Aro was glad that Kjolmar had gone first in the gym battles. Both he and Luna were still a bit shakey from there earlier outburst, also he was really keen to see if Kjolmar would use his hidden Pokemon as Noibat and Beau both were at a disadvantage in the fight. His eyes widened as Kjolmar reached for the yet unused poke ball on his belt. Aro was stunned to see a monsterous Gyarados, much larger than your average. What stunned Aro more was that Kjolmar seemed to own a version of the band he saw in Rowans blue prints with a stone around Gyarados neck that looked similar also.

"So Kjolmar knows about Rowans research already? What are those things?" He asked Luna who responded with a shrug.

"Either way that Gyarados looks super strong!" He said in awe, maybe he had questioned Kjolmars training past too much. Aro never expected for Kjolmar to have an evolved Pokemon let alone one of that power.

As the Goliath battle raged on both Aro and Luna couldn't help but hear the faint cries again, the same ones that they heard in the caves before team Galactic showed up. This time the noise was more prominent in their heads, but inaudible to others, even Noibat gave them a confused look as the two reacted to they cry.

Their thoughts on the noise came to a halt as Kjolmars Gyarados sent the Ramprados crashing to the arena floor.

"Ramprados is unable to battle. The challenger Kjolmar is the winner!" The announcer called out. Noibat flew around in glee for his trainer and Aro stood up and clapped before making his way down to the arena floor.

On the way down they must have missed something as Kjolmar was sat down on the floor, Aro and Luna ran over Kjolmar to find broken egg shell around him, in front of him a newly hatched.... RIOLU! WHAT?! Aro and Luna stood in shock. The riolu smiled at them and attempted a cry.

"Grrrghhh..." the Riolu faintly called out

Aro and Luna looked at each other this time still in awe and this time even more shock. It couldn't have been. Surely Aro and Luna hadn't been hearing the Riolu all along. Being able to hear other Riolus was a trait known among the trainers of the Pokemon, but never had they recorded of hearing a Riolu from inside an egg before! Aro panicked a little in his own head before being distrupted by Kjolmars voice. Aro hadn't been paying much attention due to his internal shock of the current events but he guessed it was his turn to battle and probably the only thing he actually listened to properly was Kjolmar asking who Cyrus was. This was not what he needed right now.

"Aro I'm doing this for your own good." Luna telepathically said to Aro before taking over his aura.

An Aura is the feelings, memories, power and emotions of a being reflected in pure energy form. Riolu and Lucario are known as Aura Pokemon due to their ability to sense, see and alter other Auras through linking Auras with its target. Luna was able to tap into Aro with the same ability, not only calming him from his current mental state but using that powerful energy within another more useful means. This time Luna directed his energy into Aro's confidence and focus, preparing him for the battle to come. Aro himself was still standing but his pupils were sharp light blue with an almost vacant smirk on his face. After a minute or so Aro returned to normal and Luna released control of his aura.

"Kjolmar, I will answer your question, just not now. I have some business to attend to." He said, his facial expression focused on Roark who smiled at him challengingly.

"Luna... Let's do this." He said still locked onto his opponent as Luna stepped onto the arena.

"Go Onix!" Roark called as he threw his next Pokemon out.

The size difference between the two Pokemon was insane, onyx towered over Luna menacingly.

"Quick Attack Riolu, use its body as a ladder" Aro called out to his partner as Luna followed, jumping gracefully from rock to rock up the onix's body. Onix was helplessly watching as Luna darted in different directions.

"Get ready..." Aro said as he took his aura sphere stance.

As Luna reached the head of Onix he jumped into the air in front of it. Luna's arms poised by its hip.

"Now..." Aro yelled.

Onix's tail came crashing down towards Luna but before it could hit, Luna unleashed its energy into the Onix's face instantly knocking it backwards and out.

"The victor is Aro...." said the announcer shocked at how short the fight actually was.

Roark handed Aro over the Coal badge.

With both of them having the Coal Badge, the duo made their way back to Professor Rowan to return the recovered briefcase. "The Professor will be with you shortly. Please have a seat over there." one of his assistents said. Kjolmar sat down and was rather quiet for a few minutes while just staring at Aro.

A trainer called Paul passed them and pauzed in front of them. "You guys are trainers right? Do you happen to have a full team? I'm looking for a six-on-six battle."
Kjolmar shook his head. "Most of my pokemon are back home in Kalos. I only brought two of them with me. Even though I recently gained two new additions to my team, that only brings me to a total of four. My friend here doesn't have six partners on him right now either."
He realised both of them could easily transfer pokemon from their storage but Kjolmar didn't feel up for a battle right now. He first wanted to talk some things through with Aro.
Paul rolled his eyes. "Later then, I'm sure we'll bump into each other. Let me know when you have a full team."

Kjolmar barely responded to it. He didn't know Paul but he was sure that Gyarados alone would guide him to victory. Then again, he shouldn't underestimate other trainers like that. When Paul left and there was still no sign of Rowan, Kjolmar tried to interrupt the silence between him and Aro. "Maybe we should fill our team a bit more, in case more rivals request six-on-six battles. We could search the tall grass outside."

Noibat crawled right next to Apollo, who was sitting in Kjolmar's arms. He accidentally pushed Apollo a bit to the side. Well, at least it looked accidentally. Apollo glowed a little and thought to himself (and therefor indirectly to Luna) "Noibat doesn't seem to like it when I'm the center of Kjolmar's attention."
Kjolmar noticed Apollo glowing and it gave him a tingling sensation, but he couldn't hear his thoughts yet. Wondering a bit why Noibat was being so possessive suddenly, he turned his attention back to Aro.
"So. I bet we both have some questions for each other, I saw you looking at my Gyarados. I'll start. Number one, who is Cyrus? Number two, what happened to you right there after you saw Apollo?"

Meanwhile, a Mesprit was outside the building, looking in through a window. It gazed at Kjolmar intensely. That same Mesprit had been spying on him earlier at Lake Verity, when it had lured Noibat there. When Mesprit heard Rowan approach, it vanished back to its lake.

"Ah, you recovered my research, wonderful!" Rowan said to the duo. "Oh my, it got all mixed up." he said with a frown. Kjolmar figured that happened because he had been going through it. "Those thugs..." he said, giving Aro an apologizing look for the little white lie.
Rowan cleared his throat before adressing the trainers. "I must admitt, I was considering to find help from someone older than you two but you amaze me by retrieving this succesfully. Unfortunately, there is more going on than what meets the eye. Team Galactic has taken over an entire building in Eterna City. Could I count on you to drive them out?"

Back at Jubilife city Aro and Kjolmar waiting in what seemed to be some kind of research facility, much like the Lab back in Sandgem town, only a lot bigger. As they waited for the professor they were introduced to Paul. Aro knew Paul and who he was from a while back. A hot headed trainer out to prove he is the best. In fact Paul would have been an opponent of Aros a long time ago if certain things went the way they should of. Aro added Paul to the list of people who brought back bad memories. Kjolmar turned to Aro and pushed on his earlier questions from the gym that Aro had thought he'd avoided. He took a long breathe in before explaining.

"Ok Kjolmar, remember back at the mine those two freaks that stole the research? Well they were members of Team Galactic. Galactic are a group who promote evil and an unfair relationship between trainers and Pokemon. Cyrus is... Cyrus is their leader" Aro thought it was best he stopped there, he didn't want to let Kjolmar onto too much. After all they were still relatively new partners.
"Now about Apollo." He paused and looked at Luna who smiled at him and nodded. "I don't know wether you know but both Riolu and Lucario are Aura Pokemon. Meaning they can sense emotions and feelings of a person just based off their energy. What's more interesting is that they are able to synchronise auras with a human and communicate through energy alone. However this is often the result of an EXTREMELY strong bond between the pair." He stopped explain for a brief moment to look at Luna once more.

"Me and Luna are able to telepathically communicate using this method. Luna has been with me as long as I can remember so our bond is strong enough. However other Riolu and Lucario can communicate with each other telepathically without that bond. When we were in the mine we heard a strange noise that sounded like a Pokemon growling, we thought we were going mad but I think it was Apollo we could hear, from inside the egg. I could hear him because Luna could but you couldn't because you aren't synced yet. Does that make any sense at all?" Aro felt like he was blabbering and quickly shut up.

"Now my turn, in the professors research there was a drawing of a band and a stone. It looked like a prototype for something, then I saw you and your Gyarados wearing what looked similar. What is that? And why is the professor researching something that you already have?" Aro couldn't deny his curiousity on the subject, he was intrigued.

"Erm..... Aro?" Luna commicated to him in an inquisitive tone. "Your bags moving! Frantically!"

Shocked Aro stood up immediately and opened his back which seemed to furiously jolt in random directions. As he unzipped the bag a orange and red figure flew out the bag. As he peered inside the bag he saw broken egg shell bedding the bottom, he forgot about his egg and it hatched in his bag. He quickly darted towards the fireball shaped creature dashing around the room.

"Luna try and calm it down!" Aro said, Luna closed his eyes and the figure got slower and slower.

Aro picked up the Pokémon. It was a Chimchar, who at this point was almost asleep contrasting his state not even thirty seconds ago. Aro quickly pulled out a pokeball and call the Chimchar inside.

"I said calm it down not put it to sleep Luna" he joked smiling.
"I'll give him some time to rest before we meet properly."

After a few more minutes Rowan came out towards the pair. They handed him his research back and in return the professor asked another favour to do with Team Galactic in Eterna City. They were just starting out and still couldn't catch a break.

"I guess Eterna is where the next gym is anyway so that's where we're heading anyway. We will check it out for you professor. I'll call you from a PokeCentre when we know more." Aro said before heading on his way.

As they walked towards the rugged cave ahead, Aro went into tour guide mode.

"We have to get through the rugged cave to get to Floroma town, then from there we can make our way to Eterna City. We might get there before dark if we're lucky." He explained.

After he was explained about Cyrus, Team Galactic and even the special bond that he'd have with Riolu one day, Kjolmar was asked about his mega stone. "Well... There is two parts to that. First you something called a key stone, like the one you can see in my watch right here." He showed Aro how the key stone was clicked into the watch.

"Then you need the right mega stone for your pokemon to have it mega evolve."
Kjolmar realized Aro wouldn't have asked about it if he had known all of this. "My apologies. I wrongly assumed every trainer was told about this at the start of his quest. At least, that's how it happens in Kalos. Perhaps Rowan knows more about it but he kept it to himself until he fully understands it? Or maybe that old man is becoming senile after all. Hehe, don't tell him I said that."

"Every pokemon that can mega evolve, has a different mega stone." Kjolmar continued.
"For example, Gyarados is wearing a collar with gyaradosite. A Gardevoir would wear gardevoirite, and so on."

Kjolmar glared at Apollo. He couldn't quite hear him through telepathy yet but he just knew it would happen one day. "Actually, mega evolving also requires a strong bond between a trainer and his pokemon, similar to Riolu's telepathy. Perhaps Luna would be able to mega evolve if you found the correct mega stone, I don't know all the pokemon that can mega evolve. But if that is the case, I can gladly ask my region's professor to send us an extra keystone for you."

After Aro's egg hatched into a Chimchar, the team was on their way to Floroma town. But before they got there, a net captured Noibat and a male Pyroar grabbed the net with its mouth and started running.
"A Pyroar in Sinnoh?" Kjolmar gasped. "Don't tell me that he followed me all the way here?"

The group chased the Pyroar who was kidnapping Noibat. It led them straight to someone who looked like a trainer, dressed in red. "So that Pyroar IS yours! What are you doing here, Han?"
The boy chuckled. "I went to find you in Lumiose but there was no one there. Then I encountered your sister along the road and tricked her into telling me where you went. Obviously I won't rest until I've taken your gyaradosite and then beat your Gyarados. So how about a trade? You get Noibat back in exchange for your gyaradosite. And afterwards we battle."

Kjolmar was still carrying Apollo in his arms. He whispered something to him. "Okay buddy, here's what we are going to do. Telepathically tell Luna that Aro should make his way around that guy and block him from the other side, so he won't be able to escape. I'll close in from the front."

While Apollo jumped from his arms, Kjolmar slowly walked up to Han. With Han being completely focused on Kjolmar, Apollo saw his chance to use telepathy towards Luna. Kjolmar looked Han straight in the eye while approaching him. "I have a better idea. How about I don't give you anything but we'll battle without using mega evolution. If you win, you get the gyaradosite. If I win, you leave us alone."
Han shook his head. "As if I'm going to take any chances with you. Pyroar is powerful but so is Gyarados, I've experienced that more than once. The deal is simple: the gyaradosite for Noibat's safe return."

Noibat clearly got fed up with the situation and started to hit the net he was captured in from all sides. It screeched loudly while doing so, becoming more and more enraged. Then it started to glow with a bright light. Everyone looked at Noibat and gasped. "Is it...?"

When the light faded, the net broke and Noibat had evolved into Noivern. It pinched its eyes at Han and started flapping its wings, creating a whirlwind that blasted Han away into the distance. Pyroar seemed shocked and started to run after his master.

Aro listened carefully as Kjolmar explained about his mega bracelet and mega stone. Aro tried his best to contain his shock but the news that Pokemon were able to mega evolve boggled his mind. It also meant that it confirmed that the stories his grandparents used to tell him of Pokemon could ascend past their usual forms were true. They used to tell Aro and his older sister tales of heros who created such strong bonds with certain Pokemon and in turn those Pokemon were able to ascend to a new form when needed. Aro was intrigued about the mythology of the world and Sinnoh in particular. His family had deep roots within sinnoh and so his family were always very proud of their ancestry.

Trying to quickly get over his initial shock and saved all the questions he had for Later. They continued on towards Floroma town and through the ragged cave, however as they exited the cave they were ambushed. Aro got his guard up ans did Luna behind Kjolmar. He realised that this guy knew Kjolmar and though it best he wait to see how Kjolmar handled it. Kjolmar walked towards the shady character in red and as he did Aro and Luna both heard Apollo.

"Kjolmar wants you to try and sneak behind them so they're surrounded." Apollo said.

Aro and Luna both nodded and started to make there way around the villainous figure but before they could make it Noibat started acting odd before lashing out in a rage. The bright light that followed was blinding for a second before revealing that Noibat had evolved into Noivern. With that Kjolmar was able to make the bandit flee.

"Who was that?" Aro questioned his new friend.

It all happened so fast that Aro had to take a second to gather his thoughts. Kjolmar was full of surprises, already he had two fully evolved Pokemon before the second gym challenge, the power to mega evolve and one more Pokemon than Aro also. However Aro knew that even evolution couldn't match sheer determination and skill sometimes. Speaking of which Aro realised he still had to get acquainted with his new Chimchar, and it had been a while since Belle has been out of her ball too.

"There it is up ahead, Floroma Town. Maybe we should stop here for a bit and let our Pokemon stretch their legs for a bit while we rest ours." He said laughing a little.

The town was beautiful, full of perfectly in bloom flowers scattered across the gardens. A colourful mosaic of flowers which made for unbeatable scenery. He walked over into Floroma Meadow and sat down by a nearby tree and Luna sat best to him. He released Belle from her ball and allowed her to roam as she bounced through the tall flowers. He held Chimchars ball in his hand, slightly nervous of its previous outbreak. He released the Chimchar who came out smiling.

"Hi there Chimchar, this is Luna and I'm Aro. That's belle, bounding around over there in the fields. We're your new friends." Aro said calmly, smiling throughout.

The Chimchar seemed to smile and nodded. As he did his rear flame seemed to flicker bigger momentarily.

"I think your gonna like it with us... er.. Right a name...." Aro though carefully.

"How about Dante?" He asked as the Chimchar smiled and climbed onto his head, sat perched on the top.

"I think he likes it!" He said as Aro laughed.

Kjolmar was amazed at the size of Noivern. Then he frowned. "You're huge, Noivern. I'm afraid you will have to go back in your pokeball. Noivern protested stubbornly and glared at Apollo, who was laying back in Kjolmar's arms.
Apollo noticed the glare and jumped to the ground. "I'll walk if that helps putting Noivern at ease." he mentally told Luna in order to get the message spread.
Noivern growled and hit his wing against Kjolmar's belt, hitting his pokeball button. Noivern returned to his pokeball by his own choice, but he wasn't very pleased about it. "Sorry Noivern, I'll let you back out as soon opportunity presents itself."

"The guy in red was Han." Kjolmar explained to Aro "He used to be a member of Team Flare, a villainous organisation in Kalos. They are disbanded now but he still keeps a grudge against me for defeating them. His Pyroar is very powerful. Despite the fire type being weak to the water type, Pyroar is quite the challenge for Gyarados. I've defeated him before but to be honest, I was lucky to have mega evolution on my side."

When Aro rested in the meadow and let all of his pokemon out, Kjolmar followed his example. Well, he didn't let Gyarados out for several reasons: there wasn't a water surface nearby and Gyarados could be quite antisocial. But the others could rest in the meadow.

Beau immediately went to play with Belle. Kjolmar smiled as both the Eevee's were running circles around each other. He noticed how Beau's fur was just that little darker than Belle's. Ideal for telling them apart.

Apollo made his way to Luna and sat down next to her. "I wish Kjolmar could hear me, like Aro can hear you." he mentally said to Luna. His voice sounded quite neutral so it was difficult to say how he felt about that.

Noivern seemed happy to get out so soon but he was also still a bit annoyed by having to go inside his pokeball earlier. He flapped his wings and landed on a nearby tree to take a rest.

Kjolmar laughed out loud. "Man, Aro, look at this. Two of my pokemon prefer being near you, one of my pokemon is upset with me and my last one can't even be unleashed without complete ravage. I'm clueless how I beat two region champions already." He looked at all his unleashed pokemon one by one and then sighed. "You know what, I'm going to let Gyarados out at the stream nearby. Even he deserves a break. Can I count on you to keep an eye on my pokemon for a minute? Beau is playing with Belle anyway and Apollo seems occupied with Luna. And I doubt Noivern will wake up soon. Be right back."

At the stream, Gyarados was let out. It roared fiercely but when he noticed only Kjolmar was around, he instantly calmed down. Gyarados lowered his head so he could rub it against Kjolmar's body. "Hey boy, are you well rested? That was quite the gym battle back there. Well done! Splash around as much as you want, I'll come get you in a bit, okay?" Gyarados blinked his eyes in agreement and dived underwater.

Back at the meadow, Kjolmar grinned at Beau and Belle trying to catch each others tail. He sat down next to Aro and felt pleased that he isn't taking this journey alone. "You know, my sister also has an Eevee. He's called Brody. It's my sister's first year to go on an adventure so she's facing the gym leaders back home first." Kjolmar quietly watched Dante for a few seconds but then turned back to Aro. "Do you have any siblings?"

Aro watched as Noivern threw a tantrum and returned himself to his ball. Aro laughed a little at Noiverns attitude. It was very clear that Noivern was very jealous of Apollo and Kjolmar, maybe Noivern had seen how close Luna and Aro were and thought he was getting replaced. Aro knew that wouldn't be the case Kjolmar seemed like the type of person to look after all his Pokemon properly. It was just funny to see such a strong willed Pokemon in Noivern.

As Kjolmar released his Pokemon and sat down next to Aro briefly he explained who Han was. Aro had heard of Team Flare, it was one of the few things he knew about the Kalos region.

"So it sounds like we have more than just Cyrus to worry about" he joked.

Aro agreed to watch Kjolmars Pokemon as he went over to let Gyarados out of its ball for a bit. Aro watched as the towering giant Gyarados quietly and gently nuzzled his trainer. It was rare to see a Gyarados in anything other than a violent rage let alone in a calm loving state. Kjolmar clearly knew how to bond with Pokemon well.

Dante at this point feeling left out in Pokemon play time decided to cause mischief and climbed up the tree that Noivern was now asleep resting in. Dante slowly crept up behind Noivern and softly prodded him then his quickly. Noivern woke up and looked around to find no one there and after a thorough lol dozed back off. Dante snickered as he got ready to repeat the process.

Aro smiled as he gazed around the field at his new Pokémon partners playing together. Already Aro was feeling like his decision was a good one. He had felt so free and happy since he was really young. His thoughts were broken as he spotted another figure approach. This time human, a girl. As she walked closer Aro realised who it was. Dawn. Dawn was his cousin and aide to professor Rowan. Her pace quickened as she spotted Aro, smiling and waving at the same time. Aro got up and ran towards her.

The two hugged before catching up briefly, until Dawn pulled a Pokeball from her bag.

"...so Aro. I came looking for you in Sandgem Town but Professor Rowan said you actually decided to start this again. I tried to catch up with you as fast as I could....." she looked at the ball.

"Aro I found Seren. I know you probably don't believe me, and you think I'm lying but I promise. Just believe me.." She said in a hesitant tone.

She passed the ball to Aro who at this point was almost shaking with an almost angry look. Nothing about his face said happy.

"Did she make you do this Dawn? Did she put you up to this?! Did she hear about me and think she could try and mess with me again?!" His voice now showing his clear anger.

"NO! ARO I PROMISE! Check her Neck, just trust me..." Dawn said in a convincing dialect.

Aro seemed to calm just a little and now looked at the ball for a second before releasing it. Out from the ball came a Mioltic, beautiful in all its glory. On her neck, just as Dawn said, was an unusual triangle shaped marking that seemed to shine all colours in the spectrum when looked at in the right light. A marking Aro knew meant it was Seren, it was a marking that it shared with its former form Feebas when Aro first caught her. Aro looked at Seren and he knew, his eyes filled up as he realised Dawn was right this was Seren. Seren threw her tail gracefully around Aro.

Aro returned to Kjolmar and introduced him and Gyarados to Seren. Seren swam fluidly around the river, and Kjolmars Gyarados. Aro listened to Kjolmar as he asked him about his siblings.

"I have an older sister... don't worry I'm sure you'll meet her soon enough." He said looking at Seren the whole time.

"At least your sister is older than you. I had a really hard time not being overprotective of my younger sister, specially since we don't have any parents anymore. But now that she decided to start her own journey, I will just have to trust that she will be fine. I promised not to call her all the time but I feel like I'm allowed to make a call later today. At least to brag about the new badge."

Kjolmar gazed to Milotic and Gyarados. "It seems like each of our pokemon has found a friend in each other. Well, except for Noivern, who is too busy being a toddler at the moment."
Kjolmar's gaze shifted towards the tree where Noivern was in and he gasped at the sight of an empty tree.
"Speaking of Noivern, where did she go?"

Noivern came flying from a completely other side, diving towards Dante and attacking it. It weren't very focused or powerful attacks, just small ones to get things out of her system. "Noivern, what are you doing? Stop that at once!" Just like Apollo, Dante had recently hatched and could be considered relatively young. Noivern on the other hand should know better. Kjolmar retreated Noivern in order to bring some peace in the chaos. "And here I thought Gyarados would be the one to stir things up."

Kjolmar sighed. "Noivern is not going to be happy about being retreated but she has to learn she can't just go around and attack friends for who knows what reason. I came so far with Gyarados, I don't know if I have the energy to tame another loose canon."

He sat down and waved at the two Eevee's -Beau & Belle-, and at the two Riolu's -Apollo & Luna-. "At least they are enjoying themselves. We should do this more often. But we can't get sidetracked too much, there is still the Galactric problem at Eternea City. And with Han around, I'm not so sure we can only focus on gym battles."

Aro watched as Noivern once again showed his attitude. Kjolmar mention how he had trouble with Gyarados and didn't know wether he could raise another out of control Pokémon.

"Don't worry Kjolmar, I'm sure Noivern is still adjusting to its new form, it seems like it is struggling to accept that Apollo might be taking his place which we know isn't the case." Aro smiled.

"Look what you've done with Gyarados and I'm sure you and Noivern will get through this. I think you could have potential to create that bond with Apollo I talked about too." He watched as his Pokemon played among the field.

Watching Beau chase Belle made Aro chuckle. Belle was extremely fast for an Eevee and dashed around constantly turning back to check on Beau and coax him into chasing her more. She really was caught up in her own world with Beau, that being said Aro could already spot some battle qualities within her; her speed was remarkable and her tendency to get angry when apart from Beau from too long could prove helpful in getting the most out of her attacks.

"The next gym in Eterna City is a Grass type gym. Fire and Flying types are our best bet, Noivern might be your best bet if you can get it to chill out a bit. For me Dante might be a great pick. However I feel like we need to see him in action first." Aro said as he turned to Kjolmar.

"Luna try and get Chimchar to chase you when I give you the signal. Just don't hurt him." Aro communicated to Luna who was still with Apollo by the tree.

Aro walked over to Chimchar and crouched down.

"Hey Dante, I want you to try and play a game with me. I want you to try and touch Luna ok?" He said smiling.

Dante seemed confused at his trainers command, looking at Luna and then back to Aro. Dante still hesitant decided to smile at Aro and jump up and down, as Aro laughed along, Luna shot a small aura sphere close to their location but no where near close enough to harm. The blast shocked Dante who looked back at Luna through the clearing dust. Luna seemed to give Dante a challenging smirk. Dante instantly started charging towards Luna who started to dart off zig zagging across the meadow. Dante seemed to get quicker over the duration instead of slower, it was almost as if the Chimchar had conserved its energy at the start. Luna carried on darting to and from nearby trees to reposition himself in the field. All of a sudden Dante started glowing a faint orangey red before all of a sudden Dante seemed to go into overdrive and accelerated to double his previous speed. He closed in on Luna who was struggljng to avoid Dantes sweeping claws as he darted past him. Suddenly Dantes glow turned into a fiery blaze, engulfed in flames he charged once more at Luna who tripped over his own quick footwork. Aro froze as Dantes enraged flame engulfed body hurtled towards Luna. They collided and in the collision and a cloud of dust blinded vision of the pair.

As the dust settled he saw both Luna and Dante lying there, still conscious but seriously injured from the impact.

"I'm sorry for making you guys do that. I promise I won't put you in that situation again" Aro said still shaken up from the incident. He returned both Dante and Luna to their balls, as he did with Seren. Belle seemed happy enough out as long as Beau was out so he left her out.

"...maybe... we should... erm.. head to a Pokecenter before heading to Eterna." Aro said nervously still shaken up, questioning himself of his own training methods.

When the sunlight became stronger, Beau searched for a cool place in the shadow of the trees. Still keeping his eyes on Belle, Beau decided to rest for a bit.

While Aro trained with Dante, Kjolmar decided to take a seat next to Apollo in order to watch the battle between Dante and Luna. "Watch Luna's actions closely, Apollo, I am certain you can become powerful like her." When Luna shot an aura sphere, Kjolmar looked at Apollo. "Can you already do that too?" Apollo nodded but didn't try to prove it or anything. "Could you show me?" Kjolmar asked him but Apollo just ignored his second question and focused on the battle he was watching. It was likely that he didn't even hear the second question but Kjolmar decided to let it go for now. "Orrr... We could just watch the battle."

The battle was over and both pokemon could use some healing. Aro looked very conflicted about it and returned all his pokemon to their pokeballs except for Belle. When Seren was retreated, Gyarados screeched and splashed some water all the way to Aro. "Hey! Behave! I told you that Aro is our friend." Kjolmar said to Gyarados and retreated him to his pokeball.

After also retreating Apollo, Kjolmar deccided to let Beau out in order for him to be around Belle for now.

Kjolmar walked up to Aro closely and placed his hand on his shoulder in comfort.
"Hey man, they will both be fine, they just need to rest a bit in the pokecenter. Getting worn out is often a part of the battle, you shouldn't get too worried about it. But it does suit you that you care so much, it's understandable that you are protective of them. Come on, let's get to the pokecenter and then to Eternea Gym before Beau and Belle start making babies of their own."

Kjolmar laughed out loud at the confused stares of Beau and Belle, who hadn't exactly understood what he meant.

As the duo and their respective Eevees headed towards the Pokemon centre, Belle who had now realised her trainers current glum state, decided to cheer him up by jumping up his back and onto his shoulder. She yelped cutely and smiled at Aro, who in turn couldn't help but smile back at her. He realised how lucky he was to be surrounded by partners who were always there for him, it just hurt him to see them injured, especially by his own means.

They recovered their Pokemon at the nearby Pokecenter before heading off once more for Eterna city. Kjolmar mentioned their previous quest they had been asked to do by Professor Rowan.

"Before we get to Eterna City we have to make our way through Eterna Forest up ahead. When we finally get to Eterna maybe we should prioritise Team Galactic and whatever Han is up to first. That way we will be able to focus on our gym battle." He explained.

Up ahead read a signpost for Eterna Forest which sat in front of a forested pathway. Aro looked back at Kjolmar and smiled before entering down the pathway.

Unlike Belle, Beau chose to walk besides Kjolmar rather than getting onto his shoulder. He walked with a certain confidence and determination, traits that weren't always evident for a cute pokemon like Eevee. Kjolmar noticed it and wondered if they could use that confidence in their favor in battles. Beau himself wasn't exactly thinking about battles just yet but he was definitely ready to defend Belle if it would be needed.

Eterna forest was filled with bug pokemon. Kjolmar didn't like those at all and shivered every now and then. All of a sudden he noticed smoke coming from further down the forest. "Look, smoke! Do you think there is a fire? I hope this isn't Han and Pyroar's doing!" He looked at Aro firmly. "Lets check it out."

When Aro and Luna spotted the fire, the both started sprinting towards it. As they ran through the heavily wooded area the wild pokemon of the forest started running the opposite direction, as if they were running from something that the pair were running towards. As they approached the source of the fire they saw that a nearby tree had been set on fire and was spreading towards a Murkrow nest. Inside the nest was one lone Murkrow who's legs seemed to be caught within the branches. Aro grabbed one of his balls from his waist.

"Seren, I need you to put out this fire!" He shouted as he released his Milotic from her ball.

Seren sprayed water towards the tree using her fan like tail to create a rain and wind like effect on the tree.

"Luna i need you to jump carefully up that tree and grab that Murkrow. Soon the branches will become too weak to hold it."

Luna dashed up the tree avoiding the last few flames on his way up. He got to the Murkrow and force palmed the branch blocking its leg before grabbing it and jumping towards Seren. Seren at this point curled her body and used herself to brace and catch thier fall. The Murkrow seemed to be relatively unhurt and apart from the aftermath shock was fine. Aro and Luna finished putting out the fire with seren and made it safe for pokemon once more. Before heading off Aro said goodbye to the Murkrow he had saved who seemed to smile at Aro with thanks. Aro started to move, they still had to get to Eterna city and they were close now. The next gym was all Aro could think about at this point. Even if they did have an errand to run first.

As the group headed off minus Seren - Aro had put her back in her ball. Seren couldn't be out of water for long periods,- Aro could hear footsteps and twigs snapping behind him. He looked behind to find nothing, he shook his head and carried on. This time wings flapping as the creature flew from tree to tree. Aro looked up this time to find the same Murkrow from earlier. Was it following him? Did it want to come with him. Luna interrupted Aros thoughts to tell him that the Murkrow did want to come with Ash. Its flock all escaped in the fire and left him, now with thier next destroyed they'll make a new nest without him.

Aro smiled at the Murkrow, "Of course you can come with us buddy." He smiled as the Murkrow swooped down onto his shoulder and called out.

"We will call you... Loki. Thats a goood name for you." Aro and his new friend smiled at each other before they exited the Eterna forest with Kjolmar in tow.

Kjolmar felt proud at how Aro had handled the fire and he was amazed at how cool that Murkrow was. He had only seen a Murkrow once before, when it battled his Noibat. When he saw how Aro made it his new pokemon, Kjolmar realized he also had to catch some more partners. But first they had to take care of the Galactic problem. Upon arrival in Eterna, Kjolmar remembered something.
"Is it fine if I make a phonecall to my sister before we go? There should be one in the local pokecenter."

A girl that looked a lot like Kjolmar answered the video call. "Brother! How are you?" When she spotted Aro in the background, her eyes widened slightly. "And who is your handsome friend?" Kjolmar gave her a cold stare and ignored her last question. Alice could be a bit flirty sometimes and there was nothing that older brothers hated more about their younger sisters.
"Well, I won the Coal Badge. Gyarados owned that gym fight like usually. How about you, have you started your Kalos quest?"

Alice nodded and showed off her Bug Badge. "Viola's pokemon didn't stand a chance against my Brody."
Kjolmar smiled. "Oh, that's right, I got an Eevee too now, I named him Beau. My friend Aro's Eevee is called Belle."
Alice giggled at that. "Another B!"

When Kjolmar told Alice about his Riolu and about Noibat's evolution, Alice's happy mood was replaced by a worried frown. "There is one pokemon you left here who has been causing quite some problems. I just can't get her to listen at all."
Kjolmar sighed. "I bet I know who you mean. She's always been like that. You know what, why don't you send her over to me and I'll try to get her to obey eventually."

After the transfer, they said their goodbyes. "Bye Aro!" Alice added, causing Kjolmar to roll his eyes at her.
A man came running into the pokecenter, completely out of breath. "Are you the training Professor Rowan told me about? You are here to help with Team Galactic right? They took my Clefairy!"
Kjolmar nodded firmly. "With my Phantump with me, they won't realize what kind of trouble they are in. Let's go!"

As Aro and Kjolmar made thier way to Eterna City's pokecenter after a long rest, Aro decided to return his new partner Loki to his ball leaving just Luna out of his ball as usual. Upon entering Kjolmar made his way over to a vacant PC and called his sister. A youngish but not too young girl answered who you could tell had the same looks as Kjolmar. He blushed t her advances towards him and thought it best to leave them two to thier conversation. He made his way over to the counter to heal his pokemon ready to take on Team Galactic. Aro knew it would be hard to try and track down team galactic, if they didnt have a big building over looking the city with there emblem on it. Sometimes Aro wondered how smart Cyrus acctually was and how blind his followers were.

Aro made his way back over to Kjolmar who had seemingly finished his conversation with his sibling. Suddenly a man ran over to ask for help with the Galactic situation. Aro sighed, was there really no one else to deal with this sort of stuff? He nodded and turned to Kjolmar.

"There is a big tower over to the north of the city, thats Team Galactic's HQ. We can make our way over and try and get through the back. The less we can be spotted before getting to Cyrus the better." Aro said before leading Kjolmar out into the city.

As they made thier way towards the tower Aro took a nearby side path that was slightly hidden from view. Using the bushes as cover he sneaked round towards the back of the building. They got to the back entrance without being spotted and carefully opened the fire exit. In it lead a staircase normally used for emergencies only.

"We should be good to get up to the top floor without being spotted this way, we just have to move quietly." He said as he made his way up.

As they reached the top floor the peered through the glass window to see a room which contained two Galactic Grunts and the Celfairy. Before Aro could react a third figure entered the room. This time not a grunt. The feminine figure had bright pink hair that was up in a bun.

"Jupiter..." Aro wispered.

"You know her?" Kjolmar whispered back. The female appeared to be higher in rank than the grunts they had met so far. But since a certain Cyrus seems to be in charge, this female probably got orders herself. Not long after, another female entered. This one had short red hair. She was dressed similar to Jupiter. Another high rank member of Galactic? "Let me guess, you know her too?"

Kjolmar only had Apollo out with him but both he and Luna were being very quiet. He wondered if they were communicating telepathicly without him knowing. Suddenly Kjolmar felt something, it was as if he was suddenly worried or surprised by something but he didn't know where the feeling came from.

Out of nowhere, Phantump appeared out of her pokeball without permission. "Phantump!" she said proudly, revealing the team to the Galactic females by accident. "Intruders!"

"Phantump, what are you doing?" Kjolmar asked with frustration. He peered at Apollo quickly and wondered if the feeling he had earlier was because Apollo saw Phantump coming out of her pokeball. There was no time to analyse that now, they had been revealed to the villains.

"Skuntank, stop them!" Jupiter said.
"Purugly, go!" the other female said.

Kjolmar retreated Phantump and nodded at Aro.
"Let's see if Beau and Belle can assist each other? I'll deal with Phantump later."

Aro nodded at Kjolmars question. "As far as Team Galactic are concerned you can consider them and myself very well acquainted." He whispered.

As Aro began to think of a plan of attack his train of though crashed as Kjolmars Phantump gave away their position to Galactic. He went to send in Luna but then heard Kjolmar suggest that they try out Beau and Belle together. As much as Aro felt unsafe about sending any of his Pokemon into battle other than Luna and Seren, who he had battled with countless times, he realised that behaviour like that would mean his other Pokemon wouldn't grow or learn. He nodded his head and grabbed Belles ball.

"Go Belle!" He yelled as the usually happy bouncy Eevee appeared. Only this time I think Belle knew it was different. The look on her face was one of concentration.

"Belle use your speed to dodge the Puruglys attacks and follow up with Double-Edge!" Aro yelled

Belle darted across the room left to right dodging attacks thrown at her as if it was a game. She then thruster herself off of a nearby wall and propelled herself at speed at the Purugly tackling it in the impact. The purugly was blasted against a wall and struggled to get up.

"Belle finish it with Quick Attack!" He said pointing as he said it.

Belle sprinted at her target with her head bent forward charging ahead. On impact the Purugly fainted and Belle was left standing although you could tell the battle had took a toll on her.

While Belle dealt with the Purugly, Beau focused on the Skuntank. Beau seemed to be able to keep a cool head and dodge a lot of Skuntank's attacks. Those that hit him, weren't very effective. This was the second time that Kjolmar noticed how calm and though Beau could be both in- and outside a battle. He might be a little slower than Belle but he could stand his ground. With a strong Bite attack, Beau finished Skuntank off.

"Argh! Let's go Mars!" Jupiter said and they took a run for it. In the corner was the kidnapped Clefairy who was relieved that it could reunite with its trainer. Beau walked up to Belle to see if she was alright after that fight and snuggled up against her, licking her fur near her ear.

Kjolmar sighed while staring at Aro. "This building might be secure for now but I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of those two. And did I hear that right, are they named after planets? Anyway, let's go get our second gym badge before any other trouble shows up." Kjolmar left Beau out of his pokeball for a bit.

Aro watched as Beau was able to take alot more hits from Skuntank that first thought. Beau seemed alot more controlled and resistant in comparison to Belle's sheer speed and agility. After letting Belle and Beau comfort each other after the fight, Aro returned her to her ball. He was impressed on how well Belle had done in taking out Team Galactic's pokemon. even the fact she was Aro's most seemingly vunerable squad member. Maybe this meant that he should change up his battle style more. People who have battled Aro before are mainly used to battling him and Luna, having other strong squad members for battles could give him an upper hand in future battles.

After healing up their pokemon Aro and Kjolmar made there way over to the entrance of Eterna City's gym. Aro stopped and turned to Kjolmar. "Good work back at the Galactic HQ, now our next task while in Eterna i guess is to get our second gym badge. The gym leader in this town's name is Gardenia, she focuses on Grass types. Again that should be helpful info when planning your strategy." He said as he smiled before entering the Gym doors.

Inside the gym was decorated in the most beautiful flowers which looked to have been sent over from the Floroma Meadow. The whole arena was made to look like a beautiful garden of tranquillity. In the middle sat a youngish Girl crossed legged, the pair walked over and introduced themselves.

"Nice to meet you both" The lady chirped. "Im Gardenia....." She looked at Aro and then at Kjolmar.

"so who's first then?" she said with a smile.

"So who's first then?" she asked with a smile. "It shall be one of my pokemon against one of yours."

"Since I went first last time.. After you, Aro." Kjolmar took a seat where he could have a good look at the upcoming battle, flowers all around him. Beau seemed to feel restless somehow now that Belle had been retreated to her pokeball. Kjolmar patted him beneath his chin. "You two can play again soon but you have to learn that you can't be together twentyfour-seven." he whispered in comfort. Kjolmar could be a bit strict at times but he always had the best intentions. It was because of this quality that he had gotten so far with Gyarados.

While they waited for Aro's gym battle to begin, Kjolmar worried a bit about Phantump. She was so unpredictable that she had gotten him into trouble before. No wonder his sister Alice had her doubts about Phantump. Kjolmar knew he had to think of something to get that pokemon under control somehow. After all, he had mastered control over Gyarados so it had to be possible. Perhaps he should think of a special training programme for her.

When Gardenia sent out her pokemon, both Kjolmar and Beau started to focus on the battle in front of them. "Rooting for you, Aro!"