Ch 25. Ares vs Lt. Surge Pt. 2

Both pokemon stared at each other, an excited yet cautious glimmer burned deep down. They were both in bad shape, Raichu more heavily injured compared to Lucario, but Lucario was a lot more tired than Raichu even if he had only a few minor injuries, evening out the odds slightly.

"Lucario, control your breaths."

Nodding, Lucario took deep and even breaths, regaining a little bit of energy while also relaxing his agitated aura.

Glaring at Raichu once more, but this time after having calmed down a bit, Lucario began to think of how to win this battle. Aura was of little help when his mind was in disorder, so he had to think beyond that, a way to win even when he couldn't utilize his aura as good as he usually would.

He had one move that could deal more than a lot of damage, so he had to take advantage of that.

Stretching out his hands, a pale blue bone like energy construct appeared.

While doing that, Lucario's aura connected with that of Ares again. Both of them could feel what the other was thinking of, knowing what the other wanted. Sensing what Lucario was planning, Ares conveyed his consent, giving commands only where it was needed.

Without so much as a word, Lucario blasted a Vacuum palm towards the ground, creating a dust cloud large enough to hide him in. This time he was the one taking the offensive hit and run tactic. If it was before where his mind was clouded, Lucario might have difficulties by spotting Raichu, but now Lucario could easily sense where Raichu was. His agitation was gone, replaced by a placid calm. Only one path lay before him and he would take it.

Closing in rapidly, Lucario took Raichu by surprise and hit him straight in the chest. Lucario could feel his Bone Rush connect, putting even more force behind it than the other moves he had used during this entire battle. Raichu was blasted backwards, its feet skidding across the ground to remain standing.

Falling to the ground, Raichu tried to get up to his feet again, not ready to throw in the towel yet. His body however had a different opinion, as it sagged to the ground as Raichu fainted from a solid hit from a Bone Rush. It wasn't surprising, as Raichu's had a low defense. Another thing that helped was the fact that he had landed a critical hit, as seen from the place where it had hit Raichu, namely its chest.

Seeing his opponent downed, Lucario fist pumped, glad he had won this fight. It was right then that the strength left his legs. Slumping down, Lucario was about to hit the ground when his trainer caught him in his arms.

"Good job, Lucario."

No other words needed to be said, as Lucario could feel how happy Ares was with the outcome of this battle. He had clearly earned a lot of experience through this battle, more than when fighting wild pokemon. Pokemon that had been trained had a lot of different fighting styles, making the battle a lot more challenging. Taking a bit of time, Lucario got back to his feet, still staggering a bit but having the will to walk on his own. It was more from tiredness than the damage he had taken in this battle. Should he have to battle Raichu again, he was sure he could finish the battle within a minute.

Lt. Surge laughed loudly as he returned Raichu to its pokeball.

"You did great Raichu. Your opponent was just that strong."

Lt. Surge said as he put away Raichu's pokeball and walked towards Ares and Lucario.

"You showed me little man. I knew I had a good feeling about you. Not such a weakling as all the other challengers I had the last week. You were a bit too confident in the beginning though, making your Lucario overconfident in its abilities. Remember that you can't be too prepared and you should never underestimate your opponent. You've got guts and a good pokemon at your side, so I'm sure you will be just fine. Here is your badge as proof that you have defeated me."

Lt. Surge threw a Sunflower badge towards Ares. Or at least, it looked like a sunflower.

"It's the Thunder badge. Pretty neat, huh. Now get out of my gym. I have other challengers waiting for me and I need to let my Pokemon rest."

Lt. Surge yelled as he shooed Ares and Lucario out. He looked angry, but the big smile on his face was all but angry. It seems he enjoyed the battle a lot more than he let others know. He quickly pushed them out and slammed the door of the gym shut behind them.

Outside the gym, Ares stared a bit dazed in front of him. They were just thrown out. Not that he was surprised about it, as Lt. Surge came across as that sort of man. But still, the man was a gym leader. You would expect a little bit more tact.

"Let's get you checked up at the pokemon center. You deserve some rest."

Ares muttered as he and a tired but happy Lucario dragged themselves to the pokemon center. They would enjoy the rest of the day with a long rest on a nice comfy bed.

The day passed by uneventfully as he and Lucario slept till noon, both enjoying the clutches of their captor, their bed.

It wasn't until late noon that both of them finally got up. Yawning slightly, Ares and Lucario went to get something to eat, feeding the rest of his pokemon as well.

Afterwards he called professor Oak to inform him of his progress. As the phone in the pokemon center had a larger screen than his rotom phone, he used that instead. The phone went over thrice before an empty room was shown.

Looking at the empty screen, Ares was greeted by a head of brown hair as Gary showed up instead.

"Hey Gary, is professor Oak home?"

Gary shook his head.

"He is out on a survey. Why did you call?"

Ares showed the gym badges he had collected.

"I wanted to notify professor Oak of my progress. I also wanted to see how Krabby, Staryu and the Horsea are. I trust they are enjoying themselves?"

"Yeah, thanks by the way. I heard two of them were for me and Ashy boy. It's a great addition to my future team. Don't send us anymore though, as me and Ash will have to catch them ourselves in the future. Besides, Gramps is always running around, so I'm sure he will be back soon. I will tell him you called. He should be back in an hour or so, so keep close to the phone."

"Thanks. And concerning the Horsea, it was a one time thing, don't get used to it. Getting pampered won't help in the long run."

"I know that. Alright, smell ya later Ares."

With that said, Gary hung up, no doubt informing the professor of his call.

"And now we wait."

Ares muttered, as he and Lucario sat down on one of the nearby couches. As he had nothing else to do, Ares decided to treat Lucario to some relaxation time. Getting his brush out, Ares started the usual combing session until professor Oak returned.

An hour passed and all the pokemon had been given their brushing time, but professor Oak hadn't called back yet, so Ares once again got back to reading the ancient book.

Aside from last time, there weren't many pages filled about Aura guardians, so he read about other things that sounded interesting.

There was a part about an ancient civilization in the Johto region, according to the map shown. It spoke about their connection to a pokemon specie called Unown, a pokemon of which even now was little knowledge.

It spoke of their habitat, them living in between the space between worlds. A strange concept, but he had encountered stranger things. Like traveling through time for example. Surely there existed a space between worlds as well. The world was filled with mysteries. They were just not discovered yet.

Then there was a part about the creation of the Sinnoh region, about a war in which a disastrous weapon was used to kill almost everyone. This also included a story about the pokemon of death and the pokemon of life, who battled each other during certain periods in time.

There were many interesting tales in it, but it all had to wait.

The phone was finally ringing. It seems like professor Oak has returned.

"Hello professor."

"Ares, it is good to see you. How have you been my boy? I heard you won against Lt. Surge. It must have been a hard battle, I'm sure. He is one of the strongest gym leaders."

"Yes, it was a bit hard, but Lucario and me won, that's all that matters for now. On another note, how are the pokemon I left with you, professor? I trust they are doing well?"

"Oh yes yes, they are more than fine. They enjoy the lake a lot. They are very energetic, truly. That reminds me, that Staryu of yours is close to evolving. It can't stop battling the others and it can't help but get on your Krabby's nerves. They are truly like a Seviper and a Zangoose. I even think they are having a contest of sorts. Krabby too is close to evolving after all."

"I see. They are very energetic indeed. Maybe Ash and Gary can do something about it. Get some experience battling. It could take some of the Pokémon's tension away. It might also resolve whatever dispute the pokemon may have with each other."

"I don't know if that is a good idea. The boys aren't capable enough to battle."

"There is no problem with that. They have you as a supervision. Besides, they need to get used to other people, as I might need them on my journey one day. In another region maybe."

"Alright then. I'm sure the boys won't mind, but I will keep an eye on them. If the pokemon listen, then that is good. If not, then I suppose that idea is off the table. They have the same kind of rivalry going as well, as far as I see it, so maybe it will play its part. Then I will keep you updated on the situation."

"You do that professor. I will call you again when I can."

"Have fun on your journey."

"I will professor, see you later."

With that, Ares hung up and went to the sea to enjoy the last few rays of sunlight.