Ahh, feels good to update another one. It seems that I need to work on my time management, but for now, please enjoy this one. Thank you!

Those who're known as his team

"Steven, are you there, Steven?"

"Cynthia, it's been a while since you last called me, what's up?"

"You're still in Hoenn, I assume?"

"Duh, but it's hard to believe you're calling me just to say that, right? Miss me?"

"Enough with the joke, Steve, I need your help!" Cynthia chided, "Since you're a stone collector, I assume you know the objects called 'mega stones', right?"

From the other side, Steven's tone suddenly got heavier, "How did you know about them?"

"Those things are making quite a fuss in Sinnoh, and since they just pop up one after another, I believe this is no coincident. Something's going on…and I have a feeling we'll need all the information we can get."

…

"I never thought you've been through that much." Buizel mused as Nova finished telling him about his past.

"If my life were different, I wouldn't have met Jake, so I guess it's a fair trade." The Typhlosion continued.

"Is he really worth it?"

"Yes, without any doubt. I'm not exaggerating, but after all these time with him, you must've realized it. He's warm, gentle, kind and caring. He'll always be there for you and stand up for you. What else can you possibly ask for?"

The water-type went silent. He knew everything Nova said was true; he was simply too stubborn to admit it. Ever since Buizel saw Jake, happily surrounded by his trusty pokemon after having named them; the water-type found himself incapable of shaking that image off his mind. In fact, Buizel was so mesmerized by such a harmony; he wanted to be a part of it. The only question left for him was whether he could actually drop his ego to tell Jake his true desire.

"I understand you haven't made up your mind, and this might sound pretentious, but listen to your heart. You can forget everything and return to the forest, but is that what you want?" Nova said, "Life is rough, so I can't guarantee what's best for you, but I know Jake always does his best to love and support his pokemon. Of course only you get to make the call, and whatever it is, he'll respect your choice."

As soon as the Typhlosion finished his statement, the door opened and two familiar individuals walked in, a human and his Lucario, both looking tired but satisfied. Jake had one arm around Aurum's waist while his other arm held a paper bag, from which came a subtle sweet aroma. Jake greeted his team with a big grin, "We're back."

"How was your training?" Nova asked.

"Just alright," the trainer shrugged, "Though we did have a good workout. Ran into the gym leader's Lucario, and he had some issues, so we settled things with a battle. By the way, we came across an open store on our way back, so I bought you some poffins. Where's Flash and Gale?"

"Sleeping, I believe." Nova replied and gestured his head at the room's only bed, on which lain a Luxray and a Starly, both snoring quietly.

"Geez, those two…"

"Should I wake them up?" Aurum suggested.

"Nah, it's only natural." Jake shook his head matter-of-factly, "Besides, Flash ran across the city and even took a hit, all because of me." He stroked the Luxray's silky mane gently and pulled a blanket over him, "Oh well, eat up and get some rest guys. We're gonna have a big discussion tomorrow."

Buizel didn't expect to have his share, so he was caught a bit off guard when Jake grinned and offered him a handful of poffins. The water-type glanced at Nova as if asking for permission, to which the Typhlosion just nodded. Buizel's surprise only grew as he tried the pastry and found them incredibly delicious, more than anything he'd ever consumed.

"Good, isn't it?" next to him, Nova said as he casually tossed a puffin into his mouth, "And you know why? These little puffs we're eating; they're more than just smell or taste; they're his kindness. No one's ever cared about you, you're skeptical, but that was when you live in the woods. Look around you now, these guys, me, Jake, we all want to be your friends; think about it, Buizel."

"What're you two talking about?" Jake asked.

"I just wanna know if he enjoyed the poffins." The Typhlosion shrugged before giving Jake a grateful smile, "They're fantastic by the way. Thank you."

"You're very welcome." Jake grinned, "Let's call it a day. Pup, do you mind settling on the couch with me?"

"Anytime." The Lucario nodded, tail wagging.

…

Jaden dropped himself onto the soft mattress as soon as he walked out of the shower, "Damn it, I'm beat! What a day…"

"You can skip the gym battle tomorrow if you want." Latios suggested, snuggling against to his lover.

"Now that you mentioned it, I'm seriously understaffed for gym battles." Jaden face-palmed, "I was so distracted lately that I forgot to get myself new pokemon."

"But you have me, Dragonite and the Turwig we caught when we first came here. Heck, we cleared the last 2 gyms with me alone." the Eon pokemon pointed out.

"I promised Dragonite I'd only use his power to protect the weak, so I doubt he'll be interested in gym battles. As for you…" Jaden began to stroke his Eon lover's cheek, "You were right. I can win any battle with you alone, but we didn't come here to wipe the floor with those gym leaders, right? I want to have a great adventure, making new friends, learning new stuffs, so I can't just rely on you."

"Then let Turwig battle and see how far he can go and I'll handle the rest. That's the only way we can get through this gym battle." Latios suggested; which Jaden agreed, albeit with a weary sigh, "I guess so."

They lay together for a while, and then Jaden let out another big sigh, "You know, Latios, sometimes I wonder if I made the right call, leaving our team with the Elite Four. Sure, they're in good care, but am I supposed to do that, after everything we'd been through in Hoenn."

"Bonds can't be broken. They'll always be in your friends as long as they're in your heart," Latios said, "Besides; we're forging some pretty good bonds here. New friends, new teammates, new goals, so far so good, don't you think?"

Jaden nodded. Finally, the two gave in to exhaustion and started drifting off.

(The next day)

"Alright guys, before we head to our next gym battle, I want to discuss something," Jake, surrounded by his team, announced, "each of you, take turn and tell me every move you know, plus your preferred fighting style, starting with you, Nova…"

…

When Jake and his team got to the cafeteria, they found Ryan; accompanied by Charizard, Blaziken and Monferno; already half way through their breakfast.

"Morning guys," Jake greeted, "Mind if we join you."

"Be our guest, sunshine," Ryan shrugged, helping himself to another buttered toast, "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Where's Jaden by the way?" Jake inquired as he noticed Jaden's absence.

"Called me earlier. He said he wanted to take a day off to train, and asked me to let you know." Ryan replied.

"Him? Train?" Jake chuckled; those two words just didn't seem to fit with each other. Sure, he knew everyone had room for improvement, but considering Jaden's skill and Latios' prowess, it was hard to imagine there was any challenge that required further training from the ex-champ, "Ah heck, why should I care. Eat up, gang, then we're gonna get our third badge."

…

"Look at that," Jake marveled at the gym's Japanese-style structure, "That place looks like some sort of dojo; I reckon they teach martial arts in there."

"Well then, sign me up," Ryan replied, "After I beat the gym leader, that is."

"Man, you could've at least pretended to have some fun," Jake shook his head disapprovingly, "Anyway, sorry for the inconvenience, but time to return, guys."

In no time, Jake's entire team was returned to their pokeballs. The trainer duo entered Veilstone gym, and (un)surprisingly, they found several dudes in uniform practicing karate. Ignoring the black belt bunch, Jake and Ryan headed straight for the gym leader, who just happened to await them with a confident smile. Seeing Maylene, all optimistic and energetic like that brought a smile to Jake's face, as he knew his effort last night wasn't wasted. He just wished he could've been there to witness their therapy session.

"Last I checked, there were three of you?" Maylene inquired, not before giving Jake a 'meaningful' glance.

"Jaden won't be here today. He's got a training schedule." Jake replied, "Anyway, I assume you know why we're here, so can we get to it now?"

"Sure, but which one of you first?"

"What do you think, Ryan, throw a janken?" Jake suggested.

"Or we do it the usual way. You, then me." Ryan shrugged.

…

As Jake and Maylene took their places on each side of the battlefield, a referee showed up and announced the rule, "This battle will be 3 on 3, and victory can only be achieved when all pokemon of either side are knocked out. Also, only the challenger may switch his pokemon. Now, let the battle begin."

"Lady first, right Jake?" the gym leader grinned and sent out her first pokemon, "Go, Machoke."

As the red light emitted from the pokeball materialized into a massive, humanoid figure, Jake pulled out his pokedex to check his first opponent's data.

Machoke, the Superpower Pokémon. With enough strength to lift a giant truck with one hand, Machoke are often used to extremely heavy work.

"That's a lot of muscles, alright," Jake mumbled, "Then I guess you're up."

The trainer picked one of his pokeball and threw it onto the battlefield. Seconds later, a certain Typhlosion appeared, face-to-face against Maylene's Machoke.

 "Nova?" Ryan mused as he observed the confrontation, "This ought to be a good one."

"Brick break." Maylene said, thrusting her fist forward. The muscular pokemon complied as it charged, attempting to karate-chop Nova with its glowing hand. 

"Dodge and use flamethrower!" Jake commanded. The trainer had expected Maylene, with that kind of powerhouse, would go for big physical attacks right off the bat. Still, no matter how strong a maneuver was, as long as it aimed, it must hit to work, and given Nova's speed, Jake knew Machoke's brick break could never scratch, leave alone hurt him.

Still, every time he was in action, the Typhlosion never ceased to amaze Jake, displaying impressive nimbleness as opposed to his bulky appearance. Nova, now on all four, easily avoided Machoke's attack and at the same time, showing that he could do far more than evasion. His flamethrower hit hard, eliciting a painful roar from his muscular opponent.

"Keep that up, Nova, use flame wheel." With the advantage of an early lead, Jake decided to deal the finishing blow as quickly as he could. Once again, Nova demonstrated his speed, sprinting into the air as his body combusted. Taking his aim, the Typhlosion plunged at Machoke in a fierce tackle. Still affected by flamethrower, there was little to nothing the superpower pokemon could do but taking another hit, this time so devastating that its body even glowed red from the burn.

At that point, Jake thought he'd had the first battle won, but he was regrettably wrong. One second ago, Machoke was wriggling in pain, next thing he knew, the superpower pokemon was roaring with renewed vigor; its body engulfed in some kind of crimson aura.

"That's what I'm talking about. Cross chop!" Maylene ordered.

"Jake, watch out!" Ryan warned, but it was too late. Just like when it used brick break, Machoke's hand…or rather, hands, glowed as the pokemon crossed them together. With a surprisingly fast and precise strike, the powerhouse hit Nova right in the middle of his chest, sending him for a hard ride backward.

"I knew it. Flame wheel caused 'burn', 'burn' triggered 'guts' and now she's taking advantage with Cross chop to score critical hits," Ryan mumbled through gritted teeth, before speaking aloud, "Don't let Nova get hit by that move again, or you'll lose."

Unfortunately, by the time Ryan managed to tip that off, Machoke had finished his fifth blows. The table flipped so quickly that Jake couldn't believe in his eyes. He virtually dominated this battle from the start then suddenly Maylene got some sort of windfall and now Nova was battered with probably less than a third of his stamina. Luckily, that clue triggered the trainer's memory when he'd had that discussion with his team earlier, about Nova occasionally getting power boost when his health was low.

"You can't afford to take another hit, Nova, so we must finish this right now. Put everything left into your next move." Jake suggested, and received a nod from the panting Typhlosion.

"Funny, I was having the same thought." the gym leader grinned, "Machoke, Cross chop again!"

"Nova, Blast burn!"

As Machoke rapidly approached him, the Typhlosion unleashed a thunderous roar of defiance; his fire collar lit up intensely. All seemed to freeze when Nova's fist hit the ground, but only seconds later, the entire battlefield shook as columns of fire erupted violently from beneath, trapping Machoke in a chain of massive explosion.  When the fire, smoke and dust cleared, the one left standing was ultimately Nova, albeit just barely.

"Machoke is unable to battle. The challenger won this battle." The referee announced.

"Yes!" Jake exclaimed, raising his fist triumphantly before noticing a certain Typhlosion was about to collapse from exhaustion. Luckily, he was in time to catch Nova before the latter fell face-first onto the ground, "That was amazing, Nova, seriously amazing."

Nova smiled softly, and suddenly it dawned on Jake how warm and soothing the Typhlosion's smile could be. It a shame he'd never discovered this sooner.

"I guess this one is too much for you, Machoke, but well done, my friend." the gym leader said as she retrieved her fallen comrade, "This time, it won't be that easy, Jake. C'mon out, Meditite!" 

Jake wondered if the gym leader had this surprise stored for him deliberately. Just when he finished with a tall muscle mass that was Machoke, she sent out a skinny white-and-blue critter, but Jake knew there was more to the pokemon than its perfectly tame appearance. Once again, he relied on his pokedex for necessary information.

Meditite, the Meditation Pokémon. Meditite meditates in order to build up its mental energy. It is said that it eats only one berry a day.

"So this one's all about mind game, huh?" Jake chuckled, "Fine, I'll play mind game with you. Come out here, Flash!"

As the electric-type was summoned, Jake couldn't help chuckling at the apparently terrible mismatch. A humanoid pokemon stood facing a feral pokemon who was approximately 4 times bigger than it. They stared at each other; Meditite's clear, calm eyes seemed to reflect Flash's equally calm, yellow ones.   

"Last time you got to go first, so don't mind if I do this time," Jake declared, "Flash, use spark!"

The electric-type let loose an intimidating bellow; his body became surrounded by an aura of blue lightning, which posed such high voltage that its crackling was audible in the air. Maylene was slightly bewildered as she noted Flash's attacking power could potentially rivaled Nova's, and wondered how Jake managed to gather quite a powerful team for himself. Nonetheless, she quickly formulated a counterstrategy as soon as Flash charged toward Meditite, "Use detect and meditate!"

Meditite was quick to react. In the blink of an eye, the critter evaded Flash's attempted tackle. Flipping backward, Meditite closed its eyes and sat down, cross-legged. Jake, somewhat offended by this gesture of the psychic-type, ordered Flash to attack gain, "Continue using spark!"

Maylene chuckled, "Detect and meditate!"

Despite Jake and Flash's effort, history just repeated itself. By the time Meditite finished its third Meditation, the critter's body was surrounded by a visible white aura. A bead of sweat trickled down Jake's forehead as the current situation reminded him of the time he and Ryan teamed up on Jaden, when they'd failed to land any single hit on Latios.

"I can't lose. If I lose now, I'll never win against him." Jake muttered determinedly. An idea sparked in the trainer's mind, and his lips curled into a confident smirk, "Flash, come here."

Flash cast his trainer a puzzling look, but followed his order nonetheless. The Luxray's yellow eyes widened as Jake whispered his strategy into his ears, "Trust me, we can do this."

"Can we resume the battle now?" Maylene asked impatiently.

"Sure thing, bellatrix." Jake grinned, "Flash, use thunder fang!"

"Meditite, detect and drain punch!"

The Luxray's attack looked impressive. As yellow lightning generated from his fangs, Flash jumped at his foe, attempting to maul Meditite and deliver a hard bite. Then again, impressiveness did not always equal effectiveness. Meditite's Detect once again served its purpose perfectly, and to make things even worse, this time, it was followed by a counterattack. With a precise hook, Meditite's fist, covered in green spiraling energy, jabbed itself into Flash's cheek. At the same time, green spark emitted from the Luxray's body, only to be absorbed by the psychic-type.

"Looks like it's over." Maylene concluded.

"Indeed…for you, that is." Jake retorted.

Once again, yellow lightning generated, this time from Flash's entire body. Meditite, still in the middle of draining the Luxray's energy, was finally caught off guard. The psychic-type literally became a living conductor for flash's lightning, until the electricity overcharged and exploded; with the impact blowing Meditite a couple feet backward.

"Smart," Ryan complimented genuinely, "If you can't hit the enemy, let him come to you instead."

"Now to finish this, thunder fang."

"You really think you can hit me if I use detect?" Maylene questioned, and Jake flashed her confident chuckle, "Let's see."

It was then the gym leader finally noted something wrong with her Meditite's movements, and when even she commanded it to use detect or Flash bit down on its shoulder, the blue critter showed no reactions, no attempts to struggle or escape whatsoever. Meditite felt onto the ground with a soft thud; its swirling eyes indicated nothing but the incapability of continuing.

"Meditite is unable to battle. The victory once again goes to the challenger!" said the referee.

"What happened?" Maylene stammered, "How?"

 "Discharge. I used it when Meditite touched Flash. Aside dealing damage, it has one out of three chances of paralyzing enemies, so I gambled, but sometimes we don't have a choice, right?" Jake explained, "Also, had you used a long-ranged attack, I'd have been screwed, so I guess I just got lucky."

"I let my guard down," Maylene admitted, "But this isn't the end, Jake, I still have my strongest pokemon. Lucario!"

As the gym leader sent out her Lucario, so did Jake. All of a sudden, the field became a strange mirror situation as two nearly identical pokemon appeared, striking the same pose and staring at each other. Compared to yesterday, Maylene's Lucario was definitely more assertive and intimidating, which made Jake both excited and nervous at the thoughts of battling him.

"Before we get started," Maylene's Lucario talked to Aurum via telepathy, "I want to thank both of you for helping me reconcile with my trainer…But don't expect me to go easy on you."

 "I'll be insulted if you hold back." Aurum replied with a mischievous smirk.

"If you two don't mind, I'll start," Maylene said, "Lucario, close combat."

"Aurum, use close combat too."

Immediately, the two aura users dashed at each other and exploded with a series of punches and kicks. For their trainers' sake, both Lucarios went all out, showing no mercy or hesitant, but due to their similar speed and prowess, neither had managed to land a hit on the other. Jake frowned when Aurum narrowly ducked a nasty blow, then his attempt to retaliate with a low single sweep also failed. After countless fruitless blows, the two combatants decided they needed a different strategy, and fell back simultaneously.

"Just like déjà vu all over again…" Jake mumbled; the previous night's battle came to life in his mind, "Aura sphere!"

"Dodge and use bone rush!" Maylene said.

The battle's pace went up a notch after those commands. Aurum progressed to launch a series of aura spheres at Maylene's Lucario, who either avoided with excellent speed or deflected the attacks with his dual-wielded energy staffs.  Another chain of CQB broke out as Aurum had no choice but to fence off his opponent's relentless attacks with his own bone rush.

"He's not nearly as impulsive as he was yesterday. At this rate, I won't have any chance to use sword dance." Jake concluded, "How am I supposed to beat him?"

[Flashback]

"Now, as a trainer, you'll face many different types of adversary," Kai said, "And the most annoying one among them is…can you guess?"

"Those stronger than me?" Jake replied.

"Wrong, however strong someone is, you can always surpass them. Your most annoying enemy is yourself."

"Oh, am I supposed to be impressed by that overused figure of speed?" Jake asked sarcastically.

"No, I mean it, literally, an enemy with the same prowess as yours. That probability is low, but not entirely impossible, and you're not gonna like it." Kai's tone was dead serious, and Jake decided he should stop fooling around, "Then what should I do?"

"You have to find your identity - what makes you different from your adversary, and turn it into your strength."

[End of Flashback]

"I get it," Jake murmured before saying aloud, "Aurum, Mega evolve!"

"Got it," Aurum panted as he evaded a heavy stab from Lucario's energy bone, but he still managed a grin.

An evolution that surpasses evolution. Jake finally understood those words of Jaden. This was their power - something unique to him and Aurum only, and instead of running away, maybe it was time to finally embrace it. As Jake's fingers pressed the key stone attached to his glove, every bit of doubt and anxiety seemed to be washed away. He shouldn't be afraid, and he had no reasons to.

Energy streams burst out from the triggered key stone and centered around the mega stone on Aurum's chest, then finally engulfed the aura pokemon in a spiraling cocoon of blinding light, so intense that it generated gushes of wind all over the battlefield. When the light eventually faded, a certain aura pokemon emerged, still bearing traits of a Lucario but undoubtedly a lot stronger.

"This is our true power," Jake said proudly, "And you two are about to get a firsthand taste of it. Metal claw!"

"Be careful, Lucario!" Maylene warned, which was redundant. In a split of a second, Aurum closed in and with his newly formed steel claws, delivered a sharp blow to the startled Lucario, who barely managed to block it with his staff. Still, the impact didn't leave him unscathed. Lucario whined as his paws consequently suffered from waves of pain while his seemingly unbreakable energy bone began to crack and eventually broke apart. Even Aurum himself was somewhat baffled by his newfound strength.

"We're not done yet! Aura Sphere!"

Obliging Jake's command, Aurum put his paws together, conjuring his trademark blue energy ball, albeit considerably bigger than its normal size.

"What's that? It's like he's someone completely different." Lucario muttered, sweating profusely. The aura user didn't realize he was subconsciously backing, until hand landed softly on his shoulder.

"I don't blame you, Lucario, this one is just too much for us," Maylene said gently, "We can't win, but I'd rather walk out a loser than a coward. Could you help me, Lucario?"

Lucario stared at his trainer, and several emotions flickered through his eyes: Guilt, empathy and finally, respect. Beyond ashamed, the aura pokemon recalled the time when he'd looked down on Maylene and considered her weak, yet he cower in the face of a stronger opponent. Lucario finally understood the reason why Maylene wanted him to continue fighting. Not only was Veilstone gym's honor at stake, but his ego as well; she was trying to save him -  a realization strong enough to make Lucario look at his trainer in a different light.

"Yes, master!" the aura user nodded. Joining his paws, Lucario formed his own aura sphere; muzzle slightly curved into a grin as he confidently faced his superior adversary, which Aurum noted and seemed to understand. In one final act to show their appreciation for their opponents, both Lucarios charged and thrust attacks toward each other. The collision resulted in a gym-shaking explosion, staggering everyone on the scene, though no serious damage was done.

For Lucario, however, the aftermath wasn't so kind to him. Bruised and wounded, the aura user was certainly unable to battle and almost felt on his back, hadn't it been for a paw held him firmly in place.

"You okay?" Aurum asked concernedly.

"Yeah…Thank you." Lucario replied appreciatively; weariness evident in his voice.

"What should I do, Maylene?" the referee asked, mystified by the situation.

"Call the match. They won; obviously." the gym leader shrugged matter-of-factly.

"O-okay…Lucario is unable to battle. The winner of this match is the challenger Jake!"

"Even though I lost, that was the best match in my entire life," Maylene applauded as she approached Jake and presented him with a silver-lined, orange badge - the Cobble badge, "Please accept this. You've earned it…and my respect."

The trainer gratefully took the badge, then softly patted Maylene's shoulder, "This is the gym leader I want to battle, not the moody from yesterday. No matter what happens, always battle with a smile. You're strong, Maylene, and if anyone says otherwise, prove they're wrong."

Aurum cleared his throat, "I don't wanna interrupt, but I think this guy needs some medical attention."

Maylene flushed at the realization that for a good whole minute, she'd been staring at Jake. In a hasty attempt to cover her embarrassment, the gym leader took over Lucario from Aurum, not before giving Jake one last note, "Sorry, but please tell your friend to wait here. We'll be back in a few hours."

 "Will do," Jake nodded. He had no intention of leaving, as Ryan's match wasn't something to miss. Besides, his team, too, could use a nice rest and some medical treatment.

"Man, I wish Jaden was here so he'd lend us some of those supercharged pokeblocks."

(Meanwhile)

Jaden sneezed, earning a concerned look from Latios, "Got a cold?"

"No, just a bit itchy. I think someone's just mentioned me. Anyway…" Jaden grinned and rubbed his nose, then got to his knees and fed Turwig a pokeblock, "You did great. Let's practice leaf storm again."

(To be continued)