Going forward and beyond {Path of the Aura Ranger: Book I}

VIII Pikachu's P.O.V

"We showed them!" Miltank exclaimed, fire burning in her eyes at the incredible win the team achieved against Candance. We were at the Pokemon Center, relaxing after Nurse Joy had healed the pokemon that had battled. I looked around the room with a smile, watching my friends, never happier to know that Ambipom had decided not to become a professional Pokemon Ping-Pong player. She truly knows how to brighten up a room, I thought as I watched her play and make the younger pokemon laugh. "I did not know Gym Battles were this much fun! I can't wait for the league!"

"Yeah... she fits with Tauros just fine," I heard Glalie comment, making me laugh.

"She is good," Paul's Magmar commented. "But she could not defeat my flames!" He finished, sounding as pretentious as his trainer.

"I love how much Paul and his pokemon have changed since the first time we met," my daughter told me, brightly as always. She had been much happier lately since his mom and I agreed to leave the past behind and move forward. I don't know if we'll ever be back together again, but we will try to get along better for the sake of our daughter. "It's nice to see their progress."

"What I find funny, is that if Ash and Paul would have met a few months earlier, Ash would have marked him as his rival and spent the whole Sinnoh Journey fighting him," I chuckled.

"Good thing they did not meet then," Ursaring replied, sighing.

"Yeah, we would have been toasted," Paul's Froslass commented floating around the room. So, many Froslass in a day, since when is she such a popular pokemon.

Suddenly, Paul rushed outside, leaving us all confused. We looked at each other perplexed by such an uncommon behavior from Paul but decided to follow him anyway. With Paul's pokemon being the first ones out. The first thing I heard was Torterra cursing. "Shit! From everyone, it had to be Brandon, the Battle Pyramid Master!"

"Oh, shit," I agreed. We all heard the story from Reggie, even with all the change Paul has been through in this journey, there's a lot of anger in him. He'll burst if they face off. Luckily, Reggie was not here to fuel that rage.

"Hey, guys! I finally found you!" Talk about Darkrai and he will come. I cursed in my head, while the rest of the pokemon cursed out loud. "What's wrong?" Reggie asked us, confused. Riley silently pointed up towards the flying pyramid. "Shit!" Reggie cursed in realization. Paul ignored us all and run towards the Battle Pyramid when it flew away, being followed closely by his pokemon. "Paul! Wait!" Reggie called out, following close behind his brother.

"Let's go!" Ash called out and started to run after them.

"Here we go again," I sighed, jumping on my trainer's shoulder. We got there just in time to hear Paul challenge Brandon to a battle. "This guy does not miss any time," I chuckled but froze when I heard Brandon accept the challenge. "You are allowing this insanity?! Distortion, what do I care? I love a good fight!"

"Hey, Brandon, how are you?" Ash tried to cut the tension after Reggie pulled his little brother away.

"Very good, I had just finished exploring the Snowpoint Temple," Brandon explained with a smile. "It was magnificent!"

"Are you really going to face off against Paul?" Riley asked the Brain Frontier.

"Yes, he needs this battle," Brandon answered with a calm demeanor. "I remember him from back when he was a rookie and saw his brother lose against me... he lost something that day. I hope he gets it back today."