Rise of the Young Adventurers

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Chapter 10 - More battles on Dolce Island

Jonathan and Abelia were resting in their sleeping bags, as night had dawned so the two needed some much deserved sleep if they are to be ready to continue their journey the next day yet as Abelia's eyes were closed... Jonathan found himself wide awake, looking up at the starry sky as he reflected on their previous encounter with the Pokemon Pincher. While the two trainers were lucky enough to have managed to beat them, he had a feeling that there are stronger member of that organization just waiting to take the two on.

"Will we be ready to face the tougher opponents?" He asked himself while letting out a small sigh then turned his attention towards his childhood friend, while the events that led to the death of her parents had left a negative change to her, deep down, he saw that there was still some traces of the old Abelia left inside of her and knew that it would take a long time for the Abelia that used to smile brightly to return, but he will do what he can to help if only by a little. "Abi looks so peaceful sleeping..." He silently noted, especially as her hair didn't have the pig-tails that it usually did but instead flowed down her back completely, secretly he actually liked that hairstyle on her better and it would be best not to tell her that.

As she stirred in her sleep, the brown-haired male smiled a bit and realized what he was thinking, causing a slight blush on his face to form as he never really thought of Abelia that way until just now. "Get a grip on yourself Jonathan, she's your childhood friend..." he told himself, then looked at the full moon, which was shining brightly on the area that they were resting at then figured that since he couldn't get some sleep, he might as well get a bit of training done for the time being though he wanted to make sure he wasn't disturbing Abelia. In fact, he found that a combination of Spheal's Defense Curl and Ice Ball attacks could double the latter's power when used in battle while Fairy-Types were immune to all Dragon-Type attacks... This could help when they take on the Pokemon Pinchers again.

I'll be back soon Abi, that's a promise... he thought to himself, heading off to a nearby place to train his Pokemon for a bit as he felt that something was keeping him up and he didn't know why either. Then again, for the time being he shouldn't let it dwell on him too much since he wouldn't want to worry the silver-haired girl again like he did before plus he wanted to do what he can do help should the chance ever come to it. It was then that Venonat saw him leave, catching the boy's attention. "What's up Venonat?"

Where do you think you're going? asked the Hairy Bug, knowing how Abelia feels whenever Jonathan wanders off by himself. You should be in bed right now, what would Abelia say when she discovers you took off again?

"I know I should be in bed, but right now I can't seem to get some sleep and I haven't gotten a clue why... So maybe some late night training could help me get my mind off of that for now at least."

Are you sure that is all you'll be doing, I really don't see how this has something to do with your going off on your own again... answered Abelia's Bug/Poison-Type with a hint of concern and approached the boy again. What should I tell Abelia, she may worry for as she wouldn't want what happened to her parents to happen to you too.

"I'll be fine, plus you should let her know that I'm going to do a bit of training nearby so I won't be too far from our resting place" he told Venonat, shaking his head while smiling a bit them turned to take his leave as he needed to get some training done before he and Abelia continue their journey. "I might need the training, just to be on the safe side by the way."

Venonat remained silent and watched as Jonathan went to train then sighed as he headed back to let Abelia know he'll be training though he felt as if he was being watched though had no idea what it was…. As he used his antennae to find out the exact location, there was nothing in sight which made him sigh again then continued to make his way to where his trainer was rest, it was then that whatever was making the rustling noise took a brief glance at the Bug/Poison-Type then decided to follow him.

It took a while probably about up till 7 or 8 in the morning, but Jonathan got back to their base camp, placed in the cavern they had chosen to repair themselves from the weather. At that moment, he saw that Abelia was waking up, and she was rubbing her eyes in drowsiness, trying to focus. Wondering what had caused her to wake up so suddenly, Jonathan walked over to he, and she looked up at him with her big, beautiful silver eyes. There was a hint of confusion in her face as she turned to him. "Abelia…" he murmured, his voice still uncertain. "What's the matter? Why are you up now?"

"I could say the same about you, Jonathan…" the silver-haired girl murmured, finally focusing on him. Even in the dim light of the night, Jonathan could see her soft features, somewhat marred by the aloof expression that was constantly on her face. And once again, he couldn't help but think that Abelia was a lot prettier with her hair down… "You woke up in the middle of the night… what's the matter with you?"

"I dunno, actually…" the young boy answered, sitting cross-legged near the Bug-type user. "I felt like I couldn't relax… and was kinda worried about the Pokemon Pinchers. We have already run afoul of them a couple times, and I'm pretty sure they have singled us out already. I fear… they consider us a threat and want to get us out of the way."

"I understand…" Abelia answered, her hard face softening somewhat. "You are afraid they are going to come back and try to capture us… or worse… I can't say I blame you, actually… I am kinda worried about those guys as well. Let me guess, you wanted to take a training session on the beach, right?"

Jonathan nodded. "Yeah… I was impulsive and tried to capture that Relicanth last time, without having the necessary skills… but now, I'm sure I have a better understanding of my skills." He answered. "In fact… why don't we go do some training together, Abi? It could be useful…"

Abelia looked at her Venonat, who quickly scuttled up to her and nodded. The pretty silver-haired girl nodded silently and stood up, wiping some dirt off her white dress. "I couldn't sleep very well too… so I'm okay with it. Who knows, maybe we can find some Pokemon to capture as well. It would certainly help for when those Pinchers come back for us." She answered, stroking Venonat on top of its head. The hairy bug cuddled close to his mistress "And… Jonathan…"

"Yeah?" Jonathan asked, curious to know what Abelia was up to… and was caught off guard when the silver-haired girl came close and hugged him tightly, holding him close as if she was afraid that he was slip away at a moment's notice. "A-Abelia?"

"Jonathan… please don't leave me…" she murmured, her voice cracking somewhat. "I… I don't want you to get far from me without me knowing… I don't want to lose you… you and my Pokemon are all I have now…"

With that, Abelia hugged Jonathan closer… and the Water-type trainer, after a moment of shock, simply hugged Abelia back and stroked her back in order to soothe her, his hand running through Abelia's smooth silver hair. "Don't worry, Abi… you know I will never leave you. And I'm sorry for trying to go away on my own. I will always warn you first if I have to go anywhere, okay?" he stated, causing the girl to nod in relief.

Abelia silently nodded her head then gave a serious expression which Jonathan gave a small sigh before continuing. "In any case, we should probably continue on our journey okay?" he suggested, if they were lucky then they might be able to get to the next town by sundown plus the two trainers could kill some by training their Pokemon while at the same time, they wouldn't have to worry about the Pokemon Pinchers for a while.

"Alright" she replied, giving a nod while once again going to her aloof state and before any of them could say another word, they heard another voice that got their attention.

"Awww.… isn't this sweet?"

They had no idea what it was but the voice came from young man their age, causing them to turn to see a boy with jet black hair, glasses, a simple white t-shirt with red rings around the short sleeves, dark blue jeans shorts, and wore black and white sneakers. "Who might you be?" asked Jonathan, somewhat not too thrilled to see this boy or the cocky expression that he had on his face.

"My name's Matthew, I'm a Pokemon trainer myself" he replied back, standing next to him was a Grass-Type Pokemon that looked somewhat like a reptile but it had a slender body, with most of it being green with a cream underside. A yellow stripe runs down the length of its back and tail, and it had yellow markings around its large eyes. Its slender arms have three fingers while its tiny feet had no digits. Two curved yellow structures that resembled leaves or small wings protrude from the shoulders and blended backwards and it had a large palmate leaf with three prongs on the end of the tail. "My Snivy and I wish to be the very best that no one ever was."

"That's a Snivy?" asked Jonathan while Abelia quietly took her Pokedex out and scanned this Grass-Type Pokemon that was near the other boy in order to find out more about the creature itself.

Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokemon. Cool, calm, and collected, Snivy uses photosynthesis to collect energy with the leaf on its tail.

"That's right, I got him on the first day of my journey as a Pokemon Trainer in Oblivia… which Pokemon did you pick?" answered Matthew, grinning to see if Jonathan had a Pokemon that at least had an advantage over his Snivy and before the brown-haired young boy could response, his newly evolved Dewott popped out which caught the attention of Matthew and Snivy while the former shook his head. "Ha! You've got to be kidding me? That Dewott is your starter? It wouldn't last 5 seconds against my Snivy!"

Jonathan wasn't too pleased with that remark nor was Dewott. "Oh really? Just try us and we'll prove to you that it isn't always about Type-Advantages!" he said, which Dewott nodded his head in agreement with his trainer and got ready to face Matthew and his arrogant Snivy much to Abelia's displeasure. "Are you ready, Dewott? We are going to give this guy a bit of a lesson!"

"I'm already on it, Jonathan!" Dewott exclaimed, twirling his twin scallops in both his hands. "So, you're the Pokemon I'm supposed to be fighting against? No offense, but you really don't look like much!"

"Yeah, lots of people told me that." Snivy answered haughtily, opening up his fan-shaped tail of leaves. "But I think you'll be surprised to see that first impressions might deceive."

"Really? Well, that's what we'll see right now, pal! Prepare to lose!" Dewott exclaimed, getting ready to battle. Abelia sighed and shook her head, murmuring something to herself about how Jonathan and Dewott had fallen for that trap hook line and sinker… and one second later, Jonathan gave an order, and the battle began in earnest!

"Let's go for it, Dewott! Start off with Tail Whip to lower his defenses!" Jonathan ordered. Dewott smirked and shook his tail, lightly whipping Snivy in order to make him more vulnerable to the next attacks… but he was surprised in an unpleasant way when Snivy seemed to actually be bolstered by the stat-lowering move. Even Abelia, who had been acting dismissive of the whole battle, widened her eyes in surprise when Matthew's Snivy stood straight and briefly glowed in a blue aura.

"What?" Dewott exclaimed. "How… What is going on here? I thought my Tail Whip had lowered Snivy's defenses!"

"Well, it would have worked on any other Pokemon…" Matthew exclaimed with a small smirk. "But, you see, my Snivy has a special ability called Contrary. Basically, every move that alters Snivy's stats has the opposite effect: stats are raised instead of lowered, or lowered instead of raised. Now, Snivy… use Leaf Tornado!"

"Right away!" Snivy answered, firing a whirlwind of leaves at Dewott and hitting him head-on! Dewott yelped in pain and crashed to the ground, but managed to quickly pick himself up and recovered his scallops, striking another fighting pose.

"What?" a surprised Jonathan exclaimed. "But then… you can't use any boosting move yourself!"

"Exactly." Matthew answered. "But why should I want to do it, when my opponent is going to power up my Snivy in my place? Oh, and of course… if my Snivy uses a move that causes some stats to drop, they are raised instead!"

"Well, that's all very interesting and stuff, but you forgot one teensy little detail…" Jonathan answered.

Matthew smirked and looked at Jonathan with a hint of arrogance to his face. "Oh, really? And what would that detail be?" he snarked, as Snivy started preparing another Leaf Tornado.

Jonathan answered with a winning smile. "You just told me what your Snivy's ability does, dumbass!" he exclaimed, causing Matthew's expression to suddenly change into one of shock and surprise, as he realized he had just committed a vital mistake! "Now I know that I mustn't use any status-lowering move on Snivy, and I will instead attack head-on with all I've got! Go, Dewott! Strike him down with Fury Cutter!"

"Already on it!" Dewott exclaimed, before jumping at Snivy and slashing at him with his twin shell-like blades, drawing a colored trail in midair. Snivy was hit by the two blows and was sent back, yelping in pain, but quickly answered with a Tackle attack that forced Dewott back. Quickly moving on his feet, Dewott raised his scallops again and got ready to face another attack.

Abelia nodded to herself, barely concealing a small smile at seeing Jonathan and Dewott starting to put Matthew and Snivy on the ropes. It seemed Jonathan's training has been useful indeed, and now he knew well what moves to use against a Grass-type opponent. However, his opponent was not quite finished yet, and it showed.

"Well, I'll admit I was careless… but you're not getting the jump on me so easily!" Matthew exclaimed. "Snivy, use your Leech Seed attack!"

"I got this, Matthew! He's not going to defeat me that easily!" the Grass Snake Pokemon answered, before launching a bunch of seeds at the otter-like Pokemon. Dewott moved aside and managed to dodge the first two, but the others were too fast and struck the otter-like Pokemon, instantly bursting into a net of plants that entangled themselves around Dewott's arms and legs. With a yelp, Dewott felt his energy being drained and transferred to Snivy, in the form of several dots of green light that travelled from him to his opponent!

"What the hell was that?!" exclaimed Jonathan, not liking the looks of this and more so as he sees that his Dewott was slowly beginning to get weaker while Matthew gave him a grin, then began laughing which was never a good sign. "What's so funny?"

"Haven't you figured it out yet? Thanks Snivy's Leech Seed attack, he regains 1/8 health whenever it zaps the opponent…. However… Take a good look at what my Grass-Type is holding right now…" he pointed to the root-like item that his Snivy was currently holding in his possession. "If a Pokemon is holding the item known as the Big Root, then it will instead regain 30% more HP as opposed to the initial amount, as you can see… I know how to use items in battle for good strategies."

That's just great…. Jonathan thought to himself, gritting his teeth as he needed to end this battle fast while at the same time needed to be careful should that Snivy of his use another Grass-Type move, especially one that would increase his stats instead of lowering them but to his dismay, Matthew had another grin as his Snivy did not just have Leaf Tornado.

"If you think my Leaf Tornado was powerful, you ain't seen anything yet!" mocked Matthew, having his Snivy jump into the air and spin around as leaves began to form around his entire body while Jonathan and Dewott wondered what their opponents were planning. "Now… use your Leaf Storm attack!"

Take this! yelled Snivy, unleashing an even more powerful Grass-Type attack right at Dewott's direction and to Jonathan, he needed to act fast as if that Leaf Storm attack hits then it might be over for him and his Discipline Pokemon, there is no way he would allow that to happen especially despite the Type-Disadvantage he had.

"Hurry and use Aqua Jet to dodge the attack!" he quickly ordered, Dewott's priority attack managed to save him at the last minute and he made direct contact with Snivy but it wasn't very effective plus to make matters worse, the Contrary ability increased Snivy's Special Attack now and thanks to the effects both Leech Seed as well as that Big Root the Grass Snake was holding… his opponent's Pokemon would regain health, yet Jonathan had an idea that he hoped it would work as he'd best not take any chances. "Alright, time to use that Fury Cutter attack again!"

Dewott nodded and sent out another Fury Cutter attack, if he was correct, then he'd best use Fury Cutter only as each time it successfully hits an opponent, it deals more damage provided he doesn't try to use a different attack. "Keep using Fury Cutter!" he told his starter, though to Matthew, he wasn't going to allow Dewott to make the Bug-Type move stronger.

"Counter it with your Vine Whip attack!" he said to Snivy, which two vines were produced from his Grass-Type's neck and caught Dewott off-guard as it scored a direct hit as Jonathan's newly made rival knows how to deal with Water-Types, especially ones that are given as Starter Pokemon to new trainers such as himself. "Do you really think this is the best that you can do against us?"

Jonathan gritted his teeth as he saw Dewott once again being zapped by the Leech Seed and Snivy was once again regaining health. "Dammit…. What can I do?" he asked himself but refuses to lose to this guy then glanced at his starter and hoped he can come up with a good plan soon.

"If you're done stalling for time? Then I have a match to win…" frowned Matthew, seeing that now is the time for him to end this pity battle and just when he thought things were going to get interesting as well and the male Grass Snake had similar thoughts as his trainer. "Use Leaf Storm and wipe him out now!"

Snivy grinned as he got ready to use his strongest Grass-Type move to finish his battle against Dewott once and for all, then Jonathan mentally cursed to himself before something popped into his head. "Dewott, get ready to dodge the attack when I give the signal." He said to Dewott, who slowly nodded his head before prepared to strike with his Normal-Type move the moment that Leaf Storm is used and right on cue, Jonathan gave the signal. "Now, dodge it and get ready to use your Fury Cutter!"

Got it! Dewott responded back and jumped out of the way of the Leaf Storm attack, then with one yell…. He slashed at Snivy with the powerful Fury Cutter in order to end the battle quickly but Jonathan wasn't quite done just yet as Matthew would soon see.

"Hurry and use Fury Cutter again!" he said, Dewott was more than happy to oblige with that command, which proved to be powerful enough to knock Snivy down onto the ground below and can only hope that it would be enough to finish the Grass-Type off. "Alright, I think we got him… great job!"

However, their cheers would be interrupted as they saw that Snivy was starting to get back up and refused to be defeated against Dewott… more so with the Grass Snake beginning to glow in a bright white light, to Jonathan, Abelia, Dewott and Venonat it wasn't the Contrary ability this time around but an evolution taking place. Oh man…. muttered Dewott as the evolution was making Matthew's Pokemon even more powerful and it seemed like an eternity but the light finally faded with Snivy having taken on a brand new form much to the shock of Jonathan and Dewott.

"Well, would you look at that? My Snivy is now a Servine!" grinned Matthew, realizing it was about time that his Snivy evolved and at the same time he was somewhat surprised that Jonathan was able to pull off such a trick like that to catch them off-guard. Needless to say, Jonathan and Abelia were currently at a loss of words as the brown-haired young boy was facing a more formidable foe, a sign that Matthew has indeed raised his Starter Pokemon well especially as the silver-haired girl took her Pokedex out again to scan the newly evolved Servine in order to find out more on what Jonathan was now up against.

Servine, the Grass Snake Pokemon and the evolved form of Snivy. Servine whips its opponents with vines, and dodges their attacks by hiding in the shadows of thick foliage.

Now do you see that there's no chance of you winning? asked Servine, seeing as it was his newly evolved form against Dewott and felt more rejuvenated as the Leech Seed zapped Dewott again while the Big Root allowed the male Grass-Type to regain 30% more health which made him stronger and his ability increased his Special Attack even higher.

There's no way in hell Jonathan and I are going to back down! answered Dewott, seeing that he and Jonathan were going to have one hell of a battle now that Snivy had evolved into Servine, still they weren't gonna give up not when they were this far. We have a few surprises of our own and we'll be sure to dish them out! Afterall, if we were able to hold our own against the Pokemon Pinchers then we can handle you as well!

That's nice to know… then show me with your own power that you aren't all talk! Servine haughtily commented, getting ready to attack and deal a deciding blow. Dewott crouched low and got ready to counter, circling around his opponent and keeping both of his scallops held up to his sides. With a slight smirk, he kept his gaze on the grass snake, and Jonathan got ready to call out another order. Abelia, for her part, watched in silence, hoping that Jonathan and his Dewott would be able to pull off a victory, even with the type disadvantage.

"Alright, Dewott, we need to end it right here and now!" Jonathan exclaimed. "Use a Fury Cutter again! With all the times you used it; it should be really strong right now!"

Matthew smirked confidently. "Well, well, looks like we've gotten to the end of the battle! Okay, Servine, give him a taste of your Slam attack! This time, there is no way he will be able to withstand that!" he said. Both Pokemon glared at each other, and then, as if they were responding to the exact same order, they dashed towards each other, closing the distance in an heartbeat! Dewott saw everything go in slow motion as he and Servine got closer to each other, looking in each other's eyes while rearing for the deciding blow…

And, in a moment, they struck at the same time!

Dewott and Servine flew past each other and landed on the ground, their eyes still cast forward and both of them still in a thrusting position, and the two boys held their breath for what they thought was going to be a short wait until one of the two Pokemon fell to the ground unconscious. A few seconds passed, none of them ever moving a muscle…

And, in a shocking display, both Dewott and Servine slumped to the ground at the same time and fainted, while Abelia sighed, put a hand on her forehead and shook her head in a gesture of exasperation.

The battle was over… without anyone winning or losing.

"Darn… I can't believe I lost… even with type advantage on my side!" Matthew exclaimed, gritting his teeth in frustration. "Sigh… well, kiddo, I have to say, you're pretty good to have defeated my Servine like that."

Jonathan sighed and petted his Dewott, telling him he had done a great job before recalling him into his Pokeball. "You did great, Dewott… well, Matthew, let's call it a draw for now. But rest assured, we will meet again, and when that happens, I'll make sure I'll win the rematch!" he commented.

"Heh… I look forward to that, pal!" Matthew said with a slight smirk. "I'll train my Pokemon a little more, and then I'll go looking for you and challenge you again. Oh, and by the way… nice catch you've gotten yourself there! She's quite a looker, even though the clothing can use some work!" He pointed at Abelia and winked mischievously, which caused the silver-haired Bug-type enthusiast to turn away, a cutely annoyed expression on her face.

"Hmph." Abelia answered. "Sorry, dude, I'm not available."

Matthew placed his hands in front of himself in mock apology. "Fine, girl, no need to bite my head off." He answered. "Okay then… I'll see you two next time! Try not to disappoint me next time!"

"Took the words right outta my mouth, pal." Jonathan answered, keeping his eyes on Matthew as his newfound rival walked away. Soon, Matthew's figure disappeared, leaving Jonathan and Abelia alone in the clearing. A few moment of embarrassed silence followed before Abelia spoke up.

"Well, that was tougher than you thought, I guess." She said, sighing as she flipped one of her pigtails away. "Goes just to show that you can never predict when you'll meet a strong opponent. We're going to need a fair bit of further training before we can say we can take on the Pokemon Pinchers, right?"

"You're telling me something I already know, Abi…" he answered. "But rest assured, I'm not going to stop trying because of this. Next time we meet, it will be Matthew to lose, you can be sure of that."

"Just make sure to put your money where your mouth is, and take him down next time." Abelia calmly retorted. "Now… what are your plans? Aside from getting to a Pokemon Center and get Dewott fixed up?"

Jonathan fixed his trademark headband before answering. "Well… first things first, I'll see about that Pokemon Center. While Dolce Island might be mostly deserted, there should be a few places for explorers and Pokemon Rangers to gather, and they will have a Pokemon Center there too." He said. "After that… well, I think we can look for a few more new Pokemon, and then we'll be off to the next destination. Hopefully we won't run into the Pokemon Pinchers or something like that."

There was nothing but silence from Abelia, which she gave a small sigh then they decided to head off for the Pokemon Center in order to heal Dewott, however Jonathan's thoughts were on the match he had against Matthew and his recently evolved Servine, which means if Matthew was a skilled opponent with an Unova Starter, he could hardly imagine how strong the Tepig line would be… that is, if they encounter a trainer with a Tepig or its evolved form Pignite which might not be for a while.

The silver-haired girl on the other hand, glanced at her childhood friend as he was looking at the Pokeball that held his fainted Dewott, while it was the first time Discipline Pokemon went up against another Unova Starter Pokemon, the match proved to be more difficult than facing any members of the Pokemon Pinchers and odds are they would be encountering Matthew again in the future.

Their thoughts were interrupted by the shaking of a bush and Venipede popped out of Abelia's Pokeball much to the surprise of her and Jonathan. "Venipede?" asked Abelia, in slight surprise as her Bug/Poison-Type never actually let itself out before without a good reason, however it wouldn't be long before two Pokemon jumped out at him, one was a small insectoid Pokemon that resembles three pieces of orange hexagonal honeycomb stuck together. Each hexagon has a round yellow face with a red spot on the forehead of its lower face. The bottom-center face is the main thinker of the three, and it is also the only one "bee" to have a full abdomen The top two hexagons have a single antenna and a wing connected to an orange-colored joint.

The other Pokemon had four legs tipped with blue, conical feet. Its ovoid body is completely covered in yellow fur, with notable tufts sticking out on each side of its face, just over each eye, and its lower back. It also has four blue eyes, the two larger eyes are set relatively far apart on its face, contain black pupils while the two smaller simple eyes are situated between the first pair, slightly higher up on its face. The Pokemon's mandibles point downward and reside at the bottom of its face, where they closely resemble tufts of hair.

"What are those Pokemon?" asked Jonathan, somewhat surprised by the fact that there were two Pokemon popping out and remembered when something like this happened to him when he first encountered Spheal and Marill.

"I'm not sure" answered Abelia in the usual aloof tone she had, taking her Pokedex out in order to see what they were currently up against and from the looks of it, using only her Venipede against them would be completely ill-advised. "Let's see what the Pokedex says about them."

Combee, the Tiny Bee Pokemon. When sleeping, Combee stack up on each other like a hive.

Joltik, the Attaching Pokemon. Joltik cling to larger Pokemon, and absorbs static electricity, storing the energy in a special pouch.

Remaining silent, the silver-haired girl took another glance at the two opposing wild Pokemon and is mentally glad it wasn't a horde battle as at this point, neither she nor Jonathan had taught their respective Pokemon moves that could hit multiple opponents. "Go Nincada!" she spoke, sending her Bug/Ground-Type to assist Venipede against the Joltik and Combee plus from the looks of it, this Combee has to be female since it had a red spot on the lower face.

I don't know who you are but I have learned to treat everyone here as enemies… began the Attaching Pokemon, luckily Nincada was immune to any Electric-Type moves that Joltik might know but Combee would be the bigger problem since Flying-Types have an immunity to Ground-Type moves while Bug-Types in general are resistant to Ground-Type moves such as Dig.

What makes you say that? asked Venipede with a look of anger on his face at the comment that one of the two opposing Bug-Types made and Nincada has similar thoughts. Why the hell would you treat everyone as enemies anyway?

This time it was Combee who spoke. Like you would want to know, unfortunately… Not even your partner's immunity to Electric-Type moves would help… she spoke, closing her eyes as she had expected that they would encounter an opponent which would either be resistant to Electric-Type attacks or immune to them. Because I have an advantage over opposing Bug-Types due to being part Flying-Type.

Maybe, but we'll show you that Type Advantages aren't everything! responded Nincada, nodding to Venipede and then back at the two Bug-Types that they were going up against then got ready for the upcoming battle.

Jonathan watched from a near distant, knowing that Abelia would do well in her first double wild Pokemon battle… if he was able to win his, then his childhood friend will do so too since she did well so far as a Pokemon Trainer. "Good luck Abi, show them what you're made of!" he rooted for the silver-haired girl who didn't respond to him while keeping her aloof expression.

"Venipede, use Defense Curl!" she told her Bug/Poison-Type as she wanted to get him ready to make his next move, if she was right then Combee would have a double weakness to Rock-Type moves then got Nincada ready to help just in case Joltik goes to help its partner. "Now us Rollout on Combee!"

Not if I can help it! yelled Joltik, witnessing Venipede curling up into a ball and then began using his Rollout at Combee, something the Attaching Pokemon refused to allow whatsoever as he retaliate with sparks of yellow electricity that appeared from in between his mandibles before firing it as a stream of yellow electricity into the air. As it flew through the air, the tip opened up and expanded, forming into a large spider-web of electricity.

"Nincada, use your body to protect Venipede now!" commanded Abelia, making use of Nincada's immunity to Electric-Type attacks as he moved in front of Venipede to take the hit from the web itself, covering over him while allowing Venipede's attack to continue only for Combee to fly up to avoid being hit by the Rock-Type move. "Alright then…. Use Scratch on Joltik to keep it preoccupied!"

Nicada jumped up and hit the electric spider with his clawed forelimbs in order to throw it off its game, actually managing to force the Bug / Electric Pokemon on its back for a couple seconds. With an angry hiss, Joltik picked itself up, just as Combee was trying another attack on Venipede. "Alright, here's a special delivery!" the strange beehive Pokemon exclaimed. "What do you think of this Gust attack?"

Furiously beating her wings, Combee sent a powerful blast of wind in the form of a miniature tornado at Venipede, hitting him and sending him tumbling to the ground… but the pillbug-like Pokemon was soon able to pick himself up and stand on guard. "No worries, Abelia, I've still got this!" Venipede exclaimed, before glaring angrily at Combee. "Although I must say, you're really beginning to get on my nerves! How about you explain to me how is everyone an enemy around here? You're still hanging around with your Joltik friend, anyway!"

"Joltik is pretty much the exception that confirms the rule…" Combee answered, getting somewhat sad, which both Venipede and Abelia were able to sense in the Bug/ Flying type Pokemon's voice. "You seem to think that life in the wild is nice for a Pokemon. That might be true in certain places, but here on Dolce Island, things are rather different! You must always watch your back for predators who would like nothing more than to make a meal out of you, and trainers are no better. They chase us around, trying to disturb our lives and take us along in one of their crazy adventures to become Pokemon Masters, or some other nonsense like that!"

"So we have decided that we won't allow anyone to disturb us, and we would treat anyone as an outsider!" Joltik continued, trying to dodge a Fury Swipes attack from Nincada. The Bug/Ground Pokemon slashed several times with her forelimbs, and two hits staggered the electric tick.

"In that case… there is no chance but to fight back, is there?" Nincada answered. Abelia nodded and smiled slightly when she saw Venipede skillfully dodging the next Gust attack that Combee used against him, and called for a new attack.

"Venipede, attack with Poison Sting!" the silver-haired Bug-type fan ordered. Venipede reared back and fired a small stinger from his mouth, hitting Combee before she could dodge… and the Bug / Flying type immediately began feeling dizzy, losing altitude and swaying in its flight!

"I think that attack did it!" Jonathan said, recognizing the symptoms. "Your Poison Sting has poisoned Combee!"

"Darn… now that is something I was hoping wouldn't happen…" the beehive-like Pokemon murmured, casting a glance at Joltik, who was still busy dealing with Nincada. Abelia, for her part, the girl smirked confidently and gave the order she hoped would be the deciding one.

"That's the way you do it, Venipede! Let's wrap it up with Venoshock!" she exclaimed, knowing that this particular move was going to be doubly effective against an opponent who was already poisoned. Venipede pointed his antennae at the opponent and shot out a gout of venomous liquid that swamped Combee, causing her to lose balance and fall to the ground in a daze, her strength almost completely drained.

"Nicely done, Venipede! I really hope I can become just as skilled as you are with time and training!" Nincada answered, receiving a wink from Venipede and Abelia as he parries Joltik's Bug Bite attack. Jonathan nodded, impressed with Abelia's skill despite her having just started out as well…

Joltik realized the odds are starting to change, especially with his companion Combee having been defeated but he vowed that he would avenge her defeat, no matter what the risks are as he approached the Bug/Flying-Type. I am sorry… I think we could have a chance to win against her… she spoke, still exhausted from having been beaten by the two Bug-Types that they were fighting against, Still… she seems to be rather skilled in raising those Pokemon all things considered…..

You don't have to apologize, you've done all you could…. He reassured his fallen partner, and then gave a darkened glare at both Venipede and Nincada, seeing that they were making one hell of a comeback despite the hard time that he and Combee were giving them. They will soon be getting a taste of my true power.

With that said, he proceeded with using an Agility attack which increased his speed and made him move from place to place which made Jonathan, Abelia and the silver-haired girl's two Bug-Type Pokemon wonder what the opposing Bug-Type was planning. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this…" Jonathan silently muttered to himself, more so as an Orb of yellow and orange electricity with yellow electric sparks began forming around Joltik in front of his mouth then without any hesitation and upon being in the right position, he fired the orb at Venipede, who had no time to react before being struck by the orb and an explosion occurred. "What the?! Just what the hell was that?!"

That was my Electro Ball attack, Human….It may be powerful but it gets stronger if my opponent's speed is lower than my own answered Joltik, just as the smoke from the explosion began to clear up… there was sparks of electric sparks in the dust and Venipede had been badly injured by the attack much to Abelia's dismay. From the looks of it, I'd say that Bug/Poison-Type won't be lasting another attack and it will just leave me and that Bug/Ground-Type to deal with.

D…Don't count me out… I'm not beaten just yet! snapped Venipede before he began glowing in a bright white light, signifying that he was evolving with Jonathan, Abelia and Nincada all in awe as the Centipede Pokemon started changing form and growing bigger, while Joltik was completely shocked by the fact that his opponent was starting to become stronger than he was previously… when the light faded, the Bug/Poison-Type became an insectoid Pokemon encased in a hard, segmented shell. He now had two pairs of gray, horn-like feelers with dark gray stripes, with one pair extended upward from its front and the other pointing downward from his lower rear. Two poisonous barbs flanked either side of each segment of his shell. The shell itself was gray, with red rings in the middle of each segment and a darker gray border circling his open center. His eyes were shown within the center, and have slitted pupils, yellow sclerae and thick, gray eyelids.

"Venipede just evolved!" exclaimed Jonathan as Abelia took her Pokedex out and scanned her newly evolved Pokemon with it to find out more on the new form that Venipede had taken.

Whirlipede, the Curlipede Pokemon and the evolved form of Venipede, Whirlipede can spin its hard shelled body like a tire to smash into opponents.

This shouldn't even be possible! exclaimed Joltik, knowing there was no way Venipede could have survived that point-blank Electro Ball attack, especially as it wasn't just his strongest move but the combination of it and Agility made it the best combination in battle. My attack should have knocked you out right there and then!

It should have, but it didn't… especially thanks to my Speed Boost ability increasing my speed the longer I'm in the battle! responded the newly evolved Whirlipede, shocking both Jonathan and Abelia somewhat the moment he revealed that he had a unique ability that most Pokemon from the Venipede line doesn't have though at the same time, the Bug/Poison-Type felt bad about having hidden the fact from both trainers that he came from the Dream World.

To Abelia however, she decided to stop the match immediately. "You know, if you and Combee had someone who cared about you… maybe things might have gone differently…" she spoke in her aloof tone while Jonathan stayed silence, having a feeling his childhood friend was going try and attempt to befriend with the two Bug-Types she was facing, only hoping she knows what she's doing.

What? What game are you playing, human? Joltik exclaimed, frowning in doubt. Is this a ploy to get us to drop our guard or what?

"No trick here. I'm sure Whirlipede here will be able to reassure you on that." Abelia answered, her voice getting softer, a hint of a smile on her usually stern features. "I'm sure that, if you were to meet some friends and perhaps make friends with some human beings, you would not only become a lot stronger, but you'd be happier as well. How about it? You wouldn't have to keep watching your backs for every sort of trouble, and you'd be able to see the world and all sorts of wonderful things. And best thing of all, you wouldn't have to be separated. I'd bring you along in our journey, and we'd get stronger together. Don't you think that will be a great idea?"

Jonathan blinked, somewhat surprised that Abelia was actually making such a proposal, and the two wild Bug-type Pokemon seemed a little hesitant as they looked at each other…

I can vouch for Abelia! She means what she's saying! Whirlipede intervened. After all, if it hadn't been for her training and her care, I wouldn't have been able to evolve into a Whirlipede… and I'm sure that if I keep at it, I'll become a mighty Scolipede soon!

"So, little guys, what do you say to this?" Abelia asked Combee and Joltik, who stood there in surprise for a few moments, looking at each other… and finally, Combee decided it could be a good idea to try.

I think we don't have anything to lose from that, Joltik. She ventured. I mean, if that really means we won't have to be on the lookout for enemies all the time… wouldn't it be a net gain for us? We would be living quite comfortably, after all. Yes, we'd probably have to fight other Pokemon in trainer battles, but at least we'd have partners and a human to care about us.

Joltik seemed to be unsure for a moment… and then, after carefully considering the pros and cons, he decided that it wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. Well… that sounds like a good idea now that I think of it… he finally decided. Fine… Abelia is your name, young human, right? Fine then… throw your Pokeballs, we are going to try being your Pokemon. Who knows, we might even end up liking it…

That's a nice decision! I'm sure you'll love being Abelia's Pokemon! Nincada answered cheerily, as she watched her silver-haired trainer take a pair of Pokeballs out of her bag. She aimed carefully and threw one Pokeball at each Pokemon, hitting them as they stood in place ready to become part of Abelia's team. Both Pokemon were touched and absorbed by the capturing devices, which fell to the ground with a metallic sound. They shook for a few moments, and then stood still, signaling that both Combee and Joltik had been caught! Abelia walked up to the Pokeballs and picked them up, regarding them with a satisfied smile.

"Well, I guess you could say it was an eventful day right, Jonathan?" she asked her childhood friend, who was clapping his hands at her along with his Dewott. "You've got yourself a nice rival, I've gotten myself two new Pokemon, and we've both done our fair deal of training. I guess we can continue on our way in a few days, don't you think so?"

"Yes, I'm inclined to agree…" Jonathan answered, watching with fondness as Abelia picked up her Whirlipede and her Nincada and cuddled them. "I think we'll have gotten our teams strong enough, and I'm curious to see what else awaits for us in the next island. Furthermore… I think my Omanyte would love it when we get to a certain place…"

Which place is that, Jonathan? Nincada asked in curiosity. And why would your Omanyte be happy to see that place?

"I'll tell you later… for now, I think we're better off returning to our base camp and resting ourselves and our Pokemon." Jonathan explained gently. "We're still going to have a few days of training in front of us."

Abelia nodded, frowning a little as he thought what Jonathan could mean by that…

Oooooooooo

A few days have passed since Jonathan's battle against his new rival Matthew, both the brown-haired young boy and Abelia have been training for quite sometime especially in case that they have another encounter with either Matthew or the Pokemon Pinchers. To the silver-haired girl, she was hoping to better get to know her newly caught Joltik and Combee especially as she has learned that not only does Agility make his Electro Ball attack stronger but has another attack known as Thunder Wave which paralyzes opposing Pokemon that aren't either Electric-Types or Ground-Types.

Though it wasn't for long after they decided to take a break, until the two encountered a school of Water-Type Pokemon at a pond near where they were training, all of which were cyan Pokémon with two yellow antennae atop their heads. They had two claws: one claw forms a single, sharp point, while the other is significantly larger, with two parts, forming a classic pincer. The lower part of this pincer is smaller and yellow. They had black-grey stripes along the end of each abdominal segment and around their claws. They had four small cyan legs that are curved and come to a point, these Water-Types also had a light grey underside, three pointed mouthparts, round yellow eyes with a small, black pupil, and two small trapezoid tail-parts protruding from their lower abdomen. A horizontal line encompasses the front of their respective carapaces, in line with their eyelids, up until a second vertical line that encompasses their carapaces completely. They also light grey segments on the parts of its legs and claws closest to their body.

However, there was one that catch Jonathan's eye as this one was rather unique compared to the others he had seen before it as this one was a reddish orange as opposed to the cyan of its brethren, it had dark blue antennae instead of yellow antennae, the lower part of its larger pincher had cyan instead of yellow, the stripes were white instead of black-grey and cyan eyes instead of yellow eyes. "I wonder what kind of Pokemon those are?" Jonathan asked himself, taking his Pokedex out to scan the Pokemon that were right in front of them.

Clauncher, the Water Gun Pokemon. Clauncher fires compressed water from the arm gun on its right claw and damages foes with impact from the water.

"Sounds pretty cool, especially that red one!" said Jonathan with a slight grin on his face, having decided right there and then that he was going to catch that red Clauncher and had a Pokeball ready in his right hand. "Let's go Omanyte!"

Upon Omanyte being let out of her Pokeball to take on the red Clauncher in the horde, Abelia gave a small sigh. "Some things never change huh Jonathan" she said, having a feeling that he would resort to something like this without thinking.

"Don't worry Abi, I can handle whatever attacks that Pokemon has" responded the brown-haired boy, giving his silver-haired childhood friend a bright smile then turned his attention back towards the red Clauncher. "Okay, Omanyte, use your Spike Cannon attack on that red Clauncher now!"

Omanyte gave her trainer a nod of her head as she jumped into the pond to better fight off the red Clauncher and her shell began glowing in a bright white light then she began shooting out multiple spikes from her mouth, striking the Clauncher from behind while it's back was turned away from her. How dare you attack me while my back was turned! yelled the red Water Gun Pokemon, getting into a fighting stance and proceeded with delivering a swift Crabhammer at the Rock/Water-Type.

"Dodge and use Constrict!" countered Jonathan, his Spiral Pokemon dodged the Crabhammer then began wrapping her tentacles around the red Pokemon in question. "Alright, keep it up Omanyte!"

However, the wild Pokemon began grinning as soon had its right pincher onto Omanyte's blue skin and squeezed it so hard that it forced her to let go. That was a little taste or my Vice Grip attack and let's see if you can withstand this! With that said, its right claw began to form a light blue energy orb from inside and then fired it right at Omanyte, catching her off-guard as it actually did more damage than it normally would to her. "What the?!" exclaimed Jonathan in shock at this. "What the hell was that?!"

That was my Water Pulse attack, it not only does damage but it has a slight chance of confusing the Pokemon that gets hit! explained Clauncher with a glare at Jonathan and Abelia but it wasn't done just yet as there was something else the two humans should know. Oh and it is stronger because of my Mega Launcher ability, which increases the power of certain attacks and Water Pulse is one of those moves.

Needless to say, things are not going to be easy as Jonathan has originally hoped it would be as it seems Omanyte wasn't feeling well and felt woozy. I don't feel so hot... she muttered as if she seems to be swaying around and looking like she was dancing in the pond.

"Oh no" said Abelia, realizing what this meant and turned to her childhood friend. "Jonathan, you need to switch to one of your other Pokemon, Omanyte has just gotten confused!"

"Dammit!" he mentally cursed though he couldn't give up now as the red Clauncher would get away if he did go through with it. "Okay, try to concentrate and be ready to use Spike Cannon again when I give the signal!"

I... I can try... answered Omanyte, especially as it won't be easy fighting in her confused state as she could risk hurting herself in her confusion and the red Clauncher knew it too, which was something that it was going to use to its advantage. Omanyte grit her teeth and tried to concentrate on the unsteady image of Clauncher in front of her, before narrowing her eyes and firing several spikes at the crustacean. However, her aim was off, and Clauncher was easily able to sidestep the attack, scuttling about on his segmented legs. Omanyte swayed from side to side, and fell to the ground awkwardly as her tentacles lost grip on the ground. Ouch! S-sorry, Jonathan… this is harder than I thought…

"Just try to hold on, Omanyte! The confusion can't last forever!" Jonathan instructed his Pokemon, who stood up and tried to shake off the effects of Water Pulse.

Well, that much is true. Clauncher admitted. However, the question is, will you be able to last long enough to shrug it off?

Don't… underestimate me! Omanyte exclaimed. This time, she had a better idea where to attack, and Jonathan tried to guide her better.

"Okay… wait for it, Omanyte…" Jonathan instructed her as the pistol shrimp Pokemon approached, raising his oversized claw. "Wait for it… alright, do it now! Use Bite!"

Clauncher shot forward, trying to grab Omanyte with a Vice Grip attack… but Omanyte reacted quickly and caught the opponent's flailing claw with her short tentacles, before delivering a punishing bite to Clauncher's back! The pistol shrimp Pokemon widened his eyes in surprise and pain, before starting to thrash about in an attempt to shrug off the menace, but Omanyte held out, wrapping her tentacles around Clauncher's armored body! Another Constrict attack caused the crustacean Pokemon to writhe in discomfort.

"Alright, Omanyte! Keep it up!" Jonathan exclaimed, seeing his Pokemon getting an advantage. "Now… use your Brine attack!"

Right away! Omanyte exclaimed, quickly separating herself from Clauncher before firing a powerful stream of saltwater at him, and striking him head-on! The crustacean Pokemon screeched angrily as it was pushed back by the sheer force of the attack, and was blasted to the ground, where he stayed for a moment, stunned by the blow. Yay! I… I think I got him!

Uuuugh… now… now that I didn't see coming… Clauncher murmured, standing up and trying to get back on his guard. You are a skilled trainer alright… but I'm not going to make it easy on you! See if you like my Swords Dance!

With that, Clauncher raised his oversized claw in the air and began dancing in place. For a moment, Jonathan was able to see a few swords made of light appear around the shrimp-like Pokemon and rotate about in a threatening manner as Clauncher's attack power was boosted… and one second later, Clauncher launched himself at Omanyte and swung his claw around!

"Be careful, Jonathan! That's a Crabhammer attack!" Abelia exclaimed in surprise, raising her voice! Omanyte widened her eyes in alarm and tried to protect herself from the blow, as Jonathan thought quickly in order to allow his fossil Pokemon to withstand the mighty swing!

"Omanyte, use Protect!" Jonathan ordered hastily! Omanyte quickly complied, creating a barrier of shimmering energy around her body and managing to sway the Crabhammer, which bounces harmlessly off of the forcefield, leaving Clauncher stunned and surprised, and unable to react when Omanyte attacked again! "Alright, that's what I'm talking about! Now… attack with Mud Shot!"

I got it! Omanyte exclaimed, the effects of confusion finally fading. The nautilus-like Pokemon raised her tentacles and fired a powerful blast of mud at her opponent, hitting Clauncher straight in the face, and sending the shrimp-like Pokemon speawled on the ground!

Uuuugh… Okay… okay, fine, I give! Clauncher murmured. I… think I've had enough. You are a strong trainer, young man, and I'll be glad to be part of your team. What's your name, by the way?

"My name is Jonathan. Jonathan Seabright!" the boy answered happily, petting his Omanyte and thanking her for a job well done. "And this lovely lady here is my friend Abelia! We'll be happy to have you onboard!"

Abelia smiled slightly and bowed to the shiny Clauncher. "A pleasure to meet you, Clauncher." She said… before she frowned and blushed slightly at how Jonathan had called her. "Hold on a second… lovely?"

Jonathan Seabright, huh? Well, what can I say, this might be my lucky day as well. The red Clauncher commented. Go on and throw your Pokeball, Jonathan.

"Right away!" the boy answered, grabbing a Pokeball and throwing it at Clauncher. The capture device made contact, and the Water-type was sucked in and allowed himself to be captured. A satisfying clicking sound and a beep later, the Pokeball stopped moving… and Jonathan grabbed it and lifted it up in the air in triumph! "Alright! I got a Clauncher! Thank you, Omanyte! Thank you, Abelia! You two really helped out!"

"Oh… it was nothing. Just try to be more careful next time." Abelia said, looking away from Jonathan. The young boy chuckled to himself, recognizing how Abelia was trying to look indifferent.

It was a pleasure to help! Omanyte answered, lifting a tentacle in a victory gesture. Well, what can I say… it was a good idea to stop here in Dolce Island. The training we did… gave quite the results, huh?

"Yeah… and now, we're ready to go further!" Jonathan said. "Watch out, rivals, Gyms, Pokemon Pinchers, whatever! Jonathan, Abelia and their Pokemon will take you by storm!"

"Let's just hope we don't get swept away…" Abelia concluded with a sigh…

ooooooooooo

Note: Well, that's that for now. I couldn't get any inspiration to continue this story, but now, I managed to work up something, thanks to EmperorDraco7 helping out! Next time, we'll meet some new characters, who will get Jonathan and Abelia involved in a new and exciting adventure! What will happen next?

Find out, on the next chapter of Rise of the Young Adventurers!