Disclaimer: Um yeah, I think you know by now.  If you haven't realized it, no offense, but you've got some serious issues.   Also, maybe you should look at all the other disclaimers I've written.  Well whatever, I don't own Pokemon, or any other associated merchandise and/or media.  Although I kind of wish I did...

First, We Train, Then...

-- --

‘Thoughts'   "Human Speech"   (Pokespeech)   (Telepathy)

-- --

"Well, you girls ready to go?" Zeke asked the three Pokemon in front of him.  He was dressed in a new outfit, had already eaten breakfast, and was ready to start the day.

Getting three nods of confirmations, he responded, "well, let's go then."  He returned all three Pokemon to their Pokeballs.  With all the different trainers walking around in the center, he didn't want to need to worry about the three Pokemon within his team.

Soon entering the lobby, he took another look at the Nurse Joy only to shake his head in a bit of pity.  There had to be at least a dozen trainers waiting in line at the front counter.  ‘Hm, looks like there's a lot of trainers getting their butts kicked.  I wonder who's doing it?'

Walking up to one of the kid's standing near the end of the line holding a fainted Starly Zeke asked, "Hey, what happened here?"

The kid turned to him, as if just realizing he was there.  "There's this trainer offering up a huge prize to anyone who can beat him.  All of us have tried, but he's just too strong."

Zeke was a little interested, "Really, who is the guy?"

The guy just shrugged, "I don't know.  You can't see his face because he wears this black cloak.  Just don't underestimate him because of his appearance though; he's a lot tougher than he looks."

Zeke gave a short nod, although a bit confused, "Yeah, thanks for the info."

The other guy responded by redirected his attention to the front desk, "Whatever."

Zeke gave him an odd look as he turned around and headed outside.  Walking down the road he began thinking about what he just heard.  ‘Wonder who this guy is?  It does sound pretty interesting though, might take a look into it.  But first, I need to get some training done.  From the sound of things I won't stand much of a chance against this guy at this point.  Perhaps with a day or two of hard training and such I'll give it a try, it won't change our strength all that much, but maybe we can come up with a few strong techniques.  Well not like its important right now, I've got a more important task right now.'

Zeke continued down the road, determined to find an appropriate place to train.  Eventually though, he found a place to do so.  It was in a natural park in the middle of the city.  Something that was rare and unpopular by the looks of it, perfect for their training, especially since he had a legendary in his possession.  It had plenty of tree cover, and the natural feel to it was nice too.

While it apparently didn't appeal to the tastes of the local residents, he himself had always found a more comfortable atmosphere within the forests around his home than he had in the city.  It was probably the effects of basically living as a hermit near Sandgem Town, where his only company are all non-human.

Walking into a more concealed area, primarily surrounded by trees, he picked out a Pokeball and threw it.  Bryna was released in a flash of red light, meanwhile Zeke closed his eyes and leaned forward in position as the little fur ball rushed him expectedly, even if it had only been a hour or so since she'd last seen him.  She got him around the neck in a hug, still managing to take him down onto his back to Zeke's disappointment.

Looking up at the Buizel he just mumbled, "Bryna, please get off."

The sea weasel gave him an apologetic look before doing so, Zeke pushing himself off the ground and getting up onto his feet.  "Alright Bryna, we're going to start our training today alright."

The Buizel nodded her head enthusiastically, her reason for wanting to get stronger standing right in front of her, (Yeah Zeke, let's do this.)

"Well Bryna, the first gym we're going to is in Oreburgh.  The gym leader there is proficient with rock types so I'm relying on you Bryna since you have the biggest advantage out of my entire team.  I have a list of moves I'd like for you to learn, as is the same for the other two," Zeke explained as he pointed over to the Latias and the Quilava resting under the shade of a nearby tree, who he had released during his monologue.

"For today though, I just want to work on an Iron Tail.  It'll help you a lot whenever you go against a Pokemon who's resistant to water attacks so it could be a really helpful move in some of the situations you get yourself into.  Although don't get too anxious Bryna, whenever I trained with Scarlett it would take her two, sometimes three days to master a new move," Zeke warned.

Bryna looked at the ground asking, (Are you sure you want to do that?  I‘m the newest member on your team Zeke.  Ryan never used me in any battles unless he had to, so I'm really inexperienced.  Are you really sure you want to do that?)

Zeke shook his head, a smile on his face, "Bryna, listen to me this once.  I don't care who your previous trainer was or what he did, we dealt with that yesterday.  As for your inexperience with battling, I don't care if yesterday was the result of some pent up rage or whatever else.  That's the reason why we're training, so you get better, so just try your hardest okay?

Bryna nodded her head, a little more confidence in her voice, (Right Zeke.  I'm just a little nervous.)

Zeke rolled his eyes, "Just don't overexert yourself Bryna.  First though show me what you do know.  The Pokedex gives me a pretty good idea, but it can't show me personal skill."

Bryna nodded and followed Zeke's orders, first performing a Water Gun, then a Quick Attack, followed by an Aqua Jet and a Swift attack.  But she then did something that completely caught Zeke off guard; she finished with an Ice Beam.  It was weak and she wasn't able to do it for long, but she was able to do it.

"Wow Bryna, that was great!  But I wonder why the Pokedex didn't tell me you could use an Ice Beam.  Hm, maybe your experience with it is just so little the Pokedex wasn't able to detect it or something, guess that's a mystery," he shrugged.  "Well it doesn't really matter.  Knowing that though, guess that'll be the next move we're working on, but that'll be for another time.  Let's get started on that Iron Tail now, that Ice Beam of yours can be concentrated on later.  So let's get started Bryna.  But first... Hey Julia!" Zeke called to the Latias.

(Yeah Zeke?) Julia answered as she heard her name enter the conversation, almost immediately floating next to the pair.

"I need your help with something.  I need a rock for Bryna's training about this tall," Zeke held his hand up to about his waist.  "Although with a rock that size I'll have a lot of trouble moving it, so I need some help.  Since you have your psychic powers and all though, you would probably be a lot of help.  So can you help me out with this?"

Julia nodded her head, wiling to do just about anything for her crush, (Yes, of course Zeke.)

The next few minutes were spent with Zeke and Julia looking for a nicely sized rock for Bryna's training.  Eventually though they did find something, but then came the harder part of moving it away from the center of the park and into their little clearing.  Once that was finished Julia returned to resting under the tree with Scarlett observing while Zeke was standing behind Bryna, ready to start their training.

"Alright Bryna, this is what I want you to do.  Start towards the rock at a run and when you're almost there, jump into the air.  While you're doing that I also want you to do a spin to get your tail in front of you so you can aim it properly towards your target, it'll also give you a good bit of momentum too.  Once you have all of that then I want you to actually perform the move.  Get all that done and I'd say you have it done pretty well, so show me what you've got Bryna," Zeke said as he explained how to perform the move.

Bryna paid attention to everything Zeke said while taking personal notes.  Finding she understood everything she got into a battle position, waiting for Zeke's signal.

See that she was ready Zeke just stated, "Whenever you're ready Bryna."

Hearing from Zeke, Bryna began his list of instructions.  She executed everything pretty well until she had to carry out the move.  She came down on the rock just fine, but she'd failed to get her tail to glow in an Iron Tail attack.  Bending her knees as she hit the ground, she stood up with a frustrated look on her face, angry at herself for not being able to do it.  Hearing Zeke chuckle she looked over in his direction.

"Bryna, I told you before.  You're not going to get it on your first try.  It usually takes a Pokemon two to three days to learn a move.  Sometimes it even takes as long as a week.  There are a few instances where a Pokemon will learn a new move almost immediately whenever they feel threatened or for similar reasons, but that doesn't happen a lot.  Don't get your hopes up Bryna; I don't expect you to know how to do this for another couple of days.  Just keep practicing," Zeke assured her.

Bryna still felt disappointed that she'd failed to perform the move, she wanted to impress Zeke.  Even with what he said, she still felt like she could have done better during that battle yesterday and she'd failed to keep the promise she had silently made to Zeke.  She needed to do this here and now.  ‘Two days, well we'll just see about that,' Bryna thought, still determined to prove herself.

Zeke unaware of what was going though Bryna's mind just continued, "C'mon Bryna, give it another try.  Keep going at it."  Bryna nodded with a new determination and retried the move again and again and again.  Continuing until she almost collapsed from exhaustion.  Now she was leaning on Zeke, who was sitting up against a tree, exhausted from her multiple failed attempts.

Moving her head away of his arm and then placing it up against the tree trunk behind her, Zeke got up from the Buizel, but stayed in a kneeling position next to her.  "Bryna, take a nap for a while, it'll make you feel better," Zeke said to her.

Bryna didn't listen; she tried to push herself up to her feet, only to feel a hand put on her shoulder, gently pushing her back down to her slouched position.  She looked up at her trainer and friend, wondering what he was doing, only to see a strict expression on his face.

"Listen Bryna," Zeke said sternly, "I want you to stay here and rest, I don't want you to overdo it and hurt yourself.  Stay there, okay."

Bryna submitted to Zeke's pleas, albeit reluctantly.  She just couldn't say no to him while he was showing so much concern for her.  Zeke gave her a thankful smile, also giving the top of her head a good rub, "Thanks girl."

Zeke looked over at the two Pokemon under the tree before switching his attention back to the Buizel.  "Bryna, take a nap or just lie there if you want.  I'm going to get started with Julia's training, promise I'll come back over here though so we can continue with your own training later.  Will you be okay until then?"

Bryna gave him a nod, (Yeah, sure Zeke.)  Although even if she felt tired, she still felt restless, if only she could give it another try.  Zeke returned a small smile and walked over to the two other Pokemon.

Seeing their trainer approach, Scarlett and Julia rose from their positions to show he had their attention.  "Julia, I'm making Bryna take a break for a while.  Meanwhile I want to start some training with you, and then I'm going to get Scarlett started before I try again with her.  That way I can get some training with all three of you.  Now come on Julia, let's get you started."

Julia looked over at the shiny Quilava next to her, (Well, go on.), Scarlett said, doing her best impression of waving her off.  Julia levitated off the ground, right next to Zeke an instance later.

Hovering up to be at his eye level the Latias was ready for anything Zeke had in mind.  Seeing Julia though, Zeke noticed something was a little off about her though.  "Alright Julia, what's wrong?" Zeke sighed, putting both of his hands on different sides of her head so she had to look him in the eyes.

Of course the physical contact was enough to make the Eon Pokemon more nervous than she already was but she just swallowed and answered anyways, (I guess I'm a little nervous too.)

Zeke let his hands fall to his sides and just gave her an odd look, "What's there to be nervous about?"

Still struggling to look him in the eyes Julia answered, (Well, I'm nervous I won't be able to do anything.  I mean Scarlett's had plenty of training with you, and even Bryna got some training with her previous trainer, even if he was a complete jerk.  Well I guess since I'm the only one without any trainer experience I'll have the most trouble out of all of us.)

Zeke had a look of sympathy on his face once the Latias finished explained; giving her a pat on the head he made clear, "Julia, you'll do fine, there's nothing to be nervous about.  I already told Bryna, I don't care how well you do.  If you give it your all, that's all I can ask for."

Julia just gave Zeke a guilty look, (Alright, what do you have in mind?)

"Well first Julia, like what I did with Bryna, I want you to show me what you already know.  I want to see if there's anything we need to work on before we start with your training."

Julia gave a nod and then started performing the list of moves she'd learned over the years.  She began as her eyes glowed a blue color followed by a nearby rock being surrounded by the same colored pulsing light and slowly lifted into the air.  It soon flew off into the bushes, disappearing from sight.  Well he knew that she knew how to perform a Psychic attack, that would came in handy later for sure.

She then followed up with a Dragonbreath, then Safeguard and Wish.  Seeing what she could do Zeke had something in mind that would help keep her attacks diverse.  Done demonstrating Julia asked, a bit out of breath, (So, what did you think?)

Zeke put his hand under his chin and thought about it, "Yeah I think that'll be good.  Julia, what do you think about learning how to use an Aerial Ace attack?"

Julia just returned a confused look, (What's an Aerial Ace attack?)

"Well," Zeke said as he thought about how to explain the attack, rubbing the back of his neck while doing so, "It's an attack typically learned by flying types, although others can learn it in a few special cases.  You fly up as to distract your opponent then come back down hard.  Just as you're about to hit the ground you level out and rush your opponent.  If you do it right it should be impossible to dodge. Do you understand?"

The Latias confirmed with a nod and got into a battle position.  "Alright Julia, on three." Zeke announced.  "One..., Two..., Three, Now!"

The Latias flew up as high as she dared into the air, keeping the second step in mind, and then let go of the psychic energy that kept her levitating and fell back down to earth.  Falling at a rather high speed she pulled up far too soon.  She sighed, realizing her mistake and got back into position, not needed a pep talk like the Pokemon before her about how long it took to learn a new move, having overheard Zeke's earlier explanation.

Zeke inwardly nodded as he saw the Latias realize her mistake and get back into an attack position.  Giving her another go signal, the Latias took off again once more.  This time she dove toward the ground again, determined not to pull up again so soon.  Unfortunately she was so concentrated on not pulling up that she forgot to do so.  She closed her eyes tightly as she spotted the ground approaching much too quickly for her to stop expecting to collide head first with the ground.  When she collided with something much softer though she gasped as she lifted her head and saw what she hit.

-- --

‘She's going too fast.  Crap!  She's going to hit the ground!  At that speed she might just break her neck!' thinking for only a split second Zeke ran for the spot he knew the Latias was going to hit.  He dived for the ground and rolled over, just in time to see the Latias, with her eyes closed, collide with his chest and force all the air out of his lungs.  He closed his eyes as the pain rolled over him.  ‘Arceus! That hurt.'

Hearing a gasp, he opened his eyes to stare into a pair of shocked amber eyes.  (Oh my Arceus!  Zeke, are you hurt?) He heard Scarlett yell out near him.

Forcing himself to sit up from his downed position, the Latias held tightly in his arms, he looked at the worried faces of his other two Pokemon.  "Yeah, a little Scarlett.  But don't worry, I'll be fine.  Just had the daylights scared out of me and all the air forced out of my chest."  Looking down at the almost tearful Eon Pokemon he just sighed, "Ugh, don't scare me like that again Julia.  You could break your neck in a fall like that."

Julia, at the moment unable to speak, just buried her face into his black t-shirt, letting a few tears fall.  Zeke sighed, realizing how scared she must have been when she almost hit the ground like that.  "Shh, it's all right Julia, it's okay, you want to stop for a while until you get your nerves back?"

The Latias just nodded her head, still pressed up against his chest.  So with Julia in his arms, he stood up and walked back under the shade of a tree, letting go of her there.  Julia just floated slowly down until she was once again lying on her stomach under the tree.  She gave Zeke a small, sad smile before lying her head down.  Soon Zeke saw Bryna walked over to the Eon Pokemon, sitting next to Julia, offering what comfort she could.

Zeke then saw the shiny Quilava sitting a distance away; knowing her turn during that morning was coming close.  Zeke gave her a firm nod before looking back down at the shaken Latias.  "Julia, I'm going to go see Scarlett.  Will you be okay?"

Julia just answered with a sigh, (Yeah.)

Zeke just slowly shook his head with sympathy and walked over to the volcano Pokemon.  Noticing him approach, Scarlett asked, (Is she going to be okay?)

Zeke sighed, "Yeah, she'll be fine, just a little shaken up is all.  I'm going to let her sit there for a while before I try to do anymore training with her.  But wow, she really scared me back there.  If I had only been a second later... I don't even want to think about it.  Anyways, let's get started with your own training Scarlett.  I need something to do to calm my own nerves."

(Alright, what do you have in mind Zeke?) Scarlett agreed.

"I was thinking that we finally get started on working on that Flame Wheel of yours.  We both know what you need to do, but until now we haven't had much time to work on it so I figure today would be the perfect chance to get this thing done.  What do you say?" Zeke explained.

Scarlett gave a firm nod, (That sounds good to me.)

Zeke gave her head a small rub, "Good to hear, now let's get started.  Like before I want you to start at a run, then surround yourself with flames, and then do a spin and keep rolling until you either hit your target or they manage to dodge.  Now let's go Scarlett."

Already having had training sessions with Zeke before, Scarlett didn't wait for a count down and took off.  Following Zeke's instructions she started running.  Feeling she had enough momentum a moment later she transferred all of the energy she could into the hot spots on her body, igniting them in a bright fire which soon overtook her.  A second later she went into a spin successfully and followed into a roll.  It lasted all of about five seconds before the flames around her went out and Scarlett tripped over one of her paws landing on her back.

Not a moment later Zeke was by her side lifting her up and placing her back onto her feet.  "Great job Scarlett!  That was your best attempt yet.  Give it a few more tries and I think you might just get it," Zeke praised, unknowingly causing a light blush under the shiny Quilava's fur.  Looking over at the other two Pokemon under the shade of a tree, they both saw that they had looks of surprise on their faces.

(Wow Scarlett!  How'd you learn how to do that so quickly?) Bryna asked.

Zeke and Scarlett both looked at each other before Scarlett answered, (I didn't.  Like Zeke said before, we've practiced this before; I just haven't had enough time to get it right.  Just to tell you two though, on my first try when I tried to spin before, I overdid it and I crashed into the ground.)

Both of the other Pokemon nodded their heads, grimacing as they simultaneously responded, (Ouch.)

Zeke redirected his attention back to the little Pokemon below him, "Well Scarlett, can you manage on your own for a while?  I'm going to see if either Julia or Bryna want to give it another try, are you okay with that?"

(Yeah sure, do what you have to Zeke; I'll be fine on my own.) Scarlett answered, getting back into a position to try again.

Zeke gave her an appreciative smile before heading over to the others, ready to retry their exercises.

-- --

It continued like that for two days since their little gang had started training.  Honestly though Zeke was proud of his girls.  Within the remaining hours of that first day Scarlett had already learned how to use Flame Wheel and Zeke was really happy for her, she'd been working hard on it.  The other two were a different story.  Bryna and Julia had more trouble with their training, although Zeke understood why.

Bryna, with her jackass of a trainer, had to work on most of her moves alone.  She wasn't experienced with any ‘one on one' training as he put it.  Julia on the other hand, being a wild Pokemon all of her life, never had any experience with training at all, except the few things she'd learned from her parents and surviving on her own.  The two of them were both a challenge for him, but Zeke never let simple things like that intimidate him.

Although one thing he was thankful for was the lack of weird dreams the past two nights.  Although all of them as a whole made him question himself.  Who was he?  Although for the most part he tried to not let that stop him.  If any anything was to be answered, it would happen in time, no point in worrying about it now.

Yesterday though, while the girls were all practicing their own moves, he had started practicing with his dual blades.  He was actually surprised how easy he found it.  The only thing that made sense to him is that when he'd lost his memory, his skills like sword fighting had been drilled into his head so much that they'd actually become instinctive during his past.  Of course he still didn't know all that much about what he was doing and just tried whatever movements and techniques came to mind.  It was still rather sloppy, but more refined than any normal beginner.

The only thing that bothered him now was this mysterious trainer he kept hearing about.  Ever since that first morning two days ago, the Pokemon center was busy almost constantly.  Zeke had to feel some sympathy for the Nurse Joy behind the front desk.  From what he'd gotten, this trainer was one of the best in the area.  Apparently multiple trainers were trying to get this prize of some sort from this ‘super' trainer who was promising it to the first trainer that managed to beat him.

Well Zeke's curiosity was getting to the better of him.  As soon as he felt his girls were strong enough, he was going to challenge him.  If he won, well then he'd get to see what this prize was.  If he lost, well then at least he may learn some new techniques he could use in the future.  All in all Zeke really had nothing to lose.  So here he was, overseeing the training of his Pokemon three days later.

-- --

"Great job Bryna!" Zeke exclaimed as he watched the Buizel finally get the move for the third time.  Meanwhile the other two were sitting down on either side of him, Scarlett to his left, and Julia to his right.

They'd stopped for lunch a while ago after what Zeke thought was a pretty successful morning.  Both Julia and Bryna had managed to finally perform their selected moves correctly.  While he and the two Pokemon by him had decided to soak in some relaxation after almost three days of continuous hard work, Bryna had gotten back up and continued to perform her Iron Tail attack over and over again.

All Zeke could assume was that she was in some sort of shock from all the hard work.  He knew that she'd been really disappointed when she'd failed to get in on that first day, so as a way to show how much he still cared for her as well as the two others, he'd taken the three of them to a restaurant.  Granted the place wasn't the fanciest place in town, he'd still had managed to get his point across.

They were resting up for the final thing Zeke had on his list of things to do before they moved on to Oreburgh.  Jubilife was nice but it was just too urban for his tastes and with all of the tall buildings and dark alleys, he always had a creepy feeling that he really didn't know what happened in this city.

Ignoring his paranoia, Zeke was enjoying some time of relaxation.  But then again, he never really was one to stay put for a while, before or after he lost his memory from what he could guess.  Getting up from his spot on the ground he called Bryna over and looked at his three Pokemon.

"Alright, I think you girls are ready, you guys want to take on that trainer?  We might lose but hey, that's part of being a team right?  You lose some and win some.  But remember, it's not just my team, this is your guy's decision too," Zeke explained.  "We can't really waste any more time here and I'd rather be on the road so I think we have only two options.  One, we stay here and test our luck with that expert we've been hearing about.  We take a chance at that prize and if not, at least we got a little bit more practice at battling."

"The only thing is," Zeke said in a wary tone, "If we lose, then you girls will most likely be seriously knocked out."  Zeke stopped as he reached for the one who was closest, who happened to be Scarlett, and gave the Quilava a rub on the head.  "I don't like seeing you girls get hurt, which is why I've been training with you guys so much, but sometimes things just happen.  Two, we get ready to leave now, and enjoy the rest of our afternoon sightseeing today before we leave tomorrow.  Either way, we'll be leaving tomorrow.  So, what do you guys think?"

Scarlett, who over the past day or so had taken up being the leader of his little band of girls stood up before saying, (Well Zeke, I think I speak for each of us when I say, let's do this.)

Zeke gave Scarlett an appreciative nod before saying, "Scarlett, while I'm grateful for the input, I'd like to ask everyone.  So Bryna, Julia, what do you two think?"

Bryna shrugged. (There's nothing to discuss Zeke.  I'm in.)

Julia gave him a smile as she responded. (Why wouldn't we Zeke, you can't scare us that easily.  We're supposed to support you as your team and your partners.  So yeah, I'm in too.)

Zeke shook his head with a smirk, "Yeah, guess I deserved that one, didn't I?  Well then guess it's decided, let's get some supplies at the Pokemart and then we'll try our luck. C'mon you three, let's get moving."

-- --

"Alright I think that's everything.  Anything you guys think I forgot?" Zeke asked his small group.  Receiving three blank stares from asking the question a third time he started rubbing the back of his head, smiling sheepishly as he continued, "Sorry, just wanted to make sure."

Scarlett rolled her eyes, (Zeke, can we just get going already?)

"Sure Scarlett," he answered.  "Alright, return you three," Zeke said as he withdrew each of his Pokemon into their Pokeballs.  After all, keeping the secret of what's in your roster is all part of the battle.

-- --

‘Hm, now let's see, the city square should be somewhere over here... Oh!  There it is.'

Before leaving the Pokecenter Zeke made sure to ask one of the trainers he ran into in the lobby on where he should look since just about every trainer visiting Jubilife City had made a go at this expert trainer. 

Unfortunately, Zeke couldn't really tell the skill level of this ‘expert' since just about every kid he ran into so far looked to be amateur at best.  Jubilife was a center for beginning trainers learning the basics, so without a gym, the amount of skilled trainers within the city was pitiful at best.  Unfortunately the limited amount of wild Pokemon helped to contribute to that fact as well.  The only thing to really attract trainer's attention was the local school, which apparently was the best in Sinnoh, but once again even that failed to attract the more experienced trainers.

So Zeke may have been going into this without much knowledge about his opponent, but he did get one last thing out of the kid before he had left.  Apparently the expert trainer's preferred Pokemon was a Houndoom, so that meant that Bryna would most likely be his first choice.  Well, now that he made it to the spot all he'd have to do now was find the guy.

‘Let's see, he's not over there.  Nope, not over there either.  Maybe... nope, that's wrong too.'  Maybe this wouldn't as easy as he thought.

-- --

‘Damnit, where is this guy?' Zeke thought in frustration as he looked it what seemed to be somewhere around the twenty-fifth place he'd seen.  ‘If I was a guy looking for a battle, where would I... oh, you've got to be kidding me.'  Well, at least he finally found him.

As everyone described, the trainer was wearing a dark cloak, with the hood covering his facial features so he couldn't seem to be recognized, whoever he was.  He was leaning against the wall of a building on the far side of the square.  What added to Zeke's puzzlement though was the guitar strapped to his back.  ‘Well I'm where I need to be, and that seems to be the only guy fitting the description so that must be him.  Wonder what the heck he has that guitar for though?  Hm, oh well, not like I'll be able to guess.  I'm just here for a battle and then I'm out of here... hopefully.'  Now getting to the guy wasn't very easy either.  The city square was packed with different people all heading to different destinations.

"Excuse me, sorry, coming through, sorry for that, oops, sorry lady.  Come on, almost there," Zeke said as he kept bumping into people as he tried to move through the crowd.  ‘Well, this is certainly fun,' Zeke thought sarcastically.

Finally making it through the crowd, Zeke let out a sigh of relief.  Making his way over to the stranger, he noticed the guy just give him a glance before directing his attention back to the crowd.  ‘Well, at least I got his attention.  Here it goes.'  "Hey, I was wondering..."

"Let me guess," the trainer said, addressing and cutting him off at the same time, "Some kid told you there was a trainer in town square who was offering a prize and now you're here to challenge me, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Zeke answered, a little taken back by the straight forwardness of the guy.

"Well, let's get this over with, follow me," the stranger directed as he turned around and walked into an alleyway next to him.

"Okay... I guess," Zeke responded as he followed after the guy, ignoring the obvious possible danger of following a stranger alone into an alleyway.  ‘Well, at least now I don't have to worry about Julia being seen.'

They only walked a few yards into the alleyway before the guy finally turned around.  "Alright, let do this.  I'm only going to use one Pokemon, go ahead and use as many as you want, first person to run out loses.  You okay with that?"

‘Well someone certainly is full of themselves,' Zeke thought, ‘Then again, I guess this guy has a reason to be.'  As he thought this, the other trainer reached for a Pokeball from his belt and enlarged it.

"C'mon out Isabella, show this kid why we're the best!" he shouted as he threw the Pokeball into the air, a red beam of light emerging from it and releasing a Houndoom as it opened and magnetically returned to the trainer's hand.

‘Damn, she does look tough,' Zeke thought as he removed a Pokeball from his own belt.  As if she was standing in front of him Zeke whispered to himself, "Well I hope you're ready for this Bryna, I hope you all are."

"Come on out Bryna, let's show ‘em what you've got!" Zeke cried as he threw the Buizel's Pokeball, the water type soon appearing in front of him.

(Is this the guy, Zeke?) She asked as she took a position in front of the other Pokemon.

"Yep, just be ready Bryna, all we have to do to win is beat that one Pokemon.  So I'm guessing they definitely aren't pushovers," Zeke answered to her.

(Well then let's get this thing started.) She responded.

"Ready whenever you are Bryna." Zeke responded back to her.

If Zeke and Bryna had actually been able to see under the hood of their opponent, they would have seen the face of a very surprised trainer. 

‘Well what do you know, seems that we have another Pokespeaker.  This battle suddenly seems promising.  Alright kid, let's see what you've got,' he thought, surprised at what he found.

‘That's weird,' Zeke thought as he realized something, ‘I just had an entire discussion with Bryna and this guy doesn't even seem fazed.  Usually this is when someone is usually supposed to freak out.  Well, no point in focusing on that now.'

"Alright Bryna, let's start easy.  Use a water gun attack," Zeke commanded, taking the offensive and being the first to attack.  Bryna took a second to fill her mouth before shooting a high-pressured stream of water at the Houndoom.  Without even getting a command from her trainer Isabella jumped to the side, completely evading the water attack.

‘I thought as much.  It's going to take a lot more than just some lucky shots to take this guy out.  Unfortunately I and the rest of the girls aren't that experienced, and because of that there isn't much I can work with but hell if that's going to stop me now.' Zeke decided as he tried to think of a strategy while Bryna fended for herself.

(Zeke, I could use some help here.) Bryna said as she tried to break him from his stupor.  She could handle the battle on her own, at least for a bit, but it did help to get some advice at least.

"Sorry Bryna, just try to keep dodging and attack any openings you see, there isn't much else I think we can do right now without a strategy.  She's just too strong, any of your attacks straight on would most likely be thrown back or dodged.  Just try to keep your distance though, don't try any close-ranged attacks just yet." Zeke offered as Bryna continued to dodge what seemed like a constant stream of flamethrower attacks.

‘Damnit, at this rate Bryna's gonna be taken out in just a few minutes, if that.  I have to think of something, and fast,' Zeke contemplated, keeping an eye out at the same time for the Buizel on defense.  ‘Luckily it seems that Bryna's faster than her though, now if we could only turn that to our advantage.'

At that moment the Houndoom jumped back, spreading space between her and Bryna.  Questioning what she could be doing, the opposing trainer cried out, "Alright Isabella, show them our strength, Rapid Fire Blaze!"

Standing there in a daze at the odd move name, he watched as Isabella charged a large fireball within her maw, temporarily storing the energy for a moment.  Knowing a strong attack when he saw one he ordered the only thing he could, "Bryna, get out of there!  Find some cover!"

Not needing to be told twice, she rolled to the side towards a stack of boxes near her position.  The same moment the Houndoom released her attack, and it seemed to be an ember attack.  Or at least seemed like one.

While the attack looked to be a rapid fire display, as the small fireballs dispersed within the alley, they released the energy of at least a Flamethrower attack each.  Zeke had to shield his eyes as smoke and heat pressure filled the alleyway, blocking his vision of what was going on.  When the smoke finally cleared though, and he was able to see again, he wished his vision to be cloudy once more.

The Houndoom still stood where she had before, but it was Bryna that bothered him.  Lying on her back unconscious with shreds of the boxes that protected her scattered around, it was pretty obvious the strong attack had torn threw her hastily chosen barricade, leaving her defenseless.  Running to the first casualty in their battle, Zeke dropped down to his knees to examine her.

"Bryna, are you alright?" he immediately asked, his own concern clear in his voice.  Hearing his Buizel awake with a coughing fit a moment later he let out a sigh of relief.

(I lost, huh?) Bryna questioned as soon as she found the strength to speak again.

"Yeah, don't worry though.  You did great Bryna; I don't think any of you girls could've dodged that attack.  It seemed to be made to be a finishing move; I think he was just playing with us," giving her head a soft rub, he continued, "I'm proud of you girl.  You did well, so don't go all depressed on me once this is over.  I said it once and I'll say it again, as long as you try your best, you'll never disappoint me."

Giving him an appreciative smile, Bryna responded with a thank you.

"Now get some girl.  Let's give one of your sisters a chance now, alright?" he requested.

The Buizel replied with a nod, (Yeah, just... try not to lose too badly Zeke.)

For the first time since the battle began he smirked, appealing to the Pokemon's attempt at lightening the mood.  With a nod and a quick hand movement, Zeke retrieved her Pokeball and returned the Buizel, allowing her the time she deserved to rest.

Standing back up and once again getting into his original position, Zeke reached for his second Pokemon, earning him a response from his opponent.

"Heh, you're still going to continue kid?" he scoffed, sure that Zeke would have run off like all those before after watching his first Pokemon get beaten around so easily.

Directing the guy a glare, Zeke spoke, "It's not over ‘til it's over.  If I gave up now I'd only be disappointing myself and my Pokemon.  We aren't stopping this until the end."  To emphasis his statement he hurled his second Pokeball, the Latias appearing in a brief flash of red light.

Once again the mysterious stranger hesitated a moment before slipping back into his emotionless state, waiting for Zeke to make the first move.  Meanwhile, Zeke tried to think of a quick plan from what he'd already observed.

‘Well if one thing's for sure, this guy is as good as everyone's said, but the question is how I'm going to beat him.  If I even stand a chance that is.  Its obvious brute strength isn't going to do it, and for Julia, this alley is too narrow to use her agility to our advantage.  In fact, her levitation ability is probably our only advantage in this fight.  At least we have that Aerial Ace of hers as our trump card, even if it is a small one at that,' Zeke evaluated, finding no current solutions to his current predicament.

Realizing that his opponent was unlikely to attack, Zeke made the first move, "Julia, let's start off with a Psychic attack."

Responding, the Latias made the attempt, but she quickly lost concentration and moved out of the way as a Flamethrower attack collided with her position only seconds before.

‘Damnit, Julia only needs at least a second or two of concentration on her opponent to perform that move, but she didn't even have enough time for that.  It doesn't matter anyway, now that I remember, Houndoom are part dark type.  That attack would have had no effect anyway.  I guess this would be as good a time as any to use our trump card.  Damn, I didn't want to use it so early, but I don't think we really have a chance otherwise,' Zeke contemplated as he watched his Pokemon avoid attacks from their opponent, like Bryna before her unable to find any openings to go on the offensive.

"Julia, do it," Zeke commanded with a sigh, already aware that this probably wouldn't end well by relying on her to pull off a move she'd just recently learned.

Taking her chances to give Zeke a look of confusion, the Eon Pokemon responded, (Are you sure about this Zeke?), before directing her attention back to the Houndoom, all the while waiting for Zeke's response.

"Yeah, I don't think we have much choice Julia.  Come on, I know you can do this.  Now Julia, Aerial Ace!" Zeke finished with exclaiming their last resort to emphasize his belief in her ability.

Julia gave a single nod without looking at him before she disappeared as a blur in the sky, using the sun's glare to disguise herself.  Achieving a suitable altitude, she inverted herself, diving towards the ground.  Zeke stood at the ready; it'd be a cold day in hell before he let one of his Pokemon get hurt because of one of his orders.  Seeing the concentration in Julia's face though as she neared the ground, he allowed himself to ease up, letting his confidence in his Pokemon take over.

He almost jumped up with joy when he saw her level off to the ground, rocketing towards the defensive Houndoom like a missile.  Zeke let his jaw drop though as he saw her make contact, sending the fire type crashing into a nearby wall, kicking up dust as she skidded on the ground.

Julia finished off by using her psychic abilities to slow down and turned back around to fly right into her trainer's outstretched arms.

(I did it Zeke!) She cried out in both excitement and joy, feeling proud of herself of performing the move successfully.

Holding the Latias in a celebratory hug Zeke responded, "I know, that was great Julia, way to go.  I'm happy for you," Zeke finished by tightening their embrace, ignoring the blush growing on the Eon Pokemon's face as she noticed the position she was in.

"Uh, hate to break up the moment kid, but who ever said we were done?" while Zeke couldn't say that he found the voice welcoming, it did return him to the present.  Letting go of the Latias, they both got into a battle position once again.  As the dirt began to settle, Isabella emerged, to Zeke's astonishment, almost unfazed from the rather powerful move pulled off from the Pokemon next to him.

Seeing this, Zeke could feel his despair at their failed attack, ‘Damnit!  Will anything take down this guy?'  Directing his attention towards Julia though, he crushed that depressing thought into the back of his mind, ‘No... I refuse to think that way.  I'd be a failure as a trainer if I did that.'

His opponent smirked, the still mysterious trainer making one of his first actions since the battle started.  Pointing his index finger at the Latias he exclaimed, "Alright Bell, finish them off with another flamethrower!"

The Houndoom complied to her trainer's commands, hot flames building in her maw before she released them in a concentrated stream of fire.  Out of desperation Zeke called out for Julia to counterattack with a Dragonbreath, but to be fair, they never really stood a chance.

As the Latias emerged from the flames covered with burns and unconscious, Zeke let out a curse at his foolishness.  Returning the Latias he uttered the simple words, "Rest up Julia, you more than earned it."

Placing her ball back in its place Zeke gripped his final Pokeball, staring at his opponent that seemed almost invincible his thoughts were simple, ‘Well Scarlett, guess this is it.  Let's make this last one count.'  Tossing her ball he made his final call, "Alright Scarlett, this is our last stand, let's do this!  Open up with Smokescreen!"

With a flash of red light and the soft impact of the Pokeball returning to Zeke's gloved hand, everyone's field of vision was filled with a thick black fog.  Following up Zeke cried out the next stage of his attack, "Scarlett, use a Quick Attack to cover the field and fill the place with holes with your Ember Attack!"

Fulfilling Zeke's command Scarlett did as he said.  Paws could be heard hitting the pavement of the alley rapidly and the next moment, the air was filled with the heat of multiple Ember shots.  Just about nothing was spared, it hit the walls, torched whatever flammables that were unlucky enough to still be remaining and even the trainers were assailed with the somewhat savage attack.

‘What the hell,' entered the stranger's mind, ‘It's said that when a trainer and Pokemon bond enough, their emotions often affect the Pokemon's power.  Hell, me and Bell know that more than anyone, but the power behind this attack, how close are these two?  Well, I guess even I can still make mistakes from time to time.'  Thinking that, the mysterious trainer couldn't help but smirk.

Back with Zeke though, similar thoughts were entering his mind as he protected his face with his arms from the scorch of the flames.  ‘Damn, I knew Scarlett could be powerful when she wanted to be, but this is really pushing it.  Dang, I guess it's true that Pokemon can respond to their trainer's emotions.  Scarlett and I haven't been together long, but we've been together through a lot.  I treat her like little sister, and I guess that's created a strong enough bond between us.  Wait a minute, seems the attack is slowing.  Crap, I forgot.  Scarlett's probably exhausted after doing that.  Guess all I can do now is hope.'

As Zeke observed, the attack slowed, and soon came to a stop.  At this point, most of smoke had also cleared, so it only took a few seconds for the mutilation of the alley to be seen.  Scorch marks lined the wall, small fires were lit here and there and two Pokemon stood standing glaring at each other, both covered in scratches and burns.  Scarlett's being partially self-inflicted from the brutality from her last attack.

Stuck in a glaring match, the two injured Pokemon, both panting heavily, stood there staring at each other, deciding which one would fall.  Of course, the match was already decided from the beginning.  Giving into her exhaustion, the flames dispersing from her hot spots, Scarlett collapsed.

Seeing this, Zeke let out a sigh, "Damn..., guess I lost," before pulling out Scarlett's Pokeball and returning her to her rightful place.  Still retaining his dignity as a trainer though, he walked up to his opponent and held out his hand.

"What?" the guy seemed to be surprised by the unexpected gesture.

Zeke rolled his eyes at the comment answering, "Don't trainers shake hands after a good battle.  I can't quite say I like you at all, but it was a great battle, so thanks for the experience and showing me I still have a lot to learn as a trainer."

The smirk appearing again on the guy's face, he responded with a laugh, "Well that does it, its official.  I like you kid."

Zeke being the one taken off guard now at the guy's sudden personality change at showing not a smirk, but an actual genuine smile, "What the...?"

Pulling down his hood, Zeke was finally able to get a glance at his features, the silver ponytail and green eyes putting the guy off as even stranger, ‘Well, now I know for sure, this guy isn't normal under any circumstances.'

"Uh dude, what's with the total reversal on the attitude?" Zeke asked, the guy in front of him giving him the urge to run, in a total different sense from before.

"Oh sorry, I still haven't introduced myself have I?" rubbing his head with a sheepish grin, he took Zeke's still outstretched hand and gave a firm handshake as if forming an agreement.  He continued, "Name's Creed, and if it isn't obvious," he motioned towards the Houndoom who was now sitting at his feet facing Zeke, her previous malevolence from before totally gone, "This would be Isabella, although I just call her Bell."

Responding to the comment, Zeke answered, "Nice to meet you both.  My name is Zeke.  But if you don't mind?" finishing by pushing his question from before once again.

Creed closed his eyes and sighed, "Yeah, sorry about that.  I've been looking for a trainer to help me out with something, but all these kids are pitiable at best.  I got into such a drag with all these easy wins recently that I guess I let myself be a bit of a jerk.  So to put it simply I guess, I apologize for the jerk-off behavior from before kid."  By the end of his apology, Creed was rubbing the back of his head, a sheepish grin on his face.

Zeke just answered with a shrug, continuing, "Its fine I guess.  I'm not all that experienced with battling, so I can't say I can empathize with you, but I can understand that it would be frustrating to battle already knowing the results.  But now that you mention it, what do you mean that you need help with something?  Are you in some kind of trouble?"

Creed shook his head, answering, "Not really, it's more like an assignment actually, but it's a bit much for me personally.  My Pokemon and I are the best in the business, but it's still nice to have backup from time to time."

Giving him a suspicious glance, Zeke replied, "Okay, now you've gotten my attention.  What exactly are you talking about?  But before that..."

Reaching for his Pokeballs once again, Zeke gave all three a toss.  In yet another flash of red light, all three of his Pokemon stood (or hovered in the case of Julia) behind him.  Directing his attention back to the guy in front of him he continued, "Whatever you can say in front of me, you can say in front of them."

Creed just responded with a shrug, "Fine by me, if anything, this just continues to prove I was right about you.  Well, I guess to start off, are you by any chance familiar with Team Galactic?"

With a questioning stare Zeke answered, "Yeah, you mean that crime organization that gets a thrill from stealing Pokemon, what about them?"

Creed nodded, "I thought so, anyways, to state it simply, they have a secret base underneath the city."

Feeling himself freeze Zeke stuttered, "Wha- what?  What do you mean there's a Team Galactic base under the city?  Are you kidding me?"

Creed let out a sigh, "Sadly, no.  You heard me right kid.  Truthfully, I thought the same thing when I was told too.  But unfortunately it's true, I've been doing some scouting recently and there's an entrance near the forest's edge.  It's interesting how they made it though, built the entrance into the surface of a boulder.  You'd completely miss it if you weren't looking for it.  Still took some searching to find though."

Seeing he was finished explaining, Zeke was still puzzled about something, "That's great and all, but... what does that have anything to do with me?  Last time I checked I'm just an amateur trainer still learning the basics."

Hearing that, Creed grinned, unnerving Zeke a bit once again, "And that kid, is why I'm doing this.  Like I said, I tend to always have someone watch my back I can trust as back up  from time to time when I'm on a mission.  You seem trustworthy enough so let me tell you a secret...," leaning over and lowering his voice into a whisper while doing so, "The truth is kid, I'm a secret operative from over in Kanto."

Looking back on it, Zeke was surprised by how calm he treated the situation.  Frankly, he found that it wasn't all that surprising; it actually made a lot of sense when he thought about it logically.  The man's skill, knowledge, and experience with Pokemon obviously pointed to him being more than just any ordinary trainer.  Besides, it was obvious the guy wasn't done talking by the look Creed was giving him.

Chuckling, Creed continued, "Yeah, I get that look a lot when I mention that."  Confused by his comment due to his lack of reaction, Zeke looked behind him to see that while he himself had taken the news well, his team members had taken the opposite approach.  All three of them had either odd or amusing looks of surprise spread across their faces.  Zeke himself couldn't help but laugh at the scene in front of him.  Noticing his stare, his Pokemon tried to recover quickly, but it was a little too late by then.

"Anyway...," Creed continued, "What I'm trying to ask kid is if you'd like to help me out, been a while since I've had any human partners on a mission though, so I apologize beforehand if any of my habits seem odd.  So what do you say kid?  Would you like to see some of the real action in being a trainer?"

Zeke brought his fist up to his chin as he thought about the guy's offer.  It was already made obvious that he was really serious about this and, truthfully, Zeke was really curious about what a Team Galactic base looked like.  He only had one more question before he made his decision, "Alright I understand, but if you don't mind my asking, what is it that we're doing exactly?"

Creed responded with a shrug, "Nothing out of the usual really.  We infiltrate their base, try to find what its purpose is, look for any important documents, release any stolen Pokemon we may find, and..."

He never had a chance to finish as by the time he'd mentioned that last one Zeke had on a serious expression with his arm out replying, "Alright, I'm in."  His three Pokemon behind him nodded their approval at Zeke's decision, also wanting to help their fellow kin.

Creed was taken back a bit by the kid's sudden change of attitude, but he took Zeke's outstretched hand, sharing a firm handshake as he stated, "Good to have you on the team, partner."

-- --

End of Chapter 5

Pokedex Entry

Houndoom, the Dark Pokemon   ~Dark, Fire~

The flames it breathes when angry contain toxins.  If they cause a burn, it will hurt forever.

*Entrees written from the Platinum Pokedex*

 

Zeak's Team

Scarlett

Age: 16

Species: Quilava

Element: Fire

*Shiny*

 

Julia

Age: 18

Species: Latias

Element: Dragon, Psychic

 

Bryna

Age: 15

Species: Buizel

Element: Water

 

Trainer's Info

Name: Zeak Ironfist

Age: 18

Current Location: Jubilife City

Region: Sinnoh

Badges:

None