Chapter Three: Sibling Rivalry Part 2

"Come on out... Bunnelby!" Rodney threw out his third Pokémon. A Normal-type, small, gray, rabbit-like Pokémon emerged from its Pokéball that Rodney had thrown.

"A six-on-six battle?" Rouge thought to himself as he took out his own third Pokéball. "Alright! Let's spark up a fire! Go, Delphox!" Rouge released his Fire/Psychic Pokémon. The final form of the Kalos Region fire starter Pokémon, Fennekin. "We'll start things off! Delphox, Fire Spine!" Delphox stuck out its wand, creating a huge flame that was then dissolved into multiple streams of fire that spun around and then shot towards Bunnelby.

"Quickly dodge it Bunnelby and then use dig!" Rodney calmly asked Bunnelby. Bunnelby jumped out of the way of Delphox's fire attack and jumped up into the air and drilled a hole into the ground with its ears to hide from Delphox's Fire Spine. Delphox looked around franticlly for the small rabbit Pokémon.

"Don't panic Delphox! Just focus on where Bunnelby will come up from by feeling the vibrations of the ground!"

Delphox listened to what Rouge told her and quickly calmed down. She focused on the ground to locate where Bunnelby would be coming up from the ground.

"Looks like he's learned a thing or two. Now Bunnelby, use Double Team!" Rodney said with a smile. Bunnelby jumped up from underneath the ground, automatically using Double Team before Delphox knew what to do. "Now use Mud Shot Bunnelby!"

Bunnelby created a golden sphere between its ears. The sphere then split into several balls of mud, which were then fired at Delphox. Delphox quickly dodged as many of Bunnelby's Mud Shots, but one had hit Delphox in the face, blinding her.

"Quick Delphox! Get the mud out of your eyes! Hurry!"

"It's too late Little Brother. Now Bunnelby, jump on top of Delphox and use Wild Charge!"

Bunnelby quickly jumped up on to Delphox. Pointing its ears straight up into the air. Bunnelby's body started to become surrounded in bright electricity with white static around it, making it's body seem gold and drown. Once Bunnelby's ears touched Delphox, the electricity that was around Bunnelby disappeared and gathered where Bunnelby's ears touched Delphox, forming a white orb of sparking energy. The orb of energy the explode. As it soared at Delphox, it left behind a stream of gold electricity.

Bunnelby then quickly jumped off of Delphox. Sparks of electricity was coming off of Bunnelby's body do to recoil damage. Delphox's body was also giving off sparks of electricity. Delphox then fell to the ground, defeated.

"Delphox, are you alright?!" Rouge ran to Delphox. He carefully wiped the mud out of Delphox's eyes from Bunnelby's Mud Shot. Delphox nodded yes that she was alright. Rouge called Delphox back to her Pokéball. "Thank you for all your hard work Delphox. Now, get some nice deserve rest." Rouge looked up to see his brother patting Bunnelby on the head before calling it back to its Pokéball. As Rouge viewed his brother he noticed a strange stone around his wrist.

"Brother, what is that stone around your wrist? I've never seen it before." Rouge asked and pointed at the stone.

Rodney looked down at his wrist where Rouge was pointed at. "Oh, this thing? You'll see in due time Little Brother. In fact, why don't I show you in the next round?" Rodney said as he pulled out another of his Pokéballs.

"Rodney, you can't be serious?! Lee suddenly shouted and stood up from where he was sitting. "It won't be a fair fight if you use that against Rouge. You know that, right?! Please, don't use that against him!"

"What's up with you all of a sudden? He's going to face a Trainer who as one sooner or later. So why not now? And let's not forget that you have one too."

"Wait! What are you guys talking about? I just wanted to know what that stone is around your wrist is. What are the two of you not telling me!?" Rouge yelled at Rodney and Lee.

"I'm going to tell him Lee, so don't give me that look." Rodney said with a heavy sight. "This stone here is a special stone that helps certain Pokémon evolve to their next level of evolution. The stone is called a Key Stone. It's one of the two stones that are needed to achieve the next level. The second stone is called a Mega Stone. The Key Stone acts as a medium between Pokémon, who holds a Mega Stone and Trainer in order to help them Mega Evolve. A Key Stone is typically embedded in a personal accessory, like a wristband like mine. When the Key Stone is activated, the Pokémon's corresponding Mega Stone reacts to it, which starts the process of Mega Evolution. And I'll show you what a Mega Evolved Pokémon looks like! Go... Swampert!" Ramsey threw Swampert's Pokéball onto the field.

Rodney's Pokémon that he got from Professor Birch in Littleroot Town at the beginning of his journey. The starter Water-type Mudkip which was now a Swampert. Since then, Mudkip has evolved into Swampert', and is Rodney's strongest Pokémon. Around Swampert's right, front leg was a band that looked like Rodney's with a stone in it as well.

"The stone Swampert has is called Swampertite. It's Swampert's Mega Stone. Who will you choose to be Swampert's opponent, Little Brother?!"

Rouge took out one of his last Pokéballs. "You'll remember this Pokémon, Big Brother! Go... Blaziken!" When Blaziken emerged from its Pokéball it let out a loud roar as fire swirled around it. Blaziken then glared at Swampert and Swampert did the same.

"Looks like they recognize each other. The last time these two faced off was when Blaziken was still a little Torchi and I believe Swampert had just evolved into Marshtomp. I also seem to recall that battle being in my favor as well."

"The outcome of this battle will be different from the last time. Blaziken, use Brave Bird!"

Blaziken jumped up into the air and dove back down at Swampert like a missile, its body burst into flames. Then, Blaziken's body became surrounded in a blue aura. Before Blaziken had a chance to slam into Swampert, Rodney gave his partner a head nod. Swampert's body suddenly became surrounded in a light green light and a green barrier appeared around it.

"That's Protect! Keep going Blaziken and use Blaze Kick and Sky Uppercut!"

The end of Blaziken's legs started to blaze in fire and then it kicked at Swampert. Both of Blaziken's fists also started to glow light blue and Blaziken uppercut at Swampert as well. Blaziken continued this repeatedly, but Swampert's Protect was still holding strong.

"Come on Rouge! I thought Blaziken would be stronger than this!" Rodney taunted his little brother.

"What about you?! I thought you were going to show me this great and powerful Mega Evolution!" Rouge taunted back.

Rodney let out a light snicker. "Fine then," Rodney held out his wrist with his Key Stone in front of him. The sun glistened off the stone with a beautiful shine. Rodney's figure tips lightly slid over top of the stone as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I open my heart to the bond that we share! May our bond forever remain strong! Now, Mega Evolve, Swampert!" A bright light suddenly burst from Rodney's Key Stone and the same happened to the Swampertite, Swampert's Mega Stone. The lights turned into stream of separate lights that rushed towards each other and connected together. Creating and even bigger burst of light. The light that surrounded Swampert suddenly disappeared and revealed Swampert's new form.

"Wow! So that's Swampert's Mega Evolved form. I wonder if there's any on my team who can Mega Evolve too?" Rouge thought as he admired his brother's new Pokémon.

"So... what do you think Little Brother? This can be possible for you as well. All you need is a Key Stone and to know which Pokémon on your team can Mega Evolve. That is, if you can get your hands on a Key Stone. But it's not just the Pokémon's appearance that changes thanks to Mega Evolving. Their attack power increases as well. Now Mega Swampert, use Water Gun!"

A powerful spiral of water was released from Mega Swampert's mouth. But this wasn't like the normal Water Gun that Rouge remembers. The power of this attack was much greater. So great that it was overwhelming.

"Quick Blaziken... dodge it and then use Flare Blitz!"

Blaziken quickly jumped up, high in the air out of the way of Mega Swampert's Water Gun. Blaziken's body became surrounded by a red-orange fire and shot down at Mega Swampert like a missile. As Blaziken charged down on Swampert, the red-orange fire turned light blue. Blaziken crashed down on top of Mega Swampert. When the fire and dust cleared, the image of Mega Swampert blocking Blaziken's Flare Blitz came into view. Mega Swampert then pushed Blaziken back with great strength. Red sparks started to surround Blaziken's body, from the recoil damage from Flare Blitz.

"Use Water Gun one more time Mega Swampert!" Rodney yelled. Once again Mega Swampert let out a powerful spiral of water from its mouth.

"Blaziken, stand your ground and use Blaze Kick to cut through that Water Gun!" Blaziken stood his ground like Rouge told him to do. Blaziken's leg blazed into flames again. Blaziken's Blaze Kick had cut through Mega Swampert's Water Gun and struck Mega Swampert in the side. Blaziken's attack seemed to have no effect on Swampert. Swampert swung one his giant arms and hit Blaziken in the side. Blaziken went flying back and crashed into a nearby tree.

"Blaziken! Are you alright!? Please get up!" Rouge rushed over to his partner Pokémon.

Rodney watched as his little brother tried to get Blaziken to get up. As he watched be noticed a burn mark where Blaziken had kicked Mega Swampert.

"Blaziken's last Blaze Kick was a lot more powerful than the ones before. Maybe Rouge will earn the item father wanted me to give him."

"Blaziken. Can you stand?" Rouge asked in concern. Blaziken slowly stood up from his spot. One could tell that Blaziken was weak and tired. Rouge didn't know how much longer Blaziken was going to last in this battle.

As Blaziken slowly tried to stand back up on his feet Mega Swampert made its way towards the opposing Pokémon and its Trainer. Blaziken right away put itself in-between Mega Swampert and Rouge. Both Pokémon glared at each other with an intense glare.

"Mega Swampert, back off! Don't do anything rash with Rouge standing there! Rouge, Blaziken can obviously still battle! Move out of the way so the battle can continue!"

Rouge slowly moved out of the way of Blaziken and Mega Swampert and went back to his spot in which he once stood.

"You're Blaziken has come a long way since it's days as a Torchic, Little Brother. You should be proud of it."

"Of course, I'm proud of Blaziken! I'm proud of all my Pokémon. Blaziken and I will be victorious in this battle! Now Blaziken, Sky Uppercut!"

Blaziken suddenly swung one fist in an uppercut motion at Mega Swampert. Its first glowing a light blue. Blaziken went to uppercut Mega Swampert with its other fist when Mega Swampert blocked it with his arm.

"Mega Swampert... Hyper Beam." Mega Swampert shot a yellow-orange beam from its mouth at Blaziken. Making it a direct hit. Sending Blaziken flying back once again. Through the yellow-orange blast Blaziken's body became surrounded in a fiery red aura and a wall of fire burned through Mega Swampert's Hyper Beam. The fiery red aura gave Blaziken an intense feeling about him. This wasn't Rouge's Blaziken.

"Something's not right. I know what this fiery aura is. It's Blaze. Delphox can use it too. But Blaziken... what's wrong with you?"

Blaziken's wrists suddenly burst into flames as it rushed towards Mega Swampert. Rouge called out to Blaziken many times and each time he's calls didn't reach Blaziken's ears.

"Blaziken! Blaziken! Blaziken, listen to me!! You need to stop and calm down! Blaziken!"

Blaziken continued to ignore Rouge's calls and continued to attack Mega Swampert. Rouge didn't know what to do now. Blaziken had never done this before, even against a really strong opponent like Mega Swampert.

"Well, if Blazkien isn't going to listen to you Little Brother, then I'll have Mega Swampert end this battle. Now Mega Swampert use Scald and then Water Gun!"

Mega Swampert released a stream of scolding hot water surrounded by steam from its mouth at Blaziken, and then released a spiral of water from its mouth. Creating a giant cloud of steam. Blaziken jumped up out of the way and started using Brave Bird.

"Keep it up with Water Gun Mega Semapert! Slow Blaziken down! Quickly!"

Swampert continued to fire a stream of water from its mouth. Blaziken struggled to fight through the powerful water that was causing great damage. Rouge didn't know what to do. He stood there frozen. Eyes widened in disbelief of what was going on.

"This isn't Balziken! It just isn't I don't know what to do now. He can't hear me. It's like I'm not even here. Blaziken, please, come back!"

A sudden clash broke Rouge out of his deep disbelief. Blaziken had broken through Swampert's Water Gun. Both Pokémon took great damage, but both refused to back down. When the dust clear both Pokémon were panting heavily, and red sparks started to surround Blaziken's body, from the recoil damage from Braze Bird. Swampert's body was battered from the punches and kicks that Blaziken had been throwing at him. Both Pokémon continued to glare at each other. Blaziken's eyes were glowing a fiery red. Suddenly, both Pokémon collapsed to the ground, ending in a draw.

"Blaziken!" Rouge rushed to Blaziken's side. Holding his head in his lap as Blaziken started to come to. "You did well Blaziken. It ended up being a draw, but it looks like we're going to have to work on controlling that Blaze ability of yours. Now, get some rest and I'll take you to the Pokémon Center once the battle is over." Rouge returned Blaziken to his Pokéball and then looked up to notice that Mega Swampert had returned to his original Swampert form. Rodney called back Swampert and then walked up to his brother.

"At least you know what you need to work on if you ever get into a situation like that again. Blaze can be a tricky ability that not all Pokémon can control it. I too have a Pokémon who couldn't control Blaze when he first obtained the Blaze ability. Blaziken needs to train harder so he doesn't lose control like that again. Now let's hurry things up here, it's getting late and I have a gym battle to get to before the day is over." Rodney walked back to his spot.

"Hum, brother, there's something I need to..."

"I already know Rouge. That you only have five Pokémon instead of six. I knew from the beginning."

"Huh?! If you knew I didn't have six Pokémon then why did you say that we were have a six-on-six Pokémon battle?! In fact, how did you even know I only have five Pokémon?!"

"The reason I didn't say anything was because you were so pumped about battling me. I figured if I said this was a six-on-six battle then you'll bring your A game in this battle, and I was right. And how I knew that you only had five Pokémon is because I know your battling pattern. You use Blaziken as one of your last Pokémon. Which means Eevee is the only one you have left. Let's see what the two of you can do when everything is crashing down on your shoulders, and I know the perfect opponent for that, but first, let's see Eevee."

"He wants to see Eevee? Why? Big brother did always have a way to tell how strong a Pokémon is just by looking at them. And the three of us all got an Eevee at the same time. I wonder... what it is that big brother wants with me? He's more than able to defeat Gym Leaders easily. So why did he have Lee have his Gym Battle first. Not to mention that he seems to be very concern about my Pokémon and how strong they are. I also have a feeling that father is the reason for him being here, along with Lee. The old man never leaves me alone to do my own thing."

"Hey! Rouge! Come on and bring out Eevee, or are you forfeiting the match?!"

"Of course, I'm not forfeiting the match! I was just... why are you and Lee here? Did dad send you here?"

"Huh?! Lee and I are trainers too. I don't need dad to give me a reason to go to a new region! Stop stalling and bring out Eevee so we can continue this battle!"

"Fine!" Rouge tightly gripped on Eevee's Pokéball before giving it a good throw. "Let's go Eevee!" Eevee jumped out of her Pokéball and on to the battlefield.

"Eevee looks at the peck of health. I'm glad. Now, Eevee's opponent will be an old friend of mine. Go, my old friend and great my little brother after all this time! Come on out, Jolteon!" Rodney threw the Pokéball of his own Eevee, now a Jolteon. The last time Rouge saw Jolteon he was still an Eevee.

"You had Eevee evolve into Jolteon?!"

"Of course. My Eevee did always have a sparking personality. It only made sense to do so. But enough with the talking. Now Jolteon, Discharge!"

Jolteon's body became surrounded in the yellow sparks of electricity they fired multiple bolts of yellow electricity from its body at Eevee. Eevee quickly dodged the bolts of yellow electricity without having Rogue tell her to do so.

"Having your Pokémon act without telling them to? That's a dangerous habit to get into little brother. If a trainer in their Pokémon aren't connected together as one, the two can't battle as a true team!" Rodney sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Will you stop acting like dad! You're not him, and you'll never will be! What's up with you?! You give me what I guess would be a complement, but then you come back and throw in as an insult about my trainer! I'm sick of this! Eevee, Sand Attack and then use Dig!"

Eevee turned around and kicked dirty at Jolteon with its hind legs before digging in to the ground to hide.

"I wouldn't have to act like father if you would act like a proper trainer! You act like you know so much when really you know very little. Jolteon, focus on the ground and sense where Eevee is!"

Just as Rodney told Jolteon this, Eevee jumped up from behind Jolteon. Thinking he had an opening Rouge took his chance against his brother.

"Now Eevee use Shadow Ball!"

Eevee opened his mouth and formed a black and purple ball in front of her. He then fired at Jolteon.

"Dodge it Jolteon and then grab a hold of Eevee." Jolteon effortlessly moved out of the way of Eevee's Shadow Ball and then grabbed a hold of Eevee's tail. "Now use Thunder Fang."

Jolteon's fangs started to glow yellow and sparks of yellow electricity surrounded them. Jolteon then bit down on Eevee's tail. Eevee let out a loud yell as then electricity zapped through his body.

"Rodney, stop it! Make Jolteon let go of Eevee!" Rouge yelled.

"This is part of battling Rouge. There are attacks that are more powerful than a simple Thunder Fang. You saw that during Blaziken and Swampert's battle and your gym battle earlier today. Jolteon, that's enough!"

Jolteon released Eevee's tail. Yellow sparks started to surround Eevee's body, causing him to become paralyzed. Rouge was slightly relieved that Eevee was alright for the most part.

"Now use Discharge Jolteon."

Before Rouge had a chance to give Eevee an order Jolteon released multiple bolts of blue electricity from his body at Eevee. Eevee once again was zapped by electricity and let out a painful yell. When the Discharge was done Eevee feel over defeated. A quick defeat that Rouge didn't see coming. Rodney slowly walked over to his defeated brother, calling Jolteon back to his Pokéball. He picked up Eevee and then made his way over to Rouge.

"Give me the rest of your Pokémon. I'll take then to the Pokémon Center while you stay here and think about what happened in this battle." Rouge slowly handed Rodney his other Pokéballs. He was still shocked about what happened. "Listen Rouge, father did ask me to come find you after he found out Lee and I were heading to the Kalos region. He wanted me to give you something if I thought you deserved it. But after what I just saw, I don't think you ever will."

Rodney walked pass Rouge and then went over to Lee, who was also a bit shocked after seeing what just happened. Rodney then stopped and then moved in close to Lee to whisper something in Lee's ear.

"Keep an eye on him while I take our Pokémon to the Pokémon Center. I think after this he's not going to want to have me around for a while. So, stay close to him. He gets along with you better than me."

"Alright, but I think you might have over done it this time."

Rodney looked back over his shoulder to see Rouge on the ground, his body shacking and he could see tears staining his face.

"Yeah, maybe I did."