Make Some Sparks! Round 1

Aha... Your Thunderbolt may be just the thing to reignite that fire of his.

Hey, Scottie, would you mind helping me with something? I'm in a bit of a bind right now.

Come find me when you're ready.

Scottie came to the edge of town with Volkner.

Once there, [EN:Gen Ref="255" M="he" F="she" ] found Flint looking particularly burned-out.

You know him? Great. That saves me the trouble of explaining.

You know him? Great. That saves me the trouble of explaining.

We don't exactly see eye to eye on everything, me and Flint. For starters, we're both very particular about what Pokémon type we use.

Today, we were going to settle once and for all the issue of whether Electric types or Fire types are the best, but...

I kept waiting for him at the spot we agreed on, and he never came. Then I found him here like this.

I've tried talking to him and shaking him, but he just stands there like he's had his flames snuffed out. He must have had a really intense battle.

I, for one, haven't forgotten what we were supposed to do today. That's where you come in.

I need you to help me reignite his fire. We need to show him a great Pokémon battle!

That should get him fired up, right? He'll want to join in the fun himself.

And to be completely honest, I'm also curious to see the power of your Thunderbolt for myself.

What do you say?

Great. Thank you!

Of course. Thank you!

All right. Without further ado, show us the power of your Thunderbolt!

*sigh* What terrible timing for a blackout.

*sigh* What terrible timing for a blackout.

The sudden blackout seemed to surprise Scottie. Volkner, however...

Don't worry. The power will be back on soon.

See? A simple blackout is no match for the technology in place here on Pasio.

Oh? If it isn't Scottie. Where are you headed at such a late hour?

I see. I've come to investigate the blackout that just happened!

Me? I came running out here to investigate the blackout that just happened.

Who is your friend there?

I'm Volkner. I'm a Gym Leader from Sinnoh. And you are?

My name's Clemont! I'm a Gym Leader from Kalos.

Judging by your partner Pokémon, it looks like we have something in common. I'm sure we'll get along just great.

Did you make that device on your back?

It looks like you got a bit of inspiration from Aipom for the arm.

That's right! Are you interested in inventions yourself, Volkner?

Yes. I love tinkering with machines.

If you wouldn't mind, I'd love to take a look inside that device of yours sometime to see how it works.

Of course!

Oh, I almost forgot. Would you mind helping us light a fire under our friend here?

Help you...light a fire?

F-Flint?!

He's "burnt right down to cinders," as he says. I want to reignite his fire with a heated Pokémon battle.

Scottie and Clemont, both of you come at me at the same time!

Well, I guess I don't mind, but...

Hahaha! You're worried about me?

Hahaha! You're worried about me?

I may not look like it, but they say I'm the top Gym Leader in Sinnoh.

I'd be more worried about myself if I were you!

Good! Now that's a shocking jolt!

The air's vibrating with electricity! The flashes are practically blinding!

This is why I love Electric-type Pokémon!

What?! Another blackout?!

Not a problem! If the lights are out, we'll just have to shine brighter in their place!

Hey, Flint! How long are you going to just stand there all burned-out like that?!

The battle's going to end if you don't hurry up and snap out of it! Don't you want to join the fun?!

... ... ...!

All right! It's about time for Flint to power back on!

Yeeeaaaaaah!

I could feel your fiery spirits! Let me in on some of that action!

You finally snapped out of it, I see.

Volkner?! Why are you here?!

Don't burn out on us like that! It's a real bother, you know.

Good morning, Flint!

Good morning, Flint!

Oh, well, I guess it's not morning right now. Good evening, I guess?

Scottie and friends got Flint up to speed on what had happened so far.

I see. Thanks, everyone!

Thank you, too, Volkner! I was just about to have to skip out on the battle I promised you.

Don't worry about it. Consider this payback for what you did for me in Sinnoh.

What I did for you in Sinnoh?

Back when I'd forgotten how to enjoy battles as a Gym Leader.

You often came to Sunyshore City despite being busy with your duties as a member of the Elite Four, remember?

You would find promising Trainers and have them come challenge me.

Your efforts helped me remember how to enjoy Pokémon battles. I really am grateful to you for that.

Volkner...

What? Did I move you to tears?

I'm not crying! I'm just practicing using Scald with my eyes!

Well, great! Flint's back to normal, and the blackout seems to have ended as well!

By the way, Flint, what got you so burned-out that you couldn't even move?

Well, I was doing some last-minute training to get ready for my battle with Volkner...

and I just had so many great battles with great challengers that I burned away every last bit of my stamina!

Well, I can't say I'm surprised hearing that coming from you.

The training machine I borrowed from the Black Belts this afternoon was pretty rough, too. Wait...

Volkner! There's something I'd like to ask you about that...

No time for small talk! It's time for you to face us! We just love picking on tired sync pairs!

Team Break?!

The blackout seemed like a great chance to steal some Pokémon, but the power kept coming right back on again!

But here we find a bunch of worn-out sync pairs. What luck!

We can't let this good luck go to waste, can we?!

Looks like they're serious. Are you up for a battle, Flint?

You bet! I think we've caused enough trouble for Scottie and friends!

You heard him. Scottie, Clemont, feel free to sit this one out.

Wh-what?! But you'd just finished a battle! You were supposed to be all worn out!

Octillery is certainly a good Pokémon...

but you didn't do a very good job raising it!

Argh! Let's get outta here!

Don't mention it. I didn't even break a sweat.

Heh! There's no way Sinnoh's strongest tag team would lose!

You two sure are strong! We've got to work hard, too.

Oh, are any of you thirsty after all that battling?

I know I am. I'll go get water for everyone!

Ahhh!

What's wrong, Clemont?!

That vending machine must have gone through some crazy renovations. It's flashing, changing shape, and all sorts of unusual things.

Ah! There are other ones just like it all over the place!

I bet they use a lot of electricity. Maybe they're what caused the blackouts?

Hey, Volkner. I didn't get a chance to ask this a second ago, but...

You didn't happen to do any of your renovations on the training machines recently, did you?

The one that the Black Belts were using broke, so I fixed it for them.

The one the Black Belts were using?

You mean the production model of my Trainer-Grow-Stronger Machine?

Were the vending machines "broken," too?

Yes. So I fixed them.

I knew it was you, Volkner! You know you aren't supposed to go around doing your renovations on random machines!

I didn't do any renovations! I just fixed them in my own unique way!

*sigh* I bet you just couldn't help yourself once you started poking around inside those machines, huh?

You know you're going to have to revert them all back to normal, right? Before Lear and his gang catch wind of it.

I was so sure that the machines here on Pasio could withstand my special repairs. I guess I was wrong.

As you can see, he's a bit irresponsible, but don't hold that against him.

Irresponsible? Me? I tell everyone that YOU'RE the irresponsible one.