"No..." 

Her opponent frowned slightly as he seemed to reach out, only for her to swat his attempt at support away as Eliza stared at the body of the Pokemon, of her friend in front of her. 

"Zap..." she whispered. 

The Shinx smiled weakly at her, tears falling down its cheeks, before closing its eyes as it finally succumbed to the wounds its body had taken from the Budew. 

That scene... that moment... the moment she lost a friend... would forever be imprinted on her mind... For nightmares to come. 

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" 

Tears escaped her eyes. Why...

Why was she born in a world where your Pokemon died if they lost?

Why were Pokemon battles so, so brutal?

And how did she think that it was easy to be a Trainer? 

How did she not take into account the possible losses she would have to suffer through?...

She hunched over and just sobbed. The pain was piercing her so badly. 

I'm so sorry Zap...

She had done this to him, hadn't she? She had gone into a battle unaware of the consequences...

But at the same time...

She knew that she had set her heart on being Sinnoh's Champion from the beginning, from that day when she watched the Champion Cynthia battle, and she was going to do her best to reach that goal. 

She wouldn't let Zap's sacrifice be in vain! 

Wiping the tears away from her cheeks, she stood up and faced her opponent, eyes narrowed, "If we meet again, we're going to avenge Zap. You can count on it." 

"CHAR!" Blair, her Chimchar, roared in agreement. 

"Very well," the other nodded. "But until then, take care."

"I will," she answered, and the two then separated. Eliza went on to find more powerful allies to add to her team. She was ready to avenge her friend, to make sure no one ever died again. 

The next route provided just that as she and Blair found themselves meeting a Burmy right off the bat. 

Without thinking much, she threw the Pokeball, yelling, "Pokeball, Go!" 

The male Burmy was hit by the ball, and got sucked in, allowing her to wait with bated breath alongside Blair as the ball turned around once... twice... thrice...

"Burmy's data will be added to your Pokedex!" her Pokedex chirped up. 

"Alright!" 

"Chimchar!" 

She then grabbed the ball and said, "What name should we give it, Blair?" 

"Chim chim!" 

"Kuro?" she chuckled. "That's a funny name, don't you think?" 

"Char chim!" 

"You're kidding me," she rolled her eyes. "That's a weird name." 

"Char char char!" Blair looked offended. 

"Fine, fine, we'll go with that name," she said. "Happy?" 

Blair nodded, content with that for now. 

And so they continued their journey. As a countermeasure to Pokemon poaching, the rules now stated that a trainer could only catch the first Pokemon they met in an area, and if they fainted they couldn't be caught, meaning they would have to be careful when battling. 

Either way, the next route found them battling a Buizel. 

"Blair, dodge the attack and use Grass Knot!" 

Blair nodded and said, "Chimmmmmm Char!" as he launched the attack, hitting the Pokemon and weakening it significantly. 

"Bui..." it mumbled as it stumbled. 

"Now, Pokeball Go!" she threw the ball and watched it hit the Buizel, absorbing it before landing on the ground. 

One...

Two...

Three...

"Buizel's data will be added to your Pokedex!" 

"Great!" she grinned. "Now, what should I name you?... Ah got it! Marylin!" 

"Charrr!" Blair nodded sagely. She seemed to approve of it, so that was a good thing. 

"Alright, next stop, the first gym!" she declared. 

"Chimmm!" 

The city of Oreburgh soon came into sight, and once she dropped by the Pokemon Center to heal her Pokemon, she headed for the gym and entered, keeping her head high as she challenged the Gym Leader. 

A hard fight was fought, but they won and got their first badge. 

"Chim chim chim!" 

"Burmy!" 

"Bui bui!"

Watching her three Pokemon cheer as they celebrated their win in the first gym of Sinnoh, Eliza couldn't help the smile that formed on her face. They hadn't lost anyone... That was... great...

"Minnie, use Mega Drain!"

"Budewwwwww!" 

"Shiii!"

"ZAP!" 

Her fists tightened. No... She was not going to lose another friend...

She would train them up until they were strong... and they would fight to the best of their ability... so no one... no one would die...

That was a promise to herself that she wanted to keep, even though the road wasn't all that clear-cut.

Little did she know that her next loss was coming... sooner than she could handle.

The next route found her catching a Ralts, who was given the name Crystal (Kuro's suggestion, not hers), and everyone loved her. She was just so cute! Eliza made sure to train her up with her other Pokemon all the more, though. If she was lost... the pain would be indescribable. 

Sadly, her next battle...

"RA RA!" 

"CRYSTAL!" 

She had selfishly, stupidly thought that Crystal would be able to handle it, that she would be able to fight a Gastly, even though she knew that Ralts was at a disadvantage fighting a Ghost-type. 

She was wrong, so so wrong, and it was proven when Crystal finally collapsed, the injuries clear on its body. 

Eliza rushed over, scooping her into her shaking hands as she tried to hold back the tears. No, no, no, this couldn't be it. Crystal couldn't die! 

"R-Ralts..." Crystal smiled apologetically, which only spiked the regret, the guilt swirling in her heart, before the Ralts closed its eyes, saying goodbye to the living world...

"You were at a disadvantage there," the trainer of the Gastly said as the female crossed her arms. "And yet you still sent the Ralts out. That was a reckless move--"

"If you're just going to criticise me, leave," she snapped. "I know." 

"Death isn't all that easy to handle, but it's a way to learn," the other simply said as she called back her Pokemon. "Don't forget that." 

With that, she turned around and left Eliza there, sobbing as she was hunched over her Pokemon's (dead) body.

Her one decision had cost her Crystal... the latest member of her team. 

She was just a pathetic excuse of a trainer... 

She would make mistakes, and indirectly kill her friends.

She didn't want that. 

Should she just give up?... 

Yeah, maybe that was the best choice. After all, if she did... no one would die. No one would be lost... Right?

"Chimchar..." a small, warm hand touched her cheek, and she looked up to see Blair, Kuro and Marylin. 

"Burmy..." 

"Buizel..." 

They were holding back their tears, and yet she could see them trying to look strong. They were trying to give her energy, to never let her sacrifice be in vain. 

Looking at the fire in their eyes, Eliza found the fire in her heart begin to grow. The heat was only fanned by the deaths of Zap and Crystal. 

She would avenge them, and reach the summit. 

No matter what it took, she wouldn't give up. 

It was a solemn swear to her fallen, who had passed in battle. 

"T-Thanks guys," she pulled herself up and wiped her hot tears away. "Let's... do this thing." 

The three Pokemon shared a smile, glad that they had gotten their trainer's spirits up, and cheered in their respective languages. 

This began training for the three of them. Through it, they all evolved into a Monferno, Mothim, and Floatzel. 

The fruits of their training allowed Eliza to catch another friend in the next route. 

"M-Murkrow..."  the new Pokemon swayed. 

"Go!" Eliza didn't hesitate to throw the Pokeball at the Murkrow, sucking it in and allowing it to be caught. 

She held her breath as she waited for the telltale sound of a successful capture. Would she make it, or would she fail...? 

TING!

"Murkrow's data will be added to your Pokedex!"

"Alright!" 

"Zel!" 

"You want to name the newest member?" she turned to the Floatzel who had defeated the Flying-type. 

Marylin nodded, "Float float zel!" 

"Eclipse?" she repeated.

"Zelzel!" Marylin cheered. 

"Alright then. That's the Murkrow's name then!" she decided. 

Soon, Eterna City came into sight, and once the four were healed up, Eliza did some more training before the Gym Battle. 

However, there was one tiny problem.

Okay, it was actually a major problem; 

Eclipse refused to listen to her.

She knew it would be a problem later on as much as it was right now. However she was confident that eventually, she would be able to break the walls the Murkrow put up. 

For now, the fight against Gardenia was up and they were ready for it, which gave them the win without any losses once more. 

"Fernoo!" Blair cheered. 

"Floattt!" 

"Thim thim!" 

"Murk..." 

As it was, the five were walking to a nearby cafe, ready to kick back and relax before the Veilstone Gym. Apparently it had the best Pokepuffs! Everyone was very excited at that prospect, honestly, and it showed once they arrived and ordered; they lunged down on the treats. Even Eclipse joined in the little squabble. 

Eliza laughed as she took a bite out of her own food. She was famished, and boy did this cafe provide great food! She made a mental note to visit it again next time, and got up to get the bill when she felt a smaller body hit her legs. 

Looking down, the blue-haired girl saw a Pachirisu staring at her, a curious gaze on its face. 

"Hi there," she squatted down so she could be closer to it, a gentle smile forming as she asked, "Do you want to be friends? You seem like a fighter to me." 

Indeed, she could see the fire, so similar to the one she could see in everyone's eyes, and she felt the tug in her heart to catch this Pokemon. 

"Pachi?" its eyes widened. 

"Sure!" she said. "Why not?" 

"Pachirisu!" it then nodded, and Eliza grinned as she took out an empty Pokeball and held it in front of the Pachirisu. 

It touched the button, and got sucked in as the ball spun thrice before the TING came up again. 

"Pachirisu's data will be added to your Pokedex!" 

"Alright, welcome to the team," she smiled as a name that she considered perfect for the latest addition popped up in her head, "Volt." 

If she could see the Pokemon, she would know that the newly named Pokemon liked the name very much. 

Thus, Eliza's journey to become Sinnoh's champion continues. Who knows what kind of adventure it will turn out to be?

venusaura Finally, here's the first part. The latter part's a bit rushed, but I do hope I managed to write it well.