- Blessed by Divinity -

Heroes?

After Froslass was knocked out, it was all up to Grovyle to avenge her defeat. Against two powerful pokemon and their intelligent trainers it would be difficult, but I was confident that the grass pokemon had the ability to come out on top.

"Looks like it's just you now kid. You should know when to stay out of other people's business. Electivire, fire punch."

"Muk, follow with poison jab."

The wood gecko pokemon once again narrowly avoided both attacks, barely escaping before returning fire with giga drain once more. However, neither of us were prepared for Electivire to launch another thunder attack. Caught off guard, Grovyle was thrust against the metal wall. He slumped to the ground and for a moment it appeared he was unable to continue.

However, a sky blue light covered the grass pokemon as he grew in size, spheres growing on his back as his tail grew drastically in size and width. As the light dissipated, the grass pokemon let out a defiant roar, unwilling to be defeated.

"Sceptile, use your new move, dual chop!"

A flash of green light sped across the small room as his arms glowed with draconic energy as he struck the opposing Electivire across the chest, then over the head, knocking it onto the floor.

"Sludge bomb Muk."

From such close range, the wood gecko pokemon could not avoid the attack but instead he shook it off, fueled by a second wind.

"Dual chop on Muk, then use giga drain on Electivire."

At blinding speed, Sceptile swung both arms into the sludge pokemon too quickly for it to try and move out of the way. Following the attack, the grass pokemon leaped into the air firing a powerful giga drain at the opposing electric pokemon who was still on the ground, dazed from the earlier attack.

Invigorated by new strength, Sceptile was able to defeat both pokemon with a leaf blade attack, ending the battle in a victory.

Stunned that the battle had been turned on its head so quickly, the two masked women returned their pokemon before one of them pulled out a large purple pellet from her pocket. As she threw it on the ground, the entire room was completely filled with thick smoke, fully obscuring our vision.

Once the smoke had finally cleared, I felt myself coughing heavily, trying to remover the thick substance from my lungs. After a few deep breathes, I felt the clear air refill my lungs. Immediately realising the older man was still tied up, I rushed to his side, quickly untied the ropes, setting him free.

Elaine stumbled to her feet, leaning on what remained of the desk for support. She nodded to me, signally that she was alright despite my concerns.

"Thank Arceus you came when you did young trainers."

I dismissed the man's thanks, more concerned about what they wanted with him.

"They're after a special type of pokeball that only our factory has the ability to manufacture." 

He withheld what the device's name but from reading about such devices when I was younger, I was able to narrow down the possibilities, remembering the pokeballs that had increased capture rates.

"Can you stand sir?"

Elaine's question was answered as the man stumbled to his feet before collapsing onto the ground. He groaned out in pain, cursing under his breathe quietly.

"Guess those bitches did more to me than I realised. But thanks to you, the factory can now resume its working order. I'm good friends with Professor Sycamore so next time you're around Lumiose City be sure to say hello to him for me."

With that, our job was done in the pokeball factory. Just as we exited through what remained of the main entrance, a few police officers had gathered around with some of the construction workers, including the man who directed us here in the first place.

They seemed stunned that kids like us were able to deal with the terrorist group but as they snapped out of their trances, they made sure we were unharmed. Officer Jenny guided us on our way back home, wanting to know what happened inside the factory while the others stayed to investigate inside.

We told her everything that we saw, up until the old man saying that they were after a special type of pokeball.

"I'm sure this is linked to the Lumiose City incident. Are you sure you kids are alright?"

I was content that at least one of the police officers was able to pick up on the fact that the same people had appeared at both incidents. We assured her that we were unharmed as she lead us to the pokemon center.

After Nurse Joy restored our pokemon's health, the two of us headed to my room where we decided to spend the rest of the evening, not wanting to tire ourselves out more by staying around the main city.

Elaine turned on the television and sure enough, the news reporter was broadcasting a live story about what had happened at the pokeball factory. The scene cut to the factory a black haired man who was wearing a huge brown trench coat. His steely grey eyes were trained on the camera as he gave his report from outside the pokeball factory.

"Fortunately, no lives were lost, only a eight minor and three major injuries. Thanks to the work of two anonymous heroes, the factory can resume operation. We suspect that this is another terrorist act committed by none other than Team Flare, the same group who were behind the Lumiose City restaurant attack."

After the man gave his report, the channel changed scene once more, returning to the news anchor who was sat at her desk. Apparently, the story was covered well enough so she changed the topic onto the weather for the following few days.

I had lost interest at that point, instead focusing my attention on Elaine who had been silently sat beside me on the neatly made bed. She seemed alert, livened up by what had happened.

"Here that Aaron? We're heroes!"

Reveling what we had been labelled as, the light blonde's face shifted into a smile as she processed the report from the unnamed man. Elaine had shown great resilience considering the two of us had to deal with the supposed Team Flare twice in less than a week now.

Nevertheless, the two of us shook off the events of today, looking to our respective futures.

---

"And the winner of the Laverre City showcase is... Elaine from Aquacorde Town!"

The crowd burst into cheering, elated that their chosen winner had come out on top in her second showcase. Dragonair and I were cheering especially loud as our friend attached the second princess key to her key chain. The performance was even better than all of the rehearsals, with both Brionne and Froslass able to perfect the routine.

Around ten minutes had passed and Dragonair and I were sat on one of the benches outside of the performance arena, waiting for Elaine to emerge. As the automatic doors opened, I caught a glimpse of the light blonde making her war over to the two of us, a huge deserving smile on her face.

She was rightfully jubilant about the result, being the clear cut winner of the showcase. We would have to do something to celebrate her achievement. After all, her and her pokemon had worked non-stop to perfect their performance.

"Hey Aaron, what did you think?"

At first I couldn't reply, unable to list the emotions that raced through my head as she performed.

"That was amazing! You were the clear winner, by far!"

My compliment once more caused her cheeks to flush a rosy red colour. Not turning away this time, she thanked me for my honesty before pulling me into a sudden hug. I returned the embrace quickly, not being caught unaware this time.

The night stars illuminated the city as the sun had completely set over the city. I knew we had a good night of celebration to look forward to as I looked up to the bright sky, noting that we were each one step closer to our own dreams.