Trailblazing Glory

Here we go with another Fanfiction. To anyone reading Path of Blades, that will not be stopped, that will continue alongside this. All characters are OCs, either mine or submitted by others. Submit an OC for me to write up a battle for (with your collaboration obviously).​

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Fanfiction link​

Rated T for reason that I am unsure of violence and swearing as the story progresses. Mostly OC Pokémon story (Professor Rowan will be mentioned occasionally), OC Gym Leaders and other random trainers will be used (and credited). Based in Sinnoh with two of my OCs. I obviously do not own Pokémon ​

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Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins​

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Spoiler

Within Canalave City, a girl was waking up to her 14th birthday. Her name was Persephone Kawazowe. She had brown hair, reaching to about her shoulders and purple eyes, the same colour as her favourite Pokémon, Cloyster.
The odd thing about this girl was that, even though it was her fourteenth birthday, she was only just about to start her Pokémon journey. Most kids started their journey at the age of 10, but she had waited. She was waiting for her childhood friend, Blaze Ishida, to be ready to go on his journey as well.
Blaze had turned 14 about two months prior. He was an extremely shy person, he struggled talking to anyone that wasn't family or Persephone. He had black hair naturally, but he dyed one side of it red. He also had eyes as blue as a Quilava's back.
He was waiting in his room for his Roselia to wake up. As soon as she woke up, he was planning on calling Persephone and wishing her a happy birthday.
His Roselia, Gertrud, was a bit of a special case. When Blaze was still too young to start his journey, he came across a Roselia who was being harassed by a few Pokémon. He didn't understand why at the time, all he knew was that the Roselia was clearly in pain. He had saved it from the wild Pokémon, taking it back to his own house.
It was there that he learnt the Roselia's secret. Somehow, it had telepathic powers. Blaze was frightened by the discovery, but the Roselia explained it to him. Somehow she had been lost as a Budew. Without anyone to care about her, she almost died alone in the wilds, until a group of psychic types found her and raised her. She seemed to have some sort of psychic potential within her.
She was raised by psychic types. They had taught her things that a Roselia should not have naturally been able to do. They had accepted her, but other wild Pokémon saw her as an anomaly. They bullied her, constantly. Up until the point when Blaze saved her, she felt like she was not wanted by anyone, almost reliving that moment as a Budew when she was lost without a family.
Since then, Gertrud had been Blaze's partner Pokémon. She helped him converse with people, using her telepathy to tell people what Blaze was trying to say.
Blaze looked at his Xtransceiver, Persephone's number highlighted on the screen. Gertrud's had started to flutter open.
Morning Blaze, you're awake early for once. Gertrud yawned once before sitting upright.
Blaze rolled his eyes. "You know it is Persephone's birthday today. I've been waiting for an hour for you to wake up sleepyhead."
You like her, don't you. The Roselia grinned cheekily at her owner. She was met with a scowl. Worth it. She grinned again.
"I hate you sometimes." Blaze picked up his Xtransceiver and called Persephone. On the screen it showed the video of Blaze's face, a white line, and a phone icon with Persephone's name below it.
It was ringing, Persephone hadn't picked up yet. "Maybe she hasn't woken up yet?"
It is 7 in the morning Blaze. Gertrud was looking at the Xtransceiver expectantly. Just as the ringing was about to time out, Persephone picked up. The video feed picked up.
"Happy Birthday Persephone." Blaze shouted across the phone.
"Rose" Roselia shouted out. Persephone smiled. Her hair was a mess. She had pretty much just woken up, so she hadn't had any time to get ready.
"Thanks Blaze, and you too Gertrud." Blaze sat down on his bed. Gertrud jumped up onto his shoulder, the little flower Pokémon elbowing her owner's head.
Blaze glared at Gertrud. "Shut up Gertrud! Oh... Uh, so, Persephone, you ready for today?"
Persephone was grinning. "I'm the one who has been waiting for you all this time Blaze. Four years I've been waiting for you to be ready, although when you think about it, ten feels like a weird age to start your journey away from home."
Blaze was nodding in response. "Agreed, I can't believe people actually leave home at the age of ten. They haven't even hit puberty by then." Persephone chuckled.
"Well, anyway, didn't Rowan say something about sending Austin over with a choice of three Pokémon or something today?"
"Oh yea. I haven't seen Austin for a while now. I can't believe your brother is one of Rowan's assistants."
Persephone's older brother had joined Professor Rowan's research lab two years prior. Unlike a lot of the aides, he would take breaks to research from home, which was especially helpful as the Canalave City Library was quite close by.
"Well, I guess we'll see him soon. I'm going to get ready, see you guys at my house soon." Persephone hung up, not giving Blaze a chance to say goodbye.
"Arceus damn it, could she at least have waited for a bit longer." Blaze put his Xtransceiver in his pocket and stood back up, Gertrud still on his shoulder. "Sometime I forget how tiny you are Gertrud, isn't it weird to be standing on my shoulder?"
One day I'll evolve and you will regret mentioning all these quips about me being small. Gertrud crossed her arms in frustration, grinning cheekily at the same time.
"You realise you'd still only be around half my height when you evolve." Gertrud stuck out her tongue.
I could be a really tall Roserade, who knows. Blaze just rubbed the grass type Pokémon's head.

"You wish Gertrud. Now get out of here, I need to get dressed." The Roselia jumped back onto the bed and walked to the door of Blaze's room. Blaze opened the door for her before getting changed into his everyday clothes.

"Hey Blaze, Gertrud, I just got a call from Austin, he said he was going to be about five minutes." Persephone was waiting out front of her house for Blaze and his Roselia to arrive. She had a cone party hat on, waving at her friends.
Hey Persephone, good to actually be able to talk. It really sucks that telepathy doesn't work through phones, doesn't it. Gertrud was looking at Persephone with a slightly sad look.
"Oh, don't worry Gertrud. You're lucky you even have the ability to use telepathy. What did they call it in the manual, an egg move?" Persephone rubbed the Roselia's head playfully.
"No, the egg move was Extrasensory, I guess the psychic powers came as an added bonus." Blaze looked around waiting for Persephone's brother. "Anyway, let's go inside, he has keys, right?" Persephone nodded her response.
Inside, there were streamers thrown over the lights and chairs and purple balloons on the floor. Persephone's mother was in the kitchen cooking breakfast for them and Austin.
What's your mum cooking Persephone? Gertrud looked intently at the kitchen, hoping for food.
"I think it was Oran berry pancakes or something, I wasn't paying attention." Gertrud's eyes lit up. "I almost forgot that those were your favourite as well. I guess we will both enjoy this morning." Gertrud was jumping up and down on Blaze's shoulder.
"Morning Blaze, nice shirt." Persephone's mother looked over to the two of them. "And Gertrud, lovely to see you here as well. I guess you are joining Persephone on her journey then." Blaze and Gertrud nodded in unison.
"It's too bad that my dad is working right now over in Unova. I wish he was here to see me and Persephone off." Blaze leaned against the wall. Persephone's mother yelled at him to get off the wall.
"At least your dad has a reason not to see us off Blaze. My dad is just a heavy sleeper and he sleeps until midday. We'll be gone by then and he would have missed us." Persephone had a slight hint of anger in her voice, but it was concealed enough that Blaze and her mother didn't notice.
Persephone's mother looked back up at the two of them. "Alright you two, pancakes are ready you two, and I've got some smaller ones for Gertrud as well." When she finished the doorbell rang. "And it seems Austin has just arrived. I'm sure he will want to have some food as well."
Austin opened the front door. He didn't dress like most of Rowan's aides, with lab coats and large glasses (most of the time those were for show). He wore a dark green jacket and blue jeans. He also had brown hair like Persephone, but his was much more dishevelled and a lot shorter.
"Hey guys, I'm back." Austin was waving to everyone in the room. "And I bring presents for Persephone and Blaze for their journey."
He put his bag on the round wooden table near the door. He pulled out a semicircular capsule which contained three Pokeballs and a USB, as well as five smaller Pokeballs for both Persephone and Blaze. "Okay, whenever you're rea--- Do I smell pancakes?" Everyone nodded at him. "You pancakes are the best mum!"
Austin failed to contain his excitement. It was Persephone's birthday, the breakfast was for her, but Austin had rushed to the kitchen to claim the best pancakes for himself.
"Austin, those are mine!!!" Persephone was reaching over his shoulder trying to grab the pancakes off of his plate. "It's my birthday, they are mine!"
Blaze just grabbed two plates, putting a few of the medium sized pancakes onto his plate and the small ones onto the other plate for Gertrud. "Eat up girl, today we're going to start our journey."
You sure you're ready to do this Blaze. I've seen you get a panic attack when meeting new people sometimes. One of the positives of telepathy was that Gertrud could talk and eat at the same time without being impaired.
Blaze smiled, looking at his Pokémon. "I'm sure as long as you're with me I won't do anything like that." Gertrud covered her mouth with one of her rosy hands and giggled. Persephone and Austin were still fighting in the kitchen over the pancakes. Eventually their mother got tired of it and grabbed the two of them in the ear.

"I don't care if it's Persephone's birthday or not, if you keep fighting over pancakes I'll put all of them in your father's room and lock the door so you can't get in." She let go of them and Austin handed Persephone his plate. They both exchanged apologies before Austin grabbed his own pancakes and everyone sat down to eat.

Once everyone had finished eating, Austin stood up. "Alright. Now that that is done I think it is time for the other celebration for today. Blaze Ishida and Persephone Kawasowe, you're Pokémon journeys start today. First of all, can I see your Poketches, I have something I wish to install onto them." He picked up the USB and waved the two of them over. He connected the USB to a cord which was small enough to connect to the Poketches.
"Devon Corp in Hoenn were kind enough to send us some data about the SearchNav function on their PokeNavs. We decided to take some of the technology and make it similar. The idea is that it allows you to see many different things about any caught Pokémon, which include it's ability and moveset as well as something a lot of really high level trainers like to check called IVs, although the last one is for the really cold-hearted trainers who only care about the best Pokémon."
He called Persephone over and plugged the cord into her Poketch. A small bar appeared on her Poketch's screen showing the download process. While that was happening, Austin took an extra Pokéball out of his bag. "Blaze, you may want to catch Gertrud so that she officially belongs to you. There is a chance that someone may try to catch her if she just walks around on her own, so if you catch her she will---"
Before Austin could finish, Gertrud touched one of her rose hands to the Pokéball's locking mechanism. She was surrounded in a red light and then absorbed within the ball. The ball started shaking with a red light flashing on and off over the lock mechanism. Eventually it made a sound to signal that the capture was complete.
"Stay with you for certain, but I guess she knew that. Blaze, press the lock mechanism and throw the Pokéball." Blaze took Gertrud's Pokéball into the air. The same red light that had sucked Gertrud into the ball released her from the ball and she reappeared onto the floor.
You think I didn't understand how those things work. I read that manual that Rowan sent Blaze and Persephone when they decided to delay their Pokémon journey Austin. The Roselia folded her arms and grinned at the boy. Her next message was sent out to everyone. I know just as much about Pokémon training as Blaze and Persephone do, I could probably start my own journey... Uhh, that sounded better in my head.
"The phrase 'that sounded better in my head' really doesn't work in conjunction with telepathy Gertrud." Austin rubbed the grass type's head and laughed. "Think before you telepathy... Uhh."
Let me guess, that sounded better in your head? Everyone else laughed. Persephone checked her Poketch and switched to the new app. It said 'searching for Pokémon' on it.
"Persephone, move your Poketch in front of Gertrud." She did as her brother said and the display changed.
On screen, a large amount of information was displayed. "That's really confusing to look at."
"Actually, you can cycle through the information using the little arrows on the sides. Here, tap it once and you get general info about the Pokémon." She did as Austin said and the information lessened. The screen now showed a sepia tone picture of a Roselia, a small icon saying Grass/Poison and the Pokédex information on the screen.
"On extremely rare occasions, a Roselia is said to appear with its flowers in unusual colors. The thorns on this Pokémon's head contain a vicious poison."
"Oh, then we should stop rubbing you on the head." Persephone frowned at Gertrud.
Don't worry, I haven't needed it in so long that I have to actually force it to go there if I want it to. Persephone smiled again, glad that she wasn't going to injure herself but touching her friend.
"Okay, next is the Moveset and ability." Austin tapped on Persephone's Poketch for her. It came up with a list of moves that Gertrud knew as well as her ability.
"So, her moves are Extrasensory, Mega Drain, Poison Sting and Growth. And her ability appears to be Leaf Guard." Persephone looked impressed. "That is pretty cool."
Austin rubbed his chin in thought. "If that's the case, I think you should teach her Sunny Day while she is a Roselia Blaze. Leaf Guard prevents anything like burns or paralysis whilst the sunlight is extremely harsh."
While Persephone was analysing Roselia using her Poketch, Blaze was uploading the app to his own. By the time Persephone had finished her analysis, Blaze's Poketch had been updated. "Alright, so it works the same as that."
Austin nodded and then pointed to the three Pokeballs. "Okay, check what those three are."
Persephone and Blaze pointed their Poketches over each Pokéball individually. The first Pokéball contained a Flabébé. The second Pokéball contained a Pokémon called Shinx. The last one contained a Pokémon called Trapinch.
"Let me just quickly say something. This Shinx is special, it has an ability that is very difficult to find in the wild, although they do seem to be becoming more common to find nowadays." He pressed the button on Persephone's Poketch to show the abilities. "Guts is a rare ability for a Shinx to have."
After talking it over, Persephone and Blaze decided on while one they each wanted. Blaze took the Flabébé, naming it Amy. Persephone took the Shinx, naming it Laxus.
"Alright. You two will also get these five Pokeballs each. You can use these to catch Pokémon, just like with Gertrud." Gertrud smilied, happy that she was able to demonstrate. "I'm sure you already know this, but you throw them at a weakened Pokémon to catch them. Then you can analyse them if you want."
"By the way, I made some cupcakes as well, one for the both of you." Persephone's mother spoke up, feeling a bit forgotten amidst the talk of Pokémon. "They are both chocolate."
Both Blaze and Persephone perked up at the mention of chocolate. "Thanks mum! This birthday is just getting better and better."
Persephone's mother just smiled. "Well, you'd better get going now. Be sure to call home every so often. You too Blaze, your mother will probably worry about you."
"I will. Thanks for the cupcake." Blaze smiled slightly, hoping no one saw it. Austin tapped them on the shoulder.
"You two have better get going now. You guys should probably say hi to Cecil as well, tell him that you got your first Pokémon, or second in your case Blaze."
Persephone and Blaze were already standing at the door. Gertrud was on Blaze's shoulder. Austin quickly called to the Roselia, asking for her to stay behind for a second. Blaze and Persephone headed out the door while Gertrud jumped down onto the floor.
What did you want Austin? Gertrud looked quizzically at the boy.
"Listen, you know about stuff like held items, right? I've got something for you. It's a good item for a Roselia or Roserade." Austin pulled something else out of his bag. It looked like a severed root of a tree. "You know what it is, right?"
Hmm, I think it was known as a Big Root. Increases all absorbing moves restoration powers by about 30% I think. Austin nodded and Roselia grinned, acting proud of herself.
"Exactly, I want you to have to Gertrud. I think it would help you on your journey. And one more thing. I've also got a Shiny Stone in here. It's wrapped in cloth so you holding it won't trigger any evolution at the moment. I suggest when you and Blaze agree, you use it to evolve. I can't wait to see you as a Roserade."
Thanks Austin, that's a great present. I'll give it to Blaze when I catch up to him. Gertrud wrapped the Big Root around her neck like a scarf then took the cloth-wrapped stone from Austin.
"You take care of Blaze. I think that him and Persephone are going to be great rivals but I don't think that they will be travelling together all the time. He will be relying on you." Gertrud nodded in agreement.
I know, I'll take care of him. And I hope that when we finally get around to facing Cecil in a gym battle that you'll be there. Austin picked up the Roselia, who hugged him with her tiny arms.

I'll be going now. I need to catch up with Blaze. Austin opened the door for the Roselia. See ya Austin, and say thanks to your mother for the pancakes for me. The door shut behind the grass Pokémon and she ran off in the direction she was sure Austin had gone.

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Thank you to @[member="Deltheor"] for submitting Cecil so fast, he will appear in the next chapter temporarily as well. However, the battle will not take place just yet.​

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Chapter 2: First Steps​

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Spoiler

"You finally caught up Gertrud." Persephone crouched down and scratched the Roselia under its chin. "We're going to say hi to Cecil, I think he'd want to know we are finally on our Pokémon journey." She put out her hand for the Roselia and it climbed up.
I'm a bit frightened to fight him, but at least we won't be facing him now. If we were facing him now we would have no chance. Gertrud was pouting at the thought of it. I guess we have to choice.
"I'm personally looking forward to it. He is the only gym leader who I won't be nervous around since I know him. Everyone else will be a struggle." Blaze already had his head down. Even in his hometown where he knew a lot of people, his nervousness was a massive problem.
Blaze was rubbing his arm, looking at the floor. Gertrud had been lifted up to Blaze's shoulder, which she jumped onto. The Roselia was hugging her trainer, trying to keep him comfortable outside of his comfort zone.
Don't worry Blaze, I'll be here with you the entire time. Blaze smiled at Gertrud's support for him. He rubbed the little grass type's head. It was only then that he realised the Roselia had a root wrapped around her neck and a makeshift backpack.
"Gertrud. What's that?" He pointed to the backpack and the root. "When did you get those?"
Oh, the root was an item that Austin gave to me to hold. I'm sure you know what a big root does. Persephone and Blaze both nodded. He gave one to me as a present. The makeshift backpack it to hold this. Gertrud pulled one of the straps off of her shoulder (or as close to a shoulder as a Roselia could have) and opened the lid to show Blaze.
I was late catching up cause I was picking up my little backpack from home. Austin also gave me this. Visible at the bottom of the bag was a Shiny Stone. I was hoping that we use this before the first gym battle we do, I could become a Roserade.
"That is so cool. I'll make sure that I'm there for that. Me and Blaze discussed the idea of going on our own journeys though, meeting up with each other occasionally to battle or just catch up." Persephone gave a soft smile to Gertrud. "Don't worry though Gertrud, I'll make sure to come and watch stuff like gym battles and the like. Maybe we should part ways after our first gym though."
Gertrud looked at Blaze quizzically. So, you agreed to this? I would have thought that you would have wanted to stick around with Persephone for your journey. Gertrud was a bit sad to learn that her friend would be leaving her.
"Well, yea. I guess so. With Persephone there I feel a lot more confident than I usually am, but at least you will still be there." He rubbed the little Roselia's head. "With you by my side, we can still do great things."
Blaze and Persephone were roaming around Canalave City. This would be their last time seeing their home town for a fair while. Persephone was holding back tears at the thought that her hometown. Blaze was trying to have a smile on his face at the idea of starting his journey, but he was saddened leaving his hometown as well.
This must have been why most kids started at ten. They were at least slightly mature, but they didn't get overly homesick and had a great sense of adventure. Blaze and Persephone locked hands and started walking towards Cecil's gym, their last stop before leaving Canalave City.
When they finally reached the gym, they both stood at the doors. They released Amy and Laxus and opened the doors to the gym.
An announcer spoke over a loudspeaker. "Welcome to the Canalave City gym." Cecil looked to the door and was about to introduce himself when he realised who it was.
"Persephone, Blaze, Gertrud. It's good to see the three of you. And happy birthday to you Persephone. His Scizor also made himself noticed. "Sciz."
Scizor says it's good to see you guys as well. Gertrud waved at Cecil's Scizor. It waved back at the Roselia.
Cecil looked at Persephone and Blaze, noticing the two new Pokémon they had. "And who are these two?"
Persephone picked up her Shinx. "This little guy is named Laxus. Isn't he cute?" She was smiling, and Cecil looked at the little electric type and smiled. His serious-looking demeanour with the glasses and the scar across his right cheek not really showing that he was quite the encouraging person.
"Well, he looks quite strong. I look forward to one day facing him in battle. And you Blaze?"
The little Flabébé floated around, trying to fight the slight breeze that was in the gym. "This little one is named Amy." Blaze held up his hand to stop his new Pokémon from floating away, but the Flabébé was holding onto its position in the air quite well. For its small little size and lightweight stature, it was quite strong-willed.
"She looks like she is going to grow into quite the strong Pokémon there. I look forward to seeing that little one grow." Cecil drew his sword and slammed the tip onto the ground. Laxus jumped back in surprise, but Amy continued to stare at the gym leader. He chuckled. "She really is a strong Pokémon."
The Flabébé used Fairy Wind to change the direction of the wind towards the steel type gym leader. It stuck out its tongue at the silver haired man, showing that it was not afraid.
"I'm glad to see that you got such a smart Pokémon as your starter Blaze, not to insult you at all Gertrud." The Roselia glared at the gym leader.
"Flabé" The little fairy type shouted at the gym leader.
Amy is challenging you to a battle. It's actually quite funny, I don't think she understands how tough a gym leader is. Gertrud grinned at its ability to translate.
"It always amazes me how much a Pokémon can say in just that little bit." Persephone looked towards the little fairy Pokémon, still hovering around Cecil's face. "Anyway, didn't you say you had a challenger today?"
Cecil looked as though he had almost forgotten. "Oh, that's right. He should be coming in a few minutes. You two might want to get going, unless you want to see your first gym battle as a trainer?"
Blaze spoke up for the first time in a while. "So, Canalave is generally the sixth gym that most trainers go through if they are doing the typical route through Sinnoh. You gym leaders use different Pokémon depending on the challenger, don't you?"
Cecil nodded and Blaze's question. "Exactly. If you were to face me without a gym badge you would likely only face three of my Pokémon, with one or two being unevolved forms of my main team that I keep out back.
"And gym leaders have some special tech that allow them to keep more than six Pokémon around depending on challengers as well, right?" Blaze was saying all this more to recap what he had read in the guides to being a Pokémon trainer that Rowan had sent he and Persephone when they didn't become trainers at ten.
Cecil only nodded in return. "Well, I'm sure you guys won't be staying for too long. How about you stay from the first round of the battle?" Blaze and Persephone both agreed to Cecil's offer and went up to the bleachers in the gym.
Cecil whispered into the Flabébe's ear to go sit with Blaze. Amy had still been floating around the gym leader, trying to be as menacing as one of the two smallest Pokémon in the world could be. It pouted before Cecil mentioned to it that they would certainly have a battle one day.
With that, the little fairy type used Fairy Wind again to blow itself over to where Blaze was. "Amy certainly is an impressive little Pokémon Blaze. She is a very good pick." Amy grinned in satisfaction as it came to a stop next to its trainer.
With that, the doors to Cecil's gym opened once again. The same announcer that had spoken when Blaze and Persephone entered the gym. "Welcome challenger." The boy looked about eleven. He had blond hair and a generic yellow top and blue shorts. He was clearly going for the Youngster look.
"Welcome challenger to my gym. My name is Cecil Aldhard. What is your name?" Cecil was putting on his gym leader persona. He was a lot calmer and he was already looking closely at his opponent. He had also adjusted his glasses quickly.
The boy hesitated slightly before saying his name. "My name is Raymond Duval, and I wish to challenge you." Blaze could already tell that the boy was nervous. It didn't seem like this was his first gym battle, but he didn't seem very confident.
"How many gym badges do you currently have Raymond?" Cecil walked over to the wall of the gym while he spoke. He typed in a code and a two trays with six Pokeballs each popped out.
"Uhh, I have three sir." Raymond was trying to be as polite as possible to the gym leader. "And I got a mega bracelet from Rowan recently as well.
"That's good. I wouldn't want my Scizor to miss out on the fun." Cecil looked to his partner Pokémon and nodded. He then got out there Pokeballs from their holders and strapped them to his belt. "And these three should do as the others."
As Cecil walked back towards his position, his silver sword necklace shone, a Scizorite Key Stone glowing inside it. "Well, shall we commence?"
Raymond nodded and the Announcer once again rang through the stadium. "The battle between gym leader Cecil Alhard and Raymond Duval will begin." Cecil looked at the Announcer and then rubbed his forehead in his palm.
"It's Aldhard, not Alhard. One day you will get it right." The Announcer shrugged and then continued.
"This match will consist of four Pokémon against as many as six from the challenger. The Challenger and leader may switch out at any time." Raymond looked shocked at the Announcer's words.
"Hold on, aren't gym leaders supposed to keep their Pokémon in?"
Cecil chuckled slightly. "That's actually quite and old rule. Recently the Pokémon league has decided to abolish that rule, but some other gym leaders keep it in play because they feel it is a better challenge for them. I like this way though."
"Let the battle commence." The Announcer spoke through the microphone. Cecil sent out a Kelfki whilst Raymond sent out a Kadabra.
"Interesting first choice for a steel type. I'm curious as to why you would pick it. I do have a suspicion though." Cecil drew his sword and was about to command his Klefki before Raymond spoke.
"Wait, why is your Klefki a weird colour? They aren't normally yellow are they?" Blaze and Persephone had witnessed this question a few times before. Cecil's Klefki was shiny, meaning it had a special mutation that coloured the Pokémon differently than usual. Cecil never got tired of the question, he generally smiled while he answered.
"It's a special mutation that Pokémon sometimes have. This Klefki is a shiny Pokémon, its colouration is slightly different. It doesn't affect its fighting ability though." The Announcer once again spoke.
"The first round is Klefki versus Kadabra." Cecil called his first attack, holding his sword straight out.
"Let's see what this Kadabra's deal is Kelfki, use swagger!" The Kelfki twirled around, moving as if it was trying to intimidate its opponent by showing off. Blaze quickly pulled up his Poketch and analysed the Kadabra for the sake of it. Under ability, it said 'Magic Bounce.'
"So that's why Cecil didn't start out by throwing down spikes like he usually would in this case. He wanted to check if Kadabra's ability was Magic Bounce." Sure enough, the Kadabra didn't look aggravated and confused like the move usually would do. Instead, the effects of Swagger looked like they were affecting Kelfki instead.
"I thought that might have been the case. You're a smart one Raymond. Blaze, Persephone, take notes, always pay attention to Pokémon abilities." Cecil was trying to act as a teacher while fighting, one of Cecil's signature traits as a leader.
Raymond grinned at Cecil. "So, you did see through my little trick. I wouldn't expect any less from a gym leader."
Cecil smiled at the compliment his challenger just paid him. "This, though, is why I embrace the switching out rule. Klefki, your work for now is done." He returned the Klefki to its Pokéball and instead sent out a Pokémon comprised of two swords. There was a pink gooey substance that was on the shielded portion of the sheath.
"Doublade, you're up now." The sword Pokémon's eyes looked as happy as they possibly could. Raymond's grin turned slightly villainous now.
"And you'd think that I wouldn't come into a steal type gym prepared? Kadabra, Shadow Ball now." The yellow fox-like Pokémon conjured a shadowy blob in front of itself and launched it at the Doublade.
Cecil looked at the challenger. Overconfidence was the worst enemy of a challenger. "One thing that I'm not sure you've learnt yet, but Gym Leaders are prepared for most circumstances. Doublade, Shadow Sneak now. Dodge the Shadow Ball."
The sword Pokémon sunk into the floor and became one with the shadows. And went launching towards the Kadabra. Raymond's grin suddenly turned to a flustered shock. The Doublade rose out of the ground and slashed at Kadabra.
The Kadabra went launching across the gym with a large amount of force. Cecil then followed up with another attack. "Alright, follow up with Iron Head." The Doublade charged at the Kadabra, a gleam going across the Doublade and an extra layer of iron coated the Doublade as it rammed into its foe.
The Kadabra was up against the wall, it was extremely scratched up. Blaze checked his Poketch. A little bar on the moves and abilities screen was almost empty. He assumed that it implied how much fighting ability the Pokémon had left. Kadabra was not going to last much longer. Raymond was likely going to pull a last move in desperation.
"Kadabra, use thunderbolt now!" Raymond shouted, desperation quite noticeable in his voice. With the sword Pokémon so close and its ability No Guard almost preventing dodging unless another instance like Shadow Sneak came into play, Doublade was hit point blank by the lightning that Kadabra created in front of itself.
However, Doublade's HP did not reduce by a large amount. Blaze recognized the pink substance that was attached to the Doublade. It was called an Evolite, and it raised the defences of Pokémon that were yet to evolve. The ghost swords had barely taken a scratch from the bolt of electricity.
"Listen, Raymond, if you get this desperate when one of your strategies fall apart, you need to learn how a Pokémon battle truly works. Plus, get to know a lot more Pokémon a lot better, as well as items, because some of us gym leaders do use them." Cecil was trying to be more of a teacher than condescending, but to the challenger it came across as scolding.
"Doublade, lets finish off this Kadabra with another Iron Head." The Doublade charged at the Kadabra, Iron once again forming a layer over the Pokémon's steel body. Doublade slammed its foe, who fell unconscious temporarily. It woke up seconds later, but in a Pokémon battle that was what was considered a defeat.
"Kadabra is unable to battle." Raymond made a sound akin to growling. He had not been handling Kadabra's defeat well.
"Alright, Blaze, Persephone, you two should probably get going now." Cecil called out to them, taking a short break from his attention. The gym leader's Scizor also looked and waved at the two new Pokémon trainers.

"See you Cecil. The next time we meet, we will likely be foes." Persephone cheerily spoke to the gym leader. Her and Blaze walked out the door. Amy and Laxus had been returned to their Pokeballs, Gertrud was on Blaze's shoulder, waving goodbye to Cecil.

"Arceus damn it that was intense. I don't think I've ever paid so much attention to a gym battle before. I'm not too sure about this gym battle thing." Blaze looked at the ground again, nervous being out in the open.
Don't worry, you're both older and the kid honestly looked like he only had one strategy to win that battle. He couldn't adapt. You two are better than that. Gertrud looked at both Blaze and Persephone, smiling.
Both Blaze and Persephone saw that the paved road of Canalave City was coming to an end, indicating that this was the beginning of a Route between cities. For anyone who wasn't paying as much attention, there was also a large sign saying 'Route 218' near the edge of the paved road.
"Hey Blaze, What gym do you think we should head for first? The closest two would likely be Oreburgh City and Eterna City. I've heard some weird things about the Eterna gym leader, but I don't want to face dark types straight off the bat..." Persephone was walking casually along. She had let Laxus out of his Pokéball as well, who was bounding along beside his new trainer.
Blaze looked up to the sky and sighed. "I think we should go with the one that doesn't throw you off what you are comfortable with. Let's go with Eterna City. Plus, neither of us currently have any major advantage over that gym." Gertrud pushed Blaze's cheek.
No clear advantage Blaze? Please don't forget my secondary typing is Poison. Persephone laughed at Gertrud's mock hurt tone. Blaze just rolled his eyes. And I'll be a Roserade during that gym fight, so I'll be even more powerful.
Persephone grabbed Blaze's arm quickly as they edge of Canalave City. Blaze stopped in his tracks, surprised by Persephone. "Blaze, Gertrud, don't you think that we should all step over the border of Canalave City together?" Laxus was somewhat singing (or at least as close to singing as repeating different lengths of Shinx could be) a little tune, not quite paying attention to what Persephone was doing. She reached down and grabbed the little electric type, moving it back in line with the rest of them.
"Sure, I guess it's our first steps outside the city as a Pokémon trainer. Now that I think about it, I hope the ferry is working today, otherwise we will be stuck." Gertrud pushed Blaze's cheek again, trying to get him to shut up.
Blaze, let me off your shoulder. I'd like to walk across with you guys. Gertrud smiled as Blaze did what she suggested. She looked at both Persephone and Blaze, then spoke again. Persephone, whenever you're ready.
Persephone nodded. "Let's go in 3." Gertrud, Blaze and Persephone all looked straight ahead. "2." They all got ready to step over the line. "1." The three of them lifted up their right leg. "Go" Gertrud's small size meant she had to run to cross the line at the same time as Blaze and Persephone, but they all stepped over the boundary of Canalave City together. Laxus was already a metre in front of the group, confused as to what its owner was doing.
"Oi, Laxus you little scatterbrain, get back over here." The little lion like Pokémon came bounding back over to its owner. "I can already see you're going to be a problem Pokémon."
"Shiii" Laxus cried out having absolutely no idea what Persephone was saying. It struggled to understand human speech unless it was related to an attack move.
"Yea, so it is running today?" Blaze was speaking to someone over his Xtransceiver. "Good, it would be quite awkward for Persephone and me if it wasn't running today." The Xtransceiver was on 'Audio Only' mode. "Alright, we should be over there in half an hour. See ya then."
Persephone looked at Blaze, her face asking who he was talking to.
"That was the ferry guy, I was just making sure that we wouldn't be stuck here for the rest of the day. It is running today, but maybe I should have told him that we would be there later than 30 minutes." Blaze looked at Gertrud, who was now back on his shoulder. Gertrud took the signal and slapped him as hard as she could, but it didn't do much given that a Roselia's hands were roses.
You know, it really doesn't work Blaze. No matter how much you hit someone with a rose, the flower doesn't hurt them. Persephone laughed and Blaze once again rolled his eyes. Your logic is highly flawed Blaze. Blaze winced as a result of the little Roselia's words. Assaults on his logic were his weakness.
In the nearby bushes, there was a slight rustling sound. A yellow snout was poking out from the nearby tall grass. Persephone pushed Laxus over to investigate the little snout. It roared at the grass and a shrew-like Pokémon jumped out. It was Yellow with lines like cracked, dried earth and a cream tummy. It had black eyes, tiny arms and legs with little claws, and a tail.
"That's a Sandshrew, right?" Persephone stared at the Pokémon. She had read up on a lot about different Pokémon, but sometimes the exact names of Pokémon escaped her. With 718 known Pokémon and counting, it was difficult to remember every single Pokémon's name.
As if to confirm Persephone's thoughts, the Sandshrew spoke. "Shrew." Persephone jumped when it spoke, not out of fear but out of joy. Her guess had been correct.
"Blaze, I'm going to battle this little guy. You already have two Pokémon, I may as well catch up. Laxus, you ready to battle." At the word battle the Shinx's ears perked up. It ran to its trainer's side and grinned mischievously.
"The Poketch says that his moves are Spark, Charge, Roar and Tackle." Blaze read through Laxus' attacks. "I guess now is a good time to check as any. Too bad we can't check the Sandshrew's moves."
"Alright, Laxus, use Tackle." The little lion charged at the Sandshrew. The Sandshrew went flying into the grass. It stuck its head back out of the grass. It jumped out of the grass and curled up into a ball. Its body shone for a second, its skin seeming to harden. As it did this it started rolling towards Laxus.
"Defence Curl and Rollout. A deadly combo. Persephone, Laxus needs to dodge or use Roar, but you definitely want to get Laxus to dodge it." Blaze was calling out strategies to his friend, his brain already working overtime.
Persephone yelled for Laxus to dodge, but it instead rushed at the Sandshrew while coating itself with electricity. "Laxus, get out of the damn way!" It kept charging towards the Sandshrew. Laxus was struck head on and was sent flying. Sandshrew was completely unshaken.
Laxus got up and charged at the Sandshrew. It trying to Tackle it again. "Arceus damn it Laxus, listen to me." Persephone was yelling at her Pokémon to stop. It continued running and slammed right into the opposing Pokémon.
"Persephone, this has gone on for long enough. I suggest you try to catch it now." Blaze shouted out to his friend. She broke from her haze and returned Laxus to its Pokéball.
"Alright, Sandshrew, you're mine now." Persephone threw the Pokéball at Sandshrew. A red light surrounded the Pokémon and was absorbed into the capsule. It dropped to the ground and started shaking rapidly. A red light flickered on and off, eventually ending with a dinging sound. The capture had been successful.
"Alright, my first successful capture!" Persephone grabbed the Pokéball that contained the Sandshrew. "Now what should I name you?" After thinking for a few seconds she came up with something. "How about Spiny."
Blaze looked at her confused. "How is that relevant in any way to a Sandshrew?"
"It's not, but it is relevant to a Sandslash." She smiled and threw out her newly acquired Sandshrew. "Hey little guy, I'm going to call you Spiny." The little Sandshrew looked at its trainer.
"Shrew." The little Sandshrew spoke.
He says he likes it. Sandshrews aren't very emotive. Gertrud translated Sandshrew's speech from Blaze and Persephone.
"What am I going to do when I'm not travelling with you anymore Gertrud." Persephone laughed before returning Spiny to his Pokéball.
You could catch a psychic type. Gertrud tried to sarcastically give some advice. Oh, and Spiny is a girl.
"Oh... Well, let's get going to the ferry." Persephone started running, leaving Blaze to catch up.
"Damn it Persephone." Blaze started running after Persephone... and hoping that he didn't miss the ferry.

​

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Chapter 3: The Jubilant City​

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Spoiler

"One minute to spare Persephone, how freaking lucky were we!" Blaze and Persephone were alone on the ferry today. Some days it was really busy, but it had been a quiet weekend according to the man running the service.
"It's great to have the ferry all to ourselves on the first day of our journey, and it would be even better if all the Pokémon got along." Spiny and Laxus were both glaring at each other. Laxus was growling at the Sandshrew, not wanting to play nice with it. Spiny was just trying not to lose its confidence against the Shinx.
"It's just your Pokémon Persephone. They're quite free-spirited." Blaze chuckled slightly watching the show between the two Pokémon. Amy was flying around the ferry carefree while Gertrud was lazily laying on a separate couch nearby.
Laxus says that he wants to beat Spiny in a one on one battle. Spiny doesn't want to fight her new comrade. It's even more entertaining if you knew what they were saying, although there are a few choice phrases that you probably don't want to hear. The little grass type jumped onto the couch back and stuck her head over the top. Just as she did, Amy came crashing into her, unable to change direction fast enough.
"Flabé?" The Flabébé looked at Gertrud apologetically. At least they had become friends in their short time together. Gertrud held onto the Flabébé's flower in one rose and Amy landed into her other rose hand.
She's quite headstrong, but she's quite a sweet Pokémon. I can't wait to see what she is like in battle. I'm sure she'll be amazing. Gertrud put Amy back on her flower and set her back off on her way, the Flabébé constantly using Fairy Wind to move itself around.
"She's quite fun to watch." Persephone giggled as Amy flew past right next to her cheek. "I wonder what other moves she knows. Persephone held up her Poketch to the little flower fairy. "Okay, it says that she also knows Vine Whip and Lucky Chant. I'm surprised that Amy isn't part grass type, Flabébés look kinda grassy and they have a lot of grass attacks."
Blaze just shrugged. "Don't question nature, that's just what happens." Amy came up to him and rubbed her cheek against his. Blaze rubbed her head with his index finger, to which Amy smiled with glee. "You're going to be really strong one day. I can just tell, you and Gertrud will be amazing members of this team." Gertrud hung off the back of her chair with her arms folded, grinning happily.
"I wish my Pokémon would get along as well as Amy and Gertrud do." Persephone watched her Pokémon continue to bicker. It was irritating that they just couldn't get along. Spiny was starting to get fed up with Laxus and threw some sand into the Shinx's face. The Shinx went to tackle Spiny and missed as Spiny stepped out of the way. "Laxus is too reckless for his own good. He's going to be a lot to handle."
He's young, he'll learn it time... I think. He seems like a bit of an idiot. Persephone sighed.
"Gertrud, I didn't need to know that. Now I'm even more worried about Laxus." She watched Laxus and Spiny continuing to fight each other. She was tempted to bring one of them back into its Pokéball, but the longer they were around each other, the more likely they would get along... Right?
"Attention passengers, we will be arriving off the coast of Jubilife City in two minutes. Make sure all valuables and Pokémon are in Pokeballs to ensure that they are safe." The announcement came out of the loudspeaker. Persephone stared at Spiny and Laxus. The Sandshrew was curious about the announcement, looking back at Persephone. Laxus was still just growling.
"Alright, back in the Pokeballs you go." Spiny had a bit of a happy look on her face. Laxus didn't even realise he was being called back. Both had returned to their Pokeballs at the same time. "What am I going to do with you two?"
Amy stopped herself in front of Blaze and stared at him, her eyes trying to convince him to let her stay out of her Pokéball. Blaze rolled his eyes. "I'll let you out when we actually get to Jubilife. I don't want you to get hurt on the way there." The Flabébé had a forlorn look on her face, but was smiling slightly being able to come out soon.
"Aww, don't worry girl." Blaze was rubbing the fairy Pokémon's head with one of his fingers, Amy was laughing. "Alright, in you go." Amy reached out and touched the Pokéball. She was covered in a red light which was then sucked inside the ball.
I'm almost starting to get jealous of how much you take care of Amy. She is a sweet little thing though, I understand why you dote over her. Roselia was now sitting on the back edge of her chair, waiting for the boat to stop. Anyway, are we going straight to Eterna or are we sticking around in Jubilife for a while?
"I think we'll check out the Battle Tent in Jubilife before we move on to Eterna. I want to see how Amy holds up in a fight." Blaze held up the Flabébé's Pokéball and tossed it up and down a few times.
"And I need to see how Spiny and Laxus do in a trainer battle rather than fighting each other." Persephone was holding both Pokeballs, looking at them with a saddened expression.
Blaze, be glad that we don't feel movement while we are in those things, Amy would have a massive headache otherwise. Gertrud snickered, covering her mouth with one of her rose hands.
"We have arrived on the outskirts of Jubilife, please be prepared to exit the ferry." The announcer spoke once again. Gertrud climbed onto Blaze's hand, then jumped up onto his shoulder. Persephone strapped Laxus and Spiny's Pokeballs to her belt.
"Well, I guess we're off." Persephone and Blaze both exited the ferry, with the city of Jubilife looming in front of them. They had been here before plenty of times. However, this time it was their first time going in as Pokémon trainers. It was their first city that they would enter as Pokémon trainers.
"Blaze, are you ready for this?" Persephone had her hands wrapped behind her neck, her voice shaking ever so slightly. "Oh Arceus, why am I so nervous. Jubilife City isn't that scary." She looked down for a second. Gertrud jumped over from Blaze's shoulder onto Persephone's. She hugged the girl, albeit her arms didn't stretch around very much.
Blaze is feeling the same way... Although, he is often extremely nervous in public. You've got Pokémon, you are on a journey, away from home. This town means that you won't be returning home for quite a while. Persephone looked at Gertrud.
"Thank you for the encouragement Gertrud." She spoke as sarcastically as possible. Blaze looked over for a second, then his gaze directed itself straight back to the ground. "And now Blaze is worried even more than usual."
"Not helping." Blaze whispered under his breath. Persephone and Gertrud didn't quite hear what he said, they ignored it.
A large amount of the walk was an awkward silence. Persephone was walking with her head held high, hands behind her neck, although she wasn't feeling as confident as she looked. Blaze on the other hand was as nervous as he appeared, one arm rubbing the other as if he was cold, head hung down.
When they did finally arrive, they both just stood there for a minute.
Persephone broke the silence. "So... Blaze... Are you ready? We really are doing this. We're going to be on a full on Pokémon journey." Blaze smirked and finally looked up for the first time in a few minutes.
"Weren't you the one who had to convince me to come, or were you not actually ready either? I guess this is why kids often go off at ten. They still feel an attachment to their homes, but they don't get completely homesick." Blaze snickered.
"Yea, but the maturity of a ten year old isn't that amazing. Have you heard all those stories people have written about those ten year olds where they take down all sorts of evil organizations and stuff. There was that story about the boy and Team Galactic. I could never do that sort of thing."
So, are we going in or are we just going to stand here for the rest of the day? Gertrud looked at the two of them, waiting impatiently for the two of them.
Both of them laughed at their own nervousness. They looked at each other. "Blaze, together, just like that moment when we left Canalave." Persephone smiled.
The boy nodded. "Yea, let's." He grabbed Perephone's hand and looked straight ahead. Gertrud walked down and stood on the clasp between their hands.
"3, 2, 1." They both stepped forward into the town.
Blaze had been holding in a breath. He exhaled with relief, Peresphone giggling at the sight. "Well, there really is no turning back now. We're really doing this. No regrets, 'ey Persephone?"
"None at all. We're really doing it." She looked around before looking at Blaze. "We're you going to let Amy out?"
"Oh yea." He sent the little Flabébé out of its Pokéball. "Hey girl, sorry it took too long." The flower fairy twirled around happily.
"Fla, Flabé" Amy was moving around happily, using the Fairy Wind to turn around quickly. She was looking around the city, as she had never been very far away from Rowan's laboratory in her life.
"Well, someone seems to be enjoying her time." Blaze was smiling, a bit less nervous with both Amy and Gertrud around. When they did pass by some people though, he suddenly became anxious again. Gertrud stood on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.
Blaze, come on. You've got Persephone and me with you, not to mention Amy. Look at that little bundle of energy. She's buzzing around like a little Combee. Blaze laughed at Gertrud's analogy, and was quickly grateful that there was no one around. Most of Gertrud's telepathic speech would go directly to Persephone and Blaze, although sometimes she would be selective in which one she talked to. There were other people who naturally heard the communications, like Blaze and Persephone's parents and Cecil, but otherwise Gertrud had to actively make other people hear it.
"So, the Pokémon Centre and then the Battle Tent. I think that Spiny and Laxus will need a bit of healing." Persephone had grabbed one of the two Pokeballs from her belt and looked at it, worried about her Pokémon. "I wish these two would get along."
"I agree with you on Laxus and Spiny, but I'm pretty sure they heal up you Pokémon before a match in the Battle Tent, so you don't really have to worry about the Pokémon Centre." Blaze spoke, head still down and in an almost incomprehensible mumble that only Persephone could decipher.
"One of these days you are going to have to stop being so nervous in public. Honestly, you are going to end up as one of those... what are they called... hikkikomori I keep reading about." Persephone stopped in front of Blaze and ducked down so she could see his face. "You won't get anywhere with your head pointed at the ground all the time."
"That's why Gertrud is so important to me, and you as well. Both of you pull me along, you guys interpret the world for me." Blaze couldn't stand when Persephone got philosophical with him, but he kind of appreciated it.
Daww, isn't that sweet. Now, if you two lovebirds could get moving, people are staring. Gertrud's little joke got Blaze blushing like crazy. Both Persephone and Gertrud giggled, with Amy floating in confusing about what was going on. Still, I think that we should get to the Battle Tent.
Blaze and Persephone both nodded their heads in unison. They continued on, Blaze looking up for a second to check if Gertrud was telling the truth. Persephone and Gertrud giggled again, there wasn't anyone around, or at least anyone who was staring at them.

"Alright you two pranksters, let's get moving."

It didn't take too long to reach the Battle Tent. While Jublife was quite an expansive city, it was easy to find your way around quickly, and if not there were always taxis. It only took about fifteen minutes to reach on foot.
"Alright, we're here. Now, let's sign up. There should be plenty of people, but it might take a while to find some newbi---"
A girl, probably in her late teens with a Zorua on her shoulder walked past. Blaze was a bit frightened by her appearance, she was quite tall, with white hair and a creepy black suit on.
"Zufi, you ready to challenge the Tent again today? I'm sure Sienna will do much better today. One day we will talk Zen's place as the dark type gym leader." The girl was speaking to the Zorua.
Blaze was suddenly afraid of entering the Battle Tent. These were the kinds of people he liked to avoid. He didn't like strangers, as he could not tell what they were like, but people who went out of their way to make themselves look intimidating put him on edge.
He hoped that he wouldn't have to battle her, but she looked a lot older than a starter trainer. Surely she wouldn't have Pokémon at the same skill level as him.
Surely...
"Blaze, you coming soon? Come on, we should sign up right away." Persephone was already by the entrance. The tall girl had walked right past her, Persephone only glancing at the girl quickly before averting her attention back to Blaze.
"Coming..." Blaze spoke unenthusiastically. He didn't want to have to pass by that girl again. Gertrud tried to get his attention by tapping him with one of her petal hands.
Is something the matter? We can just watch instead of battling if you want. Gertrud was worried. Blaze's Flabébé on the other hand was floating right next to Persephone, eagerly awaiting its trainer.
"Oh... It's nothing Gertrud... Don't worry about it." Blaze walked into the Battle Tent behind Persephone.
To call the building a tent was a bit of an understatement on the building itself. It had started out as a concept in Hoenn, where it was indeed a tent that some people had set up with certain rules ad an idea to have a place where trainers could battle without any thought of paying their competition or worrying about rushing to heal Pokémon.
Soon after the idea had spread to Unova and Sinnoh, but they created a facility similar to a Contest arena where trainers could watch battles, wait in a lobby for other trainers, and compete against other trainers of similar ability. It took off fast and similar buildings were built in most towns around both regions.
"Alright, so, where are we going to go? We don't have any badges, I'm pretty sure that is one of the things you need to put in sign-ups." Persephone was looking around a bit confused. She had been in the facility before, but only to watch other people battle, never to battle others.
It was as if the white haired girl was just there to show them where they were supposed to go. In the corner of his vision, Blaze saw her tapping on a screen similar to the phone boxes they used to have installed around Pokémon centres before Xtransceivers became popular. Then he saw her place two Pokeballs into a tray containing six round indents. A fanned out red beam scanned them and she took them out before walking away.
"Well, I'd assume that is where challengers sign up for this." Blaze pointed to where the girl had just been. There was no way that he would be facing her, he didn't have to worry.
Both Blaze and Persephone walked up to individual screens. Information was displayed on the screen to describe the Battle Tent, with an icon in the top left saying "Signups". Blaze tapped it and some text boxes came on screen with areas to fill out details.
First question, Name. Blaze entered his full name, Blaze Ishida, with the onscreen keyboard and clicked the Next button. Second question was gender and age. He tapped male and then typed 14 before clicking Next. Why would they care about his age?
The next few questions were more on Pokémon training. The first was a drop down option box next to a question saying "How long was it since you started your Pokémon journey?" Thank god there was an option that said less than a week, otherwise it would have been awkward for Blaze. The next question was seemingly redundant, although he had heard of prodigies who beat their first gym in under a week. It was asking how many gym badges he had earnt, once again with a drop down option box. He clicked the number zero.
Finally, it asked him to place his Pokeballs in the tray below the screen. While he did this, the screen said "Smile for the camera." He looked at the screen and frowned. He didn't need to smile, he really didn't care. The camera flashed as the red beam from before scanned his Pokeballs. The screen said "Error, all Pokémon must be in Pokeballs." Gertrud looked at Blaze and frowned before jumping down and touching her Pokéball, letting herself be absorbed into the capsule. Amy looked at Blaze, curious as to why Gertrud had gone back into her Pokéball before following suit without need for prompting from her trainer.
Blaze got the machine to rescan the Pokeballs, and details for both Gertrud and Amy, were displayed on the screen. Above each of their species names, there was a blank box that could clearly have text entered. Blaze assumed that this was for the Pokémon's nicknames, so he entered Gertrud and Amy into each of their boxes respectively. The machine rescanned the Pokeballs, and a message saying "data saved" appeared on screen. He guessed that meant that the Battle Tent would save the data for each challenger so that it didn't need to ask the same questions repeatedly.
Persephone looked over at Blaze to see if he had finished with the process yet. He nodded before releasing Gertrud and Amy from their Pokeballs again. Amy spun around, happy to be out again. Gertrud just jumped back on Blaze's shoulder.
So, I guess we just wait for an announcement. I'm not going to be surprised if it takes a while for the system to find suitable trainer matches unless they decided to pair you two. Blaze and Persephone worried at the thought. Both of them didn't really want to face the other at the moment.
"Yea, I guess we wai---"
"Will Blaze Ishida and Hextilda MacCoarson please come to the main lobby, your match is about to start." The announcement came over the loud speaker. Blaze looked over at the reception desk, which was clearly visible from any section of the building. He saw none other than that tall, creepy looking girl walking up to it.
"Oh Arceus please no!" Blaze's hand was covering his right eye, something he did when he was really nervous. "No, please, no!"
"Blaze, go on, you're up." Persephone couldn't see the issue. Blaze hadn't told her that this girl that he was about to fight in a Pokémon Battle was scaring him. Persephone gave him a slight push and against his own will Blaze's feet started moving towards the reception desk.
When he reached the desk he practically whispered to the Receptionist. "I'm Blaze Ishida, I'm here for the battle." He was shivering from how nervous he was. He couldn't stand the fact that of all people in here, he was facing that girl.
The receptionist pushed a button and the door to the main battle floor opened. He walked through, cursing his own luck. How ironic that the receptionist had just wished him good luck before he went in.
On the other side of the battlefield, there was the girl, her Zorua still standing on her shoulder. She grinned at Blaze, somewhere between a happy and slasher grin. "So, you're my challenger? Well, you don't look so good."
Blaze wasn't sure if she was referring to the fact that he was shaking to the point where it almost looked like he was twitching, or that she could somehow tell that this was his first battle. He was thinking the worst from this girl though.
"Well, my name is Hextilda, which I would assume you would already know from that announcement. I plan on becoming the future leader of the dark type gym in Hearthome. Anyway, you must be Blaze Ishida, it's nice to meet you." The girl spoke in a weird mix between condescending and friendly. She pulled out a top hat with a few bite marks and put it on.
Blaze spoke to Gertrud, who was still on his shoulder for the moment. Amy was floating around his shoulder, sizing up her trainer's opponent. The Flabébé flew over to Hextilda and gave her the most menacing stare that could come from such a tiny Pokémon.
"Not much of a talker, are you? Well, I admire your Flabébé, she has spiri---"
I apologize for Blaze, he is extremely nervous and it seems your appearance has scared him speechless. Hextilda acted shocked, but not as shocked as Gertrud had expected. Amy flew back over to Blaze as Hextilda spoke.
"Hmm, so you have a Pokémon who can use telepathic communication as well. Zufi here is telepathic as well, so I'm used to it." Hextilda smiled at her foe. "Well, I guess that's something we have in common.
The announcer of the match spoke into the microphone that was right in front of him on the desk. "Will the two of the challengers please get the battle underway?"
"Fine, fine. I may as well crush my competition as fast as possible." Hextilda gave that joy crossed slasher smile once again. "And I think I'll go with a double battle this time around, just for the fun of it. Go, Sienna and Inditius."
A small green rock type Pokémon and a purple bug like Pokémon appeared from the Pokeballs. There was one more Pokéball strapped to Hextilda's belt. "We'll go for a 2-v-2 battle. I won't use this one here." On the screen, there was a picture of a Larvitar and a question mark on the place of what should have been a Skorupi.
"What the hell..." Blaze looked at the screen. There was something weird going on. He had read about this from something, but he wasn't very sure exactly what it was. He gathered up the courage to speak. "I'll be using Amy and Gertrud, my Flabébé and Roselia." Gertrud jumped off his shoulder and onto the battlefield. Amy floated in the air next to the Roselia.
The Zorua on Hextilda's shoulder transformed into Gertrud and smiled. Well, good luck to you Blaze, and you two Gertrud. Blaze chuckled at the Zorua.
"Well, I guess I'll have the first move. Gertrud, use Growth, and Amy use Lucky Chant." A white light surrounded Gertrud's body, which she absorbed, breathing in. Amy sang and physical rings of music notes appeared and surrounded Gertrud and Amy like a shield.
Hextilda looked at Zufi the Zorua, who had changed back to normal. "Well then, I guess we're up. Sienna, Nasty Plot, Inditius, whip up a Sandstorm." Sand came from the Larvitar's backside, covering the whole battlefield and the stands with swirling sands. Meanwhile, the Skorupi seemed to be grinning maniacally about something.
Why would a Skorupi be doing something to raise its Special Attack, when Skorupis specialized in Physical attacks and defences. In fact, he was quite sure that Skorupis couldn't learn Nasty Plot. There was something wrong here.
Zufi transformed again, this time into an almost perfect replica of Persephone, who Blaze noticed was in the stands cheering him on. The only issue was that Zufi's replica had a Zorua's tail. Persephone was giggling, with Zufi grinning at the girl she had transformed into.
That was it! "Amy, use Vine Whip on Sienna, then I want you to intercept her attacks." Flabébés were great at taking special attacks, and while he didn't want to put Amy in harm's way, she was more likely to take the hits than Gertrud. Plus, Gertrud would be better focusing on Inditius the Larvitar.
Amy turned and nodded at her trainer. "Flabé" she said in acknowledgment. A vine grew out from the Flabébé's orange flower which quickly rushed towards the Skorupi. The Skorupi jumped out of the way, but Amy managed to swing the vine rapidly to hit her foe. While this was happening, he told Gertrud to line up a Poison Sting. The Skorupi's body flickered slightly, the Pokémon focusing on something else, not noticing the poisoned barb that was coming straight for her.
The barb stuck right in the Pokémon's side and its form shimmered. As its illusion broke, Sienna the Zoroark gave a growl. "Well Blaze, I'm surprised that this is your first battle. You seem to handle both Gertrud and Amy quite well, and their aim in a Sandstorm is quite exceptional. I'm still not going easy on you."
"Arceus, you sound like Cecil when he is in the middle of a battle." To Blaze's surprise, he wasn't nervous anymore. He was actually enjoying himself. "Well, you did say you had aspirations to be a gym leader, so I guess the fact that you sound like him isn't a bad thing."
"Anyway, let's go at this. Sienna, use Flamethrower on Amy! Inditius, attack Gertrud with Bite!" Sienna formed a mass of fire in her mouth while Inditius charged straight towards Gertrud. A stream of fire came out of Sienna's mouth, headed straight for the Flabébé. Amy manipulated the wind to dull the fire, but it was not enough to stop fire from slamming into her, albeit with about half the original power.
Gertrud was trying to outmanoeuvre Inditius's jaw, but due to the Sandstorm, her visibility was down. Unable to react as fast as usual, the Larvitar was able to clamp down on her arm. Gertrud gritted her teeth trying to resist making a slight sound from the bite. Blaze was trying to think of something quickly. Sienna's attacks were clearly powerful, and Inditius was enhanced by the Sandstorm.
He was backed right into a corner. Damn it, what was he going to do now...

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Hooray, chapter 2 is up. Unclick spoiler or go to fanfic to read ​

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Summary​

Persephone and Blaze have started off their Pokémon journey. They are soon to set off from Canalave, but first they need to finish off their goodbyes to their friends.​

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(@[member='Deltheor'] I have done a short gym battle between Cecil and random character that I made up. also, @[member='Derahex'], your gym is up first.)​

 

Chapter 3, successful. As always, you can unclick the spoiler or read on fanfic.​

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Summary​

Persephone and Blaze have finally reached Jubilife City, and are soon to test out their Pokémon in their first ever Pokémon battles. How with the two new trainers fair in their first battles.​

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Also, @[member="Derahex"] I hope I got Hextilda right...​