Slight SA in this chapter. Nothing NSFW goes on but Fern is awful in this chapter so sorry to all the Fern lovers out there.

Next to Lucia, Kaladin was almost shaking with excitement. She gave a scoff of amusement before reaching up and patting his head. "Calm down there, bud. You'll be able to battle in a moment." In response, Kaladin shoved his head into Lucia, nuzzling up against her while purring.

Arlow trotted back to them and gestured with his tail for Kaladin to head to the battlefield.

Kaladin gave a toothy grin before running onto the field.

Lucia felt Arlow brush up against her leg and circle around her. "Alright, you big baby." She bent down and picked him up in her arms. He licked her face once she picked him up.

Next to her Theros nuzzled into her closer. "Ser! Servine!"

Arlow gave a nod and nuzzled Theros as well. "Tiiiii!"

"Okay, let's get this battle started." Lucia turned her gaze to Ame.

Ame clicked a Pokéball. "Shimmer, let's go!" An Alolan Ninetales popped out of the ball, landing gracefully on her feet.

"Start this off, Kaladin. Swords Dance!" Multiple swords appeared out of thin air, circling and surrounding Kaladin. A few seconds later the swords disappeared. They boosted Kaladin's attack, making him hit harder before the battle even started.

"Let's finish this battle before it starts. Shimmer, Ice Beam!"

"Stone Edge!" As the ice shot out of Shimmer's mouth, Kaladin dug his wing into the ground, raising up large rocks in front of him. The ice hit the rocks instead of Kaladin, preventing the Garchomp from getting injured by the four time's super effective attack.

"Attack again, Moonblast!" Shimmer began to glow a light pink as she fired off a pink beam of energy. The attack hit Kaladin, knocking him back as the move was also super effective against Kaladin.

"You alright bud?" Lucia called out to him.

Kaladin stood up slowly from the ground. "Gar! Garchomp!"

Lucia stared at Shimmer for a moment. "Dammit. I need to get close to that Ninetales.' An idea suddenly popped into her head. "Kaladin, Dragon Claw!"

His claw turned a bright blue, and he charged towards Shimmer who didn't attack.

Ame raised an eyebrow as the attack did nothing to Shimmer, being an attack that doesn't affect Fairy Type Pokémon.

***

Sirius shook his head in disappointment at the screen. "So, the kid's a fucking idiot."

Ace sighed and shrugged their shoulders. "Well looks like were killing her then. She seemed like a good trainer."

Mia chimed in, looking down at her nails, "It's a pity. She's really young but I guess it's her fault for messing with us in the first place.

A voice was heard from the screen and the group watching saw Lucia smirk. "Now, Sledgehammer!" Rocks formed around the Garchomp's tail, creating a tail that was covered in hard stones. It swung its tail at Amethyst's Ninetales, flinging the Pokémon back.

Everyone in the room stared in shock, except for Solaris. He narrowed his eyes at the screen. "It was a battle strategy. If she told her Garchomp to outright attack, it would have been hit by an Ice Beam or Moonblast. With using a non-effective move, she tricked Amethyst into not attacking and then she could tell her Garchomp to strike."

Sirius huffed in annoyance, "Great. So, we're dealing with a seasoned battler with insanely strong Pokémon."

Solaris grabbed a remote, clicking the power button of the television. "I've seen enough. The outcome of the battle will be that the girl wins." He stood up from the chair and you could see him now. A shaved head with black hair, brown eyes, and a long brown coat with a sleeve embroidered with Team Meteor's M logo. "Tell ZEL to ramp up the other PULSE Tangrowth's activity. If the girl will be working with Amethyst, she'll come."

***

"Finish this, Kaladin! Stone Edge!" Kaladin slammed his wing into the ground once more and jagged stones came out of the ground in a line, eventually hitting Shimmer.

This time, Shimmer did not get back up from the attack. Kaladin was definitely on the brink of unconsciousness.

The battle had gone on for a while, the two Pokemon exchanging powerful attacks throughout the whole thing. But it was finally over. Lucia had done it, she'd beat Ame.

Kaladin gave a roar of happiness before walking towards Lucia. "Garchomp!"

Lucia gave him a smile, she would have pet him, but she was still holding Arlow. "Great job there." She shifted Arlow so that she was holding him with one arm. She grabbed her three Pokémon's Pokéballs. "Alright get back in your Pokéballs guys." She returned the three of them to their Pokéballs and walked over to Ame.

She extended her hand to Ame who shook it. "Great battle there, Lucia. That was an incredible show of strength."

"Thank you. The boys enjoyed the battle. You were a tough opponent."

The two let go of the handshake and stepped back. Lucia turned around as she heard someone walking up to her.

She turned around to see Victoria who had a large grin on her face. "That battle was fun to watch! I didn't know you could fight like that, Lucy!"

Lucia returned her grin. "Thanks, Vicky!"

Amaria walked up to them with Florinia trailing behind her. "That was a great battle! Both of you did so well!"

Florinia nodded her head. "Indeed. Each of the battlers showed significant strength throughout the altercation."

Suddenly, a police officer cut through the large crowd that had formed to watch the battle. He went up to Ame with a panicked expression. "Mrs. Liddel. We've gotten word from other police officers stationed in Jasper and Beryl Ward that the violence of the plants has increased."

Ame narrowed her eyes and exchanged a glance with Lucia. "Shit. This must be Team Meteor's doing."

Lucia looked over at the woman expectantly. "So... does this mean this is my first job then?"

"I suppose it is. It would be great if you could head over there."

Florinia stepped forward. "Lucia ought to come challenge my Gym in Onyx Ward. It will assist her in gaining more experience before she brawls with Team Meteor."

"You have a point..." She looked back at Lucia. "You can go challenge Florinia's Gym then head over to Jasper Ward and then Beryl Ward afterwards."

Lucia looked back between the two women. "If you insist. I'm getting changed first though. I'd rather not be walking around in bloody clothes."

***

Lucia arrived at Onyx Ward about half an hour later. She adjusted the spaghetti straps of the red tank top she wore. She had also thrown on black sweatpants. She wore the same bloody shoes, as they were the only pair she had.

The ward wasn't much to look at. There was an arcade decorated a bright purple but she didn't pay any attention to it.

Florinia's Gym was in Onyx Ward's trainer school. There were multiple students around talking about the school's alumni and worrying about upcoming tests.

She arrived in front of the school and stared at the entrance for a moment before pushing open the door.

The first thing she was greeted with was Fern who's nosed was still bruised from her punching him yesterday.

He smiled widely when he saw her. "Lucia. I heard that you're coming here to challenge my sister."

Lucia narrowed her eyes at him. "I am. Now step aside, I don't have time to waste with people like you." She tried to maneuver around him, but he blocked her path.

"I saw what you did in Obsidia and how you fought Ame. That Garchomp and Titaneon of yours are pretty powerful, huh?"

"Yes, they are. Now get out of my way." She brushed past him, bumping his shoulder on the way. She stopped when she felt him grab her wrist.

"Here's what I think." He forcefully spun her around. "I'll let you challenge her on one condition."

"And that condition is?"

Fern's smile turned into a smirk as he shoved Lucia against the wall. He grabbed her other wrist and held her hands above her head. "Date me."

Lucia grit her teeth in pain from the force of the shove. She glared at Fern who only kept his stupid smirk. "What?"

"You heard me, babe. Date me. Date me and I'll let you challenge my sister."

"You're insane if you ever think I'd even consider dating you!" She attempted to kick him, but he quickly stepped on her foot.

"Sorry, darling, but that won't work."

Behind him two other boys who seemed to be his friends were snickering. The one with blonde hair grinned at the situation. "Come on, man. Kiss her already!"

The other boy with black hair added onto the other's comment. "Yeah! Make her see what she's missing it out on!"

Fern's smirk only grew wider as he leaned in closer. "Don't worry, sweetheart. You'll enjoy it." With that he began to lean in closer with his eyes closed and lips puckered.

Oh. Fuck. No.

In a quick motion, Lucia slammed her forehead into his face before kneeing him in the stomach. He let out a scream of pain and when he freed her hands she shoved him to the ground.

She glared at him on the ground as he stared up at her in shock. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

He stood up slowly from the ground before looking over at his friends. "Trey, go tell the others to not let Lucia in. And, Skye, go hit the switch for the gate." His two friends quickly ran off at his command.

Lucia stepped forward. "Answer me dammit! What the hell is your problem!?"

"You may not understand why I'm doing this, Lucy. I like you and you won't be challenging my sister until you agree to date me." He stepped back from her.

"Fat chance," she scoffed.

"Well looks like you're not challenging her then." He took another step back and a second later a large metal gate slammed down in front of him.

"Hey, what the hell!?"

"Like I said, you're not challenging her unless you agree to date me." He smiled and winked. "Love you, babe." After that he ran off, leaving Lucia standing there in shock.

"Okay, what the actual fuck?" She thought out loud. She ran a hand through her hair before considering her options. She could always just have Kaladin or Arlow destroy the gate, but she'd rather not be charged with property damage.

She huffed in annoyance before leaving through the doors once more and heading to the second entrance of the school. Hopefully she'd have more luck there.

When she reached the second entrance, she saw someone standing outside of it. The boy stopped her when he saw her, and he readied a Pokéball. "You're the girl were supposed to keep out, huh? Well then let's—"

"I do not have time for this!" Instead of accepting his challenge she simply shoved past him. She entered the building while the boy just stood there in shock.

Inside the building there was a small PokéCenter, but she didn't bother stopping. All her Pokémon were fine, and she didn't plan on fighting any of the trainers in here anyways.

When she headed further into the building there were a group of kids, two boys and one girl who attempted to stop her. They all readied Pokéballs but Lucia clicked Kaladin's Pokéball, and the three trainers immediately stopped in their tracks.

She shot all three of them a glare before gesturing to Kaladin. "Let me through. Unless you want to fight him."

The girl stepped forward and gave a nervous nod. "Ah hah... you can go ahead."

"That's what I thought." She walked off with Kaladin following along and the two headed up a staircase.

There was nothing of interest upstairs. Another group of kids tried to fight her but once again stopped when they saw Kaladin.

When she went down the stairs again there was a gate blocking her from moving forward. There was a lever next to it that she pulled but nothing happened.

Suddenly, someone approached her, coming down the stairs as well. "Oi what's with all the ruckus?" The boy who came down had bright orange hair that was the length of her own. He had red eyes just like hair and seemed to be a punk-rock type of person. "I heard the entire school's all up in arms about a challenger with a Garchomp or something."

He stopped when he noticed Kaladin standing next to Lucia. "I don't suppose that's you?"

Lucia's expression dropped. "Yes, that is me. If you're here to fight me—"

"Ay, don't worry about that. Rock on, girl. Great job riling up Fern and his roadies. You're the girl who he's trying to get to date him, right?"

"Sadly. That bastard disgusts me."

"Believe me, I can't stand the lot either. I don't know why anyone puts up with him anyways. He's got the charm of a dusty Stunfisk and even less honor."

"You could say that again," she snickered in response.

"So, you're locked out?"

"Yeah, the stupid lever isn't doing anything."

"It can get a little jinked out sometimes. Scoot over and I'll help."

She followed the boy's advice and stepped out of the way.

"Sometimes, you've just got to give it a good bang." He slammed his hand onto the lever before pushing it up and then pulling it down again. A few moments later the door began to rise, opening up the entrance. "Works every time. The name's Hardy by the way. Gym Leader by profession, rock star by aspiration, student by technicality."

"I'm Lucia. Thanks for the help."

"No problem." He stared at her for another moment until what looks like a light bulb went off in his head. "Hey, I recognize you. You're the girl who's all over the news for fighting off Team Meteor and defeating two of Amethyst's Pokémon."

"You caught me there. I am."

"That's cool as shit dude. But I've got chords to catch so I'm going to split. Keep on keeping on, mate. Give Fern hell for me." He walked off with a wave after that.

Lucia sighed and looked over at Kaladin, "Guess we should continue on, huh? I really don't want to run into him again."

He gave a small roar in response to his trainer's question.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. It's inevitable that we will. Let's just go and hope he's not as much of a prick as he was earlier."