Gold's POV

I look for answers from Ash and Serena, who wait for the traitor to get out of earshot. 

Okay I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation here.

"That was the Water District Leader," Serena explains. "And childhood friend of Green's."

Not the explanation I wanted.

"And President Triton's son," Ash adds.

There's the kicker.

"Green probably didn't want him asking you too many questions," Serena tries to explain. 

"Yea that's why she left with him," I roll my eyes. "Whatever."

Serena and Ash go back to being quiet and I see them glancing at the crowd of eyes looking towards us. I must be the quite the sight still despite drying out.

"You should go um.." The honey blonde trails off.

"Clean-up," I joke half-heartedly and she nods.

"Are you okay?" She asks with a bit of hesitation.

"Yea just need a shower," I take a key from her. "Sounds like Ash has a battle to get ready for so I'll just head back now."

More alone time, just what I need.

I turn back around. "Where exactly does this key lead?"

Green's POV

I lean over the glass railing towards the battlefield. I'm getting a personal preview at Eric's team before the gates open.

His team admittedly looks pretty strong as they wade in the part water, part sand battlefield. The sunset paints the water orange, a nice addition to the pink ivy growing towards the sky.

I'd like to focus on the battle but I'm really worried about Gold. He did not look okay.

The trip wasn't supposed to take so long. He probably just got lost. But his face looked bruised. What would that be from?

"Green."

I'm sure there's a good story. I'll have to question him when we get back. That'll be awhile though since we're going to that party after.

"Green."

We can talk tomorrow, he probably just wants to rest anyway.

"Green," I finally snap out of thoughts and lock eyes with the brunette down below.

"Sorry," I wave.

The field isn't too much lower than the first row of seats but it's probably the most separation we've had all day. I did enjoy the day with him though.

"You ready?" He asks.

"I guess?" I question.

"Open the gates!" He declares and immediately fireworks shoot into the sky.

"Subtle," I giggle and fall back into my seat.

Soon enough Serena finds the open spot I left beside me. One of the open spots.

"I thought Gold might come watch," I say but she shakes her head.

The cheering of the crowd prevents any further conversation. 

Eric and Ash have their first Pokemon out, Golduck and Totodile respectively. It's go time.

Golduck is strange blue bipedal Pokemon, with webbed extremities, a long yellow beak, and red pearl on its forehead. It stands ankle deep in one of the shallower pools still, waiting for the first command.

Totodile, the small crocodile Pokemon Ash was training earlier, has a much different demeanour. It is splashing around between pools, waving it's small arms at the crowd.

"Aqua jet!"

Golduck tries to catch Totodile off guard at the start, becoming enshrouded in a stream of water. Sand flies up from the battlefield as it closes in on Ash's water type.

At the very last second Totodile jumps out of the way and Golduck narrowly misses Ash as it continues forward. Golduck crashes into the wall and the crowd gasps.

Ash may show the crowd that Eric isn't unbeatable.

"Psychic."

Totodile's erratic dancing may have helped it dodge the first attack, but not this one.

Golduck uses its psychic powers to lift the smaller Pokemon into the air. Totodile's movements slow as it helplessly looks at the ground below.

"Hydro pump!"

At the split second Golduck throws Totodile towards the ground, a burst of water erupts from Totodile's jaws. The high powered attack fights Golduck's psychic hold and instead of crashing into the sandy battlefield Totodile floats down to safety.

Totodile hasn't fired an attack towards Golduck yet and it already looks tired. Ash is really playing the patience game.

Didn't know he could do that.

"Zen headbutt, get it this time!" Eric yells, losing his cool a little bit.

Golduck glows a psychic blue colour and charges forward. The Pokemon moves across the sandy portions, not losing any speed by going through the water.

"Catch it with Whirlpool," Ash responds.

Totodile lets out another stream of water, but this time manipulates it into a menacing funnel of water. It's like watching physics break in front of your eyes. The swirling water fills the sky, ending at a point in Totodile's mouth.

Totodile swings the whirpool in front of it and swoops of Golduck right off the ground. I can't see inside the whirpool but I'm sure Golduck is in there thrashing about.

Totodile holds the whirpool above it for a few moments longer before letting it dissipate. Unfortunately for Golduck, that's not a good thing.

Totodile waits below with a Crunch attack, delivering a final blow.

The crowd cheers wildly, along with Ash's girlfriend beside me.

Eric returns his Pokemon without any words. His usual smirk is replaced by a frown. Eric's Pokemon may be strong but he doesn't have the battle experience.

He brings out his next Pokemon, Gyarados. If it's as strong as it is intimidating, this may be a better match.

"Gyarados get in there with Aqua Tail," Eric commands the water serpent. The sharp white fins on its back disappear as it dives under the water.

There are a bunch of deeper pools of water connected underneath the battlefield. It's hard to pick out what pools are the deeper ones though.

"Totodile defend with Hydro Pump when it comes out," Ash warns.

However, it didn't get a chance.

Gyarados pops out the water with a fierce roar, swinging its long beige and blue tail into Totodile. The much smaller Pokemon flies into the solid rock wall.

"Crunch."

The crunch command comes from Eric this time. Doesn't even give Totodile a second to recover before Gyarados' fangs take hold of the Pokemon.

It's back even.

The crowd cheers much louder for the hometown favourite.

Ash returns his first Pokemon, saying some words to the unusual turquoise pokeball.

"Totodile fought hard," I say to Serena, loudly over the crowd noise.

"Mhm," She nods.

Her bright blue eyes are laser focused on the raven haired trainer and she's clutching onto her maroon skirt so hard it's go from pleated to crumpled. I can't imagine how nervous she would be during a battle that really matters.

She really cares as much as him.

"Dracovish I choose you!" Ash releases a very strange Pokemon I've never seen before. An exception to the usual biology rules.

It's light blue head resembles a fish, with two little fins at the bottom of its jaw. Its body is an even more striking combination of forest green and bright red, curling out from the head and down like a sideways U. Spikes line the inside forming like another mouth.

"Dragon Breath!" Ash makes the first move. Must be a dragon type. Granted Gyarados isn't and it looks like a dragon too.

Dracovish roars a cloud of purple flames, crackling through the sky. Gyarados takes it in stride before firing back a Hydro Pump attack.

The high powered stream of water crashes into Dracovish who doesn't even flinch. "Water absorb," I mutter and I get a confirming nod from Serena.

Water type attacks aren't going to work.

"Gyarados try a Hurricane!" Eric yells.

A few passing clouds in the darkening sky funnel down into a vicious flying type attack. Serena's long hair is blowing in my face as the arena feels the effects of the attack.

Dracovish digs into the sand, taking damage but not losing its footing.

As soon as the wind dies down, Dracovish sends an Ice Beam towards Gyarados. The ice glistens under the stadium lights and strikes Eric's water and flying type.

Ice starts to encapsulate Gyarados, forming an icy coffin. The water Gyarados was sitting in also becomes frozen and soon the Pokemon is locked in place.

Dracovish stops the attack and watches Gyarados struggle to break free. The portion of its body underwater must not be frozen but it can be seen trying to wiggle through the ice.

"Finish it with Dragon Rush!"

Dracovish runs backwards and past Ash. It jumps up against the rockface to the pleasure of the people in the first row. It plants its thick legs and pushes off like a rocket. Purple flames swirl around it as it flies through the air, picking up sand and water on the way.

Ice shards, smoke, and dust fly into the air upon contact as the crowd awes.

Eric is already recalling his Pokemon before the dust settles.

So does Ash.

"What's he doing?" I ask as his still standing Dracovish disappears into the blue light of  its Pokeball.

"His next Pokemon doesn't want an advantage," Serena smirks.

"Golisopod let's go!" Eric releases his final Pokemon.

His ace.

I remember when it was a Wimpod. But it's no Wimpod anymore.

Its large bipedal figure towers over the trainer behind it. It's body is covered in calcified armor, each appendage fashioned with long dark claws at the end. Its two dark grey eyes focus ahead on the rival trainer.

The crowd cheers the loudest yet, excited to see Eric's ace see some rare action. Except I have a feeling they may not get the battle they want.

The patch of sandy battlefield in front of Ash starts to become disturbed. Sand particle swirl up into a gentle cloud. The odd quartz grain glimmers as the speed picks up.

"Greninja," Serena smiles fondly at the Pokemon.

I remember watching Ash's Kalos league final. I know that Eric has never faced a Pokemon this powerful before.

The bipedal ninja frog crosses its arms, long pink tongue wrapped around its neck like a scarf. It's already in its other form, whatever it was called. The red star on its forehead and black appurtenances make it one of a kind, unlike any other Greninja in the world. 

And the most powerful.

"Woah," Eric can't contain his astonishment. "You don't scare us Ash!"

Golisopod smashes its arms together and gets into a battle stance.

Ash gives a smirk, maybe more smug than is typical for the humble trainer. "Water Shuriken." 

A column of water falls from the sky, straight on to Greninja. It starts to glow and form the largest a water shuriken the size of a pickup truck. He swings and swings and swings and...

Gold's POV

BOOOOM

"Ahh!" I jump up from the couch. "Wha-a-oh?"

I sit on the edge of the couch and catch my breath. I must've fallen asleep waiting for them to come back from Ash's battle. Out the window a cloud of smoke rises from the stadium near the water.

"Looks like Ash won his battle," I say to Vaporeon who gives a small sound of recognition before going back to sleep.

The fridge pulls me to the kitchen and I look for something to eat. I haven't really had a full meal in like a week. What a week.

I wonder what I should start my recap of the events with...

I could go chronologically, starting with Green's awful directions.

Or go backwards, where I helped hatch a mythical Pokemon.

I laugh to myself as I prepare some food.

"Green's gonna be so jealous," I chuckle to Vaporeon who pauses her nap to wolf down a bowl of Pokemon food.

After an hour or so, just enough time for me to eat and start cleaning up, I hear the door open. 

The three of them walk in, Ash leading the way and talking animatedly about his battle with Eric. They walk right past the kitchen and start to head to their bedrooms clearly in a rush.

"Hello?" I question.

"Vaporeon!" My water type jumps into Green's arms as she turns our direction.

"Eevee" The brunette hugs the Pokemon. "Or I guess I should say Vaporeon?"

"Turns out I was right about Eevee treating her evolutions like temporary forms," I say.

"I knew you were special," Green nuzzles the Pokemon and lets Vaporeon jump to the ground. "You must've had an exciting trip here."

"We did, I have so much to tell you gu-" Green cuts me off.

"Sorry Gold," She turns back to her bedroom. "I need to get changed for Eric's party."

"Party?" I ask.

"Eric holds parties after all his battles," Ash says, now without his blue jacket and just a plain black t-shirt. "Serena wants us to wear fancy clothes but that's not really my style."

"Oh well I don't really have any fancy clothes either," I shrug. "We can stick out together."

"I didn't think you were going to come?" Serena emerges from her (and Ash's) room. She's wearing a short red dress that is certainly catching one man's attention. She finishes tying her long hair up and continues, "Green didn't think it was a good idea."

"Oh?" I look back towards green's room which currently has the door shut. "It's not like I've been gone for a week and would like to go hang out with my friends."

"It's not that we don't want you to come," The honey blonde offers a small smile. 

"Think Gold," Green comes out in a black dress similar to Serena's. it's sleeveless and has a high neckline. It sticks tight to the waist but then flows out to the knees. It's missing her usual turquoise flair. "The less Eric interacts with you the better, didn't they tell you who he is?"

I think I know who he is. Or rather what he is to green.

"I guess," My head drops and I make my way to one of the many vacant bedrooms in the fancy apartment. "I'll see you guys in the morning."

She has a point but I really just wanted to hang out with her.. and Ash and Serena.

Vaporeon follows me to the bedroom and curls up at the end of the bed. "At least I have you to keep me company," I sigh and flop onto the bed.

A few minutes pass by and I hear them leave, off into the party city with the Elemente elite.

I've be here for less than 24 hours and I've had enough.

I could leave.