Chapter 8

I stirred sleepily, the spear of morning light piercing through the drapes of my hotel room almost comically colliding with my freshly opened eye as I adjusted my position. A quick move of the head rectified this problem, however, and I was able to start drifting back into the blissful embrace of slumber. My consciousness had just began to fade as my alarm blasted forth from my phone and rudely awoke me.

I sat up and scratched my back, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I smacked my lips. A quick glance over at Nova showed that she hadn't stirred at all from the alarm. I was filled with adoration as I watched her snore lightly, her chin resting on a pillow, which hid her mouth. I couldn't help but lean down and kiss her on the head. This succeeded in waking her, her ears twitching slightly as she looked up. She moaned lightly as she stretched, sticking her rear into the air, sparking fond memories of the night before.

"'Morning..." She said, tiredness extremely evident in her voice.

"'Morning yourself." I said to her.

"God, last night was incredible." She said with a wide smile. I smiled back at her and sighed, laying down on my back.

"It's always been awesome, but I don't think it's ever been that awesome. " I replied.

"You think Gary can get us some more weed?" She asked me, trying to hide her eagerness. "Think about last night." I laughed, grabbing her before pulling her in for an extended kiss.

"It's possible, but we shouldn't push it. He probably only brought a certain amount with him." I replied.

"Oh, okay." She replied, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"But since Alan has rekindled his old friendship with him, I don't think it'd be too hard to buy some." I said to her. She brightened up significantly and kissed me on the cheek. "But remember, it's weed. I'd be all for smoking as much as we want, but we can't let it dominate us and ruin our responsibilities."

"Ah, right." She said to me, sticking a finger up. "Can't perpetuate the stereotype." I laughed and held her close, the two of us laying there, simply content to be in each others' arms.

"I'm so goddamned proud of you." I said, causing her to move back and smile at me.

"Well, thanks. What did I do to get such a commendation?"

"Well, nothing specifically...It's just...You learned to talk back when you were a freaking Quilava. You're so smart, and powerful...Yesterday, I was having to constantly remind myself to give you commands because of how in awe I was of you. And you're so beautiful..." I stroked her arm and back as I said this, making her blush heavily.

"Mr. McAllister, you flatter me too much." She said, giving me a peck on the lips. "If you continue in this manner, I'm just not sure if I can control myself." She giggled.

"A tempting notion indeed, Ms. Nova...An extremely tempting notion." I replied. "But we must prepare for the days events, even if it pains me so." She giggled and straddled me, kissing me softly on the lips before bringing her mouth an inch away from mine.

"Well then you'd better get to it before I decide to keep you in this bed." She whispered. Fighting like hell to suppress my sexual urges, which were becoming more and more dominant every moment, I sighed and looked away from her, in a vain attempt to negate the raw sexual energy between us.

"So...I'm gonna grab a shower real quick." I said to her as she moved, sitting up and moving toward the bathroom. She yawned and nodded as I moved to the bathroom, slipping my boxers off as I went. Closing the door behind me, I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror, appraising my face for any newly acquired scratches, blemishes or anything else of that nature. My face wasn't totally clear, but who's is, really? Satisfied, I turned the shower on, which warmed up almost immediately.

Stepping inside, I sighed at the hot water playing off my skin, relaxing and smooth. The shower was a walk in and spacious, but not massive. A nice seat rested in the corner. For some reason, I had believed that a warm shower would calm me down and get my mind off of my near sexual encounter in the bedroom...But I was obviously wrong. My mind wandered to Nova, her body, her breasts...and without thinking I found myself slowly reaching down to grip myself before I started moving up and down. Unable to keep myself standing anymore, I sank down to sit on the shower floor. Suddenly, Nova entered the bathroom, snapping my out of my stupor. Now in the throes of self-pleasure, one's reaction time is a bit...slowed, so I was almost positive that she had caught me in my...position.

Still, standing up quickly and attempting to play it off, I cleared my throat.

"I uh...thought you were gonna sleep in while I got ready." I said to her, my back to the blurred glass door to hide my manhood.

"Well, I figured that I have to get up eventually anyway. We have to leave soon, so I just didn't think it was worth it to go back to sleep." She replied as she began brushing her teeth.

"Ah."

"Lots of steam. Hot water?" She spat out mouthwash.

"Uh-huh."

"Do you know of any way we could...make it hotter?"

"Uh-huh."

She moved toward the shower, her form blurred slightly by the glass. Even obscured as she was, I could tell her supple hips swayed hypnotically, as they always did when Nova was turned on. I turned completely, my member bobbing about as I did so.

"Now what is that I see?" She said, a sexy tint to her voice. I opened the door and looked straight into her eyes, already fiery with passion.

"Find out for yourself." I barely uttered in time as Nova's lips crashed into mine. Moaning in near unison, we collided with the wall, giving off a loud 'thump' before she grabbed my member. I detached from the kiss and moaned, throwing my head back as she pumped it. She giggled breathily and placed small kisses on my lips, her breath giving off more heat than the steam from the shower. I turned her around quickly, pressing her back to the wall before moving my fingers on her slit, applying pressure as I went. She moaned and began to spread her legs, panting in between my kisses.

I brought my tongue to her left breast, teasing her erect nipple, drawing from her a high pitched moan. Without warning, I dropped to my knees and began to lick her flower, drawing moisture from it. She let out a surprised and pleasured gasp before following up with moans consistent with my licks.

"Oh, god...slide it in, baby." She breathed, prompting me to slide my tongue past her wet folds. Using my lips to suck on her...lips, I continued to plunge my tongue inside her as deeply as possible while twisting and turning it. Given the new stimulation, she took to screaming as she was swept away in an orgasm. I felt her walls contracting on my tongue in steady rhythm, coupled with a flow of juices into my mouth.

"Here, get on your back." She said. Acting quickly, I did as she said, laying on my back, my member at full mast before her. She moaned and began to climb up my body, her breasts moving past my face. Her rear ended up hovering just above my head, her sex glistening before me. I couldn't help but start licking her again, making her grind her hips on my face, moaning happily. She moved her head down and began to lick my member at the head, swirling her tongue on it. The pleasure stimulated me to continue on with my servicing her.

She began sucking me, warming her mouth enough to make me detach from her lower lips and audibly moan. She sucked me faster and faster, driving me closer to the edge with each motion. Given my previous arousal, it didn't take me long to lose myself in her mouth. She continued sucking as I came, seemingly spurred on by my frantic moaning. I let my head fall back, smiling in the afterglow of my orgasm.

"Oh, wow..." She moaned, a small giggle escaping her lips. I looked down. In my euphoric pleasure, I hadn't realized that somehow, my rod remained hard and throbbing. Her back flames shooting, she slowly crawled off of me and placed her hands on the floor, sticking her rear into the air before me. Her flames evaporated the already piping hot water, causing steam to further fill the bathroom. She began to rub her slit, moaning passionately as she looked back at me, her red irises glowing with lust.

"Pick one, stud." She moaned.

"God, if only I had two dicks..."

"God if only."

I laughed as I got closer, slowly sliding myself into her pussy, making her bite her lip and gyrate her rear around on my member. I began to rigorously fuck her, making her gasp and moan loudly, placing both hands on the floor. She moaned more frequently as time passed.

"Hey..." I moaned as we went.

"Yeah?" She asked me.

"Can you control your back flames?" I asked her.

"Uh...Fuck..."She moaned before biting her lip for a second and closing her eyes to think. "Yeah...I think so...At least for a little bit."

"Okay..." I moaned, nearly breathless. "Let me know when you're about to cum." She nodded at me as we kept going. I grabbed her rear and pulled her into me with each thrust, making her cry out with each one. After about a minute of her moans escalating in volume and intensity, I could tell she was almost there.

"I'm...I'm about to cum!" She cried.

"Okay, back flames!" I said. The flames died down for a moment as I withdrew from her. Earning a disappointed moan.

"Aww...why-augh! Oh, God!"

I had slid myself into her ass, moving in and out. I bent over to where my chest pressed into her back before reaching my hand around her and fingering her pussy. I continued to thrust into her rear, feeling it tap against my groin. She moaned fervently and licked my neck slowly, increasing my level of arousal greatly. I felt it welling up like a fire.

"Fuck...I'm going..." I said, breathing deeply as I continued to pump into her. I continued going vigorously,

rubbing her slit and causing her to moan even louder than she had been. At this point, the neighbors probably heard us, but I couldn't have given any less of a shit at that point. Nova cried out loudly as I felt her juices squirting from her lower lips onto my thighs. Seconds after, my second orgasm overtook me as I pulled out of her, my seed squirting onto her rear. She let out a coo of delight as it happened.

Now firmly and utterly exausted, I fell onto my back, feeling the shower water fall on me. Nova crawled to me and laid down beside me. She stroked my chest as we breathed together.

"Jesus, we just keep raising the bar, don't we?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess we do." She sighed.

"But can we...Get out?" I asked, causing Nova to look at me confused. "Because I am very overheated and I think I might die...Again."

...

Nova and I went at near-disorienting speeds as we attempted to ready ourselves for the day's events. Our timeframe was extremely limited, considering the good fifteen minutes we spent fucking each other's brains out in the shower. I brushed my teeth as I stumbled through the room toward my suitcase for a pair of socks. I tripped as I went, nearly face planting, narrowly avoiding having a toothbrush shoved down my throat.

"Gah! Fuck!" I cried, my words muffled by foamy toothpaste.

"What was that?" Nova called, poking her head from the bathroom. I sighed and removed the toothbrush.

"Oh, you know, almost died. No big deal."

"Smartass." She said, rolling her eyes as she went back to drying her coat. Quickly putting my socks on, I stood with a sigh and walked to the bathroom before rinsing my mouth out.

"You feeling pumped?" I asked Nova, who nodded. I zipped up my old grey and black trainer jacket. The zipper came up to the very top of the collar around my neck just underneath my chin. Admittedly, I liked the jacket because it made me feel like an anime character.

"I've been anticipating it all morning." She replied as she turned the blow dryer off. "Thing is that I won't know who I'm fighting until I'm there."

"Well, its..." I took a moment to look at the notes on my phone. "More single battles today. But I can use everybody. You got everyone else's backs at least." I smirked at her as I kissed her gently.

"True." She sighed before looking around. "So...what time is it?" I shrugged and looked down at my phone again. It was 11:45. We had fifteen minutes to get to the arena. I gasped and grabbed Nova's hand, pulling her out into the hall.

"Wait! I'm...Gah, I'm not even dry yet!" She fussed.

"We have fifteen minutes. I'll hand-fan you but we can't be late!"

"Oh, wow! Okay, here, get on my back." She said with a smile. I chuckled and leapt up onto my Typhlosion's back. She was smaller than me, but she had absolutely no trouble lifting the entirety of my body weight off the ground. She got onto all fours and began to fervently sprint down the hallway.

"Oooohhh, shiiit!" I cried as we moved, making Nova giggle. She turned right twice in the hallway before coming to the stairs. "Nova?...Nova, what are you doing?"

She didn't answer me as she burst through the door and leapt up right over the railing, right above the ten floors worth of empty space that the staircase circled around...All the way down. I cried out in both fear and exhilaration as we fell. Nova hit the ground soundly, taking the fall as if it was nothing. A small dust cloud formed around her as she landed. I quickly jumped off and sprinted through the door leading to the lobby to find Alan, Jade, Alicia and Gary waiting for us.

"Yo, man. Where you been?" Gary asked me, raising his arms for a moment as he, Alan, Jade and Alicia joined us running.

"Sorry, dude." I replied. "Fucking alarm didn't go off. Stupid apple." Gary chuckled.

"Yeah, I hear that." He said as he reached into his pocket before pulling out his phone. "Android bitch!" I rolled my eyes as we approached the automatic sliding doors leading to the turn around where bellhops picked up luggage and, thankfully, where the bus was parked. Several people still waited to get on.

"Oh, thank Christ." I sighed between breaths as we slowed to a fast walk.

"Looks like we made it." Nova said, not fatigued whatsoever. We got into line and waited for our turn to board. Nova stood before me, turning momentarily to smile at me sweetly. I felt Alan place a gentle tap on my shoulder.

"Do I even have to fucking ask?" Alan asked me quietly as we waited to get on the bus.

"Nope."

...

We arrived at the arena just in time to join the trainer line into the training center. The anticipation of who I would be paired with nearly drove me insane as we waited to be admitted into the training center. I grabbed Nova's hand and squeezed it gently, giving her a small kiss on the cheek. Gary looked back at us just in time for me to drop her hand.

"So I take it you'll use Nova again today?" Gary asked.

"Well actually, Logan likes to alternate between all of us. Being fair and all that." Nova replied, making me smirk.

"She just about covered it." I replied. "But yeah, I think it's full party today. One on one."

"Oooh, yeah, I forgot." Gary said, putting up a fist. I punched mine into it and he nodded. "Thanks, Cannabis." I laughed and looked ahead to see Alan scan his trainer ID.

"Mary Jane is a nice girl." I said to him. "But she can be vindictive at times."

"Hell, yeah." He said as he got to the clerk, allowing her to scan his ID. "See you in there, bro." He slapped my shoulder as he entered the training center. Approaching the clerk, I smiled widely. She gave me a tired smirk in response. Take what you can get, right?

"Hello." I said to her. "Here you are." I said to her, presenting her with my ID. After scanning it she handed it back to me.

"Good luck."

"Hey, would you mind if I asked you a question?" I posed, leaning on the desk. "Working at this arena, do you have to do just this tournament, or all-"

"You're holding up the line." She deadpanned.

"Right. Right, sorry."

I moved through the kiosk and walked quickly, holding Nova's hand in mine.

"Why are we walking so fast?" She asked, confused at the pace of my walking.

"I gotta see who I'm fighting."

Upon entering the training room, I looked for the screen which I knew to contain the current brackets of the tournament. I looked around at all the trainers, who were training even harder than they usually did. Some microscopic, narcissistic part of me hoped that it was because Nova had them all intimidated yesterday. To be fair, my ego isn't that large. Some of the other trainers were intimidated, the looks on their faces evidence of that when Nova melted the Chromium.

"There!" Nova said, pointing up at a screen right above our heads. I looked up and rolled my eyes.

"Of course."

I looked at the board and scanned the many names at the bottom of the brackets until I found my name. "L. McAllister". It was right next to one "G. Stevens."

"Huh...I wonder who G. Stevens is..." I said, looking around. "Oh, well. Let's find Alan and Gary." Looking around steadily, Nova pointed in the direction Alan stood talking with Gary. Gary looked to be perturbed about something.

Gary.

G.

Fuck.

"No way..." I said, walking toward them, Nova following close behind me.

"What's wrong?" Nova asked. "I wonder what Gary is so...Oh, shit."

"Yeah." I replied as I came to Alan and Gary.

"Man, ain't this a fucking bitch." Gary said, throwing his hands forward.

"It really sucks, man." Alan added. "I'm fighting some random fucker."

"Well...What do you think we should do?" Gary asked me, shrugging and looking at me, sighing as his eyebrows furrowed. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"We can go and request a different matchup, but I don't think they'd do that." I said to him.

"It's a competitive tournament, so yeah, I wouldn't think so either." Nova added.

"I mean...I guess we just have to fight." Gary said to me, shaking his head. "If I could have it any other way, man..."

"I know, dude." I replied, patting his shoulder.

"Good thing is, we don't have to battle for a while. Would you guys maybe want to go get some food?" I asked, sparking Alan and Nova's attention. Jade seemed a little disinterested, most likely feeling down about her situation with Alan. I sighed.

"Oh, thank God you said that. I'm starving." Alan gushed.

"Sure, I can eat!" Nova added with a large smile.

'Come on, Jade.' I said in my thoughts. 'It'll be fun!'

'Oh, I know it will be.' She replied with a small smile. 'I am feeling a little peckish.'

"Well, we'd need to find a place where Pokemon could eat." I said. "What about you, Gary? You in?"

"Nah, bro. I'm good." He replied. "Had a pretty big breakfast this morning."

"Oh. Well alright, man. See you when we get back. We shouldn't be long." I sighed. "We can't exactly sit down for a three-course meal." Gary nodded as Alan, Jade, Nova and I walked from the training room.

"Hold up, guys. I'm gonna go grab Alicia." Alan said to us, about to run off when I grabbed his arm.

"Here's an idea." I almost whispered. "Why don't we just not tell her?"

"Logan, come on, man."

"We have not had any hangout time just the four of us since we got here. She's always been contaminating it with her bitchiness."

"Logan, I know you just don't like her." He deadpanned, furrowing his eyebrows at me and crossing his arms.

"No, I swear to god, she's one of the biggest bitches I have ever met. No exaggeration. You know me, I'm a pretty chill guy. If you're nice to me, I'm nice to you. But everything I say, she's got some douchey thing to say right back. It gets really, really old."

"Well you don't make it any better with your dumbass comments. It's like you try to piss her off."

"I don't start fights with her, I finish them." I replied to him, frustration rising within me. "You're letting her fuck with your head, man."

"Logan." He said through gritted teeth. "You're starting to piss me off."

"Am I wrong? Tell me I'm wrong and show me how I'm wrong and I'll go in there and get her my fucking self." Alan simply glared at me, obviously trying to come up with things to say. "See? You can't do it. She's rude, antagonistic and self-entitled. Not to mention a bitch."

"Fuck you, man."

"If you're going to say that to me for trying to save you from that cunt, right back at you." I spat as I stepped up to him. He pushed me, sending me back a couple steps, causing me to narrow my eyes at him and tilt my head before walking toward him with the purpose of slugging him in the face. Nova leaped right in front of me and stopped me in my tracks, grabbing my shoulders. She looked angry.

"Logan. Stop. Now." She said to me, gripping my arms so hard that they hurt. I knew from that point there was no way that I was getting to Alan. That didn't stop my anger, though. "He is basically your brother."

"He fucking pushed me!" I yelled. My eyes darted to Jade's quickly to see tears brewing within them. This made me angrier, knowing that Alan was either too ignorant or too uncaring to see the devotion she had for him. Especially considering the bitch he was with.

"You were getting in my face, asshole!" He growled.

"Logan, you need to stop. He's mature and can make his own decisions." Nova said to me, keeping an even tone in her voice.

"Apparently not mature enough to see the absolute devotion right in fucking front of him!" I screamed the last words before glancing at Jade, who was now crying quietly. This struck a chord in me, as I then realized that I had indeed flown off the handle, letting my anger control me too much.

'Logan please stop.' Jade said to me. 'Please.'

'Jade, this is getting too hard for me to watch.' I said to her. 'It bothers the hell out of me every time I look over and see Alan petting that horrible girl with you right behind him. I can't stand it.'

"Wait, what do you mean, right in front of me?" Alan asked, a confused look on his face. I was too invested in my conversation with Jade to notice.

'Logan, please...For me.' She repeated, the tears continuing to flow. 'I am asking you as my friend. I know you mean well, but this isn't the way.'

"Logan!" Alan said angrily. "Answer me!" Still, I barely registered it.

'I can't stand it...' I said to her.

'I know. And I thank you for that.' Jade said. 'But Alan is your cousin...No, your brother. This hurts me more than seeing him with Alicia.' I sighed deeply, attempting to reel myself in.

'Ok...'

'Thank you.'

"Logan!" Alan nearly screamed, snapping me out of it. I looked at him as he shook with rage. Defeated, I lowered my head and sighed.

"Nothing, man." I said to him, a dejected tone to my voice. "You just don't get it." Nova looked at me in concern.

"Logan, are you okay?" Nova asked me, concern on her face. "You kind of stopped responding there."

"I'm fine, sweetie." I said to her, breathing slowly. "You can let go of me now. I promise I won't do anything." Nova looked at me as if she wanted to take me to the hospital. "I promise, okay? I just need to cool off." She nodded and let go of my arms. I sighed and rubbed them, confident they'd bruise from how hard her grip was.

"I'll see you guys back at the tournament." I said. "Alan...I'm sorry. I was out of line. It's not fair of me to tell you how to live your life."

"Logan, I-" Alan began as if he was going to apologize too.

"Don't apologize to me, man. There's no cause for you to do that. It's your life, your girl..." I shoved my hands in my pockets before turning around and walking away in a sullen manner. "Your loss."

...

I never liked fighting with Alan. No matter what situation arose, we knew we could handle it together, even if we were eating ramen noodles for breakfast lunch and dinner. (There was actually a month we had to do that.) That's how close we were. We'd fought before, and made up before, as we'd likely make up from this one, but after every fight we had, I couldn't help but feel like I was alone, even if I had my Typhlosion walking next to me.

"Logan, please tell me what that was all about." She implored, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I'm worried." I sighed.

"Jade is in love with Alan." I said, my eyebrows remaining lowered on my face, my hands remaining in my pockets. Nova gasped quietly. "She is in love with him, prepared to be the most devoted mate ever, and he's still fucking around with Alicia. He's either completely oblivious, or doesn't give a shit."

"Logan!" Nova exclaimed. "This is Alan we're talking about. You two are brothers. You really think he'd be that underhanded?"

"They have sex." I said.

"Oh."

"They have sex, but he just keeps her as his side girl." I growled. "It pisses me off so much. It kills her inside, but she still does it for him."

"Has Jade told him how she feels?" Nova asked.

"No." I replied.

"Well then how do you know for sure he doesn't feel the same way?" She posed.

"I don't...but he still has sex with her. I mean, he has to know." I grumbled.

"Don't be so sure." Nova replied. "Remember, I've been in love with you since I was a Quilava." The statement made me think for several seconds before letting out a sigh.

"Yeah...I guess you're right." I conceded.

"I'm willing to bet that he doesn't know." Nova said. "And that when he does, he's going to dump Alicia and make Jade the happiest girl in the world. Well..." Nova inched toward me and put her arm around my waist. "Second happiest." I chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

"Come on, we'd better get in there." I said with a smirk on my face.

We entered the training room once more and took our seats as we waited for Alan and Jade to return from getting their food. I let the others out to warm up as Nova and I sat, Nova electing to take it easy to save up her strength. My eyes darted back and forth to the different Pokemon training, as well as my own. My team could stand with the best of them. I looked up at the brackets and saw that Gary and I only had one more match until our own, but he was nowhere to be seen. A sudden rush of regret flowed through me. I'd need to give Alan a hell of an apology when he arrived.

"Hey, guys." I heard him say from behind me, as if on cue with my thoughts. My stomach leaped as I whipped around to look at him. He had a regretful smirk on his face.

"Alan, I...I just wanted to say-"

"You don't have to, man." He said, patting me on the shoulder. "You don't have to." I smiled and nodded at him.

"So, where's Gary at?" I asked.

"I dunno, I texted him a little while ago, but he didn't reply." He said. "Looks like you guys don't have much time left. Jade, wanna see if you can locate him?"

'Sure. Let me try.' She replied. 'Found him.' She said almost immediately. 'And I'll give you all three guesses as to what he is doing.'

Alan and I burst into hearty laughter at the thought of Gary smoking it up right before his big match. I sighed and sat back, putting my hands behind my head.

"Is it wrong that I want to join him?" I asked with a chuckle.

"I wouldn't say so." Nova replied, a smile on her face. "In fact, I'd say you couldn't be blamed for that."

"So where is he?" I asked.

'Right behind the building.' Jade replied, giggling slightly.

"Wow, Gary's flirting with danger, I'd say." Alan laughed. "You know...I just miiiight..." He began to stand, but I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Dude, I'm right there with you. But I'm just saying that I wouldn't be too keen on going to a tournament match baked." I said. "It's your life, man. Just saying." I took my hand from his shoulder and he sighed before nodding.

"Yeah...Yeah, you're right." He agreed.

"I'm willing to bet Gary has us tonight, though."

"Have y'all on what?" Gary asked as he approached. Sure enough, his eyes were glazed and he had a wide smile on his face. "Ooooohhhh...Yeah, I got you guys." Alan made a fist of triumph.

"Looks like we're next, man." Gary said, his smile not leaving his face.

"Looks that way." I agreed. "But...You know, you're..."

"Yeah, I am."

"Don't you think that's a little...unfair?" I asked.

"Logan, dude, I saw you and Nova the other day, and I've seen the rest of your team in here. I'm good at battling, but your team has mine, no question. So I figured I might as well have fun with it." Gary explained. I smiled and chuckled, giving a small nod. I feigned the amusement, however, as I always liked a challenge and I would've loved to battle Gary's team at full fighting power.

"Logan McAllister and Gary Stevens, please report to the arena floor!" The announcer's voice buzzed on the intercom. I stood and fist-bumped Gary.

"Good luck, bro." Gary said with a smirk before turning and walking away. I was left slightly in thought at his comment, given that I obviously didn't need the luck since Gary was high as a kite. I shrugged and followed the attendant who directed me to the same door I had emerged from the previous day. I held up Nova's old Pokeball, which she hesitantly withdrew into.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, for this battle, we have Logan McAllister, the surprise hit trainer who won with a flawless victory yesterday with his Typhlosion Nova battling Gary Stevens, who dominated his battle yesterday using his Blastoise." The announcer said as Gary and I stood behind the trainer lines and let out our first Pokemon to battle. I let out Rose as Gary allowed his Aerodactyl to emerge onto the battle field. The light above the arena took an agonizingly long time to turn green, but when it did, I smiled.

"Let's get this done." I said to Rose as she shot forward at blinding speed. "Use leaf blade!" Blade tail employed, Rose leapt into the air and brought her sword down.

"Dodge! Fly! Follow up with Takedown!" Gary called out, his Aerodactyl immediately following the orders with almost deadly precision. The Aerodactyl dodged the strike and flew up, grabbing Rose and carrying her in the air by the end of her tail.

He dropped her.

Flying immediately after her, the Aerodactyl collided with her just as she hit the ground, performing Takedown perfectly. A dust cloud flew up and cleared in a few moments, revealing Rose unconscious on the gym floor in a small crater.

I was stunned. I looked at Gary, who merely smirked at me.

"Mother fucker..." I whispered to myself, still stunned. "He's a better fighter when he's high."

My face now showing nothing but grim determination, I withdrew my next Pokeball. It opened, letting out Flametail, my Charizard roaring in a challenge to the ancient Pokemon.

"Fly!" I cried, Flametail immediately shooting into the air above the Aerodactyl, who did the same. "Wing attack! Then flamethrower!"

Flametail shot toward the Aerodactyl before shooting its wing out in an attempt to cause damage, the Aerodactyl dodging it. It wasn't ready for the flamethrower, however and took the blast directly. As it was knocked off balance, I saw my chance.

"Fire fang! Then fire blast!" I cried.

"Dodge it, Aerodactyl!" Gary called.

But he was too late. Flametail gained momentum and collided with Gary's Pokemon, sinking it's teeth into the back of it's neck at the base while searing it with scorching flames. My Charizard's mouth lit up then, and expelled a massive torrent of flame, sending the Aerodactyl plummeting to the arena floor. It had fainted before it hit the ground. Gary withdrew the Aerodactyl and sent out a Tyrantrum.

"Use Rock Throw!" Gary called, prompting the massive dinosaur Pokemon to bite chunks of the gym floor out of the ground and launch them at my Charizard. Flametail had a relatively easy time dodging the attacks, but he was becoming fatigued at the constant dodging and aerial acrobatics. Eventually, Flametail lost his composure and took a rock directly to the torso, falling to the ground. As he fell, the Tyrantrum charged forward and connected with a perfectly-timed headbutt. Flametail tumbled, and was obviously unconscious

I withdrew him and with a grunt, I sent out Lockjaw. The Tyrantrum roared in defiance, ready for another brawl to test its strength. Lockjaw roared back, equally as loudly. He growled before using his deceptively powerful legs to propel himself forward at amazing speed. The Tyrantrum was unprepared.

"Use crunch!" I cried out. Lockjaw roared once more and delivered a crushing bite to the Tyrantrum's shoulder. My Feraligatr latched on and didn't let go. He may have been a little smaller than the Tyrantrum, but he had the advantage this close in. His large powerful arms allowed him to maintain his bite, while his smaller size and comparable strength allowed him to get in close and avoid the Tyrantrum's massive, match-ending jaws. The Tyrantrum roared in surprise and pain as it struggled and wrenched itself free of the bite. A shoulder charge knocked Lockjaw back into a tumble, but he recovered easily enough.

"Iron head!" Gary called, prompting the dinosaur to charge forward. Lockjaw wasn't the only Pokemon in that arena who was deceptively fast. I had to think quickly.

"Surf!" I nearly screamed. Lockjaw stomped the ground, calling forth a staggering amount of ground water to rush at the Tyrantrum. The water collided and did a decent bit of damage, but the dinosaur pressed on, moving through the surf slowly and steadily. Lockjaw couldn't move, or risk breaking the attack.

"Hydro pump!" I cried, prompting Lockjaw to unleash a pressurized torrent of water straight into Gary's Pokemon's head, knocking it off of its feet and finally allowing it to be carried by the waves into a wall, which cracked with the force of the impact. The Tyrantrum was unconcious and Gary withdrew it.

"Got a thing for the extinct ones, huh?" I called.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"You know, that was a pretty smart move."

"What?"

"You know."

Gary smirked at my comment and sent out a Meganium, which cried loudly. He wasted no time.

"Meganium, use leaf storm!" Gary called. The grass Pokemon spawned thousands of leaves from it's petals and launched them forward, slicing into Lockjaw every which way. He cried out in pain and braced himself, but given the strain of the previous battle with the Tyrantrum, he too fell.

"Damn." I cursed to myself almost silently. Whatever Pokemon I brought out, Gary seemed to counter each one. It wasn't looking good for my team. Gary still had four and I only had three. Nova was my ace in the hole, but I didn't know if he would have a counter for her too.

No.

Not Nova.

"Blaze! Kick this thing's ass!" I called and threw the ball out, my Arcanine emerging with a thunderous bark. "Extreme speed and flame wheel!"

"Dodge it, Meg!" Gary called. I smirked at this. He obviously had no idea just how fast Blaze was.

My Arcanine seemingly disappeared, earning an audible "huh?" from Gary, who tried to see where she went. Blaze appeared behind the Meganium and collided with it heavily, her body alight with red-hot flame. The Meganium didn't have a chance.

"Fire fang!" I called, intending to put the Meganium out of it then and there. Blaze locked her jaws on the grass Pokemon and lit it up with flames as she did so. The Meganium cried out as Blaze threw it around, but the fight was over. Blaze eventually dropped the fainted Meganium to the floor and growled. Gary withdrew it and laughed.

"Man, I haven't had a fight this good in years!" Gary said with a smile. He sent out a Steelix next, the massive Pokemon snarling so loudly the floor seemed to shake.

"Earthquake!" Gary cried, the Steelix immediately performing the move, slamming its tail into the ground, causing massive monoliths of earth to explode from the ground around Blaze. She was fast though, so she dodged most of them. Unfortunately, my Arcanine got sloppy and received stone in the side of her body as a result. She tumbled but recovered.

"Blaze! Are you okay?" I called, my Arcanine barking an affirmative. She was hurt, but far from disabled. "Good. Now, use flamethrower!" I called. Blaze unleashed the column of fire, which collided with the Steel Pokemon, causing it to roar in pain.

"Keep going!" I nearly screamed. "Cook that son of a bitch!"

"Giga impact!" Gary called, causing the Steelix to take the pain for a moment and launch it's tail straight at Blaze, who was able to cut off the flamethrower and dodge it just in time.

"Flame wheel!" I called quickly, causing Blaze to run toward the Steelix and roll into a wheel of flame. I hadn't expected her to go up the Pokemon's back, and Steelix was resting from the Giga impact, so it couldn't do anything but brace for impact. Blaze lifted off the Steelix's head, kicking off of it to go hundreds of feet into the air before she came down.

"Giga Impact!" I screamed as she came down at such blinding speed, I could barely see her. She collided with the Steelix at great speed, creating a shockwave and kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

As the dust settled, I saw Blaze standing atop the unconcious Steelix, panting heavily. The crowd roared at a deafening volume as Blaze limped toward me, a happy, yet exausted look on her face. I lovingly scratched behind her ears and held her close.

"Good girl!" I cried as I withdrew her, sending Lucy out to battle. I knew Gary had his Blastoise in reserve in a similar manner to which I was holding Nova. Gary sent out a Gengar, which seemed to laugh, but not without letting that massive grin leave its face.

"Close combat!" I called, sending Lucy forward, but I realized my mistake. I had gotten ahead of myself. How in the hell could a fighting Pokemon hit a Ghost type? "Wait! Lucy! No!"

Lucy's fist flew straight through the ghost Pokemon, who charged up a Ghost Ball.

"Use Ghost Ball!" Gary cried out as his Gengar unleashed a ball of energy straight into her, knocking her onto her back. She was quick to stand and dodge another Ghost Ball.

"Aura sphere!" I called, recalling that only energy attacks harm Ghost types. Lucy launched her own attack into the Gengar, this time taking it by surprise and knocking it back. She followed up by a volley of spheres, each knocking the relatively slow Gengar back a few more feet. But just as she launched the most powerful sphere she could, the Gengar disappeared, momentarily confusing her.

"Shadow sneak!"

Almost instantly, the Gengar appeared behind Lucy and struck her in the back, causing her knees to buckle. She thought quickly and rolled forward, thankfully and dodged a further swipe from the Ghost. She moved from her roll and instantly turned around, launching another aura sphere right into the Gengar. Leaping backward to regroup, a breathed a small sigh of relief. She did well for herself despite the obvious disadvantage to Gengar.

"You still good, Lucy?" I asked her. She glanced at me and smiled, letting out a small yip. I smiled right back at her and nodded. "Go!"

Lucy leapt off and landed before the Gengar, popping her knuckles and neck, preparing for another fight. The Gengar disappeared once more. Lucy was prepared for this, however and dodged the attack, leaping up and launching an Aura sphere down at the Gengar, who disappeared once more right before the attack landed. It appeared right behind her once more.

"Sucker punch!" Gary called, prompting the Gengar to unleash a punch right into Lucy's side, sending her plummeting toward the floor. She landed but quickly stood.

"Quickly charge an Aura Sphere!" I called. Lucy charged up the sphere as she waited, the Gengar disappeared again. I waited with bated breath for the Gengar to appear behind her as he did the previous two times. I could only hope he did the same now. "Behind you!" Without knowing where the Gengar would be, Jade followed my command and threw the ball behind her.

Right as Gengar appeared.

The ball of energy collided with Gengar point-blank, knocking it unconscious. Jade exhaled heavily, damaged, as she returned to me. I smiled at her and nodded, withdrawing her into her ball.

"Hell of a team you have there, Logan." Gary said with a large smile. I laughed and nodded.

"I could say the same to you." I replied. "So...it's down to one for each of us, right?"

"I guess so." Gary replied. "Your ace versus mine." I smiled and nodded, withdrawing Nova's Pokeball. Casually tossing it, Nova emerged, ready to battle with everything she had.

"So, how's it been going?" Nova asked me with a smile.

"You're the last one." I said to her with a small sigh. She grew quiet very quickly.

"I didn't know it was this bad." She said quietly.

"He has one left. His Blastoise." I explained.

"And it's his most powerful one."

"Nova, do I detect intimidation in your voice?" I asked her, raising my eyebrows.

"Of course not! I'm just trying to get an idea." My Typhlosion said.

"I'm just saying that he's taken down pretty much everyone else on the team. Be careful."

"Trust me. We can do this." She said with confidence.

"Well yeah, of course." I said with a chuckle. "Blastoise is slow. You're fast. Keep your distance and pepper him with fire and you should be fine."

Nova walked onto the field, staring Gary's Blastoise in the face.

"Both trainers are down to their final Pokemon! The tension in the air is palpable!" The announcer called annoyingly.

Nova took off in a dead sprint toward the Blastoise.

"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!" Gary said.

"Dodge!" I said almost immediately. Nova leaped out of the way, dodging the Hydro Pump as if it were nothing. She flipped in the air and landed on a wall, jumping off of it and rocketing back to the floor just missing a Hydro Pump as it punched a hole in the wall where she had just been. She landed and prepared herself.

"Use Flamethrower! Keep him at bay! And keep dodging!" I said, now perfectly confident in my Typhlosion's skill. She launched short torrents of Flame at the Blastoise. The water Pokemon merely tanked the blasts, standing where he was and sending Hydro Pumps of his own her way. It was a pulse-pounding situation as one hit from Blastoise would be enough to at least seriously injure Nova, while Nova's blasts were much less effective. Gary had definitely been working on this Blastoise's defensive capabilities. For a normal fire type, the fight would probably be impossible. For Nova, however, it was very within the realm of possibility. That being said, Gary still had the type advantage, and that is a great advantage to have.

"Fire Blast!" I called, knowing the intense power and heat of that attack would do some significant damage, even to a Blastoise. I was right, it appeared, as Blastoise retreated into his shell to avoid the brunt of the damage. "Don't let up! Keep pounding him! Move closer!" Nova continued to blast the Blastoise with boulder-melting fire, not giving it a chance to emerge. "Lift it up and blast into its shell!" Nova dashed forward and lifted the shell, prepared to end the match.

"Rapid spin!" Gary called, prompting the Blastoise to launch torrents of water from the holes in it's shell to spin itself rapidly. One of the torrents of water struck Nova in the face. I gasped audibly as she let go of the shell. In it's spinning, the shell struck Nova's entire upper body area, sending her flying back and tumbling end-over-end, leaving a trail of dust behind her.

"Hit her with a Hydro Pump!" Gary called, prompting his Blastoise to unleash another torrent of water straight into Nova as she continued to fly back. She skidded on the ground before finally coming to a stop.

"Nova!" I called. "Nova, get up, come on!" My heart pounded in my chest, praying that Gary's Blastoise hadn't taken it too far. Nova wasn't moving at all.

"Nova!" I cried, my tone quickly switching to that of shrill concern. "Nova!" My voice seemed to trigger her as she shakily began to get back up. The audience cheered loudly, but I wasn't as happy as they were.

"Hold, Blastoise." Gary said as she stood.

Nova had a look in her eyes that unsettled me. My Typhlosion's pupils had turned to slits. Her breathing was sharp and deep, not like Nova's usual calm, gentle demeanor. She snarled viciously, another action unlike the Nova that I knew. Her razor sharp teeth gleamed in the light of the stadium as her eyes locked straight on Gary's Blastoise.

"Nova! Remember hang bac-" I couldn't finish my sentence, as Nova took off toward the Blastoise at top speed seemingly surprising even the titanic water Pokemon. She roared as she approached. "Nova!" I cried, trying to get her attention. She did not wait for my command, she simply attacked the Blastoise. She dodged a downward swipe from his fist before countering with a Giga Impact straight to the Blastoise's torso, knocking it back into a wall with a brilliant flash, almost demolishing it.

Nova didn't seem to require that period of respite that usually comes from using Giga Impact, as she immediately gave chase and rolled into flame wheel, colliding with Blastoise as he recovered from the impact, causing even further damage.

"Rapid spin! Get her off of you!" Gary called, his Blastoise beginning a rapid spin, the torrents of water shooting out. Nova quickly grabbed the shell and with a mighty roar, launched it across the arena floor into another wall, interrupting the attack. The Blastoise recoiled from the impact just as Nova leapt onto his shoulders, blowing red-hot flames down onto his head. The Blastoise began to roar in pain, which turned more and more shrill as he attempted to get her off.

"Nova!" I called once more. "NOVA!" I screamed the second time, prompting her to snap out of her trance and look at me, stopping her assault. The Blastoise grabbed her leg, and with a roar, threw her into a tumble on the ground, which she recovered from.

"Nova!" I said to her. "What the hell was that? You didn't respond to anything I said!"

"I'm sorry." She said. "I guess in the middle of it all, I just didn't hear you." I looked at her, deeply concerned.

"Alright, well...Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Nope. I'm pretty banged up." Nova breathed.

"Well, thankfully, he is too. So play it smart. Wear him down. He has the advantage of defense, you have the advantage of speed. Bait him to attack, dodge, and hit him with ranged attacks." I said to her.

"Got it." She said as she ran forward.

As I saw her run back into combat, the image I had of her from that skirmish stayed in my head.

...

Nova ended up winning the match. Given the damage he'd taken, Blastoise just couldn't keep up with her, especially considering how slow he was to begin with. Gary had been a good sport and apologized for the ruse, which I understood to be a good tactic. The fight had been brutal, and Nova had to struggle to hold herself up until the announcer deemed us the winners, but a trip to the Pokemon center solved any problems that had arisen. Alan had won his match by a landslide, so much celebrating was in order. We walked through the cold night to the diner on campus.

"So...what're you gonna do now that you're eliminated, Gary?" I asked, Nova holding onto my arm as we walked.

"I mean, I guess I'll stick around. Shit, I don't have anything else to do, I still got a ton of bud and as far as I know, my room's still paid for." He replied. "Speaking of which, would you guys wanna?..."

"Yes." Alan deadpanned almost as soon as Gary got the words out. Laughing heartily, we arrived at the quaint, 50's-themed eatery, and upon seeing a sign saying 'seat yourself', we promptly did so. Gary and Alan spoke with each other intently, Alicia trying to inject herself into the conversation at some points. I think what I had said about her to Alan had some resonance, because he didn't seem very interested in her at that point. I sighed and looked at Nova, who smiled sweetly at me.

"Something on your mind?" She asked me.

"Honestly Nova, yeah." I said to her before lightly grabbing her arm. "Excuse us for a sec, guys." I said to the group as we moved to another part of the restaurant. As we stood, I noticed a small man in a trench coat and hat obscuring his face, glancing at us periodically. Focusing on Nova again, I continued. "What was that today? You were hearing me fine until you kind of lost it there." Nova pursed her lips and blinked back tears.

"Okay..." She conceded. "I...I got hit really, really hard by that Hydro Pump. I knew I was about to lose...And I knew that if I lost, you would lose, and I...I didn't want to disappoint you...I..." Tears continued to well up in her eyes and I held her close.

"It's okay...It's okay." I said to her. "I could never be disappointed in you. I love you, okay?"

"I know, I know...I'm just...kinda emotionally stressed right now." She said. "I'll feel better after I've eaten."

"Yeah...Yeah we both will. Come on, sweet girl." I put my arm around her and began to walk back toward the table, but stopped in my tracks as I noticed the man staring at us once more. "Here...why don't you go back to the table? I think I see a guy I know." I began to walk toward the man.

"Oh! Okay...?" She said before moving back toward the table. Not knowing exactly what was going to happen, I slowly approached the man and nodded at him.

"Excuse me sir." I said to him. He didn't reply and seemed to talk into his jacket. This raised some red flags so I took a few more steps toward him. "Hey. Buddy, I'm talking to you." This earned the man's attention, his gaze flashing toward me.

"Sir? Yes, he's here...He sees me...You want me to...Now?...Okay, yes sir." The man said before promptly standing up and sprinting toward the exit right in front of me.

"What the fuck? Hey!" I said as I began to chase him. Nova stopped me at the door, grabbing my arm.

"What's going on?" She asked me.

"Nothing! Nothing is going on, I'm just pretty sure I know that guy." I replied to her.

"Well the waitress is taking our orders." She said as I ran toward the door once more.

"Just get me a burger and fries!" I called as I sprinted out the door. I quickly looked around, rain having begun to pour since we arrived at the restaurant. Luckily, I saw the man duck into an alley. Immediately sprinting after him, I moved through the alley, dodging trashcans and fire escapes, attempting to catch him to ask him why in the hell he was watching us.

He ran out onto a crowded sidewalk, causing me to dodge, bob and weave between people as I ran, shouting small expressions such as "Sorry!" or " 'Scuse me!" as I went. The rain certainly wasn't helping, but spotting a running man among dozens of walking people wasn't that hard to do. He ducked into another alley and leapt up onto a trashcan that gave him the height he needed to leap over a tall chain-link fence. I attempted the same, but slipped on the garbage can's lid, slipping and falling hard onto the concrete ground. I groaned and gritted my teeth.

"Bitch-ass rain." I grumbled before noticing something on the ground in front of me. It was the black hat he had been wearing. Upon further inspection, I noticed a large piece of black duct tape on the front, which I promptly removed to see a large, red 'R'. Knowing a large red 'R' to be the insignia of the legendary Pokemon crime syndicate Team Rocket, this slightly perturbed me. It didn't seem likely that the once massive organization was making a comeback, however, as many people had taken to wearing the hat for style purposes. With a sigh, I stuffed the hat into my pocket and limped back to the diner.

...

"Logan! What the hell happened to you?!" Nova cried out upon seeing me return to the eatery. She ran at me and embraced me, squeezing me a little too tightly for comfort. I took the pain, however, as I knew how worried she became upon seeing me. I must have looked pretty rough.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." I replied to her with a smile. "Just slipped and fell. It's really, really wet out there."

"How did you know that guy?" Alan asked.

"I...I knew him from earlier in my Freshman year." I replied.

"How'd you slip?" Gary asked, raising an eyebrow and taking a bite of a chicken strip.

"I was chasing him and fell over."

'But why were you running?' Jade asked.

"Good God, all these questions!" I said with a small chuckle. "I'd have been a little more careful if I'd known I was going to be interviewed. "Now come on, let's eat. I'm starving!" I sat and took a large bite of my burger.

Pickles.

I hate pickles.

Too tired to send it back for another, I just finished the burger off without a word and moved on to my fries.

"Why are you limping, Logan?" Nova asked me as I ate.

"I just fell in a bad way out there." I replied. Nova gave me a look that told me she knew I was lying. I shrugged at her as if I didn't know what else to say. "Now come on, guys! Let's finish up here and go have some fun!"

My friends cheered as I began scarfing down the fries once more. Trying to ignore the knowing looks Nova gave me, and the potential crime evidence I had in my back pocket.

HEY GUYS! I know it has been a very, very, very, very long time since I've updated, but I'm a busy college student, what can I say?! I hope you guys enjoyed this one! I will not give up on this story, I promise! No matter how long it takes me, I promise, I will finish this. PEACE