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

Chapter Thirty-Four

Route 111 was abuzz with the sound of trainers as they gathered around a particular structure. It was a small house, surrounded by rich foliage. A large pond filled with Water-types was on the west side of the house. A young girl was seen battling a trainer in a boy scout clothing. She had a Breloom that looked as though it were doing particularly well. It was odd however, considering there were purple sparks flying off of it every few seconds.

The opponent of the Breloom was a Sneasel, who seemed to be having a bad time. In the blink of an eye, Breloom powered forward and cannoned into Sneasel with a powerful Mach Punch. The blow sent Sneasel into the pond, only to surface out cold.

"Looks like I win again Travis. You tried, but you'll have to do better than that if you wanna beat my family," the young girl stated, flipping her hair and flashing him a smug grin.

Travis gulped and returned Sneasel. "I guess I had better train harder. I'll beat you Vivi, mark my words."

"You said that weeks ago. Keep training and maybe it will happen. Until then, it stops with me," she smirked.

Vivi's eyes trailed up and met with a fierce set of hazel eyes that burned like the sun at their epicenter. She swallowed a lump in her throat. Travis, curious about what she was looking at, turned to see Brendan seated atop his Arcanine. His eyes widened.

"Hey, you're-" Travis stopped.

"Brendan Birch! Tied for first in the recent tournament in Mauville. Grovyle's his ace barred only by the very Arcanine he rides. My family loves watching you and Katrina battle!" Vivi declared.

"I uh-" Brendan was cut off.

"That battle was so awesome! Gabite and Grovyle went all out. I didn't know who to root for in that fight. I didn't care as the outcome was good enough for me," Vivi said quickly.

"Well it was a close-"

"Mom! Dad! Grandma! Guess who's here!" Vivi called out, running inside.

Brendan looked at Travis. "Is she always like this?"

"If by that you mean, never letting you get a word in edgewise? Yes," Travis sweat-dropped.

Brendan scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Who is she, by the way?"

"She's Vivi Winstrate. She's the third strongest in a family of five. Her brother, Vito, is the strongest, however he's out badge hunting. Her grandmother is the second best. You get the idea," Travis explained.

"Ah, Vito. He's also been talked about lately. He and Tim are tearing it up out there," Brendan replied as he looked at the Winstrate house.

"You know Tim?" Travis queried.

"Know him? More like grew up with him," Brendan laughed.

The door opened and out came the Winstrate family. It seemed as though they were all discussing something amongst themselves.

"It really is Brendan. My, I wasn't expecting to see you pass through here on foot," the father, Victor said with a grin. "Since you have Skarmory, I would've thought you'd fly. I guess life's funny that way."

"She needed a rest, so I gave Skarmory a break from flying. Arcanine here, needed some exercise," Brendan replied, patting his fiery canine on the head.

"So I noticed. My daughter has a proposition for you if you're interested. Our family has battled a lot of trainers that come through here. You may battle all of us in a four round gauntlet. But you may only use the amount of Pokémon equal to what we carry individually. Sound fun?" Victor asked.