The morning breeze blew comfortingly as the four of them walked on the route to Cerulean City. 

The smiles on their faces were bright. There was just something about the day that gave happy vibes to them. 

The two young Nidoran were playing around with Pichu, and caught up with their Trainers everytime before they fell far behind. And the lazy fox was in Anira's arm, enjoying her ministrations as she combed its coat with her fingers. 

"DADUMMMM!" 

The peaceful atmosphere was suddenly destroyed as they heard a loud crash in the woods on their left. 

"Nido..." 

The young Nidoran returned to the side of their Trainers, and looked terrified. 

"It's okay..." Leaf crouched down and took out the Pokeball. "Stay inside for a while, I will call you out to play some more when we get to the city." 

As she recalled her Nidoran, her attention turned to her Pichu, who was rushing towards the area where the sound originated from. 

"Pichu!" She worriedly called after him and followed it. Aizen and the rest were right behind her. 

As they got closer to the area, they could hear the sounds of an intense battle. 

Inside a clearing were two powerhouse of Pokemon engaged in a duel. 

One of them was a massive blue and white, bipedal Pokemon, whose body composed mostly its belly, and relatively small limbs. 

It's opponent was an orange-colored, bipedal, draconic Pokemon that had a bright flame burning at the end of its long tail. 

Leaf arrived first at the clearing and picked up the little pichu that was watching the battle in a trance. 

Her eyes too were fixed on the battle in front of her in awe. 

"Wow! A Charizard against a Snorlax!" Misty exclaimed as soon as the rest of them arrived at the edge of the clearing. 

Aizen observed the battle with great interest. He was impressed at how perfect the Charizard looked. 

"This doesn't look like a spar or a friendly duel...." Misty voiced worriedly when she saw the red in Snorlax's eyes before it body started glowing in a blue light. 

"Giga Impact." Anira knew what it was. 

They expected the Charizard to suffer terribly, by to their shock, it managed to narrowly dodge the attack by flying up in the air. And Snorlax couldn't control its momentum, crashing in the woods on the other side of the clearing, rocking the woods with another loud boom.

"Finish it up, Partner!" A determined voiced called out. "Blast Burn!" 

"Brace!" Aizen warned the girls and hurriedly cast shields using his Psychic Powers that saved them from gusts of scorching wind. 

The girls were startled and shocked at witnessing the might of the raging fire that drowned Snorlax. It was a terrifying sight to behold.

Snorlax's painful groan tightened their hearts, and it fell back, unconcious and spent of all its strength. There were burn marks all over its body. 

The Trainer of the Charizard did not waste any time and threw his Pokeball to the downed Snorlax. A blink and two after, the ping sounded out. 

"Go, Blastoise!" The Trainer, who was tall with black hair, wearing a red Cloak and a red back-pack called out another pokemon. 

As if on the cue, Blastoise got to work on putting out the fire spreading in the woods. 

After making sure that the things were under control, the young man walked over to the four of them and smiled lightly. 

"Sorry for that. I didn't think anyone would be around." 

The girls were upset that such a reckless move was used, but they did not say anything. They simply nodded to him. 

"It's alright. We were just passing by when a loud crash sounded out." Aizen smiled back and drew his hand forward. "I am Aizen. And I must say that Charizard is in great shape." 

"Egnar!" The young man shook his hand. "And thank you! Draco does love working out." He chuckled as he glanced at his Charizard that was now standing right behind him. 

The draconic pokemon blasted plumes of flare from his mouth in pride, making Aizen and girls smile at it. 

"That was a nice catch." Anira said to the man. "That Snorlax seems just as prideful as it would be gluttonous." 

"Well, Thank you, little miss." Egnar. "I am surprised that someone your age and so beautiful has such an insight." 

"My Brother has taught me well." She calmly replied, not flustered at the sudden praise that was showered on her. 

"She's my little sister, Anira." Aizen introduced her as he knew that she wouldn't. "And these are our friends Misty and Leaf." 

"Hi!" The two girls said in unison and smiled. 

"Nice to meet you all." He said respectfully, and then turned to look back teasingly at Aizen. "You are one lucky guy, travelling around with such beautiful girls." 

"It's a drag..." Aizen feigned a tired sigh, and earned the ire of girls. 

"Hey!" Misty pucnhed him on the arm. "Be grateful, Mister!" 

Aizen and Egnar chuckled at her reaction and shook their heads. 

"Wait, I know you!" Leaf's eyes suddenly widened as she looked at Egnar. "You are the guy Cynthia defeated in the Semi-Finals two years ago at the Lily of the Valley Conference!" 

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she realized that her words were rather rude. 

"I..." 

"It is alright." Egnar waved his hand. "I did lose to her, but I am content with my performance back then. Me and my Pokemon gave our all. She was just too strong for us at that time." 

Even the prideful Charizard did not express any dissatisfaction at Leaf's words. 

Aizen knew who he was from the beginning. He was present in the stadium back then and so was Anira. 

"I take it that you are here for Indigo Conference." He smiled at the Blastoise that approached them after finishing its job. 

"I am here to win." Egnar smiled confidently. 

"Well, we will see about that." He smiled back with confidence as well. "Though I am afraid we can not battle it out right now. My pokemon are still young." 

Egnar nodded to him and smirked. 

"If we come across each other the next time, we will fight it out. No excuses then." He winked at him and drew his fist forward. 

"Sure!" Aizen bumped his fist with him and sealed the deal. 

They talked for a few more minutes, sharing their plans of travelling before parting ways. 

"Goodluck to you all!" 

Egnar climbed on his Charizard and flew away toward Mount Moon. 

"He seems like a capable Trainer." Misty commented as they resumed their journey toward Cerulean City. 

"He would have won the Conference if Cyntia was not in it." Aizen told her. "And he is one of the finest Trainers and has sharp battle instincts. A strong contender for the League Title." 

Misty smiled at his words. 

"What would you say about yourself?" 

Aizen smirked at her question. 

"Time shall tell." But it was his little sister that voiced out the words on his mind. She wore a confident smile on her face.

"I hope I won't be facing people like you two early in the Tournament." Leaf sighed. 

"We have to qualify for it first, silly girl." Aizen patted her head. "And you have all the makings of a future champion. Have a little faith in yourself." He spoke with complete confidence in her ability. 

His words worked like magic on her mood. A beautiful blush appeared on her face before she hugged him tightly. 

"I promise, I will make you proud.." She whispered in her heart. 

Aizen felt fluctuations in his sister's Aura, and sighed inwardly. She did not like other girls clinging onto him like that. Well, anyone else but family. It was something that amused him too, but she was truly scary when she got mad. 

Thankfully, Leaf let go of him before it could get more intimate, joining with Anira and skipping ahead. 

He glanced at Misty and saw longing in her eyes. And then he glanced at his little sister who was looking ahead, but wore a terrifying smile. 

He knew that things would get hectic in the future. And he just prayed that there will be no heartbreak.