~ 2 years later ~

A boy with black hair was standing next to a blonde girl. The former wore all-white athletic gear while the girl was wearing a black dress with matching accessories.

Standing across from the two, Carolina was looking at the pair of 11-year-olds. She had an unusual level of seriousness in her eyes.

"Alright, both of you. This is the 3rd time you've tried to take me on and pass. Try your hardest in this battle against my Chingling. If you do well enough, I will let you both leave on your journey. Fail again, and that will be another year of you being stuck here with this old lady."

Xander and Cynthia nodded. They had tried to take Carolina on when they were 9 and 10. Both times, the little pokemon that always seemed sweet completely dominated their pokemon.

'I should have expected it from an old lady who is a pokemon professor. Even if she only has one Pokemon, it definitely isn't weak. But I have 2 years of training with both my pokemon and Cynthia. We can win this time.'

Xander turned to Cynthia and nodded at her. Cynthia also did the same.

"I choose you, Gabby/Cerberus!"

Each of the kids threw out their pokeballs that exploded into white light. Soon, both of their pokemon appeared.

When they were out on the field, Gabby and Cerberus glared at Chingling. They were also tired of losing to the pokemon.

Carolina saw how serious the kids and their pokemon were. She wanted to smile because they all just looked adorable but she was able to barely hold it back.

"Let's get started then. Chingling, use [Future Sight]."

The bell pokemon's eyes began to glow blue for a moment before they returned to normal.

"Already? Gabby, use [Dragon Breath]!"

Gabby opened his mouth and a torrent of pale purple flames began to spew out in the direction of Chingling.

The latter was about to fly high into the air to dodge the attack but luckily, this is what Cynthia and Xander had predicted. They had been planning this battle ever since they lost their last one.

"Use [Astonish]!" Xander gave Cerberus a command right after Cynthia gave Gabby hers.

A malevolent aura appeared around Cerberus, drawing Chingling's attention. Unable to turn away, this aura caused Chingling to flinch for a moment. But that moment was all that the pair needed for Gabby's flames to land.

Chingling was knocked out of the air and to the ground. Carolina was unfazed and gave her pokemon a new order.

"Use [Omious Wind]."

Unlike most pokemon that would try to get up before using the move, Chingling remained on the ground as she opened her mouth and unleashed a cyclone of purple wind toward Gabby and Cerberus.

"Use [Dragon Breath]!" the pair commanded their partners

Both of the Dragon-types opened their mouths and released torrents of pale purple flames that met with the wind.

The three moves clashed for a moment before the Dragon Breath overpowered the Ominous Wind. The flames powered through the attack and landed on Chingling, sending the pokemon through the air.

Chingling landed next to Carolina's feet, unable to open her eyes. Carolina pulled out her Pokeball and had Chingling return to it so that she could rest. With this, it was the pair's victory.

Seeing that Carolina had stored her pokemon, the duo looked at one another before they let out a cheer.

"Yes!"

"We did it!"

Carolina didn't interrupt their celebration. They had been working hard for this victory.

Although it seemed like her pokemon only got hit by 4 moves and went down easily, this was because of constant training.

Cynthia and Xander trained their Pokemon for the past 3 years vigorously. The power and speed that their Dragon Breath and Astonish carried were far superior to the first time they had battled Chingling.

The first time they battled against the pokemon, they were unable to land a single blow. Dragon Breath took too long to charge and fire giving Chingling plenty of opportunity to escape while Astonish's aura was far too weak to cause Chingling to be distracted.

Taking this into consideration, the improvement was pretty obvious.

Just as Carolina was about to congratulate the pair, Gabby and Cerberus began to emit a blinding white light.

'Interesting. Looks like they got through both the physical and mental blockade as I wanted them to. With this, I feel assured letting them travel on their own.'

Xander and Cynthia were also surprised.

'Sweet. I've been waiting forever to see when he would evolve. This world really is very different from the anime and the games.'

Soon the white light faded from both of the pokemon. What emerged were more mature-looking versions of each pokemon.

Gabby evolved into a Gabite, nearly doubling his height. He also became less goofy and innocent-looking, instead, now looking like a true... land-sky shark.

Cerberus evolved into a Zweilous. He also doubled in height and doubled in the number of heads he had. The part that Xander was especially excited to see were the wings that were growing on his back.

'Yes! When he evolves again, I can ride on his back. I've always wanted to fly on the back of a pokemon.'

Xander ran up to Cerberus and began petting both of the pokemon's heads.

"Congratulations, buddies. How do you guys feel?"

"Zwei, Zwei!" the left head cried out excitedly

"Zweilou!" the right head said in an even louder voice

Xander continued to pet them while crying imaginary tears.

'I'm glad my first pokemon is a Pseudo-Legendary but I got the most difficult one. Who on Earth decided that it would be a great idea to have the first form be blind, the second form have two heads that hate each other, and a third that wants to kill everything in sight.

I'm at least lucky this world doesn't work exactly like the game does otherwise I would have had to wait even longer to evolve him.'

Cynthia was off to the side admiring the changes that Gabby went through at the same time. He no longer looked as goofy which caused some disappointment in the young girl but she would be lying if she said she didn't like his new look.

Once they were done admiring their pokemon, both trainers stored their pokemon in their pokeballs before rushing over to Carolina.

"Alright, Granny. A deal's a deal," Cynthia spoke confidently to her grandmother

"That's right. That means that we get to head out on our journey tomorrow," Xander echoed, barely able to conceal his excitement.

The only places he had been was this small town he lived in and the one city nearby. Even then, they only visited the city once per year.

Xander wanted to explore the entire world of pokemon.

Carolina nodded. She knew that she couldn't hold the kids back any longer.

"Fine. Make sure that you have packed everything."

The pair nodded before rushing back to their homes. Although they had already packed up everything before their battle with Carolina, they were going to make sure that they had everything ready.

The next morning, it was only Carolina and the two kids at the gate of the village. No words were exchanged. Cynthia gave her grandmother a hug before Xander did the same.

With their bags on their shoulders and pokemon by their side, Cynthia and Xander left the village to start their conquest of the Sinnoh League.