Doubling back in their journey, as well as taking many days off to indulge in one another or train, or to simply rest took up some time for the munks.  In fact, a month or so had gone by before they had made any sort of progress.   And now, back to the journey!


Simon let out a low groan as he was dragged out of the hotel lobby, hardly able to put up much of a fight against Alvin’s constant tugging.  “Alviiiin… do you have any idea how early it is?” He complained.  

For the most part, they had stayed in Fuchsia for a good while now staying in one of the city’s hotels.  After all the retracing they had done, this was the last gym Theodore had to do for them all to be caught up to one another.  But he won that yesterday… and now Alvin was pulling him towards the southern end of the town, back towards the beach.  

“We’re supposed to be resting, you know.  The sun is barely peeking over the horizon, and-”

“Simon, come on!  Didn't you just recently get Impar to evolve?” Alvin interrupted.  “You know what that means~.” He cooed, continuing to pull Simon along as the beach came into view.  

To that, Simon scoffed.  “Why battle with me, then?  Can't you just wait for Theodore to come back?  He likes battling more than I do anyway.” He stated, finally managing to yank his arm free from Alvin’s grip, crossing them over his chest.  “We’re both still in pajamas.  You’re crazy if you think we're fighting any time soon.”

“Siiiimoooon, please!  Theo won't be back from Lavender until, like, tomorrow!  We’ve been cooped up for too long, and my team needs some work!  We’re trainers, battling is a big part of it, and frankly, me and you have NEVER fought.” Alvin was first to reach the sand, wiggling his toes into it as he took in a deep breath.  “Ahhh… besides… you wouldn't let me get touchy, so this is burning off energy too~” he said, standing directly at the shoreline. 

“Ugh, Alvin…” Simon let out a sigh, but nodded regardless.  “Know what?  Fine.  I suppose it’s about time we get it over with, anyways.”  As he moved to stand at the other end of the beach, he reached into his pocket.  Alvin had done the same, and both munks produced a pokeball.  

“Any last minute rules?” Alvin called, holding the ball in his outstretched hand.  

“Four on four.  And don't complain if you lose.” was Simon’s response.  

Alvin scoffed at that.  “Loser bottoms tonight as well!” He stated, taking the sudden blush on Simon’s face as an agreement.

The two brothers stared at each other for some time.  The sun had time to rise a little more, and Alvin made the first move.  

“Rooter, go!”

“You’re up, Star!

Both balls were flung forward, bursting with light and releasing the pokemon within.  Simon’s Clefable let out a trilling “Fable~!” as she fluttered down to the sand below, while Alvin’s Piloswine crashed down with a heavy grunt, snorting through his nose.  

“Hehe, you oughta know… we don’t go easy, Si!  Take Down!” Alvin ordered.  Rooter snorted again, feet digging into the sand before he launched forward, thundering towards Star with a surprising speed.  Before Simon could order a dodge, the attack landed hard, with Rooter easily making Star tumble backwards in the sand.  “Now Ice Fang!”

“Star, Moonblast!” Simon commanded.  Letting out a little groan, Star stood up and thrust out both of her hands.  Between them, a sparkling ball of pink energy quickly took form.  And right as Rooter’s attack hit again, it had tripled in size, being shot directly into the Piloswine’s snout to knock it away.  “Hmf!  Clef!” Star huffed out, waggling a finger at the ground type.  

The hit had made Rooter stumble, but he just stomped down on the sand again, the fuzz over his eyes lifting enough for him to glare at the fairy.  “Looks like we can’t get in for a hit… Then you use Ancient Power!” Alvin called out.  

“And you use Hidden Power, Star!”

Both pokemon took a step back to charge, with Rooter producing a silver light from its body while Star had clasped her hands together, several balls of reddish light emanating from her and spinning around.  The two attacks collided as they were fired, but the silvery ball powered through the smaller ones, managing to strike Star once again.  “F-Fable!” Star squeaked out as she fell back, wings fluttering like mad as she just barely stopped herself from colliding with Simon.  

“Let's do it again, Rooter!” Alvin called, a cheeky grin staying on his face all the while.  Simon was glaring at him, but there was no denying the little smile he wore as well.  Even as Rooter fired off another Ancient Power, Simon simply called for another Moonblast.  “Well, guess we’re just gonna keep knocking each other around!”

“If that’s what it takes, Alvin.” Simon responded.  “We’ll just have to get unpredictable.  Star… use Metronome.”

Alvin tilted his head.  “Doesn’t that just use a random move…?”  

“That it does.  Nothing wrong with a little risk, is there?” Simon asked.  “Do it, Star!”  Hearing this made the Clefable smile wide, flapping her wings as she started to wave her fingers side to side, both giving off a bright glow as they swayed back and forth.  

“Ah jeez… Rooter, get ready!” Alvin called out.  “Gonna use Ancient Power again, no matter what move comes out!”

Rooter grunted, but followed Alvin’s command regardless, standing his ground as he built up once more, glaring up at the Clefable all the while.  And then, suddenly, she stopped, both fingers pointing straight up in the air.  “Clefaaaable!” Suddenly, both fingers pointed straight down at Rooter and, after giving off a blinding flash of light, let loose with an Eruption.  Heavy chunks of lava were just falling out of her hand!  And they were all hurtling straight for the Piloswine!  

“Gah, n-no way!  Dodge it!” Alvin squeaked, having to jump out of the way from a few errant splashes himself.  “Simon!!”

“N-No complaining Alvin, I don’t control the chance!” Simon shouted back, leaping back a few times as well.   Thankfully, most of the shots seemed to just land in the water around them, kicking up huge plumes of steam as they made impact. Impressive, but even still!  He bit his lip as he watched the attack go on. 

As much as he tried, Rooter just couldn’t fight back against it.  If anything, he turned tail and ran straight towards Alvin to avoid the cataclysm.  Before he could reach his trainer, though, one of the globs hit it square on the back, forcing out a loud squeal before he was laid out in the sand, knocked out already.  

Clefairy was floating back down now, looking around in awe.  This was the first time Simon let her use Metronome… “Clefa…?”

“Sheesh… Return, Rooter…” Alvin grumbled as he held up the ball, bringing Rooter back into its confines.  “Hmph!  Rotten luck, Si!” He claimed.  “Bet you can’t get that to happen again!”

Simon, though, looked just about as dumbfounded.  Even as all the lava that touched the ground seemed to just disappear soon after… “I… only knew it’d be some kind of move, Alvin… not anything like this…” 

“Either way… one down doesn’t mean I’m giving up.  And I know you’re not getting something like that again!  Your turn, Zephyr!” Alvin grunted as he threw out his next ball.  The Great Ball popped open midair, releasing a large Fearow from within.  The Spearow he caught at the power plant was definitely useful once he finally trained it up.  Now the Fearow gave its broad wings a few powerful flaps, glaring down at the fairy type.  “Try it, Si!  Watch!  Zephyr, Drill Peck!”

“Row, arow!” Zephyr called out as it dove down towards Star, wings tucked in and spinning itself around at high speed with its beak pointed right at the Clefable.  Countless streaks of pale white came off of the beak, forming the “drill” as it closed the distance.  

“Alvin- Know what, fine!  Star, let's use Metronome again!” Simon ordered.  For once, Star seemed hesitant about it, but the Fearow was closing in fast.  This time, she was quicker with moving her fingers about, eyes shut tight when she finally pointed them out at the bird.  

This time, the move had produced a Protect at the last moment, the big blue shield popping up right as Zephyr’s beak made contact, standing firm before forcing it back.  Simon blinked in surprise at the result, looking over at Alvin.  The red clad munk wasn’t smiling anymore.  “Heh… no complaints, right?”

“You are SO getting railed!  Zephyr, Drill Run, and quick!”  Alvin shouted.  And Zephyr did just that, twisting about once more.  But this time, it stayed close to the ground, kicking up plenty of sand and dust that got trapped in its mad spin.  

“Metrono-” Simon was interrupted as Zephyr quickly slammed into Star, hitting her square in the chest.  The Clefable was made to spin about as well, flying back straight towards Simon.  He let out a loud yelp, only able to catch her before he was taken down to the ground as well, letting out a wheeze as Star landed on top of him, completely sprawled out and unconscious.

Across the way, Alvin had let out a little laugh, stomping his foot down in the water.  “And that was for the Tauros crap!  Chance indeed, you know all about making that kinda stuff work for you!  But not anymore~”

“Alvin, I told you, I don’t control what comes out!” Simon huffed, returning Star to her ball before standing up again, dusting off his pajamas with both hands.  “Even still… even I have to admit the coincidence is strange.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever!  Let’s keep going!” Alvin insisted.  “I’ll have a better plan for that Clefable next time…”

“If you insist…” Simon fished out his next ball, glancing down at it as he shielded his eyes.  The sun was up higher now, just over the horizon enough to make him  have to squint in its light.  “Queenie, you’re up!” Simon threw the Safari Ball out, his Nidoqueen dropping down in the sand and standing tall, looking up at the Fearow above in defiance.  

“Not gonna be so easy without your lil luck charm, Simon!” Alvin jeered.  “Fury Attack, Zephyr!”  The Fearow swooped down again,  this time jabbing out with its beak over and over again, striking into Queenie’s form three times before she brought her arms up to protect herself.  And even then, it managed to get in two more hits before flapping away.   

“Chase it down and use Return!” Simon ordered, opting to ignore Alvin’s little remark.  Queenie ran after Zephyr with a growl, her left arm taking on a deep pink glow while she did.  The Fearow managed to dodge the first few swings she gave, just to hit back with more Fury Attacks at Alvin’s command.  

It was at the third miss that Queenie bellowed out with a loud roar.  Her other arm took on the glow as well and, leaping up as much as she could manage, she swung both fists straight down the next time the bird swooped in to attack.  This time, her attack collided harshly with Zephyr’s head, causing three large hearts to spring from her fists as the Fearow was driven to the ground.  “Now Poison Jab!”

“Quick, Mirror Move!” 

Zephyr shook itself off, looking up at Queenie before suddenly lashing out, using its own Return before she could hit it.  Unlike the Nidoqueen’s own hit, this one only caused two hearts to pop from Zephyr’s beak when it made contact.  She staggered, but reared back once more, the deep purple poison surrounding the whole of her arm as she hit as hard as she could, hitting the Fearow directly in the chest.  

“F-Feaaa…” The big bird scrambled to make himself fly again, stopping right before colliding with Alvin.   “Rrrr… Row!” It growled, giving its wings a defiant flap.  

“Hey, you’re still good to go?” Alvin asked, earning a nod from the Flying type.  “Good!  Then you use Drill Run again!”  

“Let it get close, Queenie.  Poison Jab again!” Grunting, Queenie stood her ground, one fist already raised and drenched in poison as the Fearow spun its way towards her.  As soon as it was in range, Queenie punched as hard as she could muster, getting a good, solid hit right on Zephyr’s wing.  This, though, wasn’t enough to stop the attack completely, causing Zephyr to hit her directly on the leg as he was forced down, causing her to cry out in pain from the hit, dropping down to one knee.  

“You can keep going!  Return, again!” Simon commanded.  Queenie winced, but reached out to catch one of Zephyr’s feet as he tried to fly away.  This time, as she reeled her arm back for the hit, the pink glow was tinged with some purple as well, slamming her fist directly into the Fearow’s back.  

Zephyr landed in the sand with a groan, flattened out on his belly.  As hard as the attack was, he still managed to stand back up again, letting out an angered squawk as his wings spread out wide.  

“Still going strong as ever~!” Alvin cheered.  Though the celebration was cut short.  He could see purple bubbles rising up from where he was hit, and they seemed to make Zephyr wince every now and then.  “Gah… I dunno if you’re tougher than Theo, or just crazy lucky Simon!”  Alvin crossed his arms over his chest.  “But we aren’t done yet!  Even if we’re on borrowed time…”

Getting in close was risky, but that was all he could do… “Aim for her leg with a Fury Attack!” Alvin blurted out.  Zephyr shook his head as he staggered back to his feet.  He lurched forward to attack, but instead, fell out on his belly, eyes spiraled as he fainted.  

Alvin stared out in disbelief, his gaze going between Simon and his Fearow.  He huffed through his nose, returning Zephyr to his ball.  “Well!  Guess we didn't have as much time as I thought.” He stated, looking off to the side. 

“Alvin, you know this is just practice… right?  You’re still doing good.” Simon spoke. 

“I know that, Simon!  Hmph!  I just didn't think your team would be so good, so I’ve just been letting my pokemon warm up and all.” Alvin countered, kicking at the sand.  “But now we’re gonna get serious, so you better hope you're ready!”

With that, Alvin reared back and threw out the next ball, Nivis popping out in the blinding flash with her claws bared, glaring up at her Nidoqueen opponent.   And Queenie stared right back, snorting in amusement before standing at the ready.   

“Queenie, Double Ki-”

“Fake Out, let's go!”

Right as the Nidoqueen had lifted her foot to kick out, Nivis had dashed forward, weaving around the strike with ease before clashing her claws together, a bright orange shockwave launching out and stunning Queenie, making her stumble backwards instead.   

“Poison Jab, Nivis!”

The interruption was a surprise, but Simon hurriedly blurted out a “Poison Jab!” of his own.  

The two Pokemon stood each other down, four fists glowing purple and producing poisonous bubbles.   And then, they let loose then and there.  Nivis’ strikes cane faster, battering against Queenie’s tough scales again and again.  Queenie, while slower, shrugged off the punches and followed through with her own, most of them missing Nivis’ small frame.  The ones that did hit, though, sent the Weavile reeling, having to dig her claws in the sand to stay up.  

“Viiiiiile… Vile!”  Nivis growled out, glaring up at Queenie with a defiant huff.  

The poison vanished from her claws and was quickly replaced with icy crystals and mist.  Before Alvin could command it, Nivis leapt forward and struck the Nidoqueen square in the gut with both Ice Punches, freezing over the area and fully knocking down the larger Pokemon.  

“Nivis!” Alvin called out.  “Wait for the call next time, alright?” He was proud of the win and all… But still.  After all this, he expected she wouldn't jump the gun.  The Weavile, sensing the change in his tone, let out a little whine, hurrying over to his side and hugging her trainer.  

“Well… Good to see she’s still being protective, to some degree.” Simon pointed out as he returned Queenie to her ball.  “Ready to keep going?”

“Heh, yeah, we still gotta win the rest of this~” Alvin hummed.  To that, Simon just shrugged, taking a Safari Ball out and tossing it in the air.  “You’re up, Noble!”

From the ball came his Slowking, arms tucked behind his back as he stood idly, staring down at Nivis with a raised brow.  Then, turned back to Simon, let out a soft grunt, and nodded.  

Training up the Slowpoke was a challenge in itself, but actually finding the King’s Rock he needed to evolve was more taxing.  Simon spent days trying, and didn't hesitate to give it a try as soon as he had it.  And yet… as smart as he seemed to be, it felt like he still enjoyed his formerly dopey state. 

“King.” He hummed.  

“Ready Alvin?” Simon asked.  Across the way, Alvin nodded, giving Nivis’ rear a quick smack before nudging her forward.  “Always!”

One more staredown, and the speedier Nivis made the first move.  With Alvin’s order, she dashed forward, staring down the Slowking as she raised up her claws, a Night Slash aimed straight at its crown.  

“Knock her back!  Use Water Pulse!” Simon called.  Noble simply tilted his head back, narrowly avoiding the attack before blasting the Weavile directly in the belly with the Water Pulse.  Each ring made her stumble back until she was at Alvin’s side once more.  “Now use Nasty Plot!”

Noble hummed idly, his passive expression soon changing to one full of malice as he eyes Nivis intensely.   

“Still not interested in backing out , Alvin?” Simon asked.  

“This fight ain’t over until we both use Mega, Si!  Even if we lose!” Alvin shouted back.  “Night Slash again, Nivis, keep up the pressure!”

Simon couldn't help but smile now.  “Your tenacity knows no bounds, does it Alvin?  Just be ready to get on your knees again.  Noble!  Power Gem!”

The jewel adorning Noble’s crown gleamed, then fired out several bright red beams from it, all aimed straight for Nivis.   However, the Weavile deftly dodged each one, sand being launched into the air from the impacts.   She growled, maintaining her footing as she soon closed the distance, both paws crashing into Noble with harsh slashes, knocking the Slowking back towards Simon.  She didn't stop at one, either, already pouncing again for the next hit.  

This time, though, Noble let out his own growl as he fired another Power Gem, this one managing to strike the Weavile directly in her belly.  Nivis’ eyes went wide from it, the wind being knocked out of her as she ended up collapsing to her knees, holding on to her stomach.   

“Now, Water Pulse again!” Simon commanded.  The Slowking looked down at Nivis, grinned, and followed orders accordingly, the boosted Water Pulse crashing right into Nivis’ head to knock her out, leaving the Weavile splayed out in the sand.   He grunted, hands moving to hold on to the spots Nivis had struck.   She hit hard…

Alvin, though, just sighed as he returned her to her ball, tucking it away.  “Y’know, Si, as much fun as this is, how’s about we jump to the end, eh?  Cuz I don’t think Noble’s gonna survive very long after this.”

“Now now, don’t be like that.” Simon countered with a wave of his paw.  “I know you too well, Alvin.  You hate it when someone goes easy.  Much more than you hate losing.  So we’re gonna do this the right way.”

Alvin just huffed through his nose.  “You’re right, but…” he mumbled quietly to himself before taking out Splash’s pokeball, tossing it back towards the ocean.   The Blastoise burst out of the ball with a triumphant roar, splashing down into the water.  He looked down at the smaller Slowking, snorted, and released his cannons.  On his arm band, he now had his Blastoisinite gleaming in the early morning sun.  Stomping through the water, he grunted softly at Alvin, playfully bumping his trainer before flashing a thumbs up.  

“Heh… yeah, you’re right big guy.  Let's do this!”  Alvin punched the air, the mega bracelet on his left hand shining bright.  Splash struck the same pose as Alvin.  Red and blue trails of energy erupted from Alvin’s stone, soaring straight towards Splash’s and connecting, going into the Blastoisinite before it came back out, spinning around Splash’s body until it was completely covered in the brightly glowing cocoon.  

Alvin had to cover his eyes at first, waiting until that shell burst open, sending a shockwave throughout the beach.  Splash roared out, louder than before as he was freed, standing tall in his new form.   

Hunched forward and down on all fours at first, Splash’s twin cannons had fused together, becoming one large cannon that rested above his head.  On his wrists, two smaller shells bearing a cannon; each were primed and ready. He looked back at Alvin with a smirk, then turning back to Noble.  

“Now… THAT is awesome!” Alvin shouted out, jumping a few times in excitement as he took out his dex, snapping a few pictures of his Mega Blastoise.  “This is gonna be soooo sick~!  Let's do it big guy!  Show him what a real Water Pulse is like!”

Splash crouched a bit, the massive cannon on his back taking aim and rapidly filling with water, compressing it down until it all launched out as one hard, fast moving sphere.   Noble had little time to avoid it, taking the hit directly in the chest before the water blasted around him.  Simon let out a yelp as he had to dive out of the splash zone.  

“What power…!” He commented with wide eyes.  “Noble, Psychic!” His Slowking huffed, eyes going bright blue as he thrust his hands forward, forming a ball of psychic energy between them before blasting out.   

“And you use Flash Cannon, Splash!”  The Blastoise stood up, aiming his right cannon at the Slowking while charging up, the cannon taking on a silvery glint before firing off, the glimmering ball plowing through the Psychic and crashing hard into Noble’s crown.  The force jerked his head backwards, the knocked him clean off his feet, landing somewhere in the sand behind Simon.  

“That.  Makes 3 and 3, Simon.  Let’s see the Venusaur~!” Alvin cheered, hurrying over to hug Splash real quick.  

Returning Noble to his ball, Simon just sighed and nodded.  “Guess I shouldn't have expected to totally steamroll this battle anyway.” He stated as he threw out Impar’s pokeball.  

As stated, the Ivysaur had eventually evolved during a “session” with his trainer, only doing so once he’d been on top of him.  Now a Venusaur, Impar landed in the sand with a heavy grunt, the round stone of Venusaurite nestled within the flower on his back.  

“Saaaur.” He growled out, starting down at Splash’s new form before giving Simon a sideways glance.  He scoffed, offered his trainer a slight smile, tuen turned his attention back to Splash.  

“Let's try to keep the “special pollen” out of the air this time, eh?  Wouldn't want us all to end up all touchy and stuff, right Si~?” Alvin teased.  

Simon rolled his eyes at that, rolling up his right sleeve before crossing that arm over his chest, his mega stone gleaming in the morning sun.  “Like you haven't already agreed to our terms anyway.” He stated, reaching up to press down on the stone.  

Much akin to Alvin, Simon let out a soft groan as streaks of blue and green energy erupted from
him and the stone, spinning around once before it homed in on Impar’s stone, causing the Venusair to roar out loud as he was struck, wrapped up within that glowing shell. 

Within seconds, Impar broke free from the swirling mass with thicker, stronger vines than before, whipping the sand several times before they retracted.  The flower on his back had bloomed even further, looking moreso like a small tree now as the vines draped themselves over it.  On top of his legs growing more sturdy to accommodate, two bright pink flowers popped onto Impar, one on his head and the other on his rear.  

“Well, Alvin?  Let's say we finish this, hm?” Simon asked as he stood at Impar’s side, resting his hand against one of the Venusaur’s legs.  

To that, Alvin smirked and nodded.  “Get ready, flower boy.  We’re taking you down!”
