Chapter 30: Vs Samurai

"Man, you are strong!'

Ash returned his Pidgeotto to its Pokeball and walked toward Aeron to shake his hand.

"Including Gary, you are now my second rival." The spiky-haired boy declared with a grin. "Let's have another battle."

"Sure."

"I never knew Axew was so strong." Misty walked forward; her eyes were locked onto the Dragon, happily munching on a spicy berry.

"Axe is the cutest Dragon, but he is a powerhouse when it comes to fighting." Nessa sat down and patted the Dragon, who happily enjoyed the attention.

"Xew."

"Man, I wish we could have fought," Samurai spoke regretfully. "I don't want to fight you when your Pokémon are injured."

He looked at the Growlithe sleeping in Aeron's arms and then at the Dragon, which was covered in wounds. After it had used an [Iron Tail], the Pidgeotto refused to give up, and their fight dragged on. Eventually, a powerful [Dragon Claw] won the fight, but Axew was also injured.

Even though the Dragon-type had some fight left in it, Samurai did not want to fight such a dishonourable battle.

"I have one more Pokémon that I recently caught, so it's not well-trained." Aeron did not want to give up on an opportunity to fight.

"Oh?" Samurai looked at Aeron, who released his Larvesta.

"Lar!" The Torch Pokémon immediately climbed on its trainer's leg before reaching the shoulder. "Larvesta?"

Aeron chuckled and took out a berry. "Here."

"What Pokémon is that?" Ash was surprised and took out his Pokedex to scan, but it showed nothing.

"It's a Pokémon from Unova." Aeron took his Pokedex and shared Larvesta's info while hiding the moveset. "I have a regional dex as well, but since I caught a Pokémon from a different region, information about that particular Pokémon becomes available to me."

"Man, it's such a cool Bug-type!" Samurai had stars in his eyes as he looked through the information about Larvesta. "Now I want one."

"I found it in Viridian Forest; maybe you can try your luck?" Aeron shrugged before adding. "I just caught it and think it is still inexperienced in battles."

"I have just the Pokémon for a battle." Samurai's eyes lit up as he called his Pokémon. "Come out, Pinsir."

"Pinsir!" A brown beetle with two pincers on its head appeared before the rest.

"I forgot to catch the Weedle I fought!" Ash shouted in agony as he looked for the Weedle he was fighting, but that Pokémon had already sneaked away long ago. Only after seeing these two Bug-types did he remember about it. "Nooo..."

"You better start paying attention." Nessa crossed her arms and shook her head. "So, do you guys want another battle?"

Aeron looked at Samurai and his Weedle. "If you don't mind."

"Sure. Pinsir and I are always looking for battles."

"Pinsir." The huge stag beetle Pokémon nodded its head.

"What do you say, little guy?" Aeron looked at the Bug-type on his shoulder.

"Lar." Larvesta happily nodded and climbed down, facing the Pinsir, ready for battle.

"Oh god! Fight between two bugs..." Misty hid behind Nessa. The latter chuckled and decided to referee this battle while the orange-haired girl added. "Bugs are the top three most disgusting things in the world!"

"C'mon, Misty, stop being a wuss." Ash clicked his tongue when he saw Misty hiding behind Nessa. "And I bet you take the number one spot among the three."

"You!"

"Okay, okay. Let's watch the battle." Nessa immediately separated them both before they started fighting while throwing a glare at Ash, supporting her friend.

"Women." Ash snickered before excitedly looking towards the battle.

Nessa ignored his comment and looked at the two trainers. "This will be an official battle between Aeron Duskborn and...Samurai. Each trainer can only use one Pokémon. Anyone who breaks the rule will be disqualified immediately." As soon as Nessa said those words, she tapped her Pokedex, and the rules were updated on Aeron and Samurai's Pokedex. "The winner will be decided when one side's Pokémon is either unable to battle or falls unconscious," Nessa explained before continuing. "Are both trainers ready?"

"Yes."

"This battle shall carve the annals of history!" The Samurai said while taking out unsheathing his Katana.

"Let the battle begin!"

"Pinsir, use [Bind]."

"Larvesta, use [String Shot]."

Samurai's Pinsir shot forward with its two pincers pointing forward, while Aeron's Larvesta opened its mouth and shot out sticky threads.

"Pinsir, dodge!"

The beetle Pokémon jumped to a side to avoid the [String Shot], but Aeron was already expecting this much.

"[Harden]." He gave the command to boost Larvesta's defence.

Samurai frowned when he saw the opponent play a defensive game. His Pinsir only knew moves that could be used in close quarters. But he knew how he could deal with it.

"Pinsir, [Fury Attack]."

The beetle Pokémon clanked its pincers before charging forward.

"[String Shot]."

"Use the [Fury Cutter] on [String Shot]."

"Pinsir!" The Bug-type cut through the sticky threads with its sharp pincers and continued forward, but the opponent kept firing one [String Shot] after another.

"Cut them all with [Fury Cutter]."

"What is he trying to achieve?" Ash asked as he watched Larvesta run away from Pinsir while firing [String Shot].

"He is training his Pokémon." Misty immediately saw through Aeron's intentions. "It's only been a few hours since he caught the Larvesta, and although the little Bug-type has trained its moves, it's not too good at fighting. Aeron is trying to help it learn to move around rather than sitting idle during a battle."

"You can do that?" Ash commented as he watched the battle unfold.

"If you are smart enough to pull it off, yes," Nessa added from the side. "He knows he can finish this fight with a Fire-type attack, so he is using it to his advantage. It is not every day you can fight a capable trainer like Samurai."

The boy from Pallet Town hugged the Pikachu in his arms, and his eyes occasionally landed on Axew sitting beside Aeron. He was shaken up by his loss in the last battle since one Pokémon had decimated his two strongest.

Aeron was indeed training his Larvesta, but more than that, he tested how well Larvesta could listen to and follow his commands.

"This much should be enough." After a while, Aeron looked at the Pinsir covered in [String Shot], huffing for breath; the stag beetle Pokémon was trapped within the sticky threads and could no longer move. "Larvesta, use [Ember] and keep using it till I tell you otherwise."

The Torch Pokémon gathered Fire-type Energy in its five horns and fired one [Ember] after another until the Pinsir winced in pain. But before it could even think of moving after the strings were burnt off, Aeron gave the following command that sealed the deal.

"[Flame Charge]."

Larvesta enveloped itself in Fire-type Energy and charged right into Pinsir's chest. The latter dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"Good job Larvesta!" Aeron picked up his third Pokémon while Samurai returned his Pinsir with a sigh.

"Lar!" The Torch Pokémon was happy with its win, and the Dragon-type congratulated the new member of their family.

"Axew!"

"Larvesta..." The Bug-type gave an embarrassing nod.

"That was a good battle." Samurai walked forward and shook Aeron's hand. "Even though it was one-sided, I have learned a lot and now know how I should improve myself. Thank you, Agent Dusk."

"Thank you." Aeron did shy away from the praise and chuckled at how the Samurai addressed him. "But now it's time we leave." He looked at Nessa, who walked over and then at Misty. "I guess this is goodbye." His gaze landed on Ash. "Let's have a battle the next time we meet."

"I will train my best and defeat you for sure."

"Good luck with that," Nessa remarked. She looked at Misty before asking. "You are tagging along or going with Ash?"

"Not until he pays me for my bike."

"C'mon, Misty, go with them and stop being a headache to me." Ash snorted but screamed in pain when Misty slapped his head.

"I guess we part ways here then." Aeron nodded to the three trainers he had met by chance and said goodbye to them all before walking away.

"See you later, Misty." Nessa waved to her new friend before looking at Samurai. "You too, Samurai; take care."

"And what about me?" Ash complained, but Nessa just ignored the spikey-haired boy. "What's her problem?"

"She is just messing with you," said Samurai before he asked. "Ash, let's have a battle!"

"Sure!"

The two trainers got ready and then sent out their Pokémon.

"Metapod."

"Pi!"

But suddenly, Ash's Caterpie was engulfed in bright light. Aeron and Nessa, walking away, turned around while recording the evolution on their Pokedex. They were pleasantly surprised.

The Pokémon was engulfed in a blue-ish glow for about 10ish seconds before it subsided.

"Metapod!"

"Cater...Metapod, you evolved!" Ash smiled as he hugged his Pokemon before getting ready for battle.

"Are you ready, Ash?" asked Samurai.

"Yes!"

"Our battle will be legendary." Samurai pointed his sword forward before commanding. "[Harden]."

"Metapod, use [Harden] as well!"

Aeron, Nessa and Misty watched as the two Metapod kept using [Harden].

"I will be coming with you two till the road splits into Route 2 and 26." Misty sighed and walked toward the duo before the three walked away. "I can't watch this [Harden] vs [Harden] battle."

"What about your bike?" Nessa asked with a teasing smirk.

A vein popped on Misty's head before she relented. "To hell with it."

Once they were out of the Viridian Forest, they were met with two paths, one leading to Pewter City and the other to Diglett Cave.

"I guess this is it?" Aeron asked as he looked at Misty, who seemed to struggle to decide.

"Umm...I was wondering...you know..."

"Do you even need to ask, girl?" Nessa smiled before locking her arm with Misty's and looking at Aeron. "What do you say?"

"I thought it was pretty obvious by now." Aeron chuckled at the surprised Misty. "Let's travel together."

"You guys are not against it?" The orange-haired girl asked.

"Why would we be?" Nessa chuckled. "And with a fellow Water-type Specialist, I will be able to learn many things."

"We will camp near Diglett cave, so we better get going."

"Let's start this legendary journey, shall we?" Nessa brought her hand forward, and Misty grinned before placing hers on top. The two girls waited for Aeron, who followed their actions.

"Yay!"

The two girls cheered, and Aeron smiled before leading them toward the Diglett Cave.