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Pokemon: Revolution Johto

Did you read/like the original version of this, Johto Generations?

  • Read it - loved it.

    Votes: 46 33.1%
  • Read it - hated it.

    Votes: 6 4.3%
  • Never read it before (you'll be pleasantly surprised!)

    Votes: 87 62.6%

  • Total voters
    139

EonMaster One

saeculum harmonia
We are competitors.
We are a new breed of Pokemon Trainer.
Against our allies on the side of good, we battle.
Against our enemies on the side of evil, we war.
But no matter who the opponent...
No matter what the challenge...
We do not back down.
We do not back out.
We do not give up.
We do not give in.
You can't stop us.
Nobody can stop us.

Why?

Because we didn't just create the New Era.

We are the New Era.

WE ARE THE REVOLUTION.


Season One:

Prologue: The Revolution Begins
Chapter 1: Revolutionary War
Chapter 2: Blessing of the Bloodline
Chapter 3: Storm Before The Calm
Chapter 4: The Cherrygrove Challenge
Chapter 5: Travis' Worries
Chapter 6: Friends, Foes, and Forgiveness
Chapter 7: The Stars Align
Chapter 8: Drawing A Blank
Chapter 9: They Had Called Him Hero
Chapter 10: Return of the Guardian
Chapter 11: A Bark As Good As His Bite
Chapter 12: Running the Gauntlet
Chapter 13: A Faithless Battle
Chapter 14: Seeking Strength
Chapter 15: Enter the Dragoons
Chapter 16: Light A Rematch, Start A Fire
Chapter 17: Storm Watch!
Chapter 18: Wall of Rogues
Chapter 19: Between Angel and Insects
Chapter 20: You Know the 'Drill
Chapter 21: Great Egg-spectations!
Chapter 22: Roll With The Punches
Chapter 23: It's All Golden
Chapter 24: Shiro Settles A Score
Chapter 25: Full Golden Moon - S1 Finale
Chapter 26: The Stars Align At Last - S1 Finale


Season Two:

Chapter 27: Remembering the Moment
Chapter 28: When Sparx Fly
Chapter 29: Arrival at Destiny
Chapter 30: Fade to Black
Chapter 31: The Scales and the Steadfast
Chapter 32: Bureaucrats and the Burned Tower
Chapter 33: Shiro's Stand
Chapter 34: Unbreakable Bonds
--- Chapter 34K: Little Girls Need Their Moms
Chapter 35: Challenge of the Steel Sky Lord
Chapter 36: Rolling Out the Welcome Matt
Chapter 37: The Numbers Game
Chapter 38: When Everything Snowballs
Chapter 39: A Shell and a Shock
===> Chapter 39 - Part 2
Chapter 40S: Stuck Together
Chapter 40N: A World Turned Upside Down
Chapter 41: Dreams and Disasters
===> Chapter 41 - Part 2
Chapter 42: Advice, Antarctica, and an Angel's Affection
===> Chapter 42 - Part 2
===> Chapter 42 - Part 3
Chapter 43: Cruise Control
Chapter 44: Blind Fury
===> Chapter 44 - Part 2
Chapter 45: The Final Catalyst - S2 Finale
===> Chapter 45 - Part 2


Season Three:

Chapter 46: Bout of the Titans
===> Chapter 46 - Part 2
Chapter 47: A Fateful Encounter
===> Chapter 47 - Part 2
Chapter 48: Rally and Reunion
===> Chapter 48 - Part 2
Chapter 49: The Cadets
===> Chapter 49 - Part 2
Chapter 50: The Candles
===> Chapter 50 - Part 2
Chapter 51: The Terrific Convergence
===> Chapter 51 - Part 2
Chapter 52: Bittersweet
===> Chapter 52 - Part 2
===> Chapter 52 - Part 3
Chapter 53: The Banks of the Rubicon
===> Chapter 53 - Part 2
Chapter 54: Prelude to Finale
===> Chapter 54 - Part 2
Chapter 55: Operation: Shooting Star
===> Chapter 55 - Part 2
Chapter 56: Plunge Into Destiny (parts 2 and 3 are post #561 and #562, respectively)
Chapter 57: Sacred Gate (parts 2 and 3 are post #574 and #575, respectively)
Chapter 58 - Epilogue: Correspondence (part 2 is post #587)


Thanx to Air Dragon for help with the list!

* Chapter in Progress *
+ Tentative Chapter Name +
++ Confirmed Chapter Name ++

[/U][/B]





Prologue: The Revolution Begins
In a house on the southern end of New Bark Town, a six-year-old boy with navy-blue hair and wearing blue pajamas dotted with many pokeballs was sleeping in his bedroom. At least, he should have been. Footsteps echoed up the stairs in his house and toward the little boy's room. The little boy didn't hear anything, though; he was much too busy watching television. The doorknob started to rotate. The little boy, startled by the sound, jumped and ran back and smacked his temple onto the pillow on his bed. He then rolled over and tried to turn the television off, but, being the 'graceful' school-age child that he was, inadvertently let the remote slip from his fingers. It hit the wooden floor below him with a clatter and slid over to around where the television was. "Oh, no!" he whispered to himself, and then it opened...

"Travis?" a booming male voice along with a respectably sized male figure entered the doorway.

"Y-yes, Daddy?" the little boy said nervously. He realized that he'd been caught red-handed, but he knew better than to ignore his father.

"Now, Travis Shelton DePaul III, you know that you start school tomorrow. Do you really think that you can afford to be staying up late?" Travis' father chid him in that same booming voice.

"I know, I'm sorry, but I can't sleep," little Travis whined.

"Actually, I'm glad you're awake. There's something on TV I want you to see. Your mom's already downstairs. We've gotta hurry," his father replied.

"Okay!" Travis jumped out of bed and ran toward his father. Jogging three or four steps, he tripped over the remote, which was still in the middle of the floor, and started to fall, screaming, "Uh-oh!"

"Whoa, champ," Travis' father reached out to catch his son and lifted him onto his back and walked out of the room, down the hall, down the stairs, and into the family room. Once there, Mr. DePaul lifted his son off his back and plopped him on the couch between himself and Travis' mother. There was Travis, right in the middle of his parents, watching the big-screen television. Suddenly, his father exclaimed, "There! It's on!" Travis looked up with a start and saw a Pokemon battle - and not just any battle. This was the Pokemon League Championship.

The announcer's voice filled the living room as the DePaul family watched in near total silence. "This fierce battle between longtime rivals Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak is drawing to a close! Both of them have just one Pokemon remaining!" The camera switched to a black-haired teenager wearing a red and white cap, a black shirt surrounded by a blue jacket and jeans, with a very serious expression on his face. Even Travis, as young as he was, knew what this face meant. This face was a face of determination. He looked down at a small yellow-mouse like creature with bright red cheeks and a tail that looked like a lightning bolt and muttered, "It's just you and me now, Pikachu." The small mouse called Pikachu nodded, and jumped in front of the teenager, its cheeks glowing and sparking with electricity. The announcer yelled over the roaring crowd, "Ash Ketchum sends out his Pikachu!" The screen then switched to a boy that looked about the same age as Ash, with brown hair and a blue outfit. He knelt down and said something unintelligible to a black, fox-like creature that had many yellowish rings on its body, which jumped in front of this boy in likewise fashion. Its yellow rings started to glow white and hum, making Travis' hair stand on end. The announcer yelled again, "Gary Oak responds with his only remaining Pokemon, Umbreon! According to Pokemon League statistics, these are the two Trainers' strongest Pokemon. This is sure to be a spectacle that will be talked about for years to come!"

"Open this up with a Quick Attack!" Gary yelled to the Umbreon. The Umbreon nodded and took off toward Pikachu in a white flash.

"Double Team!" Ash yelled to his Pikachu, which appeared to clone itself about eight times. The Umbreon rushed one of the clones, which as soon at it made contact, disappeared into thin air, with seven of the clones still remaining.

"Gary makes the first move, but a Double Team prevents Umbreon from connecting!” the announcer yelled once again. The clones disappeared, and a lone Pikachu was standing on Umbreon’s flank.

“Umbreon! On your right!” Gary yelled, but Ash muttered, “Too late,” and Pikachu launched a Quick Attack much like the one Umbreon had just attempted, but this one hit its mark, knocking Umbreon aside and off of its feet. “Let’s end this quick,” Ash said to his Pikachu. “Thunderbolt attack!” Pikachu’s cheeks started to spark much more vigorously than before, and a yellow bolt of electricity shot toward Umbreon, at, well, lightning speed. “Agility!” Gary yelled to his Umbreon, which seemed to sit and do nothing except take the Thunderbolt attack head-on.

“I got ‘im!” Ash yelled in elation, but Gary wagged his finger at Ash and said, “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Haven’t you learned anything? Faint Attack, now!” The afterimage left by Umbreon’s Agility faded away and the real Umbreon appeared no less than three or four inches from the face of Pikachu. Pikachu looked directly into Umbreon’s black face for a split-second and let out a surprised “Pi-ka…!”

SMACK.

Umbreon rammed into Pikachu full-force, sending Pikachu into the air. Ash’s jaw dropped slightly and he uttered a shocked, “Ohh!” Gary looked at his Umbreon, and gave it a thumbs-up, which he quickly rotated to become a thumbs-down. Umbreon, who apparently understood the message, jumped into the air along with Pikachu. “Bre!” it cried as it did a somersault and hit Pikachu with its tail, sending it back to the ground. It smacked hard against the Pokeball-shaped symbol in the direct center of the arena floor, and then bounced over to Ash’s side of the stadium and landed face down.

“AND…an unexpected and, might I say, ruthless combination of attacks by Gary Oak has Pikachu eating dirt! Is this the end for Team Ketchum?” The announcer yelled over the loudspeaker.

“Nope,” Ash muttered to himself with a confident smirk – so confident, as a matter of fact, one might think that he had gone crazy, considering the situation he was in. Pikachu struggled to its feet and bore a face that clearly said that it had at least some fight left. “…Just won’t go down,” Gary muttered to himself in frustration. “Hey, Gary! I think you’ll like this move!” Ash yelled across the stadium, and Pikachu jumped high into the air. “Thunderbolt again!” Ash yelled a second time and Pikachu executed the attack. However, the Thunderbolt stopped about a half foot short of Umbreon’s position.

“I think I do like that move, seeing as it missed,” Gary shouted to Ash. “You like it now,” Ash muttered with the same smirk on his face. Pikachu landed directly in the dust blown up from its own attack. “Oh, man, I can’t see either of them!” Gary said. Then there were about five loud smacking sounds that exploded through the entire stadium. “Wow! It sure sounds fierce down there, folks, but for the moment, I can’t see a thing from up here! Who will be left standing once the dust settles!” The announcer yelled over another three SMACKS followed by a fourth, upon which Umbreon was sent flying out of the cloud of dust. It landed on the ground, rolled a couple of times, then flipped back to its feet, looking a bit worse for the wear. The announcer continued to yell, “Umbreon is ejected from the dust cloud, and it isn’t looking too well.”

“Daddy, who’s going to win?” Travis asked his father.

“Well, I don’t know, champ,” his father replied, “but it sure is fun to watch.”

“I am losing my patience with you, Ash Ketchum!” Gary yelled, and he definitely looked the part. “Umbreon! Let’s finish this now! Hyper Beam!!”
“Fine, let’s settle this!!” Ash yelled in response, “Pikachu! Thunder!!” The inside of Umbreon’s mouth began to glow in a yellowish hue, and a HUGE beam of pure energy shot toward Pikachu. Pikachu, on the other hand, was sparking so furiously, that the ground around it began to shake. Pikachu launched its attack, which looked like an ENORMOUS thunderbolt, directly toward Umbreon’s Hyper Beam. The two attacks collided, sending shockwaves across the stadium and resulted in an explosion and a flash of white light.

“My goodness!” Travis’s mother cried.

“Would ya look at that,” his father mumbled.

“Wow,” Travis stared at the television screen in awe as the bright light illuminated the entire family room in his house. Finally, the light died down to reveal both Pokemon looking extremely winded. They stared each other down for what seemed like eternity. Staring. And panting. And more staring. Finally, Umbreon, who shot an apologetic look back at its trainer, sunk to the floor…
“Umbreon is unable to continue!” the referee, clad in his familiar blue shirt, shouted, pointing a green flag in Ash and Pikachu’s direction. “The winner is Pikachu! The victory and the title of Pokemon League Champion go to Ash Ketchum!” The stadium erupted in cheers that could have been just as loud as the recent explosion. The announcer still managed to be heard over the crowd, “And there you have it, folks! That was a battle for the ages, but there can be only one winner! Ash Ketchum is the new Pokemon League Champion! From the Indigo Plateau, this is John Anauncit on behalf of Pokemon and the Pokemon League Competition, saying thank you and goodnight!”

CLICK. The television went blank. Travis the Second, his hand on the remote’s power button, lowered his hand.

“Aw, man! I wanted to see more!” whined little Travis to his father.

“There is no more. It’s over,” his dad answered simply. “Ash Ketchum won.”

“What does that mean?” asked Travis curiously.

“Well, I guess it means that Ash is a Pokemon Master,” his father responded.

“Can I be a Pokemon Master?” asked Travis, his eyes growing wider by the second.

“Yeah, if you do well at the school,” his father said, nodding. “And to do that, you need lotsa sleep, so let’s get you to bed, okay?”

“ ‘Kay!” Travis said perkily, a wide grin on his face. With that, his father lifted him up onto his back and started to walk very quickly up the stairs. Travis, one hand rubbing his eyes, blinked a couple of times, then sank into slumber on his father’s shoulder…



Chapter 1: Revolutionary War

“Pidgey…Pidgey…” an alarm clock in Travis DePaul’s room trilled about eight times in total. Travis awoke with a start and rigidly sat up on his bed. He rubbed his still drooping eyelids and blinked a couple of times in an effort to wake up completely – he wasn’t exactly what one could call a “morning person.” Travis jumped off his bed and went over to the closed door on the other side of his room.

A glance in the mirror revealed Travis as being six years older than originally mentioned. His closely cut navy blue hair had grown a little bit in the front, leaving two small bangs in the center of his forehead. However, the back had become a bit messy as time passed. Travis’ poor mother, who tried her best to keep her son looking as neat as possible during the years he went to the academy – at least before he turned nine. At that point, when it became too wild a beast for even his own mother to control, she left it to him to tame his still growing hair. Finally, he banded it into a spiky ponytail that went down to about his shoulders. This interesting hairstyle was Travis’ pride and joy – a sign of his individuality. His favorite set of pajamas were still the blue ones he wore when he was younger (in a larger size, of course), but his clothes had changed slightly for the more stylish – especially the outfit his mother had designed for him. He walked over to the closet to pick it out.

The closet opened with a quiet whoosh and Travis found his outfit immediately on the far left where he had always placed it ever since his mother made it for him. He closed the closet behind him and put on his favorite outfit. About thirty seconds later, he opened the door and stepped out, showing that his blue pajamas had been replaced by a navy blue jumpsuit with golden trim and a sky-blue, stencil pokeball on the right side of it. The jacket of that jumpsuit was made a bit like a robe. It hung down to the knees in the back, reacting to the slightest change in wind speed or direction.After he spent a couple of minutes admiring his outfit in the mirror, he turned his head slightly to look at his clock – 8:06 A.M. “Whoops! I’d better get to Professor Elm’s place right away!” Travis said to himself, and left his room, turning the lights off behind him.

Travis stepped out into the hallway, and started down the steps, but stopped when he heard the door to his parents’ bedroom open. “Champ? A bit early for you to be leaving, isn’t it?” a sleepy voice came from the opened door between yawns. Out stepped a man of about thirty-five or thirty-six years old – Travis’ father. He was wearing a white muscle shirt and blue jeans and looked like he’d just gotten out of bed. Travis couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his father. “Dad,” he said, “It’s eight already, and you complain about me sleeping too late?”

“It’s 8:00?” Travis’ father repeated, blinking in disbelief.

Travis nodded and replied, “I’ve got to be at Professor Elm’s lab at 8:30. I don’t want to be late and get, like, a Magikarp or something.”

“But couldn’t being late be a good thing?” his father asked. “I’ve heard that Ash Ketchum got that Pikachu of his because he was too late to get the ones that were already there.”

“No, no…” muttered Travis, shaking his head, “As far as I’ve heard, Professor Elm got an Eevee, a Chikorita, a Totodile, and a Cyndaquil. No Pikachu. So in this case, being late isn’t good. Besides, I don’t want that jerk Nate to snag my Eevee.”

“Ah, that’s another matter entirely…” his father mumbled. “Why don’t you get along with Nate, anyway?”

“Because he’s mean to everyone, because he has respect for neither you nor Professor Elm, who’s your good friend, and his cousin, and because he’s just not a very nice person,” answered Travis tersely. “Dad, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get to the lab before I’m really late.”

“Alright,” said his father, conceding defeat in this small debate – he could use another hour’s sleep. “You are coming back before you actually leave, right?”

“Sure, I will,” said Travis, smiling, “Mom would have a heart attack if I just left without saying anything to her.”

“Alright then, champ, take care of your business. There’ll be a surprise waiting for you when you get back,” his father attempted to end the conversation, and when Travis opened his mouth, his father preempted him and said, “…and don’t bother asking because I’m not telling you a thing until you get home.”

“Okay, I’m going, then,” said Travis. He opened the door, stepped outside, and shut it a little harder than he normally would have. “Thanks for ruining my morning,” he muttered to himself angrily. To Travis, Nate wasn’t exactly a good topic for morning conversation – or any conversation, for that matter. Nate came from one of the higher-class families of New Bark Town, and on top of that he was the son of Professor Elm’s younger cousin, so he got what he called “special privileges.” He and Travis were two of the four trainers that were leaving on their journeys today. Travis had interesting relationships with the other kids his age in New Bark Town. One was his best friend, Shiro. “Is Shiro even up yet?” Travis wondered. Shiro was a slightly rebellious, budding ladies’ man whose love for fire Pokemon was matched only by his love for skateboarding. However, with all of these great attributes, there was one glaring fault that Travis, despite being his best friend, had low tolerance for – Shiro had an annoying tendency to be late, especially for something important. Missing fifteen minutes at the arcade wasn’t a big deal, but if he missed this…

“Travis! Travis!” came a yell from his left. Travis looked in that direction and saw Shiro, who was fully dressed and carrying a skateboard in hand. Today, Shiro donned his usual spiky, bright-red hair and blue jeans. He was also wearing a white t-shirt covered by a long-sleeved red one with black trim and a black-and-white yin-yang on each shoulder. For Shiro, even though the inner garment would change occasionally (at least in color), the red shirt on the outside was a constant. He usually kept it buttoned in the winter months, but open in summer. It was open today – it was the first of June and meteorologists expected a warm day ahead.

“Shiro!” shouted Travis, running over to meet him. High-fiving his best friend, he said, “So you’re on time for once?”

Shiro looked at him in an expression of near disbelief and answered, “You thought I’d miss something this important? C’mon, be real about things. This is my chance to finally be away from my family…and my klutz of a little brother, Marco.” The two began to walk toward the lab, which could be easily seen from their street. “You know I had to change my pants today because that clumsy brat spilled orange juice on them?” Shiro complained.

“So you were up early enough to have breakfast today?” asked Travis with a wry smile. Just then, they passed by a house that was larger than the rest, and had a rather ornate gate on the front. “Y’know, when I was young, I used to think that this was the best house in the world,” Travis began. “But, now, since Nate moved in five years ago…”

“Yeah…” sighed Shiro. “You haven’t liked him since he showed up.”

“Me?!” yelled Travis, “Need I remind you about the little picture incident in art class when we were eight?”

“Oh, yeah,” Shiro sighed again nostalgically, “How could I forget? Our teacher asked us all to bring in a baby picture of ourselves, and just before he showed his, I switched it with the picture of a Rattata.”

“Skinny as a mouse, and teeth bigger than his head,” they both said at the same time, then burst into a fit of laughter. After a few seconds, Travis shook his head, and between laughs, said, “Okay, we’re here. Let’s just go inside. “

---

Stepping into the lab, Travis ignored the rest of the books and computer equipment. He did notice, however, that at least one of the other two trainers were already here. The only one that wasn’t, it seemed, was Professor Elm himself. “I’m gonna have to get used to that,” Travis mumbled. There used to be a time when Professor Elm was at the lab for days on end and never left.

“You know what I heard about Elm?” asked Shiro.

“Uh-uh,” said Travis, shaking his head and hungrily waiting to gobble up the latest gossip.

“I heard that Mrs. Elm said she’d divorce the professor if he didn’t get a social life – and quick…” responded Shiro, almost like the very thought was amusing to him.

Suddenly, a piercing mid-range voice cut into the two friends’ conversation and yelled, “You guys are late!!” Travis, who had had his full attention on what Shiro was saying, turned and looked in the direction where the voice had come from. There he saw a boy with slick, jet-black hair and a very expensive-looking burgundy outfit. This was Nathaniel Elm, or “Nate,” for short. Shiro loved to insult him, and many times, Travis joined in. “Nate, Nate,” Shiro said, shaking his head in pity, “you must have come here in such a hurry that you left your common sense at home.”

Travis gave Shiro a strange look and drawled, “But he always does that,” at which Nate growled at him. Shiro said, “If you’re not completely blind and stupid, Nate, you’ll notice that your cousin, Professor Elm, isn’t here at the moment, and as such, we are not late, but actually quite early.”

“You low-class scum!” Nate growled, walking over to Shiro and forcefully grabbing him by the collar.

“Uh…Nate, you don’t wanna do that…” Travis pleaded. Shiro was great at martial arts. His sensei was a student of Bruno, a former member of the Elite Four. He figured that grabbing Shiro like that simply could not have a good end result.

It didn’t.

Shiro slipped under Nate’s grip, pulling the latter’s left hand along with him and between his legs. Shiro then stood and quickly yanked the hand between Nate’s legs upward, resulting in Nate slumping to the floor uttering a short and rather feminine squeal. “Oh, please, enough,” a girl’s voice came from the front door of the lab. A twelve-year old girl with hot-pink, shoulder-length hair and a low-cut shirt and pants of the same color stood in the doorway for a few seconds, then walked towards the scene.

“Katrina…” Nate groaned quietly and in a voice slightly higher than normal, “How embarrassing to be in this position because of that penniless idiot…” This was the fourth and last trainer – Katrina Sasano. She was easily one of the most popular students at the Academy. Why? She was, as one boy put it, “A perfect blend that makes everyone happy.” She was quite tomboyish enough to play with the boys, and yet at the same time feminine enough to relate to the girls. She had reached an immaculate middle ground that few girls her age – or any other age – could hope to. Her family was nearly as rich as Nate’s was, but she was much more down-to-earth than he.
Katrina looked at Nate and did a fake pout and giggled at him. “I’d kick you in your face right now,” she said wryly, “but I don’t think it’s worth getting my shoe dirty. Plus, considering what part of your body you’ve got your hands on,” she raised an eyebrow, “I think you’ve gone through enough pain already. Wait a second...wasn't the prof right behi…”

“WATCH OUT!!” a voice yelled from the door. Nate attempted to stand up, and Travis looked that way. Katrina gasped. A split second later, the four trainers were on the ground, joined by a man that looked to be in his later 30’s with khaki pants, a white lab jacket, brown hair and glasses. Red computer-like devices and pokeballs were also scattered everywhere.

---

Big ups to Cs32 for emailing me all 20+ chapters so I could get this thing going again.

*bows*

*worships*

*bows and worships some more*

A little advice to all of you fellow writers...if somebody says that they saved your entire fic (at least as far as it went) to their computer, that means that they like it, so try as hard as you can to keep it going.

Thus, I will try again.

- ;133; EM1, out...but there's more where this came from.
 
Last edited:

Demy

Well-Known Member
yep not bad i will read the next chapter.

Demy
 

WaterTrainer243

Veteran Water Lover
Once again we're witnessing the adventures of Travis DePaul III and this time I hope it keeps going. Keep it up buddy.
 

EonMaster One

saeculum harmonia
Chapter 2

I see I've gotten close to probably 50-75 views, so at least people know that I'm here.

Chapter 2: Blessing of the Bloodline

“Ohh…my head,” groaned Travis, rubbing his temple and grimacing. “Did anyone get the number of that bus?”

“Nah,” grunted Shiro, hands over his eyes, “but I think that it came from Elm Street.”

“I should have warned you that the Professor was right behind me,” Katrina said apologetically, bringing herself off of her backside into a standing position once again.

Nate was the last to get up, and he wasn’t so good-natured about it. “Crap!” he shouted as he got up. Then, looking down at his older cousin with disdain, he said, “You, your lab, your books, and your receding hairline are all so clumsy! That’s why adults, especially nerdy ones, should stick to walking!”

“Would you calm down?” Katrina said, irritation causing her voice to rise slightly. “It’s because of him that we’re even going on our own journeys. If not, you’d still be up at your mansion, being babysat by your mother’s maid.”

“Can you do everyone a favor and shut it, darling?” said Nate quickly. He loved to “flirt” with Katrina to make her angry, if nothing else. “I didn’t even want to go on this journey. My father made me and said that it would ‘toughen me up.’ I’m already tough enough to take on the whole world! What’s the use of this ‘journey’?”

“Hah, at least someone in your family has some sense, Nate,” Shiro said scornfully.

“At least someone in my family has some real money,” Nate retorted with a scoff.

“Heck of a lot of good it did you as a person,” Katrina grumbled, rolling her eyes, then, fixing them in a steely gaze upon Nate. She said, “By the way…if you ever call me ‘darling’ again, the next thing you’ll feel is my foot halfway up your…”

“Calm down!” came another voice besides Travis. Professor Elm had stood up in all of his six-foot-plus glory. Nate, although not very nice about it, was right about one thing – the Professor’s hairline had taken a bit of a retreat over the years and now sat right where the top of his head curved down into his spectacled face. “We don’t want a fight in here, it’ll mess up all of the equipment.”

“Who cares about your equipment?” questioned Nate hotly. He had his arms folded and looked like he was ready to kick something. The Professor ignored him, seemingly not willing to dignify Nate’s comment in the least with an answer. He then proceeded to pick up the four red objects and the four pokeballs one at a time while the four trainers watched in almost complete quiet.

Then, taking a deep breath, Professor Elm said in a voice a bit firmer than usually uttered by this shy intellectual, “I do, Nathaniel, and I’ll thank you to have more respect for others and their property.” Then, setting the pokeballs and red devices on a nearby table in 2 rows, he said, “Hopefully when you come back from your journey, for lack of being tougher, you’ll be a little more mature.”

“Ooooh…” chorused Travis and Shiro.

“Y’know, you two have a nasty habit of putting your noses in other people’s business,” retorted Nate.

“Do we care? Not exactly,” responded Shiro coolly, shaking his head.
Remembering what his father had said to him earlier that morning, Travis asked, “Can we get what we came for and leave? I’ve got somewhere to be.”
“As do I; the missus wants me to take a day off – again,” added Professor Elm, adjusting his glasses and looking as if he took no pleasure at all in the idea. “Alright,” he said, turning toward the tables upon which he had set the things he was carrying. The four pokeballs were in a row on the front, and behind each Pokeball was one of those red devices.

“That’s the Pokedex, right?” asked Travis, pointing at the red devices.

“Yes, they are,” answered Professor Elm. “They all store data on in excess of two hundred Pokemon. They’re like…”

“High-tech encyclopedias,” droned the four trainers in unison. They had learned about the Pokedex in school a couple of years ago.

“Ah! You four have been doing your homework, and that’s exactly why you’re here!” exclaimed the Professor, after which he turned around to grab the Pokedex and corresponding pokeball on the far right of the table. “Let’s get started then. Now, I, unlike some other members of my family who are here, am a gentleman, so I always let a lady go first. Katrina?” he beckoned to the girl to come up to the desk, while taking a piece of paper and pen out of one of his many pockets. Then, giving the pokeball and Pokedex to Katrina, he muttered, “One Chikorita, female,” and made a very quick motion with his pen across the checklist of sorts. “Next is…Nate,” he said with a hint of disdain in his voice. Nate stepped up to the table, and without waiting for the Professor to hand them over, grabbed his pokeball and Pokedex. Adjusting his spectacles in an irritated fashion, he checked off a list, “One Totodile, male.”

Nate spun the pokeball containing his Totodile. The ball still spinning on his finger, he said, “Squall…that’s a good name for you.” Catching the pokeball with the same hand in a quick motion, he turned to Katrina and exclaimed, “Just because you’re my girl and all doesn’t mean that I’m gonna go easy on you when we get to the Johto League Championships!”

“Give it a rest already,” Katrina responded, shaking her head again. “If you were to battle me with that Totodile anytime after today, you’d be at a serious disadvantage. Riti and I would crush you. And by the way, I’m not, nor have I ever been your ‘girl’.”

“Gah,” groaned Shiro as he went to get his pair of items. “Way too much drama going on here. It’s like something you see on your mom’s stories.”

“One Cyndaquil, male,” murmured Professor Elm, checking his list a third time.

“Alright, Blaze! It’s you and me!” cried Shiro, strapping the pokeball that contained Blaze, his Cyndaquil, to his belt.

“Travis, looks like you’re last,” said Professor Elm. For some reason, he sounded nervous.

Travis stepped up to the table, his hand quivering with excitement. He tried to calm himself a bit before he grabbed either item – his hands were shaking so much that he would most likely drop and break the Pokedex if he tried to pick it up. Finally, he steadied his hand enough to pick up the pokeball, and then went for the Pokedex with the other. A grin crossed Travis’ face, and he began to walk over to his friend Shiro to start a conversation. A few steps away from Professor Elm, he was still in earshot. Professor Elm murmured, nearly in a whisper, “One Eevee, female.” Shiro’s jaw dropped, and Travis stopped mid-step (that is, one of his feet hadn’t touched the ground yet) and whirled around. He put a knuckle in his ear, gnarled it, and said, “Sorry, Professor, I don’t think I heard you right.”

“No, you heard me right,” said Prof. Elm in a sorrowful tone when he realized he had been caught. “Sorry, she’s the only one Professor Oak had. Apparently his Umbreon hasn’t been…” his voice trailed off.

“What was that?” asked Travis.

The Professor quickly shook his head and answered, “Nothing, nothing. Are you sure about this? I could get you another Pokemon entirely. Of course, you’d have to wait a week or two…” A really great idea, Travis thought acerbically, to let Nate get two weeks ahead of me and act like it was his skills as a trainer that got him there, when he’s nothing but a spoiled rich boy. “No, I’ll find a way to deal,” Travis answered.

“You should be happy,” said Nate scornfully. “Even though it’s your bad taste that got you into this situation; Eevee’s a wimpy Pokemon to start with. Look on the bright side, though. You get a Pokemon and a girlfriend all in one!”

“Hey, Katrina,” Travis said without looking at Nate, “could you do me a favor? I’m not quite close enough right now.”

“Okay,” Katrina said, smiling at Travis. She always talked to him a little differently than she did the other boys his age. It was like all her feelings were amplified when she talked to him – if she was happy, she was nicer to him than anyone else, but if she was angry or sad, then Travis found it more convenient for the two of them not to cross paths, for he knew that he would bear the full brunt of her wrath. Travis actually didn’t talk to her much, because he didn’t really know what she thought of him. Truth be told, he didn’t know what he thought of her, either. “Oh, Nate,” said Katrina almost teasingly.

Nate, who was just waiting for the chance to talk, replied, “Yes, darling?”
Katrina overlooked the second offense for the time being and said, “You really should try being a little nicer. And by the way…”

WHACK.

Katrina had hit Nate directly over the top of his head with her left fist, leaving an exaggerated, red bump the size of a tennis ball on that location and said, “That one was from Travis. And…”

WHACK.

Katrina hit him a second time – hard. Travis winced when he heard the contact. “That’s for calling me darling again!” A slightly smaller bump appeared on the head of the one that had just formed.

“God!” growled Nate, rubbing his head. “So it’s ‘beat-up-Nathaniel-Elm-day’ today, is it?”

“I wish it was every day,” said Shiro with a laugh. “That’s what I like about this Pokemon Journey. I’ll have no idea where the heck you are, and I won’t care as long as you’re as far away as possible.”

“I’ll do you that favor,” retorted Nate, “when I get my eighth badge before you guys even get to Cherrygrove!”

“Not a chance!” exclaimed Shiro confidently, “Isn’t that right, Travis?” No answer. “Travis?” Shiro turned toward the door just in time to see a figure exit and make a right turn down the road. Travis had left.



Walking through his neighborhood, Travis decided to open his Pokedex and examine it. He opened it much like one would open a cellular phone, and a robotic voice emanated from the speaker-like holes in the center. It said, “Model name: Pokedex, six-one-three-four-zero-zero-one. Abbreviated name: Dexter II. This device verifies that Travis DePaul the Third of New Bark Town has received his Trainer’s License and is thus eligible to participate in gym matches, tournaments, and events of the like.” Closing the Pokedex, Travis looked up and saw an unfamiliar car in front of his house. Wondering what was going on, he gingerly stepped toward the door, and opened it.
As Travis stepped into the door, he heard an elderly voice that said, “Junior, the little one’s here.” Travis’ father stepped out near the steps and said, “Champ?” Travis nodded, a wide grin on his face.

“How’d it go?” his father asked. Still grinning, Travis handed the pokeball to his father. His father pressed the button and the ball opened from the middle and a white stream of light shot out of it and gradually materialized into a small creature with quite long and pointed ears. The light faded to reveal a brown fox-like Pokemon with black ears and white fur on her tail and right below her head. She shook her head and uttered with a confused look, “Vee?”

Travis opened his Pokedex, which revealed an Eevee just like the one standing before him. The Pokedex said in its same mechanical voice, “Eevee, the Evolution Pokemon. Its ability to evolve into many forms allows it to adapt smoothly and perfectly to any environment.”

“Wow! How cute!” said Travis’ mother, who was running toward the front door.

“Yeah…” said Travis, hand behind his head, “she is kind of cute.”

“Cute? She’s just like an angel!!” Travis’ mother gushed.

“Angel?” Travis said to himself. And there went the lightbulb. This was his Eevee, after all, and she needed a nickname. If he wasn’t going crazy, then that sounded like the perfect nickname for his Eevee. Angel…

“It’s perfect!” he shouted suddenly.

“Oh!” exclaimed Travis’ startled mother.

“What’s perfect?” asked his father.

“The name! Angel!” Travis exclaimed with elation. Then, kneeling down and looking straight at his new Pokemon, he said, “Eevee.” The little creature was running in a circle, but stopped, looked straight in Travis eyes, and said, “Ee-vee?”

“My name is Travis. Can you hear me?” said Travis uncertainly.

“Vee…” his Eevee said with a nod.

“I’m gonna call you ‘Angel’.” Travis said to her. “From now on, that’s your name.”

“Vee! Vee-eev, ee-vee!” Angel answered happily, running around Travis’ ankles in a circle.

“Looks like the lass has taken a liking to you,” another voice – the same aged one as Travis had heard before, joined in the conversation. Travis looked up from observing Angel and saw a tall, thin man that must have been in his mid-sixties, with gray hair in the same style he and his father had (although slightly less of it) a short-sleeve dress shirt and black overalls much like a farmer would wear.


“Grandfather?” uttered Travis, his jaw dropping. The old man nodded, and outstretched his arms.

“Grandfather!” exclaimed Travis, running to hug him. He hadn’t seen his grandfather in person since his family went to visit Ecruteak City on a vacation two years ago.

“He came all the way down from Ecruteak just to see you off on your journey,” Travis’ mother said.

“Travis, you can leave soon, but first, your grandfather has something to tell you,” his father added.

“Hmm, now, how do I begin,” Travis DePaul the First looked toward the ceiling for a moment, then, putting his right hand on the top of his grandson’s head, he began, “Little one, you are the third generation in a line of great Pokemon trainers. Me, I began my journey about fifty-five years ago with one of those Charmander. I defeated all eight of Johto’s gym leaders in a matter of four months. Yet my journey still continues…you see, even in my old years, I’m still learning, and it should be the same for you as well. If an experience on your journey has truly had an impact on you, you will carry that memory even to your deathbed.” As Travis’ grandfather got to this point in his speech, his manner grew stronger, and he ended with firmness in his voice and eyes Travis had never seen before. “In your veins runs the DePaul family blood – my blood…your father’s blood…your blood. One and the same. Keep true to yourself, true to your family’s honor…and your ventures will always prosper. Now, go on and make your father and I proud, little one.”

“I will,” Travis answered. “Angel, follow me!”

“Vee!” Angel exclaimed, and did so.

“Wait for us! We wanted to walk you to Route 29!” his father called after him.



Gazing down picturesque Route 29, Travis thought about many things – the fact that he would be leaving his parents for a while, the fact that he would be on his own, and the fact that his choices and decisions that he made would affect his own destiny, Angel’s destiny, and the destiny of all the Pokemon he would soon catch. Travis DePaul took one last look at his waving parents (his mother was sobbing a bit), and his grandfather, then looked out to Route 29, right into the sun-lit horizon.

“Angel!” Travis called to his Eevee. Angel jumped onto Travis’ right shoulder with a loud and excited-sounding “Vee!”

“It’s just us two from here on out, Angel. Are you ready?” Travis asked in a reassuring tone. Of course, even though he sounded confident, he was afraid – but not of what you might think. He was afraid only of his lack of fear. Maybe it was the fact that he and Angel seemed to form an instant bond even though they only met each other hours ago. Just maybe it was the fact that he knew his friend Shiro was out there, somewhere, enjoying the pleasures and trials of an adventure same but altogether different. Perhaps it was the sight of his family urging him on, or the sight of the sun right in front of him, beckoning to him, “Come forward. Come forward.” He didn’t know what it was – something intangible, but for some reason, he had no fear.


Chapter 3 coming...
 

Hoenn Warrior

All Terrain Trainer
AWESOME!!! Travis is back!!! Cant wait to see him in action again and KICKING NATE'S SORRY A**!!!! I hope to see Katrina and Travis hook up and Shiro too with someone else. This is one heck of a story that i cant wait to read once again and get caught up on Travis's adventures. Hope you bring the next chapter out soon.
 

Cs32

SUGAR!!!
Woo you got it going again, uhh havent read these revised chapters yet, just sent the ones you said got deleted and I kind of got to go right now. By the way.....thank you (bows) thank you (bows).
Later,
~~CS~~
 

Castform

Serge Rules!
Can't wait til' your next chapter, these were good! ^^ Before ever reading a story, I like to find out what the Characters name mean, So here they are,

Travis- Crossing
Shiro- Fourth Son
Katrina- Pure
Nathaniel- Gift from God

It is just very intresting how the name and the chracter fit together sometimes, Also I find it ironic that the name Katrina means pure, I mean after the New Orleans incident...
 

IceKing

Sexorific!
Aye, hey EonMaster! You probably don't remember, but I was an original reader of this fic and plan on reading this one again. I'm sorry I never read Hoeen Adventures or w/e it was called; I was too busy around the time of that one being released. You are a bloody brilliant writer, your generic style always keeps me interested and you just write extremely well! However, you should know I upped my standards a lot since I last read the original version XD

I kinda disliked the fact that you started with him seeing Ash Ketchum succeed because Ash is a wee bit overused in prologues. You should have done someone random like...umm...that Charmander guy from the anime become pokemon master! ONe of the biggest flaws of this fic so far is that basically the beginning has been done over and over again, it really isn't anything special. I don't mind overused plots/pokemon (*cough*Eevee*cough*) too much as long as their written extremely well and do have some ounce of originality.

One thing you should really watch out for is your charachters ending up too incredibly flat or cliched. Katrina (I'm not goign to stop thinking about hurricanes...) charachter is rather...typical and it is super dee duper obvious that she and Travis are going to become a thing XD Shiro's charachter I really like; he seems cool and he skateboards. Travis is pretty cool, just make sure he has a life outside of pokemon training. Most people in OT fics tend not to o_0. Lastly, please don't make Nate such the stereotyped bad guy. Apparently he's rich, snobby, and everyone hates him with a burning passion (pictures Katrina bashing him in the head). He has to have some depth as well, there are souls behind the bad guys we constantly see. He has to have his good sides as well ^^ Be sure to show them to us!

Well, Im done with crit so onto the compliments! I like your style of writing immensely, it just keeps me interested which is usually hard to do. And if Travis is the chosen one for something, I promise I will snap Cs32s neck! You have a good fic on your hands...try and be as original as you can!
 

WaterTrainer243

Veteran Water Lover
IceKing, he's had this story planned out from the beginning. Not to mention he INTENDED Katrina and Nate to be the way they were.
 

Cs32

SUGAR!!!
Umm why would you snap my neck if hes a chosen one Ice? Ermmm is it because thats how the last chapter i wrote for my fic was before I....ditched it?
Later,
~~CS~~
 

EonMaster One

saeculum harmonia
Chapter 3.

WT243, thanks for trying to defend me, but you're only half right. I did have a lot of things planned out from the start of the fic the first time I wrote it...but that doesn't mean that I can't change things this time over.

As for IceKing snapping Cs32's neck: I'm afraid that I would have to cause you a serious injury if you were to do anything of the sort, seeing as this fic wouldn't even be here if it weren't for Cs32's help.

With that said...on to chapter 3.

Chapter 3: Storm before the Calm

It was a beautiful day on Route 29. Travis was finally starting his Pokémon journey, something for which he had been waiting years. Angel, Travis’ Eevee, was skipping happily by his side. Except for the occasional tree, all that could be seen towards the horizon was grassland and the little dirt path that he and Angel were on. Looking into the sky, he saw a few pink-colored Pokémon with green leaves growing out of their heads. The leaves seemed to be rotating as the Pokémon flew on the breeze in rows of three or four, uttering, “Hop-pip…hop-pip…hop-pip…”

Travis raised an eyebrow and said, “What are those?” Then he thought for a second and exclaimed, “Hey! Dexter II can help me!” Opening Dexter, he pointed the device at the pink Pokémon, and Dexter II immediately showed the same Pokémon on its small screen and said in a monotone voice, “Hoppip, the Cottonweed Pokémon. It can be carried away on even the gentlest breeze. It may even float all the way to the next town.” Travis looked up in an attempt to observe them again, but they were already shrinking from sight as they flew further and further down Route 29.

“Uh…they look weak…” Travis muttered.

“Vee…” Angel shook her head.

“I dunno…I wonder if there are any strong Pokémon on this road?” Travis muttered again.

“Vee-vee…” Angel said softly. Just then, what looked like a brown ball of fur rolled up in front of them in the middle of the dirt path.

“What?” uttered Travis.

“Vee?” said Angel in the same questioning tone.

The brown furball unfurled itself into a creature with ears and feet that were tiny in proportion to its body, which was marked with what looked like a bulls-eye on its stomach. Its tail was dark brown with lighter brown stripes and very large. The creature looked at Travis, then at Angel, then back at Travis, and then uttered in a high-pitched voice, “Sen-tret!!” Travis opened his Pokedex and pointed it at the brown Pokémon. The Pokedex immediately droned, “Sentret, the Scout Pokémon. When acting as a lookout, it warns others of danger by screeching and hitting the ground with its tail.”

“Vee…” said Angel disappointedly, her ears drooping slightly.

“I know,” responded Travis, “It’s not that impressive, but it's still better than Hoppip. You feel up to battling?”

“Ee-vee!” Angel’s ears perked up as she did a rather fancy looking somersault off of Travis’ shoulder and onto the ground. She pawed the ground aggressively, staring down her foe-to-be. The Sentret, sensing Angel’s obvious challenge, yelled, “Sen-tret!” and lowered itself onto all fours. Angel switched her attention to Travis in a look that so obviously was asking, “Do you know what you’re doing?”

Travis, who couldn’t help but understand, replied audibly and a bit nervously, “Not exactly.” Angel growled in slight frustration then turned back to Sentret. Angel stared Sentret down in such a fashion that Travis, for a moment, thought of asking her if she could see Cherrygrove City from where she was standing. Sentret wasn’t backing down. In what was probably met to be either an attempt to intimidate Angel or to warm itself up for the battle, Sentret stood on its tail, jumping around repeatedly. After about six seconds of this activity, Sentret crouched on its tail and suddenly launched itself at Angel. Angel rolled out of the way with a surprised, “EEV!”

“Whoa!” exclaimed Travis, taken aback by the sudden charge. “What now?” He opened Dexter II and it said robotically, “Eevee’s attacks are the following: Tackle…Tail Whip.” Travis thought to himself for a few seconds…okay, about fifteen seconds. “Vee-vee ee-vee!” Angel exclaimed as she went flying through the air, having been the victim of another Tackle attack.

“Angel, let’s go! Tackle attack!” cried Travis. Angel smirked to herself and started dashing toward Sentret at full speed. Angel rammed into Sentret, sending it airborne in a ball. Sentret landed on the dirt, bounced, and then uncurled and righted itself with an annoyed “…tret!”

“There we go!” Travis exclaimed, pumping his fist. Meanwhile, Sentret began to charge Angel a second time. “Jump and go into a Tail Whip!” Travis cried with confidence. Angel jumped over Sentret’s attack, and just as Sentret was directly under her, somersaulted again, bringing her tail around and right down onto the head of Sentret, who hit the ground face-first and skidded for a few feet with a muffled “Sentret!!”

“Vee-vee!” Angel said, landing on the ground and turning around and looking at her downed opponent. Sentret staggered to its feet with a weak, “Sen…tre…”

“Vee!” Angel yelled, obviously frustrated that Sentret hadn’t gone down yet.

“I know, I know…” said Travis sympathetically, “Just focus and finish this battle. Sentret can’t take another hit, so it’ll be over soon.”

”Vee…vee…vee…” Angel panted. Sentret started to charge her once again.

“That’s enough!” Travis shouted. “Angel, Tail Whip!” Sentret continued to charge Angel, who stood her ground and rotated slightly in preparation for the attack. Just when it seemed to be much too late, Angel pivoted on her feet and swung her tail towards Sentret. It caught Sentret right in the face, sending it backward into a nearby tree with a pain-ridden “Sen!” it hung on the tree for a split second, then slid down its trunk and muttered, “Treeeet…” and hit the ground.

“Is it over?” asked Travis again.

“Eev…” Angel murmured. Sentret still wasn’t getting up.

“It looks like you won,” said Travis.

Angel looked up at Travis, smiled for a second, and then collapsed.

“Angel!” Travis exclaimed, dropping to his knees to pick her up. “You did well,” Travis sighed, scooping Angel into his arms and continuing his walk down Route 29. Travis lost himself in the rolling plains, and looked down at Angel in his arms and the road that seemed to stretch on forever. The evening sun was right in his face (for he was going west). Travis didn’t bother trying to shield his eyes from the glaring sunlight – he was too concentrated on using both arms to carry Angel as carefully as possible. He could always return her to her Pokéball…but he had a feeling that she wouldn’t like that very much. He was always curious about that. How does it feel to be in a pokéball? It was something he was always curious about, but it was kind of like wondering what death felt like – he wanted to know, but was aware of how little he would enjoy finding out. Besides, he liked her company – even if she was asleep.

There was no more sunlight as Travis watched his own steps down in the dirt. The temperature hadn’t changed much – it was still quite warm out, despite being slightly later in the day. Travis looked upward for the first time in what must have been hours,. The sky had gone livid, a lifeless color of dark gray. Travis knew that this dreary sky could only mean one thing –

“No…” he muttered, “It’s gonna rain soon.” Stubbornly, he kept walking toward Cherrygrove City. “I’ve got to keep going,” Travis said to himself. “If I want to be the best, I can’t slack off.” His words rang loud and clear in his mind, but his legs felt like jelly, and his breathing was labored. He could hear his stomach growl over a distant rumble of thunder. He came to a fork in the road, looked up for a moment, and it started to rain. Drops upon drops fell. It increased in intensity until finally, Travis found himself standing in the torrent of a late-spring thundershower. Squinting his eyes slightly to look at the sign near the fork in the road, he saw that going straight would lead him to Cherrygrove City, but taking a right would lead him to Route…what? He tried to look at the sign again but couldn’t see it. “I can’t read the number,” Travis grumbled to himself as lightning flashed across the sky above him. Turning right, he struggled to take a few steps in that direction. What he didn’t see was that a root from a nearby tree had overextended and come up above ground in the dirt pathway. He tripped over the root and hit the ground hard with a slight splash.

“No…” he muttered to himself. He had no energy to get up, and he knew Angel didn’t, either. He brought himself to his feet and looked straight ahead to see a tall brick building. “Look, there’s shelter,” he murmured to Angel, and started running towards it as fast as his empty stomach and lifeless legs would allow. He came to the door – he didn’t have enough energy to stop…the doors swung open automatically and Travis ran straight in.

Travis ran about two steps in onto hard tile floor. On tile floor like this, as many know, traction is nonexistent, especially when it’s wet. Travis’ legs slid out from under him. He was going face down, which would mean that Angel would take the full force of the blow! She had already pushed herself way too hard, and Travis wouldn’t forgive himself if anything happened to her. He found just enough energy to rotate his body in mid-slide, and then he fell backward. He felt a crushing contact on the back of his head, and everything went dark.



“Gah…this isn’t cool…” Travis thought to himself. “I can’t believe this. Is my journey really gonna end when I haven’t been out here for a full day yet?”

“Hey, kid!” came a voice from…somewhere…

“Who’s that…” Travis muttered in his head.

“Kid! Kid, wake up!” the same voice said.

“I’m dead…” Travis murmured.

“Hey, kid, you’re alive, wake up!”

“I’m alive? Leave me alone. My head hurts.”

“Are you alright?”

“I think I just busted my head open. No, I’m not alright,” retorted Travis, wondering whom it was he was talking to.

“The storm’s over. You can keep going.” The voice said again. Travis still didn’t want to open his eyes. He felt like someone had hit him over the skull with a hammer or some other hard object. He wasn’t sure if he was even alive or not, and this…guy…keeps talking to him. He thought to himself how strange he would feel if no one was around, and wondered if anyone heard him talking to nobody – if there was anyone in there in the first place.

“Vee…” said a familiar voice in a worried tone.

“Angel?” Travis said, his eyes instantly opening wide. He sat up with a start and looked around him. He immediately squinted from the sudden intake of light. When his eyes recovered, he found that he was in an all-white room with tile floor and a few couches. There was also a desk of sorts toward the middle of the room. There was no one to be found – not even Angel was there. Travis stood up fearfully, wondering if he was hearing voices, when he heard another one and felt two firm hands on his shoulders force him back down onto that couch.

“Whoa, chill out, man,” the voice said in an accent almost characteristic of a surfer-type persona. Travis turned around and saw Angel sitting happily on the top of the couch, and a tall, young man that had to be no older than twenty, if that. His dark-brown hair reached his shoulders in a style that many know as the “mullet,” and he was wearing shades. He had a light-looking yellow t-shirt on and blue jeans.

“Marty’s the name. How ‘bout you?” the young man asked.

“Travis DePaul,” Travis answered nervously, “I came from…”

“New Bark Town,” Marty cut him off. “Looks like you ran into a little bad weather, huh?”

“You could say that…” said Travis calmly. “So, where am I now?”

“Well, you’re not that far from Cherrygrove, so you could get there before sunrise,” Marty replied.

Travis gave him a puzzled look and said, “What do you mean, ‘before sunrise?’”

Marty answered, “Well…it’s about five o’clock.”

Travis yelled, “In the morning?!”

Marty shook his head and said, “Yeah…you’ve been out for a full night.”

Travis jumped off of the couch and muttered, “Well, now I feel like a dunce. I’ve awoken when it’s too early to go out, and at the same time too late to go back to bed without oversleeping.”

Marty answered, “Well, I’ve got some leftover breakfast that you can munch on before you go. For your Eevee, too.”

Travis looked at Angel for a moment. She nodded. He looked back at Marty and said, “Why not?”



Before them laid sausage and some toast with jelly. Angel was having her breakfast in a bowl by Travis’ feet. Taking the first hunk of sausage into his mouth and swallowing it, Travis asked, “So, Marty, what’s this building here for?”

“Well,” Marty answered, “it’s a checkpoint between here and Blackthorn City.”

Travis, nearly jumping out of his chair from surprise, said, “Blackthorn City?! That’s where the last gym is, right?”

“Yeah,” Marty replied, his eyes downcast slightly, “It’s kind of one-way, though. There’s this place called the ‘Dragon’s Holy Land’ inside Blackthorn City, but the city itself is also called ‘Wyvern Sanctuary’. Now, Dragon-type Pokémon are some of the rarest and most powerful around, but it’s for that same reason that Pokémon thieves…jerks like this Team Rocket I heard about when I was about your age.” Seeing the worried look on Travis’ face, he quickly said, “Oh, they were broken up by the Champion and his Elite Four nearly three and a half years ago. Rumor has it that two Team Rocket agents – the same two that Ash Ketchum himself defeated every single day – saw the error of their ways and joined the Coalition of trainers that eventually captured their leader, Giovanni, and got him locked up for about thirty, thirty-five years.”

“But that won’t remove the threat entirely,” said Travis astutely.

“You’d better believe it won’t,” said Marty, whisking away the both of their plates as they were finished eating. “I always thought it was a bad idea to remove Team Rocket off the map entirely. Just keep them down so they don’t try anything stupid. Now the cops don’t have much to do, so they’re gettin’ lazy. That opens up the door for whoever’s gonna come next. Like AURA, for instance.”

Raising an eyebrow, Travis repeated, “AURA?”

“Angelos Upland Raiders Agency,” Marty replied, “They're a band that are trying to 'collect' strong Pokemon to dominate Johto...or at least that’s what I’ve heard. That’s all I’ve heard, actually…” his voice trailed off.

Travis stood up and went over to the couch he had been laying on. Finding his new bag, a blue one with a red stencil pokéball in the center, Travis threw it over his left shoulder. He beckoned to Angel, who, happily fed, jumped up onto his other shoulder. He turned his head in Marty’s direction, and said, “I guess I’ll have to find this out when I get there,” and started toward the door.

“Hey, Travis!” Marty yelled after him. Travis turned his head in that direction. Marty said, “I’ve seen those eyes before. Just…as a friend, promise me that you won’t do anything too crazy.”

“I won’t,” answered Travis with a smile. “I’ll just be ready when they come.”

“Alright, man, I’ll hold you to that,” Marty said. “Take care. See you when you come back!”

“See ya,” Travis said, and walked outside.



He replayed the last night in his head over and over again as he reached the fork in the road (taking care, this time, to step over the tree root.) “Guess there really are some good people in this world, huh, Angel?” he said.

“Vee!” Angel answered with a wide smile.

Suddenly remembering the apparent injury that Angel had suffered battling that Sentret the day before, Travis said, “A good night’s rest did us both some good, but I think that I’ll check in at the Pokémon Center before I go anywhere. Is that okay?”

“Vee,” Angel answered in an unaffected manner.

It was foggy out that morning because of the rain before. It wasn’t that bad, though. Travis could still see for a while in front of himself. Besides, he knew that if he just kept going straight, he wouldn’t get lost. After about half an hour of walking, Travis noticed that the fog had all but disappeared, and there was something warm on his neck. He turned around. The sun had risen to burn the fog away. Travis looked in the other direction and saw a welcome sight over a cliff – lots of buildings and on the horizon, what looked like a body of water. They had finally reached Cherrygrove City. He looked over at Angel and said, “We’re gonna find the Pokémon Center first…but…I guess we’ll play it from ear at that point. I’m not in a rush, are you?”

Angel shook her head, “Vee-vee.”

What awaited him in Cherrygrove City? And who, exactly, was AURA? They would no doubt find out all of this very soon as they started down the hill toward the town.

---------

Sorry for the following DP, but I've decided to accelerate the pace of things a bit, so I'll be posting Chapter 4 now.
 

EonMaster One

saeculum harmonia
Chapter 4 - Sorry Again...

Chapter 4: The Cherrygrove Challenge

Travis had no idea what to do with himself. Cherrygrove City was much larger than New Bark Town, and this vastness seemed amplified by the fact that he was completely lost. He had grown up in New Bark Town, and he knew where...well, most stuff was. This, though, was a completely new experience for him. The sky was dark blue, tinged with a bit of red behind Travis where the sun was rising. About four or five people that Travis could see were fresh out of bed and were coming outside to start their businesses. One of them, Travis noticed, looked almost exactly like Marty, except that he was wearing a red tank top. Wondering who this was, Travis walked up to him to ask directions. Just then, Angel, whose eyes had been growing brighter by the second, took off from astride Travis' ankles. Travis, nearly losing his balance, saw Angel fling herself into the small crowd and run at full speed farther and farther into the city.

"Hey, hey! Angel, wait a second!" Travis called after her and started to give chase. Angel darted around a corner, and Travis turned quickly to continue the pursuit, nearly losing his footing from making such a quick rotation. They were in an alley of sorts now, and Angel had run up the steps of what looked like a slightly dilapidated housing development. Travis chased, but tripped on the third step and lost a bit of ground. Angel was heading toward the railing...full speed. She was going to jump -

"Angel!! Stop!!" Travis cried, but it was too late - Angel hurled herself over the railing and down into a dumpster. Travis threw himself off the stairs as well. Hitting the dumpster harder than he intended to, he rolled out of it onto one knee. Angel had evidently left the dumpster as quickly as she had entered. Meanwhile, Travis' legs were beginning to hurt a bit. He was also wondering why Angel was acting like this. They had gotten along great before and now, she was just...running away. Travis looked up again, squinting to try and see her in the darkness of the alley. She had turned left back out into another street.

"Oh, boy," muttered Travis with a grimace and started to chase her again. Angel came back into view around the corner, dashing down the street to what looked like an intersection. At that point, he heard a loud and high-pitched, "Quiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiil!"

"What the heck was that?" Travis said, and picked up his pace to catch up with Angel, who had stopped moving for some reason. Travis snuck behind her as quietly as possible, and then...

"Gotcha!" Travis scooped Angel up into his arms. "Angel," he sighed between her laughs, "don't ever do that to me again."

"Hey, man, what are you doing here?" said another voice - a familiar one.

"Shiro?" Travis said, looking up, and there he was. Beside him stood an blue mouse-like Pokémon with an off-white underside and four reddish circles on its back that looked to be quite hot. It was clinging to Shiro's ankle, looking severely harassed and startled. "And that's your Cyndaquil,"

"Quil..." the blue mouselike Pokémon murmured nervously.

"Your Eevee scared the socks off of me and Blaze," Shiro said. "What were you doing?"

"Y'know," Travis replied, looking down at Angel, "That's a good question."

"Vee...!" Angel exclaimed, wiggling around and trying to get out of Travis' grip.

"Looks like she was just playing around," Shiro commented. "So, are you headed to the Pokémon Center, too?"

"We were," said Travis sharply, as if he were trying his hardest to stay angry at Angel, "but now we're even more lost than when we got here."

"Why?" asked Shiro with a shrug. "It's right behind you."

Travis turned around, and there it was. A building with a red roof and a red cross on the wall stood before them. There were constantly people going in and out of the automatic doors, many of them with Pokémon by their sides. One little girl was carrying a Sentret (with a bit of difficulty) followed by a small boy who looked to be her twin.

"C'mon," muttered Travis to Angel as they both went into the Pokémon Center, Shiro following closely behind with Blaze.



Shiro and Travis walked up to the desk in the middle of the lobby. Standing behind the desk was someone - it looked like a young woman - with bright-red hair and a white gown. The young woman turned around to reveal that she had a red cross on her cap, just like the one on the side of the building outside.

"Excuse me," Shiro finally asked, "do you work here?"

"I do," the young woman said, "I'm Nurse Joy."

"So, you're Nurse Joy," Shiro said, "Is it true that all of your family look exactly alike?" Travis gave him a strange look.

Nurse Joy answered with a smile, "Well...I don't know about 'exactly alike', but I'm pretty sure we bear some resemblance to each other."

"Alright, so would you examine our Pokémon, then?" Travis asked, extending his arms to show Angel.

"Oh, and my Cyndaquil, too," grunted Shiro, attempting to lift Blaze up onto the table.

"That's just fine," replied Nurse Joy, beckoning to the two Pokémon to follow her. Angel, having already known what Travis' plan was, followed Nurse Joy immediately. Blaze, however, hesitated a bit, but after a reassuring nod from Shiro, followed her as well. As Joy and the two Pokémon reached the doorway, a red light with what looked like a syringe went on with a loud ping.

"So, what should we do while we're waiting?" Travis asked, turning to Shiro for an answer.

"Er...I guess we can talk about how our first day went...over burgers and soda," Shiro answered.

"Well." stated Travis, "I could use a drink, but I just had breakfast a couple of hours ago."

"Breakfast?" said Shiro. "Where?"

"Long story," answered Travis. "Let's get the sodas." But Shiro was already gone. Travis shook his head and sat down at the nearby table for a moment. Of everything about his Pokémon Journey, he knew that he would like being in the cities the most. He could go anywhere he wanted to, as long as he could make his way to the Gyms and get his badges. He began to daydream about the endless streets and everything he would find. Then he would leave, journey out onto the road to the next city and then do it all over again. He wondered where Katrina was and if she had gotten into the city yet. Nate - well, he couldn't care less about where Nate was, but had a feeling that he was somewhere in Cherrygrove as well.

"So, how was your trip down Route 1?" a voice said. Travis snapped out of his daydream to find Shiro with a grape-flavored soda (their favorite drink) in each of his hands. He set the sodas on the table, sliding one over to Travis. Travis caught it and muttered, "Thanks, man," and popped the can open.

"So, you were staring off into space just a few minutes ago. Something interesting must have happened on your way here, so...spill," said Shiro, opening his can of soda as well.

"Well, first, Angel fought a Sentret...won, too," Travis began, "but she was lookin' pretty wiped out afterwards. So I tried to haul to Cherrygrove as soon as I could, but we ran into a storm."

"You, too?" asked Shiro. "Yeah, I had to put Blaze back in his Pokéball when his back started smoking."

"Smoking?" asked Travis with a quizzical look on his face. "His back must be pretty hot." and with that, he opened Dexter II and looked up "Cyndaquil".
Dexter II said mechanically, "Cyndaquil, the Fire Mouse Pokémon. The fire that spouts from its back burns hottest when it is angry. The flaring flames intimidate foes."

"Uh-huh," replied Shiro. "You know, you'd better get as much info as you can because we might be battling tomorrow."

"Really? Why is that?" asked Travis, surprised by this news.

"Well, Nate's in town, and being the cousin of Professor Elm, the highest Pokémon research authority in all of Johto, he pulled some strings and got a little tournament set up by the beach tomorrow. It'll be eight trainers in total - the four New Bark Town trainers...that's you, me, Nate, and Katrina, and then two who are supposed to be rookies from here, and then two guys I've never heard of before," Shiro answered.

"You mean the other two aren't from around here?" asked Travis. Perhaps he was paranoid from what Marty had said to him, but the news of two mystery trainers was intriguing.

"Not according to the Johto League Registration Committee," replied Shiro, taking a long sip of soda afterwards. "Completely undocumented."

"Mm." murmured Travis, sipping some more soda. Just then, the two of them heard a loud ping. Travis looked up toward the room that Angel and Blaze had gone into with Nurse Joy. The light above it was off. The doors swung open and Angel and Blaze came running out. Joy looked up from her clipboard and said happily, "Both of your Pokémon are in perfect condition!"

"Nice," commented Shiro.

"So, we'll be ready for the big Tournament tomorrow!" exclaimed Travis, buckling a bit as he felt the sudden weight of Angel jumping into his lap.

"Why wait for the tournament?" said Shiro with a strange grin.

Travis looked up at him. "Huh??"

"Why don't we warm up?" asked Shiro.

"You feelin' up to it, Angel?" Travis asked his Eevee.

"Eev-eev!" answered Angel with a smile.

"Alright, let's go!" exclaimed Shiro.

"Quil!" cried Cyndaquil contentedly.


The two trainers found themselves slightly outside of the city in a small grove. Light was filtering through the broken canopy of tall trees.

"So...should we battle each other to start out?" asked Travis.

"Sounds good to me," replied Shiro, "Go, Blaze!"

"Quil!" Blaze stepped forward.

"This should be different," commented Travis. "Go, Angel!"

"Vee!" Angel jumped in front of Travis, stamping the ground so hard that it shook for a split second and small, periwinkle blue flowers flew up all around her. Some of them were carried away by a breeze, but one of them landed perfectly behind her right ear and stuck there, seemingly making quite the nice accessory.

"Oh, isn't that beautiful," said Shiro sarcastically, and Blaze had what looked like a mousy smirk on his face.

"Vee-vee, ee-vee," Angel said with a smirk of her own.

"Alright, enough talk," said Shiro loudly, "Blaze, give her a Tackle!"

"Quil!" replied Blaze, and started rushing Angel at full speed.

"Get as low to the ground as possible, then wait until the right moment," Travis said, nearly in a whisper.

"Vee..." Angel answered, then ran forward a few steps and sunk herself into the tall grass.

"She's still right there! Keep going!" cried Shiro.

"NOW!" Travis yelled. Angel popped out of the grass right under Blaze's feet, sending him flying up into the air with a loud, fading cry of "Quiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilll!"

"Nice move," said Shiro.

"Thanks," responded Travis.

"But, Blaze and I have some pretty nice tricks ourselves. Smokescreen, Blaze, let's go!" Shiro exclaimed, and immediately a thick cloud of black smoke came from the direction in which Blaze had gone flying.

"Hey, what are you doing? I can't - see!" said Travis, shutting his eyes tight and coughing.

"That's the whole object," retorted Shiro, shrugging.

"RAZOR LEAF, NOW!" another voice joined in. Two leaves shot through the thick cloud of smoke and into the air.

"Quil!" Blaze cried suddenly, falling toward the trees. Taking one hand, he swung around a limb, landing on the trunk. He slid to the ground, took a couple of steps forward and said in disbelief, "Quil??"

"Mind if I cut in?" a girl's voice spoke. The smoke gradually began to clear. Then it was blown away entirely, revealing the girl's face. She had hot pink hair that was tied back in a ponytail in the back that let a bit of her hair out into two narrow braids out in front.

"You're late, Katrina," said Shiro in a bit of an irritated tone.

"I was getting my hair done, not that it's any of your business, but I didn't come for you, anyway." Katrina retorted. A green Pokémon with a leaf on its head and what looked like a green necklace of sorts around its neck stepped out from behind her.

"What's that supposed to mean? You came for Travis, then?" asked Shiro with a wry smile. Travis let out a short gasp and his face turned a bit red.

"I came for the battle," Katrina answered sharply, glaring a hole through Shiro. Despite her glaring, her face had turned a shade of color that matched her hair and the rest of her clothes. It went from there to a bright red color that made her look as if her head was on fire.

"Right." muttered Shiro skeptically. "Well, Travis? Should we let her in on the fun?" Travis didn't respond. He was pressing buttons on Dexter II, whose loud response was amplified by the lack of noise in the woods.

"Chikorita," it droned loudly, "The Leaf Pokémon. It loves to bask in the sunlight. It uses the leaf on its head to seek out warm places."

"Now that that's finished," said Travis, "What were you saying?"

"I was asking you if we should let Katrina and her Chikorita into our battle!" said Shiro more loudly than he would have normally.

"Alright, don't yell," said Travis, his right hand hovering by his ear in a show of discomfort. "If Katrina and Riti come in," said Travis, "That would make it a three-way battle."

"And would also make it one heck of a lot more interesting," interjected Shiro, "So, why not?"

"Okay, then," said Travis with a smile. "It'll be a three-way battle."

"Alright," said Katrina. She was smiling at Travis and her face had gone back to the pink color it was before. "Now, Riti, let's go! Tackle Blaze!"

"Chi-ka!" Riti exclaimed, running toward Blaze aggressively.

"You, too, Angel!" exclaimed Travis, and Angel started to charge as well.

"Leer attack, Blaze! Stop 'em dead in their tracks!" yelled Shiro, beckoning his hand toward the two other trainers.

"Quil! Quiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil." uttered Blaze as his eyes opened, and revealed a gleaming, bright yellow illumination that focused like a searchlight on the other two trainers and their Pokémon. Riti skidded on the ground in an attempt to stop.

"Chi-ka-ri!" Riti cried in a frightened tone. Angel, though, being the fearless and adventurous Pokémon that she was, kept charging.

"Ha!" exclaimed Travis, sounding very superior. "Angel's way too brave to be fooled by a trick like that one."

"Cynda-quil!" Blaze squealed when he realized that his move wasn't going to work - right before a Tackle from Angel sent him up into a tree for the second time for that battle.

"Damn, not again!" Shiro swore in frustration.

"Wanna come back down to earth, do ya?" Katrina said slyly, "Riti, Razor Leaf the tree branch!"

"Chi-ka!" Riti swung the large leaf on her head and two smaller leaves appeared and shot toward the tree branch. The leaves sliced through the limb Blaze was standing on, causing it to break and Blaze to fall toward the ground again. Attempting the same move that he did earlier, he grabbed the tree trunk and slid down to the ground.

"Looks like we're where we were earlier, huh, Travis?" said Shiro with a smirk.

"That was just an opener!" Katrina exclaimed, one hand on her hip.

"So, we go for real now?" asked Travis.

"We're not getting anywhere just waiting here," commented Shiro. A gust of wind blew through the grove to signal the coming battle.
 

Hoenn Warrior

All Terrain Trainer
Yes 2 excellent chapters EonMaster One. Cant wait to see the end of this practice battle and the Cherrygrove Tournament. These two mystery trainers might cause Travis and company some trouble.
 

Cs32

SUGAR!!!
Ha! Here that? Im in the safe zone you cant touch me! duhnananaana na na na! Anyways, I really dont know what to say since none of the chapters are new, just get them revised the way you want, and you will start writing the chapters again.
Later,
~~CS~~
 

EonMaster One

saeculum harmonia
Chapter 5 - Readjusted.

WHEW. OMFG. Bad news and good news.

Bad news: I've had to do a lot of online research for the (picks random large number out of the sky) 1,358,673,719 papers that I've had to do over the last two and the next two weeks.

Good news: It gives me a better excuse to be online for long enough to post more chapters, like this one, for example.

Chapter 5: Travis’ Worries

A gust of wind blew through the grove as Travis, Shiro, and Katrina gave each other intent looks. No one was moving, though. They would each gaze from one opponent...to the other...then back to the other.

"What's this, a staring contest? Go, Blaze! Smokescreen!" Shiro suddenly yelled, getting Katrina and Travis' attention - right before they were enveloped again with a cloud of smoke.

"Not again! Angel, are you alright?!" shouted Travis.

"Vee!" she answered. She was still doing well.

"Tackle the nearest enemy!" Travis heard Shiro's voice again, and at that moment Angel came skidding on her feet out of the smoke cloud. She shook her head rapidly and then jumped forward again.

"Tackle attack!" Travis shouted in response, and Angel started running straight through the middle of the smokescreen. Blaze dodged just barely, sending Angel careening into a nearby tree.

"Whoops, too slow," said Shiro with a smirk.

"Angel!" shouted Travis in a worried tone.

"Vee." Angel planted her feet on the tree and turned around, but was suddenly hit by two leaves and knocked off the tree. She rolled a few times on the ground and then got to her feet.

"Wha?" muttered Travis.

"You didn't forget about me over here, did you? Go, Riti! One more Razor Leaf!" Katrina shouted.

"Chi-ka!" Riti shouted, swinging the large leaf on her head and sending out three more of the sharp leaves at Angel.

"Deflect 'em!" Travis shouted. Angel smiled slyly and swung her tail into them, deflecting them in Blaze's direction.

"What??" said a confused Shiro as Blaze was knocked off of his feet by the attack.

"Nice move, Angel!" yelled Travis, pumping his fist.

"Vee!" Angel answered by way of a "thank you."

"Alright, then, if that's how you want it." muttered Shiro. Blaze began to rush Angel.

"Attack!" shouted Katrina. Riti began to charge Angel as well.

"Get ready to jump on my signal!" cried Travis.

"Vee!" Angel lowered her head. She could see Riti and Blaze coming in closer and closer, one on each side of her.

"NOW!" Travis commanded, and Angel jumped high above the two attackers, causing them to smash headfirst into one another. Blaze fell to the ground with a swirled pattern in his eyes. He was knocked out.

"Oh, man.Blaze, return," muttered Shiro, shaking his head.
"Now, it's one-on-one! Go, Riti! Razor Leaf attack!" Katrina shouted. Angel landed on another nearby tree limb and jumped off it, just before it was cut in two by a Razor Leaf. Angel used the tree branch as a springboard and dove headfirst toward Riti.

"It's over!" exclaimed Travis.

"Not yet! Razor Leaf!" commanded Katrina.

"No! What's a Razor Leaf gonna do to Angel at close range like that?" Travis muttered.

"This.is gonna get ugly," mumbled Shiro.

"Angel! Watch yourself!" Travis yelled.

The two collided and from there, everything started to go in slow motion. Riti launched her attack, but was too late as Angel flipped over her and landed on the ground behind her, skidding to a stop. Riti stumbled around and looked quite dizzy for a few seconds, and then she dropped to the floor.

"Riti!" screamed Katrina.

"...Huh?" muttered Travis.

"Looks like Travis won," said Shiro.

"Vee?" Angel said in a very confused tone, as if she remembered absolutely nothing. Katrina, groaning in disappointment, went over to pick up Riti off of the ground.

"Whoo!" Shiro hooted. "That was fun. We'll have to do that again sometime. I'll be stronger next time, and Blaze'll have some real firepower!"

"Bad pun," said Travis, shaking his head.

"Lucky shot..." she murmured, "I almost had that one."

"You think you're bummed?" retorted Shiro suddenly, "My Cyndaquil just lost to a Grass Pokémon."

"Good point...but I guess she had more battle experience," replied Travis, walking over to Angel.

"Vee? Vee?" Angel still sounded quite confused.

"Haha," Travis laughed as he knelt down beside her. "You hit your head pretty hard, didn't you? But we won."

"Vee?" Angel asked incredulously. Travis nodded in response.

"Yeah, we did it," repeated Travis with a smile, picking Angel off of the ground. He then turned in Katrina's direction and asked, "So did you have to battle any wild Pokémon on your way here?"

"About." Katrina had returned Riti to her Pokéball and was now counting on her fingers. "Six...seven...about eight times."

"Eight?!" cried Travis, his eyes widening. "That makes me feel a whole lot better. Angel got tired after just one battle."

"Yeah, well, I got five Potions from my family to start off," stated Katrina. She then shook her head and said, "They're all gone."
"Well, you're lucky. I didn't get any at all," Travis commented.

"I've still got one, but I'm gonna save it for later," Shiro declared. "Judging by the sun, it's gotta be at least four or five in the afternoon."

"What!?" screamed Katrina in shock.

"Time flies when you're having fun, I guess," Travis said, shaking his head.

"Maybe we should do some shopping while we're here," said Katrina.

"Uh.I'm a bit broke." commented Travis, and he wasn't lying. He had gotten no money to speak of when he left for his journey.

"You sure about that?" asked Shiro. He took out his Pokedex and pressed a small button. What looked like a tiny slot began to protrude from the device. It contained about five coins. They were all gold and had the number "200" on them.

"Hmm." said Travis, pulling Dexter II out of his pocket. He attempted to locate the same button that Shiro had pushed on his.

"Can't find it? It's the small red one in the corner," Shiro said. Travis found it and pressed it. The small slot swung out, but Travis found that he had about twenty of those same coins.

"Holy Magikarp! When did you get all of that?! That's 4000 bucks!" yelled Shiro.

"I don't..." Travis started to say, but then he remembered something. When his family was walking him to the outskirts of New Bark Town, his father asked for his Pokedex. "...my dad or my grandpa must've slipped it in."

"Haha! Nate would go ballistic if he saw you with that!" Shiro laughed. "Y'know his folks didn't give him a dime to start with?"

"Are you serious?" asked Travis in disbelief. He had never even imagined Nate being without money before.

"Yeah, you know it was his mom that inherited a crapload of stuff from Nate's grandfather when he died. His mom's the rich one. His dad's a military officer," said Shiro, always the one to have information.

"A rich lady and a military officer? I feel sorry for him. His dad treats him like a soldier, his mom treats him like some sort of prince," Katrina commented, shaking her head.

"...and his cousin and everyone else treats him like an idiot," said Shiro. All three of them began to laugh when they suddenly heard a jeering voice.

"Keep talking like that and I'll have you taken off of the tournament list," it said. The whole group whirled around.

Nate was standing in the pathway that led from the clearing back to the city. He had changed his outfit. It now consisted of black pants and a black shirt. Over that shirt was a long, silver jacket. He had some shades that were tinted lightly enough for one who was close enough to be able to see his piercing blue eyes.

"The only reason that I left you in my tournament," he said, "was to beat all three of you into the ground. Then everyone will know that you don't belong here."

"You'd better be able to put your money where your mouth is, Nate," said Shiro.

"At least I have money to put there," commented Nate in his usual snobbish manner.
"Oh, really?" asked Shiro knowingly. "That isn't what I heard. I heard that you left New Bark Town without a dollar in your pocket!"

"Why carry a wad of cash and get robbed? I can just have it wired here," Nate retorted.

"Ha! Your pops isn't gonna go for it," Shiro said with a scoff.

"You're lucky I'm even letting someone worthless like you into this tournament," Nate said.

"You'd better be able to back those words up come tomorrow," Travis retorted.

"Vee!" Angel shouted in agreement, but it didn't seem that Nate was listening to either of them.

"What's wrong with you?" Nate was walking slowly toward Katrina, and Katrina was backing up just as slowly. "You haven't said a word since I got here."

"She probably figures you're not worth wasting her breath on," Travis commented, confident that his statement was probably true.

"I was watching your little battle that whole time," Nate said. "Your Chikorita's a coward, and that's why it lost. A coward...just like some people that you know, right, darling?" Katrina dropped her head for a second, and she looked like she was going to start crying. Then, without warning, her fists clenched. Travis saw her pupils narrow so dangerously that she looked for a second like a patient in a mental ward.

"Hmph," Nate muttered, and started to walk away. Katrina, though, swung out in front of him.

"How’s this for a coward?!" she shrieked. Nate gasped loudly right before taking a left hook to his jaw that knocked him over on his backside.

Getting up quickly, as if he wanted no one to see him in that position, he shouted, shaking in rage, "That's it! You’re disqualified!"

Katrina dropped her head. "Then I suppose it wouldn't hurt to do some real damage, would it, Nate?" she muttered. What was she going to do? She was a wreck, so whatever it was, Travis knew that it simply could not end well. He didn't really care, though. Nate deserved every bit of what he was going to get. Travis knew that Nate was only trying to touch a nerve, because he was looking for an excuse to disqualify all three of them. That would leave him to possibly beat the other four trainers on his own, and he could brag that he was the best in all of New Bark Town. It was a wimp's attempt, to be sure. By the time he had finished thinking, he realized what was happening and looked up. Katrina had once again tried to lay a punch into Nate's face, but this time, using pure instinct alone (Travis and Shiro both knew that Nate couldn't fight well), Nate grabbed it and swung her around into a nearby tree trunk. Her back slammed against it, and she slumped down into a sitting position.

"Y'know what? Scratch the whole DQ thing. I wanna beat you fair and square and show you that you're not tough enough to hack it in the league." Nate said, walking off back toward the city.

"Come back here, Nate!! I'm not finished with you!!" Katrina stood up and started shouting. Travis wasn't as close to Katrina as he was to Shiro nowadays, but he thought that any enemy of Nate's was a friend of his. He had to do something to help before Katrina really got hurt.

"Katrina, stop!" Travis yelled, running up to her and attempting to hold her back. She was still flailing and screaming. Travis realized that if Katrina didn't calm down soon, he would take a beating just for being in the way.

"Travis, get off! What are you doing?!" Katrina shouted, still trying to force her way past him.
"Let it go," Travis kept repeating over and over again.

“Let go!! You let go, you...!” Katrina shrieked in emotional agony, her speech quickly degenerating into incoherent gibberish. “...get...he knows...damn well...creep...my mother...get off...!”
Finally, the screaming stopped, but was quickly replaced by pain-stricken sobs. Katrina pushed her way past Travis, who allowed it once he was sure that she and Nate were a safe distance apart. Travis sighed now that the battle was over.but he still had tomorrow's tournament to worry about. He was exhausted. He slumped up against the same tree and said, "Man, I'm tired. What do you say to going back to the Pokémon Center to get some rest?"

There was no answer.

"Shiro?"

Travis looked up. Somewhere in the midst of the commotion, Shiro had slipped off without a word - he was probably at the Pokémon Center already. No one was left except for Angel who had been playing in the fields for quite some time, away from the confusion. Travis had a lump in his throat. It hurt. Every time something like that would happen, Travis would be the one to try to resolve it - no matter how much he knew that Nate was in the wrong. It would always be him. It had been that way ever since Nate had moved to New Bark Town. But something that Travis didn't know about happened between Nate and Katrina. He was sure of it. Of course, he knew that they had been friends...perhaps more...at one time, and then they suddenly stopped talking to each other. Shiro had never quite forgiven Katrina for that, and for that matter, neither had he...but there was something about that relationship that Katrina was hiding.

And then there was still the tournament tomorrow where all four of them would be participating. He had no information at all about the other four trainers - especially the two that Shiro said were "undocumented." And what about AURA? Something was strange about Marty - something that told Travis to believe what Marty had said. This "AURA" organization would no doubt make an appearance soon, if they haven't already. The question was, when they finally did make a move, what was Travis going to do about it? Could he even do anything about it?

Angel, meanwhile, was chasing the butterflies. The flower from the field was still on her head, and she preferred it that way. She decided to keep it as long as possible, because it would be a memento of her and Travis' first victory against another trainer. It's not everyday you win your first battle, after all. They would probably win a lot more battles - and possibly lose some. No matter what happened, though, they would always remember where they started. She had just enough energy to play, but knew that she wouldn't be able to battle anymore that evening. Then she felt something else - not fatigue - something worse. It made her stomach turn, and sent her eyes out of focus for a few seconds.

Pokémon are in tune to many more things than humans are. Pokémon are in tune with the weather (and it is rumored that one has been discovered that can actually predict the weather) more so than humans (who never seem to get it right). Pokémon are also acutely in tune with their trainers' emotions. Right now, Travis felt a heavy load. He was in pain. Angel knew she had to do something to help - anything that she could. Travis was her friend, and she couldn't sit by and let him hurt like this.

Travis felt like he'd been forced to carry a bag of bricks. Everything on his body was hurting. He guessed that he was trying to do too much at once. "I'm really bad at multitasking," he murmured to himself weakly.

"Vee-." Angel said sadly, climbing up onto Travis' knee. "Eev."

"Oh, don't be sad because of me," Travis said to her. "I'll be alright."

Travis stood up with Angel in his arms, figuring that carrying such a load on his shoulders would only serve to make him stronger. He wouldn't let his will be broken, and no one would be able to stop him: not Nate, not AURA. No one. He made his way back to the Pokémon Center, slowly but surely, taking each step because he still could, knowing that if he fell down, there would be no getting up. He was dying inside - because he wanted to make everyone happy. Even Nate, whom everyone hated with a passion - deep down, he hoped that Nate would change and that the four of them could all be friends...someday. He wanted to take away Katrina's pain...but there was nothing that he could do to change what had already been done. Something had happened...something out of the ordinary...that had made Katrina lash out like that, and only a few people, Travis included, bore that terrible knowledge. Shiro, he supposed, was preoccupied with getting ready for the tournament anyway, and wasn't going to let anything distract him. Angel, he hadn't seen smile ever since the battle. He really wished that Angel would let it go - she wasn't really involved, and the only thing it served to do was make her feel worse. She was probably already nervous about the tournament tomorrow.

Travis' walk took him past the beach by the sea - the same place where their battle would be held tomorrow. Gazing up at the sky, he saw that the vast expanse was no longer inhabited by the sun, but now a silver ball of light was coming into view thousands of miles above him. Finding a bench of sorts, he sat down on it. He couldn't go on right now. He would take a break...for a few seconds.

"Can't sleep?" A girl's voice said. Travis looked up to see Katrina striding over to him, looking much, much calmer than when he had seen her last. Katrina sat down beside Travis, making him a bit nervous. Was she still angry about him holding her back?

"I'm just...thinking about lots of stuff," answered Travis, beginning to stand up. Soon, however, he found himself eased back into his seat by Katrina.

"When we were out there.in the forest, I mean," Katrina began to explain, "You told me to 'let it go'. Something tells me that you didn't do it yourself, though."

"Maybe I didn't," commented Travis, attempting to stand up again.

"Wait. Slow down," Katrina said, grabbing Travis' left shoulder and forcing him back down onto the bench. "I'm sorry about how I acted before. I'm glad you held me back. Otherwise I would have done something really dumb. You know how I get when he talks about..."

"No problem," Travis muttered sadly, his facial expression still unchanged.

"I know you wanted to be a peacemaker. You've been like that for as long as I can remember," Katrina said, "But...now it's just too much for any one person to think about."

"I don't have any choice. No one else does," Travis replied.

"I do," said Katrina. “How do you think I feel? You try to feel other people’s pain, but can you, really? You’re not me.”

"I guess you’re right," said Travis. He suddenly remembered that when Nate moved in, Katrina, Shiro, and Travis were all good friends. Shiro liked the fact that Katrina could 'hang with the guys', and if he remembered correctly, Katrina liked Shiro's seemingly rock-music-driven attitude and style. Then Nate and Katrina started hanging out. Travis could see that Nate wasn't very nice because he was rich and "snooty," as Shiro liked to call him. Nate and Katrina became closer, and Travis and Shiro started to dislike Katrina for even being around Nate. Then, one day.

"Travis, what's wrong?" asked Katrina.

Travis didn't answer for a second, but then said sadly, "He broke your heart."

Katrina must have known what he was referring to, because she responded, "No, you're wrong. Nate didn't break my heart. He tried to buy it, and that's why I don't like him. It was the two of you - no, just Shiro - that broke it."

"I remember that day perfectly," said Travis. "It was a Saturday in the middle of July...last July. Shiro and I were at the arcade, like we normally were, when you came in. You were a real wreck, and you kept saying that you and Nate weren't friends anymore. I guess what you were saying is that you wanted to come back with us. I was still a bit mad, so I didn't say anything. Shiro, though...he completely lost it and started yelling at you. It was like we were strangers from that point. I guess he never forgave you for leaving us for Nate. But I wanted to let you back in...believe me. But Shiro would’ve been angry with me, then..."

"All four of us would just hate each other, right?" Katrina said.

"Nothing would have been solved...but now things are almost set right again,” Travis added. “Once Shiro comes to his senses...”

“I don’t know what to think about Shiro anymore...” Katrina muttered. “I mean, sometimes it seems like he’s looking more for followers than friends. I think he’s afraid of being the ‘sidekick’ instead of the ‘hero’...”

“You shouldn’t say that,” Travis replied, trying as always to see both sides of the story, “especially if you’re calling me a ‘hero’. I’m nothing extraordinary. I’m just an average joe from New Bark Town.”

“You’re such a modest idiot,” Katrina whispered. It isn’t so easy to hear someone’s voice break when they whisper, but Travis heard it as sure as the moon was in the sky. He took another look at her and was shocked to see that her eyes were filling with tears. Travis grew suddenly irritated and stood up.

“Look, I don’t want to be a hero,” he said with a sigh, trying to soften his tone as much as possible, seeing as his statement was probably something that Katrina didn’t want to hear. “I’m not...I’m just me...just Travis...”

“That’s the beauty of it,” Katrina sighed, standing up and placing her hands on Travis’ shoulders. Despite her watery eyes, she was smiling. “You don’t try. It’s in your nature. Everyone that knows you knows that. Your family, Shiro...Nate knows it, too. That’s why he doesn’t like you. Because you’re what he can’t be...to everyone...to me...but your weakness...”

“How do you know so much about me? For nearly a year and a half, we’ve hardly said two words to each other,” Travis muttered, walking toward the water. The moon, which was in its crescent stage, was dotted by two stars on the inside of the curve, besides the ones that spangled the sky. Travis turned his head sideways. It was as if Heaven itself were smiling at him. He suddenly felt another hand in his left hand. Katrina had walked up to join him. The moon was casting a cerulean glow over the sand and making the waves shine with its white reflection.

“Why? Because you were afraid that you would make things worse for everyone,” Katrina answered her own question. “You try to carry the world on your shoulders. I don’t mean that in a bad way - you’re not arrogant, you’ve never been. You just prefer to take everything upon yourself, so no one has to suffer. But what if someone wants to suffer with you? You try to carry the world, but what about the people that want to carry you? There’s so much that you don’t tell people about that you need to...like AURA, for instance.”

“You know about AURA?” Travis said incredulously. Suddenly, his eyes stiffened, and he said to Katrina with nearly paternal sternness, “Just promise me, that whatever you know or whatever you find out...”

“I’m not making any promises, except that I’ll do whatever it takes to help you,” Katrina cut him off. Travis looked away, sighing disappointedly.
Now Katrina was going to involve herself. If these AURA guys were anywhere near as dangerous as he’d heard – if they equaled, even exceeded the evil of Team Rocket – it was no situation for Katrina to be in. What if something happened to her? Travis would never, ever forgive himself if she was...

Without warning, Katrina leaned over closer to him. He felt something warm and slightly wet on his left cheek. It stayed there for a few seconds and then withdrew itself. Travis looked out of the corner of his eye just in time to see Katrina move her face away from his. Travis didn't know what to think. Katrina had kissed him!

"Consider that an apology for everything that's happened between us over the past few years," Katrina said. She wasn't blushing at all. It was if she had done something...normal.

"That's alright," said Travis, looking straight at the moon so Katrina wouldn't see his face go beet-red just above the nose. "But, what about AURA?"

"AURA?" Katrina repeated, then giggled a bit. "I say, bring 'em on. They can't beat the both of us."

Travis turned toward her finally, "So you'll help...no matter how much I try to talk you out of it?"

"Sure will!" Katrina answered, "And I know that Shiro will, too. By the way, I've got something for you." She ran over to the bench to retrieve a small bag. She rummaged through it with her right hand and then pulled out a cap. It was navy blue on one side, and white on the other. On the front and in the center, there was a red symbol that looked somewhat like that "less than" sign that Travis had learned about in math class that past year. "When I'm stressed out, I tend to do a lot of shopping," she said. "And I picked this up. It was for me, but it looks like it matches your outfit better, so I want you to have it." She offered the hat to Travis.

"Thanks, Katrina," Travis said, taking the cap and putting it on. "Thanks for everything."

"Vee!" Angel suddenly shouted. "Vee-eev, vee-vee!"

"I guess Angel is trying to say that it looks nice on you," Katrina said.

"Well, thanks," Travis said. "Your flower looks nice too."

"Vee!" Angel cried proudly. Finally, a smile.

"We'd both better go get some sleep, but remember one thing," said Katrina.

"What is that?" asked Travis.

"We may be friends again, but if we battle, I'm not gonna show any mercy!" Katrina exclaimed.

"Me, neither," Travis replied, and Katrina began to walk off. She took about five paces and stopped.

"Oh, by the way." Katrina began talking again.

"Hm?" Travis uttered.

"I saw the two trainers that are in the tournament that are from here. They're a twin brother and sister, and each one has a Nidoran. Just be ready," Katrina said.

"I will," Travis said to her back as she finally walked off. He looked up at the sky for a few seconds and said to himself, "Hero, huh? That’s a strong word. And here I was, thinking that everyone just saw me as a guy who wanted to do the right thing...”
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- ;133; EM1...wait...don't go anywhere, I'm not done yet.
 

EonMaster One

saeculum harmonia
6...what more is there to say?

Chapter 6: Friends, Foes, and Forgiveness

Travis found himself sitting on the exact same bench that he had the night before. Apparently he was up earlier than anyone else. The sun had risen just behind him, turning the sand golden, and the waters shades of blue, green, and every once in a while, orange. The day itself was partly cloudy. Even though they were close to the water, Travis knew that it was going to get pretty hot. Angel seemed to be calmer than she normally was - maybe it was the fact that she knew that she had a lot of battling to do.

"Aren't you gonna train a little more before the tournament starts?" a girl's voice said.

"Oh, hey, Katrina," Travis said without looking at her. "No, if we're not ready now, we'll never be."

"Oh." Katrina walked around into Travis' line of sight. "You mind if I sit there?"

"Oh.er, I guess so." Travis stammered. Normally his answer would have been a straight "yes," but ever since last night.

"What's with you?" Katrina asked sprightly. "I'm not gonna bite, y'know."

"Fraternizing with the enemy, are we?" came a boy's voice from behind. Travis only knew one person who would say something like that, even if the voice was a little abnormal.

"I showed up. What else I do isn't any of your business, Nate," Travis said flatly. Just then, Travis saw a red-haired boy step in front of him. Suddenly the boy clenched his fist and swung around to try to punch Travis in the face. Katrina gasped quickly. Travis grabbed the boy's wrist, blocking his punch. The boy's hair was spiky, so Travis had to lift his head up to see his face.

"Shiro!?" he exclaimed. "Have you lost it!?"

"Whoops, sorry," Shiro said with an air of near sarcasm, yanking his hand away from Travis' grip. "I was going for her. I couldn't tell the difference because you both do the exact same thing!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Travis in a bewildered manner.

"Oh, yeah, you've always been kind of slow, so let me explain it to you," Shiro said cynically. "Everyone who betrays their friends - all of 'em look the same to me."

"I think you really have lost it," said Travis in an appalled tone. "I didn't betray you."

"Shut it and stop lying to me!" Shiro yelled. "You, Katrina, and Nate. I bet you three'd make an awesome team, because you're all the same! You're all lying, turncoat sons of."


"Don't you dare lump me together with him! Don't even say our names in the same sentence, you got it?!" Katrina yelled, clenching her fists hard. She was losing her temper again - a bad thing to happen right before a tournament.

"Oh, now you're gonna do just like yesterday and start the waterworks again.if there wasn't this Tournament to worry about, I'd leave Cherrygrove City right now," Shiro said. "Well, it's not gonna work on me. I don't make it a habit to have sympathy for people who betray their friends."

Travis was growing sick of Shiro's attitude. He was starting to sound just like Nate. "You can be a real idiot sometimes, y'know that, Shiro? If we betrayed you at all, then you wouldn't be our friend in the first place."

"You must be talking about you and Angel," Shiro said sharply, "Because I'm sure that Katrina isn't included."
"And why not?" Travis asked. He wanted an honest answer straight from Shiro's mouth so that they could bring this thing to a close.

"Because she still hangs around with Nate, that's why!" Shiro exclaimed.

"Well, you're a bit behind on current events," Katrina muttered. Shiro's ears twitched.

"You saying something I need to hear?" Shiro asked pryingly.

"I said, you're behind on current events," Katrina replied with a bit...more volume than she had said it with the first time. "Nate and I aren't even friends anymore. I don't have any respect for him."

"Glad to hear it. I need proof," Shiro said scathingly, raising his eyebrow.

"Glad to oblige," Katrina replied, taking out a maroon purse of sorts. Seeing this handbag made Travis' stomach turn a bit. This had Nate's gifts and only Nate's gifts inside of it. Shiro looked like he was about to explode. "Recognize this?"

"Unfortunately," Shiro replied. At that, Katrina walked out toward the water. She stood right on the edge of the shoreline, letting the water lap up onto her sandals a bit. She then began to twirl the bag by its strap...several times...faster and faster. She finally released it, and it launched into the air over the sea. Travis' mouth dropped to the ground as the bag disappeared from sight for a few seconds.

"Nice throw," said Travis in shock, shielding his eyes and attempting to see the bag...but it was gone.

"That had all of Nate's stuff in it." muttered Shiro, just as surprised as Travis was, if not more so.

“It did,” Katrina said matter-of-factly. “Unlike him, I put more emphasis on what you can’t replace. Friends, for instance?”

“Friends...” Shiro repeated. Everyone who knew Shiro knew that behind his red hair, sunglasses, and punk-rock, bring-on-the world mentality, was a fiercely loyal person who would put his life on the line for his friends...friends that didn’t abandon him. “Friends don’t betray their friends.”

“Friends don’t kick a person when they’re down,” Travis spoke up, his patience with Shiro’s excuses finally having worn thin. “Friends don’t turn people away. Friends don’t...”

“Are you done yet?” Shiro cut in, but couldn’t get in another word.

“No, I’m not,” Travis said firmly. “Friends don’t hold grudges. You of all people should know that.”

“...You know what, you’re right,” Shiro admitted. “Sorry for being such a jerk.”

“That goes double for me,” Katrina replied. “You guys are my best friends. I wouldn’t trade you for the world...much less Nate.”

“What a relief...” Travis muttered to himself. “Now I can start my journey without worrying about us three being at each other’s throats...”

"So the old team's back together! How touching! I think I might actually start throwing up." A voice pierced through the wind. Everyone looked up toward a high chair that was usually used for a lifeguard at that beach, and no one other than Nate himself was standing on it, one foot on the railing and leaning over the front.

"That wasn't very cool to throw my stuff out, Katrina," Nate said coolly. "I spent a lot of money on it."

"Hmm...back up a bit. I think I missed the part where that was my problem," Katrina responded sarcastically.

"You three are so naïve. You actually think this little bond of yours is gonna last forever!?" Nate exclaimed. "Fact is, one of these days all three of you are gonna go your separate ways. And after that point, you'll probably never see each other again."

"Oh, Johto's big, but it ends somewhere. I think I'd find a way," Travis said.

"Me, too," Shiro agreed.

"And you're gonna pay for trying to break us up!" Travis exclaimed.

"Really? The real question is, who broke who up? Katrina was doing just fine without you before Travis went and stuck his nose in our business," Nate snapped.

"He was trying to do what was right!" Katrina shouted. "Something that you don't know a thing about!"

"Hey, hey, mates, what's the noise about?" a fifth person said with a very unfamiliar accent that sounded like it came from somewhere in Australia. Everyone except Nate looked in the direction of the voice. Standing over near the bench were a boy and girl that were wearing white shirts with the official Pokéball logo on them, and blue jeans. They both had brown hair and looked the same except that the boy had on a baseball cap and the girl's hair was pulled back into three or four shoulder-length braids.

"Are those..." Travis started to ask. Before he could finish the question, Katrina responded with a nod.

"Matt, Madeline, about time you guys got here," she said.

"Alright, where's the other two! We're ready to go!" Madeline, the girl, exclaimed loudly.

"Well, she's certainly fired up," Shiro murmured in Katrina's ear.

"I know," Katrina replied. "Matt's the quiet twin."

"We don't know where the other two are," Nate grumbled. "They're late."

"C'mon, where are they?" Madeline shouted.

"Hey, calm down. We're here," another woman's voice said. The entire group looked in the opposite direction and saw her and another man with black shades and black outfits. Travis gasped for a second. He didn't know what AURA's uniforms looked like, but these people clad in black, who didn't seem to want to let anyone know their true identities...looked a bit suspicious.

"Just call me 'X'," the man said in a low voice in Nate's direction.

"X." Nate said. He must have been just as stupefied as everyone else was, "Names don't matter."

"I'm 'Y'," the woman declared.

"Y." Nate muttered, as if he saw that one coming.

"What's the matter? 'Z' is missing?" said Shiro sarcastically.

A vein in 'X's head nearly burst open. "You think that you're really funny, don't you, spikehead? I hope I get you first!"

"Don’t get in my way,” Shiro said in a low, ominous tone of voice. “I’ll destroy you.”

"We’ll see who gets destroyed," X responded with a strange smirk.

Meanwhile, Travis and Katrina were having a conversation of their own.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Travis, hoping that Katrina knew what he was talking about.

"Those two guys in black?" Katrina responded. Travis answered with a nod.

"Just watch out for 'em, that's all I'm saying."

"Attention, all trainers!" Nate suddenly shouted. All seven of them looked in his direction. "Since everyone's here now, and since some people insist on rushing me," he glared in Madeline's direction, "We'll get started. The matches are as follows:

"Madeline Marius vs. Y!" The two trainers glared at each other, Madeline wearing a very twisted look on her face that seemed to oscillate between overwhelming relief and hot anger.

"Katrina Sasano vs. Shiro Azuki!" Nate shouted next.

"I'm not gonna go easy!" Shiro shouted.

“For your sake, I sure hope that you were ‘going easy’ yesterday,” Katrina responded.

"Myself, Nathaniel Elm, vs. Matthew Marius!" Nate shouted. Matthew seemed nonchalant. He wasn’t aware who the strongest trainer in the tournament was, so he’d take anyone at that point...except, perhaps, his sister...

"Travis DePaul vs. X!" Nate shouted last.

Travis looked in X's direction. AURA or not, this was his opponent, and he wasn't going to let himself lose. X pointed at Travis, and then gave him a thumbs-down. Travis adjusted his new cap a bit. Angel also had her eyes fixed upon X's position.

"Very well, all trainers, step to the side!" A blue-clad man who was standing beside Nate ordered. He was holding two flags, one red and one green. He was the referee, and Travis wasn't about to ignore him. Travis, Shiro, and Katrina filed in aside each other.

"Y'know, I bet Nate put you two in a match on purpose," Travis mumbled.

"Doesn't matter. We know that one of us three's got Nate in the final," Shiro commented.

"I don't know about that one," Travis responded.

"He's right, you know," Katrina cut in. "If Nate beats Matt, and Travis beats this 'X' character, then they'll be facing each other in the semis."

"That's if you can beat 'X', Travis," Shiro said.

"Don't worry about 'X,' Shiro," Travis replied. "Just focus on your match."

"Yeah...we may be friends but that doesn't mean that I'm going to cut anybody slack," Shiro said, looking over at Katrina.

"You'd better not. I beat you last time, remember?" Katrina asked.

"I've got some new tricks up my sleeve," Shiro retorted, "And Travis isn't there to help you this time around."

"Fine with me, Shiro," Katrina said.

"Let's just have ourselves a good freakin' time," Shiro said...a phrase that he used often.

"It's been a while since I heard that..." Katrina muttered nostalgically.

"Will the trainers known as Madeline Marius and 'Y' please step forward?" the referee requested. The brown-haired girl on the right of Shiro (that is, two places right of Travis) stepped forward, as did the black-clad young woman on the far left.

"Hey, will you two knock it off?" Travis whispered. "I want to see what this 'Y' can do."

"You mean you're not interested in this Marius girl at all?" Shiro muttered. "For all the talking she's doing, I hope she knows how to battle just as well. That 'Y' looks like one tough chick."

"So you know about the situation?" asked Travis offhand. Katrina tried to elbow him in the ribs, but Travis caught her arm and muttered to her, "We would have to tell him eventually."

"Oh, you mean about AURA?" Shiro asked. Travis and Katrina's mouths both hit the ground at the same time. "You've met this dude named Jeffrey? Brown hair, surfer accent?"

"Um, no, the guy we met was blond," Travis responded, immediately thinking back to a guy he had seen in a red tanktop during his little ‘jog’ through the town yesterday.

"Oh, you mean his brother," Shiro muttered.

"Oh, man...suddenly I feel like I was the last to know everything," murmured Travis, burying his eyes in his right hand and shaking his head.

"Hey, the match is about to start," Katrina said quickly, and Shiro and Travis immediately looked out onto the beach area.

"The match between 'Y' and Madeline Marius is about to begin!" The referee announced. "It will be a one-on-one battle, with no time limit."

"You think you're so tough in that black outfit of yours!" shouted Madeline.

"Maybe it's not that I look tough, maybe it's because you look weak," 'Y' responded. “That’s what happens to little baby girls with overprotective mothers...and that’s not me.”

"Ooh...that's it!" Madeline shouted again. "I'm about to knock you on your arse! Let's go, Nidoran!" She threw a Pokéball into the air. After floating for a few seconds, it burst open and revealed what looked like a mouse of sorts. It was light blue, nearly lavender, had buckteeth, reddish eyes and on its head it bore a horn that looked like it had been blunted slightly.

"Hmm...that's the Nidoran that Katrina was talking about," Travis murmured, opening Dexter II, which promptly droned:

"Nidoran, Female. The Poison Pin Pokémon. Small and very docile, it protects itself with its small, poisonous horn when attacked."

"Fine with me, little girl. Spearow, let's go!" 'Y' shouted, throwing a ball of her own into the air. This one burst open and returned to 'Y'. Out of it shot a white light that materialized into a form of what looked like a bird. The light dimmed and Travis could see that the bird was small and brown, except for its feet, wings, and beak, which were a bright red. Not bothering to stow Dexter II, Travis pointed it at the bird Pokémon called Spearow, and then Dexter II quickly said:

"Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. To protect its territory, it flies around making ceaseless high-pitched cries."

"The battle will be as follows: Madeline Marius, represented by a green flag, will use a Female Nidoran, and 'Y', represented by the red flag, will use her male Spearow!" the referee shouted. "Let the Cherrygrove Cup Tournament." the ref raised both flags high over his head.

"BEGIN!"
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BTW, for anyone who cares, I've picked unofficial theme songs for each of the major characters in PRJ, just like last time...

Travis gets Hero by Chad Kroeger and Josie Scott. Every lyric of this song fits Travis' new persona perfectly.

Shiro's theme song is Alive by P.O.D., for obvious reasons. He lives life to the fullest in everything he does.

For Katrina, I've chosen Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson for reasons you'll find out later.

The song choice for Nate was difficult, but I finally settled upon Headstrong by Trapt. It seemed appropriate for someone with a chip on his shoulder that's always picking a fight to take his place at the top.

- ;133; EM1.
 

Hoenn Warrior

All Terrain Trainer
Yes antother excellent chapter with a series of battles in the Cherrygrove Cup to follow. And the threat of AURA seems to have already show its head on the surface. Its good to see Travis, Shiro, and Katrina back together. Glad to see that the story is finally picking up. It will be soon to where it left off last. Cant wait to see, and the songs do suit the character's especially the Hero song and Alive for Travis and Shiro. I have a feeling on why you gave the song Breakaway for Katrina since it might have to do with a certain someone. Nate's song also suits him aswell.
 
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