Pokeumans Chapter 6 Part 1

Asula raised one of her "eyebrows." "Brandon, are you sure you want to do this?" I nodded. Asula sighed, "The Elite Four is the hardest challenge here. No one has taken them all down even since the newest member joined." I nodded, "The Green Dragon right?" Asula nodded her head slightly. She looked at one of the clocks on the wall, "Brandon, it's getting late, you should head back. You should sleep on your decision and report back to me tomorrow." I nodded, "Good night Ms. Asula," I said and exited the office. I yawned and continued my way back to my room. I didn't run into any hall monitors, and I made it safely back to my room.

Mike was stoned (literary) in bed and dead asleep. Starr was in bed reading a book as usual. "What did Asula want to talk to you about?" asked Starr. "Well," I said plainly, "I'm going to challenge the Elite Four." Starr gasped and dropped her book. "But…Brandon, the mission is in two and a half weeks, there's just no way you can gain enough experience to take them all down, especially now that the Green Dragon is a member." "Does anyone know about the Green Dragon?" I asked. Starr shook her head, "No, the rules forbid anyone from revealing what kind of Pokémon they are, but I've met Pokéumans who've battled the Green Dragon, they were all in the hospital, barely alive." I shuddered, "He's that strong?" Starr nodded, "They say the only Pokéuman who has a chance of beating him is Asula, but even then it's rumored that their battle ended in a draw. So technically no one has ever beaten him before." "Mumble jumbles fruit cake pie…" We both glanced over to Mike, who of course was talking in his sleep. "Can I get some large Fritos in a small Coke-a-mole thing with that…" Starr and I exchanged a giggle. "It's late, we better get to bed," she said. I nodded and climbed up to my bunk. "Night guys…" I said and drifted off into the Dream Dimension.

I opened my eyes and was back in the Dream Castle, in the place where I had left. I turned around and Spiritus was standing there, as if he appeared out of nowhere. "Hello again young Lucario." I jumped back, surprised for the second. "Oh Spiritus, you surprised me," I said, taking a few steps closer. He smiled, "Shall we continue our tour of the Dream Castle?" I nodded and we walked out of the dining hall into the main hallway. "As I was saying last night, this castle once belonged to the rulers of the Pokémon world. In the Great War, the castle was used as a battle fortress. Despite our natural instincts to battle each other, we are a pacifist species, only fighting each other to help each other grow. The castle was eventually destroyed as to keep our existence a secret, and many Musharna helped preserve the castle in the Dream Dimension, where we stand now. I looked around. The castle was pretty impressive, grand, dark and silent. "Uh Spiritus," I shyly asked. He turned to me, "What is it Brandon?" "Were you once a living Lucario?" Spiritus stared off into the distance. "Yeah…I was. I lived during the time of the Great War. I had a beautiful wife named Nanako, and three children. But, I fought in the war against the humans...I had to give everything up." I looked at him, his lip was quivering. I knew he was feeling really sad. "I'm sorry if I upset you…" I said in a small voice. Spiritus brushed his eyes with his paw, "Do not worry, it is fine. I'm glad you asked, sometimes you need to let go of the past, and think towards to future…" At that moment, light began to shine through the windows. "Morning awaits you. Tomorrow we will be in a new location. Goodbye for now Brandon," Spiritus said. I nodded as the light grew brighter and brighter…

"YO BRANDON GET THE HECK UP!"

Mike's Loudred voice shattered my sensitive eardrums and I woke with a start. "Oh man, the Mike alarm clock's back," I mumbled as I got out of bed. I stretched, yawned and scratched my head. "Morning fellow roommates," "Morning," said Starr. "Morning," said Mike, reverting to Ditto form. "Hey guys, where do we go to take showers?" Starr shrugged, "Pokéumans really don't need to take showers, but we do have a shower room for those who want to anyways. It's right behind the gym. Oh and be careful not to go into the wrong one." I gave a confused stare, what did she mean by the wrong one? "Alright, I'll meet you guys in the mess hall for breakfast," I said and headed out. As I walked towards the gym, I heard a familiar voice behind me. "Lucario Friend, is that you?" I turned around to see my Hippopotas buddy standing behind me. "Cameron, hi! Are you doing your morning rounds?" He nodded, "And you?" "I'm just looking for the showers; do you know where they are?" Cameron nodded his head, "Yeah I think they're in the back of the gym, but I'm not sure if that's where the regular showers are, I have to take sand showers because I'm a Ground-type." I looked at him for a second, "Sand showers, you mean you take showers with sand instead of water?" He nodded, "Yeah, but to me it feels just like regular water. There are also mud baths, but I avoid those." I smiled, "That's so cool." Cameron smiled, "Well, I have to deliver the mail, see you later Lucario Friend." I smiled, "Okay, see ya Hippopotas Buddy!" Cameron smiled and went off on his way.

I finally made my way to the gym and ran into Coach Gamlina. "Hello Brandon, what are you doing here this early?" asked the Mightyena. "Oh hi coach, do you know where the showers are?" He nodded and pointed towards the back of the gym, "Yeah, they're back there, just don't go into the wrong one." Again with the wrong one, I thought to myself. "Thanks coach," I said and headed towards the back of the gym.

There were three doors on the wall, each with a sign on them. One sign said "Regular Showers, for all Pokémon who can handle water." the second door read, "Sand Showers, for Ground and Rock Types only." And the last one read, "Lava Showers, only Fire-types may enter." So that's what they meant by don't go into the wrong ones, I thought. I shuddered to think if those signs weren't there and I had walked into the Lava Showers. I walked through the Regular Showers door. Upon entering, there were another set of door, Boys and Girls. I went into the Boys shower room. It was sparkling clean, with a towel rack and more doors going along the walls. I opened one and found a clean shower head, equipped with unopened packaged soap. I stepped in and locked the door. It was simple, instead of knobs that turn, there was a slider that you slid to change the water temperature, and a big green button to start it. I pressed the button and at once the hot water sprayed from the nozzle.

I stood there, letting the steamy warm water pour over my new Lucario body. It had been over a week since I last took a shower. I flashed back to the day before I transformed into a Lucario. That was the last day I took a shower as a human. Heck, it was the last day I was a human. As I scrubbed myself with soap, I thought about all the things I had to let go of with my transformation. My family was gone. My friends were gone. And the sun…I realized I couldn't be outside anymore. I think someone told me the lights act like the sun, releasing endorphins and other stuff, but I just wasn't the same. I sniffed a little. But then, I slowly realized what I had gained. I've made tons of new friends, I finally can live my life AND I'm now a Pokémon! I have super strength, awesome attacks and the strange ability to heal myself. Being a Pokéuman was amazing; despite all of the things I had to give up in becoming one. Still scrubbing myself with soap, I had to remember my ears were on top of my head rather than on the sides. I smiled as I rinsed and turned off the water. This is my adventure, and I'm going to make the best of it… I thought as I dried myself with a fresh white towel.

I walked out of the shower rooms, feeling clean and refreshed, ready to take on the world. But, those refreshing feelings instantly vanished when I heard their voices saying, "Well, if it isn't Jackie Chan!" I turned around and Scott, Milton and Nat, better known as the M.S.N. gang, were standing right behind me. Scott grinned, and before I could react, the Electabuzz shouted, "SHOCK WAVE!" and blasted me with a wave of electricity. Being damp, the shock was worse than normal. I gasped and struggled to get up, as soon as I stood up, I heard "LOW KICK!" and Scott's leg knocked into my legs, causing me to crash back into the floor. Then, all three of them were on top of me, pinning my arms and legs to the ground. Scott was ThunderPunching me, Milton was using Shadow Ball and Nat was slashing me with his claws. I struggled to get free, to counterattack, to do anything, but they had me pinned; unable to move. I screamed in pain as they launched attack after attack, I cried, for someone, anyone to help me. "HAHAHA! How do you like being pummeled by your superiors WIMP?" Scott gloated in a dark, cruel way. I was just about to black out from the pain, when a voice broke through the attacks.

"MASTER!!!"

All of a sudden, Scott stopped attacking me, "Hey! GET THIS RUNT OFFA ME!" It was AB, on Scott's head, clawing his face. Milton and Nat stopped attacking and struggled to get AB off of Scott. They managed to toss him into the wall. "AB!" I shouted. He slowly got up and glared at Scott and his goons. "YOU LEAVE MY MASTER ALONE!" He lunged forward and Force Palmed Scott, knocking him into Milton and Nat, and sending them all crashing into the wall. "You're…DEAD YOU PUNK!" Scott leapt towards AB, fist all charged. This couldn't be happening; I couldn't let AB get hurt! "LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU JERK!!!" I shouted with the last of my energy. Then, just as the three were going to attack AB, another voice rang. "WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!" This voice was so loud, it shook the room. I looked towards the entrance of the gym.

It was Asula, with red glowing eyes. The color literally drained from the faces of the bullies. Asula's voice shook the gym with each word. "HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ANOTHER STUDENT LIKE THIS!!! THIS IS BEYOND UNACCEPTABLE!!! THERE IS NO OTHER PUNISHMENT I CAN THINK OF THAN FIGHTING YOU MYSELF!!!" Scott's eyes widened, "R-Run for it!" The three bullies began to run towards the exit. "HYDRO PUMP!!!" Asula screamed and sent a MASSIVE jet of water from her mouth. The three goons were blasted into a nearby wall. After the attack was over, there was a massive dent where they had crashed. "SURF!!!" shouted Asula and sent a HUGE flood of water crashing into the bullies. They tumbled onto the ground, gasping for air. "P-Please…have mercy…" moaned Nat. "HYDRO PUMP!!!" boomed Asula and sent another 120 mph jet of water into the gang. When it was over, they were all out cold. Asula slithered over to me, "Are you okay Brandon?" AB walked up, "Master, are you okay?" My ears drooped, I started to sniffle, and then suddenly, I burst into tears.

"H-How could I have let them a-attack me and h-h-hurt me like that!" I wailed. "What kind of Pokéuman c-can't stand up to those three jerks!" I sobbed. AB hugged me tightly and I hugged him back. "If I can't f-fend myself from three simple bullies, how am I supposed to beat the E-Elite Four?!" Asula put her robot arms on my shoulders and shook me, "Brandon, this wasn't your fault. Another student saw, they jumped you without warning. Brandon, this one setback will just make you stronger, you have to overcome your weaknesses and turn it into strength." I sniffed and wiped away my tears. AB looked up at me. "Master, you're the greatest; don't let those guys bring you down." I nodded as I wiped the tears from my eyes, "I'm not giving up, I have two weeks and I'm going to be stronger than I am now! Just you wait; the Elite Four will be quaking with fear!" Asula smiled, "You know, there is such a thing as overconfidence."

Asula had brought a first-aid kit and helped me clean up the non-battle wounds, and deemed that I didn't need to see the nurse. I slowly got up from the floor, wobbling slightly, and managed to stay on my feet without falling over. I looked up at the clock. It was already 8:02. "Oh man, I'm late for breakfast!" I shouted. Asula nodded, "You should go; you need to eat to maintain your strength." AB looked at the three unconscious bullies, "What do we do with them?" he asked. Asula glanced at them, "Besides receiving two more detentions, they will also work all day for me and will not be allowed dinner in the mess hall. They will have to eat with me. Still, I can't believe they would do something this horrid." I turned to Asula, "They still hate me for winning the tournament. Thank you Asula, for everything." "You are very welcome Brandon," she said and wrapped the arms of the knocked out bullies with her tail and slithered out of the gym, dragging the M.S.N. gang along with her.

AB and I walked together to the mess hall, or rather, I walked while he rode on my shoulders. I didn't mind that much. I was happy AB was my apprentice; heck if it wasn't for him, the M.S.N. Gang would've continued to beat me. My injuries could've been much worse. AB and I made to the mess hall, where he climbed down from my shoulders. "See you later master!" he said cheerfully and ran off into the crowd. I wandered until I found our usual table. Starr and Mike had already gotten me pancakes and sausages. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late," I said as I sat down and began eating my less than warm breakfast. "Where have you been?" asked Mike. "And what happened to you?!" exclaimed Starr, noticing the multiple wounds on my body. I sighed as I squirted ketchup on my sausages, and told them what had happened.

"THEY DID WHAT?!" shouted Starr angrily, slamming her fist onto the table. "Yayh, dose jurks deserf ut's cuning tu hem," said Mike, mouth full of food. Starr clenched her teeth, "Next time I see those guys…I'm gonna…" "Starr wait," I said. She looked at me. "Please, let me fight them myself, I need to do this alone." Starr solemnly nodded. Mike also bobbled his head, and then started choking on his waffle. I ran over and struck him as hard as I could on his back. He spat out the chunk of food and started gasping for air. "Thanks man, I owe you one," he said. I noogied him, "Yeah, don't talk with your mouth full," I chirped cheerfully. Starr giggled and Mike groaned.  

After breakfast, we started to head back towards our room. "Wait. Brandon, aren't we forgetting something?" asked Starr. I tilted my head in confusion, "What do you mean?" "Yeah, what are we forgetting Starr?" asked Mike, who had turned into a Cranidos with an unusually small head. "Don't you want to sign up for the special training class?" she asked. Mike looked up, "Oh yeah, I want to sign up to. I want to prove to everyone I'm not just a prankster," said Mike. Mike signing up for something like this kind of shocked me a little, but I shook it off. "You guys can sign up, but I'm challenging the Elite Four," I said. Starr nodded slowly while Mike went completely off his rocker. "WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY? THE ELITE FOUR?! NO ONE HAS EVER BEATEN THE ELITE FOUR! PEOPLE NEARLY GET KILLED IN THOSE ROOMS! YOU MUST BE-," I guess he would've said more but Starr placed both paws on his mouth, which was easy since his head was unusually small for a Cranidos. "I'm not joking Mike, I don't know if I can handle such harsh training. I need to do things my own way, train to my own accord, and maybe I can take down the Elite Four." Starr nodded again, "Brandon, I respect your decision," she said. Mike mumbled with annoyance behind Starr's paws.

Starr, Mike and I got up to the front of Asula's office, where Pokéumans were lining up at the clipboard, for the chance to help defeat the Pokéxtinction organization. Of course I wasn't signing up; I was just there for support. "You sure you wanna do this?" said a familiar voice from behind me. I turned around; Josh the Gallade and Jenny the Gardevoir were standing behind us. Josh nodded, "Jenny, I know that you're concerned, but I want to do this. If I can play a role in helping to beat the Pokéxtinction organization, I'll be the happiest Pokéuman ever." "So, you're signing up too," I said, turning around. Josh and Jenny both jumped slightly. "Oh Brandon, Starr, Mike, nice to see you again," said Jenny. "I'm going to sign up for the survival class, are you?" asked Josh. Starr and Mike nodded while I shook my head, "My roommates are, but I'm challenging the Elite Four." Josh and Jenny both gasped, "The Elite Four? That's a really difficult challenge. Are you sure you're going to be ready?"  I nodded, "I'll be ready; you don't have to worry about me." As we were talking, I saw a familiar friend walked from the clipboard. "Cameron? You signed up for the class?" My Hippopotas Buddy turned his head, "Lucario Friend! Yeah, I'm taking the class, are you?" he said, his tail wiggling. I sadly shook my head, "I'm not taking the class Cameron. I'm going to challenge the Elite Four." Cameron drooped his head sadly, "Aw, are you sure?" I nodded slowly. Cameron slowly smiled, "Well, okay! Promise that you won't lose!" I gave him a toothy grin, "You can count on me!"   

The line slowly moved up as Josh, Jenny, Starr, Mike and I engaged in conversation. Finally, we made it to the clipboard. There was a suspicious statue of a Milotic with glowing red eyes. The camera of course, as so idiots like the M.S.N. gang don't sign someone else's name. Both Starr and Mike read the information, and then scribbled their names and species on the paper, and we slowly walked away as Josh scribbled his name. "Well, we're in," said Starr. Mike bobbled his small Cranidos head, "Well, I'm heading back to the room, see ya guys later." He changed back into his Ditto form, then into his pink Abra form, then teleported off. "Well, we have one day before all of the craziness begins," said Starr. I shrugged, "Wanna catch a movie?" I asked. She smiled, "Okay."

We walked towards the theater, argued about which movie we wanted to see, and finally decided on one we both could watch. We lined up at the concession stand, got some popcorn, candy and soda and headed inside. "The Other Guys" was playing, a buddy cop comedy film staring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. I literally had to hold back my laughter, as the film was REALLY funny. Starr laughed along too. After the movie, Starr started dragging me somewhere. "Where are we going?" She giggled, "You'll see…" She pulled me towards another door, and pulled it open. I gasped in amazement. It was an arcade room, full of games, ski ball, and ticket prizes. It was as big as Dave & Busters. "Whoa, I didn't know this was here." She smiled, "Yeah, the base is bigger than you think. I think it's just about as big as the 8th biggest shopping mall in America." I raised my eyebrow, "Isn't that the Roosevelt Field Mall?" She thought for a second, "Yeah I guess so." My eyes lit up, "That's the mall I lived near!" She nodded, "Then you should know how big this base is. Remember the tour I took you on your second day? We didn't scratch the surface of the wonders here. We have everything." I nodded and ran into the arcade room, Starr following behind. Starr and I played games the whole day, her beating me at Ski Ball, us gunning down zombies in House of the Dead 4, and winning a huge plush dolphin for 400 tickets we named Delphino. I wanted to save up 100,000 tickets for a 3DS. After a few hours, we got bored so we headed back. "Hey Brandon, I'm just going to check out a few books from the library, meet me back in our room okay?" I nodded, "Okay, see ya." Starr ran off in her own direction while I opened the door to our room.   

Mike was on the computer talking into some sort of device that looked like strange sci-fi headphones. "Yeah, it's so cool you're a ghost, I mean think of the prankage you can pull off!" he said while giggling. I snuck up behind him and poked him in the head which caused him to jump out of his chair and fall to the floor with a humorous 'squish' sound. "Don't do that man!" he said annoyed. "Hey Mike, you still there?" said a voice from the other end of the line. Mike put the headphones back on, "Yeah Fang, just my roommate, you know, Brandon. Listen, can you hold for a sec?" he said and pressed a button. I sat down on the couch, "So who's you're friend?" I asked. Mike rolled his eyes, "For your info, Fang is a fellow prankster, who lives in a different base. These transit-phones let me speak to him." I smiled, "Cool, so let me guess, he's a Haunter, no wait a Banette, oh no wait is he a Golett?" He shook his head, "No but he was murdered by one." My mouth opened for a second, then I closed it, "W-What do you mean?" Mike sighed, "Fang said he was killed by a Pokéxtinction spy named Hank. It was on the Pokéuman News Network while you were in the showers. But, for some odd reason he's now a spirit. In fact, I'm jealous; he can fade in and out through walls and stuff. Even in a ghost Pokémon transformation I can't do that stuff." I stood shocked. "So, what Pokémon is he?" Mike grinned, "Oh he's a Serperior. I'm glad he came back from the dead; he's such a fun guy. You know, check out the news channel, you might catch the replay."

I hopped onto the couch and changed to channel 1234*.  Larry Belowhich was on again, voice considerably less loud. "The number of Pokéxtinction infiltrators has grown. As the students at the Long Island Base know, a Pokéxtinction minion, Mindy the Lopunny has stolen the Gemstone files and framed Brandon the Lucario. The Arcadia base also unknowingly housed a Pokéxtinction spy, a Golett named Hank for at least 8 months before he was discovered. Hank managed to kill 18 year old Fang the Serperior before he was caught, where he suicide bombed himself. Luckily, no one else was hurt by the blast. Another similar incident happened in the Colorado Rockies' Mountain base where another minion, 16 year old Keith the Spiritomb, killed 4 Pokéumans with a bomb before he was killed by the leader of the base. In order to try and control the situation, the leaders of the main Pokéuman bases are to gather at a secret location to discuss the safety and to assure that these attacks do not happen again.  We urge anyone to report any suspicious behavior and there will be random room checks to ensure our safety. And please, panicking will only make things worse. We want to assure you we're doing everything we can to guarantee your safety, well…not me but you know what I mean. Anyways, I'm Larry Belowhich, and thank you for watching the Pokéuman News Network."

I switched off the TV. The news scared me a little. "Yeah, you were on the news man," said Mike into his transit-phones, "Now I know you weren't lying to me. No I DID believe you, man you are something." I looked over to Mike. "What?" Mike replied, "You wanna try something? What? You want me to put the T-phones on the desk? Uh okay…" Mike set the headphones on the table. We stared at them for a few seconds, then all of the sudden, the started to rattle. Before we could say anything, the head of a ghostly Serperior popped out from the headphones. "Hello Mike, nice meeting you!" said the Serperior. I jumped and hit the floor, scared out of my wits. Mike just stared. "F-Fang…is that really you?" he asked. The Serperior nodded, "It's me, your ghostly prankster pal!" I slowly stood up, "Y-You're the Serperior from the news…y-you're supposed to be d-dead…" I stuttered, not believing my eyes. Fang smiled, "You must be Brandon, the Lucario that has been spoken about in many of our conversations." He struggled for a second to slither the rest of his body out of the phones, but he didn't move any further, "Guess I'm stuck with just my head sticking out," he said. Mike wobbled over to the desk. "Dude, this is so cooooool!!! I-I mean I kinda of believed it b-but now I know it's true! Brandon, I have an actual ghost for a friend!" I noticed there was a scar on his neck. "Throat cut?" I asked. He nodded solemnly. Mike giggled, "Man this is awesome, just warn me next time when you're gonna do that." Fang smiled, "Well looking forward to seeing you again, I gotta go." Mike nodded, "See ya later!" Fang squirmed and he went back through the transit-phones. I just stood there. "That…was strange," I said dumbfounded. "Any stranger than turning into a Pokémon?" asked Mike. I looked at him, "Yeah you have a point."

It was then Starr entered the room, holding her latest books. "Oh man Starr, the weirdest thing just happened," I said. Mike bounced up, "Yeah, my friend Fang just visited through my T-phones!" Starr raised one of her eyebrows, "Fang? You mean the Serperior from the news? I thought he was dead!" "Apparently he's a ghost, and has the ability to travel through headphones," I said, still a bit shocked to as what happened literary less than one minute ago. Starr shook her head, "Mike, you have some strange friends." We stayed in our room for an hour. Mike surfed the web, Starr read her books and I flipped the channels on TV. After a while, I got tired of flipping and got up from the couch. "I'm going to find AB and train," I said. "See ya later," said Starr, looking up from her book. I walked out of the room and over to the room next door. I knocked on it with the spike on my paw. After a few seconds, the Riolu I knew and sort of loved answered the door. "Master? What do you need?" he asked cheerfully. "Wanna head down and train?" I asked. He nodded and bowed very low. I patted his head, "Okay, let's go!"

As AB and I entered the training grounds, we passed a Riolu with blue eyes and a purple scarf and a Lucario wearing a white scarf. They too were training. "Good job Crystal!" said the Lucario. The Riolu bowed, "Thank you master Isaac!" AB smiled, "It's just like us!" he said happily. "Yeah," I said, not really paying attention. We made our way to where the most wooden dummies were when we saw a sight to behold. It was a Combusken, busting up the wooden dummies at a breakneck speed. Now, there are around 5,000 wooden dummies in the training room, and they are always replaced no matter how many you bust the next day. The Combusken was breaking about 10 per second. Next to the Combusken was a Furret wearing headphones. "Come on Pyra, haven't you busted enough dummies?" An Ariados scurried towards me, "Be careful around her, I heard she ripped off someone's legs once," he said. "She's a girl?" AB asked. He nodded and quickly scurried away. AB clung to my leg. "Master…I'm scared." I rubbed his head, "Come on, she can't be that bad," I said, "Let's go introduce ourselves."

I walked over to the Combusken, when I suddenly ducked to avoid being kicked in the face. "Um hi, I'm Brandon," I said. The Combusken looked sharply at me, "What do you want?" she asked a bit coldly. The Furret sighed, "Pyra, can't you been more open towards people? Hi, I'm Ashley!" she said in a bubbly voice. "Uh, hello, I'm Brandon and this is AB," I said. AB came from behind my leg, "Just call me Bear," he said. The Combusken looked at me for a second. It was kind of awkward. "You don't seem bad…" she said. I was kind of nervous. I had the feeling she was going to flip me on my back or something. She looked at me very, very hard. "I've seen you somewhere…" she said finally. Ashley turned her Furret head towards me, "Yeah, you do look kinda familiar," she said. Ashley gasped, "Oh wait…you're the Lucario from the assembly! You know Pyra, when that Lopunny accused him of being a spy." She snapped a look at me. "That's right. You also won Sunday's tournament. I've been interested in you." AB gulped and clung to me tighter. "So you want to battle me?" "Pyra…" Ashley groaned. I put a paw up, "No really it's fine. We came here to train anyways. Let's battle!"

Pyra and I were in a sparring ring while AB and Ashley looked from the sidelines. "Flamethrower!" she shouted and spat a stream of fire at me. "WHOA!" I tried to duck but the fire burned me. I had a burn, my attack power was weakened. "Grrr, ROCK SLIDE!" I shouted and sent a cascade of rocks tumbling from the ceiling. To my shock, she punched the rocks as they fell. All she was hit with was a shower of gravel. "FORCE PALM!"  I shouted and ran forward and successfully palmed Pyra. She shivered as little sparks of electricity shot around her. I had paralyzed her. I laughed before my burn began hurting badly and I felt my energy weaken. My Energy Channeling helped, restoring a bit of fighting spirit in me. "Iron Tail!" I jumped up and swung my tail at Pyra, but the Combusken dodged with ease. "FOCUS BLAST!" she yelled and threw a ball of energy towards me. From the pain of the burn, I tried rolling out of the way, but the blast made contact, sending painful amounts of energy coursing through my body. I struggled to get up. Something was going wrong with my Energy Channeling ability. I wasn't getting the energy I usually received. I groaned, as I got to my knees. Pyra and Ashley gasped, "You're still able to battle.." she said. I stood up, holding the burn wound on my chest, breathing hard. "I-I'm…not…GIVING UP!" I roared. She smirked, "I'm impressed. It's hard to stand up after being hit by a powerful attack such as Focus Blast." I panted, holding my burn while she smirked at me. This girl was tough. Real tough. "ROCK SLIDE!" I shouted with the last of the strength in my body and sent a shower of rocks down at Pyra. She began kicking the rocks as the fell, sending them into gravel, which rained harmlessly down onto the field. "FLAMETHROWER!" she cried and spat another stream of fire at me. AB and Ashley gasped as I was critically hit with hot fire. The pain was too intense. I struggled, not wanting to slip in darkness. I strained, and slowly got to my feet, gasping for air. Everyone gasped. Pyra stared in amazement. "You, you're something else…" I gave a weak toothy grin, "I'm not going down…just yet…" Suddenly the burn flared up again, and the pain sent me crashing to the floor…

I woke up with a start. My burn had been healed and I was covered in battle wounds. AB smiled, "Glad to see you okay master!" Ashley also breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm fine guys…don't worry," I said. I then looked up. Pyra was looking at me strangely. "You did well," she said. "But…I lost." I moaned. It was my second official loss since I had arrived. (Austin the Umbreon had defeated me before, but that was because I had battled his two friends first.) "You cannot win all of the time. If you do, being defeated will be even more crushing," she said. I thought about it, "Yeah, I guess you're right." Then she held out her arm and helped me up. I grabbed her arm and she pulled me up. "That was an amazing battle!" said Ashley, all excited. "You have earned my respect," said Pyra with a smile on her face." "Heh, thanks," I said, a bit embarrassed. AB ran over and hugged me by the waist. "I look forward to seeing you again," said Pyra. "Come on Ashley, you gotta pack for your student exchange with the Arcadia Base." Ashley nodded, "It was nice meeting you!" se said and the two exited the training room. "That was fun," I said. AB started up at me, "Master you were great even though you did lose…" I smiled and rubbed his head, "Everyone loses once in a while," I said cheerfully. This loss was my first step to improvement. I was super pumped. My two week training session starts right now. "Come on AB, we have two weeks to train! Let's push though and do it!"