen, it’s up to you, I guess. Go, Kirlia!”

Genève didn’t look as comfortable about the fight his last two Pokémon had been. Ghost-type attacks, he knew, were strong against psychic types. Sean was in trouble: he’d already gone through two of his Pokémon, and Cindy wasn’t even down by one.

“Night Shade,” Cindy said, a triumphant expression on her face.

“Calm Mind!” Sean yelled.

The frightening images Litwick threw up did nothing to Genève. Her eyes were shut, her body motionless. She stood motionless, at peace.

“Flame Burst,” Cindy said next.

“Teleport, then hit it with Psychic!”

Gen Teleported out of the way just in time to evade the Flame Burst, and when she reappeared she unleashed her Psychic power, lifting Litwick off the ground and sending it crashing into the stands. Sean fought the urge to jump up and cheer; after all, Cindy still had other Pokémon. He wasn’t out of the woods yet.

“Well done, friend,” Cindy said to her Litwick, recalling it. “The next one won’t be so easy. Go, Hauntyke!”

A Pokémon Sean had never seen appeared now. It looked like a little kid, except it was completely see-through. Its hair was spiky, its eyes glowing red, and it wore loose, dark gray pants. Sean checked his Pokédex and found it was dual ghost and fighting type. Fighting, eh?

“Start things off with Agility, Hauntyke,” Cindy instructed.

Hauntyke started moving very quickly, turning sharply, showing off his Agility.

“Now hit his Kirlia with a Mach Punch.”

The Mach Punch looked like it was going to hurt, but Gen simply shrugged it off.

“Use Psychic.”

Hauntyke didn’t stand a chance. It fell to the ground, done in by Gen’s first attack.

“Rat bastard,” Cindy said as she recalled Hauntyke. “I feel sorry for you,” she lisped, “because you just knocked out this next one’s little brother. Go, Phanxer!”

Phanxer was bulkier than Hauntyke, taller and more muscular, with dark boxing gloves. Its hair was longer, hanging down in front of its face. Its glowing red eyes were barely visible behind its hair.

“Ether Punch!”

“Teleport!”

Gen Teleported out of the way just as Phanxer’s punch would have landed. However, an odd thing happened Sean did not expect. As Gen reappeared, Phanxer seemed to shimmer and vanish, reappearing behind Gen and striking her with its Ether Punch. It looked like it hurt, too, as she didn’t stand back up immediately.

“Double Team, Gen,” Sean said once she had regained her feet.

Eight Kirlia circled Phanxer. It didn’t seem to care. Its ghostly punch dissipated each illusion until only the real Gen was left. Sean ordered her to Teleport out of the way of Phanxer’s next punch, but he suspected the same thing would happen as last time. Again, something happened that Sean did not expect. Phanxer dropped to its knee, panting.

Momentarily confused, Sean yelled, “Psychic!”

Gen’s Psychic power rammed into Phanxer as he still kneeled. Unable to do anything, Cindy watched helplessly as Phanxer fell to the ground, twitching as Gen stood triumphant over him. Speechlessly, Cindy recalled her final Pokémon.

Then Gen began to glow.

Standing at Sean’s height, Gen had evolved into Gardevoir. She twirled happily and looked at Sean, happy to have won a victory for her Trainer. Lexi, Aunt Jacky, Uncle Dean, and Caitlynn all cheered loudly for Sean. Feeling the moment, he bowed to them, grabbing Gen’s hand and bringing her into a bow with him.

Cindy was still standing, stunned speechless.

Sean got out his Pokédex and read what it said about Gardevoir. “Gardevoir, the Embrace Pokémon. This Pokémon will use all of its energy to create a small black hole to protect her Trainer.” Damn, Sean thought.

“I guess I owe you a badge,” Cindy finally said. She came closer to him and removed a badge from her pocket. It was a two-dimensional coffin with its lid open, a ghost coming out of it. “Congratulations, you’ve earned the Haunted Badge.” Sean reverently added it to his growing collection. “And there’s one more thing I want you to have,” she added before Sean could thank her for the badge. She reached into her back pocket and produced a disk. “This is called a TM, or a Technical Machine. You can use it to teach a Pokémon a move. It will only work once, but there are also HMs, or Hidden Machines, which can be used an unlimited number of times. Anyway, this TM is Shadow Ball. It’s a ghost attack that Gardevoir can learn. You’ve earned both of these, Sean. Well done.”

Sean thanked Cindy for the TM and the badge, then left with his friend and family, feeling on top of the world. He couldn’t help but remember what Sulisia had told him, that Gen would be invaluable to him. Well, Sulisia, not that I doubted you, but you were right.

So, I was writing chapter six on my laptop, and one day my laptop decided to delete my entire story. Not the file itself, mind you, for that was still there. There was just 0 kb of data, and no written words whatsoever. That... that pissed me off, so I gave up writing for a bit. BUT I've finally finished chapter six. So here it is.

*****

CHAPTER SIX

Sean celebrated his victory at Aunt Jacky's house with Lexi, cans of coke, and cheap little pizzas--it was all Aunt Jacky could get before she had to go back to work. Aunt Jacky insisted they stay the night, despite Sean's desire to leave for Pioneer City immediately. When Aunt Jacky finally came back from work, she made them a dinner of potato soup--Sean's favorite--then she fashioned them a place to sleep, Sean taking to the floor and Lexi sleeping on the couch.

Sean awoke before Lexi to find his uncle drinking coffee in the back room. They talked until the rest of the family awoke, then Sean and Lexi packed and said their goodbyes.

"Your family's nice," Lexi said as they made their way back out onto Route 25. "And Caitlynn was so cute!"

"She knows it, too," Sean observed, smiling. "She's going to be a handful when she gets older."

"You sound very old yourself."

"Indeed."

They walked the rest of the way in silence until they hit Quiet Town, which now did not live up to its name. Quiet Town was bustling with busy people working to repair all the damage done by Team Blitz. Sean and Lexi said hello to Pam and Gerry, offering their help which they refused, much to Sean's relief. There were not many people on the roads, and the few there were had no desire to battle. Truthfully, neither did Sean. He was eager to get back home and decompress.

They got back to Pioneer City around two in the afternoon, the breeze cooling the sweat on their necks. Everything seemed to be normal, everyone going about their business as usual. For some reason, Sean expected them to have a parade waiting to welcome them back, even though they'd only been gone for a couple of days. They made their way to the Pokémon Lab to see Professor Fir and show him Sean's badges.

"Hello, kids!" Professor Fir greeted cheerfully when they stepped into his office. "Welcome back! I trust you had fun!"

"You can say that again," Sean said, removing his backpack and placing it on the floor next to the door. Lexi did the same.

"Did you meet any new and interesting Pokémon?" the professor asked.

"Yes we did," Lexi answered. She looked at Sean, asking him if he wanted to tell the professor about Sulisia.

"We've caught a few new Pokémon, we battled some trainers, I got some badges, we met a legendary Pokémon called Sulisia, fought Team Blitz, ate some soup--"

"Wait, wait, hold on!" Professor Fir interjected, holding his hands up. "You met a legendary Pokémon?"

"Yeah, Sulisia," Lexi said excitedly. "He was beautiful. He's the guardian of all life in Marion."

"That's incredible!" Professor Fir exclaimed. "You have to describe it to me. Every detail!"

They spent the next twenty minutes talking about Sulisia. Sean kept wondering if the professor would ask them about Team Blitz, but he never did. Sean concluded he had either not heard them, or had simply forgotten about the criminal organization they had angered that desired to enslave Pokémon and take over the world.

"Well," Professor Fir said, a satisfied look on his face, "that is truly remarkable. I'm both excited for and proud of the two of you." He paused, looking at them in the eyes. "Come, I've a present for you both."

They followed Professor Fir, leaving their packs, as he walked down the hall to the Pokémon Center and into the nursey where the two Eevee were playing with each other. Reaching under a table, he retrieved two Pokéballs.

"Seeing you both now," Professor Fir began, "I know these Eevee will find no better Trainers. They would be very lucky if you took them with you. However, I won't force them upon you, but you can take them with you if you wish."

"Are you serious?" Lexi asked, stepping forward tentatively. "We can have them?"

"Yes, Lexi. Which would you like?"

She held out her hand and one of the Eevee sniffed it before licking her fingers. "Aw, I want this one," she said. Professor Fir recalled it in one of the Pokéballs and handed it to Lexi, who immediately let it back out. He then recalled the other Eevee, handing her ball to Sean. Sean let out his Eevee, too.

"They're so cute," Sean said, watching them happily play with each other.

"They are," Professor Fir said, "and we're going to miss having them. But that's not all to the gift I'm giving you. Come with me, please." He began leading them back toward his office. "Do either of you know what's special about Eevee?" he asked as they walked.

"They can only evolve by an evolution stone," Lexi answered, holding her Eevee in her arms.

"Well, not quite," Professor Fir said. "Some can evolve depending on if they're very happy with you, and depending on the time of day. But the other evolutions, or Eeveelutions as some of us say, require a stone. And a stone will be my next gift to you."

In his office, he reached into a cabinet and pulled out a long thin chest. He placed it carefully on his desk and opened it, rotating it so the two Trainers could see what was inside.

"I must say, this is the area of Pokémon science that I find the most interesting." Pointing to each stone, Professor Fir said, "You have the Fire Stone, which will cause Eevee to evolve into Flareon. The Water Stone will result in Vaporeon, and the Thunder Stone will get a Jolteon. There are also special rocks that can affect Eevee's evolution. The Moss Rock will make a Leafeon and the Ice Rock will get a Glaceon. If Eevee really likes you, considers you a great friend, and it's daytime, it will evolve into Espeon, or if it's nighttime, Umbreon." He pointed at two other stones. "Also, if you use a Sun Shard for Espeon or a Moon Shard for Umbreon. Lastly, there are two stones that are, we think, unique to the Marion Region. We have the Dragon Stone, which will make Drakeon, and the Poison Stone, which will make Noxeon. My final gift for you today is your choice in any one of these stones."

Looking at her Eevee, Lexi said, "I think he's too cute the way he is now to change him. Maybe he'll evolve one day on his own, but I won't force him."

"I think I'll let my Eevee decide if she wants to evolve," Sean said, putting his Eevee down on the table. "Would you like to choose one of these stones to evolve, or wait?" She rubbed her nose against his before turning to the stones. Sniffing at the area near the stones, she walked along the line, smelling each and every one. When she got to the end, she set her paw onto the Poison Stone. Instantly, she began to glow white. She became slightly taller, longer, and bulkier. When she stopped glowing, she looked very different. Her fur had turned dark purple and slimy. Her tail was thicker than before, and was also purple with a cream colored tip, much like how it used to be as Eevee, although now large globules of slime slowly dripped off. Her underbelly was also cream colored, as were the tips of her ears. Her eyes were completely black, and she was drooling.

"Oh my..." Lexi said under her breath.

"She. Is so. Cute." Sean said. "I was expecting something bad, but she's so adorable! Let me check my Pokédex."

Flipping it open, he played the description. "Noxeon, the Toxic Pokémon. This slimy Pokémon can cause illness in others at will. Treat it well."

"I don't think we'll have any problems with that," Sean said, scratching Noxeon under her chin. "I think I'll call you Noxie. Okay?" She gargled a pur in response.

"Not the choice I would have made," Professor Fir said, closing the chest, "but I'm sure she'll be a valuable member of the team nonetheless. Now, on to more important matters. How are your Pokédexes?"

"Well, I've caught three Pokémon since leaving, if you count Noxie," Sean bragged.

"I've caught three as well," Lexi said.

Professor Fir's smile faded slowly away. "You're supposed to be capturing Pokémon to increase your Pokédexes! That's one of the main reasons for going on a Pokémon adventure!"

"I thought it was to build a relationship with your Pokémon," Lexi said.

"I thought it was to win badges," Sean said.

"It's a combination of all three," Professor Fir insisted. "I said 'one' of the main reasons, not 'the' main reason." He sighed. "You should capture different kinds of Pokémon so you can expand your arsenal to help you in fights later. If you encounter someone who has a certain kind of Pokémon, and you have several different kinds, you may have a type advantage."

"Okay, Professor," Sean said, "I promise I'll try and capture more Pokémon on our journey."

"Thank you, Sean. Lexi?" She promised she'd capture more, too. "Good. Now, your parents will be excited to see you, so get your bags and go home."

They each went home to rest, agreeing to meet up in the morning near the exit to Route 97. Sean's father was at work, so Sean released all his Pokémon, kicked off his shoes, and threw himself onto the couch to watch television. He put some stones out for Castor to eat. Genève sat on the floor next to him, holding onto Sean's arm affectionately, while Noxie curled into a ball on his lap to take a nap. Kaiyu seemed entranced by the moving pictures on the television screen, staring intently at them and making happy noises when something exciting happened. Sean still felt bad about using Selfdestruct on a ghost Pokémon, but Kaiyu didn't seem to hold a grudge.

When his dad came home, Sean introduced his new Pokémon, and they all ate with the exception of Castor, who was busy snoring under the living room table after his scrumptuous meal. He told his father a version of the true story of his adventure thus far, leaving out his meeting with Team Blitz and Sulisia, however he did mention seeing the guardian in the trees on their way to Royal Town. His father, like Professor Fir and his aunt and uncle, was very proud of him, and excited to see his three badges. Sean went to bed on time, tired from his travels, and fell to sleep quickly.

The next morning he was up early. His father had just made a pot of coffee. Sean loved the smell of coffee, but hated its taste. Instead, he poured a glass of iced tea, then made himself a bowl of cereal.

"What are your plans for today?" his father asked, sipping on his piping hot cup of black coffee.

"Lexi and I are heading up Mount Viking to get a badge, then we'll continue to Silver City for another. Then we'll come back here and regroup."

"Sounds like a plan to me," his father said, yawning. "Maybe you'll catch some more Pokémon."

"I promised Professor Fir I would capture as many Pokémon as I could. But, I don't feel right about it."

"Why not?"

"Because, if I don't use them, then they'll just sit on my belt while I use the others. Why have that for them when they were perfectly happy living with their family in the wild?"

"Hm, I never thought of it that way. But, you could use them to train your main Pokémon if there are no other Trainers around."

"But I feel like there would be too much favoritism going around. I mean, just what you said now, 'main Pokémon'. I couldn't have a bunch of Pokémon that knew I didn't consider them my main choice."

His father smiled. "Okay, son. You don't have to capture any Pokémon you don't want to."

"Do you mean it, pa? No fooling? Gee, thanks!"

His father playfully shoved him while Sean continued eating. After breakfast, he hugged his father and said goodbye, then headed out for Route 97. Surprisingly, Lexi wasn't already there, so Sean waited and contemplated capturing a Cherrim, but decided against it. After a few minutes, Lexi rounded a corner, and then they were off.

"So what do we know about the Mount Viking Gym Leader?" Sean asked Lexi.

"I don't know anything about them," she answered sleepily. Sean grumbled.

"Well, we'll come up with a plan when we get there."

"How long will it take?"

Sean checked the map. "About five, six hours." Lexi groaned, clearly annoyed by this news. "For the love of... It's up a mountain! What did you expect?"

An hour of their trek was spent getting to the mountain itself. Along the way, Sean challenged and easily defeated a Trainer who used grass types. Castor ate them for lunch, almost literally. As they began to ascend Mount Viking, they began seeing packs of small, cat-like Pokémon. They had short brown ears, brown eyes, and brown fur which was streaked with red, orange, and yellow around the face. Their paws were a dark, gentle red, and their tails were long and brown. Sean scanned them with his Pokédex to learn they were Pemtra, dual fire and rock.

"Ooh, they're cute," Lexi said, admiring them as they all played with each other and the nearby rocks strewn about.

"They most certainly are," Sean agreed. "I'm going to capture one."

He approached the pack, slowly so as not to scare them away. There was no need for that, he learned, as when they saw him they ran over, eager to play. Sean laughed as a few climbed up him, licking at his face and playing with his long hair. "Okay, okay! I'm going to try and capture one of you! Which one will it be?" A few of them ran backward, at first Sean thought out of fear but later decided out of a desire to get a good view. Sean released Noxeon, deciding to let her train up a bit. He quickly studied her attack list, then pulled a Pemtra off his hair. "I think I'll capture you," he told it. The rest of the Pemtra joined their friends as Sean gently put the one in his hands down. It walked a few yards away, then turned and faced Noxie.

"Okay, Noxie, hit it with a Quick Attack!" Noxie disappeared and reappeared right next to Pemtra, striking it hard in its side. However, Pemtra did not budge, and the attack seemed to do more harm to Noxie than her target. Pemtra scooped up some rocks with its tail and threw them at Noxie. "Poison Gas," Sean ordered. Noxie opened her mouth and coughed out a purple haze. Pemtra breathed it in and began coughing. It then charged, knocking Noxie aside like a rag doll. She did not get up.

"Damn," Sean said, impressed. "That looked like it hurt." He recalled Noxie and called Castor. "Mud-Slap, buddy." Castor, not seeing any mud, began kicking dirt at Pemtra. The poor thing was now coughing and had dirt in its eyes. "Let's finish it off with a Chomp," Sean said. Castor walked in close and Chomped down hard on Pemtra's back, grabbing it and jerking it around violently before letting it fall to the ground. Sean quickly threw an empty Pokéball at the fallen creature. It was in no position to resist being captured.

"We did it!" Sean cheered. Castor came up to him and waited to be pat on the head, which Sean gladly did. The other Pemtra seemed happy, too, although Sean couldn't know why. He guessed they were happy their friend and possible family member joined such an awesome team of Pokémon. "Let me check Dex now."

"Pemtra, the Mountain Lion Pokémon. This Pokémon loves to play, be it with people, rocks, or other Pokémon."

Dex said Pemtra was female, and her next evolution was called Solynx, so Sean decided to name her Sophie.

"We'll take her to the Pokémon Center in Mount Viking before we let her out to greet her properly," Sean told Lexi as he placed Sophie on his belt next to Noxie and returned Castor. She thought that was a good idea.

Sean and Lexi both faced off against Trainers as the continued ascending up Mount Viking. It was almost evening by the time they reached the city. They quickly found the Pokémon Center and gave them their Pokémon before finding a place to eat. Sean was starving, and he ordered three bowls of chicken noodle soup. He got directions to the gym, and after their late lunch they decided to check it out. The sign outside the gym read:

Mount Viking Gym, Home of David, the Psychic Master Who's Full of Spirit

"So..." Sean said, stroking an imaginary beard. "Psychic types, eh? What is effective against psychic types?"

"Bug, dark, and ghost," Lexi answered.

"And which do we have access to now?" Sean asked.

"Dark and ghost."

"Correct." They began walking back to the Pokémon Center. "I have two Pokémon who can use dark attacks, Castor and Noxie. But Noxie is a poison type, and psychic types are strong against poison, so I won't use her. Then I have Gen, with her Shadow Ball attack." He continued stroking his imaginary beard, a devilish grin spreading on his face. "I think I'm pretty much guaranteed a victory here."

Sean almost skipped the rest of the way to the Center. They retrieved their Pokémon and walked back to the gym. It was still open, and Sean thought he'd be able to beat David and get to bed before too long.

The gym was elegantly designed, with a sort of Japanese flavor. There were wide brass candle stands that looked like cymbals lighting the way, and Sean and Lexi followed them. The candles led them to a large room with only one person. He sat criss-cross-applesauce style, a thought that made Sean chuckle. The man slowly looked up.

"I've been expecting you," he said. With one fluid motion he was standing. "You wish to challenge me."

"I do," Sean replied. He was slightly creeped out by this guy.

"I know you do. That wasn't a question, I was saying..." He sighed. "Never mind. I agree to challenge you, and I have prepared myself. Since you are the guest, I will let you decide who goes first."

"I'll let you go first." Lexi moved to the side of the room as Sean got ready for battle.

"Fine, then. I choose Girafarig."

Sean checked his Pokédex and found Girafarig was a normal and psychic type. Can't use Gardevoir, he thought. "I'll choose Beavire." Castor looked ready to fight as he stared down David's Girafarig. "Flame Charge!"

Castor burst into flames as he charged at Girafarig. Before he reached the tall Pokémon, however, David yelled, "Astonish!" and Girafarig struck out at Castor, shouting. Castor stopped in his tracks and almost ran away from Girafarig. "Stomp!" David commanded next, and Girafarig reered up on its hind legs and Stomped down on Castor. Standing triumphantly over Castor, Girafarig looked back at its master, clearly proud of its work. But Castor was not out of the game yet.

"Bite!" Sean urged, and Castor Bit down on Girafarig's leg. The Pokémon yelled in pain, kicking, trying to shake Castor off. When he was finally successful, Castor went down and did not get back up. Sean recalled him, saying, "Good job, buddy. Okay, next I'll use Noxeon." Noxie popped out of her ball, slimy as ever and ready for a fight. Sean did not expect this to go well. "Quick Attack, Noxie!"

Noxie was standing next to him one moment, but the next she was crashing Girafarig's side, causing him to fall over. "Bite him, quick!" Noxie leapt at Girafarig's neck and Bit down hard. Girafarig could not shake off the small Pokémon clamping down on it, and fainted.

"Ugh, what is that smell?" David asked as he made a disgusted face and recalled Girafarig.

"Oh, that. Uh, that happens when she gets excited. It's probably not toxic." Noxie looked up at Sean with a pleased expression on her face. Sean assumed she was pleased she had won, but she may have also been pleased that David did not like her totally-probably-not-toxic victory spray. It was hard to tell which, but he smiled and gave her a thumbs-up nonetheless.

"Don't get too excited," David warned, "that was just a warm-up, and I've already taken you down by one Pokémon. Next, however, I call Kirlia!"

Kirlia twirled happily as Noxie got ready for the attack. "Hit her with Sludge," Sean said calmly. Noxie spat a ball of purple goop at Kirlia.

"Teleport!" David yelled. The Sludge passed right through Kirlia as she Teleported away, appearing behind Noxie. "Confusion!"

It looked as though Noxie was trying to stand up, but she could not. Her head kept smacking into the ground and her feet struggled to right herself. She moved closer to Kirlia and breathed thick Poison Gas into her face before passing out. Kirlia began coughing as Sean recalled Noxie.

"Well done, Noxie, well done. Now, I'll bring out Gardevoir. Go, Genève!" Gen stood strong and proud as she faced down the coughing, gasping Kirlia. "Psychic!" Gen's arm raised and an invisible telekinetic force struck out at Kirlia, knocking her backwards and out of the arena.

"Hah! A Gardevoir!" David recalled Kirlia, a wide smile spreading across his face. "Let us see whose Gardevoir is strongest." He released his own Gardevoir, who stood equally strong and proud as Gen. "Double Team!"

There were now eight Gardevoir facing Gen, all looking imposing. Sean did not panic, however. "Calm Mind." Genève closed her eyes and stood perfectly still. Her breathing slowed until it was barely perceptible. Her hands were gently pressed together in front of herself. "Now... Shadow Ball!"

The look on David's face was priceless as Gen threw a blob of darkness at the Gardevoir on the far right. As it struck, the other seven Gardevoir disappeared, and David's final Pokémon was launched up into the air, flying backward into the wall, scraping her head against the low ceiling before she struck it. Sean was surprised how powerful the attack was, and felt sorry that he'd used it. David's Gardevoir seemed to be in pain. He quickly recalled it.

"I'm shocked," he said in a low voice. "I did not expect that. Clearly, Genève is the stronger Gardevoir. And now, my friend, I give to you the Spirit Badge." He reached within his pocket and pulled out a small white badge. It looked like a white spark, or just a light. Sean couldn't quite describe its shape, but he decided that it definitely looked like someone's spirit. "These gifts of mine, these psychic abilities, they allow me to see glimpses of the future. I see great things lying ahead for you, Sean. Congratulations."

Recalling Gen, happy and excited she had won him yet another badge, Sean added the Spirit Badge to his collection as he and Lexi left the gym.

This story you made on the setting of Pokémon Sun and Moon is awesome!

Yes exactly the rules and a Pokémon only being able to know four moves at a time, and only being able to carry six Pokémon with you at a time....