Chapter 8: Burgundy

Aiden was standing in front of the Striaton City gym. It was a large building located in the city centre. When Aiden entered it, he saw high class restaurant with a lot of customers. He headed towards the bar, when one of the waiters appeared in front of him. It was a boy between 14-16 years and with a weird green hairstyle.

"Ahh....I can smell a scent of rivalry coming from you. "exclaimed this guy while smelling an air between them.

"My name is Cilan and I am an A rank pokémon connoisseur. "he put his right hand on his heart and then bowed towards Aiden.

"How can I help you? "he then lifted his head and smiled at Aiden.

"Ehmm....I came here for the gym battle but as I can see there is a restaurant, so maybe I turned somewhere wrong. "

"Do not worry, you are at the right place. Me and my two brothers Cress and Chili are gym leaders. And of course we are accepting your challenge. "Cilan pointed at two other waiters, who were serving meals at the moment.

He then came towards them and said something. After that he clapped to his hands to draw everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are sorry for interrupting you, but I want to invite you all to watch a gym battle. If you do not want to, you can stay here and continue in your lunch. "he smiled at guests.

All children and a few adults decided to watch a pokémon battle. When they arrived at the battlefield, which was located behind the moving wall, group of cheerleaders appeared on the balcony and started to shout something.

"Uh...sorry, but I forgot to ask your name. "said Cilan with an apologizing expression.

"Aiden, my name is Aiden. "

After that, Aiden went to the other side of battlefield. But instead of Cilan, his brother Chili took the place of his first opponent.

"Aiden, this is going to be a three on three battle. You will battle with all of us. Me and my brothers are going to use one Pokémon at each person. Substitutes are allowed only to you. Do you understand the rules? "Cilan explained everything to Aiden, while taking place of the referee.

"Yes. "Aiden simply nodded.

"Okay, then the match begins. "

"Pansear, to the battlefield. "Chili took out his pokéball and threw it in the air. With a flash of light, red monkey appeared in front of him.

[Fire type, heh..... it will be really funny if their hair colour is the same as a type of their pokémon.]Aiden chuckled and tossed his own pokéball.

"Snivy, come out. "

A green snake appeared from an orb. She immediately stood to the battle stance and started to stare at her opponent.

"Hey! Why did you choose a pokémon with a type disadvantage!? Are you underestimating me!? "Chili started to shout and his face gained the same colour as his hair.

"Tss... you are too noisy. Just do your job and start to attack. "Aiden was annoyed by this hyperactive guy.

"Ahhh... you are going to regret it. Pansear, use flamethrower. "

"Dodge it and use Leaf Tornado. "

Snivy dodged Pansear 's fire attack and used her own.

"Evade it with Dig, Pansear"

Fire type pokémon managed to escape by disappearing under the ground and silence filled the battlefield.

"Snivy, wait for him. When you notice something, use your new move. "

'Snivy, sni. 'she nodded.

"Pansear, come out and finish her, now! "Chili was even louder than before.

Earth under Snivy started to tremble. She immediately used Protect and Pansear, who was not expecting something like that, bumped to the shield. While he was stunned for a second after an unsuccessful attack, Aiden commanded to his Snivy what to do next.

"Snivy, send him flying with Leaf Blade. "

Shield around Snivy disappeared and she hit Pansear with her tail, which was glowing with a green colour.

Pansear was sent flying to the nearby rock, which he destroyed with his own body. When the cloud of dust, lifted by Pansear, disappeared, everyone could see a barely standing pokémon.

"Snivy, finish him with Vine Whip. "

"Pansear, dodge it! "

Chili 's pokémon tried to dodge but he was too injured for that. Snivy took him with her vines and started to slam him to the ground.

A few moments later Aiden interrupted his pokémon."Snivy, enough. "

'Vi, sni-vy. 'she nodded and dropped an unconscious pokémon to the ground.

"Pansear is unable to continue the battle, winner of the round is Snivy. "exclaimed Cilan.

"Hmm... I can feel this bond between you and your Snivy. This scent of raw power and elegancy, that is coming from her, is making me feel happy. "Cilan raised his hands to the air and started again with his connoisseur things.

"Uhmm...can we continue our battle? "Aiden was really pissed off by Cilan 's behaviour, but he tried to act calmly, even if it was not easy.

"Of course, your next opponent is Cres and I am going to judge your battle with him, okay? "said Cilan.

"As you wish. "Aiden did not care much.

"Good, the second round between challenger and Striaton gym leaders begins. "

"Go, Panpoor. "Cres threw his pokéball in the air and a blue monkey appeared form it.

Aiden 's right eye started to twitch. [Do not say to me, that they all really caught a pokémon based on just a similar hair colour.] he inhaled and exhaled some times to calm himself down and then started to think about his strategy to the second round.

[I have already seen Sandile 's skills back in the battle club, so I guess, I leave this battle to Snivy and in the last round I will use Tepig.] Aiden looked at his Snivy and simply nodded.

"Panpoor, use Water Gun.

"Snivy, dodge it and use Leaf Tornado. "

"Panpoor, use Dig and evade it. "

Water pokémon disappeared under the ground.

"Snivy, quickly come closer and use a Leaf Tornado in the hole dug by Panpoor. "

She did as Aiden said and after a few seconds Panpoor was blown away from the earth with a loud scream of pain.

"Panpoor, no! "Cres had a worried look on his face.

Water pokémon managed to stand up, but Snivy's last attack was super effective, so he was barely standing. "

"Panpoor, use bubble beam. "

"Counter it with Protect. "

Blue bubbles collided with a green shield and create a small explosion. Smoke covered a place where Snivy was standing.

"Good job, Panpoor. "Cres smiled at his pokémon.

'Panpoor, pan. 'little monkey started to jump on his one leg and celebrating victory.

"Heh...."Aiden chuckled when he saw behaviour of a gym leader. "Do not celebrate too early. Snivy, finish him with Leaf Blade.

Something rushed from a smoke cloud on an extreme speed and appeared in front of Panpoor and hit him hard. Water pokémon was not sure about what happened. A second ago he was celebrating his victory and now he is flying towards the wall.

He flew a few meters and crushed to the wall. When dust, lifted by Panpoor, vanished, everyone could see unconscious pokémon lying on the ground. Dead silence filled the whole gym, but was interrupted by a strong light coming from the Aiden 's Snivy. She started to grow and her body was transforming. A few moments later, when light disappeared, whole new pokémon was standing in front of Aiden. He smiled and went towards her.

"Good job, girl. I am very proud of you. "Aiden smiled at her and petted her head.

He then looked at her and said: "I am going to use Tepig for our last battle because I need to test his strange, okay?

' Ser, servine, ser. ' she nodded and rubbed her head against his chest.

"Thank you, girl, now return. "he pointed a pokéball at her and with a beam of red light she was sucked in it.

"Ahh.... I can see a strength of your Servine. This is a completely new recipe in my gym battle recipe book. "exclaimed Cilan.

[I hate pokémon connoisseur.] Aiden 's eye started to twitch. He then looked at Cilan and asked him: "Can we finish this gym battle, please? "

"Ahh...of course, but I am your last opponent and it is not going to be an easy battle for you. "Cilan stood on the battling position and pulled out his pokéball.

"Come out, Pansage, it is time to shine. "

Green monkey appeared on the battlefield. Then a loud slap filled the gym. Everyone looked at Aiden, who face palmed his face.

[Naah... they did it. Their pokémon have the same colour as their hair.] Aiden turned his eyes to the sky, but everything that he could see, was the gym ceiling. [I hope that other gym leaders are not so dumb as these three.]

He then looked at Cres, who was judging the battle, and said: "Can we already begin the match? "

"Sure, the final gym battle between gym leader Cilan and challenger begins. "

Aiden chose his Tepig. Two pokémon were staring at each other as their trainers, but finally Aiden decided to begin the battle.

"Tepig, use Ember. "

"Pansage, counter with Bullet Seed. "

Two attacks collided in the middle of the field and reduced each other.

"Tepig, use guerilla warfare. "

Fire type pokémon nodded and exhaled smoke cloud form his nose, which covered the battlefield and reduced everyone 's vision.

"Pansage, be aware of your surroundings. Try to hear Tepig's movement. "

Green monkey tried but his hearing was not so good, so after a while people could hear sounds of attacks and Pansage 's painful screams from the smoke.

"Pansage, get out of there by using Dig. "

"Tepig, use Ember to a hole created by Pansage nonstop.

When smoke finally disappeared. Everyone could see Tepig firing embers inside of the hole dug by Pansage. A few moments later grass pokémon jumped from the ground. He was injured and sweating because of a high temperature created by Tepig 's attack.

"Tss.. I was not expecting that something like that could work twice in one match, but you surprised me. My Pansage is in a really bad shape, so we need to finish it with one last move. "

"Pansage, use Solar Beam. "

[Shit, Tepig can not be hit by that attack.]

"Try to dodge it, buddy. "

Tepig started to jump from side to side, but it did not help him. Pansage 's attack was just too fast and it sent Tepig flying. Unconscious pokémon landed next to Aiden.

"Tepig is unable to continue the battle. Challenger, please select your next pokémon. "

"You did great, buddy, now you can rest. "Aiden returned his pokémon to the pokéball.

He then pulled another one and called his Servine again.

"Next round begins. "said Cres.

"Pansage, use bu-…."

"Finish him. "Aiden said to Servine.

She jumped in the air and created an enormous Leaf Tornado which she sent towards Pansage. Little monkey was not even able to react because of a high speed of attack. He crushed to the wall behind Cilan and fell unconscious.

Silence filled the room. Everyone was stunned by speed and power of Servine 's last attack. A few moments later Cres had finally manged to get back to normal and said: "Pansage is unable to continue the battle, winner is Servine and the winner of the gym battle is Aiden. "

Cilan returned his pokémon and headed towards Aiden with a gym badge, but was outran by the shadow which hugged Aiden.

"You did it, you beat this stupid Cilan. Thank you, thank you, thank you... "

"Ehmm... "Aiden was not sure what to do in this situation, so he looked at Cilan.

"Burgundy, what are you doing here? "Cilan asked a little girl with a purple hair.

"She let Aiden and turned towards Cilan. "Hmm, I came here to take a rematch with you, Cilan, but then I saw him beating your brothers and you, loser. "she snorted and showed her tongue to him.

"Ehm, ehm, can I have my gym badge? "Aiden coughed to drew Cilan 's attention.

"Ahh... yes, here. "Cilan smiled awkwardly and gave Aiden his gym badge.

Aiden looked at it and then called his Servine to come closer.

"Look, girl. We won this badge only because of your and Tepig 's hard work. I am very proud of you. "he kneeled in front of Servine and hugged her.

He then cancelled hug and returned his pokémon back to pokéball. He had been already leaving, when someone called him. He turned and saw the same purple haired girl who hugged him earlier.

"Wait for me, please. "Burgundy rushed towards Aiden. When she was standing by his side, she turned back to Cilan and said: "I will come back and defeat you, so wait for me. "

She turned away and left the gym with Aiden.

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"So....why did you follow me? "Aiden asked Burgundy after giving his pokémon to Nurse Joy.

"Uhmm..... because you defeated that stupid Cilan and I wanted to ask you for training me and my Pokémon.

"Hmm... but why you do not like him so much? "

Her face gained an angry expression and she clenched her fists. "He....he defeated my Oshawott and said that he is not compatible with me and I need to find another pokémon. So, I decided to become the best connoisseur and show him that he was wrong. "tears started to appear in her eyes.

Aiden came closer to her and wiped out her tears. He then looked directly in her eyes and said: "You do not have to prove something to him and you do not have to become a connoisseur just because of that. You can be a connoisseur if you would like to, but if not, then you need to find your own way. If you want to show Cilan that he was wrong, then I will help you with your training. We will train together for a week and then you are going to battle with him again. How about that? "Aiden smiled at her.

Burgundy was surprised by Aiden 's words, but then she smiled brightly and hugged him again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you... "she was repeating the same words over and over.

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One week later.....

Burgundy was standing on the battlefield. On the other side was standing her opponent Cilan.

"This is going to be one on one battle between gym leader Cilan and challenger Burgundy. "said Cilan 's brother Cres, who was judging the match.

Cilan chose his Pansage and Burgundy her Oshawott.

"Hmm....Osahwott again, but I can feel that something has changed between you two. "

"Stop talking and start battling. "Burgundy looked at Aiden, who was standing on the balcony, and then back to the battlefield.

"As you wish. Pansage, use Bullet Seed. "

"Oshawott, deflect them with Razor Shell. "

'Osha, oshawott 'he took his shell and deflected seeds, flying towards him.

"How did h... "Cilan was not expected something like that and could not react on Burgundy 's next command.

"Oshawott, water gun. "

Large jet of water came from his mouth and sent Pansage flying to the nearby rock.

"Pansage, stand up and use Solar Beam.

Green monkey stood up and fired a beam of yellow energy towards water pokémon.

"Oshawott, use Agua Jet to dodge it and then combine it with Razor Shell. "

Water covered Oshawott and he avoided Pansage 's attack which hit the ground where he was standing.

From top of the Water Jet appeared a blue energy blade. This combined attack headed towards Pansage.

"Pansage. Counter it with Solar Beam. "

Grass type pokémon started to concentrate sun energy in his hands again, but was too slow and was hit by Oshawott 's attack. When dust, which covered the battlefield, disappeared, everyone could see unconscious pokémon lying on the ground and Oshawott, who was barely standing because of a big amount of used energy.

"Pansage is unable to continue the battle, winner of the battle is Oshawott and the winner of a match is Burgundy.

She rushed towards her pokémon and hugged him.

"We did it, Oshawott, we did it, we did it.... "

Aiden appeared behind her and said: "Good job Burgundy, you and your Oshawott did great.

When she heard Aiden, she turned and hugged him too. "Thank you, Aiden, it is because of your help. "

"Stupid, it is not because of me, but because of your and Oshawott 's hard work. "he smiled and hugged her back.

"Ehmm....sorry for interrupting you two, but I need to give a reward to the winner. "Cilan came with a gym badge in his hands.

"Of course. "Aiden cancelled their hug.

Burgundy was not happy, but she turned to Cilan and gained her first gym badge.

"I can smell now a strong scent of partnership between you and your pokémon. "exclaimed Cilan.

"Hmm, I knew that you were wrong. "she snorted and picked Aiden 's hand. "We are leaving. "Burgundy headed towards the exit.

"Hehehe..."Cilan smiled awkwardly and had been watching them leaving.

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Boy and girl were standing in front of the pokécentre. Girl was trying to hold her tears.

"Uh... do not cry, please. We are not saying goodbye forever. "he smiled at her.

Suddenly, she lifted her head and looked directly in his eyes and said: "I decided to become a pokémon master and one day I will defeat you. "

"Are you sure about your decision? "

"Yes. "her voice was full of determination

"Heh...then I will be waiting on you. "he petted her head and then went towards the exit of the city. Burgundy was smiling and waving at Aiden till he disappeared from her vision.

This was the first, but not the last time, when our hero changed the future.