Hot Spot Cave's training area—deeper inside, beyond the residential buildings, but not near the lava—was awash with water, warming in the natural heat. Four Pokémon fought in the middle. Two were exhausted, collapsed on the ground. The other two waited patiently for their opponents to rise.
"I thought this would be harder," Willow pouted.
"You have to remember," Zena said, "they're not Mystic. They may be mutants, but that's sealed away, still. I doubt they're taking this too seriously, either. We're just sparring. Maybe they don't want to hurt us or go too hard."
Demitri gurgled in a puddle of Zena's Hydro Pump. Mispy staggered to her feet, her leaf trembling.
"Well, at least we got Demitri to evolve," Willow said, eying the Fraxure and Bayleef.
Demitri finally stood up, panting. "That's... that's right! So we're... totally making progress," he said. "Right, Mispy?"
"I might faint..." Mispy wheezed.
"If that's the case, we should just take a break," Zena said. "We don't want to push you too hard anyway—not when it won't be easy to subdue you in case... well..."
"In case we evolve?" Demitri asked, keeping his voice even.
Mispy nodded. "But... it doesn't feel like we'll evolve yet."
"Yeah, the other times we evolved, it always sorta felt like there was this... pressure, or this heat, in our chest, you know? A power that wanted to get out—and I don't feel that yet. So, we can probably go for a little while longer and be fine!"
"Demitri," Zena said flatly, "you can barely stand."
"I—I'll figure it out!"
"Maybe let your head do some thinking instead of your muscles," Willow said. "Turn off that battle-mode instinct!"
"I don't think we can!" Demitri tittered, picking at his tusk. "But... but I guess we fought enough..."
"We didn't," Mispy sighed.
"Well, when will it be enough?" Zena asked.
Mispy wasn't sure how to answer the question.
"...Let's just rest," the Milotic said. All of this fighting didn't suit her, and it was uncanny how well they adapted to such brutal techniques.
She turned and slithered back to the main square. Willow hopped onto her back and climbed to the top of her head. Demitri and Mispy reluctantly followed.
Rhys, Amia, and Gahi appeared in the middle of the square. At first, Zena was relieved that they returned safely, but then panicked when they realized only three came back.
"W-where's Owen?!" Willow said. "You lost Owen! You idiots! H-how could you—"
"Owen's okay—he's okay!" Amia said. "He just... wanted to go for a walk! Take the scenic way back! I'm sure he's okay. It isn't even dark out yet, okay? He should be back by lunch! Maybe late lunch... I told him before sunset, but I don't see him taking that long."
"And you listened?" Zena hissed, half-expecting steam to billow off of her head.
Willow was sparkling with angry, pink energy. "He could be hurt by the Hunters alone! What kind of a mother are you?!"
"Th-that's not—! I didn't mean to—he's okay! H-he's..." Amia sniffed.
Rhys tutted and stepped forward. "Willow, there is no strategic advantage to the Hunters striking Owen. He's unstable, and if he evolves, it could mean the end for them. Owen isn't aligned with Star or Ba—Arceus, and I believe they want to take advantage of that." He crossed his arms. "To add, I do not believe the Hunters want to harm Owen to begin with."
"What, they want to convince Owen to work for them? Hah!" Willow snorted. "...Why did Owen want to go on his own?"
Gahi's wings buzzed to get their attention. "Eh, got a little moody when someone told him he's good at solvin' puzzles because that's in his nature, the way he was designed."
"Oh," Willow said. Her sparks simmered down, turning into a pink mist. "Well... I guess that's okay to be mad about."
Manny stepped closer, overhearing the discussion. "He's still having an identity crisis, eh?" he asked. "Bah, why can't he be simple-minded like these three?"
"Simple-minded?" Mispy growled.
"E-ehh, maybe like, yeh don't care as much?"
"That's better," Mispy said, shaking her leaf angrily. She eyed Demitri and softened her expression. "Is Owen... okay?"
Amia nodded, but there was some hesitance in her movements. "Well... I think he'll be a little moody for a while. He always got wrapped up in his thoughts. I mean, maybe that's part of how he was designed, but... that's how we know him, right? So, it can't be all bad. Besides, isn't everyone born a little designed?"
"I dunno," Gahi said dismissively. "Hey, so looks like yeh evolved! I bet I evolved first, though, heh."
"We got to training pretty soon after you left," Demitri said. "I think we evolved while you were still flying to the factory. Oh—and how'd that go?"
"Eh... I don't wanna talk about it." Gahi's fluttering slowed. "Maybe later."
"What, is everyone in a bad mood?" Willow said.
"It seems so," Zena said. She nodded solemnly. "And you're absolutely sure that Owen is okay?" she said.
Rhys nodded.
This still wasn't enough for her. She had half a mind to go out and find him, but she wasn't sure if the Hunters would feel the same way about her that they did about Owen. "Perhaps we can discuss this over dinner," she said. "Manny, you mentioned that you were preparing something for the mutants?"
"Eh, yeah! Great stuff fer a post-fight meal, y'know. Builds up muscle. Real great protein. I'm gonna go finish it up; I've got it on a low simmer righ' now. Aura burns real steadily if yeh got good control."
The Lucario left. Rhys seemed skeptical that Manny was capable of slow burns.
"Make a plate for Owen, too," Zena said. "Surely he'll return by lunchtime..."
"But he doesn't eat anymore," Gahi said.
"I think he'll appreciate it," Zena countered. "Okay?"
"Ehh, alright, alright..." Gahi looked at Manny, who nodded while hauling out a pot of stew.
<><><>
Thankfully, Owen returned during lunch, entering the cave the old-fashioned way. He was a little disappointed that he didn't have to do the Hot Spot dance to open the path, but despite this, the Charmeleon had the smallest spring in his step.
Owen wondered how Deca was doing. Ever since he became a Charmeleon, he never got to see him. Then again, he hoped it would be a while. He couldn't imagine the jealousy Deca would feel if Owen evolved, but he didn't. He probably wouldn't want to know about how much of a freak he was for eating an Everstone, too, after all that talk about wanting to evolve.
Amia spotted Owen first and was simultaneously perplexed and relieved at his brighter mood. "Owen, you're back."
"Hey, Mom." He stood awkwardly in front of her, avoiding her eyes.
Amia waved her arm and summoned Alex, the aura swirling from a blue ember, to something that floated in the air, and then finally into a solid, Magmortar form. "Owen, we're sorry if—"
"No, no," Owen said. "That was stupid of me. I'm sorry I just flew off like that. I'm okay."
He smiled at both of them. Alex nervously bumped his cannons together.
Owen abruptly moved forward to Alex, wrapping his arms as well as he could around the Magmortar's huge frame. He turned his head to nod at Amia. "Thanks for dealing with me for all this time. For... how long has it been?"
"Oh, Owen..." Amia held her hand against the fin in her chest. "What's gotten into you?"
Owen laughed, pulling away from Alex, but his father refused to let him go. His arms crossed behind Owen and held him in place. Owen complied, rolling his eyes with a smile.
"Um—how's everyone doing?" Owen asked.
"Oh, just fine, Owen," Amia said. "Did you have a good flight home?"
"Yeah," Owen said.
"Rhys didn't have time to repair your bag, but I'll have it to you by tomorrow morning, okay?"
"Oh, yeah, uh—that's okay," he said. "Thanks."
"Oy, Owen!" Gahi called. "We made a plate fer ya!" He waved one of his tiny legs at him in midair. Gahi hadn't touched the ground in quite a while.
"F-for me?" Owen asked. "I don't eat!"
"Yeah, but I bet food still tastes good, eh? Zena insisted." Gahi said. "C'mon!"
"W-well, if you went through the trouble..."
Alex let Owen go, following him toward the square with Valle as the usual centerpiece. They walked over to the little picnic-like seating arrangement, seeing the one plate without someone next to it. Owen sat down between Gahi and Demitri, taking his first heaping spoonful. He smelled the smallest hint of Tamato Berry in the thick broth and had to swallow to keep the drool down.
Owen sensed something flying his way. He raised his free hand and caught a full Tamato from his right.
"Heh, Rhys told me yeh liked these," Manny said.
Owen beamed, squeezing the ultra-spicy juice straight into the bowl, unnerving everybody.
"So, how'd your trip go?" Gahi asked. "Anybody yeh see er anything? Y'took a while, unless yeh just wandered."
"Oh, I ran into Rim," Owen said, eating the pulp and husk of the squeezed berry.
Amia and the others flinched, but they'd already been prompted that this was a possibility.
"She, um... she was nice," Owen said tentatively. "We didn't talk much, but she barely talks, so that's not really any different. She played a game with me—chess, y'know what that is?"
"Huh... That sounds kinda familiar," Demitri said. "Gahi?"
"Yeah, I think you played that before," Gahi said, "when we were still with the Hunters. So, Rim just taught yeh how that game worked again?"
"It kinda came back to me," Owen said, mixing the spicy juice into the broth with a claw. "But then she did something a little weird. She made me turn around and play it without looking. But I still beat her... I had to use my Mystic power to move the pieces, but... yeah. I still won."
"Wow, you beat Rim without even looking?"
"At chess," Owen emphasized. "I just... felt where the pieces were, that's all."
"Yeah, but that's still pretty cool," Demitri said. "Is that part of your Mystic power?"
"Maybe? But... I feel like I had that sort of power before. It's familiar. So, I might've been able to do something like that before. Maybe without the telekinesis, though. I think she—" The memory hit him. "Th-that's right! She'd tie a Pecha Scarf or something else lying around. She'd tie it over my eyes so I couldn't see! I remember that..." Owen touched his chest. "Wow... we used to play that all the time."
Rhys eyed Owen nervously. "That was a long time ago, Owen. Don't think too fondly of those memories for now."
"Y-yeah," Owen looked off, deflating. "I know. She... she's still hunting us down, even if she wants to keep me around. I won't be going with her or anything. But, to be honest, I..." He trailed off. "...I feel a little better about me."
Zena perked up. "About yourself," she urged on.
Owen nodded. "Yeah. About who I'm supposed to be, and how I... kinda just am what I'm supposed to be. It's okay. Because... I like it. It's not bad. Like what Gahi said, y'know? And I can still choose the little things. Fighting who I am isn't gonna help, if it's just... ingrained. Like, you can't stop yourself from feeling happy, or mad, right? It's just... there."
"That's a good way to look at it," Amia allowed. "But you don't have to be defeated by that, either. After all, you're still meditating to keep your... battle-heart in check, right?"
"Yeah. So, I can control it. But my personality—being all... quick-thinking... I think I want to keep that. I'm choosing to keep that part of my design." The Charmeleon stood up. His bowl still wasn't eaten, but he had come to a decision.
"Uh, Owen?" Demitri, still seated, craned his neck.
Owen's body shifted from red to green. Then, he grew in size, followed by turning around to keep his face away from the others—it'd be rude otherwise. He tilted his head up and opened his mouth; the vine in his gut emerged, caressing the Everstone-Eviolite within. After grabbing it, he retracted the vine back into his gut and returned to his normal size and color. He turned around and placed the stone in his lap.
"Uhh—Owen," Amia added shakily, "didn't you promise to wait until tomorrow to do that?"
"It's tomorrow somewhere," Owen replied, digging into his stew. He tilted the whole bowl into his mouth, pausing only momentarily to savor the taste, and then set it on the ground. The Aspear material let out a hollow tok against the rocks.
Owen stood up and backed away. When he felt he had a safe enough distance from them, he tossed the stone to Rhys.
Enet's fur puffed up. "Owen?" she asked.
"It's okay," Owen said. "I'm... ready." He looked at Rhys, Zena, and Amia. "Get the Suppression Aura ready. Okay?"
He felt the heat swelling up rapidly. Wincing, he knew he wasn't going to contain it much longer—there was no suppressing this evolution. "Th-that's pretty strong...!"
He scanned the room—everyone that he knew. There was no way he'd forget them, and he wouldn't forget himself. He couldn't, not after all this. This was what his training was for. Owen closed his eyes and took a slow breath, held it, and let it out. "I'm okay," he said again. "I'm gonna evolve, alright?"
"Take it slow, Owen," Amia said. The entire square was silent. "If—if you can."
Owen nodded. His heart slammed against his chest, vision clouding over. Thoughts became muddled. Owen steadied his breathing—it was all he could do—and meditated. Peace, calm. Control.
Please... not again, Owen begged his own instincts.
He could sense Zena's hopeful eyes burning into him. Amia's hands were clasped together. Alex was doing everything he could to keep from exploding. Enet was hiding behind Valle with Willow. ADAM was mumbling calculations.
"You're just fine," Zena whispered.
The light enveloped him, black bolts crackling all over.
<><><>
Rim appeared behind Nevren in his office. "Disappear, please," Nevren said.
Rim quickly vanished.
"A-Alakazam!" someone called.
"Hmm?" Nevren turned around to see a frantic-looking Golem. "Ah, yes. What's wrong?"
"W-we spotted something in Arachno Forest, more of those—those mutant Pokémon! But... they were behaving strangely. So—even stranger compared to how those things usually are."
"Strangely? In what way?" Nevren asked.
"They were... patrolling—they didn't look like they were going to fight at all. But—but they were definitely those strange Pokémon."
"I see. Thank you for the report. I'll be sure to send an Elite team there shortly. You are dismissed for the day."
"Y-yes. Um... and, Alakazam...? Where's Goodra Anam?"
"Ah, he's fine and performing another round of blessings. Not to worry. Perhaps I can see if he can make a public appearance tomorrow for morale, or an assembly." Nevren nodded. "In any case, thank you. You may go."
He left.
"...You may return, Rim."
The Espurr appeared. Her eyes were a bit brighter than usual.
"How are things, Rim? You have visited me again."
Rim nodded. "Owen..."
"Oh? I've been listening in on their little conversations. Owen is planning to evolve."
"He's... content."
"That's very good," Nevren said. "He might be ready now. I didn't quite expect that meeting with Brandon to go that way, but in the end, I suppose we've captured two Pidgey with one ball. Ah, hm. That's impossible. I suppose I shouldn't coin that saying." Nevren tapped his spoon on the table. "They learned of Poké Balls, and that was the primary goal." He nodded. "You didn't have to see him, though, Rim. Why did you do so now? He still doesn't trust you."
"He... plays chess well," Rim said.
Nevren returned to Rim a wry smile.
She giggled, but then disappeared.
"Ahh, Rim," Nevren sighed. "Well, whatever makes her happy, I suppose." He looked at the ceiling. "Such emotions are so perplexing." The ceiling was very clean, aside from a few splotches when Anam must have raised his arm a little too excitedly. Dried slime. "...What is taking Anam so long?" He stepped out of the office and into the main lobby of the Heart. He followed the colorful path to the room next door and gently pushed it open.
"Ah," Nevren said.
The supply room was filled with batches of seeds—most of them plain—all across the shelves. On another wall were plain scarves and simple berries. But what caught Nevren's eyes was the long, stick-like object in the middle of the room, next to a Goodra slumped over.
"Interesting," Nevren said aloud, approaching the stick. He picked it up, spinning it. "Are these not the Wands I've been designing?" He looked down at Anam, who was sleeping soundly. Nevren held the wand horizontally and squeezed tight, watching the operational end. Nothing emerged. Instead, a small blast of light shot out and evaporated from the opposite end. "Hm. It's shooting out the wrong end."
Nevren flipped the wand and held it properly, firing directly in front of him.
This time, it shot correctly, and therefore, right into Nevren's chest.
"Urf..." Nevren's eyes drooped instantly. "It fires... inconsistently. Must... make note... of..."
He collapsed next to Anam, snoring.
<><><>
Black sparks flung off of Owen. Waves of power radiated from the center of the corrupted, evolutionary light. Amia and the ones closest to him had to step away. And then, finally, with a wave of heat, power, and sparkling pinpricks of black and white light, it all faded.
He had to remember.
He saw Amia's smiling face, leaning against Alex in the middle of their home. They were laughing at something. Owen asked what was wrong. "Your face, dear. Feel your cheek." There had been a bit of stew caught there. He always ate too quickly.
To Owen, it felt like he'd been standing for minutes. But he imagined that to the others, he was only there for a few short, tense seconds.
Zena's huge form emerged from her small pool just inside her new Hot Spot home. She was asking curiously about the book Owen had in his hands. Did they read together before? How often? Zena was always so shy. She often refused to speak up, wanting to just slink into the pool and go unnoticed. He wanted to know more, but a new memory took its place.
Owen knew that Zena was a recent addition to his life, yet with how scrambled his memories were, it didn't really matter. She was the first Guardian he'd rescued. He wouldn't have it any other way.
With his lower half numb, he only heard the pummeling from Demitri against Aerodactyl. That overwhelming sense of relief combined with the overwhelming pain of all his wounds nearly made Owen dizzy.
Team Alloy... he lost so many memories of them. So many important memories. He wasn't as close to them, even now, as he had been so long ago.
"Owen... will we ever see you again?" Demitri asked, sniffling.
"Don't go," Mispy begged.
"I... I have to," Owen said. "We can't stay together. If we all evolved together, and then..."
"It ain't fair!" Gahi stomped his tiny, Trapinch foot on the ground. "I'll... I'm comin' with you!"
"Gahi... I have to go alone. If I evolved with any of you, it'd be... Rhys can handle you three. But not me. Not if—"
"I don't care! We... this is all stupid!" Gahi sniffed. "This is... all...!"
"We don't even know what'll really happen. What if Rhys is lying?" Demitri said.
"We'll be fine," Mispy said.
"You will be," Owen said. "That's why I'm... going with Amia. She's gonna be my 'mom' now. It's better this way. I'm... sorry."
"Are you ready?" Rhys asked.
Owen looked back. "I'm ready."
"Wait!" Demitri said. "Will... will we ever see you again?! Owen, c'mon, we gotta at least visit!"
"We won't remember each other," Owen said, voice caught in his throat. "It won't matter."
"Then... then I'm gonna evolve until we can again," Demitri said.
"Good!" Owen laughed, but by now his face was screwed up in a horrible, ugly wince. "I'll d-do the same thing!"
Owen couldn't look away from this memory, yet he was relieved when it finally faded, overtaken by another.
Owen held back his tears. Not in front of the others.
A Charmander stood before him, teary eyed and laughing. Everything hurt. He felt waterlogged. "They're so proud of you, Owen," he said. And a confused, thrilled heat swelled in his chest.
Owen hoped he could see Deca again.
Now the ground was below him. Claws outstretched, he plunged them into a Feraligatr. He taunted him. "Ha HA! Is that all you are capable—" But then he slashed through his body, and the Feraligatr dissolved. He kept chasing after the spirit, even in its ember form, ineffectual as it was.
How amazing was that fight? To finally sink his claws into something, to finally feel his attacks connect with their full power. The euphoria that overtook him when he got that first punch to his gut, or spewed hot flames toward his enemies. To truly exert himself, to not hold back and seal his true power away!
No. Stop. Control. Breathe. He was Owen. His name was Owen, son of Gardevoir Amia and Magmortar Alex. Friend, not killer, of Guardians.
Breathe. Slow.
"Owen... stop," Amia's pleading face glowed in the darkness of Manny's old abode. "It's okay. It's over. Please..."
"Fight it, Owen!" Willow said. "You c-can do it! S-stop looking like that!"
"Fight it..." Owen mumbled aloud.
Everybody was watching him with bated breath. He could feel their tension. In fact, he even felt his own.
The new Pokémon beat his wings and the lights flew across the entire town square, bumping into the walls, fading, dissipating. Rhys held up an aura barrier to keep the blackness from hitting the rest of Team Alloy. In his other paw, a sphere of white Suppression Aura flickered.
Owen opened his eyes. He looked very much like a normal Charizard. He had orange scales and a beige front, a flame at the end of his tail, wings, and two horns on the back of his head. However, he was slimmer, and his wings were larger. His horns were sharper, and they were just barely hooked upward behind his head. He was built for evasion in the air and on the ground. Owen remembered that, now. But his memories were still sealed, gradually leaking through.
He blinked a few times. It felt like his vision was twice as powerful as it was before. It was like he could see every tiny detail ahead of him. And if he focused, it felt like he could sense everything beside him, and behind him, too. And above, and below. He felt like a Claydol. Eyes on all sides—though, not literally, he hoped. With a brief worry, he felt the sides of his head. No eyes. Good.
He breathed slowly; he felt that inner need to battle again. But he suppressed it, and he kept himself composed. It never went away... but maybe he could get used to it.
"Hey... guys," he said, startled at his new voice. Deeper. That was going to take some time to get used to. Based on the startled looks from everyone else, he wasn't the only one. "W-wow... Everyone looks a lot smaller now that I've evolved. H-heh..." He scratched the back of his head, taking a moment to feel the two horns behind him. So new, yet so familiar. "Wow," Owen said again, looking at his claws, squeezing his hands.
"Are you... okay?" Amia asked, but Zena was already beaming.
"You're... big!" Enet said, staring up. "Really big!"
"Y-yeah," Owen said. "Thanks! I guess I'm not too small after all, huh?"
"Yeah!"
"So... so you aren't gonna kill us?" Willow asked.
"W-was I really like that?" Owen said.
"Not really, but... you know..." Willow hesitated, glancing at Manny.
Aside from Zena, everyone had a sort of cautious optimism at seeing Owen, fully evolved, behave like a normal Pokémon. Owen figured that they were just trying not to startle him, and while he appreciated the thought, he was hoping for at least a few cheers, or perhaps buzzing fanfare from ADAM's strange body.
"Nah, yeh were just scary good at fighting," Manny said. "Good job at all that! Hey, how 'bout we break the new body in, eh? Let's have a rematch!"
"Y-you? I—I don't know if I should," Owen said. "I could barely stand up against Azu, and isn't he your weakest?"
"Only by a li'l bit," Manny said. "I dwarf 'em all anyway. So yeh wanna go? One on one?"
"W-well...!" Owen looked pleadingly at Amia and Rhys.
Rhys sighed. "Very well. But if you feel yourself slipping, request to stop. Manny, you will respect that. Better we test Owen now than in a real battle."
"I will," Manny said, knocking a claw against his chest-spike. "Lucario's Honor, eh?"
"Hm."
Manny led the way to the training area; Owen marveled at how much smaller it seemed now that he was so much taller. "I'm still not used to it," he said. "I don't think I was ever this size before in these caves!"
"Are yer memories comin' back yet?"
"A little," Owen said. "But... I don't want to think back to them yet. I just want to enjoy being like this for a while before I, um, reflect."
Zena slithered up close to Owen on his right side, sizing him up, eyes following every part of him. At this size, they weren't very awkward in comparison anymore. She was still larger, but not by much.
"How do I look?" Owen asked.
Zena flinched, turning away. "It... suits you. You look like a real dragon, now."
Owen blushed. "A-aw, well, I'm still just a Fire-Flying. But thanks. Maybe I can practice flying with actual wings next."
Gahi watched Owen walk, flying next to him with an envious growl. "I'm gonna evolve next," he said. "Then we're gonna fight. And then I'll beat you. Then I'll win!"
Owen laughed. "You know, sure," he said. "A little sparring match after you evolve. It's a deal." He winked at him. "But you'll have to evolve first."
"Yer on," Gahi hissed challengingly. Despite his tone, he smiled as well as a Vibrava could. Mispy rolled her eyes; Demitri just sighed. Gahi would never change, but Owen preferred that.
They stopped when they entered the sparring area again. The water from Demitri and Mispy training against Zena and Willow had evaporated, leaving the caves feeling a bit humid.
Manny spun on his feet. "Okay, y'ready?"
"I am."
Manny went into his usual battle stance. Owen did the same. If one thing came back to him, it was his memories of battle. He closed his eyes and cleared his head of any interfering thoughts, then crouched down. His throat felt hot. His wings felt tingly, especially near the membrane. Why? He twitched them tentatively, seeing little embers forming along the membrane. He remembered.
Owen could sense Manny's nervousness. The Lucario was giving a front of bravado, but Owen smelled that tinge of fear on him and the over-tense muscles of his arms and legs. Why would Manny volunteer to fight him, then? Perhaps he was trying to train him like he trained the other mutant Pokémon within his Orb.
The Lucario shifted his feet and opened with a blurry dash forward. The sudden, rapid movement wasn't overwhelming anymore. Instead, Owen made a minute, calculated jump back, and then a second one. Manny continued anyway, aiming to ram into Owen with his momentum. He was interrupted by a fiery explosion beneath him. The Fire Trap was planted without Owen even stomping his foot.
"Bah—wh-y'think that's enough ter get m—"
Owen spewed a gout of fire toward Manny right when the Trap fell. Manny roared and launched an all-out attack in close quarters, desperate to at least land some sort of blow to shake Owen's composure, but all Owen had to do was close his wings, creating a golden Protect barrier. Through a gap between his wings, Owen stared at Manny's surprised expression. He wondered why. It was genuine—he sensed that much. Manny fought mutants like him before—but then again... this was the first time he fought one with this much latent experience.
The Lucario jumped away. "Heh... okay, okay..." Manny said, shaking his head. "So yeh got some skills after all... Well, lookit that. And if that's just you on yer own..."
"Are we done fighting?" Owen asked, going into a neutral stance.
Manny vanished from view for a split-second. Owen flinched and jumped forward, narrowly dodging an attack from the rear.
"Bah, yer too good fer a sneak attack," Manny said, shrugging. "Guess I'll just have ter do something that won't miss." He aimed an Aura Sphere at Owen and fired. Owen cloaked himself in his wings for a second time, blocking it, but it didn't work the second time. The next Aura Sphere hit him square in the chest.
Owen grunted and stumbled back. Even if he was good at dodging like Gahi, he felt just as fragile—and Manny was no lightweight. He'd only be able to take a few more of those hits.
"If Fire Trap is yer signature, then I just won't move!" Manny announced, and then planted his feet down, moving only his paws to aim at Owen.
"Ngh—!" Owen knew that he was right. If Manny didn't move, he wouldn't be able to activate any of his traps. He'd have to force a movement out of him. Owen knew just the way to do it. Concentrated, white, whirling gusts of wind swirled around his claws. When Manny fired his first Aura Sphere, Owen countered with a slash to the wind, a thin, whistling stream of white energy. The resulting strike, an Air Slash, countered the Aura Sphere. The explosion obscured Manny's view just long enough for Owen to get near Manny; all he had to do was get close. Then, he jumped around and away from Manny and launched a second Air Slash while he was confused.
"What—"
The Air Slash exploded prematurely, right in front of Manny. The concentrated wind made a shockwave that knocked the Lucario off his feet. He flew through the air and looked down. "Bah—ain't gonna work!" He fired another sphere at the ground; the Fire Trap triggered and erupted in smoke and embers, sending rocks in all directions. Owen used his wings to block the aftermath, but Manny landed right where the explosion happened. None of the other traps ignited.
Owen cursed. "Well if you're gonna do that, then—" He fired another Air Slash, but Manny knew his game. He launched an Aura Sphere in return and then hopped in the air. He stepped on the Fire Trap, but then, with the power of Extreme Speed, outran the very ignition delay of the traps. It was like he'd disappeared where he'd stood. Before Owen had time to react, Manny was in front of him, too fast for Owen to use Protect this time. The blow was powerful, but not decisive; the Charizard grunted and stumbled away, clutching his chest. Manny held his paw up, aiming an Aura Sphere directly at Owen's head.
The Charizard panted, glaring at the sphere. His senses waned—his vision was focused entirely on Manny. He wasn't sure if this was just working with the heat of battle or losing himself to it. He had a lot of fight left in him—and he wanted to keep going. He saw an easy counter to stop Manny from launching an attack—at least, he thought he did. No. If he moved, Manny would just fire. If only he could rip into him. Air Slash did wonders. He wanted to see him on the ground. His mind ached for this fight.
No. Stop. Breathe.
He also didn't want to become a Charmander again. Strategizing for something beyond the battle itself, he knew he had to surrender. He bowed his head and let his wings drop. Manny smirked, and the Sphere vanished. He leaned over and helped Owen up.
"Well, lookit you," Manny said. "You actually stopped yerself."
"Ugh, I think you broke something," Owen mumbled, wincing at the pain near his core.
"Heh, maybe I overdid it a li'l," he said. "We'll get yeh a nice Oran Berry and it'll heal yeh up right away. Maybe have Mispy take a look, too."
"Yeah."
But Owen, despite his loss, knew that he was still relearning his old abilities. More importantly, he knew something else—that he was put in peril... and didn't lose control. He knew to hold back. His heart rate normalized; his easy breathing calmed his aura. The flame at the tip of his tail flared up with confidence. He was in control. This body was his.
A passing thought about Rim flashed in Owen's mind. If it wasn't for her, Owen knew he'd still be a Charmeleon, brooding about his origin. He'd be too afraid of being out of control of his own design. Now, he was ready to take full advantage of it.