The beginning of a new road {Path of the Aura Ranger: Book II}

III Cilan's P.O.V

As we waited for the bridge to Driftveil City to be repaired, we sat down and decided how we were going to spend our day. I excitedly announced that I was going to participate in the Subway Bosses Stamp Rally, which will allow the winner to have a battle with one of the Subway Bosses, Ingo and Emmet. But to win, I must obtain 60 Pokemon stamps by that afternoon. Which had me nervous, as this was a challenge that usually took three days to complete!

Riley and Max decided to follow me and join me into the Stamp Rally. Meanwhile, Ash and Iris decided to head out for a day of sightseeing. I was doing a good pace as I won stam after stamp, until I stumbled upon a worried trainer. Her name was Erina and she had lost her female Axew. The poor thing was close to tears, so I decided to aid her. I lead her back to the station, only to find a note from Iris! Ingo and Emmet had also came to see what was the commotion about. With their help, Erina and her Axew are happily reunited!

Then the time was called for the stamp rally. I groaned when I realized that I was missing just one stamp to win! Then again, aiding a trainer and pokemon to reunite was more important. However, it seemed that the Legendaries were on my side that day. As my good deed was paid back when Erina gave me the last stamp I needed.

Riley and Max approached us after that, Riley had managed to complete the challenge as well, while Max had only managed to get 30 stamps. Nothing to scoff at! Ingo and Emmet offered a double battle after realizing that we knew each other. Which we accepted gladly! They did not realize that they just offered to battle an Aura Guardian and a Gym Leader who have been traveling for months and have exchanged various training tips. Poor guys...

After a fierce battle, Ingo's Chandelure and Emmet's Eelektross were defeated by Riley's Lucario and my Pansage. Despite the defeat, the Subway Bosses were grateful for a great battle and informed us that the bridge had been repaired. We parted for Driftveil City the following day. We all decided to stay one more night for the chance to ride Nimbasa City's famous Ferris Wheel.

On our way to Driftveil City, we met with Champion Alder!

Which would have been more impressive if not for the fact that we had met him in New Tork City and... let's just say that our first impression of him was not the best. The guy was a flirt who loves to sleep and eat. But he was also very strong and loves to help people. His philosophy was also something to look up to. To him, the most important thing is not getting stronger through battle, but helping people and pokemon to grow closer. Something that he seemed to have imparted upon Trip after aiding the local Nurse Joy, who needed Champion Alder's help. There was an angry Gigalith on a rampage. Champion Alder didn't hesitate to go for the rescue, Ash following his lead as Champion Alder had jurisdiction over the situation as the champion of the region. Champion Alder's Bouffalant managed to corner Gigalith, which allowed him to figure out the problem: a nail was embedded in the huge pokemon's foot. Champion Alder swiftly removed the nail, getting Gigalith to calm down quickly.

Trip looked a little bit disappointed on the character of his favorite trainer, the one person he had swore to defeat. However, he had also realize that Champion Alder had some good points and that his philosophy was sound. Still, not understanding from where all this maturity had come from, but deciding not to be invasive and ask, we all parted ways.

Back on route, our adventure continued! We came across a trio of Maractus and their trainer, Toby, who were rehearsing for their upcoming audition at the Pokemon Musical in Nimbasa City. As part of their rehearsal, they planned to enter the Pokemon Performance Competition in the are. However, they were having some issues with their grand finale. Toby had decided to end the performance with a move called "Over the Rainbow" that involved one of the Maractus, Tussy, to leap into the air and land on the arms of the other two. It didn't take long to understand that Tussy was afraid of heights, especially with two Aura Guardians that understood the poke-language. At the end, we got to aid Tussy get over her fear... there was some aura manipulation needed.