"Is Eeveery Trainer Strong?" by BLURSH

Narrator: This time we find our trainers full of energy and ready to battle. While traveling on a dusty road, they notice noise up ahead and quicken their pace to find out what it is. A trainer and her Espeon train on the road up ahead. What they don’t know is that this trainer, who appears strong, is going to change their lives forever.

“Haha... Cellestria use Psychic now!" The dark trainer instructed her Espeon. Espeon used a psychic attack on a tree nearby and the tree fell over. "Hey. Who are you four?!" she said upon looking up and catching sight of Ash, Pikachu, Brock, Max, and May.

"Hi, I'm Ash from Pallet Town." Ash said as he walked over to the girl and her Espeon.

"And I'm Brock! You're the most beautiful girl ever." Brock slightly drooled then Max pulled his ear with irritation. "Oww, Oww. NO! Not the ear! Owwww!" Brock sat from the road admiring her dark yet elegant beauty.

"Oh, thanks. Nice to meet you guys. I'm Kelly. Pokémon Coordinator, Battle Tower Master, and Pokémon Breeder! And this is Cellestria! Ha. Would any of you give me a battle?" Kelly looked at Ash, Brock, and Max. Then Kelly noticed May, who was far behind them. Kelly shouted over to May. "Oh, hey, you over there! Who are YOU? Yeah, you with the Skitty." Kelly said as she waved for May to come over.

"Good for you!" Kelly laughed and turned to Ash. "Hey, Ash. Do you got any strong Pokémon?"

"Yes, I do! All my Pokémon are strong, especially Pikachu!" Pikachu, on Ash's shoulder, squealed a “Pika” while it began charging electricity to seem strong.

"Ummm, please tell me that that little Pikachu is not what you call strong. Ha. Ha. Well let's see it battle," Kelly responded with a laugh. “If it can battle.” She whispered.

"Cellestria! Dig!" Kelly shot the order out clear as day. Espeon immediately dug underfoot and shot up right where Pikachu was. Pikachu fainted without a fight.

"I think I made my point. Smell you later, losers!" Kelly had Espeon return and sent out a magnificent Altaria. Altaria used Fly and Kelly disappeared into the blinding light in the sky. Ash looked in disbelief at the sky and his mouth hung open with a lack of words.

"Whoa, she's the strongest trainer I've EVER met!" Max exclaimed as he examined the hole in the ground from Espeon's Dig. "It's almost scary."

"Her attitude reminded me of Drew. Oh, That Kelly's so smug!" May stomped her foot on the ground. Obviously, she was still hurt over the 'good for you' comment.

During this time, Ash stood over Pikachu, speaking comforting words. Though, Ash was discouraged he seemed to refocus his attention on Pikachu rather than the lost battle.

"Ash, is Pikachu going to be alright?" Brock said, being the only other one concerned, seeing as May and Max were still observing Kelly's handiwork.

Brock pulled out a map and saw that the closest place was a Pokémon Ranch that also had Pokémon Healing Solutions there. From the looks of it, it was like a Poké-Mall. It had a breeding center, training center, daycare for baby Pokémon, racecourse, Pokéblock blender, and battlefield. The map also explained that close by was a berry patch and contest hall.

They all raced to the Pokémon Ranch. Ash breathed heavily as he ran ahead, carrying Pikachu. Upon arriving, they were greeted by a small young girl carrying a pile of Chesto Berries in her apron. The girl looked friendly and about thirteen years old. She had long brown hair tied in a ponytail under her red bandana. From under her wispy bangs shone two blue eyes. Ash and friends stopped to ask her for help.

"Hello, can I help you? Do you require one of our services?" She asked them; then saw Pikachu. Before they could say anything she replied, "My goodness, what on earth happened?"

"Pikachu was hurt in battle. We were told that this ranch has a Pokémon Center. That's what we're in need of, Miss." Ash said politely. He tried to disguise the worry in his voice, but the girl could pick up on it and was just as equally worried for Pikachu.

"Hmm," the girl said. Putting the berries down, she picked up Pikachu and examined its wounds. "Dig… Who was it that you were battling?"

"Ha, she owns this ranch!" The girl laughed as she walked over to the Healing Solutions Counter.

"Yup!" She handed Pikachu to Nurse Joy and Blissey who brought Pikachu to the back.

"By the way I'm Olivia. I'm her assistant. I help make the Pokéblocks here." Olivia greeted all of them and brought them over to the lounge area.

A few minutes later, Nurse Joy came over with Pikachu. Pikachu squealed with delight. "Your Pikachu will be just fine. It was hurt pretty badly in that battle, though. I would suggest you let Pikachu rest today."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy." Ash took Pikachu back and smiled. "Olivia, how did Espeon get so strong?" He turned to Olivia and his face turned straight as he examined the bruise on Pikachu's tail.

"Well, why don't you just ask me?" A voice from the other side of the room boomed in.

Everybody turned to look. Who was that Mysterious Voice? They all wondered, but only saw a figure in the shadows, standing on the other side of the room in the doorway. Black shoes, Black pants, Black shirt; all looking so familiar. The only color they could see was a yellow crescent on the shirt and green eyes darting out from the shadowy face. Could it be?

"Oh, hi, Kelly. I was just telling Ash and friends about your love for Pokémon. He He." Olivia gave a nervous laugh as she stood up to greet trainer Kelly who took a step out from the shadows.

"Where did she come from? It was like all the sudden she was there." May whispered to Max.

"Excuse me, children. Hold your tongue. Max, May, I wish to speak to Olivia alone." Espeon jumped out from the shadows where Kelly had been. As if being connected be a psychic link, Espeon's eyes glowed and pulled May and Max's tongues half way out of their mouths and held it there as Kelly went to talk to Olivia.

"Keripsotolovi! OW!" Max’s words made equally as much sense as May’s and were accompanied by a whine.

"Solarenite! Cease! That shall do for now." Kelly whispered something to Olivia as she pointed to the window and to the barn outside.

"Oh, my dear, yes, right away. I'll call for Joey and Kimmy to assist." Olivia said as she heard the news from Kelly. Olivia picked up four Pokéballs from a shelf near the window and turned to the door.

"My tongue hasn't touched my nose like that since I was 3!" Max rubbed his nose and stuck his tongue out again. When his eyes met Espeon, he quickly pulled it back in.

"Huh, I thought her Espeon was named Cellestria. Why'd she call it Solarenite, I wonder? Is it a different Espeon?" Ash whispered to himself. He curiously looked at the Espeon's glowing eyes, bright in the darkened lounge room.

Olivia stood up and ran towards the door. "Oh sorry guys, there's an emergency on the track near the barn outside. I got to go and help." Olivia slipped out the door then popped her head back. "Ash, you should ask Kelly some questions about her Pokémon, since she's here now." She gave Kelly a sharp look that said "Play Nice!" then she ran out again.

Ash didn't know what to say. He studied Kelly's appearance since she was facing the open window and staring into the green. Her bangs were cut from short to long diagonally. On the left they were short right above her eyebrow, on the right they were longer extending over part of her right eye. Ash looked at her short, spiky, brown hair with one streak of purple on the side. She had small almond-shaped eyes, but not beady eyes. They were still brilliant in color and shape. Her outfit was all black except for the yellow crest on her shirt and the yellow stripe on her shoe. Her outfit seemed like that of an Umbreon’s, black and yellow being the only colors. Black seemed to occupy most of her outfit and even darkened the color of her hair.

As if he was staring too long, Kelly turned around and smiled. Somehow she had known he was staring at her appearance. "What was it that you wanted to ask me, Ash?"

"Don't lie to me, Ash. I know you were wondering how I got to be so strong. You were wondering why last time I called Espeon Cellestria and this time I said Solarenite. Right?" She said as if reading his mind aloud.

"Well, I'll answer your questions this time. Next time you'll learn more about me. Okay?" Kelly smiled and reached her hand out. "Sorry 'bout your Pikachu. I sometimes get a little carried away. Truce?"

"Well, looks like Nurse Joy fixed up Pikachu pretty well." She said relieved. It was as if the stronger, pushier side of her got the best of her during battle.

"Yeah," was all that Ash could say. He was still shaken up by his battle and this new trainer’s strength.

"Still we don't trust you. You were fierce and mean to us." Max shouted then covered his mouth and tongue.

"Sorry about that. Listen May, Max, Brock. I'm really sorry for being mean. As proof of that I'd like to do something for each of you." Kelly apologized.

"What, yeah, but how'd you know?" May replied, awed once again by Kelly’s mind reading.

"He, he, he. One must never reveal their secrets." Kelly laughed. She turned to Brock. "Brock, I know you used to be a gym leader and that your dream is to be a Pokémon Breeder."

Kelly snapped her fingers. Two people ran to the doorway. "This is Azure, a Pokémon Breeder." She pointed to a tall young woman with blue hair, blue eyes, and a blue dress with a baby Azurill in her arms. "Azure, take Brock on a tour of our Breeding center. Show him the rock Pokémon." Kelly winked at Brock. Brock looked at Azure. He became dazed at her beauty, but didn’t show it since he was still in Kelly’s presence. "And this is Lukas, a Pokémon Coordinator and Pokéblock Expert. May, you can go with him." He was a tall young man with short black and brown hair, wearing a Pokémon apron. His outfit underneath his Pokémon apron looked similar to Kelly’s. "Show May our contest halls, Lukas."

"Do you like Pokémon battles? I think you would love to be a gym leader like your Dad, huh?"

"Oh, yeah. Someday I may be as strong as my Dad." Max sighed, closing his eyes to imagine.

"Go, Aquaseasta, Zapdoticor, Pyrolaurel! Show Max our Battle Fields." A Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon came out of the Pokéballs that she took off of her belt.

"Cool! This’ll be fun!" Max ran out of the door with the Pokémon, heading to the Official Battlefields.

"Now Ash, since it's just us I'd like to ask you a couple questions. Oh, and of course I'll answer your questions, too." Kelly turned back to Ash.

"Sure." Ash said a little looser. He smoothed his jeans out with his tight palms.

Something crashed outside toward the Race Track. Ash and Kelly ran to the open window.

Ash began to climb down the wall of the building, seeing as Kelly looked like she was going to as well. Ash got halfway down; not wanting to ask Kelly what was going on, seeing as she probably already had read his mind. He looked back up. Kelly jumped past him and Espeon stopped her from hitting the ground with it a mere two inches from her feet. Espeon let its psychic link go. Kelly caught her balance and opened her arms for Espeon to jump.

"Solarenite, Jump!" Kelly cried. Espeon stood still. Then, Kelly knew what happened. Espeon was seeing into the future. Kelly waited. Finally, she asked Espeon to return to its Pokéball. She put Espeon’s Pokéball away and pulled out a different one from her pocket. By that time, Ash and Pikachu had reached the ground, tired from climbing.

"What's going on?" Ash asked. "What was that bang?" Kelly stared at the Pokéball in her hand. It was gold and silver. Engraved in the Pokéball was the letters GS. "Kelly?" Ash continued. "Are you okay? Aren't we going to go over to the track to see what happened?"

"Yes." Kelly looked into his eyes, as if searching his soul to see if he could be trusted. "The Race Track has been experiencing trouble lately. That's where we need to go. It is quite far away. We'll need to fly to get there." She took a deep breath. "Can I trust you?"

Kelly raised the Pokéball. "GO! Ruby!" A large, luxuriant Latias came out of the Pokéball.

"Wow!" Ash exclaimed. Even Pikachu was surprised to see such a beautiful legendary bird.

In a tree nearby, three binoculars looked toward the large bird that was now letting Ash, Pikachu, and Kelly on its back. In two seconds it took off in to the air, heading over the forest to the Race Track.

"I have my eyes on that Espeon. Oh, just imagine that Espeon using Psychic to get me gold and diamonds. I could be living in the lap of luxury. Ohhahhahh." Jessie chuckled as she imagined herself sitting on a throne with jewels strung around her neck and Espeon by her side. "Oh, that would be just perfect."

"Ohh, can you believe that the twerps happen to stop here? This place is loaded with super strong and rare Pokémon." James commented.

"Who cares about Pikachu? That Espeon is stronger than any Pokémon I've ever seen before. And we haven't even seen all the Pokémon in training and all the racing Pokémon and breeding Pokémon and baby Pokémon and Contest Pokémon and... ahh…" Jessie cooed in delight thinking of all the Pokémon available to steal here. Ponyta, Elekid, Beautifly, Altaria, Hitmonchan, Jumpluff, Crawdaunt, Onix, Latias, and Latios passed through her thoughts. All of them sitting by her, tending to her needs. Then all of the sudden Meowth interrupted her dreams.

"Haven't you loined anytin'? We ain't gonna keep 'em. We gonna give 'em to da Boss."

"Well, imagine da Boss waken' up early in da mornin'," Meowth envisioned a little cartoon Boss with pajamas and a nightcap waking up and yawning. "And all da sudden a ton of Pokémon come en' greet him 'en bring him brekfest 'en d'you know what da Boss'll say? 'I otto reward Meowth 'en his fwends for bwingin' me dese wondafol Pokémon.'"

"Yea! To the Pokémon!" Jessie shouted and waved her arms, pushing James and Meowth out of the tree.

Over in the Race Track Latias just landed, letting Kelly, Ash, and Pikachu off its back. It returned to its Pokéball.

“Thanks, Ruby.” Kelly kissed the GS ball and put it back in her pocket. She pulled out another Pokéball. Ash looked amazed to see that she had yet more Pokémon with her. She called the Pokémon out. It was a Rapidash. It was extremely healthy, shiny and its flame could be felt at a distance. “Okay, Baby Girl let’s fly.” She got on Rapidash’s back and coaxed Ash to come on, too.

“But, I’m over here and it’s too hot. I’ll get burned if I try to sit on her.” Ash took a step back.

“Oh, no you won’t. I’m full of surprises, aren’t I? Ash, trust me. She will not burn you or Pikachu.” She let Rapidash trot over to Ash. The Rapidash rubbed against Ash’s shoulder. Ash winced, but he didn’t get burned.

The second Kelly yelled, “Run, Baby Girl!” they went flying down the track. Ash and Pikachu screamed and held on as hard as they could. Kelly laughed. She had no problem holding onto the speedy Pokémon.

They abruptly stopped when they saw three other trainers with their Pokémon standing in front of a wild fire Pokémon. One of the trainers was Olivia. On her shoulder was a Murkrow. There was another trainer with fiercely strong looking Pokémon. His name was stitched on his hat. J-O-E-Y.

”Hey, that must be the trainer that Olivia said she was going to get help her.” Ash thought. He remembered back to the mysterious conversation between Kelly and Olivia in the lounge room.

"Oh, my dear, yes, right away. I'll call for Joey and Kimmy to assist." Olivia had said. Ash looked at the other trainer. In her hands was a Zigzagoon. On her head sat a Tailow and by her side was a Sleeping Slakoth.

“That must be Kimmy,” Ash thought. No one paid attention to Ash but instead called Kelly over to assist.

”I understand, but, Kimmy, we have to keep trying.” Kelly reassured the girl.

”Kelly, I need help. To control this Ponyta isn’t as easy as it seems,” the boy with the name Joey on his hat spoke with anger.

”Joey, we can’t give up!” Kelly sternly answered. Ash looked at Pikachu. What was going on? The wild and out-of-control Ponyta was bucking and rearing on and off.

Kelly called back her Rapidash, called Baby Girl, and instructed Olivia, Kimmy, and Joey to call back all of their Pokémon. Olivia returned her Murkrow, Farfetch’d, Delibird, and Steelix. Joey called back his Arbok, Nidoking, Tropius, and Kecleon. Kimmy made her Zigzagoon, Tailow, and Slakoth return to their Pokéballs. After all the Pokémon were safely inside their Pokéballs. Kelly stepped forward. Olivia, Joey, and Kimmy backed off.

”Come here, Ash.” Kelly ordered Ash to step forward with her, closer to the screaming Ponyta. “Put your hands by your side. Bow your head down. Whistle.” Kelly instructed Ash. He looked at her not knowing what to say, but did as she asked.

”We got too excited and that upset the little Ponyta.” Kelly paused. “Solarenite saw something before.” Ash remembered when the Espeon paused at the windowsill. “Wait and you’ll see.” They all watched Ponyta. It began glowing.

“It was getting ready to evolve and when you all called your Pokémon out, it was startled. All Ponyta wanted was Joey. That’s why I asked Olivia, Kimmy, and Joey to come and watch.” Ponyta evolved into Rapidash and looked stronger than ever.

“Oh, Rapidash! You’re so beautiful!” Joey jumped on Rapidash’s back and patted its neck. He turned to Kelly. “I wish you had just told me what was going to happen. We got upset over nothing.”

”Well, that would have taken the mystery out of it.” Kelly smiled. “I didn’t know about the evolution. I just knew Ponyta was upset. It doesn’t matter now.“

”No,” Kelly said. Kelly became ultra serious. “This is just a pit stop, Ash. The bang came from the other race track.”

”There are two race tracks?” Ash asked, stunned. Kelly nodded. She called Altaria out. Ash figured they were going to fly over to the track that Kelly had mentioned.

“Kelly,” Olivia said. She looked at Kelly’s face, pale in the sunlight. Olivia looked behind her back. Joey and Kimmy mouthed “good bye” to her. They apparently were going back to the central building. Joey had to get back to his job of Professional Pokémon Training. He brought Rapidash with him. Kimmy had to get back to the Pokémon Daycare, the department where she worked. Only Olivia, Kelly, Altaria, Ash, and Pikachu stood on the tracks now. “Kelly,” Olivia repeated. “Are we going over to see the…”Her voice trailed off. She mumbled another word so softly that Ash couldn’t make out what she said.

“Yes. We are going to see the Shadow Lugia. Olivia, go back to the ranch and get Ash’s friends.”

”Lugia?” Ash asked. He had been surprised to see Latias, Espeon, and Rapidash, but not as surprised as he was to hear that there was a Legendary Lugia nearby.

Kelly ignored Ash’s question. Olivia ran back to the Central Ranch to get Brock, May, and Max.

“Come now, Ash.” Kelly looked Ash straight in the eyes for the first time. They mounted on Altaria, and took off with blinding speed.

Upon arriving on the Race Track, Ash and Pikachu were completely and thoroughly stunned. In front of them was a Legendary Pokémon, and besides that it glowed a dark aura. A shadow or shiny Pokémon like this was very hard to control. It thrashed against the large cage it was in. Its shrieking cry chilled all of them right to the bone. Clouds gathered overhead as Kelly moved closer to Lugia.

“Ash, you are wondering why I would cage a Lugia up like this, aren’t you?”

Kelly continued, “I was searching for legendary Pokémon last year. I somehow encountered a multitude of different rare Pokémon that all were willing to submit to my Eevee teams. I have Espeon, Umbreon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, and Eevee that battle and train with me; they are my friends. Because of that I have an invincible team and indescribable powers on my side. Through travel, I have became closer than ever to them. Especially, my two Espeon--Cellestria and Solarenite.” Kelly sighed and took a deep breath. “I have always been lured to rare bird Pokémon, Lugia being no exception. But when I found Lugia, it was weak, angry and under a Dark Team’s Lab.”

”Team Magma, Team Aqua, Team Rocket?” Ash questioned, getting angered with the thought of a strong and rare Pokémon being put through tests at some lab.

”No, it’s a team that goes by the name of ‘The Heartless Three.’ The name fits them well. They find Pokémon that were once happy, strong, and special and turn them into Shadow Pokémon.”

”That is a Shadow Pokémon!” Kelly pointed to the struggling Lugia. “They turn heartless and attack people. They must learn to trust again. I’ve taken in many Shadow Pokémon over the years, including Ruby.”

”It took me months to open its heart. ‘The Heartless Three’ did a number on Ruby. Luckily, Ruby is better.” She turned to Lugia. “Lugia, on the other hand, is not. We have to help it. But the thing is, I can’t seem to reach its heart.”

“We can! Together we will!” Ash looked determined. He put his hand out for Kelly to shake. They shook hands, as Olivia ran up with Brock, May, and Max.

“HEY! Guys!” Kelly shouted with a smile. She looked back at Ash. “We can,” she said softly to him.

“Whoa!” Max said looking at Shadow Lugia. Everyone seemed absolutely stunned to see such a rare and beautiful Pokémon. Only Olivia and Kelly seemed to not be phased at the appearance of the Pokémon. Olivia quietly handed Kelly three Pokéballs, which contained the Flareon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon that had just been with Max. May had her Skitty in her arms. At the sight of the Lugia, Skitty squealed in fear. Brock stepped backwards slightly, not really knowing what to say.

“I’d like to, Ash, but I’m afraid Lugia might not respond to that. It might think I’m being a bully.” Kelly sighed. Almost exasperated, she continued, ”Lugia is different… than any other Pokémon. This is my toughest challenge yet.”

Then Olivia butted in. “After Kelly rescued Lugia, it only seemed to become more angry. This really hasn’t ever happened before.”

”Every other Shadow Pokémon and Legendary Pokémon that I’ve caught just willing submitted to me. They trusted me, knew I was a good trainer, and definitely expected me to provide for them. But Lugia has almost an independent streak, which I respect. What I don’t understand is the fact that Lugia won’t admit that I’m a good trainer, that I’ve raised my Pokémon well.” Kelly answered.

“I can see how strong your Pokémon are. But in a way I agree with Lugia.” Brock came forward with a response. “There is a difference between a trainer that has strong Pokémon and a trainer that treats their Pokémon with love and care. Maybe if Lugia could see that side of you it would respond to treatment.”

”I know what you mean, Brock. I’ve never used force with my Pokémon, never mistreated them or overworked them. But it’s just strange that Lugia doesn’t know that.” Kelly stated.

“Because Lugia is a very sensitive Pokémon. Because of that I would think that Lugia could sense that I’m a good trainer, or at least I’m its friend.” Kelly said. Then calling Espeon out, she seemed to almost be crying. It was the first real emotion she had shown to Ash and his friends. As Espeon, the one called Solarenite, came out, the clouds got darker. Lugia began glowing more deeply; an angry color infused into its eyes.

”Kelly,” Olivia offered, “Lugia’s judgment is clouded by what ‘The Heartless Three’ have done. You know that Shadow Pokémon can’t respond to humans the same way as normal Pokémon.”

”I know,” Kelly admitted. As she said so, the clouds broke forth with rain. The wind howled fiercely as Kelly commanded Espeon to attack the cage Lugia was in. First, Espeon tried biting the cage’s bars. Then after Tail Whip, Swift, and Psybeam, the bars finally broke. After Espeon used Confusion to throw the cage’s top half onto the side of the racetrack, Lugia roared in confusion. Though Lugia was free, it seemed to be captive to its own mind, not knowing what to do or where to go.

“Come on out, Starnestra!” Kelly called out her Umbreon. It used Helping Hand and together with Espeon they began a battle with Lugia.

“No, wait!” Olivia pulled Ash back. “Pikachu can’t battle. Remember what Nurse Joy said. Pikachu is still recovering from its last battle.” Olivia raised her voice to be heard over the winds.

“You’re right.” Ash stopped and stared at the battle. Blasts of smoke were all over the place. It was too risky to have any of his Pokémon battle in something this dangerous.

“Here, my Steelix can help us out!” Olivia called out to Ash. She ran up to the location where Espeon was. Espeon was trying to use morning sun to restore its energy but seemed to fail with the fact that it was so dark out with the clouds covering the sky.

Promptly, Steelix came out of its Pokéball and joined in the battle. Meanwhile, Kelly crept closer to Lugia. Lugia had a thin layer of sweat covering its down. It obviously was putting up a formidable fight, but was greatly tired out from Espeon and Umbreon. Ash bravely walked over to Kelly. Lugia seemed to go into a strange tantrum. Its body glowed darker than ever before. Becoming stronger, Lugia wiped out Steelix with one powerful attack.

”That’s a good idea!” Kelly said, enthused at the idea. “Lugia…Lugia…Please listen.” Kelly called to it. Lugia looked over at Kelly, noticing that she was too close. It cried in surprise. Then blowing a powerful breath of air in her direction, Lugia managed to knock her off her feet. But Kelly stood up again. “Not giving up. I’m going to reach you. Lugia…Lugia…Please listen.” Tenaciously, she walked closer to the great bird.

“Watch out!” Everyone shouted to Kelly. Kelly was swept off her feet again by another one of Lugia’s attacks.

For a minute, Kelly sat motionless on the ground. Ash ran over to her and helped her up. Kelly smiled at him gratefully.

Lugia batted against the ground with fury. It seemed confused and angry at the very presence of humans. All of the sudden, a large blinding streak of lightning surged forth from the sky. Did Lugia do that? That was the question on Ash and Kelly’s mind as the lightning carefully guided its course to hit Espeon. Espeon dodged it and dug underground. Espeon made a tunnel right underfoot Lugia, but upon gaining the surface Lugia flew up high out of reach of Espeon. Lugia still didn’t escape. It was as if this battle really was a challenge to Lugia and the stubbornness in Lugia urged it to fight.

Out of the sky another thunderbolt came down. This time the electricity hit Umbreon straight on. Umbreon nodded listlessly until it finally fell down. Kelly called it back into its Pokéball. Espeon was now fighting by itself, still in a weakened state. Kelly carefully called Espeon back and sent out her Jolteon. When the lightening bolts hit Jolteon, it gives it strength instead of hurting it. Kelly knew this and instructed Jolteon to run in the path of the electricity. While Jolteon was busy absorbing energy, Kelly was quietly creeping closer to Lugia. Lugia was starting to back down out of its Shadow Mode and was not as strong but still was fighting, finding Kelly’s well-trained team a challenge.

But, just as Kelly and Ash got close enough to Lugia, an odd laughter came out from the trees on the edge of the field.

A large steel Espeon robot came through out of the bushes and onto the field. Startled Lugia blew a dragon breath attack in its direction. It didn’t penetrate the surface, but instead was deflected off. The machine had some sort of defense mechanism.

”Arg! It’s Team Rocket! Now they’re going to ruin everything for Lugia!” Ash gritted his teeth.

“Team Rocket?” Kelly questioned, and then closed her eyes. As if she could see inside the weird steel contraption that was in front of them, she nodded just like she knew exactly who they were. “Zapdoticor, Double Kick!” Kelly instructed her Jolteon, named Zapdoticor, to attack Team Rocket.

”Jolt! Jolteon!” The Pokémon cried then attacked. The attack was deflected.

“Team Rocket’s got the stage now, honey!” Jessie’s voice came out of the robot over a loud speaker.

“Pokémon of rare origins and valuable finds…” James said in a singsong voice.

”So hand them over, for your own name sake!” Jessie’s singsong voice continued through her threat. ”We’re blasting off at the speed of light…”

”So surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!” James finished up with the normal routine.

”All of your attacks are deflected with our special Morph-bot.” Jessie taunted.

“It means that this contraption can change into any of the evolution forms of Eevee and be strong against any of your attacks. So at any second we can change Morph-bot from Espeon to, oh, let’s say, Flareon.” Jessie continued. Inside the Morph-bot, Meowth pressed a button and the outside of the robot changed into something that looked like a Flareon.

“Attack, Flareon robot! Ooo!” James said as he pulled a lever. Outside of the robot, a flamethrower attack scourged the land.

Quickly, Kelly called Vaporeon and Flareon out. Vaporeon jumped into action using a strong Hydro Pump attack against the Morph-bot. Flareon absorbed the flames left by Team Rocket and gained even more power.

“Aieyiyie! Change! Quick! Umbreon!” Meowth ordered Jessie and James. Quickly, they pressed buttons and pulled levers to change the Morph-bot into Umbreon.

“All Pokémon have weaknesses. And I have all Pokémon.” Kelly said slyly. “Umbreon is weak against fighting. Zapdoticor! Double Kick!” Jolteon blazed across the field at lightning speed and delivered the fighting attack with full fury. The machine began to whir and hum with strain.

“What! NO. Eevee is weak against fighting, too. Change to Jolteon.” Jessie pushed past Meowth and James and changed the Morph-bot into Jolteon.

“Zapdoticor, absorb all electric attacks. Pyrolaurel stay your ground. Aquaseasta watch over Lugia!” Kelly instructed Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon to their stations.

Jolteon attacked the Morph-bot with a Double Kick then used Agility to run and catch all of the shocks that were falling off of the robot. Flareon waited for a second. Then it attacked with Overheat. Jolteon and Vaporeon protected themselves from the intense heat that waved off of Flareon.

“Hot. Hot. Hot. HOT!!!” James screamed and tried to change the Morph-bot into a Vaporeon. The machine overreacted and crashed into pieces.

“Ehh. My hair! That little rat of a Flareon burned my hair! Oww.” Jessie ran back and forth, trying to put out the flame that was singeing her hair.

“I’ll take it from here, Kel’. Go Delibird!” Olivia sent Delibird out and it attacked with Present. The Present turned out to be an explosion and knocked Team Rocket and the remains of the Morph-bot into the sky.

“I knew we should have grabbed that Lugia before we started to battle!” Jessie said as they were flying through the air.

“Well, that took care of Team Rocket.” Kelly said to Ash. “Now for Lugia.” Kelly called back all of her Pokémon and then courageously walked over to Lugia, who was slightly silenced by the quiet air. ”Let the storm clear, Lugia. Let me in.” Kelly said softly. A dark aura blazed from Lugia’s eyes and before Kelly knew it, she was standing inside of some strange globe. Inside the large dark orb, Kelly could see everyone outside, frozen in time. By her side was Ash, and in front of them was Lugia. Inside the red and black shadow realm that the three of them were standing inside of, Lugia’s strong strange voice penetrated the corners. First it was a roar and screech, and then Lugia started to speak to Kelly and Ash with words.

“Lugia, I just want to reach your heart. I just want you to trust me.” Kelly began to cry.

“You! You want me to trust you! Why should I? Prove yourself trustworthy and I’ll trust you.” Lugia yelled.

“I don’t know how to! I can’t, I can’t think of how to let you see who I really am.” Kelly got down on her knees and begged.

“Lugia, I’ve only known Kelly for a little while, and I can see that she is a good person. She really wants to have your faith.” Ash timidly spoke to Lugia with his head down slightly.

“All I see is that you are overconfident and full of yourself. And only when you are near me do you actually change your attitude.” Lugia spoke with less agitation in its voice. Kelly shook as tears welled up in her eyes. She looked up at Lugia.

“No, Ash. Lugia’s right. Think about when I first met you today.” It seemed so long ago to Ash. He remembered Kelly’s smug attitude. “I’m awful to people and Pokémon that are inferior. Why, why did I ever think that I was a good trainer? Why did I ever think I was even the slightest bit worthy enough to befriend Lugia? I’m no better than ‘The Heartless Three.’ ” Kelly sobbed.

“But, Kelly you’ve helped so many Pokémon. We all get a little overconfident sometimes, especially when we are on a winning streak. Sometimes it takes defeat for us to realize that there are stronger trainers out there. I was a little cocky before I met you, too. I mean, I was sure that I could win a battle against your Espeon. You put me in my place.”

”Just like what Lugia is doing.” Kelly got to her feet and slowly walked over to Lugia. “I’m sorry about the way I’ve acted. I only wanted my Pokémon to be confident in me and to make them feel stronger. Will you please become my friend? I promise to never act like that again, Lugia.”

“You have shown a promising quality that is rare to find in most. Not only have you admitted to your mistakes and shown regret, but also you have promised to change. You are right, Kelly. You do love your Pokémon and I have no doubt that you would treat me the same way. But before I become yours, you must promise to stop ‘The Heartless Three’ and release all of their Pokémon.” Lugia said. Kelly could tell that she reached Lugia’s heart only moments after Lugia reached hers. Lugia was no longer bitter towards humans.

Lugia screeched and the strange dark realm they were in ended. The sky became clearer and the dark clouds desisted. Kelly, Ash, and Pikachu were released from Lugia’s shadow orb and dropped on the racetrack. A wave of energy was released from Lugia as time and motion started up again. Lugia’s shrill cry caused the sun to emerge once again, and throughout the entire Pokémon Ranch life was restored. The grass shined a bright green and flowers began to bloom. Inside the Pokémon Daycare, Kimmy squealed in delight as an Igglybuff hatched from an egg. Joey’s Rapidash sped at full speed around the field that was lined with newly bloomed pansies. Kelly stood stationary until the land was restored.

“Oh, the land looks so beautiful again!” May said as she let Skitty run around her feet.

Kelly dropped to her feet from the lack of energy. After taking so many attacks from Lugia she was tired. Ash helped Kelly to her feet. Lugia hovered over the racetrack and landed near Kelly. Lugia lowered its head and brushed against Kelly. Kelly’s energy was restored.

“Thank you, Lugia. You’ve brought us peace.” Kelly said telepathically. Then she said out loud, “Harmony. I’ll name you Harmony.” She smiled as Lugia nodded. The name just seemed to fit perfectly.

Max looked back and forth between Olivia and Kelly. “What happened that I missed?” He said puzzled.

“I’ve learned at moments like these that sometimes there are no answers.” Olivia said. Then she looked back at Kelly. “She reasoned with Lugia. She opened up its heart.”

“Hey, who’s the psychic here?” Kelly joked. “You’re kinda right, Livi. Actually, when we were in that shadow realm place, Lugia reasoned with me. Lugia reached my heart. But I think we’re going to be good friends.”

Lugia roared loud and flew straight up, its feathers glowing a beautiful sheen in the sunlight as it flew past the clouds.

“Now’s the time for me to catch you, Harmony!” Kelly yelled to Lugia. She pulled out a fancy Pokéball engraved with crystal. It was a Luxury Ball. She threw it high in the air and Lugia went inside of it. All in one magical moment, the Luxury Ball dropped to the ground. With Lugia inside, it moved around making a rattling sound, until it finally stopped glowing and froze. Lugia was caught.

“Harmony will need a good rest now.” Kelly said. She kissed the Pokéball and clipped it onto her necklace.

“Thanks, Ash. I never could have done it without you.” Kelly said sincerely to him.

Olivia cleared her throat. “Oh, and thank you, Olivia; you helped, too.” Kelly said through a laugh.

“Hey, if you didn’t have Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon, you would have been able to do it. Just remember I’m the one that gave you those three Pokéballs. ‘Cause I knew you’d need ‘em.” Olivia joked.

All of the sudden it was silent. It didn’t last for long as Max’s stomach growled. Everyone laughed. Then May’s stomach growled, too.

“Let’s get you guys some food.” Kelly said, through the bursts of laughter and growling.

Back at the cafeteria located in the central part of the Ranch, the six trainers ate an enormous amount of food. All were very hungry from the long day and it was almost evening. Kelly and Olivia let all of their Pokémon rest at the Pokémon Healing Solutions Station, whereas Ash, May, and Brock let their Pokémon out of their Pokéballs to eat with the crowd. Olivia provided sumptuous Pokéblocks for the Pokémon. Kelly mixed up food for the Pokémon in a to-go bag for the trainers to have while on the road. Then, after mealtime, they got up and hit the road again.

Kelly and Olivia brought the trainers back onto the main road and said their final good-byes.

“It was so good that I met you and your Pokémon. I appreciated your hospitality, too.” Ash courteously said.

“Minus the introduction, right?” Kelly smiled as she was referring to her initial battle with Pikachu and Ash.

But just as everyone was waving and walking away, Kelly cried out. “Wait. Ash! I almost forgot.” She ran to catch up to him and the others. She stopped right in front of him and handed him a Pokéball that was a silvery color with white gems on the top. “This is for you. It’s a baby Pokémon still. It just hatched from our Daycare yesterday, and I wanted to give it to a special trainer.” Kelly said as she put the Pokéball in his hand. He looked at her with a blank expression, not quite knowing what to say. “You’re that special trainer. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to get my head straight. Because of you, I was able to reach Harmony’s heart. Please accept this as a thank you.”

“Oh, Kelly; but I didn’t do anything, really. You were the one who caught Lugia. And…” Ash began, but Kelly cut him off.

“Please don’t open the Pokéball today, though. It just went to sleep and I would rather your anticipation build up. ‘Kay?” She said with a sincere, playful smile beaming through her face.

“Where’d she go?” May asked. Then, the four trainers caught sight of Kelly and her Altaria high in the air. The two zoomed over the ranch and out of sight.

The trainers couldn’t help but laugh. They started to walk down the road in silence.

Finally, Brock broke the silence. “What kind of Pokémon do you think she gave you?”

“Well, I have a feeling that we’ll see Kelly and her Pokémon again.” Max said.

“Yeah, and she’ll probably have new Pokémon with her next time.” May said with delight.

The four trainers continued to walk down the road towards the setting sun with the memories of the day in mind.

Over in the woods five miles away, Team Rocket sat in a hole. Jessie, James, and Meowth shivered from the cold. Unable to get out of the deep hole, they rubbed their hands together to stay warm.

“Do you think that this was one of the holes that we dug?” Jessie asked, annoyed at the situation.

“Yeah, probably.” James and Meowth answered. Then, all eyes looked up as a growling sound came from the opening of the hole. “Huh?”

The loud noise started to make the Eevee upset. They started to push dirt into the hole at a fast rate.

“Hey! What are they doing? Those little brats are getting dirt on my hair.” Jessie screamed.

“Hey. I just figured it out! Dose Eevee are da ones tat dug this hole! “ Meowth said as he put it together.

Jessie and James tried running up the hole then tried digging deeper into the hole to create a U-tunnel out of view of the Eevee.

Upon surfacing the opening of their hole, they found themselves face to face with more Eevee.

The three stood frozen in front of the growling Eevee that surrounded and outnumbered them.

“Does anybody but me totally hate Eevee after what happened today?” Jessie questioned.

THIS IS DEDICATED TO MY LITTLE COUSIN OLIVIA WHO'S ALWAYS BEEN THERE TO "ASSIST ME" AND TELL ME I'M RIGHT OR WRONG. THANK YOU, DARLING, FOR BEING AN AMAZING KID. I HOPE YOU NEVER STOP WRITING, DRAWING, CREATING... IT'S IN YOUR BLOOD. REMEMBER TO LET YOURSELF BE HEARD AND SEEN. OH, AND FEEL FREE TO SMACK ME IF I START OUTSHINING YOU, OKAY, KID?