HP PKMN MSTR 8

Harry's time that he had so far spent in the Hoenn region was productive. He was nearing Petalburg City and would be challenging the Gym Leader, Norman, to a battle for his first Hoenn badge. Harry had his badge case, was registered for the Hoenn League, his Pokedex was updated, and had several of his newest and lowest level Pokemon with him. Harry also brought his Charizard along as a back-up and main Pokemon. Harry's Beldum had already evolved, it was already close before he got it in trade, but Harry was still pleased.

Since Harry was eager to become a Dragon Master and needed to train his higher leveled Pokemon, he decided to train his Bagon, Metang, Absol, Trapinch, and Swablu ahead of the others. Harry felt that would be for best, some had much greater potential and would make great team sweepers, and Metagross and Salamence were Pseudo-Legendary's that Harry wanted badly. This would only help in Harry's goals. He had a lot of Pokemon to train and needed to work hard and fast. After swapping out the Pokemon he had on him, he went to the Petalburg City Gym.

"Hello?" Harry asked, having entered into an empty battle area. "I've come to challenge Norman, the Gym Leader!"

A younger boy, about eight years old entered. "You're Hadrian! The winner of the Indigo and the Silver Conferences!" The boy said awe.

"I am," Harry replied with a smile. "And you are?"

"I'm Max. My father is the Gym Leader here." Max replied. "Can I see your Charizard?" Max asked excitedly.

"Max! Quit bugging people!" A girl said, walking into the room and suddenly stopping and staring at Harry, blushing. "...Hi."

"Hello," Harry greeted, unbothered by her crush or attraction. Harry was used to it. "Is the Gym Leader, Norman, around?"

"I'll go get him!" May said, before quickly leaving the room.

"Girls are wierd." Max said, causing Harry to smirk.

"They can be, yes." Harry agreed.

"Can I see your Charizard?" Max asked.

"If it's okay with your parents, sure."

"It's fine, but after our battle." Norman said, walking into the room. "It'll be a three-on-three Pokemon battle with no substitutions."

Harry nodded in agreement and took his place on the battlefield. The referee repeated Norman's words and began the battle.

"Go Slakoth!" Norman said.

"Go Bagon!" Harry said.

Harry started them off with an order to use Dragon Breath, but it was met by a Blizzard attack that was overpowered and hit Slakoth, leaving it unable to battle. Harry was impressed by his Bagon, it wasn't as low level as he wanted, but he already had a good bond with it and was confident that Bagon could reach his full potential with him.... And as Bagon glowed a white light and slowly changed shape, Harry felt even more confident. Harry's Bagon was now a Shelgon!

Norman returned his defeated Slakoth and sent out his Slaking, ordering it to use Focus Punch. Bagon dodged and used Dragon Claw, before using a close range Dragon Breath to propel itself further away and inflict even more damage to Slaking. Harry ordered another Dragon Breath, which left Slaking near defeat. One more attack from Shelgon and Norman was down to one Pokemon. Norman returned his Slaking and sent out his Vigoroth.

Norman ordered a Flamethrower, which was countered and overpowered by Dragon Breath, which dealt damage to Vigoroth and left him open for an attack Dragon Claw, Zen Headbutt, and another, close range, Dragon Breath that left Vigoroth unable to battle.

"The winner is Hadrian from Viridian City!" The referee called out.

Harry and Norman returned their Pokemon and met in the middle of the battlefield.

"I present you with the Balance Badge, proof of your victory over me, and 1000 Pokedollars will be transferred into your account." Norman said.

"Thanks." Harry replied.

After letting Max look at his Charizard and geek out over it, Harry departed for Rustboro City, but would also have to train his Pokemon too before challenging the Gym.

Harry was glad that the trip to Rustboro City was short and that his lower leveled Pokemon were a breeze to train. The only real trouble during his trip was encountering a poacher named Rico, but Harry very easily defeated him, freed captured Ekans and Koffing, and managed to rescue a Tyranitar and Fearow too. Rico was turned over to Officer Jenny. Harry offered to use his psychic powers to look into Rico's mind; taking knowledge of his clients names, and Officer Jenny would now be able to arrest all of Rico's clients.

Harry's Hoenn starters all evolved into their next forms and so did Ralts, and all learned several useful moves.

Harry was fortunate enough to have arrived at a convenient time for Roxanne and would get to battle her immediately.

"Go Geodude!" Roxanne said.

"Go Grovyle!" Harry said, always going for an advantage.

Harry started them off with an order to use Leaf Blade. Roxanne tried having Geodude dodge, but was only partially successful and Geodude was still hit. Harry had Grovyle follow it up with another attack that left her Geodude unable to battle and impressed Roxanne with his Grovyle's power. It was only level 23, but Harry had trained it well, at least in his opinion. Roxanne returned her Geodude and sent out her Nosepass.

"Use Zap Cannon!"
"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Harry ordered, and Grovyle obeyed, taking advantage of the enhanced speed. "Now, use that speed and use Leaf Blade!" Harry said.

"Thunder Wave!" Roxanne ordered, but it wasn't quite fast enough. Leaf Blade hit, but Grovyle was also paralyzed.

"Nosepass is unable to battle! The winner is Hadrian from Viridian City!" The referee said.
Harry and Roxanne returned their Pokemon and Roxanne walked over to Harry.

"That was quick, but your Grovyle was powerful and that was a creative use of Quick Attack." Roxanne said. "I see why you're a two time champion though!" She added.

"Thanks, it took a couple days to perfect but it paid off in the end." Harry said in reply.

"Yeah, anyway. I present you with the Stone Badge, proof of your victory over me. Also, 2000 Pokedollars will be transferred into your account." Roxanne said, handing Harry his new Stone Badge.

"Thanks, later." Harry said before walking away; eager to leave to get his Pokemon healed, and buy himself a PokeNav and Xtransceiver. Harry would need to adapt them to magic rich environments, but that wouldn't be too hard.

Harry really enjoyed training low-level Pokemon, it went fast and Harry's Kirlia had already evolved into a Gardevoir. Yes, getting his Pokemon all to level thirty was easy, but Harry still wished that Togepi was more powerful, and had taken to bonding with her and keeping her outside her Poke Ball to make her happier and more likely to evolve. Easy training at least gave Harry plenty of time to train his new Lugia....

Lugia had suffered one humiliation after another from its much more powerful and female mate. Lugia was basically cut out of their child's life and regarded as a weakling who was only good for breeding. Lugia's mate was older, much stronger, and much more prideful and saw no purpose in keeping Harry's new Lugia around. Harry was all too happy to strengthen his new Pokemon further and help it surpass its mate. It would only benefit them both, so Harry saw no reason not too train Lugia.

When Harry arrived at Dewford Town he wasted no time in going to the local Gym, only getting all of his Pokemon looked over and healed before seeking his next Gym Badge.

"You here for a battle?" A blue haired guy asked.

"Yes," Harry replied.

"Cool. I'm Brawly, the Dewford Town Gym Leader, and this'll be a two-on-two Pokemon battle." Brawly replied. Brawly had a referee step forward, annoyingly repeating what Brawly said.

"Trainers send out your first Pokemon!" The referee ordered.

"Go Machop!"

"Go Gardevoir!"

Gardevoir started it and ended with Psychic; easily blasting Machop into a wall, despite its futile attempts to dodge.

"Machop is unable to battle! Brawly send out your next Pokemon!" The referee said.

"Go Makuhita!" Brawly said, though he wasn't confident of his chances of winning.

Makuhita was quickly restrained and then subjected to Confusion and Moonblast, quickly defeating it and causing Brawly to sigh in annoyance. Brawly hated it when people used type advantages, it made for a very boring battle. Brawly stepped forward and unenthusiastically presented Harry with the Knuckle Badge and informed him that 3000 Pokedollars would be transferred into his account.

Harry realized that he wasn't exactly popular there and left the Gym, deciding to drop Gardevoir off at the Pokemon Center and then go treasure hunting in Granite Cave.

Harry's magic assisted search of Granite Cave went very well. He found two Shiny Stones, which Togepi thought were pretty and liked being near one. Harry felt that was a promising sign and was hoping that being near the stone would make her even happier. Harry found a Prism Scale and a Feebas and acquired it and then caught the Feebas. A Milotic was a very powerful Pokemon and Harry wanted one, despite already having a lot of Water-type Pokemon.

It was the Mega Stones that caught Harry's attention though.... Harry found Steelixite, Aggronite, multiple Alakazite, Sablenite, and Mawilite. Harry suspected that long ago this was the scene of a massacre that ended with massive numbers of deceased Pokemon, but that some had survive and populated the area with their descendants. It was the lack of Mega Stones for Fire-type Pokemon that caused Harry to doubt his theory. Harry was still very impressed though and had used his magic to excavate the Mega Stones and then undo any damage caused by his actions.

Harry was also noticing something odd about himself, he was beginning to get vague ideas about where sources of Mega-Evolution energy was coming from. Even before using his magic to locate Mega Stones he was getting an idea of where they were, and Harry found that interesting and decided to study it while keeping it secret. Locating that energy opened up some truly amazing possibilities; possibly even limitless evolutionary potential for all Pokemon... which Harry would want to keep to himself until he could fully study it, which would take a lifetime or until Harry had no choice but to share it.

Harry was just leaving when he saw another person in the cave.

"Hello!" Harry called out politely. The guy turned and faced Harry, it was Steven Stone; the Champion of the Hoenn region, and Harry was surprised that he actually met another champion. Harry had met Lance due to challenging him and hoping to assess their skill levels and their Pokemon's power, but chalked that up to luck.

"Hello," Steven returned. "You're Hadrian from Viridian City, aren't you?"
"I am," Harry confirmed.

"I'm Steven Stone, the Hoenn Champion. I was very impressed with your performance in the Indigo and Silver Conferences."

"Thanks. I remember watching you battle when I was younger, I think even then you were a master of the Steel-type." Harry replied, feeling the need to repay him with a compliment.

"I don't know about that, but that's my dream and I'm gradually working towards it." Steven replied. "I'm guessing that you had the same idea as myself and are looking for Mega Stones here."
"Yeah, I found several," Harry replied. "Say, was there a battle here with mass Pokemon casualties? They would have been Steel, Ghost, Psychic, and Fire if my theory is correct."

"Not that I know of. If there was, then it wasn't documented in any history books that I've read. Why do you ask?" Steven asked, but Steven already suspected why he had asked.

"With the Mega Stones that I found, my gut tells me that there was one and that the Pokemon here are descended from surviving Pokemon who's trainers all died during the battle. The only thing causing doubt for me is the lack of Mega Stones from Fire-type Pokemon." Harry replied.

"I've found Steelixite, Aggronite, multiple Alakazite, Sablenite, and Mawilite."

"It's a great theory and will require investigation. Would you be interested in trading away the Steelixite and Aggronite?"

"You can have them. I already had several of them and it's unlikely that I'll ever need ten Mega Aggron." Harry said, withdrawing the cases he had contained them in, and not noticing Steven's eyes widening in shock. Harry handed Steven the two Mega Stone with accompanying Key Stones.

"Thank you!" Steven said gratefully.

"You're welcome, but I would suggest only using them on Pokemon that you're close to and have a bond with. If your Aggron and Steelix have been with you for years, then you should be fine." Steven nodded, he and his Pokemon met both criteria.

"Would you like to have a Pokemon battle?" Steven asked. "I can test out these stones and you'll be on hand to defeat them if necessary." Steven was sure that Hadrian's Charizard could defeat his Aggron, he didn't have his Steelix with him though, and would need to make other arrangements for him.

"I would need to retrieve my higher leveled Pokemon. My Hoenn team is new and would likely die." Harry replied, and Harry needed a good battle in a very bad way. Steven thankfully nodded in agreement. "If you can meet me outside, I'll teleport to my private island and retrieve my older Pokemon."

"Happily. I'm eager to see how you fare against me." Steven said.

"So am I. See you there." Harry said, before teleporting away.

Harry quickly stored all the Pokemon he had on him but his Charizard, and then selected the Pokemon he felt had a chance of defeating Steven's. That done, he teleported to outside Granite Cave.

Harry thankfully didn't have to wait long for Steven and once Steven was outside, he led Harry to an isolated area, perfect for battles or training.

"So, is five-on-five okay?" Steven asked. "My Aron isn't quite ready to go against Pokemon of that power."

"That's fine," Harry replied. Harry was hoping for a six-on-six, with Steven's Aron taking up a place and being an easy win, but Harry was still looking forward to the battle. Harry was confident that he could win with type advantages and strategy.

"Go Aggron!" Steven said, having already given it the Mega Stone.

"Go Charizard!" Harry said, mentally commanding him to remain in the air.

Steven was ready to test out his Aggron's new Mega Evolution now. "Aggron! Mega-Evolve!" Harry watched watched as power emitted from Steven's Mega Stone and Aggron and as light enveloped Aggron as he evolved into his Mega-Evolved form. Mega Aggron was under control too, and had no difficulty.

"Congratulations. Also, your Mega Aggron has a unique ability called Filter that powers down super-effective moves by 25% and is now a pure steel-type." Harry said, and Steven nodded, appreciating that useful bit of information. Harry gestured to Steven to start them off and Steven ordered a Hyper Beam, which Harry had Charizard meet with Dragon Claw and respond with a Fire Blast that was partly dispersed by Mega Aggron's Dragon Claw and forced Charizard to follow it up with a Flamethrower that dealt far more damage. "Charizard! Draco Meteor!"

"Use Protect!" Steven ordered, taking the bait.

Harry followed it up with Blast Burn, and now Mega Aggron was being attacked from above and below and its Protect was quickly decimated. Mega Aggron was badly damaged from that attack, but was still easily standing. That Filter ability was a real nuisance, Harry mused. Harry had an advantage in power, levels, and type, but he needed to end this while Charizard still had a chance to be used later.

Mega Aggron used Thunder, but Charizard dodged it and used another Blast Burn, finally defeating Mega Aggron.

Steven returned his Aggron and Harry did the same with his Charizard. "Your Charizard is at a very high level, Harry, and very well trained." Steven was thoughtful before selecting his next Pokemon, a Lucario.

"Nice. Go Gengar." Harry said, getting a raised eyebrow from Steven. "Mean Look!" Harry ordered and Steven didn't even try recalling Lucario, still feeling confident. Lucario would end up being the easiest Pokemon to beat. "Hypnosis!"

"Dodge and use Extreme Speed."

"Meet it with Shadow Punch!" Harry said. Harry watched them clash and then hastily ordered Gengar to use Hypnosis, which connected and left Lucario asleep and disabled Extreme Speed. "Use Nightmare and then Dream Eater.... Throw in Toxic too." Gengar obeyed and Harry ordered it to use Hex.

They repeated this combo and soon Lucario was unable to battle.

"You're a very skilled trainer, Harry. How come you haven't challenged the Kanto or Johto Elite Four?" Steven asked, and returned his defeated Lucario. Harry returned his Gengar too.

"I'm traveling to train, gain experience, and other useful Pokemon, skills, and resources. I'll be challenging them once I'm an adult and ready to settle down." Harry replied.

"I did something similar, but traveled far less and focused only on catching a select few Pokemon." Steven said in approval. "You return your Pokemon once they win and don't give me a chance to deploy one that could trap it, clever and cautious.... Go Magnezone!"

After debating with himself for a moment, he chose Houndoom over Magmortar, and suspected that one of Magnezone's moves was Mirror Coat.

Steven realized that Harry suspected that and opted to Paralyze Houndoom and then beat it into submission and finally beat one of Harry's Pokemon. If Harry had any pride and ego, he kept it in check and wasn't taking chances against a champion, which was flattering and infuriating in equal measure. Steven was looking pretty lame right now and had to make a strong showing despite Harry's great team. That in mind, Steven ordered a Thunder Wave and had it quickly followed by a Zap Cannon that inflicted damage on Houndoom. This battle was going well and Houndoom would soon be defeated, and then Harry ordered a Flamethrower attack and Steven ordered Mirror Coat, while hoping that Houndoom didn't have the Flash Fire ability.
It did. Steven ordered more Zap Cannons and Thunders be used to defeat Houndoom, and his Magnezone succeeded, thankfully without Magnezone fainting or Houndoom taking advantage of Flash Fire.

Harry and Steven returned their Pokemon, with Steven imitating Harry's cautious behavior.

"Go Lapras!" Harry said, forcing Steven to send his Magnezone back out, knowing that it was the best albeit risky choice. "Sing!" Harry said, causing Steven to curse as his Magnezone wasn't fast enough to counter it. "Dream Eater!"

Steven returned his defeated Magnezone minutes later. "You are going to be near invincible once you become a champion and have greater skill, experience, and knowledge." Steven said, before sending out his Skarmory and having it use Toxic, poisoning Lapras.

Harry smirked and had Lapras use Rain Dance, healing Lapras of the poison. Steven calmly returned his Pokemon and Harry did the same with Lapras.

Harry was getting bored and sent out his Magcargo to take out some more of Steven's Pokemon or just weaken them.

Steven was wondering how he could win without weakening his Metagross and leaving it as easy prey for Harry's Charizard. Steven still had a chance of winning but would have to use Skarmory and Scizor to take out Harry's Pokemon, which were all trained to higher levels then his own. Steven would have to train his Pokemon harder after this, this was quite humiliating for him. "Go Scizor! Use Bullet Punch!"

"Lava Plume!" Harry ordered, briefly catching Scizor before it retreated on Steven's order. Still, it was very close. Scizor was moments away from striking Magcargo. "Earth Power!" Harry ordered, with Magcargo trapping Scizor. "Flamethrower!"

Still, Scizor survived it, and used Quick Attack and then followed it with a brutal barrage of Bullet Punches, before getting blasted back by Lava Plume and hit with another Flamethrower for good measure. Scizor was left unable to battle.

"I'm normally not one for insults, but you need to train less and get a girlfriend," Steven said, causing Harry to laugh. "I've had my Pokemon for over eight years and your Pokemon already surpass them in raw power. You have entirely too much free time to use for training."

"I have a training schedule and adhere to it. I lost to Lance, the Johto Champion, and pushed myself and my Pokemon much harder. I trained with Lance for five months and they grew much stronger. I'm not abusing them, but I start them small and continually work them up from there. I'm currently looking for hook-ups, but not relationships. I'd have to meet a really amazing girl to reconsider." Harry replied, while waiting for Steven to send out his Skarmory.

"Well, at least you're looking for relationships; even if they are just hook-ups," Steven said, before sending out his Skarmory, and having it begin attacking Magcargo with Toxic, Swift, Aerial Ace, and Steel Wing, and all while creatively dodging any counter-attacks. Any damage to Skarmory was countered by Roost, and any damage to Magcargo was countered by recover. It was going to take a while.

Harry soon realized that he was being an idiot and had Magcargo use Yawn, a move that Harry had forgot about. Once Skarmory was asleep, Harry had Magcargo batter it into defeat with Flamethrower. Steven returned his Skarmory and sent out his Metagross.

"You know I also want to pit my Metagross against your Charizard right?" Steven asked.

"Sure, why not," Harry replied, before returning Magcargo and sending out his Charizard. Both Steven and Harry touched their Key Stones and Mega-Evolved their Pokemon.

Steven started them off on a high note. "Meteor Mash!"

"Flare Blitz!" Harry ordered, knowing that Mega Charizard's Tough Claws ability and superior power would allow him to win the contest of power. The two Mega-Evolved Pokemon met in an epic clash of power that sent both flying backwards; heavily damaged, and as Harry expected, Mega Metagross lost the contest of power and was the most injured. "Blast Burn!" Harry ordered, and watched as Mega Charizard unleashed his most powerful attack upon the injured and immobile Psychic and Steel type Pokemon, bathing the battlefield in fire as Mega Metagross was dealt a humiliating defeat.

Steven stared at his fainted Metagross in shock. "How was my Metagross defeated so easily?" Steven asked in shock.

"You had it charge a Mega-Evolved Fire-type with a major type disadvantage and my Charizard's special ability, Tough Claws, boosts the power of moves that make physical contact by 30%. It was also hit with the equivalent of two Blast Burn's by a higher leveled Pokemon." Harry explained. "Your Mega Metagross has the Tough Claws ability too, but you used a weaker move and your Metagross was of a lower level." Steven nodded, that made sense and he had made an amateur mistake that caused him to lose.

Steven returned his defeated Metagross. "I need to get my Pokemon to the Pokemon Center," Steven said urgently.

"Alright, I'll walk with you." Harry said, not wanting to leave the guy near defenseless.

"Thanks," Steven said, before he began briskly walking, nearly jogging. "I guess you've already beaten the Gym Leader Brawly?"

"Yeah. I used my Gardevoir and swept his team in under a minute." Harry replied, to Steven's surprise.

"Nice. I guess it's Mauville City for you next."

"Yes. I'll have to train my Pokemon hard though. I like having an advantage in levels and a type advantage."

"Well, you seem to be succeeding in that," Steven said dryly. "You're stronger than Hoenn's Champion with your best Pokemon and you'll probably be stronger than the Elite Four your least very soon."

"That's the goal. Get a bunch of champion level Pokemon and become Kanto Champion as an adult and die undefeated." Harry said, causing Steven to smile.

"You're off to a great start." Steven commented, as they arrived at the Pokemon Center. "I'm gonna get my Pokemon healed, but good luck Harry."

"You too." Harry said, intending have his other Pokemon healed too.