Pokemon Revolution: Advent Phoenix (Rated T)

[Venastois]

whoo! nothing like a new chapter to make a guy feel better.....

friggin virus...i hate being sick....


whoo hoo! second post!

[Oathblivion]

(Finally time to review!) Well, there's good news and bad news. The bad news: Arnaz's depth perception has gone out the window. The good news: now he gets to wear a really cool eyepatch! Even if it was just a short cameo, I enjoyed seeing Devlin and the gang again. I love those guys even more than those on the Silver Milotic.

I like your fillers better than most other authors (talking to you, Mr. Kishimoto...) as well, as you actually get stuff done in them. Champ evolving out of that hideous form and into the stylish Grovyle was great. I really dislike the bug-eyed starter, but his character is so loveable that I could deal with it. Hooray Champ!

And the little Voltyger whose name eludes me! Geez, with a timid nature and a base speed of OMGreat Aunt (using the Lord's name in vain is what one might call "bad" </shameless moral plug> , that thing puts a Ninjask who has downed a Red Bull to shame. I'll enjoy seeing him pwn everyone, for sure. I also like how you're keeping with trainer team themes. Espeon, Grovyle, Kitide, and Voltyger make for quite the offensive team. Conversely, and keeping with the literary theme of opposites attracting, Katrina's Umbreon, Marhot, and Arcidane seem more defensive. Nothing has changed too much from Goldenrod, right? I mean, other than a huge war, death of close family, releasing your former team, and a movement to overthrow a king/emperor.

Carpe diem, or not; it's your call. -Oath

[EonMaster One]

Actually, it's funny you should mention that, Oath.

Both Meru and Arcus were meant to add some balance to their respective trainers' teams. That combination of Rain Dance, Double Team, and Acid Armor that I used in an earlier chapter turned Meru into more of a defensive Pokemon. She has power, yes, but her main use is to tire out would-be sweepers and take them down when they're worn out from trying to attack illusions of her. Arcus hasn't been seen much in battle - something I plan to remedy in the future.

Anyway, I'm posting to tell everyone that I'm still alive. School's been a bee-otch lately, what with midterms, monster papers, and profs that like to spring tests on you with two days of warning and then freaking not show up on the day of the tests. On top of that, my creative juices weren't exactly flowing last week - although I really couldn't focus on anything. On top of that, my good friend and roommate (having been loaned a computer with the (P)OS known as Linux) needs my computer often because he's got darn near as much work as I do.

Anyway, those problems have all been overcome - to some degree. Chapter 19 (or is it 20?) is coming along nicely, but it still might be about a week or so. I've got another busy weekend ahead of me, but at least I've got Homecoming to look forward to.

- EM1

[Venastois]

geeze....sounds like MY school. 0_0

lesse.....two papers, three quizzes, two tests, and another paper and another test on monday. DX
joy.

i'll pray for both of us, EonMaster One. XD

take as much time as you need on that chapter. school before our reading candies, i guess. besides, it'd be cool to pick up a newly published book and say, "I've READ that guy before!" XD

[elfhelm]

I'm really digging your story (as I always have :P) and would like to make a suggestion, that I feel would extremely further your writing career.
Possibly, could you please upload your stories to Fanfiction.net? I'm sure that someone of your caliber has at least heard of it, and the reader basis there is tenfold that of the Serebii forums.
That said, I'm not putting down on the Serebii forums-just that I believe Fanfiction would house your stories easier and faster.
Of course, one could always upload your stories in your name...but where's the glory in that?
Cheers,
-mike

[EonMaster One]

That's a great idea, actually. But it'll probably be extremely slow, as I don't want to just pull a 967-page monster out of my butt and say, "Here you go!" It's sh*tloads easier to access things chapter by chapter on that site...I may start doing that, maybe two or three chapters at a time, until I'm all caught up and such.

Good idea, like I said. I'll look into it.

To the rest of you, I took a few hours last night to brainstorm...and if you know me, you know that if I brainstorm at night, I fall asleep brainstorming - which means that those ideas seep into my dreams a little bit and get stuck there.

I've got some nice stuff coming for you guys down the pipe - and that includes stuff I've got planned out for Year of the Dragon.

First of all...

    Spoiler:- About YoD...:

Show Spoiler

 
You remember at first how I told you that YoD was going to take place in Sinnoh? Well...it's not final yet, but it's roughly about 70% chance that it won't. I'm going to get even more ballsy and come up with my own continent. It's going to be nothing like Hoenn, Sinnoh, Johto, any of that crap. It's going to be its own entity.
 

Like I said, there's some new, interesting stuff coming up for the series in general. Right now, though, I've got to go, so I'll catch up with you guys later.

- EM1

[Venastois]

can't wait for it. sounds great. and risks are great when they work out. good luck with that, knowing what type of writer you are, i bet it turns out great.

[Air Dragon]

Yeah same here.

Stick it out dude, we've all got your back! School is a bee-otch, but what are ya gonna do...

L@er!

[Kazekage]

Well I was reading just to let you know, I was really lazy and never posted though...

But All in all the last couple o chapters were amazing, I love how your adapting to the Hoenn enviroment, as it is completely different from Johto.

[elfhelm]

Awesome, I wish you luck!
Cheers,
-mike

[EonMaster One]

Okay, back in the saddle again – Chapter 20 is here.

Chapter 20: Two Arrivals

June 16, PA 2013 – Mauville City

The next day went exactly as planned. Travis, Katrina, Kenjiro, and Reivyn covered the distance that was remaining to town and arrived at the city limits of Mauville just as night began to fall. One look at Mauville told Travis that this city, which was, for all intents and purposes, at the geographical center of the Hoenn mainland, was not like the others. Most towns began to wind down at about eight in the evening, but Mauville looked to be waking up. The city appeared to be alive with activity – partly due to the presence of bright neon lights along the main roads of the city. As Travis continued down the road toward the Pokémon Center, guided by quality directions from a rather nice townsman, he turned his head this way and that so that his eyes would catch anything and everything that could be caught. Angel, for one, seemed less than pleased about the city’s setup:

“<Good grief…how can anyone sleep with this many lights on?>” she grumbled.

“<Guess you learn to deal with it,>” Crescent replied.

“<Easy for you to say,>” Angel answered, rolling her eyes. “<You disappear when the lights go out.>”

“<Very funny,>” Crescent laughed.

“This place is like an attack on the senses…” Katrina muttered. “Is everything here run on electricity?”

“Just about,” Kenjiro piped in. Travis and Katrina turned their heads, surprised to hear him respond. Kenjiro quickly explained. “I’ve already been here about two or three times, and it’s one of those places I’d rather avoid, but seeing as you have to get a badge here…”

“So much for that today – it’s almost nine,” Travis muttered morosely. “Not that I could battle tonight anyway – I’m beat…”

“<Same here,>” Angel commented.

“Let’s rest and worry about it tomorrow,” Katrina sighed. “In any case, I’ve heard the Mauville Gym stays open later than any other gym in Hoenn.”

It was less than an hour before the four had rooms at the Pokémon Center. This Center was noticeably taller than many of the other ones they had visited, at a height of ten stories. Travis and Katrina were up on the ninth floor – Room 914, to be exact. Travis wondered why this particular Pokémon Center was so large. The answer, apparently, was that Mauville was central to the continent and had neighbors in three or four different cities. Therefore, many Trainers and tourists came into Mauville either to stay for a while or to pass through on their way to another way.

Travis stood outside on the balcony, letting the wind ruffle his hair. The last week had been particularly enjoyable for Travis. Aside from the tense encounter with the two Imperial patrols the day before, he had enjoyed a largely stress-free week. Now, looking over the city, which was aglow with lights as far as the eye could see, he realized that he was feeling more relaxed than he’d been in a long time. He inhaled and sighed through his nose. It felt wonderful to breathe. In his book, no news was good news. He’d seen Imperial soldiers walking around, of course – they were everywhere – but they hadn’t been causing any particular trouble…so he saw no need to cause any trouble with them just yet.

Over the city lights, and slightly in the distance, he could see the Mauville Gym. It was probably one of the best-made stadiums he’d ever seen, judging by the outside. It was thrown into relief by the many lights that were set up around it, giving it a slight glow even compared to the radiant skyline around it. It was as if the building sought to bring even further attention to itself – to distinguish itself from the rest of the sea of halogen and neon around it.

‘This is where the fun happens. This is the place to be.’

“Penny for your thoughts?” a girl’s voice rang. Katrina appeared and stood alongside Travis, her face literally shining with beauty, but at the same time, looking perfectly natural. Her roseate hair flailed in the wind, some of it covering her face and her blue eyes.

“You know…after we win our badges tomorrow,” he said. “That’ll be four – we’ll be halfway. All things considering, we’re making really good time. It’s been almost exactly a month since we got to Hoenn.”

Katrina remained silent and then let out a laugh.

“You think you’ll go all the way this time?” she asked.

“It sure looks like it,” Travis replied. He took a step toward her and gently put his hands on her bare shoulders.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Travis answered, pulling her close to him.

“Oh?” she uttered with a slight giggle as her head settled onto his neck. “Nothing? ‘Nothing’ sounds fine with me.”

They held each other for a few moments until a thought popped into Katrina’s head.

“I wonder what’s going on with everyone we left in Rustboro…?” Katrina asked.

“Not really our problem yet, is it?” Travis replied. Katrina drew her head back, surprised to hear Travis say something like that. He explained, “We’re doing our job – and that’s to win all eight badges and show at the tournament. We’ll handle what needs to be handled when we get there. Until then, we should just do what we came to do – enjoy Hoenn and kick –”

Travis didn’t get a chance to finish his statement; as soon as he opened his mouth to say the final word of his sentence, Katrina planted a kiss on him.

“Eh – what was that for?” he asked rather stupidly.

“For finally listening to me for once,” she answered rather somberly. Dropping her head, she added, “All the same…I’m really sorry.”

“Sorry?” Travis repeated, placing a hand under her chin and lifting her head a bit. “For what?”

“I was really insensitive back then…” Katrina sighed. “I always told you not to worry, but now I realize that if I’d have been you, I…”

“Stop that,” Travis said a bit sternly, putting his arms around her again. “Don’t you get it? If you were me, you wouldn’t be you. And if you hadn’t been you, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Travis?” Katrina looked up toward him. With a smile, she said, “That made absolutely no sense.”

“Life doesn’t always make sense,” Travis sighed, hugging her tightly. After a few moments’ silence, he said, “I have a plan – a plan to repay you for everything. If I become Champion, you’ll know that all you did amounted to something.”

“I already know that,” Katrina said. “But, what’s this grand master plan of yours?”

“I have to become Champion first – anything less is a failure,” Travis answered. “After that…well, that part, I want to surprise you with.”

“Surprise? You’re not going to do anything crazy, are you?” Katrina asked.

“Crazy? Maybe,” Travis answered. “But it’ll be the most sensible ‘anything crazy’ I’ll ever do in my life.”

“You’re not gonna tell me, are you?” Katrina queried.

“Not until I become Champion,” Travis replied with a smirk. “And with the battle tomorrow…we’ll be one step closer.”

June 17, PA 2013 – Romero Mansion

Ivanna McAdrien, Lady of Hoenn, Captain of the Emerald Knights…

…Her curly, blonde hair tied back with a band, she surveyed the small training room of the barracks. It was about forty feet by forty feet, and had a ceiling about ten feet high. Here, the few soldiers in the Emerald Knights honed their skills for the inevitable fight to come.

She watched as two soldiers clashed with blunted weapons. They were both young men, just barely old enough to enlist in a military force. They had heard the story of the young man known as Cal, slain in Petalburg City. Now came the idea of vigilance – preparedness. The Emerald Knights were in no shape to stage a large-scale attack on anything…but they had to be ready in case the fight suddenly came to them.

“No, no, no!” Ivanna groaned, the light armor she was wearing clanking slightly as she approached the soldiers at a bit of a run. The two soldiers, both holding short swords, stopped fighting and looked at their captain a bit dimly. The young blonde woman shook her head and muttered, “Damn it…Woodson – give me that.”

She yanked the sword from one of the soldiers – a brown-haired, ordinary-looking youth whose head promptly dropped as he stepped back and allowed Ivanna to face the other soldier, a young man with short, wild, strawberry-blond hair.

“Alright – you’re…sorry, I forgot. What was your name?” Ivanna asked.

“Sh-sheridan Hadley,” the youth stammered. Then, with a respectful bow, he added, “Ma’am.”

“Hm…Hadley…” Ivanna looked up, pondering this name. “I don’t remember you. How old are you, Hadley?”

“I turned seventeen just last month, ma’am,” Hadley answered, seeming to gain his confidence.

“Alright, soldier,” Ivanna said in a stern voice, drawing her long sword and pointing it right at Sheridan Hadley’s nose. To Ivanna’s surprise, Sheridan, far from screaming in terror, hardly flinched with the blade in his face. “What brought you here??”

“I’m just old enough to remember how things were when His Majesty, King Elvanan was alive,” Hadley said. “I come from a family of ten…”

“Ten??” Ivanna repeated in surprise, raising her eyebrow.

“My mother and seven brothers and sisters,” Hadley replied. “I always wanted to serve in Hoenn’s army – ever since I met General McAdrien as a child…”

Ivanna let out a slight gasp.

“When I found out he was dead…I realized I couldn’t serve under a king that would kill a general as strong and as loyal to his country as General McAdrien was…” Hadley said. “I thought there was no chance with His Majesty the Prince dead…then, last month, when I came of age…there was a commotion in the square. I’m sure you’ve heard about it…”

“It involved Captain Fergus and a shopkeeper?” Ivanna guessed the first thing on her mind.

“That’s right,” Hadley said, nodding. “He was about to kill the shop owner…and then someone stood up to him – just a boy, too. They escaped. I was the only one that tried to follow them. I didn’t make it, but I found out what I needed to – Prince Elrik was alive.”

“Really? Interesting story,” Ivanna replied, stepping back. With an aggressive growl in her voice, she said loudly, “Well, then…show me. Show me that you’re willing and worthy to fight for a kind and honorable man such as our Prince.”

“But…” Hadley started.

“There’s no time for conversation in battle, Hadley,” Ivanna interrupted sternly. “Come at me!”

Young Hadley steeled himself and rushed Ivanna with his training sword. Ivanna easily knocked the sword aside and raised her own to strike, but Hadley was up quick and blocking as Ivanna unleashed a flurry of blows upon him. Hadley swung again and missed, but his follow-up strike was enough to cause Ivanna to jump back, avoiding impact by mere inches. Training swords may have been blunted so as not to be lethal, but they were still twenty pounds and no fun to be hit with.

Ivanna looked up and, with a split-second reaction, parried Hadley’s attack and knocked him to the ground. Breathing a slight sigh of relief which she tried to conceal under a feigned yawn, she stood at ease, studying Hadley, who buried his face in the ground momentarily, banging his fist into the floor in slight frustration at himself for being too reckless.

“What’s wrong?” Ivanna asked.

“I’m dead, aren’t I?” Hadley responded through his teeth. “At least, in a real battle situation…”

“You ought to be happy with yourself,” Ivanna replied. “Not many of the newer recruits your age fare half as well when I spar them. There aren’t many people from commoner families that know how to handle a sword that well.”

“Well, my father was in the army,” Hadley replied.

“Killed in action?” Ivanna asked.

“No…” Hadley answered, almost as if he wished this were the case. “He…deserted – after Edgar took over as king, and we haven’t seen him since.”

“I apologize,” Ivanna answered.

“I don’t blame him,” Hadley replied. “I’m sure if he knew about us, he’d be a part of the Emerald Knights, too. That said, I’m not sure if he’s still alive…”

“Ivanna!” After hearing a different voice call her name, Ivanna whirled around. Coming down the stairs (for the training room was in the basement of the Romero Mansion) was a young man in his early twenties, with eerily straight, sleek, jet-black hair and a smooth, brown complexion.

“Rashid, what is it?” Ivanna asked her comrade. Immediately, Hadley, Woodson, and the few other swordsmen that were in the basement training room stood at attention and saluted across their chests.

“Maria’s come back. She says that our spy is still alive,” Rashid replied.

“What did he tell her?” Ivanna replied.

“He told her to tell you to mind your own business, actually,” Rashid replied, scratching his head and trying to make light of it.

“Insolent *******…” Ivanna muttered under her breath. “Well, I guess he really is alright.”

“Why don’t you take a break? I’ll handle things down here,” Rashid replied, stepping toward the soldiers.

“Last time I checked, I was your commanding officer, Rashid,” Ivanna said snippily. “I’ll thank you not to order me around like that.”

“Whoever said it was Rashid giving the order?” Ivanna jumped; she knew who that voice belonged to, but couldn’t bring herself to believe it. Down the stairs, dressed in a nobleman’s traveling outfit, was Prince Elrik of Hoenn. A loud series of thuds were heard – all of the soldiers in the room, including Ivanna, saluted and bowed to one knee at the same time. Elrik surveyed the room, his light violet eyes darting from one person to the next. They finally settled on Ivanna, who was bowed in a statuesque position and seemed to be making it a point not to look at him. “I told Rashid to come down here and relieve you for the day.”

“But, sire, it’s only noon, and…” Ivanna started.

“Exactly – come and get something to eat,” Elrik replied, sounding a bit unsure of himself.

“You mean, with…” Ivanna muttered, shaking her head. “That is – you wanted to see me personally?”

“Something like that,” Elrik answered. “I’ve found something that you might find interesting.”

“Erm…alright,” Ivanna muttered, following Elrik up the stairs. Toward the top of the tight, spiral staircase, they found Roald, who seemed to be on his way downstairs to join his son.

“Hello, Sir Roald,” Elrik greeted him politely.

“Your Majesty, it is good to see you well,” Roald said, bowing slightly. Roald nodded toward Ivanna’s direction and muttered, “Lady Ivanna.”

The aging man stopped by her ear and whispered, “Do try and enjoy yourself, won’t you?”

“Go on through, then,” Ivanna groaned in exasperation, moving a step to the left so that Roald could slip by her. She caught up with Prince Elrik, who had started walking already.

“What are you doing?” Elrik asked.

“You wanted me to follow you, right?” Ivanna replied.

“Why don’t you change or something? It must be uncomfortable to eat in full armor,” Elrik commented.

Ivanna sighed and set her sights on the staircase.



In the dining hall sat Elrik, studying an empty plate and the most recent national news, which had been smuggled in by Rashid, who was used to gather information from Rustboro in Kenjiro’s absence. There had been more clashes between pirates and Imperials on the seas to their south – clashes that had (Elrik’s heart sank) resulted in the death of Captain Devareus Randell. Rumors were surfacing that the pirates were forming a coalition in order to declare their own brand of war on the Imperial Navy. Furthermore, a small battalion was apparently sent to apprehend one of the men on Edgar’s ‘Ten Most Wanted’ list, but never returned…

“Your Majesty?” hearing a nervous, female voice, Elrik looked up from his paper. What he saw took him aback a bit. Ivanna had taken the band out of her hair, allowing her blonde curls to fall just past her shoulders. She was wearing a royal-blue blouse and white pants and looked very beautiful.


Several minutes later, they were both eating in silence. Elrik seemed to be waiting for Ivanna to start a conversation – Ivanna seemed to be trying very hard not to start the conversation.

“So…” Elrik finally gave in. “How are things?”

“They are going very well,” Ivanna replied stiffly. “Our army is gradually getting larger and stronger, but it’s a slow process…”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Elrik shook his head. “How are you doing, Ivanna?”

“Me? Well…” Ivanna looked at her plate, not making eye contact with Elrik. “I guess I’m doing…fine…”

Elrik didn’t look like he was buying it one bit. He motioned to one of the soldiers, who silently whisked away his and then Ivanna’s plates.

“You wanted to show me something?” Ivanna asked.

“…Well…there’s a garden behind this mansion,” Elrik replied. “I’d rather go there.”

“It’s not a good idea for you to leave the mansion,” Ivanna said robotically. “It’s for your own security. We don’t want to endanger our secrecy – not while we’re at this strength. Most of our soldiers are either extremely aged veterans or young novices like Woodson and Hadley.”

“I can take that risk,” Elrik replied flatly. “In any case, if anyone’s found the garden, this place isn’t exactly safe, anyway, right?”



They made their way out to the garden, Elrik telling passing soldiers to spread the word not to disturb him unless it was something extremely important. As was predictable, the back garden seemed to have a semblance of former beauty, but had fallen into disrepair with the absence of a caretaker. There was a fountain of a very long, beautiful, serpentine Pokémon native only to Hoenn, but that was unsurprisingly dry. The trees and plants all around them looked haggard and nearly defeated. As Elrik came out toward the center of the garden, emerging from the shadow of the huge Romero Mansion, he let out a laugh. Ivanna was nonplussed.

“Does something amuse you?” she asked in her normal, businesslike tone of voice.

“It’s nothing, really,” Elrik said, kneeling down next to one of the plants calmly. “It’s just…look at this place.”

“It’s…pardon me…dead,” Ivanna commented.

“No, that’s just it – it isn’t,” Elrik replied. “When the last Romero died, this place began to fall apart. But if you look closely, you can still see signs of life.”

Ivanna looked up and, indeed, there were still small, frail-looking blossoms on some of the trees. Even a lone Beautifly fluttered over them, like a vulture, yet completely opposite. Vultures circle around a place, waiting for something to die. This Beautifly, however…she was waiting for life.

“It’s a bit like our army – a little like Hoenn,” Elrik said, standing. “We’re almost completely destroyed…but not yet. There’s still some hope, and with every day that goes by, there’s a little bit more hope. That’s how I see things, anyway.”

He went into his pocket and began to pull something out of it.

“I’ve had this picture ever since the day we left the castle,” he said, smiling and thrusting the picture into Ivanna’s hand. “I thought I’d show it to you.”

“You…kept this since then?” Ivanna gasped, shocked to see what it was. In the center, with full royal attire, was a middle-aged man with two boys standing in front of him. Both had similar facial features and violet eyes of slightly differing shades and looked like they could have been fraternal twins, sons of the man holding their shoulders. Both had neck-length hair. One twin’s hair was black and the other’s was a russet brown.

“You see this picture? That’s Father, Edgar, and I, of course,” Elrik replied. “On the right over here…”

Two males with dark complexions and straight, black hair – a son and father – were on the right of the picture. The father was bearded and was wearing full armor. The son looked like his father in miniature and had to be in his early teens – he even had what looked to be a short sword strapped to one of his hips.

“Sir Roald and Rashid,” Ivanna commented. Allowing herself a laugh and a moment’s reminiscence, she said, “Rashid’s always looked so much like his father…”

“And there’s you and Sir Izaak on the left,” Elrik said, pointing. Indeed, there was a blond-haired man wearing armor and carrying the sheath to a rather large sword on his back. Under him, next to Elrik, stood a girl with curly, blonde hair, wearing a white skirt and looking a bit…angry. Then again, the child Elrik in the picture looked like he was trying to force a smile a bit.

“Was I upset about something? I’m the only one in the picture that isn’t smiling at all,” Ivanna commented. Elrik laughed.

“Oh, that…this picture was taken…” Elrik flipped it over. “P.A. 2003. That’s ten years ago now. I think I remember why you were so irritated. Sir Izaak had yelled at you about…something.”

Ivanna folded her arms, assuming a facial expression almost identical to that of her twelve-year-old self on the picture.

“You don’t remember?” Elrik asked, with a rather hurt-looking expression on his face.

“I honestly don’t,” Ivanna sighed, shaking her head.

Elrik laughed and started to recount the story: “You, Rashid, Edgar and I snuck off into the city while our fathers were having lunch together…”

June, PA 2003 – Sootopolis City, Hoenn

Edgar – a handsome, black-haired boy with violet eyes – looked around a corner for any soldiers. Seeing none, he waved his hand in another direction. From that direction came his twin brother, thirteen-year-old Elrik, as well as another twelve-year-old girl who was the daughter of the nation’s top knight and the king’s right-hand-man, as well as a dark-skinned teenager who looked to be a year or two older than the rest.

“Hurry up!” Edgar groaned.

“Edgar, where do you think we’re going?” Elrik piped up. “We’ll get into trouble if we go too far from the castle!”

“Elrik, we’ve done this before,” Edgar groaned. “We’re not babies anymore. We should have a chance to explore the city if we want!”

“Right, Elrik – where’s your sense of adventure?” the girl – who, in a white skirt, did not look to be dressed for any type of ‘adventure’ – teased.

“Ivanna,” Elrik groaned. “I just don’t want to get in trouble. I’m not talking about Father.”

“You forget who we’ve got with us,” Edgar replied. “Rashid’s armed, and anybody messing with him or Ivanna might as well be messing with Hoenn’s entire army.”

“The only reason I came along on this little trip was to make sure you two stay out of trouble – especially you, Edgar,” Rashid said with a grimace. “Last time I got into trouble with my father, he forced me to spar him with bamboo swords…”

Elrik and Ivanna both winced. They knew that Rashid’s father, Sir Roald, who was one of the top generals in Hoenn’s cavalry unit (which employed, among other Pokémon, Rapidash as mounts), was a strong man with a slight temper. They had also heard Rashid’s horror stories of sparring with his father and knew that this could not have ended well. Ivanna grabbed Elrik’s hand and slipped to the left.

“You can always go back if you want,” Edgar said a bit cockily.

“And risk you getting into real trouble? Are you crazy?” Rashid groaned. “Then I’d be facing execution or something.”

“Execution – like anyone’s going to execute you,” Edgar sighed, rolling his eyes. “You’re pretty much the army’s favorite kid. Besides, it’s not like any of us are going to se…pa…rate…uh…Rashid?”

“What is it?” Rashid said, his eyes closed in irritation.

“Do you see Elrik or Ivanna anywhere?” Edgar asked.

“Sure, they were right…oh, no…” Rashid groaned – for where Ivanna and Elrik had been, there was now only an empty space. “Oh, damn it! My father’s going to kill me!”

“Your father?” Edgar blurted out in surprise. “Come on…they couldn’t have gotten far.”



Elrik and Ivanna slipped away to the pier. Sootopolis was a city with far fewer roads than canals, so the piers were important places. This one, however, seemed to be deserted as of now. Perhaps the gondola had not arrived. Elrik felt a bit awkward, as was expected. He was thirteen and was now unexpectedly and doubtlessly alone with a girl. More than that, a girl he’d known and been friends with since childhood, and a girl he thought to be very pretty, no matter how quiet he was about it.

“This water’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Ivanna asked.

“We see this water every day, Ivanna,” Elrik sighed. “What’s so special about it. I’m going to be seeing this water every day for the rest of my life.”

“I’m so glad I wasn’t raised as royalty,” Ivanna sighed. “My father and I are always somewhere, so I’ve seen almost all of the city. But you…tee-hee…you’re so sheltered.”

“That’s not my fault – you see how Rashid acts,” Elrik muttered. “Speaking of which, if he finds us…”

“You see? Sheltered,” Ivanna mused, rolling her eyes at Elrik.

“Ivanna!” Elrik groaned. “Stop teasing me.”

“Sometimes I’d rather just be normal,” Ivanna said, finding a stone and skipping it into the water. “But I’d rather be me than you. You’ve never kissed a girl, have you?”

“Eh…” Elrik’s face went beet red. “No, of course not. I mean, who would I…”

He stopped talking when he got a look at Ivanna’s face.

“Were you talking about…you?” he asked, afraid of the answer he would receive. Ivanna turned toward Elrik.

“I didn’t want to say it in front of Edgar or Rashid, but…” Ivanna said, sounding hesitant as if she wanted to find the right words to say. “I like you a lot, Elrik.”

“I knew that, Ivanna,” Elrik said. “We’ve been friends since we could barely walk.”

“No, that’s not what I mean,” Ivanna almost stammered, looking furtively around her. “Not friends…something different.”

“But…Edgar…” Elrik answered haltingly, hardly believing what he was hearing. Historically, Edgar had always had more success in this department, being the more social, stronger, and (in Elrik’s own opinion) better-looking twin.

“He’s a good friend…but I feel different about you,” Ivanna sighed. She smiled and said, “But I know…we can’t…you know, be together – ‘cause I’m not a princess.”

“I thought you said you were glad you’re not a princess,” Elrik said.

“Yes, but…” Ivanna trailed off. “Because of that, we can’t be anything other than friends. Royalty always grows up and marries royalty – that’s how it works. So, that’s why I brought you all the way down here to ask you…if I could kiss you just once.”

“Erm…sure…I mean…I guess…if you want to,” Elrik stammered, his face extremely hot all of a sudden. Ivanna, her face redder (if at all possible) than Elrik’s, giggled nervously.

“Um…well…here’s to being a princess for a day,” she said, and gradually leaned in. Elrik stood still and closed his eyes, wondering how it would feel to be kissed by who he thought was the most beautiful girl in the city, maybe even in all of Hoenn. She was extremely slow, which unnerved Elrik a bit. He thought she should have been slightly less nervous about this than he was. His heart was pounding – he was just beginning to feel her exhaling on his face when he heard a string of shouts that jarred him to attention.

“There they are!!”

“IVANNA! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”

Elrik opened his eyes and jumped back. There were Rashid, Edgar, Elrik’s father, the King, as well as Roald and Sir Izaak – the last of these with a look in his eyes that Elrik had never seen before as he stormed down the pathway toward them. Elrik jumped backward as Izaak seized his daughter by the shoulders.

“You had me worried sick!!” Izaak shouted. “We’ve been looking all over town for you two, thinking you’d gotten yourselves into some kind of trouble. Then we finally find you and – what are you doing? Trying to seduce the Prince? What’s wrong with you?!”

Sir Izaak’s tirade frightened Ivanna to tears as Elrik looked on helplessly.

“Do you have any idea how this looks, Ivanna? DO YOU?!” Izaak continued to shout.

“Izaak – that’s enough,” Elvanan spoke up as he slowly began to walk down the path. “This is not as serious as you are making it out to be. Children their age find out about a lot of things. Duty…”

He looked at Rashid.

“Romance…”

He looked at Elrik and there seemed to be a twinkle in his eyes. A second after that, his expression changed.

“…Jealousy.”

He turned back toward Edgar, who had his arms folded. He and Elrik were staring daggers at each other.

“You?” Elrik whispered, not trusting himself to speak at full volume because of his anger. “You did this? Why?”

“I was worried about you,” Elrik said innocently.

“Worried?!” Elrik, probably for the first time in his young life, exploded. “You were worried that something like this would happen! I swear to Rayquaza, if you weren’t my own flesh and blood, I’d…”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!!” Suddenly, Elvanan raised his voice to a shout, one of his strong hands pushing Elrik backward. “I WILL NOT HAVE MY TWO SONS FIGHTING EACH OTHER!”

He lowered his voice.

“One of you will be Hoenn’s next King after I pass away,” Elvanan said. “I have not decided yet – but if you are willing to fight your own brother, I will not be able to rest in peace after giving this kingdom to either of you!”

“Sire, there is a very easy remedy for this,” Izaak said. “Ivanna will stay at home until she learns to control herself.”

“That’s no way to treat a child!!” Roald spoke up. “Caging her up like an animal like that…”

“You don’t have a daughter, so you wouldn’t understand,” Izaak responded viciously.

“I don’t understand, either,” Elvanan said. “Izaak, you are overreacting. This is not right.”

“With all due respect, Your Majesty…” Izaak said calmly, “This is out of your jurisdiction.”

Elvanan sighed.

“That it is,” he conceded. With that, Izaak gently led Ivanna away by the shoulders, but not before the girl could steal one last look at Elrik. From behind the King’s arm, Elrik gazed at Ivanna, who, through her leaking eyes, mouthed something sadly to Elrik that prompted him to step back a bit.

Ivanna stood, shocked, as she looked at the picture.

“I forgave Edgar…eventually…and we moved on,” Elrik said. “You, though…”

“I cried for three days straight,” Ivanna finished before she could stop herself. “That fall, my father started to teach me how to fight…”

“…and you’ve never been the same person since,” Elrik said. Ivanna lowered the picture and looked straight into Elrik’s eyes. There was silence for a few seconds until a loud call of “Your Majesty!!” prompted Ivanna to turn around.

“I thought you were ordered not to disturb the Prince unless it was important!” Ivanna said in a bit of a temper.

“But…it is important – there’s someone at the front door of the mansion!!” the soldier pleaded.

“Summon all available soldiers,” Ivanna said decisively. “Do not open that door until I get there, and if they force their way in, kill them.”

“Yes, ma’am!!” the soldier said, saluting Ivanna and running back inside. Ivanna looked down at the picture for a moment and turned around with a pained look on her face as Elrik approached her.

“Things have changed so much, Elrik,” she said sadly, allowing a tear or two to fall from each eye. Elrik laid a hand on her shoulder.

“You’re right,” Elrik replied, causing her to look up. Then, before any sort of warning, before Ivanna could muster up the stupidity to back off or protest, he lowered his lips onto hers in a quick kiss. There was a blank look in Ivanna’s brown eyes, red in her cheeks, and her eyes dried almost immediately. It was as if, for that moment, she was twelve years old again, and they were standing at the pier in Sootopolis…except, this time, things had gone the way she’d planned them – or even the way she’d dreamed them.

“Elrik…” she said in a hardly audible voice.

“That was in case things end badly,” Elrik said, walking toward the mansion’s back door.



Soldiers dressed in silver armor accented with green lined the foyer and stairs of the Romero Mansion, creating an artificial hallway of weapons that any potential visitor or attacker would have to cross in order to reach the Prince. Rashid, Roald, Elrik, and Ivanna were at the top, all dressed in armor should this encounter turn violent. Ivanna looked at the soldiers nearest the front doors and nodded. Slowly, these two men moved toward the doors, grabbed the monolithic handles, and pulled them open. Standing there were two figures, both in dusty-looking traveling cloaks.

“Identify yourselves!!” Ivanna shouted. The figure on the left removed its hood, revealing the face of a relatively young man. He had long, black hair and one golden hoop earring in his left ear. He wore a green headband as well. He took two steps into the mansion. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an archer stationed at the top of the stairs to her right string an arrow onto his bow as quick as lightning and prepare to fire. She held up her hand quickly. The soldier saw it and summarily lowered his bow. The other figure lowered its hood and revealed a brown-haired woman. Both seemed to be carrying strange-looking staves. After a few seconds, the clear, loud, echoing voice of Rashid al-Zevi cut through the silence.

“Which is more precious? A ruby or a sapphire?” Rashid yelled.

“A diamond, perhaps, or even a pearl?” another voice said. Ivanna was looking straight at the two people standing in front of her – neither of them was talking. Moreover, this sounded like the whisper of someone very aged. “A bar of gold, a silver coin?”

“Who’s there?!” Ivanna shouted.

“Freedom, however, is bought at a price infinitely higher than all of these – so I would have to say it is this that is most precious,” The man and woman parted to reveal a bowed figure in a hood, carrying a book. Removing his hood, he revealed himself as a bald, old man with a long, white beard that was very reminiscent of some sort of sage or wizard. Elrik took a step back in shock.

“Hong Liu?” he gasped. “Master Hong, is that you?”

“Ah, Prince Elrik,” the old man sighed. “My eyes are not what they were, but I recognize that voice anywhere. The stories were true, then…”

“So you are alive…” Elrik said. “What brings you here?”

“Heard that you were going to oust Malachi Gorba – thought I’d see what I could do to help. These are my two pupils, by the way – Creon and Agnes,” Hong Liu said, as the man and woman both bowed slightly.

“You want to…join us? Am I hearing this correctly?” Roald asked.

“Roald, is that you? Sure, you’ve aged a bit, but I think you can hear me clearly,” Hong Liu quipped. “Yes – we want to join you.”

Elrik looked at his generals and muttered, “The legendary Wise Man, Hong Liu, on our side. I should hope no one wishes to object to this…”

There was silence.

“No?” Elrik said loudly. Turning to Hong Liu, Creon, and Agnes, and looking down at them from the second floor, he said, “Well, Master Hong, it’s good to have you.”

The foyer erupted into loud and raucous cheering – and it was under that loud and distracting noise that the eyes of Elrik and Ivanna found each other. Their fingers brushed against each other…then their hands clasped and they smiled.

“We might just have a chance,” Elrik said.

We’re almost completely destroyed…but not yet. There’s still some hope, and with every day that goes by, there’s a little bit more hope.

A little bit more hope…sometimes a little bit more hope is truly the difference.

Six o’clock came, and found the group of four standing before the halls to the locker room in the Mauville Gym. This gym was domed, as Travis had seen yesterday, so weather would not be a factor in today’s match (which was kind of a shame, seeing as the nighttime brought mild and pleasant temperatures that would have been all right to battle in). The stadium was full, as most people who worked had left work and started their evening recreation. In Mauville City, ‘evening recreation’ either referred to the huge Game Corner or the nearby Gym.

“Good luck,” Katrina said, kissing Travis, whose match was first this time. Travis gave a wave and turned around toward the entrance, followed by Angel.

“<Do you have a plan?>” Angel asked.

“Stay the heck away from those exploding panels, I guess…” Travis muttered.

As he made his way through the locker room, he heard his name being announced.

“Damn!!” he groaned, quickening his pace to a run and barely evading a couple of Junior Trainers that had just come in from their exhibition match. As the announcer finished speaking, he found the end of the tunnel and entered the stadium. What he saw made him and Angel hesitate. “Holy sh—”

This stadium wasn’t just big – it was HUGE.

It was a bowl-like design with two decks all the way around. Between the decks, there seemed to be tubes streaming with controlled electricity that made the entire place shine with a slight blue glow. Travis could barely hear himself think over the loud cheering and jeering. None of this sound had anywhere to go, either – except maybe up to the top of the monolithic dome above him, where it would reverberate off the metal beams (which were arranged in…well, a crapload of triangles) and come back down to the stadium floor magnified about ten times, which was saying something, seeing as this stadium had to be holding upwards of ten thousand people.

Speaking of the stadium floor, it indeed was rather unorthodox. Instead of a League-standard floor, it was indeed composed of about a hundred or so tiles. The Pokéball marking was still there, in full color, sitting on tiles in the middle of the stadium. Moreover, it looked like there was a tube of the same blue lightning running around the edge of the ring, which seemed to have a gap between it and the path Travis was on, which was made of red tiles, signifying the challenger.

“<Wow, this guy sure goes big,>” Angel commented.

“You got that right,” Travis commented. Cocking his neck just a bit, he said, “We’ll just have to go even bigger, then. Let’s go!!”

With that, he broke into a run, followed by Angel, and jumped the gap into the ring, where he landed almost flawlessly, Angel right next to him. He looked up and gazed across the field at the young man who was standing on the other side. This was the Gym Leader, Roderick Wattson. He was the grandson of the original Wattson (who had retired a few years back) and, for obvious reasons, was known as ‘Lightning Rod’ by the fans of Mauville. In fact, he looked a bit like a human lightning rod. His clothes and hair just screamed punk-rocker. He was wearing a black leather vest as well as a spiky, blonde-and-white Mohawk that seemed to be arranged on his head in the shape of a lightning bolt. His arms, which ended with spiked wristbands, were literally sleeved in lightning tattoos and Travis could see at least four piercings on one of his ears. Truth be told, Travis (who had been warned about this guy on the way) was praying that Rod didn’t battle half as crazy as he looked. He cracked his neck from side to side.

“Alright, kid – hands and arms in the vehicle? Don’t want any accidents!” he exclaimed. It was at this point that Travis realized that he was miked up for this match. Travis shrugged his shoulders, trying not to show that he was slightly intimidated. Raising one of his spiked fists into the air, he shouted, “Alright – LET’S RIDE!!”

At that moment a cheer erupted and Travis’ hair stood on end as he heard a hum behind him. About three feet behind him and working its way around him and Rod’s side of the field was a hundred-foot tall wall of lightning.

“Oh…” Travis whispered, turning and looking over his shoulder at Rod with a facial expression that can be best described as disbelief mixed with annoyance, sprinkled with a slight dash of fear. “You have got to be kidding me.”

Meanwhile, Katrina, Kenjiro, and Reivyn had found seats in the second deck of the stadium, which really wasn’t any problem – they could see most of the battle on the monolithic screen situated on the other side of the stadium. They sure didn’t need a high-definition screen to see a hundred-foot tall electric barrier, though. Crescent was the first to comment.

“<WHOA, WHAT THE HELL?!>” he shouted, pretty much surprising no one, as he was merely saying what everyone else around him was thinking. “<Can he do that??>”

“Apparently, he can,” Katrina sighed. A second later, her face broke into a smirk.

“What’s so funny?” Kenjiro asked, looking straight at Katrina.

“I guess he thinks that his opponents are going to freak out and run away,” Katrina said, the smile still on her face.

“Travis…isn’t what you’d call the ‘freak-out-and-run-away’ type, is he?” Kenjiro asked, already knowing the answer, seeing as the two had fought each other just over a month ago.

“In a word…” Katrina replied. “No. In fact…Rod might end this battle wishing that he’d kept his side open.”

“Hope no one tries to forfeit,” Kenjiro said, taking a stab at humor. “Whoever does will get a hell of a lot more than their pride hurt.”

“<More like a few thousand volts running through your body,>” Crescent said, smiling.

“What’s so funny with you?” Katrina asked her Umbreon.

“<Well…>” Crescent explained. “<When I first met Angel, she was horribly afraid of lightning and thunder. In fact…that’s about the only thing she was afraid of.>”

“Oh, yeah…” Katrina said. “Uh…Kenjiro?”

“Kenji, are you okay?” Reivyn asked, tugging Kenjiro’s opposite arm.

“Erm…I’m fine – I just thought I saw some weird guy over there, that’s all,” Kenjiro commented.

“Where?” Katrina asked, looking to her left. Kenjiro pointed. The eyes of the three humans and Crescent centered on a tall man – at least, they assumed he was a man – standing near the wall on the path that led back out to the concourse. He stood tall and had his arms folded. A black fedora covered his eyes, but it was obvious that he was watching the match intently. He was draped in a black trenchcoat that reached his ankles and had what looked like an earring dangling from his right ear.

“Kenji? That man…he dresses sort of like you,” Reivyn commented.

“Are you complimenting him or insulting me?” Kenjiro asked, not really knowing what to make of this.

“Actually…” Katrina said, studying the man’s outfit. “She’s got a point. I think you’d look good in a fedora, personally.”

“Gee…thanks,” Kenjiro replied bitingly. “There’s something that doesn’t sit right with me about that guy.”

“Oh, geez, you’re so paranoid,” Katrina turned toward him, rolling her eyes.

“Nobody up to any good wears a get-up like that,” Kenjiro remarked.

“You’d know,” Katrina bit back.

“Hey, watch it,” Kenjiro snapped. “There’s just something not right about him…and what the hell is that he’s leaning on? I’ve never seen a cane shaped like that. And look at his hair…”

“You think he’s evil because of his hair?” Katrina questioned incredulously. “Come on, Kenjiro – be reasonable…”

His most noticeable feature, like Kenjiro said, was his hair. It was shoulder-length, stringy, and about the same color as Reivyn’s – maybe a shade or two brighter. The highlights, however, were an extremely bright, angry color red that would have made him very obvious in a crowd. He was also leaning on some very long, stick-like object that was about collarbone-height. Silently he watched, almost like a bird waiting for its prey.

Meanwhile, down on the field, the referee was announcing the rules of the match. After Travis heard “three-on-three,” he ignored the ref the rest of the way.

“My pick! Let’s roll – Magnemite!” Rod shouted, throwing his ball into the air. It bounced off the ground and, in a shower of sparkles, revealed an inorganic Pokémon that resembled a magnet. Travis had seen Magnemite before, but this one looked different. Most Magnemite had silver-blue bodies with a magnet on each side, each having one red and one blue pole. This Magnemite was a pure silver with black poles on its magnets.

“Oh, crap, that’s a shiny Magnemite – how the hell’d he get his hands on that?” Travis muttered. “Oh, well…shinies just look pretty. Doesn’t make ‘em any stronger…Champ, let’s go!!”

Travis threw his own Pokéball into the air. The ball opened to reveal his Grovyle, who was being featured in battle for the first time since evolving two days ago.

“<Let’s own the competition,>” Champ said, the three leaves on each of his arms melding together and glowing a bright green.

“First move, kid!!” Rod shouted.

“Champ, use Fury Cutter!” Travis yelled.

“Dodge that, Magnemite!!” Rod shouted in response. Magnemite floated to the left just as Champ got there. As Champ landed right in front of Rod, the punk Gym Leader smirked.

“What’s so funny?!” Travis shouted. Right then, in that second, he saw the panel below Champ begin to emit a faint, white light. Then he remembered… “Oh, crap! Champ – JUMP!!”

Champ leapt into the air just as the panel below him exploded into thousands of tiny pieces of shrapnel.

“<Whoa!! That’s not good,>” Champ shouted.

“Magnemite, use Sonic Boom!” Rod yelled. The air around Magnemite distorted and suddenly, Champ, who was hanging in midair after leaping, was blasted into an involuntary barrel roll.

“OH!” Travis groaned, cringing. “Champ – no, no – THE WALL!”

“<What’s going on – GUARGH!!>” Champ yelled in pain as he hit the electric barrier, which sent several thousand volts of electricity running through his body all at once. He fell face-first to the ground, hitting another panel and bouncing off.

“Sonic Boom again, Magnemite!!” Rod shouted, letting loose with one of those heavy metal screams.

“Shoot – Champ, dodge and hit him with Fury Cutter!!” Travis shouted. Champ blurred left as the sonic wave hit the electric barrier, causing a slight disturbance. He appeared behind Magnemite and, with the sound of metal against metal, hit the Magnet Pokémon with one of the leaf blades on his arms. Magnemite flew backward, screeching a robotic blip which Travis guessed was supposed to be an imitation of pain.

“Fury Cutter again!!” Travis shouted loudly. Champ landed on the ground and leapt toward Magnemite, hitting it again with another Fury Cutter attack.

“Your physical attacks won’t work!” Rod shouted. “Thundershock!!”

The poles of Magnemite’s magnets began to glow a faint yellow, and crackling bulbs of electricity appeared between each of them, congregating into a tightly-knit group of static bolts that shot at Champ like a barrage of arrows.

“<Iron Tail, Coach?>” Champ asked.

“Iron Tail!!” Travis shouted in response. He leapt up toward Magnemite, his tail, now long and slender, glowing white. The Thundershock attack, which was coming straight at Champ’s head, was redirected toward his tail.

“What the –” Rod grunted. Champ swung around and connected with Magnemite’s eye using his tail, blasting it backward. Backward and backward it hovered until it hit the electric barrier directly behind Rod…

“<Got him!!>” Champ shouted. Right then, Magnemite’s eye began to glow white.

“Shouldn’t have done that,” Rod said calmly. “Use Magnet Laser!!”

“Magnet Laser?? Champ, MOVE!!” Travis shouted – but he was a beat too late. A laser beam fired from Magnemite’s eye toward the Grovyle, who jumped back barely as the beam hit a panel right below him, which exploded. Unfortunately, two adjacent panels also exploded in that moment, blowing Champ several feet into the air.

“Tackle, Magnemite!!” Rod ordered. Magnemite took off into the air, its small but hard body aimed straight at Champ’s back. Champ tumbled backward and righted himself just in time for Travis to shout his order:

“Champ – Leaf Blade!!” he shouted. Champ’s arm blades began to glow a neon green. He crossed them over himself just as Magnemite got there. Flicking Magnemite away with his blade and began rotating.

“What’s that?” Rod uttered.

Travis smirked.

“Goodbye,” he said. “LEAF BLADE!!”

Champ spiraled down into Magnemite, hitting it several times and knocking it to the ground. As it made contact, its single eye was closed and a whirring sound signified that it was no longer responsive.

“Magnemite is unable to battle – the winner is Grovyle!” the referee announced, pointing the red flag at Travis.

[EonMaster One]

Rod winced. “Damn,” he grunted, returning Magnemite to its Pokéball. “Where’d that come from?”

“Whew…that was harder than I thought it’d be,” Travis sighed.

“<Tough opponents are the most fulfilling ones to beat, aren’t they?>” Champ commented, standing.

“Alright, I guess you’ll be a little harder than I thought you’d be,” Rod shouted, pulling out another Pokéball. “Let’s go…Electrode!!”

He threw the Pokéball and out came…another Pokéball? Well, not exactly. It was white and red, just like a Pokéball, yes; but it had eyes and a very suspicious grin. It looked large and, honestly, quite heavy.

“Electrode…use Rollout!!” Rod exclaimed. Electrode began to tumble over itself and then shot like a missile at the Grovyle. Several Voltorb panels exploded behind it as Champ braced himself for the impact.

BOOM.

Champ was sent into a backward somersault. Champ, showing his athleticism once again, righted himself and skidded to a stop. Just as he landed, the panel below him went white.

“<What’s – oh, sh—>”

BANG.

Champ was sent high into the air, the victim of another one of those exploding panels.

“Damn!!” Travis groaned. Champ landed in a heap, scars and burns covering his body. He staggered to his feet, growling.

“<He’s reached his limit,>” Angel muttered. “<Champ, I can step in! Don’t be a fool!>”

“<If I’m going down…>” Champ panted. “<I’m going down fighting. That’s who I am.>”

He closed his eyes. All of the leaves on his body began to glow a bright green.

“<I’ve got one more attack in me…>” Champ growled. “<Let’s make it count.>”

Travis looked up at Rod. “If this lands, we’ll have an advantage,” he muttered. Then, raising his voice to a shout, he yelled, “LEAF BLADE!!”

“<LET’S GO!>” Champ shouted, taking off at a run. His speed seemed to have increased, as he traversed several exploding panels without receiving a scratch. He was so fast that Rod barely had time to call a counterattack as he emerged from the smoke

“Sonicboom, GO!” Rod shouted. A wave of sound emitted from the face of Electrode and made a thunderous noise right as Champ’s twin Leaf Blades made contact. There was stillness for several seconds…then Electrode began to roll backward. Rod stood framed like a deer in headlights. Electrode was the bowling ball – he was the tenpin.

CRASH.

Electrode’s 150-pound, spherical body rolled out of the ring, taking out Rod’s legs and knocking him to the ground. As Rod stood, Electrode rolled back into the ring, where two deep scratches were visible in its white and red shell. Champ, who was still doubled over from receiving a point-blank Sonicboom attack right as he made contact, stood. The leaves on his arms separated into their original formation as he fell back against the arena floor, knocked out. A single drop of sweat cascaded down Travis’ face as he set his mouth in a firm line.

“Angel – you ready?” he asked.

“<Sure I am…but second?>” Angel asked, noticing this sudden change in Travis’ battle strategy.

“I want to save Raiden for later. Rod’s probably packing Voltyger’s evolved form, and Volterror have Dark-type properties, too…”

“<…I understand,>” Angel said, stepping out onto the field.

Meanwhile, in the crowd, Kenjiro glanced to his left, as he had been doing about once every minute to keep an eye on the suspicious man’s actions. This time (which, by Kenjiro’s count, was about the ninth or tenth, there was no suspicious man. Kenjiro stood up immediately.

“Kenji!” Reivyn exclaimed, standing. Kenjiro winced. “Where are you going?”

“Yeah, what’s the rush?” Katrina asked. “The match is just starting to get really good.”

Kenjiro cleared his throat and said in a terse voice, “Nature.” Reivyn sat down immediately.

“Oh…” Katrina uttered, twiddling her thumbs. “Sorry…”

“Whatever…” Kenjiro said, slipping to the end of the row.

Katrina jumped as the announcer’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “The challenger sends out an Espeon to deal with Rod’s Electrode. The challenger’s Grovyle just went down, but not before taking a chunk or two out of Electrode – quite literally. Will our gym leader stay with Electrode, or will he switch Pokémon??”

The upper concourse was nearly silent as the man in black made his way around toward the stairs that led to the lower concourse. His footsteps echoed off the walls dozens of times over.

“I’d like to think you’re going down to congratulate Travis after he wins…” the man stopped as he heard an echoing voice. Slowly, he directed his hidden eyes to his left. Through two windows he saw the sun setting over the lighted city of Mauville. Between these two windows was shadow – and from that shadow stepped a young man of less than twenty with bronze hair and a long traveling coat that was a faded, dusty color. “But I have a feeling that’s not it.”

“You know the boy, then?” the man asked. His voice was calm, almost passive.

“We’ve met,” Kenjiro said matter-of-factly.

“My condolences, then,” the man said with a curt nod toward Kenjiro, beginning to resume his walk around the concourse. After a few long moments of silence, he heard the youth speak again.

“I don’t think you get it.”

The man felt a rush of wind and realized with an amused smirk that the young man was standing right before him, having covered a bit more than thirty yards in an instant.

“Whatever you’re planning to do to him, I’ve got this funny feeling that it would make my life more complicated…” Kenjiro said in a dangerously calm voice. “…and I really don’t have the patience for any more…complications.”

“Is that so?” the man asked. “Then, we have something in common.”

Kenjiro smirked and cocked his head.

“Small world.”


Short chapter by my standards, I know. But these events were slightly too long to put them all into one chapter. Hopefully I’ll be finishing the next chapter faster than I did this one. This chapter introduced one huge wrinkle in the story that wasn’t there when I started the chapter. I think it’d be nice to stir up a bit of trouble at this point, don’t you? Plus, I’m not up to my eyeballs in work. I’m still up to about my waist, but that’s manageable. (BTW…is there any way to spread word about one’s work on…erm…the other site a certain reviewer was talking about? I posted the first few chapters of PRJ there yesterday and have gotten a whopping 0 reviews. Thanks!)

- EM1

P.S. - I know I've been a bit neglectful with the P-Dex of all of the Fakemon featured in this fanfic - I'll work to rectify that error in the coming days.

[xXPorygonXx]

Awesome chapter, EM1. I especially like the exploding tiles of doom, they add a nice touch. Haven't had time to review much, thanks to school.

GRAMMER POLICE TIME!

Only saw one problem, right here:

He turned back toward Edgar, who had his arms folded. He and Elrik were staring daggers at each other.

“You?” Elrik whispered, not trusting himself to speak at full volume because of his anger. “You did this? Why?”

“I was worried about you,” Elrik said innocently.

Should be Edgar, unless Elrik has MPD..

Good job, again, and good luck with finding a setting for YoD.

P.S. Give it time with Fanfiction.net. Most members are retarded monkies, so it could take some time for the good reviewers to get ahold of PRJ. Especially since you have to compete with the horror that is poorly written AshGary Yaoi. I'll drop a review, and spread the word.

P.P.S Hah hah, first post!

[EonMaster One]

Don't bother, actually. I've taken the story down. The problems I found with FF.net are a bit much for my patience to handle right now, and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about them. First of all, I have all of my stories arranged in sets of five chapters for the purpose of my own organization. FF.net forces you to break each down into its own separate chapter...and then when you upload it, one of two things happens. It'll either end up in one huge clump, or it'll be spaced properly but with those stupid tags that you saw in the prologue. I barely have enough patience to edit those in the first few chapters, which are extremely short. Once you get about halfway through the fic and I start cranking out 25-page and 35-page monster chapters, trying to format the story so that it looks good on FF.net will be more effort than it's worth.

Besides, I don't like the design of Fanfiction.net. It's too 'naked' and boring and I feel like going there and navigating that site is a total chore. On top of that, I think my story, which is set in Johto, is so far behind the times now that no one would really read it. So I said that to say that the Revolution Trilogy will most likely stay here, although if I find another Pokemon forum whose formats don't suck, I might move it there to obtain a slightly larger audience.

...and I might turn to FF.net if I ever decide to work on that Final Fantasy Fanfic I've been thinking about...

[xXPorygonXx]

Eh, that stinks. At least people got to see some parts of it, though. Maybe you can try www.pokecommunity.com, or www.dragonflycave.com. Both have a good amount of members-not as much as Serebiiforums, though-and would be more than welcome to see your work.

[Kazekage]

I didn't ff.net either.

Nyways, great chapter, like the new character. Soo the Kazekage rating says.


8.5/10, good chappie but I think maybe you could've squeezed some more in there, though I probably could never write that much...

[Araleon]

Hey, sorry I haven't posted lately. Anyways, great chapters as usual! I can't wait for the next chappie. Angel versus Electrode! Battle of the Tempers! I can see it now. Angel will crush him with her Psybeam, or maybe Slipstream will come back! Sorry, I'm really excited. I am thinking about writng and posting a fic here. It, lke PRJ, will be set in Johto, if it happens. Bring back Slipstream, Hotshot, and Sparx! Oh, yeah, and Shiro and Madeline.


Araleon

[Lucarioman777]

*HuffHuff* Oh my God! I've finally caught up! I read PRJ after I saw this (seeing as you have it mentioned a gazillion times) and just finished reading the last chapter you wrote here...

Anyway, you've got some great chapters here, with minimal mistakes (although I'm sure Air Dragon or Castform would disagree), and the story keeps me hooked on like a hobo on a ham sandwhich. The Fakemon keep me guessing at what you'll come up with next. Really interesting.

I'll probably review regularly, this story's beast!

Over and out,
--Lucarioman777

P.S. My last name's Eriksen, and Katrina's father works with a company named Ericson... coincedence? I think not!

[elfhelm]

Well, crap...I'll edit them for you, lol!
But, at least you tried, and as a fan, I can't ask for more than that
On the story, though, I do have one criticism...I don't really see a need for the Fakemon. My favorite generation was the Ruby/Saphire Poke's. However, I'm not going to lie by saying that the Fakemon are not original, so kudos on that.
Fortunately, this is your story, and my only responsibility and right to it is to enjoy it-which I hope I do marvelously!
Cheers,
-mike

[Air Dragon]

Damn, not the first in line? Aw man, damn it all! (grabs photon gun and incinerates xXPorygonXx)

OK, you know i'm just kidding...

you're right, it was a short chapter by your recent standards, but just as fulfiling. I think this is the first time you let a gym battle cross chapters. Just an observation...

I'd help with the FF.net but i don't have an account, soo...

let's just get this thing reviewed and go!

aside from the MPD error spotted earlier, i caught only one error:

What’s so special about it.

What’s so special about it?

That's it.

Whoo, Kenjiro just can't live without getting into a fight, even if it is for good reasons from what i see...

ah, well and the suspense continues!

L@er!