Ragnarok

I really gotta work on this procrastinating thing.
Anyways, it's up, and I hope you enjoy it.

As always, read, review, and rate. It gives me more reason to continue along the story.
Things are going to get juicy in a chapter or two, I promise you that much.

With that all said and done, enjoy the read!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


---------
1:12
---------

"So you guys will be alright with getting your own food tonight?"

Noah questionably looked at the two trainers in front of him. Jerry confirmed his response with a nod.

"I'm going to get something tonight, and I'll take care of food for Lyn."

"Thank you, Jerry," Lynus quickly added in as the three approached the Pokemon Center in Floaroma Town. Luna was following them from a good distance, trotting around to explore the numerous flower patches scattered about the tiny civilization. The sun had already hidden itself behind the trees that bordered town. A path heading directly eastward could be seen from the southern entrance, the road leading directly toward the Valley Windworks; the small region outside of Floaroma that the town relied on for its electricity.

"That's fine then. I'm going to get a room and crash for the night. I'll probably just order a pizza or something," he informed them, turning back to Luna, who was busy chewing and eating a blue colored flower. She had just finished chomping it up when she immediately spat the leafy material back up with a horrid sounding gag. She tried desperately to wash the horrid flavor off of her rough tongue with her paws. "Luna, come on! We're heading in for the night!"

Noah waved Jerry and Lyn good night before walking over to pick up Luna. He knelt down to her level, her body flat on the floor, her tongue licking the grass.

'...What the hell are you doing?'

'That thing tasted so bad. This doesn't help it taste any better,' she whined.

'You should've just said something about being hungry earlier.'

'But I couldn't wait! And that flower-thing looked so good.'

'Sorry. Flowers probably wouldn't be too good for a Pokemon like you, Luna. Your kind are more suited for meat and berries than grass and flowers.'

'I love meat,' she sent over as she picked herself up from the ground, sitting up on her four paws.

'I know.'

'Can we eat some tonight!?' Luna practically begged, her tail waving back and forth with a hopeful glistening in her eyes.

'Well...no,' Luna already began to pout and turned her back to him. Noah chuckled, 'but I thought it would be neat if I let you try some pizza for a change.'

'Pizza?'

'Yeah, you might like it. Koko could get in on it too.'

'Who?'

Noah clipped a ball off of his belt, waving it in front of Luna's face.

'Oh right! It's all coming back to me now.'

'Yeah. Besides, it'd be nice for you to actually talk to her some. It's never a bad idea to become acquainted with your allies.'

Luna thought about Jerry. Something about his presence just didn't seem to fit with her. 'Nope, sorry.'

'You could keep your thoughts more discrete.'

Luna was flushed, unaware that Noah had been prying in on her. A flare of anger lit up in her eyes. 'You dirty bastard.'

Noah gave her a shrug of his shoulders. 'Like it or not, she's gonna be around from here on out, until she finds her family, at least. The least you could do is get to know her. You never know, you might actually like her if you gave her a chance.'

'I guess,' Luna snorted as they passed through the screen doors of the Pokemon Center.

==========

Noah's bag rested against a wall near the closet of a room he rented out for the night. The contents of his bag were much lighter after a quick trip to the donation booth in the center. The room Noah's party occupied was spacious, a large bed and television set available to him, with a bathroom situated on the right end of the room facing the bed. A small dresser was near to the head of the bed frame, positioned right below a small window painted black by the night sky.

A bright flash of light came from one of his pokeballs clutched in his fingers. The light began to form a mass on the bed sheets, a petit, yellow creature beginning to occupy the space the light created. Luna's nose wrinkled, taking in the invader's scent as Koko's second jaw plopped down from midair onto her lap. She smiled at Noah while petting her jaw, the mass seemingly growling with content in her tiny claws' gentle touch.

"Good evening, Master Sol," Koko welcomed him with a cheerful grin, "what's going on tonight?"

"Good evening, Koko, and just call me Noah, it's easier that way." Noah looked around the room; a telephone was stationed on top of a small nightstand to the end opposite of the dresser. "As for what we're doing tonight: Since we've worked so hard for the last two days, I thought we could use a break. I'm going to get us some food."

Koko's maw growled as if on cue. "Okay, Noah. My belly agrees with the plan," she giggled.

Luna sighed, almost sickened by her overly sweetened mannerisms. Her eyes rolled over to Noah's direction.

'You sure she's on our team?'

'Positive. Now stop whining about it.'

'Uggghhh.'

Noah picked up the phone, dialing for room service...

==========

"This looks like a decent place," Jerry told Lynus, eyeing a local family restaurant. Lynus followed closely behind Jerry, following him past the stain glass doors he kept open for her.

"Kingler's Bar and Grill. Sounds like a good spot to get something good," Jerry spoke aloud as they approached the waitress on the podium in the front of the diner.

Seat arrangements were hastily made, the two trainers having a table to themselves in a matter of moments. They sat across from one another, barely managing to pull themselves into place before a new waiter approached the two, introducing himself and handing them menus.

"Um...excuse me, sir?"

"Yes young lady?"

"Are Pokemon able to eat here too?"

"Yes ma'am. Everyone's allowed here in the restaurant, even Pokemon."

"Great. Thanks a lot, sir."

"When you're all ready, I'll be back to take your drink orders."

As the man walked off, Lynus opened her brown cloak, reaching into the side at a shrunken ball nearest to her arm. She unbuckled it from the strap that kept it in the tiny pocket on the edge of her cloak, releasing her loyal mantis creature.

Jerry looked on in awe as Skai came bursting from the container, causing several heads around them to take a glance at the new face before quickly turning back to mind their own business.

Skai looked back at Lyn, unaware of the new environment. His eyes squinted, looking in all directions at any possible dangerous foes that could attack them. His weapons shined in the artificial light from the ceiling as he dropped them to his sides. He growled in contentment before looking back down at Lynus.

"It's safe here, Skai. Please sit down with me," she politely pointed at the chair next to her. He grunted once more before sitting at his spot to her side, his wings uncomfortably pinned to the back of the seat.

The waiter came back several moments later, giving Jerry, Lyn, and Skai enough time to make their orders.

The waiter shuffled back to the kitchen with their dinner orders scribbled on his small notepad, leaving the three to their own company until their meals would eventually arrive.

"So, this is Skai," Jerry commented, eyeing the creature. Skai's body displayed a plethora of light scars and bruises running up his body, a noticeably lighter shade of green placed on his shoulder from what looked like a snake bite. "Can't say I've ever seen a Scyther before."

"Yes. I don't think we properly introduced him to you. Sorry," Lyn apologized, bowing to Jerry.

He waved his hand to her, "Don't worry about that. Skai was the name, right?"

"Yes. This is Skai. He's my first Pokemon."

"A pleasure to meet you, Skai," Jerry greeted him. Skai grunted back.

Jerry's attention went back to Lyn, "So Lynus, how long have you had Skai?"

"Call me Lyn."

"Done."

"I've had Skai since I can remember. My parents brought him home one day from the Safari Zone when I was a baby, and ever since then, he's been a part of the family."

"Fuchsia City must've been a nice place to live."

Lynus seemed to stare off into the distance for a brief moment, letting the memories of her past wash over. "It was."

"I noticed that Skai has quite a bit of markings on him, like that one on his shoulder."

"Skai's taken part in many battles in the past. It's only natural that he'd become a strong fighter."

Skai's face stayed focus, staring back at Jerry, his eyes shifting back to Lyn every few seconds.

"We've had some pretty nasty fights back on Route 202. We ran into an Arbok that did most of that damage."

"Really," Jerry turned back to Skai, observing the battle scars once more time, "some of those cuts look more...'aged'. Any reason why?"

"He's been in many fights with that Arbok. We were trapped in the forest, remember?"

Jerry nodded in reply, "Yes, I remember clearly." Jerry looked back at the young woman in front of him, still curious of her. "You came from Fuchsia. You were caged inside Route 202. If you don't mind me asking...how did you end up there to begin with?"

Lyn, no longer shy of telling her story to others after so long, let Jerry in on everything that had happened prior to her tribulations on Route 202. By the time she had finished, their drinks were on their second refill, and their meals had just arrived.

Jerry didn't touch his food just yet, watching as Lyn reached over to her fork and knives. He sat motionless on the other end of the table, waiting for her to continue.

"But thanks to Noah, we were able to escape the Arbok, and head to Jubilife. I decided to go with him, and here we are."

"...You had only told me that he got you out of the woods against a wild Arbok. I had no idea that you'd been trapped for years."

Lyn looked up from her plate and at Jerry. Skai was cautiously eating his meal while taking quick glances back at the two trainers.

"But I'm fine now, and that's what matters, right?"

"I suppose you're right Lyn. I'm just grateful that you were able to escape. Thank Arceus Noah was there."

==========

The television draped the room with a faint, warming glow. Noah, Luna, and Koko were watching the Pokemon Battle Network, watching replays from several Pokemon League battles that had occurred earlier in the day. The video feed displayed a rather rough, purple monster grappling against a gray, rocky creature, each one equal in power and body mass, trying desperately to topple the other through sheer force. The two forces both seemed equally as exhausted from what was a long, harsh fight.

"Rhydon, Hammer Arm!" the box blared out at the group's ears, Luna and Koko watching in awe as the incredibly strong monsters shifted on the ground.

Rhydon quickly retreated, breaking contact with the Nidoking and bringing his muscular, rocky arm high into the air. It slammed down onto Nidoking's head, forcing the opponent to bend to the momentum. Nidoking roared back, his horn glowing with a deep purple aura.

"And Nidoking fights back with a powerful Poison Sting!" the announcer blared, the crowd going wild over the struggle for dominance between the two creatures.

Noah observed the battle, pointing out to Luna and Koko his opinions on what should've been done instead, or praising the chosen attacks.

"Poison Sting? What? That was an opening that was begging for a Horn Drill," Noah commented.

"Is that what you would've done, mas- I mean, Noah?" Koko asked him.

"Most likely, yeah. Maybe his Nidoking isn't that strong yet, or he never really focused on that type of technique. But still-"

"Noah, big mouth, ssh! I'm trying to watch!" Luna ordered, her tail wagging back and forth with excitement as she observed the match. She was the closest one to the television, perching herself only three feet away from the monitor, while Koko and Noah sat at the edge of the bed.

The Poison Sting pierced the Rhydon's hide, a foul smelling substance spraying inside of the small wound and around the Rhydon's tough exterior. He cried out in pain as the poison started to slowly sap away his strength. A ball of light quickly engulfed his body, his trainer recalling his Pokemon immediately.

The battle went on commercial directly afterward, leaving the three spectators waiting for more.

"Now you can open your mouth," Luna snapped at Noah.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"Yeah, we're not doing anything bad...are we?" Koko looked at Noah.

"No, we're not, Luna's just being complicated."

"No I'm not. I'm just trying to enjoy myself," Luna looked back at the TV. She groomed herself lazily as the commercials whizzed by on screen. She paused, "It's hard to watch the fight with people talking behind me."

"Well I'm sorry that I like to talk about them."

"Good. At least you learn from your mistakes."

Koko looked at Luna, then back at Noah, "Master, is she always like that?"

"Noah," he corrected her.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm still getting used to it."

Luna huffed.

"No, she isn't. But she gets irritated easily. Just stay on her good side."

"You know I can hear you both, right?"

"That's fine with me, besides, it's not like I really have a choice."

"Noah, there's something else I wanted to ask you: How do you understand me? I thought humans could only understand very little of our Pokemon language. How come you can communicate with me like my clan could? And why can Luna talk in human language?"

"Oh, that? It's because of this," Noah showed the pendant to Koko, letting her feel it in her tiny claws.

"I remember this from that big place after the cave broke. This lets you hear what I'm saying?"

"Yeah. It also lets her talk in my language."

"That's weird."

"Yeah."

"Alright, that's it," Luna said. Noah waited for her to move, prepared for her to jump at him and teach him a 'lesson' like so many times before, but nothing came. Confused, he looked to Mawile, then back at Luna.

"Did you see her do anything?" he asked Koko.

"[No, why?]" she replied, the words in a language Noah failed to comprehend.

Noah froze. "Did you say something, Koko?"

"[Huh? You didn't hear me?]"

Noah quickly looked over to Luna, who had gone silent and was still busy grooming herself.

'Luna, what'd you do?'

Luna kept grooming, ignoring Noah's question while obnoxiously humming a bland tune.

"[Master, is something wrong?]"

"I don't know what you're saying, Koko. Hold on."

Luna, her fur cleaned, turned around slowly, a wicked smile on her face. "Yes Noah, what's up?"

"What the heck did you do?"

Luna shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

'Two can play this little game, Luna,' he narrowed his eyes.

Luna cocked an eyebrow, Noah staring deeply back at her.

"I'll ask you again, what did you do?"

"[I already told you that I did no-]" Luna's paws quickly covered her mouth in surprise. '[What's going on!? Noah, what the hell's your problem?!']"

Noah chuckled at Luna, her face in disbelief, fearing that her voice had permanently changed. She looked back at Noah, a playful grin appearing on her face. Koko sat next to Noah, clueless about what had just happened between the two of them.

'You clever bastard. You figured it out.'

'It wasn't that hard. Besides, I thought you'd enjoy a taste of your own medicine.'

"[Change it back.]"

"Sorry, I can't understand you."

"[Change. It. Back!]"

"I don't speak Zangoose."

"[God damn it, Noah!]"

Luna quickly jumped from her spot and onto the bed, pouncing towards Noah, who had risen to his knees in the same time frame. Luna playfully tackled Noah, the two laughing as they struggled to pin each other down. Koko started to laugh along with them as the two rolled on the bed, edging closer to the end of the mattress.

"[Watch out!]" Koko warned in vain.

The two fell off of the bed, Noah landing on his back with Luna following right on top of him. The two of them kept laughing hysterically as Noah tried wrestling the large ferret off of his body.

Koko crawled over to the corner of the bed, getting excited at watching the two of them.

"[Don't worry master! I'll protect you!]" Koko dramatically announced to Noah, jumping and latching herself to Luna's back. Luna's two-front battle started to overwhelm her, allowing Noah to successfully roll them to their sides with Koko's assistance. The little yellow monster helped Noah by pulling and wrestling against Luna's body, wrapping her claws around the mongoose and trying to lift her off of him.

The three playfully fought amongst themselves until they were fully exhausted, each one resting flat on their backs, Koko's second mouth panting right to her side. The battle network had since continued, but none of the trio seemed very interested in it anymore after the small skirmish, each one chuckling under their breath.

"Okay, on three, Luna, we fix the communication problem, okay?"

Luna only replied with a flick of her ear, too tired to respond by voice. Her tail's fur scattered in all directions, some of her dander wafting in the air. Her grooming still needed work.

"One, two, three."

Nothing seemed to have happened on the outside of their bond. Noah looked to Luna and Koko.

"Koko, you and Luna both say something," Noah ordered through each breath.

"Can you...hear me?" Koko asked over the loud and steady breathing of her jaw.

"Loud and clear. And you, Luna?"

"I hate you, Noah," she smiled.

"Good, we're all back on the same page."

==========

"...I just travel the region on business trips, mostly. I don't really get much time to actually train my Pokemon," Jerry continued, the plates of the two trainers and the mantis Pokemon empty. Next to Lynus, was a small container with food for Soki and Rei. The drinks perspired on the table, rings of moisture forming on the tabletop.

"Really? How many gyms are there in this region? Eight?"

"Yes ma'am. Eight in every region now. I only have three badges right now."

"You're aiming for the Pokemon League?"

"Yes. I want to become a Champion, and eventually get enlisted into High Noon. It's been a dream of mine since I was a youngster. I just haven't had much time to do much about it up until now."

"Until now?"

"I had a chat with my folks. Asked for a length of time off. A vacation, if you will. I'm using the time to travel strictly for Pokemon training. When I saw Noah back on Route 201, we agreed to go traveling together again."

"I see. That's why you knew about him when I saw you in Oreburgh."

"I'm glad you did. I wouldn't have thought he'd be in Oreburgh so soon."

"How come?"

"The Great Migration, remember? It's making the paths much more difficult to pass through. By himself, it would've taken him a longer amount of time, but since he has you and Skai, you guys managed to get to Oreburgh with almost no trouble."

"Yes, I remember."

The two sat in another moment of silence as Jerry and Lyn both took a sip of their drinks, Skai sitting still next to Lyn, his patience near infinite. As they finished off what had to have been their third round, the lights in the restaurant flickered, the darkness of the night cloaking the customers before the lights quickly flashed back on. The waiters and servers paused in place, looking at the lights in the restaurant in case they should shut off again. Outside, in the streets, the lights to the strip of stores, cafes, and the smaller shops also showed signs of weakening.

"What was that?"

"It's the energy source to the town. It rarely happens, but it's not a big deal," Jerry informed Lynus. "See, if you walk toward the east of Floaroma, you'll see a series of wind turbines far in the distance. Those turbines supply this town, and several nearby towns, with a source of electricity. However, this town relies almost solely on the Valley Windworks, so whenever the turbines aren't working as well as they could be, the energy weakens."

"Oh, so this town must have very little energy on less windy days."

"True, but those days don't happen too often. I guess the reliance of the Windworks is the reason this town's been developing so slowly over the years. It used to be nothing but small flower shops and several houses."

"You think tomorrow...we can go with Noah to the flower shops?"

"I don't see why not."

"I was just wondering what kind of herbal material they might have."

"What?"

"I'm a practitioner of herbal medicines." Lynus showed Jerry the inside of her brown cloak, small pockets filled with grinded roots and leaves sealed within small bottles.

"That's great, Lyn. I've never met someone who uses herbs. Everyone in Sinnoh pretty much just goes to the Pokemon Center or hospital for those kinds of things now."

"I noticed."

The lights above them flickered again, turning off for several seconds longer this time around. Jerry stood up, cleaning himself with his napkin and dusting off his brown coat.

"Well then, that was great. Ready to go, Lyn?"

"Sure."

Jerry reached out towards Lynus to help her out of her chair. His hand retreated at the sound of Skai growling in his throat.

"Skai, don't worry. Jerry's a good person. He won't hurt me."

Her bodyguard grunted in disapproval as Lyn wrapped her hand inside Jerry's, pulled gently out of her seat.

"I'll cover the check."

==========

"Stupid, stupid box! Work damn it, work!" Luna fumed. The television had just turned off abruptly before the end of the previous battle. Koko was sitting on her jaw, her feet lifted and swinging in the air, while Noah fiddled with the remote control, using the emergency light hidden in the corner of the room to navigate the remote control's terrain.

"It's not responding, Luna. The electricity to the rooms must be out. I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's not a big deal."

Luna's head whipped around, her paws grabbing Noah by the shoulders. "Not a big deal!? Are you insane!? I NEED to see what happens next!!!"

"It's not gonna turn on by hitting it."

"Shows what you know," she went back to the box, clicking the buttons on the set while smacking it over the top with her paws in frustration, her face quickly shifting from furious to depressed.

She hugged the monitor in desperation, slowly sliding to the floor with her face flat against the surface. "I just wanna see what happened."

"She's much more fun to watch than the box," Koko whispered to her trainer.

"Yeah. She's full of energy."

"I can be full of energy too, you know."

"I've seen."

Koko smiled at Noah, who had just lifted himself from the bed.

"Luna?"

The aggravated cat ferret mumbled through the floor, "What? What could you possibly want now?"

"Come here."

Luna dragged herself to her feet, her arms lazily swaying back and forth as she slowly walked over to Noah.

"What do you want?"

"I'm going to take a quick shower, and the pizza guy is going to show up soon. Think you'd be able to handle answering the door?"

"I...uh, yeah? What do I have to do?"

Noah straightened up. "It's easy, really. All the guy's gonna do is give you two boxes. All you have to do is take them when he hands them to you, and close the door. Easy, right?"

Luna nodded. "I don't see what's so hard about that."

"And no speaking, got it? Not a word."

"Yeah, you've already told me this."

"Just to make sure, what do you do?"

Luna sighed, though on second thought, she knew there was nothing else to do at the moment with the TV busted. "He gives me the boxes, I take them, and close the door without talking. I got it, now go groom yourself. I can smell your stench from across the room."

Noah disappeared into the shower, leaving Luna and Koko to themselves.

Luna sat patiently in the semi-darkness, the showerhead springing to life almost immediately. Without a source of entertainment, she had absolutely nothing to do but groom her tail with the comb Noah had gotten her.

'Noah.'

'...I'm kinda busy.'

'My brush?'

'On the dresser. Why don't you talk with Koko? She's probably just as bored as you.'

'Why?'

No response. Noah had snapped their communication link shut.

"Damn," Luna grimaced, trotting to the dresser. The comb had indeed, been placed on top, Luna wasting no time in grabbing it and untangling the mess her beautiful tail had become during the wrestling match. She sighed as she gently combed through the fur, bits of extra hair flinging off and onto the carpet as she did so. Koko had been exceptionally quiet on the bed up until that point, though Luna hadn't really noticed.

"Luna, what are you doing?" she finally heard the deceptive Pokemon. She looked up to see that Koko had been watching her over the corner of the bed.

"I'm grooming."

"What's that?"

"It's a fur thing. You don't have to worry about it."

"I'm just wondering."

"Well don't."

"Does it hurt?"

Luna growled. "No, now leave me alone. These tangles are hard to focus on with you blabbering in my ears."

Koko frowned and went back toward the center of the bed.

"You wanna play something?"

"I'm busy, Koko."

"Fine, I guess I'll play by myself."

"Do that."

At that moment, Luna's comb snagged tightly around her tail. She nearly yipped in pain when she felt several strands of her hair being plucked from her tail's delicate flesh. Her paws dropped the comb, letting it hang off of her tail as she lifted her appendage into the air.

"Oh, damn it!"

Luna started to tug, small jolts of pain rushing through her back as her fur tore from her flesh.

"Ow...ow...ow," she whimpered as the comb slowly weakened it's clutch on her poor extension.

She heard giggling coming from the bed. Koko must've been laughing at her.

She growled, looking back at the comb. "This is gonna hurt," she cried, gripping the comb. She held her breath, and pulled the comb down as hard as she could, waiting for the sensation to come crashing through her nerves.

She almost cried out into the silence of the room as the sound of her brush ravaging her fur was heard. The knot of fur that was snagged by the brush came clean off, hanging by the end of the tiny follicles on the end. Her tail looked exquisite, aside from a mangled road of her hair that had been brushed the wrong way from her pull. She quickly groomed it with her tongue, a tear building up in her eyes.

She heard Koko laugh again. Irritated, Luna jumped on the bed.

"Okay you brat, what the hell are you laughing at!?"

"How rude. You should say nicer things, Luna."

Luna's claws were itching. "Laughing at my pain? I'll sho-"

"Don't be silly. I wouldn't do something so cold."

Her claws retracted right away. "...oh. But what were you laughing at then?"

"I'm playing."

"By yourself?"

"Yeah. So?"

Luna shrugged, sitting several feet from Koko.

Koko was seated neatly in the middle of the bed, her jaws shut tightly in the center. She clapped her hands high in the air, and brought them down onto her appendage, softly caressing it.

"It's a fun little game I used to play with my friends back in Granite Valley. You rub your mouth, then you sing like this:

How many teeth here do I see? Just how many must there be?"

Koko moved one hand away, knocking on her mouth's opening with the other.

"Knock, knock, mouth, now open wide! Let's count all the teeth inside!"

Her jaw flung open, somehow pleasing Koko and making her laugh. She moved her gray tongue aside, counting the fangs hidden by the slimy muscle.

Luna rolled her eyes, "...that's it?"

"What?"

"That's the game? Counting your teeth?"

"Well, there are other games the children in my tribe made up."

"Is there anything interesting?"

Koko's eyes sharpened at the backhanded insult. "There is one game that we picked up from the humans."

==========

Jerry and Lyn walked the blackened streets of Floaroma back toward the Pokemon Center. Emergency lights lit up pockets of the sidewalk to guide people back to their houses in the darkness. Skai walked cautiously behind Lyn and Jerry, the group making it back to the Pokemon Center in no time.

"Thanks for the dinner again, Jerry," Lyn graciously told him as she opened her hotel door. She crossed over the threshold and waved him good night as she disappeared into the interior of the room. Skai followed quickly behind her, grunting back at Jerry before shutting the door on him.

"He...I don't think he likes me all that much," Jerry commented with a frown, looking back at the events that took place that evening. A brief moment of silence engulfed the deserted hallway. The curly haired young man blankly stared at the door, curiosity entertaining his mind. "Lyn. What a nice young lady."

==========

Luna had trouble keeping her composure, trying to talk to Koko during their quick bouts of laughter.

"Please! Please Koko- haha! Best two out of three!"

"Okay okay!" Koko excitedly replied. "Ready? Go!"

The two of them immediately quit laughing, staring deeply at each other, each with an incredible sense of focus. Luna's face twitched as she strained to keep her composure against Koko, neither of them willing to lose to the other.

Mawile's jaw slowly floated into Luna's view, above Koko's head. It slowly stuck its tongue out, mocking Luna as she neared impending defeat.

Luna growled back, trying to break Koko's focus before hers shattered.

Koko's breathing cracked for a second, and just like that, the tension exploded, the two of them back on their sides, madly howling with amusement, tears of joy leaking from each other’s eyes.

It took Luna several seconds to realize that she had heard a knock from the door. She stopped laughing immediately, Koko following suit. Koko's jaw rose up in anticipation, Luna's ears following, both trying to hear for another knock.

A strange, new smell lingered on in from the crack underneath the door, their mouths watering from the sensation. Luna growled with content as she sniffed the air, plopping onto her four limbs and creeping up to the room's entrance.

She opened the door to a tall, young man, dressed in a brown uniform. In his arms was the source of the delicious smell, two boxes of pizza with a weird phrase on the surface that was impossible to understand for the furry mammal.

The man hesitated for a moment upon seeing a Zangoose answer the door, but waved it off, as it was a constant experience for the trainers to have their Pokemon deal with deliveries if they were busy.

"Here you go, your master ordered this. It will be charged directly to his account," he told Luna, presenting the pizza boxes to her.

She sniffed the boxes one more time, purring deeply at the heavenly scent. She looked back up at the man and smiled.

"Thanks! I'll let him know!"

The man's eyes widened as the words escaped from her throat. Before he could reply, Zangoose opened her mouth and snatched the pizza boxes from his hands. She quickly scurried back into the room, closing the door with her hind leg.

"Koko! Food! Food's here!" the delivery man heard through the wall. He blinked furiously before rubbing his face down with his hands.

"I really, really need a break. I'm starting to hear things."

The door to the bathroom opened right as Luna placed the boxes on the dresser, Noah fully dressed for sleep, comprising only of a sleeveless t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

"Good timing," he said, oblivious to what Luna had just done.

==========

Noah's eyes quickly snapped open, the morning sun shine peaking in through the slits between the window curtains. With a long winded yawn, his lifted himself so that his back was resting on the head of the bed, careful not to wake his companions.

Luna was curled up on his right, her body draped over his own. Her arms were wrapped around his right arm, while her tail covered his leg in a fluffy white coat. Her mouth hung open in the early morning, her heated breath coming and going in a pattern that matched her body's expanding and deflating chest. Drool stained his sleeping clothes and bed. Luna and Koko smelled fresh and looked absolutely clean; Noah helped them shower after a rather messy experience with the cheese on the pizza slices, evident by several stains filling up the wall nearest to the bathroom door.

Koko, stubborn about going into her ball after dinner, was allowed- to Luna's disdain- to sleep outside with the two of them. She was nestled inside a small space available in between his left arm and his body. She cooed quietly, her giant secondary jaw placed comfortably over Noah's shoulder.

It was a peaceful, warm way to wake up for a change.

"No nightmares. No nothing," Noah sighed, content with enjoying the moment. He looked over to Luna, and as gently as he could, raised his hand and placed it on her head. He stroked her fur that ran down to her shoulders, Luna's rumbling, unfettered purrs showed her appreciation for the contact.

Noah's head turned to the dresser nearest to his bed, within his arm's grasp. His PokeTech rested on the polished surface, waiting patiently through the night for its owner. He quickly snatched it, bringing it up to his face. Every half a minute or so, the device emitted a quick, rapid flash of cyan colored light. Noah quickly opened up the application:

"Call me as soon as you can." - Jerry

.....

"Hello," a familiar voice spoke through the other line in the gizmo.

"Jerry, you left me a message?"

"Oh, Noah! You're finally awake?"

Noah rubbed the back of his neck, "Nah, I just woke up right now. You?"

"It's already 11:43, Noah. You're getting lazy," he mocked.

"Yeah, guess I am still a little rusty. How did last night go?"

"It went great. Lyn and I just got something quick for dinner and came right back."

"Is she with you?"

"Yeah, we went into town. She wanted to see if there were any shops that sold herbal medicines before we continued on to Eterna Forest."

"Alright. When'll you guys be back?"

"Well, so far we've found nothing. Shouldn't take us more than an hour or two, I'd imagine."

"Alright. I'll be training Luna and Koko until then."

"Sounds good. Where at?"

"We'll still be in town. Probably in the Floaroma Meadow."

"Sounds good. We'll see you then. Now get out of bed."

.....

Noah placed the PokeTech back on the dresser. He needed to get up soon, and deal with Luna quickly, before they left town. He took a deep breath, hoping that Luna wouldn't be in a bad mood when woken up prematurely.

"Hey guys, wake up, it's time to go."

==========

With such a small town out in the middle of Sinnoh, it wasn't surprising to see very few people walking along the routes. Not many settled down in this scented city. Trainers walked on by, while others ignored the place altogether. Only those living South of this city had to endure the travel through the route.

Noah walked with Luna and Koko towards the meadows located to the north of the town. He had informed them of the situation with Jerry, and they were eager for some sort of training. Noah looked to his right arm, which was bandaged and wrapped after a minor incident in the morning at the Pokemon Center.

"I already told you that I was sorry," Luna apologized yet again, watching Noah look with grimace at his wound.

"You just need to calm down a bit, Luna. Not everything's out to get you," he replied.

"You shook me awake."

"That's because you wouldn't wake up," Koko defended her master. "You just kept hitting his hand away and growling whenever he tried tapping you on the shoulder."

"Why are you talking? This is between me and him," Luna hissed.

"He's my master too!"

"I'm not his damn slave," she fiercely glared at Koko. The young Pokemon didn't flinch.

"Guys, calm down. Save it for the training," Noah interrupted, trying to put the two at ease. Luna snorted and looked away from Koko, growling to intimidate her. She looked out of the corner of her eye, catching a glimpse of Koko's large jaw sticking its tongue out at her mockingly.

"You wanna get your ass kicked?" Luna threatened. "I'd be glad to do it."

"Such a vulgar savage," Mawile snapped back, "Maybe I should teach you some manners."

"Enough. Now," Noah ordered, Koko obeying him immediately. Luna gave Noah a familiar grunt before looking back at the path. "We're almost to the meadow now anyways. You two can battle all you want once we get there. Like it or not, you're going to have to learn how to deal with each other. We're all partners in this together, understand?"

His two Pokemon gave him a quick nod each.

"We have a tough and challenging road up ahead," he informed them, "plenty of strong trainers will challenge us, and we'll have to face six powerful gym leaders to test our strengths and iron out our weaknesses. On top of that, we'll have to confront problems with the new wild Pokemon in all of Sinnoh. If what Luna and I have faced so far was a sample of what's to come, we're going to have to get much stronger than we are now to survive."

Luna and Koko went silent.

"I don't know what these plates do at the moment, but each plate we've received so far as been a life threatening challenge. I don't expect the rest of them to be easy, either."

"Yeah, we get it," Luna told him with a sigh.

"The stronger we are, the safer we will be on our travels," Koko said aloud.

"Right. And it all starts with this. These training sessions are crucial."

Noah pointed ahead, Luna and Koko followed his finger to the source. Directly ahead of the trio, a large, open field. The grass was short but thick and luscious, and small trunks of old trees and stumps were scattered about the field. Flowers was scattered about the field, different colors of flowers decorating it in a beautiful display of flora. The fi eld stretched incredible wide, with large trees that seemed more than fifty feet tall bordering the outside of the meadow, enclosing the large space. The greenery stretched on for what seemed like a lifetime, the path of the meadow blocked by another path of trees directly to the north.

A blast of air rushed in from behind them, Noah's red vest shifting on his shoulders.

"Welcome to Floaroma Meadow. Let's begin our training."

==========

Noah looked back at the notes he had been making while watching Koko and Luna spar with each other. The scribbles he had written in his notebook more or less matches with the descriptions and commentary that had riddled the pages during their training period with Jerry and Lyn. Their attacks seemingly improved in strength, but they didn't seem to be improving on their inherent flaws.

"Koko's still slow, and she has problems dealing with all of this open space," Noah mumbled to himself, pondering on solutions while watching Koko deal a strong blow to Luna's arm as it clashed with her larger appendage. Luna recoiled and darted around Koko, the smaller Pokemon unable to keep up with the white blur that surrounded her. Mawile gasped as two large, red paws grabbed her by the muscle that connected her head to her jaw. With ease, she was lifted into the air and quickly brought down onto the ground with a hard slam. "I need to help her find a way to trap her opponents...but how?"

Luna jumped back from her enemy, panting heavily but still raring for more action. She licked her muzzle and she re-extended her claws. Koko rose from the dirt, shaking off some grass that clung to her body from the impact.

"Luna's strength spikes, but she loses her energy too fast. She needs more endurance so she can last longer and stay sharp in battle."

Koko grinned, no significant damage dealt to her by Luna's attack. "Was that your best shot? It almost tickled a little."

"Tch! You little brat," Luna snarled at her, extending her claws and rushing Koko head to head. Koko focused her attention directly at Luna, trying to find an open point in which to attack her as the cat ferret quickly closed the distance in on her.

Koko finally found the opening she was looking for. Luna's claw swung straight down upon Koko, slicing through the space that the Mawile's body occupied just a moment ago. Luna's eyes widened, quickly remembering the experience that occurred back in Oreburgh. She jumped back, waiting for Koko's inevitable reappearance. Anxiously, she turned around at the sound of a shift in the grass. Her claws extended once more, swinging madly around until she realized that nothing was there. The fur on her tail bristled as the air grew tense.

"Here!"

Koko's body quickly bounded from the inside of the shadow Luna's body made in the ground, casted by the afternoon sun. Luna didn't get the chance to turn around as Koko's jaw furiously smashed into her back, sending her barreling further into the field. Noah winced when he saw Luna bounce from the impact of Koko's blow.

'Damn it Noah, I can't hurt this little brat!'

'I know Luna, I know. Just be patient! You can't let her frustrate you! That's how she's hitting you!'

Luna lifted herself, standing on all fours. 'Is there any way I can deal any damage to her?'

'You need more strength. Try giving the Swords Dance a try.'

Luna nodded, lifting herself to her hind legs. She took a deep breath, and then concentrated on her target. A small burst of wind circled around her, giving Koko all the information she needed.

"No!" Koko made a desperate attempt at stopping Luna's strength from rising. She stumbled over herself trying to reach Luna in time to prevent the full effect of the Swords Dance.

"There, that's almost a perfect way to see the problem," Noah told himself, "Koko's too slow, and Luna's strength enhancers take too long to reasonably set up during a fight."

Luna had to break her focus to avoid a dangerous bite attack by Koko's massive jaw. The Swords Dance was cut off early, only granting her a small boost in her overall strength. Frustrated, Luna quickly countered Koko's attack. Swiftly, Luna's arm shot towards Koko, sweeping her off of her feet by slamming into her shoulders, sending her into the ground with a wicked clothesline.

Noah's eyes widened, an epiphany dawning upon his mind.

"...I got it," he grinned, "I think I might have a solution to this."

He turned to the two Pokemon, who were now grappling with each other while trying to intimidate the opponent with their remarks.

"You rabid mongrel, why don't you just stay down!?"

"You think you can order me around you damn little gremlin? I'll kick your ass right off the face of this meadow."

They lessened their strength when they heard the sound of Noah's footsteps approaching them. Koko quickly let go and faced her master, Luna crossing her arms and staring him in the eye after huffing in Koko's general direction.

"That's enough you two. You both did great. I think I might have found a way to hide the weaknesses in your fighting styles."

Luna and Koko smiled.

"Really?" Koko squealed with excitement.

"Yeah, but it won't be easy. You'll have to undergo a certain method of training that I've never tried before." Noah quickly stood back up and paced back and forth.

"I've never heard of anyone else trying something like this, and I never got the chance to do it myself. Still, if we can pull this off together, you two will be much more powerful."

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes Noah, you know that already," Luna told him.

"I know. This isn't going to be easy though. It's going to require you two to be fully disciplined, and listen to everything I say, or else this won't be able to work."

Koko nodded gleefully. Luna looked at Noah with an irritated gaze.

"I'm not a slave, Noah."

"Luna, don't do this again."

"You're not going to listen to him? Don't you want to be strong?"

"Of course I do! I just refuse to listen to him...like that. I'm not a god damn machine."

Noah saw this coming. It was time to deal with the problem.

"Koko. Let me ask you something."

"Sure master, anything."

Noah hated when she called him master, but he'd deal with that later, "Would you follow any order I gave you?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Even orders you think could be...odd?"

"Master's orders are absolute. I was taught to respect the wishes of my elders from my mother and father. Why should my master be any different?"

"So you'd still do it?"

"Yes."

"Alright," he finished, reaching over and giving Koko a pet on the head. "I'm going to ask you to help me."

Luna looked at Noah with curiosity. Just what was he planning?

"Anything!"

"No matter what might happen in the next few minutes, I don't want you to interfere, you understand?'

Koko tilted her head, confused. "Huh?"

"I'm going to return you to your ball. I'm not going to set it to stasis either, so if you see something happen that you'd find odd, do NOT come out to help, alright?"

Koko, not to go back on her word, agreed. Noah reached for her ball and returned her inside the gadget before placing it back on his belt. He turned his full attention on Luna.

"...What?"

"Luna, would you do the same thing as Koko? Would you do anything I asked you to do, even if it was odd?"

Luna gave him an odd look. "You okay, Noah?"

"I'm fine. Now answer the question."

"Ugh, fine. No, I wouldn't."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm not a damn slave."

"We went over this already, Luna. How can you expect us to survive out there in the wild, if you refuse to obey my orders?"

"You said it yourself, Noah. All we need to do is be strong, and we'll be fine. Obeying your orders is only secondary to me. Remember Noah, I technically own you, not the other way around."

"Yes...I admit that getting stronger does help, but that's just not enough out here."

"What are you talking about?"

"You can't rely on strength alone out in the wilderness. You need to be smart and wise. You need to be able to trust one another. Like me, for example."

"I trust you enough, Noah."

"No Luna, you don't."

"What?"

"If you did, you'd obey any command I'd give you, because you'd trust that I was doing the right thing in ordering you to do so."

"I'll do what you say...mostly everything, at least."

"Not good enough. Remember Luna, it's about the trust. I need to be able to rely on you to do whatever I ask you to, or we'll die out there."

"Fine, damn it. Fine."

"I'm sorry Luna, but you need to understand that."

Luna was at the end of her patience for the day. "I've heard enough, Noah! What the hell do I need to do to make you believe that I trust in you!?"

Noah smirked. That was exactly what he wanted her to say, "I want you to hit me."

Luna blinked in disbelief.

"What?"

"I want you to hit me. Hard. Don't hold back."

"Is this some kind of retarded joke? It's not funny."

"A Pokemon must be able to trust their Trainer's command, even if it sounds strange and unusual."

"This is stupid, Noah. I'm not doing it." Luna started to walk to the other end of the meadow, back into town.

"Where's that trust, Luna? Where will that trust be when Koko, Lyn, Skai, and Jerry need it?"

Luna turned back to Noah and walked up to him. She raised her arm and slapped him across the shoulder.

"There. Satisfied?"

Noah rubbed his shoulder. 'Heh, she didn't even put much strength on that, and it still stung a bit.'

"Well?"

"Nope," Noah said, aware of how much pain he'd soon be in if his plan worked. "You think you can convince me that that was your best?"

"My...best?"

"Hit me with everything you've got, Luna."

Luna's eyes narrowed. "Absolutely not."

"What's wrong?"

"That's just a dumb ass thing to request. Why would you ever need me to do that in the wild?"

"Who knows? That's not the point. The point is to trust in my orders."

"I could kill you Noah. You know I can."

"I do. However, I'm confident that one little punch wouldn't hurt too much."

Luna laughed nervously, "No. I'm not doing it. Why would I hurt the host?"

"Because he's also your Trainer, and he needs to know if you are willing to do whatever it takes."

Luna looked back at him. "Stop it Noah. This is just plain stupid."

"What about later, Luna!?" Noah scowled at her, startling her for the first time that she could remember.

"What will you do when we need your help then?! How can we trust you if you can't have the slightest trust in us!?"

Luna's eyes squinted at Noah. Her anger was beginning to flare.

"An order's an order Luna! If you don't follow mine, then we're done for! We will NOT make it out of Sinnoh alive! Is that what you want?! For Koko, Lyn, or Jerry!?"

"Noah," Luna muttered, her heart beginning to race.

"We'll die if we can't have even one iota of trust in one another! Luna! Do you understand!? I NEED you to show me!"

Luna's fur began to stand on end, her paw bracing itself.

"Show me that you're willing to follow my orders! Show me! Do it!"

Noah's pendant began to glow softly, the darkened plate they took from the Arbok beginning to glow unknowingly to Noah and Luna.

Noah's heart raced as he saw Luna walk away. He could feel her spirit in their bond. Her fiery battle aura was bursting on the inside, burning away at her stubborn restraint. His heart raced in sync with hers, their bodies prepped and waiting on Luna's signal.

Luna stopped walking away, having a good distance set between Noah and herself. She looked at her paw, panting heavily as she struggled to make a decision.

"DO IT LUNA! DO IT NOW!"

Luna's eyes completely focused, her body whipped around and raced back towards Noah, her paw raised high into the air.

At that moment, their bond seemingly grew stronger, the strings that held their spirits together fortified by an unknown power.

Noah and Luna finally felt a new sensation in their link. It felt...reliable. Noah's pendant shook in place as the black plate engraved into the artifact glowed.

Luna quickly vanished.

Noah didn't take a single breath, staring straight in front of him where she had once stood.
The pain came almost immediately.

A devastating blow landed directly below him, into his gut. As the air inside his lungs quickly evacuated his body, he saw a ball of white fluff appear from, seemingly, the ground beneath his feet. Luna's paw slammed right into his midsection, a mysterious, black energy swirling around her arm and dancing around the blow she dealt to her trainer.

Noah fell to his knees, spitting up his saliva. With a cough, he leaned down and supported his body with his forehead on the ground, his arms wrapped around his stomach. Luna quickly retreated a few steps back, clueless.

"Noah...are you okay...?" She questioned him, worried.

Noah couldn't answer her. He gasped for air as he tried to regain something that might have resembled composure.

Luna looked at her paw. The black energy had vanished the moment she made impact, and the glow coming from Noah with it. "What the hell...did I just do?"

She turned her attention back to Noah, getting next to him and rubbing his back in a vain attempt to soothe his pain.

"C'mon Noah, don't you dare die on me, especially after all that crap you just gave me."

Noah spat up what appeared to be some of his breakfast that morning before turning to her.

"Thanks Luna. I'll be fine...just need...to rest." Noah fell to the ground unconscious.

Luna stared at him, frozen in awe at what has just taken place. She looked into her bond with him to see if she could investigate. Fruitless, he was unconscious for the most part and inaccessible at the time.

She sat next to him, turning him over and adjusting his body so that he looked like he was sleeping. She kept staring at her paw, and at the spot she had struck.

"Noah...you're insane," Luna told herself out loud. She didn't know what to expect in the future, but she felt ready for it. "I like that." She double checked her thoughts for what she just uttered to herself.

She grinned, acknowledging it once more, "Yeah...I like that about you, Noah."

==========

*************************
Name: Richard Sol
Type: Human
Height: 6'2''
Age: 40-50?
Weight: 220 lbs
Eye Color: Brown
Skin Color: Light Brown
Hair Style/Color: Light Brown, untamed.
Body Type: Built, but no excess muscle shows.
Outfit: Brown business suit with matching pants and shoes, with a white shirt.
Other Items: A brown hat he wears when on missions.
Hobbies: Battling, working, spending time with his family.
Homeland: Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh
Personality: Courageous, Bold, Noble
Bio: Richard Sol is the undisputed greatest trainer to ever come from Twinleaf Town. The reputation he builds with his wife during the 3rd and 4th civilizations are only small fragments of evidence of how powerful the Legendary Sol Duo really is. He is inducted as an agent of High Noon, along with Vivian (whom he marries prior to his celebrity status), after managing to topple the Elite Four from the four regions. Richard has almost an impossibly large quantity of knowledge when it comes to battling, and his strategies are always mixed between old, effective tactics, and new, refreshing twists. Combining the two, Richard Sol is a force to be reckoned with, and is officially the 10th most powerful trainer in the world.
Weaknesses: Most of his Pokemon are large, bulky builds. In order to defeat his team, one must make use of their team's speed and try to strike early, and end the battles as fast as possible, before Richard manages to figure out the opponent's strategy and develop counter-strategies. The faster you knock out his Pokemon, the better.
Pokemon Team: Torterra, Rampardos, Bastiodon, Abomasnow, Hippowdon, Gliscor
Threat Level: Very High (Solo), Massive (w/ Vivian)
*************************