EPISODE 130: A Full Determined Glory!

Swaying breeze meets the leaves clinging unto the branches of their alma mater, while the flowers blossom into an array of earthly beauty. The Pokemons sing and chirp to their heart's content, while the smokey clouds drizzle across the land, bringing winter's beauty.

Winter season is near, white feathery snow falls down elegantly and pleasantly while children come out with their Pokemons to build arrays of snow sculpture. Me and my friends played with our Pokemon, we tossed snow at each other and even chased each other.

Winter brings joy to the heart of both people and Pokemon, but for some? I think not.

"Blastoise, Feraligatr, Swampert, Empoleon, Samurott, and Inteleon, come out!" Hemera tossed all her Pokemons to the sky with a determined face. Arville, wants her to train harder to become stronger and better. They trained near a small frozen pond, with trees bearing white leaves surrounding the place. Snow-covered the entire land.

With a determined spirit and mind, she instructed her Pokemons to use several moves. The Pokemon's move attacked and crumbled the nearby trees. Hemera didn't care if the weather was cold and icy, all she cared was to work and train with her Pokemon.

"Blastoise, use hydropump on that rock!" Hemere instructed as a frosty breath came out of her mouth.

<BLASTOISE!>The hydropump dealt no damage to the rock at all. It only made the rock wet and soggy.

"Blastoise, use Hydropump once more!" Hemera was once a spirited trainer, which fell into the hands of the Chaos Regime. Aside from being a spirited trainer, she was also persistent and chronic.

<BLASSSS...TOISE!>The Pokemon's Hydro pump dealt minimum damage only. The rock remained soggy and wet, not a single scratch, and not a single shard chipped off.

"Blastoise, Hydro pump!" Hemera instructed while a frosty breath came out of her mouth.

<BLAAASSSTOISEEE!>The Pokemon's hydropump dealt minimum damage again!

"Again!" Hemera instructed. Both Hemera and Blastoise trained for nearly three hours, yet no progress was being shown.

"Blastoise, use Hydropump again!" Hemera was starting to doubt herself, she was feeling awful and stressed.

<Bla... Blastoise!>The Pokemon's water pipe stopped gushing out water. Blastoise was too tired and dropped on the floor.

"Blastoise! No!" Hemera uttered with worry and panic while rushing towards her tired Pokemon.

Blastoise was also persistent. He tried to push his body back up, but failed to do so. Hemera isn't like the other commanders. She cares and loves both people and Pokemon.

"Blastoise, I'm sorry for forcing you to train beyond your limits." Hemera apologized with worry while comforting the tired Pokemon. Blastoise tried to stand no matter what, he didn't want to let his trainer lose hope on him.

"Blastoise, stop. You're hurting yourself already. You have to rest." Hemera begged Blastoise to stop and take a break.

<BLAS! BLAS!>Blastoise ignored Hemera's statement, and still tried to use Hydropump. Blastoise's pump wasn't working, this is a big problem for Hemera and Blastoise.

"Blastoise, I said stop trying to train. You have to take a rest, or else your pipe will form a wound." Hemera warned.

Blastoise finally gave up, and decided to follow Hemera's instructions. Hemera and her Pokemons rested on a small icy cave, with a campfire to warm their body. Hemera looked out to the lake, while small tears fell off her eyes.

"You're not strong enough..."

"I choose you Squirtle!"

"Come and challenge me, once you properly train your Pokemon!"

"Give up, you won't win!"

"Join me, and you will be the world's strongest trainer!"

Hemera remembered her horrible past, she was once a trainer who had a dream similar to mine. All she wanted, was to become the strongest and greatest Pokemon trainer.

<Blas! Blas!>The Pokemon comforted her crying trainer, he even gave her a small oran berry.

"F... For me?"Hemera queried with shock while Blastoise handed her a small oran berry.

<Blastoise Blas!>The Pokemon nodded her head.

"Y... You can have that, your energy must return." Hemera declined the offer and tucked her head between her knees. She continued to remember her awful past, this is what made her cry and melancholy.

Her Pokemons tried to comfort Hemera, but she couldn't stop crying.

"Do you think, you can be a champion with your filthy Pokemon? Haha, you don't have a single badge!" The past uttered to her mind.

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"Hey Zhery, Glade, Camellia... I'll be strolling with Riolu and Mawile for a while!" I excused, while walking further from the camp.

"Don't go too far Kalem! Be here before six!" My friends reminded while grooming their Pokemons.

I love the outdoors, it keeps me smiling and happy. When you're with a Pokemon, they'll always cheer you up!

<Maw! Mawile!>The Pokemon used fire fang on the trees we passed through.

"Looks like Mawile loves to battle as well. Isn't that right?" I smiled and grinned at Mawile while hugging her.

<Maw! Mawile Maw!>The Pokemon beamed with excitement and determination.

"Kalem... I'm freezing. I think we should head back to the camp." Riolu suggested.

"Man, the snowy weather's getting stronger. Let's look for shelter, once it's warmer... we can return!"

Me and my Pokemons I saw a small cave beside a frozen pond. The cave was shallow and hollow, it was filled with Ice Lillies, a flower which blooms every winter.

I rushed towards the cave before a huge hail storm hits me, Riolu and Mawile. On my arms and grip was Mawile playing with a shiny pearl while Riolu was staying on my shoulder.

"Hemera!?" I uttered with shock to see a Chaos commander crying and weeping inside the cave. Hemera's Blastoise stood up right away and blocked Hemera to protect her.

<Blastoise! Blas!>The Pokemon tried to shew us away from her trainer.

"Blastoise... let them stay here too, the storm is getting worse." Hemera uttered softly while crying and weeping. Me and my Pokemons were shocked, a commander of the Chaos Regime showed kindness and hospitality.

Me and my Pokemons went inside the cave, we stayed at the end while Hemera and her Pokemons stayed at the front, looking outside to the frozen lake.

"Hey Kalem... isn't she the one who tried to hurt the little girl?" Riolu whispered with worry.

"Um... I guess this is a truce." I groomed Mawile's hair while the storm toughened. Hemera on the other hand continued to weep and cry.

<Maw! Maw! Mawile!>The Pokemon handed a small Ice Lily to Swampert.

<Swampert? Swamp! Swamp!>The Pokemon smiled back and patted Mawile's head.

"Great, our ally is flirting with the enemy!" Riolu uttered sarcastically.

"Riolu... in times like this, there is no enemy and ally. Everybody should be friends, even our enemies." I quoted while playing with Riolu's ears.

Mawile and Swampert played together, while Riolu and I stayed in the corner. Hemera on the other hand continued to cry. I watched how Blastoise and her other Pokemons trying to comfort her, and that's when I realized that her bond with her Pokemons were remarkable.

"Um... Hemera, are you alright?" I queried while walking closer.

<BLASTOISE!>The Pokemon uttered with rage and blocked Hemera.

"Hey Blastoise, I haven't properly introduced myself. I am Kalem, and this is Riolu."

<BLAST!>Blastoise lowered his tone and smiled at me and my Pokemons.

Blastoise and I played together, but it looks like Hemera didn't care. She stared at the icy pond, while Swampert and Mawile played.

I noticed something at Blastoise's neck. It had a necklace with words written on it.

"Squirty" it was Blastoise's nickname.

I started to conclude, that Hemera was once a trainer like me right now. Her first starter Pokemon was a Squirtle, wherein she named it Squirty.

"Hemera... you used to be a trainer?" I uttered with shock while reading her Pokemon's nickname. Hemera ignored me and looked outside while leaning on the snowy walls.

I confronted her and asked if she was once a trainer.

"I don't want to hear that word again!" Hemera uttered with frustration.

"Which one? The word trainer? Did something bad happened when you were young?" I queried.

"It's none of your business! Stay in the corner." Hemera demanded.

"If you were once a trainer... this means, team Chaos tempted you to join them, right?"

"Didn't I tell you to stay in your corner!? Remember, we're enemies and not friends!" Hemera uttered with frustration.

"Let's be friends then! My name is Kalem, and this is Riolu. We haven't introduced ourselves properly yet."

"F... friend? Why do you want to be my friend?"

"Just like they say, bring your friends close, and your enemies closer! Even if we're from different sides, today's a truce right?"

"A truce? I let you in so that your Pokemons can rest. Not so that you can rest with them."

"Wait, aside from being the youngest of the commanders... you're also compassionate to Pokemons, but why would you join the Chaos regime?"

"You're right... I was once a trainer like you, I loved Pokemons, and I loved to protect them." Hemera uttered solemnly.

"Really? Cause the last time I saw you, you were hurting a toddler." I teased.

"FYI, it was the grunts who bullied the kid not me! I was strolling with my Pokemons, and when I returned I saw the kid running away. I wasn't able to stop my grunts in time." Hemera explained with frustration.

"Jeez... sorry, you don't have to be extremely mad at me."

"When I was a trainer like you, I chose Squirty as my starter Pokemon. I was a jolly girl traveling around the region with my Squirty."

"Traveling around? So that means you're a strong trainer right!?"

"A strong trainer? I haven't won a single gym badge, I haven't won a single match. I kept on losing against everyone, even against you remember? People started to mock me... they called me weak, soft, and vulnerable." Hemera uttered softly.

"Squirty!? Only weaklings like you name Pokemons!" A boy teased.

"No! Don't touch my Squirty. Don't you dare hurt him!" young Hemera demanded while protecting her Squirtle from a bully.

Hemera remembered her past, and all those people who had wronged her.

"Me and Squirty, we wanted to become a master, but we lost... no matter how many times we train. Even my parents preferred my brother over me because he was a strong trainer. One day, Arville saw me weeping while holding Squirty. He invited me to join the Chaos regime, he said that if I join the regime... I would become the strongest trainer in the world, the people who teased me would soon regret their actions." Hemera uttered solemnly.

"So that's how you joined the Chaos regime. You were tempted by Arville."

"When I joined, I thought I would become the strongest trainer ever, and that's when I met you. I accepted your challenge back in the mountain. I was about to lose, with only two Pokemons left, so I surrendered. I feared that if you saw me lose, you would tease me like the other trainers."

"Oh... I feel sorry for calling you a coward, and a quitter."

"It's alright... I'm used to it anyways. Now? My mind is confused, I don't know whether to believe Arville, or resign."

"Well I think you should resign, that regime forces people to join only to gain power. Once Arville becomes a God, you and the rest of the regime serve no purpose. Trust me, that's what the elite four told me."

"The thing is, the Chaos regime is the only family I have left."

"Of course not, you have your Pokemons, aren't they family as well?"

"Well you have a point..." Hemera uttered slowly as she noticed the floor starting to collapse.

"Swampert, stop jumping!" Hemera instructed right away. Swampert wasn't able to hear the instruction quickly and continued to jump. The whole floor began to collapse, Mawile got scared and tried to rush towards us, but she was too late and fell down the pit, Hemera rushed towards the pit and...

"Gotcha!" Hemera was able to hold Mawile's hand... but Mawile was too heavy.

Hemera was unable to handle Mawile's weight, and fell down with her, but I extended my arms to save her and my Pokemon.

"Hang in there Hemera and Mawile!" I uttered with worry while sweat fell off my face. Blastoise and the other Pokemons tried to help me and Hemera stand, but the ground was standing on began to collapse as well.

All of us fell down the pit, me, Riolu, Hemera, and the other Pokemons descended and crashed down the pit. A pit that led to a deeper part of the cave we thought was short.

"Kalem hasn't arrived yet!?" Camellia uttered with shock and began to worry.

The hail storm started to worsen, snow was getting thicker and heavier, while my friends waited inside the tent, worrying about me and my Pokemons.