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

Chapter Fifty-Five

Katrina stepped out of the gym in Sootopolis City with a stretch and a yawn. It had been an extremely long battle against Wallace, but she'd done it. The eighth badge was finally hers.

"Took you long enough," came a familiar voice.

"Seems we are both finished with our quest," Katrina replied with a smirk.

"Yep. Now we gotta wait about six months until the League starts," Tim said as he walked over to Katrina.

"Six huh? That's gonna take a while. At least we have time to prepare," Katrina concluded.

"Gonna go train with your sister?" Tim grinned.

Katrina sweat-dropped. "Seems the jig is up huh?"

"It was up when you battled Brendan," Tim laughed.

Katrina smirked at the mention of Brendan.

"Yes, that was a truly fun match. Garchomp hasn't been that worked up since battling my sister. I wonder where he is," Katrina pondered, tapping her chin.

Tim shrugged. "Beats me..."
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Brendan sighed contentedly as the hot water trickled down his frame. It had been a week since he and Courtney had spent extra time with one another. Erotic images flashed through his mind, forcing him to shake them from his thoughts. That evening after her finding out about Latias was breathtaking. But right now was not the time to think about that.

The day after, the two went out for a picnic with little to no interruptions. It was a perfect day, until Maxie called with some news. Being an agent, Brendan was required to attend the meeting. He was now inside of the Mossdeep City Pokémon Center. Badge number seven was at hand and he was determined to obtain it. Courtney wasn't with him this time. Maxie needed her for a project. Courtney did give him something for luck before he and Latios headed out.

He had swapped the Eon Twins out so he could bond with Latios. He wanted to be able to Mega Evolve them both when the time came. A strong bond was a necessity. Brendan turned off the water and stepped out to dry himself off. He had a match against Tate and Liza today. It was going to be quite a match considering it was a double battle with four Pokémon a side. The only question was; who would he use?

They had Psychic-type Pokémon, so Mightyena was a must by default. Milotic would be good for setting up and dealing some major damage. Sceptile was definitely a good choice as well. Skarmory had a strong resistance to Psychic-type moves, so she was the better pic of the remaining three. Brendan decided that he would go with those four.
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Steven landed in Dewford Town and dismounted his Skarmory. He couldn't help but feel he'd made a foolish mistake. As he landed, he was greeted by the sight of a young looking woman in the raiment of Team Aqua. His hand reached down for Aggron.

"Easy there Champion, I do not wish to tussle with you," she stated with a smirk.

"Is that a fact? Who are you? And what are you doing here exactly?" Steven queried.

The raven-haired woman chuckled and crossed her arms.

"My name is Zinnia. And you Steven, have become part of something that will decide the fate of this world," Zinnia stated.

"How did you-" Steven paused.

"I was there, Steven. After you let Team Aqua get away, I remained behind. I had scaled the other side to aide the others in detaining the guardians of the orbs," Zinnia explained.

"So then...you saw what I had done then," Steven deduced.

"Bingo! I watched as you allowed Team Magma's leader to take the red orb. I must say, I didn't think you would be so gutsy," Zinnia grinned.