| " | \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFollowing Shinxy's victory over Crasher Wake, The next morning he and his pals set off to ground they have not yet been to. They had already agreed to stop at Sunnyshore City, since heading there next would be the most efficient path. Shinxy let his Growlithe walk along, feeling bad about not having him battle with Crasher Wake. The beach was gorgeous, sunlight sparkled off of the water as the crew made their way through route 213. Shinxy: Wow, it's really nice out today! Say, Mewtwo, how does the sun feel without those heavy robes on? Mewtwo: It feels... really warm. I'm not sure if I've ever had sunlight touch my skin like this Altan: It's odd, we take things like sunlight and bathing for granted, but it's all so new and amazing to you. Crystal: I think it's fun to show Mewtwo all these things! We'll get you some nice food, and show you all sorts of great places! Mewtwo: Nicer food than poffins? I enjoyed the ones that Shinxy made for me. Shinxy: Of course! In other regions, there are lots of different pokemon treats! Kalos has these pokepuffs that are like little cupcakes. Altan: And Hoenn's got pokeblocks, which are more like candy. Crystal: I think they sell all these things at the battle frontier. You know, the place you're aiming to go to, Shinxy? Shinxy: That sounds great! All the more reason to get moving. On to the Sunnyshore City gym! The gang made their way through route 213, heading east from the Valor Lakefront and Grand Lake Hotel, Shinxy seeming more determined after hearing of the many rare pokemon foods available at the Battle Frontier. Altan: You planning on eating more food intended for pokemon once you get to the Battle Frontier? Shinxy: If poffins taste good, then the puffs and blocks might taste great too! Crystal chuckled, liking Shinxy's odd characteristic. As the crew headed through route 222, they noticed a peculiar looking man sitting by the shoreline fishing. ???: Hey, you three. Looking to battle the Sunnyshore Gym? Altan: Yeah... well, our friend here is. Why do you ask? Volkner: The name's Volkner. I'm the gym leader. How many badges do you have there, kid? Shinxy: Volkner! My name is Shinxy, and I'm gonna collect all the gym badges! Let's battle right now! Volkner: Hold on a minute, I asked you a question. How many badges do you have? Shinxy: As of right now, I have four. But I'm about to get my fifth right now! Volkner: *Sigh*... Nope. I'm not battling you. Shinxy: What? Why not? Volkner: I don't mean to sound conceited, but I am the strongest gym leader in the region. I like my battles to be fun, but trainers I fight with less than seven badges bore me. And you haven't even evolved your Growlithe? Hmph, no chance I'm fighting you right now. Crystal: Wow... you're really the strongest gym leader? Volkner: That's right. I'm tired of boring battles, so I just don't take challenges from trainers with not enough badges. Come see me again once you have seven, and I'll agree to battle you. Just don't disappoint me, alright? Shinxy: I can say the same to you! Don't disappoint me when I come back with my pokemon much stronger than they are now! Volkner: Heh, I like that energy. I get the feeling you'll be a worthy opponent once I see you again. Until then, take care. Shinxy: Yeah, you too. Volkner returned to his fishing, and Shinxy and his crew turned around and headed back the way they came. Crystal: So, what now? Our plan of stopping at Sunnyshore went right out the window. Shinxy: We go to the next city! The Veilstone City badge will be number five. Altan: Sounds good. There aren't really any other gyms close by besides those two. The crew set out north from the Grand Lake Hotel to Veilstone City. Continuing their journey on Route 214. Mewtwo: I hope Volkner doesn't turn out to have weak pokemon. Altan: He wouldn't set his standard so high if that were the case. He'd just be humiliating himself for no reason. Crystal: That's what I was thinking. I bet he's as strong as he says he is. Shinxy: It should be an exciting fight, once I get enough badges! As they proceeded, Shinxy noticed a cave opening on the left side of the route, up the rocky hill. Shinxy: Huh, I wonder what's in there? Mewtwo: In that... cave? Shinxy: Yeah, looks interesting! Come on! Mewtwo: Fine, but let's not take too long. I'm already too familiar with caves. Shinxy: Okay, just a quick look! Shinxy led his friends into the cave. What they found was most unexpected, a long, clean straight forward path with no turns. Shinxy was about to loudly express his curiosity, but Altan quickly stepped over and covered Shinxy's mouth with a hand. Shinxy: Mmmmmfff?! Altan: Talk quietly. Look up. Shinxy, Mewtwo and Crystal looked up as well, and saw dozens upon dozens of Zubats hanging from the ceiling. Altan let go of Shinxy once he saw Shinxy notice. Shinxy: Gosh, thanks. We'd be in trouble if they were all startled. Crystal: Where does this path go? Altan: Well, judging by the placement on the map, this cave might be a straight shortcut to Solaceon Town. Shinxy: We don't need to skip Veilstone City. Let's get out of- At that moment, Shinxy noticed a strange pokemon hanging upside-down from the ceiling along with the Zubats. Shinxy: What is that? It looks kinda like a Zubat, but it has big round ears, and actual eyes. Crystal: The pokedex says... *scanning* That's a Noibat. It's more native to the Kalos region, but you know already that oddities in pokemon habitats can happen. Altan: Someone from Kalos probably came here and set it loose. Crystal: It's half dragon, half flying type. Shinxy: A dragon type? Sweet! I wanna catch it!! Shinxy's shouting startled the bats, and they began flapping their wings angrily. Altan: Shinxy... Shinxy: Oops. Crystal: Let's get out of here! The many dozens of bats flew quickly at the crew. Mewtwo stepped forward and let loose a psychic pulse that stopped the bat pokemon in their tracks, all of them fainted and collapsed to the ground, except the Noibat. Noibat was heavily weakened, however. Mewtwo: I have protected my trainer and his friends, and temporarily subdued the angry pokemon. Shinxy: Wow, thanks, Mewtwo! Crystal: The Noibat is still awake, though. It must be pretty strong. Altan: I'm guessing it became the leader of the Zubats. It also helps to not be a poison type and weak to psychic moves. Shinxy threw a pokeball at Noibat, easily catching it. He smiled and put the pokeball in his bag. Shinxy: Now I've got a dragon type pokemon, awesome! Altan: Mewtwo made that capture really easy. Mewtwo: I know I vowed not to battle and hurt other pokemon, but my trainer was in danger of being hurt by them. I chose to protect Shinxy. Shinxy: Thanks, Mewtwo. I really appreciate it. Well, let's get going to Veilstone. We can stop at the Pokemon Center, then challenge the gym! \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t