The Aura is With Me (Advanceshipping)

[lunarshadow]

The Aura is With Me (Advanceshipping)
- By: lunarshadow

Chapters:

Prologue: The Last Guardian of Aura
Chapter I: The Battle on the Road

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction:

Welcome to the home of my first fan fiction, The Aura is With Me! The idea of this fan fiction started some time around March 2008 when I was pondering about stuff like physics and Pokemon at the same time. I'm still in High School, and physics and mathematics and stuff like that still hurt my brain, but I thought that I could possibly work the two out together in a seamless combination, relatively speaking of course.

Fortunately for me, there was a person that beat me to it, and his name, or at least pen name is EarthBorn. He has written one complete fan fiction, Destiny Bond I: Aura Sphere and is currently working on his sequel, Destiny Bond II: Sacred Fire. His work is phenomenal. He has combined several key concepts of quantum mechanics and Pokemon into a fiction that is very, if not absolutely, believable. His work is what mostly inspired me to get the courage to piece the impossible together.

This is a story loosely on the same lines as EarthBorn's Destiny Bond, containing elements such as physics, Pokemon, Advanceshipping, and Aura. However, there are several major plot differences and physics concepts that set this work very much apart from Destiny Bond I and Destiny Bond II. Obviously, they won't be revealed right here and now because that wouldn't leave anything for you to read will it? EarthBorn and myself have talked it over and he's more than perfectly okay with my ideas. Plus, I don't think plagiarizing is exactly a very professional practice, so I'll never do it. Plus, I intend not to bore you with my story with things you've already heard, after all, reading is for enjoyment!

Contact/Mirror Details:

bmgf.bulbagarden .net
http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/member.php?u=33365 - My home Here on the Bulbagarden Forums.

Fanfiction.net
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1594674/ - Mirror of this Page and More Detailed Descriptions.

Serebiiforums.com
http://www.serebiiforums.com/member.php?u=109329 - My Home on the Serebii.Net Forums.

http://www.serebiiforums.com/showthread.php?t=345464 - The Same Story, as Originally Posted on the Serebii.net Forums.

Rules/Regulations and Other Important Things:

Rating: This, according to Fanfiction.net ratings, is rated T, containing content that may not be suitable for young children. This, according to Bmgf.Bulbagarden.Net Forums ratings, is rated Teen, containing content that is not sexually errotic.

Rating (Note): Personally, I don't think anyone has anything to fear from reading my fan fiction, but I guarantee that you will definitely learn something! Maybe even at a subconscious level you have no idea existed! Physics isn't hard. You're mind simply refuses to accept it!

Requests:

1. Feel free to read my story!
I appreciate anyone who reads this, it's just a figment of imagination, but nonetheless, it feels nice to have readers.

2. Feel free to comment my story!
I appreciate very critical comments the most to be honest. I feel that if you tell me what I need to improve, that would help me more, and give you a better reading experience!
Of course, I won't say no to "OMG This is the most awesomest fic ever!"; or "WOW this is a great fic!"; or a "I LUV YOU!" from anybody!

3. Try as hard as you can not to tell me to hurry up with the updates!
I know it's tough, but please restrain yourselves!

Rules: You all know the drill, follow all Serebii.Net Forums rules, e.g. Double Posts, spamming, that kind of stuff. It just keeps everything looking nicer.

One Final Request:

Note: This is actually my first post here on the Bulbagarden Forums, and as such, I am completely a newbie who doesn't even have a signature yet. I hope my experience here will match the hospitality I have received back on the Serebii.Net Forums. Thanks!

I actually decided to post this on all three sites, FF.net, SB.net, and now BG.net so that I may have a wider range of readers and more comments/reviews. I want lots of lots of reviews!

Please rate and review my fiction extensively! I cannot stress enough how much I like people who tell me that I actually need work, that my story is not perfect, and that I still have a long way to go! Don't feel embarrassed by murdering my work with a reply post telling me things you would've changed. I like it! Bring it ON!!! YOUR COMMENTS DON'T SCARE ME!!!But seriously, you may comment however you want.

And now to the actual fan fiction. *Finally!* Enjoy!

Awards

5/31/2009 - SPPF's Shipping Fan Fiction Contest; C.Gholy
3rd Place Winner (Traditional Category)​

 

[lunarshadow]

Prologue: The Last Guardian of Aura

The Pokémon World has been described many times before to be a very exhilarating, exiting, never ending, and worthwhile experience. After all, living a normal, human life is in one word: incomplete. Pokémon are living, breathing creatures, each with their own characteristics. Some were born stronger, some were born not as much. Some have attitude, others are quiet. Some are pets, some are active warriors. Some are common, others are rare. Some are the stuff of legends; others are the ones that make them. A life without the creatures of Mother Nature, Pokémon, would be a life with a gaping hole in it.

Since the dawn of civilization, some three million years ago, the first humans were created. But, at the time of the universe’s creation, the first Pokémon came to be. We have existed for less than a hundredth of a second on the universe's clock; we are an addition to the already beautiful earth we live in. When the first humans were created on this planet, the Pokémon were open. Still today, humans and Pokémon exist together in relative harmony, sometimes master and student, sometimes owner and family pet, but always friend and friend.

And always is there trouble in the world, ever since the first wrong of humans was recorded. The evil and plague of this earth was born when the first humans betrayed Mother Earth and unbalanced it. Today this evil exists through cruelty and injustice. Pokémon are sometimes treated as though they are inferior beings regardless of the Pokémon or the intentions. And some are used to manipulate the world they live in for personal gain.

The fight against evil is everlasting and the end is not in sight. But there are those who fight it. Some may feel it is their duty while others feel it is the right thing. But Pokémon and humans alike live to fight evil, they are united, and they are one in the struggle for righteousness. They are destined through the bonds that sustain life itself.

This is the story of humans and Pokémon working together as master and student, working together as partners, and always working together as friends, walking down the path of life to the final destination. But our story begins at three in the morning, and in a quaint laboratory near Sangdem Town, where sat an accomplished Professor, alone, with a single lamp light on, reading papers.

[23:34 P.M.] Sangdem Town, Sinnoh Region

Professor Rowan, as he was formally called, was a professor of Pokémon, similar to many in other regions as well as his own. Acclaimed in the field of Pokémon Evolution, he was called by the media and his assistants and colleagues alike an expert. To the contrary, he felt as though he knew nothing about what it was, thus, he searched for the answer under his lamplight.

The assistants had left the laboratory several hours earlier for their family, beds and normal lives, while the Professor again sat at his desk, itching to answer his lifelong question, “What is Pokémon Evolution?” Every time he met someone new and he tried to explain what he did as a Pokémon professor, he would quizzically ask that person, “What exactly is Evolution? Why does it pertain to only some Pokémon? Is it that they are more advanced, that they can become more powerful? Then what do we make of the Pokémon that don’t evolve? What exactly is the force that allows it to happen?”

Naturally, that person would say something for conversation’s sake such as, “Well, it could be that some are supposed to evolve while others aren’t,” and hearing the same generic and empty responses, he would have to give an generic and empty reply, “Well, wouldn’t that mean there was a creator who specified which Pokémon evolved? How did it create the force to allow Evolution to happen?” And at that, that person’s mind would likely blow up to try and answer such a preposterous question. It was unanswerable. But it is a professor’s duty to answer the unanswerable, and it was Rowan’s self obligated duty to answer this one.

Tonight, he was about to once again throw in the towel for solving the question that drove him nuts for the past four years of his career. After all, there are so many places to look, it would be impossible to come across the answer with his eyes hung in bags the size of grapefruits; he could skip over the research paper most pertinent to his problem for lack of focus. But as he was about to close off the light on the desk, an old physics book caught his eye, one with dust over it, and pages aged as though printed at the time of his big-bang-old birth.

He picked it up and decided to crack it open. It was late, but his mind was racing, so a bit of light reading couldn’t hurt to calm his nerves, he figured. “Hm, Modern Physics Based from Plato’s Philosophical Analogies, Explained by Brian Greene. I must’ve had this under a rag to collect so much dust.” He turned over the worn book over in his hands and sat back down in his seat to begin the cracking. “Who knows. Maybe there’s something he knows that no one else does. Let’s see, the table of contents.”

The list of chapters to an average person would’ve been enough to create an influx to put the book right back down, but some of the sections were mildly interesting for the professor. It read, Forces of the Physical World, Gravity Further Explained, Magnetism Further Explained, on and on until finally, the last chapter read Theoretical Original Force. The professor grew intrigued with this title, and decided to investigate. Evolution, he had found, was an actual force, but obviously one that is not experienced on a daily basis by everyone at any given time, and that it seemed not to be a force in the same league of Gravity for instance. For all the so-called authority on Evolution knew, Evolution could be a so-called “Theoretical Force”. He turned to the corresponding page and began to read.

“The ancients have legends pertaining to the creation of this earth, and the many forces later to be revealed as Gravity, Electromagnetism, and recently, the Strong and Weak Nuclear Forces. However, at the time of the Legends’ origin, the ancients apparently knew nothing of the forces that we know today. Based off of the primary legends circulating at the time such as The Original Story, the ancients understood merely the dimensions, and not the forces that correspond with them.

“According to the legend, the Original One, be this a force, the contained explosion known as the Big Bang, or even a living entity as many speculate, was somehow an “egg”. Whatever this egg may be, it apparently cracked, thus expanding the universe. This crack came to be largely accepted as the Big Bang. Whatever happened, according to the legend, the egg existed at a single second, then fractions of a second later, it cracked, or hatched in terms of birth, thus releasing a certain force or energy that later was never duplicated.”

At this, the Professor walked over to his filing cabinet of ancient Sinnoh Legends and began to search for the legend, The Original Story. “Come on, where is it?” he asked himself. “This is what I get for not taking time to organize this stuff!” The professor was completely stoked with a sudden connection. Apparently, to preserve the professionalism of publishing such a book of Physics, the authors and editors avoided all mentioning of Pokémon, and therefore avoided addressing the mysteries relating to the Pokémon world. But what struck the Professor was that the similarities between the so-called egg of the “Original One”, whatever it was, was not so different than the eggs that various Pokémon are before hatching.

If that is true, the Professor reasoned, than the same force that allows Pokémon to hatch from eggs is the same force that allowed the “Original One” to emerge from its egg and into the new universe. At that, he found his saving grace, The Original Story. Upon re-reading it, his understanding grew ever deeper.

In the beginning, there was only
A churning turmoil of chaos.
At the heart of chaos, where all
Things became one, appeared an Egg.
Having tumbled from the vortex, the
Egg gave rise to the Original One.
From itself, two beings the Original
One did make.
Time started to spin.
Space began to expand.
From itself again, three living things
The Original One did make.
The two beings wished, and from them,
Matter came to be.
The three living things wished, and
From them, spirit came to be.
The world created, the Original One
Took to unyielding sleep...

“I don’t believe it,” the Professor murmured to himself. “It’s just so simple! Why hadn’t I seen this before?” The Professor then knew an answer to one of the questions that had been driving him to this slightly cookie state for four years. “What is Pokémon evolution?” he asked himself. Now getting goosebumps from this simple discovery, he replied to himself in the dimly lit room, void of all life, “It’s the force that created the universe.”

This is insane! The professor thought to himself, Am I the only one on this earth that knows this!? How could this have eluded so many brilliant minds? Pokémon Evolution is the force that created the universe! It’s so ridiculously simple! I must get this out to someone…but whom, he pondered. Oak. He may be the only one who would actually believe me after all. This is completely ridiculous if I’m right. There would be no way to actually test it or anything! But, I can at least confide with the greatest mind of this age without fear of ridicule.

Waling over to his videophone desk, he grabbed his phone number book off the table and flipped the pages to find his old friend’s number. “If Oak could agree with this, we may be onto something. I have no idea what force it’s made of, I don’t know how it happened, but I now know that it had existed from the first moment of existence,” Rowan talked out loud. “Here it is.”

Dialing the number into the videophone, he centered himself in the built in camera, and patiently waited for a response from Oak, despite his anxiety to get this out to someone for analysis or confirmation. Unfortunately, it was taking slightly longer than usual. “Come on, please pick up…”

Just after he asked, Professor Oak’s face appeared, along with his sleeping garments. “Wah! Rowan, you’ve caught me at a bad time! I was just about to sleep! Couldn’t you call at day time?”

Rowan hid his face with his hand to prevent himself from getting blinded and apologized, “Sam, I’m so sorry, but I had to call! I’ve just made a connection that could change the course of my studies, and I thought you may be able to help.”

Samuel Oak just sighed and sank back into the background, “Oh, alright, fine, but let me get some clothes on!”

“Fine, fine, sorry!” Rowan apologized again.

A few moments passed, and eventually the slightly underdressed Professor returned with a more suitable attire. “So, my dear Rowan, tell me. What do you need?”

“Your advice.”

“My advice?”

“Sam, I told you many times before I was frustrated that I didn’t actually know anything about Evolution and what it is or how it happens or why it does.”

“Yes?”

Now Professor Rowan’s face lit up with enthusiasm, “I think I now know at least what it is. I don’t know anything else, but I think it’s a start.”

“Well?”

“According to the ancient Sinnoh legend, The Original Story, it said that the Original One hatched from an egg, thus starting the expansion of the universe. Pokémon are too, born form eggs, and egg hatching is much like Evolution in its own right.” It was now or never for the professor as he grew ever more excited inside. “Do you know where I’m getting at? I think Evolution is what started the universe.” At that, the professor on Rowan’s screen blinked knowingly, and then he laid back about to speak. “What do you think?” Rowan asked, now slightly apprehensive.

The professor on the other end now smiled, surprising the professor at the receiving end. “Well, let me first say that I’m glad you came to me first about your theory.”

Rowan expected an “I think it’s plausible,” or some kind of “Well, we’d never be able to test it,” but it didn’t come. “Well, who else would I call about such an idea? For all I know it’s just like some child making a completely uneducated guess connecting something from fairy tales to real life!”

Oak still sat in the same position and smiled continuously. “I know. That’s because I made such a conclusion myself. I know what you mean.”

Rowan was now completely hooked with what his colleague had to say. “Sam, I knew I made a safe choice with conversing with you about it first before I make some sort of published paper. What kind of conclusion did you make from before?”

“Some time ago, Ash came back from the Hoenn League to Pallet Town to figure out what he’s going to do next. Of course as you know, he decided to take the Pokémon Battle Frontier Challenge. But that’s not after he stayed and talked a little.”

Rowan knew something big was coming up, after all, everything regarding Ash was something big. “What did he tell you?”

“Oh, he talked about his adventures, gym battles, and about May’s contests and things like that…”

Rowan however was unaware of this “May” person though, “Wait, one second, who’s May?”

“Right, I never mentioned her before. She’s a Pokémon Coordinator like Dawn is but she and her younger brother Max tagged along with Ash during both Hoenn and the Battle Frontier. And to be honest, Ash and May seem pretty close after all of that.”

Rowan also sat back in his chair to enjoy Professor Oak’s rant. “Anyways it was not so long after, I think just a month later, Ash mentioned something to me over video phone about a certain Pokémon that he met at a place called Cameroon Castle. He said that that Pokémon was learning some sort of power from a human.”

Rowan brought his hand up to his bushy, white mustache and began to stroke it thoughtfully. “Hm, yes. I’ve heard that a long time ago Pokémon were sometimes taught by humans through uncommonly close bonds. But there hasn’t been a report of such a bond between a Pokémon and a human for five centuries.”

“Well, now you’ll understand why I’m so glad you came to me. I too have a fairy tale theory, and now I can finally confide in someone who also thinks along the same lines,” Oak spoke. “I think there’s reason to believe that Ash can connect to Pokémon using such bonds described in the legends of centuries past.”

Rowan was absolutely astounded and jerked to attention in his seat. “What!? That’s impossible!”

“Oh, it’s possible. And because of that, Ash is also connected to the very force that you happen to call Evolution.”

“What!? What are you talking about, connected? How can a boy be connected to a Pokémon so strongly, to say nothing of a connection to a Pokémon phenomenon!?”

“This is exactly why I’m finally telling someone about what I’ve been thinking for the past two years since Ash left for the Battle Frontier! I knew that those who I would mention such a thing wouldn’t fathom the possibility! But since you’ve also come up with such a connection just as I did, I know that I can finally tell someone about this!”

“Well, I’m really surprised that you’ve been holding such a theory back for so long, but why Ash? He’s just a boy, and as far as I’m concerned, Evolution is a phenomenon experienced only by Pokémon.”

“While everything you’ve said so far is true, I know in my gut that Ash does have such a connection.”

“Why?”

“The day Ash started his Pokémon journey, he claimed he saw a Ho-oh. No one had seen one since the fall of the Tin and Brass Towers all those centuries ago.”

“No. That’s unbelievable. It’s ridiculous. The boy may have seen some other Pokémon and could’ve easily mistaken it for a Ho-oh!”

“That’s exactly what I said when he told me. But ever since the day Ash got his first Pokémon, I thought of the possibility, and I warrant you, I’ve thought long and hard about it, and I decided that Ash wasn’t mistaken. He actually saw the legendary Ho-oh.”

“No way. That’s incredible. He’s just a boy yet he’s seen a Pokémon people have searched their entire lives for!”

“I know it’s difficult to believe, but trust me. That Ho-oh is the reason why I know that Ash is connected like that. Back when the Tin and Bronze Towers fell, there existed a single person who was teaching a Pokémon and had such a strong bond with it. Sir Aaron, as he was called, was the last person to have such a connection, and because of that, people wrote the legends about him. And ever since that day, the legendary Ho-oh was never seen. Until Ash saw it, that is.”

“Wow. That’s incredible.”

“Yes. But believe it or not, Ash definitely has such a connection even right now as we speak. I don’t suppose you’ve met his Pikachu have you?”

“Yes, I have. I know that when Dawn caught up to him after the two of them got separated, he risked his life to save Pikachu from an enormous exploding mecha. I’d say it was maybe eighty feet high or so.”

“Have you ever seen a trainer ever do that for any of their Pokémon?”

Rowan massaged his beard again and replied slowly, “No. No, I haven’t. Even though I wouldn’t like to admit it, I, for one, wouldn’t risk my life like that. I would just phone the police after they got away.”

“I rest my case. Ash is the only human I know who would go to such lengths for his Pokémon. But I think there is a reason why. It is said in another ancient legend that when the souls of humans and Pokémon can commune, upon the emergence of a trainer with the ability to touch the souls of Pokémon, Ho-oh will appear from the heavens.”

Rowans eyes widened with the Professor’s understanding, “You don’t think, that the boy; the boy who saw a Ho-oh after all of these years…?”

“Is the trainer that can touch the souls of Pokémon? Yes. When Ash first received Pikachu, it was incredibly disobedient for reasons I still don’t understand. But it soon became apparent to me that Ash and Pikachu have become beyond best friends. If I could put a name on the two of them, they would be blood brothers, no doubt about that. And Ash definitely can communicate perfectly with that Pikachu. Rowan, I’m convinced of it!”

“Well, with such an argument, you’ve got me convinced,” While Professor Rowan was enjoying this conversation, revealing things the boy in question has absolutely no comprehension or awareness of, however, one question remained. “But I still don’t see how he is somehow connected to Evolution.”

“You think Evolution is related to the Original One, and I think Ash is the trainer with the ability to touch souls. Yes?” Oak took his hands, folded them, and placed them on his lap and he closed his eyes, ready for the last words. “Well. I think there’s only one thing left to conclude. ”

Rowan knew that what came up next was the moment he placed the call in the first place, so he didn’t want to miss a single word of Oak’s answer. Leaning forward he beckoned, “And tell me, what is it?” In response, Oak opened his closed eyes and flashed a grin across his face. This was it.

“I think Ash is the last Guardian of Aura.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: I posted this on 01-11-10, the first palindromic date of this year! I felt it fitting for a prologue post.

A bit of weird concepts that don't make sense at all? Well good! They shouldn't until the answers come later.... Next chapter will be up soon! Eat your heart out.

 

[TeamGalacticMercury]

Nice! And welcome to bulbagarden! I like how you tied in sinnoh myths! I love the concept, which is one that I am currently writing about. So, I've got a few questions. Is Ash Sir Aaron's descendant? Where is Ash now? How does he touch souls? Pretty good, but I hope it will develop and improve later in the story. It is nice that you want criticism, which helps you get better! Hope the next is alittle better.

 

[lunarshadow]

Fire, thank you so much for a first review and warm welcome! Say, those pictures that you uploaded of Lucario, did you draw them yourself? It's completely fine if you hadn't. I can't draw to save my life. Well, as for those questions, I can only answer the first one, and even so, I don't think I should. It will all be explained very slowly. I want to focus on putting in much more character development.

Ah yes, I need all the critiques I can get. Thanks for reading! The next chapter should be up tomorrow.

 

[TeamGalacticMercury]

Cool! Please keep me updated!

 

[lunarshadow]

Chapter One: The Battle on the Road

The sky may have been forbidding for most travelers today in the Sinnoh region. Rays of light beat down relentlessly on the shores of Route 222 and threatened to burn the grass to a crisp. It was 92° Fahrenheit outside, and it was no surprise that there weren’t any humans in sight. Many had taken residence back in Veilstone City out west. There they took shelter under a roof, with air conditioning running, sipping a nice, cool refreshing glass of water. But three teenagers traveling together endured the sun. The trio included a highly tanned man, an energetic blue haired girl, and a skinny, young boy with a large rodent perched on his head – and they could use some of that water right about now.

[15:49 P.M.] Route 222, Sinnoh Region

“Hey Brock, you wouldn’t have anything left in the canteen would you?” asked the girl. Dawn Hikari was a young girl at eleven years old and had just started traveling the region. She competed in Pokémon Super Contests and aimed to become a top coordinator in her mother’s footsteps. She had brilliant dark blue eyes, two hair clips to keep back her long, blue hair and a white hat with a pink half of a PokéBall emblazoned in the center. She wore a black, tight shirt with a pink scarf around her neck and on her wrist wore a pink Pokétch, a high-tech watch. Around her waist she wore an extremely short mini-skirt, long, black stockings that reached before her knees, and a pair of pink boots.

“No, sorry. Ash and Pikachu drank it all once we left camp this morning,” Brock conceded. As the more mature member of the duo, Brock Harrison was sixteen and had already been through three different regions with Sinnoh as his fourth. He had brown hair to match his tanned skin and eyes that refused to come out of that slit-like appearance. His wore a green T-shirt and an orange and dark brown vest over it, as well as khaki pants and a pair of light blue and white sneakers.

“Hey, don’t blame me! Pikachu and I were thirsty so we drank, what’s the problem?” asked the young boy. Ash Ketchum was an aspiring Pokémon trainer who aimed to be the best and nothing but the best. About thirteen years old, his attitude didn’t show it. He liked jumping on levitating security bots, once nearly suffocated attempting to return a stolen crystal, and in his earlier years shimmied up a tree to try and retrieve his stolen hat from a Mankey. But after traveling with friends like Brock through now four different regions, his demeanor was more defined, maturity gained, but his habit of impulsiveness stuck. He had deep auburn eyes, a white T-shirt beneath a blue collared shirt with a yellow stripe curving across the top, blue jeans, and a red and black set of sneakers. On his hand he wore a black fingerless glove with a green outline and on his head sat a red cap hand-woven by his mother with a black band down the middle and a blue PokéBall also emblazoned in the middle rotated on its axis. His best friend Pikachu resting there as well, beat by the sun’s continued existence.

“Chu…,” sighed Pikachu. Pikachu was an electric rodent with red, circular pouches of immense electrical energy stored in its cheeks and a long tail shaped like a thunderbolt. Pikachu was Ash’s first Pokémon and had helped him innumerable times in battles and in the field, but today, having been under the sun for very long in its yellow and brown stripped fur, Pikachu had a right to be uncomfortable.

“Still you could have left us something to drink. I’m so thirsty, Ash!” Dawn recoiled.

“Oh come on. Don’t get mad over that, it’s already bad enough that we’re out here in the middle of a dirt road and getting baked,” Brock said trying to calm Dawn down. He knew that she got slightly if not very aggravated without certain amenities.

“Plus, Pikachu has a fur coat and he gets hot really quickly. He needs all the water he can get,” Ash explained.

“Pika…chu,” Pikachu sighed once again. Regardless if Pikachu was a Pokémon and Ash was a human, they could understand each other perfectly. Ash knew Pikachu was stressed, and he needed a good excuse to worm himself out of Dawn’s complaints.

“Hey Brock, let me see that map. I want to reach the next Gym as soon as possible. Where is it anyway?” Ash asked as he took the map.

“Here.” Brock pointed at a city placed on a peninsula that jutted out from the rest of the region. “Sunyshore City shouldn’t be too far away. I mean we have been traveling for two days on this route from Veilstone. We have to be getting close,” said Brock.

“So here’s north and there’s south, ah, well maybe that’s Veilstone, and then… wait, no, huh?” mumbled Ash as he moved the map up and down frantically.

Upon seeing a desperate child in need of guidance Brock offered, “Two pointers. Number one: know where you’re facing, and number two: check if the map is right-side up.”

Pikachu nearly fell off his trainer’s shoulder after that and Dawn merely rolled her eyes.

“Thanks Brock. Geez. This would be so much easier with a PokéNav.” Ash grumbled.

“Why a PokéNav?” Brock asked. The last time I even saw a PokéNav was with May and Max…he thought.

“I don’t know. I guess I was just thinking about what May and Max would have said right now.” Ash muttered.

“Miss them or something?” Brock asked. He had noticed a lot of allusions to the pair of Pokémon enthusiasts from Hoenn lately.

“Maybe…” Ash became lost in thought as he remembered his old traveling companions.

Max was now a nine year old boy who wore large glasses, a green polo shirt, sneakers, and shorts to boot. Despite appearances, Ash and Brock knew that he would be a very successful trainer once he became ten and received his Pokémon Trainer’s license. May on the other hand, was already a trainer, but she specialized in Pokémon coordinating in contests. She started out much like Ash had, clueless and without an inkling of skill. But Ash had taught her the ropes of the Pokémon trade, soon enough partook in two separate Grand Festivals placing in the top four in her first, and the runner-up in her second. Now thirteen years old, she left the group and decided to take on the contests in Johto.

“You know Brock?” Ash asked after a while.

“Yeah?” he replied as he turned towards Ash.

“I’m just,” he paused as if trying to find out what to say, “really worried about May. I know she seemed fine the last time we saw her, but I can’t help thinking that maybe she needs us now more than ever.”

Brock smiled and looked back towards the long Route 222 ahead of them. “Yeah, I know. But she’ll be fine though. You did after all teach her as much as you could. Don’t worry about her so much.”

Ash talked slightly defeated and in thought in reply, “I know. I’ve just got a feeling.”

Dawn kept walking along the path with her two other friends, but her mind was pondering. Hm, Ash usually never shows any signs of missing anyone. When May arrived for the Wallace Pokémon Contest, he sure was glad to see May again… Dawn then began to gaze over at the nonchalant boy. I never thought of Ash as being anything but a trainer or have any feelings for anyone other than his Pokémon. Hah, his head is probably too thick for anything else. But still, he does care for May…

A voice called in the distance and awoke Ash from his reverie and Dawn from her thought process. “Hey! You there, with the Pikachu on your head!”

Ash quickly glanced up and put the map down as a reflex to a possible battle challenge. “Yeah?”

“Are you wacky-cookie kids headed for Sunyshore City?” the mystery man asked from afar.

“Yeah, sure. Why?” Ash replied defensively.

“’Cause it looks like you are just the kind of kids I need!” the man replied. Quite out of the ordinary, this man had a flaming red afro and a bright orange T-shirt. He seemed to melt right into the sun’s scorching heat waves as he juggled a ball idly in his right hand.

“What are you talking about?” Ash asked.

“If I’m not mistaken, he wants a Pokémon battle.” Brock pondered out loud.

“What, a battle? Sure of course! This’ll be a great warm-up for the city. I accept!” Ash exclaimed. He was already pumped up for battle.

Pikachu, mirroring his trainers excitement piped up, “Pika! Pikachu!”

Brock stepped in, “As a former Gym Leader, I will assume the role of impartial judge. Now, please, um, mister, who are you?”

Plainly, as if nothing was out of the ordinary, the man stated “Call me Flint of the Elite Four.”

Ash felt like he had walked into that Ursaring back in the Bewilder Forest. A member of the Elite Four was said to be one of the four most powerful trainers in the entire region they resided in, save for the Champion who was more powerful than the other four. Except a handful of trainers, not many have been successful enough to scrape a narrow win against an Elite Four member. But no worry, Ash thought. The stronger the opponent, the stronger we fight.

“Wait, you’re a member of the Elite Four? Then what are you doing challenging passerby?” Dawn asked. The last time the group met an Elite Four member, one of their Pokémon arrogantly challenged him and was soundly defeated in a matter of seconds. Dawn was worried because that Pokémon was what was then her Buizel. Be careful, Ash.

“If you beat me Ash, then I will be glad to tell you of my business. Just saying, I’m challenging you for a multitude of reasons,” Flint once again plainly stated.

How could someone know my name out of the blue? Ash thought. “Wait, how do you know my nam-?”

“Forget about that. As I was saying, this will be a one on one fight and I choose my Infernape! Go! Let’s win this!” Flint yelled.

Flint threw out a red and white orb with a button in the middle–a PokéBall. Immediately, once in the air, the ball cracked down the center and released a flow of white energy that materialized into a monkey-like Pokémon with a glowing flame on its head. The Pokémon roared as the ball contracted and flew back to the owner.

“Infer! Infernape!” The Pokémon yelled, awaiting its opponent.

Hm. This will be tough. I could give Chimchar some practice against its evolved form, but I don’t know if he could match an Elite Four’s evolved form. But, fire on fire never does any damage anyway, so I might as well play it safe and go with Buizel. “I accept your challenge, Flint! Go, Buizel!” Ash called out and released a red and white orb just as Flint had, but this time, an arrogant, Water type weasel-like Pokémon with a twin tail and flotation sacs emerged, ready to fight.

“Bu bui,” Buizel taunted.

Dawn’s insides froze solid at the sight of her old Buizel pitted against a member of the Elite Four.

Ash softly spoke to Buizel, “Hey, Buizel, check out our opponent this time. He’s an Elite Four member,” Buizel turned its head towards his trainer and kept his body faced forward. “You ready?” A determined smirk stretched on Buizel’s face. Ash remembered Buizel’s first encounter with an Elite Four member when he had been floored. But this time Buizel was ready for it. They were both ready for it.

Dawn then called out, “Ash, be careful! I don’t want to see Buizel defeated again!”

Taking a leaf out of Dawn’s book, Ash said, “No need to worry, Dawn,” It was true. Buizel had become perhaps the second strongest Pokémon in Ash’s entire arsenal of Buizel, Monferno, Grotle, Staravia, Gliscor, and of course Pikachu. Ash wasn’t concerned about Buizel not performing. He always gave 100 on the battlefield regardless of opponent.

“So, I see you’ve met my good friend Lucian already.” Flint called out.

“Yeah, and now we’re here with some of the lessons he taught us. Right, Buizel?” Ash called back.

“Bui, Bui!” Buizel called back.

Now that the introductions were out of the way, Brock was ready to assume his role as judge. “This will be a one on one battle between Flint of the Sinnoh Elite Four and his Infernape against Ash Ketchum of Pallet and his Buizel. Let the battle begin!”

“Infernape, use Dig now!” Flint commanded.

Ash figured he might try a move like that since fire attacks don’t damage water Pokémon greatly; it would have been a waste to use an attack like Flamethrower.

“Buizel, stay calm and wait there.” Buizel nodded and closed its eyes. Regardless of whether or not Buizel knew exactly where Infernape would surface, he knew Ash was prepared and he would have to be ready.

(“Ready when you are,”) Buizel murmured to itself.

“You should be more careful with your predictions, Ash,” Flint toyed, even though the ground hadn’t even showed any sign of depressions.

“What?” Ash all of a sudden knew there was an upset. Buizel stood expecting Infernape to emerge out of the sand and launch an assault, but it never came.

“Use Fire Spin directly from below, Infernape!” Infernape complied and immediately Buizel was shot skyward from the column of flames erupting from the ground.

“Buizel, no!” Ash yelled. He gritted his teeth as Buizel flew skyward in a column of superheated fire. Flint is one step ahead of me and Buizel took the fall. More mistakes like that could cost me the match! Buizel landed with a gut-wrenching thud on the ground.

“Ash, hang in there!” Dawn cried out in an almost pleading tone.

“Pikapi! Pikapikachu!” Pikachu called out to Ash and Buizel.

“Buizel! Can you get up?” Ash asked his Pokémon.

(“Yeah…AGH!...”) Buizel grunted. Buizel was injured to a decent extend and took the fall mostly at the legs, Ash noticed. I’ve gotta figure out a way to attack and defend at the same time!

When the attack subsided, molten bits of glass and lava littered the surface, bringing another, unwelcome heat wave.
Seeing this, Flint built upon his last move. “Infernape, use Dig once more!” Infernape obeyed and began digging long tunnels underground.

“Bui! Buizel!” Buizel cried out to avoid the same result as the last dig. Ash understood Buizel’s slight apprehension and tried to think. One wrong move with those holes and we could lose the match! Ash thought. Wait…Holes…Loosing the match! Suddenly, images of his second battle against his rival, Paul, re-entered Ash’s mind.

-- [13:13 P.M.] Bewilder Forest (Clearing), Sinnoh Region — Eight Months Ago--

“Alright, that’s enough!” Ash muttered to himself as Turtwig was taking Scratch attack hits from Paul’s Chimchar. Noticing that Chimchar had dug itself numerous holes and that it stayed inside and attacked for surprise, Ash decided to attack to flush him out. “Turtwig, aim Razor Leaf at the hole!”

Chimchar leapt out of the hole, paining after taking a direct hit from Razor Leaf underground. “Chimchar, use Ember!” Paul countered.

“Now, Turtwig, in the hole!” Ash ordered. Turtwig followed suit, narrowly missing the Ember attack.
But Paul had expected such a maneuver. “Aim Ember into that hole!”

Turtwig received the brunt of the column of fire and took a good portion of its stamina out of it.

I remember, Ash thought. A Pokémon inside of a hole has little to almost no room to dodge unless they jump out onto the surface. So, if I can get an attack into the hole without Buizel in as well, then Infernape has two options: fight or flight..

“Buizel! Hang in there. Fire your Water Pulse into the tunnels!” Sensing his trainer’s strategy, Buizel began shooting three spheres of water into the tunnel openings.

“Infernape, use Flamethrower and smash the spheres! Keep using Flamethrower afterwards!” Flint shouted.

The spheres of water entered through the hole but were guided by the tunnels directly to Infernape. As Flint ordered, Infernape retaliated with Flamethrower. Immediately, there was a muffled explosion underground as the Water Pulse spheres and the beam of fire clashed. Maybe Infernape couldn’t take the impact! Maybe we won! Ash thought.
As though in spite of him, Infernape didn’t come out of the tunnels. Instead, columns of steam rose out of the openings and engulfed the entire field in a cloud of mist.

Ash became frustrated with this sudden lack of sight. “Argh, I can’t see! Buizel keep a sharp eye out there!”

But a new problem bubbled to the surface, literally. Following soon after the columns of steam, the entire area of the battlefield began shimmering like exhaust from a car as the sand and rock began glowing dull red. The field was melting before their eyes.

Buizel stood in the center of the battlefield watching the sand and rock around him slowly melt into a red hot liquid magma. Paralyzed with the magnitude of the situation, Buizel stood on the relatively cool patch of earth waiting for his trainer to make a decision–(This is all I can do.) Buizel thought.

Ash was dumbstruck as he saw why Flint ordered Infernape to keep using Flamethrower. Flint simply chuckled to himself.
“What’s so funny, Flint?” Ash called out to his opponent.

“Ah, nothing,” he said as the ground heated even further. “I remember seeing this exact scene some years back. The tables have turned, but nonetheless it’s familiar.”

Dawn was absolutely horrified watching Buizel as he stood static trying to grasp the scope of the problem here. Buizel knew that he was strong against fire on a small scale like direct Ember of Flamethrower attacks, but nothing like an entire battlefield being melted. Fire fighters had their limits too, and both grew frightened.

Dawn frantically called out, “Ash, do something! Buizel’s in trouble!”

Ash simply looked at the battlefield, completely oblivious to anything around him.

Brock yelled out from the middle line, “Ash! What are you doing!? Forfeit before Buizel gets seriously hurt!”

“Pikapi! Pikapipikachu!” Pikachu yelled out.

But Ash wasn’t paying attention.

His mind was back in a battle about two and a half years during the Johto Silver League Conference against his good friend and rival, Gary.

-- [16:17 P.M.] Johto League Silver Conference (Round 1 of Finals), Johto Region — 2.5 Years Ago--

“Charizard, use Flamethrower on Blastoise!” Ash commanded.

“Blastoise, don’t let it come near with hydro pump!” Gary retaliated.

“Charizard, keep using Flamethrower on Blastoise!” But Ash saw it was no good. Charizard was too high up to make a powerful and accurate Flamethrower hit and the beams of super hot flames merely impacted the ground.

Now I remember. I was trying to take on Blastoise head on, even though fire attacks wouldn't do a lot of damage anyway. No matter how often we tried, Blastoise kept danger at bay by using Hydro Pump which left Charizard to keep missing the target and hit the battlefield instead. But then I saw the dust and rock melting and directed Charizard to purposely heat up the battlefield. The field melted, and trapped Blastoise…just like Buizel is trapped today right here! So now I am in Gary’s position. What to d–?

“Ash! Forfeit the match already if you can’t make a move. I don’t want to harm your Buizel.” Flint offered.

Ash snapped back from his moment of reminiscence and only vaguely heard Flint’s offer. “What?” he asked to re-clarify. “I’m not going to forfeit this match!”

Flint sighed. “Then I guess I have no choice. Perhaps you’re not as cracked up as she thought you were. Let’s wrap this up. Use Flamethrower at full power Infernape!”

Ash then sent an order to turn this match around,“Buizel, use a Sonic Boom directly in the center of the field!”

Then Buizel, relieved to find his trainer still had a plan, graciously complied. Buizel mustered with the limited space on the field a shock wave of water that impacted the molten ground. Instantly, the water turned to steam again, but left behind a marking in the middle. A bull’s-eye made of rock!

Perfect. Now there is a weak spot in the field. Time to exploit it. “Ready to win this, Buizel?”Ash yelled out.
Buizel landed on top of the rock circles and stared at its trainer determined. As though they could read each other’s minds, Buizel suddenly understood the strategy. (If we can’t flush Infernape out by water, then we’ll have to bring him out with magma!)

Dawn, Pikachu, Flint, and Brock all of a sudden saw what Ash ordered and became perplexed. The bull’s eye looked like nothing more than a feeble attempt at a contest appeal. But Ash and Buizel knew what was going on.

“Is this some new kind of crazy scheme you’ve created under the pressure, Ash?” Flint asked quizzically. “Cause’ this battle is over!”

“Actually yeah, you're right on both terms,” Ash replied quite satisfied. “Now, Buizel, use Aqua Tail on the bull’s-eye and shock it! And use the force to leap into the air!”

Buizel then directed all of its water energy as a build-up of dense water enveloped his tail. And once charged, Buizel swung the Aqua Tail attack downwards, directly at the center. The structure on top fractured and caved in creating a shock wave throughout the entire magma field. Infernape noticed nothing as it was still awaiting orders from Flint who now stood both perplexed and confused.

Buizel’s Aqua Tail then pushed itself up into the air and was in perfect position to attack. Glad I could avoid injuring Buizel’s legs even further. “Now Buizel, use Sonic Boom with everything you’ve got! Force
him out!”

Buizel gathered as much energy as he could muster and focused it on his tail. “Bui, Bu, Bui!” Buizel roared as he released his attack. A charged Sonic Boom fired from Buizel’s tail headed directly for the exploited weak spot on the field–the bull’s-eye.

Suddenly, the strategy became crystal clear to Flint as he realized the tables were turned. “No way. Infernape! Get out of there!” he ordered.

It was too late. The force of the Sonic Boom shoved the new magma into the ground and in return forced the magma underneath to spread out at the speed of the shockwave. Out from underneath, Infernape was forced into the air as Buizel landed on the new hardened rock battlefield. The just cooled rock was slightly soft and cushioned its landing. Infernape landed with a thud on the new battlefield only to get up and keep fighting.

Ash seized the opportunity, “Use Water Gun!”

Flint in return ordered, “Use Flamethrower!”

Buizel and Infernape launched their respective beams at the same moment. The collision exploded, pushing the two Pokémon further away from each other and left another cloud of dense steam.

As if both trainers and Pokémon knew what was going to happen, Flint and Ash ordered a blind assault.

“Go, Buizel!”

“Go, Infernape!”

Both sides waited in tension for the mist to clear out. Ash gritted his teeth while Flint calmly stood, waiting, only to be shocked at the scene in front of him

“No! Infernape!” Flint cried.

Infernape was put in a head lock by Buizel, pinned and had no clear line of fire at this close range.

Ash seized the opportunity. “Buizel, use Aqua Jet and finish this up!”

Flint then ordered, “Infernape, loosen yourself out of Buizel’s grip!”

By the time Infernape had loosened itself of Buizel’s grip, Buizel had launched a fully charged Aqua Jet attack. Infernape flew into the air from the impact and landed on the ground while Buizel landed standing, but completely wiped out from the effort.

Both Ash and Flint yelled out “Are you all right?”

Infernape and Buizel faced each other as the dust cleared out from the impact. Buizel stood using its arm against its knee as a brace, while Infernape struggled to get on its feet. The Aqua Jet and magma battlefield had taken its toll on the both of them.

Buizel stood as rigidly as he could, making sure that he would be the last one standing. He had come too far into the battle to let victory slip his grasp.

(“I have given up too many times. Agh...This time I…won't,”) Buizel muttered to himself.

The Pokémon looked into the other’s eyes and withdrew, knowing who was beat. Infernape slowly slumped back down onto the field, having met its match, knocked out. Buizel slowly closed its eyes, and began swaying slightly, cringing from the pain, exhausted from combat.

Ash ran out onto the battlefield as quickly as he could. He realized Buizel had been driven too far as he saw Buizel swaying looking as though he had been through a hurricane. Buizel stood upright for a few seconds more before darkness enveloped his vision, crumpling on his knees, and falling headfirst in Ash’s arms.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, finally there's a bit of action going on eh?

Hey, it's getting kind of lonely here without any comments or reviews...Reply as you like! Out.

 

[TeamGalacticMercury]

Nice! The flashbacks were well thought out and the battle looked as if I was really there! As it should be!

 

[PK I'm BAAACK~]

I like this! You did a really good job of description. I like being able to see what I'm reading so I agree with fire. I rate this 5/5 stars! The action was definately intresting like the actual anime was described. I can't wait for the next chapter!

 

[lunarshadow]

Oh man, I really do appreciate this jokingpika, Fire, and you too advanceshipper<3 who posted on my page. I love to hear what you guys have to say for me. New chapter should be up eventually. I'd say sometime by mid next week.

Hey, you readers out there! Post your reviews! I love to hear them!

 

[lunarshadow]

Chapter Two: Reverie

Buizel felt like he weighed like a ton of bricks. He tried to remember what had happened to him since he passed out but he kept his eyes closed. He tried to move his legs but was shocked when they wouldn’t respond. (“Oh, that’s right. I was in battle with that Infernape and fell flat on the ground. I must be in the Pokémon Center then. What happened? I don't even remember if we won or not!”) Buizel thought.

He was right. Laid out on a Water Pokémon stretcher, courtesy of the Sunyshore City Pokémon Center, he was monitored by several machines beeping softly, humming quietly, and instruments attached tenderly. And he was grateful. After all, when a Pokémon collapsed in the wild, they’d have to be either rescued by passerby trainer, walked on their own to a safe harbor, or left to die alone. There was much to be said and much to be thankful for traveling with a trainer.

He had seen worse days in his career of being a Pokémon though. A while ago, he was wild and without a care in the world, but with a disgust towards humans. He’d been separated from his family for reasons he never learned and had to cope with being alone for all of his life. One day, he came across a peaceful lake and decided to swim around in it. A loud crack suddenly sounded through the trees and he saw a human training with his Pokémon.

Unfortunately, the loud crack was the sound of a snapping tree. A hoard of Beedrill from a nearby nest heard the sound and flew to fight the aggressor. The trainer saw the oncoming hoard and took evasive action, but Buizel wasn't so lucky. He was the only one in the lake by the time the Beedrill arrived.

The Beedrill looked for the aggressor, and upon not finding the human, spotted Buizel as the only cause. Realizing that the Beedrill were darting toward him with their sharp twin needles, he swam as fast as he possibly could for his life, winding across twisting streams and fast currents. The Beedrill continued the pursuit until the river led him to a hazardously high and forbidding waterfall. Buizel fell down to the bottom below as the Beedrill continued on the river path, unknowing that their target was at the waterfall base, in agony.

Buizel was in critical condition. Upon impact, the sharp rocks at the bottom had cut a large gash over his belly as he tasted his own blood. Weak and marred, Buizel drifted to the shore and stayed there, lying in brutal pain. Before drifting into unconsciousness, a menacing trainer on walking along the shore looked upon Buizel’s torn body in a small pool of crimson on the bank. He turned away as Buizel cried out in Pokémon tongue, (“Please! Help… me!”). The trainer looked back and Buizel locked eye contact, the trainer in an amused stare and Buizel with a pained innocent cry for help. The trainer walked away muttering to himself about a waste of time as Buizel slipped into the darkness.

Buizel laid there helpless as the wound healed itself over a period of weeks. Those weeks brewed a storm as his mind began to mull over the indecency and cruelty of humans. He vowed to himself never to show any help to their kind. He also began training relentlessly in solitude and quickly became a legend among the travelers of the area. Training to confront the humans, to beat them at their own game, soon rewarded him with cruel satisfaction. Trainers, some more arrogant than he, showed up to try and capture the elusive Buizel. Each had been defeated, both weak and strong, as he and his abilities grew more powerful.

One day, another set of trainers had come upstream to battle and catch him again. He’d been through this a million times; hook, line, sucker; just another day at the office. But that day everything he had thought about humans changed. First came the Bellsprout trainer. Easier than a warm-up. Then came the Zigzagoon trainer. Waste of time. He hadn’t come across a decent trainer in a month, and grew very bored with the lack of competent challengers. Now it was at the point he sincerely wished that someone would come, and possibly scrape an opportunity to use a PokéBall.

After that, more trainers came, for the better. A gang of four trainers had evidently heard the legend as had all the others who came to challenge him. One was a girl with blue hair, Dawn, and another girl had flaming orange hair and a vest, Zoey. One of the boys had dark brown hair, Brock, and the other had black hair and a Pikachu on his shoulder, Ash. They had set up fishing rods and were waiting for a bite until Buizel took Dawn’s line and battled her.

The battle transpired in a matter of minutes. Her Piplup shot out attack after attack, but Buizel dodged each of them. He grew tired of easily dodging each of his opponent’s attacks, and dealt powerful Aqua Jet attack, knocking Piplup out. The match was over and Buizel had just started. Hopefully the next trainer isn’t such a pushover. Buizel thought savagely. Eyeing Zoey, she accepted his challenge and sent out her Glameow.

Glameow and Zoey were slightly more difficult to take down than Piplup and Dawn were, but nonetheless, easy. Eventually, she too was knocked out by his raw Aqua Jet velocity. Then he stepped up. Ash sent out Pikachu, who was an electric type, and water Pokémon of his nature were often easily defeated by electric moves. Finally a challenge, Buizel thought, taunting his opponent.

Pikachu was drastically more skilled than either of his previous opponents were, and they exchanged attacks while dodging in return an equal number. Pikachu eventually took out a lot of Buizel’s energy with a Volt Tackle. Buizel flew in the air and landed with a thud on the shoreline–this was his chance for a catch.

The ball had reached its target and Buizel was fighting against the security lock of the PokéBall. Buizel was just getting started. About halfway to the final wobble, Buizel escaped the PokéBall and launched an Aqua Jet at Pikachu which sent it into the river. Within a matter of minutes, Buizel had defeated Pikachu on his own ground, mortified Ash, and got a decent battle in return. “All in a day’s work,” he said. He swam down the river over to his training place, but insistent as ever, Ash and his crew followed him.

Buizel had been training now for years, and had to come up with extra challenges to train with. So, he smashed rocks, dove off of the water fall, increased his Aqua Jet speed, and so on. And as he did this, every single day he constantly reminded himself of why he was doing this. After all, most training for wild Pokémon lasted for a few days or weeks at best because of the lack of motivation. But Buizel had a purpose; to humiliate every human that challenged him, to prove that then was then, and that he now had authority and power, and also to shove away his inner weak side; the fear of being unwanted.

When the gang of four found Buizel, he had just started training and was not in the mood to be disturbed, but nonetheless, the humans were incessant and stubborn and were determined to impress him so that they may re-challenge him. During the “training session”, a gang of Pokémon thieves named Team Rocket appeared to abduct Buizel away for their own using a rope net.

Ash brought out Turtwig to use Razor Leaf to cut the net attachment. Buizel then came hurtling down to the ground still in the net. Surprisingly, when his net had been cut loose, Dawn dove for Buizel and saved him from a nasty landing. Then, Piplup and Buizel launched Bubblebeam and Water Gun at Team Rocket as they were launched skyward. [/I]“We’re blasting off again!”[/I]

Buizel noticed Dawn's brave action and shrugged it off as a plea to reconsider a rematch. However, as a token of good faith, he decided to let her retry her battle. Dawn opened up the same way as before, only to see that he was dodging each attack just as easily.

Then Zoey suggested to Dawn something totally unprecedented. She suggested to battle like a contest. The idea immediately clicked and Piplup fired several combination attacks. Buizel landed hard on the ground, unmoving as Dawn threw another PokéBall.

The ball hit Buizel as targeted and then applied the security lock as he struggled to free himself. After seconds of held breaths, Buizel emerged from the PokéBall and threw with all of its might a wave of Sonic Boom that knocked Piplup off of her feet and into the river.

But Dawn ordered Piplup to stay there as Buizel fired off an Aqua Jet right into a trap. Piplup then attacked with whirlpool while still in the river and Buizel was caught in the torrent. Dawn then ordered a Bubblebeam attack into the whirlpool and was rewarded with Buizel thrown onto the shore, completely still and exhausted. She attempted a capture for the final time.

Dawn’s PokéBall made contact with Buizel, and once again the PokéBall wobbled as Buizel struggled to break free of its stronghold. After several seconds, an audible sigh issued from each member of the group. Buizel had been caught.

Since his capture at the river, he had been traveling with Ash, Brock and Dawn. They had shown him what most humans were like, but still, Buizel had come through grudgingly. From the very beginning, Buizel expressed as much as possible that he wanted to become powerful in a battle, not graceful in a performance as Dawn wanted him. He showed that in their first battle with Lucian, an Elite Four member.

Lucian was using Bronzong against Buizel and began the match. Dawn ordered for Buizel to use Aqua Jet–but he didn’t listen. Instead he used Water Gun as Lucian countered with Iron Defense. Bronzong shielded itself with its metallic arms and brushed the attack off easily.

Dawn ordered again for Buizel to use Aqua Jet. But this time, ignoring his trainer again, Buizel used Sonic Boom. He was playing by his own rules because he knew Dawn couldn’t grasp the idea of battling as he had done it for years. Lucian ordered an Iron Defense again and the Sonic Boom did nothing. Then Lucian attacked with Gyro Ball on Buizel.

Dawn ordered Buizel to dodge the attack, but it was no use. Buizel had launched a head-on assault with Aqua Jet, was quickly overpowered, and brought to the ground. But Buizel stood up tall again as Lucian marveled at his fighting spirit. Impressed by Buizel’s willpower, Lucian ordered a final assault with Flash Cannon.

Dawn was now begging for Buizel to listen to her as she ordered him to dodge the attack. As had all of her previous orders, her last was ignored as Buizel launched his most powerful Water Gun against the raging silver beam of energy. No match for Flash Cannon, Buizel was enveloped in its raw power and slammed into a tree, landing on the ground. His mind seemed to leave him as he tried to stand up and fight, but he was swallowed by darkness.

Later on, Lucian decided to make amends with Buizel and Dawn to help them discover each other’s style, only to be interrupted and Buizel abducted by none other than Team Rocket once again. Buizel was locked in a spherical cage reinforced with steel. It looked nearly impossible to break. Down below, Lucian told the others to leave him be, that this would be Buizel’s chance to forget his loss.

Buizel then grabbed the bars at the top of the cage, spun his tail in rapid circles like he was swimming. He released a barrage of continuous Sonic Booms. Each shock of forceful water slowly created cracks in the metal gauze until it shattered. He then landed on the ground tired, but unscathed. As the trio of thieves turned their attention to their would-be victim, Lucian stepped forward to demonstrate Buizel’s battle style to Dawn.

Jessie and James ordered their Dustox and Carnivine out into battle as Buizel stood transfixed. Jessie ordered a Tackle attack and James ordered a Bite attack. Dawn began to panic slightly as she pleaded for him to dodge it. However, Lucian had already picked up Buizel’s mannerisms and knew how to handle the assault as he directed a Water Gun attack.
.
Buizel quickly mopped the two Pokémon up with his swift moves and Lucian’s orders, and Dawn was beginning to see that when ordered the way Buizel wanted, he would do it at ease. Lucian ordered one last Water Gun and launched the Team Rocket trio skyward once more. “We’re blasting off again!”

Buizel, now satisfied that Dawn understood his battle style better, challenged Lucian to another Pokémon battle. Lucian opened up with Bronzong again as he ordered a Gyro Ball attack. Dawn ordered Buizel to dodge that attack, and he followed suit. Dawn ordered two attacks on Buizel’s part and Lucian ordered an Iron Defense both times. Buizel and Dawn had followed each other much more closely than before. However, Lucian recalled his Bronzong saying that they’ve already demonstrated having a closer bond and that there was no need to finish the battle. He thanked them and wished Dawn and Buizel good luck as he took his leave. (“Thanks, Lucian. I hope to battle you again for real one day!”) Buizel said.

Since then, Buizel had just about adjusted to life in a group, a group of friends. He had never been more pleased in all of his life. Ever since the day he had fallen from the waterfall and sworn revenge against all humans, he had lived alone and fearful. He felt that if he was ever accepted into a group, even if he tried, he would be later rejected like he had been, bleeding almost to the point of death at the feet of a cruel and sadistic human. But not with this group. He stuck with them through all that happened. But one thing still nagged him from the inside out. While it was true that Dawn had used Buizel many times during regular battles in the field, he wasn’t being trained in the same way. He was being trained for contests.

And Buizel hated contests for all what they were worth. He didn’t like the whole dressing up dynamic, he didn’t like showing off in a shower of sparkles, and he most definitely didn’t like looking like a haughty princess on a stage. He wanted to be in the thick of a battle for honor, dignity, and old fashioned blood, sweat, and tears—something that was missed in Dawn's style.

About two months since he was captured, Dawn’s friend and rival Zoey appeared while they had made a stop at the nearest Pokémon Center. All of them had decided to do some training. Ash had just recently acquired a Chimchar from Paul, his rival, and sent out Aipom as well to give it a challenge. In contrast, Zoey sent out her Glameow and Dawn called Buizel out for his contest debut while Brock stood at the sidelines to look for any imperfections. Although seemingly determined on the outside, in his mind he was grumbling. (Hasn’t she realized that I am not built for this kind of nonsense!?)

Dawn had used Buizel relentlessly during training lessons, often against Pikachu. His battle training sessions as far as power and accuracy increases were immensely fun and productive. But when Dawn pitted him against her Pokémon for her upcoming contest, he grew quickly frustrated when his attacks were good, but did nothing to show him off. He thought, (If an attack is powerful and deals damage to opponent, I think that would be showing off enough!)

Of course, the idea in a contest is to use attacks, movements, and apparel to glamorize and beautify how a Pokémon looks. In a contest battle, the battle was decided by either time limit, points at the time limit, or condition of battle before the time limit. Realistically, most contest battles never ended with a Pokémon defeated. It ended when one was outclassed by the amount of points and the time had run out. Buizel hated strutting around like that because he got his fame back at the river on raw power and speed.

During the practice battle, Buizel was getting nowhere fast. He could only focus on making an attack powerful. Plus, his attention was diverted away from his own battlefield over to the one with Ash’s training. He was exactly the kind of battle trainer that Buizel desperately wanted. But, unfortunately, Dawn had caught him, and with that there was no way he could become Ash’s Pokémon.

Until Zoey stepped in, that is. She had noticed one thing months ago when she, Dawn, and Ash had competed in the same contest. Ash’s Aipom was competing in that contest and showed a remarkable aptitude for it. Her moves were graceful and powerful, two key elements in a contest appeal. Even then, Zoey had suggested that Dawn should take Aipom under her wing to further her contest abilities. Back then though, Ash didn’t think that the idea was necessary. He thought that Aipom was his, after all, and that she would be happy with whatever battle he needed her for.

Now Zoey noticed Buizel and Dawn’s relationship. Buizel did not like contests one bit, while Aipom liked to participate in contests. She figured that the two of them should make a trade, and give Aipom to Dawn and Buizel to Ash. The idea was a pretty radical one. After all, Ash had grown a very close bond to Aipom, but Buizel was willing to make the transition.

Later on in the day, Buizel paired up with Ash in a practice battle against Brock, and Dawn paired up with Aipom in a practice contest battle against Zoey. Not long after the crew had set up their sides, the insistent Team Rocket trio made their appearance and captured Brock’s Sudowoodo as well as Zoey’s Glameow.

Dawn and Ash knew that this was the perfect opportunity to test their coordination with their new respective Pokémon. Buizel and Ash demonstrated his raw power by freeing Sudowoodo with his water gun, while Dawn and Aipom freed Glameow with a combination Swift attack. To clean it off, Buizel re-launched a Water Gun attack, sending the Team Rocket trio into oblivion. “We’re blasting off again!”

After that ordeal, it was obvious that Aipom and Dawn would be totally compatible with each other in future contests, and Buizel had finally found a worthwhile battle partner in Ash. Both parties headed back to the Pokémon center and imputed their Pokémon into the Trading Machine. Both of them held their breath when they pulled down the lever together, and then the two found new partners.

Ever since that day, Buizel had never felt more in place and at home; he felt complete. He, for the first time, could travel to other places without the worry of food or capability. He could also gain strength by battling consistently strong opponents. With Ash, he battled only the best, and thus received the best conditioning and seasoning any Pokémon could’ve asked for. And finally, he had something that he never knew he could want so much: friends. He found so many while traveling with Ash, and it overwhelmed him with a joy he never thought possible. Possibly the greatest Pokémon he had ever met was Pikachu, and he had become best friends with him, and he learned much from their countless battles together.

But, Buizel also found a true friend in Ash as well. Up until his trade, Buizel had been thoroughly despising humans. After all, the first human he ever saw ran away, letting him take the blame for disturbing the peace, and the second one saw his bleeding body and walked away without any compassion. But Ash, he was in a class of his own. It was as if he would trade is own life for him, instead of abandon him and save his own.

Buizel had never expected Ash to be so open to him and let his true nature show and his abilities to overwhelm and win. They connected like peas in a pod, just as Ash and Pikachu had, and they communicated perfectly. He knew though that Pikachu would forever be in a special place in Ash’s soul, but he realized Buizel’s aptitude for battling and let him partake in many of the same battles that Pikachu had fought in. He had even tied with a Lucario from the Veilstone Gym, earning Ash his third badge. Buizel never felt so accomplished in his life.

([/I]Agh, well this hurts nonetheless, but it’ll pass by soon enough,[/I]) Buizel thought to himself. He heard all of the soft beeps in the room and snapped back into reality. After all, he needed to get out of here as soon as possible, so he tried to get up and walk, but his legs screamed with agony. Then, quickly assuaging the pain, he was gently pushed back down onto his stretcher. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Pikachu sitting next to him on his stretcher, and his trainer and friend, Ash Ketchum, standing beside the stretcher with his hands keeping Buizel down.

“Buizel, please rest! Nurse Joy said you’d be fine by tomorrow!” His face was full of worry as he kept both hands on Buizel. But Buizel couldn’t just sit here and do nothing, he tried once again to get up; he knew that Ash had a Gym battle to go to. “Bui, Bui!” Buizel cried out. (“Please, I’m fine right now! Just let me…agh!”) Buizel had felt his legs exploding in pain as though needles were piercing his skin.

Ash immediately put his hand beneath Buizel’s head and the other on his chest and forced him back down. “No, you’re not fine, Buizel.” Ash sternly told his Pokémon. Buizel looked at his trainer and said, (“I don’t want you to miss your Gym battle today because of me! I am fine!”)

Ash kept pressing Buizel back down onto the stretcher. He then spoke, with his face full of seriousness and worry. “Buizel, don’t even worry about it. I would never have any one of my Pokémon injured while I am at a Gym battle, you know that. And besides, I can wait for tomorrow. Just calm down,” He then took his hand from under Buizel’s head and began stroking his forehead gently back and forth. Buizel was set back; “Bu…Bui?” He asked. The only one who usually got this treatment was Pikachu. “Ash…what’re you ”)

Ash’s expression turned from one of seriousness and worry to one of calm determination and fierce pride. “You were absolutely awesome out there on the battle field today! I can’t even tell you how proud I am to have you on my team, as a partner!” Ash said while standing next to Buizel. Buizel felt Ash’s hand stroke his head up and down and slowly his heart stopped pounding and he calmed down. Ash continues, “Believe it or not, you are the first Pokémon I’ve ever had to have been able to beat a Pokémon from an Elite Four member,” Ash stated matter-of-factly as Buizel’s eyes flew wide with surprise and he looked at Ash’s face with a huge smile. Ash returned it with a grin of his own.

“An old friend of mine, Charizard, challenged Prima of the Kanto Elite Four the same way you challenged Lucian, full of arrogance, self-determination, and he didn’t listen to me at all,” Ash said. Buizel grimaced as he remembered that back then, he was a one man show, and failed miserably. “He didn’t do too well, and a lot of it was my fault. I hadn’t trained Charizard, nor was I experienced enough to communicate and cooperate with him. We failed together.

“The second time we had a devastating loss.” Buizel looked up at his trainer and saw Ash ashamed. “Drake was the strongest of the Elite Four of Hoenn, and for good reason. He saw a previous battle of mine and challenged me to take him on. I of course was a little overconfident and accepted.

“He sent out a Shelgon, a Dragon type, and I sent out Pikachu as a safety measure,” Ash sighed. Pikachu was listening contently, and he his ears drooped slightly in remembrance of that day. “I had ordered Pikachu to start out with Thunderbolt to strike at long distance, but it didn’t work. I became so fired up that I ordered an Iron Tail. Of course, Drake was expecting that.

“He saw my weakness when I ordered a physical attack. He ordered a Dragonbreath attack, striking with no room for Pikachu to dodge at such a close range. Pikachu was soundly defeated, and then he recalled Shelgon and sent out Altaria. I sent out Grovyle, who’s now a Sceptile. He’s very, very, powerful and has helped me win countless battles at the Battle Frontier, but this time power wasn’t enough.” Buizel looked at his trainer again and saw that he was really beat down about the whole ordeal. “I tried every trick I knew, but it hadn’t helped me at all. I was too overconfident, and to sure of myself that I couldn’t think straight. Both Pikachu and Grovyle had lost with barely any attacks hitting their target.” Both Buizel and Pikachu noticed Ash's hand balled up into a tight first. “We lost, and it was entirely my fault. Pikachu and Grovyle performed to the best they could, and I failed them.”

Buizel was thoroughly awestruck. He had never seen his trainer speak so badly of himself. He looked over to Pikachu who was simply nodding solemnly. “Pikapi, Pikachu pi,” Pikachu spoke to Buizel. (“Ash had become too caught up in winning, and he forgot how he was battling. But now, he rarely ever gets into that habit.”) Buizel nodded to Pikachu and looked back at Ash who, surprisingly, began to carve a smile on his face.

“Then the third time, I was returning back home to Pallet Town, and I came across an old lady on her bicycle bringing back groceries.” Ash chuckled a little at the thought. “She was about to fall off,” he continued, “And she may have really hurt herself if we hadn’t been there. When I helped her up, I had met Agatha of the Kanto Elite Four.” He then smiled to himself. “A man named Scott had been there talking to me at the time, and he wanted me to battle Agatha to see if I was Battle Frontier material. I didn’t know that Agatha was an Elite Four member at the time, but I accepted anyway.”

Ash smiled very fondly at his first Pokémon, “I sent out Pikachu and she sent out a Gengar. And I couldn’t have had a better battle that day.” He was thoroughly beaming and Pikachu cooed back, “Pika, Pikachu.”

“Yup,” Ash replied and Buizel was once again amazed at his trainer. “That was the first time I took on an Elite Four member and did not regret the way I lost. Pikachu and I worked perfectly together, he at his top form, and I without any thoughts or anger to stop me.” Ash stopped and paused remembering that day how everything was so synchronized and his mind was clear of all thoughts but the battle. “We lost, though, but we managed to hit Gengar with many attacks. It didn’t affect it much because its level was so high, but it was still a spectacular battle. That time we didn’t lose because we somehow messed up, Agatha was just better.

“Which brings us back to you Buizel,” Ash now beamed at him and Buizel looked back at Ash. “You defeated an Elite Four member, and you are the first Pokémon of mine to have ever done so.” Buizel’s face turned ecstatic. He had passed out on the battle field and didn’t even realize what the outcome was. Now, it was undeniable, he had beaten member of the Elite Four!

But, Ash began to talk again. “But I need to apologize, I definitely drove you way to far today, and you could’ve been even more injured than now. We won, but only very closely, and I could've left the battle with regret.”

Buizel then tried to talk Ash out of his thoughts, “Bui! Bui, bui, bubui!” Ash looked at Buizel and knew exactly what he said. “Buizel, I made a mistake. Yeah, we won, but at too high of a price. You could've seriously been injured to a breaking point.” Buizel then looked at his trainer who was looking back at him with a glint of deep care in his eyes.

“I would never forgive myself if I had gotten you hurt any more than you were today. You could've broken a bone or ruptured something inside. And I don’t want to ever face the pain of sending anyone into critical condition. No one, especially a partner, a friend.”

And then Ash saw something he had never seen in Buizel's eyes before. A tear drop rolled down his cheek. Ash smiled, “You’re part of my family, Buizel,” Buizel felt the drop from his own eyes fall onto his cheek as Ash took his hand from Buizel's forehead and held Buizel’s paw with both hands.

A few moments of quiet passed between the trainer and his Pokémon, his friend and ally, his family. Ash kept his hand on Buizel’s paw as he rubbed it gently. Then he dropped it, brought his arm towards Pikachu, and let him climb onto his shoulder. And then he softly spoke, “I couldn't have asked for a better friend. I’m just glad you’re alright.”

Buizel looked up at Ash and wiped the tears in his eyes with his paw. He felt completely calm and peaceful, even after an intense battle with one of the best trainers in the world. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot,” Ash began, regaining his composure. “I don't want to challenge the gym here until you’re up to it. You’ve done such an awesome job today, I think you’ve earned it to battle in the next Gym no matter what type your opponents are. Though, you can say no if you want.”

Buizel instantly told Ash he was up to it and pumped his paw up. “Bui, Bui, bu bui!” Ash smiled at his partner. “I thought you might say that.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, sorry if that was a bit of a history lesson, but I felt it was necessary to explain why Buizel is the way he is, and to give him a bit of personality.

To all viewers: Thanks for viewing! Hope I piped your interest!