Lugia and I were being lead through the twisting streets of Aquacorde town, each filled with people, small stores, markets, wagons, and extraordinary looking Pokémon that I had never even seen before.
Lugia did not seem as comfortable in this town as I was.  He stuck to my side, shivering every now and then, and flinched away when anyone began pointing, staring, or calling out to him.
I rubbed his face with one hand, stroking my fingers over one of the spikes that protruded out around his eye.  "I won't let anything happen to you," I said softly, but, to be honest, I wasn't entirely focusing on Lugia, but an elegant, violet covered cat-like pokémon that was strutting past us. 
"Come on, Liepard, follow us!" a young child called out from behind, and I watched as the pokémon scampered away.
"We are approaching our leader," Kouen told us, exchanging a brief glance with me from behind his shoulder.  I gave a brisk nod, trying not to shake with fear.
We began walking towards a large, circular building surrounded by stone walls.  Two maroon colored flags hung on either side of the entrance, and this time there were no guards around as we walked inside, entering a large clearing.  There wasn't a single hint of vegetation in site.
"Uh, where are all the plants?" I asked curiously.
"It was all burned away," Arien answered, smirking.
I swallowed hard.
"Viené!" the dark clothed man called, his Arcanine coming to sit beside him.
The large, wooden doors to the building quickly opened, and a tall women with long, white hair stepped out.  She wore a short, leather dress and boots that went up past her knees, and a long sword was held at her hip.  The women walked forward, her amber eyes glancing over us.
"Hello, Yamoori," Viené greeted the older man with a nod.  Her fiery eyes suddenly met mine, and I felt my blood turn cold.  "Did you bring a prisoner?  Are they with the Crimson Army?"
"More or less, and that I do not know," Yamoori answered.  "But I have my doubts she is with the Crimson Army.  Her name is Veerium Fawning, and she has a rather... intriguing pokémon with her."
I felt Lugia snuggle in behind my legs, as if trying to hide.  I patted his head in reassurance, but I honestly did not know whether or not I could guarantee his safety.
"Oh?" Viené walked towards me, and when she caught Lugia's crimson eyes, she stopped suddenly.
"Lugia..." she murmured, looking appalled.  "Veerium, is it?  How did you acquire such a Pokémon?"
I was silent for a few moments before replying.  "I uh, I guess he and I became partners when my father rescued him from a trap."  I could feel Viené's frustration rolling off her in waves.  It was understandable.
"Do you actually think that you, a frail child, is worthy enough to own such a pokémon?!  Any knight in this war would give their lives for such a rare, valuable weapon!"
I bit my lip, finally meeting her intense gaze.  "Lugia and I do not own each other, and he is no weapon.  I may be a child, but I will not let you take him away."
Viené seemed moderately surprised by my words, but her gaze did not lose its fury.  In fact, the fire in her eyes seemed to grow stronger, and I flinched, realizing I had probably stepped out of line.
"Regardless," Viené snorted, "I will not allow you to stay here, no more than an extra mouth to feed, nor will I allow you to leave this town with such an incredibly valuable Pokémon."  A smug look crossed her face.  "Miss Fawning, if you can win against me, the leader of the people of Aquacorde town, in a pokémon battle, then I will rethink my choice of letting you stay here and keep that pokémon."
I froze.  There's no way we can win!  I was about to protest, when I felt Lugia's cheek brush up against my hand.  I looked down, expecting to meet a fearful gaze, but all I saw was determination in those brilliant red eyes.
I bit my lip, knowing stupid decisions like this would probably lead to the death of me, but I continued anyway.
"Alright then," I said.  "We accept your challenge."
Viené's eyes widened, but nodded.  "Get this girl some clothes and food," she ordered Kouen, eyeing me up and down.  "We will begin our battle shortly."

I stood on one of the far edges of the barren clearing, moments away from taking part in the first serious Pokémon battle of my life.  Viené stood on the other side, a pleased look on her face, a pokéball in one hand.
Arien, standing next to me, put a hand on my shoulder, which was now covered by a pale gray jacket that went down to my knees, along with leather leggings and my original boots.
"You never know, you may win," Arien said, giving me a faint smile.  "After all, Viené specializes in fire type Pokémon."
I frowned.  "Lugia is young and inexperienced.  He has not yet learned any water type moves." 
Lugia, though identified as psychic and flying type, was known for their incredibly powerful flying and water type moves.  In fact, the legendary Pokémon was known for living deep within seas and causing drastic storms, growing to impressive sizes.  However, as I looked at my partner standing in front of me, only up to my waist in height, and trying to push away his fear, I was unable to imagine him as being a massive, catastrophic being.
Arien mimicked my expression.  "I see.  Well, I wish you luck nonetheless."  She moved away from me, standing beside Kouen on the side of the clearing.
I stiffened when I noticed some of the people from the village had begun flooding in to watch the battle.  Crap, I don't want everyone to watch us get destroyed!
"Today, a battle will take place between Viené Holland, leader of Aquacorde Town, and Veerium Fawning, a challenger," Yamoori declared, speaking loud enough for everyone around to hear.  "A victor will be chosen when all of their opponent's Pokémon have fainted." 
The area went silent, and I could feel chills crawling down my back as Yamoori stepped forward, waving his arm downward.  "Let the battle begin!"
Viené raised her arm, tossing her pokéball into the air.  "Let's go, Charizard!"
Alarm shot through me as a gigantic, orange, dragon-like Pokémon appeared, looming over us and flapping its powerful wings with enough force to send us flying.  Its jaws opened wide as it roared at us with narrowed eyes, making my ears ring.
Reluctantly, I stood up straight and looked my opponent dead in the eye, before gazing down at Lugia.  "I know you can do this.  We've never been in a serious battle before, but we can get through this together."
Lugia nodded, and for a moment I thought I saw a fire blazing in his eyes, something I had never seen before.
"Charizard, use flamethrower!" Viené called suddenly.
As a huge charge of flames began hurtling towards, I panicked.  Oh god, what do I do?!
I let out a heavy breath as Lugia just barely dodged the attack, scampering off to the side.
I should have known to do that, I have to concentrate, I scolded myself.  I looked up, shouting, "Lugia, weather ball!"
Though I knew the attack wouldn't be as effective without significant weather occurring, I decided to use it regardless.  I watched as Lugia opened his mouth slightly, wind and energy collecting and compacting together, until a faint wind began blowing around him.  He quickly launched the attack at Charizard, flinging his body forward to add to the force of the blow.
"Counter it with wing attack!" Viené called, and I gasped as a powerful gust suddenly began exploding out from Charizard, its muscled rippling with each heavy flap of its wings.  I watched as Lugia's attack disappeared as Charizard struck it with a strong blow from its wing.
Lugia looked about as shocked as I was, and dread creeped through my body when I realized that we may not even be able to land an attack.
Keep going!  I told myself.  "Try again, Lugia!"
Again, Lugia launched a ball of compacted wind and energy at Charizard, which it dodged with ease.  At Viené's command, it launched itself upward, soaring high above us.
Shit, if only Lugia was able to fly!  Lugia, with his small, arm-like wings, had not yet learned to fly, though I had my hopes that he would gain the skill soon.  "Lugia, use gust!" I called, hoping that maybe the attack would reach Charizard.  It's possible that even such a flying type attack would help his skills in flight.
Lugia stood up straight, pounding his little wings hard.  A wind began stirring around him, though compared to Charizard, it was nothing but a faint breeze.
"You can do it, Lugia!" I called, watching as he launched the powerful wind upward.  However, my courage was replaced with horror when I heard Viené's next words.
"Charizard, use blast burn!"
I had heard of that deadly fire type move.  Only the strongest fire type Pokémon could learn it, and it was powerful enough to kill.
I watched, distraught, as flames large enough to level a house enveloped Charizard, fiery energy rolling off the Pokémon in waves.  The heat was so powerful that I could feel my skin burning even from so far below it.  A drop of sweat slid down my forehead.
"Lugia, run!  Get out of there!"  I yelled, prepared to launch myself forward, my  thoughts now solely focused on protecting the only family I had left.
However, I stopped short when I saw as the flames, brilliant and bright like the sun, began hurtling down towards the ground.  And not straight at Lugia, but straight towards me.
My body seemed to shut down, and I was unable to move as the great, fiery energy shot towards me, the heat becoming more and more intense on my skin.  My mind was blank, and all I could do was watch, watch as the flames grew closer, as a flash of white appeared at the corner of my eye, and as I was flung to the side with incredible force.
I turned just in time to see the fire hit the ground with a catastrophic explosion, and I was not the one who had been hit.  As I saw a pale, sleek body disappear within the fire, tongues of flame licking at the body, I realized it was Lugia who had pushed me out of the way, and thus been hit with the fatal blow.
"Lugia!"  My bloodcurdling scream was swallowed up by the explosion.  Every nerve in my body told me to run in and save him, but I remained still and unmoving, no more than a dead husk.
As the fire drifted away into the faint breeze and the dust began to clear, I thought I could see Viené smug, intrigued expression.
And I felt a fire ignite within me I had never felt before.
"You killed the only family I had left!" I screamed, choking on the lump that was forming within my throat.  Tears began streaming down my dirty, contorted face, and I coughed, a sob wracking my body.
Viené shrugged.  "He wasn't the target, and you didn't deserve him anyway."  Her eyes narrowed.  "Unfortunately, you are still here.  I am disgusted by sobbing, weak people."
I froze as a heavy tremor shook the ground behind me, and I could feel Charizard's hot breath on my neck.
I turned, backing away slowly as I met the eyes of the Pokémon, its eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
I cried out as I stumbled, falling backwards as a powerful, clawed hand shoved me to the ground.  I tried to move it, but the power holding me down far exceeded my own.
This is it, I thought, begin to shut my eyes.  Lugia, I am so sorry.
But my eyes reopened, appalled, when the weight suddenly lifted off of me.  And I watched to my absolute surprise as a glowing shape slammed into Charizard with such a great amount of force that the huge Pokémon was sent flying into the stone wall.
And I turned, shocked, to find that the glowing figure, which now stood next to me, was Lugia.
His battered looking body looked charged with energy, glowing a faint golden color.  He stood low, his feet apart and his shoulders squared up.  His eyes were lit with fury, a fire burning deep within those crimson depths.  For the first time, Lugia actually looked intimidating.
Is he...showing his true colors?
"What attack did that Pokémon just use?" I heard a voice in the crowd ask with a faint voice.
Eventually, I heard Kouen reply, "I think it was dragon rush, but that's was the strongest dragon rush attack I have ever seen."  Even he seemed surprised.  "And after taking such a brutal attack too..."
"Lugia," was all I managed to say, and his fiery eyes flashed as they met mine, causing me to flinch.  He instantly recoiled, and his body lost its glow and build up of energy.  He tentatively walked towards me, head low, as if apologizing for scaring me.
But I was not scared; I was proud.
I lunged forward, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.  His body felt hot and dirty, and parts of his skin was charred from burn, but he didn't seem to mind.  I buried my face in his shoulder.
"I thought you were dead," I murmured, watching as one of my tears streaked down his chest.
Lugia rested his chin on top of my head to comfort me, but I could almost feel the satisfaction rolling off of him.
"You're a real tough guy, huh," I said, moving away to meet his eyes.  He met my gaze, his pride quickly replaced by exhaustion, as he crumbled back down into my arms.
However I was given little time to worry, as I froze when I heard footsteps approach us, and looked up to find Viené's furious, but slightly impressed expression.
"I must admit I am impressed with this sudden turn of events," she huffed, "but you have not beaten us."  She motioned to Charizard behind her, who was clambering to its feet with a rather irritated expression.  "However, I have decided to call this battle off."
I stiffened, ready to protest, but Viené raised a hand to silence me.
"Stop your whining, I have decided to let you stay."  She seemed displeased with her decision.  "For now, at least.  You and Lugia will stay here, but you will enroll in our military program and side with us."
I remained silent, awed by Viené's decision.  However, she clearly was not giving me any choice in the matter, as she spun around and strutted off.  "Kouen will take you to a room where you can stay at, and someone will come by in the morning to take you to training."
Curiosity overcame me as I watched Viené's shape disappear, and my gaze came down to rest on my almost unconscious friend.
I guess a new chapter in our life is beginning.