"Go do something, Taylor. Battle the Elites or something," the woman huffed as she leaned over a pan sizzling with pancakes. The aroma wafted up Taylor's nose, but she busied herself with nibbling on an apple. Her mother pulled the pancakes off of the pan and set them in a stack on the plate. To Taylor's right, her Lucario snatched one of the pancakes and swallowed the thing greedily.

When Taylor swallowed another bite of apple, she sighed. "I've already beaten the Johto Elites. You know that," she muttered, but her mother was having none of that.

"At seventeen, you could be beating all of the Elites. Go make some friends. Start anew in Kanto. Everyone knows you're a Champion here," she said with as she handed the plate of pancakes to Taylor's Lucario.

"Shayde, how do you like those things?" Taylor questioned with a crinkle of distaste to her nose. The Lucario shrugged and popped another pancake in his mouth. Taylor returned her attention back to her mother. "Since you won't stop nagging me, I'll get Whiplash ready to fly to Kanto. Maybe I'll drop by Professor Oak's and say hey," Taylor said with a scratch of her head.

"Good," her mother replied with a nod of her head. She smiled warmly at her daughter and patted Taylor on the cheek. Taylor sighed and snagged Shayde's hand as she pushed herself off of her seat. Shayde left a few pancakes on the plate without a backwards glance and followed his companion upstairs to Taylor's room.

"Alright, Shay. We need to get traveling supplies," Taylor began as she pointed to her worn backpack that sat in the corner of her room. Shayde picked it up and tossed it over to her. Taylor's hands slid over the worn leather straps and a soft smile tugged at her lips. This pack had been all over the Johto region and carried more than a few memories.

"Shayde, get my belt please." Taylor asked as she wandered over to her bureau. She opened a few of the drawers and threw a few select clothing pieces into the bag. When she zipped that particular compartment up, she glanced at herself in the mirror.

Her angular face was still sharp and her gray eyes were light. She fingered a lock of her hair, noting that its brown color was slightly tinted with blonde streaks. The blonde was in effect to her being outside in the sunlight. Shayde's paw appeared in the mirror and Taylor held up the belt for her reflection to see.

Three Pokeballs were hooked onto the belt and Taylor fingered Shayde's for a moment. "I think Solstice and Lash are going to be happy," she murmured. She knew they weren't battle rusty, but they weren't as great as before. After beating the Elites of Johto, they had stuck to their home here. Once in a while, they would go to the town's Battle Colosseum and reclaim their titles as Champion there.

"Let's go," Taylor murmured as she clipped her belt around her waist. She hefted her back and grinned when the leather slid warmly around her shoulders, each crease seeming to remember their journeys before. Shayde walked downstairs ahead of her and quickly assembled some water bottles and snacks. When they shoved that all into the pack, Taylor walked out the front door.

"Keep in touch," her mom called after her.

"Will do."

I really suck at starting Pokemon stories. XD I've tried in the past. How's da second post, though? :3

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"Lash, how's about we stop by the Arena and show them who's boss before we leave?" Taylor yelled over the turbulance of wind that was assaulting her. The girl's brown hair whipped wildy around her face, scratching viciously at her pink wind-streaked cheeks. She gripped the side of the flying lizard's body, the Pokemon's large red wings thumping through the air powerfully.

The Salamence took in a breath and let loose a loud roar as she dipped her head down and angled her wings in. "That's my girl," Taylor whooped as she ducked her head down. Her legs clamped tightly to Whiplash's sides, arms clinging tightly to the Pokemon's neck. The Salamence unfurled her wings with another bellow and landed heavily on the grass below.

Taylor dismounted quickly and pulled out Whiplash's Pokeball. "Thanks, girl." she said fondly as she rubbed the side of the Pokemon's scaly cheek affectionately. She returned the Salamence to her Pokeball and nodded at a few trainers in the area. She tried to ignore the dumbstruck look of awe on their faces and instead, focused on those who kept their trained gaze on her. She was interested in the ones who would battle.

She pulled out Shayde's Pokeball next and released the Lucario. He gave an appreciative growl and sided with Taylor as she walked into the large dome-shaped building that was the Arena. The receptionist took one look at Taylor and held her hand out. Taylor handed her trainer card to the woman and watched as her name popped up on the screen.

The woman leaned over into a microphone near her desk and tapped it experimentally. Another television screen showed a few battles taking place. At the tapping, the battles ceased and the crowd's head tilted up slightly. "Attention contestants. The Champion of Rouberg Arena is here. The top battle contestant in the Arena, please depart to Battlefield one," she said and Taylor scanned the various screens.

One trainer was calling his Pokemon back, nodding to his opponent whom he had just beaten. Taylor sized up the lanky kid and grinned when she saw his fiery ex
pression and the swagger in his step. "Kid's got game," Taylor commented and the receptionist looked up.

"He's been coming here a lot. He's close to topping you," she replied.

"What?"

"You haven't been here in so long. He's on a winning streak," the receptionist said before clicking a button underneath her desk. A large door to her right swung open and Taylor nodded to Shayde before entering. The roar of the crowd reached her ears as she walked through the dimly lit hallway that would lead to Battlefield one.

"Kid was using a Gengar, Shay. I'm going to have to use Solstice on this one," Taylor said with a wry look at her partner. Shayde made a few motions with his hands and looked at Taylor expectantly. "Yes, the Gengar looked tired after the battle, but everyone here knows you, Shay. He's going to think I'll use you," Taylor said with a playful nudge to his shoulder.

Shayde sighed and twirled his paws around in the air in front of himself. His means of communicating had grown on Taylor and she could almost always decipher the Pokemon's words. He understood human speech at an incredible level and Taylor was sure he could speak it if he wanted to. She interpreted his last message and patted his back. "Alright. If you insist. Of course, he could call a double battle if he wanted to." Taylor said.

The two paused at the edge of the hallway, the roar reaching their ears and seeming to make the ground tremble. Taylor sucked in a tight breath, her gray eyes light. "Let's do this, Shayde." she said as she stepped out onto the Arena. The crowd burst into another round of screams and whistles. They clapped their hands appreciatevly and Taylor gave them a wide smile. Nothing more.