Writing Pokemon Fanfic (?)

ShinyNoivern

Noivern is a cool Pokemon
Member
Hi! I'm ShinyNoivern and this is something I've been working on. Well, worked on. I wrote it a while ago. I decided to put it out there to see what people think. I wrote it when I was like twelve so the writing quality could be better. Also, I didn't know what to call it or even it's even technically a fanfic, so yeah. A few notes:

1. If you like it, leave me a comment. I'd appreciate it.
2. I wrote it before I discovered Grammarly so there might be some errors.
3. If you'd like to leave constructive criticism that's fine, just don't be mean.
4. I'm working on a sequel that builds on the ending of this, so if a few of you like it I'll post that too.
5. The main characters are based on my friend group at the time of writing. Jonah is me, so I might've been a little selfish and wrote about me more than others. Keagan is my best friend IRL, and he's @s0ggy_waffles36 on Pokebeach. Also, to give credit where credit is due, I mostly wrote it but he helped with the plot and other ideas. (I know it's cheap to use myself as a write-in but it was my only idea at the time so sorry)

I don't know exactly how Google Docs works but if you all get access as editors please do not change anything. Hopefully the hyperlink works. Anyway, hope you like it a little at least. Thanks.

 
Hi! I'm ShinyNoivern and this is something I've been working on. Well, worked on. I wrote it a while ago. I decided to put it out there to see what people think. I wrote it when I was like twelve so the writing quality could be better. Also, I didn't know what to call it or even it's even technically a fanfic, so yeah. A few notes:

1. If you like it, leave me a comment. I'd appreciate it.
2. I wrote it before I discovered Grammarly so there might be some errors.
3. If you'd like to leave constructive criticism that's fine, just don't be mean.
4. I'm working on a sequel that builds on the ending of this, so if a few of you like it I'll post that too.
5. The main characters are based on my friend group at the time of writing. Jonah is me, so I might've been a little selfish and wrote about me more than others. Keagan is my best friend IRL, and he's @s0ggy_waffles36 on Pokebeach. Also, to give credit where credit is due, I mostly wrote it but he helped with the plot and other ideas. (I know it's cheap to use myself as a write-in but it was my only idea at the time so sorry)

I don't know exactly how Google Docs works but if you all get access as editors please do not change anything. Hopefully the hyperlink works. Anyway, hope you like it a little at least. Thanks.

A few comments.
1. Nobody can access the document unless they request permission and you give it to them.
2. Anyone on the internet can access the Pokébeach forums, and you shouldn’t trust random people to not edit your document.

I would advise copying the text of the document and pasting it in this thread as a comment. To make it easier to read, you can paste each chapter in a spoiler, like this:

When you type a comment, there is a row of icons at the top of the box, above the text you type. The last of these icons is a stack of three dots (don't mistake it for the previous stack of three dots, which is a lighter shade). Clicking this icon opens a dropdown menu with more icons. Click on the eye with a line across it. You will then see a box appear in front of this page, asking you type in a name for your spoiler. Type it in and press enter, and then type or paste text after the first "]" and before the second "[".

What makes spoilers convenient is that you can fit an entire book into a post that is only one line per spoiler in length. However long the text within the spoiler is, the spoiler will only be one line long until opened. This means readers will spend far less time scrolling to any point on the page... they can finish reading one chapter (or "page," since it probably isn't a full chapter book) of your fanfic, scroll to the top, close the spoiler, and open the next one. This also means the server doesn't have to load every line of text when someone opens your thread... the forum will only load the contents of each spoiler as you open that spoiler, so the page is far less likely to crash.

The final product should look something like this:
Red chooses Bulbasaur as his first partner Pokemon.
Why can't Professor Oak remember Red's name, or even the fact that he is a boy?
Bulbasaur gets bullied by all the Pidgey from the Illustration Rare from Obsidian Flames and pummels that mean Spearow into the ground.
Red catches the rare and elusive Pikachu in Viridian Forest.
Brock's Onix didn't stand a chance against Bulbasaur.
However, Red is worried by reports that Blue's Charmander has already evolved (he kind of has to grind until Charmander learns Metal Claw at level 13 anyways, at least in FireRed and LeafGreen where the player (and presumably the rival) has that option).
Red shows his true colors and coerces a fossil from an innocent Pokemaniac (this part always bugs me).
He then acts surprised when he is asked to exercise his Pokemon-stealing skills as a member of Team Rocket.
Misty keeps muttering something about "bar islands" as she hands Red a gym badge, glowering at Bulbasaur. Does she expect Red to give her a tip?

Hopefully you get the point. Sorry about stealing your fanfic's thunder with this excellent fanfic that I definitely... did not... write... in... um... five minutes.

P.S. Noivern is a cool Pokemon.
Didn't Ash's Noivern knock a wild Zapdos out of the air with a single Boomburst mere minutes after evolving from Noibat? Ash's Charizard is well known for standing up to an Entei and defeating a wild Articuno, but it couldn't even defeat a Poliwrath the first time it was truly challenged after evolving, which wasn't until his journeys through the Orange Islands. And as for Pikachu, it never seemed to retain any of its accrued strength from its travels, barely tying with an Elekid right off of defeating a Regice and having its powers sapped by Zekrom after it finished off the Latios employed by Tobias, Spammer of Legendaries.
 
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-Chapter 1-

RRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG!! Class had just started. “And today we’re learning about the history of Galar!” Classic Professor Rinecorn. If you don’t think learning can get even worse, you have never met him, thought Keagan. Just then, Keagan felt fur brush against his leg gingerly. As he looked down, he saw one of his Pokemon climbing up his leg. It was one of his personal favorites, Scorbunny. As he looked up, he saw his best friend, Jonah Porter. Jonah mouthed to him sixty-five minutes till lunch, Keagan. “Mr. Porter,” said Rinecorn. “Yes, sir?” Jonah asked. “You were right about recess for everyone else but you and Dobo. Detention!!!” “What the heck for?!” Jonah yelled in protest. His Grookey started whacking its branch on the desk. “For talking in class,” Rinecorn replied. “That’s not fair!” Keagan yelled. “Yeah!” Jonah joined in. “Chad behind me was talking about who he was going to battle at recess!” “At least he will be having recess,” said the professor sourly. Just then, Keagan’s Scorbunny kicked Rinecorn in the shins, and their friends Liam and Tanner started yelling “That is unfair!” “ORDER!!!” shouted Rinecorn, obviously in an outrage. “All four of you, go to the principal's office!!” “Oh, great,” Jonah muttered as they trudged out of the classroom.


-Chapter 2-

“Well, this is great,” Tanner said glumly as they sat in the office. His Dewpider was trying to entertain him by using bubbles to knock over some rubber erasers. It wasn’t working. Then the secretary came out and said “The principal will see you now,” “Oh, good,” Jonah said sarcastically. “I was really looking forward to it.” As they entered the office, the principal said “Well, what brings you to my office?” “It’s not like we want to be here,” Liam said. “What brings us here is Rinecorn’s IQ of POINT TWO!” Keagan said angrily. “Watch your mouth, Dobo,” the principal replied. “Alright, let’s all calm down,” Jonah said. “I had a little Starly tell me that you were defying a teacher.” said principal Green. “Well I guess it’s bird hunting season again,” said Keagan, extremely mad. “Are you threatening a teacher, Dobo ?” asked Green. “No, I just have the common knowledge to know when to attack a Starly,” “Who was this “little Starly” as you called it, Mr. Green?” asked Jonah. “Well, I’ll have you know it was Professor Rinecorn,” “Duh,” said Liam. “I’ll let you off with a warning this time, since you're usually good,” said Principal Green. “Let’s get out of this place,” Jonah said. “Agreed,” said Keagan “It smells like Garbodor in here,” The others laughed, and Tanner said “Good one, Keagan,”

Later that day, at lunch, the boys sat down with their other friends, Mackenzie and Olivia. “So, we heard Professor Rinecorn sent you guys to the principal today,” Mackenzie said. “Oh, shut up,” Keagan replied. “Yeah, but it was only because he runs his classroom like a military unit, so I whispered to Keagan, and he went off the deep end,” said Jonah. “Then Tanner and I tried to defend them, and we got sent with them,” Liam added. “Excuses, excuses,” Olivia said. All of the sudden, the loudspeaker said “Attention students, dangerous wild Pokemon have been spotted near our school. Please be cautious when walking alone in the halls. Do not engage these Pokemon,” “Dangerous Pokemon?” Mackenzie said shakily. She was a trainer, but not as battle-hardened as Jonah and Keagan. “It’s probably just a Thwackey, knowing the teachers here,” Jonah said. “Don’t worry ladies, Jonah and I can handle it,” Keagan said while flexing his biceps.

A while later, after school, Keagan and Jonah were walking home when they heard a rustling in the forest. They both tensed, hands on their Pokeballs. Then a large, armored head rose out of the forest and roared. “That’s n-not a Thwackey,” Keagan stuttered. The creature’s full body reared up, revealing a spiny-armored Pokemon that overshadowed both of the boys. “It’s a Tyranitar!!!” Jonah yelled. In case you aren’t familiar with Tyranitar, it is a Rock-Dark type, six-foot-seven, weighs four-hundred and forty-five pounds, and can destroy a mountain to make its nest. “We gotta fight it,” Keagan said. “Go!” “Charmeleon!” yelled Jonah. “You too, Corvisquire!” Keagan bellowed. Both boys tossed their Pokeballs to release their Pokemon. The Tyranitar roared again and steadied itself for a fight. “Got a plan?” Keagan asked. “Working on it,” Jonah said. “Just keep it occupied,” “Corvisquire, use Drill Peck!” Keagan said. “Charmeleon, Ember!” Jonah said. The Tyranitar shook off the attacks and responded with a Dark Pulse attack. “Corvisquire, use Aerial Ace!” Keagan yelled. “Charmeleon, dodge it!” Jonah screamed. “I’ve got an idea!” Jonah said. “You have Corvisquire push it off-balance with Gust, then Charmeleon will knock it over with Flame Charge.” “All right,” Keagan said. “Corvisquire, use Gust!” Keagan yelled. The strong wind hit the Tyranitar, and it stumbled off-balance. “Now!” Jonah said. “Charmeleon, use Slash!” Jonah bellowed. Charmeleon growled and leapt toward Tyranitar, hitting it square in the face. Charmeleon then rebounded and landed on all fours. Charmeleon began to stomp its feet and became nevelpoed in flames. It launched itself toward Tyranitar and hit it right in the stomach. “RAAAARGHHH!!!” roared the Tyranitar as it fell over, knocking down a few trees. “Let’s get outta here before it wakes up!” Keagan exclaimed. Both boys returned their Pokemon and sprinted down the sidewalk to their houses. When they got the fork in the road–they lived only a mile or two apart--Jonah said “Well, that was a new experience,” “Ditto,” Keagan replied. “I gotta get home, or my parents will be worried,” Jonah said. “Yeah, me too. See you tomorrow!” Keagan called as he went across the street to his house.


-Chapter 3-

The next day at school, Jonah and Keagan were telling the others the story about fighting the Tyranitar. “And then my Charmeleon used Flame Charge to knock it over,” Jonah finished. “And Jonah ran up the street crying for his mommy,” Keagan added. “Shut it, Keagan!” Jonah said, then punched him on the shoulder. “Cool,” Tanner and Liam said. “Yeah, but it sounds a little scary,” Olivia said. Then, their classmates Stephen and Toby came over. Stephen said, “I heard you guys beat a Tyranitar yesterday.” “Yep,” Keagan replied. “Cool,” Stephen replied. “That must have been the ‘dangerous Pokemon’ they were talking about yesterday,” Toby said. “I hope so, because from what Keagan and Jonah told us, Tyranitar is a strong Pokemon,” Liam said. “I wouldn’t want to see anything worse,” Mackenzie added. Then the bell rang, and class started. It was first period, Mr. Wood’s class. He was a fun teacher, and also a Pokemon trainer. He taught Pokemon science, like how and why Pokemon can do the things they do, and also about their diet, habitat, and lifestyle. “Good morning, class,” Mr. Wood said. “Let’s take attendance,” After that, class started. “Today we are going to learn how Electric-type Pokemon get their energy. Everyone get out your books and turn to page…” Mr. Wood began. Everyone groaned. “Ha! Just kidding. We’re having a live demonstration. Go, Boltund!” Mr. Wood yelled. Boltund barked and lookes around the class. “Most Pokemon, like Boltund, generate electricity via an organ in their body, then use it for attacks or whatever they need. However, other Pokemon absorb electricity from other sources. For example, Electabuzz will climb to high places during a thunderstorm to absorb lightning bolts. They’ll even fight other Electabuzz to get up to the spot. Even the mythical Pokemon Zeraora has to absorb electricity from other sources,” Mr. Wood explained. “But some others, like Elekid, lose that stored energy when they touch metal objects.” Soon, science class was over and we went into the overcrowded hall. “Hey, Jonah and Keagan, wanna duos battle us at recess?” asked one of their classmates, Chad, while standing by Zach. These two were nice, but they weren’t Jonah and Keagan’s friends. “Yeah, sure,” answered Jonah. “Where do we crush you at?” asked Keagan. “You sound pretty confident,” Zach said. “Did you not hear that we beat a Tyranitar yesterday?” Jonah questioned. “Yeah, but we’ve got strong Pokemon too,” Chad said. “We’ll take you on at the battlefield on the right,” Zach said. “See you there,” Keagan said. “Any idea what Pokemon they have?” Keagan asked. “Last time I saw Chad and Zach do a duos battle, Zach used a Machop, and Chad used a Bunnelby, but that was last year, so they could be evolved by now,” Jonah said. “That means we could have a Machoke and Diggersby to deal with,” Keagan said. “Well, both of those are strong but slow Pokemon, so all we have to do is outmaneuver them,” Jonah replied. “I’ll use Scorbunny to run circles around Diggersby,” Keagan said. “And since Machoke is so slow, I can use Grookey to evade Machoke’s punches,” Jonah said. “Sounds like a plan,” Keagan said. “In case all else fails, Grookey can use Branch Poke, and Scorbunny can use Ember,” Jonah said.

A little while later after class with Professor Maxwell–he was the Pokemon biology teacher–and lunch, it was time for recess, and the battle. Lots of activities were being carried out when Keagan and Jonah came outside. Some kids had started a kickball game, there were a few kids drawing, and several battles. The battles were the main attraction. There was always talk amongst the students about who was battling that day, and sometimes kids even made bets on the battles. A group of kids had gathered to watch the battle. Jonah and Keagan had a reputation for winning battles. In fact, most kids didn’t consider challenging them. Zach and Chad were an exception. “Well, it’s showtime,” Keagan said. Chad and Zach were already there, trying to look scary, but failing. “You guys ready to lose?” Zach asked. “Who’s cocky now?” Jonah replied. “All right, let’s get going,” Chad said. “Go, Diggersby!” Chad yelled. “Go, Machoke!” Zach yelled. “Come on out, Scorbunny!” Keagan said. “You too, Grookey!” Jonah yelled. “What do you plan to do with those two?” Chad questioned. “You’ll see,” Keagan said. “Your move,” Jonah said. “Machoke, use Dynamic Punch on Scorbunny!” Zach said. “Scorbunny, dodge it and charge Diggersby!” Keagan yelled. Meanwhile, Chad said “Diggersby, use Mud Shot!” “Grookey, dodge and head for Machoke!” Jonah yelled. Once Scorbunny reached Diggersby, Keagan said “Scorbunny, run circles around Diggersby!” Scorbunny did so, and Diggersby was rotating to follow it. Grookey got to Machoke, so Zach said “Machoke, use Low Sweep!” “Grokey, jump it and use Branch Poke!” Machoke was still low, so Grookey jumped it and landed a direct blow to the head, knocking Machoke out. After Scorbunny finished running circles, Keagan said “Scorbunny, use Scratch!” The move sent Diggersby flying. “No!” Chad yelled. “We win!” Keagan said. “Yeah, good battle,” Zach said glumly. Then the bell rang, and everyone went inside.


-Chapter 4-

After recess, it was third period, Pokemon items class, taught by Mrs. Wilson. “Today we’re learning about the Big Malasada, an item that a Pokemon consumes. When eaten, it will restore all status conditions,” said Mrs. Wilson. She was an older woman, probably about seventy, but she knew a lot about Pokemon items. “Mrs. Wilson, what’s the price of a Big Malasada at a Pokemart?” asked Katrina , who always asked twenty questions about everything. “That’s a good question. On average, a Big Malasada will cost two-hundred Pokemon Dollars,” said Mrs. Wilson. A while later, class was dismissed, and it was time for study hall. Keagan and Jonah were sitting next to each other, doing math homework. Just then, the loudspeaker came on and said “Attention all students in grades five to twelve! The National Pokemon Youth Trainer tournament is coming to Motostoke city, and you are all invited! The tournament starts this Friday at five o’clock.. All formats of battle are included. The tournament will take place in Motostoke City,” The whole class jumped with excitement. Keagan leaned over to Jonah, “What Pokemon should we use?” Keagan asked. “Because I kinda want to use my Salandit, Scorbunny, or Arcanine.” “Well, first we need to see if we can even enter,” Jonah said. “What do you mean?” Keagan asked. “We can’t drive, and Motostoke city is too far to ride our bikes, so we’ll need to get our parents to take us,” Jonah said. “True,” Keagan replied. “I’ll ask my parents tonight,” Jonah said. “Yeah, so will I,” said Keagan.

At the end of the day, Jonah and Keagan were packing up their stuff–they had lockers right next to one another–when Mackenzie and Olivia came over. Mackenzie asked, “Are you guys entering the tournament?” “Yeah, if our parents will let us,” replied Keagan. “We’re going to enter the duos battle group,” Jonah added. “Yeah, so are Olivia and I,” Mackenzie added. “I think I’m going to use my Eevee,” Olivia said. “Maybe it’ll evolve,” said Olivia hopefully. “You’re such a dork, Olivia,” said the school bully, Aaron Matthews, as he walked by. “Eevee won’t evolve without an evolution stone, idiot,” Aaron added. “Cut it out, Aaron,” Jonah said. “What are you gonna do about it, Porter?” Aaron said, taking a menacing step closer. He was a big kid, and had at least sixinches on Jonah, who was five-foot-five”. Then, Keagan, who was a match for Aaron, stepped next to Jonah and braced himself. “What I’m gonna do,” said Jonah. “Is tell you to get going and leave my friends alone,” “Whatever, Porter,” Aaron said as he walked off. “Thanks, guys,” Olivia said. “Any time,” Keagan said. “He’s right though, Olivia. Eevee won’t evolve without an evolution stone,” said Jonah. “Although, it can evolve into Umbreon when the moon is out, Sylveon if it’s friendly to its trainer and knows a Fairy-type move, or Espeon if the sun is out,” added Keagan. “Well, where can I find an evolution stone?” Olivia asked. “There’s these two brothers called the Digging Duo near the Pokemon Nursery in Bridge Field who will dig up stuff, like items and evolution stones, if you pay them five-hundred Watts,” Keagan said. “I’ll check that out later,” said Olivia. Then the bell rang and everyone went home.


-Chapter 5-

The next day, Jonah and Keagan’s class was getting to Mr. Wood’s room, but there were ten minutes until class started, so everyone was talking, and all anyone cared about was the upcoming tournament. “So I asked my parents, and I’m allowed to go to the tournament,” said Jonah. “Yeah, me too,” Keagan said. “Awesome!” Jonah replied, then they fist-bumped. Then Keagan and Jonah walked over to Liam and Tanner. “Are you guys entering the tournament?” asked Keagan. “Yeah, are you?” replied Liam. “Yup,” said Jonah. Then Liam’s Pokemon, Snover, came over and made a small snow flurry. “Hi, Snover,” said Jonah. Tanner came over with his Dewpider and asked “Did Liam tell you guys we’re entering the tournament?” “Yeah, so does that mean you guys are entering together?” Keagan asked. “Yeah,” replied Tanner. “I heard an old story that a long time ago, when they held this tournament, some trainer linked with his Pokemon and tried to take over Galar,” said Liam. “That’s just a legend, Liam,” protested Jonah. “Could be true, though,” said Keagan. “And how is that?” asked Tanner. “Well, I’ve heard stories of trainers getting, like, psychic links with their Pokemon and thinking they’re all-powerful, so they try to do crazy stuff, like rule a region or something,” replied Keagan. “I’ve heard the story too, and in the end, the trainer gets vaporized from the Pokemon’s power in him, so I don’t think we’ve got anything to worry about,” Jonah said. “Good, cause I don’t think Dewpider and I could handle some psycho trainer,” said Tanner. Dewpider shook its head as if saying, Nope, that's not happening. Then class started, and everyone sat down.

A little while later, it was time for lunch. Except, today was different because today was the first day that the school had put out registration forms for the upcoming tournament. Keagan, Jonah, Tanner, Liam, Mackenzie, and Olivia were standing in line to register for duos battles. Then, Aaron and his friend Will Mason started pushing through the line to get up to the front. Jonah’s Grookey saw them coming to try and push through and started tapping Jonah with its stick and making noises. “What is it, Grookey?” asked Jonah. Grookey pointed to Aaron and Will behind them. Keagan’s Scorbunny saw them too and tapped Keagan’s leg to get his attention. When Aaron and Will reached them, Keagan asked “What do you two think you’re doing?” “Registering for the duos battles, duh,” Will replied. “I mean, you can’t just push people out of your way to get to the registration sheet first,” said Keagan. “Who’s gonna stop us?” asked Aaron. “We are,” said Jonah, stepping up next to Keagan. “All right, I know how we’ll settle this,” said Will. “A Pokemon battle,” he finished. “Sounds good,” said Jonah. “At the start of recess,” said Aaron. “See you there,” Keagan said.

A little while later, the boys set up for a battle. “You guys ready?” said Keagan. “Yep,” said Aaron with a sneer. “Then send out your Pokemon,” said Jonah. “Alright, go Golbat!” Aaron yelled. “Go, Toxtricity!” said Will. “Go, Turtonator!” said Keagan. “C’mon, Grookey!” “I’ll take the first move,” said Aaron. “Golbat, use Quick Attack on Grookey!” “Dodge and use Razor Leaf!” said Jonah. Razor edged leaves hit Golbat and sent it spiraling into the ground. “Golbat!” said Aaron, then growled. “You’ll pay for that,” Aaron warned. Meanwhile, Keagan and Will were battling. “Turtonator, use Body Slam!” said Keagan. “Toxtricity, flip over it and use Toxic!” yelled Will. Toxic hit Turtonator and did damage, but also triggered an explosion from the material on Turtonator’s back, which launched Toxtricity into the air. “Toxtricity, brace for impact!” said Will. Toxtricity came down in a ready position. “Now use Poison Jab!” said Will. “Meet it with Mega Punch!” said Keagan. Their attacks met and caused an explosion which made a large smoke cloud. Aaron’s Golbat got back into the air, ready to battle. “Now use Wing Attack!” yelled Aaron. “Counter with Branch Poke!” said Jonah. The two Pokemon met and were locked in a pushing match. “Grookey, slide under and use Scratch!” yelled Jonah. Scratch hit Golbat in the stomach and shot it upward. After the smoke cloud between Toxtricity and Turtonator cleared, the Pokemon had backed away from each other, ready to battle. “Toxtricity, use Thunder Shock!” yelled Will. “Turtonator, Dragon Pulse!” said Keagan. The two attacks met with equal power and caused an explosion, which damaged both Pokemon. “Now Turtonator, finish it with Body Slam!” yelled Keagan. “Toxtricity, use Boomburst to push it back!” said Will. But there was too much force –four-hundred and sixty-seven pounds of it to be exact– behind Turtonator’s Body Slam, so it got through Boomburst and hit Toxtricity, which sent it flying. When the dust cleared, Toxtricity had fainted. “Golbat, get upright and use Air Slash!” yelled Aaron. Air slash hit Grookey before it could dodge, and it went flying. “Grookey!” screamed Jonah. Grookey struggled to get up, but it did. “Can you still battle?” asked Jonah. Grookey nodded its head and gave a growl. “Now use Branch Poke!” said Jonah. Grookey did a flying leap into the air, and gave Golbat a good whack with its stick, and sent it into the dirt. The dust cleared, and Golbat had fainted. “We won!” exclaimed Jonah and Keagan at the same time. “Good job, Grookey,” said Jonah. “Good battling, Turtonator,” said Keagan. Everyone returned their Pokemon, and Keagan and Jonah went over to shake Will and Aaron’s hands. But Aaron slapped Jonah’s hand away and said “You won’t be so lucky next time.” “We’ll see about that,” said Keagan. Then recess ended, and everyone went inside.


A while later, everyone was packing up, and talking about the tournament tomorrow. “What Pokemon are you bringing, Mackenzie?” asked Jonah. “I’m gonna bring a full six, just in case, and you know the Pokemon I have,” she responded. “So Magikarp, Blipbug, and Seedot then?” joked Keagan. “Shut it, Keagan!” said Mackenzie. Then Tanner asked, “How’d your battle go, guys?” “We won, naturally,” answered Keagan. “But they gave us a good battle,” added Jonah. “What Pokemon didja battle with?” asked Olivia. “I used Turtonator, and Jonah used Grookey,” Then the bell rang, everyone said goodbye, and went home.


-Chapter 6-

The next day, everyone had just arrived at school. Jonah, Keagan, and the rest of their friends met up in Mr. Wood’s room. “I’m so psyched for the tournament today!” said Jonah. “Me too,” added Keagan. “Olivia and I had a battle last night to train,” said Mackenzie. “Who won?” questioned Liam. “It was a tie,” said Olivia. “Her Eevee used Quick Attack, and my Ponyta used Stomp, but they knocked each other out,” added Mackenzie. “Yeah, Tanner and I’ve been training too,” said Liam. “We didn’t battle, though,” said Tanner. “Yep, Jonah and I have been training, too,” said Keagan. Then class started, and everyone took their seats. “First off, I know that the tournament is later today, but I still need your full attention in class. And second, there will be a fire drill at one-thrity today,” said Mr. Wood. “Now that that’s outta the way, let’s start class,” he finished.

A while later, everyone had just sat down in third period. Mrs. Wilson gave the same notice that even though it was the tournament, she still wanted our attention. “Today, we are going to take a look at some of the items you trainers have!” announced Mrs. Wilson. “Who wants to go first?” she asked. A bunch of kids raised their hands. “How about you, Olivia?” Olivia, who didn’t ever raise her hand, was startled when she was called on. “Umm…” she mumbled. Jonah whispered, “Just get something!” “I have a potion,” said Olivia. “And what does a potion do?” questioned Mrs. Wilson. “Umm... it heals twent Hit Points from a Pokemon.” Keagan noticed that, from the back of the class, Aaron and Will were snickering. Keagan growled under his breath. While the teacher was out of the room a few minutes later, Aaron and Will were shooting spitballs at Olivia, but she couldn’t figure out who was doing it. It only made Keagan even angrier.

After class ended, Keagan told Jonah about what Aaron and Will did to Olivia, and Jonah got mad. Jonah’s Grookey and Keagan’s Scorbunny were able to understand what had happened, and got mad. Grookey was beating on Jonah’s locker with its stick, and Scorbunny was shooting sparks. “Hey, there they are!” said Jonah. Aaron and Will were at their lockers–which were next to each other–so Jonah and Keagan went over there. “Whadda you two want?” asked Aaron. “We want you to stop picking on Olivia,” said Jonah. “Or else what?” asked Will. Keagan pulled his fist back to throw a punch, but Jonah stopped him. “Not yet, at least,” said Jonah. “Yeah, you’d lose anyway,” said Aaron. “THAT’S IT!” yelled Keagan, as the hall monitor walked by. Aaron quickly pulled out his notes. “Is there a problem, boys?” she asked. “No, I was just showing Keagan an example problem from math today,” said Aaron, nicely. “Well, that is very kind, Aaron,” said the hall monitor as she walked off. Then the bell rang, and the boys made their way to class. “I hope we battle him in the tournament today,” said Jonah.

At the end of school that day, Keagan asked “Hey, do you guys want to hang out at my house ‘till the tournament starts?” “Yeah!” said everyone. Then the bell rang, and they all walked out. Everyone called their parents to make sure it was alright, and they all got to go.


-Chapter 7-

Everyone arrived at Keagan's house and went up to his room. It was decorated with all sorts of posters, like Gigantimax Charizard, The Pokemon League, and Leon with his partner, Charizard. “What do you guys want to do?” asked Tanner. “We could have practice battles,” suggested Mackenzie. “Yeah! Good idea, Mackenzie,” said Keagan. “Alright,” said Tanner. “Could be fun,” added Liam. “Sounds good,” said Jonah. “Let’s go!” said Keagan. “Okay,” added Olivia. Everyone went into Keagan’s backyard and got ready to battle. “Wanna take me on?” Jonah asked Mackenzie. “Sure,” she replied. “I’ll battle Olivia,” said Keagan. “Then I guess that leaves Tanner and me,” said Liam. Everyone got ready to battle. “Go, Ponyta!” said Mackenzie. “You’re up, Grookey!” said Jonah. Across the backyard, everyone sent out their Pokemon. Liam sent out Snover, Keagan sent out Sizzlipede, Olivia sent out Eevee, which she got a Water Stone for, and Tanner sent out Dewpider. “Your move, Mackenzie,” said Jonah. “Okay, Ponyta, use Psybeam!” said Mackenzie. The multicolored beam shot straight for Grookey. “Grookey, dodge and use Razor Leaf!” yelled Jonah. The sharp leaves hit Ponyta and knocked it back. “Ponyta!” Mackenzie yelled. “Sorry!” Jonah said. “Alright Ponyta, let’s crank it up a notch! Use Stomp!” Mackenzie said. “Grookey, get over it and use Branch Poke!” Except Grookey didn't get overtop of Ponyta. Ponyta reached Grookey and jumped higher than Grookey did, so it came down with more power. Grookey was slammed into the ground, hard. “Are you alright, Grookey?” yelled Jonah. Grookey managed to push itself up and got into a ready position. “Okay Grookey, use Branch Poke!” said Jonah. Grookey growled and ran at Ponyta. “Counter with Fairy Wind!” yelled Mackenzie. “Push through, Grookey!” roared Jonah. Grookey tried to stand up to the wind, but it was too little. After all, it is only a foot tall and weighs only eleven pounds. As Grookey was sliding backward, Jonah yelled “Use vines to pull forward, then use Branch Poke!” Grookey played a rhythm with its stick, causing plants to spring up from the ground, then commanded them to pull itself toward Ponyta. Once it reached Ponyta, it used Branch Poke on Ponyta. Before Ponyta could get out of the way, Grookey landed a powerful blow on Ponyta. Ponyta was sent into the air (as Grookey had swung its branch upward), and came back and landed in a cloud of dust. However, Mackenzie’s Ponyta was very resilient and was able to get back up. “Alright Ponyta!” said Mackenzie. “Let’s show ‘em what we can do!” she added. “Use Psycho Cut!” yelled Mackenzie. “Alright Grookey, full-throttle Branch Poke!” Jonah roared. Grookey narrowed its eyes and ran straight for Ponyta, except when it used its move, it didn’t look like Branch Poke. A large, transparent, green log appeared on Grookey’s arm, and it swung, hard. Grookey had learned Wood Hammer! The move collided with Ponyta’s Psycho Cut, and all that could be seen through the resulting cloud of dust was the purple glow of Psycho Cut clashing with the green glow of Wood Hammer. When the dust cleared, both Pokemon were battered, and then, in unison, fainted. “What?” exclaimed Mackenzie. “I know what happened!” said Tanner, looking exhausted. “Well?” asked Jonah. “Grookey used Wood Hammer, right?” questioned Tanner. “Yeah,” said Jonah, still confused. “Well, Wood Hammer deals damage back to the user, so Grookey did knock out Ponyta, but the return damage knocked out Grookey as well!” explained Tanner. “Oh,” said Jonah. “Yeah, you didn’t know that?” asked Keagan, who had just ended his battle against Olivia. Keagan was also covered in soot. “What the heck happened to you?” asked Mackenzie. “I’ll explain after Jonah the brainiac tells us why he knocked out his own Pokemon,” answered Keagan. “I had intended for Grookey to use Branch Poke, but it learned Wood Hammer and used that instead,” explained Jonah. “Now, why doesn’t Keagan tell us why he’s covered in soot,” said Jonah. “Well, Sizzlipede here got a little excited and sprayed Ember everywhere. It must’ve been excited because it was winning against Eevee. Unfortunately, I was in the line of fire,” said Keagan. “Well, who won?” asked Liam, jogging over. “I did, naturally,” answered Keagan. “Shut up, Keagan,” said Olivia. “You won by that much, hothead,” she said, holding her index finger and thumb slightly apart. “Anyone else hungry?” asked Tanner. “Yeah,” everyone replied. Everyone went inside, and into Keagan’s kitchen. “Hi Mrs. Dobo,” said Tanner. “Hey guys!” said Keagan’s mom, who then noticed that Keagan was covered in soot. “Keagan, what happened to you?” she asked. “Long story short, Sizzlipede missed,” Keagan replied. “Oh, okay,” said Keagan’s mom. “We’re gonna get something to eat,” said Keagan. “Okay, but you’d better do it fast because the tournament starts in thirty-five minutes!” replied Keagan’s mom. “Oh, yeah it does!” exclaimed Jonah, checking his watch. Everyone wolfed down their snacks, put on their shoes, and went to the car. Actually, it was two cars, because Keagan’s family of five plus everyone else couldn’t fit in one car, so they had to take two. “You know, Keagan, I heard that Kabu himself is going to be at the tournament,” said Jonah. “REALLY!?” asked Keagan, excited. Keagan loved and trained Fire-types, and Kabu was his favorite Gym Leader. “Yeah, it was on the news,” said Jonah. “Awesome!” yelled Keagan. “We’re here!” said Keagan’s mom. Everyone got their Gym Uniforms on and went to register. “All right, we’re all in,” said Liam. “Now we just gotta wait until it starts,” said Olivia. Just then, Jonah nudged Keagan in the ribs. “What?” asked Keagan. “Look over there,” said Jonah, pointing. There was Aaron and Will, just getting registered. “I’m gonna beat them so bad they’ll be calling their mommies,” growled Keagan. “In a battle, right?” asked Jonah. “Yeah…,” said Keagan. “Attention trainers!” The tournament will start in five minutes!” said the announcer, through the loudspeaker. “Let’s get going!” said Jonah. Everyone went to the area where trainers waited for their battle to start. It had a screen that showed a live feed of the battles going on on the field. Aaron and Will were on their way to their seats, but when they saw everyone, they made a point of stopping. “‘Sup, losers?” asked Aaron. “Keep moving, Matthews,” said Jonah. “You won’t be talkin’ when we hand you your butts in the tournament,” sneered Will. “Attention trainers, please take your seats!” said the announcer. “And can we have team numbers sixteen and forty-two to the battlefield!” Everyone sat down, and Keagan started watching the match. A few minutes in, Keagan said “Hey, look!” “What?” asked Mackenzie. “She’s using a Dynamax Pokemon, so I guess they’re allowed,” said Keagan. “Did you guys bring your bands?” asked Tanner. Everyone had, so they could Dynamax their Pokemon. “Alright!” said Jonah. After the battle ended, the field was destroyed. “How are they gonna fix that?” asked Liam. Then, a few Sandaconda came out. They blew sand into the holes made by the Dynamax Pokemon, and they were followed by a few Lapras. They sprayed mist on the sand, and finally a group of Corviknight flew above the field. They all used Gust, and hardened the sand instantly. They were able to do all this in under a minute. “So that’s how they do it,” said Keagan. “Our next match is as follows: team numbers five and thirty-two to the battlefield!” The announcer said. “We’re number five!” exclaimed Jonah. Keagan hopped to his feet “Where on the field do we go?” he asked. “There’s only two sides, genius,” replied Mackenzie. “Let’s rock,” said Keagan.


-Chapter 8-

When the boys arrived on the battlefield, it was a legendary experience. Keagan walked in, trying to impress Kabu. At this particular tournament, there was a very large audience, and the roar of the crowd only pumped Keagan and Jonah up more. “Wonder who we’re up against,” said Jonah. “Whoever it is,” Keagan said. “We’re gonna beat them,” he said confidently. Across the field, the opposition emerged. It was a boy and a girl, who appeared to be twins, and they looked ready. “Alright,” said Jonah. “Let’s do this,” The boys walked over to their positions, and talked strategy. “They look like Psychic-type trainers to me,” whispered Keagan. “Well, Psychic is weak to Bug, Ghost, and Dark,” said Jonah. “Got any of those types?” asked Keagan. “Let’s see,” said Jonah. “I’ve got Grookey, Galvantula, Charmeleon, Rhydon, Excadrill and Zigzagoon,” he added. “Zigzagoon!” Keagan exclaimed. “Oh yeah, it’s a Dark-type!” said Jonah. “I’ll use it,” he added. “I think I’ll go with Carkol,” said Keagan. “Trainers, send out your Pokemon!” said the announcer. “Let’s go, Carkol!” said Keagan, throwing his Pokeball. “Show ‘em what you got, Zigzagoon!” Jonah said, doing the same thing. Across the battlefield, the girl sent out Musharna, and the boy sent out Malamar. “The first move goes to team number thirty-two!” said the announcer. Keagan whispered, “Dang,” under his breath, trying not to show his anger. The boy said “Malamar, use Psybeam on Zigzagoon!” “Zigzagoon, dodge and use Headbutt!” shouted Jonah. In its erratic, zigzagging run, Zigzagoon was able to avoid Psybeam and land a spiny-haired Headbuutt on Malamar’s torso. Then Keagan shouted, “Carkol, use Ancient Power on Musharna!” “Musharna, use Psychic to turn those rocks back at ‘em!'' yelled the girl. “Carkol, roll around it and use Flamethrower!” Keagan bellowed. Meanwhile, Malamar was proving to be a tough opponent for Jonah and Zigzagoon. “Zigzagoon, use Snarl!” yelled Jonah. Malamar was knocked back. “Don’t let up, use Sand Attack, right in the face!” Jonah roared. The mud hit Malamar square in the face and obscured its vision. “Malamar!” the boy yelled. Malamar looked thoroughly disoriented, which Jonah took as another attack opportunity. “Hit it with Pin Missile!” Jonah said. The sharp barbs hit Malamar in the chest, and it struggled to get back up. “C’mon Malamar!” said its trainer. Malamar managed to get back up, and it looked furious. As Zigzagoon battled Malamar, Carkol and Musharna were going at it. Carkol’s Flamethrower scorched Musharna, sending it reeling. “Musharna, use Zen Headbutt!” said the girl. “Carkol, use Smokescreen!” Keagan shouted, blinding Malamar and Musharna. “Now’s our chance!” Keagan yelled. “Carkol, use Flame Charge!” bellowed Keagan. Carkol became covered in flames, and threw all one-hundred pounds of itself into Musharna with devastating force. Musharna was pushed into the ground six feet, and it fainted. When Keagan used Smokescreen, Jonah told Zigzagoon “Alright, let’s finish this. Zigzagoon. Use Snarl!” The move made impact with an angry, flabbergasted, and tired Malamar, and it was sent twenty feet into the air. When Malamar landed, it fainted on impact. The referee said “Both of the opponents’ Pokemon are unable to battle! Team number five wins!” “Alright!” said Keagan. The two teams shook hands and went back to the waiting area. When he heard they won, Keagan took a pose Jonah never saw him do before, where he kneeled, pointed into the sky, and the other hand on his hip. “What the heck was that?” Jonah asked. “It’s this pose I made up, for when I win,” Keagan answered. “Then how come you’ve never done it before?” Jonah questioned. “I just thought of it on the way here,” he answered “Oh,” said Jonah. “Not half-bad,” he added. When the boys sat back down, everyone looked like they had been watching a movie, and it just ended. “Keagan, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you that heated before,” said Jonah. “Was that a Fire-type pun?” Keagan asked. “Yeah,” Jonah said. “It wasn’t very good,” Keagan said. “Yeah, I know,” Jonah said. “Great battle!” Tanner exclaimed. “Thanks,” said Jonah and Keagan. “When is our next battle?” Keagan asked. “I dunno,” said Jonah. “Check the schedule board,” Liam said. “The what-now?” Keagan asked, looking puzzled. “It shows what teams battle when,” Liam explained. “Let’s go check it out!” Jonah said. The boys ran over to the board. “Aw, crap,” Keagan said. “What?” Jonah asked. “Aaron and Will are on the other side of the bracket, so we gotta go all the way to fight ‘em,” Keagan explained. “We can do it,” Jonah said, looking confident. “Looks like our next match is in twenty minutes,” Jonah said “And while we’re waiting, I am hungry,” said Keagan. “Let’s get something to eat,” Jonah said. The boys went to the concession stand and got in line. Keagan ordered a large basket of cheese fries, which the two guys shared. “These are sooooo good!” Keagan said. “Yeah, they are,” said Jonah. Then the announcer said, “Can we have teams twenty-one and fifty-seven to the battlefield!” “We’re team twenty-one!” Tanner said. “Let’s go,” said Liam, standing up. “Good luck!” Jonah yelled after them.


-Chapter 9-
On the big screen, Tanner and Liam squared off against two rough-and-tough looking trainers. “Fighting-type” Keagan said. “Nah, the one with the leather jacket and spiked hair looks Dark-type,” Jonah said. “Then the shredded one must be Fighting-type,” Keagan said. The announcer said, “Trainers, send out your Pokemon!” Liam sent out Weavile, Tanner sent out Drednaw, the Fighting-type guy sent out Throh, and the Dark-type guy sent out Morpeko. “Awwww,” said the crowd. They stopped when Morpeko turned into its Hangry Mode. Tanner whispered something to Liam, but the microphones sending sound to the jumbotron didn’t pick it up. “I hope they play this smart,” Jonah said. “Whadda you mean?” Olivia asked. “Well, Dark is weak to Fighting, and Weavile’s half Dark-type,” Keagan finished. “So is Ice,” Jonah added. “Oh,” said Olivia. “Yeah,” said Keagan. “Sometimes it is useful to know type advantages.” “First move goes to team twenty-one!” “Drednaw, use Headbutt on Throh!” Tanner said. Drednaw lowered its horn and charged at Throh. The attack hit it square in the gut. “Throh!” its trainer exclaimed. It pulled itself up and got into a karate stance. “Now Throh, use Revenge!” Throh dashed towards Drednaw and gave it a devastating chop on the shell. Drednaw managed to take the hit and stood its ground. “Now Drednaw, Jaw Lock! Tear ‘em up!” Drednaw closed its ferocious jaws on Throh and thrashed it around like a chew toy. Then, it tossed Throh across the arena. “Finish it, use Rock Tomb!” Large boulders dropped on Throh before it could even come to its senses, and it was knocked out. Meanwhile, Morpeko and Weavile were going at it. “Weavile, use Ice Shard!’ Liam said. Weavile fired sharp pieces of ice at Morpeko, and several of them hit. Morpeko shook off the attack and awaited its trainer’s command. “Morpeko, use Quick Attack!” said the trainer. Morpeko charged at Weavile, running as fast as it could. “Weavile, meet it with Slash!” Liam countered. The two Pokemon collided and rebounded off of each other. “Now Morpeko! Use Spark!’ Morpeko hit Weavile with a blast of electricity. “Weavile!” Liam cried out. But it had endured the hit, and now it was mad. “Weavile, let's show them who they’re dealing with! Use Icy Wind!” Liam shouted. A sub-zero wind shot forth from Weavile’s mouth, and Morpeko took the full force of it. It was sent sprawling backward, and it passed out. “Both Pokemon are unable to battle. Team twenty-one wins!” the announcer said. Liam’s Weavile took a confident stance, and Tanner gave his Drednaw a pat on the head. “Alright!” Keagan said as the boys entered. “Tanner, I’m a little scared of you now, since your Drednaw beat the crap outta that Throh,” Jonah said. “Yeah, it was kinda weird for you,” Mackenzie added. “Don’t make a big deal out of it. I just didn’t want to risk Drednaw fainting,” Tanner replied. “Well, I guess now we wait,” Liam said. “Not very long,” Keagan added. “We’re up next,” Jonah said, looking at his watch. “Are you gonna finish these fries?” Keagan asked Jonah “If not, I’ll eat them,” he added. “Nah, you can take ‘em,” Jonah replied. Keagan scooped the rest of the cheese fries and stuffed them in his mouth. “Take it easy on the fries,” Mackenzie told him. “Let’s roll,” Jonah said. When they walked onto the battlefield, Keagan leaned over to Jonah as he looked at the crowd, trying to find Kabu. “Do you think he sees me?” Keagan asked. “Probably, but he won’t pay any attention to us unless we do something to stand out,” Jonah replied. “Then my goal in this battle is to stand out,” he answered. “Well, we can try,” Jonah replied. Then, the challengers came out. “They look like Flying-type trainers to me,” Keagan said. “Well, what do we have that Flying is weak to?” Jonah asked. “Usually Electric,” Keagan stated, matter-of-factly. “Also Rock and Ice,” Jonah added. “I’ll use Rhydon,” said Jonah. Jonah’s Rhydon was a powerhouse, and it knew lots of strong moves. “I’ll go with Turtonator,” Keagan said. “Alright, but keep your guard up, because Rhydon and Turtonator are both pretty slow,” Jonah warned “Yeah,” Keagan said. “But Turtonator has extremely high defense, though,” he added. “We’ll be alright,” Jonah said. “Rhydon has some powerful moves, and so does Turtonator,” he added. “Trainers, send out your Pokemon!” the announcer said. “Go! Turtonator!” Keagan said. “C’mon out, Rhydon!” said Jonah. One of the other trainers sent out Noivern, and the other one sent out Mandibuzz. Keagan brought Turtonator back into its Pokeball, and his Dynamax Band began to glow. The Pokeball grew to the size of a large watermelon, and he threw it with both hands over his head. “Let's burn like an uncontrollable inferno!” Keagan shouted “Go! And Dynamax while you’re at it!” Keagan screamed, and a giant version of Turtonator appeared. “Behold, a Dynamax Pokemon!” said the announcer. “Alright, we can do that too!” said one of the other trainers. He then Dynamaxed his Noivern. “First move goes to team number five!” said the announcer. Keagan didn’t wait. “Turtonator, use Max Flare!” he shouted, and both of the opponent's Pokemon became engulfed in the flames, and were left with a terrible burn. “Rhydon, use Rock Blast on Mandibuzz!” Jonah said. Multiple rocks were sent flying toward Mandibuzz, but because it could fly, only two of five hit it. “Rhydon, we’re gonna have to get ‘em out of the air,'' Jonah grumbled. Rhydon growled in response. “I got an idea!” Jonah exclaimed. “Rhydon, use Drill Run on Mandibuzz!” yelled Jonah. Rhydon started to spin and launched itself at Mandibuzz. Mandibuzz squawked and tried to get out of the way, but Rhydon wasn’t having it. It managed to hit Mandibuzz and it was sent sprawling into the ground. “Nice job, Rhydon!” exclaimed Jonah. “Now, use Rock Blast one more time!” Before Mandibuzz could catch its bearings and get back in the air, it was pummeled by several rocks and fainted. Meanwhile, Turtonator and Noivern were duking it out. “Noivern, use Max Wyrmwind!” yelled its trainer. Noivern fired a powerful energy blast at Turtonator, but Keagan just smirked. “Turtonator, block it with your shell,” he said calmly. In case you weren’t aware, the material on Turtonator’s shell is highly explosive, and will detonate on impact. When Noivern’s attack hit Turtonator’s shell, the result was a massive explosion directed at Noivern. The explosion engulfed it, and all that could be seen was fire and dust. When the dust cleared, there was a thrity-foot-deep crater in the battlefield, with a fainted Noivern at the bottom. The referee said, “Both Pokemon are knocked out! Team five wins!”


-Chapter 10-
“Alright!” said Keagan and Jonah. “Let’s head back to the waiting room,” Jonah said, returning his Rhydon. When the boys got back to the waiting room, their friends were clapping. “Awesome!” Tanner said. “Of course Keagan had to burn the whole field,” Mackenzie joked. “Yeah, yeah,” Keagan said. “That was pretty cool,” said Liam. “Yeah,” Olivia added. Then, the announcer said, “Let’s have teams thirty-seven and one-hundred and two to the battlefield!” On the other side of the room, Aaron and Will stood up. On his way out, Aaron sneered at Keagan and Jonah. “That guy…” Jonah muttered angrily. From the waiting room, everyone was watching the battle. Aaron was using Sawk, Will had sent out Hippowdon, one of their opponents was creepily staring at his Runerigus, and his partner was meditating while her Oranguru did the same. “First move goes to team thirty-seven!” said the announcer. Will snickered and said, “Hippowdon, use Take Down on Oranguru!” Hippowdon grunted and charged at Oranguru. “Oranguru, dodge it and use Zen Headbutt,” said its trainer calmly. Oranguru jumped over Hippowdon and hit it in the ribs. Hippowdon was heavy, so it didn’t get knocked back much, but it was still knocked down. “Hippowdon, use Sand Attack!” Will yelled. Hippowdon threw sand in Oranguru’s face, and before it could recover, Will said “Use Crunch, quick!” Hippowdon grabbed Oranguru in its jaws and flung it across the battlefield. Meanwhile, Aaron and Sawk weren’t letting up against Runerigus. “Sawk, use Close Combat!” Aaron bellowed. Sawk ran at Runerigus and prepared to attack. “Runerigus, backhand it with Shadow Claw!” Three claws made of ghostly energy formed around Runerigus’s hand, and it smacked Sawk with a backhand movement. Sawk was sent sprawling backward. “Get up and use Reversal!” Aaron said. Inside the waiting room, Keagan said “Smart move,” “Why?” asked Liam. “Reversal does more damage the lower the user’s HP,” Keagan answered. “Oh. Makes sense,” Liam said. After Sawk used Reversal, Runerigus was knocked out. Across the battlefield, Oranguru had gotten up. “Oranguru, use Foul Play!” said its trainer. Since Hippowdon had a lot of physical strength, the move would’ve been very powerful, except Oranguru didn’t hit Hippowdon. Will said,“Dodge and use Fire Fang!” Hippowdon’s fiery maw chomped down on Oranguru, knocking it out. “Team thirty-seven wins!” declared the referee.

A while later, it had come down to the semifinals. Liam and Tanner had lost a fight because of a type disadvantage and were out of the tournament. Mackenzie and Olivia, who were in the same bracket as Aaron and Will, were about to battle them. “Good luck,” Tanner said. The two teams came onto the field and prepared to battle. “Go, Cufant!” Mackenzie said. Olivia pulled something out of her pocket. “I think it’s time to use this,” she said. “Go, Eevee!” said Olivia. Eevee looked curiously at the object in Olivia’s hand. Then, Olivia crouched down and touched the object to Eevee’s forehead. Eevee started to glow. “Her Water Stone!” exclaimed Keagan. Fins started to appear around Eevee’s body, and it began to grow. It stopped glowing, and it had evolved into Vaporeon! Across the field, Aaron sent out Bisharp, and Will said “Go, Escavilier!” “First move goes to team forty-five!” said the announcer. Olivia wasted no time. “Vaporeon, use Swift on Bisharp!” Olivia said. However, when Vaporeon attacked, it formed a large ball of water and shot it straight at Bisharp. “It learned Water Pulse!” Jonah gasped. “Bisharp, use Slash!” Aaron yelled. Right before the ball of water made impact, Bisharp cut it in half. “Use Quick Attack!” Olivia yelled. Vaporeon charged at Bisharp, but Aaron said “Use Iron Defense!” When Vaporeon made impact, Bisharp was merely pushed back a few feet. Across the field, Cufant and Escavillier were tearing it up. “Use X-Scissor!” Will yelled. “Use Bulldoze!” said Mackenzie. The two Pokemon clashed, and got into a shoving match. “Use Acid Spray!” Will bellowed. The acid went right into Cufant’s face, and it cried out in pain. “Cufant!” Mackenzie exclaimed. “Nasty,” said Keagan, watching the battle on the screen in the waiting room, eating Primeape Puffs. “How much can you eat?” Tanner asked. “I’m a growing boy!” Keagan snapped. “Are you alright, Cufant?” Mackenzie asked. Cufant blinked a few times, shook itself, and got into a ready position. “All right!” Mackenzie said. “Go Cufant!” said a random person from the audience. “Now use Iron Head!” Mackenzie yelled. “Dodge and use Fury Cutter!” Will said. Cufant crashed into the wall of the stadium, and Escavalier flew at it and started slashing like a madman. When it stopped, Cufant looked pretty rough. “Let’s end this,” Will said. “Escavalier, use Giga Impact!” yelled Will. “Cufant, use Bulldoze!” The two Pokemon collided at full force, and there was a cloud of dust. When it cleared, both Cufant and Escavilier had fainted. Meanwhile, Bisharp wasn’t showing Vaporeon any mercy. “Use Slash!” Aaron bellowed. “Dodge and use Aurora Beam!” said Olivia. Vaporeon sidestepped Bisharp’s attack and blasted it with a beam of rainbow-colored energy. The beam knocked Bisharp high into the air, and it fell onto the field, hard. “Get up!” Aaron yelled. Bisharp pushed itself up, and there was a menacing look on its face. “Use Metal Claw!” Aaron said. For added effect, Bisharp leaped fifteen feet in the air and brought Metal Claw down onto Vaporeon. Not only was Vaporeon hurt by Metal Claw, but the impact also created a ten-foot-deep crater, which Vaporeon was at the bottom of. Vaporeon had fainted, and the referee was about to call it, but apparently, Aaron didn’t notice or didn’t care. “Use Slash!” Aaron said. Again, Bisharp attacked, in the same way as last time, mercilessly. Then, the referee said “Both Pokemon are knocked out. Escavilier and Bisharp win!” “Did you guys see that?” Keagan asked. “Yeah, they clearly hit after Vaporeon had fainted,” Liam said. “Pokemon cruelty to the point,” added Jonah. Then, Mackenzie and Olivia trudged in. “That was brutal,” Tanner said. “Is Vaporeon okay?” Jonah asked. “I think it hurt its leg, Olivia said, holding Vaporeon. “There’s a Pokemon Center down the hall,” Mackenzie said. “I’ll go with you,” she added. “Uhh,” Keagan said. “I can go, too,” he said. “Umm, guys?” Tanner said. “It’s time for the finals,” “YEEEEAAAAHHHH!!!” Keagan yelled. “I still can’t believe you and Jonah made it,” said Tanner. To recap, Jonah and Keagan had made it to the finals, and their semi-finals battle was epic. They had been matched up with a pair of siblings, who had a Conkeldurr and a Passimian. Keagan had gone up against Conkeldurr with his Scorbunny, and Jonah took on Passimian with Grookey. They had had a destructive battle, but the most surprising thing was that Grookey and Scorbunny both evolved. Once that happened, it was no contest. Raboot was two times faster than Conkeldurr, and Thwackey was able to duck and dodge Passimian’s attacks. After all, it is under half of Passimian’s size. They won the battle and qualified for the finals, which was against Aaron and Will. “Do you think Kabu will see us in the finals?” Keagan whispered, hopefully. “Maybe,” Jonah said. Just then, the announcer said “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for our main event! From Wedgehurst, it’s Aaron Matthews and Will Mason!” The crowd clapped. “And also from Wedgehurst, Jonah Porter and Keagan Dobo!” Again, clapping from the crowd. “Trainers, take your places!” said the announcer. “I’m gonna get Aaron back for what he did to Vaporeon,” Jonah said. “Let’s just say I’m gonna give Will a lot more than acid,” said Keagan. “This battle, trainers will be allowed to use two Pokemon each, so if one is knocked out, you can send in another!” the announcer said. “Trainers, take your places!” he added. The four trainers squared off on the battlefield, ready to destroy each other. Neither team liked the other, and they were definitely going to show that in this battle. “So, we need a plan,” Jonah whispered to Keagan. “Well, Aaron has used and won with Bisharp, Sawk, and Fraxure,” he responded. “Right. And Will has done the same with Hippowdon, Escavilier, and Dusclops,” Jonah added. “So, either they go with what has been working, or they’ll change it up completely,” he continued. “Well, I’m going with Carkol,” Keagan said. “I’ll use Excadrill,” Jonah said. “Let’s do this,” Keagan said. “Ya know, I still can’t believe we’re here,” Jonah said. “Next to the Pokemon League, this is the biggest battling event in Galar,” he added. “You’re right. Let’s make sure we win,” Keagan said. They fist-bumped and took their positions. “Trainers, send out your Pokemon!” said the announcer. “Let’s burn ‘em up, Carkol!” Keagan said. “Time to drill and thrill, Excadrill! ” said Jonah. “Turn it up to eleven, Toxtricity!” Will said. “No mercy, Golbat!” said Aaron. “First move goes to team five!” said the announcer.


-Chapter 11-

“Use Crush Claw!” Jonah said. Excadrill leaped into the air and struck Golbat with a mighty blow from its steel-hard claws. “Golbat!’ Aaron yelled. “You’ll pay for that! Use Hyper Beam!” Aaron yelled. “Block it!” Jonah roared. Excadrill locked its claws together in front of its body. A bright flash and a loud bang ensued. When the dust cleared, Excadril was still standing. It smirked. Elsewhere on the field, Keagan wasn’t letting up. “Use Flamethrower!” he said. The red and gold flame shot from Carkoal’s mouth, hot as a furnace, burning Toxtricity, making it flail in the sand of the arena in scorching pain. “Get back on your feet!” Will ordered. Toxtricity got up, despite a few scorch marks. “Use Thunder Shock!” Will said. Toxtricity played a low bass rhythm on its chest and fired a shock at Carkol. Granted, Carkol was part Rock-type, so it didn’t do much, but Keagan wasn’t the type to let a hit go unpunished. “Use Ancient Power!” Keagan yelled. “Shatter the rocks with Boomburst!” Will said. A soundwave came from Toxtricity and shattered the rocks mid-air. “Ok, fine,” Keagan said. “Use Flamethrower!” “Boy, he really likes that move,” commented Olivia while watching the fight. Toxtricity got out of the way this time, and Will said “Use Toxic!” The acid hit Carkol in the face, and it couldn’t fight anymore, so Keagan returned it. “Go, Raboot!” Keagan said. Elsewhere on the field, Golbat had the advantage. It was agile enough to dodge Excadrill’s attacks and had landed a few power hits here and there. “Excadrill, use Metal Claw!” Jonah yelled. “Golbat, dodge and use Poison Fang!” Golbat swooped around Excadrill and sank in its needle-sharp fangs. Excadrill still managed to clip Golbat’s wing with Metal Claw, and they both fell to the ground. When the dust cleared, Golbat was standing over an unconscious Excadrill. Jonah growled and returned Excadrill to its Pokeball. “We got this in the bag,” Aaron said. “That’s what you think,” Jonah said, “Go, Thwackey!” Jonah yelled. Wasting no time, he said, “And use Knock Off while you’re at it!” Jonah said. The move hit Golbat square in the face, and it crashed to the ground, unconscious. “Alright!” Jonah said. “Enough joking around,” Aaron said. “Go, Fraxure!” Fraxure hit the ground and gave a bone-shaking roar. Meanwhile, Keagan was trying to finish Toxtricity. “Raboot, use Double Kick!” Keagan said. Both kicks connected, and Toxtricity was down for the count. “I’ve had enough of you, Dobo,” Will said. “Go, Dusclops!” Dusclops entered the field and gave a ghostly moan. “Time to lose,” Will said. “Dusclops, use Thunder Punch!” Will said. “Rabbot, slide under and use Flame Charge!” Keagan’s Raboot was one for the spotlight, so it slid under Dusclops, did a flip, and spun while using Flame Charge. Dusclops was hit in the back and landed on its face. Keagan chuckled. Will growled and said, “Now, use Shadow Ball!” Dusclops charged a ball of purple energy and fired it into Raboot, who took the full force of the attack. “Raboot!” Keagan exclaimed. Raboot pulled itself up, and it was clear it was done fooling around. Looking almost as fiery as Raboot, Keagan roared “Raboot, use Flame Charge!” “Dusclops, Hex!” Will bellowed. Across the battlefield, Jonah and Aaron were intent on destroying each other. “Fraxure, use Dragon Claw!” Aaron said. “Thwackey, get over it and use Razor Leaf!” Thwackey vaulted over Fraxure and fired razor-sharp leaves into it. Fraxure, being heavily armored, shrugged off the attack and turned to face Thwackey. “Fraxure, use Dragon Pulse!” Aaron yelled. Fraxure fired a multicolored beam into Thwackey, and it was knocked backward. “Thwackey!” Jonah cried. “Can you get up?” With much effort, Thwackey pulled itself up and got into a ready stance. “We’re ending this, now,” Jonah said. “Thwackey, use Wood Hammer, full throttle!” Jonah bellowed, nearly as animalistically as Thwackey’s screeching. “Fraxure, use Slash!” Aaron screamed. Weirdly enough, all of the trainers had called their attacks at the same time, so four angry Pokemon collided at the same time. The collective audience made a gasping sound. There was a large amount of dust and noise at the center of the field. No one was able to see their Pokemon. “Thwackey?” Jonah hollered. “Raboot?” Keagan called out. Finally, the dust started to clear, and the winner was apparent: Both Fraxure and Dusclops laid unconscious in the middle of the field. Jonah and Keagan had won.


-Chapter 12-

“YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Jonah and Keagan screamed simultaneously. The crowd was roaring. The two boys ran together and did the happiest bro-hug the world had ever seen. Thwackey and Raboot were celebrating as well. Thwackey was playing a joyful beat with its sticks and Raboot was doing one of those super-long soccer player slides. The reaction between Keagan and Jonah’s friends was immense. “They did it!” Tanner exclaimed. “Alright!” Liam yelled. “Wow,” Olivia said, numbly. “Right on!” Mackenzie screamed. “We did it!” Jonah yelled. The trainers’ Pokemon ran to meet them, and they performed various acts of celebration such as high fives and hugging. Across the field, Aaron and Will were completely dumbfounded. “Dude. We lost,” Will said. “I noticed,” Aaron replied. “It felt good to put those guys in their place,” Jonah said. “We better go shake hands,” Keagan said. The boys walked over, and Keagan said, “Good battle, guys,” Keagan said, hand outstretched to Will. “We don’t need your pity!” Aaron exclaimed. “You might’ve won this time, but you won’t get so lucky next time. Or ever again,” Aaron said. “Whatever man. It wasn't personal. Oh, wait. Yes, it was,” Jonah said. “Let’s get outta here,” Keagan said. As the boys entered the waiting area, cheers went up all around. People they didn’t even know came up to congratulate them. Just then, the announcer said, “Would our winners please come out to center field?” “That’s us,” Keagan said. The boys walked out onto the field, and confetti cannons blasted off everywhere. “And now our winners, Jonah Porter and Keagan Dobo! And their winning Pokemon, Thwackey and Raboot!” The boys were directed to stand on a podium. Lots of camera flashes went off in front of them. So many, in fact, that the boys almost missed the floating figure above the stadium firing a Psybeam attack towards the podium. “Everybody down!” Jonah roared.


-Chapter 13-

Both the boys dived away from the podium but were still flung by the massive explosion. “You alright?” Keagan called. “Oh yeah, just great,” Jonah called back. Then, the culprit of the attack floated into the stadium: A Beheeyem and its trainer. “Whadda you want?” Keagan asked, standing up. “You are an object in our mission,” the trainer said. “Objects will be removed,” “Listen, buddy, you picked the wrong trainers to mess with,” Jonah said. “Go, Thwackey!” “Raboot, you too!” Keagan said. “And they’ve got help,” Tanner said, releasing Dewpider. “Right,” Liam said, sending out Snover. “Let’s go,” Mackenzie said, calling Ponyta. “Alright,” Olivia added, readying her newly healed Vaporeon. “You can’t win,” the trainer said. “Ya know, that’s what the other guys said,” Jonah added with a steely glare. “Beheeyem, use Hyper Beam,” the trainer said nonchalantly. Beheeyem fired an orange energy beam at the trainers and their Pokemon. All of them were able to evade the blast, and Tanner said “Dewpider, use Bubble Beam!” Dewpider fired bubbles directly in Beheeyem’s face. “Snover, hit it with Ice Shard!” Sharp pieces of ice impacted Beheeyem, and it staggered back. “Vaporeon, use Aurora Beam!” A beam of rainbow-colored energy struck Beheeyem before it could get its bearings. “Ponyta, attack with Fairy Wind!” The gust of air only staggered Beheeyem more. “Alright. Guess you guys learned a thing or two,” Keagan said. “Raboot, Flame Charge!” Raboot ignited itself and flew into Beheeyem, sending it flying. “Get up!” ordered its trainer. As Beheeyem struggled to recover, Jonah said, “Nah. I don’t think so. Thwackey, use Wood Hammer!” A large, green, transparent log appeared on Thwackey’s arm, and it connected with Beheeyem’s face. “Arrgh!” exclaimed the trainer as Beheeyem passed out. “Like I said, you picked the wrong trainers,” Jonah said. “You may have won today, but next time we will attack with power the likes of which you have never even imagined,” the trainer said. Then he released an Alakazam, which teleported them away. “That was weird,” Liam stated. “No kidding,” Tanner replied. “Whatever that dude wants, none of us are safe,” Jonah said. “We should all start training ten times as hard,” he added. “Right,” Tanner agreed. “Well, I’m hungry, and we should find our parents,” Keagan said.


-Chapter 14-

After everyone found their parents in the large crowd and got the usual “Are you hurt?” “That was very dangerous,” and “We’re just glad you’re okay,” they all said their goodbyes and went home. That night, everyone had the same question. What did he want with us? The worst part was, no one had any clue. The next morning, everyone started messaging each other and asking their parents if they could meet at the training center in town. They all said yes, and they were there at noon. “So, guess we better get started,” Jonah said. They all released their Pokemon to do various training exercises. “So, this is life now,” Keagan said to Jonah. “You mean always waiting for the next hit?” Jonah asked. “Exactly,” Keagan replied. “Well, at least we’re all in it together,” Jonah added. “And, training together is pretty fun,” Tanner interjected. “Whatever we do is fun,” Liam added. “If we get an excuse to hang out, it sounds good to me,” Mackenzie said. “And I’m always up for more time with my Pokemon,” Olivia added. “Whatever they throw at us, this crew can handle it, together,” Jonah said. “Right,” Keagan said, enveloping everyone in a group hug.


-Chapter 15-

Far away in some forgotten part of the world, the mysterious trainer was plotting. But he wasn’t alone. There were many more acolytes there. They were making plans on how to destroy the annoying kids that stopped them. Then, their king, a tall, muscular man wearing a cape walked into the room. They all kneeled immediately. “Master,” the mysterious trainer said. “To what do we owe the pleasure?” “It is time,” their king said. “Master! Are you sure?” one of them asked. “Yes. It is time we serve our true ruler,” he said. “We will summon the Devourer. Then, this world shall be prepared for the Chaos Lord,” he said. “As you wish, my king,” said the acolytes. They quickly hurried off to complete various tasks. “Those children have no idea what they are dealing with,” said the king.


Okay, hopefully this works. Hopefully you all like it. Thanks.
 
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-Chapter 1-

RRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGG!! Class had just started. “And today we’re learning about the history of Galar!” Classic Professor Rinecorn. If you don’t think learning can get even worse, you have never met him, thought Keagan. Just then, Keagan felt fur brush against his leg gingerly. As he looked down, he saw one of his Pokemon climbing up his leg. It was one of his personal favorites, Scorbunny. As he looked up, he saw his best friend, Jonah Porter. Jonah mouthed to him sixty-five minutes till lunch, Keagan. “Mr. Porter,” said Rinecorn. “Yes, sir?” Jonah asked. “You were right about recess for everyone else but you and Dobo. Detention!!!” “What the heck for?!” Jonah yelled in protest. His Grookey started whacking its branch on the desk. “For talking in class,” Rinecorn replied. “That’s not fair!” Keagan yelled. “Yeah!” Jonah joined in. “Chad behind me was talking about who he was going to battle at recess!” “At least he will be having recess,” said the professor sourly. Just then, Keagan’s Scorbunny kicked Rinecorn in the shins, and their friends Liam and Tanner started yelling “That is unfair!” “ORDER!!!” shouted Rinecorn, obviously in an outrage. “All four of you, go to the principal's office!!” “Oh, great,” Jonah muttered as they trudged out of the classroom.


-Chapter 2-

“Well, this is great,” Tanner said glumly as they sat in the office. His Dewpider was trying to entertain him by using bubbles to knock over some rubber erasers. It wasn’t working. Then the secretary came out and said “The principal will see you now,” “Oh, good,” Jonah said sarcastically. “I was really looking forward to it.” As they entered the office, the principal said “Well, what brings you to my office?” “It’s not like we want to be here,” Liam said. “What brings us here is Rinecorn’s IQ of POINT TWO!” Keagan said angrily. “Watch your mouth, Dobo,” the principal replied. “Alright, let’s all calm down,” Jonah said. “I had a little Starly tell me that you were defying a teacher.” said principal Green. “Well I guess it’s bird hunting season again,” said Keagan, extremely mad. “Are you threatening a teacher, Dobo ?” asked Green. “No, I just have the common knowledge to know when to attack a Starly,” “Who was this “little Starly” as you called it, Mr. Green?” asked Jonah. “Well, I’ll have you know it was Professor Rinecorn,” “Duh,” said Liam. “I’ll let you off with a warning this time, since you're usually good,” said Principal Green. “Let’s get out of this place,” Jonah said. “Agreed,” said Keagan “It smells like Garbodor in here,” The others laughed, and Tanner said “Good one, Keagan,”

Later that day, at lunch, the boys sat down with their other friends, Mackenzie and Olivia. “So, we heard Professor Rinecorn sent you guys to the principal today,” Mackenzie said. “Oh, shut up,” Keagan replied. “Yeah, but it was only because he runs his classroom like a military unit, so I whispered to Keagan, and he went off the deep end,” said Jonah. “Then Tanner and I tried to defend them, and we got sent with them,” Liam added. “Excuses, excuses,” Olivia said. All of the sudden, the loudspeaker said “Attention students, dangerous wild Pokemon have been spotted near our school. Please be cautious when walking alone in the halls. Do not engage these Pokemon,” “Dangerous Pokemon?” Mackenzie said shakily. She was a trainer, but not as battle-hardened as Jonah and Keagan. “It’s probably just a Thwackey, knowing the teachers here,” Jonah said. “Don’t worry ladies, Jonah and I can handle it,” Keagan said while flexing his biceps.

A while later, after school, Keagan and Jonah were walking home when they heard a rustling in the forest. They both tensed, hands on their Pokeballs. Then a large, armored head rose out of the forest and roared. “That’s n-not a Thwackey,” Keagan stuttered. The creature’s full body reared up, revealing a spiny-armored Pokemon that overshadowed both of the boys. “It’s a Tyranitar!!!” Jonah yelled. In case you aren’t familiar with Tyranitar, it is a Rock-Dark type, six-foot-seven, weighs four-hundred and forty-five pounds, and can destroy a mountain to make its nest. “We gotta fight it,” Keagan said. “Go!” “Charmeleon!” yelled Jonah. “You too, Corvisquire!” Keagan bellowed. Both boys tossed their Pokeballs to release their Pokemon. The Tyranitar roared again and steadied itself for a fight. “Got a plan?” Keagan asked. “Working on it,” Jonah said. “Just keep it occupied,” “Corvisquire, use Drill Peck!” Keagan said. “Charmeleon, Ember!” Jonah said. The Tyranitar shook off the attacks and responded with a Dark Pulse attack. “Corvisquire, use Aerial Ace!” Keagan yelled. “Charmeleon, dodge it!” Jonah screamed. “I’ve got an idea!” Jonah said. “You have Corvisquire push it off-balance with Gust, then Charmeleon will knock it over with Flame Charge.” “All right,” Keagan said. “Corvisquire, use Gust!” Keagan yelled. The strong wind hit the Tyranitar, and it stumbled off-balance. “Now!” Jonah said. “Charmeleon, use Slash!” Jonah bellowed. Charmeleon growled and leapt toward Tyranitar, hitting it square in the face. Charmeleon then rebounded and landed on all fours. Charmeleon began to stomp its feet and became nevelpoed in flames. It launched itself toward Tyranitar and hit it right in the stomach. “RAAAARGHHH!!!” roared the Tyranitar as it fell over, knocking down a few trees. “Let’s get outta here before it wakes up!” Keagan exclaimed. Both boys returned their Pokemon and sprinted down the sidewalk to their houses. When they got the fork in the road–they lived only a mile or two apart--Jonah said “Well, that was a new experience,” “Ditto,” Keagan replied. “I gotta get home, or my parents will be worried,” Jonah said. “Yeah, me too. See you tomorrow!” Keagan called as he went across the street to his house.


-Chapter 3-

The next day at school, Jonah and Keagan were telling the others the story about fighting the Tyranitar. “And then my Charmeleon used Flame Charge to knock it over,” Jonah finished. “And Jonah ran up the street crying for his mommy,” Keagan added. “Shut it, Keagan!” Jonah said, then punched him on the shoulder. “Cool,” Tanner and Liam said. “Yeah, but it sounds a little scary,” Olivia said. Then, their classmates Stephen and Toby came over. Stephen said, “I heard you guys beat a Tyranitar yesterday.” “Yep,” Keagan replied. “Cool,” Stephen replied. “That must have been the ‘dangerous Pokemon’ they were talking about yesterday,” Toby said. “I hope so, because from what Keagan and Jonah told us, Tyranitar is a strong Pokemon,” Liam said. “I wouldn’t want to see anything worse,” Mackenzie added. Then the bell rang, and class started. It was first period, Mr. Wood’s class. He was a fun teacher, and also a Pokemon trainer. He taught Pokemon science, like how and why Pokemon can do the things they do, and also about their diet, habitat, and lifestyle. “Good morning, class,” Mr. Wood said. “Let’s take attendance,” After that, class started. “Today we are going to learn how Electric-type Pokemon get their energy. Everyone get out your books and turn to page…” Mr. Wood began. Everyone groaned. “Ha! Just kidding. We’re having a live demonstration. Go, Boltund!” Mr. Wood yelled. Boltund barked and lookes around the class. “Most Pokemon, like Boltund, generate electricity via an organ in their body, then use it for attacks or whatever they need. However, other Pokemon absorb electricity from other sources. For example, Electabuzz will climb to high places during a thunderstorm to absorb lightning bolts. They’ll even fight other Electabuzz to get up to the spot. Even the mythical Pokemon Zeraora has to absorb electricity from other sources,” Mr. Wood explained. “But some others, like Elekid, lose that stored energy when they touch metal objects.” Soon, science class was over and we went into the overcrowded hall. “Hey, Jonah and Keagan, wanna duos battle us at recess?” asked one of their classmates, Chad, while standing by Zach. These two were nice, but they weren’t Jonah and Keagan’s friends. “Yeah, sure,” answered Jonah. “Where do we crush you at?” asked Keagan. “You sound pretty confident,” Zach said. “Did you not hear that we beat a Tyranitar yesterday?” Jonah questioned. “Yeah, but we’ve got strong Pokemon too,” Chad said. “We’ll take you on at the battlefield on the right,” Zach said. “See you there,” Keagan said. “Any idea what Pokemon they have?” Keagan asked. “Last time I saw Chad and Zach do a duos battle, Zach used a Machop, and Chad used a Bunnelby, but that was last year, so they could be evolved by now,” Jonah said. “That means we could have a Machoke and Diggersby to deal with,” Keagan said. “Well, both of those are strong but slow Pokemon, so all we have to do is outmaneuver them,” Jonah replied. “I’ll use Scorbunny to run circles around Diggersby,” Keagan said. “And since Machoke is so slow, I can use Grookey to evade Machoke’s punches,” Jonah said. “Sounds like a plan,” Keagan said. “In case all else fails, Grookey can use Branch Poke, and Scorbunny can use Ember,” Jonah said.

A little while later after class with Professor Maxwell–he was the Pokemon biology teacher–and lunch, it was time for recess, and the battle. Lots of activities were being carried out when Keagan and Jonah came outside. Some kids had started a kickball game, there were a few kids drawing, and several battles. The battles were the main attraction. There was always talk amongst the students about who was battling that day, and sometimes kids even made bets on the battles. A group of kids had gathered to watch the battle. Jonah and Keagan had a reputation for winning battles. In fact, most kids didn’t consider challenging them. Zach and Chad were an exception. “Well, it’s showtime,” Keagan said. Chad and Zach were already there, trying to look scary, but failing. “You guys ready to lose?” Zach asked. “Who’s cocky now?” Jonah replied. “All right, let’s get going,” Chad said. “Go, Diggersby!” Chad yelled. “Go, Machoke!” Zach yelled. “Come on out, Scorbunny!” Keagan said. “You too, Grookey!” Jonah yelled. “What do you plan to do with those two?” Chad questioned. “You’ll see,” Keagan said. “Your move,” Jonah said. “Machoke, use Dynamic Punch on Scorbunny!” Zach said. “Scorbunny, dodge it and charge Diggersby!” Keagan yelled. Meanwhile, Chad said “Diggersby, use Mud Shot!” “Grookey, dodge and head for Machoke!” Jonah yelled. Once Scorbunny reached Diggersby, Keagan said “Scorbunny, run circles around Diggersby!” Scorbunny did so, and Diggersby was rotating to follow it. Grookey got to Machoke, so Zach said “Machoke, use Low Sweep!” “Grokey, jump it and use Branch Poke!” Machoke was still low, so Grookey jumped it and landed a direct blow to the head, knocking Machoke out. After Scorbunny finished running circles, Keagan said “Scorbunny, use Scratch!” The move sent Diggersby flying. “No!” Chad yelled. “We win!” Keagan said. “Yeah, good battle,” Zach said glumly. Then the bell rang, and everyone went inside.


-Chapter 4-

After recess, it was third period, Pokemon items class, taught by Mrs. Wilson. “Today we’re learning about the Big Malasada, an item that a Pokemon consumes. When eaten, it will restore all status conditions,” said Mrs. Wilson. She was an older woman, probably about seventy, but she knew a lot about Pokemon items. “Mrs. Wilson, what’s the price of a Big Malasada at a Pokemart?” asked Katrina , who always asked twenty questions about everything. “That’s a good question. On average, a Big Malasada will cost two-hundred Pokemon Dollars,” said Mrs. Wilson. A while later, class was dismissed, and it was time for study hall. Keagan and Jonah were sitting next to each other, doing math homework. Just then, the loudspeaker came on and said “Attention all students in grades five to twelve! The National Pokemon Youth Trainer tournament is coming to Motostoke city, and you are all invited! The tournament starts this Friday at five o’clock.. All formats of battle are included. The tournament will take place in Motostoke City,” The whole class jumped with excitement. Keagan leaned over to Jonah, “What Pokemon should we use?” Keagan asked. “Because I kinda want to use my Salandit, Scorbunny, or Arcanine.” “Well, first we need to see if we can even enter,” Jonah said. “What do you mean?” Keagan asked. “We can’t drive, and Motostoke city is too far to ride our bikes, so we’ll need to get our parents to take us,” Jonah said. “True,” Keagan replied. “I’ll ask my parents tonight,” Jonah said. “Yeah, so will I,” said Keagan.

At the end of the day, Jonah and Keagan were packing up their stuff–they had lockers right next to one another–when Mackenzie and Olivia came over. Mackenzie asked, “Are you guys entering the tournament?” “Yeah, if our parents will let us,” replied Keagan. “We’re going to enter the duos battle group,” Jonah added. “Yeah, so are Olivia and I,” Mackenzie added. “I think I’m going to use my Eevee,” Olivia said. “Maybe it’ll evolve,” said Olivia hopefully. “You’re such a dork, Olivia,” said the school bully, Aaron Matthews, as he walked by. “Eevee won’t evolve without an evolution stone, idiot,” Aaron added. “Cut it out, Aaron,” Jonah said. “What are you gonna do about it, Porter?” Aaron said, taking a menacing step closer. He was a big kid, and had at least sixinches on Jonah, who was five-foot-five”. Then, Keagan, who was a match for Aaron, stepped next to Jonah and braced himself. “What I’m gonna do,” said Jonah. “Is tell you to get going and leave my friends alone,” “Whatever, Porter,” Aaron said as he walked off. “Thanks, guys,” Olivia said. “Any time,” Keagan said. “He’s right though, Olivia. Eevee won’t evolve without an evolution stone,” said Jonah. “Although, it can evolve into Umbreon when the moon is out, Sylveon if it’s friendly to its trainer and knows a Fairy-type move, or Espeon if the sun is out,” added Keagan. “Well, where can I find an evolution stone?” Olivia asked. “There’s these two brothers called the Digging Duo near the Pokemon Nursery in Bridge Field who will dig up stuff, like items and evolution stones, if you pay them five-hundred Watts,” Keagan said. “I’ll check that out later,” said Olivia. Then the bell rang and everyone went home.


-Chapter 5-

The next day, Jonah and Keagan’s class was getting to Mr. Wood’s room, but there were ten minutes until class started, so everyone was talking, and all anyone cared about was the upcoming tournament. “So I asked my parents, and I’m allowed to go to the tournament,” said Jonah. “Yeah, me too,” Keagan said. “Awesome!” Jonah replied, then they fist-bumped. Then Keagan and Jonah walked over to Liam and Tanner. “Are you guys entering the tournament?” asked Keagan. “Yeah, are you?” replied Liam. “Yup,” said Jonah. Then Liam’s Pokemon, Snover, came over and made a small snow flurry. “Hi, Snover,” said Jonah. Tanner came over with his Dewpider and asked “Did Liam tell you guys we’re entering the tournament?” “Yeah, so does that mean you guys are entering together?” Keagan asked. “Yeah,” replied Tanner. “I heard an old story that a long time ago, when they held this tournament, some trainer linked with his Pokemon and tried to take over Galar,” said Liam. “That’s just a legend, Liam,” protested Jonah. “Could be true, though,” said Keagan. “And how is that?” asked Tanner. “Well, I’ve heard stories of trainers getting, like, psychic links with their Pokemon and thinking they’re all-powerful, so they try to do crazy stuff, like rule a region or something,” replied Keagan. “I’ve heard the story too, and in the end, the trainer gets vaporized from the Pokemon’s power in him, so I don’t think we’ve got anything to worry about,” Jonah said. “Good, cause I don’t think Dewpider and I could handle some psycho trainer,” said Tanner. Dewpider shook its head as if saying, Nope, that's not happening. Then class started, and everyone sat down.

A little while later, it was time for lunch. Except, today was different because today was the first day that the school had put out registration forms for the upcoming tournament. Keagan, Jonah, Tanner, Liam, Mackenzie, and Olivia were standing in line to register for duos battles. Then, Aaron and his friend Will Mason started pushing through the line to get up to the front. Jonah’s Grookey saw them coming to try and push through and started tapping Jonah with its stick and making noises. “What is it, Grookey?” asked Jonah. Grookey pointed to Aaron and Will behind them. Keagan’s Scorbunny saw them too and tapped Keagan’s leg to get his attention. When Aaron and Will reached them, Keagan asked “What do you two think you’re doing?” “Registering for the duos battles, duh,” Will replied. “I mean, you can’t just push people out of your way to get to the registration sheet first,” said Keagan. “Who’s gonna stop us?” asked Aaron. “We are,” said Jonah, stepping up next to Keagan. “All right, I know how we’ll settle this,” said Will. “A Pokemon battle,” he finished. “Sounds good,” said Jonah. “At the start of recess,” said Aaron. “See you there,” Keagan said.

A little while later, the boys set up for a battle. “You guys ready?” said Keagan. “Yep,” said Aaron with a sneer. “Then send out your Pokemon,” said Jonah. “Alright, go Golbat!” Aaron yelled. “Go, Toxtricity!” said Will. “Go, Turtonator!” said Keagan. “C’mon, Grookey!” “I’ll take the first move,” said Aaron. “Golbat, use Quick Attack on Grookey!” “Dodge and use Razor Leaf!” said Jonah. Razor edged leaves hit Golbat and sent it spiraling into the ground. “Golbat!” said Aaron, then growled. “You’ll pay for that,” Aaron warned. Meanwhile, Keagan and Will were battling. “Turtonator, use Body Slam!” said Keagan. “Toxtricity, flip over it and use Toxic!” yelled Will. Toxic hit Turtonator and did damage, but also triggered an explosion from the material on Turtonator’s back, which launched Toxtricity into the air. “Toxtricity, brace for impact!” said Will. Toxtricity came down in a ready position. “Now use Poison Jab!” said Will. “Meet it with Mega Punch!” said Keagan. Their attacks met and caused an explosion which made a large smoke cloud. Aaron’s Golbat got back into the air, ready to battle. “Now use Wing Attack!” yelled Aaron. “Counter with Branch Poke!” said Jonah. The two Pokemon met and were locked in a pushing match. “Grookey, slide under and use Scratch!” yelled Jonah. Scratch hit Golbat in the stomach and shot it upward. After the smoke cloud between Toxtricity and Turtonator cleared, the Pokemon had backed away from each other, ready to battle. “Toxtricity, use Thunder Shock!” yelled Will. “Turtonator, Dragon Pulse!” said Keagan. The two attacks met with equal power and caused an explosion, which damaged both Pokemon. “Now Turtonator, finish it with Body Slam!” yelled Keagan. “Toxtricity, use Boomburst to push it back!” said Will. But there was too much force –four-hundred and sixty-seven pounds of it to be exact– behind Turtonator’s Body Slam, so it got through Boomburst and hit Toxtricity, which sent it flying. When the dust cleared, Toxtricity had fainted. “Golbat, get upright and use Air Slash!” yelled Aaron. Air slash hit Grookey before it could dodge, and it went flying. “Grookey!” screamed Jonah. Grookey struggled to get up, but it did. “Can you still battle?” asked Jonah. Grookey nodded its head and gave a growl. “Now use Branch Poke!” said Jonah. Grookey did a flying leap into the air, and gave Golbat a good whack with its stick, and sent it into the dirt. The dust cleared, and Golbat had fainted. “We won!” exclaimed Jonah and Keagan at the same time. “Good job, Grookey,” said Jonah. “Good battling, Turtonator,” said Keagan. Everyone returned their Pokemon, and Keagan and Jonah went over to shake Will and Aaron’s hands. But Aaron slapped Jonah’s hand away and said “You won’t be so lucky next time.” “We’ll see about that,” said Keagan. Then recess ended, and everyone went inside.


A while later, everyone was packing up, and talking about the tournament tomorrow. “What Pokemon are you bringing, Mackenzie?” asked Jonah. “I’m gonna bring a full six, just in case, and you know the Pokemon I have,” she responded. “So Magikarp, Blipbug, and Seedot then?” joked Keagan. “Shut it, Keagan!” said Mackenzie. Then Tanner asked, “How’d your battle go, guys?” “We won, naturally,” answered Keagan. “But they gave us a good battle,” added Jonah. “What Pokemon didja battle with?” asked Olivia. “I used Turtonator, and Jonah used Grookey,” Then the bell rang, everyone said goodbye, and went home.


-Chapter 6-

The next day, everyone had just arrived at school. Jonah, Keagan, and the rest of their friends met up in Mr. Wood’s room. “I’m so psyched for the tournament today!” said Jonah. “Me too,” added Keagan. “Olivia and I had a battle last night to train,” said Mackenzie. “Who won?” questioned Liam. “It was a tie,” said Olivia. “Her Eevee used Quick Attack, and my Ponyta used Stomp, but they knocked each other out,” added Mackenzie. “Yeah, Tanner and I’ve been training too,” said Liam. “We didn’t battle, though,” said Tanner. “Yep, Jonah and I have been training, too,” said Keagan. Then class started, and everyone took their seats. “First off, I know that the tournament is later today, but I still need your full attention in class. And second, there will be a fire drill at one-thrity today,” said Mr. Wood. “Now that that’s outta the way, let’s start class,” he finished.

A while later, everyone had just sat down in third period. Mrs. Wilson gave the same notice that even though it was the tournament, she still wanted our attention. “Today, we are going to take a look at some of the items you trainers have!” announced Mrs. Wilson. “Who wants to go first?” she asked. A bunch of kids raised their hands. “How about you, Olivia?” Olivia, who didn’t ever raise her hand, was startled when she was called on. “Umm…” she mumbled. Jonah whispered, “Just get something!” “I have a potion,” said Olivia. “And what does a potion do?” questioned Mrs. Wilson. “Umm... it heals twent Hit Points from a Pokemon.” Keagan noticed that, from the back of the class, Aaron and Will were snickering. Keagan growled under his breath. While the teacher was out of the room a few minutes later, Aaron and Will were shooting spitballs at Olivia, but she couldn’t figure out who was doing it. It only made Keagan even angrier.

After class ended, Keagan told Jonah about what Aaron and Will did to Olivia, and Jonah got mad. Jonah’s Grookey and Keagan’s Scorbunny were able to understand what had happened, and got mad. Grookey was beating on Jonah’s locker with its stick, and Scorbunny was shooting sparks. “Hey, there they are!” said Jonah. Aaron and Will were at their lockers–which were next to each other–so Jonah and Keagan went over there. “Whadda you two want?” asked Aaron. “We want you to stop picking on Olivia,” said Jonah. “Or else what?” asked Will. Keagan pulled his fist back to throw a punch, but Jonah stopped him. “Not yet, at least,” said Jonah. “Yeah, you’d lose anyway,” said Aaron. “THAT’S IT!” yelled Keagan, as the hall monitor walked by. Aaron quickly pulled out his notes. “Is there a problem, boys?” she asked. “No, I was just showing Keagan an example problem from math today,” said Aaron, nicely. “Well, that is very kind, Aaron,” said the hall monitor as she walked off. Then the bell rang, and the boys made their way to class. “I hope we battle him in the tournament today,” said Jonah.

At the end of school that day, Keagan asked “Hey, do you guys want to hang out at my house ‘till the tournament starts?” “Yeah!” said everyone. Then the bell rang, and they all walked out. Everyone called their parents to make sure it was alright, and they all got to go.


-Chapter 7-

Everyone arrived at Keagan's house and went up to his room. It was decorated with all sorts of posters, like Gigantimax Charizard, The Pokemon League, and Leon with his partner, Charizard. “What do you guys want to do?” asked Tanner. “We could have practice battles,” suggested Mackenzie. “Yeah! Good idea, Mackenzie,” said Keagan. “Alright,” said Tanner. “Could be fun,” added Liam. “Sounds good,” said Jonah. “Let’s go!” said Keagan. “Okay,” added Olivia. Everyone went into Keagan’s backyard and got ready to battle. “Wanna take me on?” Jonah asked Mackenzie. “Sure,” she replied. “I’ll battle Olivia,” said Keagan. “Then I guess that leaves Tanner and me,” said Liam. Everyone got ready to battle. “Go, Ponyta!” said Mackenzie. “You’re up, Grookey!” said Jonah. Across the backyard, everyone sent out their Pokemon. Liam sent out Snover, Keagan sent out Sizzlipede, Olivia sent out Eevee, which she got a Water Stone for, and Tanner sent out Dewpider. “Your move, Mackenzie,” said Jonah. “Okay, Ponyta, use Psybeam!” said Mackenzie. The multicolored beam shot straight for Grookey. “Grookey, dodge and use Razor Leaf!” yelled Jonah. The sharp leaves hit Ponyta and knocked it back. “Ponyta!” Mackenzie yelled. “Sorry!” Jonah said. “Alright Ponyta, let’s crank it up a notch! Use Stomp!” Mackenzie said. “Grookey, get over it and use Branch Poke!” Except Grookey didn't get overtop of Ponyta. Ponyta reached Grookey and jumped higher than Grookey did, so it came down with more power. Grookey was slammed into the ground, hard. “Are you alright, Grookey?” yelled Jonah. Grookey managed to push itself up and got into a ready position. “Okay Grookey, use Branch Poke!” said Jonah. Grookey growled and ran at Ponyta. “Counter with Fairy Wind!” yelled Mackenzie. “Push through, Grookey!” roared Jonah. Grookey tried to stand up to the wind, but it was too little. After all, it is only a foot tall and weighs only eleven pounds. As Grookey was sliding backward, Jonah yelled “Use vines to pull forward, then use Branch Poke!” Grookey played a rhythm with its stick, causing plants to spring up from the ground, then commanded them to pull itself toward Ponyta. Once it reached Ponyta, it used Branch Poke on Ponyta. Before Ponyta could get out of the way, Grookey landed a powerful blow on Ponyta. Ponyta was sent into the air (as Grookey had swung its branch upward), and came back and landed in a cloud of dust. However, Mackenzie’s Ponyta was very resilient and was able to get back up. “Alright Ponyta!” said Mackenzie. “Let’s show ‘em what we can do!” she added. “Use Psycho Cut!” yelled Mackenzie. “Alright Grookey, full-throttle Branch Poke!” Jonah roared. Grookey narrowed its eyes and ran straight for Ponyta, except when it used its move, it didn’t look like Branch Poke. A large, transparent, green log appeared on Grookey’s arm, and it swung, hard. Grookey had learned Wood Hammer! The move collided with Ponyta’s Psycho Cut, and all that could be seen through the resulting cloud of dust was the purple glow of Psycho Cut clashing with the green glow of Wood Hammer. When the dust cleared, both Pokemon were battered, and then, in unison, fainted. “What?” exclaimed Mackenzie. “I know what happened!” said Tanner, looking exhausted. “Well?” asked Jonah. “Grookey used Wood Hammer, right?” questioned Tanner. “Yeah,” said Jonah, still confused. “Well, Wood Hammer deals damage back to the user, so Grookey did knock out Ponyta, but the return damage knocked out Grookey as well!” explained Tanner. “Oh,” said Jonah. “Yeah, you didn’t know that?” asked Keagan, who had just ended his battle against Olivia. Keagan was also covered in soot. “What the heck happened to you?” asked Mackenzie. “I’ll explain after Jonah the brainiac tells us why he knocked out his own Pokemon,” answered Keagan. “I had intended for Grookey to use Branch Poke, but it learned Wood Hammer and used that instead,” explained Jonah. “Now, why doesn’t Keagan tell us why he’s covered in soot,” said Jonah. “Well, Sizzlipede here got a little excited and sprayed Ember everywhere. It must’ve been excited because it was winning against Eevee. Unfortunately, I was in the line of fire,” said Keagan. “Well, who won?” asked Liam, jogging over. “I did, naturally,” answered Keagan. “Shut up, Keagan,” said Olivia. “You won by that much, hothead,” she said, holding her index finger and thumb slightly apart. “Anyone else hungry?” asked Tanner. “Yeah,” everyone replied. Everyone went inside, and into Keagan’s kitchen. “Hi Mrs. Dobo,” said Tanner. “Hey guys!” said Keagan’s mom, who then noticed that Keagan was covered in soot. “Keagan, what happened to you?” she asked. “Long story short, Sizzlipede missed,” Keagan replied. “Oh, okay,” said Keagan’s mom. “We’re gonna get something to eat,” said Keagan. “Okay, but you’d better do it fast because the tournament starts in thirty-five minutes!” replied Keagan’s mom. “Oh, yeah it does!” exclaimed Jonah, checking his watch. Everyone wolfed down their snacks, put on their shoes, and went to the car. Actually, it was two cars, because Keagan’s family of five plus everyone else couldn’t fit in one car, so they had to take two. “You know, Keagan, I heard that Kabu himself is going to be at the tournament,” said Jonah. “REALLY!?” asked Keagan, excited. Keagan loved and trained Fire-types, and Kabu was his favorite Gym Leader. “Yeah, it was on the news,” said Jonah. “Awesome!” yelled Keagan. “We’re here!” said Keagan’s mom. Everyone got their Gym Uniforms on and went to register. “All right, we’re all in,” said Liam. “Now we just gotta wait until it starts,” said Olivia. Just then, Jonah nudged Keagan in the ribs. “What?” asked Keagan. “Look over there,” said Jonah, pointing. There was Aaron and Will, just getting registered. “I’m gonna beat them so bad they’ll be calling their mommies,” growled Keagan. “In a battle, right?” asked Jonah. “Yeah…,” said Keagan. “Attention trainers!” The tournament will start in five minutes!” said the announcer, through the loudspeaker. “Let’s get going!” said Jonah. Everyone went to the area where trainers waited for their battle to start. It had a screen that showed a live feed of the battles going on on the field. Aaron and Will were on their way to their seats, but when they saw everyone, they made a point of stopping. “‘Sup, losers?” asked Aaron. “Keep moving, Matthews,” said Jonah. “You won’t be talkin’ when we hand you your butts in the tournament,” sneered Will. “Attention trainers, please take your seats!” said the announcer. “And can we have team numbers sixteen and forty-two to the battlefield!” Everyone sat down, and Keagan started watching the match. A few minutes in, Keagan said “Hey, look!” “What?” asked Mackenzie. “She’s using a Dynamax Pokemon, so I guess they’re allowed,” said Keagan. “Did you guys bring your bands?” asked Tanner. Everyone had, so they could Dynamax their Pokemon. “Alright!” said Jonah. After the battle ended, the field was destroyed. “How are they gonna fix that?” asked Liam. Then, a few Sandaconda came out. They blew sand into the holes made by the Dynamax Pokemon, and they were followed by a few Lapras. They sprayed mist on the sand, and finally a group of Corviknight flew above the field. They all used Gust, and hardened the sand instantly. They were able to do all this in under a minute. “So that’s how they do it,” said Keagan. “Our next match is as follows: team numbers five and thirty-two to the battlefield!” The announcer said. “We’re number five!” exclaimed Jonah. Keagan hopped to his feet “Where on the field do we go?” he asked. “There’s only two sides, genius,” replied Mackenzie. “Let’s rock,” said Keagan.


-Chapter 8-

When the boys arrived on the battlefield, it was a legendary experience. Keagan walked in, trying to impress Kabu. At this particular tournament, there was a very large audience, and the roar of the crowd only pumped Keagan and Jonah up more. “Wonder who we’re up against,” said Jonah. “Whoever it is,” Keagan said. “We’re gonna beat them,” he said confidently. Across the field, the opposition emerged. It was a boy and a girl, who appeared to be twins, and they looked ready. “Alright,” said Jonah. “Let’s do this,” The boys walked over to their positions, and talked strategy. “They look like Psychic-type trainers to me,” whispered Keagan. “Well, Psychic is weak to Bug, Ghost, and Dark,” said Jonah. “Got any of those types?” asked Keagan. “Let’s see,” said Jonah. “I’ve got Grookey, Galvantula, Charmeleon, Rhydon, Excadrill and Zigzagoon,” he added. “Zigzagoon!” Keagan exclaimed. “Oh yeah, it’s a Dark-type!” said Jonah. “I’ll use it,” he added. “I think I’ll go with Carkol,” said Keagan. “Trainers, send out your Pokemon!” said the announcer. “Let’s go, Carkol!” said Keagan, throwing his Pokeball. “Show ‘em what you got, Zigzagoon!” Jonah said, doing the same thing. Across the battlefield, the girl sent out Musharna, and the boy sent out Malamar. “The first move goes to team number thirty-two!” said the announcer. Keagan whispered, “Dang,” under his breath, trying not to show his anger. The boy said “Malamar, use Psybeam on Zigzagoon!” “Zigzagoon, dodge and use Headbutt!” shouted Jonah. In its erratic, zigzagging run, Zigzagoon was able to avoid Psybeam and land a spiny-haired Headbuutt on Malamar’s torso. Then Keagan shouted, “Carkol, use Ancient Power on Musharna!” “Musharna, use Psychic to turn those rocks back at ‘em!'' yelled the girl. “Carkol, roll around it and use Flamethrower!” Keagan bellowed. Meanwhile, Malamar was proving to be a tough opponent for Jonah and Zigzagoon. “Zigzagoon, use Snarl!” yelled Jonah. Malamar was knocked back. “Don’t let up, use Sand Attack, right in the face!” Jonah roared. The mud hit Malamar square in the face and obscured its vision. “Malamar!” the boy yelled. Malamar looked thoroughly disoriented, which Jonah took as another attack opportunity. “Hit it with Pin Missile!” Jonah said. The sharp barbs hit Malamar in the chest, and it struggled to get back up. “C’mon Malamar!” said its trainer. Malamar managed to get back up, and it looked furious. As Zigzagoon battled Malamar, Carkol and Musharna were going at it. Carkol’s Flamethrower scorched Musharna, sending it reeling. “Musharna, use Zen Headbutt!” said the girl. “Carkol, use Smokescreen!” Keagan shouted, blinding Malamar and Musharna. “Now’s our chance!” Keagan yelled. “Carkol, use Flame Charge!” bellowed Keagan. Carkol became covered in flames, and threw all one-hundred pounds of itself into Musharna with devastating force. Musharna was pushed into the ground six feet, and it fainted. When Keagan used Smokescreen, Jonah told Zigzagoon “Alright, let’s finish this. Zigzagoon. Use Snarl!” The move made impact with an angry, flabbergasted, and tired Malamar, and it was sent twenty feet into the air. When Malamar landed, it fainted on impact. The referee said “Both of the opponents’ Pokemon are unable to battle! Team number five wins!” “Alright!” said Keagan. The two teams shook hands and went back to the waiting area. When he heard they won, Keagan took a pose Jonah never saw him do before, where he kneeled, pointed into the sky, and the other hand on his hip. “What the heck was that?” Jonah asked. “It’s this pose I made up, for when I win,” Keagan answered. “Then how come you’ve never done it before?” Jonah questioned. “I just thought of it on the way here,” he answered “Oh,” said Jonah. “Not half-bad,” he added. When the boys sat back down, everyone looked like they had been watching a movie, and it just ended. “Keagan, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you that heated before,” said Jonah. “Was that a Fire-type pun?” Keagan asked. “Yeah,” Jonah said. “It wasn’t very good,” Keagan said. “Yeah, I know,” Jonah said. “Great battle!” Tanner exclaimed. “Thanks,” said Jonah and Keagan. “When is our next battle?” Keagan asked. “I dunno,” said Jonah. “Check the schedule board,” Liam said. “The what-now?” Keagan asked, looking puzzled. “It shows what teams battle when,” Liam explained. “Let’s go check it out!” Jonah said. The boys ran over to the board. “Aw, crap,” Keagan said. “What?” Jonah asked. “Aaron and Will are on the other side of the bracket, so we gotta go all the way to fight ‘em,” Keagan explained. “We can do it,” Jonah said, looking confident. “Looks like our next match is in twenty minutes,” Jonah said “And while we’re waiting, I am hungry,” said Keagan. “Let’s get something to eat,” Jonah said. The boys went to the concession stand and got in line. Keagan ordered a large basket of cheese fries, which the two guys shared. “These are sooooo good!” Keagan said. “Yeah, they are,” said Jonah. Then the announcer said, “Can we have teams twenty-one and fifty-seven to the battlefield!” “We’re team twenty-one!” Tanner said. “Let’s go,” said Liam, standing up. “Good luck!” Jonah yelled after them.


-Chapter 9-
On the big screen, Tanner and Liam squared off against two rough-and-tough looking trainers. “Fighting-type” Keagan said. “Nah, the one with the leather jacket and spiked hair looks Dark-type,” Jonah said. “Then the shredded one must be Fighting-type,” Keagan said. The announcer said, “Trainers, send out your Pokemon!” Liam sent out Weavile, Tanner sent out Drednaw, the Fighting-type guy sent out Throh, and the Dark-type guy sent out Morpeko. “Awwww,” said the crowd. They stopped when Morpeko turned into its Hangry Mode. Tanner whispered something to Liam, but the microphones sending sound to the jumbotron didn’t pick it up. “I hope they play this smart,” Jonah said. “Whadda you mean?” Olivia asked. “Well, Dark is weak to Fighting, and Weavile’s half Dark-type,” Keagan finished. “So is Ice,” Jonah added. “Oh,” said Olivia. “Yeah,” said Keagan. “Sometimes it is useful to know type advantages.” “First move goes to team twenty-one!” “Drednaw, use Headbutt on Throh!” Tanner said. Drednaw lowered its horn and charged at Throh. The attack hit it square in the gut. “Throh!” its trainer exclaimed. It pulled itself up and got into a karate stance. “Now Throh, use Revenge!” Throh dashed towards Drednaw and gave it a devastating chop on the shell. Drednaw managed to take the hit and stood its ground. “Now Drednaw, Jaw Lock! Tear ‘em up!” Drednaw closed its ferocious jaws on Throh and thrashed it around like a chew toy. Then, it tossed Throh across the arena. “Finish it, use Rock Tomb!” Large boulders dropped on Throh before it could even come to its senses, and it was knocked out. Meanwhile, Morpeko and Weavile were going at it. “Weavile, use Ice Shard!’ Liam said. Weavile fired sharp pieces of ice at Morpeko, and several of them hit. Morpeko shook off the attack and awaited its trainer’s command. “Morpeko, use Quick Attack!” said the trainer. Morpeko charged at Weavile, running as fast as it could. “Weavile, meet it with Slash!” Liam countered. The two Pokemon collided and rebounded off of each other. “Now Morpeko! Use Spark!’ Morpeko hit Weavile with a blast of electricity. “Weavile!” Liam cried out. But it had endured the hit, and now it was mad. “Weavile, let's show them who they’re dealing with! Use Icy Wind!” Liam shouted. A sub-zero wind shot forth from Weavile’s mouth, and Morpeko took the full force of it. It was sent sprawling backward, and it passed out. “Both Pokemon are unable to battle. Team twenty-one wins!” the announcer said. Liam’s Weavile took a confident stance, and Tanner gave his Drednaw a pat on the head. “Alright!” Keagan said as the boys entered. “Tanner, I’m a little scared of you now, since your Drednaw beat the crap outta that Throh,” Jonah said. “Yeah, it was kinda weird for you,” Mackenzie added. “Don’t make a big deal out of it. I just didn’t want to risk Drednaw fainting,” Tanner replied. “Well, I guess now we wait,” Liam said. “Not very long,” Keagan added. “We’re up next,” Jonah said, looking at his watch. “Are you gonna finish these fries?” Keagan asked Jonah “If not, I’ll eat them,” he added. “Nah, you can take ‘em,” Jonah replied. Keagan scooped the rest of the cheese fries and stuffed them in his mouth. “Take it easy on the fries,” Mackenzie told him. “Let’s roll,” Jonah said. When they walked onto the battlefield, Keagan leaned over to Jonah as he looked at the crowd, trying to find Kabu. “Do you think he sees me?” Keagan asked. “Probably, but he won’t pay any attention to us unless we do something to stand out,” Jonah replied. “Then my goal in this battle is to stand out,” he answered. “Well, we can try,” Jonah replied. Then, the challengers came out. “They look like Flying-type trainers to me,” Keagan said. “Well, what do we have that Flying is weak to?” Jonah asked. “Usually Electric,” Keagan stated, matter-of-factly. “Also Rock and Ice,” Jonah added. “I’ll use Rhydon,” said Jonah. Jonah’s Rhydon was a powerhouse, and it knew lots of strong moves. “I’ll go with Turtonator,” Keagan said. “Alright, but keep your guard up, because Rhydon and Turtonator are both pretty slow,” Jonah warned “Yeah,” Keagan said. “But Turtonator has extremely high defense, though,” he added. “We’ll be alright,” Jonah said. “Rhydon has some powerful moves, and so does Turtonator,” he added. “Trainers, send out your Pokemon!” the announcer said. “Go! Turtonator!” Keagan said. “C’mon out, Rhydon!” said Jonah. One of the other trainers sent out Noivern, and the other one sent out Mandibuzz. Keagan brought Turtonator back into its Pokeball, and his Dynamax Band began to glow. The Pokeball grew to the size of a large watermelon, and he threw it with both hands over his head. “Let's burn like an uncontrollable inferno!” Keagan shouted “Go! And Dynamax while you’re at it!” Keagan screamed, and a giant version of Turtonator appeared. “Behold, a Dynamax Pokemon!” said the announcer. “Alright, we can do that too!” said one of the other trainers. He then Dynamaxed his Noivern. “First move goes to team number five!” said the announcer. Keagan didn’t wait. “Turtonator, use Max Flare!” he shouted, and both of the opponent's Pokemon became engulfed in the flames, and were left with a terrible burn. “Rhydon, use Rock Blast on Mandibuzz!” Jonah said. Multiple rocks were sent flying toward Mandibuzz, but because it could fly, only two of five hit it. “Rhydon, we’re gonna have to get ‘em out of the air,'' Jonah grumbled. Rhydon growled in response. “I got an idea!” Jonah exclaimed. “Rhydon, use Drill Run on Mandibuzz!” yelled Jonah. Rhydon started to spin and launched itself at Mandibuzz. Mandibuzz squawked and tried to get out of the way, but Rhydon wasn’t having it. It managed to hit Mandibuzz and it was sent sprawling into the ground. “Nice job, Rhydon!” exclaimed Jonah. “Now, use Rock Blast one more time!” Before Mandibuzz could catch its bearings and get back in the air, it was pummeled by several rocks and fainted. Meanwhile, Turtonator and Noivern were duking it out. “Noivern, use Max Wyrmwind!” yelled its trainer. Noivern fired a powerful energy blast at Turtonator, but Keagan just smirked. “Turtonator, block it with your shell,” he said calmly. In case you weren’t aware, the material on Turtonator’s shell is highly explosive, and will detonate on impact. When Noivern’s attack hit Turtonator’s shell, the result was a massive explosion directed at Noivern. The explosion engulfed it, and all that could be seen was fire and dust. When the dust cleared, there was a thrity-foot-deep crater in the battlefield, with a fainted Noivern at the bottom. The referee said, “Both Pokemon are knocked out! Team five wins!”


-Chapter 10-
“Alright!” said Keagan and Jonah. “Let’s head back to the waiting room,” Jonah said, returning his Rhydon. When the boys got back to the waiting room, their friends were clapping. “Awesome!” Tanner said. “Of course Keagan had to burn the whole field,” Mackenzie joked. “Yeah, yeah,” Keagan said. “That was pretty cool,” said Liam. “Yeah,” Olivia added. Then, the announcer said, “Let’s have teams thirty-seven and one-hundred and two to the battlefield!” On the other side of the room, Aaron and Will stood up. On his way out, Aaron sneered at Keagan and Jonah. “That guy…” Jonah muttered angrily. From the waiting room, everyone was watching the battle. Aaron was using Sawk, Will had sent out Hippowdon, one of their opponents was creepily staring at his Runerigus, and his partner was meditating while her Oranguru did the same. “First move goes to team thirty-seven!” said the announcer. Will snickered and said, “Hippowdon, use Take Down on Oranguru!” Hippowdon grunted and charged at Oranguru. “Oranguru, dodge it and use Zen Headbutt,” said its trainer calmly. Oranguru jumped over Hippowdon and hit it in the ribs. Hippowdon was heavy, so it didn’t get knocked back much, but it was still knocked down. “Hippowdon, use Sand Attack!” Will yelled. Hippowdon threw sand in Oranguru’s face, and before it could recover, Will said “Use Crunch, quick!” Hippowdon grabbed Oranguru in its jaws and flung it across the battlefield. Meanwhile, Aaron and Sawk weren’t letting up against Runerigus. “Sawk, use Close Combat!” Aaron bellowed. Sawk ran at Runerigus and prepared to attack. “Runerigus, backhand it with Shadow Claw!” Three claws made of ghostly energy formed around Runerigus’s hand, and it smacked Sawk with a backhand movement. Sawk was sent sprawling backward. “Get up and use Reversal!” Aaron said. Inside the waiting room, Keagan said “Smart move,” “Why?” asked Liam. “Reversal does more damage the lower the user’s HP,” Keagan answered. “Oh. Makes sense,” Liam said. After Sawk used Reversal, Runerigus was knocked out. Across the battlefield, Oranguru had gotten up. “Oranguru, use Foul Play!” said its trainer. Since Hippowdon had a lot of physical strength, the move would’ve been very powerful, except Oranguru didn’t hit Hippowdon. Will said,“Dodge and use Fire Fang!” Hippowdon’s fiery maw chomped down on Oranguru, knocking it out. “Team thirty-seven wins!” declared the referee.

A while later, it had come down to the semifinals. Liam and Tanner had lost a fight because of a type disadvantage and were out of the tournament. Mackenzie and Olivia, who were in the same bracket as Aaron and Will, were about to battle them. “Good luck,” Tanner said. The two teams came onto the field and prepared to battle. “Go, Cufant!” Mackenzie said. Olivia pulled something out of her pocket. “I think it’s time to use this,” she said. “Go, Eevee!” said Olivia. Eevee looked curiously at the object in Olivia’s hand. Then, Olivia crouched down and touched the object to Eevee’s forehead. Eevee started to glow. “Her Water Stone!” exclaimed Keagan. Fins started to appear around Eevee’s body, and it began to grow. It stopped glowing, and it had evolved into Vaporeon! Across the field, Aaron sent out Bisharp, and Will said “Go, Escavilier!” “First move goes to team forty-five!” said the announcer. Olivia wasted no time. “Vaporeon, use Swift on Bisharp!” Olivia said. However, when Vaporeon attacked, it formed a large ball of water and shot it straight at Bisharp. “It learned Water Pulse!” Jonah gasped. “Bisharp, use Slash!” Aaron yelled. Right before the ball of water made impact, Bisharp cut it in half. “Use Quick Attack!” Olivia yelled. Vaporeon charged at Bisharp, but Aaron said “Use Iron Defense!” When Vaporeon made impact, Bisharp was merely pushed back a few feet. Across the field, Cufant and Escavillier were tearing it up. “Use X-Scissor!” Will yelled. “Use Bulldoze!” said Mackenzie. The two Pokemon clashed, and got into a shoving match. “Use Acid Spray!” Will bellowed. The acid went right into Cufant’s face, and it cried out in pain. “Cufant!” Mackenzie exclaimed. “Nasty,” said Keagan, watching the battle on the screen in the waiting room, eating Primeape Puffs. “How much can you eat?” Tanner asked. “I’m a growing boy!” Keagan snapped. “Are you alright, Cufant?” Mackenzie asked. Cufant blinked a few times, shook itself, and got into a ready position. “All right!” Mackenzie said. “Go Cufant!” said a random person from the audience. “Now use Iron Head!” Mackenzie yelled. “Dodge and use Fury Cutter!” Will said. Cufant crashed into the wall of the stadium, and Escavalier flew at it and started slashing like a madman. When it stopped, Cufant looked pretty rough. “Let’s end this,” Will said. “Escavalier, use Giga Impact!” yelled Will. “Cufant, use Bulldoze!” The two Pokemon collided at full force, and there was a cloud of dust. When it cleared, both Cufant and Escavilier had fainted. Meanwhile, Bisharp wasn’t showing Vaporeon any mercy. “Use Slash!” Aaron bellowed. “Dodge and use Aurora Beam!” said Olivia. Vaporeon sidestepped Bisharp’s attack and blasted it with a beam of rainbow-colored energy. The beam knocked Bisharp high into the air, and it fell onto the field, hard. “Get up!” Aaron yelled. Bisharp pushed itself up, and there was a menacing look on its face. “Use Metal Claw!” Aaron said. For added effect, Bisharp leaped fifteen feet in the air and brought Metal Claw down onto Vaporeon. Not only was Vaporeon hurt by Metal Claw, but the impact also created a ten-foot-deep crater, which Vaporeon was at the bottom of. Vaporeon had fainted, and the referee was about to call it, but apparently, Aaron didn’t notice or didn’t care. “Use Slash!” Aaron said. Again, Bisharp attacked, in the same way as last time, mercilessly. Then, the referee said “Both Pokemon are knocked out. Escavilier and Bisharp win!” “Did you guys see that?” Keagan asked. “Yeah, they clearly hit after Vaporeon had fainted,” Liam said. “Pokemon cruelty to the point,” added Jonah. Then, Mackenzie and Olivia trudged in. “That was brutal,” Tanner said. “Is Vaporeon okay?” Jonah asked. “I think it hurt its leg, Olivia said, holding Vaporeon. “There’s a Pokemon Center down the hall,” Mackenzie said. “I’ll go with you,” she added. “Uhh,” Keagan said. “I can go, too,” he said. “Umm, guys?” Tanner said. “It’s time for the finals,” “YEEEEAAAAHHHH!!!” Keagan yelled. “I still can’t believe you and Jonah made it,” said Tanner. To recap, Jonah and Keagan had made it to the finals, and their semi-finals battle was epic. They had been matched up with a pair of siblings, who had a Conkeldurr and a Passimian. Keagan had gone up against Conkeldurr with his Scorbunny, and Jonah took on Passimian with Grookey. They had had a destructive battle, but the most surprising thing was that Grookey and Scorbunny both evolved. Once that happened, it was no contest. Raboot was two times faster than Conkeldurr, and Thwackey was able to duck and dodge Passimian’s attacks. After all, it is under half of Passimian’s size. They won the battle and qualified for the finals, which was against Aaron and Will. “Do you think Kabu will see us in the finals?” Keagan whispered, hopefully. “Maybe,” Jonah said. Just then, the announcer said “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for our main event! From Wedgehurst, it’s Aaron Matthews and Will Mason!” The crowd clapped. “And also from Wedgehurst, Jonah Porter and Keagan Dobo!” Again, clapping from the crowd. “Trainers, take your places!” said the announcer. “I’m gonna get Aaron back for what he did to Vaporeon,” Jonah said. “Let’s just say I’m gonna give Will a lot more than acid,” said Keagan. “This battle, trainers will be allowed to use two Pokemon each, so if one is knocked out, you can send in another!” the announcer said. “Trainers, take your places!” he added. The four trainers squared off on the battlefield, ready to destroy each other. Neither team liked the other, and they were definitely going to show that in this battle. “So, we need a plan,” Jonah whispered to Keagan. “Well, Aaron has used and won with Bisharp, Sawk, and Fraxure,” he responded. “Right. And Will has done the same with Hippowdon, Escavilier, and Dusclops,” Jonah added. “So, either they go with what has been working, or they’ll change it up completely,” he continued. “Well, I’m going with Carkol,” Keagan said. “I’ll use Excadrill,” Jonah said. “Let’s do this,” Keagan said. “Ya know, I still can’t believe we’re here,” Jonah said. “Next to the Pokemon League, this is the biggest battling event in Galar,” he added. “You’re right. Let’s make sure we win,” Keagan said. They fist-bumped and took their positions. “Trainers, send out your Pokemon!” said the announcer. “Let’s burn ‘em up, Carkol!” Keagan said. “Time to drill and thrill, Excadrill! ” said Jonah. “Turn it up to eleven, Toxtricity!” Will said. “No mercy, Golbat!” said Aaron. “First move goes to team five!” said the announcer.


-Chapter 11-

“Use Crush Claw!” Jonah said. Excadrill leaped into the air and struck Golbat with a mighty blow from its steel-hard claws. “Golbat!’ Aaron yelled. “You’ll pay for that! Use Hyper Beam!” Aaron yelled. “Block it!” Jonah roared. Excadrill locked its claws together in front of its body. A bright flash and a loud bang ensued. When the dust cleared, Excadril was still standing. It smirked. Elsewhere on the field, Keagan wasn’t letting up. “Use Flamethrower!” he said. The red and gold flame shot from Carkoal’s mouth, hot as a furnace, burning Toxtricity, making it flail in the sand of the arena in scorching pain. “Get back on your feet!” Will ordered. Toxtricity got up, despite a few scorch marks. “Use Thunder Shock!” Will said. Toxtricity played a low bass rhythm on its chest and fired a shock at Carkol. Granted, Carkol was part Rock-type, so it didn’t do much, but Keagan wasn’t the type to let a hit go unpunished. “Use Ancient Power!” Keagan yelled. “Shatter the rocks with Boomburst!” Will said. A soundwave came from Toxtricity and shattered the rocks mid-air. “Ok, fine,” Keagan said. “Use Flamethrower!” “Boy, he really likes that move,” commented Olivia while watching the fight. Toxtricity got out of the way this time, and Will said “Use Toxic!” The acid hit Carkol in the face, and it couldn’t fight anymore, so Keagan returned it. “Go, Raboot!” Keagan said. Elsewhere on the field, Golbat had the advantage. It was agile enough to dodge Excadrill’s attacks and had landed a few power hits here and there. “Excadrill, use Metal Claw!” Jonah yelled. “Golbat, dodge and use Poison Fang!” Golbat swooped around Excadrill and sank in its needle-sharp fangs. Excadrill still managed to clip Golbat’s wing with Metal Claw, and they both fell to the ground. When the dust cleared, Golbat was standing over an unconscious Excadrill. Jonah growled and returned Excadrill to its Pokeball. “We got this in the bag,” Aaron said. “That’s what you think,” Jonah said, “Go, Thwackey!” Jonah yelled. Wasting no time, he said, “And use Knock Off while you’re at it!” Jonah said. The move hit Golbat square in the face, and it crashed to the ground, unconscious. “Alright!” Jonah said. “Enough joking around,” Aaron said. “Go, Fraxure!” Fraxure hit the ground and gave a bone-shaking roar. Meanwhile, Keagan was trying to finish Toxtricity. “Raboot, use Double Kick!” Keagan said. Both kicks connected, and Toxtricity was down for the count. “I’ve had enough of you, Dobo,” Will said. “Go, Dusclops!” Dusclops entered the field and gave a ghostly moan. “Time to lose,” Will said. “Dusclops, use Thunder Punch!” Will said. “Rabbot, slide under and use Flame Charge!” Keagan’s Raboot was one for the spotlight, so it slid under Dusclops, did a flip, and spun while using Flame Charge. Dusclops was hit in the back and landed on its face. Keagan chuckled. Will growled and said, “Now, use Shadow Ball!” Dusclops charged a ball of purple energy and fired it into Raboot, who took the full force of the attack. “Raboot!” Keagan exclaimed. Raboot pulled itself up, and it was clear it was done fooling around. Looking almost as fiery as Raboot, Keagan roared “Raboot, use Flame Charge!” “Dusclops, Hex!” Will bellowed. Across the battlefield, Jonah and Aaron were intent on destroying each other. “Fraxure, use Dragon Claw!” Aaron said. “Thwackey, get over it and use Razor Leaf!” Thwackey vaulted over Fraxure and fired razor-sharp leaves into it. Fraxure, being heavily armored, shrugged off the attack and turned to face Thwackey. “Fraxure, use Dragon Pulse!” Aaron yelled. Fraxure fired a multicolored beam into Thwackey, and it was knocked backward. “Thwackey!” Jonah cried. “Can you get up?” With much effort, Thwackey pulled itself up and got into a ready stance. “We’re ending this, now,” Jonah said. “Thwackey, use Wood Hammer, full throttle!” Jonah bellowed, nearly as animalistically as Thwackey’s screeching. “Fraxure, use Slash!” Aaron screamed. Weirdly enough, all of the trainers had called their attacks at the same time, so four angry Pokemon collided at the same time. The collective audience made a gasping sound. There was a large amount of dust and noise at the center of the field. No one was able to see their Pokemon. “Thwackey?” Jonah hollered. “Raboot?” Keagan called out. Finally, the dust started to clear, and the winner was apparent: Both Fraxure and Dusclops laid unconscious in the middle of the field. Jonah and Keagan had won.


-Chapter 12-

“YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Jonah and Keagan screamed simultaneously. The crowd was roaring. The two boys ran together and did the happiest bro-hug the world had ever seen. Thwackey and Raboot were celebrating as well. Thwackey was playing a joyful beat with its sticks and Raboot was doing one of those super-long soccer player slides. The reaction between Keagan and Jonah’s friends was immense. “They did it!” Tanner exclaimed. “Alright!” Liam yelled. “Wow,” Olivia said, numbly. “Right on!” Mackenzie screamed. “We did it!” Jonah yelled. The trainers’ Pokemon ran to meet them, and they performed various acts of celebration such as high fives and hugging. Across the field, Aaron and Will were completely dumbfounded. “Dude. We lost,” Will said. “I noticed,” Aaron replied. “It felt good to put those guys in their place,” Jonah said. “We better go shake hands,” Keagan said. The boys walked over, and Keagan said, “Good battle, guys,” Keagan said, hand outstretched to Will. “We don’t need your pity!” Aaron exclaimed. “You might’ve won this time, but you won’t get so lucky next time. Or ever again,” Aaron said. “Whatever man. It wasn't personal. Oh, wait. Yes, it was,” Jonah said. “Let’s get outta here,” Keagan said. As the boys entered the waiting area, cheers went up all around. People they didn’t even know came up to congratulate them. Just then, the announcer said, “Would our winners please come out to center field?” “That’s us,” Keagan said. The boys walked out onto the field, and confetti cannons blasted off everywhere. “And now our winners, Jonah Porter and Keagan Dobo! And their winning Pokemon, Thwackey and Raboot!” The boys were directed to stand on a podium. Lots of camera flashes went off in front of them. So many, in fact, that the boys almost missed the floating figure above the stadium firing a Psybeam attack towards the podium. “Everybody down!” Jonah roared.


-Chapter 13-

Both the boys dived away from the podium but were still flung by the massive explosion. “You alright?” Keagan called. “Oh yeah, just great,” Jonah called back. Then, the culprit of the attack floated into the stadium: A Beheeyem and its trainer. “Whadda you want?” Keagan asked, standing up. “You are an object in our mission,” the trainer said. “Objects will be removed,” “Listen, buddy, you picked the wrong trainers to mess with,” Jonah said. “Go, Thwackey!” “Raboot, you too!” Keagan said. “And they’ve got help,” Tanner said, releasing Dewpider. “Right,” Liam said, sending out Snover. “Let’s go,” Mackenzie said, calling Ponyta. “Alright,” Olivia added, readying her newly healed Vaporeon. “You can’t win,” the trainer said. “Ya know, that’s what the other guys said,” Jonah added with a steely glare. “Beheeyem, use Hyper Beam,” the trainer said nonchalantly. Beheeyem fired an orange energy beam at the trainers and their Pokemon. All of them were able to evade the blast, and Tanner said “Dewpider, use Bubble Beam!” Dewpider fired bubbles directly in Beheeyem’s face. “Snover, hit it with Ice Shard!” Sharp pieces of ice impacted Beheeyem, and it staggered back. “Vaporeon, use Aurora Beam!” A beam of rainbow-colored energy struck Beheeyem before it could get its bearings. “Ponyta, attack with Fairy Wind!” The gust of air only staggered Beheeyem more. “Alright. Guess you guys learned a thing or two,” Keagan said. “Raboot, Flame Charge!” Raboot ignited itself and flew into Beheeyem, sending it flying. “Get up!” ordered its trainer. As Beheeyem struggled to recover, Jonah said, “Nah. I don’t think so. Thwackey, use Wood Hammer!” A large, green, transparent log appeared on Thwackey’s arm, and it connected with Beheeyem’s face. “Arrgh!” exclaimed the trainer as Beheeyem passed out. “Like I said, you picked the wrong trainers,” Jonah said. “You may have won today, but next time we will attack with power the likes of which you have never even imagined,” the trainer said. Then he released an Alakazam, which teleported them away. “That was weird,” Liam stated. “No kidding,” Tanner replied. “Whatever that dude wants, none of us are safe,” Jonah said. “We should all start training ten times as hard,” he added. “Right,” Tanner agreed. “Well, I’m hungry, and we should find our parents,” Keagan said.


-Chapter 14-

After everyone found their parents in the large crowd and got the usual “Are you hurt?” “That was very dangerous,” and “We’re just glad you’re okay,” they all said their goodbyes and went home. That night, everyone had the same question. What did he want with us? The worst part was, no one had any clue. The next morning, everyone started messaging each other and asking their parents if they could meet at the training center in town. They all said yes, and they were there at noon. “So, guess we better get started,” Jonah said. They all released their Pokemon to do various training exercises. “So, this is life now,” Keagan said to Jonah. “You mean always waiting for the next hit?” Jonah asked. “Exactly,” Keagan replied. “Well, at least we’re all in it together,” Jonah added. “And, training together is pretty fun,” Tanner interjected. “Whatever we do is fun,” Liam added. “If we get an excuse to hang out, it sounds good to me,” Mackenzie said. “And I’m always up for more time with my Pokemon,” Olivia added. “Whatever they throw at us, this crew can handle it, together,” Jonah said. “Right,” Keagan said, enveloping everyone in a group hug.


-Chapter 15-

Far away in some forgotten part of the world, the mysterious trainer was plotting. But he wasn’t alone. There were many more acolytes there. They were making plans on how to destroy the annoying kids that stopped them. Then, their king, a tall, muscular man wearing a cape walked into the room. They all kneeled immediately. “Master,” the mysterious trainer said. “To what do we owe the pleasure?” “It is time,” their king said. “Master! Are you sure?” one of them asked. “Yes. It is time we serve our true ruler,” he said. “We will summon the Devourer. Then, this world shall be prepared for the Chaos Lord,” he said. “As you wish, my king,” said the acolytes. They quickly hurried off to complete various tasks. “Those children have no idea what they are dealing with,” said the king.

I now have some free time from my lab report, so I tried to continue my fanfic with a few more chapters.
I asked the guys from https://essays.edubirdie.com/lab-report-writing to help me with my writing tasks. Very smart service indeed. The whole process was quite easy and the result was excellent. I will be glad if you leave your wishes for my creation or share my fanfiction with your friends.
Okay, hopefully this works. Hopefully you all like it. Thanks.

I really liked it, thanks for sharing!
I would like to see a continuation
 
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Hello again! Thanks to @Tinswa, I've decided to share the sequel of my first writing. Not sure if this should be a new thread or not so I apologize if this is the wrong way to go about things.This was written more recently, and I personally think it is better than the first one, at least with grammar and things like that. Anyway, here it is:


-Chapter 1-


“Thwackey, use Wood Hammer!” Jonah yelled. Thwackey launched itself at the punching bag in front of it and gave such a swing of the glowing green log on its arm that the bag flew off the chain with a hole in its side, spilling sand onto the floor. “Alright!” Jonah exclaimed. Thwackey gave a yip of celebration.

Keagan, Jonah, and their friends had returned to the gym they and their Pokemon had been training in for nearly a month and a half. All around him, Jonah observed the others training in various ways. Keagan was training his Arcanine to shoot more accurate flame attacks at special targets that would resist the fire, Tanner was using a machine to launch logs for his Drednaw to split with its imposing jaws, Liam was trying to teach his Snover to create larger and stronger snow attacks, Olivia was trying to increase the pressure of her Vaporeon’s Water Pulse attack, and Mackenzie was helping her Ponyta learn to attack more effectively with its horn.

A few minutes later, they took a break for lunch. This was one of the days that they spent all day at the gym, so they had all packed lunches to take with them. However, as a result of all the training, no trainer in the surrounding towns could rival them, except for their recurring nemeses, Aaron and Will. Jonah and Keagan hadn’t spoken at all with them since the tournament, except for muttered sarcastic remarks from Aaron and Will. Since that tournament, everyone had participated in smaller ones for training and had gained reputations as strong trainers in the neighboring towns.

After swallowing a large bite of a sandwich, Keagan asked, “So you guys know how we’re pretty much the best trainers around?” “Yeah, what’s your point?” Tanner asked. “That’s exactly what I mean. We're the best around here, but this is Wedgehurst, not Wyndon. We need more practice,” Keagan finished. “We don’t have time to hunt down every trainer with a half-decent team from here to The Isle of Armor,” Jonah said seriously. “Or time for another tournament,” Liam added. “Right. All we can do is train,” Jonah stated. “I suppose you’re right,” Keagan admitted. “Our real problem is that weirdo from the tournament,” Olivia said. “Darn right,” Keagan said. There hadn’t been any sightings of the man, his Beheeyem, or anyone working with them since the tournament. Still, everyone was waiting for their return. “Exactly. And the only way to make sure we’re ready is to keep doing what we’re doing,” Jonah said. After lunch, they set up for their routine practice battles.

Keagan stood across from Liam, Jonah squared off against Tanner, and Mackenzie and Olivia prepared to duke it out. After asking the owner, they modified the battlefield so that they could have three battles at once, and so that they didn’t have to worry about destroying it.

“Alright, let’s rock. Go, Thwackey!” Jonah said. “You’re up, Dewpider!” Tanner said. Wasting no time, Jonah said, “Thwackey, use Razor Leaf!” “Dewpider, go under and use Bubble Beam!” Tanner shouted. Thanks to its diminutive stature, Dewpider went under the sharp leaves and fired a stream of bubbles at Thwackey, who took the hit full-on. It was knocked backward, then shook itself and raised its sticks. Attacks like that were merely small annoyances to Thwackey, who had been doing endurance training. “Thwackey, use Knock Off!” Jonah yelled. “Dewpider, counter with Headbutt!” The two Pokemon collided, Thwackey with a raised arm and Dewpider with a lowered head. Although it was considerably weaker than Thwackey, Tanner’s Dewpider possessed an unusually strong sense of determination, and it gave no ground to Thwackey. Both Pokemon growled and grumbled, but neither could gain an edge. Then, Dewpider was enveloped in a blue glow, and it grew longer legs and a bigger head. When the light went away, Dewpider had evolved into the towering menace that is Araquanid!

From there, Araquanid was able to use the large bubble on its head to win the pushing match. Thwackey was thrown backward and staggered, and Tanner took the opportunity to attack. “Araquanid, use Bite!” However, the attack was launched with more ferocity and strength than usual, indicating that Araquanid had used Crunch instead of Bite. Araquanind locked its jaws onto Thwackey’s arm and threw it across the battlefield. “Thwackey!” Jonah called out. Thwackey stood up and, in unison with Jonah, gritted its teeth. “You guys aren’t messing around,” Jonah said. “Not anymore,” Tanner replied. “Good. I haven’t had a good fight in a while,” Jonah added. “Thwackey, use Wood Hammer!” “Araquanid, use Headbutt one more time!” The two Pokemon collided this way several times until Tanner and Jonah decided no one would win. Then, they looked down the field at their friends having battles. Keagan’s Turtonator had just unleashed a furious Dragon Pulse attack on Liam’s Weavile, and Olivia’s Vaporeon had just missed Mackenzie’s Ponyta with an Aurora Beam attack. Jonah called out, “That’s enough, guys!” “Aww, why?” Keagan shouted back. “Turtonator only got to set five things on fire!” he added. “Yeah, but my mom said we could go to my house after we’re done today,” Jonah said. “Oh, alright. Let’s go,” Keagan said. Everyone else agreed, and they got on their bikes and rode to Jonah’s house in Wedgehurst.

-Chapter 2-


A few minutes later, they arrived at Jonah’s house. They all walked up the stairs on the proch and came inside. “Hi, guys!” Jonah’s mom called from the kitchen. She and her Skwovet were baking cookies, as they did often. Jonah’s little brother, Jude, ran out of his room and gave him a hug. His Riolu followed him. Jude was only ten years old, so had just become an official trainer and had little experience, but he and he and his Riolu had been training ever since Jonah had ramped up his training.

“What did you guys do today?” Jonah’s mom asked. “Same as usual, train, eat, battle,” Jonah replied. “Doesn’t that get boring?” Jonah’s mom questioned. She had only ever had a few Pokemon battles, and never against a serious opponent. She had battled Jonah when he first received his Grookey, and Jude when he got Riolu from his dad, but other than that she hadn’t had one since she was very young. Skwovet was around for friendship more than battle. “Hitting a punching bag a thousand times a day isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but we have to get better and better, until no one can get in our way,” Jonah answered. “Come play with me, Jonah!” Jude said. “What do you want now?” Jonah asked, exasperated. Jude constantly needed something to do, thus giving Jonah the job of a playmate. “Let’s battle!” Jude said. “No way. I don’t wanna send Riolu to the hospital,” Jonah replied. “C’mon, Jonah!” Jude whined. “Jude, your brother is right. It wouldn’t be a fair battle, and Riolu could get hurt,” Jonah’s mom stated. “Fine,” Jude grumbled. “Why don’t you go say hi to your dad, Jonah? He hasn’t seen you all day,” his mom said. “Alright. Be back in a few, guys. Just chill out here for a bit,” Jonah replied, then went out the door.

Jonah’s dad was with his Pokemon, Rhyperior. “Hi, bud! How’d the training go today?’ Jonah’s dad called. He had been working on the fence in the backyard. That’s how he was. Always working on something. His Rhyperior was always around to help with the heavy lifting. “Good,” Jonah called back. “Did you guys battle?” his dad asked. Now, here was a guy who knew about battles. Jonah’s dad had battled a lot when he was younger, challenging people to battle and always winning. He had even gone to some minor division tournaments and placed well. When Jonah had told his parents about his plans to start training harder, his dad had offered to help him, and they had battled several times. His dad’s Rhyperior was a force to be reckoned with, and the family always joked that he should join the league and become a Gym Leader.

“Yeah, we did,” Jonah replied. “Who’d you go against this time?” his dad questioned. “Tanner,” Jonah replied. “Oh. Who won?” his dad asked. “Well, Tanner sent out his Dewpider, and we exchanged a few hits until we got locked in a pushing match. Then, Tanner’s Dewpider evolved into Araquanid and won the pushing match. After that, we did that same thing a few more times until we decided no one would win. Also, Thwackey put a hole in a punching bag today,” Jonah explained. “You guys really are getting good. In a little bit, it’ll be all Rhyperior and I can do to hold you guys off,” Jonah’s dad said. Jonah smiled at the thought. Jonah and his dad had battled several times, but Jonah had never won. He had come close, but his dad and Rhyperior always managed to close out the fight with an attack like Hammer Arm or Rock Wrecker. Rhyperior’s strength was immense, and it had no problem beating Thwackey around. “Yeah, maybe,” Jonah answered. Then, growing serious, his dad asked, “Do you guys really think you can beat that guy if he comes back? I know you took him down last time, but that was with all of you. I’m not convinced you can take him yourself.” Jonah shared the same concern. Even though he knew he was better than any trainer around, something about that guy was off. “I’ll be fine, dad. Thwackey and I can take anyone,” Jonah replied. “Alright. Just be careful,” his dad said. And with that, Jonah went back inside.

When he returned to the house, Jonah saw his friends sitting around the table, talking and laughing. “So I leave and you guys start laughing like lunatics?” Jonah asked, joking. Gasping for air, Tanner answered, “No, Keagan’s Raboot somehow managed to light his pants on fire,” “Don’t worry, I’m okay,” Keagan added, smoke still wisping up from his pant leg. “Well, this was fun, but I gotta go home,” Liam said. Everyone else said the same, and they started to walk out the door. As the group went to their bikes, Jonah on the sidewalk, a blast of flame made a half-circle from the gravel driveway to the grass in the yard. Everyone looked toward the hill above Jonah’s house and saw a man dressed similarly to the man from the tournament with a Houndoom at his side. Suddenly, the Houndoom fired a blast of flame onto the roof of Jonah’s house. Jonah looked toward his house and saw his family running outside. He gritted his teeth and uttered a low growl. Taking initiative, Jonah’s dad yelled, “Jonah, what can I do?” Jonah called back, “Have Rhyperior make mom and Jude some cover, then put out the fire on the house!” Nodding, Jonah’s dad released his Rhyperior and instructed it to use Stone Edge to make a shelter for Jonah’s mom and brother, then released his Seismitoad and told it to use Hydro Pump to put out the fire.

While the house and his family were tended to, Jonah turned to his friends. “Whadda we do?” Keagan asked. “You guys do whatever you want,” Jonah said. “I’m gonna go get revenge.” And with that, Jonah ran off toward the man on the hill. “Should we help him?” Liam asked. “Definitely yes, since four more of them are coming,” Tanner replied, pointing to the right. Four more people were walking toward the man on the hill, but Jonah didn’t seem to notice or care. “Well, let’s go!” Keagan yelled. Then, they all sprinted toward the hill, ready for battle.

-Chapter 3-


Jonah was striding towards the man on the hill, prepared to release every ounce of fury in his body on the man and his Houndoom. They had attacked not only him and his friends, but his family, and that had crossed the line. When he was about fifty feet from the man, he shouted, “Hey! My name’s Jonah Porter, and you’re about to learn tobe afraid of me. I’ll give you one chance to return your Houndoom and throw down your Pokeballs. Otherwise, things are gonna get bad for you.” The man simply laughed, got into a ready stance, and replied, “You are very confident, child. I’ll put you in your place.”

Jonah then released his Boltund, a new addition to his team. He had caught it about a week after the tournament after a lengthy battle between it and his newly evolved Linoone and added it to his team over his Galvantula. Boltund, being an intelligent Pokemon, quickly realized what the Houndoom had done and growled at it. Houndoom responded with a bark. Without hesitation, Jonah said, “Boltund, use Spark!” Boltund lowered its head, began to spark and crackle with electricity, and lunged forward at Houndoom. The man hollered, “Houndoom, dodge the attack!” However, Boltund was superior to Houndoom in terms of speed, and the electrified tackle caught Houndoom square in the ribs, and it landed several feet away on its side. The man exclaimed, “Houndoom! You shall pay for your insolence, child.” Houndoom stood up and turned to face Boltund. “Houndoom, use Fire Fang!” Raging flames appeared around Houndoom’s jaws, and it dashed forward and caught Boltund between them. It thrashed Boltund around and tossed it aside. “Boltund!” Jonah cried out. “Houndoom, finish it! Use Foul Play!” Enveloped in a dark aura, Houndoom charged forward at Boltund. Knowing Boltund wouldn’t withstand the hit, Jonah called out, “Boltund, jump! As high as you can!” In an incredible feat of athleticism, Boltund got to its feet and jumped six feet in the air. Then, seizing the evident bewilderment on both the man and Houndoom’s faces, Jonah roared, with every bit of anger he had in his body, “Boltund, use Thunderbolt!” Glowing with blinding, crackling electricity, Boltund loosed a bolt of lighting from its body into Houndoom. Houndoom gave a pained howl and fell to the ground, unconscious. The man gasped and said, “How? We are unbeatable!” Jonah replied, “Yeah, not anymore.”

Just then, Jonah heard a loud bang and looked to his right. He saw three things: His friends running up the hill, shouting, “Get outta the way!”, four more people dressed like the man he had just defeated striding towards him, one of which had a Pokemon he took a moment to recognize: an Alolan Golem, and a rock sparking with lightning hurtling towards him.

-Chapter 4-


Keagan stood, aghast, as he saw the charged rock plummet from the sky and land right next to his best friend with a massive explosion of electricity. Jonah and his Boltund were sent flying backward, and they didn’t get up. Keagan bellowed with fury and charged toward the woman with the Alolan Golem. He didn’t care why they were there or who they were, it only mattered that they hurt his best friend, and he intended to get his payback.

In one fluid motion, he reached for his belt, grabbed a Pokeball, and threw it, releasing his Arcanine. Arcanine gave a ferocious roar and turned to face its opponent. Wasting no time, Keagan yelled, “Arcanine, use Extreme Speed!” Golem was caught completely off guard by the high-speed tackle and staggered to one side. Finishing the one-two attack he had planned, Keagan hollered, “Arcanine, use Flame Wheel!” A sphere of fire enveloped Arcanine from head to toe, and it charged toward Golem and knocked it onto its side. Thanks to its sphere-shaped body, Golem began to roll down the hill. Keagan watched as it gained speed, and Tanner, who was just as outraged as Keagan, saw the Golem coming and took the opportunity to finish the job. Diverting from the other battles between the friends and the other three robed enemies, Tanner said, “Toxicroak, use Sucker Punch!” Toxicroak stood in the path of the rapidly rolling Golem and punched in such a way that it flew up into the air and landed with a crashing impact. When the dust cleared, Golem had fainted. Toxicroak looked up at Keagan and gave a smile and a thumbs-up. Keagan nodded and turned to the dumbstruck woman. “That’s what you get when you mess with us,” he said. He then mounted his Arcanine and rode to the site of the blast.

When he arrived, he saw Jonah lying on the ground, unconscious. He was covered in dirt and had a few scrapes, but otherwise appeared unharmed. His Boltund stood up when it saw that Keagan and Arcanine arrived. Keagan hopped down and ran over to his friend. “Wake up, dude!” he said. Jonah gave no response. Keagan then released his Toxtricity. Although it didn’t fit with the rest of Keagan’s Fire-types, it was a good ally and shared Keagan’s love of rock and roll. Keagan said, “Toxtricity, wake him up,” Toxtricity nodded and tapped Jonah on the chest, releasing a jolt of electricity as it did so. Jonah leaned up and coughed, then asked, “What happened?” “Big rock. Bigger explosion,” Keagan answered. “Huh. Did we win?” Jonah asked. “See for yourself,” Keagan replied, gesturing toward the other side of the hill.

Tanner and his Toxicroak stood over a poisoned Eelektross, Mackenzie’s Cufant released a trumpeting sound from its trunk while standing next to a fainted Seviper, Olivia was stroking her Vaporeon after a successful battle with a Scolipede, and the air around Liam and his Darmanitan swirled with a minuscule blizzard resulting from an aggressive battle with a Sableye. “I guess so,” Jonah concluded. With one arm around Keagan, Jonah returned his Boltund to its Pokeball and trudged toward the others. He looked down the hill and saw his family rushing up the hill toward him. Keagan and Jonah turned in unison to face them. His mom, looking concerned, said, “We saw the blast! Are you hurt?” “I’ll be fine, mom,” Jonah replied. Then, their friends swarmed over to Jonah and Keagan with the same question. “Really, guys, I’m alright,” Jonah said. “So whadda we do with them?” Keagan asked, pointing at the enemies that had been restrained by a wall of ice from Liam’s Darmanitan. “They’re coming with me,” boomed a voice from the sky.

Everyone looked up to see a muscular, tall man with a cape and crown mounted on a Salamence. “Master!” called out the detained enemies in unison. “Master?” said everyone, startled. “Yes,” the man called back. “These are my acolytes, and I am their king, Aldrich.” “So what the heck did you try to blow me up for?” Jonah demanded. “You, child, and all your friends are an obstacle in my path. My mission is to summon an ancient Pokemon known as the Devourer. It shall prepare this world for a power greater than any of you can fathom: the Chaos Lord. It shall reign over this world for eternity. You children are the only ones who could stand in our way. Thus, you shall be stomped out before you can cause any more annoyances. However, we must gather our forces to ensure we wipe you out fully. Prepare yourself for my full might,” And with that, the man ordered his Salamence to loose a Flamethrower attack to melt the ice surrounding his acolytes, then flew down and carried them away. “Well, now we know our enemy,” Jonah said. Keagan replied, “Yeah… he seems, uh…” “Mentally unstable,” Tanner finished. Everyone laughed. “Well, we should go to the house to catch our bearings,” Jonah’s mom said. Everyone walked down the hill towards the damaged house.

-Chapter 5-


The house wasn’t damaged severely, and Jonah’s dad was confident he could fix it. Once Jonah’s mom had checked him over once more and confirmed he was okay, they all sat down in the living room to make a plan. “It’s not safe for any of us anymore,” Jonah’s dad said. “If those guys can do all that with five people, imagine what they could do once that guy gathers his forces like he said he would,” he added. “You’re right, but where would you guys go?” Jonah asked. “Can’t we go with you?” Jude questioned. “That’s a bad idea. Believe me, I’m the grand overlord of bad ideas, and even I can tell,” Keagan replied. “Why not?” Jonah’s mom asked. “Because I just almost got blown up by a rock that a three-hundred-pound electrified rock monster shot from its back under the orders of someone who works for a madman that wants to summon something called the Chaos Lord,” Jonah answered, nearly shouting. “And if the same happens to you guys… No. You guys can’t stay with us. But I’m not sure it’s safe for you here, either,” Jonah concluded.

“He’s got a point,” his dad said. “However, I don’t know what else to do. I don’t want to leave our house, but I don’t want to watch it burn down either. We don’t have anyone to protect us, and I can’t battle like you guys do,” he added. Then, Jonah was struck with an idea. “You’ll be able to when I’m through with you, dad,” Jonah said. “We can train you,” Tanner added. “Alright,” Jonah’s dad said. “Jude, I’ll teach you and mom too,” Jonah added. “Yay!” Jude cried. “Okay,” said Jonah’s mom. “In the meantime, we’ll be hitting the books to find out anything we can on the Devourer or Chaos Lord,” Jonah added. “Where can we start?” Mackenzie asked. “I heard that the professor that has the lab up by the lake has like a gazillion books on history. Mostly of Galar, but maybe we can find one about that thing,” Liam replied.

“Okay then, here’s the plan: we all go home and get good sleep, then be here at seven. Keagan, you, Tanner, and Mackenzie will stay here and train these guys. Liam, Olivia, and I will ride out to this professor’s lab and see about getting our hands on some books,” Jonah stated. They all agreed, and, for the second time that day, Jonah’s friends got on their bikes and rode home. Jonah’s dad went to the roof to repair what he could, his mom and brother left for the Pokemon Center to get supplies like Potions, and Jonah took his Thwackey to grow back the grass in their yard and on the hill. Their neighbor, Dwight, had been dismayed to see the various scorch marks and craters on the hill he used to grow hay for his farm, but Jonah explained what happened and told him that he and his Thwakcey were going to grow the grass back, so he seemed content and went to tend to the herd of Mudsdale and Mudbray he kept on his property. Then, Jonah went home to eat supper and train until dark. He went through various exercises, including strength training for Thwackey, accuracy for his Charmeleon’s fire attacks, speed for his Boltund, tackling for his Linoone, flight agility for another new member, Corvisquire, and blast power for another new addition, Noivern, which he had caught as a Noibat and evolved. Then, he went to bed, preparing for the hard work to come.

-Chapter 6-


The next morning, Keagan got up, took a quick shower, and ate breakfast even faster, then hopped on his bike and started the ride to Jonah’s house. It wasn’t a long ride, so he got there right at seven. Within ten minutes, everyone else had shown up, and they prepared for their various tasks. Keagan said, “Alright, I need Jonah’s family, Tanner, and Mackenzie out back in five minutes.” “Yes sir! C’mon, Riolu!” Jude said. “You know, Keagan, Skwovet and I haven’t had a battle in a long time. I don’t know if we’ll be any good,” Jonah’s mom said. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Porter. Anyone with any Pokemon can learn how to battle. Plus, I have a feeling that Skwovet is stronger than it’s letting on.” In response, Skwovet gave a squeak and jumped onto its trainer’s shoulder. “Whatever you do, don’t burn the house down. Again,” Jonah’s dad said. “Oh, don’t worry,” Keagan replied. “My Pokemon haven’t accidentally set anything on fire in, oh, two weeks,” he said with a chuckle. With that, he turned and walked out the door to where Jonah’s family and the group going to the professor were waiting. Jonah walked over to him and said, “When I get back, I want all of these guys to be able to take down a Gyarados by themselves.” They both laughed, then Keagan said, “Be safe, dude,” They then said their final goodbyes, and Keagan watched as his friends rode away. “Right then, let’s get started!”

Jonah and his friends took their time on the ride, trying to hammer out what they would tell the professor. Liam and Olivia had agreed that Jonah would do the talking, which he had suspected. That was pretty much the norm in his friend group, especially now, since Olivia was rather shy and Liam was much the same. “So, what are we gonna do? Tell some woman we’ve never met before that we need to read a bunch of old books about a mysterious monster Pokemon that a psycho king with a bunch of acolytes under his command wants to summon?” Olivia asked sarcastically. “That’s exactly what we’re gonna do,” Jonah replied. They then arrived at the professor’s lab, and Jonah knocked on the door. He heard a woman’s voice shout, “Hop, would you get that?” “Sure thing!” the voice of a boy Jonah’s age called back. He heard pounding footsteps, then a boy opened the door. He had dark skin, and bright brown-gold eyes, and he wore a denim jacket with fur on the sleeves and neck. He gave Jonah a studios look, then the boy said, “Hi there, mate! Name’s Hop. What do you lot need? Professor Sonia’s quite busy, you know. She’s researching Legendary Pokemon.” “We heard the professor has quite a library, and we’re here to do some research. I’d rather not explain twice, so if you’d take us to the professor, I’ll tell you what we need,” Jonah explained. “Sure,” replied Hop. “Wait a minute! I know this guy!” Liam exclaimed. “He’s Leon’s brother! I saw him in the gym challenge.” “You’ve got that right,” Hop replied. He then took them inside the lab.

There were bookshelves from floor to ceiling, and a woman with red hair in a bright blue crop top, light blue jeans, and an unbuttoned white lab coat called down from the top of the stairs, “Hi! Professor Sonia, at your service. What can I help you with?” Jonah walked up the stairs and went into a lengthy recounting of recent events, from the tournament to yesterday, then told her why they needed her books. “Well, that’s interesting, isn’t it, Yamper?” The Yamper that followed her around barked and Sonia patted it on the head. “I’m happy to help, but it’ll take a while to sort through all my books. Even Hop and I haven’t read all of them yet. But, I’ll bet what we’re looking for is a book that isn’t about Galar. We’ll start at once,” Sonia said. They agreed on who would search what parts of the library and split up accordingly. Jonah had been sent with Hop, Liam with Olivia, and Sonia went by herself. After removing all the books unrelated to their topic, Jonah and Hop began their search. “So, Leon’s brother, huh? Pretty big shoes to fill,” Jonah said. “You know, that’s what I thought for a long time. I had gone all the way through the Gym Challenge to the Champion Cup, but then I lost to the new champ, Victor. I was pretty sad about it, but then I realized I could do my own thing, instead of trying to be just like my brother. So, I went to work with Sonia,” Hop replied. After a pause, Hop asked, “So what is this thing we’re looking for anyway? Based on your explanation, it sounds like these are some sort of Legendary Pokemon, but none that we have a record of.”

“Ya know, I’m not quite sure either,” Jonah replied. “From what Aldrich said, it sounds like the Devourer is gonna do something to make it so that the Chaos Lord can come to our world,” he finished. After a bit more conversation, Jonah and Hop doubled down on their search. At noon, they took a break for lunch, which was sandwiches provided by Sonia, then resumed the search. At about one-thirty, Liam shouted, “We found it!” “Seriously?” Jonah called back. “Yes! Now get over here!” Liam yelled back. Jonah hopped down from the ladder he had been standing on while searching for books, then sprinted to the bookshelf where Liam and Olivia were lifting down an old, leather-bound book marked with runes that were unfamiliar to Jonah. Granted, he couldn’t read the old Galarian runes, but he could at least recognize their shapes. These runes were completely alien. “Oh good!” Sonia said. “Now the fun can really start!”

“All right, recruits! Let’s get started!” Keagan said. “We’ll start with the bare-bone basics. First, calling out moves. If you only tell your Pokemon to attack, they’ll use whatever move they want, which is no good. Second, you have to tell your Pokemon how to use the move. If you call out for your Pokemon to attack in a specific spot, you can make better use of the attack. For example, if I tell my Raboot to kick, oh, I don’t know, your Rhyperior for instance, Mr. Porter, in the chest, not much will happen, since Rhyperior is so big and heavy. But, if I tell it to go for the head, I can disorient your Rhyperior and follow up with another attack. Third, countering. Sometimes, you can block your opponent’s attack with one of yours. If your opponent uses a move like Headbutt, hit them head-on with something like Metal Claw or Hammer Arm. Also, you can always try to open a fight with a ranged attack, then follow up with a closer one. Now that you know the basics, it’s time to get to work,” Keagan said. He then walked over to Jude and said, “So, let’s start with you. Go ahead and let Riolu out.” “Okay!” Jude replied. He tossed his Pokeball, letting out a beam of light that materialized into Riolu. “Alright. What’s its moveset?” Keagan asked. Jude replied, “It can use Quick Attack, Metal Claw, Rock Smash, and Counter.” Keagan thought for a moment, then said, “Okay, decent moves. Based on the fact that those are all close-up attacks, this is what you can do: to open the fight, use Quick Attack out of the gate, but make it so that Riolu can push off of the other Pokemon, then attack with either Metal Claw or Rock Smash until the other Pokemon faints. However, if, Arceus forbid, you have to fight one of those acolyte people, their Pokemon will be bigger and stronger, so I want you to do some endurance training. I want you to go to the punching bag we set up and have Riolu use Quick Attack and then follow up with as many other attacks in a row as you can,” Keagan instructed. “Sir yes sir! Let’s go, Riolu,” Jude replied.

Across the yard, Tanner had been tasked with training Jonah’s mom. “So, you’ve got Skwovet, right?” Tanner asked. “Yep,” she replied. “Alright. As Pokemon go, that’s a pretty weak one. However, it does have its advantages: sharp teeth and agility. Based on that, this will be your battle strategy: find a weak point in the opponent, then strike fast and hard,” Tanner added. What moves do you have?” he asked. “Bite, Tackle, Bullet Seed, and Hyper Voice,” Jonah’s mom replied. “Alright, that’s well-rounded. My recommendation is that you use Bullet Seed or Hyper Voice to stagger your opponent, then have Skwovet run in as fast as possible and use Bite on a weak point,” Tanner said. “On that note, let’s practice finding weak points,” he added. Tanner then released his Drednaw and asked, “Alright, how would you attack? Go ahead and give it a shot. You can’t hurt Drednaw.” “Okay, hmm,” Jonah’s mom said. “Okay, I’ve got it. Skwovet, use Bullet Seed!” Skwovet fired a volley of seeds, hitting Drednaw in the head. It didn’t seem to mind much, except for a low grumble, during which Jonah’s mom said, “Now use Bite on its neck!” Skwovet ran forward, jumped up, and gave Drednaw a forceful chomp on the neck. Drednaw bellowed and shook Skwovet off, but was unharmed. “Good job!” Tanner exclaimed. “That was perfect!” He added, to which Jonah’s mom replied by giving Skwovet a hug. “I want you guys to work on increasing bite force,” Tanner said. “Okay!” she replied.

Mackenzie had been given the task of training Jonah’s dad, who was already quite experienced. “So your team is Ground-types, right?” she asked. “You got that right,” he replied. “And they haven’t failed me yet,” he added. “Well, that’s great, but brute force won’t always cut it. I know you’re used to winning with one or two big swings, but they won’t work every time. Let’s see your team,” Mackenzie replied. Jonah’s dad threw three Pokeballs, releasing a Rhyperior, Seismitoad, and Lycanroc in Dusk Form. “A Lycanroc!” Mackenzie exclaimed. “How did you get it? They don’t live on the mainland, and Dusk Form is super rare.” “Well,” Jonah’s dad started. “When the kids were really little, I went fishing a lot. I never kept any of the Pokemon I caught; it was just for fun. Once, I went on a weekend-long trip to The Isle of Armor for a fishing tournament. While I was there, I found a Rockruff and caught it. I got lucky enough that it evolved at dusk, and it’s been with me ever since,” he finished. He ruffled Lycanroc’s mane, and it gave a wag of its tail. “Okay, as I was saying, striking with slow, brute-force hits won’t work all the time. If you land one big hit, these people’s Pokemon could probably take it, and then they’ll hit with several attacks right in a row. So, I think you guys should try to hit several lower-powered attacks in a row, instead of one big one,” Mackenzie said. “Alright, let’s give it a go. C’mon, guys!” Jonah’s dad said, beckoning for his Pokemon to follow him to a clear area of the yard.

Keagan, Tanner, and Mackenzie overlooked Jonah’s family as they trained in various ways. Keagan felt confident that, in due time, they would be able to defend themselves properly. “We did good, guys,” Keagan said. “Mm-hmm,” Mackenzie replied. “They’ve got potential, that’s for sure,” Tanner added. Just then, Keagan’s Rotom Phone flew up out of his pocket, displaying a face call from Jonah. “Wonder what he wants?” Keagan asked out loud. He clicked the green icon on the phone. Jonah’s face appeared front and center, with Liam, Olivia, a red-haired woman he realized, after a moment, must have been Professor Sonia, and a boy Keagan knew instantly as Hop, Leon’s brother. Keagan and Jonah were both very close followers of the events in the Pokemon League, and Keagan was especially a fan of Leon. He had seen Hop’s battle with Victor in the Champion Cup and was very surprised when Victor beat Leon. “We found it!” Jonah exclaimed. “Found what? A book?” Keagan asked. “Yeah! Get down here, fast! All of you!” Jonah replied. “Alright. Be there in a minute,” Keagan, replied, then hung up. “Change of plans, guys!” Keagan called out. “Jonah says to meet him at the professor’s lab.” They all got into Jonah’s mom’s SUV, then started the drive to the professor’s lab.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the professor’s lab. Keagan hopped out and took a look at his surroundings, searching for spots where enemies could come from and spots to use for cover. This was a by-product of the recent encounters with Aldrich and his acolytes. To his left, Keagan observed a sparkling blue lake with an island in the middle, which had a Drednaw walking around on it. There were several Arokuda and Barraskewda swimming around in the lake. There was a tattered old battle mat and a patch of tall grass to his right. The house was two stories tall, built out of white bricks, and had a purple roof. There was a large Pokeball above the door. Jonah threw the door open and said, “C’mon, get in here! We got stuff to do!” Keagan and the others went to the door and entered the house.

Keagan looked around, noting the many books and graphs on boards, then saw the large book sitting on a table. It looked very old and was marked with strange runes. Keagan walked over to the table, studying the book closer. Then, Jonah asked, “So, does anybody know how to read this thing?” “No,” Sonia replied. “But, Hop and I have software for deciphering old runes. You know, the runes of Galar have changed over the ages, and we have books from different time periods. Thus, a software program,” she finished. “However, it’s set up for Galarian runes, not whatever these are,” Hop added. “We’ll need someone to tweak it,” he said. “We can do it,” Tanner said, motioning to Liam. Tanner and Liam were both very technologically skilled, and thus, suited for the task. “You sure, mate?” Hop asked. “Trust me,” Tanner replied. “All right, have at it,” Sonia said. “We’re gonna need whatever laptop the thing is hooked up to,” Liam said. From a bag on a chair, Sonia produced a laptop and handed it to Liam. Tanner and Liam then went to sit near one of the boards off to the side, plugged in a cable from the laptop to the board, then started working. Figuring it would be best to leave them alone, the others went to sit around a table and talk. Most was small talk and humor, but something serious occurred to Jonah.

“Guys?” Jonah asked. “What’s up?” Keagan replied. “So, I’ve been thinking, and I realized something: those guys outnumber us. Like, by a lot,” said Jonah. “So? Didn’t we know this already?” Keagan asked. “Yeah, but we need to do something about it. So, I propose we try to get the help of the Gym Leaders,” Jonah finished. “Bloody brilliant idea, mate! But how’re we going to do it?” Hop asked. “I dunno, but we gotta figure it out. But, Hop, I thought maybe you could get some people from the Gym Challenge, like Victor, Marnie, and maybe even Leon,” Jonah added. “I’ll give it a go, but how are a couple more people going to help? That king has a ton of those acolyte people,” Hop replied. “Because those aren’t the only people we’re gonna recruit. We’ll get every Gym leader, I’ll track down old Steel Peony and Master Mustard, not to mention everybody else in Galar that can battle,” Jonah stated. “Well, guess we better get started!” Sonia replied. “Right. I’ll get an estimate from Tanner and Liam for how long it’ll take to translate the runes, then the work begins,” Jonah said. “Did the work ever stop?” Keagan asked humorously. “No, I guess not. You get the idea,” Jonah replied, then walked to Liam and Tanner to begin the next list of tasks set before him.

-Chapter 7-


Jonah observed computer code that he couldn’t read on the laptop screen. Tanner and Liam seemed to be modifying it somehow. “Hey, guys! How’s it going? Also, what are you doing?” Jonah asked. “Prepare for a long explanation,” Liam warned. “So, we’re rewriting the code so that the software program can process these runes instead of the old Galarian ones. There are actually a lot of programs that do this kind of thing for basically every ancient language in all regions. However, none of these programs have this language on document. But all letters in every language are derived from one source: the Unown. Every rune in every language is only a modification of one of the Unown’s shapes. Therefore, we can take these runes, cross-reference them with others, use the differences in them that make them mean their own thing and get a rough translation of what these runes mean. To answer your question about how long, we have about fifteen percent of these runes translated, so probably about three more days,” Tanner explained.

“Alright, that’ll work,” Jonah said. He then proceeded to explain his plan to Tanner and Liam, and told them that they could keep working while he and the others did what needed to be done and that once they had the runes translated, they could get to work. Jonah reported their progress to the others, then told the others he thought that they should pick a respected Gym Leader to convince first. Instantly, Keagan suggested, “I say we pick Kabu.” “You just want him because he’s Fire-type!” Mackenzie shot back. “No, he’s right,” Sonia said. “Kabu is the oldest Gym Leader since Opal retired, and I think some of the others would listen if he joined,” she added. “Right. We’ll go to Kabu tomorrow, but I need you and Hop to stay here, Sonia. Hop can protect this place along with Tanner and Liam, and Sonia should stay for research purposes,” Jonah said. They all agreed that would be a good plan, then Keagan, Jonah, and their friends went home for the night, awaiting the mission that lay ahead of them.

The next day, everyone informed their parents of the plan and got dropped off outside of Motostoke. After a few minutes taken to hammer out the details, they made their way inside the city. The main plaza was bustling with people, and massive gears rotated all around them. Everyone took a moment to observe their surroundings, then Jonah said, “C’mon, let’s move.” They began to walk towards yet another giant gear, which rotated to move a platform to the sidewalk in front of the Gym up above. They all boarded the platform and a gate swung shut behind them. “I’m about to meet Kabu!” Keagan exclaimed. “Chill out, dude. We’re here for important stuff, not a field trip,” Jonah replied. The platform reached the top and stopped to let its passengers off. They started to walk toward the Gym when Keagan put an arm across Jonah’s chest and nodded toward the sidewalk. What he saw shocked him: Aaron and Will striding down the sidewalk.

At that moment, the two pairs made eye contact. Aaron and Will started walking toward Keagan and Jonah, to which Jonah responded, “We don’t have time for your crap right now, Aaron.” Aaron gave a snicker and said, “I’m not here for that. I’m here for a rematch.” Keagan gave a loud laugh and said, “You guys? Against us? Ha! We would destroy you! Besides, we don’t have time to waste on idiots like you.” “What’d you call me, beanstalk?” Aaron retorted, grabbing Keagan’s shirt collar. Beanstalk was an appropriate insult, as Keagan was five feet and eleven inches tall, but also very skinny. “Make one more move, and you’ll regret it,” Keagan growled. “Oh, I get it. You’re afraid,” Aaron sneered. At this point, Keagan grabbed Aaron’s hand with a strong grip, moved it away from his collar, and shoved him aside. Will gave a growl and ran at Keagan, his hand pulled back into a fist. Jonah retaliated by sprinting towards Will, grabbing his hand and pushing it aside, and shoving Will backward. “HEY, MEATHEADS! LISTEN UP!” Jonah boomed. Aaron, Will, and Keagan turned to look at him. “Listen, Aaron. This is gonna sound nuts, but we’re here to recruit Kabu to help fight a psychopath named Aldrich who has an army of acolytes who want to summon ancient Pokemon to destroy the world. If you let us through of your own accord, everything will be fine. If not, Liam can put you on ice,” Jonah finished. “That’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard! But, we gotta get going. I don’t want whatever mental disorder you guys have,” Aaron responded. He and Will walked down the sidewalk, away from the others.

“Alright, now we can do what we came here to do,” Keagan said. They then walked towards the door of the Gym, only to be stopped by two League Staff members. “Hold on there. You guys have endorsements?” The male one asked. “No, we’re here to see Kabu,” Jonah replied. “Sorry, kid. Kabu’s busy,” the man replied. “It’s really important! We have to see him!” Tanner exclaimed. “No way. Now get going before we call security,” the female staff member ordered. Jonah and Keagan both, by unspoken agreement, readied for a battle to force their way in. It was extreme, but they both knew they had to get in. Just then, the automatic door behind them slid open, revealing Kabu in his gym uniform. “Now, now,” Kabu said. “These trainers are welcome here anytime.” “Okay, sir,” the staff members said. Kabu motioned for them to come inside and into a room where they could talk in private. “Now, what do you kids need?” Kabu asked. Keagan appeared too stunned to talk, so Jonah told Kabu about what had happened since the tournament. He then said, “So, this is what we need: I want to build a force to combat Aldrich’s army, and I need all of the Gym Leaders in on it. We figured that some of them would listen to you, so we came here first.” Kabu appeared studios for a moment, then said, “I see. Your plan makes sense, and I have no doubt in your battle prowess after the events at the tournament.” “So you’ll help us?” Keagan asked. “Yes, I will,” Kabu replied. “Alright!” Jonah exclaimed.

After a brief celebration, Kabu said, “If what you say about this man is true, we need to move fast. I’m certain we can convince Milo and Nessa to join us. We’ll leave at once.” Kabu took the group to Motostoke Station, and from there they departed for Turrfield.

They arrived and found Milo tending to his Wooloo. After another explanation, Jonah said, “We need your help, Milo, if we hope to survive. Will you join us?” Milo responded, “Sure I will! I’d rather not see the Galar region destroyed, you know.” “Alright! Two down, six to go,” Keagan said. Although it was already six o’clock, the group headed for Hulbury, agreeing that they needed to recruit the first three Gym Leaders in one day

. After another train ride, they arrived at Hulbury. When they arrived at the Gym, Jonah asked, “Where’s Nessa? We need to see her.” The Gym Trainer replied, “Sorry, but Nessa already left. You might be able to catch her before she goes home, though.” A millisecond after the trainer finished talking, Jonah and Keagan ran for the door. They both searched around frantically until Keagan called out, “There she goes!” Jonah swiveled his head to see Nessa walking down the sidewalk. “Nessa!” he shouted. She stopped walking and turned around. “Nessa, we need your help!” Jonah said as he ran down the sidewalk. “My help? With what?” She asked. Once again, Jonah went into an explanation of recent events, then said, “Nessa, we need you. Kabu and Milo are already on board, but we need all of you. Will you help us?” Nessa closed her eyes and appeared to think for a moment, then answered, “Alright, I will.” Jonah and Keagan high-fived and Keagan said, “You know, this plan of yours might actually work.” “Hey, when have I ever steered you wrong?” Jonah replied. Then, Jonah, Keagan, and Nessa met up with the others, and they all said their goodbyes and went home. That night, Jonah and Keagan both went to bed feeling optimistic about their chances.


-Chapter 8-


The next day, everyone met up at the lab. Liam and Tanner went to continue their work, and the others discussed the plan for the day. “So, the next Gym Leaders in line are Bea and Allister,” Jonah said. The others nodded their heads. “Bea should be easy enough to find, but Allister is a whole other story,” Keagan said. They all knew that was true. Allister was famous for being very shy and reclusive. “We should split up,” Jonah suggested. “Hop, you and I will go find Allister. Keagan, you recruit Bea. Take Sonia with you,” Jonah said. “What should we do?” asked Mackenzie. “Stay here and hold down the fort,” Jonah replied. “No fair! Why do we ahev to stay?” Olivia asked. “Because we need strong trainers for an important job like this,” Keagan replied. Olivia seemed to accept this answer. With that, they each set out to find the Gym Leaders.

Keagan and Sonia decided they would look for Bea at the Stow-on-Side Gym. Then they realized that they had a problem: there was no train to Stow-on-Side. With quick thinking, Keagan said, “We’ll take my Arcanine.” He released his Arcanine and said, “We need your help, buddy. We’ve got to get to Stow-on-Side, fast. I need you to carry me and Sonia. Can you do it?” Arcanine seemed to nod its head yes, albeit in a strange way. “Alright, let’s rock,” Keagan said. He and Sonia mounted his Arcanine, who staggered slightly but maintained its balance. Riding Arcanine wasn’t new for Keagan, but Sonia said, “I hope I don’t fall off.” Keagan laughed and told Arcanine to go. Arcanine took off, covering twenty feet in a single stride.

About thirty minutes later, Keagan and Sonia arrived in Stow-on-Side. Many people were bustling around the street, and several more circulated the market. Keagan thanked his Arcanine for the help, then returned it to the Pokeball. They walked up the stairs leading to the Gym, then went inside. There were several people inside, including a uniformed Gym Trainer. Taking long, striding steps, Keagan walked toward the gym trainer, who asked, “Are you here for the Gym Challenge?” “No,” Keagan replied. “We need to see Bea.” “Sorry, but I can’t let you in,” the trainer replied, crossing his muscled arms. Keagan was once again preparing to force his way into the Gym, but Sonia said, “It’s alright, I can vouch for him.” “Professor Sonia!” the trainer exclaimed. “I’m sorry. Right this way,” he said. He swept his arm aside to allow them into a training room. What Keagan saw appalled him: Bea was sparring with her Machamp. They exchanged blows with each other until Bea noticed the pair standing in the doorway. She wiped the sweat from her brow and asked, “Can I help you?” Keagan went into yet another explanation of Aldrich and his plans, then told Bea about the plan to gather the Gym Leaders and citizens of Galar to fight back. “Will you join us? Please?” Keagan asked. Bea tightened the knot beneath the cut-off gym uniform she wore over her bodysuit, then replied, “Yes. For the good of the Galar region, I will join you.”

Jonah and Hop had debated on where to search for Allister until they decided it was time for lunch. They rode to a cafe in Motostoke, where, while eating, they overheard a man say, “Did you hear about the Galarian Star Tournament? It’s supposed to have a bunch of Gym Leaders battling each other.” Jonah and Hop both looked at each other, wide-eyed, then swallowed the food they had been chewing and ran to the table where the man sat. “You said there was a tournament, mate?” Hop asked. “Yes, why?” The man replied, appearing confused. “Where is it?” Jonah replied. “It’s in Wyndon. Starts at two o’clock,” the man answered. Seeing that it was already twenty minutes after one, Jonah ran to the counter and paid while Hop grabbed their backpacks. They knew finding Allister there would be far easier than searching elsewhere. The boys ran out the door toward a Flying Taxi that had landed nearby. Hop threw Jonah his bag, and Jonah called, “Hey! We need a ride to Wyndon! As fast as you can!” “Alright. You boys look like you’re in a hurry, so let’s go!” the man standing next to the taxi replied. The Corviknight perched on top of the taxi gave a cawing sound. Jonah and Hop threw their bags in the taxi and shut the door. The man climbed onto the Corviknight and they took off.

After they had been flying for about ten minutes, Jonah looked out the window. He could see the entire expanse of Galar below him, save for The Crown Tundra and The Isle of Armor. “Nice up here, isn’t it?” Hop asked. “Yeah,” Jonah replied. He had flown a few times with his Noivern, but never this high up. After a few more minutes in the air, the driver put them down outside the stadium. “Thanks for the ride!” Jonah shouted as he ran up the stairs to Wyndon Stadium. This was a sight he had dreamed about. He had always wanted to battle here. Although it wasn’t a match against Leon, Jonah knew what he was about to do was just as important. He and Hop ran inside the stadium, only to once again be stopped by League Staff members. “Sorry, but admission for the tournament is closed,” said the man. “We’re not here for that. We need to see the Gym Leaders,” Jonah said. “No way. They’re busy,” the female one replied. “It’s really important!” Hop cried. Just then, a set of doors off to the side swung open, and Leon strode through them, saying, “Alright, everything’s in order. Let’s get started!” Just then, he swiveled toward where Jonah and Hop were standing, his heavy, furred, logo-covered cape swinging behind him. “Hop!” Leon exclaimed. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “It’s a long story, but we need to see the Gym Leaders. It’s rather important,” Jonah interjected. “Some weirdo king wants to summon a monster Pokemon,” Hop added. Leon scratched his chin, then said, “Alright, I suppose we can wait. Let’s hear it.” “Just let me make a call first,” Jonah said.

Keagan, Sonia, and Bea had decided to go for lunch and were eating at Motostoke Station. Just then, Keagan’s phone rang, releasing a rock rhythm. He pulled it from his pocket and answered the call from Jonah. “Whadda ya need?” Keagan asked. “Did you guys find Bea?” Jonah asked. “Yeah. We’re eating lunch right now,” Keagan replied. “Good. Turns out, there’s a big tournament in Wyndon, and a bunch of the Gym Leaders are here. I need you and the others to get here fast. I’ll call Tanner and tell him, but he and Liam will have to stay at the lab. We gotta translate that book,” Jonah said. “Alright, we’ll be there,” Keagan said, then hung up. “Change of plans. We’re going to Wyndon,” he announced.

About twenty minutes later, Keagan, Sonia, and Bea arrived at Wyndon Stadium. The group walked up the stairs, Keagan observing the high, red, curving arches above him. The automatic doors swung open, revealing a female League Staff member who said, “You must be the ones Jonah called for. Right this way.” She led them to the locker room, where every Gym Leader that they hadn’t already recruited sat. Also gathered was a man startlingly similar to Rose, who Keagan then recognized as the retired Gym Leader known as Steel Peony. There was an old man with eyebrows that hung down talking to Leon. Keagan knew the history of the League, and he recognized the man as Mustard, the Champion before Leon. Standing in the corner, alone, was Spikemuth’s former Gym Leader, Piers. Keagan had always wanted to go to one of his concerts. Opal, Ballonlea’s former Gym Leader, stood talking to her apprentice, Bede. Two Minor Division Gym Leaders, Klara and Avery, had shown up as well. Keagan saw Jonah and Hop as well, talking with the gathered Gym Leaders. Then, Keagan observed the new Champion, Victor, standing in the middle of the crowd. His outfit wasn’t as extravagant as Leon’s; it included a gray knit hat, red polo shirt with the sleeves cuffed, jeans with a few rips in them, brown leather loafers, and a worn leather rucksack. Although he was no older than Jonah or Keagan, he stood with an air of confidence about him. Keagan walked over to Jonah, waiting for the discussion to begin. “Alright, let’s get started,” Leon said.

-Chapter 9-


Jonah and Keagan stood before the group and once again recounted their story. After several minutes of explanation, Jonah once again asked, “Will you join us? All of you? We’re severely outnumbered, and we probably still will be, but if we have trainers as strong as you, we’ll win. Whadda you say?” The gathered trainers all considered the request in silence, until Victor said, “I’m with him! Who else?” A cheer went up from the other trainers, and Jonah’s face split with a massive grin. He looked over and saw that Keagan appeared much the same. Even Piers had joined in the cheering. After a few more moments of celebration, Jonah shouted over the cheers, “Alright, we gotta move fast. We’ll need a base camp. I say we set up in Hammerlocke. It’s the most heavily fortified city, and from the tower, we can see for miles around. What do you think, Raihan?” “Fine by me,” he replied. Raihan was rather obsessed with social media, but Keagan and Jonah both knew he would make a good ally. “Okay. We need to move there at once. Leon, I’ve got a job for you,” Jonah said. “Okay, what?” Leon asked. “The people like you, and we’re not gonna win with just us,” Jonah said, gesturing at the gathered trainers. Although they were the best in Galar, there were only twenty-six of them, meaning they were badly outnumbered. Jonah knew that there would be many more trainers willing to join them and that Leon could convince almost any that were in the audience to do so. “So, I want you to go out there and try to convince anyone you can to join us. Bring anyone that does to Hammerlocke,” Jonah finished. “Will do,” Leon said, walking out the door to the field. “As for the rest of us, we’re going to Hammerlocke,” Keagan announced, taking the words from Jonah’s mouth. The other trainers agreed, and they took a train from Wyndon Station to Hammerlocke.

While on the train, Jonah received a call from Tanner, informing him that they had translated the runes. Jonah replied, “That’s great! Write it down or something and get to Hammerlocke.” “Okay, we’ll be there,” Tanner replied. After the phone call, Jonah and Keagan agreed they should introduce themselves to the other trainers. They went first to Bea, who said, “You must be Jonah. Pleased to meet you.” She extended a hand, which Jonah shook. She had a surprisingly strong grip, which Jonah concluded was a result of her training. “Thanks for joining the team,” Jonah replied. They then went to find Allister, who was in a seat alone. He didn’t acknowledge Keagan or Jonah, so Jonah said, “Hi. I’m Jonah. Thanks for joining us.” “H-Hi,” Allister said. “I-I’m Allister.” He offered no handshake, but Jonah took the fact that he had gotten Allister to talk at all as an accomplishment. “See you later,” Jonah said as he walked off. The next trainers they met were Ballonlea’s Gym Leader, Bede, and his mentor and former Gym Leader, Opal. “Hi. Name’s Keagan,” Keagan said, extending a hand to Bede. “I’m Bede. Nice to meet you,” he replied. Jonah introduced himself to Opal, saying, “Hi, Miss Opal. Thanks for joining us.” She gave him a two-handed handshake and said, “Oh, it’s my pleasure. It’ll be fun.” They said their goodbyes and then went to Melony, an Ice-type Gym Leader. Like Bea and Allister, Melony alternated with her son Gordie running the Circhester Gym.

“Hi, Melony,” Jonah and Keagan both said. “Hello, boys!” Melony replied. “Thanks for helping us out,” Keagan said. “No problem,” she said. “See you around,” Jonah said on his way to Gordie. “Hi, Gord–” Jonah started. “You want an autograph, right?” Gordie interrupted. Before Jonah could respond, Gordie produced from his jacket one of his own League Cards, signed it, and handed it to Jonah. “Umm, no, actually. I just wanted to say hi,” Jonah said. “Oh,” Gordie replied. “Well, in that case, I’m Gordie. Put ‘er there!” Gordie extended his hand which Jonah shook. “By the way, you can keep the card,” Gordie said. Jonah said thanks and walked with Keagan to where Marnie and her brother Piers were sitting.

Keagan immediately said, “Hi, Piers! I’m Keagan. I love your music.” Piers gave a small smile and replied, “Alright! Nice to meet a fan.” He extended his hand, which Keagan shook, and the two started talking. Seeing that he wouldn’t get a chance to talk to Piers, Jonah said, “Hi there, Marnie. Name’s Jonah.” He extended his hand. Marnie shook it and said, “I know who you are. I watched you lot in the tournament. It’ll be good to battle alongside you.” After a few more minutes of conversation, Keagan and Jonah went to the next trainer in line, Raihan, who they found on his Rotom Phone. However, when Jonah and Keagan neared him, he looked up and said, “Good, you’re here! I’ve been waiting to meet you two.” He took Jonah’s half-extended hand and pulled it up to shake it. He was stronger than Jonah had anticipated, but he then realized he should’ve expected as much from someone known as ‘The tamer of dragons.’ “Good to meet you too, Raihan,” Jonah replied. “I’d love to stick around, but we’re almost at Hammerlocke, and we still have people to meet,” Keagan said. They said goodbye and went next to the Minor Division Gym Leaders, Klara and Avery.

Klara giggled and said, “Hi! I’m Klara! Nice to meet ya!” She shook both Keagan and Jonah’s hands. Avery waited until Klara was done, then said, “Greetings, gentlemen. I am Avery. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Keagan and Jonah shook hands with him and went to greet Peony. “Hi, Peony,” Keagan said. “Salutations, mates!” Peony replied. He gave them each a firm handshake and said, “Looking forward to battling with you guys.” They went next to Mustard. “Hello, Master Mustard,” Keagan said. “Hello, my boy!” Mustard replied. “You know, I’m interested in seeing how you battle. Fire-types are rather explosive, you know,” he added. “Don’t I know it,” Keagan chuckled. They said goodbye and went to the last trainer to meet, Victor. “Hi, Victor,” they said nervously. “There’s no need for that. Forget that I’m the Champion. Just think of me as someone who wants to help,” Victor replied. With that, Victor broke the tension, and they talked for the next few minutes until the train stopped. “Time to go to work,” Victor said as he stepped off.

After a speech from Raihan, the citizens of Hammerlocke seemed fine with the use of their city as a base camp, and a large number of people joined them. Optimism growing, Keagan went on a tour with Raihan while Jonah stayed back to organize the citizens, including the ones that came on another train with Leon. After a tour that included several points on the wall of the city, Raihan said, “So, tell me about yourself.” “Well,” Keagan began, “I’m fifteen years old, my best friend is Jonah, and I like Fire Pokemon and rock music,” he finished. “Huh. Now that I think about it, you look like a Fire-type trainer. Should be fun to battle with you,” Raihan replied. “Same,” Keagan said. They then went into a talk about battle strategy, which lasted for a while.

While Keagan was on his tour, Tanner, Liam, Mackenzie, and Olivia arrived. Jonah said hello and then went about organizing the troops. Although they were just citizens, Jonah now thought of them as troops. His troops. He tried to find a high spot to stand but saw none, so he released his Noivern. He ruffled the mane on its neck and said, “Hey, buddy. I need some help. Can I get on?” Jonah made sure to make clear that he wasn’t in danger, because Noivern as a species were known for their violent temper, and Jonah knew that Noivern wouldn’t hesitate to attack the people in the crowd if it perceived them as a threat. Noivern gave a low grumble and Jonah got on its back. “Just get up off the ground a bit,” Jonah said. With two flaps of its large, leathery wings, Noivern took to the air. From his vantage point, Jonah could see the whole crowd and estimated they had about four hundred people gathered. A start, but minuscule compared to how big Jonah predicted Aldrich’s army would be. When no one seemed to notice him, Jonah said, “Noivern, get their attention for me, would ya?” Noivern gave a screech that split the air and caused the gathered people to look up.

“Alright, listen up! It’s time to get organized. I want anyone with Pokemon that can fly over there, people that have big, strong, slow Pokemon over there, and anybody with fast Pokemon over there. If you don’t fit any of those categories, go over there,” Jonah yelled. The group was divided into four sections, the biggest of which was the group that didn’t fit the other categories. Jonah flew Noivern down to his friends and said, “Start sorting out the other groups. I’ll get the flyers.” He flew over to the gathered trainers that had flying Pokemon and landed Noivern. “Okay, everybody let out your Pokemon,” he said. Most were what Jonah expected to see: Unfeazant, Corviknight, Braviary, bug Pokemon like Vikavolt and Butterfree, more unusual Pokemon like Drifblim, and Swoobat, but there was one man with a Pokemon that surprised him: an Aerodactyl. He was surprised because Aerodactyl wasn’t native to Galar, except for in The Crown Tundra. He decided to go to this man first. “You there!” Jonah called. “Where’d you get the Aerodactyl?” The man was in good shape and wore a leather vest and boots. He wore a red and white baseball cap over short blonde hair. Jonah also observed a Key Stone set into his belt. He saw that his Aerodactyl wore a piece of armor around its neck with a Mega Stone in it. “Well, I’m from Kanto, and I found a fossil one day. I took it to be restored, and Aerodactyl has been with me ever since,” the man replied. “Neat. You got a name?” Jonah asked. “I’m Kodai,” the man replied. “Okay, Kodai, I got a question for you. Can you battle well?” “You can bet on it,” Kodai said. “Okay, then I’m putting you in charge of these guys. Get them sorted out and tell me when you’re done,” Jonah replied. He then walked with Noivern to where Mackenzie and Olivia were standing with the group that didn’t fit with the others.

“Hi,” Jonah said. “Hello,” Mackenzie said back. “What’ve we got?” Jonah asked. “Mostly just average Pokemon, but there’s a lady with a Milotic and a guy with a Gyarados that look promising,” Mackenzie answered. “Let’s go meet ‘em,” Jonah said. They walked through the crowd until they found the two trainers standing next to each other. They looked very similar: they both had striking blue eyes, heavily tanned skin, dark brown hair, and wore a gold necklace. The man had a stone set in his which Jonah recognized as a Key Stone, and the woman had a rainbow scale on hers, which Jonah gathered was a scale from her Milotic, which sat coiled behind her. The man’s Gyarados was in the same position but seemed more alert than the Milotic. It also had a piece of armor on its head with a Mega Stone in it. The woman wore a yellow crop top and black leggings, with her hair in a ponytail. Her shoes were a pair of white high-tops. The man was wearing a black t-shirt with a dark blue combat vest over it and a pair of cargo pants. His hair was wild and unkempt. He also wore a pair of black sneakers. “Hello there!” Jonah called. He walked closer and noticed the scars that marked the man’s arms. Some were straight, some were ragged. “My friend says you two look promising. What are your names?” Jonah asked. “My name is Kireina,” the woman said. “And I’m Ikari,” the man added. “Cool names. Where are you from?” Mackenzie asked. “Hoenn,” they replied in unison. “Hoenn! I’ve always wanted to visit there. Also, are you guys related?” Jonah asked. “We’re twins,” Kireina replied. “Oh. That makes sense. Anyway, since this group is so big, I want you guys to lead them. Can you do it?” Jonah said. “You got it,” Ikari replied. “Great!” Jonah said.

By the time he reached the group of slower bulkier Pokemon, Keagan had returned, and he came to the group of armored Pokemon where Tanner was. Jonah observed what he had predicted: Pokemon like Avalugg, Steelix, and Gigalith. Mostly Rock or Ground-type Pokemon. After he filled Keagan in and Keagan told Jonah about his tour and the points of interest, Jonah asked Tanner, “Anything notable?” “Well, there’s a guy with an Aggron, and the Aggron has a Mega Stone,” Tanner replied. “Let’s see it,” Jonah said. The man was tall and broad-shouldered, had shaggy light brown hair, and wore a metal bracelet with a Key Stone set into it. His outfit included a pair of jeans and a white long-sleeved t-shirt, which had several grease smudges on it. He wore work boots. His Aggron stood next to him, wearing a chain necklace with a Mega Stone on the front link. “Hi! I”m Jonah.” “Name’s Tetsu,” the man replied. He held out a rough hand, which Jonah shook. From his appearance, Jonah gathered that he was a mechanic. “You look like a pretty capable trainer, so I want you to be in charge of this group. Whadda you say?” Jonah said. “You can count on me,” Tetsu said. “One more thing: where are you from?” Keagan asked. “Kalos,” he replied. With that, the friends departed from the group.

The final group to check on was the fast Pokemon. Liam had gone there to start evaluating the trainers. “Whadda we got?” Asked Keagan when they arrived. “A guy out there has a Jolteon, and it’s been bouncing up and down the whole time. It looks pretty fast,” Liam replied. “Let’s go meet him, then,” Keagan said. The man was wearing a pair of shorts, running shoes, and an athletic t-shirt. “Hi! My friend here thinks your Jolteon looks pretty fast. True?” Jonah asked. “Fast is an understatement,” the man replied. “Name’s Hayai. What’s yours?” “I'm Jonah, this is Liam, that’s Tanner, and he’s Keagan,” Jonah said. They shook hands, and then Keagan said, “So, anyway, we want you to lead this group of trainers. Can we count on you?” “Sure can,” Hayai replied. The friends then departed to oversee the organization of the troops.

After about ten minutes, the group leaders had organized their troops. Jonah, Keagan, and their friends had found a spot where they could sit by themselves. “So, we’re in charge of an army now?” Keagan asked. “Sure looks that way,” Jonah replied. “Hey, at least we got ‘em organized,” Keagan added. That was true. Within those ten minutes, Pokemon that could use powerful ranged attacks had been stationed on top of the walls, the slower, armored Pokemon had been organized so that there was one per group of fourteen other Pokemon. With this system, they had twenty-six groups of fifteen and one group of ten. The group of ten consisted of some of the more capable trainers. The Gym Leaders would battle alone or with their Gym Trainers. Leon would fight alone, as would Peony, Klara, and Avery. Opal would fight with Bede, and Marnie and Piers would do the same. Hop and Victor would fight alongside each other since they were friends. Mustard would lead his students from the Master Dojo, who he said would arrive by the end of the day. Sonia had elected to stay away from the battle since her only Pokemon was Yamper. Jonah, Keagan, and their friends would function as their own unit, as they knew how one another battled and could help each other when needed. The friends were talking about unrelated matters when several rocks buried themselves in the ground.

Everyone looked up and saw one of the acolytes mounted on a Yanmega. “Surrender now or be destroyed! This is your only warning,” the man said. “Destroy us?” Someone yelled from the ranks. “You and what army?” They asked. “See for yourself,” the man replied. Jonah, Keagan, and the others climbed on top of the wall and saw ranks of acolytes laid out before them. By Jonah’s quick estimate, there appeared to be two hundred and fifty of them. The acolytes were outnumbered, but everyone knew these were serious opponents. “Whadda we do?” Jonah said. “Anybody else think it’s a little dark?” Keagan asked. It was getting dark; it was about half-past four o’clock. “Well yeah, but what’s your point?” Tanner replied, looking baffled at Keagan’s comment. “Then I guess we better turn on a light,” Keagan said with a smirk. He then released his Turtonator and said, “Turtonator, use Flamethrower! Burn the entire army down!” Turtonator inhaled deeply and gave such a ferocious Flamethrower attack that the others were forced to look away. After thirty seconds, Turtonator ceased its flames. What Jonah saw over the railing was incredible: Turtonator had ignited two hundred feet of the ground below with roaring flames. Many of the enemy soldiers’ Pokemon had already been burned. “You have chosen doom, then,” the man on the Yanmega replied.

-Chapter 10-


The man dismounted his Yanmega and prepared for battle. Jonah was going to engage him himself, but Kodai told his Aerodactyl to use Crunch. Aerodactyl took off from the ground at a staggering speed, gave Yanmega a furious chomp on the tail, which was made worse because of Aerodactyl’s saw-like teeth, and threw it into the ground. “Go!” Kodai shouted. “I’ll take care of him. You guys get the rest!” he added. Jonah nodded and returned his attention to his friends. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go tear it up!” Keagan said. The others nodded in agreement. Then came the matter of getting down. Hammerlocke’s wall was too high to jump, but opening the front gate would be too risky. The friends decided they would need help from their Pokemon. Jonah once again released his Noivern, Keagan his Arcanine, Tanner his Golisopod, Liam his Darmanitan, Mackenzie her Bewear, and Olivia her Hitmonlee. Jonah mounted his Noivern, interested to see how the others would get down. Keagan went first, and his Arcanine simply jumped over the wall. Next was Mackenzie, who was carried by Bewear. Bewear got down the wall with several jumps. Olivia followed after. This was the most intriguing, as Hitmonlee was considerably smaller than Olivia. Hitmonlee picked Olivia up, then, utilizing its springy legs, launched into the air and constricted its legs upon landing. Liam went next. He clambered onto his Darmanitan’s back, then it used the various handholds on the wall to reach the ground. Tanner went after. He sat atop the ridged shell on Golisopod’s back, then tightened his grip as Golisopod used the long claws on its arm to slide down the wall. Once everyone had cleared, Jonah took off with his Noivern and searched for a spot to enter the battle.

Keagan rode his Arcanine through the fray, looking for an opponent to engage. He saw one: a man standing with an Exploud. Keagan hopped down from his Arcanine, returned it, and released his Carkol. “Hey, you! Let’s go!” Keagan called. The man turned and prepared for battle. Keagan was just preparing to call out an attack when the man said, “Exploud, use Stomp!” Exploud launched into the air and brought its foot down on Carkol. It didn’t seem too affected by the attack, but Keagan was prepared to retaliate. “Okay then. Carkol, use Flamethrower!” he shouted. Carkol released a brilliant stream of fire from its mouth, burning Exploud. “Follow up with Ancient Power!” Keagan said. Carkol raised several rocks and launched them forward at Exploud. “Exploud, use Boomburst!” the man said. Exploud gave an ear-splitting yell and shattered the rocks in midair. Keagan gave a growl and said, “Block this! Use Flame Charge!” Carkol became enveloped in flames, then launched forward and impacted Exploud. Not wanting his opponent to have a chance to recover, Keagan said, “Carkol, use Flamethrower, one more time!” Carkol once again released a jet of flame at Exploud. This time, the opponents were ready, and Exploud’s trainer said, “Exploud, counter with Hyper Beam!” Exploud inhaled and fired an orange beam of energy at Carkol’s Flamethrower. “C’mon Carkol! Give it more power!” Keagan roared. However, Carkol’s flame grew smaller and smaller until it appeared Exploud would triumph. Then, Carkol became enveloped in a brilliant blue light. It grew taller and more humanoid until the light disappeared, revealing the towering stone behemoth, Coalossal! Keagan gave a startled gasp. After evolving, Coalossal's flame burned hotter and brighter until it overpowered the Hyper Beam attack from Exploud. The fire made contact and Exploud was knocked out. Keagan pumped his fist in the air, and Coalossal gave a bellow that sounded like falling rocks. “Now, whadda we do with you?” Keagan asked, motioning towards the enemy trainer. “Let me go?” the trainer suggested. “Not a chance,” said Liam, coming over on his Darmanitan. “Darmanitan, use Ice Beam,” Liam said. Darmanitan fired a beam of freezing blue energy at the trainer, freezing him in ice from his elbows to the ground. “That’ll do,” Keagan said.

Jonah flew high up with Noivern, looking for any opportunities in the battle. Just then, a beam of crackling purple energy flew by, missing Noivern by an inch. It gave a shrieking cry. “Whoa! It’s alright, Noivern. What the heck was that?” Then, a ball of swirling blue energy came, hitting Noivern on the wing. This caused Noivern to begin to spiral out of control. Jonah tightened his grip and waited for Noivern to right itself. When it did, Jonah said, “Alright, we gotta figure out what’s doing this. Look around, Noivern. See anything?” After a few seconds of observation, Noivern gave a squeak and motioned with its head toward the ground. Jonah looked down and saw a Clawitzer on a hill, acting as an artillery cannon. “That’s our target. Noivern, use Hurricane!” Jonah said. Noivern gave several mighty flaps of its wings and sent a spiraling column of wind down towards the Clawitzer, knocking it over. “Dive down there, Noivern,” Jonah said. Noivern tucked in its wings and dropped to the ground. Jonah dismounted and prepared for battle. The Clawaitzer and its trainer got to their feet. “You know, you almost knocked us out of the sky. Twice!” Jonah declared. “That was the plan,” the enemy trainer sneered. Not wanting to waste any more time talking, Jonah said, “Noivern, use Boomburst!” Noivern’s large ears glowed and it fired a blast of explosive, shrieking sound. Clawitzer was knocked back by the wave of sound. However, it recovered quickly, and its trainer said, “Clawittzer, use Crabhammer!” Clawitzer raised its massive right pincer and brought it down on Noivern. “Noivern!” Jonah called. He knew Noivern would be okay, but seeing it hurt angered him. Noivern’s eyes now reflected the aggressiveness the species was known for. “Okay, you guys aren’t messing around,” Jonah said. “Good. Noivern, use Dragon Pulse!” Noivern fired a beam of energy very similar to the one that had been fired at them before. Clawitzer wasn’t able to evade the attack, and it was knocked into the dirt. Capitalizing on his opportunity, Jonah said, “Noivern, let’s finish this. Use Hurricane!” Noivern once again flapped its wings to attack, this time to end the fight instead of beginning it. Clawitzer was tossed into the sky by the column of air, then landed in the dirt, unconscious. “Woo-hoo!” Jonah said. He ruffled the fur around Noivern’s neck. “What should we do with ‘em, Noivern?” Jonah asked. Just then, a ring of jagged rock appeared around the trainer, trapping him inside. Jonah looked around for the source of the rocks until he found Raihan standing next to his Flygon. “I’ve got your back, kid,” Raihan said. Jonah gave thanks and got back into the air. He searched first for his friends: he saw Keagan, and, startlingly, a Coalossal, standing near a trainer frozen in ice, Tanner and his Golisopod in a claw-to-claw battle with a female acolyte and her Zangoose, Liam with his Darmanitan pitted against a man with an Eelektross, all the while in a swirling snowstorm, Olivia and her Hitmonlee in a martial arts style battle with a Mienshao, and Mackenzie and Bewear in an all-out brawl against a Pangoro. The acolyte’s forces were dwindling, and it appeared that they would lose.

After another fifteen minutes of combat, the acolytes were subdued. Then came the task of restraining them. Various Ice, Rock, and Bug-type Pokemon milled about, restraining the combatants in their own way. Bug-types used Spider Web and String Shot to tie up the enemies, Ice-types created frozen prisons, and Rock-types used Stone Edge to make large holding areas. After making sure all the enemies were accounted for, the friends met up on Hammerlocke’s wall. “Everybody alright?” Jonah asked. “You bet,” Keagan replied, although he was covered in black smudges from his Coalossal. “Yeah,” Liam said, brushing snow from his hair. “Uh-huh,” Tanner replied. He appeared largely unscathed, thanks to his giant razor-clawed ally. “I’m fine,” Mackenzie said. Although her Bewear looked cute, the opposing Pangoro didn’t pose much of a challenge. “Me too,” Olivia added. Although she was generally shy and quiet, Olivia was actually a black belt, and she was able to instruct her Hitmonlee to attack much more skillfully than the enemy Mienshao. “How about you?” Keagan asked. “Yeah, I only just almost got shot outta the sky by a Clauncher, that’s all,” Jonah replied. “But,” Jonah added, “Noivern here is the best there is, aren’t ya?” He gave Noivern a scratch on the neck. “Let’s go check on those commander people,” Tanner suggested.

They went to find Kodai first since he had fought the man with the Yanmega. They found Kodai and his Aerodactyl standing next to the man, who had been tied up and had his Pokeballs taken. “Looks like he won,” Keagan said. “Is everyone in the flying division alright?” Jonah asked. “A couple of Pokemon need to be healed, but they’ll be fine,” Kodai replied. “Good. Make sure this guy doesn’t get away,” Jonah said. With that, the group left to find Hayai. “Everything go okay?” Liam asked. “They couldn’t touch us, could they Jolteon?” Hayai said. Jolteon gave a yip and nuzzled Hayai. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Liam replied. The next trainer to find was Tetsu, the leader of the armored Pokemon. In addition to the grease marks, his shirt now had a few holes in it from the fighting. “How did the armored Pokemon do?” Tanner asked. “We’re fine. The formation you guys came up with worked well,” Tetsu replied. “Good,” Tanner said. The final group to check up on was the largest. The friends searched through the crowd until they found the twins in charge of the division, Ikari and Kireina. “Hey, guys!” Keagan called. Ikari’s hair was now much more ruffled than before, a stark contrast to his sister, who seemed unaffected by the battle. “I take it you guys did alright,” Keagan said. “We sure did,” Ikari replied. “That’s only the half of it,” Kireina said. “I think my brother and his Gyarados did more damage to the battlefield than the enemy Pokemon,” she added. “C’mon, now. Gyarados always gets a bad rap,” Ikari said.

The friends left to go talk with the Gym Leaders, Champion, and others from the train. They had concluded that they could serve as commanders in their army. Victor was the first to greet them, saying, “Looks like you guys know what you’re doing.” The group talked for a while, then Leon asked an important question. “What are we going to do with the prisoners?” he said. “That,” Jonah began, “is an excellent question,” he finished. “Well, we can’t guard them all,” Raihan said. “And we can’t let ‘em go, either,” Piers added. “What about the International Police?” Liam said. “The what now?” Keagan exclaimed. “It’s this group of people who track down evil teams, like Team Rocket,” Liam explained. “That’ll do,” Victor said. “Leon, you have the most pull around here. Think you can get them on the phone?” Jonah asked. “I’ll give it a go,” Leon said. While Leon made the call, the others talked about the battle. Keagan went to talk with Kabu since they both favored Fire types.

“Kabu? Can I ask you a question?” Keagan asked. “Go ahead, youngster,” Kabu replied. “Well, I was thinking that at some point, I might have to battle with my friends nearby. How can I make sure I don’t burn everything down?” Keagan asked. “Excellent question. If you only think of fire as a weapon of mass destruction, that’s all you’ll ever be able to use it as. Change your mindset, change your moves,” Kabu answered. “Wow,” Keagan said. “I never thought of it like that. I usually just call out whatever move is the strongest.” Kabu chuckled and said, “If you’ve been a Gym Leader as long as I have, you pick up a thing or two. Experiment with every possibility of your Pokemon, that’s what I like to say. You’ve got a lot of raw power, kid. Channel it, and you’ll burn like the sun.”

After everyone was accounted for and taken care of, all the commanders returned to their command center inside Hammerlocke’s Gym. They selected it because it was the most fortified and had the best angles of attack. They gathered around an ancient Galarian table sourced by Raihan to discuss their next move. Leon was the first to speak. “So, we won today. Now what?” “We need scouting parties,” Jonah suggested. “Good idea,” Tanner said. “Is everyone on board with that?” Leon said. Everyone agreed. “We need to find some stealthy Pokemon for this one,” Keagan said. “That’ll be easy enough,” Jonah said. “What we need are scout teams,” he added. That statement prompted much thinking. About five minutes later, Tanner said, “I got it! We’ll scout the enemy and then attack them. Jonah, you, me, and Olivia will operate our own stealth scout squads to scope out any enemies we can find. Then, once we report them, squads led by Keagan, Mackenzie, and Liam will launch surprise attacks to wipe out their camps. Sound good to you guys?” “Brilliant plan mate!” Hop said. With that, they set out to assemble their teams.

Jonah set out to assemble his team. He consulted with the leaders of each division to get the stealthiest Pokemon he could find. He recruited four trainers, and among them were a Noctowl, a Shiftry, a Thievul, and a Dragapult. Jonah elected to fly with his Noivern because of its superb awareness while in the dark. He only had one more recruit to find: his little brother, Jude. Although his only Pokemon was Riolu, Jonah knew he would be useful because he and his Riolu would be able to sneak inside the camp and survey the interior. He walked to the area where Jude was training and called him over. “What?” Jude asked. “We’re going on a scouting mission, and I need your help, little brother,” Jonah said. “Actually, I only need Riolu, but…,” he added, joking. “Hey!” Jude cried. But he was on board. Jonah told him to go prepare.

Olivia’s party was the first to leave since they had the most distance to cover. They had to go all the way from Hammerlocke to the mountains near Postwick. In her recruiting process, Olivia searched for stealthy Pokemon. She also recruited five other trainers with Pokemon including an Ekans, a Gengar, a Liepard, a Honchkrow, and an Unfeazant. Once she had her recruits, they departed from Hammerlocke.

Tanner’s crew had already arrived. They were sent to sweep the Wild Area outside of Hammerlocke. They had decided to split into teams of two to cover more ground. Tanner and his Toxicroak went with a man and his Greninja. They walked for about ten minutes before they found a camp. Tanner halted the man so they could observe. There were ten acolytes and several crates of supplies. Tanner called Liam. “Hey,” Liam answered. “We found a camp. Dusty Bowl, in the Wild Area outside Hammerlocke. Bring your strike team,” Tanner replied. He then rounded up his other troops and started back for Hammerlocke.

Jonah and his team arrived at Route 10 around six o’clock. Jonah flew over the camp with Noivern to check for hostiles, of which there were fifteen. He flew back with his team and started to give orders. “Alright, listen up. You, take your Noctowl and do a flyover. You with the Thievul and you with the Shiftry, you’re with me to cause a distraction. No one sees us, got it? And you with the Dragapult, take my brother and drop him off by that tent. He gets hurt and I’ll have your hide. Now move!” The man with the Noctowl went up in the air for his flyover. That was stage one. When they got the signal, Jonah and his two trainers went to make a distraction. “Hey you, with the Shifty,” Jonah said. “My name’s Lucille, but what do you want?” she asked. “Okay, Lucille, I need your Shiftry to stir up the snow and make me a storm,” Jonah replied. After the snowstorm was made, Jonah said, “Okay, Thievul guy,” “It’s Rob,” the man said. “If you say so. My Noivern is going to run around over there. I need your Theivul to growl and use its tail to make its footprints look bigger. Go!” The man did as he was told. The growling aroused curiosity in the acolytes, so three of them came to investigate. Noivern performed the final step. “Noivern, give ‘em a scare,” Jonah said. From inside the snow flurry, Noivern spread its wings and gave an ear-splitting howl, and loosed a Dragon Pulse attack in the air. From inside the storm, Noivern looked even more intimidating than usual. This warranted the arrival of reinforcements from the camp, at which point Jonah signaled the man and his Dragapult to drop off Jude. Once at the tent, Jude and his Riolu slipped inside. Jude wrote down what he saw on a small notepad, then came back out. Jonah signaled Noivern again, and it gave such a shriek that the acolytes covered their ears and dropped to the ground. “Let’s get outta here!” Jonah yelled. The troops fell in and evacuated the camp. From the air, Jonah called Keagan and gave him the location of the camp. He was put in charge of a strike team nicknamed Inferno. “Light ‘em up,” Jonah told him. “I’ll scorch it all,” Keagan replied.

Olivia’s squad arrived at eight o’clock. They set out to explore the mountains in search of camps. They saw one about eighty yards away. They stopped and worked out a plan. The woman with an Ekans would go through the camp and observe while the man with a Gengar and the woman with a Liepard would try and steal some supplies. Unfeazant and Honchkrow would be lookouts from the air, and Olivia and her Vaporeon would cause an eruption of water from underground to occupy the acolytes. It was a good plan on paper, it just had to work for real.

Liam’s strike team, nicknamed Cryo, arrived at the Dusty Bowl camp only a few minutes after Tanner’s call. Liam went with his Snover, and his other team members had Pokemon including Glalie, Beartic, Avalugg, Mamoswine, and Glaceon. Liam’s orders to his team were simple. “Turn this place into a tundra,” he said. The man with the Beartic was the first to act. “Beartic, use Blizzard!” The Beartic gave a feral roar and launched its attack. The move blew over several tents and froze out the acolytes’ fire. The acolytes were startled, but they were quick to react. “Go, Scrafty!” one of them yelled, engaging the Beartic in battle. As the rest of his team moved in, Liam looked for a target. He found one: an acolyte and her Barbaracle. He knew the Barbaracle was bigger and stronger than Snover, but he also figured that Snover’s type advantage and the element of surprise might give it the edge. “Snover, use Razor Leaf!” Liam said. Snover fired razor-sharp leaves into Barbaracle, but it merely grunted and turned to face Snover. “Oh crap,” Liam said. “Barbaracle, use Skull Bash!” said the acolyte. Barbaracle tucked in its head and slammed head-on into Snover. Snover was sent sprawling into the dirt. “Snover!” Liam cried. Before Snover could recover, the acolyte said, “Barbaracle, use Fury Cutter!” Barbaracle moved to Snover and started delivering relentless cutting attacks. Liam could only watch in terror. After Barbaracle concluded its Fury Cutter attack, the acolyte said, “Finish it! Use Slash!” Barbaracle raised its claw high over its head like an executioner’s axe. It held it there for a moment, then brought it down, fast and hard. “Snover, no!” Liam cried. Liam expected to hear a cry of pain from Snover, but instead, he heard the acolyte gasp.

He looked over to see Snover holding back Barbaracle’s claw. “Yeah! Push it back, Snover!” Liam yelled. Even with Liam’s encouragement, it looked like Snover would fail. Then, Snover was enveloped in brilliant blue light and seemed to grow much larger, until the form inside the blue light was standing up. When the light cleared, where Snover once was now stood the towering Ice Monster Abomasnow! Instead of pushing back, Abomasnow was now pushing Barbaracle down. It gave Barbaracle a look that seemed to say, Oh yeah, who’s big now? It certainly was big, with a three-foot height advantage over Barbaracle. “All right! Let’s give them what they asked for, Abomasnow. Use Wood Hammer!” Liam said. Although Liam’s Snover had never used Wood Hammer before, Liam possessed extensive knowledge of Ice-type Pokemon, and he knew that Abomasnow could learn Wood Hammer after evolving. His Abomasnow had learned it, and after Liam called out the move, a glowing green log appeared on Abomasnow’s arm, and it swung it with full force into Barbaracle’s head, like a boxer going for a knockout punch. A knockout is exactly what happened. With one hit, Abomasnow knocked Barbaracle to the ground, and there was no chance of it getting up. “Yeah!” Liam said, pumping his fist. He then turned his attention to the rest of the camp. All of the other team members were in battle, except for the man with an Avalugg, who was riding his Avalugg while it smashed through the camp like a battering ram. The mission, it seemed, was a successful one.

Olivia’s plan had worked, and Mackenzie had received the call to make her attack. She had been lying in wait for a while. They had decided to get there early because it was such a long journey. Her team, dubbed Frazzle, consisted of mostly Fairy-type Pokemon and wasn’t designed to flatten the camp, but rather to confuse and disorient the acolytes with Fairy-type magic to make their job easier. She had taken her Ponyta, and her other team members had among them a Shiinotic, a Clefable, a Gardevoir, a Sylveon, and a Ribombee. The team members moved in to begin their attack. When Mackenzie gave the signal, they launched various types of moves to dazzle and confuse the acolytes. Just after Ponyta had fired a Psybeam attack, one of the acolytes released a Kingler. “Kingler, get that little pest. Use Mud Shot!” she said. The attack hit Ponyta and staggered it sideways. “Now use Bubble Beam!” said the acolyte. Again, Ponyta was hit, and this time it was knocked into a ditch. Mackenzie was shocked. This wasn’t part of the plan. After giving an evil laugh, the acolyte said, “Now finish it with Crabhammer!” Kingler raised a glowing claw over its head and leaped toward Ponyta. However, because Kingler’s claw was so large, the attack went sideways toward Mackenzie. She braced for impact, but instead of being crushed, she heard a loud bang. Standing in front of her was the magnificent woodland fairy, Rapidash! It had blocked Kingler’s attack with its horn. “Nice! Now use Psycho Cut!” Mackenzie yelled. Rapidash’s horn glowed, and it sliced Kingler, knocking it back. “Good. Now use Fairy Wind!” However, instead of using Fairy Wind, Rapidash emitted a brilliant glow and knocked Kingler down. It had learned Dazzling Gleam! Not only had Kingler fallen, but it had also been knocked out. With that, Mackenzie turned her attention to the rest of the camp. Many dazed acolytes were shuffling around while the camp was being ransacked. The plan was working.

Keagan’s attack squad, known as Burnout, moved in shortly after Keagan received the call from Jonah. As the name suggests, the objective of Keagan’s team was to burn the entire camp to nothing. Keagan went with Turtonator for this mission, since it was pretty much a walking tank that shot fire. When they were about fifty yards from the camp, Keagan gave his team, which had among them a Magmortar, a Flareon, a Ninetales, a Talonflame, and a Camerupt, simple and direct orders. “Burn. It. To. The. Ground.” He told them. Keagan stood up and released his Turtonator, preparing to attack. He found a target: the tents. He knew they would burn easily. “Turtonator, use Flamethrower!” Turtonator roared an erupting volcano and shot a searing blast of flame toward the tents. It aimed at one first, then kept its stream of fire going until every last one was burning. “Heck yeah! Let’s get ‘em, Turtonator!” Keagan yelled. They bounded down over the hill and searched for another target. Before they could find something else to attack, an acolyte stepped from the fray and pointed at Keagan. “You will be punished for your insolence, child!” she spat. “Oh yeah?” Keagan hollered back. “Try and stop us,” spreading his arms wide. It was a very good display of power because behind Keagan were the burning tents, creating a raging inferno. The acolyte reached for her belt, removed a Pokeball, and threw it, releasing a Primeape. It immediately gave a howling cry and flew into a rage.

“Primeape, use Cross Chop!” The acolyte said. Primeape leaped fifteen feet into the air with an impressive show of agility, crossed its arms, and came down on Turtonator. Keagan didn’t have time to react, so his Turtonator took the blow. However, Turtonator was pretty much a walking tank, so it didn’t take much damage. It also shoots fire, which is where Keagan went next. “Use Flamethrower!” Keagan said. Primeape tried to avoid the attack at its trainer’s order, but it failed and was engulfed in the flames. This only made it angrier. “Primeape, use Close Combat!” The acolyte screamed. Now, this may seem like a problem for most trainers, but Keagan’s battle strategy kicked in, and he found a way to turn it around. He knew that Close Combat involved hitting your opponent several times, usually with both punches and kicks. When Primeape initiated the move, it chose first to attack with a right-handed jab. “Turtonator, dodge and throw it!” Keagan said. When Primeape threw its jab, Turtonator sidestepped, grabbed its extended arm, and threw it on the ground ten feet away. This only made Primeape even more furious. “You annoying little brat!” The acolyte said. “Primeape, use Assurance!” She finished. Right before Primeape made impact, Keagan hollered, “Turtonator, use Shell Trap!” Turtonator turned its back to Primeape and squared up. When Primeape hit Turtonator’s massive shell, it triggered an explosion of the material on the shell, and it was sent sprawling through the air. When the explosion cleared, Primeape had fainted. “I warned you,” Keagan said. “Turtonator, you now have free reign to burn this whole place to the ground,” Keagan told his Turtonator. “As for me, I’m gonna figure out what to do with these prisoners,” he added. “Prisoners?” questioned the acolyte. “What makes you think we’re going to go with you?” she said. “You don’t have a choice,” Keagan answered. He called Hop back at Hammerlocke. “What can I do for you, mate?” Hop asked. “I need a prisoner pickup,” Keagan answered. “Right, then. I’ll get on that,” Hop replied.

-Chapter 11-


The teams returned to Hammerlocke the next day, with Mackenzie and Olivia’s being the last to arrive at about nine-thirty in the morning. After everyone had eaten some breakfast, they returned to their command center to discuss the scouting missions. Tanner was the first to go. “We found a camp near the Dusty Bowl,” he began. “There could have been more, but we stopped at the first that we saw. Before I called in Liam, the other scouts and I found supply crates full of battle items like Hyper Potions and X Attacks. That was pretty much it,” he finished. Olivia went next. “We found provisions in the camp, along with some stuff you could use for an invasion, like grappling hooks and smoke bombs,” she said. Jonah was the last to go. “At the camp we scouted, we discovered crates full of Pokeballs. And not empty ones, either. They had Pokemon in them. We let one out, a Fraxure, and it seemed distressed. We concluded that it was captured and didn’t want to be there. We brought the Pokeballs back and gave them out to the rest of the army,” he reported. “It sounds like these guys are prepared for bigger attacks,” Victor said. “Then we will be, too,” Leon answered. “I’ll go to some of the other towns and recruit what trainers I can find,” he finished. “We’ll need someone to train them up,” Jonah added. “I’ll do it,” Mustard said. “My job is Dojo Master, after all,” he added. Everyone seemed happy with that, so that’s what they set out to do. “As for the rest of us, we need to read those old runes,” Jonah announced. With the recent battle, they hadn’t had time to see what the book said about the Devourer or the Chaos Lord. “Yeah, sounds great. Where is it?” Keagan asked. “Tanner and I locked it up in the vault down the street,” Liam answered. “Let’s go get it then,” Jonah said.

After a quick walk down the street, everyone arrived at the vault. Everyone was Jonah, Tanner, Keagan, Liam, Mackenzie, Olivia, Hop, Sonia, and Raihan. They needed Raihan to get into the vault. After Raihan had gotten them into the vault, they retrieved the book and booted up Tanner and Liam’s altered rune deciphering program, which they had put onto a flash drive and inserted into Sonia’s laptop. They opened the book and flipped through the pages, looking for what they needed. While they browsed, they saw old drawings with writing in the ancient runes beneath them. One picture was of a creature that had a long tail and spots, while an image next to it had a similar body shape but was black and had a lightning bolt on its side. On another page, there was an image of a large creature with a toothy maw and a long tail. It was also covered in some sort of large bumps. They finally found what they were looking for.

The page they stopped on, according to Tanner and Liam’s program, had a heading that read, ‘The Devourer’. The drawing below struck fear into the hearts of everyone who looked at it. It showed a large monster resembling some Dragon-type Pokemon. It also looked to be partly aquatic, like a Water-type Pokemon. It had a gaping mouth, and it also had extra mouths around its body. In the drawing, a tempest swirled above the monster’s head. Everything around it was destroyed as well. Jonah gulped and said, “We gotta fight that thing?” “Looks that way, dude,” Keagan replied. “Lemme translate this page,” Tanner interjected. After about five minutes of typing, Tanner said, “Okay, here it is.” “Read it out,” Mackenzie suggested. “You do it, Liam,” Tanner said, passing the laptop. Tanner never liked to read out loud in class in school. “Okay, then,” Liam said. He cleared his throat and began to read. “The Devourer must be summoned to our world from another realm. If it is summoned, it will eat everything in sight until nothing remains. With it comes terrible monsoons. If it does enough damage without being stopped, it may be able to make a bridge to its home, from which its master will emerge. If this happens, our world will truly be doomed,” Liam read. “That’s grim,” Jonah stated. “So, what? Some scaly thing is gonna show up and eat everything to summon a worse bad guy?” Keagan asked. “Sounds about right,” Tanner replied. “That’s what that nutjob Aldrich said he wanted to summon,” Olivia added.

“Doesn’t sound like we should let him do it,” Hop said. “I’m going to regret saying this, but maybe we should turn the page,” Sonia said. Liam turned the page, and just by the drawing, they could tell this was a bad one. The image depicted a snake creature with arms bearing sharp silver talons. It was incredibly long. It also had black and white circles around its eyes, eight horns jutting from its face, each in a different direction, and, strangely enough, jade-green feathers on its body. It was mostly black, with red patterns and green blotches all over its body. It was shown emerging from a portal with lightning bolts coming from it. Tanner started to translate the page. In due time, Liam read it out.

“The heading says ‘The Lord of Chaos’”, he noted. Liam continued. “This is the Chaos Lord. It can only come to our realm if it is in an extreme state of disorder and chaos. If it arrives, it will reign over our realm forever. We know very little about it. Its home is a parallel universe to ours, where everything is in a state of chaos. Some Pokemon in our realm can draw power from this dimension and gain strength,” Liam finished. “That’s worse than the last one,” Keagan stated. “No kidding, mate,” Hop said. “We can’t let that thing come here,” Jonah said. “We won’t,” he added. “Does it say how to summon the Devourer?” Keagan asked. “Let me check,” Liam said. After searching the page again, Liam and Tanner weren’t able to find anything. “This book seems like some kind of an ancient Pokedex. Whoever wrote it probably didn’t want anybody to know how to summon the Devourer if they even knew themself,” Sonia concluded. “Makes sense,” Tanner said. “So, there’s probably some crusty old book filled with black magic that says how to do it,” Jonah said. “I bet Aldrich has it,” Mackenzie said. “Unfortunately, you’re probably right,” Jonah replied. “We had better get it from him, then,” Hop said. Just then, a deafening explosion came from outside. It shook the entire vault, sending dust down from the ceiling. After his ears stopped ringing, Jonah yelled, “Let’s move!”

-Chapter 12-


The group ran down the street back toward the front gate. The rest of the command team was already gathered there, ready for battle. “What in the heck happened?” Jonah asked. “See for yourself,” Leon said. He had come back from his recruiting mission early, but he still managed to round up about three hundred and fifty more trainers. This brought the total number to around seven hundred and fifty people, plus the twenty-six command team members. Jonah, Keagan, Tanner, Liam, Mackenzie, and Olivia once again got atop Hammerlocke’s perimeter wall. The cause of the explosion was evident: in front of an army of at least seven hundred acolytes stood a man and a Haxorus. The blast site was Hammerlocke’s outer wall. There was a ten-foot-wide scorch mark on it, presumably from an attack launched by the Haxorus. Then, the man started talking. His voice boomed up to Hammerlocke. “I am Duncan, warlord under the command of the high King Aldrich. I am here on his behalf to tell you this. Surrender now or you will be obliterated. Our last attack failed. This time, you will not be so lucky.”

Jonah looked around at his friends. His number one objective was to protect them and his family. Keagan had a fire in his eyes, just like every other time he was ready for a fight. Liam’s expression was as hard as the ice he used in battle. Tanner seemed to be analyzing his competition, looking for advantages he could get. Olivia looked annoyed to be fighting the acolytes again. Mackenzie looked optimistic, almost like she knew they would win. Jonah turned to his friends and said, “Let’s get it through their heads. They picked the wrong trainers to mess with.” This was exactly what he had said to the man with the Beheeyem. Jonah stood up and yelled down to the man, “Hello down there! We have decided not to accept your offer. My friends and I will be down momentarily to personally kick your butts.” He turned back around. “Keagan, you and I are gonna take the Haxorus. Liam, I want ice. Everywhere. Tanner, take Sizzlipede and do some crowd control. Olivia, and Mackenzie, you two do some double-team action. Let’s rock!”

Hammerlocke’s front gate was opened, and the full force of the army poured through. Blasts of fire met sprays of water, claws clashed with fangs, and crushing punches hit dauntless armor. It was war. And it was madness. Through the madness, Liam found a platoon of forty-five acolytes headed for the perimeter wall with climbing gear. He ran over and said, “You guys aren’t getting over that wall.” “You’re gonna stop us, kid?” one of the acolytes sneered. “Yeah, I am,” Liam replied. He tossed a Pokeball, releasing his Avalugg. It gave a roar akin to a glacier breaking to pieces, except Avalugg had no intention of doing so. “Avalugg, use Avalanche!” Liam yelled. Pieces of ice rained down, forcing the acolytes to jump out of the way. Now they were divided, just like Liam wanted. “Freeze ‘em up! Use Icy Wind!” Liam said. Avalugg shot freezing cold wind and bound the acolytes to the ground in ice up to their shoulders. “Told you we’d stop you,” Liam said. He left the acolytes to freeze while he looked for more to stop.

Tanner and Sizzlipede spotted an advancing party of one hundred acolytes, and Tanner knew they had to be stopped. He ran to them and said, “Sizzlipede, use Ember! Block them off!” Sizzlipede made a line of fire in front of the advancing acolytes, which stopped them from moving. However, one of the acolytes was riding his Mightyena, which bounded over the flames. “You want to stop us? You have to go through me first,” he said. “Mighteyena, use Bite!” Sizzlipede was caught in Mightyena’s jaws. It thrashed Sizzlipede around until Tanner hollered, “Sizzlipede, burn it!” Sizzlipede heated up the circles on its underbelly to burn Mightyena’s mouth. Mightyena was forced to let it go, at which point Tanner yelled, Sizzlipede, use Bug Bite!” Sizzlipede leaped forward and locked its mandibles on Mightyena’s neck. “Shake it off and use Snarl!” the acolyte yelled. Mightyena thrashed until Sizzlipede was thrown off. Just as Mightyena used Snarl, Tanner said, “Counter with Ember!” Sizzlipede’s bright blast of fire met Mighteyena’s attack of dark energy. When neither side looked to be winning, the acolyte said, “Give it more power!” “You too, Sizzlipede!” Tanner hollered. Sizzlipede struggled to give its flame any more power until it was cloaked in sparkling blue light. Its body grew much longer and tendrils of flame came from its head. The light dissipated to reveal the flaming Bug-type Pokemon, Centiskorch! Then, something happened with Centiskorch’s attack. It stopped briefly, then it fired a massive blast of fire and blew through Mightyena’s attack, knocking it out. Tanner’s knowledge of Pokemon told him that Centiskorch had learned Inferno. With Mightyena knocked out, Tanner set off to do more crowd control.

Mackenzie and Olivia’s double-teaming had worked well. They were able to defeat much larger Pokemon. They arrived at a woman with a Steelix. Olivia released her Hitmonlee and Mackenzie her Cufant. The plan was for Hitmonlee to knock Steelix down so that Cufant could land a big swing. “Hitmonlee, use Double Kick!” Olivia said. Hitmonlee jumped high into the air and gave Steelix two kicks to the head. “Good! Now use Brick Break!” Olivia yelled. Hitmonlee gave a downward kick, right on top of Steelix’s head. Not enough force to knock it out, but enough to knock it down, right into Cufant’s range. When Steelix’s head was close enough, Mackenzie yelled, “Cufant, use Iron Head!” Cufant headbutted Steelix head-on, and there was an audible thunk as it was knocked out. “How did you do that?” the acolyte stammered, astonished. Olivia shrugged and walked away with Mackenzie.

Keagan and Jonah found Duncan and his Haxorus and prepared for battle. They knew it would be tough since Haxorus was Dragon-type and resisted both Grass and Fire attacks. “Hey, you! Let’s go!” Jonah hollered. “Ah, yes, the young boys. I must say, it is honorable of you to face me in combat to try and save your army, but I’m afraid I can’t let you win,” Duncan said. “We don’t need you to let us win,” Keagan replied. “It’s just what we do,” he finished. Keagan released his Raboot and Jonah his Thwackey. Keagan was the first to attack. “Raboot, use Double Kick!” he yelled. Raboot ran as fast as it could toward Haxorus and planted two kicks right in the middle of its chest. Haxorus was only slightly staggered, but it was all the time Jonah needed. “Thwackey, use Knock Off!” Thwackey jumped high and hit Haxorus right in the face, giving Keagan an opening to tell his Raboot to use Scratch on Haxorus’s leg to stagger it again. This was the plan. Leave Haxorus no opening to attack. However, the plan didn’t work. “Enough of this! Haxorus, use Dragon Claw!” said Duncan. Haxorus swung its claws sideways and hit both Raboot and Thwackey. They were sent flying backward. “That didn’t work,” jonah said. “I got an idea. I’ll get Raboot to knock Haxorus down, then Thwackey can knock it out with Wood Hammer,” Keagan said. “Alright,” Jonah replied. “Raboot, use Flame Charge, hit it in the knee!” Keagan hollered. Raboot charged forward and hit Haxorus square in its right knee, causing it to fall over. “Thwackey, use Wood Hammer!” Jonah said.

In spite of Haxorus’s inferior position, Duncan called out, “Haxorus, use Dragon Pulse!” Thwackey was blasted backward. “Thwackey!” Jonah screamed. Thwackey pushed itself up and got into a ready stance. Duncan just laughed. “Time for plan C,” Jonah said. “I need you to launch Haxorus into the air,” he told Keagan. “You got it,” Keagan replied. “Raboot, use Flame Charge!” Keagan yelled. Raboot ran toward Haxorus and began to ignite. Just then, Jonah realized he made an error. Haxorus was far heavier than Raboot, and Raboot might not have been able to launch it. It was as if Raboot had realized this too, as on its way to Haxorus it began to shine with a brilliant blue glow. It got taller and its ears got bigger. By the time it had reached Haxorus, it had evolved into the fast, fiery, fierce Fire-type, Cinderace! The added strength in Cinderace’s legs made it easy for it to launch Haxorus into the air. “Thwackey, use Wood Hammer!” Jonah yelled. Cinderace’s launch had actually worked a little too well because Haxorus went so high into the air that Thwackey’s Wood Hammer attack wouldn’t have been able to knock it off course. That is if Thwackey hadn’t been enveloped in bright blue energy as well. As it brought its arm back and materialized a glowing green log on it, it grew to be nearly seven feet tall, gained a leafy mane on its back, and became incredibly muscled. The blue light faded to reveal the terrifying, toned, turned-up Grass-type, Rillaboom! With its new strength, Rillaboom was able to jump into the air and hit Haxorus with such a forceful Wood Hammer attack that it was sent flying thirty feet. When the dust cleared, Haxorus had been knocked out.

Cinderace jumped six feet straight up and pumped its fist in the air, while Rillaboom beat its chest and roared. “Alright!” Jonah said. He and Keagan fist-bumped. “Surrender, dude. You’re beaten,” Keagan told Duncan. Duncan recalled Haxorus and sank to his knees. Just then, a helicopter appeared in the sky. A man wearing a brown trench coat got out when it landed. “Who the heck are you?” Jonah asked. “I am Looker. I’m with the International Police. We received a call about some prisoners that needed to be taken care of. Where are they?” replied the man. “Some inside the city, some out here,” Jonah said, gesturing toward the battlefield. The battle was winding down, and it looked like Jonah’s side was winning. After an explanation, Looker agreed to take the prisoners and get some International Police members stationed at Hammerlocke. The battle concluded ten minutes later, and another ten after that, the prisoners were taken away.

After the injured trainers and Pokemon were tended to, the friends met up in town center. “Everyone alright?” Jonah asked. They all said yes. “Anything interesting happen to you guys in the fight?” Liam asked. “This,” Tanner said, releasing his newly evolved Centiskorch. “Awesome!” Keagan said. “Neat,” Jonah added. “How about you guys? How did your battle with Duncan go?” Tanner asked. Jonah and Keagan looked at each other and smirked, then threw out a Pokeball each. Keagan’s Cinderace, standing at only four feet eleven inches tall, looked diminutive next to him, while Jonah’s Rillaboom, standing at six feet eleven inches tall, towered over him. “Cool!” Liam exclaimed. “Nice,” Tanner said. Just then, Victor came over with his Inteleon. “Hey, guys! Good work out there,” he said. “Hi, Victor. I didn’t even see you out there,” Jonah replied. “Yeah, Inteleon likes to keep a low profile,” Victor answered. Inteleon was Victor’s first partner Pokemon, just like Rillaboom and Cinderace for Jonah and Keagan. They shared a special bond since they had been together for such a long time. Everyone talked for a while, then went to get some dinner at Hammerlocke Station. There, they talked more about the future of the army.

“So, it just kinda hit me today, but we’re gonna be at this for a while,” Jonah said. “At this?” Keagan questioned. “Fighting this…this war,” Jonah answered. “That’s what it is. A war,” he added. “You’re right,” Tanner said. “Well, I say we name ourselves then,” Mackenzie suggested. “Good idea, but what should we call ourselves?” Victor asked. “The flaming Charizards!” Keagan blurted out. “Okay, number one, no, and number two, a flaming Charizard would be a dead one,” Jonah replied. “Dang it!” Keagan said. “There’s got to be something good,” Liam said. “The Resistance?” Jonah suggested. “Too generic,” Olivia replied. “How about The United Galar Army?” Tanner said. “I like it,” Jonah said. “Sounds fancy,” Keagan added. “I’m good with that,” Liam replied. And so, The United Galar Army was formed! “We should make, like, t-shirts or something!” Keagan said. Everyone laughed. “No, but we should design a logo,” Jonah said. “You should do it, Keagan. You’re the best artist I know,” he added. “Okay, I’ll do it,” Keagan replied. “The name is cool and all, but what I meant was we need to prepare for a long war, not a short battle,” Jonah stated.”What do you mean by that?” Tanner asked. “We need more supplies and more troops,” Jonah replied. “Troops are covered. Leon is out right now gathering as many as he can find,” Victor said. “That’s good. How can we get supplies?” Jonah asked. “I bet Leon could pull some strings and get supplies delivered to us from the League,” Keagan said. “You’re probably right,” Liam said. “We should go visit Master Mustard and see how the training is going,” Tanner said.

-Chapter 13-


Master Mustard had decided to train the new recruits in Hammerlocke Stadium, so the group went up there to pay their visit. Mustard had decided to train the new recruits by type of Pokemon, and today was Dragon-type day. These were some of the prime recruits, likely to become squad leaders, because of the strength of Dragon-type Pokemon. As it already takes a good deal of dedication to train Dragon-type Pokemon, these recruits didn’t need much training, but more skill-honing. There was lots of target practice going on, and even some one-on-one battles. Mustard saw the group as they came in and held up his hand to stop the trainees. “Hello there!” he called. “Hi, Master Mustard,” Jonah said back. “We just came by to see how you were doing with the training,” Tanner said. “I’m pleased as cheese with our new recruits. Leon did a good job, I’d say,” Mustard replied. “You know, I could use you two’s help right now,” he added, pointing to Jonah and Keagan.

“Us? Why?” Keagan asked. “You both have Dragon-types on your team, but they are completely different. However, you both battle with them very well. I could use you for a demonstration,” Mustard answered. “Alright,” Jonah said. “I’m in,” Keagan added. “Attention!” Mustard called. “As you may know, these two are some of the finest Pokemon trainers in this army. They also both have Dragon-type Pokemon. Show us what you’ve got, boys,” Mustard said. Keagan went first, tossing a Pokeball and releasing Turtonator. “Turtonator, show off,” Keagan said. Turtonator roared and spouted fire into the air. “Ah, yes, the mighty Turtonator. The most defensive Dragon-type Pokemon,” Mustard said. Jonah went next. He tossed his Pokeball and said, “Noivern, give ‘em a show.” Noivern flew into the air and did several fancy flying maneuvers before landing back with Jonah. “Noivern, the fast and powerful. Both powerful allies, if trained correctly,” Mustard said. He turned to face the crowd.

“Here we have two Dragon-type Pokemon, incredibly different from one another, but both very effective in battle. Now, I’ll have them try some of your training exercises,” Mustard announced. He walked down to the field and turned on a machine that launched clay disks. “Jonah, these are for you and Noivern,” Mustard said. The clay disks flew into the air, and Jonah said, “Noivern, take them out, up close,” Noivern launched into the air and grabbed one disk with its talons and crushed it before diving toward two that were closer to the ground and smashing one with its tail and biting another in half. There were still two left that were further away, so Jonah said, “Noivern, use Boomburst!” Noivern’s ears glowed and fired a blast of sound toward the disks, shattering them to pieces. Noivern flew back down to Jonah, who gave it a piece of fruit from his bag and a pat on the neck.

“Keagan, you’re up next,” Mustard said. He shot five more disks for Keagan and Turtonator to take out. “Turtonator, Dragon Pulse, ten o’clock!” Keagan said. Turtonator fired a blast of dragon energy, destroying two of the disks. “Now use Flamethrower!” Keagan said. The three remaining disks were enveloped in flame and melted into sludge. “Very good!” Mustard said. “Now, why am I showing you this, you might ask? Well, I wanted to show you that so that you would understand that Dragon-type Pokemon are very different from one another. Find what makes yours different, and you’ll better understand how to attack,” he said. “You can now resume your training with that in mind,” Mustard concluded. “Thank you for your help, boys,” Mustard said. “No problem,” Keagan replied. Keagan and the others stayed around for a while, but Jonah went to go check on his family.

Jonah’s family had been put as far away from the perimeter wall as possible. They had been living in an unoccupied house for a while now. None of them had done any battling yet, but Jonah’s dad was nearly ready. He found his family training in the backyard. He figured he could help each of them in some way. He went first to his mom and her Skwovet. “Alright, mom, we’re gonna train,” he said. Jonah tossed a Pokeball, releasing his Charmeleon. “In battle, you’re going to need to find a weak spot, which will take time. Skwovet here will need to dodge some moves, which is what we’re here to practice. Charmeleon will attack, and all Skwovet needs to do is dodge. Got it?” Jonah asked. “Yeah, I think,” Jonah’s mom replied.

“Get ready to dodge. Charmeleon, use Slash!” Jonah ordered. Charmeleon jumped forward with its right hand raised, but Jonah’s mom said, “Skwovet, jump it!” Since Charmeleon had to swing low to hit its smaller target, Skwovet was able to leap over its arm to dodge the attack. This resulted in Charmeleon slicing nothing but grass. “Good!” Jonah said. “Let’s try again, Charmeleon. Use Fire Fang!” Blazing fire appeared around Charemeleon’s mouth, and it leaped forward at Skwovet. “Skwovet, up and over!” Jonah's mom yelled. Skwovet leaped up to Charmeleon’s head and bounded off of it. Charmeleon snapped its fiery jaws shut on nothing but air. “Nice job. Time for the next one. Charmeleon, use Dragon Breath!” Jonah hollered. Charmeleon inhaled and fired a purplish blast of energy at Skwovet. “Sidestep, Skwovet!” Jonah’s mom yelled. Skwovet skittered sideways to avoid the attack, resulting in a nice new burn patch in the yard. There were many of them already. “Great work. I think you’re ready,” Jonah said. “Ready? We’re done?” his mom asked. Jonah laughed and said, “Not quite yet. Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!” Charmeleon growled and launched a column of flame from its mouth toward Skwovet. “Skwovet, jump high up!” Jonah’s mom said. Skwovet jumped five feet straight up. While it was in the air, Jonah’s mom said, “Now use Hyper Voice!” Skwovet gave a high-pitched scream, forcing Charmeleon to stop its attack. “Now use Bite!” Skwovet came down to the ground and ran on all fours toward Charmeleon. “We’re playing like that, huh? Charmeleon, Slash! Block it” Charmeleon met Skwovet’s attack with its razor-sharp claws, causing Skwovet to lock into Charmeleon’s hand.

This caused a pushing match between the two, which Charmeleon seemed to be winning until Skwovet began to glow with a blinding blue light. It got bigger and its tail grew bushier. The light faded to reveal the sharp-toothed berry hoarder, Greedent! Greedent held Charmeleon’s arm tightly between its jaws and threw it down. Charmeleon hopped up, looking ready to continue the fight, but Jonah said, “That’s enough, buddy.” He came over and gave Charmeleon a pat on its scaly head. “That was a good session, I’d say,” Jonah said. “I agree,” his mom responded, snuggling her newly evolved Greedent. With that, Jonah went to help his brother.

“Hey there, little brother!” Jonah called. Jude had been training with Riolu and looked over when Jonah called him. “Hi. Whadda you want?” Jude asked. “I’m here to help you train,” Jonah replied. “Hit Rillaboom with as many attacks as you can in a row, okay?” Jonah said, tossing a Pokeball to release his Rillaboom. “Alright. You heard him, Riolu. Use Quick Attack!” Jude said. Riolu launched forward and hit Rillaboom with a high-speed tackle. Rillaboom barely felt a thing. “Now use Metal Claw!” Riolu produced glowing claws on each hand and slashed Rillaboom across the chest. Rillaboom was staggered slightly, but not really hurt. “Hit it with Rock Smash!” Jude said. Riolu gave Rillaboom a forceful chop on the head. Jonah could tell that that one hurt a little since Rillaboom flinched back. Jude repeated the pattern several times until Jonah decided to throw him a curveball. “Rillaboom, use Knock Off!” Jonah shouted. Rillaboom reared up on its hind legs and gave Riolu a backhanded slap, knocking it back into the dirt. “Hey! You cheated!” Jude exclaimed. “You gotta be prepared, little brother,” Jonah replied. “Keep training,” he said, walking over to his dad.

“Hey, Dad!” Jonah called. “Hi, bud!” his dad called back. He was training with his Rhyperior. “What’s up?” Jonah’s dad asked. “I wanted to see how your training was going. Let’s see if you can catch Linoone here,” Jonah said, releasing his Linoone. It had learned some new moves recently, now being able to use Lick, Night Slash, Headbutt, and Snarl. Linoone howled and looked at Rhyperior. There was no fear in its eyes, as it was a natural behavior for Linoone in Galar to challenge bigger and stronger opponents.

“I want you to use some faster attacks and see if you can hit Linoone, okay?” Jonah asked. “You got it. Ready Rhyperior?” Jonah’s dad said. Rhyperior grunted and turned to face Linoone. “Use Hammer Arm!” Jonah’s dad said. “Linoone, dodge it!” Jonah said. Linoone responded in the blink of an eye, skittering away from Rhyperior’s large arm as it smashed into the ground below. “Fast one, huh?” Jonah’s dad said. “You bet,” Jonah replied. “We’ll catch you. Use Horn Attack!” Jonah’s dad yelled. Rhyperior began to spin up the horn on its head, then it lowered its head and ran toward Linoone. “Up and over, Linoone!” hollered Jonah. Linoone jumped onto Rhyperior’s back and leaped to the ground from there. “Stone Edge!” Jonah’s dad bellowed. Rhyperior stomped its foot, and tall stone spikes emerged from the ground toward Linoone. “Sidestep!” Jonah yelled. Linoone hopped sideways, away from the sharp rocks. “Okay, fine. Let’s crank it up,” Jonah’s dad said. “Stone Edge, Hammer Arm, Horn Attack!” He yelled. “Evasive maneuvers, Linoone!” Jonah hollered. Linoone ran across the tops of the stone spikes, slid under Rhyperior’s massive arm, and went between Rhyperior’s legs as it tried to spear it with its horn. “Doge this! Use Rock Wrecker!” Jonah’s dad yelled. Rhyperior hurled a massive boulder toward Linoone and gave a savage roar. Knowing the rock was too big for Linoone to dodge, Jonah roared, “Use Night Slash!” Linoone’s right claw glowed purple, and it slashed the large boulder, splitting it in two. “Alright! I had no idea if that would work!” Jonah exclaimed. “Thanks, bud. That was a good battle,” Jonah’s dad said. “Yeah, good battle. I think you’re ready for front-line deployment, Dad. I gotta get goin’ though,” Jonah replied. He returned Linoone and waved goodbye.

Jonah went back outside and saw a repair crew leaving to fix Hammerlocke’s outer wall. He found his friends back out in town center. “Hey, guys!” He called. “Hi! How’s your family doing?” Keagan asked. “Pretty good. I trained ‘em up a little bit. Also, my mom’s Skwovet evolved,” Jonah replied. “Cool!” Mackenzie said. said. “Yeah, it was pretty neat. Did I miss anything?” Jonah asked. “Not really,” Tanner answered. Just then, several trains arrived at Hammerlocke Station “Let’s go check it out,” Keagan suggested. The friends walked down the street and arrived just as Leon stepped off of one of the trains.

“Hello!” Leon said. “Hi, Leon. How many people did you get?” Jonah asked. “See for yourself,” Leon said. He gestured toward the five trains as their doors opened. People poured out of them, all of them carrying Pokeballs. “Holy crud,” Keagan said. “No kidding. How many?” Jonah asked. “About eight hundred and fifty,” Leon answered. This meant that The United Galar Army now consisted of approximately one thousand and six hundred trainers. Still smaller than the supposed forces Aldrich had at his command, but the more the merrier, Jonah thought. “That’s good,” Tanner said. “Now that we’ve got more troops, we should establish regular patrols and sentinels,” Jonah suggested. “Good idea,” Liam said. Thus, the group’s next objective was to do just that. It was already nearly nine o’clock though, so the group decided to call it a night. Although his family was in Hammerlocke, Jonah had elected to sleep in the barracks with everyone else. He and Keagan shared a tent, just as Tanner shared with Liam and Mackenzie with Olivia. Jonah put on an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts and climbed into his sleeping bag. “G’night,” Jonah said. “Night,” Keagan replied, turning off the lantern. Although they were asleep, Keagan and Jonah both kept their Pokeballs within arm's reach. Everyone in the camp was prepared for an attack. There were several lookouts along the perimeter wall, ready to give the signal at the first sign of danger. With the chance of waking up to a rain of fire looming, Jonah and Keagan both drifted off to sleep.

-Chapter 14-


Jonah and Keagan woke up, without being in mortal danger, and began their morning routine. Step one was getting dressed. Keagan put on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt displaying Motostoke’s Gym logo. Jonah wore cargo pants and a gray hoodie with the red-and-blue Pokeball design of the Galar League logo. They also both wore glasses. Keagan’s were gray and wire-framed, while Jonah's were clear on the arms and around the lenses. Jonah also put on his smartwatch, connected to his Rotom Phone. Next was breakfast, which consisted of toaster waffles and Miltank milk. They both then brushed their teeth, put on their Casual Trainers, Jonah with red and Keagan with black, and went outside. They met up with their other friends out on the main street.

Tanner wore his usual unmarked grey hoodie with shorts and black high-top sneakers. Liam wore a mesh t-shirt, shorts, and hiking shoes. Olivia wore a navy blue hoodie, leggings, and lace-up skate shoes, although she wasn’t a skater. Mackenzie wore a thin blue hoodie, leggings, and sneakers. “Once the rest of the troops are up, we’ll call a meeting to assign the new patrols and sentries,” Jonah declared. The rest of his friends agreed with this plan. About fifteen minutes later, everyone was awake, so the meeting was called. The method to do so was Jonah’s Noivern giving a particular screech that meant everyone was needed in town center.

The army assembled and the commanders prepared to give their announcement. “Listen up you lot!” Piers shouted. The group settled down and turned to listen. Piers gave a wave of his hand toward Jonah, indicating that he could now give the new orders. “So, you’ve probably noticed we’ve got some more trainers around here now, thanks to Leon,” Jonah began. “That means we can ramp up our offense and defense both. For starters, we’re gonna put in some sentries to defend Hammerlocke. I want big, powerful Pokemon for that job. We’re also going to set up some patrols on the outside of Hammerlocke, mostly in the Wild Area. And finally, we’re going to send some troops to other towns and cities around Galar. We’ll start with the southern locations, like Postwick, Wegehurst, Turrfield, etcetera. From there, we can help to fortify all the major locations in Galar, even down to The Crown Tundra and offshore to The Isle of Armor. That also means we’re gonna need lots more trainers, so get recruiting. Anybody you can find. Let’s move!” Jonah said. The first task was setting up the sentries. Jonah called out, “Anyone who wants to be a sentry, come to the command center immediately!”

Jonah and the others walked back to their command room and waited for the applicants to come in. The first was a woman with a Toucannon following her. She was obviously from the Alola region, with a tan, beachy outfit including shorts and a cropped flowered shirt, and a flower in her wavy black hair. “Hi there. What’s your name?” Keagan asked. “I’m Malia,” the woman replied. “And this is my Toucannon. We’re here about the sentry position,” she added. “We figured. What qualifications do you have?” Jonah asked. “Well, I beat all four of the Island Kahunas back home in Alola, but I never challenged the Pokemon League. My Toucannon can use Beak Blast, Bullet Seed, Hyper Voice, and Rock Smash,” Malia replied. The commanders looked at each other and all nodded. “You’re in, mate!” Hop declared. “Yes! We’ll protect this place with all we’ve got, right Toucannon?” Malia said. Toucannon gave a croaking sound, seemingly in agreement. “You’ll be stationed on the western section of the wall,” Raihan said. Malia nodded and left the room. “One down, as many as we can get to go,” Jonah said.

The next trainer in was a man with a Scolipede. It had to duck down to fit through the doorway. Now, here was an intimidating Pokemon. Scolipede was over eight feet tall and had eight poisonous claws on its neck. It could certainly deter any would-be attackers. “What’s your name, friend?” Milo asked. “I’m Max, and this is my Scolipede,” the man replied. He was dressed for combat: boots, pants with built-in knee pads, and a white t-shirt with a vest over it. “So, what makes you think you got what it takes?” Piers asked. “Scolipede and I have had many battles, and we hardly ever lose. Scolipede has strong moves, too. It can use Venoshock, Megahorn, Take Down, and Toxic,” Max replied. “Good enough for me. You’re in,” Piers said. The others agreed. “You’ll be on the southeast section of the wall,” Raihan said. “I’ll protect this place with everything I have,” Max said. The recruiting went on like this for nearly an hour, ending with a total of thirty-five sentries being recruited. The next objective was to sort out how many people would be on a patrol.

“So, how are we going to organize the patrols?” Nessa asked. “How about eight in each group?” Kabu suggested. “Sounds good to me. Should we have specific types of Pokemon in each?” Jonah asked. “Whadda you mean?” Keagan questioned. “Like, maybe each group would have certain Pokemon to cover each other’s weaknesses, like Grass, Water, and Fire,” Jonah explained. “Oh. That makes sense,” Keagan replied. “I say we do that,” said Victor. The other commanders agreed. They once again went to town center to call a meeting. After everyone was gathered, Victor announced, “For our patrols, we want certain types of Pokemon: Fire, Water, Ghost, Ground, Fairy, Electric, Dragon, and Steel. If you want to apply, stay here with the Pokemon you want to use. We’re making ten patrols of eight.” Once the trainers who didn’t wish to apply had left, The commanders looked around at the applicants. There were one hundred applicants there, counted by Bede. This meant that, if everyone qualified, they could actually add two trainers to their patrols.

The commanders discussed which two types to add, eventually landing on Psychic and Dark. “Alright, everyone let out your Pokemon,” Leon instructed. All the applicants let out one Pokemon each, fitting into the required types. The commanders walked down in front of the applicants and surveyed the Pokemon. Bea then called out, “All Fire-type Pokemon and their trainers, front and center.” The trainers with Fire-type Pokemon moved through the crowd and stood in front of the commanders. There were Pokemon from every region gathered there. The commanders walked down the line to examine the Pokemon, encountering many promising applicants. In the end, each one of them passed inspection, then the commanders moved on to the next type. After they had inspected the first eight, they announced that Dark and Psychic-type were permitted as well. They were able to reach their goal of ten teams of ten with the Dark and Psychic-type Pokemon added on. The patrol teams were then given a week’s rations, tents, and walkie-talkies before being sent to the Wild Area. With two of their three tasks done, the commanders returned to their command center to hammer out the details of sending troops to other cities. “So, what cities will we send troops to?” asked Marnie. “Everywhere south of here, so Turrfield, Hulbury, Motostoke, Wedgehurst, and Postwick” Gordie replied. “How many troops?” asked Melony.

The commanders had taken a more accurate count of their troops, so now they knew that the current number of troops in The United Galar Army was one thousand six hundred and twenty-five, and after subtracting the sentries and patrols, there were one thousand four hundred and ninety soldiers on standby. “How about we take four hundred and ninety soldiers and divide them up among the towns, so we have one thousand plus ourselves left here in Hammerlocke?” Nessa suggested. Liam punched this into a calculator app on his Rotom Phone and saw that this would result in ninety-eight soldiers being sent to each town. “Sounds good to me,” he said. The commanders set out to find five captains to command the troops sent to the other towns. They recruited a man named Drake who had a Hariyama as his partner, a woman named Zoe who was walking with a female Pyroar, a man named Abraham who was sitting with his Golurk, a woman named Julia who had been training with her Poliwrath, and a man named James who had been eating a snack with his Braviary. They were assigned to the ninety-seven soldiers they would command, who were randomly selected from the army, and shipped out to the five towns. They brought equipment with them to help fortify the towns and also planned to have Rock and Grass-type Pokemon bend the environment to help shore up the defenses. By the time all the new assignments were handed out, it was nearly eight-thirty, so the commanders grabbed a quick dinner at Hammerlocke Station. This was a good time to de-stress, and for once they didn’t talk about strategy or plan for another attack. They just had normal conversations like they were leading normal lives, even though that was far from true. After they had eaten and talked for a while, everyone said their goodbyes and turned in for the night.

-Chapter 15-


For the first time in a while, Jonah and Keagan woke up with no direct task set before them. They repeated their morning routine and walked outside to meet up with their friends. “Whadda you guys wanna do?” Keagan asked. “Dude, it’s morning. Let’s just, like, take a walk or something,” Jonah said, yawning. The others agreed, and they set out for a walk around Hammerlocke. “We’re really starting to get this army together, huh?” Jonah said. “Yeah, I guess,” Tanner replied. “No talking about that stuff. Let’s just relax,” Keagan said. They walked around for a while longer, enjoying the quiet of the early morning, until Tanner asked, “You guys want to battle?” “Yeah, sure,” Liam replied. The others agreed. “Keagan, you and me. Let’s go,” Jonah said, pointing at his friend. “You’re on,” Keagan replied. They went to an area in the camp that had been left open for purposes such as this. Jonah considered what Pokemon to use.

He immediately ruled out Rillaboom because it would be weak to Fire-type attacks. He ultimately landed on Corvisquire for speed and agility. “Go, Corvisquire!” Jonah said as he threw his Pokeball. “Arcanine, you’re up!” Keagan said, throwing his Pokeball. “Corvisquire, use Fury Attack!” Jonah said. Corvisquire flew high into the sky, then plummeted down to jab Arcanine four times with a glowing beak. “Shake it off, Arcanine. Use Flamethrower!” Keagan yelled. Arcanine inhaled deeply and fired a blast of flame toward Corvisquire. “Corvisquire, dodge, and use Pluck!” Jonah said. Corvisquire skirted the searing flames and gave Arcanine a hard peck right between the eyes. Arcanine growled and staggered back. “Now’s your chance! Use Drill Peck!” Jonah hollered. Corvisquire’s beak glowed, and it spun around like a top and dived straight for Arcanine’s ribs. However, Keagan called out, “Arcanine, use Extreme Speed!” In the blink of an eye, Arcanine turned and met Corvisquire’s attack head-on. “More power, Corvisquire!” Jonah bellowed. “Give it everything you’ve got, Arcanine!” Keagan yelled. Then, Corvisquire began to glow with sparkling blue light. It grew much larger and gained a metallic shine. The light faded, revealing the ruler of the Galarian skies, Corviknight! It used its increased size to push Arcanine away. Jonah, knowing Corviknight would have learned the move upon evolution, yelled, “Corviknight, use Steel Wing!” Corviknight’s wings glowed, and it used them to strike Arcanine. It was knocked backward, but it remained on its feet. Just then, Corviknight and Arcanine made eye contact, and the battle stopped. Corviknight settled on the ground, wings tucked in and began preening. Arcanine yawned, displaying its large canine teeth, then sat up. It took a moment for Jonah to think it through, but then he understood what was going on: the Pokemon respected each other, so they no longer wanted to battle. Arcanine, the Pokemon spoken of in legendary tales, and Corviknight, the undisputed king of the skies of Galar. “They don’t want to fight anymore! They, like, respect each other or something like that!” Jonah called to Keagan. Keagan had been standing on his side of the field, completely dumbfounded that his Arcanine had stopped battling. “Huh? Oh. I suppose that makes sense,” Keagan replied. Jonah walked to his Corviknight, reaching up to its head to give it a pat. “Don’t get all distinguished on me, bud,” he said. “That goes for you too, Arcanine,” said Keagan, ruffling his Arcanine’s mane. The two Pokemon looked at each other with annoyed expressions, or at least their versions, as if to say, Humans, am I right? Jonah was so distracted by the odd circumstances of his battle that he forgot to check on his friends.

Tanner and his Appletun were attempting to outlast Liam and his Beartic, while Olivia’s Liepard was trying to use its speed to avoid the massive jaws of Mackenzie’s Mawile. The battles concluded a few moments later, with Liam’s Beartic ending its battle with a Slash attack on Appletun from its massive claws, and Mawile snaring Liepard with a Crunch attack from its imposing jaws. By the time all the battles were over, the other troops had woken up. Since they had no direct assignment other than to be ready to defend the base, most of them went to engage in various forms of training. “We should go to the command center. The teams we sent out yesterday should be reporting,” Tanner suggested. The others agreed and started the walk toward Hammerlocke’s main castle, which housed their command room. When they arrived, the other commanders were still filling in. “Any calls yet?” Jonah asked. “Not ye–,” Victor began to reply, but he was cut off by the crackling of one of the walkie-talkies sitting in its charging station on the end of the table inside the command room.

Jonah picked it up. “This is General Porter of The United Galar Army. Identify yourself,” he ordered. The other commanders had recently determined that they were technically generals, not commanders, so Jonah elected to use that title on the walkie-talkie. They also discussed the ranks of their other important trainers. Kodai, Ikari, Kireina, Tetsu, and Hayai had been ranked as majors, the trainers in charge of the troops that had gone to other towns had been appointed as captains, and the patrol leaders and the leaders of the individual groups that were frontline soldiers were designated as commanders. Some trainers, usually one per active combat group, had been given the rank of lieutenant and served as second-in-command of their groups. The walkie-talkie crackled, then came the voice of Abraham, who had been assigned to Wedgehurst. “Captain Turner of the Wedgehurst company. I’m calling to deliver our morning report, sir,” said Abraham. The part about being captain of a company was technically not correct because a company was one hundred soldiers, but the generals decided they could round up. “I hear you loud and clear, Captain. What do you have to report?” Jonah asked. It had startled him to be called sir, but he figured it was correct in a military sense. “We arrived yesterday at three in the afternoon, and after a quick conversation with the locals, we set up walls and stationed sentries. We then searched the town to find locations we could defend from, with a total of three. My ranged defenders tell me that they can attack accurately out to approximately one hundred and fifty yards. We haven’t seen any hostiles yet. That’s all, sir,” Abraham reported. “Thank you, Captain. You’re dismissed,” Jonah replied. “That’s good news,” Tanner said. The others agreed.

The next call was from Zoe, who had been sent to Hulbury. Keagan answered this time. “Captain google, Hulbury company,” she said. “General Dobo. You’re cleared to report,” Keagan replied. “We arrived in Hulbury at two-thirty in the afternoon, ensured that the locals were okay with us being there, then fortified what we could. We set guards on the docks as well,” Zoe reported. “Understood. You can go,” Keagan said. The next report was from Julia, stationed at Postwick. Tanner answered the call. “General Schwiderske here. Let’s hear the report,” he said. “Captain Moore, leader of the Postwick company. We arrived in Postwick at three-thirty yesterday. All the locals were fine with us being here, so we fortified the area, including the entrance to the Slumbering Weald. The area is pretty small, so we’re rotating fifteen of us to patrol the perimeter of the town,” Julia said. “Roger that. You can go back to whatever you were doing,” Tanner replied.

The next call came from James, who was deployed in Turrfield. Liam grabbed the walkie-talkie this time. “This is General Brown. Whadda you got for me?” James answered, “Captain Clark, reporting. We arrived in Turfiled at two thirty-five yesterday. The locals were alright with us sticking around, so we began to fortify this place. Our biggest liability is the fields around Turrfiled. They’re big, they’re wide-open, and there’s a lot of them. It would be easy for a fast group to come across them and launch an offensive,” James said. “We stationed several Pokemon with powerful ranged moves on the fields, so hopefully they can neutralize any threats,” he added. “Understood. You can go,” Liam replied.

The final report came from Drake, who had been sent to the biggest city, Motostoke. The walkie-talkie crackled, and Victor took hold of it. “Victor here. I mean, uh, General Victor of The United Galar Army! Report, Captain,” Victor said. “Smooth moves,” Keagan muttered. “This is Captain Gray. We arrived in Motostoke at one-thirty yesterday. The locals agreed to us staying here, and the League Staff even offered to help. We have one problem though: this is a big city, and I’m not sure ninety-eight of us are gonna cut it if we have to defend the place,” Drake said. “Okay. We’ll see what we can do,” Victor said. “You’re free to go,” he added, putting the walkie-talkie down. The patrol teams in the Wild Area weren’t instructed to call unless they had a situation. “Seems like everything is alright so far,” Marnie said. “Yeah, I guess,” Hop said. “He was right about Motostoke though. If it’s a problem there, imagine what would happen if we tried to send troops to Wyndon,” Jonah said. “That’s why I'm going to do more recruiting!” Leon announced. “That’s good, my boy,” Mustard replied. “Indeed,” added Jonah. “I can actually leave now if that’s okay with you guys,” Leon said. Everyone was in agreement that he should leave as soon as possible. “The more the merrier,” Keagan said. With that, Leon left to board a train for another recruiting tour.

The generals left their command room to do whatever it was they each needed to do. Jonah, Keagan, and their friends still had no real assignment. “What should we do now?” Jonah asked. “I dunno,” replied Liam. “We could just chill for a while,” Keagan suggested. The others all liked the idea. “We’re teenagers. All we do is chill,” Tanner commented, getting a laugh from his friends. They returned to their camp and sat in the clearing in the middle of the collection of tents. Everyone released each of their Pokemon, resulting in an assorted group of twenty-one Pokemon.

Quite the motley crew of Pokemon they had, from Keagan’s monstrous Coalossal to Jonah’s laid-back Rillaboom to Liam’s cunning Weavile. For once, their Pokemon were able to relax. Most of them sat down next to their trainers. Jonah’s Boltund had sat down right next to him, waiting to be petted, to which Jonah obliged. Although Tanner couldn’t really have much physical contact with his Centiskorch, it still sat next to him. Liam patted his Darmanitan on the large ball on the top of his Darmanitan’s head, which Jonah thought must have been very cold. Breaking the silence, Keagan asked, “So, what are we gonna do about that Devourer thing?” “We aren’t letting Aldrich bring it here,” Jonah replied. “But what if he does? Then what?” Keagan asked.”We fight. We’re good at it,” Liam answered. “I’m not sure we can beat it. It’s gotta be really strong,” Tanner said. “It’ll have backup, too,” added Olivia. “We should figure out where he’s going to try to summon it,” Jonah said. “And how he’ll do it,” Olivia added. “Like I said before, he’s probably got some book filled with black magic locked up in a box in some dark hole in his base,” Jonah said. “We need to find the base, then,” Keagan stated. “It’s not in Galar. Probably not in any of the other regions either,” Tanner said. “How do you figure?” asked Jonah. “Well, the base would be pretty big, probably like a castle. There’s nowhere to hide it in any known region,” Tanner explained. “He’s right,” agreed Liam. “How do we find something in a place that isn’t on any map?” Jonah asked. “We could ask the prisoners,” Keagan suggested. “Like an interrogation?” Jonah questioned. “Yeah, I guess,” Keagan said. “We’ll need Looker to bring us one. Someone with a high rank,” Liam suggested. Jonah and Keagan looked at each other. “I’ve got someone in mind,” Jonah said.

-Chapter 16-


The friends went back to their command room. They picked up a walkie-talkie that Looker had given them before he left, telling them, “Use this if you ever need to contact me.” Jonah picked up the walkie-talkie. “Here goes nothing,” he said. He pressed the button on the side of the walkie-talkie and said, “This is Jonah Porter, requesting to speak with Looker, anybody read me?” There was silence for a few seconds, then a voice came through. “This is Looker. What do you need?” “You should have a prisoner with the name Duncan. We need you to send him here for interrogation,” Jonah replied. A few more seconds of silence, then Looker said, “Roger that. We’ll send him out shortly.”

About one and a half hours later, a helicopter landed, bearing the logo of the International Police. Two guards escorted Duncan, in handcuffs, out of the helicopter. “Hey there, pal,” Jonah said. Duncan spat on the ground and said, “I will have my revenge on you, child.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah. We brought you here for a reason. Tell us where your secret base is,” Jonah replied. Duncan laughed and said, “Why would I tell you that?” “Ya got anything better to do?” asked Keagan. “Tell us where it is,” Jonah said. “Or what?” asked Duncan. “Or Arcanine gets a new chew toy,” Keagan said. “We’re not gonna feed him to Arcanine, dude,” Jonah said. “Look, if you don’t tell us where this base is, the world is going to get real bad real quick,” Jonah said. “Why would I believe you, child? You are the enemy,” Duncan replied. Seeing that he was getting nowhere, Jonah turned to Keagan and asked, “Any bright ideas?” “I told you, we feed him to Arcanine,” Keagan replied. “No. We’re not doing that,” Jonah replied. “I’ve got it. We’ll battle him,” Jonah said. “You mean, if we win, he’ll tell us?” Keagan asked. “If we make him a formal challenge, he won’t refuse. He values his pride too much,” Jonah explained. Keagan nodded his head.

Jonah spun around and said, “Duncan, we challenge you to a battle. If we win, you’ll guide us to the base,” Jonah said. “And if I win, you will let me go and become my prisoners,” Duncan said. “You got a deal,” Keagan said. Jonah said, “Follow me.” The guards guided Duncan to a practice battlefield, and then removed his handcuffs. Duncan rubbed his wrists, then said, “Let the battle begin!” He threw a Pokeball, releasing a Metagross, which stomped its metal legs. “A Metagross!” Jonah exclaimed. He knew that it was a very powerful Pokemon and would be a challenge to defeat. He turned to Keagan. “How are we gonna take that thing down?” Jonah asked. “Well, Steel is weak to Fire, so I’m good. You could use your Linoone since it’s fast” Keagan replied. “Good idea. You should use a power hitter, so probably Coalossal, then Linoone can come in and hit a combo attack,” Jonah suggested. “Sounds like a plan,” Keagan said. The two fist-bumped and turned to face their opponent. “You’re up, Linoone!” Jonah said, tossing his Pokeball. Linoone gave a screech, its tongue hanging out of its mouth. “Go, Coalossal!” Keagan said. Coalossal gave a low grumble akin to that of falling rocks.

“Coalossal, use Flamethrower!” Keagan said. Coalossal launched a swirling column of flame toward Metagross, who took the hit full-on. Before the smoke had cleared, Jonah called, “Linoone, combo attack! Headbutt, then Night Slash!” Linoone dashed forward in a zigzagging motion, then used Headbutt to start the combo. Although you would think otherwise, having a head-on collision with Metagross didn’t seem to bother Linoone, and it went right into the second attack, giving Metagross a fierce slash in the face. Metagross just shook itself and waited for its trainer’s instructions, which were, “Metagross, use Metal Claw!” Metagross raised one large metal leg and clawed Linoone, sending it backward. It rolled and got back to its feet. “You’re gonna have to try a little harder than that,” Jonah said, looking at his opponent. He had to squint a little since it was beginning to get dark out. “Okay then,” Duncan replied. “Metagross, use Hammer Arm!” he shouted. Before Jonah could formulate a counterattack, he heard Keagan shout, “Block it Coalossal! Use Flame Charge!” Coalossal became cloaked in flame and charged forward, using its massive rocky body to block Metagross’s attack. Although he wanted to thank Keagan for the save, Jonah knew he had to seize the opportunity to attack. “Linoone, use Snarl!” Linoone growled and fired a blast of dark energy at Metagross, knocking it sideways. Almost as if their minds were linked, Keagan told his Coalossal to do exactly what Jonah was thinking he should do: “Coalossal, use Tar Shot! Pin ‘em down!” Coalossal belched up a blob of boiling tar, pinning three out of four of Metagross’s legs to the ground. “Nice one!” Jonah said. “Now Linoone, use Night Slash!” he shouted. “You won’t stop us! Metagross, use Meteor Mash!” Metagross raised its one free leg and prepared to hit Linoone with a steel-hard punch. “You’re gonna have to block it, Linoone!” Jonah bellowed. Just as the sun sank below the horizon, Linoone began to glow with a brilliant blue light. It grew bulkier and more humanoid, gaining tufts of fur around its ankles and forearms. When the light faded, Linoone had evolved into the Dark-type Pokemon with a staggering voice, Obstagoon! It hadn’t forgotten Jonah’s order to block, though. It landed in front of Metagross, crossed its arms, and gave a deafening shout. A large white X appeared in front of it, which Metagross struck and rebounded off of. It had learned Obstruct! Thanks to Metagross’s immense weight, it came loose from the mass of tar it was stuck in, staggering sideways. Keagan seized the opportunity to make a finishing move, shouting, “Now Coalossal! Use Ancient Power!” Coalossal raised several rocks glowing with energy and launched them at Metagross, knocking it back. When the dust cleared, Metagross had been knocked out. “Impossible! How did I lose?” Duncan exclaimed. “Teamwork makes the dream work,” Jonah said, chuckling. “A deal’s a deal,” Keagan said. “Take us to your leader,” Jonah added.

Taking Duncan with them, Jonah and Keagan returned to their friends and informed them of what had transpired. “Guess we’re going on a field trip,” Tanner said. “Speaking of which, how far are we going here?” Jonah asked. “It’ll be a long journey, child. I suggest you pack well,” replied Duncan. “Thanks for the vague answer, but exactly how long are we talking?” Jonah said, slightly angered. “It would be a very long journey by foot, but if we fly on Pokemon, we could make the journey in about one week, I reckon,” Duncan replied. “Do we have enough Pokemon between us to transport us all?” Liam asked. “I’ve got Noivern and Corviknight, and Keagan has Arcanine, even though he would be on the ground,” Jonah said. “Arcanine is fast though, and it could probably carry two of us,” Keagan said. “And, Jonah, you could get something like the Flying Taxi cabs for your Corviknight, which means it could carry three or four of us,” Tanner suggested. “So there’s six of us. Corviknight can take four, Arcanine can take two, and I’ll ride Noivern,” Jonah decided. The others agreed. “Do you think we should take some soldiers with us?” Keagan asked. “Yeah, we could take ten or so,” Tanner replied. “We’ll need the best of the best,” Jonah said. After a quick discussion, the friends decided to call the five majors to the command room. Jonah went through the explanation of where they were going and why, then said, “We want to take ten soldiers with us. Any recommendations?” They all thought for a moment, then Ikari said, “Why don’t we go with you?” “Are you sure? Do you have people you could leave in command?” Liam asked. “We’ll get it covered,” Kireina answered. “I’m in,” Keagan said. “Me too,” Tanner added. The decision was unanimous. The majors would travel with them to the secret base.

The expedition crew began their preparations shortly after. Jonah and Keagan returned to their tent to begin packing. Jonah pulled out his red and white Densoku bag and began to pack food and clothing. Keagan did the same. After he packed his bag, Jonah began to think about getting a cab for his Corviknight as Tanner had suggested. “Do you think we should try to build a cab?” Jonah asked. “I dunno,” Keagan replied. “Maybe you could buy one from the company,” he suggested. “Maybe. Actually, that might work,” Jonah said. “We just need someone who can help us out,” Jonah said. “I can help!” Victor said. “Sorry, I overheard you guys talking, but I think I can help,” Victor said.

A little while later, a taxi driver and his Corviknight arrived in Hammerlocke. He greeted Victor, who said, “Guys, this is Geoffrey. I think he can help you.” “We need a cab,” Jonah said. “No problem! Where to?” Geoffrey asked. “No, no, not like that. We need the cab. Like, to use,” Tanner said. He then launched into yet another explanation of what they were doing and why they needed the cab. Geoffrey scratched his chin, then said, “I suppose you can take it. Seems like a good cause.” The boys gave thanks, then watched Geoffrey and his Corviknight fly away. Keagan said, “I designed a logo for the army the other day. We should paint in on the cab.” “Let’s see the logo,” Jonah said. Keagan went into the tent and came back out with a tattered, half-inch thick, red sketchbook. He flipped through the pages until he stopped on the logo: the sword of Zacian on top of the shield of Zamazenta, with a Pokeball over all of it. The whole design was inside a circle that read, “The United Galar Army''. “I did it like this because Zacian and Zamazenta were Galar’s original protectors, and the Pokeball is there to represent how our Pokemon are important to us,” Keagan explained. “I like it. Let’s put it on the cab,” Jonah said. They found a trainer with a Smeargle and had them paint the logo on the side of the cab. They then went to check on the rest of their friends. They had all finished their preparations, so they went to get something to eat. After dinner, they called it a night and went to bed, anxious for the journey ahead.

-Chapter 17-


The friends and their expedition party got up early the next morning and were ready to leave around five. Jonah shouldered his bag and released his Corviknight. “Morning, buddy,” he said, stroking it. Corviknight’s steel body shone in the early morning sunlight. Granted, there wasn’t much sunlight, but the little there was felt warm on the cool morning. “I’ve got something to show you,” Jonah said, beckoning for his Corviknight to follow him. Corviknight flew after Jonah and stopped next to him in front of the cab. “I need you to carry some of my friends. Can you do that?” Jonah asked. He motioned toward the cab and said, “Hop on.” Corviknight flapped onto the top of the cab and perched on the handles there. “Liam is going to ride on your back, and Mackenzie, Olivia, and Duncan, our prisoner, will ride on the cab. I’ll fly next to you on Noivern, okay?” Jonah said. Corviknight made a deep cawing sound, which Jonah took as a yes. “Good. Come this way,” he said. Corviknight gave several hard flaps of its wings and flew behind Jonah with the cab in its clutches. When he returned to his friends, Jonah said, “Corviknight’s ready to go. Hop in. Or, on, if you’re Liam.” “Are you sure I can do this?” Liam asked, looking nervously toward Corviknight. “It’s like riding a bike. Except the bike is a massive, steel, flying Pokemon,” Jonah replied. “Just kidding. You don’t really have to do anything except sit, and I’ll be up with you the whole time,” Jonah said. “You better be right,” Liam said. Then, he clambered up onto Corviknight’s back and sat down. “Actually, change of plan. Duncan rides on top with Liam,” Jonah said. “What?” Liam exclaimed. “Just so he can navigate. Mackenzie, Olivia, hop in,” Jonah said.

They both got in the cab, while Duncan, still handcuffed, walked toward Corviknight. Jonah grabbed him by the arm and said, “Try to pull anything and I’ll feed you to my Noivern. And that’s not an empty threat. He will tear you apart.” For added effect, Jonah’s Noivern, who had been eating berries all morning, hissed at Duncan. “Understood,” Duncan said nonchalantly. Liam helped him up onto Corviknight’s back, and Jonah went to talk to Keagan and Tanner. Keagan was petting his Arcanine while Tanner checked his bag. “You guys ready?” Jonah asked. “Yeah, I guess,” Tanner said. “We’re always ready, right bud?” Keagan said, ruffling Arcanine’s mane. Arcanine barked in return. “Let’s get going,” Jonah said. Keagan and Tanner got on Arcanine’s back, and Jonah did the same with Noivern. He ruffled its fur and gave it a Pecha Berry. “Let’s fly, Noivern,” Jonah said. Noivern flew up and stopped about twenty-five feet in the air. “Alright, Duncan, where are we going?” Jonah asked. “Head south until you reach The Crown Tundra,” Duncan said. “Sounds like a good start,” Jonah said. He yelled down to Keagan, “We’re headed south! Follow us!” Keagan nodded and told his Arcanine to go. Jonah did the same with Noivern, and Corviknight followed.

After a few minutes of flying, the Pokemon in the air had climbed to about one hundred and fifty feet of altitude. Jonah steered Noivern over to Liam and asked, “How’s it going?” “You were right,” Liam responded. “It is pretty easy.” Jonah laughed and said, “That’s good, ‘cause we’re gonna be at this for a while.” Just then, Jonah and Liam looked forward to see the sunrise. The sky was deep orange near the horizon and bright blue above. “Wow,” Jonah said. “No kidding,” Liam added. Jonah looked down to see Keagan taking a picture with his Rotom Phone. Jonah looked back up to face forward. “Guess we better settle in for the long haul,” Jonah said. He pulled out a hoodie from his bag, black and blue with a camouflage pattern, put it on, and zipped it up. Then, he pulled out his phone and called Keagan.

“Hey,” Keagan said. “Just wanted to see how it’s going down there,” Jonah said. “We’re fine. Arcanine loves running,” Keagan replied. “That’s good. Let me know if anything happens,” Jonah said, then hung up. “Keagan’s doing alright,” Jonah said. “That’s good,” Liam replied. Just then, a male Unfeazant flew up next to Jonah and Noivern. “Hey there,” Jonah said. The Unfeazant gave a cooing sound, its red plumage flowing in the wind. It looked them over, appearing confused at the fact that a human was riding a Pokemon. Noivern gave a squeak as if asking, You got a problem? The Unfeazant gave another coo and flew away. Jonah said, “Well, that was neat.” “No kidding,” Liam said. “Yes, yes, very neat. Now please shut up,” Duncan said calmly. “Put a sock in it, Duncan,” Jonah said. “You may wish to keep your guide happy, child,” Duncan shot back. “I’m the only one who can get you to Aldrich’s fortress,” he added. “Why do you even follow that guy? He’s nuts,” Liam said. “Our king will bring order to our world with the help of the Pokemon we will summon,” Duncan replied. “Is that what you think? He’s going to bring chaos and destruction, not order,” Jonah said. “Prove it,” Duncan said. “Hey, Liam, you got that book on your phone?” Jonah asked. “Yeah,” Liam said, pulling his phone from his pocket. He fiddled with it for a few seconds before showing Duncan a translated version of the page on the Chaos Lord. Duncan read over it, then said, “Lies. You could’ve written that yourself.” “But we didn’t,” Jonah replied. Duncan stared off into the sky.

Jonah then looked over to his majors. Ikari, Kireina, and Hayai all rode on Ikari’s Gyarados in the sky, Kodai flew on his Aerodactyl, and Tetsu was riding his Steelix down below. Everything was in order. For once, something was in order. Jonah settled back and let Noivern do his thing. About two hours later, Noivern squeaked at Jonah and nodded at the ground. “Okay, buddy,” Jonah said. He raised his voice and said, “Hey, guys! Noivern needs to land for a bit.” “Uhh, how do I land Corviknight?” Liam asked. “I got it. Corviknight, go down there and drop the cab off,” Jonah commanded. Corviknight cawed and began a slow descent. “Down we go, bud,” Jonah said. Noivern made a steeper dive toward the ground. They landed in a clearing in the Wild Area outside Motostoke.

Corviknight set the cab down, out of which stepped Mackenzie and Olivia, then settled on the ground. The majors got off of the Pokemon they were riding, as did Jonah, Tanner, and Keagan. “Thanks for your help, buddy,” Jonah said as he patted his Corviknight. He didn’t really know how hard it was for Corviknight to carry the cab and its passengers, along with Liam and Duncan, but Corviknight seemed to appreciate the thanks. “Anybody else hungry?” Keagan asked. “You bet,” Jonah replied, his stomach growling. “Let’s eat!” Tetsu said. Jonah reached into his bag and pulled out premade breakfast; he had packed it last night. It consisted of a protein bar and bottled water. It wasn’t much, but Jonah had determined that having enough food to last him for the trip was more important than what the food was. He also grabbed food for his Pokemon: A few berries for Noivern and some seeds for Corviknight. Both Pokemon began to gobble up their food. Everyone else was attending to their Pokemon as well.

Keagan was brushing dirt from Arcanine’s fur, Ikari was feeding his Gyarados, who required a large amount of food, Kodai was giving Aerodactyl a scratch under the chin, and Tetsu wasn’t doing much to take care of his Steelix because it didn’t need anything, except some food, thanks to its diamond-hard body and the fact that it lived in the dirt to begin with. Jonah’s friends and the majors had all produced breakfast as well. They all sat and ate for a bit and let their Pokemon rest. Pokemon in the Wild Area observed them cautiously. An Espurr observed them from far away, a Corvisquire circled above them, and a Pawinard sharpened its blades on a stone near the river and looked at them while it did so. Most were harmless, except for a Munchlax who kept trying to steal food. It made a few attempts until Corviknight gave it a serious look. The Munchlax promptly ran the other way. Jonah laughed and said, “Thanks, Corviknight. That thing was getting on my nerves.” The group, except for Duncan, talked for a little while longer, until about seven-thirty when Noivern nudged Jonah’s shoulder. It pointed up with its right wing. Jonah got the message. “Hey, guys, Noivern’s ready to go. How ‘bout you guys?” Jonah asked. The others and their Pokemon were ready. Jonah pulled out a compass his dad had given him before the trip to figure out which way they needed to go. His family had mixed feelings about him going on the trip. His dad had approved of the trip, proud of Jonah for taking action, while his mom thought it was dangerous. Jude had only wanted to know if he could come along. Jonah fiddled with his compass for a moment, then found south and, pointing, said, “That way!” Jonah mounted his Noivern and took to the sky. The others mounted their Pokemon and faced south. “Off we go!” Keagan said.

-Chapter 18-


The journey continued for several hours, with not much talking. You couldn’t hear much with the wind anyway. Eventually, the snowy flats of The Crown Tundra were visible. The group would’ve continued, but a blizzard forced them to stop. They landed about two hundred and fifty yards away from the only town in The Crown Tundra, Freezington. They all set up tents, in a circle formation for tactical reasons, and Keagan had his Arcanine start a fire with some branches Tetsu’s Scizor had cut down. Jonah checked his watch after everything was set up. It read eight twenty-seven. Although it was dark out, the fire provided lots of light. Jonah, just like the others, reached into his bag to find dinner. He produced from his bag a container that held a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cup of yogurt. He wolfed down his meal as fast as he could, then asked, “So where are we going tomorrow, prisoner?” Duncan grimaced at being called a prisoner, but he answered the question.

“We will journey to the end of The Crown Tundra, past Dyna Tree Hill, and then we will cross the ocean to get to where we’re going.” “The ocean?” Keagan exclaimed. “Yes,” Duncan replied calmly. “We must cross it to reach our destination.” “How much ocean are we talking about here?” Jonah asked. “Enough that it will take several days to cross it,” Duncan replied. “We will travel to Kalos and stock up on supplies tomorrow, then fly over the ocean and rest each day, and do so until we reach our destination,” he continued. “Where will we be able to rest?” Kodai asked. “There are many small islands we can rest on,” Duncan said. “Speaking of rest, let’s hit the hay,” Kireina said. The others agreed, knowing that they would once again be up early tomorrow. They all got into their tents, zipped up their sleeping bags, and drifted off to sleep.

The group got up at four in the morning, ate breakfast, and began the journey to Kalos. They all mounted their Pokemon and followed Duncan’s directions.

Keagan had never been to Kalos, but he was excited to go. He didn’t know much about it, other than the fact that there was a war there a long time ago. He wasn’t quite sure how his Arcanine was going to cross the water, but he usually left the planning to Jonah. The plans often involved him getting to light something on fire, which he enjoyed. His Arcanine set off on a brisk run with Keagan and Tanner on his back. “So, how do you like the Arcanine experience?” Keagan asked Tanner. “It’s so cool!” Tanner replied. “I’ve never ridden on a Pokemon before, and Arcanine is really fast,” he added. “Welcome to the coolness of being me,” Keagan said. He tried to take a proud pose, but instead lost his grip on Arcanine and nearly fell off. Tanner laughed and said, “Yeah, really cool.” Keagan was clinging on to Arcanine for dear life, then straightened up and said, “Shut up.” Tanner just laughed more. Testu came over on his Steelix and said, “Real smooth.” “So, what, everybody saw it?” Keagan exclaimed.

“Yeah, dude, we all saw it,” Jonah called from above. Recalling that he was from Kalos, Tanner asked Tetsu, “So, which part of Kalos are you from?” “Cyllage City,” Tetsu replied. “That’s where I caught Steelix here,” he added patting Steelix on the head. Steelix gave a low grumble. “Can’t you find Mega Stones in Kalos?” Keagan asked. “Sure can. Key Stones, too,” Tetsu replied, holding up his right arm, on which he wore a metal bracelet that held a Key Stone. The stone was rainbow-colored and had a symbol on it similar to the structure of human DNA. “Cool. Which one of your Pokemon can you evolve with it?” Keagan asked. “My first Pokemon, Aggron,” Tetsu answered. “Awesome! Mega Aggron is like a walking tank,” Keagan said. “That he is,” Tetsu said. “You guys don’t have that kind of thing around here, do you?” he asked. “No, but we’ve got Dynamax Bands,” Keagan said, pulling back the sleeve of his red hoodie to reveal, on his right arm, a white cuff with a red and blue stripe and a black section showing a white version of the Galar League logo. It glinted in the early morning sunlight. “So that’s where you guys get the giant Pokemon from?” Tetsu asked. Keagan was about to say yes, but Tanner said, “Not exactly. Because of Eternatus, there is energy scattered around our region known as Galar Particles, and high concentrations of them are called Power Spots. We can use the Dynamax Bands in those places to Dynamax our Pokemon, so they grow in size and power. Some Pokemon even change their appearance, being known as Gigantamax Pokemon,” he explained. “Thanks for the science lesson, Tanner,” Keagan said sarcastically. “Well, he asked!” Tanner shot back.

Tetsu laughed and said, “That’s actually pretty neat. Thanks, Tanner.” “That’s why the stadiums are so big here. Dynamax battles can get pretty destructive, and the Pokemon are massive,” Keagan said. “Battling is really big here. The League matches are on TV and everything,” Tanner added. “Have you guys ever been in a battle like that?” Tetsu asked, “We were in a big tournament a while ago,” Keagan said. “I think it was televised,” Tanner added. “Cool. Did you win?” “It was a duos battle format, so I paired with Jonah, Tanner went with Liam, and Mackenzie and Olivia were together. Liam and Tanner got beat in the quarter-finals, and Mackenzie and Olivia lost in the semifinals. Jonah and I made it to the finals, and we won. It was great,” Keagan said.

He thought back to the day. He had been on the biggest adrenaline rush he’d ever had during the final battle, and when they won he felt happier than ever. Until a psycho with a Beeheeyem tried to blow everybody up. Then he switched into battle mode again. After they had defeated the Beheeyem, the friends found their parents in the scattered crowds of people. After everybody’s parents were assured that their children were unharmed, everyone received congratulations from their parents. Keagan and Jonah both only smiled stupidly, still in a state of euphoria. That was one of Keagan’s favorite memories. “That does sound great,” Tetsu said. “It was even good to watch,” Tanner said. “What kind of Pokemon do you battle with anyway, Tanner?” asked Tetsu. “I’ve got Araquanid, Drednaw, Centiskorch, Appletun, Golisopod, and Toxicroak,” Tanner said. “Pretty good assortment you’ve got there. How did you lose in the tournament?” Tetsu asked. “Well, for starters, back then I still had Dewpider and Sizzlipede instead of Araquanid and Centiskorch, and Liam and I lost because of a type disadvantage. I used Appletun and Liam used Snover, and the other guys had a Hitmonchan and a Skuntank. We got destroyed,” Tanner replied. “That’s unfortunate,” Tetsu said. “Yeah, but I learned a lot from that tournament,” Tanner said. “That’s good, I guess,” Tetsu replied. “And look at us now!” Keagan said, spreading his arms. “Following the directions of a possibly crazy trainer to get to some secret base in a place that doesn’t exist?” Tanner joked. “Well yes, but I meant that we’re leading an army with some of the best trainers around to defend the Galar region,” Keagan replied. “That too,” Tanner said. “It is pretty unbelievable,” Tetsu said.

Up in the sky, Jonah could see Dyna Tree Hill coming into view. “You know, I heard that the Legendary Wings sometimes visit this tree,” Jonah said. “The what?” Liam shouted. “Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. In Galar there are regional forms of them that visit this tree to eat the berries,” Jonah explained. “Legendary Pokemon!” Liam exclaimed. “Yes sir,” Jonah replied. As if on cue, the three birds appeared around the tree. They all looked around and saw each other, then began to fight amongst themselves. Articuno fired what appeared to be psychic laser beams from its eyes at Moltres, Zapdos attempted to hit Articuno with a flying kick, and Moltres used a fire-like aura to attack Zapdos. “Holy crap!” Liam exclaimed. “It’s not every day you get to see legendary Pokemon, huh?” Jonah said. “No kidding,” Liam replied. “Yes, yes, very interesting. But can we keep moving?” Duncan snapped. “Okay, buzzkill,” Jonah shot back. “I’m just saying we need to keep making progress,” Duncan replied. “You’re right, as much as I hate to agree with you,” Jonah said begrudgingly.

The group traveled for some time without seeing anything, until a structure came into view. It was a crudely built one, in resemblance to a castle, but smaller. It seemed to have been constructed by way of Pokemon manipulating stone. Kodai held up a clenched fist and bellowed, “Hold!” Everyone stopped moving. “What is it?” Keagan hollered up from the ground. “I don’t kn–,” Jonah started, then saw people down below. He recognized them immediately. Aldrich’s acolytes. “It’s some kind of base! For the acolytes!” Jonah called down to Keagan. Just then, a man appeared on top of the center tower. He was exceptionally large, both tall and muscular. Jonah estimated him to be around six feet and five inches tall. He had black hair which was close-cut and stubble on his chin. “You know that guy, Duncan?” Jonah asked. “Yes, in fact, I do. His name is Keith, and he is our leading field tactician. A good trainer, too,” Duncan replied. “Why is he here?” Liam asked. “That’s confidential information,” Duncan replied. “You don’t get to keep anything confidential. Answer the question,” Jonah said sternly. “Fine. We were intending to set up more bases in this area, and Keith’s team was the first one sent,” Duncan replied. “That’s not good,” Kodai said. “Not to break up your little chat, guys, but we’ve got incoming!” Keagan roared. Jonah looked forward to see four different attacks hurtling toward the flying Pokemon: Discharge, Air Cutter, Flamethrower, and Solar Beam. Each one appeared to come from a tower on the structure below, but Jonah knew they all came from Pokemon. “Evasive maneuvers!” Jonah hollered. Noivern dived into a barrel roll, and Corviknight banked right. They were in for a battle.

Down on the ground, Keagan and the others were hidden by some underbrush, so it came as a surprise to the residents of the building when Keagan yelled, “Arcanine, use Flamethrower!” Arcanine inhaled deeply and loosed a raging column of fire from its mouth toward the right front tower. Tetsu had apparently had the same thought, hollering, “Steelix, use Dragon Breath!” Steelix fired a bluish-purple energy beam from its massive maw toward the left front tower. Tanner hopped down from Arcanine and threw a Pokeball, releasing his Appletun. Completing the ground assault, Tanner yelled, “Appletun, use Apple Acid!” Appletun spat a blast of orange acid toward the center tower, hissing and bubbling when it landed. “We’re going to have to take the base!” Keagan hollered. “We’ll need help! We’re outnumbered!” Tetsu called back. Keagan raised his hand and signaled Jonah to fly down. He landed next to him and yelled over the noise, “What do you want?” “We need air support! If you guys can do that, we can take the base from down here!” Keagan hollered back. “You got it!” Jonah said. He flew back up and said, “Ikari! Drop Kireina and Kodai and the ground, then come back up. Liam, take Corviknight down and drop off the cab, then get back up here. Got it?” “What about me?” Duncan asked. “You can stay on the ground because I don’t trust you,” Jonah replied. Everyone went down to the ground and did what they were told to, then came back up. “Okay, we need to provide support so that the guys on the ground can take the base. Target the Pokemon in the towers. Let’s go!” Jonah said. “Hold up, what do I do? This isn’t my Pokemon,” Liam said. “Oh, right. Corviknight can use Drill Peck, Pluck, Fury Attack, and Steel Wing. Your best option is to dive, hit, and fly away since Corviknight has no ranged attacks,” Jonah replied. “Okay, I’ll do my best,” Liam said.

“Let’s move!” Jonah hollered. “Noivern, head for the right tower and use Dragon Pulse!” Noivern veered right and began to dive. Jonah hadn’t actually seen the enemy Pokemon yet, but he figured that Dragon Pulse would be strong enough to make any opponent think twice about fighting him and his Noivern. He was wrong. The Pokemon he had attacked was an Alolan Golem, who took the attack like a tank. Jonah then looked at the trainer standing next to the Golem. She had dark hair that hung down around her face, green eyes, and a menacing expression. Jonah then realized that he recognized her. She was the same person who had attacked him with the same Alolan Golem on the hill, nearly killing him. “Time for revenge, Noivern. Dive!” Jonah said. Noivern dove toward the tower and landed on it. Jonah hopped off and asked, “Remember me?” “Unfortunately, yes,” the woman replied. “I’ll make sure to finish the job this time. Golem, use Heavy Slam!” She yelled. Golem ran forward as fast as it could toward Noivern. Granted, it still wasn’t very fast, so Noivern was able to dodge easily when Jonah told it to. “Noivern, use Boomburst!” Noivern fired a wave of sound at Golem, but it didn’t do much because Golem resisted the Normal-type move. “This is gonna be a tough one, Noivern,” Jonah said. Noivern gave an exasperated squeak as if to say, Yeah, no kidding. He thought about it for a second, then realized that the only move Noivern had that Golem didn’t resist was Dragon Pulse, and it would still take a few hits to knock out a tank like Golem. He would have to use Noivern’s other moves and his speed advantage to win the battle.

Just before he could begin his attack plan, the woman said, “Golem, use Rock Blast!” “Dodge the rocks and use Hurricane!” Jonah hollered. Noivern weaved through the five electrically charged rocks Golem had fired with ease, then flapped its large, leathery wings and staggered Golem with a spiraling column of air. “Now use Dragon Pulse!” Jonah yelled. Noivern loosed a brilliant beam of purple and blue energy, hitting Golem square in the chest and knocking it back. Golem grunted and shook its head, then looked up to face Noivern. “Alright! It felt that one,” Jonah exclaimed. “Enough of this! Use Discharge!” The woman yelled. Golem bore an expression like it was concentrating, then released a massive flare of electricity, zapping Noivern. “Noivern!” Jonah cried. Noivern was on all fours on the ground, smoking from the electrocution. “Can you get up?” Jonah asked. Noivern gave a snarl and pushed itself up, looking menacingly at Golem. “Oh, you’re in for it now,” Jonah said. “Noivern, use Super Fang! Thrash ‘em!” He yelled. Noivern flew up, then dove down and latched onto Golem’s arm with glowing fangs. Then, it pulled with all its might and threw Golem across the tower, causing it to crash into the wall. “Dragon Pulse, full power!” Jonah said. Noivern inhaled deeply, charging up its energy, then fired a beam of draconic energy so intense that it blasted Golem through the tower wall. Golem fell thirty feet straight down and hit the ground, forming a crater and sending up a billowing dust cloud. The dust cleared after a few seconds, revealing Golem, unconscious, at the bottom of the crater. “We did it!” Jonah said, pumping his fist in the air. Noivern shrieked in celebration. “Guess that settles the score,” Jonah said. The woman hung her head in defeat. “And you’re not getting away this time,” Jonah said. “Hey, Liam! I need some ice down here!” Jonah called. Liam was circling above on Corviknight after a successful battle with a Crobat. He called back, “You do it!” He threw a Pokeball down to Jonah, who looked at it and said, “Uh, okay,” He tossed the Pokeball, releasing Liam’s Avalugg.

It looked confused to see Jonah instead of Liam. “Yeah, weird for me too,” Jonah said. “Alright, uh, can you freeze her, Avalugg?” Jonah asked. Avalugg gave him an annoyed look as if saying, Yes, human, I’m pretty sure I can do that. It used what Jonah recognized as a Blizzard attack, freezing the woman in place. “Thanks,” Jonah said, returning Avalugg to its Pokeball. He looked around to check the status of the rest of the air assault. Liam had taken out a Crobat, thanks to Corviknight’s immunity to Poison-type moves, Kodai had unleashed a barrage of ancient fury from Aerodactyl on an Amoonguss, and Ikari had blasted the top of his tower to bits with a Hyper Beam from his Gyarados, knocking out a Ninetales with the same attack. “Guess it worked,” Jonah said. “Move in!” He called down to Keagan. He nodded and motioned forward with his hand to signal the ground team to move in. Jonah motioned for the air team to land and follow Keagan, who was in charge of the ground assault. They all landed and returned their flying Pokemon, then released Pokemon to use in the ground assault. Jonah released his Rillaboom, Liam his Weavile, Ikari his Golduck, and Kodai his Armaldo. Jonah could see Keagan leading the charge with his Cinderace, who had just kicked a Machamp in the face. Behind him was Tanner with his Araquanid, Kireina with her Milotic, Tetsu with his Steelix, Hayai with his Ninjask, Olivia with her Hitmonlee, and Mackenzie with her Rapidash. “Let’s take this base!” Jonah hollered, charging in after Keagan.

Keagan was happy to lead the ground assault. Granted, he didn’t have to do much besides telling people to go right or left, but it still felt nice to be in charge. He had just finished taking out a Machamp when he heard the air team come in through the gate. He was pretty confident that they could take the base, especially with the air team here to back them up. After about ten minutes, they cleared the base. Or so they thought. They were about to go up the center tower when a man walked out from it. It was Keith, the man Duncan had pointed out earlier. He was wearing sand camo army pants, combat boots, and a green t-shirt that had straps over it coming from a belt on the pants. Without warning, he tossed a Pokeball, releasing a Tyranitar. “Tyranitar, use Stone Edge,” he said calmly.

Tyranitar roared and plunged its fist into the ground, creating a wall of stone that knocked the entire group into the dirt. He then set his eyes on Duncan. “Traitor!” He bellowed. Duncan managed to get up off the ground even with his hands bound. “Traitor?” He exclaimed. “These children restrained me and brought me here against my will!” Duncan yelled. “I won’t believe your lies, Duncan,” Keith spat. His Tyranitar snarled angrily behind him. “You can trust me. I want the same thing you and King Aldrich want: order in this world,” Duncan said. “Is that what you think?” Keith said. He gave a booming laugh. “We will bring chaos, not order. Not only are you a traitor, but you are also a fool. And I will tolerate you no longer,” Keith said. He raised his right hand, and his Tyranitar began to charge a Hyper Beam attack. Just then, Liam yelled, “Weavile, now!” Weavile used Ice Shard, completing two tasks with the attack. Some of the chunks of ice hit Duncan’s handcuffs, breaking the chain, while the others hit Tyranitar in the back of the head, causing it to misfire Hyper Beam into the ground, leaving a smoking crater. In an instant, Duncan dropped to the ground and performed a sweep kick on Keith, knocking him to the ground. “Catch, Duncan!” Jonah hollered, throwing one of Duncan’s Pokeballs at him. Jonah had been keeping them in his backpack. Duncan caught it and prepared to throw it, but Keith said, “Not so fast!” He had signaled his Tyranitar to turn on Jonah, and it was ready to attack. “You can drop your Pokeball and surrender, or you can watch while I destroy this child. Your choice,” Keith said. Jonah stared at Tyranitar, frozen with fear as his life hung in the balance. Keagan desperately wanted to help his friend, but he knew that if he made a move Jonah would be gone.

Duncan appeared to think for a moment, then said, “Okay, Keith you win. You are a better strategist than I.” He let go of his Pokeball, appearing to let it fall to the ground. But, at the last second, he kicked it, launching it directly into Keith’s temple, and knocking him unconscious. This also released the Pokemon inside the Pokeball, which was Duncan’s Gallade. “Gallade, use Close Combat!” Gallade ran forward at Tyranitar and slashed it rapidly with his arm blades. Tyranitar stumbled backward and fell to the ground, unconscious. “I guess I really am a traitor,” Duncan said, laughing. “Dude, you saved my life,” Jonah said. “Yeah, why?” Keagan asked. “Because I don’t want to be a part of that anymore,” Duncan said, gesturing toward the castle. “Then you’re with us now?” Tanner asked. “Yes, I think I am,” Duncan said.

-Chapter 19-


The team secured the base and called back to Hammerlocke to request a team to be sent to hold the base in case more acolytes came. While they were waiting, they talked out their plans. “So, where are we going to land in Kalos?” Jonah asked. “We will land in Lumiose City. It’s the largest city in the region, and we can get supplies there,” Duncan said. “Once we get our supplies, we’ll rest in Kalos for a bit before we start crossing the ocean,” Tetsu said. “Yeah, what’s the estimate for how long that’ll take?” Kireina asked. “Well, by my calculations using our current pace and factoring in the fact that some of our Pokemon will be able to swim, we should be able to cross it in about five days,” Duncan replied. “And we have places we can rest, right?” Kodai asked. “Yes, there are islands we can stop at, and, if needed, Liam’s Pokemon can make ice for us to rest on,” Duncan said. “Sounds like a plan,” Ikari said. They all tended to their Pokemon, then made the decision to not wait for the team from Hammerlocke to arrive, since it would take some time for them to get there. They prepared the base for the team’s arrival, then contacted them with a walkie-talkie they had brought. The team was led by commander Greg Thompson, one of the most successful commanders who battled against the acolytes in Duncan’s siege. They had Ikari make the call since commander Thompson was from Ikari’s group.

He picked up the walkie-talkie, pressed the button, and said, “This is Ikari. I’m looking for commander Thompson.” “Right here, sir,” a voice crackled through the walkie-talkie. “How long until your team arrives, commander?” Ikari asked. “About two days, sir,” Greg replied. “Roger that. The base is prepared for your arrival. Once you get here, I want you to expand and create more bases across the area. I also give you the authority to have additional troops stationed at the new bases you create. Call me when you arrive,” Ikari said. “Understood sir. I’ll see to it,” Greg said. “Dismissed,” Ikari finished. “Sounds like he’s on top of things,” Jonah commented. “He’s always on top of things,” Ikari said. “Can we move out then?” Tanner asked. “Yes, I believe we are ready,” Duncan answered.

After the team had gathered their supplies and taken anything useful they could find from the base, Liam and his Darmanitan froze the acolytes in place. “Hey, Duncan? You wanna ditch those robes?” Jonah asked. Duncan had been wearing his acolyte robes since he launched a siege on Hammerlocke. His robes were different than the usual ankle-length, flowy, ornate, crimson ones worn by most acolytes. Duncan’s only extended a few inches beyond his waistline and had shorter sleeves. Keith hadn’t been wearing a robe when they fought him. Tanner thought it was because he was in an important field position, and robes were impractical. “Yes, I suppose I should,” Duncan said. He took off his robes and threw them in the dirt, leaving him wearing a tight, black, long-sleeved t-shirt and black pants. “Now we just need to get you something else to wear,” Jonah said. He looked around to find something, then he noticed a metal shoulder pauldron with three spots on the strap to hold Pokeballs. “That’ll do,” Jonah said, pointing. Duncan walked over and strapped the pauldron onto his left shoulder. “Yes, it will,” Duncan said. He also found a gauntlet to wear on his right arm and greaves for his legs. “That’s a good look,” Keagan said. He had just finished packing up and feeding Arcanine. “I quite like it myself,” Duncan said, closing his armored fist. “Hey, fashionistas! The team’s ready to move out!” Kodai called. “Let’s get moving,” Jonah said.

The group walked over to where the rest of the team was standing. “Good work today team,” Keagan said. “It was an honor, sir,” Jonah joked, rousing a laugh. “Everybody ready?” Tanner asked. “Yeah, I think,” Liam said. Jonah tossed a Pokeball, releasing Noivern. “Ready to fly, bud?” Jonah asked. Noivern squeaked to answer. “You’re probably hungry, huh?” Jonah said. He reached into his bag and handed Noivern a few berries, which he gobbled up eagerly. “Who do I ride with?” Duncan asked. “Here, take these,” Jonah said. He gave Duncan the rest of his Pokeballs. “Alright then,” Duncan said. He tossed one of the Pokeballs, releasing a Dragonite. Dragonite looked around like it was searching for targets, until Duncan said, “No fight, pal. I just need some help.” Dragonite relaxed and now looked at the group with intrigue instead of anger. Jonah pulled out his compass and found the direction they needed to go. “Alright, we’re headed that way, guys,” Jonah said. “Mount up and move out!” He added.

By the time the group got moving, it was about ten in the morning. There were supposed to be clear skies all day, so the team wasn’t worried about weather problems. Duncan estimated that they could reach Kalos by nightfall. “We need to figure out which Pokemon to use to cross the water,” Liam said. “Well, Avalugg can float and probably carry two or three of us, Gyarados can swim and carry three, and we have some flyers,” Jonah said. “I have a Barraskewda I can ride on,” Hayai said. “That’s good,” Jonah said. “And, if we need it, I can Mega Evolve Gyarados so it can go faster,” Ikari added. “That’s even better!” Keagan exclaimed. “Milotic can swim as well,” Kireina said. “Sounds like we’re covered,” Kodai said.

The group reached the shore at about three o’clock and landed there. “Alright, let’s get ready,” Jonah said, recalling his Noivern. The others recalled their Pokemon as well. “Okay, swimming Pokemon, go,” Jonah said. Liam sent out his Avalugg, Ikari his Gyarados, Hayai his Barraskewda, and Kireina her Milotic. They all got into the water once told to by their trainers. “Okay, everyone with no water or air transport, on the swimmers,” Jonah said. Keagan and Tanner hopped onto Avalugg’s back, Kireina clambered onto her Milotic, Hayai sat on his Barraskewda, and Ikari and Tetsu sat on Gyarados. Duncan released his Dragonite, Jonah released his Noivern, and Liam mounted Corviknight and flew it onto the top of the cab, which Mackenzie and Olivia boarded. Kodai released his Aerodactyl and climbed onto its back. “Ready to go?” Jonah asked his Noivern. Noivern squeaked and gave Jonah a determined look. “Alright then,” Jonah said, climbing onto Noivern. “Everybody ready?” He asked. “Ready,” Liam said. “Raring to go,” Ikari answered. “Yes sir,” Duncan responded. “Ready for liftoff,” Kodai responded. “Good to go,” Hayai said. “Roger that,” Kireina said. “Can we just go already?” Keagan said. Jonah laughed and replied, “You got it. Let’s fly, Noivern!” Noivern leaped into the air and started to fly out over the ocean. The other flying Pokemon followed suit, and the swimming Pokemon began moving as well. The flying Pokemon had to go slower than usual so that they wouldn’t get too far ahead of the swimming Pokemon. The group didn’t expect any obstacles in their path, so Jonah figured it would be a pretty boring journey. He sat back and let Noivern do its thing.

Tanner had never been on the open ocean before, but it was calmer than he expected. It was a little bit hard to keep his balance on Avalugg since it was slippery and because of the constant rocking back and forth, but he figured it was better than swimming. There weren’t many large waves, so Tanner was mostly dry. Keagan seemed to be enjoying the ride as well, even though he had almost fallen off of Avalugg twice. The trip was going smoothly until about six o’clock when Tanner saw some dark clouds above. “Uh, you guys seeing this?” Tanner called. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll hit land before the storm hits us,” Jonah hollered. “Are you sure you’re right?” Tanner asked. “When have I ever steered ya wrong?” Jonah responded.

About fifteen minutes later, Jonah’s Noivern and the other flying Pokemon were getting thrown around like leaves in the wind. The storm moved much faster than Jonah had anticipated, causing the water to become choppy and the wind to become wild and unpredictable. “Okay, this might be the one time I steered ya wrong!” Jonah shouted over the howling wind. “You think?” Tanner yelled back. A wave crashed over him, but Keagan grabbed his hand to stop him from falling into the churning waves. “Alright, any ideas? Literally any ideas!” Jonah yelled. He then spotted a funnel cloud over the water. “Oh, great! It’s a hurricane!” Jonah said. “Wait a minute, hurricanes make wind by spinning, right?” Keagan yelled. “Yeah, why?” Tanner hollered. “I have an idea, but you aren’t gonna like it,” Keagan said. “Let’s hear it!” Hayai hollered. “Jonah, do you think Noivern could use Hurricane to make a tunnel?” Keagan asked. “Whadda you think, bud?” Jonah asked. Noivern squeaked and sort of nodded its head. “Yeah, he can!” Jonah yelled back. “Okay, here’s the plan. Jonah, make a wind tunnel into the hurricane!” Keagan said. “Are you completely insane?” Jonah bellowed. “Just follow me for a minute, okay?” Keagan said. “Make a tunnel so that you can get to the center of the storm, then take all the flying Pokemon through the tunnel. Once you’re in the center, you can stop the hurricane by spinning in the other direction,” Keagan continued.

“That might work for a minute, but then the hurricane will just start spinning the other way,” Jonah said. “I’m not done yet!” Keagan hollered. “Once the winds slow down, we’ll freeze the hurricane!” He added. “You can’t freeze wind!” Jonah said. “No, but we can freeze the water droplets inside!” Liam said. He had dropped the cab on an ice platform that Avalugg had created since the winds were too strong to keep it in the air. Jonah thought it over for a moment, then said with a smile, “You’re a wack job, you know that?” “Let’s fly into a hurricane!” Ikari said. “Noivern, sustained Hurricane attack, now!” Noivern began to flap its wings and create a wind tunnel. After a few seconds, Jonah said, “Let’s see if it works.” He grabbed a couple of loose hairs from Noivern and threw them into the tunnel. Instead of being wildly blown about like everything else, they shot forward through the tunnel. “Go, go, go!” Jonah said. The other flying Pokemon went through the tunnel toward the center of the storm. Jonah gave a two-fingered salute and steered Noivern into the tunnel, which dissipated as they went. Once he got to the center, the winds were calmer, but there were massive waves to avoid. “Alright, let’s do this,” Jonah said. “My Dragonite can use Hurricane as well,” Duncan said. “Okay, that’s helpful. Duncan, create a wind tunnel straight down, in the opposite direction that the hurricane is spinning,” Jonah said. “You got it. Dragonite, use Hurricane!” Dragonite made a wind tunnel that spun clockwise, opposite to the hurricane.

“Okay, Liam. You and me are gonna fly in the direction of Duncan’s wind tunnel, but we’ll do barrel rolls so that the wind is going even more different directions,” Jonah said. “Sounds good,” Liam said. “Hold on to your lunch,” Jonah said, steering Noivern into the wind tunnel. Liam followed him. “Barrel rolls, now!” Jonah said. Noivern and Corviknight both started spinning rapidly. After a few minutes of trying not to vomit, Jonah and Liam hadn’t stopped the hurricane exactly, but they had slowed it down a great deal. Just then, Ice-type attacks were launched into the hurricane, beginning to freeze it. After several attacks, the hurricane was frozen into a solid ice funnel. “Alright!” Jonah said, pumping his fist. “I knew it would work!” Keagan yelled. Just then, there was a horrible cracking sound. The frozen structure began to fall over with the three of them and their Pokemon still inside. “Oh crud,” Jonah said. Keagan saw the bottom of the funnel begin to crack and splinter. “We’ve gotta get them outta there!” Tanner yelled. “There’s no time!” Hayai said.

Keagan decided that he wasn’t going to let his friends die and not do anything about it. “Avalugg, make a path to the funnel!” Keagan said. Avalugg began to freeze the water to make a pathway for Keagan, who threw a Pokeball, releasing Arcanine. He jumped onto Arcanine and said, “Arcanine, use Extreme Speed!” Arcanine ran as fast as it could toward the frozen funnel cloud. When it was about fifty yards away, Keagan jumped off and said, “Jump as high as you can!” Arcanine leaped nearly one hundred feet into the air at Keagan’s command. “Now use Flamethrower! Full power!” Keagan said. Arcanine’s power combined with its determination to save its friends enabled it to fire a column of flames so large and hot that it melted a thirty-foot hole in the ice funnel, which the group flew out of as the structure crashed into the ocean, sending up massive waves which would’ve engulfed the entire group had it not been for Liam saying, “Avalugg, use Blizzard!” Avalugg froze the waves in place, creating a stunning sculpture of ice. “Nice!” Keagan said, returning his Arcanine. However, because of the way the waves were when they were frozen, it was not a structurally sound sculpture, and it too began to crack. The flying Pokemon were clear of it, but Keagan was not, and a chunk of ice the size of a semi-truck had broken off and was going to land on him.

“Noivern, after him!” Jonah said. Noivern veered left and headed for Keagan. Seeing that they wouldn’t get there before the ice chunk hit Keagan, Jonah said, “Noivern, use Dragon Pulse!” Noivern fired an energy beam and shattered the ice chunk into pieces small enough for it to fly around. It expertly weaved through the falling pieces of ice and dove toward Keagan. Jonah held out his hand, which Keagan grabbed onto to help swing onto Noivern. Mere seconds later, ice shards shattered the ice path Keagan had been standing on to bits. “Thanks, dude,” Keagan said. “Now we’re even,” Jonah said. He turned Noivern toward the rest of the group and dropped Keagan off on Avalugg’s back. The group took a minute to catch their bearings, then started once more for Kalos. “It’ll be smooth sailing from here,” Keagan said. “It better be,” Olivia commented. “Or I’m going home.”

-Chapter 20-


The team reached the northern shore of Kalos at nine o’clock and decided to make camp on the beach for the night. They were all very tired, so they simply set their tents in a circle, ate a quick dinner, and went to bed.

The team woke up early the next morning, packed their bags, and set off for Lumiose City. According to Tetsu, it would be about an hour and a half journey if they went by foot. There was no choice but to go on foot because everyone’s Pokemon were extremely tired. It was inconvenient, but everyone figured that the Pokemon deserved a good rest after flying nearly from one end of Galar to the other, taking an enemy base, crossing from Galar to Kalos, and traveling in a hurricane. “So, where are we going to get supplies in the city?” Jonah asked after a few minutes of walking. “There are lots of places we’ll need to visit, so I recommend that we split up,” Tetsu replied. “We’ll be able to get food and drinks, medicine, and you can even get some clothes while you’re here,” Tetsu said. “That’s good, because these ones are starting to smell,” Jonah said. The group had time to change clothes, but not to bathe, so none of them smelled that great. The only thing keeping them from wearing noseplugs was the fact that everyone had remembered to pack deodorant. “Yeah, I think mine are going to start growing fungus soon,” Keagan said, getting a laugh. “So, how will we split up?” Tanner asked. “Well, there’s twelve of us, so why don’t we go in three groups of four?” Jonah suggested. “Good idea. One group can get food, one can get drinks, and one can get medicine. Then, we can all meet up at the clothing store when we’re done,” Ikari said. “I can get us rooms in the hotel,” Duncan said. “Isn’t it, like, really expensive?” Kireina asked. “Well yes, but working for Aldrich did not come without reward,” Duncan said. He sounded a little ashamed when he said it, but Kodai laid a reassuring hand on Duncan’s shoulder. “You aren’t defined by your past mistakes. What matters is what you do now,” he said. “Thank you,” Duncan replied. “Is that all, then?” Hayai asked.

“Okay, I know that this might seem a little crazy, but I was thinking that we should sweep the city for any sign of Aldrich,” Jonah suggested. “Really, dude?” Keagan asked. “He might be right. Maybe Aldrich’s forces are using the channel we crossed to get into Galar,” Tanner said. “Do you know anything about it, Duncan?” Kodai asked. Duncan thought for a moment, then said, “When I attacked Hammerlocke, my troops came from home base up to the Unova region, then crossed the ocean to get to Galar. We made landfall near Turrfield and marched to Hammerlocke from there. I never heard of any of our forces coming from Kalos.” “What about those teams that were supposed to go to the Crown Tundra? It would be easier for them to cross over from Kalos, geographically speaking,” Tanner said. “But would a secret cult army really deploy from the biggest city in Kalos?” Keagan questioned. “That’s just it. It’s the most populated city, so if they only came or went a few at a time, no one would notice,” Liam pointed out. “Where could they hide, though? They would have to launch from the same shore that we landed on, but there aren’t a whole lot of places to hide there,” Olivia said.

“Actually, there is a place. We came through Azure Bay, and in Azure Bay, there’s a cave called Sea Spirit’s Den. Nobody ever goes there, so if I was an evil crazy person, that’s where I would hide out,” Tetsu said. “I guess we should go there before we hit the city, then,” Kireina said. The group followed Tetsu’s guidance to reach the cave. There was water to be crossed, but the Pokemon were able to help out. Once The group got within twenty feet of the cave and each grabbed a Pokeball. Ikari was the first one to look inside. He turned the corner and yelled, “Ah-ha! We found you!” The others ran forward, ready for a battle, but there was no one in the cave. “Sorry, guys. I though they’d be here,” Ikari said, shoulders slumped. “Well, there’s no one here, but someone was here,” Kodai said. He walked into the cave and pointed out the evidence: footprints, used items, and displaced rocks. “So they are using it as a hideout,” Jonah concluded. “Thanks, captain obvious,” Keagan said. “We’ve got to make sure that they can’t continue using it,” Jonah said. “Yeah, but how?” We can’t just stick some rocks in the doorway or grow vines over it. They’re too easy to break,” Keagan responded. Everyone started to think of possible solutions, but nobody had one. “Maybe we could combine a few things,” Ikari said. “Like what?” Keagan asked. “Rock, ice, and vines,” Ikari answered. Even though nobody said anything, everyone knew who would be responsible for each part.

Kodai released a Kabutops, Liam released his Darmanitan, and Jonah released his Rillaboom. “Kodai, you first,” Liam said. He nodded and said, “Kabutops, I need you to cover the entrance. Use Stone Edge.” Kabutops stomped and several shards of stone emerged from the ground and blocked up the entrance to the cave. “Me next, I guess,” Liam said. “Darmanitan, I need you to add some ice. Use Ice Beam,” Liam said. Darmanitan took a deep breath and shot a beam of freezing blue enegy at the rock wall, coating it in thick ice. “Alright Rillaboom, we need some vines. Thorny ones, if you can,” Jonah said. Rillaboom pulled his drum from its back, the drumsticks from its wrist cuffs, and got ready to play. “Use Drum Beating,” Jonah said. Rillaboom began to play an upbeat rhythm on its tree stump drum. The sand started to shift, and thick tree roots grew emerged, wrapping up the barrier. Then, Rillaboom began to play an angrier rhythm on its drum, resulting in wicked spikes protruding from the tree roots. Satisfied with its work, Rillaboom put away its drum and sticks. “Guess that’s that then,” Ikari said. Everyone else was happy with the barrier, so the group set forth once again for Lumiose City.

The team arrived in Lumiose City at about nine-thirty in the morning. It was a bustling city, the streets full of people. “Okay, let’s split up,” Tetsu said. “Who’s with who?” Jonah asked. “Well, we need to hit the Poke Mart, Juice Shoppe, and a cafe,” Tetsu said. “Tetsu, you should do the cafe. You know the best ones,” Keagan said. “Okay. Tanner, Duncan, and Hayai, you come with,” Tetsu said. “Why me?” Tanner exclaimed. “Because I like ya,” Tetsu said. “Keagan, you, me, Ikari, and Liam will go to the Poke Mart,” Jonah said. “Sounds good,” Keagan said. “That leaves me, Mackenzie, Olivia, and Kodai,” Kireina said. “Guess you guys will get the juice then,” Keagan said. “Oh, good,” Kodai said, his voice completely devoid of sarcasm. Everyone turned their heads with questioning expressions. “What? I like to bake berry pies in my spare time,” Kodai said. Everyone doubled over with laughter. “What’s funny?” Kodai asked, clearly confused. “You don’t get it?” Mackenzie said between wheezing breaths. “No,” Kodai said, completely serious. “Big tough Rock-type trainer who likes to bake pies? That’s funny,” Jonah gasped. “Whatever,” Kodai said. “Let’s get moving,” he added. The groups set off for their destinations.

Following Tetsu’s directions, Kireina led her group to the Juice Shoppe. She didn’t know what kind of juice to get, so she decided that she would just get a variety. The group found the Juice Shoppe and went inside. There were a few people inside, and two people working at the counter. There were several large containers of juice sitting on tables around the shop. “Let’s get some juice,” Kireina said. The group walked up to the counter to order. Kireina didn’t know exactly how many bottles of juice to get, so she figured that she would get more than the team would need so that they didn’t have to worry about running out. “We need two hundred bottles of assorted juice, please,” Kireina said to the woman at the counter. “Quite a large order. What’s the occasion, if I may ask?” The woman replied. She went to start filling bottles. Not wanting to give too much away, Kireina said, “We’re going on a, uh, road trip,” Kireina said. Her brother had always been the better liar between the two of them. “Yep, family road trip,” Kodai said, putting his arm around Kireina. She was rather stunned and slightly uncomfortable, but she decided it was okay if it kept the woman from asking any more questions. “And we wanted the best juice in Kalos!” He added. “Oh, well, that’s very flattering,” the woman replied. The group continued trying to act like a family for a few minutes until all the bottles had been filled with many different colors of juice. Kodai paid for the juice with some money Duncan had given them, then then they left the shop, each carrying a bag of juice bottles. “Good work, dad,” Mackenzie joked. “Thanks,” Kodai replied. “Well, there’s one thing done. I wonder how the others are doing,” Kireina asked out loud.

After Kodai had given them directions, Liam’s group set off for the Poke Mart. “So, what do we need to get?” Jonah asked. “We’ll need full Restores and Revives and stuff like that,” Ikari answered. “Expensive. Can we afford all that?” asked Keagan. “Duncan gave us enough to pay for it,” Jonah replied. The group got to the Poke Mart a few minutes later and walked inside. There were a few people inside, but no one was in line. “How many of each do we need?” Liam asked. “How about twenty of each?” Ikari suggested. “We should have enough for that,” Jonah said. Ikarie walked up to the counter and said, “Hi there! I’d like to buy twenty each of Max Potions and Revives, please.” “You’ve got it, sir. You must be quite the Pokemon Trainers to need that many healing items,” the man at the counter said. “Well, we do battle a lot of people,” Ikari replied, winking at the others. After the man had grabbed all the items and bagged them up, Ikari paid for them with the money Duncan had provided. “Good luck with your battles,” the man said as they left. “Done and done,” Keagan said. “Wonder if the others are done yet,” Jonah said.

Tetsu led his group to Restaurant Le Nah, one of the restaurants in town. He knew that it wasn’t technically a cafe like he had said, but he figured that food from here would keep longer anyway. After a few minutes of navigating the city’s crowded streets, the group arrived. Tetsu led them inside. The restaurant was very neat and clean, without a speck of dirt to be found. There were six circular tables with two seats each. All but one were on ground level. Each seat was set with spotless white tablecloths and sparkling silverware. The sixth table was set on an elevated area at the top of a staircase. In the back right corner was a rectangular table set for six people. “Fancy,” Hayai commented. “You don’t know the half of it. Some restaurants here are much more ‘fancy’ than this,” Tetsu replied. Just then, a man dressed in a white chef’s outfit walked out from the back. He had slicked-back black hair and kind eyes. “Tetsu!” He exclaimed. He hurried over and shook Tetsu’s hand. “I haven’t seen you since you were a boy,” the man said. “Good to see you too, my friend,” Tetsu said. He then introduced everybody. “Roger, meet my friends Duncan, Hayai, and Tanner,” Tetsu said. “Nice to meet you,” Roger said. “The pleasure is all mine,” Duncan replied in a formal manner. Hayai rolled his eyes. Duncan raised his eyebrow. “I guess that’s just the royal coming out in you, but jeez, is it weird,” Hayai said. “Royal?” Roger asked, beginning to bow. “Stop that! Let me explain,” Tetsu said. “We should get some privacy,” Roger interjected before Tetsu could begin. “Good idea,” Tanner said. Roger led them to a staff room in the back and locked the door.

Tetsu began a long explanation of the king and the war and why they were in Kalos and what they needed for the trip. After Tetsu mentioned the food, Roger immediately said, “Take all the food you need, my boy! Just like when you were younger.” Tanner gave a puzzled look and Tetsu motioned for him to relax. Roger gave them more than enough food to last the trip and his best wishes. “If you ever need help, you can count on me,” Roger said. Tetsu hugged him and the group left. “What was that about?” Tanner asked. Tetsu sighed and began to explain. “I was looking for a good time to tell you all, but there isn’t really a good time for something like this, so I’ll just tell you now,” he said. “When I was a child, my parents went missing. The authorities did an investigation, but they said the cause couldn’t be determined. I don’t remember much from that day, but what I can recall are large footprints and claw marks. When I told the officers, they came to look, but they had all vanished, so of course, no one listened to me. When they started to talk about taking me to an orphanage, I couldn’t stand it, so I let out my Lairon and attacked. I escaped and ran away. I made my way to Cyllage City, which is where I lived until I was about ten. One day, Roger came to the city and found me. He took me to Lumiose City, and I lived with him. He basically raised me. After I fixed some stuff around the restaurant I learned that I had a knack for fixing things, so I became a mechanic. I worked during the day and trained at night. I was on my own by the time I was eighteen. I always had a hunch that my parents didn’t go missing under normal circumstances. Now I think that it might’ve been something to do with this other-dimensional Pokemon thing,” Tetsu finished. “Wow. That’s a lot,” Hayai said. “I’m really sorry about your parents, but maybe we can find them,” Tanner said. “It is possible,” Duncan added. “Thanks, guys,” Tetsu said. He led his group to meet up with the others at the clothing store.

The three groups met up at the store around one o’clock in the afternoon. “Everybody got what we needed?” Jonah asked. Everyone nodded their heads. “And we’ve still got lots of time to spare,” Kireina added. “Let’s have a look around in the store, shall we?” Duncan said. Everyone was excited to check out the store. It was a fancy boutique, but they also sold everyday clothing. There was something here for everyone. Mackenzie, Olivia, and Kireina all went to the women’s section, while Jonah, Tanner, Liam, Ikari, Hayai, and Kodai went to the men’s section. Keagan went off by himself as soon as he saw the t-shirts for bands. The only ones who didn’t shop were Duncan and Tetsu.

There were a lot of different kinds of clothing in the men’s section. Liam walked around aimlessly until he saw a green and white zip-up jacket. “That’s the one,” he said as soon as he saw it. He also picked out a pair of black cargo shorts. Tanner had walked with Liam for a little while until he split off to go look by himself. He saw a white t-shirt with a blue and red Pokeball logo on it that he liked, so he found one in his size and picked it up. There were a few other colors of the shirt, so he grabbed them too. He also went looking for some new shoes, since his black high-tops had been pretty beaten up throughout the trip. He found the same kind of shoes in blue and tried them on. They were a perfect fit. Satisfied, he went to find the others. He found Hayai in the athletics section. He was carrying a few tank tops and a few pairs of shorts. “Didn’t want to change it up too much, did you?” Tanner asked. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Hayai replied. Liam met up with them soon after, and they went looking for Kodai. He had only a new hat in his hand since his other one had been damaged in a previous battle. This time, and was blue and white instead of red and white. The next person to find was Ikari. He had picked out a blue zipped shirt and a white undershirt. “Just you wait,” Ikari said. “This looks nice now, but once we have one battle, mark my words, it’ll have more holes in it than a Shuckle’s shell,” he finished. The group went to look for Jonah next. He had found a red flannel shirt that he liked, and he figured it would be good if it got cold. He also grabbed a black and white baseball cap with a Pokeball logo in the corner. He was trying the hat on as his friends turned the corner. “Hey, guys,” he said. “Good look,” Hayai said. Jonah had put the shirt on and left it unbuttoned, and he put the hat on. “Thanks,” Jonah replied. The final person to find was Keagan. When the group found him, he had found a t-shirt for the Maximizers, one of his favorite bands. They were famous in Galar. “Check this out! They have Maximizers t-shirts!” He exclaimed. The band was made up of four Pokemon: a Rillaboom, a low-key and amped Toxtricity, and an Obstagoon. “Nice,” Jonah replied. The group met up with Tetsu and Duncan at the register. The guys set their clothes on the counter, as did the girls. Olivia had gotten a navy blue hoodie, Mackenzie found a purple t-shirt with a Pokeball logo in the top left corner, and Kireina had picked out a light blue midriff top with a white flower design on it. “Is that all, then?” the cashier asked. “Yes ma’am,” Duncan replied, handing her some money to pay for the clothes. When that was over with, the group walked back out onto the street.

“Now what?” Liam asked. “Well, our rooms are booked at the hotel. Wanna check them out?” Duncan asked. Everyone was excited to check out their rooms, so that’s where they went. Duncan had gotten them rooms at Hotel Richissime. It was a large black building on North Boulevard. Duncan had gotten six rooms, so the team would share. Liam with Tanner, Keagan with Jonah, Mackenzie with Olivia, Ikari with Kireina, Tetsu with Kodai, and Hayai with Duncan. After Duncan had talked with the clerk and checked everyone in, they went up to their rooms. Jonah opened the door with a keycard the clerk had given him. “Woah,” Keagan said. The rooms were very upscale, with perfectly made beds with white sheets, a mini fridge, a microwave, a large flatscreen television, and a full-size bathroom. “Ditto,” Jonah said. “Dang!” Ikari said from down the hall. “Yes, yes, it’s all very nice, but remember that we’ll only be here for a day or two,” Duncan said. “Yeah, how long are we staying?” Kodai asked. “No. More. Planning. I’m beat,” Tanner said. “Fair enough. Let’s hit the hay,” Tetsu said. Everyone else had the same idea, and they were all asleep in a matter of minutes. Keagan took one bed, and Jonah took the other.

-Chapter 21-

The team slept in until nine, then went downstairs to get breakfast. There was a wide array of options, including fruit, cereal, pastries, breakfast meats, pancakes, waffles, bagels, donuts, and eggs. Everyone got what they wanted, and Kodai pushed three tables together to have enough seats for everyone. “So, what’s today’s plan?” Jonah asked. “I don’t think it’s safe to cross yet, since the Pokemon are most likely still tired,” Duncan said. “Agreed,” Tetsu added. “We should get a call from Thompson today,” Ikari said. “Hopefully it’s good news,” Liam replied. “I know what to do,” Tanner said. “What’s that?” Hayai asked. “We should sweep the city for signs of Aldrich, like Jonah said,” Tanner answered. Keagan muttered something unintelligible through a mouthful of waffles. “Use your words,” Jonah joked. Keagan swallowed and said, “It’s not like we’ll find anything.” “Most likely, but it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Duncan replied. “Well then, we should go now, be done by noon, then start for the ocean,” Kireina declared. Everyone else was on board with the plan, so they did that. Everyone wolfed down their breakfast at warp speed, went up to their rooms to get their gear, and then went outside. “We’ll need to split up if we want to clear the city by noon,” Olivia said. “There are two boulevards and four avenues, so how about teams of two?” Tetsu suggested. “Sounds good. You and me?” Jonah asked Keagan. “You bet,” Keagan replied. The teams ended up being the roommates from the hotel. Jonah and Keagan took the North Boulevard, which is where they were already. The plan was to go up one side of the street and down the other, checking alleys and other hiding places as they went.

“So, how you holding up?” Jonah asked as they went down the first alley. “Pretty well, all things considered,” Keagan replied. “How ‘bout you?” He asked. “Oh, you know, it’s just your everyday trip to a place that doesn’t exist,” Jonah joked, eliciting a laugh from Keagan. “It is pretty wild, though. I mean, a few months ago, we were regular school kids, and now we’re building an army to fight an evil crazy cult king,” Keagan added. “Yeah, I guess it is,” Jonah said. They talked for a few more minutes, until Keagan said, “So, you think we’ll actually find anybody?” He said that as they turned the corner of another alley, where two male acolytes dressed in street clothes were packing up supplies. All four of them reached for a Pokeball. Keagan went for Cinderace since it was small enough to fight in the tight alley. Jonah had to consider his options. Rillaboom was too big, Noivern’s wingspan was too wide, Corviknight had the same problem, Boltund’s electric attacks were to dangerous for close quarters, and Obstagoon’s shouts would be dangerously loud in an echoing alley. The best choice was Charmeleon. “Go, Charmeleon!” Jonah said. The acolytes released a Pokemon each, one a Grimmsnarl, the other a Sawk. Keagan took the first move.

“Cinderace, use Double Kick on Sawk!” Cinderace ran straight at Sawk, who gave a smug look as it prepared to counterattack. When Cinderace got within five feet of Sawk, its trainer said, “Sawk, use Brick Break!” Sawk drew its hand back, then tried to strike Cinderace with a chop. At the last second, however, Cinderace jumped to the right, jumped off the side of the alley to the other side, then jumped off of that and gave Sawk two hard kicks in the back of the head, knocking it to the ground. “Nice one! My turn,” Jonah said. “Alright Charmeleon, hit ‘em with Fire Fang!” Charmeleon raced forward on all fours, making a beeline for Grimmsnarl. “Toss it, Grimmsnarl,” the enemy trainer said. Grimmsnarl unfurled the hair on its arms and grabbed onto Charmeleon, then threw it into the wall of the alley, cracking the bricks. “Charmeleon!” Jonah hollered. Charmeleon tried to get up, faltered, then pushed itself up and growled. “You did it now,” Jonah said. “Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!” Charmeleon inhaled deeply, then released a searing blast of flame, scorching Grimmsnarl. “Now follow with Slash!” Jonah said. Charmeleon ran forward while Grimmsnarl was still recovering from Flamethrower, then attacked it in the face. “Good work, bud!” Jonah said. “Enough screwin’ around. Use Hammer Arm,” the acolyte said. Grimmsnarl stood up and nailed Charmeleon straight in the face with a heavy strike. Charmeleon was knocked straight onto its back. “No!” Jonah said, thinking that his Charmeleon had been knocked out. Just then, he saw Charmeleon wink at him, indicating that it could still fight. “Charmeleon, use Fire Fang!” Charmeleon sprang to its feet and attacked a stunned Grimmsnarl, latching onto its arm with burning jaws. Grimmsnarl writhed around in pain until it shook Charmeleon off. “Now finish it with Dragon Breath! A big one!” Jonah yelled. Charmeleon took a deep breath in and began to charge the attack. “Wait!” The enemy trainer held up his hand. “Don’t do it, kid. To be honest with ya, I don’t even wanna be here. And Grimmsnarl doesn’t wanna fight ya.” Grimmsnarl was down on the ground, and it looked like it was ready to give up. Jonah was suspicious of the offer, but he signaled for Charmeleon to hold its fire.

“Thanks, pal,” the acolyte said with an evil grin. Just then, Grimmsnarl’s hair lashed out and stabbed Charmeleon. Charmeleon staggered and fell backward. “Hey! You lied to me!” Jonah said. “Did you really think you could trust ‘em?” Keagan hollered from his battle. “Well, hindsight’s twenty-twenty,” Jonah said. “Plan?” Keagan said as the enemy Pokemon closed in. “Uh, yeah. Hold ‘em off.” Jonah said. “Hey!” Keagan yelled as Jonah went to check on Charmeleon. “C’mon, bud, you gotta get up,” Jonah said to Charmeleon. Charmeleon struggled, but it couldn’t get up. “C’mon, I know you’ve got it in you,” Jonah said. Just then, Charmeleon got to its feet and began to glow with magnificent blue light. It began to grow taller, and it sprouted wings. The light faded, and where Charmeleon once stood, there was now the fanged, flying, fire-breathing Charizard! Charizard announced its presence with a deafening roar that reverberated down the alley. “All right!” Keagan said just as the enemy trainers said, “Oh, no.” “Keagan, let’s show ‘em what Fire Pokemon can do!” “The combo move?” Keagan asked. “The combo move,” Jonah said. “Cinderace, Pyro Ball,” Keagan said. Cinderace kicked up a pebble from the ground and began to bounce it on its feet, igniting the stone and creating a bigger and bigger fireball, then launched it at the enemy Pokemon. “Charizard, use Flamethrower!” Jonah said. Charizard launched the attack behind Cinderace’s Pyro Ball, creating a blinding inferno that scorched not only the enemy Pokemon but the ground in the alley. The enemy Pokemon were knocked out. Jonah called the police and the acolytes were arrested. “Good work,” Jonah said.

Keagan and Jonah met up with the others at the hotel around eleven thirty. “Alright. Good work, soldier,” Ikari said into his walkie-talkie. “That was Thompson. He’s arrived, and his team has already started constructing bases in the area,” Ikari said. “Are we ready to ride out?” Jonah asked. “Once Duncan gets out here,” Kodai said. Just then, Duncan walked out of the hotel. “Alright, we have been checked out. Ready to go?” He asked. Jonah pulled out his compass and found the right direction. “Okay, so we ride to the coastline for about two hundred miles, then we’ll switch to seafaring Pokemon. Everybody got it?’ Jonah asked. Everyone said yes and they started to ride out of Kalos. They got out of Lumiose City in a few minutes and arrived on the open road. They rode for a little while until Tanner hollered, “Hey! Get down here for a minute!” Jonah, Duncan, Liam, and Kodai all flew down lower so they could talk to the others without needing to shout. “What’s up?” Jonah asked. “Well, I was thinking, and I realized that we don’t really have a plan for what to do when we find this place. It’s probably really heavily guarded and fortified and stuff,” Tanner replied. “Yeah. I doubt even we could take it down. We’d be outnumbered, and I can only light so much stuff on fire,” Keagan said. “Duncan, what’s the surveillance like there? Do you think we could scout it out without them seeing us?” Jonah asked. “Hmm. It’s possible, but we would need some long-distance surveillance equipment,” Duncan said. “Which we don’t have,” Liam added. “Wait! I got it! Duncan, is the castle open from the top?” Jonah asked. “Yes, you could get into the courtyard from the air, but why?” Duncan answered. “I think I know where this is going, and I like it,” Keagan said with a smirk.

“Noivern can fly quiet enough to drop me in from the air. That way, I can do some recon on the inside of the castle,” Jonah explained. “That’s crazy! They’ll see you!” Kireina exclaimed. “This is the part where I like the plan,” Keagan said excitedly. “I need you guys to create a distraction outside the castle,” Jonah instructed. “Can I light stuff on fire?” Keagan asked hopefully. “I would prefer it,” Jonah answered. “Yes! I knew I liked this plan!” Keagan exclaimed. “Yeah, that’s great, except how do we get out? Like Keagan said, they’ll outnumber us and overwhelm us eventually,” Liam interjected. “Uh, yeah, good point. Duncan, do you know any escape routes we could use?” Jonah asked. “Well, there is a canyon we could try to lose them in, but it’s risky,” Duncan replied. “These days, risky is the best we’ve got,” Kodai added. “Okay, does anyone have anything else to add?” Tanner asked. “Yeah. Can we just get there already?” Mackenzie asked sarcastically. “My thoughts exactly. Full speed, everyone!” Jonah yelled.

The group reached the coastline around four in the afternoon and stopped to reorganize. The flying Pokemon landed and returned to their Pokeballs. “Okay, so whadda we got?” Hayai asked. “My Avalugg will take me, Tanner, and Keagan,” Liam said. “Gyarados will take me, Mackenzie, and Tetsu,” Ikari said. “Olivia and I will ride with Milotic,” Kireina said. “I have a Carracosta I can ride, actually,” Kodai added. “And I’ve got my Barraskewda,” Hayai said. “I’ve got a Kingrda I can use,” Duncan said. “Sounds like we’re good then,” Jonah concluded. “Who are you gonna use?” Keagan asked. “I’ll swap Noivern for Charizard since Noivern has been flying a lot,” Jonah said. Jonah released his Charizard, informed it of the situation, and hopped onto its back. Once everyone had gotten situated, they began to ride out across the ocean. Duncan had told the others that there was a small, uninhabited island about two hundred and fifty miles out from the coast that they could rest on for the night, so that was their destination. Jonah rode low, close to the water to talk to the others. He had to be careful of waves and sea spray so that they didn’t put out the fire on Charizard’s tail. “I think we should use our time to make a plan,” Tetsu announced. “A plan for what?” Keagan asked.

“Well, once we get away from the fortress, we’ll need to get back to Hammerlocke, and I don’t know if the enemies will follow us, or if our Pokemon will have the energy they need to cross the ocean again,” Tetsu explained. “That’s a good point,” Olivia said. “Well, off the top of my head, Unova is closer than Galar, but we don’t have anywhere to lay low in Unova,” Jonah said. “Actually, I know a guy in Unova who could help us out,” Kodai said. “Who is he?” Ikari asked. “His name is Michael. I took a trip to Unova once for fossil hunting, and we worked together there. Since then, we’ve been pretty good friends,” Kodai explained. “We could rest there for a day, and then make the trip from Unova to Galar,” Kodai added. “Is your friend into battling?” Jonah asked. “Yeah, why?” Kodai questioned. “If we can get enough people, we could place a defense force there. A small one, but enough to hold off any of Aldrich’s forces that would try to cross to Galar from there. They could hold them off just long enough that we could bring troops over the water and drive them back,” Jonah explained. “That could work, but are there enough people to begin with?” Keagan asked. “Actually, you’d be surprised how many fossil hunters go there to talk to this guy. He’s been all over the world to find fossils, so people ask him where to find specific ones. If anyone could convince a bunch of fossil-hunting scientists to fight a war, it’s Michael,” Kodai told the others. “Does he have a walkie-talkie? If you give me his channel, we can call him in advance,” Ikari said. Kodai listed off a bunch of numbers that were complete gibberish to everyone else but him and Ikari, and then Ikari fiddled with a knob on the walkie-talkie and handed it to Kodai.

Kodai took it and said into it, “Hey, Michael, it’s Kodai. You copy?” There was a crackling noise, and then a voice came through the walkie-talkie and said, “I read you loud and clear, Kodai! It’s been a while. How’ve you been?” Kodai laughed and said, “Well, actually…,” then went into an explanation of recent events and why they needed his help. He told Michael about the plan and asked if he would do it. “Uh, gee, that’s a lot. But, if it’s really that important, I’ll do it. Let me make some calls, and I’ll get back to you,” Michael said. “Roger that. Over and out,” Kodai said, then handed the walkie-talkie back to Ikari. “He says yes!” Kodai yelled so everyone could hear. “Great!” Kireina exclaimed. With the escape plan hammered out, the group returned to normal conversation, although they were nowhere near a normal environment.

The group reached their island rest stop at about nine o’clock and came ashore. Duncan was right about there being no people on the island, but they weren’t the only ones using the island as a resting place. There was a flock of Wingull and Pelipper resting on the cliffs of the island, and various swimming Pokemon inhabited the waters around the island. The group found a clearing and set up camp in the usual circle formation. They made a fire as usual and ate dinner. “So, how much further do we have to travel, Duncan?” Jonah asked. “We should be able to hit another island by tomorrow, rest for the night, then reach the fortress by noon the next day,” Duncan explained. “Sounds good to me,” Hayai said. With that, everyone recalled their Pokemon and turned in for the night.

The group got up early the next morning, which was usually the routine of their travels. They packed up their tents and readied their Pokemon to leave. The flying Pokemon were able to wear saddlebags, but the Pokemon in the water couldn’t use them because they would drag in the water, so their passengers wore their own backpacks. Duncan pulled out an old map, studied it for a moment, then told the others which direction they were going, and they began to travel. It was a relatively uneventful trip, except for a Wailord that had breached and sprayed everyone with water. The team discussed battle plans again on this trip, including where Jonah should look on his reconnaissance mission. Duncan informed him about the locations of things like the armory and where they kept their Pokeballs. He also told him about a high-security area where hardly anyone was allowed to go. Even Duncan had only seen it once, during its construction. “What’s it like?” Jonah asked. “Well, when I saw it when it was being built, it was basically built around this circle area in the middle of the room. The circle was probably about thirty feet wide, and it was marked with all kinds of runes around the edges. The only other thing in the room was a pulpit that faced the circle. There were pillars holding up the ceiling, and the whole room was built out of dark stone,” Duncan explained. “Any idea what it’s for?” Keagan asked. “Not really. As I said, hardly anyone was allowed in there,” Duncan answered. “Wait a minute! I think I might know. Based on the way you described it and what we know about Aldrich’s goals, it could be where he plans to release that Devourer Pokemon,” Tanner suggested. “He has to like, summon it, right?” Olivia asked. “That’s what the book said,” Liam replied. “But not how to get it here,” Keagan added. “Maybe there’s a different book that says how, like Jonah said,” Duncan suggested. “Sounds plausible. Duncan, you said there was a pulpit, right? That’s probably for a book,” Jonah concluded. “Well, I’m not sure what’s in it, but Aldrich has a vault in the castle that’s got really tight security. If he was going to hide a book, that is most likely where,” Duncan said. “So, we gotta get the thing then,” Keagan said. “Yeah, but I can’t do it by myself. We would need a full-scale attack,” Jonah said.

“So that’s what we do. Here’s what I think we should do: we do this whole recon op thing, and while Jonah is on the inside, we need to do just enough damage on the outside to set them back a week or two, and then we move in with full force to end this,” Ikari explained. “We would have to cross from Galar to Unova, otherwise it would take too long,” Tetsu added. “Agreed,” Ikari replied. “Once we move in, we’ll have to get the book,” Tanner said. “And after that, take the castle,” Hayai added. “Sounds like a plan,” Kireina finished. With that, the war plan was ready.

The rest of the trip took three more days, and then the group reached the coastline of the region. It was very warm when they arrived on the coastline. “Sheesh, it’s hot out here,” Keagan said. “No kidding,” Kireina said, wiping her brow. “How far is it from here to the castle?” Jonah asked. “About thirty miles,” Duncan replied. “Easy-peasy,” Tanner said. Everyone turned to their usual land-traveling Pokemon, except for Jonah, who decided to use his Rillaboom. He released it and told it what they were doing, then hopped onto its back and began to ride. Rillaboom moved quickly and easily went over rough terrain at a good speed thanks to its dexterity. Rillaboom wasn’t quite as fast as Keagan’s Arcanine, but it was faster than Tetsu’s Steelix. It was a bit of a rough ride thanks to Rillaboom’s constant up-and-down movement, but Jonah didn’t mind. Once the group was within a mile of the castle, they switched to stealth travel. Once they could see the castle, they stopped altogether. It was about three in the afternoon when they stopped, and they had to wait until sunset to move in. During the time they spent waiting, the group finalized their plan. “So, what can we do for our distraction?” Keagan asked. “Well, there’s eleven of us, so maybe we should split up and force them to divide their forces,” Duncan suggested. “Okay, so like, left and right sides?” Ikari asked. “Sounds good,” Mackenzie said.

“So, who’s with who?” Kireina asked. “How about me us as one group, and you guys as another?” Keagan said, referring to the majors and Duncan as one group and his friends as another. Everyone agreed with that plan, so they moved to the next part of the plan: escape. “So, what’s the fastest way to the canyon?” Jonah asked Duncan. “It’s behind the castle, to the south,” Duncan replied. “Okay, so how do we lose them in the canyon?” Liam asked. “Well, it’s full of lots of tight corners, so I thought that we could try and make our pursuers crash out, but we would need really fast and maneuverable Pokemon,” Duncan explained. “And we don’t all have those,” Liam added. Liam was the perfect example of this, as he didn’t have any fast Pokemon big enough to ride on. “Maybe those of us who have Pokemon to use can do that, and the others can wait somewhere,” Kodai suggested. “That could work. Duncan, is there somewhere that they could hide?” Tetsu asked. “You could wait at the end of the canyon if you can get there fast enough,” Duncan replied. “That’ll do,” Tanner said. “So, who goes into the canyon?” Olivia asked. “We’ll need some flyers and some on the ground,” Tanner said. “So that either way, whether they chase us on the ground or in the air, we can distract them,” he explained. “I’ll be in the air with Noivern,” Jonah announced. “I can go in the air too, with Dragapult,” Hayai said. “You’ve got a Dragapult? Cool!” Keagan exclaimed. “Duncan, how many people do you think they’ll send?” Jonah asked. “Well, a usual search team is ten, with one lead Pokemon, and they’ll divide between air and ground,” Duncan asked. “So, I say three flyers and two on the ground,” Tanner interjected. “I’ll be the third flyer, with Aerodactyl,” Kodai volunteered. “I’ll go with Arcanine on the ground,” Keagan said. “I will accompany you with my Sawsbuck,” Duncan said. “Sounds good,” Jonah said. “The rest of us will wait at the end of the canyon then,” Tetsu said.

Once it was dark enough outside, the group set their plan in motion. The two teams that would create distractions moved out to the right and left sides of the castle. The castle was an imposing fortress, with walls fifty feet tall and a massive central tower. Guards were patrolling the walls of the castle too. Jonah’s friends went to the left side and the majors and Duncan went to the right. Jonah had tried to find his stealthiest outfit, which ended up being a black hoodie and sweatpants with a black beanie. He released his Noivern and explained the plan to it, then waited for the distraction to kick in. He couldn’t see the right side of the castle, but he saw his friends releasing their Pokemon on the left side. Keagan had selected Coalossal, Liam had chosen Darmanitan, Tanner had gone with Golisopod, Olivia picked Meowstic, and Mackenzie had decided on Cufant. Keagan started the distraction with a Flamethrower attack from his Coalossal. He had directed it at the top of the castle wall, but not at any of the guards. Jonah could tell that the attack wasn’t intended to do damage but to draw attention. It worked because several guards ran over to the blast site. One of them yelled down, “Recall your Pokemon and surrender!” Keagan called back, “What? I can’t hear you!” He was clearly stalling, which was exactly what they needed. “I said, recall your Pokemon and surrender!” The guard said again. “Can we use your bathroom?” Keagan called back. The guard appeared puzzled, then repeated, “Can you use our-what do you want?” Just then, a crackling bolt of lightning shot over the other side of the castle. “You might want to go check on that,” Keagan suggested. Then, another guard stepped up and smacked the other on the backside of his head and said, “You idiot! They’re attacking us! Send troops from this side to the other side and fight back!” Jonah watched as guards ran to the other side of the castle and other guards started attacking his friends on the near side. He saw three guards on top of the wall release a Pokemon each: a Hydreigon, an Electivire, and a Dusknoir. Six more guards took the stairs down one of the castle’s towers and emerged onto the ground. They all released a Pokemon, including a Drapion, a Krookodile, a Crawdaunt, a Trevenant, a Grapploct, and a Hariyama. They began to fight with his friends, which was just what he had been waiting for. Jonah mounted his Noivern and silently launched into the air. Noivern flew through the sky without anyone noticing and swooped behind the castle wall low enough that Jonah could hop off into the courtyard and recall Noivern. Jonah looked around and didn’t see any guards nearby. He thought that most of them had gone outside to deal with the others.

Jonah spotted a wooden door that he went in through. It opened into a very wide hallway with a red carpet running down the middle. Duncan had told him the locations of important places in the castle. The first area that Jonah wanted to check out was the armory. If Jonah was in the right hallway, he needed to go to the end of the hall and make a right. He didn’t see any guards anywhere, so he ran down to the end of the hall. He peeked around the corner and still didn’t see any guards. There was a set of wooden double doors at the end of the hall. Jonah crept down the hall and opened the doors. What he saw baffled him: there were three racks in the middle of the room, each filled with Pokeballs. Jonah estimated that between the three racks, there were about three hundred Pokeballs in the room, and he also guessed that this wasn’t the only room like this in the castle. Jonah wrote down what he had seen on a small notepad he had brought with him. He left the room and headed toward the next stop, which was the vault. Duncan had told him that it was pretty deep in the castle, which made Jonah worry about running into some guards on the way. Jonah started down the hall Duncan had told him to take. He passed lots of doors along the way, all of which were closed. He kept walking for a minute or two until he heard voices up ahead. He stopped and crept slowly around the next corner until he saw where the voices were coming from: Aldrich’s throne room.

Aldrich sat on a throne carved out of dark black stone. There was a red carpet leading to the throne, and banners showing the Chaos Lord Pokemon’s twisted body. One of Aldrich’s soldiers, a higher-ranking one, Jonah guessed based on his armor, was briefing Alrich on the situation outside. After the soldier told him that the others were attacking, Adlrich slammed his fist on his throne and yelled, “How is it that my best soldiers have failed to stop a band of children from attacking my castle?” “Uh, well, you see, your Highness…” the soldier started, but Aldrich slammed his fist on his throne and said, “Just go stop them, now!” With that, the soldier scurried out of the throne room. Jonah made a mental note of where the throne room was and continued on his way to the vault. He made his way to the vault without any more stops and began to write down what he saw. It was a set of double doors ten feet tall and five feet wide with a lock in the middle. The doors appeared to be made of solid metal at least a foot thick. It was clear that to break the door open, a Pokemon was needed. Jonah made his notes and continued to the final stop, which was the high-security area Duncan had mentioned. He expected it to be heavily guarded but was surprised to see that there weren’t any guards. Jonah crept inside and felt a chill when he entered the chamber. It was exactly as Duncan had described it, and there was no doubt that this was where Aldrich would attempt to summon the Devourer. Key word being attempt, Jonah thought. Just then, two guards came into the room. One exclaimed, “Hey! It’s that kid!” “Oh, crud!” Jonah exclaimed as he bolted out of the room and down the hall. He ran hard for the door, burst through, and kept running until he nearly smacked into Keagan. “Hey. You good?” Keagan asked. Jonah started to answer just as a Shadow Ball from a Dusknoir on the wall hurdled over their heads and exploded behind them. “You were saying?” Keagan asked. “We gotta go,” Jonah said. “Why?” Keagan asked. Just then, the two guards burst through the door and said, “There he is! Get him!” “Oh. I see,” Keagan replied. “Did the plan work?” Tanner yelled. “My half did. Yours?” Jonah asked. Tanner pointed at the wall. Jonah saw that the groups had done major damage to the walls on both sides, enough to set Adlrich back for a week or two at least. “Let’s get outta here. Fall back!” Jonah bellowed at the top of his lungs. Everyone mounted their Pokemon and headed toward the canyon. As he flew on Noivern, Jonah heard one of the guards yell, “After them!” Jonah smiled. The plan was working.

They got into the canyon just as the guards caught up with them. The lead Pokemon of the search team was Talonflame, and the rest of the team consisted of a Staraptor, a Braviary, and a Skarmory in the air, with a Gogoat, a Stoutland, a Mudsdale, a Tauros, and a Zebstrika on the ground. The team came to a split in the canyon that Duncan had told them went the same way either way, so the flying Pokemon went to the left and the ground Pokemon went to the right. The plan was simple: lose their pursuers by any means necessary. Jonah turned left on Noivern and settled in for the chase, being pursued by the man with a Talonflame. He figured he had a couple of options: one was to engage Talonflame in combat in the air, which he didn’t want to do because of the risk of being burned, try to make Taloflame crash, which was possible but unlikely given that Talonflame had good in-air maneuverability, or to use the canyon to take out Talonflame. Jonah went with the third option. He needed to find something to knock down, like a rock or a tree. Unfortunately, this was hard to do while he was trying to avoid crashing or being burnt to a crisp. Jonah couldn’t hear the rider give orders, but Talonflame continuously launched attacks that Jonah and Noivern had to avoid. Jonah looked around for something to use, and then he saw what he needed. It was a pass about twenty feet wide with a large rock arch at the end of it that Jonah could tell Noivern could blast loose. Jonah steered Noivern into the pass with Talonflame close behind. He heard the rider bellow, “End of the road, kid!” Jonah smirked and prepared to make his move. “Okay, Noivern, do the move!” Jonah and Noivern had been practicing this move for a while, but this was the first time they would try it in combat. Noivern pulled up to be completely vertical, fanned out its wings to catch the air, and was sent flying backward. Once Noivern got behind Talonflame, it flattened back out to be in regular flight. Jonah saw the other rider turn around with a look of complete bewilderment. Jonah looked for a rock that wouldn’t crush Talonflame, but knock it out of flight. He found one, pointed at it, and yelled, “Dragon Pulse!” Noivern fired a blast of energy at the rock with pinpoint accuracy, and the rock fell and hit Talonflame on the left wing and dragged it down with Talonflame awkwardly flapping and trying to stay in the air. It landed on a ledge on the side of the canyon. Just then, the whole arch began to fall, so Jonah had to pull Noivern up as fast as he could to avoid being crushed.

Once Noivern had leveled out, Jonah flew up higher and saw Hayai riding his Dragapult in a mid-air duel with a woman riding a Staraptor. The duel ended abruptly when Dragapult fired its Dreepy missiles and knocked Staraptor out of the sky. He saw Kodai and Aerodactyl rush onto the man and his Skarmory pursuing them, then Aerodactly chomped onto Skarmory’s wing and threw it to the ground. To finish things up, Aerodactyl headbutted Braviary in the ribs and knocked it into the side of the canyon. Since he knew the flying Pokemon had done their part, he flew onward to the rendezvous point at the end of the canyon.

Keagan and Duncan raced through the canyon on the ground, pursuers in tow. They were outnumbered, but Keagan wasn’t worried. He and Duncan had come up with a plan: they would take out one or two guards on their way to the meet-up spot, then get rid of the others when they got there. Keagan pulled out his Rotom Phone and called Jonah. He picked up and said, “Aren’t you in the canyon?” “Yeah, but I need your help,” Keagan replied. “Okay, whadda you got for me?” Jonah replied. “We’re going to come to the rendezvous point with three or four of ‘em behind us, so make sure everybody is ready to go when we get there,” Keagan explained. “You got it,” Jonah replied. With that, Keagan hung up the phone.

“So, how do you want to play this?” Keagan said to Duncan. “Well, I say we each take one,” he replied. “Sounds good to me. Dibs on the big one,” Keagan said. “Mudsdale?” Duncan asked. “Uh-huh,” Keagan said. “Very well. I will take Tauros,” Duncan said. Keagan nodded and peeled off to intercept Mudsdale. “Hi,” Keagan said as he pulled up beside Mudsdale and its rider. “What the-where did you come from?” The man asked. “Not important. I’m gonna take you out now,” Keagan replied. “Oh yeah, kid? How’re you gonna do that? Mudsdale is a Ground-type, you moron,” the man sneered. “Who said I was gonna use Pokemon?” Keagan asked. Then, Keagan punched the rider in the face and knocked him off of Mudsdale, who stopped in its tracks. He looked back and saw that Duncan had already disabled Tauros by wrapping it up in thick roots from Sawbuck. “Nice work,” Keagan said as Duncan caught up to him. “Yes, you as well. Although your method was a little…brutish,” Duncan said. “If it works, it works,” Keagan said. With that, they went full speed ahead to the end of the canyon.

Jonah had told the others about Keagan and Duncan’s plan, and they were ready. Ikari had his Crawdaunt positioned so that as soon as a Pokemon crossed over the gap, it could use its large claw to smack the rider off. Olivia’s Hitmonlee was standing on a ledge on the side of the canyon, ready to pounce on a Pokemon or rider once they came by. And for the final Pokemon, Hayai had his Jolteon in waiting to zap any enemy that came by. About two minutes after everyone had set up, they began to hear footsteps thundering down the canyon. The first person they saw was Keagan and his Arcanine, with Duncan close behind and the enemies trailing them. Keagan crossed the gap, then Duncan, and then their pursuers a split second later. Ikari’s Crawdaunt knocked the rider on Gogoat straight to the ground with a big swing from one of its pincers, Olivia’s Hitmonlee vaulted off of its ledge and did a sweep kick to knock Stoutland’s legs out from under it, and Hayai’s Jolteon bristled its fur into spikes, launched itself at Zebstrika’s rider, and curled up into a ball to knock him off. Once all the riders and Pokemon were separated, Jonah and the others pounced on the enemy trainers, took their Pokeballs, and recalled the Pokemon they had ridden. As soon as the enemy trainers were disarmed, Jonah’s Rillaboom tied them up with vines.

“You’ll never get away with this!” One of them yelled. “I dunno. Looks like we are,” Liam replied. “Do you really think you can beat us?” Another asked. “Uh, yeah, actually,” Keagan said back. “You will never defeat King Aldrich. You are a child,” one of them spat. “Let’s look at the facts here,” Jonah began. “Our army is what, a third the size of yours, give or take a few hundred? Even with a severe numbers disadvantage, we’ve stopped two sieges on Hammerlocke, taken a base under the control of your best tactician, established more bases in the Crown Tundra, figured out where you’ve been sending your troops from and stopped you, and we found your base that no one is supposed to be able to find and infiltrated it, which is also supposed to be impossible. How will you win?” Jonah said dead serious. The acolyte didn’t say a word. “Thought so,” Jonah said and walked away. He got over to where the others were standing and said, “So, where now?” “Well, we need to get to Unova, and the easiest way would be to ride the coast,” Duncan said. “For how long?” Mackenzie asked. “Roughly five days,” Duncan replied. “Ugh. I’m tired of the ocean,” Olivia said. Everyone laughed and nodded their heads in agreement.

The five days of travel up the coast were pretty dull. The group pushed themselves and their Pokemon because they knew they were on a schedule, and they covered about seven hundred miles each day, only stopping to sleep, and even at that they stopped late and got up early. By three o’clock on the fifth day, Unova came into view. “Woo-hoo!” Keagan exclaimed. At the same time, Liam yelled from Avalugg’s back, “Land ho!” “So, where can we find your friend?” Keagan asked Kodai. “He’s probably out at his dig site, over that way,” Kodai replied, pointing to a large rocky area. “Aye-aye. Full speed ahead!” Keagan yelled.

About an hour later, the group arrived at Michael’s dig site. There were lots of people and various kinds of equipment all over the place. People of all ages were digging around for fossils, except for one man who was standing by himself. He wore a blue button-up shirt, cargo shorts, and a wide-brimmed sun hat. He waved up at everyone in the air and shouted, “Come on down!” Everyone who was flying landed and those in the sea came onto land. Everyone dismounted and recalled their Pokemon. Kodai shook Michael’s hand and said, “Good to see you.” “You too, old friend,” Michael replied. “So, would you like to introduce me to your companions?” Michael asked. “Oh, sure. The kids are kinda in charge. They were the first to encounter the, uh, bad guys. They got the message out that they needed people to help them fight, so I answered it. They picked me and the others to help them out, and Duncan is a former enemy turned ally,” Kodai explained. “Quite the crew,” Michael said. “You’ve got no idea,” Kodai said. Keagan cleared his throat and said, “This is nice and all, but we’re on the clock. Do you have somewhere we can go to talk?” “Uh, yes. This way,” Michael replied.

Michael took them to his house, which was built on the dig site. It was nice, but also cluttered with papers and equipment. As soon as Michael opened the door, a squeak was heard from the hallway and an Archen flew out to land on Michael’s shoulder. It cocked its head at the others and gave a little squawk. “They’re friends,” Michael said. “So, fill me in. How can I help?” Michael asked. “Okay, so here’s the deal,” Jonah began. “We just attacked the enemy’s main base and we’re pretty sure they’re going to come this way to try to find us. By the time they get here, we’ll be back in Galar amassing our forces for a full-scale attack. When they come this way, we need you to hold them for a while until we send backup and send them back to where they came from. Got it?” “Um, yes, I can do that,” Michael replied. “Thank you,” Kodai said. Michael told them they could spend the night, which they elected to do, and he went to explain the plan to the others outside.

After breakfast the next morning, the group said their goodbyes and set off for Galar. They could see Galar within three hours, passed of Stow-on-Side in four, and within half an hour from then they landed in Hammerlocke. The group was greeted by the Gym leaders and Jonah’s parents. His mom rushed over to him and said, “Are you alright? Did you get hurt again?” “No Mom, we’re okay. But we don’t have much time. I need to talk to Dad,” Jonah replied. “Go right ahead,” his mom said. He walked over to his dad and gave him a hug. “How did it go, bud?” His dad asked. “Good, but we don’t have much time. We’re launching a full-scale attack on their base, and I want you to help. You in?” Jonah asked. “You bet I am,” his dad replied. “Good. You’ll have your assignment later,” Jonah said. After they checked in with everyone, the group went to brief the other command team members about their trip. Once everyone was there, Ikari began the briefing. He told them about what they found in Kalos, the recon operation, the attack on the castle, and the defense force in Unova. “So, what we need to do now is launch a full-force attack on the enemy base. We need to figure out our numbers first,” Ikari said. “Before you do that, let me give you an update. While you were gone we did a lot more recruiting, and we have roughly three-thousand one hundred and fifty troops to work with here, plus the four hundred and ninety stationed in the towns, so about three-thousand six hundred and forty troops total,” Leon explained.

“Holy crud,” Keagan and Jonah said in unison. “Okay, so let’s do some math,” Liam began. “Based on what we saw at the castle, I wouldn’t expect any more than one hundred and fifty soldiers to have been sent after us in Unova. How many people did Michael have on his dig site?” He asked. “About one hundred,” Kodai answered. “Okay, so let’s send a hundred of ours over there, and the rest can go to the castle,” Liam said. “Okay, sounds good,” Jonah replied. “How will we divide the forces?” Keagan asked. “How about three battalions of a thousand-ish?” Tanner suggested. “Do the math,” Jonah said. Tanner did the calculations and resulted in three battalions of one-thousand-one hundred and eighty troops each. These would be divided into four companies of two-hundred and ninety-five each, which would be divided into four platoons of about seventy-four each, which would then be divided into individual squads. Each company would be an even distribution of the groups that were previously organized; strong and slow, flying, fast, and all-rounders. One battalion would be led by Jonah and his friends, another by the majors plus Duncan, and the third by some of the stronger Gym Leaders, Victor, and Leon. The remaining league members would be dispersed throughout the forces. They had also planned to call in the captains that were deployed throughout Galar and add them to the fight. They would wait until they had confirmation that those sent after the group returning to Galar had been dealt with, and then they would move out toward the castle. For now, they would use the remaining time to train. They also made another call to Looker and asked him to defend Hammerlocke while they were gone. He agreed. With everything set, the travelers did the only logical next step: taking a nap.

Jonah woke up at about five in the evening. He had already decided what he wanted to do. He was going to battle his dad, no holding back. He wanted to make sure he was ready for the frontline. He went to the house where his family was staying. His little brother ran out to greet him and asked, “Can we battle?” “Not now. I’m here for Dad,” Jonah replied. He found his Dad in the backyard with his Pokemon. “Hey Dad!” Jonah called. “Hi bud. What’s up?” His dad asked. “I wanted to battle you to make sure you’re good to go. Sound good?” Jonah asked. “You got it. I’m not going easy on you though,” his dad said. “Me either,” Jonah replied. His dad sent his Rhyperior our first, and Jonah selected his Obstagoon.

“You first, bud,” Jonah’s dad said. “Big mistake. Obstagoon, Night Slash!” Jonah said. Obstagoon launched forward and gave Rhyperior a good hit to to face. Rhyperior staggered backward and reset itself. “Hammer Arm!” Jonah’s dad yelled. Obstagoon was caught square in the gut with Rhyperior’s massive arm and flung away like it was nothing. Obstagoon landed on all fours and pushed itself up, one hand on its stomach. It snarled at glared at Rhyperior. “Okay, you’re strong. But we’re stronger! Use Snarl!’ Jonah said. Obstagoon fired a large ball of purple energy. “Block it!” Jonah's dad said. Rhyperior crossed its arms and took the attack full on. Immediately, Jonah said, “Use Headbutt!” Obstagoon lowered its head and hit Rhyperior straight on, knocking it backward. Rhyperior recovered and Jonah’s dad said, “Use Horn Attack!” “Obstruct!” Jonah said. Obstagoon crossed its arms and a white X appeared, blocking the attack. “Now Rock Wrecker!” Jonah’s dad said. Obstagoon took the hit full-on. It got up, but it struggled. “Okay, that’s enough. You guys hit hard for sure. Obstagoon is made for fighting, and even he’s hurt. The other guys are totally screwed,” Jonah said. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, bud,” Jonah’s dad said. “You bet. I gotta go. Meeting my friends for dinner. See ya!”

Jonah arrived at Hammerlocke Station last. His friends had already gotten a table and ordered some food. Jonah waved to his friends and walked over to the table. He sat down next to Keagan and said, “Sorry I’m late. I was battling my Dad.” “Is he gonna be ready?” Keagan asked. “Totally. His Rhyperior hit Obstagoon so hard it barely got up,” Jonah replied. “Good. Is he gonna be with us for the fight?” Liam asked. “I think so. I’ll put him in our battalion,” Jonah replied. “That’ll be good,” Tanner replied. Keagan crammed half a Slowpoke tail in his mouth and mumbled, “How are we gonna decide who goes where?’ Jonah thought for a moment and said, “I dunno. Have everybody walk through and get a number I guess.” “Dude, enough battle talk. We just got home. Talk about that tomorrow or something,” Tanner said, exasperated. “Yeah, fair. Let’s just hang out,” Olivia said. The friends spent the rest of the night talking and goofing around, right up until bedtime.

-Chapter 22-


Everyone actually slept past dawn that night, and they were in no rush to get ready. Jonah and the others met up with the majors in the center of town. “Mornin’,” Keagan said. “Good morning,” Kiriena said through a yawn. “How’d you guys sleep?” Tetsu asked. “Like a Geodude,” Liam replied. “That’s good. We all needed a good rest,” Duncan added. “So, what’s our agenda today?” Mackenzie asked. “Well, we need to call the command team in and get the battalions organized,” Tanner started. “Right. We also need to call in all the captains and get a crew shipped out to Unova,” Olivia added. “Yeah, we should probably do that first,” Keagan said. The others agreed, so they went to the command center. Victor made the calls to the five captains. First was captain Abraham Turner. “This is Victor. Do you read me, captain?” Victor asked. The walkie-talkie crackled, and then Abraham said, “I read you loud and clear! What can I do for you?” Victor explained the trip and the plan, and then he said, “We’re pulling you out. Leave your second in command in charge and get to Hammerlocke as soon as you can.” “Roger that. I’ll be there as quickly as I can,” Abraham replied. Victor gave the same orders to the other four captains, and then he put the walkie-talkie back on the charger. “Now we wait,” Jonah said.

By ten in the morning, all the captains had arrived. The four sentries guarding the gates signaled to those on the ground to open them up, and the five captains walked through the entrance. The command team came out to greet them. They got the usual pleasantries out of the way, and then Victor said, “Let’s get down to business. Up to the command center.” Everyone followed Victor up to the command center and took their seats at the table. “So, since you guys have been gone for a while, we need to bring you up to speed about what’s been going on,” Ikari explained.

“So, after you guys left, we did a lot of traveling,” Keagan started. “We went down to the edge of Galar, in the Crown Tundra, where we took over an enemy base. We’re in charge down there now,” Keagan added. Liam took over and said, “After that, we crossed over to Kalos. We made camp on the northern shore. We investigated the Sea Spirit’s Den in Azure Bay, which we found out the enemies had been using as a hideout. We sealed it up, then we made our way to Lumiose City.” “In the city, we got some supplies for the rest of the trip and rested for the night. We found a few more acolytes in the city and took care of them,” Mackenzie said. “We left the city and headed toward the enemy castle. When we arrived, we scouted it out as best we could from far away, and at night we put our plan into action. I did some recon on the inside of the castle, which we can talk about later, and these guys fought on the outside. We escaped through a canyon, made a stop in Unova, which is also another conversation, and then came back here,” Jonah finished.

“Wow. You guys were busy,” Julia said. “Yeah, seems like it. Which leads to the question, what do you need us for?” Drake asked. “Well, when we were in Unova, we talked to an old friend of mine,” Kodai said. “He runs a dig site near a key crossover point, and we think there are enemy forces on the way as we speak, and they could ship out more from there. We’re sending you guys and some other troops there to stop them from overwhelming the people at the dig site. We estimate about one hundred and fifty enemies, so with you guys plus those on the dig site, we’ll have two hundred. Once they’re taken care of, we’re going to launch a full-scale siege on the castle,” Kodai explained. “This will all happen within about two weeks, so we’ve got no time to waste,” Kireina said. “Roger that. Point us the right way and we’ll ship out as fast as we can,” Abraham said. Victor took the captains to the defense force, gave them a map to use, and they left within the hour. By the time all was said and done, it was about eleven thirty. There was only one job remaining, which was to train, hard. The group went back to the campsite to discuss a training regiment.

“So, how’re we gonna do this?” Olivia asked. “Well, I bet that if we fight each other or the gym leaders, we’ll be at a stalemate or someone’s Pokemon will get hurt,” Jonah said. “Yeah, probably,” Tanner agreed. “I got an idea,” Keagan said. “Shoot,” Jonah replied. “So, between us, the command team, and the leaders of all the platoons and stuff, we’ve got some strong trainers around,” Keagan started. “Go on,” Liam said. “So, what if for the next two weeks, we battle the regular soldiers so that they get to train against strong opponents, and we get to practice against a lot of different types of opponents,” Keagan explained. “That might be the best idea you’ve ever had,” Mackenzie said. “Yeah, I mean, it wouldn’t take much...” Jonah said. “Shut up!” Keagan said. “Just messing with you. I like it,” Jonah said. Everyone else agreed with the idea, so the next step was to round up the platoon leaders. They had sixteen in total, so they called them all to the center plaza by way of a walkie-talkie. Keagan explained the plan, and they all seemed to like the idea. They decided they would start at noon tomorrow, and the platoon leaders went about their business for the rest of the night. The friends grabbed dinner at a restaurant in town, hung out for a few hours, then went to bed.

The next morning, everyone got up at a normal time, ate some breakfast, and prepared for the day’s battles. Tanner had suggested that everyone use just one of their Pokemon each day, which would both ensure that they got an equal amount of practice time and were pushed out of their comfort zone in order to get the best results. Everyone else had gone along with the idea. Jonah had selected Rillaboom for today, Keagan had gone with Toxtricity, Tanner decided on Centiskorch, Liam picked Abomasnow, Mackenzie went with Cufant, and Olivia chose Liepard. The sixteen platoon leaders were with them too, with an eclectic selection of Pokemon among them. Duralodon, Walrein, Zoroark, Conkeldurr, Luxray, Ferrothorn, Goodra, Stonjourner, Dragalge, Absol, Bouffalant, Reuniclus, Claydol, Nidoking, Toxapex, and Volcarona were all present, and that was just today’s Pokemon. Since there were so many battles to be had, the group spread out across the area. Some were outside, some were in the streets, and some were in makeshift practice fields set up around town. Everything was set up by eleven forty-five, and battles started at noon. Jonah’s first opponent was a Dubwool. A nice start, he thought, not too easy but by no means a pushover.

Jonah greeted his opponent and they both released their Pokemon. Dubwool gave a bleat and shook itself, while Rillaboom gave a grunt and flared its nostrils. “You can have the first move,” Jonah said. “Dubwool, use Take Down!” The man said. Dubwool ran hard toward Rillaboom, head lowered. “Dodge it!” Jonah said. Despite his large size, Rillaboom sidestepped Dubwool’s attack with relative ease. “Rillaboom, use Razor Leaf!” Instead of going for the immediate power hit, Jonah decided on this move to see what his opponent was made of. Rillaboom launched razor-sharp leaves at Dubwool, who was hit with the attack but seemed to be alright. “Dubwool, use Double Kick!” The enemy trainer said. With shocking speed, Dubwool closed the distance and gave Rillaboom two good kicks to the stomach. Rillaboom clutched its gut, but Jonah could tell it wasn't really hurt. Thinking he had the advantage, the enemy trainer hollered, “Now use Headbutt!” Dubwool snorted and ran at Rillaboom, ready to spear it with its large horns. Jonah had a plan, however. When Dubwool was within reach, Jonah said, “Rillaboom, grab its horns!” Rillaboom grabbed Dubwool’s large upper horns and stopped it in its tracks. Rillaboom was more than twice Dubwool’s weight and far stronger, so this was quite easy for it. “Hit ‘em with Wood Hammer!” Now, Rillaboom was quite an intelligent Pokemon, so it knew how to make the most of the given situation. Rillaboom knew that Dubwool’s wool was quite bouncy, and it put that to use. It picked Dubwool up and slammed it on the ground, causing it to bounce up into the air at eye level with Rillaboom, who reared up on its hind legs and delivered a decimating blow with Wood Hammer, sending Dubwool soaring to the other side of the court. Rillaboom saw that Dubwool had fainted, so it pounded its chest and released a deafening roar, baring its large canine teeth. Jonah shook his opponent's hand and then went to give Rillaboom a berry. By the end of the day, most of the battles had gone like this, but Rillaboom was definitely worn out. Everything wrapped up around four in the afternoon, and Jonah went to check in with his friends. Nothing much happened with them, or so he thought.

Mackenzie said, “Check this out,” She tossed a Pokeball and released her newly evolved Steel-type monolith, Copperajah! “Awesome!” Olivia exclaimed. “And it should have learned Heavy Slam. Total power move,” Keagan added. After that, the group went to talk with the platoon leaders and get to know them better. “How’d it go?” Jonah asked. “Pretty well,” the man with the Walrein said. He was a little older and had a salt-and-pepper beard and close-cut hair. He was a large man, easily six feet tall. He wasn’t overweight, but he was somewhat rotund. “Put ‘er there,” he said, extending his hand. Jonah shook and introduced himself and the others. “Oh, sure, I know who ya are,” he replied. “Name’s Murphy, but ya can call me Murph,” the man said. “Nice to meet you,” Jonah said. “We don’t see many ocean Pokemon around here,” Keagan said. “Pretty cool.” “Well thank ya. I always been proud of Walrein,” Murphy said. His Walrein gave a low, reverberating grunt in response. The group talked for a minute or two longer. They learned Murphy had been a sailor, and that’s where he met Walrein, who was a Spheal at the time. They said their goodbyes and went to meet the rest of the platoon leaders.

The man with a duraldon was named Angus, the woman with a Zoroark was named Ciara, the man with a Conkeldurr was named Griffin, the man with a Luxray was named Easton, the woman with a Ferrothorn was named Iris, the woman with a Goodra was named Raine, the man with a Stonjourner was named Axton, the man with a Dragalge was named Drayce, the woman with the Absol was named Delaney, the man with a Bouffalant was named Raymond, the man with a Reuniclus was named Quinn, the man with a Claydol was named Alden, the man with a Nidoking was named Gideon, the woman with the Toxapex was named Marin, and the man with a Volcarona was named Kem. They had various backgrounds, from lifelong trainers to league challengers to various other occupations. They were a strong and level-headed bunch, which was exactly what would be needed for leaders. Everyone was feeling pretty optimistic about the coming battle.

The next two weeks were relatively uneventful. Save for a few outliers, most of the trainers didn’t pose a real challenge for anyone. Which was fine, seeing as all of their opponents were far stronger than the average enemy they would face. There were a few notable occurrences, however. Jonah had his first normal battle with his Charizard, and although they won, Charizard’s Flamethrower got away from it and nearly torched Jonah. Mackenzie was acclimating to her Copperajah’s newfound power and had overestimated the power behind a move, cracking the stone floor she battled on. The damage was repaired without much struggle after the battle. The day before the army was mobilized, everyone was gathered in the center of the city. The command team had decided that they would review the battle plans one last time before moving out.

“Alright, listen up!” Leon shouted. “Before we ship out, we need to go over the plans one more time,” he said. He nodded at Jonah and his friends since their battalion's plans would be presented first. “Okay, here’s the deal,” Keagan began. “Lucky for us, the castle isn’t built on a hill. Once you get close, it’s pretty flat. On the north side, there’s a hill we can use. We’re going to charge from there. Our job is to draw out and take down as many enemy troops as we can,” Keagan explained. “On all fronts,” Jonah added. “We’ll fight in the air and on the ground,” he finished. He pointed at Ikari, who would give his group’s orders. “Our job is to get on top of the castle and take out artillery and other defenses. If you have Pokemon to carry you up, use ‘em. If not, hitch a ride,” he said. “We need to keep attention away from our troops on the ground so they can do their job,” Ikari finished. He gestured toward Victor, who was last to go. “Okay, our job is covering fire and artillery. They’ll have a lot of their own, so what we need to do is shoot back at them and take out high-priority targets on the ground. For example, if we see a giant Aggron walking around, we can focus on it and take it down. Our only obstacle is range. If you can’t shoot far, try to get close or shoot closer targets,” Victor explained. “Okay, uh, that’s all I got,” he finished. Jonah stepped up to deliver the final piece of the plan. “Once we clear out enough infantry and artillery, you’ll hear a command from one of us to move in. We’ll work our way through the castle toward Aldrich’s summoning circle. I don’t really know how it works, but I know we can break it, so that’s the objective. Got it?” Jonah asked. An enthusiastic, “Sir, yes, sir,” was the response. With that, everyone was dismissed for the rest of the day. Some went to rest, others went to train, and some socialized or talked about strategy. Jonah’s group went to their campsite for the evening. They talked and goofed around for a while until they decided to go to bed early. Before everyone split up, Jonah said, “You know, whatever happens tomorrow, I’m glad to have you guys on my side.” “Aww,” Keagan said sarcastically. “Shut up, dude!” Jonah said, punching Keagan in the arm. The group turned in for the night after that.

Everyone rose early that morning and met up in the center plaza. After a quick talk with the command team, the friends got their riding Pokemon ready. Jonah had selected Corviknight, Keagan went with Arcanine and planned to hitch a ride with Liam in the sea, Tanner was going to tag along with Keagan once again, Mackenzie was riding Rapidash, Liam was riding with Tetsu on Steelix, and Olivia was riding on Gyarados with Ikari and his sister. The troops grouped up into flying and terrestrial Pokemon, and some planned to switch to sea-faring Pokemon once they reached the coast. With everything in order, the army began their journey to the belly of the beast.

They reached the coast within an hour and a half, took a short break for people to switch Pokemon, and then began the long haul across the ocean. About halfway through, a squadron of Mantine all jumped out of the water at the same time, some of them nearly crashing into the lower-flying Pokemon. Other than that, the trip was pretty normal, which was good because any interruptions would’ve resulted in lost time the army couldn’t afford. They reached Michael’s dig site at roughly nine in the morning. The command team greeted Michael and asked how things had been going. “Oh, you were right,” he said. “The bad guys came here about thirty minutes after your guys got here. Good timing, I guess,” he added. “Did you fend them off okay?” Kodai asked. “Oh yeah, we sent ‘em packing, right guys?” Michael asked loudly, getting some hollers from the crowd. “Well, thanks for your help,” Kodai said. “Of course,” Michael replied. The army collected the troops they had stationed there and got back on the move shortly after. They were all informed of their assignments and the battle plan on the way. Everyone seemed optimistic about the battle, which was good for morale. The real long haul began then. Somehow, the travel time was less even though they had more people, going from five days to three and a half. Jonah figured it was partly because of the rest all the Pokemon had gotten the night before, and the optimism about the coming battle. Whatever the reason, no one was complaining. At the end of the third day, the group found a somewhat defendable place to make camp, a field with a few hills to use as high ground. Everyone ate dinner and rested, preparing for what would be their hardest battle yet.

At sunrise the next day, everyone in camp woke up. The battle plans were discussed one more time, and then the battalions separated and began moving out. They set up side-by-side and began the march. Their campsite was about twenty-five miles from the castle, which seemed like nothing compared to the journey they had just made. It was quite a sight to see: more than three thousand trainers on every type of Pokemon under the sun. They were also very loud; the combined sound of footsteps and wingbeats sounded almost like a thunderstorm. In about an hour, the group reached the backside of the hill they would charge from. “Everyone, listen up!” Jonah hollered. “So, you all know what you’re getting yourself into here. Or maybe you don’t. Either way, this will be the most important battle any of us have ever had, so let’s fight like it!” He said. The army cheered and pumped their fists in response. Jonah and his friends released the Pokemon they would ride into battle on. Jonah picked Noivern for speed and maneuverability, Keagan chose Arcanine since it was something of a jack-of-all-trades, Liam selected Darmanitan to utilize its apish ferocity, Olivia and Mackenzie selected to ride together on Copperajah because of its raw power, and Tanner had figured out a way to mount his Araquanid, which he thought might freak some of the enemies out. The rest of the army released their mounts all at once. It was so loud and bright that it was a miracle the enemies didn’t see them. They crested the hill and stopped at the top. “You ready?” Keagan asked. It wasn’t specific, just a general question. “Yeah, sure,” Tanner replied. “Let’s tell ‘em one last time. They picked the wrong trainers to mess with,” Jonah stated. This had become the recurring mantra of the group of friends. Jonah had said it first at the tournament when the first acolyte had attacked. That seemed so long ago, although it was only about three months. The next school year hadn’t even started yet. That battle seemed like nothing compared to what they were up against now. Nonetheless, everyone had faith in one another and the trainers they were fighting alongside. “Let’s go already!” Liam said. “Right,” Jonah replied. “United Galar Army!” Jonah bellowed. “CHARGE!”

-Chapter 24-


The army released a valiant battle cry and charged down the hill. Not only did the trainers give their battle cry but so did the Pokemon. All manner of howls, roars, chirps, and other unintelligible sounds rang out across the army. Keagan could only hear the closest, which were that of his and his friends' Pokemon. Arcanine gave a thunderous roar, Coppperajah loosed a trumpeting cry, Darmanitan gave a guttural bellow, Araquanid made an unnerving sound, sort of like a combination of bubbling and hissing, and Noivern released a piercing howl that was sure to send a chill down the enemies’ spine. Keagan had the overwhelming thought that this was crazy, then dismissed it because he had already accepted as much. The sight of the army charging would have been enough to make anyone think twice about battling them. That is if there was anyone to be seen. There wasn’t a single acolyte charging them. Jonah began to suspect three things: one, the acolytes had left their base unguarded, two, they were hiding inside and too scared to fight, or three, the most likely choice, they were pulling something sneaky. Sure enough, once the army was about two hundred yards from the castle, the front gates opened and acolytes and their Pokemon came pouring out. Many on flying Pokemon launched from behind the castle walls as well. From nowhere, the walls of the castle were lined with Pokemon acting as heavy artillery. And to top it all off, hidden bunkers in the ground opened to let loose even more enemies charging at them. It was almost enough to break the army’s nerve. Almost. They had come too far to be stopped now. They kept charging, right until they ran headfirst into the enemies. This clash made the siege of Hammerlocke look like child’s play. The first impacts were brutal. Horrendous fangs and horns were met with indomitable scales and armor plating, brutal blasts of energy collided, and tremendous blows connected with equally powerful opponents. The battle had begun.

Jonah spotted his first target: a group of three flying Pokemon, consisting of a Mandibuzz, Yanmega, and a Crobat. “Bingo!” He said to Noivern. Then he hollered, “Wrong day to be in my way!” “You’ll eat those words!” The one on the Mandibuzz said. “You’re first, then,” Jonah replied. “Noivern, use Dragon Pulse!” Noivern fired and hit Mandibuzz on the left wing, sending it spiraling out of the sky. The woman riding the Crobat took this as an opportunity to attack and said, “Crobat, use Poison Fang!” Crobat darted at Noivern with impressive speed. However, Noivern was faster. Without Jonah saying anything, Noivern flew over top of Crobat and got behind it as it snapped its poison-laden jaws shut. “Super Fang!” Jonah said quickly, knowing he only had a split second before Crobat turned around. Noivern’s glowing fangs latched onto Crobat’s rear right wing, and Noivern thrashed it downward. Jonah knew that Crobat would be able to recover before it hit the ground, seeing as they were about one hundred and fifty feet in the air. “Chase ‘em! We gotta put ‘em on the ground!” Jonah said to Noivern. Noivern gave a squeak and dove after Crobat, who still hadn’t righted itself. About ten feet from Crobat, Noivern did a forward roll and cracked Crobat with its tail. Crobat gave a pained squeak and crashed into the ground. Noivern flew back up to face the man riding the Yanmega. Jonah looked at him and had a realization.

“Wait! I know you!” He said. “Yes, you’re one of the Hammerlocke brats,” the man replied. This was the same man who led the first assault on Hammerlocke, all those weeks ago. “How did you get away? I thought we had you locked up,” Jonah said. “During Duncan’s siege, I managed to get away. Although, I can see that didn’t work. I always hated Duncan. Far too prideful,” the man replied. “Yeah, well, you really won’t like him now,” Jonah said, pointing at Duncan. He was riding his Dragonite, who had just unleashed a Hyper Beam on the rampart of the castle, sending both bricks and acolytes flying. “He’s a traitor! What a filthy little…” Jonah interrupted him with “Noivern, knock him off! Hurricane!” Noivern gave a few furious wingbeats and knocked the man off of his Yanmega. He yelped and began to fall. “Let him fall, then catch him,” Jonah said calmly. Noivern flew after the man and caught him with its talons about five feet from the ground. “Drop him,” Jonah said. The man landed on his back with a grunt. “Why you little...” the man muttered as he began to get up. Jonah saw a woman going by with a Tangrowth. “Hey! Help me out,” he asked. “Sure thing,” she replied. “Tie him up, Tangrowth,” she said. Tangrowth used its vines to sweep the man’s legs out from under him and tie him to the ground. “Thanks! Now go kick butt,” Jonah said. “Roger that,” the woman replied. “How dare you…” the man started. Noivern landed, got in his face, and gave a head-splitting screech. The man looked shocked and blinked a few times. Jonah grabbed the man’s Pokeball and recalled the Yanmega. “Now sit down and shut up,” Jonah said. Noivern launched back into the air, ready for the next fight.

Tanner rode on top of Araquanid as it scuttled across the battlefield, hunting for opponents. Tanner saw his next opponents: a duo of acolytes, one with a Golurk and the other with a Grapploct. Although they were physically very strong, he knew he could take them if he played this smart. “You guys wanna go?” He asked. “You’re done, kid,” the one with the Grapploct said. Tanner was working out his plan in his head, but he knew he had to stall until he had it. “Araquanid, Bubble Beam!” Tanner said. Araquanid shot a blast of bubbles into Grapploct’s face, knocking it backward. “Golurk, use Mega Punch!” Golurk was a strong Pokemon but was also slow. As it stomped toward Araquanid with a raised fist, Tanner had ample time to tell Araquanid to dodge, which it did, jumping onto Golurk’s head and then bouncing off. Tanner had finally formulated his plan, and now it was time to put it to use. He gestured at Araquanid to get it to stand in front of Golurk. The man’s Grapploct had recovered, and he said, “Oh, you think it’s funny to dance around? This oughta keep you still. Grapploct, use Octolock!” Grapploct made a gargling noise and launched itself at Araquanid. “Sidestep it!” Tanner said. Araquanid moved out of the way, so Grapploct missed and stuck to Golurk’s chest. “Buckle Golurk’s knees! Use Headbutt!” Araquanid hit the back of each of Golurk’s knees with the large bubble on its head, causing it to crash to the ground with Grapploct still stuck on. “Alright!” Tanner exclaimed. “No way!” The Grapploct’s trainer said. However, the Golurk began to push itself up. “No way is right,” Tanner said. As Golurk began to look up, Tanner said, “Araquanid, use Lunge!” Araquanid flew at Golurk, whacking it upside the head and sending it tumbling back to the ground, unconscious. “That’s that then,” Tanner said. Just then, a trainer with a Cryogonal came by, and reading the situation, had her Pokemon use Ice Beam to freeze the acolytes where they stood. Ice and Grass Pokemon were in high demand for the battle, and anyone with these Pokemon had been told to restrain acolytes as they were taken care of. With the two enemies dealt with, Tanner and Araquanid went back on the hunt.

Mackenzie and Olivia had decided to work together again. The first time, it was more for necessity since they were both less experienced than many of their opponents. However, since then, they had both grown as trainers and become far more confident in their abilities. Now, they teamed up mostly because they were friends and thought it would be fun and also because it would be efficient. For smaller Pokemon, they could split up and take them one-on-one, and for larger or stronger Pokemon, they would work together. One of these powerful Pokemon was their next target: a male trainer with a Kommo-o. The enemy trainer saw them coming, and his Kommo-o jingled the large scales on its tail. They gave off a metallic ringing sound. Olivia didn’t know a lot about Pokemon behavior, but she did know that Kommo-o often used this tactic to try and scare off weak opponents. It wouldn’t work on her. She hopped off of Mackenzie’s Copperajah and debated which of her Pokemon to use. Vaporeon’s water attacks would just bounce off of Kommo-o’s scales, and she wasn't sure who would come out on top in a match between her Hitmonlee and his Kommo-o. She released her Liepard, hoping it could outmaneuver Kommo-o. Mackenzie stuck with Copperajah, knowing that it could take a few hits from Kommo-o.

“You kids have been a thorn in our side for long enough. I’ll put a stop to it,” the man said. “Enough yapping. Liepard, use Sucker Punch!” Olivia said. “Yeah, let’s go! Copperajah, use Heavy Slam!” Mackenzie thought for sure that between these two moves, one of them would hit. The enemy trainer had other plans. “Counter the Liepard, dodge, and use Dragon Claw!” The enemy trainer said. Liepard sprinted toward Kommo-o and jumped to hit it with its right paw. Kommo-o sneered, caught Liepard’s paw, and threw it to the ground. However, Copperjah was still barreling toward it. Kommo-o sidestepped the attack, then went to finish what it had started. It turned to face Liepard, who was still struggling to get up. Kommo-o’s claws were enveloped in green energy, and it delivered a wicked blow to Liepard’s ribcage. “Liepard, no!” Oliva cried. “Copperajah, use Iron Head!” With surprising speed, Copperajah hit Kommo-o broadside with a crushing headbutt before it reset itself. Kommo-o was a large Pokemon, but Copperajah was far larger, and it sent Kommo-o sprawling into the dirt. The enemy trainer made an angered noise and said, “Kommo-o, use Close Combat!” Kommo-o launched itself out of the dirt and gave Copperajah a powerful blow right between the eyes. It staggered backward, which was shocking considering Copperajah’s size and weight. “Take that, you oversized paperweight!” The male trainer said. “Liepard, use Play Rough!” Kommo-o turned to see Liepard running toward it as fast as it could. Liepard launched itself at Kommo-o and delivered a flurry of swipes and kicks. This move was super effective against Kommo-o, who dropped to the ground on all fours. “Copperajah, use Superpower!” Mackenzie said. Kommo-o was still stunned from the previous attack, so its trainer's command to dodge did nothing to save it from the massive glowing steel behemoth charging at it. Kommo-o skidded backward and was knocked out. “No fair! You guys aren't very sporting!” The male trainer said. “Says the guy who just came out of a giant evil secret castle,” Mackenzie replied. With that, the two of them went to look for another fight.

Keagan loved the thrill of battle. He wasn’t exactly an adrenaline junkie, but suffice it to say that there was a reason he liked Fire Pokemon and heavy metal. Speaking of which, he had almost decided to use his Toxtricity for the battle, but he had decided against it for fear of electrocuting one of his allies. He had decided to use Arcanine for the time being. He was telling his Arcanine to use Flamethrower to forcibly reroute a few acolytes toward some friendly trainers when he saw who he knew would be his next opponent. There was a man wading through the battlefield causing wanton destruction with his Volcarona. There was fire everywhere around him, incinerating everything in its path. “Hey, you!” Keagan called. The man and his Volcarono turned in unison to look at him. “You think you’re good with fire? Let’s find out,” Keagan said. “You’re overconfident. I’ll put you in your place,” the man replied. “Try me,” Keagan said as his Arcanine squared up for the battle.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Keagan said, “Arcanine, use Crunch!” Arcanine dashed forward with incredible speed, but the enemy trainer simply said, “Dodge it.” Volcarona flapped its wings and deftly moved away from Arcanie’s jaws, which snapped shut on empty air. “Use Flare Blitz!”The trainer said. Volcarona ignited itself and slammed into Arcanine, pushing it away. “Okay, you’re good, but try this! Use Flamethrower!” Keagan yelled. Arcanine took a deep breath and unleashed a roaring blast of fire at Volcarona, who took the hit full-on. Volcaron flew backward and used its wings to stop itself. "Nice shot. But, we can do that too,” the man said. He waved his hand and Volcarona’s wings began to glow. Keagan realized he only had a split second to react, so he said. “Match ‘em! Flamethrower!” Arcanine filled its lungs with air and loosed a raging column of flame just as Volcarona did the same. The fire clashed in between the Pokemon, flames licking left and right from the point where they clashed. “Put them in their place, Volcarona!” The enemy trainer yelled. “Burn ‘em out, Arcanine!” Keagan bellowed. Both Pokemon were giving their all, which turned out to be a little too much. A lot too much, actually. There was a blinding explosion, and both trainers and their Pokemon were knocked off their feet. When Keagan recovered, he saw that the ground thirty feet in every direction was scorched black, and flames crackled everywhere. His Arcanine lay on its side to his right. He saw the enemy trainer and his Volcarona begin to get up, so he did the same. “C’mon Arcanine, we need to finish this,” Keagan said. Arcanine growled and pushed itself up. The enemy trainer coughed and said, “You will not beat us. We don’t lose.” “Really?” Keagan asked. “That’s funny, ‘cause we don’t know how to do anything besides win,” he finished. As the Volcarona got up, Keagan said, “Use Flame Wheel.” Arcanine gave a low growl and it was surrounded by swirling flames. It crashed into Volcarona, knocking it out. “Looks like you burned out,” Keagan said. He left the burning battlefield to find someone else to light up.

Liam walked across the battlefield with his Beartic, searching for an opponent. He was also taking in everything around him. It wasn’t really clear who was winning, but the two sides battled furiously. This battle seemed to bring out sides of both Pokemon and people that Liam had never seen before. Average trainers turned into courageous warriors and mild-mannered Pokemon became ferocious beasts. It was evident that this fight meant more to any of them than a lot of other things ever had. And for good reason. If the army won here, that would be the end of it, and everyone’s lives would go back to normal. If not… well, no one really knew for sure. But Liam figured it would be pretty bad. As he was pondering the implications of this battle, he saw his target. It was a female trainer with a Grumpig, and she was about to attack one of his allies and her Herdier who was clearly hurt. She was trying to give her Herdier some medicine when the Grumpig gave an evil grin and began to charge some kind of energy blast. Liam was all for a good fight, but only if it was fair. Right before the Grumpig fired, Liam yelled, “Hey! Leave her alone!” The Grumpig was surprised and misfired its attack and Liam. It missed, and Liam didn’t even flinch. “You dare interfere with us?” The woman asked. “Yeah, I do. Wanna do something about it?” Liam asked back. The woman and her Grumpig turned to face Liam and his Beartic. Grumpig grunted as it looked Beartic in the eye. Beartic responded with an intimidating roar.

“Beartic, use Icicle Crash!” Liam said. Beartic roared and several icicles fell from above Grumpig’s head. “Dodge and use Psyshock!” The woman yelled. Grumpig weaved its way through the falling icicles and fired a purplish-pink blast of energy at Beartic, who took the attack full on. Before Liam had a chance to say anything, the woman said, “Now use Zen Headbutt!” The pearls on Grumpig’s head began to glow, and it charged at Beartic. This time, Liam wouldn’t let them hit Beartic. “Beartic, counter with Slash!” Beartic’s right claws glowed, and it struck Grumpig under the chin once it was within range. Grumpig flew into the air, and Liam hollered, “Now hit it with Blizzard!” Beartic inhaled and loosed a blast of howling wind and ice. This not only sent Grumpig flying backward but also froze one of its hands to the ground. Seizing the look of shock on the woman’s face and hoping she wouldn’t attack again, Liam said, “End it! Use Superpower!” Beartic began to glow, leapt forward, and knocked Grumpig out with an overhead smash. Since Liam had his own Ice Pokemon, he didn’t need to wait for anyone else and had Beartic freeze up the woman and her Grumpig. “Take a chill pill,” Liam said as he walked away.

About twenty minutes after the battle started, Keagan got out his walkie-talkie and radioed his friends. “Hey, guys? How’s it going?” He asked. Tanner was the first to reply. “Seems pretty good. I think we’re winning!” He exclaimed. “Not exactly. I can see a lot of the acolytes falling back to the front gates. Looks like they’re making a last stand or something,” Jonah said. “Well, let’s meet up there and force our way in,” Mackenzie suggested. “Yeah, sounds good,” Olivia said. “Agreed,” Liam added. “Roger that,” Keagan said, then put his walkie-talkie away. He ran on foot toward the gate, and Arcanine took out and blocked off enemies along the way. Within two minutes, the friends grouped up about a hundred feet away from the door. “Everyone okay?” Jonah asked. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t we be?” Keagan asked jokingly. This was especially amusing since his shirt and jeans were both pockmarked with burn holes. The group laughed at that. Liam announced, “Looks like at least fifty people.” “Yeah, we’re gonna need some help to get in,” Tanner replied. “I got it!” Jonah said. He pulled out his walkie-talkie and fiddled with the knob on top. He said, “Hey, Victor? You busy?” The walkie-talkie crackled, and Victor replied, “Uh, sort of. What do you need?” “We’re trying to force our way through the front gates, but we’re way outnumbered. Can you come down and help us out?” Jonah explained. “Yeah, sure. Be there in a minute,” Victor replied. A moment later, Victor came down, being carried by his Inteleon as it used the membrane on its back to glide through the air. “Okay, what’s the situation?” Victor asked. “We’re pretty sure they’re forming up around the door. They know they’re losing out here, so they’re trying to block us out,” Keagan explained. Even as he said it, more acolytes flocked around the door. The estimated number quickly rose from fifty to at least one hundred and climbing. “We can take ‘em,” Jonah said. “With some more help,” Olivia added. “I’ll get us some,” Mackenzie replied. She got out her walkie-talkie and said on the general channel, “Attention. We need all available troops to the enemy front gates, ASAP.” Over the next five minutes, about four hundred soldiers converged on the front gates. They were hidden behind some dirt mounds so the enemies couldn’t see them.

“Okay, this is phase two. We’ll break their lines and move in,” Jonah said. Artillery fire still rang out around them, but the infantry fighting had died down. The majority of the army was now near the gates, and most of the acolytes were gathering around the door. “Everybody ready?” Liam asked. The troops nodded their heads in response. “Then let’s charge!” Liam said, standing up and leading the charge. As soon as they saw each other, attacks shot from both sides. The group of friends were trying to take out as many Pokemon as possible as fast as they could, utilizing attacks that could hit many Pokemon at once. Some of them had switched out their Pokemon. Jonah switched to Rillaboom to muscle his way through the crown, as Keagan did with Toxtricity to utilize its electric attacks. Oliva had opted for Vaporeon and Tanner swapped out Araquanid for Appletun, both of which could spread their attacks over a large swath of targets. When the two groups came within physical combat range, it was complete havoc on the battlefield. Tanner had just told his Appletun to hit a duo of Pokemon, sending them reeling with pain, when he saw a Mightyena go flying over his head. He watched as Jonah’s Rillaboom fought a whole pack of them, utilizing both plants and brute strength to take them down. He saw one come from behind and nearly jump on Rillaboom’s back, but Olivia’s Vaporeon blasted it away with a Water Pulse attack. Liam’s Beartic backhanded a Heliolisk into the dirt as Mackenzie’s Copperajah careened into a Gigalith and overpowered it with Heavy Slam. Keagan’s Toxtricity was jamming out as it used Overdrive to electrocute a swarm of Beedrill. Tanner refocused himself and instructed his Appletun to use Dragon Pulse on a Sandslash, knocking it off its feet. The enemies’ numbers seemed to be dwindling, and the army was getting closer to the imposing front gates. They were at least thirty feet high, and they were constructed out of dark wood and even darker metal. Tanner figured they would probably have to bash them in to get inside. Then, a worrying thought crept into his head. It occurred to him that they probably had trainers waiting right inside. If so, as soon as they knocked down the door, the enemies would unleash their attacks. As this thought crossed his mind, the last few acolytes were corralled into a circle by two trainers with a Manectric and a Carnivine. Seeing that they were clearly outnumbered, they recalled their Pokemon and surrendered.

Everyone checked in and administered aid to any Pokemon that needed it, and the artillery and raiding battalions came down to join them. The friends went to talk strategy with the command team members. “So, we gotta knock this door down,” Keagan stated. “Thanks, captain obvious,” Jonah replied. “You know, there’s probably a butt-ton of acolytes behind that door,” Tanner added. “Yeah, so we gotta knock the door down and attack immediately,” Ikari suggested. “Okay, I can use Aggron to break the door down, and you guys can let ‘em have it,” Tetsu said. “Alright, let’s do it,” Kireina said. Keagan hollered for everyone to clear out of the way, and Tetsu’s Aggron squared up with the massive door. “Okay pal, we gotta break this door down. You ready?” Tetsu asked. Aggron gave a low grumble in response. Tetsu took a deep breath and said, “Aggron, use Heavy Slam!” Aggron roared and began to run at the gates. It had started about thirty feet away to build up momentum. It crashed into the doors, splintering the wood and knocking the doors off their hinges. Just as Tanner had predicted, many acolytes were waiting behind the door, and attacks like Flamethrower and Shadow Ball shot out as soon as the doors fell. The army retaliated with their own attacks and began to make their way in. As the fighting raged around them, the command team made a plan for how they would get to the summoning circle.

“So, wherever this thing is, it’s probably pretty deep in and heavily guarded,” Olivia said. “Yeah, I bet Aldrich probably already diverted a lot of his forces there since he knows we’re in the castle,” Hayai added. “Duncan, any advice to offer?” Kodai asked. “Well, I don’t know where the chamber is, but I have a pretty good guess who’s guarding it,” Duncan said. “Do tell,” Bede said as a Thunderbolt crackled over his head. His Hatterene fired back with a Psybeam. “Aldrich has a team of elite trainers he calls the Wardens. They have immensely powerful Pokemon and carry out his orders without mercy. They’re sort of like his personal security force. As far as I know, there are twenty of them, and I’d bet that one of them could take twenty of our soldiers without breaking a sweat,” Duncan informed them. “Holy crud,” Marnie replied. “We won’t be able to fight our way through this and still have the energy left to take them on,” Leon stated. “Yeah. You guys talk to the platoon leaders and tell them what’s what. I gotta find my dad,” Jonah said. The others nodded and split up.

Jonah weaved his way through the battle with Rillaboom in tow. He finally found his dad in the middle of a battle. Actually, it was about wrapped up. Jonah heard his dad bellow, “Finish it Rhyperior! Use Hammer Arm!” Rhyperior caught the enemy Passimian in the gut with a blow so powerful that it made Jonah wince just from watching. The enemy Pokemon passed out and the trainer ran away. “Nice one, Dad,” Jonah said. His dad exhaled and said, “That bugger just wouldn’t quit. We had to stick it to ‘em.” “That’s an understatement. You knocked that thing into next week!” Jonah replied. He told his dad about the plan to go to the summoning circle and that he needed him to take charge while he and the other leaders were away. His dad replied, “You got it, bud.” Jonah started to walk away, but his dad called, “Hey, bud?” “Yeah, Dad?” Jonah replied. “Stay safe and kick butt,” his dad said. Jonah turned back to give his dad a hug, then went back to rejoin the others.

“Everything is all set up. We’re good to go,” Raihan said. “Yeah, except we don’t know how to get there,” Mackenzie said. Kabu pointed at a staircase and said, “We can use that, and once we get as far as we can go, we’ll blast our way in.” The others agreed with this plan, and they descended the staircase. It was a relatively normal staircase, except for the torches to light the way. After about twenty flights of stairs, the group came to the end of the staircase. The area they were in was sort of a three-way intersection. “I bet the chamber is behind that wall,” Piers said. “I know how we can find out,” Jonah said. He released his Noivern and said, “Hey, buddy. We think there’s some enemies behind that wall. Can you help us find out?” Noiver squeaked and walked over to the wall. It pressed its ears against the wall and stood there for a moment. It walked back over and kind of nodded its head. Jonah patted Noivern and recalled it, saying, “I think that’s a yes.” “Great. Now we just have to break through a solid stone wall,” Tanner said. “We could burn through it,” Liam suggested. “How about Dragon Pulse?” Nessa suggested. “Great idea! I can do it,” Duncan said. He tossed a Pokeball, releasing the same Haxorus that Jonah and Keagan had battled during the siege of Hammerlocke. Haxorus grumbled and took in its surroundings, looking somewhat confused about why it was in some long-lost hallway with no enemies. Duncan explained what was going on, and he told it, “I need you to cut a hole in the wall with Dragon Pulse. Up for it?” Haxorus gave another grumble and faced the wall.

“Haxorus, use Dragon Pulse!” Duncan said. Haxorus squared its feet and fired a sort of low-power Dragon Pulse. Liam suspected it did this so that it could sustain the attack instead of firing one massive blast, which might not have penetrated the wall. Haxorus used the attack to carve a large circle in the wall. Wherever the beam hit, the stone melted, leaving a smoldering mess of gray sludge in its wake. Liam was almost certain the Wardens were aware they were breaching the wall, but if they were, they did nothing to stop them. Liam reasoned that they must’ve been so confident in their skills that they would let them through on purpose. Liam’s train of thought was interrupted by the crashing sound as the stone circle dropped to the floor. Some of the bricks on the edge broke off, but the majority of them stayed intact. When the dust settled, it revealed a sight that created a pit in Liam’s stomach. Not only were there twenty Wardens standing in line with each other, but in front of them was the most evil creature Liam had ever seen: Aldrich, dressed in polished black stone armor engraved with blood-red runes. He also had a cape in the same color, six Pokeballs on his belt, and a crown made of the same stone with six wickedly sharp points on it. His face was accompanied by neatly trimmed black stubble. Aldrich gave an evil grin and said, “Welcome to your demise.”

-Chapter 25-


Neither Aldrich nor his Wardens made a move to stop the group as they moved in. In total, there were thirty of them, so they outnumbered the Wardens by ten. Keagan figured some of the less experienced trainers could battle together against a single Warden, and he hoped that would be good enough. The Wardens were quite an imposing sight. They didn’t wear the standard crimson robes of other acolytes or even the battle versions like Duncan had worn. They wore black robes with the same sort of black stone armor that adorned Aldrich. They wore vambraces and shoulder pads on the outside, but their robes concealed any other armor they might’ve been wearing. Their robes were trimmed with red fabric in the same color as Aldrich’s cape. Jonah remembered the drawing of the Chaos Lord and the red lines on its body and realized that the color schemes were intended to mimic it. They all had their hoods pulled up as well. Maybe coincidentally, or perhaps on purpose, they were half men and half women. These were clearly serious opponents.

“So, your invasion plan worked,” Aldrich said. “No, really?” Keagan replied sarcastically. Aldrich ignored his comment and said, “I’m terribly sorry not to stick around, but I have more pressing matters to attend to.” He took his hands out from behind his back, revealing an aged leather-bound book with the same runes on it that his armor did. Although he couldn’t decipher them, Tanner recognized the runes as the same ones from the book they had translated. “The book from the vault!” Mackenzie exclaimed. “You know of my vault?” Aldrich asked. He gave a small laugh and said, “No matter. This was the only thing of real importance in it anyway,” Aldrich added. Keagan thought of taking the book, but he knew it wouldn’t end well if he did. “Well, I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got somewhere to be. I’m sure my Wardens will, ah, take care of you,” Aldrich said. Only then did Jonah notice the door behind him. It wasn’t massive, probably about ten feet high and four feet wide, but it was built flush with the wall. It had six bars across it, each attached to some kind of locking system that Jonah had never seen before. It was a complex system of gears and knobs. Aldrich walked to the door and released the locks, and the door slid into the wall. Aldrich walked through the door and it sealed behind him, but Jonah saw the room he entered for a split second. It was the summoning circle, except this time it was inhabited. Six acolytes surrounded the circle, dressed in some kind of ceremonial black robes. There were metal braziers on top of tripods with unnatural red fire burning in them. It seemed like they were preparing for a ritual. It seemed like Jonah’s blood froze as he realized what was happening: they were ready to release the Devourer. Jonah looked at Keagan, who had clearly come to the same conclusion. They broke eye contact when one of the Wardens began to speak. It was a man with a bushy, gray beard.

“You will not breach that chamber. We will stop you by way of a Pokemon battle. We will choose our opponents if that is alright by you. If you wish to announce any terms, do so now,” the man stated. This came as a shock to everyone. Rather than being completely heartless and evil, this man gave off a strange sense of honor. It seemed like he would fight with integrity and good morals. Liam couldn’t tell if this was his personality or simply the orders he had been given. Maybe Aldrich was so confident in their skills that he had told them to do this. Either way, Liam wasn’t complaining. The group discussed for a minute or two as the Wardens waited patiently for their terms. It was Victor who announced them. “We agree to you picking your opponents. Our terms are that Klara and Avery will battle together, as will Marnie and Bede, Mackenzie and Olivia, Tanner and Liam, and Opal and Peony.” He indicated who each of them were. Some of these trainers were by no means weak, but they needed five pairs to help with the numbers difference. “Both trainers will use only one Pokemon, and if they should lose, they will wait for the outcome of the other battles. The battling will continue until all the trainers on one side have been defeated. If we win, you will let us through. Do you accept our terms?” Victor asked. The Wardens convened and eventually agreed to all the terms listed. Then, the Wardens selected their opponents. The first man to speak chose Leon. A younger man, maybe in his thirties, chose Jonah. Keagan was selected by a muscular man who gave off a cold and calculating aura. Tanner and Liam would battle a rather skinny man, and Mackenzie and Olivia would battle a woman with platinum blonde hair that hung just above her shoulders. The rest of the Wardens chose their opponents, and the battles, which would without a doubt be some of the most important and challenging battles any of the trainers present had ever fought, were set to begin.

Jonah’s opponent made the mistake of releasing his Pokemon first. He tossed an Ultra Ball, releasing a Magnezone. Jonah knew Magnezone was a very powerful Pokemon, and the Warden had probably trained his to reach a strength that other trainers’ Pokemon hadn’t. Jonah considered his options. He knew Magnezone was exceptionally weak to Ground attacks, but he had no Pokemon that could use them. Fighting was out as well. This left him with Fire. Jonah wished this man would’ve battled Keagan instead. He decided to use Charizard, tossing its Pokeball to release it. Charizard roared, and the flame on its tail crackled. He figured his best bet was to avoid Magnezone’s electric attacks and get in shots with Charizard’s fire attacks. “I wish to know the name of the boy who has caused us so much trouble,” the Warden said. This offended Jonah a little. He was nearing sixteen years old and was not a boy. “First, of all, I’m more of a young man. Second, my name is Jonah Porter. After this, you’ll remember me,” Jonah replied. “How about your name?” Jonah asked. “My name is Dominic. Thank you for asking,” the Warden replied. Again, it was hard to tell if he was being sincere or sarcastic. “Well, let’s get started,” Jonah said. He quickly ran through his options: Flamethrower, Air Slash, Slash, and Dragon Breath. Jonah made his decision. “Charizard, use Dragon Breath!” Jonah said. Charizard’s nostrils flared as it inhaled, and it fired a purplish-blue energy blast at Magenzone. Magnezone took the hit right in the face and moved back a few feet, but didn’t seem all that affected. Jonah had anticipated this since Magnezone was resistant to Normal, Flying, and Dragon-type attacks. It was all part of the plan. Dominic said, “Magnezone, use Discharge!” In the blink of an eye, Charizard was nailed with several wild arcs of electricity. It roared in pain and staggered backward. In an instant, Dominic yelled, “Follow up with Flash Cannon!” Magnezone loosed a slivery energy blast that Jonah knew would be a devastating hit. “Charizard, dodge and use Slash!” Charizard flapped its wings and flew into the air. From its elevated position, it dropped a solid hit with its claws on top of Magnezone, knocking it into the stone floor and cracking it.

Seizing his opportunity, Jonah yelled, “Let ‘em have it! Use Flamethrower!” Charizard unleashed a searing blast of fire, landing a direct hit on Magnezone, who writhed in pain. “All right! It felt that one!” Dominic grimaced and said, “No matter. Magnezone, use Spark!” Magnezone glowed with crackling electricity and flew at Charizard with anger in its eyes. Magnezone caught Charizard in the gut. It was clearly hurt, but it didn’t fall to the ground. Now the battle was in the air. Jonah thought Magnezone had looked mad, but Charizard was roiling with fury. “Now you made us mad,” Jonah said. “You’re done,” He added. “Charizard, use Air Slash!” Jonah bellowed. Charizard’s wings glowed, and it launched at razor-edged blades of air into Magnezone. Each one staggered it and knocked it backward. “Now’s our chance! Flamethrower, no holding back!” Jonah yelled. Whatever Charizard was holding back was all unleashed in the strongest attack Jonah had ever seen it use. Charizard’s chest filled with air, and it loosed a massive blast of fire directly at Magnezone, showing it no mercy. Magnezone passed out in the air and fell to the ground with a metallic klunk. Charizard returned to the ground and let out an exhausted breath. “Congratulations. You won, ‘fair-and-square,’ as they say,” Dominic said. He recalled Magnezone and extended his hand. Jonah shook it and looked around to the other battles. Most were done, and miraculously, all of his allies had won. The man who had first spoken said, “Congratulations to you all. Although I cannot speak for my king, you all are extremely talented trainers. Whatever happens, I’m sure that you will all be very important in the coming events. As per our agreement, you may enter the chamber.” The group began to walk towards the door as the man was fiddling with the locks. Just then, two Wardens stepped in front of them. They were both male and couldn’t have been older than twenty. The friends were in the front, with Jonah and Keagan at the helm. One of the trainers lunged forward at Keagan, tackling him to the ground. Jonah went to help him but was struck in the back by the other one. He turned and gave him a right cross to the jaw. The man shook himself and readied to strike back, but Lima dropped his shoulder and ran him into the wall. Jonah looked over to see that Keagan had forced his opponent off of him and jabbed him in the nose, drawing blood. Liam had his left hand balled into a fist and drawn back when the bearded man boomed, “Enough! How dare you defy King Aldrich! You two will be severely punished. As for the rest of you, you may enter.” The two Wardens stepped back with their heads hung in shame, and the group crossed the threshold into the chamber.

-Chapter 26-
The summoning circle seemed to radiate evil itself. Aldrich stood behind the pulpit with his book open. The six acolytes stood roughly five feet apart, so Liam estimated that the circle was about thirty-five feet in diameter. He recognized the runes carved into the rim of the circle from the book he had translated. There were eight nasty-looking lightning bolt-like engravings coming from the center of the circle. There were no guards in the room, which Keagan thought was odd. “Welcome!” Aldrich said, clapping his hands. “You’re just in time,” he added.

“I trust you already know what I’m doing,” Aldrich stated. “You’re gonna release that Devourer thing,” Tanner answered. “Try to,” Keagan added. “There is no trying. It will be done,” Aldrich said, growing serious. “Anyway, I thought you might like to know a little bit more about the Devourer,” Aldrich offered. Jonah recognized this as an opportunity and prepared to listen and memorize any information he was given. “It does indeed have a name,” Aldrich said, then paused. “Moncipactodile.” Hearing the name of the enemy was slightly relieving, strangely, for Tanner, but it also sent a chill down his spine. “It is indeed a Pokemon, although it has never been known to submit to any trainer,” Aldrich said. “So that’s your plan?” Keagan interjected. “No, actually. We’ll work alongside the Devourer, but not over it. And I wasn’t finished,” Aldrich replied.

“No one is certain, but we reason that it is Dragon and Water-type, based on its physical appearance and its ability to bring monsoons with it. It is believed to eat anything, including inanimate objects,” Aldrich stated. “This is real nice, but you’re not getting it here. As soon as you start yapping, I’ll just blow this place sky-high,” Jonah said. “On the contrary,” Aldrich said. “The ritual begins with a protection incantation.” Aldrich began to read from his book in an unsettling, indecipherable language. The patterns and runes on the circle began to glow red, and the acolytes chanted something in unison. “Enough of this!” Ikari yelled. He released his Gyarados and told it to use Hyper Beam. There was no visible shield around the circle, but when the attack hit the edge a barrier made of energy appeared, blocking the attack. Energy began to crackle inside the circle, and the reading and chanting grew louder.

“No! No, no, no!” Jonah yelled. He felt helpless, and he hated it. All this effort and there was nothing he could do to stop this. He looked at Keagan and asked, “What do we do?” “I don’t freakin’ know!” Keagan yelled back. The energy grew wilder and the crackling louder, and a wind began to kick up. Aldrich and the acolytes never looked away from the circle. Then, a swirling vortex appeared at the bottom, which Tanner realized was a portal. A bone-chilling roar was heard from the other side. Tanner was at a loss. This was it. The monster was nearly here, and it was inevitable. To everyone’s horror, a hand grasped out from the portal to the edge of the circle. It was dark blue with five toes, and it was scaly and webbed with black claws. Another roar came from inside the portal as a second hand reached out. Then, the creature’s horrible head came through. It was at least three feet in length and had yellow eyes with slit pupils. Above the eyes were bony ridges. The creature roared, exposing large teeth. It finally hauled its whole body through the portal, and it was a truly horrifying sight. It was roughly eight feet tall at its head and was covered in osteoderms. It had a long tail that ended in a fin, and there was also a fin running from the back of its head down its body. It was a dark blue color with some of its scales a little darker or lighter than the others, and its underside was a whitish-yellow. It was quadrupedal and dropped to all fours as the portal closed. It appeared to have gills on its neck as well. The most sickening part was the mouths. Each knee, wrist, and ankle had an extra mouth on it, as did its shoulders. They all moved independently, snapping and snarling as if they could see their environment. It was the most unnatural thing that any of them had ever seen. Liam figured that was about right seeing as it was from another dimension.

The chanting stopped and Aldrich said, “All hail the Devourer!” “Hail!” The acolytes responded in unison. “Devourer, I have a proposition for you,” Aldrich began. The Devourer hissed and looked at Aldrich. “I, Aldrich, have studied the history of you and your master, the Chaos Lord. I have amassed a large army to carry out my goals, which are the same as yours: to bring your master to this world and see him take his place as its ruler. Therefore, it is my request that you work together, as an equal with me and my army to open the gate to your master’s world. Do you accept?” Aldrich asked. The Devourer must’ve been able to understand human speech, because it seemed to nod its head at Adlrich. Aldrich smiled and said, “Then go forth! Wreak havoc upon this world! Together, we will usher humanity into a new era!” Moncipactodile roared and leapt into the air much higher than anyone would’ve expected. It crashed through the ceiling and then smashed through a wall and continued outside.

Jonah tried to collect his thoughts, but all he could say was, “You’re a monster.” Aldrich replied. “Monster. What a word. Such a relative term.” “You will pay,” Jonah retorted. “I think not,” Aldrich said. Then, he released his Salamence, mounted it, and flew after the Devourer. Shaking Jonah out of shock, Keagan said, “C’mon. We gotta get outta here.” Jonah nodded and moved out with the others back the way they came, trying to prepare for whatever awaited him outside.

-Chapter 27-


The group of trainers went back through the doors they had knocked down on the way in, and what they saw appalled them. The Devourer ripped through the battlefield, taking out people and Pokemon as it went. It was clearly a force to be reckoned with, and it loved combat. “We’ve got to try and stop it,” Keagan said. Jonah nodded and turned to the gathered Gym leaders and other trainers. “We’re gonna try and slow it down. You guys round everyone up and get ready to move out,” he instructed. They nodded and took off. “Let’s go,” Liam said.

The six of them released a Pokemon each. Jonah had Noivern, Keagan picked Coalossal, Mackenzie selected Rapidash, Tanner went with Golisopod, Olivia chose Meowstic, and Liam picked Abomasnow. “We gotta go all out. Attack it in succession,” Tanner stated. The others agreed. They closed the distance on Aldrich and Moncipactodile and Keagan hollered, “You’re not getting out of here!” Aldrich laughed and said, “Oh, I think we will be.” Then, the Devourer looked at them and snarled. It roared, and out of nowhere, a torrential downpour began.

Liam was the first to attack. “Abomasnow, use Ice Punch!” Abomasnow grumbled and ran at the Devourer, its right hand covered with blue ice crystals. Liam figured that if a hit like this from a Pokemon the size of Abomasnow couldn’t hurt it, not much could. He was shocked when Moncipactodile swiped Abomasnow away with one hit. Jonah went next. “Noivern, use Dragon Pulse!” Noivern breathed in and fired a beam of dragon energy at the Devourer, who used surprising speed to sidestep the attack. It fired back with a blast of water so powerful it knocked Noivern out of the sky. Jonah knew it had to be Hydro Pump. Enraged, Keagan said, “Coalossal, use Flamethrower!” Coalossal’s eyes glowed red and it loosed a raging column of fire. Keagan thought for sure that this would hurt his opponent, but it stood there and took the attack, barely even flinching as the fire licked its armored scales. Moncipactodile retaliated with a wicked blow with what Keagan recognized as Iron Tail. It launched Coalossal further than Keagan would’ve ever thought possible. Tanner attacked next. He was starting to get a little worried, but he would still go for it. “Let ‘er rip, Golisopod! Use Razor Shell!” Tanner hollered. Golisopod dashed forward and prepared to attack, but the Devourer stopped it in its tracks with a draconic impact Tanner knew was Dragon Rush. Despite all its armor, Golisopod had no chance. It flew back into the dirt. This left Mackenzie and Olivia, who attacked in tandem. “Meowstic, use Charge Beam!” Olivia said. “Rapidash, Psycho Cut!” Mackenzie thought that their double attack would almost certainly work. Moncipactodile dodged the electric beam that came from Meowstic and backhanded Rapidash as it attempted to attack with its large horn. Then it used an attack none of them recognized.

It inhaled with every mouth on its body, creating such a vacuum that a few of them actually stumbled forward. It expelled an attack that was a mix of draconic energy, swirling water, and raging wind. It was exceptionally loud. It was sort of like a monsoon as an attack. Even amid this chaos, Jonah thought of a name for the attack: Roaring Monsoon. It blasted every person and Pokemon a good ten feet backward and onto the ground. Before any of them got up, Aldrich said, “Now you see what you’re dealing with. I will be going now, but I hope your next decision is a wise one.” With that, he released a Tyrantrum, mounted it, and rode away into his castle. Moncipactodile released an unearthly roar, one of the loudest sounds any of them had ever heard. Keagan was utterly shocked. His friends were some of the strongest trainers he knew, and it swatted them away like a couple of Cutiefly. Although the castle was clearly damaged and Aldrich’s army was in shambles, Jonah knew they had to leave. He recalled his fainted Pokemon as did the others and met up with the rest of the army.

“How’d it go?” Leon asked. “Not good. We gotta go,” Tanner replied swiftly. Leon nodded and got into formation with the others. The army released their Pokemon and took off, beginning the long journey back home to Galar. They knew that there was little chance of being followed since both sides needed some time to recover. Although the army won the battle, they had still suffered many losses. Keagan wasn’t sure what Aldrich’s plan was, but he thought it would start with reorganizing his army and fixing his castle. He suspected that he would then take the Devourer through the surrounding area, leaving destruction in its wake. Keagan shuddered at the thought. He considered trying to think about what the army would do next but decided not to. That could be figured out later. The only real thought he had was the same one that echoed through the minds of every other member of the army. They had failed. Failure was one thing, but the worst part was that no one knew the consequences. For the first time, they were truly venturing into the unknown.

After a few days of travel, The United Galar Army landed in Hammerlocke. Their first objective was to heal the wounded. Many people and Pokemon had been hurt in the battle. What medicine they had was administered during their rest stop in Unova at Michael’s dig site, but they couldn’t do a lot more than that until they made landfall. Hammerlocke’s Pokemon Centers alone wouldn’t be enough to tend to all in need, so the other towns and cities in Galar opened the doors of their Pokemon Centers to aid the army. The command team agreed that everyone needed a break, so no one was ordered to train or patrol for two weeks. The friends took the two weeks off with the rest of the army. They figured some rest would do them and their Pokemon some good. They didn’t ignore their Pokemon, however. Some days, each of them would release all of their Pokemon just to spend some time with them. They figured showing their Pokemon some affection couldn’t hurt. They all checked in with their families and informed them of what happened. The reactions were mostly the same: they were all glad their kids were okay, but they were worried about the future. Which was about the same as the friends felt. One night, they were all together at their tents.

“So, what do we do now?” Liam asked. “Whadda you mean?” Tanner replied. “I mean the Devourer is running loose and we have no intel on what Aldrich is doing. We gotta do something about it,” Liam explained. “Well, I say we train. Hard,” Keagan suggested. “Agreed,” Jonah said. “Well, today’s our last day off. We can hit it hard tomorrow,” Mackenzie added. The others agreed with this. They talked for the rest of the night and then went off to bed.

-Chapter 29-

The next day, the friends rose early to start their new training regiment. They decided they would use a mix of training battles against each other, individual training specific to each Pokemon, and overall endurance training so that their Pokemon would be able to battle harder for longer. They were starting with battles this morning, so Keagan asked, “Hey, Jonah! You and me?” “You got it,” Jonah replied. He’d been kind of downcast over the last two weeks in light of recent events, and he hoped that a battle would cheer him up. “How about Rillaboom and Cinderace?” Jonah suggested. He knew that he’d be at a type disadvantage, but he also had confidence in Rillaboom’s abilities. Plus, training with a hindrance would only make Rillaboom stronger. Jonah tossed his Pokeball and said, “Show ‘em what you can do, Rillaboom!” Keagan released Cinderace and replied with, “Fire it up, Cinderace!” Cinderace and Rillaboom locked eyes and each released their battle cry. Rillaboom stood up on its back legs, pounded its chest, and gave a booming roar. Cinderace stretched out, hopped up and down a few times, and let out a high-pitched shriek. Cinderace and Rillaboom were friends, but they were also fierce rivals, just like their trainers. Keagan and Jonah could both feel the adrenaline begin to course through their veins as they prepared to battle. This is what they both enjoyed more than anything: battling a truly worthy opponent. “You gonna go or what?” Keagan asked. Jonah grinned and answered, “I thought you’d never ask.” He took a deep breath and said, “Rillaboom, use Wood Hammer!”

-Chapter 30-



In the same distant land that was home to Aldrich and his acolytes, another ancient order stirred. They had been watching. Listening. Waiting. They had observed the efforts of the young trainers leading the fight against Aldrich. They were certainly skilled, and in due time would certainly be strong enough to duel with Aldrich and his army, but they were not the true opponents. In truth, no one on Earth really knew the extent of the power of the Chaos Lord, but those in this order knew more than most. They knew the children would need help, and now was the time to make themselves known and give it to them.




Hope some of you enjoy it. It would be nice to see a few more comments or likes, but beggars can't be choosers I guess. If you read it, thanks from me.
 
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Hope some of you enjoy it. It would be nice to see a few more comments or likes, but beggars can't be choosers I guess. If you read it, thanks from me.
Hey! I don't think necessarily that people aren't enjoying your writing (although admittedly the reading target audience has shrunk over the years) but the people interested in reading are intimidated by the lack of formatting. I know when you copy paste from Google Docs or Word or something that messes with the formatting sometimes, but unless you are specifically just continuously writing for some deliberate purpose it is worth taking the time to break apart paragraphs.

For example:
“Thwackey, use Wood Hammer!” Jonah yelled. Thwackey launched itself at the punching bag in front of it and gave such a swing of the glowing green log on its arm that the bag flew off the chain with a hole in its side, spilling sand onto the floor.

“Alright!” Jonah exclaimed. Thwackey gave a yip of celebration. Keagan, Jonah, and their friends had returned to the gym they and their Pokemon had been training in for nearly a month and a half. All around him, Jonah observed the others training in various ways.

Keagan was training his Arcanine to shoot more accurate flame attacks at special targets that would resist the fire, Tanner was using a machine to launch logs for his Drednaw to split with its imposing jaws, Liam was trying to teach his Snover to create larger and stronger snow attacks, Olivia was trying to increase the pressure of her Vaporeon’s Water Pulse attack, and Mackenzie was helping her Ponyta learn to attack more effectively with its horn.

A few minutes later, they took a break for lunch. This was one of the days that they spent all day at the gym, so they had all packed lunches to take with them.

“Thwackey, use Wood Hammer!” Jonah yelled. Thwackey launched itself at the punching bag in front of it and gave such a swing of the glowing green log on its arm that the bag flew off the chain with a hole in its side, spilling sand onto the floor. “Alright!” Jonah exclaimed. Thwackey gave a yip of celebration. Keagan, Jonah, and their friends had returned to the gym they and their Pokemon had been training in for nearly a month and a half. All around him, Jonah observed the others training in various ways. Keagan was training his Arcanine to shoot more accurate flame attacks at special targets that would resist the fire, Tanner was using a machine to launch logs for his Drednaw to split with its imposing jaws, Liam was trying to teach his Snover to create larger and stronger snow attacks, Olivia was trying to increase the pressure of her Vaporeon’s Water Pulse attack, and Mackenzie was helping her Ponyta learn to attack more effectively with its horn. A few minutes later, they took a break for lunch. This was one of the days that they spent all day at the gym, so they had all packed lunches to take with them.

All I did was put some spaces in the places I considered a good fit. Where you split your text is up to you of course, but the takeaway is to actually do it. I would also suggest to include more context when you describe what the friends are doing with their Pokemon at the gym, as it is now it feels a little like an info dump.

That being said.

I mention formatting because that was me. I saw a writing thread pop up and we never get any of those, so immediately I wanted to take a look. However with all the chapters there were and how tightly packed the sentences are, I was put off and didn't come back to it until now. And now that I actually took the time to read this bit of the story it's definitely interesting! I would love to read the rest if you ever decide to format the whole thing, but it *is* a lot of writing so completely understandable if you choose not to.

im rooting for the former tho
 
Hey! I don't think necessarily that people aren't enjoying your writing (although admittedly the reading target audience has shrunk over the years) but the people interested in reading are intimidated by the lack of formatting. I know when you copy paste from Google Docs or Word or something that messes with the formatting sometimes, but unless you are specifically just continuously writing for some deliberate purpose it is worth taking the time to break apart paragraphs.

For example:
“Thwackey, use Wood Hammer!” Jonah yelled. Thwackey launched itself at the punching bag in front of it and gave such a swing of the glowing green log on its arm that the bag flew off the chain with a hole in its side, spilling sand onto the floor.

“Alright!” Jonah exclaimed. Thwackey gave a yip of celebration. Keagan, Jonah, and their friends had returned to the gym they and their Pokemon had been training in for nearly a month and a half. All around him, Jonah observed the others training in various ways.

Keagan was training his Arcanine to shoot more accurate flame attacks at special targets that would resist the fire, Tanner was using a machine to launch logs for his Drednaw to split with its imposing jaws, Liam was trying to teach his Snover to create larger and stronger snow attacks, Olivia was trying to increase the pressure of her Vaporeon’s Water Pulse attack, and Mackenzie was helping her Ponyta learn to attack more effectively with its horn.

A few minutes later, they took a break for lunch. This was one of the days that they spent all day at the gym, so they had all packed lunches to take with them.

“Thwackey, use Wood Hammer!” Jonah yelled. Thwackey launched itself at the punching bag in front of it and gave such a swing of the glowing green log on its arm that the bag flew off the chain with a hole in its side, spilling sand onto the floor. “Alright!” Jonah exclaimed. Thwackey gave a yip of celebration. Keagan, Jonah, and their friends had returned to the gym they and their Pokemon had been training in for nearly a month and a half. All around him, Jonah observed the others training in various ways. Keagan was training his Arcanine to shoot more accurate flame attacks at special targets that would resist the fire, Tanner was using a machine to launch logs for his Drednaw to split with its imposing jaws, Liam was trying to teach his Snover to create larger and stronger snow attacks, Olivia was trying to increase the pressure of her Vaporeon’s Water Pulse attack, and Mackenzie was helping her Ponyta learn to attack more effectively with its horn. A few minutes later, they took a break for lunch. This was one of the days that they spent all day at the gym, so they had all packed lunches to take with them.

All I did was put some spaces in the places I considered a good fit. Where you split your text is up to you of course, but the takeaway is to actually do it. I would also suggest to include more context when you describe what the friends are doing with their Pokemon at the gym, as it is now it feels a little like an info dump.

That being said.

I mention formatting because that was me. I saw a writing thread pop up and we never get any of those, so immediately I wanted to take a look. However with all the chapters there were and how tightly packed the sentences are, I was put off and didn't come back to it until now. And now that I actually took the time to read this bit of the story it's definitely interesting! I would love to read the rest if you ever decide to format the whole thing, but it *is* a lot of writing so completely understandable if you choose not to.

im rooting for the former tho
Yeah, you're totally right about the formatting. Can't believe I didn't think of that. I'll edit the post so that it's easier to read and all that.
 
My post has been edited to include some better formatting. Should be a little better to read. Thanks to @Vom for bringing it up.
 
Hi everybody! Coming back after a while to see what's going on in my little thread. Just wondering... how many of you that viewed the thread actually read any of it? Not trying to beg for attention or anything, but I'd just like to know. Even if one person has enjoyed it, that's a win for me. If you don't mind, I'd really appreciate a comment from anyone who has read it. Anything is appreciated. Thank you all!
 
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