In Lava [Pokémon Watty Awards, 2016 2nd Place Romance]

Chapter Fourteen

Skarmory screeched through the skies, leaving contrails in her wake as she raced along. Brendan kept both hands on Skarmory to steady himself. He and Skarmory had practiced for a while until he was able to stay on without losing his balance. This was great considering the possibility of him falling into either one of the many trees below, or onto the ground. As he looked down at the ground along he spotted several trainers having battles. Deciding that he'd been flying long enough, he tapped Skarmory and ushered her towards the ground. She complied without question and dove.
_______________________________________

Five trainers were all gathered around a battle that was taking place. A young boy with short black hair, wearing a bright orange shirt and black shorts stood by what looked to be an Electrike. His opponent was slightly rotund and had a strap going across his white collared shirt. He wore gold framed glasses and had black hair. Beside him was a Nuzleaf.

"You got this Timmy!" One of the trainers shouted to the owner of the Electrike.

"Get him Edwin!" Another shouted at the glasses wearing trainer with the Nuzleaf.

"Today's the day Elecrike and I get our first win!" Timmy declared confidently.

"Don't be so certain young Timmy. Trainers such as I, have moved beyond the beginning stage. And the evolved state of my Pokémon are the proof," Edwin grinned.

"Big deal! My dad trained me to battle right after I got my license so get ready to lose! Electrike, use Spark!"

Electrike began to charge his fur with powerful electrical currents that formed a sphere around his body. In a burst of movement, he took off, aiming to headbutt Nuzleaf with his element.

"Razor Leaf!" Edwin commanded.

Nuzleaf extened his mitten-like hand and gathered the power of nature into his palm before releasing a storm of sharp leaves towards Electrike. The electric canine was pounded by the assault and forced back to his trainer, scratch marks lining his body. His attack fizzled out.

"Come on Electrike, hang in there!" Timmy cheered.

"Are you sure you wanna continue? You did say that Electrike is new right? That training you did was probably also short notice, so it's okay if you back down," Edwin stated out of concern.

"I can't back out now. I promised my family that I would become a great trainer and backing down isn't something I can do!" Timmy shot back.

"But sometimes it's the right thing to do," came a strangely familiar voice.

The crowd of trainers looked over to see Brendan walking towards the group.

"Hey, you're Brendan aren't you!?" Timmy pointed out.

Brendan blinked and then it registered. "Yeah, sorry, forgot that I made an appearance on Gabby and Ty's show and apparently Trainer Talk."

"You were so cool! My older sister is a huge fan of you and Tim," Timmy informed.

"That so? I'm flattered, but I'm really not all that good. Tim on the otherhand is great," Brendan chuckled.

"Don't say that! What you said on TV inspired me to take my first step into being a trainer. I mean I already wanted to be one after seeing Tim in action, but hearing your words sealed the deal!" Timmy declared.

"I too, became inspired by your words. I had a desire to battle either you or Tim if we ever met. Looks like fate has brought you here," Edwin smirked.

"Hey! You're battling me, remember!?" Timmy shouted.

"Timmy, your Pokémon can hardly stay standing. Perhaps you should return it," Edwin advised.