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Had he won all of his battles just because he was lucky? No, he had skill! How else would he have managed to get seven badges? Granted they were low to mid tier badges...And they weren't even from the same region! This was yet another reason he felt that running away to Sinnoh was the best idea. It would give him a chance to build his victories from the ground up, proving his worth with each badge that he's able to put away in his case. And he couldn't rely on Cable to win everything for him. Not early on. No, his other Pokemon had to receive the same experiences. Treecko was going to come in handy, and his future Chimchar could cover for her when she needed it. Kilik shook his head. Enough feeling down on himself! He had to finish this battle, come hell or high water, and he wasn't going to lose! Cable was panting heavily again. Despite that surge of rage, he was still feeling very worn out. He felt he could dodge whatever the slowed down Kabutops could throw at him and throw in the final blow afterward. Yeah, that would work. As long as Kilik knew what he was doing. He looked over his shoulder at his trainer and gave him a thumbs up. This battle was theirs. As long as he managed to avoid those scythes, he'd win! Just one more Shock Wave and that Kabutops would topple over like a pile of rocks!

The old man cleared his throat and checked his pocket watch. "What do you say we finish this up, son?" Joeseph looked over at his boy. "We don't have much time before the boat heads out." He stuffed the gold watch back into his vest and smiled at Kilik, then narrowed his brow. "Kabutops, use Slash again!" Sluggishly, the mantis stood straight and began to run towards Cable with one of his claws lifted straight up into the air, the other dangling limply at his side. That smug Electric-type wasn't going to make a fool of him. He swung his scythe down and Cable jumped straight up into the air to avoid it. This was his chance! The Electabuzz shot his hand up into the air, palm open and electricity began to flow from all over his body and focused onto his palm. As the sphere of lightning grew larger and larger, he looked down at his opponent. Cable landed on the ground a few feet away from Kabutops and threw the ball that was in his hand. Victory was his!

"That's the way!" Kilik laughed, pumping his fist into the air. He watched as the Kabutops tried to avoid the Shock Wave attack once more, but again, it's efforts were in vain. With a cry, he saw it fall to its knees and he cheered for his victory. That wasn't luck, that was all skill! And he had to thank Cable for the energy he put out, as well as his father for giving him the chance to prove himself. Not every battle was the same, he knew that, and now he could see it better than ever. To him, every opponent was an unknown. But he never realized what it was like to battle someone as close to him as family. Battling his dad was different than battling Justin, which was the same as battling everyone else. This was a battle he needed to win, otherwise, he would never grow as a trainer. "Thanks, Dad," he said, walking up to him and giving him a hug. Cable wiped his forehead with is large forearm and looked over at the two men. He smiled wide, then fell onto his back, falling asleep almost immediately. Boy, he was tired.

"You'll make a fine Gym Leader, son." Joeseph said, recalling Kabutops and putting the ball into his jacket. "Why don't we go heal up at the Pokemon Center?" And with that, after allowing Kilik time to recall Cable, the two Ranmo men headed back into town.

-*-

Mazarin looked up at the sky and before he knew it, he was facedown in the sand. He sat up and spat, wiping the grains of sand from his mouth. "Who the--?" he looked over his shoulder to see the green haired man Alastor standing behind him with his arms crossed. Maz jumped up and clenched his fists. "Boy howdy, I'm glad to see you! Though you didn't have to shove me, y'know!" The boy crossed his arms over his chest as well, though he was much less intimidating that the other one. "Look, I only need a lift to Lilycove to hop on the boat to Sinnoh. Got it?"

"Alrigh' bucko!" Alastor laughed, clicking his tongue. His Skarmory stomped forward and spread its wings out. "This bad boy'll getcha there in no time flat!" He lifted Mazarin like he was nothing and put him on the metal bird then whistled shrilly. With a sharp cry, Skarmory flapped its wings and was up in the air. "It'll come back to me when it drops ya off so no worries, eh! Have fun!" he called, waving an arm.

Mazarin wrapped his arms tightly around the Skarmory's neck. Banette materialized with just its head poking out of the top of Skarmory's. Eerily, it turned its attention to his trainer and laughed his muffled laugh. "Yuck it up!" he groaned, sitting up straight. "I'm not used to flying so fast! Heights don't scare me, like Kilik! I'm not a pansy! Little Murkrow isn't lightning fast like this thiiiing!" he cried out. They flew through a passing flock of Pidgey and he bobbed and weaved to avoid getting smacked in the face by one. When they were in the clear, he let out a sigh of relief and looked over his shoulder. "Stupid birds. Tailow is where it's at, boy-eh! Hoenn! All day every day!" he turned back around and opened his eyes, coming face to face with a Pidgeotto. In an instant, he felt the bird crash into his face and caw before it fluttered away. Maz put his hand on his face and groaned, feeling blood trickle down his nose. "Nobody makes me bleed my own blood!" he growled, looking over his shoulder. The Pidgeotto was gone. "Stupid birds. Watch where you're going, will you Skarmory!?" he slammed his fist into the back of the metallic bird and screamed in pain. His hand was hurting like crazy now. His knuckles were pulsing. Irritated, the Skarmory shot down like a bullet towards the ocean that separated Kanto from Hoenn.

"GARAAAAAAHA! I'M SORRY!" Mazarin cried, clutching on for dear life. The bird even turned upside down so that Mazarin was dangling from his neck. "AHAHAHAHA!" he cried out, screaming at the top of his lungs. "I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!!!" Right before hitting the water, Skarmory turned rightside up and skimmed the surface of the ocean, parting the waves slightly. Mazarin was panting, his heart pounding in his throat. All Banette could do was laugh like crazy, though the laughter was nearly silent. The boy was shaking with fear, his eyes wide and his hair standing on edge. Never again.

Kilik entered the boundries of the town with his dad and noticed a few figures outside of the Pokemon Center. There was a boy he had never seen before standing next to a Pidgeot, and there was Keegan and Dante. Near Keegan was a familiar pink haired girl. Say, Kilik thought with a laugh, that's Sasha! But that little army girl that was with her last time isn't here...wonder where Kirsa went off to? He gave the group a slight wave before entering the Pokemon Center, which had literally become a second home to him. He put an arm up into the air and stretched a bit before heading towards the counter. Handing over Cable's Pokeball, he looked over at his dad. "Say, Pops?" he asked, leaning against the desk. "I'm gonna head off to the PokeMart, okay? I've got something I need to grab." His father nodded. To accompany him, Kilik let his Treecko back out of her Pokeball and allowed her to scamper onto his shoulder. That was odd. First she was in, now she's back out. Could Master ever make up his mind? "See ya soon," was all he said before heading outside.

I should say hi to them, he said, passing by the group again, but I don't want to get caught up in whatever it is they're doing. So I'll just see them on the boat. He averted his gaze and started to jog slightly, taking the stairs towards the Mart three steps at a time. When he was on the second level of Lilycove, he did a little stretching at the top of the stairs. He suddenly had a ton of energy. It could have been the rush of that battle, but whatever it came from, he sure liked it. Treecko went down her trainer's back and then came up on the boy's other shoulder. She recognized this part of town - this is where she was before she was called back into her ball earlier. But that purple haired lady was gone. She liked that girl a lot, and Master was always around her. Why was right now any different? Maybe they broke up! Oh, no! That would be terrible! But...no, that couldn't be it. She figured Master would be sad if that were the case. Unless he was totally heartless! But he wasn't. She knew that. Out of no where, a rush of cold air blasted her in the face and she shivered. "Treeeeecko..." she whined, opening an eye to see them in a big building of sorts.

"Excuse me?" Kilik asked the man at the front counter, "Which floor can I find the TMs?" Silently, the man held up four fingers and then pointed to the stairs. "Thank you." The boy said, running over to the stairs and again, taking them three at a time. Being as tall as he was certainly had its advantages. After taking all those flights of stairs, Kilik was now on the fourth floor, panting. He leaned against the hand rail to catch his breath, looking over at Treecko. Master was tired now? What a weird boy he was! First, he's excited. Then, not. What was with him? "I wonder where Mitsu got off to?" he put his hands on his hips and looked around with a raised eyebrow. "I figured I'd see her at least on this floor. But maybe not...huh. I'm sure I'll catch up to her shortly." He approached the counter and cleared his throat. "I'd like a TM31 please!" He said, pulling out his wallet.

"S'a Baaaa...rick Ba-rake, right?" the man said, pulling a disc out of the drawer behind the counter, "Total come to..."

Kilik eyed the old man with a raised brow. He looked like a friendly old man, and the boy smiled slightly. "That's 3000, isn't it?"

"You kids today are good with numbers, I tell ya..." he laughed slightly and stroked his long beard, "3000 t'is." He took Kilik's money in exchange for the disc and stuffed it into the register. "Have fun in...Sa-innu." he turned away and the conversation ended.

The boy stuffed the disc into his bag and went back downstairs slowly, his hand on the rail. That old man was weird. He even smelled funny! And he just took Master's money as if it were nothing. It looked like a lot, but maybe it wasn't. After all, what did she know about numbers? Master was the math man, it seemed. That old man said so! "Let's meet up with Dad now, shall we?" Kilik said, looking over at his gecko. She nodded and blushed slightly. She didn't know who Dad was, but if Master was going to meet him, he must be nice.

-*-

He looked down at the water and sighed heavily. They passed over Mossdeep City - they were getting extremely close. If he were to even make fun of this metal beast, he would be able to swim all the way to Lilycove! Or, he'd just Surf on Sharpedo. He wasn't sure yet. He was pretty sure he could swim it, but why run the risk? "Grrr..." he put his hands on his head and messed his hair up, "GO FASTER!" he slammed his heels into the sides of the Skarmory and really just ended up hurting his feet than getting the Pokemon to move any faster. But if it was faster he wanted, the Skarmory would be glad to oblige. The bird tucked its feet in and stretched its neck, then shot up like a bullet into the sky. "GRAAAAAHA!" the boy screamed, clutching the bird tightly. Skarmory turned and like a rocket, set off in the direction towards Lilycove. To mess with Mazarin again, the Pokemon dive-bombed at its current location and spun upside down one last time. Mazarin opened an eye and looked down. "TH-THE BOAT!" he cried out laughing. "Screw you, bird!" he let go and flipped the bird...well, the bird and started to plummet towards the deck of the ship. Little did he realize that the boat was a lot farther down than he thought it was when he let go.

"Shhhhhiiiiii---!" he tossed a ball up into the air and let loose his Murkrow. "Catch me and slow my fall, you idiot!" The little black bird clutched on as tightly as it could to his trainer's scarf, but was tugged down for a moment. While choking Mazarin, Murkrow was able to drop the boy safely on the deck of the ship. The boy put his hand up to his neck and started coughing madly and gasping for air, his face blue. He recalled both the Banette (that appeared out of nowhere again) and Murkrow, attaching the spheres to his belt. He slowly stood up and brushed himself off, then turned his head to see a girl with purple hair standing a few feet away from him. Alright Maz, time to put on the charm. Make her feel bad for you, cause it works eeeevery time! He fell to his knees, now just milking it for what it was worth, coughing madly again.

"Of course, my darling," Keegan replied quickly, grinning over at Dante. "I'll protect you from whatever dangers are lurking on these terrifying Lilycove streets." It was good to see that they could still joke like they did before, and the redhead couldn't help but smile at those memories. It was too bad Dante was taking off to Sinnoh too; he was sure they could have had quite a few misadventures like when they'd had when they traveled together in the past. He stretched a bit, sighing as his shoulders popped noisily but in a good way, and picked up his own backpack. He'd been about to ask which way the pier was when he heard a strange trilling sound coming from somewhere overhead. "What is that?" he mumbled, curiosity now piqued, and he turned his gaze skyward, shielding his eyes from the sun as he tried to pick up on what it was. He could see now that it was a dot in the sky, but it was growing ever larger as it started to descend, and soon he came to the realization that it was a person - no, two persons - riding a Pidgeot.

The bird had barely touched down and one of its passengers, definitely female, given away by her shapely form, had already jumped off, and was now running towards them, her long pink hair fanning out behind her as she ran, now decidedly, towards him in particular. "What the hell...?" It took a moment or two for Keegan to recognize her, as admittedly his gaze had not gone immediately to her facial features. "Sasha...?" he asked quietly, more confused than anything else as strangely enough, she seemed to be quite happy to see him. The next thing he knew, she'd bowled him over and for a good five seconds or so the only thing he could think of was the fact that her curvaceous body was pressed up against his. Snapping out of the short yet incredibly enamoured daze she'd induced upon him he pushed himself up slowly, struggling to try and understand her words as she spoke. He honestly couldn't remember her having such a thick (or fake sounding, for that matter) accent, and as he looked towards the now rather sour-looking owner of the Pidgeot, all at once he understood. The devilish little minx!

His already good mood now heightened by the fact that he had a well-endowed and gorgeous beauty straddling him, he smiled, deciding then and there that he would play along, and he was sure he could lay it on just as thick as she could. He wrapped an arm around her while using his free hand to push some of the bright pink hair from her face, having pretty much forgotten completely that Dante was still there. "My darling Sasha!" he said, being sure to completely ignore the death glares he was receiving from the Pidgeot owner, "I've counted the seconds until I would see you again! And now you are here with me again! Oh, joy!" His voice was so full of mock enthusiasm and happiness that he nearly believed it himself, but his next actions would be the icing on the cake. Without a moment's hesitation he pulled her closer to him and while covertly copping a feel he kissed her, directly on her full lips, hardly able to contain his smile even though he was certain he'd pay for this later.

Kilik stepped outside and took a deep breath. He heard a faint screaming off in the distance that sounded somewhat familiar, but decided to ignore it. It was probably the wind or a screeching Wingull far away. Whatever it was, it surely didn't concern him. As he began his way down the steps into the lower section of the town, he cast a glance over to the Pokemon Center to see...Sasha and Keegan kissing? "Now wait a minute," he said to himself, crossing his arms over his chest. This was strange. What happened to Keegan and Kasiya? They made up last night, at the Gala, didn't they? And now Sasha was...? He heard something about 'skank' and the boy locked up. Sasha was anything but that! Though he had only met her in passing before, rescuing her from Team Aqua gave him a chance to really get to know her. She seemed nice enough, and the body she had was a plus. It'd be easy for her to manipulate a guy into doing what she wanted, he thought as he started to storm down the steps and head towards the Pokemon Center, and maybe she had to do it to this Pidgeot guy. But there's a line and I'm certain he just crossed it. Wait, why was Master suddenly so angry looking? She put a paw up to her face and shook her head. He sure seemed to have extreme mood swings all the time. But maybe something happened that really put him off! Was he going to beat up another boy? Scare them like he did to that Justin kid?

"If I may," Kilik said, sliding into the group of people, standing between Keegan and the boy with the Pidgeot. I know that Keegan can get a little hot-headed. I should be careful. He stood up straight and cleared his throat. He had to piece together a believable explanation based on what he felt the situation was, as well as what little he could hear on his way to the Mart and from the distance. In a way, he felt like he was saving Sasha from Team Aqua all over again. At least then he as able to solve it with his Pokemon. "You see, Sasha was absolutely dying to see Keegan here." He put his hand on the red head's shoulder and gave him a pat. "And I know how Sasha can get sometimes. I had to put up with it every day. You see," he walked over to the girl and put his arm around her, "She's my...little sister." Oh, now Master was just straight up lying! Or was he? Was this pink haired girl really his sister? But they looked nothing alike! Humans were so odd, but she just went along with it and closed her eyes, nodding.

"She looonged to see Keegan," he looked over at the boy with the Pidgeot, "So much so that she had to do what she did to get you to fly her here. Isn't that right, little sis?" He looked at Sasha with a slight smirk, nodding his head. This could work, if Keegan and Sasha went with it. Treecko nodded at Sasha as well, though she had no idea why. Master was doing it, so she figured she should too.

-*-

Mazarin stood up slowly, holding onto her hand, breathing heavily. He looked over at the girl and smiled. "Oh, thank you..." he panted, putting his hand on his head. Wait a sec, he thought as he looked at her. This girl seems awful familiar...She was around Kilik a lot at the Beach Party! "You see, I was...trying to catch that Skarmory," he lied, "It dragged me here all the way from the Johto Region! It surely put up a tough fight, and I almost had it!" he put his fist on his chest and stood triumphantly and looked over at the girl. "But it managed to throw me off right over this boat. Luckily my Murkrow was able to slow my fall and bring me..." he pulled Mitsu close to him and looked into her eyes, "to you. My soul mate. It was destined that we meet."

Banette slipped out of his Pokeball and hovered next to his trainer, putting a hand on his head, shaking it slightly. His master's perversions were getting rather old to him, but he had to roll with it. "I forgot to properly introduce myself," he kneeled, still holding her hand with both of his, "Mazarin is the name. I'm a trainer from Verdanturf. And I'm an...excellent lover." He moved his eyebrows up and down quickly. Yes, yes. She was falling under his spell! He could feel it!

"That's what friends are for," Kasiya smiled as she ushered Jason, Zeus and Cynthia onto the elevator, though just as she was about to step on she thought she saw a familiar figure, clad in yellow and black, zip up the stairs that were situated nearby. Wow, someone's in a hurry, Kasiya thought, shaking her head as she pressed the button to close the elevator doors before hitting the button that would take them down to the main floor. She felt another swell of anxiety flare up in her stomach once they'd arrived, and though she really was quite excited to see Sinnoh she couldn't help but be a bit scared too. Certain that Cynthia and Jason were still behind her she ran outside, looking to see which way the docks were and also wanting to enjoy the Lilycove scenery before she would leave it behind for who knows when. She then looked towards the Pokemon Center to see if Keegan and Dante were still there, which in retrospect was probably a rather huge mistake on her part. Her gaze fell upon the redhead just in to see him get tackled to the ground by a familiar girl with bright pink hair and a red bandanna - Sasha, and all she could do was squeak quietly in horror as she then watched to two share what could only be described as a passionate kiss. She was only vaguely aware of Kilik as he passed her by, presumably to go and see what was happening down there, and she even temporarily forgot about Jason and Cynthia as her shock and horror was quickly replaced by anguish, and outrage.

Anger flooded her veins and she thought about marching down there and giving Keegan an earful for the scene she'd just witnessed, but she decided against it and instead turned on a heel and marched in the other direction, which would take her to the pier. She could see the ship docked in the harbour, and what a magnificent ship it was. The sight of it helped to calm her down a bit and she then started to run, concentrating on her destination as she tried to think of something reasonable to explain what she'd just witnessed between Keegan and Sasha. She closed her eyes, surprised that she wasn't crying (yet, at least), and pictured the scene in her head. Aside from those two, there had also been someone else, some guy with a Pidgeot? He had something to do with it, she was sure. However, the more she dwelt on it the more upset and angry she became, so she instead focused on the ship as she made her way to it. That's the last straw, Keegan you selfish, two-timing jerk! she thought angrily. I'm so out of here! She sat down on an overturned shipping crate, arms resting on her knees as she stared at the ground. The ship couldn't leave Hoenn fast enough.

=-=-=-=-=

"You'll have to do better than that measly little Swift!" Surge barked, grinding his fist into his palm. "Raichu, you know what to do!" he bellowed. "Take it out!" In truth, Surge was a little worried as to what Pokemon Riza would be sending out last. Quite often, trainers would wait and save their best for last, and he just hoped he wouldn't be dealing with a Ground-type.

Raichu grit his teeth and charged forward, seemingly not caring about the fact that he was being buffeted with many sharp and painful stars. He rushed through them as best he could, rearing back his paw once more and charging up a Thunderpunch, hoping to make up for that previously botched Mega Punch.

Now there was nothing Eraku enjoyed more than flying but this was pushing his love to its limits. The moment he and the Golbat left the ground he felt as though he had signed a death note by following this girl. Up and down and up and down the Goldbat went trying to keep itself airborne. Hurricane flew next to his trainer and gave a cautious look wondering if his friend was going to plummet from the sky. "Well I think this thing is flying if you call it that. Lets just hope it doesn't decide to kick the bucket midair." Eraku said to himself nervously. He had lost sight of the two on Pidgeot and knew that he still had a ways to go before he reached Lillycove. He looked longingly towards the horizon hoping for the town to come into view.